[
    {
        "anchor": "Bounce scenarios in the Sotiriou-Visser-Weinfurtner generalization of\n  the projectable Horava-Lifshitz gravity: The occurrence of a bounce in the FRW cosmology requires modifications of\nGeneral Relativity. An example of such a modification is the recently proposed\nHorava-Lifshitz theory of gravity, which includes a \"dark radiation\" term with\na negative coefficient in the analog of the Friedmann equation. A modification\nof the HL gravity, relaxing the \"detailed balance\" condition, brings additional\nterms to the equations of motion, corresponding to stiff matter. This paper\npresents comparison of the phase structure of the original and modified Horava\ncosmology. Special attention is paid to the analysis of a wide range of\nbouncing solution, appearing in both versions of the Horava theory.",
        "positive": "The Exact Superconformal R-Symmetry Extremizes Z: The three sphere partition function, Z, of three dimensional theories with\nfour supercharges and an R-symmetry is computed using localization, resulting\nin a matrix integral over the Cartan of the gauge group. There is a family of\ncouplings to the curved background, parameterized by a choice of R-charge, such\nthat supersymmetry is preserved; Z is a function of those parameters. The\nmagnitude of the result is shown to be extremized for the superconformal\nR-charge of the infrared conformal field theory, in the absence of mixing of\nthe R-symmetry with accidental symmetries. This exactly determines the IR\nsuperconformal R-charge."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Radiation of de-excited electrons at large times in a strong\n  electromagnetic plane wave: The late time asymptotics of the physical solutions to the Lorentz-Dirac\nequation in the electromagnetic external fields of simple configurations -- the\nconstant homogeneous field, the linearly polarized plane wave (in particular,\nthe constant uniform crossed field), and the circularly polarized plane wave --\nare found. The solutions to the Landau-Lifshitz equation for the external\nelectromagnetic fields admitting a two-parametric symmetry group, which include\nas a particular case the above mentioned field configurations, are obtained.\nGeneral properties of the total radiation power of a charged particle are\nestablished. In particular, for a circularly polarized wave and constant\nuniform crossed fields, the total radiation power in the asymptotic regime is\nindependent of the charge and the external field strength, when expressed in\nterms of the proper-time, and equals a half of the rest energy of a charged\nparticle divided by its proper-time. The spectral densities of the radiation\npower formed on the late time asymptotics are derived for a charged particle\nmoving in the external electromagnetic fields of the simple configurations\npointed above.",
        "positive": "Tensor network renormalization with fusion charges: applications to 3d\n  lattice gauge theory: Tensor network methods are powerful and efficient tools to study the\nproperties and dynamics of statistical and quantum systems, in particular in\none and two dimensions. In recent years, these methods were applied to lattice\ngauge theories, yet these theories remain a challenge in $(2+1)$ dimensions. In\nthis article, we present a new (decorated) tensor network algorithm, in which\nthe tensors encode the lattice gauge amplitude expressed in the fusion basis.\n  This has several advantages: Firstly, the fusion basis does diagonalize\noperators measuring the magnetic fluxes and electric charges associated to a\nhierarchical set of regions. The algorithm allows therefore a direct access to\nthese observables. Secondly the fusion basis is, as opposed to the previously\nemployed spin network basis, stable under coarse graining. Thirdly, due to the\nhierarchical structure of the fusion basis, the algorithm does implement\npredefined disentangles, that remove short-scale entanglement.\n  We apply this new algorithm to lattice gauge theories defined for the quantum\ngroup $\\text{SU}(2)_{\\rm k}$ and identify a weak and a strong coupling phase\nfor various levels $\\rm k$. As we increase the level $\\rm k$, the critical\ncoupling $g_c$ decreases linearly, suggesting the absence of a deconfining\nphase for the continuous group $\\text{SU}(2)$. Moreover, we illustrate the\nscaling behaviour of the Wilson loops in the two phases."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauged Nonlinear Sigma Model and Boundary Diffeomorphism Algebra: We consider Chern-Simons gauged nonlinear sigma model with boundary which has\na manifest bulk diffeomorphism invariance. We find that the Gauss's law can be\nsolved explicitly when the nonlinear sigma model is defined on the Hermitian\nsymmetric space, and the original bulk theory completely reduces to a boundary\nnonlinear sigma model with the target space of Hermitian symmetric space. We\nalso study the symplectic structure, compute the diffeomorphism algebra on the\nboundary, and find an (enlarged) Virasoro algebra with classical central term.",
        "positive": "Entanglement negativity in de Sitter biverse from Stringy Axionic Bell\n  pair: An analysis using Bunch-Davies vacuum: In this work, we study the signatures of quantum entanglement by computing\nentanglement negativity between two causally unrelated regions in $3+1$\ndimensional global de Sitter space. We investigate a bipartite quantum field\ntheoretic setup for this purpose, driven by an axionic Bell pair resulting from\nType IIB string compactification on a Calabi-Yau three fold. We take into\naccount a spherical surface that divides the spatial slice of the global de\nSitter space into exterior and interior causally unrelated sub regions. For the\ncomputational purpose we use the simplest possible initial choice of quantum\nvacuum, which is Bunch-Davies state. The quantitative quantum information\ntheoretic measure for entanglement negativity turns out be consistent with the\nresults obtained for entanglement entropy, even we have to say it is better\nthan that from quantum information theoretic point of view. We design the\nproblem in a hyperbolic open chart where one of the causally unrelated\nobservers remains constrained and the scale dependence enters to the\ncorresponding quantum information theoretic entanglement measure for axionic\nBell pair.We find from our analysis that in the large scales initially\nmaximally entangled Bunch-Davies state turns out to be strongly entangled or\nweakly entangled depending on the axionic decay constant and the supersymmetry\nbreaking scale. We also find that at the small scales the initial entanglement\ncan be perfectly recovered.We also discuss the possibility of having a biverse\npicture, which is a mini version of the multiverse in the present theoretical\nset up. Last but not the least, we provide the necessary criteria for\ngenerating non vanishing quantum entanglement measures within the framework of\nquantum field theory of global de Sitter space as well as well as in primordial\ncosmology due to the axion derived from string theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "First Order Actions and Duality: We consider some aspects of classical S-duality transformations in first\norder actions taken into account the general covariance of the Dirac algorithm\nand the transformation properties of the Dirac bracket. By classical S-Duality\ntransformations we mean a field redefinition that interchanges the equations of\nmotion and its associated Bianchi identities. By working from a first order\nvariational principle and performing the corresponding Dirac analysis we find\nthat the standard electro-magnetic duality can be reformulated as a canonical\nlocal transformation. The reduction from this phase space to the original phase\nspace variables coincides with the well known result about duality as a\ncanonical non local transformation. We have also applied our ideas to the\nbosonic string. These Dualities are not canonical transformations for the Dirac\nbracket and relate actions with different kinetic terms in the reduced space.",
        "positive": "Evaporation and information puzzle for 2D nonsingular asymptotically\n  flat black holes: We investigate the thermodynamics and the classical and semiclassical\ndynamics of two-dimensional ($2\\text{D}$), asymptotically flat, nonsingular\ndilatonic black holes. They are characterized by a de Sitter core, allowing for\nthe smearing of the classical singularity, and by the presence of two horizons\nwith a related extremal configuration. For concreteness, we focus on a\n$2\\text{D}$ version of the Hayward black hole. We find a second order\nthermodynamic phase transition, separating large unstable black holes from\nstable configurations close to extremality. We first describe the black-hole\nevaporation process using a quasistatic approximation and we show that it ends\nin the extremal configuration in an infinite amount of time. We go beyond the\nquasistatic approximation by numerically integrating the field equations for\n$2\\text{D}$ dilaton gravity coupled to $N$ massless scalar fields, describing\nthe radiation. We find that the inclusion of large backreaction effects ($N \\gg\n1$) allows for an end-point extremal configuration after a finite evaporation\ntime. Finally, we evaluate the entanglement entropy (EE) of the radiation in\nthe quasistatic approximation and construct the relative Page curve. We find\nthat the EE initially grows, reaches a maximum and then goes down towards zero,\nin agreement with previous results in the literature. Despite the breakdown of\nthe semiclassical approximation prevents the description of the evaporation\nprocess near extremality, we have a clear indication that the end point of the\nevaporation is a regular, extremal state with vanishing EE of the radiation.\nThis means that the nonunitary evolution, which commonly characterizes the\nevaporation of singular black holes, could be traced back to the presence of\nthe singularity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Master Equation for the Prepotential: The perturbative prepotential and the K\\\"ahler metric of the vector\nmultiplets of the N=2 effective low-energy heterotic strings is calculated\ndirectly in N=1 six-dimensional toroidal compactifications of the heterotic\nstring vacua. This method provides the solution for the one loop correction to\nthe N=2 vector multiplet prepotential for compactifications of the heterotic\nstring for any rank three and four models, as well for compactifications on\n$K_3 \\times T^2$. In addition, we complete previous calculations, derived from\nstring amplitudes, by deriving the differential equation for the third\nderivative of the prepotential with respect of the usual complex structure U\nmoduli of the $T^2$ torus. Moreover, we calculate the one loop prepotential,\nusing its modular properties, for N=2 compactifications of the heterotic string\nexhibiting modular groups similar with those appearing in N=2 sectors of N=1\norbifolds based on non-decomposable torus lattices and on N=2 supersymmetric\nYang-Mills.",
        "positive": "Quantum Fluctuations of a Coulomb potential: Long-range properties of the two-point correlation function of the\nelectromagnetic field produced by an elementary particle are investigated.\nUsing the Schwinger-Keldysh formalism it is shown that this function is finite\nin the coincidence limit outside the region of particle localization. In this\nlimit, the leading term in the long-range expansion of the correlation function\nis calculated explicitly, and its gauge independence is proved. The leading\ncontribution turns out to be of zero order in the Planck constant, and the\nrelative value of the root mean square fluctuation of the Coulomb potential is\nfound to be 1/\\sqrt{2}, confirming the result obtained previously within the\nS-matrix approach. It is shown also that in the case of a macroscopic body, the\n\\hbar^0 part of the correlation function is suppressed by a factor 1/N, where N\nis the number of particles in the body. Relation of the obtained results to the\nproblem of measurability of the electromagnetic field is mentioned."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Intrinsic Periodicity of Time and Non-maximal Entropy of Universe: The universe is certainly not yet in total thermodynamical equilibrium,so\nclearly some law telling about special initial conditions is needed. A universe\nor a system imposed to behave periodically gets thereby required ``initial\nconditions\". Those initial conditions will \\underline{not} look like having\nalready suffered the heat death, i.e. obtained the maximal entropy, like a\nrandom state. The intrinsic periodicity explains successfully why entropy is\nnot maximal, but fails phenomenologically by leading to a\n\\underline{constant}entropy.",
        "positive": "A note on the Ricci scalar of six dimensional manifold with SU(2)\n  structure: Taking [math/0606786] as an inspiration, we study the intrinsic torsion of a\nSU(2) structure manifold in six dimensions to give a formula for the Ricci\nscalar in terms of torsion classes. The derivation is founded on the SU(3)\nresult coming from the aforementioned paper."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Brane resolution in heterotic theory through BF term: We have studied the resolution of a naked singularity of a conifold in\nheterotic theory by a BF topological defect living in a 5-brane. The\nsingularity is removed due to Chern-Simons action that changes the Bianchi\nidentity for the H3 3-form. Following the previous analysis of Cvetic, Lu and\nPope where they have studied the resolution through an instanton defect, we\nhave taken a conifold over an Eguchi-Hanson manifold and a harmonic self-dual\n2-form related with F2 to solve the differential equation for the warp factor.\nSince the H3 field is related to torsion in the extra manifold, we can\ninterpret this conifold as one with torsion. Using the so called BF term we\nhave found a solution with the same properties of the instanton such that the\nconifold is smoothed out and has a torsion that diverges in IR regime and\nvanish in UV regime.",
        "positive": "Brane mapping under $(-1)^{F_L}$: We present the evidence that $(-1)^{F_L}$ is a nonperturbative symmetry of\nType II string theory. We argue that $(-1)^{F_L}$ is a symmetry of string\ntheory as much as the $SL(2, Z)$ of the Type II string is and how the branes\nare mapped under the $(-1)^{F_L}$ modding. NS branes are mapped into the NS\nbranes with the same world volume dimensions but with the different chiral\nstructure. Supersymmetric Dp-branes (bound with anti-Dp branes) are mapped to\nunstable nonsupersymmetric Dp-branes, which has D(p-1)-branes as kink solutions\naccording to Horava."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Kalb-Ramond Field in D-dimensional de Sitter Spacetimes: In this work we investigate the quantum theory of the Kalb-Ramond fields\npropagating in $D-$dimensional de Sitter spacetimes using the dynamic invariant\nmethod developed by Lewis and Riesenfeld [J. Math. Phys. 10, 1458 (1969)] to\nobtain the solution of the time-dependent Schr\\\"odinger equation. The wave\nfunction is written in terms of a $c-$number quantity satisfying of the\nMilne-Pinney equation, whose solution can be expressed in terms of two\nindependent solutions of the respective equation of motion. We obtain the exact\nsolution for the quantum Kalb-Ramond field in the de Sitter background and\ndiscuss its relation with the Cremmer-Scherk-Kalb-Ramond model.",
        "positive": "Positivity, low twist dominance and CSDR for CFTs: We consider a crossing symmetric dispersion relation (CSDR) for CFT four\npoint correlation with identical scalar operators, which is manifestly\nsymmetric under the cross-ratios $u,v$ interchange. This representation has\nseveral features in common with the CSDR for quantum field theories. It enables\na study of the expansion of the correlation function around $u=v=1/4$, which is\nused in the numerical conformal bootstrap program. We elucidate several\nremarkable features of the dispersive representation using the four point\ncorrelation function of $\\Phi_{1,2}$ operators in 2d minimal models as a\ntest-bed. When the dimension of the external scalar operator ($\\Delta_\\sigma$)\nis less than $\\frac{1}{2}$, the CSDR gets contribution from only a single tower\nof global primary operators with the second tower being projected out. We find\nthat there is a notion of low twist dominance (LTD) which, as a function of\n$\\Delta_\\sigma$, is maximized near the 2d Ising model as well as the\nnon-unitary Yang-Lee model. The CSDR and LTD further explain positivity of the\nTaylor expansion coefficients of the correlation function around the crossing\nsymmetric point and lead to universal predictions for specific ratios of these\ncoefficients. These results carry over to the epsilon expansion in $4-\\epsilon$\ndimensions. We also conduct a preliminary investigation of geometric function\ntheory ideas, namely the Bieberbach-Rogosinski bounds."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exact Results on the Space of Vacua of Four Dimensional SUSY Gauge\n  Theories: We consider four dimensional quantum field theories which have a continuous\nmanifold of inequivalent exact ground states -- a moduli space of vacua.\nClassically, the singular points on the moduli space are associated with extra\nmassless particles. Quantum mechanically these singularities can be smoothed\nout. Alternatively, new massless states appear there. These may be the\nelementary massless particles or new massless bound states.",
        "positive": "Reflexive Numbers and Berger Graphs from Calabi-Yau Spaces: We review the Batyrev approach to Calabi-Yau spaces based on reflexive weight\nvectors. The Universal CY algebra gives a possibility to construct the\ncorresponding reflexive numbers in a recursive way. A physical interpretation\nof the Batyrev expression for the Calabi-Yau manifolds is presented. Important\nclasses of these manifolds are related to the simple-laced and\nquasi-simple-laced numbers. We discuss the classification and recurrence\nrelations for them in the framework of quantum field theory methods. A relation\nbetween the reflexive numbers and the so-called Berger graphs is studied. In\nthis correspondence the role played by the generalized Coxeter labels is\nhighlighted. Sets of positive roots are investigated in order to connect them\nto possible new algebraic structures stemming from the Berger matrices."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Time-energy uncertainty relation for neutrino oscillations: historical\n  development, applications and future prospects: Time-energy uncertainty relation (TEUR) plays a fundamental role in quantum\nmechanics, as it allows to grasp peculiar aspects of a variety of phenomena\nbased on very general principles and symmetries of the theory. Using the\nMandelstam-Tamm method, TEUR has been recently derived for neutrino\noscillations by connecting the uncertainty on neutrino energy with the\ncharacteristic time-scale of oscillations. Interestingly enough, the suggestive\ninterpretation of neutrinos as unstable-like particles has proved to naturally\nemerge in this context. Further aspects have been later discussed in\nsemiclassical gravity by computing corrections to the neutrino energy\nuncertainty in a generic stationary curved spacetime, and in quantum field\ntheory, where the clock observable turns out to be identified with the\nnon-conserved flavor charge operator. In the present work, we give an overview\non the above achievements. In particular, we analyze the implications of TEUR\nand explore the impact of gravitational and non-relativistic effects on the\nstandard condition for neutrino oscillations.",
        "positive": "Gauged Duality, Conformal Symmetry, and Spacetime with Two Times: We construct a duality between several simple physical systems by showing\nthat they are different aspects of the same quantum theory. Examples include\nthe free relativistic massless particle and the hydrogen atom in any number of\ndimensions. The key is the gauging of the Sp(2) duality symmetry that treats\nposition and momentum (x,p) as a doublet in phase space. As a consequence of\nthe gauging, the Minkowski space-time vectors (x^\\mu, p^\\mu) get enlarged by\none additional space-like and one additional time-like dimensions to (x^M,p^M).\nA manifest global symmetry SO(d,2) rotates (x^M,p^M) like d+2 dimensional\nvectors. The SO(d,2) symmetry of the parent theory may be interpreted as the\nfamiliar conformal symmetry of quantum field theory in Minkowski spacetime in\none gauge, or as the dynamical symmetry of a totally different physical system\nin another gauge. Thanks to the gauge symmetry, the theory permits various\nchoices of ``time'' which correspond to different looking Hamiltonians, while\navoiding ghosts. Thus we demonstrate that there is a physical role for a\nspacetime with two times when taken together with a gauged duality symmetry\nthat produces appropriate constraints."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Composite non-Abelian Flux Tubes in N=2 SQCD: Composite non-Abelian vortices in N=2 supersymmetric U(2) SQCD are\ninvestigated. The internal moduli space of an elementary non-Abelian vortex is\nCP^1. In this paper we find a composite state of two coincident non-Abelian\nvortices explicitly solving the first order BPS equations. Topology of the\ninternal moduli space T is determined in terms of a discrete quotient CP^2/Z_2.\nThe spectrum of physical strings and confined monopoles is discussed.\n  This gives indirect information about the sigma model with target space T.",
        "positive": "Discreteness Of Curved Space-Time From GUP: Diverse theories of Quantum Gravity expect modification of the Heisenberg\nUncertainty Principle near the Planck scale to a so-called Generalized\nUncertainty Principle.It was shown by some authors that the Generalized\nuncertainty principle gives rise to corrections to Schrodinger,Klien-Gordon and\nDirac equations.By solving the Generalized uncertainty principle corrected\nequations,the authors arrived at quantization not only of energy but also of\nbox length,area and volume. We extend the above result to the case of curved\nSpace-Time(Schwarzschild metric). We showed that we arrived at the Quantization\nof Space by solving Dirac equation with Generalized uncertainty principle in\nthis metric."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Amplitudes for left-handed strings: We consider a class of string-like models introduced previously where all\nmodes are left-handed, all states are massless, T-duality is manifest, and only\na finite number of orders in the string tension can appear. These theories\narise from standard string theories by a singular gauge limit and associated\nchange in worldsheet boundary conditions. In this paper we show how to\ncalculate amplitudes by using the gauge parameter as an infrared regulator. The\namplitudes produce the Cachazo-He-Yuan delta-functions after some modular\nintegration; the Mason-Skinner string-like action and amplitudes arise from the\nzero-tension (infinite-slope) limit. However, without the limit the amplitudes\nhave the same problems as found in the Mason-Skinner formalism.",
        "positive": "Local Entropy Current in Higher Curvature Gravity and Rindler\n  Hydrodynamics: In the hydrodynamic regime of field theories the entropy is upgraded to a\nlocal entropy current. The entropy current is constructed phenomenologically\norder by order in the derivative expansion by requiring that its divergence is\nnon-negative. In the framework of the fluid/gravity correspondence, the entropy\ncurrent of the fluid is mapped to a vector density associated with the event\nhorizon of the dual geometry. In this work we consider the local horizon\nentropy current for higher-curvature gravitational theories proposed in\narXiv:1202.2469, whose flux for stationary solutions is the Wald entropy. In\nnon-stationary cases this definition contains ambiguities, associated with\nabsence of a preferred timelike Killing vector. We argue that these ambiguities\ncan be eliminated in general by choosing the vector that generates the subset\nof diffeomorphisms preserving a natural gauge condition on the bulk metric. We\nstudy a dynamical, perturbed Rindler horizon in Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet gravity\nsetting and compute the bulk dual solution to second order in fluid gradients.\nWe show that the corresponding unambiguous entropy current at second order has\na manifestly non-negative divergence."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Singular soliton solution in the Chern-Simons-CP(1) model: We show that the Chern-Simons-CP(1) model can support a singular soliton\nsolution in which the magnetic field is a Dirac delta.",
        "positive": "Charged rotating black holes in dilaton gravity: We consider charged black holes with curved horizons, in five dimensional\ndilaton gravity in the presence of Liouville-type potential for the dilaton\nfield. We show how, by solving a pair of coupled differential equations,\ninfinitesimally small angular momentum can be added to these static solutions\nto obtain charged rotating dilaton black hole solutions. In the absence of\ndilaton field, the non-rotating version of the solution reduces to the five\ndimensional Reissner-Nordstr\\\"{o}m black hole, and the rotating version\nreproduces the five dimensional Kerr-Newman modification thereof for small\nrotation parameter. We also compute the angular momentum and the angular\nvelocity of these rotating black holes which appear at the first order."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Scales of the Infrared: In theories with long-range forces like QED or perturbative gravity, loop\ncorrections lead to vanishing amplitudes. There are two well-known procedures\nto address these infrared divergences: dressing of asymptotic states and\ninclusion of soft emission. Although both yield the same IR-finite rates, we\npoint out that they are not equivalent since they encode different infrared\nscales. In particular, dressing states are independent of the resolution scale\nof radiation. Instead, they define radiative vacua in the von Neumann space.\nAfter a review of these concepts, the goal of this paper is to present a\ncombined formalism that can simultaneously describe both dressing and\nradiation. This unified approach allows us to tackle the problem of quantum\ndecoherence due to tracing over unresolved radiation. We obtain an IR-finite\ndensity matrix with non-vanishing off-diagonal elements and estimate how its\npurity depends on scattering kinematics and the resolution scale. Along the\nway, we comment on collinear divergences as well as the connection of large\ngauge transformations and dressing.",
        "positive": "Towards a violation of cosmic censorship: Numerical evidence suggests that the superradiant instability of Kerr-AdS\nblack holes and \"black resonators\" evolves to smaller and smaller scales\ntowards a \"limiting\" black resonator. Using $AdS_4$ supergravity, we argue that\nthis putative endpoint to the superradiant instability does not exist."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Decoupling of gravity on non-susy D$p$ branes: We study the graviton scattering in the background of non-susy D$p$ branes of\ntype II string theories consisting of a metric, a dilaton and a $(p+1)$ form\ngauge field. We show numerically that in these backgrounds graviton experiences\na scattering potential which takes the form of an infinite barrier in the low\nenergy (near brane) limit for $p\\leq 5$ and therefore is never able to reach\nthe branes. This shows, contrary to what is known in the literature, that\ngravity indeed decouples from the non-susy D$p$ branes for $p \\leq 5$. For\nnon-susy D6 brane, gravity couples as there is no such barrier for the\npotential. To give further credence to our claim we solve the scattering\nequation in some situation analytically and calculate the graviton absorption\ncross-sections on the non-susy branes and show that they vanish for $p \\leq 4$\nin the low energy limit. This shows, as in the case of BPS branes, that gravity\ndoes decouple for non-susy D$p$ branes for $p\\leq 4$ but it does not decouple\nfor D6 brane as the potential here is always attractive. We argue for the\nnon-susy D5 brane that depending on one of the parameters of the solution\ngravity either always decouples (unlike the BPS D5 brane) or it decouples when\nthe energy of the graviton is below certain critical value, otherwise it\ncouples, very similar to BPS D5 brane.",
        "positive": "Clifford Algebras, Supersymmetry and $Z_n-$symmetries: Applications in\n  Field Theory: After a short introduction on Clifford algebras of polynomials, we give a\ngeneral method of constructing a matrix representation. This process of\nlinearization leads naturally to two fundamental structures: the generalized\nClifford algebra (GCA) and the generalized Grassmann algebra (GGA) which are\nstudied. Then, it is proved that if we equip the GGA with a differential\nstructure, we obtain the $q-$deformed Heisenberg algebra or the\n$q-$oscillators. Finally, it is shown that the $q-$deformed Heisenberg algebra\nis the basic tool to define an adapted superspace leading to the extension of\nsupersymmetry called fractional supersymmetry of order $F$ (FSUSY), $F=2$\ncorresponding to the usual supersymmetry. Local FSUSY in one dimension is then\ncontructed in the world-line formalism, and an extension of the Dirac equation\nis obtained. In two dimensions, it turns out that FSUSY is a conformal field\ntheory and in addition to the stress energy tensor, a supercurrent of conformal\nweight $1+1/F$, which generates a symmetry between the primary fields of\nconformal weight $(0,1, \\cdots, 1-1/F$), is obtained. The algebra is explicitly\nconstructed. We also show that in $1+2$ dimensions FSUSY is a non-trivial\nextension of the Poincar\\'e algebra which generates a symmetry among fractional\nspin states or anyons. Unitarity of the representation is checked. Finally, we\nprove that, independently of the dimension, a natural classification emerges\naccording to the decomposition of $F$ as a product of prime numbers and that\nFSUSY is a symmetry which closes non-linearly, and is sustained by mathematical\nstructures that go beyond Lie or super-Lie algebras."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Extended Thermodynamic Properties of Taub-NUT/Bolt-AdS spaces: We investigate the extended thermodynamic properties of higher-dimensional\nTaub-NUT/Bolt-AdS spaces where a cosmological constant is treated as a\npressure. We find a general form for thermodynamic volumes of Taub-NUT/Bolt-AdS\nblack holes for arbitrary dimensions. Interestingly, it is found that the\nTaub-NUT-AdS metric has a thermodynamically stable range when the total number\nof dimensions is a multiple of 4 (4, 8, 12, ...). We also explore their phase\nstructure and find the first order phase transition holds for\nhigher-dimensional cases.",
        "positive": "Phase Space Properties of Local Observables and Structure of Scaling\n  Limits: For any given algebra of local observables in relativistic quantum field\ntheory there exists an associated scaling algebra which permits one to\nintroduce renormalization group transformations and to construct the scaling\n(short distance) limit of the theory. On the basis of this result it is\ndiscussed how the phase space properties of a theory determine the structure of\nits scaling limit. Bounds on the number of local degrees of freedom appearing\nin the scaling limit are given which allow one to distinguish between theories\nwith classical and quantum scaling limits. The results can also be used to\nestablish physically significant algebraic properties of the scaling limit\ntheories, such as the split property."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Analytic bootstrap and Witten diagrams for the ABJM Wilson line as\n  defect CFT$_1$: We study local operator insertions on 1/2-BPS line defects in ABJM theory.\nSpecifically, we consider a class of four-point correlators in the CFT$_1$ with\nSU$(1, 1|3)$ superconformal symmetry defined on the 1/2-BPS Wilson line. The\nrelevant insertions belong to the short supermultiplet containing the\ndisplacement operator and correspond to fluctuations of the dual fundamental\nstring in AdS$_4 \\times \\mathbb{C}\\textrm{P}^3$ ending on the line at the\nboundary. We use superspace techniques to represent the displacement\nsupermultiplet and we show that superconformal symmetry determines the\nfour-point correlators of its components in terms of a single function of the\none-dimensional cross-ratio. Such function is highly constrained by crossing\nand internal consistency, allowing us to use an analytical bootstrap approach\nto find the first subleading correction at strong coupling. Finally, we use\nAdS/CFT to compute the same four-point functions through tree-level AdS$_2$\nWitten diagrams, producing a result that is perfectly consistent with the\nbootstrap solution.",
        "positive": "Holographic Fermi Liquids in a Spontaneously Generated Lattice: We discuss fermions in a spontaneously generated holographic lattice\nbackground. The lattice structure at the boundary is generated by introducing a\nhigher-derivative interaction term between a U(1) gauge field and a scalar\nfield. We solve the equations of motion below the critical temperature at which\nthe lattice forms, and analyze the change in the Fermi surface due to the\nlattice. The fermion band structure is found to exhibit a band gap due to\nlattice effects."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Collective coordinate approximation to the scattering of solitons in the\n  (1+1) dimensional NLS model: We present a collective coordinate approximation to model the dynamics of two\ninteracting nonlinear Schr\\\"odinger (NLS) solitons. We discuss the accuracy of\nthis approximation by comparing our results to those of the full numerical\nsimulations and find that it is remarkably accurate not only when the solitons\nare some distance apart but also during their interaction.",
        "positive": "Poor man's holography: How far can it go?: One of the most exciting things in recent theoretical physics is the\nsuspicion that gravity may be holographic, dual to some sort of quantum field\ntheory living on the boundary with one less dimension. Such a suspicion has\nbeen supported mainly by a variety of specific examples from string theory.\nThis paper is intended to purport the holographic gravity from a different\nperspective. Namely we propose that such a holography can actually be observed\nwithin the context of Einstein's gravity, where neither is spacetime required\nto be asymptotically AdS nor the boundary to be located at conformal infinity.\nWe show that our holography works remarkably well at least at the level of\nthermodynamics and hydrodynamics. In particular, a perfect matching between the\nbulk gravity and boundary system is found not only for the equilibrium\nvariation but also for the non-equilibrium entropy production, where a method\nof conserved current is seen to be efficient in relating the black hole\nperturbation in the bulk gravity and the non-equilibrium thermodynamics on the\nboundary."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "One-loop calculations in Lorentz-breaking theories and proper-time\n  method: We discuss applications of the proper-time method in various minimal Lorentz\nviolating modifications of QED and present new results obtained with its use.\nExplicitly. we calculate the complete one-loop Heisenberg-Euler effective\naction involving all orders in $F_{mn}$, for two of the most studied minimal\nLorentz-violating extensions of QED, the one characterized by the axial vector\n$b^m$ and the one involving the second-rank constant tensor $c^{mn}$.",
        "positive": "Quantum gravity without Lorentz invariance: There has been a significant surge of interest in Horava's model for 3+1\ndimensional quantum gravity, this model being based on anisotropic scaling at a\nz=3 Lifshitz point. Horava's model, and its variants, show dramatically\nimproved ultra-violet behaviour at the cost of exhibiting violation of Lorentz\ninvariance at ultra-high momenta. Following up on our earlier note,\n[arXiv:0904.4464 [hep-th]], we discuss in more detail our variant of Horava's\nmodel. In contrast to Horava's original model, we abandon \"detailed balance\"\nand restore parity invariance. We retain, however, Horava's \"projectability\ncondition\" and explore its implications. Under these conditions, we explicitly\nexhibit the most general model, and extract the full classical equations of\nmotion in ADM form. We analyze both spin-2 and spin-0 graviton propagators\naround flat Minkowski space. We furthermore analyze the classical evolution of\nFLRW cosmologies in this model, demonstrating that the higher-derivative\nspatial curvature terms can be used to mimic radiation fluid and stiff matter.\nWe conclude with some observations concerning future prospects."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Radiation of Oscillons: Many classical scalar field theories possess remarkable solutions: coherently\noscillating, localized clumps, known as oscillons. In many cases, the decay\nrate of classical small amplitude oscillons is known to be exponentially\nsuppressed and so they are extremely long lived. In this work we compute the\ndecay rate of quantized oscillons. We find it to be a power law in the\namplitude and couplings of the theory. Therefore, the quantum decay rate is\nvery different to the classical decay rate and is often dominant. We show that\nessentially all oscillons eventually decay by producing outgoing radiation. In\nsingle field theories the outgoing radiation has typically linear growth, while\nif the oscillon is coupled to other bosons the outgoing radiation can have\nexponential growth. The latter is a form of parametric resonance: explosive\nenergy transfer from a localized clump into daughter fields. This may lead to\ninteresting phenomenology in the early universe. Our results are obtained from\na perturbative analysis, a non-perturbative Floquet analysis, and numerics.",
        "positive": "New Kinetic Terms for Massive Gravity and Multi-gravity: A No-Go in\n  Vielbein Form: We reconsider the possibility of a class of new kinetic terms in the first\norder (vielbein) formulation of massive gravity and multi-gravity. We find that\nnew degrees of freedom emerge which are not associated with the Boulware--Deser\nghost and are intrinsic to the vielbein formulation. These new degrees of\nfreedom are associated with the Lorentz transformations which encode the\nadditional variables contained in the vielbein over the metric. Although they\nare not guaranteed to be ghostly, they are nevertheless infinitely strongly\ncoupled on Minkowski spacetime and are not part of the spin-2 multiplet. Hence\ntheir existence implies the uniqueness of the Einstein--Hilbert term as the\nkinetic term for a massive graviton."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Unitary and Vilenkin's wave functions: It is remarkably difficult to reconcile unitary and Vilenkin's wave function.\nFor example, the natural conserved inner product found in quantum unimodular\ngravity applies to the Hartle-Hawking wave function, but fails for its Vilenkin\ncounterpart. We diagnose this failure from different angles (Laplace transform\ninstead of Fourier transform, non-Hermiticity of the Hamiltonian, etc) to\nconclude that ultimately it stems from allowing the connection to become\nimaginary in a section of its contour. In turn this is the unavoidable\nconsequence of representing the Euclidean theory as an imaginary image within a\nfundamentally Lorentzian theory. It is nonetheless possible to change the\nunderlying theory and replace the connection's foray into the imaginary axis by\nan actual signature change (with the connection, action and Hamiltonian\nremaining real). The structural obstacles to unitarity are then removed, but\nspecial care must still be taken, because the Euclidean theory {\\it a priori}\nhas boundaries, so that appropriate boundary conditions are required for\nunitarity. Reflecting boundary conditions would reinstate a Hartle-Hawking-like\nsolution in the Lorentzian regime. To exclude an incoming wave in the\nLorentzian domain one must allow a semi-infinite tower of spheres in the\nEuclidean region, wave packets travelling through successive spheres for half\nan eternity in unimodular time. Such \"Sisyphus\" boundary condition no longer\neven vaguely resembles Vilenkin's original proposal.",
        "positive": "A derivation of Weyl gravity: In this paper, two things are done. (i) Using cohomological techniques, we\nexplore the consistent deformations of linearized conformal gravity in 4\ndimensions. We show that the only possibility involving no more than 4\nderivatives of the metric (i.e., terms of the form $\\partial^4 g_{\\mu \\nu}$,\n$\\partial^3 g_{\\mu \\nu} \\partial g_{\\alpha \\beta}$, $\\partial^2 g_{\\mu \\nu}\n\\partial^2g_{\\alpha \\beta}$, $\\partial^2 g_{\\mu \\nu} \\partial g_{\\alpha \\beta}\n\\partial g_{\\rho \\sigma}$ or $\\partial g_{\\mu \\nu} \\partial g_{\\alpha \\beta}\n\\partial g_{\\rho \\sigma} \\partial g_{\\gamma \\delta}$ with coefficients that\ninvolve undifferentiated metric components - or terms with less derivatives) is\ngiven by the Weyl action $\\int d^4x \\sqrt{-g} W_{\\a\\b\\g\\d} W^{\\a\\b\\g\\d}$, in\nmuch the same way as the Einstein-Hilbert action describes the only consistent\nmanner to make a Pauli-Fierz massless spin-2 field self-interact with no more\nthan 2 derivatives. No a priori requirement of invariance under diffeomorphisms\nis imposed: this follows automatically from consistency. (ii) We then turn to\n\"multi-Weyl graviton\" theories. We show the impossibility to introduce\ncross-interactions between the different types of Weyl gravitons if one\nrequests that the action reduces, in the free limit, to a sum of linearized\nWeyl actions. However, if different free limits are authorized, cross-couplings\nbecome possible. An explicit example is given. We discuss also how the results\nextend to other spacetime dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Black Tunnels and Hammocks: We construct the holographic duals to a large $N$, strongly coupled\n$\\mathcal{N}=4$ super Yang-Mills conformal field theory defined on a\nfour-dimensional de Sitter-Schwarzschild background. There are two distinct\nfive-dimensional bulk solutions. One, named the black tunnel, is static and\npossesses two disconnected horizons. The other, the black hammock, contains\nonly one horizon in the bulk. The hammock horizon is not a Killing horizon, and\nhence possesses interesting properties, such as non-vanishing expansion and\nshear, as well as allowing classical flow along it. The DeTurck method was used\nin order to attain the black tunnel solutions, whilst the black hammocks were\nfound in Bondi-Sachs gauge.",
        "positive": "Universal BPS structure of stationary supergravity solutions: We study asymptotically flat stationary solutions of four-dimensional\nsupergravity theories via the associated G/H* pseudo-Riemannian non-linear\nsigma models in three spatial dimensions. The Noether charge C associated to G\nis shown to satisfy a characteristic equation that determines it as a function\nof the four-dimensional conserved charges. The matrix C is nilpotent for\nnon-rotating extremal solutions. The nilpotency degree of C is directly related\nto the BPS degree of the corresponding solution when they are BPS.\nEquivalently, the charges can be described in terms of a Weyl spinor |C > of\nSpin*(2N), and then the characteristic equation becomes equivalent to a\ngeneralisation of the Cartan pure spinor constraint on |C>. The invariance of a\ngiven solution with respect to supersymmetry is determined by an algebraic\n`Dirac equation' on the Weyl spinor |C>. We explicitly solve this equation for\nall pure supergravity theories and we characterise the stratified structure of\nthe moduli space of asymptotically Taub-NUT black holes with respect with their\nBPS degree. The analysis is valid for any asymptotically flat stationary\nsolutions for which the singularities are protected by horizons. The H*-orbits\nof extremal solutions are identified as Lagrangian submanifolds of nilpotent\norbits of G, and so the moduli space of extremal spherically symmetric black\nholes as a Lagrangian subvariety of the variety of nilpotent elements of\nLie(G). We also generalise the notion of active duality transformations to an\n`almost action' of the three-dimensional duality group G on asymptotically flat\nstationary solutions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Massless Flows II: the exact S-matrix approach: We study the spectrum, the massless S-matrices and the ground-state energy of\nthe flows between successive minimal models of conformal field theory, and\nwithin the sine-Gordon model with imaginary coefficient of the cosine term\n(related to the minimal models by ``truncation''). For the minimal models, we\nfind exact S-matrices which describe the scattering of massless kinks, and show\nusing the thermodynamic Bethe ansatz that the resulting non-perturbative\nc-function (defined by the Casimir energy on a cylinder) flows appropriately\nbetween the two theories, as conjectured earlier. For the non-unitary\nsine-Gordon model, we find unusual behavior. For the range of couplings we can\nstudy analytically, the natural S-matrix deduced from the minimal one by\n``undoing'' the quantum-group truncation does not reproduce the proper\nc-function with the TBA. It does, however, describe the correct properties of\nthe model in a magnetic field.",
        "positive": "Non-Perturbative Field Theory - From two dimensional conformal field\n  theory to QCD in four dimensions: This note is based on the summary of our book entitled \"Non-perturbative\nfield theoryfrom two dimensional conformal field theory to QCD in four\ndimensions\", published recently by Cambridge University Press. It includes 436\npages.\n  The book provides a detailed description of the tool box of non-perturbative\ntechniques, presents applications of them to simplified systems, mainly of\ngauge dynamics in two dimensions, and examines the lessons one can learn from\nthose systems about four dimensional QCD and hadron physics.\n  In particular the book deals with conformal invariance, integrability,\nbosonization, large N, solitons in two dimensions and monopoles and instantons\nin four dimensions, confinement versus screening and finally the hadronic\nspectrum and scattering.\n  We also attach the table of contents and the list of references of the book.\n  We would be grateful for any comments or suggestions related to the material\nin the book. These may be incorporated in a possible future edition. They may\nbe sent via the e-mails below."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Coupling Fields to 3D Quantum Gravity via Chern-Simons Theory: We propose a mechanism that couples matter fields to three-dimensional\nquantum gravity, which can be used for theories with a positive or negative\ncosmological constant. Our proposal is rooted in the Chern-Simons formulation\nof three-dimensional gravity and makes use of the Wilson spool, a collection of\nWilson loops winding around closed paths of the background. We show that the\nWilson spool correctly reproduces the one-loop determinant of a free massive\nscalar field on rotating black holes in AdS$_3$ and Euclidean dS$_3$ as $G_N\\to\n0$. Moreover, we describe how to incorporate quantum metric fluctuations into\nthis formalism.",
        "positive": "Thermal transport and quasi-normal modes in Gauss-Bonnet-axions theory: We obtain the black brane solution in arbitrary dimensional\nGauss-Bonnet-axions (GBA) gravity theory. And then the thermal conductivity of\nthe boundary theory dual to this neutral black brane is explored. We find that\nthe momentum dissipation suppresses the DC thermal conductivity while it is\nenhanced by larger GB parameter. The analytical and numerical results of DC\nthermal conductivity match very well. Also we study the effect of the momentum\ndissipation and the GB coupling on the AC thermal conductivity and fit the\nresults by Drude-like behavior for low frequency. Finally, we analytical\ncompute the quasi-normal modes (QNM) frequency of the perturbative master field\nin large dimensions limit. Our analytical QNM frequencies agree well with the\nnumerical results in large enough finite dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Cosmology Quantized in Cosmic Time: This paper discusses the problem of inflation in the context of\nFriedmann-Robertson-Walker Cosmology. We show how, after a simple change of\nvariables, to quantize the problem in a way which parallels the classical\ndiscussion. The result is that two of the Einstein equations arise as exact\nequations of motion and one of the usual Einstein equations (suitably\nquantized) survives as a constraint equation to be imposed on the space of\nphysical states. However, the Friedmann equation, which is also a constraint\nequation and which is the basis of the Wheeler-deWitt equation, acquires a\nwelcome quantum correction that becomes significant for small scale factors. To\nclarify the general formalism and explicitly show why we choose to weaken the\nstatement of the Wheeler-deWitt equation, we apply the general formalism to de\nSitter space. After exactly solving the relevant Heisenberg equations of motion\nwe give a detailed discussion of the subtleties associated with defining\nphysical states and the emergence of the classical theory. This computation\nprovides the striking result that quantum corrections to this long wavelength\nlimit of gravity eliminate the problem of the {\\it big crunch}. We also show\nthat the same corrections lead to possibly measurable effects on the CMB\nradiation. For the sake of completeness, we discuss the special case,\n$\\Lambda=0$, and its relation to Minkowski space. Finally, we suggest\ninteresting ways in which these techniques can be generalized to cast light on\nthe question of chaotic or eternal inflation. In particular, we suggest one can\nput an experimental lower bound on the distance to a universe with a scale\nfactor very different from our own, by looking at its effects on our CMB\nradiation.",
        "positive": "Three Point Functions on the Sphere of Calabi-Yau d-Folds: Using mirror symmetry in Calabi-Yau manifolds M, three point functions of\nA(M)-model operators on the genus $0$ Riemann surface in cases of one-parameter\nfamilies of $d$-folds realized as Fermat type hypersurfaces embedded in\nweighted projective spaces and a two-parameter family of $d$-fold embedded in a\nweighted projective space ${\\amb}$ are studied. These three point functions\n${\\corr{\\,{{\\cal O}^{(1)}_{a}}\\, {{\\cal O}^{(l-1)}_{b}}\\, {{\\cal\nO}^{(d-l)}_{c}}\\, }}$ are expanded by indeterminates ${q_l}$=${e^{2\\pi i\n{t_l}}}$ associated with a set of {\\kae} coordinates $\\{{t_l}\\}$ and their\nexpansion coefficients count the number of maps. From these analyses, we can\nread fusion structure of Calabi-Yau A(M)-model operators. In our cases they\nconstitute a subring of a total quantum cohomology ring of the A(M)-model\noperators. In fact we switch off all perturbation operators on the topological\ntheories except for marginal ones associated with {\\kae} forms of M. For that\nreason, the charge conservation of operators turns out to be a classical one."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Physical States in G/G Models and 2d Gravity: An analysis of the BRST cohomology of the G/G topological models is performed\nfor the case of $A_1^{(1)}$. Invoking a special free field parametrization of\nthe various currents, the cohomology on the corresponding Fock space is\nextracted. We employ the singular vector structure and fusion rules to\ntranslate the latter into the cohomology on the space of irreducible\nrepresentations. Using the physical states we calculate the characters and\npartition function, and verify the index interpretation. We twist the\nenergy-momentum tensor to establish an intriguing correspondence between the\n${SL(2)\\over SL(2)}$ model with level $k={p\\over q}-2$ and $(p,q)$ models\ncoupled to gravity.",
        "positive": "Lagrange Multiplier Modified Horava-Lifshitz Gravity: We consider RFDiff invariant Horava-Lifshitz gravity action with additional\nLagrange multiplier term that is a function of scalar curvature. We find its\nHamiltonian formulation and we show that the constraint structure implies the\nsame number of physical degrees of freedom as in General Relativity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Non-Linear W-Infinity Symmetry of Generalized Liouville and Conformal\n  Toda Models: Invariance under non-linear ${\\sf {\\hat W}}_{\\infty}$ algebra is shown for\nthe two-boson Liouville type of model and its algebraic generalizations, the\nextended conformal Toda models. The realization of the corresponding generators\nin terms of two boson currents within KP hierarchy is presented.",
        "positive": "Supersymmetric phases of finite-temperature strings II: It was recently proposed that there exist stable supersymmetric phases for\nfinite temperature superstings. This issue was investigated using an effective\nsupergravity which takes into account massive winding modes. Such a theory\nadmits BPS solutions that do not suffer from Hagedorn-type instabilities. We\nextend several aspects of this work. First we restrict to the real-field sector\nof the theory and allow, in general, for unequal right and left winding fields.\nThen, by further specializing to type-II theories (IIA, IIB and a self-dual\nhybrid) we construct the most general 1/2-BPS solution and reveal several new\nfeatures arising in various consistent truncations. In the heterotic case we\ninvestigate the general properties of the solution which is presented in a\nclosed form in the limit of infinitely large left-winding field."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "ABJM models in N=3 harmonic superspace: We construct the classical action of the Aharony-Bergman-Jafferis-Maldacena\n(ABJM) model in the N=3, d=3 harmonic superspace. In such a formulation three\nout of six supersymmetries are realized off shell while the other three mix the\nsuperfields and close on shell. The superfield action involves two\nhypermultiplet superfields in the bifundamental representation of the gauge\ngroup and two Chern-Simons gauge superfields corresponding to the left and\nright gauge groups. The N=3 superconformal invariance allows only for a minimal\ngauge interaction of the hypermultiplets. Amazingly, the correct sextic scalar\npotential of ABJM emerges after the elimination of auxiliary fields. Besides\nthe original U(N)xU(N) ABJM model, we also construct N=3 superfield\nformulations of some generalizations. For the SU(2)xSU(2) case we give a simple\nsuperfield proof of its enhanced N=8 supersymmetry and SO(8) R-symmetry.",
        "positive": "The ZZ annulus one-point function in non-critical string theory: A\n  string field theory analysis: We compute the ZZ annulus one-point function of the cosmological constant\noperator in non-critical string theory, regulating divergences from the\nboundaries of moduli space using string field theory. We identify a subtle\nissue in a previous analysis of these divergences, which was done in the\ncontext of the $c=1$ string theory, and where it had led to a mismatch with the\nprediction from the dual matrix quantum mechanics. After fixing this issue, we\nfind a precise match to the expected answer in both the $c<1$ and $c=1$ cases.\nWe also compute the disk two-point function, which is a quantity of the same\norder, and show that it too matches with the general prediction."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the geometry and quantum theory of regular and singular spinors: We relate the Lounesto classification of regular and singular spinors to the\norbits of the $Spin(3,1)$ group in the space of Dirac spinors. We find that\nregular spinors are associated with the principal orbits of the spin group\nwhile singular spinors are associated with special orbits whose isotropy group\nis $C$. We use this to clarify some aspects of the classical and quantum theory\nof spinors restricted to a class in this classification. In particular, we show\nthat the degrees of freedom of an ELKO field, which has been proposed as a\ncandidate for dark matter, can be reexpressed as a Dirac field preserving\nlocality. We also propose an interacting Lagrangian which can consistently\ndescribe all 6 classes of regular and singular spinors.",
        "positive": "S-foldings of 5d SCFTs: We explore the $\\mathbb{Z}_{2,3,4,6}$ S-foldings of some 5d superconformal\nfield theories from the $(p,q)$ 5-brane web perspective. The S-folding involves\nboth a spatial quotient and an $\\mathrm{SL}(2,\\mathbb{Z})$ transformation on\n5-branes simultaneously. The $\\mathbb{Z}_{2,3,4,6}$ S-foldings are achieved by\nthe insertion of the $D_4, E_6, E_7, E_8$ 7-branes, respectively. The deficit\nangles and monodromies of these 7-branes are exactly those necessary for the\nS-foldings. We explore the details of the S-folding process, especially the\nenhancement of global flavor symmetry in various simple cases. The\ncharacteristic of the S-folding depends sharply on whether the fixed point of\nthe discrete symmetry is at the center of a compact face (or surface), at a\n5-brane, or at a crossing point of 5 branes. The analysis of the prepotential\ngreatly supports this view of the discrete gauging."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dissipation of the String Embedding Dimension in the Singlet Sector of a\n  Matrix Model at Large $\u03b1^\\prime$: The one dimensional Fermi gas of matrix eigenvalues of the Marinari-Parisi\nmodel at positive values of the cosmological constant is generalised.The number\nof matrix eigenvalues (i.e. gas particles) is varied while keeping the\neffective potential fixed. This model exhibits a transition from a phase whose\ncontinuum behaviour is that of $c=1$ conformal matter coupled to gravity to the\nwell known pure gravity phase of the original model.The former phase is\ncharacter- ised by an extremely large Regge slope $\\alpha^\\prime$ which scales\nas $\\beta^{2/5}$ causing the scaling regions of the two phases to overlap. In\nthis way a continuous flow from one phase to the other is made poss- ible. This\nphase transition occurs in the singlet sector of the matrix model. The density\nof states and the two puncture correlator at non zero momenta are calculated on\nthe sphere and are found to behave very differ- ently in the two phases,a fact\nwhich demonstrates the phase transition. We comment on a possible relation\nbetween this transition and large \\alpha^\\prime$ semiclassical expansions in\nthe continuum.",
        "positive": "Fermionic Casimir effect in an external magnetic field: The influence of an external constant uniform magnetic field on the Casimir\nenergy density of a Dirac field under antiperiodic (and periodic) boundary\ncondition is computed by applying Schwinger's proper time method. The result\nthus obtained shows that in principle, under suitable conditions, the magnetic\nfield can enhance the fermionic Casimir energy density."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Harmonic Superspaces and Superconformal Fields: Representations of four-dimensional superconformal groups on harmonic\nsuperfields are discussed. It is argued that any representation can be given as\na superfield on many superflag manifolds. Representations on analytic\nsuperspaces do not require constraints. We discuss short representations and\nhow to obtain them as explicit products of fundamental fields. We also discuss\nsuperfields that transform under supergroups.",
        "positive": "Janus on the Brane: We present a non-supersymmetric deformation of probe branes describing\nconformal defects of codimension two in AdS/CFT. The worldvolume of the probe\nbranes is deformed from $AdS_{p}\\times S^1$ embedded in an $AdS_{p+2} \\times\n\\mathcal M^{D-p-2}$ background to an embedding of Janus form, which uses an\n$AdS_{p-1}$ slicing of $AdS_p$ and in which the brane bends along the slicing\ncoordinate. In field theory terms this realizes conformal interfaces on\ncodimension-two defects. We discuss these \"Janus on the brane\" solutions for\n$AdS_3\\times S^1$ D3-branes in the $AdS_5\\times S^5$ solution of Type IIB,\nrealizing interfaces on surface defects in $\\mathcal N=4$ SYM, and show that\nsimilar solutions exist for probe branes in $AdS_{p+2}\\times S^{9-p}$ vacua of\nM-theory and in the $AdS_6\\times S^4$ solution of massive Type IIA."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Induced Einstein gravity from infinite towers of states: We consider four-dimensional quadratic gravity coupled to infinite towers of\nfree massive scalar fields, Weyl fermions and vector bosons. We find that for\nspecific numbers of towers, finite cosmological and Newton constants are\ninduced in the 1-loop effective action. This is derived both in Adler's\napproach and by using the heat kernel method, which yield identical results. If\nthe infinite number of massive states may be regarded as Kaluza--Klein modes\narising from fields in higher dimensions, there are no Kaluza--Klein states\nassociated with the four-dimensional graviton. Hence gravity is intrinsically\nfour-dimensional.",
        "positive": "F-theory and AdS_3/CFT_2: We construct supersymmetric AdS_3 solutions in F-theory, that is Type IIB\nsupergravity with varying axio-dilaton, which are holographically dual to 2d\nN=(0,4) superconformal field theories with small superconformal algebra. In\nF-theory these arise from D3-branes wrapped on curves in the base of an\nelliptically fibered Calabi-Yau threefold Y_3 and correspond to strings in the\n6d N=(1,0) theory obtained from F-theory on Y_3. The non-trivial fibration over\nthe wrapped curves implies a varying coupling of the N=4 Super-Yang-Mills\ntheory on the D3-branes. We compute the holographic central charges and show\nthat these agree with the field theory and with the anomalies of self-dual\nstrings in 6d. We complement our analysis with a discussion of the dual\nM-theory solutions and a comparison of the central charges."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Python's Lunches in Jackiw-Teitelboim gravity with matter: We study Python's lunch geometries in the two-dimensional Jackiw-Teitelboim\nmodel coupled to a massless scalar field in the semiclassical limit. We show\nthat all extrema including the minimal quantum extremal surface, bulges and\nappetizers lie inside the horizon. We obtain fully back-reacted general bulk\nsolutions with a massless scalar field, which can be understood as deformations\nof black holes. The temperatures of the left/right black holes become in\ngeneral different from each other. Moreover, in the presence of both state and\nsource deformations at the same time, the asymptotic black hole spacetime is\nfurther excited from that of the vacuum solution. We provide\ninformation-theoretic interpretation of deformed geometries including Python's\nlunches, minimal quantum extremal surface and appetizers according to the\nentanglement wedge reconstruction hypothesis. By considering the restricted\ncircuit complexity associated with Python's lunch geometries and the operator\ncomplexity of the Petz map reconstructing a code space operation, we show that\nthe observational probability of Python's lunch degrees of freedom from the\nboundary is exponentially suppressed. Thus, any bulk causality violation\neffects related with Python's lunch degrees are suppressed nonperturbatively.",
        "positive": "Estimation for Entanglement Negativity of Free Fermions: In this letter we study the negativity of one dimensional free fermions. We\nderive the general form of the $\\mathbb{Z}_{N}$ symmetric term in moments of\nthe partial transposed (reduced) density matrix, which is an algebraic function\nof the end points of the system. Such a path integral turns out to be a\nconvenient tool for making estimations for the negativity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The component structure of conformal supergravity invariants in six\n  dimensions: In the recent paper arXiv:1606.02921, the two invariant actions for 6D\n$N=(1,0)$ conformal supergravity were constructed in superspace, corresponding\nto the supersymmetrization of $C^3$ and $C\\Box C$. In this paper, we provide\nthe translation from superspace to the component formulation of superconformal\ntensor calculus, and we give the full component actions of these two\ninvariants. As a second application, we build the component form for the\nsupersymmetric $F\\Box F$ action coupled to conformal supergravity. Exploiting\nthe fact that the $N=(2,0)$ Weyl multiplet has a consistent truncation to\n$N=(1,0)$, we then verify that there is indeed only a single $N=(2,0)$\nconformal supergravity invariant and reconstruct most of its bosonic terms by\nuplifting a certain linear combination of $N=(1,0)$ invariants.",
        "positive": "Vortex-Strings in N=2 SQCD and Bulk-String Decoupling: We study vortex-strings in four-dimensional N=2 supersymmetric SU(Nc)xU(1)\ngauge theories with Nf hypermultiplets in the fundamental representation of\nSU(Nc) and general U(1) charges. If Nf>Nc, the vacuum is not gapped and the\nlow-energy theory contains both the vacuum massless excitations and the string\nzero-modes. The question we address in this work is whether the vacuum and the\nstring moduli decouple at low energies, allowing a description of the\nlow-energy dynamics in terms of a two-dimensional theory on the string\nworldsheet. We find a simple condition controlling the bulk-string coupling: If\nthere exist two flavors such that the product of their U(1) charge difference\nwith the magnetic flux carried by the string configuration is not an integer\nmultiple of 2\\pi, the string has zero-modes that decay slower than 1/r, where r\nis the radial distance from the string core. These modes are coupled to the\nvacuum massless excitations even at low energies. If, however, all such\nproducts are integer multiples of 2\\pi, long-range modes of this type do not\nexist and the string moduli decouple from the bulk at low energies. This\ncondition turns out to coincide with the condition of trivial Aharonov-Bohm\nphases for the particles in the spectrum. In addition to a derivation of the\nbulk-string decoupling criterion using classical analysis of the string\nzero-modes, we provide a non-perturbative derivation of the criterion, which\nuses supersymmetric localization techniques."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "log(M_Pl/m_3/2): Flux compactifications of string theory seem to require the presence of a\nfine-tuned constant in the superpotential. We discuss a scheme where this\nconstant is replaced by a dynamical quantity which we argue to be a `continuous\nChern--Simons term'. In such a scheme, the gaugino condensate generates the\nhierarchically small scale of supersymmetry breakdown rather than adjusting its\nsize to a constant. A crucial ingredient is the appearance of the\nhierarchically small quantity exp(-<X>) which corresponds to the scale of\ngaugino condensation. Under rather general circumstances, this leads to a\nscenario of moduli stabilization, which is endowed with a hierarchy between the\nmass of the lightest modulus, the gravitino mass and the scale of the soft\nterms, m_modulus ~ <X> m_3/2 ~ <X>^2 m_soft. The `little hierarchy' <X> is\ngiven by the logarithm of the ratio of the Planck scale and the gravitino mass,\n<X> ~ log(M_Pl/m_3/2) ~ 4pi^2. This exhibits a new mediation scheme of\nsupersymmetry breakdown, called mirage mediation. We highlight the special\nproperties of the scheme, and their consequences for phenomenology and\ncosmology.",
        "positive": "Response to criticism on \"Ruling Out Primordial Black Hole Formation\n  From Single-Field Inflation'': A note on bispectrum and one-loop correction\n  in single-field inflation with primordial black hole formation: Primordial black holes (PBHs) can be formed from the collapse of\nlarge-amplitude perturbation on small scales in the early universe. Such an\nenhanced spectrum can be realized by introducing a flat region in the potential\nof single-field inflation, which makes the inflaton go into a temporary\nultraslow-roll (USR) period. In this paper, we calculate the bispectrum of\ncurvature perturbation in such a scenario. We explicitly confirm that\nbispectrum satisfies Maldacena's theorem. At the end of the USR period, the\nbispectrum is generated by bulk interaction and field redefinition. At the end\nof inflation, bispectrum is generated only by bulk interaction. We also\ncalculate the one-loop correction to the power spectrum from the bispectrum,\ncalled the source method. We find it consistent with the calculation of\none-loop correction from the second-order expansion of in-in perturbation\ntheory. In the last section of this paper, we write our response to criticism\nto our letter [arXiv:2211.03395] by [arXiv:2301.00599]. We argue that the\ncriticism is based on the incorrect use of Maldacena's theorem. After fixing\nsuch a mistake, we show that the one-loop correction in our letter is\nreproduced in the source method as well. This confirms our letter's conclusion\nthat rules out PBH formation from single-field inflation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "QCD-like properties for anomalous dimensions in N=4 SYM: In this contribution it is shown how closed formulas for anomalous dimensions\nof two classes of operators in N=4 SYM can be derived, either by investigating\nthe numerics or on the basis of QCD-inspired assumptions. We discuss the case\nof twist three \"gauge\" operators in which a complete proof of reciprocity can\nbe carried out.",
        "positive": "D-brane Construction of the 5D NHEK Dual: Extremal but non-supersymmetric charged black holes with SU(2)_L spin in IIB\nstring theory compactified to five dimensions on K^3 x S^1 are considered.\nThese have a near-horizon or NHEK region with an enhanced SL(2,R)_L conformal\nsymmetry. It is shown that the NHEK geometry has a second, inequivalent,\nasymptotically flat extension in which the radius of the S^1 becomes infinite\nbut the radius of the angular circles of SU(2)_L orbits approach a constant.\nThe asymptotic charges associated to the second solution identify it as a 5D\nD1-D5-Taub-NUT black string with certain nonzero worldvolume charge densities,\ntemperatures and chemical potentials. The dual of the NHEK geometry is then\nidentified as an IR limit of this wrapped brane configuration."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Scalar current of created pairs by Schwinger mechanism in de Sitter\n  spacetime: We consider a charged scalar field in a $D$-dimensional de Sitter spacetime\nand investigate pair creation by a Schwinger mechanism in a constant electric\nfield background. Using a semiclassical approximation the current of the\ncreated pairs has been estimated. We find that the semiclassical current of the\ncreated pairs in the strong electric field limit responds as $E^{\\frac{D}{2}}$.\nGoing further but restricting to $D=3$ dimensional de Sitter spacetime, the\nquantum expectation value of the spacelike component of the induced current has\nbeen computed in the in-vacuum state by applying an adiabatic subtraction\nscheme. We find that, in the strong electric field limit, the current responds\nas $E^{\\frac{3}{2}}$. In the weak electric field limit the current has a linear\nresponse in $E$ and an inverse dependence on the mass of the scalar field. In\nthe case of a massless scalar field, the current varies with $E^{-1}$ which\nleads to a phenomenon of infrared hyperconductivity. A new relation between\ninfrared hyperconductivity, tachyons, and conformality is discussed, and a\nscheme to avoid an infrared hyperconductivity regime is proposed. In $D$\ndimension, we eventually presented some first estimates of the backreaction of\nthe Schwinger pairs to the gravitational field, and we find a decrease of the\nHubble constant due to the pair creation.",
        "positive": "Minimal solution of the AdS/CFT crossing equation: We solve explicitly the crossing equation under sufficiently general\nassumptions on the structure of the dressing phase. We obtain the BES/BHL\ndressing phase as a minimal solution of the crossing equation and identify the\npossible CDD factors."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Positive Geometry of Conformal Field Theory: It has long been clear that the conformal bootstrap is associated with a rich\ngeometry. In this paper we undertake a systematic exploration of this geometric\nstructure as an object of study in its own right. We study conformal blocks for\nthe minimal SL(2,R) symmetry present in conformal field theories in all\ndimensions. Unitarity demands that the Taylor coefficients of the four-point\nfunction lie inside a polytope U determined by the operator spectrum, while\ncrossing demands they lie on a plane X. The conformal bootstrap is then\ngeometrically interpreted as demanding a non-empty intersection of U and X. We\nfind that the conformal blocks enjoy a surprising positive determinant\nproperty. This implies that U is an example of a famous polytope -- the cyclic\npolytope. The face structure of cyclic polytopes is completely understood. This\nlets us fully characterize the intersection U and X by a simple combinatorial\nrule, leading to a number of new exact statements about the spectrum and\nfour-point function in any conformal field theory.",
        "positive": "On correlation functions of BPS operators in $3d$ $\\mathcal{N}=6$\n  superconformal theories: We introduce a novel harmonic superspace for $3d$ $\\mathcal{N}=6$\nsuperconformal field theories that is tailor made for the study of correlation\nfunctions of BPS operators. We calculate a host of two- and three-point\nfunctions in full generality and put strong constraints on the form of\nfour-point functions of some selected BPS multiplets. For the four-point\nfunction of $\\frac{1}{2}$-BPS operators we obtain the associated Ward\nidentities by imposing the absence of harmonic singularities. The latter imply\nthe existence of a solvable subsector in which the correlator becomes\ntopological. This mechanism can be explained by cohomological reduction with\nrespect to a special nilpotent supercharge."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Structure of n-Point One-Loop Open Superstring Amplitudes: In this article we present the worldsheet integrand for one-loop amplitudes\nin maximally supersymmetric superstring theory involving any number n of\nmassless open string states. The polarization dependence is organized into the\nsame BRST invariant kinematic combinations which also govern the leading string\ncorrection to tree level amplitudes. The dimensions of the bases for both the\nkinematics and the associated worldsheet integrals is found to be the unsigned\nStirling number S_3^{n-1} of first kind. We explain why the same combinatorial\nstructures govern on the one hand finite one-loop amplitudes of equal helicity\nstates in pure Yang Mills theory and on the other hand the color tensors at\nquadratic alpha prime order of the color dressed tree amplitude.",
        "positive": "Non-unitary Conformal Field Theory and Logarithmic Operators for\n  Disordered Systems: We consider the supersymmetric approach to gaussian disordered systems like\nthe random bond Ising model and Dirac model with random mass and random\npotential. These models appeared in particular in the study of the integer\nquantum Hall transition. The supersymmetric approach reveals an osp(2/2)_1\naffine symmetry at the pure critical point. A similar symmetry should hold at\nother fixed points. We apply methods of conformal field theory to determine the\nconformal weights at all levels. These weights can generically be negative\nbecause of non-unitarity. Constraints such as locality allow us to quantize the\nlevel k and the conformal dimensions. This provides a class of (possibly\ndisordered) critical points in two spatial dimensions. Solving the\nKnizhnik-Zamolodchikov equations we obtain a set of four-point functions which\nexhibit a logarithmic dependence. These functions are related to logarithmic\noperators. We show how all such features have a natural setting in the\nsuperalgebra approach as long as gaussian disorder is concerned."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Dilogarithm: A quantum generalization of Rogers' five term, or ``pentagon'' dilogarithm\nidentity is suggested. It is shown that the classical limit gives usual Rogers'\nidentity. The case where the quantum identity is realized in finite dimensional\nspace is also considered and the quantum dilogarithm is constructed as a\nfunction on Fermat curve, while the identity itself is equivalent to the\nrestricted star-triangle relation introduced by Bazhanov and Baxter.",
        "positive": "Gaugino mass in AdS space: We study supersymmetric QED in AdS4 with massless matter. At 1-loop the\nultra-violet regulator of the theory generates a contribution to the gaugino\nmass that is naively inconsistent with unbroken supersymmetry. We show that\nthis effect, known in flat space as anomaly mediated supersymmetry breaking, is\nrequired to cancel an infra-red contribution arising from the boundary\nconditions in AdS space, which necessarily break chiral symmetry. We also\ndiscuss an analogous UV/IR cancellation that is independent of supersymmetry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Conformal invariance in 2-dimensional discrete field theory: A discretized massless wave equation in two dimensions, on an appropriately\nchosen square lattice, exactly reproduces the solutions of the corresponding\ncontinuous equations. We show that the reason for this exact solution property\nis the discrete analog of conformal invariance present in the model, and find\nmore general field theories on a two-dimensional lattice that exactly solve\ntheir continuous limit equations. These theories describe in general\nnon-linearly coupled bosonic and fermionic fields and are similar to the\nWess-Zumino-Witten model.",
        "positive": "A Generic Renormalization Method in Curved Spaces and at Finite\n  Temperature: Based only on simple principles of renormalization in coordinate space, we\nderive closed renormalized amplitudes and renormalization group constants at 1-\nand 2-loop orders for scalar field theories in general backgrounds. This is\nachieved through a generic renormalization procedure we develop exploiting the\ncentral idea behind differential renormalization, which needs as only inputs\nthe propagator and the appropriate laplacian for the backgrounds in question.\nWe work out this generic coordinate space renormalization in some detail, and\nsubsequently back it up with specific calculations for scalar theories both on\ncurved backgrounds, manifestly preserving diffeomorphism invariance, and at\nfinite temperature."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Emergent symmetry and free energy: Just as spontaneous symmetry breaking can be understood in terms of energy,\nemergent symmetry (more precisely, its `size' and structure) can also be\nexplained by free energy. In particular, in renormalization group flow to\nrational conformal field theory, we find infrared symmetry category is realized\nby consistent modular tensor category with minimal free energy. For\ndemonstration, we study non-unitary theories.",
        "positive": "Approaching quantum behavior with classical fields: By averaging over an ensemble of field configurations, a classical field\ntheory can display many of the characteristics of quantum field theory,\nincluding Lorentz invariance, a loop expansion, and renormalization effects.\nThere is additional freedom in how the ensemble is chosen. When the field mode\namplitudes have a Gaussian distribution, and the mode phases are randomly\ndistributed, we review the known differences between the classical and quantum\ntheories. When the mode amplitudes are fixed, or have a nongaussian\ndistribution, the quartic and higher correlations among the free fields are\nmodified, seemingly in a nonlocal way. We show how this in turn affects the\nperturbative expansion. We focus on $\\lambda\\phi^4$ theory in 1+1 dimensions\nand use lattice simulations to augment our study. We give examples of how these\nnonlocal correlations induce behavior more similar to quantum field theory, at\nboth weak and strong coupling."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Inflationary Brane-Antibrane Universe: We show how the motion through the extra dimensions of a gas of branes and\nantibranes can, under certain circumstances, produce an era of inflation as\nseen by observers trapped on a 3-brane, with the inflaton being the inter-brane\nseparation. Although most of our discussion refers to arbitrary p-branes, when\nwe need to be specific we assume that they are D-branes of Type II or Type I\nstring theory. For realistic brane couplings, such as those arising in string\ntheory, the inter-brane potentials are too steep to inflate the universe for\nacceptably long times. However, for special regions of the parameter space of\nbrane-antibrane positions the brane motion is slow enough for there to be\nsufficient inflation. Inflation would be more generic in models where the\ninter-brane interactions are much weaker. The spectrum of primordial density\nfluctuations predicted has index n slightly less than 1, and an acceptable\namplitude, provided that the extra dimensions have linear size 1/r ~ 10^{12}\nGeV. Reheating occurs as in hybrid inflation, with the tachyonic instability of\nthe brane-antibrane system taking over for small separations. The tachyon field\ncan induce a cascade mechanism within which higher-dimension branes annihilate\ninto lower-dimension ones. We argue that such a cascade naturally stops with\nthe production of 3-branes in 10-dimensional string theory.",
        "positive": "Playing with Black Strings: We review recent work showing that there exists a large class of new stable\nblack strings which are not translationally invariant. Both neutral and charged\nblack strings are considered. The discussion includes known properties of these\nnew solutions, attempts to find them explicitly, and a list of open questions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Lateral Casimir Force between Two Sinusoidally Corrugated Eccentric\n  Cylinders Using Proximity Force Approximation: This paper is devoted to the presentation of the lateral Casimir force\nbetween two sinusoidally corrugated eccentric cylinders. Despite that applying\nscattering matrix method explains the problem exactly, procedure of applying\nthis method is somehow complicated specially at nonzero temperature. Using the\nproximity force approximation (PFA) helps to achieve the lateral Casimir force\nin a truly explicit manner. We assume the cylinders to be slightly eccentric\nwith similar radiuses and separations much smaller than corrugations' wave\nlength for the validity of PFA. For such short distances the effect of finite\nconductivity would be non negligible. In addition to the effect of finite\nconductivity, we investigate thermal corrections of the lateral Casimir force\nto reduce the inaccuracy of the result obtained by PFA. Assuming the Casimir\nforce density between two parallel plates, the normal Casimir force between two\ncylinders is obtained. With the aid of additive summation of the Casimir energy\nbetween cylinders without corrugation, we obtain the lateral Casimir force\nbetween corrugated cylinders.",
        "positive": "Supersymmetrizing Massive Gravity: When four scalar fields with global Lorentz symmetry are coupled to gravity\nand take a vacuum expectation value breaking diffeomorphism invariance\nspontaneously, the graviton becomes massive. This model is supersymmetrized by\nconsidering four N=1 chiral superfields with global Lorentz symmetry. When the\nscalar components of the chiral multiplets z^A acquire a vacuum expectation\nvalue, both diffeomorphism invariance and local supersymmetry are broken\nspontaneously. The global Lorentz index A becomes identified with the\nspace-time Lorentz index making the scalar fields z^A vectors and the chiral\nspinors psi^A spin-3/2 Rarita-Schwinger fields. The global supersymmetry is\npromoted to a local one using the rules of tensor calculus of coupling the N=1\nsupergravity Lagrangian to the four chiral multiplets. We show that the\nspectrum of the model in the broken phase consists of a massive spin-2 field,\ntwo massive spin-3/2 fields with different mass and a massive vector."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Theory of Non-Abelian Tensor Gauge Field with Non-Abelian Gauge\n  Symmetry G x G: The Chern-Simon action of the ABJM theory is not gauge invariant in the\npresence of a boundary. In the paper arXiv:0909.2333, this was shown to imply\nthe existence of a Kac-Moody symmetry on the theory of multiple self-dual\nstrings. In this paper we conjecture that the Kac-Moody symmetry induces a\nU(N)x U(N) gauge symmetry in the theory of N coincident M5-branes. As a start,\nwe construct this G x G gauge symmetry algebra structure which naturally\nincludes the tensor gauge transformation for a non-abelian 2-form tensor gauge\nfield. This new G x G gauge structure allows us to write down a theory of a\nnon-abelian tensor gauge field readily. For application to multiple M5-branes,\nwe note that the field content of the G x G non-abelian tensor gauge theory can\nbe fitted nicely as (1,0) supermultiplets; and we suggest a construction of the\ntheory of multiple M5-branes with manifest (1,0) supersymmetry.",
        "positive": "Differential calculus on quantum groups: Constructive procedure: A brief review of the construction and classifiaction of the bicovariant\ndifferential calculi on quantum groups is given."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dilogarithm identities, q-difference equations and the Virasoro algebra: We give a new proof of the dilogarithm identities, associated to the (2,2n+1)\nminimal models of the Virasoro algebra.",
        "positive": "First-order formalism for scalar field in cosmology: We present a general procedure to solve the equations of motion for\ncosmological models driven by real scalar fields with first-order differential\nequations. The method seems to have great power, since it works for closed,\nflat or open space-time, for scalar fields with both standard and tachyonic\ndynamics. We illustrate the procedure solving several examples which model\nsituations of current interest to modern cosmology."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Geometrothermodynamics in Horava-Lifshitz gravity: We investigate the thermodynamic geometries of the most general static,\nspherically symmetric, topological black holes of the Ho\\v{r}ava--Lifshitz\ngravity. In particular, we show that a Legendre invariant metric derived in the\ncontext of geometrothermodynamics for the equilibrium manifold reproduces\ncorrectly the phase transition structure of these black holes. Moreover, the\nlimiting cases in which the mass, the entropy or the Hawking temperature vanish\nare also accompanied by curvature singularities which indicate the limit of\napplicability of the thermodynamics and the geometrothermodynamics of black\nholes. The Einstein limit and the case of a black hole with flat horizon are\nalso investigated.",
        "positive": "Gauged WZW-type theories and the all-loop anisotropic non-Abelian\n  Thirring model: We study what we call the all-loop anisotropic bosonized Thirring sigma\nmodel. This interpolates between the WZW model and the non-Abelian T-dual of\nthe principal chiral model for a simple group. It has an invariance involving\nthe inversion of the matrix parametrizing the coupling constants. We compute\nthe general renormalization group flow equations which assume a remarkably\nsimple form and derive its properties. For symmetric couplings, they\nconsistently truncate to previous results in the literature. One of the\nexamples we provide gives rise to a first order system of differential\nequations interpolating between the Lagrange and the Darboux-Halphen integrable\nsystems."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Pseudo entropy of primary operators in $T\\bar{T}$/$J\\bar{T}$-deformed\n  CFTs: In this work, we investigate the time evolution of the pseudo-(R\\'enyi)\nentropy after local primary operator quenches in 2D CFTs with $T\\bar T/J\\bar\nT$-deformation. Using perturbation theory, we analyze the corrections to the\nsecond pseudo-R\\'enyi entropy at the late time, which exhibit a universal form,\nwhile its early-time behavior is model-dependent. Moreover, we uncover\nnontrivial time-dependent effects arising from the first-order deformation of\nthe $k^{\\rm th}$ pseudo-R\\'enyi entropy at the late time. Additionally, drawing\ninspiration from the gravitational side, specifically the gluing of two cutoff\nAdS geometries, we investigate the $k^{\\rm th}$ pseudo-R\\'enyi entropy for\nvacuum states characterized by distinct $T\\bar{T}$-deformation parameters, as\nwell as for primary states acting on different deformed vacuum states. Our\nfindings reveal additional corrections compared to the results of\npseudo-R\\'enyi entropy for globally deformed vacuum states.",
        "positive": "String Field Theory: String Field Theory is a formulation of String Theory as a Quantum Field\nTheory in target space. It allows to tame the infrared divergences of String\nTheory and to approach its non-perturbative structure and background\nindependence. This article gives a concise overview on the subject and of some\nof the main recent progress.\n  Note: Review article for Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Physics"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "One-loop Schwinger effect in the presence of Lorentz-violating\n  background fields: In this work we make use of proper-time method to evaluate Schwinger effect\nin the presence of Lorentz-violating background fields. Specifically, we\nevaluate the one-loop effective Lagrangian in the presence of Lorentz-violating\ntime-like vector background $b_\\mu$ and pseud-scalar $m_5$ for the pure\nelectric case. The imaginary part of the effective Lagrangian is computed in\norder to calculate the Schwinger effect. Comments on phenomenology are also\nperformed.",
        "positive": "Tutorial on quasi-sparse eigenvector diagonalization: We review several topics related to the diagonalization of quantum field\nHamiltonians using the quasi-sparse eigenvector (QSE) method."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Breakdown of Duality in (0,2) Superstring Models: After pointing out the role of the compactification lattice for spectrum\ncalculations in orbifold models, I discuss modular discrete symmetry groups for\n$Z_N$ or\\-bi\\-folds. I consider the $Z_7$ orbifold as a nontrivial example of a\n(2,2) model and give the generators of the modular group for this case, which\ndoes not contain $[SL(2,{\\bf Z})]^3$ as had been speculated. I also discuss how\nto treat cases where quantized Wilson lines are present. I consider in detail\nan example, demonstrating that quantized Wilson lines affect the modular group\nin a nontrivial manner. In particular, I show that it is possible for a Wilson\nline to break $SL(2,{\\bf Z})$.}",
        "positive": "Supersymmetry of a different kind: A local supersymmetric action for a (2+1)-dimensional system including\ngravity, the electromagnetic field and a Dirac spin-1/2 field is presented. The\naction is a Chern-Simons form for a connection of the OSp(2|2) group. All the\nfields enter as parts of the connection, that transforms in the adjoint\nrepresentation of the gauge group. The system is off-shell invariant under\nlocal (gauge) supersymmetry. Although the supersymmetry is locally realized,\nthere is no spin-3/2 gravitino, and is therefore not supergravity. The fields\ndo not necessarily form supersymmetric doublets of equal mass, and moreover,\nthe fermion may acquire mass through the coupling with the background geometry,\nwhile the bosons --the U(1) field and the spin connection-- remain massless."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exploring new Boundary Conditions for $\\mathcal{N}=(1,1)$ Extended\n  Higher Spin $AdS_3$ Supergravity: In this paper, we present a candidate for $\\mathcal{N}=(1,1)$ extended higher\n- spin $AdS_3$ supergravity with the most general boundary conditions discussed\nby Grumiller and Riegler recently. We show that the asymptotic symmetry algebra\nconsists of two copies of the $\\mathfrak{osp}(3|2)_k$ affine algebra in the\npresence of the most general boundary conditions.Furthermore, we impose some\ncertain restrictions on gauge fields on the most general boundary conditions\nand that leads us to the supersymmetric extension of the Brown - Henneaux\nboundary conditions. We eventually see that the asymptotic symmetry algebra\nreduces to two copies of the $\\mathcal{SW}(\\frac{3}{2},2)$ algebra for\n$\\mathcal{N}=(1,1)$ extended higher - spin supergravity.",
        "positive": "Anyons and Chiral Solitons on a Line: We show that excitations in a recently proposed gauge theory for anyons on a\nline in fact do not obey anomalous statistics. On the other hand, the theory\nsupports novel chiral solitons. Also we construct a field-theoretic description\nof lineal anyons, but gauge fields play no role."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Swampland Cobordism Conjecture and Non-Abelian Duality Groups: We study the cobordism conjecture of McNamara and Vafa which asserts that the\nbordism group of quantum gravity is trivial. In the context of type IIB string\ntheory compactified on a circle, this predicts the presence of D7-branes. On\nthe other hand, the non-Abelian structure of the IIB duality group\n$SL(2,\\mathbb{Z})$ implies the existence of additional $[p,q]$ 7-branes. We\nfind that this additional information is instead captured by the space of\nclosed paths on the moduli space of elliptic curves parameterizing distinct\nvalues of the type IIB axio-dilaton. This description allows to recover the\nfull structure of non-Abelian braid statistics for 7-branes. Combining the\ncobordism conjecture with an earlier Swampland conjecture by Ooguri and Vafa,\nwe argue that only certain congruence subgroups $\\Gamma \\subset\nSL(2,\\mathbb{Z})$ specifying genus zero modular curves can appear in 8D\nF-theory vacua. This leads to a successful prediction for the allowed\nMordell-Weil torsion groups for 8D F-theory vacua.",
        "positive": "Gauge Invariance and Duality in the Noncommutative Plane: We show that the duality between the self-dual and Maxwell-Chern-Simons\ntheories in 2+1-dimensions survives when the space-time becomes noncommutative.\nExistence of the Seiberg-Witten map is crucial in the present analysis. It\nshould be noted that the above models, being manifestly gauge variant and\ninvariant respectively, transform differently under the Seiberg-Witten map. We\nalso discuss this duality in the Stuckelberg formalism where the self-dual\nmodel is elevated to a gauge theory. The \"`master\"' lagrangian approach has\nbeen followed throughout."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic Dual of the Reissner-Nordstr\u00f6m Black Hole: In this article we give a brief, nevertheless, comprehensive review on recent\nstudies in the quantum gravity description of the Reissner-Nordstr\\\"om (RN)\nblack hole from the perspective of the AdS/CFT correspondence. We survey the\nknown evidence supporting a two-dimensional conformal field theory (CFT)\ndescription holographically dual to the RN black hole.",
        "positive": "Sine-Gordon multi-soliton form factors in finite volume: Multi-soliton form factors in sine-Gordon theory from the bootstrap are\ncompared to finite volume matrix elements computed using the truncated\nconformal space approach. We find convincing agreement, and resolve most of the\nissues raised in a previous work."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "$\\widehat{sl_2}$ symmetry of ${\\mathbb R}^{1,3}$ gravity: We propose novel asymptotically locally flat boundary conditions for Einstein\nGravity without cosmological constant in four dimensions that are consistent\nwith the variational principle. They allow for complex solutions that are\nasymptotically diffeomorphic to flat space-times under complexified\ndiffeomorphisms. We show that the resultant asymptotic symmetries are an\nextension of the Poincare algebra to a copy of Virasoro, a chiral\n$\\mathfrak{sl}(2,{\\mathbb C})$ current algebra along with two chiral\n$\\mathfrak{u}(1)$ currents. We posit that these bulk symmetries are direct\nanalogues of the recently discovered chiral algebra symmetries of gravitational\nscattering amplitudes as celestial CFT correlation functions.",
        "positive": "Couplings and Scales in Strongly Coupled Heterotic String Theory: If nature is described by string theory, and if the compactification radius\nis large (as suggested by the unification of couplings), then the theory is in\na regime best described by the low energy limit of $M$-theory. We discuss some\nphenomenological aspects of this view. The scale at which conventional quantum\nfield theory breaks down is of order the unification scale and consequently\n(approximate) discrete symmetries are essential to prevent proton decay. There\nare one or more light axions, one of which solves the strong CP problem.\nModular cosmology is still problematic but much more complex than in\nperturbative string vacua. We also consider a range of more theoretical issues,\nfocusing particularly on the question of stabilizing the moduli. We give a\nsimple, weak coupling derivation of Witten's expression for the dependence of\nthe coupling constants on the eleven dimensional radius. We discuss the\ncriteria for the validity of the long wavelength analysis and find that the\n\"real world\" seems to sit just where this analysis is breaking down. On the\nother hand, residual constraints from N=2 supersymmetry make it difficult to\nsee how the moduli can be stabilized while at the same time yielding a large\nhierarchy."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exact Form Factors in Integrable Quantum Field Theories: the Sine-Gordon\n  Model: We provide detailed arguments on how to derive properties of generalized form\nfactors, originally proposed by one of the authors (M.K.) and Weisz twenty\nyears ago, solely based on the assumption of \"minimal analyticity\" and the\nvalidity of the LSZ reduction formalism. These properties constitute\nconsistency equations which allow the explicit evaluation of the n-particle\nform factors once the scattering matrix is known. The equations give rise to a\nmatrix Riemann-Hilbert problem. Exploiting the \"off-shell\" Bethe ansatz we\npropose a general formula for form factors for an odd number of particles. For\nthe Sine-Gordon model alias the massive Thirring model we exemplify the general\nsolution for several operators. We carry out a consistency check for the\nsolution of the three particle form factor against the Thirring model\nperturbation theory and thus confirm the general formalism.",
        "positive": "Pacman geometries and the Hayward term in JT gravity: We study the Hayward term describing corners in the boundary of the geometry\nin the context of the Jackiw-Teitelboim gravity. These corners naturally arise\nin the computation of Hartle-Hawking wave functionals and reduced density\nmatrices, and give origin to AdS spacetimes with conical defects. This set up\nconstitutes a lab to manifestly realize many aspects of the construction\nrecently proposed in \\cite{Botta2020}. In particular, it can be shown that the\nHayward term is required to reproduce the flat spectrum of R\\'enyi entropies in\nthe Fursaev's derivation, and furthermore, the action with an extra Nambu-Goto\nterm associated to the Dong's cosmic brane prescription appears naturally. On\nthe other hand, the conical defect coming from Hayward term contribution are\nsubtly different from the defects set as pointlike \\emph{sources} studied\npreviously in the literature. We study and analyze these quantitative\ndifferences in the path integral and compare the results. Also study previous\nproposals on the superselection sectors, and by computing the density operator\nwe obtain the Shannon entropy and some novel results on the symmetry group\nrepresentations and edge modes. It also makes contact with the so-called\n\\emph{defect operator} found in \\cite{Jafferis2019}. Lastly, we obtain the area\noperator as part of the gravitational modular Hamiltonian, in agreement with\nthe Jafferis-Lewkowycz-Maldacena-Suh proposal."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Anti-de Sitter Black Holes in Gauged N=8 Supergravity: We present new anti-de Sitter black hole solutions of gauged N=8, SO(8)\nsupergravity, which is the massless sector of the AdS_4\\times S^7 vacuum of\nM-theory. By focusing on the U(1)^4 Cartan subgroup, we find non-extremal 1, 2,\n3 and 4 charge solutions. In the extremal limit, they may preserve up to 1/2,\n1/4, 1/8 and 1/8 of the supersymmetry, respectively. In the limit of vanishing\nSO(8) coupling constant, the solutions reduce to the familiar black holes of\nthe M_4\\times T^7 vacuum, but have very different interpretation since there\nare no winding states on S^7 and no U-duality. In contrast to the T^7\ncompactification, moreover, we find no static multi-center solutions. Also in\ncontrast, the S^7 fields appear \"already dualized\" so that the 4 charges may be\nall electric or all magnetic rather than 2 electric and 2 magnetic. Curiously,\nhowever, the magnetic solutions preserve no supersymmetries. We conjecture that\na subset of the extreme electric black holes preserving 1/2 the supersymmetry\nmay be identified with the S^7 Kaluza-Klein spectrum, with the non-abelian\nSO(8) quantum numbers provided by the fermionic zero modes.",
        "positive": "Close to the edge: hierarchy in a double braneworld: We show that the hierarchy between the Planck and the weak scales can follow\nfrom the tendency of gravitons and fermions to localize at different edges of a\nthick double wall embedded in an $AdS_5$ spacetime without reflection symmetry.\nThis double wall is a stable BPS thick-wall solution with two sub-walls located\nat its edges; fermions are coupled to the scalar field through Yukawa\ninteractions, but the the lack of reflection symmetry forces them to be\nlocalized in one of the sub-walls. We show that the graviton zero-mode\nwavefunction is suppressed in the fermion edge by an exponential function of\nthe distance between the sub-walls, and that the massive modes decouple so that\nNewtonian gravity is recuperated."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Coulomb scattering of the Dirac field on de Sitter expanding universe: The lowest order contribution of the amplitude of the Dirac-Coulomb\nscattering in de Sitter spacetime is calculated assuming that the initial and\nfinal states of the Dirac field are described by exact solutions of the free\nDirac equation on de Sitter spacetime with a given momentum and helicity. One\nstudies the difficulties that arises when one passes from the amplitude to\ncross section.",
        "positive": "Real Interquark Potential Between a Heavy and a Light Quark at All\n  Distances: We point out that in infinite spacetime dimensions, the singularity in the\ninterquark potential at small distances disappears if the string is anchored at\none end to a heavy quark, at the other end to a light quark. This suggests that\nif quarks are placed at the end of strings some unphysical features such as\ntachyon states may be absent also in in finite dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Lichnerowicz Modes and Black Hole Families in Ricci Quadratic Gravity: A new branch of black hole solutions occurs along with the standard\nSchwarzschild branch in $n$-dimensional extensions of general relativity\nincluding terms quadratic in the Ricci tensor. The standard and new branches\ncross at a point determined by a static negative-eigenvalue eigenfunction of\nthe Lichnerowicz operator, analogous to the Gross-Perry-Yaffe eigenfunction for\nthe Schwarzschild solution in standard $n=4$ dimensional general relativity.\nThis static eigenfunction has two r\\^oles: both as a perturbation away from\nSchwarzschild along the new black-hole branch and also as a threshold unstable\nmode lying at the edge of a domain of Gregory-Laflamme-type instability of the\nSchwarzschild solution for small-radius black holes. A thermodynamic analogy\nwith the Gubser and Mitra conjecture on the relation between quantum\nthermodynamic and classical dynamical instabilities leads to a suggestion that\nthere may be a switch of stability properties between the old and new\nblack-hole branches for small black holes with radii below the branch crossing\npoint.",
        "positive": "Holographic description of Kerr-Bolt-AdS-dS Spacetimes: We show that there exists a holographic 2D CFT description of a\nKerr-Bolt-AdS-dS spacetime. We first consider the wave equation of a massless\nscalar field propagating in extremal Kerr-Bolt-AdS-dS spacetimes and find in\nthe \"near region\", the wave equation in extremal limit could be written in\nterms of the $SL(2,R)$ quadratic Casimir. This suggests that there exist dual\nCFT descriptions of these black holes. In the probe limit, we compute the\nscattering amplitudes of the scalar off the extremal black holes and find\nperfect agreement with the CFT prediction. Furthermore we study the holographic\ndescription of the generic four dimensional non-extremal Kerr-Bolt-AdS-dS black\nholes. We find that if focusing on the near-horizon region, for the massless\nscalar scattering in the low-frequency limit, the radial equation could still\nbe rewritten as the $SL(2,R)$ quadratic Casimir, suggesting the existence of\ndual 2D description. We read the temperatures of the dual CFT from the\nconformal coordinates and obtain the central charges by studying the\nnear-horizon geometry of near-extremal black holes. We recover the macroscopic\nentropy from the microscopic counting. We also show that for the superradiant\nscattering, the retarded Green's functions and the corresponding absorption\ncross sections are in perfect match with CFT prediction."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Sequencing BPS Spectra: This paper provides both a detailed study of color-dependence of link\nhomologies, as realized in physics as certain spaces of BPS states, and a broad\nstudy of the behavior of BPS states in general. We consider how the spectrum of\nBPS states varies as continuous parameters of a theory are perturbed. This\nquestion can be posed in a wide variety of physical contexts, and we answer it\nby proposing that the relationship between unperturbed and perturbed BPS\nspectra is described by a spectral sequence. These general considerations unify\nprevious applications of spectral sequence techniques to physics, and explain\nfrom a physical standpoint the appearance of many spectral sequences relating\nvarious link homology theories to one another. We also study structural\nproperties of colored HOMFLY homology for links and evaluate Poincare\npolynomials in numerous examples. Among these structural properties is a novel\n\"sliding\" property, which can be explained by using (refined) modular S-matrix.\nThis leads to the identification of modular transformations in Chern-Simons\ntheory and 3d N=2 theory via the 3d/3d correspondence. Lastly, we introduce the\nnotion of associated varieties as classical limits of recursion relations of\ncolored superpolynomials of links, and study their properties.",
        "positive": "Thermodynamic Volume of Cosmological Solitons: We present explicit expressions of the thermodynamic volume inside and\noutside the cosmological horizon of Eguchi-Hanson solitons in general odd\ndimensions. These quantities are calculable and well-defined regardless of\nwhether or not the regularity condition for the soliton is imposed. For the\ninner case, we show that the reverse isoperimetric inequality is not satisfied\nfor general values of the soliton parameter $a$, though a narrow range exists\nfor which the inequality does hold. For the outer case, we find that the mass\n$M_{out}$ satisfies the maximal mass conjecture and the volume is positive. We\nalso show that, by requiring $M_{out}$ to yield the mass of dS spacetime when\nthe soliton parameter vanishes, the associated cosmological volume is always\npositive."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "D3-brane Vacua in Stabilized Compactifications: D3-branes feel no force in no-scale flux compactifications of type IIB string\ntheory, but the nonperturbative effects required to stabilize the Kahler moduli\nbreak the no-scale structure and generate a potential for D3-brane motion,\nconfining the branes to certain loci. D3-branes away from these loci break\nsupersymmetry spontaneously, by an F-term. We present the general conditions\nfor supersymmetric D3-brane vacua in models with a single Kahler modulus, then\nexplicitly calculate these vacua for D3-branes moving on the tip of the warped\ndeformed conifold. We find both continuous moduli spaces and isolated vacua. In\naddition, we show that anti-D3-branes and D3-branes are localized to the same\nregions by the nonperturbative potential, avoiding a potential obstacle to\nbrane inflation. We apply these results to determine whether angular motion of\na brane in a throat could play an important role in inflation, and find that\nany inflation along the angular directions is short-lived because the field\nspace is very small.",
        "positive": "Linearization of N = 2 Nonlinear Supersymmetry and Spontaneous\n  Supersymmetry Breaking Parameters: We show explicitly by the heuristic and practical arguments that for $N = 2$\nsupersymmetry (SUSY) a SUSY invariant relation between component fields of a\nvector supermultiplet of linear SUSY and Nambu-Goldstone fermions of the\nVolkov-Akulov model of nonlinear SUSY is written by using only three arbitrary\ndimensionless parameters, which can be recasted as the vacuum expectation\nvalues of auxiliary fields in the vector supermultiplet."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Intersecting D3-branes and Holography: We study a defect conformal field theory describing D3-branes intersecting\nover two space-time dimensions. This theory admits an exact Lagrangian\ndescription which includes both two- and four-dimensional degrees of freedom,\nhas (4,4) supersymmetry and is invariant under global conformal\ntransformations. Both two- and four-dimensional contributions to the action are\nconveniently obtained in a two-dimensional (2,2) superspace. In a suitable\nlimit, the theory has a dual description in terms of a probe D3-brane wrapping\nan AdS_3 x S^1 slice of AdS_5 x S^5. We consider the AdS/CFT dictionary for\nthis set-up. In particular we find classical probe fluctuations corresponding\nto the holomorphic curve wy=c\\alpha^{\\prime}. These fluctuations are dual to\ndefect fields containing massless two-dimensional scalars which parameterize\nthe classical Higgs branch, but do not correspond to states in the Hilbert\nspace of the CFT. We also identify probe fluctuations which are dual to BPS\nsuperconformal primary operators and to their descendants. A\nnon-renormalization theorem is conjectured for the correlators of these\noperators, and verified to order g^2.",
        "positive": "4d N=2 superconformal linear quivers with type IIA duals: We discuss the gravity duals of 4d N=2 superconformal field theories (SCFTs)\narising from the low-energy limit of brane configurations of D4-branes\nstretched between and intersecting NS5-branes and D6-branes. This gives rise to\na product of SU(N_i) groups, with bi-fundamental matter between adjacent\ngroups, and extra fundamental hypermultiplets. The most general configuration\nin 11d (or type IIA) supergravity that is dual to a 4d N=2 SCFT (when the dual\nof this SCFT is a weakly curved background) was written down by Gaiotto and\nMaldacena, but finding it explicitly involves solving a complicated Toda\nequation. This equation simplifies only when the solution can be reduced to\ntype IIA supergravity, so we ask for which SCFTs of this type is there a type\nIIA dual that is weakly coupled and weakly curved (away from NS5-branes and\nD6-branes). We find that such solutions (a special case of which was analyzed\nby Reid-Edwards and Stefanski) exist when there is a large number of gauge\ngroups, with large ranks, and with large 't Hooft couplings for all but a\nfinite number of groups. The general solution of this type is given by solving\nan axially symmetric Laplace equation in three dimensions, with specific\nboundary conditions. We match the parameters of the 4d SCFTs, including the\nexactly marginal coupling constants, with the boundary conditions for the\nLaplace equation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Localization and AdS/CFT Correspondence: An interplay between localization and holography is reviewed with the\nemphasis on the AdS_5/CFT_4 correspondence.",
        "positive": "Higher Topologies in 2+1-Gravity: I argue that the first-order formalism recently found to describe classical\n2+1-Gravity with matter, is also able to include higher topologies. The present\ngauge, which is conformal with vanishing York time, is characterized by an\nanalytic mapping from single-valued coordinates to Minkowskian ones. In the\ntorus case, this mapping is based on four square-root branch points, whose\nlocation is related to the modulus, which has a well defined time dependence.\nIn the general case, it is connected with the hyperelliptic representation of\nRiemann surfaces."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Finite $N$ corrections to the superconformal index of orbifold quiver\n  gauge theories: We investigate the AdS/CFT correspondence for quiver gauge theories realized\non D3-branes put on abelian orbifolds by using the superconformal index. We\nassume that on the gravity side the finite $N$ corrections of the index are\nreproduced by D3-branes wrapped on three particular three-cycles in the\ninternal space ${\\cal Y}$, the abelian orbifold of $\\boldsymbol{S}^5$. We first\nestablish the relation between baryonic charges on the gauge theory side and\nthe D3-brane wrapping numbers and holonomies on D3-branes. Then we confirm our\nproposal by comparing the results of localization for gauge theories and the\nresults on the AdS side including the contributions of D3-branes and excitation\non them for many examples. We only focus on the leading finite $N$ corrections\nstarting from $q^N$, and leave the sub-leading corrections starting at $q^{kN}$\n($k\\geq2$) as a task for the future. We find complete agreement for the leading\ncorrections in all examples.",
        "positive": "Schwinger Pair Production in dS_2 and AdS_2: We study Schwinger pair production in scalar QED from a uniform electric\nfield in dS_2 with scalar curvature R_{dS} = 2 H^2 and in AdS_2 with R_{AdS} =\n- 2 K^2. With suitable boundary conditions, we find that the pair-production\nrate is the same analytic function of the scalar curvature in both cases."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Beyond the Frenkel-Kac-Segal construction of affine Lie algebras: This contribution reviews recent progress in constructing affine Lie algebras\nat arbitrary level in terms of vertex operators. The string model describes a\ncompletely compactified subcritical chiral bosonic string whose momentum\nlattice is taken to be the (Lorentzian) affine weight lattice. The main feature\nof the new realization is the replacement of the ordinary string oscillators by\nphysical DDF operators, whereas the unphysical position operators are\nsubstituted by certain linear combinations of the Lorentz generators. As a side\nresult we obtain simple expressions for the affine Weyl translations as Lorentz\nboosts. Various applications of the construction are discussed.",
        "positive": "Brane Decay from the Origin of Time: We present a novel scenario where matter in a spacetime originates from a\ndecaying brane at the origin of time. The decay could be considered as a ``Big\nBang''-like event at X^0=0. The closed string interpretation is a\ntime-dependent spacetime with a semi-infinite time direction, with the initial\nenergy of the brane converted into energy flux from the origin. The open string\ninterpretation can be viewed as a string theoretic non-singular initial\ncondition."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "WZNW Models from Non-Standard Bilinear Forms: We study the WZNW models based on nonstandard bilinear forms. We approach the\nproblem from algebraic, perturbative and functional exact methods. It is shown\nthat even in the case of integer $k$ we can find irrational CFT's. We prove\nthat when the base group is noncompact with nonabelian maximal compact\nsubgroup, the Kac-Moody representations are nonunitary.",
        "positive": "On sgoldstino-less supergravity models of inflation: We go a step further in the search for a consistent and realistic\nsupergravity model of large-field inflation by building a class of models with\nthe following features: during slow-roll, all the scalar fields other than the\ninflaton are frozen by large inflaton-dependent masses or removed from the\nspectrum; at the end of inflation, supersymmetry is spontaneously broken with\nnaturally vanishing classical vacuum energy. We achieve this by combining some\ngeometrical properties of the Kaehler potential with the consistent use of a\nsingle nilpotent chiral superfield, in one-to-one correspondence with the\nsupersymmetry-breaking direction in field space at the vacuum."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Duality and Spontaneously Broken Supergravity in Flat Backgrounds: It is shown that the super Higgs mechanism that occurs in a wide class of\nmodels with vanishing cosmological constant (at the classical level) is\nobtained by the gauging of a flat group which must be an electric subgroup of\nthe duality group. If the residual massive gravitinos which occur in the\npartial supersymmetry breaking are BPS saturated, then the flat group is non\nabelian. This is so for all the models obtained by a Scherk-Schwarz\nsupersymmetry breaking mechanism. If gravitinos occur in long multiplets, then\nthe flat groups may be abelian. This is the case of supersymmetry breaking by\nstring compactifications on an orientifold T^6/Z_2 with non trivial brane\nfluxes.",
        "positive": "High Temperature Partition Function of the Rigid String: We find that the high temperature limit of the free energy per unit length\nfor the rigid string agrees dimensionally with that of the QCD string (unlike\nthe Nambu-Goto string). The sign, and in fact the phase, do not agree. While\nthis may be a clue to a string theory of QCD, we note that the problem of the\nfourth derivative action makes it impossible for the rigid string to be a\ncorrect description."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A theory for non-Abelian superfluid dynamics: We write down a theory for non-Abelian superfluids with a partially broken\n(semisimple) Lie group. We adapt the offshell formalism of hydrodynamics to\nsuperfluids and use it to comment on the superfluid transport compatible with\nthe second law of thermodynamics. We find that the second law can be also used\nto derive the Josephson equation, which governs dynamics of the Goldstone\nmodes. In the course of our analysis, we derive an alternate and mutually\ndistinct parametrization of the recently proposed classification of\nhydrodynamic transport and generalize it to superfluids.",
        "positive": "Holography and D3-branes in Melvin Universes: Recently,in a paper hep-th/0511197, it was found that non-commutative super\nYang-Mills (NCSYM) theory with space-dependent noncommutativity can be\nformulated as a decoupling limit of open strings ending on D3-branes wrapping a\nMelvin universe supported by a flux of the NSNS B-field. Under S-duality, we\nshow that this theory turns into a noncommutative open string (NCOS) theory\nwith space-dependent space-time noncommutativity and effective space-dependent\nstring scale. It is an NCOS theory with both space-dependent space-space and\nspace-time noncommutativities under more general $SL(2,\\mathbb{Z})$\ntransformation. These space-dependent noncommutative theories (NCSYM and NCOS)\nhave completely the same thermodynamics as that of ordinary super YM theory,\nNCSYM and NCOS theories with constant noncommutativity in the dual supergravity\ndescription. Starting from black D3-brane solution in the Melvin universe and\nmaking a Lorentz boost along one of spatial directions on the worldvolume of\nD3-branes, we show that the decoupled theory is a light-like NCSYM theory with\nspace-dependent noncommutativity in a static frame or in an infinite-momentum\nframe depending on whether there is a gravitational pp-wave on the worldvolume\nof the D3-branes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Widening the Axion Window via Kinetic and St\u00fcckelberg Mixings: We point out that kinetic and St\\\"uckelberg mixings that are generically\npresent in the low energy effective action of axions can significantly widen\nthe window of axion decay constants. We show that an effective super-Planckian\ndecay constant can be obtained even when the axion kinetic matrix has only\nsub-Planckian entries. Our minimal model involves only two axions, a\nSt\\\"uckelberg U(1) and a modest rank instanton generating non-Abelian group.\nBelow the mass of the St\\\"uckelberg U(1), there is only a single axion with a\nnon-perturbatively generated potential. In contrast to previous approaches, the\nenhancement of the axion decay constant is not tied to the number of degrees of\nfreedom introduced. We also discuss how kinetic mixings can lower the decay\nconstant to the desired axion dark matter window. String theory embeddings of\nthis scenario and their phenomenological features are briefly discussed.",
        "positive": "Virtual Black Holes in Generalized Dilaton Theories (and Their Special\n  Role in String Gravity): The virtual black hole phenomenon, which has been observed previously in\nspecific models, is established for generic 2D dilaton gravity theories with\nscalar matter. The ensuing effective line element can become asymptotically\nflat only for two classes of models, among them spherically reduced theories\nand the string inspired dilaton black hole (CGHS model).\n  We present simple expressions for the lowest order scalar field vertices of\nthe effective theory which one obtains after integrating out geometry exactly.\nTreating the boundary in a natural and simple way asymptotic states, tree-level\nvertices and tree-level S-matrix are conformally invariant.\n  Examples are provided pinpointing the physical consequences of virtual black\nholes on the (CPT-invariant) S-matrix for gravitational scattering of scalar\nparticles. For minimally coupled scalars the evaluation of the S-matrix in\nclosed form is straightforward.\n  For a class of theories including the CGHS model all tree-graph vertices\nvanish, which explains the particular simplicity of that model and at the same\ntime shows yet another essential difference to the Schwarzschild case."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Pictures and equations of motion in Lagrangian quantum field theory: The Heisenberg, interaction, and Schr\\\"odinger pictures of motion are\nconsidered in Lagrangian (canonical) quantum field theory. The equations of\nmotion (for state vectors and field operators) are derived for arbitrary\nLagrangians which are polynomial or convergent power series in field operators\nand their first derivatives. The general links between different time-dependent\npictures of motion are derived. It is pointed that all of them admit covariant\nformulation, similar to the one of interaction picture. A new picture, called\nthe momentum picture, is proposed. It is a 4-dimensional analogue of the\nSchr\\\"odinger picture of quantum mechanics as in it the state vectors are\nspacetime-dependent, while the field operators are constant relative to the\nspacetime. The equations of motion in momentum picture are derived and\npartially discussed. In particular, the ones for the field operators turn to be\nof algebraic type. The general idea of covariant pictures of motion is\npresented. The equations of motion in these pictures are derived.",
        "positive": "From supergeometry to pure spinors: In this talk, we review how the superspace formulation of maximally\nsupersymmetric field theories (including supergravity) naturally leads to\nintroduction of pure spinors and pure spinor superfields, and why the formalism\nprovides off-shell formulations. This approach to pure spinor superfields thus\nstresses field-theoretic aspects rather than the first-quantised ones normally\nused e.g. in superstring theory. We discuss how the BRST operator arises and\nthe principles behind constructions of actions, as well as the general\nBatalin-Vilkovisky framework. D=11 supergravity and its recently constructed\nsupersymmetric action are taken as an example throughout the talk. This is the\nwritten version of a lecture given at the 6th Mathematical Physics Meeting,\nBelgrade, September 2010."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum gravity, gauge coupling constants, and the cosmological constant: The quantization of Einstein-Maxwell theory with a cosmological constant is\nconsidered. We obtain all logarithmically divergent terms in the one-loop\neffective action that involve only the background electromagnetic field. This\nincludes Lee-Wick type terms, as well as those responsible for the\nrenormalization group behaviour of the electric charge (or fine structure\nconstant). Of particular interest is the possible gauge condition dependence of\nthe results, and we study this in some detail. We show that the traditional\nbackground-field method, that is equivalent to a more traditional Feynman\ndiagram calculation, does result in gauge condition dependent results in\ngeneral. One resolution of this is to use the Vilkovisky-DeWitt effective\naction method, and this is presented here. Quantum gravity is shown to lead to\na contribution to the running charge not present when the cosmological constant\nvanishes. This re-opens the possibility, suggested by Robinson and Wilczek, of\naltering the scaling behaviour of gauge theories at high energies although our\nresult differs. We show the possibility of an ultraviolet fixed point that is\nlinked directly to the cosmological constant.",
        "positive": "Quantum Global Structure of de Sitter Space: I study the global structure of de Sitter space in the semi-classical and\none-loop approximations to quantum gravity. The creation and evaporation of\nneutral black holes causes the fragmentation of de Sitter space into\ndisconnected daughter universes. If the black holes are stabilized by a charge,\nI find that the decay leads to a necklace of de Sitter universes (`beads')\njoined by near-extremal black hole throats. For sufficient charge, more and\nmore beads keep forming on the necklace, so that an unbounded number of\nuniverses will be produced. In any case, future infinity will not be connected.\nThis may have implications for a holographic description of quantum gravity in\nde Sitter space."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dirichlet Casimir Energy for a Scalar Field in a Sphere: An Alternative\n  Method: In this paper we compute the leading order of the Casimir energy for a free\nmassless scalar field confined in a sphere in three spatial dimensions, with\nthe Dirichlet boundary condition. When one tabulates all of the reported values\nof the Casimir energies for two closed geometries, cubical and spherical, in\ndifferent space-time dimensions and with different boundary conditions, one\nobserves a complicated pattern of signs. This pattern shows that the Casimir\nenergy depends crucially on the details of the geometry, the number of the\nspatial dimensions, and the boundary conditions. The dependence of the\n\\emph{sign} of the Casimir energy on the details of the geometry, for a fixed\nspatial dimensions and boundary conditions has been a surprise to us and this\nis our main motivation for doing the calculations presented in this paper.\nMoreover, all of the calculations for spherical geometries include the use of\nnumerical methods combined with intricate analytic continuations to handle many\ndifferent sorts of divergences which naturally appear in this category of\nproblems. The presence of divergences is always a source of concern about the\naccuracy of the numerical results. Our approach also includes numerical\nmethods, and is based on Boyer's method for calculating the electromagnetic\nCasimir energy in a perfectly conducting sphere. This method, however, requires\nthe least amount of analytic continuations. The value that we obtain confirms\nthe previously established result.",
        "positive": "Stochastic growth of quantum fluctuations during slow-roll inflation: We compute the growth of the mean square of quantum fluctuations of test\nfields with small effective mass during a slowly changing, nearly de Sitter\nstage which took place in different inflationary models. We consider a\nminimally coupled scalar with a small mass, a modulus with an effective mass $\n\\propto H^2$ (with $H$ as the Hubble parameter) and a massless non-minimally\ncoupled scalar in the test field approximation and compare the growth of their\nrelative mean square with the one of gauge-invariant inflaton fluctuations. We\nfind that in most of the single field inflationary models the mean square gauge\ninvariant inflaton fluctuation grows {\\em faster} than any test field with a\nnon-negative effective mass. Hybrid inflationary models can be an exception:\nthe mean square of a test field can dominate over the gauge invariant inflaton\nfluctuation one on suitably choosing parameters. We also compute the stochastic\ngrowth of quantum fluctuation of a second field, relaxing the assumption of its\nzero homogeneous value, in a generic inflationary model; as a main result, we\nobtain that the equation of motion of a gauge invariant variable associated,\norder by order, with a generic quantum scalar fluctuation during inflation can\nbe obtained only if we use the number of e-folds as the time variable in the\ncorresponding Langevin and Fokker-Planck equations for the stochastic approach.\nWe employ this approach to derive some bounds in the case of a model with two\nmassive fields."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Light-cone AdS/CFT-adapted approach to AdS fields/currents, shadows, and\n  conformal fields: Light-cone gauge formulation of fields in AdS space and conformal field\ntheory in flat space adapted for the study of AdS/CFT correspondence is\ndeveloped. Arbitrary spin mixed-symmetry fields in AdS space and arbitrary spin\nmixed-symmetry currents, shadows, and conformal fields in flat space are\nconsidered on an equal footing. For the massless and massive fields in AdS and\nthe conformal fields in flat space, simple light-cone gauge actions leading to\ndecoupled equations of motion are found. For the currents and shadows, simple\nexpressions for all 2-point functions are also found. We demonstrate that\nrepresentation of conformal algebra generators on space of currents, shadows,\nand conformal fields can be built in terms of spin operators entering the\nlight-cone gauge formulation of AdS fields. This considerably simplifies the\nstudy of AdS/CFT correspondence. Light-cone gauge actions for totally symmetric\narbitrary spin long conformal fields in flat space are presented. We apply our\napproach to the study of totally antisymmetric (one-column) and mixed-symmetry\n(two-column) fields in AdS space and currents, shadows, and conformal fields in\nflat space.",
        "positive": "Deformed Integrable Models from Holomorphic Chern-Simons Theory: We study the approaches to two-dimensional integrable field theories via a\nsix-dimensional(6D) holomorphic Chern-Simons theory defined on twistor space.\nUnder symmetry reduction, it reduces to a four-dimensional Chern-Simons theory,\nwhile under solving along fibres it leads to four-dimensional(4D) integrable\ntheory, the anti-self-dual Yang-Mills or its generalizations. From both\nfour-dimensional theories, various two-dimensional integrable field theories\ncan be obtained. In this work, we try to investigate several two-dimensional\nintegrable deformations in this framework. We find that the\n$\\lambda$-deformation, the rational $\\eta$-deformation and the generalized\n$\\lambda$-deformation can not be realized from 4D integrable model approach,\neven though they could be obtained from 4D Chern-Simons theory. The obstacle\nstems from the incompatibility between the symmetry reduction and the boundary\nconditions. Nevertheless, we show that a coupled theory of\n$\\lambda$-deformation and the $\\eta$-deformation in the trigonometric\ndescription could be obtained from the 6D theory in both ways, by considering\nthe case that $(3,0)$-form in the 6D theory is allowed to have zeros."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The classical double copy in three spacetime dimensions: The double copy relates scattering amplitudes in gauge and gravity theories,\nand has also been extended to classical solutions. In this paper, we study\nsolutions in three spacetime dimensions, where the double copy may be expected\nto be problematic due to the absence of propagating degrees of freedom for the\ngraviton, and the lack of a Newtonian limit. In particular, we examine the\ndouble copy of a gauge theory point charge. This is a vacuum solution in gauge\ntheory, but leads to a non-vacuum solution in gravity, which we show is\nconsistent with previously derived constraints. Furthermore, we successfully\ninterpret the non-trivial stress-energy tensor on the gravity side as arising\nfrom a dilaton profile, and the Newtonian description of a point charge emerges\nas expected in the appropriate limit. Thus, our results provide a non-trivial\ncross-check of the classical Kerr-Schild double copy.",
        "positive": "Higgs Lagrangian from Gauge Theories: We explore a novel way of deriving the effective Higgs Lagrangian from\nstrongly interacting vector-like gauge theories. We consider the N=1\nsupersymmetric extension of gauge theories and interpret the auxiliary field\nassociated with the low energy effective \"meson\" superfield as the Higgs field.\nBy introducing an explicit supersymmetry breaking term and computing the\none-loop effective action at the effective theory level we show that the\nkinetic term for the Higgs field is generated, while the negative mass squared\nterm is already present at the tree level. We further propose a scenario by\nwhich the complete Higgs potential can be generated and the fermion in the low\nenergy effective theory acquires a mass."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Comment on \"Metric Fluctuations in Brane Worlds\": Recently, Ivanov and Volovich (hep-th/9912242) claimed that the perturbation\nof $h_{\\mu\\nu}$ with nonvanishing transverse components $h_{5\\mu}$ is not\nlocalized on the brane because $h_{\\mu\\nu}$ depends on the fifth coordinate $z$\nlinearly. Consequently, it may indicate that the effective theory is unstable.\nHowever, we point out that such linear dependence on $z$ can be {\\it gauged\naway}. Hence the solution does not belong to the physical one. Therefore, even\nif one includes $h_{5\\mu}$, Randall and Sundrum's argument for the localized\ngravity on the brane remains correct.",
        "positive": "Completing the Square to Find the Supersymmetric Matter Effective Action\n  Induced by Coupling to Linearized N=1 Supergravity: We consider generic N=1 supersymmetric matter coupled to linearized N=1\nsupergravity through the multiplet of currents. By completing the square, we\nfind the effective action giving the leading supergravity induced correction to\nthe matter dynamics, expressed explicitly as a quadratic form in the components\nof the current multiplet. The effective action is supersymmetry invariant\nthrough an interplay of the local terms arising from the auxiliary field\ncouplings, and the nonlocal terms arising from graviton and gravitino exchange,\nneither of which is separately invariant. Having an explicit form for the\nsupergravity induced effective action is a first step in studying whether\nsupergravity corrections can lead to dynamical supersymmetry breaking in\nsupersymmetric matter dynamics. In Appendices we give explicit expressions for\nthe currents, in our notational conventions, in the Wess-Zumino and\nsupersymmetric Yang Mills models."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Constraining dark energy: In this paper we propose a mechanism that protects theories violating a\nholographic bound suggested in arXiv:1203.5476 from developing accelerated\nexpansion. The mechanism builts on work on transplanckian physics, and a\nnon-trivial choice of vacuum states. If correct, it lends further support for\ndetectable signatures in the CMBR signalling new physics.",
        "positive": "Vector Deformations of N=4 Super-Yang-Mills Theory, Pinned Branes, and\n  Arched Strings: We study a deformation of N=4 Super-Yang-Mills theory by a dimension-5 vector\noperator. There is a simple nonlocal \"dipole\" field-theory that realizes this\ndeformation. We present evidence that this theory is realized in the setting of\n\"pinned-branes\". The dipoles correspond to open strings that arch out of the\nbrane. We find the gravitational dual of the theory at large N. We also discuss\nthe generalization to the (2,0) theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Geometry of the SU(2)$\\times$ G$_2$-model: We study elliptic fibrations that geometrically engineer an SU(2)$\\times$\nG$_2$ gauge theory realized by Weierstrass model for the collision\nIII+$\\text{I}_0^{*\\text{ns}}$. We construct the four possible crepant\nresolutions of such a Weierstrass model and show that they form a chain of four\nminimal models connected by flops. We compute the generating function for the\nEuler characteristic of these crepant resolutions. In the case of a Calabi-Yau\nthreefold, we consider the compactification of M-theory and F-theory on an\nSU(2)$\\times$ G$_2$-model to a five and six-dimensional supergravity with eight\nsupercharges. By matching each crepant resolution with each Coulomb chamber of\nthe five-dimensional theory, we determine the number of multiplets and compute\nthe prepotential in each Coulomb chamber. In particular, we discuss counting\nnumber of hypermultiplets in presence of singularities. We discuss in detail\nthe cancellation of anomalies of the six-dimensional theory.",
        "positive": "Classical paths for Yang-Mills field with fixed energy: A new classical solution for the SU(2) Yang-Mills theory, in which the\nEuclidean energy plays a role of a parameter is found. A correspondence between\nthis solution and the known selfdual multi-instanton configuration, which has\nthe topological charge N, is discussed, the number of parameters governing the\nnew solution is found to be 8N+1. For negative energies the new solution is\nperiodic in Euclidean time, for positive energies it exhibits the effect of\nlocalization, which states that the solution is completely described within a\nfinite interval of time, for zero energy the found solution is reduced to a\nselfdual one."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Yangians and Classical Lie Algebras, Part II. Sklyanin determinant,\n  Laplace operators and characteristic identities: We study the structure of quantized enveloping algebras called twisted\nYangians, which are naturally associated with the B, C, and D series of the\nclassical Lie algebras. We obtain an explicit formula for the formal series\n(the Sklyanin determinant) whose coefficients are free generators of the center\nof the twisted Yangian. As a corollary we obtain a new system of algebraically\nindependent generators of the center of the universal enveloping algebra for\nthe orthogonal and symplectic Lie algebras and find the characteristic\npolynomial for the matrix formed by the generators of these Lie algebras.",
        "positive": "Canonical and Functional Schrodinger Quantization of Two--Dimensional\n  Dilaton Gravity: We discuss the relation between canonical and Schrodinger quantization of the\nCGHS model. We also discuss the situation when background charges are added to\ncancel the Virasoro anomaly. New physical states are found when the square of\nthe background charges vanishes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Finite-Element Lattice Hamiltonian Matrix Eleents. Anharmonic\n  Oscillators: The finite-element approach to lattice field theory is both highly accurate\n(relative errors $\\sim 1/N^2$, where $N$ is the number of lattice points) and\nexactly unitary (in the sense that canonical commutation relations are exactly\npreserved at the lattice sites). In this paper we construct matrix elements for\nthe time evolution operator for the anharmonic oscillator, for which the\ncontinuum Hamiltonian is $H=p^2/2+\\lambda q^{2k}/2k$. Construction of such\nmatrix elements does not require solving the implicit equations of motion. Low\norder approximations turn out to be quite accurate. For example, the matrix\nelement of the time evolution operator in the harmonic oscillator ground state\ngives a result for the $k=2$ anharmonic oscillator ground state energy accurate\nto better than 1\\%, while a two-state approximation reduces the error to less\nthan 0.1\\%. Accurate wavefunctions are also extracted. Analogous results may be\nobtained in the continuum, but there the computation is more difficult, and not\ngeneralizable to field theories in more dimensions.",
        "positive": "A Worldsheet Description of Instant Folded Strings: Time-like linear dilaton backgrounds admit a classical solution that\ndescribes a closed folded string that is created at an instant. We refer to\nsuch strings as Instant Folded Strings (IFS). We study an exact worldsheet CFT\ndescription of an IFS that involves two vertex operators which describe two\nopen string modes that propagate on a time-like FZZT-brane, which plays the\nrole of a regulator to the IFS. We take advantage of this description to\ncalculate the most basic quantity associated with IFSs - their production rate.\nSome implications of this calculation to stringy cosmology and black hole\ninterior are briefly discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Nonminimal planar electrodynamics modified by higher-derivative terms: We consider a (2+1)-dimensional modified electrodynamics endowed with terms\nthat are either Lorentz-invariant or Lorentz-violating and involve an ever\nincreasing number of derivatives. Our construction relies on U(1) gauge\ninvariance and the Abelian Chern-Simons term poses the starting point. The\nstructure of the nonminimal Standard-Model Extension (SME) in (3+1) spacetime\ndimensions serves as an inspiration for our pursuit. For elaborate studies and\napplications we particularly focus on the second term of the operator series in\nthe general framework, which is the first contribution with additional\nderivatives. The latter forms the essential ingredient for several models of\nmodified planar electrodynamics to be examined. The propagators of the models\nconstitute the foundation for us deriving the physical propagating modes as\nwell as for drawing conclusions on unitarity in the quantum regime. We are also\ninterested in identifying parameter regions of sub- and superluminal mode\npropagation and determine classical solutions of the field equations for the\nplanar models introduced. Moreover, a duality between an extended Chern-Simons\ntheory and a subset of the fermion sector coefficients in the nonminimal SME is\npointed out, as well. Finally, the integer quantum Hall effect is chosen as a\ntestbed to demonstrate the applicability of our findings to real physical\nsystems. Predictions on momentum- and direction-dependent corrections of the\nHall resistivity are made at the level of effective field theory, which could\nbe tested in experiments. Thus, the (2+1)-dimensional models proposed are\npotentially applicable to model electromagnetic phenomena in certain planar\ncondensed-matter systems.",
        "positive": "Renormalization group functions of $\u03c6^4$ theory in the MS-scheme to\n  six loops: Subdivergences constitute a major obstacle to the evaluation of Feynman\nintegrals and an expression in terms of finite quantities can be a considerable\nadvantage for both analytic and numeric calculations. We report on our\nimplementation of the suggestion by F. Brown and D. Kreimer, who proposed to\nuse a modified BPHZ scheme where all counterterms are single-scale integrals.\nPaired with parametric integration via hyperlogarithms, this method is\nparticularly well suited for the computation of renormalization group functions\nand easily automated. As an application of this approach we compute the 6-loop\nbeta function and anomalous dimensions of the $\\phi^4$ model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Nonlocal operator basis from the path representation of the M(k+1,k+2)\n  and the M(k+1,2k+3) minimal models: We reinterpret a path describing a state in an irreducible module of the\nunitary minimal model M(k+1,k+2) in terms of a string of charged operators\nacting on the module's ground-state path. Each such operator acts non-locally\non a path. The path characteristics are then translated into a set of\nconditions on sequences of operators that provide an operator basis. As an\napplication, we re-derive the vacuum finite fermionic character by constructing\nthe generating function of these basis states.\n  These results generalize directly to the M(k+1,2k+3) models, the close\nrelatives of the unitary models in terms of path description.",
        "positive": "Operators and vacua of N=1 field theories: We review the idea of Hilbert Series as a tool to study the moduli space and\nthe BPS operators of four dimensional N=1 supersymmetric field theories. We\nconcentrate on the particular case of N=1 superconformal field theories living\non N D3 branes at toric Calabi-Yau singularities. The main claim is: it is\npossible to write down explicit partition functions counting all the local BPS\noperators for generic N number of branes, and obtain important informations\nabout the BPS operators, the moduli space and the dual geometry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "New Instanton Solutions at Finite Temperature: We discuss the newly found exact instanton solutions at finite temperature\nwith a non-trivial Polyakov loop at infinity. They can be described in terms of\nmonopole constituents and we discuss in this context an old result due to\nTaubes how to make out of monopoles non-trivial topological charge\nconfigurations, with possible applications to abelian projection.",
        "positive": "Black-hole thermodynamics and renormalization: Ultraviolet regime in quantum theory with horizons, contrary to ordinary\ntheory, depends on the temperature of the system due to additional surface\ndivergences in the effective action. We evaluate their general one-loop\nstructure paying attention to effects of the curvature of the space-time near\nthe horizon. In particular, apart from the area term, the entropy of a black\nhole is shown to acquire a topological correction in the form of the integral\ncurvature of the horizon. To get the entropy, heat capacity and other\nthermodynamical quantities finite, such a kind of singularities should be\nremoved by renormalization of a number of constants in a surface functional\nintroduced in the effective action at arbitrary temperature. We also discuss a\ndiscrepancy in the different regularization techniques."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Expectation values of local fields for a two-parameter family of\n  integrable models and related perturbed conformal field theories: We calculate the vacuum expectation values of local fields for the\ntwo-parameter family of integrable field theories introduced and studied by\nFateev. Using this result we propose an explicit expression for the vacuum\nexpectation values of local operators in parafermionic sine-Gordon models and\nin integrable perturbed SU(2) coset conformal field theories.",
        "positive": "Time Asymmetric Quantum Theory - II. Relativistic Resonances from\n  S-Matrix Poles: Relativistic resonances and decaying states are described by representations\nof Poincar\\'e transformations, similar to Wigner's definition of stable\nparticles. To associate decaying state vectors to resonance poles of the\n$S$-matrix, the conventional Hilbert space assumption (or asymptotic\ncompleteness) is replaced by a new hypothesis that associates different dense\nHardy subspaces to the in- and out-scattering states. Then one can separate the\nscattering amplitude into a background amplitude and one or several\n``relativistic Breit-Wigner'' amplitudes, which represent the resonances per\nse. These Breit-Wigner amplitudes have a precisely defined lineshape and are\nassociated to exponentially decaying Gamow vectors which furnish the\nirreducible representation spaces of causal Poincar\\'e transformations into the\nforward light cone."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic Entanglement Entropy in Lovelock Gravities: We study entanglement entropies of simply connected surfaces in field\ntheories dual to Lovelock gravities. We consider Gauss-Bonnet and cubic\nLovelock gravities in detail. In the conformal case the logarithmic terms in\nthe entanglement entropy are governed by the conformal anomalies of the CFT; we\nverify that the holographic calculations are consistent with this property. We\nalso compute the holographic entanglement entropy of a slab in the Gauss-Bonnet\nexamples dual to relativistic and non-relativistic CFTs and discuss its\nproperties. Finally, we discuss features of the entanglement entropy in the\nbackgrounds dual to renormalization group flows between fixed points and\ncomment on the implications for a possible c-theorem in four spacetime\ndimensions.",
        "positive": "Noncommutative $AdS_2$ II: The Correspondence Principle: Using the exact solutions to the field equation for a massive scalar field on\nnoncommutative $AdS_2$, we apply the $AdS/CFT$ correspondence principle to\nobtain an exact result for the associated two-point function on the conformal\nboundary. The answer satisfies conformal invariance and has the correct\ncommutative limit and massless limit."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Null Surface Thermodynamics: We establish that boundary degrees of freedom associated with a generic\nco-dimension one null surface in $D$ dimensional pure Einstein gravity\nnaturally admit a thermodynamical description. We expect the $\\textit{null\nsurface thermodynamics}$ to universally follow as a result of the\ndiffeomorphism invariance of the theory, not relying on other special features\nof the null surface or the gravity theory. Using standard surface charge\nanalysis and covariant phase space method, we formulate laws of null surface\nthermodynamics which are local equations over an arbitrary null surface\nparalleling local versions the zeroth and first laws and the Gibbs-Duhem\nequation. This thermodynamical system is generally an open system and can be\nclosed only when there is no flux of gravitons through the null surface. Our\nanalysis extends the usual black hole thermodynamics to a universal feature of\nany area element on a generic null surface. We discuss the relevance of our\nstudy for the membrane paradigm and black hole microstates.",
        "positive": "Gaugino Condensation and Generation of Supersymmetric 3-Form Flux: We extend the linearised solution of Polchinski and Strassler describing the\nsupergravity dual of the N=1* gauge theory. By analysing the equations of\nmotion of type IIB supergravity at cubic order in the mass perturbation\nparameter, we demonstrate the emergence of a 3-form flux of type (3,0) with\nrespect to the natural complex structure. The generation of this flux can be\nassociated to the dynamical formation of a gaugino condensate in the confining\nphase of the N=1* gauge theory. We also check that the supersymmetry conditions\nare satisfied, and we discuss how this (3,0)-form flux is tied to the existence\nof a supersymmetric background with SU(2)-structure."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Curved-space classical solutions of a massive supermatrix model: We investigate here a supermatrix model with a mass term and a cubic\ninteraction. It is based on the super Lie algebra osp(1|32,R), which could play\na role in the construction of the eleven-dimensional M-theory. This model\ncontains a massive version of the IIB matrix model, where some fields have a\ntachyonic mass term. Therefore, the trivial vacuum of this theory is unstable.\nHowever, this model possesses several classical solutions where these fields\nbuild noncommutative curved spaces and these solutions are shown to be\nenergetically more favorable than the trivial vacuum. In particular, we\ndescribe in details two cases, the SO(3) \\times SO(3) \\times SO(3) (three fuzzy\n2-spheres) and the SO(9) (fuzzy 8-sphere) classical backgrounds.",
        "positive": "Holographic two dimensional QCD and Chern-Simons term: We present a holographic realization of large Nc massless QCD in two\ndimensions using a D2/D8 brane construction. The flavor axial anomaly is dual\nto a three dimensional Chern-Simons term which turns out to be of leading\norder, and it affects the meson spectrum and holographic renormalization in\ncrucial ways. The massless flavor bosons that exist in the spectrum are found\nto decouple from the heavier mesons, in agreement with the general lore of\nnon-Abelian bosonization. We also show that an external dynamical photon\nacquires a mass through the three dimensional Chern-Simons term as expected\nfrom the Schwinger mechanism. Massless two dimensional QCD at large Nc exhibits\nanti-vector-meson dominance due to the axial anomaly."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "$\u03b1'$-corrected black holes in String Theory: We consider the well-known solution of the Heterotic Superstring effective\naction to zeroth order in $\\alpha'$ that describes the intersection of a\nfundamental string with momentum and a solitonic 5-brane and which gives a\n3-charge, static, extremal, supersymmetric black hole in 5 dimensions upon\ndimensional reduction on $\\mathrm{T}^{5}$. We compute explicitly the\nfirst-order in $\\alpha'$ corrections to this solution, including\n$\\mathrm{SU}(2)$ Yang-Mills fields which can be used to cancel some of these\ncorrections and we study the main properties of this $\\alpha'$-corrected\nsolution: supersymmetry, values of the near-horizon and asymptotic charges,\nbehavior under $\\alpha'$-corrected T-duality, value of the entropy (using Wald\nformula directly in 10 dimensions), existence of small black holes etc. The\nvalue obtained for the entropy agrees, within the limits of approximation, with\nthat obtained by microscopic methods. The $\\alpha'$ corrections coming from\nWald's formula prove crucial for this result.",
        "positive": "R-symmetries and curvature constraints in A-twisted heterotic\n  Landau-Ginzburg models: In this paper, we discuss various aspects of a class of A-twisted heterotic\nLandau-Ginzburg models on a Kaehler variety X. We provide a classification of\nthe R-symmetries in these models which allow the A-twist to be implemented,\nfocusing on the case in which the gauge bundle is either a deformation of the\ntangent bundle of X or a deformation of a sub-bundle of the tangent bundle of\nX. Some anomaly-free examples are provided. The curvature constraint imposed by\nsupersymmetry in these models when the superpotential is not holomorphic is\nreviewed. Constraints of this nature have been used to establish properties of\nanalogues of pullbacks of Mathai-Quillen forms which arise in the correlation\nfunctions of the corresponding A-twisted or B-twisted heterotic Landau-Ginzburg\nmodels. The analogue most relevant to this paper is a deformation of the\npullback of a Mathai-Quillen form. We discuss how this deformation may arise in\nthe class of models studied in this paper. We then comment on how analogues of\npullbacks of Mathai-Quillen forms not discussed in previous work may be\nobtained. Standard Mathai-Quillen formalism is reviewed in an appendix. We also\ninclude an appendix which discusses the deformation of the pullback of a\nMathai-Quillen form."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Sasakians and the Geometry of a Mass Term: A gauge-invariant mass term for nonabelian gauge fields in two dimensions can\nbe expressed as the Wess-Zumino-Witten (WZW) action. Hard thermal loops in the\ngauge theory in four dimensions at finite temperatures generate a screening\nmass for some components of the gauge field. This can be expressed in terms of\nthe WZW action using the bundle of complex structures (for Euclidean signature)\nor the bundle of lightcones over Minkowski space. We show that a dynamically\ngenerated mass term in three dimensions can be put within the same general\nframework using using the bundle of Sasakian structures.",
        "positive": "Semiclassical Quantization of Hopf Solitons: The gauge equivalent formulation of the Faddeev-Skyrme model is used for the\nstudy of the quantum theory. The rotational quantum excitations around the\nsoliton solution of Hopf number unity are investigated by the method of\ncollective coordinates. The quantum Hamiltonian of the system is found to\ncoincide with the Hamiltonian of a symmetrical top rotating in SU(2). Thus, the\nirreducible representations of physical observables can be constructed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Horava gravity with mixed derivative terms: Horava gravity has been constructed so as to exhibit anisotropic scaling in\nthe ultraviolet, as this renders the theory power-counting renormalizable.\nHowever, when coupled to matter, the theory has been shown to suffer from\nquadratic divergences. A way to cure these divergences is to add terms with\nboth time and space derivatives. We consider this extended version of the\ntheory in detail. We perform a perturbative analysis that includes all modes,\ndetermine the propagators and discuss how including mixed-derivative terms\naffects them. We also consider the Lifshitz scalar with mixed-derivative terms\nas a toy model for power counting arguments and discuss the influence of such\nterms on renormalizability.",
        "positive": "Evidence for F-Theory: We construct compact examples of D-manifolds for type IIB strings. The\nconstruction has a natural interpretation in terms of compactification of a 12\ndimensional `F-theory'. We provide evidence for a more natural reformulation of\ntype IIB theory in terms of F-theory. Compactification of M-theory on a\nmanifold $K$ which admits elliptic fibration is equivalent to compactification\nof F-theory on $K\\times S^1$. A large class of $N=1$ theories in 6 dimensions\nare obtained by compactification of F-theory on Calabi-Yau threefolds. A class\nof phenomenologically promising compactifications of F-theory is on $Spin(7)$\nholonomy manifolds down to 4 dimensions. This may provide a concrete\nrealization of Witten's proposal for solving the cosmological constant problem\nin four dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Solving two-dimensional adjoint QCD with a basis-function approach: We apply a method (\"eLCQ\") to find the asymptotic spectrum of a Hamiltonian\nfrom its symmetries to two-dimensional adjoint QCD. Streamlining the approach,\nwe construct a complete set of asymptotic eigenfunctions in all parton sectors\nand use it in a basis-function approach to find the spectrum of the full\ntheory. We are able to reproduce previous results including the degeneracy of\nfermionic and bosonic masses at the supersymmetric point, and to understand the\nproperties of the lowest states in the massless theory.\n  The approach taken here is continuous at fixed parton number, and therefore\ncomplementary to standard (DLCQ-like) formulations. Despite its limitation to\nrather small parton numbers, it can be used to test and validate conclusions of\nother frameworks in an independent way.",
        "positive": "Search for the most stable massive state in superstring theory: In ten dimensional type II superstring, all perturbative massive states are\nunstable, typically with a short lifetime compared to the string scale. We find\nthat the lifetime of the average string state of mass M has the asymptotic form\nT < const.1/(g^2 M). The most stable string state seems to be a certain state\nwith high angular momentum which can be classically viewed as a circular string\nrotating in several planes (\"the rotating ring\"), predominantly decaying by\nradiating soft massless NS-NS particles, with a lifetime T = c_0 M^5/g^2.\nRemarkably, the dominant channel is the decay into a similar rotating ring\nstate of smaller mass. The total lifetime to shrink to zero size is ~ M^7. In\nthe presence of D branes, decay channels involving open strings in the final\nstate are exponentially suppressed, so the lifetime is still proportional to\nM^5, except for a D brane at a special angle or flux. For large mass, the\nspectrum for massless emission exhibits qualitative features typical of a\nthermal spectrum, such as a maximum and an exponential tail. We also discuss\nthe decay properties of rotating rings in the case of compact dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Geometry of N=1 and N=2 Real Supersymmetric Non-Linear Sigma-Models\n  in the Atiyah-Ward Space-Time: We analyse the structure of N=1 and N=2 supersymmetric non-linear\nsigma-models built up with a pair of real superfields defined in the superspace\nof Atiyah-Ward space-time. The geometry arising has new features such as the\nexistence of a locally product structure (N=1 case) and a set of automorphisms\nof the tangent space that is isomorphic to the split-quaternionic algebra (N=2\ncase).",
        "positive": "From Lorentz-Chern-Simons to Massive Gravity in 2+1 Dimensions: We propose a generalization of Chiral Gravity, which follows from considering\na Chern-Simons action for the spin connection with anti-symmetric contorsion.\nThe theory corresponds to Topologically Massive Gravity at the chiral point\nnon-minimally coupled to an additional scalar mode that gathers the torsion\ndegree of freedom. In this setup, the effective cosmological constant (the\ninverse of the curvature radius of maximally symmetric solutions) is either\nnegative or zero, and it enters as an integration constant associated to the\nvalue of the contorsion at infinity. We explain how this is not in conflict\nwith the Zamolodchikov's $c$-theorem holding in the dual boundary theory. In\nfact, we conjecture that the theory formulated about three-dimensional Anti-de\nSitter space is dual to a two-dimensional conformal field theory whose right-\nand left-moving central charges are given by $c_{R}=24k$ and $c_{L}=0$,\nrespectively, being $k$ the level of the Chern-Simons action. We study the\nclassical theory both at the linear and non-linear level. In particular, we\nshow how Chiral Gravity is included as a special sector. In addition, the\ntheory has other sectors, which we explore; we exhibit analytic exact solutions\nthat are not solutions of Topologically Massive Gravity (and, consequently,\nneither of General Relativity) and still satisfy Brown-Henneaux asymptotically\nAdS$_{3}$ boundary conditions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Path Integral Formulation of the Conformal Wess-Zumino-Witten to\n  Liouville Reduction: The quantum Wess-Zumino-Witten $\\to$ Liouville reduction is formulated using\nthe phase space path integral method of Batalin, Fradkin, and Vilkovisky,\nadapted to theories on compact two dimensional manifolds. The importance of the\nzero modes of the Lagrange multipliers in producing the Liouville potential and\nthe WZW anomaly, and in proving gauge invariance, is emphasised. A previous\nproblem concerning the gauge dependence of the Virasoro centre is solved.",
        "positive": "Inverse Mass Expansion of the One-Loop Effective Action: A method is described for the development of the one-loop effective action\nexpansion as an asymptotic series in inverse powers of the fermion mass. The\nmethod is based on the Schwinger-DeWitt proper-time technique, which allows for\nloop particles with non-degenerate masses. The case with SU(2)xSU(2) as the\nsymmetry group is considered. The obtained novel series generalizes the\nwell-known Schwinger-De Witt inverse mass expansion for equal masses, and is\nchiral invariant at each order. We calculate the asymptotic coefficients up to\nfifth order and clarify their relationship with the standard Seeley-DeWitt\ncoefficients."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Open and Closed Supermembranes with Winding: Motivated by manifest Lorentz symmetry and a well-defined large-N limit\nprescription, we study the supersymmetric quantum mechanics proposed as a model\nfor the collective dynamics of D0-branes from the point of view of the\n11-dimensional supermembrane. We argue that the continuity of the spectrum\npersists irrespective of the presence of winding around compact target-space\ndirections and discuss the central charges in the superalgebra arising from\nwinding membrane configurations. Along the way we comment on the structure of\nopen supermembranes.",
        "positive": "Noncommutative tori, Yang-Mills and string theory: Noncommutative tori are among historically the oldest and by now the most\ndeveloped examples of noncommutative spaces. Noncommutative Yang-Mills theory\ncan be obtained from string theory. This connection led to a\ncross-fertilization of research in physics and mathematics on Yang-Mills theory\non noncommutative tori. One important result stemming from that work is the\nlink between T-duality in string theory and Morita equivalence of associative\nalgebras. In this article we give an overview of the basic results in\ndifferential geometry of noncommutative tori. Yang-Mills theory on\nnoncommutative tori, the duality induced by Morita equivalence and its link\nwith the T-duality are discussed. Noncommutative Nahm transform for instantons\nis introduced."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exploring improved holographic theories for QCD: Part II: This paper is a continuation of ArXiv:0707.1324 where improved holographic\ntheories for QCD were set up and explored. Here, the IR confining geometries\nare classified and analyzed. They all end in a \"good\" (repulsive) singularity\nin the IR. The glueball spectra are gaped and discrete, and they favorably\ncompare to the lattice data. Quite generally, confinement and discrete spectra\nimply each other. Asymptotically linear glueball masses can also be achieved.\nAsymptotic mass ratios of various glueballs with different spin also turn out\nto be universal. Mesons dynamics is implemented via space filling D4-anti-D4\nbrane pairs. The associated tachyon dynamics is analyzed and chiral symmetry\nbreaking is shown. The dynamics of the RR axion is analyzed, and the\nnon-perturbative running of the QCD theta-angle is obtained. It is shown to\nalways vanish in the IR.",
        "positive": "Holographic Brownian Motion in Magnetic Environments: Using the gauge/gravity correspondence, we study the dynamics of a heavy\nquark in two strongly-coupled systems at finite temperature: Super-Yang-Mills\nin the presence of a magnetic field and non-commutative Super-Yang-Mills. In\nthe former, our results agree qualitatively with the expected behavior from\nweakly-coupled theories. In the latter, we propose a Langevin equation that\naccounts for the effects of non-commutativity and we find new interesting\nfeatures. The equation resembles the structure of Brownian motion in the\npresence of a magnetic field and implies that the fluctuations along\nnon-commutative directions are correlated. Moreover, our results show that the\nviscosity is smaller than the commutative case and that the diffusion\nproperties of the quark are unaffected by non-commutativity. Finally, we\ncompute the random force autocorrelator and verify that the\nfluctuation-dissipation theorem holds in the presence of non-commutativity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quanta of Geometry and Unification: This is a tribute to Abdus Salam's memory whose insight and creative thinking\nset for me a role model to follow. In this contribution I show that the simple\nrequirement of volume quantization in space-time (with Euclidean signature)\nuniquely determines the geometry to be that of a noncommutative space whose\nfinite part is based on an algebra that leads to Pati-Salam grand unified\nmodels. The Standard Model corresponds to a special case where a mathematical\nconstraint (order one condition) is satisfied. This provides evidence that\nSalam was a visionary who was generations ahead of his time.",
        "positive": "Holographic Coarse-Graining: Correlators from the Entanglement Wedge and\n  Other Reduced Geometries: There is some tension between two well-known ideas in holography. On the one\nhand, subregion duality asserts that the reduced density matrix associated with\na limited region of the boundary theory is dual to a correspondingly limited\nregion in the bulk, known as the entanglement wedge. On the other hand,\ncorrelators that in the boundary theory can be computed solely with that\ndensity matrix are calculated in the bulk via the GKPW or BDHM prescriptions,\nwhich require input from beyond the entanglement wedge. We show that this\ntension is resolved by recognizing that the reduced state is only fully\nidentified when the entanglement wedge is supplemented with a specific infrared\nboundary action, associated with an end-of-the-world brane. This action is\nobtained by coarse-graining through a variant of Wilsonian integration, a\nprocedure that we call holographic rememorization, which can also be applied to\ndefine other reduced density or transition matrices, as well as more general\nreduced partition functions. We find an interesting connection with AdS/BCFT,\nand, in this context, we are led to a simple example of an equivalence between\nan ensemble of theories and a single theory, as discussed in recent studies of\nthe black hole information problem."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Jordanian deformations of the AdS_5xS^5 superstring: We consider Jordanian deformations of the AdS_5xS^5 superstring action. The\ndeformations correspond to non-standard q-deformation. In particular, it is\npossible to perform partial deformations, for example, only for the S^5 part.\nThen the classical action and the Lax pair are constructed with a linear,\ntwisted and extended R operator. It is shown that the action preserves the\nkappa-symmetry.",
        "positive": "ABJM Dibaryon Spectroscopy: We extend the proposal for a detailed map between wrapped D-branes in Anti-de\nSitter space and baryon-like operators in the associated dual conformal field\ntheory provided in hep-th/0202150 to the recently formulated AdS_4 \\times\nCP^3/ABJM correspondence. In this example, the role of the dibaryon operator of\nthe 3-dimensional CFT is played by a D4-brane wrapping a CP^2 \\subset CP^3.\nThis topologically stable D-brane in the AdS_4 \\times CP^3 is nothing but\none-half of the maximal giant graviton on CP^3."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Backreaction in scalar QED, Langevin equation and Decoherence functional: Using the Schwinger-Keldysh (closed time path or CTP) and Feynman-Vernon\ninfluence functional formalisms we obtain a Langevin equation for the\ndescription of the charged particle creation in electric field and of\nbackreaction of charged quantum fields and their fluctuations on time evolution\nof this electric field. We obtain an expression for the influence functional in\nterms of Bogoliubov coefficients for the case of quantum electrodynamics with\nspin 0 charged particles. Then we derive a CTP effective action in\nsemiclassical approximation and its cumulant expansion. An intimate connection\nbetween CTP effective action and decoherence functional will allow us to\nanalyze how macroscopic electromagnetic fields are ``measured'' through\ninteraction with charges and thereby rendered classical.",
        "positive": "Evaporation of a black hole off of a tense brane: We calculate the gray-body factors for scalar, vector and graviton fields in\nthe background of an exact black hole localized on a tensional 3-brane in a\nworld with two large extra dimensions. Finite brane tension modifies the\nstandard results for the case with of a black hole on a brane with negligible\ntension. For a black hole of a fixed mass, the power carried away into the bulk\ndiminishes as the tension increases, because the effective Planck constant, and\ntherefore entropy of a fixed mass black hole, increase. In this limit, the\nsemiclassical description of black hole decay becomes more reliable."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Microcanonical model for a gaz of evaporating black holes and strings,\n  scattering amplitudes and mass spectrum: We study the system formed by a gaz of black holes and strings within a\nmicrocanonical formulation. We derive the microcanonical content of the system:\nentropy, equation of state, number of components N, temperature T and specific\nheat. The pressure and the specific heat are negative reflecting the\ngravitational unstability and a non-homogeneous configuration. The asymptotic\nbehaviour of the temperature for large masses emerges as the Hawking\ntemperature of the system (classical or semiclassical phase) in which the\nclassical black hole behaviour dominates, while for small masses (quantum black\nhole or string behavior) the temperature becomes the string temperature which\nemerges as the critical temperature of the system. At low masses, a phase\ntransition takes place showing the passage from the classical (black hole) to\nquantum (string) behaviour. Within a microcanonical field theory formulation,\nthe propagator describing the string-particle-black hole system is derived and\nfrom it the interacting four point scattering amplitude of the system is\nobtained. For high masses it behaves asymptotically as the degeneracy of states\nof the system (ie duality or crossing symmetry). The microcanonical propagator\nand partition function are derived from a (Nambu-Goto) formulation of the\nN-extended objects and the mass spectrum of the black-hole-string system is\nobtained: for small masses (quantum behaviour) these yield the usual pure\nstring scattering amplitude and string-particle spectrum M_n\\approx \\sqrt{n};\nfor growing mass it pass for all the intermediate states up to the pure black\nhole behaviour. The different black hole behaviours according to the different\nmass ranges: classical, semiclassical and quantum or string behaviours are\npresent in the model.",
        "positive": "Heavy quarks in the presence of higher derivative corrections from\n  AdS/CFT: We use the gauge-string duality to study heavy quarks in the presence of\nhigher derivative corrections. These corrections correspond to the finite\ncoupling corrections on the properties of heavy quarks in a hot plasma. In\nparticular, we study the effects of these corrections on the energy loss and\nthe dissociation length of a quark-antiquark pair. We show that the calculated\nenergy loss of heavy quarks through the plasma increases. We also find in\ngeneral that the dissociation length becomes shorter with the increase of\ncoupling parameters of higher curvature terms."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Categories of Massless D-Branes and del Pezzo Surfaces: In analogy with the physical concept of a massless D-brane, we define a\nnotion of \"Q-masslessness\" for objects in the derived category. This is defined\nin terms of monodromy around singularities in the stringy Kahler moduli space\nand is relatively easy to study using spherical functors. We consider several\nexamples in which del Pezzo surfaces and other rational surfaces in Calabi-Yau\nthreefolds are contracted. For precisely the del Pezzo surfaces that can be\nwritten as hypersurfaces in weighted P3, the category of Q-massless objects is\na \"fractional Calabi-Yau\" category of graded matrix factorizations.",
        "positive": "Nonreductive WZW models and their CFTs, II: N=1 and N=2 cosets: In hep-th/9506151 we started a programme devoted to the systematic study of\nthe conformal field theories derived from WZW models based on nonreductive Lie\ngroups. In this, the second part, we continue this programme with a look at the\nN=1 and N=2 superconformal field theories which arise from both gauged and\nungauged supersymmetric WZW models. We extend the supersymmetric (affine)\nSugawara and coset constructions, as well as the N=2 Kazama--Suzuki\nconstruction to general self-dual Lie algebras."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Adler-Bardeen theorem and cancellation of gauge anomalies to all orders\n  in nonrenormalizable theories: We prove the Adler-Bardeen theorem in a large class of general gauge\ntheories, including nonrenormalizable ones. We assume that the gauge symmetries\nare general covariance, local Lorentz symmetry and Abelian and non-Abelian\nYang-Mills symmetries, and that the local functionals of vanishing ghost number\nsatisfy a variant of the Kluberg-Stern--Zuber conjecture. We show that if the\ngauge anomalies are trivial at one loop, for every truncation of the theory\nthere exists a subtraction scheme where they manifestly vanish to all orders,\nwithin the truncation. Outside the truncation the cancellation of gauge\nanomalies can be enforced by fine-tuning local counterterms. The framework of\nthe proof is worked out by combining a recently formulated chiral dimensional\nregularization with a gauge invariant higher-derivative regularization. If the\nhigher-derivative regularizing terms are placed well beyond the truncation, and\nthe energy scale $\\Lambda$ associated with them is kept fixed, the theory is\nsuper-renormalizable and has the property that, once the gauge anomalies are\ncancelled at one loop, they manifestly vanish from two loops onwards by simple\npower counting. When the $\\Lambda$ divergences are subtracted away and\n$\\Lambda$ is sent to infinity, the anomaly cancellation survives in a manifest\nform within the truncation and in a nonmanifest form outside. The standard\nmodel coupled to quantum gravity satisfies all the assumptions, so it is free\nof gauge anomalies to all orders.",
        "positive": "Superluminality in dilatationally invariant generalized Galileon\n  theories: We consider small perturbations about homogeneous backgrounds in\ndilatationally-invariant Galileon models. The issues we address are stability\n(absence of ghosts and gradient instabilities) and superluminality. We show\nthat in Minkowski background, it is possible to construct the Lagrangian in\nsuch a way that any homogeneous Galileon background solution is stable and\nsmall perturbations about it are subluminal. On the other hand, in the case of\nFLRW backgrounds, for any Lagrangian functions there exist homogeneous\nbackground solutions to the Galileon equation of motion and time-dependence of\nthe scale factor, such that the stability conditions are satisfied, but the\nGalileon perturbations propagate with superluminal speed. Thus, a popular class\nof the generalized Galileon models is plagued by superluminality."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Oscillating and Static Universes from a Single Barotropic Fluid: We consider cosmological solutions to general relativity with a single\nbarotropic fluid, where the pressure is a general function of the density, $p =\nf(\\rho)$. We derive conditions for static and oscillating solutions and provide\nexamples, extending earlier work to these simpler and more general single-fluid\ncosmologies. Generically we expect such solutions to suffer from instabilities,\nthrough effects such as quantum fluctuations or tunneling to zero size. We also\nfind a classical instability (\"no-go\" theorem) for oscillating solutions of a\nsingle barotropic perfect fluid due to a necessarily negative squared sound\nspeed.",
        "positive": "Charge-Swapping Q-balls: Q-balls are non-topological solitonic solutions to a wide class of field\ntheories that possess global symmetries. Here we show that in these same\ntheories there also exists a tower of novel composite Q-ball solutions where,\nwithin one composite Q-ball, positive and negative charges co-exist and swap at\na frequency lower than the natural frequency of an individual Q-ball. These\ncharge-swapping Q-balls are constructed by assembling Q-balls and anti-Q-balls\ntightly such that their nonlinear cores overlap. We explain why charge-swapping\nQ-balls can form and why they swap charges."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Stochastic quantization of conformally coupled scalar in AdS: We explore the relation between stochastic quantization and holographic\nWilsonian renormalization group flow further by studying conformally coupled\nscalar in $AdS_{d+1}$. We establish one to one mapping between the radial flow\nof its double trace deformation and stochastic 2-point correlation function.\nThis map is shown to be identical, up to a suitable field re-definition of the\nbulk scalar, to the original proposal in arXiv:1209.2242.",
        "positive": "The d=6 trace anomaly from quantum field theory four-loop graphs in one\n  dimension: We calculate the integrated trace anomaly for a real spin-0 scalar field in\nsix dimensions in a torsionless curved space without a boundary. We use a path\nintegral approach for a corresponding supersymmetric quantum mechanical model.\nWeyl ordering the corresponding Hamiltonian in phase space, an extra two-loop\ncounterterm ${1/8}\\bigg(R + g^{ij} \\Gamma^{l}_{k i} \\Gamma^{k}_{l j} \\bigg)$ is\nproduced in the action. Applying a recursive method we evaluate the components\nof the metric tensor in Riemann normal coordinates in six dimensions and\nconstruct the interaction Langrangian density by employing the background field\nmethod.\n  The calculation of the anomaly is based on the end-point scalar propagator\nand not on the string inspired center-of-mass propagator which gives incorrect\nresults for the local trace anomaly. The manipulation of the Feynman diagrams\nis partly relied on the factorization of four dimensional subdiagrams and\npartly on a brute force computer algebra program developed to serve this\nspecific purpose. The computer program enables one to perform index\ncontractions of twelve quantum fields (10395 in the present case) a task which\ncannot be accomplished otherwise. We observe that the contribution of the\ndisconnected diagrams is no longer proportional to the two dimensional trace\nanomaly (which vanishes in four dimensions). The integrated trace anomaly is\nfinally expressed in terms of the 17 linearly independent scalar monomials\nconstructed out of covariant derivatives and Riemann tensors."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Giant Magnons: Studies of ${\\cal N}=4$ super Yang Mills operators with large R-charge have\nshown that, in the planar limit, the problem of computing their dimensions can\nbe viewed as a certain spin chain. These spin chains have fundamental\n``magnon'' excitations which obey a dispersion relation that is periodic in the\nmomentum of the magnons. This result for the dispersion relation was also shown\nto hold at arbitrary 't Hooft coupling. Here we identify these magnons on the\nstring theory side and we show how to reconcile a periodic dispersion relation\nwith the continuum worldsheet description. The crucial idea is that the\nmomentum is interpreted in the string theory side as a certain geometrical\nangle. We use these results to compute the energy of a spinning string. We also\nshow that the symmetries that determine the dispersion relation and that\nconstrain the S-matrix are the same in the gauge theory and the string theory.\nWe compute the overall S-matrix at large 't Hooft coupling using the string\ndescription and we find that it agrees with an earlier conjecture. We also find\nan infinite number of two magnon bound states at strong coupling, while at weak\ncoupling this number is finite.",
        "positive": "When q=0, The Forced Harmonic Oscillator Isn't: We consider the forced harmonic oscillator quantized according to infinite\nstatistics ( a special case of the `quon' algebra proposed by Greenberg ). We\nshow that in order for the statistics to be consistently evolved the forcing\nterm must be identically zero for all time. Hence only the free harmonic\noscillator may be quantized according to infinite statistics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Axionic Inflation from Large Volume Flux Compactifications: We find a general model of {\\em single-field} inflation within the context of\ntype IIB string theory compactified on large volume Calabi-Yau orientifolds\nwith $h^{2,1} > h^{1,1} = 2$. The inflaton is the axion part of the\ncomplexified K\\\"{a}hler moduli and the resulting scalar power spectrum is red,\nand can easily be made compatible with WMAP3 bounds on $n_s$. This model\novercomes the $\\eta$-problem using gaugino condensates on wrapped D7-brane\nwhile keeping the tuning of the parameters minimal.",
        "positive": "Physical Scaling and Renormalization Group in Two-Dimensional Gravity: Quantum gravitational effects on the renormalization group equation are\nstudied in the $(2+\\epsilon)$-dimensional approach. Divergences in a matter\none-loop effective action do not receive gravitational radiative corrections.\nThe renormalization factor for beta functions recently found by Klebanov, Kogan\nand Polyakov is obtained by using the renormalized cosmological constant to\ndefine the physical scale transformation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauge Theory by canonical Transformations: Electromagnetism, the strong and the weak interaction are commonly formulated\nas gauge theories in a Lagrangian description. In this paper we present an\nalternative formal derivation of U(1)-gauge theory in a manifestly covariant\nHamilton formalism. We make use of canonical transformations as our guiding\ntool to formalize the gauging procedure. The introduction of the gauge field,\nits transformation behaviour and a dynamical gauge field Lagrangian/Hamiltonian\nare unavoidable consequences of this formalism, whereas the form of the free\ngauge Lagrangian/Hamiltonian depends on the selection of the gauge dependence\nof the canonically conjugate gauge fields.",
        "positive": "One-loop Massive Scattering Amplitudes and Ward Identities in String\n  Theory: We calculate bosonic open string one-loop massive scattering amplitudes for\nsome low-lying string states. By using the periodicity relations of Jacobi\ntheta functions, we explicitly prove an infinite number of one-loop type I\nstringy Ward identities derived from type I zero-norm states in the old\ncovariant first quantized (OCFQ) spectrum of open bosonic string. The subtlety\nin the proofs of one-loop type II stringy Ward identities is discussed by\ncomparing with those of string-tree cases. High-energy limit of these stringy\nWard identities can be used to fix the proportionality constants between\none-loop massive high-energy scattering amplitudes of different string states\nwith the same momenta. These proportionality constants can not be calculated\ndirectly from sample calculations as we did previously in the cases of\nstring-tree scattering amplitudes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Thermodynamics of Goedel Black Holes: After a brief review of Goedel-type universes in string theory, we discuss\nsome intriguing properties of black holes immersed in such backgrounds. Among\nthese are the upper bound on the entropy that points towards a\nfinite-dimensional Hilbert space of a holographically dual theory, and the\nminimum black hole temperature that is reminiscent of the Hawking-Page\ntransition. Furthermore, we discuss several difficulties that are encountered\nwhen one tries to formulate a consistent thermodynamics of Goedel black holes,\nand point out how they may be circumvented.",
        "positive": "Analytic Non-integrability in String Theory: Using analytic techniques developed for Hamiltonian dynamical systems we show\nthat a certain classical string configurations in AdS_5 x X_5 with X_5 in a\nlarge class of Einstein spaces, is non-integrable. This answers the question of\nintegrability of string on such backgrounds in the negative. We consider a\nstring localized in the center of AdS_5 that winds around two circles in the\nmanifold X_5."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "M-Theory on Eight-Manifolds: We show that in certain compactifications of ${\\cal M}$-theory on\neight-manifolds to three-dimensional Minkowski space-time the four-form field\nstrength can have a non-vanishing expectation value, while an $N=2$\nsupersymmetry is preserved. For these compactifications a warp factor for the\nmetric has to be taken into account. This warp factor is non-trivial in three\nspace-time dimensions due to Chern-Simons corrections to the fivebrane Bianchi\nidentity. While the original metric on the internal space is not K\\\"ahler, it\ncan be conformally transformed to a metric that is K\\\"ahler and Ricci flat, so\nthat the internal manifold has $SU(4)$ holonomy.",
        "positive": "Modular transformation and boundary states in logarithmic conformal\n  field theory: We study the $c=-2$ model of logarithmic conformal field theory in the\npresence of a boundary using symplectic fermions. We find boundary states with\nconsistent modular properties. A peculiar feature of this model is that the\nvacuum representation corresponding to the identity operator is a\nsub-representation of a ``reducible but indecomposable'' larger representation.\nThis leads to unusual properties, such as the failure of the Verlinde formula.\nDespite such complexities in the structure of modules, our results suggest that\nlogarithmic conformal field theories admit bona fide boundary states."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "String instanton in AdS(4)xCP(3): We study the string instanton wrapping a non-trivial two-cycle in CP(3) of\nthe type IIA string theory compactified on AdS_4 x CP(3) superspace and find\nthat it has twelve fermionic zero modes associated with 1/2 of the\nsupersymmetry of the background thus manifesting that this classical instanton\nconfiguration is 1/2 BPS",
        "positive": "Topological gauge-gravity equivalence: fiber bundle and homology aspects: In the works of A. Ach\\'ucarro and P. K. Townsend and also by E. Witten, a\nduality between three-dimensional Chern-Simons gauge theories and gravity was\nestablished. In all cases, the results made use of the field equations. In a\nprevious work, we were capable to generalize Witten's work to the off-shell\ncases, as well as to four dimensional Yang-Mills theory with de Sitter gauge\nsymmetry. The price we paid is that curvature and torsion must obey some\nconstraints under the action of the interior derivative. These constraints\nimplied on the partial breaking of diffeomorphism invariance. In the present\nwork, we, first, formalize our early results in terms of fiber bundle theory by\nestablishing the formal aspects of the map between a principal bundle (gauge\ntheory) and a coframe bundle (gravity) with partial breaking of diffeomorphism\ninvariance. Then, we study the effect of the constraints on the homology\ndefined by the interior derivative. The main result is the emergence of a\nnontrivial homology in Riemann-Cartan manifolds."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Does the fivebrane have a nonclassical BV-structure?: The fivebrane in M-theory comes equipped with a higher order gauge field\nwhich should have a formulation in terms of a 2-gerbe on the fivebrane. One can\npose the question if the BV-quantization scheme for such a higher order gauge\ntheory should differ from the usual BV-algebra structure. We give an algebraic\nargument that this should, indeed, be the case and a fourth order equation\nshould appear as Master equation, in this case. We also discover a second order\nterm in this equation which seems to indicate that deformation theory (i.e.\nsolving the Master equation) in this case involves a nonlinear algebraic theory\nwhich goes beyond complexes and cohomology.",
        "positive": "On the Seiberg-Witten map of ${\\cal N}=2$ SYM theory in\n  Non(anti)commutative Harmonic Superspace: We consider ${\\cal N}=2$ supersymmetric U(1) gauge theory in a\nnonanticommutative ${\\cal N}=2$ harmonic superspace with the singlet\ndeformation. We generalize analytic superfield and gauge parameter to the\nnonanticommutative theory so that gauge transformations act on the component\nfields in a canonical form (Seiberg-Witten map). This superfield, upon a field\nredefinition transforms under supersymmetry in a standard way."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spatially modulated and supersymmetric mass deformations of\n  $\\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM: We study mass deformations of $\\mathcal{N}=4$, $d=4$ SYM theory that are\nspatially modulated in one spatial dimension and preserve some residual\nsupersymmetry. We focus on generalisations of $\\mathcal{N}=1^*$ theories and\nshow that it is also possible, for suitably chosen supersymmetric masses, to\npreserve $d=3$ conformal symmetry associated with a co-dimension one interface.\nHolographic solutions can be constructed using $D=5$ theories of gravity that\narise from consistent truncations of $SO(6)$ gauged supergravity and hence type\nIIB supergravity. For the mass deformations that preserve $d=3$ superconformal\nsymmetry we construct a rich set of Janus solutions of $\\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM\ntheory which have the same coupling constant on either side of the interface.\nLimiting classes of these solutions give rise to RG interface solutions with\n$\\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM on one side of the interface and the Leigh-Strassler (LS)\nSCFT on the other, and also to a Janus solution for the LS theory. Another\nlimiting solution is a new supersymmetric $AdS_4\\times S^1\\times S^5$ solution\nof type IIB supergravity.",
        "positive": "Wilsonian Ward Identities: For conformal field theories, it is shown how the Ward identity corresponding\nto dilatation invariance arises in a Wilsonian setting. In so doing, several\npoints which are opaque in textbook treatments are clarified. Exploiting the\nfact that the Exact Renormalization Group furnishes a representation of the\nconformal algebra allows dilatation invariance to be stated directly as a\nproperty of the action, despite the presence of a regulator. This obviates the\nneed for formal statements that conformal invariance is recovered once the\nregulator is removed. Furthermore, the proper subset of conformal primary\nfields for which the Ward identity holds is identified for all\ndimensionalities."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Superstring measure and non-renormalization of the three-point amplitude: We show that a recently conjectured expression for the superstring\nthree-point amplitude, in the framework of the Cacciatori, Dalla Piazza, van\nGeemen - Grushevsky ansatz for the chiral measure, fails to vanish at\nthree-loop, in contrast with expectations from non-renormalization theorems.\nBased on analogous two-loop computations, we discuss the possibility of a\nnon-trivial correction to the amplitude and propose a natural candidate for\nsuch a contribution. Thanks to a new remarkable identity, it is reasonable to\nexpect that the corrected three-point amplitude vanishes at three-loop,\nrecovering the agreement with non-renormalization theorems.",
        "positive": "Uniformization, Calogero-Moser/Heun duality and Sutherland/bubbling\n  pants: Inspired by the work of Alday, Gaiotto and Tachikawa (AGT), we saw the\nrevival of Poincar{\\'{e}}'s uniformization problem and Fuchsian equations\nobtained thereof.\n  Three distinguished aspects are possessed by Fuchsian equations. First, they\nare available via imposing a classical Liouville limit on level-two null-vector\nconditions. Second, they fall into some A_1-type integrable systems. Third, the\nstress-tensor present there (in terms of the Q-form) manifests itself as a kind\nof one-dimensional \"curve\".\n  Thereby, a contact with the recently proposed Nekrasov-Shatashvili limit was\nsoon made on the one hand, whilst the seemingly mysterious derivation of\nSeiberg-Witten prepotentials from integrable models become resolved on the\nother hand. Moreover, AGT conjecture can just be regarded as a quantum version\nof the previous Poincar{\\'{e}}'s approach.\n  Equipped with these observations, we examined relations between spheric and\ntoric (classical) conformal blocks via Calogero-Moser/Heun duality. Besides, as\nSutherland model is also obtainable from Calogero-Moser by pinching tori at one\npoint, we tried to understand its eigenstates from the viewpoint of toric\ndiagrams with possibly many surface operators (toric branes) inserted. A\npicture called \"bubbling pants\" then emerged and reproduced well-known results\nof the non-critical self-dual c=1 string theory under a \"blown-down\" limit."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Notes on Tensor Models and Tensor Field Theories: Tensor models and tensor field theories admit a $1/N$ expansion and a melonic\nlarge $N$ limit which is simpler than the planar limit of random matrices and\nricher than the large $N$ limit of vector models. They provide examples of\nanalytically tractable but non trivial strongly coupled quantum field theories\nand lead to a new class of conformal field theories. We present a compact\nintroduction to the topic, covering both some of the classical results in the\nfield, like the details of the $1/N$ expansion, as well as recent developments.\nThese notes are loosely bases on four lectures given at the Journ\\'ees de\nphysique math\\'ematique Lyon 2019: Random tensors and SYK models.",
        "positive": "Comments on Renyi entropy in AdS$_3$/CFT$_2$: We extend and refine recent results on Renyi entropy in two-dimensional\nconformal field theories at large central charge. To do so, we examine the\neffects of higher spin symmetry and of allowing unequal left and right central\ncharges, at leading and subleading order in large total central charge. The\nresult is a straightforward generalization of previously derived formulae,\nsupported by both gravity and CFT arguments. The preceding statements pertain\nto CFTs in the ground state, or on a circle at unequal left- and right-moving\ntemperatures. For the case of two short intervals in a CFT ground state, we\nderive certain universal contributions to Renyi and entanglement entropy from\nVirasoro primaries of arbitrary scaling weights, to leading and next-to-leading\norder in the interval size; this result applies to any CFT. When these\nprimaries are higher spin currents, such terms are placed in one-to-one\ncorrespondence with terms in the bulk 1-loop determinants for higher spin gauge\nfields propagating on handlebody geometries."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dipole Deformations of N=1 SYM and Supergravity backgrounds with U(1) X\n  U(1) global symmetry: We study SL(3,R) deformations of a type IIB background based on D5 branes\nthat is conjectured to be dual to N=1 SYM. We argue that this deformation of\nthe geometry correspond to turning on a dipole deformation in the field theory\non the D5 branes. We give evidence that this deformation only affects the\nKK-sector of the dual field theory and helps decoupling the KK dynamics from\nthe pure gauge dynamics. Similar deformations of the geometry that is dual to\nN=2 SYM are studied. Finally, we also study a deformation that leaves us with a\npossible candidate for a dual to N=0 YM theory.",
        "positive": "Line operators in Chern-Simons-Matter theories and Bosonization in Three\n  Dimensions II -Perturbative Analysis and All-loop Resummation: We study mesonic line operators in Chern-Simons theories with bosonic or\nfermionic matter in the fundamental representation. In this paper, we elaborate\non the classification and properties of these operators using all loop\nresummation of large $N$ perturbation theory. We show that these theories\npossess two conformal line operators in the fundamental representation. One is\na stable renormalization group fixed point, while the other is unstable. They\nsatisfy first-order chiral evolution equations, in which a smooth variation of\nthe path is given by a factorized product of two mesonic line operators. The\nboundary operators on which the lines can end are classified by their conformal\ndimension and transverse spin, which we compute explicitly at finite 't Hooft\ncoupling. We match the operators in the bosonic and fermionic theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Conformal Bootstrap in Mellin Space: We propose a new approach towards analytically solving for the dynamical\ncontent of Conformal Field Theories (CFTs) using the bootstrap philosophy. This\ncombines the original bootstrap idea of Polyakov with the modern technology of\nthe Mellin representation of CFT amplitudes. We employ exchange Witten diagrams\nwith built in crossing symmetry as our basic building blocks rather than the\nconventional conformal blocks in a particular channel. Demanding consistency\nwith the operator product expansion (OPE) implies an infinite set of\nconstraints on operator dimensions and OPE coefficients. We illustrate the\npower of this method in the epsilon expansion of the Wilson-Fisher fixed point\nby reproducing anomalous dimensions and, strikingly, obtaining OPE coefficients\nto higher orders in epsilon than currently available using other analytic\ntechniques (including Feynman diagram calculations). Our results enable us to\nget a somewhat better agreement of certain observables in the 3d Ising model,\nwith the precise numerical values that have been recently obtained.",
        "positive": "Thermodynamics of Fateev's models in the Presence of External Fields: We study the Thermodynamic Bethe Ansatz equations for a one-parameter quantum\nfield theory recently introduced by V.A.Fateev. The presence of chemical\npotentials produces a kink condensate that modifies the excitation spectrum.\nFor some combinations of the chemical potentials an additional gapless mode\nappears. Various energy scales emerge in the problem. An effective field\ntheory, describing the low energy excitations, is also introduced."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Three Dimensional Periodic $U(1)$ Gauge Theory and Strings: It will be argued that among the known systems in three dimensions that have\nstring like excitations periodic U(1) pure gauge theories are the most likely\ncandidates to lead to a string representation of their universal properties.\nSome recent work with F. David will also be reviewed.",
        "positive": "Crossing and Antisolitons in Affine Toda Theories: Affine Toda theory is a relativistic integrable theory in two dimensions\npossessing solutions describing a number of different species of solitons when\nthe coupling is chosen to be imaginary. These nevertheless carry real energy\nand momentum. To each species of soliton there has to correspond an antisoliton\nspecies. There are two different ways of realising the antisoliton whose\nequivalence is shown to follow from a surprising identity satisfied within the\nunderlying affine Kac-Moody group. This is the classical analogue of the\ncrossing property of analytic S-matrix theory. Since a complex parameter\nrelated to the coordinate of the soliton is inverted, this identity implies a\nsort of modular transformation property of the soliton solution. The results\nsimplify calculations of explicit soliton solutions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-commutative Field Theory with Twistor-like Coordinates: We consider quantum field theory in four-dimensional Minkowski spacetime,\nwith the position coordinates represented by twistors instead of the usual\nworld-vectors. Upon imposing canonical commutation relations between twistors\nand dual twistors, quantum theory of fields described by non-holomorphic\nfunctions of twistor variables becomes manifestly non-commutative, with Lorentz\nsymmetry broken by a time-like vector. We discuss the free field propagation\nand its impact on the short- and long-distance behavior of physical amplitudes\nin perturbation theory. In the ultraviolet limit, quantum field theories in\ntwistor space are generically less divergent than their commutative\ncounterparts. Furthermore, there is no infrared--ultraviolet mixing problem.",
        "positive": "Normal charge densities in quantum critical superfluids: The normal density of a translation-invariant superfluid often vanishes at\nzero temperature, as is observed in superfluid Helium and conventional\nsuperconductors described by BCS theory. Here we show that this need not be the\ncase. We investigate the normal density in models of quantum critical\nsuperfluids using gauge-gravity duality. Models with an emergent infrared\nLorentz symmetry lead to a vanishing normal density. On the other hand, models\nwhich break the isotropy between time and space may enjoy a non-vanishing\nnormal density, depending on the spectrum of irrelevant deformations around the\nunderlying quantum critical groundstate. Our results may shed light on recent\nmeasurements of the superfluid density and low energy spectral weight in\nsuperconducting overdoped cuprates."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Anomalies in fluid dynamics: flows in a chiral background via\n  variational principle: We study flows of barotropic perfect fluid under the simultaneous action of\nthe electromagnetic field and the axial-vector potential, the external field\nconjugate to the fluid helicity. We obtain the deformation of the Euler\nequation by the axial-vector potential and the deformations of various currents\nby two external fields. We show that the divergence of the vector and axial\ncurrents are controlled by the chiral anomaly known in quantum field theories\nwith Dirac fermions. We obtain these results by extending the variational\nprinciple for barotropic flows of a perfect fluid by coupling with the external\naxial-vector potential.",
        "positive": "Black holes as bubbles of AdS: In this paper we propose that bubbles of AdS within Minkowski spacetime,\nstabilized at a finite radius by stiff matter and an electromagnetic gas, can\nbe an alternative endpoint of gravitational collapse. The bubbles are\nhorizonless with a size up to 12.5% larger than their Schwarzschild radius\ndepending on their charge. We argue that they are stable against small\nperturbations, and have thermodynamical properties similar to those of real\nblack holes. We provide a realization of the bubbles within string theory that\nrelies on a specific brane intersection giving rise to a shell carrying\ndissolved charges from lower dimensional D-branes as well as a gas of open\nstrings. We also note that our construction provides a new way of understanding\nthe entropy of Reissner-Nordstr\\\"om black holes in the extremal limit."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Higher Derivative Four-Fermion Model in Curved Spacetime: We discuss the phase structure of a higher derivative four-fermion model in\nfour dimensions in curved spacetime in frames of the $\\frac{1}{N_c}$-expansion.\nFirst, we evaluate in our model the effective potential of two composite\nscalars in the linear curvature approximation using a local momentum\nrepresentation in curved spacetime for the higher-derivative propagator which\nnaturally appears. The symmetry breaking phenomenon and phase transition\ninduced by curvature are numerically investigated. A numerical study of the\ndynamically generated fermionic mass, which depends on the coupling constants\nand on the curvature, is also presented.",
        "positive": "Multiple Layer Structure of Non-Abelian Vortex: Bogomol'nyi-Prasad-Sommerfield (BPS) vortices in U(N) gauge theories have two\nlayers corresponding to non-Abelian and Abelian fluxes, whose widths depend\nnontrivially on the ratio of U(1) and SU(N) gauge couplings. We find\nnumerically and analytically that the widths differ significantly from the\nCompton lengths of lightest massive particles with the appropriate quantum\nnumber."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Towards a Resolution of the Cosmological Singularity in Non-local Higher\n  Derivative Theories of Gravity: One of the greatest problems of standard cosmology is the Big Bang\nsingularity. Previously it has been shown that non-local ghostfree\nhigher-derivative modifications of Einstein gravity in the ultra-violet regime\ncan admit non-singular bouncing solutions. In this paper we study in more\ndetails the dynamical properties of the equations of motion for these theories\nof gravity in presence of positive and negative cosmological constants and\nradiation. We find stable inflationary attractor solutions in the presence of a\npositive cosmological constant which renders inflation {\\it geodesically\ncomplete}, while in the presence of a negative cosmological constant a cyclic\nuniverse emerges. We also provide an algorithm for tracking the super-Hubble\nperturbations during the bounce and show that the bouncing solutions are free\nfrom any perturbative instability.",
        "positive": "A Comment on the Relationship Between Differential and Dimensional\n  Renormalization: We show that there is a very simple relationship between differential and\ndimensional renormalization of low-order Feynman graphs in renormalizable\nmassless quantum field theories. The beauty of the differential approach is\nthat it achieves the same finite results as dimensional renormalization without\nthe need to modify the space time dimension."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Representation theory for categorical symmetries: This paper addresses the question of how categorical symmetries act on\nextended operators in quantum field theory. Building on recent results in two\ndimensions, we introduce higher tube categories and algebras associated to\nhigher fusion category symmetries. We show that twisted sector extended\noperators transform in higher representations of higher tube algebras and\ninterpret this result from the perspective of the sandwich construction of\nfinite symmetries via the Drinfeld center. Focusing on three dimensions, we\ndiscuss a variety of examples to illustrate the general constructions. In the\ncase of invertible symmetries, we show that higher tube algebras are higher\nanalogues of twisted Drinfeld doubles of finite groups, generalising known\nconstructions in two dimensions. Building on this foundation, we discuss\nnon-invertible Ising-like symmetry categories obtained by gauging finite\nsubgroups. We also consider non-invertible topological symmetry lines described\nby braided fusion categories and discuss connections to the M\\\"uger center and\nbraided module categories.",
        "positive": "Genus-One String Amplitudes from Conformal Field Theory: We explore and exploit the relation between non-planar correlators in ${\\cal\nN}=4$ super-Yang-Mills, and higher-genus closed string amplitudes in type IIB\nstring theory. By conformal field theory techniques we construct the genus-one,\nfour-point string amplitude in AdS$_5\\times S^5$ in the low-energy expansion,\ndual to an ${\\cal N}=4$ super-Yang-Mills correlator in the 't Hooft limit at\norder $1/c^2$ in a strong coupling expansion. In the flat space limit, this\nmaps onto the genus-one, four-point scattering amplitude for type II closed\nstrings in ten dimensions. Using this approach we reproduce several results\nobtained via string perturbation theory. We also demonstrate a novel mechanism\nto fix subleading terms in the flat space limit of AdS amplitudes by using\nstring/M-theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A non-perturbative method of calculation of Green functions: A new method for non-perturbative calculation of Green functions in quantum\nmechanics and quantum field theory is proposed. The method is based on an\napproximation of Schwinger-Dyson equation for the generating functional by\nexactly soluble equation in functional derivatives. Equations of the leading\napproximation and the first step are solved for $\\phi^4_d$-model. At $d=1$\n(anharmonic oscillator) the ground state energy is calculated. The\nrenormalization program is performed for the field theory at $d=2,3$. At $d=4$\nthe renormalization of the coupling involves a trivialization of the theory.",
        "positive": "Characters of $\\hat{sl}(4)_k$ fusion algebra at non-rational level: We construct the fusion ring of a quasi-rational $\\hat{sl}(4)_k$ WZNW theory\nat generic level $k \\not\\in Q$. It is generated by commutative elements in the\ngroup ring $Z[\\tilde{W}]$ of the affine Weyl group $\\tilde{W}$ which extend\npolynomially the formal characters of finite dimensional representations of\n$sl(4)$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-perturbative effects on seven-brane Yukawa couplings: We analyze non-perturbative corrections to the superpotential of seven-brane\ngauge theories on type IIB and F-theory warped Calabi-Yau compactifications. We\nshow in particular that such corrections modify the holomorphic Yukawa\ncouplings by an exponentially suppressed contribution, generically solving the\nYukawa rank-one problem present in F-theory local models. We provide explicit\nexpressions for the non-perturbative correction to the seven-brane\nsuperpotential, and check that it is related to a non-commutative deformation\nto the tree-level superpotential via the Seiberg-Witten map.",
        "positive": "Consistent Boundary Conditions for Open Strings: We study boundary conditions for the bosonic, spinning (NSR) and\nGreen-Schwarz open string, as well as for 1+1 dimensional supergravity. We\nconsider boundary conditions that arise from (1) extremizing the action, (2)\nBRST, rigid or local supersymmetry, or kappa(Siegel)-symmetry of the action,\n(3) closure of the set of boundary conditions under the symmetry\ntransformations, and (4) the boundary limits of bulk Euler-Lagrange equations\nthat are ``conjugate'' to other boundary conditions. We find corrections to\nNeumann boundary conditions in the presence of a bulk tachyon field. We discuss\na boundary superspace formalism. We also find that path integral quantization\nof the open string requires an infinite tower of boundary conditions that can\nbe interpreted as a smoothness condition on the doubled interval; we interpret\nthis to mean that for a path-integral formulation of open strings with only\nNeumann boundary conditions, the description in terms of orientifolds is not\njust natural, but is actually fundamental."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Can Back-Reaction Prevent Eternal Inflation?: We study the effects which the back-reaction of long wavelength fluctuations\nexert on stochastic inflation. In the cases of power-law and Starobinsky\ninflation these effects are too weak to terminate the stochastic growth of the\ninflaton field. However, in the case of the cyclic Ekpyrotic scenario, the\nback-reaction effects prevent the unlimited growth of the scalar field.",
        "positive": "High energy scattering in 2+1 QCD: High energy scattering in 2+1 QCD is studied using the recent approach of\nVerlinde and Verlinde. We calculate the color singlet part of the quark-quark\nscattering exactly within this approach, and discuss some physical implication\nof this result. We also demonstrate, by two independent methods, that\nreggeization fails for the color singlet channel. We briefly comment on the\nproblem in 3+1 QCD."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Plateaux Transitions from S-matrices based on SL(2,Z) Invariant Field\n  Theories: A scattering scattering description is proposed for a boundary perturbation\nof a c=1 SL(2,Z) invariant conformal field theory. The bulk massless S-matrices\nare of the form of Zamolodchikov's staircase model. Using the boundary version\nof the thermodynamic Bethe ansatz, we show that the boundary free energy goes\nthrough a series of integer valued plateaux as a function of system size.",
        "positive": "Gauge Invariance at Large Charge: Quantum field theories with global symmetries simplify considerably in the\nlarge-charge limit allowing to compute correlators via a semiclassical\nexpansion in the inverse powers of the conserved charges. A generalization of\nthe approach to gauge symmetries has faced the problem of defining\ngauge-independent observables and, therefore, has not been developed so far. We\nemploy the large-charge expansion to calculate the scaling dimension of the\nlowest-lying operators carrying $U(1)$ charge $Q$ in the critical Abelian Higgs\nmodel in $D=4-\\epsilon$ dimensions to leading and next-to-leading orders in the\ncharge and all orders in the $\\epsilon$ expansion. Remarkably, the results\nmatch our independent diagrammatic computation of the three-loop scaling\ndimension of the operator $\\phi^Q(x)$ in the Landau gauge. We argue that this\nmatching is a consequence of the equivalence between the gauge-independent\ndressed two-point function of Dirac type with the gauge-dependent two-point\nfunction of $\\phi^Q(x)$ in the Landau gauge. We, therefore, shed new light on\nthe problem of defining gauge-independent exponents which has been\ncontroversial in the literature on critical superconductors as well as lay the\nfoundation for large-charge methods in gauge theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Unimodular gravity with external sources: The only allowed source of the gravitational field in the unimodular theory,\ninvariant under area-preserving (transverse) diffeomorphisms as well as Weyl\ntransformations, is just the traceless piece of the energy-momentum tensor.\nThis fact notwithstanding, the free energy produced by arbitrary sources (not\nonly static ones) is identical to the one predicted by general relativity. This\nencompasses all weak field tests of gravitation.",
        "positive": "On the value of coupling constant: Using an analogy between Bogomol'nyi bound and the harmonic oscillator in\nquantum mechanics we propose a possible explanation of the coupling constant\nnumerical value at the grand unification scale. It is found to be $1/8\\pi$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Continuum approach to real time dynamics of 1+1D gauge field theory: out\n  of horizon correlations of the Schwinger model: We develop a truncated Hamiltonian method to study nonequilibrium real time\ndynamics in the Schwinger model - the quantum electrodynamics in D=1+1. This is\na purely continuum method that captures reliably the invariance under local and\nglobal gauge transformations and does not require a discretisation of\nspace-time. We use it to study a phenomenon that is expected not to be\ntractable using lattice methods: we show that the 1+1D quantum electrodynamics\nadmits the dynamical horizon violation effect which was recently discovered in\nthe case of the sine-Gordon model. Following a quench of the model, oscillatory\nlong-range correlations develop, manifestly violating the horizon bound. We\nfind that the oscillation frequencies of the out-of-horizon correlations\ncorrespond to twice the masses of the mesons of the model suggesting that the\neffect is mediated through correlated meson pairs. We also report on the\ncluster violation in the massive version of the model, previously known in the\nmassless Schwinger model. The results presented here reveal a novel\nnonequilibrium phenomenon in 1+1D quantum electrodynamics and make a first step\ntowards establishing that the horizon violation effect is present in gauge\nfield theory.",
        "positive": "On quantum model of supergravity compensator: A new $N=1$ superfield model in $D=4$ flat superspace is suggested. This\nmodel describes dynamics of chiral compensator and can be treated as a\nlow-energy limit of $D=4$, $N=1$ quantum superfield supergravity.\nRenormalization structure of this model is studied and one-loop counterterms\nare calculated. It is shown that the theory is infrared free. An effective\naction for the model under consideration is investigated in infrared domain.\nThe lower contributions to the one-loop effective action are computed in\nexplicit form."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Numerical tests of the gauge/gravity duality conjecture for D0-branes at\n  finite temperature and finite N: According to the gauge/gravity duality conjecture, the thermodynamics of\ngauge theory describing D-branes corresponds to that of black branes in\nsuperstring theory. We test this conjecture directly in the case of D0-branes\nby applying Monte Carlo methods to the corresponding gauge theory, which takes\nthe form of the BFSS matrix quantum mechanics. In particular, we take the\ncontinuum limit by extrapolating the UV cutoff to infinity. First we perform\nsimulations at large N so that string loop corrections can be neglected on the\ngravity side. Our results for the internal energy exhibit the temperature\ndependence consistent with the prediction including the \\alpha ' corrections.\nNext we perform simulations at small N but at lower temperature so that the\n\\alpha ' corrections can be neglected on the gravity side. Our results are\nconsistent with the prediction including the leading string loop correction,\nwhich suggests that the conjecture holds even at finite N.",
        "positive": "Superconformal field theories from crystal lattices: We propose a brane configuration for the (2+1)d, $\\mathcal{N}=2$\nsuperconformal theories (CFT$_3$) arising from M2-branes probing toric\nCalabi-Yau 4-fold cones, using a T-duality transformation of M-theory. We\nobtain intersections of M5-branes on a three-torus which form a 3d bipartite\ncrystal lattice in a way similar to the 2d dimer models for CFT$_4$. The\nfundamental fields of the CFT$_3$ are M2-brane discs localized around the\nintersections, and the super-potential terms are identified with the atoms of\nthe crystal. The model correctly reproduces the complete BPS spectrum of mesons\nand baryons."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetric $AdS_6$ black holes from matter coupled $F(4)$ gauged\n  supergravity: In matter coupled $F(4)$ gauged supergravity in six dimensions, we study\nsupersymmetric $AdS_6$ black holes with various horizon geometries. We find new\n$AdS_2\\,\\times\\,\\Sigma_{\\mathfrak{g}_1}\\times\\Sigma_{\\mathfrak{g}_2}$ horizons\nwith $\\mathfrak{g}_1>1$ and $\\mathfrak{g}_2>1$, and present the black hole\nsolution numerically. The full black hole is an interpolating geometry between\nthe asymptotically $AdS_6$ boundary and the\n$AdS_2\\,\\times\\,\\Sigma_{\\mathfrak{g}_1}\\times\\Sigma_{\\mathfrak{g}_2}$ horizon.\nWe also find black holes with horizons of K\\\"ahler four-cycles in Calabi-Yau\nfourfolds and Cayley four-cycles in $Spin(7)$ manifolds.",
        "positive": "Topological Mass Generation in Four Dimensions: Schwinger's mechanism for mass generation relies on topological structures of\na 2-dimensional gauge theory. In the same manner, corresponding 4-dimensional\ntopological entities give rise to topological mass generation in four\ndimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Modified natural inflation: A small single field model with a large\n  tensor to scalar ratio: In this paper we explored in detail a phenomenological model of modified\nsingle field natural inflation in light of recent cosmological experiments,\nBICEP2. Our main goal is to construct an inflationary model which not only\npredicts the important cosmological quantities such as $(n_s, r)$ compatible\nwith experimental observation, but also is consistent with the low energy\neffective theory framework. Therefore, all the fundamental scale apart from\n$M_p$ and quantities of our interest should be within the sub-Planckian region.\nIn order to achieve our goal we modify the usual single field natural\ninflationary model by a specific form of higher derivative kinetic term called\nkinetic gravity braiding (KGB). One of our guiding principles to construct such\na model is the constant shift symmetry of the axion. We have chosen the form of\nthe KGB term in such a way that it predicts the required value of $n_s\\simeq\n0.96$ and a large tensor to scalar ratio $r> 0.1$. Importantly for a wide range\nof parameter space our model has sub-Planckian axion decay constant $f$ and the\nscale of inflation $\\Lambda$. However, the reheating after the end of inflation\nlimits the value of $f$ so that we are unable to get $f$ to be significantly\nlower than $M_p$. Furthermore, we find sub-Planckian field excursion for the\naxion field $\\Delta \\phi \\simeq f$ for the sufficient number of e-folding\n${\\cal N} \\gtrsim 50 $. We also discussed in detail about the natural\npreheating mechanism in our model based on the recently proposed Chern-Simon\ncoupling. We found this gravity mediated preheating is very difficult to\nachieve in our model. With our general analytic argument, we also would like to\nemphasize that Chern-Simons mediated preheating is very unlikely to happen in\nany slow roll inflationary model.",
        "positive": "Still in Light-Cone Superspace: The recently formulated Bagger-Lambert-Gustavsson (BLG) theory in three\ndimensions is described in terms of a constrained chiral superfield in\nlight-cone superspace. We discuss the use of Superconformal symmetry to\ndetermine the form of its interactions, in complete analogy with N=4\nSuperYang-Mills in four dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Isospin Asymmetry in Anomalous Fluid Dynamics: The dynamics of fluids in which the constituent particles carry nonabelian\ncharges can be described succinctly in terms of group-valued variables via a\ngeneralization of the co-adjoint orbit action for particles. This formalism,\nwhich is particularly suitable for incorporating anomalies, has previously been\nused for the chiral magnetic and chiral vorticity effects. Here we consider the\nsimilar effect for the isospin which corresponds to an angular asymmetry for\nneutral pions.",
        "positive": "Why Are There So Many N = 4 Superstrings?: We demonstrate the existence of three off-shell distinct N = 4 superstrings\nat the level of manifest locally supersymmetric Lagrangian field theories on\nthe world sheet."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Cosmological Attractors and Initial Conditions for Inflation: Inflationary $\\alpha$-attractor models in supergravity, which provide\nexcellent fits to the latest observational data, are based on the Poincare disk\nhyperbolic geometry. We refine these models by constructing Kahler potentials\nwith built-in inflaton shift symmetry and by making a canonical choice of the\ngoldstino Kahler potential. The refined models are stable with respect to all\nscalar fields at all $\\alpha$, no additional stabilization terms are required.\nThe scalar potential V has a nearly Minkowski minimum at small values of the\ninflaton field $\\varphi$, and an infinitely long dS valley of constant depth\nand width at large $\\varphi$. Because of the infinite length of this\nshift-symmetric valley, the initial value of the inflaton field at the Planck\ndensity is expected to be extremely large. We show that the inflaton field\n$\\varphi$ does not change much until all fields lose their energy and fall to\nthe bottom of the dS valley at large $\\varphi$. This provides natural initial\nconditions for inflation driven by the inflaton field slowly rolling along the\ndS valley towards the minimum of the potential at small $\\varphi$. A detailed\ndescription of this process is given for $\\alpha$-attractors in supergravity,\nbut we believe that our general conclusions concerning naturalness of initial\nconditions for inflation are valid for a broad class of inflationary models\nwith sufficiently flat potentials.",
        "positive": "Hamiltonian approach and quantization of $D=3, {\\cal N}=1$\n  supersymmetric non-Abelian multiwave system: We develop Hamiltonian formalism and quantize supersymmetric non-Abelian\nmultiwave system (nAmW) in D=3 spacetime constructed as a simple counterpart of\n11D multiple M-wave system. Its action can be obtained from massless\nsuperparticle one by putting on its worldline 1d dimensional reduction of the\n3d SYM model in such a way that the new system still possesses local fermionic\nkappa-symmetry.\n  The quantization results in a set of equation of supersymmetric field theory\nin an unusual space with su(N)-valued matrix coordinates. Their superpartners,\nthe fermionic su(N)-valued matrices, cannot be split on coordinates and momenta\nin a covariant manner and hence are included as abstract operators acting on\nthe state vector in the generic form of our D=3 Matrix model field equations.\nWe discuss the Clifford superfield representation for the quantum state vector\nand in the simplest case of N=2 elaborate it in a bit more detail. As a check\nof consistency, we show that the bosonic Matrix model field equations obtained\nby quantization of the purely bosonic limit of our D=3 nAmW system have a\nnontrivial solution."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Circuit complexity in interacting QFTs and RG flows: We consider circuit complexity in certain interacting scalar quantum field\ntheories, mainly focusing on the $\\phi^4$ theory. We work out the circuit\ncomplexity for evolving from a nearly Gaussian unentangled reference state to\nthe entangled ground state of the theory. Our approach uses Nielsen's geometric\nmethod, which translates into working out the geodesic equation arising from a\ncertain cost functional. We present a general method, making use of integral\ntransforms, to do the required lattice sums analytically and give explicit\nexpressions for the $d=2,3$ cases. Our method enables a study of circuit\ncomplexity in the epsilon expansion for the Wilson-Fisher fixed point. We find\nthat with increasing dimensionality the circuit depth increases in the presence\nof the $\\phi^4$ interaction eventually causing the perturbative calculation to\nbreakdown. We discuss how circuit complexity relates with the renormalization\ngroup.",
        "positive": "Local Grand Unification and String Theory: The low energy effective action of string theory depends strongly on the\nprocess of compactification and the localization of fields in extra dimensions.\nExplicit string constructions towards the minimal supersymmetric standard model\n(MSSM) reveal interesting results leading to the concept of local grand\nunification. Properties of the MSSM indicate that we might live at a special\nlocation close to an orbifold fixed point rather than a generic point in\nCalabi-Yau moduli space. We observe an enhancement of (discrete) symmetries\nthat have various implications for the properties of the MSSM such as proton\nstability as well as solutions to the flavor problem, the \\mu-problem and the\nstrong CP-problem."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On a Generalization of GKO Coset Construction of Conformal Field\n  Theories: We introduce a generalization of Goddard-Kent-Olive (GKO) coset construction\nof two dimensional conformal field theories based on a choice of a scaled\naffine subalgebra $\\hat{\\mathfrak{h}}^s$ of a given affine Lie algebra\n$\\hat{\\mathfrak{h}}$. We study some aspects of the construction through the\nexample of Ising CFT as a generalized GKO coset of $\\text{su(2)}_1$ with a\nscaling factor $s=2$.",
        "positive": "Theory of diffusive fluctuations: The recently developed effective field theory of fluctuations around thermal\nequilibrium is used to compute late-time correlation functions of conserved\ndensities. Specializing to systems with a single conservation law, we find that\nthe diffusive pole is shifted in the presence of non-linear hydrodynamic\nself-interactions, and that the density-density Green's function acquires a\nbranch point half way to the diffusive pole, at frequency $\\omega=\n-\\frac{i}{2}Dk^2$. We discuss the relevance of diffusive fluctuations for\nstrongly correlated transport in condensed matter and cold atomic systems."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Canonical transformations in gauge theories with non-trivial backgrounds: We show how to implement the background field method by means of canonical\ntransformations and comment on the applications of the method to\nnon-perturbative techniques in non-Abelian gauge theories. We discuss the case\nof the lattice in some details.",
        "positive": "Sandwiched Renyi Relative Entropy in AdS/CFT: We explore the role of sandwiched Renyi relative entropy in AdS/CFT and in\nfinite-dimensional models of holographic quantum error correction. In\nparticular, in the context of operator algebra quantum error correction, we\ndiscuss a suitable generalization of sandwiched Renyi relative entropy over\nfinite-dimensional von Neumann algebras. It is then shown that the equality of\nbulk and boundary sandwiched relative Renyi entropies is equivalent to\nalgebraic encoding of bulk and boundary states, the Ryu-Takayanagi formula, the\nequality of bulk and boundary relative entropy, and subregion duality. This\nadds another item to an equivalence theorem between the last four items\nestablished in arxiv:1607.03901. We then discuss the sandwiched Renyi relative\nentropy defined in terms of modular operators, and show that this becomes the\ndefinition naturally suited to the finite-dimensional models of holographic\nquantum error correction. Finally, we explore some numerical calculations of\nsandwiched Renyi relative entropies for a simple holographic random tensor\nnetwork in order to obtain a better understanding of corrections to the exact\nequality of bulk and boundary sandwiched relative Renyi entropy."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Relativistic Quaternionic Wave Equation II: Further results are reported for the one-component quaternionic wave equation\nrecently introduced. A Lagrangian is found for the momentum-space version of\nthe free equation; and another, nonlocal in time, is found for the complete\nequation. Further study of multi-particle systems has us looking into the\nmathematics of tensor products of Hilbert spaces. The principles of linearity\nand superposition are also clarified to good effect in advancing the\nquaternionic theory.",
        "positive": "Quasilocality of joining/splitting strings from coherent states: Using the coherent state formalism we calculate matrix elements of the\none-loop non-planar dilatation operator of ${\\cal N}=4$ SYM between operators\ndual to folded Frolov-Tseytlin strings and observe a curious scaling behavior.\nWe comment on the {\\it qualitative} similarity of our matrix elements to the\ninteraction vertex of a string field theory. In addition, we present a solvable\ntoy model for string splitting and joining. The scaling behaviour of the matrix\nelements suggests that the contribution to the genus one energy shift coming\nfrom semi-classical string splitting and joining is small."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Matrix Models and 2D String Theory: String theory in two-dimensional spacetime illuminates two main threads of\nrecent development in string theory: (1) Open/closed string duality, and (2)\nTachyon condensation. In two dimensions, many aspects of these phenomena can be\nexplored in a setting where exact calculations can be performed. These lectures\nreview the basic aspects of this system.",
        "positive": "The BTZ black hole spectrum and partition function: In this article, we revisit the spectrum of the Lorentzian BTZ black hole\nconformal field theory. Building on a detailed analysis of geodesics, we\nidentify a complete set of states for the harmonic analysis. We then\ndemonstrate that the CFT spectrum is, plausibly, that of $AdS_3$ by rewriting\nthe partition function of the latter CFT."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Dirichlet Super-p-Branes in Ten-Dimensional Type IIA and IIB\n  Supergravity: We give the full supersymmetric and kappa-symmetric actions for the Dirichlet\np-branes, including their coupling to background superfields of ten-dimensional\ntype IIA and IIB supergravity.",
        "positive": "Equivalence of Two-Loop Superstring Amplitudes in the Pure Spinor and\n  RNS Formalisms: The pure spinor formalism for the superstring has recently been used to\ncompute massless four-point two-loop amplitudes in a manifestly super-Poincare\ncovariant manner. In this paper, we show that when all four external states are\nNeveu-Schwarz, the two-loop amplitude coincides with the RNS result."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Long-distance interactions of D-brane bound states and longitudinal\n  5-brane in M(atrix) theory: We discuss long-distance, low-velocity interaction potentials for processes\ninvolving longitudinally boosted M5-brane (corresponding in type IIA theory\nlanguage to the 1/4 supersymmetric bound state of 4-brane and 0-brane). We\nconsider the following scattering configurations: (a) D=11 graviton off\nlongitudinal M5-brane, or, equivalently, 0-branes off marginal 4+0 bound state;\n(b) M2-brane off longitudinal M5-brane, or a non-marginal 2+0 bound state off\nmarginal 4+0 bound state; (c) two parallel longitudinal M5-branes, or two 4+0\nmarginal bound states. We demonstrate the equivalence between the classical\nclosed string theory (supergravity) and M(atrix) model (one-loop super\nYang-Mills) results for the leading terms in the interaction potentials. The\nsupergravity results are obtained using a generalisation of the classical probe\nmethod which allows one to treat bound states of D-branes as probes by\nintroducing non-trivial world-volume gauge field backgrounds.",
        "positive": "Exact results for Wilson loops in arbitrary representations: We compute the exact vacuum expectation value of 1/2 BPS circular Wilson\nloops of ${\\cal N}$=4 U(N) super Yang-Mills in arbitrary irreducible\nrepresentations. By localization arguments, the computation reduces to\nevaluating certain integrals in a Gaussian matrix model, which we do using the\nmethod of orthogonal polynomials. Our results are particularly simple for\nWilson loops in antisymmetric representations; in this case, we observe that\nthe final answers admit an expansion where the coefficients are positive\nintegers, and can be written in terms of sums over skew Young diagrams. As an\napplication of our results, we use them to discuss the exact Bremsstrahlung\nfunctions associated to the corresponding heavy probes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The one-loop effective action and trace anomaly in four dimensions: The one-loop effective action for a generic set of quantum fields is\ncalculared as a nonlocal expansion in powers of the curvatures (field\nstrengths). This expansion is obtained to third order in the curvature. It is\nstressed that the covariant vertices are finite. The trace anomaly in four\ndimensions is obtained directly by varying the effective action. The nonlocal\nterms in the action, producing the anomaly, contain non-trivial functions of\nthree operator arguments. The trace anomaly is derived also by making the\nconformal transformation in the heat kernel.",
        "positive": "On time-dependent quasi-exactly solvable models: In this paper we demonstrate that there exists a close relationship between\nquasi-exactly solvable quantum models and two special classes of classical\ndynamical systems. One of these systems can be considered a natural\ngeneralization of the multi-particle Calogero-Moser model and the second one is\na classical matrix model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Inflation from Superstring/M Theory Compactification with Higher Order\n  Corrections I: We study time-dependent solutions in M and superstring theories with higher\norder corrections. We first present general field equations for theories of\nLovelock type with stringy corrections in arbitrary dimensions. We then exhaust\nall exact and asymptotic solutions of exponential and power-law expansions in\nthe theory with Gauss-Bonnet terms relevant to heterotic strings and in the\ntheories with quartic corrections corresponding to the M-theory and type II\nsuperstrings. We discuss interesting inflationary solutions that can generate\nenough e-foldings in the early universe.",
        "positive": "On the renormalization of the bosonized multi-flavor Schwinger model: The phase structure of the bosonized multi-flavor Schwinger model is\ninvestigated by means of the differential renormalization group (RG) method. In\nthe limit of small fermion mass the linearized RG flow is sufficient to\ndetermine the low-energy behavior of the N-flavor model, if it has been rotated\nby a suitable rotation in the internal space. For large fermion mass, the exact\nRG flow has been solved numerically. The low-energy behavior of the\nmulti-flavor model is rather different depending on whether N=1 or N>1, where N\nis the number of flavors. For N>1 the reflection symmetry always suffers\nbreakdown in both the weak and strong coupling regimes, in contrary to the N=1\ncase, where it remains unbroken in the strong coupling phase."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic entanglement entropy of de Sitter braneworld: We study the holographic representation of the entanglement entropy, recently\nproposed by Ryu and Takayanagi, in a braneworld context. The holographic\nentanglement entropy of a de Sitter brane embedded in an anti-de Sitter (AdS)\nspacetime is evaluated using geometric quantities, and it is compared with two\nkinds of de Sitter entropy: a quarter of the area of the cosmological horizon\non the brane and entropy calculated from the Euclidean path integral. We show\nthat the three entropies coincide with each other in a certain limit.\nRemarkably, the entropy obtained from the Euclidean path integral is in precise\nagreement with the holographic entanglement entropy in all dimensions. We also\ncomment on the case of a five-dimensional braneworld model with the\nGauss-Bonnet term in the bulk.",
        "positive": "An Analysis of Scheme Transformations in the Vicinity of an Infrared\n  Fixed Point: We give a detailed analysis of the effects of scheme transformations in the\nvicinity of an exact or approximate infrared fixed point in an asymptotically\nfree gauge theory with fermions. We list necessary conditions that such\ntransformations must obey and show that, although these can easily be satisfied\nin the vicinity of an ultraviolet fixed point, they constitute significant\nrestrictions on scheme transformations at an infrared fixed point. We construct\nacceptable scheme transformations and use these to study the scheme-dependence\nof an infrared fixed point, making comparison with our previous three-loop and\nfour-loop calculations of the location of this point in the $\\bar{MS}$ scheme.\nWe also use an illustrative hypothetical exact $\\beta$ function to investigate\nhow accurately analyses of finite-order series expansions probe an infrared\nfixed point and the effect of a scheme transformation on these. Some\nimplications of our work are discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Condensation of handles in the interface of 3D Ising model: We analyze the microscopic, topological structure of the interface between\ndomains of opposite magnetization in 3D Ising model near the critical point.\nThis interface exhibits a fractal behaviour with a high density of handles. The\nmean area is an almost linear function of the genus. The entropy exponent is\naffected by strong finite-size effects.",
        "positive": "Symmetries and Strings in Field Theory and Gravity: We discuss aspects of global and gauged symmetries in quantum field theory\nand quantum gravity, focusing on discrete gauge symmetries. An effective\nLagrangian description of $\\Z_p$ gauge theories shows that they are associated\nwith an emergent $\\Z_p$ one-form (Kalb-Ramond) gauge symmetry. This\nunderstanding leads us to uncover new observables and new phenomena in\nnonlinear $\\sigma$-models. It also allows us to expand on Polchinski's\nclassification of cosmic strings. We argue that in models of quantum gravity,\nthere are no global symmetries, all continuous gauge symmetries are compact,\nand all charges allowed by Dirac quantization are present in the spectrum.\nThese conjectures are not new, but we present them from a streamlined and\nunified perspective. Finally, our discussion about string charges and\nsymmetries leads to a more physical and more complete understanding of recently\nfound consistency conditions of supergravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Global Analogue of the Aharonov-Bohm Effect: This paper has been heavily revised, the final results now being contained in\nhep-ph/9311202 and hep-ph/9311203.",
        "positive": "Bounding Violations of the Weak Gravity Conjecture: The black hole weak gravity conjecture (WGC) is a set of linear inequalities\non the four-derivative corrections to Einstein--Maxwell theory. Remarkably, in\nfour dimensions, these combinations appear in the $2 \\to 2$ photon amplitudes,\nleading to the hope that the conjecture might be supported using dispersion\nrelations. However, the presence of a pole arising in the forward limit due to\ngraviton exchange greatly complicates the use of such arguments. In this paper,\nwe apply recently developed numerical techniques to handle the graviton pole,\nand we find that standard dispersive arguments are not strong enough to imply\nthe black hole WGC. Specifically, under a fairly typical set of assumptions,\nincluding weak coupling of the EFT and Regge boundedness, a small violation of\nthe black hole WGC is consistent with unitarity and causality. We quantify the\nsize of this violation, which vanishes in the limit where gravity decouples and\nalso depends logarithmically on an infrared cutoff. We discuss the meaning of\nthese bounds in various scenarios. We also implement a method for bounding\namplitudes without manifestly positive spectral densities, which could be\napplied to any system of non-identical states, and we use it to improve bounds\non the EFT of pure photons in absence of gravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Folded Inflation, Primordial Tensors, and the Running of the Scalar\n  Spectral Index: I discuss folded inflation, an inflationary model embedded in a\nmulti-dimensional scalar potential, such as the stringy landscape. During\nfolded inflation, the field point evolves along a path that turns several\ncorners in the potential. Folded inflation can lead to a relatively large\ntensor contribution to the Cosmic Microwave Background, while keeping all\nfields smaller than the Planck scale. I conjecture that if folded inflation\ngenerates a significant primordial tensor amplitude, this will generically be\nassociated with non-trivial scale dependence in the spectrum of primordial\nscalar perturbations.",
        "positive": "The energy-momentum multiplet of supersymmetric defect field theories: Defects in field theories break translation invariance, resulting in the\nnon-conservation of the energy-momentum tensor in the directions normal to the\ndefect. This violation is known as the displacement operator. We study 4d\n${\\cal N}=1$ theories with 3d defects preserving 3d ${\\cal N}=1$ supersymmetry\nby analyzing the embedding of the 3d superspace in the 4d superspace. We use\nthis to construct the energy-momentum multiplet of such defect field theories,\nwhich we call the defect multiplet and show how it incorporates the\ndisplacement operator. We also derive the defect multiplet by using a\nsuperspace Noether procedure."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Polarization of the D0 ground state in Quantum Mechanics and\n  Supergravity: The presence of a distant D4-brane is used to further investigate the duality\nbetween M-theory and D0-brane quantum mechanics. Although the D4-brane\nbackground fields are not strong enough to induce a classical dielectric effect\nin the D0 system, a polarization of the quantum mechanical ground state does\nresult. A similar deformation arises for the bubble of normal space found near\nD0-branes in classical supergravity solutions. These deformations are compared\nand are shown to have the same structure in each case. Brief comments are\nincluded on the relation of D0-branes in this background to D0-branes as\ninstantons in the D4-brane field theory and an appendix addresses certain\ninfrared issues associated with 't Hooft scaling in 0+1 dimensions.",
        "positive": "N=1 Supersymmetric $SU(2)^r$ Moose Theories: We study the quantum moduli spaces and dynamical superpotentials of four\ndimensional $SU(2)^r$ linear and ring moose theories with $\\mathcal{N}=1$\nsupersymmetry and link chiral superfields in the fundamental representation.\nNontrivial quantum moduli spaces and dynamical superpotentials are produced.\nWhen the moduli space is perturbed by generic tree level superpotentials, the\nvacuum space becomes discrete. The ring moose is in the Coulomb phase and we\nfind two singular submanifolds with a nontrivial modulus that is a function of\nall the independent gauge invariants needed to parameterize the quantum moduli\nspace. The massive theory near these singularities confines. The Seiberg-Witten\nelliptic curve that describes the quantum moduli space of the ring moose is\nproduced."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Magnetic Strings in Dilaton Gravity: First, I present two new classes of magnetic rotating solutions in\nfour-dimensional Einstein-Maxwell-dilaton gravity with Liouville-type\npotential. The first class of solutions yields a 4-dimensional spacetime with a\nlongitudinal magnetic field generated by a static or spinning magnetic string.\nI find that these solutions have no curvature singularity and no horizons, but\nhave a conic geometry. In these spacetimes, when the rotation parameter does\nnot vanish, there exists an electric field, and therefore the spinning string\nhas a net electric charge which is proportional to the rotation parameter. The\nsecond class of solutions yields a spacetime with an angular magnetic field.\nThese solutions have no curvature singularity, no horizon, and no conical\nsingularity. The net electric charge of the strings in these spacetimes is\nproportional to their velocities. Second, I obtain the ($n+1$)-dimensional\nrotating solutions in Einstein-dilaton gravity with Liouville-type potential. I\nargue that these solutions can present horizonless spacetimes with conic\nsingularity, if one chooses the parameters of the solutions suitable. I also\nuse the counterterm method and compute the conserved quantities of these\nspacetimes.",
        "positive": "Vacuum polarization by topological defects in de Sitter spacetime: In this paper we investigate the vacuum polarization effects associated with\na massive quantum scalar field in de Sitter spacetime in the presence of\ngravitational topological defects. Specifically we calculate the vacuum\nexpectation value of the field square, $<\\Phi^2>$. Because this investigation\nhas been developed in a pure de Sitter space, here we are mainly interested on\nthe effects induced by the presence of the defects."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Potential Flow Of The Renormalisation Group In A Simple Two Component\n  Model: The renormalisation group (RG) flow on the space of couplings of a simple\nmodel with two couplings is examined. The model considered is that of a single\ncomponent scalar field with $\\phi^4$ self interaction coupled, via Yukawa\ncoupling, to a fermion in flat four dimensional space. The RG flow on the two\ndimensional space of couplings, ${\\cal G}$, is shown to be derivable from a\npotential to sixth order in the couplings, which requires two loop calculations\nof the $\\beta$-functions. The identification of a potential requires the\nintroduction of a metric on ${\\cal G}$ and it is shown that the metric defined\nby Zamalodchikov, in terms of two point correlation functions of composite\noperators, gives potential flow to this order.",
        "positive": "Flavor Broken QCD$_3$ at Large N: We examine the vacuum structure of QCD$_3$ with flavor group $U(f)\\times\nU(N_f-f)$ in the limit $N\\to\\infty$ with $g^2N=$fixed. We find that,\ngenerically, the resolution of critical points into a series of first order\npahse transitions persists at special locations in the phase diagram. In\nparticular, the number of Grassmannians that one traverses and their locations\nin the phase diagram is a function of $f$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetric wrapped membranes, AdS(2) spaces, and bubbling geometries: We perform a systematic study, in eleven dimensional supergravity, of the\ngeometry of wrapped brane configurations admitting $AdS_2$ limits. Membranes\nwrapping holomorphic curves in Calabi-Yau manifolds are found to exhibit some\nnovel features; in particular, for fourfolds or threefolds, the gravitational\neffect of the branes on the overall transverse space is only weakly restricted\nby the kinematics of the Killing spinor equation. We also study the $AdS_2$\nlimits of the wrapped brane supergravity descriptions. For membranes wrapped in\na two-fold, we derive a set of $AdS_2$ supersymmetry conditions which upon\nanalytic continuation coincide precisely with those for the half-BPS bubbling\ngeometries of LLM. From membranes wrapped in a three-fold, we obtain a set of\n$AdS_2$ supersymmetry conditions which upon analytic continuation describe a\nclass of spacetimes which we identify as quarter-BPS bubbling geometries in\nM-theory, with $SO(4)\\times SO(3)\\times U(1)$ isometry in Riemannian signature.\nWe also study fivebranes wrapping a special lagrangian five-cycle in a\nfivefold, in the presence of membranes wrapping holomorphic curves, and employ\nthe wrapped brane supersymmetry conditions to derive a classification of the\ngeneral minimally supersymmetric $AdS_2$ geometry in M-theory.",
        "positive": "Do the gravitational corrections to the beta functions of the quartic\n  and Yukawa couplings have an intrinsic physical meaning?: We study the beta functions of the quartic and Yukawa couplings of General\nRelativity and Unimodular Gravity coupled to the $\\lambda\\phi^4$ and Yukawa\ntheories with masses. We show that the General Relativity corrections to those\nbeta functions as obtained from the 1PI functional by using the standard MS\nmultiplicative renormalization scheme of Dimensional Regularization are gauge\ndependent and, further, that they can be removed by a non-multiplicative,\nthough local, field redefinition. An analogous analysis is carried out when\nGeneral Relativity is replaced with Unimodular Gravity. Thus we show that any\nclaim made about the change in the asymptotic behaviour of the quartic and\nYukawa couplings made by General Relativity and Unimodular Gravity lack\nintrinsic physical meaning."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "K-K excitations on AdS_5 x S^5 as N=4 ``primary'' superfields: We show that the K-K spectrum of IIB string on AdS_5 x S_5 is described by\n``twisted chiral'' N=4 superfields, naturally described in ``harmonic\nsuperspace'', obtained by taking suitable gauge singlets polynomials of the\nD3-brane boundary SU(n) superconformal field theory. To each p-order polynomial\nis associated a massive K-K short representation with 256 x 1/12 p^2(p^2 -1)\nstates. The p=2 quadratic polynomial corresponds to the ``supercurrent\nmultiplet'' describing the ``massless'' bulk graviton multiplet.",
        "positive": "Description of moduli space of projective structures via fat graphs: We give an elementary explicit construction of cell decomposition of the\nmoduli space of projective structures on a two dimensional surface analogous to\nthe decomposition of Penner/Strebel for moduli space of complex structures. The\nrelations between projective structures and $PGL(2,{\\bf C})$ flat connections\nare also described. (in the revised version uuencoded pictures are made\nprintable)"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-abelian gauge theories as a consequence of perturbative quantum\n  gauge invariance: We show for the case of interacting massless vector bosons, how the structure\nof Yang-Mills theories emerges automatically from a more fundamental concept,\nnamely perturbative quantum gauge invariance. It turns out that the coupling in\na non-abelian gauge theory is necessarily of Yang-Mills type plus divergence-\nand coboundary couplings. The extension of the method to massive gauge theories\nis briefly discussed.",
        "positive": "Ultraviolet Fixed Points in Gauge and SUSY Field Theories in Extra\n  Dimensions: We consider gauge field theories in $D>4$ following the Wilson RG approach\nand show that they possess the ultraviolet fixed points where the gauge\ncoupling is dimensionless in any space-time dimension. At the fixed point the\nanomalous dimensions of the field and vertex operators are known exactly. These\nfixed points are nonperturbative and correspond to conformal invariant\ntheories. The same phenomenon also happens in supersymmetric theories with the\nYukawa type interactions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Seeking de-Sitter Vacua in the String Landscape: In this report, we present a concise review on the various moduli\nstabilisation schemes proposed in the context of type IIB superstring\ncompactifications using Calabi-Yau orientifolds. We discuss the details of the\nknown schemes by classifying them into two categories; the first one includes\nnon-perturbative superpotential contributions leading to the well-known class\nof models like KKLT, Racetrack and LVS, while the second one includes only\nperturbative corrections arising from the series of $\\alpha^\\prime$- and\nstring-loop effects, leading to a new scheme - known as perturbative LVS. In\naddition, we motivate and briefly discuss about the global embedding\nrequirements for all these moduli stabilisation schemes, and present some\ndetails for the perturbative LVS scheme by focusing on a concrete CY\norientifold setting. In this context, the resulting 4D effective supergravity\nmodel indeed does not receive any non-pertubative superpotential effects due to\nthe lack of necessary divisor topologies, and the K\\\"ahler moduli stabilisation\nis performed entirely by perturbative effects, leading to AdS minimum with\nexponentially large VEV for the overall volume of the internal CY manifold. It\nis further shown how this class of AdS solutions can be uplifted to de-Sitter\nsolutions by using a couple of prescriptions such as $D$-term uplifting and the\n$T$-brane uplifting.",
        "positive": "An Alternative Path to the Boundary - the CFT as the Fourier Space of\n  AdS: In this paper we shed new light on the AdS/CFT duality by interpreting the\nCFT as the Fourier space of AdS. We make use of well known integral geometry\ntechniques to derive the Fourier transformation of a function defined on the\nAdS hyperboloid. We show that the Fourier Transformation of a function on the\nhyperboloid is a function defined on the boundary. We find that the Green's\nfunctions from the literature are actually the Fourier weights (i.e. plane wave\nsolutions) of the transformation and that the boundary values of fields\nappearing in the correspondence are the Fourier components of the\ntransformation. One is thus left to interpret the CFT as the quantized version\nof a classical theory in AdS and the dual operator as the Fourier coefficients.\nGroup theoretic considerations are discussed in relation to the transformation\nand its potential use in constructing QCD like theories. In addition, we\nconsider possible implications involving understanding the dual of AdS black\nholes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Transplanckian energy production and slow roll inflation: In this paper we investigate how the energy density due to a non-standard\nchoice of initial vacuum affects the expansion of the universe during\ninflation. To do this we introduce source terms in the Friedmann equations\nmaking sure that we respect the relation between gravity and thermodynamics. We\nfind that the energy production automatically implies a slow rolling\ncosmological constant. Hence we also conclude that there is no well defined\nvalue for the cosmological constant in the presence of sources. We speculate\nthat a non-standard vacuum can provide slow roll inflation on its own.",
        "positive": "Instantons and Quaternions: We relate the moduli space of Yang-Mills instantons to quaternionic\nmanifolds. For instanton number one, the Wolf spaces play an important role. We\napply these ideas to instanton calculations in N=4 SYM theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Heterotic Superpotential and Moduli: We study the four-dimensional effective theory arising from ten-dimensional\nheterotic supergravity compactified on manifolds with torsion. In particular,\ngiven the heterotic superpotential appropriately corrected at\n$\\mathcal{O}(\\alpha')$ to account for the Green-Schwarz anomaly cancellation\nmechanism, we investigate properties of four-dimensional Minkowski vacua of\nthis theory. Considering the restrictions arising from F-terms and D-terms we\nidentify the infinitesimal massless moduli space of the theory. We show that it\nagrees with the results that have recently been obtained from a ten-dimensional\nperspective where supersymmetric Minkowski solutions including the Bianchi\nidentity correspond to an integrable holomorphic structure, with infinitesimal\nmoduli calculated by its first cohomology. As has recently been noted,\ninterplay of complex structure and bundle deformations through holomorphic and\nanomaly constraints can lead to fewer moduli than may have been expected. We\nderive a relation between the number of complex structure and bundle moduli\nremoved from the low energy theory in this way, and give conditions for there\nto be no complex structure moduli or bundle moduli remaining in the low energy\ntheory. The link between Yukawa couplings and obstruction theory is also\nbriefly discussed.",
        "positive": "Large N techniques for Nekrasov partition functions and AGT conjecture: The AGT conjecture relates \\mathcal{N}=2 4d SUSY gauge theories to 2d CFTs.\nMatrix model techniques can be used to investigate both sides of this relation.\nThe large N limit refers here to the size of Young tableaux in the expression\nof the gauge theory partition function. It corresponds to the vanishing of\nOmega-background equivariant deformation parameters, and should not be confused\nwith the t'Hooft expansion at large number of colors. In this paper, a saddle\npoint approach is employed to study the Nekrasov-Shatashvili limit of the gauge\ntheory, leading to define beta-deformed, or quantized, Seiberg-Witten curve and\ndifferential form. Then this formalism is compared to the large N limit of the\nDijkgraaf-Vafa beta-ensemble. A transformation law relating the wave functions\nappearing at both sides of the conjecture is proposed. It implies a\ntransformation of the Seiberg-Witten 1-form in agreement with the definition\nspecified earlier. As a side result, a remarkable property of \\mathcal{N}=2\ntheories emerged: the instanton contribution to the partition function can be\ndetermined from the perturbative term analysis."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic quantum critical points in Lifshitz space-time: We study a minimally coupled charged scalar field in a charged Lifshitz\nbackground. For z=2, we find an analytic expression for the corresponding low\nenergy retarded Green's function. Unlike the RN-AdS case, the position of the\nsuperfluid surfaces depends on the charge of the scalar field only through the\nIR scaling dimension. We show that by increasing the dynamical exponent, the\ndual theory becomes more stable. We also show that the background could suffer\nfrom an instability of the IR geometry leading to a bifurcating critical point.\nIt also allows the existence of scalar hair, causing hybridized critical point.\nWe have investigated stable an unstable regions in the parameter space.",
        "positive": "Gauge Theories on Fuzzy Spaces and Gravity: We start by briefly reviewing the description of gravity theories as gauge\ntheories in four dimensions. More specifically we recall the procedure leading\nto the results of General Relativity and Weyl Gravity in a gauge-theoretic\nmanner. Then, after a brief reminder of the formulation of gauge theories on\nnoncommutative spaces, we review our recent work, where gravity is constructed\nas a gauge theory on the fuzzy $dS_4$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Classical Implications of the Minimal Length Uncertainty Relation: We study the phenomenological implications of the classical limit of the\n\"stringy\" commutation relations [x_i,p_j]=i hbar[(1+beta p^2) delta_{ij} +\nbeta' p_i p_j]. In particular, we investigate the \"deformation\" of Kepler's\nthird law and apply our result to the rotation curves of gas and stars in\nspiral galaxies.",
        "positive": "Quantum tunneling from accelerating three-dimensional black hole: Hawking radiation as a quantum tunneling phenomena from accelerating BTZ\nblack holes is presented in this work. We have calculated the Dirac particle's\nHawking radiation from the horizon of the accelerating BTZ black hole. WKB\napproximation is applied to Dirac equation in the background of three\ndimensional black holes. This procedure gives us the tunneling probability,\nwhich we have used to calculate the Hawking temperature of the background\nthree-dimensional black hole. Our study is consistent with the previous studies\nin the absence of the acceleration parameter. We have also studied the quantum\ncorrections to the Hawking temperature of accelerating BTZ black hole."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non--Commutative (Quantum) Probability, Master Fields and Stochastic\n  Bosonization: In this report we discuss some results of non--commutative (quantum)\nprobability theory relating the various notions of statistical independence and\nthe associated quantum central limit theorems to different aspects of\nmathematics and physics including: $q$--deformed and free central limit\ntheorems; the description of the master (i.e. central limit) field in matrix\nmodels along the recent Singer suggestion to relate it to Voiculescu's results\non the freeness of the large $N$ limit of random matrices; quantum stochastic\ndifferential equations for the gauge master field in QCD; the theory of\nstochastic limits of quantum fields and its applications to stochastic\nbosonization of Fermi fields in any dimensions; new structures in QED such as a\nnonlinear modification of the Wigner semicircle law and the interacting Fock\nspace: a natural explicit example of a self--interacting quantum field which\nexhibits the non crossing diagrams of the Wigner semicircle law.",
        "positive": "Non-Hermitian Lagrangian for quasi-relativistic fermions: We present a Lorentz-symmetry violating Lagrangian for free fermions, which\nis local but not Hermitian, whereas the corresponding Hamiltonian is Hermitian\nbut not local. A specific feature of the model is that the dispersion relation\nis relativistic in both the IR and in the UV, but not in an intermediate\nregime, set by a given mass scale. The consistency of the model is shown by the\nstudy of properties expected in analogy with the Dirac Lagrangian."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Nonsingular Black Holes in $f(R)$ Theories: We study the structure of a family of static, spherically symmetric\nspace-times generated by an anisotropic fluid and governed by a particular type\nof $f(R)$ theory. We find that for a range of parameters with physical\ninterest, such solutions represent black holes with the central singularity\nreplaced by a finite size wormhole. We show that time-like geodesics and null\ngeodesics with nonzero angular momentum never reach the wormhole throat due to\nan infinite potential barrier. For null radial geodesics, it takes an infinite\naffine time to reach the wormhole. This means that the resulting space-time is\ngeodesically complete and, therefore, nonsingular despite the generic existence\nof curvature divergences at the wormhole throat.",
        "positive": "2D String Theory Coupled to Quantum Gravity: We consider self-avoiding Nambu-Goto open strings on a random surface. We\nhave shown that the partition function of such a string theory can be\ncalculated exactly. The string susceptibility for the disk is evaluated to be\n$-\\frac{1}{2}$. We also consider modifications of the Nambu-Goto action which\nare exactly soluble on a random surface."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Super Higgs Effect in Extended Supergravity: We consider the reduction of supersymmetry in N-extended four dimensional\nsupergravity via the super Higgs mechanism in theories without cosmological\nconstant. We provide an analysis largely based on the properties of long and\nshort multiplets of Poincare' supersymmetry. Examples of the super Higgs\nphenomenon are realized in spontaneously broken N=8 supergravity through the\nScherk-Schwarz mechanism and in superstring compactification in presence of\nbrane fluxes. In many models the massive vectors count the difference in number\nof the translation isometries of the scalar sigma-model geometries in the\nbroken and unbroken phase.",
        "positive": "Combinatorics of Boundaries in String Theory: We investigate the possibility that stringy nonperturbative effects appear as\nholes in the world-sheet. We focus on the case of Dirichlet string theory,\nwhich we argue should be formulated differently than in previous work, and we\nfind that the effects of boundaries are naturally weighted by $e^{-O(1/g_{\\rm\nst})}$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Unique Connection for Born Geometry: It has been known for a while that the effective geometrical description of\ncompactified strings on $d$-dimensional target spaces implies a generalization\nof geometry with a doubling of the sets of tangent space directions. This\ngeneralized geometry involves an $O(d,d)$ pairing $\\eta$ and an $O(2d)$\ngeneralized metric $\\mathcal{H}$. More recently it has been shown that in order\nto include T-duality as an effective symmetry, the generalized geometry also\nneeds to carry a phase space structure or more generally a para-Hermitian\nstructure encoded into a skew-symmetric pairing $\\omega$. The consistency of\nstring dynamics requires this geometry to satisfy a set of compatibility\nrelations that form what we call a Born geometry. In this work we prove an\nanalogue of the fundamental theorem of Riemannian geometry for Born geometry.\nWe show that there exists a unique connection which preserves the Born\nstructure $(\\eta,\\omega,\\mathcal{H})$ and which is torsionless in a generalized\nsense. This resolves a fundamental ambiguity that is present in the double\nfield theory formulation of effective string dynamics.",
        "positive": "Supersymmetric Index and s-rule for Type IIB Branes: We investigate the supersymmetric index of N=2,3 SU(n) supersymmetric\nYang-Mills Chern Simons theories at level k by using the brane configuration\nwith a (p,q)5-brane. We can explain that the supersymmetry breaking occurs when\nk<n in terms of the s-rule for Type IIB branes. The supersymmetric index\ncoincides with the number of the possible supersymmetric brane configurations.\nWe also discuss a construction of a family of theories which have the same\nsupersymmetric index."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A One-Loop Test of Quantum Supergravity: The partition function on the three-sphere of ABJM theory and its\ngeneralizations has, at large N, a universal, subleading logarithmic term.\nInspired by the success of one-loop quantum gravity for computing the\nlogarithmic corrections to black hole entropy, we try to reproduce this\nuniversal term by a one-loop calculation in Euclidean eleven-dimensional\nsupergravity on AdS_4 \\times X_7. We find perfect agreement between the results\nof ABJM theory and the eleven dimensional supergravity.",
        "positive": "Y-algebroids and $E_{7(7)} \\times \\mathbb{R}^+$-generalised geometry: We define the notion of Y-algebroids, generalising the Lie, Courant, and\nexceptional algebroids that have been used to capture the local symmetry\nstructure of type II string theory and M-theory compactifications to $D \\geq 5$\ndimensions. Instead of an invariant inner product, or its generalisation\narising in exceptional algebroids, Y-algebroids are built around a specific\ntype of tensor, denoted $Y$, that provides exactly the necessary properties to\nalso describe compactifications to $D=4$ dimensions. We classify ``M-exact''\n$E_7$-algebroids and show that this precisely matches the form of the\ngeneralised tangent space of $E_{7(7)} \\times \\mathbb{R}^+$-generalised\ngeometry, with possible twists due to 1-, 4- and 7-form fluxes, corresponding\nphysically to the derivative of the warp factor and the M-theory fluxes. We\ntranslate the notion of generalised Leibniz parallelisable spaces, relevant to\nconsistent truncations, into this language, where they are mapped to so-called\nexceptional Manin pairs. We also show how to understand Poisson--Lie U-duality\nand exceptional complex structures using Y-algebroids."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Two field-theoretic viewpoints on the Fukaya-Morse $A_\\infty$ category: We study an enhanced version of the Morse degeneration of Fukaya $A_\\infty$\ncategory with higher compositions given by counts of gradient flow trees. The\nenhancement consists in allowing morphisms from an object to itself to be\nchains on the manifold. Higher compositions correspond to counting Morse trees\npassing through a given set of chains. We provide two viewpoints on the\nconstruction and on the proof of the $A_\\infty$ relations for the composition\nmaps. One viewpoint is via an effective action for the $BF$ theory computed in\na special gauge. The other is via higher topological quantum mechanics.",
        "positive": "M-Theory Versus F-Theory Pictures of the Heterotic String: If one begins with the assertion that the type IIA string compactified on a\nK3 surface is equivalent to the heterotic string on a four-torus one may try to\nfind a statement about duality in ten dimensions by decompactifying the\nfour-torus. Such a decompactification renders the K3 surface highly singular.\nThe resultant K3 surface may be analyzed in two quite different ways - one of\nwhich is natural from the point of view of differential geometry and the other\nfrom the point of view of algebraic geometry. We see how the former leads to a\n\"squashed K3 surface\" and reproduces the Horava-Witten picture of the heterotic\nstring in M-theory. The latter produces a \"stable degeneration\" and is tied\nmore closely to F-theory. We use the relationship between these degenerations\nto obtain the M-theory picture of a point-like E8-instanton directly from the\nF-theory picture of the same object."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Pair Creation of Open Strings in an Electric Field: We calculate exactly the rate of pair production of open bosonic and\nsupersymmetric strings in a constant electric field. The rate agrees with\nSchwinger's classic result in the weak-field limit, but diverges when the\nelectric field approaches some critical value of the order of the string\ntension. (Phyzzx file)",
        "positive": "Spherical D-brane by Tachyon Condensation: We find a novel tachyon condensation which provides a D-brane system with\nspherical worldvolume in the flat spacetime. The tachyon profile is a\ndeformation of a known D0-brane solution on non-BPS D3-branes in type IIA\nsuperstring theory, which realizes a bound state of a spherical D2-brane and a\nD0-brane. The D0-brane is resolved into the sphere as a $U(1)$ monopole flux of\nthe unit magnetic charge. We show that the system has the correct tension and\nthe RR-coupling. Although the low energy effective action of the system is the\nsame as that of the dual description of the fuzzy sphere solution of multiple\nD0-branes, our system cannot be equivalent to the fuzzy sphere. We argue that\nthe sphere can be stable in a certain RR-flux background. The use of projective\nmodules in describing the tachyon condensation is emphasized."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "An equal area law for holographic entanglement entropy of the AdS-RN\n  black hole: The Anti-de Sitter-Reissner-Nordstrom (AdS-RN) black hole in the canonical\nensemble undergoes a phase transition similar to the liquid-gas phase\ntransition, i.e. the isocharges on the entropy-temperature plane develop an\nunstable branch when the charge is smaller than a critical value. It was later\ndiscovered that the isocharges on the entanglement entropy-temperature plane\nalso exhibit the same van der Waals-like structure, for spherical entangling\nregions. In this paper, we present numerical results which sharpen this\nsimilarity between entanglement entropy and black hole entropy, by showing that\nboth of these entropies obey Maxwell's equal area law to an accuracy of around\n1 %. Moreover, we checked this for a wide range of size of the spherical\nentangling region, and the equal area law holds independently of the size. We\nalso checked the equal area law for AdS-RN in 4 and 5 dimensions, so the\nconclusion is not specific to a particular dimension. Finally, we repeated the\nsame procedure for a similar, van der Waals-like transition of the dyonic black\nhole in AdS in a mixed ensemble (fixed electric potential and fixed magnetic\ncharge), and showed that the equal area law is not valid in this case. Thus the\nequal area law for entanglement entropy seems to be specific to the AdS-RN\nbackground.",
        "positive": "Relativistic Landau-Aharonov-Casher quantization based on the Lorentz\n  symmetry violation background: Based on the discussions about the Aharonov-Casher effect in the Lorentz\nsymmetry violation background, we show that the analogue of the relativistic\nLandau quantization in the Aharonov-Casher setup can be achieved in the\nLorentz-symmetry violation background."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the topological charge of $SO(2)$ gauged Skyrmions in $2+1$ and $3+1$\n  dimensions: The question of the dependence of the topological charge $q$ of a gauged\nSkyrmion, on the gauge field, is studied quantitatively. Two examples, both\ngauged with $SO(2)$ are studied and contrasted: i) The $O(3)$ model in $2+1$\ndimensions, and ii) The $O(4)$ model in $3+1$ dimensions. In case i), where the\n(usual) Chern-Simons (CS) term is present, the value of $q$ changes sign, going\nthrough zero. This evolution is tracked by a parameter characterising the\nsolutions in the given theory. In case ii), in which dimensions no CS density\nis available, the evolution of $q$ is not observed.",
        "positive": "Acceleration-extended Newton-Hooke symmetry and its dynamical\n  realization: Newton-Hooke group is the nonrelativistic limit of de Sitter (anti-de Sitter)\ngroup, which can be enlarged with transformations that describe constant\nacceleration, as well as central charges. We consider a higher order Lagrangian\nthat is quasi-invariant under the acceleration-extended Newton-Hooke symmetry,\nand obtain the Schr\\\"{o}dinger equation quantizing the Hamiltonian\ncorresponding to its first order form. We show that the Schr\\\"{o}dinger\nequation is invariant under the acceleration-extended Newton-Hooke\ntransformations. We also discuss briefly the exotic conformal Newton-Hooke\nsymmetry in 2+1 dimension."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-local conserved charges from defects in perturbed conformal field\n  theory: Perturbing a Virasoro minimal model by the (1,3) primary bulk field results\nin an integrable field theory. In this paper, an infinite set of commuting\nconserved charges is obtained by considering defects: a one-parameter family of\nperturbed defect operators is given, and it is shown that these operators\nmutually commute, that they commute with the Hamiltonian of the perturbed CFT,\nand that they satisfy a T-system functional relation. The formulation in terms\nof perturbed defects is a modification of the original prescription for such\ncharges by Bazhanov, Lukyanov and Zamolodchikov.",
        "positive": "Localizing Gravity on the Triple Intersection of 7-branes in 10D: It was recently proposed that our universe could naturally come to be\ndominated by 3-branes and 7-branes if the universe is ten-dimensional. In this\npaper, we explicitly demonstrate that gravity can be localized on the\nintersection of three 7-branes in AdS10 to give four-dimensional gravity. We\nderive the exact relations among the tensions of the branes, and show that they\napply independently of the precise distribution of energy within the\nnecessarily thickened branes. We demonstrate this with several technical\nsections showing a simple formula for the curvature tensor of a diagonal metric\nwith isometries as well as for the curvature at a gravitational singularity. We\nalso demonstrate a subtlety in applying Stoke's Theorem to this set-up."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Radiation enhancement and \"temperature\" in the collapse regime of\n  gravitational scattering: We generalize the semiclassical treatment of graviton radiation to\ngravitational scattering at very large energies $\\sqrt{s}\\gg m_P$ and finite\nscattering angles $\\Theta_s$, so as to approach the collapse regime of impact\nparameters $b \\simeq b_c \\sim R\\equiv 2G\\sqrt{s}$. Our basic tool is the\nextension of the recently proposed, unified form of radiation to the ACV\nreduced-action model and to its resummed-eikonal exchange. By superimposing\nthat radiation all-over eikonal scattering, we are able to derive the\ncorresponding (unitary) coherent-state operator. The resulting graviton\nspectrum, tuned on the gravitational radius $R$, fully agrees with previous\ncalculations for small angles $\\Theta_s\\ll 1$ but, for sizeable angles\n$\\Theta_s(b)\\leq \\Theta_c = O(1)$ acquires an exponential cutoff of the large\n$\\omega R$ region, due to energy conservation, so as to emit a finite fraction\nof the total energy. In the approach-to-collapse regime of $b\\to b_c^+$ we find\na radiation enhancement due to large tidal forces, so that the whole energy is\nradiated off, with a large multiplicity $\\langle N \\rangle\\sim Gs \\gg 1$ and a\nwell-defined frequency cutoff of order $R^{-1}$.\n  The latter corresponds to the Hawking temperature for a black hole of mass\nnotably smaller than $\\sqrt{s}$.",
        "positive": "Understanding Higher-Spin Gravity through Bilocal Holography for Free\n  Fermions: We consider a simple theory of N free fermions in d dimensions with\nO\\left(N\\right) or U\\left(N\\right) symmetry. The singlet sector of this theory\nis expected from holography to be dual to the notoriously complicated Vasiliev\ngravity. By defining bilocal fields we find an explicit holographic mapping\nbetween the two theories, similar to what was done previously for scalars,\nwhich allows us to construct a quantum version of Vasiliev gravity, including\nloop (=1/N) corrections. Further more, such a mapping establishes a\nnon-supersymmetric instance of the AdS/CFT duality."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Thermodynamics of bosonic systems in adS spacetime: We analyze the thermodynamics of massless bosonic systems in D-dimensional\nanti-de Sitter spacetime, considering scalar, electromagnetic, and\ngravitational fields. Their dynamics are described by Poschl-Teller effective\npotentials and quantized in a unified framework, with the determination of the\nassociated energy spectra. From the microscopic description developed, a\nmacroscopic thermodynamic treatment is proposed, where an effective volume in\nanti-de Sitter geometry is defined and a suitable thermodynamic limit is\nconsidered. Partition functions are constructed for the bosonic gases, allowing\nthe determination of several thermodynamic quantities of interest. With the\nobtained results, general aspects of the thermodynamics are explored.",
        "positive": "Quantum Consistency of the Superstring in AdS_5 x S^5 Background: Using arguments based on BRST cohomology, the pure spinor formalism for the\nsuperstring in an AdS_5 x S^5 background is proven to be BRST invariant and\nconformally invariant at the quantum level to all orders in perturbation\ntheory. Cohomology arguments are also used to prove the existence of an\ninfinite set of non-local BRST-invariant charges at the quantum level."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Deconfinement in N=1 super Yang-Mills theory on R^3 x S^1 via\n  dual-Coulomb gas and \"affine\" XY-model: We study finite-temperature N=1 SU(2) super Yang-Mills theory, compactified\non a spatial circle of size L with supersymmetric boundary conditions. In the\nsemiclassical small-L regime, a deconfinement transition occurs at T_c <<1/L.\nThe transition is due to a competition between non-perturbative topological\n\"molecules\"---magnetic and neutral bion-instantons---and electrically charged\nW-bosons and superpartners. Compared to deconfinement in non-supersymmetric\nQCD(adj) arXiv:1112.6389, the novelty is the relevance of the light modulus\nscalar field. It mediates interactions between neutral bions (and W-bosons),\nserves as an order parameter for the Z_2^{L} center symmetry associated with\nthe non-thermal circle, and explicitly breaks the electric-magnetic\n(Kramers-Wannier) duality enjoyed by non-supersymmetric QCD(adj) near T_c. We\nshow that deconfinement can be studied using an effective two-dimensional gas\nof electric and magnetic charges with (dual) Coulomb and Aharonov-Bohm\ninteractions, or, equivalently, via an XY-spin model with a symmetry-breaking\nperturbation, where each system couples to the scalar field. To study the\nrealization of the discrete R-symmetry and the Z_2^{beta} thermal and Z_2^{L}\nnon-thermal center symmetries, we perform Monte Carlo simulations of both\nsystems. The dual-Coulomb gas simulations are a novel way to analyze\ndeconfinement and provide a new venue to study the phase structure of a class\nof two-dimensional condensed matter models that can be mapped into dual-Coulomb\ngases. Our results indicate a continuous deconfinement transition, with Z_2^{L}\nremaining unbroken at the transition. Thus, the SYM transition appears similar\nto the one in SU(2) QCD(adj) arXiv:1112.6389 and is also likely to be\ncharacterized by continuously varying critical exponents.",
        "positive": "Quantum radiation produced by a uniformly accelerating charged particle\n  in thermal random motion: We investigate the properties of quantum radiation produced by a uniformly\naccelerating charged particle undergoing thermal random motions, which\noriginates from the coupling to the vacuum fluctuations of the electromagnetic\nfield. Because the thermal random motions are regarded to result from the Unruh\neffect, this quantum radiation is termed Unruh radiation. The energy flux of\nUnruh radiation is negative and smaller than that of Larmor radiation by one\norder in a/m, where a is the constant acceleration and m is the mass of the\nparticle. Thus, the Unruh radiation appears to be a suppression of the\nclassical Larmor radiation. The quantum interference effect plays an important\nrole in this unique signature. The results is consistent with the predictions\nof a model consisting of a particle coupled to a massless scalar field as well\nas those of the previous studies on the quantum effect on the Larmor radiation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Maxwell Construction for Scalar Field Theories with Spontaneous Symmetry\n  Breaking: Using a non-perturbative approximation for the partition function of a\ncomplex scalar model, which features spontaneous symmetry breaking, we\nexplicitly derive the flattening of the effective potential in the region\nlimited by the minima of the bare potential. This flattening occurs in the\nlimit of infinite volume, and is a consequence of the summation over the\ncontinuous set of saddle points which dominate the partition function. We also\nprove the convexity of the effective potential and generalize the Maxwell\nConstruction for scalar theories with O(N) symmetry. Finally, we discuss why\nthe flattening of the effective potential cannot occur in the Abelian Higgs\ntheory.",
        "positive": "Relativistic vector bosons and PT-symmetry: Relativistic massive bosons with spin one are considered in several\nquantization schemes. In all of them the system is shown described by a\nnon-Hermitian Hamiltonian and helicity operator. Constructively we show that in\nall of the contemplated schemes both these operators prove simultaneously\nPT-symmetric, i.e., pseudo-Hermitian with respect to a certain not too\ncomplicated indefinite pseudo-metric operator."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Some new results for \"jet\" stopping in AdS/CFT: We give a breezy, qualitative overview of some of our recent results on\nstudying jet stopping in strongly-coupled plasmas using gauge-gravity duality.\nPreviously, people have found that the maximum stopping distance in such\nplasmas scales with energy as E^{1/3}. We show that there is an important\ndistinction between typical and maximum stopping distances. For the\nstrongly-coupled excitations that we study, we find that the typical stopping\ndistance scales with energy as E^{1/4}.",
        "positive": "On Schwinger-like pair production of baryons and new non-perturbative\n  processes in electric field: We consider the Schwinger production of baryons in an external electric field\nin the worldline instanton approach. The process occurs in the confinement\nregime hence the holographic QCD and the Chiral Lagrangian are used as the\ntools. The new exponentially suppressed processes in a constant electric field\ninvolving the composite worldline instantons are suggested. These include the\nnon-perturbative decay of a neutron into a proton and charged meson and the\nspontaneous production of $p\\bar{n}\\pi^{-}$ and $n\\bar{p}\\pi^{+}$ states."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gravitons and gauge fields in 5d Chern-Simons supergravity: Despite the nice geometrical properties of higher dimensional Chern-Simons\n(CS) supergravity theories these actions suffer from one major drawback,\nnamely, their connection with the real world. After some quick remarks on\nthree-dimensional gravity, we consider five-dimensional CS supergravity and\nstudy to what extend this theory reproduces the standard low energy description\nof gravitons and gauge fields. We point out that if one deforms the CS action\nby changing the value of the cosmological constant by a small amount (thus\nbreaking the CS symmetry), propagation around AdS becomes non-trivial,\nasymptotically (AdS) Schwarzschild solutions exist, and the gauge field\nacquires its standard quadratic propagator.",
        "positive": "Is BTZ a separate superselection sector of CTMG?: We exhibit exact solutions of (positive) matter coupled to cosmological TMG;\nthey necessarily evolve to conical singularity/negative mass, rather than\nphysical black hole, BTZ. By providing evidence that the latter constitutes a\nseparate, \"superselection\", sector not reachable from the physical one, they\nalso provide justification for retaining TMG's original \"wrong\" G-sign to\nensure excitation stability here as well."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Charting an Inflationary Landscape with Random Matrix Theory: We construct a class of random potentials for N >> 1 scalar fields using\nnon-equilibrium random matrix theory, and then characterize multifield\ninflation in this setting. By stipulating that the Hessian matrices in adjacent\ncoordinate patches are related by Dyson Brownian motion, we define the\npotential in the vicinity of a trajectory. This method remains computationally\nefficient at large N, permitting us to study much larger systems than has been\npossible with other constructions. We illustrate the utility of our approach\nwith a numerical study of inflation in systems with up to 100 coupled scalar\nfields. A significant finding is that eigenvalue repulsion sharply reduces the\nduration of inflation near a critical point of the potential: even if the\ncurvature of the potential is fine-tuned to be small at the critical point,\nsmall cross-couplings in the Hessian cause the curvature to grow in the\nneighborhood of the critical point.",
        "positive": "String/Flux Tube Duality: I describe Field/String duality as applied to the response of gauge fields to\nseparated quark and antiquark sources. This is a talk contributed to the\nconference Quark Confinement and the Hadron Spectrum VII, Ponta Delgada,\nAzores, 2-7 September 2006."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Consistent deformations method applied to a topological coupling of\n  antisymmetric gauge fields in D=3: In this work we use the method of consistent deformations of the master\nequation by Barnich and Henneaux in order to prove that an abelian topological\ncoupling between a zero and a two form fields in D=3 has no nonabelian\ngeneralization. We conclude that a topologically massive model involving the\nKalb-Ramond two-form field does not admit a nonabelian generalization. The\nintroduction of a connection-type one form field keeps the previous result.",
        "positive": "Typicality Defended: Hartle and Srednicki have argued that there is no observational evidence\nfavoring our typicality. Here it is shown that such evidence does arise from\nincluding the `normalization principle' requirement that the sum of the\nlikelihoods for all possible observations is normalized to unity in each\ntheory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum charge transport in two-dimensional narrow channels: We consider the transport of spinless fermion charge carriers in a planar\nnarrow rectangular geometry, with the larger dimension being periodic and the\nnarrow one confined to a finite strip width, and ballistic flow in the larger\ndimension only. Our analysis is based on the formulation of an Effective Field\nTheory (EFT) for the system, which is appropriate for discussing universal\nphenomena. The EFT is constructed as a direct product of two known\none-dimensional ones obtained both from the thermodynamic limit of the\nCalogero-Sutherland model. This lower dimensional EFT is known to be capable of\ndescribing a quantum hydrodynamical flow. The resulting two-dimensional EFT\ndisplays a ground state charge density that is constant along the large\ndimension and vanishes at the boundaries of the narrow one with the shape of a\nsemi-circumference. This latter feature is a consequence of the specific\nharmonic confining potential in the narrow dimension considered. The charge\ntransport is obtained by coupling the system to an external electromagnetic\nfield that induces a global translation. The EFT incorporates quantum solitonic\nexcitations along the direction of the flow and the two-dimensional electric\ncurrent density shows a Poiseuille-like behavior, indicating the presence of\nnon-dissipative quantum viscous effects in the direction transverse to the\nflow. These two are among the most interesting features while discussing and\nobserving charge flow in nanoscopic structures of several types. We provide\nexplicit expressions for the electric current intensity, DC resistivity and\ncharge mobility in an example.",
        "positive": "Stringy negative-tension branes and the second law of thermodynamics: Negative energy objects generally lead to instabilities and a number of other\ndisturbing behaviors. In particular, negative energy fluxes lead to a breakdown\nof the classical area theorem for black hole horizons, which can lead to\nviolations of the second law of thermodynamics. The negative energy objects\nthat arise in string theory involve special boundary conditions which remove\nthe perturbative instabilities. We show that they have additional special\nfeatures which allow them to evade contradiction with the second law. We\nidentify one mechanism which applies for most orientifold planes in string\ntheory, and distinct mechanisms for the O8-plane and the AdS soliton."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A lecture on the Calogero-Sutherland models: In these lectures, I review some recent results on the Calogero-Sutherland\nmodel and the Haldane Shastry-chain. The list of topics I cover are the\nfollowing: 1) The Calogero-Sutherland Hamiltonian and fractional statistics.\nThe form factor of the density operator. 2) The Dunkl operators and their\nrelations with monodromy matrices, Yangians and affine-Hecke algebras. 3) The\nHaldane-Shastry chain in connection with the Calogero-Sutherland Hamiltonian at\na specific coupling constant.",
        "positive": "The Effective Action for Superfield Lagrangian Quantization in Reducible\n  Hypergauges: The rules of local superfield Lagrangian quantization in reducible\nnon-Abelian hypergauge functions are formulated for an arbitrary gauge theory.\nThe generating functionals of standard and vertex Green's functions which\ndepend on the Grassmann variable $\\eta$ via super(anti)fields and sources are\nconstructed. The difference between the local quantum and the gauge fixing\nactions determines an almost Hamiltonian system such that translations with\nrespect to $\\eta$ along the solutions of this system define the superfield BRST\ntransformations. The Ward identities are derived and the gauge independence of\nthe S-matrix is proved."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauge Invariant 1PI Effective Superstring Field Theory: Inclusion of the\n  Ramond Sector: We construct off-shell amplitudes in heterotic and type II string theories\ninvolving arbitrary combination of Ramond and Neveu-Schwarz sector external\nstates. We also construct the equations of motion of a gauge invariant 1PI\neffective field theory which reproduces these off-shell amplitudes. Using this\nconstruction we prove that the renormalized physical masses do not depend on\nthe choice of local coordinate system and locations of picture changing\noperators used in defining the off-shell amplitudes. We also use this formalism\nto examine the conditions under which space-time supersymmetry is unbroken in\nthe quantum theory.",
        "positive": "On Hamiltonians with position-dependent mass from Kaluza-Klein\n  compactifications: In a recent paper (J.R. Morris, Quant. Stud. Math. Found. 2 (2015) 359), an\ninhomogeneous compactification of the extra dimension of a five-dimensional\nKaluza-Klein metric has been shown to generate a position-dependent mass (PDM)\nin the corresponding four-dimensional system. As an application of this\ndimensional reduction mechanism, a specific static dilatonic scalar field has\nbeen connected with a PDM Lagrangian describing a well-known nonlinear PDM\noscillator. Here we present more instances of this construction that lead to\nPDM systems with radial symmetry, and the properties of their corresponding\ninhomogeneous extra dimensions are compared with the ones in the nonlinear\noscillator model. Moreover, it is also shown how the compactification\nintroduced in this type of models can alternatively be interpreted as a novel\nmechanism for the dynamical generation of curvature."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Factorization of the Effective Action in the IIB Matrix Model: We study the low-energy effective action of the IIB matrix model in the\nderivative interpretation, where the diffeomorphism invariance is manifest and\narbitrary manifolds are described by matrices. We show that it is expressed as\na sum of terms, each of which is factorized into a product of diffeomorphism\ninvariant action functionals:\n$S=\\sum_{i}c_is_i+\\sum_{i,j}c_{ij}s_is_j+\\sum_{i,j,k}c_{ijk}s_is_js_k+\\...$.\nEach action functional $s_i$ is an ordinary local action of the form $s_i=\\int\nd^Dx\\sqrt{-g} O_i(x)$, where $O_i(x)$ is a scalar operator. This is also true\nfor the background consisting of block diagonal matrices. In this case, the\neffective action can be interpreted as describing a multiverse where the\nuniverses described by the blocks are connected by wormholes.",
        "positive": "Typicality, Black Hole Microstates and Superconformal Field Theories: We analyze the structure of heavy multitrace BPS operators in N = 1\nsuperconformal quiver gauge theories that arise on the worldvolume of D3-branes\non an affine toric cone. We exhibit a geometric procedure for counting heavy\nmesonic operators with given U(1) charges. We show that for any fixed linear\ncombination of the U(1) charges, the entropy is maximized when the charges are\nin certain ratios. This selects preferred directions in the charge space that\ncan be determined with the help of a piece of string. We show that almost all\nheavy mesonic operators of fixed U(1) charges share a universal structure. This\nuniversality reflects the properties of the dual extremal black holes whose\nmicrostates they create. We also interpret our results in terms of typical\nconfigurations of dual giant gravitons in AdS space."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Universal Functions in Euclidean Quantum Gravity: A key problem in the attempt to quantize the gravitational field is the\nchoice of boundary conditions. These are mixed, in that spatial and normal\ncomponents of metric perturbations obey different sets of boundary conditions.\nIn the covariant quantization scheme this leads to a boundary operator\ninvolving both normal and tangential derivatives of metric perturbations. On\nstudying the corresponding heat-kernel asymptotics, one finds that universal,\ntensorial, nonpolynomial structures contribute through the integrals over the\nboundary of linear combinations of all geometric invariants of the problem.\nThese universal functions are independent of conformal rescalings of the\nbackground metric, and they might lead to a deep revolution in the current\nunderstanding of quantum gravity.",
        "positive": "The Faddeev-Popov term reviewed: Some textbooks and reports claim that the Jacobian which arises in the\ndiscussion of the Faddeev-Popov method to quantize non-Abelian gauge theories\nand which is given by the derivative of the gauge fixing conditions over the\ngauge group parameters, is gauge invariant. Other references however prove the\nopposite. In this brief report we present a discussion about this matter."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "M5-branes wrapped on a spindle: We construct supersymmetric $AdS_5\\times \\Sigma$ solutions of $D=7$ gauged\nsupergravity, where $\\Sigma$ is a two-dimensional orbifold known as a spindle.\nThese uplift on $S^4$ to solutions of $D=11$ supergravity which have orbifold\nsingularites. We argue that the solutions are dual to $d=4$, $\\mathcal{N}=1$\nSCFTs that arise from $N$ M5-branes wrapped on a spindle, embedded as a\nholomorphic curve inside a Calabi-Yau three-fold. In contrast to the usual\ntopological twist solutions, the superconformal R-symmetry mixes with the\nisometry of the spindle in the IR, and we verify this via a field theory\ncalculation, as well as reproducing the gravity formula for the central charge.",
        "positive": "Toda Theory From Six Dimensions: We describe a compactification of the six-dimensional (2,0) theory on a\nfour-sphere which gives rise to a two-dimensional Toda theory at long\ndistances. This construction realizes chiral Toda fields as edge modes trapped\nnear the poles of the sphere. We relate our setup to compactifications of the\n(2,0) theory on the five and six-sphere. In this way, we explain a connection\nbetween half-BPS operators of the (2,0) theory and two-dimensional W-algebras,\nand derive an equality between their conformal anomalies. As we explain, all\nsuch relationships between the six-dimensional (2,0) theory and Toda field\ntheory can be interpreted as statements about the edge modes of complex\nChern-Simons on various three-manifolds with boundary."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The large charge expansion and AdS/CFT: The scaling dimensions of charged operators in conformal field theory were\nrecently computed in a large charge expansion. We verify this expansion in a\ndual AdS model. Specifically, we numerically construct solitonic boson star\nsolutions of Einstein-Maxwell-Scalar theory in AdS$_4$ and find that its mass\nat large charge reproduces the universal form of the lowest operator dimension\nin the large U(1) charge sector of the dual 2+1 dimensional CFT.",
        "positive": "Supersymmetry Breaking and alpha'-Corrections to Flux Induced Potentials: We obtain the vacuum solutions for M-theory compactified on eight-manifolds\nwith non-vanishing four-form flux by analyzing the scalar potential appearing\nin the three-dimensional theory. Many of these vacua are not supersymmetric and\nyet have a vanishing three-dimensional cosmological constant. We show that in\nthe context of Type IIB compactifications on Calabi-Yau threefolds with fluxes\nand external brane sources alpha'-corrections generate a correction to the\nsupergravity potential proportional to the Euler number of the internal\nmanifold which spoils the no-scale structure appearing in the classical\npotential. This indicates that alpha'-corrections may indeed lead to a\nstabilization of the radial modulus appearing in these compactifications."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Black Hole Astrophysics in AdS Braneworlds: We consider astrophysics of large black holes localized on the brane in the\ninfinite Randall-Sundrum model. Using their description in terms of a conformal\nfield theory (CFT) coupled to gravity, deduced in Ref. [1], we show that they\nundergo a period of rapid decay via Hawking radiation of CFT modes. For\nexample, a black hole of mass ${\\rm few} \\times M_\\odot$ would shed most of its\nmass in $\\sim 10^4 - 10^5$ years if the AdS radius is $L \\sim 10^{-1}$ mm,\ncurrently the upper bound from table-top experiments. Since this is within the\nmass range of X-ray binary systems containing a black hole, the evaporation\nenhanced by the hidden sector CFT modes could cause the disappearance of X-ray\nsources on the sky. This would be a striking signature of RS2 with a large AdS\nradius. Alternatively, for shorter AdS radii, the evaporation would be slower.\nIn such cases, the persistence of X-ray binaries with black holes already\nimplies an upper bound on the AdS radius of $L \\la 10^{-2}$ mm, an order of\nmagnitude better than the bounds from table-top experiments. The observation of\nprimordial black holes with a mass in the MACHO range $M \\sim 0.1 - 0.5\nM_\\odot$ and an age comparable to the age of the universe would further\nstrengthen the bound on the AdS radius to $L \\la {\\rm few} \\times 10^{-6} $ mm.",
        "positive": "Topologically non-trivial configurations in the 4d Einstein--nonlinear\n  $\u03c3$-model system: We construct exact, regular and topologically non-trivial\\ configurations of\nthe coupled Einstein-nonlinear sigma model in (3+1) dimensions. The ansatz for\nthe nonlinear $SU(2)$ field is regular everywhere and circumvents Derrick's\ntheorem because it depends explicitly on time, but in such a way that its\nenergy-momentum tensor is compatible with a stationary metric. Moreover, the\n$SU(2)$ configuration cannot be continuously deformed to the trivial Pion\nvacuum as it possesses a non-trivial winding number. We reduce the full coupled\n4D Einstein nonlinear sigma model system to a single second order ordinary\ndifferential equation. When the cosmological constant vanishes, such master\nequation can be further reduced to an Abel equation. Two interesting regular\nsolutions correspond to a stationary traversable wormhole (whose only\n\\textquotedblleft exotic matter\" is a negative cosmological constant) and a\n(3+1)-dimensional cylinder whose (2+1)-dimensional section is a Lorentzian\nsquashed sphere. The Klein-Gordon equation in these two families of spacetimes\ncan be solved in terms of special functions. The angular equation gives rise to\nthe Jacobi polynomials while the radial equation belongs to the Poschl-Teller\nfamily. The solvability of the Poschl-Teller problem implies non-trivial\nquantization conditions on the parameters of the theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Initial Conditions in New Ekpyrotic Cosmology: New Ekpyrotic Cosmology is an alternative scenario of early universe\ncosmology in which the universe existed before the big bang. The simplest model\nrelies on two scalar fields, whose entropy perturbation leads to a\nscale-invariant spectrum of density fluctuations. The ekpyrotic solution has a\ntachyonic instability along the entropy field direction which, a priori,\nappears to require fine-tuning of the initial conditions. In this paper, we\nshow that these can be achieved naturally by adding a small positive mass term\nfor the tachyonic field and coupling to light fermions. Then, for a wide range\nof initial conditions, the tachyonic field gets stabilized with the appropriate\nvalues well before the onset of the ekpyrotic phase. Furthermore, we show that\nekpyrotic theory is successful in solving the flatness, horizon and homogeneity\nproblems of standard big bang cosmology. Motivated by the analysis of the\ntachyonic instability, we propose a simplification of the model in terms of new\nfield variables. Instead of requiring two exponential potentials, one for each\nscalar field, it suffices to consider a single nearly exponential potential for\none of the fields and a tachyonic mass term along the orthogonal direction in\nfield space. All other terms in the potential are essentially arbitrary. This\ngreatly widens the class of ekpyrotic potentials and allows substantial freedom\nin determining the spectral index and possible non-Gaussianity. We present a\ngeneralized expression for the spectral index which is easily consistent with\nthe observed red tilt. We also argue that for a wide range of potentials\nnon-Gaussianity can be substantial, within the reach of current observations.",
        "positive": "Diagrammar In Classical Scalar Field Theory: In this paper we analyze perturbatively a g phi^4 classical field theory with\nand without temperature. In order to do that, we make use of a path-integral\napproach developed some time ago for classical theories. It turns out that the\ndiagrams appearing at the classical level are many more than at the quantum\nlevel due to the presence of extra auxiliary fields in the classical formalism.\nWe shall show that several of those diagrams cancel against each other due to a\nuniversal supersymmetry present in the classical path integral mentioned above.\nThe same supersymmetry allows the introduction of super-fields and\nsuper-diagrams which considerably simplify the calculations and make the\nclassical perturbative calculations almost \"identical\" formally to the quantum\nones. Using the super-diagrams technique we develop the classical perturbation\ntheory up to third order. We conclude the paper with a perturbative check of\nthe fluctuation-dissipation theorem."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Twistorial versus space--time formulations: unification of various\n  string models: We introduce the D=4 twistorial tensionfull bosonic string by considering the\ncanonical twistorial 2--form in two--twistor space. We demonstrate its\nequivalence to two bosonic string models: due to Siegel (with covariant\nworldsheet vectorial string momenta $P_\\mu^{m}(\\tau,\\sigma)$) and the one with\ntensorial string momenta $P_{[\\mu\\nu]}(\\tau,\\sigma)$. We show how to obtain in\nmixed space-time--twistor formulation the Soroka--Sorokin--Tkach--Volkov (SSTV)\nstring model and subsequently by harmonic gauge fixing the Bandos--Zheltukhin\n(BZ) model, with constrained spinorial coordinates.",
        "positive": "Decay of massive hair on brane black hole: We study analytically the intermediate and late-time behaviour of the massive\nscalar field in the background of static spherically symmetric brane black hole\nsolutions. The intermediate behavoiur of the scalar field reveals the\ndependence on the field's parameter mass as well as the multiple moment l,\nwhile the late-time behaviour has the power-law decay rate independent of those\nfactors."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "New supersymmetry algebras from partial supersymmetry breaking: In this talk we will study the partial breaking of supersymmetry in flat and\nanti de Sitter space. We will see that partial breaking in flat space can be\naccomplished using either of two representations for the massive N=1 spin-3/2\nmultiplet. We will \"unHiggs\" each representation and find a new N=2\nsupergravity and a new N=2 supersymmetry algebra. We will also see that partial\nsupersymmetry breaking in AdS space can give rise to a new N=2 supersymmetry\nalgebra, one that is necessarily nonlinearly realized.",
        "positive": "Hawking Radiation, Gravitational Anomaly and Conformal Symmetry - the\n  Origin of Universality -: The universal behavior of Hawking radiation is originated in the conformal\nsymmetries of matter fields near the black hole horizon. We explain the origin\nof this universality based on (1) the gravitational anomaly and its higher-spin\ngeneralizations and (2) conformal transformation properties of fluxes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Born-Infeld equations: Electronic version of Entry in Encyclopedia of Nonlinear Science.",
        "positive": "Universal aspects of string propagation on curved backgrounds: String propagation on D-dimensional curved backgrounds with Lorentzian\nsignature is formulated as a geometrical problem of embedding surfaces. When\nthe spatial part of the background corresponds to a general WZW model for a\ncompact group, the classical dynamics of the physical degrees of freedom is\ngoverned by the coset conformal field theory SO(D-1)/SO(D-2), which is\nuniversal irrespective of the particular WZW model. The same holds for string\npropagation on D-dimensional flat space. The integration of the corresponding\nGauss-Codazzi equations requires the introduction of (non-Abelian) parafermions\nin differential geometry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Meta-Schr\u00f6dinger invariance: The Meta-Schr\\\"odinger algebra arises as the dynamical symmetry in transport\nprocesses which are ballistic in a chosen `parallel' direction and diffusive\nand all other `transverse' directions. The time-space transformations of this\nLie algebra and its infinite-dimensional extension, the\nmeta-Schr\\\"odinger-Virasoro algebra, are constructed. We also find the\nrepresentation suitable for non-stationary systems by proposing a generalised\nform of the generator of time-translations. Co-variant two-point functions of\nquasi-primary scaling operators are derived for both the stationary and the\nnon-stationary cases.",
        "positive": "Braneworld Cosmology in (Anti)--de Sitter\n  Einstein--Gauss--Bonnet--Maxwell Gravity: Braneworld cosmology for a domain wall embedded in the charged (Anti)-de\nSitter-Schwarzschildblack hole of the five--dimensional\nEinstein-Gauss-Bonnet-Maxwell theory is considered. The effective Friedmann\nequation for the brane is derived by introducing the necessary surface\ncounterterms required for a well-defined variational principlein the\nGauss--Bonnet theory and for the finiteness of the bulk space. The asymptotic\ndynamics of the brane cosmology is determined and it is found that solutions\nwith vanishingly small spatial volume are unphysical. The finiteness of the\nbulk action is related to the vanishing of the effective cosmological constant\non the brane. An analogy between the Friedmann equation and a generalized\nCardy--Verlinde formula is drawn."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Consistency of the $AdS_7\\times S_4$ reduction and the origin of\n  self-duality in odd dimensions: We discuss the full nonlinear Kaluza-Klein (KK) reduction of the original\nformulation of d=11 supergravity on $AdS_7\\times S_4$ to gauged maximal ({\\cal\nN}=4) supergravity in 7 dimensions. We derive the full nonlinear embedding of\nthe d=7 fields in the d=11 fields (``the ansatz'') and check the consistency of\nthe ansatz by deriving the d=7 supersymmetry laws from the d=11 transformation\nlaws in the various sectors. The ansatz itself is nonpolynomial but the final\nd=7 results are polynomial. The correct d=7 scalar potential is obtained. For\nmost of our results the explicit form of the matrix U connecting the d=7\ngravitino to the Killing spinor is not needed, but we derive the equation which\nU has to satisfy and present a solution. Requiring that the expression $\\delta\nF=d\\delta A$ in d=11 can be written as $\\delta d(fields in d=7)$, we find the\nansatz for the 4-form F. It satisfies the Bianchi identities. The corresponding\nansatz for A modifies the geometrical proposal by Freed et al. by including d=7\nscalar fields. A first order formulation for the three index photon\n$A_{\\Lambda\\Pi\\Sigma}$ in d=11 is needed to obtain the d=7 supersymmetry laws\nand the action for the nonabelian selfdual antisymmetric tensor field\n$S_{\\alpha\\beta\\gamma,A}$. Therefore selfduality in odd dimensions originates\nfrom a first order formalism in higher dimensions.",
        "positive": "Recursion relations in CFT and N=2 SYM theory: Based on prototypical example of Al.Zamolodchikov's recursion relations for\nthe four point conformal block and using recently proposed\nAlday-Gaiotto-Tachikawa (AGT) conjecture, recursion relations are derived for\nthe generalized prepotential of ${\\cal N}=2$ SYM with $f=0,1,2,3,4$ (anti)\nfundamental or an adjoint hypermultiplets. In all cases the large expectation\nvalue limit is derived explicitly. A precise relationship between generic\n1-point conformal block on torus and specific 4-point conformal block on sphere\nis established. In view of AGT conjecture this translates into a relation\nbetween partition functions with an adjoint and 4 fundamental hypermultiplets."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Strange metal crossover in the doped holographic superconductor: In a recent paper, Kiritsis and Li presented a holographic model to study the\ncompetition between different orders at finite doping in holographic\nsuperconductors. In the present work, we introduce fermions into such model and\nstudy the fermionic spectral functions in the normal phase at zero and finite\ntemperatures. Combining analytic and numerical methods, we found that there is\na crossover from a strange metal with short lived excitations at small doping,\ninto a Fermi liquid with well defined quasiparticles at large doping. The\ncritical doping at which excitations becomes long lived increases with\ntemperature. The emerging phase diagram is qualitatively similar to that of\nHigh Temperature Superconductors.",
        "positive": "Quantum Wronskian approach to six-point gluon scattering amplitudes at\n  strong coupling: We study the six-point gluon scattering amplitudes in N=4 super Yang-Mills\ntheory at strong coupling based on the twisted Z_4-symmetric integrable model.\nThe lattice regularization allows us to derive the associated thermodynamic\nBethe ansatz (TBA) equations as well as the functional relations among the\nQ-/T-/Y-functions. The quantum Wronskian relation for the Q-/T-functions plays\nan important role in determining a series of the expansion coefficients of the\nT-/Y-functions around the UV limit, including the dependence on the twist\nparameter. Studying the CFT limit of the TBA equations, we derive the leading\nanalytic expansion of the remainder function for the general kinematics around\nthe limit where the dual Wilson loops become regular-polygonal. We also compare\nthe rescaled remainder functions at strong coupling with those at two, three\nand four loops, and find that they are close to each other along the\ntrajectories parameterized by the scale parameter of the integrable model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Free Yang-Mills vs. Toric Sasaki-Einstein: It has been known that the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy of the black hole in\nAdS_5 * S^5 agrees with the free N=4 super Yang-Mills entropy up to the famous\nfactor 4/3. This factor can be interpreted as the ratio of the entropy of the\nfree Yang-Mills to the entropy of the strongly coupled Yang-Mills. In this\npaper we compute this factor for infinitely many N=1 SCFTs which are dual to\ntoric Sasaki-Einstein manifolds. We observed that this ratio always takes\nvalues within a narrow range around 4/3. We also present explicit values of\nvolumes and central charges for new classes of toric Sasaki-Einstein manifolds.",
        "positive": "Semi-classical dilaton gravity and the very blunt defect expansion: We explore dilaton gravity with general dilaton potentials in the\nsemi-classical limit viewed both as a gas of blunt defects and also as a\nsemi-classical theory in its own right. We compare the exact defect gas picture\nwith that obtained by naively canonically quantizing the theory in geodesic\ngauge. We find a subtlety in the canonical approach due to a non-perturbative\nambiguity in geodesic gauge. Unlike in JT gravity, this ambiguity arises\nalready at the disk level. This leads to a distinct mechanism from that in JT\ngravity by which the semi-classical approximation breaks down at low\ntemperatures. Along the way, we propose that new, previously un-studied saddles\ncontribute to the density of states of dilaton gravity. This in particular\nleads to a re-interpretation of the disk-level density of states in JT gravity\nin terms of two saddles with fixed energy boundary conditions: the disk, which\ncaps off on the outer horizon, and another, sub-leading complex saddle which\ncaps off on the inner horizon. When the theory is studied using a defect\nexpansion, we show how the smooth classical geometries of dilaton gravity arise\nfrom a dense gas of very blunt defects in the $G_N \\to 0$ limit. The classical\nsaddle points arise from a balance between the attractive force on the defects\ntoward negative dilaton and a statistical pressure from the entropy of the\nconfiguration. We end with speculations on the nature of the space-like\nsingularity present inside black holes described by certain dilaton potentials."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On radiation due to homogeneously accelerating sources: The core of this work is an old and broadly discussed problem of the\nelectromagnetic radiation in the case of the hyperbolic motion. We prove that\nthe radiation is non-zero in the lab (Minkowski) frame. Further, we attempt to\nunderstand this subject better by using co-moving non-inertial frames of\nreference, investigating other types of uniformly accelerated motion and,\nfinally, using scalar waves instead of point-like particles as sources of\nradiation.",
        "positive": "The Universal One-Loop Effective Action with Gravity: We complete the so-called Universal One-Loop Effective Action (UOLEA) with\neffects of gravity and provide a systematic approach to incorporate higher\ndimensional operators in curved spacetime. The functional determinant stemming\nfrom the path integral is computed using the Covariant Derivative Expansion\n(CDE), in a momentum representation that does not rely on a specific choice of\ncoordinate to be defined, as it often is. This very simple and efficient\napproach also manifests an interesting novelty as it allows to integrate out\nchiral fermions in curved spacetime in a direct manner. The presented method\nwould very well fit in a code that performs CDE, offering the possibility to\nintegrate out at one-loop fields on a curved spacetime background, including\nspin-2 fields, like the graviton. Eventually these results should provide an\ninteresting way to study low energy effects of UV completions of gravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exploring Perturbative Conformal Field Theory in Mellin space: We explore the Mellin representation of correlation functions in conformal\nfield theories in the weak coupling regime. We provide a complete proof for a\nset of Feynman rules to write the Mellin amplitude for a general tree level\nFeynman diagram involving only scalar operators. We find a factorised form\ninvolving beta functions associated to the propagators, similar to tree level\nFeynman rules in momentum space for ordinary QFTs. We also briefly consider the\ncase where a generic scalar perturbation of the free CFT breaks conformal\ninvariance. Mellin space still has some utility and one can consider\nnon-conformal Mellin representations. In this context, we find that the beta\nfunction corresponding to conformal propagator uplifts to a hypergeometric\nfunction.",
        "positive": "Schwinger terms in 1+1 dimensions: The two different approaches - K\\\"{a}llen's and Brandt's methods - for the\ncalculations of the Schwinger terms in the 1+1 dimensional Abelian and\nnon-Abelian free current algebras are discussed. These methods are applied to\ncalculation of the single and double commutators. The validity of the Jacobi\nidentities is examined in 1+1 and 3+1 dimensions and in this way is given\nnatural restriction on the regularization. It is shown that the Jacobi identity\ncannot be broken in 1+1 dimensions even using the regularization which fails in\nthe 3+1 dimensional case. A connection between the Schwinger term and anomaly\nis shown in the simplest case of the Schwinger model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Towards a Realistic Picture of CP Violation in Heterotic String Models: We find that dilaton dominated supersymmetry breaking and spontaneous CP\nviolation can be achieved in heterotic string models with superpotentials\nsingular at the fixed points of the modular group. A semi--realistic picture of\nCP violation emerges in such models: the CKM phase appears due to a complex VEV\nof the T-modulus, while the soft supersymmetric CP phases are absent due to an\naxionic--type symmetry.",
        "positive": "Wave packets in QFT: leading order width corrections to decay rates and\n  clock behaviour under Lorentz boosts: Decay rates in quantum field theory (QFT) are typically calculated assuming\nthe particles are represented by momentum eigenstates (i.e. plane waves).\nHowever, strictly speaking, localized free particles should be represented by\nwave packets. This yields width corrections to the decay rate and to the clock\nbehaviour under Lorentz boosts. We calculate the decay rate of a particle of\nmass $M$ modeled as a Gaussian wavepacket of width $a$ and centered at zero\nmomentum. We find the decay rate to be $\\Gamma_0 \\big[1- \\frac{3 a^2}{4 M^2}\n+\\mathcal{O}\\big(\\tfrac{a^4}{M^4}\\big)\\big]$ where $\\Gamma_0$ is the decay rate\nof the particle at rest treated as a plane wave. The leading correction is then\nof order $\\tfrac{a^2}{M^2}$. We then perform a Lorentz boost of velocity $v$ on\nthe above Gaussian and find that its decay rate does not decrease\n\\textit{exactly} by the Lorentz factor $\\sqrt{1-v^2}$. There is a correction of\norder $\\tfrac{a^2v^2}{M^2}$. Therefore, the decaying wave packet does not act\nexactly like a typical clock under Lorentz boosts and we refer to it is a \"WP\nclock\" (wave packet clock). A WP clock does not move with a single velocity\nrelative to an observer but has a spread in velocities (more specifically, a\nspread in momenta). Nonetheless, it is best viewed as a single clock as the\nwave packet represents a one-particle state in QFT. WP clocks do not violate\nLorentz symmetry and are not based on new physics: they are a consequence of\nthe combined requirements of special relativity, quantum mechanics and\n\\textit{localized} free particles."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Matrix models for 2* theories: We show how to represent a class of expressions involving discrete sums over\npartitions as matrix models. We apply this technique to the partition functions\nof 2* theories, i.e. Seiberg-Witten theories with the massive hypermultiplet in\nthe adjoint representation. We consider theories in four, five and six\ndimensions, and obtain new matrix models respectively of rational,\ntrigonometric and elliptic type. The matrix models for five- and\nsix-dimensional U(1) theories are derived from the topological vertex\nconstruction related to curves of genus one and two.",
        "positive": "QCD versus Skyrme-Faddeev Theory: We discuss the physical impacts of the ``Cho decomposition'' (or the\n``Cho-Faddeev-Niemi-Shabanov decomposition'') of the non-Abelian gauge\npotential on QCD. We show how the decomposition makes a subtle but important\nmodification on the non-Abelian dynamics, and present three physically\nequivalent quantization schemes of QCD which are consistent with the\ndecomposition. In particular, we show that the decomposition enlarges the\ndynamical degrees of QCD by making the topological degrees of the non-Abelian\ngauge symmetry dynamical. Furthermore with the decomposition we show that the\nSkyrme-Faddeev theory of non-linear sigma model and QCD have almost identical\ntopological structures. In specific we show that an essential ingredient in\nboth theories is the Wu-Yang type non-Abelian monopole, and that the\nFaddeev-Niemi knots of the Skyrme-Faddeev theory can actually be interpreted to\ndescribe the multiple vacua of the SU(2) QCD. Finally we argue that the\nSkyrme-Faddeev theory is, just like QCD, a theory of confinement which confines\nthe magnetic flux of the monopoles."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic description of vacuum bubbles: We discuss a holographic description of vacuum bubbles, with possible\nimplications for a consistent description of the multiverse. In particular, we\nelaborate on the recent observation by Maldacena, that the interior of AdS\nbubbles can be described in terms of CFT degrees of freedom living on the\nworldsheet of the bubble wall. We consider the scattering of bulk gravitons in\nthe ambient parent vacuum, off the bubble wall. In the dual description, the\ntransmission coefficient is interpreted as the probability that a graviton is\nabsorbed by the worldsheet CFT degrees of freedom. The result is in agreement\nwith intuitive expectations. Conformal invariance is not exact in this setup,\nand the leading corrections due to the IR and UV cut-offs are displayed. Aside\nfrom bulk scattering states, we find that when a bubble nucleates within a\nparent dS vacuum, there is a zero mode of the graviton which describes lower\ndimensional gravity with a finite Newton's constant. This massless graviton\nlives within one Hubble radius away from the bubble wall. Possible implications\nfor a fully holographic description of the inflating multiverse are briefly\ndiscussed.",
        "positive": "The Nambu-Jona-Lasinio Model at O(1/N^2): We write down the anomalous dimensions of the fields of the\nNambu--Jona-Lasinio model or chiral Gross Neveu model with a continuous global\nchiral symmetry for the two cases $U(1)$ $\\times$ $U(1)$ and $SU(M)$ $\\times$\n$SU(M)$ at $O(1/N^2)$ in a $1/N$ expansion."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Coupling of M-Branes in M-Theory: Coupling of a membrane and a five-brane to the bosonic sector of D=11\nsupergravity is considered. The five--brane is a dyonic object which carries\nboth an electric and a magnetic charge of the D=11 three-form gauge field\n$A^3$, and it couples not only to $A^3$ but also minimally couples to a\nsix-form field $A^6$ dual to $A^3$. This implies that the 5-brane should more\nnaturally couple to a version of D=11 supergravity where both gauge fields are\npresent in a duality-symmetric fashion. We demonstrate how an action of\nduality-symmetric D=11 supergravity looks like, couple it to the five-brane and\nthen reduce the resulting system to an action, which describes an interaction\nof the 5-brane with the standard D=11 supergavity.",
        "positive": "SU(2) Yang-Mills thermodynamics: two-loop corrections to the pressure: We compute the two-loop corrections to the thermodynamical pressure of an\nSU(2) Yang-Mills theory being in its electric phase. Our results prove that the\none-loop evolution of the effective gauge coupling constant is reliable for any\npractical purpose. We thus establish the validity of the picture of almost\nnoninteracting thermal quasiparticles in the electric phase. Implications of\nour results for the explanation of the large-angle anomaly in the power\nspectrum of temperature fluctuations in the cosmic microwave background are\ndiscussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-Relativistic Holography -- A Group-Theoretical Perspective: We give a review of some group-theoretical results related to\nnon-relativistic holography. Our main playgrounds are the Schr\\\"odinger\nequation and the Schr\\\"odinger algebra. We first recall the interpretation of\nnon-relativistic holography as equivalence between representations of the\nSchr\\\"odinger algebra describing bulk fields and boundary fields. One important\nresult is the explicit construction of the boundary-to-bulk operators in the\nframework of representation theory, and that these operators and the\nbulk-to-boundary operators are intertwining operators. Further, we recall the\nfact that there is a hierarchy of equations on the boundary, invariant w.r.t.\nSchr\\\"odinger algebra. We also review the explicit construction of an analogous\nhierarchy of invariant equations in the bulk, and that the two hierarchies are\nequivalent via the bulk-to-boundary intertwining operators. The derivation of\nthese hierarchies uses a mechanism introduced first for semi-simple Lie groups\nand adapted to the non-semisimple Schr\\\"odinger algebra. These requires\ndevelopment of the representation theory of the Schr\\\"odinger algebra which is\nreviewed in some detail. We also recall the $q$-deformation of the\nSchr\\\"odinger algebra. Finally, the realization of the Schr\\\"odinger algebra\nvia difference operators is reviewed.",
        "positive": "Comments on the Entropy and the Temperature of Non-extremal Black\n  p-Brane: We show that the exact entropy and the temperature (including coeffecient) of\nnon-extremal black p-brane are calculated by maximizing the entropy under\nseveral assumptions. We argue the relation of those assumptions and certain\nDp-D(p-2) system in compactified space."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Systematics of multi-field effects at the end of warped brane inflation: We investigate in the context of brane inflation the possibility of\nadditional light scalar fields generating significant power spectrum and\nnon-Gaussianities at the end of inflation affecting the CMB scale observations.\nWe consider the specific mechanism outlined by Lyth and describe the necessary\ncriteria for it to be potentially important in a warped throat. We also discuss\ndifferent mechanisms for uplifting the vacuum energy which can lead to\ndifferent dominant contributions of the inflaton potential near the end of\ninflation. We then apply such criteria to one of the most detailed brane\ninflation models to date, and show that inflation can persist towards the tip\nof the throat, however for the specific stable inflationary trajectory, the\nlight residual isometry direction becomes degenerate. We also estimate the\neffects for other inflationary trajectories with non-degenerate residual\nisometries.",
        "positive": "All Loop Scattering as a Counting Problem: This is the first in a series of papers presenting a new understanding of\nscattering amplitudes based on fundamentally combinatorial ideas in the\nkinematic space of the scattering data. We study the simplest theory of colored\nscalar particles with cubic interactions, at all loop orders and to all orders\nin the topological 't Hooft expansion. We find a novel formula for\nloop-integrated amplitudes, with no trace of the conventional sum over Feynman\ndiagrams, but instead determined by a beautifully simple counting problem\nattached to any order of the topological expansion. These results represent a\nsignificant step forward in the decade-long quest to formulate the fundamental\nphysics of the real world in a radically new language, where the rules of\nspacetime and quantum mechanics, as reflected in the principles of locality and\nunitarity, are seen to emerge from deeper mathematical structures."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Topological Conformal Algebra in $2d$ Gravity Coupled to Minimal Matter: An infinite number of topological conformal algebras with varying central\ncharges are explicitly shown to be present in $2d$ gravity (treated both in the\nconformal gauge and in the light-cone gauge) coupled to minimal matter. The\ncentral charges of the underlying $N=2$ theory in two different gauge choices\nare generically found to be different. The physical states in these theories\nare briefly discussed in the light of the $N=2$ superconformal symmetry.",
        "positive": "3-Branes on Eguchi-Hanson 6D Instantons: We use the approach used by Eguchi-Hanson in constructing four-dimensional\ninstanton metrics and construct a class of regular six-dimensional instantons\nwhich are nothing but $S^2\\times S^2$ resolved conifolds. We then also obtain\nD3-brane solutions on these EH-resolved conifolds."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Towards Quantum Turbulence in Finite Temperature Bose-Einstein\n  Condensates: Motivated by the various indications that holographic superfluid is BCS like\nat the standard quantization but BEC like at the alternative quantization, we\nhave implemented the alternative quantization in the dynamical holographic\nsuperfluid for the first time. With this accomplishment, we further initiate\nthe detailed investigation of quantum turbulence in finite temperature BEC by a\nlong time stable numerical simulation of bulk dynamics, which includes the two\nbody decay of vortex number caused by vortex pair annihilation, the onset of\nsuperfluid turbulence signaled by Kolmogorov scaling law, and a direct energy\ncascade demonstrated by injecting energy to the turbulent superfluid. All of\nthese results share the same patterns as the holographic superfluid at the\nstandard quantization, thus suggest that these should be universal features for\nquantum turbulence at temperatures order of the critical temperature.",
        "positive": "Adjacency for scattering amplitudes from the Gr\u00f6bner fan: Scattering amplitudes in planar $\\mathcal{N}=4$ super Yang-Mills theory\nexhibit singularities which reflect various aspects of the cluster algebras\nassociated to the Grassmannians ${\\rm Gr}(4,n)$ and their tropical\ncounterparts. Here we investigate the potential origins of such structures and\nexamine the extent to which they can be recovered from the Gr\\\"obner structure\nof the underlying Pl\\\"ucker ideals, focussing on the Grassmannians\ncorresponding to finite cluster algebras.\n  Starting from the Pl\\\"ucker ideal, we describe how the polynomial cluster\nvariables are encoded in non-prime initial ideals associated to certain maximal\ncones of the positive tropical fan. Following [1] we show that extending the\nPl\\\"ucker ideal by such variables leads to a Gr\\\"obner fan with a single\nmaximal Gr\\\"obner cone spanned by the positive tropical rays. The associated\ninitial ideal encodes the compatibility relations among the full set of cluster\nvariables. Thus we find that the Gr\\\"obner structure naturally encodes both the\nsymbol alphabet and the cluster adjacency relations exhibited by scattering\namplitudes without invoking the cluster algebra at all.\n  As a potential application of these ideas we then examine the kinematic ideal\nassociated to non-dual conformal massless scattering written in terms of spinor\nhelicity variables. For five-particle scattering we find that the ideal can be\nidentified with the Pl\\\"ucker ideal for ${\\rm Gr}(3,6)$ and the corresponding\ntropical fan contains a number of non-prime ideals which encode all additional\nletters of the two-loop pentagon function alphabet present in various\ncalculations of massless five-point finite remainders."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Semionic Supersymmetric Solitons: The Bogomolnyi vortex of the N=2 supersymmetric abelian-Higgs model in 2+1\ndimensions is shown to be a ``semion'' of spin 1/4. Specifically, the effective\nsuperparticle action for one vortex is shown to describe, upon quantization, a\nparity self-dual centrally-charged `short' supermultiplet of ``relativistic\nhelicities'' (-1/4,-1/4, 1/4,1/4).",
        "positive": "Robustness of braneworld scenarios against tensorial perturbations: Inspired by the peculiarities of the effective geometry of crystalline\nstructures, we reconsider thick brane scenarios from a metric-affine\nperspective. We show that for a rather general family of theories of gravity,\nwhose Lagrangian is an arbitrary function of the metric and the Ricci tensor,\nthe background and scalar field equations can be written in first-order form,\nand tensorial perturbations have a non negative definite spectrum, which makes\nthem stable under linear perturbations regardless of the form of the gravity\nLagrangian. We find, in particular, that the tensorial zero modes are exactly\nthe same as predicted by Einstein's theory regardless of the scalar field and\ngravitational Lagrangians."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Bootstrapping the gap in quantum spin systems: In this work we report on a new bootstrap method for quantum mechanical\nproblems that closely mirrors the setup from conformal field theory (CFT). We\nuse the equations of motion to develop an analogue of the conformal block\nexpansion for matrix elements and impose crossing symmetry in order to place\nbounds on their values. The method can be applied to any quantum mechanical\nsystem with a local Hamiltonian, and we test it on an anharmonic oscillator\nmodel as well as the (1+1)-dimensional transverse field Ising model (TFIM). For\nthe anharmonic oscillator model we show that a small number of crossing\nequations provides an accurate solution to the spectrum and matrix elements.\nFor the TFIM we show that the Hamiltonian equations of motion, translational\ninvariance and global symmetry selection rules imposes a rigorous bound on the\ngap and the matrix elements of TFIM in the thermodynamic limit. The bound\nimproves as we consider larger systems of crossing equations, ruling out more\nfinite-volume solutions. Our method provides a way to probe the low energy\nspectrum of an infinite lattice from the Hamiltonian rigorously and without\napproximation.",
        "positive": "The effective string spectrum in the orthogonal gauge: The low-energy effective action on long string-like objects in quantum field\ntheory, such as confining strings, includes the Nambu-Goto action and then\nhigher-derivative corrections. This action is diffeomorphism-invariant, and can\nbe analyzed in various gauges. Polchinski and Strominger suggested a specific\nway to analyze this effective action in the orthogonal gauge, in which the\ninduced metric on the worldsheet is conformally equivalent to a flat metric.\nTheir suggestion leads to a specific term at the next order beyond the\nNambu-Goto action. We compute the leading correction to the Nambu-Goto spectrum\nusing the action that includes this term, and we show that it agrees with the\nleading correction previously computed in the static gauge. This gives a\nconsistency check for the framework of Polchinski and Strominger, and helps to\nunderstand its relation to the theory in the static gauge."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetry of the D3/D5 Defect Field Theory: Four-dimensional N=4 super Yang-Mills, with a codimension-one defect breaking\nhalf of the supersymmetry, arises as the field theory description of the D3/D5\nintersection in the holographic limit. This is one of the earliest, most\nextensively studied, and commonly used systems in holography. In this note we\ngive the full R-symmetry-covariant supersymmetry variations for this system. We\nalso provide the supercurrents and compute the algebra of the corresponding\nsupercharges, obtaining the full set of central charges. We show that\nmagnetically charged finite-energy field configurations preserving half of the\nsupersymmetry are solutions to a new form of the extended Bogomolny equations,\nin which the defect fields play the role of jumping data for the Nahm-like part\nof the equations. In the appendices, we explain the connection between our\nresults and the superspace-based formulations in the literature.",
        "positive": "Double excitations in the AdS(5)/CFT(4) integrable system and the\n  Lagrange operator: It is argued that the integrable model for the planar spectrum of the AdS/CFT\ncorrespondence can accommodate for the full spectrum of excitations $D^{\\alpha\n\\dot \\alpha}, \\phi^{[IJ]}, \\psi^I, \\bar \\psi_I, F^{\\alpha \\beta}, \\tilde\nF^{\\dot \\alpha \\dot \\beta}$ (with $I,J \\in 1 \\ldots 4$) if double excitations\nare allowed for all three raising operators of the internal $SU(4)$ symmetry.\nWe present a tree-level analysis of related creation amplitudes in the nested\nBethe ansatz as well as in the original level-1 picture in which excitations of\nvarious flavours scatter by a true $S$-matrix. In the latter case, the creation\namplitudes for all double excitations we encounter take a perfectly universal\nform.\n  Building on these ideas we work out Bethe solutions and states relevant in\nthe mixing problem concerning the on-shell Lagrangian of ${\\cal N} = 4$ super\nYang-Mills theory. Owing to the very existence of double excitations, the\nchiral Yang-Mills field strength tensor can be represented by the four fermions\n$\\{\\psi^{31}, \\psi^{32}, \\psi^{41}, \\psi^{42}\\}$ moving on a spin chain of\nlength two. Our analysis remains restricted to leading order in the coupling,\nwhere the conformal eigenstate corresponding to the on-shell Lagrangian only\ncomprises the pure Yang-Mills action. It should eventually be possible to\naugment our analysis to higher loop orders by incorporating coupling\ncorrections in the relevant ingredients from the Bethe ansatz.\n  Finally, it was recently realised how structure constants for operators\ncontaining the hitherto hidden half of the excitations can be computed by the\nhexagon formalism. We use this for a first test of our conjecture for the\non-shell Lagrangian, namely that its three-point function with two half-BPS\noperators of equal length ought to vanish."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic charge density wave from D2-D8: We have considered D2-D8 model and obtain a numerical solution that exhibits\nspatially modulated phases corresponding to a charge density wave and a spin\ndensity wave. We have analysed behavior of the free energy density for\ndifferent values of the chemical potential and the magnetic field.",
        "positive": "On geometry of a special class of solutions to generalised WDVV\n  equations: A special class of solutions to the generalised WDVV equations related to a\nfinite set of covectors is considered. We describe the geometric conditions\n($\\vee$-conditions) on such a set which are necessary and sufficient for the\ncorresponding function to satisfy the generalised WDVV equations. These\nconditions are satisfied for all Coxeter systems but there are also other\nexamples discovered in the theory of the generalised Calogero-Moser systems. As\na result some new solutions for the generalized WDVV equations are found."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Bootstrap Bounds on Closed Hyperbolic Manifolds: The eigenvalues of the Laplace-Beltrami operator and the integrals of\nproducts of eigenfunctions must satisfy certain consistency conditions on\ncompact Riemannian manifolds. These consistency conditions are derived by using\nspectral decompositions to write quadruple overlap integrals in terms of\nproducts of triple overlap integrals in multiple ways. In this paper, we show\nhow these consistency conditions imply bounds on the Laplacian eigenvalues and\ntriple overlap integrals of closed hyperbolic manifolds, in analogy to the\nconformal bootstrap bounds on conformal field theories. We find an upper bound\non the gap between two consecutive nonzero eigenvalues of the Laplace-Beltrami\noperator in terms of the smaller eigenvalue, an upper bound on the smallest\neigenvalue of the rough Laplacian on symmetric, transverse-traceless, rank-2\ntensors, and bounds on integrals of products of eigenfunctions and\neigentensors. Our strongest bounds involve numerically solving semidefinite\nprograms and are presented as exclusion plots. We also prove the analytic bound\n$\\lambda_{i+1} \\leq 1/2+3 \\lambda_i+\\sqrt{\\lambda_i^2+2 \\lambda_i+1/4}$ for\nconsecutive nonzero eigenvalues of the Laplace-Beltrami operator on closed\norientable hyperbolic surfaces. We give examples of genus-2 surfaces that\nnearly saturate some of these bounds. To derive the consistency conditions, we\nmake use of a transverse-traceless decomposition for symmetric tensors of\narbitrary rank.",
        "positive": "On NMHV form factors in N=4 SYM theory from generalized unitarity: In this paper a supersymmetric version of a generalized unitarity cut method\nin application to MHV and NMHV for form factors of operators from the N=4 SYM\nstress-tensor current supermultiplet $T^{AB}$ at one loop is discussed. The\nexplicit answers for 3 and 4 point NMHV form factors at tree and one loop level\nare obtained. The general structure of n-point NMHV form factor at one loop is\ndiscussed as well as the relation between form factor with super momentum equal\nto zero and the logarithmic derivative of the superamplitude with respect to\nthe coupling constant."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic renormalization by Hamilton-Jacobi formulation with\n  generated ansatz: In AdS/CFT corresponding, the UV divergence of generating functional on the\nfield theory can be removed as the IR divergence in the gravity. This geometric\nprocess is well known as holographic renormalization. The standard method of\nholographic renormalization is based on the Fefferman-Graham expansion, which\nis strict and universal but technically cumbersome. To improve the technique,\ndifferent methods have been proposed. Here we develop an alternative approach\nto holographic renormalization based on the Hamilton-Jacobi formulation of\ngravity. Compared to previous approaches, its distinguishing feature is the\ngeneration of exact ansatz of counterterms. We apply this approach to several\ntypical holographic models, which consistently performs well.",
        "positive": "Holographic Floquet states in low dimensions (II): We continue the study in [1] of a strongly coupled (2+1)-dimensional gauge\ntheory subject to an external rotating electric field. The system is modelled\nholographically as a D3/D5 probe intersection. We add temperature to the D3\nbackground and analyze the phase diagram. Also here, the conductive phase\nextends down to vanishing external electric field at discrete values of the\nfrequencies where vector meson Floquet condensates form. For all temperatures,\nat given intercalated frequencies, we find new dual states that we name Floquet\nsuppression points, where the vacuum polarization vanishes even in the presence\nof an electric field. From the data we infer that these states exist both in\nthe conductive and insulating phases. In the massless limit we find a linear\nand instantaneous conductivity law, recovering known general results in 2+1\ndimensions. We also examine the photovoltaic AC and DC current as the response\nto an oscillating probe electric field and see that rising the temperature\nsuppresses the photovoltaic Hall current. All the results obtained carry over\nqualitatively unaltered to the case of D3/D7."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On $\u03b2$-function of $N=2$ supersymmetric integrable sigma-models: We study regularization scheme dependence of K\\\"ahler ($N=2$) supersymmetric\nsigma models. At the one-loop order the metric $\\beta$ function is the same as\nin non-supersymmetric case and coincides with the Ricci tensor. First\ncorrection in MS scheme is known to appear in the fourth loop. We show that for\ncertain integrable K\\\"ahler backgrounds, such as complete $T-$dual of\n$\\eta$-deformed $\\mathbb{CP}(n)$ sigma models, there is a scheme in which the\nfourth loop contribution vanishes.",
        "positive": "Minimal String Model in $Z_4$, $Z_6$ and $Z_8$ Orbifold Constructions: We examine whether a minimal string model possessing the same massless\nspectra as the MSSM can be obtained from $Z_4$, $Z_6$ and $Z_8$ orbifold\nconstructions. Using an anomaly cancellation condition of the target space\nduality symmetry, we derive allowable values of a level $k_1$ of U(1)$_Y$ for\nthe minimal string model on the orbifolds through computer analyses. We\ninvestigate threshold corrections of the gauge coupling constants of SU(3),\n  SU(2) and U(1)$_Y$ and examine consistencies of the model with the LEP\nexperiments. It is found that $Z_4$ and $Z_8$-II can not derive the minimal\nstring model but $Z_6$-I, $Z_6$-II and $Z_8$-I are possible to derive it with\n$13/12\n  \\leq k_1\\leq 41/30$, $16/15\\leq k_1\\leq 17/12$ and $1\\leq k_1\\leq 41/21$\nrespectively. The minimum values of the moduli on unrotated planes are\nestimated within the ranges of the levels."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Acoustic black holes for relativistic fluids: We derive a new acoustic black hole metric from the Abelian Higgs model. In\nthe non-relativistic limit, while the Abelian Higgs model becomes the\nGinzburg-Landau model, the metric reduces to an ordinary Unruh type. We\ninvestigate the possibility of using (type I and II) superconductors as the\nacoustic black holes. We propose to realize experimental acoustic black holes\nby using spiral vortices solutions from the Navier-stokes equation in the\nnon-relativistic classical fluids.",
        "positive": "Is there a $C$-function in 4D Quantum Einstein Gravity?: We describe a functional renormalization group-based method to search for\n`$C$-like' functions with properties similar to that in 2D conformal field\ntheory. It exploits the mode counting properties of the effective average\naction and is particularly suited for theories including quantized gravity. The\nviability of the approach is demonstrated explicitly in a truncation of 4\ndimensional Quantum Einstein Gravity, i.e. asymptotically safe metric gravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Quantum Integrability and the Lefschetz Number: Certain phase space path integrals can be evaluated exactly using equivariant\ncohomology and localization in the canonical loop space. Here we extend this to\na general class of models. We consider hamiltonians which are {\\it a priori}\narbitrary functions of the Cartan subalgebra generators of a Lie group which is\ndefined on the phase space. We evaluate the corresponding path integral and\nfind that it is closely related to the infinitesimal Lefschetz number of a\nDirac operator on the phase space. Our results indicate that equivariant\ncharacteristic classes could provide a natural geometric framework for\nunderstanding quantum integrability.",
        "positive": "Quantum Scalar Field in D-dimensional de Sitter Spacetimes: In this work we investigate the quantum theory of scalar fields propagating\nin a $D-$dimensional de Sitter spacetime. The method of dynamic invariants is\nused to obtain the solution of the time-dependent Schr\\\"odinger equation. The\nquantum behavior of the scalar field in this background is analyzed, and the\nresults generalize previous ones found in the literature. We point that the\nBunch-Davies thermal bath depends on the choice of $D$ and the conformal\nparameter $\\xi$. This is important in extra dimension physics, as in the\nRandall-Sundrum model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On loop celestial amplitudes for gauge theory and gravity: Scattering amplitudes of massless particles in Minkowski space can be\nexpressed in a conformal basis by Mellin transforming the momentum space\namplitudes to correlation functions on the celestial sphere at null infinity.\nIn this paper, we study celestial amplitudes of loop level gluons and\ngravitons. We focus on the rational amplitudes that carry all-plus and\nsingle-minus external helicities. Because these amplitudes are finite, they\nprovide a concrete example of celestial amplitudes of Yang- Mills and gravity\ntheory beyond tree level. We give explicit examples of four and five point\nfunctions and comment on higher point amplitudes.",
        "positive": "SUSY Breaking, Cosmology, Vacuum Selection and the Cosmological Constant\n  in String Theory: This is the written version of a talk given at the Santa Barbara Workshop on\nSupersymmetry in December of 1995. It summarizes a collection of results on\nsuperstring cosmology obtained by the author and various collaborators, and\ncontains some speculations about the resolution of the cosmological constant\nand vacuum selection problems in string theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The fate of the zero mode of the five-dimensional kink in the presence\n  of gravity: We investigate what becomes of the translational zero-mode of a\nfive-dimensional domain wall in the presence of gravity, studying the scalar\nperturbations of a thick gravitating domain wall with AdS asymptotics and a\nwell-defined zero-gravity limit. Our analysis reveals the presence of a wide\nresonance which can be seen as a remnant of the translational zero-mode present\nin the domain wall in the absence of gravity and which ensures a continuous\nchange of the physical quantities (such as e.g. static potential between\nsources) when the Planck mass is sent to infinity. Provided that the thickness\nof the wall is much smaller than the AdS radius of the space-time, the\nparameters of this resonance do not depend on details of the domain wall's\nstructure, but solely on the geometry of the space-time.",
        "positive": "Interpolating the Coulomb Phase of Little String Theory: We study up to 8-derivative terms in the Coulomb branch effective action of\n(1,1) little string theory, by collecting results of 4-gluon scattering\namplitudes from both perturbative 6D super-Yang-Mills theory up to 4-loop\norder, and tree-level double scaled little string theory (DSLST). In previous\nwork we have matched the 6-derivative term from the 6D gauge theory to DSLST,\nindicating that this term is protected on the entire Coulomb branch. The\n8-derivative term, on the other hand, is unprotected. In this paper we compute\nthe 8-derivative term by interpolating from the two limits, near the origin and\nnear the infinity on the Coulomb branch, numerically from SU(k) SYM and DSLST\nrespectively, for k=2,3,4,5. We discuss the implication of this result on the\nUV completion of 6D SYM as well as the strong coupling completion of DSLST. We\nalso comment on analogous interpolating functions in the Coulomb phase of\ncircle-compactified (2,0) little string theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "No-boundary Codimension-two Braneworld: The quantum creation probability and entropy of a 2-codimensional braneworld\nare calculated in the framework of no-boundary universe. The entropy can take\nan arbitrarily large value as the brane tensions increase, in violation of the\nconjectured \"N-bound\" in quantum gravity, even for a 4-dimensional ordinary\nuniverse.",
        "positive": "Anyonic States in Chern-Simons Theory: We discuss the canonical quantization of Chern-Simons theory in $2+1$\ndimensions, minimally coupled to a Dirac spinor field. Gauss's law and the\ngauge condition, $A_0 = 0$, are implemented by embedding the formulation in an\nappropriate physical subspace. We find two kinds of charged particle states in\nthis model. One kind has a rotational anomaly in the form of arbitrary phases\nthat develop in $2\\pi$ rotations; the other kind rotates ``normally''---i.e.,\ncharged states only change sign in $2\\pi$ rotations. The rotational anomaly has\nnothing to do with the implementation of Gauss's law. It is possible to\ninadvertently produce these anomalous states in the process of implementing\nGauss's law, but it is also possible to implement Gauss's law without producing\nrotational anomalies. Moreover, states with or without rotational anomalies\nobey ordinary Fermi statistics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A String Deformation of the Parke-Taylor Factor: Scattering amplitudes in a range of quantum field theories can be computed\nusing the Cachazo-He-Yuan (CHY) formalism. In theories with colour ordering,\nthe key ingredient is the so-called Parke-Taylor factor. In this note we give a\nfully $\\text{SL}(2,\\mathbb{C})$-covariant definition and study the properties\nof a new integrand called the string Parke-Taylor factor. It has an $\\alpha'$\nexpansion whose leading coefficient is the field-theoretic Parke-Taylor factor.\nIts main application is that it leads to a CHY formulation of open string\ntree-level amplitudes. In fact, the definition of the string Parke-Taylor\nfactor was motivated by trying to extend the compact formula for the first\n$\\alpha'$ correction found by He and Zhang, while the main ingredient in its\ndefinition is a determinant of a matrix introduced in the context of string\ntheory by Stieberger and Taylor.",
        "positive": "An Outsider's Perspective on Information Recovery in de Sitter Space: Entanglement islands play a crucial role in our understanding of how Hawking\nradiation encodes information in a black hole, but their relevance in\ncosmological spacetimes is less clear. In this paper, we continue our\ninvestigation of information recovery in de Sitter space and construct a\ntwo-dimensional model of gravity containing a domain wall that interpolates\nbetween de Sitter space and Rindler space. The Rindler wedges introduce\nweakly-gravitating asymptotic regions from which de Sitter space can be probed,\nyielding an outside perspective of the cosmological horizon. In contrast to\nearlier works, backreaction effects are under control by considering a quantum\nstate that only breaks the thermal equilibrium of the Bunch-Davies state for a\nfinite time. This allows information to be decoded from the Gibbons-Hawking\nradiation in a controlled fashion."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A supersymmetric matrix model: III. Hidden SUSY in statistical systems: The Hamiltonian of a recently proposed supersymmetric matrix model has been\nshown to become block-diagonal in the large-N, infinite 't Hooft coupling\nlimit. We show that (most of) these blocks can be mapped into seemingly\nnon-supersymmetric $(1+1)$-dimensional statistical systems, thus implying\nnon-trivial (and apparently yet-unknown) relations within their spectra.\nFurthermore, the ground states of XXZ-chains with an odd number of sites and\nasymmetry parameter $\\Delta = - 1/2$, objects of the much-discussed\nRazumov--Stroganov conjectures, turn out to be just the strong-coupling\nsupersymmetric vacua of our matrix model.",
        "positive": "Yang-Mills thermodynamics: We present a quantitative analysis of Yang-Mills thermodynamics in 4D flat\nspacetime. The focus is on the gauge group SU(2). Results for SU(3) are\nmentioned in passing. Although all essential arguments and results were\nreported elsewhere we summarize them here in a concise way and offer a number\nof refinements and some additions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Scanning the Landscape of Flux Compactifications: Vacuum Structure and\n  Soft Supersymmetry Breaking: We scan the landscape of flux compactifications for the Calabi-Yau manifold\n$\\mathbb{P}^4_{[1,1,1,6,9]}$ with two K\\\" ahler moduli by varying the value of\nthe flux superpotential $W_0$ over a large range of values. We do not include\nuplift terms. We find a rich phase structure of AdS and dS vacua. Starting with\n$W_0\\sim 1$ we reproduce the exponentially large volume scenario, but as $W_0$\nis reduced new classes of minima appear. One of them corresponds to the\nsupersymmetric KKLT vacuum while the other is a new, deeper non-supersymmetric\nminimum. We study how the bare cosmological constant and the soft supersymmetry\nbreaking parameters for matter on D7 branes depend on $W_0$, for these classes\nof minima. We discuss potential applications of our results.",
        "positive": "Generalized Conformal Quantum Mechanics of D0-brane: We study the generalized conformal quantum mechanics of the probe D0-brane in\nthe near horizon background of the bound state of source D0-branes. We\nelaborate on the relationship of such model to the M theory in the light cone\nframe."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Stringy Gravity: Solving the Dark Problems at `short' distance: Dictated by Symmetry Principle, string theory predicts not General Relativity\nbut its own gravity which assumes the entire closed string massless sector to\nbe geometric and thus gravitational. In terms of $R/(MG)$, i.e. the\ndimensionless radial variable normalized by mass, Stringy Gravity agrees with\nGeneral Relativity toward infinity, but modifies it at short distance. At far\nshort distance, gravitational force can be even repulsive. These may solve the\ndark matter and energy problems, as they arise essentially from small $R/(MG)$\nobservations: long distance divided by much heavier mass. We address the\npertinent differential geometry for Stringy Gravity, stringy Equivalence\nPrinciple, stringy geodesics and the minimal coupling to the Standard Model. We\nhighlight the notion of `doubled-yet-gauged' coordinate system, in which a\ngauge orbit corresponds to a single physical point and proper distance is\ndefined between two gauge orbits by a path integral.",
        "positive": "Cyclic, ekpyrotic and little rip universe in modified gravity: We propose the reconstruction of $F(R)$ gravity in such a way that\ncorresponding theory admits cyclic and ekpyrotic universe solutions. The number\nof explicit examples of such $F(R)$ model is found. The comparison with the\nreconstructed scalar-tensor theory is made. We also present $F(R)$ gravity\nwhich provides the little rip evolution and gives the realistic gravitational\nalternative for $\\Lambda$CDM cosmology. The time for little rip dissolution of\nbound structures in such theory is estimated. We demonstrate that transformed\nlittle rip $F(R)$ solution becomes qualitatively different cosmological\nsolution with Big Bang type singularity in Einstein frame."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Collective Hamiltonians with Kac-Moody Algebraic Conditions: We describe the general framework for constructing collective--theory\nHamiltonians whose hermicity requirements imply a Kac--Moody algebra of\nconstraints on the associated Jacobian. We give explicit examples for the\nalgebras $sl(2)_k$ and $sl(3)_k$. The reduction to $W_n$--constraints, relevant\nto $n$-matrix models, is described for the Jacobians.",
        "positive": "Galilean Creation of the Inflationary Universe: It has been pointed out that the null energy condition can be violated stably\nin some non-canonical scalar-field theories. This allows us to consider the\nGalilean Genesis scenario in which the universe starts expanding from Minkowski\nspacetime and hence is free from the initial singularity. We use this scenario\nto study the early-time completion of inflation, pushing forward the recent\nidea of Pirtskhalava et al. We present a generic form of the Lagrangian\ngoverning the background and perturbation dynamics in the Genesis phase, the\nsubsequent inflationary phase, and the graceful exit from inflation, as opposed\nto employing the effective field theory approach. Our Lagrangian belongs to a\nmore general class of scalar-tensor theories than the Horndeski theory and\nGleyzes-Langlois-Piazza-Vernizzi generalization, but still has the same number\nof the propagating degrees of freedom, and thus can avoid Ostrogradski\ninstabilities. We investigate the generation and evolution of primordial\nperturbations in this scenario and show that one can indeed construct a stable\nmodel of inflation preceded by (generalized) Galilean Genesis."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Path Integral for Space-time Noncommutative Field Theory: The path integral for space-time noncommutative theory is formulated by means\nof Schwinger's action principle which is based on the equations of motion and a\nsuitable ansatz of asymptotic conditions. The resulting path integral has\nessentially the same physical basis as the Yang-Feldman formulation. It is\nfirst shown that higher derivative theories are neatly dealt with by the path\nintegral formulation, and the underlying canonical structure is recovered by\nthe Bjorken-Johnson-Low (BJL) prescription from correlation functions defined\nby the path integral. A simple theory which is non-local in time is then\nanalyzed for an illustration of the complications related to quantization,\nunitarity and positive energy conditions. From the view point of BJL\nprescription, the naive quantization in the interaction picture is justified\nfor space-time noncommutative theory but not for the simple theory non-local in\ntime. We finally show that the perturbative unitarity and the positive energy\ncondition, in the sense that only the positive energy flows in the positive\ntime direction for any fixed time-slice in space-time, are not simultaneously\nsatisfied for space-time noncommutative theory by the known methods of\nquantization.",
        "positive": "Finite dimensional representations of the quantum group $GL_{p,q}(2)$\n  using the exponential map from $U_{p,q}(gl(2))$: Using the Fronsdal-Galindo formula for the exponential mapping from the\nquantum algebra $U_{p,q}(gl(2))$ to the quantum group $GL_{p,q}(2)$, we show\nhow the $(2j+1)$-dimensional representations of $GL_{p,q}(2)$ can be obtained\nby `exponentiating' the well-known $(2j+1)$-dimensional representations of\n$U_{p,q}(gl(2))$ for $j$ $=$ $1,{3/2},... $; $j$ $=$ 1/2 corresponds to the\ndefining 2-dimensional $T$-matrix. The earlier results on the\nfinite-dimensional representations of $GL_q(2)$ and $SL_q(2)$ (or $SU_q(2)$)\nare obtained when $p$ $=$ $q$. Representations of $U_{\\bar{q},q}(2)$ $(q$ $\\in$\n$\\C \\backslash \\R$ and $U_q(2)$ $(q$ $\\in$ $\\R \\backslash \\{0\\})$ are also\nconsidered. The structure of the Clebsch-Gordan matrix for $U_{p,q}(gl(2))$ is\nstudied. The same Clebsch-Gordan coefficients are applicable in the reduction\nof the direct product representations of the quantum group $GL_{p,q}(2)$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Modular conjugations in 2D conformal field theory and holographic bit\n  threads: We study the geometric action of some modular conjugations in two dimensional\n(2D) conformal field theories. We investigate the bipartition given by an\ninterval when the system is in the ground state, either on the line or on the\ncircle, and in the thermal Gibbs state on the line. We find that the\nrestriction of the corresponding inversion maps to a spatial slice is obtained\nalso in the gauge/gravity correspondence through the geodesic bit threads in a\nconstant time slice of the dual static asymptotically AdS background. For a CFT\nin the thermal state on the line, the modular conjugation suggests the\noccurrence of a second world which can be related through the geodesic bit\nthreads to the horizon of the BTZ black brane background. An inversion map is\nconstructed also for the massless Dirac fermion in the ground state and on the\nline bipartite by the union of two disjoint intervals.",
        "positive": "Hawking radiation from (2+1)-dimensional BTZ black holes: Motivated by the Robinson-Wilczek's recent viewpoint that Hawking radiation\ncan be treated as a compensating energy momentum tensor flux required to cancel\ngravitational anomaly at the horizon of a Schwarzschild-type black hole, we\ninvestigate Hawking radiation from the rotating $(2+1)$-dimensional BTZ black\nhole and the charged $(2+1)$-dimensional BTZ black hole, via cancellation of\ngauge and gravitational anomalies at the horizon. To restore gauge invariance\nand general coordinate covariance at the quantum level, one must introduce the\ncorresponding gauge current and energy momentum tensor fluxes to cancel gauge\nand gravitational anomalies at the horizon. The results show that the values of\nthese compensating fluxes are exactly equal to those of $(1+1)$-dimensional\nblackbody radiation at the Hawking temperature."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "In-medium effects in the holographic quark-gluon plasma: In this dissertation we use the D3/D7 model in gauge/gravity duality to\ninvestigate the effects of finite temperature and particle density on matter in\nstrongly coupled super-Yang-Mills gauge theories, which we interpret as models\nfor the quark-gluon plasma (QGP).\n  We start with an introduction to the AdS/CFT correspondence and the setup we\nuse subsequently. We then investigate the effects of finite temperature and\nparticle density on fundamental matter from three different viewpoints.\n  (i) We study meson spectra. Our observations at finite temperature and\nparticle density are in qualitative agreement with phenomenological models and\nexperimental observations. They agree with previous publications in the\naccording limits.\n  (ii) We study the temperature and density dependence of transport properties\nof fundamental matter in the QGP. In particular, we obtain diffusion\ncoefficients. Furthermore, in a kinetic model we estimate the effects of the\ncoupling strength on meson diffusion and therewith equilibration processes in\nthe QGP.\n  (iii) We observe the effects of finite temperature and density on the phase\nstructure of fundamental matter in the holographic QGP. We trace out the phase\ntransition lines of different phases in the phase diagram.",
        "positive": "Holographic studies of Einsteinian cubic gravity: Einsteinian cubic gravity provides a holographic toy model of a\nnonsupersymmetric CFT in three dimensions, analogous to the one defined by\nQuasi-topological gravity in four. The theory admits explicit non-hairy AdS$_4$\nblack holes and allows for numerous exact calculations, fully nonperturbative\nin the new coupling. We identify several entries of the AdS/CFT dictionary for\nthis theory, and study its thermodynamic phase space, finding interesting new\nphenomena. We also analyze the dependence of R\\'enyi entropies for disk regions\non universal quantities characterizing the CFT. In addition, we show that\n$\\eta/s$ is given by a non-analytic function of the ECG coupling, and that the\nexistence of positive-energy black holes strictly forbids violations of the KSS\nbound. Along the way, we introduce a new method for evaluating Euclidean\non-shell actions for general higher-order gravities possessing second-order\nlinearized equations on AdS$_{(d+1)}$. Our generalized action involves the very\nsame Gibbons-Hawking boundary term and counterterms valid for Einstein gravity,\nwhich now appear weighted by the universal charge $a^*$ controlling the\nentanglement entropy across a spherical region in the CFT dual to the\ncorresponding higher-order theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spectral weight in Chern-Simons theory with symmetry breaking: We calculate the low-energy spectral weight of a holographic superfluid\ncoupled to a Chern-Simons term in IR radial scaling geometries characterized by\na parameter $\\eta$. This work was motivated by previous results where an\nunexpected low-energy spectral weight and a region of instability were seen,\nboth at finite momentum, for the holographic superfluid. We characterize the\neffect of varying the Chern-Simons coupling $\\alpha$ and condensate charge\nparameter $\\zeta$ on these regions supporting low-energy spectral weight or a\nfinite momentum instability. We show that $\\eta$, $\\alpha$ and $\\zeta$ each\nplays a unique role in shaping these regions. We find a surface\n$\\alpha_{\\text{crit}}(\\eta, \\zeta)$ above which the theory is unstable. In the\nlongitudinal channel we extend our analysis to general dimension $d$. We\nbriefly analyze the Einstein-Maxwell-dilaton theory and find that Fermi shells\nexist for $d>4$.",
        "positive": "Grassmann variables on quantum spaces: Attention is focused on antisymmetrized versions of quantum spaces that are\nof particular importance in physics, i.e. two-dimensional quantum plane,\nq-deformed Euclidean space in three or four dimensions as well as q-deformed\nMinkowski space. For each case standard techniques for dealing with q-deformed\nGrassmann variables are developed. Formulae for multiplying supernumbers are\ngiven. The actions of symmetry generators and fermionic derivatives upon\nantisymmetrized quantum spaces are calculated. The complete Hopf structure for\nall types of quantum space generators is written down. From the formulae for\nthe coproduct a realization of the L-matrices in terms of symmetry generators\ncan be read off. The L-matrices together with the action of symmetry generators\ndetermine how quantum spaces of different type have to be fused together."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Probing the fuzzy sphere regularisation in simulations of the 3d \u03bb\n  \u03c6^4 model: We regularise the 3d \\lambda \\phi^4 model by discretising the Euclidean time\nand representing the spatial part on a fuzzy sphere. The latter involves a\ntruncated expansion of the field in spherical harmonics. This yields a\nnumerically tractable formulation, which constitutes an unconventional\nalternative to the lattice. In contrast to the 2d version, the radius R plays\nan independent r\\^{o}le. We explore the phase diagram in terms of R and the\ncutoff, as well as the parameters m^2 and \\lambda. Thus we identify the phases\nof disorder, uniform order and non-uniform order. We compare the result to the\nphase diagrams of the 3d model on a non-commutative torus, and of the 2d model\non a fuzzy sphere. Our data at strong coupling reproduce accurately the\nbehaviour of a matrix chain, which corresponds to the c=1-model in string\ntheory. This observation enables a conjecture about the thermodynamic limit.",
        "positive": "Classical observables from coherent-spin amplitudes: The quantum field-theoretic approach to classical observables due to Kosower,\nMaybee and O'Connell provides a rigorous pathway from on-shell scattering\namplitudes to classical perturbation theory. In this paper, we promote this\nformalism to describe general classical spinning objects by using coherent spin\nstates. Our approach is fully covariant with respect to the massive little\ngroup ${\\rm SU}(2)$ and is therefore completely synergistic with the massive\nspinor-helicity formalism. We apply this approach to classical two-body\nscattering due gravitational interaction. Starting from the coherent-spin\nelastic-scattering amplitude, we derive the classical impulse and spin kick\nobservables to first post-Minkowskian order but to all orders in the angular\nmomenta of the massive spinning objects. From the same amplitude, we also\nextract an effective two-body Hamiltonian, which can be used beyond the\nscattering setting. As a cross-check, we rederive the classical observables in\nthe center-of-mass frame by integrating the Hamiltonian equations of motion to\nthe leading order in Newton's constant."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Topological Chern-Simons/Matter Theories: We propose a new partially topological theory in three dimensions which\ncouples Chern-Simons theory to matter. The 3-manifolds needed for this\nconstruction admit transverse holomorphic foliation (THF). The theory depends\nonly on the choice of such a structure, but not on a choice of metric and in\nthis sense, it is topological. We argue that this theory arises in topological\nA-model string theory on Lagrangian 3-branes in the presence of additional\nparallel coisotropic 5-branes. The theory obtained in this way is equivalent to\nan N=2 supersymmetric Chern-Simons matter theory on the same 3-manifold, which\nalso only depends on the THF structure. The theory is a realization of a\ntopological theory of class H, which allows splitting of a temporal direction\nfrom spatial directions. We briefly discuss potential condensed matter\napplications.",
        "positive": "Decay of flux vacua to nothing: We construct instanton solutions describing the decay of flux\ncompactifications of a $6d$ gauge theory by generalizing the Kaluza-Klein\nbubble of nothing. The surface of the bubble is described by a smooth\nmagnetically charged solitonic brane whose asymptotic flux is precisely that\nresponsible for stabilizing the 4d compactification. We describe several\ninstances of bubble geometries for the various vacua occurring in a $6d$\nEinstein-Maxwell theory namely, AdS_4 x S^2, R^{1,3} x S^2, and dS_4 x S^2.\nUnlike conventional solutions, the bubbles of nothing introduced here occur\nwhere a {\\em two}-sphere compactification manifold homogeneously degenerates."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Measuring the Homogeneity (or Otherwise) of the Quantum Universe: There are not many tools to quantitatively monitor the emergence of classical\ngeometric features from a quantum spacetime, whose microscopic structure may be\na highly quantum-fluctuating \"spacetime foam\". To improve this situation, we\nintroduce new quantum observables that allow us to measure the absolute and\nrelative homogeneity of geometric properties of a nonperturbative quantum\nuniverse, as function of a chosen averaging scale. This opens a new way to\ncompare results obtained in full quantum gravity to descriptions of the early\nuniverse that assume homogeneity and isotropy at the outset. Our construction\nis purely geometric and does not depend on a background metric. We illustrate\nthe viability of the quantum homogeneity measures by a nontrivial application\nto two-dimensional Lorentzian quantum gravity formulated in terms of a path\nintegral over Causal Dynamical Triangulations, and find some evidence of\nquantum inhomogeneity.",
        "positive": "Status of Horava gravity: A personal perspective: Horava gravity is a relatively recent (Jan 2009) idea in theoretical physics\nfor trying to develop a quantum field theory of gravity. It is not a string\ntheory, nor loop quantum gravity, but is instead a traditional quantum field\ntheory that breaks Lorentz invariance at ultra-high (presumably\ntrans-Planckian) energies, while retaining approximate Lorentz invariance at\nlow and medium (sub-Planckian) energies. The challenge is to keep the Lorentz\nsymmetry breaking controlled and small - small enough to be compatible with\nexperiment. I will give a very general overview of what is going on in this\nfield, paying particular attention to the disturbing role of the scalar\ngraviton."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Deploying heavier $\u03b7$ meson states: configurational entropy\n  hybridizing AdS/QCD: The meson family of $\\eta$ pseudoscalars is studied in the context of the\nAdS/QCD correspondence and the differential configurational entropy (DCE). For\nit, two forms of configurational-entropic Regge-like trajectories are\nengendered, relating the $\\eta$ mesonic states excitation number to both their\nexperimental mass spectrum in the Particle Data Group (PDG) and the DCE as\nwell. Hence, the mass spectrum of $\\eta$ pseudoscalar mesonic states, beyond\nthe already detected states $\\eta(550)$, $\\eta'(958)$, $\\eta(1295)$,\n$\\eta(1405)$, $\\eta(1475)$, $\\eta(1760)$, $\\eta(2225)$, and $\\eta(2320)$, is\nderived for any excitation number. The three first ulterior members of this\nfamily are then analyzed and also compared to existing candidates in PDG.",
        "positive": "On the Local Frame in Nonlinear Higher-Spin Equations: Properties of the resolution operator ${\\rm d}_{loc}^*$ in higher-spin\nequations, that leads to local current interactions at the cubic order and\nminimally nonlocal higher-order corrections, are formulated in terms of the\ncondition on the class of master fields of higher-spin theory that restricts\nboth the dependence on the spinor $Y$, $Z$ variables and on the contractions of\nindices between the constituent fields in bilinear terms. The Green function in\nthe sector of zero-forms is found for the case of constituent fields carrying\nhelicities of opposite signs. It is shown that the local resolution ${\\rm\nd}_{loc}^*$ differs from the conventional De Rham resolution ${\\rm d}_Z^*$ by a\nnon-local shift."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Novel metals and insulators from holography: Using simple holographic models in $D=4$ spacetime dimensions we construct\nblack hole solutions dual to $d=3$ CFTs at finite charge density with a\nQ-lattice deformation. At zero temperature we find new ground state solutions\nwith broken translation invariance, either in one or both spatial directions,\nwhich exhibit insulating or metallic behaviour depending on the parameters of\nthe holographic theory. For low temperatures and small frequencies, the real\npart of the optical conductivity has a power-law behaviour, with the exponent\ndetermined by the ground state. We also obtain an expression for the the DC\nconductivity at finite temperature in terms of horizon data of the black hole\nsolutions.",
        "positive": "G2-structures for N=1 supersymmetric AdS4 solutions of M-theory: We study the N=1 supersymmetric solutions of D=11 supergravity obtained as a\nwarped product of four-dimensional anti-de-Sitter space with a\nseven-dimensional Riemannian manifold M. Using the octonion bundle structure on\nM we reformulate the Killing spinor equations in terms of sections of the\noctonion bundle on M. The solutions then define a single complexified\nG2-structure on M or equivalently two real G2-structures. We then study the\ntorsion of these G2-structures and the relationships between them."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Black holes in an expanding universe and supersymmetry: This paper analyzes the supersymmetric solutions to five and six-dimensional\nminimal (un)gauged supergravities for which the bilinear Killing vector\nconstructed from the Killing spinor is null. We focus on the spacetimes which\nadmit an additional ${\\rm SO}(1,1)$ boost symmetry. Upon the toroidal\ndimensional reduction along the Killing vector corresponding to the boost, we\nshow that the solution in the ungauged case describes a charged, nonextremal\nblack hole in a Friedmann-Lema\\^itre-Robertson-Walker (FLRW) universe with an\nexpansion driven by a massless scalar field. For the gauged case, the solution\ncorresponds to a charged, nonextremal black hole embedded conformally into a\nKantowski-Sachs universe. It turns out that these dimensional reductions break\nsupersymmetry since the bilinear Killing vector and the Killing vector\ncorresponding to the boost fail to commute. This represents a new mechanism of\nsupersymmetry breaking that has not been considered in the literature before.",
        "positive": "Open-String Non-Associativity in an R-flux Background: We derive the commutation relations for open-string coordinates on D-branes\nin non-geometric background spaces. Starting from D0-branes on a\nthree-dimensional torus with H-flux, we show that open strings with end points\non D3-branes in a three-dimensional R-flux background exhibit a non-associative\nphase-space algebra, which is similar to the non-associative R-flux algebra of\nclosed strings. Therefore, the effective open-string gauge theory on the\nD3-branes is expected to be a non-associative gauge theory. We also point out\ndifferences between the non-associative phase space structure of open and\nclosed strings in non-geometric backgrounds, which are related to the different\nstructure of the world-sheet commutators of open and closed strings."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-BPS Brane Cosmology: We study cosmology on a BPS D3-brane evolving in the 10D SUGRA background\ndescribing a non-BPS brane. Initially the BPS brane is taken to be a probe\nwhose dynamics we determine in the non-compact non-BPS background. The\ncosmology observed on the brane is of the FRW type with a scale factor\n$S(\\tau)$. In this mirage cosmology approach, there is no self-gravity on the\nbrane which cannot inflate. Self-gravity is then included by compactifying the\nbackground space-time. The low energy effective theory below the\ncompactification scale is shown to be bi-metric, with matter coupling to a\ndifferent metric than the geometrically induced metric on the brane. The\ngeometrical scale factor on the brane is now $S(\\tau) a(\\tau)$ where $a(\\tau)$\narises from brane self-gravity. In this non-BPS scenario the brane generically\ninflates. We study the resulting inflationary scenario taking into account the\nfact that the non-BPS brane eventually decays on a time-scale much larger than\nthe typical inflationary time-scale. After the decay, the theory ceases to be\nbi-metric and COBE normalization is used to estimate the string scale which is\nfound to be of order $10^{14}$ GeV.",
        "positive": "Particle creation in a Robertson-Walker Universe revisited: We reanalyze the problem of particle creation in a 3+1 spatially closed\nRobertson-Walker space-time. We compute the total number of particles produced\nby this non-stationary gravitational background as well as the corresponding\ntotal energy and find a slight discrepancy between our results and those\nrecently obtained in the literature"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Note on the butterfly effect in holographic superconductor models: In this note we remark that the butterfly effect can be used to diagnose the\nphase transition of superconductivity in a holographic framework. Specifically,\nwe compute the butterfly velocity in a charged black hole background as well as\nanisotropic backgrounds with Q-lattice structure. In both cases we find its\nderivative to the temperature is discontinuous at critical points. We also\npropose that the butterfly velocity can signalize the occurrence of thermal\nphase transition in general holographic models.",
        "positive": "The characteristics of thermalization of boost-invariant plasma from\n  holography: We report on the approach towards the hydrodynamic regime of boost-invariant\nN=4 super Yang-Mills plasma at strong coupling starting from various\nfar-from-equilibrium states at tau=0. The results are obtained through\nnumerical solution of Einstein's equations for the dual geometries, as\ndescribed in detail in the companion article arXiv:1203.0755. Despite the very\nrich far-from-equilibrium evolution, we find surprising regularities in the\nform of clear correlations between initial entropy and total produced entropy,\nas well as between initial entropy and the temperature at thermalization,\nunderstood as the transition to a hydrodynamic description. For 29 different\ninitial conditions that we consider, hydrodynamics turns out to be definitely\napplicable for proper times larger than 0.7 in units of inverse temperature at\nthermalization. We observe a sizable anisotropy in the energy-momentum tensor\nat thermalization, which is nevertheless entirely due to hydrodynamic effects.\nThis suggests that effective thermalization in heavy ion collisions may occur\nsignificantly earlier than true thermalization."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dirac particles' tunnelling from 5-dimensional rotating black strings\n  influenced by the generalized uncertainty principle: The standard Hawking formula predicts the complete evaporation of black\nholes. Taking into account effects of quantum gravity, we investigate fermions'\ntunnelling from a 5-dimensional rotating black string. The temperature is\ndetermined not only by the string, but also affected by the quantum number of\nthe emitted fermion and the effect of the extra spatial dimension. The quantum\ncorrection slows down the increase of the temperature, which naturally leads to\nthe remnant in the evaporation.",
        "positive": "Generalized ADT charges and asymptotic symmetry algebra: Using the expressions for generalized ADT current and potential in a self\nconsistent manner, we derive the asymptotic symmetry algebra on AdS$_3$ and the\nnear horizon extremal BTZ spacetimes. The structure of symmetry algebra among\nthe conserved charges for asymptotic killing vectors matches exactly with the\nknown results thus establishing the algebraic equivalence between the well\nknown existing formalisms for obtaining the conserved charges and the\ngeneralized ADT charges."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hierarchy of RG flows in 6d $(1,0)$ orbi-instantons: $N$ M5-branes probing the intersection between the orbifold\n$\\mathbb{C}^2/\\Gamma_\\text{ADE}$ and an $E_8$ wall give rise to 6d $(1,0)$\nSCFTs known as ADE-type orbi-instantons. At fixed $N$ and order of the\norbifold, each element of $\\text{Hom}(\\Gamma_\\text{ADE},E_8)$ defines a\ndifferent SCFT. The SCFTs are connected by Higgs branch RG flows, which\ngenerically reduce the flavor symmetry of the UV fixed point. We determine the\nfull hierarchy of these RG flows for type A, i.e. $\\mathbb{C}^2/\\mathbb{Z}_k$,\nfor any value of $N$ and $k$. The hierarchy takes the form of an intricate\nHasse diagram: each node represents an IR orbi-instanton (homomorphism), and\neach edge an allowed flow, compatibly with the 6d $a$-theorem. The partial\norder is defined via quiver subtraction of the 3d magnetic quivers associated\nwith the 6d SCFTs, which is equivalent to performing a so-called Kraft-Procesi\ntransition between homomorphisms.",
        "positive": "Moduli stabilization in higher dimensional brane models: We consider a class of warped higher dimensional brane models with topology\n$M \\times \\Sigma \\times S^1/Z_2$, where $\\Sigma$ is a $D_2$ dimensional\nmanifold. Two branes of codimension one are embedded in such a bulk space-time\nand sit at the orbifold fixed points. We concentrate on the case where an\nexponential warp factor (depending on the distance along the orbifold)\naccompanies the Minkowski $M$ and the internal space $\\Sigma$ line elements. We\nevaluate the moduli effective potential induced by bulk scalar fields in these\nmodels, and we show that generically this can stabilize the size of the extra\ndimensions. As an application, we consider a scenario where supersymmetry is\nbroken not far below the cutoff scale, and the hierarchy between the\nelectroweak and the effective Planck scales is generated by a combination of\nredshift and large volume effects. The latter is efficient due to the shrinking\nof $\\Sigma$ at the negative tension brane, where matter is placed. In this\ncase, we find that the effective potential can stabilize the size of the extra\ndimensions (and the hierarchy) without fine tuning provided that the internal\nspace $\\Sigma$ is flat."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Yangian Gelfand-Zetlin Bases, gl(N)-Jack Polynomials and computation of\n  Dynamical Correlation Functions in the Spin Calogero-Sutherland Model: We consider the gl(N)-invariant Calogero-Sutherland Models with N=1,2,3,...\nin a unified framework, which is the framework of Symmetric Polynomials. By the\nframework we mean an isomorphism between the space of states of the\ngl(N)-invariant Calogero-Sutherland Model and the space of Symmetric Laurent\nPolynomials. In this framework it becomes apparent that all gl(N)-invariant\nCalogero-Sutherland Models are manifestations of the same entity, which is the\ncommuting family of Macdonald Operators. Macdonald Operators depend on two\nparameters $q$ and $t$. The Hamiltonian of gl(N)-invariant Calogero-Sutherland\nModel belongs to a degeneration of this family in the limit when both $q$ and\n$t$ approach the N-th elementary root of unity. This is a generalization of the\nwell-known situation in the case of Scalar Calogero-Sutherland Model (N=1). In\nthe limit the commuting family of Macdonald Operators is identified with the\nmaximal commutative sub-algebra in the Yangian action on the space of states of\nthe gl(N)-invariant Calogero-Sutherland Model. The limits of Macdonald\nPolynomials which we call gl(N)-Jack Polynomials are eigenvectors of this\nsub-algebra and form Yangian Gelfand-Zetlin bases in irreducible components of\nthe Yangian action. The gl(N)-Jack Polynomials describe the orthogonal\neigenbasis of gl(N)-invariant Calogero-Sutherland Model in exactly the same way\nas Jack Polynomials describe the orthogonal eigenbasis of the Scalar Model\n(N=1). For each known property of Macdonald Polynomials there is a\ncorresponding property of gl(N)-Jack Polynomials. As a simplest application of\nthese properties we compute two-point Dynamical Spin-Density and Density\nCorrelation Functions in the gl(2)-invariant Calogero-Sutherland Model at\ninteger values of the coupling constant.",
        "positive": "Can Born Infeld Gravity Explain Galaxy Rotation Curves?: A Born-Infeld theory has been proposed in order to explain both dark matter\nand dark energy. We show that the approximation used to deduce the flat\nrotation curves in this model breaks down at large distances in a spherically\nsymmetric configuration."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Geometric Dual of a-maximisation for Toric Sasaki-Einstein Manifolds: We show that the Reeb vector, and hence in particular the volume, of a\nSasaki-Einstein metric on the base of a toric Calabi-Yau cone of complex\ndimension n may be computed by minimising a function Z on R^n which depends\nonly on the toric data that defines the singularity. In this way one can\nextract certain geometric information for a toric Sasaki-Einstein manifold\nwithout finding the metric explicitly. For complex dimension n=3 the Reeb\nvector and the volume correspond to the R-symmetry and the a central charge of\nthe AdS/CFT dual superconformal field theory, respectively. We therefore\ninterpret this extremal problem as the geometric dual of a-maximisation. We\nillustrate our results with some examples, including the Y^{p,q} singularities\nand the complex cone over the second del Pezzo surface.",
        "positive": "Dirac and Klein-Gordon equations with equal scalar and vector potentials: We study the three-dimensional Dirac and Klein-Gordon equations with scalar\nand vector potentials of equal magnitudes as an attempt to give a proper\nphysical interpretation of this class of problems which has recently been\naccumulating interest. We consider a large class of these problems in which the\npotentials are noncentral (angular-dependent) such that the equations separate\ncompletely in spherical coordinates. The relativistic energy spectra are\nobtained and shown to differ from those of well-known problems that have the\nsame nonrelativistic limit. Consequently, such problems should not be\nmisinterpreted as the relativistic extension of the given potentials despite\nthe fact that the nonrelativistic limit is the same. The Coulomb, Oscillator\nand Hartmann potentials are considered. This shows that although the\nnonrelativistic limit is well-defined and unique, the relativistic extension is\nnot. Additionally, we investigate the Klein-Gordon equation with uneven mix of\npotentials leading to the correct relativistic extension. We consider the case\nof spherically symmetric exponential-type potentials resulting in the s-wave\nKlein-Gordon-Morse problem."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Navier-Stokes Equations on Black Hole Horizons and DC Thermoelectric\n  Conductivity: Within the context of the AdS/CFT correspondence we show that the DC\nthermoelectric conductivity can be obtained by solving the linearised,\ntime-independent and forced Navier-Stokes equations on the black hole horizon\nfor an incompressible and charged fluid.",
        "positive": "Gauge Theories for Lineal Gravities: Here is summarized the gauge theoretical formulation and quantization of two\npopular gravity theories in (1+1)-dimensional time."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chern-Simons Theory on Supermanifolds: We consider quantum field theories on supermanifolds using integral forms.\nThe latter are used to define a geometric theory of integration and they are\nessential for a consistent action principle. The construction relies on Picture\nChanging Operators, analogous to the one introduced in String Theory. As an\napplication, we construct a geometric action principle for N=1 D=3\nsuper-Chern-Simons theory.",
        "positive": "On Generations: The well known operator ordering ambiguity could motivate the existence of\ngenerations. This possibility is explored by exploiting the relationship\nbetween ordering and discretization rules. Context is drawn from lattice theory\nand non commutative geometry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum chaos in presence of non-conformality: The behaviour of a chaotic system and its effect on existing quantum\ncorrelation has been holographically studied in presence of non-conformality.\nKeeping in mind the gauge/gravity duality framework, the non-conformality in\nthe dual field theory has been introduced by considering a Liouville type\ndilaton potential for the gravitational theory. The resulting black brane\nsolution is associated with a parameter $\\eta$ which represents the deviation\nfrom conformality. The parameters of chaos, namely, the Lyapunov exponent and\nbutterfly velocity are computed by following the well-known shock wave\nanalysis. The obtained results reveal that presence of non-conformality leads\nto suppression of the chaotic nature of a system. Further, for a particular\nvalue of the nonconformal parameter $\\eta$, the system achieves Lyapunov\nstability resulting from the vanishing of both Lyapunov exponent and butterfly\nvelocity. Interestingly, this particular value of $\\eta$ matches with the\npreviously given upper bound of $\\eta$. The effects of chaos and\nnon-conformality on the existing correlation of a thermofield doublet state\nhave been quantified by holographically computing the two-sided mutual\ninformation in both the presence and absence of the shock wave. Furthermore,\nthe entanglement velocity is also computed and the effect of non-conformality\non it have been observed. Finally, the obtained results of Lyapunov exponent\nand butterfly velocity have also been verified from the pole-skipping analysis.",
        "positive": "Toward frame-like gauge invariant formulation for massive mixed symmetry\n  bosonic fields: In this paper, as a first step toward frame-like gauge invariant formulation\nfor massive mixed symmetry bosonic fields, we consider mixed tensors,\ncorresponding to Young tableau with two rows with k >= 2 boxes in the first row\nand only one box in the second one. We construct complete Lagrangian and gauge\ntransformations describing massive particles in (anti) de Sitter space-time\nwith arbitrary dimension d >= 4 and investigate all possible massless and\npartially massless limits."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Strong to weak coupling transitions of SU(N) gauge theories in 2+1\n  dimensions: We investigate strong-to-weak coupling transitions in D=2+1 SU(N->oo) gauge\ntheories, by simulating lattice theories with a Wilson plaquette action. We\nfind that there is a strong-to-weak coupling cross-over in the lattice theory\nthat appears to become a third-order phase transition at N=oo, in a manner that\nis essentially identical to the Gross-Witten transition in the D=1+1 SU(oo)\nlattice gauge theory. There is also evidence for a second order transition at\nN=oo at approximately the same coupling, which is connected with centre\nmonopoles (instantons) and so analogues to the first order bulk transition that\noccurs in D=3+1 lattice gauge theories for N>4. We show that as the lattice\nspacing is reduced, the N=oo gauge theory on a finite 3-torus suffers a\nsequence of (apparently) first-order ZN symmetry breaking transitions\nassociated with each of the tori (ordered by size). We discuss how these\ntransitions can be understood in terms of a sequence of deconfining transitions\non ever-more dimensionally reduced gauge theories.We investigate whether the\ntrace of the Wilson loop has a non-analyticity in the coupling at some critical\narea, but find no evidence for this although, just as in D=1+1,the eigenvalue\ndensity of a Wilson loop forms a gap at N=oo for a critical trace. The physical\nimplications of this are unclear.The gap formation is a special case of a\nremarkable similarity between the eigenvalue spectra of Wilson loops in D=1+1\nand D=2+1 (and indeed D=3+1): for the same value of the trace, the eigenvalue\nspectra are nearly identical.This holds for finite as well as infinite N;\nirrespective of the Wilson loop size in lattice units; and for Polyakov as well\nas Wilson loops.",
        "positive": "Vacuum energy sequestering and conformal symmetry: In a series of recent papers Kaloper and Padilla proposed a mechanism to\nsequester standard model vacuum contributions to the cosmological constant. We\nstudy the consequences of embedding their proposal into a fully local quantum\ntheory. In the original work, the bare cosmological constant $\\Lambda$ and a\nscaling parameter $\\lambda$ are introduced as global fields. We find that in\nthe local case the resulting Lagrangian is that of a spontaneously broken\nconformal field theory where $\\lambda$ plays the role of the dilaton. A\nvanishing or a small cosmological constant is thus a consequence of the\nunderlying conformal field theory structure."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "D-brane dynamics in a plane wave background: By using the Dirac-Born-Infeld action we study the dynamics of Dp-brane\npropagating in the NS5-near horizon plane wave background. We study\nsystematically D-brane embedding in this pp-wave background, and analyze the\nequations of motion for various auxiliary fields. We further discuss the motion\nof the probe Dq-brane in the presence of source Dp-branes in this plane wave\nbackground.",
        "positive": "Modular Invariance of Finite Size Corrections and a Vortex Critical\n  Phase: We analyze a continuous spin Gaussian model on a toroidal triangular lattice\nwith periods $L_0$ and $L_1$ where the spins carry a representation of the\nfundamental group of the torus labeled by phases $u_0$ and $u_1$. We find the\n{\\it exact finite size and lattice corrections}, to the partition function $Z$,\nfor arbitrary mass $m$ and phases $u_i$. Summing $Z^{-1/2}$ over phases gives\nthe corresponding result for the Ising model. The limits $m\\rightarrow0$ and\n$u_i\\rightarrow0$ do not commute. With $m=0$ the model exhibits a {\\it vortex\ncritical phase} when at least one of the $u_i$ is non-zero. In the continuum or\nscaling limit, for arbitrary $m$, the finite size corrections to $-\\ln Z$ are\n{\\it modular invariant} and for the critical phase are given by elliptic theta\nfunctions. In the cylinder limit $L_1\\rightarrow\\infty$ the ``cylinder charge''\n$c(u_0,m^2L_0^2)$ is a non-monotonic function of $m$ that ranges from\n$2(1+6u_0(u_0-1))$ for $m=0$ to zero for $m\\rightarrow\\infty$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "String cosmology versus standard and inflationary cosmology: This paper presents a review of the basic, model-independent differences\nbetween the pre-big bang scenario, arising naturally in a string cosmology\ncontext, and the standard inflationary scenario. We use an unconventional\napproach in which the introduction of technical details is avoided as much as\npossible, trying to focus the reader's attention on the main conceptual aspects\nof both scenarios. The aim of the paper is not to conclude in favour either of\none or of the other scenario, but to raise questions that are left to the\nreader's meditation. Warnings: the paper does not contain equations, and is not\nintended as a complete review of all aspects of string cosmology.",
        "positive": "The S-matrix Bootstrap II: Two Dimensional Amplitudes: We consider constraints on the S-matrix of any gapped, Lorentz invariant\nquantum field theory in 1 + 1 dimensions due to crossing symmetry and\nunitarity. In this way we establish rigorous bounds on the cubic couplings of a\ngiven theory with a fixed mass spectrum. In special cases we identify\ninteresting integrable theories saturating these bounds. Our analytic bounds\nmatch precisely with numerical bounds obtained in a companion paper where we\nconsider massive QFT in an AdS box and study boundary correlators using the\ntechnology of the conformal bootstrap."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "M-Theory and U-duality on T^d with Gauge Backgrounds: The full U-duality symmetry of toroidally compactified M-theory can only be\ndisplayed by allowing non-rectangular tori with expectation values of the gauge\nfields. We construct an E_d(Z) U-duality invariant mass formula incorporating\nnon-vanishing gauge backgrounds of the M-theory three-form C. We interpret this\nmass formula from the point of view of the Matrix gauge theory, and identify\nthe coupling of the three-form to the gauge theory as a topological theta term,\nin agreement with earlier conjectures. We give a derivation of this fact from\nD-brane analysis, and obtain the Matrix gauge theory description of other gauge\nbackgrounds allowed by the Discrete Light-Cone Quantization. We further show\nthat the conjectured extended U-duality symmetry of Matrix theory on T^d in the\nDiscrete Light-Cone Quantization has an implementation as an action of\nE_{d+1}(Z) on the BPS spectrum. Some implications for the proper interpretation\nof the rank N of the Matrix gauge theory are discussed.",
        "positive": "Generalized forward scattering amplitudes in QCD at high temperature: We extend to a general class of covariant gauges an approach which relates\nthe thermal Green functions to forward scattering amplitudes of thermal\nparticles. A brief discussion of the non-transversality of the thermal gluon\npolarization tensor is given in this context. This method is then applied to\nthe calculation of the ln(T) contributions associated with general\nconfigurations of 2 and 3-point gluon functions. The results are Lorentz\ncovariant and have the same structure as the ultraviolet divergent\ncontributions which occur at zero temperature."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Ward-Takahashi Identity and Dynamical Mass Generation in Abelian Gauge\n  Theories: We derive Ward-Takahashi identities including composite fields in Abelian\ngauge theories and the matching condition between the elementary field\ndescription and the composite field description. With these we develop an\napproach to dynamical symmetry breaking in Abelian gauge theories including the\nstudy of the dynamically generated masses of the gauge boson, the fermions and\nthe composite Higgs field. The Cornwall-Norton, Jackiw-Johnson and Schwinger\nmodels are taken as examples of the application. The obtained gauge boson\nmasses are in agreement with the existing results. In this appraoch, we are\nable to further obtain new results for the mass of the composite Higgs boson\nand the goldstone boson decay constant.",
        "positive": "Ekpyrotic collapse with multiple fields: A scale invariant spectrum of isocurvature perturbations is generated during\ncollapse in the scaling solution in models where two or more fields have steep\nnegative exponential potentials. The scale invariance of the spectrum is\nrealised by a tachyonic instability in the isocurvature field. We show that\nthis instability is due to the fact that the scaling solution is a saddle point\nin the phase space. The late time attractor is identified with a single field\ndominated ekpyrotic collapse in which a steep blue spectrum for isocurvature\nperturbations is found. Although quantum fluctuations do not necessarily to\ndisrupt the classical solution, an additional preceding stage is required to\nestablish classical homogeneity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Casimir self-energy of a \u03b4-\u03b4' sphere: We extend previous work on the vacuum energy of a massless scalar field in\nthe presence of singular potentials. We consider a single sphere denoted by the\nso-called \"delta-delta prime\" interaction. Contrary to the Dirac delta\npotential, we find a nontrivial one-parameter family of potentials such that\nthe regularization procedure gives an unambiguous result for the Casimir\nself-energy. The procedure employed is based on the zeta function\nregularization and the cancellation of the heat kernel coefficient a_2. The\nresults obtained are in agreement with particular cases, such as the Dirac\ndelta or Robin and Dirichlet boundary conditions.",
        "positive": "Spin(7)-manifolds in compactifications to four dimensions: We describe off-shell $\\mathcal{N}=1$ M-theory compactifications down to four\ndimensions in terms of eight-dimensional manifolds equipped with a topological\n$Spin(7)$-structure. Motivated by the exceptionally generalized geometry\nformulation of M-theory compactifications, we consider an eight-dimensional\nmanifold $\\mathcal{M}_{8}$ equipped with a particular set of tensors\n$\\mathfrak{S}$ that allow to naturally embed in $\\mathcal{M}_{8}$ a family of\n$G_{2}$-structure seven-dimensional manifolds as the leaves of a\ncodimension-one foliation. Under a different set of assumptions, $\\mathfrak{S}$\nallows to make $\\mathcal{M}_{8}$ into a principal $S^{1}$ bundle, which is\nequipped with a topological $Spin(7)$-structure if the base is equipped with a\ntopological $G_{2}$-structure. We also show that $\\mathfrak{S}$ can be\nnaturally used to describe regular as well as a singular elliptic fibrations on\n$\\mathcal{M}_{8}$, which may be relevant for F-theory applications, and prove\nseveral mathematical results concerning the relation between topological\n$G_{2}$-structures in seven dimensions and topological $Spin(7)$-structures in\neight dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Multinomials and Polynomial Bosonic Forms for the Branching Functions of\n  the $\\widehat{su}(2)_{M}\\times \\widehat{su}(2)_{N}/\\widehat{su}(2)_{M+N}$\n  Conformal Coset Models: We give explicit expressions for the q-multinomial generalizations of the\nq-binomials and Andrews' and Baxter's q-trinomials. We show that the\nconfiguration sums for the generalized RSOS models in regime III studied by\nDate et al. can be expressed in terms of these multinomials. This generalizes\nthe work of ABF and AB where configuration sums of statistical mechanical\nmodels have been expressed in terms of binomial and trinomial coefficients.\nThese RSOS configuration sums yield the branching functions for the\n$\\widehat{su}(2)_{M}\\times \\widehat{su}(2)_{N}/\\widehat{su}(2)_{M+N}$ coset\nmodels. The representation in terms of multinomials gives Rocha-Caridi like\nformulas whereas the representation of Date et al. gives a double sum\nrepresentation for the branching functions.",
        "positive": "Topics in Born-Infeld Electrodynamics: Classical version of Born-Infeld electrodynamics is recalled and its most\nimportant properties discussed. Then we analyze possible abelian and\nnon-abelian generalizations of this theory, and show how certain soliton-like\nconfigurations can be obtained. The relationship with the Standard Model of\nelectroweak interactions is also mentioned."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Induced low-energy effective action in the 6D, N=(1,0) hypermultiplet\n  theory on the vector multiplet background: We consider the six dimensional N=(1,0) hypermultiplet model coupled to an\nexternal field of the Abelian vector multiplet in harmonic superspace approach.\nUsing the superfield proper-time technique we find the divergent part of the\neffective action and derive the complete finite induced low-energy superfield\neffective action. This effective action depends on external field and contains\nin bosonic sector all the powers of the constant Maxwell field strength. The\nobtained result can be treated as the 6D, N=(1,0) supersymmetric\nHeisenberg-Euler type effective action.",
        "positive": "The Veneziano Limit of N=2 Superconformal QCD: Towards the String Dual\n  of N=2 SU(N_c) SYM with N_f =2 N_c: We attack the long-standing problem of finding the AdS dual of N = 2\nsuperconformal QCD, the N=2 super Yang Mills theory with gauge group SU(N_c)\nand N_f = 2 N_c fundamental hyper multiplets. The theory admits a Veneziano\nexpansion of large N_c and large N_f, with N_f/N_c and lambda = g^2 N_c kept\nfixed. The topological structure of large N diagrams motivates a general\nconjecture: the flavor-singlet sector of a gauge theory in the Veneziano limit\nis dual to a closed string theory; single closed string states correspond to\n\"generalized single-trace\" operators, where adjoint letters and\nflavor-contracted fundamental/antifundamental pairs are stringed together in a\nclosed chain. We look for the string dual of N = 2 superconformal QCD from two\nfronts. From the bottom-up, we perform a systematic analysis of the protected\nspectrum using superconformal representation theory. We also evaluate the\none-loop dilation operator in the scalar sector, finding a novel spin chain.\n  From the top-down, we consider the decoupling limit of known brane\nconstructions. In both approaches, more insight is gained by viewing the theory\nas the degenerate limit of the N = 2 Z_2 orbifold of N = 4 SYM, as one of the\ntwo gauge couplings is tuned to zero. A consistent picture emerges. We conclude\nthat the string dual is a sub-critical background with seven \"geometric\"\ndimensions, containing both an AdS_5 and an S^1 factor. The supergravity\napproximation is never entirely valid, even for large lambda, indeed the field\ntheory has an exponential degeneracy of exactly protected states with higher\nspin, which must be dual to a sector of light string states."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Odds of observing the multiverse: Eternal inflation predicts our observable universe lies within a bubble (or\npocket universe) embedded in a volume of inflating space. The interior of the\nbubble undergoes inflation and standard cosmology, while the bubble walls\nexpand outward and collide with other neighboring bubbles. The collisions\nprovide either an opportunity to make a direct observation of the multiverse\nor, if they produce unacceptable anisotropy, a threat to inflationary theory.\nThe probability of an observer in our bubble detecting the effects of\ncollisions has an absolute upper bound set by the odds of being in the part of\nour bubble that lies in the forward light-cone of a collision; in the case of\ncollisions with bubbles of identical vacua, this bound given by the bubble\nnucleation rate times ($H_{\\rm{O}}/H_{\\rm{I}})^2$, where $H_{\\rm{O}}$ is the\nHubble scale outside the bubbles and $H_{\\rm{I}}$ is the scale of the second\nround of inflation that occurs inside our bubble. Similar results were obtained\nby Freigovel \\emph{et al.} using a different method for the case of collisions\nwith bubbles of much larger cosmological constant; here it is shown to hold in\nthe case of collisions with identical bubbles as well. A significant error in a\nprevious draft was corrected in order to arrive at this result.",
        "positive": "Emergent horizon, Hawking radiation and chaos in the collapsed polymer\n  model of a black hole: We have proposed that the interior of a macroscopic Schwarzschild black hole\n(BH) consists of highly excited, long, closed, interacting strings and, as\nsuch, can be modeled as a collapsed polymer. It was previously shown that the\nscaling relations of the collapsed-polymer model agree with those of the BH.\nThe current paper further substantiates this proposal with an investigation\ninto some of its dynamical consequences. In particular, we show that the model\npredicts, without relying on gravitational effects, an emergent horizon. We\nfurther show that the horizon fluctuates quantum mechanically as it should and\nthat the strength of the fluctuations is inversely proportional to the BH\nentropy. It is then demonstrated that the emission of Hawking radiation is\nrealized microscopically by the quantum-induced escape of small pieces of\nstring, with the rate of escape and the energy per emitted piece both\nparametrically matching the Hawking temperature. We also show, using standard\nmethods from statistical mechanics and chaos theory, how our model accounts for\nsome other known properties of BHs. These include the accepted results for the\nscrambling time and the viscosity-to-entropy ratio, which in our model apply\nnot only at the horizon but throughout the BH interior."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Renormalization group flow in one- and two-matrix models: Large-$N$ renormalization group equations for one- and two-matrix models are\nderived. The exact renormalization group equation involving infinitely many\ninduced interactions can be rewritten in a form that has a finite number of\ncoupling constants by taking account of reparametrization identities. Despite\nthe nonlinearity of the equation, the location of fixed points and the scaling\nexponents can be extracted from the equation. They agree with the spectrum of\nrelevant operators in the exact solution. A linearized $\\beta$-function\napproximates well the global phase structure which includes several nontrivial\nfixed points. The global renormalization group flow suggests a kind of\n$c$-theorem in two-dimensional quantum gravity.",
        "positive": "Baby Universes born from the Void: We propose a novel construction of a third quantised baby universe Hilbert\nspace $\\mathcal{H}_{BU}$ for the quantum gravity path integral. In contrast to\nthe original description of $\\alpha$-parameters, both the bulk and boundary\nmicroscopic parameters are fixed in our proposal. Wormholes and baby universes\nappear due to refined observables, of the boundary dual quantum field theories,\nthat crucially involve the space of representations of the gauge group.\nIrreducible representations, on which the path integral factorises, give rise\nto field theoretic superselection sectors and replace the $\\alpha$ states."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Inflated Chern-Simons Number in Spectator Chromo-Natural Inflation: The chromo-natural inflation (CNI) scenario predicts a potentially detectable\nchiral gravitational wave signal, generated by a Chern-Simons coupling between\na rolling scalar axion field and an SU(2) gauge field with an\nisotropy-preserving classical background during inflation. However, the\ngeneration of this signal requires a very large integer Chern-Simons level,\nwhich can be challenging to explain or embed in a UV-complete model. We show\nthat this challenge persists in the phenomenologically viable spectator field\nCNI (S-CNI) model. Furthermore, we show that a clockwork scenario giving rise\nto a large integer as a product of small integers can never produce a\nChern-Simons level large enough to have successful S-CNI phenomenology. We\nbriefly discuss other constraints on the model, both in effective field theory\nbased on partial-wave unitarity bounds and in quantum gravity based on the Weak\nGravity Conjecture, which may be relevant for further explorations of\nalternative UV completions.",
        "positive": "A note on the (anti-)BRST invariant Lagrangian densities for the free\n  abelian 2-form gauge theory: We show that the previously known off-shell nilpotent (s_{(a)b}^2 = 0) and\nabsolutely anticommuting (s_b s_{ab} + s_{ab} s_b = 0)\nBecchi-Rouet-Stora-Tyutin (BRST) transformations (s_b) and anti-BRST\ntransformations (s_{ab}) are the symmetry transformations of the appropriate\nLagrangian densities of a four (3 + 1)-dimensional (4D) free Abelian 2-form\ngauge theory which do not explicitly incorporate a very specific constrained\nfield condition through a Lagrange multiplier 4D vector field. The above\ncondition, which is the analogue of the Curci-Ferrari restriction of the\nnon-Abelian 1-form gauge theory, emerges from the Euler-Lagrange equations of\nmotion of our present theory and ensures the absolute anticommutativity of the\ntransformations s_{(a)b}. Thus, the coupled Lagrangian densities, proposed in\nour present investigation, are aesthetically more appealing and more\neconomical."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "From the Complete Yang Model to Snyder's Model, de Sitter Special\n  Relativity and Their Duality: By means of Dirac procedure, we re-examine Yang's quantized space-time model,\nits relation to Snyder's model, the de Sitter special relativity and their\nUV-IR duality. Starting from a dimensionless dS_5-space in a 5+1-d Mink-space a\ncomplete Yang model at both classical and quantum level can be presented and\nthere really exist Snyder's model, the dS special relativity and the duality.",
        "positive": "Partition Functions for Membrane Theories: Partition functions for M2-brane theories in various backgrounds are\ncomputed. We consider in particular configurations of membranes at orbifold\nsingularities preserving N=5 or N=6 supersymmetry. The worldvolume membrane\ntheory for some of these configurations has been recently constructed in terms\nof N=6 Chern-Simons theories. The detailed structure of the partition functions\nas well as their transformation rules under the R-symmetry are explicitly\ncomputed using the Plethystic Programme."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Phase diagram of QCD chaos in linear sigma models and holography: Measuring chaos of QCD-like theories is a challenge for formulating a novel\ncharacterization of quantum gauge theories. We define a chaos phase diagram of\nQCD allowing us to locate chaos in the parameter space of energy of homogeneous\nmeson condensates and the QCD parameters such as pion/quark mass. We draw the\nchaos phase diagrams obtained in two ways: first, by using a linear sigma\nmodel, varying parameters of the potential, and second, by using the D4/D6\nholographic QCD, varying the number of colors $N_c$ and the 't Hooft coupling\nconstant $\\lambda$. A scaling law drastically simplifies our analyses, and we\ndiscovered that the chaos originates in the maximum of the potential, and\nlarger $N_c$ or larger $\\lambda$ diminishes the chaos.",
        "positive": "Spatially localized scalar structures on hyperscaling violating\n  geometries: In this work, we investigate probe scalar field models preserving covariance\non fixed, static background geometries that present hyperscaling violation\nproperties. We develop a first-order framework that rises from restrictions on\nthe dynamical and hyperscaling violating exponents. The results show that\nstable, analytical kink-like solutions and their respective energy densities\ncan be obtained for a general class of models. In the canonical model, in\nparticular, these solutions minimize the energy of the system."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Signatures of Confinement in Axial Gauge QCD: A comparative dynamical study of axial gauge QED and QCD is presented.\nElementary excitations associated with particular field configurations are\ninvestigated. Gluonic excitations analogous to linearly polarized photons are\nshown to acquire infinite energy. Suppression of this class of excitations in\nQCD results from quantization of the chromelectric flux and is interpreted as a\ndual Meissner effect, i.e. as expulsion from the QCD vacuum of chromo-electric\nfields which are constant over significant distances. This interpretation is\nsupported by a comparative evaluation of the interaction energy of static\ncharges in the axial gauge representation of QED and QCD.",
        "positive": "On Open/Closed String Duality: It was recently shown, using the AdS/CFT correspondence, that the low energy\neffective action of a large $N$ open string theory satisfies a holographic RG\nflow equation closely related to the Hamilton-Jacobi equation of 5-d\nsupergravity. In this paper we re-obtain the same flow equation in the dual\nregime of small 't Hooft coupling $\\lambda\\ll 1$. Our derivation makes use of\nthe conformal equivalence between planar open string diagrams and closed string\ntree diagrams. This equivalence can be viewed as a microscopic explanation of\nthe open/closed string duality that underlies the AdS/CFT correspondence."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The structure of radiatively induced Lorentz and CPT violation in QED at\n  finite temperature: We obtain the induced Lorentz- and CPT-violating term in QED at finite\ntemperature using imaginary-time formalism and dimensional regularization. Its\nform resembles a Chern-Simons-like structure, but, unexpectedly, it does not\ndepend on the temporal component of the fixed $b_\\mu$ constant vector that is\ncoupled to the axial current. Nevertheless Ward identities are respected and\nits coefficient vanishes at T=0, consistently with previous computations with\nthe same regularization procedure, and it is a non-trivial function of\ntemperature. We argue that at finite $T$ a Chern-Simons-like Lorentz- and\nCPT-violating term is generically present, the value of its coefficient being\nunambiguously determined up to a $T-$independent constant, related to the\nzero-temperature renormalization conditions.",
        "positive": "A Proposal for Low Energy Dilaton: We propose a systematic way of introducing the (nongravitational) low energy\ndilaton and a scheme for spontaneous breaking of scale symmetry (SBSS) is\nexplained."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Saddle point solutions in Yang-Mills-dilaton theory: The coupling of a dilaton to the $SU(2)$-Yang-Mills field leads to\ninteresting non-perturbative static spherically symmetric solutions which are\nstudied by mixed analitical and numerical methods. In the abelian sector of the\ntheory there are finite-energy magnetic and electric monopole solutions which\nsaturate the Bogomol'nyi bound. In the nonabelian sector there exist a\ncountable family of globally regular solutions which are purely magnetic but\nhave zero Yang-Mills magnetic charge. Their discrete spectrum of energies is\nbounded from above by the energy of the abelian magnetic monopole with unit\nmagnetic charge. The stability analysis demonstrates that the solutions are\nsaddle points of the energy functional with increasing number of unstable\nmodes. The existence and instability of these solutions are \"explained\" by the\nMorse-theory argument recently proposed by Sudarsky and Wald.",
        "positive": "Notes on non-trivial and logarithmic CFTs with c=0: We examine the properties of two-dimensional conformal field theories (CFTs)\nwith vanishing central charge based on the extended Kac-table for c_(9,6)=0\nusing a general ansatz for the stress energy tensor residing in a Jordan cell\nof rank two. Within this setup we will derive the OPEs and two point functions\nof the stress energy tensor T(z) and its logarithmic partner field t(z) and\nillustrate this by a bosonic field realization. We will show why our approach\nmay be more promising than those chosen in the literature so far, including a\ndiscussion on properties of the augmented minimal model with vanishing central\ncharge such as full conformal invariance of the vacuum as a state in an\nirreducible representation, consequences on percolation from null vectors and\nthe structure of representations within the Kac table. Furthermore we will\npresent another solution to the c --> 0 catastrophe based on an logarithmic CFT\ntensor model. As example, we consider a tensor product of the well-known c=-2\nlogarithmic CFT with a four-fold Ising model. We give an overview of the\npossible configurations and various consequences on the two point functions and\nthe OPEs of the stress energy tensor T(z) and its logarithmic partner field\nt(z). We will motivate that due to the full conformal invariance of the vacuum\nat c=0, we have to assume a Jordan cell for the identity since t(z) is now a\ndescendant of a new h=0 field."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Six dimensional Landau-Ginzburg-Wilson theory: We renormalize the six dimensional cubic theory with an $O(N)$ $\\times$\n$O(m)$ symmetry at three loops in the modified minimal subtraction (MSbar)\nscheme. The theory lies in the same universality class as the four dimensional\nLandau-Ginzburg-Wilson model. As a check we show that the critical exponents\nderived from the three loop renormalization group functions at the\nWilson-Fisher fixed point are in agreement with the large $N$ $d$-dimensional\ncritical exponents of the underlying universal theory. Having established this\nconnection we analyse the fixed point structure of the perturbative\nrenormalization group functions to estimate the location of the conformal\nwindow of the $O(N)$ $\\times$ $O(2)$ model.",
        "positive": "Hilbert space cocycles as representations of $(3+1)-$ D current algebras: It is proposed that instead of normal representations one should look at\ncocycles of group extensions valued in certain groups of unitary operators\nacting in a Hilbert space (e.g the Fock space of chiral fermions), when dealing\nwith groups associated to current algebras in gauge theories in $3+1$\nspace-time dimensions. The appropriate cocycle is evaluated in the case of the\ngroup of smooth maps from the physical three-space to a compact Lie group. The\ncocyclic representation of a component $X$ of the current is obtained through\ntwo regularizations, 1) a conjugation by a background potential dependent\nunitary operator $h_A,$ 2) by a subtraction $-h_A^{-1}\\Cal L_X h_A,$ where\n$\\Cal L_X$ is a derivative along a gauge orbit. It is only the total operator\n$h_A^{-1} Xh_A-h_A^{-1}\\Cal L_X h_A$ which is quantizable in the Fock space\nusing the usual normal ordering subtraction."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chord diagrams and BPHZ subtractions: The combinatorics of the BPHZ subtraction scheme for a class of ladder graphs\nfor the three point vertex in $\\phi^3$ theory is transcribed into certain\nconnectivity relations for marked chord diagrams (knots with transversal\nintersections). The resolution of the singular crossings using the equivalence\nrelations in these examples provides confirmation of a proposed fundamental\nrelationship between knot theory and renormalization in perturbative quantum\nfield theory.",
        "positive": "Considerations on the Graviton Excitation Modes of Horava-Lifshitz\n  Gravity: A new set of projection operators is constructed to suitably handle\nnon-relativistic theories of gravity with anisotropic scaling, including the\nones with parity-violating terms. This alternative procedure allows us to\ndiscuss unitarity and spectral properties for different formulations of the\nHorava-Lifshitz gravity. This task, that generally involves lengthy algebraic\nsteps, becomes more systematic and greatly simplified in terms of the\nprojectors we work out. Moreover, this procedure allows us to fix the number of\npropagating degrees of freedom and the structure of gauge symmetries is readily\ndetermined. In order to test the efficacy of the technique at hand, the\nunitarity and low-energy regime of a general Horava-Lifshitz Gravity model are\ninvestigated."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Covariant Quantization of the Skyrmion: We obtain the internal degrees of freedom of the skyrmion (spin and isospin)\nwithin a manifestly Lorentz covariant quantization framework based on defining\nGreen functions for skyrmions and then, the S-matrix via LSZ reduction. Our\nmethod follows Frohlich and Marchetti's definition of Euclidean soliton Green\nfunctions, supplemented with a careful treatment of the boundary conditions\naround the singularities. The covariant two-point function obtained propagates\na tower of spin equal to isospin particles. Our treatment contains the usual\nmethod of collective coordinates, as a non-relativistic limit and, because of\nthe new topology introduced, it leads, in a natural way, to the inequivalent\n(boson/fermion) quantizations of the SU(2) skyrmion.",
        "positive": "Gonihedric String Equation II: Arguing that the equation for the gonihedric string should have a generalized\nDirac form, we found a new equation which corresponds to a symmetric solution\nof the Majorana commutation relations and has non-Jacobian form. The\ncorresponding generalized gamma-matrices are anticommuting. Explicit formulas\nfor the mass spectrum lead to nonzero string tension $M^{2}_{j} \\geq\nM^{2}(j+1)^{2}$. We discuss also new dual transformation of the Dirac equation\nand of the proposed generalizations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Numerical Analysis of the Double Scaling Limit in the IIB Matrix Model: The bosonic IIB matrix model is studied using a numerical method. This model\ncontains the bosonic part of the IIB matrix model conjectured to be a\nnon-perturbative definition of the type IIB superstring theory. The large N\nscaling behavior of the model is shown performing a Monte Carlo simulation. The\nexpectation value of the Wilson loop operator is measured and the string\ntension is estimated. The numerical results show the prescription of the double\nscaling limit.",
        "positive": "Nonabelian braid statistics versus projective permutation statistics: Recent papers by Finkelstein, Galiautdinov, and coworkers {[J. Math. Phys.\n42, 1489, 3299 (2001)]} discuss a suggestion by Wilczek that nonabelian\nprojective representations of the permutation group can be used as a new type\nof particle statistics, valid in any dimension. Wilczek's suggestion was based\nin part on an analysis by Nayak and Wilczek (NW) of the nonabelian\nrepresentation of the braid group in a quantum Hall system. We point out that\nprojective permutation statistics is not possible in a local quantum field\ntheory as it violates locality, and show that the NW braid group representation\nis not equivalent to a projective representation of the permutation group. The\nstructure of the finite image of the braid group in a 2^{n/2-1}-dimensional\nrepresentation is obtained."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Self-Gravitational Corrections to the Cardy-Verlinde Formula of\n  Achucarro-Ortiz Black Hole: Recently, it was shown that the entropy of the black hole horizon in the\nAchucarro-Ortiz spacetime can be described by the Cardy-Verlinde formula. In\nthis paper, we compute the self-gravitational corrections to the Cardy-Verlinde\nformula of the two-dimensional Achucarro-Ortiz black hole. These corrections\nstem from the effect of self-gravitation and they are derived in the context of\nKeski-Vakkuri, Kraus and Wilczek (KKW) analysis. The black hole under study is\ntherefore treated as a dynamical background. The self-gravitational corrections\nto the entropy as given by the Cardy-Verlinde formula of Achucarro-Ortiz black\nhole, are found to be positive. This result provides evidence in support of the\nclaim that the holographic bound is not universal in the framework of\ntwo-dimensional gravity models.",
        "positive": "Effect of Virtual Pairs on the Inter-quark Potential: We use the variational method, in a reformulated Hamiltonian formalism of\nQCD, to derive the wave equation for a heavy quark-antiquark system using a\ntrial state that contains a component with a virtual light quark pair. We\nexamine the quark-antiquark potential in the non-relativistic limit using an\napproximate trial ground-state wave function. We find that the potential\nexhibits a confining character due to the inclusion of the virtual pair\ncomponent in the trial state."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "AdS Black Hole Solution in Dilatonic Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet Gravity: We find that AdS spacetime with a non-trivial linear dilaton field is an\nexact solution in the effective action of string theory, which is described by\ngravity with the Gauss-Bonnet curvature terms coupled to a dilaton field in the\nstring frame. The AdS radius is determined by the spacetime dimensions and the\ncoupling constants of curvature corrections. We also construct the\nasymptotically AdS black hole solutions with a linear dilaton field\nnumerically. We discuss the thermodynamical properties of those solutions.\nExtending the model to the case with the even-order higher Lovelock curvature\nterms, we also find the exact AdS spacetime with non-trivial dilaton. We\nfurther find a cosmological solution with a bounce of three space and a\nsolitonic solution with a non-trivial dilaton field, which is regular\neverywhere and approaches an asymptotically AdS spacetime.",
        "positive": "Phase transitions, geometrothermodynamics and critical exponents of\n  black holes with conformal anomaly: We investigate the phase transitions of black holes with conformal anomaly in\ncanonical ensemble from different perspectives. Some interesting and novel\nphase transition phenomena have been discovered. Firstly, we discuss the\nbehavior of the specific heat and the inverse of the isothermal\ncompressibility. It is shown that there are striking differences in Hawking\ntemperature and phase structure between black holes with conformal anomaly and\nthose without it. In the case with conformal anomaly, there exists local\nminimum temperature corresponding to the phase transition point. Phase\ntransitions take place not only from an unstable large black hole to a locally\nstable medium black hole but also from an unstable medium black hole to a\nlocally stable small black hole. Secondly, we probe in details the dependence\nof phase transitions on the choice of parameters. The results show that black\nholes with conformal anomaly have much richer phase structure than those\nwithout it. There would be two, only one or no phase transition points\ndepending on the parameters we have chosen. The corresponding parameter region\nare derived both numerically and graphically. Thirdly, geometrothermodynamics\nare built up to examine the phase structure we have discovered. It is shown\nthat Legendre invariant thermodynamic scalar curvature diverges exactly where\nthe specific heat diverges. Furthermore, critical behaviors are investigated by\ncalculating the relevant critical exponents. It is proved that these critical\nexponents satisfy the thermodynamic scaling laws, leading to the conclusion\nthat critical exponents and the scaling laws can reserve even when we consider\nconformal anomaly."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "High energy scattering in gravity and supergravity: We investigate features of perturbative gravity and supergravity by studying\nscattering in the ultraplanckian limit, and sharpen arguments that the dynamics\nis governed by long-distance physics. A simple example capturing aspects of the\neikonal resummation suggests why short distance phenomena and in particular\ndivergences or nonrenormalizability do not necessarily play a central role in\nthis regime. A more profound problem is apparently unitarity. These\nconsiderations can be illustrated by showing that known gravity and\nsupergravity amplitudes have the same long-distance behavior, despite the extra\nlight states of supergravity, and this serves as an important check on\nlong-range dynamics in a context where perturbative amplitudes are finite. We\nalso argue that these considerations have other important implications: they\nobstruct probing the conjectured phenomenon of asymptotic safety through a\nphysical scattering process, and ultraplanckian scattering exhibiting Regge\nbehavior. These arguments sharpen the need to find a nonperturbative completion\nof gravity with mechanisms which restore unitarity in the strong gravity\nregime.",
        "positive": "The 2-loop partition function of large N gauge theories with adjoint\n  matter on S^3: We compute the 2-loop thermal partition function of Yang-Mills theory on a\nsmall 3-sphere, in the large N limit with weak 't Hooft coupling. We include\nN_s scalars and N_f chiral fermions in the adjoint representation of the gauge\ngroup (S)U(N), with arbitrary Yukawa and quartic scalar couplings, assuming\nonly commutator interactions. From this computation one can extract information\non the perturbative corrections to the spectrum of the theory, and the\ncorrection to its Hagedorn temperature. Furthermore, the computation of the\n2-loop partition function is a necessary step towards determining the order of\nthe deconfinement phase transition at weak coupling, for which a 3-loop\ncomputation is needed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Coset construction of AdS particle dynamics: We analyze dynamics of the AdS$_{N+1}$ particle realized on the coset\nSO$(2,N)/$SO$(1,N)$. Hamiltonian reduction provides the physical phase space in\nterms of the coadjoint orbit obtained by boosting a timelike element of ${\\frak\nso}(2,N)$. We show equivalence of this approach to geometric quantization and\nto the SO$(N)$ covariant oscillator description, for which the boost generators\nentail a complicated operator ordering. As an alternative scheme, we introduce\ndual oscillator variables and derive their algebra at the classical and the\nquantum level. This simplifies the calculations of the commutators for the\nboost generators and leads to unitary irreducible representations of ${\\frak\nso}(2,N)$ for all admissible values of the mass parameter. We furthermore\ndiscuss an SO$(N)$ covariant supersymmetric extensions of the oscillator\nquantization, with its realization for superparticles in AdS$_2$ and AdS$_3$\ngiven by recent works.",
        "positive": "Holographic Renormalization Group with Fermions and Form Fields: We find the Holographic Renormalization Group equations for the holographic\nduals of generic gravity theories coupled to form fields and spin-1/2 fermions.\nUsing Hamilton-Jacobi theory we discuss the structure of Ward identities,\nanomalies, and the recursive equations for determining the divergent terms of\nthe generating functional. In particular, the Ward identity associated to\ndiffeomorphism invariance contains an anomalous contribution that, however, can\nbe solved either by a suitable counter term or by imposing a condition on the\nboundary fields. Consistency conditions for the existence of the dual arise, if\none requires that a Callan-Symanzik type equation follows from the Hamiltonian\nconstraint. Under mild assumptions we are able to find a class of solutions to\nthe constraint equations. The structure of the fermionic phase space and\nconstraints is treated extensively for any dimension and signature."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "$Q-\u03a6$ criticality in the extended phase space of $(n+1)$-dimensional\n  RN-AdS black holes: In order to achieve a deeper understanding of gravity theories, it is\nimportant to further investigate the thermodynamic properties of black hole at\nthe critical point, besides the phase transition and critical behaviors. In\nthis paper, by using Maxwell's equal area law, we choose $T,Q,\\Phi$ as the\nstate parameters and study the phase equilibrium problem of general\n$(n+1)$-dimensional RN-AdS black holes thermodynamic system. The boundary of\nthe two-phase coexistence region and its isotherm and isopotential lines are\npresented, which may provide theoretical foundation for studying the phase\ntransition and phase structure of black hole systems.",
        "positive": "The Pauli exclusion principle at strong coupling: Holographic matter and\n  momentum space: For free fermions at finite density, the Pauli exclusion principle is\nresponsible for the existence of a Fermi surface and the consequent presence of\nlow energy spectral weight over a finite range of momenta. We investigate the\nextent to which this effect occurs in strongly interacting quantum matter with\na holographic dual. We obtain the low energy current-current spectral weight in\ntwo holographic frameworks at finite density: systems exhibiting semi-local\nquantum criticality (with a low temperature entropy density vanishing like s ~\nT^eta), and a probe D3/D5 system. For the semi-local theory with 0 < eta < 2 we\nfind a sharp discontinuity in the transverse spectral weight at a nonzero\nmomentum k_*. The case eta = 1 is found to have additional symmetries and is\nsoluble even at nonzero temperature. We show that this case exhibits a robust\nlinear in temperature resistivity in the presence of random charged impurities.\nFor the probe D3/D5 system we find an analytic expression for the low energy\nspectral weight as a function of momentum. The spectral weight is supported\nbelow a specific momentum k_* and is exponentially suppressed at higher\nmomenta."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "2D Quantum Gravity at One Loop with Liouville and Mabuchi Actions: We study a new two-dimensional quantum gravity theory, based on a\ngravitational action containing both the familiar Liouville term and the\nMabuchi functional, which has been shown to be related to the coupling of\nnon-conformal matter to gravity. We compute the one-loop string susceptibility\nfrom a first-principle, path integral approach in the Kahler parameterization\nof the metrics and discuss the particularities that arise in the case of the\npure Mabuchi theory. While we mainly use the most convenient spectral cutoff\nregularization to perform our calculations, we also discuss the interesting\nsubtleties associated with the multiplicative anomaly in the familiar\nzeta-function scheme, which turns out to have a genuine physical effect for our\ncalculations. In particular, we derive and use a general multiplicative anomaly\nformula for Laplace-type operators on arbitrary compact Riemann surfaces.",
        "positive": "Aspects of dynamical dimensional reduction in multigraph ensembles of\n  CDT: We study the continuum limit of a \"radially reduced\" approximation of Causal\nDynamical Triangulations (CDT), so-called multigraph ensembles, and explain why\nthey serve as realistic toy models to study the dimensional reduction observed\nin numerical simulations of four-dimensional CDT. We present properties of this\napproximation in two, three and four dimensions comparing them with the\nnumerical simulations and pointing out some common features with 2+1\ndimensional Horava-Lifshitz gravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Large N vector quantum mechanics and bubbling supertube solutions: We propose a large N vector quantum mechanics as the theory describing a\nD-particle probe in bubbling supertube solutions. We compute the effective\naction of this quantum mechanics and show that it coincides with the D-particle\naction in a certain decoupling limit, up to quadratic order in the velocity.\nThe angular momentum of the D-particle, including the contribution of the\nPoynting vector, is reproduced as the vacuum expectation value of the SU(2)_R\ncurrent.",
        "positive": "Gauge invariance and the Englert-Brout-Higgs mechanism in non-Hermitian\n  field theories: We discuss $\\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric Abelian gauge field theories, as well as\ntheir extension to the Englert-Brout-Higgs mechanism for generating a mass for\na vector boson. Gauge invariance is not straightforward, and we discuss the\ndifferent related problems, as well as a solution which consists in coupling\nthe gauge field to a current that is not conserved. Non-Hermiticity then\nnecessarily precludes the Lorenz gauge condition but nevertheless allows for a\nconsistent formulation of the theory. We therefore generalise the\nEnglert-Brout-Higgs mechanism to $\\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric field theories,\nopening the way to constructing non-Hermitian extensions of the Standard Model\nand new scenarios for particle model-building."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Effect of the Generalized Uncertainty Principle on Post-Inflation\n  Preheating: We examine effects of the Generalized Uncertainty Principle, predicted by\nvarious theories of quantum gravity to replace the Heisenberg's uncertainty\nprinciple near the Planck scale, on post inflation preheating in cosmology, and\nshow that it can predict either an increase or a decrease in parametric\nresonance and a corresponding change in particle production. Possible\nimplications are considered.",
        "positive": "IR Dualities in General 3d Supersymmetric SU(N) QCD Theories: In the last twenty years, low-energy (IR) dualities have been found for many\npairs of supersymmetric gauge theories with four supercharges, both in four\nspace-time dimensions and in three space-time dimensions. In particular, duals\nhave been found for 3d N=2 supersymmetric QCD theories with gauge group U(N),\nwith F chiral multiplets in the fundamental representation, with F' chiral\nmultiplets in the anti-fundamental representation, and with Chern-Simons level\nk, for all values of N, F, F' and k for which the theory preserves\nsupersymmetry. For SU(N) theories the duals have been found in some cases, such\nas F=F' and F'=0, but not in the general case. In this note we find the IR dual\nfor SU(N) SQCD theories with general values of N, F, F' and a non-zero k, which\npreserve supersymmetry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Nonlinear $\u03c3$-model, form factors and universality: We report the results of a very high statistics Monte Carlo study of the\ncontinuum limit of the two dimensional O(3) non-linear $\\sigma$ model. We find\na significant discrepancy between the continuum extrapolation of our data and\nthe form factor prediction of Balog and Niedermaier, inspired by the\nZamolodchikovs' S-matrix ansatz. On the other hand our results for the O(3) and\nthe dodecahedron model are consistent with our earlier finding that the two\nmodels possess the same continuum limit.",
        "positive": "New hairy black hole solutions with a dilaton potential: We consider black hole solutions with a dilaton field possessing a nontrivial\npotential approaching a constant negative value at infinity. The asymptotic\nbehaviour of the dilaton field is assumed to be slower than that of a localized\ndistribution of matter. A nonabelian SU(2) gauge field is also included in the\ntotal action. The mass of the solutions admitting a power series expansion in\n$1/r$ at infinity and preserving the asymptotic anti-de Sitter geometry is\ncomputed by using a counterterm subtraction method. Numerical arguments are\npresented for the existence of hairy black hole solutions for a dilaton\npotential of the form $V(\\phi)=C_1 \\exp(2\\alpha_1 \\phi)+C_2 \\exp(2\\alpha_2\n\\phi)+C_3$, special attention being paid to the case of ${\\cal N}=4, D=4$\ngauged supergravity model of Gates and Zwiebach."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Kinematic Lie Algebras From Twistor Spaces: We analyze theories with color-kinematics duality from an algebraic\nperspective and find that any such theory has an underlying BV${}^{\\color{gray}\n\\blacksquare}$-algebra structure, extending the ideas of arXiv:1912.03110.\nConversely, we show that any theory with a BV${}^{\\color{gray}\n\\blacksquare}$-algebra features a kinematic Lie algebra that controls\ninteraction vertices, both on- and off-shell. We explain that the archetypal\nexample of a theory with BV${}^{\\color{gray} \\blacksquare}$-algebra is\nChern-Simons theory, for which the resulting kinematic Lie algebra is\nisomorphic to the Schouten-Nijenhuis algebra on multivector fields. The\nBV${}^{\\color{gray} \\blacksquare}$-algebra implies the known color-kinematics\nduality of Chern-Simons theory. Similarly, we show that holomorphic and\nCauchy-Riemann (CR) Chern-Simons theories come with BV${}^{\\color{gray}\n\\blacksquare}$-algebras and that, on the appropriate twistor spaces, these\ntheories organize and identify kinematic Lie algebras for self-dual and full\nYang-Mills theories, as well as the currents of any field theory with a\ntwistorial description. We show that this result extends to the loop level\nunder certain assumptions.",
        "positive": "Spectral Methods for Coupled Channels with a Mass Gap: We develop a method to compute the vacuum polarization energy for coupled\nscalar fields with different masses scattering off a background potential in\none space dimension. As an example we consider the vacuum polarization energy\nof a kink-like soliton built from two real scalar fields with different mass\nparameters."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Effective field theories on solitons of generic shapes: A class of effective field theories for moduli or collective coordinates on\nsolitons of generic shapes is constructed. As an illustration, we consider\neffective field theories living on solitons in the O(4) non-linear sigma model\nwith higher-derivative terms.",
        "positive": "On the Quantum Bousso Bound in de Sitter JT gravity: We prove the validity of the Strominger-Thompson quantum Bousso bound in the\ninfinite class of conformal vacua of de Sitter space in semiclassical JT\ngravity. The Bousso-Fisher-Leichenauer-Wall quantum Bousso bound follows from\nan analogous derivation, requiring only initial quantum non-expansion. In this\nprocess, we show that the quantity ${2\\pi\nk^{\\mu}k^{\\nu}<:T_{\\mu\\nu}:>-S\"-\\frac{6}{c}(S')^2}$ vanishes in any vacuum\nstate, entailing a stronger version of Wall's quantum null energy condition. We\nderive an entropy formula in the presence of a generic class of two reflecting\nboundaries, in order to apply our argument to the half reduction model of de\nSitter JT gravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Nonperturbative renormalization group in a light-front three-dimensional\n  real scalar model: The three-dimensional real scalar model, in which the $Z_2$ symmetry\nspontaneously breaks, is renormalized in a nonperturbative manner based on the\nTamm-Dancoff truncation of the Fock space. A critical line is calculated by\ndiagonalizing the Hamiltonian regularized with basis functions. The marginal\n($\\phi^6$) coupling dependence of the critical line is weak. In the broken\nphase the canonical Hamiltonian is tachyonic, so the field is shifted as\n$\\phi(x)\\to\\varphi(x)+v$. The shifted value $v$ is determined as a function of\nrunning mass and coupling so that the mass of the ground state vanishes.",
        "positive": "Gravitational Perturbations of a Six Dimensional Self-Tuning Model: We investigate gravitational perturbations in a compact six-dimensional\nself-tuning brane model. We specifically look for analytic solutions to the\nperturbed Einstein equations that correspond in four-dimensions to massless or\napproximately massless scalars coupled to matter on the brane. The presence of\nsuch modes with gravitational couplings would be phenomenologically\nunacceptable. The most general solution for all such modes is obtained, but it\nis found that they are all eliminated by the boundary conditions. Our main\nresult is that to linear order in perturbation theory this model does not\ncontain any light scalars. We speculate that this model does not self-tune."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Notes on Entropy Force in General Spherically Symmetric Spacetimes: In a recent paper [arXiv:1001.0785], Verlinde has shown that the Newton\ngravity appears as an entropy force. In this paper we show how gravity appears\nas entropy force in Einstein's equation of gravitational field in a general\nspherically symmetric spacetime. We mainly focus on the trapping horizon of the\nspacetime. We find that when matter fields are absent, the change of entropy\nassociated with the trapping horizon indeed can be identified with an entropy\nforce. When matter fields are present, we see that heat flux of matter fields\nalso leads to the change of entropy. Applying arguments made by Verlinde and\nSmolin, respectively, to the trapping horizon, we find that the entropy force\nis given by the surface gravity of the horizon. The cases in the untrapped\nregion of the spacetime are also discussed.",
        "positive": "One-particle reducible contribution to the one-loop scalar propagator in\n  a constant field: Recently, Gies and Karbstein showed that the two-loop Euler-Heisenberg\nLagrangian receives a finite one-particle reducible contribution in addition to\nthe well-known one-particle irreducible one. Here, we demonstrate that a\nsimilar contribution exists for the propagator in a constant field already at\nthe one-loop level, and we calculate this contribution for the scalar QED case.\nWe also present an independent derivation of the Gies-Karbstein result using\nthe worldline formalism, treating the scalar and spinor QED cases in a unified\nmanner."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetric black rings and three-charge supertubes: We present supergravity solutions for 1/8-supersymmetric black supertubes\nwith three charges and three dipoles. Their reduction to five dimensions yields\nsupersymmetric black rings with regular horizons and two independent angular\nmomenta. The general solution contains seven independent parameters and\nprovides the first example of non-uniqueness of supersymmetric black holes. In\nten dimensions, the solutions can be realized as D1-D5-P black supertubes. We\nalso present a worldvolume construction of a supertube that exhibits three\ndipoles explicitly. This description allows an arbitrary cross-section but\ncaptures only one of the angular momenta.",
        "positive": "On the Transfer of Metric Fluctuations when Extra Dimensions Bounce or\n  Stabilize: In this report, we study within the context of general relativity with one\nextra dimension compactified either on a circle or an orbifold, how radion\nfluctuations interact with metric fluctuations in the three non-compact\ndirections. The background is non-singular and can either describe an extra\ndimension on its way to stabilization, or immediately before and after a series\nof non-singular bounces. We find that the metric fluctuations transfer\nundisturbed through the bounces or through the transients of the\npre-stabilization epoch. Our background is obtained by considering the effects\nof a gas of massless string modes in the context of a consistent 'massless\nbackground' (or low energy effective theory) limit of string theory. We discuss\napplications to various approaches to early universe cosmology, including the\nekpyrotic/cyclic universe scenario and string gas cosmology."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Entropy of Localized States and Black Hole Evaporation: We call a state \"vacuum-bounded\" if every measurement performed outside a\nspecified interior region gives the same result as in the vacuum. We compute\nthe maximum entropy of a vacuum-bounded state with a given energy for a\none-dimensional model, with the aid of numerical calculations on a lattice. The\nmaximum entropy is larger than it would be for rigid wall boundary conditions\nby an amount $\\delta S$ which for large energies is less than or approximately\n$(1/6) ln (L_in T)$, where L_in is the length of the interior region. Assuming\nthat the state resulting from the evaporation of a black hole is similar to a\nvacuum-bounded state, and that the similarity between vacuum-bounded and\nrigid-wall-bounded problems extends from 1 to 3 dimensions, we apply these\nresults to the black hole information paradox. We conclude that large amounts\nof information cannot be emitted in the final explosion of a black hole.",
        "positive": "Spin-$(s,j)$ projectors and gauge-invariant spin-$s$ actions in\n  maximally symmetric backgrounds: Given a maximally symmetric $d$-dimensional background with isometry algebra\n$\\mathfrak{g}$, a symmetric and traceless rank-$s$ field $\\phi_{a(s)}$\nsatisfying the massive Klein-Gordon equation furnishes a collection of massive\n$\\mathfrak{g}$-representations with spins $j\\in \\{0,1,\\cdots,s\\}$. In this\npaper we construct the spin-$(s,j)$ projectors, which are operators that\nisolate the part of $\\phi_{a(s)}$ that furnishes the representation from this\ncollection carrying spin $j$. In the case of an (anti-)de Sitter ((A)dS$_d$)\nbackground, we find that the poles of the projectors encode information about\n(partially-)massless representations, in agreement with observations made\nearlier in $d=3,4$. We then use these projectors to facilitate a systematic\nderivation of two-derivative actions with a propagating massless spin-$s$ mode.\nIn addition to reproducing the massless spin-$s$ Fronsdal action, this analysis\ngenerates new actions possessing higher-depth gauge symmetry. In (A)dS$_d$ we\nalso derive the action for a partially-massless spin-$s$ depth-$t$ field with\n$1\\leq t \\leq s$. The latter utilises the minimum number of auxiliary fields,\nand corresponds to the action originally proposed by Zinoviev after gauging\naway all St\\\"{u}ckelberg fields. Some higher-derivative actions are also\npresented, and in $d=3$ are used to construct (i) generalised higher-spin\nCotton tensors in (A)dS$_3$; and (ii) topologically-massive actions with\nhigher-depth gauge symmetry. Finally, in four-dimensional $\\mathcal{N}=1$\nMinkowski superspace, we provide closed-form expressions for the analogous\nsuperprojectors."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Open Spin Chain and Open Spinning String: In this letter, we study the open spinning strings and their SYM duals. A new\nclass of folded open spinning strings is found. At planar one-loop level in\nSYM, by solving the thermodynamic limit of the Bethe ansatz equations for an\nintegrable open spin chain, we find good agreement with string theory\npredictions for energies of both circular and folded two-spin solutions. A\nuniversal relation between the open and closed spinning strings is verified in\nthe spin chain approach.",
        "positive": "Heavy hadron spectra from spin chains and strings: We study the spectrum of hadronic states made up of very massive complex\nscalar fields in a confining gauge theory admitting a supergravity dual\nbackground. We show that for a sub-sector of operators dual to certain spinning\nstrings, the mass spectrum exhibits an integrable structure equal to the\nHeisenberg spin chain, up to an overall factor. This result is compared with\nthe corresponding string prediction."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Quantum Origin of Quasi de Sitter: a Model Independent Quantum\n  Cosmological Tilt: The most robust prediction of inflationary cosmology is the existence of a\nred tilt for the spectrum of curvature fluctuations that is experimentally of\norder $0.04$. The tilt is derived solving the exact equation for quantum\nfluctuations in a quasi de Sitter background defined by a equation of state\n$\\epsilon \\equiv \\frac{(p+\\rho)}{\\rho}$ with $\\epsilon$ small but non\nvanishing. The experimental data selects among the different quasi de Sitter\ninflaton potentials. The origin of the lack of scale invariance associated with\nthe tilt is however classical in essence and parametrized by the slow roll of\nthe inflaton potential. Here we present a purely quantum mechanical and model\nindependent derivation of the tilt. This derivation is based on two basic\nobservations: first, the correlator for gauge invariant variables is related to\nthe {\\it quantum Fisher function} measuring the quantum dependence of the\nfamily of pure de Sitter vacua on the energy scale parameter; second, this\nquantum Fisher function has a non vanishing scale dependent red tilt that, at\nthe energy scales of physical interest, fits the effective quasi de Sitter\nprediction as well as the experimental value. This is a result that is model\nindependent and only based on the quantum features of the family of de Sitter\nvacua.",
        "positive": "Remarks on Fermions in a Dipole Magnetic Field: This work is a continuation of our recent study of non-relativistic charged\nparticles, confined to a sphere enclosing a magnetic dipole at its center. In\nthis sequel, we extend our computations in two significant ways. The first is\nto a relativistic spin-$\\frac{1}{2}$ fermion and the second concerns the\ninterpretation of the physics. Whereas in a previous paper, we speculated on\nthe possibility of observing such condensed matter systems in the astrophysics\nof extreme magnetic sources such as neutron stars, the physical systems in this\nstudy are more down-to-earth objects such as a $\\mathsf{C}_{60}$ fullerine\nenclosing a current loop. We unpack some of the details of our previous\nanalysis for the spinless fermion on the dipole sphere and adapt it to solve\nthe eigenvalue problem for the single-particle Dirac Hamiltonian. In the\nstrong-field/small-radius limit, the spectrum of the spin-$\\tfrac{1}{2}$\nHamiltonian, like the spinless case, exhibits a Landau level structure in the\n$|m|\\ll Q$ regime. It features a new, additional (approximately) zero-energy\nlowest Landau level which persists into the $|m|<Q$ regime. As in the spinless\nsystem, the spectrum exhibits level-crossing as the strength of the magnetic\nfield increases, with the wavefunctions localising at the poles in the\nstrong-field/small-radius limit."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Invariant Bundles on $B$-fibered Calabi-Yau Spaces and the Standard\n  Model: We derive the Standard model gauge group together with chiral fermion\ngenerations from the heterotic string by turning on a Wilson line on a\nnon-simply connected Calabi-Yau threefold with an SU(5) gauge group. For this\nwe construct stable ${\\bf Z_2}$-invariant $SU(4)\\times U(1)$ bundles on an\nelliptically fibered cover Calabi-Yau threefold of special fibration type (the\n$B$-fibration). The construction makes use of a modified spectral cover\napproach giving just invariant bundles.",
        "positive": "Massive Spin-2 fields of Geometric Origin in Curved Spacetimes: We study the consistency of a model which includes torsion as well as the\nmetric as dynamical fields and has massive spin-2 particle in its spectrum. The\nmassive spin-2 mode resides in the torsion, rather than in the metric. It is\nknown that this model is tachyon- and ghost-free in Minkowski background. We\nshow that this property remains valid and no other pathologies emerge in de\nSitter and anti-de Sitter backgrounds, with some of our results extending to\narbirary Einstein space backgrounds. This suggests that the model is\nconsistent, at least at the classical level, unlike, e.g., the Fierz--Pauli\ntheory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Stationary solutions for the parity-even sector of the CPT-even and\n  Lorentz-covariance-violating term of the standard model extension: In this work, we focus on some properties of the parity-even sector of the\nCPT-even electrodynamics of the standard model extension. We analyze how the\nsix non-birefringent terms belonging to this sector modify the static and\nstationary classical solutions of the usual Maxwell theory. We observe that the\nparity-even terms do not couple the electric and magnetic sectors (at least in\nthe stationary regime). The Green's method is used to obtain solutions for the\nfield strengths E and B at first order in the Lorentz- covariance-violating\nparameters. Explicit solutions are attained for point-like and spatially\nextended sources, for which a dipolar expansion is achieved. Finally, it is\npresented an Earth-based experiment that can lead (in principle) to an upper\nbound on the anisotropic coefficients as stringent as\n$(\\widetilde{\\kappa}_{e-}) ^{ij}<2.9\\times10^{-20}.$",
        "positive": "Physics, Combinatorics and Hopf Algebras: A number of problems in theoretical physics share a common nucleus of\ncombinatoric nature. It is argued here that Hopf algebraic concepts and\ntechiques can be particularly efficient in dealing with such problems. As a\nfirst example, a brief review is given of the recent work of Connes, Kreimer\nand collaborators on the algebraic structure of the process of renormalization\nin quantum field theory. Then the concept of $k$-primitive elements is\nintroduced -- these are particular linear combinations of products of Feynman\ndiagrams -- and it is shown, in the context of a toy-model, that they\nsignificantly reduce the computational cost of renormalization.\n  As a second example, Sorkin's proposal for a family of generalizations of\nquantum mechanics, indexed by an integer $k>2$, is reviewed (classical\nmechanics corresponds to $k=1$, while quantum mechanics to $k=2$). It is then\nshown that the quantum measures of order $k$ proposed by Sorkin can also be\ndescribed as $k$-primitive elements of the Hopf algebra of functions on an\nappropriate infinite dimensional abelian group."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Remarks on remnants by fermions' tunnelling from black strings: Hawking's calculation is unable to predict the final stage of the black hole\nevaporation. When effects of quantum gravity are taken into account, there is a\nminimal observable length. In this paper, we investigate fermions' tunnelling\nfrom the charged and rotating black strings. With the influence of the\ngeneralized uncertainty principle, the Hawking temperatures are not only\ndetermined by the rings, but also affected by the quantum numbers of the\nemitted fermions. Quantum gravity corrections slow down the increases of the\ntemperatures, which naturally leads to remnants left in the evaporation.",
        "positive": "Superintegrability as the hidden origin of Nekrasov calculus: Once famous and a little mysterious, AGT relations between Nekrasov functions\nand conformal blocks are now understood as the Hubbard-Stratanovich duality in\nthe Dijkgraaf-Vafa (DV) phase of a peculiar Dotsenko-Fateev multi-logarithmic\nmatrix model. However, it largely remains a collection of somewhat technical\ntricks, lacking a clear and generalizable conceptual interpretation. Our new\nclaim is that the Nekrasov functions emerge in matrix models as a\nstraightforward implication of superintegrability, factorization of peculiar\nmatrix model averages. Recently, we demonstrated that, in the Gaussian\nHermitian model, the factorization property can be extended from averages of\nsingle characters to their bilinear combinations. In this paper, we claim that\nthis is true also for multi-logarithmic matrix models, where factorized are\njust the point-split products of two characters. It is this enhanced\nsuperintegrability that is responsible for existence of the Nekrasov functions\nand the AGT relations. This property can be generalized both to multi-matrix\nmodels, thus leading to AGT relations for multi-point conformal blocks, and to\nDV phases of other non-Gaussian models."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Shock wave collisions in AdS5: approximate numerical solutions: We numerically study the evolution of a boost-invariant N=4 SYM medium using\nAdS/CFT. We consider a toy model for the collision of gravitational shock\nwaves, finding that the energy density first increases, reaches a maximum and\nthen starts to decrease, matching hydrodynamics for late times. For the initial\nconditions we consider, the hydrodynamic scale governing the late time\nbehaviour is to very good approximation determined by the area of the black\nhole horizon at initial times. Our results provide a toy model for the early\ntime evolution of the bulk system in heavy-ion collisions at RHIC and the LHC.",
        "positive": "Open BPS Wall Crossing and M-theory: Consider the degeneracies of BPS bound states of one D6 brane wrapping\nCalabi-Yau X with D0 branes and D2 branes. When we include D4-branes wrapping\nLagrangian cycle L in addition, D2-branes can end on them. These give rise to\nnew bound states in the d=2, N=(2,2) theory of the D4 branes. We call these\n\"open\" BPS states, in contrast to closed BPS states that arise from D-branes\nwithout boundaries. Lifting this to M-theory, we show that the generating\nfunction is captured by free Fock space spanned by M2-brane particles ending on\nM5 branes wrapping L. This implies that the open BPS bound states are counted\nby the square of the open topological string partition function on X, reduced\nto the corresponding chamber. Our results give new predictions for open BPS\ninvariants and their wall crossing phenomena when we change the open and closed\nstring moduli. We relate our results to the work of Cecotti and Vafa on wall\ncrossing in the two dimensional N=(2,2) theories. The findings from the crystal\nmelting model for the open BPS invariants proposed recently fit well with the\nM-theory predictions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Finite Chern-Simons matrix model - algebraic approach: We analyze the algebra of observables and the physical Fock space of the\nfinite Chern-Simons matrix model. We observe that the minimal algebra of\nobservables acting on that Fock space is identical to that of the Calogero\nmodel. Our main result is the identification of the states in the l-th tower of\nthe Chern-Simons matrix model Fock space and the states of the Calogero model\nwith the interaction parameter nu=l+1. We describe quasiparticle and quasihole\nstates in the both models in terms of Schur functions, and discuss some\nnontrivial consequences of our algebraic approach.",
        "positive": "Holographic RG flow triggered by a classically marginal operator: We study the holographic renormalization group (RG) flow triggered by a\nclassically marginal operator. When a marginal operator deforms a conformal\nfield theory, it does not yield a nontrivial renormalization group flow at the\nclassical level. At the quantum level, however, quantum corrections modify a\nmarginal operator into one of the truly marginal, marginally relevant, and\nmarginally irrelevant operators and can generate a nontrivial RG flow. We\ninvestigate the holographic description of a RG flow triggered by a marginal\noperator with quantum corrections. We look into how the physical quantities of\na deformed theory, a coupling constant and the vacuum expectation value, rely\non the RG scale. We further discuss the holographic description of the trace\nanomaly caused by the gluon condensation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chiral Rings, Futaki Invariants, Plethystics, and Groebner Bases: We study chiral rings of 4d $\\mathcal{N}=1$ supersymmetric gauge theories via\nthe notion of K-stability. We show that when using Hilbert series to perform\nthe computations of Futaki invariants, it is not enough to only include the\ntest symmetry information in the former's denominator. We discuss a way to\nmodify the numerator so that K-stability can be correctly determined, and a\nrescaling method is also applied to simplify the calculations involving test\nconfigurations. All of these are illustrated with a host of examples, by\nconsidering vacuum moduli spaces of various theories. Using Gr\\\"obner basis and\nplethystic techniques, many non-complete intersections can also be addressed,\nthus expanding the list of known theories in the literature.",
        "positive": "Entanglement Wedge Minimum Cross-Section for Holographic Aether Gravity: We study the entanglement wedge cross-section (EWCS) in holographic Aether\ngravity theory, a gravity theory with Lorentz symmetry violation while keeping\nthe general covariance intact. We find that only a limited parameter space is\nallowed to obtain a black brane with positive Hawking temperature. Subject to\nthese allowed parameter regions, we find that the EWCS could exhibit\nnon-monotonic behaviors with system parameters. Meanwhile, the holographic\nentanglement entropy (HEE), and the corresponding mutual information (MI), can\nonly exhibit monotonic behaviors. These phenomena suggest that the EWCS could\ncapture much more rich content of the entanglement than that of the HEE and the\nMI. The role of the Lorentz violation in determining the behaviors of quantum\ninformation-related quantities is also analyzed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Black Hole Information vs. Locality: We discuss the limitations on space time measurement in the Schwarzchild\nmetric. We find that near the horizon the limitations on space time measurement\nare of the order of the black hole radius. We suggest that it indicates that a\nlarge mass black hole cannot be described by means of local field theory even\nat macroscopic distances and that any attempt to describe black hole formation\nand evaporation by means of an effective local field theory will necessarily\nlead to information loss. We also present a new interpretation of the black\nhole entropy which leads to $S=cA$ , where $c$ is a constant of order $1$ which\ndoes not depend on the number of fields.",
        "positive": "A General Solution of the BV-Master Equation and BRST Field Theories: For a class of first order gauge theories it was shown that the proper\nsolution of the BV-master equation can be obtained straightforwardly. Here we\npresent the general condition which the gauge generators should satisfy to\nconclude that this construction is relevant. The general procedure is\nillustrated by its application to the Chern-Simons theory in any odd-dimension.\nMoreover, it is shown that this formalism is also applicable to BRST field\ntheories, when one replaces the role of the exterior derivative with the BRST\ncharge of first quantization."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Generalized multicritical one-matrix models: We show that there exists a simple generalization of Kazakov's multicritical\none-matrix model, which interpolates between the various multicritical points\nof the model. The associated multicritical potential takes the form of a power\nseries with a heavy tail, leading to a cut of the potential and its derivative\nat the real axis, and reduces to a polynomial at Kazakov's multicritical\npoints. From the combinatorial point of view the generalized model allows\npolygons of arbitrary large degrees (or vertices of arbitrary large degree,\nwhen considering the dual graphs), and it is the weight assigned to these large\norder polygons which brings about the interpolation between the multicritical\npoints in the one-matrix model.",
        "positive": "Algebra for Fractional Statistics -- interpolating from fermions to\n  bosons: This article constructs the Hilbert space for the algebra $\\alpha \\beta -\ne^{i \\theta} \\beta \\alpha = 1 $ that provides a continuous interpolation\nbetween the Clifford and Heisenberg algebras. This particular form is inspired\nby the properties of anyons. We study the eigenvalues of a generalized number\noperator (${\\cal N} = \\beta \\alpha$) and construct the Hilbert space,\nclassified by values of a complex coordinate ($\\lambda_0$): the eigenvalues lie\non a circle. For $\\theta$ being an irrational multiple of $2 \\pi$, we get an\ninfinite-dimensional representation, however for a rational multiple\n($\\frac{M}{N}$) of $2 \\pi$, it is finite-dimensional, parametrized by the\ncomplex coordinate $\\lambda_0$. The case for $N=2 \\: ; \\: \\theta=\\pi$ is the\nusual Clifford algebra for fermions, while the case for $N=\\infty \\: ; \\:\n\\theta=0$ is the Heisenberg algebra of bosons, albeit with two copies for\npositive and negative eigenvalues. We find a smooth transition from the fermion\nto the boson situation as $N \\rightarrow \\infty$ from $N=2$. After constructing\nthe Hilbert space from the algebra, the cases for $N=2,3$ can be mapped to\n$SU(2)$. Then, we motivate the study of coherent states, rather generally. The\ncoherent states are eigenstates of $\\alpha$, the annihilation operator and are\nlabeled by complex numbers for non-zero $\\lambda_0$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum entanglement of dark matter: We suggest that the dark matter in the universe has quantum entanglement if\nthe dark matter is a Bose-Einstein condensation of ultra-light scalar\nparticles. In this theory, any two regions of a galaxy are quantum entangled\ndue to the quantum nature of the condensate. We calculate the entanglement\nentropy of a typical galactic halo, which turns out to be at least\n$O(ln(M/m))$, where $M$ is the mass of the halo and $m$ is the mass of a dark\nmatter particle. The entanglement can be inferred from the rotation curves of\nthe galaxy or the interference patterns of the dark matter density.",
        "positive": "Full linear perturbations and localization of gravity on $f(R,T)$ brane: We study the thick brane world system constructed in the recently proposed\n$f(R,T)$ theories of gravity, with $R$ the Ricci scalar and $T$ the trace of\nthe energy-momentum tensor. We try to get the analytic background solutions and\ndiscuss the full linear perturbations, especially the scalar perturbations. We\ncompare how the brane world model is modified with that of general relativity\ncoupled to a canonical scalar field. It is found that some more interesting\nbackground solutions are allowed, and only the scalar perturbation mode is\nmodified. There is no tachyon state exists in this model and only the massless\ntensor mode can be localized on the brane, which recovers the effective\nfour-dimensional gravity. These conclusions hold provided that two constraints\non the original formalism of the action are satisfied."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the equivalence of the SO(2,1) gauged WZW form and Liouville theory: It is proved that Liouville theory and the two dimensional SO(2,1) gauged\nWess-Zumino-Witten term are on-shell equivalent. This shed light on a possible\nhigher dimensional generalization of the former theory.",
        "positive": "New Recursion Relations and a Flat Space Limit for AdS/CFT Correlators: We consider correlation functions of the stress-tensor or a conserved current\nin AdS_{d+1}/CFT_d computed using the Hilbert or the Yang-Mills action in the\nbulk. We introduce new recursion relations to compute these correlators at tree\nlevel. These relations have an advantage over the BCFW-like relations described\nin arXiv:1102.4724 and arXiv:1011.0780 because they can be used in all\ndimensions including d=3. We also introduce a new method of extracting\nflat-space S-matrix elements from AdS/CFT correlators in momentum space. We\nshow that the (d+1)-dimensional flat-space amplitude of gravitons or gluons can\nbe obtained as the coefficient of a particular singularity of the d-dimensional\ncorrelator of the stress-tensor or a conserved current; this technique is valid\neven at loop-level in the bulk. Finally, we show that our recursion relations\nautomatically generate correlators that are consistent with this observation:\nthey have the expected singularity and the flat-space gluon or graviton\namplitude appears as its coefficient."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On anomalies and noncommutative geometry: I discuss examples where basic structures from Connes' noncommutative\ngeometry naturally arise in quantum field theory. The discussion is based on\nrecent work, partly collaboration with J. Mickelsson.",
        "positive": "On the unitarity of gauged non-compact WZNW strings: In this paper we investigate the unitarity of gauged non-compact WZNW strings\ni.e. string theories formulated as G/H' WZNW models, where G is a non-compact\ngroup. These models represent string theories on non-trivial curved space-times\nwith one time-like component. We will prove that for the class of models\nconnected to Hermitian symmetric spaces, and a natural set of discrete highest\nweight representations, the BRST formulation, in which the gauging is defined\nthrough a BRST condition, yields unitarity. Unitarity requires the level times\nthe Dynkin index to be an integer, as well as integer valued highest weights\nw.r.t. the compact subalgebra. We will also show that the BRST formulation is\nnot equivalent to the conventional GKO coset formulation, defined by imposing a\nhighest weight condition w.r.t. H'. The latter leads to non-unitary physical\nstring states.This is, to our knowledge, the first example of a fundamental\ndifference between the two formulations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Generalized multi-Proca fields: We extend previous results on healthy derivative self-interactions for a\nProca field to the case of a set of massive vector fields. We obtain non-gauge\ninvariant derivative self-interactions for the vector fields that maintain the\nappropriate number of propagating degrees of freedom. In view of the potential\ncosmological applications, we restrict to interactions with an internal\nrotational symmetry. We provide a systematical construction order by order in\nderivatives of the fields and making use of the antisymmetric Levi-Civita\ntensor. We then compare with the one single vector field case and show that the\ninteractions can be broadly divided into two groups, namely the ones obtained\nfrom a direct extension of the generalized Proca terms and genuine multi-Proca\ninteractions with no correspondence in the single Proca case. We also discuss\nthe curved spacetime version of the interactions to include the necessary\nnon-minimal couplings to gravity. Finally, we explore the cosmological\napplications and show that there are three different vector fields\nconfigurations giving rise to isotropic solutions. Two of them have already\nbeen considered in the literature and the third one, representing a combination\nof the first two, is new and offers unexplored cosmological scenarios.",
        "positive": "Casimir energy for a spherical boundary within the surface impedance\n  approach: Obtaining negative values: We compute the Casimir Energy of a spherical region using a Surface Impedance\napproach. We characterize the Surface Impedance of the boundary using plasma\nmodel. Exact analytical formulae are obtained by means of the zeta function\nregularization method and all the divergencies are explicitly computed. We find\nthat it is possible to have negative Casimir energy for some range of values of\nthe relevant parameter. Limits of applicability of the model are discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Scattering amplitudes at strong coupling for 4K gluons: In this paper we study the scattering amplitudes at strong coupling for the\ncase where the number of gluons is a multiple of four. This is an important\nmissing piece in arXiv:1002.2459. The tricky point for n=4K is that there is\nsome accidental degeneracy in such case. We explain this point in detail and\nshow that a non-trivial monodromy around infinity was developed by the\nworld-sheet coordinate transformation appearing in the computation. It turns\nout that besides solving the Y system, we also need to calculate T functions to\ncompute the full amplitudes. We show that the T functions can be derived by\ntaking a limit of Y functions of a higher-point case. As a check, we obtain the\nknown result of eight-point in AdS_3 case.",
        "positive": "Galilean quantum gravity with cosmological constant and the extended\n  q-Heisenberg algebra: We define a theory of Galilean gravity in 2+1 dimensions with cosmological\nconstant as a Chern-Simons gauge theory of the doubly-extended Newton-Hooke\ngroup, extending our previous study of classical and quantum gravity in 2+1\ndimensions in the Galilean limit. We exhibit an r-matrix which is compatible\nwith our Chern-Simons action (in a sense to be defined) and show that the\nassociated bi-algebra structure of the Newton-Hooke Lie algebra is that of the\nclassical double of the extended Heisenberg algebra. We deduce that, in the\nquantisation of the theory according to the combinatorial quantisation\nprogramme, much of the quantum theory is determined by the quantum double of\nthe extended q-deformed Heisenberg algebra."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Potts-q random matrix model : loop equations, critical exponents,\n  and rational case: In this article, we study the q-state Potts random matrix models extended to\nbranched polymers, by the equations of motion method. We obtain a set of loop\nequations valid for any arbitrary value of q. We show that, for q=2-2 \\cos {l\n\\over r} \\pi (l, r mutually prime integers with l < r), the resolvent satisfies\nan algebraic equation of degree 2 r -1 if l+r is odd and r-1 if l+r is even.\nThis generalizes the presently-known cases of q=1, 2, 3. We then derive for any\n0 \\leq q \\leq 4 the Potts-q critical exponents and string susceptibility.",
        "positive": "A point particle model of lightly bound skyrmions: A simple model of the dynamics of lightly bound skyrmions is developed in\nwhich skyrmions are replaced by point particles, each carrying an internal\norientation. The model accounts well for the static energy minimizers of baryon\nnumber $1\\leq B\\leq 8$ obtained by numerical simulation of the full field\ntheory. For $9\\leq B\\leq 23$, a large number of static solutions of the point\nparticle model are found, all closely resembling size $B$ subsets of a face\ncentred cubic lattice, with the particle orientations dictated by a simple\ncolouring rule. Rigid body quantization of these solutions is performed, and\nthe spin and isospin of the corresponding ground states extracted. As part of\nthe quantization scheme, an algorithm to compute the symmetry group of an\noriented point cloud, and to determine its corresponding Finkelstein-Rubinstein\nconstraints, is devised."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Light cone OPE in a CFT with lowest twist scalar primary: We study the operator product expansion (OPE) of two identical scalar primary\noperators in the lightcone limit in a conformal field theory where a scalar is\nthe operator with lowest twist. We see that in CFTs where both the stress\ntensor and a scalar are the lowest twist operators, the stress tensor\ncontributes at the leading order in the lightcone OPE and the scalar\ncontributes at the subleading order. We also see that there does not exist a\nscalar analogue of the average null energy condition (ANEC) for a CFT where a\nscalar is the lowest twist operator.",
        "positive": "Entanglement and Thermal Entropy of Gauge Fields: We consider the universal logarithmic divergent term in the entanglement\nentropy of gauge fields in the Minkowski vacuum with an entangling sphere.\nEmploying the mapping in arXiv:1102.0440, we analyze the corresponding thermal\nentropy on open Einstein universe and on the static patch of de Sitter. Using\nthe heat kernel of the vector Laplacian we resolve a discrepancy between the\nfree field calculation and the expected Euler conformal anomaly. The resolution\nsuggests a modification of the well known formulas for the vacuum expectation\nvalue of the spin-1 energy-momentum tensor on conformally flat space-times."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Index Theorems on Torsional Geometries: We study various topological invariants on a torsional geometry in the\npresence of a totally anti-symmetric torsion H under the closed condition dH =\n0, which appears in string theory compactification scenarios. By using the\nidentification between the Clifford algebra on the geometry and the canonical\nquantization condition of fermions in quantum mechanics, we construct N=1\nquantum mechanical sigma model in the Hamiltonian formalism. We extend this\nmodel to N=2 system, equipped with the totally anti-symmetric tensor associated\nwith the torsion on the target space geometry. Next we construct transition\nelements in the Lagrangian path integral formalism and apply them to the\nanalyses of the Witten indices in supersymmetric systems. We explicitly show\nthe formulation of the Dirac index on the torsional manifold which has already\nbeen studied. We also formulate the Euler characteristic and the Hirzebruch\nsignature on the torsional manifold.",
        "positive": "Gluon Condensation at Finite Temperature via AdS/CFT: We consider gluon condensation (GC) at finite temperature using AdS/CFT. We\nfirst show that in the presence of regular horizon, the GC is forbidden in high\ntemperature. Then we consider gravity back-reaction to dilaton coupling and\nshow that the back-reaction develops an singularity, and non-vanishing value of\ngluon condensation is allowed. We also study thermodynamic quantities and the\ntrace anomaly in the presence of the GC. We discuss how to define a temperature\nin the presence of the singularity which forbids Hawking temperature. Finally\nwe describe the thermodynamics of the gluon condensation including the effect\nof the Hawking-Page transition."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Cosmological Attractor Models and Higher Curvature Supergravity: We study cosmological $\\alpha$-attractors in superconformal/supergravity\nmodels, where $\\alpha$ is related to the geometry of the moduli space. For\n$\\alpha=1$ attractors \\cite{Kallosh:2013hoa} we present a generalization of the\npreviously known manifestly superconformal higher curvature supergravity model\n\\cite{Cecotti:1987sa}. The relevant standard 2-derivative supergravity with a\nminimum of two chiral multiplets is shown to be dual to a 4-derivative higher\ncurvature supergravity, where in general one of the chiral superfields is\ntraded for a curvature superfield. There is a degenerate case when both matter\nsuperfields become non-dynamical and there is only a chiral curvature\nsuperfield, pure higher derivative supergravity. Generic $\\alpha$-models\n\\cite{Kallosh:2013yoa} interpolate between the attractor point at $\\alpha=0$\nand generic chaotic inflation models at large $\\alpha$, in the limit when the\ninflaton moduli space becomes flat. They have higher derivative duals with the\nsame number of matter fields as the original theory or less, but at least one\nmatter multiplet remains. In the context of these models, the detection of\nprimordial gravity waves will provide information on the curvature of the\ninflaton submanifold of the Kahler manifold, and we will learn if the inflaton\nis a fundamental matter multiplet, or can be replaced by a higher derivative\ncurvature excitation.",
        "positive": "Spinning correlators in $\\mathcal{N} = 2$ SCFTs: Superspace and AdS\n  amplitudes: We study four-point functions of spinning operators in the flavor current\nmultiplet in four dimensional $\\mathcal{N}=2$ SCFTs, using superspace\ntechniques. In particular we explicitly construct the differential operators\nrelating the different components of the super-correlator. As a byproduct of\nour analysis, we report the computation of the four-point amplitudes of gluons\nin bosonic Yang-Mills theories on $\\mathrm{AdS}_5$ and we give evidence of an\nAdS double copy relation between the gluon amplitude and its gravitational\ncounterpart."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Colored Group Field Theory: Group field theories are higher dimensional generalizations of matrix models.\nTheir Feynman graphs are fat and in addition to vertices, edges and faces, they\nalso contain higher dimensional cells, called bubbles. In this paper, we\npropose a new, fermionic Group Field Theory, posessing a color symmetry, and\ntake the first steps in a systematic study of the topological properties of its\ngraphs. Unlike its bosonic counterpart, the bubbles of the Feynman graphs of\nthis theory are well defined and readily identified. We prove that this graphs\nare combinatorial cellular complexes. We define and study the cellular homology\nof this graphs. Furthermore we define a homotopy transformation appropriate to\nthis graphs. Finally, the amplitude of the Feynman graphs is shown to be\nrelated to the fundamental group of the cellular complex.",
        "positive": "On adiabatic perturbations in the ekpyrotic scenario: In a recent paper arXiv:0910.2230, Khoury and Steinhardt proposed a way to\ngenerate adiabatic cosmological perturbations with a nearly flat spectrum in a\ncontracting Universe. To produce these perturbations they used a regime in\nwhich the equation of state exponentially rapidly changed during a short time\ninterval. Leaving aside the singularity problem and the difficult question\nabout the possibility to transmit these perturbations from a contracting\nUniverse to the expanding phase, we will show that the methods used in\narXiv:0910.2230 are inapplicable for the description of the cosmological\nevolution and of the process of generation of perturbations in this scenario."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Decay Rates of Fixed Planes and Closed-string Tachyons on Unstable\n  Orbifolds: We consider closed-string tachyon condensation in the twisted sectors on the\nC/Z_{2n+1} \\times R^{7,1} orbifold. We calculate the localized energy density\nin the fixed plane on the orbifold at the one-loop level, and we obtain the\ndecay rate per unit volume of the fixed plane to leading order. We show that\nthe decay rate increases monotonically as a function of n.",
        "positive": "A critical look at $\u03b2$-function singularities at large $N$: We propose a self-consistency equation for the $\\beta$-function for theories\nwith a large number of flavours, $N$, that exploits all the available\ninformation in the Wilson-Fisher critical exponent, $\\omega$, truncated at a\nfixed order in $1/N$. We show that singularities appearing in critical\nexponents do not necessarily imply singularities in the $\\beta$-function. We\napply our method to (non-)abelian gauge theory, where $\\omega$ features a\nnegative singularity. The singularities in the $\\beta$-function and in the\nfermion mass anomalous dimension are simultaneously removed providing no hint\nfor a UV fixed point in the large-$N$ limit."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The gap equations of background field invariant Refined Gribov-Zwanziger\n  action proposals and the deconfinement transition: In earlier work, we set up an effective potential approach at zero\ntemperature for the Gribov-Zwanziger model that takes into account not only the\nrestriction to the first Gribov region as a way to deal with the gauge fixing\nambiguity, but also the effect of dynamical dimension-two vacuum condensates.\nHere, we investigate the model at finite temperature in presence of a\nbackground gauge field that allows access to the Polyakov loop expectation\nvalue and the Yang-Mills (de)confinement phase structure. This necessitates\npaying attention to BRST and background gauge invariance of the whole\nconstruct. We employ two such methods as proposed elsewhere in literature: one\nbased on using an appropriate dressed, BRST invariant, gluon field by the\nauthors and one based on a Wilson-loop dressed Gribov-Zwanziger auxiliary field\nsector by Kroff and Reinosa. The latter approach outperforms the former, in\nestimating the critical temperature for N=2, 3 as well as correctly predicting\nthe order of the transition for both cases.",
        "positive": "The Gravitational Two-Loop Counterterm is Asymptotically Safe: Weinberg's asymptotic safety scenario provides an elegant mechanism to\nconstruct a quantum theory of gravity within the framework of quantum field\ntheory based on a non-Gau{\\ss}ian fixed point of the renormalization group\nflow. In this work we report novel evidence for the validity of this scenario,\nusing functional renormalization group techniques to determine the\nrenormalization group flow of the Einstein-Hilbert action supplemented by the\ntwo-loop counterterm found by Goroff and Sagnotti. The resulting system of beta\nfunctions comprises three scale-dependent coupling constants and exhibits a\nnon-Gau{\\ss}ian fixed point which constitutes the natural extension of the one\nfound at the level of the Einstein-Hilbert action. The fixed point exhibits two\nultraviolet attractive and one repulsive direction supporting a low-dimensional\nUV-critical hypersurface. Our result vanquishes the longstanding criticism that\nasymptotic safety will not survive once a \"proper perturbative counterterm\" is\nincluded in the projection space."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Are there p-adic knot invariants?: We suggest to use the Hall-Littlewood version of Rosso-Jones formula to\ndefine the germs of $p$-adic HOMFLY-PT polynomials for torus knots $[m,n]$,\nwhich possess at least the $[m,n] \\longleftrightarrow [n,m]$ topological\ninvariance. This calls for generalizations to other knot families and is a\nchallenge for several branches of modern theory.",
        "positive": "A New Instability of the Topological black hole: We investigate the stability of massless topological black holes in AdS_d\nwhen minimally coupled to a scalar field of negative mass-squared. In many\ncases such black holes are unstable even though the field is above the BF bound\nand the geometry is locally AdS. The instability depends on the choice of\nboundary conditions for the scalars: scalars with non-standard (Neumann)\nboundary conditions tend to be more unstable, though scalars with standard\n(Dirichlet) boundary conditions can be unstable as well. This leads to an\napparent mismatch between boundary and bulk results in the Vasiliev/Vector-like\nmatter duality."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Alternative Solution of the Path Integral for the Radial Coulomb Problem: In this Letter I present an alternative solution of the path integral for the\nradial Coulomb problem which is based on a two-dimensional singular version of\nthe Levi-Civita transformation.",
        "positive": "Gauge Theories for Target Spaces with Degenerate Metrics: Some gauge theories for fiber target spaces with degenerate metrics are\nregarded. The gauge theory with Galilei group G(2) is obtained as a contraction\nof SO(2) gauge theory with Higgs mechanism. The analogue of the standard\nelectroweak theory for contracted SU(2) group is considered. It is shown that\nthe gauge field theory with degenerate metrics in target (matter) field space\ndescribe the same set of fields and particle mass as initial one, if\nLagrangians in the base and in the fiber both are taken into account. Such\ntheory based on non-semisimple contracted group provide more simple field\ninteractions as compared with initial one. The conjecture is advanced that\nHiggs boson being an artefact of the Higgs mechanism is unobservable."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Solution of Contraction Equations for the Pauli Grading of sl(3,C): We consider the Pauli grading of the Lie algebra sl(3,C) and use a concept of\ngraded contractions to construct non-isomorphic Lie algebras of dimension 8,\nwhile preserving the Pauli grading. We show how the symmetry group of a grading\nsimplifies the solution of contraction equations. We present the list of all\n180 non-equivalent solutions of non-linear contraction system.",
        "positive": "Cyclic Inflation: We present an inflationary model that is geodesically complete and does not\nsuffer from the transplanckian problem. In most inflationary models, massless\n(conformal) scalar field fluctuations in a deSitter background gives rise to a\nscale-invariant spectrum. In this work, we realize scale invariant\nperturbations from thermal fluctuations in (conformal) radiation during a\nradiation dominated contraction era prior to inflation. As the modes exit the\nHubble radius during the contraction phase, scale invariant fluctuations are\nindeed generated. After many cycles, we enter into a power-law inflationary\nphase, that stretches the modes produced in the previous contraction phase to\nscales that we observe today."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Noncommutative Gauge Theories from Deformation Quantization: We construct noncommutative gauge theories based on the notion of the Weyl\nbundle, which appears in Fedosov's construction of deformation quantization on\nan arbitrary symplectic manifold. These correspond to D-brane worldvolume\ntheories in non-constant B-field and curved backgrounds in string theory. All\nsuch theories are embedded into a \"universal\" gauge theory of the Weyl bundle.\nThis shows that the combination of a background field and a noncommutative\nfield strength has universal meaning as a field strength of the Weyl bundle. We\nalso show that the gauge equivalence relation is a part of such a \"universal\"\ngauge symmetry.",
        "positive": "EYM equations in the presence of q-stars is scalar-tensor gravitational\n  theories: We study Einstein-Yang-Mills equations in the presence of a gravitating\nnon-topological soliton field configuration consisted of a Higgs doublet, in\nBrans-Dicke and general scalar-tensor gravitational theories. The results of\nGeneral Relativity are reproduced in the\n$\\omega_{\\textrm{BD}},\\omega_0\\to\\infty$ limit. The numerical solutions\ncorrespond to a soliton star with a non-abelian gauge field. We study the\neffects of the coupling constant, the frequency of the Higgs field and the\nBrans-Dicke field on the soliton parameters"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Cosmological Solutions of a Nonlocal Model with a Perfect Fluid: A nonlocal gravity model which does not assume the existence of a new\ndimensional parameter in the action and includes a function $f(\\Box^{-1} R)$,\nwith $\\Box$ the d'Alembertian operator, is studied. By specifying an\nexponential form for the function f and including a matter sector with a\nconstant equation of state parameter, all available power-law solutions in the\nJordan frame are obtained. New power-law solutions in the Einstein frame are\nalso probed. Furthermore, the relationship between power-law solutions in both\nframes, established through conformal transformation, is substantially\nclarified. The correspondence between power-law solutions in these two frames\nis proven to be a very useful tool in order to obtain new solutions in the\nEinstein frame.",
        "positive": "Reaction-rate formula in out of equilibrium quantum field theory: A complete derivation, from first principles, of the reaction-rate formula\nfor a generic reaction taking place in an out of equilibrium quantum-field\nsystem is given. It is shown that the formula involves no finite-volume\ncorrection. Each term of the reaction-rate formula represents a set of physical\nprocesses that contribute to the reaction under consideration."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Coherent and cat states of open and closed strings: The covariant quantization and light cone quantization formalisms are\nfollowed to construct the coherent states of both open and closed bosonic\nstrings. We make a systematic and straightforward use of the original\ndefinition of coherent states of harmonic oscillators to establish the coherent\nand their corresponding cat states. We analyze the statistics of these states\nby explicitly calculating the Mandel parameter and obtained interesting results\nabout the nature of distribution of the states. A tachyonic state with\nimaginary mass and the positive norm is obtained.",
        "positive": "Evidence for a new particle on the worldsheet of the QCD flux tube: We propose a new approach for the calculation of the spectrum of excitations\nof QCD flux tubes. It relies on the fact that the worldsheet theory is\nintegrable at low energies. With this approach, energy levels can be calculated\nfor much shorter flux tubes than was previously possible, allowing for a\nquantitative comparison with existing lattice data. The improved theoretical\ncontrol makes it manifest that existing lattice data provides strong evidence\nfor a new pseudoscalar particle localized on the QCD fluxtube - the worldsheet\naxion."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Relaxed superconductors: Momentum relaxation can be built into many holographic models without\nsacrificing homogeneity of the bulk solution. In this paper we study two such\nmodels: one in which translational invariance is broken in the dual theory by\nspatially-dependent sources for massless scalar fields and another that\nfeatures an additional neutral scalar field. We turn on a charged scalar field\nin order to explore the condensation of a charged scalar operator in the dual\ntheories. After demonstrating that the relaxed superconductors we construct are\nthermodynamically relevant, we find that the finite DC electrical conductivity\nof the normal phase is replaced by a superfluid pole in the broken phase.\nMoreover, when the normal phase possesses a Drude behaviour at low frequencies,\nthe optical conductivity of the broken phase at low frequencies can be\ndescribed by a two-fluid model that is a sum of a Drude peak and a superfluid\npole, as was found recently for inhomogeneous holographic superconductors. We\nalso study cases in which this low-frequency behavior does not hold. We find\nthat the Drude description is accurate when the retarded current-current\ncorrelator has a purely-dissipative pole that is well-separated from the rest\nof the excitations.",
        "positive": "Localisation on Sasaki-Einstein manifolds from holomophic functions on\n  the cone: We study super Yang-Mills theories on five-dimensional Sasaki-Einstein\nmanifolds. Using localisation techniques, we find that the contribution from\nthe vector multiplet to the perturbative partition function can be calculated\nby counting holomorphic functions on the associated Calabi-Yau cone. This\nobservation allows us to use standard techniques developed in the context of\nquiver gauge theories to obtain explicit results for a number of examples;\nnamely $S^5$, $T^{1,1}$, $Y^{7,3}$, $Y^{2,1}$, $Y^{2,0}$, and $Y^{4,0}$. We\nfind complete agreement with previous results obtained by Qiu and Zabzine using\nequivariant indices except for the orbifold limits $Y^{p,0}$ with $p > 1$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The nonperturbative closed string tachyon vacuum to high level: We compute the action of closed bosonic string field theory at quartic order\nwith fields up to level ten. After level four, the value of the potential at\nthe minimum starts oscillating around a nonzero negative value, in contrast\nwith the proposition made in [5]. We try a different truncation scheme in which\nthe value of the potential converges faster with the level. By extrapolating\nthese values, we are able to give a rather precise value for the depth of the\npotential.",
        "positive": "Pure Spinor Superspace Identities for Massless Four-point Kinematic\n  Factors: Using the pure spinor formalism we prove identities which relate the\ntree-level, one-loop and two-loop kinematic factors for massless four-point\namplitudes. From these identities it follows that the complete supersymmetric\none- and two-loop amplitudes are immediately known once the tree-level\nkinematic factor is evaluated. In particular, the two-loop equivalence with the\nRNS formalism (up to an overall coefficient) is obtained as a corollary."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spontaneous localization of bulk matter fields: We study models compactified on S^1/Z_2 with bulk and brane matter fields\ncharged under U(1) gauge symmetry. We calculate the FI-terms and show by\nminimizing the resulting potential that supersymmetry or gauge symmetry is\nspontaneously broken if the sum of the charges does not vanish. Even if this\nsum vanishes, there could be an instability as a consequence of localized\nFI-terms. This leads to a spontaneous localization of charged bulk fields on\nrespective branes.",
        "positive": "Towards the Realistic Gluodynamics String. Perturbative Gluons'\n  Contribution to the String Effective Action: Perturbation theory in the nonperturbative QCD vacuum and the non-Abelian\nStokes theorem, representing a Wilson loop in the SU(2) gluodynamics as an\nintegral over all the orientations in colour space, are applied to derivation\nof the correction to the background-induced string effective action. This\ncorrection is due to accounting in the lowest order of perturbation theory for\nthe interaction of perturbative gluons with the string world sheet. It occurs\nthat this interaction affects only the coupling constant of the rigidity term,\nwhile its contribution to the string tension of the Nambu-Goto term vanishes.\nThe obtained correction to the rigid string coupling constant multiplicatively\ndepends on the spin of the representation of the Wilson loop under\nconsideration, the QCD coupling constant and a certain path integral, which\nincludes the background Wilson average."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "\"Background Field Integration-by-Parts\" and the Connection Between\n  One-Loop and Two-Loop Heisenberg-Euler Effective Actions: We develop integration-by-parts rules for Feynman diagrams involving massive\nscalar propagators in a constant background electromagnetic field, and use\nthese to show that there is a simple diagrammatic interpretation of mass\nrenormalization in the two-loop scalar QED Heisenberg-Euler effective action\nfor a general constant background field. This explains why the square of a\none-loop term appears in the renormalized two-loop Heisenberg-Euler effective\naction. No integrals need be evaluated, and the explicit form of the background\nfield propagators is not needed. This dramatically simplifies the computation\nof the renormalized two-loop effective action for scalar QED, and generalizes a\nprevious result obtained for self-dual background fields.",
        "positive": "Irreducible representations of the inhomogeneous Lorentz group with\n  two-fold Wigner degeneracy: Not all complete set of spinors can be used as expansion coefficients of a\nquantum field. In fact, Steven Weinberg established the uniqueness of Dirac\nspinors for this purpose provided: (a) one paid due attention to the\nmultiplicative phases for each of the spinors, and (b) one paired these to\ncreation and annihilation operators in a specific manner. This is implicit in\nhis implementation of the rotational symmetry for the spin half quantum field.\nAmong the numerous complete set of spinors that are available to a physicist,\nElko occupies a unique status that allows it to enter as expansion coefficients\nof a quantum field without violating Weinberg's no go theorem. How this\nparadigm changing claim arises is the primary subject of this communication.\nWeinberg's no go theorem is evaded by exploiting a uniquely special feature of\nElko that allows us to introduce a doubling of the particle-antiparticle\ndegrees of freedom from four to eight. Weinberg had dismissed this degeneracy\non the ground that, \"no examples are known of particles that furnish\nunconventional representations of inversions.\" Here we will find that this\ndegeneracy, once envisioned by Eugene Wigner, in fact gives rise to a quantum\nfield that has all the theoretical properties required of dark matter."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A variant of Schwarzian mechanics: The Schwarzian derivative is invariant under SL(2,R)-transformations and, as\nthus, any function of it can be used to determine the equation of motion or the\nLagrangian density of a higher derivative SL(2,R)-invariant 1d mechanics or the\nSchwarzian mechanics for short. In this note, we consider the simplest variant\nwhich results from setting the Schwarzian derivative to be equal to a\ndimensionful coupling constant. It is shown that the corresponding dynamical\nsystem in general undergoes stable evolution but for one fixed point solution\nwhich is only locally stable. Conserved charges associated with the\nSL(2,R)-symmetry transformations are constructed and a Hamiltonian formulation\nreproducing them is proposed. An embedding of the Schwarzian mechanics into a\nlarger dynamical system associated with the geodesics of a Brinkmann-like\nmetric obeying the Einstein equations is constructed.",
        "positive": "Nonlocal Lagrangian fields and the second Noether theorem.\n  Non-commutative $U(1)$ gauge theory: This article focuses on three main contributions. Firstly, we provide an\nin-depth overview of the nonlocal Lagrangian formalism. Secondly, we introduce\nan extended version of the second Noether's theorem tailored for nonlocal\nLagrangians. Finally, we apply both the formalism and the extended theorem to\nthe context of non-commutative U(1) gauge theory, including its Hamiltonian and\nquantization, showcasing their practical utility."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Derivative Expansion of the Effective Action and Vacuum Instability for\n  QED in 2+1 Dimensions: We investigate the effective action of 2+1 dimensional charged spin 1/2\nfermions and spin 0 bosons in the presence of a $U(1)$ gauge field. We evaluate\nterms in an expansion up to second order in derivatives of the field strength,\nbut exactly in the mass parameter and in the magnitude of the nonvanishing\nconstant field strength. We find that in a strong uniform magnetic field\nbackground, space-derivative terms lower the energy, and there arises an\ninstability toward inhomogeneous magnetic fields.",
        "positive": "Finite temperature fermionic condensate and currents in topologically\n  nontrivial spaces: We investigate the finite temperature fermionic condensate and the\nexpectation values of the charge and current densities for a massive fermion\nfield in a spacetime background with an arbitrary number of toroidally\ncompactified spatial dimensions in the presence of a non-vanishing chemical\npotential. Periodicity conditions along compact dimensions are taken with\narbitrary phases and the presence of a constant gauge field is assumed. The\nlatter gives rise to Aharonov-Bohm-like effects on the expectation values. They\nare periodic functions of magnetic fluxes enclosed by compact dimensions with\nthe period equal to the flux quantum. The current density has nonzero\ncomponents along compact dimensions only. Both low- and high-temperature\nasymptotics of the expectation values are studied. In particular, it has been\nshown that at high temperatures the current density is exponentially\nsuppressed. This behavior is in sharp contrast with the corresponding\nasymptotic in the case of a scalar field, where the current density linearly\ngrows with the temperature. The features for the models in odd dimensional\nspacetimes are discussed. Applications are given to cylindrical and toroidal\nnanotubes described within the framework of effective Dirac theory for the\nelectronic subsystem."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Variable-Speed-of-Light Cosmology and Second Law of Thermodynamics: We examine whether the cosmologies with varying speed of light (VSL) are\ncompatible with the second law of thermodynamics. We find that the VSL\ncosmology with varying fundamental constant is severely constrained by the\nsecond law of thermodynamics, whereas the bimetric cosmological models are less\nconstrained.",
        "positive": "Superfield approach to nilpotent symmetries in 3D Jackiw-Pi model of\n  massive non-Abelian theory: In the available literature, only the Becchi-Rouet-Stora-Tyutin (BRST)\nsymmetries are known for the Jackiw-Pi model of the three (2 + 1)-dimensional\n(3D) massive non-Abelian gauge theory. We derive the off-shell nilpotent\n(s_{(a)b}^2 = 0) and absolutely anticommuting (s_b \\,s_{ab} + s_{ab}\\, s_b = 0)\n(anti-)BRST transformations s_{(a)b} corresponding to the usual Yang-Mills\ngauge transformations of this model by exploiting the \"augmented\" superfield\nformalism where the horizontality condition and gauge invariant restrictions\nblend together in a meaningful manner. There is a non-Yang-Mills (NYM) symmetry\nin this theory, too. However, we do not touch the NYM symmetry in our present\nendeavor. This superfield formalism leads to the derivation of an (anti-)BRST\ninvariant Curci-Ferrari restriction which plays a key role in the proof of\nabsolute anticommutativity of s_{(a)b}. The derivation of the proper anti-BRST\nsymmetry transformations is important from the point of view of geometrical\nobjects called gerbes. A novel feature of our present investigation is the\nderivation of the (anti-)BRST transformations for the auxiliary field \\rho from\nour superfield formalism which is neither generated by the (anti-)BRST charges\nnor obtained from the requirements of nilpotency and/or absolute\nanticommutativity of the (anti-)BRST symmetries for our present 3D non-Abelian\n1-form gauge theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-local formulation of ghost-free bigravity theory: We study the ghost-free bimetric theory of Hassan and Rosen, with parameters\n$\\beta_i$ such that a flat Minkowski solution exists for both metrics. We show\nthat, expanding around this solution and eliminating one of the two metrics\nwith its own equation of motion, the remaining metric is governed by the\nEinstein-Hilbert action plus a non-local term proportional to\n$W_{\\mu\\nu\\rho\\sigma} (\\Box-m^2)^{-1}W^{\\mu\\nu\\rho\\sigma}$, where\n$W_{\\mu\\nu\\rho\\sigma}$ is the Weyl tensor. The result is valid to quadratic\norder in the metric perturbation and to all orders in the derivative expansion.\nThis example shows, in a simple setting, how such non-local extensions of GR\ncan emerge from an underlying consistent theory, at the purely classical level.",
        "positive": "Entropy and Black Holes in the Very Early Universe: Model independent arguments following from the Covariant Entropy Principle\nimply that causal diamonds in the very early universe were entirely filled with\na single equilibrated system with finite entropy. A universe where this\ncondition persists forever has no localized excitations. Our own universe\nappears to be headed toward such a state. Within a few hundred times its\ncurrent age it will approach a state where our local group of galaxies sit in\nempty de Sitter space. Eventually, the local group collapse into a black hole,\nwhich evaporates. Localized excitations in de Sitter space are low entropy\nconstrained states of the vacuum ensemble. The origin of these constraints must\nbe in the early universe: the apparent horizon must expand after some initial\nperiod, in a constrained state that is the origin of all localized excitations\nin the universe. We argue that in global FRW coordinates, this corresponds to\nslow roll inflation that ends in a dilute gas of tiny black holes, with mass\ndetermined by the inflationary scale. We then review arguments that these black\nholes can account for the Hot Big Bang, baryogenesis, a distinctive pattern of\nCMB fluctuations, and possibly primordial black hole dark matter consisting of\nlarger black holes that survive until the matter dominated era. The more\ncomplicated question of whether these small black holes can evolve in a way\nthat is consistent with all observational constraints requires computer\nsimulations that have not yet been done."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Effect of GUP on the Kepler problem and a variable minimal length: Various approaches to quantum gravity, such as string theory, predict a\nminimal measurable length and a modification of the Heisenberg Uncertainty\nPrinciple near the Plank scale, known as the Generalized Uncertainty Principle\n(GUP). Here we study the effects of GUP which preserves the rotational symmetry\nof the spacetime, on the Kepler problem. By comparing the value of the\nperihelion shift of the planet Mercury in Schwarzschild-de Sitter spacetime\nwith the resulted value of GUP, we find a relation between the minimal\nmeasurable length and the cosmological constant of the spacetime. Now, if the\ncosmological constant varies with time, we have a variable minimal length in\nthe spacetime. Finally, we investigate the effects of GUP on the stability of\ncircular orbits",
        "positive": "Scattering of Massless Particles in Arbitrary Dimension: We present a compact formula for the complete tree-level S-matrix of pure\nYang-Mills and gravity theories in arbitrary spacetime dimension. The new\nformula for the scattering of n particles is given by an integral over the\nposition of n points on a sphere restricted to satisfy a dimension-independent\nset of equations. The integrand is constructed using the reduced Pfaffian of a\n2n by 2n matrix that depends on momenta and polarization vectors. In its\nsimplest form, the gravity integrand is a reduced determinant which is the\nsquare of the Pfaffian in the Yang-Mills integrand. Gauge invariance is\ncompletely manifest as it follows from a simple property of the Pfaffian."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hairy black holes and solitons in global AdS 5: We use a mix of analytic and numerical methods to exhaustively study a class\nof asymptotically global AdS solitons and hairy black hole solutions in\nnegative cosmological constant Einstein Maxwell gravity coupled to a charged\nmassless scalar field. Our results depend sensitively on the charge 'e' of the\nscalar field. The solitonic branch of solutions we study hit the Chandrashekhar\nlimit at finite mass at small 'e', but extends to arbitrarily large mass at\nlarger 'e'. At low values of 'e' no hairy black holes exist. At intermediate\nvalues of 'e' hairy black holes exist above a critical charge. At large 'e'\nhairy black holes exist at all values of the charge. The lowest mass hairy\nblack holes is a smooth zero entropy soliton at small charge, but a (probably)\nsingular nonzero entropy hairy black hole at larger charge. In a phase diagram\nof solutions, the hairy black holes merge with the familiar\nReissner-Nordstrom-AdS black holes along a curve that is determined by the\nonset of the superradiant instability in the latter family.",
        "positive": "Operator Product Expansion and Calculation of the Two-Loop Gell-Mann-Low\n  Function: This work was carried out in 1985. It was published in Russian in Yad. Fiz.\n44, 498 (1986) [English translation Sov. J. Nucl. Phys. 44, 321 (1986)]. None\nof these publications are available on-line. Submitting this paper to ArXiv\nwill make it accessible. *** A simple method is developed that makes it\npossible to determine the $k$-loop coefficient of the $\\beta$-function if the\noperator product expansion for certain polarization operators in the $(k -1)$\nloop is known. The calculation of the two-loop coefficient of the Gell-Mann-Low\nfunction becomes trivial -- it reduces to a few algebraic operations on already\nknown expressions. As examples, spinor, scalar, and supersymmetric\nelectrodynamics are considered. Although the respective results for\n$\\beta^{(2)}$ are known in the literature, both the method of calculation and\ncertain points pertaining to the construction of the operator product expansion\nare new."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Horndeski: beyond, or not beyond?: Determining the most general, consistent scalar tensor theory of gravity is\nimportant for building models of inflation and dark energy. In this work we\ninvestigate the number of degrees of freedom present in the theory of beyond\nHorndeski. We discuss how to construct the theory from the extrinsic curvature\nof the constant scalar field hypersurface, and find a simple expression for the\naction which guarantees the existence of the primary constraint necessary to\navoid the Ostrogradsky instability. Our analysis is completely gauge-invariant.\nHowever we confirm that, mixing together beyond Horndeski with a different\norder of Horndeski, obstructs the construction of this primary constraint.\nInstead, when the mixing is between actions of the same order, the theory can\nbe mapped to Horndeski through a generalised disformal transformation. This\nmapping however is impossible with beyond Horndeski alone, since we find that\nthe theory is invariant under such a transformation. The picture that emerges\nis that beyond Horndeski is a healthy but isolated theory: combined with\nHorndeski, it either becomes Horndeski, or likely propagates a ghost.",
        "positive": "\"Shadowy\" modes in Higher-Order Scalar-Tensor theories: We consider Higher-Order Scalar-Tensor theories which appear degenerate when\nrestricted to the unitary gauge but are not degenerate in an arbitrary gauge.\nWe dub them U-degenerate theories. We provide a full classification of theories\nthat are either DHOST or U-degenerate and that are quadratic in second\nderivatives of the scalar field, and discuss its extension to cubic and higher\norder theories. Working with a simple example of U-degenerate theory, we find\nthat, for configurations in which the scalar field gradient is time-like, the\napparent extra mode in such a theory can be understood as a generalized\ninstantaneous, or \"shadowy\" mode, which does not propagate. Appropriate\nboundary conditions, required by the elliptic nature of part of the equations\nof motion, lead to the elimination of the apparent instability associated with\nthis extra mode."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "1+1 dimensional QCD with fundamental bosons and fermions: We analyze the properties of mesons in 1+1 dimensional QCD with bosonic and\nfermionic ``quarks'' in the large $\\nc$ limit. We study the spectrum in detail\nand show that it is impossible to obtain massless mesons including boson\nconstituents in this model. We quantitatively show how the QCD mass inequality\nis realized in two dimensional QCD. We find that the mass inequality is close\nto being an equality even when the quarks are light. Methods for obtaining the\nproperties of ``mesons'' formed from boson and/or fermion constituents are\nformulated in an explicit manner convenient for further study. We also analyze\nhow the physical properties of the mesons such as confinement and asymptotic\nfreedom are realized.",
        "positive": "Interior of Nonuniform Black Strings: We consider nonuniform black strings inside their event horizon. We present\nnumerical evidence, that the singularity touches the horizon as the horizon\ntopology changing transition is reached."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Anomaly and long-range forces: We consider infrared dependences of chiral effects, like chiral magnetic\neffect, in chiral media. The main observation is that there exist competing\ninfrared-sensitive parameters, sometimes not apparent. The value of the chiral\neffects depends in fact on the actual hierarchy of the parameters. Some\nexamples have been already given in the literature. We argue that\nmagnetostatics of chiral media with a non-vanishing chiral chemical potential\n$\\mu_5\\neq 0$ is also infrared sensitive. In particular, the system turns to be\nunstable if the volume is large enough. The instability is with respect to the\ndecay of the system into domains of non-vanishing magnetic field with\nnon-trivial helicity.",
        "positive": "Heavenly metrics, BPS indices and twistors: Recently T. Bridgeland defined a complex hyperk\\\"ahler metric on the tangent\nbundle over the space of stability conditions of a triangulated category, based\non a Riemann-Hilbert problem determined by the Donaldson-Thomas invariants.\nThis metric is encoded in a function $W(z,\\theta)$ satisfying a heavenly\nequation, or a potential $F(z,\\theta)$ satisfying an isomonodromy equation.\nAfter recasting the RH problem into a system of TBA-type equations, we obtain\nintegral expressions for both $W$ and $F$ in terms of solutions of that system.\nThese expressions are recognized as conformal limits of the `instanton\ngenerating potential' and `contact potential' appearing in studies of\nD-instantons and BPS black holes. By solving the TBA equations iteratively, we\nreproduce Joyce's original construction of $F$ as a formal series in the\nrational DT invariants. Furthermore, we produce similar solutions to deformed\nversions of the heavenly and isomonodromy equations involving a non-commutative\nstar-product. In the case of a finite uncoupled BPS structure, we rederive the\nresults previously obtained by Bridgeland and obtain the so-called $\\tau$\nfunction for arbitrary values of the fiber coordinates $\\theta$, in terms of a\nsuitable two-variable generalization of Barnes' $G$ function."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Winding theta and destructive interference of instantons: While the $\\theta$ dependence of field theories is $2\\pi$ periodic, the\nground-state wavefunctions at $\\theta$ and $\\theta+2\\pi$ often belong to\ndifferent classes of symmetry-protected topological states. When this is the\ncase, a continuous change of the $\\theta$ parameter can introduce an interface\nthat supports a nontrivial field theory localized on the wall. We consider the\n$2$d $\\mathbb{C}P^{N-1}$ sigma model as an example and construct a\nweak-coupling setup of this interface theory by considering the small $S^1$\ncompactification with nonzero winding $\\theta$ parameter and a suitable\nsymmetry-twisted boundary condition. This system has $N$ classical vacua\nconnected by fractional instantons, but the anomaly constraint tells us that\nthe fractional-instanton amplitudes should vanish completely to have $N$-fold\ndegeneracy at the quantum level. We show how this happens in this purely\nbosonic system, uncovering that the integration over the zero modes annihilates\nthe fractional instanton amplitudes, which is sharp contrast to what happens\nwhen the $\\theta$ angle is constant. Moreover, we provide another explanation\nof this selection rule by showing that the $N$ perturbative vacua acquire\ndifferent charges under the global symmetry with the activation of the winding\n$\\theta$ angle. We also demonstrate a similar destructive interference between\ninstanton effects in the $\\mathbb{C}P^{N-1}$ quantum mechanics with the Berry\nphase.",
        "positive": "Flux Flattening in Axion Monodromy Inflation: String theory models of axion monodromy inflation exhibit scalar potentials\nwhich are quadratic for small values of the inflaton field and evolve to a more\ncomplicated function for large field values. Oftentimes the large field\nbehaviour is gentler than quadratic, lowering the tensor-to-scalar ratio. This\neffect, known as flattening, has been observed in the string theory context\nthrough the properties of the DBI+CS D-brane action. We revisit such flattening\neffects in type IIB flux compactifications with mobile D7-branes, with the\ninflaton identified with the D7-brane position. We observe that, with a generic\nchoice of background fluxes, flattening effects are larger than previously\nobserved, allowing to fit these models within current experimental bounds. In\nparticular, we compute the cosmological observables in scenarios compatible\nwith closed-string moduli stabilisation, finding tensor-to-scalar ratios as low\nas r ~ 0.04. These are models of single field inflation in which the inflaton\nis much lighter than the other scalars through a mild tuning of the\ncompactification data."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "2D and 3D topological field theories for generalized complex geometry: Using the AKSZ prescription we construct 2D and 3D topological field theories\nassociated to generalized complex manifolds. These models can be thought of as\n2D and 3D generalizations of A- and B-models. Within the BV framework we show\nthat the 3D model on a two-manifold cross an interval can be reduced to the 2D\nmodel.",
        "positive": "From Spinning Primaries to Permutation Orbifolds: We carry out a systematic study of primary operators in the conformal field\ntheory of a free Weyl fermion. Using SO(4,2) characters we develop counting\nformulas for primaries constructed using a fixed number of fermion fields. By\nspecializing to particular classes of primaries, we derive very explicit\nformulas for the generating functions for the number of primaries in these\nclasses. We present a duality map between primary operators in the fermion\nfield theory and polynomial functions. This allows us to construct the\nprimaries that were counted. Next we show that these classes of primary fields\ncorrespond to polynomial functions on certain permutation orbifolds. These\norbifolds have palindromic Hilbert series."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "AdS/CFT Unitarity at Higher Loops: High-Energy String Scattering: What is the space of weakly-coupled, gravitational theories which contain\nmassive, higher-spin particles? This class of theories is highly constrained\nand it is conjectured their ultraviolet completion must be string theory. We\nprovide more evidence for this conjecture by studying the Regge limit in large\n$N$, $4d$ CFTs with single-trace operators of unbounded spin. We show that in\nthe Regge limit, these theories have bulk scattering amplitudes which are\nconsistent with the string theory prediction to all orders in $1/N$ for large,\nbut finite, coupling. In the language of Regge theory, we show Pomeron exchange\nnaturally exponentiates in the $1/N$ expansion. To do this, we solve the\nbootstrap equations at tree-level and then use the Lorentzian inversion formula\nto find the one-loop correlator in the Regge limit. This is a unitarity method\nfor AdS/CFT which can be repeated iteratively to make all orders statements. We\nalso explain under what conditions the tree-level result exponentiates in the\n$1/N$ expansion at arbitrary coupling. Finally, we comment on further inelastic\neffects and show they give subleading contributions at large coupling. As a\nconsistency check, we recover results from bulk Einstein gravity in the limit\nwhere all higher-spin particles decouple.",
        "positive": "Relative entropy for coherent states in chiral CFT: We consider the relative entropy between the vacuum state and a state\nobtained by applying an exponentiated stress tensor to the vacuum of a chiral\nconformal field theory on the lightray. The smearing function of the stress\ntensor can be viewed as a vector field on the real line generating a\ndiffeomorphism. We show that the relative entropy is equal to $c$ times the\nso-called Schwarzian action of the diffeomorphism. As an application of this\nresult, we obtain a formula for the relative entropy between the vacuum and a\nsolitonic state."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Stable Non-BPS States in String Theory: Many string theories contain states which are not BPS, but are stable due to\ncharge conservation. In many cases the description of these states in the\nstrong coupling limit remains unknown despite the existence of a weakly coupled\ndual theory. However, we show that in some cases duality symmetries in string\ntheory do enable us to identify these states in the strong coupling limit and\ncalculate their masses. We also speculate that in some of the other cases the\nmissing states might arise from non-supersymmetric analog of D0-branes.",
        "positive": "SU(N) quantum Racah coefficients & non-torus links: It is well-known that the SU(2) quantum Racah coefficients or the Wigner $6j$\nsymbols have a closed form expression which enables the evaluation of any knot\nor link polynomials in SU(2) Chern-Simons field theory. Using isotopy\nequivalence of SU(N) Chern-Simons functional integrals over three balls with\none or more $S^2$ boundaries with punctures, we obtain identities to be\nsatisfied by the SU(N) quantum Racah coefficients. This enables evaluation of\nthe coefficients for a class of SU(N) representations. Using these\ncoefficients, we can compute the polynomials for some non-torus knots and\ntwo-component links. These results are useful for verifying conjectures in\ntopological string theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Maximal violation of the Bell-Clauser-Horne-Shimony-Holt inequality via\n  bumpified Haar wavelets: We devise a general setup to investigate the violation of the Bell-CHSH\ninequality in the vacuum state in the context of Quantum Field Theory. We test\nthe method with massless spinor fields in $(1+1)$-dimensional Minkowski\nspace-time. Alice's and Bob's test functions are explicitly constructed, first\nby employing Haar wavelets which are then bumpified into proper test functions\nvia a smoothening procedure relying on the Planck-taper window function.\nRelativistic causality is implemented by requiring the support of Alice's and\nBob's test functions to be located in the left and right Rindler wedges,\nrespectively. Violations of the Bell-CHSH inequality as close as desired to\nTsirelson's bound are reported. We briefly comment on the extra portal,\ncompared to earlier works, this opens to scrutinize Bell-CHSH inequalities with\ngeneric, interacting Quantum Field Theories.",
        "positive": "A note on consistent anomalies in noncommutative YM theories: Via descent equations we derive formulas for consistent gauge anomalies in\nnoncommutative Yang-Mills theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "New Gauge Invariant Formulation of the Chern-Simons Gauge Theory:\n  Classical and Quantal Analysis: Recently proposed new gauge invariant formulation of the Chern-Simons gauge\ntheory is considered in detail. This formulation is consistent with the gauge\nfixed formulation. Furthermore it is found that the canonical (Noether)\nPoincar\\'e generators are not gauge invariant even on the constraints surface\nand do not satisfy the Poincar\\'e algebra contrast to usual case. It is the\nimproved generators, constructed from the symmetric energy-momentum tensor,\nwhich are (manifestly) gauge invariant and obey the quantum as well as\nclassical Poincar\\'e algebra. The physical states are constructed and it is\nfound in the Schr\\\"odinger picture that unusual gauge invariant longitudinal\nmode of the gauge field is crucial for constructing the physical wavefunctional\nwhich is genuine to (pure) Chern-Simons theory. In matching to the gauge fixed\nformulation, we consider three typical gauges, Coulomb, axial and Weyl gauges\nas explicit examples. Furthermore, recent several confusions about the effect\nof Dirac's dressing function and the gauge fixings are clarified. The analysis\naccording to old gauge independent formulation a' la Dirac is summarized in an\nappendix.",
        "positive": "Schr\u00f6dinger Fields on the Plane with non-Abelian Chern-Simons\n  Interactions: Physical content of the nonrelativistic quantum field theory with non-Abelian\nChern-Simons interactions is clarified with the help of the equivalent first-\nquantized description which we derive in any physical gauge."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Variational Perturbation Approach to One-Point Functions in QFT: In this paper, we develop a variational perturbation (VP) scheme for\ncalculating vacuum expectation values (VEVs) of local fields in quantum field\ntheories. For a comparatively general scalar field model, the VEV of a\ncomparatively general local field is expanded and truncated at second order in\nthe VP scheme. The resultant truncated expressions (we call Gaussian smearing\nformulae) consist mainly of Gaussian transforms of the local-field function,\nthe model-potential function and their derivatives, and so can be used to skip\ncalculations on path integrals in a concrete theory. As an application, the VP\nexpansion series of the VEV of a local exponential field in the sine- and\nsinh-Gordon field theories is truncated and derived up to second order\nequivalently by directly performing the VP scheme, by finishing ordinary\nintegrations in the Gaussian smearing formulae, and by borrowing Feynman\ndiagrammatic technique, respectively. Furthermore, the one-order VP results of\nthe VEV in the two-dimensional sine- and sinh-Gordon field theories are\nnumerically calculated and compared with the exact results conjectured by\nLukyanov, Zamolodchikov $et al.$, or with the one-order perturbative results\nobtained by Poghossian. The comparisons provide a strong support to the\nconjectured exact formulae and illustrate non-perturbability of the VP scheme.",
        "positive": "Multipoint correlators in multifield cosmology: Connected $N$-point amplitudes in quantum field theory are enhanced by a\nfactor of $N!$ in appropriate regimes of kinematics and couplings, but the\nnon-perturbative analysis of this for collider physics applications is subtle.\nWe resolve this question for $N$-point correlation functions of cosmological\nperturbations in multifield inflation, and comment on its application to\nprimordial non-Gaussianity. We find that they are calculably $N!$-enhanced\nusing a simple model for the mixing of the field sectors which leads to a\nconvolution of their probability distributions. This effect leads to\nmodel-dependent but interesting prospects for enhanced observational\nsensitivity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On periodically driven AdS/CFT: We use the AdS/CFT correspondence to study a thermally isolated conformal\nfield theory in four dimensions which undergoes a repeated deformation by an\nexternal periodic time-dependent source coupled to an operator of dimension\nDelta. The initial state of the theory is taken to be at a finite temperature.\nWe compute the energy dissipated in the system as a function of the frequency\nand of the dimension Delta of the perturbing operator. This is done in the\nlinear response regime. In order to study the details of thermalization in the\ndual field theory, the leading-order backreaction on the AdS black brane metric\nis computed. The evolution of the event and the apparent horizons is monitored;\nthe increase of area in each cycle coincides with the increase in the\nequilibrium entropy corresponding to the amount of energy dissipated. The time\nevolution of the entanglement entropy of a spherical region and that of the\ntwo-points function of a probe operator with a large dimension are also\ninspected; we find a delay in the thermalization of these quantities which is\nproportional to the size of the region which is being probed. Thus, the delay\nis more pronounced in the infrared. We comment on a possible transition in the\ntime evolution of the energy fluctuations.",
        "positive": "Supertranslation Hair of Schwarzschild Black Hole: A Wilson Line\n  Perspective: We demonstrate within the quantum field theoretical framework that an\nasymptotic particle falling into the black hole implants soft graviton hair on\nthe horizon, conforming with the classical proposal of Hawking, Perry and\nStrominger. A key ingredient to this result is the construction of\ngravitational Wilson line dressings of an infalling scalar field, carrying a\ndefinite horizon supertranslation charge. It is shown that a typical\nSchwarzschild state is degenerate, and can be labeled by different soft\nsupertranslation hairs parametrized for radial trajectories by the mass and\nenergy of the infalling particle and its asymptotic point of contact with the\nhorizon. The supertranslation zero modes are also obtained in terms of\nzero-frequency graviton operators, and are shown to be the expected canonical\npartners of the linearized horizon charge that enlarge the horizon Hilbert\nspace."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spontaneous symmetry breaking in dual-core baby-Skyrmion systems: We introduce a system composed of two (2+1)-dimensional baby-skyrmion models\n(BSMs) set on parallel planes and linearly coupled by tunneling of fields. This\nsystem can be realized in a dual-layer ferromagnetic medium. Unlike dual-core\nmodels previously studied\\ in nonlinear optics and BEC, here the\nsymmetry-breaking bifurcation (SBB) in solitons (baby skyrmions) occurs with\nthe increase of the inter-core coupling ($\\kappa$), rather than with its\ndecrease, due to the fact that even in the uncoupled system neither core may be\nempty. Prior to the onset of the symmetry breaking between the two components\nof the solitons, they gradually separate in the lateral direction, due to the\nincrease of $\\kappa$, which is explained in an analytical form by means of an\neffective interaction potential. Such evolution scenario are produced for the\noriginally symmetric states with topological charges in the two cores\n$\\left(B^{(1)},B^{(2)}\\right)$, with $% B^{(1)}=B^{(2)}=1,2,3,4$. The evolution\nof mixed states, of the $\\left(1,2\\right)$ and $\\left(2,4\\right)$ types, with\nthe variation of $\\kappa$ is studied too.",
        "positive": "Vacuum radiation from massive scalar field: The vacuum radiation of a massive scalar field is studied by means of a\nsingle moving mirror. The field equation with an arbitrary-shaped mirror moving\nin $(d+1)$ dimensions is given perturbatively in the non-relativistic limit.\nExplicit results are obtained for a flat mirror moving in $(1+1)$ dimensions\nand $(3+1)$ dimensions. The vacuum radiation power and vacuum friction force on\nthe mirror are given in $(1+1)$ dimensions. The intrinsic mass of the field is\nfound to suppress the vacuum radiation. In $(3+1)$ dimensions, the modification\nof the frequency spectra and angular spectra of emitted particles due to the\nintrinsic mass are obtained. In the limit of $m\\to 0$, we recover the results\nof the massless field."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "New Spacetimes for Rotating Dust in (2+1)-Dimensional General Relativity: Multi-parameter solutions to the Einstein equations in 2+1 dimensions are\npresented, with stress-energy given by a rotating dust with negative\ncosmological constant. The matter density is uniform in the corotating frame,\nand the ratio of the density to the vacuum energy may be freely chosen. The\nrotation profile of the dust is controlled by two parameters, and the\ncircumference of a circle of a given radius is controlled by two additional\nparameters. Though locally related to known metrics, the global properties of\nthis class of spacetimes are nontrivial and allow for new and interesting\nstructure, including apparent horizons and closed timelike curves, which can be\ncensored by a certain parameter choice. General members of this class of\nmetrics have two Killing vectors, but parameters can be chosen to enhance the\nsymmetry to four Killing vectors. The causal structure of these geometries,\ninteresting limits, and relationship to the G\\\"odel metric are discussed. An\nadditional solution, with nonuniform dust density in a Gaussian profile and\nzero cosmological constant, is also presented, and its relation to the\nuniform-density solutions in a certain limit is discussed.",
        "positive": "Primordial black holes from Volkov-Akulov-Starobinsky supergravity: We study the formation of primordial black holes (PBH) in the Starobinsky\nsupergravity coupled to the nilpotent superfield describing Volkov-Akulov\ngoldstino. By using the no-scale K\\\"ahler potential and a polynomial\nsuperpotential, we find that under certain conditions our model can describe\neffectively single-field inflation with the ultra-slow-roll phase that appears\nnear a critical (nearly-inflection) point of the scalar potential. This can\nlead to the formation of PBH as part of (or whole) dark matter, while keeping\nthe inflationary spectral tilt and the tensor-to-scalar ratio in good agreement\nwith the current cosmic microwave background (CMB) bounds. After inflation,\nsupersymmetry is spontaneously broken at the inflationary scale with the\nvanishing cosmological constant."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Induced higher-derivative Lorentz-violating Chern-Simons term at finite\n  temperature: In this work, we analyze the generation of the higher-derivative\nLorentz-violating Chern-Simons term at zero temperature and at finite\ntemperature. We use the method of derivative expansion and the Matsubara\nformalism in order to consider the finite temperature effects. The results show\nthat at zero temperature the induced higher-derivative Chern-Simons term is\nnonzero; in contrast, when the temperature reaches infinity, the coefficients\nof the induced term vanish. In addition, we also briefly study the question of\nlarge gauge invariance of this higher-derivative term as we as the conventional\nChern-Simons term. We compute the exact induced action for both terms at finite\ntemperature, however, in a particular gauge field background, and observe that\nthey are, in fact, invariant under large gauge transformation.",
        "positive": "Matrix String Theory on pp-waves: After a brief review on Matrix String Theory on flat backgrounds, we\nformulate matrix string models on different pp-wave backgrounds. This will be\ndone both in the case of constant and variable RR background flux for certain\nexact string geometries. We exhibit the non--perturbative representation of\nstring interaction and show how the eigenvalue tunneling drives the WKB\nexpansion to give the usual perturbative string interaction also in\nsupersymmetric pp-wave background cases."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A new classical solution in SU(2) Yang-Mills gauge theory: A new classical solution of euclidean Yang-Mills gauge theory, which is\ngoverned by $\\pi_4 (SU(2))$, is given. Its relationship to knot theory and\nHopfions is discussed.",
        "positive": "$\u03bb\u03c6^4$ Theory I: The Symmetric Phase Beyond NNNNNNNNLO: Perturbation theory of a large class of scalar field theories in $d<4$ can be\nshown to be Borel resummable using arguments based on Lefschetz thimbles. As an\nexample we study in detail the $\\lambda \\phi^4$ theory in two dimensions in the\n$Z_2$ symmetric phase. We extend the results for the perturbative expansion of\nseveral quantities up to N$^8$LO and show how the behavior of the theory at\nstrong coupling can be recovered successfully using known resummation\ntechniques. In particular, we compute the vacuum energy and the mass gap for\nvalues of the coupling up to the critical point, where the theory becomes\ngapless and lies in the same universality class of the 2d Ising model. Several\nproperties of the critical point are determined and agree with known exact\nexpressions. The results are in very good agreement (and with comparable\nprecision) with those obtained by other non-perturbative approaches, such as\nlattice simulations and Hamiltonian truncation methods."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Disc partition function of 2d $R^2$ gravity from DWG matrix model: We compute the sum over flat surfaces of disc topology with arbitrary number\nof conical singularities. To that end, we explore and generalize a specific\ncase of the matrix model of dually weighted graphs (DWG) proposed and solved by\none of the authors, M. Staudacher and Th. Wynter. Namely, we compute the sum\nover quadrangulations of the disc with certain boundary conditions, with\nparameters controlling the number of squares (area), the length of the boundary\nand the coordination numbers of vertices. The vertices introduce conical\ndefects with angle deficit given by a multiple of $\\pi$, corresponding to\npositive, zero or negative curvature. Our results interpolate between the\nwell-known 2d quantum gravity solution for the disc with fluctuating 2d metric\nand the regime of 'almost flat' surfaces with all the negative curvature\nconcentrated on the boundary. We also speculate on possible ways to study the\nfluctuating 2d geometry with $AdS_2$ background instead of the flat one.",
        "positive": "Anomaly Corrected Heterotic Horizons: We consider supersymmetric near-horizon geometries in heterotic supergravity\nup to two loop order in sigma model perturbation theory. We identify the\nconditions for the horizons to admit enhancement of supersymmetry. We show that\nsolutions which undergo supersymmetry enhancement exhibit an sl(2,R) symmetry,\nand we describe the geometry of their horizon sections. We also prove a\nmodified Lichnerowicz type theorem, incorporating $\\alpha'$ corrections, which\nrelates Killing spinors to zero modes of near-horizon Dirac operators.\nFurthermore, we demonstrate that there are no AdS2 solutions in heterotic\nsupergravity up to second order in $\\alpha'$ for which the fields are smooth\nand the internal space is smooth and compact without boundary. We investigate a\nclass of nearly supersymmetric horizons, for which the gravitino Killing spinor\nequation is satisfied on the spatial cross sections but not the dilatino one,\nand present a description of their geometry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exotic phases of finite temperature SU(N) gauge theories: We calculate the phase diagrams at high temperature of SU(N) gauge theories\nwith massive fermions by minimizing the one-loop effective potential.\nConsidering fermions in the adjoint (Adj) representation at various N we\nobserve a variety of phases when Nf >= 2 Majorana flavours and periodic\nboundary conditions are applied to fermions. Also the confined phase is\nperturbatively accessible. For N = 3, we add Fundamental (F) representation\nfermions with antiperiodic boundary conditions to adjoint QCD to show how the\nZ(3)-symmetry breaks in the confined phase.",
        "positive": "Nonassociative Star Product Deformations for D-brane Worldvolumes in\n  Curved Backgrounds: We investigate the deformation of D-brane world-volumes in curved\nbackgrounds. We calculate the leading corrections to the boundary conformal\nfield theory involving the background fields, and in particular we study the\ncorrelation functions of the resulting system. This allows us to obtain the\nworld-volume deformation, identifying the open string metric and the\nnoncommutative deformation parameter. The picture that unfolds is the\nfollowing: when the gauge invariant combination \\omega = B + F is constant one\nobtains the standard Moyal deformation of the brane world-volume. Similarly,\nwhen d\\omega = 0 one obtains the noncommutative Kontsevich deformation,\nphysically corresponding to a curved brane in a flat background. When the\nbackground is curved, H = d\\omega \\not= 0, we find that the relevant algebraic\nstructure is still based on the Kontsevich expansion, which now defines a\nnonassociative star product with an A_\\infty homotopy associative algebraic\nstructure. We then recover, within this formalism, some known results of Matrix\ntheory in curved backgrounds. In particular, we show how the effective action\nobtained in this framework describes, as expected, the dielectric effect of\nD-branes. The polarized branes are interpreted as a soliton, associated to the\ncondensation of the brane gauge field."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Decreasing \"circumference\" for increasing \"radius\" in axially symmetric\n  gravitating systems: Apart from the flat space with an angular deficit, Einstein general\nrelativity possesses another cylindrically symmetric solution. Because this\nconfiguration displays circles whose \"circumferences\" tend to zero when their\n\"radius\" go to infinity, it has not received much attention in the past. We\npropose a geometric interpretation of this feature and find that it implies\nfield boundary conditions different from the ones found in the literature if\none considers a source consisting of the scalar and the vector fields of a U(1)\nsystem . To obtain a non increasing energy density the gauge symmetry must be\nunbroken . For the Higgs potential this is achieved only with a vanishing\nvacuum expectation value but then the solution has a null scalar field. A non\ntrivial scalar behaviour is exhibited for a potential of sixth order. The\ntrajectories of test particles in this geometry are studied, its causal\nstructure discussed. We find that this bosonic background can support a\nnormalizable fermionic condensate but not such a current.",
        "positive": "Limits of minimal models and continuous orbifolds: The lambda=0 't Hooft limit of the 2d W_N minimal models is shown to be\nequivalent to the singlet sector of a free boson theory, thus paralleling\nexactly the structure of the free theory in the Klebanov-Polyakov proposal. In\n2d, the singlet sector does not describe a consistent theory by itself since\nthe corresponding partition function is not modular invariant. However, it can\nbe interpreted as the untwisted sector of a continuous orbifold, and this point\nof view suggests that it can be made consistent by adding in the appropriate\ntwisted sectors. We show that these twisted sectors account for the `light\nstates' that were not included in the original 't Hooft limit. We also show\nthat, for the Virasoro minimal models (N=2), the twisted sector of our orbifold\nagrees precisely with the limit theory of Runkel & Watts. In particular, this\nimplies that our construction satisfies crossing symmetry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauging the Superstring under the Group SU(4): The superstring theory in the light-cone gauge admits various gauge\nsymmetries. Therefore, we gauge the superstring sigma model in the light-cone\ngauge under the gauge group SU(4). Some properties of the gauged action and the\ncorresponding current will be studied. Besides, two modified actions for the\nsuperstring will be obtained.",
        "positive": "On the role of torsion and higher forms in off-shell supergravity: We elaborate on the presence of a nonvanishing totally antisymmetric\n(super)torsion, equivalent to an axial vector, and higher forms in the \"new\nminimal\" and \"old minimal\" off-shell formulations of $\\mathcal{N}=1$, $D=4$\nsupergravity. We adopt the geometric superspace approach and study both the\ngeometric Lagrangian and the off-shell closure of the Bianchi identities in\nthis framework, showing how the aforementioned axial vector torsion contributes\nto both the new and the old minimal set of auxiliary fields. In particular, to\nreproduce the old minimal set within the geometric setup, we also introduce two\nreal auxiliary 3-form potentials."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-Perturbative effective Lagrangians for super-matrix models: We discuss $d=1, {\\cal N}=2$ supersymmetric matrix models and exhibit the\nassociated $d=2$ collective field theory in the limit of dense eigenvalues.\nFrom this field theory we construct, by the addition of several new fields, a\n$d=2$ supersymmetric effective field theory, which reduces to the collective\nfield theory when the new fields are replaced with their vacuum expectation\nvalues. This effective theory is Poincare invariant and contains perturbative\nand non-perturbative information about the associated superstrings.",
        "positive": "Soft-Pion Theorems for Large Scale Structure: Consistency relations -- which relate an N-point function to a squeezed\n(N+1)-point function -- are useful in large scale structure (LSS) because of\ntheir non-perturbative nature: they hold even if the N-point function is deep\nin the nonlinear regime, and even if they involve astrophysically messy galaxy\nobservables. The non-perturbative nature of the consistency relations is\nguaranteed by the fact that they are symmetry statements, in which the velocity\nplays the role of the soft pion. In this paper, we address two issues: (1) how\nto derive the relations systematically using the residual coordinate freedom in\nthe Newtonian gauge, and relate them to known results in $\\zeta$-gauge (often\nused in studies of inflation); (2) under what conditions the consistency\nrelations are violated. In the non-relativistic limit, our derivation\nreproduces the Newtonian consistency relation discovered by Kehagias \\& Riotto\nand Peloso & Pietroni. More generally, there is an infinite set of consistency\nrelations, as is known in $\\zeta$-gauge. There is a one-to-one correspondence\nbetween symmetries in the two gauges; in particular, the Newtonian consistency\nrelation follows from the dilation and special conformal symmetries in\n$\\zeta$-gauge. We probe the robustness of the consistency relations by studying\nmodels of galaxy dynamics and biasing. We give a systematic list of conditions\nunder which the consistency relations are violated; violations occur if the\ngalaxy bias is non-local in an infrared divergent way. We emphasize the\nrelevance of the adiabatic mode condition, as distinct from symmetry\nconsiderations. As a by-product of our investigation, we discuss a simple fluid\nLagrangian for LSS."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "CONNECTIONS of the LIOUVILLE MODEL and XXZ SPIN CHAIN: The quantum theory of the Liouville model with imaginary field is considered\nusing the quantum inverse scattering method. An integrable structure with\nnontrivial spectral parameter dependence is developed for lattice Liouville\ntheory by scaling the $L$-matrix of lattice sine-Gordon theory. This $L$-matrix\nyields Bethe Ansatz equations for Liouville theory, by the methods of the\nalgebraic Bethe Ansatz. Using the string picture of exited Bethe states, the\nlattice Liouville Bethe equations are mapped to the corresponding equations for\nthe spin 1/2 XXZ chain. The well developed theory of finite size corrections in\nspin chains is used to deduce the conformal properties of the lattice Liouville\nBethe states. The unitary series of conformal field theories emerge for\nLiouville couplings of the form $\\gam = \\pi\\frac{\\nu}{\\nu+1}$, corresponding to\nroot of unity XXZ anisotropies. The Bethe states give the full spectrum of the\ncorresponding unitary conformal field theory, with the primary states in the\n\\Kac table parameterized by a string length $K$, and the remnant of the chain\nlength mod $(\\nu+1)$.",
        "positive": "Schr\u00f6dinger field theory in curved spacetime: In-In formalism and\n  three-point function for inflationary background: We review the Schr\\\"odinger picture of field theory in curved spacetime and\nusing this formalism, the power spectrum of massive non-interacting, minimally\ncoupled scalars in a fixed de Sitter background is obtained. To calculate the\nN-point function in Schr\\\"odinger field theory, the \"in-in\" formalism is\nextended in the Friedmann-Lema\\^itre-Robertson-Walker (FLRW) universe. We\ncompute the three-point function for primordial scalar field fluctuation in the\nsingle field inflation by this in-in formalism. The results are the same as the\nthree-point function in the Heisenberg picture."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Solvable scalar and spin models with near-neighbors interactions: We construct new solvable rational and trigonometric spin models with\nnear-neighbors interactions by an extension of the Dunkl operator formalism. In\nthe trigonometric case we obtain a finite number of energy levels in the center\nof mass frame, while the rational models are shown to possess an equally spaced\ninfinite algebraic spectrum. For the trigonometric and one of the rational\nmodels, the corresponding eigenfunctions are explicitly computed. We also study\nthe scalar reductions of the models, some of which had already appeared in the\nliterature, and compute their algebraic eigenfunctions in closed form. In the\nrational cases, for which only partial results were available, we give concise\nexpressions of the eigenfunctions in terms of generalized Laguerre and Jacobi\npolynomials.",
        "positive": "Three lectures on 3-algebras: These notes are based on lectures given in Valencia in October 2008 and in\nStockholm in November 2008, in the framework of the Nordita workshop\n\"Geometrical aspects of String Theory\". We introduce the notion of a metric\n3-Lie algebra and review some of the classification results. We explain the\ndeconstruction of metric 3-Lie algebras in Lie algebraic terms and introduce a\ngeneral framework in which to describe other 3-algebras of relevance in the\ndescription of three-dimensional superconformal Chern-Simons theories,\nparticularly those with N=6. The emphasis throughout is on the general ideas\nand concrete examples."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hidden and explicit quantum scale invariance: There exist renormalisation schemes that explicitly preserve the scale\ninvariance of a theory at the quantum level. Imposing a scale invariant\nrenormalisation breaks renormalisability and induces new non-trivial operators\nin the theory. In this work, we study the effects of such scale invariant\nrenormalisation procedures. On the one hand, an explicitly quantum scale\ninvariant theory can emerge from the scale invariant renormalisation of a scale\ninvariant Lagrangian. On the other hand, we show how a quantum scale invariant\ntheory can equally emerge from a Lagrangian visibly breaking scale invariance\nrenormalised with scale dependent renormalisation (such as the traditional\nMS-bar scheme). In this last case, scale invariance is hidden in the theory, in\nthe sense that it only appears explicitly after renormalisation.",
        "positive": "Naked Singularity and Gauss-Bonnet Term in Brane World Scenarios: We add a Gauss-Bonnet term to the Einstein-Hilbert action and study the\nrecent proposal to solve the cosmological constant problem. We also consider\nthe possibility of adding a dilaton potential to the action. In the absence of\nsupersymmetry, we obtain first order Bogomol'nyi equation as a\nsolution-generating method in our scenario. When the coefficient of the\nGauss-Bonnet term is positive, the dilaton potential is bounded below. Assuming\na simple double-well potential, the dilaton field is found to be a kink in the\nfifth dimension."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Remark on the Baryonic Branch of the Warped Deformed Conifold: It has recently been suggested that a superpotential for the baryonic branch\nof the Klebanov-Strassler field theory (KS) should exist for a sector of the\ndual supergravity fields. In this note we would like to argue that if extended\nto cover the whole set of supergravity fields a would-be superpotential does\nnot have a perturbative expansion around the known KS superpotential. Since the\nfamily of supergravity duals to the baryonic branch is an expansion around the\nwarped deformed conifold, our argument most likely indicates that there is no\nsuch superpotential, and hints that some one-parameter supersymmetric solutions\ndo not arise from BPS flow equations.",
        "positive": "Energy in Generic Higher Curvature Gravity Theories: We define and compute the energy of higher curvature gravity theories in\narbitrary dimensions. Generically, these theories admit constant curvature\nvacua (even in the absence of an explicit cosmological constant), and\nasymptotically constant curvature solutions with non-trivial energy properties.\nFor concreteness, we study quadratic curvature models in detail. Among them,\nthe one whose action is the square of the traceless Ricci tensor always has\nzero energy, unlike conformal (Weyl) gravity. We also study the string-inspired\nEinstein-Gauss-Bonnet model and show that both its flat and Anti-de-Sitter\nvacua are stable."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Heat-kernel coefficients and functional determinants for higher-spin\n  fields on the ball: The zeta function associated with higher-spin fields on the Euclidean\n$4$-ball is investigated. The leading coefficients of the corresponding\nheat-kernel expansion are given explicitly and the zeta functional determinant\nis calculated. For fermionic fields the determinant is shown to differ for\nlocal and spectral boundary conditions.",
        "positive": "Parity Doubling, Zitterbewegung, and Rest Mass for Spin 1: A 6-component \"wave function\" (not field, but S-matrix interpretable) for a\nmassive spin-1 particle parallels the Dirac \"chirality-doubled\" 4-component\nwave function for a spin-1/2 particle, by pairing two wave functions for same\nspin but opposite \"handedness\". The correlated \"opposite-parity\" pair of\ncomplex 3-vectors defines a fluctuating spin-correlated lightlike ``internal\nvelocity\" as well as an independent \"external rapidity\". Extension from\nfermions to vector bosons of the velocity-fluctuation (\"zitterbewegung\")\ninterpretation of rest mass weakens theoretical motivation for elementary\nscalar bosons."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Simple Holographic Model of Nonlinear Conductivity: We present a simple analytic gravitational solution which describes the\nholographic dual of a 2+1-dimensional conductor which goes beyond the usual\nlinear response. In particular it includes Joule heating. We find that the\nnonlinear frequency-dependent conductivity is a constant. Surprisingly, the\npressure remains isotropic. We also apply an electric field to a holographic\ninsulator and show that there is a maximum electric field below which it can\nremain an insulator. Above this critical value, we argue that it becomes a\nconductor due to pair creation of charged particles. Finally, we study 1+1 and\n3+1 dimensional conductors at the nonlinear level; here exact solutions are not\navailable and a perturbative analysis shows that the current becomes time\ndependent, but in a way that is captured by a time-dependent effective\ntemperature.",
        "positive": "On Projections to the Pure Spinor Space: A family of covariant non-linear projections from the space of SO(10) Weyl\nspinors onto the space of pure SO(10) Weyl spinors is presented. The Jacobian\nmatrices of these projections are related to a linear projector which was\npreviously discussed in pure spinor string literature and which maps the\nantighost to its gauge invariant part. Only one representative of the family\nleads to a Hermitian Jacobian matrix and can itself be derived from a scalar\npotential. Comments on the SO(1,9) case are given as well as on the\nnon-covariant version of the projection map. The insight is applied to the\nghost action of pure spinor string theory, where the constraints on the fields\ncan be removed using the projection, while introducing new gauge symmetries.\nThis opens the possibility of choosing different gauges which might help to\nclarify the origin of the pure spinor ghosts. Also the measure of the pure\nspinor space is discussed from the projection point of view. The appendix\ncontains the discussion of a toy model which served as a guideline for the pure\nspinor case."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Instanton counting and wall-crossing for orbifold quivers: Noncommutative Donaldson-Thomas invariants for abelian orbifold singularities\ncan be studied via the enumeration of instanton solutions in a six-dimensional\nnoncommutative N=2 gauge theory; this construction is based on the generalized\nMcKay correspondence and identifies the instanton counting with the counting of\nframed representations of a quiver which is naturally associated to the\ngeometry of the singularity. We extend these constructions to compute BPS\npartition functions for higher-rank refined and motivic noncommutative\nDonaldson-Thomas invariants in the Coulomb branch in terms of gauge theory\nvariables and orbifold data. We introduce the notion of virtual instanton\nquiver associated with the natural symplectic charge lattice which governs the\nquantum wall-crossing behaviour of BPS states in this context. The McKay\ncorrespondence naturally connects our formalism with other approaches to\nwall-crossing based on quantum monodromy operators and cluster algebras.",
        "positive": "The world as quantized minimal surfaces: It is pointed out that the equations $\\sum_{i=1}^d [X_i,[X_i,X_j]]=0$ (and\nits super-symmetrizations, playing a central role in M-theory matrix models)\ndescribe noncommutative minimal surfaces -- and can be solved as such."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Determining wave equations in holographic QCD from Wilsonian\n  renormalization group: We show a possible way to build the AdS/CFT correspondence starting from the\nquantum field theory side based on renormalization group approach. An extra\ndimension is naturally introduced in our scheme as the renomalization scale.\nThe holographic wave equations are derived, with the potential term being\ndetermined by the QFT properties. We discover that only around the fixed point,\ni.e. the conformal limit, the potential in the bulk equations can be fully\nconstrained, and upon this foundation, the correspondence is build. We\ndemonstrate this fact using a 3D scalar theory in which, besides the trivial\nfixed point, there exists the Wilson-Fisher fixed point. From the energy\nscalings around those fixed points, we determine the behavior of the potential\nin the bulk equations.",
        "positive": "Radiatively-Induced Lorentz and CPT Violating Chern-Simons Term in QED: We calculate the induced Lorentz- and CPT-violating Chern-Simons term arising\nfrom the Lorentz- and CPT-violating sector of quantum electrodynamics with a\n$b_\\mu\\bar{\\psi}\\gamma^\\mu\\gamma_5\\psi$ term. The result to all orders in $b$\ncoincides with the previous linear-in-$b$ calulation by Chung and Oh\n[hep-th/9812132] as well as Jackiw and Kosteleck\\'{y} [Phys. Rev. Lett. {\\bf\n82}, 3572 (1999)], since all higher order terms vanish."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Black hole spectra in holography: consequences for equilibration of dual\n  gauge theories: For a closed system to equilibrate from a given initial condition there must\nexist an equilibrium state with the energy equal to the initial one.\nEquilibrium states of a strongly coupled gauge theory with a gravitational\nholographic dual are represented by black holes. We study the spectrum of black\nholes in Pilch-Warner geometry. These black holes are holographically dual to\nequilibrium states of strongly coupled $SU(N)$ ${\\cal N}=2^*$ gauge theory\nplasma on $S^3$ in the planar limit. We find that there is no energy gap in the\nblack hole spectrum. Thus, there is a priory no obstruction for equilibration\nof arbitrary low-energy states in the theory via a small black hole\ngravitational collapse. The latter is contrasted with phenomenological examples\nof holography with dual four-dimensional CFTs having non-equal central charges\nin the stress-energy tensor trace anomaly.",
        "positive": "Supersymmetric AdS vacua and separation of scales: The moduli space of the supersymmetric massive IIA AdS4xS2(B4) vacua, where\nS2(B4) is a two-sphere bundle over a four-dimensional Kaehler-Einstein base B4,\nincludes three independent parameters which can be thought of as corresponding\nto the sizes of AdS4, B4 and the S2 fiber. It might therefore be expected that\nthese vacua do not suffer from the absence of scale separation. We show that\nthe independence of the geometric moduli survives flux quantization. However,\nwe uncover an attractor behavior whereby all sizes flow to equality in some\nneighborhood of spacetime independently of the initial conditions set by the\nparameters of the solution. This is further confirmed by the study of the ratio\nof internal to external scalar curvatures. We also show that the asymptotic\nKaluza-Klein spectrum of a ten-dimensional massive scalar is governed by a\nscale of the order of the AdS4 radius. Furthermore we point out that the\ncurvature ratio in supersymmetric IIA AdS4 vacua with rigid SU(3) structure is\nof order one, indicating the absence of scale separation in this large class of\nvacua."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Asymmetrically twisted strings: In this letter a new class of twisted strings is presented, with an asymmetry\nbetween the holomorphic and antiholomorphic sectors parametrized by an integer\n$N$. Their physical content is given by the massless resonances of the closed\nstring plus the mass-level $N$ spectrum of the open string. The appeal of this\nmodel is the singling out of the (higher spin) massive levels of string theory\ntogether with their self/gauge/gravity interactions. Motivated by the original\ntree level Kawai-Lewellen-Tye relation for closed strings, its asymmetrically\ntwisted version at four points is conjectured and shown to naturally\ninterpolate with conventional and twisted strings. The resulting four-point\namplitudes have a generalized Virasoro-Shapiro dressing factor.",
        "positive": "Deformed 2d CFT: Landau-Ginzburg Lagrangians and Toda theories: We consider the relation between affine Toda field theories (ATFT) and\nLandau-Ginzburg Lagrangians as alternative descriptions of deformed 2d CFT.\nFirst, we show that the two concrete implementations of the deformation are\nconsistent once quantum corrections to the Landau-Ginzburg Lagrangian are taken\ninto account. Second, inspired by Gepner's fusion potentials, we explore the\npossibility of a direct connection between both types of Lagrangians; namely,\nwhether they can be transformed one into another by a change of variables. This\ndirect connection exists in the one-variable case, namely, for the sine-Gordon\nmodel, but cannot be established in general. Nevertheless, we show that both\npotentials exhibit the same structure of extrema."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Algebraic K-Theory and Partition Functions in Conformal Field Theory: Certain integrable models are described by pairs (X,Y) of ADET Dynkin\ndiagrams. At high energy these models are expected to have a conformally\ninvariant limit. The S-matrix of the model determines algebraic equations,\nwhose solutions are mapped to the central charge and scaling dimensions of the\ncorresponding conformal field theory. We study the equations of the (D_m,A_n)\nmodel and find all solutions explicitly using the representation theory of Lie\nalgebras and related Yangians. These mathematically rigorous results are in\nagreement with the expectations arising from physics. We also investigate the\noverlap between certain q-hypergeometric series and modular functions. We study\na particular class of 2-fold q-hypergeometric series, denoted f_{A,B,C}. Here A\nis a positive definite, symmetric, 2x2 matrix, B is a vector of length 2, and C\nis a scalar, all three with rational entries. It turns out that for certain\nchoices of the matrix A, the function f_{A,B,C} can be made modular. We\ncalculate the corresponding values of B and C. It is expected that functions\nf_{A,B,C} arising in this way are characters of some rational conformal field\ntheory. We show that this is true in at least one case.",
        "positive": "Parity violating vertices for spin-3 gauge fields: The problem of constructing consistent parity-violating interactions for\nspin-3 gauge fields is considered in Minkowski space. Under the assumptions of\nlocality, Poincar\\'e invariance and parity non-invariance, we classify all the\nnontrivial perturbative deformations of the abelian gauge algebra. In\nspace-time dimensions $n=3$ and $n=5$, deformations of the free theory are\nobtained which make the gauge algebra non-abelian and give rise to nontrivial\ncubic vertices in the Lagrangian, at first order in the deformation parameter\n$g$. At second order in $g$, consistency conditions are obtained which the\nfive-dimensional vertex obeys, but which rule out the $n=3$ candidate.\nMoreover, in the five-dimensional first order deformation case, the gauge\ntransformations are modified by a new term which involves the second de\nWit--Freedman connection in a simple and suggestive way."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Surprising Relation for the Effective Coupling Constants of N=2 Super\n  Yang-Mills Theories: We show that the effective coupling constants $\\tau$ of supersymmetric gauge\ntheories described by hyperelliptic curves do not distinguish between the\nlattices of the two kinds of heterotic string. In particular, the following\nrelation $$ \\Theta_{D_{16}^+}(\\tau)=\\Theta_{E_8}^2(\\tau) $$ holds. This is\nreminiscent of the relation, by $T$-duality, of the two heterotic strings. We\nsuggest that such a relation extends to all curves describing effective\nsupersymmetric gauge theories.",
        "positive": "Matrix model correlators from non-Abelian T-dual of $AdS_5 \\times S^5 $: We study various perturbations and their holographic interpretation for\nnon-Abelian T-dual of $ AdS_5 \\times S^5 $ where the T-duality is applied along\nthe $ SU(2) $ of $ AdS_5 $. This paper focuses on two types of perturbations,\nnamely the scalar and the vector fields on NATD of $ AdS_5 \\times S^5 $. For\nscalar perturbations, the corresponding solutions could be categorised into two\nclasses. For one of these classes of solutions, we build up the associated\nholographic dictionary where the asymptotic radial mode sources scalar\noperators for the $ (0+1) $d matrix model. These scalar operators correspond to\neither a marginal or an irrelevant deformation of the dual matrix model at\nstrong coupling. We calculate the two point correlation between these scalar\noperators and explore their high as well as low frequency behaviour. We also\ndiscuss the completion of these geometries by setting an upper cut-off along\nthe holographic axis and discuss the corresponding corrections to the scalar\ncorrelators in the dual matrix model. Finally, we extend our results for vector\nperturbations where we obtain asymptotic solutions for a particular class of\nmodes. These are further used to calculate the boundary charge density at\nfinite chemical potential."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Collective Field Representation of Nonrelativistic Fermions in (1+1)\n  Dimensions: A collective field formalism for nonrelativistic fermions in (1+1) dimensions\nis presented. Applications to the D=1 hermitian matrix model and the system of\none-dimensional fermions in the presence of a weak electromagnetic field are\ndiscussed.",
        "positive": "Reducible contributions to the propagator and EHL in background fields: We briefly discuss the recent discovery of reducible contributions to QED\neffective actions due to the presence of external electromagnetic fields at\ntree level and higher loop-order. We classify the physical effects of these\ncontributions for various field configurations and discuss the strong field\nasymptotic limit."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Neutrino oscillations in the Unruh radiation: The study of the decay of an accelerated proton recently provided a\ntheoretical proof of the Unruh effect. On the basis of general covariance of\nQuantum Field Theory, indeed, it was found that the decay rates in the inertial\nand comoving frames do coincide only when the thermal nature of the accelerated\nvacuum is taken into account. Such an analysis was then extended to the case\nwith neutrino mixing. In this Letter, we show that, by further embedding\nneutrino oscillations in the above framework, general covariance necessarily\nentails the use of flavor neutrinos as asymptotic states, as well as the\noccurrence of neutrino oscillations in the Unruh thermal bath.",
        "positive": "Worldsheet boundary conditions in Poisson-Lie T-duality: We apply canonical Poisson-Lie T-duality transformations to bosonic open\nstring worldsheet boundary conditions, showing that the form of these\nconditions is invariant at the classical level, and therefore they are\ncompatible with Poisson-Lie T-duality. In particular the conditions for\nconformal invariance are automatically preserved, rendering also the dual model\nconformal. The boundary conditions are defined in terms of a gluing matrix\nwhich encodes the properties of D-branes, and we derive the duality map for\nthis matrix. We demonstrate explicitly the implications of this map for\nD-branes in two non-Abelian Drinfel'd doubles."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fully Covariant Van Dam-Veltman-Zakharov Discontinuity, and Absence\n  Thereof: In both old and recent literature, it has been argued that the celebrated van\nDam-Veltman-Zakharov (vDVZ) discontinuity of massive gravity is an artifact due\nto linearization of the true equations of motion. In this letter, we\ninvestigate that claim. First, we exhibit an explicit -albeit somewhat\narbitrary- fully covariant set of equations of motion that, upon linearization,\nreduce to the standard Pauli-Fierz equations. We show that the vDVZ\ndiscontinuity still persists in that non-linear, covariant theory. Then, we\nrestrict our attention to a particular system that consistently incorporates\nmassive gravity: the Dvali-Gabadadze-Porrati (DGP) model. DGP is fully\ncovariant and does not share the arbitrariness and imperfections of our\nprevious covariantization, and its linearization exhibits a vDVZ discontinuity.\nNevertheless, we explicitly show that the discontinuity does disappear in the\nfully covariant theory, and we explain the reason for this phenomenon.",
        "positive": "Fractional black $p$-branes on orbifold ${\\mathbb C}^n/{\\mathbb Z}_n$: The recent discovery of an explicit solution of a black hole on the resolved\norbifold ${\\mathbb C}^n/{\\mathbb Z}_n$ makes it possible to investigate the\nexistence of $p$-branes on the orbifold. In particular, it is possible with\nreasonable precision to verify the prediction that an M2-brane on ${\\mathbb\nC}^4/{\\mathbb Z}_4$ in eleven dimensions and a D3-brane on ${\\mathbb\nC}^3/{\\mathbb Z}_3$ in ten dimensions have a family of black $p$-branes on the\norbifold ${\\mathbb C}^n/{\\mathbb Z}_n$. These solutions are extremal and have\nregular horizons $S^{2n-1}/{\\mathbb Z}_n$ without any naked singularity, with\nnear horizon geometries AdS${}_{p+2}\\times S^{2n-1}/{\\mathbb Z}_n$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Mesons in gauge/gravity dual with large number of fundamental fields: In view of extending gauge/gravity dualities with flavour beyond the probe\napproximation, we establish the gravity dual description of mesons for a\nthree-dimensional super Yang-Mills theory with fundamental matter. For this\npurpose we consider the fully backreacted D2/D6 brane solution of Cherkis and\nHashimoto in an approximation due to Pelc and Siebelink. The low-energy field\ntheory is the IR fixed point theory of three-dimensional N=4 SU(N_c) super\nYang-Mills with N_f fundamental fields, which we consider in a large N_c and\nN_f limit with N_f/N_c finite and fixed. We discuss the dictionary between\nmeson-like operators and supergravity fluctuations in the corresponding\nnear-horizon geometry. In particular, we find that the mesons are dual to the\nlow-energy limit of closed string states. In analogy to computations of\nglueball mass spectra, we calculate the mass of the lowest-lying meson and find\nthat it depends linearly on the quark mass.",
        "positive": "Construction of the Energy-Momentum Tensor for Wilson Actions: Given an arbitrary Wilson action of a real scalar field, we discuss how to\nconstruct the energy-momentum tensor of the theory. Using the exact\nrenormalization group, we can determine the energy-momentum tensor implicitly,\nbut we are short of obtaining an explicit formula in terms of the Wilson\naction."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Notes on Quantum Entanglement of Local Operators: This is an expanded version of the short report arXiv:1401.0539, where we\nstud- ied the (Renyi) entanglement entropies for the excited state defined by\nacting a given local operator on the ground state. We introduced the (Renyi)\nentanglement entropies of given local operators which measure the degrees of\nfreedom of local operators and characterize them in conformal field theories\nfrom the viewpoint of quantum entanglement. In present paper, we explain how to\ncompute them in free massless scalar field theories and we also investigate\ntheir time evolution. The results are interpreted in terms of relativistic\npropagation of an entangled pair. The main new results which we acquire in the\npresent paper are as follows. Firstly, we provide an explanation which shows\nthat the (Renyi) entanglement entropies of a specific operator are given by\n(Renyi) entanglement entropies of binomial distribution by the replica method.\nThat operator is constructed of only scalar field. Secondly, we found the sum\nrule which (Renyi) entanglement entropies of those local operators obey. Those\nlocal operators are located separately. Moreover we argue that (Renyi)\nentanglement entropies of specific operators in conformal field theories are\ngiven by (Renyi) entanglement entropies of binomial distribution. These\nspecific operators are constructed of single-species operator. We also argue\nthat general operators obey the sum rule which we mentioned above.",
        "positive": "Geroch Group Description of Bubbling Geometries: The Riemann-Hilbert approach to studying solutions of supergravity theories\nallows us to associate spacetime independent monodromy matrices (matrices in\nthe Geroch group) with solutions that effectively only depend on two spacetime\ncoordinates. This offers insights into symmetries of supergravity theories, and\nin the classification of their solutions. In this paper, we initiate a\nsystematic study of monodromy matrices for multi-center solutions of\nfive-dimensional U(1)$^3$ supergravity. We obtain monodromy matrices for a\nclass of collinear Bena-Warner bubbling geometries. We show that for this class\nof solutions, monodromy matrices in the vector representation of SO(4,4) have\nonly simple poles with residues of rank two and nilpotency degree two. These\nproperties strongly suggest that an inverse scattering construction along the\nlines of [arXiv:1311.7018 [hep-th]] can be given for this class of solutions,\nthough it is not attempted in this work. Along the way, we clarify a technical\npoint in the existing literature: we show that the so-called \"spectral flow\ntransformations\" of Bena, Bobev, and Warner are precisely a class of Harrison\ntransformations when restricted to the situation of two commuting Killing\nsymmetries in five-dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Radiated Angular Momentum and Dissipative Effects in Classical\n  Scattering: We present a new formula for the angular momentum $J^{\\mu\\nu}$ carried away\nby gravitational radiation in classical scattering. This formula, combined with\nthe known expression for the radiated linear momentum $P^\\mu$, completes the\nset of radiated Poincare charges due to scattering. We parametrize $P^\\mu$ and\n$J^{\\mu\\nu}$ by non-perturbative form factors and derive exact relations using\nthe Poincare algebra. There is a contribution to $J^{\\mu\\nu}$ due to static\n(zero-frequency) modes, which can be derived from Weinberg's soft theorem.\nUsing tools from scattering amplitudes and effective field theory, we calculate\nthe radiated $J^{\\mu\\nu}$ due to the scattering of two spinless particles to\nthird order in Newton's constant $G$, but to all orders in velocity. Our\nform-factor analysis elucidates a novel relation found by Bini, Damour, and\nGeralico between energy and angular momentum loss at $\\mathcal{O}(G^3)$. Our\nnew results have several nontrivial implications for binary scattering at\n$\\mathcal{O}(G^4)$. We give a procedure to bootstrap an effective radiation\nreaction force from the loss of Poincare charges due to scattering.",
        "positive": "Going beyond the propagators of Landau gauge Yang-Mills theory: We present results for the propagators and the ghost-gluon vertex of Landau\ngauge Yang-Mills theory obtained from Dyson-Schwinger equations. Solving these\nthree quantities simultaneously constitutes a new step in truncating these\nequations. We also introduce a new model for the three-gluon vertex that is\nmotivated by lattice results. It features a zero crossing which is confirmed a\nposteriori by a Dyson-Schwinger calculation. Within our setup we can reproduce\nlattice data very well. We establish that also for the ghost-gluon vertex a\ndifference between decoupling and scaling solutions is present. For the scaling\nsolution we discuss the possibility of modifying the infrared exponents via an\nangle dependence of the ghost-gluon vertex. However, no such dependence is\nfound in our calculations. Finally, we calculate the Schwinger function for the\ngluon propagator."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Witten's Open String Field Theory in Constant B-Field Background: In this paper we consider Witten's bosonic open string field theory in the\npresence of a constant background of the second-rank antisymmetric tensor field\n$B_{ij}$. We extend the operator formulation of Gross and Jevicki in this\nsituation and construct the overlap vertices explicitly. As a result we find a\nnoncommutative structure of the Moyal type only in the zero-mode sector, which\nis consistent with the result of the correlation functions among vertex\noperators in the world sheet formulation. Furthermore we find out a certain\nunitary transformation of the string field which absorbs the Moyal type\nnoncommutative structure. It can be regarded as a microscopic origin of the\ntransformation between the gauge fields in commutative and noncommutative gauge\ntheories discussed by Seiberg and Witten.",
        "positive": "BRST Cohomology Ring in ${\\hat c_M}<1$ NSR String Theory: The full cohomology ring of the Lian-Zuckerman type operators (states) in\n${\\hat c_M}<1$ Neveu-Schwarz-Ramond (NSR) string theory is argued to be\ngenerated by three elements $x$, $y$ and $w$ in analogy with the corresponding\nresults in the bosonic case. The ground ring generators $x$ and $y$ are\nnon-invertible and belong to the Ramond sector whereas the higher ghost number\noperators are generated by an invertible element $w$ with ghost number one less\nthan that of the ground ring generators and belongs to either Neveu-Schwarz\n(NS) or Ramond (R) sector depending on whether we consider (even, even) or\n(odd, odd) series coupled to $2d$ supergravity. We explicitly construct these\noperators (states) and illustrate our result with an example of pure Liouville\nsupergravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Three-Point Functions of Non-Unitary Minimal Matter Coupled to Gravity: The tree-level three-point correlation functions of local operators in the\ngeneral $(p,q)$ minimal models coupled to gravity are calculated in the\ncontinuum approach. On one hand, the result agrees with the unitary series\n($q=p+1$); and on the other hand, for $p=2, q=2k-1$, we find agreement with the\none-matrix model results.",
        "positive": "DBI Action from Closed Strings and D-brane second Quantization: Brane-like vertex operators play an important role in a worldsheet\nformulation of D-branes and M-theory. In this paper we derive the DBI D-brane\naction from NSR closed string sigma-model with brane-like states. We also show\nthat these operators carry RR charges and define D-brane wavefunctions in a\nsecond quantized formalism."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Yang-Mills Theory as a Deformation of Topological Field Theory,\n  Dimensional Reduction and Quark Confinement: We propose a reformulation of Yang-Mills theory as a perturbative deformation\nof a novel topological (quantum) field theory. We prove that this reformulation\nof the four-dimensional QCD leads to quark confinement in the sense of area law\nof the Wilson loop. First, Yang-Mills theory with a non-Abelian gauge group G\nis reformulated as a deformation of a novel topological field theory. Next, a\nspecial class of topological field theories is defined by both BRST and\nanti-BRST exact action corresponding to the maximal Abelian gauge leaving the\nmaximal torus group H of G invariant. Then we find the topological field theory\n($D>2$) has a hidden supersymmetry for a choice of maximal Abelian gauge. As a\nresult, the D-dimensional topological field theory is equivalent to the\n(D-2)-dimensional coset G/H non-linear sigma model in the sense of Parisi and\nSourlas dimensional reduction. After maximal Abelian gauge fixing, the\ntopological property of magnetic monopole and anti-monopole of four-dimensional\nYang-Mills theory is translated into that of instanton and anti-instanton in\ntwo-dimensional equivalent model. It is shown that the linear static potential\nin four-dimensions follows from the instanton--anti-instanton gas in the\nequivalent two-dimensional non-linear sigma model obtained from the\nfour-dimensional topological field theory by dimensional reduction, while the\nremaining Coulomb potential comes from the perturbative part in\nfour-dimensional Yang-Mills theory. The dimensional reduction opens a path for\napplying various exact methods developed in two-dimensional quantum field\ntheory to study the non-perturbative problem in low-energy physics of\nfour-dimensional quantum field theories.",
        "positive": "Lectures on Scattering Amplitudes via AdS/CFT: We review recent progress on computing scattering amplitudes of planar N=4\nsuper Yang-Mills at strong coupling by using the AdS/CFT duality. We do\nexplicit computations by using both, dimensional regularization and a cut-off\nin the radial direction. Up to an additive constant independent on the\nkinematics, the finite piece of the amplitude is the same in both\nregularizations. The later scheme is particularly appropriate for understanding\nthe conformal properties of the amplitudes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Higher Derivative Terms in Tachyon Effective Actions: We reconstruct the tachyon effective action for unstable D-branes in\nsuperstring theory by examining its behaviour near exactly marginal\ndeformations, where the ambigous higher derivative terms can be eliminated. We\nthen compare this action with that obtained in boundary string field theory and\nfind remarkable agreement. In particular, the tension for lower dimensional\nbranes and the BI-action for the centre of mass motion are reprodued exactly.\nWe also comment on the action for tachyons on the kink in a\nD-brane/anti-D-brane system and on bosonic string theory.",
        "positive": "Universal IR Holography, Scalar Fluctuations and Glueball spectra: We show that the d'Alembertian operator with a possible mass term in the AdS\nsoliton and more general confining gravity dual backrounds admits infinitely\nmany different spectra. These can be interpreted as different theories in the\ninfrared and correspond to multitrace deformations of either the Dirichlet or\nthe Neumann theory. We prove that all these fluctuations are normalizable and\nprovide examples of their spectra. Therefore, the AdS soliton can be\ninterpreted as giving a holographic RG flow between an universal UV theory at\nthe AdS boundary and these infinitely many possibilities in the IR, obtained by\ndeformations. The massive spectrum of the double trace deformation in $AdS_5$\nallows the matching of the large-$N$ glueball masses of lattice $QCD_3$; the\nratio of the ground states of the $2^{++}$ and $0^{++}$ channels are in full\nagreement with the lattice prediction. When considering $AdS_7$ and the\n4-dimensional pure glue theory, a remarkably general picture emerges, where we\ncan write formulas for the fluctuations that are in agreement with ones from\nholographic high-energy scattering and from AdS/CFT with IR and UV cut-off. We\npoint out that this log branch in the IR in $D$-dimensions can be seen as the\nusual logarithmic branch of scalar fields saturating the Breitenlohner-Freedman\nbound in a conformally rescaled metric, with $AdS_{D-1}\\times S^1$ asymptotics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Black hole particle emission in higher-dimensional spacetimes: In models with extra dimensions, a black hole evaporates both in the bulk and\non the visible brane, where standard model fields live. The exact emissivities\nof each particle species are needed to determine how the black hole decay\nproceeds. We compute and discuss the absorption cross-sections, the relative\nemissivities and the total power output of all known fields in the evaporation\nphase. Graviton emissivity is highly enhanced as the spacetime dimensionality\nincreases. Therefore, a black hole loses a significant fraction of its mass in\nthe bulk. This result has important consequences for the phenomenology of black\nholes in models with extra dimensions and black hole detection in particle\ncolliders.",
        "positive": "Dynamical mass generation of a two-component fermion in\n  Maxwell-Chern-Simons QED_3: The lowest ladder approximation: Dynamical mass generation of a two-component fermion in $QED_3$ with a\nChern-Simons term is investigated by solving the Schwinger-Dyson equation\nformulated in the lowest ladder approximation. Dependence of the dynamical\nfermion mass on a gauge-fixing parameter, a gauge coupling constant, and a\ntopological mass is examined by approximated analytical and also numerical\nmethods. The inclusion of the Chern-Simons term makes impossible to choose a\npeculiar gauge in which a wave function renormalization is absent. The\nnumerical evaluation shows that the wave function renormalization is fairly\nclose to 1 in the Landau gauge. It means that this gauge is still a specific\ngauge where the Ward-Takahashi identity is satisfied approximately. We also\nfind that the dynamical mass is almost constant if the topological mass is\nlarger than the coupling constant, while it decreases when the topological mass\nis comparable to or smaller than the coupling constant and tends to the value\nin $QED_3$ without the Chern-Simons term."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Geometry of Large Causal Diamonds and the No Hair Property of\n  Asymptotically de-Sitter Spacetimes: In a previous paper we obtained formulae for the volume of a causal diamond\nor Alexandrov open set $I^+(p) \\cap I^-(q)$ whose duration $\\tau(p,q) $ is\nshort compared with the curvature scale. In the present paper we obtain\nasymptotic formulae valid when the point $q$ recedes to the future boundary\n${\\cal I}^+$ of an asymptotically de-Sitter spacetime. The volume (at fixed\n$\\tau$) remains finite in this limit and is given by the universal formula\n$V(\\tau) = {4\\over 3}\\pi (2\\ln \\cosh{\\tau\\over 2}-\\tanh^2{\\tau\\over 2})$ plus\ncorrections (given by a series in $e^{-t_q}$) which begin at order $e^{-4t_q}$.\nThe coefficents of the corrections depend on the geometry of ${\\cal I}^+$. This\nbehaviour is shown to be consistent with the no-hair property of cosmological\nevent horizons and with calculations of de-Sitter quasinormal modes in the\nliterature.",
        "positive": "Algebraic bosonization: the study of the Heisenberg and\n  Calogero-Sutherland models: We propose an approach to treat (1+1)--dimensional fermionic systems based on\nthe idea of algebraic bosonization. This amounts to decompose the elementary\nlow-lying excitations around the Fermi surface in terms of basic building\nblocks which carry a representation of the W_{1+\\infty} \\times {\\overline\nW_{1+\\infty}} algebra, which is the dynamical symmetry of the Fermi quantum\nincompressible fluid. This symmetry simply expresses the local particle-number\ncurrent conservation at the Fermi surface. The general approach is illustrated\nin detail in two examples: the Heisenberg and Calogero-Sutherland models, which\nallow for a comparison with the exact Bethe Ansatz solution."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "$A^{(2)}_2$ Parafermions: A New Conformal Field Theory: A new parafermionic algebra associated with the homogeneous space\n$A^{(2)}_2/U(1)$ and its corresponding $Z$-algebra have been recently proposed.\nIn this paper, we give a free boson representation of the $A^{(2)}_2$\nparafermion algebra in terms of seven free fields. Free field realizations of\nthe parafermionic energy-momentum tensor and screening currents are also\nobtained. A new algebraic structure is discovered, which contains a $W$-algebra\ntype primary field with spin two.",
        "positive": "ADHM Construction of (Anti-)Self-dual Instantons in $4n$ Dimensions: The ADHM construction is a very strong scheme to construct the instantons in\nfour dimensions. We study an ADHM construction of instantons in $4n~(n\\geq2)$\ndimensions by generalizing this scheme. The higher-dimensional ADHM\nconstruction generates the $4n$-dimensional (anti-)self-dual instantons which\nsatisfy the (anti-)self-dual equation in $4n$ dimensions:\n$F(n)=\\pm\\ast_{4n}F(n)$. Here $F(n)$ is the $n$th wedge products of the gauge\nfield strength 2-form $F$. We also show that our scheme reproduces the known\n$4n$-dimensional one-instantons and there are multi-instanton solutions of the\n't Hooft type in the dilute instanton gas limit. Moreover we discuss a\nHarrington-Shepard type caloron in $4n$ dimensions and this monopole limit."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Discontinuity for Massive Spin 3/2 with a Lambda Term: We show that the recently demonstrated absence of the van\nDam-Veltman-Zakharov discontinuity for massive spin 3/2 with a Lambda term is\nan artifact of the tree level approximation, and that the discontinuity\nreappears at one loop. As a numerical check on the calculation, we rederive the\nvanishing of the one- loop beta function for D=11 supergravity on AdS_4 x S^7\nlevel-by-level in the Kaluza-Klein tower.",
        "positive": "Mesonic Spectra of Bosonized QCD_2 Models: We discuss bosonized two-dimensional QCD with massless fermions in the\nadjoint and multi-flavor fundamental representations. We evaluate the massive\nmesonic spectra of several models by using the light-front quantization and\ndiagonalizing the mass operator $M^2=2P^+P^- $. We recover previous results in\nthe case of one flavor adjoint fermions and we find the exact massive spectrum\nof multi flavor QCD in the limit of large number of flavors."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Matrix model and the non-commutative geometry of the supermembrane: This is a short note on the relation of the Matrix model with the\nnon-commutative geometry of the 11-dimensional supermembrane. We put forward\nthe idea that M-theory is described by the 't Hooft topological expansion of\nthe Matrix model in the large N-limit where all topologies of membranes appear.\nThis expansion can faithfully be represented by the Moyal Yang-Mills theory of\nmembranes. We discuss this conjecture in the case of finite N, where the\nnon-commutative geometry of the membrane is given be the finite quantum\nmechanics. The use of the finite dimensional representations of the Heisenberg\ngroup reveals the cellular structure of a toroidal supermembrane on which the\nMatrix model appears as a non-commutatutive Yang-Mills theory. The Moyal star\nproduct on the space of functions in the case of rational values of the Planck\nconstant \\hbar represents exactly this cellular structure. We also discuss the\nintegrability of the instanton sector as well as the topological charge and the\ncorresponding Bogomol'nyi bound.",
        "positive": "Gauge Theoretic Approach to Fluid Dynamics: The Hamiltonian dynamics of a compressible inviscid fluid is formulated as a\ngauge theory. The idea of gauge equivalence is exploited to unify the study of\napparantly distinct physical problems and solutions of new models can be\ngenerated from known fluid velocity profiles."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "O(n,n) invariance and Wald entropy formula in the Heterotic Superstring\n  effective action at first order in alpha': We perform the toroidal compactification of the full Bergshoeff-de Roo\nversion of the Heterotic Superstring effective action to first orderin\n$\\alpha'$. The dimensionally-reduced action is given in a\nmanifestly-O(n,n)-invariant form which we use to derive a\nmanifestly-O(n,n)-invariant Wald entropy formula which we then use to compute\nthe entropy of $\\alpha'$-corrected, 4-dimensional, 4-charge, static, extremal,\nsupersymmetric black holes.",
        "positive": "Unitarization from Geometry: We study the perturbative unitarity of scattering amplitudes in general\ndimensional reductions of Yang-Mills theories and general relativity on closed\ninternal manifolds. For the tree amplitudes of the dimensionally reduced theory\nto have the expected high-energy behavior of the higher-dimensional theory, the\nmasses and cubic couplings of the Kaluza-Klein states must satisfy certain sum\nrules that ensure there are nontrivial cancellations between Feynman diagrams.\nThese sum rules give constraints on the spectra and triple overlap integrals of\neigenfunctions of Laplacian operators on the internal manifold and can be\nproven directly using Hodge and eigenfunction decompositions. One consequence\nof these constraints is that there is an upper bound on the ratio of\nconsecutive eigenvalues of the scalar Laplacian on closed Ricci-flat manifolds\nwith special holonomy. This gives a sharp bound on the allowed gaps between\nKaluza-Klein excitations of the graviton that also applies to Calabi-Yau\ncompactifications of string theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Feynman geometry: In this paper we introduce a notion of Feynman geometry on which quantum\nfield theories could be properly defined. A strong Feynman geometry is a\ngeometry when the vector space of $A_\\infty$ structures is finite dimensional.\nA weak Feynman geometry is a geometry when the vector space of $A_\\infty$\nstructures is infinite dimensional while the relevant operators are of\ntrace-class. We construct families of Feynman geometries with \"continuum\" as\ntheir limit.",
        "positive": "Quantum Mechanics on Multiply Connected Manifolds with Applications to\n  One and Two Dimensional Anyons: In these lectures several aspects of anyon in one and two dimensions are\nconsidered from the path integral formalism. This paper is based in a set of\nfour lectures given by the author in the \"V Latinoamerican Workshop of\nParticles and Fields, hel in Puebla, Mexico."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Boundary bound states in integrable quantum field theories: The purpose of this talk is to sketch some recent progress which has been\nmade in calculating non-perturbatively the reflection factors for the\nsinh-Gordon model restricted to a half-line by integrable boundary conditions.\nThe essential idea is to calculate the energy spectrum of boundary breathers in\ntwo independent ways; firstly by using the boundary bootstrap and secondly by\nquantizing the classical solutions corresponding to boundary breathers.\nComparing these two calculations provides a way to determine the dependence of\nthe reflection factors on the parameters introduced into the Lagrangian by the\nboundary conditions. The basic idea is illustrated using a massive free scalar\nfield with a linear boundary condition confining it to a half-line.",
        "positive": "Carnot-Caratheodory metric and gauge fluctuation in Noncommutative\n  Geometry: Gauge fields have a natural metric interpretation in terms of horizontal\ndistance. The latest, also called Carnot-Caratheodory or subriemannian\ndistance, is by definition the length of the shortest horizontal path between\npoints, that is to say the shortest path whose tangent vector is everywhere\nhorizontal with respect to the gauge connection. In noncommutative geometry all\nthe metric information is encoded within the Dirac operator D. In the classical\ncase, i.e. commutative, Connes's distance formula allows to extract from D the\ngeodesic distance on a riemannian spin manifold. In the case of a gauge theory\nwith a gauge field A, the geometry of the associated U(n)-vector bundle is\ndescribed by the covariant Dirac operator D+A. What is the distance encoded\nwithin this operator ? It was expected that the noncommutative geometry\ndistance d defined by a covariant Dirac operator was intimately linked to the\nCarnot-Caratheodory distance dh defined by A. In this paper we precise this\nlink, showing that the equality of d and dh strongly depends on the holonomy of\nthe connection. Quite interestingly we exhibit an elementary example, based on\na 2 torus, in which the noncommutative distance has a very simple expression\nand simultaneously avoids the main drawbacks of the riemannian metric (no\ndiscontinuity of the derivative of the distance function at the cut-locus) and\nof the subriemannian one (memory of the structure of the fiber)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Scattering and Thermodynamics of Fractionally-Charged Supersymmetric\n  Solitons: We show that there are solitons with fractional fermion number in integrable\n$N$=2 supersymmetric models. We obtain the soliton S-matrix for the minimal,\n$N$=2 supersymmetric theory perturbed in the least relevant chiral primary\nfield, the $\\Phi _{(1,3)}$ superfield. The perturbed theory has a nice\nLandau-Ginzburg description with a Chebyshev polynomial superpotential. We show\nthat the S-matrix is a tensor product of an associated ordinary $ADE$ minimal\nmodel S-matrix with a supersymmetric part. We calculate the ground-state energy\nin these theories and in the analogous $N$=1 case and $SU(2)$ coset models. In\nall cases, the ultraviolet limit is in agreement with the conformal field\ntheory.",
        "positive": "Self-duality, helicity and background field loopology: I show that helicity plays an important role in the development of rules for\ncomputing higher loop effective Lagrangians. Specifically, the two-loop\nHeisenberg-Euler effective Lagrangian in quantum electrodynamics is remarkably\nsimple when the background field has definite helicity (i.e., is self-dual).\nFurthermore, the two-loop answer can be derived essentially algebraically, and\nis naturally expressed in terms of one-loop quantities. This represents a\ngeneralization of the familiar ``integration-by-parts'' rules for manipulating\ndiagrams involving free propagators to the more complicated case where the\npropagators are those for scalars or spinors in the presence of a background\nfield."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Aspects of generalized Calogero model: A multispecies model of Calogero type in $D\\geq 1$ dimensions is constructed.\nThe model includes harmonic, two-body and three-body interactions. Using the\nunderlying conformal SU(1,1) algebra, we find the exact eigenenergies\ncorresponding to a class of the exact global collective states. Analysing\ncorresponding Fock space, we detect the universal critical point at which the\nmodel exhibits singular behaviour.",
        "positive": "All the Exact Solutions of Generalized Calogero-Sutherland Models: A collective field method is extended to obtain all the explicit solutions of\nthe generalized Calogero-Sutherland models that are characterized by the roots\nof all the classical groups, including the solutions corresponding to spinor\nrepresentations for $B_N$ and $D_N$ cases."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic Local Operator Quenches in BCFTs: We present a gravity dual of local operator quench in a two-dimensional CFT\nwith conformal boundaries. This is given by a massive excitation in a\nthree-dimensional AdS space with the end of the world brane (EOW brane). Due to\nthe gravitational backreaction, the EOW brane gets deformed in a nontrivial\nway. We show that the energy-momentum tensor and entanglement entropy computed\nfrom the gravity dual and from the BCFT in the large $c$ limit match perfectly.\nInterestingly, this comparison avoids the folding of the EOW brane in an\nelegant way.",
        "positive": "Proposal of a topological M(atrix) theory: Keeping in mind the several models of M(atrix) theory we attempt to\nunderstand the possible structure of the topological M(atrix) theory\n``underlying'' these approaches. In particular we are motivated by the issue\nabout the nature of the structure of the vacuum of the topological M(atrix)\ntheory and how this could be related to the vacuum of the electroweak theory.\nIn doing so we are led to a simple topological matrix model. Moreover it is\nintuitively expected from the current understanding that the noncommutative\nnature of ``spacetime'' and background independence should lead to a\ntopological Model. The main purpose of this note is to propose a simple\ntopological Matrix Model which bears relation to F and M theories. Suggestions\non the origin of the chemical potential term appearing in the matrix models are\ngiven."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Perturbative Approach to Higher Derivative and Nonlocal Theories: We review a perturbative approach to deal with Lagrangians with higher or\ninfinite order time derivatives. It enables us to construct a consistent\nPoisson structure and Hamiltonian with only first time derivatives order by\norder in coupling. To the lowest order, the Hamiltonian is bounded from below\nwhenever the potential is. We consider spacetime noncommutative field theory as\nan example.",
        "positive": "Holographic heat engine with momentum relaxation: We investigate the heat engine defined via black hole with momentum\nrelaxation, which is introduced by massless axion fields. We first study the\nextended thermodynamical properties of the black hole and then apply it to\ndefine a heat engine. Then, we analyze how the momentum relaxation affects the\nefficiency of the heat engine in the limit of high temperature. We find that\ndepending on the schemes of specified parameters in the engine circle, the\ninfluence of momentum relaxation on the efficiency of the heat engine behaves\nnovelly, and the qualitative behaviors do depend on the dimension of the\ngravity theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Nonperturbative Casimir effects: Vacuum structure, Confinement, and\n  Chiral Symmetry Breaking: The review of vacuum and matter restructuring in space-time with boundaries\nis presented. We consider phase properties of confining gauge theories and\nstrongly interacting fermion systems. In particular, the chiral and\ndeconfinement phase transitions properties in the presence of Casimir plates.\nWe also discuss mass scale shifts in such systems and their possible dynamical\nand geometrical nature.",
        "positive": "CFT Duals for Attractor Horizons: In this paper we generalize the results of [1] to 5-dimensional Anti-de\nSitter gravity theories with neutral scalars non-minimally coupled to gauge\nfields. Due to the attractor mechanism, the near horizon geometry of extremal\nblack holes is universal and is determined by only the charge parameters. In\nparticular, we study a class of near horizon geometries that contain an\n$AdS_2\\times S^2$ factor after Kaluza-Klein reduction. In this way we obtain\nthe microscopic entropy of Gutowski-Reall black hole. We also point out a\npossible connection with the $AdS_2/CFT_1$ correspondence."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Light neutrino masses from a non-Hermitian Yukawa theory: Working within the context of PT-symmetric quantum mechanics, we begin by\ndescribing a non-Hermitian extension of QED that is both Lorentz invariant and\nconsistent with unitarity. We show that the non-Hermitian Dirac mass matrix of\nthis theory exhibits an exceptional point, corresponding to an effectively\nmassless theory whose conserved current is either right- or left-chiral\ndominated. With this inspiration, we are able to construct a non-Hermitian\nmodel of light Dirac neutrino masses from Hermitian and anti-Hermitian Yukawa\ncouplings that are both of order unity. We finish by highlighting potential\nphenomenological implications of this model.",
        "positive": "General Aspects of PT-Symmetric and P-Self-Adjoint Quantum Theory in a\n  Krein Space: In our previous work, we proposed a mathematical framework for PT-symmetric\nquantum theory, and in particular constructed a Krein space in which\nPT-symmetric operators would naturally act. In this work, we explore and\ndiscuss various general consequences and aspects of the theory defined in the\nKrein space, not only spectral property and PT symmetry breaking but also\nseveral issues, crucial for the theory to be physically acceptable, such as\ntime evolution of state vectors, probability interpretation, uncertainty\nrelation, classical-quantum correspondence, completeness, existence of a basis,\nand so on. In particular, we show that for a given real classical system we can\nalways construct the corresponding PT-symmetric quantum system, which indicates\nthat PT-symmetric theory in the Krein space is another quantization scheme\nrather than a generalization of the traditional Hermitian one in the Hilbert\nspace. We propose a postulate for an operator to be a physical observable in\nthe framework."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "$g/u(1)^d$ parafermions from constrained WZNW theories: The conformal field theory based on the $g/u(1)^d$ coset construction is\ntreated as the WZNW theory for the affine Lie algebra $\\hat g$ with the\nconstrained $\\hat u(1)^d$ subalgebra.Using a modification of the generalized\ncanonical quantization method generators and primary fields of an extended\nsymmetry algebra are found for arbitrary d.",
        "positive": "Matrix regularization for tensor fields: We propose a novel matrix regularization for tensor fields. In this\nregularization, tensor fields are described as rectangular matrices and both\narea-preserving diffeomorphisms and local rotations of the orthonormal frame\nare realized as unitary similarity transformations of matrices in a unified\nway. We also show that the matrix commutator corresponds to the covariantized\nPoisson bracket for tensor fields in the large-$N$ limit."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Notes on D-branes of Type IIB String on AdS_5 x S^5: We promote a study of D-branes of type IIB string on the AdS_5 x S^5\nbackground. The possible D-branes preserving half of supersymmetries were\nclassified up to and including the fourth order of fermionic variable \\th in\nour previous work [hep-th/0310228]. In this paper we show that our\nclassification is still valid even at the full order of \\th. This proof\nsupplements our previous results and completes the classification of D-branes\nin the type IIB string theory on the AdS_5 x S^5.",
        "positive": "On Analytic Bootstrap for Interface and Boundary CFT: We use analytic bootstrap techniques for a CFT with an interface or a\nboundary. Exploiting the analytic structure of the bulk and boundary conformal\nblocks we extract the CFT data. We further constrain the CFT data by applying\nthe equation of motion to the boundary operator expansion. The method presented\nin this paper is general, and it is illustrated in the context of perturbative\nWilson-Fisher theories. In particular, we find constraints on the OPE\ncoefficients for the conformal interface CFT in $4 - \\epsilon$ dimensions (upto\norder $\\mathcal{O}(\\epsilon^2)$) with $\\phi^4$-interactions in the bulk. We\nalso compute the corresponding coefficients for the non-unitary $\\phi^3$-theory\nin $6 - \\epsilon$ dimensions in the presence of a conformal boundary equipped\nwith either Dirichlet or Neumann boundary conditions upto order\n$\\mathcal{O}(\\epsilon)$, or an interface upto order\n$\\mathcal{O}(\\sqrt{\\epsilon})$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the response of detectors in classical electromagnetic backgrounds: I study the response of a detector that is coupled non-linearly to a\nquantized complex scalar field in different types of classical electromagnetic\nbackgrounds. Assuming that the quantum field is in the vacuum state, I show\nthat, when in {\\it inertial} motion, the detector responds {\\it only} when the\nelectromagnetic background produces particles. However, I find that the\nresponse of the detector is {\\it not} proportional to the number of particles\nproduced by the background.",
        "positive": "Scanning the Fluxless $G_2$ Landscape: We show that there exists an exponentially large discretuum of vacua in\n$G_2$-compactifications of M-theory without flux. In M-theory-inspired\n$G_2$-MSSM, quantities relevant for particle physics remain virtually\ninsensitive to large variations of the vacuum energy across the landscape. The\npurely non-perturbative vacua form a special subset of a more general class of\nvacua containing fractional Chern-Simons contributions. The cosmological\nconstant can be dynamically neutralized via a chain of transitions interpolated\nby fractional gauge instantons describing spontaneous nucleation of M2-brane\ndomain walls. Each transition is generically accompanied by a gauge symmetry\nbreaking in some sector of the theory. In particular, the visible sector GUT\nsymmetry breaking can likewise be triggered by a spontaneous nucleation of an\nM2-brane."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-Abelian Strings: From Weak to Strong Coupling and Back via Duality: The crossover transition from weak coupling at large \\xi to strong coupling\nat small \\xi is studied in N=2 supersymmetric gauge theory with the U(N) gauge\ngroup and N_f>N (here \\xi is the Fayet--Iliopoulos parameter). We find that at\nstrong coupling a dual non-Abelian weakly coupled N=2 theory exists which\ndescribes low-energy physics at small \\xi. The dual gauge group is U(N_f-N).\nThe dual theory has N_f flavors of light dyons, to be compared with N_f quarks\nin the original U(N) theory. Both theories support non-Abelian strings. In each\nof these two regimes there are two varieties of physical excitations:\nelementary fields and nonperturbative composite states bound by confining\nstrings. These varieties interchange upon transition from one regime to the\nother. We conjecture that the composite stringy states can be related to\nSeiberg's M fields.",
        "positive": "U-Manifolds: We use non-perturbative U-duality symmetries of type II strings to construct\nnew vacuum solutions. In some ways this generalizes the F-theory vacuum\nconstructions. We find the possibilities of new vacuum constructions are very\nlimited. Among them we construct new theories with N=2 supersymmetry in\n3-dimensions and (1, 1) supersymmetry in 2-dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Relativistic QFTH - Couplings on the Worldline: In the framework of the worldline path integral approach to QFTH we discuss\nspin and relativistic couplings, in particular Yukawa and axial couplings to\nspin 1/2, and the case of spin 1 in the loop.",
        "positive": "Soliton equations and the zero curvature condition in noncommutative\n  geometry: Familiar nonlinear and in particular soliton equations arise as zero\ncurvature conditions for GL(1,R) connections with noncommutative differential\ncalculi. The Burgers equation is formulated in this way and the Cole-Hopf\ntransformation for it attains the interpretation of a transformation of the\nconnection to a pure gauge in this mathematical framework. The KdV, modified\nKdV equation and the Miura transformation are obtained jointly in a similar\nsetting and a rather straightforward generalization leads to the KP and a\nmodified KP equation.\n  Furthermore, a differential calculus associated with the Boussinesq equation\nis derived from the KP calculus."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Three-dimensional super Yang-Mills with unquenched flavor: We construct analytically the gravity duals of three-dimensional, super\nYang-Mills-type theories with $\\mathcal N=1$ supersymmetry coupled to $N_f$\nquark flavors. The backreaction of the quarks on the color degrees of freedom\nis included, and corresponds on the gravity side to the backreaction of $N_f$\nD6-branes on the background of $N$ D2-branes. The D6-branes are smeared over\nthe compact part of the geometry, which must be a six-dimensional nearly\nK\\\"ahler manifold in order to preserve supersymmetry. For massless quarks, the\nsolutions flow in the IR to an $AdS_4$ fixed point dual to a\nChern-Simons-matter theory. For light quarks the theories exhibit\nquasi-conformal dynamics (walking) at energy scales $m_q \\ll E \\ll \\lambda N_f\n/ N$, with $\\lambda = g_{\\text{YM}}^2 N$ the 't Hooft coupling.",
        "positive": "A 4d non-BPS NS-NS microstate: We construct a two-parameter four-dimensional non-BPS NS-NS smooth microstate\nsolution that asymptotes to flat spacetime with a linear dilaton in type II\nsuperstring theory. From the microscopic point of view, the background is made\nout of a certain number of decoupled (i.e. $g_s\\to 0$) NS5 branes wrapping\n$T^3\\times S^1\\times S^1$ with fundamental strings wrapping non-contractable\ncycles of $S^1\\times S^1$ with integer momentum modes along them. We show that\nperturbative worldsheet theory in this background is given by a null-gauged WZW\nmodel. We also show that the consistency of the worldsheet theory imposes\nnon-trivial constraints on the supergravity background."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exact solutions of Dyson-Schwinger equations for iterated one-loop\n  integrals and propagator-coupling duality: The Hopf algebra of undecorated rooted trees has tamed the combinatorics of\nperturbative contributions, to anomalous dimensions in Yukawa theory and scalar\n$\\phi^3$ theory, from all nestings and chainings of a primitive self-energy\nsubdivergence. Here we formulate the nonperturbative problems which these\nresummations approximate. For Yukawa theory, at spacetime dimension $d=4$, we\nobtain an integrodifferential Dyson-Schwinger equation and solve it\nparametrically in terms of the complementary error function. For the scalar\ntheory, at $d=6$, the nonperturbative problem is more severe; we transform it\nto a nonlinear fourth-order differential equation. After intensive use of\nsymbolic computation we find an algorithm that extends both perturbation series\nto 500 loops in 7 minutes. Finally, we establish the propagator-coupling\nduality underlying these achievements making use of the Hopf structure of\nFeynman diagrams.",
        "positive": "Exact Asymptotic Behaviour of Fermion Correlation Functions in the\n  Massive Thirring Model: We obtain an exact asymptotic expression for the two-point fermion\ncorrelation functions in the massive Thirring model (MTM) and show that, for\n$\\beta^2=8\\pi$, they reproduce the exactly known corresponding functions of the\nmassless theory, explicitly confirming the irrelevance of the mass term at this\npoint. This result is obtained by using the Coulomb gas representation of the\nfermionic MTM correlators in the bipolar coordinate system."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Conformal Characters: We revisit the study of the multiplets of the conformal algebra in any\ndimension. The theory of highest weight representations is reviewed in the\ncontext of the Bernstein-Gelfand-Gelfand category of modules. The\nKazhdan-Lusztig polynomials code the relation between the Verma modules and the\nirreducible modules in the category and are the key to the characters of the\nconformal multiplets (whether finite dimensional, infinite dimensional, unitary\nor non-unitary). We discuss the representation theory and review in full\ngenerality which representations are unitarizable. The mathematical theory that\nallows for both the general treatment of characters and the full analysis of\nunitarity is made accessible. A good understanding of the mathematics of\nconformal multiplets renders the treatment of all highest weight\nrepresentations in any dimension uniform, and provides an overarching\ncomprehension of case-by-case results. Unitary highest weight representations\nand their characters are classified and computed in terms of data associated to\ncosets of the Weyl group of the conformal algebra. An executive summary is\nprovided, as well as look-up tables up to and including rank four.",
        "positive": "Type IIB construction of flavoured ABJ(M) and fractional M2 branes: We study type IIB brane configurations engineering 3d flavoured ABJ(M)\ntheories with Yang-Mills kinetic terms, which flow to IR fixed points\ndescribing M2 branes at a class of toric Calabi-Yau fourfold singularities. The\ntype IIB construction provides a bridge between M-theory geometry and field\ntheory, and allows to identify the superconformal field theories with fixed\nquiver diagram, Chern-Simons levels and superpotential, differing by the ranks\nof the gauge groups, which we associate to dual AdS_4\\timesY_7 backgrounds of\nM-theory without or with torsion G-fluxes sourced by fractional M2 branes in\nY_7, when Y_7 is smooth. The analysis includes the Q^{1,1,1} and Y^{1,2}(CP^2)\ngeometries. We also comment on duality cascades and on the interplay between\ntorsion G-fluxes in M-theory and partial resolutions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Some comments on symmetric orbifolds of K3: We consider two dimensional $\\mathcal{N}=(4,4)$ superconformal field theories\nin the moduli space of symmetric orbifolds of K3. We complete a classification\nof the discrete groups of symmetries of these models, conditional to a series\nof assumptions and with certain restrictions. Furthermore, we provide a partial\nclassification of the set of twining genera, encoding the action of a discrete\nsymmetry $g$ on a space of supersymmetric states in these models. These results\nsuggest the existence of a number of surprising identities between seemingly\ndifferent Borcherds products, representing Siegel modular forms of degree two\nand level $N>1$. We also provide a critical review of various properties of the\nmoduli space of these superconformal field theories, including the groups of\ndualities, the set of singular models and the locus of symmetric orbifold\npoints, and describe some puzzles related to our (lack of) understanding of\nthese properties.",
        "positive": "Symbol Alphabets from the Landau Singular Locus: We provide evidence through two loops, that rational letters of\npolylogarithmic Feynman integrals are captured by the Landau equations, when\nthe latter are recast as a polynomial of the kinematic variables of the\nintegral, known as the principal $A$-determinant. Focusing on one loop, we\nfurther show that all square-root letters may also be obtained, by\nre-factorizing the principal $A$-determinant with the help of Jacobi\nidentities. We verify our findings by explicitly constructing canonical\ndifferential equations for the one-loop integrals in both odd and even\ndimensions of loop momenta, also finding agreement with earlier results in the\nliterature for the latter case. We provide a computer implementation of our\nresults for the principal $A$-determinants, symbol alphabets and canonical\ndifferential equations in an accompanying Mathematica file. Finally, we study\nthe question of when a one-loop integral satisfies the Cohen-Macaulay property\nand show that for almost all choices of kinematics the Cohen-Macaulay property\nholds. Throughout, in our approach to Feynman integrals, we make extensive use\nof the Gel'fand, Graev, Kapranov and Zelevinski\\u{\\i} theory on what are now\ncommonly called GKZ-hypergeometric systems whose singularities are described by\nthe principal $A$-determinant."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauge Invariance for Generally Covariant Systems: Previous analyses on the gauge invariance of the action for a generally\ncovariant system are generalized. It is shown that if the action principle is\nproperly improved, there is as much gauge freedom at the endpoints for an\narbitrary gauge system as there is for a system with ``internal'' gauge\nsymmetries. The key point is to correctly identify the boundary conditions for\nthe allowed histories and to include the appropriate end-point contribution in\nthe action. The path integral is then discussed. It is proved that by employing\nthe improved action, one can use time-independent canonical gauges even in the\ncase of generally covariant theories. From the point of view of the action and\nthe path integral, there is thus no conceptual difference between general\ncovariance and ``ordinary gauge invariance''. The discussion is illustrated in\nthe case of the point particle, for which various canonical gauges are\nconsidered.",
        "positive": "Hamiltonian Systems on Quantum Spaces: In this paper we consider Hamiltonian systems on the quantum plane and we\nshow that the set of Q-meromorphic Hamiltonians is a Virasoro algebra with\ncentral charge zero and the set of Hamiltonian derivations of the algebra of\n$Q$-analytic functions ${\\cal A}_q$ with values in the algebra of\n$Q$-meromorphic functions ${\\cal M}_q$ is the Lie algebra $sl(2,A_1(q)).$\nMoreover we will show that any motion on a quantum space is associated with a\nquadratic Hamiltonian."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gravitational corrections to N=2 supersymmetric lagrangians: In the framework of special Kahler geometry we consider the\nsupergravity-matter system which emerges on a K3-fibered Calabi-Yau manifold.\nBy applying the rigid limit procedure in the vicinity of a conifold singularity\nwe compute the Kahler potential of the scalars and the kinetic matrix of the\nvectors to first order in the gravitational coupling.",
        "positive": "Monopoles in 2+1-dimensional conformal field theories with global U(1)\n  symmetry: In 2+1-dimensional conformal field theories with a global U(1) symmetry,\nmonopoles can be introduced through a background gauge field that couples to\nthe U(1) conserved current. We use the state-operator correspondence to\ncalculate scaling dimensions of such monopoles. We obtain the next-to-leading\nterm in the 1/N_b expansion of the Wilson-Fisher fixed point in the theory of\nN_b complex bosons."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fractal structure of Yang-Mills fields: The origin of non-extensive thermodynamics in physical systems has been under\nintense debate for the last decades. Recent results indicate a connection\nbetween non-extensive statistics and thermofractals. After reviewing this\nconnection, we analyze how scaling properties of Yang-Mills theory allow the\nappearance of self-similar structures in gauge fields. The presence of such\nstructures, which actually behave as fractals, allows for recurrent\nnon-perturbative calculations of vertices. It is argued that when a statistical\napproach is used, the non-extensive statistics is obtained, and the Tsallis\nentropic index, $q$, is deduced in terms of the field theory parameters. The\nresults are applied to QCD in the one-loop approximation, resulting in a good\nagreement with the value of $q$ obtained experimentally.",
        "positive": "Perturbative Uniqueness of Black Holes near the Static Limit in All\n  Dimensions: The behaviour of stationary gravitational perturbations is studied for\ngeneralised static black holes in spacetimes of greater than three dimensions,\nusing the formulation developed by the present author and Ishibashi. For the\ncase in which the horizon has a spatial section with constant curvature, it is\nproved that irrespective of the value of the cosmological constant, there\nexists no stationary perturbation that is regular at the horizon(s) and falls\noff at infinity in the case of negative cosmological constant, except for those\ncorresponding to the stationary rotation of black holes and the variation of\nthe background parameters. This result indicates that regular neutral black\nhole solutions that are either asymptotically flat, de Sitter or anti-de Sitter\ncan be parametrised by mass, (multiple component) angular momentum and the\ncosmological constant near the spherically symmetric and static limit. A\nsimilar conclusion is obtained for topological black holes. It is also pointed\nout that this perturbative uniqueness near the static limit may not hold in the\ncase in which the horizon geometry is described by a generic Einstein space\nwith non-constant sectional curvature. Further, non-uniqueness in the\nasymptotically anti-de Sitter case under a weaker boundary condition at\ninfinity related to the AdS/CFT argument is discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "No-Ghost Theorem for Neveu-Schwarz String in 0-Picture: The no-ghost theorem for Neveu-Schwarz string is directly proved in\n0-picture. The one-to-one correspondence between physical states in 0-picture\nand those in the conventional (-1)-picture are confirmed. It is shown that a\nnon-trivial metric consistent with the BRST cohomology is needed to define a\npositive semi-definite norm in the physical Hilbert space. As a by-product, we\nfind a new inverse picture changing operator, which is non-covariant but has\nnon-singular operator product with itself. A possibility to construct a new\ngauge invariant superstring field theory is discussed.",
        "positive": "A remark about unitary representations of Lorentz group and an equation\n  for zero mass particles: In the present note the expansion of the wave function of a massless particle\n(with the definite value of its helicity) over the untary irreducible\nrepresentaions of the Lorentz group (defined on the light cone) is used as for\nthe analog of the Fourier transformation for deriving of an equation in the\nrelativistic configuration representation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Excited-state thermodynamics: In the last several years, the Casimir energy for a variety of\n1+1-dimensional integrable models has been determined from the exact S-matrix.\nIt is shown here how to modify the boundary conditions to project out the\nlowest-energy state, which enables one to find excited-state energies. This is\ndone by calculating thermodynamic expectation values of operators which\ngenerate discrete symmetries. This is demonstrated with a number of perturbed\nconformal field theories, including the Ising model, the three-state Potts\nmodel, ${\\bf Z}_n$ parafermions, Toda minimal S-matrices, and massless\nGoldstinos.",
        "positive": "Two-loop Feynman Diagrams in Yang-Mills Theory from Bosonic String\n  Amplitudes: We present intermediate results of an ongoing investigation which attempts a\ngeneralization of the well known one-loop Bern Kosower rules of Yang-Mills\ntheory to higher loop orders. We set up a general procedure to extract the\nfield theoretical limit of bosonic open string diagrams, based on the sewing\nconstruction of higher loop world sheets. It is tested with one- and two-loop\nscalar field theory, as well as one-loop and two-loop vacuum Yang-Mills\ndiagrams, reproducing earlier results. It is then applied to two-loop two-point\nYang-Mills diagrams in order to extract universal renormalization coefficients\nthat can be compared to field theory. While developing numerous technical tools\nto compute the relevant contributions, we hit upon important conceptual\nquestions: Do string diagrams reproduce Yang-Mills Feynman diagrams in a\ncertain preferred gauge? Do they employ a certain preferred renormalization\nscheme? Are four gluon vertices related to three gluon vertices? Unfortunately,\nour investigations remained inconclusive up to now."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Nonrelativistic Superconformal M2-Brane Theory: We investigate the low energy physics of particles in the symmetric phase of\nthe N=6 mass-deformed ABJM theory in terms of the superconformal\nnonrelativistic field theory with 14 supercharges. They describe the certain\nkind of excitations on M2 branes in the background of external four-form flux.\nWe study the nonrelativistic superconformal algebra and their representations\nby using the operator-state correspondence with the related harmonic oscillator\nHamiltonian. We find the unitarity bounds on the scaling dimension and particle\nnumber of any local operator, and comment on subtleties in computing the\nsuperconformal Witten index that counts the chiral operators.",
        "positive": "Tree and Loop Amplitudes in Open Twistor String Theory: We compute the one-loop gluon amplitude for the open twistor string model of\nBerkovits, using a symmetric form of the vertex operators. We discuss the\nclassical solutions in various topologies and instanton sectors and the\ncanonical quantization of the world sheet Lagrangian. We derive the N-point\nfunctions for the gluon tree and one-loop amplitudes, and calculate a general\none-loop expression for the current algebra."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hawking Radiation from Four-dimensional Schwarzschild Black Holes in\n  M-theory: Recently a method has been developed for relating four dimensional\nSchwarzschild black holes in M-theory to near-extremal black holes in string\ntheory with four charges, using suitably defined ``boosts'' and T-dualities. We\nshow that this method can be extended to obtain the emission rate of low energy\nmassless scalars for the four dimensional Schwarzschild hole from the\nmicroscopic picture of radiation from the near extremal hole.",
        "positive": "Static Spherically Symmetric Solutions of Horava-Lifshitz Gravity with\n  Projectability Condition Preserving: This paper has been withdrawn by the authors due to the paper is far from\ncomplishment."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Compressible quantum phases from conformal field theories in 2+1\n  dimensions: Conformal field theories (CFTs) with a globally conserved U(1) charge Q can\nbe deformed into compressible phases by modifying their Hamiltonian, H, by a\nchemical potential H -> H - \\mu Q. We study 2+1 dimensional CFTs upon which an\nexplicit S duality mapping can be performed. We find that this construction\nleads naturally to compressible phases which are superfluids, solids, or\nnon-Fermi liquids which are more appropriately called `Bose metals' in the\npresent context. The Bose metal preserves all symmetries and has Fermi surfaces\nof gauge-charged fermions, even in cases where the parent CFT can be expressed\nsolely by bosonic degrees of freedom. Monopole operators are identified as\norder parameters of the solid, and the product of their magnetic charge and Q\ndetermines the area of the unit cell. We discuss implications for holographic\ntheories on asymptotically AdS4 spacetimes: S duality and monopole/dyon fields\nplay important roles in this connection.",
        "positive": "Consistency analysis of a nonbirefringent Lorentz-violating planar model: In this work analyze the physical consistency of a nonbirefringent\nLorentz-violating planar model via the analysis of the pole structure of its\nFeynman propagators. The nonbirefringent planar model, obtained from the\ndimensional reduction of the CPT-even gauge sector of the standard model\nextension, is composed of a gauge and a scalar fields, being affected by\nLorentz-violating (LIV) coefficients encoded in the symmetric tensor\n$\\kappa_{\\mu\\nu}$. The propagator of the gauge field is explicitly evaluated\nand expressed in terms of linear independent symmetric tensors, presenting only\none physical mode. The same holds for the scalar propagator. A consistency\nanalysis is performed based on the poles of the propagators. The isotropic\nparity-even sector is stable, causal and unitary mode for $0\\leq\\kappa_{00}<1$.\nOn the other hand, the anisotropic sector is stable and unitary but in general\nnoncausal. Finally, it is shown that this planar model interacting with a\n$\\lambda|\\varphi|^{4}-$Higgs field supports compactlike vortex configurations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A limiting velocity for quarkonium propagation in a strongly coupled\n  plasma via AdS/CFT: We study the dispersion relations of mesons in a particular hot strongly\ncoupled supersymmetric gauge theory plasma. We find that at large momentum k\nthe dispersion relations become omega = v_0 k + a + b/k + ..., where the\nlimiting velocity v_0 is the same for mesons with any quantum numbers and\ndepends only on the ratio of the temperature to the quark mass T/m_q. We\ncompute a and b in terms of the meson quantum numbers and T/m_q. The limiting\nmeson velocity v_0 becomes much smaller than the speed of light at temperatures\nbelow but close to T_diss, the temperature above which no meson bound states at\nrest in the plasma are found. From our result for v_0, we find that the\ntemperature above which no meson bound states with velocity v exist is\nT_diss(v) \\simeq (1-v^2)^(1/4) T_diss, up to few percent corrections.We thus\nconfirm by direct calculation of meson dispersion relations a result inferred\nindirectly in previous work via analysis of the screening length between a\nstatic quark and antiquark in a moving plasma. Although we do not do our\ncalculations in QCD, we argue that the qualitative features of the dispersion\nrelation we compute, including in particular the relation between dissociation\ntemperature and meson velocity, may apply to bottomonium and charmonium mesons\npropagating in the strongly coupled plasma of QCD. We discuss how our results\ncan contribute to understanding quarkonium physics in heavy ion collisions.",
        "positive": "N=1 Super Yang-Mills from Supergravity: The UV-IR Connection: We consider the Maldacena-Nunez supergravity solution corresponding to N=1\nsuper Yang-Mills within the approach by Di Vecchia, Lerda and Merlatti. We show\nthat if one uses the radial distance as a field theory scale, the corresponding\nbeta function has an infrared fixed point. Assuming this to be a physical\nproperty for all four dimensional non-singular renormalization schemes, we use\nthe relation between the gaugino condensate and its dual to investigate the\nconnection between the IR and UV behaviors. Imposing the ``field theory\nboundary condition'' that the first two terms in the perturbative UV beta\nfunction are universal, the fixed point is found to be of first order, and the\nslope of the IR beta function is also fixed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Classical Solutions in a Lorentz-violating Scenario of\n  Maxwell-Chern-Simons-Proca Electrodynamics: Taking as starting point the planar model arising from the dimensional\nreduction of the Abelian-Higgs Carroll-Field-Jackiw model, we write down and\nstudy the extended Maxwell equations and the corresponding wave equations for\nthe potentials. The solutions for these equations correspond to the usual ones\nfor the MCS-Proca system, supplemented with background-dependent correction\nterms. In the case of a purely timelike background, exact algebraic solutions\nare presented which possess a similar behavior to the MCS-Proca counterparts\nnear and far from the origin. On the other hand, for a purely spacelike\nbackground, only approximate solutions are feasible. They consist of\nnon-trivial analytic expressions with a manifest evidence of spatial\nanisotropy, which is consistent with the existence of a privileged direction in\nspace. These solutions also behave similarly to the MCS-Proca ones near and far\nfrom the origin.",
        "positive": "Winding Number Transitions in the Mottola-Wipf Model on a Circle: Winding number transitions from quantum to classical behavior are studied in\nthe case of the {1+1} dimensional Mottola-Wipf model with the space coordinate\non a circle for exploring the possibility of obtaining transitions of second\norder. The model is also studied as a prototype theory which demonstrates the\nprocedure of such investigations. In the model at hand we find that even on a\ncircle the transitions remain those of first order."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Thirring Model as a Gauge Theory: We reformulate the Thirring model in $D$ $(2 \\le D < 4)$ dimensions as a\ngauge theory by introducing $U(1)$ hidden local symmetry (HLS) and study the\ndynamical mass generation of the fermion through the Schwinger-Dyson (SD)\nequation. By virtue of such a gauge symmetry we can greatly simplify the\nanalysis of the SD equation by taking the most appropriate gauge (``nonlocal\ngauge'') for the HLS.\n  In the case of even-number of (2-component) fermions, we find the dynamical\nfermion mass generation as the second order phase transition at certain fermion\nnumber, which breaks the chiral symmetry but preserves the parity in (2+1)\ndimensions ($D=3$). In the infinite four-fermion coupling (massless gauge\nboson) limit in (2+1) dimensions, the result coincides with that of the\n(2+1)-dimensional QED, with the critical number of the 4-component fermion\nbeing $N_{\\rm cr} = \\frac{128}{3\\pi^{2}}$. As to the case of odd-number\n(2-component) fermion in (2+1) dimensions, the regularization ambiguity on the\ninduced Chern-Simons term may be resolved by specifying the regularization so\nas to preserve the HLS.\n  Our method also applies to the (1+1) dimensions, the result being consistent\nwith the exact solution. The bosonization mechanism in (1+1) dimensional\nThirring model is also reproduced in the context of dual-transformed theory for\nthe HLS.",
        "positive": "Induced QCD at Large N: We propose and study at large N a new lattice gauge model , in which the\nYang-Mills interaction is induced by the heavy scalar field in adjoint\nrepresentation. At any dimension of space and any $ N $ the gauge fields can be\nintegrated out yielding an effective field theory for the gauge invariant\nscalar field, corresponding to eigenvalues of the initial matrix field. This\nfield develops the vacuum average, the fluctuations of which describe the\nelementary excitations of our gauge theory. At $N= \\infty $ we find two phases\nof the model, with asymptotic freedom corresponding to the strong coupling\nphase (if there are no phase transitions at some critical $N$). We could not\nsolve the model in this phase, but in the weak coupling phase we have derived\nexact nonlinear integral equations for the vacuum average and for the scalar\nexcitation spectrum. Presumably the strong coupling equations can be derived by\nthe same method."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Light-Cone Effective Potential: It is shown how to calculate simple vacuum diagrams in light-cone quantum\nfield theory. As an application, I consider the one-loop effective potential of\nphi^4 theory. The standard result is recovered both with and without the\ninclusion of zero modes having longitudinal momentum k^+ = 0.",
        "positive": "Lorentzian and Euclidean Quantum Gravity - Analytical and Numerical\n  Results: We review some recent attempts to extract information about the nature of\nquantum gravity, with and without matter, by quantum field theoretical methods.\nMore specifically, we work within a covariant lattice approach where the\nindividual space-time geometries are constructed from fundamental simplicial\nbuilding blocks, and the path integral over geometries is approximated by\nsumming over a class of piece-wise linear geometries. This method of\n``dynamical triangulations'' is very powerful in 2d, where the regularized\ntheory can be solved explicitly, and gives us more insights into the quantum\nnature of 2d space-time than continuum methods are presently able to provide.\nIt also allows us to establish an explicit relation between the Lorentzian- and\nEuclidean-signature quantum theories. Analogous regularized gravitational\nmodels can be set up in higher dimensions. Some analytic tools exist to study\ntheir state sums, but, unlike in 2d, no complete analytic solutions have yet\nbeen constructed. However, a great advantage of our approach is the fact that\nit is well-suited for numerical simulations. In the second part of this review\nwe describe the relevant Monte Carlo techniques, as well as some of the\nphysical results that have been obtained from the simulations of Euclidean\ngravity. We also explain why the Lorentzian version of dynamical triangulations\nis a promising candidate for a non-perturbative theory of quantum gravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "SuperParticle realization of twisted N=2 SUSY algebra: We construct a pseudoclassical particle model associated to the twisted N=2\nSUSY algebra in four dimensions. The particle model has four kappa symmetries.\nThree of them can be used to reduce the model to the vector supersymmetry\nparticle case. The quantization of the model gives rise to two copies of the 4d\nDirac equation. The kappa symmetries result to be associated to 4 TSUSY\ninvariant bilinear odd operators who are null operators when a particular\ncondition is satisfied. These operators are in correspondence one to one with\nanalogous operators existing in the case of the N=2 SUSY algebra, making both\ncases 1/2 BPS.",
        "positive": "Chern-Simons Gravity with (Curvature)$^{2}$- and (Torsion)$^{2}$-Terms\n  and A Basis of Degree-of-Freedom Projection Operators: We investigate the effects of (Curvature)$^{2}$- and (Torsion)$^{2}$- terms\nin the Einstein-Hilbert-Chern-Simons Lagrangian. The purposes are two-fold: (i)\nto show the efficacy of an orthogonal basis of degree-of-freedom projection\noperators recently proposed and to ascertain its adequacy for obtaining\npropagators of general parity-breaking gravity models in three dimensions; (ii)\nto analyze the role of the topological Chern-Simons term for the unitarity and\nthe particle spectrum of the model squared-curvature terms in connection with\ndynamical torsion. Our conclusion is that the Chern-Simons term does not\ninfluence the unitarity conditions imposed on the parameters of the Lagrangian,\nbut significantly modifies the particle spectrum."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chiral Algebras of (0,2) Sigma Models: Beyond Perturbation Theory: We explore the nonperturbative aspects of the chiral algebras of N = (0,2)\nsigma models, which perturbatively are intimately related to the theory of\nchiral differential operators (CDOs). The grading by charge and scaling\ndimension is anomalous if the first Chern class of the target space is nonzero.\nThis has some nontrivial consequences for the chiral algebra. As an example, we\nstudy the case where the target space is CP^1, and show that worldsheet\ninstantons trivialize the chiral algebra entirely. Consequently, supersymmetry\nis spontaneously broken in this model. We then turn to a closer look at the\nsupersymmetry breaking from the viewpoint of Morse theory on loop space. We\nfind that instantons interpolate between pairs of perturbative supersymmetric\nstates with different fermionic numbers, hence lifting them out of the\nsupersymmetric spectrum. Our results reveal that a \"quantum\" deformation of the\ngeometry of the target space leads to a trivialization of the kernels of\ncertain twisted Dirac operators on CP^1.",
        "positive": "Derivative and higher order extensions of Davey-Stewartson equation from\n  matrix KP hierarchy: It is shown that the matrix KP hierarchy can yield new integrable equations\nin $(2+1)$-dimensions along with the corresponding Lax pair. For particular\ngauge choice this may result derivative and also a higher order nonlinear\nextension of the Devay-Stewartson equation (DSE),the higher order DSE being a\nhigher dimensional generalisation of the Kundu- Eckhaus equation. Such gauge\ntransformation is shown also to produce significant extensions to the\nconstrained matrix KP system."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Gauged Non-compact Spin System: We examine classical and quantum aspects of the planar non-compact spin\nsystem coupled with Chern-Simons gauge field in the presence of background\ncharge. We first define our classical spin system as non- relativistic\nnon-linear sigma model in which the order parameter spin takes value in the\nnon-compact manifold ${\\cal M}=SU(1,1)/U(1)$. Although the naive model does not\nallow any finite energy self dual solitons, it is shown that the gauged system\nadmits static Bogomol'nyi solitons with finite energy whose rotationally\nsymmetric soliton solutions are analyzed in detail. We also discuss the large\nspin limit in which the self-dual equation reduces to the well-known gauged\nnon- linear Schr\\\"odinger model or Abelian Higgs model, depending on the choice\nof the background charge term. Then, we perform quantization of the model. We\nfind that the spin algebra satisfies anomalous commutation relations, and the\nsystem is a field theoretic realization of the anyons.",
        "positive": "Liouville field theory on a pseudosphere: Liouville field theory is considered with boundary conditions corresponding\nto a quantization of the classical Lobachevskiy plane (i.e. euclidean version\nof $AdS_2$). We solve the bootstrap equations for the out-vacuum wave function\nand find an infinite set of solutions. This solutions are in one to one\ncorrespondence with the degenerate representations of the Virasoro algebra.\nConsistency of these solutions is verified by both boundary and modular\nbootstrap techniques. Perturbative calculations lead to the conclusion that\nonly the ``basic'' solution corresponding to the identity operator provides a\n``natural'' quantization of the Lobachevskiy plane."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "New non-supersymmetric heterotic string theory with reduced rank and\n  exponential suppression of the cosmological constant: We study the heterotic asymmetric orbifold model in which supersymmetry is\nbroken by the stringy Schark-Schwarz mechanism. This model is a natural\nnon-supersymmetric extension of CHL strings and can also be interpreted as the\ninterpolating model between the $E_{8}\\times E'_{8}$ theory and the\nnon-supersymmetric $E_{8}$ theory. The enhancement of gauge groups, of which\nthe rank is reduced to $8+d$, is explored. In particular, the enhancement to\nnon-simply-laced groups is possible with $d\\geq 2$, as well as in the CHL\nmodel. We also give the conditions that the massless matter spectrum must\nsatisfy. Moreover, the one-loop cosmological constant is evaluated in the\nregime where supersymmetry is asymptotically restored, and we show that the\nexponential suppression can occur unless $d=1$.",
        "positive": "Extremal black holes, attractor equations, and harmonic functions: We review the construction of multi-centered black hole solutions through\ndimensional reduction over time. This method does not rely on Killing spinor\nequations or gradient flow equations, but on solving the second order field\nequations in terms of harmonic functions. The black hole attractor equations\nare obtained directly from the field equations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Pomeranchuk Instability in a non-Fermi Liquid from Holography: The Pomeranchuk instability, in which an isotropic Fermi surface distorts and\nbecomes anisotropic due to strong interactions, is a possible mechanism for the\ngrowing number of experimental systems which display transport properties that\ndiffer along the $x$ and $y$ axes. We show here that the gauge-gravity duality\ncan be used to describe such an instability in fermionic systems. Our\nholographic model consists of fermions in a background which describes the\ncausal propagation of a massive neutral spin-two field in an asymptotically AdS\nspacetime. The Fermi surfaces in the boundary theory distort spontaneously and\nbecome anisotropic once the neutral massive spin-two field develops a\nnormalizable mode in the bulk. Analysis of the fermionic correlators reveals\nthat the low-lying fermionic excitations are non-Fermi liquid-like both before\nand after the Fermi surface shape distortion. Further, the spectral weight\nalong the Fermi surface is angularly dependent and can be made to vanish along\ncertain directions.",
        "positive": "Thermodynamics Of dilaton-axion black holes: Considering a generalised action for Einstein Maxwell theory in four\ndimensions coupled to scalar and pseudo-scalar fields, the thermodynamic\nproperties of asymptotically flat black holes solutions in such a background\nare investigated. Bekenstein-Hawking area-entropy law is verified for these\nclass of black holes. From the property of specific heat, it is shown that such\nblack holes can be stable for certain choice of the parameters like charge,\nmass and the scalar vacuum expectation value. The possibility of a black hole\nphase transition is discussed in this context."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Natural Inflation from Near Alignment in Heterotic String Theory: We propose a model for large field inflation in heterotic string theory. The\nconstruction applies the near alignment mechanism of Kim, Nilles, and Peloso.\nBy including gaugino condensates and world-sheet instanton non-perturbative\neffects, we obtain a large effective axion decay constant.",
        "positive": "Dirac Fields on Spacelike Hypersurfaces, Their Rest-Frame Description\n  and Dirac Observables: Grassmann-valued Dirac fields together with the electromagnetic field (the\npseudoclassical basis of QED) are reformulated on spacelike hypersurfaces in\nMinkowski spacetime and then restricted to Wigner hyperplanes to get their\ndescription in the rest-frame Wigner-covariant instant form of dynamics. The\ncanonical reduction to the Wigner-covariant Coulomb gauge is done in the rest\nframe. It is shown, on the basis of a geometric incosistency, that the\ndescription of fermions is incomplete, because there is no bosonic carrier of\nthe spin structure describing the trajectory of the electric current in\nMinkowski spacetime, as it was already emphasized in connection with the first\nquantization of spinning particles in a previous paper."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "UV self-completion of a theory of Superfluid Dark Matter: We show that the model of superfluid dark matter developed in\nRefs.~\\cite{Khoury:2014tka,Berezhiani:2015bqa,Berezhiani:2015pia}, which\nmodifies the Newtonian potential and explains the galactic rotational curves,\ncan be unitarized by the formation of classical configurations in the\nscattering amplitudes. The classicalization mechanism may also trigger the\nformation of the superfluid state from the early to the late Universe.",
        "positive": "Worldline Green Functions for Multiloop Diagrams: We propose a multiloop generalization of the Bern-Kosower formalism, based on\nStrassler's approach of evaluating worldline path integrals by worldline Green\nfunctions. Those Green functions are explicitly constructed for the basic\ntwo-loop graph, and for a loop with an arbitrary number of propagator\ninsertions. For scalar and abelian gauge theories, the resulting integral\nrepresentations allow to combine whole classes of Feynman diagrams into compact\nexpressions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spectral weight and spatially modulated instabilities in holographic\n  superfluids: Free fermions form a Fermi surface, which results in non-zero spectral weight\nat low energy and finite wavevector. In this work, we find similar features in\nholographic phases dual to strongly coupled quantum superfluid matter. At zero\ntemperature, the phases we consider exhibit semi-local criticality in the IR\nand all the charge is carried by the scalar condensate outside the black hole\nhorizon. Depending on the value taken by the IR critical exponents, we find\nFermi surfaces in the transverse sector, Fermi shells in the longitudinal\nsector or no spectral weight at all. When there is non-zero transverse spectral\nweight, the IR can be subject to an instability at finite wavevector, the\nendpoint of which is likely a spatially modulated phase.",
        "positive": "New Principles for String/Membrane Unification: The target space theory of the N=(2,1) heterotic string may be interpreted as\na theory of gravity coupled to matter in either $1+1$ or $2+1$ dimensions.\nAmong the target space theories in $1+1$ dimensions are the bosonic, type II,\nand heterotic string world sheet field theories in a physical gauge. The $2+1$\ndimensional version describes a consistent quantum theory of supermembranes in\n$10+1$ dimensions. The unifying framework for all of these vacua is a theory of\n$2+2$ dimensional self-dual geometries embedded in $10+2$ dimensions. There are\nalso indications that the N=(2,1) string describes the strong coupling dynamics\nof compactifications of critical string theories to two dimensions, and may\nlead to insights about the fundamental degrees of freedom of the theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Scalar-Graviton Amplitudes: Using the CHY-formalism and its extension to a double cover we provide\ncovariant expressions for tree-level amplitudes with two massive scalar legs\nand an arbitrary number of gravitons in D dimensions. Using unitarity methods,\nsuch amplitudes are needed inputs for the computation of post-Newtonian and\npost-Minkowskian expansions in classical general relativity.",
        "positive": "CDT and Horava-Lifshitz QG in Two Dimensions: The two-dimensional causal dynamical triangulations ($2$d CDT) is a lattice\nmodel of quantum geometry. In $2$d CDT, one can deal with the quantum effects\nanalytically and explore the physics through the continuum limit. The continuum\ntheory is known to be two-dimensional projectable Horava-Lifshitz quantum\ngravity ($2$d projectable HL QG). In this chapter, we wish to review the very\nrelation between $2$d CDT and $2$d projectable HL QG in detail."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Wilson Loops in N=4 SYM and Fermion Droplets: The matrix models which are conjectured to compute the circle Wilson loop and\nits correlator with chiral primary operators are mapped onto normal matrix\nmodels. A fermion droplet picture analogous to the well-known one for chiral\nprimary operators is shown to emerge in the large N limit. Several examples are\ncomputed. We find an interesting selection rule for the correlator of a single\ntrace Wilson loop with a chiral primary operator. It can be non-zero only if\nthe chiral primary is in a representation with a single hook. We show that the\nexpectation value of the Wilson loop in a large representation labelled by a\nYoung diagram with a single row has a first order phase transition between a\nregime where it is identical to a large column representation and a regime\nwhere it is a large wrapping number single trace Wilson loop.",
        "positive": "Resonant particle creation by a time-dependent potential in a nonlocal\n  theory: Considering an exactly solvable local quantum theory of a scalar field\ninteracting with a $\\delta$-shaped time-dependent potential we calculate the\nBogoliubov coefficients analytically and determine the spectrum of created\nparticles. We then show how these considerations, when suitably generalized to\na specific nonlocal \"infinite-derivative\" quantum theory, are impacted by the\npresence of nonlocality. In this model, nonlocality leads to a significant\nresonant amplification of certain modes, leaving its imprint not only in the\nparticle spectrum but also in the total number density of created particles."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Renormalization group and approximate error correction: In renormalization group (RG) flow, the low energy states form a code\nsubspace that is approximately protected against the local short-distance\nerrors. We motivate this connection with an example of spin-blocking RG in\nclassical spin models. We consider the continuous multi-scale renormalization\nansatz (cMERA) for massive free fields as a concrete example of real-space RG\nin quantum field theory (QFT) and show that the low-energy coherent states are\napproximately protected from the errors caused by the high-energy localized\ncoherent operators. In holographic RG flows, we study the phase transition in\nthe entanglement wedge of a single region and argue that one needs to define\nthe price and the distance of the code with respect to the reconstructable\nwedge.",
        "positive": "Topology and Wilson lines: global aspects of the double copy: The Kerr-Schild double copy relates exact solutions of gauge and gravity\ntheories. In all previous examples, the gravity solution is associated with an\nabelian-like gauge theory object, which linearises the Yang-Mills equations.\nThis appears to be at odds with the double copy for scattering amplitudes, in\nwhich the non-abelian nature of the gauge theory plays a crucial role.\nFurthermore, it is not yet clear whether or not global properties of classical\nfields - such as non-trivial topology - can be matched between gauge and\ngravity theories. In this paper, we clarify these issues by explicitly\ndemonstrating how magnetic monopoles associated with arbitrary gauge groups can\nbe double copied to the same solution (the pure NUT metric) in gravity. We\nfurther describe how to match up topological information on both sides of the\ndouble copy correspondence, independently of the nature of the gauge group.\nThis information is neatly expressed in terms of Wilson line operators, and we\nargue through specific examples that they provide a useful bridge between the\nclassical double copy and the BCJ double copy for scattering amplitudes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Freckled Instantons: We study instanton-corrected renormalization group flow in the two\ndimensional sigma models and four dimensional gauge theory. In two dimensions\nwe do that by replacing the non-linear supersymmetric ${\\IC\\IP}^{N-1}$ model by\nthe gauged linear sigma model which is in the same universality class. We\ncompare the moduli spaces of the instantons in the non-linear model and that of\nBPS field configurations in the linear model. We reduce the problem of matching\nof the parameters of the two systems to the intersection theory on the compact\nmoduli space of the latter model. Both cases (2d and 4d) are unified by the\nnotion of the {\\it freckled instantons}. We also put an end to the discussion\nof the nature of the superpotentials $W \\sim {\\s} {\\rm log} {\\s}$ in 2d and 4d\nand discover the surprising disconnectnessness of the effective target space.",
        "positive": "Boundary Correlators in Supergroup WZNW Models: We investigate correlation functions for maximally symmetric boundary\nconditions in the WZNW model on GL(1|1). Special attention is payed to volume\nfilling branes. Generalizing earlier ideas for the bulk sector, we set up a\nKac-Wakimoto-like formalism for the boundary model. This first order formalism\nis then used to calculate bulk-boundary 2-point functions and the boundary\n3-point functions of the model. The note ends with a few comments on\ncorrelation functions of atypical fields, point-like branes and generalizations\nto other supergroups."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the D(-1)/D7-brane systems: We study non-perturbative effects in supersymmetric U(N) gauge theories in\neight dimensions realized by means of D(-1)/D7-brane systems with non-trivial\nworld-volume fluxes turned on. Using an explicit string construction in terms\nof vertex operators, we derive the action for the open strings ending on the\nD(-1)-branes and exhibit its BRST structure. The space of vacua for these open\nstrings is shown to be in correspondence with the moduli space of generalized\nADHM gauge connections which trigger the non-perturbative corrections in the\neight-dimensional theory. These corrections are computed via localization and\nturn out to depend on the curved background used to localize the integrals on\nthe instanton moduli space, and vanish in flat space. Finally, we show that for\nspecific choices of the background the instanton partition functions reduce to\nweighted sums of the solid partitions of the integers.",
        "positive": "Mode summation approach to Casimir effect between two objects: In this paper, we explore the TGTG formula from the perspective of mode\nsummation approach. Both scalar fields and electromagnetic fields are\nconsidered. In this approach, one has to first solve the equation of motion to\nfind a wave basis for each object. The two T's in the TGTG formula are\nT-matrices representing the Lippmann-Schwinger T-operators, one for each of the\nobjects. The two G's in the TGTG formula are the translation matrices, relating\nthe wave basis of an object to the wave basis of the other object. After\ndiscussing the general theory, we apply the prescription to derive the explicit\nformulas for the Casimir energies for the sphere-sphere, sphere-plane,\ncylinder-cylinder and cylinder-plane interactions. First the T-matrices for a\nplane, a sphere and a cylinder are derived for the following cases: the object\nis imposed with general Robin boundary conditions; the object is\nsemitransparent; and the object is magnetodielectric. Then the operator\napproach is used to derive the translation matrices. From these, the explicit\nTGTG formula for each of the scenarios can be written down. Besides summarizing\nall the TGTG formulas that have been derived so far, we also provide the TGTG\nformulas for some scenarios that have not been considered before."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hidden Superconformal Symmetry in M Theory: The bosonic sectors of the eleven dimensional and IIA supergravity theories\nare derived as non-linear realisations. The underlying group includes the\nconformal group, the general linear group and as well as automorphisms of the\nsupersymmetry algebra. We discuss the supersymmetric extension and argue that\nOsp(1/64) is a symmetry of M theory. We also derive the effective action of the\nclosed bosonic string as a non-linear realisation.",
        "positive": "Relativistic confinement of neutral fermions with a trigonometric\n  tangent potential: The problem of neutral fermions subject to a pseudoscalar potential is\ninvestigated. Apart from the solutions for $E=\\pm mc^{2}$, the problem is\nmapped into the Sturm-Liouville equation. The case of a singular trigonometric\ntangent potential ($\\sim \\mathrm{tan} \\gamma x$) is exactly solved and the\ncomplete set of solutions is discussed in some detail. It is revealed that this\nintrinsically relativistic and true confining potential is able to localize\nfermions into a region of space arbitrarily small without the menace of\nparticle-antiparticle production."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dirac Quantization Condition for Monopole in Noncommutative Space-Time: Since the structure of space-time at very short distances is believed to get\nmodified possibly due to noncommutativity effects and as the Dirac Quantization\nCondition (DQC), $\\mu e = \\frac{N}{2}\\hbar c$, probes the magnetic field point\nsingularity, a natural question arises whether the same condition will still\nsurvive. We show that the DQC on a noncommutative space in a model of dynamical\nnoncommutative quantum mechanics remains the same as in the commutative case to\nfirst order in the noncommutativity parameter $\\theta$, leading to the\nconjecture that the condition will not alter in higher orders.",
        "positive": "More about the Instanton/Soliton/Kink correspondence: We demonstrate that all gauge instantons in a $d=3+1$ Yang-Mills theory, with\ngeneric topological vacuum charge K, correspond to soliton solutions and kink\nscalar fields in $d=4+1$ space-time."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Anyon wave equations and the noncommutative plane: The ``Jackiw-Nair'' non-relativistic limit of the relativistic anyon\nequations provides us with infinite-component wave equations of the\nDirac-Majorana-Levy-Leblond type for the ``exotic'' particle, associated with\nthe two-fold central extension of the planar Galilei group. An infinite\ndimensional representation of the Galilei group is found. The velocity operator\nis studied, and the observable coordinates describing a noncommutative plane\nare identified.",
        "positive": "K-theoretic classification of fermionic operator mixings in holographic\n  conformal field theories: In this paper, we apply the K-theory scheme of classifying the topological\ninsulators/superconductors to classify the topological classes of the massive\nmulti-flavor fermions in anti-de Sitter (AdS) space. In the context of AdS/CFT\ncorrespondence, the multi-flavor fermionic mass matrix is dual to the pattern\nof operator mixing in the boundary conformal field theory (CFT). Thus, our\nresults classify the possible patterns of operator mixings among fermionic\noperators in the holographic CFT."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Corrected entropy of BTZ black hole in tunneling approach: We investigate further the recent analysis \\cite{R.Banerjee2}, based on a\nHamilton-Jacobi type approach, to compute the temperature and entropy of black\nholes beyond the semiclassical approximation. It is shown how non spherically\nsymmetric geometries are inducted in the general formalism by explicitly\nconsidering the BTZ black hole. The leading (logarithmic) and non leading\ncorrections to the area law are obtained.",
        "positive": "Construction of Infrared Finite Observables in N=4 Super Yang-Mills\n  Theory: In this paper we give all the details of the calculation that we presented in\nour previous paper ArXiv:0908.0387 where the infrared structure of the MHV\ngluon amplitudes in the planar limit for ${\\cal N}=4$ super Yang-Mills theory\nwas considered in the next-to-leading order of perturbation theory. Explicit\ncancellation of the infrared divergencies in properly defined inclusive\ncross-sections is demonstrated first in a toy model example of \"conformal QED\"\nand then in the real ${\\cal N}=4$ SYM theory. We give the full-length details\nboth for the calculation of the real emission and for the diagrams with\nsplitting in initial and final states. The finite parts for some inclusive\ndifferential cross-sections are presented in an analytical form. In general,\ncontrary to the virtual corrections, they do not reveal any simple structure.\nAn example of the finite part containing just the log functions is presented.\nThe dependence of inclusive cross-section on the external scale related to the\ndefinition of asymptotic states is discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Causality in Nonlocal Gravity: We study the causal structure of a class of weakly nonlocal gravitational\ntheories (eventually coupled to matter) that are compatible with perturbative\nunitarity and finiteness at quantum level. In particular, we show that in\nnonlocal quantum gravity a Shapiro's time advance never occurs. Moreover, we\nprovide a recipe to construct a general ultraviolet complete gravitational\ntheory coupled to matter (with or without supersymmetry) compatible with\ncausality. Therefore, nonlocal gravity is consistent with causality, as well as\nstring theory.",
        "positive": "Short distance modification of the quantum virial theorem: In this letter, we will analyse the deformation of a semi-classical\ngravitational system from minimal measurable length scale. In the\nsemi-classical approximation, the gravitational field will be analysed as a\nclassical field, and the matter fields will be treated quantum mechanically.\nThus, using this approximation, this system will be represented by a\ndeformation of Schr\\\"odinger-Newton equation by the generalised uncertainty\nprinciple (GUP). We will analyse the effects of this GUP deformed\nSchr\\\"odinger-Newton equation on the behaviour of such a semi-classical\ngravitational system. As the quantum mechanical virial theorem can be obtained\nusing the Schr\\\"odinger-Newton equation, a short distance modification of the\nSchr\\\"odinger-Newton equation will also result in a short distance modification\nof the quantum mechanical virial theorem."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hydrodynamics with Triangle Anomalies: We consider the hydrodynamic regime of theories with quantum anomalies for\nglobal currents. We show that a hitherto discarded term in the conserve current\nis not only allowed by symmetries, but is in fact required by triangle\nanomalies and the second law of thermodynamics. This term leads to a number of\nnew effects, one of which is chiral separation in a rotating fluid at nonzero\nchemical potential. The new kinetic coefficients can be expressed, in a unique\nfashion, through the anomalies coefficients and the equation of state. We\nbriefly discuss the relevance of this new hydrodynamic term for physical\nsituations, including heavy ion collisions.",
        "positive": "Heavy quark in an expanding plasma in AdS/CFT: Using the Janik-Peschanski dual to a Bjorken flow, a Langevin equation is\nderived for a heavy quark in an expanding N = 4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills\nplasma. Such a plasma is characterized by a proper-time dependence of the\ntemperature and corresponds to a system out of equilibrium. The analysis first\nfocuses on a quark at rest in the plasma comoving frame. The case of a quark\nmoving across a longitudinally expanding plasma is then considered. The\ntwo-point functions for the random noise acting on such heavy quark probes are\ncomputed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Bifurcation of Periodic Instanton in Decay-Rate Transition: We investigate a bifurcation of periodic instanton in Euclidean\naction-temperature diagram in quantum mechanical models. It is analytically\nshown that multiple zero modes of fluctuation operator should be arised at\nbifurcation points. This fact is used to derive a condition for the appearance\nof bifurcation points in action-temperature diagram. This condition enables one\nto compute the number of bifurcation points for a given quantum mechanical\nsystem and hence, to understand the whole behaviour of decay rate. It is\nexplicitly shown that the previous criterion derived by nonlinear perturbation\nor negative-mode consideration is special limit of our case.",
        "positive": "Non-Unitary Fermionic Quasinormal Modes at Zero Frequency: We consider the dynamics of a probe fermion charged under a U(1) Maxwell\nfield and a two form potential $B_{(2)}$ in a five dimensional gravity\nbackground. The gravity background is constructed from a new solution we find\nof type IIB supergravity. This new solution is expected to be dual to\nnon-commutative Yang-Mills theory in the 't Hooft limit with global U(1)\ncurrents. We study the zero frequency, near horizon behavior of the fermion,\nwhere the equations of motion reduce to that of two interacting fermions in\nAdS$_2$ with an electric field. We show that the operator dimensions in the\nAdS$_2$ space are complex, leading to the two components of the retarded\nGreen's function in the dual theory to be complex conjugates of each other. In\norder to preserve unitarity, this result implies there are no zero frequency\nquasinormal modes in our system. This has important implications for\ngeneralizations of recent holographic Fermi liquid setups with AdS$_2$ regions,\nas it suggests that infinite lifetime excitations can have energies above/below\nthe chemical potential. Therefore, the Fermi energy may not be uniquely set by\nthe chemical potential. Furthermore, since the gravity background breaks\nrotational symmetry along the spatial directions of the dual Yang-Mills theory,\nwe do not expect the Fermi surface to be spherical in shape in momentum space."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Entanglement entropy: holography and renormalization group: Entanglement entropy plays a variety of roles in quantum field theory,\nincluding the connections between quantum states and gravitation through the\nholographic principle. This article provides a review of entanglement entropy\nfrom a mixed viewpoint of field theory and holography. A set of basic methods\nfor the computation is developed and illustrated with simple examples such as\nfree theories and conformal field theories. The structures of the ultraviolet\ndivergences and the universal parts are determined and compared with the\nholographic descriptions of entanglement entropy. The utility of quantum\ninequalities of entanglement are discussed and shown to derive the C-theorem\nthat constrains renormalization group flows of quantum field theories in\ndiverse dimensions.",
        "positive": "Finite Quantum Gravity: We hereby present a class of multidimensional higher derivative theories of\ngravity that realizes an ultraviolet completion of Einstein general relativity.\nThis class is marked by a \"non-polynomal\" entire function (form factor), which\naverts extra degrees of freedom (including ghosts) and improves the high energy\nbehavior of the loop amplitudes. By power counting arguments, it is proved that\nthe theory is super-renormalizable in any dimension, i.e. only one-loop\ndivergences survive. Furthermore, in odd dimensions there are no counter terms\nfor pure gravity and the theory turns out to be \"finite.\" Finally, considering\nthe infinite tower of massive states coming from dimensional reduction, quantum\ngravity is finite in even dimension as well."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quasi-Topological Lifshitz Black Holes: We investigate the effects of including a quasi-topological cubic curvature\nterm to the Gauss-Bonnet action to five dimensional Lifshitz gravity. We find\nthat a new set of Lifshitz black hole solutions exist that are analogous to\nthose obtained in third-order Lovelock gravity in higher dimensions. No\nadditional matter fields are required to obtain solutions with asymptotic\nLifshitz behaviour, though we also investigate solutions with matter.\nFurthermore, we examine black hole solutions and their thermodynamics in this\nsituation and find that a negative quasi-topological term, just like a positive\nGauss-Bonnet term, prevents instabilities in what are ordinarily unstable\nEinsteinian black holes.",
        "positive": "Quantum mechanics on non-commutative plane: One of the simplest example of non-commutative (NC) spaces is the NC plane.\nIn this article we investigate the consequences of the non-commutativity to the\nquantum mechanics on a plane. We derive corrections to the standard\n(commutative) Hamiltonian spectrum for hydrogen-like atom and isotropic linear\nharmonic oscillator (LHO) and formulate the problem of the potential scattering\non the NC plane. In the case of LHO we consider the noncommutativity of the\nmomentum operators, too."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "New type of phase transition in gravitational theories: We set forth a new type of phase transition that might take place in\ngravitational theories whenever higher-curvature corrections are considered. It\ncan be regarded as a sophisticated version of the Hawking-Page transition,\nmediated by the nucleation of a bubble in anti-de Sitter (AdS) space. The\nbubble hosts a black hole in its interior, and separates two spacetime regions\nwith different effective cosmological constants. We compute the free energy of\nthis configuration and compare it with that of thermal AdS. The result suggests\nthat a phase transition actually occurs above certain critical temperature,\nultimately changing the value of the cosmological constant. We discuss the\nconsistency of the thermodynamic picture and its possible relevance in the\ncontext of AdS/CFT.",
        "positive": "Islands and dynamics at the interface: We investigate a family of models described by two holographic CFT$_2$s\ncoupled along a shared interface. The bulk dual geometry consists of two\nAdS$_3$ spacetimes truncated by a shared Karch-Randall end-of-the-world (EOW)\nbrane. A lower dimensional effective model comprising of JT gravity coupled to\ntwo flat CFT$_2$ baths is subsequently realized by considering small\nfluctuations on the EOW brane and implementing a partial Randall-Sundrum\nreduction where the transverse fluctuations of the EOW brane are identified as\nthe dilaton field. We compute the generalized entanglement entropy for\nbipartite states through the island prescription in the effective lower\ndimensional picture and obtain precise agreement in the limit of large brane\ntension with the corresponding doubly holographic computations in the bulk\ngeometry. Furthermore, we obtain the corresponding Page curves for the Hawking\nradiation in this JT braneworld."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Vacuum Structure of Two-Dimensional $\u03c6^4$ Theory on the Orbifold\n  $S^{1}/Z_{2}$: We consider the vacuum structure of two-dimensional $\\phi^4$ theory on\n$S^{1}/Z_{2}$ both in the bosonic and the supersymmetric cases. When the size\nof the orbifold is varied, a phase transition occurs at $L_{c}=2\\pi/m$, where\n$m$ is the mass of $\\phi$. For $L<L_{c}$, there is a unique vacuum, while for\n$L>L_{c}$, there are two degenerate vacua. We also obtain the 1-loop quantum\ncorrections around these vacuum solutions, exactly in the case of $L<L_{c}$ and\nperturbatively for $L$ greater than but close to $L_{c}$. Including the\nfermions we find that the \"chiral\" zero modes around the fixed points are\ndifferent for $L<L_{c}$ and $L>L_{c}$. As for the quantum corrections, the\nfermionic contributions cancel the singular part of the bosonic contributions\nat L=0. Then the total quantum correction has a minimum at the critical length\n$L_{c}$.",
        "positive": "Self-dual tensors and gravitational anomalies in 4n+2 dimensions: Starting from a manifestly Lorentz- and diffeomorphism-invariant classical\naction we perform a perturbative derivation of the gravitational anomalies for\nchiral bosons in 4n+2 dimensions. The manifest classical invariance is achieved\nusing a newly developed method based on a scalar auxiliary field and two new\nbosonic local symmetries. The resulting anomalies coincide with the ones\npredicted by the index theorem. In the two-dimensional case, moreover, we\nperform an exact covariant computation of the effective action for a chiral\nboson (a scalar) which is seen to coincide with the effective action for a\ntwo-dimensional complex Weyl-fermion. All these results support the quantum\nreliability of the new, at the classical level manifestly invariant, method."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the need for soft dressing: In order to deal with IR divergences arising in QED or perturbative quantum\ngravity scattering processes, one can either calculate inclusive quantities or\nuse dressed asymptotic states. We consider incoming superpositions of momentum\neigenstates and show that in calculations of cross-sections these two\napproaches yield different answers: in the inclusive formalism no interference\noccurs for incoming finite superpositions and wavepackets do not scatter at\nall, while the dressed formalism yields the expected interference terms. This\nsuggests that rather than Fock space states, one should use Faddeev-Kulish-type\ndressed states to correctly describe physical processes involving incoming\nsuperpositions. We interpret this in terms of selection rules due to large U(1)\ngauge symmetries and BMS supertranslations.",
        "positive": "On Bethe strings in the two-particle sector of the closed SU(2)q\n  invariant spin chain: In this paper we investigate complex solutions of the Bethe equations in the\ntwo-particle sector both for arbitrary finite number of sites and for the\nthermodynamic limit . We find the number of complex solutions (strings) and\ncompare it with the string conjecture prediction. Some simple properties of\nthese solutions like position in the spectrum, crossing of levels, connection\nto the ground state and transformation to the real solutions are discussed.\nCounting both real and complex solutions we find expected number of highest\nweight Bethe states."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Coiffured Black Rings: We describe a new type of hair on supersymmetric black string and black ring\nsolutions, which produces the largest known violation of black hole uniqueness,\nparameterized by an arbitrary function and hence an infinite number of\ncontinuous parameters. The new solutions can have non-trivial density profiles\nfor the electric fields along the horizon, and yet have a geometry that is\nregular, although generically not infinitely differentiable, at the horizon.\nBoth neutral and charged probes can cross the horizon without experiencing\ndivergent forces. We also find restricted examples, parameterized by a few\narbitrary continuous parameters, where the charge densities fluctuate but the\nmetric does not and hence is completely differentiable. Our new class of\nsolutions owes its existence to a mechanism reminiscent of the Q-ball: in the\nsimplest examples the metric has more symmetry than the matter that supports\nit.",
        "positive": "Bosonic Fradkin-Tseytlin equations unfolded. Irreducible case: We factorize 4d Fradkin-Linetsky higher spin conformal algebra by maximal\nideal $I^1-\\alpha$ and construct irreducible infinite-dimensional modules\n$M_\\alpha$ of 4d conformal algebra that are parameterized by real number\n$\\alpha$. It is shown that independently of $\\alpha$ unfolded system of\nequations corresponding to each $M_\\alpha$ describes collection of\nFradkin-Tseytlin equations for all spins $s=1,\\dots,\\infty$ with zero\nmultiplicity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Zero Mode Divergence Problem in String Theory: For $2D$ string theory, the perturbative $S$-matrices are not well-defined\ndue to a zero mode divergence. Although there exist formal procedures to make\nthe integral convergent, their physical meanings are unclear. We describe a\nmethod to obtain finite $S$-matrices physically to justify the formal schemes.\nThe scheme uses asymptotic states by wave packets which fall faster than\nexponentials. It is shown that the scheme gives well-defined $S$-matrices and\njustifies the formal shifted Virasoro-Shapiro amplitude for simple processes.\nThe tree-level unitarity for these processes is also shown. We point out a\nproblem in this scheme.",
        "positive": "Correlation functions for the Z-invariant Ising model: The correlation functions of the Z-invariant Ising model are calculated\nexplicitly using the Vertex Operators language developed by the Kyoto school."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dynamic critical phenomena at a holographic critical point: We study time-dependent perturbations to a family of five-dimensional black\nhole spacetimes constructed as a holographic model of the QCD phase diagram. We\nuse the results to calculate two transport coefficients, the bulk viscosity and\nconductivity, as well as the associated baryon diffusion constant, throughout\nthe phase diagram. Near the critical point in the T-mu plane, the transport\ncoefficients remain finite, although their derivatives diverge, and the\ndiffusion goes to zero. This provides further evidence that large-N_c gauge\ntheories suppress convective transport. We also find a divergence in the\nlow-temperature bulk viscosity, outside the region expected to match QCD, and\ncompare the results to the transport behavior of known R-charged black holes.",
        "positive": "First-order framework and domain-wall/brane-cosmology correspondence: We address the possibility of finding domain wall solutions from cosmological\nsolutions in brane cosmology. We find first-order equations for corresponding\ncosmology/domain wall solutions induced on 3-branes. The quadratic term of\nenergy density in the induced Friedmann equation plays a non-standard role and\nwe discuss the way the standard cosmological and domain wall models are\nrecovered as the brane tension becomes large and show how they can be described\nby four-dimensional supergravity action in such a limit. Finally, we show that\ngravity on the 3-brane is locally localized as one moves away from the\ntwo-dimensional domain walls living on the brane."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Second Hopf map and Yang-Coulomb system on 5d (pseudo)sphere: Using the second Hopf map, we perform the reduction of the eight-dimensional\n(pseudo)spherical (Higgs)oscillator to a five-dimensional system interacting\nwith a Yang monopole. Then, using a standard trick, we obtain, from the latter\nsystem, the pseudospherical and spherical generalizations of the Yang-Coulomb\nsystem (the five dimensional analog of MICZ-Kepler system). We present the\nwhole set of its constants of motions, including the hidden symmetry generators\ngiven by the analog of Runge-Lenz vector. In the same way, starting from the\neight-dimensional anisotropic inharmonic Higgs oscillator, we construct the\nintegrable (pseudo)spherical generalization of the Yang-Coulomb system with the\nStark term.",
        "positive": "$\\mathcal{N}$-extended Maxwell supergravities as Chern-Simons theories\n  in three spacetime dimensions: We present a new class of three-dimensional $\\mathcal{N}$-extended\nsupergravity theories based on the $\\mathcal{N}$-extended Maxwell superalgebra\nwith central charges and $\\mathfrak{so}(\\mathcal{N})$ internal symmetry\ngenerators. The presence of $\\mathfrak{so}(\\mathcal{N})$ generators is required\nin order to define a non-degenerate invariant inner product. Such symmetry\nallows us to construct an alternative supergravity action without cosmological\nconstant term. Interestingly, the new theories can be obtained as a flat limit\nof a $\\mathcal{N}$-extended AdS-Lorentz supergravity theories enlarged with\n$\\mathfrak{so}(\\mathcal{N})$ gauge fields."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Contour Integral Representations for the Characters of Logarithmic CFTs: We propose a contour integral representation for the one-point correlators at\ngenus one of the primaries of a family of rational logarithmic conformal field\ntheories.",
        "positive": "How hairy can a black ring be?: It has been shown recently that there is a large class of supersymmetric\nsolutions of five-dimensional supergravity which generalize the supersymmetric\nblack ring solution of Elvang et al. This class involves arbitrary functions.\nWe show that most of these solutions do not have smooth event horizons, so they\ndo not provide examples of black objects with infinite amounts of \"hair\"."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic metastability: We show how supersymmetric QCD in a slice of AdS can naturally acquire\nmetastable vacua. The formulation closely follows that of Intriligator, Seiberg\nand Shih (ISS), with an \"electric\" sector on the UV brane and a \"magnetic\"\nsector on the IR brane. However the 't Hooft anomaly matching that constrains\nthe Seiberg duality central to ISS is replaced by anomaly inflow and\ncancellation, and the source of strong coupling is the CFT to which the theory\ncouples rather than the gauge groups. The theory contains an anomaly free\nR-symmetry that, when broken by UV effects, leads to an O'Raifeartaigh model on\nthe IR brane. In contrast to ISS, the R-symmetry breaking in the UV can be\nmaximal, and yet the R-symmetry breaking in the IR theory remains under strict\ncontrol: there is no need for retrofitting of small parameters.",
        "positive": "Three-dimensional N=2 (AdS) supergravity and associated supercurrents: Long ago, Achucarro and Townsend discovered that in three dimensions (3D)\nN-extended anti-de Sitter (AdS) supergravity exists in several incarnations,\nwhich were called the (p,q) AdS supergravity theories with non-negative\nintegers p>=q such that N=p+q. Using the superspace approach to 3D N-extended\nsupergravity developed in arXiv:1101.4013, we present three superfield\nformulations for N=2 supergravity that allow for well defined cosmological\nterms and supersymmetric AdS solutions. The conformal compensators\ncorresponding to these theories are respectively: (i) a chiral scalar\nmultiplet: (ii) a vector multiplet; and (iii) an improved complex linear\nmultiplet. The theories corresponding to (i) and (iii) are shown to provide two\ndually equivalent realizations of the (1,1) AdS supergravity, while (ii)\ndescribes the (2,0) AdS supergravity. We associate with each supergravity\nformulation, with and without a cosmological term, a consistent supercurrent\nmultiplet. The supercurrents in the (1,1) and (2,0) AdS backgrounds are derived\nfor the first time. We elaborate on rigid supersymmetric theories in (1,1) and\n(2,0) AdS superspaces."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "IIA/IIB Supergravity and Ten-forms: We perform a careful investigation of which p-form fields can be introduced\nconsistently with the supersymmetry algebra of IIA and/or IIB ten-dimensional\nsupergravity. In particular the ten-forms, also known as \"top-forms\", require a\ncareful analysis since in this case, as we will show, closure of the\nsupersymmetry algebra at the linear level does not imply closure at the\nnon-linear level. Consequently, some of the (IIA and IIB) ten-form potentials\nintroduced in earlier work of some of us are discarded. At the same time we\nshow that new ten-form potentials, consistent with the full non-linear\nsupersymmetry algebra can be introduced. We give a superspace explanation of\nour work. All of our results are precisely in line with the predictions of the\nE(11) algebra.",
        "positive": "Scattering From a Two Dimensional Array of Flux Tubes: A Study of The\n  Validity of Mean Field Theory: Mean Field Theory has been extensively used in the study of systems of anyons\nin two spatial dimensions. In this paper we study the physical grounds for the\nvalidity of this approximation by considering the Quantum Mechanical scattering\nof a charged particle from a two dimensional array of magnetic flux tubes. The\nflux tubes are arranged on a regular lattice which is infinitely long in the\n``$y$'' direction but which has a (small) finite number of columns in the\n``$x$'' direction. Their physical size is assumed to be infinitesimally small.\nWe develop a method for computing the scattering angle as well as the\nreflection and transmission coefficients to lowest order in the Aharonov--Bohm\ninteraction. The results of our calculation are compared to the scattering of\nthe same particle from a region of constant magnetic field whose magnitude is\nequal to the mean field of all the flux tubes. For an incident plane wave, the\nMean Field approximation is shown to be valid provided the flux in each tube is\nmuch less than a single flux quantum. This is precisely the regime in which\nMean Field Theory for anyons is expected to be valid. When the flux per tube\nbecomes of order 1, Mean Field Theory is no longer valid."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Basis Tensor Gauge Theory: We reformulate gauge theories in analogy with the vierbein formalism of\ngeneral relativity. More specifically, we reformulate gauge theories such that\ntheir gauge dynamical degrees of freedom are local fields that transform\nlinearly under the dual representation of the charged matter field. These local\nfields, which naively have the interpretation of non-local operators similar to\nWilson lines, satisfy constraint equations. A set of basis tensor fields are\nused to solve these constraint equations, and their field theory is\nconstructed. A new local symmetry in terms of the basis tensor fields is used\nto make this field theory local and maintain a Hamiltonian that is bounded from\nbelow. The field theory of the basis tensor fields is what we call the basis\ntensor gauge theory.",
        "positive": "Type II Theories Compactified on Calabi-Yau Threefolds in the Presence\n  of Background Fluxes: Compactifications of type II theories on Calabi-Yau threefolds including\nelectric and magnetic background fluxes are discussed. We derive the bosonic\npart of the four-dimensional low energy effective action and show that it is a\nnon-canonical N=2 supergravity which includes a massive two-form. The\nsymplectic invariance of the theory is maintained as long as the flux\nparameters transform as a symplectic vector and a massive two-form which\ncouples to both electric and magnetic field strengths is present. The mirror\nsymmetry between type IIA and type IIB compactified on mirror manifolds is\nshown to hold for R-R fluxes at the level of the effective action. We also\ncompactify type IIA in the presence of NS three-form flux but the mirror\nsymmetry in this case remains unclear."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Black-hole information puzzle: A generic string-inspired approach: Given the insight steming from string theory, the origin of the black-hole\n(BH) information puzzle is traced back to the assumption that it is physically\nmeaningful to trace out the density matrix over negative-frequency Hawking\nparticles. Instead, treating them as virtual particles necessarily absorbed by\nthe BH in a manner consistent with the laws of BH thermodynamics, and tracing\nout the density matrix only over physical BH states, the complete evaporation\nbecomes compatible with unitarity.",
        "positive": "AdS gravity and field theories at fixpoints: The renormalization group flow of the worldvolume theory depends very much\nfrom the number of unbroken supersymmetries. In the dual $AdS$ picture we break\nsupersymmetry by adding different types of BPS black holes. We argue, that this\nBPS black hole causes a non-trivial renormalization group flow in the\nworldvolume field theory and especially a regular horizon translates into a\nnon-trivial IR fixpoint. For this interpretation we have to rewrite the $AdS$\nmodels into a flat space description with a linear dilaton vacuum. The dual\nmodels (linear dilaton and the $AdS$ vacuum) can be seen as the different sides\nof a domain wall. We discuss the cases of $AdS_3$ and $AdS_5$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "More on Four-Dimensional Extremal Black Holes: We consider an embedding of the extremal four-dimensional\nReissner-Nordstr\\\"om black hole into type $IIB$ string theory. The equivalent\ntype $IIB$ configuration, in the D-brane weak-coupling picture, is a bound\nstate of D1- and D5-branes threaded by fundamental type $IIB$ strings. The\nbound state involves also a NSNS solitonic 5-brane, mimicking the role of the\nKaluza-Klein magnetic monopole. The statistical entropy derived by counting the\ndegeneracy of the BPS-saturated excitations of this bound state agrees\nperfectly with the (semiclassical) Bekenstein-Hawking formula.",
        "positive": "Deformed Kac-Moody Algebra and Noncommutative Fermi Theory in\n  Two-Dimensions: Starting from noncommutative Fermi theory in two-dimensions, we construct a\ndeformed Kac-Moody algebra between its vector and Chiral currents . The\nhigher-order corrections to the deformed Kac-Moody algebra are explicitly\ncalculated. We observe that the ordinary Schwinger terms are not affected by\nnoncommutativity. Finally we conclude that the deformed Kac-Moody algebra can\nbe given in term of ordinary Kac-Moody algebra plus infinitely many Lie\nalgebraic structures at each non-zero power of the antisymmetric coefficient\n$\\theta$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Scattering Angle Dependence of Weak Mixing Angle at Noncommutative Mass\n  Poles: There have been comments on the starting paper, hep-th/0106074, which point\nout unclear motivation and definitions on noncommutative momentum introduced.\nThis paper is withdrawn by the author for more clear presentation.",
        "positive": "Finite One-Loop Corrections and Perturbative Gauge Invariance in Quantum\n  Gravity Coupled to Photon Fields: One-loop calculations in quantum gravity coupled to U(1)-Abelian fields\n(photon fields) are ultraviolet finite and cutoff-free in the framework of\ncausal perturbation theory. We compute the photon loop correction to the\ngraviton propagator and the photon self-energy in second order perturbation\ntheory. Perturbative gauge invariance to second order is shown and generates\nthe gravitational Slavnov-Ward identities."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Black holes in massive gravity as heat engines: The paper at hand studies the heat engine provided by black holes in the\npresence of massive gravity. The main motivation is to investigate the effects\nof massive gravity on different properties of the heat engine. It will be shown\nthat massive gravity parameters and graviton's mass modify the efficiency of\nengine on a significant level. Furthermore, it will be shown that it is\npossible to have the heat engine for non-spherical black holes in massive\ngravity and we study the effects of topological factor on properties of the\nheat engine. Surprisingly, it will be shown that the highest efficiency for the\nheat engine belongs to black holes with hyperbolic horizon, while the lowest\none belongs to spherical black holes.",
        "positive": "FERMION ZERO MODES AND BLACK-HOLE HYPERMULTIPLETS WITH RIGID\n  SUPERSYMMETRY: The gravitini zero modes riding on top of the extreme Reissner-Nordstrom\nblack-hole solution of N=2 supergravity are shown to be normalizable. The\ngravitini and dilatini zero modes of axion-dilaton extreme black-hole solutions\nof N=4 supergravity are also given and found to have finite norms. These norms\nare duality invariant. The finiteness and positivity of the norms in both cases\nare found to be correlated with the Witten-Israel-Nester construction; however,\nwe have replaced the Witten condition by the pure-spin-3/2 constraint on the\ngravitini. We compare our calculation of the norms with the calculations which\nprovide the moduli space metric for extreme black holes.\n  The action of the N=2 hypermultiplet with an off-shell central charge\ndescribes the solitons of N=2 supergravity. This action, in the\nMajumdar-Papapetrou multi-black-hole background, is shown to be N=2 rigidly\nsupersymmetric."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Comment on String Solitons: We derive an exact string-like soliton solution of D=10 heterotic string\ntheory. The solution possesses $SU(2)\\times SU(2)$ instanton structure in the\neight-dimensional space transverse to the worldsheet of the soliton.",
        "positive": "Hard Thermal Loops, Chern-Simons Theory and the Quark-Gluon Plasma: The generating functional for hard thermal loops in QCD is important in\nsetting up a resummed perturbation theory. I review how this functional is\nrelated to the eikonal for a Chern-Simons theory, and using an auxiliary field,\nto the gauged WZNW-action. The induced current due to hard thermal loops,\nproperly incorporating damping effects, is also briefly discussed. (Invited\ntalk at the Third Worshop on Thermal Field Theories, Banff, Canada, August,\n1993.)"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Manifest colour-kinematics duality and double-copy in the string-based\n  formalism: The relation for the gravity polarisation tensor as the tensor product of two\ngluon polarisation vectors has been well-known for a long time, but a version\nof this relation for multi-particle fields is presently still not known. Here\nwe show that in order for this to happen we first have to ensure that the\nmulti-particle polarisations satisfy colour-kinematics duality. In previous\nwork it has been show that this arises naturally from the Bern-Kosower\nformalism for one-loop gluon amplitudes, and here we show that the tensor\nproduct for multi-particle fields arise naturally in the Bern-Dunbar-Shimada\nformalism for one-loop gravity amplitudes. This allows us to formulate a new\nprescription for double-copy gravity Berends-Giele currents, and to obtain both\nthe colour-dressed Yang-Mills Berends-Giele currents in the\nBern-Carrasco-Johansson gauge and the gravitational Berends-Giele currents\nexplicitly. An attractive feature of our formalism is that it never becomes\nnecessary to determine gauge transformation terms. Our double-copy prescription\ncan also be applied to other cases, and to make this point we derive the\ndouble-copy perturbiners for $\\alpha'$-deformed gravity and the bi-adjoint\nscalar model.",
        "positive": "Braneworlds in bumblebee gravity: We investigate thick-brane solutions within the five-dimensional bumblebee\ngravity in the presence of a real scalar field. Specifically, we implement the\nLorentz symmetry breaking scenario within this context and obtain brane-like\nstructures. Since the contribution of the bumblebee field is expected to be\nweak, we solve the field equations in the small-parameter regime. In this\nsituation, we develop a first-order framework to describe the brane. The\nresults show that the function which drives the bumblebee field may engender a\nlumplike structure whose shape depends on the parameters. On one hand, the\neffect of the non-minimal coupling, controlled by $\\xi$, between the bumblebee\nfield and gravity shifts the field from the vacuum expectation value. On the\nother hand, the aether parameter, $\\beta$, is responsible for modifying the\nsolution inside the brane."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A study of anomalies using functional integration and perturbative\n  calculations: We present two lines of investigation involving anomalies. First, we review\nmechanisms behind the classical and quantum conservation of symmetries using\nfunctional integration. This discussion clarifies conditions for quantum\nviolations, as acknowledged in chiral theories. Then, we elucidate the subject\nof gauge anomaly cancellation when all fields are quantized. Such an outcome\nrequires gauge invariance of the bosonic measure, so our first object is\nproving this invariance within Fujikawa's approach. Second, we investigate\nanomalies in fermionic perturbative amplitudes using Implicit Regularization.\nThe discussion of the single-axial triangle fundaments this analysis, bringing\nthe elements necessary to approach the single-axial box. When organizing their\nmathematical structure, we highlight the role of traces involving the chiral\nmatrix. Choosing a specific expression for them reflects on the position of\nsymmetry violations, which has implications regarding the linearity of\nintegration. Power counting and tensor structure imply the presence of surface\nterms related to momenta ambiguities. We present the results without computing\nthese surface terms. In this neutral perspective, we explore possibilities\nachieved under different prescriptions.",
        "positive": "Black hole Skyrmion in a generalized Skyrme model: We study a Skyrme-like model with the Skyrme term and a sixth-order\nderivative term as higher-order terms, coupled to gravity and we construct\nSchwarzschild black hole Skyrme hair. We find, surprisingly, that the\nsixth-order derivative term alone cannot stabilize the black hole hair\nsolutions; the Skyrme term with a large enough coefficient is a necessity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Flavor deformations and supersymmetry enhancement in $4d$\n  $\\mathcal{N}=2$ theories: We study $\\mathcal{N}=2$ theories on four-dimensional manifolds that admit a\nKilling vector $v$ with isolated fixed points. It is possible to deform these\ntheories by coupling position-dependent background fields to the flavor current\nmultiplet. The partition function of the deformed theory only depends on the\nvalue of the background scalar fields at the fixed points of $v$. For a single\nadjoint hypermultiplet, the partition function becomes independent of the\nsupergravity as well as the flavor background if the scalars attain special\nvalues at the fixed points. For these special values, supersymmetry at the\nfixed points enhances from the Donaldson-Witten twist to the Marcus twist or\nthe Vafa-Witten twist of $\\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM. Our results explain the recently\nobserved squashing independence of $\\mathcal{N}=2^*$ theory on the squashed\nsphere and provide a new squashing independent point. Interpreted through the\nAGT-correspondence, this implies the $b$-independence of torus one-point\nfunctions of certain local operators in Liouville/Toda CFT. The\nposition-dependent deformations imply relations between correlators of\npartially integrated operators in any $\\mathcal{N}=2$ SCFT with flavor\nsymmetries.",
        "positive": "Localization Issues for Robertson-Walker Branes: We discuss some of the localization issues associated with the embedding of\nRobertson-Walker type Randall-Sundrum branes in a bulk $AdS_5$. Specifically,\nwe show that of the branes which are embeddable in $AdS_5$ the geometry\nassociated with $M_4$ and $dS_4$ branes warps away from the brane while that\nassociated with $AdS_4$ and $RW$ branes of any spatial 3-curvature antiwarps\naway from the brane. We discuss the gravitational fluctuations around an $M_4$\nbrane and analyze the specific role played by a delta function singularity at\nthe brane. We show how a bulk sine-Gordon scalar field can without any\nfine-tuning naturally lead to localization of gravity around an $M_4$ brane."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Macroconstraints from Microsymmetries: The dynamics governing the evolution of a many body system is constrained by\na nonabelian local symmetry. We obtain explicit forms of the global macroscopic\ncondition assuring that at the microscopic level the evolution respects the\noverall symmetry constraint.",
        "positive": "Chaotic LLM billiards: We study null geodesics of the ten-dimensional LLM geometries. In particular,\nwe show that there are a subset of these null geodesics that are confined to\nthe LLM plane. The effective dynamics of these in-plane geodesics is that of a\nHamiltonian system with two degrees of freedom (a phase space of dimension 4).\nWe show that these are chaotic. In the two-coloring of the LLM plane, if they\nstart in the empty region, they cannot penetrate the filled region and\nviceversa. The dynamical problem is therefore very similar to that of a\nbilliards problem with fixed obstacles. We study to what extent LLM geometries\nwith many droplets may be treated as an incipient black hole and draw analogies\nwith the fuzzball proposal.\n  We argue that for in-plane null geodesics deep in the interior of a region\nwith a lot of droplets, in order to exit towards the $AdS$ boundary they will\nneed to undergo a process that resembles diffusion. This mechanism can account\nfor signals getting lost in the putative black hole for a very long time."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-Abelian Chiral 2-Form and M5-Branes: We first review self-dual (chiral) gauge field theories by studying their\nLorentz non-covariant and Lorentz covariant formulations. We next construct a\nnon-Abelian self-dual two-form gauge theory in six dimensions with a spatial\ndirection compactified on a circle. This model reduces to the Yang-Mills theory\nin five dimensions for a small compactified radius R. The model also reduces to\nthe Lorentz-invariant Abelian self-dual two-form theory when the gauge group is\nAbelian. The model is expected to describe multiple 5-branes in M-theory. We\nalso discuss its decompactified limit, covariant formulation, BRST-antifield\nquantization and other generalizations.",
        "positive": "Quantum aspects of self-interacting fields around cosmic strings: The authors study the quantum effect of self-interacting fields in the\nclassical background of conical space, i.e. around a cosmic string with\ninfinitesimal width. The renormalized value of $\\langle\\phi^2\\rangle$ and\nenergy-momentum tensor in the presence of cosmic strings are calculated in the\nself-interacting scalar field theory. The amount of condensation is also\nestimated in the case of the Dirac Lagrangian with the four-fermion\ninteraction. The physical implications of the above analyses are discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Conformal partial wave analysis of AdS amplitudes for dilaton-axion\n  four-point functions: Operator product expansions are applied to dilaton-axion four-point\nfunctions. In the expansions of the bilocal fields $\\tilde{\\Phi}\\tilde{\\Phi}$,\n$\\tilde{C}\\tilde{C}$ and $\\tilde{\\Phi}\\tilde{C}$, the conformal fields which\nare symmetric traceless tensors of rank $l$ and have dimensions $\\delta=2+l$ or\n$8+l+\\eta(l)$ and $\\eta(l)=\\mathcal{O}(N^{-2})$ are identified. The\nunidentified fields have dimension $\\delta=\\lambda+l+\\eta(l)$ with $\\lambda\\geq\n10$. The anomalous dimensions $\\eta(l)$ are calculated at order\n$\\mathcal{O}(N^{-2})$ for both $2^{-{1/2}}(-\\tilde{\\Phi}\\tilde{\\Phi} +\n\\tilde{C}\\tilde{C})$ and $2^{-{1/2}}(\\tilde{\\Phi}\\tilde{C} +\n\\tilde{C}\\tilde{\\Phi})$ and are found to be the same, proving $U(1)_Y$\nsymmetry. The relevant coupling constants are given at order $\\mathcal{O}(1)$.",
        "positive": "Boundaries, Vermas, and Factorisation: We revisit the factorisation of supersymmetric partition functions of 3d\n$\\mathcal{N}=4$ gauge theories. The building blocks are hemisphere partition\nfunctions of a class of UV $\\mathcal{N}=(2,2)$ boundary conditions that mimic\nthe presence of isolated vacua at infinity in the presence of real mass and FI\nparameters. These building blocks can be unambiguously defined and computed\nusing supersymmetric localisation. We show that certain limits of these\nhemisphere partition functions coincide with characters of lowest weight Verma\nmodules over the quantised Higgs and Coulomb branch chiral rings. This leads to\nexpressions for the superconformal index, twisted index and $S^3$ partition\nfunction in terms of such characters. On the way we uncover new connections\nbetween boundary 't Hooft anomalies, hemisphere partition functions and lowest\nweights of Verma modules."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Asymptotic Bethe Ansatz on the GKP vacuum as a defect spin chain:\n  scattering, particles and minimal area Wilson loops: Moving from Beisert-Staudacher equations, the complete set of Asymptotic\nBethe Ansatz equations and $S$-matrix for the excitations over the GKP vacuum\nis found. The resulting model on this new vacuum is an integrable spin chain of\nlength $R=2\\ln s$ ($s=$ spin) with particle rapidities as inhomogeneities, two\n(purely transmitting) defects and $SU(4)$ (residual R-)symmetry. The\nnon-trivial dynamics of ${\\cal N}=4$ SYM appears in elaborated dressing factors\nof the 2D two-particle scattering factors, all depending on the 'fundamental'\none between two scalar excitations. From scattering factors we determine bound\nstates. In particular, we study the strong coupling limit, in the\nnon-perturbative, perturbative and giant hole regimes. Eventually, from these\nscattering data we construct the $4D$ pentagon transition amplitudes\n(perturbative regime). In this manner, we detail the multi-particle\ncontributions (flux tube) to the MHV gluon scattering amplitudes/Wilson loops\n(OPE or BSV series) and re-sum them to the Thermodynamic Bubble Ansatz.",
        "positive": "Multiloop integrals in dimensional regularization made simple: Scattering amplitudes at loop level can be expressed in terms of Feynman\nintegrals. The latter satisfy partial differential equations in the kinematical\nvariables. We argue that a good choice of basis for (multi-)loop integrals can\nlead to significant simplifications of the differential equations, and propose\ncriteria for finding an optimal basis. This builds on experience obtained in\nsupersymmetric field theories that can be applied successfully to generic\nquantum field theory integrals. It involves studying leading singularities and\nexplicit integral representations. When the differential equations are cast\ninto canonical form, their solution becomes elementary. The class of functions\ninvolved is easily identified, and the solution can be written down to any\ndesired order in epsilon within dimensional regularization. Results obtained in\nthis way are particularly simple and compact. In this letter, we outline the\ngeneral ideas of the method and apply them to a two-loop example."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Zhu's Associative Algebra as a Tool in the Representation Theory of\n  Vertex Operator Algebras: We describe an approach to classify (meromorphic) representations of a given\nvertex operator algebra by calculating Zhu's algebra explicitly. We demonstrate\nthis for FKS lattice theories and subtheories corresponding to the Z_2\nreflection twist and the Z_3 twist. Our work is mainly offering a novel\nuniqueness tool, but, as shown in the Z_3 case, it can also be used to extract\nenough information to construct new representations. We prove the existence and\nsome properties of a new non-unitary representation of the Z_3-invariant\nsubtheory of the (two dimensional) Heisenberg algebra.",
        "positive": "Back-Reaction of Cosmological Perturbations in the Infinite Wavelength\n  Approximation: Cosmological perturbations in an expanding universe back-react on the\nspace-time in which they propagate. Calculations to lowest non-vanishing order\nin perturbation theory indicate that super-Hubble-scale fluctuations act as a\nnegative and time-dependent cosmological constant and may thus lead to a\ndynamical relaxation mechanism for the cosmological constant. Here we present a\nsimple model of how to understand this effect from the perspective of\nhomogeneous and isotropic cosmology. Our analysis, however, also shows that an\neffective spatial curvature is induced, indicating potential problems in\nrealizing the dynamical relaxation of the cosmological constant by means of\nback-reaction."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "BRST cohomology in Beltrami parametrization: We study the BRST cohomology within a local conformal Lagrangian field theory\nmodel built on a two dimensional Riemann surface with no boundary. We deal with\nthe case of the complex structure parametrized by Beltrami differential and the\nscalar matter fields. The computation of {\\em all} elements of the BRST\ncohomology is given.",
        "positive": "Induced Parity-Breaking Term at Finite Chemical Potential and\n  Temparature: We exactly calculated the parity-odd term of the effective action induced by\nthe fermions in 2+1 dimensions at finite chemical potential and finite\ntemperature. It shows that gauge invariance is still respected. A more gerneral\nclass of background configurations is considered. The knowledge of the reduced\n1+1 determinant is required in order to draw exact conclusions about the gauge\ninvariance of the parity-odd term in this latter case."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Randall-Sundrum brane-world in modified gravity: We modify Randall-Sundrum model of brane-world (with two branes) by adding\nthe scalar curvature squared term in five dimensions. We find that it does not\ndestabilize Randall-Sundrum solution to the hierarchy problem of the Standard\nModel in particle physics.",
        "positive": "Non Relativistic Dp Branes: We construct a kappa-symmetric and diffeomorphism-invariant non-relativistic\nDp-brane action as a non-relativistic limit of a relativistic Dp-brane action\nin flat space. In a suitable gauge the world-volume theory is given by a\nsupersymmetric free field theory in flat spacetime in p+1 dimensions of bosons,\nfermions and gauge fields."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A note on the non-diagonal K-matrices for the trigonometric\n  $A^{(1)}_{n-1}$ vertex model: This note presents explicit matrix expressions of a class of\nrecently-discovered non-diagonal K-matrices for the trigonometric\n$A^{(1)}_{n-1}$ vertex model. From these explicit expressions, it is easily\nseen that in addition to a {\\it discrete} (positive integer) parameter $l$,\n$1\\leq l\\leq n$, the K-matrices contain $n+1$ (or $n$) continuous free boundary\nparameters.",
        "positive": "Massless Positivity in Graviton Exchange: We formulate Positivity Bounds for scattering amplitudes including exchange\nof massless particles. We generalize the standard construction through\ndispersion relations to include the presence of a branch cut along the real\naxis in the complex plane for the Maldestam variable $s$. In general, validity\nof these bounds require the cancellation of divergences in the forward limit of\nthe amplitude, proportional to $t^{-1}$ and $\\log(t)$. We show that this is\npossible in the case of gravitons if one assumes a Regge behavior of the\namplitude at high energies below the Planck scale, as previously suggested in\nthe literature, and that the concrete UV behaviour of the amplitude is uniquely\ndetermined by the structure of IR divergences. We thus extend previous results\nby including a sub-leading logarithmic term, which we show to be universal. The\nbounds that we present here have the potential of constraining very general\nmodels of modified gravity and EFTs of matter coupled to gravitation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Note On 3D N=2 Dualities: Real Mass Flow And Partition Function: We study two well-known classes of dualities in three dimensional N=2\nsupersymmetric field theories. In the first class there are non trivial\ninteractions involving monopole operators while in the second class the dual\ngauge theories have Chern-Simons terms in the action. An RG flows connecting\nthe first dual pair to the second one has been studied in the past and tested\non the partition function on the squashed three sphere. Recently an opposite RG\nflow connecting the second dual pair to the first one has been studied in the\ncase of unitary gauge groups. In this paper we study this flow on the partition\nfunction on the squashed three sphere. We verify that the equality between the\npartition functions of the original dual models is preserved in the IR, where\nthe other dual pair is reached. We generalize the analysis to the case of\nsymplectic and of orthogonal groups.",
        "positive": "Light-Cone Wilson Loops and the String/Gauge Correspondence: We investigate a \\Pi-shape Wilson loop in N=4 super Yang--Mills theory, which\nlies partially at the light-cone, and consider an associated open superstring\nin AdS_5 x S^5. We discuss how this Wilson loop determines the anomalous\ndimensions of conformal operators with large Lorentz spin and present an\nexplicit calculation in perturbation theory to order \\lambda. We find the\nminimal surface in the supergravity approximation, that reproduces the Gubser,\nKlebanov and Polyakov prediction for the anomalous dimensions at large\n\\lambda=g_YM^2 N, and discuss its quantum-mechanical interpretation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Mean Curvature Flow on Ricci Solitons: We study monotonic quantities in the context of combined geometric flows. In\nparticular, focusing on Ricci solitons as the ambient space, we consider\nsolutions of the heat type equation integrated over embedded submanifolds\nevolving by mean curvature flow and we study their monotonicity properties.\nThis is part of an ongoing project with Magni and Mantegazzawhich will treat\nthe case of non-solitonic backgrounds $\\cite{a_14}$.",
        "positive": "Transport properties in bilayer Quantum Hall systems in the presence of\n  a topological defect: Following a suggestion given in Phys. Lett. B 571(2003) 621, we show how a\nbilayer Quantum Hall system at fillings nu =1/p+1 can exhibit a point-like\ntopological defect in its edge state structure. Indeed our CFT theory for such\na system, the Twisted Model (TM), gives rise in a natural way to such a feature\nin the twisted sector. Our results are in agreement with recent experimental\nfindings (Phys. Rev. B 72 (2005) 041305) which evidence the presence of a\ntopological defect in the transport properties of the bilayer system."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Entropy Defined, Entropy Increase and Decoherence Understood, and Some\n  Black-Hole Puzzles Solved: Statistical mechanics explains thermodynamics in terms of (quantum) mechanics\nby equating the entropy of a microstate of a closed system with the logarithm\nof the number of microstates in the macrostate to which it belongs, but the\nquestion `what is a macrostate?' has never been answered except in a vague,\nsubjective, way. However Hawking's discovery of black hole evaporation led to a\nformula for black hole entropy with no subjective element. In this letter, we\nargue from this result, together with the assumption that `black hole\nthermodynamics is just ordinary thermodynamics applied to black holes', that a\nmacrostate for a general (quantum gravitational) closed system is an\nequivalence class of matter-gravity microstates with the same expectation\nvalues for the matter degrees of freedom alone. Not only does this finally\nanswer the question `what is entropy?', but it also predicts the equality of\nthe thermodynamic entropy of a black hole with the matter and the gravity\nentropy-like quantities derived from the Euclidean path integral. Furthermore\nit gives us a clear glimpse of an ultimate synthesis of quantum theory and\ngravity in which we see that (a) gravity acts as a universal environment, thus\npredicting that, if the initial state of the universe is unentangled, its\nentropy must go on increasing forever, (b) the gravitational field has degrees\nof freedom, but no observables, thus enabling gravity to perform the trick of\nproviding an objective continual process of decoherence. All the above rests on\nthe validity of unitarity. The `information-loss puzzle' had raised doubts\nabout that. But we suggest a resolution for this puzzle.",
        "positive": "A Mirzakhani recursion for non-orientable surfaces: We review Mirzakhani's recursion for the volumes of moduli spaces of\norientable surfaces, using a perspective that generalizes to non-orientable\nsurfaces. The non-orientable version leads to divergences when the recursion is\niterated, from regions in moduli space with small crosscaps. However, the\nintegral kernels of the recursion are well-defined and they map precisely onto\nthe loop equations for a matrix integral with orthogonal symmetry class and\nclassical density of eigenvalues proportional to $\\sinh(2\\pi\\sqrt{E})$ for\n$E>0$. The recursion can be used to compute regularized volumes with a cutoff\non the minimal size of a crosscap."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hidden Conformal Symmetry of the Kerr Black Hole: Extreme and very-near-extreme spin J Kerr black holes have been conjectured\nto be holographically dual to two-dimensional (2D) conformal field theories\n(CFTs) with left and right central charges c_L=c_R=12J. In this paper it is\nobserved that the 2D conformal symmetry of the scalar wave equation at low\nfrequencies persists for generic non-extreme values of the mass M.\nInterestingly, this conformal symmetry is not derived from a conformal symmetry\nof the spacetime geometry except in the extreme limit. The periodic\nidentification of the azimuthal angle is shown to correspond to a spontaneous\nbreaking of the conformal symmetry by left and right temperatures (T_L,T_R).\nThe well-known low-frequency scalar-Kerr scattering amplitudes coincide with\ncorrelators of a 2D CFT at these temperatures. Moreover the CFT microstate\ndegeneracy inferred from the Cardy formula agrees exactly with the\nBekenstein-Hawking area law for all M and J. These observations provide\nevidence for the conjecture that the Kerr black hole is dual to a c_L=c_R=12J\n2D CFT at temperatures (T_L,T_R) for every value of M and J.",
        "positive": "Classification of Shift-Symmetric No-Scale Supergravities: Models of 4D $\\mathcal{N}=1$ supergravity coupled to chiral multiplets with\nvanishing or positive scalar potential have been denoted as no-scale. Of\nparticular interest in the context of string theory are models which\nadditionally possess a shift-symmetry. In this case there exists a dual\ndescription of chiral models in terms of real linear multiplets. We classify\nall ungauged shift-symmetric no-scale supergravities in both formulations and\nverify that they match upon dualization. Additionally, we comment on the\nrealizations within effective supergravities descending from string\ncompactifications."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The exact renormalisation group equation and the perturbed unitary\n  minimal models: The exact renormalisation group equation is studied for a two-dimensional\ntheory with exponential interaction and a background charge at infinity. The\nmotivation for studying this interaction is the flow between unitary minimal\nmodels perturbed by Phi_{(1,3)}, and their realisation in terms of a quantum\ngroup restricted sine-Gordon model.",
        "positive": "Dirac Equation on a Curved 2+1 Dimensional Hypersurface: Interest on 2 + 1 dimensional electron systems has increased considerably\nafter the realization of novel properties of graphene sheets, in which the\nbehaviour of electrons is effectively described by relativistic equations.\nHaving this fact in mind, the following problem is studied in this work: when a\nspin 1/2 particle is constrained to move on a curved surface, is it possible to\ndescribe this particle without giving reference to the dimensions external to\nthe surface? As a special case of this, a relativistic spin 1/2 particle which\nis constrained to move on a 2 + 1 dimensional hypersurface of the 3 + 1\ndimensional Minkowskian spacetime is considered, and an effective Dirac\nequation for this particle is derived using the so-called thin layer method.\nSome of the results are compared with those obtained in a previous work by M.\nBurgess and B. Jensen."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Proposal for $D>1$ Strings?: Using the reduced formulation of large-N Quantum Field Theories we study\nstrings in space-time dimensions higher than one. Some preliminary results\nconcerning the possible string susceptibilities and general properties of the\nmodel are presented.",
        "positive": "Quantum stability of non-linear wave type solutions with intrinsic mass\n  parameter in QCD: The problem of existence of a stable vacuum field in a pure quantum\nchromodynamics (QCD) is revised. Our approach is based on using classical\nstationary non-linear wave type solutions with intrinsic mass scale parameter.\nSuch solutions can be treated as quantum mechanical wave functions describing\nmassive spinless states in quantum theory. We verify whether non-linear wave\ntype solutions can form a stable vacuum field background within the framework\nof effective action formalism. We demonstrate that there is a special class of\nstationary generalized Wu-Yang monopole solutions which are stable against\nquantum gluon fluctuations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Ashtekar's formulation for $N=1,2$ supergravities as \"constrained\" BF\n  theories: It is known that Ashtekar's formulation for pure Einstein gravity can be cast\ninto the form of a topological field theory, namely the $SU(2)$ BF theory, with\nthe B-fields subject to an algebraic constraint. We extend this relation\nbetween Ashtekar's formalism and BF theories to $N=1$ and $N=2$ supergravities.\nThe relevant gauge groups in these cases become graded Lie groups of $SU(2)$\nwhich are generated by left-handed local Lorentz transformations and\nleft-supersymmetry transformations. As a corollary of these relations, we\nprovide topological solutions for $N=2$ supergravity with a vanishing\ncosmological constant. It is also shown that, due to the algebraic constraints,\nthe Kalb-Ramond symmetry which is characteristic of BF theories breaks down to\nthe symmetry under diffeomorphisms and right-supersymmetry transformations.",
        "positive": "A Remark on Integrable Poisson Algebras and Two Dimensional Manifolds: The relations between integrable Poisson algebras with three generators and\ntwo-dimensional manifolds are investigated. Poisson algebraic maps are also\ndiscussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quarks in the Skyrme-'t Hooft-Witten Model: The three-flavor Skyrme-'t Hooft-Witten model is interpreted in terms of a\nquark-like substructure, leading to a new model of explicitly confined\ncolor-free ``quarks'' reminiscent of Gell-Mann's original pre-color quarks, but\nwith unexpected and significant differences.",
        "positive": "Numerical Field Theory on the Continuum: An approach to calculating approximate solutions to the continuum\nSchwinger-Dyson equations is outlined, with examples for \\phi^4 in D=1. This\napproach is based on the source Galerkin methods developed by Garcia, Guralnik\nand Lawson. Numerical issues and opportunities for future calculations are also\ndiscussed briefly."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Proof of Local Background Independence of Classical Closed String\n  Field Theory: We give a complete proof of local background independence of the classical\nmaster action for closed strings by constructing explicitly, for any two nearby\nconformal theories in a CFT theory space, a symplectic diffeomorphism between\ntheir state spaces mapping the corresponding non-polynomial string actions into\neach other. We uncover a new family of string vertices, the lowest of which is\na three string vertex satisfying exact Jacobi identities with respect to the\noriginal closed string vertices. The homotopies between the two sets of string\nvertices determine the diffeomorphism establishing background independence. The\nlinear part of the diffeomorphism is implemented by a CFT theory-space\nconnection determined by the off-shell three closed string vertex, showing how\nstring field theory induces a natural interplay between Riemann surface\ngeometry and CFT theory space geometry. (Three figures are contained in a\nseparate tar compressed uuencoded figures file. See the TeX file for\ninstructions for printing the figures.)",
        "positive": "Noncommutativity and Spontaneously Broken Gauge Theories: Comments on NC Abelian Higgs model withdrawn. An improved treatment of NC\nU(2) adjoint models to appear elsewhere."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Energy Momentum Tensor of the M-Theory Fivebrane: We construct the energy momentum tensor for the bosonic fields of the\ncovariant formulation of the M-theory fivebrane within that formalism. We then\nobtain the energy for various solitonic solutions of the fivebrane equations of\nmotion.",
        "positive": "Entanglement entropy and negativity in the Ising model with defects: Defects in two-dimensional conformal field theories (CFTs) contain signatures\nof their characteristics. In this work, we compute the entanglement entropy\n(EE) and the entanglement negativity (EN) of subsystems in the presence of\nenergy and duality defects in the Ising CFT using the density matrix\nrenormalization group (DMRG) technique. We show that the EE for the duality\ndefect exhibits fundamentally different characteristics compared to the energy\ndefect due to the existence of localized and delocalized zero energy modes. Of\nspecial interest is the nontrivial `finite-size correction' in the EE obtained\nrecently using free fermion computations. These corrections arise when the\nsubsystem size is appreciable compared to the total system size and lead to a\ndeviation from the usual logarithmic scaling characteristic of one-dimensional\nquantum-critical systems. Using matrix product states with open and infinite\nboundary conditions, we numerically demonstrate the disappearance of the zero\nmode contribution for finite subsystem sizes in the thermodynamic limit. Our\nresults provide further support to the recent free fermion computations, but\nclearly contradict earlier analytical field theory calculations based on\ntwisted torus partition functions. Subsequently, we compute the logarithm of\nthe EN (log-EN) between two disjoint subsystems separated by a defect. We show\nthat the log-EN scales logarithmically with the separation of the subsystems.\nHowever, the coefficient of this logarithmic scaling yields a\ncontinuously-varying effective central charge that is different from that\nobtained from analogous computations of the EE. The defects leave their\nfingerprints in the subleading term of the scaling of the log-EN. Furthermore,\nthe log-EN receives similar `finite size corrections' like the EE which leads\nto deviations from its characteristic logarithmic scaling."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Hawking radiation as tunneling for a class of dynamical black\n  holes: The instability against emission of massless particles by the trapping\nhorizon of an evolving black hole is analyzed with the use of the\nHamilton-Jacobi method. The method automatically selects one special expression\nfor the surface gravity of a changing horizon. Indeed, the strength of the\nhorizon singularity turns out to be governed by the surface gravity as was\ndefined a decade ago by Hayward using Kodama's theory of spherically symmetric\ngravitational fields. The theory also applies to point masses embedded in an\nexpanding universe, were the surface gravity is still related to Kodama-Hayward\ntheory. As a bonus of the tunneling method, we gain the insight that the\nsurface gravity still defines a temperature parameter as long as the evolution\nis sufficiently slow that the black hole pass through a sequence of\nquasi-equilibrium states.",
        "positive": "Asymptotic Flatness, Little String Theory, and Holography: We argue that any non-gravitational holographic dual to asymptotically flat\nstring theory in $d$-dimensions naturally resides at spacelike infinity. Since\nspacelike infinity can be resovled as a $(d-1)$-dimensional timelike\nhyperboloid (i.e., as a copy of de Sitter space in $(d-1)$ dimensions), the\ndual theory is defined on a Lorentz signature spacetime. Conceptual issues\nregarding such a duality are clarified by comparison with linear dilaton\nboundary conditions, such as those dual to little string theory. We compute\nboth time-ordered and Wightman boundary 2-point functions of operators dual to\nmassive scalar fields in the asymptotically flat bulk."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantized Gauged Massless Rarita-Schwinger Fields: We study quantization of a minimally gauged massless Rarita-Schwinger field,\nby both Dirac bracket and functional integral methods. The Dirac bracket\napproach in covariant radiation gauge leads to an anticommutator that has a\nnon-singular limit as gauge fields approach zero, is manifestly positive\nsemidefinite, and is Lorentz invariant. The constraints also have the form\nneeded to apply the Faddeev-Popov method for deriving a functional integral,\nusing the same constrained Hamiltonian and inverse constraint matrix that\nappear in the Dirac bracket approach.",
        "positive": "Quantum gravity and the zero point length: In this paper, we present an overview of some of the existing issues of the\nresearch in quantum gravity. We also introduce the basic ideas that led\nPadmanabhan to consider a duality property in path integrals. Such a duality is\nconsistent with the T-duality in string theory. More importantly, the path\nintegral duality discloses a universal feature of any quantum geometry, namely\nthe existence of a zero point length $L_0$. We also comment about recent\ndevelopments aiming to expose effects of the zero point length in strong\nelectrodynamics and black holes. There are reasons to believe that the main\ncharacters of the phenomenology of quantum gravity may be described by means of\na single parameter like $L_0$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Josephson junction of non-Abelian superconductors and non-Abelian\n  Josephson vortices: A Josephson junction is made of two superconductors sandwiching an insulator,\nand a Josephson vortex is a magnetic vortex (flux tube) absorbed into the\nJosephson junction, whose dynamics can be described by the sine-Gordon\nequation. In a field theory framework, a flexible Josephson junction was\nproposed, in which the Josephson junction is represented by a domain wall\nseparating two condensations and a Josephson vortex is a sine-Gordon soliton in\nthe domain wall effective theory. In this paper, we propose a Josephson\njunction of non-Abelian color superconductors, that is described by a\nnon-Abelian domain wall, and show that a non-Abelian vortex (color magnetic\nflux tube) absorbed into it is a non-Abelian Josephson vortex represented as a\nnon-Abelian sine-Gordon soliton in the domain wall effective theory, that is\nthe $U(N)$ principal chiral model.",
        "positive": "Conformal and Einstein gravity from twistor actions: We use the embedding of Einstein gravity with cosmological constant into\nconformal gravity as a basis for using the twistor action for conformal gravity\nto obtain MHV scattering amplitudes not just for conformal gravity, but also\nfor Einstein gravity on backgrounds with non-zero cosmological constant. The\nnew formulae for the gravitational MHV amplitude with cosmological constant\narise by summing Feynman diagrams using the matrix-tree theorem. We show that\nthis formula is well-defined (i.e., is independent of certain gauge choices)\nand that it non-trivially reproduces Hodges' formula for the MHV amplitude in\nthe flat-space limit. We give a preliminary discussion of a MHV formalism for\nmore general amplitudes obtained from the conformal gravity twistor action in\nan axial gauge. We also see that the embedding of Einstein data into the\nconformal gravity action can be performed off-shell in twistor space to give a\nproposal for an Einstein twistor action that automatically gives the same MHV\namplitude. These ideas extend naturally to N=4 supersymmetry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Entanglement Renyi Entropies in Conformal Field Theories and Holography: An entanglement Renyi entropy for a spatial partition of a system is studied\nin conformal theories which admit a dual description in terms of an anti-de\nSitter gravity. The divergent part of the Renyi entropy is computed in 4D\nconformal N=4 super Yang-Mills theory at a weak coupling. This result is used\nto suggest a holographic formula which reproduces the Renyi entropy at least in\nthe leading approximation. The holographic Renyi entropy is an invariant\nfunctional set on a codimension 2 minimal hypersurface in the bulk geometry.\nThe bulk space does not depend on order $n$ of the Renyi entropy. The\nholographic Renyi entropy is a sum of local and non-local functionals\nmultiplied by polynomials of $1/n$.",
        "positive": "Algebraic and Geometric Structure of the Integrable Models recently\n  Proposed by Calogero: We show that the integrability of the dynamical system recently proposed by\nCalogero and characterized by the Hamiltonian $ H = \\sum_{j,k}^{N} p_j p_k\n\\{\\lambda + \\mu cos [ \\nu ( q_j - q_k)] \\} $ is due to a simple algebraic\nstructure . It is shown that the integrals of motion are related to the\nCasimiar invariants of of the $su(1,1)$ algebra. Our method shows clearly how\nthese types of systems can be generalized ."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Entropy and Correlators in Quantum Field Theory: It is well known that loss of information about a system, for some observer,\nleads to an increase in entropy as perceived by this observer. We use this to\npropose an alternative approach to decoherence in quantum field theory in which\nthe machinery of renormalisation can systematically be implemented: neglecting\nobservationally inaccessible correlators will give rise to an increase in\nentropy of the system. As an example we calculate the entropy of a general\nGaussian state and, assuming the observer's ability to probe this information\nexperimentally, we also calculate the correction to the Gaussian entropy for\ntwo specific non-Gaussian states.",
        "positive": "de Sitter in non-supersymmetric string theories: no-go theorems and\n  brane-worlds: We study de Sitter configurations in ten-dimensional string models where\nsupersymmetry is either absent or broken at the string scale. To this end, we\nderive expressions for the cosmological constant in general warped flux\ncompactifications with localized sources, which yield no-go theorems that\nextend previous works on supersymmetric cases. We frame our results within a\ndimensional reduction and connect them to a number of Swampland conjectures,\ncorroborating them further in the absence of supersymmetry. Furthermore, we\nconstruct a top-down string embedding of de Sitter brane-world cosmologies\nwithin unstable anti-de Sitter landscapes, providing a concrete realization of\na recently revisited proposal."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Partition Function of a Volume of Space in a Higher Curvature Theory: Recently, [Phys. Rev. Lett. 130, 221501 (2023)] Jacobson and Visser\ncalculated the quantum partition function of a fixed, finite volume of a region\nwith the topology of a ball in the saddle point approximation within the\ncontext of Einstein's gravity with or without a cosmological constant. The\nresult can be interpreted as the dimension of Hilbert space of the theory. Here\nwe extend their computation to a theory defined in principle with infinitely\nmany powers of curvature in three dimensions. We confirm their result: The\npartition function of a spatial region in the leading saddle point\napproximation is given as the exponential of the Bekenstein-Hawking or the Wald\nentropy of the boundary of the finite spatial region both in the case of zero\nand finite cosmological constant. In the latter case, the effective Newton's\nconstant appears in the entropy formula. The calculations lend support to the\nholographic nature of gravity for finite regions of space with a boundary.",
        "positive": "Fractional Hopfions in the Faddeev-Skyrme model with a symmetry breaking\n  potential: We construct new solutions of the Faddeev-Skyrme model with a symmetry\nbreaking potential admitting $S^1$ vacuum. It includes, as a limiting case, the\nusual $SO(3)$ symmetry breaking mass term, another limit corresponds to the\npotential $m^2 \\phi_1^2$, which gives a mass to the corresponding component of\nthe scalar field. However we find that the spacial distribution of the energy\ndensity of these solutions has more complicated structure, than in the case of\nthe usual Hopfions, typically it represents two separate linked tubes with\ndifferent thicknesses and positions. In order to classify these configurations\nwe define a counterpart of the usual position curve, which represents a\ncollection of loops $\\mathcal{C}_1, \\mathcal{C}_{-1}$ corresponding to the\npreimages of the points $\\vec \\phi = (\\pm 1 \\mp \\mu, 0,0)$, respectively. Then\nthe Hopf invariant can be defined as $Q= {\\rm link}\n(\\mathcal{C}_1,\\mathcal{C}_{-1})$. In this model, in the sectors of degrees\n$Q=5,6,7$ we found solutions of new type, for which one or both of these tubes\nrepresent trefoil knots. Further, some of these solutions possess different\ntypes of curves $\\mathcal{C}_1$ and $\\mathcal{C}_{-1}$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Theoretical topics in spacetime-symmetry violations: The Lorentz- and CPT-violating Chern-Simons extension of electrodynamics is\nconsidered. In the context of N=4 supergravity in four spacetime dimensions, it\nis argued that cosmological solutions can generate this extension. Within\nChern-Simons electrodynamics, theoretical and phenomenological topics are\nreviewed that concern the number of the remaining spacetime symmetries and the\nvacuum Cherenkov effect, respectively.",
        "positive": "Bosonic sector of D=11 superstring action and the critical dimension.\n  Toy model: Bosonic model inspired by D=11 superstring action is investigated. An\nappropriate set of variables is find, in which the light-cone quantization\nturns out to be possible. It is shown that anomaly terms in the algebra of the\nlight-cone Poincare generators are absent for the case D=27."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Euclidean Wormholes in Horava-Lifshitz Gravity: We study Euclidean wormholes in the framework of the Horava-Lifshitz theory\nof gravity. Euclidean wormholes first appeared in the Euclidean path integral\napproach to quantum gravity. In a more general way, Hawking and Page\ninterpreted such configurations as solutions to the Wheeler-DeWitt equation\nwith appropriate boundary conditions. We use the projectable version of\nHorava-Lifshitz gravity to obtain the Wheeler-DeWitt equation of a\nminisuperspace model considering a closed Friedmann Universe plus a massless\nscalar field. For large values of the scale factor we find that the solution of\nthe Wheeler-DeWitt equation coincides with the one obtained by Hawking. Whereas\nin the limit corresponding to the early Universe we find a new set of\nsolutions, which agree with the Hawking and Page boundary conditions for\nwormholes.",
        "positive": "An Infinite Number of Static Soliton Solutions to 5D Einstein-Maxwell\n  Equations: The soliton technique is applied to the 5D static Einstein-Maxwell equations,\nand an infinite number of solutions are explicitly obtained. We study the rod\nstructure of 2-soliton solutions and we show that the 5D Reissner-Nordstrom\nsolution and the 5D Majumdar-Papapetrou solution are included as the 2-soliton\nsolutions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Asymptotic symmetries and geometry on the boundary in the first order\n  formalism: Proper understanding of the geometry on the boundary of a spacetime is a\ncritical step on the way to extending holography to spaces with non-AdS\nasymptotics. In general the boundary cannot be described in terms of the\nRiemannian geometry and the first order formalism is more appropriate as we\nshow. We analyze the asymptotic symmetries in the first order formalism for\nlarge classes of theories on AdS, Lifshitz or flat space. In all cases the\nasymptotic symmetry algebra is realized on the first order variables as a\ngauged symmetry algebra. First order formalism geometrizes and simplifies the\nanalysis. We apply our framework to the issue of scale versus conformal\ninvariance in AdS/CFT and obtain new perspective on the structure of asymptotic\nexpansions for AdS and flat spaces.",
        "positive": "Scaling fields in the two-dimensional abelian sandpile model: We consider the isotropic two-dimensional abelian sandpile model from a\nperspective based on two-dimensional (conformal) field theory. We compute\nlattice correlation functions for various cluster variables (at and off\ncriticality), from which we infer the field-theoretic description in the\nscaling limit. We find a perfect agreement with the predictions of a c=-2\nconformal field theory and its massive perturbation, thereby providing direct\nevidence for conformal invariance and more generally for a description in terms\nof a local field theory. The question of the height 2 variable is also\naddressed, with however no definite conclusion yet."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Geometrical Description of the Consistent and Covariant Chiral Anomaly: A geometrical interpretation of the consistent and covariant chiral anomaly\nis done in the space-time respective Hamiltonian framework.",
        "positive": "Strongly Coupled Gravity and Duality: A strong coupling limit of theories whose low-energy effective field theory\nis 5-dimensional N=8 supergravity is proposed in which the gravitational\ncoupling becomes large. It is argued that, if this limit exists, it should be a\n6-dimensional theory with (4,0) supersymmetry compactified on a circle whose\nradius gives the 5-dimensional Planck length. The sector corresponding to the\nD=5 supergravity multiplet is a (4,0) D=6 superconformal field theory based on\nthe (4,0) multiplet with 27 self-dual 2-forms, 42 scalars and, instead of a\ngraviton, a fourth-rank tensor gauge field satisfying a self-duality\nconstraint. The superconformal field theory has 32 supersymmetries and 32\nconformal supersymmetries and its dimensional reduction gives the maximal\nsupergravity in five dimensions. Electromagnetic duality generalises to a\ngravitational triality."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Anomaly Inflow for M5-branes on Punctured Riemann Surfaces: We derive the anomaly polynomials of 4d $\\mathcal{N}=2$ theories that are\nobtained by wrapping M5-branes on a Riemann surface with arbitrary regular\npunctures, using anomaly inflow in the corresponding M-theory setup. Our\nresults match the known anomaly polynomials for the 4d $\\mathcal{N}=2$ class\n$\\mathcal{S}$ SCFTs. In our approach, the contributions to the 't Hooft\nanomalies due to boundary conditions at the punctures are determined entirely\nby $G_4$-flux in the 11d geometry. This computation provides a top-down\nderivation of these contributions that utilizes the geometric definition of the\nfield theories, complementing the previous field-theoretic arguments.",
        "positive": "Black hole state counting in loop quantum gravity: Counting of microscopic states of black holes is discussed within the\nframework of loop quantum gravity. There are two different ways, one allowing\nfor all spin states and the other involving only pure horizon states. The\nnumber of states with a definite value of the total spin is also found."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Properties of Supermembrane Axions: In the presence of membranes, M-theory becomes in the low energy limit 11\ndimensional supergravity action coupled to a supermembrane action. The fields\nof the first action are the same fields which couple to the membrane. It is\nshown that the axionic moduli of the membrane obtained by wrapping the three\nform potential about three-cycles of a Calabi-Yau manifold can take nonzero\ninteger values. This novel property allows M-theory to have smooth transition\nfrom the Kahler cone of a geometrical phase to a Kahler cone of another\ngeometrical phase. Nongeometrical phases which define the boundary of the\nextended Kahler cone of the geometrical phases have discrete spectrum, and are\ncontinuously connected to the geometric phases. Using this new property, we\nrelate the M-theory model dependent axion to the type IIA model dependent axion\nand show that a potential develops for the type IIA axion in the strong\ncoupling regime which does not seem to be generated by instantons. Evidence is\npresented, using these moduli, which supports the Strominger conjecture on the\nwinding p-branes.",
        "positive": "Supersymmetric action for 6D $(4,0)$ supergravity: We give a linearized but otherwise complete supersymmetric action for ${\\cal\nN}=(4,0)$ supergravity in six dimensions, using a Kaluza-Klein-type $5+1$ split\nof coordinates and fields. We provide in particular a significantly simplified\nversion of the bosonic action derived by us recently. This formulation employs\nfields that are no longer irreducible, subject to a local Lorentz invariance,\nwhich in turn simplifies the supersymmetry transformations including the exotic\ngravitino."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The multipolar structure of fuzzballs: We extend and refine a general method to extract the multipole moments of\narbitrary stationary spacetimes and apply it to the study of a large family of\nregular horizonless solutions to $ {\\cal N}{\\,=\\,}2$ four-dimensional\nsupergravity coupled to four Abelian gauge fields. These microstate geometries\ncan carry angular momentum and have a much richer multipolar structure than the\nKerr black hole. In particular they break the axial and equatorial symmetry,\ngiving rise to a large number of nontrivial multipole moments. After studying\nsome analytical examples, we explore the four-dimensional parameter space of\nthis family with a statistical analysis. We find that microstate mass and spin\nmultipole moments are typically (but not always) larger that those of a Kerr\nblack hole with the same mass and angular momentum. Furthermore, we find\nnumerical evidence that some invariants associated with the (dimensionless)\nmoments of these microstates grow monotonically with the microstate size and\ndisplay a global minimum at the black-hole limit, obtained when all centers\ncollide. Our analysis is relevant in the context of measurements of the\nmultipole moments of dark compact objects with electromagnetic and\ngravitational-wave probes, and for observational tests to distinguish fuzzballs\nfrom classical black holes.",
        "positive": "The graviton background: a new way to quantum gravity: Graviton pairing and destruction of these pairs under collisions with bodies\nmay lead to the Newtonian attraction. It opens us a new way to a\nvery-low-energy quantum gravity model. In the model by the author, cosmological\nredshifts are caused by interactions of photons with gravitons of the\nbackground. Non-forehead collisions with gravitons lead to an additional\nrelaxation of any photonic flux. Total galaxy number counts/redshift and galaxy\nnumber counts/magnitude relations are computed and found to be in a good\nagreement with galaxy observations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A2 Toda theory in reduced WZNW framework and the representations of the\n  W algebra: Using the reduced WZNW formulation we analyse the classical $W$ orbit content\nof the space of classical solutions of the $A_2$ Toda theory. We define the\nquantized Toda field as a periodic primary field of the $W$ algebra satisfying\nthe quantized equations of motion. We show that this local operator can be\nconstructed consistently only in a Hilbert space consisting of the\nrepresentations corresponding to the minimal models of the $W$ algebra.",
        "positive": "SU(N) gauge theories in the presence of a topological term: We review recent results on the theta dependence of the ground-state energy\nand spectrum of four-dimensional SU(N) gauge theories, where theta is the\ncoefficient of the CP-violating topological term F-Fdual in the Lagrangian. In\nparticular, we discuss the results obtained by Monte Carlo simulations of the\nlattice formulation of QCD, which allow the investigation of theta dependence\naround theta=0 by determining the moments of the topological charge\ndistribution, and their correlations with other observables. The results for\nN=3 and larger values of N support the scenario obtained by general large-N\nscaling arguments."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Poincar\u00e9 series of quantum matrix bialgebras determined by a pair of\n  quantum spaces: The dimension of the third homogeneous component of a matrix quantum\nbialgebra, determined by pair of quantum spaces, is calculated. The\nPoincar\\'{e} series of some deformations of $GL(n)$ is calculated. A new\ndeformation of $GL(3)$ with the correct dimension is given.",
        "positive": "N$^3$LO Spin-Orbit Interaction via the EFT of Spinning Gravitating\n  Objects: We present the derivation of the third subleading order (N$^3$LO) spin-orbit\ninteraction at the state of the art of post-Newtonian (PN) gravity via the EFT\nof spinning objects. The present sector contains the largest and most elaborate\ncollection of Feynman graphs ever tackled to date in sectors with spin, and in\nall PN sectors up to third subleading order. Our computations are carried out\nvia advanced multi-loop methods. Their most demanding aspect is the imperative\ntransition to a generic dimension across the whole derivation, due to the\nemergence of dimensional-regularization poles across all loop orders as of the\nN$^3$LO sectors. At this high order of sectors with spin, it is also critical\nto extend the formal procedure for the reduction of higher-order time\nderivatives of spin variables beyond linear order for the first time. This\ngives rise to a new unique contribution at the present sector. The full\ninteraction potential in Lagrangian form and the general Hamiltonian are\nprovided here for the first time. The consequent gravitational-wave (GW)\ngauge-invariant observables are also derived, including relations among the\nbinding energy, angular momentum, and emitted frequency. Complete agreement is\nfound between our results, and the binding energy of GW sources, and also with\nthe extrapolated scattering angle in the scattering problem, derived via\ntraditional GR. In contrast with the latter derivation, our framework is\nfree-standing and generic, and has provided theory and results, which have been\ncritical to establish the state of the art, and to push the precision frontier\nfor the measurement of GWs."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Near-BPS Skyrmions: We consider the Skyrme model in the near-BPS limit. The BPS part is made of\nthe sextic term plus a potential and the deformation is made of the standard\nmassive Skyrme model controlled by a small parameter $\\epsilon\\ll1$. In order\nto keep the perturbation under theoretical and computational control, we find a\nmodel for which BPS Skyrmions have compact support, henceforth denoted as\ncompactons, and the spherically symmetric $B=1$ Skyrmion represents the most\nstable solution. We use the $\\epsilon$-expansion scheme to systematically\ncalculate the corrections to the energy and compare with the exact numerical\ncomputations in the $B=1$ sector. Finally, we use the $\\epsilon$-expansion\nscheme to calculate the bound state of two $B=1$ Skyrmions and its binding\nenergy, which corresponds, prior to quantization, to the deuteron in our model.",
        "positive": "Astrophysical Bounds on the Photon Charge and Magnetic Moment: If the photon possessed an electric charge or a magnetic moment, light waves\npropagating through magnetic fields would acquire new quantum mechanical\nphases. For a charged photon, this is an Aharonov-Bohm phase, and the fact that\nwe can resolve distant galaxies using radio interferometry indicates that this\nphase must be small. This in turn constrains the photon charge to be smaller\nthat 10^(-32) e if all photons have the same charge and smaller than 10^(-46) e\nif there are both positively and negatively charged photons. The best bound on\nthe magnetic moment comes from the observed absence of wavelength-independent\nphoton birefringence. Birefringence measurements, which compare the relative\nphases of right- and left-circularly polarized waves, restrict the magnetic\nmoment to be less than 10^(-24) e cm. This is just a few orders of magnetude\nweaker than the experimental bounds on the electron and neutron electric dipole\nmoments."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Localization and quasilocalization of spin-$1/2$ fermion field on\n  two-field thick braneworld: Localization of a spin-$1/2$ fermion on the braneworld is an important and\ninteresting problem. It is well known that a five-dimensional free massless\nfermion $\\Psi$ minimally coupled to gravity cannot be localized on the\nRandall-Sundrum braneworld. In order to trap such a fermion, the coupling\nbetween the fermion and bulk scalar fields should be introduced. In this paper,\nlocalization and quasilocalization of a bulk fermion on the thick braneworld\ngenerated by two scalar fields (a kink scalar $\\phi$ and a dilaton scalar\n$\\pi$) are investigated. Two types of couplings between the fermion and two\nscalars are considered. One coupling is the usual Yukawa coupling\n$-\\eta\\bar{\\Psi}\\phi\\Psi$ between the fermion and kink scalar, another one is\n$\\lambda\\bar{\\Psi}\\Gamma^{M}\\partial_{M}\\pi\\gamma^{5}\\Psi$ between the fermion\nand dilaton scalar. The left-chiral fermion zero mode can be localized on the\nbrane, and both the left- and right-chiral fermion massive Kaluza-Klein modes\nmay be localized or quasilocalized. Hence the four-dimensional massless\nleft-chiral fermion and massive Dirac fermions, whose lifetime is infinite or\nfinite, can be obtained on the brane.",
        "positive": "String Partons and Multiple Quantisation: I consider an algebraic construction of creation and annihilation operators\nfor superstring and p-brane parton models. The result can be interpreted as a\nrealisation of multiple quantisation and suggests a relationship between\nquantisation and dimension. The most general algebraic form of quantisation may\neventually be expressed in the language of category theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauge-invariant observables in gravity and electromagnetism: black hole\n  backgrounds and null dressings: We address questions regarding construction and implications of\ngauge-invariant \"dressed\" observables in nontrivial background geometries such\nas that of a black hole. Formally, such observables can be constructed, e.g. by\nlocating points with geodesics launched from infinity. However, practical\ncomplications arise in non-trivial geometries, and in particular for\nobservables behind black hole horizons. Greater simplicity can be achieved by\nconsidering null constructions where the dressing lies along a null geodesic,\nor null surface such as a cone. We first investigate basic properties of these\nnull dressings in the simpler context of electromagnetism. Since null\nconstructions provide simple dressings for gauge-invariant observables inside\nblack holes, they also allow us to investigate the question of compatibility of\nobservables inside and outside black holes, and in particular the idea of black\nhole complementarity. While such observables in general have non-vanishing\nstate-dependent commutators, the failure to commute does not appear\nparticularly enhanced by the presence of the horizon.",
        "positive": "Horizon Strings as 3d Black Hole Microstates: We propose that 3d black holes are an ensemble of tensionless null string\nstates. These microstates typically have non-zero winding. We evaluate their\npartition function in the limit of large excitation numbers and show that their\ncombinatorics reproduces the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy and its semiclassical\nlogarithmic corrections."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Maximal Unitarity at Two Loops: We show how to compute the coefficients of the double box basis integrals in\na massless four-point amplitude in terms of tree amplitudes. We show how to\nchoose suitable multidimensional contours for performing the required cuts, and\nderive consistency equations from the requirement that integrals of total\nderivatives vanish. Our formulae for the coefficients can be used either\nanalytically or numerically.",
        "positive": "N=2 Nonlinear Sigma Models in N=1 Superspace: Four and Five Dimensions: We formulate four-dimensional N=2 supersymmetric nonlinear sigma models in\nN=1 superspace. We show how to add superpotentials consistent with N=2\nsupersymmetry. We lift our construction to higher-dimensional spacetime and\nwrite five-dimensional nonlinear sigma models in N=1 superspace."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Winding up a finite size holographic superconducting ring beyond\n  Kibble-Zurek mechanism: We studied the dynamics of the order parameter and the winding numbers $W$\nformation of a quenched normal-to-superconductor state phase transition in a\nfinite size holographic superconducting ring. There is a critical circumference\n$\\tilde{C}$ below it no winding number will be formed, then $\\tilde{C}$ can be\ntreated as the Kibble-Zurek mechanism (KZM) correlation length $\\xi$ which is\nproportional to the fourth root of its quench rate $\\tau_Q$, which is also the\naverage size of independent pieces formed after a quench. When the\ncircumference $C \\geq 10 \\xi$, the key KZM scaling between the average value of\nabsolute winding number and the quench rate $\\langle|W|\\rangle \\propto\n\\tau_Q^{-1/8}$ is observed. At smaller sizes, the universal scaling will be\nmodified, there are two regions. The middle size $5\\xi<C<10\\xi$ result\n$\\langle|W|\\rangle \\propto \\tau_Q^{-1/5}$ agrees with a finite size experiment\nobservation. While at $\\xi<C\\leq 5\\xi$ the the average value of absolute\nwinding number equals to the variance of winding number and there is no well\nexponential relationship between the quench rate and the average value of\nabsolute winding number. The winding number statistics can be derived from a\ntrinomial distribution with $\\tilde{N}=C/ (f \\xi)$ trials, $f\\simeq 5$ is the\naverage number of adjacent pieces that are effectively correlated.",
        "positive": "A sphaleron for the non-Abelian anomaly: A self-consistent Ansatz for a new sphaleron of SU(3) Yang-Mills-Higgs theory\nis presented. With a single triplet of Weyl fermions added, there exists, most\nlikely, one pair of fermion zero modes, which is known to give rise to the\nnon-Abelian (Bardeen) anomaly as a Berry phase. The corresponding SU(3) gauge\nfield configuration could take part in the nonperturbative dynamics of Quantum\nChromodynamics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Unitary Matrix Models and 2D Quantum Gravity (Virasoro constraints\n  modified): The KdV and modified KdV integrable hierarchies are shown to be different\ndescriptions of the same 2D gravitational system -- open-closed string theory.\nNon-perturbative solutions of the multi-critical unitary matrix models map to\nnon-singular solutions of the `renormalisation group' equation for the string\nsusceptibility, $[\\tilde{P},Q]=Q$. We also demonstrate that the large N\nsolutions of unitary matrix integrals in external fields, studied by Gross and\nNewman, equal the non-singular pure closed-string solutions of\n$[\\tilde{P},Q]=Q$.",
        "positive": "Metric perturbations in Noncommutative Gravity: We use the framework of Hopf algebra and noncommutative differential geometry\nto build a noncommutative (NC) theory of gravity in a bottom-up approach.\nNoncommutativity is introduced via deformed Hopf algebra of diffeomorphisms by\nmeans of a Drinfeld twist. The final result of the construction is a general\nformalism for obtaining NC corrections to the classical theory of gravity for a\nwide class of deformations and a general background. This also includes a novel\nproposal for noncommutative Einstein manifold. Moreover, the general\nconstruction is applied to the case of a linearized gravitational perturbation\ntheory to describe a NC deformation of the metric perturbations. We\nspecifically present an example for the Schwarzschild background and axial\nperturbations, which gives rise to a generalization of the work by Regge and\nWheeler. All calculations are performed up to first order in perturbation of\nthe metric and noncommutativity parameter. The main result is the\nnoncommutative Regge-Wheeler potential. Finally, we comment on some differences\nin properties between the Regge-Wheeler potential and its noncommutative\ncounterpart."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Charged Quantum Fields in AdS$_2$: We consider quantum field theory near the horizon of an extreme Kerr black\nhole. In this limit, the dynamics is well approximated by a tower of\nelectrically charged fields propagating in an $SL(2,\\mathbb{R})$ invariant\nAdS$_2$ geometry endowed with a constant, symmetry preserving background\nelectric field. At large charge the fields oscillate near the AdS$_2$ boundary\nand no longer admit a standard Dirichlet treatment. From the Kerr black hole\nperspective, this phenomenon is related to the presence of an ergosphere. We\ndiscuss a definition for the quantum field theory whereby we 'UV' complete\nAdS$_2$ by appending an asymptotically two dimensional Minkowski region. This\nallows the construction of a novel observable for the flux-carrying modes that\nresembles the standard flat space S-matrix. We relate various features\ndisplayed by the highly charged particles to the principal series\nrepresentations of $SL(2,\\mathbb{R})$. These representations are unitary and\nalso appear for massive quantum fields in dS$_2$. Both fermionic and bosonic\nfields are studied. We find that the free charged massless fermion is exactly\nsolvable for general background, providing an interesting arena for the problem\nat hand.",
        "positive": "Is the Casimir effect relevant to sonoluminescence?: The Casimir energy of a solid ball (or cavity in an infinite medium) is\ncalculated by a direct frequency summation using the contour integration. The\ndispersion is taken into account, and the divergences are removed by making use\nof the zeta function technique. The Casimir energy of a dielectric ball (or\ncavity) turns out to be positive, it being increased when the radius of the\nball decreases. The latter eliminates completely the possibility of explaining,\nvia the Casimir effect, the sonoluminescence for bubbles in a liquid. Besides,\nthe Casimir energy of the air bubbles in water proves to be immensely smaller\nthan the amount of the energy emitted in a sonoluminescent flash. The\ndispersive effect is shown to be inessential for the final result."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Decoherence of Cosmological Perturbations from Boundary Terms and the\n  Non-Classicality of Gravity: We note that the decoherence of inflationary curvature perturbation $\\zeta$\nis dominated by a boundary term of the gravity action. Although this boundary\nterm cannot affect cosmological correlators $\\left\\langle \\zeta^n\n\\right\\rangle$, it induces much faster decoherence for $\\zeta$ than that of\nprevious calculations. The gravitational origin of inflationary decoherence\nsheds light on the quantum (or non-classical) nature of gravity. By comparing\nwith a Schr\\\"odinger-Newton toy model of classical gravity, we show that\ngravity theories of classical or quantum origins can be distinguished by\ncomparing their different impacts on decoherence rate of $\\zeta$. Our\ncalculation also indicates that density fluctuation $\\delta\\rho$ better\npreserves quantum information than $\\zeta$ for the purpose of constructing\ncosmological Bell-like experiments.",
        "positive": "On the Nature of the Hagedorn Transition in NCOS Systems: We extend the study of the nature of the Hagedorn transition in NCOS systems\nin various dimensions. The canonical analysis results in a microscopic\nionization picture of a bound state system in which the Hagedorn transition is\npostponed till irrelevancy. A microcanonical analysis leads to a limiting\nHagedorn behaviour dominated by highly excited, long open strings. The study of\nthe full phase diagram of the NCOS system using the AdS/CFT correspondence\nsuggests that the microscopic ionization picture is the correct one. We discuss\nsome refinements of the ionization mechanism for $d>2$ NCOS systems, including\nthe formation of a temperature-dependent barrier for the process. Some possible\nconsequences of this behaviour, including a potential puzzle for $d=5$, are\ndiscussed. Phase diagrams of a regularized form of NCOS systems are introduced\nand do accomodate a phase of long open strings which disappears in the strict\nNCOS limit."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Wilson lines and Chern-Simons flux in explicit heterotic Calabi-Yau\n  compactifications: We study to what extent Wilson lines in heterotic Calabi-Yau\ncompactifications lead to non-trivial H-flux via Chern-Simons terms. Wilson\nlines are basic ingredients for Standard Model constructions but their induced\nH-flux may affect the consistency of the leading order background geometry and\nof the two-dimensional worldsheet theory. Moreover H-flux in heterotic\ncompactifications would play an important role for moduli stabilization and\ncould strongly constrain the supersymmetry breaking scale. We show how to\ncompute H-flux and the corresponding superpotential, given an explicit complete\nintersection Calabi-Yau compactification and choice of Wilson lines. We do so\nby classifying special Lagrangian submanifolds in the Calabi-Yau, understanding\nhow the Wilson lines project onto these submanifolds, and computing their\nChern-Simons invariants. We illustrate our procedure with the quintic\nhypersurface as well as the split-bicubic, which can provide a potentially\nrealistic three generation model.",
        "positive": "Scalar fields on $p$AdS: We obtain a subgroup of the isometry group of $p$AdS (a $p$-adic version of\nAdS alternative to the Bruhat-Tits tree). We propose a candidate for the scalar\nbulk action and equation of motion on $p$AdS, and work out analytical\nexpressions of the Green's functions for a particular choice of parameter\ntogether with an ansatz for general cases. The limiting behaviors of the\nGreen's function are also studied. With their help, the convergence of small\nloops (whose radii are smaller than AdS length scale of $p$AdS) is analyzed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The energy-momentum tensor,the trace identity and the Casimir effect: The trace identity associated with the scale transformation $x^\\mu\\tox'{}^\\mu\n= e^{-\\rho}x^\\mu$ on the Lagrangian density for the noninteracting\nelectromagnetic field in the covariant gauge is shown to be violated on a\nsingle plate on which the Dirichlet boundary condition $A^\\mu(t,x^1,x^2,x^3=-a)\n= 0$ is imposed.It is however respected in free space,i.e. in the absence of\nthe plate; these results reinforce our assertions in an earlier paper where the\nsame exercise was carried out using the Lagrangian density for the\nfree,massive,real scalar field in 2 + 1 dimensions.",
        "positive": "Interpolating Matrix Models for WLZZ series: We suggest a two-matrix model depending on three (infinite) sets of\nparameters which interpolates between all the models proposed in\narXiv:2206.13038, and defined there through $W$-representations. We also\ndiscuss further generalizations of these WLZZ models realized by\n$W$-representations associated with infinite commutative families of generators\nof $w_\\infty$-algebra which are presumably related to more sophisticated\nmulti-matrix models. Integrable properties of these generalizations are\ndescribed by what we call the skew hypergeometric $\\tau$-functions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Semiclassical Einstein equations from holography and boundary dynamics: In this paper, we consider how to formulate semiclassical problems in the\ncontext of the AdS/CFT correspondence, based on the proposal of Compere and\nMarolf. Our prescription involves the effective action with self-action term\nfor boundary dynamical fields, which can be viewed as imposing mixed boundary\nconditions for the gravity dual. We derive the semiclassical Einstein equations\nsourced by boundary CFT stress-energy tensor. Analyzing perturbations of the\nholographic semiclassical Einstein equations, we find a universal parameter\n$\\gamma_d$ which controls the contribution from boundary CFTs and specifies\ndynamics on the AdS boundary. As a simple example, we examine the semiclassical\nEinstein equations in $3$-dimensions with $4$-dimensional AdS gravity dual, and\nshow that the boundary BTZ black hole with vanishing expectation value of the\nstress-energy tensor becomes unstable due to the backreaction from quantum\nstress-energy tensor when the parameter $\\gamma_d$ exceeds a certain critical\nvalue.",
        "positive": "Regularization Independent Analysis of the Origin of Two Loop\n  Contributions to N=1 Super Yang-Mills Beta Function: We present a both ultraviolet and infrared regularization independent\nanalysis in a symmetry preserving framework for the N=1 Super Yang-Mills beta\nfunction to two loop order. We show explicitly that off-shell infrared\ndivergences as well as the overall two loop ultraviolet divergence cancel out\nwhilst the beta function receives contributions of infrared modes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The braneology of 3D dualities: In this paper we study the reduction of four-dimensional Seiberg duality to\nthree dimensions from a brane perspective. We reproduce the non-perturbative\ndynamics of the three-dimensional field theory via a T-duality at finite radius\nand the action of Euclidean D-strings. In this way we also overcome certain\nissues regarding the brane description of Aharony duality. Moreover we apply\nour strategy to more general dualities, such as toric duality for M2-branes and\ndualities with adjoint matter fields.",
        "positive": "A note on 2D chiral gravity and chiral bosons: Quantization of two dimensional chiral matter coupled to gravity induces an\neffective action for the zweibein field which is both Weyl and Lorentz\nanomalous. Recently, the quantization of this induced action has been analyzed\nin the light-cone gauge as well as in the conformal gauge. An apparent mismatch\nbetween the results obtained in the two gauges is analyzed and resolved by\nproperly treating the Lorentz field as a chiral boson."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Tensionless strings: physical Fock space and higher spin fields: I study the physical Fock space of the tensionless string theory with\nperimeter action, exploring its new gauge symmetry algebra. The cancellation of\nconformal anomaly requires the space-time to be 13-dimensional. All particles\nare massless and there are no tachyon states in the spectrum. The zero mode\nconformal operator defines the levels of the physical Fock space. All levels\ncan be classified by the highest Casimir operator W of the little group E(11)\nfor massless particles in 11-dimensions. The ground state is infinitely\ndegenerated and contains massless gauge fields of arbitrary large integer spin,\nrealizing the irreducible representations of E(11) of fixed helicity. The\nexcitation levels realize CSR representations of little group E(11) with an\ninfinite number of helicities. After inspection of the first excitation level,\nwhich, as I prove, is a physical null state, I conjecture that all excitation\nlevels are physical null states. In this theory the tensor field of the second\nrank does not play any distinctive role and therefore one can suggest that in\nthis model there is no gravity.",
        "positive": "F-term Uplift in Heterotic M-theory: We investigate the viability of F-term uplift in heterotic M-theory. With\nthis aim we explore a natural ingredient of heterotic compactifications, namely\nvector bundle moduli. It is shown that it is generically possible to obtain\nstable de Sitter vacua with broken supersymmetry provided the little Kahler\npotential and the prefactors of the non-perturbative superpotential are\nsuitably tuned. An additional requirement is the existence of non-trivial gauge\ninstantons both at the visible and hidden sectors. This is illustrated with\nanalytical and numerical examples."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Energy disturbances due to a moving quark from gauge-string duality: Using AdS/CFT, we calculate the energy density of a quark moving through a\nthermal state of N=4 super-Yang-Mills theory. Relying on previous work for\nmomentum-space representations as well as asymptotic behaviors, we Fourier\ntransform to position space and exhibit a sonic boom at a speed larger than the\nspeed of sound. Nontrivial structure is found at small length scales,\nconfirming earlier analytical work by the authors.",
        "positive": "A Direct Proof of BCFW Recursion for Twistor-Strings: This paper gives a direct proof that the leading trace part of the genus zero\ntwistor-string path integral obeys the BCFW recursion relation. This is the\nfirst complete proof that the twistor-string correctly computes all tree\namplitudes in maximally supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory. The recursion has a\nbeautiful geometric interpretation in twistor space that closely reflects the\nstructure of BCFW recursion in momentum space, both on the one hand as a\nrelation purely among tree amplitudes with shifted external momenta, and on the\nother as a relation between tree amplitudes and leading singularities of higher\nloop amplitudes. The proof works purely at the level of the string path\nintegral and is intimately related to the recursive structure of boundary\ndivisors in the moduli space of stable maps to CP^3."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Towards exact results of QED from supersymmetry: To obtain some exact results of U(1) gauge theory (QED), we construct the low\nenergy effective action of N=2 supersymmetric QED with a massless matter and\nFayet-Iliopoulos term, assuming no confinement. The harmonic superspace\nformalism for N=2 extended supersymmetry makes the construction easy. We\nanalyze the vacuum structure and find no vacuum. It suggests the confinement in\nnon-supersymmetric QED at low energies.",
        "positive": "Nonlinear and Quantum Origin of Doubly Infinite Family of Modified\n  Addition Laws for Fourmomenta: We show that infinite variety of Poincar\\'{e} bialgebras with nontrivial\nclassical r-matrices generate nonsymmetric nonlinear composition laws for the\nfourmomenta. We also present the problem of lifting the Poincar\\'{e} bialgebras\nto quantum Poincar\\'{e} groups by using e.g. Drinfeld twist, what permits to\nprovide the nonlinear composition law in any order of dimensionfull deformation\nparmeter $\\lambda$ (from physical reasons we can put $\\lambda = \\lambda_{p}$\nwhere $\\lambda_{p}$ is the Planck lenght). The second infinite variety of\ncomposition laws for fourmomentum is obtained by nonlinear change of basis in\nPoincar\\'{e} algebra, which can be performed for any choice of coalgebraic\nsector, with classical or quantum coproduct. In last Section we propose some\nmodification of Hopf algebra scheme with Casimir-dependent deformation\nparameter, which can help to resolve the problem of consistent passage to\nmacroscopic classical limit."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Surface defects in the D4 $-$ D8 brane system: A new class of exact supersymmetric solutions is derived within minimal $d =\n6$ $F(4)$ gauged supergravity. These flows are all characterized by a\nnon-trivial radial profile for the 2-form gauge potential included into the\nsupergravity multiplet. In particular three solutions within this class are\nfeatured by an $\\mathrm{AdS}_3$ foliation of the 6d background and by an\n$\\mathrm{AdS}_6$ asymptotic geometry. Secondly, considering the simplest\nexample of these, we give its massive IIA uplift describing a warped solution\nof the type $\\mathrm{AdS}_3\\times S^2\\times S^3$ fibered over two intervals\n$I_r \\times I_{\\xi}$ . We interpret this background as the near-horizon of a D4\n$-$ D8 system on which a bound state D2 $-$ NS5 $-$ D6 ends producing a surface\ndefect. Finally we discuss its holographic dual interpretation in terms of a\n$\\mathcal{N} = (0, 4)$ SCFT$_2$ defect theory within the $\\mathcal{N} = 2$\nSCFT$_5$ dual to the $\\mathrm{AdS}_6\\times S^4$ massive IIA warped vacuum.",
        "positive": "Wave Equations on q-Minkowski space: We give a systematic account of the exterior algebra of forms on q-Minkowski\nspace, introducing the q-exterior derivative, q-Hodge star operator,\nq-coderivative, q-Laplace-Beltrami operator and the q-Lie-derivative. With\nthese tools at hand, we then give a detailed exposition of the q-d'Alembert and\nq-Maxwell equation. For both equations we present a q-momentum-indexed family\nof plane wave solutions. We also discuss the gauge freedom of the q-Maxwell\nfield and give a q-spinor analysis of the q-field strength tensor."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Generating functions for intersection products of divisors in resolved\n  F-theory models: Building on the approach of 1703.00905, we present an efficient algorithm for\ncomputing topological intersection numbers of divisors in a broad class of\nelliptic fibrations with the aid of a symbolic computing tool. A key part of\nour strategy is organizing the intersection products of divisors into a\nsuccinct analytic generating function, namely the exponential of the K\\\"ahler\nclass. We use the methods of 1703.00905 to compute the pushforward of this\nfunction to the base of the elliptic fibration. We implement our algorithm in\nan accompanying Mathematica package IntersectionNumbers.m that computes\ngenerating functions of intersection products for resolutions of F-theory Tate\nmodels defined over smooth base of arbitrary complex dimension. Our algorithm\nappears to offer a significant reduction in computation time needed to compute\nintersection numbers as compared to previously explored implementations of the\nmethods in 1703.00905; as an illustration, we explicitly compute the generating\nfunctions for all F-theory Tate models with simple classical groups of rank up\nto twenty and highlight the growth of the computation time with the rank of the\ngroup.",
        "positive": "Superluminality in beyond Horndeski theory with extra scalar field: We study the superluminality issue in beyond Horndeski theory with additional\nscalar field, which is minimally coupled to gravity and has no second\nderivatives in the Lagrangian. We present the quadratic action for\nperturbations in cosmological backgrounds, stability conditions and expressions\nfor sound speeds. We find that in the case of conventional additional scalar\nwhose flat-space propagation speed is that of light, one of the modes in\ninteracting theory is necessarily superluminal when this scalar rolls, even\narbitrarily slowly. This result holds in any theory of the beyond Horndeski\nclass (with 6 arbitrary functions in the Lagrangian) and for any stable rolling\nbackground. More generally, the requirement of the absence of superluminality\nimposes non-trivial constraints on the structure of the theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hybrid Goldstone Modes from the Double Copy Bootstrap: We perform a systematic classification of scalar field theories whose\namplitudes admit a double copy formulation and identify two building blocks at\n4-point and 13 at 5-point. Using the 4-point blocks as bootstrap seeds, this\nnaturally leads to a single copy theory that is a gauged NLSM. Moreover, its\ndouble copy includes a novel theory that can be written in terms of Lovelock\ninvariants of an induced metric, and includes Dirac-Born-Infeld and the special\nGalileon in specific limits. The amplitudes of these Goldstone modes have two\ndistinct soft behaviour regimes, corresponding to a hybrid of non-linear\nsymmetries.",
        "positive": "Kahler Potentials on Toric Varieties: One has believed that low energy effective theories of the Higgs branch of\ngauged linear sigma models correspond to supersymmetric nonlinear sigma models,\nwhich have been already investigated by many works. In this paper we discuss a\nexplicit derivation of supersymmetric nonlinear sigma models from gauged linear\nsigma models. In this process we construct Kahler potentials of some\ntwo-dimensional toric varieties explicitly. Thus we will be able to study some\nalgebraic varieties in the language of differential geometry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dimensionally Reduced SYM_4 as Solvable Matrix Quantum Mechanics: We study the quantum mechanical model obtained as a dimensional reduction of\nN=1 super Yang-Mills theory to a periodic light-cone \"time\". After mapping the\ntheory to a cohomological field theory, the partition function (with periodic\nboundary conditions) regularized by a massive term appears to be equal to the\npartition function of the twisted matrix oscillator. We show that this\npartition function perturbed by the operator of the holonomy around the time\ncircle is a tau function of Toda hierarchy. We solve the model in the large N\nlimit and study the universal properties of the solution in the scaling limit\nof vanishing perturbation. We find in this limit a phase transition of\nGross-Witten type.",
        "positive": "Reparametrization Invariance of Path Integrals: We demonstrate the reparametrization invariance of perturbatively defined\none-dimensional functional integrals up to the three-loop level for a path\nintegral of a quantum-mechanical point particle in a box. We exhibit the origin\nof the failure of earlier authors to establish reparametrization invariance\nwhich led them to introduce, superfluously, a compensating potential depending\non the connection of the coordinate system. We show that problems with\ninvariance are absent by defining path integrals as the epsilon-> 0 -limit of\n1+ epsilon -dimensional functional integrals."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Discrete Torsion: In this article we explain discrete torsion. Put simply, discrete torsion is\nthe choice of orbifold group action on the B field. We derive the\nclassification H^2(G, U(1)), we derive the twisted sector phases appearing in\nstring loop partition functions, we derive M. Douglas's description of discrete\ntorsion for D-branes in terms of a projective representation of the orbifold\ngroup, and we outline how the results of Vafa-Witten fit into this framework.\nIn addition, we observe that additional degrees of freedom (known as shift\norbifolds) appear in describing orbifold group actions on B fields, in addition\nto those classified by H^2(G, U(1)), and explain how these new degrees of\nfreedom appear in terms of twisted sector contributions to partition functions\nand in terms of orbifold group actions on D-brane worldvolumes. This paper\nrepresents a technically simplified version of prior papers by the author on\ndiscrete torsion. We repeat here technically simplified versions of results\nfrom those papers, and have included some new material.",
        "positive": "The cosmological constant and higher dimensional dilatation symmetry: We discuss the hypothesis of a fixed point for quantum gravity coupled to a\nscalar, in the limit where the scalar field goes to infinity, accompanied by a\nsuitable scaling of the metric. We propose that no scalar potential is present\nfor the dilatation symmetric quantum effective action at the fixed point.\nDimensional reduction of such a higher dimensional effective action leads to\nsolutions with a vanishing effective four-dimensional constant. Under rather\ngeneral circumstances these are the only quasistatic stable solutions with\nfinite four-dimensional gravitational constant. If cosmological runaway\nsolutions approach the fixed point as time goes to infinity, the cosmological\nconstant vanishes asymptotically. For our old Universe the fixed point is not\nyet reached completely, resulting in a tiny amount of dark energy, comparable\nto dark matter. We discuss explicitly higher dimensional geometries which\nrealize such asymptotic solutions for $t\\to\\infty$. They include Ricci-flat\nspaces as well as warped spaces, potentially with singularities."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "IR divergences and kinetic equation in de Sitter space. (Poincare patch;\n  Principal series): We explicitly show that the one loop IR correction to the two--point function\nin de Sitter space scalar QFT does not reduce just to the mass renormalization.\nThe proper interpretation of the loop corrections is via particle creation\nrevealing itself through the generation of the quantum averages $<a^+_p a_p>$,\n$<a_p a_{-p}>$ and $<a^+_p a^+_{-p}>$, which slowly change in time. We show\nthat this observation in particular means that loop corrections to correlation\nfunctions in de Sitter space can not be obtained via analytical continuation of\nthose calculated on the sphere.\n  We find harmonics for which the particle number $<a^+_p a_p>$ dominates over\nthe anomalous expectation values $<a_p a_{-p}>$ and $<a^+_p a^+_{-p}>$. For\nthese harmonics the Dyson--Schwinger equation reduces in the IR limit to the\nkinetic equation. We solve the latter equation, which allows us to sum up all\nloop leading IR contributions to the Whiteman function. We perform the\ncalculation for the principle series real scalar fields both in expanding and\ncontracting Poincare patches.",
        "positive": "Uplifting dyonic AdS$_4$ black holes on seven-dimensional\n  Sasaki-Einstein manifolds: We revisit non-rotating, dyonically charged, and supersymmetric AdS$_4$ black\nholes, which are solutions of $\\mathcal{N}=2$ gauged supergravity with vector-\nand hyper-multplets. Uplifting the near horizon solutions to $D=11$\nsupergravity on seven-dimensional Sasaki-Einstein manifolds, we show that\ndyonic AdS$_4$ black holes correspond to AdS$_2$ solutions with electric and\nmagnetic baryonic fluxes in $D=11$ supergravity. We identify the off-shell\nAdS$_4$ black hole solutions with parameters of $D=11$ AdS$_2$ solutions\nwithout imposing the equations of motion. We calculate the entropy of dyonic\nblack holes, carefully analyzing the Page charge quantization conditions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The NUT in the N=2 Superalgebra: We study how the supersymmetry algebra extension of N=2 supergravity with\ncentral charges describes the NUT charge in a duality-covariant way. The\nstationary BPS states of N=2 supergravity can be embedded in the flat space\nsolution of the timelike reduced theory. Upon reduction, the Killing\nsuperalgebra extension and the global superalgebra of charges are described\ncovariantly under the coset structure of the three-dimensional theory. The\nintegral of the Nester-Witten form given by Gibbons and Hull for N=2 has a\ncovariant generalization that includes the NUT charge.",
        "positive": "Finite Temperature Casimir Effect for Massless Majorana Fermions in a\n  Magnetic Field: The zeta function regularization technique is used to study the finite\ntemperature Casimir effect for a massless Majorana fermion field confined\nbetween parallel plates and satisfying bag boundary conditions. A magnetic\nfield perpendicular to the plates is included. An expression for the zeta\nfunction is obtained, which is exact to all orders in the magnetic field\nstrength, temperature and plate distance. The zeta function is used to\ncalculate the Helmholtz free energy of the Majorana field and the pressure on\nthe plates, in the case of weak magnetic field and strong magnetic field. In\nboth cases, simple analytic expressions are obtained for the free energy and\npressure which are very accurate and valid for all values of the temperature\nand plate distance."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Excited States of One-Dimensional Defect CFTs from the Quantum Spectral\n  Curve: We study the anomalous dimension of the cusped Maldacena-Wilson line in\nplanar $\\mathcal{N} = 4$ Yang-Mills theory with scalar insertions using the\nQuantum Spectral Curve (QSC) method. In the straight line limit we interpret\nthe excited states of the QSC as insertions of scalar operators coupled to the\nline. Such insertions were recently intensively studied in the context of the\none-dimensional defect CFT. We compute a five-loop perturbative result\nanalytically at weak coupling and the first four orders in the $1/\\sqrt\\lambda$\nexpansion at strong coupling, confirming all previous analytic results. In\naddition, we find the non-perturbative spectrum numerically and show that it\ninterpolates smoothly between the weak and strong coupling predictions.",
        "positive": "Competition and Coexistence of Order Parameters in Holographic\n  Multi-Band Superconductors: We construct a holographic multi-band superconductor model with each complex\nscalar field in the bulk minimally coupled to a same gauge field. Taking into\naccount the back reaction of matter fields on the background geometry and\nfocusing on the two band case with two scalar order parameters, we find that\ndepending on the strength of the back reaction and the charge ratio of the two\nbulk scalars, five different superconducting phases exist, and three of five\nphases exhibit some region where both orders coexist and are thermodynamically\nfavored. The other two superconducting phases have only one scalar order. The\nmodel exhibits rich phase structure and we construct the full diagram for the\nfive superconducting phases. Our analysis indicates that the equivalent\nattractive interaction mediated by gravity between the two order parameters\ntends to make the coexistence of two orders much more easy rather than more\ndifficult."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Electromagnetic fields and potentials generated by massless charged\n  particles: We provide for the first time the exact solution of Maxwell's equations for a\nmassless charged particle moving on a generic trajectory at the speed of light.\nIn particular we furnish explicit expressions for the vector potential and the\nelectromagnetic field, which were both previously unknown, finding that they\nentail different physical features for bounded and unbounded trajectories. With\nrespect to the standard Lienard-Wiechert field the electromagnetic field\nacquires singular delta-like contributions whose support and dimensionality\ndepend crucially on whether the motion is a) linear, b) accelerated unbounded,\nc) accelerated bounded. In the first two cases the particle generates a planar\nshock-wave-like electromagnetic field traveling along a straight line. In the\nsecond and third cases the field acquires, in addition, a delta-like\ncontribution supported on a physical singularity-string attached to the\nparticle. For generic accelerated motions a genuine radiation field is also\npresent, represented by a regular principal-part type distribution diverging on\nthe same singularity-string.",
        "positive": "A General Relativistic Model for Confinement in SU(2) Yang-Mills Theory: In this paper we present a model of confinement based on an analogy with the\nconfinement mechanism of the Schwarzschild solution of general relativity.\nUsing recently discovered exact, Schwarzschild-like solutions of the SU(2)\nYang-Mills-Higgs equations we study the behaviour of a scalar, SU(2) charged\ntest particle placed in the gauge fields of this solution. We find that this\ntest particle is indeed confined inside the color event horizon of our\nsolution. Additionally it is found that this system is a composite fermion even\nthough there are no fundamental fermions in the original Lagrangian."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A DETAILED ACCOUNT OF ALAIN CONNES' VERSION OF THE STANDARD MODEL IV: We give a detailed account of the computation of the Yang-Mills action for\nthe Connes-Lott model with general coupling constant in the commutant of the\n$K$-cycle. This leads to tree-approximation results amazingly compatible with\nexperiment, yielding a first indication on the Higgs mass.",
        "positive": "Higher Derivative Scalar Quantum Field Theory in Curved Spacetime: We study a free scalar field $\\phi$ in a fixed curved background spacetime\nsubject to a higher derivative field equation of the form $F(\\Box)\\phi =0$,\nwhere $F$ is a polynomial of the form $F(\\Box)= \\prod_i (\\Box-m_i^2)$ and all\nmasses $m_i$ are distinct and real. Using an auxiliary field method to simplify\nthe calculations, we obtain expressions for the Belinfante-Rosenfeld symmetric\nenergy-momentum tensor and compare it with the canonical energy-momentum tensor\nwhen the background is Minkowski spacetime. We also obtain the conserved\nsymplectic current necessary for quantisation and briefly discuss the issue of\nnegative energy versus negative norm and its relation to Reflection Positivity\nin Euclidean treatments. We study, without assuming spherical symmetry, the\npossible existence of finite energy static solutions of the scalar equations,\nin static or stationary background geometries. Subject to various assumptions\non the potential, we establish non-existence results including a no-scalar-hair\ntheorem for static black holes. We consider Pais-Uhlenbeck field theories in a\ncosmological de Sitter background, and show how the Hubble friction may\neliminate what would otherwise be unstable behaviour when interactions are\nincluded."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the stability of thick brane worlds non-minimally coupled to gravity: We analyze a class of 5D models where a 3 brane is generated by a bulk scalar\nfield non minimally coupled to gravity. We show that perturbative stability of\nsuch branes is normally guaranteed although non minimal couplings are not\ninnocuous in general. After the physical states are identified the linearized\nequations for propagating modes are evaluated into a Schroedinger form and\nsupersymmetric quantum mechanics provides the absence of tachyons. The spectrum\ncontains a tower of spin 2 and spin 0 fields with continuous masses starting\nfrom zero ones. For regular geometries the scalar spectrum contains a state\nwith zero mass which is always non normalizable. The propagating massive scalar\nstates are repelled off the brane due to a centrifugal potential.",
        "positive": "Strong Coupling and the Cosmological Constant: The vanishing of the cosmological constant and absence of a massless dilaton\nmight be explained by a duality between a supersymmetric string vacuum in three\ndimensions and a non-supersymmetric string vacuum in four dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Landau Singularities from Whitney Stratifications: We demonstrate that the complete and non-redundant set of Landau\nsingularities of Feynman integrals may be explicitly obtained from the Whitney\nstratification of an algebraic map. As a proof of concept, we leverage recent\ntheoretical and algorithmic advances in their computation, as well as their\nsoftware implementation, in order to determine this set for several nontrivial\nexamples of two-loop integrals. Interestingly, different strata of the Whitney\nstratification describe not only the singularities of a given integral, but\nalso those of integrals obtained from kinematic limits, e.g.~by setting some of\nits masses or momenta to zero.",
        "positive": "A BRST view of the spontaneous symmetry breaking: After the phase transition of a Grand Unified Theory (GUT), its single\ncoupling splits into the couplings of the basic interactions. On the other\nside, the measurement of the Weinberg mixing angle in the eletroweak theory\ndetermines that the couplings associated to the SU(2) and U(1) symmetries were\nalready distinct in its symmetric phase, before the electroweak breaking. This\npicture is consistent as we understand that such couplings evolve independently\nwith the energy scale, meeting a common point together with the strong\ninteraction coupling at the GUT scale. From a BRST symmetry point of view, this\nimplies that each independent coupling should be associated to independent\ncocycles defined on a cohomological basis. The problem is that, before the GUT\nsymmetry breaking, the BRST operator associated to this symmetric phase\npredicts a single Yang-Mills coupling. This sets the question of what should be\nthe BRST operator of the asymmetric phase, that would allow for the splitting\nof this coupling but at the same time remain compatible with the BRST operator\nof the symmetric phase. In this work we proceed to answer this question."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "de Sitter vacuum from $R^2$ supergravity: We propose a supergravity model with a constrained curvature multiplet, which\nrealizes the Starobinsky inflation and the de Sitter vacuum in the present\nuniverse simultaneously. Surprisingly, at the vacuum, the soft supersymmetry\nbreaking scale for minimal supersymmetric standard model sector becomes the TeV\nscale, however, the gravitino mass scale becomes much higher than that of soft\nsupersymmetry breaking. Such a hierarchical structure, which naturally avoids\nthe gravitino problem, appears without introducing a new scale other than\ninflation scale.",
        "positive": "Two-Loop Superstrings I, Main Formulas: An unambiguous and slice-independent formula for the two-loop superstring\nmeasure on moduli space for even spin structure is constructed from first\nprinciples. The construction uses the super-period matrix as moduli invariant\nunder worldsheet supersymmetry. This produces new subtle contributions to the\ngauge-fixing process, which eliminate all the ambiguities plaguing earlier\ngauge-fixed formulas.\n  The superstring measure can be computed explicitly and a simple expression in\nterms of modular forms is obtained. For fixed spin structure, the measure\nexhibits the expected behavior under degenerations of the surface. The measure\nallows for a unique modular covariant GSO projection. Under this GSO\nprojection, the cosmological constant, the 1-, 2- and 3- point functions of\nmassless supergravitons all vanish pointwise on moduli space without the\nappearance of boundary terms. A certain disconnected part of the 4-point\nfunction is shown to be given by a convergent, finite integral on moduli space.\nA general slice-independent formula is given for the two-loop cosmological\nconstant in compactifications with central charge c=15 and N=1 worldsheet\nsupersymmetry in terms of the data of the compactification conformal field\ntheory.\n  In this paper, a summary of the above results is presented with detailed\nconstructions, derivations and proofs to be provided in a series of subsequent\npublications."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supermembranes and Super Matrix Theory: We review recent developments in the theory of supermembranes and their\nrelation to matrix models.",
        "positive": "A Scaling Hypothesis for the Spectral Densities in the O(3) Nonlinear\n  Sigma-Model: A scaling hypothesis for the n-particle spectral densities of the O(3)\nnonlinear sigma-model is described. It states that for large particle numbers\nthe n-particle spectral densities are ``self-similar'' in being basically\nrescaled copies of a universal shape function. This can be viewed as a\n2-dimensional, but non-perturbative analogue of the KNO scaling in QCD.\nPromoted to a working hypothesis, it allows one to compute the two point\nfunctions at ``all'' energy or length scales. In addition, the values of two\nnon-perturbative constants (needed for a parameter-free matching of the\nperturbative and the non-perturbative regime) are determined exactly."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "BFV-BRST analysis of equivalence between noncommutative and ordinary\n  gauge theories: Constrained hamiltonian structure of noncommutative gauge theory for the\ngauge group U(1) is discussed. Constraints are shown to be first class,\nalthough, they do not give an Abelian algebra in terms of Poisson brackets. The\nrelated BFV-BRST charge gives a vanishing generalized Poisson bracket by itself\ndue to the associativity of *-product. Equivalence of noncommutative and\nordinary gauge theories is formulated in generalized phase space by using\nBFV-BRST charge and a solution is obtained. Gauge fixing is discussed.",
        "positive": "Topological symmetry breaking and confinement of anyons: We study the behaviour of Wilson and 't Hooft loop operators for the 2+1 dim.\nAbelian-Higgs model with Chern-Simons term. The phase of topological symmetry\nbreaking where the vortex field condenses, found by Samuel for the model in the\nabsence of the Chern-Simons term, persists in its presence. In this phase, the\ntopological linking of instantons, which are configurations of closed vortex\nloops, with the Wilson loop on one hand and with the 't Hooft loop on the other\nhand gives rise to a long-range, logarithmic, confining potential between\nelectric charges and magnetic flux tubes. This is surprising since the gauge\nfield is short range due to the Chern-Simons term. Gauss' law forces the\nconcomitance of charge and magnetic flux, hence the confinement is actually of\nanyons."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Enhanced Non-Gaussianity from Excited Initial States: We use the techniques of effective field theory in an expanding universe to\nexamine the effect of choosing an excited inflationary initial state built over\nthe Bunch-Davies state on the CMB bi-spectrum. We find that even for Hadamard\nstates, there are unexpected enhancements in the bi-spectrum for certain\nconfigurations in momentum space due to interactions of modes in the early\nstages of inflation. These enhancements can be parametrically larger than the\nstandard ones and are potentially observable in current and future data. These\ninitial state effects have a characteristic signature in $l$-space which\ndistinguishes them from the usual contributions, with the enhancement being\nmost pronounced for configurations corresponding to flattened triangles for\nwhich two momenta are collinear.",
        "positive": "Renormalization-Group Improved Effective Lagrangian for Interacting\n  Theories in Curved Spacetime: A method for finding the renormalization group (RG) improved effective\nLagrangian for a massive interacting field theory in curved spacetime is\npresented. As a particular example, the $\\lambda \\varphi^4$-theory is\nconsidered and the RG improved effective Lagrangian is explicitly found up to\nsecond order in the curvature tensors. As a further application, the\ncurvature-induced phase transitions are discussed for both the massive and the\nmassless versions of the theory. The problems which appear when calculating the\nRG improved effective Lagrangian for gauge theories are discussed, taking as\nexample the asymptotically free SU(2) gauge model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A pair of extremal charged black holes on Kerr-Taub-bolt space: We construct asymptotically Kaluza-Klein solutions in five-dimensional\nEinstein-Maxwell theory which represent a pair of extremal, charged, static\nblack holes on Kerr-Taub-bolt space. Regularity conditions require that the\ntopology of spatial infinity and that of each black hole are not S$^3$, but\ndifferent lens spaces. We show that for a given topology at spatial infinity,\nthere are an infinite number of different horizon topologies for the black hole\npair. We briefly discuss a generalization to the case with a positive\ncosmological constant.",
        "positive": "Supercurrent anomalies in 4d SCFTs: We use holographic renormalization of minimal $\\mathcal{N}=2$ gauged\nsupergravity in order to derive the general form of the quantum Ward identities\nfor 3d $\\mathcal{N}=2$ and 4d $\\mathcal{N}=1$ superconformal theories on\ngeneral curved backgrounds, including an arbitrary fermionic source for the\nsupercurrent. The Ward identities for 4d $\\mathcal{N}=1$ theories contain both\nbosonic and fermionic global anomalies, which we determine explicitly up to\nquadratic order in the supercurrent source. The Ward identities we derive apply\nto any superconformal theory, independently of whether it admits a holographic\ndual, except for the specific values of the $a$ and $c$ anomaly coefficients,\nwhich are equal due to our starting point of a two-derivative bulk supergravity\ntheory. We show that the fermionic anomalies lead to an anomalous\ntransformation of the supercurrent under rigid supersymmetry on backgrounds\nadmitting Killing spinors, even if all superconformal anomalies are numerically\nzero on such backgrounds. The anomalous transformation of the supercurrent\nunder rigid supersymmetry leads to an obstruction to the $Q$-exactness of the\nstress tensor in supersymmetric vacua, and may have implications for the\napplicability of localization techniques. We use this obstruction to the\n$Q$-exactness of the stress tensor, together with the Ward identities, in order\nto determine the general form of the stress tensor and $R$-current one-point\nfunctions in supersymmetric vacua, which allows us to obtain general\nexpressions for the supersymmetric Casimir charges and partition function."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Recovering the spacetime metric from a holographic dual: We review our recent proposal to use certain spatial cross-sections of the\nboundary at infinity -- light-cone cuts -- to recover the conformal metric in\nthe bulk. We discuss some extensions of this work, including how to obtain the\nconformal metric near the horizon of a collapsing black hole. We also show how\nto obtain the conformal factor under certain conditions.",
        "positive": "Phases of theories with $\\mathbb{Z}_N$ 1-form symmetry and the roles of\n  center vortices and magnetic monopoles: We analyze the phases of theories which only have a microscopic\n$\\mathbb{Z}_N$ 1-form symmetry, starting with a topological BF theory and\ndeforming it in accordance with microscopic symmetry. These theories have a\nwell-defined notion of confinement. Prototypical examples are pure $SU(N)$\ngauge theories and $\\mathbb{Z}_N$ lattice gauge theories. Our analysis shows\nthat the only generic phases are in $d=2$, only the confined phase; in $d=3$,\nboth the confined phase and the topological BF phase; and in $d=4$, the\nconfined phase, the topological BF phase, and a phase with a massless photon.\nWe construct a $\\mathbb{Z}_N$ lattice gauge theory with a deformation which,\nsurprisingly, produces up to $(N-1)$ photons. We give an interpretation of\nthese findings in terms of two competing pictures of confinement --\nproliferation of monopoles and proliferation of center vortices -- and conclude\nthat the proliferation of center vortices is a necessary but insufficient\ncondition for confinement, while that of monopoles is both necessary and\nsufficient."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Wilson Loops in N=2 Super-Yang-Mills from Matrix Model: We compute the expectation value of the circular Wilson loop in N=2\nsupersymmetric Yang-Mills theory with N_f=2N hypermultiplets. Our results\nindicate that the string tension in the dual string theory scales as the\nlogarithm of the 't Hooft coupling.",
        "positive": "New results on asymmetric thick branes: This work deals with the presence and stability of thick brane solutions in\nthe warped five dimensional braneworld scenario with a single extra spatial\ndimension of infinite extent. We combine two distinct procedures that give rise\nto new possibilities, allowing that we describe models of asymmetric thick\nbranes, with the asymmetry being controlled by a single real parameter. We\nillustrate the main results with some distinct models, which show that the\nmethod works for both standard and generalized models, and the solutions are\ngravitationally stable against small perturbations of the metric."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Renormalization Group Improved Optimized Perturbation Theory: Revisiting\n  the Mass Gap of the O(2N) Gross-Neveu Model: We introduce an extension of a variationally optimized perturbation method,\nby combining it with renormalization group properties in a straightforward\n(perturbative) form. This leads to a very transparent and efficient procedure,\nwith a clear improvement of the non-perturbative results with respect to\nprevious similar variational approaches. This is illustrated here by deriving\noptimized results for the mass gap of the O(2N) Gross-Neveu model, compared\nwith the exactly know results for arbitrary N. At large N, the exact result is\nreproduced already at the very first order of the modified perturbation using\nthis procedure. For arbitrary values of N, using the original perturbative\ninformation only known at two-loop order, we obtain a controllable percent\naccuracy or less, for any N value, as compared with the exactly known result\nfor the mass gap from the thermodynamical Bethe Ansatz. The procedure is very\ngeneral and can be extended straightforwardly to any renormalizable Lagrangian\nmodel, being systematically improvable provided that a knowledge of enough\nperturbative orders of the relevant quantities is available.",
        "positive": "Dual Charges for AdS Spacetimes and the First Law of Black Hole\n  Mechanics: We apply the recent derivations of dual charges in asymptotically flat\nspacetimes to asymptotically locally AdS spacetimes. In contrast to the results\nin the flat case, in the AdS case with a Dirichlet boundary the dual charge\ncontribution vanishes at the leading order. However, by focusing on the\nTaub-NUT-AdS solution, we show that nevertheless, more generally, the dual\ncharge is non-vanishing and corresponds to the NUT parameter. We propose a\ncomplex first law of black mechanics in the presence of NUT charges that is\ninspired by the naturally complex nature of the charges derived using\nHamiltonian methods."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the absence of localized curvature in the weak-coupling phase of\n  quantum gravity: In the weak field expansion of euclidean quantum gravity, an analysis of the\nWilson loops in terms of the gauge group, $SO(4)$, shows that the correspondent\nstatistical system does not develope any configuration with localized curvature\nat low temperature. Such a ``non-local'' behavior contrasts strongly with that\nof usual gauge fields. We point out a possible relation between this result and\nthose of the numerical simulations of quantum Regge Calculus. We also give a\ngeneral quantum formula for the static potential energy of the gravitational\ninteraction of two masses, which is compatible with the mentioned vacuum\nstructure.",
        "positive": "Towards the Core of the Quantum Monopole: We study monopole solutions of the quantum exact low-energy effective N=2\nsuper Yang-Mills theories of Seiberg and Witten. We find a first order\ndifferential equation for the spatial dependence of the moduli and show that it\ncan be interpreted as an attractor equation. Numerically integrating this\nequation, we try to address the question of what happens when one approaches\nthe quantum core of the monopole where the low energy effective theory breaks\ndown or, alternatively, if there are modified monopole solutions that do not\nhave a strongly coupled quantum core so that one may trust the solution not\nonly asymptotically."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Algebraic Renormalization of Parity-Preserving QED_3 Coupled to Scalar\n  Matter II: Broken Case: In this letter the algebraic renormalization method, which is independent of\nany kind of regularization scheme, is presented for the parity-preserving QED_3\ncoupled to scalar matter in the broken regime, where the scalar assumes a\nfinite vacuum expectation value, $<\\vf> = v$. The model shows to be stable\nunder radiative corrections and anomaly free.",
        "positive": "Noncommutative U(1) gauge theory from a worldline perspective: We study pure noncommutative U(1) gauge theory representing its one-loop\neffective action in terms of a phase space worldline path integral. We write\nthe quadratic action using the background field method to keep explicit gauge\ninvariance, and then employ the worldline formalism to write the one-loop\neffective action, singling out UV-divergent parts and finite (planar and\nnon-planar) parts, and study renormalization properties of the theory. This\namounts to employ worldline Feynman rules for the phase space path integral,\nthat nicely incorporate the Fadeev-Popov ghost contribution and efficiently\nseparate planar and non-planar contributions. We also show that the effective\naction calculation is independent of the choice of the worldline Green's\nfunction, that corresponds to a particular way of factoring out a particle\nzero-mode. This allows to employ homogeneous string-inspired Feynman rules that\ngreatly simplify the computation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Sixfold Way of Traversable Wormholes in the Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev Model: In the infrared limit, a nearly anti-de Sitter spacetime in two dimensions\n(AdS$_2$) perturbed by a weak double trace deformation and a two-site\n$(q>2)$-body Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev (SYK) model with $N$ Majoranas and a weak\n$2r$-body intersite coupling share the same near-conformal dynamics described\nby a traversable wormhole. We exploit this relation to propose a symmetry\nclassification of traversable wormholes depending on $N$, $q$, and $r$, with\n$q>2r$, and confirm it by a level statistics analysis using exact\ndiagonalization techniques. Intriguingly, a time-reversed state never results\nin a new state, so only six universality classes occur: A, AI, BDI, CI, C, and\nD.",
        "positive": "Renormalizability of the center-vortex free sector of Yang-Mills theory: In this work, we analyzed a recent proposal to detect $SU(N)$ continuum\nYang-Mills sectors labeled by center vortices, inspired by Laplacian-type\ncenter gauges in the lattice. Initially, after the introduction of appropriate\nexternal sources, we obtained a rich set of sector-dependent Ward identities,\nwhich can be used to control the form of the divergences. Next, we were able to\nshow the all-order multiplicative renormalizability of the center-vortex free\nsector. These are important steps towards the establishment of a first\nprinciples, well-defined, and calculable Yang-Mills ensemble."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Holographic Entanglement Entropy of Schwarzschild Black Holes: We show that Schwarzschild black hole metrics are, asymptotically, Weyl\nequivalent to $AdS_2 \\times S^{D-2}$ where the spherical factor is the horizon.\nThe holographic entanglement entropy of $AdS_2$ exactly reproduces the\nSchwarzschild black hole entropy which implies that black hole degrees of\nfreedom live at asymptotic infinity. In generalized theories of gravity, the\nsame procedure reproduces Wald entropy.",
        "positive": "Flux Vacua and Modularity for $\\mathbb{Z}_2$ Symmetric Calabi-Yau\n  Manifolds: We find continuous families of supersymmetric flux vacua in IIB Calabi-Yau\ncompactifications for multiparameter manifolds with an appropriate\n$\\mathbb{Z}_2$ symmetry. We argue, supported by extensive computational\nevidence, that the numerators of the local zeta functions of these\ncompactification manifolds have quadratic factors. These factors are associated\nwith weight-two modular forms, and these manifolds are said to be weight-two\nmodular. Our evidence supports the flux modularity conjecture of Kachru, Nally,\nand Yang. The modular forms are related to a continuous family of elliptic\ncurves. The flux vacua can be lifted to F-theory on elliptically fibred\nCalabi-Yau fourfolds. If conjectural expressions for Deligne's periods are\ntrue, then these imply that the F-theory fibre is complex-isomorphic to the\nmodular curve. In three examples, we compute the local zeta function of the\ninternal geometry using an extension of known methods, which we discuss here\nand in more detail in a companion paper. With these techniques, we are able to\ncompare the zeta function coefficients to modular form Fourier coefficients for\nhundreds of manifolds in three distinct families, finding agreement in all\ncases. Our techniques enable us to study not only parameters valued in\n$\\mathbb{Q}$ but also in algebraic extensions of $\\mathbb{Q}$, so exhibiting\nrelations to Hilbert and Bianchi modular forms. We present in appendices the\nzeta function numerators of these manifolds, together with the corresponding\nmodular forms."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Solitons in topological field theories: We present a topological Lagrangian field theory that is geometrically\nsimilar to the Yang-Mills(-Higgs) Lagrangian, and study the Bogomol'nyi\nsolitons contained within this theory. The topological field theory may provide\nan example of a dual field theory to Yang-Mills(-Higgs). The existence of a\ndual field theory to Yang-Mills(-Higgs) was conjectured by Montonen and Olive.",
        "positive": "Dynamical Supersymmetry Breaking: Dynamical supersymmetry breaking is a fascinating theoretical problem. It is\nalso of phenomenological significance. A better understanding of this\nphenomenon can help in model building, which in turn is useful in guiding the\nsearch for supersymmetry. In this article, we review the recent developments in\nthe field. We discuss a few examples, which allow us to illustrate the main\nideas in the subject. In the process, we also show how the techniques of\nholomorphy and duality come into play. Towards the end we indicate how these\ndevelopments have helped in the study of gauge mediated supersymmetry breaking.\nThe review is intended for someone with a prior knowledge of supersymmetry who\nwants to find out about the recent progress in this field."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Massive two-column bosonic fields in the frame-like formalism: In this paper we develop the frame-like gauge invariant formulation for the\nmassive two-column bosonic fields in (anti) de Sitter space-times. We begin\nwith the partially massless cases in AdS and dS and then we combine these\nresults into the general massive theory. Separate section is devoted to the\nspecial case where both columns have equal number of indices.",
        "positive": "Gauge-Invariant Differential Renormalization: Abelian Case: A new version of differential renormalization is presented. It is based on\npulling out certain differential operators and introducing a logarithmic\ndependence into diagrams. It can be defined either in coordinate or momentum\nspace, the latter being more flexible for treating tadpoles and diagrams where\ninsertion of counterterms generates tadpoles. Within this version, gauge\ninvariance is automatically preserved to all orders in Abelian case. Since\ndifferential renormalization is a strictly four-dimensional renormalization\nscheme it looks preferable for application in each situation when dimensional\nrenormalization meets difficulties, especially, in theories with chiral and\nsuper symmetries. The calculation of the ABJ triangle anomaly is given as an\nexample to demonstrate simplicity of calculations within the presented version\nof differential renormalization."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Total probability and number of particles for fermion production in\n  external electric and magnetic fields in de Sitter universe: In this paper we present a method for computing the total probability\ncorresponding to the processes of fermion pair production in dipole magnetic\nfield and external Coulomb field in a de Sitter geometry. For that we rewrite\nthe functions that define the amplitudes in terms of oscillatory functions and\nwe use the Taylor expansion of these functions for arriving at the final form\nof the momenta integrals. The total probability is analysed in terms of the\nratio between the mass of the fermion and expansion parameter and we recover\nthe Minkowski limit when the expansion parameter is vanishing. Finally it is\nproven that from our results we can compute the number of fermions in terms of\nexpansion parameter.",
        "positive": "The Dual Faces of String Theory: Duality symmetries for strings moving in non-trivial spacetime backgrounds\nare analysed. It is shown that, for backgrounds generated from compact WZW and\ncoset models, such duality symmetries are exact to all orders in string\nperturbation theory. A global treatment of duality symmetries is given, by\nassociating them to the known symmetries of affine current algebras\n(affine-Weyl group and external automorphisms). It is argued that self-duality\nsymmetries of WZW and coset models generate the duality symmetries of their\nmoduli space. Some remarks are presented, concerning the survival of such\nsymmetries in the non-compact case. The implications of duality symmetries for\nstring dynamics in non-trivial/singular spacetimes are discussed. (Talk given\nat the \"Strings 93\" Conference at Berkeley, May 1993)"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum gravity, effective fields and string theory: We look at the various aspects of treating general relativity as a quantum\ntheory. It is briefly studied how to consistently quantize general relativity\nas an effective field theory. A key achievement here is the long-range\nlow-energy leading quantum corrections to both the Schwarzschild and Kerr\nmetrics. The leading quantum corrections to the pure gravitational potential\nbetween two sources are also calculated, both in the mixed theory of scalar QED\nand quantum gravity and in the pure gravitational theory. The\n(Kawai-Lewellen-Tye) string theory gauge/gravity relations is next dealt with.\nWe investigate if the KLT-operator mapping extends to the case of higher\nderivative effective operators. The KLT-relations are generalized, taking the\neffective field theory viewpoint, and remarkable tree-level amplitude relations\nbetween the field theory operators are derived. Quantum gravity is finally\nlooked at from the the perspective of taking the limit of infinitely many\nspatial dimensions. It is verified that only a certain class of planar graphs\nwill in fact contribute to the $n$-point functions at $D=\\infty$. This limit is\nsomewhat an analogy to the large-N limit of gauge theories although the\ninterpretation of such a graph limit in a gravitational framework is quite\ndifferent.",
        "positive": "Topological Landau-Ginzburg Formulation and Integrable Structure of 2d\n  String Theory: We construct a topological Landau-Ginzburg formulation of the two-dimensional\nstring at the self-dual radius. The model is an analytic continuation of the\n$A_{k+1}$ minimal model to $k=-3$. We compute the superpotential and calculate\ntachyon correlators in the Landau-Ginzburg framework. The results are in\ncomplete agreement with matrix model calculations. We identify the momentum one\ntachyon as the puncture operator, non-negative momentum tachyons as primary\nfields, and negative momentum ones as descendants. The model thus has an\ninfinite number of primary fields, and the topological metric vanishes on the\nsmall phase space when restricted to these. We find a parity invariant\nmulti-contact algebra with irreducible contact terms of arbitrarily large\nnumber of fields. The formulation of this Landau-Ginzburg description in terms\nof period integrals coincides with the genus zero $W_{1+\\infty}$ identities of\ntwo-dimensional string theory. We study the underlying Toda lattice integrable\nhierarchy in the Lax formulation and find that the Landau-Ginzburg\nsuperpotential coincides with a derivative of the Baker-Akhiezer wave function\nin the dispersionless limit. This establishes a connection between the\ntopological and integrable structures. Guided by this connection we derive\nrelations formally analogous to the string equation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Analytical approximation schemes for solving exact renormalization group\n  equations in the local potential approximation: The relation between the Wilson-Polchinski and the Litim optimized ERGEs in\nthe local potential approximation is studied with high accuracy using two\ndifferent analytical approaches based on a field expansion: a recently proposed\ngenuine analytical approximation scheme to two-point boundary value problems of\nordinary differential equations, and a new one based on approximating the\nsolution by generalized hypergeometric functions. A comparison with the\nnumerical results obtained with the shooting method is made. A similar accuracy\nis reached in each case. Both two methods appear to be more efficient than the\nusual field expansions frequently used in the current studies of ERGEs (in\nparticular for the Wilson-Polchinski case in the study of which they fail).",
        "positive": "Multiple Reentrant Phase Transitions and Triple Points in Lovelock\n  Thermodynamics: We investigate the effects of higher curvature corrections from Lovelock\ngravity on the phase structure of asymptotically AdS black holes, treating the\ncosmological constant as a thermodynamic pressure. We examine how various\nthermodynamic phenomena, such as Van der Waals behaviour, reentrant phase\ntransitions (RPT), and tricritical points are manifest for U(1) charged black\nholes in Gauss-Bonnet and 3rd-order Lovelock gravities. We furthermore observe\na new phenomenon of \"multiple RPT\" behaviour, in which for fixed pressure the\nsmall/large/small/large black hole phase transition occurs as the temperature\nof the system increases. We also find that when the higher-order Lovelock\ncouplings are related in a particular way, a peculiar isolated critical point\nemerges for hyperbolic black holes and is characterized by non-standard\ncritical exponents."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dynamical Symmetries and Nambu Mechanics: It is shown that several Hamiltonian systems possessing dynamical or hidden\nsymmetries can be realized within the framework of Nambu's generalized\nmechanics. Among such systems are the SU(n)-isotropic harmonic oscillator and\nthe SO(4)-Kepler problem. As required by the formulation of Nambu dynamics, the\nintegrals of motion for these systems necessarily become the so-called\ngeneralized Hamiltonians. Furthermore, in most of these problems, the\ndefinition of these generalized Hamiltonians is not unique.",
        "positive": "Symmetry TFT for Subsystem Symmetry: We generalize the idea of symmetry topological field theory (SymTFT) for\nsubsystem symmetry. We propose the 2-foliated BF theory with level $N$ in\n$(3+1)$d as subsystem SymTFT for subsystem $\\mathbb Z_N$ symmetry in $(2+1)$d.\nFocusing on $N=2$, we investigate various topological boundaries. The subsystem\nKramers-Wannier and Jordan-Wigner dualities can be viewed as boundary\ntransformations of the subsystem SymTFT and are included in a larger duality\nweb from the subsystem $SL(2,\\mathbb Z_2)$ symmetry of the bulk foliated BF\ntheory. Finally, we construct the condensation defects and twist defects of\n$S$-transformation in the subsystem $SL(2,\\mathbb Z_2)$, from which the fusion\nrule of subsystem non-invertible operators can be recovered."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Formal Maurer-Cartan Structures: from CFT to Classical Field Equations: We show how the well-known classical field equations as Einstein and\nYang-Mills ones, which arise as the conformal invariance conditions of certain\ntwo-dimensional theories, expanded up to the second order in the formal\nparameter, can be reformulated as Generalized/formal Maurer-Cartan equations\n(GMC), where the differential is the BRST operator of String theory. We\nintroduce the bilinear operations which are present in GMC, and study their\nproperties, allowing us to find the symmetries of the resulting equations which\nwill be naturally identified with the diffeomorphism and gauge symmetries of\nEinstein and Yang-Mills equations correspondingly.",
        "positive": "Fuzzy Gravitons From Uncertain Spacetime: The recently proposed remarkable mechanism explaining ``stringy exclusion\nprinciple\" on an Anti de Sitter space is shown to be another beautiful\nmanifestation of spacetime uncertainty principle in string theory as well as in\nM theory. Put in another way, once it is realized that the graviton of a given\nangular momentum is represented by a spherical brane, we deduce the maximal\nangular momentum directly from either the relation $\\Delta t\\Delta x^2>l_p^3$\nin M theory or $\\Delta t\\Delta x>\\ap$ in string theory. We also show that the\nresult of hep-th/0003075 is similar to results on D2-branes in SU(2) WZW model.\nUsing the dual D2-brane representation of a membrane, we obtain the\nquantization condition for the size of the membrane."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Two loop integrability for Chern-Simons theories with N=6 supersymmetry: We consider two-loop anomalous dimensions for fermionic operators in the ABJM\nmodel and the ABJ model. We find the appropriate Hamiltonian and show that it\nis consistent with a previously predicted Bethe ansatz for the ABJM model. The\ndifference between the ABJ and ABJM models is invisible at the two-loop level\nby cancelation of parity violating diagrams. We then construct a Hamiltonian\nfor the full two-loop OSp(6|4) spin chain by first constructing the Hamiltonian\nfor an SL(2|1) subgroup, and then lifting to OSp(6|4). We show that this\nHamiltonian is consistent with the Hamiltonian found for the fermionic\noperators.",
        "positive": "D=7 SU(2) Gauged Supergravity From D=10 Supergravity: The theory of SU(2) gauged seven-dimensional supergravity is obtained by\ncompactifying ten dimensional N=1 supergravity on the group manifold SU(2)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Super-renormalizable Higher-Derivative Quantum Gravity: In this paper we study perturbatively an extension of the Stelle higher\nderivative gravity involving an infinite number of derivative terms. We know\nthat the usual quadratic action is renormalizable but is not unitary because of\nthe presence of a ghost in the theory (pole with negative residue in the\npropagator). The new theory is instead ghost-free since an entire function (or\nform factor) is introduced in the model without involving new poles in the\npropagator. The local high derivative theory is recovered expanding the entire\nfunctions to the lowest order in the mass scale of the theory. Any truncation\nof the entire function gives rise to unitarity violation. The theory is\ndivergent at one loop and finite from two loops upwards: the theory is then\nsuper-renormalizable. Using the modified graviton propagator, we demonstrate\nthe regularity of the gravitational potential in r=0.",
        "positive": "Tunneling in Axion Monodromy: The Coleman formula for vacuum decay and bubble nucleation has been used to\nestimate the tunneling rate in models of axion monodromy in recent literature.\nHowever, several of Coleman's original assumptions do not hold for such models.\nHere we derive a new estimate with this in mind using a similar Euclidean\nprocedure. We find that there are significant regions of parameter space for\nwhich the tunneling rate in axion monodromy is not well approximated by the\nColeman formula. However, there is also a regime relevant to large field\ninflation in which both estimates parametrically agree. We also briefly comment\non the applications of our results to the relaxion scenario."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Equivalence of Constrained Models: We study two constrained scalar models. While there seems to be equivalence\nwhen the partially integrated Feynman path integral is expanded graphically,\nthe dynamical behaviour of the two models are different when quantization is\ndone using Dirac constraint analysis.",
        "positive": "Brane Decay and Defect Formation: Topological defects are generically expected to form in models of brane\ninflation. Brane-anti-brane annihilation provides a way to gracefully end\ninflation, and the dynamics of the tachyon field results in defect formation.\nThe formation of defects has been studied mainly from the brane world-volume\npoint of view, but the defects are themselves lower-dimensional branes, and as\na result they couple to bulk fields. To investigate the impact of bulk fields\non brane defect formation, we construct a toy model that captures the essential\nfeatures of the tachyon condensation with bulk fields. In this toy model, we\nstudy the structure of defects and simulate their formation and evolution on a\nlattice. We find that while bulk fields do not have a significant effect on\ndefect formation, they drastically influence the subsequent evolution of the\ndefects, as they re-introduce long-range interactions between them."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A new method of quantization of classical solutions: Using stochastic quantization method we derive equations for correlators of\nquantum fluctuations around the classical solution in the massless phi^4\ntheory. The obtained equations are then solved in the lowest orders of\nperturbation theory, and the first correction to the free propagator of a\nquantum fluctuation is calculated.",
        "positive": "Corrigendum to \"Coupling the SO(2) supergravity through dimensional\n  reduction\" [Phys. Lett. B 96 (1-2) (1980) 89-93]: Due to renewed interest in D=5 supergravity and its quartic fermionic terms,\nfuelled by very recent work on supersymmetric quantum cosmology we correct an\nerror in eq.(4) of the paper cited in the title. We also give the Lagrangian in\nsecond order formalism which was not explicitly written out before."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gluing two affine Yangians of $\\mathfrak{gl}_1$: We construct a four-parameter family of affine Yangian algebras by gluing two\ncopies of the affine Yangian of $\\mathfrak{gl}_1$. Our construction allows for\ngluing operators with arbitrary (integer or half integer) conformal dimension\nand arbitrary (bosonic or fermionic) statistics, which is related to the\nrelative framing. The resulting family of algebras is a two-parameter\ngeneralization of the $\\mathcal{N}=2$ affine Yangian, which is isomorphic to\nthe universal enveloping algebra of $\\mathfrak{u}(1)\\oplus\n\\mathcal{W}^{\\mathcal{N}=2}_{\\infty}[\\lambda]$. All algebras that we construct\nhave natural representations in terms of \"twin plane partitions\", a pair of\nplane partitions appropriately joined along one common leg. We observe that the\ngeometry of twin plane partitions, which determines the algebra, bears striking\nsimilarities to the geometry of certain toric Calabi-Yau threefolds.",
        "positive": "AdS$_2$ Holography: Mind the Cap: AdS$_2$ plays an extremely important role in black-hole physics. We construct\nseveral infinite families of supergravity solutions that are asymptotically\nAdS$_2$ in the UV, and terminate in the IR with a cap that is singular in two\ndimensions but smooth in ten dimensions. These solutions break conformal\ninvariance, and should correspond to supersymmetric ground states of a\nholographically dual CFT$_1$. We solve the free massless scalar wave equation\non a family of these solutions, finding towers of finite-energy normalizable\nbound-state excitations. We discuss the intriguing possibility that these\nexcitations correspond to time-dependent excitations of the dual CFT$_1$, which\nwould imply that this CFT$_1$ is dynamical rather than topological, and hence\ncannot have a conformally invariant ground state."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "AdS vacua with scale separation from IIB supergravity: Only two kinds of compactification are known that lead to four-dimensional\nsupersymmetric AdS vacua with moduli stabilisation and separation of scales at\ntree-level. The most studied ones are compactifications of massive IIA\nsupergravity on SU(3) structures with smeared O6 planes, for which a general\nten-dimensional expression for the solution in terms of the SU(3) structure was\nfound. Less studied are compactifications of IIB supergravity with smeared\nO5/O7 planes. In this paper we derive a general ten-dimensional expression for\nthe smeared O5/O7 solutions in terms of SU(2) structures. For a specific choice\nof orientifold projections, we recover the known examples and we also provide\nnew explicit solutions.",
        "positive": "On quantum corrected K\u00e4hler potentials in F-theory: We work out the exact in string coupling and perturbatively exact in \\alpha'\nresult for the vector multiplet moduli K\\\"ahler potential in a specific N=2\ncompactification of F-theory. The well-known correction cubic in \\alpha' is\nabsent, but there is a rich structure of corrections at all even orders in\n\\alpha'. Moreover, each of these orders independently displays an SL(2,Z)\ninvariant set of corrections in the string coupling. This generalizes earlier\nfindings to the case of a non-trivial elliptic fibration. Our results pave the\nway for the analysis of quantum corrections in the more complicated N=1\ncontext, and may have interesting implications for the study of moduli\nstabilization in string theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Things Fall Apart: Topology Change from Winding Tachyons: We argue that closed string tachyons drive two spacetime topology changing\ntransitions -- loss of genus in a Riemann surface and separation of a Riemann\nsurface into two components. The tachyons of interest are localized versions of\nScherk-Schwarz winding string tachyons arising on Riemann surfaces in regions\nof moduli space where string-scale tubes develop. Spacetime and world-sheet\nrenormalization group analyses provide strong evidence that the decay of these\ntachyons removes a portion of the spacetime, splitting the tube into two\npieces. We address the fate of the gauge fields and charges lost in the\nprocess, generalize it to situations with weak flux backgrounds, and use this\nprocess to study the type 0 tachyon, providing further evidence that its decay\ndrives the theory sub-critical. Finally, we discuss the time-dependent dynamics\nof this topology-changing transition and find that it can occur more\nefficiently than analogous transitions on extended supersymmetric moduli\nspaces, which are limited by moduli trapping.",
        "positive": "Space Symmetries and Quantum Behavior of Finite Energy Configurations in\n  SU(2)-Gauge Theory: The quantum properties of localized finite energy solutions to classical\nEuler-Lagrange equations are investigated using the method of collective\ncoordinates. The perturbation theory in terms of inverse powers of the coupling\nconstant $g$ is constructed, taking into account the conservation laws of\nmomentum and angular momentum (invariance of the action with respect to the\ngroup of motion M(3) of 3-dimensional Euclidean space) rigorously in every\norder of perturbation theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chiral symmetry breaking in d=3 NJL model in external gravitational and\n  magnetic fields: The phase structure of $d=3$ Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model in curved spacetime\nwith magnetic field is investigated in the leading order of the $1/N$-expansion\nand in linear curvature approximation (an external magnetic field is treated\nexactly). The possibility of the chiral symmetry breaking under the combined\naction of the external gravitational and magnetic fields is shown explicitly.\nAt some circumstances the chiral symmetry may be restored due to the\ncompensation of the magnetic field by the gravitational field.",
        "positive": "Emergence of the fuzzy horizon through gravitational collapse: For a large enough Schwarzschild black hole, the horizon is a region of space\nwhere gravitational forces are weak; yet it is also a region leading to\nnumerous puzzles connected to stringy physics. In this work, we analyze the\nprocess of gravitational collapse and black hole formation in the context of\nlight-cone M theory. We find that, as a shell of matter contracts and is about\nto reveal a black hole horizon, it undergoes a thermodynamic phase transition.\nThis involves the binding of D0 branes into D2's, and the new phase leads to\nlarge membranes of the size of the horizon. These in turn can sustain their\nlarge size through back-reaction and the dielectric Myers effect - realizing\nthe fuzzball proposal of Mathur and the Matrix black hole of M(atrix) theory.\nThe physics responsible for this phenomenon lies in strongly coupled 2+1\ndimensional non-commutative dynamics. The phenomenon has a universal character\nand appears generic."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "New F-theory lifts II: Permutation orientifolds and enhanced\n  singularities: In this paper, a procedure is developed to construct compact F-theory\nfourfolds corresponding to perturbative IIB O7/O3 models on CICY threefolds\nwith permutation involutions. The method is explained in generality, and then\napplied to specific examples where the involution permutes two Del Pezzo\nsurfaces. The fourfold construction is successfully tested by comparing the D3\ncharges predicted by F-theory and IIB string theory. The constructed smooth\nfourfolds are then taken to the locus in moduli space where they have enhanced\nSU(5) singularities. A general, intuitive method is developed for engineering\nthe desired singularities in Weierstrass models for complicated D7-brane\nsetups.",
        "positive": "The Heisenberg algebra as near horizon symmetry of the black flower\n  solutions of Chern-Simons-like theories of gravity: In this paper we study the near horizon symmetry algebra of the non-extremal\nblack hole solutions of the Chern-Simons-like theories of gravity, which are\nstationary but are not necessarily spherically symmetric. We define the\nextended off-shell ADT current which is an extension of the generalized ADT\ncurrent. We use the extended off-shell ADT current to define quasi-local\nconserved charges such that they are conserved for Killing vectors and\nasymptotically Killing vectors which depend on dynamical fields of the\nconsidered theory. We apply this formalism to the Generalized Minimal Massive\nGravity( GMMG) and obtain conserved charges of a spacetime which describes near\nhorizon geometry of non-extremal black holes. Eventually, we find the algebra\nof conserved charges in Fourier modes. It is interesting that, similar to the\nEinstein gravity in the presence of negative cosmological constant, for the\nGMMG model also we obtain the Heisenberg algebra as the near horizon symmetry\nalgebra of the black flower solutions. Also the vacuum state and all\ndescendants of the vacuum have the same energy. Thus these zero energy\nexcitations on the horizon appear as soft hairs on the black hole."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Evolving neural networks with genetic algorithms to study the String\n  Landscape: We study possible applications of artificial neural networks to examine the\nstring landscape. Since the field of application is rather versatile, we\npropose to dynamically evolve these networks via genetic algorithms. This means\nthat we start from basic building blocks and combine them such that the neural\nnetwork performs best for the application we are interested in. We study three\nareas in which neural networks can be applied: to classify models according to\na fixed set of (physically) appealing features, to find a concrete realization\nfor a computation for which the precise algorithm is known in principle but\nvery tedious to actually implement, and to predict or approximate the outcome\nof some involved mathematical computation which performs too inefficient to\napply it, e.g. in model scans within the string landscape. We present simple\nexamples that arise in string phenomenology for all three types of problems and\ndiscuss how they can be addressed by evolving neural networks from genetic\nalgorithms.",
        "positive": "Exotic Particles and Generalized Maxwell theory on Fuzzy Two-Sphere: We consider generalized Maxwell theory and spherical D2-brane. The model is\nbuilt by introducing a generalized connection put at the origin of two-sphere\nto describe anyons instead of Chern-Simons term. The energy obtained in this\nmodel is very special since the gauge field is dynamic and its energy dominates\nwhen the radius of fuzzy two-sphere goes to infinity or if we take large number\nof charges. Consequently, D2-brane gets high energy. The static potential for\ntwo opposite charged exotic particles described by generalized Maxwell theory\nis found to have screening nature on fuzzy two-sphere instead of confinement\nwhich is a special property of the system on the plane."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "An Explicit and Simple Relationship Between Two Model Spaces: An explicit and simple correspondence, between the basis of the model space\nof $SU(3)$ on one hand and that of $SU(2)\\otimes SU(2)$ or $SO(1,3)$ on the\nother, is exhibited for the first time. This is done by considering the\ngenerating functions for the basis vectors of these model spaces.",
        "positive": "BPS Dyon in a Weak Electromagnetic Field: Equations of Motion and\n  Radiation Fields: Dynamics of a BPS dyon in a weak, constant, electromagnetic field is studied\nthrough a perturbative analysis of appropriate non-linear field equations. The\nfull Lorentz force law for a BPS dyon is established. Also derived are the\nradiation fields accompanying the motion."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spinorial cohomology and maximally supersymmetric theories: Fields in supersymmetric gauge theories may be seen as elements in a\nspinorial cohomology. We elaborate on this subject, specialising to maximally\nsupersymmetric theories, where the superspace Bianchi identities, after\nsuitable conventional constraints are imposed, put the theories on shell. In\nthese cases, the spinorial cohomologies describe in a unified manner gauge\ntransformations, fields and possible deformations of the models, e.g.\nstring-related corrections in an alpha' expansion. Explicit cohomologies are\ncalculated for super-Yang-Mills theory in D=10, for the N=(2,0) tensor\nmultiplet in D=6 and for supergravity in D=11, in the latter case from the\npoint of view of both the super-vielbein and the super-3-form potential. The\ntechniques may shed light on some questions concerning the alpha'-corrected\neffective theories, and result in better understanding of the role of the\n3-form in D=11 supergravity.",
        "positive": "Simplicity in the Faulkner construction: We revisit the Faulkner construction of metric 3-Leibniz algebras admitting\nan embedding Lie (super)algebra. In the case of positive-definite signature, we\nrelate the various notions of simplicity: of the 3-algebra, of the\nrepresentation and of the embedding Lie (super)algebra. This reduces their\nclassification to the extant classifications of simple Lie (super)algebras."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Nonperturbative study of the two-frequency sine-Gordon model: The two-frequency sine-Gordon model is examined. The focus is mainly on the\ncase when the ratio of the frequencies is 1/2, given the recent interest in the\nliterature. We discuss the model both in a perturbative (form factor\nperturbation theory) and a nonperturbative (truncated conformal space approach)\nframework, and give particular attention to a phase transition conjectured\nearlier by Delfino and Mussardo. We give substantial evidence that the\ntransition is of second order and that it is in the Ising universality class.\nFurthermore, we check the UV-IR operator correspondence and conjecture the\nphase diagram of the theory.",
        "positive": "$\u03ba$-Minkowski Spacetime Through Exotic \"Oscillator\": We have proposed a generally covariant non-relativistic particle model that\ncan represent the $\\kappa$-Minkowski noncommutative spacetime. The idea is\nsimilar in spirit to the noncommutative particle coordinates in the lowest\nLandau level. Physically our model yields a novel type of dynamical system,\n(termed here as Exotic \"Oscillator\"), that obeys a\n  Harmonic Oscillator like equation of motion with a {\\it{frequency}} that is\nproportional to the square root of {\\it{energy}}. On the other hand, the phase\ndiagram does not reveal a closed structure since there is a singularity in the\nmomentum even though energy remains finite. The generally covariant form is\nrelated to a generalization of the Snyder algebra in a specific gauge and\nyields the $\\kappa $-Minkowski spacetime after a redefinition of the variables.\nSymmetry considerations are also briefly discussed in the Hamiltonian\nformulation. Regarding continuous symmetry, the angular momentum acts properly\nas the generator of rotation. Interestingly, both the discrete symmetries,\nparity and time reversal, remain intact in the $\\kappa$-Minkowski spacetime."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "More Abelian Dualities in 2+1 Dimensions: We expand on the recent derivation of 3d dualities using bosonization. We\npresent in some detail a general class of Abelian duals.",
        "positive": "Evolution of Entanglement Wedge Cross Section Following a Global Quench: We study the evolution of entanglement wedge cross section (EWCS) in the\nVaidya geometry describing a thin shell of null matter collapsing into the AdS\nvacuum to form a black brane. In the holographic context, it is proposed that\nthis quantity is dual to different information measures including entanglement\nof purification, reflected entropy, odd entropy and logarithmic negativity. In\n2+1 dimensions, we present a combination of numerical and analytic results on\nthe evolution and scaling of EWCS for strip shaped boundary subregions after a\nthermal quench. In the limit of large subregions, we find that the time\nevolution of EWCS is characterized by three different scaling regimes: an early\ntime quadratic growth, an intermediate linear growth and a late time\nsaturation. Further, in 3+1 dimensions, we examine the scaling behavior by\nconsidering thermal and electromagnetic quenches. In the case of a thermal\nquench, our numerical analysis supply results similar to observations made for\nthe lower dimension. On the other hand, for electromagnetic quenches at zero\ntemperature, an interesting feature is a departure from the linear behavior of\nthe evolution to logarithmic growth."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Einstein supergravity amplitudes from twistor-string theory: This paper gives a twistor-string formulation for all tree amplitudes of\nEinstein (super-)gravities for N=0 and 4. Formulae are given with and without\ncosmological constant and with various possibilities for the gauging. The\nformulae are justified by use of Maldacena's observation that conformal gravity\ntree amplitudes with Einstein wave functions and non-zero cosmological constant\nwill correctly give the Einstein tree amplitudes. This justifies the\nconstruction of Einstein gravity amplitudes at N=0 from twistor-string theory\nand is extended to N=4 by requiring the standard relation between the\nMHV-degree and the degree of the rational curve for Yang-Mills; this\nsystematically excludes the spurious conformal supergravity gravity\ncontributions. For comparison, BCFW recursion is used to obtain\ntwistor-string-like formulae at degree zero and one (anti-MHV and MHV) for\namplitudes with N=8 supersymmetry with and without cosmological constant.",
        "positive": "Lift of dilogarithm to partition identities: For the whole set of dilogarithm identities found recently using the\nthermodynamic Bethe-Ansatz for the $ADET$ series of purely elastic scattering\ntheories we give partition identities which involve characters of those\nconformal field theories which correspond to the UV-limits of the scattering\ntheories. These partition identities in turn allow to derive the dilogarithm\nidentities using modular invariance and a saddle point approximation. We\nconjecture on possible generalizations of this correspondance, namely, a lift\nfrom dilogarithm to partition identities."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The MHV QCD Lagrangian: We perform a canonical change of the field variables of light-cone gauge\nmassless QCD to obtain a lagrangian whose terms are proportional up to\npolarisation factors to MHV amplitudes and continued off shell by the CSW\nprescription. We solve for this transformation as a series expansion to all\norders in the new fields, and use this to prove that the resulting vertices are\nindeed MHV vertices as claimed. We also demonstrate how this works explicitly\nfor the vertices with: two quarks and two gluons, four quarks, and a particular\nhelicity configuration of two quarks and three gluons. Finally, we generalise\nthe construction to massive QCD.",
        "positive": "Massive Deformations of Type IIA Theory Within Double Field Theory: We obtain massive deformations of Type IIA supergravity theory through\nduality twisted reductions of Double Field Theory (DFT) of massless Type II\nstrings. The mass deformation is induced through the reduction of the DFT of\nthe RR sector. Such reductions are determined by a twist element belonging to\n$Spin^+(10,10)$, which is the duality group of the DFT of the RR sector. We\ndetermine the form of the twists and give particular examples of twist\nmatrices, for which a massive deformation of Type IIA theory can be obtained.\nIn one of the cases, requirement of gauge invariance of the RR sector implies\nthat the dilaton field must pick up a linear dependence on one of the dual\ncoordinates. In another case, the choice of the twist matrix violates the weak\nand the strong constraints explicitly in the internal doubled space."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum gravity at a TeV and the renormalization of Newton's constant: We examine whether renormalization effects can cause Newton's constant to\nchange dramatically with energy, perhaps even reducing the scale of quantum\ngravity to the TeV region without the introduction of extra dimensions. We\nexamine a model that realizes this possibility and describe experimental\nsignatures from production of small black holes.",
        "positive": "Exact and Asymptotic Degeneracies of Small Black Holes: We examine the recently proposed relations between black hole entropy and the\ntopological string in the context of type II/heterotic string dual models. We\nconsider the degeneracies of perturbative heterotic BPS states. In several\nexamples with N=4 and N=2 supersymmetry, we show that the macroscopic\ndegeneracy of small black holes agrees to all orders with the microscopic\ndegeneracy, but misses non-perturbative corrections which are computable on the\nheterotic side. Using these examples we refine the previous proposals and\ncomment on their domain of validity as well as on the relevance of helicity\nsupertraces."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Noncommutative Scalar Solitons at Finite $\u03b8$: We investigate the behavior of the noncommutative scalar soliton solutions at\nfinite noncommutative scale $\\theta$. A detailed analysis of the equation of\nthe motion indicates that fewer and fewer soliton solutions exist as $\\theta$\nis decreased and thus the solitonic sector of the theory exhibits an overall\nhierarchy structure. If the potential is bounded below, there is a finite\n$\\theta_c$ below which all the solitons cease to exist even though the\nnoncommutativity is still present. If the potential is not bounded below, for\nany nonzero $\\theta$ there is always a soliton solution, which becomes singular\nonly at $\\theta = 0$. The $\\phi^4$ potential is studied in detail and it is\nfound the critical $(\\theta m^2)_c =13.92$ ($m^2$ is the coefficient of the\nquadratic term in the potential) is universal for all the symmetric $\\phi^4$\npotential.",
        "positive": "Modular anomaly equations in N=2* theories and their large-N limit: We propose a modular anomaly equation for the prepotential of the N=2* super\nYang-Mills theory on R^4 with gauge group U(N) in the presence of an\nOmega-background. We then study the behaviour of the prepotential in a large-N\nlimit, in which N goes to infinity with the gauge coupling constant kept fixed.\nIn this regime instantons are not suppressed. We focus on two representative\nchoices of gauge theory vacua, where the vacuum expectation values of the\nscalar fields are distributed either homogeneously or according to the Wigner\nsemi-circle law. In both cases we derive an all-instanton exact formula for the\nprepotential. As an application, we show that the gauge theory partition\nfunction on S^4 at large N localises around a Wigner distribution for the\nvacuum expectation values leading to a very simple expression in which the\ninstanton contribution becomes independent of the coupling constant."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The phases of 2D NCOS: We study the phases of the 1+1 dimensional Non-Commutative Open String theory\non a circle. We find that the length scale of non-commutativity increases at\nstrong coupling, the coupling in turn being dressed by a power of D-string\ncharge. The system is stringy at around this length scale, with dynamics\ninvolving an interplay between the open and wrapped closed strings sectors.\nAbove this energy scale and at strong coupling, and below it at weak coupling,\nthe system acquires a less stringy character. The near horizon geometry of the\nconfiguration exhibits several intriguing features, such as a flip in the\ndilaton field and the curvature scale, reflecting UV-IR mixing in\nnon-commutative dynamics. Two special points in the parameter measuring the\nsize of the circle are also identified.",
        "positive": "Particles within extended-spin space: Lagrangian connection: A spin-space extension is reviewed, which provides information on the\nstandard model. Its defining feature is a common matrix space that describes\nsymmetries and representations, and leads to limits on these, for given\ndimension. The model provides additional information on the standard model,\nwhose interpretation requires an interactive formulation. Within this program,\nwe compare the model's lepton-W generated interactive Lagrangian in\n(5+1)-dimensions, and that of the standard model. We derive the conditions for\nthis matching, which apply to other Lagrangian terms. We also discuss the\nadvantages of this extension, as compared to others."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Bumping into the species scale with the scalar potential: As a quantum gravity cut-off, the species scale $\\Lambda_s$ gets naturally\ncompared to the energy scale of a scalar potential $V$ in an EFT. In this note,\nwe compare the species scale, its rate $|\\nabla \\Lambda_s|/\\Lambda_s$ and their\nfield dependence, to those of a scalar potential. To that end, we first\nidentify a string compactification leading to a scalar potential with the same\nproperties as the species scale, namely, being positive, starting at a maximum\nin the bulk of field space and going asymptotically to zero. The trajectory\nfollowed in our 14-fields scalar potential is the steepest descent. Evaluating\nthe rate $|\\nabla V|/V$ along this path, we then observe a local maximum, or\nbump, a feature noticed as well for the species scale. We investigate the\norigin of this bump for the scalar potential, and compare it to that of the\nspecies scale.",
        "positive": "A braided Yang-Baxter Algebra in a Theory of two coupled Lattice Quantum\n  KdV: algebraic properties and ABA representations: A generalization of the Yang-Baxter algebra is found in quantizing the\nmonodromy matrix of two (m)KdV equations discretized on a space lattice. This\nbraided Yang-Baxter equation still ensures that the transfer matrix generates\noperators in involution which form the Cartan sub-algebra of the braided\nquantum group. Representations diagonalizing these operators are described\nthrough relying on an easy generalization of Algebraic Bethe Ansatz techniques.\nThe conjecture that this monodromy matrix algebra leads, {\\it in the cylinder\ncontinuum limit}, to a Perturbed Minimal Conformal Field Theory description is\nanalysed and supported."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Scattering in Topologically Massive Gravity, Chiral Gravity and the\n  corresponding Anyon-Anyon Potential Energy: We compute the tree-level scattering amplitude between two covariantly\nconserved sources in generic Cosmological Topologically Massive Gravity\naugmented with a Fierz-Pauli term that has three massive degrees of freedom. We\nconsider the Chiral Gravity limit in the anti-de Sitter space as well as the\nlimit of Flat-Space Chiral Gravity. We show that Chiral Gravity cannot be\nunitarily deformed with a Fierz-Pauli mass. We calculate the non-relativistic\npotential energy between two point-like spinning sources. In addition to the\nexpected mass-mass and spin-spin interactions, there are mass-spin interactions\ndue to the presence of the gravitational Chern-Simons term which induces spin\nfor any massive object and turns it to an anyon. We also show that the\ntree-level scattering is trivial for the Flat-Space Chiral Gravity.",
        "positive": "The k-Minkowski Spacetime: Trace, Classical Limit and uncertainty\n  Relations: Starting from a discussion of the concrete representations of the coordinates\nof the k-Minkowski spacetime (in 1+1 dimensions, for simplicity), we explicitly\ncompute the associated Weyl operators as functions of a pair of Schroedinger\noperators. This allows for explicitly computing the trace of a quantised\nfunction of spacetime. Moreover, we show that in the classical (i.e. large\nscale) limit the origin of space is a topologically isolated point, so that the\nresulting classical spacetime is disconnected. Finally we show that there exist\nstates with arbitrarily sharp simultaneous localisation in all the coordinates;\nin other words, an arbitrarily high energy density can be transferred to\nspacetime by means of localisation alone, which amounts to say that the model\nis not stable under localisation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Fluctuations and Curvature Singularities in Jackiw-Teitelboim\n  Gravity: The Jackiw-Teitelboim gravity with the matter degrees of freedom is\nconsidered. The classical model is exactly solvable and its solutions describe\nnon-trivial gravitational scattering of matter wave-packets. For huge amount of\nthe solutions the scattering space-times are free of curvature singularities.\nHowever, the quantum corrections to the field equations inevitably cause the\nformation of (thunderbolt) curvature singularities, vanishing only in the limit\n$\\hbar\\to 0$. The singularities cut the space-time and disallow propagation to\nthe future.The model is inspired by the dimensional reduction of 4-d pure\nEinstein gravity, restricted to the space-times with two commuting space-like\nKilling vectors. The matter degrees of freedom also stem from the 4-d ansatz.\nThe measures for the continual integrations are judiciously chosen and one loop\ncontributions (including the graviton and the dilaton ones) are evaluated. For\nthe number of the matter fields $N=24$ we obtain even the exact effective\naction, applying the DDK-procedure. The effective action is nonlocal, but the\nsemiclassical equations can be solved by using some theory of the Hankel\ntransformations.",
        "positive": "Reduction Redux of Adinkras: We show performing general \"0-brane reduction\" along an arbitrary fixed\ndirection in spacetime and applied to the starting point of minimal, off-shell\n4D, $\\cal N$ $=$ 1 irreducible supermultiplets, yields adinkras whose adjacency\nmatrices are among some of the special cases proposed by Kuznetsova, Rojas, and\nToppan. However, these more general reductions also can lead to `Garden\nAlgebra' structures beyond those described in their work. It is also shown that\nfor light-like directions, reduction to the 0-brane breaks the equality in the\nnumber of fermions and bosons for dynamical theories. This implies that\nlight-like reductions should be done instead to the space of 1-branes or\nequivalently to the worldsheet."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Heat-Kernel Asymptotics with Generalized Boundary Conditions: The quantization of gauge fields and gravitation on manifolds with boundary\nmakes it necessary to study boundary conditions which involve both normal and\ntangential derivatives of the quantized field. The resulting one-loop\ndivergences can be studied by means of the asymptotic expansion of the heat\nkernel, and a particular case of their general structure is here analyzed in\ndetail. The interior and boundary contributions to heat-kernel coefficients are\nwritten as linear combinations of all geometric invariants of the problem. The\nbehaviour of the differential operator and of the heat kernel under conformal\nrescalings of the background metric leads to recurrence relations which,\njointly with the boundary conditions, may determine these linear combinations.\nRemarkably, they are expressed in terms of universal functions, independent of\nthe dimension of the background and invariant under conformal rescalings, and\nnew geometric invariants contribute to heat-kernel asymptotics. Such technique\nis applied to the evaluation of the A(1) coefficient when the matrices\noccurring in the boundary operator commute with each other. Under these\nassumptions, the form of the A(3/2) and A(2) coefficients is obtained for the\nfirst time, and new equations among universal functions are derived. A\ngeneralized formula, relating asymptotic heat kernels with different boundary\nconditions, is also obtained.",
        "positive": "A Generally Covariant Theory of Quantized Dirac Field in de Sitter\n  Spacetime: As a sequel to our previous work\\cite{Feng2020}, we propose in this paper a\nquantization scheme for Dirac field in de Sitter spacetime. Our scheme is\ncovariant under both general transformations and Lorentz transformations. We\nfirst present a Hamiltonian structure, then quantize the field following the\nstandard approach of constrained systems. For the free field, the\ntime-dependent quantized Hamiltonian is diagonalized by Bogliubov\ntransformation and the eigen-states at each instant are interpreted as the\nobserved particle states at that instant. The measurable energy-momentum of\nobserved particle/antiparticles are the same as obtained for Klein-Gordon\nfield. Moreover, the energy-momentum also satisfies geodesic equation, a\nfeature justifying its measurability. As in \\cite{Feng2020}, though the\nmathematics is carried out in terms of conformal coordinates for the sake of\nconvenience, the whole theory can be transformed into any other coordinates\nbased on general covariance. It is concluded that particle/antiparticle states,\nsuch as vacuum states in particular are time-dependent and vacuum states at one\ntime evolves into non-vacuum states at later times. Formalism of perturbational\ncalculation is provided with an extended Dirac picture."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Heavy Quark Free-Energy at T<Tc in AdS/QCD: Starting with the modified AdS/QCD metric developed in Ref.[1] we use the\nNambu-Goto action to obtain the free energy of a quark-antiquark pair at T<Tc,\nfor which we show that the effective string tension goes to zero at Tc=154MeV.",
        "positive": "Wightman function and the Casimir effect for a Robin sphere in a\n  constant curvature space: We evaluate the Wightman function, the mean field squared and the vacuum\nexpectation value (VEV) of the energy-momentum tensor for a scalar field with\nRobin boundary condition on a spherical shell in the background of a constant\nnegative curvature space. For the coefficient in the boundary condition there\nis a critical value above which the scalar vacuum becomes unstable. In both\ninterior and exterior regions, the VEVs are decomposed into the boundary-free\nand sphere-induced contributions. For the latter, rapidly convergent integral\nrepresentations are provided. In the region inside the sphere, the eigenvalues\nare expressed in terms of the zeros of the combination of the associated\nLegendre function and its derivative and the decomposition is achieved by\nmaking use of the Abel-Plana type summation formula for the series over these\nzeros. The sphere-induced contribution to the VEV of the field squared is\nnegative for Dirichlet boundary condition and positive for Neumann one. At\ndistances from the sphere larger than the curvature scale of the background\nspace the suppression of the vacuum fluctuations in the gravitational field\ncorresponding to the negative curvature space is stronger compared with the\ncase of the Minkowskian bulk. In particular, the decay of the VEVs with the\ndistance is exponential for both massive and massless fields. The corresponding\nresults are generalized for spaces with spherical bubbles and for cosmological\nmodels with negative curvature spaces."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Emergent Dynamics of Spacetime and Matter from a Topological Phase: In this paper, we present a new theoretical scenario in which both dynamical\nDirac fermions and Einstein's gravity with a positive cosmological constant and\ntorsion emerge via a spontaneous symmetry breaking in a topological phase. This\nphase does not contain any local propagating degrees of freedom and is\ndescribed by a metric-independent fermionic gauge theory, which is invariant\nunder the de Sitter group. After breaking this group to its Lorentz subgroup\nthrough a dynamical Higgs mechanism, we show that fermions become dynamical and\nmassive while the dynamics of the locally Lorentz-invariant spacetime can be\ninduced via the condensation of the spinor field. Within our theory, both the\nDirac mass and the Newton's constant of gravitation naturally emerge through\nwell-known physical mechanisms.",
        "positive": "Comment on ``Non-thermalizability of a Quantum Field Theory'': We point out that the claims made in the paper ``Non-thermalizability of a\nQuantum Field Theory'' (hep-th/9802008) by C. R. Hagen are irrelevant to our\nrecent results concerning large gauge invariance of the effective action in\nthermal QED."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A model for gauged skyrmions with low binding energies: We consider gauged skyrmions with boundary conditions which break the gauge\nfrom $\\mathrm{SU}(2)$ to $\\mathrm{U}(1)$ in models derived from Yang-Mills\ntheory. After deriving general topological energy bounds, we approximate charge\n$1$ energy minimisers using KvBLL calorons with non-trivial asymptotic\nholonomy, use them to calibrate the model to optimise the ratio of energy to\nlower bound, and compare them with solutions to full numerical simulation.\nSkyrmions from calorons with non-trivial asymptotic holonomy exhibit a non-zero\nmagnetic dipole moment, which we calculate explicitly, and compare with\nexperimental values for the proton and the neutron. We thus propose a way to\ndevelop a physically realistic Skyrme-Maxwell theory, with the potential for\nexhibiting low binding energies.",
        "positive": "Unimodular Gravity in Covariant Formalism: In this short note we study unimodular gravity in Weyl-De Donder formalism.\nWe find corresponding Hamiltonian and study consequence of the unimodular\nconstraint on the conjugate covariant momenta. We also find covariant\nHamiltonian for Henneaux-Teitelboim unimodular action and study corresponding\nequations of motion."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The solution to Slavnov-Taylor identities in D4 N=1 SYM: D4 N=1 SYM with an arbitrary chiral background superfield as the gauge\ncoupling is considered. The solution to Slavnov-Taylor identities has been\ngiven. It has been shown that the solution is unique and allows us to restrict\nthe gauge part of the effective action. Under the effective action in this\npaper we mean the 1PI diagram generator.",
        "positive": "Dark energy induced by neutrino mixing: The energy content of the vacuum condensate induced by the neutrino mixing is\ninterpreted as dynamically evolving dark energy."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Classical Worldsheets for String Scattering on Flat and AdS Spacetime: We present a study of the worldsheets that describe the classical limit of\nvarious string scattering processes. Our main focus is on string scattering in\nAdS spacetime because of its relation via the AdS/CFT correspondence to gluon\nscattering in {\\cal N}=4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory. But we also consider\nanalogous processes in flat Minkowski spacetime which we compare to the AdS\ncase. In addition to scattering of string by string we also find and study\nworldsheets describing the scattering of a string by external sources.",
        "positive": "Rotational Perturbations of Friedmann-Robertson-Walker Type Brane-World\n  Cosmological Models: First order rotational perturbations of the Friedmann-Robertson-Walker metric\nare considered in the framework of the brane-world cosmological models. A\nrotation equation, relating the perturbations of the metric tensor to the\nangular velocity of the matter on the brane is derived under the assumption of\nslow rotation. The mathematical structure of the rotation equation imposes\nstrong restrictions on the temporal and spatial dependence of the brane matter\nangular velocity. The study of the integrable cases of the rotation equation\nleads to three distinct models, which are considered in detail. As a general\nresult we find that, similarly to the general relativistic case, the rotational\nperturbations decay due to the expansion of the matter on the brane. One of the\nobtained consistency conditions leads to a particular, purely inflationary\nbrane-world cosmological model, with the cosmological fluid obeying a\nnon-linear barotropic equation of state."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Causal dynamical triangulation for non-critical open-closed string field\n  theory: We extend the 2 dimensional Causal Dynamical Triangulation (CDT) model from\nthe usual model of closed string to the one of open-closed string. The\nmatrix-vector model describing the loop gas model is modified so as to possess\nthe nature of the CDT, i.e. the time foliation structure. Stochastic\nquantization method produces interactions of loop and line variables similar to\nthose in the non-critical open-closed string field theories. By taking an\nappropriate scaling, we realize an extended model of the generalized CDT\n(GCDT), which keeps the causality in a broad sense.",
        "positive": "Correlation functions of spinor current multiplets in ${\\mathcal N}=1$\n  superconformal theory: We consider ${\\mathcal N}=1$ superconformal field theories in four dimensions\npossessing an additional conserved spinor current multiplet $S_{\\alpha}$ and\nstudy three-point functions involving such an operator. A conserved spinor\ncurrent multiplet naturally exists in superconformal theories with ${\\mathcal\nN}=2$ supersymmetry and contains the current of the second supersymmetry.\nHowever, we do not assume ${\\mathcal N}=2$ supersymmetry. We show that the\nthree-point function of two spinor current multiplets and the ${\\mathcal N}=1$\nsupercurrent depends on three independent tensor structures and, in general, is\nnot contained in the three-point function of the ${\\mathcal N}=2$ supercurrent.\nIt then follows, based on symmetry considerations only, that the existence of\none more Grassmann odd current multiplet in ${\\mathcal N}=1$ superconformal\nfield theory does not necessarily imply ${\\mathcal N}=2$ superconformal\nsymmetry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Nonlinear Realization of N=2 Superconformal Symmetry and Brane Effective\n  Actions: Due to the incompatibility of the nonlinear realization of superconformal\nsymmetry and dilatation symmetry with the dilaton as the compensator field, in\nthe present paper it shows an alternative mechanism of spontaneous breaking the\nN=2 superconformal symmetry to the N=0 case. By using the approach of nonlinear\ntransformations it is found that it leads to a space-filling brane theory with\nWeyl scale W(1,3) symmetry. The dynamics of the resulting Weyl scale invariant\nbrane, along with that of other Nambu-Goldstone fields, is derived in terms of\nthe building blocks of the vierbein and the covariant derivative from the\nMaurer-Cartan oneforms. A general coupling of the matter fields localized on\nthe brane world volume to these NG fields is also constructed.",
        "positive": "Scalar diagrammatic rules for Born amplitudes in QCD: We show that all Born amplitudes in QCD can be calculated from scalar\npropagators and a set of three- and four-valent vertices. In particular, our\napproach includes amplitudes with any number of quark pairs. The quarks may be\nmassless or massive. The proof of the formalism is given entirely within\nquantum field theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Worldsheet Formalism for Decoupling Limits in String Theory: We study the bosonic sector of a decoupling limit of type IIA superstring\ntheory, where a background Ramond-Ramond one-form is fined tuned to its\ncritical value, such that it cancels the associated background D0-brane\ntension. The light excitations in this critical limit are D0-branes, whose\ndynamics are described by Banks-Fischler-Shenker-Susskind (BFSS) Matrix theory\nthat corresponds to M-theory in the Discrete Light-Cone Quantization (DLCQ). We\ndevelop the worldsheet formalism for the fundamental string in the same\ncritical limit of type IIA superstring theory. We show that the fundamental\nstring has a nonrelativistic worldsheet, whose topology is described by nodal\nRiemann spheres as in ambitwistor string theory. We study the T-duality\ntransformations of this string sigma model and provide a worldsheet derivation\nfor the recently revived and expanded duality web that unifies a zoo of\ndecoupling limits in type II superstring theories. By matching the string\nworldsheet actions, we demonstrate how some of these decoupling limits are\nrelated to tensionless (and ambitwistor) string theory, Carrollian string\ntheory, and the Spin Matrix limits of the AdS/CFT correspondence.",
        "positive": "Moduli Stabilization in Heterotic $M$-theory: We examine the stabilization of the two typical moduli, the length $\\rho$ of\nthe eleventh segment and the volume $V$ of the internal six manifold, in\ncompactified heterotic $M$-theory. It is shown that, under certain conditions,\nthe phenomenologically favored vacuum expectation values of $\\rho$ and $V$ can\nbe obtained by the combined effects of multi-gaugino condensations on the\nhidden wall and the membrane instantons wrapping the three cycle of the\ninternal six manifold."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Component $d=6$ Born-Infeld theory with $N=(2,0)\\rightarrow N=(1,0)$\n  supersymmetry breaking: The formalism of nonlinear realizations is used to construct a theory with\n$1/2$ partial breaking of global supersymmetry with the $N=(1,0)$, $d=6$\nabelian vector multiplet as a Goldstone superfield. Much like the case of the\n$N=2$, $d=4$ Born-Infeld theory, proper irreducibility conditions of the\nmultiplet are selected by the invariance with respect to the external\nautomorphisms of the Poincar\\'e superalgebra. They are found in the lowest\nnontrivial order in the auxiliary field. The fermionic contributions to the\nBianchi identity are restored by assuming its covariance with respect to broken\nsupersymmetry. The invariance of the action with respect to unbroken\nsupersymmetry is checked in the lowest order in the fermionic fields. The\nsupersymmetry preserving reduction of the $d=6$ action to four dimensions is\nperformed, resulting in the $N=4$, $d=4$ Born-Infeld theory. As expected, the\nreduced action enjoys $U(1)$ self-duality.",
        "positive": "Vacuum polarization and induced Maxwell and Kalb-Ramond effective action\n  in very special relativity: This work investigates the implications of very special relativity (VSR) on\nthe calculation of vacuum polarization for fermions in the presence of Maxwell\nand Kalb-Ramond gauge fields in four-dimensional spacetime. We derive the\n$SIM(2)$-covariant gauge theory associated with an Abelian antisymmetric\n2-tensor and its corresponding field strength. We demonstrate that the free\nVSR-Kalb-Ramond electrodynamics is equivalent to a massive scalar field with a\nsingle polarization. Furthermore, we determine an explicit expression for the\neffective action involving Maxwell and Kalb-Ramond fields due to fermionic\nvacuum polarization at one-loop order. The quantum corrections generate\ndivergences free of nonlocal terms only in the VSR-Maxwell sector. At the same\ntime, we observe UV/IR mixing divergences due to the entanglement of\nVSR-nonlocal effects with quantum higher-derivative terms for the Kalb-Ramond\nfield. However, in the lower energy limit, the effective action can be\nrenormalized like in the Lorentz invariant case."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Multi-Field Inflation on the Landscape: We examine a wide class of multi-field inflationary models based on fields\nthat decay or stabilize during inflation in a staggered fashion. The fields\ndriving assisted inflation are on flat, short stretches, before they encounter\na sharp drop; whenever a field encounters such a drop due to its slow roll\nevolution, its energy is transferred to other degrees of freedom, i.e.\nradiation. The rate at which fields decay is determined dynamically and it is\nnot a free parameter in this class of models. To compute observables, we\ngeneralize the analytic framework of staggered inflation, allowing for more\ngeneral initial conditions and varying potentials. By searching for generic\nsituations arising on the landscape, we arrive at a setup involving linear or\nhilltop potentials and evenly spread out initial field values. This scenario is\nnot more fine tuned than large-field models, despite the fact that many more\ndegrees of freedom are involved. Further, the $\\eta$-problem can be alleviated.\n  The additional decrease of the potential energy caused by the decay of fields\nprovides leading order contribution to observables, such as the scalar and\ntensor spectral index or the tensor to scalar ratio, for which we derive\ngeneral expressions. We compare the predictions with WMAP5 constraints and find\nthat hilltop potentials are borderline ruled out at the $2\\sigma$-level, while\nlinear potentials are in excellent agreement with observations. We further\ncomment on additional sources of gravitational waves and non-Gaussianities that\ncould serve as a smoking gun for staggered inflation.",
        "positive": "Full Phase Diagram of the Massive Gross-Neveu Model: The massive Gross-Neveu model is solved in the large N limit at finite\ntemperature and chemical potential. The scalar potential is given in terms of\nJacobi elliptic functions. It contains three parameters which are determined by\ntranscendental equations. Self-consistency of the scalar potential is proved.\nThe phase diagram for non-zero bare quark mass is found to contain a\nkink-antikink crystal phase as well as a massive fermion gas phase featuring a\ncross-over from light to heavy effective fermion mass. For zero bare quark mass\nwe recover the three known phases kink-antikink crystal, massless fermion gas,\nand massive fermion gas. All phase transitions are shown to be of second order.\nEquations for the phase boundaries are given and solved numerically.\nImplications on condensed matter physics are indicated where our results\ngeneralize the bipolaron lattice in non-degenerate conducting polymers to\nfinite temperature."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Rational vs Polynomial Character of W$_n^l$-Algebras: The constraints proposed recently by Bershadsky to produce $W^l_n$ algebras\nare a mixture of first and second class constraints and are degenerate. We show\nthat they admit a first-class subsystem from which they can be recovered by\ngauge-fixing, and that the non-degenerate constraints can be handled by\nprevious methods. The degenerate constraints present a new situation in which\nthe natural primary field basis for the gauge-invariants is rational rather\nthan polynomial. We give an algorithm for constructing the rational basis and\nconverting the base elements to polynomials.",
        "positive": "Quantum Information Approaches to Quantum Gravity: In this thesis we apply techniques from quantum information theory to study\nquantum gravity within the framework of the anti-de Sitter / conformal field\ntheory correspondence (AdS/CFT). Through AdS/CFT, progress has been made in\nunderstanding the structure of entanglement in quantum field theories, and in\nhow gravitational physics can emerge from these structures. However, this\nunderstanding is far from complete and will require the development of new\ntools to quantify correlations in CFT.\n  This thesis presents refinements of a duality between operator product\nexpansion (OPE) blocks in the CFT, giving the contribution of a conformal\nfamily to the OPE, and geodesic integrated fields in AdS which are\ndiffeomorphism invariant quantities. This duality was originally discovered in\nthe maximally symmetric setting of pure AdS dual to the CFT ground state. In\nless symmetric states the duality must be modified. Working with excited states\nwithin AdS$_3$/CFT$_2$, this thesis shows how the OPE block decomposes into\nmore fine-grained CFT observables that are dual to AdS fields integrated over\nnon-minimal geodesics.\n  Additionally, this thesis contains results on the dynamics of entanglement\nmeasures for general quantum systems. Results are presented for the family of\nquantum R\\'enyi entropies and entanglement negativity. R\\'enyi entropies are\nstudied for general dynamics by imposing special initial conditions. Around\npure, separable initial states, all R\\'enyi entropies grow with the same\ntimescale at leading, and next-to-leading order. Mathematical tools are\ndeveloped for the differentiation of non-analytic matrix functions with respect\nto constrained arguments and are used to construct analytic expressions for\nderivatives of negativity. We establish bounds on the rate of change of state\ndistinguishability and the rate of entanglement growth for closed systems.\nNote: Abstract shortened."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Duality in Scalar Field Theory on Noncommutative Phase Spaces: We describe a novel duality symmetry of Phi(4)-theory defined on\nnoncommutative Euclidean space and with noncommuting momentum coordinates. This\nduality acts on the fields by Fourier transformation and scaling. It is an\nextension, to interactions defined with a star-product, of that which arises in\nquantum field theories of non-interacting scalar particles coupled to a\nconstant background electromagnetic field. The dual models are in general of\nthe same original form but with transformed coupling parameters, while in\ncertain special cases all parameters are essentially unchanged. Using a\nparticular regualarization we show, to all orders of perturbation theory, that\nthat this duality also persists at the quantum level. We also point out various\nother properties of this class of noncommutative field theories.",
        "positive": "Private life of the Liouville field that causes new anomalies in the\n  Nambu-Goto string: I consider higher-order terms of the Seeley expansion of the heat kernel,\nwhich for smooth metrics are suppressed as inverse powers of the UV cutoff\n$\\Lambda$, and demonstrate how they result in an anomalous contribution to the\nstring effective action after doing uncertainties $\\Lambda^{-2}\\times\n\\Lambda^2$. For the Polyakov string these anomalies precisely reproduce at one\nloop the result of KPZ-DDK obtained for the Liouville theory by the conformal\nfield theory technique. For the Nambu-Goto string I find a deviation from this\nresult which shows that the two string formulations may differ."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-BPS domain wall configurations in a supersymmetric model: We study the time evolution of configurations in the form of two parallel\ndomain walls moving towards each other in a supersymmetric field model. The\nconfigurations involved are not BPS-saturated. It is found that for such\ncollisions there exists some critical value $v_{cr}\\approx0.9120$ of the\ninitial velocity v_i of the walls. At v_i<v_{cr} we observed reflection, that\nwas not followed by change of vacuum states sequence. In collisions with\nv_i>v_{cr} the sequence of vacuum states changes. The results of the numerical\nsimulations are in agreement with \"potential\" consideration.",
        "positive": "Higher-Derivative Supergravity and Moduli Stabilization: We review the ghost-free four-derivative terms for chiral superfields in\n$\\mathcal{N}=1$ supersymmetry and supergravity. These terms induce cubic\npolynomial equations of motion for the chiral auxiliary fields and correct the\nscalar potential. We discuss the different solutions and argue that only one of\nthem is consistent with the principles of effective field theory. Special\nattention is paid to the corrections along flat directions which can be\nstabilized or destabilized by the higher-derivative terms. We then compute\nthese higher-derivative terms explicitly for the type IIB string compactified\non a Calabi-Yau orientifold with fluxes via Kaluza-Klein reducing the\n$(\\alpha')^3 R^4$ corrections in ten dimensions for the respective\n$\\mathcal{N}=1$ K\\\"{a}hler moduli sector. We prove that together with flux and\nthe known $(\\alpha')^3$-corrections the higher-derivative term stabilizes all\nCalabi-Yau manifolds with positive Euler number, provided the sign of the new\ncorrection is negative."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Basso-Dixon Correlators in Two-Dimensional Fishnet CFT: We compute explicitly the two-dimensional version of Basso-Dixon type\nintegrals for the planar four-point correlation functions given by conformal\nfishnet Feynman graphs. These diagrams are represented by a fragment of a\nregular square lattice of power-like propagators, arising in the recently\nproposed integrable bi-scalar fishnet CFT. The formula is derived from first\nprinciples, using the formalism of separated variables in integrable SL(2,C)\nspin chain. It is generalized to anisotropic fishnet, with different powers for\npropagators in two directions of the lattice.",
        "positive": "Generalized gravitational entropy of probe branes: flavor entanglement\n  holographically: The notion of generalized gravitational entropy introduced by Lewkowycz and\nMaldacena allows, via the AdS/CFT correspondence, to calculate CFT entanglement\nentropies. We adapt the method to the case where flavor branes are present and\ntreated in the probe approximation. This allows to calculate the leading flavor\ncorrection to the CFT entanglement entropy from the on-shell action of the\nprobe, while dealing with the backreaction is avoided entirely and from the\noutset. As an application we give concise derivations for the contribution of\nmassless and massive flavor degrees of freedom to the entanglement entropy in\nN=4 SYM theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Counting charged massless states in the (0,2) heterotic CFT/geometry\n  connection: We use simple current techniques and their relation to orbifolds with\ndiscrete torsion for studying the (0,2) CFT/geometry duality with non-rational\ninternal N=2 SCFTs. Explicit formulas for the charged spectra of heterotic\nSO(10) GUT models are computed in terms of their extended Poincar\\'{e}\npolynomials and the complementary Poincar\\'{e} polynomial which can be computed\nin terms of the elliptic genera. While non-BPS states contribute to the charged\nspectrum, their contributions can be determined also for non-rational cases.\nFor model building, with generalizations to SU(5) and SM gauge groups, one can\ntake advantage of the large class of Landau-Ginzburg orbifold examples.",
        "positive": "Particle Mechanics Models with W-symmetries: We introduce a particle mechanics model with Sp($2M$) gauge invariance.\nDifferent partial gauge-fixings by means of sl(2) embeddings on the gauge\nalgebra lead to reduced models which are invariant under diffeomorphisms and\nclassical non-linear \\W-transformations as the residual gauge symmetries thus\nproviding a set of models of gauge and matter fields coupled in a \\W-invariant\nway. The equations of motion for the matter variables give Lax operators in a\nmatrix form. We examine several examples in detail and discuss the issue of\nintegration of infinitesimal \\W-transformations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "BRST invariant scalar and vector operators in the\n  $SU\\left(2\\right)\\times U\\left(1\\right)$ Higgs model: We present a set of BRST invariant composite operators in the\n$SU\\left(2\\right)\\times U\\left(1\\right)$ Higgs model which exhibit an overlap\nwith the observable scalar and vector particle states of the theory. Some of\nthese operators are non-local in the standard formulation of the Higgs model,\nhowever, we show that they can be localized using the Stuckelberg trick, this\nwithout changing the physical content. These operators provide thus a BRST\ninvariant resolution of the physical spectrum of the theory, thereby giving the\nnext step in constructing a manifestly BRST invariant formulation of the\nparticle spectrum of the Electroweak and Standard model.",
        "positive": "Do All BPS Black Hole Microstates Carry Zero Angular Momentum?: From the analysis of the near horizon geometry and supersymmetry algebra it\nhas been argued that all the microstates of single centered BPS black holes\nwith four unbroken supersymmetries carry zero angular momentum in the region of\nthe moduli space where the black hole description is valid. A stronger form of\nthe conjecture would be that the result holds for any sufficiently generic\npoint in the moduli space. In this paper we set out to test this conjecture for\na class of black hole microstates in type II string theory on $T^6$,\nrepresented by four stacks of D-branes wrapped on various cycles of $T^6$. For\nthis system the above conjecture translates to the statement that the moduli\nspace of classical vacua must be a collection of points. Explicit analysis of\nsystems carrying a low number of D-branes supports this conjecture."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hologram of a pure state black hole: In this paper we extend the HKLL holographic smearing function method to\nreconstruct (quasi)local AdS bulk scalar observables in the background of a\nlarge AdS black hole formed by null shell collapse (a \"pure state\" black hole),\nfrom the dual CFT which is undergoing a sudden quench. In particular, we probe\nthe near horizon and sub-horizon bulk locality. First we construct local bulk\noperators from the CFT in the leading semiclassical limit,\n$N\\rightarrow\\infty$. Then we look at effects due to the finiteness of $N$,\nwhere we propose a suitable coarse-graining prescription involving early and\nlate time cut-offs to define semiclassical bulk observables which are\napproximately local; their departure from locality being non-perturbatively\nsmall in $N$. Our results have important implications on the black hole\ninformation problem.",
        "positive": "Multivalued Fields on the Complex Plane and Braid Group Statistics: We study in this paper a theory of free anyons associated to free conformal\nfield theories defined on Riemann surfaces with a discrete and nonabelian group\nof authomorphisms. The particles are exchanged according to a nonabelian\nstatistics, in which the $R-$matrix satisfy a multiparametric generalization of\nthe usual Yang$-$Baxter equations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fibrations and Hasse diagrams for 6d SCFTs: We study the full moduli space of vacua of 6d worldvolume SCFTs on M5 branes\nprobing an $A$-type singularity, focusing on the geometric incarnation of the\ndiscrete gauging mechanism which acts as a discrete quotient on the Higgs\nbranch fibered over the tensor branch. We combine insights from brane\nconstructions and magnetic quiver techniques, in which discrete gauging is\nimplemented through the concept of decoration introduced in [arXiv:2202.01218].\nWe discover and characterize new transverse slices between phases of 6d SCFTs,\nidentifying some of them with a family of isolated symplectic singularities\nrecently discovered in [arXiv:2112.15494], and conjecturing the existence of\ntwo new isolated symplectic singularities.",
        "positive": "Konishi anomaly and N=1 effective superpotentials from matrix models: We discuss the restrictions imposed by the Konishi anomaly on the matrix\nmodel approach to the calculation of the effective superpotentials in N=1 SUSY\ngauge theories with different matter content. It is shown that they correspond\nto the anomaly deformed Virasoro $L_0$ constraints ."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Metastable de Sitter vacua from critical scalar theory: Studying the critical scalar theory in four dimensional Euclidean space with\nthe potential term $-g\\phi^4$ we show that the theory can not be analytically\ncontinued through g=0 from g<0 region to g>0 region. For g>0 although energy is\nnot bounded from below but there exist a classical trajectory with an AdS5\nmoduli space, corresponding to a metastable local minima of the action.\n  The fluctuation around this solution is governed by a minimally coupled\nscalar theory on four dimensional de Sitter background with a reversed Mexican\nhat potential. Since in the weak coupling limit, the partition function picks\nup contribution only around classical solutions, one can assume that our de\nSitter universe corresponds to that local minima which lifetime increases\nexponentially as the coupling constant tends to zero. Similar results is\nobtained in the case of critical scalar theory coupled to U(1) gauge field\nwhich is essential for people living on flat Euclidean space to observe a de\nSitter background by optical instruments.",
        "positive": "D=10 Chiral Tensionless Super p-Branes: We consider a model for tensionless (null) super p-branes with N chiral\nsupersymmetries in ten dimensional flat space-time. After establishing the\nsymmetries of the action, we give the general solution of the classical\nequations of motion in a particular gauge. In the case of a null superstring\n(p=1) we find the general solution in an arbitrary gauge. Then, using a\nharmonic superspace approach, the initial algebra of first and second class\nconstraints is converted into an algebra of Lorentz-covariant, BFV-irreducible,\nfirst class constraints only. The corresponding BRST charge is as for a first\nrank dynamical system."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Manifestation of a nontrivial vacuum in discrete light cone quantization: We study a (1+1)-dimensional $\\lambda\\phi^4$ model with a light-cone zero\nmode and constant external source to describe spontaneous symmetry breaking. In\nthe broken phase, we find degenerate vacua and discuss their stability based on\neffective-potential analysis. The vacuum triviality is spurious in the broken\nphase because these states have lower energy than Fock vacuum. Our results are\nbased on the variational principle.",
        "positive": "Linear waves around static dyon solution of nonlinear electrodynamics: Nonlinear electrodynamics model in hypercomplex form is considered. Its\nlinearization around a solution is obtained. The appropriate problem for linear\nwaves around static dyon solution (SDS) of Born-Infeld electrodynamics is\ninvestigated. Two types of wave scattering on SDS are considered: dissipative\n(with momentum transmission from plane wave to SDS) and non-dissipative (for\nSDS imbedded to an equilibrium wave background). Resonance phenomenon in the\nproblem is discovered and some resonance frequencies are obtained by using a\nnumerical method. The form of resonance wave modes are discussed. The sum of a\nplane wave (as the elementary component of the wave background) with one\nresonance mode is considered. The appropriate energy density is investigated at\ninfinity. The averaged energy density is demonstrated to have the term\nproportional to inverse radius. This fact allow to consider such field\nconfigurations as the cause of gravitational interaction, taking into account\nthe effective Riemann space effect discovered in my previous works. A behavior\nof the linearized solution at origin of coordinates and the problem beyond the\nlinearization are discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "ADE-Quiver Theories and Mirror Symmetry: We show that the Higgs branch of a four-dimensional Yang-Mills theory, with\ngauge and matter content summarised by an ADE quiver diagram, is identical to\nthe generalised Coulomb branch of a four-dimensional superconformal strongly\ncoupled gauge theory with ADE global symmetry. This equivalence suggests the\nexistence of a mirror symmetry between the quiver theories and the strongly\ncoupled theories.",
        "positive": "Effective potential (in)stability and lower bounds on the scalar (Higgs)\n  mass: It is widely believed that the top loop corrections to the Higgs effective\npotential destabilise the electroweak (EW) vacuum and that, imposing stability,\nlower bounds on the Higgs mass can be derived. With the help of a scalar-Yukawa\nmodel, we show that this apparent instability is due to the extrapolation of\nthe potential into a region where it is no longer valid. Stability turns out to\nbe an intrinsic property of the theory (rather than an additional constraint to\nbe imposed on it). However, lower bounds for the Higgs mass can still be\nderived with the help of a criterium dictated by the properties of the\npotential itself. If the scale of new physics lies in the Tev region, sizeable\ndifferences with the usual bounds are found. Finally, our results exclude the\nalternative meta-stability scenario, according to which we might be living in a\nsufficiently long lived meta-stable EW vacuum."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Anti de Sitter black holes and branes in dynamical Chern-Simons gravity:\n  perturbations, stability and the hydrodynamic modes: Dynamical Chern-Simons (DCS) theory is an extension of General Relativity in\nwhich the gravitational field is coupled to a scalar field through a parity\nviolating term. We study perturbations of anti-de Sitter black holes and branes\nin such a theory, and show that the relevant equations reduce to a set of\ncoupled ODEs which can be solved efficiently through a series expansion. We\nprove numerically that black holes and branes in DCS gravity are stable against\ngravitational and scalar perturbations in the entire parameter space.\nFurthermore, by applying the AdS/CFT duality, we relate black hole\nperturbations to hydrodynamic quantities in the dual field theory, which is a\n(2+1)-dimensional isotropic fluid with broken spatial parity. The Chern-Simons\nterm does not affect the entropy to viscosity ratio and the relaxation time,\nbut instead quantities that enter the shear mode at order q^4 in the small\nmomentum limit, for example the Hall viscosity and other quantities related to\nsecond and third order hydrodynamics. We provide explicit corrections to the\ngravitational hydrodynamic mode to first relevant order in the couplings.",
        "positive": "Computational Tools for Cohomology of Toric Varieties: In this review, novel non-standard techniques for the computation of\ncohomology classes on toric varieties are summarized. After an introduction of\nthe basic definitions and properties of toric geometry, we discuss a specific\ncomputational algorithm for the determination of the dimension of line-bundle\nvalued cohomology groups on toric varieties. Applications to the computation of\nchiral massless matter spectra in string compactifications are discussed and,\nusing the software package cohomCalg, its utility is highlighted on a new\ntarget space dual pair of (0,2) heterotic string models."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Note on Hypercharge Flux, Anomalies, and U(1)s in F-theory GUTs: We study the consequences of cancellation of cubic Abelian anomalies in\nF-theory GUT models that utilise hypercharge flux in the presence of additional\nU(1) symmetries. We show that a mixed anomaly between the hypercharge and two\nU(1) gauge fields is not automatically canceled in local models based on the\nspectral cover and therefore imposes additional constraints on local models in\nF-theory that have not been accounted for so far. The constraints imply that\nthere are only two possible classes of models in F-theory GUTs which have\nfields on matter curves in non-complete GUT representations that are not\nvector-like under all U(1)s: the ones based on a 3+2 and 2+2+1 split. We\ncomment on some phenomenological implications of these results for realising\nNMSSM-like models from F-theory GUTs.",
        "positive": "Anomaly Free Non-Supersymmetric Large $N$ Gauge Theories from\n  Orientifolds: We construct anomaly free non-supersymmetric large N gauge theories from\norientifolds of Type IIB on C^3/G orbifolds. In particular, massless as well as\ntachyonic one-loop tadpoles are cancelled in these models. This is achieved by\nstarting with ${\\cal N}=1,2$ supersymmetric orientifolds with well defined\nworld-sheet description and including discrete torsion (which breaks\nsupersymmetry) in the orbifold action. In this way we obtain non-trivial\nnon-chiral as well as anomaly free chiral large N gauge theories. We point out\ncertain subtleties arising in the chiral cases. Subject to certain assumptions,\nthese theories are shown to have the property that computation of any M-point\ncorrelation function in these theories reduces to the corresponding computation\nin the parent ${\\cal N}=4$ oriented theory. This generalizes the analogous\nresults recently obtained in supersymmetric large N gauge theories from\norientifolds, as well as in (non)supersymmetric large N gauge theories without\norientifold planes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Gravity-Consistent Confinement of Fermions in Braneworld: In this manuscript, we discuss the confinement of the spin $\\frac{1}{2}$\nfield on a plethora of branewords models. Recently, in (Eur.Phys.J.C 80 (2020)\n5, 432), we studied the consistency of the Standard Model (SM) fields\nlocalization on braneworlds with the Einstein equation. In that paper, we\ndiscussed the consistency of the spinor field confinement and, by using a\nYukawa-like interaction given by $\\mathcal{L}_{int}\\propto f(y)\\bar{\\Psi}\\Psi$,\nwe obtained that the function must be defined as $f(y)\\propto e^{-A}A'$. This\nshape of the scalar function emerge from the requirement that the spin\n$\\frac{1}{2}$ (zero-mode) localization cannot modify the metric on bulk. This\nensures that the confinement of gravity on the brane is preserved. In the\npresent manuscript, we find a covariant scalar-coupling function that can\ngenerate this interaction. This provide a new mechanism for localizing fermion\nfields over the brane. We also discuss massive modes and we found some\ngravitational configuration where there are confined and discretized massive\nmodes.",
        "positive": "Quantum binding energies in the Skyrme model: A major problem in the Skyrme model is that the binding energy of skyrmions,\nwhich model nuclei, is too high by an order of magnitude. We show that the most\npopular solution to this problem, to construct models with zero classical\nbinding energy, still produces large binding energies when spin energy is\nincluded. We argue that it is thus necessary to include quantum effects. We\ncalculate the binding energy of skyrmions including the most simple quantum\ncorrection, that of vibrational modes in a harmonic approximation. We show that\nthis can give physically reasonable results for nucleon numbers N=1-8 thanks to\na remarkable cancellation between the strongly binding classical energy and the\nstrongly unbinding zero-point energy from vibrational modes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Static electromagnetic fields and charged black holes in general\n  covariant theory of Horava-Lifshitz gravity: In this paper, we study electromeganetic static spacetimes in the\nnonrelativisitc general covariant theory of the Horava-Lifshitz (HL) gravity,\nproposed recently by Horava and Melby-Thompson, and present all the electric\nstatic solutions, which represent the generalization of the Reissner-Nordstrom\nsolution found in Einstein's general relativity (GR). The global/local\nstructures of spacetimes in the HL theory in general are different from those\ngiven in GR, because the dispersion relations of test particles now contain\nhigh-order momentum terms, so the speeds of these particles are unbounded in\nthe ultraviolet (UV). As a result, the conception of light-cones defined in GR\nbecomes invalid and test particles do not follow geodesics. To study black\nholes in the HL theory, we adopt the geometrical optical approximations, and\ndefine a horizon as a (two-closed) surface that is free of spacetime\nsingularities and on which massless test particles are infinitely redshifted.\nWith such a definition, we show that some of our solutions give rise to\n(charged) black holes, although the radii of their horizons in general depend\non the energies of the test particles.",
        "positive": "Complete prepotentials of 5d higher rank theories: We generalize recent methods regarding the construction of complete\nprepotentials of five dimensional SCFTs to two classes of rank-$N$ theories,\ni.e. the $X_{1,N}$ and the UV fixed point of the $SU(N+1)_0+2(N+1)$F gauge\ntheories. Their complete prepotentials are consistently constructed starting\nfrom their weakly coupled description. The results are verified by employing UV\ndualities and decoupling of flavors from theories with known complete\nprepotentials. Applications of these results to the recent investigation of\nnon-supersymmetric conformal field theories from soft supersymmetric breaking\ndeformations are addressed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-MHV Tree Amplitudes in Gauge Theory: We show how all non-MHV tree-level amplitudes in 0 =< N =< 4 gauge theories\ncan be obtained directly from the known MHV amplitudes using the scalar graph\napproach of Cachazo, Svrcek and Witten. Generic amplitudes are given by sums of\ninequivalent scalar diagrams with MHV vertices. The novel feature of our method\nis that after the `Feynman rules' for scalar diagrams are used, together with a\nparticular choice of the reference spinor, no further helicity-spinor algebra\nis required to convert the results into a numerically usable form. Expressions\nfor all relevant individual diagrams are free of singularities at generic phase\nspace points, and amplitudes are manifestly Lorentz- (and gauge-) invariant. To\nillustrate the method, we derive expressions for n-point amplitudes with three\nnegative helicities carried by fermions and/or gluons. We also write down a\nsupersymmetric expression based on Nair's supervertex which gives rise to all\nsuch amplitudes in 0 =< N =< 4 gauge theories.",
        "positive": "Charged black holes in nonlinear massive gravity: We find static charged black hole solutions in nonlinear massive gravity. In\nthe parameter space of two gravitational potential parameters $(\\alpha, \\beta)$\nwe show that below the Compton wavelength the black hole solutions reduce to\nthat of Reissner-Nordstr\\\"om via the Vainshtein mechanism in the weak field\nlimit. In the simplest case with $\\alpha=\\beta=0$ the solution exhibits the\nvDVZ discontinuity but ordinary General Relativity is recovered deep inside the\nhorizon due to the existence of electric charge. For $\\alpha\\neq0$ and\n$\\beta=0$, the post-Newtonian parameter of the charged black hole evolves to\nthat of General Relativity via the Vainshtein mechanism within a macroscopic\ndistance; however, a logarithmic correction to the metric factor of the time\ncoordinate is obtained. When $\\alpha$ and $\\beta$ are both nonzero, there exist\ntwo branches of solutions depending on the positivity of $\\beta$. When\n$\\beta<0$, the strong coupling of the scalar graviton weakens gravity at\ndistances smaller than the Vainshtein radius. However, when $\\beta>0$ the\nmetric factors exhibit only small corrections compared to the solutions\nobtained in General Relativity, and under a particular choice of\n$\\beta=\\alpha^2/6$ the standard Reissner-Nordstr\\\"om-de Sitter solution is\nrecovered."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Two--Dimensional BF Model Quantized in the Axial Gauge: The two--dimensional topological BF model is quantized in the axial gauge. We\nshow that this theory is trivially ultraviolet finite and that the usual\ninfrared problem of the propagator of the scalar field in two dimensions is\nreplaced by an easily solvable long distances problem inherent to the axial\ngauge. It will also be shown that contrarily to the 3--dimensional case, the\naction principle cannot be completely replaced by the various Ward identities\nexpressing the symmetries of the model; some of the equation of motion are\nneeded.",
        "positive": "A note on sphere free energy of $p$-form gauge theory and Hodge duality: We consider a free $p$-form gauge theory on a $d$-dimensional sphere of\nradius $R$ and calculate its free energy. We perform the calculation for\ngeneric values of $p$ and obtain the free energy as a function of $d, p$ and\n$R$. The result contains a $\\log R$ term with coefficient proportional to\n$\\left(2p+2-d \\right)$, which is consistent with lack of conformal invariance\nfor $p$ form theories in dimensions other than $2p+2$. We also compare the\nresult for $p$-form and $(d-p-2)$-form theory which are classically Hodge dual\nto each other in $d$ dimensions and find that they agree for odd values of $d$.\nInstead, for even $d$, we find that the results disagree by an amount that is\nconsistent with the reported values in the literature."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A natural fuzzyness of de Sitter space-time: A non-commutative structure for de Sitter spacetime is naturally introduced\nby replacing (\"fuzzyfication\") the classical variables of the bulk in terms of\nthe dS analogs of the Pauli-Lubanski operators. The dimensionality of the fuzzy\nvariables is determined by a Compton length and the commutative limit is\nrecovered for distances much larger than the Compton distance. The choice of\nthe Compton length determines different scenarios. In scenario I the Compton\nlength is determined by the limiting Minkowski spacetime. A fuzzy dS in\nscenario I implies a lower bound (of the order of the Hubble mass) for the\nobserved masses of all massive particles (including massive neutrinos) of spin\ns>0. In scenario II the Compton length is fixed in the de Sitter spacetime\nitself and grossly determines the number of finite elements (\"pixels\" or\n\"granularity\") of a de Sitter spacetime of a given curvature.",
        "positive": "Black holes in 4D Einstein-Maxwell-Gauss-Bonnet gravity coupled with\n  scalar fields: Einstein-Maxwell-Gauss-Bonnet-axion theory in $4$-dimensional spacetime is\ninvestigated in this paper through a \"Kaluza-Klein-like\" process. Dual to\nsystems at finite temperature with background magnetic field on three\ndimensions, the four-dimensional dyonic black hole solution coupled with higher\nderivative terms is obtained. After the tensor-type perturbation is added, the\nshear viscosity to entropy density ratio is calculated at high temperature and\nlow temperature separately. The behaviour of shear viscosity to entropy density\nratio of uncharged black holes is found to be similar with that in\n$5$-dimensional spacetime, violating the Kovtun-Starinets-Son bound as well\nwhen temperature becomes lower. In addition, the main feature of this ratio\nremains almost unchanged in $4$ dimensions, which is characterised by\n$(T/\\Delta)^2$ at low temperature $T$, with $\\Delta$ proportional to the\ncoefficient $\\beta$ from scalar fields. The difficulty in causal analysis is\nalso discussed, which is mainly caused by the vanishing momentum term in\nequations of motion."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Bi-Local Field in Gravitational Shock Wave Background: The particles with almost light velocity are able to be sources of the\nshock-wave gravity (SWG). Then, for ultra-high-energy particles, there exist\ntwo-body scatterings such that one particle is scattered from the gravitational\nbackground produced by another particle. Since the spacetime of SWG is closely\nrelated to a pp-wave solution of AdS-type background, this type of interaction\nis also interesting in AdS dual gauge theories. From those viewpoints, the\nscattering of point particles or strings by the SWG were studied. In this\npaper, we study the case of the bi-local models, which are simple relativistic\nbound systems having a close relation with specific modes of open strings. In\nparticular, we analyze the bound-state effect on the scattering amplitudes,\nwhich describe the interaction between this model and SWG.",
        "positive": "On the Failure of Spin-Statistics Connection in Quantum Gravity: Many years ago Friedman and Sorkin [1] established the existence of certain\ntopological solitonic excitations in quantum gravity called (topological)\ngeons. Geons can have quantum numbers like charge and can be tensorial or\nspinorial having integer or half-odd integer spin. A striking result is that\ngeons can violate the canonical spin-statistics connection [2,3]. Such\nviolation induces novel physical effects at low energies. The latter will be\nsmall since the geon mass is expected to be of the order of Plank mass.\nNevertheless, these effects are very striking and include CPT and causality\nviolations and distortion of the cosmic microwave spectrum. Interesting\nrelations of geon dynamics to supersymmetry are also discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Constructing a supersymmetric generalization of the Gross-Neveu model: A class of 1+1 dimensional supersymmetric theories with four-fermionic\ninteraction will be built from scratch. The vacua of selected examples will be\nexamined in the 't Hooft limit and compared to the Gross-Neveu model.",
        "positive": "Analytic study of Gauss-Bonnet holographic superconductors in\n  Born-Infeld electrodynamics: Using Sturm-Liouville (SL) eigenvalue problem, we investigate several\nproperties of holographic s-wave superconductors in Gauss-Bonnet gravity with\nBorn-Infeld electrodynamics in the probe limit. Our analytic scheme has been\nfound to be in good agreement with the numerical results. From our analysis it\nis quite evident that the scalar hair formation at low temperatures is indeed\naffected by both the Gauss-Bonnet as well as the Born-Infeld coupling\nparameters. We also compute the critical exponent associated with the\ncondensation near the critical temperature. The value of the critical exponent\nthus obtained indeed suggests a universal mean field behavior."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Green's Function of the Supersymmetric D=1 Heat Equation: A rigorous treatment is given of the Green's function of the N=1\nsupersymmetric heat equation in one spatial dimension with a distribution\ninitial value. The asymptotic expansion of the supersymmetric Green's function\nas t tends to 0+ is also derived. The coefficients of the expansion generate\nall the members of the supersymmetric N=1 KdV hierarchy.",
        "positive": "Gauge Spinors and String Duality: When the gauge groups of the two heterotic string theories are broken, over\ntori, to their \"SO(16)x SO(16)\" subgroups, the winding modes correspond to\nrepresentations which are spinorial with respect to those subgroups. Globally,\nthe two subgroups are isomorphic neither to SO(16)x SO(16) nor to each other.\nAny attempt to formulate the T-duality of the two theories on any manifold more\ncomplicated than the product of a circle with a Euclidean space must therefore\ntake into account the possible non-existence of the relevant \"generalised spin\nstructure\". We give here a global formulation of T-duality in this case, and\ndiscuss examples where the duality seems to be obstructed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Ironing out the crease: The crease is a surface operator folded by a finite angle along an infinite\nline. Several realisations of it in the 6d ${\\mathcal N}=(2,0)$ theory are\nstudied here. It plays a role similar to the generalised quark-antiquark\npotential, or the cusp anomalous dimension, in gauge theories. We identify a\nfinite quantity that can be studied despite the conformal anomalies ubiquitous\nwith surface operators and evaluate it in free field theory and in the\nholographic dual. We also find a subtle difference between the infinite crease\nand its conformal transform to a compact observable comprised of two glued\nhemispheres, reminiscent of the circular Wilson loop. We prove by a novel\napplication of defect CFT techniques for the $SO(2,1)$ symmetry along the fold\nthat the near-BPS behaviour of the crease is determined as the derivative of\nthe compact observable with respect to its angle, as in the bremsstrahlung\nfunction. We also comment about the lightlike limit of the crease in Minkowski\nspace.",
        "positive": "Towards Positive Geometries of Massive Scalar field theories: Building on the prior work in [1] we locate a family of positive geometries\nin the kinematic space which are a specific class of convex realisations of the\nassociahedron. These realisations are obtained by scaling and translating the\nkinematic space associahedron discovered by by Arkani-Hamed, Bai, He and Yan\n(ABHY). We call the resulting polytopes, deformed realisations of the\nassociahedron. The deformed realisations shed new light on the CHY formula. One\nof the striking discoveries in [2] was the fact that the CHY scattering\nequations generate diffeomorphism between the (compactified) CHY moduli space\nand the ABHY associahedron. As we argue, the deformed realisation of the\nassociahedron can also be interpreted as an diffeomorphic image of the CHY\nmoduli space under scattering equations that we call deformed scattering\nequations. The canonical form in the kinematic space is thus once again the\npush-forward of the Parke-Taylor form . A natural off-shoot of our analysis is\nthe universality of the Parke-Taylor form as a CHY Integrand for a class of\n(tree-level and planar) multi-scalar field amplitudes. These ideas help us in\nproving the existence of positive geometries for certain specific multi-scalar\ninteractions. We prove that in a field theory with a massless and a massive\nbi-adjoint scalar fields which interact via cubic interaction, the tree-level\nS-matrix with massless external states and at most one massive propagator is a\nweighted sum over the canonical forms defined by certain deformed realisations\nof the associahedron. Finally, we show that these ideas admit an extension to\none-loop. In particular, the one loop S-matrix integrand with at most one\nmassive propagator is a weighted sum over canonical forms of a family of\ndeformed realisations of the type-D cluster polytope, discovered in [3,4]."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Geometry and Toplogy of Solitons: Basic concepts and definitions in differential geometry and topology which\nare important in the theory of solitons and instantons are reviewed. Many\nexamples from soliton theory are discussed briefly, in order to highlight the\napplication of various geometrical concepts and techniques.",
        "positive": "Topological Field Theories and Space-Time Singularity: Based on a study of recently proposed solution of 2 dim. black hole we argue\nthat the space-time singularities of general relativity may be described by\ntopological field theories (TFTs). We also argue that in general TFT is a field\ntheory which decsribes singular configurations with a reduced holonomy in its\nfield space."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Black Hole Evaporation and Large Extra Dimensions: We study the evaporation of black holes in space-times with extra dimensions\nof size L. We first obtain a potential which describes the expected behaviors\nof very large and very small black holes and then show that a (first order)\nphase transition, possibly signaled by an outburst of energy, occurs in the\nsystem when the horizon shrinks below L from a larger value. This is related to\nboth a change in the topology of the horizon and the restoring of the\ntranslational symmetry along the extra dimensions.",
        "positive": "Multi-instantons in large N Matrix Quantum Mechanics: We calculate the multi-instanton corrections to the ground state energy in\nlarge $N$ Matrix Quantum Mechanics. We find that they can be obtained, through\na non-perturbative difference equation, from the multi-instanton series in\nconventional Quantum Mechanics, as determined by the exact WKB method. We test\nour results by verifying that the one-instanton correction controls the large\norder behavior of the $1/N$ expansion in the quartic potential and in the $c=1$\nstring."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Some Comments on Gravitational Entropy and the Inverse Mean Curvature\n  Flow: The Geroch-Wald-Jang-Huisken-Ilmanen approach to the positive energy problem\nto may be extended to give a negative lower bound for the mass of\nasymptotically Anti-de-Sitter spacetimes containing horizons with exotic\ntopologies having ends or infinities of the form $\\Sigma_g \\times {\\Bbb R}$, in\nterms of the cosmological constant. We also show how the method gives a lower\nbound for for the mass of time-symmetric initial data sets for black holes with\nvectors and scalars in terms of the mass, $|Z(Q,P)|$ of the double extreme\nblack hole with the same charges. I also give a lower bound for the area of an\napparent horizon, and hence a lower bound for the entropy in terms of the same\nfunction $|Z(Q,P)|$. This shows that the so-called attractor behaviour extends\nbeyond the static spherically symmetric case. and underscores the general\nimportance of the function $|Z(Q,P)|$. There are hints that higher dimensional\ngeneralizations may involve the Yamabe conjectures.",
        "positive": "Cosmology and large mass hierarchy in multiply warped braneworld\n  scenario: Hubble expansion in warped braneworld model is addressed in presence of more\nthan one warped extra dimensions. It is shown that while the expansion depends\non all the moduli, an exponential nature of the expansion of the scale factor\nemerges as a generic feature which is independent of the number of extra\ndimensions. Expression for the effective brane cosmological constant in such\nmodel has been derived. It is shown that similar to the 5-dimensional\nRandall-Sundrum model a fine tuning between the bulk cosmological constant and\nbrane tension is required to obtain the desired cosmological constant on the\nbrane. The length of the extra dimensions are determined in such scenario.\nFinally introduing pressureless matter in the bulk an observationally\nconsistent cosmology was obtained on the visible brane."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The mass term in non-Abelian gauge field dynamics on matrix D-branes and\n  T-duality in the $\u03c3$-model approach: The formal extension of the T-duality rules for open strings from Abelian to\nnon-Abelian gauge field background leads in a well known manner to the notion\nof matrix valued D-brane position. The application of this concept to the\nnon-Abelian gauge field RG $\\beta $-function of the corresponding $\\sigma\n$-model yields a mass term in the gauge field dynamics on the matrix D-brane.\nThe direct calculation in a corresponding D-brane model does $not$ yield such a\nmass term, if the Dirichlet boundary condition is implemented as a constraint\non the integrand in the defining functional integral. However, the mass term\narises in the direct calculation for a D-brane model with dynamically realized\nboundary condition.",
        "positive": "Decay and Fission of Magnetic Quivers: In exploring supersymmetric theories with 8 supercharges, the Higgs branches\npresent an intriguing window into strong coupling dynamics. Magnetic quivers\nserve as crucial tools for understanding these branches. Here, we introduce the\ndecay and fission algorithm for unitary magnetic quivers. It efficiently\nderives complete phase diagrams (Hasse diagrams) through convex linear algebra.\nIt allows magnetic quivers to undergo decay or fission, reflecting Higgs branch\nRG-flows in the theory. Importantly, the algorithm generates magnetic quivers\nfor the RG fixed points and simplifies the understanding of transverse slice\ngeometry with no need for a list of minimal transitions. In contrast, the\nalgorithm hints to the existence of a new minimal transition, whose geometry\nand physics needs to be explored."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A note on the stability of axionic D-term strings: We investigate the stability of a new class of BPS cosmic strings in N=1\nsupergravity with D-terms recently proposed by Blanco-Pillado, Dvali and Redi.\nThese have been conjectured to be the low energy manifestation of D-strings\nthat might form from tachyon condensation after D- anti-D-brane annihilation in\ntype IIB superstring theory. There are three one-parameter families of\ncylindrically symmetric one-vortex solutions to the BPS equations (tachyonic,\naxionic and hybrid). We find evidence that the zero mode in the axionic case,\nor s-strings, can be excited. Its evolution leads to the decompactification of\nfour-dimensional spacetime at late times, with a rate that decreases with\ndecreasing brane tension.",
        "positive": "Black hole entropy in modified gravity models: An analysis of some modified gravity models, based on the study of pure\nSchwarzschild and of Schwarzschild-de Sitter black holes, and involving the use\nof the Noether charge method, is carried out. Corrections to the classical\nEinsteinian black hole entropy appear. It is shown explicitly how the condition\nof positive entropy can be used in order to constrain the viability of modified\ngravity theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Multi-charged black lens: We construct an asymptotically flat, stationary and biaxisymmetric\nsupersymmetric black lens solution in five-dimensional U(1)^3 supergravity. It\nis shown that the spatial cross section of the horizon is topologically the\nlens space of L(n,1), and the spacetime is regular on/outside the event\nhorizon. The black lens carries (3n+2) physical quantities, three electric\ncharges, two angular momenta and 3(n-1) magnetic fluxes.",
        "positive": "On the Uniqueness of the effective Lagrangian for N= 2 SQCD: The low energy effective Lagrangian for N= 2 SU(2) supersymmetric Yang-Mills\ntheory coupled to N_F<4 massless matter fields is derived from the BPS mass\nformula using asymptotic freedom and assuming that the number of strong\ncoupling singularities is finite."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Magnetic response of holographic Lifshitz superconductors:Vortex and\n  Droplet solutions: In this paper a holographic model of $s$-wave superconductor with anisotropic\nLifshitz scaling has been considered. In the presence of an external magnetic\nfield our holographic model exhibits both vortex and droplet solutions. Based\non analytic methods we have shown that the anisotropy has no effect on the\nvortex and droplet solutions whereas it may affect the condensation. Our vortex\nsolution closely resembles the Ginzburg-Landau theory and a relation between\nthe upper critical magnetic field and superconducting coherence length has been\nspeculated from this comparison. Using Sturm-Liouville method, the effect of\nanisotropy on the critical parameters in insulator/superconductor phase\ntransitions has been analyzed.",
        "positive": "Fuzzy Cosets and their Gravity Duals: Dp-branes placed in a certain external RR (p+4)-form field expand into a\ntransverse fuzzy two-sphere, as shown by Myers. We find that by changing the\n(p+4)-form background other fuzzy cosets can be obtained. Three new examples,\nS^2 X S^2, CP^2 and SU(3)/(U(1) X U(1)) are constructed. The first two are\nfour-dimensional while the last is six-dimensional. The dipole and quadrupole\nmoments which result in these configurations are discussed. Finally, the\ngravity backgrounds dual to these vacua are examined in a leading order\napproximation. These are multi-centered solutions containing (p+4)- or\n(p+6)-dimensional brane singularities."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Bounces with O(3) x O(2) symmetry: We study the contribution to the decay of de Sitter vacua from bounces with\nO(3) x O(2) symmetry. These correspond to the thermal production of a vacuum\nbubble at the center of a horizon volume with radius r_H and a temperature\ndefined by the horizon. They are analogues of the flat spacetime bounces,\nindependent of Euclidean time, that correspond to thermal production of a\ncritical bubble. If either the strength of gravity or the false vacuum energy\nare increased, with all other parameters held fixed, the bounces approach, and\neventually merge with, the Hawking-Moss solution. Increasing the height of the\nbarrier separating the true and false vacuum, and thus the tension in the\nbubble wall, causes the center of the bubble wall to approach, but never reach,\nthe horizon. This is in contrast with the prediction of the thin-wall\napproximation, which inevitably breaks down when the wall is near the horizon.\nOur numerical results show that the Euclidean action of our solutions is always\ngreater than that of the corresponding O(4)-symmetric Coleman-De Luccia bounce.",
        "positive": "Note on the Gauge Fixing in Gauge Theory: In the absence of Gribov complications, the modified gauge fixing in gauge\ntheory $ \\int{\\cal D}A_{\\mu}\\{\\exp[-S_{YM}(A_{\\mu})-\\int f(A_{\\mu})dx]\n/\\int{\\cal D}g\\exp[-\\int f(A_{\\mu}^{g})dx]\\}$ for example,\n$f(A_{\\mu})=(1/2)(A_{\\mu})^{2}$, is identical to the conventional Faddeev-Popov\nformula $\\int{\\cal D}A_{\\mu}\\{\\delta(D^{\\mu}\\frac{\\delta f(A_{\\nu})}{\\delta\nA_{\\mu}})/\\int {\\cal D}g\\delta(D^{\\mu}\\frac{\\delta f(A_{\\nu}^{g})} {\\delta\nA_{\\mu}^{g}})\\}\\exp[-S_{YM}(A_{\\mu})]$ if one takes into account the variation\nof the gauge field along the entire gauge orbit. Despite of its quite different\nappearance,the modified formula defines a local and BRST invariant theory and\nthus ensures unitarity at least in perturbation theory. In the presence of\nGribov complications, as is expected in non-perturbative Yang-Mills theory, the\nmodified formula is equivalent to the conventional formula but not identical to\nit:Both of the definitions give rise to non-local theory in general and thus\nthe unitarity is not obvious. Implications of the present analysis on the\nlattice regularization are briefly discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Open Descendants of Non-Diagonal SU(2) WZW Models: We extend the construction of open descendants to the $SU(2)$ WZW models with\nnon-diagonal left-right pairing, namely $E_7$ and the $D_{odd}$ series in the\n$ADE$ classification of Cappelli, Itzykson and Zuber. The structure of the\nresulting models is determined to a large extent by the ``crosscap\nconstraint'', while their Chan-Paton charge sectors may be embedded in a\ngeneral fashion into those of the corresponding diagonal models.",
        "positive": "On Reflectivity of Quantum Black Hole Horizons: We study the reflectivity of quantum black hole (BH) horizons using detailed\nbalance and fluctuation-dissipation theorem, finding a universal flux\nreflectivity given by the Boltzmann factor ${\\mathcal R} = \\exp\\left(-{\\hbar\n|\\omega| \\over k T_{\\rm H}}\\right)$, where $\\omega$ is frequency in the horizon\nframe and $T_{\\rm H}$ is the Hawking temperature. This implies CP-symmetry (or\n$\\bf{RP}^3$ topology) of the extended BH spacetime. We then briefly discuss\nrelated physical implications: We predict echoes in the ringdown of Kerr BHs,\nbut they do not exhibit ergoregion instability. The viscosity in the membrane\nparadigm is modified to $\\eta = \\frac{c^3}{16\\pi G}\\tanh\\left({\\hbar |\\omega|\n\\over 4 k T_{\\rm H}}\\right)$, only approaching General Relativistic value at\nhigh frequencies."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Null Branes in String Theory Backgrounds: We consider null bosonic p-branes moving in curved space-times and develop a\nmethod for solving their equations of motion and constraints, which is suitable\nfor string theory backgrounds. As an application, we give an exact solution for\nsuch background in ten dimensions.",
        "positive": "Microstates at the boundary of AdS: The bound states of the D1D5 brane system have a known gravitational\ndescription: flat asymptotics, an anti-de Sitter region, and a 'cap' ending the\nAdS region. We construct perturbations that correspond to the action of chiral\nalgebra generators on Ramond ground states of D1D5 branes. Abstract arguments\nin the literature suggest that the perturbation should be pure gauge in the AdS\nregion; our perturbation indeed has this structure, with the nontrivial\ndeformation of the geometry occurring at the 'neck' between the AdS region and\nasymptotic infinity. This 'non-gauge' deformation is needed to provide the\nnonzero energy and momentum carried by the perturbation. We also suggest\nimplications this structure may have for the majority of microstates which live\nat the cap."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hidden Gauge Structure of Supersymmetric Free Differential Algebras: The aim of this paper is to clarify the role of the nilpotent fermionic\ngenerator Q' introduced in Ref. [3] and appearing in the hidden supergroup\nunderlying the free differential algebra (FDA) of D=11 supergravity. We give a\nphysical explanation of its role by looking at the gauge properties of the\ntheory. We find that its presence is necessary, in order that the extra 1-forms\nof the hidden supergroup give rise to the correct gauge transformations of the\np-forms of the FDA.\n  This interpretation is actually valid for any supergravity containing\nantisymmetric tensor fields, and any supersymmetric FDA can always be traded\nfor a hidden Lie superalgebra containing extra fermionic nilpotent generators.\nAs an interesting example we construct the hidden superalgebra associated with\nthe FDA of N=2, D=7 supergravity. In this case we are able to parametrize the\nmutually non local 2- and 3-form B^(2) and B^(3) in terms of hidden 1-forms and\nfind that supersymmetry and gauge invariance require in general the presence of\ntwo nilpotent fermionic generators in the hidden algebra. We propose that our\napproach, where all the invariances of the FDA are expressed as Lie derivatives\nof the $p$-forms in the hidden supergroup manifold, could be an appropriate\nframework to discuss theories defined in enlarged versions of superspace\nrecently considered in the literature, such us double field theory and its\ngeneralizations.",
        "positive": "Maximally Supersymmetric AdS Solutions in Gauged Supergravity: In this thesis we study maximally supersymmetric solutions of gauged\nsupergravity theories, with special focus on anti-de Sitter solutions. The\nlatter are relevant in the context of the AdS/CFT correspondence. In the first\npart we classify all maximally supersymmetric solutions of all gauged or\ndeformed supergravity theories in $D \\geq 3$ space-time dimensions. In the\nsecond part we exclusively study maximally supersymmetric AdS$_D$ solutions of\ngauged supergravities in dimensions $D \\geq 4$. We discuss the structure of the\nallowed gauge groups as well as possible supersymmetry preserving deformations,\nwhich correspond to the conformal manifold of the dual SCFTs."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spin and exotic Galilean symmetry: A slightly modified and regularized version of the non-relativistic limit of\nthe relativistic anyon model considered by Jackiw and Nair yields particles\nassociated with the twofold central extension of the Galilei group, with\nindependent spin and exotic structure.",
        "positive": "Gauge field localization on brane worlds: We consider the effects of spacetime curvature and brane thickness on the\nlocalization of gauge fields on a brane via kinetic terms induced by localized\nfermions. We find that in a warped geometry with and infinitely thin brane,\nboth the infrared and the ultraviolet behavior of the electromagnetic\npropagator are affected, providing a more stringent bound on the brane's\ntension than that coming from the requirement of four-dimensional gravity on\nthe brane. On the other hand, for a thick wall in a flat spacetime, where the\nfermions are localized by means of a Yukawa coupling, we find that\n4-dimensional electromagnetism is recovered in a region bounded from above by\nthe same critical distance appearing in the thin case, but also from below by a\nnew scale related to the brane's thickness and the electromagnetic couplings."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "New AdS non Abelian black holes with superconducting horizons: We present arguments for the existence of higher dimensional asymptotically\nAdS non Abelian black holes with a Ricci flat event horizon and analyze their\nbasic properties. Unlike higher dimensional black holes with a curved horizon,\nof the usual Einstein-Yang-Mills system, these solutions have finite\nmass-energy. Below some non-zero critical temperature, they are\nthermodynamically preferred over the Abelian configurations.",
        "positive": "D-brane Solutions in Non-Commutative Gauge Theory on Fuzzy Sphere: Non-commutative gauge theory on fuzzy sphere was obtained by Alekseev et al.\nas describing the low energy dynamics of a spherical D2-brane in S^3 with the\nbackground b-field. We identify a subset of solutions of this theory which are\nanalogs of ``unstable'' solitons on a non-commutative flat D2-brane found by\nGopakumar et al. Analogously to the flat case, these solutions have the\ninterpretation as describing D0-branes ``not yet dissolved'' by the D2-brane.\nWe confirm this interpretation by showing the precise agreement of the binding\nenergy computed in the non-commutative and ordinary Born-Infeld descriptions.\nWe then study stability of the solution describing a single D0-brane off a\nD2-brane. Similarly to the flat case, we find an instability when the D0-brane\nis located close to the D2-brane. We furthermore obtain the complete mass\nspectrum of 0-2 fluctuations, which thus gives a prediction for the low energy\nspectrum of the 0-2 CFT in S^3. We also discuss in detail how the instability\nto a formation of the fuzzy sphere modifies the usual Higgs mechanism for small\nseparation between the branes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Extended global symmetries for 4d N=1 SQCD theories: In arXiv:0811.1909 Spiridonov and Vartanov, using the superconformal index\ntechnique, found that 4-dimensional N=1 SQCD theory with SU(2) gauge group and\nfour flavors has 72 dual representations. Recently in arXiv:1209.1404 the\nauthors showed that these dual theories, when coupled to 5d hypermultiplets\nwith specific boundary conditions have an extended E_7 global symmetry. In this\nwork we find that for a reduced theory with 3 flavors the explicit SU(6) global\nsymmetry is enhanced to an E_6 symmetry in the presence of 5d hypermultiplets.\nWe also show connections between indices of different theories in 3 and 4\ndimensions.",
        "positive": "Quantum Statistical Relation for black holes in nonlinear\n  electrodynamics coupled to Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet AdS gravity: We consider curvature-squared corrections to Einstein-Hilbert gravity action\nin the form of Gauss-Bonnet term in D>4 dimensions. In this theory, we study\nthe thermodynamics of charged static black holes with anti-de Sitter (AdS)\nasymptotics, and whose electric field is described by nonlinear electrodynamics\n(NED). These objects have received considerable attention in recent literature\non gravity/gauge dualities.\n  It is well-known that, within the framework of anti de-Sitter/Conformal Field\nTheory (AdS/CFT) correspondence, there exists a nonvanishing Casimir\ncontribution to the internal energy of the system, manifested as the vacuum\nenergy for global AdS spacetime in odd dimensions. Because of this reason, we\nderive a Quantum Statistical Relation directly from the Euclidean action and\nnot from the integration of the First Law of thermodynamics. To this end, we\nemploy a background-independent regularization scheme which consists in the\naddition to the bulk action of counterterms that depend on both extrinsic and\nintrinsic curvatures of the boundary (Kounterterm series). This procedure\nresults in a consistent inclusion of the vacuum energy and chemical potential\nin the thermodynamic description for Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet AdS gravity\nregardless the explicit form of the NED Lagrangian."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dynamical Supersymmetry Breaking: Supersymmetry is one of the most plausible and theoretically motivated\nframeworks for extending the Standard Model. However, any supersymmetry in\nNature must be a broken symmetry. Dynamical supersymmetry breaking (DSB) is an\nattractive idea for incorporating supersymmetry into a successful description\nof Nature. The study of DSB has recently enjoyed dramatic progress, fueled by\nadvances in our understanding of the dynamics of supersymmetric field theories.\nThese advances have allowed for direct analysis of DSB in strongly coupled\ntheories, and for the discovery of new DSB theories, some of which contradict\nearly criteria for DSB. We review these criteria, emphasizing recently\ndiscovered exceptions. We also describe, through many examples, various\ntechniques for directly establishing DSB by studying the infrared theory,\nincluding both older techniques in regions of weak coupling, and new techniques\nin regions of strong coupling. Finally, we present a list of representative DSB\nmodels, their main properties, and the relations between them.",
        "positive": "The M-Algebra: We construct a new extension of the Poincar\\'e superalgebra in eleven\ndimensions which contains super one-, two- and five-form charges. The latter\ntwo are associated with the supermembrane and the superfivebrane of M-theory.\nUsing the Maurer-Cartan equations of this algebra, we construct closed super\nseven-forms in a number of ways. The pull-back of the corresponding super\nsix-forms are candidate superfivebrane Wess-Zumino terms, which are manifestly\nsupersymmetric, and contain coordinates associated with the new charges."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Two Wave Functions and dS/CFT on S^1 x S^2: We evaluate the tunneling and Hartle-Hawking wave functions on S^1 x S^2\nboundaries in Einstein gravity with a positive cosmological constant. In the\nlarge overall volume limit the classical predictions of both wave functions\ninclude an ensemble of Schwarzschild-de Sitter black holes. We show that the\nHartle-Hawking tree level measure on the classical ensemble converges in the\nsmall S^1 limit. A divergence in this regime can be identified in the tunneling\nstate. However we trace this to the contribution of an unphysical branch of\nsaddle points associated with negative mass black holes. Using a representation\nin which all saddle points have an interior Euclidean anti-de Sitter region we\nalso generalise the holographic formulation of the semiclassical Hartle-Hawking\nwave function to S^1 x S^2 boundaries.",
        "positive": "Supersymmetric Giant Graviton Solutions in AdS_3: We parameterize all classical probe brane configurations that preserve 4\nsupersymmetries in (a) the extremal D1-D5 geometry, (b) the extremal D1-D5-P\ngeometry, (c) the smooth D1-D5 solutions proposed by Lunin and Mathur and (d)\nglobal $AdS_3 \\times S_3 \\times T^4/K3$. These configurations consist of D1\nbranes, D5 branes and bound states of D5 and D1 branes with the property that a\nparticular Killing vector is tangent to the brane worldvolume at each point. We\nshow that the supersymmetric sector of the D5 brane worldvolume theory may be\nanalyzed in an effective 1+1 dimensional framework that places it on the same\nfooting as D1 branes. In global AdS and the corresponding Lunin-Mathur\nsolution, the solutions we describe are `bound' to the center of AdS for\ngeneric parameters and cannot escape to infinity. We show that these probes\nonly exist on the submanifold of moduli space where the background $B_{NS}$\nfield and theta angle vanish. We quantize these probes in the near horizon\nregion of the extremal D1-D5 geometry and obtain the theory of long strings\ndiscussed by Seiberg and Witten."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Phases of circle-compactified QCD with adjoint fermions at finite\n  density: We study chemical-potential dependence of confinement and mass gap in QCD\nwith adjoint fermions in spacetime with one spatial compact direction. By\ncalculating the one-loop effective potential for the Wilson line in the\npresence of chemical potential, we show that a center-symmetric phase and a\ncenter-broken phase alternate when the chemical potential in unit of the\ncompactification scale is increased. In the center-symmetric phase we use\nsemiclassical methods to show that photons in the magnetic bion plasma acquire\na mass gap that grows with the chemical potential as a result of anisotropic\ninteractions between monopole-instantons. For the neutral fermionic sector\nwhich remains gapless perturbatively, there are two possibilities at\nnon-perturbative level. Either to remain gapless (unbroken global symmetry), or\nto undergo a novel superfluid transition through a four-fermion interaction\n(broken global symmetry). If the latter is the case, this leads to an energy\ngap of quarks proportional to a new nonperturbative scale $L^{-1}\\exp[-1/(g^4\n\\mu L)]$, where $L$ denotes the circumference of $S^1$, the low-energy is\ndescribed as a Nambu-Goldstone mode associated with the baryon number, and\nthere exists a new type of BEC-BCS crossover of the diquark pairing as a\nfunction of the compactification scale at small chemical potential.",
        "positive": "High-Energy Symmetry of Bosonic Open String Theory in the Light-like\n  Linear Dilaton Background: High-energy limits of fixed-angle tree-level stringy scattering amplitudes in\nthe light-like linear dilaton background are calculated. Treating the time\ncomponent of the gradient of light-like dilaton field (V_0) as a moduli\nparameter, we show that: (1) there exists a new fixed-point (V_0/E \\to \\infty)\nin the moduli space of the bosonic open string theory, where a new high-energy\nsymmetry among scattering amplitudes can be identified, (2) this new symmetry\ncan be interpreted as a deformation of the flat-space high-energy symmetry, as\nproposed by D. Gross. Hence, our results give a concrete illustration about the\nrelation between high-energy stringy symmetry and the background independent\nformulation of string theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Half-wormholes in nearly AdS$_2$ holography: We find half-wormhole solutions in Jackiw-Teitelboim gravity by allowing the\ngeometry to end on a spacetime D-brane with specific boundary conditions. This\ntheory also contains a Euclidean wormhole which leads to a factorization\nproblem. We propose that half-wormholes provide a gravitational picture for how\nfactorization is restored and show that the Euclidean wormhole emerges from\naveraging over the boundary conditions. The wormhole is known to be dual to a\nSachdev-Ye-Kitaev (SYK) model with random complex couplings. We find that the\nfree energy of the half-wormhole is strikingly similar to that of a single\nrealization of this SYK model. These results suggest that the gravitational\npath integral computes an average over spacetime D-brane boundary conditions.",
        "positive": "Cosmological constant in broken maximal sugras: We examine the form of the cosmological constant in the loop expansion of\nbroken maximally supersymmetric supergravity theories, and after embedding,\nwithin superstring and M-theory. Supersymmetry breaking at the TeV scale\ngenerates values of the cosmological constant that are in agreement with\ncurrent astrophysical data. The form of perturbative quantum effects in the\nloop expansion is consistent with this parameter regime."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Lovelock-Lifshitz Black Holes: In this paper, we investigate the existence of Lifshitz solutions in Lovelock\ngravity, both in vacuum and in the presence of a massive vector field. We show\nthat the Lovelock terms can support the Lifshitz solution provided the\nconstants of the theory are suitably chosen. We obtain an exact black hole\nsolution with Lifshitz asymptotics of any scaling parameter $z$ in both\nGauss-Bonnet and in pure 3rd order Lovelock gravity. If matter is added in the\nform of a massive vector field, we also show that Lifshitz solutions in\nLovelock gravity exist; these can be regarded as corrections to Einstein\ngravity coupled to this form of matter. For this form of matter we numerically\nobtain a broad range of charged black hole solutions with Lifshitz asymptotics,\nfor either sign of the cosmological constant. We find that these asymptotic\nLifshitz solutions are more sensitive to corrections induced by Lovelock\ngravity than are their asymptotic AdS counterparts. We also consider the\nthermodynamics of the black hole solutions and show that the temperature of\nlarge black holes with curved horizons is proportional to $r_0^z$ where $z$ is\nthe critical exponent; this relationship holds for black branes of any size. As\nis the case for asymptotic AdS black holes, we find that an extreme black hole\nexists only for the case of horizons with negative curvature. We also find that\nthese Lovelock-Lifshitz black holes have no unstable phase, in contrast to the\nLovelock-AdS case. We also present a class of rotating Lovelock-Lifshitz black\nholes with Ricci-flat horizons.",
        "positive": "Classical and Quantum Gauged Massless Rarita-Schwinger Fields: We show that, in contrast to known results in the massive case, a minimally\ngauged massless Rarita-Schwinger field yields consistent classical and quantum\ntheories, with a generalized fermionic gauge invariance. To simplify the\nalgebra, we study a two-component left chiral reduction of the massless theory.\nWe formulate the classical theory in both Lagrangian and Hamiltonian form for a\ngeneral non-Abelian gauging, and analyze the constraints and the\nRarita-Schwinger gauge invariance of the action. An explicit wave front\ncalculation for Abelian gauge fields shows that wave-like modes do not\npropagate with superluminal velocities. The quantized case is studied in gauge\ncovariant radiation gauge and $\\Psi_0=0$ gauge for the Rarita-Schwinger field,\nby both functional integral and Dirac bracket methods. In $\\Psi_0=0$ gauge, the\nconstraints have the form needed to apply the Faddeev-Popov method for deriving\na functional integral. The Dirac bracket approach in $\\Psi_0=0$ gauge yields\nconsistent Hamilton equations of motion, and in covariant radiation gauge leads\nto anticommutation relations with the correct positivity properties. We discuss\nrelativistic covariance of the anticommutation relations, and of\nRarita-Schwinger scattering from an Abelian potential. We note that fermionic\ngauge transformations are a canonical transformation, but further details of\nthe transformation between different fermionic gauges are left as an open\nproblem."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "3D Yang-Mills confining properties from a non-Abelian ensemble\n  perspective: In this work, we propose a $3D$ ensemble measure for center-vortex worldlines\nand chains equipped with non-Abelian degrees of freedom. We derive an effective\nfield description for the center-element average where the vortices get\nrepresented by $N$ flavors of effective Higgs fields transforming in the\nfundamental representation. This field content is required to accommodate\nfusion rules where $N$ vortices can be created out of the vacuum. The inclusion\nof the chain sector, formed by center-vortex worldlines attached to pointlike\ndefects, leads to a discrete set of $Z(N)$ vacua. This type of SSB pattern\nsupports the formation of a stable domain wall between quarks, thus\naccommodating not only a linear potential but also the L\\\"uscher term.\nMoreover, after a detailed analysis of the associated field equations, the\nasymptotic string tension turns out to scale with the quadratic Casimir of the\nantisymmetric quark representation. These behaviors reproduce those derived\nfrom Monte Carlo simulations in $SU(N)$ $3D$ Yang-Mills theory, which lacked\nunderstanding in the framework of confinement as due to percolating magnetic\ndefects.",
        "positive": "QCD on a small circle: QCD-like theories can be engineered to remain in a confined phase when\ncompactified on an arbitrarily small circle, where their features may be\nstudied quantitatively in a controlled fashion. Previous work has elucidated\nthe generation of a non-perturbative mass gap and the spontaneous breaking of\nchiral symmetry in this regime. Here, we study the rich spectrum of hadronic\nstates, including glueball, meson, and baryon resonances. We find an\nexponentially growing Hagedorn density of states, as well as the emergence of\nnon-perturbative energy scales given by iterated exponentials of the inverse\nYang-Mills coupling $g^2$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Instantons at Strong Coupling, Averaging over Vacua, and the Gluino\n  Condensate: We consider instanton contributions to chiral correlators, such as <0| Tr\n\\lambda^2 (x) Tr \\lambda^2(x') |0>, in N=1 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory\nwith either light adjoint or fundamental matter. Within the former model,\nextraction of the gluino condensate from a connected 1-instanton diagram,\nevaluated at strong coupling, can be contrasted with expectations from the\nSeiberg-Witten solution perturbed to an N=1 vacuum. We observe a numerical\ndiscrepancy, coinciding with that observed previously in N=1 SQCD. Moreover,\nsince knowledge of the vacuum structure is complete for softly broken N=2\nYang-Mills, this model serves as a counterexample to the hypothesis of Amati et\nal. that 1-instanton calculations at strong coupling can be interpreted as\naveraging over vacua. Within N=1 SQCD, we point out that the connected\ncontribution to the relevant correlators actually vanishes in the weakly\ncoupled Higgs phase, despite having a nonzero value through infra-red effects\nwhen calculated in the unbroken phase.",
        "positive": "Reminiscences of Collaborations with Joel Scherk: I had the privilege of collaborating with Joel Scherk on three separate\noccasions: in 1970 at Princeton, in 1974 at Caltech, and in 1978-79 at the\nEcole Normale Superieure. In this talk I give some reminiscences of these\ncollaborations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "BRST-invariant boundary conditions and strong ellipticity: The quantisation of gauge theories usually procedes through the introduction\nof ghost fields and BRST symmetry. In the case of quantum gravity in the\npresence of boundaries, the BRST-invariant boundary value problem for the gauge\nfield operators is non-elliptic, and consequently the definition of the\neffective action using heat-kernel techniques becomes problematic. This paper\nexamines general classes of BRST-invariant boundary conditions and presents new\nboundary conditions for quantum gravity which fix the extrinsic curvature on\nthe boundary and lead to a well-defined effective action. This prompts a\ndiscussion of the wider issue of non-ellipticity in BRST-invariant boundary\nvalue problems and when the use of gauge-fixing terms on the boundary can\nresolve the issue.",
        "positive": "Lectures on Three-point Functions in N=4 Supersymmetric Yang-Mills\n  Theory: This is a pedagogical review on the integrability-based approach to the\nthree-point function in N=4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory. We first discuss\nthe computation of the structure constant at weak coupling and show that the\nresult can be recast as a sum over partitions of the rapidities of the magnons.\nWe then introduce a non-perturbative framework, called the \"hexagon approach\",\nand explain how one can use the symmetries (i.e. superconformal and gauge\nsymmetries) and integrability to determine the structure constants. This\narticle is based on the lectures given in Les Houches Summer School\n\"Integrability: From statistical systems to gauge theory\" in June 2016."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Multiple fundamental strings and waves to non-linear order in the\n  background fields: The Chern-Simons actions of the multiple fundamental string and the multiple\ngravitational wave are established to full order in the background fields.\nGauge invariance is checked. Special attention is drawn to the non-Abelian\ngauge transformations of the world-volume fields.",
        "positive": "On non commutative sinh-Gordon Equation: We give a noncommutative extension of sinh-Gordon equation. We generalize a\nlinear system and Lax representation of the sinh-Gordon equation in\nnoncommutative space. This generalization gives a noncommutative version of the\nsinh-Gordon equation with extra constraints, which can be expressed as global\nconserved currents."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Entanglement of higher-derivative oscillators in holographic systems: We study the quantum entanglement of coupled Pais-Uhlenbeck oscillators using\nthe formalism of thermo-field dynamics. The entanglement entropy is computed\nfor the specific cases of two and a ring of $N$ coupled Pais-Uhlenbeck\noscillators of fourth order. It is shown that the entanglement entropy depends\non the temperatures, frequencies and coupling parameters of the different\ndegrees of freedom corresponding to harmonic oscillators. We also make remarks\non the appearance of instabilities of higher-derivative oscillators in the\ncontext of AdS/CFT correspondence. Finally, we advert to the information\ngeometry theory by calculating the Fisher information metric for the considered\nsystem of coupled oscillators.",
        "positive": "Quaternions and Special Relativity: We reformulate Special Relativity by a quaternionic algebra on reals. Using\n{\\em real linear quaternions}, we show that previous difficulties, concerning\nthe appropriate transformations on the $3+1$ space-time, may be overcome. This\nimplies that a complexified quaternionic version of Special Relativity is a\nchoice and not a necessity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Proposed Renormalization Scheme for Non-local QFTs and Application to\n  the Hierarchy Problem: We propose a renormalization scheme for non-local Quantum Field Theories\n(QFTs) with infinite derivatives inspired by string theory. Our Non-locality\nRenormalization Scheme (NRS) is inspired by Dimensional Regularization (DR) in\nlocal QFTs and is shown to significantly improve the UV behavior of non-local\nQFTs. We illustrate the scheme using simple examples from the phi3 and phi4\ntheories, then we evaluate the viability of NRS-enhanced non-local QFTs to\nsolve the hierarchy problem using a simplified toy model. We find that\nnon-locality protects the mass of a light scalar from receiving large\ncorrections from any UV sector to which it couples, as long as the non-locality\nscale M is sufficiently smaller than the scale of the UV sector. We also find\nthat NRS eliminates any large threshold corrections from the IR sector",
        "positive": "Topological Strings on Elliptic Fibrations: We study topological string theory on elliptically fibered Calabi-Yau\nthreefolds using mirror symmetry. We compute higher genus topological string\namplitudes and express these in terms of polynomials of functions constructed\nfrom the special geometry of the moduli space. The polynomials are fixed by the\nholomorphic anomaly equations supplemented by the expected behavior at the\nboundary in moduli space. We further expand the amplitudes in the base moduli\nof the elliptic fibration and find that the fiber moduli dependence is captured\nby a finer polynomial structure in terms of the modular forms of the modular\ngroup of the elliptic curve. We further find a recursive equation which governs\nthis finer structure and which can be related to the anomaly equations for\ncorrelation functions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "D-module Representations of N=2,4,8 Superconformal Algebras and Their\n  Superconformal Mechanics: The linear (homogeneous and inhomogeneous) (k, N, N-k) supermultiplets of the\nN-extended one-dimensional Supersymmetry Algebra induce D-module\nrepresentations for the N=2,4,8 superconformal algebras.\n  For N=2, the D-module representations of the A(1,0) superalgebra are\nobtained. For N=4 and scaling dimension \\lambda=0, the D-module representations\nof the A(1,1) superalgebra are obtained. For $\\lambda\\neq 0$, the D-module\nrepresentations of the D(2,1;\\alpha) superalgebras are obtained, with $\\alpha$\ndetermined in terms of the scaling dimension $\\lambda$ according to:\n$\\alpha=-2\\lambda$ for k=4, i.e. the (4,4) supermultiplet, $\\alpha=-\\lambda$\nfor k=3, i.e. (3,4,1), and $\\alpha=\\lambda$ for k=1, i.e. (1,4,3). For\n$\\lambda\\neq 0$ the (2,4,2) supermultiplet induces a D-module representation\nfor the centrally extended sl(2|2) superalgebra. For N=8, the (8,8) root\nsupermultiplet induces a D-module representation of the D(4,1) superalgebra at\nthe fixed value $\\lambda=1/4$. A Lagrangian framework to construct\none-dimensional, off-shell, superconformal invariant actions from\nsingle-particle and multi-particles D-module representations is discussed. It\nis applied to explicitly construct invariant actions for the homogeneous and\ninhomogeneous N=4 (1,4,3) D-module representations (in the last case for\nseveral interacting supermultiplets of different chirality).",
        "positive": "Healthy theories beyond Horndeski: We introduce a new class of scalar-tensor theories that extend Horndeski, or\n\"generalized galileon\", models. Despite possessing equations of motion of\nhigher order in derivatives, we show that the true propagating degrees of\nfreedom obey well-behaved second-order equations and are thus free from\nOstrogradski instabilities, in contrast to the standard lore. Remarkably, the\ncovariant versions of the original galileon Lagrangians-obtained by direct\nreplacement of derivatives with covariant derivatives-belong to this class of\ntheories. These extensions of Horndeski theories exhibit an uncommon,\ninteresting phenomenology: the scalar degree of freedom affects the speed of\nsound of matter, even when the latter is minimally coupled to gravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-symplectic symmetries and bi-Hamiltonian structures of the rational\n  Harmonic Oscillator: The existence of bi-Hamiltonian structures for the rational Harmonic\nOscillator (non-central harmonic oscillator with rational ratio of frequencies)\nis analyzed by making use of the geometric theory of symmetries. We prove that\nthese additional structures are a consequence of the existence of dynamical\nsymmetries of non-symplectic (non-canonical) type. The associated recursion\noperators are also obtained.",
        "positive": "Generalized Galileon Duality: We generalize the Galileon duality to any single scalar field Lagrangian\ncoupled locally to any matter field. Under the duality, a generalized Galileon\nmaps into another generalized Galileon via a one parameter group of\ntransformations, with only a simple modification of the Lagrangian functions.\nWe find a special class of generalized Galileons for which the duality is a\nsymmetry of the action. We further extend the duality to the case of vector\nfields and give the dual formulations of the Maxwell and Proca theories. We\ninclude arbitrary local couplings to matter fields and show that the duality\nalways maps a local interacting theory into a local interacting theory. We also\ndiscuss the coupling to gravity and uncover a new class of Lorentz invariant\nmassive theories which map into themselves under the duality. Finally, we show\nthat the duality can be used to map solutions of a theory with superluminal\n(luminal) group velocity into one with luminal (subluminal) group velocity. We\nfind that the duality nevertheless preserves the classical causal structure and\nemphasize the need to include the quantum corrections to ascertain relativistic\ncausality."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The universal Racah-Wigner symbol for Uq(osp(1|2)): We propose a new and elegant formula for the Racah-Wigner symbol of self-dual\ncontinuous series of representations of Uq(osp(1|2)). It describes the entire\nfusing matrix for both NS and R sector of N=1 supersymmetric Liouville field\ntheory. In the NS sector, our formula is related to an expression derived in\n[1]. Through analytic continuation in the spin variables, our universal\nexpression reproduces known formulas for the Racah-Wigner coefficients of\nfinite dimensional representations.",
        "positive": "Effective Quantum Field Theory for the Thermodynamical Bethe Ansatz: We construct an effective Quantum Field Theory for the wrapping effects in\n1+1 dimensional models of factorised scattering. The recently developed\ngraph-theoretical approach to TBA gives the perturbative desctiption of this\nQFT. For the sake of simplicity we limit ourselves to scattering matrices for a\nsingle neutral particle and no bound state poles, such as the sinh-Gordon one.\nOn the other hand, in view of applications to AdS/CFT, we do not assume that\nthe scattering matrix is of difference type. The effective QFT involves both\nbosonic and fermionic fields and possesses a symmetry which makes it one-loop\nexact. The corresponding path integral localises to a critical point determined\nby the TBA equation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "sl(2) Construction of Type A N-fold supersymmetry: N-fold supersymmetry is an extension of the ordinary supersymmetry in\none-dimensional quantum mechanics. One of its major property is\nquasi-solvability, which means that energy eigenvalues can be obtained for a\nportion of the spectra. We show that recently found Type A N-fold supersymmetry\ncan be constructed by using sl(2) algebra, which provides a basis for the\nquasi-solvability. By this construction we find a condition for the Type A\nN-fold supersymmetry, which is less restrictive than the condition known\npreviously. Several explicitly known models are also examined in the light of\nthis construction.",
        "positive": "Supersymmetric Noether Currents and Seiberg-Witten Theory: A reliable method to construct Supersymmetric Noether currents is presented.\nAs the most important application the central charge of the N=2 Supersymmetric\nYang-Mills effective theory, known as Seiberg-Witten (SW) theory, is computed.\nThe analisys is carried out in the SW low energy U(1) effective Sector, as well\nas in the SW high energy SU(2) effective Sector."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "$\u03b2$ symmetry in type II Supergravities: A non geometric sector of the duality group emerging in Kaluza-Klein\nreductions is realized as an effective symmetry in the low energy action of\nuncompactified type II theories. This is achieved by extending the so called\n$\\beta$ symmetry of the universal NS-NS sector to the R-R sector of type IIA,\nIIB and massive type IIA.",
        "positive": "Moduli Stabilization in Brane Gas Cosmology with Superpotentials: In the context of brane gas cosmology in superstring theory, we show why it\nis impossible to simultaneously stabilize the dilaton and the radion with a\ngeneral gas of strings (including massless modes) and D-branes. Although this\nrequires invoking a different mechanism to stabilize these moduli fields, we\nfind that the brane gas can still play a crucial role in the early universe in\nassisting moduli stabilization. We show that a modest energy density of\nspecific types of brane gas can solve the overshoot problem that typically\nafflicts potentials arising from gaugino condensation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Static interactions and stability of matter in Rindler space: Dynamical issues associated with quantum fields in Rindler space are\naddressed in a study of the interaction between two sources at rest generated\nby the exchange of scalar particles, photons and gravitons. These static\ninteraction energies in Rindler space are shown to be scale invariant, complex\nquantities. The imaginary part will be seen to have its quantum mechanical\norigin in the presence of an infinity of zero modes in uniformly accelerated\nframes which in turn are related to the radiation observed in inertial frames.\nThe impact of a uniform acceleration on the stability of matter and the\nproperties of particles is discussed and estimates are presented of the\ninstability of hydrogen atoms when approaching the horizon.",
        "positive": "Universal definition of the non-conformal trace anomaly: We show that there exists a generalized, universal notion of the trace\nanomaly for theories which are not conformally invariant at the classical\nlevel. The definition is suitable for any regularization scheme and clearly\nstates to what extent the classical equations of motion should be used, thus\nresolving existing controversies surrounding previous proposals. Additionally,\nwe exhibit the link between our definition of the anomaly and the functional\nJacobian arising from a Weyl transformation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Nonperturbative results for the mass dependence of the QED fermion\n  determinant: The fermion determinant in four-dimensional quantum electrodynamics in the\npresence of O(2)XO(3) symmetric background gauge fields with a nonvanishing\nglobal chiral anomaly is considered. It is shown that the leading mass\nsingularity of the determinant's nonperturbative part is fixed by the anomaly.\nIt is also shown that for a large class of such fields there is at least one\nvalue of the fermion mass at which the determinant's nonperturbative part\nreduces to its noninteracting value.",
        "positive": "Action functionals for strings in four dimensions: All possible action functionals on the space of surfaces in ${\\bf R}^4$ that\ndepend only on first and second derivatives of the functions, entering the\nequation of the surface, and satisfy the condition of invariance with respect\nto rigid motions are described."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "General relativity effects in precision spin experimental tests of\n  fundamental symmetries: A search for the $P$- and $CP(T)$-violating electric dipole moments (EDM) of\natoms, particles and nuclei with sensitivity up to $10^{-15}$ in units of\nmagnetic dipole moments, allowed by all discrete symmetries, is one of the\ntopical problems of modern physics. According to Sakharov, $CP$-violation is\none of the three key criteria of baryogenesis in generally accepted paradigm of\nthe Big Bang cosmology. All three criteria are supported by the Standard Model\n(SM), but it fails to describe the observed baryon asymmetry of the Universe.\nThis is regarded a strong argument in favor of existence of $CP$-symmetry\nbreaking mechanisms beyond minimal SM, which can lead to measurable EDMs of\natoms, particles and nuclei. Direct searches for EDM of charged particles and\nnuclei are possible only in storage rings (COSY, NICA). After successful\nstudies by the JEDI collaboration at the COSY synchrotron, at the forefront is\na search for the proton EDM in an electrostatic storage ring with the proton\nspin frozen at the magic energy with projected sensitivity $d_p\\sim\n10^{-29}\\,e\\cdot$cm. Following a brief introduction to the $CP$-violation\nphysics and the baryogenesis, the review presents a detailed discussion of\nsignificant contributions to the spin dynamics from the terrestrial gravity\nalong with the new effects of Earth's rotation in ultrasensitive searches for\nthe EDM of charged particles and neutrons. Quite remarkably, for the projected\nsensitivity to the proton EDM, these false EDM effects can by one to two orders\nof magnitude exceed the signal of the proton EDM, and become comparable to an\nEDM contribution in experiments with ultracold neutrons. We also discuss the\nrole of a precessing spin as a detector of the axion-like dark matter, and\nconsider applications of the quantum gravitational anomalies to the dense\nmatter hydrodynamics and the spin phenomena in the non-central nuclear\ncollisions.",
        "positive": "Phase transitions and regions of stability in Reissner-Nordstr\u00f6m\n  holographic superconductors: The phase transition of Reissner-Nordstrom AdS_4 interacting with a massive\ncharged scalar field has been further revisited. We found exactly one stable\nand one unstable quasinormal mode regions for the scalar field. The two of them\nare separated by the first marginally stable solution."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Global Analog of Cheshire Charge: It is shown that a model with a spontaneously broken global symmetry can\nsupport defects analogous to Alice strings, and a process analogous to Cheshire\ncharge exchange can take place. A possible realization in superfluid He-3 is\npointed out.",
        "positive": "Number of zero-modes on magnetized $T^4/Z_N$ orbifolds analyzed by\n  modular transformation: We study fermion zero-mode wavefunctions on $T^4/Z_N$ orbifold with\nbackground magnetic fluxes. The number of zero-modes is analyzed by use of\n$Sp(4,\\mathbb{Z})$ modular transformation. Conditions needed to realize three\ngeneration models are clarified. We also study parity transformation in the\ncompact space which leads to better understanding of relationship between\npositive and negative chirality wavefunctions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Trace anomaly induced effective action for 2D and 4D dilaton coupled\n  scalars: The spherically symmetric reduction of higher dimensional Einstein-scalar\ntheory leads to lower dimensional dilatonic gravity with dilaton coupled scalar\n(for example, from 4D to 2D system). We calculate trace anomaly and anomaly\ninduced effective action for 2D and 4D dilaton coupled scalars. The large-N\neffective action for 2D quantum dilaton-scalar gravity is also found. These 2D\nresults maybe applied for analysis of 4D spherical collapse. The role of new,\ndilaton dependent terms in trace anomaly for 2D black holes and Hawking\nradiation is investigated in some specific models of dilatonic gravity which\nrepresent modification of CGHS model. The conformal sector for 4D dilatonic\ngravity is constructed. Quantum back-reaction of dilaton coupled matter is\nbriefly discussed (it may lead to the inflationary Universe with non-trivial\ndilaton).",
        "positive": "Recent Developments in the Skyrme Model: In this talk, we describe recent developments in the Skyrme model. Our main\nfocus is on discussing various effects which need to be taken into account,\nwhen calculating the properties of light atomic nuclei in the Skyrme model. We\nargue that an important step is to understand \"spinning Skyrmions\" and discuss\nthe theory of relative equilibria in this context."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Geometric Properties of QCD String From Willmore Functional: The extremum of the Willmore-like functional for $m$-dimensional Riemannian\nsurface immersed in $d$-dimensional Riemannian manifold under normal variations\nis studied and various cases of interest are examined. This study is used to\nrelate the parameters of QCD string action, including the Polyakov-Kleinert\nextrinsic curvature action, with the geometric properties of the world sheet.\nThe world sheet has been shown to have {\\it{negative stiffness}} on the basis\nof geometric considerations.",
        "positive": "Nambu-Goto string action with Gauss-Bonnet term: We examine the relativistic Nambu-Goto model with Gauss-Bonnet boundary term\nadded to the action integral. The system is analysed using an invariant\nrepresentation of dynamical string degrees of freedom by complex Liouville\nfields. The solutions of classical equations of motion for open strings are\ndescribed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Renormalisation Group Equation As An Equation For Lie Transport Of\n  Amplitudes: It is shown that the renormalisation group (RG) equation can be viewed as an\nequation for Lie transport of physical amplitudes along the integral curves\ngenerated by the $\\beta$-functions of a quantum field theory. The anomalous\ndimensions arise from Lie transport of basis vectors on the space of couplings.\nThe RG equation can be interpreted as relating a particular diffeomorphism of\nflat space-(time), that of dilations, to a diffeomorphism on the space of\ncouplings generated by the vector field associated with the $\\beta$-functions.",
        "positive": "Topological entanglement entropy of the BTZ black hole: In this paper, we calculate the topological entanglement entropy of the BTZ\nblack hole and find that it coincides with that for fractional quantum Hall\nstate. So the BTZ black holes have the same topological order with the\nfractional quantum Hall state. This fact indicate that the BTZ black holes have\nlong-range entanglement."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Wilson Loops in N=4 Supersymmetric Yang--Mills Theory: Perturbative computations of the expectation value of the Wilson loop in N=4\nsupersymmetric Yang-Mills theory are reported. For the two special cases of a\ncircular loop and a pair of anti-parallel lines, it is shown that the sum of an\ninfinite class of ladder-like planar diagrams, when extrapolated to strong\ncoupling, produces an expectation value characteristic of the results of the\nAdS/CFT correspondence, $<W>\\sim\\exp((constant)\\sqrt{g^2N})$. For the case of\nthe circular loop, the sum is obtained analytically for all values of the\ncoupling. In this case, the constant factor in front of $\\sqrt{g^2N}$ also\nagrees with the supergravity results. We speculate that the sum of diagrams\nwithout internal vertices is exact and support this conjecture by showing that\nthe leading corrections to the ladder diagrams cancel identically in four\ndimensions. We also show that, for arbitrary smooth loops, the ultraviolet\ndivergences cancel to order $g^4N^2$.",
        "positive": "Supersymmetric Models on AdS3 and AdS4 Embedding Superspaces: Superspace techniques are used to formulate a supersymmetric model on an AdS3\nsurface embedded in four dimensions. In this model, the supersymmetry\ntransformation is the \"square root\" of the transformation generated by the\nisometry generators of AdS3. Since momentum is not an isometry generator,\nsupersymmetry does not result in equal masses for a Bosonic field and its\nFermionic partner. We express this model in terms of coordinates that\ncharacterize the AdS3 space. In one coordinate system, it is possible to define\na subspace with a Minkowski metric. It becomes possible to infer a model in\nAdS4 space in which there is a symmetry transformation that relates Bosonic and\nFermionic fields. This model is not a consequence of being formulated in\nsuperspace and the Fermionic transformation is not the \"square root\" of an\nisometry of AdS4."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Adiabatic Motion of a Quantum Particle in a Two-Dimensional Magnetic\n  Field: The adiabatic motion of a charged, spinning, quantum particle in a two -\ndimensional magnetic field is studied. A suitable set of operators generalizing\nthe cinematical momenta and the guiding center operators of a particle moving\nin a homogeneous magnetic field is constructed. This allows us to separate the\ntwo degrees of freedom of the system into a {\\sl fast} and a {\\sl slow} one, in\nthe classical limit, the rapid rotation of the particle around the guiding\ncenter and the slow guiding center drift. In terms of these operators the\nHamiltonian of the system rewrites as a power series in the magnetic length\n$\\lb=\\sqrt{\\hbar c\\over eB}$ and the fast and slow dynamics separates. The\neffective guiding center Hamiltonian is obtained to the second order in the\nadiabatic parameter $\\lb$ and reproduces correctly the classical limit.",
        "positive": "Leading order CFT analysis of multi-scalar theories in d>2: We investigate multi-field multicritical scalar theories using CFT\nconstraints on two- and three-point functions combined with the Schwinger-Dyson\nequation. This is done in general and without assuming any symmetry for the\nmodels, which we just define to admit a Landau-Ginzburg description that\nincludes the most general critical interactions built from monomials of the\nform $\\phi_{i_1} \\cdots \\phi_{i_m}$. For all such models we analyze to the\nleading order of the $\\epsilon$-expansion the anomalous dimensions of the\nfields and those of the composite quadratic operators. For models with even $m$\nwe extend the analysis to an infinite tower of composite operators of arbitrary\norder. The results are supplemented by the computation of some families of\nstructure constants. We also find the equations which constrain the nontrivial\ncritical theories at leading order and show that they coincide with the ones\nobtained with functional perturbative RG methods. This is done for the case\n$m=3$ as well as for all the even models. We ultimately specialize to $S_q$\nsymmetric models, which are related to the $q$-state Potts universality class,\nand focus on three realizations appearing below the upper critical dimensions\n$6$, $4$ and $\\frac{10}{3}$, which can thus be nontrivial CFTs in three\ndimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A note on smeared branes in flux vacua and gauged supergravity: In the known examples of flux vacua with calibrated spacetime-filling sources\n(branes or orientifold planes), one can smear the source in order to perform a\nstandard KK reduction and obtain a lower-dimensional supergravity description.\nFurthermore, it is expected that the smeared and localized solution preserve\nequal amounts of supersymmetry. In this note we point out that the\n$\\mathrm{AdS}_7$ solution discussed in arXiv:1111.2605 and arXiv:1309.2949 is a\ncounterexample to this common lore. The solution is supersymmetric when the\nspacetime-filling D6-branes are localized but breaks supersymmetry in the\nsmeared limit. By using the embedding tensor formalism we demonstrate that\nthere is no gauged supergravity description for the solution, regardless of the\nsource being smeared or not. We conjecture that for flux solutions with\nseparation between the KK scale and the AdS radius this cannot occur.",
        "positive": "Discrete Gauge Symmetries by Higgsing in four-dimensional F-Theory\n  Compactifications: We study F-Theory compactifications to four dimensions that exhibit discrete\ngauge symmetries. Geometrically these arise by deforming elliptic fibrations\nwith two sections to a genus-one fibration with a bi-section. From a\nfour-dimensional field-theory perspective they are remnant symmetries from a\nHiggsed U(1) gauge symmetry. We implement such symmetries in the presence of an\nadditional SU(5) symmetry and associated matter fields, giving a geometric\nprescription for calculating the induced discrete charge for the matter curves\nand showing the absence of Yukawa couplings that are forbidden by this charge.\nWe present a detailed map between the field theory and the geometry, including\nan identification of the Higgs field and the massless states before and after\nthe Higgsing. Finally we show that the Higgsing of the U(1) induces a G-flux\nwhich precisely accounts for the change in the Calabi-Yau Euler number so as to\nleave the D3 tadpole invariant."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Deformations of $T^{1,1}$ as Yang-Baxter sigma models: We consider a family of deformations of T^{1,1} in the Yang-Baxter sigma\nmodel approach. We first discuss a supercoset description of T^{1,1}, which\nmakes manifest the full symmetry of the space and leads to the standard\nSasaki-Einstein metric. Next, we consider three-parameter deformations of\nT^{1,1} by using classical r-matrices satisfying the classical Yang-Baxter\nequation (CYBE). The resulting metric and NS-NS two-form agree exactly with the\nones obtained via TsT transformations, and contain the Lunin-Maldacena\nbackground as a special case. It is worth noting that for AdS_5 x T^{1,1},\nclassical integrability for the full sector has been argued to be lost. Hence\nour result indicates that the Yang-Baxter sigma model approach is applicable\neven for non-integrable cosets. This observation suggests that the gravity/CYBE\ncorrespondence can be extended beyond integrable cases.",
        "positive": "A note on local BRST cohomology of Yang-Mills type theories with free\n  abelian factors: We extend previous work on antifield dependent local BRST cohomology for\nmatter coupled gauge theories of Yang-Mills type to the case of gauge groups\nthat involve free abelian factors. More precisely, we first investigate in a\nmodel independent way how the dynamics enters the computation of the cohomology\nfor a general class of Lagrangians in general spacetime dimensions. We then\ndiscuss explicit solutions in the case of specific models. Our analysis has\nimplications for the structure of characteristic cohomology and for consistent\ndeformations of the classical models, as well as for divergences/counterterms\nand for gauge anomalies that may appear during perturbative quantization."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "New supersymmetric AdS_3 solutions: We construct infinite new classes of supersymmetric solutions of D=11\nsupergravity that are warped products of AdS_3 with an eight-dimensional\nmanifold M_8 and have non-vanishing four-form flux. In order to be compact, M_8\nis constructed as an S^2 bundle over a six-dimensional manifold B_6 which is\neither K\\\"ahler-Einstein or a product of K\\\"ahler-Einstein spaces. In the\nspecial cases that B_6 contains a two-torus, we also obtain new AdS_3 solutions\nof type IIB supergravity, with constant dilaton and only five-form flux. Via\nthe AdS-CFT correspondence the solutions with compact M_8 will be dual to\ntwo-dimensional conformal field theories with N=(0,2) supersymmetry. Our\nconstruction can also describe non-compact geometries and we briefly discuss\nexamples in type IIB which are dual to four-dimensional N=1 superconformal\ntheories coupled to string-like defects.",
        "positive": "Supersymmetry Breaking and Radius Stabilization by Constant Boundary\n  Superpotentials in Warped Space: Supersymmetry breaking and radius stabilization by constant superpotentials\nlocalized at boundaries is studied in a supersymmetric warped space model where\na hypermultiplet, a compensator and a radion multiplet are taken into account.\nSoft mass induced by the anomaly mediation can be of the order of 100GeV and\ncan be dominant compared to that mediated by bulk fields. A lighter physical\nmode composed of the radion and the moduli can have mass of the order of a TeV\nand the gravitino mass can be of the order of 10^7 GeV. The radius is\nstabilized by the presence of the constant boundary superpotentials. We also\nfind that the mass splitting has an interesting dependence on the bulk mass\nparameter c."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Emergent geometry from q-deformations of N=4 super Yang-Mills: We study BPS states in a marginal deformation of super Yang-Mills on R x S^3\nusing a quantum mechanical system of q-commuting matrices. We focus mainly on\nthe case where the parameter q is a root of unity, so that the AdS dual of the\nfield theory can be associated to an orbifold of AdS_5x S^5. We show that in\nthe large N limit, BPS states are described by density distributions of\neigenvalues and we assign to these distributions a geometrical spacetime\ninterpretation. We go beyond BPS configurations by turning on perturbative\nnon-q-commuting excitations. Considering states in an appropriate BMN limit, we\nuse a saddle point approximation to compute the BMN energy to all perturbative\norders in the 't Hooft coupling. We also examine some BMN like states that\ncorrespond to twisted sector string states in the orbifold and we show that our\ngeometrical interpretation of the system is consistent with the quantum numbers\nof the corresponding states under the quantum symmetry of the orbifold.",
        "positive": "From BRST to light-cone description of higher spin gauge fields: In this short note we show, at the level of action principles, how the\nlight-cone action of higher spin gauge fields can easily be obtained from the\nBRST formulation through the elimination of quartets. We analyze how the\nalgebra of cohomology classes is affected by such a reduction. By applying the\nreduction to the Poincare generators, we give an alternative way of analyzing\nthe physical spectrum of the Fronsdal type actions, with or without trace\ncondition."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "N-points correlator for the Gaudin's model realization of a Quantum Hall\n  Fluid: We study the Gaudin's model realization of a incompressible quantum Hall\nfluid on torus. We solve the model using the so called off-shell algebraic\nBethe ansatz for a general spin representation. The n-points correlators also\nwas computed as a solution of the Kznihik-Zamolodchikov equations. This explore\na possible connection between low energy D-brane physics with the low dimension\nintegrable models.",
        "positive": "Black Rings: A black ring is a five-dimensional black hole with an event horizon of\ntopology S1 x S2. We provide an introduction to the description of black rings\nin general relativity and string theory. Novel aspects of the presentation\ninclude a new approach to constructing black ring coordinates and a critical\nreview of black ring microscopics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Radion in 5D Conformal SUGRA: Superspace Action: We shortly review our new superfield formalism in the framework of Fujita,\nKugo, Ohashi 5D conformal supergravity, in particular with an $S^1/Z_2$\norbifold. The radion of the fifth dimension is embedded in two related\nsuperfields, a chiral and a general multiplet and is linked to the radion\nsuperfield of rigid SUSY. The superspace action of the gauge sector is of the\nChern-Simons type. We also present the superspace action for hypermultiplets\nand discuss the role of compensators. The presented formalism should be very\nuseful for applications. We demonstrate this for obtaining the RS solution.",
        "positive": "Platonic Sphalerons in the Presence of a Dilaton Field: We construct sphaleron solutions with discrete symmetries in Yang-Mills-Higgs\ntheory coupled to a dilaton. Related to rational maps of degree N, these\nplatonic sphalerons can be assigned a Chern-Simons number Q=N/2. We present\nsphaleron solutions with degree N=1-4, possessing spherical, axial, tetrahedral\nand cubic symmetry. For all these sphalerons two branches of solutions exist,\nwhich bifurcate at a maximal value of the dilaton coupling constant."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum integrable systems and representations of Lie algebras: In this paper the quantum integrals of the Hamiltonian of the quantum\nmany-body problem with the interaction potential K/sinh^2(x) (Sutherland\noperator) are constructed as images of higher Casimirs of the Lie algebra gl(N)\nunder a certain homomorphism from the center of U(gl(N)) to the algebra of\ndifferential operators in N variables. A similar construction applied to the\naffine gl(N) at the critical level k=-N defines a correspondence between higher\nSugawara operators and quantum integrals of the Hamiltonian of the quantum\nmany-body problem with the potential equal to constant times the Weierstrass\nfunction. This allows one to give a new proof of the Olshanetsky-Perelomov\ntheorem stating that this Hamiltonian defines a completely integrable quantum\nsystem. We also give a new expression for eigenfunctions of the quantum\nintegrals of the Sutherland operator as traces of intertwining operators\nbetween certain representations of gl(N).",
        "positive": "Casimir pistons with hybrid boundary conditions: The Casimir effect giving rise to an attractive or repulsive force between\nthe configuration boundaries that confine the massless scalar field is\nreexamined for one to three-dimensional pistons in this paper. Especially, we\nconsider Casimir pistons with hybrid boundary conditions, where the boundary\ncondition on the piston is Neumann and those on other surfaces are Dirichlet.\nWe show that the Casimir force on the piston is always repulsive, in contrast\nwith the same problem where the boundary conditions are Dirichlet on all\nsurfaces."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chern-Simons Theory and the $R$-Matrix: It has been a long-standing problem how to relate Chern-Simons theory to the\nquantum groups. In this paper we recover the classical $r$-matrix directly from\na 3-dimensional Chern-Simons theory with boundary conditions, thus creating a\ndirect link to the quantum groups. It is known that the Jones polynomials can\nbe constructed using an $R$-matrix. We show how these constructions can be seen\nto arise directly from 3-dimensional Chern-Simons theory.",
        "positive": "On Exactly Solvable Potentials: We investigate two methods of obtaining exactly solvable potentials with\nanalytic forms."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On non-supersymmetric fixed points in five dimensions: We generalize recent results regarding the phase space of the mass deformed\n$E_1$ fixed point to a full class of five-dimensional superconformal field\ntheories, known as $X_{1,N}$. As in the $E_1$ case, a phase transition occurs\nas a supersymmetry preserving and a supersymmetry breaking mass deformations\nare appropriately tuned. The order of such phase transition could not be\nunequivocally determined in the $E_1$ case. For $X_{1,N}$ instead, we can show\nthat at large $N$ there exists a regime where the phase transition is second\norder. Our findings give supporting evidence for the existence of\nnon-supersymmetric fixed points in five dimensions.",
        "positive": "Boost invariant quantum evolution of a meson field at large proper times: We construct asymptotic solutions of the functional Schroedinger equation for\na scalar field in the Gaussian approximation at large proper time. These\nsolutions describe the late proper time stages of the expansion of a meson gas\nwith boost invariant boundary conditions. The relevance of these solutions for\nthe formation of a disoriented chiral condensate in ultra relativistic\ncollisions is discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Random Polynomials and the Friendly Landscape: In hep-th/0501082, a field theoretic ``toy model'' for the Landscape was\nproposed. We show that the considerations of that paper carry through to\nrealistic effective Lagrangians, such as those that emerge out of string\ntheory. Extracting the physics of the large number of metastable vacua that\nensue requires somewhat more sophisticated algebro-geometric techniques, which\nwe review.",
        "positive": "Restricted phase space thermodynamics for black holes in higher\n  dimensions and higher curvature gravities: The recently proposed restricted phase space thermodynamics is shown to be\napplicable to a large class of higher dimensional higher curvature gravity\nmodels coupled to Maxwell field, which are known as black hole scan models and\nare labeled by the spacetime dimension $d$ and the highest order $k$ of the\nLanczos-Lovelock densities appearing in the action. Three typical example cases\nwith $(d,k)=(5,1), (5,2)$ and $(6,2)$ are chosen as example cases and studied\nin some detail. These cases are representatives of Einstein-Hilbert,\nChern-Simons and Born-Infield like gravity models. Our study indicates that the\nEinstein-Hilbert and Born-Infield like gravity models have similar\nthermodynamic behaviors, e.g. the existence of isocharge $T-S$ phase\ntransitions with the same critical exponents, the existence of isovoltage $T-S$\ntransitions and the Hawking-Page like transitions, and the similar high\ntemperature asymptotic behaviors for the isocharge heat capacities, etc.\nHowever, the Chern-Simons like $(5,2)$-model behaves quite differently. Neither\nisocharge nor isovoltage $T-S$ transitions could occur and no Hawking-Page like\ntransition is allowed. This seems to indicate that the Einstein-Hilbert and\nBorn-Infield like models belong to the same universality class while the\nChern-Simons like models do not."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic Duals of Flavored N=1 Super Yang-Mills: Beyond the Probe\n  Approximation: We construct backreacted D3/D7 supergravity backgrounds which are dual to\nfour-dimensional N=1 and N=2 supersymmetric Yang-Mills at large N_c with flavor\nquarks in the fundamental representation of SU(N_c). We take into account the\nbackreaction of D7-branes on either AdS(5) x S(5) or AdS(5) x T^{1,1}, or more\ngenerically on backgrounds where the space transverse to the D3-branes is\nKaehler. The construction of the backreacted geometry splits into two stages.\nFirst we determine the modification of the six-dimensional space transverse to\nthe D3 due to the D7, and then we compute the warp factor due to the D3.\n  The N=2 background corresponds to placing a single stack of N_f D7-branes in\nAdS(5) x S(5). Here the Kaehler potential is known exactly, while the warp\nfactor is obtained in certain limits as a perturbative expansion. By placing\nanother D7'probe in the backreacted D3/D7 background, we derive the effect of\nthe D7-branes on the spectrum of the scalar fluctuations to first order in N_f.\nThe two systems with N=1 supersymmetry that we discuss are D3/D7/D7' and D3/D7\non the conifold. In both cases, the Kaehler potential is obtained\nperturbatively in the number of D7-branes. We provide all the ingredients\nnecessary for the computation of each term in the expansion, and in each case\ngive the first few terms explicitly. Finally, we comment on some aspects of the\ndual gauge theories.",
        "positive": "F-term equations near Gepner points: We study marginal deformations of B-type D-branes in Landau-Ginzburg\norbifolds. The general setup of matrix factorizations allows for exact\ncomputations of F-term equations in the low-energy effective theory which are\nmuch simpler than in a corresponding geometric description. We present a number\nof obstructed and unobstructed examples in detail, including one in which a\nclosed string modulus is obstructed by the presence of D-branes. In a certain\nexample, we find a non-trivial global structure of the BRST operator on the\nmoduli space of branes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dimensional reduction and BRST approach to the description of a Regge\n  trajectory: The local free field theory for Regge trajectory is described in the\nframework of the BRST - quantization method. The corresponding BRST - charge is\nconstructed with the help of the method of dimensional reduction.",
        "positive": "Weyl Anomaly of 2D Dilaton-Scalar Gravity and Hermiticity of System\n  Operator: Weyl Anomaly in the dilaton-scalar system in 2 dimensional gravity is\nexamined. We take the heat-kernel regularization for the ultraviolet\ndivergences. Generally the Weyl anomaly is determined by the 2nd order\ndifferential (elliptic) operator of the system and the definition of the\nmeasure. We have the freedom of the operator choice caused by the arbitrariness\nof total divergences (surface terms) in the action. We examine the Weyl anomaly\nin connection with such points and the hermiticity of the operator."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Higgs phase in a gauge $\\mathbf{U}(1)$ non-linear $\\mathbf{CP}^1$-model.\n  Two species of BPS vortices and their zero modes: In this paper zero modes of fluctuation are dissected around the two species\nof BPS vortices existing in the critical Higgs phase, where the scalar and\nvector meson masses are equal, of a gauged $\\mathbb{U}(1)$ nonlinear\n$\\mathbb{CP}^1$-model. If $2\\pi n$, $n\\in \\mathbb{Z}$, is the quantized\nmagnetic flux of the two species of BPS vortex solutions, $2n$ linearly\nindependent vortex zero modes for each species are found and described. The\nexistence of two species of moduli spaces of dimension $2n$ of these stringy\ntopological defects is thus locally shown.",
        "positive": "Equivariant K3 Invariants: In this note, we describe a connection between the enumerative geometry of\ncurves in K3 surfaces and the chiral ring of an auxiliary superconformal field\ntheory. We consider the invariants calculated by Yau--Zaslow (capturing the\nEuler characters of the moduli spaces of D2-branes on curves of given genus),\ntogether with their refinements to carry additional quantum numbers by\nKatz--Klemm--Vafa (KKV), and Katz--Klemm--Pandharipande (KKP). We show that\nthese invariants can be reproduced by studying the Ramond ground states of an\nauxiliary chiral superconformal field theory which has recently been observed\nto give rise to mock modular moonshine for a variety of sporadic simple groups\nthat are subgroups of Conway's group. We also study equivariant versions of\nthese invariants. A K3 sigma model is specified by a choice of 4-plane in the\nK3 D-brane charge lattice. Symmetries of K3 sigma models are naturally\nidentified with 4-plane preserving subgroups of the Conway group, according to\nthe work of Gaberdiel--Hohenegger--Volpato, and one may consider corresponding\nequivariant refined K3 Gopakumar--Vafa invariants. The same symmetries\nnaturally arise in the auxiliary CFT state space, affording a suggestive\nalternative view of the same computation. We comment on a lift of this story to\nthe generating function of elliptic genera of symmetric products of K3\nsurfaces."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Effect of RGUP on the nonlinear Klein-Gordon model with spontaneous\n  symmetry breaking: In the framework of the relativistic generalized uncertainty principle\n(RGUP), we study the nonlinear Klein-Gordon field with $\\phi^4$\nself-interaction. This generalization comes from the quantum gravity theories\nthat predict the existence of a minimal measurable length scale. The quantum\ngravity effects slightly modify the momentum and change the Lagrangian density\nof the field. This model, specifically in the context of spontaneous symmetry\nbreaking, is so fruitful and leads us to many interesting phenomena. Due to the\ncomplexity of the consequent equations, the model is normally studied via\nperturbation mechanisms. However, here, we apply a generalized $tanh$-method\nwhich supposed that the field solutions should be $sech$-functions of segments\nof space and time. By this extended method, we find some more general solutions\nwith respect to our previous work \\cite{Mir1}. Several solutions can be found\nbut we select only the normalizable and bounded solitary fields. The energy\nspectrum of each field solution is obtained in an analytical form and\ndiscussed. The modification parameter of the corresponding RGUP is estimated by\nusing the rest energy of the mass of the Higgs boson.",
        "positive": "Casimir effect in Domain Wall formation: The Casimir forces on two parallel plates in conformally flat de Sitter\nbackground due to conformally coupled massless scalar field satisfying mixed\nboundary conditions on the plates is investigated. In the general case of mixed\nboundary conditions formulae are derived for the vacuum expectation values of\nthe energy-momentum tensor and vacuum forces acting on boundaries.\n  Different cosmological constants are assumed for the space between and\noutside of the plates to have general results applicable to the case of domain\nwall formations in the early universe."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Nearly critical superfluid: effective field theory and holography: We study a nearly critical superfluid system from two complementary\napproaches. Within the first approach, we formulate a Schwinger-Keldysh\neffective field theory (EFT) for the system when it is located slightly above\nthe critical temperature. The dynamical variables in the EFT construction are\ntwo scalars: a neutral scalar associated with the conserved U(1) charge, and a\ncomplex scalar describing the order parameter. The set of symmetries,\nparticularly the dynamical Kubo-Martin-Schwinger (KMS) symmetry and chemical\nshift symmetry, strictly constrains the form of EFT action. Within the second\napproach, using the holographic Schwinger-Keldysh technique, we derive the\neffective action for a ``microscopic'' holographic superfluid, confirming the\nEFT construction. A systematic inclusion of non-Gaussianity is one highlight of\npresent study.",
        "positive": "Gravity duals to deformed SYM theories and Generalized Complex Geometry: We analyze the supersymmetry conditions for a class of SU(2) structure\nbackgrounds of Type IIB supergravity, corresponding to a specific ansatz for\nthe supersymmetry parameters. These backgrounds are relevant for the AdS/CFT\ncorrespondence since they are suitable to describe mass deformations or\nbeta-deformations of four-dimensional superconformal gauge theories. Using\nGeneralized Complex Geometry we show that these geometries are characterized by\na closed nowhere-vanishing vector field and a modified fundamental form which\nis also closed. The vector field encodes the information about the\nsuperpotential and the type of deformation - mass or beta respectively. We also\nshow that the Pilch-Warner solution dual to a mass-deformation of N =4 Super\nYang-Mills and the Lunin-Maldacena beta-deformation of the same background fall\nin our class of solutions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Closed Strings from SO(8) Yang-Mills Instantons: When eight-dimensional instantons, satisfying F \\wedge F = \\pm \\star_8\n(F\\wedge F), shrink to zero size, we find stringy objects in higher order\nten-dimensional Yang-Mills (viewed as a low-energy limit of open string\ntheory). The associated F^4 action is a combination of two independent parts\nhaving a single-trace and a double-trace structure. As a result we get a\nD-string from the single-trace term and a fundamental string from the\ndouble-trace. The latter has (8,0) supersymmetry on the worldsheet and\ncouplings to the background gauge fields of a heterotic string. A correlation\nbetween the conformal factor of the instanton and the tachyon field is\nconjectured.",
        "positive": "Comment on Dirac spectral sum rules for QCD_3: Recently Magnea hep-th/9907096 , hep-th/9912207 [Phys.Rev.D61, 056005 (2000);\nPhys.Rev.D62, 016005 (2000)] claimed to have computed the first sum rules for\nDirac operators in 3D gauge theories from 0D non-linear sigma models. I point\nout that these computations are incorrect, and that they contradict with the\nexact results for the spectral densities unambiguously derived from random\nmatrix theory by Nagao and myself."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Stringy Evidence for a Universal Pattern at Infinite Distance: Infinite distance limits in the moduli space of a quantum gravity theory are\ncharacterized by having infinite towers of states becoming light, as dictated\nby the Distance Conjecture in the Swampland program. These towers imply a\ndrastic breakdown in the perturbative regimes of the effective field theory at\na quantum gravity cut-off scale known as the species scale. In this paper, we\nfind a universal pattern satisfied in all known infinite distance limits of\nstring theory compactifications, which relates the variation in field space of\nthe mass of the tower and the species scale: $\\frac{\\vec\\nabla m}{m}\n\\cdot\\frac{\\vec\\nabla \\Lambda_{\\rm sp}}{ \\Lambda_{\\rm sp}}=\\frac{1}{d-2}$ in\n$d$ spacetime dimensions. This implies a more precise definition of the\nDistance conjecture and sharp bounds for the exponential decay rates. We\nprovide plethora of evidence in string theory and identify some sufficient\nconditions that allow the pattern to hold from a bottom-up perspective.",
        "positive": "Matching gauge theory and string theory in a decoupling limit of AdS/CFT: We identify a regime of the AdS/CFT correspondence in which we can\nquantitatively match N=4 super Yang-Mills (SYM) for small 't Hooft coupling\nwith weakly coupled type IIB string theory on AdS_5 x S^5. We approach this\nregime by taking the same decoupling limit on both sides of the correspondence.\nOn the gauge theory side only the states in the SU(2) sector survive, and in\nthe planar limit the Hamiltonian is given by the XXX_{1/2} Heisenberg spin\nchain. On the string theory side we show that the decoupling limit corresponds\nto a non-relativistic limit. In this limit some of the bosonic modes and all of\nthe fermionic modes of the string become infinitely heavy and decouple. We\nfirst take the decoupling limit of the string sigma-model classically. This\nenables us to identify a semi-classical regime with semi-classical string\nstates even though we are in a regime corresponding to small 't Hooft coupling.\nWe furthermore analyze the quantum corrections that enter in taking the limit.\n  From this we infer that gauge theory and string theory match, both in terms\nof the action and the spectrum, for the leading part and the first correction\naway from the semi-classical regime. Finally we consider the implications for\nthe hitherto unexplained matching of the one-loop contribution to the energy of\ncertain gauge theory and string theory states, and we explain how our results\ngive a firm basis for the matching of the Hagedorn temperature in\nhep-th/0608115."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the supersymmetric solutions of the Heterotic Superstring effective\n  action: We consider the effective action of the Heterotic Superstring to first order\nin alpha prime and derive the necessary and sufficient conditions that a field\nconfiguration has to satisfy in order to admit at least one Killing spinor\nusing the spinor bilinear method and making minimal coordinate and frame\nchoices. As a previous step in this derivation, we compute the complete spinor\nbilinear algebra using the Fierz identities, obtaining as a by-product the\nalgebra satisfied by the Spin(7) structure contained in the bilinears in an\narbitrary basis. We find the relations existing between the left-hand-sides of\nthe bosonic equations of motion evaluated on supersymmetric field\nconfigurations using the Killing Spinor Identities instead of the (far more\ncomplicated) integrability conditions of the Killing Spinor Equations as it is\ncommon in the literature. We show how to include the Kalb-Ramond's Bianchi\nidentity in the Killing Spinor Identities.",
        "positive": "Five-loop Konishi from the Mirror TBA: We use the Thermodynamic Bethe Ansatz equations for the AdS_5 \\times S^5\nmirror model to derive the five-loop anomalous dimension of the Konishi\noperator. We show numerically that the corresponding result perfectly agrees\nwith the one recently obtained via the generalized Luscher formulae. This\nconstitutes an important test of the AdS/CFT TBA system."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Irreps of the N-Extended Supersymmetric Quantum Mechanics and\n  Their Fusion Graphs: In this talk we review the classification of the irreducible representations\nof the algebra of the N-extended one-dimensional supersymmetric quantum\nmechanics presented in hep-th/0511274. We answer some issues raised in\nhep-th/0611060, proving the agreement of the results here contained with those\nin hep-th/0511274. We further show that the fusion algebra of the 1D N-extended\nsupersymmetric vacua introduced in hep-th/0511274 admits a graphical\npresentation. The N=2 graphs are here explicitly presented for the first time.",
        "positive": "Space Inversion of Spinors Revisited: A Possible Explanation of Chiral\n  Behavior in Weak Interactions: We investigate a model in which spinors are considered as being embedded\nwithin the Clifford algebra that operates on them. In Minkowski space\n$M_{1,3}$, we have four independent 4-component spinors, each living in a\ndifferent minimal left ideal of $Cl(1,3)$. We show that under space inversion,\na spinor of one left ideal transforms into a spinor of another left ideal. This\nbrings novel insight to the role of chirality in weak interactions. We\ndemonstrate the latter role by considering an action for a generalized spinor\nfield $\\psi^{\\alpha i}$ that has not only a spinor index $\\alpha$ but also an\nextra index $i$ running over four ideals. The covariant derivative of\n$\\psi^{\\alpha i}$ contains the generalized spin connection, the extra\ncomponents of which are interpreted as the SU(2) gauge fields of weak\ninteractions and their generalization. We thus arrive at a system that is\nleft-right symmetric due to the presence of a \"parallel sector\", postulated a\nlong time ago, that contains mirror particles coupled to mirror SU(2) gauge\nfields."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Extra Mode and Inconsistency of Horava Gravity: We address the consistency of Horava's proposal for a theory of quantum\ngravity from the low-energy perspective. We uncover the additional scalar\ndegree of freedom arising from the explicit breaking of the general covariance\nand study its properties. The analysis is performed both in the original\nformulation of the theory and in the Stueckelberg picture. A peculiarity of the\nnew mode is that it satisfies an equation of motion that is of first order in\ntime derivatives. At linear level the mode is manifest only around spatially\ninhomogeneous and time-dependent backgrounds. We find two serious problems\nassociated with this mode. First, the mode develops very fast exponential\ninstabilities at short distances. Second, it becomes strongly coupled at an\nextremely low cutoff scale. We also discuss the \"projectable\" version of\nHorava's proposal and argue that this version can be understood as a certain\nlimit of the ghost condensate model. The theory is still problematic since the\nadditional field generically forms caustics and, again, has a very low strong\ncoupling scale. We clarify some subtleties that arise in the application of the\nStueckelberg formalism to Horava's model due to its non-relativistic nature.",
        "positive": "Superbranes: A large class of supersymmetric extended objects is considered from the\nviewpoint of embeddings of super worldsurfaces into target superspaces. It is\nshown that a simple geometrical condition leads to the equations of motion for\nthe brane in many cases."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Higher-Spin Theory and Space-Time Metamorphoses: Introductory lectures on higher-spin gauge theory given at 7 Aegean workshop\non non-Einstein theories of gravity. The emphasis is on qualitative features of\nthe higher-spin gauge theory and peculiarities of its space-time\ninterpretation. In particular, it is explained that Riemannian geometry cannot\nplay a fundamental role in the higher-spin gauge theory. The higher-spin\nsymmetries are argued to occur at ultra high energy scales beyond the Planck\nscale. This suggests that the higher-spin gauge theory can help to understand\nQuantum Gravity. Various types of higher-spin dualities are briefly discussed.",
        "positive": "Topological Field Theories associated with Three Dimensional\n  Seiberg-Witten monopoles: Three dimensional topological field theories associated with the three\ndimensional version of Abelian and non-Abelian Seiberg-Witten monopoles are\npresented. These three dimensional monopole equations are obtained by a\ndimensional reduction of the four dimensional ones. The starting actions to be\nconsidered are Gaussian types with random auxiliary fields. As the local gauge\nsymmetries with topological shifts are found to be first stage reducible,\nBatalin-Vilkovisky algorithm is suitable for quantization. Then BRST\ntransformation rules are automatically obtained. Non-trivial observables\nassociated with Chern classes are obtained from geometric sector and are found\nto correspond to those of the topological field theory of Bogomol'nyi\nmonopoles."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Reflection positivity and complex analysis of the Yang-Mills theory from\n  a viewpoint of gluon confinement: In order to understand the confining decoupling solution of the Yang-Mills\ntheory in the Landau gauge, we consider the massive Yang-Mills model which is\ndefined by just adding a gluon mass term to the Yang-Mills theory with the\nLorentz-covariant gauge fixing term and the associated Faddeev-Popov ghost\nterm. First of all, we show that massive Yang-Mills model is obtained as a\ngauge-fixed version of the gauge-invariantly extended theory which is\nidentified with the gauge-scalar model with a single fixed-modulus scalar field\nin the fundamental representation of the gauge group. This equivalence is\nobtained through the gauge-independent description of the Brout-Englert-Higgs\nmechanism proposed recently by one of the authors. Then, we reconfirm that the\nEuclidean gluon and ghost propagators in the Landau gauge obtained by numerical\nsimulations on the lattice are reproduced with good accuracy from the massive\nYang-Mills model by taking into account one-loop quantum corrections. Moreover,\nwe demonstrate in a numerical way that the Schwinger function calculated from\nthe gluon propagator in the Euclidean region exhibits violation of the\nreflection positivity at the physical point of the parameters. In addition, we\nperform the analytic continuation of the gluon propagator from the Euclidean\nregion to the complex momentum plane towards the Minkowski region. We give an\nanalytical proof that the reflection positivity is violated for any choice of\nthe parameters in the massive Yang-Mills model, due to the existence of a pair\nof complex conjugate poles and the negativity of the spectral function for the\ngluon propagator to one-loop order. The complex structure of the propagator\nenables us to explain why the gluon propagator in the Euclidean region is well\ndescribed by the Gribov-Stingl form.",
        "positive": "Simplicity of Polygon Wilson Loops in N=4 SYM: Wilson loops with lightlike polygonal contours have been conjectured to be\nequivalent to MHV scattering amplitudes in N=4 super Yang-Mills. We compute\nsuch Wilson loops for special polygonal contours at two loops in perturbation\ntheory. Specifically, we concentrate on the remainder function R, obtained by\nsubtracting the known ABDK/BDS ansatz from the Wilson loop. First, we consider\na particular two-dimensional eight-point kinematics studied at strong coupling\nby Alday and Maldacena. We find numerical evidence that R is the same at weak\nand at strong coupling, up to an overall, coupling-dependent constant. This\nsuggests a universality of the remainder function at strong and weak coupling\nfor generic null polygonal Wilson loops, and therefore for arbitrary MHV\namplitudes in N=4 super Yang-Mills. We analyse the consequences of this\nstatement. We further consider regular n-gons, and find that the remainder\nfunction is linear in n at large n through numerical computations performed up\nto n=30. This reproduces a general feature of the corresponding strong-coupling\nresult."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Asymptotically anti-de Sitter spacetimes and conserved quantities in\n  higher curvature gravitational theories: We consider $n$-dimensional asymptotically anti-de Sitter spacetimes in\nhigher curvature gravitational theories with $n \\geq 4$, by employing the\nconformal completion technique. We first argue that a condition on the Ricci\ntensor should be supplemented to define an asymptotically anti-de Sitter\nspacetime in higher curvature gravitational theories and propose an alternative\ndefinition of an asymptotically anti-de Sitter spacetime. Based on that\ndefinition, we then derive a conservation law of the gravitational field and\nconstruct conserved quantities in two classes of higher curvature gravitational\ntheories. We also show that these conserved quantities satisfy a balance\nequation in the same sense as in Einstein gravity and that they reproduce the\nresults derived elsewhere. These conserved quantities are shown to be expressed\nas an integral of the electric part of the Weyl tensor alone and hence they\nvanish identically in the pure anti-de Sitter spacetime as in the case of\nEinstein gravity.",
        "positive": "Note on a Paper by Ooguri and Vafa: In a recent paper, Ooguri and Vafa [arXiv:1610.04564] argued that a mild\nextension of the Weak Gravity conjecture\\cite{weakgrav} led to the conclusion\nthat the only models of quantum gravity in AdS space with \"radius large\ncompared to the string scale\" were models with exact AdS-SUSY. This note\nclarifies certain obscure parts of their argument by reinterpreting it as a\nstatement about brane configurations in flat space. In that context the\nstatement is that stable non-supersymmetric configurations of branes are\ncharacterized by charges in the torsion subgroup of K-theory and their only\nlong range fields are gravitational and scalar. The field equations do not have\nlarge radius near horizon AdS solutions. Instead the horizons are Schwarzschild\nblack branes. This leads us to conjecture that for $d \\leq 11$ the K theory\ncharges are bounded by a small integer, and there can be no large gravitational\nback reaction in the near horizon limit, for stable configurations. Unbounded\nvalues of these discrete charges would violate the Covariant Entropy Bound. We\ndiscuss a counterexample to the conjecture in $AdS_3$. We find similar\ncounterexamples in higher dimensional AdS spaces, but argue that none of them\nlead to SUSY violating models of quantum gravity in Minkowski space."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Effective Action for Relativistic Hydrodynamics: Fluctuations,\n  Dissipation, and Entropy Inflow: We present a detailed and self-contained analysis of the universal\nSchwinger-Keldysh effective field theory which describes macroscopic thermal\nfluctuations of a relativistic field theory, elaborating on our earlier\nconstruction in arXiv:1511.07809. We write an effective action for appropriate\nhydrodynamic Goldstone modes and fluctuation fields, and discuss the symmetries\nto be imposed. The constraints imposed by fluctuation-dissipation theorem are\nmanifest in our formalism. Consequently, the action reproduces hydrodynamic\nconstitutive relations consistent with the local second law at all orders in\nthe derivative expansion, and captures the essential elements of the eightfold\nclassification of hydrodynamic transport of arXiv:1502.00636. We demonstrate\nhow to recover the hydrodynamic entropy and give predictions for the\nnon-Gaussian hydrodynamic fluctuations.\n  The basic ingredients of our construction involve (i) doubling of degrees of\nfreedom a la Schwinger-Keldysh, (ii) an emergent thermal gauge symmetry\nassociated with entropy which is encapsulated in a Noether current a la Wald,\nand (iii) a BRST/topological supersymmetry imposing the fluctuation-dissipation\ntheorem a la Parisi-Sourlas. The overarching mathematical framework for our\nconstruction is provided by the balanced equivariant cohomology of thermal\ntranslations, which captures the basic constraints arising from the\nSchwinger-Keldysh doubling, and the thermal Kubo-Martin-Schwinger relations.\nAll these features are conveniently implemented in a covariant superspace\nformalism. An added benefit is that the second law can be understood as being\ndue to entropy inflow from the Grassmann-odd directions of superspace.",
        "positive": "Cancellation of soft and collinear divergences in noncommutative QED: In this paper, we investigate the behavior of non-commutative IR divergences\nand will also discuss their cancellation in the physical cross sections. The\ncommutative IR (soft) divergences existing in the non-planar diagrams will be\nexamined in order to prove an all order cancellation of these divergences using\nthe Weinberg's method. In non-commutative QED, collinear divergences due to\ntriple photon splitting vertex, were encountered, which are shown to be\ncanceled out by the non-commutative version of KLN theorem. This guarantees\nthat there is no mixing between the Collinear, soft and non-commutative IR\ndivergences."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Solutions in Bosonic String Field Theory and Higher Spin Algebras in AdS: We find a class of analytic solutions in open bosonic string field theory,\nparametrized by the chiral copy of higher spin algebra in $AdS_3$. The\nsolutions are expressed in terms of the generating function for the products of\nBell polynomials in derivatives of bosonic space-time coordinates $X^m(z)$ of\nthe open string, which form is determined in this work. The products of these\npolynomials form a natural operator algebra realizations of $W_\\infty$\n(area-preserving diffeomorphisms), enveloping algebra of SU(2) and higher spin\nalgebra in $AdS_3$. The class of SFT solutions found can, in turn, be\ninterpreted as the \"enveloping of enveloping\", or the enveloping of $AdS_3$\nhigher spin algebra.\n  We also discuss the extensions of this class of solutions to superstring\ntheory and their relations to higher spin algebras in higher space-time\ndimensions.",
        "positive": "Higher Spins and Matter Interacting in Dimension Three: The spectrum of Prokushkin--Vasiliev Theory is puzzling in light of the\nGaberdiel--Gopakumar conjecture because it generically contains an additional\nsector besides higher-spin gauge and scalar fields. We find the unique\ntruncation of the theory avoiding this problem to order 2 in perturbations\naround AdS$_3$. The second-order backreaction on the physical gauge sector\ninduced by the scalars is computed explicitly. The cubic action for the\nphysical fields is determined completely. We comment on a different higher-spin\ntheory without such additional fields at $\\lambda=1$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Symplectic embedding and Hamilton-Jacobi analysis of Proca model: Following the symplectic approach we show how to embed the Abelian Proca\nmodel into a first-class system by extending the configuration space to include\nan additional pair of scalar fields, and compare it with the improved Dirac\nscheme. We obtain in this way the desired Wess-Zumino and gauge fixing terms of\nBRST invariant Lagrangian. Furthermore, the integrability properties of the\nsecond-class system described by the Abelian Proca model are investigated using\nthe Hamilton-Jacobi formalism, where we construct the closed Lie algebra by\nintroducing operators associated with the generalized Poisson brackets.",
        "positive": "Quantum mechanics in fractional and other anomalous spacetimes: We formulate quantum mechanics in spacetimes with real-order fractional\ngeometry and more general factorizable measures. In spacetimes where\ncoordinates and momenta span the whole real line, Heisenberg's principle is\nproven and the wave-functions minimizing the uncertainty are found. In spite of\nthe fact that ordinary time and spatial translations are broken and the\ndynamics is not unitary, the theory is in one-to-one correspondence with a\nunitary one, thus allowing us to employ standard tools of analysis. These\nfeatures are illustrated in the examples of the free particle and the harmonic\noscillator. While fractional (and the more general anomalous-spacetime) free\nmodels are formally indistinguishable from ordinary ones at the classical\nlevel, at the quantum level they differ both in the Hilbert space and for a\ntopological term fixing the classical action in the path integral formulation.\nThus, all non-unitarity in fractional quantum dynamics is encoded in a\ncontribution depending only on the initial and final state."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spherical Calogero model with oscillator/Coulomb potential: classical\n  case: We construct the Hamiltonians and symmetry generators of Calogero-oscillator\nand Calogero-Coulomb models on the N-dimensional sphere within the matrix-model\nreduction approach. Our method also produces the integrable\nCalogero-Coulomb-Stark model on the sphere and proves the integrability of the\nspin extensions of all these systems.",
        "positive": "Rozansky-Witten theory, Localised then Tilted: The paper has two parts, in the first part, we apply the localisation\ntechnique to the Rozansky-Witten theory on compact HyperK\\\"ahler targets. We do\nso via first reformulating the theory as some supersymmetric sigma-model. We\nobtain the exact formula for the partition function with Wilson loops on\n$S^1\\times\\Sigma_g$ and the lens spaces, the results match with earlier\ncomputations using Feynman diagrams on K3. The second part is motivated by a\nvery curious preprint \\cite{Gukov:2020lqm}, where the equivariant index formula\nfor the dimension of the Hilbert space the theory is interpreted as a kind of\nVerlinde formula. In this interpretation, the fixed points of the target\nHyperK\\\"ahler geometry correspond to certain 'states'. In the second half of\nthe paper we extend the formalism of part one to incorporate equivariance on\nthe target geometry. For certain non-compact hyperK\\\"ahler geometry, we can\napply the tilting theory to the derived category of coherent sheaves, whose\nobjects label the Wilson loops, allowing us to pick a 'basis' for the latter.\nWe can then compute the fusion products in this basis and we show that the\nobjects that have diagonal fusion rules are intimately related to the fixed\npoints of the geometry. Using these objects as basis to compute the dimension\nof the Hilbert space leads back to the Verlinde formula, thus answering the\nquestion that motivated the paper."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Casimir Effect in Hyperbolic Polygons: We derive a trace formula for the spectra of quantum mechanical systems in\nhyperbolic polygons which are the fundamental domains of discrete isometry\ngroups acting in the two dimensional hyperboloid. Using this trace formula and\nthe point splitting regularization method we calculate the Casimir energy for a\nscalar fields in such domains. The dependence of the vacuum energy on the\nnumber of vertexes is established.",
        "positive": "Planar Supersymmetric Quantum Mechanics of a Charged Particle in an\n  External Electromagnetic Field: The supersymmetric quantum mechanics of a two-dimensional non-relativistic\nparticle subject to external magnetic and electric fields is studied in a\nsuperfield formulation and with the typical non-minimal coupling of (2+1)\ndimensions. Both the N=1 and N=2 cases are contemplated and the introduction of\nthe electric interaction is suitably analysed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Minimal Length Uncertainty Relation and the Foundations of String\n  Theory: We review our work on the minimal length uncertainty relation as suggested by\nperturbative string theory. We discuss simple phenomenological implications of\nthe minimal length uncertainty relation and then argue that the combination of\nthe principles of quantum theory and general relativity allow for a dynamical\nenergy-momentum space. We discuss the implication of this for the problem of\nvacuum energy and the foundations of non-perturbative string theory.",
        "positive": "Unruh-Fulling effect in nonlocal field theory: The role of Unruh\n  decomposition: We investigate the Unruh-Fulling effect in a class of nonlocal field theories\nby examining both the number operator and Unruh-DeWitt detector methods. Unlike\nin previous literature, we use Unruh quantization to quantize the matter field.\nSuch choice, as oppose to standard Minkowski decomposition, naturally\nincorporates the time translational invariance in the positive frequency\nWightman function and thus captures the thermal equilibrium of the system. We\nanalyze the Unruh-Fulling effect for a massless real scalar field in both the\nLorentz noninvariant and Lorentz invariant nonlocal theories. In Lorentz\nnoninvariant nonlocal theory, the expectation value of number operator and the\nresponse function of the detector are modified by an overall multiplicative\nfactor. Whereas in Lorentz invariant nonlocal theory these quantities remain\nidentical to those of the standard Unruh-Fulling effect. The temperature of the\nthermal bath remains unaltered for both the Lorentz noninvariant and Lorentz\ninvariant nonlocal theories. Therefore, in terms of temperature, the nonlocal\nUnruh-Fulling effect is universal while it is derived via Unruh quantization,\nwhereas the transition rate may be modified."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Kaehler Metrics and Yukawa Couplings in Magnetized Brane Models: Using the field theoretical approach introduced by Cremades, Ibanez and\nMarchesano for describing open strings attached to D9 branes having different\nmagnetizations, we give a procedure for determining the Kaehler metrics of\nthose open strings in toroidal compactifications.",
        "positive": "Perturbative versus nonperturbative dynamics of the fuzzy S^2*S^2: We study a matrix model with a cubic term, which incorporates both the fuzzy\nS^2*S^2 and the fuzzy S^2 as classical solutions. Both of the solutions decay\ninto the vacuum of the pure Yang-Mills model (even in the large-N limit) when\nthe coefficient of the cubic term is smaller than a critical value, but the\nlarge-N behavior of the critical point is different for the two solutions. The\nresults above the critical point are nicely reproduced by the all order\ncalculations in perturbation theory. By comparing the free energy, we find that\nthe true vacuum is given either by the fuzzy S^2 or by the ``pure Yang-Mills\nvacuum'' depending on the coupling constant. In Monte Carlo simulation we do\nobserve a decay of the fuzzy S^2*S^2 into the fuzzy S^2 at moderate N, but the\ndecay probability seems to be suppressed at large N. The above results,\ntogether with our previous results for the fuzzy CP^2, reveal certain\nuniversality in the large-N dynamics of four-dimensional fuzzy manifolds\nrealized in a matrix model with a cubic term."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fluctuations and Energy Shifts in the Bethe Ansatz: We study fluctuations and finite size corrections for the ferromagnetic\nthermodynamic limit in the Bethe ansatz for the Heisenberg XXX1/2 spin chain,\nwhich is the AdS/CFT dual of semiclassical spinning strings. For this system we\nderive the standard quantum mechanical formula which expresses the energy shift\nas a sum over fluctuation energies. As an example we apply our results to the\nsimplest, one-cut solution of this system and derive its spectrum of\nfluctuations.",
        "positive": "On a gauge invariant description of soliton dynamics: We present important elements of a gauge and diffeomorphism invariant\nformulation of the moduli space approximation to soliton dynamics. We argue\nthat explicit velocity-dependent modifications are determined entirely from\ngauge and diffeomorphism invariance. We illustrate the formalism for the case\nof a Yang-Mills theory on a curved spacetime background."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Bootstrapping a Two-Loop Four-Point Form Factor: We compute the two-loop four-point form factor of a length-3 half-BPS\noperator in planar N=4 SYM, which belongs to the class of two-loop five-point\nscattering observables with one off-shell color-singlet leg. A new\nbootstrapping strategy is developed to obtain this result by starting with an\nansatz expanded in terms of master integrals and then solving the master\ncoefficients via various physical constraints. We find that consistency\nconditions of infrared divergences and collinear limits, together with the\ncancellation of spurious poles, can fix a significant part of the ansatz. The\nremaining degrees of freedom can be fixed by one simple type of two-double\nunitarity cut. Full analytic results in terms of both symbol and Goncharov\npolylogarithms are provided.",
        "positive": "Orbifolds and Exact Solutions of Strongly-Coupled Matrix Models: We find an exact solution to strongly-coupled matrix models with a\nsingle-trace monomial potential. Our solution yields closed form expressions\nfor the partition function as well as averages of Schur functions. The results\nare fully factorized into a product of terms linear in the rank of the matrix\nand the parameters of the model. We extend our formulas to include both\nlogarthmic and finite-difference deformations, thereby generalizing the\ncelebrated Selberg and Kadell integrals. We conjecture a formula for\ncorrelators of two Schur functions in these models, and explain how our results\nfollow from a general orbifold-like procedure that can be applied to any\none-matrix model with a single-trace potential."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On compatibility of string effective action with an accelerating\n  universe: In this paper, we fully investigate the cosmological effects of the moduli\ndependent one-loop corrections to the gravitational couplings of the string\neffective action to explain the cosmic acceleration problem in early (and/or\nlate) universe. These corrections comprise a Gauss-Bonnet (GB) invariant\nmultiplied by universal non-trivial functions of the common modulus $\\sigma$\nand the dilaton $\\phi$. The model exhibits several features of cosmological\ninterest, including the transition between deceleration and acceleration\nphases. By considering some phenomenologically motivated ansatzs for one of the\nscalars and/or the scale factor (of the universe), we also construct a number\nof interesting inflationary potentials. In all examples under consideration, we\nfind that the model leads only to a standard inflation ($w \\geq -1$) when the\nnumerical coefficient $\\delta$ associated with modulus-GB coupling is positive,\nwhile the model can lead also to a non-standard inflation ($w<-1$), if $\\delta$\nis negative. In the absence of (or trivial) coupling between the GB term and\nthe scalars, there is no crossing between the $w< -1$ and $w> -1$ phases, while\nthis is possible with non-trivial GB couplings, even for constant dilaton phase\nof the standard picture. Within our model, after a sufficient amount of e-folds\nof expansion, the rolling of both fields $\\phi$ and $\\sigma$ can be small. In\nturn, any possible violation of equivalence principle or deviations from the\nstandard general relativity may be small enough to easily satisfy all\nastrophysical and cosmological constraints.",
        "positive": "The Coulomb-branch S-matrix from massless amplitudes: We present a systematic method to extract the entire tree-level S-matrix on\nthe Coulomb branch of N=4 SYM from soft-scalar limits of on-shell amplitudes at\nthe origin of moduli space. Massive amplitudes in the spontaneously-broken\ntheory can thus be computed from on-shell amplitudes in the massless, unbroken\ntheory. To check this correspondence, we first prove that soft and collinear\ndivergences in the required massless amplitudes cancel for a judicious choice\nof soft-scalar momenta. We then explicitly verify our proposal in examples with\narbitrarily many external legs and to all orders in the mass. As a byproduct,\nthe construction leads to a massive CSW-like expansion that reproduces several\nknown all-n results for Coulomb-branch amplitudes in an effortless way. We\nbriefly discuss the extension of our method to loop integrands."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On some (integrable) structures in low-dimensional holography: Recent progress in holographic correspondence uncovered remarkable relations\nbetween key characteristics of the theories on both sides of duality and\ncertain integrable models. In this note we revisit the problem of the role of\ncertain invariants in low-dimensional holography. As motivating example we\nconsider first the entanglement entropy in 2d CFT and projective invariants.\nNext we consider higher projective invariants and suggest generalization to\nhigher spin theories. Quadratic in invariants deformations is considered and\nconjectured to play role in low-dimensional higher spin holography.",
        "positive": "Quantum Corrections in Galileons from Matter Loops: Galileon interactions represent a class of effective field theories that have\nreceived much attention since their inception. They can be treated in their own\nright as scalar field theories with a specific global shift and Galilean\nsymmetry or as a descendant of a more fundamental theory like massive gravity.\nIt is well known that the Galileon theories are stable under quantum\ncorrections thanks to the non-renormalization theorem which is not due to the\nsymmetry. We consider different covariant couplings of this Galileon scalar\nfield with the matter field: the conformal coupling, the disformal coupling and\nthe longitudinal coupling. We compute the one-loop quantum corrections to the\nGalileon interactions from the coupling to the external matter fields. In all\nthe considered cases of covariant couplings we show that the terms generated by\none-loop matter corrections not only renormalize the Galileon interactions but\nalso give rise to higher order derivative ghost interactions. However, the\nrenormalized version of the Galileon interactions as well as the new\ninteractions come at a scale suppressed by the original classical coupling\nscale and hence are harmless within the regime of validity of the effective\nfield theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Freedom and Constraints in the K3 Landscape: We consider \"magnetized brane\" compactifications of the type I/heterotic\nstring on K3 with U(1) background fluxes. The nonabelian gauge group and matter\ncontent of the resulting six-dimensional vacua are parameterized by a matrix\nencoding a lattice contained within the even, self-dual lattice Gamma^{3,19}.\nMathematical results of Nikulin on lattice embeddings make possible a simple\nclassification of such solutions. This approach makes it possible to explicitly\nand efficiently construct models in this class with a particular allowed gauge\ngroup and matter content, so that one can immediately \"dial-a-model\" with\ndesired properties.",
        "positive": "A Classification of 3-Family Grand Unification in String Theory II. The\n  SU(5) and SU(6) Models: Requiring that supersymmetric SU(5) and SU(6) grand unifications in the\nheterotic string theory must have 3 chiral families, adjoint (or higher\nrepresentation) Higgs fields in the grand unifiedgauge group, and a non-abelian\nhidden sector, we construct such string models within the framework of\nconformal field theory and asymmetric orbifolds. Within this framework, we\nconstruct all such string models via Z_6 asymmetric orbifolds that include a\nZ_3 outer-automorphism, the latter yielding a level-3 current algebra for the\ngrand unification gauge group SU(5) or SU(6). We then classify all such Z_6\nasymmetric orbifolds that result in models with a non-abelian hidden sector.\nAll models classified in this paper have only one adjoint (but no otherhigher\nrepresentation) Higgs field in the grand unified gauge group. This Higgs field\nis neutral under all other gauge symmetries. The list of hidden sectors for\n3-family SU(6) string models are SU(2), SU(3) and $SU(2) \\otimes SU(2)$. In\naddition to these, 3-family SU(5) string models can also have an SU(4) hidden\nsector. Some of the models have an anomalous U(1)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Lapse singularities, caustics and entanglement: We study diffraction catastrophes of wave functions in diffeomorphism\ninvariant quantum theories, for which $\\hat H\\Psi=0$. These wave functions can\nbe represented in terms of integrations over cycles in a complexified lapse\nvariable $N$. The integrand $\\exp(i{\\mathbb S}(N))$ may have multiple essential\nsingularities at finite values of $N$ and at infinity. A basis set for Greens\nfunctions and solutions of the wave equation is represented by Lefschetz\nthimbles connecting these singularities. The finite $N$ singularities are shown\nto be directly related to $A_{n\\ge 3}$ caustics. We give an example similar to\na minisuperspace cosmological model constructed by Halliwell and Myers, to\nwhich we add a scalar field. We show that caustics with codimension $d\\ge 2$\nexhibit strong entanglement with respect to partitions of their unfolding\ndegrees of freedom. If an unfolding direction corresponds to a physical clock\nin a solution of the Wheeler-DeWitt equation, the caustic bears some\nresemblance to a quantum measurement. The R\\'enyi entanglement entropy ${\\cal\nR}_n$ is expressed in terms of integrals over $2n$ lapse variables $N_i$.\nWriting the integrand as $\\exp(i\\Gamma)$, we find that the finite $N$ essential\nsingularities of $\\exp(i{\\mathbb S})$ are replaced with non-essential\nsingularities of $\\exp(i\\Gamma)$ at cyclically related $N_i = N_j$ , which the\nLefschetz thimbles evade. The relative homology classes to which the\nintegration cycles belong are higher dimensional variants of links.",
        "positive": "Canonical Structure of 2D Black Holes: We determine the canonical structure of two-dimensional black-hole solutions\narising in $2D$ dilaton gravity. By choosing the Cauchy surface appropriately\nwe find that the canonically conjugate variable to the black hole mass is given\nby the difference of local (Schwarzschild) time translations at right and left\nspatial infinities. This can be regarded as a generalization of Birkhoff's\ntheorem."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Standard-like models from Intersecting D5-branes: We construct intersecting D5-brane orbifold models that yield the\n(non-supersymmetric) standard model up to vector-like matter and\ncharged-singlet scalars.\n  The models are constrained by the requirement that twisted tadpoles cancel,\nand that the gauge boson coupled to the weak hypercharge $U(1)_Y$ does not get\na string-scale mass via a generalised Green-Schwarz mechanism. Gauge coupling\nconstant ratios close to those measured are easily obtained for reasonable\nvalues of the parameters, consistently with having the string scale close to\nthe electroweak scale, as required to avoid the hierarchy problem.",
        "positive": "Models of non-relativistic quantum gravity: the good, the bad and the\n  healthy: Horava's proposal for non-relativistic quantum gravity introduces a preferred\ntime foliation of space-time which violates the local Lorentz invariance. The\nfoliation is encoded in a dynamical scalar field which we call `khronon'. The\ndynamics of the khronon field is sensitive to the symmetries and other details\nof the particular implementations of the proposal. In this paper we examine\nseveral consistency issues present in three non-relativistic gravity theories:\nHorava's projectable theory, the healthy non-projectable extension, and a new\nextension related to ghost condensation. We find that the only model which is\nfree from instabilities and strong coupling is the non-projectable one. We\nelaborate on the phenomenology of the latter model including a discussion of\nthe couplings of the khronon to matter. In particular, we obtain the parameters\nof the post-Newtonian expansion in this model and show that they are compatible\nwith current observations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Shock waves in superconducting cosmic strings: growth of current: Intrinsic equations of motion of superconducting cosmic string may admit\nsolutions in the shock-wave form that implies discontinuity of the current term\n\\chi. The hypersurface of discontinuity propagates at finite velocity\ndetermined by finite increment \\Delta \\chi =\\chi_+ -\\chi_-. The current\nincreases \\chi_+>\\chi_- in stable shocks but transition between spacelike (\\chi\n>0) and timelike (\\chi<0) currents is impossible.",
        "positive": "Complex BPS Skyrmions with real energy: We propose and investigate several complex versions of extensions and\nrestrictions of the Skyrme model with a well-defined\nBogomolny-Prasad-Sommerfield (BPS) limit. The models studied possess complex\nkink, anti-kink, semi-kink, massless and purely imaginary compacton BPS\nsolutions that all have real energies. The reality of the energies for a\nparticular solution is guaranteed when a modified antilinear CPT-symmetry maps\nthe Hamiltonian functional to its parity time-reversed complex conjugate and\nthe solution field to itself or a new field with degenerate energy. In addition\nto the known BPS Skyrmion configurations we find new types that we refer to as\nstep, cusp, shell, and purely imaginary compacton solutions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Classical Integrability and Super Yangian of Superstring on AdS_5 x S^5: We discuss a classical integrability in the type IIB string theory on the\nAdS_5 x S^5 background. By using the Roiban-Siegel formulation of the\nsuperstring on the AdS_5 x S^5, we carefully treat the Wess-Zumino term and the\nconstraint conditions intrinsic to the supersymmetric case, and construct\nexplicitly non-local charges for a hidden infinite-dimensional symmetry. The\nexistence of the symmetry is shown by Bena-Polchinski-Roiban. Then the super\nYangian algebra is calculated. We also show the Serre relation ensuring the\nstructure of the Hopf algebra. In addition, the classical integrability is\ndiscussed by constructing the Lax pair and the transfer matrix.",
        "positive": "Renormalization group approach to interacting polymerised manifolds: We propose to study the infrared behaviour of polymerised (or tethered)\nrandom manifolds of dimension D interacting via an exclusion condition with a\nfixed impurity in d-dimensional Euclidean space in which the manifold is\nembedded. We prove rigorously, via methods of Wilson's renormalization group,\nthe convergence to a non Gaussian fixed point for suitably chosen physical\nparameters."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Faddeev-Hopf knots: Dynamics of linked un-knots: We have studied numerically Faddeev-Hopf knots, which are defined as those\nunit-vector fields in $R^3$ that have a nontrivial Hopf charge and minimize\nFaddeev's Lagrangian. A given initial configuration was allowed to relax into a\n(local) minimum using the first order dissipative dynamics corresponding to the\nsteepest descent method. A linked combination of two un-knots was seen to relax\ninto different minimum energy configurations depending on their charges and\ntheir relative handedness and direction. In order to visualize the results we\nplot certain gauge-invariant iso-surfaces.",
        "positive": "Bootstrapping the String KLT Kernel: We show that a generalized version of the 4-point string theory KLT\ndouble-copy map is the most general solution to the minimal-rank double-copy\nbootstrap in effective field theory. This follows from significant restrictions\nof the 4-point map resulting from the 6-point bootstrap analysis. The\ngeneralized 4-point double-copy map is defined by a function with only two\nparameters times a simple function that is symmetric in $s,t,u$. The two\nparameters can be interpreted as independent choices of $\\alpha'$, one for each\nof the two sets of amplitudes double-copied with the map. Specifically, each of\nthose two sets of amplitudes must obey either the string monodromy relations or\nthe field theory KK & BCJ relations; there are no other options. We propose a\nclosed form of the new double-copy map that interpolates between the original\nKLT string double-copy and the open & closed string period integrals. The\nconstruction clarifies the \"single-valued projection\" property of the Riemann\nzeta-function values for the 4-point string theory double copy."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exact momentum fluctuations of an accelerated quark in N=4 super\n  Yang-Mills: In this work we consider a heavy quark moving with constant proper\nacceleration in the vacuum of any four dimensional conformal field theory. We\nargue that the two-point function of its momentum fluctuations is exactly\ncaptured by the Bremsstrahlung function that gives the total radiated power.\nFor the particular case of N=4 SU(N) SYM this function is exactly known, so in\nthis case we obtain an explicit expression for the momentum diffusion\ncoefficient, and check that various limits of this result are reproduced by\nprobe computations in AdS_5. Finally, we evaluate this transport coefficient\nfor a heavy quark accelerated in the vacuum of N=4 SU(3) SYM, and comment on\npossible lessons of our results for the study of heavy quarks traversing the\nsuper Yang-Mills plasma.",
        "positive": "Scattering of Skyrmions: In this paper, we present a detailed study of Skyrmion-Skyrmion scattering\nfor two $B=1$ Skyrmions in the attractive channel where we observe two\ndifferent scattering regimes. For large separation, the scattering can be\napproximated as interacting dipoles. We give a qualitative estimate when this\napproximation breaks down. For small separations we observe an additional\nshort-range repulsion which is qualitatively similar to monopole scattering. We\nalso observe the interesting effect of \"rotation without rotating\" whereby two\nSkyrmions, whose orientations remain constant while well-separated, change\ntheir orientation after scattering. We can explain this effect by following\npreimages through the scattering process, thereby measuring which part of an\nin-coming Skyrmion forms part of an out-going Skyrmion. This leads to a new way\nof visualising Skyrmions. Furthermore, we consider spinning Skyrmions and find\ninteresting trajectories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On purely transmitting defects in affine Toda field theory: Affine Toda field theories with a purely transmitting integrable defect are\nconsidered and the model based on a_2 is analysed in detail. After providing a\ncomplete characterization of the problem in a classical framework, a suitable\nquantum transmission matrix, able to describe the interaction between an\nintegrable defect and solitons, is found. Two independent paths are taken to\nreach the result. One is an investigation of the triangle equations using the\nS-matrix for the imaginary coupling bulk affine Toda field theories proposed by\nHollowood, and the other uses a functional integral approach together with a\nbootstrap procedure. Evidence to support the results is collected in various\nways: for instance, through the calculation of the transmission factors for the\nlightest breathers. While previous discoveries within the sine-Gordon model\nmotivated this study, there are several new phenomena displayed in the a_2\nmodel including intriguing disparities between the classical and the quantum\npictures. For example, in the quantum framework, for a specific range of the\ncoupling constant that excludes a neighbourhood of the classical limit, there\nis an unstable bound state.",
        "positive": "Super-Yang-Mills and M5-branes: We uplift 5-dimensional super-Yang-Mills theory to a 6-dimensional gauge\ntheory with the help of a space-like constant vector $\\eta^M$, whose norm\ndetermines the Yang-Mills coupling constant. After the localization of $\\eta^M$\nthe 6D gauge theory acquires Lorentzian invariance as well as scale invariance.\nWe discuss KK states, instantons and the flux quantization. The 6D theory\nadmits extended solutions like 1/2 BPS `strings' and monopoles."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Infinite distances in multicritical CFTs and higher-spin holography: We investigate the swampland distance conjecture in higher-spin gravity. To\nthis end, we study multicritical generalizations of large-$N$ vector models,\nbosonic and fermionic, and we compute the quantum information distance along\nselected renormalization-group trajectories toward the higher-spin limit. In\nstriking contrast to the expected exponential decay of higher-spin masses or\nanomalous dimensions, we find that infinite-distance limits in these models\nlead to a power-like decay. This suggests that stringy exponential decays are\ncharacteristic of matrix-like gauge theories, rather than vector models. We\ncorroborate this notion studying the information distance along coupling\nvariations in Chern-Simons-matter CFTs, where matrix-like degrees of freedom\ndominate over vector-like ones.",
        "positive": "Classically integrable boundary conditions for symmetric-space sigma\n  models: We investigate boundary conditions for the nonlinear sigma model on the\ncompact symmetric space $G/H$, where $H \\subset G$ is the subgroup fixed by an\ninvolution $\\sigma$ of $G$. The Poisson brackets and the classical local\nconserved charges necessary for integrability are preserved by boundary\nconditions in correspondence with involutions which commute with $\\sigma$.\nApplied to $SO(3)/SO(2)$, the nonlinear sigma model on $S^2$, these yield the\ngreat circles as boundary submanifolds. Applied to $G \\times G/G$, they\nreproduce known results for the principal chiral model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Wedge reflection positivity: We show there is a positivity property for Wightman functions which is\nanalogous to the reflection positivity for the euclidean ones. The role of\neuclidean time reflections is played here by the wedge reflections, which\nchange the sign of the time and one of the spatial coordinates.",
        "positive": "Bi-conformal symmetry and static Green functions in the\n  higher-dimensional Reissner-Nordstrom spacetimes: We study a static scalar massless field created by a source located near an\nelectrically charged higher dimensional spherically symmetric black hole. We\ndemonstrated that there exist bi-conformal transformations relating static\nfield solutions in the metric with different parameters of the mass M and\ncharge Q. Using this symmetry we obtain the static scalar Green function in the\nhigher dimensional Reissner-Nordstrom spacetimes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dilaton tadpoles and mass in warped models: We review the brane world sum rules of Gibbons at al for compact five\ndimensional warped models with identical four-geometries and bulk dynamics\ninvolving scalar fields with generic potential. We show that the absence of\ndilaton tadpoles in the action functional of the theory is linked to one of\nthese sum rules. Moreover, we calculate the dilaton mass term and derive the\ncondition that is necessary for stabilizing the system.",
        "positive": "Vacuum Polarization of Generalized Quantum Electrodynamics in the\n  Heisenberg Picture: In this work, we consider the generalized quantum electrodynamics proposed by\nPodolsky in Heisenberg picture via Kallen methodology. We investigate the\neffects of higher-order derivatives to understand the qualitative and\nquantitative aspects of vacuum polarization. In addition, the most general\nstructure of induced current and polarization tensor that emerge naturally by a\nperturbative scheme \"a la\" Kallen is also obtained. Afterward, we discuss the\nphysical implication of charge renormalization in the perspective of unitary\nand stable Podolsky theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Interacting Higher Spins and the High Energy Limit of the Bosonic String: In this note, we construct a BRST invariant cubic vertex for massless fields\nof arbitrary mixed symmetry in flat space-time. The construction is based on\nthe vertex given in bosonic Open String Field Theory. The algebra of gauge\ntransformations is closed without any additional, higher than cubic, couplings\ndue to the presence of an infinite tower of massless fields. We briefly discuss\nthe generalization of this result to a curved space-time and other possible\nimplications.",
        "positive": "Transitioning from equal-time to light-front quantization in $\u03c6_2^4$\n  theory: We use the interpolating coordinates studied by Hornbostel to investigate a\ntransition from equal-time quantization to light-front quantization, in the\ncontext of two-dimensional $\\phi^4$ theory. A consistent treatment is found to\nrequire careful consideration of vacuum bubbles, in a nonperturbative extension\nof the analysis by Collins. Numerical calculations of the spectrum at fixed box\nsize are shown to yield results equivalent to those of equal-time quantization,\nexcept when the interpolating coordinates are pressed toward the light-front\nlimit. In that regime, a fixed box size is inconsistent with an accurate\nrepresentation of vacuum-bubble contributions and causes a spurious divergence\nin the spectrum. The light-front limit instead requires the continuum\nmomentum-space limit of infinite box size. The calculation of the vacuum energy\ndensity is then shown to be independent of the interpolation parameter, which\nimplies that the light-front limit yields the same spectrum as an equal-time\ncalculation. This emphasizes the importance of zero modes and near-zero modes\nin a light-front analysis of any theory with nontrivial vacuum structure."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Light-Front Vacuum: Background: The vacuum in the light-front representation of quantum field\ntheory is trivial while vacuum in the equivalent canonical representation of\nthe same theory is non-trivial.\n  Purpose: Understand the relation between the vacuum in light-front and\ncanonical representations of quantum field theory and the role of zero-modes in\nthis relation.\n  Method: Vacuua are defined as linear functionals on an algebra of field\noperators. The role of the algebra in the definition of the vacuum is exploited\nto understand this relation.\n  Results: The vacuum functional can be extended from the light-front Fock\nalgebra to an algebra of local observables. The extension to the algebra of\nlocal observables is responsible for the inequivalence. The extension defines a\nunitary mapping between the physical representation of the local algebra and a\nsub-algebra of the light-front Fock algebra.\n  Conclusion: There is a unitary mapping from the physical representation of\nthe algebra of local observables to a sub-algebra of the light-front Fock\nalgebra with the free light-front Fock vacuum. The dynamics appears in the\nmapping and the structure of the sub-algebra. This correspondence provides a\nformulation of locality and Poincar\\'e invariance on the light-front Fock\nspace.",
        "positive": "Canonical approach to Courant brackets for D-branes: We present an extension of the Courant bracket to the ones for Dp-branes by\nanalyzing Hamiltonians and local superalgebras. Contrast to the basis of the\nbracket for a fundamental string which consists of the momentum and the winding\nmodes, the ones for Dp-branes contain higher rank R-R coupling tensors. We show\nthat the R-R gauge transformation rules are obtained by these Courant brackets\nfor Dp-branes where the Dirac-Born-Infeld gauge field and the \"two-vierbein\nfield\" play an essential role. Canonical analysis of the worldvolume theories\nnaturally gives the basis of the brackets and the target space backgrounds\nkeeping T-duality manifest at least for NS-NS sector. In a D3-brane analysis\nS-duality is manifest as a symmetry of interchanging the NS-NS coupling and the\nR-R coupling."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Non-slow Roll Inflationary Regimes: We summarize our work on constant roll inflationary models. It was understood\nrecently that constant roll inflation, in a regime beyond the slow roll\napproximation, can give models that are in agreement with the observational\nconstraints. We describe a new class of constant roll inflationary models and\ninvestigate the behavior of scalar perturbations in them. We also comment on\nother non-slow roll regimes of inflation.",
        "positive": "String Theory and Quantum Chromodynamics: I review recent progress on the connection between string theory and quantum\nchromodynamics in the context of the gauge/gravity duality. Emphasis is placed\non conciseness and conceptual aspects rather than on technical details. Topics\ncovered include the large-Nc limit of gauge theories, the gravitational\ndescription of gauge theory thermodynamics and hydrodynamics, and\nconfinement/deconfinement thermal phase transitions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "G-structures and Superstrings from the Worldsheet: $\\mathcal{G}$-structures, where $\\mathcal{G}$ is a Lie group, are a uniform\ncharacterisation of many differential geometric structures of interest in\nsupersymmetric compactifications of string theories. Calabi-Yau $n$-folds are\ninstances of torsion-free $SU(n)$-structures, while more general structures\nwith non-zero torsion are required for heterotic flux compactifications.\nExceptional geometries in dimensions $7$ and $8$ with $\\mathcal{G}=G_2$ and\n$Spin(7)$ also feature prominently in this thesis. We discuss multiple\nconnections between such geometries and the worldsheet theory describing\nstrings on them, especially with respect to their chiral symmetry algebras.",
        "positive": "General Properties of the Self-tuning Domain Wall Approach to the\n  Cosmological Constant Problem: We study the dynamics of brane worlds coupled to a scalar field and gravity,\nand find that self-tuning of the cosmological constant is generic in theories\nwith at most two branes or a single brane with orbifold boundary conditions. We\ndemonstrate that singularities are generic in the self-tuned solutions\ncompatible with localized gravity on the brane: we show that localized gravity\nwith an infinitely large extra dimension is only consistent with particular\nfine-tuned values of the brane tension. The number of allowed brane tension\nvalues is related to the number of negative stationary points of the scalar\nbulk potential and, in the case of an oscillatory potential, the brane tension\nfor which gravity is localized without singularities is quantized. We also\nexamine a resolution of the singularities, and find that fine-tuning is\ngenerically re-introduced at the singularities in order to retain a static\nsolution. However, we speculate that the presence of additional fields may\nrestore self-tuning."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A UV completion of scalar field theory in arbitrary even dimensions: Following a previous work (hep-th/0410248), where a scalar field theory with\na modified propagator and phi^4 interaction in 4 dimensions is constructed to\nbe UV-finite, unitary and Lorentz invariant, we discuss in this paper general\nphi^n theory in arbitrary even space-time dimensions. We show that the theory\nis still UV-finite, unitary and Lorentz invariant if the propagators are chosen\nto meet certain simple conditions depending on the space-time dimension but\nindependent of n. We also comment that our model is reminiscent of string\ntheory in the way UV divergence is avoided.",
        "positive": "Infinity Wars: Three Types of Singularities in Non-supersymmetric\n  Canonical Gravity and String Theory: We discuss three separate types of infinities that occur in\nnon-supersymmetric canonical gravity and string theory. We consider UV\nperturbative singularities in non-supersymmetric gravity coupled to matter and\nhow these are related to loop corrections to beta functions for\nnon-supersymmetric strings. Next we consider classical cosmological\nsingularities that occur in these equations and discuss a specific singular\ncosmology of Dudas and Mourad for non-supersymmetric string theory. Finally we\ndiscuss the infinities that occur in quantum cosmology associated with topology\nchange and discuss how non-supersymmetric string quantum cosmology can be used\nto address them."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Cheshire Cat resurgence, Self-resurgence and Quasi-Exact Solvable\n  Systems: We explore a one parameter $\\zeta$-deformation of the quantum-mechanical\nSine-Gordon and Double-Well potentials which we call the Double Sine-Gordon\n(DSG) and the Tilted Double Well (TDW), respectively. In these systems, for\npositive integer values of $\\zeta$, the lowest $\\zeta$ states turn out to be\nexactly solvable for DSG - a feature known as Quasi-Exact-Solvability (QES) -\nand solvable to all orders in perturbation theory for TDW. For DSG such states\ndo not show any instanton-like dependence on the coupling constant, although\nthe action has real saddles. On the other hand, although it has no real\nsaddles, the TDW admits all-orders perturbative states that are not\nnormalizable, and hence, requires a non-perturbative energy shift. Both of\nthese puzzles are solved by including complex saddles. We show that the\nconvergence is dictated by the quantization of the hidden topological angle.\nFurther, we argue that the QES systems can be linked to the exact cancellation\nof real and complex non-perturbative saddles to all orders in the\nsemi-classical expansion. We also show that the entire resurgence structure\nremains encoded in the analytic properties of the $\\zeta$-deformation, even\nthough exactly at integer values of $\\zeta$ the mechanism of resurgence is\nobscured by the lack of ambiguity in both the Borel sum of the perturbation\ntheory as well as the non-perturbative contributions. In this way, all of the\ncharacteristics of resurgence remains even when its role seems to vanish, much\nlike the lingering grin of the Cheshire Cat. We also show that the perturbative\nseries is Self-resurgent -a feature by which there is a one-to-one relation\nbetween the early terms of the perturbative expansion and the late terms of the\nsame expansion -which is intimately connected with the Dunne-\\\"{U}nsal\nrelation. We explicitly verify that this is indeed the case.",
        "positive": "A Conformal Collider for Holographic CFTs: We develop a formalism to study the implications of causality on OPE\ncoefficients in conformal field theories with large central charge and a sparse\nspectrum of higher spin operators. The formalism has the interpretation of a\nnew conformal collider-type experiment for these class of CFTs and hence it has\nthe advantage of requiring knowledge only about CFT three-point functions. This\nis accomplished by considering the holographic null energy operator which was\nintroduced in arXiv:1709.03597 as a generalization of the averaged null energy\noperator. Analyticity properties of correlators in the Regge limit imply that\nthe holographic null energy operator is a positive operator in a subspace of\nthe total CFT Hilbert space. Utilizing this positivity condition, we derive\nbounds on three-point functions $\\langle TO_1O_2\\rangle$ of the stress tensor\nwith various operators for CFTs with large central charge and a sparse\nspectrum. After imposing these constraints, we also find that the operator\nproduct expansions of all primary operators in the Regge limit have certain\nuniversal properties. All of these results are consistent with the expectation\nthat CFTs in this class, irrespective of their microscopic details, admit\nuniversal gravity-like holographic dual descriptions. Furthermore, this\nconnection enables us to constrain various inflationary observables such as the\namplitude of chiral gravity waves, non-gaussanity of gravity waves and\ntensor-to-scalar ratio."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Discrete $Z_{2N_c}$ Symmetry And Effective Superpotential In SUSY\n  Gluodynamics: We find an expression for the effective superpotential describing the $N_c$\nvacua of $SU(N_c)$ SUSY gluodynamics. The superpotential reduces in some\napproximation to the Veneziano-Yankielowicz expression amended by the term\nrestoring the discrete $Z_{2N_c}$ symmetry. Moreover, the superpotential, being\nrestricted to one particular vacuum state, yields the expression which was\nderived recently to describe all the lowest-spin physical states of the theory.\nThe corresponding scalar potential has no cusp singularities and can be used to\nstudy the domain walls interpolating between the chirally asymmetric vacua of\nthe model.",
        "positive": "Spatially homogeneous black hole solutions in $z=4$ Ho\u0159ava-Lifshitz\n  gravity in $(4+1)$ dimensions with Nil geometry and $H^2\\times R$ horizons: In this paper, we present two new families of spatially homogeneous black\nhole solution for $z=4$ Ho\\v{r}ava-Lifshitz Gravity equations in $(4+1)$\ndimensions with general coupling constant $\\lambda$ and the especial case\n$\\lambda=1$, considering $\\beta=-1/3$. The three-dimensional horizons are\nconsidered to have Bianchi types $II$ and $III$ symmetries, and hence the\nhorizons are modeled on two types of Thurston $3$-geometries, namely the Nil\ngeometry and $H^2\\times R$. Being foliated by compact 3-manifolds, the horizons\nare neither spherical, hyperbolic, nor toroidal, and therefore are not of the\npreviously studied topological black hole solutions in Ho\\v{r}ava-Lifshitz\ngravity. Using the Hamiltonian formalism, we establish the conventional\nthermodynamics of the solutions defining the mass and entropy of the black hole\nsolutions for several classes of solutions. It turned out that for both horizon\ngeometries the area term in the entropy receives two non-logarithmic negative\ncorrections proportional to Ho\\v{r}ava-Lifshitz parameters. Also, we show that\nchoosing some proper set of parameters the solutions can exhibit locally stable\nor unstable behavior."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Landau-Ginzburg models for certain fiber products with curves: In this paper we describe a physical realization of a family of non-compact\nKahler threefolds with trivial canonical bundle in hybrid Landau-Ginzburg\nmodels, motivated by some recent non-Kahler solutions of Strominger systems,\nand utilizing some recent ideas from GLSMs. We consider threefolds given as\nfiber products of compact genus g Riemann surfaces and noncompact threefolds.\nEach genus g Riemann surface is constructed using recent GLSM tricks, as a\ndouble cover of P^1 branched over a degree 2g + 2 locus, realized via\nnonperturbative effects rather than as the critical locus of a superpotential.\nWe focus in particular on special cases corresponding to a set of Kahler\ntwistor spaces of certain hyperKahler four-manifolds, specifically the twistor\nspaces of R^4, C^2/Z_k, and S^1 x R^3. We check in all cases that the condition\nfor trivial canonical bundle arising physically matches the mathematical\nconstraint.",
        "positive": "Deformed W-algebras as Symmetries of Generalized Integrable Hierarchies: A unified description of the relationship between the Hamiltonian structure\nof a large class of integrable hierarchies of equations and W-algebras is\ndiscussed. The main result is an explicit formula showing that the former can\nbe understood as a deformation of the latter."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "More Stringy Effects in Target Space from Double Field Theory: In Double Field Theory, the mass-squared of doubled fields associated with\nbosonic closed string states is proportional to $N_L+N_R-2$. Massless states\nare therefore not only the graviton, anti-symmetric, and dilaton fields with\n$(N_L=1, N_R=1)$ such theory is focused on, but also the symmetric traceless\ntensor and the vector field relative to the states $(N_L=2, N_R=0)$ and\n$(N_L=0, N_R=2)$ which are massive in the lower-dimensional non-compactified\nspace. While they are not even physical in the absence of compact dimensions,\nthey provide a sample of states for which both momenta and winding numbers are\nnon-vanishing, differently from the states $(N_L=1, N_R=1)$. A quadratic action\nis therefore here built for the corresponding doubled fields. It results that\nits gauge invariance under the linearized double diffeomorphisms is based on a\ngeneralization of the usual weak constraint, giving rise to an extra mass term\nfor the symmetric traceless tensor field, not otherwise detectable: this can be\ninterpreted as a mere stringy effect in target space due to the simultaneous\npresence of momenta and windings. Furthermore, in the context of the\ngeneralized metric formulation, a non-linear extension of the gauge\ntransformations is defined involving the constraint extended from the weak\nconstraint that can be uniquely defined in triple products of fields. Finally,\nwe show that the above mentioned stringy effect does not appear in the case of\nonly one compact doubled space dimension.",
        "positive": "Scattering of compact oscillons: We study various aspects of the scattering of generalized compact oscillons\nin the signum-Gordon model in (1+1) dimensions. Using covariance of the model\nwe construct traveling oscillons and study their interactions and the\ndependence of these interactions on the oscillons initial velocities and their\nrelative phases. The scattering processes transform the two incoming oscillons\ninto two outgoing ones and lead to the generation of extra oscillons which\nappear in the form of jet-like cascades. Such cascades vanish for some values\nof free parameters and the scattering processes, even though our model is\nnon-integrable, resemble typical scattering processes normally observed for\nintegrable or quase-integrable models. Occasionally, in the intermediate stage\nof the process, we have seen the emission of shock waves and we have noticed\nthat, in general, outgoing oscillons have been more involved in their emission\nthan the initial ones i.e. they have a border in form of curved world-lines.\nThe results of our studies of the scattering of oscillons suggest that the\nradiation of the signum-Gordon model has a fractal-like nature."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gravity localization on hybrid branes: This work deals with gravity localization on codimension-1 brane worlds\nengendered by compacton-like kinks, the so-called hybrid branes. In such\nscenarios, the thin brane behaviour is manifested when the extra dimension is\noutside the compact domain, where the energy density is non-trivial, instead of\nasymptotically as in the usual thick brane models. The zero mode is trapped in\nthe brane, as required. The massive modes, although are not localized in the\nbrane, have important phenomenological implications such as corrections to the\nNewton's law. We study such corrections in the usual thick domain wall and in\nthe hybrid brane scenarios. By means of suitable numerical methods, we attain\nthe mass spectrum for the graviton and the corresponding wavefunctions. The\nspectra possess the usual linearly increasing behaviour from the Kaluza-Klein\ntheories. Further, we show that the 4D gravitational force is slightly\nincreased at short distances. The first eigenstate contributes highly for the\ncorrection to the Newton's law. The subsequent normalized solutions have\ndiminishing contributions. Moreover, we find out that the phenomenology of the\nhybrid brane is not different from the usual thick domain wall. The use of\nnumerical techniques for solving the equations of the massive modes is useful\nfor matching possible phenomenological measurements in the gravitational law as\na probe to warped extra dimensions.",
        "positive": "Commuting Conformal and Dual Conformal Symmetries in the Regge limit: In this paper we continue our study of the dual SL(2,C) symmetry of the BFKL\nequation, analogous to the dual conformal symmetry of N=4 Super Yang Mills. We\nfind that the ordinary and dual SL(2,C) symmetries do not generate a Yangian,\nin contrast to the ordinary and dual conformal symmetries in the\nfour-dimensional gauge theory. The algebraic structure is still reminiscent of\nthat of N=4 SYM, however, and one can extract a generator from the dual SL(2,C)\nclose to the bi-local form associated with Yangian algebras. We also discuss\nthe issue of whether the dual SL(2,C) symmetry, which in its original form is\nbroken by IR effects, is broken in a controlled way, similar to the way the\ndual conformal symmetry of N=4 satisfies an anomalous Ward identity. At least\nfor the lowest orders it seems possible to recover the dual SL(2,C) by\ndeforming its representation, keeping open the possibility that it is an exact\nsymmetry of BFKL."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Strong Coupling and Bounds on the Graviton Mass in Massive Gravity: The theory of a single massive graviton has a cutoff much below its Planck\nscale, because the extra modes from the graviton multiplet involve higher\nderivative self-interactions, controlled by a scale convoluted from the small\ngraviton mass. Generically, these correct the propagator by environmental\neffects. The resulting effective cutoff depends on the environmental parameters\nand the graviton mass. Requiring the theory to be perturbative down to ${\\cal\nO}(1) mm$, we derive bounds on the graviton mass, corresponding to $\\gtrsim\n{\\cal O}(1) meV$ for the generic case, and somewhat weaker bounds in cases of\nfine-tuning. In all cases the mass is required to be much too large for the\ntheory to conform with GR at cosmological distances. Similar results also hold\nin quartic and quintic Galileon theory.",
        "positive": "On Unification of RR Couplings: We consider the couplings of RR fields with open string sector for\n$Dp$-${\\overline{Dp}}$ backgrounds of various $p$. Proposed approach, based on\nthe approximation of the open string algebra by the algebra of differential\noperators, provides the unified description of these couplings and their\ninterrelations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Confinement in partially broken abelian Chern-Simons theories: Planar Chern-Simons (CS) theories in which a compact abelian gauge group U(1)\nx U(1) is spontaneously broken to U(1) x Z_N are investigated. Among other\nthings, it is noted that the theories just featuring the mixed CS term coupling\nthe broken to the unbroken U(1) gauge fields in general exhibits an interesting\nform of confinement: only particles carrying certain multiples of the\nfundamental vortex flux unit and certain multiples of the fundamental charge of\nthe unbroken U(1) gauge field can appear as free particles. Adding the usual CS\nterm for the broken U(1) gauge fields does not change much. It merely leads to\nadditional Aharonov-Bohm interactions among these particles. Upon introducing\nthe CS term for the unbroken U(1) gauge fields, in contrast, the confinement\nphenomenon completely disappears.",
        "positive": "Four-dimensional N=2 Field Theory and Physical Mathematics: We give a summary of a talk delivered at the 2012 International Congress on\nMathematical Physics. We review d=4, N=2 quantum field theory and some of the\nexact statements which can be made about it. We discuss the wall-crossing\nphenomenon. An interesting application is a new construction of hyperkahler\nmetrics on certain manifolds. Then we discuss geometric constructions which\nlead to exact results on the BPS spectra for some d=4, N=2 field theories and\non expectation values of -- for example -- Wilson line operators. These new\nconstructions have interesting relations to a number of other areas of physical\nmathematics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Non-Critical String Approach to Black Holes, Time and Quantum Dynamics: We review our approach to time and quantum dynamics based on non-critical\nstring theory, developing its relationship to previous work on non-equilibrium\nquantum statistical mechanics and the microscopic arrow of time. We exhibit\nspecific non-factorizing contributions to the ${\\nd S}$ matrix associated with\ntopological defects on the world sheet, explaining the r\\^ole that the leakage\nof ${W_{\\infty}}$ charges plays in the loss of quantum coherence. We stress the\nanalogy with the quantum Hall effect, discuss the violation of $CPT$, and also\napply our approach to cosmology.",
        "positive": "A classical variant of the vertex algebra & the auxiliary linear problem: We propose a classical analogue of the vertex algebra in the context of\nclassical integrable field theories. We use this fundamental notion to describe\nthe auxiliary function of the linear auxiliary problem as a classical vertex\noperator. Then using the underlying algebra satisfied by the auxiliary function\ntogether with the linear auxiliary problem we identify the local integrals of\nmotion, which by construction are in involution. The time components of the Lax\npair are also identified in terms of the classical vertex operators. Systems in\nthe presence of point like defects as well as systems on the semi-infinite line\nare investigated. Specific examples associated to the classical Yangian and\ntwisted Yangian are also presented."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Logarithmic entropy--corrected holographic dark energy with non--minimal\n  kinetic coupling: In this paper, we have considered a cosmological model with the non--minimal\nkinetic coupling terms and investigated its cosmological implications with\nrespect to the logarithmic entropy-- corrected holographic dark energy\n(LECHDE). The correspondence between LECHDE in flat FRW cosmology and the\nphantom dark energy model with the aim to interpret the current universe\nacceleration is also examined.",
        "positive": "Spin Structures and AdS$_4$ Holography: We study the importance of spin structures as defining data for 11d\nsupergravity backgrounds of the form AdS$_4\\times S^7/\\mathbf{Z}_k$ with a free\norbifold action. For a generic choice of the orbifold action, there is only one\nspin structure that preserves invariant Killing spinors. There are, however,\norbifold actions that allow for more than one spin structure with preserved\nKilling spinors. In these cases the two different spin structures should lead\nto distinct holographically dual 3d SCFTs with different amounts of\nsupersymmetry. We illustrate this phenomenon by studying the KK spectrum of 11d\nsupergravity on AdS$_4\\times S^7/\\mathbf{Z}_4$. For one choice of spin\nstructure this background is dual to the 3d $\\mathcal{N}=6$ ABJM theory at\nlevel $k=4$. For the alternative choice of spin structure our results suggest\nthat the holographic dual is a different 3d $\\mathcal{N}=2$ SCFT and we discuss\nsome of its properties."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Black Hole Entropy and Finite Geometry: It is shown that the $E_{6(6)}$ symmetric entropy formula describing black\nholes and black strings in D=5 is intimately tied to the geometry of the\ngeneralized quadrangle GQ$(2,4)$ with automorphism group the Weyl group\n$W(E_6)$. The 27 charges correspond to the points and the 45 terms in the\nentropy formula to the lines of GQ$(2,4)$. Different truncations with $15, 11$\nand 9 charges are represented by three distinguished subconfigurations of\nGQ$(2,4)$, well-known to finite geometers; these are the \"doily\" (i. e.\nGQ$(2,2)$) with 15, the \"perp-set\" of a point with 11, and the \"grid\" (i. e.\nGQ$(2,1)$) with 9 points, respectively. In order to obtain the correct signs\nfor the terms in the entropy formula, we use a non- commutative labelling for\nthe points of GQ$(2,4)$. For the 40 different possible truncations with 9\ncharges this labelling yields 120 Mermin squares -- objects well-known from\nstudies concerning Bell-Kochen-Specker-like theorems. These results are\nconnected to our previous ones obtained for the $E_{7(7)}$ symmetric entropy\nformula in D=4 by observing that the structure of GQ$(2,4)$ is linked to a\nparticular kind of geometric hyperplane of the split Cayley hexagon of order\ntwo, featuring 27 points located on 9 pairwise disjoint lines (a\ndistance-3-spread). We conjecture that the different possibilities of\ndescribing the D=5 entropy formula using Jordan algebras, qubits and/or qutrits\ncorrespond to employing different coordinates for an underlying non-commutative\ngeometric structure based on GQ$(2,4)$.",
        "positive": "Thermal geometry from CFT at finite temperature: We present how the thermal geometry emerges from CFT at finite temperature by\nusing the truncated entanglement renormalization network, the cMERA. For the\ncase of $2d$ CFT, the reduced geometry is the BTZ black hole or the thermal AdS\nas expectation. In order to determine which spacetimes prefer to form, we\npropose a cMERA description of the Hawking-Page phase transition. Our proposal\nis in agreement with the picture of the recent proposed surface/state\ncorrespondence."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quasi-Hopf twist and elliptic Nekrasov factor: We investigate the quasi-Hopf twist of the quantum toroidal algebra of\n$\\mathfrak{gl}_1$ as an elliptic deformation. Under the quasi-Hopf twist the\nunderlying algebra remains the same, but the coproduct is deformed, where the\ntwist parameter $p$ is identified as the elliptic modulus. Computing the\nquasi-Hopf twist of the $R$ matrix, we uncover the relation to the elliptic\nlift of the Nekrasov factor for instanton counting of the quiver gauge theories\non $\\mathbb{R}^4 \\times T^2$. The same $R$ matrix also appears in the\ncommutation relation of the intertwiners, which implies an elliptic quantum KZ\nequation for the trace of intertwiners. We also show that it allows a solution\nwhich is factorized into the elliptic Nekrasov factors and the triple elliptic\ngamma function.",
        "positive": "Gauge Invariance and Holographic Renormalization: We study the gauge invariance of physical observables in holographic theories\nunder the local diffeomorphism. We find that gauge invariance is intimately\nrelated to the holographic renormalisation: the local counter terms defined in\nthe boundary cancel most of gauge dependences of the on-shell action as well as\nthe divergences. There is a mismatch in the degrees of freedom between the bulk\ntheory and the boundary one. We resolve this problem by noticing that there is\na residual gauge symmetry(RGS). By extending the RGS such that it satisfies\ninfalling boundary condition at the horizon, we can understand the problem in\nthe context of general holographic embedding of a global symmetry at the\nboundary into the local gauge symmetry in the bulk."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Branes, Quivers and BPS Algebras: These lecture notes cover a brief introduction into some of the\nalgebro-geometric techniques used in the construction of BPS algebras. The\nfirst section introduces the derived category of coherent sheaves as a useful\nmodel of branes in toric Calabi-Yau three-folds. This model allows a rather\nsimple derivation of quiver quantum mechanics describing low-energy dynamics of\nvarious brane systems. Vacua of such quantum mechanics can be identified with\nthe critical equivariant cohomology of the moduli space of quiver\nrepresentations. These are often counted by various crystal configurations.\nUsing correspondences in algebraic geometry, one can construct rich families of\naffine-Yangian representations. We conclude with an exploration of different\nalgebraic structures naturally appearing in our story. The material was covered\nin a 4-lecture mini-course within the Second PIMS Summer School on Algebraic\nGeometry in High-Energy Physics. The text contains some new ideas, examples and\nremarks that are going to be covered in detail in a joint work with Dylan\nButson.",
        "positive": "On the dual equivalence of the self-dual and topologically massive\n  $B\\wedge F$ models coupled to dynamical fermionic matter: We study the equivalence between the $B\\wedge F$ self-dual ($SD_{B\\wedge F}$)\nand the $B\\wedge F$ topologically massive ($TM_{B\\wedge F}$) models including\nthe coupling to dynamical, U(1) charged fermionic matter. This is done through\nan iterative procedure of gauge embedding that produces the dual mapping. In\nthe interactive cases, the minimal coupling adopted for both vector and tensor\nfields in the self-dual representation is transformed into a non minimal\nmagnetic like coupling in the topologically massive representation but with the\ncurrents swapped. It is known that to establish this equivalence a\ncurrent-current interaction term is needed to render the matter sector\nunchanged. We show that both terms arise naturally from the embedding\nprocedure."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Groenewold - Moyal Plane and its Quantum Physics: Quantum theories constructed on the noncommutative spacetime called the\nGroenewold-Moyal(GM) plane exhibit many interesting properties such as\ncausality violation, Lorentz and CPT non-invariance and twisted statistics.\nSuch violations lead to many striking features that may be tested\nexperimentally. Thus these theories predict Pauli-forbidden transitions due to\ntwisted statistics, anisotropies and acausal effects in the cosmic microwave\nbackground radiation in correlations of observables and Lorentz and CPT\nviolations in scattering amplitudes. Such features of quantum physics on the GM\nplane are surveyed in this review.",
        "positive": "Momentum-space entanglement in scalar field theory on fuzzy spheres: Quantum field theory defined on a noncommutative space is a useful toy model\nof quantum gravity and is known to have several intriguing properties, such as\nnonlocality and UV/IR mixing. They suggest novel types of correlation among the\ndegrees of freedom of different energy scales. In this paper, we investigate\nsuch correlations by the use of entanglement entropy in the momentum space. We\nexplicitly evaluate the entanglement entropy of scalar field theory on a fuzzy\nsphere and find that it exhibits different behaviors from that on the usual\ncontinuous sphere. We argue that these differences would originate in different\ncharacteristics; non-planar contributions and matrix regularization. It is also\nfound that the mutual information between the low and the high momentum modes\nshows different scaling behaviors when the effect of a cutoff becomes\nimportant."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Wigner function for free relativistic particles: A generalization of the Wigner function for the case of a free particle with\nthe ``relativistic'' Hamiltonian $\\sqrt{{\\bf p}^2+m^2}$ is given.",
        "positive": "Type IIB instanton as a wave in twelve dimensions: 0-brane of type IIA string theory can be interpreted as a dimensional\nreduction of a gravitational wave in 11 dimensions. We observe that a similar\ninterpretation applies also to the D-instanton background of type IIB theory:\nit can be viewed as a reduction (along one spatial and one time-like direction)\nof a wave in a 12-dimensional theory. The instanton charge is thus related to a\nlinear momentum in 12 dimensions. This suggests that the instanton should play\nas important role in type IIB theory as the 0-brane is supposed to play in type\nIIA theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Effective Tachyon Dynamics in Superstring Theory: A recently proposed \\ell=\\infty field theory model of tachyon dynamics for\nunstable bosonic D-branes has been shown to arise as the two-derivative\ntruncation of (boundary)-string field theory. Using an \\ell\\to \\infty limit\nappropriate to stable kinks we obtain a model for the tachyon dynamics on\nunstable D-branes or D-brane anti-D-brane pairs of superstring theory. The\ntachyon potential is a positive definite even function of the tachyon, and at\nthe stable global minima there is no on-shell dynamics. The kink solution\nmimics nicely the properties of stable D-branes: the spectrum of the kink\nconsists of infinite levels starting at zero mass, with spacing double the\nvalue of the tachyon mass-squared. It is natural to expect that this model will\narise in (boundary) superstring field theory.",
        "positive": "The continuum limit of the non-commutative lambda phi^4 model: We present a numerical study of the \\lambda \\phi^{4} model in three Euclidean\ndimensions, where the two spatial coordinates are non-commutative (NC). We\nfirst show the explicit phase diagram of this model on a lattice. The ordered\nregime splits into a phase of uniform order and a ``striped phase''. Then we\ndiscuss the dispersion relation, which allows us to introduce a dimensionful\nlattice spacing. Thus we can study a double scaling limit to zero lattice\nspacing and infinite volume, which keeps the non-commutativity parameter\nconstant. The dispersion relation in the disordered phase stabilizes in this\nlimit, which represents a non-perturbative renormalization. From its shape we\ninfer that the striped phase persists in the continuum, and we observe UV/IR\nmixing as a non-perturbative effect."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Discrete Symmetries, Weak Coupling Conjecture and Scale Separation in\n  AdS Vacua: We argue that in theories of quantum gravity with discrete gauge symmetries,\ne.g. $\\textbf{Z}_k$, the gauge couplings of U$(1)$ gauge symmetries become weak\nin the limit of large $k$, as $g\\to k^{-\\alpha}$ with $\\alpha$ a positive order\n1 coefficient. The conjecture is based on black hole arguments combined with\nthe Weak Gravity Conjecture (or the BPS bound in the supersymmetric setup), and\nthe species bound. We provide explicit examples based on type IIB on\nAdS$_5\\times \\textbf{S}^5/\\textbf{Z}_k$ orbifolds, and M-theory on\nAdS$_4\\times\\textbf{S}^7/\\textbf{Z}_k$ ABJM orbifolds (and their type IIA\nreductions). We study AdS$_4$ vacua of type IIA on CY orientifold\ncompactifications, and show that the parametric scale separation in certain\ninfinite families is controlled by a discrete $\\textbf{Z}_k$ symmetry for\ndomain walls. We accordingly propose a refined version of the strong AdS\nDistance Conjecture, including a parametric dependence on the order of the\ndiscrete symmetry for 3-forms.",
        "positive": "Solving the ${\\rm U(2)}_L \\times {\\rm U(2)}_R$ symmetric\n  Nambu--Jona-Lasinio model in 1+1 dimensions: A less well known variant of the Nambu--Jona-Lasinio model with Nc colors and\nU(2)L X U(2)R chiral symmetry is studied in 1+1 dimensions. Using\nsemi-classical methods appropriate for the large Nc limit, we determine the\nvacuum manifold, the meson spectrum, massless and massive multi-fermion bound\nstates and the phase diagram as a function of temperature, chemical potential\nand isospin chemical potential. An important tool to understand soliton\ndynamics is the generalization of the time-dependent Hartree-Fock approach to\ntwo flavors along the lines recently developed by Takahashi in the context of\nunconventional fermionic superfluids and superconductors."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Omega deformed B-model for rigid N=2 theories: We give an interpretation of the Omega deformed B-model that leads naturally\nto the generalized holomorphic anomaly equations. Direct integration of the\nlatter calculates topological amplitudes of four dimensional rigid N=2 theories\nexplicitly in general Omega-backgrounds in terms of modular forms. These\namplitudes encode the refined BPS spectrum as well as new gravitational\ncouplings in the effective action of N=2 supersymmetric theories. The rigid N=2\nfield theories we focus on are the conformal rank one N=2 Seiberg-Witten\ntheories. The failure of holomorphicity is milder in the conformal cases, but\nfixing the holomorphic ambiguity is only possible upon mass deformation. Our\nformalism applies irrespectively of whether a Lagrangian formulation exists. In\nthe class of rigid N=2 theories arising from compactifications on local\nCalabi-Yau manifolds, we consider the theory of local P2. We calculate motivic\nDonaldson-Thomas invariants for this geometry and make predictions for\ngeneralized Gromov-Witten invariants at the orbifold point.",
        "positive": "Nuclear states and spectra in holographic QCD: A new method to study nuclear physics via holographic QCD is proposed.\nMultiple baryons in the Sakai-Sugimoto background are described by a matrix\nmodel which is a low energy effective theory of D-branes of the baryon\nvertices. We study the quantum mechanics of the matrix model and calculate the\neigenstates of the Hamiltonian. The obtained states are found to coincide with\nknown nuclear and baryonic states, and have appropriate statistics and charges.\nCalculated spectra of the baryon/nucleus for small baryon numbers show good\nagreement with experimental data. For hyperons, the Gell-Mann--Okubo formula is\napproximately derived. Baryon resonances up to spin $5/2$ and isospin $5/2$ and\ndibaryon spectra are obtained and compared with experimental data. The model\npartially explains even the magic numbers of light nuclei, $N=2,8$ and $20$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Kappa-symmetry of superstring sigma model and generalized 10d\n  supergravity equations: We determine the constraints imposed on the 10d target superspace geometry by\nthe requirement of classical kappa-symmetry of the Green-Schwarz superstring.\nIn the type I case we find that the background must satisfy a generalization of\ntype I supergravity equations. These equations depend on an arbitrary vector\nX_a and imply the one-loop scale invariance of the GS sigma model. In the\nspecial case when X_a is the gradient of a scalar \\phi (dilaton) one recovers\nthe standard type I equations equivalent to the 2d Weyl invariance conditions\nof the superstring sigma model. In the type II case we find a generalized\nversion of the 10d supergravity equations the bosonic part of which was\nintroduced in arXiv:1511.05795. These equations depend on two vectors \\X_a and\nK_a subject to 1st order differential relations (with the equations in the\nNS-NS sector depending only on the combination X_a = \\X_a + K_a). In the\nspecial case of K_a=0 one finds that \\X_a=\\d_a \\phi and thus obtains the\nstandard type II supergravity equations. New generalized solutions are found if\nK_a is chosen to be a Killing vector (and thus they exist only if the metric\nadmits an isometry). Non-trivial solutions of the generalized equations\ndescribe K-isometric backgrounds that can be mapped by T-duality to type II\nsupergravity solutions with dilaton containing a linear isometry-breaking term.\nExamples of such backgrounds appeared recently in the context of integrable\n\\eta-deformations of AdS_n x S^n sigma models. The classical kappa-symmetry\nthus does not, in general, imply the 2d Weyl invariance conditions for the GS\nsigma model (equivalent to type II supergravity equations) but only weaker\nscale invariance type conditions.",
        "positive": "New gauge bosons and logarithmic corrections in an exact AdS$_3$: We calculate the absorption cross section by studying the spin--dependent\nwave equation in three-dimensional anti-de Sitter space(AdS$_3$). Here the\nAdS/CFT correspondence is used. It turns out that the new gauge bosons coupled\nto (2,0) and (0,2) operators on the boundary at infinity receive logarithmic\ncorrections. This shows that the gauge bosons may play the role of singletons\nin AdS$_5$. On the other hand, test fields including the intermediate\nscalars($\\eta, \\xi$) and fixed scalar($\\lambda$) do not receive any logarithmic\ncorrection in the first-order approximation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fusion Rules of the ${\\cal W}_{p,q}$ Triplet Models: In this paper we determine the fusion rules of the logarithmic\n${\\calW}_{p,q}$ triplet theory and construct the Grothendieck group with\nsubgroups for which consistent product structures can be defined. The fusion\nrules are then used to determine projective covers. This allows us also to\nwrite down a candidate for a modular invariant partition function. Our results\ndemonstrate that recent work on the ${\\cal W}_{2,3}$ model generalises\nnaturally to arbitrary (p,q).",
        "positive": "Properties of multiple D0-brane system: 11D origin, equations of motion\n  and their solutions: We study the properties of 10D multiple D0-brane (mD0) system described by\nrecently proposed complete supersymmetric and $\\kappa$-symmetric nonlinear\naction which includes an arbitrary positive definite function ${\\cal M}({\\cal\nH})$ of the relative motion Hamiltonian ${\\cal H}$. First we show how the\naction with a particular nonlinear ${\\cal M}({\\cal H})$ can be obtained from\nthe action for 11D multiple M-wave (multiple M0-brane or mM0) system. Then we\nobtain the complete set of equations of motion of mD0 system with arbitrary\npositive definite ${\\cal M}({\\cal H})$, perform a convenient gauge fixing,\nsolve the center of energy equations and establish an interesting\ncorrespondence between the relative motion mD0 equations and the equations of\nmaximal supersymmetric SU(N) Yang-Mills theory (SYM). We show that this\ncorrespondence does not imply a gauge equivalence but establishes a relation\nbetween solutions of the system. In particular, it implies that all the\nsupersymmetric solutions of mD0 equations in its relative motion part coincide\nwith supersymmetric solutions of the SYM equations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The RP^2 Valued Sigma and Baby Skyrme Models: We investigate the sigma and baby Skyrme models with an RP^2 target space. We\ncompare these models to models with an S^2 target space. We investigate the\ninteractions between solitons and defects in the RP^2 sigma model.",
        "positive": "Scherk-Schwarz reduction of M-theory on G2-manifolds with fluxes: We analyse the 4-dimensional effective supergravity theories obtained from\nthe Scherk--Schwarz reduction of M-theory on twisted 7-tori in the presence of\n4-form fluxes. We implement the appropriate orbifold projection that preserves\na G2-structure on the internal 7-manifold and truncates the effective field\ntheory to an N=1, D=4 supergravity. We provide a detailed account of the\neffective supergravity with explicit expressions for the Kaehler potential and\nthe superpotential in terms of the fluxes and of the geometrical data of the\ninternal manifold. Subsequently, we explore the landscape of vacua of M-theory\ncompactifications on twisted tori, where we emphasize the role of geometric\nfluxes and discuss the validity of the bottom-up approach. Finally, by reducing\nalong isometries of the internal 7-manifold, we obtain superpotentials for the\ncorresponding type IIA backgrounds."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "An Exceptional Algebraic Origin of the AdS/CFT Yangian Symmetry: In the su(2|2) spin chain motivated by the AdS/CFT correspondence, a novel\nsymmetry extending the superalgebra su(2|2) into u(2|2) was found. We pursue\nthe origin of this symmetry in the exceptional superalgebra d(2,1;epsilon),\nwhich recovers su(2|2) when the parameter epsilon is taken to zero. Especially,\nwe rederive the Yangian symmetries of the AdS/CFT spin chain using the\nexceptional superalgebra and find that the epsilon-correction corresponds to\nthe novel symmetry. Also, we reproduce the non-canonical classical r-matrix of\nthe AdS/CFT spin chain expressed with this symmetry from the canonical one of\nthe exceptional algebra.",
        "positive": "Analyticity in Spin in Conformal Theories: Conformal theory correlators are characterized by the spectrum and three-\npoint functions of local operators. We present a formula which extracts this\ndata as an analytic function of spin. In analogy with a classic formula due to\nFroissart and Gribov, it is sensitive only to an \"imaginary part\" which appears\nafter analytic continuation to Lorentzian signature, and it converges thanks to\nrecent bounds on the high-energy Regge limit. At large spin, substituting in\ncross-channel data, the formula yields 1/J expansions with controlled errors.\nIn large-N theories, the imaginary part is saturated by single-trace operators.\nFor a sparse spectrum, it manifests the suppression of bulk higher-derivative\ninteractions that constitutes the signature of a local gravity dual in\nAnti-de-Sitter space."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The topological structure of supergravity: an application to\n  supersymmetric localization: The BRST algebra of supergravity is characterized by two different bilinears\nof the commuting supersymmetry ghosts: a vector $\\gamma^\\mu$ and a scalar\n$\\phi$, the latter valued in the Yang-Mills Lie algebra. We observe that under\nBRST transformations $\\gamma$ and $\\phi$ transform as the superghosts of,\nrespectively, topological gravity and topological Yang-Mills coupled to\ntopological gravity. This topological structure sitting inside any supergravity\nleads to universal equivariant cohomological equations for the curvatures\n2-forms which hold on supersymmetric bosonic backgrounds. Additional\nequivariant cohomological equations can be derived for supersymmetric\nbackgrounds of supergravities for which certain gauge invariant scalar\nbilinears of the commuting ghosts exist. Among those, $N= (2,2)$ in $d=2$,\nwhich we discuss in detail in this paper, and $N=2$ in $d=4$.",
        "positive": "Gauge Theory in Two Dimensions: Topological, Geometric and Probabilistic\n  Aspects: We present a description of two dimensional Yang-Mills gauge theory on the\nplane and on compact surfaces, examining the topological, geometric and\nprobabilistic aspects."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holography and Renormalization in Lorentzian Signature: De Boer et. al. have found an asymptotic equivalence between the\nHamilton-Jacobi equations for supergravity in (d+1)-dimensional asymptotic\nanti-de Sitter space, and the Callan-Symanzik equations for the dual\nd-dimensional perturbed conformal field theory. We discuss this correspondence\nin Lorentzian signature. We construct a gravitational dual of the generating\nfunction of correlation functions between initial and final states, in\naccordance with the construction of Marolf, and find a class of states for\nwhich the result has a classical supergravity limit. We show how the data\nspecifying the full set of solutions to the second-order supergravity equations\nof motion are described in the field theory, despite the first-order nature of\nthe renormalization group equations for the running couplings: one must specify\nboth the couplings and the states, and the latter affects the solutions to the\nCallan-Symanzik equations.",
        "positive": "Restricted thermodynamic fluctuations and the Ruppeiner geometry of\n  black holes: Thermodynamic fluctuation metrics in Ruppeiner's formalism are worked out for\nKerr-AdS black holes in the extended state space. The implications of\nconstraints upon the state space geometry and their correspondence with\nthermodynamical ensembles are explicitly worked out in the most general\nsetting. The state space scalar curvature for a given ensemble is found to be\nsensitive to the instabilities/phase transitions therein. In particular, it is\nfound that the appropriate Ruppeiner scalar curvature does encode critical\nphenomena in the Kerr-AdS black holes. A detailed study is undertaken of the\ncurvature contour of the state space of the 4d Kerr-AdS black hole and suitable\ninferences are drawn. In particular, thermodynamic geometry suggests an\ninstability in the Schwarzschild-AdS limit for all the ensembles except the\npressure ensemble which is equivalent to the unextended state space of the\nKerr-AdS black holes. The extrinsic geometry of the ensemble hypersurfaces is\nintroduced and its relevance to constrained thermodynamic fluctuations\ndiscussed. A new interpretation for the thermodynamic curvature of black hole\nsystems is suggested."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Cubic vertices of interacting massless spin 4 and real scalar fields in\n  unconstrained formulation: New method (arXiv:2104.11930) is applied to construct cubic interactions of\nmassless spin 4 and real scalar fields. In contrast with the case of massless\nspin 3 fields (arXiv:2208.05700, 2209.03678, 2210.02842) the procedure requires\nto use an unconstrained formulation (arXiv:0702.161) for the Fronsdal theory.\nIt is shown that in the unconstrained formulation there exists a four-parameter\nfamily of cubic interactions between massless spin 4 and real scalar fields,\nwhich contains four derivatives in vertices and is invariant with respect to\nthe original gauge transformation. These vertices contain cubic interactions\nbetween auxiliary and scalar fields too. Eliminating all auxiliary fields from\nthe obtained result using the equations of motion for the initial action gives\na one-parameter family of cubic vertices for constrained massless spin 4 and\nreal scalar fields, Such cubic vertices are invariant with respect to\nconstrained gauge transformations of the Fronsdal theory.",
        "positive": "Quantum Principal Bundles: A noncommutative-geometric generalization of the theory of principal bundles\nis sketched. A differential calculus over corresponding quantum principal\nbundles is analysed. The formalism of connections is presented. In particular,\noperators of covariant derivative and horizontal projection are described and\nanalysed. Quantum counterparts for the Bianchi identity and the Weil's\nhomomorphism are found. Illustrative examples are considered. (Lecture\npresented at the XXII-th Conference on Differential Geometric Methods in\nTheoretical Physics, Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo, Mexico, September 1993)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Instantons and the infrared behavior of the fermion propagator in the\n  Schwinger Model: Fermion propagator of the Schwinger Model is revisited from the point of view\nof its infrared behavior. The values of anomalous dimensions are found in\narbitrary covariant gauge and in all contributing instanton sectors. In the\ncase of a gauge invariant, but path dependent propagator, the exponential\ndependence, instead of power law one, is established for the special case when\nthe path is a straight line. The leading behavior is almost identical in any\nsector, differing only by the slowly varying, algebraic prefactors. The other\nkind of the gauge invariant function, which is the amplitude of the dressed\nDirac fermions, may be reduced, by the appropriate choice of the dressing, to\nthe gauge variant one, if Landau gauge is imposed.",
        "positive": "Large N Correlation Functions in Superconformal Field Theories: We compute correlation functions of chiral primary operators in N=2\nsuperconformal theories at large N using a construction based on supersymmetric\nlocalization recently developed by Gerchkovitz et al. We focus on N=4 SYM as\nwell as on superconformal QCD. In the case of N=4 we recover the free field\ntheory results as expected due to non-renormalization theorems. In the case of\nsuperconformal QCD we study the planar expansion in the large N limit. The\nfinal correlators admit a simple generalization to a finite N formula which\nexactly matches the various small $N$ results in the literature."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Velocity operator approach to a Fermion system: In this paper, we formulate a velocity operator approach to a\nthree-dimensional (3D) Fermion system. Following Sunakawa, introducing density\nand velocity operators, we treat 3D quantum fluid dynamics in the system. We\nget a collective Hamiltonian in terms of collective variables. The lowest order\ncollective Hamiltonian is diagonalized. This diagonalization leads us to a\nBogoliubov transformation for Boson-like operators.",
        "positive": "Enhanced gauge symmetries on elliptic K3: We show that the geometry of K3 surfaces with singularities of type A-D-E\ncontains enough information to reconstruct a copy of the Lie algebra associated\nto the given Dynkin diagram. We apply this construction to explain the\nenhancement of symmetry in F and IIA theories compactified on singular K3's."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A new representation for non--local operators and path integrals: We derive an alternative representation for the relativistic non--local\nkinetic energy operator and we apply it to solve the relativistic Salpeter\nequation using the variational sinc collocation method. Our representation is\nanalytical and does not depend on an expansion in terms of local operators. We\nhave used the relativistic harmonic oscillator problem to test our formula and\nwe have found that arbitrarily precise results are obtained, simply increasing\nthe number of grid points. More difficult problems have also been considered,\nobserving in all cases the convergence of the numerical results. Using these\nresults we have also derived a new representation for the quantum mechanical\nGreen's function and for the corresponding path integral. We have tested this\nrepresentation for a free particle in a box, recovering the exact result after\ntaking the proper limits, and we have also found that the application of the\nFeynman--Kac formula to our Green's function yields the correct ground state\nenergy. Our path integral representation allows to treat hamiltonians\ncontaining non--local operators and it could provide to the community a new\ntool to deal with such class of problems.",
        "positive": "Supersymmetric gyratons in five dimensions: We obtain the gravitational and electromagnetic field of a spinning radiation\nbeam-pulse (a gyraton) in minimal five-dimensional gauged supergravity and show\nunder which conditions the solution preserves part of the supersymmetry. The\nconfigurations represent generalizations of Lobatchevski waves on AdS with\nnonzero angular momentum, and possess a Siklos-Virasoro reparametrization\ninvariance. We compute the holographic stress-energy tensor of the solutions\nand show that it transforms without anomaly under these reparametrizations.\nFurthermore, we present supersymmetric gyratons both in gauged and ungauged\nfive-dimensional supergravity coupled to an arbitrary number of vector\nsupermultiplets, which include gyratons on domain walls."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Thermal/quantum effects and induced superstring cosmologies: We consider classical superstring theories on flat four dimensional\nspace-times, and where N=4 or N=2 supersymmetry is spontaneously broken. We\nobtain the thermal and quantum corrections at the string one-loop level and\nshow that the back-reaction on the space-time metric induces a cosmological\nevolution. We concentrate on heterotic string models obtained by\ncompactification on a T^6 torus and on T^6/Z_2 orbifolds. The temperature T and\nthe supersymmetry breaking scale M are generated via the Scherk-Schwarz\nmechanism on the Euclidean time cycle and on an internal spatial cycle\nrespectively. The effective field theory corresponds to a no-scale\nsupergravity, where the corresponding no-scale modulus controls the\nSusy-breaking scale. The classical flatness of this modulus is lifted by an\neffective thermal potential, given by the free energy. The gravitational field\nequations admit solutions where M, T and the inverse scale factor 1/a of the\nuniverse remain proportional. In particular the ratio M/T is fixed during the\ntime evolution. The induced cosmology is governed by a Friedmann-Hubble\nequation involving an effective radiation term ~1/a^4 and an effective\ncurvature term ~1/a^2, whose coefficients are functions of the complex\nstructure ratio M/T.",
        "positive": "Vertex operator formulation of scattering around black hole: We propose a full-fledged open string framework that seems suited to study\nthe black hole information paradox. We set up a configuration to compute the\nscattering amplitude of a IIB open string around a D5-brane. The D5-brane is\nsituated at the origin of a transverse D3-brane. A string perturbation theory\nis employed where the geometry of the D5-brane is treated as a potential. We\nreason that the setup is capable of reconciling the unitary evolution of states\nand information loss that is measured by an observer on the D3 brane. With the\nconfigurations of these kinds, the information loss is an apparent phenomenon:\nit is just a manifestation of the fact that the D3-observer does not have\naccess to the \"hair\" of the D5 black brane."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-Gaussianity from Schwinger-Keldysh Effective Field Theory: We present a systematic treatment of non-Gaussianity in stochastic systems\nusing the Schwinger-Keldysh effective field theory framework, in which the\nnon-Gaussianity is realized as nonlinear terms in the fluctuation field. We\nestablish two stochastic formulations of the Schwinger-Keldysh effective field\ntheory, with those nonlinear terms manifested as multiple non-Gaussian noises\nin the Langevin equation and as higher order diffusive terms in the\nFokker-Planck equation. The equivalence of the stochastic formulations with the\noriginal Schwinger-Keldysh effective field theory is demonstrated with\nnon-trivial examples for arbitrary non-Gaussian parameters. The stochastic\nformulations will be more flexible and effective in studying non-equilibrium\ndynamics. We also reveal an ambiguity when coarse-graining time scale and\nnon-Gaussian parameters vanish simultaneously, which may be responsible for the\nunphysical divergence found in perturbative analysis.",
        "positive": "Holographic RG flows on curved manifolds and quantum phase transitions: Holographic RG flows dual to QFTs on maximally symmetric curved manifolds\n(dS$_d$, AdS$_d$, and $S^d$) are considered in the framework of\nEinstein-dilaton gravity in $d+1$ dimensions. A general dilaton potential is\nused and the flows are driven by a scalar relevant operator. The general\nproperties of such flows are analyzed and the UV and IR asymptotics computed.\nNew RG flows can appear at finite curvature which do not have a zero curvature\ncounterpart. The so-called 'bouncing flows', where the $\\beta$-function has a\nbranch cut at which it changes sign, are found to persist at finite curvature.\nNovel quantum first-order phase transitions are found, triggered by a variation\nin the $d$-dimensional curvature in theories allowing multiple ground states."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Strengthening the TCC Bound on Inflationary Cosmology: We show that the constraints which follow from the {\\it Trans-Planckian\nCensorship Conjecture} for inflationary cosmology can be strengthened if the\npre-inflationary universe was dominated by radiation. The resulting upper bound\non the energy scale of inflation is $\\eta \\sim 10^4 {\\rm GeV}$, close to the\nscale accessible to accelerator experiments.",
        "positive": "The fluctuation spectra around a Gaussian classical solution of a tensor\n  model and the general relativity: Tensor models can be interpreted as theory of dynamical fuzzy spaces. In this\npaper, I study numerically the fluctuation spectra around a Gaussian classical\nsolution of a tensor model, which represents a fuzzy flat space in arbitrary\ndimensions. It is found that the momentum distribution of the low-lying\nlow-momentum spectra is in agreement with that of the metric tensor modulo the\ngeneral coordinate transformation in the general relativity at least in the\ndimensions studied numerically, i.e. one to four dimensions. This result\nsuggests that the effective field theory around the solution is described in a\nsimilar manner as the general relativity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Extended Conformal Symmetry in $d\\neq 4$: Conformal Symmetry of Abelian\n  Gauge Theory in the Physical Sector: Abelian gauge theory in $d\\neq 4$ spacetime dimensions is an example of a\nscale invariant theory which does not possess conformal symmetry -- the special\nconformal transformation(SCT) explicitly breaks the gauge invariance of the\ntheory. In this work, we construct a non-local gauge-invariant extension of the\nSCT, which is compatible with the BRST formalism and defines a new symmetry of\nthe physical Hilbert space of the Maxwell theory for any dimension $d\\geqslant\n3$. We prove the invariance of the Maxwell theory in $d\\geqslant 3$ by\nexplicitly showing that the gauge-invariant two-point correlation functions,\nthe action, and the classical equation of motion are unchanged under such a\ntransformation.",
        "positive": "Outer entropy = Bartnik-Bray inner mass, and the gravitational ant\n  conjecture: Entropy and energy are found to be closely tied on our quest for quantum\ngravity. We point out an interesting connection between the recently proposed\nouter entropy, a coarse-grained entropy defined for a compact spacetime domain\nmotivated by the holographic duality, and the Bartnik-Bray quasilocal mass long\nknown in the mathematics community. In both scenarios, one seeks an optimal\nspacetime fill-in of a given closed, connected, spacelike, codimension-two\nboundary. We show that for an outer-minimizing mean-convex surface, the\nBartnik-Bray inner mass matches exactly with the irreducible mass corresponding\nto the outer entropy. The equivalence implies that the area laws derived from\nthe outer entropy are mathematically equivalent as the monotonicity property of\nthe quasilocal mass. It also gives rise to new bounds between entropy and the\ngravitational energy, which naturally gives the gravitational counterpart to\nWall's ant conjecture. We also observe that the equality can be achieved in a\nconformal flow of metrics, which is structurally similar to the Ceyhan-Faulkner\nproof of the ant conjecture. We compute the small sphere limit of the outer\nentropy and it is proportional to the bulk stress tensor as one would expect\nfor a quasilocal mass. Lastly, we discuss some implications of taking quantum\nmatter into consideration in the semiclassical setting."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "String Field Theory in Rindler Space-Time and String Thermalization: Quantization of free string field theory in the Rindler space-time is studied\nby using the covariant formulation and taking the center-of-mass value of the\nRindler string time-coordinate $\\eta(\\sigma)$ as the time variable for\nquantization. We construct the string Rindler modes which vanish in either of\nthe Rindler wedges $\\pm$ defined by the Minkowski center-of-mass coordinate of\nthe string. We then evaluate the Bogoliubov coefficients between the Rindler\nstring creation/annihilation operators and the Minkowski ones, and analyze the\nstring thermalization. An approach to the construction of the string Rindler\nmodes corresponding to different definitions of the wedges is also presented\ntoward a thorough understanding of the structure of the Hilbert space of the\nstring field theory on the Rindler space-time.",
        "positive": "Quantum backreaction of $O(N)$-symmetric scalar fields and de Sitter\n  spacetimes at the renormalization point: renormalization schemes and the\n  screening of the cosmological constant: We consider a theory of $N$ self-interacting quantum scalar fields with\nquartic $O(N)$-symmetric potential, with a coupling constant $\\lambda$, in a\ngeneric curved spacetime. We analyze the renormalization process of the\nSemiclassical Einstein Equations at leading order in the $1/N$ expansion for\ndifferent renormailzation schemes, namely: the traditional one that sets the\ngeometry of the spacetime to be Minkowski at the renormalization point, and new\nschemes (originally proposed in [1,2]) which set the geometry to be that of a\nfixed de Sitter spacetime. In particular, we study the quantum backreaction for\nfields in de Sitter spacetimes with masses much smaller than the expansion rate\n$H$. We find that the scheme that uses the classical de Sitter background\nsolution at the renormalization point, stands out as the most appropriate to\nstudy the quantum effects on de Sitter spacetimes. Adopting such scheme we\nobtain the backreaction is suppressed by $H^2/M_{pl}^2$ with no logarithmic\nenhancement factor of $\\ln{\\lambda}$, giving only a small screening of the\nclassical cosmological constant due to the backreaction of such quantum fields.\nWe point out the use of the new schemes can also be more appropriate than the\ntraditional one to study quantum effects in other spacetimes relevant for\ncosmology."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dark energy, cosmological constant and neutrino mixing: The today estimated value of dark energy can be achieved by the vacuum\ncondensate induced by neutrino mixing phenomenon. Such a tiny value is\nrecovered for a cut-off of the order of Planck scale and it is linked to the\nsub eV neutrino mass scale. Contributions to dark energy from auxiliary fields\nor mechanisms are not necessary in this approach.",
        "positive": "Freak observers and the measure of the multiverse: I suggest that the factor $p_j$ in the pocket-based measure of the\nmultiverse, $P_j=p_j f_j$, should be interpreted as accounting for equilibrium\nde Sitter vacuum fluctuations, while the selection factor $f_j$ accounts for\nthe number of observers that were formed due to non-equilibrium processes\nresulting from such fluctuations. I show that this formulation does not suffer\nfrom the problem of freak observers (also known as Boltzmann brains)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Vassiliev Invariants for Flows Via Chern-Simons Perturbation Theory: The perturbative expansion of Chern-Simons gauge theory leads to invariants\nof knots and links, the finite type invariants or Vassiliev invariants. It has\nbeen proven that at any order in perturbation theory the resulting expression\nis an invariant of that order. Bott-Taubes integrals on configuration spaces\nare introduced in the present context to write Feynman diagrams at a given\norder in perturbation theory in a geometrical and topological setting. One of\nthe consequences of the configuration space formalism is that the resulting\namplitudes are given in cohomological terms. This cohomological structure can\nbe used to translate Bott-Taubes integrals into Chern-Simons perturbative\namplitudes and vice versa. In this article this program is performed up to\nthird order in the coupling constant. This expands some work previously worked\nout by Thurston. Finally we take advantage of these results to incorporate in\nthe formalism a smooth and divergenceless vector field on the $3$-manifold. The\nBott-Taubes integrals obtained are used for constructing higher-order\nasymptotic Vassiliev invariants extending the work of Komendarczyk and Voli\\'c.",
        "positive": "Reply to 'Comment on \"Relativistic extension of shape-invariant\n  potentials\"': We concur with de Castro's observation that the gauge considerations of our\napproach are not valid. Nevertheless, except for an error that will be\ncorrected, all of our findings are accurate independent of those\nconsiderations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic Kondo Model in Various Dimensions: We study the addition of localised impurities to U(N) Supersymmetric\nYang-Mills theories in (p+1)-dimensions by using the gauge/gravity\ncorrespondence. From the gravity side, the impurities are introduced by\nconsidering probe D(8-p)-branes extendingalong the time and radial directions\nand wrapping an (7-p)-dimensional submanifold of the internal (8-p)-sphere, so\nthat the degrees of freedom are point-like from the gauge theory perspective.\nWe analyse both the configuration in which the branes generate straight flux\ntubes -corresponding to actual single impurities - and the one in which\nconnected flux tubes are created- corresponding to dimers. We discuss the\nthermodynamics of both the configurations and the related phase transition. In\nparticular, the specific heat of the straight flux-tube configuration is\nnegative for p<3, while it is never the case for the connected one. We study\nthe stability of the system by looking at the impurity fluctuations. Finally,\nwe characterise the theory by computing one- and two-point correlators of the\ngauge theory operators dual to the impurity fluctuations. Because of the\nunderlying generalised conformal structure, such correlators can be expressed\nin terms of an effective coupling constant (which runs because of its\ndimensionality) and a generalised conformal dimension.",
        "positive": "Gravitational Axiverse Spectroscopy: Seeing the Forest for the Axions: We consider inflationary models with multiple spectator axions coupled to\ndark gauge sectors via Chern-Simons (CS) terms. The energy injection into\nAbelian gauge fields from the axions engenders a multi-peak profile for scalar\nand tensor spectra. We highlight the constraining power of CMB spectral\ndistortions on the scalar signal and discuss the conditions under which\nspectator sectors can account for the recently observed stochastic\ngravitational wave (GW) background in the nHz range. Given the tantalizing\nprospect of a multi-peak ``GW forest'' spanning several decades in frequency,\nwe elaborate on possible ultraviolet origins of the spectator models from Type\nIIB orientifolds. String compactifications generically produce a multitude of\naxions, the ``Axiverse'', from dimensional reduction of p-form gauge fields.\nThe CS coupling of such axions to dark gauge fields in the worldvolume theory\nof D7-branes can be tuned via multiple brane wrappings and/or quantized gauge\nfield strengths. If string axions coupled to Abelian gauge fields undergo\nslow-roll during inflation, they produce GW signals with peaked frequency\ndistribution whose magnitude depends on the details of the compactification. We\ndiscuss the restrictions on spectator models from consistency and control\nrequirements of the string compactification and thereby motivate models that\nmay live in the string landscape as opposed to the swampland."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Can Compactifications Solve the Cosmological Constant Problem?: Recently, there have been claims in the literature that the cosmological\nconstant problem can be dynamically solved by specific compactifications of\ngravity from higher-dimensional toy models. These models have the novel feature\nthat in the four-dimensional theory, the cosmological constant $\\Lambda$ is\nmuch smaller than the Planck density and in fact accumulates at $\\Lambda=0$.\nHere we show that while these are very interesting models, they do not properly\naddress the real cosmological constant problem. As we explain, the real problem\nis not simply to obtain $\\Lambda$ that is small in Planck units in a toy model,\nbut to explain why $\\Lambda$ is much smaller than other mass scales (and\ncombinations of scales) in the theory. Instead, in these toy models, all other\nparticle mass scales have been either removed or sent to zero, thus ignoring\nthe real problem. To this end, we provide a general argument that the included\nmoduli masses are generically of order Hubble, so sending them to zero\ntrivially sends the cosmological constant to zero. We also show that the\nfundamental Planck mass is being sent to zero, and so the central problem is\ntrivially avoided by removing high energy physics altogether. On the other\nhand, by including various large mass scales from particle physics with a high\nfundamental Planck mass, one is faced with a real problem, whose only known\nsolution involves accidental cancellations in a landscape.",
        "positive": "Dynamics of Non-Abelian Vortices: The scattering is studied using moduli space metric for well-separated\nvortices of non-Abelian vortices in (2+1)-dimensional U(N) gauge theories with\nN Higgs fields in the fundamental representation. Unlike vortices in the\nAbelian-Higgs model, dynamics of non-Abelian vortices has a lot of new\nfeatures; The kinetic energy in real space can be transfered to that of\ninternal orientational moduli and vice versa, the energy and charge transfer\nbetween two vortices, the scattering angle of collisions with a fixed impact\nparameter depends on the internal orientations, and some resonances appear due\nto synchronization of the orientations. Scattering of dyonic non-Abelian\nvortices in a mass deformed theory is also studied. We find a bound state of\ntwo vortices moving along coils around a circle, like a loop of a phone code."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Nonequilibrium Quantum Scalar Fields in Cosmology: We elaborate further the functional Schr\\\"{o}dinger-picture approach to the\nquantum field in curved spacetimes using the generalized invariant method and\nconstruct explicitly the Fock space, which we relate with the thermal field\ntheory. We apply the method to a free massive scalar field in the de Sitter\nspacetime, and find the exact quantum states, construct the Fock space, and\nevaluate the two-point function and correlation function.",
        "positive": "Non-Abelian gauge theory on noncommutative spaces: We present a brief introduction to the construction of gauge theories on\nnoncommutative spaces with star products. Particular emphasis is given to\nissues related to non-Abelian gauge groups and charge quantization. This talk\nis based on joined work with B. Jurco, J. Madore, L. Moeller, S. Schraml and J.\nWess."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Extranatural Inflation: We present a new model of inflation in which the inflaton is the extra\ncomponent of a gauge field in a 5d theory compactified on a circle. The chief\nmerit of this model is that the potential comes only from non-local effects so\nthat its flatness is not spoiled by higher dimensional operators or quantum\ngravity corrections. The model predicts a red spectrum (n ~ 0.96) and a\nsignificant production of gravitational waves (r ~ 0.11). We also comment on\nthe relevance of this idea to quintessence.",
        "positive": "Topological quantization of self-dual Chern-Simons vortices on Riemann\n  Surfaces: The self-duality equations of Chern-Simons Higgs theory in a background\ncurved spacetime are studied by making use of the U(1) gauge potential\ndecomposition theory and $\\phi$-mapping method. The special form of the gauge\npotential decomposition is obtained directly from the first of the self-duality\nequations. Using this decomposition, a rigorous proof of magnetic flux\nquantization in background curved spacetime is given and the unit magnetic flux\nin curved spacetime is also found . Furthermore, the precise self-dual vortex\nequation with topological term is obtained, in which the topological term has\nalways been ignored."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Homogeneous Plane Waves: Motivated by the search for potentially exactly solvable time-dependent\nstring backgrounds, we determine all homogeneous plane wave (HPW) metrics in\nany dimension and find one family of HPWs with geodesically complete metrics\nand another with metrics containing null singularities. The former generalises\nboth the Cahen-Wallach (constant $A_{ij}$) metrics to time-dependent HPWs,\n$A_{ij}(t)$, and the Ozsvath-Sch\\\"ucking anti-Mach metric to arbitrary\ndimensions. The latter is a generalisation of the known homogeneous metrics\nwith $A_{ij}\\sim 1/t^2$ to a more complicated time-dependence. We display these\nmetrics in various coordinate systems, show how to embed them into string\ntheory, and determine the isometry algebra of a general HPW and the associated\nconserved charges. We review the Lewis-Riesenfeld theory of invariants of\ntime-dependent harmonic oscillators and show how it can be deduced from the\ngeometry of plane waves. We advocate the use of the invariant associated with\nthe extra (timelike) isometry of HPWs for lightcone quantisation, and\nillustrate the procedure in some examples.",
        "positive": "Vortex Solutions of Four-fermion Theory coupled to a\n  Yang-Mills-Chern-Simons Gauge Field: We have constructed a four-fermion theory coupled to a\nYang-Mills-Chern-Simons gauge field which admits static multi-vortex solutions.\nThis is achieved through the introduction of an anomalous magnetic interation\nterm in addition to the usual minimal coupling, and the appropriate choice of\nthe fermion quartic coupling constant."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "From brane dynamics to a Kac-Moody invariant formulation of M-theories: Theories of gravity coupled to forms and dilatons may admit as solutions zero\nbinding energy configurations of intersecting closed extremal branes. In such\nconfigurations, some branes may open on host closed branes. Properties of\nextremal branes reveal symmetries of the underlying theory which are well known\nin M-theory but transcend supersymmetry. From these properties it is possible\nto reconstruct all actions, comprising in particular pure gravity in D\ndimensions, the bosonic effective actions of M-theory and of the bosonic\nstring, which upon dimensional reduction to three dimensions are invariant\nunder the maximally non-compact simple simply laced Lie groups G. Moreover the\nfeatures of extremal branes suggest the existence of a much larger symmetry,\nnamely the `very-extended' Kac-Moody algebras G+++. This motivates the\nconstruction of explicit non-linear realisations of all simple G+++, which\nhopefully contain new degrees of freedom such as those encountered in string\ntheories. They are defined without a priori reference to space-time and are\nproposed as substitutes for original field theoretic models of gravity, forms\nand dilatons. From the G+++ invariant theories, all algebraic properties of\nextremal branes are recovered from exact solutions, and there are indications\nthat space-time is hidden in the infinite symmetry structure. The\ntransformation properties of the exact solutions, which possibly induce new\nsolutions foreign to conventional theories, put into evidence the general\ngroup-theoretical origin of `dualities' for all G+++. These dualities\napparently do not require an underlying string theory.",
        "positive": "Quantum field theory in curved graphene spacetimes, Lobachevsky\n  geometry, Weyl symmetry, Hawking effect, and all that: The solutions of many issues, of the ongoing efforts to make deformed\ngraphene a tabletop quantum field theory in curved spacetimes, are presented. A\ndetailed explanation of the special features of curved spacetimes, originating\nfrom embedding portions of the Lobachevsky plane into $\\mathbf{R}^3$, is given,\nand the special role of coordinates for the physical realizations in graphene,\nis explicitly shown, in general, and for various examples. The Rindler\nspacetime is reobtained, with new important differences with respect to earlier\nresults. The de Sitter spacetime naturally emerges, for the first time, paving\nthe way to future applications in cosmology. The role of the BTZ black hole is\nalso briefly addressed. The singular boundary of the pseudospheres, \"Hilbert\nhorizon\", is seen to be closely related to event horizon of the Rindler, de\nSitter, and BTZ kind. This gives new, and stronger, arguments for the Hawking\nphenomenon to take place. An important geometric parameter, $c$, overlooked in\nearlier work, takes here its place for physical applications, and it is shown\nto be related to graphene's lattice spacing, $\\ell$. It is shown that all\nsurfaces of constant negative curvature, ${\\cal K} = -r^{-2}$, are unified, in\nthe limit $c/r \\to 0$, where they are locally applicable to the Beltrami\npseudosphere. This, and $c = \\ell$, allow us a) to have a phenomenological\ncontrol on the reaching of the horizon; b) to use spacetimes different than\nRindler for the Hawking phenomenon; c) to approach the generic surface of the\nfamily. An improved expression for the thermal LDOS is obtained. A non-thermal\nterm for the total LDOS is found. It takes into account: a) the peculiarities\nof the graphene-based Rindler spacetime; b) the finiteness of a laboratory\nsurface; c) the optimal use of the Minkowski quantum vacuum, through the choice\nof this Minkowski-static boundary."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "$S$-Matrix and Anomaly of de Sitter: $S$-matrix formulation of gravity excludes de Sitter vacua. In particular,\nthis is organic to string theory. The $S$-matrix constraint is enforced by an\nanomalous quantum break-time proportional to the inverse values of\ngravitational and/or string couplings. Due to this, de Sitter can satisfy the\nconditions for a valid vacuum only at the expense of trivializing the graviton\nand closed-string $S$-matrixes. At non-zero gravitational and string couplings,\nde Sitter is deformed by corpuscular $1/N$ effects, similarly to\nWitten-Veneziano mechanism in QCD with $N$ colors. In this picture, an\n$S$-matrix formulation of Einstein gravity, such as string theory, nullifies an\noutstanding cosmological puzzle. We discuss possible observational signatures\nwhich are especially interesting in theories with large number of particle\nspecies. Species can enhance the primordial quantum imprints to potentially\nobservable level even if the standard inflaton fluctuations are negligible.",
        "positive": "Fractal universe and quantum gravity: We propose a field theory which lives in fractal spacetime and is argued to\nbe Lorentz invariant, power-counting renormalizable, ultraviolet finite, and\ncausal. The system flows from an ultraviolet fixed point, where spacetime has\nHausdorff dimension 2, to an infrared limit coinciding with a standard\nfour-dimensional field theory. Classically, the fractal world where fields live\nexchanges energy momentum with the bulk with integer topological dimension.\nHowever, the total energy momentum is conserved. We consider the dynamics and\nthe propagator of a scalar field. Implications for quantum gravity, cosmology,\nand the cosmological constant are discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "M/F-Theory as Mf-Theory: In the quest for mathematical foundations of M-theory, the \"Hypothesis H\"\nthat fluxes are quantized in Cohomotopy theory, implies, on flat but possibly\nsingular spacetimes, that M-brane charges locally organize into equivariant\nhomotopy groups of spheres. Here we show how this leads to a correspondence\nbetween phenomena conjectured in M-theory and fundamental mathematical\nconcepts/results in stable homotopy, generalized cohomology and Cobordism\ntheory Mf:\n  Stems of homotopy groups correspond to charges of probe p-branes near black\nb-branes; stabilization within a stem is the boundary-bulk transition; the\nAdams d-invariant measures G4-flux; trivialization of the d-invariant\ncorresponds to H3-flux; refined Toda brackets measure H3-flux; the refined\nAdams e-invariant sees the H3-charge lattice; vanishing Adams e-invariant\nimplies consistent global C3-fields; Conner-Floyd's e-invariant is H3-flux seen\nin the Green-Schwarz mechanism; the Hopf invariant is the M2-brane Page charge\n(G7-flux); the Pontrjagin-Thom theorem associates the polarized brane\nworldvolumes sourcing all these charges. Cobordism in the third stable stem\nwitnesses spontaneous KK-compactification on K3-surfaces; the order of the\nthird stable stem implies 24 NS5/D7-branes in M/F-theory on K3. Quaternionic\norientations correspond to unit H3-fluxes near M2-branes; complex orientations\nlift these unit H3-fluxes to heterotic M-theory with heterotic line bundles. In\nfact, we find quaternionic/complex Ravenel-orientations bounded in dimension;\nand we find the bound to be 10, as befits spacetime dimension 10+1.",
        "positive": "Instantons from Blow-up: We generalize Nakajima-Yoshioka blowup equations to arbitrary gauge group\nwith hypermultiplets in arbitrary representations. Using our blowup equations,\nwe compute the instanton partition functions for 4d N=2 and 5d N=1 gauge\ntheories for arbitrary gauge theory with a large class of matter\nrepresentations, without knowing explicit construction of the instanton moduli\nspace. Our examples include exceptional gauge theories with fundamentals, SO(N)\ngauge theories with spinors, and SU(6) gauge theories with rank-3 antisymmetric\nhypers. Remarkably, the instanton partition function is completely determined\nby the perturbative part."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Rotating multi-charge spindles and their microstates: Some AdS$_3 \\times M_7$ type IIB vacua have been recently proposed to arise\nfrom D3-branes wrapped on a spindle, a sphere with conical singularities at the\npoles. We explicitly construct a generalization of these solutions\ncorresponding to a class of electrically charged and rotating supersymmetric\nblack strings in AdS$_5 \\times S^5$ with general magnetic fluxes on the\nspindle. We then perform a counting of their microstates using the charged\nCardy formula. To this purpose, we derive the general form of the anomaly\npolynomial of the dual $\\mathcal{N} = (0 , 2)$ CFT in two dimensions and we\nshow that it can be obtained via a simple gluing procedure.",
        "positive": "Friedmann equations in braneworld scenarios from emergence of cosmic\n  space: Recently, it was argued that the spacetime dynamics can be understood by\ncalculating the difference between the degrees of freedom on the boundary and\nin the bulk in a region of space. In this Letter, we apply this new idea to\nbraneworld scenarios and extract the corresponding Friedmann equations of\n$(n-1)$-dimensional brane embedded in the $(n+1)$-dimensional bulk with any\nspacial curvature. We will also extend our study to the more general\nGauss-Bonnet braneworld with curvature correction terms on the brane and in the\nbulk, and derive the dynamical equation in a nonflat Universe."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Toric Phases of the Y^{p,q} Quivers: We construct all connected toric phases of the recently discovered $Y^{p,q}$\nquivers and show their IR equivalence using Seiberg duality. We also compute\nthe R and global U(1) charges for a generic toric phase of $Y^{p,q}$.",
        "positive": "Gauging 1-form center symmetries in simple $SU(N)$ gauge theories: Consequences of gauging exact $Z_k^C$ center symmetries in several simple\n$SU(N)$ gauge theories, where $k$ is a divisor of $N$, are investigated. Models\ndiscussed include: the $SU(N)$ gauge theory with $N_f$ copies of Weyl fermions\nin self-adjoint single-column antisymmetric representation, the well-discussed\nadjoint QCD, QCD-like theories in which the quarks are in a two-index\nrepresentation of $SU(N)$, and a chiral $SU(N)$ theory with fermions in the\nsymmetric as well as in anti-antisymmetric representations but without\nfundamentals. Mixed 't Hooft anomalies between the 1-form $Z_k^C$ symmetry and\nsome 0-form (standard) discrete symmetry provide us with useful information\nabout the infrared dynamics of the system. In some cases they give decisive\nindication to select only few possiblities for the infrared phase of the\ntheory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Light cone gauge formulation of IIB supergravity in $AdS_5 \\times S^5$\n  background and AdS/CFT correspondence: Light cone gauge manifestly supersymmetric formulations of type IIB\n10-dimensional supergravity in $AdS_5 \\times S^5$ background and related\nboundary conformal field theory representations are developed. A precise\ncorrespondence between the bulk fields of IIB supergravity and the boundary\noperators is established. The formulations are given entirely in terms of light\ncone scalar superfields, allowing us to treat all component fields on an equal\nfooting.",
        "positive": "Scattering processes in the massive Schwinger model: We derive the (matrix-valued) Feynman rules of the mass perturbation theory\nand use it for the resummation of the $n$-point functions with the help of the\nDyson-Schwinger equations. We use these results for a short review of the\ncomplete spectrum of the model and for a discussion of scattering processes. We\nfind that in scattering cross sections all the resonances and higher particle\nproduction thresholds of the model are properly taken into account by our\nresummed mass perturbation theory, without the need of further approximations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Evaluation Of Glueball Masses From Supergravity: In the framework of the conjectured duality relation between large $N$ gauge\ntheory and supergravity the spectra of masses in large $N$ gauge theory can be\ndetermined by solving certain eigenvalue problems in supergravity. In this\npaper we study the eigenmass problem given by Witten as a possible\napproximation for masses in QCD without supersymmetry. We place a particular\nemphasis on the treatment of the horizon and related boundary conditions. We\nconstruct exact expressions for the analytic expansions of the wave functions\nboth at the horizon and at infinity and show that requiring smoothness at the\nhorizon and normalizability gives a well defined eigenvalue problem. We show\nfor example that there are no smooth solutions with vanishing derivative at the\nhorizon. The mass eigenvalues up to $m^{2}=1000$ corresponding to smooth\nnormalizable wave functions are presented. We comment on the relation of our\nwork with the results found in a recent paper by Cs\\'aki et al.,\nhep-th/9806021, which addresses the same problem.",
        "positive": "Observation and superselection in quantum mechanics: We attempt to clarify the main conceptual issues in approaches to\n`objectification' or `measurement' in quantum mechanics which are based on\nsuperselection rules. Such approaches venture to derive the emergence of\nclassical `reality' relative to a class of observers; those believing that the\nclassical world exists intrinsically and absolutely are advised against reading\nthis paper. The prototype approach (Hepp) where superselection sectors are\nassumed in the state space of the apparatus is shown to be untenable. Instead,\none should couple system and apparatus to an environment, and postulate\nsuperselection rules for the latter. These are motivated by the locality of any\nobserver or other (actual or virtual) monitoring system. In this way\n`environmental' solutions to the measurement problem (Zeh, Zurek) become\nconsistent and acceptable, too. Points of contact with the modal interpretation\nare briefly discussed. We propose a minimal value attribution to observables in\ntheories with superselection rules, in which only central observables have\nproperties. In particular, the eigenvector-eigenvalue link is dropped. This is\nmainly motivated by Ockham's razor."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Comments on anomaly versus WKB/tunneling methods for calculating Unruh\n  radiation: In this Letter we make a critique of, and comparison between, the anomaly\nmethod and WKB/tunneling method for obtaining radiation from non-trivial\nspacetime backgrounds. We focus on Rindler spacetime (the spacetime of an\naccelerating observer) and the associated Unruh radiation since this is the\nprototype of the phenomena of radiation from a spacetime, and it is the\nsimplest model for making clear subtle points in the tunneling and anomaly\nmethods. Our analysis leads to the following conclusions: (i) neither the\nconsistent and covariant anomaly methods gives the correct Unruh temperature\nfor Rindler spacetime and in some cases (e.g. de Sitter spacetime) the\nconsistent and covariant methods disagree with one another; (ii) the tunneling\nmethod can be applied in all cases, but it has a previously unnoticed temporal\ncontribution which must be accounted for in order to obtain the correct\ntemperature.",
        "positive": "Static spherically symmetric black hole in\n  Einstein-power-Yang-Mills-dilaton theory and some aspects of its\n  thermodynamics: A static spherically symmetric solution is obtained and examined in the\nframework of Einstein-power-Yang-Mills-dilaton theory. To derive this exact\nsolution a dilaton potential $V(\\Phi)$ is taken into account. Thermodynamics of\nthe black hole is also studied, namely we have obtained and investigated the\ntemperature and heat capacity of the black hole which has allowed us\ncharacterize the stability of the black hole. Using the framework of the\nextended thermodynamic phase space we have derived the equation of state for\nthe black hole. We have studied the Gibbs free energy of the black hole, which\nhas the behaviour similar for other black holes with dilaton fields. To\ncharacterize the thermal behaviour of the black hole near the critical point we\nhave written the Ehrenfest's equations and calculated Prigogine-Defay ratio."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Carroll geodesics: Using effective field theory methods, we derive the Carrollian analog of the\ngeodesic action. We find that it contains both `electric' and `magnetic'\ncontributions that are in general coupled to each other. The equations of\nmotion descending from this action are the Carrollian pendant of geodesics,\nallowing surprisingly rich dynamics. As an example, we derive Carrollian\ngeodesics on a Carroll-Schwarzschild background and discover an effective\npotential similar to the one appearing in geodesics on Schwarzschild\nbackgrounds. However, the Newton term in the potential turns out to depend on\nthe Carroll particle's energy. As a consequence, there is only one circular\norbit localized at the Carroll extremal surface, and this orbit is unstable.\nFor large impact parameters, the deflection angle is half the value of the\ngeneral relativistic light-bending result. For impact parameters slightly\nbigger than the Schwarzschild radius, orbits wind around the Carroll extremal\nsurface. For small impact parameters, geodesics get reflected by the Carroll\nblack hole, which acts as a perfect mirror.",
        "positive": "Higher dimensional uniformisation and W-geometry: We formulate the uniformisation problem underlying the geometry of\nW_n-gravity using the differential equation approach to W-algebras. We\nconstruct W_n-space (analogous to superspace in supersymmetry) as an (n-1)\ndimensional complex manifold using isomonodromic deformations of linear\ndifferential equations. The W_n-manifold is obtained by the quotient of a\nFuchsian subgroup of PSL(n,R) which acts properly discontinuously on a simply\nconnected domain in CP^{n-1}. The requirement that a deformation be\nisomonodromic furnishes relations which enable one to convert non-linear\nW-diffeomorphisms to (linear) diffeomorphisms on the W_n-manifold. We discuss\nhow the Teichmuller spaces introduced by Hitchin can then be interpreted as the\nspace of complex structures or the space of projective structures with real\nholonomy on the W_n-manifold. The projective structures are characterised by\nHalphen invariants which are appropriate generalisations of the Schwarzian.\nThis construction will work for all ``generic'' W-algebras."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Introduction to Black Hole Microscopy: The aim of these notes is both to review the standard understanding of the\nHawking effect, and to discuss the modifications to this understanding that\nmight be required by new physics at short distances. The fundamentals of the\nUnruh effect are reviewed, and then the Hawking effect is explained as a\n``gravitational Unruh effect\", with particular attention to the\nstate-dependence of this picture. The order of magnitude of deviations from the\nthermal spectrum of Hawking radiation is estimated under various hypotheses on\nphysics at short distances. The behavior of black hole radiation in a linear\nmodel with altered short distance physics---the Unruh model---is discussed in\ndetail. [Based on lectures given at the First Mexican School on Gravitation and\nMathematical Physics, Guanajuato, December 1994.]",
        "positive": "Higher-dimensional WZW Model on K\u00e4hler Manifold and Toroidal Lie\n  Algebra: We construct a generalization of the two-dimensional Wess-Zumino-Witten model\non a $2n$-dimensional K\\\"ahler manifold as a group-valued non-linear sigma\nmodel with an anomaly term containing the K\\\"ahler form. The model is shown to\nhave an infinite-dimensional symmetry which generates an $n$-toroidal Lie\nalgebra. The classical equation of motion turns out to be the\nDonaldson-Uhlenbeck-Yau equation, which is a $2n$-dimensional generalization of\nthe self-dual Yang-Mills equation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Entanglement entropy of Wilson loops: Holography and matrix models: A half-BPS circular Wilson loop in $\\mathcal{N}=4$ $SU(N)$ supersymmetric\nYang-Mills theory in an arbitrary representation is described by a Gaussian\nmatrix model with a particular insertion. The additional entanglement entropy\nof a spherical region in the presence of such a loop was recently computed by\nLewkowycz and Maldacena using exact matrix model results. In this note we\nutilize the supergravity solutions that are dual to such Wilson loops in a\nrepresentation with order $N^2$ boxes to calculate this entropy\nholographically. Employing the matrix model results of Gomis, Matsuura, Okuda\nand Trancanelli we express this holographic entanglement entropy in a form that\ncan be compared with the calculation of Lewkowycz and Maldacena. We find\ncomplete agreement between the matrix model and holographic calculations.",
        "positive": "The three-boson bound state in the massive Schwinger model: We derive the (matrix-valued) Feynman rules of mass perturbation theory of\nthe massive Schwinger model for non-zero vacuum angle theta. Further, we\ndiscuss the properties of the three-boson bound state and compute -- by a\npartial resummation of the mass perturbation series -- its mass and its partial\ndecay widths."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Multipoint correlators on the supersymmetric Wilson line defect CFT: We study multipoint correlators of protected scalars on the Maldacena-Wilson\nline in $\\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM. Working at weak coupling in the planar limit, we\nderive an explicit recursion relation that captures next-to-leading order\ncorrelators with an arbitrary number of insertions of the fundamental scalar\nfield. By pinching fundamental scalars together, we can build composite\nprotected operators with higher values of the R-charge. Our result then\nencompasses arbitrary $n$-point correlators of protected operators with\narbitrary weight. As a demonstration of our method, we give explicit formulae\nfor correlators with up to six points. Using these results we observe that all\nour correlators are annihilated by a special class of differential operators.\nWe conjecture that these differential operators are non-perturbative\nconstraints and can be considered a multipoint extension of the superconformal\nWard identities satisfied by four-point functions.",
        "positive": "Phase space structure and the path integral for gauge theories on a\n  cylinder: The physical phase space of gauge field theories on a cylindrical spacetime\nwith an arbitrary compact simple gauge group is shown to be the quotient $ {\\bf\nR}^{2r}/W_A, $ $ r $ a rank of the gauge group, $ W_A $ the affine Weyl group.\nThe PI formula resulting from Dirac's operator method contains a symmetrization\nwith respect to $ W_A $ rather than the integration domain reduction. It gives\na natural solution to Gribov's problem. Some features of fermion quantum\ndynamics caused by the nontrivial phase space geometry are briefly discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Celestial Conformal Colliders: We start by observing that the light-ray operators featured in the conformal\ncollider literature are celestial primaries. This allows us to rephrase the\ncorresponding 4D CFT correlators as probing a conformally soft matter sector of\nthe 2D celestial CFT (CCFT). To demonstrate the utility of this perspective we\nshow how the recent $w_{1+\\infty}$ symmetry observed in CCFT suggests a natural\nextension of the conformal collider operators.",
        "positive": "Flux-induced isometry gauging in heterotic strings: We study the effect of flux-induced isometry gauging of the scalar manifold\nin N=2 heterotic string compactification with gauge fluxes. We show that a\nvanishing theorem by Witten provides the protection mechanism. The other\nungauged isometries in hyper moduli space could also be protected, depending on\nthe gauge bundle structure. We also discuss the related issue in IIB setting"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Group Reduction of Heterotic Supergravity: The reduction of ten-dimensional heterotic supergravity with Yang-Mills\nsymmetry group K is performed on an arbitrary n-dimensional group manifold G.\nThe reduction involves a nonvanishing 3-form flux, and the Lie algebra of G\nmust have traceless structure constants to ensure the consistency of the\nreduction at the level of the action. A large class of gauged supergravities in\nd=10-n with (non)compact gaugings is obtained. The resulting models describe\nhalf-maximal gauged supergravities coupled to $ (n + {\\rm dim} K)$ vector\nmultiplets. We uncover their hidden $SO(n,n+{\\rm dim} K)$ duality symmetry, and\nthe $SO(n,n+{\\rm dim} K) / SO(n)\\times SO(n+{\\rm dim} K)$ coset structure that\ngoverns the couplings of the scalar fields. We find that the local gauge\nsymmetry of the d-dimensional theory is $K\\times G \\ltimes R^n$. Differences\nfrom the existing gauged supergravities are highlighted. The consistent\ntruncation to pure half-maximal gauged supergravity in any dimension is shown,\nand the obstacle to performing a chiral truncation of the theory in d=6\ndimensions is found. Among the results obtained are the complete\ndiagonalisation of the fermionic kinetic terms, and other reduction formulae\nthat are applicable to group reductions of supergravities in arbitrary\ndimensions.",
        "positive": "Gauge embedding procedure: classical and quantum equivalence between\n  dual models: In this paper the gauge embedding procedure of dualization is reassessed\nthrough a deeper analysis of the mutual equivalence of vector field models of\nmore generic forms, explicitly, a general modified massive gauge-breaking\nextension of electrodynamics and its dual gauge-invariant model we derive in\nthe paper. General relations between the vector field propagators and\ninteraction terms of these models are obtained. Further, these models are shown\nto be equivalent at tree-level and one-loop physical calculations. Finally, we\ndiscuss extension of this equivalence to all loop orders."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Conformal Symmetry Breaking and Thermodynamics of Near-Extremal Black\n  Holes: It has been argued recently by Almheiri and Polchinski that the near-horizon\nconformal symmetry of extremal black holes must be broken due to gravitational\nbackreaction at an IR scale linear in $G_N$. In this paper, we show that this\nscale coincides with the so-called `thermodynamic mass gap' of near-extremal\nblack holes, a scale which signals the breakdown of their thermodynamic\ndescription. We also develop a method which extends the analysis of Almheiri\nand Polchinski to more complicated models with extremal throats by studying the\nbulk linearized quantum field theory. Moreover, we show how their original\nmodel correctly captures the universal physics of the near-horizon region of\nnear-extremal black holes at tree level, and conclude that this equivalence of\nthe conformal breaking and mass gap scale is general.",
        "positive": "Looking Beyond Inflationary Cosmology: In spite of the phenomenological successes of the inflationary universe\nscenario, the current realizations of inflation making use of scalar fields\nlead to serious conceptual problems which are reviewed in this lecture. String\ntheory may provide an avenue towards addressing these problems. One particular\napproach to combining string theory and cosmology is String Gas Cosmology. The\nbasic principles of this approach are summarized."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Note on Weyl versus Conformal Invariance in Field Theory: It was argued recently that conformal invariance in flat spacetime implies\nWeyl invariance in a general curved background for unitary theories and\npossible anomalies in the Weyl variation of scalar operators are identified. We\nargue that generically unitarity alone is not sufficient for a conformal field\ntheory to be Weyl invariant. Furthermore, we show explicitly that when a\nunitary conformal field theory couples to gravity in a Weyl invariant way, each\nprimary scalar operator that is either relevant or marginal in the unitary\nconformal field theory corresponds to a Weyl-covariant operator in the curved\nbackground.",
        "positive": "Duality of Self-Dual Actions: Using examples of a D=2 chiral scalar and a duality-symmetric formulation of\nD=4 Maxwell theory we study duality properties of actions for describing chiral\nbosons. In particular, in the D=4 case, upon performing a duality transform of\nan auxiliary scalar field, which ensures Lorentz covariance of the action, we\narrive at a new covariant duality-symmetric Maxwell action, which contains a\ntwo-form potential as an auxiliary field. When the two-form field is gauge\nfixed this action reduces to a duality-symmetric action for Maxwell theory\nconstructed by Zwanziger. We consider properties of this new covariant action\nand discuss its coupling to external dyonic sources. We also demonstrate that\nthe formulations considered are self-dual with respect to a dualization of the\nfield-strengths of the chiral fields."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Explorations in 2+1 AdS Pure Gravity: Path Integral Formulation and\n  Partition Function Analyses in BTZ Mini-Superspace: In this work, we employ the Hamiltonian approach to analyze the Lorentzian\npath integral in 2+1 AdS gravity, with an aim to sum over all possible\ngeometries, including naked singularities and BTZ black holes, between fixed\ninitial and final surfaces. A novel path integral measure, grounded on the\nmetric over mini-superspace, is proposed for executing the path integral.\nShifting to Euclidean geometries, we derive the temperature and angular\npotential of Euclidean naked singularities within the partition function.\nSignificantly, without utilizing conformal field theory, we extract logarithmic\ncorrections to the entropy of BTZ black holes and compute the entropy of naked\nsingularities, along with their log corrections.",
        "positive": "Hosotani mechanism in higher dimensional Lee-Wick theory: Hosotani mechanism in higher-dimensional Lee-Wick theory is investigated. The\nsymmetry breaking mechanism proposed by Hosotani is studied at one-loop level\nthrough a toy model in this theory. We find that the phase diagram of symmetry\nand masses of fields are modified from the original one if masses of Lee-Wick\nparticles are in the same order of the inverse of the compactification scale."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Covariant superspace approaches to ${\\cal N}=2$ supergravity: We provide a unified description of the three covariant superspace approaches\nto ${\\cal N}=2$ conformal supergravity in four dimensions: (i) conformal\nsuperspace; (ii) $\\mathsf{U}(2)$ superspace; and (iii) $\\mathsf{SU}(2)$\nsuperspace. Each of them can be used to formulate general supergravity-matter\nsystems, although conformal superspace has the largest structure group and is\nintimately related to the superconformal tensor calculus. We review the\nstructure of covariant projective multiplets and demonstrate how they are used\nto describe pure and matter-coupled supergravity, including locally\nsuperconformal off-shell sigma models. Higher-derivative invariants,\ntopological invariants and super-Weyl anomalies are also briefly discussed.",
        "positive": "Counterterms in Dimensionally Continued AdS Gravity: We revise two regularization mechanisms for Lovelock gravity with AdS\nasymptotics. The first one corresponds to the Dirichlet counterterm method,\nwhere local functionals of the boundary metric are added to the bulk action on\ntop of a Gibbons-Hawking-Myers term that defines the Dirichlet problem in\ngravity. The generalized Gibbons-Hawking term can be found in any Lovelock\ntheory following the Myers' procedure to achieve a well-posed action principle\nfor a Dirichlet boundary condition on the metric, which is proved to be\nequivalent to the Hamiltonian formulation for a radial foliation of spacetime.\nIn turn, a closed expression for the Dirichlet counterterms does not exist for\na generic Lovelock gravity. The second method supplements the bulk action with\nboundary terms which depend on the extrinsic curvature (Kounterterms), and\nwhose explicit form is independent of the particular theory considered.\n  In this paper, we use Dimensionally Continued AdS Gravity (Chern-Simons-AdS\nin odd and Born-Infeld-AdS in even dimensions) as a toy model to perform the\nfirst explicit comparison between both regularization prescriptions. This can\nbe done thanks to the fact that, in this theory, the Dirichlet counterterms can\nbe readily integrated out from the divergent part of the Dirichlet variation of\nthe action.\n  The agreement between both procedures at the level of the boundary terms\nsuggests the existence of a general property of any Lovelock-AdS gravity:\nintrinsic counterterms are generated as the difference between the Kounterterm\nseries and the corresponding Gibbons-Hawking-Myers term."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Untruncated Marinari-Parisi Superstring: It is shown that the bosonic angular degrees of freedom in the one\ndimensional Marinari-Parisi superstring can be integrated out exactly in the\nHamiltonian formulation without having to perform the Dabholkar truncation. The\nresulting Hamiltonian is that of a supersymmetric Calogero system plus a four\nfermions interaction. This extra interaction vanishes for all physical states\nwith fermion number zero or one where supersymmetry is manifest. We confirm\nthat supersymmetry is nonperturbativly broken by instanton effects.",
        "positive": "Solitons and giants in matrix models: We present a method for solving BPS equations obtained in the\ncollective-field approach to matrix models. The method enables us to find BPS\nsolutions and quantum excitations around these solutions in the one-matrix\nmodel, and in general for the Calogero model. These semiclassical solutions\ncorrespond to giant gravitons described by matrix models obtained in the\nframework of AdS/CFT correspondence. The two-field model, associated with two\ntypes of giant gravitons, is investigated. In this duality-based matrix model\nwe find the finite form of the $n$-soliton solution. The singular limit of this\nsolution is examined and a realization of open-closed string duality is\nproposed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic model of exciton condensation in double monolayer Dirac\n  semimetal: In this paper we consider holographic model of exciton condensation in double\nmonolayer Dirac semimetal. Excitons is a bound states of an electron and a\nhole. Being Bose particles, excitons can form a Bose-Einstein condensate. We\nstudy formation of two types of condensates. In first case both the electron\nand the hole forming the exciton are in the same layer (intralayer condensate),\nin the second case the electron and the hole are in different layers\n(interlayer condensate). We study how the condensates depend on the distance\nbetween layers and the mass of the quasiparticles in presence of a strong\nmagnetic field. In order to take into account possible strong Coulomb\ninteraction between electrons we use holographic appoach. The holographic model\nconsists of two $D5$ branes embedded into anti de Sitter space. The condensates\nare described by geometric configuration of the branes. We show that the\ndistance between layers at which interlayer condensate disappears decreases\nwith quasiparticle mass.",
        "positive": "Heterotic p-branes from Massive Sigma Models: We explicitly construct massive (0,4) supersymmetric ADHM sigma models which\nhave heterotic p-brane solitons as their conformal fixed points. These yield\nthe familiar gauge 5-brane and a new 1-brane solution which preserve 1/2 and\n1/4 of the spacetime supersymmetry respectively. We also discuss an analogous\nconstruction for the type II NS-NS p-branes using (4,4) supersymmetric models."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauge Coupling Constant Unification With Planck Scale Values Of Moduli: Convergence of the standard model gauge coupling constants to a common value\nat around $2\\times 10^{16}$ GeV is studied in the context of orbifold theories\nwhere the modular symmetry groups for $T$ and $U$ moduli are broken to\nsubgroups of $PSL(2, Z)$. The values of the moduli required for this\nunification of coupling constants are studied for this case and also for the\ncase where string unification is accompanied by unification to a gauge group\nlarger then $SU(3)\\times SU(2)\\times U(1).$",
        "positive": "On the Point-Splitting Method of the Commutator Anomaly of the Gauss Law\n  Operators: We analyze the generalized point-splitting method and Jo's result for the\ncommutator anomaly. We find that certain classes of general regularization\nkernels satisfying integral conditions provide a unique result, which, however\ndiffers from Faddeev's cohomological result."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Asymmetric hermitian matrix models and fuzzy field theory: We analyze two types of hermitian matrix models with asymmetric solutions.\nOne type breaks the symmetry explicitly with an asymmetric quartic potential.\nWe give the phase diagram of this model with two different phase transitions\nbetween the one cut and two cut solutions. The second type, describing real\nscalar field theory on fuzzy spaces, breaks the symmetry spontaneously with\nmultitrace terms. We present two methods to study this model, one direct and\none using a connection with the first type of models. We analyze the model for\nthe fuzzy sphere and obtain a phase diagram with the location of the triple\npoint in a good agreement with the most recent numerical simulations.",
        "positive": "BRST Analysis and BFV Quantization of the Generalized Quantum Rigid\n  Rotor: We identify a strong similarity among several distinct originally\nsecond-class systems, including both mechanical and field theory models, which\ncan be naturally described in a gauge-invariant way. The canonical structure of\nsuch related systems is encoded into a gauge-invariant generalization of the\nquantum rigid rotor. We pursue the BRST symmetry analysis and the BFV\nfunctional quantization for the mentioned gauge-invariant version of the\ngeneralized quantum rigid rotor. We obtain different equivalent effective\nactions according to specific gauge-fixing choices, showing explicitly their\nBRST symmetries. We apply and exemplify the ideas discussed to two particular\nmodels, namely, motion along an elliptical path and the $O(N)$ nonlinear sigma\nmodel, showing that our results reproduce and connect previously unrelated\nknown gauge-invariant systems."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dualities Among Massive, Partially Massless and Shift Symmetric Fields\n  on (A)dS: We catalog all the electromagnetic-like dualities that exist between free\ndynamical bosonic fields of arbitrary symmetry type and mass on (anti-) de\nSitter space in all dimensions, including dualities among the partially\nmassless and shift symmetric fields. This generalizes to all these field types\nthe well known fact that a massless $p$-form is dual to a massless\n$(D-p-2)$-form in $D$ spacetime dimensions. In the process, we describe the\nstructure of the Weyl modules (the spaces of local operators linear in the\nfields and their derivative relations) for all the massive, partially massless\nand shift symmetric fields.",
        "positive": "Heterotic Hyper-Kahler Flux Backgrounds: We study Heterotic supergravity on Hyper-Kahler manifolds in the presence of\nnon-trivial warping and three form flux with Abelian bundles in the large\ncharge limit. We find exact, regular solutions for multi-centered\nGibbons-Hawking spaces and Atiyah-Hitchin manifolds. In the case of\nAtiyah-Hitchin, regularity requires that the circle at infinity is of the same\norder as the instanton number, which is taken to be large. Alternatively there\nmay be a non-trivial density of smeared five branes at the bolt."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Soft theorem for the graviton, dilaton and the Kalb-Ramond field in the\n  bosonic string: We study the behavior of the scattering amplitudes of the bosonic string\ninvolving a soft massless state (graviton, dilaton and Kalb-Ramond\nantisymmetric tensor) and closed string tachyons or other closed string\nmassless states. For a soft graviton we confirm the results, obtained in Ref.\n[24] using just gauge invariance, up to terms of ${\\cal O}(q^1)$ for external\ntachyons and up to terms of ${\\cal O} (q^0)$ for external massless closed\nstring states. Furthermore, we also derive the behavior of the scattering\namplitude when a dilaton or a Kalb-Ramond field becomes soft. These results are\nnew and cannot, to our knowledge, be derived by using gauge invariance. It\nturns out, in the cases examined, that the soft amplitude for a dilaton or for\nan antisymmetric tensor is obtained by saturating the tensor, $M_{\\mu \\nu}$,\nderived from gauge invariance for gravitons, with their respective polarization\ntensors. Thus extra terms that could have appeared in $M_{\\mu \\nu}$ in the case\nof a soft dilaton, in fact do not appear.",
        "positive": "Flux vacua of the mirror octic: We determine all flux vacua with flux numbers $N_{\\rm flux}\\leq 10$ for a\ntype IIB orientifold-compactification on the mirror-octic three-fold. To\nachieve this, we develop and apply techniques for performing a complete scan of\nflux vacua for the whole moduli space - we do not randomly sample fluxes nor do\nwe consider only boundary regions of the moduli space. We compare our findings\nto results in the literature."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Tachyonic perturbations in AdS$_5$ orbifolds: We show that scalar as well as vector and tensor metric perturbations in the\nRandall-Sundrum II braneworld allow normalizable tachyonic modes, i.e.,\npossible instabilities. These instabilities require nonvanishing initial\nanisotropic stresses on the brane. We show with a specific example that within\nthe Randall-Sundrum II model, even though the tachyonic modes are excited, no\ninstability develops. We argue, however, that in the cosmological context\ninstabilities might in principle be present. We conjecture that the tachyonic\nmodes are due to the singularity of the orbifold construction. We illustrate\nthis with a simple but explicit toy model.",
        "positive": "Hawking Radiation in the Ghost Condensate is Non-Thermal: We consider a Schwarzschild black hole immersed in a ghost condensate\nbackground. It is shown that the Hawking radiation in the quanta of small\nperturbations around this background is highly suppressed- in particular it is\nnot given by a thermal spectrum. This result is in accord with observations\nthat such black holes can be used to violate the generalized second law of\nthermodynamics, and thus cannot have a standard entropy/area relation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Comment on ``On spin-1 massive particles coupled to a Chern-Simons\n  field'': In this comment we discuss some serious inconsistencies presented by Gomes,\nMalacarne and da Silva in their paper, Phys.Rev. D60 (1999) 125016\n(hep-th/9908181).",
        "positive": "An Extended Abelian Chern-Simons Model and the Symplectic Projector\n  Method: The Symplectic Projector Method is applied to discuss quantisation aspects of\nan extended Abelian model with a pair of gauge potentials coupled by means of a\nmixed Chern-Simons term. We focuss on a field content that spans an N=2-D=3\nsupersymmetric theory whenever scalar and fermionic matter is suitably coupled\nto the family of gauge potentials."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Very Special Relativity in Curved Space-Times: The generalization of Cohen and Glashow's Very Special Relativity to curved\nspace-times is considered. Gauging the SIM(2) symmetry does not, in general,\nprovide the coupling to the gravitational background. However, locally SIM(2)\ninvariant Lagrangians can always be constructed. For space-times with SIM(2)\nholonomy, they describe chiral fermions propagating freely as massive\nparticles.",
        "positive": "Quantum stabilization of a hedgehog type of cosmic string: Within a slightly simplified version of the electroweak standard model we\ninvestigate the stabilization of cosmic strings by fermion quantum\nfluctuations. Previous studies of quantum energies considered variants of the\nNielsen-Olesen profile embedded in the electroweak gauge group and showed that\nconfigurations are favored for which the Higgs vacuum expectation value drops\nnear the string core and the gauge field is suppressed. This work found that\nthe strongest binding was obtained from strings that differ significantly from\nNielsen-Olesen configurations, deforming essentially only the Higgs field in\norder to generate a strong attraction without inducing large gradients.\nExtending this analysis, we consider the leading quantum correction to the\nenergy per unit length of a hedgehog type string, which, in contrast to the\nNielsen-Olesen configuration, contains a pseudoscalar field. To employ the\nspectral method we develop the scattering and bound state problems for fermions\nin the background of a hedgehog string. Explicit occupation of bound state\nlevels leads to strings that carry the quantum numbers of the bound fermions.\nWe discuss the parameter space for which stable, hedgehog type cosmic strings\nemerge and reflect on phenomenological consequences of these findings."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Static topological black hole with nonminimal derivative coupling and\n  nonlinear electromagnetic field of Born-Infeld type: We consider scalar-tensor gravity with nonminimal derivative coupling and\nBorn-Infeld electromagnetic field which is minimally coupled to gravity. Since\ncosmological constant is taken into account it allowed us not only derive\nstatic black hole with spherical horizon but also to obtain topological\nsolutions with non-spherical horizons. The obtained metrics are thoroughly\nanalyzed, namely for different distances and types of topology of horizon. To\ninvestigate singularities of the metrics Kretschmann scalar is used and it is\nshown that the character of singularity depends on the type of topology of\nhorizon and dimension of space. We also investigate black hole's\nthermodynamics, namely we obtain and examine black hole's temperature. To\nderive the first law of black hole's thermodynamics Wald's approach is applied.\nNonetheless this approach is well established, there is ambiguity in definition\nof black hole's entropy which can be resolved just by virtue of some\nindependent approach.",
        "positive": "Multiverse in the Third Quantized Formalism: In this paper we will analyze the third quantization of gravity in path\nintegral formalism. We will use the time-dependent version of Wheeler-DeWitt\nequation to analyze the multiverse in this formalism. We will propose a\nmechanism for baryogenesis to occurs in the multiverse, without violating the\nbaryon number conservation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic c-theorem and Born-Infeld Gravity Theories: The requirement of the existence of a holographic c-function for higher\nderivative theories is a very restrictive one and hence most theories do not\npossess this property. Here, we show that, when some of the parameters are\nfixed, the $D\\geq3$ Born-Infeld gravity theories admit a holographic\nc-function. We work out the details of the $D=3$ theory with no free\nparameters, which is a non-minimal Born-Infeld type extension of new massive\ngravity. Moreover, we show that these theories generate an infinite number of\nhigher derivative models admitting a c-function in a suitable expansion and\ntherefore they can be studied at any truncated order.",
        "positive": "Anti de Sitter quantum field theory and a new class of hypergeometric\n  identities: We use Anti-de Sitter quantum field theory to prove a new class of identities\nbetween hypergeometric functions related to the K\\\"all\\'en-Lehmann\nrepresentation of products of two Anti-de Sitter two-point functions. A rich\nmathematical structure emerges. We apply our results to study the decay of\nunstable Anti-de Sitter particles. The total amplitude is in this case finite\nand Anti-de Sitter invariant."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Feynman problem in the noncommutative case: In the context of the Feynman's derivation of electrodynamics, we show that\nnoncommutativity allows other particle dynamics than the standard formalism of\nelectrodynamics.",
        "positive": "Complexity growth of rotating black holes with a probe string: We study the effect of a probe string to black hole complexity according to\nthe CA (Complexity equals Action) conjecture. Our system contains a particle\nmoving on the boundary of black hole spacetime. In the dual description this\ncorresponds to the insertion of a fundamental string on the bulk spacetime. The\ntotal action consists of the Einstein-Hilbert term and the Nambu-Goto term. The\neffect of this string is expressed by the Nambu-Goto term. Focusing on the\nNambu-Goto term, we analyse the time development of this system. Our results\nshow some interesting properties of complexity. This gives a useful hint for\ndefining complexity in quantum field theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Two-dimensional QCD on the sphere and on the cylinder: The partition functions of QCD2 on simple surfaces admit representations in\nterms of exponentials of the inverse coupling, that are modular transforms of\nthe usual character expansions. We review the construction of such a\nrepresentation in the case of the cylinder, and show how it leads to a\nformulation of QCD2 as a $c=1$ matrix model of the Kazakov-Migdal type. The\neigenvalues describe the positions of $N$ Sutherland fermions on a circle,\nwhile their discretized momenta label the representations in the corresponding\ncharacter expansion. Using this language, we derive some new results: we give\nan alternative description of the Douglas-Kazakov phase transition on the\nsphere, and we argue that an analogous phase transition exists on the cylinder.\nWe calculate the large $N$ limit of the partition function on the cylinder with\nboundary conditions given by semicircular distributions of eigenvalues, and we\nfind an explicit expression for the large $N$ limit of the Itzykson-Zuber\nintegral with the same boundary conditions. (Talk given at the ``Workshop on\nhigh energy physics and cosmology'' at Trieste, July 1993.)",
        "positive": "Gravitational collapse and its boundary description in AdS: We provide examples of gravitational collapse and black hole formation in\nAdS, either from collapsing matter shells or in analogy to the\nOppenheimer-Sneider solution. We then investigate boundary properties of the\ncorresponding states. In particular, we describe the boundary two-point\nfunction corresponding to a shell outside its horizon; if the shell is\nquasistatically lowered into the horizon, the resulting state is the Boulware\nstate. We also describe the more physical Hartle-Hawking state, and discuss its\nconnection to the quasistatic shell states and to thermalization on the\nboundary."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Superluminal Vector in Ghost-free Massive Gravity: We present a classical analysis on the issue of vector superluminality in the\ndecoupling limit ghost-free massive gravity with a Minkowski reference metric.\nWe show explicitly in the Lorenz gauge that the theory is free of superluminal\nvector excitations around a nontrivial solution at the cubic order in the\nfields. In the same gauge, we demonstrate that superluminal vector modes arise\nat the quartic order and compute some superluminal propagating solutions. We\nthen generalize our findings to all orders in a gauge-independent way. We check\nthe physical consistency of the vector superluminalities, arguing that they are\nnot physically detectable in the perturbation theory but could be trusted\nclassically in the strong coupling region. Nevertheless, these\nsuperluminalities involve only low frequency group and phase velocities and are\nunable to determine the acausality of the theory.",
        "positive": "Testing symmetries in effective models of higher derivative field\n  theories: Higher derivative field theories with interactions raise serious doubts about\ntheir validity due to severe energy instabilities. In many cases the\nimplementation of a direct perturbation treatment to excise the dangerous\nnegative-energies from a higher derivative field theory may lead to violations\nof Lorentz and other symmetries. In this work we study a perturbative\nformulation for higher derivative field theories that allows the construction\nof a low-energy effective field theory being a genuine perturbations over the\nordinary-derivative theory and having a positive-defined Hamiltonian. We show\nthat some discrete symmetries are recovered in the low-energy effective theory\nwhen the perturbative method to reduce the negative-energy degrees of freedom\nfrom the higher derivative theory is applied. In particular, we focus on the\nhigher derivative Maxwell-Chern-Simons model which is a Lorentz invariant and\nparity-odd theory in 2+1 dimensions. The parity violation arises in the\neffective action of QED$_3$ as a quantum correction from the massive fermionic\nsector. We obtain the effective field theory which remains Lorentz invariant,\nbut parity invariant to the order considered in the perturbative expansion."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-invertible Condensation, Duality, and Triality Defects in 3+1\n  Dimensions: We discuss a variety of codimension-one, non-invertible topological defects\nin general 3+1d QFTs with a discrete one-form global symmetry. These include\ncondensation defects from higher gauging of the one-form symmetries on a\ncodimension-one manifold, each labeled by a discrete torsion class, and duality\nand triality defects from gauging in half of spacetime. The universal fusion\nrules between these non-invertible topological defects and the one-form\nsymmetry surface defects are determined. Interestingly, the fusion coefficients\nare generally not numbers, but 2+1d TQFTs, such as invertible SPT phases,\n$\\mathbb{Z}_N$ gauge theories, and $U(1)_N$ Chern-Simons theories. The\nassociativity of these algebras over TQFT coefficients relies on nontrivial\nfacts about 2+1d TQFTs. We further prove that some of these non-invertible\nsymmetries are intrinsically incompatible with a trivially gapped phase,\nleading to nontrivial constraints on renormalization group flows. Duality and\ntriality defects are realized in many familiar gauge theories, including free\nMaxwell theory, non-abelian gauge theories with orthogonal gauge groups, ${\\cal\nN}=1,$ and ${\\cal N}=4$ super Yang-Mills theories.",
        "positive": "Split fermion quasi-normal modes: In this paper we use the conformal properties of the spinor field to show how\nwe can obtain the fermion quasi-normal modes for a higher dimensional\nSchwarzschild black hole. These modes are of interest in so called split\nfermion models, where quarks and leptons are required to exist on different\nbranes in order to keep the proton stable. As has been previously shown, for\nbrane localized fields, the larger the number of dimensions the faster the\nblack hole damping rate. Moreover, we also present the analytic forms of the\nquasi-normal frequencies in both the large angular momentum and the large mode\nnumber limits."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Black Hole Entropy in 1+1 Dimensions from a Quasi-Chern Simons term in a\n  Gravitational Background: We introduce a 'quasi-topological` term [1] in D=1+1 dimensions and the\nentropy for black holes is calculated [2]. The source of entropy in this case\nis justified by a non-null stress-energy tensor.",
        "positive": "Interactions from SSB of scale symmetry: applications to problems of\n  quintessence, galaxy dark matter and fermion family: We study a scale invariant two measures theory where a dilaton field \\phi has\nno explicit potentials. The scale transformations include a shift\n\\phi\\to\\phi+const. The theory demonstrates a new mechanism for generation of\nthe exponential potential: in the conformal Einstein frame (CEF), after SSB of\nscale invariance, the theory develops the exponential potential and, in\ngeneral, non-linear kinetic term is generated as well. The possibility of\nquintessence and of halo dark matter solutions are shown. The regime where the\nfermionic matter dominates (as compared to the dilatonic contribution) is\nanalyzed. There it is found that starting from a single fermionic field we\nobtain exactly three different types of spin 1/2 particles in CEF that appears\nto suggest a new approach to the family problem of particle physics. It is\nautomatically achieved that for two of them, fermion masses are constants,\ngravitational equations are canonical and the \"fifth force\" is absent. For the\nthird type of particles, four fermionic interaction appears from SSB of scale\ninvariance."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spectral asymptotics of Euclidean quantum gravity with diff-invariant\n  boundary conditions: A general method is known to exist for studying Abelian and non-Abelian gauge\ntheories, as well as Euclidean quantum gravity, at one-loop level on manifolds\nwith boundary. In the latter case, boundary conditions on metric perturbations\nh can be chosen to be completely invariant under infinitesimal diffeomorphisms,\nto preserve the invariance group of the theory and BRST symmetry. In the de\nDonder gauge, however, the resulting boundary-value problem for the Laplace\ntype operator acting on h is known to be self-adjoint but not strongly\nelliptic. The latter is a technical condition ensuring that a unique smooth\nsolution of the boundary-value problem exists, which implies, in turn, that the\nglobal heat-kernel asymptotics yielding one-loop divergences and one-loop\neffective action actually exists. The present paper shows that, on the\nEuclidean four-ball, only the scalar part of perturbative modes for quantum\ngravity are affected by the lack of strong ellipticity. Further evidence for\nlack of strong ellipticity, from an analytic point of view, is therefore\nobtained. Interestingly, three sectors of the scalar-perturbation problem\nremain elliptic, while lack of strong ellipticity is confined to the remaining\nfourth sector. The integral representation of the resulting zeta-function\nasymptotics is also obtained; this remains regular at the origin by virtue of a\nspectral identity here obtained for the first time.",
        "positive": "P,T-invariant system of Chern-Simons fields: Pseudoclassical model and\n  hidden symmetries: We investigate hidden symmetries of P,T-invariant system of topologically\nmassive U(1) gauge fields. For this purpose, we propose a pseudoclassical model\ngiving rise to this field system at the quantum level. The model contains a\nparameter, which displays a quantization property at the classical and the\nquantum levels and demonstrates a nontrivial relationship between continuous\nand discrete symmetries. Analyzing the integrals of motion of the\npseudoclassical model, we identify U(1,1) symmetry and S(2,1) supersymmetry as\nhidden symmetries of the corresponding quantum system. Representing the hidden\nsymmetries in a covariant form, we show that one-particle states realize an\nirreducible representation of a non-standard super-extension of the\n(2+1)-dimensional Poincare group labelled by the zero eigenvalue of the\nsuperspin."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Remarks on effects of projective phase on eigenstate thermalization\n  hypothesis: The existence of $p$-form symmetry in $(d+1)$-dimensional quantum field is\nknown to always lead to the breakdown of the eigenstate thermalization\nhypothesis (ETH) for certain $(d-p)$-dimensional operators other than symmetry\noperators under some assumptions. The assumptions include the mixing of\nsymmetry sectors within a given energy shell, which is rather challenging to\nverify because it requires information on the eigenstates in the middle of the\nspectrum. We reconsider this assumption from the viewpoint of projective\nrepresentations to avoid this difficulty. In the case of $\\mathbb{Z}_N$\nsymmetries, we can circumvent the difficulty by considering\n$\\mathbb{Z}_N\\times\\mathbb{Z}_N$-symmetric theories with nontrivial projective\nphases, and perturbing the Hamiltonian while preserving one of the\n$\\mathbb{Z}_N$ symmetries of our interest. We also perform numerical analyses\nfor $(1+1)$-dimensional spin chains and the $(2+1)$-dimensional $\\mathbb{Z}_2$\nlattice gauge theory.",
        "positive": "Quintessence Model Building: A short review of some of the aspects of quintessence model building is\npresented. We emphasize the role of tracking models and their possible\nsupersymmetric origin."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The TT* deformation at large central charge: We study Zamolodchikov's TT* deformation of two dimensional quantum field\ntheories in a 't Hooft-like limit, in which we scale the number of degrees of\nfreedom c to infinity and the deformation parameter t to zero, keeping their\nproduct t*c fixed (more precisely, we keep energies and distances fixed in\nunits of t*c). In this limit the Hagedorn temperature remains fixed, but other\nnon-local aspects of the theory disappear. We show that in this limit\ncorrelation functions may be computed exactly, and they are local in space and\npolynomials in t. We compute explicitly the deformed three-point functions of\nthe energy-momentum tensor for a TT*-deformed conformal field theory.",
        "positive": "Finite temperature effective potential on hyperbolic spacetimes: The finite temperature one-loop effective potential for a scalar field\ndefined on an ultrastatic spacetime, whose spatial part is a compact hyperbolic\nmanifold, is studied. Different analytic expressions, especially valuable at\nlow and high temperature are derived. Based on these results, the symmetry\nbreaking and the topological mass generation are discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Pomeron and Gauge/String Duality: The traditional description of high-energy small-angle scattering in QCD has\ntwo components -- a soft Pomeron Regge pole for the tensor glueball, and a hard\nBFKL Pomeron in leading order at weak coupling. On the basis of gauge/string\nduality, we present a coherent treatment of the Pomeron. In large-N QCD-like\ntheories, we use curved-space string-theory to describe simultaneously both the\nBFKL regime and the classic Regge regime. The problem reduces to finding the\nspectrum of a single j-plane Schrodinger operator. For ultraviolet-conformal\ntheories, the spectrum exhibits a set of Regge trajectories at positive t, and\na leading j-plane cut for negative t, the cross-over point being\nmodel-dependent. For theories with logarithmically-running couplings, one\ninstead finds a discrete spectrum of poles at all t, where the Regge\ntrajectories at positive t continuously become a set of slowly-varying and\nclosely-spaced poles at negative t. Our results agree with expectations for the\nBFKL Pomeron at negative t, and with the expected glueball spectrum at positive\nt, but provide a framework in which they are unified. Effects beyond the single\nPomeron exchange are briefly discussed.",
        "positive": "RNS derivation of N-point disk amplitudes from the revisited S-matrix\n  approach: In the past year, in arXiv:1208.6066 we proposed a revisited S-matrix\napproach to efficiently find the bosonic terms of the open superstring low\nenergy effective lagrangian (OSLEEL). This approach allows to compute the\n${\\alpha'}^N$ terms of the OSLEEL using open superstring $n$-point amplitudes\nin which $n$ is very much lower than $(N+2)$ (which is the order of the\nrequired amplitude to obtain those ${\\alpha'}^N$ terms by means of the\nconventional S-matrix approach). In this work we use our revisited S-matrix\napproach to examine the structure of the scattering amplitudes, arriving at a\nclosed form for them. This is a RNS derivation of the formula first found by\nMafra, Schlotterer and Stieberger in arXiv:1106.2645, using the Pure Spinor\nformalism. We have succeeded doing this for the 5, 6 and 7-point amplitudes. In\norder to achieve these results we have done a careful analysis of the\nkinematical structure of the amplitudes, finding as a by-product a purely\nkinematical derivation of the BCJ relations (for N=4, 5, 6 and 7). Also,\nfollowing the spirit of the revisited S-matrix approach, we have found the\n$\\alpha'$ expansions for these amplitudes up to ${\\alpha'}^6$ order in some\ncases, by only using the well known open superstring 4-point amplitude, cyclic\nsymmetry and tree level unitarity: we have not needed to compute any numerical\nseries or any integral involving polylogarithms, at any moment."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Thermodynamics of extremal rotating thin shells in an extremal BTZ\n  spacetime and the extremal black hole entropy: In a (2+1)-dimensional spacetime with a negative cosmological constant, the\nthermodynamics and the entropy of an extremal rotating thin shell, i.e., an\nextremal rotating ring, are investigated. The outer and inner regions are taken\nto be the Ba\\~{n}ados-Teitelbom-Zanelli (BTZ) spacetime and the vacuum ground\nstate anti-de Sitter (AdS) spacetime, respectively. By applying the first law\nof thermodynamics to the extremal shell one shows that its entropy is an\narbitrary function of the gravitational area $A_+$ alone, $S=S(A_+)$. When the\nshell approaches its own gravitational radius $r_+$ and turns into an extremal\nrotating BTZ black hole, it is found that the entropy of the spacetime remains\nsuch a function of $A_+$. It is thus vindicated, that extremal black holes,\nhere extremal BTZ black holes, have different properties from the corresponding\nnonextremal black holes, which have the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy $S(A_+)=\n\\frac{A_+}{4G}$, where $G$ is the gravitational constant. It is argued that for\nthe extremal case $0\\leq S(A_+)\\leq \\frac{A_+}{4G}$. Thus, rather than having\njust two entropies for extremal black holes, as previous results debated, 0 and\n$\\frac{A_+}{4G}$, it is shown that extremal black holes may have a continuous\nrange of entropies, limited by precisely those two entropies. Surely, the\nentropy that a particular extremal black hole picks must depend on past\nprocesses, notably on how it was formed. It is also found a remarkable relation\nbetween the third law of thermodynamics and the impossibility for a massive\nbody to reach the velocity of light. In the procedure, it becomes clear that\nthere are two distinct angular velocities for the shell, the mechanical and\nthermodynamic angular velocities. In passing, we clarify, for a static\nspacetime with a thermal shell, the meaning of the Tolman temperature formula\nat a generic radius and at the shell. (Abridged version).",
        "positive": "Entanglement of Harmonic Systems in Squeezed States: The entanglement entropy of a free scalar field in its ground state is\ndominated by an area law term. It is noteworthy, however, that the study of\nentanglement in scalar field theory has not advanced far beyond the ground\nstate. In this paper, we extend the study of entanglement of harmonic systems,\nwhich include free scalar field theory as a continuum limit, to the case of the\nmost general Gaussian states, namely the squeezed states. We find the\neigenstates and the spectrum of the reduced density matrix and we calculate the\nentanglement entropy. Finally, we apply our method to free scalar field theory\nin 1+1 dimensions and show that, for very squeezed states, the entanglement\nentropy is dominated by a volume term, unlike the ground-state case. Even\nthough the state of the system is time-dependent in a non-trivial manner, this\nvolume term is time-independent. We expect this behaviour to hold in higher\ndimensions as well, as it emerges in a large-squeezing expansion of the\nentanglement entropy for a general harmonic system."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-Gaussian Entanglement Renormalization for Quantum Fields: In this work, a non-Gaussian cMERA tensor network for interacting quantum\nfield theories (icMERA) is presented. This consists of a continuous tensor\nnetwork circuit in which the generator of the entanglement renormalization of\nthe wavefunction is nonperturbatively extended with nonquadratic variational\nterms. The icMERA circuit nonperturbatively implements a set of scale dependent\nnonlinear transformations on the fields of the theory, which suppose a\ngeneralization of the scale dependent linear transformations induced by the\nGaussian cMERA circuit. Here we present these transformations for the case of\nself-interacting scalar and fermionic field theories. Finally, the icMERA\ntensor network is fully optimized for the $\\lambda \\phi^4$ theory in $(1+1)$\ndimensions. This allows us to evaluate, nonperturbatively, the connected parts\nof the two- and four-point correlation functions. Our results show that icMERA\nwavefunctionals encode proper non-Gaussian correlations of the theory, thus\nproviding a new variational tool to study phenomena related with strongly\ninteracting field theories.",
        "positive": "Gravitation and electromagnetism in theory of a unified four-vector\n  field: A four-vector field in flat space-time, satisfying a gauge-invariant set of\nsecond-order differential equations, is considered as a unified field. The\nmodel variational principle corresponds to the general covariance idea and\ngives rise to nonlinear Born-Infeld electrodynamics. Thus the four-vector field\nis considered as an electromagnetic potential. It is suggested that\nspace-localized (particle) solutions of the nonlinear field model correspond to\nmaterial particles. Electromagnetic and gravitational interactions between\nfield particles appear naturally when a many-particle solution is investigated\nwith the help of a perturbation method. The electromagnetic interaction appears\nin the first order in the small field of distant particles. In the second\norder, there is an effective Riemannian space induced by the field of distant\nparticles. This Riemannian space can be connected with gravitation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Thermodynamics of the localized D2-D6 system: An exact fully-localized extremal supergravity solution for N_2 D2 branes and\nN_6 D6 branes, which is dual to 3-dimensional supersymmetric SU(N_2) gauge\ntheory with N_6 fundamentals, was found by Cherkis and Hashimoto. In order to\nconsider the thermal properties of the gauge theory we present the non-extremal\nextension of this solution to first order in an expansion near the core of the\nD6 branes. We compute the Hawking temperature and the black brane horizon\narea/entropy. The leading order entropy, which is proportional to N_2^{3/2}\nN_6^{1/2} T_H^2, is not corrected to first order in the expansion. This result\nis consistent with the analogous weak-coupling result at the correspondence\npoint N_2 ~ N_6.",
        "positive": "Relation between Yang-Baxter and Pair Propagation Equations in 16-Vertex\n  Models: We study a relation between two integrability conditions, namely the\nYang-Baxter and the pair propagation equations, in 2D lattice models. While the\ntwo are equivalent in the 8-vertex models, discrepancies appear in the\n16-vertex models. As explicit examples, we find the exactly solvable 16-vertex\nmodels which do not satisfy the Yang-Baxter equations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Covariant Mass and Geometrical setup in Euclidean gauge theories: A nonlocal mass operator can be consistently set in local form through the\nintroduction of a set of additional fields with geometrical appropriated\nproperties. A local and polynomial gauge invariant action is thus identified.\nEquations compatible with the study of renormalization, from the algebraic\npoint of view, are presented in the Landau Gauge.",
        "positive": "The moduli space metric for tetrahedrally symmetric 4-monopoles: The metric on the moduli space of SU(2) charge four BPS monopoles with\ntetrahedral symmetry is calculated using numerical methods. In the asymptotic\nregion, in which the four monopoles are located on the vertices of a large\ntetrahedron, the metric is in excellent agreement with the point particle\nmetric. We find that the four monopoles are accelerated through the cubic\nmonopole configuration and compute the time advance. Numerical evidence is\npresented for a remarkable equivalence between a proper distance in the\n4-monopole moduli space and a related proper distance in the point particle\nmoduli space."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Asymmetric Orbifolds, Non-Geometric Fluxes and Non-Commutativity in\n  Closed String Theory: In this paper we consider a class of exactly solvable closed string flux\nbackgrounds that exhibit non-commutativity in the closed string coordinates.\nThey are realized in terms of freely-acting asymmetric Z_N-orbifolds, which are\nthemselves close relatives of twisted torus fibrations with elliptic\nZ_N-monodromy (elliptic T-folds). We explicitly construct the modular invariant\npartition function of the models and derive the non-commutative algebra in the\nstring coordinates, which is exact to all orders in {\\alpha}'. Finally, we\nrelate these asymmetric orbifold spaces to inherently stringy Scherk-Schwarz\nbackgrounds and non-geometric fluxes.",
        "positive": "Inflation in maximal gauged supergravities: We discuss the dynamics of multiple scalar fields and the possibility of\nrealistic inflation in the maximal gauged supergravity. In this paper, we\naddress this problem in the framework of recently discovered 1-parameter\ndeformation of ${\\rm SO}(4,4)$ and ${\\rm SO}(5,3)$ dyonic gaugings, for which\nthe base point of the scalar manifold corresponds to an unstable de Sitter\ncritical point. In the gauge-field frame where the embedding tensor takes the\nvalue in the sum of the {\\bf 36} and {\\bf 36'} representations of ${\\rm\nSL}(8)$, we present a scheme that allows us to derive an analytic expression\nfor the scalar potential. With the help of this formalism, we derive the full\npotential and gauge coupling functions in analytic forms for the ${\\rm\nSO}(3)\\times {\\rm SO}(3)$-invariant subsectors of ${\\rm SO}(4,4)$ and ${\\rm\nSO}(5,3)$ gaugings, and argue that there exist no new critical points in\naddition to those discovered so far. For the ${\\rm SO}(4,4)$ gauging, we also\nstudy the behavior of 6-dimensional scalar fields in this sector near the\nDall'Agata-Inverso de Sitter critical point at which the negative eigenvalue of\nthe scalar mass square with the largest modulus goes to zero as the deformation\nparameter approaches a critical value. We find that when the deformation\nparameter is taken sufficiently close to the critical value, inflation lasts\nmore than 60 e-folds even if the initial point of the inflaton allows an\n$O(0.1)$ deviation in Planck units from the Dall'Agata-Inverso critical point.\nIt turns out that the spectral index $n_s$ of the curvature perturbation at the\ntime of the 60 e-folding number is always about 0.96 and within the $1\\sigma$\nrange $n_s=0.9639\\pm0.0047$ obtained by Planck, irrespective of the value of\nthe $\\eta$ parameter at the critical saddle point. The tensor-scalar ratio\npredicted by this model is around $10^{-3}$ and is close to the value in the\nStarobinsky model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Logarithmic limits of minimal models: It is discussed how a limiting procedure of (super)conformal field theories\nmay result in logarithmic (super)conformal field theories. The construction is\nillustrated by logarithmic limits of (unitary) minimal models in conformal\nfield theory and in N=1 superconformal field theory.",
        "positive": "Holographic tensor networks from hyperbolic buildings: We introduce a unifying framework for the construction of holographic tensor\nnetworks, based on the theory of hyperbolic buildings. The underlying dualities\nrelate a bulk space to a boundary which can be homeomorphic to a sphere, but\nalso to more general spaces like a Menger sponge type fractal. In this general\nsetting, we give a precise construction of a large family of bulk regions that\nsatisfy complementary recovery. For these regions, our networks obey a\nRyu--Takayanagi formula. The areas of Ryu--Takayanagi surfaces are controlled\nby the Hausdorff dimension of the boundary, and consistently generalize the\nbehavior of holographic entanglement entropy in integer dimensions to the\nnon-integer case. Our construction recovers HaPPY--like codes in all\ndimensions, and generalizes the geometry of Bruhat--Tits trees. It also\nprovides examples of infinite-dimensional nets of holographic conditional\nexpectations, and opens a path towards the study of conformal field theory and\nholography on fractal spaces."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "More on Complex Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev Eternal Wormholes: In this work, we study a generalization of the coupled Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev\n(SYK) model with $U(1)$ charge conservations. The model contains two copies of\nthe complex SYK model at different chemical potentials, coupled by a direct\nhopping term. In the zero-temperature and small coupling limit with small\naveraged chemical potential, the ground state is an eternal wormhole connecting\ntwo sides, with a specific charge $Q=0$, which is equivalent to a thermofield\ndouble state. We derive the conformal Green's functions and determine\ncorresponding IR parameters. At higher chemical potential, the system transit\ninto the black hole phase. We further derive the Schwarzian effective action\nand study its quench dynamics. Finally, we compare numerical results with the\nanalytical predictions.",
        "positive": "Observer dependence of bubble nucleation and Schwinger pair production: Pair production in a constant electric field is closely analogous to bubble\nnucleation in a false vacuum. The classical trajectories of the pairs are\nLorentz invariant, but it appears that this invariance should be broken by the\nnucleation process. Here, we use a model detector, consisting of other\nparticles interacting with the pairs, to investigate how pair production is\nseen by different Lorentzian observers. We focus on the idealized situation\nwhere a constant external electric field is present for an infinitely long\ntime, and we consider the in-vacuum state for a charged scalar field that\ndescribes the nucleating pairs. The in-vacuum is defined in terms of modes\nwhich are positive frequency in the remote past. Even though the construction\nuses a particular reference frame and a gauge where the vector potential is\ntime dependent, we show explicitly that the resulting quantum state is Lorentz\ninvariant. We then introduce a \"detector\" particle which interacts with the\nnucleated pairs, and show that all Lorentzian observers will see the particles\nand antiparticles nucleating preferentially at rest in the detector's rest\nframe. Similar conclusions are expected to apply to bubble nucleation in a\nsufficiently long lived vacuum. We also comment on certain unphysical aspects\nof the Lorentz invariant in-vacuum, associated with the fact that it contains\nan infinite density of particles. This can be easily remedied by considering\nLorentz breaking initial conditions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chiral Symmetry of SYM theory in hyperbolic space at finite temperature: We study a holographic gauge theory living in the AdS$_4$ space-time at\nfinite temperature. The gravity dual is obtained as a solution of the type IIB\nsuperstring theory with two free parameters, which correspond to four\ndimensional (4D) cosmological constant ($\\lambda$) and the dark radiation ($C$)\nrespectively. The theory studied here is in confining and chiral symmetry\nbroken phase for $\\lambda <0$ and small $C$. When $C$ is increased, the\ntransition to the deconfinement phase has been observed at a finite value of\n$C/|\\lambda|$. It is shown here that the chiral symmetry is still broken for a\nfinite range of $C/|\\lambda|$ in the deconfinement phase. In other words, the\nchiral phase transition occurs at a larger value of $C/|\\lambda|$ than the one\nof the deconfinement transition. So there is a parameter range of a new\ndeconfinement phase with broken chiral symmetry. In order to study the\nproperties of this phase, we performed a holographic analysis for the meson\nmass-spectrum and other quantities in terms of the probe D7 brane. The results\nof this analysis are compared with a linear sigma model. Furthermore, the\nentanglement entropy is examined to search for a sign of the chiral phase\ntrantion. Several comments are given for these analyses.",
        "positive": "Walking Dynamics from String Duals: Within the context of a String Theory dual to N=1 gauge theories with gauge\ngroup SU(Nc) and large Nc, we identify a class of solutions of the background\nequations for which a suitably defined dual of the gauge coupling exhibits the\nfeatures of a walking theory. We find evidence for three distinct, dynamically\ngenerated scales, characterizing walking, symmetry breaking and confinement,\nand we put them in correspondence with field theory by an analysis of the\noperators driving the flow."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Some properties of the de Sitter black holes in three dimensional\n  spacetime: We investigate the physical properties of the de Sitter spacetime and new\ntype-de Sitter black holes in new massive gravity, a higher derivative gravity\ntheory in three dimensions. We calculate thermodynamic quantities and check\nthat the first law of thermodynamics is satisfied. In particular, we obtain the\nenergies of the de Sitter spacetime and new type-de Sitter black holes from the\nrenormalized Brown-York boundary stress tensor on the Euclidean surfaces at\nlate temporal infinity. We also obtain the quasinormal modes and by using them\nwe find that the entropy spectra are equally spaced via semi-classical\nquantization.",
        "positive": "Black rings in global anti-de Sitter space: We construct five dimensional black rings in global anti-de Sitter space\nusing numerical methods. These rings satisfy the BPS bound $| J | < M \\ell$,\nbut the angular velocity always violates the Hawking-Reall bound $| \\Omega_H\n\\ell | \\leq 1$, indicating that they should be unstable under superradiance. At\nhigh temperatures, the limit $| \\Omega_H \\ell | \\searrow 1$ is attained by thin\nrings with an arbitrarily large radius. However, at sufficiently low\ntemperatures, this limit is saturated by a new kind of rings, whose outer\ncircle can still be arbitrarily long while the hole in the middle does not grow\nproportionally. This gives rise to a membrane-like horizon geometry, which does\nnot have an asymptotically flat counterpart. We find no evidence for thin AdS\nblack rings whose transverse $S^2$ is much larger than the radius of AdS,\n$\\ell$, and thus these solutions never fall into the hydrodynamic regime of the\ndual CFT. Thermodynamically, we find that AdS black rings never dominate the\ngrand canonical ensemble. The behaviour of our solutions in the microcanonical\nensemble approaches known perturbative results in the thin-ring limit."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Mechanics on Manifolds: A definition of quantum mechanics on a manifold $ M $ is proposed and a\nmethod to realize the definition is presented. This scheme is applicable to a\nhomogeneous space $ M = G / H $. The realization is a unitary representation of\nthe transformation group $ G $ on the space of vector bundle-valued functions.\nWhen $ H \\ne \\{ e \\} $, there exist a number of inequivalent realizations. As\nexamples, quantum mechanics on a sphere $ S^n $, a torus $ T^n $ and a\nprojective space $ \\RP $ are studied. In any case, it is shown that there are\nan infinite number of inequivalent realizations.",
        "positive": "Hamiltonian integrability of the webs of integrable theories: We present the Hamiltonian formulation of the recently constructed integrable\ntheories of arXiv:2006.12525. These theories turn out to be canonically\nequivalent to the sum of an asymmetrically gauged CFT and of the most general\n$\\lambda$-deformed model of arXiv:1812.04033. Using the Hamiltonian formalism,\nwe prove that the full set of conserved charges of the models of\narXiv:2006.12525 are in involution, ensuring their Hamiltonian integrability.\nFinally, we show that the equations of motion of these theories can be put in\nthe form of zero curvature Lax connections."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "S-folds and (non-)supersymmetric Janus solutions: The S-fold description of Janus-type solutions of type IIB supergravity is\ninvestigated. This is done by first studying a $\\,\\textrm{U}(1) \\times\n\\textrm{U}(1)\\,$ invariant sector of the four-dimensional dyonically-gauged\n$\\,{[\\,\\textrm{SO}(1,1) \\times \\textrm{SO}(6)\\,] \\ltimes \\mathbb{R}^{12}}\\,$\nmaximal supergravity that arises upon reduction of type IIB supergravity on\n$\\,\\mathbb{R} \\, \\times \\, \\textrm{S}^{5}\\,$. Two AdS$_{4}$ solutions\npreserving $\\,\\textrm{SU}(3)\\,$ and $\\,\\textrm{SO}(6)\\,$ gauge symmetry\ntogether with $\\,\\mathcal{N}=1\\,$ and $\\,\\mathcal{N}=0\\,$ supersymmetry are\nfound within this sector. Fetching techniques from the E$_{7(7)}$ exceptional\nfield theory, these solutions are uplifted to ten-dimensional S-folds of type\nIIB Janus-type solutions of the form $\\,\\textrm{AdS}_{4} \\times \\mathbb{R}\n\\times \\textrm{M}_{5}\\,$. The solutions presented here are natural candidates\nfor the holographic duals of three-dimensional $\\,\\mathcal{N}=1\\,$ and\n$\\,\\mathcal{N}=0\\,$ interface super-Yang--Mills theories with\n$\\,\\textrm{SU}(3)\\,$ and $\\,\\textrm{SU}(4)\\,$ internal symmetry.",
        "positive": "On the radiative corrections in the Horava-Lifshitz z=2 QED: We calculate one-loop contributions to the two and three point spinor-vector\nfunctions in z=2 Horava-Lifshitz QED. This allows us to obtain the anomalous\nmagnetic moment."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "New stochastic approach to the renormalization of the supersymmetric\n  \u03c6^4 with ultrametric: We present a new real space renormalization-group map, on the space of\nprobabilities, to study the renormalization of the SUSY \\phi^4. In our approach\nwe use the random walk representation on a lattice labeled by an ultrametric\nspace. Our method can be extended to any \\phi^n. New stochastic meaning is\ngiven to the parameters involved in the flow of the map and results are\nprovided.",
        "positive": "Boundary Conditions for Warped AdS$_3$ in Quadratic Ensemble: In the context of warped conformal field theories (WCFT), the derivation of\nthe warped Cardy formula relies on the zero mode spectrum being bounded from\nbelow. Generically, this is not true for holographic WCFTs in \"canonical\"\nensemble, whereas this condition is satisfied in the \"quadratic\" ensemble,\nmaking it more natural in holographic setups. In this work, we find a new set\nof boundary conditions in three-dimensional Topologically Massive Gravity (TMG)\nsuch that the putative dual theory is a WCFT in quadratic ensemble.\nSurprisingly, imposing the equations of motion, we obtain a closed form metric\nspanned by two arbitrary chiral functions, analogous to the Ba\\~nados metrics\nin Einstein gravity. Surface charges for these boundary conditions are not a\npriori integrable and we discuss two choices of boundary conditions to make\nthem so. We obtain the bulk thermodynamic entropy of warped BTZ black holes by\nmaking use of the warped Cardy formula, in its regime of validity. We also\ndiscuss the issue of identifying the vacuum in our solution space: demanding\nthe enhancement of global symmetries selects only a family of solutions, out of\nwhich the unique vacuum must be carefully singled out."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A robust generalization of the Legendre transform for QFT: Although perturbative quantum field theory is highly successful, it possesses\na number of well-known analytic problems, from ultraviolet and infrared\ndivergencies to the divergence of the perturbative expansion itself. As a\nconsequence, it has been difficult, for example, to prove with full rigor that\nthe Legendre transform of the quantum effective action is the generating\nfunctional of connected graphs. Here, we give a rigorous proof of this central\nfact. To this end, we show that the Legendre transform can be re-defined purely\ncombinatorially and that it ultimately reduces to a simple homological\nrelation, the Euler characteristic for tree graphs. This result suggests that,\nsimilarly, also the quantum field theoretic path integral, being a Fourier\ntransform, may be reducible to an underlying purely algebraic structure.",
        "positive": "The Partition Function of ABJ Theory: We study the partition function of the N=6 supersymmetric U(N_1)_k x\nU(N_2)_{-k} Chern-Simons-matter (CSM) theory, also known as the ABJ theory. For\nthis purpose, we first compute the partition function of the U(N_1) x U(N_2)\nlens space matrix model exactly. The result can be expressed as a product of\nq-deformed Barnes G-function and a generalization of multiple q-hypergeometric\nfunction. The ABJ partition function is then obtained from the lens space\npartition function by analytically continuing N_2 to -N_2. The answer is given\nby min(N_1,N_2)-dimensional integrals and generalizes the \"mirror description\"\nof the partition function of the ABJM theory, i.e. the N=6 supersymmetric\nU(N)_k x U(N)_{-k} CSM theory. Our expression correctly reproduces perturbative\nexpansions and vanishes for |N_1-N_2|>k in line with the conjectured\nsupersymmetry breaking, and the Seiberg duality is explicitly checked for a\nclass of nontrivial examples."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Field Theory: Where We Are: We comment on the present status, the concepts and their limitations, and the\nsuccesses and open problems of the various approaches to a relativistic quantum\ntheory of elementary particles, with a hindsight to questions concerning\nquantum gravity and string theory.",
        "positive": "Effect of quantum fluctuations on topological excitations and central\n  charge in supersymmetric theories: The effect of quantum fluctuations on Bogomol'nyi-Prasad-Sommerfield\n(BPS)-saturated topological excitations in supersymmetric theories is studied.\nFocus is placed on a sequence of topological excitations that derive from the\nsame classical soliton or vortex in lower dimensions and it is shown that their\nquantum characteristics, such as the spectrum and profile, differ critically\nwith the dimension of spacetime. In all the examples examined the supercharge\nalgebra retains its classical form although short-wavelength fluctuations may\nmodify the operator structure of the central charge, yielding an anomaly. The\ncentral charge, on taking the expectation value, is further affected by\nlong-wavelength fluctuations, and this makes the BPS-excitation spectra only\napproximately calculable in some low-dimensional theories. In four dimensions,\nin contrast, holomorphy plays a special role in stabilizing the BPS-excitation\nspectra against quantum corrections. The basic tool in our study is the\nsuperfield supercurrent, from which the supercharge algebra with a central\nextension is extracted in a supersymmetric setting. A general method is\ndeveloped to determine the associated superconformal anomaly by considering\ndilatation directly in superspace."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Inflationary String Theory?: The inflationary paradigm provides a robust description of the peculiar\ninitial conditions which are required for the success of the Hot Big Bang model\nof cosmology, as well as of the recent precision measurements of temperature\nfluctuations within the cosmic microwave background. Furthermore, the success\nof this description indicates that inflation is likely to be associated with\nphysics at energies considerably higher than the weak scale, for which string\ntheory is arguably our most promising candidate. These observations strongly\nmotivate a detailed search for inflation within string theory, although it has\n(so far) proven to be a hunt for a fairly elusive quarry. This article\nsummarizes some of the recent efforts along these lines, and draws some\nspeculative conclusions as to what the difficulty finding inflation might mean.",
        "positive": "The Slavnov-Taylor Identities for the 2+1 Dimensional Noncommutative\n  CP$^{N-1}$ Model: In the context of the $1/N$ expansion, the validity of the Slavnov-Taylor\nidentity relating three and two point functions for the $2+1$ dimensional\nnoncommutative CP$^{N-1} $ model is investigated, up to subleading $1/N$ order,\nin the Landau gauge."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "New Approach to Induced QCD: Matrix model approach to multicolor induced QCD based on the quenched\nmomentum prescription is presented. It is shown that this model exhibits the\nreduction of spatial degrees of freedom: the partition function is determined\nby the solution of one dimensional quantum mechanical problem while the\nD-dimensional scalar field correlators coinside with the same type correlators\nin the two-dimensional induced QCD.",
        "positive": "Exactly Solvable Two-Dimensional Complex Model with Real Spectrum: Supersymmetrical intertwining relations of second order in derivatives allow\nto construct a two-dimensional quantum model with complex potential, for which\n{\\it all} energy levels and bound state wave functions are obtained\nanalytically. This model {\\it is not amenable} to separation of variables, and\nit can be considered as a specific complexified version of generalized\ntwo-dimensional Morse model with additional $\\sinh^{-2}$ term. The energy\nspectrum of the model is proved to be purely real. To our knowledge, this is a\nrather rare example of a nontrivial exactly solvable model in two dimensions.\nThe symmetry operator is found, the biorthogonal basis is described, and the\npseudo-Hermiticity of the model is demonstrated. The obtained wave functions\nare found to be common eigenfunctions both of the Hamiltonian and of the\nsymmetry operator."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Noncommutative Chern-Simons Solitons: The Chern-Simons theories on a noncommutative plane, which is shown to be\ndescribing the quantum Hall liquid, is considered. We introduce matter fields\nfundamentally coupled to the noncommutative Chern-Simons field. Exploiting BPS\nequations for the nonrelativistic Chern-Simons theory, we find the exact\nsolutions of multi vortices that are closely packed and exponentially\nlocalized. We determine the position, the size and the angular momentum\nexplicitly. We then construct the solutions of two spatially separated vortices\nand determine the moduli dependence of the size and the angular momentum. We\nalso consider the relativistic Chern-Simons theory and find nontopological\nsolutions whose properties are similar to the nonrelativistic counterpart.\nHowever, unlike the nonrelativistic case, there are two branches of solutions\nfor a given magnetic field and they cease to exist below certain\nnoncommutativity scale.",
        "positive": "A dilogarithmic 3-dimensional Ising tetrahedron: In 3 dimensions, the Ising model is in the same universality class as\n$\\phi^4$-theory, whose massive 3-loop tetrahedral diagram, $C^{Tet}$, was of an\nunknown analytical nature. In contrast, all single-scale 4-dimensional\ntetrahedra were reduced, in hep-th/9803091, to special values of exponentially\nconvergent polylogarithms. Combining dispersion relations with the\ninteger-relation finder PSLQ, we find that $C^{Tet}/2^{5/2} = Cl_2(4\\alpha) -\nCl_2(2\\alpha)$, with $Cl_2(\\theta):=\\sum_{n>0}\\sin(n\\theta)/n^2$ and\n$\\alpha:=\\arcsin\\frac13$. This empirical relation has been checked at\n1,000-digit precision and readily yields 50,000 digits of $C^{Tet}$, after\ntransformation to an exponentially convergent sum, akin to those studied in\nmath.CA/9803067. It appears that this 3-dimensional result entails a\npolylogarithmic ladder beginning with the classical formula for $\\pi/\\sqrt2$,\nin the manner that 4-dimensional results build on that for $\\pi/\\sqrt3$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Breitenlohner-Freedman bound on hyperbolic tilings: We establish how the Breitenlohner-Freedman (BF) bound is realized on tilings\nof two-dimensional Euclidean Anti-de Sitter space. For the continuum, the BF\nbound states that on Anti-de Sitter spaces, fluctuation modes remain stable for\nsmall negative mass-squared $m^2$. This follows from a real and positive total\nenergy of the gravitational system. For finite cutoff $\\varepsilon$, we solve\nthe Klein-Gordon equation numerically on regular hyperbolic tilings. When\n$\\varepsilon\\to0$, we find that the continuum BF bound is approached in a\nmanner independent of the tiling. We confirm these results via simulations of a\nhyperbolic electric circuit. Moreover, we propose a novel circuit including\nactive elements that allows to further scan values of $m^2$ above the BF bound.",
        "positive": "On the String Interpretation of the $t{\\bar t}$-geometry: We derive the $t{\\bar t}$-equations for generic $N\\!=\\!2$ topological field\ntheories as consistency conditions for the contact term algebra of topological\nstrings. A generalization of the holomorphic anomaly equation, known for the\ncritical ${\\hat c}\\!=\\!3$ case, to arbitrary non critical topological strings\nis presented. The interplay between the non trivial cohomology of the\n$b$-antighost, gravitational descendants and $\\bar t$-dependence is discussed.\nThe physical picture emerging from this study is that the $\\bar t$ (background)\ndependence of topological strings with non trivial cohomology for the\n$b$-antighost, is determined by gravitational descendants."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Nutty Bubbles: We investigate the various time-dependent bubble spacetimes that can be\nobtained from double analytic continuation of asymptotically locally flat/AdS\nspacetimes with NUT charge. We find different time-dependent explicit solutions\nof general relativity from double analytic continuations of Taub-Nut(-AdS) and\nKerr-Nut(-AdS) spacetimes. One solution in particular has Milne-like evolution\nthroughout, and another is a NUT-charged generalization of the AdS soliton.\nThese solutions are all four dimensional. In certain situations the NUT charge\ninduces an ergoregion into the bubble spacetime and in other situations it\nquantitatively modifies the evolution of the bubble, as when rotation is\npresent. In dimensions greater than four, no consistent bubble solutions are\nfound that have only one timelike direction.",
        "positive": "Page Curves of Reissner-Nordstr\u00f6m Black Hole in HD Gravity: We obtain the Page curves of an eternal Reissner-Nordstr\\\"om black hole in\nthe presence of higher derivative terms in four dimensions. We consider two\ncases: gravitational action with general ${\\cal O}(R^2)$ terms plus Maxwell\nterm and Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet gravity plus Maxwell term. In both the cases\nentanglement entropy of the Hawking radiation in the absence of island surface\nis increasing linearly with time. After including contribution from the island\nsurface, we find that after the Page time, entanglement entropy of the Hawking\nradiation in both the cases reaches a constant value which is the twice of the\nBekenstein-Hawking entropy of the black hole and we obtain the Page curves. We\nfind that Page curves appear at later or earlier time when the Gauss-Bonnet\ncoupling increases or decreases. Further, scrambling time of\nReissner-Nordstr\\\"om is increasing or decreasing depending upon whether the\ncorrection term (coming from ${\\cal O}(R^2)$ terms in the gravitational action)\nis increasing or decreasing in the first case whereas scrambling time remains\nunaffected in the second case (Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet gravity case). As a\nconsistency check, in the limit of vanishing GB coupling we obtain the Page\ncurve of the Reissner-Nordstr\\\"om black hole obtained in arXiv:2101.06867."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Coherent States of the Deformed Heisenberg-Weyl Algebra in\n  Noncommutative Space: In two-dimensional space a subtle point that for the case of both space-space\nand momentum-momentum noncommuting, different from the case of only space-space\nnoncommuting, the deformed Heisenberg-Weyl algebra in noncommutative space is\nnot completely equivalent to the undeformed Heisenberg-Weyl algebra in\ncommutative space is clarified. It follows that there is no well defined\nprocedure to construct the deformed position-position coherent state or the\ndeformed momentum-momentum coherent state from the undeformed position-momentum\ncoherent state. Identifications of the deformed position-position and deformed\nmomentum-momentum coherent states with the lowest energy states of a cold\nRydberg atom in special conditions and a free particle, respectively, are\ndemonstrated.",
        "positive": "All 1/2 BPS solutions of IIB supergravity with SO(4) x SO(4) isometry: In hep-th/0409174, Lin, Lunin and Maldacena constructed a set of regular 1/2\nBPS geometries in IIB theory. These remarkable `bubbling AdS' geometries have a\nnatural interpretation as duals of chiral primary operators with weight Delta=J\nin N=4 super-Yang Mills theory. Although these geometries have been assumed to\nbe complete, from a purely supergravity point of view, additional 1/2 BPS\nconfigurations may potentially exist with a preferred null isometry. We explore\nthis possibility and prove that the only additional class of 1/2 BPS solutions\nwith SO(4) x SO(4) isometry are the familiar IIB pp-waves."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Complex Fermionic Tensor Model in $d$ Dimensions: In this note, we study a melonic tensor model in $d$ dimensions based on\nthree-index Dirac fermions with a four-fermion interaction. Summing the melonic\ndiagrams at strong coupling allows one to define a formal large-$N$ saddle\npoint in arbitrary $d$ and calculate the spectrum of scalar bilinear singlet\noperators. For $d=2-\\epsilon$ the theory is an infrared fixed point, which we\nfind has a purely real spectrum that we determine numerically for arbitrary\n$d<2$, and analytically as a power series in $\\epsilon$. The theory appears to\nbe weakly interacting when $\\epsilon$ is small, suggesting that fermionic\ntensor models in 1-dimension can be studied in an $\\epsilon$ expansion. For\n$d>2$, the spectrum can still be calculated using the saddle point equations,\nwhich may define a formal large-$N$ ultraviolet fixed point analogous to the\nGross-Neveu model in $d>2$. For $2<d<6$, we find that the spectrum contains at\nleast one complex scalar eigenvalue (similar to the complex eigenvalue present\nin the bosonic tensor model recently studied by Giombi, Klebanov and\nTarnopolsky) which indicates that the theory is unstable. We also find that the\nfixed point is weakly-interacting when $d=6$ (or more generally $d=4n+2$) and\nhas a real spectrum for $6<d<6.14$ which we present as a power series in\n$\\epsilon$ in $6+\\epsilon$ dimensions.",
        "positive": "A derivation of the planar limit of ${\\cal N}=2$ chiral correlators: We derive analytically the terms of maximal transcendality of the planar 2-\nand 3-point functions of single-trace chiral primary operators of ${\\cal N}=2$\nSQCD on $\\bR^4$, to all orders in the 't Hooft coupling. These results prove\ntwo conjectures we formulated in previous work. Furthermore, we also provide an\nexplicit expression for the terms in the planar 2-point functions of these\noperators that contain products of two values of the $\\zeta$ function."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A spinorial double copy for ${\\cal N}=0$ supergravity: The Weyl double copy is a formula relating solutions of scalar, gauge and\ngravity theories, and is related to the BCJ double copy for scattering\namplitudes. The latter relates Yang-Mills theory to ${\\cal N}=0$ supergravity,\nwhere an axion and dilaton are present in addition to the graviton. However,\nthe traditional Weyl double copy applies only to pure gravity solutions, such\nthat it remains to be seen whether or not it can be extended to the full\nspectrum of ${\\cal N}=0$ supergravity. We examine this question using recently\ndeveloped twistor methods, showing that some sort of double copy formula for\n${\\cal N}=0$ supergravity is indeed possible for certain solutions. However, it\ndiffers both from the traditional Weyl double copy form, and recent conjectures\naimed at generalising the Weyl double copy to non-vacuum solutions.",
        "positive": "No inverse magnetic catalysis in the QCD hard and soft wall models: In this paper, we study the influence of an external magnetic field in\nholographic QCD models where the backreaction is modeled in via an appropriate\nchoice of the background metric. We add a phenomenological soft wall dilaton to\nincorporate better IR behavior (confinement). Elaborating on previous studies\nconducted by [JHEP 1505 (2015) 121], we first discuss the Hawking-Page\ntransition, the dual of the deconfinement transition, as a function of the\nmagnetic field. We confirm that the critical deconfinement temperature can drop\nwith the magnetic field. Secondly, we study the quark condensate\nholographically as a function of the applied magnetic field and demonstrate\nthat this model does not exhibit inverse magnetic catalysis at the level of the\nchiral transition. The quest for a holographic QCD model that qualitatively\ndescribes the inverse magnetic catalysis at finite temperature is thus still\nopen. Throughout this work, we pay special attention to the different\nholographic parameters and we attempt to fix them by making the link to genuine\nQCD as close as possible. This leads to several unanticipated and so far\noverlooked complications (such as the relevance of an additional length scale\nin the confined geometry) that we discuss in detail."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "State-Sum Invariants of 4-Manifolds I: We provide, with proofs, a complete description of the authors' construction\nof state-sum invariants announced in [CY], and its generalization to an\narbitrary (artinian) semisimple tortile category. We also discuss the\nrelationship of these invariants to generalizations of Broda's surgery\ninvariants [Br1,Br2] using techniques developed in the case of the semi-simple\nsub-quotient of $Rep(U_q(sl_2))$ ($q$ a principal $4r^{th}$ root of unity) by\nRoberts [Ro1]. We briefly discuss the generalizations to invariants of\n4-manifolds equipped with 2-dimensional (co)homology classes introduced by\nYetter [Y6] and Roberts [Ro2], which are the subject of the sequel. (citations\nrefer to bibliography in the paper)",
        "positive": "Strings near black holes are Carrollian: We demonstrate that strings near the horizon of a Schwarzschild black hole,\nwhen viewed by a stationary observer at infinity, probe a string Carroll\ngeometry, where the effective lightspeed is given by the distance from the\nhorizon. We expand the Polyakov action in powers of this lightspeed to find a\ntheory of Carrollian strings. We show that the string shrinks to a point to\nleading order near the horizon, which follows a null geodesic in a\ntwo-dimensional Rindler space. At the next-to-leading order the string\noscillates in the embedding fields associated with the near-horizon two-sphere."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quadratic $\u03b1'$-Corrections to Heterotic Double Field Theory: We investigate $\\alpha'$-corrections of heterotic double field theory up to\nquadratic order in the language of supersymmetric O(D,D+dim G) gauged double\nfield theory. After introducing double-vielbein formalism with a\nparametrization which reproduces heterotic supergravity, we show that\nsupersymmetry for heterotic double field theory up to leading order\n$\\alpha'$-correction is obtained from supersymmetric gauged double field\ntheory. We discuss the necessary modifications of the symmetries defined in\nsupersymmetric gauged double field theory. Further, we construct supersymmetric\ncompletion at quadratic order in $\\alpha'$.",
        "positive": "Timelike Hopf Duality and Type IIA^* String Solutions: The usual T-duality that relates the type IIA and IIB theories compactified\non circles of inversely-related radii does not operate if the dimensional\nreduction is performed on the time direction rather than a spatial one. This\nobservation led to the recent proposal that there might exist two further\nten-dimensional theories, namely type IIA^* and type IIB^*, related to type IIB\nand type IIA respectively by a timelike dimensional reduction. In this paper we\nexplore such dimensional reductions in cases where time is the coordinate of a\nnon-trivial U(1) fibre bundle. We focus in particular on situations where there\nis an odd-dimensional anti-de Sitter spacetime AdS_{2n+1}, which can be\ndescribed as a U(1) bundle over \\widetilde{CP}^n, a non-compact version of CP^n\ncorresponding to the coset manifold SU(n,1)/U(n). In particular, we study the\nAdS_5\\times S^5 and AdS_7\\times S^4 solutions of type IIB supergravity and\neleven-dimensional supergravity. Applying a timelike Hopf T-duality\ntransformation to the former provides a new solution of the type IIA^* theory,\nof the form \\widetilde{CP}^2\\times S^1\\times S^5. We show how the Hopf-reduced\nsolutions provide further examples of ``supersymmetry without supersymmetry.''\nWe also present a detailed discussion of the geometrical structure of the\nHopf-fibred metric on AdS_{2n+1}, and its relation to the horospherical metric\nthat arises in the AdS/CFT correspondence."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Off-Shell Spinor-Helicity Amplitudes from Light-Cone Deformation\n  Procedure: We study the consistency conditions for interactions of massless fields of\nany spin in four-dimensional flat space using the light-cone approach. We show\nthat they can be equivalently rewritten as the Ward identities for the\noff-shell light-cone amplitudes built from the light-cone Hamiltonian in the\nstandard way. Then we find a general solution of these Ward identities. The\nsolution admits a compact representation when written in the spinor-helicity\nform and is given by an arbitrary function of spinor products, satisfying\nwell-known homogeneity constraints. Thus, we show that the light-cone\nconsistent deformation procedure inevitably leads to a certain off-shell\nversion of the spinor-helicity approach. We discuss how the relation between\nthe two approaches can be employed to facilitate the search of consistent\ninteraction of massless higher-spin fields.",
        "positive": "Noncommutative correspondences, duality and D-branes in bivariant\n  K-theory: We describe a categorical framework for the classification of D-branes on\nnoncommutative spaces using techniques from bivariant K-theory of C*-algebras.\nWe present a new description of bivariant K-theory in terms of noncommutative\ncorrespondences which is nicely adapted to the study of T-duality in open\nstring theory. We systematically use the diagram calculus for bivariant\nK-theory as detailed in our previous paper. We explicitly work out our theory\nfor a number of examples of noncommutative manifolds."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauge dependence of the AdS instability problem: Previous work on the AdS instability problem within the two-time framework\n(TTF) has found an \"oscillating singularity\" whose presence depends on the\ngauge choice. We give a physical interpretation of this singularity as a\ndiverging redshift between the boundary and the center of AdS. This signals a\ngenuine breakdown of the linearized gravity. One can also identify the\ndiverging redshift through a back-reaction calculation purely in the boundary\ngauge, where the TTF result stays regular.",
        "positive": "Quantization Rules for Dynamical Systems: We discuss a manifestly covariant way of arriving at the quantization rules\nbased on causality, with no reference to Poisson or Peierls brackets of any\nkind."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Analytic vortex solutions on compact hyperbolic surfaces: We construct, for the first time, Abelian-Higgs vortices on certain compact\nsurfaces of constant negative curvature. Such surfaces are represented by a\ntessellation of the hyperbolic plane by regular polygons. The Higgs field is\ngiven implicitly in terms of Schwarz triangle functions and analytic solutions\nare available for certain highly symmetric configurations.",
        "positive": "A brief history of hidden quantum symmetries in Conformal Field Theories: We review briefly a stream of ideas concerning the role of quantum groups as\nhidden symmetries in conformal field theories, paying particular attention to\nthe field theoretical representations of quantum groups based on Coulomb gas\nmethods. An extensive bibliography is also included."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Bulk one-point function on disk in one-matrix model: We consider bulk correlation numbers on disk in one-matrix model. Using the\nrecently found so-called resonance transformation from the KdV to the Liouville\nframe, we obtain an explicit expression for the bulk one-point function. The\nresult is consistent with the form of FZZ one-point function in the boundary\nLiouville Field Theory.",
        "positive": "Aspects of AdS$_2$ classification in M-theory: Solutions with mesonic\n  and baryonic charges: We construct necessary and sufficient geometric conditions for a class of\nAdS$_2$ solutions of M-theory with, at least, minimal supersymmetry to exist.\nWe generalize previous results in the literature for ${\\cal N}=(2,0)$\nsupersymmetry in AdS$_2$ to ${\\cal N}=(1,0)$. When the solution can be locally\ndescribed as AdS$_2\\times \\Sigma_g \\times \\,$SE$_7$ with $\\Sigma_g$ a Riemann\nsurface of genus $g$ and SE$_7$ a seven-dimensional Sasaki-Einstein manifold,\nwe clarify and unify various solutions present in the literature. In the case\nof SE$_7=Q^{1,1,1}$ we find a new solution with baryonic and mesonic charges\nturned on simultaneously."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Towards Low Energy Physics from the Heterotic String: We investigate orbifold compactifications of the heterotic string, addressing\nin detail their construction, classification and phenomenological potential. We\npresent a strategy to search for models resembling the minimal supersymmetric\nextension of the standard model (MSSM) in Z_6-II orbifold compactifications. We\nfind several MSSM candidates with the gauge group and the exact spectrum of the\nMSSM, and supersymmetric vacua below the compactification scale. They also\nexhibit the following realistic features: R-parity, seesaw suppressed neutrino\nmasses, and intermediate scale of supersymmetry breakdown. In addition, we find\nthat similar models also exist in other Z_N orbifolds and in the SO(32)\nheterotic theory.",
        "positive": "Constructing solutions of Hamilton-Jacobi equations for 2 D fields with\n  one component by means of Baecklund transformations: The Hamilton-Jacobi formalism generalized to 2-dimensional field theories\naccording to Lepage's canonical framework is applied to several relativistic\nreal scalar fields, e.g. massless and massive Klein-Gordon, Sinh and\nSine-Gordon, Liouville and $\\phi^4$ theories. The relations between the\nEuler-Lagrange and the Hamilton-Jacobi equations are discussed in DeDonder and\nWeyl's and the corresponding wave fronts are calculated in Carath\\'eodory's\nformulation. Unlike mechanics we have to impose certain integrability\nconditions on the velocity fields to guarantee the transversality relations and\nespecially the dynamical equivalence between Hamilton-Jacobi wave fronts and\nfamilies of extremals embedded therein. B\\\"acklund Transformations play a\ncrucial role in solving the resulting system of coupled nonlinear PDEs."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "General Solution Of Linear Vector Supersymmetry: We give the general solution of the Ward identity for the linear vector\nsupersymmetry which characterizes all topological models. Such solution, whose\nexpression is quite compact and simple, greatly simplifies the study of\ntheories displaying a supersymmetric algebraic structure, reducing to a few\nlines the proof of their possible finiteness. In particular, the cohomology\ntechnology usually involved for the quantum extension of these theories, is\ncompletely bypassed. The case of Chern-Simons theory is taken as an example.",
        "positive": "Emergent Anyon Distribution in the Unruh Effect: We point out that, when the Unruh-DeWitt detector couples to a scalar primary\noperator of $d$-dimensional conformal field theory, the detector's power\nspectrum generally obeys the thermal distribution for $(1+1)$-dimensional\nanyons."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Kaluza-Klein on the Brane: The M-theory interpretation of certain D=10 IIA p-branes implies the\nexistence of worldvolume Kaluza-Klein modes which are expected to appear as\n0-brane/p-brane bound states preserving 1/4 of the spacetime supersymmetry. We\nconstruct the corresponding solutions of the effective supergravity theory for\n$p=1,4$, and show that no such solution exists for $p=8$.",
        "positive": "Pseudo-entropy for descendant operators in two-dimensional conformal\n  field theories: We study the late-time behaviors of pseudo-(R\\'enyi) entropy of locally\nexcited states in rational conformal field theories (RCFTs). To construct the\ntransition matrix, we utilize two non-orthogonal locally excited states that\nare created by the application of different descendant operators to the vacuum.\nWe show that when two descendant operators are generated by a single Virasoro\ngenerator acting on the same primary operator, the late-time excess of\npseudo-entropy and pseudo-R\\'enyi entropy corresponds to the logarithmic of the\nquantum dimension of the associated primary operator, in agreement with the\ncase of entanglement entropy. However, for linear combination operators\ngenerated by the generic summation of Virasoro generators, we obtain a distinct\nlate-time excess formula for the pseudo-(R\\'enyi) entropy compared to that for\n(R\\'enyi) entanglement entropy. As the mixing of holomorphic and\nantiholomorphic generators enhances the entanglement, in this case, the\npseudo-(R\\'enyi) entropy can receive an additional contribution. The additional\ncontribution can be expressed as the pseudo-(R\\'enyi) entropy of an effective\ntransition matrix in a finite-dimensional Hilbert space."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Unification of Gravity and Internal Interactions: In the gauge theoretic approach of gravity, General Relativity is described\nby gauging the symmetry of the tangent manifold in four dimensions. Usually the\ndimension of the tangent space is considered to be equal to the dimension of\nthe curved manifold. However, the tangent group of a manifold of dimension $d$\nis not necessarily $SO_d$. It has been suggested earlier that by gauging an\nenlarged symmetry of the tangent space in four dimensions one could unify\ngravity with internal interactions. Here we consider such a unified model by\ngauging the $SO_{(1,17)}$ as the extended Lorentz group overcoming in this way\nsome difficulties of the previous attempts of similar unification and\neventually we obtain the $SO_{10}$ GUT, supplemented by an $SU_2 \\times SU_2$\nglobal symmetry.",
        "positive": "On dynamics of cylindrical and spherical relativistic domain walls of\n  finite thickness: Dynamics of cylindrical and spherical relativistic domain walls is\ninvestigated with the help of a new method based on Taylor expansion of the\nscalar field in a vicinity of the core of the wall. Internal oscillatory modes\nfor the domain walls are found. These modes are non-analytic in the \"width\" of\nthe domain wall. Rather non-trivial transformation to a special coordinate\nsystem, widely used in investigations of relativistic domain walls, is studied\nin detail."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Algebra of the Infrared: String Field Theoretic Structures in Massive\n  ${\\cal N}=(2,2)$ Field Theory In Two Dimensions: We introduce a \"web-based formalism\" for describing the category of\nhalf-supersymmetric boundary conditions in $1+1$ dimensional massive field\ntheories with ${\\cal N}=(2,2)$ supersymmetry and unbroken $U(1)_R$ symmetry. We\nshow that the category can be completely constructed from data available in the\nfar infrared, namely, the vacua, the central charges of soliton sectors, and\nthe spaces of soliton states on $\\mathbb{R}$, together with certain\n\"interaction and boundary emission amplitudes\". These amplitudes are shown to\nsatisfy a system of algebraic constraints related to the theory of $A_\\infty$\nand $L_\\infty$ algebras. The web-based formalism also gives a method of finding\nthe BPS states for the theory on a half-line and on an interval. We investigate\nhalf-supersymmetric interfaces between theories and show that they have, in a\ncertain sense, an associative \"operator product.\" We derive a categorification\nof wall-crossing formulae. The example of Landau-Ginzburg theories is described\nin depth drawing on ideas from Morse theory, and its interpretation in terms of\nsupersymmetric quantum mechanics. In this context we show that the web-based\ncategory is equivalent to a version of the Fukaya-Seidel $A_\\infty$-category\nassociated to a holomorphic Lefschetz fibration, and we describe unusual local\noperators that appear in massive Landau-Ginzburg theories. We indicate\npotential applications to the theory of surface defects in theories of class S\nand to the gauge-theoretic approach to knot homology.",
        "positive": "Restricted phase space thermodynamics of Einstein-power-Yang-Mills AdS\n  black hole: We consider the thermodynamics of the Einstein-Power-Yang-Mills AdS black\nholes in the context of the gauge-gravity duality. Under this framework, the\nNewton's gravitational constant and the cosmological constant are varied in the\nsystem. We rewrite the thermodynamical first law in a more extended form\ncontaining both the pressure and the central charge of the dual conformal field\ntheory, i.e., the restricted phase transition formula. A novel phenomena\narises: the dual quantity of pressure is the effective volume, not the\ngeometric one. That is leading to a new behavior of the Van de Waals-like phase\ntransition for this system with the fixed central charge: the supercritical\nphase transition. From the Ehrenfest's scheme perspective, we check out the\nsecond-order phase transition of the EPYM AdS black hole. Furthermore the\neffect of non-linear Yang-Mills parameter on these thermodynamical properties\nis also investigated."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Causality constraints in Quadratic Gravity: Classifying consistent effective field theories for the gravitational\ninteraction has recently been the subject of intense research. Demanding the\nabsence of causality violation in high energy graviton scattering processes has\nled to a hierarchy of constraints on higher derivative terms in the Lagrangian.\nMost of these constraints have relied on analysis that is performed in general\nrelativistic backgrounds, as opposed to a generic solution to the equations of\nmotion which are perturbed by higher curvature operators. Hence, these\nconstraints are necessary but may not be sufficient to ensure that the theory\nis consistent. In this context, we explore the so-called CEMZ causality\nconstraints on Quadratic Gravity in a space of shock wave solutions beyond GR.\nWe show that the Shapiro time delay experienced by a graviton is\npolarization-independent and positive, regardless of the strength of the\ngravitational couplings. Our analysis shows that as far as the causality\nconstraints are concerned, albeit inequivalent to General Relativity due to\nadditional propagating modes, Quadratic Gravity is causal as per as the\ndiagnostic proposed by CEMZ.",
        "positive": "Semi-abelian Z-theory: NLSM+phi^3 from the open string: We continue our investigation of Z-theory, the second double-copy component\nof open-string tree-level interactions besides super-Yang-Mills (sYM). We show\nthat the amplitudes of the extended non-linear sigma model (NLSM) recently\nconsidered by Cachazo, Cha, and Mizera are reproduced by the leading\nalpha'-order of Z-theory amplitudes in the semi-abelian case. The extension\nrefers to a coupling of NLSM pions to bi-adjoint scalars, and the semi-abelian\ncase involves to a partial symmetrization over one of the color orderings that\ncharacterize the Z-theory amplitudes. Alternatively, the partial symmetrization\ncorresponds to a mixed interaction among abelian and non-abelian states in the\nunderlying open-superstring amplitude. We simplify these permutation sums via\nmonodromy relations which greatly increase the efficiency in extracting the\nalpha'-expansion of these amplitudes. Their alpha'-corrections encode\nhigher-derivative interactions between NLSM pions and bi-colored scalars all of\nwhich obey the duality between color and kinematics. Through double-copy, these\nresults can be used to generate the predictions of supersymmetric\nDirac-Born-Infeld-Volkov-Akulov theory coupled with sYM as well as a complete\ntower of higher-order alpha'-corrections."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Reducing the Heterotic Supergravity on nearly-Kahler coset spaces: We study the dimensional reduction of the ${\\cal N}=1$, ten-dimensional\nHeterotic Supergravity to four dimensions, at leading order in $\\alpha'$, when\nthe internal space is a nearly-K\\\"{a}hler manifold. Nearly-K\\\"{a}hler manifolds\nin six dimensions are all the non-symmetric coset spaces and a group manifold.\nHere we reduce the theory using as internal manifolds the three six-dimensional\nnon-symmetric coset spaces, omitting the case of the group manifold in the\nprospect of obtaining chiral fermions when the gauge fields will be included.\nWe determine the effective actions for these cases, which turn out to describe\n${\\cal N}=1$ four-dimensional supergravities of the no-scale type and we study\nthe various possibilities concerning their vacuum.",
        "positive": "On \"Bosonic, Fermionic and Mixed\" Supersymmetric 2-Dimensional\n  Integrable Models: It is shown that supersymmetric integrable models in two dimensions, both\nrelativistic (i.e. super-Toda type theories) and non-relativistic (reductions\nof super-KP hierarchies) can be associated to general Poisson-brackets\nstructures given by superaffinizations of any bosonic Lie or any super-Lie\nalgebra. This result allows enlarging the set of supersymmetric integrable\nmodels, which are no longer restricted to the subclass of superaffinizations of\npurely fermionic super-Lie algebras (that is admitting fermionic simple roots\nonly)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "QCD(1+1) with massless quarks and gauge covariant Sugawara construction: We use the Hamiltonian framework to study massless QCD$_{1+1}$, i.e.\\\nYang-Mills gauge theories with massless Dirac fermions on a cylinder (= (1+1)\ndimensional spacetime $S^1\\times \\R$) and make explicite the full,\nnon-perturbative structure of these quantum field theory models. We consider\n$N_F$ fermion flavors and gauge group either $\\U(N_C)$, $\\SU(N_C)$ or another\nLie subgroup of $\\U(N_C)$. In this approach, anomalies are traced back to\nkinematical requirements such as positivity of the Hamiltonian, gauge\ninvariance, and the condition that all observables are represented by\nwell-defined operators on a Hilbert space. We also give equal time commutators\nof the energy momentum tensor and find a gauge-covariant form of the (affine-)\nSugawara construction. This allows us to represent massless QCD$_{1+1}$ as a\ngauge theory of Kac-Moody currents and prove its equivalence to a gauged\nWess-Zumino-Witten model with a dynamical Yang-Mills field.",
        "positive": "Null vectors of the W_3 algebra: We construct $W_3$ null vectors of a restricted class explicitly in two\ndifferent forms. The method we use is an extension of that of Bauer et al.~in\nthe Virasoro case. Our results are analogous to the formulae of Benoit and\nSt.~Aubin for the Virasoro null vectors. We derive in the Virasoro case some\nalternative formulae for the same null vectors involving only the $L_{-1}$ and\n$L_{-2}$ modes of the Virasoro algebra. }"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Worldsheet Instanton Corrections to the Kaluza-Klein Monopole: The Kaluza-Klein monopole is a well known object in both gravity and string\ntheory, related by T-duality to a \"smeared\" NS5-brane which retains the\nisometry around the duality circle. As the true NS5-brane solution is localized\nat a point on the circle, duality implies that the Kaluza-Klein monopole should\nshow some corresponding behavior. In this paper, we express the Kaluza-Klein\nmonopole as a gauged linear sigma model in two dimensions and show that\nworldsheet instantons give corrections to its geometry. These corrections can\nbe understood as a localization in \"winding space\" which could be probed by\nstrings with winding charge around the circle.",
        "positive": "Quantum Description for the Decay of NSNS Brane-Antibrane Systems: The stringy description for the instabilities in the $RR$ charged\n$D_{p}-\\bar{D}_{p}$ pairs is now well understood in terms of the open string\ntachyon condensation. The quantum interpretation presumably via the stringy\ndescription for the instabilities in the $NSNS$-charged $F1-\\bar{F1}$ and\n$NS5-\\bar{NS5}$ pairs in IIA/IIB theories, however, has not been established\nyet. This would be partly because of the absence (for the $F1-\\bar{F1}$ case)\nor our relatively poor understanding (for the $NS5-\\bar{NS5}$ case) of their\nworldvolume (gauge theory) dynamics. In the present work, using the well-known\nquantum description for instabilities in the $RR$-charged $D_{p}-\\bar{D}_{p}$\nsystems and in the M-theory brane-antibrane systems and invoking appropriate\nstring dualities, the stringy nature of the instabilities in the $NSNS$-charged\n$F1-\\bar{F1}$ and $NS5-\\bar{NS5}$ systems has been uncovered. For the\nannihilations to string vacua, the quantum, stringy interpretations are simple\nextensions of Sen's conjecture for those in $RR$-charged brane-antibrane\nsystems."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supergroup - extended super Liouville correspondence: We derive a relation between correlation functions of supergroup WZNW models\nand conformal field theories with extended superconformal symmetry. The\nsupergroups considered have a bosonic subgroup of the form SL(2) x A for some\nLie group A. The corresponding conformal field theory is a super Liouville\nfield theory coupled with the WZNW model on A. An example is a correspondence\nbetween the PSU(1,1|2) WZNW model and small N=4 super Liouville field theory.\nThe OSP(n|2) WZNW model is related to a superconformal field theory with SO(n)\nextended superconformal symmetry of the Knizhnik-Bershadsky type. In the case\nn=4 this is simply the large N=(4,4) superconformal symmetry. Besides these two\nexamples we make a general derivation encompassing the WZNW models on\nsupergroups SL(2|n), D(2,1;\\alpha), OSP(4|2n), F(4) and G(3) and their relation\nto models with extended superconformal algebras as symmetry.",
        "positive": "Exact solutions for the Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet theory in five dimensions:\n  Black holes, wormholes and spacetime horns: An exhaustive classification of certain class of static solutions for the\nfive-dimensional Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet theory in vacuum is presented. The class\nof metrics under consideration is such that the spacelike section is a warped\nproduct of the real line with a nontrivial base manifold. It is shown that for\ngeneric values of the coupling constants the base manifold must be necessarily\nof constant curvature, and the solution reduces to the topological extension of\nthe Boulware-Deser metric. It is also shown that the base manifold admits a\nwider class of geometries for the special case when the Gauss-Bonnet coupling\nis properly tuned in terms of the cosmological and Newton constants. This\nfreedom in the metric at the boundary, which determines the base manifold,\nallows the existence of three main branches of geometries in the bulk. For\nnegative cosmological constant, if the boundary metric is such that the base\nmanifold is arbitrary, but fixed, the solution describes black holes whose\nhorizon geometry inherits the metric of the base manifold. If the base manifold\npossesses a negative constant Ricci scalar, two different kinds of wormholes in\nvacuum are obtained. For base manifolds with vanishing Ricci scalar, a\ndifferent class of solutions appears resembling \"spacetime horns\". There is\nalso a special case for which, if the base manifold is of constant curvature,\ndue to certain class of degeneration of the field equations, the metric admits\nan arbitrary redshift function. For wormholes and spacetime horns, there are\nregions for which the gravitational and centrifugal forces point towards the\nsame direction. All these solutions have finite Euclidean action, which reduces\nto the free energy in the case of black holes, and vanishes in the other cases.\nTheir mass is also obtained from a surface integral."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "D1/D5 Moduli in SCFT and Gauge Theory, and Hawking Radiation: We construct marginal operators of the orbifold SCFT corresponding to all\ntwenty near-horizon moduli in supergravity, including operators involving twist\nfields which correspond to the blowing up modes. We identify the operators with\nthe supergravity moduli in a 1-1 fashion by inventing a global SO(4) algebra in\nthe SCFT. We analyze the gauge dynamics of the D1/D5 system relevant to the\nsplitting $(Q_1,Q_5)\\to (Q'_1,Q'_5)+ (Q''_1,Q''_5)$ with the help of a linear\nsigma model. We show in supergravity as well as in SCFT that the absorption\ncross-section for minimal scalars is the same all over the near-horizon moduli\nspace.",
        "positive": "Comments on N = 2 supersymmetric sigma models in projective superspace: For the most general off-shell N = 2 supersymmetric sigma model in projective\nsuperspace, we elaborate on its formulation in terms of N = 1 chiral\nsuperfields. A universal (model-independent) expression is obtained for the\nholomorphic symplectic two-form, which determines the second supersymmetry\ntransformation. This two-form is associated with the two complex structures of\nthe hyperkahler target space, which are complimentary to the one used to\nrealize the target space as a Kahler manifold."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dynamical Supersymmetry of a Vortex System with $1/r^{2}$ Potential: The Pauli Hamiltonian for a spin $\\frac{1}{2}$ charged particle interacting\nwith a point magnetic vortex and $1/r^{2}$ potential exhibits a dynamical\nsupersymmetry $Osp(1,1)$ on the plane except at the origin. Using this\nsymmetry, the spectrum and the wave functions have been obtained. And, the\ndynamical supersymmetry could be imported to the case when an external harmonic\npotential is added.",
        "positive": "Entanglement entropy and algebraic holography: In 2006, Ryu and Takayanagi (RT) pointed out that (with a suitable cutoff)\nthe entanglement entropy between two complementary regions of an equal-time\nsurface of a d+1-dimensional conformal field theory on the conformal boundary\nof AdS_{d+2} is, when the AdS radius is appropriately related to the parameters\nof the CFT, equal to 1/4G times the area of the d-dimensional minimal surface\nin the AdS bulk which has the junction of those complementary regions as its\nboundary, where G is the bulk Newton constant. We point out here that the\nRT-equality implies that, in the quantum theory on the bulk AdS background\nwhich is related to the boundary CFT according to Rehren's 1999 algebraic\nholography theorem, the entanglement entropy between two complementary bulk\nRehren wedges is equal to 1/4G times the (suitably cut off) area of their\nshared ridge. (This follows because of the geometrical fact that, for\ncomplementary ball-shaped regions, the RT minimal surface is precisely the\nshared ridge of the complementary bulk Rehren wedges which correspond, under\nRehren's bulk-wedge to boundary double-cone bijection, to the complementary\nboundary double-cones whose bases are the RT complementary balls.) This is\nconsistent with the Bianchi-Meyers conjecture -- that, in a theory of quantum\ngravity, the entanglement entropy, S, between the degrees of freedom of a given\nregion with those of its complement is S = A/4G (+ lower order terms) -- but\nonly if the phrase 'degrees of freedom' is replaced by 'matter degrees of\nfreedom'. It also supports related previous arguments of the author --\nconsistent with the author's 'matter-gravity entanglement hypothesis' -- that\nthe AdS/CFT correspondence is actually only a bijection between just the matter\n(i.e. non-gravity) sector operators of the bulk and the boundary CFT operators."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Double Field Theory at SL(2) angles: An extended field theory is presented that captures the full SL(2) x O(6,6+n)\nduality group of four-dimensional half-maximal supergravities. The theory has\nsection constraints whose two inequivalent solutions correspond to minimal D=10\nsupergravity and chiral half-maximal D=6 supergravity, respectively coupled to\nvector and tensor multiplets. The relation with O(6,6+n) (heterotic) double\nfield theory is thoroughly discussed. Non-Abelian interactions as well as\nbackground fluxes are captured by a deformation of the generalised\ndiffeomorphisms. Finally, making use of the SL(2) duality structure, it is\nshown how to generate gaugings with non-trivial de Roo-Wagemans angles via\ngeneralised Scherk-Schwarz ansaetze. Such gaugings allow for moduli\nstabilisation including the SL(2) dilaton.",
        "positive": "Zero-Branes on a Compact Orbifold: The non-commutative algebra which defines the theory of zero-branes on\n$T^4/Z_2$ allows a unified description of moduli spaces associated with\nzero-branes, two-branes and four-branes on the orbifold space. Bundles on a\ndual space $\\hat T^4/Z_2$ play an important role in this description. We\ndiscuss these moduli spaces in the context of dualities of K3\ncompactifications, and in terms of properties of instantons on $T^4$.\nZero-branes on the degenerate limits of the compact orbifold lead to fixed\npoints with six-dimensional scale but not conformal invariance. We identify\nsome of these in terms of the ADS dual of the $(0,2)$ theory at large $N$,\ngiving evidence for an interesting picture of \"where the branes live\" in ADS."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Strongly coupled large N spectrum of two matrices coupled via a\n  Yang-Mills interaction: We consider the large N spectrum of the quantum mechanical hamiltonian of two\nhermitean matrices coupled via a Yang-Mills interaction. In a framework where\none of the matrices is treated exactly and the other is treated as a creation\noperator impurity, the difference equation associated with the Yang-Mills\ninteraction is derived and solved exactly for two impurities. In this case, the\nfull string tension corrected spectrum depends on two momenta. For a specific\nvalue of one of these momenta, the spectrum has the same structure as that of\ngiant magnon bound states. States with general number of impurities are also\ndiscussed.",
        "positive": "Drag force in strongly coupled, anisotropic plasma at finite chemical\n  potential: We employ methods of gauge/string duality to analyze the drag force on a\nheavy quark moving through a strongly coupled, anisotropic \\mathcal{N}=4, SU(N)\nsuper Yang- Mills plasma in the presence of a finite U(1) chemical potential.\nWe present numerical results valid for any value of the anisotropy parameter\nand the U(1) charge density and arbitrary direction of the quark velocity with\nrespect to the direction of anisotropy. In the small anisotropy limit we are\nalso able to furnish analytical results."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "How a four-dimensional de Sitter solution remains outside the swampland: We argue that, in the presence of time-dependent fluxes and quantum\ncorrections, four-dimensional de Sitter solutions should appear in the type IIB\nstring landscape and not in the swampland. Our construction considers generic\nchoices of local and non-local quantum terms and satisfies the no-go and the\nswampland criteria, the latter being recently upgraded using the\ntrans-Planckian cosmic censorship. Interestingly, both time-independent Newton\nconstant and moduli stabilization may be achieved in such backgrounds even in\nthe presence of time-dependent fluxes and internal spaces. However, once the\ntime-dependence is switched off, any four-dimensional solution with de Sitter\nisometries appears to have no simple effective field theory descriptions and is\nback in the swampland.",
        "positive": "The Construction of Mirror Symmetry: The construction of mirror symmetry in the heterotic string is reviewed in\nthe context of Calabi-Yau and Landau-Ginzburg compactifications. This framework\nhas the virtue of providing a large subspace of the configuration space of the\nheterotic string, probing its structure far beyond the present reaches of\nsolvable models. The construction proceeds in two stages: First all\nsingularities/catastrophes which lead to ground states of the heterotic string\nare found. It is then shown that not all ground states described in this way\nare independent but that certain classes of these LG/CY string vacua can be\nrelated to other, simpler, theories via a process involving fractional\ntransformations of the order parameters as well as orbifolding. This\nconstruction has far reaching consequences. Firstly it allows for a systematic\nidentification of mirror pairs that appear abundantly in this class of string\nvacua, thereby showing that the emerging mirror symmetry is not accidental.\nThis is important because models with mirror flipped spectra are a priori\nindependent theories, described by distinct CY/LG models. It also shows that\nmirror symmetry is not restricted to the space of string vacua described by\ntheories based on Fermat potentials (corresponding to minimal tensor models).\nFurthermore it shows the need for a better set of coordinates of the\nconfiguration space or else the structure of this space will remain obscure.\nWhile the space of LG vacua is {\\it not} completely mirror symmetric, results\ndescribed in the last part suggest that the space of Landau--Ginburg {\\it\norbifolds} possesses this symmetry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "D-Dimensional Conformal $\u03c3$-models and Topological Excitations: The D-dimensional conformal nonlinear sigma-models (NSM) sre constructed. It\nis shown that the NSM on spaces with $\\pi_{D-1} = \\mathbb {Z}$ have the\ntopological solutions of a \"hedgehog\" and \"anti-hedgehog\" types with\nlogarithmic energies. For spaces with $\\pi_D \\ne 0$ they have also the\ntopological excitations of instanton types with finite energies.",
        "positive": "New supersymmetric $AdS_5$ black strings from 5D $N=4$ gauged\n  supergravity: We find a large class of new supersymmetric $AdS_5$ black strings from\nfive-dimensional $N=4$ gauged supergravity coupled to five vector multiplets\nwith $SO(2)_D\\times SO(3)\\times SO(3)$ gauge group. These solutions have near\nhorizon geometries of the form $AdS_3\\times \\Sigma^2$ for $\\Sigma^2$ being a\ntwo-sphere ($S^2$) or a hyperbolic space ($H^2$). There are four supersymmetric\n$AdS_5$ vacua with $N=4$ and $N=2$ supersymmetries. By performing topological\ntwists along $\\Sigma^2$ with $SO(2)\\times SO(2)_{\\textrm{diag}}$ and\n$SO(2)_{\\textrm{diag}}$ gauge fields, we find a number of $AdS_3\\times\n\\Sigma^2$ fixed points describing near horizon geometries of black strings in\nasymptotically $AdS_5$ spaces. Most of the solutions take the form of\n$AdS_3\\times H^2$ with only one being $AdS_3\\times S^2$ preserving\n$SO(2)_{\\textrm{diag}}$ symmetry. We also give the corresponding black string\nsolutions interpolating between asymptotically locally $AdS_5$ vacua and the\nnear horizon $AdS_3\\times \\Sigma^2$ geometries. There are a number of solutions\nflowing from one, two or three $AdS_5$ vacua to an $AdS_3\\times \\Sigma^2$ fixed\npoint. These solutions can also be considered as holographic RG flows across\ndimensions from $N=2$ and $N=1$ SCFTs in four dimensions to two-dimensional\nSCFTs with $N=(2,0)$ or $N=(0,2)$ supersymmetry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Multipartite entanglement and quantum Fisher information in conformal\n  field theories: Bipartite entanglement entropy of a segment with the length $l$ in $1+1$\ndimensional conformal field theories (CFT) follows the formula\n$S=\\frac{c}{3}\\ln l+\\gamma$, where $c$ is the central charge of the CFT and\n$\\gamma$ is a cut-off dependent constant which diverges in the absence of an\nultraviolet cutoff. According to this formula, systems with larger central\ncharges have {\\it{more}} bipartite entanglement entropy. Using quantum Fisher\ninformation (QFI), we argue that systems with bigger central charges not only\nhave larger bipartite entanglement entropy but also have more multipartite\nentanglement content. In particular, we argue that since systems with smaller\n{\\it{smallest scaling dimension}} have bigger QFI, the multipartite\nentanglement content of a CFT is dependent on the value of the smallest scaling\ndimension present in the spectrum of the system. We show that our argument\nseems to be consistent with some of the existing results regarding the von\nNeumann entropy, negativity, and localizable entanglement in $1+1$ dimensions.\nFurthermore, we also argue that the QFI decays under renormalization group (RG)\nflow between two unitary CFTs. Finally, we also comment on the non-conformal\nbut scale invariant systems.",
        "positive": "Taming the supergravity description of non-BPS D-branes: the D/Dbar\n  solution: We obtain the supergravity solution which describes a bound state of\nD-string/anti-D-string pairs attached to different fixed planes of an orbifold,\nin type IIB string theory compactified on T^4/Z_2. For parameters at which the\nconformal field theory point of view predicts stability, the solution displays\na repulson-like singularity. However, we observe that a D-string/anti-D-string\npair probe in this background becomes tensionless before reaching the\nsingularity, suggesting a resolution by the enhancon mechanism. Moreover, the\nforce feels by this probe is attractive, in contrast to the repulsive behaviour\nobserved in the non-BPS D-brane description."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Symmetry Energy and Universality classes of holographic QCD: We study nuclear symmetry energy of dense matter using holographic QCD. We\ncalculate it in a various holographic QCD models and show that the scaling\nindex of the symmetry energy in dense medium is almost invariant under the\nsmooth deformation of the metric as well as the embedding shape of the probe\nbrane. We find that the scaling index depends only on the dimensionality of the\nbranes and space-time. Therefore the scaling index of the symmetry energy\ncharacterizes the universality classes of holographic QCD models. We suggest\nthat the scaling index might be also related to the non-fermi liquid behavior\nof the interacting nucleons.",
        "positive": "Addendum to ``Integrability of Open Spin Chains with Quantum Algebra\n  Symmetry'': We show that the quantum-algebra-invariant open spin chains associated with\nthe affine Lie algebras $A^{(1)}_n$ for $n>1$ are integrable. The argument,\nwhich applies to a large class of other quantum-algebra-invariant chains, does\nnot require that the corresponding $R$ matrix have crossing symmetry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "BPS Skyrmions of Generalized Skyrme Model In Higher Dimensions: In this work we consider the higher dimensional Skyrme model, with spatial\ndimension $d > 3$, focusing on its BPS submodels and their corresponding\nfeatures. To accommodate the cases with a higher topological degree, \\(B\\geq\n1\\), a modified generalized hedgehog ansatz is used where we assign an integer\n\\(n_i\\) for each rotational plane, resulting in a topological degree that\nproportional to product of these integers. It is found via BPS Lagrangian\nmethod that there are only two possible BPS submodels for this spherically\nsymmetric ansatz which shall be called as BPS Skyrme model and scale-invariant\nmodel. The properties of the higher dimensional version of both submodels are\nstudied and it is found that the BPS Skyrmions with \\(B\\geq1\\) exist in the\nfirst submodel but there is only \\(B=1\\) BPS Skyrmion in the second submodel.\nWe also study the higher dimensional version of self-duality conditions in\nterms of strain tensor eigenvalues and find that, in general, the\nscale-invariant model has a stronger self-duality condition than the BPS Skyrme\nmodel.",
        "positive": "Non-relativistic limits and three-dimensional coadjoint Poincare gravity: We show that a recently proposed action for three-dimensional\nnon-relativistic gravity can be obtained by taking the limit of a relativistic\nLagrangian that involves the co-adjoint Poincare algebra. We point out the\nsimilarity of our construction with the way that three-dimensional Galilei\nGravity and Extended Bargmann Gravity can be obtained by taking the limit of a\nrelativistic Lagrangian that involves the Poincare algebra. We extend our\nresults to the AdS case and we will see that there is a chiral decomposition\nboth at the relativistic and non-relativistic level. We comment on possible\nfurther generalizations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the thermodynamics of the 2+1 dimensional Gross-Neveu model with\n  complex chemical potential: We study the thermodynamics of the 2+1 dimensional Gross-Neveu model in the\npresence of a chemical potential by introducing a representation for the\ncanonical partition function which encodes both real and imaginary chemical\npotential cases. It is pointed out that the latter case probes the\nthermodynamics of the possible anyon-like excitations in the spectrum. It is\nalso intimately connected to the breaking of the discrete Z-symmetry of a U(1)\ngauge theory coupled to the Gross-Neveu model at finite temperature, which we\ninterpret as signaling anyon deconfinement. Finally, the chiral properties of\nthe model in the presence of an imaginary chemical potential are discussed and\nanalytical results for the free-energy density at the transition points are\npresented.",
        "positive": "Statistical Anisotropy from Anisotropic Inflation: We review an inflationary scenario with the anisotropic expansion rate. An\nanisotropic inflationary universe can be realized by a vector field coupled\nwith an inflaton, which can be regarded as a counter example to the cosmic\nno-hair conjecture. We show generality of anisotropic inflation and derive a\nuniversal property. We formulate cosmological perturbation theory in\nanisotropic inflation. Using the formalism, we show anisotropic inflation gives\nrise to the statistical anisotropy in primordial fluctuations. We also explain\na method to test anisotropic inflation using the cosmic microwave background\nradiation (CMB)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Multicritical points of unitary matrix model with logarithmic potential\n  identified with Argyres-Douglas points: In [arXiv:1805.05057 [hep-th]],[arXiv:1812.00811 [hep-th]], the partition\nfunction of the Gross-Witten-Wadia unitary matrix model with the logarithmic\nterm has been identified with the $\\tau$ function of a certain Painlev\\'{e}\nsystem, and the double scaling limit of the associated discrete Painlev\\'{e}\nequation to the critical point provides us with the Painlev\\'{e} II equation.\nThis limit captures the critical behavior of the $su(2)$, $N_f =2$\n$\\mathcal{N}=2$ supersymmetric gauge theory around its Argyres-Douglas $4D$\nsuperconformal point. Here, we consider further extension of the model that\ncontains the $k$-th multicritical point and that is to be identified with\n$\\hat{A}_{2k, 2k}$ theory. In the $k=2$ case, we derive a system of two ODEs\nfor the scaling functions to the free energy, the time variable being the\nscaled total mass and make a consistency check on the spectral curve on this\nmatrix model.",
        "positive": "Solitonic self-sustained charge and energy transport on the\n  superconducting cylinder: We present an exact time-dependent solution for a charged scalar field on a\ntwo-dimensional cylinder, that can be interpreted as representing a\nlong-standing excitation on a $s$-wave superconducting state, which propagates\nalong a nanotube constructed out of twisted bilayer graphene. The solution has\na topological charge characterized by an integer number, which counts the\nwinding of the Higgs phase winds around the cylinder. The resulting electric\ncurrent generates its own electromagnetic field in a self-consistent way,\nwithout the need of any external fields to keep it alive."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hairpin Branes and D-Branes Behind the Horizon: We study Lorentzian D-particles in linear dilaton and the two dimensional\nblack hole backgrounds. The D-particle trajectory follows an accelerated\ntrajectory which is smeared by stringy corrections. For the black hole\nbackground we find that the portion of the trajectory behind the horizon\nappears to an asymptotic observer as ghost D-particle. This suggests a way of\nconstructing a matrix model for the Lorentzian black hole background.",
        "positive": "WDVV Equations in Seiberg-Witten theory and associative algebras: This is a short review of the results on the associativity algebras and WDVV\nequations found recently for the Seiberg-Witten solutions of N=2 4d SUSY gauge\ntheories. The presentation is mostly based on the integrable treatment of these\nsolutions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "No-dipole-hair theorem for higher-dimensional static black holes: We prove that static black holes in n-dimensional asymptotically flat\nspacetime cannot support non-trivial electric p-form field strengths when\n(n+1)/2<= p <= n-1. This implies in particular that static black holes cannot\npossess dipole hair under these fields.",
        "positive": "Thermal Corrections to R\u00e9nyi entropies for Free Fermions: We calculate thermal corrections to R\\'{e}nyi entropies for free massless\nfermions on a sphere. More specifically, we take a free fermion on\n$\\mathbb{R}\\times\\mathbb{S}^{d-1}$ and calculate the leading thermal correction\nto the R\\'{e}nyi entropies for a cap like region with opening angle $2\\theta$.\nBy expanding the density matrix in a Boltzmann sum, the problem of finding the\nR\\'{e}nyi entropies can be mapped to the problem of calculating a two point\nfunction on an $n$ sheeted cover of the sphere. We follow previous work for\nconformal field theories to map the problem on the sphere to a conical region\nin Euclidean space. By using the method of images, we calculate the two point\nfunction and recover the R\\'{e}nyi entropies."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The S-matrix and boundary correlators in flat space: We consider the path integral of a quantum field theory in Minkowski\nspacetime with fixed boundary values (for the elementary fields) on asymptotic\nboundaries. We define and study the corresponding boundary correlation\nfunctions obtained by taking derivatives of this path integral with respect to\nthe boundary values. The S-matrix of the QFT can be extracted directly from\nthese boundary correlation functions after smearing. We interpret this relation\nin terms of coherent state quantization and derive the constraints on the\npath-integral as a function of boundary values that follow from the unitarity\nof the S-matrix. We then study the locality structure of boundary correlation\nfunctions. In the massive case, we find that the boundary correlation functions\nfor generic locations of boundary points are dominated by a saddle point which\nhas the interpretation of particles scattering in a small elevator in the bulk,\nwhere the location of the elevator is determined dynamically, and the S-matrix\ncan be recovered after stripping off some dynamically determined but non-local\n``renormalization'' factors. In the massless case, we find that while the\nboundary correlation functions are generically analytic as a function on the\nwhole manifold of locations of boundary points, they have special singularities\non a sub-manifold, points on which correspond to light-like scattering in the\nbulk. We completely characterize this singular scattering sub-manifold, and\nfind that the corresponding residues of the boundary correlations at these\nsingularities are precisely given by S-matrices. This analysis parallels the\nanalysis of bulk-point singularities in AdS/CFT and generalizes it to the case\nof multi-bulk point singularities.",
        "positive": "M(atrix) Theory on T9/Z2 Orbifold and Twisted Zero Brane: M(atrix) theory compactified on an orbifold ${\\bf T}_9/{\\bf Z}_2$ is studied.\nVia zero-brane parton scattering we find that each of the $2^9 = 512$ orbifold\nfixed points carry $-1/32$ units of zero-brane charge. The anomalous flux is\ncancelled by introducing a twisted sector consisting of 32 zero-branes that are\nspacetime supersymmetry singlets. These twisted sector zero-branes are nothing\nbut gravitational waves propagating along the M-theory direction. There is no\nD0-partons in the untwisted sector, a fact consistent with holographic\nprinciple. For low-energy excitations, the orbifold compactification is\ndescribed by ten-dimensional supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory with gauge group\n$SO(32)$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Homological Tools for the Quantum Mechanic: This paper is an introduction to work motivated by the question \"can\nmultipartite entanglement be detected by homological algebra?\" We introduce\ncochain complexes associated to multipartite density states whose cohomology\ndetects factorizability. The $k$th cohomology components of such cochain\ncomplexes produce tuples of $(k+1)$-body operators that are non-locally\ncorrelated due to the non-factorizability of the state. Associated Poincare\npolynomials are invariant under local invertible linear transformations\n(automorphisms that decompose as tensor products). These complexes can be\nconsidered as a step toward realizing mutual information as an Euler\ncharacteristic. We motivate the definition of the \"state index\" associated to a\nmultipartite state: a three-parameter function which is: invariant under local\ninvertible transformations, well-behaved under tensor products of states, and\ninterpolates between multipartite mutual information and the integer-valued\nEuler characteristics of our complexes. We compute cohomologies and state\nindices of multipartite W and GHZ states. The approach in this paper is\ndirected toward practitioners of finite-dimensional quantum mechanics, although\nthe machinery developed generalizes far beyond. Some results are applicable in\ninfinite dimensions and should be generalizable to the context of quantum field\ntheory. In order to compensate for the long length, a detailed summary is\nprovided in the introduction section.",
        "positive": "DGP Specteroscopy: We systematically explore the spectrum of gravitational perturbations in\ncodimension-1 DGP braneworlds, and find a 4D ghost on the self-accelerating\nbranch of solutions. The ghost appears for any value of the brane tension,\nalthough depending on the sign of the tension it is either the helicity-0\ncomponent of the lightest localized massive tensor of mass $0<m^2 < 2H^2$ for\npositive tension, the scalar `radion' for negative tension, or their admixture\nfor vanishing tension. Because the ghost is gravitationally coupled to the\nbrane-localized matter, the self-accelerating solutions are not a reliable\nbenchmark for cosmic acceleration driven by gravity modified in the IR. In\ncontrast, the normal branch of solutions is ghost-free, and so these solutions\nare perturbatively safe at large distance scales. We further find that when the\n$\\mathbb{Z}_2$ orbifold symmetry is broken, new tachyonic instabilities, which\nare much milder than the ghosts, appear on the self-accelerating branch.\nFinally, using exact gravitational shock waves we analyze what happens if we\nrelax boundary conditions at infinity. We find that non-normalizable bulk\nmodes, if interpreted as 4D phenomena, may open the door to new ghost-like\nexcitations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Vector Beta function: We propose various properties of renormalization group beta functions for\nvector operators in relativistic quantum field theories. We argue that they\nmust satisfy compensated gauge invariance, orthogonality with respect to scalar\nbeta functions, Higgs-like relation among anomalous dimensions and a gradient\nproperty. We further conjecture that non-renormalization holds if and only if\nthe vector operator is conserved. The local renormalization group analysis\nguarantees the first three within power counting renormalization. We verify all\nthe conjectures in conformal perturbation theories and holography in the weakly\ncoupled gravity regime.",
        "positive": "Nontrivial Thermodynamics in 't Hooft's Large-$N$ Limit: We study the finite volume/temperature correlation functions of the\n(1+1)-dimensional ${\\rm SU}(N)$ principal chiral sigma model in the planar\nlimit. The exact S-matrix of the sigma model is known to simplify drastically\nat large $N$, and this leads to trivial thermodynamic Bethe ansatz (TBA)\nequations. The partition function, if derived using the TBA, can be shown to be\nthat of free particles. We show that the correlation functions and expectation\nvalues of operators at finite volume/temperature are not those of the free\ntheory, and that the TBA does not give enough information to calculate them.\nOur analysis is done using the Leclair-Mussardo formula for finite-volume\ncorrelators, and knowledge of the exact infinite-volume form factors. We\npresent analytical results for the one-point function of the energy-momentum\ntensor, and the two-point function of the renormalized field operator. The\nresults for the energy-momentum tensor can be used to define a nontrivial\npartition function."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "$S$-Duality and the Calabi-Yau Interpretation of the $N = 4$ to $N = 2$\n  Flow: The action of the $S$-duality $Sl(2,Z)$ group on the moduli of the Calabi-Yau\nmanifold $W\\IP^{12}_{11226}$ appearing in the rank two dual pair $(K^{3}\\times\nT^{2}/W\\IP^{12}_{11226})$ is defined by interpreting the $N\\!=\\!4$ to $N\\!=\\!2$\nflow, for $SU(2)$ supersymmetric Yang-Mills, in terms of the Calabi-Yau moduli.\nThe different singularity loci are mapped in a one to one way, and the\n($N\\!=\\!2$ limit/point particle limit) is obtained in both cases by the same\ntype of blow up. Moreover, it is shown that the $S$-duality group permutes the\ndifferent singularity loci of the moduli of $W\\IP^{12}_{11226}$. We study the\ntransformation under $S$-duality of the Calabi-Yau Yukawa couplings.",
        "positive": "Free energy landscape and kinetics of phase transition in two coupled\n  SYK models: We propose that the thermodynamics and the kinetics of the phase transition\nbetween wormhole and two black hole described by the two coupled SYK model can\nbe investigated in terms of the stochastic dynamics on the underlying free\nenergy landscape. We assume that the phase transition is a stochastic process\nunder the thermal fluctuations. By quantifying the underlying free energy\nlandscape, we study the phase diagram, the kinetic time and its fluctuations in\ndetails, which reveal the underlying thermodynamics and kinetics. It is shown\nthat the first order phase transition between wormhole and two black hole\ndescribed by two coupled SYK model is analogous to the Van der Waals phase\ntransition. Therefore, the emergence of wormhole and two black hole phases, the\nphase transition and associated kinetics can be quantitatively addressed in our\nfree energy landscape and kinetic framework through the dependence on the\nbarrier height and the temperature."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Kaluza-Klein Reduction of Massive and Partially Massless Spin-2 Fields: We describe the dimensional reduction of massive and partially massless\nspin-2 fields on general Einstein direct product manifolds. As with massless\nfields, the higher-dimensional gauge symmetry of the partially massless field\ndisplays itself upon dimensional reduction as a tower of St\\\"uckelberg\nsymmetries for the massive modes of the tower. Unlike the massless case, the\nzero mode of the gauge symmetry does not display itself as a lower-dimensional\nnon-Stuckelberg gauge symmetry enforcing partial masslessness on the zero mode.\nPartial masslessness is destroyed by the dimensional reduction and the zero\nmode gauge symmetry instead serves to eliminate the radion. In addition, we\nstudy the fully non-linear dimensional reduction of dRGT massive gravity on a\ncircle, which results in a massive scalar-tensor-vector theory which we expect\nto be ghost-free, and whose scalar-tensor sector is a special case of\nmass-varying massive gravity.",
        "positive": "Explicitly connecting T and Buscher dualities in String Theory: Buscher duality is a sigma-model duality, implemented by transformation of\nthe target space. Not only in the case of a flat target space, but in a general\nbackground, should the Buscher duality reduce to the T-duality familiar in the\nflat-space string context. We exhibit this reduction explicitly using a pp-wave\nbackground as a tractable example. String theory is solved in a compactified\nNappi-Witten background and the Buscher-dual theory is likewise solved. The\nHamiltonian is computed in both cases, and the results are verified to be\nT-dual."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Deformation Quantization of Superintegrable Systems and Nambu Mechanics: Phase Space is the framework best suited for quantizing superintegrable\nsystems, naturally preserving the symmetry algebras of the respective\nhamiltonian invariants. The power and simplicity of the method is fully\nillustrated through new applications to nonlinear sigma models, specifically\nfor de Sitter N-spheres and Chiral Models, where the symmetric quantum\nhamiltonians amount to compact and elegant expressions. Additional power and\nelegance is provided by the use of Nambu Brackets to incorporate the extra\ninvariants of superintegrable models. Some new classical results are given for\nthese brackets, and their quantization is successfully compared to that of\nMoyal, validating Nambu's original proposal.",
        "positive": "Plasmarings as dual black rings: We construct solutions to the relativistic Navier-Stokes equations that\ndescribe the long wavelength collective dynamics of the deconfined plasma phase\nof N=4 Yang Mills theory compactified down to d=3 on a Scherk-Schwarz circle\nand higher dimensional generalisations. Our solutions are stationary, axially\nsymmetric spinning balls and rings of plasma. These solutions, which are dual\nto (yet to be constructed) rotating black holes and black rings in\nScherk-Schwarz compactified AdS(5) and AdS(6), and have properties that are\nqualitatively similar to those of black holes and black rings in flat five\ndimensional supergravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "New inequality for Wilson loops from AdS/CFT: The strong subadditivity is the most important inequality which entanglement\nentropy satisfies. Based on the AdS/CFT conjecture, entanglement entropy in CFT\nis equal to the area of the minimal surface in AdS space. It is known that a\nWilson loop can also be holographically computed from the minimal surface in\nAdS space. In this paper, we argue that Wilson loops also satisfy a similar\ninequality, and find several evidences of it.",
        "positive": "q-Deformed Kink Solutions: The q-deformed kink of the $\\lambda\\phi^4-$model is obtained via the\nnormalisable ground state eigenfunction of a fluctuation operator associated\nwith the q-deformed hyperbolic functions. From such a bosonic zero-mode the\nq-deformed potential in 1+1 dimensions is found, and we show that the\nq-deformed kink solution is a kink displaced away from the origin."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Horizon temperature without space-time: It is shown how the characteristic thermal effects that observers experience\nin space-times possessing an event horizon can manifest already in a simple\nquantum system with affine symmetry living on the real line. The derivation\npresented is essentially group theoretic in nature: a thermal state emerges\nnaturally when comparing different representations of the group of affine\ntransformations of the real line. The freedom in the choice of different\nnotions of translation generators is the key to the Unruh effect \"on a line\" we\ndescribe.",
        "positive": "Resurgence, a problem of missing exponential corrections in asymptotic\n  expansions: It is well known that perturbative expansions of path integrals are\ndivergent. These expansions are to be understood as asymptotic expansions,\nwhich encode the limiting behaviour of the path integral for positive small\ncoupling. Conventionally, the method of Borel summation assigns a finite answer\nto the divergent expansion. Still, the Borel sum might not encode the full\ninformation of a function, because it misses exponentially small corrections.\nIn the present work, we consider a slight variation of the conventional Borel\nsummation, in which a generalised Borel transform (an inverse Laplace\ntransform) is followed by a directional Laplace transform. These new tools will\nallow us to give perhaps better answers to typical problems in Borel summation:\nmissing exponential corrections and ambiguities in the Borel summation. In\naddition, we will define resurgence as a connection between the discontinuity\nof a function and the coefficients of its asymptotic expansion. From this\ndefinition, we will be able to reduce resurgence to the problem of missing\nexponential corrections in asymptotic expansions and understand, within a\nunified framework, different approaches to resurgence found in the literature."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Linking Backlund and Monodromy Charges for Strings on AdS_5 x S^5: We find an explicit relation between the two known ways of generating an\ninfinite set of local conserved charges for the string sigma model on AdS_5 x\nS^5: the Backlund and monodromy approaches. We start by constructing the\ntwo-parameter family of Backlund transformations for the string with an\narbitrary world-sheet metric. We then show that only for a special value of one\nof the parameters the solutions generated by this transformation are compatible\nwith the Virasoro constraints. By solving the Backlund equations in a\nnon-perturbative fashion, we finally show that the generating functional of the\nBacklund conservation laws is equal to a certain sum of the quasi-momenta. The\npositions of the quasi-momenta in the complex spectral plane are uniquely\ndetermined by the real parameter of the Backlund transform.",
        "positive": "New perspectives in the duality of M-theory, heterotic strings, and\n  F-theory: We discuss a new perspective on the dualities among seven-dimensional\nM-theory on elliptically fibered K3 surfaces, eight-dimensional (8D) heterotic\nstrings on $T^2$, and 8D F-theory on elliptic K3 surfaces. There are several\ndistinct small-fiber F-theory limits of a single M-theory, and we deduce that\nthe distinct F-theory limits of an identical M-theory generally include both an\nF-theory limit, wherein a discrete gauge symmetry forms, and another F-theory\nlimit, wherein a discrete gauge symmetry does not form. We also discuss\nconstraints imposed on the degrees of discrete gauge groups and on the\ncontinuous gauge groups formed in F-theory on K3 surfaces by applying a formula\nthat is known to hold for genus-one fibrations of K3 surfaces, and by utilizing\nthe existence of the Jacobian fibrations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Curvature constraints in heterotic Landau-Ginzburg models: In this paper, we study a class of heterotic Landau-Ginzburg models. We show\nthat the action can be written as a sum of BRST-exact and non-exact terms. The\nnon-exact terms involve the pullback of the complexified Kahler form to the\nworldsheet and terms arising from the superpotential, which is a Grassmann-odd\nholomorphic function of the superfields. We then demonstrate that the action is\ninvariant on-shell under supersymmetry transformations up to a total\nderivative. Finally, we extend the analysis to the case in which the\nsuperpotential is not holomorphic. In this case, we find that supersymmetry\nimposes a constraint which relates the nonholomorphic parameters of the\nsuperpotential to the Hermitian curvature. Various special cases of this\nconstraint have previously been used to establish properties of Mathai-Quillen\nform analogues which arise in the corresponding heterotic Landau-Ginzburg\nmodels. There, it was claimed that supersymmetry imposes those constraints. Our\ngoal in this paper is to support that claim. The analysis for the\nnonholomorphic case also reveals a constraint imposed by supersymmetry that we\ndid not anticipate from studies of Mathai-Quillen form analogues.",
        "positive": "No Forbidden Landscape in String/M-theory: Scale invariant but non-conformal field theories are forbidden in (1+1)\ndimension, and so should be the corresponding holographic dual gravity\ntheories. We conjecture that such scale invariant but non-conformal field\nconfigurations do not exist in the string/M-theory. We provide a proof of this\nconjecture in the classical supergravity limit under a certain gauge condition.\nOur proof does also apply in higher dimensional scale invariant but\nnon-conformal field configurations, which suggests that scale invariant but\nnon-conformal field theories may be forbidden in higher dimensions as well."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fermions localization on de Sitter branes: Spin 1/2 fields localization on an asymmetric dS${}_4$ scenario, where the\nbrane interpolates between two spacetimes dS${}_5$ and AdS${}_5$, is\ndetermined. The bulk spinor is coupled to scalar field of the brane by a\nnonminimal Yukawa term compatible with the scenario's geometry. We show that,\nindependently of wall's thickness, only one massless chiral mode is localized\non the wall. The massive chiral modes follow a Schr\\\"odinger equation, whose\npotential has a mass gap determined by Yukawa constant, which is a generic\nproperty of this system. The fermions spectrum is defined bellow the gap, by\nbound states of both chiralities with the same mass, and above the gap, by a\ncontinuous spectrum with local and global resonant modes of both chiralities\nand different mass.",
        "positive": "Factorization Properties of Soft Graviton Amplitudes: We apply recently developed path integral resummation methods to perturbative\nquantum gravity. In particular, we provide supporting evidence that eikonal\ngraviton amplitudes factorize into hard and soft parts, and confirm a recent\nhypothesis that soft gravitons are modelled by vacuum expectation values of\nproducts of certain Wilson line operators, which differ for massless and\nmassive particles. We also investigate terms which break this factorization,\nand find that they are subleading with respect to the eikonal amplitude. The\nresults may help in understanding the connections between gravity and gauge\ntheories in more detail, as well as in studying gravitational radiation beyond\nthe eikonal approximation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Accelerating black holes, spin-3/2 fields and C-metric: We consider spin-3/2 particles on the background of general accelerating\nblack holes and C-metric. The Rarita-Schwinger equations of spin-3/2 particles\nare analyzed on these backgrounds. The emission and absorption probabilities of\nthe spin-3/2 particles on these spacetimes are calculated. These backgrounds\nwhich we analyze contain both black hole horizon and acceleration horizon, and\nhave general electric and magnetic charges, rotation, and acceleration\nparameter. The properties of the spin-3/2 field near the acceleration horizon\nare also computed.",
        "positive": "The ${\\mathcal N}=2$ superconformal bootstrap: In this work we initiate the conformal bootstrap program for ${\\mathcal N}=2$\nsuperconformal field theories in four dimensions. We promote an abstract\noperator-algebraic viewpoint in order to unify the description of Lagrangian\nand non-Lagrangian theories, and formulate various conjectures concerning the\nlandscape of theories. We analyze in detail the four-point functions of flavor\nsymmetry current multiplets and of ${\\mathcal N}=2$ chiral operators. For both\ncorrelation functions we review the solution of the superconformal Ward\nidentities and describe their superconformal block decompositions. This\nprovides the foundation for an extensive numerical analysis discussed in the\nsecond half of the paper. We find a large number of constraints for operator\ndimensions, OPE coefficients, and central charges that must hold for any\n${\\mathcal N}=2$ superconformal field theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Singularities and Closed String Tachyons: A basic problem in gravitational physics is the resolution of spacetime\nsingularities where general relativity breaks down. The simplest such\nsingularities are conical singularities arising from orbifold identifications\nof flat space, and the most challenging are spacelike singularities inside\nblack holes (and in cosmology). Topology changing processes also require\nevolution through classically singular spacetimes. I briefly review how a phase\nof closed string tachyon condensate replaces, and helps to resolve, basic\nsingularities of each of these types. Finally I discuss some interesting\nfeatures of singularities arising in the small volume limit of compact\nnegatively curved spaces and the emerging zoology of spacelike singularities.",
        "positive": "Heterotic Strings in Two Dimensions and New Stringy Phase Transitions: We discuss heterotic string theories in two dimensions with gauge groups\nSpin(24) and Spin(8) x E_8. After compactification the theories exhibit a rich\nspectrum of states with both winding and momentum. At special points some of\nthese stringy states become massless, leading to new first order phase\ntransitions. For example, the thermal theories exhibit standard thermodynamics\nbelow the phase transition, but novel and peculiar behavior above it. In\nparticular, when the radius of the Euclidean circle is smaller than the phase\ntransition point the torus partition function is not given by the thermal trace\nover the spacetime Hilbert space. The full moduli space of compactified\ntheories is 13 dimensional, when Wilson lines are included; the Spin(24) and\nSpin(8) x E_8 theories correspond to distinct decompactification limits."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "From Dynamical to Numerical R-Matrices: A Case Study for the Calogero\n  Models: Within the class of integrable Calogero models associated with (semi-)simple\nLie algebras and with symmetric pairs of Lie algebras identified in a previous\npaper, we analyze whether and to what extent it is possible to find a gauge\ntransformation that takes the traditional Lax pair with its dynamical R-matrix\nto a new Lax pair with a numerical R-matrix.",
        "positive": "Self-consistency in Theories with a Minimal Length: The aim of this paper is to clarify the relation between three different\napproaches of theories with a minimal length scale: A modification of the\nLorentz-group in the 'Deformed Special Relativity', theories with a\n'Generalized Uncertainty Principle' and those with 'Modified Dispersion\nRelations'. It is shown that the first two are equivalent, how they can be\ntranslated into each other, and how the third can be obtained from them. An\nadequate theory with a minimal length scale requires all three features to be\npresent."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Large N Limit of Non-Commutative Gauge Theories: Using the correspondence between gauge theories and string theory in curved\nbackgrounds, we investigate aspects of the large $N$ limit of non-commutative\ngauge theories by considering gravity solutions with $B$ fields. We argue that\nthe total number of physical degrees of freedom at any given scale coincides\nwith the commutative case. We then compute a two-point correlation function\ninvolving momentum components in the directions of the $B$-field. In the UV\nregime, we find that the two-point function decays exponentially with the\nmomentum. A calculation of Wilson lines suggests that strings cannot be\nlocalized near the boundary. We also find string configurations that are\nlocalized in a finite region of the radial direction. These are worldsheet\ninstantons.",
        "positive": "Conformal invariance from non-conformal gravity: We discuss the conditions under which classically conformally invariant\nmodels in four dimensions can arise out of non-conformal (Einstein) gravity. As\nan `existence proof' that this is indeed possible we show how to derive N=4\nsuper Yang Mills theory with any compact gauge group G from non-conformal\ngauged N=4 supergravity as a special flat space limit. We stress the role that\nthe anticipated UV finiteness of the (so far unknown) underlying theory of\nquantum gravity would have to play in such a scheme, as well as the fact that\nthe masses of elementary particles would have to arise via quantum\ngravitational effects which mimic the conformal anomalies of standard (flat\nspace) UV divergent quantum field theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-local Matching Condition and Scale-invariant Spectrum in Bouncing\n  Cosmology: In cosmological scenarios such as the pre-big bang scenario or the ekpyrotic\nscenario, a matching condition between the metric perturbations in the pre-big\nbang phase and those in the post big-bang phase is often assumed. Various\nmatching conditions have been considered in the literature. Nevertheless\nobtaining a scale invariant CMB spectrum via a concrete mechanism remains\nimpossible. In this paper, we examine this problem from the point of view of\nlocal causality. We begin with introducing the notion of local causality and\nexplain how it constrains the form of the matching condition. We then prove a\nno-go theorem: independent of the details of the matching condition, a scale\ninvariant spectrum is impossible as long as the local causality condition is\nsatisfied. In our framework, it is easy to show that a violation of local\ncausality around the bounce is needed in order to give a scale invariant\nspectrum. We study a specific scenario of this possibility by considering a\nnonlocal effective theory inspired by noncommutative geometry around the bounce\nand show that a scale invariant spectrum is possible. Moreover we demonstrate\nthat the magnitude of the spectrum is compatible with observations if the\nbounce is assumed to occur at an energy scale which is a few orders of\nmagnitude below the Planckian energy scale.",
        "positive": "A Simple Introduction to Particle Physics Part II: This is the second in a series of papers intended to provide a basic overview\nof some of the major ideas in particle physics. Part I [arXiv:0810.3328] was\nprimarily an algebraic exposition of gauge theories. We developed the group\ntheoretic tools needed to understand the basic construction of gauge theory, as\nwell as the physical concepts and tools to understand the structure of the\nStandard Model of Particle Physics as a gauge theory.\n  In this paper (and the paper to follow), we continue our emphasis on gauge\ntheories, but we do so with a more geometrical approach. We will conclude this\npaper with a brief discussion of general relativity, and save more advanced\ntopics (including fibre bundles, characteristic classes, etc.) for the next\npaper in the series.\n  We wish to reiterate that these notes are not intended to be a comprehensive\nintroduction to any of the ideas contained in them. Their purpose is to\nintroduce the \"forest\" rather than the \"trees\". The primary emphasis is on the\nalgebraic/geometric/mathematical underpinnings rather than the\ncalculational/phenomenological details. The topics were chosen according to the\nauthors' preferences and agenda.\n  These notes are intended for a student who has completed the standard\nundergraduate physics and mathematics courses, as well as the material\ncontained in the first paper in this series. Having studied the material in the\n\"Further Reading\" sections of would be ideal, but the material in this series\nof papers is intended to be self-contained, and familiarity with the first\npaper will suffice."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "3D $\u03c4_{RR}$-minimization in AdS$_4$ gauged supergravity: In this paper we propose the identification in AdS4 N = 2 gauged supergravity\nof the coefficient $\\tau_{RR}$ of 3D N = 2 SCFTs. We constraint the structure\nof this function in supergravity by combining the results from unitarity,\nholography and localization. We show that our conjectured function is minimized\nby the exact R-charge, corresponding to a gravitational attractor for the\nscalars in the special geometry. We identify this mechanism with the\nsupergravity dual of the $\\tau_{RR}$-minimization. We check this proposal in\nthe ABJM model, comparing with the expectations from localization and the\nAdS/CFT duality. We comment also on some possible relations with the black hole\nmicrostate counting, recently obtained from the application of localization\ntechniques.",
        "positive": "Entanglement entropy of round spheres: We propose that the logarithmic term in the entanglement entropy computed in\na conformal field theory for a $(d-2)$-dimensional round sphere in Minkowski\nspacetime is identical to the logarithmic term in the entanglement entropy of\nextreme black hole. The near-horizon geometry of the latter is $H_2\\times\nS_{d-2}$. For a scalar field this proposal is checked by direct calculation. We\ncomment on relation of this and earlier calculations to the ``brick wall''\nmodel of 't Hooft. The case of generic 4d conformal field theory is discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Six-Dimensional Tensionless Strings In The Large N Limit: When $N$ five-branes of M-theory coincide the world-volume theory contains\ntensionless strings, according to Strominger's construction. This suggests a\nlarge $N$ limit of tensionless string theories. For the small $E_8$ instanton\ntheories, the definition would be a large instanton number. An adiabatic\nargument suggests that in the large $N$ limit an effective extra uncompactified\ndimension might be observed. We also propose ``surface-equations'', which are\nan analog of Makeenko-Migdal loop-equations, and might describe correlators in\nthe tensionless string theories. In these equations, the anti-self-dual two\nforms of 6D and the tensionless strings enter on an equal footing. Addition of\nstrings with CFTs on their world-sheet is analogous to addition of matter in 4D\nQCD.",
        "positive": "Gravitational decoupling, hairy black holes and conformal anomalies: Hairy black holes in the gravitational decoupling setup are studied from the\nperspective of conformal anomalies. Fluctuations of decoupled sources can be\ncomputed by measuring the way the trace anomaly-to-holographic Weyl anomaly\nratio differs from unit. Therefore the gravitational decoupling parameter\ngoverning three hairy black hole metrics is then bounded to a range wherein one\ncan reliably emulate AdS/CFT with gravitational decoupled solutions, in the\ntensor vacuum regime."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Radion effective potential in brane gas cosmology: We consider a cosmological solution which can explain anisotropic evolution\nof spatial dimensions and the stabilization of extra dimensions in brane gas\nformalism. We evaluate the effective potentials, induced by brane gas, bulk\nflux and supergravity particles, which govern the sizes of the observed three\nand the extra dimensions. It is possible that the wrapped internal volume can\noscillate between two turning points or sit at the minimum of the potential\nwhile the unwrapped three dimensional volume can expand monotonically.\nIncluding the supergravity particles makes the effective potential steeper as\nthe internal volume shrinks.",
        "positive": "Weyl invariance for generalized supergravity backgrounds from the\n  doubled formalism: It has recently been shown that a set of the generalized type IIB\nsupergravity equations follows from the requirement of kappa symmetry of the\ntype IIB Green-Schwarz superstring theory defined on an arbitrary background.\nIn this paper, we show that the whole bosonic part of the generalized type II\nsupergravity equations can be reproduced from the T-duality covariant equations\nof motion of the double field theory by choosing a non-standard solution of the\nstrong constraint. Then, by using the doubled formalism, we show the Weyl\ninvariance of the bosonic string sigma model on a generalized gravity\nbackground. According to the dual-coordinate dependence of the dilaton, the\nFradkin-Tseytlin term nicely removes the Weyl anomaly. This result seems likely\nto support that string theories can be consistently defined on arbitrary\ngeneralized supergravity backgrounds."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Application of Lorentzian CFT Principal Series Representation to Near\n  Forward Scattering: We present a discussion on recent progress in high energy diffraction from\nthe perspective of AdS/CFT, through which a unified treatment for both\nperturbative and nonperturbative Pomeron emerges. By working with Unitary\nIrreducible Representation of Conformal group, a frame is provided in extending\nAdS/CFT to both forward and nearforward scattering. We present an analysis\ninvolving an exact solution to conformal blocks in Minkowski CFT and discuss\npossible applications. Phenomenological applications can range from forward\nscattering to DIS/DVCS/TMD at LHC energies and beyond.",
        "positive": "Absorption cross section in warped AdS_3 black hole revisited: We investigate the absorption cross section for minimal-coupled scalars in\nthe warped AdS_3 black hole. According to our calculation, the cross section\nreduces to the horizon area in the low energy limit as usually expected in\ncontrast to what was previously found. We also calculate the greybody factor\nand find that the effective temperatures for the two chiral CFT's are\nconsistent with that derived from the quasinormal modes. Observing the\nconjectured warped AdS/CFT correspondence, we suspect that a specific sector of\nthe CFT operators with the desired conformal dimension could be responsible for\nthe peculiar thermal behaviour of the warped AdS_3 black hole."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Unexplored regions in QFT and the conceptual foundations of the Standard\n  Model: Massive quantum matter of prescribed spin permits infinitely many\npossibilities of covariantization in terms of spinorial (undotted/dotted)\npointlike fields, whereas massless finite helicity representations lead to\nlarge gap in this spinorial spectrum which for s=1 excludes vectorpotentials.\nSince the nonexistence of such pointlike generators is the result of a deep\nstructural clash between modular localization and the Hilbert space setting of\nQT, there are two ways out: gauge theory which sacrifies the Hilbert space and\nkeeps the pointlike formalism and the use of stringlike potentials which allows\nto preserve the Hilbert space. The latter setting contains also\nstring-localized charge-carrying operators whereas the gauge theoretic\nformulation is limited to point-like generated observables. This description\nalso gives a much better insight into the Higgs mechanism which leads to a\nrevival of the more physical \"Schwinger-Higgs\" screening idea. The new\nformalism is not limited to m=0, s=1, it leads to renormalizable interactions\nin the sense of power-counting for all s in massless representations. The\nexistence of stringlike vectorpotentials is preempted by the Aharonov-Bohm\neffect in QFT; it is well-known that the use of pointlike vectorpotentials in\nStokes theorem would with lead to wrong results. Their use in Maxwell's\nequations is known to lead to zero Maxwell charge. The role of\nstring-localization in the problem behind the observed invisibility and\nconfinement of gluons and quarks leads to new questions and problems. PACS:\n11.10.-z, 11.15-q, 11.10Gh, 12.20.-m, 12.38.-t",
        "positive": "M(atrix) String Theory on K3: We conjecture that M-theory compactified on an ALE space (or K3) is described\nby 0-branes moving on the ALE space. We give evidence for this by showing that\nif we compactify another circle, we recover string theory on the ALE space.\nThis guarantees that in the large N limit, the matrix model correctly describes\nthe force law between gravitons moving in an ALE background. We also show the\nappearance in M(atrix) theory of the duality of M-theory on K3 with the\nheterotic string on a three-torus."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Detecting topology change via correlations and entanglement from\n  gauge/gravity correspondence: We compute a momentum space version of the entanglement spectrum and\nentanglement entropy of general Young tableau states, and one-point functions\non Young tableau states. These physical quantities are used to measure the\ntopology of the dual spacetime geometries in the context of gauge/gravity\ncorrespondence. The idea that Young tableau states can be obtained by\nsuperposing coherent states is explicitly verified. In this quantum\nsuperposition, a topologically distinct geometry is produced by superposing\nstates dual to geometries with a trivial topology. Furthermore we have a\nrefined bound for the overlap between coherent states and the rectangular Young\ntableau state, by using the techniques of symmetric groups and representations.\nThis bound is exponentially suppressed by the total edge length of the Young\ntableau. It is also found that the norm squared of the overlaps is bounded\nabove by inverse powers of the exponential of the entanglement entropies. We\nalso compute the overlaps between Young tableau states and other states\nincluding squeezed states and multi-mode entangled states which have\nsimilarities with those appeared in quantum information theory.",
        "positive": "The Numerically Optimized Regulator and the Functional Renormalization\n  Group: We aim to optimize the functional form of the compactly supported smooth\n(CSS) regulator within the functional renormalization group (RG), in the\nframework of bosonized two-dimensional Quantum Electrodynamics (QED_2) and of\nthe three-dimensional O(N=1) scalar field theory in the local potential\napproximation (LPA). The principle of minimal sensitivity (PMS) is used for the\noptimization of the CSS regulator, recovering all the major types of regulators\nin appropriate limits. Within the investigated class of functional forms, a\nthorough investigation of the CSS regulator, optimized with two different\nnormalizations within the PMS method, confirms that the functional form of a\nregulator first proposed by Litim is optimal within the LPA. However, Litim's\nexact form leads to a kink in the regulator function. A form of the CSS\nregulator, numerically close to Litim's limit while maintaining infinite\ndifferentiability, remains compatible with the gradient expansion to all\norders. A smooth analytic behaviour of the regulator is ensured by a small, but\nfinite value of the exponential fall-off parameter in the CSS regulator.\nConsequently, a compactly supported regulator, in a parameter regime close to\nLitim's optimized form, but regularized with an exponential factor, appears to\nhave favorable properties and could be used to address the scheme dependence of\nthe functional renormalization group, at least within the the approximations\nemployed in the studies reported here."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Interaction of non-Abelian tensor gauge fields: Recently we introduced an extended vector bundle X on which non-Abelian\ntensor gauge fields realize a connection. Our aim here is to introduce\ninteraction of these non-Abelian tensor gauge fields with fermions and bosons.\nWe have found that there exist two series of gauge invariant forms describing\nthis interaction. The linear sum of these forms comprises the general gauge\ninvariant Lagrangian. Studying the corresponding Euler-Lagrange equations we\nfound that a particular linear combination of these forms exhibits enhanced\nsymmetry which guarantees the conservation of the corresponding high-rank\ncurrents. A possible mechanism of symmetry breaking and mass generation of\ntensor gauge bosons is suggested.",
        "positive": "Pure-spinor superstrings in d=2,4,6: We continue the study of the d=2,4,6 pure-spinor superstring models\nintroduced in [1]. By explicitly solving the pure-spinor constraint we show\nthat these theories have vanishing central charge and work out the (covariant)\ncurrent algebra for the Lorentz currents. We argue that these super-Poincare\ncovariant models may be thought of as compactifications of the superstring on\nCY_{4,3,2}, and take some steps toward making this precise by constructing a\nmap to the RNS superstring variables. We also discuss the relation to the so\ncalled hybrid superstrings, which describe the same type of compactifications."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "QFT, String Temperature and the String Phase of De Sitter Space-time: The density of mass levels \\rho(m) and the critical temperature for strings\nin de Sitter space-time are found. QFT and string theory in de Sitter space are\ncompared. A `Dual'-transform is introduced which relates classical to quantum\nstring lengths, and more generally, QFT and string domains. Interestingly, the\nstring temperature in De Sitter space turns out to be the Dual transform of the\nQFT-Hawking-Gibbons temperature. The back reaction problem for strings in de\nSitter space is addressed selfconsistently in the framework of the `string\nanalogue' model (or thermodynamical approach), which is well suited to combine\nQFT and string study.We find de Sitter space-time is a self-consistent solution\nof the semiclassical Einstein equations in this framework. Two branches for the\nscalar curvature R(\\pm) show up: a classical, low curvature solution (-), and a\nquantum high curvature solution (+), enterely sustained by the strings. There\nis a maximal value for the curvature R_{\\max} due to the string back reaction.\nInterestingly, our Dual relation manifests itself in the back reaction\nsolutions: the (-) branch is a classical phase for the geometry with intrinsic\ntemperature given by the QFT-Hawking-Gibbons temperature.The (+) is a stringy\nphase for the geometry with temperature given by the intrinsic string de Sitter\ntemperature. 2 + 1 dimensions are considered, but conclusions hold generically\nin D dimensions.",
        "positive": "\u00c6ther compactification and the eta problem in inflationary models: A Lorentz violating vector \"{\\ae}ther\" field in five dimensional spacetime\ncan give rise to an inflation model in which the eta problem can be avoided. By\nidentifying the inflaton field with the moduli field describing the radius of\nthe extra dimension, we demonstrate that non-vanishing vacuum expectation value\nof the {\\ae}ther field can suppress contributions from operators that usually\ndestroy the flatness of the inflaton potential. We also show that the latest\nobservational data can put the lower bound on the vacuum expectation value of\nthe {\\ae}ther field."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Entanglement negativity, reflected entropy, and anomalous gravitation: We investigate mixed state entanglement measures of entanglement negativity\nand reflected entropy for bipartite states in two dimensional conformal field\ntheories with an anomaly through appropriate replica techniques. Furthermore we\npropose holographic constructions for these measures from the corresponding\nbulk dual geometries involving topologically massive gravity in AdS$_3$ and\nfind exact agreement with the field theory results. In this connection we\nextend an earlier holographic proposal for the entanglement negativity to the\nbulk action with a gravitational Chern-Simons term and compute its contribution\nto the entanglement wedge cross section dual to the reflected entropy.",
        "positive": "Twistorial monopoles & chiral algebras: We initiate the study of how the insertion of magnetically charged states in\n4d self-dual gauge theories impacts the 2d chiral algebras supported on the\ncelestial sphere at asymptotic null infinity, from the point of view of the\n4d/2d twistorial correspondence introduced by Costello and the second author.\nBy reducing the 6d twistorial theory to a 3d holomorphic-topological theory\nwith suitable boundary conditions, we can motivate certain non-perturbative\nenhancements of the celestial chiral algebra corresponding to extensions by\nmodules arising from 3d boundary monopole operators. We also identify the\ninsertion of 4d (non-abelian) monopoles with families of spectral flow\nautomorphisms of the celestial chiral algebra."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "2-Group Global Symmetries and Anomalies in Six-Dimensional Quantum Field\n  Theories: We examine six-dimensional quantum field theories through the lens of\nhigher-form global symmetries. Every Yang-Mills gauge theory in six dimensions,\nwith field strength $f^{(2)}$, naturally gives rise to a continuous 1-form\nglobal symmetry associated with the 2-form instanton current $J^{(2)} \\sim *\n\\text{Tr} \\left( f^{(2)} \\wedge f^{(2)}\\right)$. We show that suitable mixed\nanomalies involving the gauge field $f^{(2)}$ and ordinary 0-form global\nsymmetries, such as flavor or Poincar\\'e symmetries, lead to continuous 2-group\nglobal symmetries, which allow two flavor currents or two stress tensors to\nfuse into the 2-form current $J^{(2)}$. We discuss several features of 2-group\nsymmetry in six dimensions, many of which parallel the four-dimensional case.\nThe majority of six-dimensional supersymmetric conformal field theories (SCFTs)\nand little string theories have infrared phases with non-abelian gauge fields.\nWe show that the mixed anomalies leading to 2-group symmetries can be present\nin little string theories, but that they are necessarily absent in SCFTs. This\nallows us to establish a previously conjectured algorithm for computing the 't\nHooft anomalies of most SCFTs from the spectrum of weakly-coupled massless\nparticles on the tensor branch of these theories. We then apply this\nunderstanding to prove that the $a$-type Weyl anomaly of all SCFTs with a\ntensor branch must be positive, $a > 0$.",
        "positive": "Anyonic Construction of the $SL_{Q,s}(2)$ Algebra: Considering anyonic oscillators in a two-dimensional lattice, we realize the\nquantum semi-group $sl_{(q,s)}(2)$ by means of a generalized Schwinger\nconstruction. We find that the parameter $q$ of the algebra is connected to the\nstatistical parameter, whereas the $s$ parameter is related to a $s$-deformed\noscillator introduced at each point of the lattice."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "When Anomaly Mediation is UV Sensitive: Despite its successes---such as solving the supersymmetric flavor\nproblem---anomaly mediated supersymmetry breaking is untenable because of its\nprediction of tachyonic sleptons. An appealing solution to this problem was\nproposed by Pomarol and Rattazzi where a threshold controlled by a light field\ndeflects the anomaly mediated supersymmetry breaking trajectory, thus evading\ntachyonic sleptons. In this paper we examine an alternate class of deflection\nmodels where the non-supersymmetric threshold is accompanied by a heavy,\ninstead of light, singlet. The low energy form of this model is the so-called\nextended anomaly mediation proposed by Nelson and Weiner, but with potential\nfor a much higher deflection threshold. The existence of this high deflection\nthreshold implies that the space of anomaly mediated supersymmetry breaking\ndeflecting models is larger than previously thought.",
        "positive": "Splitting strings and chains: We review a study of the semiclassical decay of macroscopic spinning strings\nin AdS_5 x S^5 as well as its dual gauge theory description. The conservation\nof the infinite tower of commuting charges in the semiclassical string\nsigma-model description of the process suggests that the decay channel of\nmaximal probability should preserve integrability in the gauge theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the semiclassical mass of ${\\mathbb S}^2$-kinks: One-loop mass shifts to the classical masses of stable kinks arising in a\nmassive non-linear ${\\mathbb S}^2$-sigma model are computed. Ultraviolet\ndivergences are controlled using the heat kernel/zeta function regularization\nmethod. A comparison between the results achieved from exact and\nhigh-temperature asymptotic heat traces is analyzed in depth.",
        "positive": "Second order transport coefficients of nonconformal relativistic fluids\n  in various dimensions from Dp-brane: We derive all the dynamical second order transport coefficients for Dp-brane\nwith $p$ from 1 to 6 within the framework of fluid/gravity correspondence in\nthis paper. The D5 and D6-brane do not have dual relativistic fluids; D3-brane\ncorresponds to 4-dimensional conformal relativistic fluid; D1, D2 and D4-brane\nseparately correspond to nonconformal relativistic fluids of dimensions 2, 3\nand 5. The Haack-Yarom relation only exists for Dp-branes with $p$ larger than\n2 and is also satisfied by them. We also find that the Romatschke and\nKleinert-Probst relations need to be generalized in order to be valid for\nrelativistic fluids of dimensions other than 4."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic stress tensor of colored Lifshitz spacetimes and hairy black\n  holes: We compute the holographic stress tensor of colored Lifshitz spacetimes\nfollowing the proposal by Ross-Saremi for gravity duals of non-relativistic\ntheories. For a well-defined variational principle, we first construct a finite\non-shell action for the Einstein-Yang-Mills model in four dimensions with\nLifshitz spacetime as a solution. We then solve the linearised equations of\nmotion and identify the modes that preserve the asymptotically Lifshitz\ncondition. Employing these modes, we also show that the stress tensor is\nfinite, obeying the scaling and the diffeomorphism Ward identities, i.e.,\nconservations laws. As a final application, we evaluate the energy density and\nthe spatial stress tensor of the previously found numerical black hole\nsolutions with various dynamical exponents $z$. The alternative Smarr relation\nthat has been used in Lifshitz black holes and the first law of thermodynamics\nare shown to hold without a global Yang-Mills charge, indicating the black\nholes in question are hairy.",
        "positive": "TASI Lectures on the Mathematics of String Dualities: In these lecture proceedings, we describe some of the fundamental\nmathematical concepts that underlie supersymmetric string theory and field\ntheory, and their role in describing and testing dualities. In particular, we\nprovide a pedagogical introduction to topological and holomorphic twisting,\ndescent, and higher algebraic structures. Our primary examples are worldsheet\ntheories of topological strings, namely the A- and B-models, which we briefly\nreview. These proceedings are based on lectures given by the second author at\nTASI 2021."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The holographic dual to supergravity instantons in $\\rm AdS_5\\times\n  S^5/\\mathbb{Z}_k$: We investigate the holographic dual to supergravity instanton solutions in\n$\\rm AdS_5\\times S^5/\\mathbb{Z}_k$, which are described entirely in terms of\ngeodesics on the AdS moduli space. These instantons are expected to be\nholographically dual to instantons in an $\\mathcal{N}=2$ necklace quiver gauge\ntheory in four dimensions with $k$ gauge nodes, at large N. For the\nsupersymmetric instantons we find a precise match between the on-shell actions\nand the vevs of $\\text{Tr}[F^2]$ and $\\text{Tr}[F\\wedge F]$ computed on both\nsides of the duality. This correspondence requires an exact identification\nbetween the massless supergravity scalars and the dual gauge couplings which we\ngive in detail. We also find a candidate for the supergravity dual of a\nquasi-instanton in the quiver theory, which is a non-supersymmetric extremal\nsolution.",
        "positive": "Relativistic Self-Dual Chern-Simons Systems: A Perspective: The self-dual systems are constrained and so are simpler to understand. In\nrecent years there have been several studies on the self-dual Chern-Simons\nsystems. Here I present a brief survey of works done by my collaborators and\nmyself. I also discuss several questions related to these self-dual models."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "TeV-scale Supersymmetric Standard Model with Higgs as a Slepton: Recently it was pointed out that in the TeV-scale brane world there is a\nlogical possibility where the electroweak Higgs can be identified with a fourth\ngeneration slepton. In this paper we address various issues in this\nfour-generation TeV-scale Supersymmetric Standard Model with Higgs as a\nslepton. In particular we discuss how to achieve proton stability by\nsuppressing the corresponding baryon number violating operators via gauging (a\ndiscrete subgroup of) the baryon number U(1) symmetry. Dimension five lepton\nnumber violating operators which would result in unacceptably large neutrino\nmasses can be similarly suppressed via gauging a discrete subgroup of the\nlepton number U(1) symmetry. In fact, the four generation feature allows for a\nnovel higher dimensional mechanism for generating small Majorana neutrino\nmasses. We also discuss how to achieve gauge coupling unification, which can be\nas precise at one loop as in the MSSM, and point out a possible geometric\nembedding of the corresponding matter content in the brane world context.\nFinally, we discuss adequate suppression of flavor changing neutral currents in\nthis model, and also point out a novel possibility for supersymmetry breaking\nvia a non-zero F-term of the fourth generation lepton superfield.",
        "positive": "Topological charges in SL(2,R) covariant massive 11-dimensional and Type\n  IIB SUGRA: In this paper we construct closed expressions that correspond to the\ntopological charges of the various 1/2-BPS states of the maximal 10 and\n11-dimensional supergravity theories. These expressions are related to the\nstructure of the SUSY algebras in curved spacetimes. We mainly focus on IIB\nSUGRA and 11-dimensional SUGRA in a double M9-brane background, with an\nemphasis on the SL(2,R) multiplet structure of the charges and how these map\nbetween theories. This includes the charges corresponding to the multiplets of\n7- and 9-branes in IIB. We find that examining the possible multiplet\nstructures of the charges provides another tool for exploring the spectrum of\nBPS states that appear in these theories. As a prerequisite to constructing the\ncharges we determine the field equations and multiplet structure of the\n11-dimensional gauge potentials, extending previous results on the subject. The\nmassive gauge transformations of the fields are also discussed. We also\ndemonstrate how these massive gauge transformations are compatible with the\nconstruction of an SL(2,R) covariant kinetic term in the 11-dimensional\nKaluza-Klein monopole worldvolume action."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On T-duality of $R^2$-corrections to DBI action at all orders of gauge\n  field: Recently, it has been observed that in a T-duality invariant world-volume\ntheory in flat spacetime, all orders of gauge field strength and all orders of\nthe D-brane velocity appear in two specific matrices. Using these two matrices,\nwe construct the world-volume couplings of two massless NSNS states at order\n$\\alpha'^2$ and all orders of the velocity and the gauge field strength, by\nrequiring them to be invariant under the linear T-duality. The standard\nextension $F\\rightarrow F+P[B]$, then produces all orders of the pull-back of\nB-field into the action. We compare the resulting couplings for zero velocity\nand gauge field strength, with the $\\alpha'^2$ terms of the disk-level S-matrix\nelement of two massless NSNS vertex operators in the presence of a constant\nbackground B-field. We have found an exact agreement.",
        "positive": "Hamiltonian Analysis of Non-Linear Sigma Model on Supercoset Target: This paper is devoted to the study of the Hamiltonian formulation of\nnon-linear sigma models on supercoset targets. We calculate the Poisson\nbrackets of left-invariant currents. Then we introduce the Hamiltonian of the\nsystem and determine the equations of motion for left-invariant currents. We\nalso determine the charge corresponding to the invariance of the action under\nglobal left multiplication."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The galileon as a local modification of gravity: In the DGP model, the ``self-accelerating'' solution is plagued by a ghost\ninstability, which makes the solution untenable. This fact as well as all\ninteresting departures from GR are fully captured by a four-dimensional\neffective Lagrangian, valid at distances smaller than the present Hubble scale.\nThe 4D effective theory involves a relativistic scalar \\pi, universally coupled\nto matter and with peculiar derivative self-interactions. In this paper, we\nstudy the connection between self-acceleration and the presence of ghosts for a\nquite generic class of theories that modify gravity in the infrared. These\ntheories are defined as those that at distances shorter than cosmological,\nreduce to a certain generalization of the DGP 4D effective theory. We argue\nthat for infrared modifications of GR locally due to a universally coupled\nscalar, our generalization is the only one that allows for a robust\nimplementation of the Vainshtein effect--the decoupling of the scalar from\nmatter in gravitationally bound systems--necessary to recover agreement with\nsolar system tests. Our generalization involves an internal ``galilean''\ninvariance, under which \\pi's gradient shifts by a constant. This symmetry\nconstrains the structure of the \\pi Lagrangian so much so that in 4D there\nexist only five terms that can yield sizable non-linearities without\nintroducing ghosts. We show that for such theories in fact there are\n``self-accelerating'' deSitter solutions with no ghost-like instabilities. In\nthe presence of compact sources, these solutions can support spherically\nsymmetric, Vainshtein-like non-linear perturbations that are also stable\nagainst small fluctuations. [Short version for arxiv]",
        "positive": "Spinorial geometry and Killing spinor equations of 6-D supergravity: We solve the Killing spinor equations of 6-dimensional (1,0)-supergravity\ncoupled to any number of tensor, vector and scalar multiplets in all cases. The\nisotropy groups of Killing spinors are $Sp(1)\\cdot Sp(1)\\ltimes \\bH (1)$,\n$U(1)\\cdot Sp(1)\\ltimes \\bH (2)$, $Sp(1)\\ltimes \\bH (3,4)$, $Sp(1) (2)$, $U(1)\n(4)$ and $\\{1\\} (8)$, where in parenthesis is the number of supersymmetries\npreserved in each case. If the isotropy group is non-compact, the spacetime\nadmits a parallel null 1-form with respect to a connection with torsion the\n3-form field strength of the gravitational multiplet. The associated vector\nfield is Killing and the 3-form is determined in terms of the geometry of\nspacetime. The $Sp(1)\\ltimes \\bH$ case admits a descendant solution preserving\n3 out of 4 supersymmetries due to the hyperini Killing spinor equation. If the\nisotropy group is compact, the spacetime admits a natural frame constructed\nfrom 1-form spinor bi-linears. In the $Sp(1)$ and U(1) cases, the spacetime\nadmits 3 and 4 parallel 1-forms with respect to the connection with torsion,\nrespectively. The associated vector fields are Killing and under some\nadditional restrictions the spacetime is a principal bundle with fibre a\nLorentzian Lie group. The conditions imposed by the Killing spinor equations on\nall other fields are also determined."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exact path integral of the hydrogen atom and the Jacobi's principle of\n  least action: The general treatment of a separable Hamiltonian of Liouville-type is\nwell-known in operator formalism. A path integral counterpart is formulated if\none starts with the Jacobi's principle of least action, and a path integral\nevaluation of the Green's function for the hydrogen atom by Duru and Kleinert\nis recognized as a special case. The Jacobi's principle of least action for\ngiven energy is reparametrization invariant, and the separation of variables in\noperator formalism corresponds to a choice of gauge in path integral. The\nGreen's function is shown to be gauge independent,if the operator ordering is\nproperly taken into account. These properties are illustrated by evaluating an\nexact path integral of the Green's function for the hydrogen atom in parabolic\ncoordinates.",
        "positive": "Product CFTs, gravitational cloning, massive gravitons and the space of\n  gravitational duals: The question of graviton cloning in the context of the bulk/boundary\ncorrespondence is considered. It is shown that multi-graviton theories can be\nobtained from products of large-N CFTs. No more than one interacting massless\ngraviton is possible. There can be however, many interacting massive gravitons.\nThis is achieved by coupling CFTs via multi-trace marginal or relevant\nperturbations. The geometrical structure of the gravitational duals of such\ntheories is that of product manifolds with their boundaries identified. The\ncalculational formalism is described and the interpretation of such theories is\ndiscussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Bounds on Operator Dimensions in 2D Conformal Field Theories: We extend the work of Hellerman (arxiv:0902.2790) to derive an upper bound on\nthe conformal dimension $\\Delta_2$ of the next-to-lowest nontrival primary\noperator in unitary two-dimensional conformal field theories without chiral\nprimary operators. The bound we find is of the same form as found for\n$\\Delta_1$: $\\Delta_2 \\leq c_{tot}/12 + O(1)$. We find a similar bound on the\nconformal dimension $\\Delta_3$, and present a method for deriving bounds on\n$\\Delta_n$ for any $n$, under slightly modified assumptions. For asymptotically\nlarge $c_{tot}$ and fixed $n$, we show that $\\Delta_n \\leq\n\\frac{c_{tot}}{12}+O(1)$. We conclude with a brief discussion of the\ngravitational implications of these results.",
        "positive": "The Intrinsic Coupling in Integrable Quantum Field Theories: The intrinsic 4-point coupling, defined in terms of a truncated 4-point\nfunction at zero momentum, provides a well-established measure for the\ninteraction strength of a QFT. We show that this coupling can be computed\nnon-perturbatively and to high accuracy from the form factors of an\n(integrable) QFT. The technique is illustrated and tested with the Ising model,\nthe XY-model and the O(3) nonlinear sigma-model. The results are compared to\nthose from high precision lattice simulations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Adiabatic and Isocurvature Perturbation Projections in Multi-Field\n  Inflation: Current data are in good agreement with the predictions of single field\ninflation. However, the hemispherical asymmetry seen in the cosmic microwave\nbackground data, may hint at a potential problem. Generalizing to multi-field\nmodels may provide one possible explanation. A useful way of modeling\nperturbations in multi-field inflation is to investigate the projection of the\nperturbation along and perpendicular to the background fields' trajectory.\nThese correspond to the adiabatic and isocurvature perturbations. However, it\nis important to note that in general there are no corresponding adiabatic and\nisocurvature fields. The purpose of this article is to highlight the\ndistinction between a field redefinition and a perturbation projection. We\nprovide a detailed derivation of the evolution of the isocurvature perturbation\nto show that no assumption of an adiabatic or isocurvature field is needed. We\nalso show how this evolution equation is consistent with the field covariant\nevolution equations for the isocurvature perturbation in the flat field space\nlimit.",
        "positive": "Unified theory in the worldline approach: We explore unified field theories based on the gauge groups $SU(5)$ and\n$SO(10)$ using the worldline approach for chiral fermions with a Wilson loop\ncoupling to a background gauge field. Representing path ordering and chiral\nprojection operators with functional integrals has previously reproduced the\nsum over the chiralities and representations of standard model particles in a\ncompact way. This paper shows that for $SU(5)$ the $\\bar{\\mathbf{5}}$ and\n$\\mathbf{10}$ representations -- into which the Georgi-Glashow model places the\nleft-handed fermionic content of the standard model -- appear naturally and\nwith the familiar chirality. We carry out the same analysis for flipped $SU(5)$\nand uncover a link to $SO(10)$ unified theory. We pursue this by exploring the\n$SO(10)$ theory in the same framework, the less established unified theory\nbased on $SU(6)$ and briefly consider the Pati-Salam model using $SU(4)\n\\!\\times \\!SU(2)\\! \\times\\! SU(2)$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "QED with minimal and nonminimal couplings: on the quantum generation of\n  Lorentz violating terms in the pure photon sector: We consider an effective model formed by usual QED (minimal coupling) with\nthe addition of a nonminimal Lorentz violating interaction (proportional to a\nfixed 4-vector $b_\\mu$) which may radiatively generate both CPT even and odd\nterms in the pure gauge sector.\n  We show that gauge invariance from usual QED, considered as a limit of the\nmodel for $b_\\mu \\rightarrow 0$, plays an important role in the discussion of\nthe radiatively induced Lorentz violating terms at one-loop order. Moreover,\ndespite the nonrenormalizability of the (effective) model preventing us from\nreadily extending our discussion to higher orders, it is still possible to\ndisplay the general form of the breaking terms of the photon sector in the on\nshell limit organized in powers of $b_\\mu$ which in turn can be considered as a\nsmall expansion parameter.",
        "positive": "Multivariate elliptic kites and tetrahedral tadpoles: This work deals with two types of Feynman integrals in perturbative quantum\nfield theory: the 2-loop 2-point kite, with 5 arbitrary internal masses, and\nits completion by a sixth propagator, to give a 3-loop tetrahedral tadpole,\nwith 6 arbitrary masses. The elliptic substructure of these integrals should\nnot be regarded as an obstruction. Rather, it is a bonus, thanks to the\narithmetic-geometric mean of Gauss. Compact formulae are given, to handle all\ncases. Zero-mass limits are carefully considered. Anomalous thresholds of\ntriangles in the kite pose no problem. The number theory of tadpoles is\ninvestigated, with intriguing results. Instructive benchmarks are given at\n60-digit precision, extendable to 200 digits in a few seconds."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic thermalization of charged operators: We study a light-like charged collapsing shell in AdS-Reissner-Nordstrom\nspacetime, investigating whether the corresponding Vaidya metric is supported\nby matter that satisfies the null energy condition. We find that, if the\nabsolute value of the charge decreases during the collapse, energy conditions\nare fulfilled everywhere in spacetime. On the other hand, if the absolute value\nof the charge increases, the metric does not satisfy energy conditions in the\nIR region. Therefore, from the gauge/gravity perspective, this last case is\nonly useful to study the thermalization of the UV degrees of freedom. For all\nthese geometries, we probe the thermalization process with two point\ncorrelators of charged operators, finding that the thermalization time grows\nwith the charge of the operator, as well as with the dimension of space.",
        "positive": "Algebraic structures, physics and geometry from a Unified Field\n  Theoretical framework: Starting from a Unified Field Theory (UFT) proposed previously by the author,\nthe possible fermionic representations arising from the same spacetime are\nconsidered from the algebraic and geometrical viewpoint. We specifically\ndemonstrate in this UFT general context that the underlying basis of the single\ngeometrical structure P (G,M) (the principal fiber bundle over the real\nspacetime manifold M with structural group G) reflecting the symmetries of the\ndifferent fields carry naturally a biquaternionic structure instead of a\ncomplex one. This fact allows us to analyze algebraically and to interpret\nphysically in a straighforward way the Majorana and Dirac representations and\nthe relation of such structures with the spacetime signature and non-hermitian\n(CP) dynamic operators. Also, from the underlying structure of the tangent\nspace, the existence of hidden (super) symmetries and the possibility of\nsupersymmetric extensions of these UFT models are given showing that\nRothstein's theorem is incomplete for that description. The importance of the\nClifford algebras in the description of all symmetries, mainly the interaction\nof gravity with the other fields, is briefly discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Thermal effective potential for the Polyakov loop to higher loop order: This is a progress report on the calculation of the effective potential for\nthe Polyakov loop in $SU(N)$ pure gauge theory beyond two-loop order. We\nintroduce a new approach using the Poisson resummation formula to compute\nsum-integrals with the holonomy. We show partial results for the free energy at\norder $g^3$ and $g^4$.",
        "positive": "The Hoop Conjecture for Black Rings: A precise formulation of the hoop conjecture for four-dimensional spacetimes\nproposes that the Birkhoff invariant \\beta for an apparent horizon in a\nspacetime with mass M should satisfy \\beta \\le 4\\pi M. The invariant \\beta is\nthe least maximal length of any sweepout of the 2-sphere apparent horizon by\ncircles. An analogous conjecture in five spacetime dimensions was recently\nformulated, asserting that the Birkhoff invariant \\beta for S^1\\times S^1\nsweepouts of the apparent horizon should satisfy \\beta \\le (16/3)\\pi M.\nAlthough this hoop inequality was formulated for conventional five-dimensional\nblack holes with 3-sphere horizons, we show here that it is also obeyed by a\nwide variety of black rings, where the horizon instead has S^2\\times S^1\ntopology."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Walls and chains of planar skyrmions: In planar (baby) Skyrme systems, there may be extended linear structures\nwhich resemble either domain walls or chains of skyrmions, depending on the\nchoice of potential and boundary conditions. We show that systems with a single\nvacuum, for example with potential V=1-phi_3, admit chain solutions, whereas\nwalls are ruled out by the uniqueness of the vacuum. On the other hand, in\ndouble-vacuum systems such as V=1/2*(1-phi_3^2), one has stable wall solutions,\nbut there are no stable chains; the walls may be viewed as the primary objects\nin such systems, with skyrmions being made out of them.",
        "positive": "Aspects of Type I - Type II - Heterotic Triality in Four Dimensions: We discuss the equivalence between Type I, Type II and Heterotic N=2\nsuperstring theories in four dimensions. We study the effective field theory of\nType I models obtained by orientifold reductions of Type IIB compactifications\non $K_3\\times T^2$. We show that the perturbative prepotential is determined by\nthe one-loop corrections to the Planck mass and is associated to an index. As\nis the case for threshold corrections to gauge couplings, this renormalization\nis entirely due to N=2 BPS states that originate from D=6 massless string\nmodes. We apply our result to the so-called S-T-U model which admits\nsimultaneous Type II and Heterotic descriptions, and show that all three\nprepotentials agree in the appropriate limits as expected from the superstring\ntriality conjecture."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "More General Correlation Functions of Twist Fields From Ward Identities\n  in the Massive Dirac Theory: Following on from previous work we derive the non-linear differential\nequations of more general correlators of U(1) twist fields in two-dimensional\nmassive Dirac theory. Using the conserved charges of the double copy model\nequations parametrising the correlators of twist fields with arbitrary twist\nparameter are found. This method also gives a parametrisation of the\ncorrelation functions of general, fermionic, descendent twist fields. The\nequations parametrising correlators of primary twist fields are compared to\nthose of the literature and evidence is presented to confirm that these\nequations represent the correct parametrisation.",
        "positive": "Inflation with large supergravity corrections: It is well known that large Hubble-induced supergravity corrections to the\ninflaton field can ruin the flatness of the potential, thus creating a tension\nbetween slow-roll inflation and supergravity. In this paper we show that it is\npossible to obtain a {\\it cosmologically flat} direction, embedded within the\nminimal supersymmetric standard model, despite very large super-Hubble\ncorrections. As an illustration, we show that a flat direction which is lifted\nby an $n=6$ operator matches the current cosmic microwave background data for a\nwide range of the Hubble parameter, $10^{5} {\\rm GeV}\\lesssim H_{inf}\\lesssim\n10^{8.5}$ GeV. Our approach can be applied to any $F$-term inflationary model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "String worldsheet for accelerating quark: We consider the AdS bulk dual to an external massive quark in SYM following\nan arbitrary trajectory on Minkowski background. While a purely outgoing\nboundary condition on the gluonic field allows one to express the corresponding\nstring worldsheet in a closed form, the setup has curious consequences. In\nparticular, we argue that any quark whose trajectory on flat spacetime\napproaches that of a light ray in the remote past (as happens e.g. in the case\nof uniform acceleration) must necessarily be accompanied by an anti-quark. This\nis puzzling from the field theory standpoint, since one would expect that a\nsole quark following any timelike trajectory should be allowed. We explain the\nresolution in terms of boundary and initial conditions. We analyze the\nconfiguration in global AdS, which naturally suggests a modification to the\nboundary conditions allowing for a single accelerated quark without\naccompanying anti-quark. We contrast this resolution with earlier proposals.",
        "positive": "Scalar field evolution in Gauss-Bonnet black holes: It is presented a thorough analysis of scalar perturbations in the background\nof Gauss-Bonnet, Gauss-Bonnet-de Sitter and Gauss-Bonnet-anti-de Sitter black\nhole spacetimes. The perturbations are considered both in frequency and time\ndomain. The dependence of the scalar field evolution on the values of the\ncosmological constant $\\Lambda$ and the Gauss-Bonnet coupling $\\alpha$ is\ninvestigated. For Gauss-Bonnet and Gauss-Bonnet-de Sitter black holes, at\nasymptotically late times either power-law or exponential tails dominate, while\nfor Gauss-Bonnet-anti-de Sitter black hole, the quasinormal modes govern the\nscalar field decay at all times. The power-law tails at asymptotically late\ntimes for odd-dimensional Gauss-Bonnet black holes does not depend on $\\alpha$,\neven though the black hole metric contains $\\alpha$ as a new parameter. The\ncorrections to quasinormal spectrum due to Gauss-Bonnet coupling is not small\nand should not be neglected. For the limit of near extremal value of the\n(positive) cosmological constant and pure de Sitter and anti-de Sitter modes in\nGauss-Bonnet gravity we have found analytical expressions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-integrability in non-relativistic theories: Generic non-relativistic theories giving rise to non-integrable string\nsolutions are classified. Our analysis boils down to a simple algebraic\ncondition for the scaling parameters of the metric. Particular cases are the\nLifshitz and the anisotropic Lifshitz spacetimes, for which we find that for\ntrivial dilaton dependence the only integrable physical theory is that for z=1.\nFor the hyperscaling violation theories we conclude that the vast majority of\ntheories are non-integrable, while only for a small class of physical theories,\nwhere the Fermi surfaces belong to, integrability is not excluded. Schrodinger\ntheories are also analyzed and a necessary condition for non-integrability is\nfound. Our analysis is also applied to cases where the exponential of the\ndilaton is a monomial of the holographic coordinate.",
        "positive": "Integrable Hierarchies and Contact Terms in u-plane Integrals of\n  Topologically Twisted Supersymmetric Gauge Theories: The $u$-plane integrals of topologically twisted $N = 2$ supersymmetric gauge\ntheories generally contain contact terms of nonlocal topological observables.\nThis paper proposes an interpretation of these contact terms from the point of\nview of integrable hierarchies and their Whitham deformations. This is inspired\nby Mari\\~no and Moore's remark that the blowup formula of the $u$-plane\nintegral contains a piece that can be interpreted as a single-time tau function\nof an integrable hierarchy. This single-time tau function can be extended to a\nmulti-time version without spoiling the modular invariance of the blowup\nformula. The multi-time tau function is comprised of a Gaussian factor\n$e^{Q(t_1,t_2,...)}$ and a theta function. The time variables $t_n$ play the\nrole of physical coupling constants of 2-observables $I_n(B)$ carried by the\nexceptional divisor $B$. The coefficients $q_{mn}$ of the Gaussian part are\nidentified to be the contact terms of these 2-observables. This identification\nis further examined in the language of Whitham equations. All relevant\nquantities are written in the form of derivatives of the prepotential."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Cos(M)ological Solutions in M- and String Theory: We consider solutions to the cosmological equations of motion in 11\ndimensions with and without 4-form charges. We show explicitly the\ncorrespondence between some of these solutions and known solutions in 10\ndimensional string gravity. New solutions involving combinations of 4-form\ncharges are explored. We also speculate on the possibility of removing\ncurvature singularities present in 10D theories by oxidizing to 11D.",
        "positive": "Real forms of nonlinear superconformal and quasi-superconformal algebras\n  and their unified realization: We give a complete classification of the real forms of simple nonlinear\nsuperconformal algebras (SCA) and quasi-superconformal algebras (QSCA) and\npresent a unified realization of these algebras with simple symmetry groups.\nThis classification is achieved by establishing a correspondence between simple\nnonlinear QSCA's and SCA's and quaternionic and super-quaternionic symmetric\nspaces of simple Lie groups and Lie supergroups, respectively. The unified\nrealization involves a dimension zero boson (dilaton), dimension one symmetry\ncurrents and dimension 1/2 free bosons for QSCA'a and dimension 1/2 free\nfermions for SCA's. The dimension 1/2 free bosons and fermions are associated\nwith the quaternionic and super-quaternionic symmetric spaces of corresponding\nLie groups and Lie supergroups, respectively. We conclude with a discussion of\npossible applications of our results."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "1/4 BPS solutions in massive IIA supergravity: We study four kinds of 1/4 BPS solutions in massive IIA supergravity\ncorresponding to D8-D0-F1, D8-D2, D8-D4 and D8-D6-NS5 systems. We show that\nthese solutions are reproduced without making nontrivial assumptions by using\nsupersymmetry conditions. D8-D2 and D8-D4 solutions are represented by harmonic\nfunctions, as usual, while the other two are represented by solutions of\nnon-linear differential equations. Because these four solutions can be treated\nin almost identical ways, we mainly focus on the D8-D6-NS5 systems. We first\ndiscuss D6-NS5 solutions with uniform mass parameters. Then, we introduce\nD8-branes as domain walls by connecting two solutions with different values of\nthe mass parameter. We also discuss boundary conditions and supersymmetry on\ndomain walls.",
        "positive": "Gauss decomposition of trigonometric R-matrices: The general formula for the universal R-matrix for quantized nontwisted\naffine algebras by Khoroshkin and Tolstoy is applied for zero central charge\nhighest weight modules of the quantized affine algebras. It is shown how the\nuniversal R-matrix produces the Gauss decomposition of trigonomitric R-matrix\nin tensor product of these modules. Explicit calculations for the simplest case\nof $A_1^{(1)}$ are presented. As a consequence new formulas for the\ntrigonometric R-matrix with a parameter in tensor product of $U_q(sl_2)$-Verma\nmodules are obtained."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Relation between quantum $\u03ba$-Poincar\u00e9 framework and Doubly\n  Special Relativity: We describe firstly the basic features of quantum $\\kappa$-Poincar\\'{e}\nsymmetries with their Hopf algebra structure. The quantum $\\kappa$-Poincar\\'{e}\nframework in any basis relates rigidly the quantum $\\kappa$-Poincar\\'{e}\nalgebra with quantum $\\kappa$-Poincar\\'{e} group, noncommutative space-time and\n$\\kappa$-deformed phase space. Further we present the approach of Doubly\nSpecial Relativity (DSR) theories, which introduce(in the version DSR1)\nkinematically the frame - independent fundamental mass parameter as described\nby maximal three-momentum $|\\overrightarrow{p}|=\\kappa c$. We argue why the DSR\ntheories in one-particle sector can be treated as the part of quantum\n$\\kappa$-Poincar\\'{e} framework. The DSR formulation has been extended to\nmultiparticle states either in a way leading to nonlinear description of\nclassical relativistic symmetries, or providing the identification of DSR\napproach with full quantum $\\kappa$-Poincar\\'{e} framework.",
        "positive": "Modified Hamiltonian formalism for higher-derivative theories: The alternative version of Hamiltonian formalism for higher-derivative\ntheories is proposed. As compared with the standard Ostrogradski approach it\nhas the following advantages: (i) the Lagrangian, when expressed in terms of\nnew variables yields proper equations of motion; no additional Lagrange\nmultipliers are necessary (ii) the Legendre transformation can be performed in\na straightforward way provided the Lagrangian is nonsingular in Ostrogradski\nsense. The generalization to singular Lagrangians as well as field theory are\npresented."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Generalized Uncertainty Principle in Quantum Gravity from Micro-Black\n  Hole Gedanken Experiment: We review versions of the Generalized Uncertainty Principle (GUP) obtained in\nstring theory and in gedanken experiments carried out in Quantum Gravity. We\nshow how a GUP can be derived from a measure gedanken experiment involving\nmicro-black holes at the Planck scale of spacetime. The model uses only\nHeisenberg principle and Schwarzschild radius and it is independent from\nparticular versions of Quantum Gravity.",
        "positive": "Dark matter influence on black hole objects thermodynamics: Physical process version of the first law of black hole thermodynamics in\nEinstein- Maxwell dark matter gravity was derived. The dark matter sector is\nmimicked by the additional U(1)-gauge field coupled to the ordinary Maxwell\none. By considering any cross section of the black hole event horizon to the\nfuture of the bifurcation surface, the equilibrium state version of the first\nlaw of black hole mechanics was achieved. The considerations were generalized\nto the case of Einstein- Yang-Mills dark matter gravity theory. The main\nconclusion is that the influence of dark matter is crucial in the formation\nprocess of black objects. This fact may constitute the explanation of the\nrecent observations of the enormous mass of the super luminous quasars formed\nin a relatively short time after Big Bang. We also pay attention to the compact\nbinaries thermodynamics, when dark matter sector enters the game."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Membrane Sigma-Models and Quantization of Non-Geometric Flux Backgrounds: We develop quantization techniques for describing the nonassociative geometry\nprobed by closed strings in flat non-geometric R-flux backgrounds M. Starting\nfrom a suitable Courant sigma-model on an open membrane with target space M,\nregarded as a topological sector of closed string dynamics in R-space, we\nderive a twisted Poisson sigma-model on the boundary of the membrane whose\ntarget space is the cotangent bundle T^*M and whose quasi-Poisson structure\ncoincides with those previously proposed. We argue that from the membrane\nperspective the path integral over multivalued closed string fields in Q-space\nis equivalent to integrating over open strings in R-space. The corresponding\nboundary correlation functions reproduce Kontsevich's deformation quantization\nformula for the twisted Poisson manifolds. For constant R-flux, we derive\nclosed formulas for the corresponding nonassociative star product and its\nassociator, and compare them with previous proposals for a 3-product of fields\non R-space. We develop various versions of the Seiberg-Witten map which relate\nour nonassociative star products to associative ones and add fluctuations to\nthe R-flux background. We show that the Kontsevich formula coincides with the\nstar product obtained by quantizing the dual of a Lie 2-algebra via convolution\nin an integrating Lie 2-group associated to the T-dual doubled geometry, and\nhence clarify the relation to the twisted convolution products for topological\nnonassociative torus bundles. We further demonstrate how our approach leads to\na consistent quantization of Nambu-Poisson 3-brackets.",
        "positive": "Large N limit of SYM theories with 16 supercharges from superstrings on\n  Dp-brane backgrounds: We investigate the holographic correspondence between (p+1)-dimensional\n($0\\le p\\le 4$) SYM theories with 16 supercharges and superstring theories on\nthe near-horizon limit of Dp-brane backgrounds. Following an approach based on\nthe tunneling picture, we study Euclidean superstring semi-classically along\nnull geodesics which connect two points on the boundary of the spacetime. We\nextend the analysis of hep-th/0308024 and study the fermionic sector of the\nsuperstring. For $p\\ne 3$, we do not have world-sheet supersymmetry, and the\nenergies of bosonic and fermionic fluctuations do not match. By interpreting\nthe superstring amplitudes as correlators of gauge theory operators with large\nR-charge J, we obtain gauge theory two-point functions including those of\nfermionic operators. Our approach yields results consistent with the previous\nsupergravity analysis for the D0-branes, including the subleading part in J.\nOur prediction from holography is that the two-point functions for the\nsupergravity modes are power-law behaved, even for the non-conformal ($p\\ne 3$)\nSYM theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Journeys Through Antigravity?: A possibility of journeys through antigravity has recently been proposed,\nwith the suggestion that Weyl-invariant extension of scalars coupled to\nEinstein gravity allows for an unambiguous classical evolution through\ncosmological singularities in anisotropic spacetimes. We compute the Weyl\ninvariant curvature squared and find that it blows up for the proposed\nanisotropic solution both at the Big Crunch as well as at the Big Bang.\nTherefore the cosmological singularities are not resolved by uplifting Einstein\ntheory to a Weyl invariant model.",
        "positive": "$(2,2p+1)$ minimal string and intersection theory I: In view of recent progress in studying matrix model-2D gravity duality, we\nreexamine some features of $(2,2p+1)$ minimal string. After reviewing both\nsides of the proposed correspondence in this case, a previously unnoted\nidentification between correlation numbers of tachyon operators in certain\ndomain of parameter space and \"$p$-deformed volumes\", which are certain\nintegral transforms of topological recursion data, is described and clarified.\nThis identification allows us to efficiently study correlation numbers at\nfinite matter central charge. In particular, we obtain an\nintersection-theoretic formula and the simplest recurrent equations for them,\nanalogous to the ones recently derived for Virasoro minimal string. These\nformulas might be useful in establishing a more thorough connection between\nworldsheet and matrix model approaches."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "More on softly broken N=2 QCD: We extend previous work on the soft breaking of $N=2$ supersymmetric QCD. We\npresent the formalism for the breaking due to a dilaton spurion for a general\ngauge group and obtain the exact effective potential. We obtain some general\nfeatures of the vacuum structure in the pure $SU(N)$ Yang-Mills theory and we\nalso derive a general mass formula for this class of theories, in particular we\npresent explicit results for the mass spectrum in the $SU(2)$ case. Finally we\nanalyze the vacuum structure of the $SU(2)$ theory with one massless\nhypermultiplet. This theory presents dyon condensation and a first order phase\ntransition in the supersymmetry breaking parameter driven by non-mutually local\nBPS states. This could be a hint of Argyres-Douglas-like phases in\nnon-supersymmetric gauge theories.",
        "positive": "Repulsive gravitational effect of a quantum wave packet and experimental\n  scheme with superfluid helium: We consider the gravitational effect of quantum wave packets when quantum\nmechanics, gravity, and thermodynamics are simultaneously considered. Under the\nassumption of a thermodynamic origin of gravity, we propose a general equation\nto describe the gravitational effect of quantum wave packets. In the classical\nlimit, this equation agrees with Newton's law of gravitation. For quantum wave\npackets, however, it predicts a repulsive gravitational effect. We propose an\nexperimental scheme using superfluid helium to test this repulsive\ngravitational effect. Our studies show that, with present technology such as\nsuperconducting gravimetry and cold atom interferometry, tests of the repulsive\ngravitational effect for superfluid helium are within experimental reach."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Pressure in Chern-Simons Field Theory to Three-Loop Order: We calculate perturbatively the pressure of a dilute gas of anyons through\nsecond order in the anyon coupling constant, as described by Chern-Simons field\ntheory. Near Bose statistics , the divergences in the perturbative expansion\nare exactly cancelled by a two-body $\\delta$-function potential which is not\nrequired near Fermi statistics. To the order considered, we find no need for a\nnon-hermitian Hamiltonian. (This paper precedes the article ''Three loop\ncalculation of the full anyonic partition function'', by R. Emparan and M.\nValle Basagoiti, hep-th/9304103)",
        "positive": "Rotating black holes and black bars at large D: We propose and demonstrate a new and efficient approach to investigate black\nhole dynamics in the limit of large number of dimensions $D$. The basic idea is\nthat an asymptotically flat black brane evolving under the Gregory-Laflamme\ninstability forms lumps that closely resemble a localized black hole. In this\nmanner, the large-$D$ effective equations for extended black branes can be used\nto study localized black holes. We show that these equations have exact\nsolutions for black-hole-like lumps on the brane, which correctly capture the\nmain properties of Schwarzschild and Myers-Perry black holes at large $D$,\nincluding their slow quasinormal modes and the ultraspinning instabilities\n(axisymmetric or not) at large angular momenta. Furthermore, we obtain a novel\nclass of rotating `black bar' solutions, which are stationary when\n$D\\to\\infty$, and are long-lived when $D$ is finite but large, since their\ngravitational wave emission is strongly suppressed. The leading large $D$\napproximation reproduces to per-cent level accuracy previous numerical\ncalculations of the bar-mode growth rate in $D=6,7$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Circuit Complexity in Fermionic Field Theory: We define and calculate versions of complexity for free fermionic quantum\nfield theories in 1+1 and 3+1 dimensions, adopting Nielsen's geodesic\nperspective in the space of circuits. We do this both by discretizing and\nidentifying appropriate classes of Bogoliubov-Valatin transformations, and also\ndirectly in the continuum by defining squeezing operators and their\ngeneralizations. As a closely related problem, we consider cMERA tensor\nnetworks for fermions: viewing them as paths in circuit space, we compute their\npath lengths. Certain ambiguities that arise in some of these results because\nof cut-off dependence are discussed.",
        "positive": "A Lorentzian cure for Euclidean troubles: There is strong evidence coming from Lorentzian dynamical triangulations that\nthe unboundedness of the gravitational action is no obstacle to the\nconstruction of a well-defined non-perturbative path integral. In a continuum\napproach, a similar suppression of the conformal divergence comes about as the\nresult of a non-trivial path-integral measure."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Multiparameter Brane Solutions by Boosts, S and T dualities: We show that the multiparameter (intersecting) brane solutions of string/M\ntheories given in the literature can all be obtained by a suitable combination\nof boosts in eleven dimension, S and T dualities. We also describe a duality\nproperty of the D dimensional multiparameter solutions describing branes\nsmeared in compact directions. This duality is analogous to the T duality of\nthe string theory but is valid for any value of D.",
        "positive": "Dimensional Reduction by a Two-Form (another alternative to\n  compactification): It is shown that the local coupling of a higher dimensional graviton to a\nclosed degenerate two-form produces dimensional reduction by spontaneous\nbreakdown of extra-dimensional translational symmetry. Four dimensional\nPoincar\\'e invariance emerges as residual symmetry. As a specific example, a\nsix dimensional geometry coupled to a closed rank 2 two-form yields the `ground\nstate' $$ds^2={\\rm e}^{-|\\xi|^2/4l^2}\\eta_{\\mu\\nu}dx^\\mu dx^\\nu+\\delta_{ij}\nd\\xi^i d\\xi^j$$ with $l$ a fundamental length scale. At low energies,\nspace-time reduces to four observable dimensions and general relativistic\ngravity is reproduced."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Casimir energy of confining large $N$ gauge theories: Four-dimensional asymptotically-free large $N$ gauge theories compactified on\n$S^3_R \\times \\mathbb{R}$ have a weakly-coupled confining regime when $R$ is\nsmall compared to the strong scale. We compute the vacuum energy of a variety\nof confining large $N$ non-supersymmetric gauge theories in this calculable\nregime, where the vacuum energy can be thought of as the $S^3$ Casimir energy.\nThe $N=\\infty$ renormalized vacuum energy turns out to vanish in all of the\nlarge $N$ gauge theories we have examined, confirming a striking prediction of\ntemperature-reflection symmetry.",
        "positive": "Supersymmetric Structure of Spacetime and Matter -Superon Quintet\n  Hypothesis-: A unified description of spacetime and matter at the Planck scale is proposed\nby using the irreducible representation of N=10 extended Super-Poincar\\'e\nalgebra, where all matters and all forces except the graviton are the\nsupersymmetric composites made of the fundamental objects with spin 1/2,\nsuperon quintet. All the local gauge interactions in GUTs are investigated\nsystematically by using the superon diagrams. The proton is stable and the\nflavor changing neutral current process is suppressed in the superon pictures\nof GUTs. The fundamental action of the superon model is proposed. The\ncharacteristic predictions which can be tested in the (coming) high energy\nexperiments are discussed briefly."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Tensor Network and Black Hole: A tensor network formalism of thermofield dynamics is introduced. The\nformalism relates the original Hilbert space with its tilde space by a product\nof two copies of a tensor network. Then, their interface becomes an event\nhorizon, and the logarithm of the tensor rank corresponds to the black hole\nentropy. Eventually, multiscale entanglement renormalization anzats (MERA)\nreproduces an AdS black hole at finite temperature. Our finding shows rich\nfunctionalities of MERA as efficient graphical representation of AdS/CFT\ncorrespondence.",
        "positive": "A direct road to Majorana fields: A concise discussion of spin-1/2 field equations with a special focus on\nMajorana spinors is presented. The Majorana formalism which describes massive\nneutral fermions by the help of two-component or four-component spinors is of\nfundamental importance for the understanding of mathematical aspects of\nsupersymmetric and other extensions of the Standard Model of particle physics,\nwhich may play an increasingly important role at the beginning of the LHC era.\nThe interplay between the two-component and the four-component formalism is\nhighlighted in an introductory way. Majorana particles are predicted both by\ngrand unified theories, in which these particles are neutrinos, and by\nsupersymmetric theories, in which they are photinos, gluinos and other states."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Scars in Quantum Field Theory: We develop the theory of quantum scars for quantum fields. By generalizing\nthe formalisms of Heller and Bogomolny from few-body quantum mechanics to\nquantum fields, we find that unstable periodic classical solutions of the field\nequations imprint themselves in a precise manner on bands of energy\neigenfunctions. This indicates a breakdown of thermalization at certain energy\nscales, in a manner that can be characterized via semiclassics. As an explicit\nexample, we consider time-periodic non-topological solitons in complex scalar\nfield theories. We find that an unstable variant of Q-balls, called Q-clouds,\ninduce quantum scars. Some technical contributions of our work include methods\nfor characterizing moduli spaces of periodic orbits in field theories, which\nare essential for formulating our quantum scar formula. We further discuss\npotential connections with quantum many-body scars in Rydberg atom arrays.",
        "positive": "Black Hole Complementarity and the Harlow-Hayden Conjecture: Black hole complementarity, as originally formulated in the 1990's by\nPreskill, 't Hooft, and myself is now being challenged by the\nAlmheiri-Marolf-Polchinski-Sully firewall argument. The AMPS argument relies on\nan implicit assumption---the ``proximity postulate---which says that the\ninterior of a black hole must be constructed from degrees of freedom that are\nphysically near the black hole. The proximity postulate manifestly contradicts\nthe idea that interior information is redundant with information in Hawking\nradiation, which is very far from the black hole. AMPS argue that a violation\nof the proximity postulate would lead to a contradiction in a\nthought-experiment in which Alice distills the Hawking radiation and brings a\nbit back to the black hole. According to AMPS the only way to protect against\nthe contradiction is for a firewall to form at the Page time. But the\nmeasurement that Alice must make, is of such a fine-grained nature that\ncarrying it out before the black hole evaporates may be impossible. Harlow and\nHayden have found evidence that the limits of quantum computation do in fact\nprevent Alice from carrying out her experiment in less than exponential time.\nIf their conjecture is correct then black hole complementarity may be alive and\nwell.\n  My aim here is to give an overview of the firewall argument, and its basis in\nthe proximity postulate; as well as the counterargument based on computational\ncomplexity, as conjectured by Harlow and Hayden."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A closer glance at black hole pair creation: We consider accelerated black hole horizons with and without defects. These\nhorizons appear in the $C$-metric solution to Einstein equations and in its\ngeneralization to the case where external fields are present. These solutions\nrealize a variety of physical processes, from the decay of a cosmic string by a\nblack hole pair nucleation to the creation of a black hole pair by an external\nelectromagnetic field. Here, we show that such geometries exhibit an infinite\nset of symmetries in their near horizon region, generalizing in this way\nprevious results for smooth isolated horizons. By considering the limit close\nto both the black hole and the acceleration horizons, we show that a sensible\nset of asymptotic boundary conditions gets preserved by supertranslation and\nsuperrotation transformations. By acting on the geometry with such\ntransformations, we derive the superrotated, supertranslated version of the\n$C$-metric and compute the associated conserved charges.",
        "positive": "New N=1 Superconformal Field Theories in Four Dimensions from D-brane\n  Probes: We present several new examples of nontrivial 4d N=1 superconformal field\ntheories. Some of these theories exhibit exotic global symmetries, including\nnon-simply laced groups (such as $F_4$). They are obtained by studying\nthreebrane probes in F-theory compactifications on elliptic Calabi-Yau\nthreefolds. The geometry of the compactification encodes in a simple way the\nbehavior of the gauge coupling and the K\\\"ahler potential on the Coulomb branch\nof these theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Superpropagators for explicitly broken 3D-supersymmetric theories: A systematic algorithm to derive superpropagators in the case of either\nexplicitly or spontaneously broken supersymmetric three-dimensional theories is\npresented. We discuss how the explicit breaking terms that are introduced at\ntree-level induce 1-loop radiative corrections to the effective action. We also\npoint out that the renormalisation effects and the breaking-inducing-breaking\nmechanism become more immediate whenever we adopt the shifted superpropagators\ndiscussed in this letter.",
        "positive": "Circuit complexity in proca theory: In this paper, we study circuit complexity in Proca theory with Nielsen's\napproach and Fubini-Study (FS) metric approach. We place the fields on a\nlattice to gain a regularized theory, and obtain the ground state by adopting\nproper coordinates. We calculate complexities of the ground and thermofield\ndouble (TFD) states with Nielsen's approach, complexity of the TFD state is\nfound to grows like a logarithmic function. We quantize the Proca fields and\ngive the approximate ground state and TFD state by acting unitary circuit\noperators on the associated reference states. The circuit lengths are\ncalculated with FS metric, the minimal lengths are given according to the\nassociated geometric spaces. The complexity of TFD state is found to grows\nlinearly with time."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Reflection and transmission of conformal perturbation defects: We consider reflection and transmission of interfaces which implement\nrenormalisation group flows between conformal fixed points in two dimensions.\nSuch an RG interface is constructed from the identity defect in the ultraviolet\nCFT by perturbing the theory on one side of the defect line. We compute\nreflection and transmission coefficients in perturbation theory to third order\nin the coupling constant and check our calculations against exact constructions\nof RG interfaces between coset models.",
        "positive": "Boundary Dynamics of Three-Dimensional Asymptotically Anti-de Sitter\n  Space-Times: This thesis is organized as follows. In Chapter 2, some preliminaries are\ngiven on isometries and conformal symmetries, and we become familiar with the\nVirasoro algebra. Two examples of classical central charges are discussed.\nChapter 3 contains an introduction to the Hamiltonian formulation of gauge\ntheories in the context of Maxwell theory. The knowledge gained in Chapter 3 is\napplied to general relativity in Chapter 4. The Hamiltonian is shown to acquire\na surface term due to the presence of the boundary. The geometrical properties\nof anti-de Sitter space and the BTZ black hole are the subject of Chapter 5.\nThe main part of the discussion follows in Chapter 6, which contains the\ncalculation of the central charge in the asymptotic symmetry algebra of\nasymptotically AdS3 space-times. After some preliminaries on the AdS/CFT\ncorrespondence and Chern-Simons theory, the derivation of the boundary\nconformal field theory is summarized in Chapter 7. Finally, Strominger's\nentropy calculation is presented in Chapter 8, along with some comments on this\napproach."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Mixed Rademacher and BPS Black Holes: Dyonic 1/4-BPS states in Type IIB string theory compactified on $\\mathrm{K}3\n\\times T^2$ are counted by meromorphic Jacobi forms. The finite parts of these\nfunctions, which are mixed mock Jacobi forms, account for the degeneracy of\nstates stable throughout the moduli space of the compactification. In this\npaper, we obtain an exact asymptotic expansion for their Fourier coefficients,\nrefining the Hardy-Ramanujan-Littlewood circle method to deal with their\nmixed-mock character. The result is compared to a low-energy supergravity\ncomputation of the exact entropy of extremal dyonic 1/4-BPS single-centered\nblack holes, obtained by applying supersymmetric localization techniques to the\nquantum entropy function.",
        "positive": "The Large N 't Hooft Limit of Coset Minimal Models: Recently, Gaberdiel and Gopakumar proposed that the two-dimensional WA_{N-1}\nminimal model conformal field theory in the large N 't Hooft limit is dual to\nthe higher spin theories on the three-dimensional AdS space with two complex\nscalars. In this paper, we examine this proposal for the WD_{N/2} and\nWB_{(N-1)/2} minimal models initiated by Fateev and Lukyanov in 1988. By\nanalyzing the renormalization group flows on these models, we find that the\ngravity duals in AdS space are higher spin theories coupled to two equally\nmassive real scalar fields. We also describe the large N 't Hooft limit for the\nminimal model of the second parafermion theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Relativistic supersymmetric quantum mechanics based on Klein-Gordon\n  equation: Witten's non-relativistic formalism of supersymmetric quantum mechanics was\nbased on a factorization and partnership between Schroedinger equations. We\nshow how it accommodates a transition to the partnership between relativistic\nKlein-Gordon equations. In such a class of models the requirement of\nsupersymmetry is shown to lead to a certain \"exceptional-point\" instability of\nground states.",
        "positive": "Partially Massless Higher-Spin Theory II: One-Loop Effective Actions: We continue our study of a generalization of the D-dimensional linearized\nVasiliev higher-spin equations to include a tower of partially massless (PM)\nfields. We compute one-loop effective actions by evaluating zeta functions for\nboth the \"minimal\" and \"non-minimal\" parity-even versions of the theory.\nSpecifically, we compute the log-divergent part of the effective action in\nodd-dimensional Euclidean AdS spaces for D=7 through 19 (dual to the a-type\nconformal anomaly of the dual boundary theory), and the finite part of the\neffective action in even-dimensional Euclidean AdS spaces for D=4 through 8\n(dual to the free energy on a sphere of the dual boundary theory). We pay\nspecial attention to the case D=4, where module mixings occur in the dual field\ntheory and subtlety arises in the one-loop computation. The results provide\nevidence that the theory is UV complete and one-loop exact, and we conjecture\nand provide evidence for a map between the inverse Newton's constant of the\npartially massless higher-spin theory and the number of colors in the dual CFT."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "String corrections to circular Wilson loop and anomalies: We study string quantum corrections to the ratio of latitude and circular\nWilson loops in N=4 super-Yang-Mills theory at strong coupling. Conformal gauge\nfor the corresponding minimal surface in AdS(5)xS(5) is singular and we show\nthat an IR anomaly associated with the divergence in the conformal factor\nremoves previously reported discrepancy with the exact field-theory result. We\nalso carefully check conformal anomaly cancellation and recalculate fluctuation\ndeterminants by directly evaluating phaseshifts for all the fluctuation modes.",
        "positive": "A thick shell Casimir effect: We consider the Casimir energy of a thick dielectric-diamagnetic shell under\na uniform velocity light condition, as a function of the radii and the\npermeabilities. We show that there is a range of parameters in which the stress\non the outer shell is inward, and a range where the stress on the outer shell\nis outward. We examine the possibility of obtaining an energetically stable\nconfiguration of a thick shell made of a material with a fixed volume."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Parafermionic Reductions of WZW Model: We investigate a class of conformal Non-Abelian-Toda models representing a\nnoncompact $SL(2,R)/U(1)$ parafermionions (PF) interacting with a specific\nabelian Toda theories and having a global U(1) symmetry. A systematic\nderivation of the conserved currents, their algebras and the exact solution of\nthese models is presented. An important property of this class of models is the\naffine $SL(2,R)_q$ algebra spanned by charges of the chiral and antichiral\nnonlocal currents and the U(1) charge. The classical (Poisson Brackets)\nalgebras of symmetries $V{G_n}$ of these models appears to be of mixed\nPF-$W{G_n}$ type. They contain together with the local quadratic terms specific\nfor the $W_n$-algebras the nonlocal terms similar to the ones of the classical\nPF-algebra. The renormalization of the spins of the nonlocal currents is the\nmain new feature of the quantum $V{A_n}$-algebras. The quantum $V{A_2}$-algebra\nand its degenerate representations are studied in detail.",
        "positive": "Couplings between a collection of BF models and a set of three-form\n  gauge fields: Consistent interactions that can be added to a free, Abelian gauge theory\ncomprising a collection of BF models and a set of three-form gauge fields are\nconstructed from the deformation of the solution to the master equation based\non specific cohomological techniques. Under the hypotheses of smooth, local, PT\ninvariant, Lorentz covariant, and Poincare invariant interactions, supplemented\nwith the requirement on the preservation of the number of derivatives on each\nfield with respect to the free theory, we obtain that the deformation procedure\nmodifies the Lagrangian action, the gauge transformations as well as the\naccompanying algebra."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A topological formulation of the Planck-Einstein law E=n\u03c9: The paper has been withdrawn",
        "positive": "Cosmological dynamics and dark energy from non-local infrared\n  modifications of gravity: We perform a detailed study of the cosmological dynamics of a recently\nproposed infrared modification of the Einstein equations, based on the\nintroduction of a non-local term constructed with $m^2g_{\\mu\\nu}\\Box^{-1} R$,\nwhere $m$ is a mass parameter. The theory generates automatically a dynamical\ndark energy component, that can reproduce the observed value of the dark energy\ndensity without introducing a cosmological constant. Fixing $m$ so to reproduce\nthe observed value $\\Omega_{\\rm DE}\\simeq 0.68$, and writing $w(a)=w_0+(1-a)\nw_a$, the model provides a neat prediction for the equation of state parameters\nof dark energy, $w_0\\simeq -1.042$ and $w_a\\simeq -0.020$. We show that,\nbecause of some freedom in the definition of $\\Box^{-1}$, one can extend the\nconstruction so to define a more general family of non-local models. However,\nin a first approximation this turns out to be equivalent to adding an explicit\ncosmological constant term on top of the dynamical dark energy component. This\nleads to an extended model with two parameters, $\\Omega_{\\Lambda}$ and $m$.\nEven in this extension the EOS parameter $w_0$ is always on the phantom side,\nin the range $-1.33 < w_0\\leq -1$, and there is a prediction for the relation\nbetween $w_0$ and $w_a$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "D7-Brane Chaotic Inflation: We analyze string-theoretic large-field inflation in the regime of\nspontaneously-broken supergravity with conventional moduli stabilization by\nfluxes and non-perturbative effects. The main ingredient is a shift-symmetric\nKahler potential, supplemented by flux-induced shift symmetry breaking in the\nsuperpotential. The central technical observation is that all these features\nare present for D7-brane position moduli in Type IIB orientifolds, allowing for\na realization of the axion monodromy proposal in a controlled string theory\ncompactification. On the one hand, in the large complex structure regime the\nD7-brane position moduli inherit a shift symmetry from their mirror-dual Type\nIIA Wilson lines. On the other hand, the Type IIB flux superpotential\ngenerically breaks this shift symmetry and allows, by appealing to the large\nflux discretuum, to tune the relevant coefficients to be small. The\nshift-symmetric direction in D7-brane moduli space can then play the role of\nthe inflaton: While the D7-brane circles a certain trajectory on the Calabi-Yau\nmany times, the corresponding F-term energy density grows only very slowly,\nthanks to the above-mentioned tuning of the flux. Thus, the large-field\ninflationary trajectory can be realized in a regime where Kahler, complex\nstructure and other brane moduli are stabilized in a conventional manner, as we\ndemonstrate using the example of the Large Volume Scenario.",
        "positive": "Representations of the quantum matrix algebra $M_{q,p}(2)$: It is shown that the finite dimensional irreducible representaions of the\nquantum matrix algebra $ M_{ q,p}(2) $ ( the coordinate ring of $ GL_{q,p}(2)\n$) exist only when both q and p are roots of unity. In this case th e space of\nstates has either the topology of a torus or a cylinder which may be thought of\nas generalizations of cyclic representations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Sudakov Representation of the Cachazo-He-Yuan Scattering Equations\n  Formalism: We show that the use of Sudakov variables greatly simplifies the study of the\nsolutions to the scattering equations in the Cachazo-He-Yuan formalism. We work\nin the center-of-mass frame for the two incoming particles, which partially\nfixes the SL(2,C) redundancy in the integrand defining the scattering\namplitudes, the remaining freedom translates into a global shift in the\nazimuthal angle of the outgoing particles. Studying four- and five-particle\namplitudes, we see how an appropriate choice of this phase allows for algebraic\nsimplifications when finding solutions to the scattering equations, as well as\nin the expression of the scattering amplitudes in terms of the locations of the\npunctures in the sphere. These punctures themselves are remarkably simple\nfunctions of the Sudakov parameters.",
        "positive": "Super Virasoro Algebra From Supergravity: We investigate AdS3/CFT2 correspondence in three dimensional supergravity. We\nconstruct a current for general coordinate invariance and that for local\nsupersymmetry via covariant approach. Hamiltonian and supercharge are well\ndefined in terms of vielbein and spin connection. After discussing asymptotic\nsupersymmetry group at the boundary of AdS3 geometry, we show that there exist\na direct product of Virasoro algebras at the boundary. We also show that one of\nthem is extended to super Virasoro algebra."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Self-Dual Forms in Supergeometry I: The Chiral Boson: Recent results of A. Sen on quantum field theory models with self-dual field\nstrengths use string field theory as a starting point. In the present work, we\nshow that combining string field theory and supergeometry we can provide a\nconstructive method for all these models, for any superspace representation and\nfor any given background. The analysis is based on the new concept of\npseudoform, emerging in supergeometry, which opens a new page in quantum field\ntheory and, in particular, in supergravity. The present work deals with an\nexplicit example, the case of the chiral boson multiplet in d=2.",
        "positive": "Search for long-living topological solutions of nonlinear $\\varphi^4$\n  field theory: We look for long-living topological solutions of classical nonlinear $(1+1)-$\ndimensional $\\varphi^4$ field theory. To that effect we use the well-known\ncut-and-match method. In this framework, new long-living states are obtained in\nboth topological sectors. In particular, in one case a highly excited state of\na kink is found. We discover several ways of energy reset. In addition to the\nexpected emission wave packets (with small amplitude), for some selected\ninitial conditions the production of kink-antikink pairs results in a large\nenergy reset. Also, the topological number of a kink in the central region\nchanges in the contrast of saving full topological number. At lower excitation\nenergies there is a long-living excited vibrational state of the kink; this\nphenomenon is the final stage of all considered initial states. Over time this\nexcited state of the kink changes to a well-known linearized solution - a\ndiscrete kink excitation mode. This method yields a qualitatively new way to\ndescribe the large-amplitude bion, which was detected earlier in the\nkink-scattering processes in the nontopological sector."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Successive Toroidal Compactifications Of A Closed Bosonic Strings: Successive toro\\\"\\i dal compactifications of a closed bosonic string are\nstudied and some Lie groups solutions are derived.",
        "positive": "From 3d dualities to hadron physics: When one of the space-time dimension is compactified on $S^1$, the QCD\nexhibits the chiral phase transition at some critical radius. When we further\nturn on a background $\\theta$ term which depends on the $S^1$ compactified\ncoordinate, a topological ordered phase appears at low energy via the winding\nof $\\theta$. We discuss what kind of theories can describe the physics near the\ncritical point by requiring the matching of topological field theories in the\ninfrared. As one of the possibilities, we propose a scenario where the $\\rho$\nand $\\omega$ mesons form a $U(N_f)$ gauge theory near the critical point. In\nthe phase where the chiral symmetry is restored, they become the dual gauge\nboson of the gluon related by the level-rank duality between the three\ndimensional gauge theories, $SU(N)_{N_f}$ and $U(N_f)_{-N}$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gravitational Collapse in Massive Gravity on de Sitter Spacetime: We analyze the evolution of a homogenous and pressureless ball of dust (or\n\"star\") in ghost-free massive gravity on de Sitter spacetime. We find that\ngravitational collapse does not take place for all parameters of the massive\ngravity theory. For parameters where it does occur, we find the expression for\nthe location of the apparent horizon where it crosses the surface of the star,\nindicating the location of the apparent horizon of the vacuum solution at that\nmoment. We determine the Ricci curvature at the boundary of the star and\nextract the finite correction to the curvature of the apparent horizon due to\nthe graviton mass. Finally, we argue that our collapsing solutions cannot be\nmatched to a static, spherically symmetric vacuum solution at the star's\nsurface, providing further evidence that physical black hole solutions in\nmassive gravity are likely time-dependent.",
        "positive": "Anomalous dimensions of high-spin operators beyond the leading order: Anomalous dimensions of Wilson operators with large Lorentz spin scale\nlogarithmically with the spin. Recent multi-loop QCD calculations of twist-two\nanomalous dimensions revealed the existence of interesting structure of the\nsubleading corrections suppressed by powers of the Lorentz spin. We argue that\nthis structure is a manifestation of the `self-tuning' property of the\nmulti-loop anomalous dimensions - in a conformal gauge theory, the anomalous\ndimension of Wilson operators is a function of their conformal spin which is\nmodified in higher loops by an amount proportional to the anomalous dimension.\nMaking use of the parity property of this function and incorporating the\nbeta-function contribution, we demonstrate the existence of (infinite number\nof) relations between subleading corrections to the twist-two anomalous\ndimensions in QCD and its supersymmetric extensions. They imply that the\nsubleading corrections to the anomalous dimensions suppressed by odd powers of\nthe conformal spin can be expressed in terms of the lower-loops corrections\nsuppressed by smaller even powers of the spin. We show that these relations\nhold true in QCD to all loops in the large beta0 limit. In the N=4 SYM theory,\nwe employ the AdS/CFT correspondence to argue that the same relations survive\nin the strong coupling regime for higher-twist scalar operators dual to a\nfolded string rotating on the AdS3xS1."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Wick Quantization of Cotangent Bundles over Riemannian Manifolds: A simple geometric procedure is proposed for constructing Wick symbols on\ncotangent bundles to Riemannian manifolds. The main ingredient of the\nconstruction is a method of endowing the cotangent bundle with a formal\nK\\\"ahler structure. The formality means that the metric is lifted from the\nRiemannian manifold $Q$ to its phase space $T^\\ast Q$ in the form of formal\npower series in momenta with the coefficients being tensor fields on the base.\nThe corresponding K\\\"ahler two-form on the total space of $T^\\ast Q$ coincides\nwith the canonical symplectic form, while the canonical projection of the\nK\\\"ahler metric on the base manifold reproduces the original metric. Some\nexamples are considered, including constant curvature space and nonlinear sigma\nmodels, illustrating the general construction.",
        "positive": "Abelian dominance in low-energy Gluodynamics due to dynamical mass\n  generation: We show that off-diagonal gluons and off-diagonal ghosts acquire their masses\ndynamically in QCD if the maximal Abelian gauge is adopted. This result\nstrongly supports the Abelian dominance in low-energy region of QCD. The mass\ngeneration is shown to occur due to ghost-anti-ghost condensation caused by\nattractive quartic ghost interactions within the Abelian projected effective\ngauge theory (derived by one of the authors). In fact, the quartic ghost\ninteraction is indispensable for the renormalizability due to nonlinearity of\nthe maximal Abelian gauge. The ghost-anti-ghost condensation is associated with\nthe spontaneous breaking of global SL(2,R) symmetry recently found by Schaden\nat least for SU(2) case. Moreover we write down a new extended BRS algebra in\nthe maximal Abelian gauge which should be compared with that of Nakanishi-Ojima\nfor the Lorentz gauge. Finally, we argue that the mass generation may be\nrelated to the spontaneous breaking of a supersymmetry $OSp(4|2)$ hidden in the\nmaximal Abelian gauge."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Tutorial on Links between Cosmic String Theory and Superstring Theory: Cosmic superstrings are introduced to non-experts. First D-branes and $(p,q)$\nstrings are discussed. Then we explain how tachyon condensation in the early\nuniverse may have produced F, D and $(p,q)$ strings. Warped geometries which\ncan render horizon sized superstrings relatively light are discussed. Various\nwarped geometries including the deformed conifold in the Klebanov-Strassler\ngeometry are reviewed and their warp factors are calculated. The decay rates\nfor strings in the KS geometry are calculated and reasons for the necessity of\norientifolds are reviewed. We then outline calculations of the intercommuting\nprobability of F, D and $(p,q)$ strings and explain in detail why cosmic\nsuperstring intercommuting probabilities can be small. We explore cosmic\nsuperstring networks. Their scaling properties are examined using the Velocity\nOne Scale model and its extra dimensional extensions. Two different approaches\nand two sets of simulations are reviewed. Finally, we review in detail the\ngravitational wave amplitude calculations for strings with intercommuting\nprobability $P<1$.",
        "positive": "The Coupling Constants and Masses of the Standard Model as Symmetry\n  Normalizations: The numerical input for the quantitative consequences of the electroweak\nstandard model, the hypercharge and isospin coupling constants and the Higgs\nfield ground state mass value, are interpreted as normalizations of the\nsymmetries involved. Using an additional statistical argument, a first order\nquantitative determination of the Weinberg angle as a normalization ratio gives\nthe experimentally acceptable value $\\tan^2\\th={1\\over3}$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gravitating kinks with asymptotically flat metrics: In this work, we consider a two-dimensional (2D) dilaton gravity model where\nthe dilaton kinetic term $\\mathcal{X}$ is modified by an additional derivative\ncoupling term $\\alpha\\mathcal{X}^2$. In the case with a canonical scalar matter\nfield, the field equations of this model have a simple first-order formalism,\nfrom which exact static kink solutions can be constructed. The novelty of these\nsolutions is that the corresponding metric can be asymptotically flat rather\nthan asymptotically anti de Sitter. The linear stability and the localization\nof scalar matter fields are also studied. It was found that the solutions are\nstable against small linear perturbations, and the localization of scalar\nmatter fields can be realized by introducing scalar-kink interactions.",
        "positive": "Quantum Groups, Gravity, and the Generalized Uncertainty Principle: We investigate the relationship between the generalized uncertainty principle\nin quantum gravity and the quantum deformation of the Poincar\\'e algebra. We\nfind that a deformed Newton-Wigner position operator and the generators of\nspatial translations and rotations of the deformed Poincar\\'e algebra obey a\ndeformed Heisenberg algebra from which the generalized uncertainty principle\nfollows. The result indicates that in the $\\kappa$-deformed Poincar\\'e algebra\na minimal observable length emerges naturally."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "String \"Baryon'' in Four-Dimensional $\\mathcal{N} = 2$ Supersymmetric\n  QCD from 2D-4D Correspondence: We study non-Abelian vortex strings in four-dimensional (4D) $\\mathcal{N} =\n2$ supersymmetric QCD with U$(N=2)$ gauge group and $N_f=4$ flavors of quark\nhypermultiplets. It has been recently shown that these vortices behave as\ncritical superstrings. The spectrum of closed string states in the associated\nstring theory was found and interpreted as a spectrum of hadrons in 4D\n$\\mathcal{N} = 2$ supersymmetric QCD. In particular, the lowest string state\nappears to be a massless BPS \"baryon.\" Here we show the occurrence of this\nstringy baryon using a purely field-theoretic method. To this end we study the\nconformal world-sheet theory on the non-Abelian string -- the so called\nweighted $\\mathcal{N} = (2,2)$ supersymmetric $\\mathbb{CP}$ model. Its target\nspace is given by the six-dimensional non-compact Calabi-Yau space $Y_6$, the\nconifold. We use mirror description of the model to study the BPS kink spectrum\nand its transformations on curves (walls) of marginal stability. Then we use\nthe 2D-4D correspondence to show that the deformation of the complex structure\nof the conifold is associated with the emergence of a non-perturbative Higgs\nbranch in 4D theory which opens up at strong coupling. The modulus parameter on\nthis Higgs branch is the vacuum expectation value of the massless BPS \"baryon\"\npreviously found in string theory.",
        "positive": "Renormalization of initial conditions and the trans-Planckian problem of\n  inflation: Understanding how a field theory propagates the information contained in a\ngiven initial state is essential for quantifying the sensitivity of the cosmic\nmicrowave background to physics above the Hubble scale during inflation. Here\nwe examine the renormalization of a scalar theory with nontrivial initial\nconditions in the simpler setting of flat space. The renormalization of the\nbulk theory proceeds exactly as for the standard vacuum state. However, the\nshort distance features of the initial conditions can introduce new divergences\nwhich are confined to the surface on which the initial conditions are imposed.\nWe show how the addition of boundary counterterms removes these divergences and\ninduces a renormalization group flow in the space of initial conditions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "R-matrix formulation of affine Yangian of $\\hat{\\mathfrak{gl}}(1|1)$: We study $\\mathcal{N}=2$ superconformal field theory and define the R-matrix\nwhich acts as an intertwining operator between different realizations of\n$\\mathcal{N}=2$ $W-$algebras of type $A$. Using this R-matrix we define $RLL$\nalgebra and relate it to current realization of affine Yangian of\n$\\hat{\\mathfrak{gl}}(1|1)$.",
        "positive": "On pole-skipping with gauge-invariant variables in holographic axion\n  theories: We study the pole-skipping phenomenon within holographic axion theories, a\ncommon framework for studying strongly coupled systems with chemical potential\n($\\mu$) and momentum relaxation ($\\beta$). Considering the backreaction\ncharacterized by $\\mu$ and $\\beta$, we encounter coupled equations of motion\nfor the metric, gauge, and axion field, which are classified into spin-0,\nspin-1, and spin-2 channels. Employing gauge-invariant variables, we\nsystematically address these equations and explore pole-skipping points within\neach sector using the near-horizon method. Our analysis reveals two classes of\npole-skipping points: regular and singular pole-skipping points in which the\nlatter is identified when standard linear differential equations exhibit\nsingularity. Notably, pole-skipping points in the lower-half plane are regular,\nwhile those elsewhere are singular. This suggests that the pole-skipping point\nin the spin-0 channel, associated with quantum chaos, corresponds to a singular\npole-skipping point. Additionally, we observe that the pole-skipping momentum,\nif purely real or imaginary for $\\mu=\\beta=0$, retains this characteristic for\n$\\mu \\neq0$ and $\\beta \\neq 0$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dual Instantons: We show how to map the Belavin-Polyakov instantons of the O(3)-nonlinear\n$\\sigma-$model to a dual theory where they then appear as nontopological\nsolitons. They are stationary points of the Euclidean action in the dual\ntheory, and moreover, the dual action and the O(3)-nonlinear $\\sigma-$model\naction agree on shell.",
        "positive": "Particle Production in Matrix Cosmology: We consider cosmological particle production in 1+1 dimensional string\ntheory. The process is described most efficiently in terms of anomalies, but we\nalso discuss the explicit mode expansions. In matrix cosmology the usual vacuum\nambiguity of quantum fields in time-dependent backgrounds is resolved by the\nunderlying matrix model. This leads to a finite energy density for the \"in\"\nstate which cancels the effect of anomalous particle production."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Note on Asymmetric Thick Branes: In this work we study asymmetric thick braneworld scenarios, generated after\nadding a constant to the superpotential associated to the scalar field. We\nstudy in particular models with odd and even polynomial superpotentials, and we\nshow that asymmetric brane can be generated irrespective of the potential being\nsymmetric or asymmetric. We study in addition the nonpolynomial\nsine-Gordon-like model, also constructed with the inclusion of a constant in\nthe standard superpotential, and we investigate gravitational stability of the\nasymmetric brane. The results suggest robustness of the new braneworld\nscenarios and add further possibilities for the construction of asymmetric\nbranes.",
        "positive": "Scattering of low lying states in the black hole atmosphere: We investigate finite $\\alpha '$ effects in string theory on a black hole\nbackground. By explicitly computing tree level scattering amplitudes, we\nconfirm a duality between seemingly different states recently conjectured by\nGiveon, Itzhaki, and Kutasov in [arXiv:1603.05822]. We verify that the relevant\n3-point functions factorize in such a way that the duality between oscillator\nand winding states becomes manifest. This leads to determine the precise\nnormalization of the dual vertex operators, and confirms at the level of the\ninteracting theory the identification of states suggested by the analysis of\nthe spectrum. This result implies a duality between two seemingly distinct\nmechanisms driving the violation of the string winding number in the black hole\natmosphere."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Super-Planckian Spatial Field Variations and Quantum Gravity: We study scenarios where a scalar field has a spatially varying vacuum\nexpectation value such that the total field variation is super-Planckian. We\nfocus on the case where the scalar field controls the coupling of a U(1) gauge\nfield, which allows us to apply the Weak Gravity Conjecture to such\nconfigurations. We show that this leads to evidence for a conjectured property\nof quantum gravity that as a scalar field variation in field space asymptotes\nto infinity there must exist an infinite tower of states whose mass decreases\nas an exponential function of the scalar field variation. We determine the rate\nat which the mass of the states reaches this exponential behaviour showing that\nit occurs quickly after the field variation passes the Planck scale.",
        "positive": "On the Quantisation of Complex Higher Derivative Theories and Avoiding\n  the Ostrogradsky Ghost: Generic higher derivative theories are believed to be fundamentally\nunphysical because they contain Ostrogradsky ghosts. We show that within\ncomplex classical mechanics it is possible to construct higher derivative\ntheories that circumvent the Ostrogradsky theorem and have a real energy\nspectrum that is bounded from below. The complex theory can be canonically\nquantised. The resulting quantum theory does not suffer from the kinetic\ninstability and maintains the usual probabilistic interpretation without\nviolating the correspondence principle. As a proof of concept, we construct a\nclass of stable interacting complex higher derivative theories. This consistent\nand canonical framework allows us to analyse previous attempts to avoid the\nghosts that use non-canonical quantisation schemes, such as the Lee-Wick\ntheories, Dirac-Pauli quantisation or PT-symmetric quantum mechanics. The key\nto understand the would-be ghosts in any kinetically stable higher derivative\ntheory is to accept the complex system behind it."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Technically Natural Vacuum Energy at the Tip of a Supersymmetric\n  Teardrop: A minimal supersymmetric brane-world model is presented which has: i) zero\nclassical four-dimensional vacuum curvature, despite the large naive vacuum\nenergy due to contributions from Standard Model particles; ii) one-(bulk)-loop\nquantum corrections to the vacuum energy with a size set by the radius of the\nextra-dimensional spheroid. These corrections are technically natural because a\nBPS-like relation between the brane tension and R-charge---which would have\npreserved (half of) the bulk supersymmetry---is violated by the requirement\nthat the stabilizing R-symmetry gauge flux be quantized. The extra-dimensional\ngeometry is similar to previous rugby-ball geometries, but is simpler in that\nthere is only one brane and so fewer free parameters. Although the sign of the\nrenormalized vacuum energy ends up being the unphysical one for this model (in\nthe limit considered here, where the massive bulk loop is the leading\ncontribution), it serves as an illustrative example of the relevant physics.",
        "positive": "Conformal Anomaly for Dilaton Coupled Theories from AdS/CFT\n  Correspondence: Trace anomaly for dilaton coupled conformal theories on curved background\nwith non-zero dilaton is found from supergravity side as an IR effect using\nAdS/CFT correspondence. For $d=2$ it coincides with the conformal anomaly for\ndilaton coupled scalar (up to total derivative term which is known to be\nambiguous). In four-dimensional case we get conformal anomaly for ${\\cal N}=4$\nsuper YM theory interacting with conformal supergravity. In the same way the\ncalculation of dilaton dependent conformal anomaly in higher dimensions seems\nto be much easier than using standard QFT methods."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Bounds on Generic High-Energy Physics Modifications to the Primordial\n  Power Spectrum from Back-Reaction on the Metric: Modifications to the primordial power spectrum of inflationary density\nperturbations have been studied recently using a boundary effective field\ntheory approach. In the approximation of a fluctuating quantum field on a fixed\nbackground, the generic effect of new physics is encoded in parameters of order\nH/M. Here, we point out that the back-reaction on the metric can be neglected\nonly when these parameters obey certain bounds that may put them beyond the\nreach of observation.",
        "positive": "An Alternative String Theory in Twistor Space for N=4 Super-Yang-Mills: In this letter, an alternative string theory in twistor space is proposed for\ndescribing perturbative N=4 super-Yang-Mills theory. Like the recent proposal\nof Witten, this string theory uses twistor worldsheet variables and has\nmanifest spacetime superconformal invariance. However, in this proposal,\ntree-level super-Yang-Mills amplitudes come from open string tree amplitudes as\nopposed to coming from D-instanton contributions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Conformal Gravity from AdS/CFT mechanism: We explicitly calculate the induced gravity theory at the boundary of an\nasymptotically Anti-de Sitter five dimensional Einstein gravity. We also\ndisplay the action that encodes the dynamics of radial diffeomorphisms. It is\nfound that the induced theory is a four dimensional conformal gravity plus a\nscalar field. This calculation confirms some previous results found by a\ndifferent approach.",
        "positive": "Dualities in CHL-Models: We define a very general class of CHL-models associated with any string\ntheory (bosonic or supersymmetric) compactified on an internal CFT C x T^d. We\ntake the orbifold by a pair (g,\\delta), where g is a (possibly non-geometric)\nsymmetry of C and \\delta is a translation along T^d. We analyze the T-dualities\nof these models and show that in general they contain Atkin-Lehner type\nsymmetries. This generalizes our previous work on N=4 CHL-models based on\nheterotic string theory on T^6 or type II on K3 x T^2, as well as the\n`monstrous' CHL-models based on a compactification of heterotic string theory\non the Frenkel-Lepowsky-Meurman CFT V^{\\natural}."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The SAGEX Review on Scattering Amplitudes, Chapter 11: Soft Theorems and\n  Celestial Amplitudes: The soft limits of scattering amplitudes have been extensively studied due to\ntheir essential role in the computation of physical observables in collider\nphysics. The universal factorisation that occurs in these kinematic limits has\nbeen shown to be related to conservation laws associated with asymptotic, or\nlarge, gauge symmetries. This connection has led to a deeper understanding of\nthe symmetries of gauge and gravitational theories and to a reformulation of\nscattering amplitudes in a basis of boost eigenstates which makes manifest the\ntwo-dimensional global conformal symmetry of the celestial sphere. The recast,\nor celestial, amplitudes possess many of the properties of conformal field\ntheory correlation functions which has suggested a path towards a holographic\ndescription of asymptotically flat spacetimes. In this review we consider these\ninterconnected developments in our understanding of soft theorems, asymptotic\nsymmetries and conformal field theory with a focus on the structure and\nsymmetries of the celestial amplitudes and their holographic interpretation.",
        "positive": "Minimal Superspace Vector Fields for 5D Minimal Supersymmetry: We investigate a minimal superspace description for 5D superconformal Killing\nvectors. The vielbein appropriate for AdS symmetry is discussed within the\nconfines of this minimal supergeometry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fluxes and gaugings: N = 1 effective superpotentials: We illustrate the correspondence between the N=1 superstring\ncompactifications with fluxes, the N=4 gauged supergravities and the\nsuperpotential and K\\\"ahler potential of the effective N=1 supergravity in four\ndimensions. In particular we derive, in the presence of general fluxes, the\neffective N=1 supergravity theory associated to the type IIA orientifolds with\nD6 branes, compactified on $T^6/(Z_2 \\times Z_2)$. We construct explicit\nexamples with different features: in particular, new IIA no-scale models, new\nmodels with cosmological interest and a model which admits a supersymmetric\nAdS$_4$ vacuum with all seven main moduli ($S, T_A, U_A,A=1,2,3$) stabilized.",
        "positive": "String Fluctuations, AdS/CFT and the Soft Pomeron Intercept: We study high energy scattering amplitudes in a strongly coupled (confining)\ngauge theory using the AdS/CFT correspondence. The scattering described by a\nWilson line/loop correlation function was shown earlier to correspond to\nminimal surfaces of the helicoid type, and gave amplitudes with unit intercept\nand linear trajectory. In this paper we find the correction to the intercept\nfrom quadratic fluctuations of the string worldsheet around the helicoid. The\nrelevant term comes from analytical continuation of a L\\\"uscher like term. It\nis coupling-constant independent and proportional to the number of effective\ntransverse flat dimensions. The shift of the intercept, under our assumptions,\nis $n_\\perp /96$, and for $n_\\perp=7,8$ gives respectively 0.0729, 0.083.\nIncidentally we note that this is surprisingly close to the observed value of\n0.08."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Duffin-Kemmer-Petiau formalism reexamined: non-relativistic\n  approximation for spin 0 and spin 1 particles in a Riemannian space-time: It is shown that the generally covariant Duffin-Kemmer-Petiau equation,\nformulated in the frame of the Tetrode-Weyl-Fock-Ivanenko tetrad formalism,\nallows for a non-relativistic approximation if the metric tensor is of a\nspecial form. The Pauli equation for a vector particle involves the Riemann\ncurvature tensor explicitly. In analogous way, the procedure of the\nnon-relativistic approximation in the theory of scalar particle, charged and\nneutral, is investigated in the background of Riemannian space-time. A\ngeneralized covariant Schrodinger equation is derived when taking into account\nnon-minimal interaction term through scalar curvature R(x), it substantially\ndiffers from the conventional generally covariant Schrodinger equation produced\nwhen R(x)=0. It is demonstrated that the the non-relativistic wave function is\nalways complex-valued irrespective of the type of relativistic scalar particle,\ncharged or neutral, taken initially. The theory of vector particle proves the\nsame property: even if the wave function of the relativistic particle of spin 1\nis taken real,the corresponding wave function in the non-relativistic\napproximation is complex-valued.",
        "positive": "Mixed anomalies of chiral algebras compactified to smooth\n  quasi-projective surfaces: Some time ago, the chiral algebra theory of Beilinson-Drinfeld was expected\nto play a central role in the convergence of divergence in mathematical physics\nof superstring theory for quantization of gauge theory and gravity. Naively,\nthis algebra plays an important role in a holomorphic conformal field theory\nwith a non-negative integer graded conformal dimension, whose target space does\nnot necessarily have the vanishing first Chern class. This algebra has two\ndefinitions until now: one is that by Malikov-Schechtman-Vaintrob by gluing\naffine patches, and the other is that of Kapranov-Vasserot by gluing the formal\nloop spaces. I will use the new definition of Nekrasov by simplifying\nMalikov-Schechtman-Vaintrob in order to compute the obstruction classes of\ngerbes of chiral differential operators.\n  In this paper, I will examine the two independent Ans$\\\"{a}$tze (or working\nhypotheses) of Witten's $\\mathcal{N}=(0,2)$ heterotic strings and Nekrasov's\ngeneralized complex geometry, after Hitchin and Gualtieri, are consistent in\nthe case of $\\mathbb{CP}^2$, which has $3$ affine patches and is expected to\nhave the \"first Pontryagin anomaly\".\n  I also scrutinized the physical meanings of $2$ dimensional toric Fano\nmanifolds, or rather toric del Pezzo surfaces, obtained by blowing up the\nnon-colinear $1, 2, 3$ points of $\\mathbb{CP}^2$. The obstruction classes of\ngerbes of them coincide with the second Chern characters obtained by the\nRiemann-Roch theorem and in particular vanishes for $1$ point blowup, which\nmeans that one of the gravitational anomalies vanishes for a non-Calabi-Yau\nmanifold compactification.\n  The future direction towards the geometric Langlands program is also\ndiscussed in the last section."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Born-Infeld Gravity Revisited: In this paper we investigate the behavior of linearized gravitational\nexcitation in the Born-Infeld Gravity in $AdS_3$ space. We obtain the\nlinearized equation of motion and show that this higher order gravity propagate\ntwo gravitons, massless and massive, on the $AdS_3$ background. In contrast to\nthe $R^2$ models, such as TMG or NMG, Born-Infeld Gravity does not have a\ncritical point for any regular choice of parameters. So the logarithmic\nsolution is not a solution of this model, due to this one can not find a\nlogarithmic conformal field theory as a dual model for Born-Infeld Gravity.",
        "positive": "Gauge fields and infinite chains of dualities: We show that the particle states of Maxwell's theory, in $D$ dimensions, can\nbe represented in an infinite number of ways by using different gauge fields.\nUsing this result we formulate the dynamics in terms of an infinite set of\nduality relations which are first order in space-time derivatives. We derive a\nsimilar result for the three form in eleven dimensions where such a possibility\nwas first observed in the context of E11. We also give an action formulation\nfor some of the gauge fields. In this paper we give a pedagogical account of\nthe Lorentz and gauge covariant formulation of the irreducible representations\nof the Poincar\\'e group, used previously in higher spin theories, as this plays\na key role in our constructions. It is clear that our results can be\ngeneralised to any particle."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Embedding Quantum Information into Classical Spacetime: Information\n  Geometrical Perspectives on anti-de Sitter space / conformal field theory\n  Correspondence: An information-geometrical interpretation of AdS3/CFT2 correspondence is\ngiven. In particular, we consider an inverse problem in which the classical\nspacetime metric is given in advance and then we find what is the proper\nquantum information that is well stored into the spacetime. We see that the\nFisher metric plays a central role on this problem. Actually, if we start with\nthe two-dimensional hyperbolic space, a constant-time surface in AdS3, the\nresulting singular value spectrum of the quantum state shows power law for the\ncorrelation length with conformal dimension proportional to the curvature\nradius in the gravity side. Furthermore, the entanglement entropy data embedded\ninto the hyperbolic space agree well with the Ryu-Takayanagi formula. These\nresults show that the relevance of the AdS/CFT correspondence can be\nrepresented by the information-gemetrical approach based on the Fisher metric.",
        "positive": "ABCD of qq-characters: The qq-characters are powerful tools to reveal symmetries and integrabilities\nof Seiberg-Witten theories. The goal of this paper is to provide analytic\nexpressions of qq-characters based on Young diagrams in 5d $\\mathcal{N} = 1$\npure Yang-Mills theories with BCD-type gauge groups, by focusing on the\nunrefined limit. Using these expressions, we investigate the relationships\namong qq-characters of classical gauge groups. For SO(n) gauge groups, we\nconstruct a quantum-toroidal-like algebra via the Ward-identity approach, which\nallows us to derive the qq-characters."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Is string theory a theory of quantum gravity?: Some problems in finding a complete quantum theory incorporating gravity are\ndiscussed. One is that of giving a consistent unitary description of\nhigh-energy scattering. Another is that of giving a consistent quantum\ndescription of cosmology, with appropriate observables. While string theory\naddresses some problems of quantum gravity, its ability to resolve these\nremains unclear. Answers may require new mechanisms and constructs, whether\nwithin string theory, or in another framework.",
        "positive": "On gauge/string correspondence and mirror symmetry: We consider a mirror dual of the Berkovits-Vafa A-model for the BPS\nsuperstring on $AdS_5\\times S^5$ in the form of a deformed superconifold. Via\ngeometric transition, the theory has a dual description as the hermitian\ngaussian one-matrix model. We show that the A-model amplitudes of generic\n$AdS_2\\times S^4$ branes, breaking the superconformal symmetry as $U(2,2|4)\\to\nOSp(4^*|4)$, are evaluated in terms of observables in the matrix model. As\nsuch, upon the usual identification $g_{YM}^2=g_s$, these can be expanded as\nDrukker-Gross circular 1/2-BPS Wilson loops in the perturbative regime of\n${\\cal N}=4$ SYM."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "New insights on near-extremal black holes: We describe two puzzles that arise from a semiclassical treatment of\nnear-extremal black hole thermodynamics. Both puzzles are resolved by realizing\nthat quantum corrections become arbitrarily large at low temperatures, and we\nexplain how the spectrum and dynamics of near-extremal black holes are\nmodified. This analysis also implies that without low energy supersymmetry,\nsuch as in the real world, extremal black holes at exactly zero temperature do\nnot exist since the classical picture breaks down completely. In the context of\nsupergravity the analysis is modified; supersymmetric extremal black holes do\nexist and they are separated from the non-extremal spectrum by a gap power-law\nsuppressed in the entropy. This justifies black hole microstate counting\nperformed in the 90's using string theory.",
        "positive": "Higher Dimensional Quantum Hall Effect as A-Class Topological Insulator: We perform a detail study of higher dimensional quantum Hall effects and\nA-class topological insulators with emphasis on their relations to\nnon-commutative geometry. There are two different formulations of\nnon-commutative geometry for higher dimensional fuzzy spheres; the ordinary\ncommutator formulation and quantum Nambu bracket formulation. Corresponding to\nthese formulations, we introduce two kinds of monopole gauge fields;\nnon-abelian gauge field and antisymmetric tensor gauge field, which\nrespectively realize the non-commutative geometry of fuzzy sphere in the lowest\nLandau level. We establish connection between the two types of monopole gauge\nfields through Chern-Simons term, and derive explicit form of tensor monopole\ngauge fields with higher string-like singularity. The connection between two\ntypes of monopole is applied to generalize the concept of flux attachment in\nquantum Hall effect to A-class topological insulator. We propose tensor type\nChern-Simons theory as the effective field theory for membranes in A-class\ntopological insulators. Membranes turn out to be fractionally charged objects\nand the phase entanglement mediated by tensor gauge field transforms the\nmembrane statistics to be anyonic. The index theorem supports the dimensional\nhierarchy of A-class topological insulator. Analogies to D-brane physics of\nstring theory are discussed too."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Time-Symmetric Rolling Tachyon Profile: We investigate the tachyon profile of a time-symmetric rolling tachyon\nsolution to open string field theory. We algebraically construct the solution\nof [arXiv:0707.4472] at 6th order in the marginal parameter, and numerically\nevaluate the corresponding tachyon profile as well as the action and several\ncorrelation functions containing the equation of motion. We find that the\nmarginal operator's singular self-OPE is properly regularized and all\nquantities we examine are finite. In contrast to the widely studied\ntime-asymmetric case, the solution depends nontrivially on the strength of the\ndeformation parameter. For example, we find that the number and period of\noscillations of the tachyon field changes as the strength of the marginal\ndeformation is increased. We use the recent renormalization scheme of\n[arXiv:1412.3466], which contains two free parameters. At finite deformation\nparameter the tachyon profile depends on these parameters, while when the\ndeformation parameter is small, the solution becomes insensitive to them and\nbehaves like previously studied time-asymmetric rolling tachyon solutions. We\nalso show that convergence of perturbation series is not as straightforward as\nin the time-asymmetric case with regular OPE, and find evidence that it may\ndepend on the renormalization constants.",
        "positive": "Coupled Inflation and Brane Gases: We study an effective four-dimensional theory with an action with two scalar\nfields minimally coupled to gravity, and with a matter action which couples to\nthe two scalar fields via an overall field-dependent coefficient in the action.\nSuch a theory could arise from a dimensional reduction of supergravity coupled\nto a gas of branes winding the compactified dimensions. We show the existence\nof solutions corresponding to power-law inflation. The graceful exit from\ninflation can be obtained by postulating the decay of the branes, as would\noccur if the branes are unstable in the vacuum and stabilized at high densities\nby plasma effects. This construction provides an avenue for connecting string\ngas cosmology and the late-time universe."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Lorentz-violating electrodynamics in continuous matter: We review the propagation of electromagnetic waves in continuous matter in\nthe presence of Lorentz-violating terms. First, we briefly discuss classical\nelectrodynamics with regard to optical properties of a dielectric medium\nexhibiting the Chiral Magnetic Effect (CME). Such a medium can be modeled by\nMaxwell-Carroll-Field-Jackiw (MCFJ) theory. Second, we describe the impact of\nCPT-odd terms of mass dimensions three and five, respectively, on\nelectromagnetic propagation in continuous matter. Birefringence and absorption\nare analyzed in the scenarios investigated. Our findings provide new insights\ninto the interplay between classical field theory and optical effects in\nmatter.",
        "positive": "Inequivalent $Z_2^n$-graded brackets, $n$-bit parastatistics and\n  statistical transmutations of supersymmetric quantum mechanics: Given an associative ring of $Z_2^n$-graded operators, the number of\ninequivalent brackets of Lie-type which are compatible with the grading and\nsatisfy graded Jacobi identities is $b_n= n+\\lfloor n/2\\rfloor+1$. This follows\nfrom the Rittenberg-Wyler and Scheunert analysis of \"color\" Lie (super)algebras\nwhich is revisited here in terms of Boolean logic gates. The inequivalent\nbrackets, recovered from $Z_2^n\\times Z_2^n\\rightarrow Z_2$ mappings, are\ndefined by consistent sets of commutators/anticommutators describing particles\naccommodated into an $n$-bit parastatistics (ordinary bosons/fermions\ncorrespond to $1$ bit). Depending on the given graded Lie (super)algebra, its\ngraded sectors can fall into different classes of equivalence expressing\ndifferent types of (para)bosons and/or (para)fermions. As a first application\nwe construct $Z_2^2$ and $ Z_2^3$-graded quantum Hamiltonians which\nrespectively admit $b_2=4$ and $b_3=5$ inequivalent multiparticle quantizations\n(the inequivalent parastatistics are discriminated by measuring the eigenvalues\nof certain observables in some given states). As a main physical application we\nprove that the $N$-extended, $1D$ supersymmetric and superconformal quantum\nmechanics, for $N=1,2,4,8$, are respectively described by $s_{N}=2,6,10,14 $\nalternative formulations based on the inequivalent graded Lie (super)algebras.\nThese numbers correspond to all possible \"statistical transmutations\" of a\ngiven set of supercharges which, for ${N}=1,2,4,8$, are accommodated into a\n$Z_2^n$-grading with $n=1,2,3,4$ (the identification is $N= 2^{n-1}$). In the\nsimplest ${N}=2$ setting (the $2$-particle sector of the de DFF deformed\noscillator with $sl(2|1)$ spectrum-generating superalgebra), the $Z_2^2$-graded\nparastatistics imply a degeneration of the energy levels which cannot be\nreproduced by ordinary bosons/fermions statistics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spectrum-Generating Algebra for Charged Superstrings in Background Gauge\n  Fields: The spectrum-generating algebra (SGA) for charged superstrings placed in\nconstant background magnetic fields is constructed. Contrary to the neutral\nstring this algebra is characteristic of including the cyclotron frequency. The\nRegge intercept and superconformal anomalies are calculated to be shifted by\nthe cyclotron frequency and D-brane parameters from the conventional values.",
        "positive": "Perturbative or Path-Integral Approach versus Operator-Formalism\n  Approach: In the conformal-gauge two-dimensional quantum gravity, the solution obtained\nby the perturbative or path-integral approach is compared with the one obtained\nby the operator-formalism approach. Treatments of the anomaly problem in both\napproaches are different. This difference is found to be essentially caused by\nthe fact that the perturbative or path-integral approach is based on the\nT*-product (covariantized T-product), which generally violates field equations.\nIndeed, this fact induces some extra one-loop Feynman diagrams, which would not\nexist unless a nonzero contribution arose from a zero field. Some demerits of\nthe path-integral approach are explicitly demonstrated."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Covariant Superstring on K3: We compactify the pure spinor formalism on a K3 surface. The pure spinor\nsplits into a six-dimensional pure spinor, a projective superspace harmonic,\nand 6 non-covariant variables. A homological algebra argument reduces the\ncalculation of the cohomology of the Berkovits differential to a \"small\"\nHilbert space which is the string-theoretic analogue of projective superspace.\nThe description of the physical state conditions is facilitated by lifting to\nthe full harmonic superspace, which is accomplished by the introduction of the\nmissing harmonics as non-minimal variables. Finally, contact with the hybrid\nformalism is made by returning to the small Hilbert space and fermionizing the\nprojective parameter.",
        "positive": "Shifts of prepotentials (with an appendix by Michele Vergne): We study the dynamics of supersymmetric theories in five dimensions obtained\nby compactifications of M-theory on a Calabi-Yau threefold X. For a compact X,\nthis is determined by the geometry of X, in particular the Kahler class\ndependence of the volume of X determines the effective couplings of vector\nmultiplets. Rigid supersymmetry emerges in the limit of divergent volume,\nprompting the study of the structure of Duistermaat-Heckman formula and its\ngeneralizations for non-compact toric Kahler manifolds. Our main tool is the\nset of finite-difference equations obeyed by equivariant volumes and their\nquantum versions. We also discuss a physical application of these equations in\nthe context of seven-dimensional gauge theories, extending and clarifying our\nprevious results. The appendix by M. Vergne provides an alternative local proof\nof the shift equation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Equivalence Principle on Cosmological Backgrounds in Scalar-Tensor\n  Theories: We study the extent up to which the equivalence principle is obeyed in models\nof modified gravity and dark energy involving a single scalar degree of\nfreedom. We focus on the effective field theories of dark energy describing the\nlate time acceleration in the presence of ordinary matter species. In their\ncovariant form these coincide with the Horndeski theories on a cosmological\nbackground with a slowly varying Hubble rate and a time-dependent scalar field.\nWe show that in the case of an exactly de Sitter universe both the weak and\nstrong equivalence principles hold. This occurs due to the combination of the\nshift symmetry of the scalar and the time translational invariance of de Sitter\nspace. When generalized to Friedmann--Robertson--Walker cosmologies (FRW) we\nshow that the weak equivalence principle is obeyed for test particles and\nextended objects in the quasi-static subhorizon limit. We do this by studying\nthe field created by an extended object moving in an FRW background as well as\nits equation of motion in an external gravitational field. We also estimate the\ncorrections to the geodesic equation of the extended object due to the\napproximations made.",
        "positive": "Tangles, Generalized Reidemeister Moves, and Three-Dimensional Mirror\n  Symmetry: Three-dimensional N=2 superconformal field theories are constructed by\ncompactifying M5-branes on three-manifolds. In the infrared the branes\nrecombine, and the physics is captured by a single M5-brane on a branched cover\nof the original ultraviolet geometry. The branch locus is a tangle, a\none-dimensional knotted submanifold of the ultraviolet geometry. A choice of\nbranch sheet for this cover yields a Lagrangian for the theory, and varying the\nbranch sheet provides dual descriptions. Massless matter arises from vanishing\nsize M2-branes and appears as singularities of the tangle where branch lines\ncollide. Massive deformations of the field theory correspond to resolutions of\nsingularities resulting in distinct smooth manifolds connected by geometric\ntransitions. A generalization of Reidemeister moves for singular tangles\ncaptures mirror symmetries of the underlying theory yielding a geometric\nframework where dualities are manifest."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Superstrings, Gauge Fields and Black Holes: There has been spectacular progress in the development of string and\nsuperstring theories since its inception thirty years ago. Development in this\narea has never been impeded by the lack of experimental confirmation. Indeed,\nnumerous bold and imaginative strides have been taken and the sheer elegance\nand logical consistency of the arguments have served as a primary motivation\nfor string theorists to push their formulations ahead. In fact the development\nin this area has been so rapid that new ideas quickly become obsolete. On the\nother hand, this rapid development has proved to be the greatest hindrance for\nnovices interested in this area. These notes serve as a gentle introduction to\nthis topic. In these elementary notes, we briefly review the RNS formulation of\nsuperstring theory, GSO projection, $D$-branes, bosonic strings, dualities,\ndynamics of $D$-branes and the microscopic description of Bekenstein entropy of\na black hole.",
        "positive": "Nonperturbative Instability of AdS_5 x S^5/Z_k: We study the AdS/CFT correspondence with boundary conditions AdS_5 x S^5/Z_k,\nwhere the Z_k acts freely but breaks all supersymmetry. While there are closed\nstring tachyons at small 't Hooft coupling, there are no tachyons at large\ncoupling. Nevertheless, we show that there is a nonperturbative instability\ndirectly analogous to the decay of the Kaluza-Klein vacuum. We discuss the\nimplications of this instability for the strongly coupled dual field theory,\nand compare with earlier studies of this theory at weak coupling."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Lifshitz Singularities: Lifshitz spacetimes are possible gravitational duals to strongly coupled\nfield theories with an anisotropic scaling symmetry. These spacetimes however,\nhave a null curvature singularity. We find that higher dimensional embeddings\nof Lifshitz also have a similar singularity. We study the propagation of test\nstrings in this background and find that they become infinitely excited if they\ntry to propagate through the singularity. This means that the Lifshitz geometry\nis unstable and will receive large corrections in string theory.",
        "positive": "Quasiparticle picture from the Bekenstein bound: We provide general arguments regarding the connection between low-energy\ntheories (gravity and quantum field theory) and a hypothetical fundamental\ntheory of quantum gravity, under the assumptions of (i) validity of the\nholographic bound and (ii) preservation of unitary evolution at the level of\nthe fundamental theory. In particular, the appeal to the holographic bound\nimposed on generic physical systems by the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy implies\nthat both classical geometry and quantum fields propagating on it should be\nregarded as phenomena emergent from the dynamics of the fundamental theory. The\nreshuffling of the fundamental degrees of freedom during the unitary evolution\nthen leads to an entanglement between geometry and quantum fields. The\nconsequences of such scenario are considered in the context of black hole\nevaporation and the related information-loss issue: we provide a simplistic toy\nmodel in which an average loss of information is obtained as a consequence of\nthe geometry-field entanglement."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Theta vacuum in different gauges: In some recent papers it is claimed that the physical significance of the\nvacuum angle theta for QCD-like theories depends on the chosen gauge condition.\nWe criticise the arguments that were given in support of this claim, and show\nby explicit construction for the case of QED$_2$ that and why they fail,\nconfirming thereby the commonly accepted point of view.",
        "positive": "Holographic quenches and anomalous transport: In my master thesis, I investigated the chiral-magnetic effect in the context\nof holography; I focused in especially on the impact of the chiral anomaly at\ntransport properties and non-equilbrium behaviour in response to an holographic\nquench. Concretely, I considered an $U(1)_\\text{A}\\times\nU(1)_\\text{V}$-Einstein-Maxwell bottom-up model consisting of two massless\ngauge fields, coupled by a Chern-Simons term in the fivedimensional AdS\nspacetime. The two gauge fields provide a time dependent electric field and a\nstatic magnetic field, parallel to it. As response of the system to quench, I\ninvestigated the electromagnetic current in direction of the magnetic field\nwhich is generated due to the CME. In the first part of the thesis, I\ncharacterised the initial response of the system, in a fixed Schwarzschild AdS\nbackground, subjected to a 'fast' quench. The corresponding hyperbolic PDE is\nsolved by means of a fully spectral code in spaces as well as in time\ndirection. Note that this was the first application of a fully spectral code\nwithin holography. In the case of 'fast' quenches, the system exhibits an\nuniversal scaling behaviour, independent of the external parameters as the\nstrength of the anomaly and the magnetic field, respectively. The late time\nbehaviour of the system shows, depending on the quench and external parameters,\nin some cases long lived oscillations in the current. Furthermore, I computed\nthe quasi-normal modes of the systems, including the backreaction of the matter\nfields on the background metric. It turns out that the long lived oscillations\nappear only in presence of the anomaly and can be traced back to the presence\nof Landau levels in the system. The results of my master thesis were partly\npublished in arXiv:1607.06817; however, the thesis contains a lot of\ninteresting, and so far unpublished, results and can be viewed as extended\nversion of the paper."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On M-theory fourfold vacua with higher curvature terms: We study solutions to the eleven-dimensional supergravity action, including\nterms quartic and cubic in the Riemann curvature, that admit an\neight-dimensional compact space. The internal background is found to be a\nconformally Kahler manifold with vanishing first Chern class. The metric\nsolution, however, is non-Ricci-flat even when allowing for a conformal\nrescaling including the warp factor. This deviation is due to the possible\nnon-harmonicity of the third Chern-form in the leading order Ricci-flat metric.\nWe present a systematic derivation of the background solution by solving the\nKilling spinor conditions including higher curvature terms. These are\ntranslated into first-order differential equations for a globally defined real\ntwo-form and complex four-form on the fourfold. We comment on the supersymmetry\nproperties of the described solutions.",
        "positive": "Boundary bound states and boundary bootstrap in the sine-Gordon model\n  with Dirichlet boundary conditions.: We present a complete study of boundary bound states and related boundary\nS-matrices for the sine-Gordon model with Dirichlet boundary conditions. Our\napproach is based partly on the bootstrap procedure, and partly on the explicit\nsolution of the inhomogeneous XXZ model with boundary magnetic field and of the\nboundary Thirring model. We identify boundary bound states with new ``boundary\nstrings'' in the Bethe ansatz. The boundary energy is also computed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Flow Equation and Fermion Gap in the Holographic Superconductors: We reconsider the fermion spectral function in the presence of the Cooper\npair condensation and identified the interaction type of complex scalar and\nfermion, which gives consistent results with the expected s-wave superconductor\nfor the first time. We derive the matrix Riccati equation, which allows the\nprecise calculation of the fermion spectral function. Apart from the gap\nstructure, we studied the effect of the chemical potential and the density and\ncompared it with the BCS theory. We found that two theories give similar\nresults in small chemical potential but very different ones in the high-density\ncase, which we attribute to the correlation effect.",
        "positive": "Non-renormalization for the Liouville wave function: Using an exact functional method, within the framework of the gradient\nexpansion for the Liouville effective action, we show that the kinetic term for\nthe Liouville field is not renormalized."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Ruijsenaars-Schneider Model: We seek to clarify some of the physical aspects of the Ruijsenaars-Schneider\nmodels. This important class of models was presented as a relativistic\ngeneralisation of the Calogero-Moser models but, as we shall argue, this\ndescription is misleading. It is far better to simply view the models as a\none-parameter generalisation of Calogero-Moser models. By viewing the models as\ndescribing certain eigenvalue motions we can appreciate the generic nature of\nthe models.",
        "positive": "Hamiltonians and physical vacua of exactly solvable models: Correct quantum Hamiltonians of a few exactly solvable models in two\nspace-time dimensions are derived by taking into account operator solutions of\nthe field equations. While two versions of the model with derivative coupling\nare found to be equivalent in many respects to a free theory, physical vacua of\nthe massless Thirring and Federbush models are obtained by means of a\nBogoliubov transformation in the form of a coherent state quadratic in\ncomposite boson operators. Contrary to the conventional treatment, the\nFederbush model is shown to have the same interacting structure in both\nspace-like and light-front formulations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the analytical continuation of lattice Liouville theory: The path integral of Liouville theory is well understood only when the\ncentral charge $c\\in [25, \\infty)$. Here, we study the analytical continuation\nthe lattice Liouville path integral to generic values of $c$, with a particular\nfocus on the vicinity of $c\\in (-\\infty, 1]$. We show that the $c\\in [25,\n\\infty)$ lattice path integral can be continued to one over a new integration\ncycle of complex field configurations. We give an explicit formula for the new\nintegration cycle in terms of a discrete sum over elementary cycles, which are\na direct generalization of the inverse Gamma function contour. Possible\nstatistical interpretations are discussed. We also compare our approach to one\nfocused on Lefschetz thimbles, by solving a two-site toy model in detail. As\nthe parameter equivalent to $c$ varies from $[25, \\infty)$ to $(-\\infty, 1]$,\nwe find an infinite number of Stokes walls (where the thimbles undergo\ntopological rearrangements), accumulating at the destination point $c \\in\n(-\\infty, 1]$, where the thimbles become equivalent to the elementary cycles.",
        "positive": "Schroedinger Representation of CP(N) Model for Large N: We examine the 1+1 dimensional CP(N) model in the large N limit by using the\nSchroedinger representation. Starting from the Hamiltonian analysis of the\nmodel, we present the variational gap equation resulting from the Gaussian\ntrial wave functional. The renormalization of the theory is performed with\ninsertion of mass and energy counter-terms, and the dynamical generation of\nmass and the energy eigenvalue are derived."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Spatial Dynamics in Kazakov--Migdal Model: The spatially inhomogeneous large $N$ solutions to Kazakov--Migdal model are\nanalyzed. The set of nonlinear differential equations is derived in the\ncontinuum limit. In one dimensional case these equations has a natural\ninterpretation in terms of the dynamics of a Fermi gas. The multidimensional\ncase seems to be inconsistent because of its instability related to the\ncollapse of eigenvalues of the scalar field.",
        "positive": "(Non)renormalization of Anomalous Conductivities and Holography: The chiral magnetic and the chiral vortical effects are recently discovered\nphenomena arising from chiral gauge and gravitational anomalies that lead to\ngeneration of electric currents in presence of magnetic field or vorticity. The\nmagnitude of these effects is determined by the anomalous conductivities. These\nconductivities can be calculated by the linear response theory, and in the\nstrong coupling limit this calculation can be carried out by the holographic\ntechniques. Earlier calculations in case of conformal field theories indicate\nnon-renormalization of these conductivities where the holographic calculation\nagrees with the free field limit. We extend this holographic study to\nnon-conformal theories exhibiting mass-gap and confinement-deconfinement type\ntransitions in a holographic model based on the analytic black hole solution of\nGao and Zhang. We show that radiative corrections are also absent in these\nnon-conformal theories confirming indirect arguments of Jensen et al in a\ndirect and non-trivial fashion. There are various indications in field theory\nthat such radiative corrections should arise when contribution of dynamical\ngluon fields to the chiral anomaly is present. Motivated by this, we seek for\nsuch corrections in the holographic picture and argue that such corrections\nindeed arise through mixing of the background and its fluctuations with the\naxion and the one-form fields that couple to the flavor and probe gauge branes\nthrough the Wess-Zumino terms. These corrections are non-vanishing when the\nflavor to color ratio $N_f/N_c$ is finite, therefore they are only visible in\nthe Veneziano limit at large $N_c$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Thermofield Dynamics of the Heterotic String - Physical Aspects of the\n  Thermal Duality -: The thermofield dynamics of the D = 10 heterotic thermal string theory is\ndescribed in proper reference to the thermal duality symmetry as well as the\nthermal stability of modular invariance in association with the global phase\nstructure of the D = 10 heterotic thermal string ensemble.",
        "positive": "A Vector Supersymmetry Killing IR Divergences in Non-Commutative Gauge\n  Theories: This is a report on the joint work with Francois Gieres, Stefan Hohenegger,\nOlivier Piguet and Manfred Schweda. We consider a non-commutative U(1) gauge\ntheory with an extension which was originally proposed by A. A. Slavnov in\norder to get rid of UV/IR mixing problems. Here we show, that the improved IR\nbehaviour of this model is mainly due to the appearence of a linear vector\nsupersymmetry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Entanglement, anomalies and Mathisson's helices: We study the physical properties of a length-torsion functional which encodes\nthe holographic entanglement entropy for 1+1 dimensional theories with chiral\nanomalies. Previously, we have shown that its extremal curves correspond to the\nmysterious Mathisson's helical motions for the centroids of spinning bodies. We\nexplore the properties of these helices in domain-wall backgrounds using both\nanalytic and numerical techniques. Using these insights we derive an entropic\n$c$-function $c_{\\mathrm{Hel}}(\\ell)$ which can be succinctly expressed in\nterms of Noether charges conserved along these helical motions. While for\ngeneric values of the anomaly there is some ambiguity in the definition of\n$c_{\\mathrm{Hel}}(\\ell)$, we argue that at the chiral point this ambiguity is\nabsent.",
        "positive": "Nonperturbative quantization approach for QED on the Hopf bundle: We consider the Dirac equation and Maxwell's electrodynamics in $\\mathbb{R}\n\\times S^3$ spacetime, where a three-dimensional sphere is the Hopf bundle $S^3\n\\rightarrow S^2$. In both cases, discrete spectra of classical solutions are\nobtained. Based on the solutions obtained, the quantization of free,\nnoninteracting Dirac and Maxwell fields is carried out. The method of\nnonperturbative quantization of interacting Dirac and Maxwell fields is\nsuggested. The corresponding operator equations and the infinite set of the\nSchwinger-Dyson equations for Green's functions is written down. To illustrate\nthe suggested scheme of nonperturbative quantization, we write a simplified set\nof equations describing some physical situation. Also, we discuss the\nproperties of quantum states and operators of interacting fields."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Subregion Entropy for the Doubly Holographic Global Black String: We study the growth of entanglement entropy in a doubly holographic model of\ngravity for a spherical AdS black hole. Compared to previous work, which was\nlimited to the case of planar black holes, this introduces an extra scale to\nthe problem. This allows us to analyze the interplay between the reorganization\nof entanglement entropy due to island formation and the onset of the\nHawking-Page phase transition and to find the appearance of a new critical\nblack hole radius unrelated to the thermodynamics. We also find that the\ngeometry of the Ryu-Takayanagi surface capturing the physics of islands\nexhibits drastically different behavior than in the planar case.",
        "positive": "Normal Mode Spectrum of the Deuteron in the Skyrme Model: The normal mode spectrum of the deuteron in the Skyrme model is computed. We\nfind a bound doublet mode below the pion mass, which can be related to the\nwell-known $90^{\\circ}$ scattering of two skyrmions. We also find a singlet\n`breather' mode and another doublet above the pion mass. The qualitative\npattern of the spectrum is similar to that recently found for the B=4\nmultiskyrmion. The symmetries of all the vibrational modes are presented."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The closed piecewise uniform string revisited: We reconsider the composite string model introduced {30 years ago} to study\nthe vacuum energy. The model consists of a scalar field, describing the\ntransversal vibrations of a string consisting of piecewise constant sections\nwith different tensions and mass densities, keeping the speed of light constant\nacross the junctions. We consider the spectrum using transfer matrices and\nChebyshev polynomials to get a closed formula for the eigenfrequencies. We\ncalculate vacuum and free energy as well as the entropy of this system in two\napproaches, one using contour integration and another one using a Hurwitz zeta\nfunction. The latter results in a representation in terms of finite sums over\npolynomials. Several limiting cases are considered as well, for instance, the\nhigh-temperature expansion, which is expressed in terms of the heat kernel\ncoefficients. The vacuum energy has no ultraviolet divergences, and the\ncorresponding heat kernel coefficient $a_1$ is zero due to the constancy of the\nspeed of light. This is in parallel to a similar situation in macroscopic\nelectrodynamics with isorefractive boundary conditions.",
        "positive": "Branes and Fluxes in D=5 Calabi-Yau Compactifications of M-Theory: We discuss Poincare three-brane solutions in D=5 M-Theory compactifications\non Calabi-Yau (CY) threefolds with G-fluxes. We show that the vector moduli\nfreeze at an attractor point. In the case with background flux only, the\nspacetime geometry contains a zero volume singularity with the three-brane and\nthe CY space shrinking simultaneously to a point. This problem can be avoided\nby including explicit three-brane sources. We consider two cases in detail: a\nsingle brane and, when the transverse dimension is compactified on a circle, a\npair of branes with opposite tensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Emission of Massive Scalar Fields by a Higher-Dimensional Rotating\n  Black-Hole: We perform a comprehensive study of the emission of massive scalar fields by\na higher-dimensional, simply rotating black hole both in the bulk and on the\nbrane. We derive approximate, analytic results as well as exact numerical ones\nfor the absorption probability, and demonstrate that the two sets agree very\nwell in the low and intermediate-energy regime for scalar fields with mass\nm_\\Phi < 1 TeV in the bulk and m_\\Phi < 0.5 TeV on the brane. The numerical\nvalues of the absorption probability are then used to derive the Hawking\nradiation power emission spectra in terms of the number of extra dimensions,\nangular-momentum of the black hole and mass of the emitted field. We compute\nthe total emissivities in the bulk and on the brane, and demonstrate that,\nalthough the brane channel remains the dominant one, the bulk-over-brane energy\nratio is considerably increased (up to 33%) when the mass of the emitted field\nis taken into account.",
        "positive": "String Theory and Matrix Models: It is generally accepted that the double-scaled 1D matrix model is equivalent\nto the $c=1$ string theory with tachyon condensation. There remain however\npuzzles that are to be clarified in order to utilize this connection for our\nquest towards possible non-perturbative formulation of string theory. We\ndiscuss some of the issues that are related to the space-time interpretation of\nmatrix models, in particular, the questions of leg poles, causality, and black\nhole background. Finally, a speculation about a possible connection of a\ndeformed matrix model with the idea of Dirichret brane is presented."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Gravity, Dynamical Triangulation and Higer Derivative\n  Regularization: We consider a discrete model of euclidean quantum gravity in four dimensions\nbased on a summation over random simplicial manifolds. The action used is the\nEinstein-Hilbert action plus an $R^2$-term. The phase diagram as a function of\nthe bare coupling constants is studied in the search for a sensible continuum\nlimit. For small values of the coupling constant of the $R^2$ term the model\nseems to belong to the same universality class as the model with pure\nEinstein-Hilbert action and exhibits the same phase transition. The order of\nthe transition may be second or higher. The average curvature is positive at\nthe phase transition, which makes it difficult to understand the possible\nscaling relations of the model.",
        "positive": "Noncommutative Quantum Scattering in a Central Field: In this paper the problem of noncommutative elastic scattering in a central\nfield is considered. General formulas for the differential cross-section for\ntwo cases are obtained. For the case of high energy of an incident wave it is\nshown that the differential cross-section coincides with that on the\ncommutative space. For the case in which noncommutativity yields only a small\ncorrection to the central potential it is shown that the noncommutativity leads\nto the redistribution of particles along the azimuthal angle, although the\nwhole cross-section coincides with the commutative case."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "$SL(2,\\mathbb{Z})$ action on QFTs with $\\mathbb{Z}_2$ symmetry and the\n  Brown-Kervaire invariants: We consider an analogue of Witten's $SL(2,\\mathbb{Z})$ action on\nthree-dimensional QFTs with $U(1)$ symmetry for $2k$-dimensional QFTs with\n$\\mathbb{Z}_2$ $(k-1)$-form symmetry. We show that the $SL(2,\\mathbb{Z})$\naction only closes up to a multiplication by an invertible topological phase\nwhose partition function is the Brown-Kervaire invariant of the spacetime\nmanifold. We interpret it as part of the $SL(2,\\mathbb{Z})$ anomaly of the bulk\n$(2k+1)$-dimensional $\\mathbb{Z}_2$ gauge theory.",
        "positive": "Flux Compactifications of String Theory on Twisted Tori: Global aspects of Scherk-Schwarz dimensional reduction are discussed and it\nis shown that it can usually be viewed as arising from a compactification on\nthe compact space obtained by identifying a (possibly non-compact) group\nmanifold G under a discrete subgroup Gamma, followed by a truncation. This\nallows a generalisation of Scherk-Schwarz reductions to string theory or\nM-theory as compactifications on G/Gamma, but only in those cases in which\nthere is a suitable discrete subgroup of G. We analyse such compactifications\nwith flux and investigate the gauge symmetry and its spontaneous breaking. We\ndiscuss the covariance under O(d,d), where d is the dimension of the group G,\nand the relation to reductions with duality twists. The compactified theories\npromote a subgroup of the O(d,d) that would arise from a toroidal reduction to\na gauge symmetry, and we discuss the interplay between the gauge symmetry and\nthe O(d,d,Z) T-duality group, suggesting the role that T-duality should play in\nsuch compactifications."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Schwarzschild Black Branes and Strings in higher-dimensional Brane\n  Worlds: We consider branes embedded in spacetimes of codimension one and two, with a\nwarped metric tensor for the subspace parallel to the brane. We study a variety\nof brane-world solutions arising by introducing a Schwarzschild-like black hole\nmetric on the brane and we investigate the properties of the corresponding\nhigher-dimensional spacetime. We demonstrate that normalizable bulk modes lead\nto a vanishing flow of energy through the naked singularities. From this point\nof view, these singularities are harmless.",
        "positive": "Simple non-perturbative resummation schemes beyond mean-field II:\n  thermodynamics of scalar $\u03c6^4$ theory in 1+1 dimensions at arbitrary\n  coupling: Recently, non-perturbative approximate solutions were presented that go\nbeyond the well-known mean-field resummation. In this work, these\nnon-perturbative approximations are used to calculate finite temperature\nequilibrium properties for scalar $\\phi^4$ theory in two dimensions such as the\npressure, entropy density and speed of sound. Unlike traditional approaches, it\nis found that results are well-behaved for arbitrary temperature/coupling\nstrength, are independent of the choice of the renormalization scale\n$\\bar\\mu^2$, and are apparently converging as the resummation level is\nincreased. Results also suggest the presence of a possible analytic cross-over\nfrom the high-temperature to the low-temperature regime based on the change in\nthe thermal entropy density."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetric solutions of SU(2)-Fayet-Iliopoulos-gauged N=2,d=4\n  supergravity: We explore the construction of supersymmetric solutions of theories of\nN=2,d=4 supergravity with a SU(2) gauging and SU(2) Fayet-Iliopoulos terms. In\nthese theories an SU(2) isometry subgroup of the Special Kahler manifold is\ngauged together with a SU(2) R-symmetry subgroup. We construct several\nsolutions of the CP3 quadratic model directly in four dimensions and of the\nST[2,6] model by dimensional reduction of the solutions found by Cariglia and\nMac Conamhna in N=(1,0),d=6 supergravity with the same kind of gauging. In the\nCP3 model, we construct an AdS2xS2 solution which is only 1/8 BPS and an RxH3\nsolution that also preserves 1 of the 8 possible supersymmetries. We show how\nto use dimensional reduction as in the ungauged case to obtain RnxSm and also\nAdSnxSm-type solutions (with different radii) in - and 4 dimensions from the\n6-dimensional AdS3xS3 solution.",
        "positive": "Symplectic Quantization of Massive Bosonic string in background B-field: We give the details of symplectic quantization for a system containing second\nclass constraints. This method is appropriate for imposing infinite series of\nconstraints due to the boundary conditions. We use this method for massive\nbosonic strings in a background B-field and find the correct expansions of the\nfields in terms of the physical modes. We have found a canonical basis for this\nmodel."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Singularities in Graviton-Dilaton System: Their Implications on the PPN\n  Parameters and the Cosmological Constant: Alternatives to Einstein's theory of general relativity can be distinguished\nby measuring the parametrised post Newtonian parameters. Two such parameters\n$\\beta$ and $\\gamma$, equal to one in Einstein theory, can be obtained from\nstatic spherically symmetric solutions. For the graviton-dilaton system, as in\nBrans-Dicke or low energy string theory, we find that if $\\gamma \\ne 1$ for a\ncharge neutral point star, then there exist naked singularities. Thus, if\n$\\gamma$ is measured to be different from one, then it cannot be explained by\nthese theories, without implying naked singularities. We also couple a\ncosmological constant $\\Lambda$ to the graviton-dilaton system, a la string\ntheory. We find that static spherically symmetric solutions in low energy\nstring theory, which describe the gravitational field of a point star in the\nreal universe atleast upto a distance $r_* \\simeq {\\cal O} ({\\rm pc})$, always\nlead to curvature singularities. These singularities are stable and much worse\nthan the naked ones. Requiring their absence upto a distance $r_*$ implies a\nbound $| \\Lambda | < 10^{- 102} (\\frac{r_*}{{\\rm pc}})^{- 2}$ in natural units.\nIf $r_* \\simeq 1 {\\rm Mpc}$ then $| \\Lambda | < 10^{- 114}$, and if $r_*$\nextends all the way upto the edge of the universe ($10^{28} {\\rm cm}$) then $|\n\\Lambda | < 10^{- 122}$ in natural units.",
        "positive": "Flat Space Amplitudes and Conformal Symmetry of the Celestial Sphere: The four-dimensional (4D) Lorentz group $SL(2,\\mathbb{C})$ acts as the\ntwo-dimensional (2D) global conformal group on the celestial sphere at infinity\nwhere asymptotic 4D scattering states are specified. Consequent similarities of\n4D flat space amplitudes and 2D correlators on the conformal sphere are\nobscured by the fact that the former are usually expressed in terms of\nasymptotic wavefunctions which transform simply under spacetime translations\nrather than the Lorentz $SL(2,\\mathbb{C})$. In this paper we construct on-shell\nmassive scalar wavefunctions in 4D Minkowski space that transform as\n$SL(2,\\mathbb{C})$ conformal primaries. Scattering amplitudes of these\nwavefunctions are $SL(2,\\mathbb{C})$ covariant by construction. For certain\nmass relations, we show explicitly that their three-point amplitude reduces to\nthe known unique form of a 2D CFT primary three-point function and compute the\ncoefficient. The computation proceeds naturally via Witten-like diagrams on a\nhyperbolic slicing of Minkowski space and has a holographic flavor."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Symmetries at Causal Boundaries in 2D and 3D Gravity: We study 2d and 3d gravity theories on spacetimes with causal (timelike or\nnull) codimension one boundaries while allowing for variations in the position\nof the boundary. We construct the corresponding solution phase space and\nspecify boundary degrees freedom by analysing boundary (surface) charges\nlabelling them. We discuss Y and W freedoms and change of slicing in the\nsolution space. For D dimensional case we find D+1 surface charges, which are\ngeneric functions over the causal boundary. We show that there exist solution\nspace slicings in which the charges are integrable. For the 3d case there\nexists an integrable slicing where charge algebra takes the form of Heisenberg\n\\oplus\\ {\\cal A}_3 where {\\cal A}_3 is two copies of Virasoro at Brown-Henneaux\ncentral charge for AdS_3 gravity and BMS_3 for the 3d flat space gravity.",
        "positive": "Non-Abelian Vortex in Four Dimensions as a Critical Superstring: We discuss recent progress in describing a certain non-Abelian vortex string\nas a critical superstring on a conifold and clarify some subtle points. This\nparticular solitonic vortex is supported in four-dimensional N=2 supersymmetric\nQCD with the U(2) gauge group, N_f=4 quark flavors and the Fayet-Iliopoulos\nterm. Under certain conditions the non-Abelian vortex can become infinitely\nthin and can be interpreted as a critical ten-dimensional superstring. In\naddition to four translational moduli the non-Abelian vortex under\nconsideration carries six orientational and size moduli. The vortex moduli\ndynamics are described by a two-dimensional sigma model with the target space\n{R}^4\\times Y_6 where Y_6 is a non-compact Calabi-Yau conifold. The closed\nstring states which emerge in four dimensions (4D) are identified with hadrons\nof 4D bulk N=2 QCD. It turns out that most of the states arising from the\nten-dimensional graviton spectrum are non-dynamical in 4D. A single dynamical\nmassless hypermultiplet associated with the deformation of the complex\nstructure of the conifold is found. It is interpreted as a monopole-monopole\nbaryon of the 4D theory (at strong coupling)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Semiclassical strings and Non-Abelian T-duality: We study semiclassical strings in the Klebanov-Witten and in the Non-abelian\nT-dual Klebanov-Witten backgrounds. We show that both backgrounds share a\nsubsector of equivalent states up to conditions on the T-dual coordinates which\nalso impose a breaking of the R-symmetry by a discrete group. We also analyze\nstring configurations where the strings are stretched along the T-dual\ncoordinates. This semiclassical analysis predicts the existence of chiral\nprimary operators for the dual (strongly coupled) superconformal field theory\nwhose anomalous dimension depends on the T-dual coordinates. We briefly discuss\nthe Penrose limit of the dualised background.",
        "positive": "Large-mass behaviour of loop variables in abelian Maxwell-Chern-Simons\n  theory: The large-mass behaviour of loop variables in Maxwell-Chern-Simons theory is\nanalysed by means of a gauge-field transformation which allows to reset the\nMaxwell-Chern-Simons action to pure Chern-Simons."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A no-pure-boost uncertainty principle from spacetime noncommutativity: We study boost and space-rotation transformations in kappa-Minkowski\nnoncommutative spacetime, using the techniques that some of us had previously\ndeveloped (hep-th/0607221) for a description of translations in\nkappa-Minkowski, which in particular led to the introduction of translation\ntransformation parameters that do not commute with the spacetime coordinates.\nWe find a similar description of boosts and space rotations, which allows us to\nidentify some associated conserved charges, but the form of the commutators\nbetween transformation parameters and spacetime coordinates is incompatible\nwith the possibility of a pure boost.",
        "positive": "Fusion rules for the logarithmic $N=1$ superconformal minimal models II:\n  including the Ramond sector: The Virasoro logarithmic minimal models were intensively studied by several\ngroups over the last ten years with much attention paid to the fusion rules and\nthe structures of the indecomposable representations that fusion generates. The\nanalogous study of the fusion rules of the $N=1$ superconformal logarithmic\nminimal models was initiated in arXiv:1504.03155 as a continuum counterpart to\nthe lattice explorations of arXiv:1312.6763. These works restricted fusion\nconsiderations to Neveu-Schwarz representations. Here, this is extended to\ninclude the Ramond sector. Technical advances that make this possible include a\nfermionic Verlinde formula applicable to logarithmic conformal field theories\nand a twisted version of the fusion algorithm of Nahm and Gaberdiel-Kausch. The\nresults include the first construction and detailed analysis of logarithmic\nstructures in the Ramond sector."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Domain Walls on the Brane: We show that all branes admit worldvolume domain wall solutions. We find one\nclass of solutions for which the tension of the brane changes discontinuously\nalong the domain wall. These solutions are not supersymmetric. We argue that\nthere is another class of domain wall solutions which is supersymmetric. A\nparticular case concerns supersymmetric domain wall solutions on IIB D-5- and\nNS-5-branes.",
        "positive": "The Holographic Bound in Anti-de Sitter Space: The correspondence between string theory in Anti-de Sitter space and super\nYang Mills theory is an example of the Holographic principle according to which\na quantum theory with gravity must be describable by a boundary theory.\nHowever, arguments given so far are incomplete because, while the bulk theory\nhas been related to a boundary theory, the holographic bound saying that the\nboundary theory has only one bit of information per Planck area has not been\njustified. We show here that this bound is the physical interpretation of one\nof the unusual aspects of the correspondence between Anti-de Sitter space and\nthe boundary conformal field theory, which is that infrared effects in the bulk\ntheory are reflected as ultraviolet effects in the boundary theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "New applications of the Biedenharn-Temple operator: The Biedenharn approach to the Dirac-Coulomb problem is applied to a system\nconsidered by D'Hoker and Vinet, which consists of a spin $\\2$ particle in the\ncombined field of a Dirac monopole plus a $\\lambda^2/r^2$ potential. The\nexplicit solution is obtained by diagonalizing the Biedenharn-Temple operator,\n$\\Gamma$.",
        "positive": "Dyonic black holes in effective string theories: The spherical symmetric dyonic black hole solutions of the effective action\nof heterotic string are studied perturbatively up to second order in the\ninverse string tension. An expression for the temperature in term of the mass\nand the electric and magnetic charge of the black hole is derived and it is\nshown that its behaviour is qualitatively different in the two special cases\nwhere either the electric or the magnetic charge vanishes"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exact Correlators on the Wilson Loop in $\\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM:\n  Localization, Defect CFT, and Integrability: We compute a set of correlation functions of operator insertions on the 1/8\nBPS Wilson loop in $\\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM by employing supersymmetric\nlocalization, OPE and the Gram-Schmidt orthogonalization. These correlators\nexhibit a simple determinant structure, are position-independent and form a\ntopological subsector, but depend nontrivially on the 't Hooft coupling and the\nrank of the gauge group. When applied to the 1/2 BPS circular (or straight)\nWilson loop, our results provide an infinite family of exact defect CFT data,\nincluding the structure constants of protected defect primaries of arbitrary\nlength inserted on the loop. At strong coupling, we show precise agreement with\na direct calculation using perturbation theory around the AdS$_2$ string\nworldsheet. We also explain the connection of our results to the \"generalized\nBremsstrahlung functions\" previously computed from integrability techniques,\nreproducing the known results in the planar limit as well as obtaining some of\ntheir finite N generalizations. Furthermore, we show that the correlators at\nlarge N can be recast as simple integrals of products of polynomials (known as\nQ-functions) that appear in the Quantum Spectral Curve approach. This suggests\nan interesting interplay between localization, defect CFT and integrability.",
        "positive": "Loop Homotopy Algebras in Closed String Field Theory: Barton Zwiebach constructed the `string products' on the Hilbert space of\ncombined conformal field theory of matter and ghosts. It is well-known that the\n`tree level' specialization of these products forms a strongly homotopy Lie\nalgebra. A strongly homotopy Lie algebra is given by a square zero coderivation\non the cofree cocommutative connected coalgebra, on the other hand, strongly\nhomotopy Lie algebras are algebras over the cobar construction on the\ncommutative algebras operad. The aim of our paper is to give two similar\ncharacterizations of the structure formed by the `string products' of arbitrary\ngenera. Our first characterization will be based on the notion of a higher\norder coderivation, the second characterization will be based on the machinery\nof modular operads. We will also discuss possible generalizations to open\nstring field theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Commensurability effects in holographic homogeneous lattices: An interesting application of the gauge/gravity duality to condensed matter\nphysics is the description of a lattice via breaking translational invariance\non the gravity side. By making use of global symmetries, it is possible to do\nso without scarifying homogeneity of the pertinent bulk solutions, which we\nthus term as \"homogeneous holographic lattices.\" Due to their technical\nsimplicity, these configurations have received a great deal of attention in the\nlast few years and have been shown to correctly describe momentum relaxation\nand hence (finite) DC conductivities. However, it is not clear whether they are\nable to capture other lattice effects which are of interest in condensed\nmatter. In this paper we investigate this question focusing our attention on\nthe phenomenon of commensurability, which arises when the lattice scale is\ntuned to be equal to (an integer multiple of) another momentum scale in the\nsystem. We do so by studying the formation of spatially modulated phases in\nvarious models of homogeneous holographic lattices. Our results indicate that\nthe onset of the instability is controlled by the near horizon geometry, which\nfor insulating solutions does carry information about the lattice. However, we\nobserve no sharp connection between the characteristic momentum of the broken\nphase and the lattice pitch, which calls into question the applicability of\nthese models to the physics of commensurability.",
        "positive": "Renormalons in integrable field theories: In integrable field theories in two dimensions, the Bethe ansatz can be used\nto compute exactly the ground state energy in the presence of an external field\ncoupled to a conserved charge. We generalize previous results by Volin and we\nextract analytic results for the perturbative expansion of this observable, up\nto very high order, in various asymptotically free theories: the non-linear\nsigma model and its supersymmetric extension, the Gross--Neveu model, and the\nprincipal chiral field. We study the large order behavior of these perturbative\nseries and we give strong evidence that, as expected, it is controlled by\nrenormalons. Our analysis is sensitive to the next-to-leading correction to the\nasymptotics, which involves the first two coefficients of the beta function."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Thermodynamical Properties of Apparent Horizon in Warped DGP Braneworld: In this paper we first obtain Friedmann equations for the $(n-1)$-dimensional\nbrane embedded in the $(n+1)$-dimensional bulk, with intrinsic curvature term\nof the brane included in the action (DGP model). Then, we show that one can\nalways rewrite the Friedmann equations in the form of the first law of\nthermodynamics, $dE=TdS+WdV$, at apparent horizon on the brane, regardless of\nwhether there is the intrinsic curvature term on the brane or a cosmological\nconstant in the bulk. Using the first law, we extract the entropy expression of\nthe apparent horizon on the brane. We also show that in the case without the\nintrinsic curvature term, the entropy expressions are the same by using the\napparent horizon on the brane and by using the bulk geometry. When the\nintrinsic curvature appears, the entropy of apparent horizon on the brane has\ntwo parts, one part follows the $n$-dimensional area formula on the brane, and\nthe other part is the same as the entropy in the case without the intrinsic\ncurvature term. As an interesting result, in the warped DGP model, the entropy\nexpression in the bulk and on the brane are not the same. This is reasonable,\nsince in this model gravity on the brane has two parts, one induced from the\n$(n+1)$-dimensional bulk gravity and the other due to the intrinsic curvature\nterm on the brane.",
        "positive": "R\u00e9nyi Entropy of Free Compact Boson on Torus: In this paper, we reconsider the single interval R\\'enyi entropy of a free\ncompact scalar on a torus. In this case, the contribution to the entropy could\nbe decomposed into classical part and quantum part. The classical part includes\nthe contribution from all the saddle points, while the quantum part is\nuniversal. After considering a different monodromy condition from the one in\nthe literature, we re-evaluate the classical part of the R\\'enyi entropy.\nMoreover, we expand the entropy in the low temperature limit and find the\nleading thermal correction term which is consistent with the universal behavior\nsuggested in arXiv:1403.0578 [hep-th]. Furthermore we investigate the large\ninterval behavior of the entanglement entropy and show that the universal\nrelation between the entanglement entropy and thermal entropy holds in this\ncase."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Creation of Non-minimal Coupled Particle in Asymptotic de-Sitter\n  Background: A general form of quasi-de Sitter(dS) modes in a dynamical background is used\nto study the creation of particle during the inflation. Actually, by\nconsidering the general form of inflaton field equation as a function of the\nHankel function index and by using the Planck 2015 constraint on spectral\nindex, we obtain the possible new constraints for the values of coupling\nconstant in the era with quasi-dS space-time. Then, we explicitly calculate the\ngeneral form of expectation value of the created particles in terms of the\nHankel function index and the conformal time. As an important result, we see\nthat the number of created particles and the value of coupling constant can be\ndependent to the selection of the background space-time and it's dynamics. Our\nresult is general and confirm the conventional special results for the\nMinkowski and dS background.",
        "positive": "Holographic mutual information and distinguishability of Wilson loop and\n  defect operators: The mutual information of disconnected regions in large $N$ gauge theories\nwith holographic gravity duals can undergo phase transitions. These occur when\nconnected and disconnected bulk Ryu-Takayanagi surfaces exchange dominance.\nThat is, the bulk `soap bubble' snaps as the boundary regions are drawn apart.\nWe give a gauge-theoretic characterization of this transition: States with and\nwithout a certain defect operator insertion -- the defect separates the\nentangled spatial regions -- are shown to be perfectly distinguishable if and\nonly if the Ryu-Takayanagi surface is connected. Meanwhile, states with and\nwithout a certain Wilson loop insertion -- the Wilson loop nontrivially threads\nthe spatial regions -- are perfectly distinguishable if and only if the\nRyu-Takayanagi surface is disconnected. The quantum relative entropy of two\nperfectly distinguishable states is infinite. The results are obtained by\nrelating the soap bubble transition to Hawking-Page (deconfinement) transitions\nin the Renyi entropies, where defect operators and Wilson loops are known to\nact as order parameters."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Varying constants driven baryogenesis: We study the spontaneous baryogenesis scenario in the early universe for\nthree different frameworks of varying constants theories. We replace the\nconstants by dynamical scalar fields playing the role of thermions. We first\nobtain the results for baryogenesis driven by the varying gravitational\nconstant, $G$, as in the previous literature, then challenge the problem for\nvarying fine structure constant $\\alpha$ models as well as for varying speed of\nlight $c$ models. We show that in each of these frameworks the current\nobservational value of the baryon to entropy ratio, $\\eta_B \\sim 8.6 \\cdot\n10^{-11}$, can be obtained for large set of parameters of dynamical constants\nmodels as well as the decoupling temperature, and the characteristic cut-off\nlength scale.",
        "positive": "General Supersymmetric Solutions of Five-Dimensional Supergravity: The classification of 1/4-supersymmetric solutions of five dimensional gauged\nsupergravity coupled to arbitrary many abelian vector multiplets, which was\ninitiated in hep-th/0401129, is completed. The structure of all solutions for\nwhich the Killing vector constructed from the Killing spinor is null is\ninvestigated in both the gauged and the ungauged theories and some new\nsolutions are constructed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Conductivity of higher dimensional holographic superconductors with\n  nonlinear electrodynamics: We investigate analytically as well as numerically the properties of s-wave\nholographic superconductors in $d$-dimensional spacetime and in the presence of\nLogarithmic nonlinear electrodynamics. We study three aspects of these kind of\nsuperconductors. First, we obtain, by employing analytical Sturm-Liouville\nmethod as well as numerical shooting method, the relation between critical\ntemperature and charge density, $\\rho$, and disclose the effects of both\nnonlinear parameter $b$ and the dimensions of spacetime, $d$, on the critical\ntemperature $T_c$. We find that in each dimension, $T_c/{\\rho}^{1/(d-2)}$\ndecreases with increasing the nonlinear parameter $b$ while it increases with\nincreasing the dimension of spacetime for a fixed value of $b$. Then, we\ncalculate the condensation value and critical exponent of the system\nanalytically and numerically and observe that in each dimension, the\ncondensation get larger with increasing the nonlinear parameter $b$. Besides,\nfor a fixed value of $b$, it increases with increasing the spacetime dimension.\nWe confirm that the results obtained from our analytical method are in\nagreement with the results obtained from numerical shooting method. This fact\nmay support the correctness of our analytical method. Finally, we explore the\nholographic conductivity of this system and find out that the superconducting\ngap increases with increasing either the nonlinear parameter or the spacetime\ndimension.",
        "positive": "Continuous families of Z(2) monopoles in SU(4) Yang-Mills-Higgs theory: We consider an SU(4) Yang-Mills-Higgs theory spontaneously broken to $SO(4)$\nby a scalar field in the $n\\times n$ representation and the unbroken algebra\ninvariant under Cartan automorphism. We obtain that $\\mathbb Z_2$ monopoles in\nthis theory belong to different classes of $su(2)$ embeddings associated to\ncontinuous families of up to four parameters. This result generalizes the\ndiscrete families of $\\mathbb Z_2$ monopoles previously known as well as it\nshows new classes of embeddings."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The power of AQFT: the area law for entropy of localized quantum matter: The algebraic approach to QFT, which for several decades has enriched QFT\nwith structural theorems, has recently shown its utility in various\nconstructions of actual interest. In these lecture notes I explain how AQFT (in\nparticular the modular theory of operator algebras) implies paradigmatic\nconceptual and mathematical changes while fully preserving the physical\nprinciples which underly QFT. As an illustration of actual interest I use\nholography on null-surfaces and the ensuing area law for entropy of localized\nmatter in the vacuum state.",
        "positive": "Off-shell Partition Functions in 3d Gravity: We explore three-dimensional gravity with negative cosmological constant via\ncanonical quantization. We focus on chiral gravity which is related to a single\ncopy of $\\mathrm{PSL}(2,\\mathbb{R})$ Chern-Simons theory and is simpler to\ntreat in canonical quantization. Its phase space for an initial value surface\n$\\Sigma$ is given by the appropriate moduli space of Riemann surfaces. We use\ngeometric quantization to compute partition functions of chiral gravity on\nthree-manifolds of the form $\\Sigma \\times \\mathrm{S}^1$, where $\\Sigma$ can\nhave asymptotic boundaries. Most of these topologies do not admit a classical\nsolution and are thus not amenable to a direct semiclassical path integral\ncomputation. We use an index theorem that expresses the partition function as\nan integral of characteristic classes over phase space. In the presence of $n$\nasymptotic boundaries, we use techniques from equivariant cohomology to\nlocalize the integral to a finite-dimensional integral over\n$\\overline{\\mathcal{M}}_{g,n}$, which we evaluate in low genus cases. Higher\ngenus partition functions quickly become complicated since they depend in an\noscillatory way on Newton's constant. There is a precise sense in which one can\nisolate the non-oscillatory part which we call the fake partition function. We\nestablish that there is a topological recursion that computes the fake\npartition functions for arbitrary Riemann surfaces $\\Sigma$. There is a scaling\nlimit in which the model reduces to JT gravity and our methods give a novel way\nto compute JT partition functions via equivariant localization."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Global Aspects of T-Duality, Gauged Sigma Models and T-Folds: The gauged sigma-model argument that string backgrounds related by T-dual\ngive equivalent quantum theories is revisited, taking careful account of global\nconsiderations. The topological obstructions to gauging sigma-models give rise\nto obstructions to T-duality, but these are milder than those for gauging: it\nis possible to T-dualise a large class of sigma-models that cannot be gauged.\nFor backgrounds that are torus fibrations, it is expected that T-duality can be\napplied fibrewise in the general case in which there are no globally-defined\nKilling vector fields, so that there is no isometry symmetry that can be\ngauged; the derivation of T-duality is extended to this case. The T-duality\ntransformations are presented in terms of globally-defined quantities. The\ngeneralisation to non-geometric string backgrounds is discussed, the conditions\nfor the T-dual background to be geometric found and the topology of T-folds\nanalysed.",
        "positive": "Revisiting localization for BPS black hole entropy: Macroscopic computation of the degeneracy / index of a BPS black hole\nrequires carrying out string theory path integral over the near horizon\ngeometry of the black hole. It has been suggested that the path integral can be\nlocalized to a finite dimensional subspace using the unbroken supersymmetries\nof the near horizon geometry. We discuss several issues that need to be\nresolved before one can declare victory: (1) delta-function normalizable\neigenmodes of the kinetic operator do not form a representation of the\nsupersymmetry algebra since the Killing spinors grow exponentially as we\napproach the asymptotic boundary of the near horizon geometry, (2) the\nlogarithmic contributions coming from various one loop determinants are\nsensitive to the ultraviolet cut-off and therefore without detailed knowledge\nof the ultraviolet cut-off one cannot determine the order one correction to the\nentropy that could depend on the ratios of the charges, (3) the results of\nindex theorem indicate that there are additional flat directions of the\nlocalization action, at least at the quadratic order, than what has been\nconsidered so far. We also discuss a limited application of localization\ntechniques to carry out the path integral over the zero modes of the metric and\nthe gravitino, and get a finite answer. This is consistent with the results of\narXiv:0905.2686 and shows that for computing BPS black hole entropy it is not\nnecessary to regulate the path integral over these zero modes using the\nsuper-Schwartzian action."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spinning Particle Dynamics on Six-Dimensional Minkowski Space: Massive spinning particle in $6d$-Minkowski space is described as a\nmechanical system with the configuration space $R^{5,1} \\times CP^3$. The\naction functional of the model is unambiguously determined by the requirement\nof identical (off-shell) conservation for the phase-space counterparts of three\nCasimir operators of Poincar\\'e group. The model proves to be completely\nsolvable. Its generalization to the constant curvature background is presented.\nCanonical quantization of the theory leads to the relativistic wave equations\nfor the irreducible $6d$ fields.",
        "positive": "``Alternative $N=(4,0)$ Superstring and $\\s$-Models'': We present an alternative $N=(4,0)$ superstring theory, with field content\ndifferent from that of previously-known $N=(4,0)$ superstring theories. This\ntheory is presented as a non-linear $\\s$-model on the coset $SU(n,1) / SU(n)\n\\otimes U(1)$ as the target space-time with torsion, which is coupled to\n$N=(4,0)$ world-sheet superconformal gravity. Our result indicates that the\ntarget space-time for $N=4$ superstring theory does not necessarily have to be\na hyper-K\\\"ahler or quaternionic K\\\"ahler manifold."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Batalin-Vilkovisky Formalism of Non-Commutative Field Theories: We apply the BV formalism to non-commutative field theories, introduce BRST\nsymmetry, and gauge-fix the models. Interestingly, we find that treating the\nfull gauge symmetry in non-commutative models can lead to reducible gauge\nalgebras. As one example we apply the formalism to the Connes-Lott two-point\nmodel. Finally, we offer a derivation of a superversion of the\nHarish-Chandra-Itzykson-Zuber integral.",
        "positive": "$U_q\\mathfrak{sl}_2$-invariant non-compact boundary conditions for the\n  XXZ spin chain: We introduce new $U_q\\mathfrak{sl}_2$-invariant boundary conditions for the\nopen XXZ spin chain. For generic values of $q$ we couple the bulk Hamiltonian\nto an infinite-dimensional Verma module on one or both boundaries of the spin\nchain, and for $q=e^{\\frac{i\\pi}{p}}$ a $2p$-th root of unity $ - $ to its\n$p$-dimensional analogue. Both cases are parametrised by a continuous \"spin\"\n$\\alpha\\in\\mathbb{C}$.\n  To motivate our construction, we first specialise to $q=i$, where we obtain a\nmodified XX Hamiltonian with unrolled quantum group symmetry, whose spectrum\nand scaling limit is computed explicitly using free fermions. In the continuum,\nthis model is identified with the $(\\eta,\\xi)$ ghost CFT on the upper-half\nplane with a continuum of conformally invariant boundary conditions on the real\naxis. The different sectors of the Hamiltonian are identified with irreducible\nVirasoro representations.\n  Going back to generic $q$ we investigate the algebraic properties of the\nunderlying lattice algebras. We show that if $q^\\alpha\\notin\\pm\nq^{\\mathbb{Z}}$, the new boundary coupling provides a faithful representation\nof the blob algebra which is Schur-Weyl dual to $U_q\\mathfrak{sl}_2$. Then,\nmodifying the boundary conditions on both the left and the right, we obtain a\nrepresentation of the universal two-boundary Temperley-Lieb algebra. The\ngenerators and parameters of these representations are computed explicitly in\nterms of $q$ and $\\alpha$. Finally, we conjecture the general form of the\nSchur-Weyl duality in this case.\n  This paper is the first in a series where we will study, at all values of the\nparameters, the spectrum and its continuum limit, the representation content of\nthe relevant lattice algebras and the fusion properties of these new spin\nchains."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supergravity in Two Spacetime Dimensions: The constraints of the superfield method in two-dimensional supergravity are\nadapted to allow for nonvanishing bosonic torsion. As the analysis of the\nBianchi identities reveals, a new vector superfield is encountered besides the\nwell-known scalar one. The constraints are solved both with superfields using a\nspecial decomposition of the supervielbein, and explicitly in terms of\ncomponent fields in a Wess-Zumino gauge. The graded Poisson Sigma Model (gPSM)\nis the alternative method used to construct supersymmetric gravity theories. In\nthis context the graded Jacobi identity is solved algebraically for general\ncases. Some of the Poisson algebras obtained are singular, or several\npotentials contained in them are restricted. This is discussed for a selection\nof representative algebras. It is found, that the gPSM is far more flexible and\nit shows the inherent ambiguity of the supersymmetric extension more clearly\nthan the superfield method. Among the various models spherically reduced\nEinstein gravity and gravity with torsion are treated. Also the Legendre\ntransformation to eliminate auxiliary fields, superdilaton theories and the\nexplicit solution of the gPSM equations of motion for a typical model are\npresented. Furthermore, the PSM field equations are analyzed in detail, leading\nto the so called \"symplectic extension\". Thereby, the Poisson tensor is\nextended to become regular by adding new coordinates to the target space. For\ngravity models this is achieved with one additional coordinate. Finally, the\nrelation of the gPSM to the superfield method is established by extending the\nbase manifold to become a supermanifold.",
        "positive": "Matrix factorisations for rational boundary conditions by defect fusion: A large class of two-dimensional $\\mathcal{N}=(2,2)$ superconformal field\ntheories can be understood as IR fixed-points of Landau-Ginzburg models. In\nparticular, there are rational conformal field theories that also have a\nLandau-Ginzburg description. To understand better the relation between the\nstructures in the rational conformal field theory and in the Landau-Ginzburg\ntheory, we investigate how rational B-type boundary conditions are realised as\nmatrix factorisations in the $SU(3)/U(2)$ Grassmannian Kazama-Suzuki model. As\na tool to generate the matrix factorisations we make use of a particular\ninterface between the Kazama-Suzuki model and products of minimal models, whose\nfusion can be realised as a simple functor on ring modules. This allows us to\nformulate a proposal for all matrix factorisations corresponding to rational\nboundary conditions in the $SU(3)/U(2)$ model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Shear viscosity of strongly coupled N=4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills plasma: Using the anti-de Sitter/conformal field theory correspondence, we relate the\nshear viscosity \\eta of the finite-temperature N=4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills\ntheory in the large N, strong-coupling regime with the absorption cross section\nof low-energy gravitons by a near-extremal black three-brane. We show that in\nthe limit of zero frequency this cross section coincides with the area of the\nhorizon. From this result we find \\eta=\\pi/8 N^2T^3. We conjecture that for\nfinite 't Hooft coupling (g_YM)^2N the shear viscosity is \\eta=f((g_YM)^2N)\nN^2T^3, where f(x) is a monotonic function that decreases from\nO(x^{-2}\\ln^{-1}(1/x)) at small x to \\pi/8 when x\\to\\infty.",
        "positive": "Quantum Gravity on $dS_{3}$: We study quantum gravity on $dS_{3}$ using the Chern-Simons formulation of\nthree -dimensional gravity. We derive an exact expression for the partition\nfunction for quantum gravity on $dS_{3}$ in a Euclidean path integral approach.\nWe show that the topology of the space relevant for studying de Sitter entropy\nis a solid torus. The quantum fluctuations of de Sitter space are sectors of\nconfigurations of point masses taking a {\\em discrete} set of values. The\npartition function gives the correct semi-classical entropy. The sub-leading\ncorrection to the entropy is logarithmic in horizon area, with a coefficient\n-1. We discuss this correction in detail, and show that the sub-leading\ncorrection to the entropy from the dS/CFT correspondence agrees with our\nresult. A comparison with the corresponding results for the $AdS_{3}$ BTZ black\nhole is also presented."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Logarithmic Corrections to Extremal Black Hole Entropy from Quantum\n  Entropy Function: We evaluate the one loop determinant of matter multiplet fields of N=4\nsupergravity in the near horizon geometry of quarter BPS black holes, and use\nit to calculate logarithmic corrections to the entropy of these black holes\nusing the quantum entropy function formalism. We show that even though\nindividual fields give non-vanishing logarithmic contribution to the entropy,\nthe net contribution from all the fields in the matter multiplet vanishes. Thus\nlogarithmic corrections to the entropy of quarter BPS black holes, if present,\nmust be independent of the number of matter multiplet fields in the theory.\nThis is consistent with the microscopic results. During our analysis we also\ndetermine the complete spectrum of small fluctuations of matter multiplet\nfields in the near horizon geometry.",
        "positive": "Universality of Sypersymmetric Attractors: The macroscopic entropy-area formula for supersymmetric black holes in\nN=2,4,8 theories is found to be universal: in d=4 it is always given by the\nsquare of the largest of the central charges extremized in the moduli space.\nThe proof of universality is based on the fact that the doubling of unbroken\nsupersymmetry near the black hole horizon requires that all central charges\nother than Z=M vanish at the attractor point for N=4,8. The ADM mass at the\nextremum can be computed in terms of duality symmetric quartic invariants which\nare moduli independent. The extension of these results for d=5, N=1,2,4 is also\nreported. A duality symmetric expression for the energy of the ground state\nwith spontaneous breaking of supersymmetry is provided by the power 1/2 (2/3)\nof the black hole area of the horizon in d=4 (d=5). It is suggested that the\nuniversal duality symmetric formula for the energy of the ground state in\nsupersymmetric gravity is given by the modulus of the maximal central charge at\nthe attractor point in any supersymmetric theory in any dimension."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Noncommutativity In The Mechanics Of A Free Massless Relativistic\n  Particle: We show the existence of a noncommutative spacetime structure in the context\nof a complete discussion on the underlying spacetime symmetries for the\nphysical system of a free massless relativistic particle. The above spacetime\nsymmetry transformations are discussed for the first-order Lagrangian of the\nsystem where the transformations on the coordinates, velocities and momenta\nplay very important roles. We discuss the dynamics of this system in a\nsystematic manner by exploiting the symplectic structures associated with the\nfour dimensional (non-)commutative cotangent (i.e. momentum phase) space\ncorresponding to a two dimensional (non-)commutative configuration (i.e.\ntarget) space. A simple connection of the above noncommutativity (NC) is\nestablished with the NC associated with the subject of quantum groups where\n$SL_{q,q^{-1}} (2)$ transformations play a decisive role.",
        "positive": "Yang-Mills instanton as a quantum black hole: In terms of spin-charge separated variables, the Minkowski space Yang-Mills\nBPST instanton describes a locally conformally flat doubly-wrapped cigar\nmanifold that can be viewed as a Euclidean quantum black hole. An ensemble of\ninstantons then corresponds to a ``spacetime foam'' that creates a locally\nconformally flat spacetime from ``nothing'' as a quantum fluctuation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Classical Spin Gravitational Compton Scattering: We introduce a novel bootstrap method for classical Compton scattering\namplitudes involving two massless gluon/graviton particles and two\narbitrary-spin infinite-mass particles in a heavy-mass effective field theory\ncontext. Using a suitable ansatz, we deduce new and explicit classical spin\nresults for gluon four and five-point infinite mass processes that exhibit\nexponentiated three-point factorizations to all orders in spin and feature no\nspurious poles. We discuss the generalization of our bootstrap to higher\nmultiplicities and summarize future potential applications.",
        "positive": "On the generality of the LLM geometries in M-theory: In this note we revisit the Lin, Lunin, Maldacena (LLM) class of d=11\nsupergravity solutions with symmetry SO(6) X SO(3) X R, but generalise to allow\nfor all fluxes consistent with the isometries. Using the Killing spinor\nequation, we prove there are no supersymmetric geometries with additional\nfluxes beyond the LLM ansatz. In addition, the LLM relationship between Killing\nspinors, \\epsilon_- = - \\gamma_5 \\epsilon_+, may be seen as a consequence of\nidentifying two Killing directions identified through the Killing spinor\nequation corresponding to candidate R-symmetry directions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Confinement and Non-perturbative Tachyons in Brane-Antibrane Systems: We present a worldvolume effective action suitable for the study of the\nconfined phase of a Dp-anti-Dp system at weak coupling. We identify the\nmechanism by which the fundamental string arises from this action as a confined\nelectric flux string when the Dp and the anti-Dp annihilate. We construct an\nexplicit dual action, more suitable for the study of the strong coupling\nregime, and show that it realizes a generalized Higgs-Stueckelberg phase for\nthe (relative) (p-2)-form field dual to the (overall) BI vector. This is the\nmechanism put forward by Yi and collaborators based on duality arguments in\norder to explain the breaking of the overall U(1) gauge group at strong\ncoupling. Indeed, in our dual description the Goldstone boson is a (p-3)-form\nmagnetically charged with respect to the overall BI vector field. This\nindicates that the condensing tachyonic objects originate from open\nD(p-2)-branes stretched between the brane and the anti-brane. Our results\nprovide an explicit realization of the breaking of the overall U(1) gauge group\nperturbatively, in a way consistent with the duality symmetries of String\nTheory.",
        "positive": "Stability Analysis and Area Spectrum of 3-Dimensional Lifshitz Black\n  Holes: In this work, we probe the stability of a $z=3$ three-dimensional Lifshitz\nblack hole by using scalar and spinorial perturbations. We found an analytical\nexpression for the quasinormal frequencies of the scalar probe field, which\nperfectly agree with the behavior of the quasinormal modes obtained\nnumerically. The results for the numerical analysis of the spinorial\nperturbations reinforce the conclusion of the scalar analysis, i.e., the model\nis stable under scalar and spinor perturbations. As an application we found the\narea spectrum of the Lifshitz black hole, which turns out to be equally spaced."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Entropy Bound for Local Quantum Field Theory: We investigate the entropy bound for local quantum field theory in this\npaper. Both the bosonic and fermionic fields confined to an asymptotically flat\nspacetime are examined. By imposing the non-gravitational collapse condition,\nwe find both of them are limited by the same entropy bound $A^{3/4}$, where $A$\nis the boundary area of the region where the quantum fields are contained in.\nThe gap between this entropy bound and the holographic entropy has been\nverified.",
        "positive": "The linear spectrum of OSp(32|1) Chern-Simons supergravity in eleven\n  dimensions: We study linearized perturbations of eleven-dimensional $OSp(32|1)$\nChern-Simons supergravity. The action contains a term that changes the value of\nthe cosmological constant, as considered by Horava. It is shown that the\nspectrum contains a 3-form and a 6-form whose field strengths are dual to each\nother, thus providing a link with the eleven-dimensional supergravity of\nCremmer, Julia and Scherk. The linearized equations for the graviton and\nRarita-Schwinger field are shown to be the standard ones as well."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Rindler-AdS/CFT: In anti-de Sitter space a highly accelerating observer perceives a Rindler\nhorizon. The two Rindler wedges in AdS_{d+1} are holographically dual to an\nentangled conformal field theory that lives on two boundaries with geometry R x\nH_{d-1}. For AdS_3, the holographic duality is especially tractable, allowing\nquantum-gravitational aspects of Rindler horizons to be probed. We recover the\nthermodynamics of Rindler-AdS space directly from the boundary conformal field\ntheory. We derive the temperature from the two-point function and obtain the\nRindler entropy density precisely, including numerical factors, using the Cardy\nformula. We also probe the causal structure of the spacetime, and find from the\nbehavior of the one-point function that the CFT \"knows\" when a source has\nfallen across the Rindler horizon. This is so even though, from the bulk point\nof view, there are no local signifiers of the presence of the horizon. Finally,\nwe discuss an alternate foliation of Rindler-AdS which is dual to a CFT living\nin de Sitter space.",
        "positive": "Laplace-difference equation for integrated correlators of operators with\n  general charges in $\\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM: We consider the integrated correlators associated with four-point correlation\nfunctions $\\langle \\mathcal{O}_2\\mathcal{O}_2\\mathcal{O}^{(i)}_p\n\\mathcal{O}^{(j)}_p \\rangle$ in four-dimensional $\\mathcal{N}=4$ supersymmetric\nYang-Mills theory (SYM) with $SU(N)$ gauge group, where $\\mathcal{O}^{(i)}_p$\nis a superconformal primary with charge (or dimension) $p$ and the superscript\n$i$ represents possible degeneracy. These integrated correlators are defined by\nintegrating out spacetime dependence with a certain integration measure, and\nthey can be computed via supersymmetric localisation. They are modular\nfunctions of complexified Yang-Mills coupling $\\tau$. We show that the\nlocalisation computation is systematised by appropriately reorganising the\noperators. After this reorganisation of the operators, we prove that all the\nintegrated correlators for any $N$, with some crucial normalisation factor,\nsatisfy a universal Laplace-difference equation (with the laplacian defined on\nthe $\\tau$-plane) that relates integrated correlators of operators with\ndifferent charges. This Laplace-difference equation is a recursion relation\nthat completely determines all the integrated correlators, once the initial\nconditions are given."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Slowly Rotating Dilaton Black hole In Anti-de Sitter Spacetime: Rotating dilaton black hole solution for asymptotically anti-de Sitter\nspacetime are obtained in the small angular momentum limit with an appropriate\ncombination of three Liouville-type dilaton potentials. The angular momentum,\nmagnetic dipole moment and the gyromagnetic ratio of such a black hole are\ndetermined for arbitrary values of the dilaton-electromagnetic coupling\nparameter.",
        "positive": "Thermodynamics of d-dimensional charged rotating black brane and AdS/CFT\n  correspondence: We compute the Euclidean actions of a $d$-dimensional charged rotating black\nbrane both in the canonical and the grand-canonical ensemble through the use of\nthe counterterms renormalization method, and show that the logarithmic\ndivergencies associated with the Weyl anomalies and matter field vanish. We\nobtain a Smarr-type formula for the mass as a function of the entropy, the\nangular momenta, and the electric charge, and show that these quantities\nsatisfy the first law of thermodynamics. Using the conserved quantities and the\nEuclidean actions, we calculate the thermodynamics potentials of the system in\nterms of the temperature, angular velocities, and electric potential both in\nthe canonical and grand-canonical ensembles. We also perform a stability\nanalysis in these two ensembles, and show that the system is thermally stable.\nThis is commensurate with the fact that there is no Hawking-Page phase\ntransition for a black object with zero curvature horizon. Finally, we obtain\nthe logarithmic correction of the entropy due to the thermal fluctuation around\nthe equilibrium."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hagedorn inflation of D-branes: We examine the cosmological effects of the Hagedorn phase in models where the\nobservable universe is pictured as a D-brane. It is shown that, even in the\nabsence of a cosmological constant, winding modes cause a negative `pressure'\nthat can drive brane inflation of various types including both power law and\nexponential. We also find regimes in which the cosmology is stable but\noscillating (a bouncing universe) with the Hagedorn phase softening the\nsingular behavior associated with the collapse.",
        "positive": "Conformal Symmetry and the Chiral Anomaly: Two-loop contributions to the anomalous correlation function\n<J_mu(x)J_nu(y)J_rho(z)> of three chiral currents are calculated by a method\nbased on the conformal properties of massless field theories. The method was\npreviously applied to virtual photon diagrams in quantum electrodynamics, and\nit is extended here to diagrams with scalars and chiral spinors in the abelian\nHiggs model and in the SU(3)xSU(2)xU(1) standard model. In each case there are\nnonvanishing contributions to the gauge current correlator from self-energy\ninsertions, vertex insertions and nonplanar diagrams, but their sum exactly\nvanishes. The two-loop contribution to the anomaly therefore also vanishes, in\nagreement with the Adler-Bardeen theorem. An application of the method to the\ncorrelator <R_mu(x)R_nu(y)K_rho(z)> of the R and Konishi axial currents in\nsupersymmetric gauge theories which was reported in hep-th/9608125 is discussed\nhere. The net two-loop contribution to this correlator also vanishes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Properties of the Konishi multiplet in N=4 SYM theory: We study perturbative and non-perturbative properties of the Konishi\nmultiplet in N=4 SYM theory in D=4 dimensions. We compute two-, three- and\nfour-point Green functions with single and multiple insertions of the lowest\ncomponent of the multiplet, and of the lowest component of the supercurrent\nmultiplet. These computations require a proper definition of the renormalized\noperator and lead to an independent derivation of its anomalous dimension. The\nO(g^2) value found in this way is in agreement with previous results. We also\nfind that instanton contributions to the above correlators vanish. From our\nresults we are able to identify some of the lowest dimensional gauge-invariant\ncomposite operators contributing to the OPE of the correlation functions we\nhave computed. We thus confirm the existence of an operator belonging to the\nrepresentation 20', which has vanishing anomalous dimension at order g^2 and\ng^4 in perturbation theory as well as at the non-perturbative level, despite\nthe fact that it does not obey any of the known shortening conditions.",
        "positive": "F-theory Flux, Destabilization of Orientifolds and Soft Terms on\n  D7--Branes: We use F-theory to derive a general expression for the flux potential of type\nII compactifications with D7/D3 branes, including open string moduli and 2-form\nfluxes on the branes. Our main example is F-theory on K3 $\\times$ K3 and its\norientifold limit T^2/Z_2 x K3. The full scalar potential cannot be derived\nfrom the bulk superpotential W=\\int \\Omega \\wedge G_3 and generically\ndestabilizes the orientifold. Generically all open and closed string moduli are\nfixed, except for a volume factor. An alternative formulation of the problem in\nterms of the effective supergravity is given and we construct an explicit map\nbetween the F-theory fluxes and gaugings. We use the superpotential to compute\nthe effective action for flux compactifications on orbifolds, including the\n\\mu-term and soft-breaking terms on the D7-brane world-volume."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Torus partition functions and spectra of gauged linear sigma models: Worldsheet (0,2) gauged linear sigma models are often used to study\nsupersymmetric heterotic string compactifications with non-trivial vector\nbundles. We make use of supersymmetric localization techniques to determine\ntheir one-loop partition functions. In particular we derive conditions which\nensure that the full partition function is modular invariant and we propose a\nmethod to determine the massless and massive target space matter spectrum.",
        "positive": "Path integral quantization of the Poisson-Sigma model: We apply the antifield quantization method of Batalin and Vilkovisky to the\ncalculation of the path integral for the Poisson-Sigma model in a general\ngauge. For a linear Poisson structure the model reduces to a nonabelian gauge\ntheory, and we obtain the formula for the partition function of two-dimensional\nYang-Mills theory for closed two-dimensional manifolds."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "N=(0,4) Black String Chains: We construct black string solutions in Type IIA supergravity arising from\nintersecting D2-D4-D6-NS5 branes in the presence of fractional D4-branes. The\nfractional D4-branes arise from D6-branes wrapping (collapsing) two-cycles in a\nCalabi--Yau two-fold. In the near horizon limit these solutions give rise to\nAdS$_3$ geometries preserving $\\mathcal{N}=(0,4)$ supersymmetry and fall within\nthe recent classification of \\cite{Lozano:2019emq}. We interpret our solutions\nas describing chains of black strings stacked on top of each other along an\ninterval. We construct 2d quiver CFTs dual to our solutions that reproduce the\nBekenstein-Hawking entropy microscopically.",
        "positive": "Master Space and Hilbert Series for N=1 Field Theories: Master Space and Hilbert Series are general tools to study any N=1\nsupersymmetric field theory. We concentrate on the particular case of N=1 super\nconformal field theories living on D3 branes at toric Calabi Yau singularities.\nWe start reviewing the topic of branes at singularities, their algebraic\ngeometric and field theory description. We then study the complete moduli\nspaces for N=1 and generic N number of branes, their different branches, their\ngeometric properties and their symmetries. We study the spectrum of BPS\noperators both mesonic and baryonic, for N=1 and generic N number of branes, in\nthe field theory and in the dual gravity side and the map between the two. More\ntopics like the study of fermionic BPS operators, the modification of the\nmoduli spaces and the chiral rings under marginal deformations and Seiberg\nDuality, are also briefly discussed. This paper is a revised version of the\nauthor's PhD thesis and it is aimed to give a pedagogical introduction to the\nuse of Master Space and Hilbert Series to investigate supersymmetric field\ntheories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hidden symmetries, special geometry and quaternionic manifolds: The moduli space of the Calabi-Yau three-folds, which play a role as\nsuperstring ground states, exhibits the same {\\em special geometry} that is\nknown from nonlinear sigma models in $N=2$ supergravity theories. We discuss\nthe symmetry structure of special real, complex and quaternionic spaces. Maps\nbetween these spaces are implemented via dimensional reduction. We analyze the\nemergence of {\\em extra} and {\\em hidden} symmetries. This analysis is then\napplied to homogeneous special spaces and the implications for the\nclassification of homogeneous quaternionic spaces are discussed.",
        "positive": "Field space parametrization in quantum gravity and the identification of\n  a unitary conformal field theory at the heart of 2D Asymptotic Safety: In this thesis we investigate various fundamental aspects of asymptotically\nsafe quantum gravity, in particular the compatibility of Asymptotic Safety with\nthe requirements for background independence and unitarity. The first part\ncontains a detailed analysis of the space of metrics. We unveil a novel,\nspecifically designed connection on this space and use the corresponding\ngeodesics to connect all metrics having the same signature. In the second part\nwe study the consequences of different metric parametrizations, i.e. of\ndifferent connections on the space of metrics, for the Asymptotic Safety\nscenario by exploring the respective properties of the decisive renormalization\ngroup fixed points. Based on a bimetric investigation we show that Asymptotic\nSafety can be reconciled with background independence. The third part of this\nwork focuses on the 2D limit of quantum gravity. To this end, we show that the\n2D limit of the Einstein--Hilbert action at a nontrivial fixed point becomes\nPolyakov's induced gravity action which describes a conformal field theory. In\nthis way, we can prove that the fixed point theory is unitary. The last part\nconcerns the reconstruction of the functional integral out of a given effective\ntheory, where we reconstruct the bare action for an Einstein--Hilbert-type\neffective average action and for a Liouville action."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Coulomb potential in gauge theory with a dilaton: I calculate the potential of a pointlike particle carrying SU$(N_c)$ charge\nin a gauge theory with a dilaton. The solution depends on boundary conditions\nimposed on the dilaton: For a dilaton that vanishes at infinity the resulting\npotential is of the form $(r+r_\\phi)^{-1}$, with $r_\\phi$ inverse proportional\nto the decay constant of the dilaton. Another natural constraint for the\ndilaton $\\phi$ is independence of $\\frac{1}{g^2}\\exp(\\frac{\\phi}{f_\\phi})$ from\nthe gauge coupling $g$. This requirement yields a potential proportional to $r$\nand makes it impossible to create an isolated SU$(N_c)$ charge.",
        "positive": "Black holes in the brane world:Time symmetric initial data: We numerically construct time-symmetric initial data sets of a black hole in\nthe Randall-Sundrum brane world model, assuming that the black hole is\nspherical on the brane. We find that the apparent horizon is cigar-shaped in\nthe 5D spacetime."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "String theoretic QCD axions in the light of PLANCK and BICEP2: The QCD axion solving the strong CP problem may originate from antisymmetric\ntensor gauge fields in compactified string theory, with a decay constant around\nthe GUT scale. Such possibility appears to be ruled out now by the detection of\ntensor modes by BICEP2 and the PLANCK constraints on isocurvature density\nperturbations. A more interesting and still viable possibility is that the\nstring theoretic QCD axion is charged under an anomalous U(1)_A gauge symmetry.\nIn such case, the axion decay constant can be much lower than the GUT scale if\nmoduli are stabilized near the point of vanishing Fayet-Illiopoulos term, and\nU(1)_A-charged matter fields get a vacuum value far below the GUT scale due to\na tachyonic SUSY breaking scalar mass. We examine the symmetry breaking pattern\nof such models during the inflationary epoch with the Hubble expansion rate\n10^{14} GeV, and identify the range of the QCD axion decay constant, as well as\nthe corresponding relic axion abundance, consistent with known cosmological\nconstraints. In addition to the case that the PQ symmetry is restored during\ninflation, there are other viable scenarios, including that the PQ symmetry is\nbroken during inflation at high scales around 10^{16}-10^{17} GeV due to a\nlarge Hubble-induced tachyonic scalar mass from the U(1)_A D-term, while the\npresent axion scale is in the range 10^{9}-5\\times 10^{13} GeV, where the\npresent value larger than 10^{12} GeV requires a fine-tuning of the axion\nmisalignment angle. We also discuss the implications of our results for the\nsize of SUSY breaking soft masses.",
        "positive": "The $\u03c3_-$ Cohomology Analysis for Symmetric Higher-Spin Fields: In this paper, we present a complete proof of the so-called First On-Shell\nTheorem that determines dynamical content of the unfolded equations for free\nsymmetric massless fields of arbitrary integer spin in any dimension and\narbitrary integer or half-integer spin in four dimensions. This is achieved by\ncalculation of the respective $\\sigma_-$ cohomology both in the tensor language\nin Minkowski space of any dimension and in terms of spinors in $AdS_4$. In the\n$d$-dimensional case $H^p(\\sigma_-)$ is computed for any $p$ and interpretation\nof $H^p(\\sigma_-)$ is given both for the original Fronsdal system and for the\nassociated systems of higher form fields."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Singularity Structure and Stability of Plane Waves: We describe various aspects of plane wave backgrounds. In particular, we make\nexplicit a simple criterion for singularity by establishing a relation between\nBrinkmann metric entries and diffeomorphism-invariant curvature information. We\nalso address the stability of plane wave backgrounds by analyzing the\nfluctuations of generic scalar modes. We focus our attention on cases where\nafter fixing the light-cone gauge the resulting world sheet fields appear to\nhave negative \"mass terms\". We nevertheless argue that these backgrounds may be\nstable.",
        "positive": "Chern-Simons black holes: scalar perturbations, mass and area spectrum\n  and greybody factors: We study the Chern-Simons black holes in d-dimensions and we calculate\nanalytically the quasi-normal modes of the scalar perturbations and we show\nthat they depend on the highest power of curvature present in the Chern-Simons\ntheory. We obtain the mass and area spectrum of these black holes and we show\nthat they have a strong dependence on the topology of the transverse space and\nthey are not evenly spaced. We also calculate analytically the reflection and\ntransmission coefficients and the absorption cross section and we show that at\nlow frequency limit there is a range of modes which contributes to the\nabsorption cross section."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Generating new dualities through the orbifold equivalence: a\n  demonstration in ABJM and four-dimensional quivers: We show that the recently proposed large $N$ equivalence between ABJM\ntheories with Chern-Simons terms of different rank and level,\nU(N_1)_{k_1}\\times U(N_1)_{-k_1} and U(N_2)_{k_2}\\times U(N_2)_{-k_2}, but the\nsame value of N' =N_1 k_1=N_2 k_2, can be explained using planar equivalence in\nthe mirror duals. The combination of S-dualities and orbifold equivalence can\nbe applied to other cases as well, with very appealing results. As an example\nwe show that two different quiver theories with k nodes can be easily shown to\nbe Seiberg dual through the orbifold equivalence, but it requires order k^2\nsteps to give a proof when Seiberg duality is performed node by node.",
        "positive": "Bootstrapping MN and Tetragonal CFTs in Three Dimensions: Conformal field theories (CFTs) with MN and tetragonal global symmetry in\n$d=2+1$ dimensions are relevant for structural, antiferromagnetic and\nhelimagnetic phase transitions in a wide class of materials. The study of these\ntheories with the nonperturbative numerical conformal bootstrap is initiated in\nthis work. Bounds for operator dimensions are obtained and they are found to\npossess sharp kinks in the MN case, suggesting the existence of full-fledged\nCFTs. In the tetragonal case, no new kinks are found. Estimates for critical\nexponents are provided for a few cases describing phase transitions in various\nmaterials. In two particular MN cases, corresponding to theories with global\nsymmetry groups $O(2)^2\\rtimes S_2$ and $O(2)^3\\rtimes S_3$, a second kink is\nfound. In the $O(2)^2\\rtimes S_2$ case it is argued to be saturated by a CFT\nthat belongs to a new universality class relevant for the structural phase\ntransition of NbO$_2$ and paramagnetic-helimagnetic transitions of the\nrare-earth metals Ho and Dy. In the $O(2)^3\\rtimes S_3$ case it is suggested\nthat the CFT that saturates the second kink belongs to a new universality class\nrelevant for the paramagnetic-antiferromagnetic phase transition of the\nrare-earth metal Nd."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The exact $C$-function in integrable $\u03bb$-deformed theories: By employing CFT techniques, we show how to compute in the context of\n\\lambda-deformations of current algebras and coset CFTs the exact in the\ndeformation parameters C-function for a wide class of integrable theories that\ninterpolate between a UV and an IR point. We explicitly consider RG flows for\nintegrable deformations of left-right asymmetric current algebras and coset\nCFTs. In all cases, the derived exact C-functions obey all the properties\nasserted by Zamolodchikov's c-theorem in two-dimensions.",
        "positive": "The renormalization group improved effective potential in massless\n  models: The effective potential $V$ is considered in massless $\\lambda\\phi^4_4$\ntheory. The expansion of $V$ in powers of the coupling $\\lambda$ and of the\nlogarithm of the background field $\\phi$ is reorganized in two ways; first as a\nseries in $\\lambda$ alone, then as a series in $\\ln\\phi$ alone. By applying the\nrenormalization group (RG) equation to $V$, these expansions can be summed.\nUsing the condition $V^\\prime(v) = 0$ (where $v$ is the vacuum expectation\nvalue of $\\phi$) in conjunction with the expansion of $V$ in powers of\n$\\ln\\phi$ fixes $V$ provided $v\\neq 0$. In this case, the dependence of $V$ on\n$\\phi$ drops out and $V$ is not analytic in $\\lambda$. Massless scalar\nelectrodynamics is considered using the same approach."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Higgs Bundles, Gauge Theories and Quantum Groups: The appearance of the Bethe Ansatz equation for the Nonlinear Schr\\\"{o}dinger\nequation in the equivariant integration over the moduli space of Higgs bundles\nis revisited. We argue that the wave functions of the corresponding\ntwo-dimensional topological U(N) gauge theory reproduce quantum wave functions\nof the Nonlinear Schr\\\"{o}dinger equation in the $N$-particle sector. This\nimplies the full equivalence between the above gauge theory and the\n$N$-particle sub-sector of the quantum theory of Nonlinear Schr\\\"{o}dinger\nequation. This also implies the explicit correspondence between the gauge\ntheory and the representation theory of degenerate double affine Hecke algebra.\nWe propose similar construction based on the $G/G$ gauged WZW model leading to\nthe representation theory of the double affine Hecke algebra. The relation with\nthe Nahm transform and the geometric Langlands correspondence is briefly\ndiscussed.",
        "positive": "Monopole and Dyon Solutions in AdS space: We consider monopole and dyon classical solutions of the Yang-Mills-Higgs\nsystem coupled to gravity in asymptotically anti-de Sitter space. We discuss\nboth singular and regular solutions to the second order equations of motion\nshowing that singular Wu-Yang like dyons can be found, the resulting metric\nbeing of the Reissner-N\\\"ordstrom type (with cosmological constant). Concerning\nregular solutions, we analyze the conditions under which they can be\nconstructed discussing, for vanishing coupling constant, the main distinctive\nfeatures related to the anti-de Sitter asymptotic condition; in particular, we\nfind in this case that the v.e.v. of the Higgs scalar, $|\\vec H(\\infty)|$,\nshould be quantized in units of the natural mass scale $1/e r_0$ (related to\nthe cosmological constant) according to $|\\vec H(\\infty)|^2 = m(m+1) (e r_0\n)^{-2}$, with $m \\in Z$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Criterion for dynamical chiral symmetry breaking: The Bethe-Salpeter equation is related to a generalized quantum-mechanical\nHamiltonian. Instability of the presumed vacuum, indicated by a tachyon, is\nrelated to a negative energy eigenstate of this Hamiltonian. The variational\nmethod shows that an arbitrarily weak long-range attraction leads to chiral\nsymmetry breaking, except in the scale-invariant case when the instability\noccurs at a critical value of the coupling. In the case of short-range\nattraction, an upper bound for the critical coupling is obtained.",
        "positive": "Light-cone gauge massive and partially-massless fields in AdS(4): Using light-cone gauge approach, bosonic and fermionic massive and\npartially-massless fields in AdS(4) space are considered. For such fields,\nlight-cone gauge action is presented. Considering the massive and\npartially-massless fields in helicity basis and CFT adapted basis, two simple\nrepresentations of spin operators entering the light-cone gauge action are\ndiscussed. The simple representations for the spin operators are obtained by\nusing bosonic spinor-like oscillators. The bosonic spinor-like oscillators\nallow also us to treat the bosonic and fermionic fields on an equal footing."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Singularities in 2D and 3D quantum black holes: We study black holes in two and three dimensions that have spacelike\ncurvature singularities behind horizons. The 2D solutions are obtained by\ndimensionally reducing certain 3D black holes, known as quantum BTZ solutions.\nFurthermore, we identify the corresponding dilaton potential and show how it\ncan arise from a higher-dimensional theory. Finally, we show that the rotating\nBTZ black hole develops a singular inner horizon once quantum effects are\nproperly accounted for, thereby solidifying strong cosmic censorship for all\nknown cases.",
        "positive": "The Dynamics of D-3-brane Dyons and Toric Hyper-K\u00e4hler manifolds: We find the dyonic worldvolume solitons due to parallel (p,q) strings ending\non a D-3-brane. These solutions preserve 1/4 of bulk supersymmetry. Then we\ninvestigate the scattering of well-separated dyons and find that their moduli\nspace is a toric hyper-K\\\"ahler manifold. In addition, we present the\nworldvolume solitons of the D-3-brane which are related by duality to the\nM-theory configuration of two orthogonal membranes ending on a M-5-brane. We\nshow that these solitons preserve 1/8 of supersymmetry and compute their\neffective action."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chiral bosonization as a Duality: We demonstrate that the technique of abelian bosonization through duality\ntransformations can be extended to gauging anomalous symmetries. The example of\na Dirac fermion theory is first illustrated. This idea is then also applied to\nbosonize a chiral fermion by gauging its chiral phase symmetry.",
        "positive": "Recent Developments in the Theory of Tunneling: Path-integral approach in imaginary and complex time has been proven\nsuccessful in treating the tunneling phenomena in quantum mechanics and quantum\nfield theories. Latest developments in this field, the proper valley method in\nimaginary time, its application to various quantum systems, complex time\nformalism, asympton theory for the large order analysis of the perturbation\ntheory, are reviewed in a self-contained manner."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A central potential with a massive scalar field in a Lorentz symmetry\n  violation environment: We investigate the behaviour of a massive scalar field under the influence of\na Coulomb-type and central linear central potentials inserted in the\nKlein-Gordon equation by modifying the mass term in the spacetime with Lorentz\nsymmetry violation. We consider the presence of a background constant vector\nfield which characterizes the breaking of the Lorentz symmetry and show that\nanalytical solutions to the Klein-Gordon equation can be achieved.",
        "positive": "Fano 3-Folds, Reflexive Polytopes and Brane Brick Models: Reflexive polytopes in n dimensions have attracted much attention both in\nmathematics and theoretical physics due to their connection to Fano n-folds and\nmirror symmetry. This work focuses on the 18 regular reflexive polytopes\ncorresponding to smooth Fano 3-folds. For the first time, we show that all 18\nregular reflexive polytopes have corresponding 2d (0,2) gauge theories realized\nby brane brick models. These 2d gauge theories can be considered as the\nworldvolume theories of D1-branes probing the toric Calabi-Yau 4-singularities\nwhose toric diagrams are given by the associated regular reflexive polytopes.\nThe generators of the mesonic moduli space of the brane brick models are shown\nto form a lattice of generators due to the charges under the rank 3 mesonic\nflavor symmetry. It is shown that the lattice of generators is the exact polar\ndual reflexive polytope to the corresponding toric diagram of the brane brick\nmodel. This duality not only highlights the close relationship between the\ngeometry and 2d gauge theory, but also opens up pathways towards new\ndiscoveries in relation to reflexive polytopes and brane brick models."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Simple compactifications and Black p-branes in Gauss-Bonnet and Lovelock\n  Theories: We look for the existence of asymptotically flat simple compactifications of\nthe form $M_{D-p}\\times T^{p}$ in $D$-dimensional gravity theories with higher\npowers of the curvature. Assuming the manifold $M_{D-p}$ to be spherically\nsymmetric, it is shown that the Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet theory admits this class\nof solutions only for the pure Einstein-Hilbert or Gauss-Bonnet Lagrangians,\nbut not for an arbitrary linear combination of them. Once these special cases\nhave been selected, the requirement of spherical symmetry is no longer relevant\nsince actually any solution of the pure Einstein or pure Gauss-Bonnet theories\ncan then be toroidally extended to higher dimensions. Depending on $p$ and the\nspacetime dimension, the metric on $M_{D-p}$ may describe a black hole or a\nspacetime with a conical singularity, so that the whole spacetime describes a\nblack or a cosmic $p$-brane, respectively. For the purely Gauss-Bonnet theory\nit is shown that, if $M_{D-p}$ is four-dimensional, a new exotic class of black\nhole solutions exists, for which spherical symmetry can be relaxed.\n  Under the same assumptions, it is also shown that simple compactifications\nacquire a similar structure for a wide class of theories among the Lovelock\nfamily which accepts this toroidal extension.\n  The thermodynamics of black $p$-branes is also discussed, and it is shown\nthat a thermodynamical analogue of the Gregory-Laflamme transition always\noccurs regardless the spacetime dimension or the theory considered, hence not\nonly for General Relativity.\n  Relaxing the asymptotically flat behavior, it is also shown that exact black\nbrane solutions exist within a very special class of Lovelock theories.",
        "positive": "Classification of the N=2, Z2 X Z2-symmetric type II orbifolds and their\n  type II asymmetric duals: Using free world-sheet fermions, we construct and classify all the N=2, Z2 X\nZ2 four-dimensional orbifolds of the type IIA/B strings for which the orbifold\nprojections act symmetrically on the left and right movers. We study the\ndeformations of these models out of the fermionic point, deriving the partition\nfunctions at a generic point in the moduli of the internal torus T6=T2 X T2 X\nT2. We investigate some of their perturbative and non-perturbative dualities\nand construct new dual pairs of type IIA/type II asymmetric orbifolds, which\nare related non-perturbatively and allow us to gain insight into some of the\nnon-perturbative properties of the type IIA/B strings in four dimensions. In\nparticular, we consider some of the (non-)perturbative gravitational\ncorrections."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spectral probes of the holographic Fermi groundstate: dialing between\n  the electron star and AdS Dirac hair: We argue that the electron star and the AdS Dirac hair solution are two\nlimits of the free charged Fermi gas in AdS. Spectral functions of holographic\nduals to probe fermions in the background of electron stars have a free\nparameter that quantifies the number of constituent fermions that make up the\ncharge and energy density characterizing the electron star solution. The strict\nelectron star limit takes this number to be infinite. The Dirac hair solution\nis the limit where this number is unity. This is evident in the behavior of the\ndistribution of holographically dual Fermi surfaces. As we decrease the number\nof constituents in a fixed electron star background the number of Fermi\nsurfaces also decreases. An improved holographic Fermi groundstate should be a\nconfiguration that shares the qualitative properties of both limits.",
        "positive": "Quantum $SU(2,2)$-Harmonic Oscillator: The $SU(2,2)$-harmonic oscillator on the phase space ${\\cal A}(2,2)=\n{SU(2,2)}/{S(U(2)\\times U(2))}$ is quantized using the coherent states. The\nquantum Hamiltonian is the Toeplitz operator corresponding to the square of the\ndistance with respect to the $SU(2,2)$-invariant K\\\"ahler metric on the phase\nspace. Its spectrum, depending on the choice of representation of $SU(2,2)$, is\ncomputed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Some simple predictions from E_{11} symmetry: The simplest consequences of the common E_{11} symmetry of the eleven\ndimensional, IIA and IIB theories are derived and are shown to imply the known\nrelations between these three theories.",
        "positive": "Tree-level amplitudes from the pure spinor superstring: We give a comprehensive review of recent developments on using the pure\nspinor formalism to compute massless superstring scattering amplitudes at tree\nlevel. The main results of the pure spinor computations are placed into the\ncontext of related topics including the color-kinematics duality in field\ntheory and the mathematical structure of $\\alpha'$-corrections."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gravitating multidefects from higher dimensions: Warped configurations admitting pairs of gravitating defects are analyzed.\nAfter devising a general method for the construction of multidefects, specific\nexamples are presented in the case of higher-dimensional Einstein-Hilbert\ngravity. The obtained profiles describe diverse physical situations such as\n(topological) kink-antikink systems, pairs of non-topological solitons and\nbound configurations of a kink and of a non-topological soliton. In all the\nmentioned cases the geometry is always well behaved (all relevant curvature\ninvariants are regular) and tends to five-dimensional anti-de Sitter space-time\nfor large asymptotic values of the bulk coordinate. Particular classes of\nsolutions can be generalized to the framework where the gravity part of the\naction includes, as a correction, the Euler-Gauss-Bonnet combination. After\nscrutinizing the structure of the zero modes, the obtained results are compared\nwith conventional gravitating configurations containing a single topological\ndefect.",
        "positive": "N=4 Scattering Amplitudes and the Deformed Grassmannian: Some time ago the general tree-level scattering amplitudes of N=4 Super\nYang-Mills theory were expressed as certain Grassmannian contour integrals.\nThese remarkable formulas allow to clearly expose the super-conformal, dual\nsuper-conformal, and Yangian symmetries of the amplitudes. Using ideas from\nintegrability it was recently shown that the building blocks of the amplitudes\npermit a natural multi-parameter deformation. However, this approach had been\ncriticized by the observation that it seemed impossible to reassemble the\nbuilding blocks into Yangian-invariant deformed non-MHV amplitudes. In this\nnote we demonstrate that the deformations may be succinctly summarized by a\nsimple modification of the measure of the Grassmannian integrals, leading to a\nYangian-invariant deformation of the general tree-level amplitudes.\nInterestingly, the deformed building-blocks appear as residues of poles in the\nspectral parameter planes. Given that the contour integrals also contain\ninformation on the amplitudes at loop-level, we expect the deformations to be\nuseful there as well. In particular, applying meromorphicity arguments, they\nmay be expected to regulate all notorious infrared divergences. We also point\nout relations to Gelfand hypergeometric functions and the quantum\nKnizhnik-Zamolodchikov equations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Colored Kauffman Homology and Super-A-polynomials: We study the structural properties of colored Kauffman homologies of knots.\nQuadruple-gradings play an essential role in revealing the differential\nstructure of colored Kauffman homology. Using the differential structure, the\nKauffman homologies carrying the symmetric tensor products of the vector\nrepresentation for the trefoil and the figure-eight are determined. In\naddition, making use of relations from representation theory, we also obtain\nthe HOMFLY homologies colored by rectangular Young tableaux with two rows for\nthese knots. Furthermore, the notion of super-A-polynomials is extended in\norder to encompass two-parameter deformations of PSL(2,C) character varieties.",
        "positive": "Integrable Quantum Field Theories, in the Bulk and with a Boundary: This thesis considers massive field theories in 1+1 dimensions known as\naffine Toda quantum field theories. We first consider the boundary sine-Gordon\nmodel, deriving a complete picture of the boundary bound state structure for\ngeneral integrable boundary conditions, and then more general ATFTs in the\nbulk, discovering a \"generalised bootstrap\" equation which explicitly encodes\nthe Lie algebra into the S-matrix. This last is related to a number of S-matrix\nidentities, as well as a generalisation of the idea that the conserved charges\nof the theory form an eigenvector of the Cartan matrix."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Entropy of Dynamical Black Holes: We propose a new formula for the entropy of a dynamical black hole$-$valid to\nleading order for perturbations off of a stationary black hole background$-$in\nan arbitrary classical diffeomorphism covariant Lagrangian theory of gravity in\n$n$ dimensions. In stationary eras, this formula agrees with the usual Noether\ncharge formula, but in nonstationary eras, we obtain a nontrivial correction\nterm. In general relativity, our formula for the entropy of a dynamical black\nhole is $1/4$ of the horizon area plus a term involving the integral of the\nexpansion of the null generators of the horizon, which we show is $1/4$ of the\narea of the apparent horizon to leading order. Our formula for entropy in a\ngeneral theory of gravity obeys a \"local physical process version\" of the first\nlaw of black hole thermodynamics. For first order perturbations sourced by\nexternal matter that satisfies the null energy condition, our entropy obeys the\nsecond law of black hole thermodynamics. For vacuum perturbations, the second\nlaw is obeyed at leading order if and only if the \"modified canonical energy\nflux\" is positive (as is the case in general relativity but presumably would\nnot hold in general theories). We obtain a general relationship between our\nformula for the entropy of a dynamical black hole and a formula proposed\nindependently by Dong and by Wall. We then consider the generalized second law\nin semiclassical gravity for first order perturbations of a stationary black\nhole. We show that the validity of the quantum null energy condition (QNEC) on\na Killing horizon is equivalent to the generalized second law using our notion\nof black hole entropy but using a modified notion of von Neumann entropy for\nmatter. On the other hand, the generalized second law for the Dong-Wall entropy\nis equivalent to an integrated version of QNEC, using the unmodified von\nNeumann entropy for the entropy of matter.",
        "positive": "Energy functionals from Conformal Gravity: We provide a new derivation of the Hawking mass and Willmore energy\nfunctionals for asymptotically AdS spacetimes, by embedding Einstein-AdS\ngravity in Conformal Gravity. By construction, the evaluation of the\nfour-dimensional Conformal Gravity action in a manifold with a conical defect\nproduces a codimension-2 conformal invariant functional $L_{\\Sigma}$. The\nenergy functionals are then particular cases of $L_{\\Sigma}$ for Einstein-AdS\nand pure AdS ambient spaces, respectively. The bulk action is finite for AdS\nasymptotics and both Hawking mass and Willmore energy are finite as well. The\nresult suggests a generic relation between conformal invariance and\nrenormalization, where the codimension-2 properties are inherited from the bulk\ngravity action."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Integrable Lambda Models And Chern-Simons Theories: In this note we reveal a connection between the phase space of lambda models\non $S^{1}\\times \\mathbb{R}$ and the phase space of double Chern-Simons theories\non $D\\times \\mathbb{R}$ and explain in the process the origin of the\nnon-ultralocality of the Maillet bracket, which emerges as a boundary algebra.\nIn particular, this means that the (classical) $AdS_{5}\\times S^{5}$ lambda\nmodel can be understood as a double Chern-Simons theory defined on the Lie\nsuperalgebra $\\mathfrak{psu}(2,2|4)$ after a proper dependence of the spectral\nparameter is introduced. This offers a possibility for avoiding the use of the\nproblematic non-ultralocal Poisson algebras that preclude the introduction of\nlattice regularizations and the application of the QISM to string sigma models.\nThe utility of the equivalence at the quantum level is, however, still to be\nexplored.",
        "positive": "Vortices in fracton type gauge theories: We consider a vector gauge theory in 2 + 1 dimensions of the type recently\nproposed by Radzihovsky and Hermele [1] to describe fracton phases of matter.\nThe theory has U(1)XU(1) vector gauge fields coupled to an additional vector\nfield with a non conventional gauge symmetry. We added to the theory scalar\nmatter in order to break the gauge symmetry. We analyze non trivial\nconfigurations by reducing the field equations to first order self dual (BPS)\nequations which we solved numerically. We have found vortex solutions for the\ngauge fields which in turn generate for the extra vector field non-trivial\nconfigurations that can be associated to magnetic dipoles."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Brane nucleation instabilities in non-AdS/non-CFT: We speculate that the weak gravity conjecture applied to theories with\nholographic duals bans the existence of disordered phases at zero temperature.\nWe test this idea by introducing a non-zero baryon chemical potential in a\ndeformation of the $SU(N_c)\\times SU(N_c)$ Klebanov-Witten gauge theory with\nbroken supersymmetry and conformal invariance. At low temperature, a disordered\nphase dual to a black brane geometry is unstable for low chemical potentials\nand metastable for high values. In the metastable phase, states with a partial\nHiggsing of the gauge group are favored over the normal disordered phase. This\nis reflected in the properties of the effective potential for color branes in\nthe dual geometry, where the appearance of a global minimum outside the horizon\nsignals the onset of a brane nucleation instability. When the Higgsing involves\nonly one of the group factors, the global minimum remains at a finite distance\nfrom the horizon, making it possible to construct holographic duals to\nmetastable \"color superconducting\" states. We also consider branes dual to\nexcitations with baryon charge, but find that the extremal geometry remains\nmarginally stable against the emission of particles carrying baryon charge\nindependently of the strength of the deformation.",
        "positive": "Tachyon Warm-Intermediate Inflationary Universe Model in High\n  Dissipative Regime: We consider tachyonic warm-inflationary models in the context of intermediate\ninflation. We derive the characteristics of this model in slow-roll\napproximation and develop our model in two cases, 1- For a constant dissipative\nparameter $\\Gamma$. 2- $\\Gamma$ as a function of tachyon field $\\phi$. We also\ndescribe scalar and tensor perturbations for this scenario. The parameters\nappearing in our model are constrained by recent observational data. We find\nthat the level of non-Gaussianity for this model is comparable with\nnon-tachyonic model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Interaction of supersymmetric nonlinear sigma models with external\n  higher spin superfields via higher spin supercurrents: We consider a four dimensional generalized Wess-Zumino model formulated in\nterms of an arbitrary K\\\"{a}hler potential $\\mathcal{K}(\\Phi,\\bar{\\Phi})$ and\nan arbitrary chiral superpotential $\\mathcal{W}(\\Phi)$. A general analysis is\ngiven to describe the possible interactions of this theory with external higher\nspin gauge superfields of the ($s+1,s+1/2$) supermultiplet via higher spin\nsupercurrents. It is shown that such interactions do not exist beyond\nsupergravity $(s\\geq2)$ for any $\\mathcal{K}$ and $\\mathcal{W}$. However, we\nfind three exceptions, the theory of a free massless chiral, the theory of a\nfree massive chiral and the theory of a free chiral with linear superpotential.\nFor the first two, the higher spin supercurrents are known and for the third\none we provide the explicit expressions. We also discuss the lower spin\nsupercurrents. As expected, a coupling to (non-minimal) supergravity ($s=1$)\ncan always be found and we give the generating supercurrent and supertrace for\narbitrary $\\mathcal{K}$ and $\\mathcal{W}$. On the other hand, coupling to the\nvector supermultiplet ($s=0$) is possible only if\n$\\mathcal{K}=\\mathcal{K}(\\bar{\\Phi}\\Phi)$ and $\\mathcal{W}=0$.",
        "positive": "SPINON BASIS FOR (sl2^)_k INTEGRABLE HIGHEST WEIGHT MODULES AND NEW\n  CHARACTER FORMULAS: In this note we review the spinon basis for the integrable highest weight\nmodules of sl2^ at levels k\\geq1, and give the corresponding character formula.\nWe show that our spinon basis is intimately related to the basis proposed by\nFoda et al. in the principal gradation of the algebra. This gives rise to new\nidentities for the q-dimensions of the integrable modules."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A tour through N=2 strings: I give an overview of open, closed and heterotic N=2 strings. At the tree\nlevel I derive the effective field theories of all the strings, and discuss the\ngroup theory of the N=2 open string and the interaction between its open and\nclosed sectors. At one loop N=2 string loop amplitudes and partition functions\nhave incurable infra-red divergences, and show puzzling disagreements on the\ndimension of spacetime when compared to their effective field theories. I show\nthat the closed-string three-point amplitude can be written directly in terms\nof a Schwinger parameter, so explicitly exhibiting the inconsistency. I finally\ndiscuss the possibility that the puzzles posed by the loop amplitudes could be\nsolved if the N=2 theories were Lorentz invariant and supersymmetric, and I\nspeculate on possible modifications of the string calculations.",
        "positive": "An analogue of Schur functions for the plane partitions: An attempt is described to extend the notion of Schur functions from Young\ndiagrams to plane partitions. The suggestion is to use the recursion in the\npartition size, which is easily generalized and deformed. This opens a\npossibility to obtain Macdonald polynomials by a change of recursion\ncoefficients and taking appropriate limit from three to two dimensions --\nthough details still remain to be worked out. Another perspective is opened by\nthe observation of a rich non-abelian structure, extending that of commuting\ncut-and-join operators, for which the discovered 3-Schurs are the common\neigenfunctions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Holography Hypothesis in Pre-Big-Bang Cosmology with String Sources: The holographic ratio in Pre-big bang string cosmology is obtained in the\npresence string sources. An iterative procedure is adopted to solve the\nequations of motion and derive the ratio in four dimensional world. First the\nzeroth order ratio is computed in the remote past, i.e. at $t=-\\infty$, then\nthe holographic ratio is obtained taking into account the evolution of the\nbackgrounds following the iterative procedure. The corrections to the zeroth\norder value of the ratio depends on the form of the initial number distribution\nof the strings chosen. Moreover, we estimate the holographic ratio in the\nrecent past (i.e. when $\\gamma=-\\frac{1}{d}$) and in the remote past (i.e. when\n$\\gamma= 0$), $\\gamma\\equiv\\frac{p}{\\varrho}$, in different dimensions in the\nEinstein frame and in the string frame. We find that in the first case it has\nsimilar time dependences in both the frames, especially in four dimensions the\nratio is explicitly computed to be the same in the two cases, whereas for\n$\\gamma=0$ case the time dependence is different.",
        "positive": "T-duality for open strings with respect to non-abelian isometries: We gauge the non-abelian isometries of a sigma model with boundaries. Forcing\nthe field strength of the gauge fields to vanish renders the gauged model\nequivalent to the ungauged one provided that boundary conditions are taken into\naccount properly. Integrating out the gauge fields gives the T-dual model. We\nobserve that T-duality interchanges Neumann (or mixed) boundary conditions with\nDirichlet boundary conditions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Classifying pole-skipping points: We clarify general mathematical and physical properties of pole-skipping\npoints. For this purpose, we analyse scalar and vector fields in hyperbolic\nspace. This setup is chosen because it is simple enough to allow us to obtain\nanalytical expressions for the Green's function and check everything\nexplicitly, while it contains all the essential features of pole-skipping\npoints. We classify pole-skipping points in three types (type-I, II, III).\nType-I and Type-II are distinguished by the (limiting) behavior of the Green's\nfunction near the pole-skipping points. Type-III can arise at non-integer\n$i\\omega$ values, which is due to a specific UV condition, contrary to the\ntypes I and II, which are related to a non-unique near-horizon boundary\ncondition. We also clarify the relation between the pole-skipping structure of\nthe Green's function and the near-horizon analysis. We point out that there are\nsubtle cases where the near-horizon analysis alone may not be able to capture\nthe existence and properties of the pole-skipping points.",
        "positive": "A tale of 2-groups: D$_p$(USp(2N)) theories: A 1-form symmetry and a 0-form symmetry may combine to form an extension\nknown as the 2-group symmetry. We find the presence of the latter in a class of\nArgyres-Douglas theories, called $D_p($USp$(2N))$, which can be realized by\n$\\mathbb{Z}_2$-twisted compactification of the 6d $\\mathcal{N}=(2,0)$ of the\n$D$-type on a sphere with an irregular twisted puncture and a regular twisted\nfull puncture. We propose the $3$d mirror theories of general $D_p($USp$(2N))$\ntheories that serve as an important tool to study their flavor symmetry and\nHiggs branch. Yet another important result is presented: We elucidate a\ntechnique, dubbed ''bootstrap'', which generates an infinite family of\n$D^b_p(G)$ theories, where for a given arbitrary group $G$ and a parameter $b$,\neach theory in the same family has the same number of mass parameters, same\nnumber of marginal deformations, same $1$-form symmetry, and same $2$-group\nstructure. This technique is utilized to establish the presence or absence of\nthe 2-group symmetries in several classes of $D^b_p(G)$ theories. In this\nregard, we find that the $D_p($USp$(2N))$ theories constitute a special class\nof Argyres-Douglas theories that have a 2-group symmetry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Detailed analysis of the dependence of the one-loop counterterms on the\n  gauge and parametrization in the Einstein gravity with the cosmological\n  constant: In this paper, the dependence of the Einstein gravity with the cosmological\nconstant as well as of this theory in the first-order formalism on the gauge\nand parametrization is been analyzed. The one-loop counterterms off the mass\nshell have been plainly calculated in arbitrary gauge and parametrization. The\ntensor package of analytic calculations, written in REDUCE, allowed all the\ncalculations to be carried out. A method of renormalization group functions\ncalculations off shell is discussed.",
        "positive": "Entanglement growth during thermalization in holographic systems: We derive in detail several universal features in the time evolution of\nentanglement entropy and other nonlocal observables in quenched holographic\nsystems. The quenches are such that a spatially uniform density of energy is\ninjected at an instant in time, exciting a strongly coupled CFT which\neventually equilibrates. Such quench processes are described on the gravity\nside by the gravitational collapse of a thin shell that results in a black\nhole. Various nonlocal observables have a unified description in terms of the\narea of extremal surfaces of different dimensions. In the large distance limit,\nthe evolution of an extremal surface, and thus the corresponding boundary\nobservable, is controlled by the geometry around and inside the event horizon\nof the black hole, allowing us to identify regimes of pre-local- equilibration\nquadratic growth, post-local-equilibration linear growth, a memory loss regime,\nand a saturation regime with behavior resembling those in phase transitions. We\nalso discuss possible bounds on the maximal rate of entanglement growth in\nrelativistic systems."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chirality of Knots $9_{42}$ and $10_{71}$ and Chern-Simons Theory: Upto ten crossing number, there are two knots, $9_{42}$ and $10_{71}$ whose\nchirality is not detected by any of the known polynomials, namely, Jones\ninvariants and their two variable generalisations, HOMFLY and Kauffman\ninvariants. We show that the generalised knot invariants, obtained through\n$SU(2)$ Chern-Simons topological field theory, which give the known polynomials\nas special cases, are indeed sensitive to the chirality of these knots.",
        "positive": "Vanishing superconformal indices and the chiral symmetry breaking: Superconformal indices of 4d \\N=1 SYM theories with SU(N) and SP(2N) gauge\ngroups are investigated for N_f=N and N_f=N+1 flavors, respectively. These\nindices vanish for generic values of the flavor fugacities. However, for a\nsingular submanifold of fugacities they behave like the Dirac delta functions\nand describe the chiral symmetry breaking phenomenon. Similar picture holds for\npartition functions of 3d supersymmetric field theories with the chiral\nsymmetry breaking."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dual giant gravitons in AdS$_m$ $\\times$ Y$^n$ (Sasaki-Einstein): We consider BPS motion of dual giant gravitons on Ad$S_5\\times Y^5$ where\n$Y^5$ represents a five-dimensional Sasaki-Einstein manifold. We find that the\nphase space for the BPS dual giant gravitons is symplectically isomorphic to\nthe Calabi-Yau cone over $Y^5$, with the K\\\"{a}hler form identified with the\nsymplectic form. The quantization of the dual giants therefore coincides with\nthe K\\\"{a}hler quantization of the cone which leads to an explicit\ncorrespondence between holomorphic wavefunctions of dual giants and\ngauge-invariant operators of the boundary theory. We extend the discussion to\ndual giants in $AdS_4 \\times Y^7$ where $Y^7$ is a seven-dimensional\nSasaki-Einstein manifold; for special motions the phase space of the dual\ngiants is symplectically isomorphic to the eight-dimensional Calabi-Yau cone.",
        "positive": "Fermionic Zero Mode and String Creation between D4-Branes at Angles: We study the creation of a fundamental string between D4-branes at angles in\nstring theory. It is shown that $R(-1)^{F}$ part of the one-loop potential of\nopen string changes its sign due to the change of fermionic zero-mode vacua\nwhen the branes cross each other. As a result the effective potential is\nindependent of the angles when supersymmetry is partially unbroken, and leads\nto a consistent picture that a fundamental string is created in the process. We\nalso discuss the s-rule in the configuration. The same result is obtained from\nthe one-loop potential for the orthogonal D4-branes with non-zero field\nstrength. The result is also confirmed from the tension obtained by deforming\nthe Chern-Simons term on one D4-brane, which is induced by another tilted\nD4-brane."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Microscopic entropy of the charged BTZ black hole: The charged BTZ black hole is characterized by a power-law curvature\nsingularity generated by the electric charge of the hole. The curvature\nsingularity produces ln r terms in the asymptotic expansion of the\ngravitational field and divergent contributions to the boundary terms. We show\nthat these boundary deformations can be generated by the action of the\nconformal group in two dimensions and that an appropriate renormalization\nprocedure allows for the definition of finite boundary charges.\n  In the semiclassical regime the central charge of the dual CFT turns out to\nbe that calculated by Brown and Henneaux, whereas the charge associated with\ntime translation is given by the renormalized black hole mass. We then show\nthat the Cardy formula reproduces exactly the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy of the\ncharged BTZ black hole.",
        "positive": "On the center-vortex baryonic area law: We correct an unfortunate error in an earlier work of the author, and show\nthat in center-vortex QCD (gauge group SU(3)) the baryonic area law is the\nso-called $Y$ law, described by a minimal area with three surfaces spanning the\nthree quark world lines and meeting at a central Steiner line joining the two\ncommon meeting points of the world lines. (The earlier claim was that this area\nlaw was a so-called $\\Delta$ law, involving three extremal areas spanning the\nthree pairs of quark world lines.) We give a preliminary discussion of the\nextension of these results to $SU(N), N>3$. These results are based on the\n(correct) baryonic Stokes' theorem given in the earlier work claiming a\n$\\Delta$ law. The $Y$-form area law for SU(3) is in agreement with the most\nrecent lattice calculations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dispersion relations in differential form: Various forms of derivative dispersion relations, in which the dispersion\nintegral is replaced by a series of derivatives of the imaginary part of a\nscattering amplitude, are reviewed. Conditions of their validity and practical\napplicability as well as their relevance to high-energy small-angle\nhadron-hadron scattering are discussed.",
        "positive": "Induced tunneling in QFT: soliton creation in collisions of highly\n  energetic particles: We consider tunneling transitions between states separated by an energy\nbarrier in a simple field theoretical model. We analyse the case of soliton\ncreation induced by collisions of a few highly energetic particles. We present\nsemiclassical, but otherwise first principle, study of this process at all\nenergies of colliding particles. We find that direct tunneling to the final\nstate occurs at energies below the critical value E_c, which is slightly higher\nthan the barrier height. Tunneling probability grows with energy in this\nregime. Above the critical energy, the tunneling mechanism is different. The\ntransition proceeds through creation of a state close to the top of the\npotential barrier (sphaleron) and its subsequent decay. At certain limiting\nenergy E_l tunneling probability ceases to grow. At higher energies the\ndominant mechanism of transition becomes the release of energy excess E-E_l by\nthe emission of a few particles and then tunneling at effectively lower energy\nE=E_l via the limiting semiclassical configuration. The latter belongs to a\nclass of ``real--time instantons'', semiclassical solutions saturating the\ninclusive probability of tunneling from initial states with given number of\nparticles. We conclude that the process of collision--induced tunneling is\nexponentially suppressed at all energies."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Duality and defects in rational conformal field theory: We study topological defect lines in two-dimensional rational conformal field\ntheory. Continuous variation of the location of such a defect does not change\nthe value of a correlator. Defects separating different phases of local CFTs\nwith the same chiral symmetry are included in our discussion. We show how the\nresulting one-dimensional phase boundaries can be used to extract symmetries\nand order-disorder dualities of the CFT.\n  The case of central charge c=4/5, for which there are two inequivalent world\nsheet phases corresponding to the tetra-critical Ising model and the critical\nthree-states Potts model, is treated as an illustrative example.",
        "positive": "Casimir forces in Bose-Einstein condensates: finite size effects in\n  three-dimensional rectangular cavities: The Casimir force due to {\\it thermal} fluctuations (or pseudo-Casimir force)\nwas previously calculated for the perfect Bose gas in the slab geometry for\nvarious boundary conditions. The Casimir pressure due to {\\it quantum}\nfluctuations in a weakly-interacting dilute Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC)\nconfined to a parallel plate geometry was recently calculated for Dirichlet\nboundary conditions. In this paper we calculate the Casimir energy and pressure\ndue to quantum fluctuations in a zero-temperature homogeneous\nweakly-interacting dilute BEC confined to a parallel plate geometry with\nperiodic boundary conditions and include higher-order corrections which we\nrefer to as Bogoliubov corrections. The leading order term is identified as the\nCasimir energy of a massless scalar field moving with wave velocity equal to\nthe speed of sound in the BEC. We then obtain the leading order Casimir\npressure in a general three-dimensional rectangular cavity of arbitrary lengths\nand obtain the finite-size correction to the parallel plate scenario."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Modular Constraints on Superconformal Field Theories: We constrain the spectrum of $\\mathcal{N}=(1, 1)$ and $\\mathcal{N}=(2, 2)$\nsuperconformal field theories in two-dimensions by requiring the NS-NS sector\npartition function to be invariant under the $\\Gamma_\\theta$ congruence\nsubgroup of the full modular group $SL(2, \\mathbb{Z})$. We employ semi-definite\nprogramming to find constraints on the allowed spectrum of operators with or\nwithout $U(1)$ charges. Especially, the upper bounds on the twist gap for the\nnon-current primaries exhibit interesting peaks, kinks, and plateau. We\nidentify a number of candidate rational (S)CFTs realized at the numerical\nboundaries and find that they are realized as the solutions to modular\ndifferential equations associated to $\\Gamma_\\theta$. Some of the candidate\ntheories have been discussed by H\\\"ohn in the context of self-dual extremal\nvertex operator (super)algebra. We also obtain bounds for the charged operators\nand study their implications to the weak gravity conjecture in AdS$_3$.",
        "positive": "On the interaction of massive spinor particles with external\n  electromagnetic and torsion fields: We explore the Dirac equation in external electromagnetic and torsion fields.\nMotivated by the previous study of quantum field theory in an external torsion\nfield, we include a nonminimal interaction of the spinor field with torsion. As\na consequence, the torsion axial vector and the electromagnetic potential enter\nthe action in a similar form. The existence of an extra local symmetry is\nemphasized and the Foldy-Wouthuysen transformation is performed to an accuracy\nof next to the leading order. We also discuss the motion of a classical test\nparticle in a constant torsion field."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Resolution of the GL(3) - O(3) state labelling problem via\n  O(3)-invariant Bethe subalgebra of the twisted Yangian: The labelling of states of irreducible representations of GL(3) in an O(3)\nbasis is well known to require the addition of a single O(3)-invariant\noperator, to the standard diagonalisable set of Casimir operators in the\nsubgroup chain GL(3) - O(3) - O(2). Moreover, this `missing label' operator\nmust be a function of the two independent cubic and quartic invariants which\ncan be constructed in terms of the angular momentum vector and the quadrupole\ntensor. It is pointed out that there is a unique (in a well-defined sense)\ncombination of these which belongs to the O(3) invariant Bethe subalgebra of\nthe twisted Yangian Y(GL(3);O(3)) in the enveloping algebra of GL(3).",
        "positive": "On the reflection of magnon bound states: We investigate the reflection of two-particle bound states of a free open\nstring in the light-cone AdS_5 x S^5 string sigma model, for large angular\nmomentum J=J_56 and ending on a D7 brane which wraps the entire AdS_5 and a\nmaximal S^3 of S^5. We use the superspace formalism to analyse fundamental and\ntwo-particle bound states in the cases of supersymmetry-preserving and\nbroken-supersymmetry boundaries. We find the boundary S-matrices corresponding\nto bound states both in the bulk and on the boundary."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "BRST Invariance of Non-local Charges and Monodromy Matrix of Bosonic\n  String on AdS(5)xS(5): Using the generalized Hamiltonian method of Batalin, Fradkin and Vilkovsky we\ndevelop the BRST formalism for the bosonic string on AdS(5)xS(5) formulated as\nprincipal chiral model. Then we show that the monodromy matrix and non-local\ncharges are BRST invariant.",
        "positive": "Fubini vacua as a classical de Sitter vacua: The Fubini's idea to introduce a fundamental scale of hadron phenomena by\nmeans of dilatation non-invariant vacuum state in the frame work of a scale\ninvariant Lagrangian field theory is recalled. The Fubini vacua is invariant\nunder the de Sitter subgroup of the full conformal group. We obtain a finite\nentropy for the quantum state corresponding to the classical Fubini vacua in\nEuclidean space-time resembeling the entropy of the de Sitter vacua. In\nMinkowski space-time it is shown that the Fubini vacua is mainly a bath of\nradiation with Rayleigh-Jeans distribution for the low energy radiation. In\nfour dimensions, the critical scalar theory is shown to be equivalent to the\nEinstein field equation in the ansatz of conformally flat metrics and to the\nSU(2) Yang-Mills theory in the 't Hooft ansatz. In D-dimensions, the Hitchin\nformula for the information geometry metric of the moduli space of instantons\nis used to obtain the information geometry of the free-parameter space of the\nFubini vacua which is shown to be a (D+1)-dimensional AdS space. Considering\nthe Fubini vacua as a de Sitter vacua, the corresponding cosmological constant\nis shown to be given by the coupling constant of the critical scalar theory. In\nMinkowski spacetime it is shown that the Fubini vacua is equivalent to an open\nFRW universe."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Flowing from 16 to 32 Supercharges: We initiate a study of an infinite set of renormalization group flows with\naccidental supersymmetry enhancement. The ultraviolet fixed points are strongly\ninteracting four-dimensional $\\mathcal{N}=2$ superconformal field theories\n(SCFTs) with no known Lagrangian descriptions, and the infrared fixed points\nare SCFTs with thirty-two (Poincar\\'e plus special) supercharges.",
        "positive": "${\\cal N}=(1,1)$ supersymmetric AdS$_3$ in 10 dimensions: Warped AdS$_3$ solutions in 10 dimensional supergravity that preserve ${\\cal\nN}=(1,1)$ supersymmetry are considered. Sufficient geometric conditions for\ntheir existence, and to stop the AdS$_3$ factor experiencing an enhancement to\nAdS$_4$, are presented. The internal space of such solutions decomposes as a\nfoliation of M$_6$ over an interval where M$_6$ supports either an SU(3)- or\nSU(2)-structure. The former case is classified in terms of torsion classes and\nnew solutions are found"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Electromagnetic two-point functions and Casimir densities for a\n  conducting plate in de Sitter spacetime: We evaluate the two-point function for the electromagnetic field tensor in\n$(D+1)$-dimensional de Sitter spacetime assuming that the field is prepared in\nBunch-Davies vacuum state. This two-point function is used for the\ninvestigation of the vacuum expectation values (VEVs) of the field squared and\nthe energy-momentum tensor in the presence of a conducting plate. The VEVs are\ndecomposed into the boundary-free and plate-induced parts. For the latter,\nclosed form analytical expressions are given in terms of the hypergeometric\nfunction. For $3\\leqslant D\\leqslant 8$ the plate-induced part in the VEV of\nthe electric field squared is positive everywhere, whereas for $D\\geqslant 9$\nit is positive near the plate and negative at large distances. The VEV of the\nenergy-momentum tensor, in addition to the diagonal components, contains an\noff-diagonal component which corresponds to the energy flux along the direction\nnormal to the plate. Simple asymptotic expressions are provided at small and\nlarge distances from the plate compared with the de Sitter curvature scale. For\n$D\\geqslant 4$, all the diagonal components of the plate-induced vacuum\nenergy-momentum tensor are negative and the energy flux is directed from the\nplate.",
        "positive": "Magic square and half-hypermultiplets in F-theory: In six-dimensional F-theory/heterotic string theory, half-hypermultiplets\narise only when they correspond to particular quaternionic K\\\"ahler symmetric\nspaces, which are mostly associated with the Freudenthal-Tits magic square.\nMotivated by the intriguing singularity structure previously found in such\nF-theory models with a gauge group $SU(6)$,$SO(12)$ or $E_7$, we investigate,\nas the final magical example, an F-theory on an elliptic fibration over a\nHirzebruch surface of the non-split $I_6$ type, in which the unbroken gauge\nsymmetry is supposed to be $Sp(3)$. We find significant qualitative differences\nbetween the previous F-theory models associated with the magic square and the\npresent case. We argue that the relevant half-hypermultiplets arise at the\n$E_6$ points, where half-hypermultiplets ${\\bf 20}$ of $SU(6)$ would have\nappeared in the split model. We also consider the problem on the non-local\nmatter generation near the $D_6$ point. After stating what the problem is, we\nexplain why this is so by using the recent result that a split/non-split\ntransition can be regarded as a conifold transition."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic Magnetic Phase Transition: We study four-dimensional interacting fermions in a strong magnetic field,\nusing the holographic Sakai-Sugimoto model of intersecting D4 and D8 branes in\nthe deconfined, chiral-symmetric parallel phase. We find that as the magnetic\nfield is varied, while staying in the parallel phase, the fermions exhibit a\nfirst-order phase transition in which their magnetization jumps\ndiscontinuously. Properties of this transition are consistent with a picture in\nwhich some of the fermions jump to the lowest Landau level. Similarities to\nknown magnetic phase transitions are discussed.",
        "positive": "Repulsive Casimir force at zero and finite temperature: We study the zero and finite temperature Casimir force acting on a perfectly\nconducting piston with arbitrary cross section moving inside a closed cylinder\nwith infinitely permeable walls. We show that at any temperature, the Casimir\nforce always tends to move the piston away from the walls and towards its\nequilibrium position. In the case of rectangular piston, exact expressions for\nthe Casimir force are derived. In the high temperature regime, we show that the\nleading term of the Casimir force is linear in temperature and therefore the\nCasimir force has a classical limit. Due to duality, all these result also hold\nfor an infinitely permeable piston moving inside a closed cylinder with\nperfectly conducting walls."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Large N limit of SO(N) scalar gauge theory: In this paper we study the large $N_c$ limit of SO(N_c) gauge theory coupled\nto a real scalar field following ideas of Rajeev. We see that the phase space\nof this resulting classical theory is Sp_1(H)/U(H_+) which is the analog of the\nSiegel disc in infinite dimensions. The linearized equations of motion give us\na version of the well-known 't Hooft equation of two dimensional QCD.",
        "positive": "Geometry of the physical phase space in quantum gauge models: The physical phase space in gauge systems is studied. Effects caused by a\nnon-Euclidean geometry of the physical phase space in quantum gauge models are\ndescribed in the operator and path integral formalisms. The projection on the\nDirac gauge invariant states is used to derive a necessary modification of the\nHamiltonian path integral in gauge theories of the Yang-Mills type with\nfermions that takes into account the non-Euclidean geometry of the physical\nphase space. The new path integral is applied to resolve the Gribov\nobstruction. Applications to the Kogut-Susskind lattice gauge theory are given.\nThe basic ideas are illustrated with examples accessible for non-specialists."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Approximate vortex solution of Faddeev model: Through an Ansatz specifying the azimuthal-angle dependence of the solution,\nthe static field equation for vortex of the Faddeev model is converted to an\nalgebraic ordinary differential equation. An approximate analytic expression of\nthe vortex solution is explored so that the energy per unit vortex length\nbecomes as small as possible. It is observed that the minimum energy of vortex\nis approximately proportional to the integer which specifies the solution.",
        "positive": "Irrelevant deformations and the holographic Callan-Symanzik equation: We discuss the systematics of obtaining the Callan-Symanzik equation within\nthe framework of the gauge/gravity dualities. We present a completely general\nformula which in particular takes into account the new holographic\nrenormalization results of arXiv:1102.2239. Non-trivial beta functions are\nobtained from new logarithmic terms in the radial expansion of the fields. The\nappearance of multi-trace counterterms is also discussed in detail and we show\nthat mixing between single- and multi-trace operators leads to very specific\nnon-linearities in the Callan-Symanzik equation. Additionally, we compute the\nconformal anomaly for a scalar three-point function in a CFT."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Interplay between superconductivity and chiral symmetry breaking in a\n  (2+1)-dimensional model with compactified spatial coordinate: In this paper a (2+1)-dimensional model with four-fermion interactions is\ninvestigated in the case when one spatial coordinate is compactified and the\nspace topology takes the form of an infinite cylinder, $R^1\\otimes S^1$. It is\nsupposed that the system is embedded into real three-dimensional space and that\na magnetic flux $\\Phi$ crosses the transverse section of the cylinder. The\nmodel includes four-fermion interactions both in the fermion-antifermion (or\nchiral) and fermion-fermion (or superconducting) channels. We then study phase\ntransitions in dependence on the chemical potential $\\mu$ and the flux $\\Phi$\nin the leading order of the large-$N$ expansion technique, where $N$ is the\nnumber of fermion fields. It is demonstrated that for arbitrary relations\nbetween coupling constants in the chiral and superconducting channels,\nsuperconductivity appears in the system at rather high values of $\\mu$ (the\nlength $L$ of the circumference $S^1$ is fixed). Moreover, it is shown that at\nsufficiently small values of $\\mu$ the growth of the magnetic flux $\\Phi$ leads\nto a periodical reentrance of the chiral symmetry breaking or superconducting\nphase, depending on the values of $\\mu$ and coupling constants.",
        "positive": "Poisson Algebra of Wilson Loops and Derivations of Free Algebras: We describe a finite analogue of the Poisson algebra of Wilson loops in\nYang-Mills theory. It is shown that this algebra arises in an apparently\ncompletely different context; as a Lie algebra of vector fields on a\nnon-commutative space. This suggests that non-commutative geometry plays a\nfundamental role in the manifestly gauge invariant formulation of Yang-Mills\ntheory. We also construct the deformation of the loop algebra induced by\nquantization, in the large N_c limit."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Time-dependent configurations in the perturbative formalism of string\n  theory: In this thesis time-dependent configurations are studied in the formalism of\nfirst-quantized string. These configurations are exact: solutions of the\ncorresponding two-dimensional conformal field theory can be found. We can\ncompute perturbative string amplitudes and try to understand the interplay\nbetween the time-dependent geometry and the quantized string. In a first\nchapter, we explain why we study these configurations. In a second chapter we\ndescribe the perturbative formalism and explain how to solve some of the\ntechnical problems we encountered. A third chapter is devoted to the physical\ndescription of the phenomena involved in these configurations, to the specific\ncomputations we made and to the insights we gained. Eventually, we conclude and\ngive some perspectives.",
        "positive": "Branes in JT (super)gravity from group theory: In this work, we revisit the end-of-the-world (EOW) brane amplitudes in JT\ngravity from a BF gauge theoretic perspective. Observing and identifying the\ncorrect group theoretic ingredient for a closed EOW brane as a discrete series\ncharacter, we use the group theory framework as a guide towards formulating the\nanalogous supersymmetric problem. We compute these amplitudes explicitly in the\nsupersymmetric generalizations of JT gravity ($\\mathcal{N}=1,2,4$), motivated\nby the prospective of possibly finite amplitudes. In the process, we develop\nsome of the representation theory of OSp$(2\\vert 2,\\mathbb{R})$ and\nPSU($1,1\\vert 2)$, relevant for the $\\mathcal{N}=2$ and $\\mathcal{N}=4$ cases."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Toda systems in closed string tachyon condensation: We consider $tt^*$ equations appearing in the study of localized tachyon\ncondensations. They are described by various Toda system when we consider the\ncondensation by the lowest tachyon corresponding to the monomial $xy$. The\ntachyon potential is calculated as a solution to these equations. The Toda\nsystem appearing in the deformation of $\\C^2/\\Z_n$ by $xy$ is identical to that\nof $D_n$ singularity deformed by $x$. For $\\C^3/\\Z_n$ with $xyz$ deformation,\nwe find only generic non-simple form, similar to the case appearing in\n$\\C/\\Z_5\\to \\C/\\Z_3$ and we discuss the difficulties in these cases.",
        "positive": "Consistency Conditions on the S-Matrix of Massless Particles: We introduce a set of consistency conditions on the S-matrix of theories of\nmassless particles of arbitrary spin in four-dimensional Minkowski space-time.\nWe find that in most cases the constraints, derived from the conditions, can\nonly be satisfied if the S-matrix is trivial. Our conditions apply to theories\nwhere four-particle scattering amplitudes can be obtained from three-particle\nones via a recent technique called BCFW construction. We call theories in this\nclass constructible. We propose a program for performing a systematic search of\nconstructible theories that can have non-trivial S-matrices. As illustrations,\nwe provide simple proofs of already known facts like the impossibility of spin\n$s > 2$ non-trivial S-matrices, the impossibility of several spin 2 interacting\nparticles and the uniqueness of a theory with spin 2 and spin 3/2 particles."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Embedding Space Approach to Lorentzian CFT Amplitudes and Causal\n  Spherical Functions: Conformal Field Theory in a Minkowski setting is discussed in an embedding\nspace approach, paying special attention to causality constraints for\nfour-point amplitudes. The physics of dilatation and Lorentz boost is\nemphasized in specifying the non-compact Maximal Abelian subgroup (MASG) of\n$SO(d,2)$. Reduction of a Conformal Field Theory (CFT) four-point amplitudes as\nfunctions of cross ratios is shown to be equivalent to enforcing $H$\nbi-invariance, i.e., $F(hgh')=F(g)$, with $g\\in SO(d,2)$ and $H$ an appropriate\nsubgroup. Causality is imposed by introducing appropriate semigroups. Causal\nzonal spherical functions are constructed, making contact with Minkowski\nconformal blocks introduced previously.",
        "positive": "Stability of the quantum supermembrane in a manifold with boundary: We point out an effect which may stabilize a supersymmetric membrane moving\non a manifold with boundary, and lead to a light-cone Hamiltonian with a\ndiscrete spectrum of eigenvalues. The analysis is carried out explicitly for a\nclosed supermembrane in the regularized $SU(N)$ matrix model version."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Charged black points in General Relativity coupled to the logarithmic\n  $U(1)$ gauge theory: The exact solution for a static spherically symmetric field outside a charged\npoint particle is found in a non-linear $U(1)$ gauge theory with a logarithmic\nLagrangian. The electromagnetic self-mass is finite, and for a particular\nrelation between mass, charge, and the value of the non-linearity coupling\nconstant, $\\lambda$, the electromagnetic contribution to the Schwarzschild mass\nis equal to the total mass. If we also require that the singularity at the\norigin be hidden behind a horizon, the mass is fixed to be slightly less than\nthe charge. This object is a {\\em black point.}",
        "positive": "Absence of gravitational contributions to the running Yang-Mills\n  coupling: The question of a modification of the running gauge coupling of (non-)\nabelian gauge theories by an incorporation of the quantum gravity contribution\nhas recently attracted considerable interest. In this letter we perform an\ninvolved diagrammatical calculation in the full Einstein-Yang-Mills system both\nin cut-off and dimensional regularization at one loop order. It is found that\nall gravitational quadratic divergencies cancel in cut-off regularization and\nare trivially absent in dimensional regularization so that there is no\nalteration to asymptotic freedom at high energies. The logarithmic divergencies\ngive rise to an extended effective Einstein-Yang-Mills Lagrangian with a\ncounterterm of dimension six. In the pure Yang-Mills sector this counterterm\ncan be removed by a nonlinear field redefinition of the gauge potential,\nreproducing a classical result of Deser, Tsao and van Nieuwenhuizen obtained in\nthe background field method with dimensional regularization."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Cooling and heating regions of Joule-Thomson expansion for AdS black\n  holes: Maxwell-power-Yang-Mills and Kerr Sen black holes: In this paper, we explore the Joule-Thomson expansion (JTE) process for the\nEinstein-Power-Young-Mills (EPYM) and the AdS Kerr Sen (AKS) black holes. We\nstudy the effect of free parameters on the Joule-Thomson coefficient (JTC), the\ninversion curve, and the $T_i^{min}/T_{c}$. The isenthalpic curves of the AKS\nblack hole show cooling or heating behavior depending on the inversion curve,\nwhich is affected by the mass and the parameters $b$ and $a$ of the black hole.\nIf we assume the parameter $b$ to be zero, the results reduce to the Kerr-AdS\nblack holes[1]. In [2,3], for the Einstein-Power-Yang-Mills AdS black hole with\n$q>1$ and $n=2$, the $T_i^{min}/T_{c}$ is $1/2$. But in this paper, for the\nAdS-Maxwell-power-Yang-Mills black hole, when $q>1$, the $T_i^{min}/T_{c}$ is\nalmost equal to $1/2$ for the increase of Maxwell's charge $C$, and when\n$q=1/2$, the $T_i^{min}/T_{c}$ is equal to $1/2$ for all values of $C$. Also,\nwhen $1/2<q<1$, the $T_i^{min}/T_{c}$ is close to the value of $1/2$, and\nfinally when $0<q<1/2$, the values of $T_i^{min}/T_{c}$ move away from the\nvalue of $1/2$, that is, they become smaller. For the AKS black hole, we found\nthat for free parameters $a=0.00951$ and $b=0.00475$, the $T_i^{min}/T_{c}$ is\nalmost $1/2$. Finally, we compare our findings with others in the literature\nand summarize our results in Tables 1-5.",
        "positive": "Nambu-Jona-Lasinio Model and Deconstructed Dimension: The Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model with the mass matrix which appears in a\ndeconstruction model is investigated. We consider two models. In Model A, a\nmass matrix belonging to a type used in dimensional deconstruction is\nintroduced. In Model B, the four-fermion interaction has a structure of the\nmatrix of the type of dimensional deconstruction. In these models, we find that\ngeneration of a dynamical fermion mass spectrum occurs in a strong coupling\ncase."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Accelerated detectors and worldsheet horizons in AdS/CFT: We use the AdS/CFT correspondence to discuss the response of an accelerated\nobserver to the quantum vacuum fluctuations. In particular, we study heavy\nquarks probing a strongly coupled CFT by analysing strings moving in AdS. We\npropose that, in this context, a non-trivial detection rate is associated to\nthe existence of a worldsheet horizon and we find an Unruh-like expression for\nthe worldsheet temperature. Finally, by examining a rotating string in global\nAdS we find that there is a transition between string embeddings with and\nwithout worldsheet horizon. The dual picture corresponds to having non-trivial\nor trivial interaction with the quantum vacuum respectively. This is in\nqualitative agreement with results of Davies et al.",
        "positive": "Locality and Unitarity from Singularities and Gauge Invariance: We conjecture that the leading two-derivative tree-level amplitudes for\ngluons and gravitons can be derived from gauge invariance together with mild\nassumptions on their singularity structure. Assuming locality (that the\nsingularities are associated with the poles of cubic graphs), we prove that\ngauge-invariance in just (n-1) particles together with minimal power-counting\nuniquely fixes the amplitude. Unitarity in the form of factorization then\nfollows from locality and gauge invariance. We also give evidence for a\nstronger conjecture: assuming only that singularities occur when the sum of a\nsubset of external momenta go on-shell, we show in non-trivial examples that\ngauge-invariance and power-counting demand a graph structure for singularities.\nThus both locality and unitarity emerge from singularities and gauge\ninvariance. Similar statements hold for theories of Goldstone bosons like the\nnon-linear sigma model and Dirac-Born-Infeld, by replacing the condition of\ngauge invariance with an appropriate degree of vanishing in soft limits."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Analytic Studies of Static and Transport Properties of (Gauged)\n  Skyrmions: We study static and transport properties of Skyrmions living within a finite\nspatial volume in a flat (3+1)-dimensional spacetime. In particular, we derive\nan explicit analytic expression for the compression modulus corresponding to\nthese Skyrmions living within a finite box and we show that such expression can\nproduce a reasonable value. The gauged version of these solitons can be also\nconsidered. It is possible to analyze the order of magnitude of the\ncontributions to the electrons conductivity associated to the interactions with\nthis Baryonic environment. The typical order of magnitude for these\ncontributions\\ to conductivity can be compared with the experimental values of\nthe conductivity of layers of Baryons.",
        "positive": "Comment on Self-Consistent Model of Black Hole Formation and Evaporation: In an earlier work, Kawai et al proposed a model of black-hole formation and\nevaporation, in which the geometry of a collapsing shell of null dust is\nstudied, including consistently the back reaction of its Hawking radiation. In\nthis note, we illuminate the implications of their work, focusing on the\nresolution of the information loss paradox and the problem of the firewall."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "(2+1)-Gravity on Riemann Surfaces in Conformal Gauge: We derive a first-order formalism for solving $(2+1)$ gravity on Riemann\nsurfaces, analogously to the recently discovered classical solutions for $N$\nmoving particles. We choose the York time gauge and the conformal gauge for the\nspatial metric. We show that Moncrief's equations of motion can be generally\nsolved by the solution f of a $O(2,1$) sigma-model. We build out of f a mapping\nfrom a regular coordinate system to a Minkowskian multivalued coordinate\nsystem. The polydromy is in correspondence with the branch cuts on the complex\nplane representing the Riemann surface. The Poincar\\'e holonomies, which define\nthe coupling of Riemann surfaces to gravity, describe simply the Minkowskian\nfree motion of the branch points. By solving f we can find the dynamics of the\nbranch points in the physical coordinate system. We check this formalism in\nsome cases, i.e. for the torus and for every Riemann surface with $SO(2,1)$\nholonomies.",
        "positive": "On Field Theory of Open Strings, Tachyon Condensation and Closed Strings: I review the physical properties of different vacua in the background\nindependent open string field theory. Talk presented at Strings 2001, Mumbai,\nIndia, http://theory.theory.tifr.res.in/strings/Proceedings/#sha-s."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Light-cone Superstring in AdS Space-time: We consider fixing the bosonic light-cone gauge for string in AdS in the\nphase space framework, i.e. by choosing $x^+ = \\tau$, and by choosing $\\sigma$\nso that $P^+$ is distributed uniformly (its density is independent of\n$\\sigma$). We discuss classical bosonic string in AdS space and superstring in\nAdS_5 x S^5. In the latter case the starting point is the action found in\nhep-th/0007036 where the kappa-symmetry is fixed by a fermionic light cone\ngauge. We derive the light cone Hamiltonian in the AdS_5 x S^5 case and in the\ncase of superstring in AdS_3 x S^3. We also obtain a realization of the\ngenerators of the basic symmetry superalgebra psu(2,2|4) in terms of the AdS_5\nx S^5 superstring coordinate fields.",
        "positive": "$\\frac{SL(2,\\mathbb{R})\\times U(1)}{U(1)}$ CFT, NS5$+$F1 system and\n  single trace $T\\bar{T}$: In this paper we prove the equivalence among (i) the weakly coupled\nworldsheet string theory described by the coset sigma model\n$\\frac{SL(2,\\mathbb{R})_k\\times U(1)}{U(1)}\\times S^3 \\times T^4$ with\n$SL(2,\\mathbb{R})$ WZW level $k\\geq 2$, (ii) the full near horizon theory of\nthe NS5 branes with $k$ NS5 branes wrapping $T^4\\times S^1$, $p\\gg1$ F1 strings\nwrapping $S^1$ and $n$ units of momentum along the $S^1$ and (iii) the single\ntrace $T\\bar{T}$ deformation of string theory in $AdS_3\\times S^3\\times T^4$.\nAs a check we compute the spectrum of the spacetime theory by performing BRST\nquantization of the coset description of the worldsheet theory and show that it\nmatches exactly with the one derived in the case of single trace $T\\bar{T}$\ndeformed string theory in $AdS_3$. Secondly, we compute the two-point\ncorrelation function of local operators of the spacetime theory using the\nworldsheet coset approach and reproduce the same two-point function from the\nsupergravity approach."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The energy-momentum conservation law in two-particle system for\n  twist-deformed Galilei Hopf algebras: In this article we discus the energy-momentum conservation principle for\ntwo-particle system in the case of canonically and Lie-algebraically\ntwist-deformed Galilei Hopf algebra. Particularly, we provide consistent with\nthe coproducts energy and momentum addition law as well as its symmetric with\nrespect the exchange of particles counterpart. Besides, we show that the\nvanishing of total fourmomentum for two Lie-algebraically deformed kinematical\nmodels leads to the discret values of energies and momenta only in the case of\nthe symmetrized addition rules.",
        "positive": "Non decoupling ghosts in the light cone gauge: The gist of using the light cone gauge lies in the well known property of\nghosts decoupling. But from the BRST point of view this is a stringency since\nfor the construction of a nilpotent operator (from a Lie algebra) the presence\nof ghosts are mandatory. We will show that this is a foible which has its\norigins in the very fact of using just one light cone vector ($n_\\mu$) instead\nof working with both light cone vectors ($n_\\mu$ and $m_\\mu$) to fulfill the\nlight cone base vectors. This will break out ghost decoupling from theory but\nallowing now a consistent BRST theory for the light cone gauge."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Macroscopic and Microscopic Description of Black Diholes: We study configurations consisting of a pair of non-extremal black holes in\nfour dimensions, both with the same mass, and with charges of the same\nmagnitude but opposite sign---diholes, for short. We present such exact\nsolutions for Einstein-Maxwell theory with arbitrary dilaton coupling, and also\nsolutions to the U(1)^4 theories that arise from compactified string/M-theory.\nDespite the fact that the solutions are very complicated, physical properties\nof these black holes, such as their area, charge, and interaction energy, admit\nsimple expressions. We also succeed in providing a microscopic description of\nthe entropy of these black holes using the `effective string' model, and taking\ninto account the interaction between the effective string and anti-string.",
        "positive": "A note on open-chain transfer matrices from q-deformed su(2|2)\n  S-matrices: In this note, we perform Sklyanin's construction of commuting\nopen-chain/boundary transfer matrices to the q-deformed SU(2|2) bulk S-matrix\nof Beisert and Koroteev and a corresponding boundary S-matrix. This also\nincludes a corresponding commuting transfer matrix using the graded version of\nthe q-deformed bulk S-matrix. Utilizing the crossing property for the bulk\nS-matrix, we argue that the transfer matrix for both graded and non-graded\nversions contains a crucial factor which is essential for commutativity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Weinberg Soft Theorems from Weinberg Adiabatic Modes: Soft theorems for the scattering of low energy photons and gravitons and\ncosmological consistency conditions on the squeezed-limit correlation functions\nare both understood to be consequences of invariance under large gauge\ntransformations. We apply the same method used in cosmology -- based on the\nidentification of an infinite set of \"adiabatic modes\" and the corresponding\nconserved currents -- to derive flat space soft theorems for electrodynamics\nand gravity. We discuss how the recent derivations based on the asymptotic\nsymmetry groups (BMS) can be continued to a finite size sphere surrounding the\nscattering event, when the soft photon or graviton has a finite momentum. We\ngive a finite distance derivation of the antipodal matching condition\npreviously imposed between future and past null infinities, and explain why all\nbut one radiative degrees of freedom decouple in the soft limit. In contrast to\nearlier works on BMS, we work with adiabatic modes which correspond to large\ngauge transformations that are $r$-dependent.",
        "positive": "Aspects of 3d N=2 Chern-Simons-Matter Theories: We comment on various aspects of the the dynamics of 3d N=2 Chern-Simons\ngauge theories and their possible phases. Depending on the matter content, real\nmasses and FI parameters, there can be non-compact Higgs or Coulomb branches,\ncompact Higgs or Coulomb branches, and isolated vacua. We compute the Witten\nindex of the theories, and show that it does not change when the system\nundergoes a phase transition. We study aspects of monopole operators and\nsolitons in these theories, and clarify subtleties in the soliton collective\ncoordinate quantization. We show that solitons are compatible with a mirror\nsymmetry exchange of Higgs and Coulomb branches, with BPS solitons on one\nbranch related to the modulus of the other. Among other results, we show how to\nderive Aharony duality from Giveon-Kutasov duality."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Poisson-Lie T-plurality of three-dimensional conformally invariant sigma\n  models II: Nondiagonal metrics and dilaton puzzle: We look for 3-dimensional Poisson-Lie dualizable sigma models that satisfy\nthe vanishing beta-function equations with constant dilaton field. Using the\nPoisson-Lie T-plurality we then construct 3-dimensional sigma models that\ncorrespond to various decompositions of Drinfeld double. Models with nontrivial\ndilaton field may appear. It turns out that for ``traceless'' dual algebras\nthey satisfy the vanishing beta-function equations as well.\n  In certain cases the dilaton cannot be defined in some of the dual models. We\nprovide an explanation why this happens and give criteria predicting when it\nhappens.",
        "positive": "Multiple D3-instantons and mock modular forms I: We study D3-instanton corrections to the hypermultiplet moduli space in type\nIIB string theory compactified on a Calabi-Yau threefold. In a previous work,\nconsistency of D3-instantons with S-duality was established at first order in\nthe instanton expansion, using the modular properties of the M5-brane elliptic\ngenus. We extend this analysis to the two-instanton level, where wall-crossing\nphenomena start playing a role. We focus on the contact potential, an analogue\nof the Kahler potential which must transform as a modular form under S-duality.\nWe show that it can be expressed in terms of a suitable modification of the\npartition function of D4-D2-D0 BPS black holes, constructed out of the\ngenerating function of MSW invariants (the latter coincide with\nDonaldson-Thomas invariants in a particular chamber). Modular invariance of the\ncontact potential then requires that, in case where the D3-brane wraps a\nreducible divisor, the generating function of MSW invariants must transform as\na vector-valued mock modular form, with a specific modular completion built\nfrom the MSW invariants of the constituents. Physically, this gives a powerful\nconstraint on the degeneracies of BPS black holes. Mathematically, our result\ngives a universal prediction for the modular properties of Donaldson-Thomas\ninvariants of pure two-dimensional sheaves."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Nahm equations in supersymmetric mechanics: We elaborate on a novel model of N=4 supersymmetric mechanics with extra spin\nvariables. A dynamical linear (1,4,3) multiplet is coupled to a\n\"semi-dynamical\" linear (3,4,1) multiplet representing spin degrees of freedom\nin a Wess-Zumino action. The unique coupling of these two multiplets relates\nthe dynamical bosonic variable to an arbitrary harmonic function of the SU(2)\ntriplet of spin variables. As we prove at the classical and quantum level, N=4\nsupersymmetry is equivalent to the Nahm equations for the spin variables, with\nthe dynamical boson as evolution parameter. We treat in detail the one- and\ntwo-monopole as well as some special multi-monopole configurations. While one\nmonopole exhibits superconformal OSp(4|2) symmetry and was worked out\npreviously, only N=4, d=1 Poincare supersymmetry survives for multi-monopole\nconfigurations.",
        "positive": "On the gauge orbit space stratification (a review): First, we review the basic mathematical structures and results concerning the\ngauge orbit space stratification. This includes general properties of the gauge\ngroup action, fibre bundle structures induced by this action, basic properties\nof the stratification and the natural Riemannian structures of the strata. In\nthe second part, we study the stratification for theories with gauge group\n$\\rmSU(n)$ in space time dimension 4. We develop a general method for\ndetermining the orbit types and their partial ordering, based on the 1-1\ncorrespondence between orbit types and holonomy-induced Howe subbundles of the\nunderlying principal $\\rmSU(n)$-bundle. We show that the orbit types are\nclassified by certain cohomology elements of space time satisfying two\nrelations and that the partial ordering is characterized by a system of\nalgebraic equations. Moreover, operations for generating direct successors and\ndirect predecessors are formulated, which allow one to construct the set of\norbit types, starting from the principal one. Finally, we discuss an\napplication to nodal configurations in topological Chern-Simons theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "New Confining N=1 Supersymmetric Gauge Theories: We examine N=1 supersymmetric gauge theories which confine in the presence of\na tree-level superpotential. We show the confining spectra which satisfy the 't\nHooft anomaly matching conditions and give a simple method to find the\nconfining superpotential. Using this method we fix the confining\nsuperpotentials in the simplest cases, and show how these superpotentials are\ngenerated by multi-instanton effects in the dual theory. These new type of\nconfining theories may be useful for model building, since the size of the\nmatter content is not restricted by an index constraint. Therefore, one expects\nthat a large variety of new confining spectra can be obtained using such\nmodels.",
        "positive": "Tuning the RADIO to the Off-Shell 2D Fayet Hypermultiplet Problem: We show via use of the RADIO technique that an off-shell (4,0) version of the\nhypermultiplet, in the form first proposed by Fayet, exists and contains 28 -\n28 component fields. The off-shell structure uncovered is found to include a\nchiral truncation of the ``generalized 2D, N = 4 tensor multiplet formalism''\nproposed by Ketov. The (4,0) theory is extended to an off-shell 56 - 56\ncomponent field (4,4) theory with the addition of a minimal (4,0) minus spinor\nmultiplet together with (4,0) auxiliary multiplets. We propose that our final\nresult gives a solution to a twenty year-old 2D supersymmetry problem in the\nphysics literature."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Soft factors and interaction vertices from light-cone actions: Universal factors associated with the emission of a soft boson in gauge\ntheories and gravity, formulated in the light-cone gauge, are presented. The\ninverse-soft method, for constructing higher-point amplitudes from lower-point\nones, using these factors is reviewed. These ideas are then examined in\n(light-cone) superspace and applied to both the N=4 super Yang-Mills and N=8\nsupergravity theories. One highlight is a compact result for the quartic\ninteraction vertex in N=8 supergravity, a crucial ingredient for finiteness\nanalyses.",
        "positive": "D-branes, open string vertex operators, and Ext groups: In this paper we explicitly work out the precise relationship between Ext\ngroups and massless modes of D-branes wrapped on complex submanifolds of\nCalabi-Yau manifolds. Specifically, we explicitly compute the boundary vertex\noperators for massless Ramond sector states, in open string B models describing\nCalabi-Yau manifolds at large radius, directly in BCFT using standard methods.\nNaively these vertex operators are in one-to-one correspondence with certain\nsheaf cohomology groups (as is typical for such vertex operator calculations),\nwhich are related to the desired Ext groups via spectral sequences. However, a\nsubtlety in the physics of the open string B model has the effect of physically\nrealizing those spectral sequences in BRST cohomology, so that the vertex\noperators are actually in one-to-one correspondence with Ext group elements.\nThis gives an extremely concrete physical test of recent proposals regarding\nthe relationship between derived categories and D-branes. We check these\nresults extensively in numerous examples, and comment on several related\nissues."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The fine-tuning problem revisited in the light of the Taylor-Lagrange\n  renormalization scheme: We re-analyse the perturbative radiative corrections to the Higgs mass within\nthe Standard Model in the light of the Taylor-Lagrange renormalization scheme.\nThis scheme naturally leads to completely finite corrections, depending on an\narbitrary dimensionless scale. This formulation avoids very large individual\ncorrections to the Higgs mass. In other words, it is a confirmation that the\nso-called fine-tuning problem in the Standard Model is just an artefact of the\nregularization scheme and should not lead to any physical interpretation in\nterms of the energy scale at which new physics should show up, nor to the\nappearance of a new symmetry. We analyse the characteristic physical scales\nrelevant for the description of these radiative corrections.",
        "positive": "AdS Dynamics for Massive Scalar Field: exact solutions vs. bulk-boundary\n  propagator: AdS dynamics for massive scalar field is studied both by solving exactly the\nequation of motion and by constructing bulk-boundary propagator. A\nRobertson-Walker-like metric is deduced from the familiar SO(2,n) invariant\nmetric. The metric allows us to present a time-like Killing vector, which is\nnot only invariant under space-like transformations but also invariant under\nthe isometric transformations of SO(2,n) in certain sense. A horizon appears in\nthis coordinate system. Singularities of field variables at boundary are\ndemonstrated explicitly. It is shown that there is a one-to-one correspondence\namong the exact solutions and the bulk fields obtained by using the\nbulk-boundary propagator."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Slightly broken higher-spin current in bosonic and fermionic QED in the\n  large-$N$ limit: We study the slightly broken higher-spin currents in various CFTs with\n$\\mathrm{U}(1)$ gauge field, including the tricritical QED, scalar QED,\nfermionic QED and QED-Gross-Neveu-Yukawa theory. We calculate their anomalous\ndimension by making use of the classical non-conservation equation and the\nequations of motion. We find a logarithmic asymptotic behaviour ($\\gamma_s\\sim\n16/(N\\pi^2) \\log s $) of the anomalous dimension at large spin $s$, which is\ndifferent from other interacting CFTs without gauge fields and may indicate\ncertain unique features of gauge theories. We also study slightly broken\nhigher-spin currents of the $\\mathrm{SU}(N)_1$ WZW model at $d=2+\\epsilon$\ndimensions by formulating them as the QED theory, and we again find its\nanomalous dimension has a logarithmic asymptotic behaviour with respect to\nspin. This result resolves the mystery regarding the mechanism of breaking\nhigher spin currents of Virasoro symmetry at $d=2+\\epsilon$ dimensions, and may\nbe applicable to other interesting problems such as the $2+\\epsilon$ expansion\nof Ising CFT.",
        "positive": "(Super)symmetries of semiclassical models in theoretical and condensed\n  matter physics: Van Holten's covariant algorithm for deriving conserved quantities is\npresented, with particular attention paid to Runge-Lenz-type vectors. The\nclassical dynamics of isospin-carrying particles is reviewed. Physical\napplications including non-Abelian monopole-type systems in diatoms, introduced\nby Moody, Shapere and Wilczek, are considered. Applied to curved space, the\nformalism of van Holten allows us to describe the dynamical symmetries of\ngeneralized Kaluza-Klein monopoles. The framework is extended to supersymmetry\nand applied to the SUSY of the monopoles. Yet another application concerns the\nthree-dimensional non-commutative oscillator."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Defect Structures in Lorentz and CPT Violating Scenarios: We investigate models described by real scalar fields, searching for defect\nstructures in the presence of interactions which explicitly violate Lorentz and\nCPT symmetries. We first deal with a single field, and we investigate a class\nof models which supports traveling waves that violate Lorentz invariance. This\nscenario is then generalized to the case of two (or more) real scalar fields.\nIn the case of two fields, in particular, we introduce another class of models,\nwhich supports topological structures that attain a Bogomol'nyi bound, although\nviolating both Lorentz and CPT symmetries. An example is considered, for which\nwe construct the Bogomol'nyi bound and find some explicit solutions. We show\nthat violation of both Lorentz and CPT symmetries induces the appearance of an\nasymmetry between defects and anti-defects, including the presence of linearly\nstable solutions with negative energy density in their outer side.",
        "positive": "Exact null octagon: We consider the so-called simplest correlation function of four infinitely\nheavy half-BPS operators in planar N=4 SYM in the limit when the operators are\nlight-like separated in a sequential manner. We find a closed-form expression\nfor the correlation function in this limit as a function of the 't Hooft\ncoupling and residual cross ratios. Our analysis heavily relies on the\nfactorization of the correlation function into the product of null octagons and\non the recently established determinant representation for the latter. We show\nthat the null octagon is given by a Fredholm determinant of a certain integral\noperator which has a striking similarity to those previously encountered in the\nstudy of two-point correlation functions in exactly solvable models at finite\ntemperature and of level spacing distributions for random matrices. This allows\nus to compute the null octagon exactly by employing a method of differential\nequations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Two-dimensional Liouville Gravity Theory with Non-Trivial Classical\n  Background: We examine a possibility to introduce a non-trivial classical background\nmetric into the 2-d Liouville gravity theory. The classical background appears\nas a part of the Weyl factor of the physical metric of 2-d surfaces with some\nconformal dimension. On the other hand, the rest part of the factor corresponds\nto the quantum fluctuating sector, having another conformal dimension such that\nthese two conformal dimensions sum up to just (1,1). Consequently we conclude\nthat, in the 2-d Liouville gravity, the target space dimensions D can be beyond\n1.",
        "positive": "Supersymmetric Theories on a Non Simply Connected Space-Time: We study the Wess-Zumino theory on ${\\bf R}^3 \\times S^1$ where a spatial\ncoordinate is compactified. We show that when the bosonic and fermionic fields\nsatisfy the same boundary condition, the theory does not develop a vacuum\nenergy or tadpoles. We work out the two point functions at one loop and show\nthat their forms are consistent with the nonrenormalization theorem. However,\nthe two point functions are nonanalytic and we discuss the structure of this\nnonanalyticity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Light-Front QCD(1+1) Coupled to Chiral Adjoint Fermions: We consider SU(N) gauge theory in 1+1 dimensions coupled to chiral fermions\nin the adjoint representation of the gauge group. With all fields in the\nadjoint representation the gauge group is actually SU(N)/Z_N, which possesses\nnontrivial topology. In particular, there are N distinct topological sectors\nand the physical vacuum state has a structure analogous to a \\theta vacuum. We\nshow how this feature is realized in light-front quantization for the case N=2,\nusing discretization as an infrared regulator. In the discretized form of the\ntheory the nontrivial vacuum structure is associated with the zero momentum\nmode of the gauge field A^+. We find exact expressions for the degenerate\nvacuum states and the analog of the \\theta vacuum. The model also possess a\ncondensate which we calculate. We discuss the difference between this chiral\nlight-front theory and the theories that have previously been considered in the\nequal-time approach.",
        "positive": "Interactions of N Goldstini in Superspace: We study field theories with N extended non-linearly realized\nsupersymmetries, describing the couplings of models that contain N goldstini.\nWe review all the known formulations of the N=1 goldstino theories and we\ngeneralize them to an arbitrary number N of non-linearly realized\nsupersymmetries. We explicitly prove the equivalence of all these extended\nsupersymmetry breaking models containing N goldstini and reformulate the theory\nwith N supersymmetries in terms of standard N=1 constrained superfields."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Bianchi Type I Cosmology in N=2, D=5 Supergravity: The dynamics and evolution of Bianchi type I space-times is considered in the\nframework of the four-dimensional truncation of a reduced theory obtained from\nthe N=2,D=5 supergravity. The general solution of the gravitational field\nequations can be represented in an exact parametric form. All solutions have a\nsingular behavior at the initial/final moment, except when the space-time\ngeometry reduces to the isotropic flat case. Generically the obtained\ncosmological models describe an anisotropic, expanding or collapsing, singular\nUniverse with a non-inflationary evolution for all times.",
        "positive": "K\u00e4hler Moduli Space of a D-Brane at Orbifold Singularities: We develop a method to analyze systematically the configuration space of a\nD-brane localized at the orbifold singular point of a Calabi--Yau $d$-fold of\nthe form ${\\Bbb C}^d/\\Gamma$ using the theory of toric quotients. This approach\nelucidates the structure of the K\\\"ahler moduli space associated with the\nproblem. As an application, we compute the toric data of the $\\Gamma$-Hilbert\nscheme."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic Dual to Conical Defects: II. Colliding Ultrarelativistic\n  Particles: We study instant conformal symmetry breaking as a holographic effect of\nultrarelativistic particles moving in the AdS3 spacetime. We give the\nqualitative picture of this effect probing it by two-point correlation\nfunctions and the entanglement entropy of the corresponding boundary theory. We\nshow that within geodesic approximation the ultra-relativistic massless defect\ndue to gravitational lensing of the geodesics, produces a zone structure for\ncorrelators with broken conformal invariance. Meanwhile, the holographic\nentanglement entropy also exhibits a transition to the non-conformal behaviour.\nTwo colliding massless defects produce more diverse zone structure for\ncorrelators and the entanglement entropy.",
        "positive": "Anisotropic Fermi surface from holography: We investigate the probe holographic fermions by using an anisotropic charged\nblack brane solution. We derive the equation of motion of probe bulk fermions\nwith one Fermi momentum along the anisotropic and one along the isotropic\ndirections. We then numerically solve the equation and analyze the properties\nof Green function with these two momentums. We find in this case the shape of\nFermi surface is anisotropic. However, for both Fermi momentums perpendicular\nto the anisotropic direction, the Fermi surface is isotropic. We verify that\nour system obeys the recently conjectured bound for thermoelectric diffusion\nconstants for the stable branch of the black brane solutions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Random Geometries in Quantum Gravity: We describe the idea of studying quantum gravity by means of dynamical\ntriangulations and give examples of its implementation in 2, 3 and 4 space time\ndimensions. For $d=2$ we consider the generic hermitian 1-matrix model. We\nintroduce the so-called moment description which allows us to find the complete\nperturbative solution of the generic model both away from and in the continuum.\nFurthermore we show how one can easily by means of the moment variables define\ncontinuum times for the model so that its continuum partition function agrees\nwith the partition function of the Kontsevich model except for some\ncomplications at genus zero. Finally we study the non perturbative definition\nof 2D quantum gravity provided by stochastic stabilization, showing how well\nknown matrix model characteristica can be given a simple quantum mechanical\ninterpretation and how stochastic quantization seems to hint to us the\npossibility of a strong coupling expansion of 2D quantum gravity. For $d=3$ and\n$d=4$ we consider the numerical approach to dynamically triangulated gravity.\nWe present the results of simulating pure gravity as well as gravity\ninteracting with matter fields. For $d=4$ we describe in addition the effect of\nadding to the Einstein Hilbert action a higher derivative term.",
        "positive": "AdS/Ricci-flat correspondence: We present a comprehensive analysis of the AdS/Ricci-flat correspondence, a\nmap between a class of asymptotically locally AdS spacetimes and a class of\nRicci-flat spacetimes. We provide a detailed derivation of the map, discuss a\nnumber of extensions and apply it to a number of important examples, such as\nAdS on a torus, AdS black branes and fluids/gravity metrics. In particular, the\ncorrespondence links the hydrodynamic regime of asymptotically flat black\n$p$-branes or the Rindler fluid with that of AdS. It implies that this class of\nRicci-flat spacetimes inherits from AdS a generalized conformal symmetry and\nhas a holographic structure. We initiate the discussion of holography by\nanalyzing how the map acts on boundary conditions and holographic 2-point\nfunctions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic complexity of the extended Schwarzschild-de Sitter space: According to static patch holography, de Sitter space admits a unitary\nquantum description in terms of a dual theory living on the stretched horizon,\nthat is a timelike surface close to the cosmological horizon. In this\nmanuscript, we compute several holographic complexity conjectures in a periodic\nextension of the Schwarzschild-de Sitter black hole. We consider multiple\nconfigurations of the stretched horizons to which geometric objects are\nanchored. The holographic complexity proposals admit a hyperfast growth when\nthe gravitational observables only lie in the cosmological patch, except for a\nclass of complexity=anything observables that admit a linear growth. All the\ncomplexity conjectures present a linear increase when restricted to the black\nhole patch, similar to the AdS case. When both the black hole and the\ncosmological regions are probed, codimension-zero proposals are\ntime-independent, while codimension-one proposals can have non-trivial\nevolution with linear increase at late times. As a byproduct of our analysis,\nwe find that codimension-one spacelike surfaces are highly constrained in\nSchwarzschild-de Sitter space. Therefore, different locations of the stretched\nhorizon give rise to different behaviours of the complexity conjectures.",
        "positive": "A Brief History of Hawking's Information Paradox: In this invited review, we describe Hawking's information paradox and a\nrecently proposed resolution of it. Explicit calculations demonstrate the\nexistence of quantum hair on black holes, meaning that the quantum state of the\nexternal graviton field depends on the internal state of the black hole. Simple\nquantum mechanics then implies that Hawking radiation amplitudes depend on the\ninternal state, resulting in a pure final radiation state that preserves\nunitarity and, importantly, violates a factorization assumption which is\ncentral to the original paradox. Black hole information is encoded in entangled\nmacroscopic superposition states of the radiation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "D-branes in Lorentzian AdS(3): We study the exact construction of D-branes in Lorentzian AdS(3). We start by\ndefining a family of conformal field theories that gives a natural Euclidean\nversion of the SL(2,R) CFT and does not correspond to H(3)+, the analytic\ncontinuation of AdS(3). We argue that one can recuperate the exact CFT results\nof Lorentzian AdS(3), upon an analytic continuation in the moduli space of\nthese conformal field theories. Then we construct exact boundary states for\nvarious symmetric and symmetry-breaking D-branes in AdS(3).",
        "positive": "Holographic Thermalization: Using the AdS/CFT correspondence, we probe the scale-dependence of\nthermalization in strongly coupled field theories following a quench, via\ncalculations of two-point functions, Wilson loops and entanglement entropy in\nd=2,3,4. In the saddlepoint approximation these probes are computed in AdS\nspace in terms of invariant geometric objects - geodesics, minimal surfaces and\nminimal volumes. Our calculations for two-dimensional field theories are\nanalytical. In our strongly coupled setting, all probes in all dimensions share\ncertain universal features in their thermalization: (1) a slight delay in the\nonset of thermalization, (2) an apparent non-analyticity at the endpoint of\nthermalization, (3) top-down thermalization where the UV thermalizes first. For\nhomogeneous initial conditions the entanglement entropy thermalizes slowest,\nand sets a timescale for equilibration that saturates a causality bound over\nthe range of scales studied. The growth rate of entanglement entropy density is\nnearly volume-independent for small volumes, but slows for larger volumes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Renormalization Group method for simple operator problems in quantum\n  mechanics: A simple backreaction problem in quantum mechanics, the full quantum\nanharmonic oscillator, and quantum parametric resonance are studied using\nRenormalization Group techniques for global asymptotic analysis. In this short\nnote this technique is adapted for the first time to operator problems.",
        "positive": "On osp(2|2) conformal field theories: We study the conformal field theories corresponding to current superalgebras\n$osp(2|2)^{(1)}_k$ and $osp(2|2)^{(2)}_k$. We construct the free field\nrealizations, screen currents and primary fields of these current superalgebras\nat general level $k$. All the results for $osp(2|2)^{(2)}_k$ are new, and the\nresults for the primary fields of $osp(2|2)^{(1)}_k$ also seem to be new. Our\nresults are expected to be useful in the supersymmetric approach to Gaussian\ndisordered systems such as random bond Ising model and Dirac model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The status of cosmological natural selection: The problem of making predictions from theories that have landscapes of\npossible low energy parameters is reviewed. Conditions for such a theory to\nyield falsifiable predictions for doable experiments are given. It is shown\nthat the hypothesis of cosmological natural selection satisfies these\nconditions, thus showing that it is possible to continue to do physics on a\nlandscape without invoking the anthropic principle. In particular, this is true\nwhether or not the ensemble of universes generated by black holes bouncing is a\nsub-ensemble of a larger ensemble that might be generated by a random process\nsuch as eternal inflation.\n  A recent criticism of cosmological natural selection made by Vilenkin in\nhep-th/0610051 is discussed. It is shown to rely on assumptions about both the\ninfrared and ultraviolet behavior of quantum gravity that are very unlikely to\nbe true.",
        "positive": "Fusion of conformal defects in interacting theories: We study fusion of two scalar Wilson defects. We propose that fusion holds at\na quantum level by showing that bare one-point functions stay invariant. This\nis an expected result as the path integral stays invariant under fusion of the\ntwo defects. The difference instead lies in renormalization of local quantities\non the defects. Those on the fused defect takes into account UV divergences in\nthe fusion limit when the two defects approach eachother, in addition to UV\ndivergences in the coincident limit of defect-local fields and in the near\ndefect limits of bulk-local fields. At the fixed point of the corresponding RG\nflow the two conformal defects have fused into a single conformal defect."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Consistent NEC-violation: towards creating a universe in the laboratory: Null Energy Condition (NEC) can be violated in a consistent way in models\nwith unconventional kinetic terms, notably, in Galileon theories and their\ngeneralizations. We make use of one of these, the scale-invariant kinetic\nbraiding model, to discuss whether a universe can in principle be created by\nman-made processes. We find that even though the simplest models of this sort\ncan have both healthy Minkowski vacuum and consistent NEC-violating phase,\nthere is an obstruction for creating a universe in a straightforward fashion.\nTo get around this obstruction, we design a more complicated model, and present\na scenario for the creation of a universe in the laboratory.",
        "positive": "Direct Interactions in Relativistic Statistical Mechanics: Directly interacting particles are considered in the multitime formalism of\npredictive relativistic mechanics. When the equations of motion leave a\nphase-space volume invariant, it turns out that the phase average of any first\nintegral, covariantly defined as a flux across a $7n$-dimensional surface, is\nconserved. The Hamiltonian case is discussed, a class of simple models is\nexhibited, and a tentative definition of equilibrium is proposed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Moduli Spaces of $N=1$ String Theories: Generically, string models with $N=1$ supersymmetry are not expected to have\nmoduli beyond perturbation theory; stringy non-perturbative effects as well as\nlow energy field-theoretic phenomena such as gluino condensation will lift any\nflat directions. In this note, we describe models where some subspace of the\nmoduli space survives non-perturbatively. Discrete $R$ symmetries forbid any\ninherently stringy effects, and dynamical considerations control the\nfield-theoretic effects. The surviving subspace is a space of high symmetry;\nthe system is attracted to this subspace by a potential which we compute.\nModels of this type may be useful for considerations of duality and raise\ntroubling cosmological questions about string theory. Our considerations also\nsuggest a mechanism for fixing the expectation value of the dilaton.",
        "positive": "Wilson Loops for M2- and M5-brane spaces: We calculate configuration energies of string-like membranes in M2- and\nM5-brane spaces. In the near horizon approximation these backgrounds reduce to\n$AdS_4\\times S^7$ and $AdS_7\\times S^4$ spaces and the dual theories are\nsupersymmetric $SU(N)$ gauge theories, in accordance with the AdS/CFT\ncorrespondence. In this case the string-like configuration energy is identified\nwith the quark and anti-quark energy interaction in the dual theories. Far from\nthe horizon the dual theory is more involved but any how we were able to\ncalculate the string-like configuration energy. For limiting regimes we find\nsimpler solutions for which some potentials exhibit a confinement behavior\nwhile others are non-confining."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "First-Class Approaches to Massive 2-Forms: Massive 2-forms are analyzed from the point of view of the Hamiltonian\nquantization using the gauge-unfixing approach and respectively the\nBatalin--Fradkin method. Both methods finally output the manifestly Lorentz\ncovariant path integral for 1- and 2-forms with Stueckelberg coupling.",
        "positive": "Cluster-Enriched Yang-Baxter Equation from SUSY Gauge Theories: We propose a new generalization of the Yang-Baxter equation, where the\nR-matrix depends on cluster $y$-variables in addition to the spectral\nparameters. We point out that we can construct solutions to this new equation\nfrom the recently-found correspondence between Yang-Baxter equations and\nsupersymmetric gauge theories. The $S^2$ partition function of a certain 2d\n$\\mathcal{N}=(2,2)$ quiver gauge theory gives an R-matrix, whereas its FI\nparameters can be identified with the cluster $y$-variables."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dimer Models from Mirror Symmetry and Quivering Amoebae: Dimer models are 2-dimensional combinatorial systems that have been shown to\nencode the gauge groups, matter content and tree-level superpotential of the\nworld-volume quiver gauge theories obtained by placing D3-branes at the tip of\na singular toric Calabi-Yau cone. In particular the dimer graph is dual to the\nquiver graph. However, the string theoretic explanation of this was unclear. In\nthis paper we use mirror symmetry to shed light on this: the dimer models live\non a T^2 subspace of the T^3 fiber that is involved in mirror symmetry and is\nwrapped by D6-branes. These D6-branes are mirror to the D3-branes at the\nsingular point, and geometrically encode the same quiver theory on their\nworld-volume.",
        "positive": "Gribov copies and confinement: We analyse the role of the Gribov ambiguity in the construction of physical\ncharges in gauge theories. It is shown explicitly how the Gribov copies prevent\nthe construction of physical coloured charges beyond perturbation theory. We\nalso present a new and manifestly non-perturbative class of Coulomb gauge\nGribov copies."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Thermodynamics at the BPS bound for Black Holes in AdS: In this work we define a new limiting procedure that extends the usual\nthermodynamics treatment of Black Hole physics, to the supersymmetric regime.\nThis procedure is inspired on equivalent statistical mechanics derivations in\nthe dual CFT theory, where the BPS partition function at zero temperature is\nobtained by a double scaling limit of temperature and the relevant chemical\npotentials. In supergravity, the resulting partition function depends on\nemergent generalized chemical potentials conjugated to the different conserved\ncharges of the BPS solitons. With this new approach, studies on stability and\nphase transitions of supersymmetric solutions are presented. We find stable and\nunstable regimes with first order phase transitions, as suggested by previous\nstudies on free supersymmetric Yang Mills theory.",
        "positive": "CPT Violation in String-Modified Quantum Mechanics and the Neutral Kaon\n  System: We show that $CPT$ is in general violated in a non-quantum-mechanical way in\nthe effective low-energy theory derived from string theory, as a result of\napparent world-sheet charge non-conservation induced by stringy monopoles\ncorresponding to target-space black hole configurations. This modification of\nquantum mechanics does not violate energy conservation. The magnitude of this\neffective spontaneous violation of $CPT$ may not be be far from the present\nexperimental sensitivity in the neutral kaon system. We demonstrate that our\npreviously proposed stringy modifications to the quantum-mechanical description\nof the neutral kaon system violate $CPT$, although in a different way from that\nassumed in phenomenological analyses within conventional quantum mechanics. We\nconstrain the novel $CPT$-violating parameters using available data on $K_L\n\\rightarrow 2\\pi$, $K_S \\rightarrow 3\\pi ^0$ and semileptonic $K_{L,S}$ decay\nasymmetries. We demonstrate that these data and an approximate treatment of\ninterference effects in $K \\rightarrow 2\\pi $ decays are consistent with a {\\it\nnon-vanishing} amount of $CPT$ violation at a level accessible to a new round\nof experiments, and further data and/or analysis are required to exclude the\nextreme possibility that they dominate over $CP$ violation. Could\nnon-quantum-field theoretical and non-quantum-mechanical $CPT$ violation usher\nin the long-awaited era of string phenomenology?}"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the KKLT Goldstino: We construct general asymptotically Klebanov-Strassler solutions of a five\ndimensional $SU(2) \\times SU(2) \\times \\mathbb{Z}_2\\times \\mathbb{Z}_{2R}$\ntruncation of IIB supergravity on $ T^{1,1} $, that break supersymmetry. This\ngeneralizes results in the literature for the $SU(2) \\times SU(2) \\times\n\\mathbb{Z}_2\\times U(1)_R$ case, to a truncation that is general enough to\ncapture the deformation of the conifold in the IR. We observe that there are\nonly two SUSY-breaking modes even in this generalized set up, and by\nholographically computing Ward identities, we confirm that only one of them\ncorresponds to spontaneous breaking: this is the mode triggered by smeared\nanti-D3 branes at the tip of the warped throat. Along the way, we address some\naspects of the holographic computation of one-point functions of marginal and\nrelevant operators in the cascading gauge theory. Our results strengthen the\nevidence that {\\it if} the KKLT construction is meta-stable, it is indeed a\nspontaneously SUSY-broken (and therefore bona fide) vacuum of string theory.",
        "positive": "Incorporation of fermions into double field theory: Based on the stringy differential geometry we proposed earlier, we\nincorporate fermions such as gravitino and dilatino into double field theory in\na manifestly covariant manner with regard to O(D,D) T-duality, diffeomorphism,\none-form gauge symmetry for B-field and a pair of local Lorentz symmetries. We\nnote that there are two kinds of fermions in double field theory: O(D,D)\nsinglet and non-singlet which may be identified, respectively as the common and\nthe non-common fermionic sectors in type IIA and IIB supergravities. For each\nkind, we construct corresponding covariant Dirac operators. Further, we derive\na simple criterion for an O(D,D) rotation to flip the chirality of the O(D,D)\nnon-singlet chiral fermions, which implies the exchange of type IIA and IIB\nsupergravities."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Remark on the Renormalization Group Equation for the Penner Model: It is possible to extract values for critical couplings and gamma_string in\nmatrix models by deriving a renormalization group equation for the variation of\nthe of the free energy as the size N of the matrices in the theory is varied.\nIn this paper we derive a ``renormalization group equation'' for the Penner\nmodel by direct differentiation of the partition function and show that it\nreproduces the correct values of the critical coupling and gamma_string and is\nconsistent with the logarithmic corrections present for g=0,1.",
        "positive": "MSSM GUT String Vacua, Split Supersymmetry and Fluxes: We show that previous proposals to accommodate the MSSM with string theory\nN=0 non-supersymmetric compactifications coming from intersecting D6-branes may\nbe made fully consistent with the cancellation of RR tadpoles. In this respect\nwe present the first examples of non-supersymmetric string Pati-Salam model\nvacua with starting observable gauge group $SU(4)_c \\t SU(2)_L \\t SU(2)_R$\n(SU(2) from Sp(2)'s) that accommodate the spectrum of the 3 generation MSSM\nwith a gauged baryon number with all extra exotics (either chiral or\nnon-chiral) becoming massive and all MSSM Yukawas realized. The N=1\nsupersymmetry of the visible sector is broken by an extra supersymmetry\nmessenger breaking sector that preserves a different N$^{\\prime}$=1 susy,\nexhibiting the first examples of stringy gauge mediated models. Due to the high\nscale of the models, these models are also the first realistic examples of\ncarriers of stringy split supersymmetry exhibiting universal slepton/squark\nmasses, massive string scale gauginos, {\\em unification of SU(3), SU(2) gauge\ncouplings at} $2.04 \\times 10^{16}$ GeV, a stable proton and the appearance of\na landscape split SM with chiral fermions and only Higgsinos below the scale of\nsusy breaking; the LSP neutralino candidate could also be only Higgsino or\nHiggsino-Wino mixture. We also add RR, NS and metric fluxes as every\nintersecting D-brane model without fluxes can be accommodated in the presence\nof fluxes. The addition of metric fluxes in the toroidal lattice also\nstabilizes the expected real parts of all in AdS closed string moduli (modulo\nD-term affects), leaving unfixed only the imaginary parts of K\\\"ahler moduli."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Cosmological and Black Hole Spacetimes in Twisted Noncommutative Gravity: We derive noncommutative Einstein equations for abelian twists and their\nsolutions in consistently symmetry reduced sectors, corresponding to twisted\nFRW cosmology and Schwarzschild black holes. While some of these solutions must\nbe rejected as models for physical spacetimes because they contradict\nobservations, we find also solutions that can be made compatible with low\nenergy phenomenology, while exhibiting strong noncommutativity at very short\ndistances and early times.",
        "positive": "Charge fractionization in N=2 supersymmetric QCD: It is shown that the physical ``quark number'' charges which appear in the\ncentral charge of the supersymmetry algebra of $N=2$ supersymmetric QCD can\ntake irrational values and depend non trivially on the Higgs expectation value.\nThis gives a physical interpretation of the constant shifts which the\n``electric'' and ``magnetic'' variables $a_D$ and $a$ undergo when encircling a\nsingularity, and show that duality in this model is truly an\nelectric-magnetic-quark number duality. Also included is a computation of the\nmonodromy matrices directly in the microscopic theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Outer-Automorphic WZW Orbifolds on so(2n), including Five Triality\n  Orbifolds on so(8): Following recent advances in the local theory of current-algebraic orbifolds\nwe present the basic dynamics - including the {\\it twisted KZ equations} - of\neach twisted sector of all outer-automorphic WZW orbifolds on so(2n). Physics-\nfriendly Cartesian bases are used throughout, and we are able in particular to\nassemble two $Z_3$ triality orbifolds and three $S_3$ triality orbifolds on\nso(8).",
        "positive": "Commuting SYK: a pseudo-holographic model: In this work, we study a type of commuting SYK model in which all terms in\nthe Hamiltonian are commutative to each other. Because of the commutativity,\nthis model has a large number of conserved charges and is integrable. After the\nensemble average of random couplings, we can solve this model exactly in any\n$N$. Though this integral model is not holographic, we do find that it has some\nholography-like features, especially the near-perfect size winding in high\ntemperatures. Therefore, we would like to call it pseudo-holographic. We also\nfind that the size winding of this model has a narrowly peaked size\ndistribution, which is different from the ordinary SYK model. We apply the\ntraversable wormhole teleportation protocol in the commuting SYK model and find\nthat the teleportation has a few features similar to the semiclassical\ntraversable wormhole but in different parameter regimes. We show that the\nunderlying physics is not entirely determined by the size-winding mechanism but\ninvolves the peaked-size mechanism and thermalization. Lastly, we comment on\nthe recent simulation of the dynamics of traversable wormholes on Google's\nquantum processor."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spin-Field Correspondence: In the recent article Phys.\\ Lett.\\ B {\\bf 759} (2016) 424 a new class of\nfield theories called Nonlinear Field Space Theory has been proposed. In this\napproach, the standard field theories are considered as linear approximations\nto some more general theories characterized by nonlinear field phase spaces.\nThe case of spherical geometry is especially interesting due to its relation\nwith the spin physics. Here, we explore this possibility showing that classical\nscalar field theory with such a field space can be viewed as a perturbation of\na continuous spin system. In this picture, the spin precession and the scalar\nfield excitations are dual descriptions of the same physics. The duality is\nstudied on the example of the Heisenberg model. It is shown that the Heisenberg\nmodel coupled to a magnetic field leads to a non-relativistic scalar field\ntheory, characterized by quadratic dispersion relation. Finally, on the basis\nof analysis of the relation between the spin phase space and the scalar field\ntheory we propose the \\emph{Spin-Field correspondence} between the known types\nof fields and the corresponding spin systems.",
        "positive": "From Superalgebras to Superparticles and Superbranes: In this work we investigate connections between superalgebras and their\nrealizations in terms of particles, branes and field theory models. We start\nfrom Poincar\\'e superalgebras with brane charges and study its representations.\nThe existence of new supermultiplets in different dimensions including an ultra\nshort supermultiplet in D=11 different from the supergravity multiplet is\nshown. Generalizations of superalgebras containing brane charges, including\nthose in D$>$11 are considered. The realization of these algebras at the level\nof relativistic particle models and, upon quantization, at the level of field\ntheory is presented. Application of Hamiltonian/BRST methods of quantization of\nsystems with mixture of first and second class constraints as well as a\nconversion method are discussed for the models of interest. Using quantization\nof particle mechanics we obtain information on the spectrum and linearized\nequations of motion of the perturbative, linearized M-theory. The\ngeneralization of particle models to p-branes is made using a geometrical\nformulation of superembedding approach to study the example of L-branes which\nhave a linear multiplet on their worldvolume. The p-branes and strings in\nB-field are considered as well as the origin of noncommutativity and\nnon-associativity in their low-energy limit. It is shown that the application\nof Hamiltonian/BRST methods for those models leads to stringy version of\nSeiberg-Witten map and the removal of the non-associativity/noncommutativity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Asymptotically flat charged rotating dilaton black holes in higher\n  dimensions: We find a class of asymptotically flat slowly rotating charged black hole\nsolutions of Einstein-Maxwell-dilaton theory with arbitrary dilaton coupling\nconstant in higher dimensions. Our solution is the correct one generalizing the\nfour-dimensional case of Horne and Horowitz \\cite{Hor1}. In the absence of a\ndilaton field, our solution reduces to the higher dimensional slowly rotating\nKerr-Newman black hole solution. The angular momentum and the gyromagnetic\nratio of these rotating dilaton black holes are computed. It is shown that the\ndilaton field modifies the gyromagnetic ratio of the black holes.",
        "positive": "Example of an explicit function for confining classical Yang-Mills\n  fields with quantum fluctuations in the path integral scheme: This article reports an explicit function form for confining classical\nYang-Mills vector potentials and quantum fluctuations around the classical\nfield. The classical vector potential, which is composed of a confining\nlocalized function and an unlocalized function, satisfies the classical\nYang-Mills equation. The confining localized function contributes to the Wilson\nloop, while the unlocalized function makes no contribution to this loop. The\nconfining linear potential between a heavy fermion and antifermion is due to\n(1) the Lie algebra and (2) the form of the confining localized function which\nhas opposite signs at the positions of the particle and antiparticle along the\nWilson loop in the time direction. Some classical confining parts of vector\npotentials also change sign on inversion of the coordinates of the axis\nperpendicular to the axis joining the two particles. The localized parts of the\nvector potentials are squeezed around the axis connecting the two particles,\nand the string tension of the confining linear potential is derived. Quantum\nfluctuations are formulated using a field expression in terms of local basis\nfunctions in real spacetime. The quantum path integral gives the Coulomb\npotential between the two particles in addition to the linear potential due to\nthe classical fields."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Infrared Lorentz Violation and Slowly Instantaneous Electricity: We study a modification of electromagnetism which violates Lorentz invariance\nat large distances. In this theory, electromagnetic waves are massive, but the\nstatic force between charged particles is Coulomb not Yukawa. At very short\ndistances the theory looks just like QED. But for distances larger than 1/m the\nmassive dispersion relation of the waves can be appreciated, and the Coulomb\nforce can be used to communicate faster than the speed of light. In fact,\nelectrical signals are transmitted instantly, but take a time ~ 1/m to build up\nto full strength. After that, undamped oscillations of the electric field are\nset in and continue until they are dispersed by the arrival of the\nLorentz-obeying part of the transmission. We study experimental constraints on\nsuch a theory and find that the Compton wavelength of the photon may be as\nsmall as 6000 km. This bound is weaker than for a Lorentz-invariant mass,\nessentially because in our case the Coulomb constraint is removed.",
        "positive": "The Zamolodchikov-Faddeev algebra for open strings attached to giant\n  gravitons: We extend the Zamolodchikov-Faddeev algebra for the superstring sigma model\non $AdS_{5}\\times S^{5}$, which was formulated by Arutyunov, Frolov and\nZamaklar, to the case of open strings attached to maximal giant gravitons,\nwhich was recently considered by Hofman and Maldacena. We obtain boundary\n$S$-matrices which satisfy the standard boundary Yang-Baxter equation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Implications of Seiberg-Witten map on type-I superconductors: We incorporate the Seiberg-Witten map of noncommutative theory in the\nclassical London theory of type-I superconductivity when an external magnetic\nfield is applied. After defining the noncommutative Maxwell potentials, we\nderive the London equation for the supercurrent as a function of the\nnoncommutative parameter, up to second order in gauge fields expansion. Keeping\ntrack of the effects of noncommutative gauge fields, we argue that\nnoncommutative magnetic field effects can be cast in the permeability of the\nsuperconductor as an emergent property of the material, measurable in possible\nnot-so-far ultra-high-energy experimental setups. Another consequence of the\nSeiberg-Witten map is the London penetration length that acquires corrections\nin the expansion. Also, we show that the flux quantization remains consistent\nrelative to the commutative case. Our effective magnetic permeability and\nLondon penetration length reduce to the standard ones in the commutative limit.",
        "positive": "Global Flows in Quantum Gravity: We study four-dimensional quantum gravity using non-perturbative\nrenormalization group methods. We solve the corresponding equations for the\nfully momentum-dependent propagator, Newton's coupling and the cosmological\nconstant. For the first time, we obtain a global phase diagram where the\nnon-Gaussian ultraviolet fixed point of asymptotic safety is connected via\nsmooth trajectories to a classical infrared fixed point. The theory is\ntherefore ultraviolet complete and deforms smoothly into classical gravity as\nthe infrared limit is approached."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The full analytic trans-series in integrable field theories: We analyze a family of generalized energy densities in integrable quantum\nfield theories in the presence of an external field coupled to a conserved\ncharge. By using the Wiener-Hopf technique to solve the linear thermodynamic\nBethe ansatz equations we derive the full analytic trans-series for these\nobservables in terms of a perturbatively defined basis. We show how to\ncalculate these basis elements to high orders analytically and reveal their\ncomplete resurgence structure. We demonstrate that the physical value of the\ngeneralized energy densities is obtained by the median resummation of their\nambiguity-free trans-series.",
        "positive": "On the unitarity of quantum gauge theories on non-commutative spaces: We study the perturbative unitarity of non-commutative quantum Yang-Mills\ntheories, extending previous investigations on scalar field theories to the\ngauge case where non-locality mingles with the presence of unphysical states.\nWe concentrate our efforts on two different aspects of the problem. We start by\ndiscussing the analytical structure of the vacuum polarization tensor, showing\nhow Cutkoski's rules and positivity of the spectral function are realized when\nnon-commutativity does not affect the temporal coordinate. When instead\nnon-commutativity involves time, we find the presence of extra troublesome\nsingularities on the $p_0^2$-plane that seem to invalidate the perturbative\nunitarity of the theory. The existence of new tachyonic poles, with respect to\nthe scalar case, is also uncovered. Then we turn our attention to a different\nunitarity check in the ordinary theories, namely time exponentiation of a\nWilson loop. We perform a $O(g^4)$ generalization to the (spatial)\nnon-commutative case of the familiar results in the usual Yang-Mills theory. We\nshow that exponentiation persists at $O(g^4)$ in spite of the presence of Moyal\nphases reflecting non-commutativity and of the singular infrared behaviour\ninduced by UV/IR mixing."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "w_{\\infty} Algebras, Conformal Mechanics, and Black Holes: We discuss BPS solitons in gauged ${\\cal N}=2$, D=4 supergravity. The\nsolitons represent extremal black holes interpolating between different vacua\nof anti-de Sitter spaces. The isometry superalgebras are determined and the\nmotion of a superparticle in the extremal black hole background is studied and\nconfronted with superconformal mechanics. We show that the Virasoro symmetry of\nconformal mechanics, which describes the dynamics of the superparticle near the\nhorizon of the extremal black hole under consideration, extends to a symmetry\nunder the $w_{\\infty}$ algebra of area-preserving diffeomorphisms. We find that\na Virasoro subalgebra of $w_{\\infty}$ can be associated to the Virasoro algebra\nof the asymptotic symmetries of $AdS_2$. In this way spacetime diffeomorphisms\nof $AdS_2$ translate into diffeomorphisms in phase space: our system offers an\nexplicit realization of the $AdS_2/CFT_1$ correspondence. Using the\ndimensionally reduced action, the central charge is computed. Finally, we also\npresent generalizations of superconformal mechanics which are invariant under\n${\\cal N} =1$ and ${\\cal N} =2$ superextensions of $w_{\\infty}$.",
        "positive": "The Cardy-Verlinde formula for 2D gravity: We discuss the different bounds on entropy in the context of two-dimensional\ncosmology. We show that in order to obtain well definite bounds one has to use\nthe scale symmetry of the gravitational theory. We then extend the recently\nfound relation between the Friedmann equation and the Cardy formula to the case\nof two dimensions. In particular, we find that in two dimensions this relation\nrequires that the central charge c of the conformal field theory is given in\nterms of the Newton constant G of the gravitational theory by c=6/G."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exact hairy black holes asymptotically $AdS_{2+1}$: We present a family of $AdS_{2+1}$ asymptotically hairy black holes, within\nthe context of Einstein's minimally coupled scalar field theory. We study the\nboundary conditions and construct the thermal superpotential. In the Euclidean\nsection, we calculate the free energy and in the Lorentzian section, the\nBrown-York tensor, both regularized by two methods. Finally, we calculate the\nrelevant thermodynamic quantities and analyze the different phases.",
        "positive": "Instability of bubble expansion at zero temperature: In the context of false vacuum decay at zero temperature, it is well known\nthat bubbles expand with uniform proper acceleration. We show that this\nuniformly accelerating expansion suffers from an instability related to the\nbubble size. This can be observed in Minkowski spacetime as a tachyonic mode in\nthe spectrum of fluctuations for the energy functional in the reference frame\nin which the uniformly accelerating bubble wall appears static. In such a\nframe, arbitrary small perturbations cause an amplifying departure from the\nstatic wall solution. This implies that the nucleated bubble is not a critical\npoint of the energy functional in the rest frame of nucleation but becomes one\nin the accelerating frame. The aforementioned instability for vacuum bubbles\ncan be related to the well-known instability for the nucleated critical static\nbubbles during finite-temperature phase transitions in the rest frame of the\nplasma. It is therefore proposed that zero-temperature vacuum decays as seen\nfrom accelerating frames have a dual description in terms of finite-temperature\nphase transitions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exact 2-point function in Hermitian matrix model: J. Harer and D. Zagier have found a strikingly simple generating function for\nexact (all-genera) 1-point correlators in the Gaussian Hermitian matrix model.\nIn this paper we generalize their result to 2-point correlators, using Toda\nintegrability of the model. Remarkably, this exact 2-point correlation function\nturns out to be an elementary function - arctangent. Relation to the standard\n2-point resolvents is pointed out. Some attempts of generalization to 3-point\nand higher functions are described.",
        "positive": "Relative entropy in Field Theory, the H theorem and the renormalization\n  group: We consider relative entropy in Field Theory as a well defined\n(non-divergent) quantity of interest. We establish a monotonicity property with\nrespect to the couplings in the theory. As a consequence, the relative entropy\nin a field theory with a hierarchy of renormalization group fixed points ranks\nthe fixed points in decreasing order of criticality. We argue from a\ngeneralized $H$ theorem that Wilsonian RG flows induce an increase in entropy\nand propose the relative entropy as the natural quantity which increases from\none fixed point to another in more than two dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "AdS spacetimes from wrapped D3-branes: We derive a geometrical characterisation of a large class of AdS_3 and AdS_2\nsupersymmetric spacetimes in IIB supergravity with non-vanishing five-form flux\nusing G-structures. These are obtained as special cases of a class of\nsupersymmetric spacetimes with an $\\mathbb{R}^{1,1}$ or $\\mathbb{R}$ (time)\nfactor that are associated with D3-branes wrapping calibrated 2- or 3- cycles,\nrespectively, in manifolds with SU(2), SU(3), SU(4) and G_2 holonomy. We show\nhow two explicit AdS solutions, previously constructed in gauged supergravity,\nsatisfy our more general G-structure conditions. For each explicit solution we\nalso derive a special holonomy metric which, although singular, has an\nappropriate calibrated cycle. After analytic continuation, some of the classes\nof AdS spacetimes give rise to known classes of BPS bubble solutions with\n$\\mathbb{R}\\times SO(4)\\times SO(4)$, $\\mathbb{R}\\times SO(4)\\times U(1)$, and\n$\\mathbb{R}\\times SO(4)$ symmetry. These have 1/2, 1/4 and 1/8 supersymmetry,\nrespectively. We present a new class of 1/8 BPS geometries with\n$\\mathbb{R}\\times SU(2)$ symmetry, obtained by analytic continuation of the\nclass of AdS spacetimes associated with D3-branes wrapped on associative\nthree-cycles.",
        "positive": "Duality, Compactification, and $e^{-1/\u03bb}$ Effects in the Heterotic\n  String Theory: Two classes of stringy instanton effects, stronger than standard field theory\ninstantons, are identified in the heterotic string theory. These contributions\nare established using type IIA/heterotic and type I/heterotic dualities. They\nprovide examples for the heterotic case of the effects predicted by Shenker\nbased on the large-order behavior of perturbation theory. The corrections\nvanish as the radius of the compactification goes to infinity. For appropriate\namplitudes, they are computable worldsheet or worldline instanton effects on\nthe dual side. Some potential applications are discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic Renyi Entropy from Quantum Error Correction: We study Renyi entropies $S_n$ in quantum error correcting codes and compare\nthe answer to the cosmic brane prescription for computing $\\widetilde{S}_n\n\\equiv n^2 \\partial_n (\\frac{n-1}{n} S_n)$. We find that general operator\nalgebra codes have a similar, more general prescription. Notably, for the\nAdS/CFT code to match the specific cosmic brane prescription, the code must\nhave maximal entanglement within eigenspaces of the area operator. This gives\nus an improved definition of the area operator, and establishes a stronger\nconnection between the Ryu-Takayanagi area term and the edge modes in lattice\ngauge theory. We also propose a new interpretation of existing holographic\ntensor networks as area eigenstates instead of smooth geometries. This\ninterpretation would explain why tensor networks have historically had trouble\nmodeling the Renyi entropy spectrum of holographic CFTs, and it suggests a\nmethod to construct holographic networks with the correct spectrum.",
        "positive": "Where is String Theory?: We use the S-matrix bootstrap to carve out the space of unitary, crossing\nsymmetric and supersymmetric graviton scattering amplitudes in ten dimensions.\nWe focus on the leading Wilson coefficient $\\alpha$ controlling the leading\ncorrection to maximal supergravity. The negative region $\\alpha<0$ is excluded\nby a simple dual argument based on linearized unitarity (the desert). A whole\nsemi-infinite region $\\alpha \\gtrsim 0.14$ is allowed by the primal bootstrap\n(the garden). A finite intermediate region is excluded by non-perturbative\nunitarity (the swamp). Remarkably, string theory seems to cover all (or at\nleast almost all) the garden from very large positive $\\alpha$ -- at weak\ncoupling -- to the swamp boundary -- at strong coupling."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Probing bad theories with the dualization algorithm I: Recently an algorithm to build $SL(2,\\mathbb{Z})$ duals, including mirror\nduals, of 3d $\\mathcal{N}=4$ quiver theories and their 4d $\\mathcal{N}=1$\nuplift has been introduced. In this work we use this new tool to study the\nso-called bad theories. Our approach allows us to determine exactly\nindices/partition functions for generic values of fugacities/real mass and FI\nparameters revealing their surprising feature: the 4d index/3d partition\nfunction of a bad theory behaves as a sum of distributions rather than an\nordinary function of the deformation parameters. We focus on the bad SQCD, with\n$U(N_c)$ gauge group in 3d and $USp(2N_c)$ in 4d, while in an upcoming paper we\nwill consider linear quivers which, in the 3d case, have both unitary and\nspecial unitary bad nodes.",
        "positive": "Static quantum corrections to the Schwarzschild spacetime: We study static quantum corrections of the Schwarzschild metric in the\nBoulware vacuum state. Due to the absence of a complete analytic expression for\nthe full semiclassical Einstein equations we approach the problem by\nconsidering the s-wave approximation and solve numerically the associated\nbackreaction equations. The solution, including quantum effects due to pure\nvacuum polarization, is similar to the classical Schwarzschild solution up to\nthe vicinity of the classical horizon. However, the radial function has a\nminimum at a time-like surface close to the location of the classical event\nhorizon. There the g_{00} component of the metric reaches a very small but\nnon-zero value. The analysis unravels how a curvature singularity emerges\nbeyond this bouncing point. We briefly discuss the physical consequences of\nthese results by extrapolating them to a dynamical collapsing scenario."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Entanglement Entropy in Jammed CFTs: We construct solutions to the Einstein equations for asymptotically locally\nAnti-de Sitter spacetimes with four, five, and six dimensional\nReissner-Nordstr\\\"om boundary metrics. These spacetimes are gravitational duals\nto \"jammed\" CFTs on those backgrounds at infinite N and strong coupling. For\nthese spacetimes, we calculate the boundary stress tensor as well as compute\nentanglement entropies for ball shaped regions as functions of the boundary\nblack hole temperature $T_{BH}$. From this, we see how the CFT prevents heat\nflow from the black hole to the vacuum at spatial infinity. We also compute\nentanglement entropies for a three dimensional boundary black hole using the\nAdS C-metric. We compare our results to previous work done in similar\nspacetimes.",
        "positive": "The Energy-Momentum Tensor in Noncommutative Gauge Field Models: We discuss the different possibilities of constructing the various\nenergy-momentum tensors for noncommutative gauge field models. We use Jackiw's\nmethod in order to get symmetric and gauge invariant stress tensors--at least\nfor commutative gauge field theories. The noncommutative counterparts are\nanalyzed with the same methods. The issues for the noncommutative cases are\nworked out."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Anomalous dimensions in N=4 SYM theory at order g^4: We compute four-point correlation functions of scalar composite operators in\nthe N=4 supercurrent multiplet at order g^4 using the N=1 superfield formalism.\nWe confirm the interpretation of short-distance logarithmic behaviours in terms\nof anomalous dimensions of unprotected operators exchanged in the intermediate\nchannels and we determine the two-loop contribution to the anomalous dimension\nof the N=4 Konishi supermultiplet.",
        "positive": "Scattering amplitudes as multi-particle higher-spin charges in the\n  correspondence space: Following the proposal of arXiv:1312.6673, multi-particle scattering\namplitudes are represented as conserved higher-spin charges. The advantage of\nsuch reformulation is that multi-particle amplitudes acquire the form of an\nintegral of a closed form in the correspondence unifying usual space-time with\nthe twistor-like spinor space. This allows one to identify seemingly different\nformulae for amplitudes in terms of twistor and space-time integrals. Example\nof tree MHV amplitudes of Yang-Mills theory is considered in detail. Our\nresults are derived using unfolded dynamics formulation of massless fields. In\nthese terms all information on the amplitude is contained in a single function\n$\\eta$ that, even for lower spin amplitudes, can be interpreted as a\nhigher-spin symmetry parameter. The proposed technique can be useful to relate\ndifferent approaches to amplitude calculations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Self-gravitating Yang Monopoles in all Dimensions: The (2k+2)-dimensional Einstein-Yang-Mills equations for gauge group SO(2k)\n(or SU(2) for k=2 and SU(3) for k=3) are shown to admit a family of\nspherically-symmetric magnetic monopole solutions, for both zero and non-zero\ncosmological constant Lambda, characterized by a mass m and a magnetic-type\ncharge. The k=1 case is the Reissner-Nordstrom black hole. The k=2 case yields\na family of self-gravitating Yang monopoles. The asymptotic spacetime is\nMinkowski for Lambda=0 and anti-de Sitter for Lambda<0, but the total energy is\ninfinite for k>1. In all cases, there is an event horizon when m>m_c, for some\ncritical mass $m_c$, which is negative for k>1. The horizon is degenerate when\nm=m_c, and the near-horizon solution is then an adS_2 x S^{2k} vacuum.",
        "positive": "On the Canonical Equivalence of Liouville and Free Fields: We obtain the parity invariant generating functional for the canonical\ntransformation mapping the Liouville theory into a free scalar field and\nexplain how it is related to the pseudoscalar transformation"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On de Sitter future-past extremal surfaces and the \"entanglement wedge\": We develop further the codim-2 future-past extremal surfaces stretching\nbetween the future and past boundaries in de Sitter space, discussed in\nprevious work. We first make more elaborate the construction of such surfaces\nanchored at more general subregions of the future boundary, and stretching to\nequivalent subregions at the past boundary. These top-bottom symmetric\nfuture-past extremal surfaces cannot penetrate beyond a certain limiting\nsurface in the Northern/Southern diamond regions: the boundary subregions\nbecome the whole boundary for this limiting surface. For multiple disjoint\nsubregions, this construction leads to mutual information vanishing and strong\nsubadditivity being saturated. We then discuss an effective codim-1 envelope\nsurface arising from these codim-2 surfaces. This leads to analogs of the\nentanglement wedge and subregion duality for these future-past extremal\nsurfaces in de Sitter space.",
        "positive": "Unwinding strings in semi-flatland: We study the dynamics of strings with non-zero winding number around\nT-duality defects. We deduce that the physics near the core of such\nnon-geometric objects involves winding modes that are not captured by the\nsupergravity approximation, and we argue that such corrections are T-dual to\nthe modes responsible for quantum corrections of semi-flat elliptic metrics. We\nfurthermore construct a solution of double field theory that captures part of\nsuch near-core physics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Wilson loops in four-dimensional quantum gravity: A Wilson loop is defined, in 4-D pure Einstein gravity, as the trace of the\nholonomy of the Christoffel connection or of the spin connection, and its\ninvariance under the symmetry transformations of the action is showed\n(diffeomorphisms and local Lorentz transformations). We then compute the loop\nperturbatively, both on a flat background and in the presence of an external\nsource; we also allow some modifications in the form of the action, and test\nthe action of ``stabilized'' gravity. A geometrical analysis of the results in\nterms of the gauge group of the euclidean theory, $SO(4)$, leads us to the\nconclusion that the correspondent statistical system does not develope any\nconfiguration with localized curvature at low temperature. This ``non-local''\nbehavior of the quantized gravitational field strongly contrasts with that of\nusual gauge fields. Our results also provide an explanation for the absence of\nany invariant correlation of the curvature in the same approximation.",
        "positive": "Type II String Theory on Calabi-Yau Manifolds with Torsion and\n  Non-Abelian Discrete Gauge Symmetries: We provide the first explicit example of Type IIB string theory\ncompactification on a globally defined Calabi-Yau threefold with torsion which\nresults in a four-dimensional effective theory with a non-Abelian discrete\ngauge symmetry. Our example is based on a particular Calabi-Yau manifold, the\nquotient of a product of three elliptic curves by a fixed point free action of\nZ_2 x Z_2. Its cohomology contains torsion classes in various degrees. The main\ntechnical novelty is in determining the multiplicative structure of the\n(torsion part of) the cohomology ring, and in particular showing that the cup\nproduct of second cohomology torsion elements goes non-trivially to the fourth\ncohomology. This specifies a non-Abelian, Heisenberg-type discrete symmetry\ngroup of the four-dimensional theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "M-Theory Origin of Mirror Symmetry in Three Dimensional Gauge Theories: We present M-theory compactifications on $K_3 \\times K_3$ with membranes near\nthe $A_n$ or $D_n$ singularities of the $K_3$ spaces. By realizing each of\nthese compactifications in two different ways as type I' models with 2- and\n6-branes, we explain the three-dimensional duality between gauge theories\nrecently found by Intriligator and Seiberg. We also find new pairs of dual\ngauge theories, which we briefly describe.",
        "positive": "Quantization of Point-Like Particles and Consistent Relativistic Quantum\n  Mechanics: We revise the problem of the quantization of relativistic particle models\n(spinless and spinning), presenting a modified consistent canonical scheme. One\nof the main point of the modification is related to a principally new\nrealization of the Hilbert space. It allows one not only to include arbitrary\nbackgrounds in the consideration but to get in course of the quantization a\nconsistent relativistic quantum mechanics, which reproduces literally the\nbehavior of the one-particle sector of the corresponding quantum field. In\nparticular, in a physical sector of the Hilbert space a complete positive\nspectrum of energies of relativistic particles and antiparticles is reproduced,\nand all state vectors have only positive norms."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum stability of defects for a Dirac field coupled to a scalar field\n  in 2+1 dimensions: We study the Euclidean effective action and the full fermion propagator for a\nDirac field in the presence of a scalar field with a domain wall defect, in 2+1\ndimensions. We include quantum effects due to both fermion and scalar field\nfluctuations, in a one-loop approximation. The results are interpreted in terms\nof the quantum stability of the zero mode solution. We also study, for this\nsystem, the induced `inertial' electric field for the fermions on the defect,\ndue to the quantum fluctuations of the scalar field.",
        "positive": "On duality of the noncommutative Maxwell-Chern-Simons theory: We study the possibility of establishing the dual equivalence between the\nnoncommutative Maxwell-Chern-Simons theory and the noncommutative self-dual\ntheory. It turns to be that whereas in the commutative case the\nMaxwell-Chern-Simons theory can be mapped into the sum of the self-dual theory\nand the Chern-Simons theory, in the noncommutative case such a mapping is\npossible only for the theory with the modified Maxwell term."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "How Does the Quark-Gluon Plasma Know the Collision Energy?: Heavy ion collisions at the LHC facility generate a Quark-Gluon Plasma (QGP)\nwhich, for central collisions, has a higher energy density and temperature than\nthe plasma generated in central collisions at the RHIC. But sufficiently\nperipheral LHC collisions give rise to plasmas which have the \\emph{same}\nenergy density and temperature as the \"central\" RHIC plasmas. One might assume\nthat the two versions of the QGP would have very similar properties (for\nexample, with regard to jet quenching), but recent investigations have\nsuggested that \\emph{they do not}: the plasma \"knows\" that the overall\ncollision energy is different in the two cases. We argue, using a gauge-gravity\nanalysis, that the strong magnetic fields arising in one case (peripheral\ncollisions), but not the other, may be relevant here. If the residual magnetic\nfield in peripheral LHC plasmas is of the order of at least $eB\\,\\approx\n\\,5\\,m^2_{\\pi}$, then the model predicts modifications of the relevant\nquenching parameter which approach those recently reported.",
        "positive": "Branes and wrapping rules: We show that the branes of ten-dimensional IIA/IIB string theory must\nsatisfy, upon toroidal compactification, specific wrapping rules in order to\nreproduce the number of supersymmetric branes that follows from a supergravity\nanalysis. The realization of these wrapping rules suggests that IIA/IIB string\ntheory contains a whole class of generalized Kaluza-Klein monopoles."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The double attractor behavior of induced inflation: We describe an induced inflation, which refers to a class of inflationary\nmodels with a generalized non-minimal coupling $\\xi g(\\phi) R$ and a specific\nscalar potential. The defining property of these models is that the scalar\nfield takes a vev in the vacuum and thus induces an effective Planck mass. We\nstudy this model as a function of the coupling parameter $\\xi$. At large $\\xi$,\nthe predictions of the theory are known to have an attractor behavior,\nconverging to a universal result independent on the choice of the function\n$g(\\phi)$. We find that at small $\\xi$, the theory approaches a second\nattractor. The inflationary predictions of this class of theories continuously\ninterpolate between those of the Starobinsky model and the predictions of the\nsimplest chaotic inflation with a quadratic potential.",
        "positive": "Comments on multibrane solutions in cubic superstring field theory: In a previous paper, we have studied multi-brane solutions in the context of\ncubic superstring field theory. The kinetic term of the action was computed for\nthese multi-brane solutions, and for the evaluation of the energy, the equation\nof motion contracted with the solutions itself was simply assumed to be\nsatisfied. In this paper, we compute the cubic term of the action and discuss\nthe validity of the previous assumption. Additionally, we evaluate the\nEllwood's gauge invariant observable."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Classifying BPS States in Supersymmetric Gauge Theories Coupled to\n  Higher Derivative Chiral Models: We study N=1 supersymmetric gauge theories coupled with higher derivative\nchiral models in four dimensions in the off-shell superfield formalism. We\nsolve the equation of motion for the auxiliary fields and find two distinct\non-shell structures of the Lagrangian that we call the canonical and\nnon-canonical branches characterized by zero and non-zero auxiliary fields,\nrespectively. We classify BPS states of the models in Minkowski and Euclidean\nspaces. In Minkowski space, we find Abelian and non-Abelian vortices,\nvortex-lumps (or gauged lumps with fractional lump charges) as 1/2 BPS states\nin the canonical branch and higher derivative generalization of vortices and\nvortex-(BPS)baby Skyrmions (or gauged BPS baby Skyrmions with fractional baby\nSkyrme charges) as 1/4 BPS states in the non-canonical branch. In\nfour-dimensional Euclidean space, we find Yang-Mills instantons trapped inside\na non-Abelian vortex, intersecting vortices, intersecting vortex-(BPS)baby\nSkyrmions as 1/4 BPS states in the canonical branch but no BPS states in the\nnon-canonical branch other than those in the Minkowski space.",
        "positive": "On the renormalization of Poincar\u00e9 gauge theories: Poincar\\'e Gauge Theories are a class of Metric-Affine Gravity theories with\na metric-compatible (i.e. Lorentz) connection and with an action quadratic in\ncurvature and torsion. We perform an explicit one-loop calculation starting\nwith a single term of each type and show that not only are all other terms\ngenerated, but also many others. In our particular model all terms containing\ntorsion are redundant and can be eliminated by field redefinitions, but there\nremains a new term quadratic in curvature, making the model non-renormalizable.\nWe discuss the likely behavior of more general theories of this type."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Two-loop N=4 Super Yang Mills effective action and interaction between\n  D3-branes: We compute the leading low-energy term in the planar part of the 2-loop\ncontribution to the effective action of $\\N=4$ SYM theory in 4 dimensions,\nassuming that the gauge group $SU(N+1)$ is broken to $SU(N) x U(1)$ by a\nconstant scalar background $X$. While the leading 1-loop correction is the\nfamiliar $c_1 F^4/|X|^4$ term, the 2-loop expression starts with $c_2\nF^6/|X|^8$. The 1-loop constant $c_1$ is known to be equal to the coefficient\nof the $F^4$ term in the Born-Infeld action for a probe D3-brane separated by\ndistance $|X|$ from a large number $N$ of coincident D3-branes. We show that\nthe same is true also for the 2-loop constant $c_2$: it matches the coefficient\nof the $F^6$ term in the D3-brane probe action. In the context of the AdS/CFT\ncorrespondence, this agreement suggests a non-renormalization of the\ncoefficient of the $F^6$ term beyond two loops. Thus the result of\nhep-th/9706072 about the agreement between the $v^6$ term in the D0-brane\nsupergravity interaction potential and the corresponding 2-loop term in the 1+0\ndimensional reduction of $\\N=4$ SYM theory has indeed a direct generalization\nto 1+3 dimensions, as conjectured earlier in hep-th/9709087. We also discuss\nthe issue of gauge theory -- supergravity correspondence for higher order\n($F^8$, etc.) terms.",
        "positive": "Gravitational partial-wave absorption from scattering amplitudes: We study gravitational absorption effects using effective on-shell scattering\namplitudes. We develop an in-in probability-based framework involving plane-\nand partial-wave coherent states for the incoming wave to describe the\ninteraction of the wave with a black hole or another compact object. We connect\nthis framework to a simplified single-quantum analysis. The basic ingredients\nare mass-changing three-point amplitudes, which model the leading absorption\neffects and a spectral-density function of the black hole. As an application,\nwe consider a non-spinning black hole that may start spinning as a consequence\nof the dynamics. The corresponding amplitudes are found to correspond to\ncovariant spin-weighted spherical harmonics, the properties of which we\nformulate and make use of. We perform a matching calculation to\ngeneral-relativity results at the cross-section level and derive the effective\nabsorptive three-point couplings. They are found to behave as ${\\cal\nO}(G_\\text{Newton}^{s+1})$, where $s$ is the spin of the outgoing massive\nstate."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holography, degenerate horizons and entropy: We show that a realization of the correspondence AdS_2/CFT_1 for near\nextremal Reissner-Nordstrom black holes in arbitrary dimensional\nEinstein-Maxwell gravity exactly reproduces, via Cardy's formula, the deviation\nof the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy from extremality. We also show that this\nmechanism is valid for Schwarzschild-de Sitter black holes around the\ndegenerate solution dS_2xS^n. These results reinforce the idea that the\nBekenstein-Hawking entropy can be derived from symmetry principles.",
        "positive": "How to sit Maxwell and Higgs on the boundary of Anti-de Sitter: In the context of bottom-up holography, we demonstrate the power of mixed\nboundary conditions to promote the boundary gauge field to be dynamical. We\nprovide two concrete applications of this idea. First, we consider a\nholographic dual for a strongly coupled plasma described by dissipative\nmagnetohydrodynamics. Second, we reveal the expected features of the Higgs\nmechanism in a not counterfeit holographic superconductor."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gravity/Fluid Correspondence and Its Application on Bulk Gravity with\n  $U(1)$ Gauge Field: As the long wavelength limit of the AdS/CFT correspondence, the gravity/fluid\ncorrespondence has been shown to be a useful tool for extracting properties of\nthe fluid on the boundary dual to the gravity in the bulk. In this paper, after\nbriefly reviewing the algorithm of gravity/fluid correspondence, we discuss the\nresults of its application on bulk gravity with a $U(1)$ gauge field. In the\npresence of a $U(1)$ gauge field, the dual fluid possesses more interesting\nproperties such as its charge current. Furthermore, an external field\n$A_\\mu^{ext}$ could affect the charge current, and the $U(1)$ Chern-Simons term\nalso reinduces extra structures to the dual current giving anomalous transport\ncoefficients.",
        "positive": "Entropy function and higher derivative corrections to entropies in\n  (anti-)de Sitter space: We first briefly discuss the relation between black hole thermodynamics and\nthe entropy function formalism. We find that an equation which governs the\nrelationship between Sen's entropy function and black hole entropy, can quickly\ngive higher order corrections to entropy of pure (anti-) de Sitter space\nwithout knowing the corrected metric. We also show that near horizon geometry\nand the entropy function extremization is no longer required for pure (anti-)de\nSitter space. The entropy of (anti-)de Sitter space and Schwarzschild-(anti-)\nde Sitter black holes together with Gauss-Bonnet terms, $R^2$ terms and $R^4$\nterms are calculated as concrete examples."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Regular $(2+1)$-dimensional spatially homogeneous $\u03b1'$-corrected\n  BTZ-like black hole in string theory: We consider a $(2+1)$-dimensional spacetime whose two-dimensional space part\nis Weyl-related to a surface of arbitrary negative constant Gaussian curvature\nwith symmetries of two-dimensional Lie algebra. It is shown that the geometry\nis a Lobachevsky-type geometry described by deformed hyperbolic function. At\nleading order string effective action with the source given by dilaton and\nantisymmetric $B$-field in the presence of central charge deficit term\n$\\Lambda$, we obtained a solution whose line element is Weyl-related to this\nhomogeneous spacetime with arbitrary negative Gaussian curvature. The solution\ncan be transformed to the BTZ-like black hole by coordinate redefinition, while\nthe BTZ black hole can be recovered by choosing a special set of parameters.\nThe solutions appear to be in the high curvature limit $R\\alpha'\\gtrsim1$, with\nemphasis on including the higher order $\\alpha'$ corrections. Considering the\ntwo-loop (first order $\\alpha'$) $\\beta$-function equations of $\\sigma$-model,\nwe also present the $\\alpha'$-corrected black hole solutions.",
        "positive": "Conformal symmetry of JIMWLK Evolution at NLO: We construct the Next to Leading Order JIMWLK Hamiltonian for high energy\nevolution in ${\\cal N}=4$ SUSY theory, and show that it possesses conformal\ninvariance, even though it is derived using sharp cutoff on rapidity variable.\nThe conformal transformation properties of Wilson lines are not quite the naive\nones, but at NLO acquire an additional anomalous piece. We construct explicitly\nthe inversion symmetry generator. We also show how to construct for every\noperator $O$, including the Hamiltonian itself, its \"conformal extension\" $\\cal\nO$, such that it transforms under the inversion in the naive way."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Phase Transitions for Flat adS Black Holes: We reexamine the thermodynamics of adS black holes with Ricci flat horizons\nusing the adS soliton as the thermal background. We find that there is a phase\ntransition which is dependent not only on the temperature, but also on the\nblack hole area, which is an independent parameter. As in the spherical adS\nblack hole, this phase transition is related via the adS/CFT correspondence to\na confinement-deconfinement transition in the large N gauge theory on the\nconformal boundary at infinity.",
        "positive": "Towards the complete N=2 superfield Born-Infeld action with partially\n  broken N=4 supersymmetry: We propose a systematic way of constructing $N=2, d=4$ superfield Born-Infeld\naction with a second nonlinearly realized N=2 supersymmetry. The latter,\ntogether with the manifest N=2 supersymmetry, form a central-charge extended\n$N=4, d=4$ supersymmetry. We embed the Goldstone-Maxwell N=2 multiplet into an\ninfinite-dimensional off-shell supermultiplet of this N=4 supersymmetry and\nimpose an infinite set of covariant constraints which eliminate all extra N=2\nsuperfields through the Goldstone-Maxwell one. The Born-Infeld superfield\nLagrangian density is one of these composite superfields. The constraints can\nbe solved by iterations to any order in the fields. We present the sought N=2\nBorn-Infeld action up to the 10th order. It encompasses the action found\nearlier by Kuzenko and Theisen to the 8th order from a self-duality\nrequirement. This is a strong indication that the complete N=2 Born-Infeld\naction with partially broken N=4 supersymmetry is also self-dual."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The consistency of codimension-2 braneworlds and their cosmology: We study axially symmetric codimension-2 cosmology for a distributional\nbraneworld fueled by a localised 4D perfect fluid, in a 6D Lovelock theory. We\nargue that only the matching conditions (dubbed topological) where the\nextrinsic curvature on the brane has no jump describe a pure codimension-2\nbrane. If there is discontinuity in the extrinsic curvature on the brane, this\ninduces inevitably codimension-1 distributional terms. We study these\ntopological matching conditions, together with constraints from the bulk\nequations evaluated at the brane position, for two cases of regularisation of\nthe codimension-2 defect. First, for an arbitrary smooth regularisation of the\ndefect and second for a ring regularisation which has a cusp in the angular\npart of the metric. For a cosmological ansatz, we see that in the first case\nthe coupled system is not closed and requires input from the bulk equations\naway from the brane. The relevant bulk function, which is a time-dependent\nangular deficit, describes the energy exchange between the brane and the 6D\nbulk. On the other hand, for the ring regularisation case, the system is closed\nand there is no leakage of energy in the bulk. We demonstrate that the full set\nof matching conditions and field equations evaluated at the brane position are\nconsistent, correcting some previous claim in the literature which used rather\nrestrictive assumptions for the form of geometrical quantities close to the\ncodimension-2 brane. We analyse the modified Friedmann equation and we see that\nthere are certain corrections coming from the non-zero extrinsic curvature on\nthe brane. We establish the presence of geometric self-acceleration and a\npossible curvature domination wedged in between the period of matter and\nself-acceleration eras as signatures of codimension-2 cosmology.",
        "positive": "Holographic explanation of wide-angle power correlation suppression in\n  the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation: We investigate the question of the suppression of the CMB power spectrum for\nthe lowest multipoles in closed Universes. The intrinsic reason for a lowest\ncutoff in closed Universes, connected with the discrete spectrum of the\nwavelength, is shown not to be enough to explain observations. We thus extend\nthe holographic cosmic duality to closed universes by relating the dark energy\nequation of state and the power spectrum, showing a suppression behavior which\ndescribes the low l features extremely well. We also explore the possibility to\ndisclose the nature of the dark energy from the observed small l CMB spectrum\nby employing the holographic idea."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Robustness of n_s < 0.95 in Racetrack Inflation: A spectral index n_s < 0.95 appears to be a generic prediction of racetrack\ninflation models. Reducing a general racetrack model to a single-field\ninflation model with a simple potential, we obtain an analytic expression for\nthe spectral index, which explains this result. By considering the limits of\nvalidity of the derivation, possible ways to achieve higher values of the\nspectral index are described, although these require further fine-tuning of the\npotential.",
        "positive": "Solution of Second Order Supersymmetrical Intertwining Relations in\n  Minkowski Plane: Supersymmetrical (SUSY) intertwining relations are generalized to the case of\nquantum Hamiltonians in Minkowski space. For intertwining operators\n(supercharges) of second order in derivatives the intertwined Hamiltonians\ncorrespond to completely integrable systems with the symmetry operators of\nfourth order in momenta. In terms of components, the itertwining relations\ncorrespond to the system of nonlinear differential equations which are solvable\nwith the simplest - constant - ansatzes for the \"metric\" matrix in second order\npart of the supercharges. The corresponding potentials are built explicitly\nboth for diagonalizable and nondiagonalizable form of \"metric\" matrices, and\ntheir properties are discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Casimir effect in Post-Newtonian Gravity with Lorentz-violation: We study the Casimir effect in the framework of Standard Model Extension\n(SME). Employing the weak field approximation, the vacuum energy density\n{\\epsilon} and the pressure for a massless scalar field confined between two\nnearby parallel plates in a static spacetime background are calculated. In\nparticular, through the analysis of {\\epsilon}, we speculate a constraint on\nthe Lorentz-violating term s00 which is lower than the bounds currently\navailable for this quantity. After that, the correction to the pressure given\nby the gravitational sector of SME is presented. Finally, we remark that our\noutcome has an intrinsic validity that goes beyond the treated case of a\npoint-like source of gravity.",
        "positive": "Nonlinear supersymmetry: from classical to quantum mechanics: Quantization of the nonlinear supersymmetry faces a problem of a quantum\nanomaly. For some classes of superpotentials, the integrals of motion admit the\ncorrections guaranteeing the preservation of the nonlinear supersymmetry at the\nquantum level. With an example of the system realizing the nonlinear\nsuperconformal symmetry, we discuss the nature of such corrections and\nspeculate on their possible general origin."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Topological Gauged WZW Models and 2D Gravity: We study the \"topological gauged WZW model associated with\n$SU(2)/U(1)$\",which is defined as the twisted version of the corresponding\nsupersymmetric gauged WZW model. It is shown that this model is equivalent to a\ntopological conformal field theory characterized by two independent topological\nconformal algebras, one of which is the \"twisted Kazama-Suzuki type\" and the\nother is \"twisted Coulomb gas type\". We further show that our formalism of this\ngauged WZW model naturally reduces to the well-known formulations of 2D gravity\ncoupled with conformal matter; one of the gauge choices leads to the K.Li's\ntheory, and the alternative choices lead to the KPZ theory or the DDK\n(Liouville) theory.",
        "positive": "High-precision estimates of critical quantities by means of improved\n  Hamiltonians: Three-dimensional spin models of the Ising and XY universality classes are\nstudied by a combination of high-temperature expansions and Monte Carlo\nsimulations applied to improved Hamiltonians. The critical exponents and the\ncritical equation of state are determined to very high precision."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Three-Family $SU(4)_c \\otimes SU(2)_w \\otimes U(1)$ Type I Vacuum: We construct a four dimensional chiral N=1 space-time supersymmetric\nperturbative Type I vacuum corresponding to a compactification on a toroidal\nZ_2 X Z_2 X Z_3 orbifold with a discrete Wilson line. This model is\nnon-perturbative from the heterotic viewpoint. It has three chiral families in\nthe SU(4)_c X SU(2)_w X U(1) subgroup of the total gauge group. We compute the\ntree-level superpotential in this model. There appears to be no obvious\nobstruction to Higgs the gauge group down to SU(3)_c X SU(2)_w X U(1)_Y and\nobtain the Standard Model gauge group with three chiral families.",
        "positive": "On the timelike Liouville three-point function: In a recent paper, D. Harlow, J. Maltz, and E. Witten showed that a\nparticular proposal for the timelike Liouville three-point function, originally\ndue to Al. Zamolodchikov and to I. Kostov and V. Petkova, can actually be\ncomputed by the original Liouville path integral evaluated on a new integration\ncycle. Here, we discuss a Coulomb gas computation of the timelike three-point\nfunction and show that an analytic extension of the Selberg type integral\nformulas involved reproduces the same expression, including the adequate\nnormalization. A notable difference with the spacelike calculation is pointed\nout."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Toric Resolutions of Heterotic Orbifolds: We investigate resolutions of heterotic orbifolds using toric geometry. Our\nstarting point is provided by the recently constructed heterotic models on\nexplicit blowup of C^n/Z_n singularities. We show that the values of the\nrelevant integrals, computed there, can be obtained as integrals of divisors\n(complex codimension one hypersurfaces) interpreted as (1,1)-forms in toric\ngeometry. Motivated by this we give a self contained introduction to toric\ngeometry for non-experts, focusing on those issues relevant for the\nconstruction of heterotic models on toric orbifold resolutions. We illustrate\nthe methods by building heterotic models on the resolutions of C^2/Z_3, C^3/Z_4\nand C^3/Z_2xZ_2'. We are able to obtain a direct identification between them\nand the known orbifold models. In the C^3/Z_2xZ_2' case we observe that, in\nspite of the existence of two inequivalent resolutions, fully consistent blowup\nmodels of heterotic orbifolds can only be constructed on one of them.",
        "positive": "Conformal Defects from String Field Theory: Unlike conformal boundary conditions, conformal defects of Virasoro minimal\nmodels lack classification. Alternatively to the defect perturbation theory and\nthe truncated conformal space approach, we employ open string field theory\n(OSFT) techniques to explore the space of conformal defects. We illustrate the\nmethod by an analysis of OSFT around the background associated to the $(1,2)$\ntopological defect in diagonal unitary minimal models. Numerical analysis of\nOSFT equations of motion leads to an identification of a nice family of\nsolutions, recovering the picture of infrared fixed points due to Kormos,\nRunkel and Watts. In particular, we find a continuum of solutions in the Ising\nmodel case and 6 solutions for other minimal models. OSFT provides us with\nnumerical estimates of the g-function and other coefficients of the boundary\nstate."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Memories of quenches in operator mixing: We work perturbatively with an interacting quantum field theory comprised of\ntwo distinct scalar fields. In this theory, we introduce a sudden quench of the\nmass of one of the scalars at time $t_0$. Also, the quartic interaction between\nthe two scalars is turned on at time $t_{in}$. These break time-translation\ninvariance. In this setup we examine the effects of the relative ordering of\n$t_0$ and $t_{in}$ on composite operator mixing. We study how such operator\nmixing affect features of the scalar potential. We find that the late time\neffective potential can be sensitive enough to the quenches to trigger phase\ntransitions.",
        "positive": "Weakly Broken Galileon Symmetry in Cosmology: In the present thesis, using an effective field theory point of view, we\nexplore theories of single-field inflation where higher derivative operators\nbecome relevant, affecting in a novel way the dynamics and therefore the\nobservations. For instance, concerning the scalar spectrum, they allow for\nmeasurable equilateral non-Gaussianity, whose amplitude can differ\nsignificantly from the predictions of other existing models. Moreover, we show\nthat the stability and the consistency of such theories are ensured by an\napproximate Galileon symmetry. Indeed, being generically possible to build an\ninvariant theory under Galileon transformations in flat space-time, it is\ninstead well known that such a symmetry is unavoidably broken by gravity. In\nprinciple, this might ruin the nice and interesting properties of the Galileons\nin flat backgrounds, such as the non-renormalization theorem. However, we find\nthat this does not happen if the Galileon invariance is broken only weakly, in\na well defined sense, by a suitable coupling to gravity, providing therefore an\nextension of the quantum non-renormalization properties in curved space-times.\nHence, besides discussing the phenomenological consequences and the\nobservational predictions for inflation, we apply such Galileon theories to the\ncontext of the late-time acceleration of the Universe. In the last part, in\norder to probe non-standard primordial scenarios, they are also employed in a\ncosmology where the Big Bang singularity is smoothed down and the Universe\nemerges from a Minkowski space-time, in a well defined extension at all times\nof the Galilean Genesis scenario."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Resonant excitations of the 't Hooft-Polyakov monopole: The spherically symmetric magnetic monopole in an SU(2) gauge theory coupled\nto a massless Higgs field is shown to possess an infinite number of resonances\nor quasinormal modes. These modes are eigenfunctions of the isospin 1\nperturbation equations with complex eigenvalues, $E_n=\\omega_n-i\\gamma_n$,\nsatisfying the outgoing radiation condition. For $n\\to\\infty$, their\nfrequencies $\\omega_n$ approach the mass of the vector boson, $M_W$, while\ntheir lifetimes $1/\\gamma_n$ tend to infinity. The response of the monopole to\nan arbitrary initial perturbation is largely determined by these resonant\nmodes, whose collective effect leads to the formation of a long living\nbreather-like excitation characterized by pulsations with a frequency\napproaching $M_W$ and with an amplitude decaying at late times as $t^{-5/6}$.",
        "positive": "KKLT type models with moduli-mixing superpotential: We study KKLT type models with moduli-mixing superpotential. In several\nstring models, gauge kinetic functions are written as linear combinations of\ntwo or more moduli fields. Their gluino condensation generates moduli-mixing\nsuperpotential. We assume one of moduli fields is frozen already around the\nstring scale. It is found that K\\\"ahler modulus can be stabilized at a\nrealistic value without tuning 3-form fluxes because of gluino condensation on\n(non-)magnetized D-brane. Furthermore, we do not need to highly tune parameters\nin order to realize a weak gauge coupling and a large hierarchy between the\ngravitino mass and the Planck scale, when there exists non-perturbative effects\non D3-brane. SUSY breaking patterns in our models have a rich structure. Also,\nsome of our models have cosmologically important implications, e.g., on the\novershooting problem and the destabilization problem due to finite temperature\neffects as well as the gravitino problem and the moduli problem."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dirac Particles in Twisted Tubes: We consider the dynamics of a relativistic Dirac particle constrained to move\nin the interior of a twisted tube by confining boundary conditions, in the\napproximation that the curvature of the tube is small and slowly varying. In\ncontrast with the nonrelativistic theory, which predicts that a particle's spin\ndoes not change as the particle propagates along the tube, we find that the\nangular momentum eigenstates of a relativistic spin-1/2 particle may behave\nnontrivially. For example, a particle with its angular momentum initially\npolarized in the direction of propagation may acquire a nonzero component of\nangular momentum in the opposite direction on turning through 2 \\pi radians.\nAlso, the usual nonrelativistic effective potential acquires an additional\nfactor in the relativistic theory.",
        "positive": "Deformation of infinite dimensional differential graded Lie algebras: We introduce a notion of elliptic differential graded Lie algebra. The class\nof elliptic algebras contains such examples as the algebra of differential\nforms with values in endomorphisms of a flat vector bundle over a compact\nmanifold, etc.\n  For elliptic differential graded algebra we construct a complete set of\ndeformations.\n  We show that for several deformation problems the existence of a formal power\nseries solution guarantees the existence of an analytic solution."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Truncated Harmonic Osillator and Parasupersymmetric Quantum Mechanics: We discuss in detail the parasupersymmetric quantum mechanics of arbitrary\norder where the parasupersymmetry is between the normal bosons and those\ncorresponding to the truncated harmonic oscillator. We show that even though\nthe parasusy algebra is different from that of the usual parasusy quantum\nmechanics, still the consequences of the two are identical. We further show\nthat the parasupersymmetric quantum mechanics of arbitrary order p can also be\nrewritten in terms of p supercharges (i.e. all of which obey $Q_i^{2} = 0$).\nHowever, the Hamiltonian cannot be expressed in a simple form in terms of the p\nsupercharges except in a special case. A model of conformal parasupersymmetry\nis also discussed and it is shown that in this case, the p supercharges, the p\nconformal supercharges along with Hamiltonian H, conformal generator K and\ndilatation generator D form a closed algebra.",
        "positive": "On minimal energy states of chiral MHD turbulence: We study the evolution of magnetohydrodynamic turbulence taking into account\nthe chiral anomaly effect. This chiral magnetohydrodynamic description of the\nplasma is expected to be relevant for temperatures comparable to the\nelectroweak scale, and therefore for the evolution of magnetic fields in the\nearly Universe and young neutron stars. We focus on the case of freely decaying\nchiral magnetohydrodynamic turbulence and discuss the dissipation of ideal MHD\ninvariants. Using the variational approach we discuss the minimum energy\nconfigurations of magnetic field and velocity. As in the case of the standard\nmagnetohydrodynamic turbulence, we find that the natural relaxation state is\ngiven by a force-free field, $\\nabla \\times \\mathbf{B} \\propto \\mathbf{B}$.\nHowever, the precise form of this configuration is now determined by parameters\ndescribing the chiral anomaly effect, leading to some important differences\nwhen compared to the non-chiral turbulence. Using this result we argue that the\nevolution of velocity and magnetic field will tend to effectively decouple\nduring the transition to this minimal energy state."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetric Q Solitons of Arbitrary Genus: We construct \"Flying Saucer\" solitons in supersymmetric N=2 gauge theory\nwhich is known to support BPS domain walls with a U(1) gauge field localized on\nits worldvolume. We demonstrate that this model supports exotic particle-like\nsolitons whose topology is largely arbitrary: closed orientable surfaces in\nthree-dimensional space which can have arbitrary genus. In particular, we focus\non Q tori. Q tori and similar solitons of higher genera are obtained by folding\nthe domain wall into an appropriate surface. Nontrivial cycles on the domain\nwall worldvolume (handles) are stabilized by crossed electric and magnetic\nfields inside the folded domain wall. Three distinct frameworks are used to\nprove the existence of these Flying Saucer solitons and study their properties:\nthe worldvolume description (including the Dirac-Born-Infeld action), the bulk\ntheory description in the sigma-model limit, and the bulk theory description in\nthe thin-edge approximation. In the sigma-model framework the Q torus is shown\nto be related to the Hopf Skyrmion studied previously.",
        "positive": "Non-Abelian Brane Worlds: The Open String Story: We extend the string model building rules for the construction of chiral\nsupersymmetric Type I compactifications on smooth Calabi-Yau manifolds. These\nmodels contain stacks of D9-branes endowed with general stable U(n) bundles on\ntheir world-volume and D5-branes wrapping holomorphic curves on the Calabi-Yau."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The dynamics of vortices on S^2 near the Bradlow limit: The explicit solutions of the Bogomolny equations for N vortices on a sphere\nof radius R^2 > N are not known. In particular, this has prevented the use of\nthe geodesic approximation to describe the low energy vortex dynamics. In this\npaper we introduce an approximate general solution of the equations, valid for\nR^2 close to N, which has many properties of the true solutions, including the\nsame moduli space CP^N. Within the framework of the geodesic approximation, the\nmetric on the moduli space is then computed to be proportional to the Fubini-\nStudy metric, which leads to a complete description of the particle dynamics.",
        "positive": "Toroidal Compactification in String Theory from Chern-Simons Theory: A detailed study of the charge spectrum of three dimensional Abelian\nTopological Massive Gauge Theory (TMGT) is given. When this theory is defined\non a manifold with two disconnected boundaries there are induced chiral\nConformal Field Theories (CFT's) on the boundaries which can be interpreted as\nthe left and right sectors of closed strings. We show that Narain constraints\non toroidal compactification (integer, even, self-dual momentum lattice) have a\nnatural interpretation in purely three dimensional terms. This is an important\nresult which is necessary to construct toroidal compactification and heterotic\nstring from Topological Membrane (TM) approach to string theory. We also derive\nthe block structure of $c=1$ Rational Conformal Field Theory (RCFT) from the\nthree dimensional gauge theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Scalar curvature for metric spaces: Defining curvature for Quantum\n  Gravity without coordinates: Geometrical properties of spacetime are difficult to study in nonperturbative\napproaches to quantum gravity like Causal Dynamical Triangulations (CDT), where\none uses simplicial manifolds to define the gravitational path integral,\ninstead of Riemannian manifolds. In particular, in CDT one only relies on two\nmathematical tools, a distance measure and a volume measure. In this paper, we\ndefine a notion of scalar curvature, for metric spaces endowed with a volume\nmeasure or a random walk, without assuming nor using notions of tensor\ncalculus. Furthermore, we directly define the Ricci scalar, without the need of\ndefining and computing the Riemann or the Ricci tensor a priori. For this, we\nmake use of quantities, like the surface of a geodesic sphere, or the return\nprobability of scalar diffusion processes, that can be computed in these metric\nspaces, as in a Riemannian manifold, where they receive scalar curvature\ncontributions. Our definitions recover the classical results of scalar\ncurvature when the sets are Riemannian manifolds. We propose seven methods to\ncompute the scalar curvature in these spaces, and we compare their features in\nnatural implementations in discrete spaces. The defined generalized scalar\ncurvatures are easily implemented on discrete spaces, like graphs. We present\nthe results of our definitions on random triangulations of a 2D sphere and\nplane. Additionally, we show the results of our generalized scalar curvatures\non the quantum geometries of 2D CDT, where we find that all our definitions\nindicate a flat ground state of the gravitational path integral.",
        "positive": "Can fermions save large N dimensional reduction?: This paper explores whether Eguchi-Kawai reduction for gauge theories with\nadjoint fermions is valid. The Eguchi-Kawai reduction relates gauge theories in\ndifferent numbers of dimensions in the large $N$ limit provided that certain\nconditions are met. In principle, this relation opens up the possibility of\nlearning about the dynamics of 4D gauge theories through techniques only\navailable in lower dimensions. Dimensional reduction can be understood as a\nspecial case of large $N$ equivalence between theories related by an orbifold\nprojection. In this work, we focus on the simplest case of dimensional\nreduction, relating a 4D gauge theory to a 3D gauge theory via an orbifold\nprojection. A necessary condition for the large N equivalence between the 4D\nand 3D theories to hold is that certain discrete symmetries in the two theories\nmust not be broken spontaneously. In pure 4D Yang-Mills theory, these\nsymmetries break spontaneously as the size of one of the spacetime dimensions\nshrinks. An analysis of the effect of adjoint fermions on the relevant\nsymmetries of the 4D theory shows that the fermions help stabilize the\nsymmetries. We consider the same problem from the point of view of the lower\ndimensional 3D theory and find that, surprisingly, adjoint fermions are not\ngenerally enough to stabilize the necessary symmetries of the 3D theory. In\nfact, a rich phase diagram arises, with a complicated pattern of symmetry\nbreaking. We discuss the possible causes and consequences of this finding."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Stable Palatini $f(\\mathcal{R})$ braneworld: We consider the static domain wall braneworld scenario constructed from the\nPalatini formalism $f(\\mathcal{R})$ theory. We check the self-consistency under\nscalar perturbations. By using the scalar-tensor formalism we avoid dealing\nwith the higher-order equations. We develop the techniques to deal with the\ncoupled system. We show that under some conditions, the scalar perturbation\nsimply oscillates with time, which guarantees the stability. We also discuss\nthe localization condition of the scalar mode by analyzing the effective\npotential and the fifth dimensional profile of the scalar mode. We apply these\nresults to an explicit example, and show that only some of the solutions allow\nfor stable scalar perturbations. These stable solutions also give\nnonlocalizable massless mode. This is important for reproducing a viable\nfour-dimensional gravity.",
        "positive": "A Note on Tensionless Strings in M-Theory: In this article we examine the appearance of tensionless strings in M-Theory.\nWe subsequently interpret these tensionless strings in a String Theory context.\nIn particular, we examine tensionless strings appearing in M-Theory on $S^{1}$,\nM-Theory on $S^{1} / {\\bf Z}_{2}$, and M-Theory on $T^{2}$; we then interpret\nthe appearance of such strings in a String Theory context. Then we reverse this\nprocess and examine the appearance of some tensionless strings in String\nTheory. Subsequently we interpret these tensionless strings in a M-Theory\ncontext."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Scattering and momentum space entanglement: We derive a formula for the entanglement entropy of two regions in momentum\nspace that is generated by the scattering of weakly interacting scalar\nparticles. We discuss an example where weak interactions entangle momentum\nscales above and below an infrared cutoff.",
        "positive": "Strongly Coupled Inflaton: We continue to investigate properties of the strongly coupled inflaton in a\nsetup introduced in arXiv:0807.3191 through the AdS/CFT correspondence. These\nproperties are qualitatively different from those in conventional inflationary\nmodels. For example, in slow-roll inflation, the inflaton velocity is not\ndetermined by the shape of potential; the fine-tuning problem concerns the dual\ninfrared geometry instead of the potential; the non-Gaussianities such as the\nlocal form can naturally become large."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Black branes in asymptotically Lifshitz spacetime and viscosity/entropy\n  ratios in Horndeski gravity: We investigate black brane solutions in asymptotically Lifshitz spacetime in\n3+1-dimensional Horndeski gravity, which admit a critical exponent fixed at\n$z=1/2$. The cosmological constant depends on $z$ as $\\Lambda=-(1+2z)/L^{2}$.\nWe compute the shear viscosity in the 2+1-dimensional dual boundary field\ntheory via holographic correspondence. We investigate the violation of the\nbound for viscosity to entropy density ratio of $\\eta/s\\geq1/(4\\pi)$ at\n$z=1/2$.",
        "positive": "NLO gravitational quartic-in-spin interaction: In this paper we derive for the first time the complete gravitational\nquartic-in-spin interaction of generic compact binaries at the next-to-leading\norder in the post-Newtonian (PN) expansion. The derivation builds on the\neffective field theory for gravitating spinning objects, and its recent\nextensions, in which new type of worldline couplings should be considered, as\nwell as on the extension of the effective action of a spinning particle to\nquadratic order in the curvature. The latter extension entails a new Wilson\ncoefficient that appears in this sector. This work pushes the precision\nfrontier with spins at the fifth PN (5PN) order for maximally-spinning compact\nobjects, and at the same time informs us of the gravitational Compton\nscattering with higher spins."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Wilson loops stability in the gauge/string correspondence: We study the stability of some classical string worldsheet solutions employed\nfor computing the potential energy between two static fundamental quarks in\nconfining and non-confining gravity duals. We discuss the fixing of the\ndiffeomorphism invariance of the string action, its relation with the\nfluctuation orientation and the interpretation of the quark mass substraction\nworldsheet needed for computing the potential energy in smooth (confining)\ngravity background. We consider various dual gravity backgrounds and show by a\nnumerical analysis the existence of instabilities under linear fluctuations for\nclassical string embedding solutions having positive length function derivative\n$L'(r_0)>0$. Finally we make a brief discussion of 't Hooft loops in\nnon-conformal backgrounds.",
        "positive": "On the symplectic structures arising in Optics: Geometric optics is analysed using the techniques of Presymplectic Geometry.\nWe obtain the symplectic structure of the space of light rays in a medium of a\nnon constant refractive index by reduction from a presymplectic structure, and\nusing adapted coordinates, we find Darboux coordinates. The theory is\nillustrated with some examples and we point out some simple physical\napplications"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Nilpotent orbits and codimension-two defects of 6d N=(2,0) theories: We study the local properties of a class of codimension-2 defects of the 6d\nN=(2,0) theories of type J=A,D,E labeled by nilpotent orbits of a Lie algebra\n\\mathfrak{g}, where \\mathfrak{g} is determined by J and the outer-automorphism\ntwist around the defect. This class is a natural generalisation of the defects\nof the 6d theory of type SU(N) labeled by a Young diagram with N boxes. For any\nof these defects, we determine its contribution to the dimension of the Higgs\nbranch, to the Coulomb branch operators and their scaling dimensions, to the 4d\ncentral charges a and c, and to the flavour central charge k.",
        "positive": "The Asymptotic Dynamics of two-dimensional (anti-)de Sitter Gravity: We show that the asymptotic dynamics of two-dimensional de Sitter or anti-de\nSitter Jackiw-Teitelboim (JT) gravity is described by a generalized\ntwo-particle Calogero-Sutherland model. This correspondence is established by\nformulating the JT model of (A)dS gravity in two dimensions as a topological\ngauge theory, which reduces to a nonlinear 0+1-dimensional sigma model on the\nboundary of (A)dS space. The appearance of cyclic coordinates allows then a\nfurther reduction to the Calogero-Sutherland quantum mechanical model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Poincar\u00e9 Supersymmetry Representations Over Trace Class Noncommutative\n  Graded Operator Algebras: We show that rigid supersymmetry theories in four dimensions can be extended\nto give supersymmetric trace (or generalized quantum) dynamics theories, in\nwhich the supersymmetry algebra is represented by the generalized Poisson\nbracket of trace supercharges, constructed from fields that form a trace class\nnoncommutative graded operator algebra. In particular, supersymmetry theories\ncan be turned into supersymmetric matrix models this way. We demonstrate our\nresults by detailed component field calculations for the Wess-Zumino and the\nsupersymmetric Yang-Mills models (the latter with axial gauge fixing), and then\nshow that they are also implied by a simple and general superspace argument.",
        "positive": "Illustrations of Integrand-Basis Building at Two Loops: We outline the concrete steps involved in building prescriptive master\nintegrand bases for scattering amplitudes beyond the planar limit. We highlight\nthe role of contour choices in such bases, and illustrate the full process by\nconstructing a complete, triangle power-counting basis at two loops for six\nparticles. We show how collinear contour choices can be used to divide\nintegrand bases into separately finite and divergent subspaces, and how\ndouble-poles can be used to further subdivide these spaces according to\n(transcendental) weight.\n  Complete details of the basis constructed for six particles is provided in\nthe ancillary files for this work's submission to the arXiv."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Absorption cross section in the topologically massive gravity at the\n  critical point: The absorption cross section for the the warped AdS$_3$ black hole background\nshows that it is larger than the area even if the s-wave limit is considered.\nIt raises some question whether the deviation from the areal cross section is\ndue to the warped configuration of the geometry or the rotating coordinate\nsystem, where these two effects are mixed up in the warped AdS$_3$ black hole.\nSo, we study the low-frequency scattering dynamics of propagating scalar fields\nunder the warped AdS$_3$ background at the critical point which reduces to the\nBTZ black hole in the rotating frame without the warped factor, which shows\nthat the deformation effect at the critical point does not appear.",
        "positive": "On the Axion Electrodynamics in a two-dimensional slab and the Casimir\n  effect: We analyze the Axion Electrodynamics in a two-dimensional slab of finite\nwidth $L$ containing a homogeneous and isotropic dielectric medium with\nconstant permittivity and permeability. We start from the known decomposition\nof modes in the nonaxion case and then solve perturbatively the governing\nequations for the electromagnetic fields to which the axions are also coupled.\nThis is a natural approach, since the finiteness of $L$ destroys the spatial\ninvariance of the theory in the $z$ direction normal to the plates. In this way\nwe derive the value of the axion-generated rotation angle of the electric and\nmagnetic fields after their passage through the slab, and use the obtained\nresults to calculate the Casimir force between the two conducting plates. Our\ncalculations make use of the same method as previously outlined in\n\\cite{hoye20} for the case of Casimir calculations in chiral media and extend\nformer results on the Casimir force in the Axion Electrodynamics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "New M(atrix)-models for Commutative and Noncommutative Gauge Theories: We propose a M(atrix) model for N=4 $SU(k)$ Super-Yang-Mills theory\ncompactified on $T^4$. In this model it is possible to make $T^4$\nnoncommutative and it is easy to turn on all 6 components of the\nnoncommutativity on $T^4$. The action of S-duality on the noncommutativity\nparameters is also manifest. The M(atrix)-model is given by the large $N$ limit\nof a $\\sigma$-model on $T^2$ whose target space is the moduli space of $k$\nSU(N) instantons on $T^3\\times R$. We also propose that the $SU(k)$ 2+1D\n$Spin(8)$ theory (the low-energy description of $k$ M2-branes) on $T^3$\ncorresponds to the large $N$ limit of an integral over the latter instanton\nmoduli space. The identification is based on the fact that Euclidean wrapped\nM2-branes in toroidally compactified M-theory correspond to instantons in the\nM(atrix)-model. In the new M(atrix) models, operators with nonzero momentum\nalong $T^3$ (or $T^4$) correspond to insertions of Wilson lines along a 1-cycle\nthat is determined by the momentum. Momentum is conserved in the large $N$\nlimit.",
        "positive": "Time dependent Entanglement Entropy in SYK models and Page Curve: In this work new interaction terms between two SYK models are proposed, which\nallow to define an interaction picture such that it is possible to calculate\nexactly the vacuum state's time evolution. It is shown that the vacuum evolves\nas a time dependent $SU(2)$ squezed state. The time dependent entanglement\nentropy is calculated and it has the same form of the Page curve of Black Hole\nformation and evaporation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Inflation as an Information Bottleneck - A strategy for identifying\n  universality classes and making robust predictions: In this work we propose a statistical approach to handling sources of\ntheoretical uncertainty in string theory models of inflation. By viewing a\nmodel of inflation as a probabilistic graph, we show that there is an\ninevitable information bottleneck between the ultraviolet input of the theory\nand observables, as a simple consequence of the data processing theorem. This\ninformation bottleneck can result in strong hierarchies in the sensitivity of\nobservables to the parameters of the underlying model and hence universal\npredictions with respect to at least some microphysical considerations. We also\nfind other intriguing behaviour, such as sharp transitions in the predictions\nwhen certain hyperparameters cross a critical value. We develop a robust\nnumerical approach to studying these behaviours by adapting methods often seen\nin the context of machine learning. We first test our approach by applying it\nto well known examples of universality, sharp transitions, and concentration\nphenomena in random matrix theory. We then apply the method to inflation with\naxion monodromy. We find universality with respect to a number of model\nparameters and that consistency with observational constraints implies that\nwith very high probability certain perturbative corrections are non-negligible.",
        "positive": "The Moduli Space of BPS Domain Walls: N=2 SQED with several flavors admits multiple, static BPS domain wall\nsolutions. We determine the explicit two-kink metric and examine the dynamics\nof colliding domain walls. The multi-kink metric has a toric Kahler structure\nand we reduce the Kahler potential to quadrature. In the second part of this\npaper, we consider semi-local vortices compactified on circle. We argue that,\nin the presence of a suitable Wilson line, the vortices separate into domain\nwall constituents. These play the role of fractional instantons in\ntwo-dimensional gauge theories and sigma-models."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum black holes in Type-IIA String Theory: We study black hole solutions of Type-IIA Calabi-Yau compactifications in the\npresence of perturbative quantum corrections. We define a class of black holes\nthat only exist in the presence of quantum corrections and that, consequently,\ncan be considered as purely quantum black holes. The regularity conditions of\nthe solutions impose the topological constraint h^{1,1}>h^{2,1} on the\nCalabi-Yau manifold, defining a class of admissible compactifications, which we\nprove to be non-empty for h^{1,1}=3 by explicitly constructing the\ncorresponding Calabi-Yau manifolds, new in the literature.",
        "positive": "Complex Curve of the Two Matrix Model and its Tau-function: We study the hermitean and normal two matrix models in planar approximation\nfor an arbitrary number of eigenvalue supports. Its planar graph interpretation\nis given. The study reveals a general structure of the underlying analytic\ncomplex curve, different from the hyperelliptic curve of the one matrix model.\nThe matrix model quantities are expressed through the periods of meromorphic\ngenerating differential on this curve and the partition function of the\nmultiple support solution, as a function of filling numbers and coefficients of\nthe matrix potential, is shown to be the quasiclassical tau-function. The\nrelation to softly broken N=1 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theories is discussed.\nA general class of solvable multimatrix models with tree-like interactions is\nconsidered."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Moduli Stabilization and Inflation in Type IIB/F-theory: In the first part of this talk, a short overview of the ongoing debate on the\nexistence of de Sitter vacua in string theory is presented. In the second part,\nthe moduli stabilisation and inflation are discussed in the context of type\nIIB/F-theory. Considering a configuration of three intersecting $D7$ branes\nwith fluxes, it is shown that higher loop effects inducing logarithmic\ncorrections to the K\\\"ahler potential can stabilise the K\\\"ahler moduli in a de\nSitter Vacuum. When a new Fayet-Iliopoulos term is included, it is also\npossible to generate the required number of e-foldings and satisfy the\nconditions for slow-roll inflation.",
        "positive": "More on Supersymmetric and 2d Analogs of the SYK Model: In this paper, we explore supersymmetric and 2d analogs of the SYK model. We\nbegin by working out a basis of (super)conformal eigenfunctions appropriate for\nexpanding a four-point function. We use this to clarify some details of the 1d\nsupersymmetric SYK model. We then introduce new bosonic and supersymmetric\nanalogs of SYK in two dimensions. These theories consist of $N$ fields\ninteracting with random $q$-field interactions. Although models built entirely\nfrom bosons appear to be problematic, we find a supersymmetric model that flows\nto a large $N$ CFT with interaction strength of order one. We derive an\nintegral formula for the four-point function at order $1/N$, and use it to\ncompute the central charge, chaos exponent and some anomalous dimensions. We\ndescribe a problem that arises if one tries to find a 2d SYK-like CFT with a\ncontinuous global symmetry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Y-system for form factors at strong coupling in AdS5 and with\n  multi-operator insertions in AdS3: We study form factors in N=4 SYM at strong coupling in general kinematics and\nwith multi-operator insertions by using gauge/string duality and integrability\ntechniques. This generalizes the AdS3 results of Maldacena and Zhiboedov in two\nnon-trivial aspects. The first generalization to AdS5 space was motivated by\nits potential connection to strong coupling Higgs-to-three-gluons amplitudes in\nQCD which was observed recently at weak coupling. The second generalization to\nmulti-operator insertions was motivated as a step towards applying on-shell\ntechniques to compute correlation functions at strong coupling. In this\npicture, each operator is associated to a monodromy condition on the cusp\nsolutions. We construct Y-systems for both cases. The Y-functions are related\nto the spacetime (cross) ratios. Their WKB approximations based on a rational\nfunction P(z) are also studied. We focus on the short operators, while the\nprescription is hopefully also applicable for more general operators.",
        "positive": "Entropic formulation of relativistic continuum mechanics: An entropic formulation of relativistic continuum mechanics is developed in\nthe Landau-Lifshitz frame. We introduce two spatial scales, one being the small\nscale representing the linear size of each material particle and the other the\nlarge scale representing the linear size of a large system which consists of\nthe material particles and is to linearly regress to the equilibrium. We\npropose a local functional which is expected to represent the total entropy of\nthe larger system and require the entropy functional to be maximized in the\nprocess of linear regression. We show that Onsager's original idea on linear\nregression can then be realized explicitly as current conservations with\ndissipative currents in the desired form. We demonstrate the effectiveness of\nthis formulation by showing that one can treat a wide class of relativistic\ncontinuum materials, including standard relativistic viscous fluids and\nrelativistic viscoelastic materials."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Conformally Coupled Scalar in Rotating Black Hole Spacetimes: We demonstrate separability of conformally coupled scalar field equation in\ngeneral (off-shell) Kerr-NUT-AdS spacetimes in all dimensions. The separability\nis intrinsically characterized by the existence of a complete set of mutually\ncommuting conformal wave operators that can be constructed from a hidden\nsymmetry of the principal Killing-Yano tensor. By token of conformal symmetry,\nthe separability also works for any Weyl rescaled (off-shell) metrics. This is\nespecially interesting in four dimensions where it guarantees separability of a\nconformally coupled scalar field in the general Plebanski-Demianski spacetime.",
        "positive": "Cluster decomposition, T-duality, and gerby CFT's: In this paper we study CFT's associated to gerbes. These theories suffer from\na lack of cluster decomposition, but this problem can be resolved: the CFT's\nare the same as CFT's for disconnected targets. Such theories also lack cluster\ndecomposition, but in that form, the lack is manifestly not very problematic.\nIn particular, we shall see that this matching of CFT's, this duality between\nnoneffective gaugings and sigma models on disconnected targets, is a worldsheet\nduality related to T-duality. We perform a wide variety of tests of this claim,\nranging from checking partition functions at arbitrary genus to D-branes to\nmirror symmetry. We also discuss a number of applications of these results,\nincluding predictions for quantum cohomology and Gromov-Witten theory and\nadditional physical understanding of the geometric Langlands program."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Triple Points of Gravitational AdS Solitons and Black Holes: We present a triple point of a new kind for General Relativity, at which two\ngravitational solitons can coexist with a planar black hole in anti de Sitter\nspace. Working in the context of non-linear electrodynamics, we obtain simple,\nsensible spacetimes for which the thermodynamics can be studied in an analytic\nmanner. The spacetimes are charged under the non-linear electrodynamics leading\nto an electric charge for black holes and a magnetic flux for solitons. In the\ngrand-canonical ensemble, we show that the phase space of the theory is very\nrich, containing re-entrant phase transitions, as well as triple points, for\nsmall values of the coupling controlling the non-linearity of the\nelectrodynamics Lagrangian.",
        "positive": "BFFT formalism applied to the minimal chiral Schwinger model: We consider the minimal chiral Schwinger model, by embedding the gauge\nnoninvariant formulation into a gauge theory following the\nBatalin-Fradkin-Fradkina-Tyutin point of view. Within the BFFT procedure, the\nsecond class constraints are converted into strongly involutive first-class\nones, leading to an extended gauge invariant formulation. We also show that,\nlike the standard chiral model, in the minimal chiral model the Wess-Zumino\naction can be obtained by performing a q-number gauge transformation into the\neffective gauge noninvariant action."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Explicit Action of E7(7) on N=8 Supergravity Fields: We present an explicit, exact to all orders in gravitational coupling E7(7)\nsymmetry transformations of on-shell N=8 supergravity fields in the gauge with\n70 scalars in E7(7)/SU(8) coset space, the local SU(8) symmetry being fixed.\nThe non-linear realization of E7(7) includes a field-dependent SU(8)\ntransformation preserving the unitary gauge. We find the conserved\nNoether-Gaillard-Zumino current of E7(7) symmetry, the linear part of it being\na chiral SU(8) symmetry. We comment on the conformal realization of the E7(7)\nalgebra which includes a dilatation operator. We hope that these results can be\nuseful for studies of anomalies/absence of anomalies and the UV behavior of N=8\nsupergravity.",
        "positive": "Ghosts in asymmetric brane gravity and the decoupled stealth limit: We study the spectrum of gravitational perturbations around a vacuum de\nSitter brane in a 5D asymmetric braneworld model, with induced curvature on the\nbrane. This generalises the stealth acceleration model proposed by Charmousis,\nGregory and Padilla (CGP) which realises the Cardassian cosmology in which\npower law cosmic acceleration can be driven by ordinary matter. Whenever the\nbulk has infinite volume we find that there is always a perturbative ghost\npropagating on the de Sitter brane, in contrast to the Minkowski brane case\nanalysed by CGP. We discuss the implication of this ghost for the stealth\nacceleration model, and identify a limiting case where the ghost decouples as\nthe de Sitter curvature vanishes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "$W$-representations of two-matrix models with infinite set of variables: The Hermitian, complex and fermionic two-matrix models with infinite set of\nvariables are constructed. We show that these two-matrix models can be realized\nby the $W$-representations. In terms of the $W$-representations, we derive the\ncompact expressions of correlators for these two-matrix models.",
        "positive": "Quantum entanglement in inflationary cosmology: We investigate the holographic quantum entanglement of a visible universe in\nan inflationary cosmology. To do so, we consider an AdS space with a dS\nboundary which represents an expanding space in time. In an inflationary\ncosmology, there exists a natural entangling surface called a cosmic event\nhorizon which divides a universe into visible and invisible parts. In this\nmodel, cosmic event horizon monotonically decreases and approaches a constant\nvalue proportional to the inverse of Hubble constant. We show that the quantum\nentanglement between the visible and invisible universes divided by cosmic\nevent horizon decreases monotonically in time. After an infinite time\nevolution, it finally approaches a constant value which is proportional to the\ninverse square of the Hubble constant for a four-dimensional dS space."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Relative quantum field theory: We highlight the general notion of a relative quantum field theory, which\noccurs in several contexts. One is in gauge theory based on a compact Lie\nalgebra, rather than a compact Lie group. This is relevant to the maximal\nsuperconformal theory in six dimensions.",
        "positive": "Semiclassics with 't Hooft flux background for QCD with $2$-index quarks: We study quantum chromodynamics including the two-index symmetric or\nanti-symmetric quark (QCD(Sym/ASym)) on small $\\mathbb{R}^2\\times T^2$ with a\nsuitable magnetic flux. We first discuss the 't Hooft anomaly of these theories\nand claim that discrete chiral symmetry should be spontaneously broken\ncompletely to satisfy the anomaly matching condition. The $T^2$\ncompactification with the magnetic flux preserves the 't Hooft anomaly, and the\n$2$d effective theory is constrained by the same anomaly of $4$d QCD(Sym/ASym).\nWe demonstrate the spontaneous breakdown of chiral symmetry using the dilute\ngas of center vortices, which confirms the prediction of the 't Hooft anomaly.\nWe also find that each vacuum maintains the charge conjugation symmetry, and\nthis gives affirmative support for the nonperturbative large-$N$ orientifold\nequivalence between QCD(Sym/ASym) and $\\mathcal{N}=1$ supersymmetric $SU(N)$\nYang-Mills theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Generalized Superconductors and Holographic Optics: We study generalized holographic s-wave superconductors in four dimensional\nR-charged black hole and Lifshitz black hole backgrounds, in the probe limit.\nWe first establish the superconducting nature of the boundary theories, and\nthen study their optical properties. Numerical analysis indicates that a\nnegative Depine-Lakhtakia index may appear at low frequencies in the theory\ndual to the R-charged black hole, for certain temperature ranges, for specific\nvalues of the charge parameter. The corresponding cut-off values for these are\nnumerically established in several cases. Such effects are seen to be absent in\nthe Lifshitz background where this index is always positive.",
        "positive": "Study of the properties of the Gribov region in SU(N) Euclidean\n  Yang-Mills theories in the maximal Abelian gauge: In this paper we address the issue of the Gribov copies in SU(N), N>2,\nEuclidean Yang-Mills theories quantized in the maximal Abelian gauge. A few\nproperties of the Gribov region in this gauge are established. Similarly to the\ncase of SU(2), the Gribov region turns out to be convex, bounded along the\noff-diagonals directions in field space, and unbounded along the diagonal ones.\nThe implementation of the restriction to the Gribov region in the functional\nintegral is discussed through the introduction of the horizon function, whose\nconstruction will be outlined in detail. The influence of this restriction on\nthe behavior of the gluon and ghost propagators of the theory is also\ninvestigated together with a set of dimension two condensates."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Decapitating Tadpoles: We propose that perturbative quantum field theory and string theory can be\nconsistently modified in the infrared to eliminate, in a radiatively stable\nmanner, tadpole instabilities that arise after supersymmetry breaking. This is\nachieved by deforming the propagators of classically massless scalar fields and\nthe graviton so as to cancel the contribution of their zero modes. In string\ntheory, this modification of propagators is accomplished by perturbatively\ndeforming the world-sheet action with bi-local operators similar to those that\narise in double-trace deformations of AdS/CFT. This results in a perturbatively\nfinite and unitary S-matrix (in the case of string theory, this claim depends\non standard assumptions about unitarity in covariant string diagrammatics). The\nS-matrix is parameterized by arbitrary scalar VEVs, which exacerbates the\nvacuum degeneracy problem. However, for generic values of these parameters,\nquantum effects produce masses for the nonzero modes of the scalars, lifting\nthe fluctuating components of the moduli. Warning: in the case of string\ntheory, the simple prescription discussed in this paper fails to decouple BRST\ntrivial modes from the physical S-matrix. A procedure aimed at correcting this\nis under investigation.",
        "positive": "S-matrices and bi-linear sum rules of conserved charges in affine Toda\n  field theories: The exact quantum $S$-matrices and conserved charges are known for affine\nToda field theories(ATFTs). In this note we report on a new type of bi-linear\nsum rules of conserved quantities derived from these exact $S$ matrices. They\nexist when there is a multiplicative identity among $S$-matrices of a\nparticular ATFT. Our results are valid for simply laced as well as non-simply\nlaced ATFTs. We also present a few explicit examples."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Anthropic Solutions of the Cosmological Constant Problem: Motivated by recent work of Bousso and Polchinski (BP), we study theories\nwhich explain the small value of the cosmological constant using the anthropic\nprinciple. We argue that simultaneous solution of the gauge hierarchy problem\nis a strong constraint on any such theory. We exhibit three classes of models\nwhich satisfy these constraints. The first is a version of the BP model with\nprecisely two large dimensions. The second involves 6-branes and antibranes\nwrapped on supersymmetric 3-cycles of Calabi-Yau manifolds, and the third is a\nversion of the irrational axion model. All of them have possible problems in\nexplaining the size of microwave background fluctuations. We also find that\nmost models of this type predict that all constants in the low energy\nLagrangian, as well as the gauge groups and representation content, are chosen\nfrom an ensemble and cannot be uniquely determined from the fundamental theory.\nIn our opinion, this significantly reduces the appeal of this kind of solution\nof the cosmological constant problem. On the other hand, we argue that the\nvacuum selection problem of string theory might plausibly have an anthropic,\ncosmological solution.",
        "positive": "Secular Terms in Dyson Series to All-Orders of Perturbation: In classical and quantum systems, perturbation of an evolution equation is\noften invalidated by secular terms which diverge at late times. The diverging\nbehavior of evolution can be remedied by various techniques of resumma- tion\nsuch as renormalization group or multi-scale analysis. In this paper, we prove\nthat, in a generic quantum mechanical system, secular terms can be\nsystematically removed to all orders in the Dyson series by the method of\nimproved (renormalized) perturbation. A recurrence relation to provide an\nexplicit method to remove the secular terms is given. As a byproduct, we give a\nsimple method to obtain energy eigenvalues and decay rates to all orders of\nperturbation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "3-Manifolds and 3d Indices: We identify a large class R of three-dimensional N=2 superconformal field\ntheories. This class includes the effective theories T_M of M5-branes wrapped\non 3-manifolds M, discussed in previous work by the authors, and more generally\ncomprises theories that admit a UV description as abelian Chern-Simons-matter\ntheories with (possibly non-perturbative) superpotential. Mathematically, class\nR might be viewed as an extreme quantum generalization of the Bloch group; in\nparticular, the equivalence relation among theories in class R is a\nquantum-field-theoretic \"2-3 move.\" We proceed to study the supersymmetric\nindex of theories in class R, uncovering its physical and mathematical\nproperties, including relations to algebras of line operators and to 4d\nindices. For 3-manifold theories T_M, the index is a new topological invariant,\nwhich turns out to be equivalent to non-holomorphic SL(2,C) Chern-Simons theory\non M with a previously unexplored \"integration cycle.\"",
        "positive": "Bootstrapping $O(N)$ Vector Models with Four Supercharges in $3 \\leq d\n  \\leq4$: We analyze the conformal bootstrap constraints in theories with four\nsupercharges and a global $O(N) \\times U(1)$ flavor symmetry in $3 \\leq d \\leq\n4$ dimensions. In particular, we consider the 4-point function of\n$O(N)$-fundamental chiral operators $Z_i$ that have no chiral primary in the\n$O(N)$-singlet sector of their OPE. We find features in our numerical bounds\nthat nearly coincide with the theory of $N+1$ chiral super-fields with\nsuperpotential $W = X \\sum_{i=1}^N Z_i^2$, as well as general bounds on SCFTs\nwhere $\\sum_{i=1}^N Z_i^2$ vanishes in the chiral ring."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Coordinate-free derivation of Yang-Mills-Chern-Simons field equations: In this paper we derive in a coordinate-free manner the field equations for a\nlagrangean consisting of Yang-Mills kinetical term plus Chern-Simons\nself-coupling term. This equation turns out to be an eigenvalue equation for\nthe covariant laplacian.",
        "positive": "Algorithmic information and simplicity in statistical physics: Given a list of $N$ states with probabilities $0<p_1\\leq\\cdots\\leq p_N$, the\naverage conditional algorithmic information $\\bar I$ to specify one of these\nstates obeys the inequality $H\\leq\\bar I<H+O(1)$, where $H=-\\sum p_j\\log_2p_j$\nand $O(1)$ is a computer-dependent constant. We show how any universal computer\ncan be slightly modified in such a way that the inequality becomes $H\\leq\\bar\nI<H+1$, thereby eliminating the computer-dependent constant from statistical\nphysics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "General fluctuations of the heterotic pure spinor string on curved\n  backgrounds: The general fluctuations, in the form of vertex operators, for the heterotic\nsuperstring in the pure spinor formalism are considered. The case of a flat\nbackground is reviewed and the case of a curved case is studied. The\nleft-moving ghosts are pure spinors and the right-moving ghosts come from\nfixing the reparametrization invariance. The role of the reparametrization\nghosts in the construction of the vertex operators is emphasized.",
        "positive": "Verlinde Algebras and the Intersection Form on Vanishing Cycles: We prove Zuber's conjecture establishing connections of the fusion rules of\nthe $su(N)_k$ WZW model of conformal field theory and the intersection form on\nvanishing cycles of the associated fusion potential."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Machine-Learning Dessins d'Enfants: Explorations via Modular and\n  Seiberg-Witten Curves: We apply machine-learning to the study of dessins d'enfants. Specifically, we\ninvestigate a class of dessins which reside at the intersection of the\ninvestigations of modular subgroups, Seiberg-Witten curves and extremal\nelliptic K3 surfaces. A deep feed-forward neural network with simple structure\nand standard activation functions without prior knowledge of the underlying\nmathematics is established and imposed onto the classification of extension\ndegree over the rationals, known to be a difficult problem. The classifications\nreached 0.92 accuracy with 0.03 standard error relatively quickly. The\nSeiberg-Witten curves for those with rational coefficients are also tabulated.",
        "positive": "From configuration to dynamics -- Emergence of Lorentz signature in\n  classical field theory: The Lorentzian metric structure used in any field theory allows one to\nimplement the relativistic notion of causality and to define a notion of time\ndimension. This article investigates the possibility that at the microscopic\nlevel the metric is Riemannian, i.e. locally Euclidean, and that the Lorentzian\nstructure, that we usually consider as fundamental, is in fact an effective\nproperty that emerges in some regions of a 4-dimensional space with a positive\ndefinite metric. In such a model, there is no dynamics nor signature flip\nacross some hypersurface; instead, all the fields develop a Lorentzian dynamics\nin these regions because they propagate in an effective metric. It is shown\nthat one can construct a decent classical field theory for scalars, vectors and\n(Dirac) spinors in flat spacetime. It is then shown that gravity can be\nincluded but that the theory for the effective Lorentzian metric is not general\nrelativity but of the covariant Galileon type. The constraints arising from\nstability, the equivalence principle and the constancy of fundamental constants\nare detailed and a phenomenological picture of the emergence of the Lorentzian\nmetric is also given. The construction, while restricted to classical fields in\nthis article, offers a new view on the notion of time."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "(D)-instanton effects in magnetized brane worlds: We consider systems of magnetized D9 branes on orbifolds supporting N=1 gauge\ntheories. In such realizations, the matter multiplets arise from \"twisted\"\nstrings connecting different stacks of branes. The introduction of Euclidean\n5-branes wrapped on the six-dimensional compact space leads to instanton\neffects. We examine the interplay between the annuli diagrams with an E5\nboundary and the holomorphicity properties of the effective low-energy\nsupergravity action which describes the system, including its instanton\ncorrections. Mostly based on arXiv:0709.0245.",
        "positive": "Quantum evolution of Schwarzschild-de Sitter (Nariai) black holes: We calculate the one-loop effective action for conformal matter (scalars,\nspinors and vectors) on spherically symmetric background. Such effective action\n(in large $N$ approximation and expansion on curvature) is used to study\nquantum aspects of Schwarzschild-de Sitter black holes (SdS BHs) in nearly\ndegenerated limit (Nariai BH). We show that for all types of above matter SdS\nBHs may evaporate or anti-evaporate in accordance with recent observation by\nBousso and Hawking for minimal scalars. Some remarks about energy flow for SdS\nBHs in regime of evaporation or anti-evaporation are also done. Study of no\nboundary condition shows that this condition supports anti-evaporation for\nnucleated BHs (at least in frames of our approximation). That indicates to the\npossibility that some pair created cosmological BHs may not only evaporate but\nalso anti-evaporate. Hence, cosmological primordial BHs may survive much longer\nthan it is expected."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "p-Adic open string amplitudes with Chan-Paton factors coupled to a\n  constant B-field: We establish rigorously the regularization of the p-adic open string\namplitudes, with Chan-Paton rules and a constant B-field, introduced by Ghoshal\nand Kawano. In this study we use techniques of multivariate local zeta\nfunctions depending on multiplicative characters and a phase factor which\ninvolves an antisymmetric bilinear form. These local zeta functions are new\nmathematical objects. We attach to each amplitude a multivariate local zeta\nfunction depending on the kinematics parameters, the B-field and the Chan-Paton\nfactors. We show that these integrals admit meromorphic continuations in the\nkinematic parameters, this result allows us to regularize the Goshal-Kawano\namplitudes, the regularized amplitudes do not have ultraviolet divergences. Due\nto the need of a certain symmetry, the theory works only for prime numbers\nwhich are congruent to 3 modulo 4. We also discuss the limit p tends to 1 in\nthe noncommutative effective field theory and in the Ghoshal-Kawano amplitudes.\nWe show that in the case of four points, the limit p tends to 1 of the\nregularized Ghoshal-Kawano amplitudes coincides with the Feynman amplitudes\nattached to the limit p tends to 1 of the noncommutative Gerasimov-Shatashvili\nLagrangian.",
        "positive": "RG Flow from $\u03c6^4$ Theory to the 2D Ising Model: We study 1+1 dimensional $\\phi^4$ theory using the recently proposed method\nof conformal truncation. Starting in the UV CFT of free field theory, we\nconstruct a complete basis of states with definite conformal Casimir,\n$\\mathcal{C}$. We use these states to express the Hamiltonian of the full\ninteracting theory in lightcone quantization. After truncating to states with\n$\\mathcal{C} \\leq \\mathcal{C}_{\\max}$, we numerically diagonalize the\nHamiltonian at strong coupling and study the resulting IR dynamics. We compute\nnon-perturbative spectral densities of several local operators, which are\nequivalent to real-time, infinite-volume correlation functions. These spectral\ndensities, which include the Zamolodchikov $C$-function along the full RG flow,\nare calculable at any value of the coupling. Near criticality, our numerical\nresults reproduce correlation functions in the 2D Ising model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holography for cylindrical gravitational waves: We study a two dimensional nonlinear sigma model whose classical solutions\ndescribe cylindrical gravitational wave scattering with zero cosmological\nconstant. We quantize this sigma model and compute its two-particle tree-level\nS-matrix. We discuss an SL(2,R) symmetry of the sigma model called the Ehlers\ngroup and directly verify the associated S-matrix conservation law at tree\nlevel. Finally, we use the holographic dictionary to define a dual boundary\ntheory and compute its two-point correlation function. This is an example of\nholography with zero cosmological constant.",
        "positive": "Non-abelian action of D0-branes from Matrix theory in the longitudinal\n  5-brane background: We study one-loop effective action of Berkooz-Douglas Matrix theory and\nobtain non-abelian action of D0-branes in the background field produced by\nlongitudinal 5-branes. Since these 5-branes do not have D0-brane charge and are\nnot present in BFSS Matrix theory, our analysis can be regarded as an\nindependent test for the coupling of D-branes to general weak backgrounds\nproposed by Taylor and Van Raamsdonk, and also as a check of consistency\nbetween the two versions of Matrix theory. The coupling to the 5-branes which\nwe obtain is basically consistent with the previous proposal, but we point out\nsubtleties in the ordering of matrices for the multipole moments."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Possible exotic stringy signatures at the LHC: In this paper I discuss some string inspired exotic colored matter particles\nthat could be produced at the LHC, as well as the experimental signature for\nthe observation of such states. Their most easily identifiable signature of\nthis scenario is that many of these exotic particles would decay into standard\nmodel particles only via higher dimension operators in the effective field\ntheory at a TeV scale. Some of these particles would only have three body\ndecays into standard model particles.",
        "positive": "BRST-BFV Lagrangian Formulations for Higher Spin Fields subject to\n  two-column Young Tableaux: The details of Lagrangian description of irreducible integer higher-spin\nrepresentations of the Poincare group with an Young tableaux\n$Y[\\hat{s}_1,\\hat{s}_2]$ having $2$ columns are considered for Bose particles\npropagated on an arbitrary dimensional Minkowski space-time. The procedure is\nbased, first, on using of an auxiliary Fock space generated by Fermi\noscillators (antisymmetric basis), second, on construction of the Verma module\nand finding auxiliary oscillator realization for $sl(2)\\oplus sl(2)$ algebra\nwhich encodes the second-class operator constraints subsystem in the HS\nsymmetry superalgebra. Application of an BRST-BFV receipt permits to reproduce\ngauge-invariant Lagrangians with reducible gauge symmetries describing the free\ndynamics of both massless and massive mixed-antisymmetric bosonic fields of any\nspin with appropriate number of gauge and Stueckelberg fields. The general\nprescription possesses by the possibility to derive constrained Lagrangians\nwith only BRST-invariant extended algebraic constraints which describes the\nPoincare group irreducible representations in terms of mixed-antisymmetric\ntensor fields with 2 group indices."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "One-loop Test of Free SU(N) Adjoint Model Holography: We consider the holographic duality where the CFT side is given by $SU(N)$\nadjoint free scalar field theory. Compared to the vector models, the set of\nsingle trace operators is immensely extended so that the corresponding AdS\ntheory also contains infinitely many massive higher spin fields on top of the\nmassless ones. We compute the one-loop vacuum energy of these AdS fields to\ntest this duality at the subleading order in large $N$ expansion. The\ndetermination of the bulk vacuum energy requires a proper scheme to sum up the\ninfinitely many contributions. For that, we develop a new method and apply it\nfirst to calculate the vacuum energies for the first few `Regge trajectories'\nin AdS$_4$ and AdS$_5$. In considering the full vacuum energy of AdS theory\ndual to a matrix model CFT, we find that there exist more than one available\nprescriptions for the one-loop vacuum energy. Taking a particular prescription,\nwe determine the full vacuum energy of the AdS$_5$ theory, whereas the AdS$_4$\ncalculation still remains technically prohibitive. This result shows that the\nfull vacuum energy of the AdS$_5$ theory coincides with minus of the free\nenergy of a single scalar field on the boundary. This is analogous to the\n$O(N)$ vector model case, hence suggests an interpretation of the\n\\emph{positive} shift of the bulk coupling constant, i.e. from $N^2-1$ to\n$N^2$.",
        "positive": "Building a Better Racetrack: We find IIb compactifications on Calabi-Yau orientifolds in which all Kahler\nmoduli are stabilized, along lines suggested by Kachru, Kallosh, Linde and\nTrivedi."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Soliton Solutions of the Anti-Self-Dual Yang-Mills Equations from the\n  Perspective of Integrable Systems: In this thesis, we construct a class of exact ASDYM 1-solitons and\nmulti-solitons on 4-dimensional real spaces with the Euclidean signature $(+,\n+, +, +)$, the Minkowski signature $(+, - , -, -)$, and the split signature\n($+$, $+$, $-$, $-$) (the Ultrahyperbolic space). They are new results and\nsuccessful applications of the Darboux transformation introduced by Nimmo,\nGilson, Ohta. In particular, the principal peak of the Lagrangian density\nTr$F_{\\mu\\nu}F^{\\mu\\nu}$ is localized on a 3-dimensional hyperplane in 4\ndimensional space. Therefore, we use the term \"soliton walls\" to distinguish\nthem from the domain walls. For the split signature, we show that the gauge\ngroup can be $G=\\mathrm{SU}(2)$ and $G=\\mathrm{SU}(3)$ and hence the soliton\nwalls could be candidates of physically interesting objects on the\nUltrahyperbolic space $\\mathbb{U}$. On the other hand, we use the techniques of\nthe quasideterminants to show that in the asymptotic region, the ASDYM\n$n$-soliton possesses $n$ isolated distributions of Lagrangian densities with\nphase shifts. Therefore, we can interpret it as $n$ intersecting soliton walls.",
        "positive": "Octonionic Dirac Equation: In order to obtain a consistent formulation of octonionic quantum mechanics\n(OQM), we introduce left-right barred operators. Such operators enable us to\nfind the translation rules between octonionic numbers and $8\\times 8$ real\nmatrices (a translation is also given for $4\\times 4$ complex matrices). We\ndevelop an octonionic relativistic free wave equation, linear in the\nderivatives. Even if the wave functions are only one-component we show that\nfour independent solutions, corresponding to those of the Dirac equation,\nexist."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Minimal surfaces and entanglement entropy in anti-de Sitter space: According to Ryu and Takayanagi, the entanglement entropy in conformal field\ntheory (CFT) is related through the AdS/CFT correspondence to the area of a\nminimal surface in the bulk. We study this holographic geometrical method of\ncalculating the entanglement entropy in the vacuum case of a CFT which is\nholographically dual to empty anti-de Sitter (AdS) spacetime. Namely, we\ninvestigate the minimal surfaces spanned on boundaries of spherical domains at\ninfinity of hyperbolic space, which represents a time-slice of AdS spacetime.\nWe consider a generic position of two spherical domains: two disjoint domains,\noverlapping domains, and touching domains. In all these cases we find the\nexplicit expressions for the minimal surfaces and the renormalized expression\nfor the area. We study also the embedding of the minimal surfaces into full AdS\nspacetime and we find that for a proper choice of the static Killing vector we\ncan model a dynamical situation of \"tearing\" of the minimal surface when the\ndomains on which it is spanned are moved away from each other.",
        "positive": "Weaving commutators: beyond Fock space: The symmetrization postulate and the associated Bose/Fermi (anti)-commutators\nfor field mode operators are among the pillars on which local quantum field\ntheory lays its foundations. They ultimately determine the structure of Fock\nspace and are closely connected with the local properties of the fields and\nwith the action of symmetry generators on observables and states. We here show\nthat the quantum field theory describing relativistic particles coupled to\nthree dimensional Einstein gravity as a topological defect must be constructed\nusing a deformed algebra of creation and annihilation operators. This reflects\na non-trivial group manifold structure of the classical momentum space and a\nmodification of the Leibniz rule for the action of symmetry generators governed\nby Newton's constant. We outline various arguments suggesting that, at least at\nthe qualitative level, these three-dimensional results could also apply to real\nfour-dimensional world thus forcing us to re-think the ordinary multiparticle\nstructure of quantum field theory and many of the fundamental aspects connected\nto it."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "String Theory Origin of Constrained Multiplets: We study the non-linearly realized spontaneously broken supersymmetry of the\n(anti-)D3-brane action in type IIB string theory. The worldvolume fields are\none vector $A_\\mu$, three complex scalars $\\phi^i$ and four 4d fermions\n$\\lambda^0$, $\\lambda^i$. These transform, in addition to the more familiar N=4\nlinear supersymmetry, also under 16 spontaneously broken, non-linearly realized\nsupersymmetries. We argue that the worldvolume fields can be packaged into the\nfollowing constrained 4d non-linear N=1 multiplets: four chiral multiplets $S$,\n$Y^i$ that satisfy $S^2=SY^i=0$ and contain the worldvolume fermions\n$\\lambda^0$ and $\\lambda^i$; and four chiral multiplets $W_\\alpha$, $H^i$ that\nsatisfy $S W_\\alpha=0$ and $S \\bar D_{\\dot \\alpha} \\bar H^{\\bar \\imath}=0$ and\ncontain the vector $A_\\mu$ and the scalars $\\phi^i$. We also discuss how\nplacing an anti-D3-brane on top of intersecting O7-planes can lead to an\northogonal multiplet $\\Phi$ that satisfies $S(\\Phi-\\bar \\Phi)=0$, which is\nparticularly interesting for inflationary cosmology.",
        "positive": "Lorentz symmetry is relevant: We set up a covariant renormalisation group equation on a foliated spacetime\nwhich preserves background diffeomorphism symmetry. As a first application of\nthe new formalism, we study the effect of quantum fluctuations in Lorentz\nsymmetry breaking theories of quantum gravity. It is found that once a small\nbreaking is introduced e.g. at the Planck scale, quantum fluctuations enhance\nthis breaking at low energies. A numerical analysis shows that the\nmagnification is of order unity for trajectories compatible with a small\ncosmological constant. The immediate consequence is that the stringent\nobservational constraints on Lorentz symmetry breaking are essentially\nscale-independent and must be met even at the Planck scale."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "D Branes from Liouville Strings: We develop quantization aspects of our Liouville approach to non-critical\nstrings, proposing a path-integral formulation of a second quantization of\nstring theory, that incorporates naturally the couplings of string sources to\nbackground fields. Such couplings are characteristic of macroscopic string\nsolutions and/or $D$-brane theories. Resummation over world-sheet genera in the\npresence of stringy ($\\sigma$-model) soliton backgrounds, and recoil effects\nassociated with logarithmic operators on the world sheet, play a crucial r\\^ole\nin inducing such sources as well-defined renormalization-group counterterms.\nUsing our Liouville renormalization group approach, we derive the appropriate\nsecond-order equation of motion for the $D$ brane. We discuss within this\napproach the appearance of open strings, whose ends carry non-trivial\nChan-Paton-like quantum numbers related to the $W_\\infty$ charges of\ntwo-dimensional string black holes.",
        "positive": "Gauge invariance and mass gap in (2+1)-dimensional Yang-Mills theory: In terms of a gauge-invariant matrix parametrization of the fields, we give\nan analysis of how the mass gap could arise in non-Abelian gauge theories in\ntwo spatial dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Degeneracy of the classical SU(2) vacuum with a non-trivial center\n  vortex state: This paper has been withdrawn due to an incorrect analysis in Section 4.",
        "positive": "Electrons-Holes on Noncommutative Plane and Hall Effect: By considering N_e-electrons and N_h-holes together in uniform external\nmagnetic and electric fields, we end up with a total Hall conductivity\n\\sigma_{H}^{tot}, which is depending to the difference between N_e and N_h and\nbecomes null when N_e=N_h. Dealing with the same system but requiring that the\ncoordinates of plane are noncommuting, we obtain a new Hall conductivity\n\\sigma_{H}^{(tot,nc)}. In the limit N_e=N_h, we find that \\sigma_{H}^{(tot,nc)}\nis only noncommutativity parameters \\theta_i-dependent, which means that\ntheoretically it is possible to have Hall effect without B. Moreover, at the\ncritical points \\theta_e=l^2 and \\theta_h=-l^2, we find that\n\\sigma_{H}^{(tot,nc)} becomes two times the usual Hall conductivity for an\nnoninteracting mixing system."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The extremal Kerr entropy in higher-derivative gravities: We investigate higher derivative corrections to the extremal Kerr black hole\nin the context of heterotic string theory with $\\alpha'$ corrections and of a\ncubic-curvature extension of general relativity. By analyzing the near-horizon\nextremal geometry of these black holes, we are able to compute the Iyer-Wald\nentropy as well as the angular momentum via generalized Komar integrals. In the\ncase of the stringy corrections, we obtain the physically relevant relation\n$S(J)$ at order $\\alpha'^2$. On the other hand, the cubic theories, which are\nchosen as Einsteinian cubic gravity plus a new odd-parity density with\nanalogous features, possess special integrability properties that enable us to\nobtain exact results in the higher-derivative couplings. This allows us to find\nthe relation $S(J)$ at arbitrary orders in the couplings and even to study it\nin a non-perturbative way. We also extend our analysis to the case of the\nextremal Kerr-(A)dS black hole.",
        "positive": "The Geometry of G$_2$, Spin(7), and Spin(8)-models: We study the geometry of elliptic fibrations given by Weierstrass models\nresulting from Step 6 of Tate's algorithm. Such elliptic fibrations have a\ndiscriminant locus containing an irreducible component $S$, over which the\ngeneric fiber is of Kodaira type I$^*_0$. In string geometry, these geometries\nare used to geometrically engineer G$_2$, Spin($7$), and Spin($8$) gauge\ntheories. We give sufficient conditions for the existence of crepant\nresolutions. When they exist, we give a complete description of all crepant\nresolutions and show explicitly how the network of flops matches the Coulomb\nbranch of the associated gauge theories. We also compute the triple\nintersection numbers in each chamber. Physically, they correspond to the\nChern-Simons levels of the gauge theory and depend on the choice of a Coulomb\nbranch. We determine the representations associated with these elliptic\nfibrations by computing intersection numbers with fibral divisors and then\ninterpreting them as weights of a representation. For a five-dimensional gauge\ntheory, we compute the number of hypermultiplets in each representation by\nmatching the triple intersection numbers with the superpotential of the theory.\n  We also discuss anomaly cancellations of a six-dimensional supergravity\ntheory obtained by a compactification of F-theory on an elliptically fibered\nCalabi--Yau threefold corresponding to a G$_2$, Spin($7$), or Spin($8$) gauge\ntheory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Scale-invariant hyperscaling-violating holographic theories and the\n  resistivity of strange metals with random-field disorder: We compute the direct current resistivity of a scale-invariant,\n$d$-dimensional strange metal with dynamic critical exponent $z$ and\nhyperscaling-violating exponent $\\theta$, weakly perturbed by a scalar operator\ncoupled to random-field disorder that locally breaks a $\\mathbb{Z}_2$ symmetry.\nIndependent calculations via Einstein-Maxwell-Dilaton holography and memory\nmatrix methods lead to the same results. We show that random field disorder has\na strong effect on resistivity: charge carriers in the infrared are easily\ndepleted, as the relaxation time for momentum is surprisingly small. In the\ncourse of our holographic calculation we use a non-trivial dilaton coupling to\nthe disordered scalar, allowing us to study a strongly-coupled scale invariant\ntheory with $\\theta \\ne 0$. Using holography, we are also able to determine the\ndisorder strength at which perturbation theory breaks down. Curiously, for\nlocally critical theories this breakdown occurs when the resistivity is\nproportional to the entropy density, up to a possible logarithmic correction.",
        "positive": "Thermal Green's Functions from Quantum Mechanical Path Integrals: In this paper it is shown how the generating functional for Green's functions\nin relativistic quantum field theory and in thermal field theory can be\nevaluated in terms of a standard quantum mechanical path integral. With this\ncalculational approach one avoids the loop-momentum integrals usually\nencountered in Feynman perturbation theory, although with thermal Green's\nfunctions, a discrete sum (over the winding numbers of paths with respect to\nthe circular imaginary time) must be computed. The high-temperature expansion\nof this sum can be performed for all Green's functions at the same time, and is\nparticularly simple for the static case. The procedure is illustrated by\nevaluating the two-point function to one-loop order in a $\\phi^3_6$ model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "New topological field theories in two dimensions: It is shown that two$(1 + 1)$-dimensional (2D) free Abelian- and\nself-interacting non-Abelian gauge theories (without any interaction with\nmatter fields) belong to a new class of topological field theories. These new\ntheories capture together some of the key features of Witten- and Schwarz type\nof topological field theories because they are endowed with symmetries that are\nreminiscent of the Schwarz type theories but their Lagrangian density has the\nappearance of the Witten type theories. The topological invariants for these\ntheories are computed on a 2D compact manifold and their recursion relations\nare obtained. These new theories are shown to provide a class of tractable\nfield theoretical models for the Hodge theory in two dimensions of flat\n(Minkowski) spacetime where there are no propagating degrees of freedom\nassociated with the 2D gauge boson.",
        "positive": "Non-BPS Attractors in 5d and 6d Extended Supergravity: We connect the attractor equations of a certain class of N=2, d=5\nsupergravities with their (1,0), d=6 counterparts, by relating the moduli space\nof non-BPS d=5 black hole/black string attractors to the moduli space of\nextremal dyonic black string d=6 non-BPS attractors. For d = 5 real special\nsymmetric spaces and for N = 4,6,8 theories, we explicitly compute the flat\ndirections of the black object potential corresponding to vanishing eigenvalues\nof its Hessian matrix. In the case N = 4, we study the relation to the (2,0),\nd=6 theory. We finally describe the embedding of the N=2, d=5 magic models in\nN=8, d=5 supergravity as well as the interconnection among the corresponding\ncharge orbits."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holomorphic anomaly of 2d Yang-Mills theory on a torus revisited: We study the large $N$ 't Hooft expansion of the chiral partition function of\n2d $U(N)$ Yang-Mills theory on a torus. There is a long-standing puzzle that no\nexplicit holomorphic anomaly equation is known for the partition function,\nalthough it admits a topological string interpretation. Based on the chiral\nboson interpretation we clarify how holomorphic anomaly arises and propose a\nnatural anti-holomorphic deformation of the partition function. Our deformed\npartition function obeys a fairly traditional holomorphic anomaly equation.\nMoreover, we find a closed analytic expression for the deformed partition\nfunction. We also study the behavior of the deformed partition function both in\nthe strong coupling/large area limit and in the weak coupling/small area limit.\nIn particular, we observe that drastic simplification occurs in the weak\ncoupling/small area limit, giving another nontrivial support for our\nanti-holomorphic deformation.",
        "positive": "Elliptic String Solutions on RxS^2 and Their Pohlmeyer Reduction: We study classical string solutions on RxS^2 that correspond to elliptic\nsolutions of the sine-Gordon equation. In this work, these solutions are\nsystematically derived inverting Pohlmeyer reduction and classified with\nrespect to their Pohlmeyer counterparts. These solutions include the spiky\nstrings and other well-known solutions, such as the BMN particle, the GKP\nstring or the giant magnons, which arise as special limits, and reveal many\ninteresting features of the AdS/CFT correspondence. A mapping of the physical\nproperties of the string solutions to those of their Pohlmeyer counterparts is\nestablished. An interesting element of this mapping is the correspondence of\nthe number of spikes of the string to the topological charge in the sine-Gordon\ntheory. In the context of the sine-Gordon/Thirring duality, the latter is\nmapped to the Thirring model fermion number, leading to a natural\nclassification of the solutions to fermionic objects and bosonic condensates.\nFinally, the convenient parametrization of the solutions, enforced by the\ninversion of the Pohlmeyer reduction, facilitates the study of the string\ndispersion relation. This leads to the identification of an infinite set of\ntrajectories in the moduli space of solutions, where the dispersion relation\ncan be expressed in a closed form by means of some algebraic operations,\narbitrarily far from the infinite size limit."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Bootstrapping the 3d Ising model at finite temperature: We estimate thermal one-point functions in the 3d Ising CFT using the\noperator product expansion (OPE) and the Kubo-Martin-Schwinger (KMS) condition.\nSeveral operator dimensions and OPE coefficients of the theory are known from\nthe numerical bootstrap for flat-space four-point functions. Taking this data\nas input, we use a thermal Lorentzian inversion formula to compute thermal\none-point coefficients of the first few Regge trajectories in terms of a small\nnumber of unknown parameters. We approximately determine the unknown parameters\nby imposing the KMS condition on the two-point functions $\\langle \\sigma\\sigma\n\\rangle$ and $\\langle \\epsilon\\epsilon \\rangle$. As a result, we estimate the\none-point functions of the lowest-dimension $\\mathbb Z_2$-even scalar\n$\\epsilon$ and the stress-energy tensor $T_{\\mu \\nu}$. Our result for $\\langle\n\\sigma\\sigma \\rangle$ at finite-temperature agrees with Monte-Carlo simulations\nwithin a few percent, inside the radius of convergence of the OPE.",
        "positive": "Dirac: a command-line $\u03b3$-matrix calculator: A software for simplification of Dirac matrix polynomials that arise in\nparticle physics problems is implemented."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Identities amongst the Two Loop Partial Amplitudes of Yang-Mills theory: We characterise possible identities among the two-loop partial amplitudes of\ngluon scattering in Yang-Mills theory. We use known amplitudes in an exhaustive\nsearch to identify potential new relations. We find two candidate relations\nwhich may extend to all-$n$ amplitudes.",
        "positive": "N=2 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theories and Whitham integrable\n  hierarchies: We review recent work on the study of N=2 super Yang-Mills theory with gauge\ngroup SU(N) from the point of view of the Whitham hierarchy, mainly focusing on\nthree main results: (i) We develop a new recursive method to compute the whole\ninstanton expansion of the low-energy effective prepotential; (ii) We interpret\nthe slow times of the hierarchy as additional couplings and promote them to\nspurion superfields that softly break N=2 supersymmetry down to N=0 through\ndeformations associated to higher Casimir operators of the gauge group; (iii)\nWe show that the Seiberg-Witten-Whitham equations provide a set of non-trivial\nconstraints on the form of the strong coupling expansion in the vicinity of the\nmaximal singularities. We use them to check a proposal that we make for the\nvalue of the off-diagonal couplings at those points of the moduli space."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Intersecting 6-branes from new 7-manifolds with G_2 holonomy: We discuss a new family of metrics of 7-manifolds with G_2 holonomy, which\nare R^3 bundles over a quaternionic space. The metrics depend on five\nparameters and have two Abelian isometries. Certain singularities of the G_2\nmanifolds are related to fixed points of these isometries; there are two\ncombinations of Killing vectors that possess co-dimension four fixed points\nwhich yield upon compactification only intersecting D6-branes if one also\nidentifies two parameters. Two of the remaining parameters are quantized and we\nargue that they are related to the number of D6-branes, which appear in three\nstacks. We perform explicitly the reduction to the type IIA model.",
        "positive": "Probing the BTZ black hole with test fields: We introduce a set of scalar fields as test fields to study the dynamical\nbehaviors of the BTZ (Banados-Teitelboim-Zanelli) black hole. These include\nminimally coupled scalar, conformally coupled scalar, dilaton, and tachyon. To\ncalculate the decay rate of the BTZ black hole, we consider both the Dirichlet\nboundary condition at spatial infinity and the stability condition. It turns\nout that the tachyon may be a relevant field to get information of the BTZ\nblack hole."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantization of dilaton cosmology in two dimensions: The generalized kinetic term of a dilaton gives the classical superinflation\nwithout recourse to any potential, and the quantum version of the dilaton\ngravity exhibits the finite curvature and graceful exit. For $p=2$ case, the\nmodel corresponds to the RST quantization of the s-wave sector of the\nfour-dimensional Einstein cosmology. Further, the de Sitter universe is\nrealized for $p=8$ and the smooth transition to the Minkowski space-time is\npossible. Even in the accelerating contraction case of the universe for\n$-4<p<0$, the curvature singularity does not appear in a certain branch.",
        "positive": "Symmetries of WDVV equations: We say that a function F(tau) obeys WDVV equations, if for a given invertible\nsymmetric matrix eta^{alpha beta} and all tau \\in T \\subset R^n, the\nexpressions c^{alpha}_{beta gamma}(tau) = eta^{alpha lambda} c_{lambda beta\ngamma}(tau) = eta^{alpha lambda} \\partial_{lambda} \\partial_{beta}\n\\partial_{gamma} F can be considered as structure constants of commutative\nassociative algebra; the matrix eta_{alpha beta} inverse to \\eta^{\\alpha \\beta}\ndetermines an invariant scalar product on this algebra. A function x^{alpha}(z,\ntau) obeying \\partial_{alpha} \\partial_{beta} x^{gamma} (z, tau) = z^{-1}\nc^{varepsilon}_{alpha beta} \\partial_{epsilon} x^{gamma} (z, tau) is called a\ncalibration of a solution of WDVV equations. We show that there exists an\ninfinite-dimensional group acting on the space of calibrated solutions of WDVV\nequations (in different form such a group was constructed in [2]). We describe\nthe action of Lie algebra of this group."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Intermediate Scalars and the Effective String Model of Black Holes: We consider five-dimensional black holes modeled by D-strings bound to\nD5-branes, with momentum along the D-strings. We study the greybody factors for\nthe non-minimally coupled scalars which originate from the gravitons and R-R\nantisymmetric tensor particles polarized along the 5-brane, with one index\nalong the string and the other transverse to the string. These scalars, which\nwe call intermediate, couple to the black holes differently from the minimal\nand the fixed scalars which were studied previously. Analysis of their\nfluctuations around the black hole reveals a surprising mixing between these\nNS-NS and R-R scalars. We disentangle this mixing and obtain two decoupled\nscalar equations. These equations have some new features, and we are able to\ncalculate the greybody factors only in certain limits. The results agree with\ncorresponding calculations in the effective string model provided one of the\nintermediate scalars couples to an operator of dimension (1,2), while the other\nto an operator of dimension (2,1). Thus, the intermediate scalars are sensitive\nprobes of the chiral operators in the effective string action.",
        "positive": "A novel renormalizable representation of the Yang-Mills theory: For a generic gauge-invariant correlator <{\\cal Q}[A_{\\mu}]>_{A}, we\nreformulate the standard D=4 Yang-Mills theory as a renormalizable system of\ntwo interacting fields a_{\\mu} and B_{\\mu} which faithfully represent high- and\nlow-energy degrees of freedom of the single gauge field A_{\\mu} in the original\nformulation. It opens a possibility to synthesize an infrared-nonsingular\nweak-coupling series, employed to integrate over a_{\\mu} for a given background\nB_{\\mu}, with qualitatively different methods. These methods are to be applied\nto evaluate the resulting (after the a_{\\mu}-integration) representation of\n<{\\cal Q}[A_{\\mu}]>_{A} in terms of gauge-invariant generically non-local\nlow-energy observables, like Wilson loops. The latter observables are averaged\nover B_{\\mu} with respect to a gauge-invariant Wilsonean effective action\nS_{eff}[B]. To avoid a destructive dissipation between the high- and low-energy\nexcitations, we implement a specific fine-tuning of the interaction between the\npair of the fields: prior to the integration over B_{\\mu}, the expectation\nvalue <a_{\\mu}>_{a} vanishes, in the tree order of the loop-wise expansion, for\nan arbitrary configuration of B_{\\mu}."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Conformal Galilean-type algebras, massless particles and gravitation: After defining conformal Galilean-type algebras for arbitrary dynamical\nexponent $z$ we consider the particular cases of the conformal Galilei algebra\n(CGA) and the Schr\\\"odinger Lie algebra (sch). Galilei massless particles\nmoving with arbitrary, finite velocity are introduced \\begin{description}\n\\item{i)} in $d=2$ as a realization of the centrally extended CGA in 6\ndimensional phase space, \\item{ii)} in arbitrary spatial dimension $d$ as a\nrealization of the unextended \\it{sch} in 4d dimensional phase space.\n\\end{description} A particle system, minimally coupled to gravity, shows,\nbesides Galilei symmetry, also invariance with respect to arbitrary time\ndependent translations and to dilations with $z = (d +2)/3$. The most important\nphysical property of such a self-gravitating system is the appearance of a\ndynamically generated gravitational mass density of either sign. Therefore,\nthis property may serve as a model for the dark sector of the universe. The\ncosmological solutions of the corresponding hydrodynamical equations show a\ndeceleration phase for the early universe and an acceleration phase for the\nlate universe. This paper is based, in large part, on a recent work with W.J.\nZakrzewski: Can cosmic acceleration be caused by exotic massless particles?\narXiv:0904.1375 (astro-ph.CO) [1].",
        "positive": "Construction and clustering properties of the 2-d non-linear sigma-model\n  form factors: O(3), O(4), large n examples: Multi-particle form factors of local operators in integrable models in two\ndimensions seem to have the property that they factorize when one subset of the\nparticles in the external states are boosted by a large rapidity with respect\nto the others. This remarkable property, which goes under the name of form\nfactor clustering, was first observed by Smirnov in the O(3) non-linear\nsigma-model and has subsequently found useful applications in integrable models\nwithout internal symmetry structure. In this paper we conjecture the nature of\nform factor clustering for the general O(n) sigma-model and make some tests in\nleading orders of the 1/n expansion and for the special cases n=3,4."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Post-Classicism in Tree Amplitudes: This is a short and simple introduction into perturbiners, that is, the\nsolutions of field equations which are generating functions for tree\namplitudes. The perturbiners have been constructed in Yang-Mills, in SUSY\nYang-Mills, in gravity, and in sin(h)-Gordon.",
        "positive": "Cosmological constant in F(R) supergravity: A cosmological constant in the regime of low space-time curvature is\ncalculated in the recently proposed version of F(R) supergravity with a generic\ncubic function F. The F(R) supergravity is the N=1 supersymmetric extension of\nf(R) gravity. The cubic model is known to successfully describe a chaotic\n(slow-roll) inflation in the regime of high space-time curvature. We find that\na simple extension of the same model allows a positive cosmological constant in\nthe regime of low space-time curvature. The inflaton superfield in F(R)\nsupergravity (like inflaton in f(R) gravity) violates the Strong Energy\nCondition and thus breaks the restriction of the standard supergravity (with\nusual matter) that can only have either a negative or vanishing cosmological\nconstant."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Four-dimensional integration by parts with differential renormalization\n  as a method of evaluation of Feynman diagrams: It is shown how strictly four-dimensional integration by parts combined with\ndifferential renormalization and its infrared analogue can be applied for\ncalculation of Feynman diagrams.",
        "positive": "On the duality of three-dimensional superfield theories: Within the superfield approach, we consider the duality between the\nsupersymmetric Maxwell-Chern-Simons and self-dual theories in three spacetime\ndimensions. Using a gauge embedding method, we construct the dual theory to the\nself-dual model interacting with a matter superfield, which turns out to be not\nthe Maxwell-Chern-Simons theory coupled to matter, but a more complicated\nmodel, with a ``restricted'' gauge invariance. We stress the difficulties in\ndualizing the self-dual field coupled to matter into a theory with complete\ngauge invariance. After that, we show that the duality, achieved between these\ntwo models at the tree level, also holds up to the lowest order quantum\ncorrections."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "D=7 / D=6 Heterotic Supergravity with Gauged R-Symmetry: We construct a family of chiral anomaly-free supergravity theories in D=6\nstarting from D=7 supergravity with a gauged noncompact R-symmetry, employing a\nHorava-Witten bulk-plus-boundary construction. The gauged noncompact R-symmetry\nyields a positive (de Sitter sign) D=6 scalar field potential. Classical\nanomaly inflow which is needed to cancel boundary-field loop anomalies requires\ncareful consideration of the gravitational, gauge, mixed and local\nsupersymmetry anomalies. Coupling of boundary hypermultiplets requires care\nwith the Sp(1) gauge connection required to obtain quaternionic Kahler target\nmanifolds in D=6. This class of gauged R-symmetry models may be of use as\nstarting points for further compactifications to D=4 that take advantage of the\npositive scalar potential, such as those proposed in the scenario of\nsupersymmetry in large extra dimensions.",
        "positive": "Coleman-de Luccia reconsidered: a subtlety of gravity and the thin wall\n  approximation: I point out that the usual Coleman-de Luccia analysis of tunnelling via\ninstantons between perturbatively stable minima using the thin-wall\napproximation misses one of the effects of gravitational backreaction on the\non-shell action and hence the decay rate. Once this oversight is corrected, one\nfinds these decay rates are much larger than has been generally appreciated;\nincluding the effects of gravity potentials involving barriers which are\nrelatively high and not overly wide result in decays which are quite rapid\ninstead of slow. In the light of these results, it is no longer clear that one\nshould believe string theory predicts a wide class of cosmologically long-lived\nmetastable de Sitter vacua."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Absorption Cross Section in Warped AdS$_3$ Black Hole: The absorption cross section is studied in the low-frequency region for a\npropagating scalar field under the warped AdS$_3$ black hole background in the\ntopologically massive gravity. It can be shown that the absorption cross\nsection is significantly deformed by the gravitational Chern-Simons term, which\nis proportional to the scattering area of black hole with an additional\ncontribution depending on the left-moving and right-moving temperatures. It\nmeans that the cross section is larger than the area in spite of the s-wave\nlimit. Finally, we discuss the left-right quasinormal modes for the scalar\nperturbation in this black hole.",
        "positive": "On the Page curve under final state projection: The black hole singularity plays a crucial role in formulating Hawking's\ninformation paradox. The global spacetime analysis may be reconciled with\nunitarity by imposing a final state boundary condition on the spacelike\nsingularity. Motivated by the final state proposal, we explore the effect of\nfinal state projection in two dimensional conformal field theories. We\ncalculate the time evolution under postselection by employing the real part of\npseudo-entropy to estimate the amount of quantum entanglement averaged over\nhistories between the initial and final states. We find that this quantity\npossesses a Page curve-like behavior."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Structure of Holographic BCFT Correlators from Geodesics: We compute correlation functions, specifically 1-point and 2-point functions,\nin holographic boundary conformal field theory (BCFT) using geodesic\napproximation. The holographic model consists of a massive scalar field coupled\nto a Karch-Randall brane -- a rigid boundary in the bulk AdS space. Geodesic\napproximation requires the inclusion of paths reflecting off of this brane,\nwhich we show in detail. For the 1-point function, we find agreement between\ngeodesic approximation and the harder $\\Delta$-exact calculation, and we give a\nnovel derivation of boundary entropy using the result. For the 2-point\nfunction, we find a factorization phase transition and a mysterious set of\nanomalous boundary-localized BCFT operators. We also discuss some puzzles\nconcerning these operators.",
        "positive": "Compactification of M(atrix) theory on noncommutative toroidal orbifolds: It was shown by A. Connes, M. Douglas and A. Schwarz that noncommutative tori\narise naturally in consideration of toroidal compactifications of M(atrix)\ntheory. A similar analysis of toroidal Z_{2} orbifolds leads to the algebra\nB_{\\theta} that can be defined as a crossed product of noncommutative torus and\nthe group Z_{2}. Our paper is devoted to the study of projective modules over\nB_{\\theta} (Z_{2}-equivariant projective modules over a noncommutative torus).\nWe analyze the Morita equivalence (duality) for B_{\\theta} algebras working out\nthe two-dimensional case in detail."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Lagrangian quantum field theory in momentum picture. III. Free vector\n  fields: Free vector fields, satisfying the Lorenz condition, are investigated in\ndetails in the momentum picture of motion in Lagrangian quantum field theory.\nThe field equations are equivalently written in terms of creation and\nannihilation operators and on their base the commutation relations are derived.\nSome problems concerning the vacuum and state vectors of free vector field are\ndiscussed. Special attention is paid to peculiarities of the massless case; in\nparticular, the electromagnetic field is explored. Several Lagrangians,\ndescribing free vector fields, are considered and the basic consequences of\nthem are pointed and compared.",
        "positive": "Multiple Scattering Casimir Force Calculations: Layered and Corrugated\n  Materials, Wedges, and Casimir-Polder Forces: Various applications of the multiple scattering technique to calculating\nCasimir energy are described. These include the interaction between dilute\nbodies of various sizes and shapes, temperature dependence, interactions with\nmultilayered and corrugated bodies, and new examples of exactly solvable\nseparable bodies."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Functional BES equation: We give a realization of the Beisert, Eden and Staudacher equation for the\nplanar N=4 supersymetric gauge theory whichseems to be particularly useful to\nstudy the strong coupling limit. We use a linearized version of the BES\nequation as two coupled equations involving an auxiliary density function. We\nwrite these equations in terms of the resolvents and we transform them into to\na system of functional, instead of integral, equations. We solve the functional\nequations perturbatively in the strong coupling limit and reproduce the\nrecursive solution obtained by Basso, Korchemsky and Kotanski. The coefficients\nof the strong coupling expansion are fixed by the analyticity properties obeyed\nby the resolvents.",
        "positive": "Topological Cigar and the c=1 String : Open and Closed: We clarify some aspects of the map between the c=1 string theory at self-dual\nradius and the topologically twisted cigar at level one. We map the ZZ and FZZT\nD-branes in the c=1 string theory at self dual radius to the localized and\nextended branes in the topological theory on the cigar. We show that the open\nstring spectrum on the branes in the two theories are in correspondence with\neach other, and their two point correlators are equal. We also find a\nrepresentation of an extended N=2 algebra on the worldsheet which incorporates\nhigher spin currents in terms of asymptotic variables on the cigar."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Counting master integrals: Integration by parts vs. functional equations: We illustrate the usefulness of functional equations in establishing\nrelationships between master integrals under the integration-by-parts reduction\nprocedure by considering a certain two-loop propagator-type diagram as an\nexample.",
        "positive": "Topologically Massive Higher Spin Gravity: We look at the generalisation of topologically massive gravity (TMG) to\nhigher spins, specifically spin-3. We find a special \"chiral\" point for the\nspin-three, analogous to the spin-two example, which actually coincides with\nthe usual spin-two chiral point. But in contrast to usual TMG, there is the\npresence of a non-trivial trace and its logarithmic partner at the chiral\npoint. The trace modes carry energy opposite in sign to the traceless modes.\nThe logarithmic partner of the traceless mode carries negative energy\nindicating an instability at the chiral point. We make several comments on the\nasymptotic symmetry and its possible deformations at this chiral point and\nspeculate on the higher spin generalisation of LCFT2 dual to the spin-3 massive\ngravity at the chiral point."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exact solutions for some sigma models in quantum field theory: We invistigate exact solutions for the two-dimensional quantum field theories\ncalled Wess-Zumino-Novikov-Witten (WZNW) models. A WZNW model is a sigma model\nwhose classical fields are applications from a bidimensional space-time (a\nRiemann surface in the euclidian case) to a Lie group, the target space. We\nconstruct (and we compute in genus zero and one) the metric connection, called\nthe Knizhnik-Zamolodchikov-Bernard (KZB) connection, on the bundle of conformal\nblocks of the WZNW model. The KZB connection may be viewed as a quantization of\nHitchin integrable systems whose configuration space is the moduli space of\nprincipal holomorphic bundles over a Riemann surface and whose phase space is\nthe (holomorphic) cotangent bundle to the configuration space. For these\nsystems, we construct explicitly a complete familly of Hamiltonians in\ninvolution in genus zero, one and two, with (complex) group SL(2) for the last\ncase. The main result is the self-duality property of the Hitchin system at\ngenus two, that is the invariance of the Hamiltonians with respect to the\ninterchange of positions and momenta in the phase space. We finally realize the\n(geometric) quantization of the Hitchin systems.",
        "positive": "Th\u00e9orie de Liouville et gravitation quantique: du couplage faible au\n  couplage fort: The first chapters introduce briefly conformal theories, Moore and Seiberg\npolynomial equations and Gervais-Neveu quantization of Liouville theory. The\nnext chapters present the original results of this thesis. First, the algebra\nof the chiral components is completely elucidated, both in the Bloch wave and\nin the Quantum Group basis. Then, in the strong coupling regime, the proof of\nthe truncation theorem of Gervais to real weight operators for C = 7, 13, 19 is\ncompleted, especially including fractionnal spins. In this strong coupling\nregime, the new cosmological term yields a real string susceptibility equal to\nthe real part of the KPZ formula. And eventually the N-point functions of a\nstrongly coupled topological model are obtained."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Static intervortex forces: A point particle approximation to the classical dynamics of well separated\nvortices of the abelian Higgs model is developed. A static vortex is\nasymptotically identical to a solution of the linearized field theory (a\nKlein-Gordon/Proca theory) in the presence of a singular point source at the\nvortex centre. It is shown that this source is a composite scalar monopole and\nmagnetic dipole, and the respective charges are determined numerically for\nvarious values of the coupling constant. The interaction potential of two well\nseparated vortices is computed by calculating the interaction Lagrangian of two\nsuch point sources in the linear theory. The potential is used to model type II\nvortex scattering.",
        "positive": "Conformal Primary Basis for Dirac Spinors: We study solutions to the Dirac equation in Minkowski space\n$\\mathbb{R}^{1,d+1}$ that transform as $d$-dimensional conformal primary\nspinors under the Lorentz group $SO(1,d+1)$. Such solutions are parameterized\nby a point in $\\mathbb{R}^d$ and a conformal dimension $\\Delta$. The set of\nwavefunctions that belong to the principal continuous series, $\\Delta\n=\\frac{d}2 + i\\nu$, with $\\nu\\geq 0$ and $\\nu \\in \\mathbb{R}$ in the massive\nand massless cases, respectively, form a complete basis of delta-function\nnormalizable solutions of the Dirac equation. In the massless case, the\nconformal primary wavefunctions are related to the wavefunctions in momentum\nspace by a Mellin transform."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Conifold dynamics and axion monodromies: It has recently been appreciated that the conifold modulus plays an important\nrole in string-phenomenological set-ups involving warped throats, both by\nimposing constraints on model building and for obtaining a 10-dimensional\npicture of SUSY-breaking. In this note, we point out that the stability of the\nconifold modulus furthermore prevents large super- Planckian axion monodromy\nfield ranges caused by brane-flux decay processes down warped throats. Our\nfindings imply a significant challenge for concrete string theory embeddings of\nthe inflationary flux-unwinding scenario.",
        "positive": "AdS-inspired noncommutative gravity on the Moyal plane: We consider noncommutative gravity on a space with canonical noncommutativity\nthat is based on the commutative MacDowell-Mansouri action. Gravity is treated\nas gauge theory of the noncommutative $SO(1,3)_\\star$ group and the\nSeiberg-Witten (SW) map is used to express noncommutative fields in terms of\nthe corresponding commutative fields. In the commutative limit the\nnoncommutative action reduces to the Einstein-Hilbert action plus the\ncosmological term and the topological Gauss-Bonnet term. After the SW expansion\nin the noncommutative parameter the first order correction to the action, as\nexpected, vanishes. We calculate the second order correction and write it in a\nmanifestly gauge covariant way."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Subtleties in QCD theory in Two Dimensions: It is shown that in a formulation of Yang-Mills theory in two dimensions in\nterms of $A=if^{-1}\\pa f$, $\\bar A=i\\bar f\\bpa\\bar f^{-1}$ with $f(z,\\bar z)$,\n$\\bar f(z,\\bar z)\\in[SU(N_C)]^c$ the complexification of $SU(N_C)$ , reveals\ncertain subtleties. ``Physical\" massive color singlet states seem to exist.\nWhen coupled to $N_F$ quarks the coupling constant is renormalized in such a\nway that it vanishes for the pure Yang- Mills case. This renders the above\nstates massless and unphysical. In the abelian case, on the other hand, the\nknown results of the Schwinger model are reproduced with no need of such a\nrenormalization.\n  The massless $QCD_2$ theory is analyzed in similar terms and peculiar massive\nstates appear, with a mass of $e_c\\sqrt {N_F \\over 2\\pi}$.",
        "positive": "Hamiltonian Thermodynamics of Charged Black Holes: We consider the most general diffeomorphism invariant action in 1+1 spacetime\ndimensions that contains a metric, dilaton and Abelian gauge field, and has at\nmost second derivatives of the fields. Our action contains a topological term\n(linear in the Abelian field strength) that has not been considered in previous\nwork. We impose boundary conditions appropriate for a charged black hole\nconfined to a region bounded by a surface of fixed dilaton field and\ntemperature. By making some simplifying assumptions about the quantum theory,\nthe Hamiltonian partition function is obtained. This partition function is\nanalyzed in some detail for the Reissner-Nordstrom black hole and for the\nrotating BTZ black hole."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Moduli Stabilization and Inflation Using Wrapped Branes: We demonstrate that a gas of wrapped branes in the early Universe can help\nresolve the cosmological Dine-Seiberg/Brustein-Steinhardt overshoot problem in\nthe context of moduli stabilization with steep potentials in string theory.\nStarting from this mechanism, we propose a cosmological model with a natural\nsetting in the context of an early phase dominated by brane and string gases.\nThe Universe inflates at early times due to the presence of a wrapped two brane\n(domain wall) gas and all moduli are stabilized. A natural graceful exit from\nthe inflationary regime is achieved. However, the basic model suffers from a\ngeneralized domain wall/reheating problem and cannot generate a scale invariant\nspectrum of fluctuations without additional physics. Several suggestions are\npresented to address these issues.",
        "positive": "Classical thermodynamics of gravitational collapse: We study numerically gravitational collapse of a spherically symmetric\ninstanton particle in five dimensions. We show that the late stages of the\nprocess are characterized by a nearly constant ``free energy'', the value of\nwhich matches (within numerical uncertainties) the value obtained from standard\nblack-hole thermodynamics. This suggests a purely classical interpretation of\nthe free energy of a black hole."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Squashing Gravity Dual of N=6 Superconformal Chern-Simons Gauge Theory: Four-dimensional field equations are determined for perturbations of the\nquotient seven-sphere size and squashing parameter in eleven-dimensional\nsupergravity. The quotient seven-sphere is a S^1-bundle over the CP^3 which is\nregarded as a S^2-fibration over the base S^4. By analyzing the AdS_4\nsupergravity scalar potential, the holographic supersymmetric(or\nnonsupersymmetric) renormalization group(RG) flow from N=1(or N=0) SO(5) x\nU(1)-invariant UV fixed point to N=6(or N=0) SU(4)_R x U(1)-invariant IR fixed\npoint is obtained. The three-dimensional boundary theories are described by\nsuperconformal Chern-Simons matter theories and a dual operator corresponding\nto this RG flow is described.",
        "positive": "Lorentz-symmetry Violation and Electrically Charged Vortices in the\n  Planar Regime: We start from a Lorentz non-invariant Abelian-Higgs model in 1+3 dimensions,\nand carry out its dimensional reduction to $D=1+2$. The planar model resulting\nthereof is composed by a Maxwell-Chern-Simons-Proca gauge sector, a massive\nscalar sector, and a mixing term (involving the fixed background, $v^{\\mu}$)\nthat realizes Lorentz violation for the reduced model. Vortex-type solutions of\nthe planar model are investigated,revealing charged vortex configurations that\nrecover the usual Nielsen-Olesen configuration in the asymptotic regime. The\nAharonov-Casher Effect in layered superconductors, that shows interference of\nneutral particles with a magnetic moment moving around a line charge, is also\nstudied. Our charged vortex solutions exhibit a screened electric field that\ninduces the same phase shift as the one caused by the charged wire."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A (0,2) mirror duality: We construct a class of exactly solved (0,2) heterotic compactifications,\nsimilar to the (2,2) models constructed by Gepner. We identify these as special\npoints in moduli spaces containing geometric limits described by non-linear\nsigma models on complete intersection Calabi-Yau spaces in toric varieties,\nequipped with a bundle whose rank is strictly greater than that of the tangent\nbundle. These moduli spaces do not in general contain a locus exhibiting (2,2)\nsupersymmetry. A quotient procedure at the exactly solved point realizes the\nmirror isomorphism, as was the case for Gepner models. We find a geometric\ninterpretation of the mirror duality in the context of hybrid models.",
        "positive": "Non-Holomorphic Cycles and Non-BPS Black Branes: We study extremal non-BPS black holes and strings arising in M-theory\ncompactifications on Calabi-Yau threefolds, obtained by wrapping M2 branes on\nnon-holomorphic 2-cycles and M5 branes on non-holomorphic 4-cycles. Using the\nattractor mechanism we compute the black hole mass and black string tension,\nleading to a conjectural formula for the asymptotic volumes of connected,\nlocally volume-minimizing representatives of non-holomorphic, even-dimensional\nhomology classes in the threefold, without knowledge of an explicit metric. In\nthe case of divisors we find examples where the volume of the representative\ncorresponding to the black string is less than the volume of the minimal\npiecewise-holomorphic representative, predicting recombination for those\nhomology classes and leading to stable, non-BPS strings. We also compute the\ncentral charges of non-BPS strings in F-theory via a near-horizon $AdS_3$ limit\nin 6d which, upon compactification on a circle, account for the asymptotic\nentropy of extremal non-supersymmetric 5d black holes (i.e., the asymptotic\ncount of non-holomorphic minimal 2-cycles)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Memory effect in Yang-Mills theory: We study the empirical realisation of the memory effect in Yang-Mills theory,\nespecially in view of the classical vs. quantum nature of the theory. Gauge\ninvariant analysis of memory in classical U(1) electrodynamics and its\nobservation by total change of transverse momentum of a charge is reviewed.\nGauge fixing leads to a determination of a gauge transformation at infinity. An\nexample of Yang-Mills memory then is obtained by reinterpreting known results\non interactions of a quark and a large high energy nucleus in the theory of\nColor Glass Condensate. The memory signal is again a kick in transverse\nmomentum, but it is only obtained in quantum theory after fixing the gauge,\nafter summing over an ensemble of classical processes.",
        "positive": "Matrix Models on Large Graphs: We consider the spherical limit of multi-matrix models on regular target\ngraphs, for instance single or multiple Potts models, or lattices of arbitrary\ndimension. We show, to all orders in the low temperature expansion, that when\nthe degree of the target graph $\\Delta\\to\\infty$, the free energy becomes\nindependent of the target graph, up to simple transformations of the matter\ncoupling constant. Furthermore, this universal free energy contains\ncontributions only from those surfaces which are made up of ``baby universes''\nglued together into trees, all non-universal and non-tree contributions being\nsuppressed by inverse powers of $\\Delta$. Each order of the free energy is put\ninto a simple, algebraic form."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Relativistic particle interaction with a weak electromagnetic field: Schrodinger equation with two-component wave function which describes a\nrelativistic spin 1/2 particle in a weak electromagnetic field is obtained. In\nthe same approximation Schrodinger equation with traditional norm condition and\none-component wave function for a spinless particle is obtained as well. To\nconstruct it Foldy-Wouthuysen procedure with the electron charge value as the\nsmall parameter is used.",
        "positive": "Gravitational Coleman-Weinberg Potential and It's Finite Temperature\n  Counterpart: Coleman-Weinberg (CW) phenomena for the case of gravitons minimally coupled\nto massless scalar field is studied. The one loop effect completely vanishes if\nthere is no self interaction term present in the matter sector. The one loop\neffective potential is shown to develop an instability in the form of acquiring\nan imaginary part, which can be traced to the tachyonic pole in the graviton\npropagator. The finite temperature counterpart of this CW potential is computed\nto study the behaviour of the potential in the high and low temperature regimes\nwith respect to the typical energy scale of the theory. Finite temperature\ncontribution to the imaginary part of gravitational CW potential exhibits a\ndamped oscillatory behaviour; all thermal effects are damped out as the\ntemperature vanishes, consistent with the zero-temperature result. Possibility\nof symmetry restoration at high temperature is also depicted."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the effective action of the vacuum photon splitting in Lorentz\n  violating QED through Krein space: The finding of an explicit effective action describing amplitude of photon\ntriple splitting is investigated through Krein space quantization and quantum\nmetric fluctuation. Using the derivative expansion method, the one-loop\nradiative corrections from Lorentz- and CPT- violating extended Krein QED shows\nthat it is not possible to find a nonzero effective action.",
        "positive": "D-Branes as Unstable Lumps in Bosonic Open String Field Theory: We construct Dp-branes in bosonic string theory as unstable lumps in a\ntruncated string field theory of open strings on a D25-brane. We find that the\nlowest level truncation gives good quantitative agreement with the predicted\nD-brane tension and low-lying spectrum of the D-brane for sufficiently large p\nand study the effect of the next level corrections for p=24. We show that a\nU(1) gauge field zero mode on the D-brane arises through a mechanism\nreminiscent of the Randall-Sundrum mechanism for gravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Critical Theories of the Dissipative Hofstadter Model: It has recently been shown that the dissipative Hofstadter model (dissipative\nquantum mechanics of an electron subject to uniform magnetic field and periodic\npotential in two dimensions) exhibits critical behavior on a network of lines\nin the dissipation/magnetic field plane. Apart from their obvious condensed\nmatter interest, the corresponding critical theories represent non-trivial\nsolutions of open string field theory, and a detailed account of their\nproperties would be interesting from several points of view. A subject of\nparticular interest is the dependence of physical quantities on the magnetic\nfield since it, much like $\\theta_{\\rm QCD}$, serves only to give relative\nphases to different sectors of the partition sum. In this paper we report the\nresults of an initial investigation of the free energy, $N$-point functions and\nboundary state of this type of critical theory. Although our primary goal is\nthe study of the magnetic field dependence of these quantities, we will present\nsome new results which bear on the zero magnetic field case as well.",
        "positive": "Two-dimensional SCFTs from wrapped branes and c-extremization: We apply c-extremization, whose proof we review in full detail, to study\ntwo-dimensional N=(0,2) superconformal field theories arising from the\nlow-energy dynamics of D3-branes wrapped on Riemann surfaces and M5-branes\nwrapped on four-manifolds. We compute the exact central charges of these\ntheories using anomalies and c-extremization. In all cases we also construct\nAdS_3 supergravity solutions of type IIB and eleven-dimensional supergravity,\nwhich are holographic duals to the field theories at large N, and exactly\nreproduce the central charges computed via c-extremization."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Simulations of a supersymmetry inspired model on a fuzzy sphere: We present a numerical study of a two dimensional model of the Wess-Zumino\ntype. We formulate this model on a sphere, where the fields are expanded in\nspherical harmonics. The sphere becomes fuzzy by a truncation in the angular\nmomenta. This leads to a finite set of degrees of freedom without explicitly\nbreaking the space symmetries. The corresponding field theory is expressed in\nterms of a matrix model, which can be simulated. We present first numerical\nresults for the phase structure of a variant of this model on a fuzzy sphere.\nThe prospect to restore exact supersymmetry in certain limits is under\ninvestigation.",
        "positive": "Quantum kinetic theory of a massless scalar model in the presence of a\n  Schwarzschild black hole: We employ quantum kinetic theory to investigate local quantum physics in the\nbackground of spherically symmetric and neutral black holes formed through the\ngravitational collapse. For this purpose in mind, we derive and study the\ncovariant Wigner distribution function $\\mathcal{W}(x,p)$ near to and far away\nfrom the black-hole horizon. We find that the local density of the particle\nnumber is negative in the near-horizon region, while the entropy density is\nimaginary. These pose a question whether kinetic theory is applicable in the\nnear-horizon region. We elaborate on that and propose a possible interpretation\nof how this result might nevertheless be self-consistently understood."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Induced fermionic current densities by magnetic flux in higher\n  dimensional cosmic string spacetime: In this paper we analyse the vacuum fluctuations of quantum fermionic current\ndensities, $<j^A(x)>$, induced by a magnetic flux running along the core of the\nconical space produced by the presence of cosmic string, in a\n$(1+d)-$dimensional bulk, for $2\\leq d\\leq 5$. In order to develop this\ninvestigation we construct an expression for the fermionic propagator, which\ncan be applied for those different dimensions of the spacetime. Two specific\nanalysis for the induced current densities are presented: $(i)$ for massless\nfields in three and four dimensions, and $(ii)$ for massive fields in all\ndimensions considered. In the latter specific values for the parameters which\ncodify the presence of the cosmic string and the fractional part of the ratio\nof the magnetic flux by the quantum one are considered. Although being a very\nspecial situation and somewhat unnatural, the corresponding analysis of induced\nfermionic current densities under this circumstance may shed light on the\nqualitative behavior of these quantities in a more general situation.",
        "positive": "A complete analysis of linear cosmological perturbations in\n  Ho\u0159ava-Lifshitz gravity: We investigate the linear cosmological perturbations in Ho\\v{r}ava-Lifshitz\ngravity with a scalar field. Starting from the most general expressions of the\nmetric perturbations as well as that of a canonical scalar field, we decompose\nthe scalar, vector and tensor parts of the perturbed action. By reducing the\nHamiltonian, we find that there are two independent degrees of freedom for the\ntensor perturbations while none for the vector perturbations. For the scalar\nperturbations, the remaining number of degrees of freedom, which are all gauge\ninvariant, depends on whether the projectable condition is applied or not. For\nboth cases, we lose the time reparametrization symmetry of any kind."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Emergent dual holographic description as a non-perturbative\n  generalization of the Wilsonian renormalization group: In holographic duality, dynamics along the emergent extra-dimensional space\ndescribes a renormalization group (RG) flow of the corresponding quantum field\ntheory (QFT). Following this idea, we develop an emergent holographic\ndescription of a QFT, where not only the information of the RG flow is\nintroduced into an IR holographic dual effective field theory (HDEFT), but also\nthe UV information of the QFT is encoded in the HDEFT through the IR boundary\ncondition. In particular, we argue that this dual holographic construction is\nself-consistent within the assumption of bulk locality, showing the following\ntwo aspects: The solution of the Hamilton-Jacobi equation is given by the IR\nboundary effective action, and the Ward identity involving the QFT\nenergy-momentum tensor current is satisfied naturally. We discuss the role of\nthe RG $\\beta$-function in the bulk effective dynamics of the metric tensor\nnear a conformally invariant fixed point. We claim that this emergent dual\ngravity theory generalizes the perturbative Wilsonian RG framework into a\nnon-perturbative way.",
        "positive": "Regular and Irregular Boundary Conditions in the AdS/CFT Correspondence: We expand on Klebanov and Witten's recent proposal for formulating the\nAdS/CFT correspondence using irregular boundary conditions. The proposal is\nshown to be correct to any order in perturbation theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Mirror Maps and Instanton Sums for Complete Intersections in Weighted\n  Projective Space: We consider a class of Calabi-Yau compactifications which are constructed as\na complete intersection in weighted projective space. For manifolds with one\nK\\\"ahler modulus we construct the mirror manifolds and calculate the instanton\nsum.",
        "positive": "Isometric Embedding of BPS Branes in Flat Spaces with Two Times: We show how non-near horizon p-brane theories can be obtained from two\nembedding constraints in a flat higher dimensional space with 2 time\ndirections. In particular this includes the construction of D3 branes from a\nflat 12-dimensional action, and M2 and M5 branes from 13 dimensions. The\nworldvolume actions are determined by constant forms in the higher dimension,\nreduced to the usual expressions by Lagrange multipliers. The formulation\naffords insight in the global aspects of the spacetime geometries and makes\ncontact with recent work on two-time physics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The algebraic structure behind the derivative nonlinear Schroedinger\n  equation: The Kaup-Newell (KN) hierarchy contains the derivative nonlinear Schr\\\"\nodinger equation (DNLSE) amongst others interesting and important nonlinear\nintegrable equations. In this paper, a general higher grading affine algebraic\nconstruction of integrable hierarchies is proposed and the KN hierarchy is\nestablished in terms of a $\\hat{s\\ell}_2$ Kac-Moody algebra and principal\ngradation. In this form, our spectral problem is linear in the spectral\nparameter. The positive and negative flows are derived, showing that some\ninteresting physical models arise from the same algebraic structure. For\ninstance, the DNLSE is obtained as the second positive, while the Mikhailov\nmodel as the first negative flows, respectively. The equivalence between the\nlatter and the massive Thirring model is explicitly demonstrated also. The\nalgebraic dressing method is employed to construct soliton solutions in a\nsystematic manner for all members of the hierarchy. Finally, the equivalence of\nthe spectral problem introduced in this paper with the usual one, which is\nquadratic in the spectral parameter, is achieved by setting a particular\nautomorphism of the affine algebra, which maps the homogeneous into principal\ngradation.",
        "positive": "The Quaternionic Dirac Lagrangian: We discuss the use of the variational principle within quaternionic quantum\nmechanics. This is non-trivial because of the non commutative nature of\nquaternions. We derive the Dirac Lagrangian density corresponding to the\ntwo-component Dirac equation. This Lagrangian is complex projected as\nanticipated in previous articles and this feature is necessary even for a\nclassical real Lagrangian."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Trans-Planckian Issue in the Milne Universe: The ``trans-Planckian'' challenge in cosmology appears when we trace the\npresent physical wavelengths of fluctuations backwards in time. They become\nsmaller and smaller until crossing the Planck scale where conventional QFT is\nchallenged, so that unknown ultraviolet physics may be traced in the observable\ncosmological fluctuations. Usually this issue is addressed in the inflationary\ncontext, but trans-Planckian reasoning is much broader. We examine this logic\nin a simple example of scalar quantum field theory in the expanding and\ncontracting Milne universes, where wavelengths of the eigenmodes are red- or\nblue-shifted. Trans-Planckian modifications of QFT should result in a\nUV-dependent VeV of the energy momentum tensor of a scalar field in the Milne\nuniverse. On the other hand, the Milne universe is another coordinate systems\nof flat Minkowski space-time, and the covariant energy momentum tensor should\nbe the same (but vacuum-dependent) in different coordinates of flat space time.\nWe explicitly demonstrate that in conventional QFT the energy momentum tensor,\nchoosing the adiabatic vacuum, is identical to zero in Minkowski coordinates,\nand remains zero in the contracting Milne universe (due to non-trivial\ncancellations of contributions from particles which appear in the accelerating\nframe and from vacuum polarization there). In contrast to this, the\ntrans-Planckian modification of the energy momentum tensor is not motivated. We\nprovide a similar argument for the expanding Milne universe, where the energy\nmomentum tensor in the conformal vacuum is non-zero. Similar arguments are\napplicable for other cosmological models where the curvature is much lower than\nPlanckian which leads to conflicts with trans-Planckian considerations.",
        "positive": "Position-dependent mass, finite-gap systems, and supersymmetry: The ordering problem in quantum systems with position-dependent mass (PDM) is\ntreated by inclusion of the classically fictitious similarity transformation\ninto the kinetic term. This provides a generation of supersymmetry with the\nfirst order supercharges from the kinetic term alone, while inclusion of the\npotential term allows also to generate nonlinear supersymmetry with higher\norder supercharges. A broad class of finite-gap systems with PDM is obtained by\ndifferent reduction procedures, and general results on supersymmetry generation\nare applied to them. We show that elliptic finite-gap systems of Lame and\nDarboux-Treibich-Verdier types can be obtained by reduction to Seiffert's\nspherical spiral and Bernoulli lemniscate in the presence of Calogero-like or\nharmonic oscillator potentials, or by angular momentum reduction of a free\nmotion on some AdS_2-related surfaces in the presence of Aharonov-Bohm flux.\nThe limiting cases include the Higgs and Mathews-Lakshmanan oscillator models\nas well as a reflectionless model with PDM exploited recently in the discussion\nof cosmological inflationary scenarios."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Kink scattering in a generalized Wess-Zumino model: In this paper, kink scattering in the dimensional reduction of the bosonic\nsector of a one-parameter family of generalized Wess-Zumino models with three\nvacuum points is discussed. The value of the model parameter determines the\nspecific location of the vacua. The influence of the vacuum arrangements\n(evolving from three collinear vacua to three vacua placed at the vertices of\nan equilateral triangle) on the kink scattering is investigated. Two different\nregimes can be distinguished: in the first one, two symmetric BPS\nkinks/antikinks arise whereas in the second one a new different BPS\nkink/antikink emerges, with the exception of a three-fold rotational symmetry\ncase, where the three topological defects are identical. The scattering between\nthe two symmetric kinks is thoroughly analyzed. Two different scattering\nchannels have been found: kink-kink reflection and kink-kink hybridization. In\nthe last case, the collision between the two symmetric kinks gives rise to the\nthird different kink. Resonance phenomena also appear allowing a vibrating kink\nto split into two symmetric kinks moving away.",
        "positive": "Relevant deformations and c-extremization: We consider RG flows obtained by a relevant deformation from unitary and\ncompact two-dimensional (0,2) SCFTs. We point out that an N=2 super-Kac-Moody\nalgebra present in the UV is preserved by the flow and does not mix with the\nR-current. On the other hand, a direct sum of N=2 algebras in the UV theory\nleads to a few complications in determining the IR R-symmetry; nevertheless, in\nflows without accidental IR symmetries, we determine the IR R-symmetry and show\nthat it maximizes the IR central charge."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Effective Field Theory of Cosmological Perturbations: The effective field theory of cosmological perturbations stems from\nconsidering a cosmological background solution as a state displaying\nspontaneous breaking of time translations and (adiabatic) perturbations as the\nrelated Nambu-Goldstone modes. With this insight, one can systematically\ndevelop a theory for the cosmological perturbations during inflation and, with\nminor modifications, also describe in full generality the gravitational\ninteractions of dark energy, which are relevant for late-time cosmology. The\nformalism displays a unique set of Lagrangian operators containing an\nincreasing number of cosmological perturbations and derivatives. We give an\nintroductory description of the unitary gauge formalism for theories with\nbroken gauge symmetry---that allows to write down the most general\nLagrangian---and of the Stueckelberg \"trick\"---that allows to recover gauge\ninvariance and to make the scalar field explicit. We show how to apply this\nformalism to gravity and cosmology and we reproduce the detailed analysis of\nthe action in the ADM variables. We also review some basic applications to\ninflation and dark energy.",
        "positive": "Impacts of non-geometric moduli on effective theory of 5D supergravity: 5D supergravity generically has non-geometric moduli other than the radion\nthat belong to 5D vector multiplets. We summarize the impacts of such moduli on\n4D effective theory of 5D supergravity on S^1/Z_2. We mainly discuss the\nstructure of the effective Kahler potential including the one-loop quantum\ncorrections. As an illustrative example, we construct a model in which the size\nof the extra dimension is stabilized at an exponentially large value compared\nto the Planck length, which is similar to the LARGE volume scenario in string\ntheory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Revision of the brick wall method for calculating the black hole\n  thermodynamic quantities: Within the framework of the \"brick wall model\", a novel method is developed\nto compute the contributions of a scalar field to the thermodynamic quantities\nof black holes. The relations between (transverse) momenta and frequencies in\nRindler space are determined numerically with high accuracy and analytically\nwith an accuracy of better than 10 % and are compared with the corresponding\nquantities in Minkowski space. In conflict with earlier results, the\nthermodynamic properties of black holes turn out to be those of a low\ntemperature system. The resulting discrepancy for partition function and\nentropy by two orders of magnitude is analyzed in detail. In the final part we\ncarry out the analogous studies for scalar fields in de Sitter space and\nthereby confirm that our method applies also to the important case of\nspherically symmetric spaces.",
        "positive": "Group-theoretic relations for amplitudes in gauge theories with\n  orthogonal and symplectic groups: It is important to find nontrivial constraint relations for color-ordered\namplitudes in gauge theories. In the past several years, a pure group-theoretic\niterative method has been proposed to derive linear constraints on\ncolor-ordered amplitudes in SU(N) gauge theories. In this paper, we use the\nsame method to derive linear constraints on four-point gluon amplitudes in\nSO(N) and Sp(2N) gauge theories. These constraints are derived up to four-loop\norder. It is found that there are $n=1,6,10,13,16$ constraint relations at\n$L=0,1,2,3,4$ loop orders in both SO(N) and Sp(2N) cases. Correspondingly, the\nnumbers of independent four-point color-ordered amplitudes are $2,3, 5, 8, 11$\nat $L=0,1,2,3,4$ loop orders in both theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Four-Loop Collinear Anomalous Dimension in N = 4 Yang-Mills Theory: We report a calculation in N = 4 Yang-Mills of the four-loop term g^4 in the\ncollinear anomalous dimension g(lambda) which governs the universal subleading\ninfrared structure of gluon scattering amplitudes. Using the method of\nobstructions to extract this quantity from the 1/epsilon singularity in the\nfour-gluon iterative relation at four loops, we find g^4 = -1240.9 with an\nestimated numerical uncertainty of 0.02%. We also analyze the implication of\nour result for the strong coupling behavior of g(lambda), finding support for\nthe string theory prediction computed recently by Alday and Maldacena using\nAdS/CFT.",
        "positive": "The redshift in Hubble's constant: A generalisation to electrodynamics and Yang-Mills theory is presented that\npermits computation of the speed of light. The model presented herewithin\nindicates that the speed of light in vacuo is not a universal constant. This\nmay be relevant to the current debate in astronomy over large values of the\nHubble constant obtained through the use of the latest generation of ground and\nspace-based telescopes. An experiment is proposed based on Compton scattering\nto measure deviations in the speed of light."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "STRINGS IN COSMOLOGICAL SPACETIMES AND THEIR BACK-REACTION: This is a short review on strings in curved spacetimes. We start by recalling\nthe classical and quantum string behaviour in singular plane waves backgrounds.\nWe then report on the string behaviour in cosmological spacetimes (FRW, de\nSitter, power inflation) which is by now largerly understood. Recent progress\non self-consistent solutions to the Einstein equations for string dominated\nuniverses is reviewed. The energy-momentum tensor for a gas of strings is\nconsidered as source of the spacetime geometry. The string equation of state is\ndetermined from the behaviour of the explicit string solutions. This yields a\nself-consistent cosmological solution exhibiting realistic matter dominated\nbehaviour $ R \\sim (T)^{2/3}\\; $ for large times and radiation dominated\nbehaviour $ R \\sim (T)^{1/2}\\; $ for early times. Inflation in the string\ntheory context is discussed.",
        "positive": "Classical space-time geometry in the IKKT matrix model: We discuss the reconstruction of generic 3+1-dimensional space-time\ngeometries from covariant quantum spaces as backgrounds in the IKKT matrix\nmodel. An explicit recipe to realize generic classical geometries is provided.\nEven though this typically entails some higher-spin contributions, these do not\nsignificantly modify the physical content of the model in the weak gravity\nregime. This justifies the framework for emergent gravity given by the\nsemi-classical matrix model, supplemented by an induced Einstein-Hilbert action\nwhich arises in the presence of fuzzy extra dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Continuous Series of Critical Points of the Two-Matrix Model at N ->\n  infinity in the Double Scaling Limit: The critical points of the continuous series are characterized by two complex\nnumbers l_1,l_2 (Re(l_1,l_2)< 0), and a natural number n (n>=3) which enters\nthe string susceptibility constant through gamma = -2/(n-1). The critical\npotentials are analytic functions with a convergence radius depending on l_1 or\nl_2. We use the orthogonal polynomial method and solve the Schwinger-Dyson\nequations with a technique borrowed from conformal field theory.",
        "positive": "Topological String on Toric CY3s in Large Complex Structure Limit: We develop a non planar topological vertex formalism and we use it to study\nthe A-model partition function $\\mathcal{Z}_{top}$ of topological string on the\nclass of toric Calabi-Yau threefolds (CY3) in large complex structure limit. To\nthat purpose, we first consider the $T^{2}\\times R$ special Lagrangian\nfibration of generic CY3-folds and we give the realization of the class of\nlarge $\\mu $ toric CY3-folds in terms of supersymmetric gauged linear sigma\nmodel with \\emph{non zero} gauge invariant superpotentials $% \\mathcal{W}(\\Phi\n) $. Then, we focus on a one complex parameter supersymmetric $U(1) $ gauged\nmodel involving six chiral superfields ${\\Phi_{i}}$ with $\\mathcal{W}=\\mu\n(\\prod\\nolimits_{i=0}^{5}\\Phi_{i}) $ and we use it to compute the function\n$\\mathcal{Z}_{top}$ for the case of the local elliptic curve in the limit $\\mu\n\\to \\infty $."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Comments on D-branes on general group manifolds: We investigate D-branes with maximal symmetry on general group manifolds in\nterms of boundary states and effective actions. We show that in large $k$ limit\nboundary states with an suitable Wilson line form boundary states of the other\ntypes of D-branes, extending the known fact in SU(2) case. We also show that\nfluctuation mass spectrum around D-brane solutions of the effective action\nagrees with that of boundary CFT in large $k$ limit.",
        "positive": "Modified Einstein equations from the 1-loop effective action of the IKKT\n  model: We derive the equations of motion that arise from the one-loop effective\naction for the geometry of 3+1 dimensional quantum branes in the IKKT matrix\nmodel. These equations are cast into the form of generalized Einstein\nequations, with extra contributions from dilaton and axionic fields, as well as\na novel anharmonicity tensor C_{\\mu\\nu} capturing the classical Yang-Mills-type\naction. The resulting gravity theory approximately reduces to general\nrelativity in some regime, but differs significantly at cosmic scales, leading\nto an asymptotically flat FLWR cosmological evolution governed by the classical\naction."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exact Effective Superpotential for SO(N_c) Gauge Theory with $N_f$\n  Flavors: Motivated by the duality conjecture of Dijkgraaf and Vafa between\nsupersymmetric gauge theories and matrix models, we derive the effective\nsuperpotential of N=1 supersymmetric gauge theory with gauge group SO(N_c) and\narbitrary tree-level polynomial superpotential of one chiral superfield in the\nadjoint representation and $N_f$ fundamental matter multiplets.",
        "positive": "Radiation from a D-dimensional collision of shock waves: a remarkably\n  simple fit formula: Recently, in arXiv:1105.2298 [hep-th], we have estimated the energy radiated\nin the head-on collision of two equal D-dimensional Aichelburg-Sexl shock\nwaves, for even D, by solving perturbatively, to first order, the Einstein\nequations in the future of the collision. Here, we report on the solution for\nthe odd D case. After finding the wave forms, we extract the estimated radiated\nenergy for D=5,7,9 and 11 and unveil a remarkably simple pattern, given the\ncomplexity of the framework: (for all D) the estimated fraction of radiated\nenergy matches the analytic expression 1/2-1/D, within the numerical error\n(less than 0.1%). Both this fit and the apparent horizon bound converge to 1/2\nas D goes to infinity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The lagrangian description of representations of the Poincare group: The construction of lagrangians describing the various representations of the\nPoincare group is given in terms of the BRST approach.",
        "positive": "The large D Membrane Paradigm For Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet Gravity: We find the equations of motion of membranes dual to the black holes in\nEinstein-Gauss-Bonnet (EGB) gravity to leading order in 1/D in the large D\nregime. We also find the metric solutions to the EGB equations to first\nsubleading order in 1/D in terms of membrane variables. We propose a world\nvolume stress tensor for the membrane whose conservation equations are\nequivalent to the leading order membrane equations. We also work out the light\nquasi-normal mode spectrum of static black holes in EGB gravity from the\nlinearised fluctuations of static, round membranes. Also, the effective\nequations for stationary black holes and the spectrum of linearised spectrum\nabout black string configurations has been obtained using the membrane equation\nfor EGB gravity.All our results are worked out to linear order in the\nGauss-Bonnet parameter."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Junctions and the Fate of Branes in External Fields: We discuss the processes of brane bubble nucleation induced by the external\nbranes. The quasiclassical solution for the nucleation by the single external\nbrane has been found in the case when the brane junctions are possible.\nExponential factor in the production rate has been calculated. The process\ninduced by the fundamental or D string in the background of two D3 branes is\nanalyzed and its interpretation from the D3 worldvolume theory viewpoint is\ndescribed.",
        "positive": "Dynamical symmetries of generalized Taub-NUT and multi-center metrics: Hidden symmetries of generalized Kaluza-Klein-type metrics are studied using\nvan Holten's systematic analysis \\cite{vH} based on Killing tensors. Applied to\ngeneralized Taub-NUT metrics, Kepler-type symmetries with associated\nRunge-Lenz-type conserved quantities are constructed. In the multicenter case,\nthe subclass of two-center metrics gives rise to a conserved Runge-Lenz-type\nscalar, while no Kepler-type constant of the motion does exist for non aligned\n$(N\\geq3)$-centers. We also investigated the diatomic molecule system of\nWilczek et al. where \"truly\" non-Abelian gauge fields mimicking monopole-like\nfields arised. From the latter system we deduced a new conserved charge."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Direct solution of the hard pomeron problem for arbitrary conformal\n  weight: A new method is applied to solve the Baxter equation for the one dimensional\nsystem of noncompact spins. Dynamics of such an ensemble is equivalent to that\nof a set of reggeized gluons exchanged in the high energy limit of QCD\namplitudes. The technique offers more insight into the old calculation of the\nintercept of hard Pomeron, and provides new results in the odderon channel.",
        "positive": "Q-branes: Non-topological solitons (Q-balls) are discussed in some stringy settings.\nOur main result is that the dielectric D-brane system of Myers admits\nnon-abelian Q-ball solutions on their world-volume, in which $N$ D$p$-branes\nrelax to the standard dielectric form outside the Q-ball, but assume a more\ndiffuse configuration at its centre. We also consider how Q-balls behave in the\nbulk of extra-dimensional theories, or on wrapped branes. We demonstrate that\nthey carry Kaluza-Klein charge and possess a corresponding Kaluza-Klein tower\nof states just as normal particles, and we discuss surface energy effects by\nfinding exact Q-ball solutions in models with a specific logarithmic potential."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hidden Symmetries and Dirac Fermions: In this paper, two things are done. First, we analyze the compatibility of\nDirac fermions with the hidden duality symmetries which appear in the toroidal\ncompactification of gravitational theories down to three spacetime dimensions.\nWe show that the Pauli couplings to the p-forms can be adjusted, for all simple\n(split) groups, so that the fermions transform in a representation of the\nmaximal compact subgroup of the duality group G in three dimensions. Second, we\ninvestigate how the Dirac fermions fit in the conjectured hidden overextended\nsymmetry G++. We show compatibility with this symmetry up to the same level as\nin the pure bosonic case. We also investigate the BKL behaviour of the\nEinstein-Dirac-p-form systems and provide a group theoretical interpretation of\nthe Belinskii-Khalatnikov result that the Dirac field removes chaos.",
        "positive": "Wess-Zumino-Witten Model for Galilean Conformal Algebra: In this note, we construct a Wess-Zumino-Witten model based on the Galilean\nconformal algebra in 2-spacetime dimensions, which is a nonrelativistic\nanalogue of the relativistic conformal algebra. We obtain exact background\ncorresponding to \\sigma-models in six dimensions (the dimension of the group\nmanifold) and a central charge c=6. We carry out a Sugawara type construction\nto verify the conformal invariance of the model. Further, we discuss the\nfeasibility of the background obtained as a physical spacetime metric."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Quench in $c=1$ Matrix Model and Emergent Space-times: We consider quantum quench in large-N singlet sector quantum mechanics of a\nsingle hermitian matrix in the double scaling limit. The time dependent\nparameter is the self-coupling of the matrix. We find exact classical solutions\nof the collective field theory of eigenvalue density with abrupt smooth quench\nprofiles which asymptote to constant couplings at early and late times, and the\nsystem is initially in its ground state. With adiabatic initial conditions we\nfind that adiabaticity is always broken regardless of the quench speed. In a\nclass of quench profiles the saddle point solution for the collective field\ndiverges at a finite time, and a further time evolution becomes ambiguous.\nHowever the underlying matrix model expressed in terms of fermions predict a\nsmooth time evolution across this point. By studying fluctuations around the\nsaddle point solution we interpret the emergent space-times. They generically\nhave spacelike boundaries where the couplings of the fluctuations diverge. Only\nfor very finely tuned quench profiles, the space-time is normal.",
        "positive": "Hairy black holes in cubic quasi-topological gravity: We construct a class of five dimensional black hole solutions to cubic\nquasi-topological gravity with conformal scalar hair and study their\nthermodynamics. We find these black holes provide the second example of black\nhole $\\lambda$-lines: a line of second order (continuous) phase transitions,\nakin to the fluid/superfluid transition of $^4$He. Examples of isolated\ncritical points are found for spherical black holes, marking the first in the\nliterature to date. We also find various novel and interesting phase\nstructures, including an isolated critical point occurring in conjunction with\na double reentrant phase transition. The AdS vacua of the theory are studied,\nfinding ghost-free configurations where the scalar field takes on a non-zero\nconstant value, in notable contrast to the five dimensional Lovelock case."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetric Backgrounds, the Killing Superalgebra, and Generalised\n  Special Holonomy: We prove that, for M theory or type II, generic Minkowski flux backgrounds\npreserving $\\mathcal{N}$ supersymmetries in dimensions $D\\geq4$ correspond\nprecisely to integrable generalised $G_{\\mathcal{N}}$ structures, where\n$G_{\\mathcal{N}}$ is the generalised structure group defined by the Killing\nspinors. In other words, they are the analogues of special holonomy manifolds\nin $E_{d(d)} \\times\\mathbb{R}^+$ generalised geometry. In establishing this\nresult, we introduce the Kosmann-Dorfman bracket, a generalisation of Kosmann's\nLie derivative of spinors. This allows us to write down the internal sector of\nthe Killing superalgebra, which takes a rather simple form and whose closure is\nthe key step in proving the main result. In addition, we find that the\neleven-dimensional Killing superalgebra of these backgrounds is necessarily the\nsupertranslational part of the $\\mathcal{N}$-extended super-Poincar\\'e algebra.",
        "positive": "Free-fall in a uniform gravitational field in non-commutative quantum\n  mechanics: We study the free-fall of a quantum particle in the context of noncommutative\nquantum mechanics (NCQM). Assuming noncommutativity of the canonical type\nbetween the coordinates of a two-dimensional configuration space, we consider a\nneutral particle trapped in a gravitational well and exactly solve the energy\neigenvalue problem. By resorting to experimental data from the GRANIT\nexperiment, in which the first energy levels of freely falling quantum\nultracold neutrons were determined, we impose an upper-bound on the\nnoncommutativity parameter. We also investigate the time of flight of a quantum\nparticle moving in a uniform gravitational field in NCQM. This is related to\nthe weak equivalence principle. As we consider stationary, energy eigenstates,\ni.e., delocalized states, the time of flight must be measured by a quantum\nclock, suitably coupled to the particle. By considering the clock as a small\nperturbation, we solve the (stationary) scattering problem associated and show\nthat the time of flight is equal to the classical result, when the measurement\nis made far from the turning point. This result is interpreted as an extension\nof the equivalence principle to the realm of NCQM."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Ultraviolet complete dark energy model: We consider a local phenomenological model to explain a non-local gravity\nscenario which has been proposed to address dark energy issues. This non-local\ngravity action has been seen to fit the data as well as $\\Lambda$-CDM and\ntherefore demands a more fundamental local treatment. The induced gravity model\ncoupled with higher-derivative gravity is exploited for this proposal, as this\nperturbatively renormalizable model has a well-defined ultraviolet (UV)\ndescription where ghosts are evaded. We consider a generalised version of this\nmodel where we consider two coupled scalar fields and their non-minimal\ncoupling with gravity. In this simple model, one of the scalar field acquires a\nVacuum Expectation Value (VEV), thereby inducing a mass for one of the scalar\nfields and generating Newton's constant. The induced mass however is seen to be\nalways above the running energy scale thereby leading to its decoupling. The\nresidual theory after decoupling becomes a platform for driving the accelerated\nexpansion under certain conditions. Integrating out the residual scalar\ngenerates a non-local gravity action. The leading term of which is the\nnon-local gravity action used to fit the data of dark energy.",
        "positive": "Deconfining phase transition in the 3D Georgi-Glashow model with finite\n  Higgs-boson mass: The (2+1)D Georgi-Glashow model is explored at finite temperature in the\nregime when the Higgs boson is not infinitely heavy. The resulting\nHiggs-mediated interaction of monopoles leads to the appearance of a certain\nupper bound for the parameter of the weak-coupling approximation. Namely, when\nthis bound is exceeded, the cumulant expansion used for the average over the\nHiggs field breaks down. The finite-temperature deconfining phase transition\nwith the account for the same Higgs-mediated interaction of monopoles is\nfurther analysed. It is demonstrated that in the general case, accounting for\nthis interaction leads to the existence of two distinct phase transitions\nseparated by the temperature region where W-bosons exist in both, molecular and\nplasma, phases. The dependence of possible ranges of the critical temperatures\ncorresponding to these phase transitions on the parameters of the\nGeorgi-Glashow model is discussed. The difference in the RG behaviour of the\nfugacity of W-bosons from the respective behaviour of this quantity in the\ncompact-QED limit of the model is finally pointed out."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The curvature of branes, currents and gravity in matrix models: The curvature of brane solutions in Yang-Mills matrix models is expressed in\nterms of conserved currents associated with global symmetries of the model.\nThis implies a relation between the Ricci tensor and the energy-momentum tensor\ndue to the basic matrix model action, without invoking an Einstein-Hilbert\nterm. The coupling is governed by the extrinsic curvature of the brane\nembedding, which arises naturally for compactified brane solutions. The\neffective gravity on the brane is thereby related to the compactification\nmoduli, and protected from quantum corrections due to the relation with global\nsymmetries.",
        "positive": "D-Branes, Moduli and Supersymmetry: We study toroidal compactifications of Type II string theory with D-branes\nand nontrivial antisymmetric tensor moduli and show that turning on these\nfields modifies the supersymmetry projections imposed by D-branes. These\nmodifications are seen to be necessary for the consistency of T-duality. We\nalso show the existence of unusual BPS configurations of branes at angles that\nare supersymmetric because of conspiracies between moduli fields. Analysis of\nthe problem from the point of view of the effective field theory of massless\nmodes shows that the presence of a 2-form background must modify the\nrealization of supersymmetry on the brane. In particular, the appropriate\nsupersymmetry variation of the physical gaugino vanishes in any constant field\nstrength background. These considerations are relevant for the $E_7$-symmetric\ncounting of states of 4-dimensional black holes in Type II string theory\ncompactified on $T^6$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Vacuum polarization by a composite topological defect: In this paper we analyze one-loop quantum effects of a scalar field induced\nby a composite topological defect consisting a cosmic string on a p-dimensional\nbrane and a (m+1)-dimensional global monopole in the transverse extra\ndimensions. The corresponding Green function is presented as a sum of two\nterms. The first one corresponds to the bulk where the cosmic string is absent\nand the second one is induced by the presence of the string. For the points\naway from the cores of the topological defects the latter is finite in the\ncoincidence limit and is used for the evaluation of the vacuum expectation\nvalues of the field square and energy-momentum tensor.",
        "positive": "Gauge/string duality applied to heavy ion collisions: Limitations,\n  insights and prospects: Over the last decade a fruitful interplay has developed between analyses of\nstrongly coupled non-abelian plasmas via the gauge/string duality and the\nphenomenology of the quark-gluon plasma created in heavy ion collisions. I\nreview the reasons why the gauge/string duality is not a precision tool for QCD\nphysics at present, with emphasis on conceptual issues. I then argue that,\nnevertheless, the duality can provide valuable insights at both the quantitive\nand the qualitative level. I illustrate this with a few examples, and conclude\nwith a brief discussion of future prospects."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum folded string and integrability: from finite size effects to\n  Konishi dimension: Using the algebraic curve approach we one-loop quantize the folded string\nsolution for the type IIB superstring in AdS(5)xS(5). We obtain an explicit\nresult valid for arbitrary values of its Lorentz spin S and R-charge J in terms\nof integrals of elliptic functions. Then we consider the limit S ~ J ~ 1 and\nderive the leading three coefficients of strong coupling expansion of short\noperators. Notably, our result evaluated for the anomalous dimension of the\nKonishi state gives 2\\lambda^{1/4}-4+2/\\lambda^{1/4}. This reproduces correctly\nthe values predicted numerically in arXiv:0906.4240. Furthermore we compare our\nresult using some new numerical data from the Y-system for another similar\nstate. We also revisited some of the large S computations using our methods. In\nparticular, we derive finite--size corrections to the anomalous dimension of\noperators with small J in this limit.",
        "positive": "Point-Like Structure in Strings and Non-Commutative Geometry: Dynamics of a free point particle on a multi world-line is presented and\nshown to reduce to that of a bosonic string theory at the appropriate limit.\nOther higher dimensional extended objects are argued to appear at other regions\nof the space of configurations of the theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spontaneous Lorentz Breaking at High Energies: Theories that spontaneously break Lorentz invariance also violate\ndiffeomorphism symmetries, implying the existence of extra degrees of freedom\nand modifications of gravity. In the minimal model (``ghost condensation'')\nwith only a single extra degree of freedom at low energies, the scale of\nLorentz violation cannot be larger than about M ~ 100GeV due to an infrared\ninstability in the gravity sector. We show that Lorentz symmetry can be broken\nat much higher scales in a non-minimal theory with additional degrees of\nfreedom, in particular if Lorentz symmetry is broken by the vacuum expectation\nvalue of a vector field. This theory can be constructed by gauging ghost\ncondensation, giving a systematic effective field theory description that\nallows us to estimate the size of all physical effects. We show that nonlinear\neffects become important for gravitational fields with strength \\sqrt{\\Phi} >\ng, where g is the gauge coupling, and we argue that the nonlinear dynamics is\nfree from singularities. We then analyze the phenomenology of the model,\nincluding nonlinear dynamics and velocity-dependent effects. The strongest\nbounds on the gravitational sector come from either black hole accretion or\ndirection-dependent gravitational forces, and imply that the scale of\nspontaneous Lorentz breaking is M < Min(10^{12}GeV, g^2 10^{15}GeV). If the\nLorentz breaking sector couples directly to matter, there is a spin-dependent\ninverse-square law force, which has a different angular dependence from the\nforce mediated by the ghost condensate, providing a distinctive signature for\nthis class of models.",
        "positive": "Conformal Contact Terms and Semi-Local Terms: We study conformal properties of local terms such as contact terms and\nsemi-local terms in correlation functions of a conformal field theory. Not all\nof them are universal observables but they do appear in physically important\ncorrelation functions such as (anomalous) Ward-Takahashi identities or\nSchwinger-Dynson equations. We develop some tools such as embedding space delta\nfunctions and effective action to examine conformal invariance of these local\nterms."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Two Dimensional Yang-Mills, Black Holes and Topological Strings: We show that topological strings on a class of non-compact Calabi-Yau\nthreefolds is equivalent to two dimensional bosonic U(N) Yang-Mills on a torus.\nWe explain this correspondence using the recent results on the equivalence of\nthe partition function of topological strings and that of four dimensional BPS\nblack holes, which in turn is holographically dual to the field theory on a\nbrane. The partition function of the field theory on the brane reduces, for the\nground state sector, to that of 2d Yang-Mills theory. We conjecture that the\nlarge N chiral factorization of the 2d U(N) Yang-Mills partition function\nreflects the existence of two boundaries of the classical AdS_2 geometry, with\none chiral sector associated to each boundary; moreover the lack of\nfactorization at finite N is related to the transformation of the vacuum state\nof black hole from a pure state at all orders in 1/N to a state which appears\nmixed at finite N (due to O(e^{-N}) effects).",
        "positive": "A Note on Soft Factors for Closed String Scattering: In this note, it is shown that closed string graviton scattering amplitudes\nobey the same subleading soft limit as field theory graviton scattering\namplitudes. The result is derived using a combination of recent results and\nmethods including the subleading soft expansion for type I open string gluon\ndisk scattering amplitudes, the single value projection for multiple $\\zeta$\nvalues, and the KLT relations in field and string theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "N=4 superconformal mechanics in the pp-wave limit: We constructed the pp-wave limit of N=4 superconformal mechanics with the\noff-shell $({\\bf 3,4,1})$ multiplet. We present the superfield and the\ncomponent actions which exhibit the interesting property that the interaction\nparts are completely fixed by the symmetry. We also explicitly demonstrate that\nthe passing to the pp-wave limit can be achieved by keeping at most quadratic\nnonlinearities in the action of (super)conformal mechanics.",
        "positive": "Localized nonabelian anomalies at orbifold fixed points: Orbifold compactifications of 10D heterotic strings do allow different sets\nof chiral fermions at different fixed points. Even if the effective 4D theory\nis anomaly free by including the bulk fermions, there arise abelian and\nnonabelian fixed point anomalies from these chiral fermions. As the underlying\nstring theory is well defined these localized fixed point anomalies of the\nchiral fermions are to be cancelled by a variant of the Green-Schwarz\nmechanism."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "BCFT One-point Functions of Coulomb Branch Operators: We show that supersymmetry can be used to compute the BCFT one-point function\ncoefficients for chiral primary operators, in 4d $\\mathcal{N}=2$ SCFTs with\n$\\frac{1}{2}$-BPS boundary conditions. The main ingredient is the hemisphere\npartition function, with the boundary condition on the equatorial $S^3$. A\nsupersymmetric Ward identity relates derivatives with respect to the chiral\ncoupling constants to the insertion of the primaries at the pole of the\nhemisphere. Exact results for the one-point functions can be then obtained in\nterms of the localization matrix model. We discuss in detail the example of the\nsuper Maxwell theory in the bulk, interacting with 3d $\\mathcal{N}=2$ SCFTs on\nthe boundary. In particular we derive the action of the SL(2,$\\mathbb{Z}$)\nduality on the one-point functions.",
        "positive": "Non-Gaussian Fluctuation Dynamics: Recent progress of a general deterministic approach to the non-Gaussian\nfluctuation dynamics is reviewed, with an emphasis on the derivation of the\nfluctuation evolution equations and their phenomenological implication in\nheavy-ion collision experiments."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Noncommutative spacetime effect on the slow-roll period of inflation: We study how the noncommutative spacetime affects on inflation. First we\nobtain the noncommutative power spectrum of the curvature perturbations\nproduced during inflation in the slow-roll approximation. This is the explicit\n$k$-dependent power spectrum up to first order in slow-roll parameters\n$\\epsilon_1 \\delta_1$ including the noncommutative parameter $\\mu$. In order to\ntest the role of $\\mu$ further, we calculate the noncommutative power spectrum\nusing the slow-roll expansion. We find corrections which arise from the change\nof pivot scale and a noncommutative parameter with $\\mu\\not=$ constant. It\nturns out that the noncommutative parameter $\\mu$ could be considered as a\nzeroth order slow-roll parameter and the noncommutative spacetime effect\nsuppresses the power spectrum.",
        "positive": "Riccion as a Cosmic Cold Dark Matter Candidate and late cosmic\n  acceleration: In the past few years, a possibility is investigated, where curvature itself\nbehaves as a source of dark energy. So, it is natural to think whether\ncurvature can produce dark matter too. It is found that, at classical level,\nhigher-derivative gravity yields curvature inspired particles namely riccions\n[11]. Here, it is probed whether riccion can be a possible source of dark\nmatter. Further, it is found that the late universe accelerates. Here, it is\ninteresting to see that acceleration is obtained from curvature without using\nany dark energy source of exotic matter."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Yang-Baxter $\u03c3$-models, conformal twists, and noncommutative\n  Yang-Mills theory: The Yang-Baxter $\\sigma$-model is a systematic way to generate integrable\ndeformations of AdS$_5\\times$S$^5$. We recast the deformations as seen by open\nstrings, where the metric is undeformed AdS$_5\\times$S$^5$ with constant string\ncoupling, and all information about the deformation is encoded in the\nnoncommutative (NC) parameter $\\Theta$. We identify the deformations of AdS$_5$\nas twists of the conformal algebra, thus explaining the noncommutativity. We\nshow that the unimodularity conditon on $r$-matrices for supergravity solutions\ntranslates into $\\Theta$ being divergence-free. Integrability of the\n$\\sigma$-model for unimodular $r$-matrices implies the existence and planar\nintegrability of the dual NC gauge theory.",
        "positive": "Effective Fluid FLRW Cosmologies of Minimal Massive Gravity: By using a solution ansatz we partially decouple the metric and the\nStuckelberg sectors of the minimal massive gravity (MMGR). In this scheme for a\ndiagonal physical metric we find the general solutions for the scalars of the\ntheory and the particular fiducial (background) metric which leads to these\nsolutions. Then we adopt this general formalism to construct the derivation of\nnew Friedmann-Lemaitre-Robertson-Walker (FLRW) cosmologies of the theory in the\npresence of a so-called effective ideal fluid which arises from our solution\nansatz as a modifying, non-physical source for the Einstein and the\ncorresponding Friedmann equations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Cubic constraints for the resolvents of the ABJM matrix model and its\n  cousins: A set of Schwinger-Dyson equations forming constraints for at most three\nresolvent functions are considered for a class of Chern-Simons matter matrix\nmodels with two nodes labelled by a non-vanishing number $n$. The two cases\n$n=2$ and $n= -2$ label respectively the ABJM matrix model, which is the\nhyperbolic lift of the affine $A_1^{(1)}$ quiver matrix model, and the lens\nspace matrix model. In the planar limit, we derive two cubic loop equations for\nthe two planar resolvents. One of these reduces to the quadratic one when $n =\n\\pm 2$.",
        "positive": "Boundary states, matrix factorisations and correlation functions for the\n  E-models: The open string spectra of the B-type D-branes of the N=2 E-models are\ncalculated. Using these results we match the boundary states to the matrix\nfactorisations of the corresponding Landau-Ginzburg models. The identification\nallows us to calculate specific terms in the effective brane superpotential of\nE_6 using conformal field theory methods, thereby enabling us to test results\nrecently obtained in this context."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the finite dimensional quantum group M_3 + (M_{2|1}(Lambda^2))_0: We describe a few properties of the non semi-simple associative algebra H =\nM_3 + (M_{2|1}(Lambda2))_0, where Lambda2 is the Grassmann algebra with two\ngenerators. We show that H is not only a finite dimensional algebra but also a\n(non co-commutative) Hopf algebra, hence a finite dimensional quantum group. By\nselecting a system of explicit generators, we show how it is related with the\nquantum enveloping algebra of SLq(2) when the parameter q is a cubic root of\nunity. We describe its indecomposable projective representations as well as the\nirreducible ones. We also comment about the relation between this object and\nthe theory of modular representations of the group SL(2,F3), i.e. the binary\ntetrahedral group. Finally, we briefly discuss its relation with the Lorentz\ngroup and, as already suggested by A.Connes, make a few comments about the\npossible use of this algebra in a modification of the Standard Model of\nparticle physics (the unitary group of the semi-simple algebra associated with\nH is U(3) x U(2) x U(1)).",
        "positive": "Charged black strings in 5D Kaluza-Klein spacetime: We present a short review on the electric and magnetic black strings in 5D\nspacetime with one compact dimension. Linear static perturbations of these\nobjects indicate presence of the threshold unstable mode. Analysis of the mode\nshows that the electric black string is less stable than a neutral one. The\nsituation is opposite for the magnetic black string."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "All orders renormalizability of a Lorentz and CPT violating quantum\n  electrodynamics: Renormalizability of the (minimal) single-fermion QED extension is\ninvestigated at all orders of perturbation theory in the framework of algebraic\nrenormalization, a regularization-independent method. Relative to the standard\nQED, new structures that could lead to gauge anomalies are identified.\nNevertheless, even if the anomaly coefficients fail to vanish in the general\ncase, they shall be absent provided we require invariance of the action under C\nand/or PT transformations. Stability is also verified in this case, hence full\nrenormalizability is attained.",
        "positive": "Recurrence Relations for Finite-Temperature Correlators via\n  AdS$_{2}$/CFT$_{1}$: This note is aimed at presenting a new algebraic approach to momentum-space\ncorrelators in conformal field theory. As an illustration we present a new\nLie-algebraic method to compute frequency-space two-point functions for charged\nscalar operators of CFT$_{1}$ dual to AdS$_{2}$ black hole with constant\nbackground electric field. Our method is based on the real-time prescription of\nAdS/CFT correspondence, Euclideanization of AdS$_{2}$ black hole and projective\nunitary representations of the Lie algebra $\\mathfrak{sl}(2,\\mathbb{R}) \\oplus\n\\mathfrak{sl}(2,\\mathbb{R})$. We derive novel recurrence relations for\nEuclidean CFT$_{1}$ two-point functions, which are exactly solvable and\ncompletely determine the frequency- and charge-dependences of two-point\nfunctions. Wick-rotating back to Lorentzian signature, we obtain retarded and\nadvanced CFT$_{1}$ two-point functions that are consistent with the known\nresults."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "High Energy Behaviour in Maximally Supersymmetric Gauge Theories in\n  Various Dimensions: Maximally supersymmetric field theories in various dimensions are believed to\npossess special properties due to extended supersymmetry. In four dimensions\nthey are free from UV divergences but are IR divergent on shell, in higher\ndimensions, on the contrary, they are IR finite but UV divergent. In what\nfollows we consider the four-point on-shell scattering amplitudes in D=6,8,10\nsupersymmetric Yang-Mills theory in the planar limit within the spinor-helicity\nand on shell supersymmetric formalism. We study the UV divergences and\ndemonstrate how one can sum them over all orders of PT. Analyzing the\nR-operation we obtain the recursive relations and derive differential equations\nthat sum all leading, subleading, etc., divergences in all loops generalizing\nthe standard RG formalism for the case of nonrenormalizable interactions. We\nthen perform the renormalization procedure which differs from the ordinary one\nin that the renormalization constant becomes the operator depending on\nkinematics. Solving the obtained RG equations for particular sets of diagrams\nanalytically and for the general case numerically, we analyze their high energy\nbehaviour and find out that while each term of PT increases as a power of\nenergy the total sum behaves differently: in D=6 two partial amplitudes\ndecrease with energy and the third one increases exponentially, while in D=8\nand 10 the amplitudes possess an infinite number of periodic poles at finite\nenergy.",
        "positive": "On Feynman's Approach to the Foundations of Gauge Theory: In 1948, Feynman showed Dyson how the Lorentz force and Maxwell equations\ncould be derived from commutation relations coordinates and velocities. Several\nauthors noted that the derived equations are not Lorentz covariant and so are\nnot the standard Maxwell theory. In particular, Hojman and Shepley proved that\nthe existence of commutation relations is a strong assumption, sufficient to\ndetermine the corresponding action, which for Feynman's derivation is of\nNewtonian form. Tanimura generalized Feynman's derivation to a Lorentz\ncovariant form, however, this derivation does not lead to the standard Maxwell\ntheory either. Tanimura's force equation depends on a fifth ({\\it scalar})\nelectromagnetic potential, and the invariant evolution parameter cannot be\nconsistently identified with the proper time of the particle motion. Moreover,\nthe derivation cannot be made reparameterization invariant; the scalar\npotential causes violations of the mass-shell constraint which this invariance\nshould guarantee. In this paper, we examine Tanimura's derivation in the\nframework of the proper time method in relativistic mechanics, and use the\ntechnique of Hojman and Shepley to study the unconstrained commutation\nrelations. We show that Tanimura's result then corresponds to the\nfive-dimensional electromagnetic theory previously derived from a\nStueckelberg-type quantum theory in which one gauges the invariant parameter in\nthe proper time method. This theory provides the final step in Feynman's\nprogram of deriving the Maxwell theory from commutation relations; the Maxwell\ntheory emerges as the ``correlation limit'' of a more general gauge theory, in\nwhich it is properly contained."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Massive spin-2 theories: We give an introduction to massive spin-2 theories and the problem of their\nnon-linear completion. We review the Boulware-Deser ghost problem and two ways\nto circumvent classic no-go theorems. In turn, massive spin-2 theories are not\nuniquely defined. In the case of truncated theories, we show that the\nBoulware-Deser ghost may only be avoided if the derivative structure of the\ntheory is not tuned to be Einsteinian.",
        "positive": "General Estimate for the Graviton Lifetime: By means of general kinematical arguments, the lifetime $\\tau$ of a graviton\nof energy $E$ for decay into gravitons is found to have the form $\\tau^{-1} =\n\\frac{1}{EG} \\sum_{j=1,2,...} c_j (\\Lambda G)^j$. Some recent, preliminary\nresults of non perturbative simplicial quantum gravity are then employed to\nestimate the effective values of $G$ and $\\Lambda G$. It turns out that a short\nlifetime of the graviton cannot be excluded."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A mystery of black-hole gravitational resonances: More than three decades ago, Detweiler provided an analytical formula for the\ngravitational resonant frequencies of rapidly-rotating Kerr black holes. In the\npresent work we shall discuss an important discrepancy between the famous {\\it\nanalytical} prediction of Detweiler and the recent {\\it numerical} results of\nZimmerman et. al. In addition, we shall refute the claim that recently appeared\nin the physics literature that the Detweiler-Teukolsky-Press resonance equation\nfor the characteristic gravitational eigenfrequencies of rapidly-rotating Kerr\nblack holes is not valid in the regime of damped quasinormal resonances with\n$\\Im\\omega/T_{\\text{BH}}\\gg1$ (here $\\omega$ and $T_{\\text{BH}}$ are\nrespectively the characteristic quasinormal resonant frequency of the Kerr\nblack hole and its Bekenstein-Hawking temperature). The main goal of the\npresent paper is to highlight and expose this important {\\it black-hole\nquasinormal mystery} (that is, the intriguing discrepancy between the\nanalytical and numerical results regarding the gravitational quasinormal\nresonance spectra of rapidly-rotating Kerr black holes).",
        "positive": "Logarithmic Corrections to Twisted Indices from the Quantum Entropy\n  Function: We compute logarithmic corrections to the twisted index $B^g_6$ in\nfour-dimensional $\\mathcal{N}=4$ and $\\mathcal{N}=8$ string theories using the\nframework of the Quantum Entropy Function. We find that these vanish, matching\nperfectly with the large--charge expansion of the corresponding microscopic\nexpressions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Current algebra and exotic statistics in 6 dimensions: By studying ordinary chiral fermions in background gauge fields we show that\nin the case of gauge group SU(3) and space-time dimension 5+1 localized\nsolitons obey $q-$ commutation relations with $q$ not equal to $\\pm 1$ but a\nthird root of unity.",
        "positive": "Generic matter representations in 6D supergravity theories: In six-dimensional supergravity, there is a natural sense in which matter\nlying in certain representations of the gauge group is \"generic,\" in the sense\nthat other \"exotic\" matter representations require more fine tuning. From\nconsiderations of the dimensionality of the moduli space and anomaly\ncancellation conditions, we find that the generic sets of matter\nrepresentations are well-defined for 6D supergravity theories with gauge groups\ncontaining arbitrary numbers of nonabelian factors and $\\operatorname{U}(1)$\nfactors. These generic matter representations also match with those that arise\nin the most generic F-theory constructions, both in 6D and in 4D, with\nnon-generic matter representations requiring more exotic singularity types. The\nanalysis of generic versus exotic matter illuminates long-standing puzzles\nregarding F-theory models with multiple $\\operatorname{U}(1)$ factors and\nprovides a useful framework for analyzing the 6D \"swampland\" of apparently\nconsistent low-energy theories that cannot be realized through known string\nconstructions. We note also that the matter content of the standard model is\ngeneric by the criteria used here only if the global structure is\n$\\operatorname{SU}(3)_\\text{c} \\times \\operatorname{SU}(2)_\\text{L} \\times\n\\operatorname{U}(1)_Y / \\mathbb{Z}_6$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A nonlocal theory of fermion mixing: We study a nonlocal generalization of two flavor fermion mixing and compute\nthe transition probability by means of the path integral formalism. In our\ntreatment, we delocalize only the mixing term, and consider a perturbative\ninteraction with a small mixing angle. The oscillation formula derived reduces\nto the correct local form when the appropriate limit is considered. We apply\nour formalism to some string-inspired delocalization kernels and discuss the\nphenomenological deviations from the local theory.",
        "positive": "Modular invariance and nonrenormalizable interactions: We examine the modular properties of nonrenormalizable superpotential terms\nin string theory and show that the requirement of modular invariance\nnecessitates the nonvanishing of certain Nth order nonrenormalizable terms. In\na class of models (free fermionic formulation) we explicitly verify that the\nnontrivial structure imposed by the modular invariance is indeed present.\nAlternatively, we argue that after proper field redefinition, nonrenormalizable\nterms can be recast as to display their invariance under the modular group. We\nalso discuss the phenomenological implications of the above observations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "D-brane Instantons in 4D Supersymmetric String Vacua: We review some aspects of D-instantons in intersecting D-brane models. In\nparticular, we present applications of the recently proposed instanton calculus\nto computations of charged matter superpotential couplings and corrections to\nthe gauge kinetic function in the low energy effective action of type IIA\norientifolds. As an interesting byway, we also discuss how one-loop corrections\nto the gauge kinetic function can be deduced from gauge threshold corrections\nin the type IIA setting.",
        "positive": "A Stringy Effect on Hawking Radiation: In string theories, interactions are exponentially suppressed for\ntrans-Planckian space-like external momenta. We study a class of quantum field\ntheories that exhibit this feature modeled after Witten's bosonic open string\nfield theory, and discover a Lorentz-invariant UV/IR relation that leads to the\nspacetime uncertainty principle proposed by Yoneya. Application to a dynamical\nblack hole background suggests that Hawking radiation is turned off around the\nscrambling time."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Comment on ``Casimir force in compact non-commutative extra dimensions\n  and radius stabilization'': We call attention to a series of mistakes in a paper by S. Nam [JHEP 10\n(2000) 044, hep-th/0008083].",
        "positive": "Pure Gauge Configurations and Solutions to Fermionic Superstring Field\n  Theories Equations of Motion: Recent results on solutions to the equation of motion of the cubic fermionic\nstring field theory and an equivalence of non-polynomial and cubic string field\ntheories are discussed. To have a possibility to deal with both GSO(+) and\nGSO(-) sectors in the uniform way a matrix formulation for the NS fermionic SFT\nis used. In constructions of analytical solutions to open string field theories\ntruncated pure gauge configurations parameterized by wedge states play an\nessential role. The matrix form of this parametrization for the NS fermionic\nSFT is presented. Using the cubic open superstring field theory as an example\nwe demonstrate explicitly that for the large parameter of the perturbation\nexpansion these truncated pure gauge configurations give divergent\ncontributions to the equation of motion on the subspace of the wedge states.\nThe perturbation expansion is cured by adding extra terms that are nothing but\nthe terms necessary for the equation of motion contracted with the solution\nitself to be satisfied."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Unitary toy qubit transport model for black hole evaporation: In a recent paper Osuga and Page have presented an explicitly unitary toy\nqubit transport model for transferring information from a black hole to the\noutgoing radiation. Following their idea we propose a unitary toy model which\ninvolves (fermionic) Hawking states.",
        "positive": "Dependence of the critical temperature and disorder in holographic\n  superconductors on superfluid density: Recent experiments strongly indicate deep connections between transports of\nstrange metal and high $T_c$ superconductors. For example, the dependence of\nthe zero-temperature phase stiffness on the critical superconducting\ntemperature is generally linear, which is incompatible with the standard\nBardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer description. We explore the scaling relations among\nsuperconducting critical temperature, superfluid density, and momentum\ndissipation (disorder) strength for the Gubser-Rocha model with extensions in\nthe probe limit. The critical temperature is evaluated by using both the\nSturm-Liouville eigenvalue method and numerical calculations. In the normal\nphase, we show that the critical temperature is proportional to the momentum\ndissipation (disorder) strength in a certain parameter range. In the\nsuperconducting phase, studying the AC conductivity analytically and\nnumerically, we find linear dependence of zero-temperature superfluid density\n(phase stiffness) on the critical superconducting temperature, which is\nconsistent with recent experiments of high $T_c$ superconductors. These results\nfurther underpin the deep connections between strange metal and high $T_c$\nsuperconductors."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dual embedding of extended models with a Lorentz-breaking mass term: In this paper, we investigate a CPT-even model with a Lorentz-violating mass\nterm. Such kind of models may present very interesting features like\nsuperluminal modes of propagation or even instantaneous long-range\ninteractions. The mass term we investigate can be induced at classical or\nquantum level in a scenario with spontaneous gauge symmetry breaking in a\ngauge-Higgs model without Lorentz symmetry. We analyze the physical consistency\nof the model by studying the poles of the propagator. By using the Noether\nDualization Method (NDM), we obtain a gauge invariant dual theory for this\nmodel. The physical equivalence between the two models is investigated and a\ngeneral relation between the two propagators is obtained.",
        "positive": "Spectra of Sigma Models on Semi-Symmetric Spaces: Sigma models on semi-symmetric spaces provide the central building block for\nstring theories on AdS backgrounds. Under certain conditions on the global\nsupersymmetry group they can be made one-loop conformal by adding an\nappropriate fermionic Wess-Zumino term. We determine the full one-loop dilation\noperator of the theory. It involves an interesting new XXZ-like interaction\nterm. Eigenvalues of our dilation operator, i.e. the one-loop anomalous\ndimensions, are computed for a few examples."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Bulk Locality and Asymptotic Causal Diamonds: In AdS/CFT, the non-uniqueness of the reconstructed bulk from boundary\nsubregions has motivated the notion of code subspaces. We present some closely\nrelated structures that arise in flat space. A useful organizing idea is that\nof an {\\em asymptotic} causal diamond (ACD): a causal diamond attached to the\nconformal boundary of Minkowski space. The space of ACDs is defined by pairs of\npoints, one each on the future and past null boundaries, ${\\cal I}^{\\pm}$. We\nobserve that for flat space with an IR cut-off, this space (a) encodes a\npreferred class of boundary ``subregions'', (b) is a plausible way to capture\nholographic data for local bulk reconstruction, (c) has a natural\ninterpretation as the kinematic space for holography, (d) leads to a\nholographic entanglement entropy in flat space that matches previous\ndefinitions and satisfies strong sub-additivity, and, (e) has a bulk\nunion/intersection structure isomorphic to the one that motivated the\nintroduction of quantum error correction in AdS/CFT. By sliding the cut-off, we\nalso note one substantive way in which flat space holography differs from that\nin AdS. Even though our discussion is centered around flat space (and AdS), we\nnote that there are notions of ACDs in other spacetimes as well. They could\nprovide a covariant way to abstractly characterize tensor sub-factors of\nHilbert spaces of holographic theories.",
        "positive": "When Does the Inflaton Decay?: In order for the inflaton to decay into radiation at the end of inflation, it\nneeds to couple to light matter fields. In this article we determine whether\nsuch couplings cause the inflaton to decay during inflation rather than after\nit. We calculate decay amplitudes during inflation, and determine to what\nextent such processes have an impact on the mean and variance of the inflaton,\nas well as on the expected energy density of its decay products. Although the\nexponential growth of the decay amplitudes with the number of e-folds appears\nto indicate the rapid decay of the inflaton, cancellations among different\namplitudes and probabilities result in corrections to the different expectation\nvalues that only grow substantially when the number of e-folds is much larger\nthan the inverse squared inflaton mass in units of the Hubble scale. Otherwise,\nfor typical parameter choices, it is safe to assume that the inflaton does not\ndecay during inflation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Reverse Hawking-Page Phase Transition in de Sitter Black Holes: In the context of black hole chemistry, we study the thermodynamics of\nasymptotically de Sitter black holes with conformal scalar hair in Einstein\ngravity. The hair parameter allows us to attain thermodynamic equilibrium\nbetween the event horizon and the cosmological horizon. We find that the system\nof the black hole and the de Sitter space surrounding it undergo a Reverse\nHawking-Page phase transition provided we consider the grand-canonical\nensemble.",
        "positive": "On Unitary/Hermitian Duality in Matrix Models: Unitary 1-matrix models are shown to be exactly equivalent to hermitian\n1-matrix models coupled to 2N vectors with appropriate potentials, to all\norders in the 1/N expansion. This fact allows us to use all the techniques\ndeveloped and results obtained in hermitian 1-matrix models to investigate\nunitary as well as other 1-matrix models with the Haar measure on the unitary\ngroup. We demonstrate the use of this duality in various examples, including:\n(1) an explicit confirmation that the unitary matrix formulation of the N=2\npure SU(2) gauge theory correctly reproduces the genus-1 topological string\namplitude (2) derivations of the special geometry relations in unitary as well\nas the Chern-Simons matrix models."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-supersymmetric D-branes with Vanishing Cylinder Amplitudes in\n  Asymmetric Orbifolds: We study the type II string vacua with chiral space-time SUSY constructed as\nasymmetric orbifolds of torus and $ K3 $ compactifications. Despite the fact\nthat all the D-branes are non-BPS in any chiral SUSY vacua, we show that the\nrelevant non-geometric vacua of asymmetric orbifolds allow rather generally\nconfigurations of D-branes which lead to vanishing cylinder amplitudes,\nimplying the bose-fermi cancellation at each mass level of the open string\nspectrum. After working on simple models of toroidal asymmetric orbifolds, we\nfocus on the asymmetric orbifolds of $ T^2 \\times {\\cal M} $, where $ {\\cal M}\n$ is described by a general $ {\\cal N} =4 $ SCFT with $ c=6 $ defined by the\nGepner construction for $ K3 $. Even when the modular invariant partition\nfunctions in the bulk remain unchanged, the spectra of such non-BPS D-branes\nwith the bose-fermi cancellation can vary significantly according to the choice\nof orbifolding.",
        "positive": "Kink excitation spectra in the (1+1)-dimensional $\\varphi^8$ model: We study excitation spectra of BPS-saturated topological solutions -- the\nkinks -- of the $\\varphi^8$ scalar field model in $(1+1)$ dimensions, for three\ndifferent choices of the model parameters. We demonstrate that some of these\nkinks have a vibrational mode, apart from the trivial zero (translational)\nexcitation. One of the considered kinks is shown to have three vibrational\nmodes. We perform a numerical calculation of the kink-kink scattering in one of\nthe considered variants of the $\\varphi^8$ model, and find the critical\ncollision velocity $v_{\\scriptsize \\mbox{cr}}$ that separates the different\ncollision regimes: inelastic bounce of the kinks at $v_{\\scriptsize\n\\mbox{in}}\\ge v_{\\scriptsize \\mbox{cr}}$, and capture at $v_{\\scriptsize\n\\mbox{in}}<v_{\\scriptsize \\mbox{cr}}$. We also observe escape windows at some\nvalues of $v_{\\scriptsize \\mbox{in}}<v_{\\scriptsize \\mbox{cr}}$ where the kinks\nescape to infinity after bouncing off each other two or more times. We analyse\nthe features of these windows and discuss their relation to the resonant energy\nexchange between the translational and the vibrational excitations of the\ncolliding kinks."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "W Gravity From Chern--Simons Theory: Starting with three dimensional Chern--Simons theory with gauge group\n$Sl(N,R)$, we derive an action $S_{cov}$ invariant under both left and right\n$W_N$ transformations. We give an interpretation of $S_{cov}$ in terms of\nanomalies, and discuss its relation with Toda theory.",
        "positive": "Asymptotically Free Lorentz- and CPT-Violating Scalar Field Theories: We search for novel Lorentz- and CPT-violating field theories, beyond those\ncontained in the superficially renormalizable standard model extension. We find\na new class of scalar field self-interactions which are nonpolynomial in form,\ninvolving arbitrarily high powers of the field. Many of these interactions\ncorrespond to nontrivial asymptotically free theories. These theories are\nstable if rotation invariance remains unbroken. These results indicate that\ncertain forms of Lorentz violation, if they exist, may naturally be quite\nstrong."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Space-Time Noncommutative Field Theories And Unitarity: We study the perturbative unitarity of noncommutative scalar field theories.\nField theories with space-time noncommutativity do not have a unitary S-matrix.\nField theories with only space noncommutativity are perturbatively unitary.\nThis can be understood from string theory, since space noncommutative field\ntheories describe a low energy limit of string theory in a background magnetic\nfield. On the other hand, there is no regime in which space-time noncommutative\nfield theory is an appropriate description of string theory. Whenever\nspace-time noncommutative field theory becomes relevant massive open string\nstates cannot be neglected.",
        "positive": "Phase transitions, massive gravitons and effective action in braneworld\n  theory: We construct the holographic type nonlocal effective action in two-brane\nRandall-Sundrum model and show that it describes a phase transition between the\nlocal and nonlocal phases of the theory -- a cumulative effect of the tower of\nmassive Kaluza-Klein modes. We show that the corresponding renormalization\ngroup flow interpolating between the limits of short and long interbrane\nseparations can be dynamically mediated by a repulsive interbrane potential\nthat gives rise to braneworld cosmological scenarios with diverging branes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "An exact universal amplitude ratio for percolation: The universal amplitude ratio $\\tilde{R}_{\\xi}$ for percolation in two\ndimensions is determined exactly using results for the dilute A model in regime\n1, by way of a relationship with the q-state Potts model for q<4.",
        "positive": "Smooth and fast versus instantaneous quenches in quantum field theory: We examine in detail the relationship between smooth fast quantum quenches,\ncharacterized by a time scale $\\delta t$, and {\\em instantaneous quenches},\nwithin the framework of exactly solvable mass quenches in free scalar field\ntheory. Our earlier studies \\cite{dgm1,dgm2} highlighted that the two protocols\nremain distinct in the limit $\\delta t \\rightarrow 0$ because of the relation\nof the quench rate to the UV cut-off, i.e., $1/\\delta t\\ll\\Lambda$ always holds\nin the fast smooth quenches while $1/\\delta t\\sim\\Lambda$ for instantaneous\nquenches. Here we study UV finite quantities like correlators at finite spatial\ndistances and the excess energy produced above the final ground state energy.\nWe show that at late times and large distances (compared to the quench time\nscale) the smooth quench correlator approaches that for the instantaneous\nquench. At early times, we find that for small spatial separation and small\n$\\delta t$, the correlator scales universally with $\\delta t$, exactly as in\nthe scaling of renormalized one point functions found in earlier work. At\nlarger separation, the dependence on $\\delta t$ drops out. The excess energy\ndensity is finite (for finite $m\\delta t$) and scales in a universal fashion\nfor all $d$. However, the scaling behaviour produces a divergent result in the\nlimit $m\\delta t \\rightarrow 0$ for $d\\ge4$, just as in an instantaneous\nquench, where it is UV divergent for $d \\geq 4$. We argue that similar results\nhold for arbitrary interacting theories: the excess energy density produced is\nexpected to diverge for scaling dimensions $\\Delta > d/2$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Integrable models: from dynamical solutions to string theory: We review the status of integrable models from the point of view of their\ndynamics and integrability conditions. Some integrable models are discussed in\ndetail. We comment on the use it is made of them in string theory. We also\ndiscuss the Bethe Ansatz solution of the SO(6) symmetric Hamiltonian with SO(6)\nboundary.\n  This work is especially prepared for the seventieth anniversaries of\nAndr\\'{e} Swieca (in memoriam) and Roland K\\\"{o}berle.",
        "positive": "Intercepts of meson Regge trajectories in SU($N_c$) quantum\n  chromodynamics with massless quarks: By means of solving the Bethe-Salpeter equation with the minimal perturbative\nkernel (ladder approximation) in the arbitrary covariant gauge, there was found\na series of intercepts of meson Regge trajectories associated with colorless\nsingularities of the four-quark Green function in SU($N_c$) quantum\nchromodynamics with massless quarks. The gauge and renorm-invariance of the\nresult is grounded."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Monstrous branes: We study D-branes in the bosonic closed string theory whose automorphism\ngroup is the Bimonster group (the wreath product of the Monster simple group\nwith Z_2). We give a complete classification of D-branes preserving the chiral\nsubalgebra of Monster invariants and show that they transform in a\nrepresentation of the Bimonster. Our results apply more generally to self-dual\nconformal field theories which admit the action of a compact Lie group on both\nthe left- and right-moving sectors.",
        "positive": "Boundary terms in Nambu-Goto string action: We investigate classical strings defined by the Nambu-Goto action with the\nboundary term added. We demonstrate that the latter term has a significant\nbearing on the string dynamics. It is confirmed that new action terms that\ndepend on higher order derivatives of string coordinates cannot be considered\nas continuous perturbations from the starting string functional. In the case\nthe boundary term reduces to the Gauss-Bonnet term, a stability analysis is\nperformed on the rotating rigid string solution. We determined the most generic\nsolution that the fluctuations grow to. Longitudinal string excitations are\nfound. The Regge trajectories are nonlinear."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Krylov complexity in conformal field theory: Krylov complexity, or K-complexity for short, has recently emerged as a new\nprobe of chaos in quantum systems. It is a measure of operator growth in Krylov\nspace, which conjecturally bounds the operator growth measured by the out of\ntime ordered correlator (OTOC). We study Krylov complexity in conformal field\ntheories by considering arbitrary 2d CFTs, free field, and holographic models.\nWe find that the bound on OTOC provided by Krylov complexity reduces to bound\non chaos of Maldacena, Shenker, and Stanford. In all considered examples\nincluding free and rational CFTs Krylov complexity grows exponentially, in\nstark violation of the expectation that exponential growth signifies chaos.",
        "positive": "Matrix Models, Emergent Gravity, and Gauge Theory: Matrix models of Yang-Mills type induce an effective gravity theory on\n4-dimensional branes, which are considered as models for dynamical space-time.\nWe review recent progress in the understanding of this emergent gravity. The\nmetric is not fundamental but arises effectively in the semi-classical limit,\nalong with nonabelian gauge fields. This leads to a mechanism for protecting\ncertain geometries from corrections due to the vacuum energy."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Shift versus Extension in Refined Partition Functions: We have recently shown that the global behavior of the partition function of\nN=2 gauge theory in the general Omega-background is captured by special\ngeometry in the guise of the (extended) holomorphic anomaly equation. We here\nanalyze the fate of our results under the shift of the mass parameters of the\ngauge theory. The preferred value of the shift, noted previously in other\ncontexts, restores the Z_2 symmetry of the instanton partition function under\ninversion of the Omega-background, and removes the extension. We comment on\nvarious connections.",
        "positive": "The general form of the *-commutator on the Grassman algebra: We study the general form of the *-commutator treated as a deformation of the\nPoisson bracket on the Grassman algebra. We show that, up to a similarity\ntransformation, there are other deformations of the Poisson bracket in addition\nto the Moyal commutator (one at even and one at odd n, n is the number of the\ngenerators of the Grassman algebra) which are not reduced to the Moyal\ncommutator by a similarity transformation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The group structure of non-Abelian NS-NS transformations: We study the transformations of the worldvolume fields of a system of\nmultiple coinciding D-branes under gauge transformations of the supergravity\nKalb-Ramond field. We find that the pure gauge part of these NS-NS\ntransformations can be written as a U(N) symmetry of the underlying Yang-Mills\ngroup, but that in general the full NS-NS variations get mixed up non-trivially\nwith the U(N). We compute the commutation relations and the Jacobi identities\nof the bigger group formed by the NS-NS and U(N) transformations.",
        "positive": "Differential Equations for Feynman Graph Amplitudes: It is by now well established that, by means of the integration by part\nidentities, all the integrals occurring in the evaluation of a Feynman graph of\ngiven topology can be expressed in terms of a few independent master integrals.\nIt is shown in this paper that the integration by part identities can be\nfurther used for obtaining a linear system of first order differential\nequations for the master integrals themselves. The equations can then be used\nfor the numerical evaluation of the amplitudes as well as for investigating\ntheir analytic properties, such as the asymptotic and threshold behaviours and\nthe corresponding expansions (and for analytic integration purposes, when\npossible). The new method is illustrated through its somewhat detailed\napplication to the case of the one loop self-mass amplitude, by explicitly\nworking out expansions and quadrature formulas, both in arbitrary continuous\ndimension n and in the n \\to 4 limit. It is then shortly discussed which\nfeatures of the new method are expected to work in the more general case of\nmulti-point, multi-loop amplitudes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "BRST invariance and de Rham-type cohomology of 't Hooft-Polyakov\n  monopole: We exploit the 't Hooft-Polyakov monopole to define closed algebra of the\nquantum field operators and the BRST charge $Q_{BRST}$. In the first-class\nconfiguration of the Dirac quantization, by including the $Q_{BRST}$-exact\ngauge fixing term and the Faddeev-Popov ghost term, we find the BRST invariant\nHamiltonian to investigate the de Rham-type cohomology group structure for the\nmonopole system. The Bogomol'nyi bound is also discussed in terms of the\nfirst-class topological charge defined on the extended internal 2-sphere.",
        "positive": "Noise and decoherence induced by gravitons: We study quantum noise and decoherence induced by gravitons. We derive a\nLangevin equation of geodesic deviation in the presence of gravitons. The\namplitude of noise correlations tells us that large squeezing is necessary to\ndetect the noise. We also consider the decoherence of spatial superpositions of\ntwo massive particles caused by gravitons in the vacuum state and find that\ngravitons could give a relevant contribution to the decoherence. The\ndecoherence induced by gravitons would offer new vistas to test quantum gravity\nin tabletop experiments."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the composite fermion approach in the FQHE: FQHE is presented in the form of non-unitary singular similarity\ntransformation, which relates the Laughlin wave function (and its particle-hole\nconjugate) to the composite quasi- particle incompressible ground state.\n(ENSLAPP-A-478/94)",
        "positive": "New approach to solution generation using SL(2,R)-duality of a\n  dimensionally reduced space in five-dimensional minimal supergravity and new\n  black holes: The dimensional reduction of (the bosonic sector of) five-dimensional minimal\nsupergravity to four dimensions leads to a theory with a massless axion and a\ndilaton coupled to gravity and two U(1) gauge fields (one of which has\nChern-Simons coupling), whose field equations have SL(2,R)-invariance.\nUtilizing this SL(2,R)-duality, we provide a new formalism for solution\ngeneration. As an example, applying it to the Rasheed solution, which are known\nto describe dyonic rotating black holes (from the four-dimensional point of\nview) of five-dimensional pure gravity, we obtain rotating Kaluza-Klein black\nhole solutions in five-dimensional minimal supergravity. We also show that the\nsolutions have six charges: mass, angular momentum, Kaluza-Klein\nelectric/magnetic charges and electric/magnetic charges of the Maxwell field,\nfour of which are related by a constraint."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Kaehler manifolds and supersymmetry: Supersymmetric field theories of scalars and fermions in 4-D space-time can\nbe cast in the formalism of Kaehler geometry. In these lectures I review\nKaehler geometry and its application to the construction and analysis of\nsupersymmetric models on Kaehler coset manifolds. It is shown that anomalies\ncan be eliminated by the introduction of line-bundle representations of the\ncoset symmetry groups. Such anomaly-free models can be gauged consistently and\nused to construct alternatives to the usual MSSM and supersymmetric GUTs.",
        "positive": "One-loop Gluon Amplitudes in AdS: We initiate the study of one-loop gluon amplitudes in AdS space. These\namplitudes were recently computed at tree level for a variety of backgrounds of\nthe form $AdS_{d+1} \\times S^3$. For concreteness, we compute the one-loop\ncorrection to the massless gluon amplitude on $AdS_5\\times S^3$, which\ncorresponds to the four-point correlator of the flavor current multiplet in the\ndual 4d $\\mathcal{N}=2$ SCFT. This requires solving a mixing problem that\ninvolves tree-level amplitudes of arbitrarily massive Kaluza-Klein modes. The\nfinal answer has the same color structure as in flat space but the dependence\non Mandelstam variables is more complicated, with logarithms replaced by\npolygamma functions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetric Hidden Sectors for Heterotic Standard Models: Within the context of the weakly coupled E8 x E8 heterotic string, we study\nthe hidden sector of heterotic standard model compactifications to\nfour-dimensions. Specifically, we present a class of hidden sector vector\nbundles - composed of the direct sum of line bundles only - that, together with\nan effective bulk five-brane, renders the heterotic standard model entirely N=1\nsupersymmetric. Two explicit hidden sectors are constructed and analyzed in\nthis context; one with the gauge group E7 x U(1) arising from a single line\nbundle and a second with an SO(12) x U(1) x U(1) gauge group constructed from\nthe direct sum of two line bundles. Each hidden sector bundle is shown to\nsatisfy all requisite physical constraints within a finite region of the Kahler\ncone. We also clarify that the first Chern class of the line bundles need not\nbe even in our context, as has often been imposed in the model building\nliterature.",
        "positive": "The worldvolume fermion as baryon in holographic QCD with a theta angle: In this work, we investigate the worldvolume fermion on the flavor brane in\nthe D0-D4/D8 model which is holographically equivalent to the four-dimensional\nQCD with a theta term. The action for the worldvolume fermion is obtained by\nthe T-duality rules in the string theory and its effectively five-dimensional,\ncanonical four-dimensional forms are derived by the systematical dimensional\nreduction and decomposition of spinor. Afterwards, we employ the AdS/CFT\ndictionary to evaluate the two-point correlation function as the spectral\nfunction for the worldvolume fermion and interpret the fermion as baryon by\nanalyzing its quantum number with the baryon vertex in holography. In this\nsense, we finally derive the formulas of the interacted action involving the\nworldvolume fermion and gauge field on the flavor brane, in order to describe\nthe various interaction of meson and baryon with the theta angle through\ngauge-gravity duality."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-unitarity in quantum affine Toda theory and perturbed conformal\n  field theory: There has been some debate about the validity of quantum affine Toda field\ntheory at imaginary coupling, owing to the non-unitarity of the action, and\nconsequently of its usefulness as a model of perturbed conformal field theory.\nDrawing on our recent work, we investigate the two simplest affine Toda\ntheories for which this is an issue - a2(1) and a2(2). By investigating the\nS-matrices of these theories before RSOS restriction, we show that quantum Toda\ntheory, (with or without RSOS restriction), indeed has some fundamental\nproblems, but that these problems are of two different sorts. For a2(1), the\nscattering of solitons and breathers is flawed in both classical and quantum\ntheories, and RSOS restriction cannot solve this problem. For a2(2) however,\nwhile there are no problems with breather-soliton scattering there are instead\ndifficulties with soliton-excited soliton scattering in the unrestricted\ntheory. After RSOS restriction, the problems with kink-excited kink may be\ncured or may remain, depending in part on the choice of gradation, as we found\nin [12]. We comment on the importance of regradations, and also on the survival\nof R-matrix unitarity and the S-matrix bootstrap in these circumstances.",
        "positive": "Curvature Perturbations and Anomaly explain Dark Energy: We investigate the history of dark energy to explain the present magnitude.\nWe assume the dark energy is the residual cosmological constant. The most\nimportant channel in the reheating process is the gluon pair productions by QCD\ntrace anomaly. We argue dark energy decays rapidly by gluon pair emissions\nduring the reheating and after the big bang. The reheating temperature is\ndetermined by the decay width of dark energy Gamma and the Planck mass M_p as\nsqrt{M_P Gamma} ~ 10^6GeV. It is the consequence of Friedmann's equation and an\nequilibrium condition Gamma~ H. As the Universe cools below the hadronic scale,\ndark energy density is almost frozen. Nevertheless the dark energy further\ndecreases by emitting two photons. We have estimated the current decay rate of\ndark energy from the QED trace anomaly. The consistent solution of Friedmann\nequation is in an excellent agreement with the observations. The suppression\nfactor of dark energy scale is the product of fine structure constant alpha and\ncurvature perturbation P as 10^{-30}=(\\alpha^2P/4\\pi)^2. We argue the conformal\nsymmetry breaking in the both UV and IR are necessary unless dark energy is\nsubtracted. We also investigated lepto-genesis by adding massive right handed\nneutrinos. The realistic lepto-genesis takes place during reheating process."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Attractive holographic $c$-functions: Using the attractor mechanism for extremal solutions in ${\\cal N}=2$ gauged\nsupergravity, we construct a $c$-function that interpolates between the central\ncharges of theories at ultraviolet and infrared conformal fixed points\ncorresponding to anti-de Sitter geometries. The $c$-function we obtain is\ncouched purely in terms of bulk quantities and connects two different\ndimensional CFTs at the stable conformal fixed points under the RG flow.",
        "positive": "Integrable sigma models at RG fixed points: quantisation as affine\n  Gaudin models: The goal of this paper is to make first steps towards the quantisation of\nintegrable non-linear sigma models using the formalism of affine Gaudin models,\nby approaching these theories through their conformal limits. We focus mostly\non the example of the Klim\\v{c}\\'{i}k model, which is a two-parameter\ndeformation of the Principal Chiral Model on a Lie group $G$. We show that the\nUV fixed point of this theory is described classically by two decoupled chiral\naffine Gaudin models, encoding its left- and right-moving degrees of freedom,\nand give a detailed analysis of the chiral and integrable structures of these\nmodels. Their quantisation is then explored within the framework of Feigin and\nFrenkel. We study the quantum local integrals of motion using the formalism of\nquantised affine Gaudin models and show agreement of the first two integrals\nwith known results in the literature for $G={\\rm SU}(2)$. Evidence is given for\nthe existence of a monodromy matrix satisfying the Yang-Baxter algebra for this\nmodel, thus paving the way for the quantisation of the non-local integrals of\nmotion. We conclude with various perspectives, including on generalisations of\nthis program to a larger class of integrable sigma models and applications of\nthe ODE/IQFT correspondence to the description of their quantum spectrum."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Skyrme fields, multi-instantons and the $SU(\\infty)$-Toda equation: We construct Skyrme fields from holonomy of the spin connection of\nmulti-Taub-NUT instantons with the centres positioned along a line in\n$\\mathbb{R}^3.$ Our family of Skyrme fields includes the Taub-NUT Skyrme field\npreviously constructed by Dunajski. However, we demonstrate that different\ngauges of the spin connection can result in Skyrme fields with different\ntopological degrees. As a by-product, we present a method to compute the\ndegrees of the Taub-NUT and Atiyah-Hitchin Skyrme fields analytically; these\ndegrees are well defined as a preferred gauge is fixed by the $SU(2)$ symmetry\nof the two metrics.\n  Regardless of the gauge, the domain of our Skyrme fields is the space of\norbits of the axial symmetry of the multi-Taub-NUT instantons. We obtain an\nexpression for the induced Einstein-Weyl metric on the space and its associated\nsolution to the $SU(\\infty)$-Toda equation.",
        "positive": "Two Dimensional QCD coupled to Adjoint Matter and String Theory: We study $2d$ QCD coupled to fermions in the adjoint representation of the\ngauge group $SU(N)$ at large $N$, and its relation to string theory. It is\nshown that the model undergoes a deconfinement transition at a finite\ntemperature (analogous to the Hagedorn transition in string theory), with\ncertain winding modes in the Euclidean time direction turning tachyonic at high\ntemperature. The theory is supersymmetric for a certain ratio of quark mass and\ngauge coupling. For other values of that ratio, supersymmetry is softly broken.\nThe spectrum of bound states contains an infinite number of approximately\nlinear Regge trajectories, approaching at large mass $M$, $\\alpha^\\prime\nM^2=\\sum_i i l_i$ $(l_i\\in{\\bf Z_+})$. Thus, the theory exhibits an\nexponentially growing density of bosonic and fermionic states at high energy.\nWe discuss these results in light of string expectations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Space-time S-matrix and Flux tube S-matrix II. Extracting and Matching\n  Data: We elaborate on a non-perturbative formulation of scattering amplitudes/null\npolygonal Wilson loops in planar N=4 Super-Yang-Mills theory. The construction\nis based on a decomposition of the Wilson loop into elementary building blocks\nnamed pentagon transitions. Our discussion expands on a previous letter of the\nauthors where these transitions were introduced and analyzed for the so-called\ngluonic excitations. In this paper we revisit these transitions and extend the\nanalysis to the sector of scalar excitations. We restrict ourselves to the\nsingle particle transitions and bootstrap their finite coupling expressions\nusing a set of axioms. Besides these considerations, the main focus of the\npaper is on the extraction of perturbative data from scattering amplitudes at\nweak coupling and its comparison against the proposed pentagon transitions. We\npresent several tests for both the hexagon and heptagon (MHV and NMHV)\namplitudes up to two- and three-loop orders. In attached notebooks we provide\nexplicit higher-loop predictions obtained from our method.",
        "positive": "Accelerating D-branes: Higher derivative terms are computed in the one-loop effective action\ngoverning the interactions of D3-branes, in two ways: (1) in a formalism with\nN=2 supersymmetry preserved off-shell, and (2) in the standard background field\nformalism, with only on-shell supersymmetry. It is shown that these\ncalculations only agree using tree-level equations of motion. The off-shell\nsupersymmetric calculation exhibits acceleration terms that appear in terms\nwith four derivatives. These may imply disagreement at two-loop order between\nsupergravity and Yang-Mills descriptions of D-brane dynamics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Non-renormalization Theorem for the Wilsonian Gauge Couplings in\n  Supersymmetric Theories: We show that the holomorphic Wilsonian beta-function of a renormalizable\nasymptotically free supersymmetric gauge theory with an arbitrary semi-simple\ngauge group, matter content, and renormalizable superpotential is exhausted at\n1-loop with no higher loops and no non-perturbative contributions. This is a\nnon-perturbative extension of the well known result of Shifman and Vainshtein.",
        "positive": "The Half-Integer Charged Particles of the Orbifold Models: In this paper, we consider half-integer charged particles predicted by models\nof orbifold compactification of the $E_8\\times E_8$ heterotic string theory. We\nfind that it is possible for half-integer charged particles to exist in our\nuniverse, and the location of half-interger charged particles in a galaxy\nshould be in the centers of the galaxy. By qualitative analysis, we find\nhalf-interger charged particles may be helpful in explaining the formation of\nSMBH at the large redshift and solving the UHECR puzzle."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Numerical RG-time integration of the effective potential: Analysis and\n  Benchmark: We investigate the RG-time integration of the effective potential in the\nfunctional renormalization group in the presence of spontaneous symmetry\nbreaking and its subsequent convexity restoration on the example of a scalar\ntheory in $d=3$. The features of this setup are common to many physical models\nand our results are, therefore, directly applicable to a variety of situations.\nWe provide exhaustive work-precision benchmarks and numerical stability\nanalyses by considering the combination of different discrete formulations of\nthe flow equation and a large collection of different algorithms. The results\nare explained by using the different components entering the RG-time\nintegration process and the eigenvalue structure of the discrete system.\nParticularly, the combination of Rosenbrock methods, implicit multistep methods\nor certain (diagonally) implicit Runge-Kutta methods with exact or autodiff\nJacobians proves to be very potent. Furthermore, a reformulation in a\nlogarithmic variable circumvents issues related to the singularity bound in the\nflat regime of the potential.",
        "positive": "Towards String Theory models of DeSitter Space and early Universe\n  Cosmology: String theory is arguably the best candidate for a theory of quantum gravity\nand unified interactions. Reconciling Einstein's theory of General Relativity\nwith Quantum Mechanics. The theory however is best understood on Minkowski and\nAnti-de Sitter space-times, and not on exponentially expanding space-times with\npositive cosmological constant, like our own universe. There is still no\nsatisfactory formulation of String Theory on these so called asymptotically de\nSitter space times. In this thesis I will discuss certain avenues of progress\ntowards a String Theory formulation of de Sitter space-times. Specifically, how\nunderstanding of the analytic continuations of Liouville Theory and how to\ngauge-fix it in the Timelike regime will aid in the understanding of the\nproposed FRW-CFT duality of de Sitter space. It is also discussed how\nnon-trivial topology effects proposed Chern-Simons Matter duals of Vasiliev\nHigher Spin gravity theories which are important in the dS-CFT description of\nde Sitter Space."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "de Sitter Harmonies: Cosmological Spacetimes as Resonances: The aim of this work is to provided the details of a calculation summarized\nin the recent paper by Maltz and Susskind which conjectured a potentially\nrigorous framework where the status of de Sitter space is the same as that of a\nresonance in a scattering process. The conjecture being that transition\namplitudes between certain states with asymptotically supersymmetric flat vacua\ncontain resonant poles characteristic metastable intermediate states. A\ncalculation employing constrained instantons is presented that illustrates this\nidea.",
        "positive": "Thermal Diffusion and Quantum Chaos in Neutral Magnetized Plasma: We calculate the thermal diffusion constant $D_T$ and butterfly velocity\n$v_B$ in neutral magnetized plasma using holographic magnetic brane background.\nWe find the thermal diffusion constant satisfies Blake's bound. The constant in\nthe bound $D_T2\\pi T/v_B^2$ is a decreasing function of magnetic field. It\napproaches one half in the large magnetic field limit. We also find the\nexistence of a special point defined by Lyapunov exponent and butterfly\nvelocity on which pole-skipping phenomenon occurs."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "'t Hooft loops and integrability: We consider the defect CFT defined by a 't Hooft line embedded in N=4 super\nYang-Mills theory. By explicitly quantizing around the given background we\nexactly reproduce a prediction from S-duality for the correlators between the\n't Hooft line and chiral primaries in the bulk and pave the way for higher loop\nanalyses for non-protected operators. Furthermore, we demonstrate at the\nleading perturbative order that correlators between the 't Hooft line and\nnon-protected bulk operators can be efficiently computed using integrability.\nAs a byproduct we find new integrable overlaps in sl(2) spin chains in\ndifferent representations.",
        "positive": "Large-Charge Limit of AdS Boson Stars with Mixed Boundary Conditions: It was recently shown that charged AdS boson stars can reproduce the\nuniversal structure of the lowest scaling dimension in the subsector of a CFT\nwith fixed large global $U(1)$ charge $Q$. Using the model consisting of\nEinstein-Maxwell gravity with a negative cosmological constant, coupled to a\n$U(1)$-charged conformally massless scalar with the fourth-order self\ninteraction, we construct a class of charged AdS boson star solutions in the\nlarge $Q$ limit, where the scalar field obeys a mixed boundary condition,\nparameterized by $k$ that interpolates between the Neumann and Dirichlet\nboundary conditions corresponding to $k=0$ and $\\infty$ respectively. By\nvarying $k$, we numerically read off the $k$ dependence of the leading\ncoefficient $c_{3/2}(k) \\equiv \\lim_{Q\\rightarrow \\infty} M/Q^{3/2}$. We find\nthat $c_{3/2}(k)$ is a monotonously increasing function which grows linearly\nwhen $k$ is sufficiently small. When $k\\rightarrow \\infty$, $c_{3/2}(k)$\napproaches the maximal value at a decreasing rate given by $k^{-3/2}$ . We also\nobtain a close form expression that fits the numerical data for the entire\nrange of $k$ within $10^{-4}$ accuracy."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Wavelet representation of light-front quantum field theory: A formally exact discrete multi-resolution representation of quantum field\ntheory on a light front is presented. The formulation uses an orthonormal basis\nof compactly supported wavelets to expand the fields restricted to a light\nfront. The representation has a number of useful properties. First, light front\npreserving Poincar\\'e transformations can be computed by transforming the\narguments of the basis functions. The discrete field operators, which are\ndefined by integrating the product of the field and the basis functions over\nthe light front, represent localized degrees of freedom on the light-front\nhyperplane. These discrete fields are irreducible and the vacuum is formally\ntrivial. The light-front Hamiltonian and all of the Poincar\\'e generators are\nlinear combinations of normal ordered products of the discrete field operators\nwith analytically computable constant coefficients. The representation is\ndiscrete and has natural resolution and volume truncations like lattice\nformulations. Because it is formally exact it is possible to systematically\ncompute corrections for eliminated degrees of freedom.",
        "positive": "Absorption on horizon-wrapped branes: We compute the absorption cross section of space-time scalars on a static D2\nrane, in global coordinates, wrapped on the S^2 of an AdS_2 X S^2 X CY_3\ngeometry. We discuss its relevance for the construction of the dual quantum\nmechanics of Calabi-Yau black holes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Type I/heterotic duality and M-theory amplitudes: This paper investigates relationships between low-energy four-particle\nscattering amplitudes with external gauge particles and gravitons in the E_8 X\nE_8 and SO(32) heterotic string theories and the type I and type IA superstring\ntheories by considering a variety of tree level and one-loop Feynman diagrams\ndescribing such amplitudes in eleven-dimensional supergravity in a\nHorava--Witten background compactified on a circle. This accounts for a number\nof perturbative and non-perturbative aspects of low order higher derivative\nterms in the low-energy expansion of string theory amplitudes, which are\nexpected to be protected by half maximal supersymmetry from receiving\ncorrections beyond one or two loops. It also suggests the manner in which type\nI/heterotic duality may be realised for certain higher derivative interactions\nthat are not so obviously protected. For example, our considerations suggest\nthat R**4 interactions (where R is the Riemann curvature) might receive no\nperturbative corrections beyond one loop by virtue of a conspiracy involving\ncontributions from (non-BPS) Z2 D-instantons in the type I and heterotic SO(32)\ntheories.",
        "positive": "Holographic and QFT Complexity with angular momentum: We study the influence of angular momentum on quantum complexity for CFT\nstates holographically dual to rotating black holes. Using the holographic\ncomplexity=action (CA) and complexity=volume (CV) proposals, we study the full\ntime dependence of complexity and the complexity of formation for two\ndimensional states dual to rotating BTZ. The obtained results and their\ndependence on angular momentum turn out to be analogous to those of charged\nstates dual to Reissner-Nordstr\\\"om AdS black holes. For CA, our computation\ncarefully accounts for the counterterm in the gravity action, which was not\nincluded in previous analysis in the literature. This affects the complexity\nearly time dependence and its effect becomes negligible close to extremality.\nIn the grand canonical ensemble, the CA and CV complexity of formation are\nlinear in the temperature, and diverge with the same structure in the speed of\nlight angular velocity limit. For CA the inclusion of the counterterm is\ncrucial for both effects. We also address the problem of studying holographic\ncomplexity for higher dimensional rotating black holes, focusing on the four\ndimensional Kerr-AdS case. Carefully taking into account all ingredients, we\nshow that the late time limit of the CA growth rate saturates the expected\nbound, and find the CV complexity of formation of large black holes diverges in\nthe critical angular velocity limit. Our holographic analysis is complemented\nby the study of circuit complexity in a two dimensional free scalar model for a\nthermofield double (TFD) state with angular momentum. We show how this can be\ngiven a description in terms of non-rotating TFD states introducing\nmode-by-mode effective temperatures and times. We comment on the similarities\nand differences of the holographic and QFT complexity results."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the strong coupling region in quantum matrix string theory: We study the behavior of matrix string theory in the strong coupling region,\nwhere matrix strings reduce to discrete light-cone type IIA superstrings except\nat the usual string-interaction points. In the large N limit, this reduction\ncorresponds to the double-dimensional reduction from wrapped supermembranes on\nR^{10} x S^1 to type IIA superstrings on R^{10} in the light-cone gauge. Such\nreductions were shown classically, while they are not obvious quantum\nmechanically. Recently, Sekino and Yoneya analyzed the double-dimensional\nreduction of the wrapped supermembrane quantum mechanically to one-loop order\nin the strong coupling expansion. We analyze the problem in matrix string\ntheory by using the same expansion. At the one-loop level, the quantum\ncorrections cancel out as was presented by them. However, at the two-loop level\nwe find that the quantum corrections cancel out only for the leading terms in\nthe large N.",
        "positive": "Global Structures from the Infrared: Quantum field theories with identical local dynamics can admit different\nchoices of global structure, leading to different partition functions and\nspectra of extended operators. Such choices can be reformulated in terms of a\ntopological field theory in one dimension higher, the symmetry TFT. In this\npaper we show that this TFT can be reconstructed from a careful analysis of the\ninfrared Coulomb-like phases. In particular, the TFT matches between the UV and\nthe IR. This provides a purely field theoretical counterpart of several recent\nresults obtained via geometric engineering in various string/M/F theory setups\nfor theories in four and five dimensions that we confirm and extend."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hidden Sector Baryogenesis: We introduce a novel mechanism for baryogenesis, in which mixed anomalies\nbetween the hidden sector and $U(1)_{baryon}$ drive the baryon asymmetry. We\ndemonstrate that this mechanism occurs quite naturally in intersecting-brane\nconstructions of the Standard Model, and show that it solves some of the\ntheoretical difficulties faced in matching baryogenesis to experimental bounds.\nWe illustrate with a specific example model. We also discuss the possible\nsignals at the LHC.",
        "positive": "Pseudonatural Inflation: We study how to obtain a sufficiently flat inflaton potential that is natural\nfrom the particle physics point of view. Supersymmetry, which is broken during\ninflation, cannot protect the potential against non-renormalizable operators\nviolating slow-roll. We are therefore led to consider models based on\nnon-linearly realized symmetries. The basic scenario with a single\nfour-dimensional pseudo Nambu Goldstone boson requires the spontaneous breaking\nscale to be above the Planck scale, which is beyond the range of validity of\nthe field theory description, so that quantum gravity corrections are not under\ncontrol. A nice way to obtain consistent models with large field values is to\nconsider simple extensions in extra-dimensional setups. We also consider the\nminimal structures necessary to obtain purely four-dimensional models with\nspontaneous breaking scale below M_P; we show that they require an approximate\nsymmetry that is supplemented by either the little-Higgs mechanism or\nsupersymmetry to give trustworthy scenarios."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chirality deconfinement beyond the $C=1$ barrier of two dimensional\n  gravity: The characteristic novel features of strongly coupled gravity at the special\nvalues ($C_L=7, 13, 19$) are reviewed in a simple manner using pictures as much\nas possible. (Notes of lectures at the 1995 Cargese Meeting Low dimensional\napplications of quantum field theory)",
        "positive": "The quasilocal degrees of freedom of Yang-Mills theory: Gauge theories possess nonlocal features that, in the presence of boundaries,\ninevitably lead to subtleties. We employ geometric methods rooted in the\nfunctional geometry of the phase space of Yang-Mills theories to: (1)\ncharacterize a basis for quasilocal degrees of freedom (dof) that is manifestly\ngauge-covariant also at the boundary; (2) tame the non-additivity of the\nregional symplectic forms upon the gluing of regions; and to (3) discuss gauge\nand global charges in both Abelian and non-Abelian theories from a geometric\nperspective. Naturally, our analysis leads to splitting the Yang-Mills dof into\nCoulombic and radiative. Coulombic dof enter the Gauss constraint and are\ndependent on extra boundary data (the electric flux); radiative dof are\nunconstrained and independent. The inevitable non-locality of this split is\nidentified as the source of the symplectic non-additivity, i.e. of the\nappearance of new dof upon the gluing of regions. Remarkably, these new dof are\nfully determined by the regional radiative dof only. Finally, a direct link is\ndrawn between this split and Dirac's dressed electron."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "String Propagation in the Presence of Cosmological Singularities: We study string propagation in a spacetime with positive cosmological\nconstant, which includes a circle whose radius approaches a finite value as\n|t|\\to\\infty, and goes to zero at t=0. Near this cosmological singularity, the\nspacetime looks like R^{1,1}/Z. In string theory, this spacetime must be\nextended by including four additional regions, two of which are compact. The\nother two introduce new asymptotic regions, corresponding to early and late\ntimes, respectively. States of quantum fields in this spacetime are defined in\nthe tensor product of the two Hilbert spaces corresponding to the early time\nasymptotic regions, and the S-matrix describes the evolution of such states to\nstates in the tensor product of the two late time asymptotic regions. We show\nthat string theory provides a unique continuation of wavefunctions past the\ncosmological singularities, and allows one to compute the S-matrix. The\nincoming vacuum evolves into an outgoing state with particles. We also discuss\ninstabilities of asymptotically timelike linear dilaton spacetimes, and the\nquestion of holography in such spaces. Finally, we briefly comment on the\nrelation of our results to recent discussions of de Sitter space.",
        "positive": "Entropy bound for the photon gas in noncommutative spacetime: Motivated by the doubly special relativity theories and noncommutative\nspacetime structures, thermodynamical properties of the photon gas in a phase\nspace with compact spatial momentum space is studied. At the high temperature\nlimit, the upper bounds for the internal energy and entropy are obtained which\nare determined by the size of the compact spatial momentum space. The maximum\ninternal energy turns out to be of the order of the Planck energy and the\nentropy bound is then determined by the factor $\\big(V/l_{_{\\rm Pl}}^3\\big)$\nthrough the relevant identification of the size of the momentum space with\nPlanck scale. The entropy bound is very similar to the case of\nBekenstein-Hawking entropy of black holes and suggests that thermodynamics of\nblack holes may be deduced from a saturated state in the framework of a full\nquantum gravitational statistical mechanics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Orbifolds of Permutation-Type as Physical String Systems at\n  Multiples of c=26 IV. Orientation Orbifolds Include Orientifolds: In this fourth paper of the series, I clarify the somewhat mysterious\nrelation between the large class of {\\it orientation orbifolds} (with twisted\nopen-string CFT's at $\\hat c=52$) and {\\it orientifolds} (with untwisted open\nstrings at $c=26$), both of which have been associated to division by\nworld-sheet orientation-reversing automorphisms. In particular -- following a\nspectral clue in the previous paper -- I show that, even as an {\\it interacting\nstring system}, a certain half-integer-moded orientation orbifold-string system\nis in fact equivalent to the archetypal orientifold. The subtitle of this\npaper, that orientation orbifolds include and generalize standard orientifolds,\nthen follows because there are many other orientation orbifold-string systems\n-- with higher fractional modeing -- which are not equivalent to untwisted\nstring systems.",
        "positive": "Quantum field theories of extended objects: First steps are taken in a project to construct a general class of conformal\nand perhaps, eventually, non-conformal quantum field theories of\n(n-1)-dimensional extended objects in a d=2n dimensional conformal space-time\nmanifold M. The fields live on the spaces E of relative integral (n-1)-cycles\nin M -- the integral (n-1)-currents of given boundary. Each E is a complete\nmetric space geometrically analogous to a Riemann surface $\\Sigma$. For\nexample, if $M=S^d$, $\\Sigma = S^2$. The quantum fields on E are to be mapped\nto observables in a 2d CFT on $\\Sigma$. The correlation functions on E are to\nbe given by the 2d correlation functions on $\\Sigma$. The goal is to construct\na CFT of extended objects in d=2n dimensions for every 2d CFT, and eventually a\nnon-conformal QFT of extended objects for every non-conformal 2d QFT, so that\nall the technology of 2d QFT can be applied to the construction and analysis of\nquantum field theories of extended objects. The project depends crucially on\nsettling some mathematical questions about analysis in the spaces E. The\nproject also depends on extending the observables of 2d CFT from the finite\nsets of points in a Riemann surface to the integral 0-currents."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Bosonization and Scale Invariance on Quantum Wires: We develop a systematic approach to bosonization and vertex algebras on\nquantum wires of the form of star graphs. The related bosonic fields propagate\nfreely in the bulk of the graph, but interact at its vertex. Our framework\ncovers all possible interactions preserving unitarity. Special attention is\ndevoted to the scale invariant interactions, which determine the critical\nproperties of the system. Using the associated scattering matrices, we give a\ncomplete classification of the critical points on a star graph with any number\nof edges. Critical points where the system is not invariant under wire\npermutations are discovered. By means of an appropriate vertex algebra we\nperform the bosonization of fermions and solve the massless Thirring model. In\nthis context we derive an explicit expression for the conductance and\ninvestigate its behavior at the critical points. A simple relation between the\nconductance and the Casimir energy density is pointed out.",
        "positive": "Stationary Solutions and Closed Time-Like Curve in 2+1 Dimensional\n  Gravity: We give the general solution of the stationary problem of 2+1 dimensional\ngravity in presence of extended sources, also endowed with angular momentum. We\nsolve explicitly the compact support property of the energy momentum tensor and\nwe apply the results to the study of closed time-like curves. In the case of\nrotational symmetry we prove that the weak energy condition combined with the\nabsence of closed time-like curves at space infinity prevents the existence of\nclosed time-like curves everywhere in an open universe (conical space at\ninfinity)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Foundation of the Generalized Nambu Mechanics: We outline the basic principles of canonical formalism for the Nambu\nmechanics---a generalization of Hamiltonian mechanics proposed by Yoichiro\nNambu in 1973. It is based on the notion of Nambu bracket which generalizes the\nPoisson bracket to the multiple operation of higher order $n \\geq 3$ on\nclassical observables and is described by Hambu-Hamilton equations of motion\ngiven by $n-1$ Hamiltonians. We introduce the fundamental identity for the\nNambu bracket which replaces Jacobi identity as a consistency condition for the\ndynamics. We show that Nambu structure of given order defines a family of\nsubordinated structures of lower order, including the Poisson structure,\nsatisfying certain matching conditions. We introduce analogs of action from and\nprinciple of the least action for the Nambu mechanics and show how dynamics of\nloops ($n-2$-dimensional objects) naturally appears in this formalism. We\ndiscuss several approaches to the quantization problem and present explicit\nrepresentation of Nambu-Heisenberg commutation relation for $n=3$ case. We\nemphasize the role higher order algebraic operations and mathematical\nstructures related with them play in passing from Hamilton's to Nambu's\ndynamical picture.",
        "positive": "Finite Temperature Schwinger Model with Chirality Breaking Boundary\n  Conditions: The $N_f$-flavour Schwinger Model on a finite space $0\\leq x^1\\leq L$ and\nsubject to bag-type boundary-conditions at $x^1=0$ und $x^1=L$ is solved at\nfinite temperature $T=1/\\beta$. The boundary conditions depend on a real\nparameter $\\theta$ and break the axial flavour symmetry. We argue that this\napproach is more appropriate to study the broken phases than introducing small\nquark masses, since all calculations can be performed analytically. In the\nimaginary time formalism we determine the thermal correlators for the\nfermion-fields and the determinant of the Dirac-operator in arbitrary\nbackground gauge-fields. We show that the boundary conditions induce a CP-odd\n$\\theta$-term in the effective action. The chiral condensate, and in particular\nits T- and L- dependence, is calculated for $N_f$ fermions. It is seen to\ndepend on the order in which the two lengths $\\beta=1/T$ and $L$ are sent to\ninfinity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Axial Anomaly through Analytic Regularization: In this work we consider the 2-point Green's functions in (1+1) dimensional\nquantum electrodynamics and show that the correct implementation of analytic\nregularization gives a gauge invariant result for the vaccum polarization\namplitude and the correct coefficient for the axial anomaly.",
        "positive": "Representations and BPS states of 10+2 superalgebra: The 12d supersymmetry algebra is considered, and classification of BPS states\nfor some canonical form of second-rank central charge is given. It is shown,\nthat possible fractions of survived supersymmetry can be 1/16, 1/8, 3/16, 1/4,\n5/16 and 1/2, the values 3/8, 7/16 cannot be achieved in this way. The\nconsideration of a special case of non-zero sixth-rank tensor charge also is\nincluded."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Algebra of Differential Operators on the Circle and $W_{KP}^{(q)}$: Radul has recently introduced a map from the Lie algebra of differential\noperators on the circle to $W_n$. In this note we extend this map to\n$W_{KP}^{(q)}$, a recently introduced one-parameter deformation of\n$W_{KP}$---the second hamiltonian structure of the KP hierarchy. We use this to\ngive a short proof that $W_\\infty$ is the symmetry algebra of additional\nsymmetries of the KP equation.",
        "positive": "Exotic smoothness and particle physics: Short introduction to exotic differential structures on manifolds is given.\nThe possible physical context of this mathematical curiosity is discussed. The\ntopic is very interesting although speculative."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spacetime locality in Sp(2) symmetric lagrangian formalism: The existence of a local solution to the Sp(2) master equation for gauge\nfield theory is proven in the framework of perturbation theory and under\nstandard assumptions on regularity of the action. The arbitrariness of\nsolutions to the Sp(2) master equation is described, provided that they are\nproper. It is also shown that the effective action can be chosen to be Sp(2)\nand Lorentz invariant (under the additional assumption that the gauge\ntransformation generators are Lorentz tensors).",
        "positive": "Bounds on Crossing Symmetry: Proposed in 1954 by Gell-Mann, Goldberger, and Thirring, crossing symmetry\npostulates that particles are indistinguishable from anti-particles traveling\nback in time. Its elusive proof amounts to demonstrating that scattering\nmatrices in different crossing channels are boundary values of the same\nanalytic function, as a consequence of physical axioms such as causality,\nlocality, or unitarity. In this work we report on the progress in proving\ncrossing symmetry on-shell within the framework of perturbative quantum field\ntheory. We derive bounds on internal masses above which scattering amplitudes\nare crossing-symmetric to all loop orders. They are valid for four- and\nfive-point processes, or to all multiplicity if one allows deformations of\nmomenta into higher dimensions at intermediate steps."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On G/H geometry and its use in M-theory compactifications: The Riemannian geometry of coset spaces is reviewed, with emphasis on its\napplications to supergravity and M-theory compactifications. Formulae for the\nconnection and curvature of rescaled coset manifolds are generalized to the\ncase of nondiagonal Killing metrics.\n  The example of the N^{010} spaces is discussed in detail. These are a\nsubclass of the coset manifolds N^{pqr}=G/H = SU(3) x U(1)/U(1) x U(1), the\nintegers p,q,r characterizing the embedding of H in G. We study the realization\nof N^{010} as G/H=SU(3) x SU(2)/U(1) x SU(2) (with diagonal embedding of the\nSU(2) \\in H into G). For a particular G-symmetric rescaling there exist three\nKilling spinors, implying N=3 supersymmetry in the AdS_4 \\times N^{010}\ncompactification of D=11 supergravity. This rescaled N^{010} space is of\nparticular interest for the AdS_4/CFT_3 correspondence, and its SU(3) x SU(2)\nisometric realization is essential for the OSp(4|3) classification of the\nKaluza-Klein modes.",
        "positive": "Models for the BPS Berry Connection: Motivated by the Nahm's construction, in this paper we present a systematic\nconstruction of Schr\\\"{o}dinger Hamiltonians for a spin-1/2 particle where the\nBerry connection in the ground-state sector becomes the\nBogomolny-Prasad-Sommerfield (BPS) monopole of $SU(2)$ Yang-Mills-Higgs theory.\nOur construction enjoys a single arbitrary monotonic function, thereby creating\ninfinitely many quantum-mechanical models that simulate the BPS monopole in the\nspace of model parameters."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Unruh-DeWitt detectors as mirrors: Dynamical reflectivity and Casimir\n  effect: We demonstrate that the Unruh-DeWitt harmonic-oscillator detectors in (1+1)\ndimensions derivative-coupled with a massless scalar field can mimic the atom\nmirrors in free space. Without introducing the Dirichlet boundary condition to\nthe field, the reflectivity of our detector/atom mirror is dynamically\ndetermined by the interaction of the detector's internal oscillator and the\nfield. When the oscillator-field coupling is strong, a broad frequency range of\nthe quantum field can be mostly reflected by the detector mirror at late times.\nConstructing a cavity model with two such detector mirrors, we can see how the\nquantum field inside the cavity evolves from a continuous to a quasi-discrete\nspectrum which gives a negative Casimir energy density at late times. In our\nnumerical calculations, the Casimir energy density in the cavity does not\nconverge until the UV cutoff is sufficiently large, with which the two internal\noscillators are always separable.",
        "positive": "On the Mathai-Quillen Formalism of Topological Sigma Models: We present a Mathai-Quillen interpretation of topological sigma models. The\nkey to the construction is a natural connection in a suitable infinite\ndimensional vector bundle over the space of maps from a Riemann surface (the\nworld sheet) to an almost complex manifold (the target). We show that the\ncovariant derivative of the section defined by the differential operator that\nappears in the equation for pseudo-holomorphic curves is precisely the\nlinearization of the operator itself. We also discuss the Mathai-Quillen\nformalism of gauged topological sigma models."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fractional Hall physics from large $N$ interacting fermions: We solve models of $N$ species of fermions in the lowest Landau level with\n$U(N)$-invariant interactions in the $N\\gg 1$ limit. We find saddles of the\nsecond quantized path integral at fixed chemical potential corresponding to\nfractional Hall states with filling $ \\frac{p}{q}$ where the integers $p$ and\n$q$ depend on the chemical potential and interactions. On a long torus there\nare $q$ such states related by translation symmetry, and $SU(N)$-invariant\nexcitations of fractional charge. Remarkably, these saddles and their filling\npersist as extrema of the second-quantized action at $N=1$. Our construction\ngives a first-principles derivation of fractional Hall states from strongly\ninteracting fermions.",
        "positive": "Treatment of Constraints in Stochastic Quantization Method and\n  Covariantized Langevin Equation: We study the treatment of the constraints in stochastic quantization method.\nWe improve the treatment of the stochastic consistency condition proposed by\nNamiki et al. by suitably taking account of the Ito calculus. Then we obtain an\nimproved Langevin equation and the Fokker-Planck equation which naturally leads\nto the correct path integral quantization of the constrained system as the\nstochastic equilibrium state. This treatment is applied to $O(N)$ non-linear\n$\\sigma$ model and it is shown that singular terms appearing in the improved\nLangevin equation cancel out the $\\delta^n(0)$ divergences in one loop order.\nWe also ascertain that the above Langevin equation, rewritten in terms of\nindependent variablesis, actually equivalent to the one in the\ngeneral-coordinate-transformation-covariant and vielbein-rotation-invariant\nformalism."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Almost BPS but still not renormalized: A key feature of BPS multi-center solutions is that the equations controlling\nthe positions of these centers are not renormalized as one goes from weak to\nstrong coupling. In particular, this means that brane probes can capture the\nsame information as the fully back-reacted supergravity solution. We\ninvestigate this non-renormalization property for non-supersymmetric, extremal\n\"almost-BPS\" solutions at intermediate coupling when one of the centers is\nconsidered as a probe in the background created by the other centers. We find\nthat despite the lack of supersymmetry, the probe action reproduces exactly the\nequations underlying the fully back-reacted solution, which indicates that\nthese equations also do not receive quantum corrections. In the course of our\ninvestigation we uncover the relation between the charge parameters of\nalmost-BPS supergravity solutions and their quantized charges, which solves an\nold puzzle about the quantization of the charges of almost-BPS solutions.",
        "positive": "Evading the Lyth Bound in Hybrid Natural Inflation: Generically, the gravitational-wave or tensor-mode contribution to the\nprimordial curvature spectrum of inflation is tiny if the field-range of the\ninflaton is much smaller than the Planck scale. We show that this pessimistic\nconclusion is naturally avoided in a rather broad class of small-field models.\nMore specifically, we consider models where an axion-like shift symmetry keeps\nthe inflaton potential flat (up to non-perturbative cosine-shaped modulations),\nbut inflation nevertheless ends in a waterfall-regime, as is typical for hybrid\ninflation. In such hybrid natural inflation scenarios (examples are provided by\nWilson line inflation and fluxbrane inflation), the slow-roll parameter\n$\\epsilon$ can be sizable during an early period (relevant for the CMB\nspectrum). Subsequently, $\\epsilon$ quickly becomes very small before the\ntachyonic instability eventually terminates the slow roll regime. In this\nscenario, one naturally generates a considerable tensor-mode contribution in\nthe curvature spectrum, collecting nevertheless the required amount of\ne-foldings during the final period of inflation. While non-observation of\ntensors by Planck is certainly not a problem, a discovery in the medium to long\nterm future is realistic."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Vector and Axial anomaly in the Thirring-Wess model: We study the 2D Vector Meson model introduced by Thirring and Wess, that is\nto say the Schwinger model with massive photon and massless fermion. We prove,\nwith a renormalization group approach, that the vector and axial Ward\nidentities are broken by the Adler-Bell-Jackiw anomaly; and we rigorously\nestablish three widely believed consequences: a) the interacting meson-meson\ncorrelation equals a free boson propagator, though the mass is additively\nrenormalized by the anomaly; b) the anomaly is quadratic in the charge, in\nagreement with the Adler-Bardeen formula; c) the fermion-fermion correlation\nhas an anomalous long-distance decay.",
        "positive": "Explicit formula for singular vectors of the Virasoro algebra with\n  central charge less than 1: We calculate explicitly the singular vectors of the Virasoro algebra with the\ncentral charge $c\\leq 1$. As a result, we have an infinite sequence of the\nsingular vectors for each Fock space with given central charge and highest\nweight, and all its elements can be written in terms of the Jack symmetric\nfunctions with rectangular Young diagram."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Splitting of Branes on Orientifold Planes: Continuing the study in hep-th/0004092 and hep-th/0004092, we investigate a\nnon-trivial string dynamical process related to orientifold planes, i.e., the\nsplitting of physical NS-branes and D(p+2)-branes on orientifold Op-planes.\nCreation or annihilation of physical Dp-branes usually accompanies the\nsplitting process. In the particular case p=4, we use Seiberg-Witten curves as\nan independent method to check the results.",
        "positive": "Propagating q-field and q-ball solution: One possible solution of the cosmological constant problem involves a\nso-called $q$-field, which self-adjusts so as to give a vanishing gravitating\nvacuum energy density (cosmological constant) in equilibrium. We show that this\n$q$-field can manifest itself in other ways. Specifically, we establish a\npropagating mode ($q$-wave) in the nontrivial vacuum and find a particular\nsoliton-type solution in flat spacetime, which we call a $q$-ball by analogy\nwith the well-known $Q$-ball solution. Both $q$-waves and $q$-balls are\nexpected to play a role for the equilibration of the $q$-field in the very\nearly universe."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Killings, Duality and Characteristic Polynomials: In this paper the complete geometrical setting of (lowest order) abelian\nT-duality is explored with the help of some new geometrical tools (the reduced\nformalism). In particular, all invariant polynomials (the integrands of the\ncharacteristic classes) can be explicitly computed for the dual model in terms\nof quantities pertaining to the original one and with the help of the canonical\nconnection whose intrinsic characterization is given. Using our formalism the\nphysically, and T-duality invariant, relevant result that top forms are zero\nwhen there is an isometry without fixed points is easily proved.",
        "positive": "Low frequency propagating shear waves in holographic liquids: Recently, it has been realized that liquids are able to support solid-like\ntransverse modes with an interesting gap in momentum space developing in the\ndispersion relation. We show that this gap is also present in simple\nholographic bottom-up models, and it is strikingly similar to the gap in\nliquids in several respects. Firstly, the appropriately defined relaxation time\nin the holographic models decreases with temperature in the same way. More\nimportantly, the holographic $k$-gap increases with temperature and with the\ninverse of the relaxation time. Our results suggest that the Maxwell-Frenkel\napproach to liquids, involving the additivity of liquid hydrodynamic and\nsolid-like elastic responses, can be applicable to a much wider class of\nphysical systems and effects than thought previously, including relativistic\nmodels and strongly-coupled quantum field theories. More precisely, the\ndispersion relation of the propagating shear waves is in perfect agreement with\nthe Maxwell-Frenkel approach. On the contrary the relaxation time appearing in\nthe holographic models considered does not match the Maxwell prediction in\nterms of the shear viscosity and the instantaneous elastic modulus but it\nshares the same temperature dependence."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Adding new branches to the \"Christmas tree\" of the quasinormal spectrum\n  of black branes: In holography, quasinormal spectra of black branes coincide with the poles of\nretarded finite-temperature correlation functions of a dual quantum field\ntheory in the limit of infinite number of relevant degrees of freedom such as\ncolours. For asymptotically anti-de Sitter backgrounds, the spectra form a\ncharacteristic pattern in the complex frequency plane, colloquially known as\nthe \"Christmas tree\". At infinite coupling, the tree has only one pair of\nbranches. At large but finite coupling, the branches become more dense and lift\nup towards the real axis, consistent with the expectation of forming a branch\ncut in the limit of zero coupling. However, it is known that at zero coupling,\nthe corresponding correlators generically have not one but multiple branch cuts\nseparated by intervals proportional to the Matsubara frequency. This suggests\nthe existence of multiple branches of the \"Christmas tree\" spectrum in dual\ngravity. In this note, we show numerically how these additional branches of the\nspectrum can emerge from the dual gravitational action with higher-derivative\nterms. This phenomenon appears to be robust, yet, reproducing the expected weak\ncoupling behaviour of the correlators quantitatively implies the existence of\ncertain constraints on the coefficients of the higher-derivative terms of the\ndual gravity theory.",
        "positive": "Algorithms for the calculation of the heat kernel coefficients: We present a brief overview of several approaches for calculating the local\nasymptotic expansion of the heat kernel for Laplace-type operators. The\ndifferent methods developed in the papers of both authors some time ago are\ndescribed in more detail."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Theta Expansion of First Massive Vertex Operator in Pure Spinor: We provide the covariant superspace equations that are sufficient to\ndetermine the complete $\\theta$ expansion of the vertex operator of the open\nstring massive states with $(mass)^2=1/\\alpha'$ in pure spinor formalism of\nsuperstring theory. These equations get rid of the redundant degrees of freedom\nin superfields and are consistent with the BRST conditions derived in [1].\nFurther, we give the explicit $\\theta$ expansion of the superfields appearing\nin the unintegrated vertex to $O(\\theta^3)$. Finally, we compute the\ncontribution to a 3-point tree amplitude with the resulting vertex operator\nupto $O(\\theta^3)$ and find its kinematic structure to be identical to the\ncorresponding RNS computation.",
        "positive": "Real homotopy theory and supersymmetric quantum mechanics: In the context of studying string backgrounds, much work has been devoted to\nthe question of how similar a general quantum field theory (specifically, a\ntwo-dimensional superconformal theory) is to a sigma model. Put differently,\none would like to know how well or poorly one can understand the physics of\nstring backgrounds in terms of concepts of classical geometry. Much attention\nhas also been given of late to the question of how geometry can be encoded in a\nmicroscopic physical description that makes no explicit reference to space and\ntime. We revisit the first question, and review both well-known and less\nwell-known results about geometry and sigma models from the perspective of\ndimensional reduction to supersymmetric quantum mechanics. The consequences of\narising as the dimensional reduction of a $d$-dimensional theory for the\nresulting quantum mechanics are explored. In this context, we reinterpret the\nminimal models of rational (more precisely, complex) homotopy theory as certain\nsupersymmetric Fock spaces, with unusual actions of the supercharges. The data\nof the Massey products appear naturally as supersymmetric vacuum states that\nare entangled between different degrees of freedom. This connection between\nentanglement and geometry is, as far as we know, not well-known to physicists.\nIn addition, we take note of an intriguing numerical coincidence in the context\nof string compactification on hyper-Kahler eight-manifolds."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Clebsch Confinement and Instantons in Turbulence: We introduce a concept of Clebsch confinement related to unbroken gauge\ninvariance and study Clebsch instantons: singular vorticity sheets with\nnontrivial helicity. This is realization of the \"Instantons and intermittency\"\nprogram we started back in the 90ties\\cite{FKLM}.\n  These singular solutions are involved in enhancing infinitesimal random\nforces at remote boundary leading to critical phenomena. In the Euler equation\nvorticity is concentrated along the random self-avoiding surface, with tangent\ncomponents proportional to the delta function of normal distance.\n  Viscosity in Navier-Stokes equation smears this delta function to the\nGaussian with width $h \\propto \\nu^{\\nicefrac{3}{5}}$ at $\\nu \\ra 0$ with fixed\nenergy flow.\n  These instantons dominate the enstrophy in dissipation as well as the PDF for\nvelocity circulation $\\Gamma_C$ around fixed loop $C$ in space.\n  At large loops, the resulting symmetric exponential distribution perfectly\nfits the numerical simulations\\cite{IBS20} including pre-exponential factor\n$1/\\sqrt{|\\Gamma|}$.\n  At small loops, we advocate relation of resulting random self-avoiding\nsurface theory with multi-fractal scaling laws observed in numerical\nsimulations. These laws are explained as a result of fluctuating internal\nmetric (Liouville field). The curve of anomalous dimensions $\\zeta(n)$ can be\nfitted at small $n$ to the parabola, coming from the Liouville theory with two\nparameters $\\alpha, Q$. At large $n$ the ratios of the subsequent moments in\nour theory grow linearly with the size of the loop, which corresponds to finite\nvalue of $\\zeta(\\infty)$ in agreement with DNS.",
        "positive": "A geometric dual of $c$-extremization: We consider supersymmetric AdS$_3 \\times Y_7$ and AdS$_2 \\times Y_9$\nsolutions of type IIB and $D=11$ supergravity, respectively, that are\nholographically dual to SCFTs with $(0,2)$ supersymmetry in two dimensions and\n$\\mathcal{N}=2$ supersymmetry in one dimension. The geometry of $Y_{2n+1}$,\nwhich can be defined for $n\\ge 3$, shares many similarities with\nSasaki-Einstein geometry, including the existence of a canonical R-symmetry\nKilling vector, but there are also some crucial differences. We show that the\nR-symmetry Killing vector may be determined by extremizing a function that\ndepends only on certain global, topological data. In particular, assuming it\nexists, for $n=3$ one can compute the central charge of an AdS$_3 \\times Y_7$\nsolution without knowing its explicit form. We interpret this as a geometric\ndual of $c$-extremization in $(0,2)$ SCFTs. For the case of AdS$_2 \\times Y_9$\nsolutions we show that the extremal problem can be used to obtain properties of\nthe dual quantum mechanics, including obtaining the entropy of a class of\nsupersymmetric black holes in AdS$_4$. We also study many specific examples of\nthe type AdS$_3\\times T^2 \\times Y_5$, including a new family of explicit\nsupergravity solutions. In addition we discuss the possibility that the $(0,2)$\nSCFTs dual to these solutions can arise from the compactification on $T^2$ of\ncertain $d=4$ quiver gauge theories associated with five-dimensional\nSasaki-Einstein metrics and, surprisingly, come to a negative conclusion."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chronology protection in stationary three-dimensional spacetimes: We study chronology protection in stationary, rotationally symmetric\nspacetimes in 2+1 dimensional gravity, focusing especially on the case of\nnegative cosmological constant. We show that in such spacetimes closed timelike\ncurves must either exist all the way to the boundary or, alternatively, the\nmatter stress tensor must violate the null energy condition in the bulk. We\nalso show that the matter in the closed timelike curve region gives a negative\ncontribution to the conformal weight from the point of view of the dual\nconformal field theory. We illustrate these properties in a class of examples\ninvolving rotating dust in anti-de Sitter space, and comment on the use of the\nAdS/CFT correspondence to study chronology protection.",
        "positive": "Supersymmetric AdS$_2\\times \u03a3_2$ solutions from tri-sasakian\n  truncation: A class of $AdS_2\\times \\Sigma_2$, with $\\Sigma_2$ being a two-sphere or a\nhyperbolic space, solutions within four-dimensional $N=4$ gauged supergravity\ncoupled to three-vector multiplets with dyonic gauging is identified. The\ngauged supergravity has non-semisimple $SO(3)\\ltimes\n(\\mathbf{T}^3,\\hat{\\mathbf{T}}^3)$ gauge group and can be obtained from a\nconsistent truncation of eleven-dimensional supergravity on a tri-sasakian\nmanifold. The maximally symmetric vacua contain $AdS_4$ geometries with $N=1,3$\nsupersymmetry corresponding to $N=1$ and $N=3$ superconformal field theories\n(SCFTs) in three dimensions. We find supersymmetric solutions of the form\n$AdS_2\\times \\Sigma_2$ preserving two supercharges. These solutions describe\ntwisted compactifications of the dual $N=1$ and $N=3$ SCFTs and should arise as\nnear horizon geometries of dyonic black holes in asymptotically $AdS_4$\nspace-time. Most solutions have hyperbolic horizons although some of them\nexhibit spherical horizons. These provide a new class of $AdS_2\\times \\Sigma_2$\ngeometries with known M-theory origin."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-Perturbative Quantum Geometry III: The Nekrasov-Shatashvili limit of the refined topological string on toric\nCalabi-Yau manifolds and the resulting quantum geometry is studied from a\nnon-perturbative perspective. The quantum differential and thus the quantum\nperiods exhibit Stokes phenomena over the combined string coupling and\nquantized Kaehler moduli space. We outline that the underlying formalism of\nexact quantization is generally applicable to points in moduli space featuring\nmassless hypermultiplets, leading to non-perturbative band splitting. Our prime\nexample is local P1xP1 near a conifold point in moduli space. In particular, we\nwill present numerical evidence that in a Stokes chamber of interest the string\nbased quantum geometry reproduces the non-perturbative corrections for the\nNekrasov-Shatashvili limit of 4d supersymmetric SU(2) gauge theory at strong\ncoupling found in the previous part of this series. A preliminary discussion of\nlocal P2 near the conifold point in moduli space is also provided.",
        "positive": "Power Suppression at Large Scales in String Inflation: We study a possible origin of the anomalous suppression of the power spectrum\nat large angular scales in the cosmic microwave background within the framework\nof explicit string inflationary models where inflation is driven by a closed\nstring modulus parameterizing the size of the extra dimensions. In this class\nof models the apparent power loss at large scales is caused by the background\ndynamics which involves a sharp transition from a fast-roll power law phase to\na period of Starobinsky-like slow-roll inflation. An interesting feature of\nthis class of string inflationary models is that the number of e-foldings of\ninflation is inversely proportional to the string coupling to a positive power.\nTherefore once the string coupling is tuned to small values in order to trust\nstring perturbation theory, enough e-foldings of inflation are automatically\nobtained without the need of extra tuning. Moreover, in the less tuned cases\nthe sharp transition responsible for the power loss takes place just before the\nlast 50-60 e-foldings of inflation. We illustrate these general claims in the\ncase of Fibre Inflation where we study the strength of this transition in terms\nof the attractor dynamics, finding that it induces a pivot from a blue to a\nredshifted power spectrum which can explain the apparent large scale power\nloss. We compute the effects of this pivot for example cases and demonstrate\nhow magnitude and duration of this effect depend on model parameters."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non periodic Ishibashi states: the su(2) and su(3) affine theories: We consider the su(2) and su(3) affine theories on a cylinder, from the point\nof view of their discrete internal symmetries. To this end, we adapt the usual\ntreatment of boundary conditions leading to the Cardy equation to take the\nsymmetry group into account. In this context, the role of the Ishibashi states\nfrom all (non periodic) bulk sectors is emphasized. This formalism is then\napplied to the su(2) and su(3) models, for which we determine the action of the\nsymmetry group on the boundary conditions, and we compute the twisted partition\nfunctions. Most if not all data relevant to the symmetry properties of a\nspecific model are hidden in the graphs associated with its partition function,\nand their subgraphs. A synoptic table is provided that summarizes the many\nconnections between the graphs and the symmetry data that are to be expected in\ngeneral.",
        "positive": "Solitons, monopoles and duality: from sine-Gordon to Seiberg-Witten: An elementary introduction into the Seiberg-Witten theory is given. Many\nefforts are made to get it as pedagogical as possible, within a reasonable\nsize. The selection of the relevant material is heavily oriented towards\ngraduate students. The basic ideas about solitons, monopoles, supersymmetry and\nduality are reviewed from first principles, and they are illustrated on the\nsimplest examples. The exact Seiberg-Witten solution to the low-energy\neffective action of the four-dimensional N=2 supersymmetric pure Yang-Mills\ntheory with the gauge group SU(2) is the main subject of the review. Other\ngauge groups are also considered. Some related issues (like adding matter,\nconfinement, string dualities) are outlined."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dual Double Field Theory: We present the dual formulation of double field theory at the linearized\nlevel. This is a classically equivalent theory describing the duals of the\ndilaton, the Kalb-Ramond field and the graviton in a T-duality or O(D,D)\ncovariant way. In agreement with previous proposals, the resulting theory\nencodes fields in mixed Young-tableau representations, combining them into an\nantisymmetric 4-tensor under O(D,D). In contrast to previous proposals, the\ntheory also requires an antisymmetric 2-tensor and a singlet, which are not all\npure gauge. The need for these additional fields is analogous to a similar\nphenomenon for \"exotic\" dualizations, and we clarify this by comparing with the\ndualizations of the component fields. We close with some speculative remarks on\nthe significance of these observations for the full non-linear theory yet to be\nconstructed.",
        "positive": "Picard-Lefschetz decomposition and Cheshire Cat resurgence in 3D\n  $\\mathcal{N}=2$ field theories: We study three dimensional $\\mathcal{N}=2$ supersymmetric abelian gauge\ntheories with various matter contents living on a squashed sphere. In\nparticular we focus on two problems: firstly we perform a Picard-Lefschetz\ndecomposition of the localised path integral but, due to the absence of a\ntopological theta angle in three dimensions, we find that steepest descent\ncycles do not permit us to distinguish between contributions to the\npath-integral coming from (would-be) different topological sectors, for example\na vortex from a vortex/anti-vortex. The second problem we analyse is the\ntruncation of all perturbative expansions. Although the partition function can\nbe written as a transseries expansion of perturbative plus non-perturbative\nterms, due to the supersymmetric nature of the observable studied we have that\neach perturbative expansion around trivial and non-trivial saddles truncates\nsuggesting that normal resurgence analysis cannot be directly applied. The\nfirst problem is solved by complexifying the squashing parameter, which can be\nthought of as introducing a chemical potential for the global $U(1)$ rotation\nsymmetry, or equivalently an omega deformation. This effectively introduces a\nhidden \"topological angle\" into the theory and the path integral can be now\ndecomposed into a sum over different topological sectors via Picard-Lefschetz\ntheory. The second problem is solved by deforming the matter content making\nmanifest the Cheshire Cat resurgence structure of the supersymmetric theory,\nallowing us to reconstruct non-perturbative information from perturbative data\neven when these do truncate."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Coupling of Higher Spin Gauge Fields to a Scalar Field in $AdS_{d+1}$\n  and their Holographic Images in the $d$-Dimensional Sigma Model: The three-point functions of two scalar fields $\\sigma$ and the higher spin\nfield $h^{(\\ell)}$ of HS(4) on the one side and of their proposed holographic\nimages $\\alpha$ and $\\mathcal{J^{(\\ell)}}$ of the minimal conformal O(N) sigma\nmodel of dimension three on the other side are evaluated at leading\nperturbative order and compared in order to fix the coupling constant of HS(4).\nThis necessitates a careful analysis of the local current $\\Psi^{(\\ell)}$ to\nwhich $h^{(\\ell)}$ couples in HS(4) and which is bilinear in $\\sigma$.",
        "positive": "Real Lie Algebras of Differential Operators and Quasi-Exactly Solvable\n  Potentials: We first establish some general results connecting real and complex Lie\nalgebras of first-order differential operators. These are applied to completely\nclassify all finite-dimensional real Lie algebras of first-order differential\noperators in $R^2$. Furthermore, we find all algebras which are quasi-exactly\nsolvable, along with the associated finite-dimensional modules of analytic\nfunctions. The resulting real Lie algebras are used to construct new\nquasi-exactly solvable Schroedinger operators on $R^2$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Deformations of special geometry: in search of the topological string: The topological string captures certain superstring amplitudes which are also\nencoded in the underlying string effective action. However, unlike the\ntopological string free energy, the effective action that comprises\nhigher-order derivative couplings is not defined in terms of duality covariant\nvariables. This puzzle is resolved in the context of real special geometry by\nintroducing the so-called Hesse potential, which is defined in terms of duality\ncovariant variables and is related by a Legendre transformation to the function\nthat encodes the effective action. It is demonstrated that the Hesse potential\ncontains a unique subsector that possesses all the characteristic properties of\na topological string free energy. Genus $g\\leq3$ contributions are constructed\nexplicitly for a general class of effective actions associated with a\nspecial-K\\\"ahler target space and are shown to satisfy the holomorphic anomaly\nequation of perturbative type-II topological string theory. This identification\nof a topological string free energy from an effective action is primarily based\non conceptual arguments and does not involve any of its more specific\nproperties. It is fully consistent with known results. A general theorem is\npresented that captures some characteristic features of the equivalence, which\ndemonstrates at the same time that non-holomorphic deformations of special\ngeometry can be dealt with consistently.",
        "positive": "Non-equilibrium attractor in high-temperature QCD plasmas: We establish the existence of a far-from-equilibrium attractor in\nweakly-coupled gauge theory undergoing 0+1d Bjorken expansion which goes beyond\nthe energy-momentum tensor to the detailed form of the one-particle\ndistribution function. We then demonstrate that the dynamics can be re-scaled\nat intermediate times and represented by universal exponents. Finally, we\nassess different procedures for reconstructing the full one-particle\ndistribution function from the energy-momentum tensor along the attractor and\ndiscuss implications for the freeze-out procedure used in the phenomenological\nanalysis of ultra-relativistic nuclear collisions"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Stable Non-Supersymmetric Supergravity Solutions from Deformations of\n  the Maldacena-Nunez Background: We study a deformation of the type IIB Maldacena-Nunez background which\narises as the near-horizon limit of NS5 branes wrapped on a two-cycle. This\nbackground is dual to a \"little string theory\" compactified on a two-sphere, a\ntheory which at low energies includes four-dimensional N = 1 super Yang-Mills\ntheory. The deformation we study corresponds to a mass term for some of the\nscalar fields in this theory, and it breaks supersymmetry completely. In the\nlanguage of seven-dimensional SO(4) gauged supergravity the deformation\ninvolves (at leading order) giving a VEV, depending only on the radial\ncoordinate, to a particular scalar field. We explicitly construct the\ncorresponding solution at leading order in the deformation, both in\nseven-dimensional and in ten-dimensional supergravity, and we verify that it\ncompletely breaks supersymmetry. Since the original background had a mass gap\nand we are performing a small deformation, the deformed background is\nguaranteed to be stable even though it is not supersymmetric.",
        "positive": "Bosonization, effective action, and R-operation in a generalized\n  Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model: Bosonization in a theory with four-fermion interaction of Nambu-Jona-Lasinio\ntype with additional U(N) symmetry is studied. It is demonstrated that\nbosonization is not uniquely determined by the interaction terms due to Fierz\nidentities. Effective action including both fermions and composite fields is\nconstructed. R-operation renormalization scheme is developed for the effective\naction. A generalization of bosonization transformation called composite fields\nformalism is proposed and demonstrated to be applicable to any field theory.\nNambu-Jona-Lasinio model with three-fermion composite fields is studied as an\nexample. Fierz identities for sixth-order combinations of fermions are derived."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "All-order celestial OPE from on-shell recursion: We determine tree level, all-order celestial operator product expansions\n(OPEs) of gluons and gravitons in the maximally helicity violating (MHV)\nsector. We start by obtaining the all-order collinear expansions of MHV\namplitudes using the inverse soft recursion relations that they satisfy. These\ncollinear expansions are recast as celestial OPE expansions in bases of\nmomentum as well as boost eigenstates. This shows that inverse soft recursion\nfor MHV amplitudes is dual to OPE recursion in celestial conformal field\ntheory.",
        "positive": "Holographic nuclear matter in presence of chemical potential at finite\n  temperature: We study the dense nuclear matter within the holographic Sakai-Sugimoto\nmodel. The nuclear matter is described via instantons in bulk, whose size has\nthe new temperature dependency. Then, properties of nuclear matter have been\nstudied for different temperatures. For example, free energy and baryon density\nare examined for different temperature values. Also, nuclear matter properties,\nlike the speed of sound and connection of nuclear matter and quark matter, are\ndiscussed. As we have increased the temperature, the phase transition value has\nbeen changed from baryon to quark, which is non-physical. Also, we can see\ncontinuity between the baryonic and quark phases. Speed of sound at the low\nchemical potential in the presence of temperature is different, but when the\npotential increases, the effect of temperature on the speed of sound will\nremain unchanged. In the phase diagram, for significant chemical potential,\nchiral symmetry is restored and provides all things that we have the realistic\nmodel."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Nonplanar integrability at two loops: In this article we compute the action of the two loop dilatation operator on\nrestricted Schur polynomials that belong to the su(2) sector, in the displaced\ncorners approximation. In this non-planar large N limit, operators that\ndiagonalize the one loop dilatation operator are not corrected at two loops.\nThe resulting spectrum of anomalous dimensions is related to a set of decoupled\nharmonic oscillators, indicating integrability in this sector of the theory at\ntwo loops. The anomalous dimensions are a non-trivial function of the 't Hooft\ncoupling, with a spectrum that is continuous and starting at zero at large N,\nbut discrete at finite N.",
        "positive": "A Moyal Quantization of the Continuous Toda Field: Since the lightcone self dual spherical membrane, moving in flat target\nbackgrounds, has a direct correspondence with the $SU(\\infty)$ Nahm equations\nand the continuous Toda theory, we construct the Moyal deformations of the self\ndual membrane in terms of the Moyal deformations of the continuous Toda theory.\nThis is performed by using the Weyl-Wigner-Moyal quantization technique of the\n3D continuous Toda field equation, and its associated 2D continuous Toda\nmolecule, based on Moyal deformations of rotational Killing symmetry reductions\nof Plebanski first heavenly equation associated with 4D Self Dual Gravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "q$-Deformed Chern Class, Chern-Simons and Cocycle Hierarchy: In this paper, from the $q$-gauge covariant condition we define the\n$q$-deformed Killing form and the second $q$-deformed Chern class for the\nquantum group $SU_{q}(2)$. Developing Zumino's method we introduce a\n$q$-deformed homotopy operator to compute the $q$-deformed Chern-Simons and the\n$q$-deformed cocycle hierarchy. Some recursive relations related to the\ngeneralized $q$-deformed Killing forms are derived to prove the cocycle\nhierarchy formulas directly. At last, we construct the $q$-gauge covariant\nLagrangian and derive the $q$-deformed Yang-Mills equation. We find that the\ncomponents of the singlet and the adjoint representation are separated in the\n$q$-deformed Chern class, $q$-deformed cocycle hierarchy and the $q$-deformed\nLagrangian, although they are mixed in the commutative relations of BRST\nalgebra.",
        "positive": "Stringy Cosmic Strings and Axion Cohomology: The static stationary axially symmetric background (\"infinite cosmic string\")\nof the $D=4$ string theory provided with an axion charge is studied in the\neffective theory approach. The most general exact solution is constructed. It\nis found that the Kalb-Ramond axion charge, present in the string topology\n$R^{3} \\times S^{1}$, produces nontrivial gravitational field configurations\nwhich feature horizons. The corresponding ``no-hair'' theorems are proved which\nstress uniqueness of black strings. Connection of the solutions with the gauged\nWZWN sigma model constructions on the world sheet is discussed since they are\nthe only target spaces which hide their singularities behind horizons, and thus\nobey the cosmic censorship conjecture."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Multi-String Solutions by Soliton Methods in De Sitter Spacetime: {\\bf Exact} solutions of the string equations of motion and constraints are\n{\\bf systematically} constructed in de Sitter spacetime using the dressing\nmethod of soliton theory. The string dynamics in de Sitter spacetime is\nintegrable due to the associated linear system. We start from an exact string\nsolution $q_{(0)}$ and the associated solution of the linear system $\\Psi^{(0)}\n(\\lambda)$, and we construct a new solution $\\Psi(\\lambda)$ differing from\n$\\Psi^{(0)}(\\lambda)$ by a rational matrix in $\\lambda$ with at least four\npoles $\\lambda_{0},1/\\lambda_{0},\\lambda_{0}^*,1/\\lambda_{0}^*$. The periodi-\ncity condition for closed strings restrict $\\lambda _{0}$ to discrete values\nexpressed in terms of Pythagorean numbers. Here we explicitly construct solu-\ntions depending on $(2+1)$-spacetime coordinates, two arbitrary complex numbers\n(the 'polarization vector') and two integers $(n,m)$ which determine the string\nwindings in the space. The solutions are depicted in the hyperboloid coor-\ndinates $q$ and in comoving coordinates with the cosmic time $T$. Despite of\nthe fact that we have a single world sheet, our solutions describe {\\bf multi-\nple}(here five) different and independent strings; the world sheet time $\\tau$\nturns to be a multivalued function of $T$.(This has no analogue in flat space-\ntime).One string is stable (its proper size tends to a constant for $T\\to\\infty\n$, and its comoving size contracts); the other strings are unstable (their\nproper sizes blow up for $T\\to\\infty$, while their comoving sizes tend to cons-\ntants). These solutions (even the stable strings) do not oscillate in time. The\ninterpretation of these solutions and their dynamics in terms of the sinh-\nGordon model is particularly enlighting.",
        "positive": "Superalgebra Realization of the 3-algebras in N=6, 8 Chern-Simons-matter\n  Theories: We use superalgebras to realize the 3-algebras used to construct N=6, 8\nChern-Simons-matter (CSM) theories. We demonstrate that the superalgebra\nrealization of the 3-algebras provides a unified framework for classifying the\ngauge groups of the N \\geq 5 theories based on 3-algebras. Using this\nrealization, we rederive the ordinary Lie algebra construction of the general\nN=6 CSM theory from its 3-algebra counterpart, and reproduce all known examples\nas well. In particular, we explicitly construct the Nambu 3-bracket in terms of\na double graded commutator of PSU(2|2). The N = 8 theory of Bagger, Lambert and\nGustavsson (BLG) with SO(4) gauge group is constructed by using several\ndifferent ways. A quantization scheme for the 3-brackets is proposed by\npromoting the double graded commutators as quantum mechanical double graded\ncommutators."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Notes on SL(2) conformal fields theories. Exact solution and\n  applications: In these notes I briefly outline SL(2) degenerate conformal field theories\nand their application to some related models, namely 2d gravity and N=2\ndiscrete superconformal series.",
        "positive": "Lovelock gravity, black holes and holography: This thesis is divided in two separate parts, the first concerned with\ngravitational aspects of Lovelock theories, the second with some of their\nholographic applications."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "STR: a Mathematica package for the method of uniqueness: We present STR (Star-Triangle Relations), a Mathematica package designed to\nsolve Feynman diagrams by means of the method of uniqueness in any Euclidean\nspacetime dimension. The method of uniqueness is a powerful technique to solve\nmulti-loop Feynman integrals in theories with conformal symmetry imposing some\nrelations between the powers of propagators and the spacetime dimension. In our\nalgorithm we include both identities for scalar and Yukawa type integrals. The\npackage provides a graphical environment in which it is possible to draw the\ndesired diagram with the mouse input and a set of tools to modify and compute\nit. Throughout the use of a graphic interface, the package should be easily\naccessible to users with little or no previous experience on diagrams\ncomputation. This manual includes some pedagogical examples of computation of\nFeynman graphs as the scalar two-loop kite master integral and a fermionic\ndiagram appearing in the computation of the spectrum of the $\\gamma$-deformed\n$\\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM in the double-scaling limit.",
        "positive": "Power-counting during single-field slow-roll inflation: We elucidate the counting of the relevant small parameters in inflationary\nperturbation theory. Doing this allows for an explicit delineation of the\ndomain of validity of the semi-classical approximation to gravity used in the\ncalculation of inflationary correlation functions. We derive an expression for\nthe dependence of correlation functions of inflationary perturbations on the\nslow-roll parameter $\\epsilon = -\\dot{H}/H^2$, as well as on $H/M_p$, where $H$\nis the Hubble parameter during inflation. Our analysis is valid for\nsingle-field models in which the inflaton can traverse a Planck-sized range in\nfield values and where all slow-roll parameters have approximately the same\nmagnitude. As an application, we use our expression to seek the boundaries of\nthe domain of validity of inflationary perturbation theory for regimes where\nthis is potentially problematic: models with small speed of sound and models\nallowing eternal inflation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Semiclassical transport equations of Dirac particles in rotating frames: We establish covariant semiclassical transport equations of massive spin-1/2\nparticles which are generated by the quantum kinetic equation modified by\nenthalpy current dependent terms. The purpose of modification is to take into\naccount the noninertial properties due to the angular velocity of rotating\nframe which is equivalent to the fluid vorticity in hydrodynamical approach. We\npresent the equations satisfied by the Wigner function components and by\nstudying their solution in the semiclassical approximation we accomplish the\ntransport equations. To acquire a three-dimensional kinetic theory, the\nrelativistic kinetic equations in the comoving frame are integrated over the\nzeroth component of four-momentum. The resulting vector and axial-vector\ncurrents are calculated at zero temperature. There exists another\nthree-dimensional formulation of Dirac particles which correctly addresses the\nnoninertial features of rotating coordinates. We review it briefly and obtain\nthe mass corrections to the chiral vector and axial-vector currents produced by\nthis formulation.",
        "positive": "Schwinger Mechanism with Stochastic Quantization: We prescribe a formulation of the particle production with real-time\nStochastic Quantization. To construct the retarded and the time-ordered\npropagators we decompose the stochastic variables into positive- and\nnegative-energy parts. In this way we demonstrate how to derive a standard\nformula for the Schwinger mechanism under time-dependent electric fields. We\ndiscuss a mapping to the Schwinger-Keldysh formalism and a relation to the\nclassical statistical simulation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Primary Spin-4 Casimir Operators in the Holographic SO(N) Coset\n  Minimal Models: Starting from SO(N) current algebra, we construct two lowest primary higher\nspin-4 Casimir operators which are quartic in spin-1 fields. For N is odd, one\nof them corresponds to the current in the WB_{\\frac{N-1}{2}} minimal model. For\nN is even, the other corresponds to the current in the WD_{\\frac{N}{2}} minimal\nmodel. These primary higher spin currents, the generators of wedge subalgebra,\nare obtained from the operator product expansion of fermionic (or bosonic)\nprimary spin-N/2 field with itself in each minimal model respectively. We\nobtain, indirectly, the three-point functions with two real scalars, in the\nlarge N 't Hooft limit, for all values of the 't Hooft coupling which should be\ndual to the three-point functions in the higher spin AdS_3 gravity with matter.",
        "positive": "Geometric phases and hidden local gauge symmetry: The analysis of geometric phases associated with level crossing is reduced to\nthe familiar diagonalization of the Hamiltonian in the second quantized\nformulation. A hidden local gauge symmetry, which is associated with the\narbitrariness of the phase choice of a complete orthonormal basis set, becomes\nexplicit in this formulation (in particular, in the adiabatic approximation)\nand specifies physical observables. The choice of a basis set which specifies\nthe coordinate in the functional space is arbitrary in the second quantization,\nand a sub-class of coordinate transformations, which keeps the form of the\naction invariant, is recognized as the gauge symmetry. We discuss the\nimplications of this hidden local gauge symmetry in detail by analyzing\ngeometric phases for cyclic and noncyclic evolutions. It is shown that the\nhidden local symmetry provides a basic concept alternative to the notion of\nholonomy to analyze geometric phases and that the analysis based on the hidden\nlocal gauge symmetry leads to results consistent with the general prescription\nof Pancharatnam. We however note an important difference between the geometric\nphases for cyclic and noncyclic evolutions. We also explain a basic difference\nbetween our hidden local gauge symmetry and a gauge symmetry (or equivalence\nclass) used by Aharonov and Anandan in their definition of generalized\ngeometric phases."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Universal lifting in the D1-D5 CFT: We consider D1-D5-P states in the untwisted sector of the D1-D5 orbifold CFT\nwhere one copy of the seed CFT has been excited with a left-moving\nsuperconformal primary. Despite being BPS at the orbifold point, such states\ncan `lift' as the theory is deformed away from this point in moduli space. We\ncompute this lifting at second order in the deformation parameter for arbitrary\nleft-moving dimension $h$ of this class of states. This result displays an\ninteresting universality since the lifting does not depend on the details of\nthe superconformal primary; it depends only on the dimension. In the\nlarge-dimension limit the lift scales as $\\sqrt{h}\\,$; it is observed that such\nscaling appears to be a universal property of the lift of D1-D5-P states.",
        "positive": "The big picture: We discuss the conformal field theory and string field theory of the NSR\nsuperstring using a BRST operator with a nonminimal term, which allows all\nbosonic ghost modes to be paired into creation and annihilation operators.\nVertex operators for the Neveu-Schwarz and Ramond sectors have the same ghost\nnumber, as do string fields. The kinetic and interaction terms are the same for\nNeveu-Schwarz as for Ramond string fields, so spacetime supersymmetry is closer\nto being manifest. The kinetic terms and supersymmetry don't mix levels,\nsimplifying component analysis and gauge fixing."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Celestial self-dual Yang-Mills theory: a new formula and the OPE limit: Celestial holography is a new way to understand flat-space amplitudes.\nSelf-dual theories, due to their nice properties, are good subjects to study\ncelestial holography. In this paper, we developed a new formula to calculate\nthe celestial color-ordered self-dual Yang-Mills amplitudes based on celestial\nBerends-Giele currents, which makes the leading OPE limit manifest. In\naddition, we explore some higher-order terms of OPE in the celestial self-dual\nYang-Mills theory.",
        "positive": "Inverse Magnetic Catalysis from improved Holographic QCD in the\n  Veneziano limit: We study the dependence of the chiral condensate on external magnetic field\nin the context of holographic QCD at large number of flavors. We consider a\nholographic QCD model where the flavor degrees of freedom fully backreact on\nthe color dynamics. Perturbative QCD calculations have shown that $B$ acts\nconstructively on the chiral condensate, a phenomenon called \"magnetic\ncatalysis\". In contrast, recent lattice calculations show that, depending on\nthe number of flavors and temperature, the magnetic field may also act\ndestructively, which is called \"inverse magnetic catalysis\". Here we show that\nthe holographic theory is capable of both behaviors depending on the choice of\nparameters. For reasonable choice of the potentials entering the model we find\nqualitative agreement with the lattice expectations. Our results provide\ninsight for the physical reasons behind the inverse magnetic catalysis. In\nparticular, we argue that the backreaction of the flavors to the background\ngeometry decatalyzes the condensate."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Zitterbewegung Transient Regime in a Coarse-Grained Space-Time: In the present contribution, by studying a fractional version of Dirac's\nequation for the electron, we show that the phenomenon of Zitterbewegung in a\ncoarse-grained medium exhibits a transient oscillatory behavior, rather than a\npurely oscillatory regime, as it occurs in the integer case, $\\alpha=1$. Our\nresult suggests that, in such systems, the Zitterbewegung-type term related to\na trembling motion of a quasiparticle is tamed by its complex interactions with\nother particles and the medium. This can justify the difficulties in the\nobservation of this interesting phenomenon. The possibility that the\nZitterbewegung be accompanied by a damping factor supports the viewpoint of\nparticle substructures in Quantum Mechanics.",
        "positive": "Particle transfer in braneworld collisions: We study the behaviour of fermions localized on moving kinks as these collide\nwith either antikinks or spacetime boundaries. We numerically solve for the\nevolution of the scalar kinks and the bound (i.e. localized) fermion modes, and\ncalculate the number of fermions transfered to the antikink and boundary in\nterms of Bogoliubov coefficients. Interpreting the boundary as the brane on\nwhich we live, this models the ability of fermions on branes incoming from the\nbulk to ``stick'' on the world brane, even when the incoming branes bounce back\ninto the bulk."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Seiberg-Witten Kahler Potential as a Two-Sphere Partition Function: Recently it has been shown that the two-sphere partition function of a gauged\nlinear sigma model of a Calabi-Yau manifold yields the exact quantum Kahler\npotential of the Kahler moduli space of that manifold. Since four-dimensional\nN=2 gauge theories can be engineered by non-compact Calabi-Yau threefolds, this\nimplies that it is possible to obtain exact gauge theory Kahler potentials from\ntwo-sphere partition functions. In this paper, we demonstrate that the\nSeiberg-Witten Kahler potential can indeed be obtained as a two-sphere\npartition function. To be precise, we extract the quantum Kahler metric of 4D\nN=2 SU(2) Super-Yang-Mills theory by taking the field theory limit of the\nKahler parameters of the O(-2,-2) bundle over P1 x P1. We expect this method of\ncomputing the Kahler potential to generalize to other four-dimensional N=2\ngauge theories that can be geometrically engineered by toric Calabi-Yau\nthreefolds.",
        "positive": "Manifestly Gauge Covariant Treatment of Lattice Chiral Fermions. II: We propose a new formulation of chiral fermions on a lattice, on the basis of\na lattice extension of the covariant regularization scheme in continuum field\ntheory. The species doublers do not emerge. The real part of the effective\naction is just one half of that of Dirac-Wilson fermion and is always gauge\ninvariant even with a finite lattice spacing. The gauge invariance of the\nimaginary part, on the other hand, sets a severe constraint which is a lattice\nanalogue of the gauge anomaly free condition. For real gauge representations,\nthe imaginary part identically vanishes and the gauge invariance becomes exact."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Confining solutions of $(n+1)$-dimensional Yang-Mills equations for flat\n  and curved space-time with $n \\le 3$: We obtain exact static solutions of the $(n+1)$-dimensional SU(3) Yang-Mills\nequations for both flat and curved space-time cases with $n \\le 3$. We find\nthat the solutions obtained are confining functions for $n = 1, 2, 3$. We apply\nthe $(3+1)$ curved space-time solution to the anti-de Sitter and Schwarzschild\nmetrics.",
        "positive": "Conundrum for the free energy of a holonomous gluonic plasma at cubic\n  order: We compute the term $\\sim g^3$ in the free energy for a $SU(N)$ gauge theory\nwith nonzero holonomy at nonzero temperature. If the holonomy is generated\nkinematically by the introduction of gauge invariant sources coupled to\nPolyakov loops, the contribution of charged (off-diagonal) gluons to the free\nenergy at order $g^3$, ${\\cal F}^{\\left( 3\\rm{:c.g.} \\right)}$, is singular:\n${\\cal F}^{\\left( 3\\rm{:c.g.} \\right)} \\neq 0 $ without holonomy, but ${\\cal\nF}^{\\left( 3 \\rm{:c.g.} \\right)}= 0$ when the holonomy is nonzero, even\ninfinitesimally. We show that the absence of the charged gluon contribution is\nrequired by gauge invariance alone and is therefore a universal feature."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A covariant approach to braneworld holography: Exact holography for cosmological branes in an AdS-Schwarzschild bulk was\nfirst introduced in hep-th/0204218. We extend this notion to include all\nco-dimension one branes moving in non-trivial bulk spacetimes. We use a\ncovariant approach, and show that the bulk Weyl tensor projected on to the\nbrane can always be traded in for \"holographic\" energy-momentum on the brane.\nMore precisely, a brane moving in a non-maximally symmetric bulk has exactly\nthe same geometry as a brane moving in a maximally symmetric bulk, so long as\nwe include the holographic fields on the brane. This correspondence is exact in\nthat it works to all order in the brane energy-momentum tensor.",
        "positive": "Discretising geometry and preserving topology I: A discrete exterior\n  calculus: A discretisation scheme that preserves topological features of a physical\nproblem is extended so that differential geometric structures can be\napproximated in a consistent way thus giving access to the study of physical\nsystems which are not solely topological theories. Issues of convergence and a\nnumerical implementation are discussed. The follow-up article covers the\nresulting discretisation scheme with metric data."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On exactly solvable higher-derivative systems: We discuss exactly solvable systems involving integrals of motion with higher\npowers of momenta. If one of these integrals is chosen for the Hamiltonian, we\nobtain a higher-derivative system involving ghosts, i.e. a system whose\nHamiltonian is not bounded neither from below, nor from above. However, these\nghosts are benign: there is no collapse and unitarity is not violated.\n  As an example, we consider the 3-particle Toda periodic chain, with the cubic\ninvariant I chosen for the Hamiltonian. The classical trajectories exhibit\nregular oscillations, and the spectrum of the quantum Hamiltonian is discrete\nrunning from minus to plus infinity. We also discuss the classical dynamics of\na perturbed system with the Hamiltonian H = I + v, where v is an oscillator\npotential. Such a system is not exactly solvable, but its classical\ntrajectories exhibit not regular, but still benign behaviour without collapse.\nThis means that also the corresponding quantum problem is well defined.\n  The same observation can be made for exactly solvable (1+1)-dimensional field\ntheories involving an infinite number of conservation laws: any of them can be\nchosen for the Hamiltonian. We illustrate this for the Sine-Gordon and KdV\nmodels. In the latter case, the Lagrangian and standard integrals of motion\ninvolve higher spatial rather than temporal derivatives. But one can always\ninterchange x and t, after which we obtain a system with benign ghosts.",
        "positive": "Supersymmetry-Breaking Nonlinear Sigma Models: We consider a novel class of constraints on chiral superfields to obtain\nsupersymmetric nonlinear sigma models in four spacetime dimensions, which\nstrictly combine the internal symmetry breaking with spontaneous supersymmetry\nbreaking. The resultant massless modes can be exclusively Nambu-Goldstone\nbosons without their complex partners and the goldstino that is charged under\nthe internal symmetry. The massive modes show a peculiar relation among their\nmasses and the scales of symmetry breakings."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "An Investigation of Singular Lagrangians as Field Systems: The link between the treatment of singular lagrangians as field systems and\nthe general approch is studied. It is shown that singular Lagrangians as field\nsystems are always in exact agreement with the general approch.\n  Two examples and the singular Lagrangian with zero rank Hessian matrix are\nstudied. The equations of motion in the field systems are equivalent to the\nequations which contain accleration, and the constraints are equivalent to the\nequations which do not contain acceleration in the general approch treatment.",
        "positive": "Emergent Sasaki-Einstein geometry and AdS/CFT: We consider supergravity in five-dimensional Anti-De Sitter space $AdS_{5}$\nwith minimal supersymmetry, encoded by a Sasaki-Einstein metric on a\nfive-dimensional compact manifold $M$. Our main result reveals how the\nSasaki-Einstein metric emerges from a canonical state in the dual CFT, defined\nby a superconformal gauge theory in four dimensional Minkowski space\n$\\mathbb{R}^{3,1}$in the t'Hooft limit where the rank $N$ tends to infinity. We\nobtain explicit finite $N-$approximations to the Sasaki-Einstein metric,\nexpressed in terms of a canonical (i.e. background free) BPS-state on the gauge\ntheory side. We also provide a string theory interpretation of the BPS-state in\nquestion, which sheds new light on the previously noted intriguing duality of\ngiant gravitons."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Grassmannian VOA: We study the 3-parametric family of vertex operator algebras based on the\nunitary Grassmannian coset CFT $\\mathfrak{u}(M+N)_k/(\\mathfrak{u}(M)_k \\times\n\\mathfrak{u}(N)_k)$. This VOA serves as a basic building block for a large\nclass of cosets and generalizes the $\\mathcal{W}_\\infty$ algebra. We analyze\nrepresentations and their characters in detail and find surprisingly simple\ncharacter formulas for the representations in the generic parameter regime that\nadmit an elegant combinatorial formulation. We also discuss truncations of the\nalgebra and give a conjectural formula for the complete set of truncation\ncurves. We develop a theory of gluing for these algebras in order to build more\ncomplicated coset and non-coset algebras. We demonstrate the power of this\ntechnology with some examples and show in particular that the $\\mathcal{N}=2$\nsupersymmetric Grassmannian can be obtained by gluing three bosonic\nGrassmannian algebras in a loop. We finally speculate about the tantalizing\npossibility that this algebra is a specialization of an even larger\n4-parametric family of algebras exhibiting pentality symmetry. Specialization\nof this conjectural family should include both the unitary Grassmannian family\nas well as the Lagrangian Grassmannian family of VOAs which interpolates\nbetween the unitary and the orthosymplectic cosets.",
        "positive": "Perturbative Quantum Field Theory on Random Trees: In this paper we start a systematic study of quantum field theory on random\ntrees. Using precise probability estimates on their Galton-Watson branches and\na multiscale analysis, we establish the general power counting of averaged\nFeynman amplitudes and check that they behave indeed as living on an effective\nspace of dimension 4/3, the spectral dimension of random trees. In the `just\nrenormalizable' case we prove convergence of the averaged amplitude of any\ncompletely convergent graph, and establish the basic localization and\nsubtraction estimates required for perturbative renormalization. Possible\nconsequences for an SYK-like model on random trees are briefly discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Mersenne Primes, Polygonal Anomalies and String Theory Classification: It is pointed out that the Mersenne primes $M_p=(2^p-1)$ and associated\nperfect numbers ${\\cal M}_p=2^{p-1}M_p$ play a significant role in string\ntheory; this observation may suggest a classification of consistent string\ntheories.",
        "positive": "The dynamics of zeros of the elliptic solutions to the Schrodinger\n  equation: J. F. van Diejen and H. Puschmann have recently shown that the dynamics of\nzeros of the n-solitonic solutions to the Schrodinger equation with the\nreflectionless potential is governed by a rational Ruijsenaars-Schneider\nsystem. We use the algebraic-geometrical construction of solutions to the\nSchrodinger equation to generalize this result to the elliptic case."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Boundary $\u03c3$-model and corrections to D-brane actions: We consider a $\\sigma$-model formulation of open string theory in the\npresence of D-branes. We perform two-loop computations and discuss\ngravitational corrections to Born-Infeld action when branes are non-trivially\nembedded in a curved ambient space. In particular for the case of a stack of\n$N$ coincident D-branes we analyze couplings of the form\n$R_{ijkl}[\\Phi^i,\\Phi^j][\\Phi^k,\\Phi^l]$.",
        "positive": "Temperature-reflection I: field theory, ensembles, and interactions: In this paper, we revisit the claim that many partition functions are\ninvariant under reflecting temperatures to negative values (T-reflection). The\ngoal of this paper is to demarcate which partition functions should be\ninvariant under T-reflection, and why. Our main claim is that\nfinite-temperature path integrals for quantum field theories (QFTs) should be\nT-reflection invariant. Because multi-particle partition functions are equal to\nEuclidean path integrals for QFTs, we expect them to be T-reflection invariant.\nSingle-particle partition functions though are often not invariant under\nT-reflection. Several exactly solvable systems are non-invariant under naive\nT-reflection, but are likely invariant under an extended T-reflection. We give\nexample systems that are T-reflection invariant but are (1) non-unitary, (2)\nchiral, (3) interacting, (4) non-supersymmetric, or (5) non-conformal, and (6)\nargue that T-reflection is unrelated to time-reversal. Finally, we study the\ninterplay between T-reflection and perturbation theory in the anharmonic\nharmonic oscillator in quantum mechanics and in Yang-Mills in four-dimensions.\nThis is the first in a series of papers on temperature-reflections."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "SLED Phenomenology: Curvature vs. Volume: We assess the question whether the SLED (Supersymmetric Large Extra\nDimensions) model admits phenomenologically viable solutions with 4D maximal\nsymmetry. We take into account a finite brane width and a scale invariance (SI)\nbreaking dilaton-brane coupling, both of which should be included in a\nrealistic setup. Provided that the microscopic size of the brane is not tuned\nmuch smaller than the fundamental bulk Planck length, we find that either the\n4D curvature or the size of the extra dimensions is unacceptably large. Since\nthis result is independent of the dilaton-brane couplings, it provides the\nbiggest challenge to the SLED program.\n  In addition, to clarify its potential with respect to the cosmological\nconstant problem, we infer the amount of tuning on model parameters required to\nobtain a sufficiently small 4D curvature. A first answer was recently given in\n[arXiv:1508.01124], showing that 4D flat solutions are only ensured in the SI\ncase by imposing a tuning relation, even if a brane-localized flux is included.\nIn this companion paper, we find that the tuning can in fact be avoided for\ncertain SI breaking brane-dilaton couplings, but only at the price of worsening\nthe phenomenological problem.\n  Our results are obtained by solving the full coupled Einstein-dilaton system\nin a completely consistent way. The brane width is implemented using a\nwell-known ring regularization. In passing, we note that for the couplings\nconsidered here the results of [arXiv:1508.01124] (which only treated\ninfinitely thin branes) are all consistently recovered in the thin brane limit,\nand how this can be reconciled with the concerns about their correctness,\nrecently brought up in [arXiv:1509.04201].",
        "positive": "Connection between complete and Moebius forms of gauge invariant\n  operators: We study the connection between complete representations of gauge invariant\noperators and their Moebius representations acting in a limited space of\nfunctions. The possibility to restore the complete representations from Moebius\nforms in the coordinate space is proven and a method of restoration is worked\nout. The operators for transition from the standard BFKL kernel to the\nquasi-conformal one are found both in Moebius and total representations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Logarithmic Operators in Conformal Field Theory and The\n  $\\W_\\infty$-algebra: It is shown explicitly that the correlation functions of Conformal Field\nTheories (CFT) with the logarithmic operators are invariant under the\ndifferential realization of Borel subalgebra of $\\W_\\infty$-algebra. This\nalgebra is constructed by tensor-operator algebra of differential\nrepresentation of ordinary $sl(2,C)$. This method allows us to write\ndifferential equations which can be used to find general expression for three\nand four-point correlation functions possessing logarithmic operators. The\noperator product expansion (OPE) coefficients of general logarithmic CFT are\ngiven up to third level.",
        "positive": "Branes and DAHA Representations: Using brane quantization, we study the representation theory of the spherical\ndouble affine Hecke algebra of type $A_1$ in terms of the topological A-model\non the moduli space of flat SL(2,C)-connections on a once-punctured torus. In\nparticular, we provide an explicit match between finite-dimensional\nrepresentations and A-branes with compact support; one consequence is the\ndiscovery of new finite-dimensional indecomposable representations. We proceed\nto embed the A-model story in an M-theory brane construction, closely related\nto the one used in the 3d/3d correspondence; as a result, we identify modular\ntensor categories behind particular finite-dimensional representations with\nPSL(2,Z) action. Using a further connection to the fivebrane system for the\nclass S construction, we go on to study the relationship of Coulomb branch\ngeometry and algebras of line operators in 4d N=2* theories to the double\naffine Hecke algebra."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Matrix Representation of Renormalization in Perturbative Quantum Field\n  Theory: We formulate the Hopf algebraic approach of Connes and Kreimer to\nrenormalization in perturbative quantum field theory using triangular matrix\nrepresentation. We give a Rota-Baxter anti-homomorphism from general\nregularized functionals on the Feynman graph Hopf algebra to triangular\nmatrices with entries in a Rota-Baxter algebra. For characters mapping to the\ngroup of unipotent triangular matrices we derive the algebraic Birkhoff\ndecomposition for matrices using Spitzer's identity. This simple matrix\nfactorization is applied to characterize and calculate perturbative\nrenormalization.",
        "positive": "Holographic description of boundary gravitons in (3+1) dimensions: Gravity is uniquely situated in between classical topological field theories\nand standard local field theories. This can be seen in the the quasi-local\nnature of gravitational observables, but is nowhere more apparent than in\ngravity's holographic formulation. Holography holds promise for simplifying\ncomputations in quantum gravity. While holographic descriptions of\nthree-dimensional spacetimes and of spacetimes with a negative cosmological\nconstant are well-developed, a complete boundary description of zero curvature,\nfour-dimensional spacetime is not currently available. Building on previous\nwork in three-dimensions, we provide a new route to four-dimensional holography\nand its boundary gravitons. Using Regge calculus linearized around a flat\nEuclidean background with the topology of a solid hyper-torus, we obtain the\neffective action for a dual boundary theory which describes the dynamics of the\nboundary gravitons. Remarkably, in the continuum limit and at large radii this\nboundary theory is local and closely analogous to the corresponding result in\nthree-dimensions. The boundary effective action has a degenerate kinetic term\nthat leads to singularities in the one-loop partition function that are\nindependent of the discretization. These results establish a rich boundary\ndynamics for four-dimensional flat holography."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Complex linear superfield as a model for Goldstino: We propose a Goldstino model formulated in terms of a constrained complex\nlinear superfield. Its comparison to other Goldstino models is given. Couplings\nto supersymmetric matter and supergravity are briefly described.",
        "positive": "Preheating with the Brakes On: The Effects of a Speed Limit: We study preheating in models where the inflaton has a non-canonical kinetic\nterm, containing powers of the usual kinetic energy. The inflaton field\noscillating about its potential minimum acts as a driving force for particle\nproduction through parametric resonance. Non-canonical kinetic terms can impose\na speed limit on the motion of the inflaton, modifying the oscillating inflaton\nprofile. This has two important effects: it turns a smooth sinusoidal profile\ninto a sharp saw-tooth, enhancing resonance, and it lengthens the period of\noscillations, suppressing resonance. We show that the second effect dominates\nover the first, so that preheating with a non-canonical inflaton field is less\nefficient than with canonical kinetic terms, and that the expansion of the\nUniverse suppresses resonance even further."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "RG of GR from On-shell Amplitudes: We study the renormalization group of generic effective field theories that\ninclude gravity. We follow the on-shell amplitude approach, which provides a\nsimple and efficient method to extract anomalous dimensions avoiding\ncomplications from gauge redundancies. As an invaluable tool we introduce a\nmodified helicity $\\tilde{h}$ under which gravitons carry one unit instead of\ntwo. With this modified helicity we easily explain old and uncover new\nnon-renormalization theorems for theories including gravitons. We provide\ncomplete results for the one-loop gravitational renormalization of a generic\nminimally coupled gauge theory with scalars and fermions and all orders in\n$M_{Pl}$, as well as for the renormalization of dimension-six operators\nincluding at least one graviton, all up to four external particles.",
        "positive": "On the Spectrum and Scattering of W_3 Strings: We present a detailed investigation of scattering processes in $W_3$ string\ntheory. We discover further physical states with continuous momentum, which\ninvolve excitations of the ghosts as well as the matter, and use them to gain a\nbetter understanding of the interacting theory. The scattering amplitudes\ndisplay factorisation properties, with states from the different sectors of the\ntheory being exchanged in the various intermediate channels. We find strong\nevidence for the unitarity of the theory, despite the unusual ghost structure\nof some of the physical states. Finally, we show that by performing a\ntransformation of the quantum fields that involves mixing the ghost fields with\none of the matter fields, the structure of the physical states is dramatically\nsimplified. The new formalism provides a concise framework within which to\nstudy the $W_3$ string."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Thermodynamics in NJL-like models: Thermodynamic behavior of conventional Nambu-Jona-Lasinio and\nPolyakov-loop-extended Nambu-Jona-Lasinio models is compared. A particular\nattention is paid to the phase diagram in the ($T -\\mu$) plane.",
        "positive": "Center symmetry and Hagedorn spectrum: This paper explores the conjecture that large Nc gauge theories have a\nHagedorn spectrum, if, and only if, they are confining and posses an explicit\nor emergent center symmetry. Evidence in support of this conjecture is\npresented. Many classes of large Nc gauge theories are considered. In all\ncases, we find that theories for which there exists a strong plausibility\nargument for a Hagedorn spectrum at large Nc are also believed to be confining\nand possess either an explicit center symmetric or have a strong plausibility\nargument for the existence of an emergent center symmetry at large Nc .\nConversely, all theories we considered which are believed not to have a\nHagedorn spectrum at large Nc, either were known not to be confining or else\nwere believed to lack an emergent center symmetry. This is consistent with\nexpectations based on the conjecture."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Fast Way to Compute Functional Determinants of Radially Symmetric\n  Partial Differential Operators in General Dimensions: Recently the partial wave cutoff method was developed as a new calculational\nscheme for a functional determinant of quantum field theory in radial\nbackgrounds. For the contribution given by an infinite sum of large partial\nwaves, we derive explicitly radial WKB series in the angular momentum cutoff\nfor $d=2,3,4$ and 5 ($d$ is the spacetime dimension), which has uniform\nvalidity irrespectively of any specific values assumed for other parameters.\nUtilizing this series, precision evaluation of the renormalized functional\ndeterminant is possible with a relatively small number of low partial wave\ncontributions determined separately. We illustrate the power of this scheme in\nnumerically exact evaluation of the prefactor (expressed as a functional\ndeterminant) in the case of the false vacuum decay of 4D scalar field theory.",
        "positive": "Dynamical Symmetries in Supersymmetric Matrix Models: We reveal a dynamical SU(2) symmetry in the asymptotic description of\nsupersymmetric matrix models. We also consider a recursive approach for\ndetermining the ground state, and point out some additional properties of the\nmodel(s)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Comments on the Mirror TBA: We discuss various aspects of excited state TBA equations describing the\nenergy spectrum of the AdS_5 \\times S^5 strings and, via the AdS/CFT\ncorrespondence, the spectrum of scaling dimensions of N = 4 SYM local\noperators. We observe that auxiliary roots which are used to partially\nenumerate solutions of the Bethe-Yang equations do not play any role in\nengineering excited state TBA equations via the contour deformation trick. We\nfurther argue that the TBA equations are in fact written not for a particular\nstring state but for the whole superconformal multiplet, and, therefore, the\npsu(2,2|4) invariance is built in into the TBA construction.",
        "positive": "Derived Categories and Zero-Brane Stability: We define a particular class of topological field theories associated to open\nstrings and prove the resulting D-branes and open strings form the bounded\nderived category of coherent sheaves. This derivation is a variant of some\nideas proposed recently by Douglas. We then argue that any 0-brane on any\nCalabi-Yau threefold must become unstable along some path in the Kahler moduli\nspace. As a byproduct of this analysis we see how the derived category can be\ninvariant under a birational transformation between Calabi-Yaus."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Semiclassical $p$-branes in hyperbolic space: The one-loop effects to the Dirac action of $p$-branes in a hyperbolic\nbackground from the path integral and the solution of the Wheeler-DeWitt\nequation are analysed. The objective of comparing the equivalent quantization\nprocedures is to study in detail the validity of the semiclassical\napproximation and divergences associated to one-loop corrections. This is in\nline with a bottom-up approach to holographic Wilson loops. We employ the heat\nkernel regularization method for both quantization procedures and we study in\ngreat detail one-loop corrections to geodesics in a 2-dimensional hyperbolic\nspace and semi-spheres in a 3-dimensional hyperbolic space. We show that the\ndivergences, given by the high energy expansion of the heat kernel, can be\nclassified by their compatibility with the semiclassical approximation and\ngeometric nature.",
        "positive": "Brane cosmological evolution in a bulk with cosmological constant: We consider the cosmology of a ``3-brane universe'' in a five dimensional\n(bulk) space-time with a cosmological constant. We show that Einstein's\nequations admit a first integral, analogous to the first Friedmann equation,\nwhich governs the evolution of the metric in the brane, whatever the time\nevolution of the metric along the fifth dimension. We thus obtain the\ncosmological evolution in the brane for any equation of state describing the\nmatter in the brane, without needing the dependence of the metric on the fifth\ndimension. In the particular case $p = w \\rho$, $(w = constant)$, we give\nexplicit expressions for the time evolution of the brane scale factor, which\nshow that standard cosmological evolution can be obtained (after an early non\nconventional phase) in a scenario \\`a la Randall and Sundrum, where a brane\ntension compensates the bulk cosmological constant. We also show that a tiny\ndeviation from exact compensation leads to an effective cosmological constant\nat late time. Moreover, when the metric along the fifth dimension is static, we\nare able to extend the solution found on the brane to the whole spacetime."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Local spin base invariance from a global differential-geometrical point\n  of view: This article gives a geometric interpretation of the spin base formulation\nwith local spin base invariance of spinors on a curved space-time and in\nparticular of a central element, the global Dirac structure, in terms of\nprincipal and vector bundles and their endomorphisms. It is shown that this is\nintimately related to Spin and Spin^C structures in the sense that the\nexistence of one of those implies the existence of a Dirac structure and allows\nan extension to local spin base invariance. Vice versa, as a central result,\nthe existence of a Dirac structure implies the existence of a Spin^C structure.\nNevertheless, the spin base invariant setting may be considered more general,\nallowing more physical degrees of freedom. Furthermore, arguments are given\nthat the Dirac structure is a more natural choice as a variable for (quantum)\ngravity than tetrads/vielbeins.",
        "positive": "Strong-coupling expansion of cusp anomaly and gluon amplitudes from\n  quantum open strings in AdS_5 x S^5: An important ``observable'' of planar N=4 SYM theory is the scaling function\nf(lambda) that appears in the anomalous dimension of large spin twist 2\noperators and also in the cusp anomaly of light-like Wilson loops. The\nnon-trivial relation between the anomalous dimension and the Wilson\ninterpretations of f(lambda) is well-understood on the perturbative gauge\ntheory side of the AdS/CFT duality. In the first part of this paper we present\nthe dual string-theory counterpart of this relation, to all orders in\nlambda^(-1/2) expansion. As a check, we explicitly compute the leading 1-loop\nstring sigma model correction to the cusp Wilson loop, reproducing the same\nsubleading coefficient in f(lambda) as found earlier in the spinning closed\nstring case. The same function f(lambda) appears also in the resummed form of\nthe 4-gluon amplitude as discussed at weak coupling by Bern, Dixon and Smirnov\nand recently found at the leading order at strong coupling by Alday and\nMaldacena (AM). Here we attempt to extend this approach to subleading order in\nlambda^(-1/2) by computing the IR singular part of 1-loop string correction to\nthe corresponding T-dual Wilson loop. We discuss explicitly the 1-cusp case and\ncomment on apparent problems with the dimensional regularization proposal of AM\nwhen directly applied order by order in strong coupling (inverse string\ntension) expansion."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hubbard's Adventures in ${\\cal N}=4$ SYM-land? Some non-perturbative\n  considerations on finite length operators: As the Hubbard energy at half filling is believed to reproduce at strong\ncoupling (part of) the all loop expansion of the dimensions in the SU(2) sector\nof the planar $ {\\cal N}=4$ SYM, we compute an exact non-perturbative\nexpression for it. For this aim, we use the effective and well-known idea in 2D\nstatistical field theory to convert the Bethe Ansatz equations into two coupled\nnon-linear integral equations (NLIEs). We focus our attention on the highest\nanomalous dimension for fixed bare dimension or length, $L$, analysing the many\nadvantages of this method for extracting exact behaviours varying the length\nand the 't Hooft coupling, $\\lambda$. For instance, we will show that the large\n$L$ (asymptotic) expansion is exactly reproduced by its analogue in the BDS\nBethe Ansatz, though the exact expression clearly differs from the BDS one (by\nnon-analytic terms). Performing the limits on $L$ and $\\lambda$ in different\norders is also under strict control. Eventually, the precision of numerical\nintegration of the NLIEs is as much impressive as in other easier-looking\ntheories.",
        "positive": "Interesting examples of violation of the classical equivalence principle\n  but not of the weak one: The equivalence principle (EP), as well as Schiff's conjecture, are discussed\n(en passant), and the connection between the EP and quantum mechanics is then\nbriefly analyzed. Two semiclassical violations of the classical equivalence\nprinciple (CEP) but not of the weak one (WEP), i.e. Greenberger gravitational\nBohr atom and the tree-level scattering of different quantum particles by an\nexternal weak higher-order gravitational field, are thoroughly investigated\nafterwards. Next, two quantum examples of systems that agree with the WEP but\nnot with the CEP, namely COW experiment and free fall in a constant\ngravitational field of a massive object described by its wave-function $\\Psi$,\nare discussed in detail. Keeping in mind that among the four examples focused\non this work only COW experiment is based on an experimental test, some\nimportant details related to it, are presented as well."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "From AdS to Schr\u00f6dinger/Lifshitz dual space-times without or with\n  hyperscaling violation: It is observed that the (intersecting) branes of M/string theory, which are\nknown to give AdS geometry (directly or upto a conformal transformation) in the\nnear horizon limit, do also lead to Schr\\\" odinger/Lifshitz dual space-times\n(without or with hyperscaling violation) upon using appropriate solution\ngenerating transformation and dimensional reduction. We show that the dynamical\nexponents of the Schr\\\" odinger and the Lifshitz space-times obtained in this\nway always add upto 2. We illustrate this by several examples, including M2-,\nM5-branes of M-theory and D$(p+1)$-branes ($p\\neq 4$, since in this case the\nnear horizon limit does not give AdS geometry) of string theory as well as many\nof their intersecting solutions. The Schr\\\" odinger space-time can be obtained\nby the standard wave generating technique along one of the brane directions\n(for single brane) or one of the common brane directions (for intersecting\nbranes) and then interchanging the light-cone coordinates by double Wick\nrotations, whereas, the Lifshitz space-time can be obtained by dimensionally\nreducing (for M-theory) along the wave direction or taking T-duality (for\nstring theory) along the same direction. We thus obtain Schr\\\" odinger/Lifshitz\ndual space-times without or with hyperscaling violation from the same M/string\ntheory solutions and they preserve some fraction of the supersymmetry.",
        "positive": "On short interval expansion of R\u00e9nyi entropy: R\\'enyi entanglement entropy provides a new window to study the AdS/CFT\ncorrespondence. In this paper we consider the short interval expansion of\nR\\'enyi entanglement entropy in two-dimensional conformal field theory. This\namounts to do the operator product expansion of the twist operators. We focus\non the vacuum Verma module and consider the quasiprimary operators constructed\nfrom the stress tensors. After obtaining the expansion coefficients of the\ntwist operators to level 6 in vacuum Verma module, we compute the leading\ncontributions to the R\\'enyi entropy, to order 6 in the short interval\nexpansion. In the case of one short interval on cylinder, we reproduce the\nfirst several leading contributions to the R\\'enyi entropy. In the case of two\nshort disjoint intervals with a small cross ratio $x$, we obtain not only the\nclassical and 1-loop quantum contributions to the R\\'enyi entropy to order\n$x^6$, both of which are in perfect match with the ones found in gravity, but\nalso the leading $1/c$ contributions, which corresponds to 2-loop corrections\nin the bulk."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Stress Energy tensor in LCFT and the Logarithmic Sugawara construction: We discuss the partners of the stress energy tensor and their structure in\nLogarithmic conformal field theories. In particular we draw attention to the\nfundamental differences between theories with zero and non-zero central charge.\nHowever they are both characterised by at least two independent parameters. We\nshow how, by using a generalised Sugawara construction, one can calculate the\nlogarithmic partner of T. We show that such a construction works in the c=-2\ntheory using the conformal dimension one primary currents which generate a\nlogarithmic extension of the Kac-Moody algebra.",
        "positive": "The relativity of Colour: By attaching three anticommuting Lorentz scalar (colour) property coordinates\nto space-time, with an appropriate extended metric, we unify gravity with\nchromodynamics: gauge transformations then just correspond to coordinate\ntransformations in the enlarged spacetime-property space."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Bosonic Fields in the String-like Defect Model: We study localization of bosonic bulk fields on a string-like defect with\ncodimension 2 in a general space-time dimension in detail. We show that in\ncases of spin 0 scalar and spin 1 vector fields there are an infinite number of\nmassless Kaluza-Klein (KK) states which are degenerate with respect to the\nradial quantum number, but only the massless zero mode state among them is\ncoupled to fermion on the string-like defect. It is also commented on\ninteresting extensions of the model at hand to various directions such as\n'little' superstring theory, conformal field theory and a supersymmetric\nconstruction.",
        "positive": "Renormalization for a Scalar Field in an External Scalar Potential: The Pauli--Villars regularization procedure confirms and sharpens the\nconclusions reached previously by covariant point splitting. The divergences in\nthe stress tensor of a quantized scalar field interacting with a static scalar\npotential are isolated into a three-parameter local, covariant functional of\nthe background potential. These divergences can be naturally absorbed into\ncoupling constants of the potential, regarded as a dynamical object in its own\nright; here this is demonstrated in detail for two different models of the\nfield-potential coupling. here is a residual dependence on the logarithm of the\npotential, reminiscent of the renormalization group in fully interacting\nquantum field theories; these terms are finite but numerically dependent on an\narbitrary mass or length parameter, which is purely a matter of convention.\nThis work is one step in a program to elucidate boundary divergences by\nreplacing a sharp boundary by a steeply rising smooth potential."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Calabi-Yau Products: Graded Quivers for General Toric Calabi-Yaus: The open string sector of the topological B-model on CY $(m+2)$-folds is\ndescribed by $m$-graded quivers with superpotentials. This correspondence\ngeneralizes the connection between CY $(m+2)$-folds and gauge theories on the\nworldvolume of D$(5-2m)$-branes for $m=0,\\ldots,3$ to arbitrary $m$. In this\npaper we introduce the Calabi-Yau product, a new algorithm that starting from\nthe known quiver theories for a pair of toric CY$_{m+2}$ and CY$_{n+2}$\nproduces the quiver theory for a related CY$_{m+n+3}$. This method\nsignificantly supersedes existing ones, enabling the simple determination of\nquiver theories for geometries that were previously out of practical reach.",
        "positive": "Hamilton-Jacobi framework for Regge-Teitelboim gravity: We discuss the Hamilton-Jacobi formalism for brane gravity described by the\nRegge-Teitelboim model, in higher co-dimension. Being originally a second-order\nin derivatives singular theory, we analyzed its constraint structure by\nidentifying the complete set of Hamilton-Jacobi equations, under the\nCarath\\'eodory's equivalent Lagrangians method, which goes hand by hand with\nthe study of the integrability for this type of gravity. Besides, we calculate\nthe characteristic equations including the one that satisfy the Hamilton\nprincipal function $S$. We find the presence of involutive and non-involutive\nconstraints so that by properly defining a generalized bracket, the\nnon-involutive constraints that originally arise in our framework, are removed\nwhile the set of parameters related to the time evolution and the gauge\ntransformations, are identified. A detailed comparison with a recent\nOstrogradsky-Hamilton approach for constrained systems, developed for this\nbrane gravity, is also made. Some remarks on the gauge symmetries behind this\ntheory are commented upon."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "General formulas for conserved charges and black hole entropy in\n  Chern-Simons-like theories of gravity: This paper deals with the problem of defining off-shell conserved charges in\na set of theories known as Chern-Simons-like theories of gravity (CSLTG). The\nmethod is derived in a general way, which may find applications in a wide set\nof theories, and then specified to the case of Generalized minimal massive\ngravity (GMMG), where known results of the central charge and black hole\nentropy are reproduced. The results for the charges are useful to the community\nand can be applied to all three-dimensional gravity theories within the class\nof CSLTG which includes almost all of them. The given specific examples show a\nconsistency check of the more general method.",
        "positive": "First law of thermodynamics for dynamical apparent horizons and the\n  entropy of Friedmann universes: Recently, we have generalized the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy formula for\nblack holes embedded in expanding Friedmann universes. In this letter, we begin\nthe study of this new formula to obtain the first law of thermodynamics for\ndynamical apparent horizons. In this regard we obtain a generalized expression\nfor the internal energy $U$ together with a distinction between the dynamical\ntemperature $T_D$ of apparent horizons and the related one due to\nthermodynamics formulas. Remarkable, when the expression for $U$ is applied to\nthe apparent horizon of the universe, we found that this internal energy is a\nconstant of motion. Our calculations thus show that the total energy of our\nspatially flat universe including the gravitational contribution, when\ncalculated at the apparent horizon, is an universal constant that can be set to\nzero from simple dimensional considerations. This strongly support the\nholographic principle."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Explore and Exploit with Heterotic Line Bundle Models: We use deep reinforcement learning to explore a class of heterotic $SU(5)$\nGUT models constructed from line bundle sums over Complete Intersection Calabi\nYau (CICY) manifolds. We perform several experiments where A3C agents are\ntrained to search for such models. These agents significantly outperform random\nexploration, in the most favourable settings by a factor of 1700 when it comes\nto finding unique models. Furthermore, we find evidence that the trained agents\nalso outperform random walkers on new manifolds. We conclude that the agents\ndetect hidden structures in the compactification data, which is partly of\ngeneral nature. The experiments scale well with $h^{(1,1)}$, and may thus\nprovide the key to model building on CICYs with large $h^{(1,1)}$.",
        "positive": "Quantum Gauge Transformation, Gauge-Invariant Extension and Angular\n  Momentum Decomposition in Abelian Higgs Model: I discuss the momentum and angular momentum decomposition problem in the\nAbelian Higgs model. The usual gauge-invariant extension (GIE) construction is\nincorporated naturally into the framework of quantum gauge transformation\n$\\grave{a}$ ${\\it la}$ Strocchi and Wightman and with this I investigate the\nmomentum and angular momentum separation in a class of GIE conditions which\ncorrespond to the so-called \"static gauges\". Using this language I find that\nthe so-called \"generator criterion\" does not generally hold even for the\ndressed physical field. In the case of $U(1)$ symmetry breaking, I generalize\nthe standard GIE construction to include the matter field degrees of freedom so\nthat the usual separation pattern of momentum and angular momentum in the\nunitarity gauge can be incorporated into the same universal framework. When the\nstatic gauge condition could not uniquely fix the gauge, I show that this GIE\nconstruction should be expanded to take into account the residual gauge\nsymmetry. In some cases I reveal that the usual momentum or angular momentum\nseparation pattern in terms of the physical dressed field variables needs some\ntype of modification due to the nontrivial commutator structure of the\nunderlying quantum gauge choice. Finally, I give some remarks on the general\nGIE constructions in connection with the possible commutator issues and\nmodification of momentum and angular momentum separation patterns."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Off-shell superconformal higher spin multiplets in four dimensions: We formulate off-shell N=1 superconformal higher spin multiplets in four\nspacetime dimensions and briefly discuss their coupling to conformal\nsupergravity. As an example, we explicitly work out the coupling of the\nsuperconformal gravitino multiplet to conformal supergravity. The corresponding\naction is super-Weyl invariant for arbitrary supergravity backgrounds. However,\nit is gauge invariant only if the supersymmetric Bach tensor vanishes. This is\nsimilar to linearised conformal supergravity in curved background.",
        "positive": "Classical and Quantum Aspects of Yang-Baxter Wess-Zumino Models: We investigate the integrable Yang-Baxter deformation of the 2d Principal\nChiral Model with a Wess-Zumino term. For arbitrary groups, the one-loop beta\nfunctions are calculated and display a surprising connection between classical\nand quantum physics: the classical integrability condition is necessary to\nprevent new couplings being generated by renormalisation. We show these\ntheories admit an elegant realisation of Poisson-Lie T-duality acting as a\nsimple inversion of coupling constants. The self-dual point corresponds to the\nWess-Zumino-Witten model and is the IR fixed point under RG. We address the\npossibility of having supersymmetric extensions of these models showing that\nextended supersymmetry is not possible in general."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Constrained Quantization of Charged Strings in Background B Field and\n  g-Factors: The Dirac quantization is performed for the constrained system of the open\nstring with different charges located at both ends in the constant background B\nfield. Noncommutativity reveals to commutators [X, X], [P, P] and also [X,P] at\nboth ends of the string. We consider a dependence on the change of the\n\"cyclotron frequency\" of the charged string. The g-factor of the charged string\nis also calculated in the framework of our formulation.",
        "positive": "Remarks on the Spectral Action Principle: The presence of chiral fermions in the physical Hilbert space implies\nconsistency conditions on the spectral action. These conditions are equivalent\nto the absence of gauge and gravitational anomalies. Suggestions for the\nfermionic part of the spectral action are made based on the supersymmetrisation\nof the bosonic part."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Bulk Matters on a GRS-Inspired Braneworld: In this paper we investigate the localization and mass spectra of bulk matter\nfields on a Gergory-Rubakov-Sibiryakov-inspired braneworld. In this braneworld\nmodel, there are one thick brane located at the origin of the extra dimension\nand two thin branes at two sides. For spin 1/2 fermions coupled with the\nbackground scalar $\\phi$ via $\\eta\\bar{\\Psi}\\phi^p\\Psi$ with $p$ a positive odd\ninteger, the zero mode of left-hand fermions can be localized on the thick\nbrane for finite distance of the two thin branes, and there exist some massive\nbound modes and resonance modes. The resonances correspond to the\nquasi-localized massive fermions. For free massless spin 0 scalars, the zero\nmode can not be localized on the thick brane when the two thin branes are\nlocated finitely. While for a massive scalar $\\Phi$ coupled with itself and the\nbackground scalar field $\\phi$, in order to get a localized zero mode on the\nthick brane, a fine-tuning relation should be introduced. Some massive bound\nmodes and resonances also will appear. For spin 1 vectors, there is no bound KK\nmode because the effective potential felt by vectors vanishes outside the two\nthin branes. We also investigate the physics when the distance of the two thin\nbranes tends to infinity.",
        "positive": "Electric S-brane solutions with parallel forms on Ricci-flat factor\n  space: In this paper we generalize electric S-brane solutions with maximal number of\nbranes. Previously for the action containing D-dimensional gravity, a scalar\nfield and antisymmetric (p+2)-form we found composite, electric S-brane\nsolutions with all non-zero ``charge'' densities which obeyed self-duality or\nanti-self-duality relations. These solutions occurred when D = 4m+1 = 5, 9, 13,\n>... and p = 2m-1 = 1, 3, 5, ... Here we generalize these solutions to the case\nwhen the spatial 4m-dimensional submanifold is Ricci-flat rather than simply\nEuclidean-flat and the charge density form is a parallel self-dual or\nanti-self-dual form of rank 2m. Also generalizations are found for the case\nwhen there is an extra ``internal'' Ricci-flat manifold not covered by the\nS-branes. In the case when one allows a phantom scalar field a subset of these\nsolutions lead to accelerated expansion of this extra spatial factor space not\ncovered by the S-branes while the other spatial factor space of dimension 4m\ncontracts. Some of these S-brane solutions also provide specific examples of\nsolutions of type IIA supergravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A fresh look at the (non-)Abelian Landau-Khalatnikov-Fradkin\n  transformations: The Landau-Khalatnikov-Fradkin transformations (LKFTs) allow to interpolate\n$n$-point functions between different gauges. We first offer an alternative\nderivation of these LKFTs for the gauge and fermions field in the Abelian (QED)\ncase when working in the class of linear covariant gauges. Our derivation is\nbased on the introduction of a gauge invariant transversal gauge field, which\nallows a natural generalization to the non-Abelian (QCD) case of the LKFTs. To\nour knowledge, within this rigorous formalism, this is the first construction\nof the LKFTs beyond QED. The renormalizability of our setup is guaranteed to\nall orders. We also offer a direct path integral derivation in the non-Abelian\ncase, finding full consistency.",
        "positive": "The full CPT-even photon sector of the Standard Model Extension at\n  finite temperature: We study the finite temperature behavior of the CPT-even pure-photon sector\nof the Standard Model Extension, which is defined by the standard Maxwell\nLagrangian plus the term $(k_F)_{\\mu\\nu\\alpha\\beta}F^{\\mu\\nu}F^{\\alpha\\beta}$.\nThe Hamiltonian analysis is performed, from which the degrees of freedom and\nconstraints of the theory are derived. We have explicitly calculated the\npartition function for an arbitrary configuration of the\n$(k_F)_{\\mu\\nu\\alpha\\beta}$ coefficients, to second order, and we have used it\nto obtain the thermodynamic properties of the modified photon sector. We find\nthe correction to the frequency dependence in Planck's radiation law, and we\nidentify that the total energy density is adjusted, relative to the standard\nscenario, by a global proportionality constant containing the Lorentz-violating\ncontributions. Nevertheless, the equation of state is not affected by these\nmodifications."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Multi-mouth Traversable Wormholes: We describe the construction of traversable wormholes with multiple mouths in\nfour spacetime dimensions and discuss associated quantum entanglement. Our\nwormholes may be traversed between any pair of mouths. In particular, in the\nthree-mouth case they have fundamental group $F_2$ (the free group on two\ngenerators). By contrast, connecting three regions $A,B,C$ in pairs ($AB$,\n$BC$, and $AC$) using three separate wormholes would give fundamental group\n$F_3$. Our solutions are asymptotically flat up to the presence of possible\nmagnetic fluxes or cosmic strings that extend to infinity. The construction\nbegins with a two-mouth traversable wormhole supported by backreaction from\nquantum fields. Inserting a sufficiently small black hole into its throat\npreserves traversability between the original two mouths. This black hole is\ntaken to be the mouth of another wormhole connecting the original throat to a\nnew distant region of spacetime. Making the new wormhole traversable in a\nmanner similar to the original two-mouth wormhole provides the desired causal\nconnections. From a dual field theory point of view, when AdS asymptotics are\nadded to our construction, multiparty entanglement may play an important role\nin the traversability of the resulting wormhole.",
        "positive": "Line bundles in supersymmetric coset models: The scalars of an N = 1 supersymmetric sigma-model in 4 dimensions\nparameterize a Kaehler manifold. The transformations of their fermionic\nsuperpartners under the isometries are often anomalous. These anomalies can be\ncanceled by introducing additional chiral multiplets with appropriate charges.\nTo obtain the right charges a non-trivial singlet compensating multiplet can be\nused. However when the topology of the underlying Kaehler manifold is\nnon-trivial, the consistency of this multiplet requires that its charge is\nquantized. This singlet can be interpreted as a section of a line bundle. We\ndetermine the Kaehler potentials corresponding to the minimal non-trivial\nsinglet chiral superfields for any compact Kaehlerian coset space G/H. The\nquantization condition may be in conflict with the requirement of anomaly\ncancelation. To illustrate this, we discuss the consistency of anomaly free\nmodels based on the coset spaces E_6/SO(10)xU(1) and SU(5)/SU(2)xU(1)xSU(3)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Discrete Symmetries of Off-Shell Electromagnetism: We discuss the discrete symmetries of the Stueckelberg-Schrodinger\nrelativistic quantum theory and its associated 5D local gauge theory, a\ndynamical description of particle/antiparticle interactions, with monotonically\nincreasing Poincare-invariant parameter. In this framework, worldlines are\ntraced out through the parameterized evolution of spacetime events, advancing\nor retreating with respect to the laboratory clock, with negative energy\ntrajectories appearing as antiparticles when the observer describes the\nevolution using the laboratory clock. The associated gauge theory describes\nlocal interactions between events (correlated by the invariant parameter)\nmediated by five off-shell gauge fields. These gauge fields are shown to\ntransform tensorially under under space and time reflections, unlike the\nstandard Maxwell fields, and the interacting quantum theory therefore remains\nmanifestly Lorentz covariant. Charge conjugation symmetry in the quantum theory\nis achieved by simultaneous reflection of the sense of evolution and the fifth\nscalar field. Applying this procedure to the classical gauge theory leads to a\npurely classical manifestation of charge conjugation, placing the CPT\nsymmetries on the same footing in the classical and quantum domains. In the\nresulting picture, interactions do not distinguish between particle and\nantiparticle trajectories -- charge conjugation merely describes the\ninterpretation of observed negative energy trajectories according to the\nlaboratory clock.",
        "positive": "The three burials of Melquiades DGP: In this talk I review three fatal flaws of the DGP braneworld model, which\nhas been put forward as a possible model for late time acceleration without a\ncosmological constant: Ghosts, Cosmological Crashes, and Instability of the 5D\nvacuum. The talk is based on work in collaboration with Charmousis, Kaloper,\nMyers and Padilla."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Induced higher-derivative massive gravity on a 2-brane in 4D Minkowski\n  space: In this paper we revisit the problem of localizing gravity in a 2-brane\nembedded in a 4D Minkowski space to address induction of high derivative\nmassive gravity. We explore the structure of propagators to find well-behaved\nhigher-derivative massive gravity induced on the brane. Exploring a special\ncase in the generalized mass term of the graviton propagator we find a model of\nconsistent higher order gravity with an additional unitary massive spin-2\nparticle and two massless particles: one spin-0 particle and one spin-1\nparticle. The condition for the absence of tachyons is satisfied for both\n`right' and `wrong' signs of the Einstein-Hilbert term on the 2-brane. We also\nfind the Pauli-Fierz mass term added to the new massive gravity in three\ndimensions and recover the low dimensional DGP model.",
        "positive": "Dark Energy May Probe String Theory: The problem of dark energy arises due to its self-gravitating properties.\nTherefore explaining vacuum energy may become a question for the realm of\nquantum gravity, that can be addressed within string theory context. In this\ntalk I concentrate on a recent, string-inspired model, that relies on nonlinear\nphysics of short-distance perturbation modes, for explaining dark energy\nwithout any fine-tuning. Dark energy can be observationally probed by its\nequation of state, w. Different models predict different types of equations of\nstate and string-inspired ones have a time dependent w(z) as their unique\nsignature. Exploring the link between dark energy and string theory may provide\nindirect evidence for the latter, by means of precision cosmology data."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Restoration of Chiral Symmetry: A Supergravity Perspective: The supergravity dual of $N$ regular and $M$ fractional D3-branes on the\nconifold has a naked singularity in the infrared. Supersymmetric resolution of\nthis singularity requires deforming the conifold: this is the supergravity dual\nof chiral symmetry breaking. Buchel suggested that at sufficiently high\ntemperature there is no need to deform the conifold: the singularity may be\ncloaked by a horizon. This would be the supergravity manifestation of chiral\nsymmetry restoration. In previous work [hep-th/0102105] the ansatz and the\nsystem of second-order radial differential equations necessary to find such a\nsolution were written down. In this paper we find smooth solutions to this\nsystem in a perturbation theory that is valid when the Hawking temperature of\nthe horizon is very high.",
        "positive": "M-brane intersections from worldvolume superalgebras: It is known that the M-branes of M-theory correspond to p-form charges in the\nD=11 spacetime supersymmetry algebra. Here we show that their intersections are\nencoded in the p-form charges of their worldvolume supersymmetry algebras.\nTriple intersections are encoded in double intersection worldvolume algebras\nwith eight supercharges."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauging the higher-spin-like symmetries by the Moyal product: We analyze a novel approach to gauging rigid higher derivative (higher spin)\nsymmetries of free relativistic actions defined on flat spacetime, building on\nthe formalism originally developed by Bonora et al. and Bekaert et al. in their\nstudies of linear coupling of matter fields to an infinite tower of higher spin\nfields. The off-shell definition is based on fields defined on a\n$2d$-dimensional master space equipped with a symplectic structure, where the\ninfinite dimensional Lie algebra of gauge transformations is given by the Moyal\ncommutator. Using this algebra we construct well-defined weakly non-local\nactions, both in the gauge and the matter sector, by mimicking the Yang-Mills\nprocedure. The theory allows for a description in terms of an infinite tower of\nhigher spin spacetime fields only on-shell. Interestingly, Euclidean theory\nallows for such a description also off-shell. Owing to its formal similarity to\nnon-commutative field theories, the formalism allows for the introduction of a\ncovariant potential which plays the role of the generalised vielbein. This\ncovariant formulation uncovers the existence of other phases and shows that the\ntheory can be written in a matrix model form. The symmetries of the theory are\nanalyzed and conserved currents are explicitly constructed. By studying the\nspin-2 sector we show that the emergent geometry is closely related to\nteleparallel geometry, in the sense that the induced linear connection is\nopposite to Weitzenb\\\"{o}ck's.",
        "positive": "Notes on Periodic Solitons: We consider static solutions of the sine-Gordon theory defined on a cylinder,\nwhich can be either periodic or quasi-periodic in space. They are described by\nthe different modes of a simple pendulum moving in an inverted effective\npotential and correspond to its libration or rotation. We review the\ndecomposition of the solutions into an oscillatory sum of alternating kinks and\nanti-kinks or into a monotonic train of kinks, respectively, using properties\nof elliptic functions. The two sectors are naturally related to each other by a\nmodular transformation, whereas the underlying spectral curve of the model can\nbe used to express the energy of the static configurations in terms of contour\nintegrals \\`a la Seiberg-Witten in either case. The stability properties are\nalso examined by means of supersymmetric quantum mechanics, where we find that\nthe unstable configurations are associated to singular superpotentials, thus\nallowing for negative modes in the spectrum of small fluctuations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Rotational Symmetry Breaking in Multi-Matrix Models: We consider a class of multi-matrix models with an action which is O(D)\ninvariant, where D is the number of NxN Hermitian matrices X_\\mu, \\mu=1,...,D.\nThe action is a function of all the elementary symmetric functions of the\nmatrix $T_{\\mu\\nu}=Tr(X_\\mu X_\\nu)/N$. We address the issue whether the O(D)\nsymmetry is spontaneously broken when the size N of the matrices goes to\ninfinity. The phase diagram in the space of the parameters of the model reveals\nthe existence of a critical boundary where the O(D) symmetry is maximally\nbroken.",
        "positive": "Relic gravitons on Kasner-like branes: We discuss the cosmological amplification of tensor perturbations in a simple\nexample of brane-world scenario, in which massless gravitons are localized on a\nhigher-dimensional Kasner-like brane embedded in a bulk AdS background.\nParticular attention is paid to the canonical normalization of the quadratic\naction describing the massless and massive vacuum quantum fluctuations, and to\nthe exact mass-dependence of the amplitude of massive fluctuations on the\nbrane. The perturbation equations can be separated. In contrast to de Sitter\nmodels of brane inflation, we find no mass gap in the spectrum and no\nenhancement for massless modes at high curvature. The massive modes can be\namplified, with mass-dependent amplitudes, even during inflation and in the\nabsence of any mode-mixing effect."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Tensor networks for dynamic spacetimes: Existing tensor network models of holography are limited to representing the\ngeometry of constant time slices of static spacetimes. We study the possibility\nof describing the geometry of a dynamic spacetime using tensor networks. We\nfind it is necessary to give a new definition of length in the network and\npropose a definition based on the mutual information. We show that by\nassociating a set of networks with a single quantum state and making use of the\nmutual information based definition of length, a network analogue of the\nmaximin formula can be used to calculate the entropy of boundary regions.",
        "positive": "One-loop spectroscopy of semiclassically quantized strings: bosonic\n  sector: We make a further step in the analytically exact quantization of spinning\nstring states in semiclassical approximation, by evaluating the exact one-loop\npartition function for a class of two-spin string solutions for which quadratic\nfluctuations form a non-trivial system of coupled modes. This is the case of a\nfolded string in the $SU(2)$ sector, in the limit described by a quantum\nLandau-Lifshitz model. The same applies to the full bosonic sector of\nfluctuations over the folded spinning string in $AdS_5$ with an angular\nmomentum $J$ in $S^5$. Fluctuations are governed by a special class of\nfourth-order differential operators, with coefficients being meromorphic\nfunctions on the torus, which we are able to solve exactly."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holography for Cosmology: We propose a holographic description of four-dimensional single-scalar\ninflationary universes, and show how cosmological observables, such as the\nprimordial power spectrum, are encoded in the correlation functions of a\nthree-dimensional QFT. The holographic description correctly reproduces\nstandard inflationary predictions in the limit where a perturbative\nquantization of fluctuations is justified. In the opposite limit, wherein\ngravity is strongly coupled at early times, we propose a holographic\ndescription in terms of perturbative large N QFT. Initiating a holographic\nphenomenological approach, we show that models containing only two parameters,\nN and a dimensionful coupling constant, are capable of satisfying the current\nobservational constraints.",
        "positive": "String theory at order $\u03b1'^2$ and the generalized Bergshoeff-de Roo\n  identification: It has been shown by Marques and Nunez that the first $\\alpha'$-correction to\nthe bosonic and heterotic string can be captured in the $O(D,D)$ covariant\nformalism of Double Field Theory via a certain two-parameter deformation of the\ndouble Lorentz transformations. This deformation in turn leads to an infinite\ntower of $\\alpha'$-corrections and it has been suggested that they can be\ncaptured by a generalization of the Bergshoeff-de Roo identification between\nLorentz and gauge degrees of freedom in an extended DFT formalism. Here we\nprovide strong evidence that this indeed gives the correct\n$\\alpha'^2$-corrections to the bosonic and heterotic string by showing that it\nleads to a cubic Riemann term for the former but not for the latter, in\nagreement with the known structure of these corrections including the\ncoefficient of Riemann cubed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Log to log-log crossover of entanglement in $(1+1)-$ dimensional massive\n  scalar field: We study three different measures of quantum correlations -- entanglement\nspectrum, entanglement entropy, and logarithmic negativity -- for\n(1+1)-dimensional massive scalar field in flat spacetime. The entanglement\nspectrum for the discretized scalar field in the ground state indicates a\ncross-over in the zero-mode regime, which is further substantiated by an\nanalytical treatment of both entanglement entropy and logarithmic negativity.\nThe exact nature of this cross-over depends on the boundary conditions used --\nthe leading order term switches from a $\\log$ to $\\log-\\log$ behavior for the\nPeriodic and Neumann boundary conditions. In contrast, for Dirichlet, it is the\nparameters within the leading $\\log-\\log$ term that are switched. We show that\nthis cross-over manifests as a change in the behavior of the leading order\ndivergent term for entanglement entropy and logarithmic negativity close to the\nzero-mode limit. We thus show that the two regimes have fundamentally different\ninformation content. Furthermore, an analysis of the ground state fidelity\nshows us that the region between critical point $\\Lambda=0$ and the crossover\npoint is dominated by zero-mode effects, featuring an explicit dependence on\nthe IR cutoff of the system. For the reduced state of a single oscillator, we\nshow that this cross-over occurs in the region $Nam_f\\sim \\mathscr{O}(1)$.",
        "positive": "Lorentz covariance, higher-spin superspaces and self-duality: Lorentz covariant generalisations of the notions of supersymmetry, superspace\nand self-duality are discussed. The essential idea is to extend standard\nconstructions by allowing tangent vectors and coordinates which transform\naccording to more general Lorentz representations than solely the spinorial and\nvectorial ones of standard lore. Such superspaces provide model configuration\nspaces for theories of arbitrary spin fields. Our framework is an elegant one\nfor handling higher-dimensional theories in a manifestly SO(3,1) covariant\nfashion. A further application is the construction of a hierarchy of solvable\nLorentz covariant systems generalising four-dimensional self-duality."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Classes of AdS4 type IIA/IIB compactifications with SU(3)xSU(3)\n  structure: We introduce an ansatz which allows us to solve the supersymmetry equations\nfor warped N=1 AdS4 type II supergravity compactifications of general\nSU(3)xSU(3) structure. As a byproduct we obtain a set of necessary conditions\nwhich every supersymmetric AdS4 vacuum should obey. The case of AdS4\ncompactifications of IIB on manifolds of static SU(2) structure is examined in\ndetail. Several examples of solutions are presented. In the limit of\nfour-dimensional Minkowski space, we present examples of supersymmetric IIB\nwarped compactifications with partially localized NS5- and D5-branes. We also\npresent `massive' non-supersymmetric AdS4xM6 solutions of IIA, where M6 can be\nany six-dimensional Einstein-Kaehler manifold.",
        "positive": "Scalar Kinks: We determine the excitations and $S$ matrix of an integrable isotropic\nantiferromagnetic quantum spin chain of alternating spin 1/2 and spin 1. There\nare two types of gapless one-particle excitations: the usual spin 1/2\n(``spinor'') kink, and a new spin 0 (``scalar'') kink. Remarkably, the\nscalar-spinor scattering is nontrivial, yet the spinor-spinor scattering is the\nsame as if the scalar kinks were absent. Moreover, there is no scalar-scalar\nscattering."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Characteristic numbers of elliptic fibrations with non-trivial\n  Mordell-Weil groups: We compute characteristic numbers of elliptically fibered fourfolds with\nmultisections or non-trivial Mordell-Weil groups. We first consider the models\nof type E$_{9-d}$ with $d=1,2,3,4$ whose generic fibers are normal elliptic\ncurves of degree $d$. We then analyze the characteristic numbers of the\n$Q_7$-model, which provides a smooth model for elliptic fibrations of rank one\nand generalizes the E$_5$, E$_6$, and E$_7$-models. Finally, we examine the\ncharacteristic numbers of $G$-models with $G=\\text{SO}(n)$ with $n=3,4,5,6$ and\n$G=\\text{PSU}(3)$ whose Mordell-Weil groups are respectively\n$\\mathbb{Z}/2\\mathbb{Z}$ and $\\mathbb{Z}/3 \\mathbb{Z}$. In each case, we\ncompute the Chern and Pontryagin numbers, the Euler characteristic, the\nholomorphic genera, the Todd-genus, the L-genus, the A-genus, and the\neight-form curvature invariant from M-theory.",
        "positive": "The Chern-Simons Source as a Conformal Family and Its Vertex Operators: In a previous work, a straightforward canonical approach to the source-free\nquantum Chern-Simons dynamics was developed. It makes use of neither gauge\nconditions nor functional integrals and needs only ideas known from QCD and\nquantum gravity. It gives Witten's conformal edge states in a simple way when\nthe spatial slice is a disc. Here we extend the formalism by including sources\nas well. The quantum states of a source with a fixed spatial location are shown\nto be those of a conformal family, a result also discovered first by Witten.\nThe internal states of a source are not thus associated with just a single ray\nof a Hilbert space. Vertex operators for both abelian and nonabelian sources\nare constructed. The regularized abelian Wilson line is proved to be a vertex\noperator. We also argue in favor of a similar nonabelian result. The\nspin-statistics theorem is established for Chern-Simons dynamics even though\nthe sources are not described by relativistic quantum fields. The proof employs\ngeometrical methods which we find are strikingly transparent and pleasing. It\nis based on the research of European physicists about ``fields localized on\ncones.''"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dynamically self-regular quantum harmonic black holes: The recently proposed UV self-complete quantum gravity program is a new and\nvery interesting way to envision Planckian/trans-Planckian physics. in this new\nframework, high energy scattering is dominated by the creation of micro black\nholes, and it is experimentally impossible to probe distances shorter than the\nhorizon radius. In this letter we present a model which realizes this idea\nthrough the creation of self-regular quantum black holes admitting a minimal\nsize extremal configuration. Their radius provides a dynamically generated\nminimal length acting as a universal short-distance cut-off. We propose a\nquantisation scheme for this new kind of microscopic objects based on a\nBohr-like approach, which does not require a detailed knowledge of quantum\ngravity. The resulting black hole quantum picture resembles the energy spectrum\nof a quantum harmonic oscillator. The mass of the extremal configuration plays\nthe role of zero-point energy. Large quantum number re-establish the classical\nblack hole description. Finally, we also formulate a \"quantum hoop conjecture\"\nwhich is satisfied by all the mass eigen-states and sustains the existence of\nquantum black holes sourced by Gaussian matter distributions.",
        "positive": "Composite Nambu--Jona-Lasinio inflation near infrared fixed point of the\n  Horava-Lifshitz theory: In this work, we first propose a cosmological scenario inherently based on\nthe effective Nambu--Jona-Lasio (NJL) model near the infrared (IR) limit of the\nHo\\v{r}ava-Lifshitz (HL) theory. Having used the one-loop correction, we employ\nthe NJL framework in the ultraviolet (UV) limit of the HL theory, with critical\nexponent $z=3$, to demonstrate in the IR limit that the symmetry of the\npotential at the critical coupling value is broken at $z=1$. We also derive the\neffective Higgs-like potential in the low energy regimes. Here the symmetry of\nthe effective potential will be broken near $z=1$ at a certain value of the\ncritical coupling. In our scenario, the scalar channel of the NJL model plays\nthe role of a composite inflaton. We find that the Lorentz invariance (LI)\nappears at the IR regime of the HL theory and employ the standard inflationary\n(slow-roll) paradigm as a probe of physics at very high energy. We compute\ninflationary parameters and compare them with recent Planck 2015 data.\nInterestingly, we discover that the predictions of the model are in perfect\nagreement with the Planck analysis. Our salient feature is that we used\ninflation to quantify the IR and UV fixed points of the underlying theory. We\ndiscover that the IR fixed point of HL gravity is compatible with the grand\nunified energy scale; whilst the UV fixed point is the Planck energy scale."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Unified Approach to Thermodynamic Bethe Ansatz and Finite Size\n  Corrections for Lattice Models and Field Theories: We present a unified approach to the Thermodynamic Bethe Ansatz (TBA) for\nmagnetic chains and field theories that includes the finite size (and zero\ntemperature) calculations for lattice BA models. In all cases, the free energy\nfollows by quadratures from the solution of a {\\bf single} non-linear integral\nequation (NLIE). [A system of NLIE appears for nested BA]. We derive the NLIE\nfor: a) the six-vertex model with twisted boundary conditions; b) the XXZ chain\nin an external magnetic field $h_z$ and c) the sine-Gordon-massive Thirring\nmodel (sG-mT) in a periodic box of size $\\b \\equiv 1/T $ using the light-cone\napproach. This NLIE is solved by iteration in one regime (high $T$ in the XXZ\nchain and low $T$ in the sG-mT model). In the opposite (conformal) regime, the\nleading behaviors are obtained in closed form. Higher corrections can be\nderived from the Riemann-Hilbert form of the NLIE that we present.",
        "positive": "$\u03ba$-deformed scalar field: In the following work we will introduce and discuss in detail a particular\nmodel of complex $\\kappa$-deformed scalar field, whose behaviour under C, P , T\ntransformation is particularly transparent from both a formal and\nphenomenological point of view. We will begin by introducing the key\nmathematical structure at the basis of our investigation, namely the\n$\\kappa$-Poincar\\'e (Hopf) algebra and the $\\kappa$-Minkowski spacetime. We\nwill then investigate the behaviour of general two-particle states under\ndeformed boost. After this we will introduce the action of our\n$\\kappa$-deformed complex scalar field. From it, we will derive the equations\nof motion, as well as the Noether charges due to the continuous symmetries. The\npeculiar features of $\\kappa$-deformation in general, and of our model in\nparticular, allow for very non-trivial interaction between discrete and\ncontinuous symmetries, of which we will investigate the phenomenological\nconsequences (particularly in terms of difference of lifetime of decaying\nparticles). To conclude, we will obtain the $\\kappa$-deformed propagator of the\n$\\kappa$-deformed complex scalar field, and the imaginary part of the 1-loop\ncontribution to it, ending with additional phenomenological consequences. The\nthird chapter is new, unpublished work."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauge invariant Lagrangian for non-Abelian tensor gauge fields of fourth\n  rank: Using generalized field strength tensors for non-Abelian tensor gauge fields\none can explicitly construct all possible Lorentz invariant quadratic forms for\nrank-4 non-Abelian tensor gauge fields and demonstrate that there exist only\ntwo linear combinations of them which form a gauge invariant Lagrangian.\nTogether with the previous construction of independent gauge invariant forms\nfor rank-2 and rank-3 tensor gauge fields this construction proves the\nuniqueness of early proposed general Lagrangian up to rank-4 tensor fields.\nExpression for the coefficients of the general Lagrangian is presented in a\ncompact form.",
        "positive": "A matrix model for strings beyond the c=1 barrier: the spin-s Heisenberg\n  model on random surfaces: We consider a spin-s Heisenberg model coupled to two-dimensional quantum\ngravity. We quantize the model using the Feynman path integral, summing over\nall possible two-dimensional geometries and spin configurations. We regularize\nthis path integral by starting with the R-matrices defining the spin-s\nHeisenberg model on a regular 2d Manhattan lattice. 2d quantum gravity is\nincluded by defining the R-matrices on random Manhattan lattices and summing\nover these, in the same way as one sums over 2d geometries using random\ntriangulations in non-critical string theory. We formulate a random matrix\nmodel where the partition function reproduces the annealed average of the\nspin-s Heisenberg model over all random Manhattan lattices. A technique is\npresented which reduces the random matrix integration in partition function to\nan integration over their eigenvalues."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Nonlinear realization of local symmetries of AdS space: Coset methods are used to construct the action describing the dynamics\nassociated with the spontaneous breaking of the local symmetries of AdS_{d+1}\nspace due to the embedding of an AdS_d brane. The resulting action is an\nSO(2,d) invariant AdS form of the Einstein-Hilbert action, which in addition to\nthe AdS_d gravitational vielbein, also includes a massive vector field\nlocalized on the brane. Its long wavelength dynamics is the same as a massive\nAbelian vector field coupled to gravity in AdS_d space.",
        "positive": "One-loop renormalisation of cubic gravity in six dimensions: We present the complete set of universal one-loop beta functions of cubic\ngravity in six dimensions. The system admits over 8000 distinct fixed points,\nof which more than 200 are real. Some of them might be relevant for the\nquantisation of gravity in the physical case of four dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Factorization Problem in Jackiw-Teitelboim Gravity: In this note we study the $1+1$ dimensional Jackiw-Teitelboim gravity in\nLorentzian signature, explicitly constructing the gauge-invariant classical\nphase space and the quantum Hilbert space and Hamiltonian. We also\nsemiclassically compute the Hartle-Hawking wave function in two different bases\nof this Hilbert space. We then use these results to illustrate the\ngravitational version of the factorization problem of AdS/CFT: the Hilbert\nspace of the two-boundary system tensor-factorizes on the CFT side, which\nappears to be in tension with the existence of gauge constraints in the bulk.\nIn this model the tension is acute: we argue that JT gravity is a sensible\nquantum theory, based on a well-defined Lorentzian bulk path integral, which\nhas no CFT dual. In bulk language, it has wormholes but it does not have black\nhole microstates. It does however give some hint as to what could be added to\nto rectify these issues, and we give an example of how this works using the SYK\nmodel. Finally we suggest that similar comments should apply to pure Einstein\ngravity in $2+1$ dimensions, which we'd then conclude also cannot have a CFT\ndual, consistent with the results of Maloney and Witten.",
        "positive": "Compactification along Lightlike Lattices: Spacetimes obtained by dimensional reduction along lattices containing a\nlightlike direction can admit semigroup extensions of their isometry groups. We\nshow by concrete examples that such a semigroup can exhibit a natural order,\nwhich in turn implies the existence of preferred coordinate charts on the\nunderlying space. Specifically, for spacetimes which are products of an\nexternal Minkowski space with an internal two-dimensional Lorentzian space,\nwhere one of the lightlike directions has a compact size, the preferred charts\nconsist of \"infinite-momentum\" frames on the internal space. This implies that\nfields viewed from this preferred frame acquire extreme values; in particular,\nsome of the off-diagonal components of the higher-dimensional metric, which may\nbe regarded as gauge potentials for a field theory on the external Minkowski\nfactor, vanish. This raises the possibility of regarding known gauge theories\nas part of more extended field multiplets which have been reduced in size since\nthey are perceived from within an extreme frame. In the case of an external\n4-dimensional Minkowski spacetime times a two-dimensional Lorentzian cylinder,\nthe field content as seen in the preferred frame is that of a five-dimensional\nKaluza-Klein theory, where the electrodynamic potentials Am may depend, in\naddition to the external spacetime coordinates, on a fifth coordinate along a\nlightlike direction. The fact that the metric along this direction is zero\nobstructs the generation of field equations from the Ricci tensor of the\noverall metric."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Phases of Gauge Theories: One of the most fundamental questions we can ask about a given gauge theory\nis its phase diagram. In the standard model, we observe three fundamentally\ndifferent types of behavior: QCD is in a confined phase at zero temperature,\nwhile the electroweak sector of the standard model combines Coulomb and Higgs\nphases. Our current understanding of the phase structure of gauge theories owes\nmuch to the modern theory of phase transitions and critical phenomena, but has\ndeveloped into a subject of extensive study. After reviewing some fundamental\nconcepts of phase transitions and finite-temperature gauge theories, we discuss\nsome recent work that broadly extends our knowledge of the mechanisms that\ndetermine the phase structure of gauge theories. A new class of models with a\nrich phase structure has been discovered, generalizing our understanding of the\nconfinement-deconfinement transition in finite-temperature gauge theories.\nModels in this class have space-time topologies with one or more compact\ndirections. On R^3 x S^1, the addition of double-trace deformations or periodic\nadjoint fermions to a gauge theory can yield a confined phase in the region\nwhere the S^1 circumference L is small, so that the coupling constant is small,\nand semiclassical methods are applicable. In this region, Euclidean monopole\nsolutions, which are constituents of finite-temperature instantons, play a\ncrucial role in the calculation of a non-perturbative string tension. We review\nthe techniques use to analyze this new class of models and the results obtained\nso far, as well as their application to finite-temperature phase structure,\nconformal phases of gauge theories and the large-N limit.",
        "positive": "Mirror Symmetry and Landau Ginzburg Calabi-Yau Superpotentials in\n  F-theory Compactifications: We study Landau Ginzburg (LG) theories mirror to 2D N=2 gauged linear sigma\nmodels on toric Calabi-Yau manifolds. We derive and solve new constraint\nequations for Landau Ginzburg elliptic Calabi-Yau superpotentials, depending on\nthe physical data of dual linear sigma models. In Calabi-Yau threefolds case,\nwe consider two examples. First, we give the mirror symmetry of the canonical\nline bundle over the Hirzebruch surfaces $\\bf F_n$. Second, we find a special\ngeometry with the affine so(8) Lie algebra toric data extending the geometry of\nelliptically fibered K3. This geometry leads to a pure N=1 six dimensional\nSO(8) gauge model from the F-theory compactification. For Calabi-Yau fourfolds,\nwe give a new algebraic realization for ADE hypersurfaces."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Bubbling Orientifolds: We investigate a class of 1/2-BPS bubbling geometries associated to\norientifolds of type IIB string theory and thereby to excited states of the\nSO(N)/Sp(N) N=4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory. The geometries are in\ncorrespondence with free fermions moving in a harmonic oscillator potential on\nthe half-line. Branes wrapped on torsion cycles of these geometries are\nidentified in the fermi fluid description. Besides being of intrinsic interest,\nthese solutions may also occur as local geometries in flux compactifications\nwhere orientifold planes are present to ensure global charge cancellation. We\ncomment on the extension of this procedure to M-theory orientifolds.",
        "positive": "Gauged 2-form Symmetries in 6D SCFTs Coupled to Gravity: We study six dimensional supergravity theories with superconformal sectors\n(SCFTs). Instances of such theories can be engineered using type IIB strings,\nor more generally F-Theory, which translates field theoretic constraints to\ngeometry. Specifically, we study the fate of the discrete 2-form global\nsymmetries of the SCFT sectors. For both $(2,0)$ and $(1,0)$ theories we show\nthat whenever the charge lattice of the SCFT sectors is non-primitively\nembedded into the charge lattice of the supergravity theory, there is a\nsubgroup of these 2-form symmetries that remains unbroken by BPS strings. By\nthe absence of global symmetries in quantum gravity, this subgroup much be\ngauged. Using the embedding of the charge lattices also allows us to determine\nhow the gauged 2-form symmetry embeds into the 2-form global symmetries of the\nSCFT sectors, and we present several concrete examples, as well as some general\nobservations. As an alternative derivation, we recover our results for a large\nclass of models from a dual perspective upon reduction to five dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chirally Factorised Truncated Conformal Space Approach: Truncated Conformal Space Approach (TCSA) is a highly efficient method to\ncompute spectra, operator matrix elements and time evolution in quantum field\ntheories defined as relevant perturbations of 1+1-dimensional conformal field\ntheories. However, similarly to other exact diagonalisation methods, TCSA is\nridden with the \"curse of dimensionality\": the dimension of the Hilbert space\nincreases exponentially with the (square root of the) truncation level,\nlimiting its precision by the available memory resources. Here we describe an\nalgorithm which exploits the chiral factorisation property of conformal field\ntheory with periodic boundary conditions to achieve a substantial improvement\nin the truncation level. The Chirally Factorised TCSA (CFTCSA) algorithm\npresented here works with inputs describing the necessary CFT data in a\nspecified format. It makes possible much more precise calculations with given\ncomputing resources and extends the reach of the method to problems requiring\nlarge Hilbert space dimensions. In fact, it has already been used in a number\nof recent works ranging from determination of form factors, through studying\nconfinement of topological excitations to non-equilibrium dynamics. Besides the\ndescription of the algorithm, a MATLAB implementation of the algorithm is also\nprovided as an ancillary file package, supplemented with example codes\ncomputing spectra, matrix elements and time evolution, and with CFT data for\nthree different quantum field theories. We also give a detailed how-to guide\nfor constructing the required CFT data for Virasoro minimal models with central\ncharge c<1, and for the massless free boson with c=1.",
        "positive": "Systematic approach to cyclic orbifolds: We introduce an orbifold induction procedure which provides a systematic\nconstruction of cyclic orbifolds, including their twisted sectors. The\nprocedure gives counterparts in the orbifold theory of all the\ncurrent-algebraic constructions of conformal field theory and enables us to\nfind the orbifold characters and their modular transformation properties."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Yang-Mills gravity in biconformal space: We write a gravity theory with Yang-Mills type action using the biconformal\ngauging of the conformal group. We show that the resulting biconformal\nYang-Mills gravity theories describe 4-dim, scale-invariant general relativity\nin the case of slowly changing fields. In addition, we systematically extend\narbitrary 4-dim Yang-Mills theories to biconformal space, providing a new arena\nfor studying flat space Yang-Mills theories. By applying the biconformal\nextension to a 4-dim pure Yang-Mills theory with conformal symmetry, we\nestablish a 1-1, onto mapping between a set of gravitational gauge theories and\n4-dim, flat space gauge theories.",
        "positive": "Beyond eta/s = 1/4pi: We use low-energy effective description of gauge theory/string theory duality\nto argue that the Kovtun-Son-Starinets viscosity bound is generically violated\nin superconformal gauge theories with non-equal central charges $c\\ne a$. We\npresent new examples (of string theory constructions and of gauge theories)\nwhere the bound is violated in a controllable setting. We consider the\ncomparison of results from AdS/CFT calculations to the QCD plasma in the\ncontext of this discussion."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "An F-theory Realization of the Chiral MSSM with $\\mathbb{Z}_2$-Parity: Using F-theory we construct 4D ${\\cal N}=1$ SUGRA theories with the Standard\nModel gauge group, three chiral generations, and matter parity in order to\nforbid all dimension four baryon and lepton number violating operators. The\nunderlying geometries are derived by constructing smooth genus-one fibered\nCalabi--Yau fourfolds using toric tops that have a Jacobian fibration with rank\none Mordell--Weil group and $SU(3) \\times SU(2) $ singularities. The necessary\ngauge backgrounds on the smooth fourfolds are shown to be fully compatible with\nthe quantization condition, including positive integer D3-tadpoles. This\nconstruction realizes for the first time a consistent UV completion of an\nMSSM-like model with matter parity in F-theory. Moreover our construction is\ngeneral enough to also exhibit other relevant $\\mathbb{Z}_2$ charge extensions\nof the MSSM such as lepton and baryon parity. Such models however are rendered\ninconsistent by non-integer fluxes, which are necessary for producing the exact\nMSSM chiral spectrum. These inconsistencies turn out to be intimately related\nto field theory considerations regarding a UV-embedding of the $\\mathbb{Z}_2$\ninto a $U(1)$ and the resulting discrete anomalies.",
        "positive": "Anomalous N=2 superconformal Ward identities: The N=2 superconformal Ward identities and their anomalies are discussed in\nN=2 superspace (including N=2 harmonic superspace), at the level of the\nlow-energy effective action (LEEA) in four-dimensional N=2 supersymmetric field\ntheories. The (first) chiral N=2 supergravity compensator is related to the\nknown N=2 anomalous Ward identity in the N=2 (abelian) vector mulitplet sector.\nAs regards the hypermultiplet LEEA given by the N=2 non-linear sigma-model\n(NLSM), a new anomalous N=2 superconformal Ward identity is found, whose\nexistence is related to the (second) analytic compensator in N=2 supergravity.\nThe celebrated solution of Seiberg and Witten is known to obey the (first)\nanomalous Ward identity in the Coulomb branch. We find a few solutions to the\nnew anomalous Ward identity, after making certain assumptions about unbroken\ninternal symmetries. Amongst the N=2 NLSM target space metrics governing the\nhypermultiplet LEEA are the SU(2)-Yang-Mills-Higgs monopole moduli-space\nmetrics that can be encoded in terms of the spectral curves (Riemann surfaces),\nsimilarly to the Seiberg-Witten-type solutions. After a dimensional reduction\nto three spacetime dimensions (3d), our results support the mirror symmetry\nbetween the Coulomb and Higgs branches in 3d, N=4 gauge theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The many symmetries of Calabi-Yau compactifications: We review the major mathematical concepts involved in the dimensional\nreduction of D=11 N=1 supergravity theory over a Calabi-Yau manifold with\nnon-trivial complex structure moduli resulting in ungauged D=5 N=2 supergravity\ntheory with hypermultiplets. This last has a particularly rich structure with\nmany underlying geometries. We reproduce the entire calculation and\nparticularly emphasize its symplectic symmetry and how that arises from the\ntopology of the underlying subspace. The review is intended to fill in a\nspecific gap in the literature with the hope that it would be useful to both\nthe beginner and the expert alike.",
        "positive": "Einstein-Yang-Mills-Chern-Simons solutions in D=2n+1 dimensions: We investigate finite energy solutions of the\nEinstein--Yang-Mills--Chern-Simons system in odd spacetime dimensions, D=2n+1,\nwith n>1. Our configurations are static and spherically symmetric, approaching\nat infinity a Minkowski spacetime background. In contrast with the Abelian\ncase, the contribution of the Chern-Simons term is nontrivial already in the\nstatic, spherically symmetric limit. Both globally regular, particle-like\nsolutions and black holes are constructed numerically for several values of D.\nThese solutions carry a nonzero electric charge and have finite mass. For\nglobally regular solutions, the value of the electric charge is fixed by the\nChern-Simons coupling constant. The black holes can be thought as non-linear\nsuperpositions of Reissner-Nordstrom and non-Abelian configurations. A\nsystematic discussion of the solutions is given for D=5, in which case the\nReissner-Nordstrom black hole becomes unstable and develops non-Abelian hair.\nWe show that some of these non-Abelian configurations are stable under linear,\nspherically symmetric perturbations. A detailed discussion of an exact D=5\nsolution describing extremal black holes and solitons is also provided."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Renormalizing open quantum field theories: The functional renormalization group flow of a scalar field theory with\nquartic couplings and a sharp spatial momentum cutoff is presented in\nfour-dimensional Minkowski space-time for the bare action by retaining the\nentanglement of the IR and the UV particle modes. It is argued that the open\ninteraction channels have to be taken into account in quantum field theory\ndefined by the help of a cutoff, and a non-perturbative UV-IR entanglement is\nfound in closed or almost closed models.",
        "positive": "Relations between some analytic representations of one-loop scalar\n  integrals: We compare several parametrized analytic expressions for an arbitrary\noff-shell one-loop $n$-point function in scalar field theory in $D$-dimensional\nspace-time, and show their equivalence both directly and through path-integral\nmethods."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Complexity/Action duality of shock wave geometry in a massive gravity\n  theory: On the holographic complexity dual to the bulk action, we investigate the\naction growth for a shock wave geometry in a massive gravity theory within the\nWheeler-De Witt (WDW) patch at the late time limit. For a global shock wave,\nthe graviton mass does not affect the action growth in the bulk, i.e. the\ncomplexity on the boundary, showing that the action growth (complexity) is the\nsame for both the Einstein gravity and the massive gravity. Nevertheless, for a\nlocal shock wave that depends on transverse coordinates, the action growth\n(complexity) is proportional to the butterfly velocity for the two gravity\ntheories, but the butterfly velocity of the massive gravity theory is smaller\nthan that of the Einstein gravity theory, indicating that the action growth\n(complexity) of the massive gravity is depressed by the graviton mass. In\naddition, we extend the black hole thermodynamics of the massive gravity and\nobtain the right Smarr formula.",
        "positive": "Eight Fermion Terms in the Effective Action of the ABJM Model: We study eight fermion terms in the effective action of the ABJM model. We\nshow the non-renormalization of $v^2$ terms. After classifying all the possible\neight fermion structures, we show that $\\mathcal{N}=6$ supersymmetry determines\nall these terms completely up to an overall constant. This confirms the one\nloop non-renormalization of $v^4$ terms."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic thermalization of mutual and tripartite information in 2d\n  CFTs: We discuss the concepts of mutual and tripartite information by referring to\nsimple intuitive examples, and describe their use as probes of thermalization\nin holographic models. We then review our computation of these quantities in a\nsimple time dependent model, in which energy injection in a strongly coupled\nfield theory is modeled by a shell of null dust falling into 3d anti-de Sitter\nspace. We complete those results with a discussion of the possible equilibrium\nphases of the tripartite information.",
        "positive": "A Note on Dimer Models and D-brane Gauge Theories: The connection between quiver gauge theories and dimer models has been well\nstudied. It is known that the matter fields of the quiver gauge theories can be\nrepresented using the perfect matchings of the corresponding dimer model.We\nconjecture that a subset of perfect matchings associated with an internal point\nin the toric diagram is sufficient to give information about the charge matrix\nof the quiver gauge theory. Further, we perform explicit computations on some\naspects of partial resolutions of toric singularities using dimer models. We\nanalyse these with graph theory techniques, using the perfect matchings of\norbifolds of the form $\\BC^3/\\Gamma$, where the orbifolding group $\\Gamma$ may\nbe noncyclic. Using these, we study the construction of the superpotential of\ngauge theories living on D-branes which probe these singularities, including\nthe case where one or more adjoint fields are present upon partial resolution.\nApplying a combination of open and closed string techniques to dimer models, we\nalso study some aspects of their symmetries."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Multicenter solutions in Eddington-inspired Born-Infeld gravity: We find multicenter (Majumdar-Papapetrou type) solutions of\nEddington-inspired Born-Infeld gravity coupled to electromagnetic fields\ngoverned by a Born-Infeld-like Lagrangian. We construct the general solution\nfor an arbitrary number of centers in equilibrium and then discuss the\nproperties of their one-particle configurations, including the existence of\nbounces and the regularity (geodesic completeness) of these spacetimes. Our\nmethod can be used to construct multicenter solutions in other theories of\ngravity.",
        "positive": "Moore-Read Fractional Quantum Hall wavefunctions and SU(2) quiver gauge\n  theories: We identify Moore-Read wavefunctions, describing non-abelian statistics in\nfractional quantum Hall systems, with the instanton partition of N=2\nsuperconformal quiver gauge theories at suitable values of masses and\n\\Omega-background parameters. This is obtained by extending to rational\nconformal field theories the SU(2) gauge quiver/Liouville field theory duality\nrecently found by Alday-Gaiotto-Tachikawa. A direct link between the Moore-Read\nHall $n$-body wavefunctions and Z_n-equivariant Donaldson polynomials is\npointed out."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Target Space Interpretation of New Moduli in 2D String Theory: We analyze the new states that have recently been discovered in 2D string\ntheory by E. Witten and B. Zwiebach. Since the Liouville direction is\nuncompactified, we show that the deformations by the new ghost number two\nstates generate equivalent classical solutions of the string fields. We argue\nthat the new ghost number one states are responsible for generating\ntransformations which relate such equivalent solutions. We also discuss the\npossible interpretation of higher ghost number states of those kinds.",
        "positive": "PT symmetry and large-N models: Recently developed methods for PT-symmetric models can be applied to\nquantum-mechanical matrix and vector models. In matrix models, the calculation\nof all singlet wave functions can be reduced to the solution a one-dimensional\nPT-symmetric model. The large-N limit of a wide class of matrix models exists,\nand properties of the lowest-lying singlet state can be computed using WKB. For\nmodels with cubic and quartic interactions, the ground state energy appears to\nshow rapid convergence to the large-N limit. For the special case of a quartic\nmodel, we find explicitly an isospectral Hermitian matrix model. The Hermitian\nform for a vector model with O(N) symmetry can also be found, and shows many\nunusual features. The effective potential obtained in the large-N limit of the\nHermitian form is shown to be identical to the form obtained from the original\nPT-symmetric model using familiar constraint field methods. The analogous\nconstraint field prescription in four dimensions suggests that PT-symmetric\nscalar field theories are asymptotically free."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Thermodynamics, gravitational anomalies and cones: By studying the Euclidean partition function on a cone, we argue that pure\nand mixed gravitational anomalies generate a \"Casimir momentum\" which manifests\nitself as parity violating coefficients in the hydrodynamic stress tensor and\ncharge current. The coefficients generated by these anomalies enter at a lower\norder in the hydrodynamic gradient expansion than would be naively expected. In\n1+1 dimensions, the gravitational anomaly affects coefficients at zeroth order\nin the gradient expansion. The mixed anomaly in 3+1 dimensions controls the\nvalue of coefficients at first order in the gradient expansion.",
        "positive": "Size scaling of self gravitating polymers and strings: We study a statistical ensemble of a single polymer with self gravitational\ninteraction. This is a model of a gravitating string --- the precursor of a\nblack hole. We analyze averaged sizes by mean field approximations with an\neffective Hamiltonian a la Edwards with Newtonian potential as well as a\ncontact repulsive interaction. We find that there exists a certain scaling\nregion where the attractive and the repulsive forces balance out. The repulsive\ninteraction pushes the critical gravitational coupling to a larger value, at\nwhich the size of a polymer becomes comparable to its Schwarzschild radius, and\nas a result the size of the corresponding black hole increases considerably. We\nshow phase diagrams in various dimensions that clarify how the size changes as\nthe strengths of repulsive and gravitational forces vary."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Covariantly constant forms on torsionful geometries from world-sheet and\n  spacetime perspectives: The symmetries of two-dimensional supersymmetric sigma models on target\nspaces with covariantly constant forms associated to special holonomy groups\nare analysed. It is shown that each pair of such forms gives rise to a new one,\ncalled a Nijenhuis form, and that there may be further reductions of the\nstructure group. In many cases of interest there are also covariantly constant\none-forms which also give rise to symmetries. These geometries are of interest\nin the context of heterotic supergravity solutions and the associated\nreductions are studied from a spacetime point of view via the Killing spinor\nequations.",
        "positive": "Second Order RG Flow in General su(2) Coset Models: We consider a RG flow in a general su(2) coset model perturbed by the least\nrelevant field. The perturbing field as well as some particular fields of\ndimension close to one are constructed recursively in terms of lower level\nfields. Using this construction we obtain the structure constants and the\nfour-point correlation functions in the leading order. This allows us to\ncompute the mixing coefficients among the fields in the UV and the IR theory.\nIt turns out that they are in agreement with those found recently using the\ndomain wall construction up to this order."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "String correlators on $\\text{AdS}_3$: Analytic structure and dual CFT: We continue our study of string correlators on Euclidean $\\text{AdS}_3$ with\npure NS-NS flux. The worldsheet and spacetime correlators have a rich analytic\nstructure, which we analyse completely for genus 0 four-point functions. We\nshow that correlators exhibit a simple behaviour near their singularities. The\nspacetime correlators are meromorphic functions in the\n$\\mathrm{SL}(2,\\mathbb{R})$-spins, whose pole structure is shown to agree with\nthe prediction of a recent proposal for the dual $\\text{CFT}_2$. Moreover, we\nalso compute the residues of the spacetime correlators for some of the poles\nexactly and find again a perfect match with the proposal for the dual\n$\\text{CFT}_2$, thereby checking the duality for some non-trivial four-point\nfunctions exactly. Our computations simplify drastically in the tensionless\nlimit of $\\mathrm{AdS}_3 \\times \\mathrm{S}^3 \\times \\mathbb{T}^4$ where the\nbehaviour near the poles gives in fact the exact answer. This paper is the\nthird in a series with several installments.",
        "positive": "How does Casimir energy fall? II. Gravitational acceleration of quantum\n  vacuum energy: It has been demonstrated that quantum vacuum energy gravitates according to\nthe equivalence principle, at least for the finite Casimir energies associated\nwith perfectly conducting parallel plates. We here add further support to this\nconclusion by considering parallel semitransparent plates, that is,\ndelta-function potentials, acting on a massless scalar field, in a spacetime\ndefined by Rindler coordinates (tau,x,y,xi). Fixed xi in such a spacetime\nrepresents uniform acceleration. We calculate the force on systems consisting\nof one or two such plates at fixed values of xi. In the limit of large Rindler\ncoordinate xi (small acceleration), we recover (via the equivalence principle)\nthe situation of weak gravity, and find that the gravitational force on the\nsystem is just Mg, where g is the gravitational acceleration and M is the total\nmass of the system, consisting of the mass of the plates renormalized by the\nCasimir energy of each plate separately, plus the energy of the Casimir\ninteraction between the plates. This reproduces the previous result in the\nlimit as the coupling to the delta-function potential approaches infinity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The GUP and quantum Raychaudhuri equation: In this paper, we compare the quantum corrections to the Schwarzschild black\nhole temperature due to quadratic and linear-quadratic generalized uncertainty\nprinciple, with the corrections from the quantum Raychaudhuri equation. The\nreason for this comparison is to connect the deformation parameters $\\beta_0$\nand $ \\alpha_0$ with $\\eta$ which is the parameter that characterizes the\nquantum Raychaudhuri equation. The derived relation between the parameters\nappears to depend on the relative scale of the system (black hole), which could\nbe read as a beta function equation for the quadratic deformation parameter\n$\\beta_0$. This study shows a correspondence between the two phenomenological\napproaches and indicates that quantum Raychaudhuri equation implies the\nexistence of a crystal-like structure of spacetime.",
        "positive": "Heterotic Vacua from general (non-) Abelian Bundles: We report on the construction of four-dimensional string vacua by considering\ngeneral abelian and non-abelian bundles on an internal Calabi-Yau for both\nheterotic theories. The structure of the resulting gauge sector is extremely\nrich and gives rise to many new model building possibilities. We analyse the\nchiral spectrum including the contribution from heterotic five-branes and\nprovide the general consistency conditions. The one-loop corrected\nsupersymmetry condition on the bundles is found to be that of pi-stability. As\nan application we present a supersymmetric Standard-Model like example for the\nSO(32) string with U(n) bundles on an elliptically fibered Calabi-Yau."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Flipped SU(5) From D-branes With Type IIB Fluxes: We construct flipped SU(5) GUT models as Type IIB flux vacua on $\\Z_2\\times\n\\Z_2$ orientifolds. Turning on supergravity self-dual NSNS and RR three-form\nfluxes fixes the toroidal complex structure moduli and the dilaton. We give a\nspecific example of a three-generation flipped SU(5) model with a complete\nHiggs sector where supersymmetry is softly broken by the supergravity fluxes in\nthe closed string sector. All of the required Yukawa couplings are present if\nglobal U(1) factors resulting from a generalized Green-Schwarz mechanism are\nbroken spontaneously or by world-sheet instantons. In addition, the model\ncontains extra chiral and vector-like matter, potentially of mass\n$\\mathcal{O}(M_{string})$ via trilinear superpotential couplings.",
        "positive": "Kalb-Ramond interaction for a closed p-brane: The Kalb-Ramond action for an interacting string is generalized to the case\nof a high-dimensional object (p-brane). The interaction is found to be mediated\nby a gauge boson of a completely antisymmetric tensor of rank $p+1$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supermatrix Models: We investigate several matrix models based on super Lie algebras,\nosp(1|32,R), u(1|16,16) and gl(1|32,R). They are natural generalizations of IIB\nmatrix model and were first proposed by Smolin. In particular, we study the\nsupersymmetry structures of these models and discuss possible reductions to IIB\nmatrix model. We also point out that diffeomorphism invariance is hidden in\ngauge theories on noncommutative space which are derived from matrix models.\nThis symmetry is independent of the global SO(9,1) invariance in IIB matrix\nmodel and we report our trial to extend the global Lorentz invariance to local\nsymmetry by introducing u(1|16,16) or gl(1|32,R) super Lie algebras.",
        "positive": "A Holographic Framework for Eternal Inflation: In this paper we provide some circumstantial evidence for a holographic\nduality between bubble nucleation in an eternally inflating universe and a\nEuclidean conformal field theory. The holographic correspondence (which is\ndifferent than Strominger's dS/CFT duality) relates the decay of\n(3+1)-dimensional de Sitter space to a two-dimensional CFT. It is not\nassociated with pure de Sitter space, but rather with Coleman-De Luccia bubble\nnucleation. Alternatively, it can be thought of as a holographic description of\nthe open, infinite, FRW cosmology that results from such a bubble. The\nconjectured holographic representation is of a new type that combines\nholography with the Wheeler-DeWitt formalism to produce a Wheeler-DeWitt theory\nthat lives on the spatial boundary of a k=-1 FRW cosmology. We also argue for a\nmore ambitious interpretation of the Wheeler-DeWitt CFT as a holographic dual\nof the entire Landscape."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Geodesic Gradient Flows in Moduli Space: Geodesics in moduli spaces of string vacua are important objects in string\nphenomenology. In this paper, we highlight a simple condition that connects\nbrane tensions, including particle masses, with geodesics in moduli spaces.\nNamely, when a brane's scalar charge-to-tension ratio vector $-\\nabla \\log T$\nhas a fixed length, then the gradient flow induced by the logarithm of the\nbrane's tension is a geodesic. We show that this condition is satisfied in many\nexamples in the string landscape.",
        "positive": "Non-perturbative SQCD Superpotentials from String Instantons: The Affleck-Dine-Seiberg instanton generated superpotential for SQCD with\nNf=Nc-1 flavours is explicitly derived from a local model of engineered\nintersecting D6-branes with a single E2-instanton. This computation extends\nalso to symplectic gauge groups with Nf=Nc flavours."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Relations among topological solitons: We clarify relations among topological solitons in various dimensions: a\ndomain wall, non-Abelian vortex, magnetic monopole and Yang-Mills instanton,\ntogether with a (non-Abelian) sine-Gordon soliton, baby Skyrmion (lump) and\nSkyrmion. We construct a composite configuration consisting of a domain wall,\nvortex, magnetic monopole and Yang-Mills instanton\n(wall-vortex-monopole-instanton) using the effective theory technique or moduli\napproximation. Removing some solitons from such a composite, we obtain all\npossible composite solitons in the form of solitons within a soliton, including\nall the previously known configurations, yielding relations among topological\nsolitons.",
        "positive": "Two-loop mass anomalous dimension in reduced quantum electrodynamics and\n  application to dynamical fermion mass generation: We consider reduced quantum electrodynamics (RQED$_{d_\\gamma,d_e}$) a model\ndescribing fermions in a $d_e$-dimensional space-time and interacting via the\nexchange of massless bosons in $d_\\gamma$-dimensions ($d_e \\leq d_\\gamma$). We\ncompute the two-loop mass anomalous dimension, $\\gamma_m$, in general\nRQED$_{4,d_e}$ with applications to RQED$_{4,3}$ and QED$_4$. We then proceed\non studying dynamical (parity-even) fermion mass generation in RQED$_{4,d_e}$\nby constructing a fully gauge-invariant gap equation for RQED$_{4,d_e}$ with\n$\\gamma_m$ as the only input. This equation allows for a straightforward\nanalytic computation of the gauge-invariant critical coupling constant,\n$\\alpha_c$, which is such that a dynamical mass is generated for $\\alpha_r >\n\\alpha_c$, where $\\alpha_r$ is the renormalized coupling constant, as well as\nthe gauge-invariant critical number of fermion flavours, $N_c$, which is such\nthat $\\alpha_c \\rightarrow \\infty$ and a dynamical mass is generated for $N <\nN_c$. For RQED$_{4,3}$, our results are in perfect agreement with the more\nelaborate analysis based on the resolution of truncated Schwinger-Dyson\nequations at two-loop order. In the case of QED$_4$, our analytical results\n(that use state of the art five-loop expression for $\\gamma_m$) are in good\nquantitative agreement with those obtained from numerical approaches."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Weyl fermions in a family of G\u00f6del-type geometries with a\n  topological defect: In this paper we study Weyl fermions in a family of G\\\"odel-type geometries\nin Einstein general relativity. We also consider that these solutions are\nembedded in a topological defect background. We solve the Weyl equation and\nfind the energy eigenvalues and eigenspinors for all three cases of\nG\\\"odel-type geometries where a topological defect is passing through them. We\nshow that the presence of a topological in these geometries contributes to\nmodification of the spectrum of energy. The energy zero modes for all three\ncases of the G\\\"odel geometries are discussed.",
        "positive": "Casimir energy for spinor fields with $\u03b4$-shell potentials: This work analyzes the Casimir energy of a massive spinor field propagating\nin flat space endowed with a spherically symmetric $\\delta$-function potential.\nBy utilizing the spectral zeta function regularization method, the Casimir\nenergy is evaluated after performing a suitable analytic continuation. Explicit\nnumerical results are provided for specific cases in which the Casimir energy\nis unambiguously defined. The results described in this work represent a\ngeneralization of the MIT bag model for spinor fields."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Casimir effect and Stefan-Boltzmann law at finite temperature in a\n  Friedmann-Robertson-Walker universe: A spatially flat Friedmann-Robertson-Walker background with a general scale\nfactor is considered. In this space-time, the energy-momentum tensor of the\nscalar field with a general curvature coupling parameter is obtained. Using the\nThermo Field Dynamics (TFD) formalism the Stefan-Boltzmann law and the Casimir\neffect at finite temperature are calculated. The Casimir effect at zero\ntemperature is also considered. The expansion of the universe changes these\neffects. A discussion of these modifications is presented.",
        "positive": "Lectures on Strings, D-branes and Gauge Theories: In these lectures we review the basic ideas of perturbative and\nnon-perturbative string theory. On the non-perturbative side we give an\nintroduction to D-branes and string duality. The elementary concepts of non-BPS\nbranes and noncommutative gauge theories are also discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Group-quantization of non-linear sigma models: particle on S^2 revisited: We present the quantum mechanics of \"partial-trace\" non-linear sigma models,\non the grounds of a fully symmetry-based procedure. After the general scheme is\nsketched, the particular example of a particle on the two-sphere is explicitly\ndeveloped. As a remarkable feature, no explicit constraint treatment is\nrequired nor ordering ambiguities do appear. Moreover, the energy spectrum is\nrecovered without extra terms in the curvature of the sphere.",
        "positive": "Deformed Two-Mode Quadrature Operators in Noncommutative Space: Starting from noncommutative quantum mechanics algebra, we investigate the\nvariances of the deformed two-mode quadrature operators under the evolution of\nthree types of two-mode squeezed states in noncommutative space. A novel\nconclusion can be found and it may associate the checking of the variances in\nnoncommutative space with homodyne detecting technology. Moreover, we analyze\nthe influence of the scaling parameter on the degree of squeezing for the\ndeformed level and the corresponding consequences."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Composite Non-Abelian Strings with Grassmannian Models on the World\n  Sheet: Most of the non-Abelian string-vortices studied so far are characterized by\ntwo-dimensional \\cpn models with various degrees of supersymmetry on their\nworld sheet. We generalize this construction to \"composite\" non-Abelian strings\nsupporting the Grassmann $\\mathcal{G}(L,M)$ models (here $L+M=N$). The\ngeneralization is straightforward and provides, among other results, a simple\nand transparent way for counting the number of vacua in ${\\mathcal N}=(2,2)$\nGrassmannian model.",
        "positive": "Integrable Systems in Stringy Gravity: Static axisymmetric Einstein-Maxwell-Dilaton and stationary axisymmetric\nEinstein-Maxwell-Dilaton-Axion (EMDA) theories in four space-time dimensions\nare shown to be integrable by means of the inverse scattering transform method.\nThe proof is based on the coset-space representation of the 4-dim theory in a\nspace-time admitting a Killing vector field. Hidden symmetry group of the\nfour-dimensional EMDA theory, unifying T and S string dualities, is shown to be\nSp(2, R) acting transitively on the coset Sp(2, R)/U(2). In the case of\ntwo-parameter Abelian space-time isometry group, the hidden symmetry is the\ncorresponding infinite-dimensional group of the Geroch-Kinnersley-Chitre type."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Meaning of the String-Inspired Noncommutativity and its\n  Implications: We propose an alternative interpretation for the meaning of noncommutativity\nof the string-inspired field theories and quantum mechanics. Arguments are\npresented to show that the noncommutativity generated in the stringy context\nshould be assumed to be only between the particle coordinate observables, and\nnot of the spacetime coordinates. Some implications of this fact for\nnoncomutative field theories and quantum mechanics are discussed. In\nparticular, a consistent interpretation is given for the wavefunction in\nquantum mechanics. An analysis of the noncommutative theories in the\nSchr\\\"odinger formulation is performed employing a generalized quantum\nHamilton-Jacobi formalism. A formal structure for noncommutative quantum\nmechanics, richer than the one of noncommutative quantum field theory, comes\nout. Conditions for the classical and commutative limits of these theories have\nalso been determined and applied in some examples.",
        "positive": "Carving out OPE space and precise $O(2)$ model critical exponents: We develop new tools for isolating CFTs using the numerical bootstrap. A\n\"cutting surface\" algorithm for scanning OPE coefficients makes it possible to\nfind islands in high-dimensional spaces. Together with recent progress in\nlarge-scale semidefinite programming, this enables bootstrap studies of much\nlarger systems of correlation functions than was previously practical. We apply\nthese methods to correlation functions of charge-0, 1, and 2 scalars in the 3d\n$O(2)$ model, computing new precise values for scaling dimensions and OPE\ncoefficients in this theory. Our new determinations of scaling dimensions are\nconsistent with and improve upon existing Monte Carlo simulations, sharpening\nthe existing decades-old $8\\sigma$ discrepancy between theory and experiment."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauge Symmetries and Amplitudes in N=2 Strings: Picture changed operators are discussed in $N=2$ strings with space-time\nsignature $(2,2)$. A gauge symmetry algebra is derived in a background of torus\nspace-time $T^{2,2}$ and its simple representation on the picture changed\noperators is given. Simple Ward identities associated with the gauge algebra\nand their consequences for three and four point amplitudes of arbitrary loops\nare also discussed.",
        "positive": "Superstars and Giant Gravitons: We examine a family of BPS solutions of ten-dimensional type IIb\nsupergravity. These solutions asymptotically approach AdS_5 X S^5 and carry\ninternal `angular' momentum on the five-sphere. While a naked singularity\nappears at the center of the anti-de Sitter space, we show that it has a\nnatural physical interpretation in terms of a collection of giant gravitons. We\ncalculate the distribution of giant gravitons from the dipole field induced in\nthe Ramond-Ramond five-form, and show that these sources account for the entire\ninternal momentum carried by the BPS solutions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Wave function renormalization constants and one-particle form factors in\n  $D_{l}^{(1)}$ Toda field theories: We apply the method of angular quantization to calculation of the wave\nfunction renormali- zation constants in $D_{l}^{(1)}$ affine Toda quantum field\ntheories. A general formula for the wave function renormalization constants in\nADE Toda field theories is proposed. We also calculate all one-particle form\nfactors and some of the two-particle form factors of an exponential field.",
        "positive": "Thick brane world model from perfect fluid: A (1 + d)-dimensional thick \"brane world\" model with varying Lambda-term is\nconsidered. The model is generalized to the case of a chain of Ricci-flat\ninternal spaces when the matter source is an anisotropic perfect fluid. The\n\"horizontal\" part of potential is obtained in the Newtonian approximation. In\nthe multitemporal case (with a Lambda-term) a set of equations for potentials\nis presented."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quiver Theories and Hilbert Series of Classical Slodowy Intersections: We build on previous studies of the Higgs and Coulomb branches of SUSY quiver\ntheories having 8 supercharges, including $3d~{\\cal N}=4$, and Classical gauge\ngroups. The vacuum moduli spaces of many such theories can be parameterised by\npairs of nilpotent orbits of Classical Lie algebras; they are transverse to one\norbit and intersect the closure of the second. We refer to these transverse\nspaces as Slodowy intersections. They embrace reduced single instanton moduli\nspaces, nilpotent orbits, Kraft-Procesi transitions and Slodowy slices, as well\nas other types. We show how quiver subtractions, between multi-flavoured\nunitary or ortho-symplectic quivers, can be used to find a complete set of\nHiggs branch constructions for the Slodowy intersections of any Classical\ngroup. We discuss the relationships between the Higgs and Coulomb branches of\nthese quivers and $T_{\\sigma}^{\\rho}$ theories in the context of $3d$ mirror\nsymmetry, including problematic aspects of Coulomb branch constructions from\northo-symplectic quivers. We review Coulomb and Higgs branch constructions for\na subset of Slodowy intersections from multi-flavoured Dynkin diagram quivers.\nWe tabulate Hilbert series and Highest Weight Generating functions for Slodowy\nintersections of Classical algebras up to rank 4. The results are confirmed by\ndirect calculation of Hilbert series from a localisation formula for normal\nSlodowy intersections that is related to the Hall Littlewood polynomials.",
        "positive": "A Geometric Model of Arbitrary Spin Massive Particle: A new model of relativistic massive particle with arbitrary spin\n(($m,s$)-particle) is suggested. Configuration space of the model is a product\nof Minkowski space and two-dimensional sphere, ${\\cal M}^6 = {\\Bbb R}^{3,1}\n\\times S^2$. The system describes Zitterbewegung at the classical level.\nTogether with explicitly realized Poincar\\'e symmetry, the action functional\nturns out to be invariant under two types of gauge transformations having their\norigin in the presence of two Abelian first-class constraints in the Hamilton\nformalism. These constraints correspond to strong conservation for the\nphase-space counterparts of the Casimir operators of the Poincar\\'e group.\nCanonical quantization of the model leads to equations on the wave functions\nwhich prove to be equivalent to the relativistic wave equations for the massive\nspin-$s$ field."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Beyond the Einstein Equation of State: Wald Entropy and Thermodynamical\n  Gravity: We show that the classical equations of gravity follow from a thermodynamic\nrelation, dQ = T dS, where S is taken to be the Wald entropy, applied to a\nlocal Rindler horizon at any point in spacetime. Our approach works for all\ndiffeomorphism-invariant theories of gravity. This suggests that classical\ngravity may be thermodynamic in origin.",
        "positive": "\u03c7-Systems for Correlation Functions: We consider the strong coupling limit of 4-point functions of heavy operators\nin N=4 SYM dual to strings with no spin in AdS. We restrict our discussion for\noperators inserted on a line. The string computation factorizes into a\nstate-dependent sphere part and a universal AdS contribution which depends only\non the dimensions of the operators and the cross ratios. We use the\nintegrability of the AdS string equations to compute the AdS part for operators\nof arbitrary conformal dimensions. The solution takes the form of TBA-like\nintegral equations with the minimal AdS string-action computed by a\ncorresponding free-energy-like functional. These TBA-like equations stem from a\npeculiar system of functional equations which we call a \\chi-system. In\nprinciple one could use the same method to solve for the AdS contribution in\nthe N-point function. An interesting feature of the solution is that it encodes\nmultiple string configurations corresponding to different classical\nsaddle-points. The discrete data that parameterizes these solutions enters\nthrough the analog of the chemical-potentials in the TBA-like equations.\nFinally, for operators dual to strings spinning in the same equator in S^5\n(i.e. BPS operators of the same type) the sphere part is simple to compute. In\nthis case (which is generically neither extremal nor protected) we can\nconstruct the complete, strong-coupling 4-point function."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Stability of String Theory Vacua: Vacuum compactifications may suffer from instabilities under small\nperturbations or tunnel effects; both are difficult to analyze. In this paper\nwe consider the issue from a higher-dimensional perspective. We first look at\nhow stability works for supersymmetric vacua, where it is widely expected to\nhold. We first show that the nucleation of brane bubbles in type II AdS\ncompactifications is forbidden in the probe approximation by a simple argument\ninvolving pure spinors and calibrations. We then adapt familiar positive-energy\ntheorems directly to M-theory and type II supergravity, rather than to their\neffective lower-dimensional reductions, also showing how to consistently\ninclude localised sources. We finally initiate an analysis of how these\narguments might be extended to non-supersymmetric vacua. In M-theory, at the\nlower-derivative level, we find that the most natural modifications fail to\nstabilize the skew-whiffed and Englert vacua.",
        "positive": "Chiral Scale and Conformal Invariance in 2D Quantum Field Theory: It is well known that a local, unitary Poincare-invariant 2D QFT with a\nglobal scaling symmetry and a discrete non-negative spectrum of scaling\ndimensions necessarily has both a left and a right local conformal symmetry. In\nthis paper we consider a chiral situation beginning with only a left global\nscaling symmetry and do not assume Lorentz invariance. We find that a left\nconformal symmetry is still implied, while right translations are enhanced\neither to a right conformal symmetry or a left U(1) Kac-Moody symmetry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic cosmology from \"dimensional reduction\" of ${\\cal N}=4$ SYM\n  vs. $AdS_5\\times S^5$: We propose a way to obtain holographic cosmology models for 3+1 dimensional\ncosmologies vs. 3 dimensional field theories from a \"dimensional reduction\"\nprocedure, obtained by integrating over the time direction, of (modifed)\nstandard holographic duals of 3+1 dimensional field theories. The example of a\nmodified ${\\cal N}=4$ SYM vs. $AdS_5\\times S^5$ is presented, and in\nperturbation theory doesn't match observations, though at strong coupling it\nmight. But the proposed mechanism is more general, and it could in principle be\napplied to other top down holographic models.",
        "positive": "Soliton formulation by Moyal algebra: We formulate the soliton equations on the lattice in terms of the reduced\nMoyal algebra which includes one parameter. The vanishing limit of the\nparameter leads to the continuous soliton equations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Path-integral quantization of tensionless (super) string: In this work, we study the tensionless (super)string in the formalism of\npath-integral quantization. We introduce BMS $bc$ and $\\beta\\gamma$ ghosts\nintrinsically by accounting for the Faddeev-Popov determinants appeared in\nfixing the gauges. We then do canonical quantization and obtain the critical\ndimensions for different tensionless strings. We find that among four kinds of\ntensionless superstrings, the $\\mathcal{N}=2$ homogeneous and inhomogeneous\ndoublet tensionless superstrings have the same critical dimension as the usual\nsuperstrings. Taking the BMS $bc$ and $\\beta\\gamma$ ghosts as new types of BMS\nfree field theories, we find that their enhanced underlying symmetries are\ngenerated by BMS-Kac-Moody algebras, with the Kac-Moody subalgebras being built\nfrom a three-dimensional non-abelian and non-semi-simple Lie algebra.",
        "positive": "Quadratic corrections to three-point functions: Following the recent progress on the calculation of three-point correlators\nwith two \"heavy\" (with large quantum numbers) and one \"light\" states at strong\ncoupling, we compute the logarithmic divergent terms of leading bosonic quantum\ncorrections to correlation functions with \"heavy\" operators corresponding to\nsimple string solutions in AdS_5 x S^5. The \"light\" operator is chosen to be\nthe dilaton. An important relation connecting the corrections to both the\ndimensions of \"heavy\" states, and the structure constants is recovered."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Quantum Jumps, Events and Spontaneous Localization Models: We propose a definite meaning to the concepts of \"experiment\", \"measurement\"\nand \"event\" in the event-enhanced formalism of quantum theory. A minimal\npiecewise deterministic process is given that can be used for a computer\nsimulation of real time series of experiments on single quantum objects. As an\nexample a generalized cloud chamber is described, including multiparticle case.\nRelation to the GRW spontaneous localization model is discussed. The second\nrevised version of the paper contains references to papers by other authors\nthat are are aiming in the same direction: to enhance quantum theory in such a\nway that it will provide stochastic description of events triggered by\nindividual quantum systems.",
        "positive": "Celestial Mellin Amplitude: Celestial holography provides a promising avenue to studying bulk scattering\nin flat spacetime from the perspective of boundary celestial conformal field\ntheory (CCFT). A key ingredient in connecting the two sides is the celestial\namplitude, which is given by the Mellin transform of momentum space scattering\namplitude in energy. As such, celestial amplitudes can be identified with the\ncorrelation functions in celestial conformal field theory. In this paper, we\nintroduce the further notion of celestial Mellin amplitude, which is given by\nthe Mellin transform of celestial amplitude in coordinate. For technical\nreasons, we focus on the celestial Mellin amplitudes for scalar fields in three\ndimensional flat spacetime dual to 1D CCFT, and discuss the celestial Mellin\nblock expansion. In particular, the poles of the celestial Mellin amplitude\nencode the scaling dimensions of the possible exchanged operators, while the\nresidues there are related to the OPE coefficient squares in a linear and\nexplicit way. We also compare the celestial Mellin amplitudes with the\ncoefficient functions which can be obtained using inversion formulae. Finally,\nwe make some comments about the possible generalizations of celestial Mellin\namplitudes to higher dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Biaxially symmetric solutions to 4D higher-spin gravity: We review some aspects of biaxially symmetric solutions to Vasiliev's\nequations in four dimensional spacetime with negative cosmological constant.\nThe solutions, which activate bosonic fields of all spins, are constructed\nusing gauge functions, projectors and deformed oscillators. The deformation\nparameters, which are formally gauge invariant, are related to generalized\nelectric and magnetic charges in asymptotic weak-field regions. Alternatively,\nthe solutions can be characterized in a dual fashion using zero-form charges\nwhich are higher-spin Casimir invariants built from combinations of curvatures\nand all their derivatives that are constant on shell and well-defined\neverywhere.",
        "positive": "On string backgrounds and (logarithmic) CFT: We discuss the link between string backgrounds and the associated world-sheet\nCFTs. In the search for new backgrounds and CFTs, Penrose limits and Lie\nalgebra contractions are important tools. The Nappi-Witten construction and the\nrecently discovered logarithmic CFT by Bakas and Sfetsos, are considered as\nillustrations. We also speculate on possible extensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Mapping Anomalous Currents in Supersymmetric Dualities: In many strongly-coupled systems, the infrared dynamics is described by\ndifferent degrees of freedom from the ultraviolet. It is then natural to ask\nhow operators written in terms of the microscopic variables are mapped to\noperators composed of the macroscopic ones. Certain types of operators, like\nconserved currents, are simple to map, and in supersymmetric theories one can\nalso follow the chiral ring. In this note, we consider supersymmetric theories\nand extend the mapping to anomalous currents (and gaugino bilinears). Our\ntechnique is completely independent of subtleties associated with the\nrenormalization group, thereby shedding new light on previous approaches to the\nproblem. We demonstrate the UV/IR mapping in several examples with different\ntypes of dynamics, emphasizing the uniformity and simplicity of the approach.\nNatural applications of these ideas include the effects of soft breaking on the\ndynamics of various theories and new models of electroweak symmetry breaking.",
        "positive": "Regulating Eternal Inflation: We present an interpretation of the physics of space-times undergoing eternal\ninflation by repeated nucleation of bubbles. In many cases the physics can be\ninterpreted in terms of the quantum mechanics of a system with a finite number\nof states. If this interpretation is correct, the conventional picture of these\nspace-times is misleading."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic Surface Defects in $D=5$, $N=4$ Gauged Supergravity: Solutions describing holographic surface defects in $D=5,N=4$ gauged\nsupergravity theories are constructed. It is shown that a surface defect\nsolution in pure Romans' gauged supergravity is singular. Adding a single\nvector multiplet allows for the construction of a non-singular solution. The\non-shell action and one point functions of operators in the presence of the\ndefect are computed using holographic renormalization.",
        "positive": "The Boundary State Formalism and Conformal Invariance in Off-shell\n  String Theory: We present a generalization of the boundary state formalism for the bosonic\nstring that allows us to calculate the overlap of the boundary state with\narbitrary closed string states. We show that this generalization exactly\nreproduces world-sheet sigma model calculations, thus giving the correct\noverlap with both on- and off-shell string states, and that this new boundary\nstate automatically satisfies the requirement for integrated vertex operators\nin the case of non-conformally invariant boundary interactions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "From black holes to flux throats: polarization can resolve the\n  singularity: Supersymmetry-breaking is a key ingredient for string theory models to be\nphenomenologically viable. We review the strong analogy in the physics and the\nmethods used for describing non-supersymmetric flux vacua and\nnon-supersymmetric black holes in string theory. We also show how the polarized\nstate could be the key to describing a well-behaved back-reaction of\nanti-branes in flux backgrounds, shedding a new light on a recent debate in the\nliterature.",
        "positive": "Generalized parity transformations in the regularized Chern-Simons\n  theory: We study renormalization effects in the Abelian Chern-Simons (CS) action.\nThese effects can be non-trivial when the gauge field is coupled to dynamical\nmatter, since the regularization of the UV divergences in the model forces the\nintroduction of a parity even piece in the gauge field action. This changes the\nclassical (odd) transformation properties of the pure CS action. This effect,\nalready discussed for the case of a lattice regularization by F. Berruto, M.C.\nDiamantini and P. Sodano in hep-th/0004203, is also present when the theory is\ndefined in the continuum and, indeed, it is a manifestation of a more general\n`anomalous' effect, since it happens for every regularization scheme. We\nexplore the physical consequences of this anomaly. We also show that\ngeneralized, nonlocal parity transformations can be defined in such a way that\nthe regularized theory is odd, and that those transformations tend to the usual\nones when the cutoff is removed. These generalized transformations play a role\nthat is tantamount to the deformed symmetry corresponding to Ginsparg-Wilson\nfermions [2] (in an even number of spacetime dimensions)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-Existence of Local Integrals of Motion in the Multi-Deformed Ising\n  Model: We confirm the non-integrability of the multi-deformed Ising Model, an\nalready expected result. After deforming with the energy operator $\\phi_{1,3}$\nwe use the Majorana free fermionic representation for the massive theory to\nshow that, besides the trivial one, no local integrals of motion can be built\nin the theory arising from perturbing with both energy and spin operators.",
        "positive": "4D equivalence theorem and gauge symmetry on orbifold: We investigate the high-energy behavior of the scattering amplitudes in the\nextra dimensional gauge theory where the gauge symmetry is broken by the\nboundary condition. We study, in particular, the 5-dimensional SU(5) grand\nunified theory whose 5th-dimensional coordinate is compactified on S^1/Z_2. We\npay attention to the gauge symmetry compatible with the boundary condition on\nthe orbifold and give the BRST formalism of the 4D theory which is obtained\nthrough integration of the 5D theory along the extra dimension. We derive the\n4D equivalence theorem on the basis of the Slavnov-Taylor identities. We\ncalculate the amplitudes of the process including four massive gauge bosons in\nthe external lines and compare them with the ones for the connected reactions\nwhere the gauge fields are replaced by the corresponding would-be NG-like\nfields. We explicitly confirm the equivalence theorem to hold."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Casimir dynamics: Interactions of Surfaces with codimension >1 due to\n  Quantum Fluctuations: We study the Casimir force between defects (branes) of co-dimension larger\nthan 1 due to quantum fluctuations of a scalar field $\\phi$ living in the bulk.\nWe show that the Casimir force is attractive and that it diverges as the\ndistance between the branes approaches a critical value $L_c$. Below this\ncritical distance $L_c$ the vacuum state $\\phi=0$ of the theory is unstable,\ndue to the birth of a tachyon, and the field condenses.",
        "positive": "Extra Dimensions, Dilaton and Dark Energy: In view of the recent observations showing that the universe is accelerating\nwe discuss dilaton and radion stabilization from a phenomenological perspective\nusing perfect fluid sources. One general conclusion we present is that the\npressure coefficient along extra dimensions should be -2 if that of the\nobserved dimensions is -1, the latter mimicking a cosmological constant\ncompatible with experimental data. The conditions on the dilaton coupling are\nsimilarly strong: we find that if the coupling of the dilaton $\\phi$ to fields\nother than gravity is of the form $\\sqrt{-g}\\;e^{(a-2)\\phi}\\;\\mathcal{L}$ where\n$\\mathcal{L}$ representing all other fields yielding the mentioned fluid, $a$\nmust be -2 if space-time dimensionality is 10. Within our approach these\nconditions result taking constant radion and dilaton at the level of the\nequations of motion. To ameliorate this we also discuss how dynamical\nstabilization may be achieved with a simple variant in which a dilaton\npotential is added in the picture where the mentioned constraints are shown to\nremain."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Surface operators, chiral rings, and localization in N=2 gauge theories: We study half-BPS surface operators in supersymmetric gauge theories in four\nand five dimensions following two different approaches. In the first approach\nwe analyze the chiral ring equations for certain quiver theories in two and\nthree dimensions, coupled respectively to four- and five-dimensional gauge\ntheories. The chiral ring equations, which arise from extremizing a twisted\nchiral superpotential, are solved as power series in the infrared scales of the\nquiver theories. In the second approach we use equivariant localization and\nobtain the twisted chiral superpotential as a function of the Coulomb moduli of\nthe four- and five-dimensional gauge theories, and find a perfect match with\nthe results obtained from the chiral ring equations. In the five-dimensional\ncase this match is achieved after solving a number of subtleties in the\nlocalization formulas which amounts to choosing a particular residue\nprescription in the integrals that yield the Nekrasov-like partition functions\nfor ramified instantons. We also comment on the necessity of including\nChern-Simons terms in order to match the superpotentials obtained from dual\nquiver descriptions of a given surface operator.",
        "positive": "The Spontaneous Compactification of the Closed Bosonic String: We argue that the higher space-time derivative terms that occur in closed\nbosonic string field theory are reminiscent of those found in the Landau theory\nof liquid-crystal transitions. We examine the lowest level approximation of the\nclosed bosonic string and find evidence for the existence of a new vacuum that\nspontaneously breaks Lorentz and translation symmetries. This effect can be\ninterpreted as a spontaneous compactification of the theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Field Theory Dynamics from Branes in String Theory: I review certain aspects of Hanany-Witten setups and other approaches used to\nembed (and solve) gauge theories in string theory. Applications covered include\ndualities in 4 and 3 dimensions, fixed points in 6 dimensions, phase\ntransitions between different geometric backgrounds and dualities between\nbranes and geometry.",
        "positive": "Comment on `Lost in Translation: Topological Singularities in Group\n  Field Theory': Gurau argued in [arXiv:1006.0714] that the gluing spaces arising as Feynman\ndiagrams of three-dimensional group field theory are not all pseudo-manifolds.\nI dispute this conclusion: albeit not properly triangulated, these spaces are\ngenuine pseudo-manifolds, viz. their singular locus is of codimension at least\ntwo."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Microcausality and Energy-Positivity in all frames imply Lorentz\n  Invariance of dispersion laws: A new presentation of the Borchers-Buchholz result of the Lorentz-invariance\nof the energy-momentum spectrum in theories with broken Lorentz symmetry is\ngiven in terms of properties of the Green's functions of microcausal Bose and\nFermi-fields. Strong constraints based on complex geometry phenomenons are\nshown to result from the interplay of the basic principles of causality and\nstability in Quantum Field Theory: if microcausality and energy-positivity in\nall Lorentz frames are satisfied, then it is unavoidable that all stable\nparticles of the theory be governed by Lorentz-invariant dispersion laws; in\nall the field sectors, discrete parts outside the continuum as well as the\nthresholds of the continuous parts of the energy-momentum spectrum, with\npossible holes inside it, are necessarily represented by mass-shell\nhyperboloids (or the light-cone). No violation of this geometrical fact can be\nproduced by spontaneous breaking of the Lorentz symmetry, even if the\nfield-theoretical framework is enlarged so as to include short-distance\nsingularities wilder than distributions.",
        "positive": "AdS$_7$ Black Holes from Rotating M5-branes: We construct a general asymptotically locally AdS$_7$ stationary black hole\nsolution of 7d maximal gauged supergravity with three angular momenta and two\nelectric charges. When embedded in 11d supergravity the black hole describes\nthe backreaction of $N$ coincident rotating M5-branes. We study the\nthermodynamic properties of the black hole and present explicit expressions for\nits entropy, energy, electric charges, and angular momenta. We show that in the\nsupersymmetric limit of the solution its entropy and on-shell action precisely\nagree with the result for the path integral of the holographically dual 6d\n$\\mathcal{N}=(2,0)$ SCFT on $S^1\\times S^5$ to leading order in the large $N$\nlimit."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "AdS/CFT correspondence and quantum induced dilatonic multi-brane-worlds: d5 dilatonic gravity action with surface counterterms motivated by AdS/CFT\ncorrespondence and with contributions of brane quantum CFTs is considered\naround AdS-like bulk. The effective equations of motion are constructed. They\nadmit two (outer and inner) or multi-brane solutions where brane CFTs may be\ndifferent. The role of quantum brane CFT is in inducing of complicated brane\ndilatonic gravity. For exponential bulk potentials the number of AdS-like bulk\nspaces is found in analytical form. The correspondent flat or curved (de Sitter\nor hyperbolic) dilatonic two branes are created, as a rule, thanks to quantum\neffects. The observable early Universe may correspond to inflationary brane.\nThe found dilatonic quantum two brane-worlds usually contain the naked\nsingularity but in couple explicit examples the curvature is finite and horizon\n(corresponding to wormhole-like space) appears.",
        "positive": "A holographic view on physics out of equilibrium: We review the recent developments in applying holographic methods to\nunderstand non-equilibrium physics in strongly coupled field theories. The\nemphasis will be on elucidating the relation between evolution of quantum field\ntheories perturbed away from equilibrium and the dual picture of dynamics of\nclassical fields in black hole backgrounds. In particular, we discuss the\nlinear response regime, the hydrodynamic regime and finally the non-linear\nregime of interacting quantum systems. We also describe how the duality might\nbe used to learn some salient aspects of black hole physics in terms of field\ntheory observables."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Identities among higher genus modular graph tensors: Higher genus modular graph tensors map Feynman graphs to functions on the\nTorelli space of genus-$h$ compact Riemann surfaces which transform as tensors\nunder the modular group $Sp(2h , \\mathbb Z)$, thereby generalizing a\nconstruction of Kawazumi. An infinite family of algebraic identities between\none-loop and tree-level modular graph tensors are proven for arbitrary genus\nand arbitrary tensorial rank. We also derive a family of identities that apply\nto modular graph tensors of higher loop order.",
        "positive": "Free geometric equations for higher spins: We show how allowing non-local terms in the field equations of symmetric\ntensors uncovers a neat geometry that naturally generalizes the Maxwell and\nEinstein cases. The end results can be related to multiple traces of the\ngeneralized Riemann curvatures R_{alpha_1 ... alpha_s; beta_1 > ... beta_s}\nintroduced by de Wit and Freedman, divided by suitable powers of the\nD'Alembertian operator \\Box. The conventional local equations can be recovered\nby a partial gauge fixing involving the trace of the gauge parameters\nLambda_{alpha_1 ... alpha_{s-1}}, absent in the Fronsdal formulation. The same\ngeometry underlies the fermionic equations, that, for all spins s+(1/2), can be\nlinked via the operator (not hskip 1pt pr)/(\\Box) to those of the spin-s\nbosons."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On D-brane anti D-brane effective actions and their corrections to all\n  orders in alpha-prime: Based on a four point function, the S-matrix elements at disk level of the\nscattering amplitude of one closed string Ramond-Ramond field ($C$), two\ntachyons and one scalar field, we find out new couplings in brane anti brane\neffective actions for $p=n,p+2=n$ cases. Using the infinite corrections of the\nvertex of one RR, one gauge and one scalar field and applying the correct\nexpansion, it is investigated in detail how we produce the infinite gauge poles\nof the amplitude for $p = n$ case. By discovering new higher derivative\ncorrections of two tachyon-two scalar couplings in brane anti brane systems to\nall orders in $\\alpha'$, we also obtain the infinite scalar poles in\n$t'+s'+u$-channel in field theory. Working with the complete form of the\namplitude with the closed form of the expansion and comparing all the infinite\ncontact terms of this amplitude, we derive several new Wess-Zumino couplings\nwith all their infinite higher derivative corrections in the world volume of\nbrane anti brane systems. In particular, in producing all the infinite scalar\npoles of $<V_C V_{\\phi} V_T V_T>$, one has to consider the fact that scalar 's\nvertex operator in $(-1)$-picture must carry the internal $\\sigma_3$ Chan-Paton\nmatrix. The symmetric trace effective action has a non-zero coupling between\n$D\\phi^{(1)i}$ and $D\\phi^{(2)}_i$ while this coupling does not exist in\nordinary trace effective action.",
        "positive": "On the non-BPS first order flow in N=2 U(1)-gauged Supergravity: We consider theories of N=2 supergravity with Fayet-Iliopoulos gauging, and\ndescribe a procedure to obtain non-BPS extremal black hole solutions in\nasymptotically AdS_4 space, in a fully symplectic covariant framework. By\nconsidering both electric as well as magnetic gauging, we are able to find new\nextremal purely magnetic and dyonic solutions. We consistently impose the Dirac\nquantization condition as a constraint on the black hole and gravitinos\ncharges. This additional requirement allows to parameterize the black hole\nentropy in terms of an integer and of the entropy of the corresponding black\nhole in the ungauged model. We also find the nonextremal generalization of the\ndyonic solution and we compute the product of the areas. For all the\nconfigurations with asymptotic supersymmetry we furthermore compute the mass."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Curvature Singularities: the Good, the Bad, and the Naked: Necessary conditions are proposed for the admissibility of singular classical\nsolutions with 3+1-dimensional Poincare invariance to five-dimensional gravity\ncoupled to scalars. Finite temperature considerations and examples from AdS/CFT\nsupport the conjecture that the scalar potential must remain bounded above for\na solution to be physical. Having imposed some restrictions on naked\nsingularities allows us to comment on a recent proposal for solving the\ncosmological constant problem.",
        "positive": "Exponential suppression with four legs and an infinity of loops: The L-loop 4-point ladder diagram of massless phi^3 theory is finite when all\n4 legs are off-shell and is given in terms of polylogarithms with orders\nranging from L to 2L. We obtain the exact solution of the linear\nDyson-Schwinger equation that sums these ladder diagrams and show that this sum\nvanishes exponentially fast at strong coupling."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Black hole mass and Hamilton-Jacobi counterterms: We apply the method of holographic renormalization to computing black hole\nmasses in asymptotically anti-de Sitter spaces. In particular, we demonstrate\nthat the Hamilton-Jacobi approach to obtaining the boundary action yields a set\nof counterterms sufficient to render the masses finite for four, five, six and\nseven-dimensional R-charged black holes in gauged supergravities. In addition,\nwe prove that the familiar black hole thermodynamical expressions and in\nparticular the first law continues to holds in general in the presence of\narbitrary matter couplings to gravity.",
        "positive": "Hierarchically Split Supersymmetry with Fayet-Iliopoulos D-terms in\n  String Theory: We show that in string theory or supergravity with supersymmetry breaking\nthrough combined F-terms and Fayet-Iliopoulos D-terms, the masses for charged\nscalars and fermions can be hierarchically split. The mass scale for the\ngauginos and higgsinos of the MSSM is controlled by the gravitino mass m_{3/2},\nas usual, while the scalars get extra contributions from the D-terms of extra\nabelian U(1) factors, which can make them much heavier. The vanishing of the\nvacuum energy requires that their masses lie below {m_{3/2} M_{Pl}}^{1/2},\nwhich for m_{3/2}=O(TeV) sets a bound of 10^{10-13} GeV. Thus, scalars with\nnon-vanishing U(1) charges typically become heavy, while others remain light,\nproducing a spectrum of scalars with masses proportional to their charges, and\ntherefore non-universal. This is a modification of the split supersymmetry\nscenario, but with a light gravitino. We discuss how Fayet-Iliopoulos terms of\nthis size can arise in orientifold string compactifications with D-branes.\nFurthermore, within the frame work of D-term inflation, the same vacuum energy\nthat generates the heavy scalar masses can be responsible for driving\ncosmological inflation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Lagrangian formulation of Higher Spin Theories on AdS: In this short note we present a Lagrangian formulation for free bosonic\nHigher Spin fields which belong to massless reducible representations of\nD-dimensional Anti de Sitter group using an ambient space formalism.",
        "positive": "On flux integrals for generalized Melvin solution related to simple\n  finite-dimensional Lie algebra: A generalized Melvin solution for an arbitrary simple finite-dimensional Lie\nalgebra $\\cal G$ is considered. The solution contains a metric, $n$ Abelian\n2-forms and $n$ scalar fields, where $n$ is the rank of $\\cal G$. It is\ngoverned by a set of $n$ moduli functions $H_s(z)$ obeying $n$ ordinary\ndifferential equations with certain boundary conditions imposed. It was\nconjectured earlier that these functions should be polynomials - the so-called\nfluxbrane polynomials. These polynomials depend upon integration constants\n$q_s$, $s = 1,\\dots,n$. In the case when the conjecture on the polynomial\nstructure for the Lie algebra $\\cal G$ is satisfied, it is proved that 2-form\nflux integrals $\\Phi^s$ over a proper $2d$ submanifold are finite and obey the\nrelations: $q_s \\Phi^s = 4 \\pi n_s h_s$, where $h_s > 0$ are certain constants\n(related to dilatonic coupling vectors) and $n_s$ are powers of the\npolynomials, which are components of a twice dual Weyl vector in the basis of\nsimple (co-)roots, $s = 1,\\dots,n$. The main relations of the paper are valid\nfor a solution corresponding to a finite-dimensional semi-simple Lie algebra\n$\\cal G$. Examples of polynomials and fluxes for the Lie algebras $A_1$, $A_2$,\n$A_3$, $C_2$, $G_2$ and $A_1 + A_1$ are presented."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Instanton solutions on the polymer harmonic oscillator: It is computed, using instanton methods, the first allowed energy band for\nthe polymer harmonic oscillator. The result is consistent with the band\nstructure of the standard quantum pendulum but with pure point spectrum. An\neffective infinite degeneracy emerges in the formal limit $\\mu/l_0 \\to 0$ where\n$l_0$ is the characteristic length of the vacuum eigenfunction of a quantum\nharmonic oscillator. As an additional result, it is shown along the article the\nrole played by the lattice reference point $\\lambda$ in the full quantization\nof the polymer harmonic oscillator.",
        "positive": "A new look at the double sine-Gordon kink-antikink scattering: We study the kink-antikink scattering within the double sine-Gordon model. In\nthe numerical simulations we found a critical value $v_{cr}$ of the initial\nvelocity $v_{in}$, which separates two different scenarios: at $v_{in}<v_{cr}$\nthe kinks capture each other and form a bound state, while at $v_{in}>v_{cr}$\nthe kinks pass through each other and escape to infinities. We obtain\nnon-monotonous dependence of $v_{cr}$ on the model parameter $R$. Besides that,\nat some initial velocities below $v_{cr}$ we observe formation and interaction\nof the so-called oscillons (new phenomenon), as well as escape windows\n(well-known phenomenon)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Neural Network Approximations for Calabi-Yau Metrics: Ricci flat metrics for Calabi-Yau threefolds are not known analytically. In\nthis work, we employ techniques from machine learning to deduce numerical flat\nmetrics for the Fermat quintic, for the Dwork quintic, and for the Tian-Yau\nmanifold. This investigation employs a single neural network architecture that\nis capable of approximating Ricci flat Kaehler metrics for several Calabi-Yau\nmanifolds of dimensions two and three. We show that measures that assess the\nRicci flatness of the geometry decrease after training by three orders of\nmagnitude. This is corroborated on the validation set, where the improvement is\nmore modest. Finally, we demonstrate that discrete symmetries of manifolds can\nbe learned in the process of learning the metric.",
        "positive": "The a-theorem and entanglement entropy: The a-theorem is demonstrated for the RG flows of entanglement entropy in two\nand four dimensions. In four dimensions we relate it to the term quadratic in\nintrinsic derivative of the dilaton along the entangling surface in the dilaton\nentropy. The a-theorem, similarly to the c-theorem in two dimensions, then\nfollows from the positivity of the 2-point function of stress-energy tensor. We\nsuggest that the a-theorem, provided it is properly reformulated in terms of\nthe entanglement entropy, may follow from the c-theorem."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Defects in the Tri-critical Ising model: We consider two different conformal field theories with central charge\nc=7/10. One is the diagonal invariant minimal model in which all fields have\ninteger spins; the other is the local fermionic theory with superconformal\nsymmetry in which fields can have half-integer spin. We construct new conformal\n(but not topological or factorised) defects in the minimal model. We do this by\nfirst constructing defects in the fermionic model as boundary conditions in a\nfermionic theory of central charge c=7/5, using the folding trick as first\nproposed by Gang and Yamaguchi. We then acting on these with interface defects\nto find the new conformal defects. As part of the construction, we find the\ntopological defects in the fermionic theory and the interfaces between the\nfermionic theory and the minimal model. We also consider the simpler case of\ndefects in the theory of a single free fermion and interface defects between\nthe Ising model and a single fermion as a prelude to calculations in the\ntri-critical Ising model.",
        "positive": "Components of Eleven-dimensional Supergravity with Four Off-shell\n  Supersymmetries: We derive the component structure of 11D, $N=1/8$ supergravity linearized\naround eleven-dimensional Minkowski space. This theory represents 4 local\nsupersymmetries closing onto 4 of the 11 spacetime translations without the use\nof equations of motion. It may be interpreted as adding $201$ auxiliary bosons\nand $56$ auxiliary fermions to the physical supergravity multiplet for a total\nof $376+376$ components. These components and their transformations are\norganized into representations of $SL(2;\\mathbf C)\\times G_2$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum field theory of a free massless (pseudo)scalar field in\n  1+1-dimensional space-time as a test for the massless Thirring model: We analyse different approaches to the description of the quantum field\ntheory of a free massless (pseudo)scalar field defined in 1+1-dimensional\nspace-time which describes the bosonized version of the massless Thirring\nmodel. These are (i) axiomatic quantum field theory, (ii) current algebra and\n(iii) path-integral. We show that the quantum field theory of a free massless\n(pseudo)scalar field defined on the class of Schwartz's test functions S_0(R^2)\nconnects all these approaches. This quantum field theory is well-defined within\nthe framework of Wightman's axioms and Wightman's positive definiteness\ncondition. The physical meaning of the definition of Wightman's observables on\nthe class of test functions from S_0(R^2) instead of S(R^2), as required by\nWightman's axioms, is the irrelevance of the collective zero-mode related to\nthe collective motion of the ``center of mass'' of the free massless\n(pseudo)scalar field, which can be deleted from the intermediate states of\ncorrelation functions (Eur. Phys. J. C 24, 653 (2002)). In such a theory the\ncontinuous symmetry, induced by shifts of the massless (pseudo)scalar field, is\nspontaneously broken and there is a non-vanishing spontaneous magnetization.\nThe obtained results are discussed in connection with Coleman's theorem\nasserting the absence of Goldstone bosons and spontaneously broken continuous\nsymmetry in quantum field theories defined in 1+1-dimensional space-time.",
        "positive": "De Sitter quantum scalar field and horizon holography: We show explicitly that free quantum field theory in de Sitter background\nrestricted on the cosmological horizon produces another quantum field theory\nunitarily equivalent with the original one. Symmetry properties descending from\nthe dual theory are also remarked. In the restricted theory the thermal\nproperties, known for de Sitter quantum field theory, can be proved\nstraightforwardly."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "More D-branes in the Nappi-Witten background: We re-examine the problem of determining the possible D-branes in the\nNappi-Witten background. In addition to the known branes, we find that there\nare also D-instantons, flat euclidean D-strings and curved D-membranes\nadmitting parallel spinors, all of which can be interpreted as (twisted)\nconjugacy classes in the Nappi-Witten group.",
        "positive": "Noncommutative hamiltonian formalism for noncommutative gravity: We present a covariant canonical formalism for noncommutative gravity, and in\ngeneral for noncommutative geometric theories defined via a twisted\n$\\star$-wedge product between forms. Noether theorems are generalized to the\nnoncommutative setting, and gauge generators are constructed in a twisted phase\nspace with $\\star$-deformed Poisson bracket. This formalism is applied to\nnoncommutative $d=4$ vierbein gravity, and allows to find the canonical\ngenerators of the tangent space $\\star$-gauge group."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dreibein as prepotential for three-dimensional Yang-Mills theory: We advocate and develop the use of the dreibein (and the metric) as\nprepotential for three-dimensional SO(3) Yang-Mills theory. Since the dreibein\ntransforms homogeneously under gauge transformation, the metric is gauge\ninvariant. For a generic gauge potential, there is a unique dreibein on fixing\nthe boundary condition. Topologically non-trivial monopole configurations are\ngiven by conformally flat metrics, with scalar fields capturing the monopole\ncentres. Our approach also provides an ansatz for the gauge potential covering\nthe topological aspects.",
        "positive": "Symmetries of deformed supersymmetric mechanics on K\u00e4hler manifolds: Based on the systematic Hamiltonian and superfield approaches we construct\nthe deformed $\\mathcal{N}=4,8$ supersymmetric mechanics on K\\\"ahler manifolds\ninteracting with constant magnetic field, and study their symmetries. At first\nwe construct the deformed $\\mathcal{N}=4,8$ supersymmetric Landau problem via\nminimal coupling of standard (undeformed) $\\mathcal{N}=4,8$ supersymmetric free\nparticle systems on K\\\"ahler manifold with constant magnetic field. We show\nthat the initial \"flat\" supersymmetries are necessarily deformed to $SU(2|1)$\nand $SU(4|1)$ supersymmetries, with the magnetic field playing the role of\ndeformation parameter, and that the resulting systems inherit all the\nkinematical symmetries of the initial ones. Then we construct $SU(2|1)$\nsupersymmetric K\\\"ahler oscillators and find that they include, as particular\ncases, the harmonic oscillator models on complex Euclidian and complex\nprojective spaces, as well as superintegrable deformations thereof, viz.\n$\\mathbb{C}^N$-Smorodinsky-Winternitz and $\\mathbb{CP}^N$-Rosochatius systems.\nWe show that the supersymmetric extensions proposed inherit all the kinematical\nsymmetries of the initial bosonic models. They also inherit, at least in the\ncase of $\\mathbb{C}^N$ systems, hidden (non-kinematical) symmetries. The\nsuperfield formulation of these supersymmetric systems is presented, based on\nthe worldline $SU(2|1)$ and $SU(4|1)$ superspace formalisms."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Vafa-Witten invariants from exceptional collections: Supersymmetric D-branes supported on the complex two-dimensional base $S$ of\nthe local Calabi-Yau threefold $K_S$ are described by semi-stable coherent\nsheaves on $S$. Under suitable conditions, the BPS indices counting these\nobjects (known as generalized Donaldson-Thomas invariants) coincide with the\nVafa-Witten invariants of $S$ (which encode the Betti numbers of the moduli\nspace of semi-stable sheaves). For surfaces which admit a strong collection of\nexceptional sheaves, we develop a general method for computing these invariants\nby exploiting the isomorphism between the derived category of coherent sheaves\nand the derived category of representations of a suitable quiver with potential\n$(Q,W)$ constructed from the exceptional collection. We spell out the\ndictionary between the Chern class $\\gamma$ and polarization $J$ on $S$ vs. the\ndimension vector $\\vec N$ and stability parameters $\\vec\\zeta$ on the quiver\nside. For all examples that we consider, which include all del Pezzo and\nHirzebruch surfaces, we find that the BPS indices $\\Omega_\\star(\\gamma)$ at the\nattractor point (or self-stability condition) vanish, except for dimension\nvectors corresponding to simple representations and pure D0-branes. This opens\nup the possibility to compute the BPS indices in any chamber using either the\nflow tree or the Coulomb branch formula. In all cases we find precise agreement\nwith independent computations of Vafa-Witten invariants based on wall-crossing\nand blow-up formulae. This agreement suggests that i) generating functions of\nDT invariants for a large class of quivers coming from strong exceptional\ncollections are mock modular functions of higher depth and ii) non-trivial\nsingle-centered black holes and scaling solutions do not exist quantum\nmechanically in such local Calabi-Yau geometries.",
        "positive": "The String Landscape and the Swampland: Recent developments in string theory suggest that string theory landscape of\nvacua is vast. It is natural to ask if this landscape is as vast as allowed by\nconsistent-looking effective field theories. We use universality ideas from\nstring theory to suggest that this is not the case, and that the landscape is\nsurrounded by an even more vast swampland of consistent-looking semiclassical\neffective field theories, which are actually inconsistent. Identification of\nthe boundary of the landscape is a central question which is at the heart of\nthe meaning of universality properties of consistent quantum gravitational\ntheories. We propose certain finiteness criteria as one relevant factor in\nidentifying this boundary (based on talks given at the Einstein Symposium in\nAlexandria, at the 2005 Simons Workshop in Mathematics and Physics, and the\ntalk to have been presented at Strings 2005)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The fate of U(1)'s at strong coupling in F-theory: U(1) gauge symmetries in F-theory are expected to manifest themselves as\ncodimension three singularities of Calabi-Yau fourfolds. However, some of these\nare known to become massive at strong coupling via the St\\\"uckelberg mechanism.\nIn this note, we propose a geometric picture for detecting all U(1)'s, and\ndetermining which ones are massive and which ones are massless. We find that\nmassive gauge symmetries show up as codimension three singularities that only\nadmit small, non-K\\\"ahler, resolutions. Our proposal passes several highly\nnon-trivial tests, including a case with a non-diagonal mass matrix.",
        "positive": "Automorphic Instanton Partition Functions on Calabi-Yau Threefolds: We survey recent results on quantum corrections to the hypermultiplet moduli\nspace M in type IIA/B string theory on a compact Calabi-Yau threefold X, or,\nequivalently, the vector multiplet moduli space in type IIB/A on X x S^1. Our\nmain focus lies on the problem of resumming the infinite series of D-brane and\nNS5-brane instantons, using the mathematical machinery of automorphic forms. We\nreview the proposal that whenever the low-energy theory in D=3 exhibits an\narithmetic \"U-duality\" symmetry G(Z) the total instanton partition function\narises from a certain unitary automorphic representation of G, whose Fourier\ncoefficients reproduce the BPS-degeneracies. For D=4, N=2 theories on R^3 x S^1\nwe argue that the relevant automorphic representation falls in the quaternionic\ndiscrete series of G, and that the partition function can be realized as a\nholomorphic section on the twistor space Z over M. We also offer some comments\non the close relation with N=2 wall crossing formulae."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Effective Field Theory of Multi-Field Inflation a la Weinberg: We employ the effective field theory approach for multi-field inflation which\nis a generalization of Weinberg's work. In this method the first correction\nterms in addition to standard terms in the Lagrangian have been considered.\nThese terms contain up to the fourth derivative of the fields including the\nscalar field and the metric. The results show the possible shapes of the\ninteraction terms resulting eventually in non-Gaussianity in a general\nformalism. In addition generally the speed of sound is different but almost\nunity. Since in this method the adiabatic mode is not discriminated initially\nso we define the adiabatic as well as entropy modes for a specific two-field\nmodel. It has been shown that the non-Gaussianity of the adiabatic mode and the\nentropy mode are correlated in shape and amplitude. It is shown that even for\nspeed close to unity large non-Gaussianities are possible in multi-field case.\nThe amount of the non-Gaussianity depends on the curvature of the classical\npath in the phase-space in the Hubble unit such that it is large for the large\ncurvature. In addition it is emphasized that the time derivative of adiabatic\nand entropy perturbations do not transform due to the shift symmetry as well as\nthe original perturbations. Though two specific combinations of them are\ninvariant under such a symmetry and these combinations should be employed to\nconstruct an effective field theory of multi-field inflation.",
        "positive": "DGLA Dg and BV formalism: Differrential Graded Lie Algebra Dg was previously introduced in the context\nof current algebras. We show that under some conditions, the problem of\nconstructing equivariantly closed form from closed invariant form is reduces to\nconstruction of a representation of Dg. This includes equivariant BV formalism.\nIn particular, an analogue of intertwiner between Weil and Cartan models allows\nto clarify the general relation between integrated and unintegrated vertex\noperators in string worldsheet theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Schwinger-DeWitt technique for quantum effective action in brane\n  induced gravity models: We develop the Schwinger-DeWitt technique for the covariant curvature\nexpansion of the quantum effective action for brane induced gravity models in\ncurved spacetime. This expansion has a part nonanalytic in DGP type scale\nparameter, leading to the cutoff scale which is given by the geometric average\nof the mass of the quantum field in the bulk and DGP scale. This cutoff is much\nhigher than the analogous strong coupling scale of the DGP model treated by\nweak field expansion in the tree-level approximation. The lowest orders of this\ncurvature expansion are calculated for the case of the scalar field in the\n$(d+1)$-dimensional bulk with the brane carrying the $d$-dimensional kinetic\nterm of this field. The ultraviolet divergences in this model are obtained for\na particular case of $d=4$.",
        "positive": "AdS$_7$/CFT$_6$ with orientifolds: AdS$_7$ solutions of massive type IIA have been classified, and are dual to a\nlarge class of six-dimensional $(1,0)$ SCFT's whose tensor branch deformations\nare described by linear quivers of SU groups. Quivers and AdS vacua depend\nsolely on the group theory data of the NS5-D6-D8 brane configurations\nengineering the field theories. This has allowed for a direct holographic match\nof their $a$ conformal anomaly. In this paper we extend the match to cases\nwhere O6 and O8-planes are present, thereby introducing SO and USp groups in\nthe quivers. In all of them we show that the $a$ anomaly computed in\nsupergravity agrees with the holographic limit of the exact field theory\nresult, which we extract from the anomaly polynomial. As a byproduct we\nconstruct special AdS$_7$ vacua dual to nonperturbative F-theory\nconfigurations. Finally, we propose a holographic $a$-theorem for\nsix-dimensional Higgs branch RG flows."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Where-When-What: the general relativity of space-time-property: We develop the general relativity of extended spacetime-property for\ndescribing events including their properties. The anticommuting nature of\nproperty coordinates, augmenting space-time $({\\bf x},t)$, allows for the\nnatural emergence of generations and for the simple incorporation of gauge\nfields in the spacetime-property sector. With one electric property this\nresults in a geometrical unification of gravity and electromagnetism, leading\nto a Maxwell-Einstein Lagrangian plus a cosmological term. Addition of one\nneutrinic and three chromic properties should lead to unification of gravity\nwith electroweak and strong interactions.",
        "positive": "Dirichlet Branes on Orbifolds: The D-brane spectrum of a class of $\\Zop_2$ orbifolds of toroidally\ncompactified Type IIA and Type IIB string theory is analysed systematically.\nThe corresponding K-theory groups are determined and complete agreement is\nfound. The charge densities of the various branes are also calculated."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Computation of D-brane instanton induced superpotential couplings -\n  Majorana masses from string theory: We perform a detailed conformal field theory analysis of D2-brane instanton\neffects in four-dimensional type IIA string vacua with intersecting D6-branes.\nIn particular, we explicitly compute instanton induced fermion two-point\ncouplings which play the role of perturbatively forbidden Majorana mass terms\nfor right-handed neutrinos or MSSM mu-terms. These results can readily be\nextended to higher-dimensional operators. In concrete realizations of such\nnon-perturbative effects, the Euclidean D2-brane has to wrap a rigid,\nsupersymmetric cycle with strong constraints on the zero mode structure. Their\nimplications for Type IIA compactifications on the T^6/(Z_2 x Z_2) orientifold\nwith discrete torsion are analyzed. We also construct a local supersymmetric\nGUT-like model allowing for a class of Euclidean D2-branes whose fermionic zero\nmodes meet all the constraints for generating Majorana masses in the\nphenomenologically allowed regime. Together with perturbatively realized Dirac\nmasses, these non-perturbative couplings give rise to the see-saw mechanism.",
        "positive": "Mesons in marginally deformed AdS/CFT: We study the embedding of spacetime filling D7-branes in beta-deformed\nbackgrounds which, according to the AdS/CFT dictionary, corresponds to\nflavoring beta-deformed N=4 super Yang-Mills. We consider supersymmetric and\nmore general non-supersymmetric three parameter deformations. The equations of\nmotion for quadratic fluctuations of a probe D7-brane wrapped on a deformed\nthree-sphere exhibit a non-trivial coupling between scalar and vector modes\ninduced by the deformation. Nevertheless, we manage to solve them analytically\nand find that the mesonic mass spectrum is discrete, with a mass gap and a\nZeeman-like splitting occurs. Finally we propose the action for the dual field\ntheory as obtained by star-product deformation of super Yang-Mills with\nfundamental matter."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Induced vacuum bosonic current by magnetic flux in a higher dimensional\n  compactified cosmic string spacetime: In this paper, we analyse the bosonic current densities induced by a magnetic\nflux running along an idealized cosmic string in a high-dimensional spacetime,\nadmitting that the coordinate along the string's axis is compactified.\nAdditionally we admit the presence of an magnetic flux enclosed by the\ncompactification axis. In order to develop this analysis we calculate the\ncomplete set of normalized bosonic wave-functions obeying a quasiperiodicity\ncondition, with arbitrary phase $\\beta$, along the compactified dimension. In\nthis context, only azimuthal and axial currents densities take place. As to the\nazimuthal current, two contributions appear. The first contribution corresponds\nto the standard azimuthal current in a cosmic string spacetime without\ncompactification, while the second contribution is a new one, induced by the\ncompactification itself. The latter is an even function of the magnetic flux\nenclosed by the string axis and is an odd function of the magnetic flux along\nits core with period equal to quantum flux, $\\Phi_0=2\\pi/e$. On the other hand,\nthe nonzero axial current density is an even function of the magnetic flux\nalong the core of the string and an odd function of the magnetic flux enclosed\nby it. We also find that the axial current density vanishes for untwisted and\ntwisted bosonic fields in the absence of the magnetic flux enclosed by the\nstring axis. Some asymptotic expressions for the current density are provided\nfor specific limiting cases of the physical parameter of the model.",
        "positive": "A comment on bouncing and cyclic branes in more than one extra-dimension: We argue that bouncing branes occur naturally when there is more than one\nextra-dimension. We consider three-branes embedded in space-times with a\nhorizon and an isometry group SO(6). As soon as the brane angular momentum is\nlarge enough, a repulsive barrier prevents the branes from reaching the\nhorizon. We illustrate this phenomenon with the case of D3-branes in an\nAdS_5-Schwarzschild-S_5 background and asymptotically flat space-time."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Vacuum Decay in General Relativity: We provide a novel, concise and self-contained evaluation of true- and false\nvacuum decay rates in general relativity. We insist on general covariance and\nchoose observable boundary conditions, which yields the well known false-vacuum\ndecay rate and a new true-vacuum decay rate that differs significantly from\nprior work. The rates of true- and false vacuum decays are identical in general\nrelativity. The second variation of the action has a negative mode for all\nparameters. Our findings imply a new perspective on cosmological initial\nconditions and the ultimate fate of our universe.",
        "positive": "Supersymmetry and Its Dynamical Breaking: This article reviews the subject of supersymmetry and its breaking. The\nemphasis is on recent developments in metastable, dynamical supersymmetry\nbreaking, which permit the construction of promising models of particle\nphysics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Smeared D0 charge and the Gubser-Mitra conjecture: We relate a Dp or NS-brane with D0-brane charge smeared over its worldvolume\nto the system with no D0-charge. This allows us to generalise Reall's partial\nproof of the Gubser-Mitra conjecture. We show explicitly for specific examples\nthat the dynamical instability coincides with thermodynamic instability in the\nensemble where the D0-brane charge can vary. We also comment on consistency\nchecks of the conjecture for more complicated systems, using the example of the\nD4 with F1 and D0 charges smeared on its worldvolume.",
        "positive": "Integrable reductions of Spin(7) and G_2 invariant self-dual Yang-Mills\n  equations and gravity: There is remarkable relation between self-dual Yang-Mills and self-dual\nEinstein gravity in four Euclidean dimensions. Motivated by this we investigate\nthe Spin(7) and G_2 invariant self-dual Yang-Mills equations in eight and seven\nEuclidean dimensions and search for their possible analogs in gravitational\ntheories. The reduction of the self-dual Yang-Mills equations to one dimension\nresults into systems of first order differential equations. In particular, the\nSpin(7)-invariant case gives rise to a 7-dimensional system which is completely\nintegrable. The different solutions are classified in terms of algebraic curves\nand are characterized by the genus of the associated Riemann surfaces.\nRemarkably, this system arises also in the construction of solutions in gauged\nsupergravities that have an interpretation as continuous distributions of\nbranes in string and M-theory. For the G_2 invariant case we perform two\ndistinct reductions, both giving rise to 6-dimensional systems. The first\nreduction, which is a complex generalization of the 3-dimensional Euler\nspinning top system, preserves an SU(2) X SU(2) X Z_2 symmetry and is fully\nintegrable in the particular case where an extra U(1) symmetry exists. The\nsecond reduction we employ, generalizes the Halphen system familiar from the\ndynamics of monopoles. Finally, we analyze massive generalizations and present\nsolitonic solutions interpolating between different degenerate vacua."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Finite-Size Effects and Operator Product Expansions in a CFT for d>2: The large momentum expansion for the inverse propagator of the auxiliary\nfield $\\lambda(x)$ in the conformally invariant O(N) vector model is calculated\nto leading order in 1/N, in a strip-like geometry with one finite dimension of\nlength $L$ for $2<d<4$. Its leading terms are identified as contributions from\n$\\lambda(x)$ itself and the energy momentum tensor, in agreement with a\nprevious calculation based on conformal operator product expansions. It is\nfound that a non-trivial cancellation takes place by virtue of the gap\nequation. The leading coefficient of the energy momentum tensor contribution is\nshown to be related to the free energy density.",
        "positive": "Holography on Non-Orientable Surfaces: We consider the holographic computation of two dimensional conformal field\ntheory partition functions on non-orientable surfaces. We classify the three\ndimensional geometries that give bulk saddle point contributions to the\npartition function, and find that there are fewer saddles than in the\norientable case. For example, for the Klein bottle there is a single smooth\nsaddle and a single additional saddle with an orbifold singularity. We argue\nthat one must generally include singular bulk saddle points in order to\nreproduce the CFT results. We also discuss loop corrections to these partition\nfunctions for the Klein bottle."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Critical exponents of O(N) models in fractional dimensions: We compute critical exponents of O(N) models in fractal dimensions between\ntwo and four, and for continuos values of the number of field components N, in\nthis way completing the RG classification of universality classes for these\nmodels. In d=2 the N-dependence of the correlation length critical exponent\ngives us the last piece of information needed to establish a RG derivation of\nthe Mermin-Wagner theorem. We also report critical exponents for multi-critical\nuniversality classes in the cases N>1 and N=0. Finally, in the large-N limit\nour critical exponents correctly approach those of the spherical model,\nallowing us to set N~100 as threshold for the quantitative validity of leading\norder large-N estimates.",
        "positive": "Effective Lagrangian and stability analysis in warped space: In the warped space model, the inter-brane distance can be stabilized by the\nGoldberger-Wise mechanism. Of particular importance, the stabilization\npotential calls for a proper identification of the dynamical degree of freedom.\nIn this paper, we provided a complete calculation of the effective Lagrangian\ntill the quadratic order that is generic for the Randall-Sundrum model and its\n$N$-brane $(N \\geq 4)$ extensions. By applying the variation principle to a\nspecific perturbation field, we derived the equations of motion and orthogonal\nconditions for decoupling the graviton. This approach is demonstrated to be\nequivalent to the analysis using the linearized Einstein equation. Our\nderivation clarifies that in the $N$-brane set up, just one degree of freedom\nfor the radion field is dynamical, with the other modes eliminated by the gauge\nfixings. Thus we can directly generalize the GW stabilization to the $N$-brane\nmodel in a way similar to the RS1 scenario."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Generalized scalar field models with the same energy density and linear\n  stability: We study how the properties of a Lagrangian density for a single real scalar\nfield in flat spacetime change with inclusion of an overall factor depending\nonly on the field. The focus of the paper is to obtain analytical results. So,\nwe show that even though it is possible to perform a field redefinition to get\nan equivalent canonical model, it is not always feasible to write the canonical\nmodel in terms of elementary functions. Also, we investigate the behavior of\nthe energy density and the linear stability of the solutions. Finally, we show\nthat one can find a class of models that present the same energy density and\nthe same stability potential.",
        "positive": "Computing Brane and Flux Superpotentials in F-theory Compactifications: In four-dimensional F-theory compactifications with N=1 supersymmetry the\nfields describing the dynamics of space-time filling 7-branes are part of the\ncomplex structure moduli space of the internal Calabi-Yau fourfold. We\nexplicitly compute the flux superpotential in F-theory depending on all complex\nstructure moduli, including the 7-brane deformations and the field\ncorresponding to the dilaton-axion. Since fluxes on the 7-branes induce 5-brane\ncharge, a local limit allows to effectively match the F-theory results to a\nD5-brane in a non-compact Calabi-Yau threefold with threeform fluxes. We\nanalyze the classical and instanton contributions to the F-theory\nsuperpotential using mirror symmetry for Calabi-Yau fourfolds. The F-theory\ncompactifications under consideration also admit heterotic dual descriptions\nand we discuss the identification of the moduli in this non-perturbative\nduality."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Closed String S-matrix Elements in Open String Field Theory: We study the S-matrix elements of the gauge invariant operators corresponding\nto on-shell closed strings, in open string field theory. In particular, we\ncalculate the tree level S-matrix element of two ${\\it arbitrary}$ closed\nstrings, and the S-matrix element of one closed string and two open strings. By\nmapping the world-sheet of these amplitudes to the upper half $z$-plane, and by\nevaluating explicitly the correlators in the ghost part, we show that these\nS-matrix elements are ${\\it exactly}$ identical to the corresponding disk level\nS-matrix elements in perturbative string theory.",
        "positive": "Beyond the Large N Limit: Non-linear W(infinity) as symmetry of the\n  SL(2,R)/U(1) coset model: We show that the symmetry algebra of the $SL(2,R)_{k}/U(1)$ coset model is a\nnon-linear deformation of $W_{\\infty}$, characterized by $k$. This is a\nuniversal $W$-algebra which linearizes in the large $k$ limit and truncates to\n$W_{N}$ for $k=-N$. Using the theory of non-compact parafermions we construct a\nfree field realization of the non-linear $W_{\\infty}$ in terms of two bosons\nwith background charge. The $W$-characters of all unitary $SL(2,R)/U(1)$\nrepresentations are computed. Applications to the physics of 2-d black hole\nbackgrounds are also discussed and connections with the KP approach to $c=1$\nstring theory are outlined."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Cosmological attractors in massive gravity: We study Lorentz-violating models of massive gravity which preserve rotations\nand are invariant under time-dependent shifts of the spatial coordinates. In\nthe linear approximation the Newtonian potential in these models has an extra\n``confining'' term proportional to the distance from the source. We argue that\nduring cosmological expansion the Universe may be driven to an attractor point\nwith larger symmetry which includes particular simultaneous dilatations of time\nand space coordinates. The confining term in the potential vanishes as one\napproaches the attractor. In the vicinity of the attractor the extra\ncontribution is present in the Friedmann equation which, in a certain range of\nparameters, gives rise to the cosmic acceleration.",
        "positive": "The Algebra of Physical Observables in Nonlinearly Realized Gauge\n  Theories: We classify the physical observables in spontaneously broken nonlinearly\nrealized gauge theories in the recently proposed loopwise expansion governed by\nthe Weak Power-Counting (WPC) and the Local Functional Equation. The latter\ncontrols the non-trivial quantum deformation of the classical nonlinearly\nrealized gauge symmetry, to all orders in the loop expansion. The\nBatalin-Vilkovisky (BV) formalism is used. We show that the dependence of the\nvertex functional on the Goldstone fields is obtained via a canonical\ntransformation w.r.t. the BV bracket associated with the BRST symmetry of the\nmodel. We also compare the WPC with strict power-counting renormalizability in\nlinearly realized gauge theories. In the case of the electroweak group we find\nthat the tree-level Weinberg relation still holds if power-counting\nrenormalizability is weakened to the WPC condition."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Isomonodromic Deformations and the Knizhnik--Zamolodchikov\n  Equations: Viewing the Knizhnik--Zamolodchikov equations as multi--time, nonautonomous\nShr\\\"odinger equations, the transformation to the Heisenberg representation is\nshown to yield the quantum Schlesinger equations. These are the quantum form of\nthe isomonodromic deformations equations for first order operators of the form\n$\\DD_\\l = {\\di \\over \\di \\l} - \\wh{\\NN}(\\l)$, where $\\wh{\\NN}(\\l)$ is a\nrational $r\\times r$ matrix valued function of $\\l$ having simple poles only,\nand the matrix entries are interpreted as operators on a module of the rational\n$R$--matrix loop algebra $\\wt{\\frak{gl}}(r)_R$. This provides a simpler\nformulation of a construction due to Reshetikhin, relating the KZ equations to\nquantum isomonodromic deformations.",
        "positive": "The Information Problem in Black Hole Evaporation: Old and Recent\n  Results: The formation and evaporation of a black hole can be viewed as a scattering\nprocess in Quantum Gravity. Semiclassical arguments indicate that the process\nshould be non-unitary, and that all the information of the original quantum\nstate forming the black hole should be lost after the black hole has completely\nevaporated, except for its mass, charge and angular momentum. This would imply\na violation of basic principles of quantum mechanics. We review some proposed\nresolutions to the problem, including developments in string theory and a\nrecent proposal by Hawking. We also suggest a novel approach which makes use of\nsome ingredients of earlier proposals. [Based on Talks given at ERE2004 \"Beyond\nGeneral Relativity\", Miraflores de la Sierra, Madrid (Sept 2004), and at CERN\n(Oct 2004)]."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Anomalies and Star Products: A formulation of anomalies in terms of star products is suggested which\npromises insight from an alternative and unifying point of view.",
        "positive": "Worldsheet Realization of the Refined Topological String: A worldsheet realization of the refined topological string is proposed in\nterms of physical string amplitudes that compute generalized N=2 F-terms of the\nform F_{g,n} W^{2g}Y^{2n} in the effective supergravity action. These terms\ninvolve the chiral Weyl superfield W and a superfield Y defined as an N=2\nchiral projection of a particular anti-chiral T-bar vector multiplet. In\nHeterotic and Type I theories, obtained upon compactification on the\nsix-dimensional manifold K3xT2, T is the usual K\\\"ahler modulus of the T2\ntorus. These amplitudes are computed exactly at the one-loop level in string\ntheory. They are shown to reproduce the correct perturbative part of the\nNekrasov partition function in the field theory limit when expanded around an\nSU(2) enhancement point of the string moduli space. The two deformation\nparameters epsilon_- and epsilon_+ of the Omega-supergravity background are\nthen identified with the constant field-strength backgrounds for the\nanti-self-dual graviphoton and self-dual gauge field of the T-bar vector\nmultiplet, respectively."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The effective potential of the confinement order parameter in the\n  Hamiltonian Approach: The effective potential of the order parameter for confinement is calculated\nwithin the variational approach to the Hamilton formulation of Yang-Mills\ntheory. Compactifying one spatial dimension and using a background gauge fixing\nthis potential is obtained by minimizing the energy density for a given\nconstant and color diagonal background field directed along the compactified\ndimension. Using Gaussian type trial wave functionals I establish an analytic\nrelation between the propagators in the background gauge at finite temperature\nand the corresponding zero temperature propagators in Coulomb gauge. In the\nsimplest truncation, neglecting the ghost and using the ultraviolet form of the\ngluon energy one recovers the Weiss potential. On the other hand from the\ninfrared form of the gluon energy one finds an effective potential which yields\na vanishing Polyakov loop indicating the confined phase. From the full\nnon-perturbative potential (with the ghost included) one extracts a critical\ntemperature of the deconfinement phase transition of 269 MeV for the gauge\ngroup SU(2) and 283 MeV for SU(3).",
        "positive": "Minkowski Conformal Blocks and the Regge Limit for SYK-like Models: We discuss scattering in a CFT via the conformal partial-wave analysis and\nthe Regge limit. The focus of this paper is on understanding an OPE with\nMinkowski conformal blocks. Starting with a t-channel OPE, it leads to an\nexpansion for an s-channel scattering amplitude in terms of t-channel\nexchanges. By contrasting with Euclidean conformal blocks we see a precise\nrelationship between conformal blocks in the two limits without preforming an\nexplicit analytic continuation. We discuss a generic feature for a CFT\ncorrelation function having singular $F^{(M)}(u,v)\\sim {u}^{-\\delta}\\,$,\n$\\delta>0$, in the limit $u \\rightarrow 0$ and $v\\rightarrow 1$. Here,\n$\\delta=(\\ell_{eff}-1)/2$, with $\\ell_{eff}$ serving as an effective spin and\nit can be determined through an OPE. In particular, it is bounded from above,\n$\\ell_{eff} \\leq 2$, for all CFTs with a gravity dual, and it can be associated\nwith string modes interpolating the graviton in AdS. This singularity is\nhistorically referred to as the Pomeron. This bound is nearly saturated by\nSYK-like effective $d=1$ CFT, and its stringy and thermal corrections have\npiqued current interests. Our analysis has been facilitated by dealing with\nWightman functions. We provide a direct treatment in diagonalizing dynamical\nequations via harmonic analysis over physical scattering regions. As an example\nthese methods are applied to the SYK model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Absorption of fixed scalars: We calculate the absorption rates of fixed scalars by near extremal five\ndimensional black holes carrying general one-brane and five-brane charges by\nsemi-classical and D-brane methods. We find that the absorption cross-sections\ndo not in general agree for either fixed scalar and we discuss possible\nexplanations of the discrepancy.",
        "positive": "Finite field-energy of a point charge in QED: We consider a simple nonlinear (quartic in the fields) gauge-invariant\nmodification of classical electrodynamics, which possesses a regularizing\nability sufficient to make the field energy of a point charge finite. The model\nis exactly solved in the class of static central-symmetric electric fields.\nCollation with quantum electrodynamics (QED) results in the total field energy\nabout twice the electron mass. The proof of the finiteness of the field energy\nis extended to include any polynomial selfinteraction, thereby the one that\nstems from the truncated expansion of the Euler-Heisenberg local Lagrangian in\nQED in powers of the field strenth."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauging dual symmetry: The idea of gauging (i.e. making local) symmetries of a physical system is a\ncentral feature of many modern field theories. Usually, one starts with a\nLagrangian for some scalar or spinor matter fields, with the Lagrangian being\ninvariant under a global phase symmetry transformation of the matter fields.\nMaking this global phase symmetry local results in the introduction of vector\nfields. The vector fields can be said to arise as a result of the gauge\nprinciple. Here we show that this chain of reasoning can be reversed: by\ngauging the electric-magnetic dual symmetry of a Lagrangian which originally\ncontains only the vector gauge fields we find that it is necessary to introduce\nmatter fields (scalar fields in our example). In this gauging of the\nelectric-magnetic dual symmetry the traditional roles of the vector fields and\nthe matter fields are interchanged.",
        "positive": "Shear viscosity from black holes in generalized scalar-tensor theories\n  in arbitrary dimensions: In higher dimensions, we study Degenerate-Higher-Order-Scalar-Tensor theories\nand we derive solutions that resemble the Schwarzschild Anti-de Sitter black\nholes. We compute their thermodynamic quantities following the Wald formalism,\nsatisfying the First Law of Thermodynamics and a higher dimensional Smarr\nrelation. Constructing a Noether charge with a suitable choice of a space-like\nKilling vector, we obtain the shear viscosity of the non-gravitational dual\nfield theory, where for a suitable choice of the couplings functions, the\nKovtun-Son-Starinets bound is violated. These results are corroborated by the\ncalculation of the Green's functions following the Kubo formalism."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Studying a charged quark gluon plasma via holography and higher\n  derivative corrections: We compute finite 't Hooft coupling corrections to observables related to\ncharged quantities in a strongly coupled $\\mathcal{N}=4$ supersymmetric\nYang-Mills plasma. The coupling corrected equations of motion of gauge fields\nare explicitly derived and differ from findings of previous works, which\ncontained several small errors with large impact. As a consequence the\n$\\mathcal{O}(\\gamma)$-corrections to the observables considered, including the\nconductivity, quasinormal mode frequencies, in and off equilibrium spectral\ndensity and photoemission rates, become much smaller. This suggests that\ninfinite coupling results obtained within AdS/CFT are little modified for the\nreal QCD coupling strength.",
        "positive": "Spin $j$ Dirac Operators on the Fuzzy 2-Sphere: The spin 1/2 Dirac operator and its chirality operator on the fuzzy 2-sphere\n$S^2_F$ can be constructed using the Ginsparg-Wilson(GW) algebra\n[arxiv:hep-th/0511114]. This construction actually exists for any spin $j$ on\n$S^2_F$, and have continuum analogues as well on the commutative sphere $S^2$\nor on $\\mathbb{R}^{2}$. This is a remarkable fact and has no known analogue in\nhigher dimensional Minkowski spaces. We study such operators on $S^2_F$ and the\ncommutative $S^2$ and formulate criteria for the existence of the limit from\nthe former to the latter. This singles out certain fuzzy versions of these\noperators as the preferred Dirac operators. We then study the spin 1 Dirac\noperator of this preferred type and its chirality on the fuzzy 2-sphere and\nformulate its instanton sectors and their index theory. The method to\ngeneralize this analysis to any spin $j$ is also studied in detail."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "TF1 Snowmass Report: Quantum gravity, string theory, and black holes: We give an overview of the field of quantum gravity, string theory and black\nholes summarizing various white papers in this subject that were submitted as\npart of the Snowmass process.",
        "positive": "Chern-Simons Dynamics and the Quantum Hall Effect: Theoretical developments during the past several years have shown that large\nscale properties of the Quantum Hall system can be successfully described by\neffective field theories which use the Chern-Simons interaction. In this\narticle, we first recall certain salient features of the Quantum Hall Effect\nand their microscopic explanation. We then review one particular approach to\ntheir description based on the Chern-Simons Lagrangian and its variants."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Moduli space of logarithmic states in critical massive gravities: We take new algebraic and geometric perspectives on the combinatorial results\nrecently obtained on the partition functions of critical massive gravities\nconjectured to be dual to Logarithmic CFTs throught the AdS$_3$/LCFT$_2$\ncorrespondence. We show that the partition functions of logarithmic states can\nbe expressed in terms of Schur polynomials. Subsequently, we show that the\nmoduli space of the logarithmic states is the symmetric product $S^n \\left(\n\\mathbb{C}^2 \\right)$. As the quotient of an affine space by the symmetric\ngroup, this orbifold space is shown to be described by Hilbert series that have\npalindromic numerators. The palindromic properties of the Hilbert series\nindicate that the orbifolds are Calabi-Yau, and allow for a new interpretation\nof the logarithmic state spaces in critical massive gravities as Calabi-Yau\nsingular spaces.",
        "positive": "Towards physically motivated proofs of the Poincare' and geometrization\n  conjectures: Although the Poincare' and the geometrization conjectures were recently\nproved by Perelman, the proof relies heavily on properties of the Ricci flow\npreviously investigated in great detail by Hamilton. Physical realization of\nsuch a flow can be found, for instance, in the work by Friedan\n(Ann.Phys.163(1985)318-419). In his work the renormalization group flow for a\nnonlinear sigma model in 2+e dimensions was obtained and studied. For e=0, by\napproximating the beta function for such a flow by the lowest order terms in\nthe sigma model coupling constant, the equations for Ricci flow are obtained.\nIn view of such an approximation, the existence of this type of flow in nature\nis questionable. In this work, we find totally independent justification for\nthe existence of Ricci flows in nature. This is achieved by developing a new\nformalism extending the results of 2d CFT to 3 and higher dimensions. Equations\ndescribing critical dynamics of these CFT's are examples of the Yamabe and\nRicci flows realizable in nature. Although in the original works by Perelman\nsome physically motivated arguments can be found, their role in his proof\nremain either nonexistent or obscure. In this paper, steps are made toward\nmaking these arguments more explicit thus creating an opportunity for\ndeveloping alternative, more physically motivated, proofs of the Poincare' and\ngeometrization conjectures."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Phase relaxation and pattern formation in holographic gapless charge\n  density waves: We study the dynamics of spontaneous translation symmetry breaking in\nholographic models in presence of weak explicit sources. We show that, unlike\nconventional gapped quantum charge density wave systems, this dynamics is well\ncharacterized by the effective time dependent Ginzburg-Landau equation, both\nabove and below the critical temperature, which leads to a \"gapless\" algebraic\npattern of metal-insulator phase transition. In this framework we elucidate the\nnature of the damped Goldstone mode (the phason), which has earlier been\nidentified in the effective hydrodynamic theory of pinned charge density wave\nand observed in holographic homogeneous lattice models. We follow the motion of\nthe quasinormal modes across the dynamical phase transition in models with\neither periodic inhomogeneous or helical homogeneous spatial structures,\nshowing that the phase relaxation rate is continuous at the critical\ntemperature. Moreover, we find that the qualitative low-energy dynamics of the\nbroken phase is universal, insensitive to the precise pattern of translation\nsymmetry breaking, and therefore applies to homogeneous models as well.",
        "positive": "Analytic Results for MHV Wilson Loops: We obtain concise analytic formulae for Wilson loops computed on special\nn-point polygonal contours through two-loops in weakly coupled N=4\nsupersymmetric gauge theory. The contours we consider can be embedded into a\n(1+1)-dimensional subspace of the 4-dimensional gauge theory, corresponding to\nthe boundary of the AdS_3 on the string theory side. Our analytic results hold\nfor any number of edges, thus generalising to arbitrary n the recently derived\nexpressions for 2-dimensional octagons. These polygonal Wilson loops have been\nconjectured to be equivalent to MHV scattering amplitudes in planar N=4 SYM."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Canonical transformations and minimal length: We show how to modify the canonical transformations to make them compatible\nwith non-commutative Poisson brackets.",
        "positive": "WKB Analysis of PT-Symmetric Sturm-Liouville problems. II: In a previous paper it was shown that a one-turning-point WKB approximation\ngives an accurate picture of the spectrum of certain non-Hermitian PT-symmetric\nHamiltonians on a finite interval with Dirichlet boundary conditions.\nPotentials to which this analysis applies include the linear potential $V=igx$\nand the sinusoidal potential $V=ig\\sin(\\alpha x)$. However, the\none-turning-point analysis fails to give the full structure of the spectrum for\nthe cubic potential $V=igx^3$, and in particular it fails to reproduce the\ncritical points at which two real eigenvalues merge and become a\ncomplex-conjugate pair. The present paper extends the method to cases where the\nWKB path goes through a {\\it pair} of turning points. The extended method gives\nan extremely accurate approximation to the spectrum of $V=igx^3$, and more\ngenerally it works for potentials of the form $V=igx^{2N+1}$. When applied to\npotentials with half-integral powers of $x$, the method again works well for\none sign of the coupling, namely that for which the turning points lie on the\nfirst sheet in the lower-half plane."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Weak Scale Measurements Constraints on String Models: The derived modular invariant one-loop string effective coupling constant has\nbeen used to discuss the weak scale measurement constraints on minimal\nsuperstring models, minimal SUSY left-right string models and minimal\nleft-right SUSY string models. The string intermediate gauge symmetry breaking\nmodels are proposed. The possible schemes to predict $M_{GUT} = 10^{16}GeV$ and\n$M_{SUSY}= 1 TeV$ in string models have been discussed. It is also demonstrated\nthat string unification is more restricted by the experiments than any other\nunification models are.",
        "positive": "Brane World: In string theory, the brane world scenario, where the Standard Model gauge\nand matter fields live inside some branes while gravitons live in the bulk, can\nbe a viable description of our universe. In this note we argue that the brane\nworld actually is a likely description of nature. Our discussion includes a\nrevisit of certain issues, namely, coupling unification, dilaton stabilization\nand supersymmetry breaking, in the context of the brane world scenario. In\nparticular, we discuss various possible string scenarios and their\nphenomenological implications in the brane world framework."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A new spectral triple over a space of connections: A new construction of a semifinite spectral triple on an algebra of holonomy\nloops is presented. The construction is canonically associated to quantum\ngravity and is an alternative version of the spectral triple presented in\nhep-th/08021784.",
        "positive": "Towards a String Dual of SYK: We propose a paradigm for realizing the SYK model within string theory. Using\nthe large $N$ matrix description of $c<1$ string theory, we show that the\neffective theory on a large number $Q$ of FZZT D-branes in $(p,1)$ minimal\nstring theory takes the form of the disorder averaged SYK model with $J\n\\psi^{p}$ interaction. The SYK fermions represent open strings between the FZZT\nbranes and the ZZ branes that underly the matrix model. The continuum SYK\ndynamics arises upon taking the large $Q$ limit. We observe several qualitative\nand quantitative links between the SYK model and $(p,q)$ minimal string theory\nand propose that the two describe different phases of a single system. We\ncomment on the dual string interpretation of double scaled SYK and on the\nrelevance of our results to the recent discussion of the role of ensemble\naveraging in holography."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Renormalization Group Flows In The Deformed AdS/CFT Correspondence: In the AdS/CFT correspondence motion in the radial direction of the AdS space\nis identified with renormalization group flow in the field theory. For the N=4\nYang-Mills theory this motion is trivial. More interesting examples of\nrenormalization group flow occur when the N=4 theory is deformed. Aspects of\nthe flows are discussed for the N=4 theory on its moduli space, and deformed to\nN=2 in the infra-red within the context of 5d SUGRA. 10d lifts and brane\nprobing are crucial tools for linking the spacetime backgrounds to the dual\nfield theory.",
        "positive": "The Effective Theory of Shift-Symmetric Cosmologies: A shift symmetry is a ubiquitous ingredient in inflationary models, both in\neffective constructions and in UV-finite embeddings such as string theory. It\nhas also been proposed to play a key role in certain Dark Energy and Dark\nMatter models. Despite the crucial role it plays in cosmology, the observable,\nmodel independent consequences of a shift symmetry are yet unknown. Here,\nassuming an exact shift symmetry, we derive these consequences for single-clock\ncosmologies within the framework of the Effective Field Theory of Inflation. We\nfind an infinite set of relations among the otherwise arbitrary effective\ncoefficients, which relate non-Gaussianity to their time dependence. For\nexample, to leading order in derivatives, these relations reduce the infinitely\nmany free functions in the theory to just a single one. Our Effective Theory of\nshift-symmetric cosmologies describes, among other systems, perfect and\nimperfect superfluids coupled to gravity and driven superfluids in the\ndecoupling limit. Our results are the first step to determine observationally\nwhether a shift symmetry is at play in the laws of nature and whether it is\nbroken by quantum gravity effects."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The No-Triangle Hypothesis for N=8 Supergravity: We study the perturbative expansion of N=8 supergravity in four dimensions\nfrom the viewpoint of the ``no-triangle'' hypothesis, which states that\none-loop graviton amplitudes in N=8 supergravity only contain scalar box\nintegral functions. Our computations constitute a direct proof at six-points\nand support the no-triangle conjecture for seven-point amplitudes and beyond.",
        "positive": "Multi-Skyrmions on $AdS_2 \\times S_2$, Rational maps and Popcorn\n  Transitions: By combining two different techniques to construct multi-soliton solutions of\nthe (3+1)-dimensional Skyrme model, the generalized hedgehog and the rational\nmap ansatz, we find multi-Skyrmion configurations in $AdS_{2}\\times S_{2}$. We\nconstruct Skyrmionic multi-layered configurations such that the total Baryon\ncharge is the product of the number of kinks along the radial $AdS_{2}$\ndirection and the degree of the rational map. We show that, for fixed total\nBaryon charge, as one increases the charge density on $\\partial\\left(\nAdS_{2}\\times S_{2}\\right) $, it becomes increasingly convenient energetically\nto have configurations with more peaks in the radial $AdS_{2}$ direction but a\nlower degree of the rational map. This has a direct relation with the so-called\nholographic popcorn transitions in which, when the charge density is high,\nmulti-layered configurations with low charge on each layer are favored over\nconfigurations with few layers but with higher charge on each layer. The case\nin which the geometry is $M_{2}\\times S_{2}$ can also be analyzed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Topological Terms in String Theory on Orbifolds: We study toroidal orbifold models with topologically invariant terms in the\npath integral formalism and give physical interpretations of the terms from an\noperator formalism point of view. We briefly discuss a possibility of a new\nclass of modular invariant orbifold models.",
        "positive": "Quenched equals annealed at leading order in the colored SYK model: We consider a colored version of the SYK model, that is we distinguish the\n$D$ vector fermionic fields involved in the interaction by a color. We obtain\nthe full $1/N$ series of both the quenched and annealed free energies of the\nmodel and show that at leading order the two are identical. The results can be\nused to study systematically the $1/N$ corrections to this leading order\nbehavior."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Higher Spin Fronsdal Equations from the Exact Renormalization Group: We show that truncating the exact renormalization group equations of free\n$U(N)$ vector models in the single-trace sector to the linearized level\nreproduces the Fronsdal equations on $AdS_{d+1}$ for all higher spin fields,\nwith the correct boundary conditions. More precisely, we establish canonical\nequivalence between the linearized RG equations and the familiar local, second\norder differential equations on $AdS_{d+1}$, namely the higher spin Fronsdal\nequations. This result is natural because the second-order bulk equations of\nmotion on $AdS$ simply report the value of the quadratic Casimir of the\ncorresponding conformal modules in the CFT. We thus see that the bulk\nHamiltonian dynamics given by the boundary exact RG is in a different but\nequivalent canonical frame than that which is most natural from the bulk point\nof view.",
        "positive": "Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet black strings at large $\u03b1$: The simplest black string in higher-dimensional general relativity (GR) is\nperhaps the direct product of a Schwarzschild spacetime and a flat spatial\ndirection. However, it is known that the Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet theory does not\nallow such a trivial and simple solution. We propose a novel analytic\ntechnique, which assumes that the Gauss-Bonnet (GB) term becomes dominant over\nthe Einstein-Hilbert (EH) term. Assuming the dimensionless coupling constant\n$\\alpha$ normalized by the horizon scale is large enough, we find that the\nspacetime is separated into the GB region and GR region, which are matched via\nthe transition region where the GB and EH terms are comparable. Using this\nlarge $\\alpha$ approximation, we indeed construct new analytic solutions of\nblack strings, from which we analytically compute various physical quantities\nof black strings at large $\\alpha$. Moreover, we confirm that all these\nanalytic results are consistent with the numerical calculation. We also discuss\nthe possible extension to general Einstein-Lovelock black holes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Combinatoric topological string theories and group theory algorithms: A number of finite algorithms for constructing representation theoretic data\nfrom group multiplications in a finite group G have recently been shown to be\nrelated to amplitudes for combinatoric topological strings (G-CTST) based on\nDijkgraaf-Witten theory of flat G-bundles on surfaces. We extend this result to\nprojective representations of G using twisted Dijkgraaf-Witten theory. New\nalgorithms for characters are described, based on handle creation operators and\nminimal multiplicative generating subspaces for the centers of group algebras\nand twisted group algebras. Such minimal generating subspaces are of interest\nin connection with information theoretic aspects of the AdS/CFT correspondence.\nFor the untwisted case, we describe the integrality properties of certain\ncharacter sums and character power sums which follow from these constructive\nG-CTST algorithms. These integer sums appear as residues of singularities in\nG-CTST generating functions. S-duality of the combinatoric topological strings\nmotivates the definition of an inverse handle creation operator in the centers\nof group algebras and twisted group algebras.",
        "positive": "Baby Skyrmions stabilized by vector mesons: Recent results suggest that multi-Skyrmions stabilized by omega mesons have\nvery similar properties to those stabilized by the Skyrme term. In this paper\nwe present the results of a detailed numerical investigation of a\n(2+1)-dimensional analogue of this situation. Namely, we compute solitons in an\nO(3) sigma-model coupled to a massive vector meson and compare the results to\nbaby Skyrmions, which are solitons in an O(3) sigma-model including a Skyrme\nterm. We find that multi-solitons in the vector meson model are surprisingly\nsimilar to those in the baby Skyrme model, and we explain this correspondence\nusing a simple derivative expansion."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Quantum Closet: The equivalence postulate approach to quantum mechanics entails a derivation\nof quantum mechanics from a fundamental geometrical principle. Underlying the\nformalism there exists a basic cocycle condition, which is invariant under\nD-dimensional finite Mobius transformations. The invariance of the cocycle\ncondition under finite Mobius transformations implies that space is compact.\nAdditionally, it implies energy quantisation and the undefinability of quantum\ntrajectories. I argue that the decompactification limit coincides with the\nclassical limit. Evidence for the compactness of the universe may exist in the\nCosmic Microwave Background Radiation.",
        "positive": "All Complete Intersection Calabi-Yau Four-Folds: We present an exhaustive, constructive, classification of the Calabi-Yau\nfour-folds which can be described as complete intersections in products of\nprojective spaces. A comprehensive list of 921,497 configuration matrices which\nrepresent all topologically distinct types of complete intersection Calabi-Yau\nfour-folds is provided and can be downloaded at\nhttp://www-thphys.physics.ox.ac.uk/projects/CalabiYau/Cicy4folds/index.html .\nThe manifolds have non-negative Euler characteristics in the range 0 - 2610.\nThis data set will be of use in a wide range of physical and mathematical\napplications. Nearly all of these four-folds are elliptically fibered and are\nthus of interest for F-theory model building."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gravity-Yang-Mills-Higgs unification by enlarging the gauge group: We revisit an old idea that gravity can be unified with Yang-Mills theory by\nenlarging the gauge group of gravity formulated as gauge theory. Our starting\npoint is an action that describes a generally covariant gauge theory for a\ngroup G. The Minkowski background breaks the gauge group by selecting in it a\npreferred gravitational SU(2) subgroup. We expand the action around this\nbackground and find the spectrum of linearized theory to consist of the usual\ngravitons plus Yang-Mills fields charged under the centralizer of the SU(2) in\nG. In addition, there is a set of Higgs fields that are charged both under the\ngravitational and Yang-Mills subgroups. These fields are generically massive\nand interact with both gravity and Yang-Mills sector in the standard way. The\narising interaction of the Yang-Mills sector with gravity is also standard.\nParameters such as the Yang-Mills coupling constant and Higgs mass arise from\nthe potential function defining the theory. Both are realistic in the sense\nexplained in the paper.",
        "positive": "Models for unitary black hole disintegration: Simple models for unitary black hole evolution are given in an effective\nHilbert-space description, parameterizing a possible minimal relaxation of\nlocality, with respect to semiclassical black hole geometry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A direct proof of the CSW rules: Using recursion methods similar to those of Britto, Cachazo, Feng and Witten\n(BCFW) a direct proof of the CSW rules for computing tree-level gluon\namplitudes is given.",
        "positive": "Possible Nonlinear Completion of Massive Gravity: Possible nonlinear completion of massive gravity is presented. An additional\nscalar ghost contained in linear theory condensates to give rise to\npositive-energy excitations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "CHY-Graphs on a Torus: Recently, we proposed a new approach using a punctured Elliptic curve in the\nCHY framework in order to compute one-loop scattering amplitudes. In this note,\nwe further develop this approach by introducing a set of connectors, which\nbecome the main ingredient to build integrands on $\\mathfrak{M}_{1,n}$, the\nmoduli space of n-punctured Elliptic curves. As a particular application, we\nstudy the $\\Phi^3$ bi-adjoint scalar theory. We propose a set of rules to\nconstruct integrands on $\\mathfrak{M}_{1,n}$ from $\\Phi^ 3$ integrands on\n$\\mathfrak{M}_{0,n}$, the moduli space of n-punctured spheres. We illustrate\nthese rules by computing a variety of $\\Phi^3$ one-loop Feynman diagrams.\nConversely, we also provide another set of rules to compute the corresponding\nCHY-integrand on $\\mathfrak{M}_{1,n}$ by starting instead from a given $\\Phi^\n3$ one-loop Feynman diagram. In addition, our results can easily be extended to\nhigher loops.",
        "positive": "Topological vortices in generalized Born-Infeld-Higgs electrodynamics: A consistent BPS formalism to study the existence of topological axially\nsymmetric vortices in generalized versions of the Born-Infeld-Higgs\nelectrodynamics is implemented. Such a generalization modifies the field\ndynamics via introduction of three non-negative functions depending only in the\nHiggs field, namely, $G(|\\phi|)$, $w(|\\phi|) $ and $V(|\\phi|)$. A set of\nfirst-order differential equations is attained when these functions satisfy a\nconstraint related to the Ampere law. Such a constraint allows to minimize the\nsystem energy in such way that it becomes proportional to the magnetic flux.\nOur results provides an enhancement of topological vortex solutions in\nBorn-Infeld-Higgs electrodynamics. Finally, we analyze a set of models such\nthat a generalized version of Maxwell-Higgs electrodynamics is recovered in a\ncertain limit of the theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Imprints of Early Universe on Gravitational Waves from First-Order Phase\n  Transition in QCD: We study the gravitational wave spectrum from the confinement-deconfinement\nphase transi-tion in the holographic QCD models for both light quark and heavy\nquark. We obtain the gravitationalwave spectrum in the deflagration, detonation\nand runaway cases for different chemical potentials and duration of the phase\ntransition. We find that the gravitational wave spectrum could be observed by\nEPTA/IPTA and eLISA for large chemical potential and short duartion of phase\ntranstions.",
        "positive": "On Quantum Radiation in Curved Spacetime: In the context of quantum field theories in curved spacetime, we compute the\neffective action of the transition amplitude from vacuum to vacuum in the\npresence of an external gravitational field. The imaginary part of resulted\neffective action determines the probability of vacuum decay via quantum\ntunneling process, giving the rate and spectrum of particle creations. We show\nthat gravitational field polarizes vacuum and discretizes its spectrum for such\na polarization gains gravitational energy. On the basis of gravitational vacuum\npolarization, we discuss the quantum origin of vacuum decay in curved spacetime\nas pair-creations of particles and anti-particles. The thermal spectrum of\nparticle creations is attributed to (i) the CPT invariance of\npair-creations(annihilations) from(into) vacuum and (ii) vacuum acts as a\nreserve with the temperature determined by gravitational energy-gain."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Eternal inflation and localization on the landscape: We model the essential features of eternal inflation on the landscape of a\ndense discretuum of vacua by the potential $V(\\phi)=V_{0}+\\delta V(\\phi)$,\nwhere $|\\delta V(\\phi)|\\ll V_{0}$ is random. We find that the diffusion of the\ndistribution function $\\rho(\\phi,t)$ of the inflaton expectation value in\ndifferent Hubble patches may be suppressed due to the effect analogous to the\nAnderson localization in disordered quantum systems. At $t \\to \\infty$ only the\nlocalized part of the distribution function $\\rho (\\phi, t)$ survives which\nleads to dynamical selection principle on the landscape. The probability to\nmeasure any but a small value of the cosmological constant in a given Hubble\npatch on the landscape is exponentially suppressed at $t\\to \\infty$.",
        "positive": "The spectrum of the QCD Dirac operator and chiral random matrix theory:\n  the threefold way: We argue that the spectrum of the QCD Dirac operator near zero virtuality can\nbe described by random matrix theory. As in the case of classical random matrix\nensembles of Dyson we have three distinct classes: the chiral orthogonal\nensemble (chGOE), the chiral unitary ensemble (chGUE) and the chiral symplectic\nensemble (chGSE). They correspond to gauge groups $SU(2)$ in the fundamental\nrepresentation, $SU(N_c), N_c \\ge 3$ in the fundamental representation, and\ngauge groups for all $N_c$ in the adjoint representation, respectively. The\njoint probability density reproduces Leutwyler-Smilga sum rules."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chaos and random matrices in supersymmetric SYK: We use random matrix theory to explore late-time chaos in supersymmetric\nquantum mechanical systems. Motivated by the recent study of supersymmetric SYK\nmodels and their random matrix classification, we consider the Wishart-Laguerre\nunitary ensemble and compute the spectral form factors and frame potentials to\nquantify chaos and randomness. Compared to the Gaussian ensembles, we observe\nthe absence of a dip regime in the form factor and a slower approach to\nHaar-random dynamics. We find agreement between our random matrix analysis and\npredictions from the supersymmetric SYK model, and discuss the implications for\nsupersymmetric chaotic systems.",
        "positive": "New theory of Lorentz violation from a general principle: We report that a general principle of physical independence of mathematical\nbackground manifolds brings a replacement of common derivative operators by\nco-derivative ones. Then we obtain a new Lagrangian for the ordinary minimal\nstandard model with supplementary terms containing the Lorentz invariance\nviolation information measured by a new matrix, denoted as the Lorentz\ninvariance violation matrix. We thus provide a new fundamental theory to study\nLorentz invariance violation effects consistently and systematically."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Poincar\u00e9 and Gauge symmetry of a model where vector and axial\n  vector interaction get mixed up with different weight: A $(1+1)$ dimensional model where vector and axial vector interaction get\nmixed up with different weight is considered with a generalized masslike term\nfor gauge field. Through Poincar\\'e algebra it has been made confirm that only\na Lorentz covariant masslike term leads to a physically sensible theory as long\nas the number of constraints in the phase space is two. With that admissible\nmasslike term, phase space structure of this model with proper identification\nof physical canonical pair has been determined using Diracs' scheme of\nquantization of constrained system. The bosonized version of the model remains\ngauge non-invariant to start with. Therefore, with the inclusion of appropriate\nWess-Zumino term it is made gauge symmetric. An alternative quantization has\nbeen carried out over this gauge symmetric version to determine the phase space\nstructure in this situation. To establish that the Wess-Zumino fields allocates\nthemselves in the un-physical sector of the theory an attempts has been made to\nget back the usual theory from the gauge symmetric theory of the extended\nphase-space without hampering any physical principle. It has been found that\nthe role of gauge fixing is crucial for this transmutation.",
        "positive": "From Trees to Gravity: In this article we study two related models of quantum geometry: generic\nrandom trees and two-dimensional causal triangulations. The Hausdorff and\nspectral dimensions that arise in these models are calculated and their\nrelationship with the structure of the underlying random geometry is explored.\nModifications due to interactions with matter fields are also briefly\ndiscussed. The approach to the subject is that of classical statistical\nmechanics and most of the tools come from probability and graph theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Algebraic Dreams: Nature's attraction to unique mathematical structures provides powerful hints\nfor unraveling her mysteries. None is at present as intriguing as\neleven-dimensional M-theory. The search for exceptional structures specific to\neleven dimensions leads us to exceptional groups in the description of\nspace-time. One specific connection, through the coset $F_4/SO(9)$, may provide\na generalization of eleven-dimensional supergravity. Since this coset happens\nto be the projective space of the Exceptional Jordan Algebra, its charge space\nmay be linked to the fundamental degrees of freedom underlying M-theory.",
        "positive": "String-localized free vector and tensor potentials for massive particles\n  with any spin: I. Bosons: It is well-known that a (point-localized) free quantum field for massive\nparticles with spin $s$ acting in a Hilbert space has at best scaling dimension\n$s+1$, which excludes its use in the perturbative construction of\nrenormalizable interacting models for higher spin ($s\\geq 1$). Up to date, such\nmodels have been constructed only in the context of gauge theory, at the cost\nof introducing additional unphysical (ghost) fields and an unphysical\n(indefinite metric) state space. The unphysical degrees of freedom are divided\nout by requiring gauge (or BRST) invariance.\n  We construct free quantum fields for higher spin particles which have the\nsame good UV behaviour as the scalar field (scaling dimension one), and at the\nsame time act on a Hilbert space without ghosts. They are localized on\nsemi-infinite strings extending to space-like infinity, but are linearly\nrelated to their point-local counterparts. We argue that this is sufficient\nlocality for a perturbative construction of interacting models of the gauge\ntheory type, with a string-independent S-matrix and point-localized interacting\nobservable fields. The usual principle of gauge-invariance is here replaced by\nthe (deeper) principle of locality."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Chiral Algebra of Genus Two Class $\\mathcal{S}$ Theory: We construct the chiral algebra associated with the $A_{1}$-type class\n$\\mathcal{S}$ theory for genus two Riemann surface without punctures. By\nsolving the BRST cohomology problem corresponding to a marginal gauging in four\ndimensions, we find a set of chiral algebra generators that form closed OPEs.\nGiven the fact that they reproduce the spectrum of chiral algebra operators up\nto large dimensions, we conjecture that they are the complete set of\ngenerators. Remarkably, their OPEs are invariant under an action of $SU(2)$\nwhich is not associated with any conserved one-form current in four dimensions.\nWe find that this novel $SU(2)$ strongly constrains the OPEs of non-scalar\nSchur operators. For completeness, we also check the equivalence of Schur\nindices computed in two S-dual descriptions with a non-vanishing flavor\nfugacity turned on.",
        "positive": "Chaos in the Gauge/Gravity Correspondence: We study the motion of a string in the background of the Schwarzschild black\nhole in AdS_5 by applying the standard arsenal of dynamical systems. Our\ndescription of the phase space includes: the power spectrum, the largest\nLyapunov exponent, Poincare sections and basins of attractions. We find\nconvincing evidence that the motion is chaotic. We discuss the implications of\nsome of the quantities associated with chaotic systems for aspects of the\ngauge/gravity correspondence. In particular, we suggest some potential\nrelevance for the information loss paradox."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Solitons in Supersymmetric Gauge Theories: Moduli Matrix Approach: We review our recent works on solitons in U(Nc) gauge theories with Nf (>Nc)\nHiggs fields in the fundamental representation, which possess eight\nsupercharges. The moduli matrix is proposed as a crucial tool to exhaust all\nBPS solutions, and to characterize all possible moduli parameters. Since vacua\nare in the Higgs phase, we find domain walls (kinks) and vortices as the only\nelementary solitons. Stable monopoles and instantons can exist as composite\nsolitons with vortices attached. Webs of walls are also found as another\ncomposite soliton. The moduli space of all these elementary as well as\ncomposite solitons are found in terms of the moduli matrix. The total moduli\nspace of walls is given by the complex Grassmann manifold SU(Nf)/[SU(Nc)x\nSU(Nf-Nc) x U(1)] and is decomposed into various topological sectors\ncorresponding to boundary conditions specified by particular vacua. We found\ncharges characterizing composite solitons contribute negatively (either\npositively or negatively) in Abelian (non-Abelian) gauge theories. Effective\nLagrangians are constructed on walls and vortices in a compact form. The power\nof the moduli matrix is illustrated by an interaction rule of monopoles,\nvortices, and walls, which is difficult to obtain in other methods. More\nthorough description of the moduli matrix approach can be found in our review\narticle (hep-th/0602170).",
        "positive": "Non-Relativistic Fluid Dual to Asymptotically AdS Gravity at Finite\n  Cutoff Surface: Using the non-relativistic hydrodynamic expansion, we solve equations of\nmotion for Einstein gravity and Gauss-Bonnet gravity with a negative\ncosmological constant within the region between a finite cutoff surface and a\nblack brane horizon, up to the second order of the expansion parameter. Through\nthe Brown-York tensor, we calculate the stress energy tensor of dual fluids\nliving on the cutoff surface. With the black brane solutions, we show that for\nboth Einstein gravity and Gauss-Bonnet gravity, the ratio of shear viscosity to\nentropy ensity of dual fluid does not run with the cutoff surface. The\nincompressible Navier-Stokes equations are also obtained in both cases."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Q-ball formation at the deconfinement temperature in large-$N_c$ QCD: The deconfinement phase transition in large-$N_c$ QCD is studied within the\nframework of an effective Polyakov-loop model, where the potential has a U(1)\nsymmetry originating in the large-$N_c$ limit of a Z$_{N_c}$-symmetric model.\nAt the critical temperature, the shape of the effective potential allows the\nexistence of Q-balls as position-dependent fluctuations of the Polyakov loop.\nQ-balls with spherical or axial symmetry are numerically obtained from the\nequations of motion of the effective model under consideration. The physical\nproperties of these non-topological solitons (mass, charge and size) are\ndiscussed, as well as their interpretation in terms of spinning \"bubbles\", with\nvarious shapes, of deconfined matter surrounded by a confined environment.",
        "positive": "Radiatively Induced Lorentz and CPT Violation in Schwinger Constant\n  Field Approximation: The Schwinger proper-time method is an effective calculation method,\nexplicitly gauge invariant and nonperturbative. We make use of this method to\ninvestigate the radiatively induced Lorentz and CPT-violating effects in\nquantum electrodynamics when an axial vector interaction term is introduced in\nthe fermionic sector. The induced Lorentz and CPT-violating Chern-Simons term\ncoincides with the one obtained using a covariant derivative expansion but\ndiffers from the result usually obtained in other regularization schemes. A\npossible ambiguity in the approach is also discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "BPS Domain Walls in super Yang-Mills and Landau-Ginzburg models: We study domain walls in two different extensions of super Yang--Mills\ncharacterized by the absence of a logarithmic term in their effective\nsuperpotential. The models, defined by the usual gaugino condensate and an\nextra field Y, give different patterns of domain walls despite both leading to\nthe same effective limit for heavy Y, i.e. the Veneziano--Yankielowicz\neffective Lagrangian of super Yang--Mills. We explain the origin of those\ndifferences and also give a physical motivation for introducing the field Y.",
        "positive": "Accelerating universe emergent from the landscape: We propose that the existence of the string landscape suggests the universe\ncan be in a quantum glass state, where an extremely large viscosity is\ngenerated, and long distance dynamics slows down. At the same time, the short\ndistance dynamics is not altered due to the separation of time scales. This\nscenario can help to understand some controversies in cosmology, for example\nthe natural existence of slow roll inflation and dark energy in the landscape,\nthe apparent smallness of the cosmological constant. We see also that moduli\nstabilization is no longer necessary. We further identify the glass transition\npoint, where the viscosity diverges, as the location of the cosmic horizon. We\ntry to reconstruct the geometry of the accelerating universe from the structure\nof the landscape, and find that the metric should have an infinite jump when\ncrossing the horizon. We predict that the static coordinate metric for dS space\nbreaks down outside the horizon."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A superfield constraint for N=2 --> N=0 breaking: We identify a cubic holomorphic constraint that subtends the total breaking\nof N=2 supersymmetry in a vector multiplet and exhibit its microscopic origin.\nThe new constraint leaves behind, at low energies, a vector and the two\ngoldstini, in a non-linear Lagrangian that generalizes the N=2 Volkov-Akulov\nmodel.",
        "positive": "Holographic Duality for three-dimensional Super-conformal Field Theories: This thesis is based on the publications arXiv:1106.4253, arXiv:1206.2920,\narXiv:1210.2590. We construct warped \"AdS_4 x S^2 x S^2 x \\Sigma\" type IIB\nsupergravity solutions dual to the infrared fixed points of all 3d N=4 linear\nand circular quivers. We provide checks of the correspondence by evaluating the\nsupergravity action in a large N limit and by matching it with the computation\nof the free energy obtained from matrix models. To complete previous work, we\nestablish the holographic dictionary for the more general supergravity\nsolutions corresponding to domain walls (non-compact \\Sigma) and dual to 4d SYM\nCFT coupled to a 1/2 BPS 3d defect. We also use our evaluations of the free\nenergy to show that the F-theorem is verified for RG-flow relating\nT^{\\rho}_{\\hat\\rho}(SU(N)) SCFTs."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Asymptotic symmetries of three-dimensional Chern-Simons gravity for the\n  Maxwell algebra: We study a three-dimensional Chern-Simons gravity theory based on the Maxwell\nalgebra. We find that the boundary dynamics is described by an enlargement and\ndeformation of the $\\mathfrak{bms}_3$ algebra with three independent central\ncharges. This symmetry arises from a gravity action invariant under the local\nMaxwell group and is characterized by presence of Abelian generators which\nmodify the commutation relations of the super-translations in the standard\n$\\mathfrak{bms}_3$ algebra. Our analysis is based on the charge algebra of the\ntheory in the BMS gauge, which includes the known solutions of standard\nasymptotically flat case. The field content of the theory is different than the\none of General Relativity, but it includes all its geometries as particular\nsolutions. In this line, we also study the stationary solutions of the theory\nin ADM form and we show that the vacuum energy and the vacuum angular momentum\nof the stationary configuration are influenced by the presence of the\ngravitational Maxwell field.",
        "positive": "Matrix models, 4D black holes and topological strings on non-compact\n  Calabi-Yau manifolds: We study the relation between c=1 matrix models at self-dual radii and\ntopological strings on non-compact Calabi-Yau manifolds. In particular the\nspecial case of the deformed matrix model is investigated in detail. Using\nrecent results on the equivalence of the partition function of topological\nstrings and that of four dimensional BPS black holes, we are able to calculate\nthe entropy of the black holes, using matrix models. In particular, we show how\nto deal with the divergences that arise as a result of the non-compactness of\nthe Calabi-Yau. The main result is that the entropy of the black hole at zero\ntemperature coincides with the canonical free energy of the matrix model, up to\na proportionality constant given by the self-dual temperature of the matrix\nmodel."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "AdS/CFT Duals of Topological Black Holes and the Entropy of Zero-Energy\n  States: The horizon of a static black hole in Anti-deSitter space can be spherical,\nplanar, or hyperbolic. The microscopic dynamics of the first two classes of\nblack holes have been extensively discussed recently within the context of the\nAdS/CFT correspondence. We argue that hyperbolic black holes introduce new and\nfruitful features in this respect, allowing for more detailed comparisons\nbetween the weak and strong coupling regimes. In particular, by focussing on\nthe stress tensor and entropy of some particular states, we identify unexpected\nincreases in the entropy of Super-Yang-Mills theory at strong coupling that are\nnot accompanied by increases in the energy. We describe a highly degenerate\nstate at zero temperature and zero energy density. We also find that the\nentanglement entropy across a Rindler horizon in exact AdS_5 is larger than\nmight have been expected from the dual SYM theory. Besides, we show that\nhyperbolic black holes can be described as thermal Rindler states of the dual\nconformal field theory in flat space.",
        "positive": "De Rham Cohomology of the Supermanifolds and Superstring BRST Cohomology: We show that the BRST operator of Neveu-Schwarz-Ramond superstring is closely\nrelated to de Rham differential on the moduli space of decorated super-Riemann\nsurfaces P. We develop formalism where superstring amplitudes are computed via\nintegration of some differential forms over a section of P over the super\nmoduli space M. We show that the result of integration does not depend on the\nchoice of section when all the states are BRST physical. Our approach is based\non the geometrical theory of integration on supermanifolds of which we give a\nshort review."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Open-closed Hyperbolic String Vertices: We construct a family of hyperbolic string vertices in the oriented\nopen-closed string field theory, generalizing the recent result on hyperbolic\nclosed string vertices by Costello and Zwiebach. The vertices are described by\ncertain bordered hyperbolic surfaces and we explain relevant collar theorems\nwhich provide restrictions on the systolic conditions for the hyperbolic\nvertices. We also give explicit descriptions of the vertices for all zero and\none-dimensional moduli spaces.",
        "positive": "N=2 Super Yang-Mills and the XXZ spin chain: We analyse the renormalisation properties of composite operators of scalar\nfields in the N=2 Super Yang-Mills theory. We compute the matrix of anomalous\ndimensions in the planar limit at one-loop order in the 't Hooft coupling, and\nshow that it corresponds to the Hamiltonian of an integrable XXZ spin chain\nwith an anisotropy parameter Delta>1. We suggest that this parameter could be\nrelated to the presence of non-trivial two-form fluxes in the dual supergravity\nbackground. We find that the running of the gauge coupling does not affect the\nrenormalization group equations for these composite operators at one-loop\norder, and argue that this is a general property of gauge theories which is not\nrelated to supersymmetry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Cosmological Observatories: We study the static patch of de Sitter space in the presence of a timelike\nboundary. We impose that the conformal class of the induced metric and the\ntrace of the extrinsic curvature, $K$, are fixed at the boundary. We present\nthe thermodynamic structure of de Sitter space subject to these boundary\nconditions, for static and spherically symmetric configurations to leading\norder in the semiclassical approximation. In three spacetime dimensions, and\ntaking $K$ constant on a toroidal Euclidean boundary, we find that the\nspacetime is thermally stable for all $K$. In four spacetime dimensions, the\nthermal stability depends on the value of $K$. It is established that for\nsufficiently large $K$, the de Sitter static patch subject to conformal\nboundary conditions is thermally stable. This contrasts the Dirichlet problem\nfor which the region encompassing the cosmological horizon has negative\nspecific heat. We present an analysis of the linearised Einstein equations\nsubject to conformal boundary conditions. In the worldline limit of the\ntimelike boundary, the underlying modes are linked to the quasinormal modes of\nthe static patch. In the limit where the timelike boundary approaches the\ncosmological event horizon, the linearised modes are interpreted in terms of\nthe shear and sound modes of a fluid dynamical system. Additionally, we find\nmodes with a frequency of positive imaginary part. Measured in a local inertial\nreference frame, and taking the stretched cosmological horizon limit, these\nmodes grow at most polynomially.",
        "positive": "Heisenberg Algebra and String Theory: If the algebra of the Poincar\\'e generators is enlarged by the spacetime\nposition operator $X=(X_0,\\dots, X_{D-1})$ then the spectra of the momentum $P$\nand the mass $P^2$ are unbounded and continuous. In particular, the constraint\n$(P^2 - m^2)\\Psi_{\\text{phys}}=0$ of the covariant string has no solution in\nthe space which admits $X$: All physical states vanish, $\\Psi_{\\text{phys}}=0$.\nVice versa, a space spanned by mass eigenstates does not admit the position\noperator $X$ in $D$ dimensions.\n  A massless particle does not allow a spatial position operator $\\vec X$.\n  The domain of Heisenberg pairs $X^i$ and $P^j$, $i,j\\in \\{1,\\dots D-2\\}$, $D\n> 2$, which commute with $P^+=(P^0 + P_z)/\\sqrt{2}$, $[P^+,X^i] = 0$, does not\nallow for a space with massless or tachyonic states, which is mapped to itself\nby rotations, leave alone Lorentz transformations. This is true in all\ndimensions and makes the algebraic calculation of the critical dimension,\n$D=26$, of the bosonic string meaningless: the light cone string is not Lorentz\ninvariant."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Axisymmetric non-abelian BPS monopoles from G_2 metrics: Exact $SU(2)\\times U(1)$ self-gravitating BPS global monopoles in four\ndimensions are constructed by dimensional reduction of eight dimensional\nmetrics with $G_2$ holonomy asymptotic to cones over $S^3\\times S^3$. The\nsolutions carry two topological charges in an interesting way. They are\ngenerically axially but not spherically symmetric. This last fact is related to\nthe isometries and asymptotic topology of the $G_2$ metrics. It is further\nshown that some $G_2$ metrics known numerically reduce to supersymmetric cosmic\nstrings.",
        "positive": "Large N QCD from Rotating Branes: We study large N SU(N) Yang-Mills theory in three and four dimensions using a\none-parameter family of supergravity models which originate from non-extremal\nrotating D-branes. We show explicitly that varying this \"angular momentum\"\nparameter decouples the Kaluza-Klein modes associated with the compact D-brane\ncoordinate, while the mass ratios for ordinary glueballs are quite stable\nagainst this variation, and are in good agreement with the latest lattice\nresults. We also compute the topological susceptibility and the gluon\ncondensate as a function of the \"angular momentum\" parameter."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauge Independence in a Higher-Order Lagrangian Formalism via Change of\n  Variables in the Path Integral: In this paper we work out the explicit form of the change of variables that\nreproduces an arbitrary change of gauge in a higher-order Lagrangian formalism.",
        "positive": "Hawking Radiation via Gauss-Bonnet Theorem: In this paper, we apply the topological method to the various black holes to\nderive their Hawking temperature. We show that the this method can easily be\nemployed to compute the Hawking temperature of black holes having spherically\nsymmetric topology. Therefore, we conclude that the topological method provides\na consistent formula to achieve the Hawking temperature."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Conformal mechanics inspired by extremal black holes in d=4: A canonical transformation which relates the model of a massive relativistic\nparticle moving near the horizon of an extremal black hole in four dimensions\nand the conventional conformal mechanics is constructed in two different ways.\nThe first approach makes use of the action-angle variables in the angular\nsector. The second scheme relies upon integrability of the system in the sense\nof Liouville.",
        "positive": "Constructing $\\mathcal{N}=4$ Coulomb Branch Superamplitudes: We study scattering amplitudes of massive BPS states on the Coulomb branch of\n$4d$ $\\mathcal{N}=4$ super-Yang-Mills, utilising a little group covariant\non-shell superspace for massive particles. Super-BCFW recursion for massive\namplitudes is constructed and its validity is proven for all Coulomb branch\nsuperamplitudes. We then determine the exact three-particle superamplitudes for\nmassive states. These ingredients allow us to explicitly compute the four- and\nfive-particle superamplitudes, which is the first non-trivial usage of BCFW\nrecursion for amplitudes with entirely massive external states. The manifest\nlittle group covariance helps clarify both the role of special kinematic\nproperties of BPS states and the organizational structures of the\nsuperamplitudes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Massive Tensor Multiplets in N=1 Supersymmetry: We derive the action for a massive tensor multiplet coupled to chiral and\nvector multiplets as it can appear in orientifold compactifications of type IIB\nstring theory.We compute the potential of the theory and show its consistency\nwith the corresponding Kaluza-Klein reduction of N=1 orientifold\ncompactifications. The potential contains an explicit mass term for the scalar\nin the tensor multiplet which does not arise from eliminating an auxiliary\nfield. A dual action with an additional massive vector multiplet is derived at\nthe level of superfields.",
        "positive": "On dilaton dependence of type II superstring action: The supersymmetric action of type IIA D=10 superstring in N=2a, D=10\nsupergravity background can be derived by double dimensional reduction of the\naction of supermembrane coupled to D=11 supergravity. We demonstrate that the\nbackground Ramond-Ramond fields appear in the resulting superstring action with\nan extra factor of exponential of the dilaton."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Bailey pairs for $\\mathcal N=2$ supersymmetric gauge theories on\n  $S_b^3/\\mathbb{Z}_r$: We study Bailey pairs construction for hyperbolic hypergeometric integral\nidentities acquired via the duality of lens partitions functions for the\nthree-dimensional $\\mathcal N=2$ supersymmetric gauge theories on\n$S_b^3/\\mathbb{Z}_r$. The novel Bailey pairs are constructed for the\nstar-triangle relation, the star-star relation and the pentagon identity. The\nfirst two of them are integrability conditions for the Ising-type integrable\nlattice models. The last one corresponds to the representation of the basic\n$2-3$ Pachner move for triangulated 3-manifolds.",
        "positive": "The first laws of thermodynamics of the (2+1)-dimensional BTZ black\n  holes and Kerr-de Sitter spacetimes: We investigate the first law of thermodynamics in the case of the\n(2+1)-dimensional BTZ black holes and Kerr-de Sitter spacetimes, in particular,\nwe focus on the integral mass formulas. It is found that by assuming the\ncosmological constant as a variable state parameter, both the differential and\nintegral mass formulas of the first law of black hole thermodynamics in the\nasymptotic flat spacetimes can be directly extended to those of rotating black\nholes in anti-de Sitter and de Sitter backgrounds. It should be pointed that\nthese formulas come into existence in any dimensions also."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Diverse PBGS Patterns and Superbranes: This is a brief account of the approach to superbranes based upon the concept\nof Partial Breaking of Global Supersymmetry (PBGS).",
        "positive": "On $a$-$F$ dimensional interpolation: A dimensional interpolation between the free energy and conformal anomaly on\nspheres is derived for free scalar and spinor fields on the basis of standard\nfield theory. The regularisation used is an extension of one by Candelas and\nWeinberg. It yields a (known) simple integral which is shown to be identical to\nthe interpolations introduced by Giombi and Klebanov using earlier AdS/CFT\nresults. The extension to GJMS--type higher derivatives is made with a hint of\na possible, kinematic resolution of the non--minimal Type-B mismatch being\npresented.\n  Another form of the sphere conformal anomaly is given."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Inconsistences in Interacting Agegraphic Dark Energy Models: It is found that the origin agegraphic dark energy tracks the matter in the\nmatter-dominated epoch and then the subsequent dark-energy-dominated epoch\nbecomes impossible. It is argued that the difficulty can be removed when the\ninteraction between the agegraphic dark energy and dark matter is considered.\nIn the note, by discussing three different interacting models, we find that the\ndifficulty still stands even in the interacting models. Furthermore, we find\nthat in the interacting models, there exists the other serious inconsistence\nthat the existence of the radiation/matter-dominated epoch contradicts the\nability of agegraphic dark energy in driving the accelerated expansion. The\ncontradiction can be avoided in one of the three models if some constraints on\nthe parameters hold.",
        "positive": "An M Theory Solution to the Strong CP Problem and Constraints on the\n  Axiverse: We give an explicit realization of the \"String Axiverse\" discussed in\nArvanitaki et. al \\cite{Arvanitaki:2009fg} by extending our previous results on\nmoduli stabilization in $M$ theory to include axions. We extend the analysis of\n\\cite{Arvanitaki:2009fg} to allow for high scale inflation that leads to a\nmoduli dominated pre-BBN Universe. We demonstrate that an axion which solves\nthe strong-CP problem naturally arises and that both the axion decay constants\nand GUT scale can consistently be around $2\\times 10^{16}$ GeV with a much\nsmaller fine tuning than is usually expected. Constraints on the Axiverse from\ncosmological observations, namely isocurvature perturbations and tensor modes\nare described. Extending work of Fox et. al \\cite{Fox:2004kb}, we note that\n{\\it the observation of tensor modes at Planck will falsify the Axiverse\ncompletely.} Finally we note that Axiverse models whose lightest axion has mass\nof order $10^{-15}$ eV and with decay constants of order $5\\times 10^{14}$ GeV\nrequire no (anthropic) fine-tuning, though standard unification at $10^{16}$\nGeV is difficult to accommodate."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "QED in external fields, a functional point of view: A functional partial differential equation is set for the proper graphs\ngenerating functional of QED in external electromagnetic fields. This equation\nleads to the evolution of the proper graphs with the external field amplitude\nand the external field gauge dependence of the complete fermion propagator and\nvertex is derived non-perturbativally.",
        "positive": "Flavour-Condensate-induced Breaking of Supersymmetry in Free Wess-Zumino\n  Fluids: Recently we argued that a particular model of string-inspired quantum\nspace-time foam (D-foam) may induce oscillations and mixing among flavoured\nparticles. As a result, rather than the mass-eigenstate vacuum, the correct\nground state to describe the underlying dynamics is the flavour vacuum,\nproposed some time ago by Blasone and Vitiello as a description of quantum\nfield theories with mixing. At the microscopic level, the breaking of\ntarget-space supersymmetry is induced in our space-time foam model by the\nrelative transverse motion of brane defects. Motivated by these results, we\nshow that the flavour vacuum, introduced through an inequivalent representation\nof the canonical (anti-) commutation relations, provides a vehicle for the\nbreaking of supersymmetry (SUSY) at a low-energy effective field theory level;\non considering the flavour-vacuum expectation value of the energy-momentum\ntensor and comparing with the form of a perfect relativistic fluid, it is found\nthat the bosonic sector contributes as dark energy while the fermion\ncontribution is like dust. This indicates a strong and novel breaking of SUSY,\nof a non-perturbative nature, which may characterize the low energy field\ntheory of certain quantum gravity models."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Tail of Eternal Inflation: Non-trivial inflaton self-interactions can yield calculable signatures of\nprimordial non-Gaussianity that are measurable in cosmic surveys. Surprisingly,\nwe find that the phase transition to slow-roll eternal inflation is often\nincalculable in the same models. Instead, this transition is sensitive to the\nnon-Gaussian tail of the distribution of scalar fluctuations, which probes\nphysics inside the horizon, potentially beyond the cutoff scale of the\nEffective Field Theory of Inflation. We demonstrate this fact directly by\ncalculating non-Gaussian corrections to Stochastic Inflation within the\nframework of Soft de Sitter Effective Theory, from which we derive the\nassociated probability distribution for the scalar fluctuations. We find\nparameter space consistent with current observations and weak coupling at\nhorizon crossing in which the large fluctuations relevant for eternal inflation\ncan only be determined by appealing to a UV completion. We also show this\nbreakdown of the perturbative description is required for the de Sitter entropy\nto reflect the number of de Sitter microstates.",
        "positive": "Reflection, transmutation, annihilation and resonance in two-component\n  kink collisions: In this paper the study of collisions between kinks arising in the family of\nMSTB models is addressed. Phenomena such as elastic kink reflection, mutual\nannihilation, kink-antikink transmutation and inelastic reflection are found\nand depend on the impact velocity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Vacuum states of N=1* mass deformations of N=4 and N=2 conformal gauge\n  theories and their brane interpretations: We find the classical supersymmetric vacuum states of a class of N = 1* field\ntheories obtained by mass deforming superconformal models with simple gauge\ngroups and N = 4 or N =2 supersymmetry. In particular, new classical vacuum\nstates for mass-deformed N = 4 models with Sp(2N) and SO(N) gauge symmetry are\nfound. We also derive the classical vacua for various mass-deformed N=2 models\nwith Sp(2N) and SU(N) gauge groups and antisymmetric (and symmetric)\nhypermultiplets. We suggest interpretations of the mass-deformed vacua in terms\nof three-branes expanded into five-brane configurations.",
        "positive": "Higgs inflation and its extensions and the further refining dS swampland\n  conjecture: On the one hand, David Andriot and Christoph Roupec proposed an alternative\nrefined de Sitter conjecture, which gives a natural condition on a combination\nof the first and second derivatives of the scalar potential. On the other hand,\nin our previous article, we have found that Palatini Higgs inflation model is\nin strong tension with the refined de Sitter swampland conjecture. Therefore,\nfollowing our previous research, in this article we examine if Higgs inflation\nmodel and its two variations: Palatini Higgs inflation and Higgs-Dilaton model\ncan satisfy the further refining de Sitter swampland conjecture or not. Based\non observational data, we find that these three inflationary models can always\nsatisfy this new swampland conjecture if only we adjust the relevant parameters\na, b=1-a and q. Therefore,if the further refining de Sitter swampland\nconjecture does indeed hold, then the three inflationary models might all be in\nlandscape."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Multiple Landen values and the tribonacci numbers: Multiple Landen values (MLVs) are defined as iterated integrals on the\ninterval $x\\in[0,1]$ of the differential forms $A=d\\log(x)$, $B=-d\\log(1-x)$,\n$F=-d\\log(1-\\rho^2x)$ and $G=-d\\log(1-\\rho x)$, where $\\rho=(\\sqrt{5}-1)/2$ is\nthe golden section. I conjecture that the dimension of the space of ${\\mathbb\nZ}$-linearly independent MLVs of weight $w$ is a tribonacci number $T_w$,\ngenerated by $1/(1-x-x^2- x^3)=1+\\sum_{w>0}T_w x^w$, and that a basis is\nprovided by all the words in the $\\{A,G\\}$ sub-alphabet that neither end in $A$\nnor contain $A^3$. For $w<9$, I construct a much more efficient basis, for a\nMLV datamine, where no prime greater than 11 occurs in the denominators of\n3,357,257 coefficients of rational reduction of 49,151 MLVs. Numerical data for\n40 primitives then enable fast evaluation of all of these MLVs to 20,000\ndigits. The datamine provides reductions of Ap\\'ery-type sums\n$A_w=\\sum_{n>0}(-1)^{n+1}n^{-w}/{2n\\choose n}$ and 6 ladder-combinations of\ndepth-1 polylogarithms ${\\rm Li}_w(\\rho^p)=\\sum_{n>0}\\rho^{pn}n^{-w}$ with\n$p\\in\\{1,2,3,4,6,8,10,12,20,24\\}$ and coefficients given by Landen, Coxeter and\nLewin at $w=2$. I prove that the former evaluate to MLVs and conjecture that\nthe latter do. Comparison is made between the properties of MLVs and multiple\npolylogarithms at roots of unity, encountered in the quantum field theory of\nthe standard model of particle physics.",
        "positive": "Canonical Analysis of Unimodular Gravity: This short note is devoted to the Hamiltonian analysis of the Unimodular\nGravity.We treat the unimodular gravity as General Relativity action with the\nunimodular constraint imposed with the help of Lagrange multiplier. We perform\nthe canonical analysis of the resulting theory and determine its constraint\nstructure."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "S^1-wrapped D3-branes on Conifolds: We construct a D3-brane wrapped on S^1, which is fibred over the resolved\nconifold as its transverse space. Whereas a fractional D3-brane on the resolved\nconifold is not supersymmetric and has a naked singularity, our solution is\nsupersymmetric and regular everywhere. We also consider an $S^1$-wrapped\nD3-brane on the resolved cone over T^{1,1}/Z_2, as well as on the deformed\nconifold. In the former case, we obtain a regular supergravity dual to a\ncertain four-dimensional field theory whose Lorentz and conformal symmetries\nare broken in the IR region and restored in the UV limit.",
        "positive": "Extended supersymmetry in D=1+1: We extend superspace by introducing an antisymmetric tensorial coordinate.\nThe resulting theory presents a supersymmetry with central charge. After\nintegrating over the tensorial coordinate, an effective action describing\nmassive bosons and fermions is explicitely derived for the spacetime dimension\nD=2. The adopted procedure is simpler than the Kaluza-Klein one and can suggest\nan alternative for string compactifications."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Universal Constraints on Energy Flow and SYK Thermalization: We study the dynamics of a quantum system in thermal equilibrium that is\nsuddenly coupled to a bath at a different temperature, a situation inspired by\na particular black hole evaporation protocol. We prove a universal positivity\nbound on the integrated rate of change of the system energy which holds\nperturbatively in the system-bath coupling. Applied to holographic systems,\nthis bound implies a particular instance of the averaged null energy condition.\nWe also study in detail the particular case of two coupled SYK models in the\nlimit of many fermions using the Schwinger-Keldysh non-equilibrium formalism.\nWe solve the resulting Kadanoff-Baym equations both numerically and\nanalytically in various limits. In particular, by going to low temperature,\nthis setup enables a detailed study of the evaporation of black holes in JT\ngravity.",
        "positive": "Pair creation in the early universe: In the very early universe, a generalized Schwinger effect can create pairs\nfrom both electrical and gravitational fields. The expectation value of\nfermionic current induced by these newly created pairs has been recently\ncomputed in de Sitter spacetime. I will discuss different limiting cases of\nthis result and some of its possible physical interpretations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "One dimensional M5-brane intersections: We study one dimensional intersections of M5 branes with M5 and M2 branes. On\nthe worldvolume of the M5-brane, such an intersection appears as a string\nsoliton. We study this worldvolume theory in two different regimes: 1) Where\nthe worldvolume theory is formulated in flat space and 2) where the worldvolume\ntheory is studied in the supergravity background produced by a stack of M5 (or\nM2) branes. In both cases, we study the corresponding string solitons, and find\nthe most general BPS configuration consistent with the fraction of\nsupersymmetries preserved. We argue that M5 and M2 brane intersections leave\ndifferent imprints on the worldvolume theory of the intersecting probe brane,\nalthough geometrically they appear to be similar.",
        "positive": "Physics from information: This is an ongoing review on the idea that the phase space information loss\nat causal horizons is the key ingredient of major physical laws.\n  Assuming that information is fundamental and the information propagates with\nfinite velocity, one can find that basic physical laws such as Newton's second\nlaw and Einstein's equation simply describe the energy-information relation\n(dE=TdS) for matter or space time crossing causal horizons. Quantum mechanics\nis related to the phase space information loss of matter crossing the Rindler\nhorizon, which explains why superluminal communication is impossible even with\nquantum entanglement. This approach also explains the origin of Jacobson's\nthermodynamic formalism of Einstein gravity and Verlinde's entropic gravity.\nWhen applied to a cosmic causal horizon, the conjecture can reproduce the\nobserved dark energy and the zero cosmological constant. Quantum entanglement,\npath integral, and holography are also natural consequences of this theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spontaneous symmetry breaking with Wilson renormalization group: We study the conditions under which a symmetry is spontaneously broken in the\nWilson renormalization group formulation. Both for a global and local symmetry,\nthe result is that in perturbation theory one has to perform a fine tuning of\nthe boundary conditions for the flow of the relevant couplings. We consider in\ndetail the discrete $Z_2$ case and the Abelian Higgs model.",
        "positive": "QED and String Theory: We analyze the D9-D9bar system in type IIB string theory using Dp-brane\nprobes. It is shown that the world-volume theory of the probe Dp-brane contains\ntwo-dimensional and four-dimensional QED in the cases with p=1 and p=3,\nrespectively, and some applications of the realization of these well-studied\nquantum field theories are discussed. In particular, the two-dimensional QED\n(the Schwinger model) is known to be a solvable theory and we can apply the\npowerful field theoretical techniques, such as bosonization, to study the\nD-brane dynamics. The tachyon field created by the D9-D9bar strings appears as\nthe fermion mass term in the Schwinger model and the tachyon condensation is\nanalyzed by using the bosonized description. In the T-dualized picture, we\nobtain the potential between a D0-brane and a D8-D8bar pair using the Schwinger\nmodel and we observe that it consists of the energy carried by fundamental\nstrings created by the Hanany-Witten effect and the vacuum energy due to a\ncylinder diagram. The D0-brane is treated quantum mechanically as a particle\ntrapped in the potential, which turns out to be a system of a harmonic\noscillator.\n  As another application, we obtain a matrix theory description of QED using\nTaylor's T-duality prescription, which is actually applicable to a wide variety\nof field theories including the realistic QCD. We show that the lattice gauge\ntheory is naturally obtained by regularizing the matrix size to be finite."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A consistent measure for lattice Yang-Mills: The construction of a consistent measure for Yang-Mills is a precondition for\nan accurate formulation of non-perturbative approaches to QCD, both analytical\nand numerical. Using projective limits as subsets of Cartesian products of\nhomomorphisms from a lattice to the structure group, a consistent interaction\nmeasure and an infinite-dimensional calculus has been constructed for a theory\nof non-abelian generalized connections on a hypercubic lattice. Here, after\nreviewing and clarifying past work, new results are obtained for the mass gap\nwhen the structure group is compact.",
        "positive": "Finite temperature expectation values of local fields in the sinh-Gordon\n  model: Sklyanin's method of separation of variables is employed in a calculation of\nfinite temperature expectation values. An essential element of the approach is\nBaxter's $Q$-function. We propose its explicit form corresponding to the ground\nstate of the sinh-Gordon theory. With the method of separation of variables we\ncalculate the finite temperature expectation values of the exponential fields\nto one-loop order of the semi-classical expansion."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Yang-Mills theory on noncommutative space: does it exist?: I revisit a basic question about the noncommutative Yang-Mills theory: if it\nexists or not, or more precisely, whether a nonperturbative formulation exists.\nAs the most promising approach, I consider a formulation based on matrix\nmodels. It is explained that the existence of the noncommutative Yang-Mills\ntheory is closely related to the Eguchi-Kawai equivalence. I argue that\nsupersymmetric noncommutative Yang-Mills theory can be defined\nstraightforwardly. Non-supersymmetric theories, such as QCD and pure bosonic\ntheories, can presumably be defined, by modifying the ultraviolet and infrared\nbehaviors appropriately.",
        "positive": "Holographic bottomonium formation in a cooling strong-interaction medium\n  at finite baryon density: The shrinking of the bottomonium spectral function towards narrow\nquasi-particle states in a cooling strong-interaction medium at finite baryon\ndensity is followed within a holographic bottom-up model. The 5-dimensional\nEinstein-dilaton-Maxwell background is adjusted to lattice-QCD results of sound\nvelocity and susceptibilities. The zero-temperature bottomonium spectral\nfunction is adjusted to experimental $\\Upsilon$ ground-state mass and first\nradial excitations. At baryo-chemical potential $\\mu_B = 0$, these two pillars\nlet emerge the narrow quasi-particle state of the $\\Upsilon$ ground state at a\ntemperature of about 150 MeV. Excited states are consecutively formed at lower\ntemperatures by about 10 (20) MeV for the $2S$ ($3S$) vector states. The baryon\ndensity, i.e. $\\mu_B > 0$, pulls that formation pattern to lower temperatures.\nAt $\\mu_B =$ 200 MeV, we find a shift by about 15 MeV."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quasi-conformal actions, quaternionic discrete series and twistors:\n  SU(2,1) and G_2(2): Quasi-conformal actions were introduced in the physics literature as a\ngeneralization of the familiar fractional linear action on the upper half\nplane, to Hermitian symmetric tube domains based on arbitrary Jordan algebras,\nand further to arbitrary Freudenthal triple systems. In the mathematics\nliterature, quaternionic discrete series unitary representations of real\nreductive groups in their quaternionic real form were constructed as degree 1\ncohomology on the twistor spaces of symmetric quaternionic-Kahler spaces. These\ntwo constructions are essentially identical, as we show explicitly for the two\nrank 2 cases SU(2,1) and G_{2(2)}. We obtain explicit results for certain\nprincipal series, quaternionic discrete series and minimal representations of\nthese groups, including formulas for the lowest K-types in various\npolarizations. We expect our results to have applications to topological\nstrings, black hole micro-state counting and to the theory of automorphic\nforms.",
        "positive": "Root Bundles and Towards Exact Matter Spectra of F-theory MSSMs: Motivated by the appearance of fractional powers of line bundles in studies\nof vector-like spectra in 4d F-theory compactifications, we analyze the\nstructure and origin of these bundles. Fractional powers of line bundles are\nalso known as root bundles and can be thought of as generalizations of spin\nbundles. We explain how these root bundles are linked to inequivalent F-theory\ngauge potentials of a $G_4$-flux.\n  While this observation is interesting in its own right, it is particularly\nvaluable for F-theory Standard Model constructions. In aiming for MSSMs, it is\ndesired to argue for the absence of vector-like exotics. We work out the root\nbundle constraints on all matter curves in the largest class of currently-known\nF-theory Standard Model constructions without chiral exotics and gauge coupling\nunification. On each matter curve, we conduct a systematic \"bottom\"-analysis of\nall solutions to the root bundle constraints and all spin bundles. Thereby, we\nderive a lower bound for the number of combinations of root bundles and spin\nbundles whose cohomologies satisfy the physical demand of absence of\nvector-like pairs.\n  On a technical level, this systematic study is achieved by a well-known\ndiagrammatic description of root bundles on nodal curves. We extend this\ndescription by a counting procedure, which determines the cohomologies of\nso-called limit root bundles on full blow-ups of nodal curves. By use of\ndeformation theory, these results constrain the vector-like spectra on the\nsmooth matter curves in the actual F-theory geometry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A MacDowell-Mansouri type formulation for Einstein manifolds: We study a pure connection formulation plus algebraic constraints in four\nspacetime dimensions where the gauge group $G \\supset SO(1, 3)$. We show that\nthe action has, as particular cases, the MacDowell-Mansouri and the Stelle-West\nformulations for gravity. Also, under adequate specification of the constraint\nterms, we obtain Einstein manifolds, i.e., torsionless conformally flat\nmanifolds.",
        "positive": "More on New Massive Gravity: Exact Solutions: We give a novel description of the recently proposed theory of new massive\ngravity (NMG) in three dimensions. We show that in terms of a Dirac type\ndifferential operator acting on the traceless Ricci tensor, the field equations\nof the theory reduce to the massive Klein-Gordon type equation with a\ncurvature-squared source term and to a constraint equation. Under a certain\nrelation between the source tensor and the traceless Ricci tensor, fulfilled\nfor constant scalar curvature, the field equations of topologically massive\ngravity (TMG) can be thought of as the \"square-root\" of the massive\nKlein-Gordon type equation. Using this fact, we establish a simple framework\nfor mapping all known algebraic types D and N solutions of TMG into NMG. We\nalso present new exact solutions of algebraic types D and N which are only\ninherent in NMG."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Free Boson Representations of the Quantum Affine Algebra\n  $U_q(\\widehat{\\sl}_2)$: A boson representation of the quantum affine algebra $U_q(\\widehat{\\sl}_2)$\nis realized based on the Wakimoto construction. We discuss relations with the\nother boson representations.",
        "positive": "Negative Energy, Superluminosity and Holography: The holographic connection between large $N$ Super Yang Mills theory and\ngravity in anti deSitter space requires unfamiliar behavior of the SYM theory\nin the limit that the curvature of the AdS geometry becomes small. The\nparadoxical behavior includes superluminal oscillations and negative energy\ndensity. These effects typically occur in the SYM description of events which\ntake place far from the boundary of AdS when the signal from the event arrives\nat the boundary. The paradoxes can be resolved by assuming a very rich\ncollection of hidden degrees of freedom of the SYM theory which store\ninformation but give rise to no local energy density. These degrees of freedom,\ncalled precursors, are needed to make possible sudden apparently acausal energy\nmomentum flows. Such behavior would be impossible in classical field theory as\na consequence of the positivity of the energy density. However we show that\nthese effects are not only allowed in quantum field theory but that we can\nmodel them in free quantum field theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Nonextremal black holes are BPS: Extremal charged black holes are BPS solutions. It is commonly thought that\ntheir nonextremal counterparts are not. Further, experience with BPS solutions\nin flat spacetime suggests that all BPS solutions are supersymmetric; i.e. that\nthey are invariant under some supersymmetry charges of either the original\nfield theory or an appropriately extended version thereof. Using nonextremal\nReissner-Nordstr\\\"om black holes as counterexamples, we show that neither of\nthese expectations is universally valid. These black holes correspond to a\none-parameter family of BPS solutions. By showing that, subject to one very\nplausible assumption, no generalized Killing spinor can be constructed for\nthese, we show that there is no supergravity theory for which these BPS\nsolutions preserve a fraction of the supersymmetry, nor is there an associated\nWitten-Nester positive energy bound.",
        "positive": "Entanglement Wedge Reconstruction using the Petz Map: At the heart of recent progress in AdS/CFT is the question of subregion\nduality, or entanglement wedge reconstruction: which part(s) of the boundary\nCFT are dual to a given subregion of the bulk? This question can be answered by\nappealing to the quantum error correcting properties of holography, and it was\nrecently shown that robust bulk (entanglement wedge) reconstruction can be\nachieved using a universal recovery channel known as the twirled Petz map. In\nshort, one can use the twirled Petz map to recover bulk data from a subset of\nthe boundary. However, this map involves an averaging procedure over bulk and\nboundary modular time, and hence it can be somewhat intractable to evaluate in\npractice. We show that a much simpler channel, the Petz map, is sufficient for\nentanglement wedge reconstruction for any code space of fixed finite dimension\n- no twirling is required. Moreover, the error in the reconstruction will\nalways be non-perturbatively small. From a quantum information perspective, we\nprove a general theorem extending the use of the Petz map as a general-purpose\nrecovery channel to subsystem and operator algebra quantum error correction."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Operator Product Expansion between the 16 Lowest Higher Spin\n  Currents in the N=4 Superspace: Some of the operator product expansions (OPEs) between the lowest 16 higher\nspin currents of spins (1, 3/2, 3/2, 3/2, 3/2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 5/2, 5/2, 5/2,\n5/2, 3) in an extension of the large N=4 linear superconformal algebra were\nconstructed in the N=4 superconformal coset SU(5)/SU(3) theory previously. In\nthis paper, by rewriting the above OPEs in the N=4 superspace developed by\nSchoutens (and other groups), the remaining undetermined OPEs where the\ncorresponding singular terms possess the composite fields with spins s =7/2, 4,\n9/2, 5 are completely determined. Furthermore, by introducing the arbitrary\ncoefficients in front of the composite fields in the right hand sides of the\nabove complete 136 OPEs, reexpressing them in the N=2 superspace and using the\nN=2 OPEs mathematica package by Krivonos and Thielemans, the complete\nstructures of the above OPEs with fixed coefficient functions are obtained with\nthe help of various Jacobi identities. Then one obtains ten N=2 super OPEs\nbetween the four N=2 higher spin currents denoted by (1, 3/2, 3/2, 2), (3/2, 2,\n2, 5/2), (3/2, 2, 2, 5/2) and (2, 5/2, 5/2, 3) (corresponding 136 OPEs in the\ncomponent approach) in the N=4 superconformal coset SU(N+2)/SU(N) theory.\nFinally, one describes them as one single N=4 super OPE between the above\nsixteen higher spin currents in the N=4 superspace. The fusion rule for this\nOPE contains the next 16 higher spin currents of spins of (2, 5/2, 5/2, 5/2,\n5/2, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 7/2, 7/2, 7/2, 7/2, 4) in addition to the quadratic N=4\nlowest higher spin multiplet and the large N=4 linear superconformal family of\nthe identity operator. The various structure constants (fixed coefficient\nfunctions) appearing in the right hand side of this OPE depend on N and the\nlevel k of the bosonic spin-1 affine Kac-Moody current.",
        "positive": "Heterotic type IIA duality with fluxes - towards the complete story: In this paper we study the heterotic type IIA duality when fluxes are turned\non. We show that many of the known fluxes are dual to each other and claim that\ncertain fluxes on the heterotic side require that the type IIA picture is\nlifted to M or even F-theory compactifications with geometric fluxes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Symmetry Breaking in the Schr\u00f6dinger Representation for Chern-Simons\n  Theories: This paper discusses the phenomenon of spontaneous symmetry breaking in the\nSchr\\\"odinger representation formulation of quantum field theory. The analysis\nis presented for three-dimensional space-time abelian gauge theories with\neither Maxwell, Maxwell-Chern-Simons, or pure Chern-Simons terms as the gauge\nfield contribution to the action, each of which leads to a different form of\nmass generation for the gauge fields.",
        "positive": "Analyticity for Multi-Regge Limits of the Bern-Dixon-Smirnov Amplitudes: As a consequence of the AdS/CFT correspondence, planar ${\\cal N} =4$ super\nYang-Mills SU(N) theory is expected to exhibit stringy behavior and multi-Regge\nasymptotic. In this paper we extend our recent investigation to consider issues\nof analyticity, a central feature of Regge asymptotics. We contrast flat-space\nopen string theory in the planar limit with the ${\\cal N}=4$ super Yang-Mills\ntheory, as represented by the Bern, Dixon and Smirnov \\cite{Bern:2005iz} (BDS)\nconjecture for n-gluon scattering, believed to be exact for $n=4,5$ and\nmodified only by a function of cross-ratios for $n\\geq 6$. It is emphasized\nthat multi-Regge factorization should be applied to trajectories with definite\nsignature. A variety of analyticity and factorization constraints realized in\nflat space string theory are not satisfied by the BDS conjecture, at least when\nthe exponential factors are truncate in the infra-red regulator below\n$O(\\epsilon)$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Nonrelativistic near-BPS corners of $\\mathcal{N}=4$ super-Yang-Mills\n  with $SU(1,1)$ symmetry: We consider limits of $\\mathcal{N}=4$ super Yang-Mills (SYM) theory that\napproach BPS bounds and for which an $SU(1,1)$ structure is preserved. The\nresulting near-BPS theories become non-relativistic, with a $U(1)$ symmetry\nemerging in the limit that implies the conservation of particle number. They\nare obtained by reducing $\\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM on a three-sphere and subsequently\nintegrating out fields that become non-dynamical as the bounds are approached.\nUpon quantization, and taking into account normal-ordering, they are consistent\nwith taking the appropriate limits of the dilatation operator directly, thereby\ncorresponding to Spin Matrix theories, found previously in the literature. In\nthe particular case of the $SU(1,1|1)$ near-BPS/Spin Matrix theory, we find a\nsuperfield formulation that applies to the full interacting theory. Moreover,\nfor all the theories we find tantalizingly simple semi-local formulations as\ntheories living on a circle. Finally, we find positive-definite expressions for\nthe interactions in the classical limit for all the theories, which can be used\nto explore their strong coupling limits. This paper will have a companion paper\nin which we explore BPS bounds for which a $SU(2,1)$ structure is preserved.",
        "positive": "Casimir Energies of Cylinders: Universal Function: New exact results are given for the interior Casimir energies of infinitely\nlong waveguides of triangular cross section (equilateral, hemiequilateral, and\nisosceles right triangles). Results for cylinders of rectangular cross section\nare rederived. In particular, results are obtained for interior modes belonging\nto Dirichlet and Neumann boundary conditions (TM and TE modes). These results\nare expressed in rapidly convergent series using the Chowla-Selberg formula,\nand in fact may be given in closed form, except for general rectangles. The\nenergies are finite because only the first three heat-kernel coefficients can\nbe nonzero for the case of polygonal boundaries. What appears to be a universal\nbehavior of the Casimir energy as a function of the shape of the regular or\nquasi-regular cross-sectional figure is presented. Furthermore, numerical\ncalculations for arbitrary right triangular cross sections suggest that the\nuniversal behavior may be extended to waveguides of general polygonal cross\nsections. The new exact and numerical results are compared with the proximity\nforce approximation (PFA)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Negative Energies on the Brane: It has recently been proposed that our universe is a three-brane embedded in\na higher dimensional spacetime. Here I show that black holes on the brane,\nblack strings intersecting the brane, and gravitational waves propagating in\nthe bulk induce an effective energy-momentum tensor on the brane that contains\nnegative energy densities.",
        "positive": "Boundary States as Holographic Duals of Trivial Spacetimes: We study real-space quantum entanglement included in conformally invariant\nboundary states in conformal field theories (CFTs). First, we argue that\nboundary states essentially have no real-space entanglement by computing the\nentanglement entropy when we bipartite the system into two spatial regions.\nFrom the viewpoint of holography, this shows that boundary states are dual to\ntrivial spacetimes of zero spactime volume. Next, we point out that a\ncontinuous multiscale entanglement renormalization ansatz (cMERA) for any CFTs\ncan be formulated by employing a boundary state as its infrared unentangled\nstate with an appropriate regularization. Exploiting this idea, we propose an\napproximation scheme of cMERA construction for general CFTs."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Method of Generating q-Expansion Coefficients for Conformal Block and\n  N=2 Nekrasov Function by beta-Deformed Matrix Model: We observe that, at beta-deformed matrix models for the four-point conformal\nblock, the point q=0 is the point where the three-Penner type model becomes a\npair of decoupled two-Penner type models and where, in the planar limit, (an\narray of) two-cut eigenvalue distribution(s) coalesce into (that of) one-cut\none(s). We treat the Dotsenko-Fateev multiple integral, with their paths under\nthe recent discussion, as perturbed double-Selberg matrix model (at q=0, it\nbecomes a pair of Selberg integrals) to construct two kinds of generating\nfunctions for the q-expansion coefficients and compute some. A formula\nassociated with the Jack polynomial is noted. The second Nekrasov coefficient\nfor SU(2) with N_f =4 is derived. A pair of Young diagrams appears naturally.\nThe finite N loop equation at q=0 as well as its planar limit is solved\nexactly, providing a useful tool to evaluate the coefficients as those of the\nresolvents. The planar free energy in the q-expansion is computed to the lowest\nnon-trivial order. A free field representation of the Nekrasov function is\ngiven.",
        "positive": "Supersymmetric Boost on Intersecting D-branes: We study the effect of the Born-Infeld electric field on the supersymmetric\nconfiguration of various composite D-branes. We show that the generic values of\nthe electric field do not affect the supersymmetry but, as it approaches\n$1/2\\pi\\alpha'$ keeping the magnetic field finite, various combinations of the\nmagnetic fields allow up to 8 supersymmetries. We also explore the unbroken\nsupersymmetries for two intersecting D-strings which are in uniform or relative\nmotion. For a finite uniform Lorentz boost, 16 supersymmetries are guaranteed\nonly when they are parallel. For an infinite one, 8 supersymmetries are\npreserved only when both the D-strings are oriented to the forward or backward\ndirection of the boost. Under a finite relative boost, 8 supersymmetries are\npreserved only when the intersecting angle is less than $\\pi/2$ and the\nintersecting point moves at the speed of light. As for an infinite relative\nboost, 8 supersymmetries are preserved regardless of the values of the\nintersecting angle."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Generalized hypergeometric series for Racah matrices in rectangular\n  representations: One of spectacular results in mathematical physics is the expression of Racah\nmatrices for symmetric representations of the quantum group $SU_q(2)$ through\nthe Askey-Wilson polynomials, associated with the $q$-hypergeometric functions\n${_4\\phi_3}$. Recently it was shown that this is in fact the general property\nof symmetric representations, valid for arbitrary $SU_q(N)$, at least for\nexclusive Racah matrices $\\bar S$. The natural question then is what\nsubstitutes the conventional $q$-hypergeometric polynomials when\nrepresentations are more general? New advances in the theory of matrices $\\bar\nS$, provided by the study of differential expansions of knot polynomials,\nsuggest that these are multiple sums over Young sub-diagrams of the one, which\ndescribes the original representation of $SU_q(N)$. A less trivial fact is that\nthe entries of the sum are not just the factorized combinations of quantum\ndimensions, as in the ordinary hypergeometric series, but involve\nnon-factorized quantities, like the skew characters and their further\ngeneralizations -- as well as associated additional summations with the\nLittlewood-Richardson weights.",
        "positive": "BPS Solutions of Noncommutative Gauge Theories in Four and Eight\n  Dimensions: We study the 1/4 BPS equations in the eight dimensional noncommutative\nYang-Mills theory found by Bak, Lee and Park. We explicitly construct some\nsolutions of the 1/4 BPS equations using the noncommutative version of the\nADHM-like construction in eight dimensions. From the calculation of topological\ncharges, we show that our solutions can be interpreted as the bound states of\nthe $D0$-$D4$-$D8$ with a $B$-field. We also discuss the structure of the\nmoduli space of the 1/4 BPS solutions and determine the metric of the moduli\nspace of the U(2) one-instanton in four and eight dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supercharging Superstrata: We construct a new class of smooth horizonless microstate geometries of the\nsupersymmetric D1-D5-P black hole in type IIB supergravity. We first work in\nthe AdS$_3 \\times S^3$ decoupling limit and use the fermionic symmetries of the\ntheory to generate new momentum carrying perturbations in the bulk that have an\nexplicit CFT dual description. We then use the supergravity equations to\ncalculate the backreaction of these perturbations and find the full non-linear\nsolutions both in the asymptotically AdS and asymptotically flat case. These\nnew geometries have a simpler structure than the previously known superstrata\nsolutions.",
        "positive": "Quantum integrability of bosonic Massive Thirring model in continuum: By using a variant of the quantum inverse scattering method, commutation\nrelations between all elements of the quantum monodromy matrix of bosonic\nMassive Thirring (BMT) model are obtained. Using those relations, the quantum\nintegrability of BMT model is established and the S-matrix of two-body\nscattering between the corresponding quasi particles has been obtained. It is\nobserved that for some special values of the coupling constant, there exists an\nupper bound on the number of quasi-particles that can form a quantum-soliton\nstate of BMT model. We also calculate the binding energy for a N-soliton state\nof quantum BMT model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Instabilities of Black Strings and Branes: We review recent progress on the instabilities of black strings and branes\nboth for pure Einstein gravity as well as supergravity theories which are\nrelevant for string theory. We focus mainly on Gregory-Laflamme instabilities.\nIn the first part of the review we provide a detailed discussion of the\nclassical gravitational instability of the neutral uniform black string in\nhigher dimensional gravity. The uniform black string is part of a larger phase\ndiagram of Kaluza-Klein black holes which will be discussed thoroughly. This\nphase diagram exhibits many interesting features including new phases,\nnon-uniqueness and horizon-topology changing transitions. In the second part,\nwe turn to charged black branes in supergravity and show how the\nGregory-Laflamme instability of the neutral black string implies via a\nboost/U-duality map similar instabilities for non- and near-extremal smeared\nbranes in string theory. We also comment on instabilities of D-brane bound\nstates. The connection between classical and thermodynamic stability, known as\nthe correlated stability conjecture, is also reviewed and illustrated with\nexamples. Finally, we examine the holographic implications of the\nGregory-Laflamme instability for a number of non-gravitational theories\nincluding Yang-Mills theories and Little String Theory.",
        "positive": "Wilson loops T-dual to Short Strings: We show that closed string solutions in the bulk of AdS space are related by\nT-duality to solutions representing an open string ending at the boundary of\nAdS. By combining the limit in which a closed string becomes small with a large\nboost, we find that the near-flat space short string in the bulk maps to a\nperiodic open string world surface ending on a wavy line at the boundary. This\nopen string solution was previously found by Mikhailov and corresponds to a\ntime-like near BPS Wilson loop differing by small fluctuations from a straight\nline. A simple relation is found between the shape of the Wilson loop and the\nshape of the closed string at the moment when it crosses the horizon of the\nPoincare patch. As a result, the energy and spin of the closed string are\nencoded in properties of the Wilson loop. This suggests that closed string\namplitudes with one of the closed strings falling into the Poincare horizon\nshould be dual to gauge theory correlators involving local operators and a\nWilson loop of the T-dual (\"momentum\") theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gaugino and Scalar Masses in the Landscape: In this letter we demonstrate the genericity of suppressed gaugino masses M_a\n\\sim m_{3/2}/ln(M_P/m_{3/2}) in the IIB string landscape, by showing that this\nrelation holds for D7-brane gauginos whenever the associated modulus is\nstabilised by nonperturbative effects. Although m_{3/2} and M_a take many\ndifferent values across the landscape, the above small mass hierarchy is\nmaintained. We show that it is valid for models with an arbitrary number of\nmoduli and applies to both the KKLT and exponentially large volume approaches\nto Kahler moduli stabilisation. In the latter case we explicitly calculate\ngaugino and moduli masses for compactifications on the two-modulus Calabi-Yau\nP^4_[1,1,1,6,9]. In the large-volume scenario we also show that soft scalar\nmasses are approximately universal with m_i^2 \\sim m_{3/2}^2 (1 + \\epsilon_i),\nwith the non-universality parametrised by \\epsilon_i \\sim 1/ln (M_P/m_{3/2})^2\n\\sim 1/1000. We briefly discuss possible phenomenological implications of our\nresults.",
        "positive": "What Do CFTs Tell Us About Anti-de Sitter Spacetimes?: The AdS/CFT conjecture relates quantum gravity on Anti-de Sitter (AdS) space\nto a conformal field theory (CFT) defined on the spacetime boundary. We\ninterpret the CFT in terms of natural analogues of the bulk S-matrix. Our first\napproach finds the bulk S-matrix as a limit of scattering from an AdS bubble\nimmersed in a space admitting asymptotic states. Next, we show how the\nperiodicity of geodesics obstructs a standard LSZ prescription for scattering\nwithin global AdS. To avoid this subtlety we partition global AdS into patches\nwithin which CFT correlators reconstruct transition amplitudes of AdS states.\nFinally, we use the AdS/CFT duality to propose a large N collective field\ntheory that describes local, perturbative supergravity. Failure of locality in\nquantum gravity should be related to the difference between the collective 1/N\nexpansion and genuine finite N dynamics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Finite-time future singularities in modified Gauss-Bonnet and\n  $\\mathcal{F}(R,G)$ gravity and singularity avoidance: We study all four types of finite-time future singularities emerging in\nlate-time accelerating (effective quintessence/phantom) era from\n$\\mathcal{F}(R,G)$-gravity, where $R$ and $G$ are the Ricci scalar and the\nGauss-Bonnet invariant, respectively. As an explicit example of\n$\\mathcal{F}(R,G)$-gravity, we also investigate modified Gauss-Bonnet gravity,\nso-called $F(G)$-gravity. In particular, we reconstruct the $F(G)$-gravity and\n$\\mathcal{F}(R,G)$-gravity models where accelerating cosmologies realizing the\nfinite-time future singularities emerge. Furthermore, we discuss a possible way\nto cure the finite-time future singularities in $F(G)$-gravity and\n$\\mathcal{F}(R,G)$-gravity by taking into account higher-order curvature\ncorrections. The example of non-singular realistic modified Gauss-Bonnet\ngravity is presented. It turns out that adding such non-singular modified\ngravity to singular Dark Energy makes the combined theory to be non-singular\none as well.",
        "positive": "Localization of gravity on a de Sitter thick braneworld without scalar\n  fields: In this work we present a simple thick braneworld model that is generated by\nan intriguing interplay between a 5D cosmological constant with a de Sitter\nmetric induced in the 3-brane without the inclusion of scalar fields. We show\nthat 4D gravity is localized on this brane, provide analytic expressions for\nthe massive Kaluza-Klein (KK) fluctuation modes and also show that the spectrum\nof metric excitations displays a mass gap. We finally present the corrections\nto Newton's law due to these massive modes. This model has no naked\nsingularities along the fifth dimension despite the existence of a mass gap in\nthe graviton spectrum as it happens in thick branes with 4D Poincare symmetry,\nproviding a simple model with very good features: the curvature is completely\nsmooth along the fifth dimension, it localizes 4D gravity and the spectrum of\ngravity fluctuations presents a mass gap, a fact that rules out the existence\nof phenomenologically dangerous ultralight KK excitations in the model. We\nfinally present our solution as a limit of scalar thick branes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "How Interference Effects in Mixtures Determine the Rules of Quantum\n  Mechanics: It is shown that elementary indistinguishability properties of partially\npolarized mixtures are consistent only with the conventional Hilbert space\nmodel of quantum mechanics and a few exotic alternatives. This applies even in\nlow dimensions where quantum logic and Gleason's theorem give either weak or no\nconstraints. Experimental methods for eliminating the exotic cases (which\ninclude quaternionic and octonionic variants of quantum mechanics) are\ndescribed.",
        "positive": "Open Gauged Sigma Models, Equivariant Branes, and Equivariant\n  Homological Mirror Symmetry: We describe supersymmetric A-branes and B-branes in open N=(2,2) dynamically\ngauged nonlinear sigma models (GNLSM), placing emphasis on toric manifold\ntarget spaces. For a subset of toric manifolds, these equivariant branes have a\nmirror description as branes in gauged Landau-Ginzburg models with neutral\nmatter. We then study correlation functions in the topological A-twisted\nversion of the GNLSM, and identify their values with open Hamiltonian\nGromov-Witten invariants. Supersymmetry breaking can occur in the A-twisted\nGNLSM due to nonperturbative open symplectic vortices, and we canonically BRST\nquantize the mirror theory to analyze this phenomenon."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exact Self-dual Soliton Solutions in a Gauged O(3) Sigma Model with\n  Anomalous Magnetic Moment Interaction: It is shown that a gauged nonlinear $O(3)$ sigma model with anomalous\nmagnetic moment interaction in $2+1$ dimensions is exactly integrable for\nstatic, self-dual field configurations. The matter fields are exactly\nequivalent to those of the usual ungauged nonlinear $O(3)$ sigma model. These\nstatic soliton solutions can be mapped into an Abelian purely magnetic vortex\nsolutions through a suitable reduction of the non-Abelian gauge group. A\nrelativistic Abelian model in $2+1$ dimensions is also presented where these\npurely magnetic vortices can be realized.",
        "positive": "Thermodynamic properties of neutral particle in presence of Topological\n  defects in Magnetic Cosmic String Background: In this paper, we study the covariant form of the non-relativistic\nSchrodinger-Pauli equation in the space-time generated by a cosmic string and\ndiscuss the solutions of this equation in present of interaction between the\nmagnetic dipole momentum and electromagnetic field. We study the influence of\nthe topology on this system. We obtain the solution of radial part as well as\nthe energy levels. We consider all thermodynamic properties of neutral particle\nin magnetic cosmic string background by using an approach based on the\npartition function method."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "4-Spinors and a Projection onto 3+1 Spacetime: We write down an explicit projection that maps any given 4-spinor to a point\nin 3+1 spacetime while commuting with the Lorentz action. This suggests that a\nLorentz invariant theory - including spacetime itself - has a more natural\nexpression in terms of these primitive spinor variables, while an ordinary\nspacetime interpretation may be obtained by projecting solutions. Using this\nprojection, we show how the real components of a given 4-spinor reference a\npoint in a five dimensional spacetime.",
        "positive": "ABJM theory in Batalin-Vilkovisky formulation: We analyze the quantum ABJM theory on ${\\cal N} = 1$ superspace in different\ngauges. We study the Batalin-Vilkovisky (BV) formulation for this model. By\ndeveloping field/antifield dependent BRST transformation we establish\nconnection between the two different solutions of the quantum master equation\nwithin the BV formulation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Collision of localized shocks in AdS$_5$ as a series expansion in\n  transverse gradients: We introduce a computational framework to more efficiently calculate the\ncollision of localized shocks in five dimensional asymptotically Anti-de Sitter\nspace. We expand the Einstein equations in transverse gradients and find that\nour numerical results agree well with exact solutions already at first order in\nthe expansion. Moreover, the Einstein equations at first order in transverse\ngradients can be decoupled into two sets of differential equations. The bulk\nfields of one of these sets has only a negligible contribution to boundary\nobservables, such that the computation on each time slice can be simplified to\nthe solution of several planar shockwave equations plus four further\ndifferential equations for each transverse plane `pixel'. At the cost of errors\nof $\\lesssim 10 \\%$ at the hydrodynamization time and for low to mid\nrapidities, useful numerical solutions can be sped up by roughly one order of\nmagnitude.",
        "positive": "Higher Spin Currents in Wolf Space: Part II: The 16 lowest higher spin currents of spins (1, 3/2, 3/2, 2), (3/2, 2, 2, 5/2\n), (3/2, 2, 2, 5/2) and (2, 5/2, 5/2, 3) in terms of N=2 WZW affine currents\nwere obtained in the N=4 superconformal Wolf space coset SU(5)/[SU(3) x SU(2) x\nU(1)] previously. By calculating the operator product expansions (OPEs) between\nthe above higher spin currents which are contained in an extension of large N=4\nnonlinear superconformal algebra, the next 16 higher spin currents of spins (2,\n5/2, 5/2, 3), (5/2, 3, 3, 7/2 ), (5/2, 3, 3, 7/2) and (3, 7/2, 7/2, 4) are\ndetermined from the right hand sides of these OPEs. Moreover, the composite\nfields consisting of both the 11 currents in the large N=4 nonlinear\nsuperconformal algebra and the above 16 lowest higher spin currents also occur\nin the right hand sides of these OPEs. The latter appears quadratically (and\nlinearly) in the fusion rules together with large N=4 nonlinear superconformal\nfamily of the identity operator."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Full Logarithmic Conformal Field theory - an Attempt at a Status Report: Logarithmic conformal field theories are based on vertex algebras with\nnon-semisimple representation categories. While examples of such theories have\nbeen known for more than 25 years, some crucial aspects of local logarithmic\nCFTs have been understood only recently, with the help of a description of\nconformal blocks by modular functors. We present some of these results, both\nabout bulk fields and about boundary fields and boundary states. We also\ndescribe some recent progress towards a derived modular functor.\n  This is a summary of work with Terry Gannon, Simon Lentner, Svea Mierach,\nGregor Schaumann and Yorck Sommerh\\\"auser.",
        "positive": "Conformal Defect Solutions in $N=2,D=4$ Gauged Supergravity: We consider conformal defect solutions in four dimensional $N=2$ gauged\nsupergravity. These solutions are constructed as a warped product of\n$AdS_2\\times S^1$ over an interval with non-trivial electric and magnetic\nfields. We show for minimal gauged supergravity and for gauged supergravity\nwith vector multiplets and abelian gauging that supersymmetric defect solutions\nare only possible when the geometry has a conical defect in either the bulk or\nthe boundary metric."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Lower-Form Symmetries: When gauging a $(d-1)$-form symmetry in $d$ spacetime dimensions, one\nformally expects the gauged theory to carry a dual $-1$-form symmetry. This\nwork focuses on the study of such symmetries, in particular via the\nspacetime-filling topological operators that implement them, in two-dimensional\nfield theory (with an eye towards general quantum field theory). As theories\nwith $(d-1)$-form symmetries are known to be equivalent to direct sums of local\ntheories, we review how gauging a $(d-1)$-form symmetry projects onto a single\ncomponent in this sum, and explain how gauging the resulting $-1$-form symmetry\nrestores the direct sum.",
        "positive": "Tachyon Effects on the 2-Dim Black Hole Geometry: We study solutions of the tree level string effective action in the presence\nof the tachyon mode.We find that the 2-dim. static black hole is stable against\ntachyonic perturbations.For a particular ansatz for the tachyon field we find\nan exact solution of the equations of motion which exhibits a naked\nsingularity.In the case of static fields we find numerically that the full\nsystem has a black hole solution,with the tachyon regular at the horizon."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-planar cusp and transcendental anomalous dimension at four loops in\n  N=4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory: We compute the nonplanar contribution to the universal anomalous dimension of\nthe SU(4)-singlet twist-two operators in N=4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory\nat four loops through Lorentz spin 18. From this, we numerically evaluate the\nnonplanar contribution to the four-loop lightlike cusp anomalous dimension and\nderive the transcendental $\\zeta_3$ and $\\zeta_5$ parts of the universal\nanomalous dimension for arbitrary Lorentz spin in analytic form. As for the\nlightlike cusp anomalous dimension and the $\\zeta_5$ part of the universal\nanomalous dimension, we confirm previous results.",
        "positive": "Central Charge Anomalies in 2D Sigma Models with Twisted Mass: We discuss the central charge in supersymmetric ${\\cal N}=2$ sigma models in\ntwo dimensions. The target space is a symmetric K\\\"ahler manifold, CP$(N-1)$ is\nan example. The U(1) isometries allow one to introduce twisted masses in the\nmodel. At the classical level the central charge contains Noether charges of\nthe U(1) isometries and a topological charge which is an integral of a total\nderivative of the Killing potentials. At the quantum level the topological part\nof the central charge acquires anomalous terms. A bifermion term was found\npreviously, using supersymmetry which relates it to the superconformal anomaly.\nWe present a direct calculation of this term using a number of regularizations.\nWe derive, for the first time, the bosonic part in the central charge anomaly.\nWe construct the supermultiplet of all anomalies and present its superfield\ndescription. We also discuss a related issue of BPS solitons in the CP(1) model\nand present an explicit form for the curve of marginal stability."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "From 6D SCFTs to Dynamic GLSMs: Compactifications of 6D superconformal field theories (SCFTs) on\nfour-manifolds generate a large class of novel 2d quantum field theories. We\nconsider in detail the case of the rank one simple non-Higgsable cluster 6D\nSCFTs. On the tensor branch of these theories, the gauge group is simple and\nthere are no matter fields. For compactifications on suitably chosen Kahler\nsurfaces, we present evidence that this provides a method to realize 2d SCFTs\nwith N = (0,2) supersymmetry. In particular, we find that reduction on the\ntensor branch of the 6D SCFT yields a description of the same 2d fixed point\nthat is described in the UV by a gauged linear sigma model (GLSM) in which the\nparameters are promoted to dynamical fields, that is, a \"dynamic GLSM\" (DGLSM).\nConsistency of the model requires the DGLSM to be coupled to additional\nnon-Lagrangian sectors obtained from reduction of the anti-chiral two-form of\nthe 6D theory. These extra sectors include both chiral and anti-chiral\ncurrents, as well as spacetime filling non-critical strings of the 6D theory.\nFor each candidate 2d SCFT, we also extract the left- and right-moving central\ncharges in terms of data of the 6D SCFT and the compactification manifold.",
        "positive": "Hidden Yangian symmetry in sigma model on squashed sphere: We discuss a hidden symmetry of a two-dimensional sigma model on a squashed\nS^3. The SU(2) current can be improved so that it can be regarded as a flat\nconnection. Then we can obtain an infinite number of conserved non-local\ncharges and show the Yangian algebra by directly checking the Serre relation.\nThis symmetry is also deduced from the coset structure of the squashed sphere.\nThe same argument is applicable to the warped AdS_3 spaces via double Wick\nrotations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Information flows in strongly coupled ABJM theory: We use holographic methods to characterize the RG flow of quantum information\nin a Chern-Simons theory coupled to massive fermions. First, we use\nentanglement entropy and mutual information between strips to derive the\ndimension of the RG-driving operator and a monotonic c-function. We then\ndisplay a scaling regime where, unlike in a CFT, the mutual information between\nstrips changes non-monotonically with strip width, vanishing in both IR and UV\nbut rising to a maximum at intermediate scales. The associated information\ntransitions also contribute to non-monotonicity in the conditional mutual\ninformation which characterizes the independence of neighboring strips after\nconditioning on a third. Finally, we construct a measure of extensivity which\ntests to what extent information that region A shares with regions B and C is\nadditive. In general, mutual information is super-extensive in holographic\ntheories, and we might expect super-extensivity to be maximized in CFTs since\nthey are scale-free. Surprisingly, our massive theory is more super-extensive\nthan a CFT in a range of scales near the UV limit, although it is less\nsuper-extensive than a CFT at all lower scales. Our analysis requires the full\nten-dimensional dual gravity background, and the extremal surfaces computing\nentanglement entropy explore all of these dimensions.",
        "positive": "Holographic superconductor in hyperscaling violation geometry with\n  Maxwell-dilaton coupling: We re-investigate the holographic superconductor in hyperscaling violation\ngeometry by considering the coupling between the probed Maxwell field and the\nbackground dilaton. We find that the phenomenon of superconductivity still\nexists, but with properties affected by such a coupling. The critical\ntemperature decreases as the hyperscaling violation exponent is increased. The\ninfluence of the dynamical exponent on the critical temperature becomes\ncomplicated which depends on the mass of the probed scalar field and the\nhyperscaling violation exponent. The results of the frequency gap show a large\ndeviation from the expected universal relation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Renormalization Group Equation for Weakly Power Counting Renormalizable\n  Theories: We study the renormalization group flow in weak power counting (WPC)\nrenormalizable theories. The latter are theories which, after being formulated\nin terms of certain variables, display only a finite number of independent\ndivergent amplitudes order by order in the loop expansion. Using as a toolbox\nthe well-known SU(2) non linear sigma model, we prove that for such theories a\nrenormalization group equation holds that does not violate the WPC condition:\nthat is, the sliding of the scale $\\mu$ for physical amplitudes can be\nreabsorbed by a suitable set of finite counterterms arising at the loop order\nprescribed by the WPC itself. We explore in some detail the consequences of\nthis result; in particular, we prove that it holds in the framework of a\nrecently introduced beyond the Standard Model scenario in which one considers\nnon-linear St\\\"uckelberg-like symmetry breaking contributions to the fermion\nand gauge boson mass generation mechanism.",
        "positive": "Tiny Graviton Matrix Theory: DLCQ of IIB Plane-Wave String Theory, A\n  Conjecture: We conjecture that the discrete light-cone quantization (DLCQ) of strings on\nthe maximally supersymmetric type IIB plane-wave background in the sector with\nJ units of light-cone momentum is a supersymmetric 0+1 dimensional U(J) gauge\ntheory (quantum mechanics) with PSU(2|2)x PSU(2|2)x U(1) superalgebra. The\nconjectured Hamiltonian for the plane-wave matrix (string) theory, the tiny\ngraviton matrix theory, is the quantized (regularized) three brane action on\nthe same background. We present some pieces of evidence for this conjecture\nthrough analysis of the Hamiltonian, its vacua, spectrum and coupling constant.\nMoreover, we discuss an extension of our conjecture to the DLCQ of type IIB\nstrings on AdS_5 x S^5 geometry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Field Theory Methods in Classical Dynamics: A Dirac picture perturbation theory is developed for the time evolution\noperator in classical dynamics in the spirit of the Schwinger-Feynman-Dyson\nperturbation expansion and detailed rules are derived for computations.\nComplexification formalisms are given for the time evolution operator suitable\nfor phase space analyses, and then extended to a two-dimensional setting for a\nstudy of the geometrical Berry phase as an example. Finally a direct\nintegration of Hamilton's equations is shown to lead naturally to a path\nintegral expression, as a resolution of the identity, as applied to arbitrary\nfunctions of generalized coordinates and momenta.",
        "positive": "Fivebrane instantons in Calabi-Yau compactifications: We provide the last missing piece of the complete non-perturbative\ndescription of the low energy effective action emerging from Calabi-Yau\ncompactifications of type II string theory --- NS5-brane instanton corrections\nto the hypermultiplet moduli space $M_H$. We find them using S-duality symmetry\nof the type IIB formulation. The result is encoded in a set of holomorphic\nfunctions on the twistor space of $M_H$ and includes all orders of the\ninstanton expansion."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chaotic Coupling Constants: We examine some novel physical consequences of the general structure of\nmoduli spaces of string vacua. These include (1) finiteness of the volume of\nthe moduli space and (2) chaotic motion of the moduli in the early universe. To\nfix ideas we examine in detail the example of the (conjectural) dilaton-axion\n``$S$-duality'' of four-dimensional string compactifications. The facts (1) and\n(2) together might help to solve some problems with the standard scenarios for\nsupersymmetry breaking and vacuum selection in string theory.",
        "positive": "Superfluidity of Minkowskian Higgs vacuum with BPS monopoles quantized\n  by Dirac may be described as Cauchy problem to Gribov ambiguity equation: We show that manifest superfluid properties of the Minkowskian Higgs model\nwith vacuum BPS monopoles quantized by Dirac may be described in the framework\nof the Cauchy problem to the Gribov ambiguity equation.\n  The latter equation specifies the ambiguity in choosing the covariant Coulomb\n(transverse) gauge for Yang-Mills fields represented as topological Dirac\nvariables, may be treated as solutions to the Gauss law constraint at the\nremoval of temporal components of these fields.\n  We demonstrate that the above Cauchy problem comes just to fixing the\ncovariant Coulomb gauge for topological Dirac variables in the given initial\ntime instant $t_0$ and finding the solutions to the Gribov ambiguity equation\nin the shape of vacuum BPS monopoles and excitations over the BPS monopole\nvacuum referring to the class of multipoles.\n  The next goal of the present study will be specifying the look of Gribov\ntopological multipliers entering Dirac variables in the Minkowskian Higgs model\nquantized by Dirac, especially at the spatial infinity, $| {\\bf x} | \\to\n\\infty$ (that corresponds to the infrared region of the momentum space)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic complexity: A tool to probe the property of reduced fidelity\n  susceptibility: Quantum information theory along with holography play central roles in our\nunderstanding of quantum gravity. Exploring their connections will lead to\nprofound impacts on our understanding of the modern physics and is thus a key\nchallenge for present theory and experiments. In this paper, we investigate a\nrecent conjectured connection between reduced fidelity susceptibility and\nholographic complexity (the RFS/HC duality for short). We give a quantitative\nproof of the duality by performing both holographic and field theoretical\ncomputations. In addition, holographic complexity in $AdS_{2+1}$ are explored\nand several important properties are obtained. These properties allow us, via\nthe RFS/HC duality, to obtain a set of remarkable identities of the reduced\nfidelity susceptibility, which may have significant implications for our\nunderstanding of the reduced fidelity susceptibility. Moreover, utilizing these\nproperties and the recent proposed diagnostic tool based on the fidelity\nsusceptibility, experimental verification of the RFS/HC duality becomes\npossible.",
        "positive": "Topological Order of Quantum Gravity in $AdS_3$ Spacetime: Topological order is a new type order that beyond Landau's symmetry breaking\ntheory. It has some interesting properties, such as producing quasi-particles\nwith fractional quantum numbers and fractional/Fermi statistics, robust gapless\nboundary modes and emergent gauge excitations. In this essay, we will show that\nthe quantum gravity in $AdS_3$ spacetime can also have topological orders.\nActually the theory has all the three features that define the topological\norder. We conjecture that quantum gravity in four dimension can also have\ntopological orders."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic duality for Ising CFT with boundary: We extend the holographic duality between 3d pure gravity and the 2d Ising\nCFT proposed in [Phys. Rev. D 85 (2012) 024032] to CFTs with boundaries.\nBesides the usual asymptotic boundary, the dual bulk spacetime now has a real\ncutoff, on which live branes with finite tension, giving Neumann boundary\ncondition on the metric tensor. The strongly coupled bulk theory requires that\nwe dress the well-known semiclassical AdS/BCFT answer with boundary gravitons,\nturning the partition function into the form of Virasoro characters. Using this\nduality, we relate the brane tensions to the modular S-matrix elements of the\ndual BCFT and derive the transformation between gravitational solutions with\ndifferent brane tensions under modular S action.",
        "positive": "Kerr-Newman-de Sitter Solution on DGP Brane: We find an exact solution of Kerr-Newman-de Sitter type on the braneworld(4D)\nof the DGP model. When a constant 4D Ricci scalar is assumed, only zero(flat)\nand a positive(de-Sitter) values satisfy the Hamiltonian constraint equation\ncoming from the extra dimension. With a Z_2-symmetry across the brane and a\nstationary and axisymmetric metric ansatz on the brane, we solve the constraint\nequation exactly in the Kerr-Schild form with de-Sitter background. In the\nde-Sitter background this Kerr-Schild solution is well behaved under\nBoyer-Lindquist transformation: the constraint equation is preserved under the\ntransformation and so is the solution. In the non-rotating limit we show that\nthis Kerr-Newman-de Sitter solution has the characteristic of accelerated\nexpansion of the braneworld universe."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Relative-locality effects in Snyder spacetime: When applied to some models of noncommutative geometry, the formalism of\nrelative locality predicts the occurrence of a delay in the time of arrival of\nmassless particle of different energies emitted by a distant observer. In this\nletter, we show that this is not the case with Snyder spacetime, essentially\nbecause the Lorentz invariance is not deformed in this case. This conclusion is\nin accordance with the findings of doubly special relativity. Distant observers\nmay however measure different times of flight for massive particle.",
        "positive": "Comments on AdS2 solutions of D=11 Supergravity: We study the supersymmetric solutions of 11-dimensional supergravity with a\nfactor of $AdS_2$ made of M2-branes. Such solutions can provide gravity duals\nof superconformal quantum mechanics, or through double Wick rotation, the\ngeneric bubbling geometry of M-theory which are 1/16-BPS. We show that, when\nthe internal manifold is compact, it should take the form of a warped\nU(1)-fibration over an 8-dimensional Kahler space."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Modeling M-Theory Vacua via Gauged S-Duality: We construct a model of M-theory vacua using gauged S-duality and the\nChan-Paton symmetries by introducing an infinite number of open string charges.\nIn the Bechi-Rouet-Stora-Tyutin formalism, the local description of the gauged\nS-duality on its moduli space of vacua is fully determined by one physical\nstate condition on the vacua. We introduce the string probe of the spatial\ndegrees of freedom and define the increment of the cosmic time. The\ndimensionality of space-time and the gauge group of the low energy effective\ntheory originate in the symmetries (with or without their breakdown) in our\nmodel. This modeling leads to the derived category formulation of the quantum\nmechanical world including gravity and to the concept of a non-linear potential\nof gauged and affinized S-duality which specifies the morphism structure of\nthis derived category.",
        "positive": "Properties of some conformal field theories with M-theory duals: By studying classes of supersymmetric solutions of D=11 supergravity with\nAdS_5 factors, we determine some properties of the dual four-dimensional N=1\nsuperconformal field theories. For some explicit solutions we calculate the\ncentral charges and also the conformal dimensions of certain chiral primary\noperators arising from wrapped membranes. For the most general class of\nsolutions we show that there is a consistent Kaluza-Klein truncation to minimal\nD=5 gauged supergravity. This latter result allows us to study some aspects of\nthe dual strongly coupled thermal plasma with a non-zero R-charge chemical\npotential and, in particular, we show that the ratio of the shear viscosity to\nthe entropy density has the universal value of 1/4 pi."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Mediating Supersymmetry Breaking in D-brane Models: We consider the 3+1 visible sector to live on a Hanany-Witten D-brane\nconstruction in type IIA string theory. The messenger sector consists of\nstretched strings from the visible brane to a hidden D6-brane in the extra\nspatial dimensions. In the open string channel supersymmetry is broken by gauge\nmediation while in the closed string channel supersymmetry is broken by gravity\nmediation. Hence, we call this kind of mediation ``string mediation''. We\npropose an extension of the Dimopoulos-Georgi theorem to brane models: only\ndetached probe branes can break supersymmetry without generating a tachyon.\nFermion masses are generated at one loop if the branes break a sufficient\namount of the ten dimensional Lorentz group while scalar potentials are\ngenerated if there is a force between the visible brane and the hidden brane.\nScalars can be lifted at two loops through a combination of brane bending and\nbrane forces. We find a large class of stable non-supersymmetric brane\nconfigurations of ten dimensinoal string theory.",
        "positive": "The Exact N-point Generating Function in Polyakov-Burgers Turbulence: We find the exact N-point generating function in Polyakov's approach to\nBurgers turbulence."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Planar Super-Landau Models: In previous papers we solved the Landau problems, indexed by 2M, for a\nparticle on the ``superflag'' S U (2|1)/[U (1) x U (1)], the M = 0 case being\nequivalent to the Landau problem for a particle on the ``supersphere'' S U\n(2|1)/[U (1|1)]. Here we solve these models in the planar limit. For M = 0 we\nhave a particle on the complex superplane C(1|1) ; its Hilbert space is the\ntensor product of that of the Landau model with the 4-state space of a\n``fermionic'' Landau model. Only the lowest level is ghost-free, but for M > 0\nthere are no ghosts in the first [2M ]+1 levels. When 2M is an integer, the\n([2M ] + 1)th level states form short supermultiplets as a consequence of a\nfermionic gauge invariance analogous to the ``kappa-symmetry'' of the\nsuperparticle.",
        "positive": "On a hyperholomorphic line bundle over the Coulomb branch: Given an N=2 supersymmetric field theory in four dimensions, its dimensional\nreduction on S^1 is a sigma model with hyperkahler target space M. We describe\na canonical line bundle V on M, equipped with a hyperholomorphic connection.\nThe construction of this connection is similar to the known construction of the\nmetric on M itself: one begins with a simple \"semiflat\" connection and then\nimproves it by including contributions weighed by the degeneracies of BPS\nparticles going around S^1. We conjecture that V describes the physics of the\ntheory dimensionally reduced on NUT space."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Tree-level scattering amplitudes from the amplituhedron: A central problem in quantum field theory is the computation of scattering\namplitudes. However, traditional methods are impractical to calculate high\norder phenomenologically relevant observables. Building on a few decades of\nastonishing progress in developing non-standard computational techniques, it\nhas been recently conjectured that amplitudes in planar N=4 super Yang-Mills\nare given by the volume of the (dual) amplituhedron. After providing an\nintroduction to the subject at tree-level, we discuss a special class of\ndifferential equations obeyed by the corresponding volume forms. In particular,\nwe show how they fix completely the amplituhedron volume for next-to-maximally\nhelicity violating scattering amplitudes.",
        "positive": "4 x 4 matrices in Dirac parametrization: inversion problem and\n  determinant: Parametrization of complex 4 x 4 - matrices G in terms of Dirac tensor\nparameters (A,B,A_{l},B_{l},F_{kl}) or equivalent four complex 4-vectors\n(k,m,n,l) is investigated. In the given parametrization, the problem of\ninverting any 4 x 4 matrix G is solved. Expression for determinant of any\nmatrix G is found: det G = F(k,m,n,l)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Towards holographic walking from N=4 super Yang-Mills: We propose that a holographic description of `walking' behaviour, namely\nquasi-conformal dynamics relevant for technicolor models, can be obtained from\nrelevant deformations of N=4 super Yang-Mills. We consider deformations which\ndrive the theory close to the N=1 Leigh-Strassler fixed point, eventually\ndeviating from it in the deep IR. We use the Pilch-Warner dual supergravity\ndescription of the flow between the N=4 and the N=1 fixed points to focus on\nobservables that only require knowledge of the walking region. These include\nlarge anomalous dimensions of quark bilinear operators, which we study via\nprobe D7-branes. We also make a first attempt at describing the theory beyond\nthe walking region by introducing an infrared cut-off, in the spirit of\nhard-wall models. In this case we find a light, dilaton-like scalar state, but\nwhether this mode persists in the exact theory remains an open question.",
        "positive": "Yang-Mills Fields on the 4-dimensional torus. Part I: Classical Theory: We review some of the most important results obtained over the years on the\nstudy of Yang-Mills fields on the four dimensional torus at the classical\nlevel."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Partial supersymmetry breaking in Multidimensional N=4 SUSY QM: The multidimensional N=4 supersymmetric quantum mechanics (SUSY QM) is\nconstructed and the various possibilities for partial supersymmetry breaking\nare discussed. It is shown that quantum mechanical models with one quarter, one\nhalf and three quarters of unbroken(broken) supersymmetries can exist in the\nframework of the multidimensional N=4 SUSY QM.",
        "positive": "Lectures on Celestial Holography: These notes consist of 3 lectures on celestial holography given at the\nPre-Strings school 2021. We start by reviewing how semiclassically, the\nsubleading soft graviton theorem implies an enhancement of the Lorentz symmetry\nof scattering in four-dimensional asymptotically flat gravity to Virasoro. This\nleads to the construction of celestial amplitudes as $\\mathcal{S}$-matrices\ncomputed in a basis of boost eigenstates. Both massless and massive asymptotic\nstates are recast as insertions on the celestial sphere transforming as global\nconformal primaries under the Lorentz SL$(2, \\mathbb{C})$. We conclude with an\noverview of celestial symmetries and the constraints they impose on celestial\nscattering."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Antiferromagnetic Operators in N=4 Supersymmetric Yang-Mills Theory: The spectrum of operators in the su(2) sector of N=4 SYM is bounded because\nthe number of operators is finite. According to the AdS/CFT correspondence, the\nstring spectrum in this sector should be also bounded. In this paper the upper\nbound on the scaling dimension is calculated in the limit of the large R-charge\nusing Bethe ansatz.",
        "positive": "The quantum structure of black holes: We give an elementary review of black holes in string theory. We discuss\nblack hole entropy from string microstates and Hawking radiation from these\nstates. We then review the structure of 2-charge microstates, and explore how\n`fractionation' can lead to quantum effects over macroscopic length scales of\norder the horizon radius."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "From SYM Perturbation Theory to Closed Strings in Matrix Theory: For the purpose of better understanding the AdS/CFT correspondence it is\nuseful to have a description of the theory for all values of the 't Hooft\ncoupling, and for all $N$. We discuss such a description in the framework of\nMatrix theory for SYM on D4-branes, which is given in terms of quantum\nmechanics on the moduli space of solutions of the Nahm equations. This\ndescription reduces to both SYM perturbation theory and to closed string\nperturbation theory, each in its appropriate regime of validity, suggesting a\nway of directly relating the variables in the two descriptions. For example, it\nshows explicitly how holes in the world-sheets of the 't Hooft expansion close\nto give closed surfaces.",
        "positive": "Large N anomalous dimensions for large operators in Leigh-Strassler\n  deformed SYM: We study the large N anomalous dimensions of operators in a Leigh-Strassler\ndeformation of N=4 super Yang-Mills theory. The operators that we study have a\nbare dimension of order N (so that the large N limit is not captured by planar\ndiagrams) and are AdS/CFT dual to giant gravitons. The diagonalization of the\ndilatation operator factorizes into two problems. One of these problems is\nsolved using a double coset ansatz. The second problem is equivalent to a set\nof decoupled harmonic oscillators."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic Complexity of Quantum Black Holes: We analyze different holographic complexity proposals for black holes that\ninclude corrections from bulk quantum fields. The specific setup is the quantum\nBTZ black hole, which encompasses in an exact manner the effects of conformal\nfields with large central charge in the presence of the black hole, including\nthe backreaction corrections to the BTZ metric. Our results show that Volume\nComplexity admits a consistent quantum expansion and correctly reproduces known\nlimits. On the other hand, the generalized Action Complexity picks up large\ncontributions from the singularity, which is modified due to quantum\nbackreaction, with the result that Action Complexity does not reproduce the\nexpected classical limit. Furthermore, we show that the doubly-holographic\nsetup allows computing the complexity coming purely from quantum fields - a\nnotion that has proven evasive in usual holographic setups. We find that in\nholographic induced-gravity scenarios the complexity of quantum fields in a\nblack hole background vanishes to leading order in the gravitational strength\nof CFT effects.",
        "positive": "Model building with intersecting D6-branes on smooth Calabi-Yau\n  manifolds: We study intersecting D6-branes in Calabi-Yau manifolds that are smooth\nhypersurfaces in weighted projective spaces. We develop the techniques for\ncalculating intersection numbers between special Lagrangian sub-manifolds\ndefined as fixed loci of anti-holomorphic involutions. We present global\nPati-Salam and MSSM-like models that are supersymmetric up to a decoupled\nhidden sector."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Bilocal holography and locality in the bulk: Bilocal holography provides a constructive approach to the vector\nmodel/higher spin gravity duality. It has two ingredients: a change of field\nvariables and a change of space time coordinates. The change of field variables\nensures that the loop expansion parameter becomes ${1\\over N}$. The change of\ncoordinates solves the Clebsch-Gordan problem of moving from the tensor product\nbasis (in which the collective bilocal field is written) to the direct sum\nbasis (appropriate for the description of the gravity fields). We argue that\nthe change of space time coordinates can be deduced by requiring that operators\nconstructed in the bilocal collective field theory are dual to local operators\nin the AdS bulk.",
        "positive": "Non-Abelian Vortices on the Torus: We study periodic arrays of non-Abelian vortices in an $SU(N) \\times U(1)$\ngauge theory with $N_f$ flavors of fundamental matter multiplets. We carefully\ndiscuss the corresponding twisted boundary conditions on the torus and propose\nan ansatz to solve the first order Bogomolnyi equations which we find by\nlooking to a bound of the energy. We solve the equations numerically and\nconstruct explicit vortex solutions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Stabilization of the Yang-Mills chaos in non-Abelian Born-Infeld theory: We investigate dynamics of the homogeneous time-dependent SU(2) Yang-Mills\nfields governed by the non-Abelian Born-Infeld lagrangian which arises in\nsuperstring theory as a result of summation of all orders in the string slope\nparameter $\\alpha'$. It is shown that generically the Born-Infeld dynamics is\nless chaotic than that in the ordinary Yang-Mills theory, and at high enough\nfield strength the Yang-Mills chaos is stabilized. More generally, a smothering\neffect of the string non-locality on behavior of classical fields is\nconjectured.",
        "positive": "Broken current anomalous dimensions, conformal manifolds and RG flows: We consider deformations of a conformal field theory that explicitly break\nsome global symmetries of the theory. If the deformed theory is still a\nconformal field theory, one can exploit the constraints put by conformal\nsymmetry to compute broken currents anomalous dimensions. We consider several\ninstances of this scenario, using field theory techniques and also holographic\nones, where necessary. Field theoretical methods suffice to discuss examples of\nsymmetry-breaking deformations of the $O(N )$ model in $d=4-\\epsilon$\ndimensions. Holography is instrumental, instead, for computing current\nanomalous dimensions in $\\beta$-deformed superconformal field theories, and in\na class of supersymmetric RG flows at large $N$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Loop effects and infrared divergences in slow-roll inflation: Loop corrections to observables in slow-roll inflation are found to diverge\nno worse than powers of the log of the scale factor, extending Weinberg's\ntheorem to quasi-single field inflation models. Demanding perturbation theory\nbe valid during primordial inflation leads to constraints on the effective\nlagrangian. This leads to some interesting constraints and coincidences on the\nlandscape of inflationary vacua.",
        "positive": "Electromagnetic Beams Overpass the Black Hole Horizon: We show that the electromagnetic excitations of the Kerr black hole have very\nstrong back reaction on metric. In particular, the electromagnetic excitations\naligned with the Kerr congruence form the light-like beams which overcome\nhorizon, forming the holes in it, which allows matter to escape interior. So,\nthere is no information lost inside the black hole. This effect is based\nexclusively on the analyticity of the algebraically special solutions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Longitudinal 5-branes as 4-spheres in Matrix theory: We present a construction in Matrix theory of longitudinal 5-branes whose\ngeometry in transverse space corresponds to a 4-sphere. We describe these\nbranes through an explicit construction in terms of N*N matrices for a\nparticular infinite series of values of N. The matrices used in the\nconstruction have a number of properties which can be interpreted in terms of\nthe 4-sphere geometry, in analogy with similar properties of the SU(2)\ngenerators used in the construction of a spherical membrane. The physical\nproperties of these systems correspond with those expected from M-theory; in\nparticular, these objects have an energy and a leading long-distance\ninteraction with gravitons which agrees with 11D supergravity at leading order\nin N.",
        "positive": "Boundary Terms and Junction Conditions for the DGP Pi-Lagrangian and\n  Galileon: In the decoupling limit of DGP, Pi describes the brane-bending degree of\nfreedom. It obeys second order equations of motion, yet it is governed by a\nhigher derivative Lagrangian. We show that, analogously to the Einstein-Hilbert\naction for GR, the Pi-Lagrangian requires Gibbons-Hawking-York type boundary\nterms to render the variational principle well-posed. These terms are important\nif there are other boundaries present besides the DGP brane, such as in higher\ndimensional cascading DGP models. We derive the necessary boundary terms in two\nways. First, we derive them directly from the brane-localized Pi-Lagrangian by\ndemanding well-posedness of the action. Second, we calculate them directly from\nthe bulk, taking into account the Gibbons-Hawking-York terms in the bulk\nEinstein-Hilbert action. As an application, we use the new boundary terms to\nderive Israel junction conditions for Pi across a sheet-like source. In\naddition, we calculate boundary terms and junction conditions for the galileons\nwhich generalize the DGP Pi-lagrangian, showing that the boundary term for the\nn-th order galileon is the (n-1)-th order galileon."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Modular Graph Forms and Scattering Amplitudes in String Theory: In this thesis, we investigate the low-energy expansion of scattering\namplitudes of closed strings at one-loop level (i.e. at genus one) in a\nten-dimensional Minkowski background using a special class of functions called\nmodular graph forms. These allow for a systematic evaluation of the low-energy\nexpansion and satisfy many non-trivial algebraic and differential relations. We\nstudy these relations in detail, leading to basis decompositions for a large\nnumber of modular graph forms which greatly reduce the complexity of the\nexpansions of the integrals appearing in the amplitude. One of the results of\nthis thesis is a Mathematica package which automatizes these simplifications.\nWe use these techniques to compute the leading low-energy orders of the\nscattering amplitude of four gluons in the heterotic string at one-loop level.\n  Furthermore, we study a generating function which conjecturally contains the\ntorus integrals of all perturbative closed-string theories. We write this\ngenerating function in terms of iterated integrals of holomorphic Eisenstein\nseries and use this approach to arrive at a more rigorous characterization of\nthe space of modular graph forms than was possible before.\n  For tree-level string amplitudes, the single-valued map of multiple zeta\nvalues maps open-string amplitudes to closed-string amplitudes. The definition\nof a suitable one-loop generalization, a so-called elliptic single-valued map,\nis an active area of research and we provide a new perspective on this topic\nusing our generating function of torus integrals.\n  The original version of this thesis, as submitted in June 2020 to the\nHumboldt University Berlin, is available under the DOI 10.18452/21829. The\npresent text contains minor updates compared to this version, reflecting\nfurther developments in the literature, in particular concerning the\nconstruction of an elliptic single-valued map.",
        "positive": "Type IIB Random Superstrings: We consider random superstrings of type IIB in $d$-dimensional space. The\ndiscretized action is constructed from the supersymetric matrix model, which\nhas been proposed as a constructive definition of superstring theory. Our\naction is invariant under the local N=2 super transformations, and doesn't have\nany redundant fermionic degrees of freedom."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Holographic Superconductor in an External Magnetic Field: We study a system of a complex charged scalar coupled to a Reissner-Nordstrom\nblack hole in 3+1 dimensional anti-de Sitter spacetime, neglecting\nback-reaction. With suitable boundary conditions, the cases of a neutral and\npurely electric black hole have been studied in various limits and were shown\nto yield key elements of superconductivity in the dual 2+1 dimensional field\ntheory, forming a condensate below a critical temperature. By adding magnetic\ncharge to the black hole, we immerse the superconductor into an external\nmagnetic field. We show that a family of condensates can form and we examine\ntheir structure. For finite magnetic field, they are localized in one dimension\nwith a profile that is exactly solvable, since it maps to the quantum harmonic\noscillator. As the magnetic field increases, the condensate shrinks in size,\nwhich is reminiscent of the Meissner effect.",
        "positive": "Field Identifications for Interacting Bosonic Models in N=2\n  Superconformal Field Theory: We study a family of interacting bosonic representations of the N=2\nsuperconformal algebra. These models can be tensored with a conjugate theory to\ngive the free theory. We explain how to use free fields to study interacting\nfields and their dimensions, and how we may identify different free fields as\nrepresenting the same interacting field. We show how a lattice of identifying\nfields may be built up and how every free field may be reduced to a standard\nform, thus permitting the resolution of the spectrum. We explain how to build\nthe extended algebra and show that there are a finite number of primary fields\nfor this algebra for any of the models. We illustrate this by studying an\nexample."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Simplicial Quantum Gravity and Random Lattices: Content:\n  1. Introduction\n  2. Regge calculus and dynamical triangulations\n  Simplicial manifolds and piecewise linear spaces - dual complex and volume\nelements - curvature and Regge action - topological invariants - quantum Regge\ncalculus - dynamical triangulations\n  3. Two dimensional quantum gravity, dynamical triangulations and matrix\nmodels\n  continuum formulation - dynamical triangulations and continuum limit - one\nmatrix model - various matrix models - numerical studies - c=1 barrier -\nintrinsic geometry of 2d gravity - Liouville at c>25\n  4. Euclidean quantum gravity in three and four dimensions\n  what are we looking for? - 3d simplicial gravity - 4d simplicial gravity - 3d\nand 4d Regge calculus\n  5. Non-perturbative problems in two dimensional quantum gravity\n  double scaling limit - string equation - non-perturbative properties of the\nstring equation - divergent series and Borel summability - non-perturbative\neffects in 2d gravity and string theories - stabilization proposals\n  6. Conclusion",
        "positive": "Phase Transitions in a Vortex Gas: It has been shown recently that the motion of solitons at couplings around a\ncritical coupling can be reduced to the dynamics of particles (the zeros of the\nHiggs field) on a curved manifold with potential. The curvature gives a\nvelocity dependent force, and the magnitude of the potential is proportional to\nthe distance from a critical coupling. In this paper we apply this\napproximation to determining the equation of state of a gas of vortices in the\nAbelian Higgs model. We derive a virial expansion using certain known integrals\nof the metric, and the second virial coefficient is calculated, determining the\nbehaviour of the gas at low densities. A formula for determining higher order\ncoefficients is given. At low densities and temperatures $T \\gg \\l$ the\nequation of state is of the Van der Waals form $(P+b\\frac{N^{2}}{A^{2}})(A-aN)\n= NT$ with $a=4\\pi$ and $b=-4.89\\pi\\l$ where $\\l$ is a measure of the distance\nfrom critical coupling. It is found that there is no phase transition in a low\ndensity type-II gas, but there is a transition in the type-I case between a\ncondensed and gaseous state. We conclude with a discussion of the relation of\nour results to vortex behaviour in superconductors."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Coupled boundary and bulk fields in anti-de Sitter: We investigate the dynamics of a boundary field coupled to a bulk field with\na linear coupling in an anti-de Sitter bulk spacetime bounded by a Minkowski\n(Randall-Sundrum) brane. An instability criterion for the coupled boundary and\nbulk system is found. There exists a tachyonic bound state when the coupling is\nabove a critical value, determined by the masses of the brane and bulk fields\nand AdS curvature scale. This bound state is normalizable and localised near\nthe brane, and leads to a tachonic instability of the system on large scales.\nBelow the critical coupling, there is no tachyonic state and no bound state.\nInstead, we find quasi-normal modes which describe stable oscillations, but\nwith a finite decay time. Only if the coupling is tuned to the critical value\ndoes there exist a massless stable bound state, as in the case of zero coupling\nfor massless fields. We discuss the relation to gravitational perturbations in\nthe Randall-Sundrum brane-world.",
        "positive": "Timelike entanglement entropy and $T\\bar{T}$ deformation: In a previous work arXiv:1811.07758 about the $T\\bar{T}$ deformed CFT$_2$,\nfrom the consistency requirement of the entanglement entropy theory, we found\nthat in addition to the usual spacelike entanglement entropy, a timelike\nentanglement entropy must be introduced and treated equally. Inspired by the\nrecent explicit constructions of the timelike entanglement entropy and its bulk\ndual, we provide a comprehensive analysis of the timelike and spacelike\nentanglement entropies in the $T\\bar{T}$ deformed finite size system and finite\ntemperature system. The results confirm our prediction that in the finite size\nsystem only the timelike entanglement entropy receives a correction, while in\nthe finite temperature system only the usual spacelike entanglement entropy\ngets a correction. These findings affirm the necessity of a complete measure\nincluding both spacelike and timelike entanglement entropies."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "M-Fivebrane from the Open Supermembrane: Covariant field equations of M-fivebrane in eleven dimensional curved\nsuperspace are obtained from the requirement of kappa-symmetry of an open\nsupermembrane ending on a fivebrane. The worldvolume of the latter is a (6|16)\ndimensional supermanifold embedded in the (11|32) dimensional target\nsuperspace. The kappa-symmetry of the system imposes a constraint on this\nembedding, and a constraint on a modified super 3-form field strength on the\nfivebrane worldvolume. These constraints govern the dynamics of the\nM-fivebrane.",
        "positive": "Is Noncommutative Eternal Inflation Possible?: We investigate the condition for eternal inflation to take place in the\nnoncommutative spacetime. We find that the possibility for eternal inflation's\nhappening is greatly suppressed in this case. If eternal inflation cannot\nhappen in the low energy region where the noncommutativity is very weak (the UV\nregion), it will never happen during the whole inflationary history. Based on\nthese conclusions, we argue that an initial condition for eternal inflation is\navailable from the property of spacetime noncommutativity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Upper bounds on the photon mass: The effects of a nonzero photon rest mass can be incorporated into\nelectromagnetism in a simple way using the Proca equations. In this vein, two\ninteresting implications regarding the possible existence of a massive photon\nin nature, i.e., tiny alterations in the known values of both the anomalous\nmagnetic moment of the electron and the gravitational deflection of\nelectromagnetic radiation, are utilized to set upper limits on its mass. The\nbounds obtained are not as stringent as those recently found; nonetheless, they\nare comparable to other existing bounds and bring new elements to the issue of\nrestricting the photon mass.",
        "positive": "The Partition Function of the Two-Dimensional Black Hole Conformal Field\n  Theory: We compute the partition function of the conformal field theory on the\ntwo-dimensional euclidean black hole background using path-integral techniques.\nWe show that the resulting spectrum is consistent with the algebraic\nexpectations for the SL(2,R)/U(1) coset conformal field theory construction. In\nparticular, we find confirmation for the bound on the spin of the discrete\nrepresentations and we determine the density of the continuous representations.\nWe point out the relevance of the partition function to all string theory\nbackgrounds that include an SL(2,R)/U(1) coset factor."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Nonanticommutative Deformation of N=4 SYM Theory: The Myers Effect and\n  Vacuum States: We propose a deformation of ${\\cal N}=4$ SYM theoery induced by\nnonanticommutative star product. The deformation introduces new bosonic terms\nwhich we identify with the corresponding Myers terms of a stack of D3-branes in\nthe presence of a five-form RR flux. We take this as an indication that the\ndeformed lagrangian describes D3-branes in such a background. The vacuum states\nof the theory are also examined. In a specific case where the U(1) part of the\ngauge field is nonvanishing the (anti)holomorphic transverse coordinates of the\nbrane sit on a fuzzy two sphere. For a supersymmetric vacuum the\nantiholomorphic coordinates must necessarily commute. However, we also\nencounter non-supersymmetric vacua for which the antiholomorphic coordinates do\nnot commute.",
        "positive": "Effective gauge theories of superfluidity with topological order: We discuss the low-energy dynamics of superfluidity with topological order in\n$(3+1)$ spacetime dimensions. We generalize a topological $BF$ theory by\nintroducing a non-square $K$ matrix, and this generalized $BF$ theory can\ndescribe massless Nambu-Goldstone bosons and anyonic statistics between\nvortices and quasiparticles. We discuss the general structure of discrete and\ncontinuous higher-form symmetries in this theory, which can be used to classify\nquantum phases. We describe how to identify the appearance of topological order\nin such systems and discuss its relation to a mixed 't Hooft anomaly between\ndiscrete higher-form symmetries. We apply this framework to the color-flavor\nlocked phase of dense QCD, which shows anyonic particle-vortex statistics while\nno topological order appears. An explicit example of superfluidity with\ntopological order is discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Action with Manifest Duality for Maximally Supersymmetric\n  Six-dimensional Supergravity: We perform explicitly the toroidal compactification of eleven dimensional\nsupergravity to six dimensions and present its action in a manifestly\n$SO(5,5)\\over SO(5)\\times SO(5)$ invariant form using the recently proposed\ncovariant formulation of theories involving chiral fields.",
        "positive": "Rings of skew polynomials and Gel'fand-Kirillov conjecture for quantum\n  groups: We introduce and study action of quantum groups on skew polynomial rings and\nrelated rings of quotients. This leads to a ``q-deformation'' of the\nGel'fand-Kirillov conjecture which we partially prove. We propose a\nconstruction of automorphisms of certain non-commutaive rings of quotients\ncoming from complex powers of quantum group generators; this is applied to\nexplicit calculation of singular vectors in Verma modules over\n$U_{q}(\\gtsl_{n+1})$.\n  We finally give a definition of a $q-$connection with coefficients in a ring\nof skew polynomials and study the structure of quantum group modules twisted by\na $q-$connection."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Zerobrane Matrix Mechanics, Monopoles and Membrane Approach in QCD: We conjecture that a T-dual form of pure QCD describes dynamics of point-like\nmonopoles. T-duality transforms the QCD Lagrangian into a matrix quantum\nmechanics of zerobranes which we identify with monopoles. At generic points of\nthe monopole moduli space the SU(N) gauge group is broken down to $U(1)^{N-1}$\nreproducing the key feature of 't Hooft's Abelian projection. There are certain\npoints in the moduli space where monopole positions coincide, gauge symmetry is\nenhanced and gluons emerge as massless excitations. We show that there is a\nlinearly rising potential between zerobranes. This indicates the presence of a\nstretched flux tube between monopoles. The lowest energy state is achieved when\nmonopoles are sitting on top of each other and gauge symmetry is enhanced. In\nthis case they behave as free massive particles and can condense. In fact, we\nfind a constant eigenfunction of the corresponding Hamiltonian which describes\ncondensation of monopoles. Using the monopole quantum mechanics, we argue that\nlarge $N$ QCD in this T-dual picture is a theory of a closed bosonic membrane\npropagating in {\\em five} dimensional space-time. QCD point-like monopoles can\nbe regarded in this approach as constituents of the membrane.",
        "positive": "Transgressions and Holographic Conformal Anomalies for Chern-Simons\n  Gravities: I present two calculations of the holographic Weyl anomalies induced by\nChern-Simons gravity theories alternative to the ones presented in the\nliterature. The calculations presented here rest on the extension from\nChern-Simons to Transgression forms as lagrangians, motivated by gauge\ninvariance, which automatically yields the boundary terms suitable to\nregularize the theory. The procedure followed here sheds light in the structure\nof Chern-Simons gravities and their regularization."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Born-Infeld extension of new massive gravity: We present a three-dimensional gravitational Born-Infeld theory which reduces\nto the recently found New Massive Gravity (NMG) at the quadratic level in the\nsmall curvature expansion and at the cubic order reproduces the deformation of\nNMG obtained from AdS/CFT. Our action provides a remarkable extension of NMG to\nall orders in the curvature, and might define a consistent quantum gravity.",
        "positive": "Extremal and Near-Extremal Black Holes and Near-$CFT_1$: We study the behaviour of extremal and near-extremal black holes at low\nenergies and low temperatures and find that it can be understood from the\nnear-horizon $AdS_2$ region. Our analysis includes charged matter and also goes\nbeyond the $S$-wave approximation. We find that the leading behaviour at low\nenergies arises from a mode linked to time reparametrisations and from phase\nmodes arising from gauge fields. At somewhat higher energies, additional modes\narising from higher partial waves can also be cumulatively significant. These\nresults can be applied quite generally to cases where an $AdS_2 \\times S^d$\nnear-horizon geometry arises, including black holes in asymptotically $AdS$ and\nflat space-times."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Sorkin-Johnston vacuum for a massive scalar field in the 2D causal\n  diamond: We study the massive scalar field Sorkin-Johnston (SJ) Wightman function\nrestricted to a flat 2D causal diamond of linear dimension L. Our approach is\ntwo-pronged. In the first, we solve the central SJ eigenvalue problem\nexplicitly in the small mass regime, upto order (mL)^4. This allows us to\nformally construct the SJ Wightman function up to this order. Using a\ncombination of analytic and numerical methods, we obtain expressions for the SJ\nWightman function both in the center and the corner of the diamond, to leading\norder. We find that in the center, it is more like the massless Minkowski\nWightman function than the massive one, while in the corner it corresponds to\nthat of the massive mirror. In the second part, in order to explore larger\nmasses, we perform numerical simulations using a causal set approximated by a\nflat 2D causal diamond. We find that in the center of the diamond the causal\nset SJ Wightman function resembles the massless Minkowski Wightman function for\nsmall masses, as in the continuum, but beyond a critical value it resembles the\nmassive Minkowski Wightman function as expected. Our calculations suggest that\nunlike the massive Minkowski vacuum, the SJ vacuum has a well-defined massless\nlimit, which mimics the behavior of the Pauli Jordan function underlying the SJ\nconstruction. In the corner of the diamond, moreover, it agrees with the mirror\nvacuum for all masses, and not, as might be expected, with the Rindler vacuum.",
        "positive": "Self-Dual N=(1,0) Supergravity in Eight Dimensions with Reduced Holonomy\n  Spin(7): We construct chiral N=(1,0) self-dual supergravity in Euclidean\neight-dimensions with reduced holonomy Spin(7), including all the higher-order\ninteractions in a closed form. We first establish the non-chiral N=(1,1)\nsuperspace supergravity in eight-dimensions with SO(8) holonomy without\nself-duality, as the foundation of the formulation. In order to make the whole\ncomputation simple, and the generalized self-duality compatible with\nsupersymmetry, we adopt a particular set of superspace constraints similar to\nthe one originally developed in ten-dimensional superspace. The intrinsic\nproperties of octonionic structure constants make local supersymmetry,\ngeneralized self-duality condition, and reduced holonomy Spin(7) all consistent\nwith each other."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Ultraviolet cutoffs and the photon mass: The momentum UV cutoff in Quantum Field Theory is usually treated as an\nauxiliary device allowing to obtain finite amplitudes satisfying all physical\nrequirements. It is even absent (not explicit) in the most popular approach -\nthe dimensional regularization. We point out that the momentum cutoff treated\nas a bona fide physical scale, presumably equal or related to the Planck scale,\nwould lead to unacceptable predictions. One of the dangers is a non-zero mass\nof the photon. In the naive approach, even with the cutoff equal to the Planck\nscale, this mass would grossly exceed the existing experimental bounds. We\npresent the actual calculation using a concrete realization of the physical\ncutoff and speculate about the way to restore gauge symmetry order by order in\nthe inverse powers of the cutoff scale.",
        "positive": "Towards Positive Geometry of Multi Scalar Field Amplitudes :\n  Accordiohedron and Effective Field Theory: The geometric structure of S-matrix encapsulated by the \"Amplituhedron\nprogram\" has begun to reveal itself even in non-supersymmetric quantum field\ntheories. Starting with the seminal work of Arkani-Hamed, Bai, He and Yan it is\nnow understood that for a wide class of scalar quantum field theories,\ntree-level amplitudes are canonical forms associated to polytopes known as\naccordiohedra. Similarly the higher loop scalar integrands are canonical forms\nassociated to so called type-D cluster polytopes for cubic interactions or\nrecently discovered class of polytopes termed pseudo-accordiohedron for higher\norder scalar interactions.\n  In this paper, we continue to probe the universality of these structures for\na wider class of scalar quantum field theories. More in detail, we discover new\nrealisations of the associahedron in planar kinematic space whose canonical\nforms generate (colour-ordered) tree-level S matrix of external massless\nparticles with $n-4$ massless poles and one massive pole at $m^{2}$. The\nresulting amplitudes are associated to $\\lambda_{1}\\, \\phi_{1}^{3}\\, +\\,\n\\lambda_{2}\\, \\phi_{1}^{2}\\phi_{2}$ potential where $\\phi_{1}$ and $\\phi_{2}$\nare massless and massive scalar fields with bi-adjoint colour indices\nrespectively. We also show how in the \"decoupling limit\" (where $m \\rightarrow\n\\infty, \\lambda_{2} \\rightarrow \\infty$ such that $g := \\frac{\\lambda_{2}}{m} =\n\\textrm{finite}$) these associahedra project onto a specific class of\naccordiohedron which are known to be positive geometries of amplitudes\ngenerated by $\\lambda \\phi_{1}^{3} + g \\phi_{1}^{4}$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Note on 1/4-BPS States: We study classical solutions of N=4 super Yang-Mills theories that are\ninvariant under 1/4 of the supersymmetry generators. Expressions for the mass\nand electric charge of the configurations are derived as functions on the\nmonopole moduli space. These functions also provide a method of determining the\nnumber of normalisable bosonic zero modes.",
        "positive": "Conformal quantum mechanics as a Floquet-Dirac system: Conformal quantum mechanics has been proposed to be the CFT$_1$ dual to\nAdS$_2$. The $N$-point correlation function that satisfy conformal constraints\nhave been constructed from a non-conformal vacuum and the insertion of a\nnon-primary operator. The main goal of this paper is to find an interpretation\nof this oddness. For this purpouse, we study possible gravitational dual models\nand propose a two-dimensional dilaton gravity with a massless fermion for the\ndescription of conformal quantum mechanics. We find a universal correspondence\nbetween states in the conformal quantum mechanics model and two-dimensional\nspacetimes. Moreover, the solutions of the Dirac equation can be interpreted as\nzero modes of a Floquet-Dirac system. Within this system, the oddness of the\nnon-conformal vacuum and non-primary operator is elucidated. As a possible\napplication, we interpret the gauge symmetries of the Floquet-Dirac system as\nthe corresponding infinite symmetries of the Schr\\\"odinger equation which are\nconjectured to be related to higher spin symmetries."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "T-Duality and Non-Local Supersymmetries: We study the non-localization of extended worldsheet supersymmetry under\nT-duality, when the associated complex structure depends on the coordinate with\nrespect to which duality is performed. First, the canonical transformation\nwhich implements T-duality is generalized to the supersymmetric non-linear\n$\\sigma$-models. Then, we obtain the non-local object which replaces the\ncomplex structure in the dual theory and write down the condition it should\nsatisfy so that the dual action is invariant under the non-local supersymmetry.\nFor the target space, this implies that the supersymmetry transformation\nparameter is a non-local spinor. The analogue of the Killing equation for this\nnon-local spinor is obtained. It is argued that in the target space, the\nsupersymmetry is no longer realized in the standard way. The string theoretic\norigin of this phenomenon is briefly discussed.",
        "positive": "Universal correlations for deterministic plus random Hamiltonians: We consider the (smoothed) average correlation between the density of energy\nlevels of a disordered system, in which the Hamiltonian is equal to the sum of\na deterministic H0 and of a random potential $\\varphi$. Remarkably, this\ncorrelation function may be explicitly determined in the limit of large\nmatrices, for any unperturbed H0 and for a class of probability distribution\nP$(\\varphi)$ of the random potential. We find a compact representation of the\ncorrelation function. From this representation one obtains readily the short\ndistance behavior, which has been conjectured in various contexts to be\nuniversal. Indeed we find that it is totally independent of both H0 and\nP($\\varphi$)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Towards top-down holographic composite Higgs: minimal coset from maximal\n  supergravity: Within the context of top-down holography, we study a one-parameter family of\nregular background solutions of maximal gauged supergravity in seven\ndimensions, dimensionally reduced on a 2-torus. The dual, four-dimensional\nconfining field theory realises the global (spontaneous as well as explicit)\nsymmetry breaking pattern SO(5)->SO(4). We compute the complete mass spectrum\nfor the fluctuations of the 128 bosonic degrees of freedom of the\nfive-dimensional gravity theory, which correspond to scalar, pseudoscalar,\nvector, axial-vector, and tensor bound states of the dual field theory, and\nincludes particles with exotic SO(4) quantum numbers. We confirm the existence\nof tachyonic instabilities near the boundaries of the parameter space.\n  We discuss the interplay between explicit and spontaneous symmetry breaking.\nThe SO(5)/SO(4) coset might provide a first step towards the realisation of a\ncalculable framework and ultraviolet completion of minimal composite Higgs\nmodels, if the four pseudo-Nambu-Goldstone bosons are identified with the real\ncomponents of the Higgs doublet in the standard model (SM), and a subgroup of\nSO(4) with the SU(2)xU(1) SM gauge group. We exhibit an example with an\nadditional localised boundary term that mimics the effect of a weakly-coupled\nexternal sector.",
        "positive": "Comments on the Giant-Graviton Expansion of the Superconformal Index: Work by Gaiotto and Lee, and by Imamura and collaborators suggests that the\nsuperconformal index of $U(N)$ gauge theory should be expressible as a\nconvergent series whose terms are indices of associated $U(k)$ gauge theories\nrealized as the worldvolume theories of stacks of $k$ giant-graviton branes. A\ndifferent expansion for the index provided by Murthy was shown to hold very\ngenerally, but the connection to the first expansion was not immediately clear.\nWe study the relation between the two expansions and propose a prescription for\nextracting the terms of the first series from those of the second. We follow\nthis prescription in the case of the $1/2$-BPS index and show that the\ncontribution of the $m$th term of the first expansion is fully encoded in the\nfirst $m$ terms of the second. In addition, we identify the $m$th term of the\nsecond expansion with the expectation value of the $N$th power of the\nsuperdeterminant in a $U(m|m)$ superunitary matrix integral, which hints at a\nbrane/anti-brane origin for the term."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fuzzy Riemann Surfaces: We introduce C-Algebras (quantum analogues of compact Riemann surfaces),\ndefined by polynomial relations in non-commutative variables and containing a\nreal parameter that, when taken to zero, provides a classical non-linear,\nPoisson-bracket, obtainable from a single polynomial C(onstraint) function. For\na continuous class of quartic constraints, we explicitly work out finite\ndimensional representations of the corresponding C-Algebras.",
        "positive": "Chiral Langevin theory for non-Abelian plasmas: Charged plasmas with chirality imbalance are unstable and tend to reduce the\nimbalance. This chiral plasma instability is, however, not captured in\n(anomalous) hydrodynamics for high-temperature non-Abelian plasmas. We derive a\nLangevin-type classical effective theory with anomalous parity-violating\neffects for non-Abelian plasmas that describes the chiral plasma instability at\nthe magnetic scale. We show that the time scale of the instability is of order\n$[g^4 T \\ln(1/g)]^{-1}$ at weak coupling."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Ultracold horizons in gauged N=1 d=4 supergravity: We show that the near-horizon limit of ultracold magnetic\nReissner-Nordstrom-De Sitter black holes, whose geometry is the direct product\nof 2-dimensional Minkowski spacetime and a 2-sphere, preserves half of the\nsupersymmetries of minimal R-gauged N=1 d=4 supergravity.",
        "positive": "Scattering matrices in the sl(3) twisted Yangian: A quantum spin chain with non-conventional boundary conditions is studied.\nThe distinct nature of these boundary conditions arises from the conversion of\na soliton to an anti-soliton after being reflected to the boundary, hence the\nappellation soliton non-preserving boundary conditions. We focus on the\nsimplest non-trivial case of this class of models based on the twisted Yangian\nquadratic algebra. Our computations are performed through the Bethe ansatz\nequations in the thermodynamic limit. We formulate a suitable quantization\ncondition describing the scattering process and proceed with explicitly\ndetermining the bulk and boundary scattering amplitudes. The energy and quantum\nnumbers of the low lying excitations are also derived."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Applications of W-algebras to BF theories, QCD and 4D Gravity: We are able to show that BF theories naturally emerge from the coadjoint\norbits of $W_2$ and $w_\\infty$ algebras which includes a Kac-Moody sector.\nSince QCD strings can be identified with a BF theory, we are able to show a\nrelationship between the orbits and monopole-string solutions of QCD.\nFurthermore, we observe that when 4D gravitation is cast into a BF form through\nthe use of Ashtekar variables, we are able to get order $\\hbar$ contributions\nto gravity which can be associated with the $W_2$ anomaly. We comment on the\nrelationship to gravitational monopoles.",
        "positive": "Solvable Matrix Models: We review some old and new methods of reduction of the number of degrees of\nfreedom from ~N^2 to ~N in the multi-matrix integrals."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exciton-driven quantum phase transitions in holography: We study phase transitions driven by fermionic double-trace deformations in\ngauge-gravity duality. Both the strength of the double trace deformation and\nthe infrared conformal dimension/self-energy scaling of the quasiparticle can\nbe used to decrease the critical temperature to zero, leading to a line of\nquantum critical points. The self-energy scaling is controlled indirectly\nthrough an applied magnetic field and the quantum phase transition naturally\ninvolves the condensation of a fermion bilinear which models the spin density\nwave in an antiferromagnetic state. The nature of the quantum critical points\ndepends on the parameters and we find either a\nBerezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless-type transition or one of two distinct second\norder transitions with non-mean field exponents. One of these is an anomalous\nbranch where the order parameter of constituent non-Fermi liquid quasiparticles\nis enhanced by the magnetic field. Stabilization of ordered non-Fermi liquids\nby a strong magnetic field is observed in experiments with highly oriented\npyrolytic graphite.",
        "positive": "Holographic Principle and AdS/CFT Correspondence: According to the holographic principle all information in the bulk of a space\nis coded at its border. We will check this statement in three situations\ninvolving the AdS/CFT correspondence. There is a well known equivalence between\nthe Maxwell-Chern-Simons theory and the self-dual model in 3 dimensions when\nthe parameters of both theories are related in a given way. We will show that\nwhen this relation holds the corresponding CFT's at the border are the same.\nThen we will study scalar fields. There are two quantum theories for the scalar\nfield in AdS space. The usual prescription of the AdS/CFT correspondence which\ntakes Dirichlet boundary conditions at the border corresponds to one of the\nquantum theories. We will show that changing boundary conditions will allow us\nto get the other quantum theory. Finally we consider an Abelian gauge theory in\nAdS. We will show that the corresponding CFT is independent of the gauge choice\nand that the gauge dependence stays only in the contact terms at the border."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chiral ring in the 4D W_3 string: I summarize some recent results obtained in collaboration with P.~Bouwknegt\nand K.~Pilch on the spectrum of physical states in $\\cW_3$ gravity coupled to\n$c=2$ matter. In particular, it is shown that the algebra of operators\ncorresponding to physical states -- defined as a semi-infinite (or BRST)\ncohomology of the $\\cW_3$ algebra -- carries the structure of a G-algebra. This\nG-algebra has a quotient which is isomorphic to the G-algebra of polyvector\nfields on the base affine space of $SL(3,\\CC)$. Details have appeared\nelsewhere. To appear (with title change) in the proceedings of the ``H.S. Green\nand A. Hurst Festschrift: Confronting the Infinite'' Adelaide, March 1994.",
        "positive": "A Solvable Model for Fermion Masses on a Warped 6D World with the Extra\n  2D Sphere: In a warped 6D world with an extra 2-dimensional sphere, we propose an\nexactly solvable model for fermion masses with zero mode. The warp factor is\ngiven by $\\phi (\\theta ,\\varphi )=\\sin{\\theta }\\cos{\\varphi }$, which is a\nsolution to the 6D Einstein equation with the bulk cosmological constant\n$\\Lambda $ and the energy-momentum tensor of the bulk matter fields. Our model\nprovides another possibility of obtaining fermion zero mode, rather than\ntraditional model based on Dirac's monopole."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Velocity-induced Heavy Quarkonium Dissociation using the gauge-gravity\n  correspondence: Using the gauge-gravity duality we have obtained the potential between a\nheavy quark and an antiquark pair, which is moving perpendicular to the\ndirection of orientation, in a strongly-coupled supersymmetric hot plasma. For\nthe purpose we work on a metric in the gravity side, {\\em viz.} OKS-BH\ngeometry, whose dual in the gauge theory side runs with the energy and hence\nproves to be a better background for thermal QCD. The potential obtained has\nconfining term both in vacuum and in medium, in addition to the Coulomb term\nalone, usually reported in the literature. As the velocity of the pair is\nincreased the screening of the potential gets weakened, which may be understood\nby the decrease of effective temperature with the increase of velocity. The\ncrucial observation of our work is that beyond a critical separation of the\nheavy quark pair, the potential develops an imaginary part which is nowadays\nunderstood to be the main source of dissociation. The imaginary part is found\nto vanish at small $r$, thus agrees with the perturbative result. Finally we\nhave estimated the thermal width for the ground and first excited states and\nfound that non-zero rapidities lead to an increase of thermal width. This\nimplies that the moving quarkonia dissociate easier than the static ones, which\nagrees with other calculations. However, the width in our case is larger than\nother calculations due to the presence of confining terms.",
        "positive": "Free Field Realizations from the Higgs Branch: We present free field realizations for the associated vertex operator\nalgebras of a number of four-dimensional $\\mathcal{N}=2$ superconformal field\ntheories. Our constructions utilize an exceptionally small set of chiral bosons\nwhose number matches the complex dimensionality of the Higgs branch of the\nsuperconformal field theory. In the case of theories whose Higgs branches\nsupport additional degrees of freedom (free vector multiplets or decoupled\ninteracting SCFTs), the corresponding \"free field realizations\" include\nadditional ingredients: symplectic fermions in the case of vector multiplets\nand a $C_2$ co-finite VOA in the case of a residual interacting SCFT. The\nresulting picture is that the associated VOA can be constructed from the Higgs\nbranch effective theory via free field realization. Our constructions also\nprovide a natural realization of the $R$-filtration of the associated VOA."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "QCD as a Quantum Link Model: QCD is constructed as a lattice gauge theory in which the elements of the\nlink matrices are represented by non-commuting operators acting in a Hilbert\nspace. The resulting quantum link model for QCD is formulated with a fifth\nEuclidean dimension, whose extent resembles the inverse gauge coupling of the\nresulting four-dimensional theory after dimensional reduction. The inclusion of\nquarks is natural in Shamir's variant of Kaplan's fermion method, which does\nnot require fine-tuning to approach the chiral limit. A rishon representation\nin terms of fermionic constituents of the gluons is derived and the quantum\nlink Hamiltonian for QCD with a U(N) gauge symmetry is expressed in terms of\nglueball, meson and constituent quark operators. The new formulation of QCD is\npromising both from an analytic and from a computational point of view.",
        "positive": "A bubbling bolt: We present a new solvable system, solving the equations of five-dimensional\nungauged N=1 supergravity coupled to vector multiplets, that allows for\nnon-extremal solutions and reduces to a known system when restricted to the\nfloating brane Ansatz. A two-centre globally hyperbolic smooth geometry is\nobtained as a solution to this system, describing a bubble linking a\nGibbons--Hawking centre to a charged bolt. However this solution turns out to\nviolate the BPS bound, and we show that its generalisation to an arbitrary\nnumber of Gibbons--Hawking centres never admits a spin structure."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exploring $\\boldsymbol{2+2}$ Answers to $\\boldsymbol{3+1}$ Questions: We explore potential uses of physics formulated in Kleinian (i.e., $2+2$)\nsignature spacetimes as a tool for understanding properties of physics in\nLorentzian (i.e., $3+1$) signature. Much as Euclidean (i.e., $4+0$) signature\nquantities can be used to formally construct the ground state wavefunction of a\nLorentzian signature quantum field theory, a similar analytic continuation to\nKleinian signature constructs a state of low particle flux in the direction of\nanalytic continuation. There is also a natural supersymmetry algebra available\nin $2+2$ signature, which serves to constrain the structure of correlation\nfunctions. Spontaneous breaking of Lorentz symmetry can produce various\n$\\mathcal{N} = 1/2$ supersymmetry algebras that in $3 + 1$ signature correspond\nto non-supersymmetric systems. We speculate on the possible role of these\nstructures in addressing the cosmological constant problem.",
        "positive": "Correlations of the stress-energy tensor in AdS spaces via the\n  generalized zeta-function method: We calculate the vacuum expectation values of the stress-energy bitensor of a\nminimally coupled massless scalar field in anti-de Sitter (AdS) spaces. These\ncorrelators, also known as the noise kernel, act as sources in the\nEinstein-Langevin equations of stochastic gravity [1,2] which govern the\ninduced metric fluctuations beyond the mean-field dynamics described by the\nsemiclassical Einstein equations of semiclassical gravity. Because the AdS\nspaces are maximally symmetric the eigenmodes have analytic expressions which\nfacilitate the computation of the zeta-function [3,4]. Upon taking the second\nfunctional variation of the generalized zeta function introduced in [5] we\nobtain the correlators of the stress tensor. Both the short and the long\ngeodesic distance limits of the correlators are presented."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Covariant power-counting renormalizable gravity: Lorentz symmetry\n  breaking and accelerating early-time FRW universe: We continue the study of covariant power-counting renormalizable gravity\nconstrained by scalar Lagrange multiplier. Lorentz symmetry breaking is\ninvestigated in such a theory in comparison with the one in ghost condensation\nmodel. Covariant power-counting renormalizable vector gravity which is\ninvariant under $U(1)$ gauge symmetry is proposed. Several forms of vector\nLagrange multiplier in this theory are discussed. It is shown that covariant\nscalar/vector gravity under consideration may have power-law or de Sitter\naccelerating cosmological solution corresponding to inflationary era. Simplest\nblack hole solution is obtained and dispersion relations for graviton are\npresented.",
        "positive": "On the NCCS model of the quantum Hall fluid: Area non-preserving transformations in the non-commutative plane are\nintroduced with the aim to map the $\\nu=1$ integer quantum Hall effect (IQHE)\nstate on the fractional quantum Hall effect (FQHE) $\\nu=\\frac{1}{2p+1}$ FQHE\nstates. Using the hydrodynamical description of the quantum Hall fluid, it is\nshown that these transformations are generated by vector fields satisfying the\nGauss law in the interacting non-commutative Chern-Simons gauge theory, and the\ncorresponding field-theory Lagrangian is reconstructed. It is demonstrated that\nthe geometric transformations induce quantum-mechanical non-unitary similarity\ntransformations, establishing the interplay between integral and fractional\nQHEs."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Relativistic Dynamics of Spin in Strong External Fields: The dynamics of relativistic spinning particles in strong external\nelectromagnetic or gravitational fields is discussed. Spin-orbit coupling is\nshown to affect such relativistic phenomena as time-dilation and perihelion\nshift. Possible applications include muon decay in a magnetic field and the\ndynamics of neutron stars in binary systems.",
        "positive": "Stochastic Equations in Black Hole Backgrounds and Non-equilibrium\n  Fluctuation Theorems: We apply the non-equilibrium fluctuation theorems developed in the\nstatistical physics to the thermodynamics of black hole horizons. In\nparticular, we consider a scalar field in a black hole background. The system\nof the scalar field behaves stochastically due to the absorption of energy into\nthe black hole and emission of the Hawking radiation from the black hole\nhorizon. We derive the stochastic equations, i.e. Langevin and Fokker-Planck\nequations for a scalar field in a black hole background in the $\\hbar\n\\rightarrow 0$ limit with the Hawking temperature $\\hbar \\kappa/2 \\pi$ fixed.\nWe consider two cases, one confined in a box with a black hole at the center\nand the other in contact with a heat bath with temperature different from the\nHawking temperature. In the first case, the system eventually becomes\nequilibrium with the Hawking temperature while in the second case there is an\nenergy flow between the black hole and the heat bath. Applying the fluctuation\ntheorems to these cases, we derive the generalized second law of black hole\nthermodynamics. In the present paper, we treat the black hole as a constant\nbackground geometry. Since the paper is also aimed to connect two different\nareas of physics, non-equilibrium physics and black holes physics, we include\npedagogical reviews on the stochastic approaches to the non-equilibrium\nfluctuation theorems and some basics of black holes physics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-Abelian vortex dynamics: Effective world-sheet action: The low-energy vortex effective action is constructed in a wide class of\nsystems in a color-flavor locked vacuum, which generalizes the results found\nearlier in the context of U(N) models. It describes the weak fluctuations of\nthe non-Abelian orientational moduli on the vortex worldsheet. For instance,\nfor the minimum vortex in SO(2N) x U(1) or USp(2N) x U(1) gauge theories, the\neffective action found is a two-dimensional sigma model living on the Hermitian\nsymmetric spaces SO(2N)/U(N) or USp(2N)/U(N), respectively. The fluctuating\nmoduli have the structure of that of a quantum particle state in spinor\nrepresentations of the GNO dual of the color-flavor SO(2N) or USp(2N) symmetry,\ni.e. of SO(2N) or of SO(2N+1). Applied to the benchmark U(N) model our\nprocedure reproduces the known CP(N-1) worldsheet action; our recipe allows us\nto obtain also the effective vortex action for some higher-winding vortices in\nU(N) and SO(2N) theories.",
        "positive": "Degeneration of ALF D_n Metrics: Beginning with the Legendre transform construction of hyperk\\\"ahler metrics,\nwe analyze the ALF version of the D_n metrics. We determine the constraint\nequation obtained from extremizing the $w$ coordinate of the generating\nfunction F(z,\\bar{z},u,\\bar{u},w) and study its behavior as we send two of the\nmass parameters of the $D_n$ metric to zero. We find that the constraint\nequation enforces the limit that the metric becomes that of multi-Taub-NUT."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "All-Order Volume Conjecture for Closed 3-Manifolds from Complex\n  Chern-Simons Theory: We propose an extension of the recently-proposed volume conjecture for closed\nhyperbolic 3-manifolds, to all orders in perturbative expansion. We first\nderive formulas for the perturbative expansion of the partition function of\ncomplex Chern-Simons theory around a hyperbolic flat connection, which produces\ninfinitely-many perturbative invariants of the closed oriented 3-manifold. The\nconjecture is that this expansion coincides with the perturbative expansion of\nthe Witten-Reshetikhin-Turaev invariants at roots of unity $q=e^{2 \\pi i/r}$\nwith $r$ odd, in the limit $r \\to \\infty$. We provide numerical evidence for\nour conjecture.",
        "positive": "Duality in a fermion-like formulation for the electromagnetic field: We employ the Dirac-like equation for the gauge field proposed by Majorana to\nobtain an action that is symmetric under duality transformation. We also use\nthe equivalence between duality and chiral symmetry in this fermion-like\nformulation to show how the Maxwell action can be seen as a mass term."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Phases of dual superconductivity and confinement in softly broken N=2\n  supersymmetric Yang-Mills theories: We study the electric flux tubes that undertake color confinement in N=2\nsupersymmetric Yang-Mills theories softly broken down to N=1 by perturbing with\nthe first two Casimir operators. The relevant Abelian Higgs model is not the\nstandard one due to the presence of an off-diagonal coupling among different\nmagnetic U(1) factors. We perform a preliminary study of this model at a\nqualitative level. BPS vortices are explicitely obtained for particular values\nof the soft breaking parameters. Generically however, even in the ultrastrong\nscaling limit, vortices are not critical but live in a \"hybrid\" type II phase.\nAlso, ratios among string tensions are seen to follow no simple pattern. We\nexamine the situation at the half Higgsed vacua and find evidence for solutions\nwith the behaviour of superconducting strings. In some cases they are solutions\nto BPS equations.",
        "positive": "Rotating black holes with Nil or SL(2,$\\,\\mathbb{R}$) horizons: We construct rotating black holes in $N=2$, $D=5$ minimal and matter-coupled\ngauged supergravity, with horizons that are homogeneous but not isotropic. Such\nspaces belong to the eight Thurston model geometries, out of which we consider\nthe cases Nil and SL$(2,\\mathbb{R})$. In the former, we use the recipe of\narXiv:hep-th/0304064 to directly rederive the solution that was obtained by\nGutowski and Reall in arXiv:hep-th/0401042 as a scaling limit from a spherical\nblack hole. With the same techniques, the first example of a black hole with\nSL$(2,\\mathbb{R})$ horizon is constructed, which is rotating and one quarter\nBPS. The physical properties of this solution are discussed, and it is shown\nthat in the near-horizon limit it boils down to the geometry of\narXiv:hep-th/0401042, with a supersymmetry enhancement to one half. Dimensional\nreduction to $D=4$ gives a new solution with hyperbolic horizon to the t$^3$\nmodel that carries both electric and magnetic charges. Moreover, we show how to\nget a nonextremal rotating Nil black hole by applying a certain scaling limit\nto Kerr-AdS$_5$ with two equal rotation parameters, which consists in zooming\nonto the north pole of the S$^2$ over which the S$^3$ is fibered, while\nboosting the horizon velocity effectively to the speed of light."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Tunnelling From G\u00f6del Black Holes: We consider the spacetime structure of Kerr-G\\\"odel black holes, analyzing\ntheir parameter space Kerr-G\\\"odel in detail. We apply the tunnelling method to\ncompute their temperature and compare the results to previous calculations\nobtained via other methods. We claim that it is not possible to have the CTC\nhorizon in between the two black hole horizons and include a discussion of\nissues that occur when the radius of the CTC horizon is smaller than the radius\nof both black hole horizons.",
        "positive": "The Quantum Aspects of Relativistic Fermion Systems with Particle\n  Condensation: A consistent local approach to the study of interacting relativistic fermion\nsystems with a condensation of bare particles in its ground or vacuum state,\nwhich may has a finite matter density, is developed. The attention is payed to\nsome of the not so well explored quantum aspects that survive the thermodynamic\nlimit. A 4-vector local field, called the primary statistical gauge field, and\na statistical blocking parameter are introduced for a consistent treatment of\nthe problem. The effects of random fluctuations of the fields on local\nobservables are discussed. It is found that quasiparticle contributions are not\nsufficient to saturate local observables. The property of the primary\nstatistical gauge field are discussed in some detail. Two models for the strong\ninteraction are then introduced and studied using the general framework\ndeveloped. Four possible phases for these models are found. The possibility of\nspontaneous CP violation and local fermion creation in two of the four phases\nis revealed. The implications of the finding on our understanding of some of\nthe strong interaction processes are discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Collapse instability and staccato decay of oscillons in various\n  dimensions: Oscillons are long-lived, slowly radiating solutions of nonlinear classical\nrelativistic field theories. Recently it was discovered that in one spatial\ndimension their decay may proceed in \"staccato\" bursts. Here we perform a\nsystematic numerical study to demonstrate that although this behaviour is not\nconfined to one spatial dimension, it quickly becomes unobservable when the\ndimension of space is increased, at least for the class of potentials\nconsidered here. To complete the picture we also present explicit results on\nthe dimension dependence of the collapse instability observed for\nthree-dimensional oscillons.",
        "positive": "DIS on a Large Nucleus in AdS/CFT: We calculate the total cross section for deep inelastic scattering (DIS) on a\nnucleus at high energy for a strongly coupled N=4 super Yang-Mills theory using\nAdS/CFT correspondence. In analogy to the small coupling case we argue that at\nhigh energy the total DIS cross section is related to the expectation value of\nthe Wilson loop formed by the quark-antiquark dipole. We model the nucleus by a\nmetric of a shock wave in AdS_5. We then calculate the expectation value of the\nWilson loop by finding the extrema of the Nambu-Goto action for an open string\nattached to the quark and antiquark lines of the loop in the background of an\nAdS_5 shock wave. We find three extrema of the Nambu-Goto action: the string\ncoordinates at the extrema are complex-valued and are given by three different\nbranches of the solution of a cubic equation. The physically meaningful\nsolutions for the total DIS cross section are given either by the only branch\nwith a purely imaginary string coordinate in the bulk or by a superposition of\nthe two other branches. For both solutions we obtain the forward scattering\namplitude N for the quark dipole-nucleus scattering. We study the onset of\nunitarity with increasing center-of-mass energy and transverse size of the\ndipole: we observe that for both solutions the saturation scale, while\nenergy-dependent at lower energies, at very high energy becomes independent of\nenergy/Bjorken-x. The saturation scale depends very strongly on the atomic\nnumber of the nucleus as Q_s ~ A^{1/3}."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Deformations of conformal theories and non-toric quiver gauge theories: We discuss several examples of non-toric quiver gauge theories dual to\nSasaki-Einstein manifolds with U(1)^2 or U(1) isometry. We give a general\nmethod for constructing non-toric examples by adding relevant deformations to\nthe toric case. For all examples, we are able to make a complete comparison\nbetween the prediction for R-charges based on geometry and on quantum field\ntheory. We also give a general discussion of the spectrum of conformal\ndimensions for mesonic and baryonic operators for a generic quiver theory; in\nthe toric case we make an explicit comparison between R-charges of mesons and\nbaryons.",
        "positive": "Quantum Field Theory and its Anomalies for Topological Matter: Topology enters in quantum field theory (qft) in multiple forms: one of the\nmost important, in non-abelian gauge theories, being in the identification of\nthe $\\theta$ vacuum in QCD. A very relevant aspect of this connection is\nthrough the phenomenon of chiral and conformal qft anomalies. It has been\nrealized that a class of materials, comprising topological insulators and Weyl\nsemimetals, also exhibit the phenomenon of anomalies, which are responsible for\nseveral exotic phenomena, such as the presence of edge currents, resilient\nunder perturbations and scattering by impurities. Another example comes from\nthe response functions of these materials under thermal and mechanical\nstresses, that may be performed using correlation functions of stress energy\ntensors in General Relativity. In this case the conformal anomaly plays an\nimportant role. We briefly illustrate some salient features of this\ncorrespondence, and the effective action describing the long-range interactions\nthat may account for such topological effects."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-rational su(2) cosets and Liouville field theory: We propose an su(2) WZNW model with a non-rational level and a continuous\nspectrum based on the non-unitary hermitian representations of the chiral\nalgebra su(2)_k. It is conjectured that for this model the continuous spectra\ncounterpart of the Goddard-Kent-Olive (GKO) coset construction yields the\nLiouville and the imaginary Liouville field theories. We support the conjecture\nby a number of nontrivial tests based on analytic calculations.",
        "positive": "Tensorial generalization of characters: In rainbow tensor models, which generalize rectangular complex matrix model\n(RCM) and possess a huge gauge symmetry $U(N_1)\\times\\ldots\\times U(N_r)$, we\nintroduce a new sub-basis in the linear space of gauge invariant operators,\nwhich is a redundant basis in the space of operators with non-zero Gaussian\naverages. Its elements are labeled by $r$-tuples of Young diagrams of a given\nsize equal to the power of tensor field. Their tensor model averages are just\nproducts of dimensions: $\\Big<\\chi_{R_1,\\ldots,R_r}\\Big> \\sim C_{R_1,\\ldots,\nR_r}D_{R_1}(N_1)\\ldots D_{R_r}(N_r)$ of representations $R_i$ of the linear\ngroup $SL(N_i)$, with $C_{R_1,\\ldots, R_r}$ made of the Clebsch-Gordan\ncoefficients of representations $R_i$ of the symmetric group. Moreover, not\nonly the averages but the operators $\\chi_{\\vec R}$ themselves exist only when\nthese $C_{\\vec R}$ are non-vanishing. This sub-basis is much similar to the\nbasis of characters (Schur functions) in matrix models, which is distinguished\nby the property $\\Big<{\\rm character}\\Big> \\sim { character}$, which opens a\nway to lift the notion and the theory of characters (Schur functions) from\nmatrices to tensors. In particular, operators $\\chi_{\\vec R}$ are\neigenfunctions of operators which generalize the usual cut-and-join operators\n$\\hat W$; they satisfy orthogonality conditions similar to the standard\ncharacters, but they do not form a {\\it full} linear basis for all\ngauge-invariant operators, only for those which have non-vanishing Gaussian\naverages."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-commutative gauge symmetry from strong homotopy algebras: We explicitly construct an L$_\\infty$ algebra that defines U$_{\\star}(1)$\ngauge transformations on a space with an arbitrary non-commutative and even\nnon-associative star product. Matter fields are naturally incorporated in this\nscheme as L$_\\infty$ modules. Some possibilities for including P$_\\infty$\nalgebras are also discussed.",
        "positive": "Kernel solutions of the Kostant operator on eight-dimensional quotient\n  spaces: After introducing the generators and irreducible representations of the ${\\rm\nsu}(5)$ and ${\\rm so}(6)$ Lie algebras in terms of the Schwinger's scillators,\nthe general kernel solutions of the Kostant operators on eight-dimensional\nquotient spaces ${\\rm su}(5)/{\\rm su}(4)\\times {\\rm u}(1)$ and ${\\rm\nso}(6)/{\\rm so}(4)\\times {\\rm so}(2)$ are derived in terms of the diagonal\nsubalgebras ${\\rm su}(4)\\times {\\rm u}(1)$ and ${\\rm so}(4)\\times {\\rm so}(2)$,\nrespectively."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "One-loop quantum gravity from a worldline viewpoint: We develop a worldline approach to quantum gravity in D=4. Using the\nbackground field method we consider the covariantly gauge fixed\nEinstein-Hilbert action with cosmological constant, and find a worldline\nrepresentation of the differential operators identified by its quadratic\napproximation. We test it by computing the correct one-loop divergencies.\nAlternative worldline methods, such as the use of the O(4) spinning particle\nthat is known to describe correctly the propagation of a massless spin 2\nparticle in D=4, find obstructions in the coupling to an arbitrary background\nmetric, apparently preventing a more extensive use in perturbative descriptions\nof quantum gravity. We expect that our model might simplify calculations of\none-loop amplitudes with respect to standard quantum field theoretical methods.",
        "positive": "Gauge Invariants and Correlators in Flavoured Quiver Gauge Theories: In this paper we study the construction of holomorphic gauge invariant\noperators for general quiver gauge theories with flavour symmetries. Using a\ncharacterisation of the gauge invariants in terms of equivalence classes\ngenerated by permutation actions, along with representation theory results in\nsymmetric groups and unitary groups, we give a diagonal basis for the 2-point\nfunctions of holomorphic and anti-holomorphic operators. This involves a\ngeneralisation of the previously constructed Quiver Restricted Schur operators\nto the flavoured case. The 3-point functions are derived and shown to be given\nin terms of networks of symmetric group branching coefficients. The networks\nare constructed through cutting and gluing operations on the quivers."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Linear Differential Equations for a Fractional Spin Field: The vector system of linear differential equations for a field with arbitrary\nfractional spin is proposed using infinite-dimensional half-bounded unitary\nrepresentations of the $\\overline{SL(2,R)}$ group. In the case of\n$(2j+1)$-dimensional nonunitary representations of that group, $0<2j\\in Z$,\nthey are transformed into equations for spin-$j$ fields. A local gauge symmetry\nassociated to the vector system of equations is identified and the simplest\ngauge invariant field action, leading to these equations, is constructed.",
        "positive": "Fractional Supersymmetry and Infinite Dimensional Lie Algebras: In an earlier work extensions of supersymmetry and super Lie algebras were\nconstructed consistently starting from any representation $\\D$ of any Lie\nalgebra $\\g$. Here it is shown how infinite dimensional Lie algebras appear\nnaturally within the framework of fractional supersymmetry. Using a\ndifferential realization of $\\g$ this infinite dimensional Lie algebra,\ncontaining the Lie algebra $\\g$ as a sub-algebra, is explicitly constructed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Decomposition and the Gross-Taylor string theory: It was recently argued by Nguyen-Tanizaki-Unsal that two-dimensional pure\nYang-Mills theory is equivalent to (decomposes into) a disjoint union of\n(invertible) quantum field theories, known as universes. In this paper we\ncompare this decomposition to the Gross-Taylor expansion of two-dimensional\npure SU(N) Yang-Mills theory in the large N limit as the string field theory of\na sigma model. Specifically, we study the Gross-Taylor expansion of individual\nNguyen-Tanizaki-Unsal universes. These differ from the Gross-Taylor expansion\nof the full Yang-Mills theory in two ways: a restriction to single instanton\ndegrees, and some additional contributions not present in the expansion of the\nfull Yang-Mills theory. We propose to interpret the restriction to single\ninstanton degree as implying a constraint, namely that the Gross-Taylor string\nhas a global (higher-form) symmetry with Noether current related to the\nworldsheet instanton number. We compare two-dimensional pure Maxwell theory as\na prototype obeying such a constraint, and also discuss in that case an\nanalogue of the Witten effect arising under two-dimensional theta angle\nrotation. We also propose a geometric interpretation of the additional terms,\nin the special case of Yang-Mills theories on two-spheres. In addition, also\nfor the case of theories on two-spheres, we propose a reinterpretation of the\nterms in the Gross-Taylor expansion of the Nguyen-Tanizaki-Unsal universes,\nreplacing sigma models on branched covers by counting disjoint unions of stacky\ncopies of the target Riemann surface, that makes the Nguyen-Tanizaki-Unsal\ndecomposition into invertible field theories more nearly manifest. As the\nGross-Taylor string is a sigma model coupled to worldsheet gravity, we also\nbriefly outline the tangentially-related topic of decomposition in\ntwo-dimensional theories coupled to gravity.",
        "positive": "Vacuum Selection from Cosmology on Networks of String Geometries: We introduce network science as a framework for studying the string\nlandscape. Two large networks of string geometries are constructed, where nodes\nare extra-dimensional six-manifolds and edges represent topological transitions\nbetween them. We show that a standard bubble cosmology model on the networks\nhas late-time behavior determined by the largest eigenvector of $-(\\mathbf{L} +\n\\mathbf{D})$, where $\\mathbf{L}$ and $\\mathbf{D}$ are the Laplacian and degree\nmatrices of the networks, which provides a dynamical mechanism for vacuum\nselection in the string landscape."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Mirror Symmetry in Generalized Calabi-Yau Compactifications: We discuss mirror symmetry in generalized Calabi-Yau compactifications of\ntype II string theories with background NS fluxes. Starting from type IIB\ncompactified on Calabi-Yau threefolds with NS three-form flux we show that the\nmirror type IIA theory arises from a purely geometrical compactification on a\ndifferent class of six-manifolds. These mirror manifolds have SU(3) structure\nand are termed half-flat; they are neither complex nor Ricci-flat and their\nholonomy group is no longer SU(3). We show that type IIA appropriately\ncompactified on such manifolds gives the correct mirror-symmetric low-energy\neffective action.",
        "positive": "Scalar Absorption by Noncommutative D3-branes: The classical cross section for low energy absorption of the RR-scalar by a\nstack of noncommutative D3-branes in the large NS B-field limit is calculated.\nIn the spirit of AdS/CFT correspondence, this cross section is related to two\npoint function of a certain operator in noncommutative Yang-Mills theory.\nCompared at the same gauge coupling, the result agrees with that of obtained\nfrom ordinary D3-branes. This is consistent with the expectation that ordinary\nand noncommutative Yang-Mills theories are equivalent below the\nnoncommutativity scale, but it is a nontrivial prediction above this scale."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Integrability on the Master Space: It has been recently shown that every SCFT living on D3 branes at a toric\nCalabi-Yau singularity surprisingly also describes a complete integrable\nsystem. In this paper we use the Master Space as a bridge between the\nintegrable system and the underlying field theory and we reinterpret the\nPoisson manifold of the integrable system in term of the geometry of the field\ntheory moduli space.",
        "positive": "A Non-Principal Value Prescription for the Temporal Gauge: A non-principal value prescription is used to define the spurious\nsingularities of Yang-Mills theory in the temporal gauge. Typical one-loop\ndimensionally-regularized temporal-gauge integrals in the prescription are\nexplicitly calculated, and a regularization for the spurious gauge divergences\nis introduced. The divergent part of the one-loop self-energy is shown to be\nlocal and has the same form as that in the spatial axial gauge with the\nprincipal-value prescription. The renormalization of the theory is also briefly\nmentioned."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Decoupling and non-decoupling dynamics of large D black holes: The limit of large number of dimensions localizes the gravitational field of\na black hole in a well-defined region near the horizon. The perturbative\ndynamics of the black hole can then be characterized in terms of states in the\nnear-horizon geometry. We investigate this by computing the spectrum of\nquasinormal modes of the Schwarzschild black hole in the 1/D expansion, which\nwe find splits into two classes. Most modes are non-decoupled modes:\nnon-normalizable states of the near-horizon geometry that straddle between the\nnear-horizon zone and the asymptotic zone. They have frequency of order D/r_0\n(with r_0 the horizon radius), and are also present in a large class of other\nblack holes. There also exist a much smaller number of decoupled modes:\nnormalizable states of the near-horizon geometry that are strongly suppressed\nin the asymptotic region. They have frequency of order 1/r_0, and are specific\nof each black hole. Our results for their frequencies are in excellent\nagreement with numerical calculations, in some cases even in D=4.",
        "positive": "Phase transitions in symmetric orbifold CFTs and universality: Since many thermodynamic properties of black holes are universal, the\nthermodynamics of their holographic duals should be universal too. We show how\nthis universality is exhibited in the example of symmetric orbifolds of general\ntwo dimensional CFTs. We discuss the free energies and phase diagrams of such\ntheories and show that they are indeed universal in the large N limit. We also\ncomment on the implications of our results for the classification of CFTs that\ncan have an interpretation as holographic duals to gravity theories on AdS(3)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Mechanics as Geometry?: Talk given at the Workshop on \"Constraint Theory and Quantization Methods\";\nMontepulciano, Italy, June 1993 --- Instead of attempting to give a summary or\nto identify highlights of the workshop, the history of the development of\nanalytical mechanics is outlined, with an emphasis on the themes of \\lq natural\nmotion' and the variational principle.",
        "positive": "Computing Amplitudes in topological M-theory: We define a topological quantum membrane theory on a seven dimensional\nmanifold of $G_2$ holonomy. We describe in detail the path integral evaluation\nfor membrane geometries given by circle bundles over Riemann surfaces. We show\nthat when the target space is $CY_3\\times S^1$ quantum amplitudes of non-local\nobservables of membranes wrapping the circle reduce to the A-model amplitudes.\n  In particular for genus zero we show that our model computes the\nGopakumar-Vafa invariants. Moreover, for membranes wrapping calibrated homology\nspheres in the $CY_3$, we find that the amplitudes of our model are related to\nJoyce invariants."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Minimal N=4 Topological Strings And The (1,k) Minimal Bosonic String: In this paper we consider tree-level scattering in the minimal N=4\ntopological string and show that a large class of N-point functions can be\nrecast in terms of corresponding amplitudes in the (1,k) minimal bosonic\nstring. This suggests a non-trivial relation between the minimal N=4\ntopological strings, the (1,k) minimal bosonic strings and their corresponding\nADE matrix models. This relation has interesting and far-reaching implications\nfor the topological sector of six-dimensional Little String Theories.",
        "positive": "One-loop divergences in non-Abelian supersymmetric theories regularized\n  by BRST-invariant version of the higher derivative regularization: We consider a general non-Abelian renormalizable ${\\cal N}=1$ supersymmetric\ngauge theory, regularized by higher covariant derivatives without breaking the\nBRST invariance, and calculate one-loop divergences for a general form of\nhigher derivative regulator and of the gauge fixing term. It is demonstrated\nthat the momentum integrals giving the one-loop $\\beta$-function are integrals\nof double total derivatives independently of a particular choice of the higher\nderivative term. Evaluating them we reproduce the well-known result for the\none-loop $\\beta$-function. Also we find that the three-point ghost vertices\nwith a single line of the quantum gauge superfield are not renormalized in the\nconsidered approximation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Conductivity and Shear Viscosity of $arcsin$-Yang-Mills AdS Black Brane: In this paper, a non-abelian $arcsin$-Yang-Mills AdS black brane solution is\nintroduced. Then, the color non-abelian direct current (DC) conductivity and\nshear viscosity to entropy density ratio of this model is calculated using\nfluid-gravity duality. Our results show that the Kovtun, Son and Starinets\n(KSS) bound is saturated and is exactly equal to $\\frac{1}{4 \\pi}$ but the\ncolor conductivity bound is violated for this model. Also, our outcomes recover\nthe Yang-Mills AdS black brane when the coupling of Yang-Mills and gravity\nfields approaches zero.",
        "positive": "Causal Boundary Entropy From Horizon Conformal Field Theory: The quantum theory of near horizon regions of spacetimes with classical\nspatially flat, homogeneous and isotropic Friedman-Robertson-Walker geometry\ncan be approximately described by a two dimensional conformal field theory. The\ncentral charge of this theory and expectation value of its Hamiltonian are both\nproportional to the horizon area in units of Newton's constant. The statistical\nentropy of horizon states, which can be calculated using two dimensional state\ncounting methods, is proportional to the horizon area and depends on a\nnumerical constant of order unity which is determined by Planck scale physics.\nThis constant can be fixed such that the entropy is equal to a quarter of the\nhorizon area in units of Newton's constant, in agreement with thermodynamic\nconsiderations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exact plane gravitational waves in the de Rham-Gabadadze-Tolley model of\n  massive gravity: We show that the nonlinear massive gravity model of de Rham, Gabadadze, and\nTolley admits exact plane gravitational wave solution whose waveform obeys the\ntwo-dimensional Helmholtz equation. The solution is valid for arbitrary values\nof the coefficients of the cubic and quartic terms. In the massless limit the\nsolution reduces to the Aichelburg-Sexl metric in general relativity.",
        "positive": "A Farey tale for N=4 dyons: We study exponentially suppressed contributions to the degeneracies of\nextremal black holes. Within Sen's quantum entropy function framework and\nfocusing on extremal black holes with an intermediate AdS3 region, we identify\nan infinite family of semi-classical AdS2 geometries which can contribute\neffects of order exp(S_0/c), where S_0 is the Bekenstein-Hawking-Wald entropy\nand c is an integer greater than one. These solutions lift to the extremal\nlimit of the SL(2,Z) family of BTZ black holes familiar from the \"black hole\nFarey tail\". We test this understanding in N=4 string vacua, where exact dyon\ndegeneracies are known to be given by Fourier coefficients of Siegel modular\nforms. We relate the sum over poles in the Siegel upper half plane to the Farey\ntail expansion, and derive a \"Farey tale\" expansion for the dyon partition\nfunction. Mathematically, this provides a (formal) lift from Hilbert modular\nforms to Siegel modular forms with a pole at the diagonal divisor."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Instanton test of non-supersymmetric deformations of the AdS_5 x S^5: We consider instanton effects in a non-supersymmetric gauge theory obtained\nby marginal deformations of the N=4 SYM. This gauge theory is expected to be\ndual to type IIB string theory on the AdS_5 times deformed-S^5 background. From\nan instanton calculation in the deformed gauge theory we extract the prediction\nfor the dilaton-axion field \\tau in dual string theory. In the limit of small\ndeformations where the supergravity regime is valid, our instanton result\nreproduces the expression for \\tau of the supergravity solution found by\nFrolov.",
        "positive": "Renormalization of the Einstein-Hilbert action: We examine how the Einstein-Hilbert action is renormalized by adding the\nusual counterterms and additional corner counterterms when the boundary surface\nhas corners. A bulk geometry asymptotic to $H^{d+1}$ can have boundaries $S^k\n\\times H^{d-k}$ and corners for $0\\leq k<d$. We show that the conformal anomaly\nwhen $d$ is even is independent of $k$. When $d$ is odd the renormalized action\nis a finite term that we show is independent of $k$ when $k$ is also odd. When\n$k$ is even we were unable to extract the finite term using the counterterm\nmethod and we address this problem using instead the Kounterterm method. We\nalso compute the mass of a two-charged black hole in AdS$_7$ and show that\nbackground subtraction agrees with counterterm renormalization only if we use\nthe infinite series expansion for the counterterm."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Nonlinear constraints on gravity from entanglement: Using the positivity of relative entropy arising from the Ryu-Takayanagi\nformula for spherical entangling surfaces, we obtain constraints at the\nnonlinear level for the gravitational dual. We calculate the Green's function\nnecessary to compute the first order correction to the entangling surface and\nuse this to find the relative entropy for non-constant stress tensors in a\nderivative expansion. We show that the Einstein value satisfies the positivity\ncondition while the multi-dimensional parameter space away from it gets\nconstrained.",
        "positive": "Conformal Orbifold Partition Functions from Topologically Massive Gauge\n  Theory: We continue the development of the topological membrane approach to open and\nunoriented string theories. We study orbifolds of topologically massive gauge\ntheory defined on the geometry $[0,1]\\times\\Sigma$, where $\\Sigma$ is a generic\ncompact Riemann surface. The orbifold operations are constructed by gauging the\ndiscrete symmetries of the bulk three-dimensional field theory. Multi-loop\nbosonic string vacuum amplitudes are thereby computed as bulk correlation\nfunctions of the gauge theory. It is shown that the three-dimensional\ncorrelators naturally reproduce twisted and untwisted sectors in the case of\nclosed worldsheet orbifolds, and Neumann and Dirichlet boundary conditions in\nthe case of open ones. The bulk wavefunctions are used to explicitly construct\nthe characters of the underlying extended Kac-Moody group for arbitrary genus.\nThe correlators for both the original theory and its orbifolds give the\nexpected modular invariant statistical sums over the characters."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum N = 2 Supersymmetric Black Holes in the S-T Model: We consider axion-free quantum corrected black hole solutions in the context\nof the heterotic S-T model with half the N=2, D=4 supersymmetries unbroken. We\nexpress the perturbatively corrected entropy in terms of the electric and\nmagnetic charges in such a way, that target-space duality invariance is\nmanifest. We also discuss the microscopic origin of particular quantum black\nhole configurations. We propose a microscopic interpretation in terms of a gas\nof closed membranes for the instanton corrections to the entropy.",
        "positive": "New model of axion monodromy inflation and its cosmological implications: We propose a new realization of axion monodromy inflation in which axion\nmonodromy arises from torsional cycles in a type IIB compactification. A class\nof monomial potentials is obtained with specific values for the power index.\nMoreover, the inflaton mass changes profile due to the couplings between\nvarious fields after compactification. Consequently, the potential obtains a\nstep-like profile at some critical scale. We study the cosmological\nimplications of one concrete realization of this model. At the background\nlevel, it realizes a sufficiently long inflationary stage, which allows for the\nviolation of the slow-roll conditions for a short period of time when the\ninflaton is close to the critical scale. Accordingly, the Hubble horizon is\nperturbed and affects the dynamics of primordial cosmological perturbations. In\nparticular, we analyze the angular power spectrum of B-mode polarization and\nfind a boost on very large scales. We also find that the amplitude of scalar\nperturbations is suppressed near the critical scale. Thus our model provides an\ninterpretation for the low-$\\ell$ suppression of temperature anisotropies in\nthe CMB power spectrum. We examine these effects and confront the model to\nobservations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Small magnetic charges and monopoles in non-associative quantum\n  mechanics: Weak magnetic monopoles with a continuum of charges less than the minimum\nimplied by Dirac's quantization condition may be possible in non-associative\nquantum mechanics. If a weakly magnetically charged proton in a hydrogen atom\nperturbs the standard energy spectrum only slightly, magnetic charges could\nhave escaped detection. Testing this hypothesis requires entirely new methods\nto compute energy spectra in non-associative quantum mechanics. Such methods\nare presented here, and evaluated for upper bounds on the magnetic charge of\nelementary particles.",
        "positive": "Effective potential for Lifshitz type z=3 gauge theories: We consider the one-loop effective potential at zero temperature in field\ntheories with anisotropic space-time scaling, with critical exponent $z=3$,\nincluding scalar, fermion and gauge fields. The fermion determinant generates a\nsymmetry breaking term at one loop in the effective potential and a local\nminimum appears, for non zero scalar field, for every value of the Yukawa\ncoupling. Depending on the relative strength of the coupling constants for the\nscalar and the gauge field, we find a second symmetry breaking local minimum in\nthe effective potential for a bigger value of the scalar field."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A simple model of momentum relaxation in Lifshitz holography: We expand the holographic studies of momentum relaxation to include\nnon-relativistic scaling symmetries in the ultraviolet. We do so by\nconstructing black branes with Lifshitz asymptotics dressed with axions which\nexplicitly depend on the boundary directions. Such configurations arise as\nanalytic solutions of the Einstein-Proca theory coupled to massless scalar\nfields in arbitrary dimensions. Studying linear perturbations on these\nbackgrounds, we conclude that there is a dual Ward identity which accounts for\nthe dissipation of momentum in the system. In addition, we numerically compute\nthe frequency dependent thermal conductivity of the branes and verify that its\nDC limit is finite.",
        "positive": "Renormalized Path Integral in Quantum Mechanics: We obtain direct, finite, descriptions of a renormalized quantum mechanical\nsystem with no reference to ultraviolet cutoffs and running coupling constants,\nin both the Hamiltonian and path integral pictures. The path integral\ndescription requires a modification to the Wiener measure on continuous paths\nthat describes an unusual diffusion process wherein colliding particles\noccasionally stick together for a random interval of time before going their\nseparate ways."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dynamical realizations of l-conformal Newton-Hooke group: The method of nonlinear realizations and the technique previously developed\nin arXiv:1208.1403 are used to construct a dynamical system without higher\nderivative terms, which holds invariant under the l-conformal Newton-Hooke\ngroup. A configuration space of the model involves coordinates, which\nparametrize a particle moving in d spatial dimensions and a conformal mode,\nwhich gives rise to an effective external field.The dynamical system describes\na generalized multi-dimensional oscillator, which undergoes\naccelerated/decelerated motion in an ellipse in accord with evolution of the\nconformal mode. Higher derivative formulations are discussed as well. It is\ndemonstrated that the multi-dimensional Pais-Uhlenbeck oscillator enjoys the\nl=3/2-conformal Newton-Hooke symmetry for a particular choice of its\nfrequencies.",
        "positive": "Counterterms in semiclassical Horava-Lifshitz gravity: We analyze the semiclassical Ho\\v{r}ava-Lifshitz gravity for quantum scalar\nfields in 3+1 dimensions. The renormalizability of the theory requires that the\naction of the scalar field contains terms with six spatial derivatives of the\nfield, i.e. in the UV, the classical action of the scalar field should preserve\nthe anisotropic scaling symmetry ($t \\to L^{2z}t,$ $\\vec{x} \\to L^2 \\vec{x}$,\nwith $z=3$) of the gravitational action. We discuss the renormalization\nprocedure based on adiabatic subtraction and dimensional regularization in the\nweak field approximation. We verify that the divergent terms in the adiabatic\nexpansion of the expectation value of the energy-momentum tensor of the scalar\nfield contain up to six spatial derivatives, but do not contain more than two\ntime derivatives. We compute explicitly the counterterms needed for the\nrenormalization of the theory up to second adiabatic order and evaluate the\nassociated $\\beta$ functions in the minimal subtraction scheme."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Accelerating cosmologies from compactification with a twist: It is demonstrated by explicit solutions of the (4+n)-dimensional vacuum\nEinstein equations that accelerating cosmologies in the Einstein conformal\nframe can be obtained by a time-dependent compactification of string/M-theory,\neven in the case that internal dimensions are Ricci-flat, provided one includes\none or more geometric twists. Such acceleration is transient. When both compact\nhyperbolic internal spaces and geometric twists are included, however, the\nperiod of accelerated expansion may be made arbitrarily large.",
        "positive": "An Explicit Construction of Self-dual 2-forms in Eight Dimensions: The geometry of self-dual 2-forms in eight dimensions is studied. These\n2-forms determine an $n^2-n+1$ dimensional manifold ${\\cal S}_{2n}$. We prove\nthat for add $n$, it has only one dimensionallinear subspaces. In eight\ndimensions, the self-dual forms of Corrigan et al constitue a seven dimensional\nlinear subspace of ${\\cal S}_8$, among many other intersting linear subspaces."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Scattering amplitudes in gauge theories with and without supersymmetry: This thesis aims at providing better understanding of the perturbative\nexpansion of gauge theories with and without supersymmetry. At tree level, the\nBCFW recursion relations are analyzed with respect to their validity for\ngeneral off-shell objects in Yang-Mills theory, which is a significant step\naway from their established zone of applicability. Unphysical poles constitute\na new potential problem in addition to the boundary behavior issue, common to\nthe on-shell case as well. For an infinite family of massive fermion currents,\nboth obstacles are shown to be avoided under the certain conditions, which\nprovides a natural recursion relation. At one loop, scattering amplitudes can\nbe calculated from unitarity cuts through their expansion into known scalar\nintegrals with free coefficients. A powerful method to obtain these\ncoefficients, namely spinor integration, is discussed and rederived in a\nsomewhat novel form. It is then used to compute analytically the infinite\nseries of one-loop gluon amplitudes in N = 1 super-Yang-Mills theory with\nexactly three negative helicities. The final part of this thesis concerns the\nintriguing relationship between gluon and graviton scattering amplitudes, which\ninvolves a beautiful duality between the color and kinematic content of gauge\ntheories. This BCJ duality is extended to include particles in the fundamental\nrepresentation of the gauge group, which is shown to relieve the restriction of\nthe BCJ construction to factorizable gravities and thus give access to\namplitudes in generic (super-)gravity theories.",
        "positive": "Solving information loss paradox via Euclidean path integral: The information loss paradox associated with black hole Hawking evaporation\nis an unresolved problem in modern theoretical physics. In this paper, we\nrevisit the entanglement entropy via the Euclidean path integral (EPI) of the\nquantum state and allow for the branching of semi-classical histories along the\nLorentzian evolution. We posit that there exist at least two histories that\ncontribute to EPI, where one is an information-losing history while the other\nis information-preserving. At early times, the former dominates EPI, while at\nlate times the latter becomes dominant. By so doing we recover the essence of\nthe Page curve and thus the unitarity, albeit with the turning point, i.e., the\nPage time, much shifted toward the late time. One implication of this modified\nPage curve is that the entropy bound may thus be violated. We comment on the\nsimilarity and difference between our approach and that of the replica\nwormholes and the island conjecture."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetry and a Time-Dependent Landau System: A general technique is outlined for investigating supersymmetry properties of\na charged spin-$\\half$ quantum particle in time-varying electromagnetic fields.\nThe case of a time-varying uniform magnetic induction is examined and shown to\nprovide a physical realization of a supersymmetric quantum-mechanical system.\nGroup-theoretic methods are used to factorize the relevant Schr\\\"odinger\nequations and obtain eigensolutions. The supercoherent states for this system\nare constructed.",
        "positive": "Instantons on ALE spaces and orbifold partitions: We consider N=4 theories on ALE spaces of $A_{k-1}$ type. As is well known,\ntheir partition functions coincide with $A_{k-1}$ affine characters. We show\nthat these partition functions are equal to the generating functions of some\npeculiar classes of partitions which we introduce under the name 'orbifold\npartitions'. These orbifold partitions turn out to be related to the\ngeneralized Frobenius partitions introduced by G. E. Andrews some years ago. We\nrelate the orbifold partitions to the blended partitions and interpret\nexplicitly in terms of a free fermion system."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The cosmological vacuum ambiguity, effective actions, and transplanckian\n  effects in inflation: We provide a prescription for parametrizing the vacuum choice ambiguity in\ncosmological settings. We introduce an arbitrary boundary action representing\nthe initial conditions. A Lagrangian description is moreover the natural\nsetting to study decoupling of high-energy physics. RG flow affects the\nboundary interactions. As a consequence the boundary conditions are sensitive\nto high-energy physics through irrelevant terms in the boundary action. Using\nscalar field theory as an example, we derive the leading dimension four\nirrelevant boundary operators. We discuss how the known vacuum choices, e.g.\nthe Bunch-Davies vacuum, appear in the Lagrangian description and square with\ndecoupling. For all choices of boundary conditions encoded by relevant boundary\noperators, of which the known ones are a subset, backreaction is under control.\nAll, moreover, will generically feel the influence of high-energy physics\nthrough irrelevant (dimension four) boundary corrections. Having established a\ncoherent effective field theory framework including the vacuum choice\nambiguity, we derive an explicit expression for the power spectrum of\ninflationary density perturbations including the leading high energy\ncorrections. In accordance with the dimensionality of the leading irrelevant\noperators, the effect of high energy physics is linearly proportional to the\nHubble radius H and the scale of new physics l = 1/M. Effects of such strength\nare potentially observable in future measurements of the cosmic microwave\nbackground.",
        "positive": "N\u00f6ther's Second Theorem as an Obstruction to Charge Quantization: While it is a standard result in field theory that the scaling dimension of\nconserved currents and their associated gauge fields are determined strictly by\ndimensional analysis and hence cannot change under any amount of\nrenormalization, it is also the case that the standard conservation laws for\ncurrents, $dJ=0$, remain unchanged in form if any differential operator that\ncommutes with the total exterior derivative, $[d,\\hat Y]=0$, multiplies the\ncurrent. Such an operator, effectively changing the dimension of the current,\nincreases the allowable gauge transformations in electromagnetism and is at the\nheart of N\\\"other's second theorem. We review here our recent work on one\nparticular instance of this theorem, namely fractional electromagnetism and\nhighlight the holographic dilaton models that exhibit such behavior and the\nphysical consequences this theory has for charge quantization. Namely, the\nstandard electromagnetic gauge and the fractional counterpart cannot both yield\ninteger values of Planck's constant when they are integrated around a closed\nloop, thereby leading to a breakdown of charge quantization."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Counterterms and dual holographic anomalies in CS gravity: The holographic Weyl anomaly associated to Chern-Simons gravity in 2n+1\ndimensions is proportional to the Euler term in 2n dimensions, with no\ncontributions from the Weyl tensor. We compute the holographic energy-momentum\ntensor associated to Chern-Simons gravity directly from the action, in an\narbitrary odd-dimensional spacetime. We show, in particular, that the\ncounterterms rendering the action finite contain only terms of the Lovelock\ntype.",
        "positive": "Electrified Fluctuations in D1$\\bot$D3 and D1$\\bot$D5 Systems: We present the physical phenomenon of the subject discussed in the paper\n\\cite{fluc}. In that paper we dealt with the fluctuations of funnel solutions\nof intersecting D1 and D3 branes and the electric field $E$ was considered as\nvery high value causing the results to be non-physical. In the present work,\nthe variation interval of $E$ is to be $[0,\\frac{1}{\\lambda}[$. Then, we extend\nthe study to discuss the overall transverse fluctuations of electrified funnel\nsolutions of D1$\\bot$D5 system in the flat background. The boundary conditions\nare found to be Neumann boundary conditions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Noncommutative Effects in Entropic Gravity: We analyze the question of possible quantum corrections in the entropic\nscenario of emergent gravity. Using a fuzzy sphere as a natural quasiclassical\napproximation for the spherical holographic screen, we analyze whether it is\npossible to observe such corrections to Newton's law in principle. The main\noutcome of our analysis is that without the complete knowledge of quantum\ndynamics of the microscopical degrees of freedom, any Plank scale correction\ncannot be trusted. Some perturbative corrections might produce reliable\npredictions well below the Plank scale.",
        "positive": "On Evolution Laws Taking Pure States to Mixed States in Quantum Field\n  Theory: It has been argued that any evolution law taking pure states to mixed states\nin quantum field theory necessarily gives rise to violations of either\ncausality or energy-momentum conservation, in such a way as to have\nunacceptable consequences for ordinary laboratory physics. We show here that\nthis is not the case by giving a simple class of examples of Markovian\nevolution laws where rapid evolution from pure states to mixed states occurs\nfor a wide class of states with appropriate properties at the ``Planck scale\",\nsuitable locality and causality properties hold for all states, and the\ndeviations from ordinary dynamics (and, in particular, violations of\nenergy-momentum conservation) are unobservably small for all states which one\ncould expect to produce in a laboratory. In addition, we argue (via\nconsideration of other, non-Markovian models) that conservation of energy and\nmomentum for all states is not fundamentally incompatible with causality in\ndynamical models in which pure states evolve to mixed states."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Partially Supersymmetric ABJM Theory with Flux: Starting with generic Wess-Zumino type coupling to constant four-form and the\ndual seven-form field strengths in the ABJM theory, we obtain mass-deformed\ntheories with ${\\cal N}=2,4$ supersymmetries. These theories contain massless\nscalar fields and allow the implementation of the Mukhi-Papageorgakis Higgsing\nprocedure. Using this procedure, we connect the Higgsed theories to\nthree-dimensional mass-deformed SYM theories. These are also connected by the\nfour-dimensional ${\\cal N}=1^*,2^*$ mass-deformed SYM theories through\ndimensional reduction. We classify the three-dimensional mass-deformed SYM\ntheories of ${\\cal N}=1,2,4$ supersymmetry, of which a few cases of ${\\cal\nN}=1,2$ are connected neither by MP Higgsing procedure nor dimensional\nreduction.",
        "positive": "Light-Cone Quantization Without Periodic Boundary Conditions: This paper describes a light-cone quantization of a two-dimensional massive\nscalar field without periodic boundary conditions in order to make the\nquantization manifestly consistent to causality. For this purpose, the field is\ndecomposed by the Legendre polynomials. Creation-annihilation operators for\nthis field are defined and the Fock space was constructed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spectral form factor in the double-scaled SYK model: In this note we study the spectral form factor in the SYK model in large $q$\nlimit at infinite temperature. We construct analytic solutions for the saddle\npoint equations that describe the slope and the ramp regions of the spectral\nform factor time dependence. These saddle points are obtained by taking\ndifferent approaches to the large $q$ limit: the slope region is described by a\nreplica-diagonal solution and the ramp region is described by a\nreplica-nondiagonal solution. We find that the onset of the ramp behavior\nhappens at the Thouless time of order $q \\log q$. We also evaluate the one-loop\ncorrections to the slope and ramp solutions for late times, and study the\ntransition from the slope to the ramp. We show this transition is accompanied\nby the breakdown of the perturbative $1/q$ expansion, and that the Thouless\ntime is defined by the consistency of extrapolation of this expansion to late\ntimes.",
        "positive": "Sine-Gordon form factors in finite volume: We compare form factors in sine-Gordon theory, obtained via the bootstrap, to\nfinite volume matrix elements computed using the truncated conformal space\napproach. For breather form factors, this is essentially a straightforward\napplication of a previously developed formalism that describes the volume\ndependence of operator matrix elements up to corrections exponentially decaying\nwith the volume. In the case of solitons, it is necessary to generalize the\nformalism to include effects of non-diagonal scattering. In some cases it is\nalso necessary to take into account some of the exponential corrections\n(so-called mu-terms) to get agreement with the numerical data. For almost all\nmatrix elements the comparison is a success, with the puzzling exception of\nsome breather matrix elements that contain disconnected pieces. We also give a\nshort discussion of the implications of the observed behaviour of mu-terms on\nthe determination of operator matrix elements from finite volume data, as\noccurs e.g. in the context of lattice field theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Killing-Yano tensors and some applications: The role of Killing and Killing-Yano tensors for studying the geodesic motion\nof the particle and the superparticle in a curved background is reviewed.\nAdditionally the Papadopoulos list [74] for Killing-Yano tensors in G\nstructures is reproduced by studying the torsion types these structures admit.\nThe Papadopoulos list deals with groups G appearing in the Berger\nclassification, and we enlarge the list by considering additional G structures\nwhich are not of the Berger type. Possible applications of these results in the\nstudy of supersymmetric particle actions and in the AdS/CFT correspondence are\noutlined.",
        "positive": "Chiral Gravitational Waves from Chiral Fermions: We report on a new mechanism that leads to the generation of primordial\nchiral gravitational waves, and hence, the violation of the parity symmetry in\nthe Universe. We show that nonperturbative production of fermions with a\ndefinite helicity is accompanied by the generation of chiral gravitational\nwaves. This is a generic and model-independent phenomenon that can occur during\ninflation, reheating and radiation eras, and can leave imprints in the cosmic\nmicrowave background polarization and may be observed in future ground- and\nspace-based interferometers. We also discuss a specific model where chiral\ngravitational waves are generated via the production of light chiral fermions\nduring pseudoscalar inflation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Neutrino mixing, flavor states and dark energy: We shortly summarize the quantum field theory formalism for the neutrino\nmixing and report on recent results showing that the vacuum condensate induced\nby neutrino mixing can be interpreted as a dark energy component of the\nUniverse.",
        "positive": "Notes on $WGL_n$-Algebras and Quantum Miura Transformation: We start from the quantum Miura transformation [7] for the $W$-algebra\nassociated with $GL(n)$ group and find an evident formula for quantum\nL-operator as well as for the action of $W_l$ currents (l=1,..,n) on elements\nof the completely degenerated n-dimensional representation. Quantum formulae\nare obtained through the deformation of the pseudodifferential symbols. This\ndeformation is independent of $n$ and preserves Adler's trace. Our main\ninstrument of the proof is the notation of pseudodifferential symbol with right\naction which has no counterpart in classical theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Can one tell Einstein's unimodular theory from Einstein's general\n  relativity?: The so called unimodular theory of gravitation is compared with general\nrelativity in the quadratic (Fierz-Pauli) regime, using a quite broad\nframework, and it is argued that quantum effects allow in principle to\ndiscriminate between both theories.",
        "positive": "Representations of the Mapping Class Group of the Two Punctured Torus on\n  the Space of \\hat {sl}(2,C) Spin1/2-Spin1/2 Kac-Moody Blocks: The integral representations of the $\\hat {sl}(2,C)$ Spin 1/2 - Spin 1/2\nKac-Moody Blocks on the torus, arising from the free field representation of\nthe $\\hat {sl}(2,C)$ Kac-Moody algebra of Wakimoto and Bernard and Felder, are\nused to derive an infinite class of representations of the mapping class group\nof the two punctured torus."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chameleonic dilaton and conformal transformations: We recently proposed a chameleonic solution to the cosmological constant\nproblem - Phys. Rev. D82 (2010) 044006. One of the results of that paper is a\nnon-equivalence of different conformal frames at the quantum level. In this\nletter we further discuss our proposal focusing our attention on the conformal\ntransformation. Moreover, we point out that a different choice of parameters is\nnecessary in the model.",
        "positive": "Hamiltonian YM 2+1: note on point splitting regularization: The Hamiltonian of 2+1 dimensional Yang Mills theory was derived by Karabali,\nKim and Nair by using point splitting regularization. But in calculating e.g.\nthe vacuum wave functional this scheme was left in favour of arguments. Here we\nfollow up a conjecture of Leigh, Minic and Yelnikov of how this gap might be\nfilled by including all positive powers of the regularization parameter ($\\ep\n\\to +0$). Admittedly, though we concentrate on the ground state in the large\n$N$ limit, only two such powers could be included due to the increasing\ncomplexity of the task."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "$w_{\\infty}$-Currents in 3-Dimensional Toda Theory: Chiral densities obeying a $w_{\\infty}$ Poisson--bracket algebra are\nconstructed for the $2+1\\,\\, A_{\\infty}$ -- Toda field theory, using its\nalternative $w_{\\infty}$ -- Toda representation. They are obtained from formal\ntraces of powers of the Lax operator. The spin 2 and 3 currents are explicitely\nderived, and the consistency of their Poisson algebra is checked.",
        "positive": "Exact multi-soliton solutions in the four dimensional Skyrme model: Exact analytic solutions of the Skyrme model defined on a spherically\nsymmetric $R^{(1,1)} \\times S^2$ geometry, chosen to mimic finite volume\neffects, are presented. The static and spherically symmetric configurations\nhave non-trivial winding number and finite soliton mass. These configurations\npossess an extra topological charge, allowing for a novel BPS bound which can\nbe saturated, unlike what happens in the standard case. Such solutions include\nexact multi-Skyrmions of arbitrary winding number, composed by interacting\nelementary Skyrmions. The values of the coupling constants and the compression\nmodulus are found in good agreement with experiments by fitting the masses\n$M_N$ and $M_\\Delta$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Motion of Spin-1/2 Particles in External Gravitational and\n  Electromagnetic Fields: (Talk presented at the 7th Marcel Grossmann Meeting on General Relativity,\nStanford, CA, July 24-30, 1994) We study the semi-classical limit of the\nsolution of the Dirac equation in a background electromagnetic/gravitational\nplane wave. We show that the exact solution corresponding to an asymptotically\nfixed incoming momentum satisfies constraints consistent with the classical\nnotion of a spinning particle. In order to further analyze the motion of a\nspinning particle in this external inhomogeneous field one has to consider\nwave-packet superpositions of these exact solutions. We are currently\ninvestigating the existence of a classical theory of a phenomenological spin\ntensor which reproduces our quantum-mechanical results.",
        "positive": "A Class of Five-Dimensional Multi-Charged Tchrakian Monopoles: By considering singular gauge transformations of the five-dimensional\nHedge-Hog monopole, we obtain a class of multi-charged Tchrakian monopoles. The\ncharge is classified by the fourth homotopy group of SU(4)/U(1)xSU(2)xSU(2)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Real Forms of Complex Higher Spin Field Equations and New Exact\n  Solutions: We formulate four dimensional higher spin gauge theories in spacetimes with\nsignature (4-p,p) and nonvanishing cosmological constant. Among them are chiral\nmodels in Euclidean (4,0) and Kleinian (2,2) signature involving half-flat\ngauge fields. Apart from the maximally symmetric solutions, including de Sitter\nspacetime, we find: (a) SO(4-p,p) invariant deformations, depending on a\ncontinuous and infinitely many discrete parameters, including a degenerate\nmetric of rank one; (b) non-maximally symmetric solutions with vanishing Weyl\ntensors and higher spin gauge fields, that differ from the maximally symmetric\nsolutions in the auxiliary field sector; and (c) solutions of the chiral models\nfurnishing higher spin generalizations of Type D gravitational instantons, with\nan infinite tower of Weyl tensors proportional to totally symmetric products of\ntwo principal spinors. These are apparently the first exact 4D solutions with\nnon-vanishing massless higher spin fields.",
        "positive": "Universal chiral conductivities for low temperature holographic\n  superfluids: We argue that the chiral conductivities of generic s-wave holographic\nsuperfluids, whose broken U(1) symmetry is anomalous, exhibit universal\nbehavior at low temperatures. The universal behavior we argue for is\nindependent of the details of the bulk action and on the emergent geometry deep\nin the bulk interior at low temperatures. Our results are contrasted against\ngeneral expectations based on an analysis of the entropy current in\nsuperfluids."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Rindler/Contracted-CFT Correspondence: Taking the flat-space limit (zero cosmological constant limit) of the\nRindler-AdS spacetime yields the Rindler metric. According to the proposal of\nFlat/contracted-CFT correspondence, the flat-space limit on the bulk side of\nasymptotically AdS spacetimes corresponds to the contraction of the conformal\nfield theory on the boundary. We use this proposal for the Rindler-AdS/CFT\ncorrespondence and propose a dual theory for the Rindler spacetime, which is a\ncontracted conformal field theory (CCFT). We show that the two-dimensional CCFT\nsymmetries exactly predict the same two-point functions that one may find by\ntaking the flat-space limit of three-dimensional Rindler-AdS holographic\nresults. Using the Flat/CCFT proposal, we also calculate the three-dimensional\nRindler energy-momentum tensor. Since the near horizon geometry of non-extreme\nblack holes has a Rindler part, we note that it is plausible to find a dual\nCCFT at the horizon of non-extreme black holes. By using our energy-momentum\ntensor, we find the correct mass of non-rotating BTZ and show that the\nCardy-like formula for CCFT yields the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy of\nnon-extreme BTZ. Our current work is the first step towards describing the\nentropy of non-extreme black holes in terms of CCFTs microstates which live on\nthe horizon.",
        "positive": "Seeking String Theory in the Cosmos: We review the existence, formation and properties of cosmic strings in string\ntheory, the wide variety of observational techniques that are being employed to\ndetect them, and the constraints that current observations impose on string\ntheory models."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Magnetic catalysis in flavored ABJM: We study the magnetic catalysis of chiral symmetry breaking in the ABJM\nChern-Simons matter theory with unquenched flavors in the Veneziano limit. We\nconsider a magnetized D6-brane probe in the background of a flavored black hole\nwhich includes the backreaction of massless smeared flavors in the ABJM\ngeometry. We find a holographic realization for the running of the quark mass\ndue to the dynamical flavors. We compute several thermodynamic quantities of\nthe brane probe and analyze the effects of the dynamical quarks on the\nfundamental condensate and on the phase diagram of the model. The dynamical\nflavors have an interesting effect on the magnetic catalysis. At zero\ntemperature and fixed magnetic field, the magnetic catalysis is suppressed for\nsmall bare quark masses whereas it is enhanced for large values of the mass.\nWhen the temperature is non-zero there is a critical magnetic field, above\nwhich the magnetic catalysis takes place. This critical magnetic field\ndecreases with the number of flavors, which we interpret as an enhancement of\nthe catalysis.",
        "positive": "All $(4,1)$: Sigma Models with $(4,q)$ Off-Shell Supersymmetry: Off-shell $(4,q)$ supermultiplets in 2-dimensions are constructed for\n$q=1,2,4$. These are used to construct sigma models whose target spaces are\nhyperk\\\"ahler with torsion. The off-shell supersymmetry implies the three\ncomplex structures are simultaneously integrable and allows us to construct\nactions using extended superspace and projective superspace, giving an explicit\nconstruction of the target space geometries."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Eikonal Methods in AdS/CFT: BFKL Pomeron at Weak Coupling: We consider correlators of N=4 super Yang Mills of the form A ~ < O_1 O_2\nO*_1 O*_2 >, where the operators O_1 and O_2 are scalar primaries. In\nparticular, we analyze this correlator in the planar limit and in a Lorentzian\nregime corresponding to high energy interactions in AdS. The planar amplitude\nis dominated by a Regge pole whose nature varies as a function of the 't Hooft\ncoupling g^2. At large g, the pole corresponds to graviton exchange in AdS,\nwhereas at weak g, the pole is that of the hard perturbative BFKL pomeron. We\nconcentrate on the weak coupling regime and analyze pomeron exchange directly\nin position space. The analysis relies heavily on the conformal symmetry of the\ntransverse space E^2 and of its holographic dual hyperbolic space H_3,\ndescribing with an unified language, both the weak and strong 't Hooft coupling\nregimes. In particular, the form of the impact factors is highly constrained in\nposition space by conformal invariance. Finally, the analysis suggests a\npossible AdS eikonal resummation of multi-pomeron exchanges implementing AdS\nunitarity, which differs from the usual 4-dimensional eikonal exponentiation.\nRelations to violations of 4-dimensional unitarity at high energy and to the\nonset of nonlinear effects and gluon saturation become immediate questions for\nfuture research.",
        "positive": "$\u03b4'$-Function Perturbations and Neumann Boundary-Conditions by Path\n  Integration: $\\delta'$-function perturbations and Neumann boundary conditions are\nincorporated into the path integral formalism. The starting point is the\nconsideration of the path integral representation for the one dimensional Dirac\nparticle together with a relativistic point interaction. The non-relativistic\nlimit yields either a usual $\\delta$-function or a $\\delta'$-function\nperturbation; making their strengths infinitely repulsive one obtains\nDirichlet, respectively Neumann boundary conditions in the path integral."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Heat-kernels and functional determinants on the generalized cone: We consider zeta functions and heat-kernel expansions on the bounded,\ngeneralized cone in arbitrary dimensions using an improved calculational\ntechnique. The specific case of a global monopole is analysed in detail and\nsome restrictions thereby placed on the $A_{5/2}$ coefficient. The computation\nof functional determinants is also addressed. General formulas are given and\nknown results are incidentally, and rapidly, reproduced.",
        "positive": "Dynamically avoiding fine-tuning the cosmological constant: the \"Relaxed\n  Universe\": We demonstrate that there exists a large class of action functionals of the\nscalar curvature and of the Gauss-Bonnet invariant which are able to relax\ndynamically a large cosmological constant (CC), whatever it be its starting\nvalue in the early universe. Hence, it is possible to understand, without\nfine-tuning, the very small current value of the CC as compared to its\ntheoretically expected large value in quantum field theory and string theory.\nIn our framework, this relaxation appears as a pure gravitational effect, where\nno ad hoc scalar fields are needed. The action involves a positive power of a\ncharacteristic mass parameter, M, whose value can be, interestingly enough, of\nthe order of a typical particle physics mass of the Standard Model of the\nstrong and electroweak interactions or extensions thereof, including the\nneutrino mass. The model universe emerging from this scenario (the \"Relaxed\nUniverse\") falls within the class of the so-called LXCDM models of the cosmic\nevolution. Therefore, there is a \"cosmon\" entity X (represented by an effective\nobject, not a field), which in this case is generated by the effective\nfunctional and is responsible for the dynamical adjustment of the cosmological\nconstant. This model universe successfully mimics the essential past epochs of\nthe standard (or \"concordance\") cosmological model (LCDM). Furthermore, it\nprovides interesting clues to the coincidence problem and it may even connect\nnaturally with primordial inflation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Statistical Approach to the Cosmological-Constant Problem on Brane\n  Worlds: We investigate the physically accepted solutions of general Braneworld\nscenarios, scanning uniformly the associated parameter space. Without making\nany further assumptions we find that solutions which give \"small\" Hubble\nparameters on the physical brane, and therefore \"small\" effective cosmological\nconstants on the 4D Universe, are far more probable than those with \"large\"\nones. Eventually, their distribution tends to the $\\delta$-function in the\nlimit of continuous covering of the parameter space.",
        "positive": "Semi-direct Gauge Mediation in Conformal Windows of Vector-like Gauge\n  Theories: Direct gauge mediation models using the Intriligator-Seiberg-Shih (ISS)\nmetastable vacua suffer from the Landau pole problem of the standard model\ngauge couplings and the existence of R symmetry forbidding gaugino masses.\nThese problems may be solved by using the recently proposed SUSY breaking\nmodels in a conformal window of the vector-like $SU(N_C)$ gauge theory with\ngauge singlets. In this paper we propose a model of gauge mediation based on\nthe SUSY-breaking model in the conformal window, and study the dynamics for the\nSUSY breaking. In the model, there are massive vector-like bifundamental fields\ncharged under both $SU(N_C)$ and the standard model gauge group, and our model\ncan be regarded as a semi-direct gauge mediation model. The color number $N_C$\ncan be small to avoid the Landau pole problem, and the R symmetry is also\nbroken under a reasonable assumption on the strong dynamics of the model. The\nmodel possesses only one free parameter, and the gaugino and sfermion masses\nare naturally of the same order."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Lost Chapters in CHL Black Holes: Untwisted Quarter-BPS Dyons in the\n  $\\mathbb{Z}_2$ Model: Motivated by recent advances in Donaldson-Thomas theory, four-dimensional\n$\\mathcal{N}=4$ string-string duality is examined in a reduced rank theory on a\nless studied BPS sector. In particular we identify candidate partition\nfunctions of \"untwisted\" quarter-BPS dyons in the heterotic $\\mathbb{Z}_2$ CHL\nmodel by studying the associated chiral genus two partition function, based on\nthe M-theory lift of string webs argument by Dabholkar and Gaiotto. This yields\nmeromorphic Siegel modular forms for the Iwahori subgroup $B(2) \\subset\n\\text{Sp}_4 (\\mathbb{Z}) $ which generate BPS indices for dyons with untwisted\nsector electric charge, in contrast to twisted sector dyons counted by a\nmultiplicative lift of twisted-twining elliptic genera known from Mathieu\nmoonshine. The new partition functions are shown to satisfy the expected\nconstraints coming from wall-crossing and S-duality symmetry as well as the\nblack hole entropy based on the Gauss-Bonnet term in the effective action. In\nthese aspects our analysis confirms and extends work of Banerjee, Sen and\nSrivastava, which only addressed a subset of the untwisted sector dyons\nconsidered here. Our results are also compared with recently conjectured\nformulae of Bryan and Oberdieck for the partition functions of primitive DT\ninvariants of the CHL orbifold $X=( \\text{K3} \\times T^2 )/ \\mathbb{Z}_2$, as\nsuggested by string duality with type IIA theory on $X$.",
        "positive": "Structures of q-Deformed Currents: The non-perturbation and perturbation structures of the q-deformed\nprobability currents are studied. According to two ways of realizing the\nq-deformed Heisenberg algebra by the undeformed operators, the perturbation\nstructures of two q-deformed probability currents are explored in detail.\nLocally the structures of two perturbation q-deformed probability currents are\ndifferent, one is explicitly potential dependent; the other is not. But their\ntotal contributions to the whole space are the same."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Casimir energy of a dilute dielectric ball at zero and finite\n  temperature: The basic results in calculations of the thermodynamic functions of\nelectromagnetic field in the background of a dilute dielectric ball at zero and\nfinite temperature are presented. Summation over the angular momentum values is\naccomplished in a closed form by making use of the addition theorem for the\nrelevant Bessel functions. The behavior of the thermodynamic characteristics in\nthe low and high temperature limits is investigated. The $T^3$-term in the low\ntemperature expansion of the free energy is recovered (this term has been lost\nin our previous calculations).",
        "positive": "NS fivebranes in type 0 string theory: The massless degrees of freedom of type 0 NS5-branes are derived. A\nnon-chiral, purely bosonic spectrum is found in both type 0A and 0B. This\nnon-chirality is confirmed by a one-loop computation in the bulk. Some puzzles\nconcerning type 0B S-duality are pointed out in this context. An interpretation\nof the spectra in terms of ``type 0 little strings'' is proposed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Mutated Hilltop Inflation : A Natural Choice for Early Universe: We propose a model of inflation with a suitable potential for a single scalar\nfield which falls in the wide class of hilltop inflation. We derive the\nanalytical expressions for most of the physical quantities related to inflation\nand show that all of them represent the true behavior as required from a model\nof inflation. We further subject the results to observational verification by\nformulating the theory of perturbations based on our model followed by an\nestimation for the values of those observable parameters. Our model is found to\nbe in excellent agreement with observational data. Thus, the features related\nto the model leads us to infer that this type of hilltop inflation may be a\nnatural choice for explaining the early universe.",
        "positive": "Soft-photon exponentiation beyond the quenched approximation in\n  QED$_{2+1}$: We discuss the infrared and ultraviolet behavior of the fermion propagator in\n(2+1)-dimensional QED based on spectral representation.If we choose soft-photon\nexponentiation to include all orders of soft-photon emission by electron,its\nspectral function may be written as $e^{F}$,where $F$ is a model independent\nspectral function of the lowest order in the coupling constant.We evaluate the\nfunction $F$ in an analytic way and show its short and long distance behavior\nwith an infrared cut-off $\\mu$.At short distance function $F$ has linear and\nlogarithmic infrared divergence.However in the long distance limit function $F$\nvanishes.So that only short distance part of $e^{F}$ is modified from unity.We\nmay avoid the linear divergence by the choice of the gauge $d=-1$,where $d$ is\na covariant gauge fixing parameter.In this gauge the spectral function vanishes\nin the limit of zero bare photon mass $\\mu$.We overcome this difficulty by\nadding continuous spectrum of massive fermion loop to photon spectral function\n$\\rho(\\mu^{2})$,where $\\mu$ has the role of invariant mass for\nfermion-antifermion pair and is larger than $2m.$So that unquenched fermion\nspectral function survibes.For the application of chiral symmetry breaking we\ncarefully studied the position space propagator $S_{F}(0)$.At least for weak\ncoupling these values agree quite well with that obtained in Dyson-Schwinger\nequation with proper vertex correction.We also study these parameter as a\nfunction of the flavour number $N$ and t'Hooft coupling $\\alpha=e^{2}N/8\\pi$\nfor strong coupling case."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Notes on Lagrangean and Hamiltonian Symmetries: The Hamiltonization of local symmetries of the form $\\delta q^A =\n\\ea{R_a}^A(q,\\dot q)$ or $\\delta q^A = \\dot\\ea{R_a}^A (q,\\dot q)$ for arbitrary\nLagrangean model $L(q^A,\\dot q^A)$ is considered. We show as the initial\nsymmetries are transformed in the transition from $L$ to first order action,\nand then to the Hamiltonian action $S_H=\\int{\\rm d}\\tau(p_A\\dot\nq^A-H_0-v^\\alpha\\Phi_\\alpha)$, where $\\Phi_\\alpha$ are the all (first and\nsecond class) primary constraints. An exact formulae for local symmetries of\n$S_H$ in terms of the initial generators ${R_a}^A$ and all primary constraints\n$\\Phi_\\alpha$ are obtained.",
        "positive": "Covariant Noether Charge for Higher Dimensional Chern-Simons Terms: We construct a manifestly covariant differential Noether charge for theories\nwith Chern-Simons terms in higher dimensional spacetimes. This is in contrast\nto Tachikawa's extension of the standard Lee-Iyer-Wald formalism which results\nin a non-covariant differential Noether charge for Chern-Simons terms. On a\nbifurcation surface, our differential Noether charge integrates to the\nWald-like entropy formula proposed by Tachikawa in arXiv:hep-th/0611141."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Systematic and intuitive approach for separation of variables in the\n  Dirac equation for a class of noncentral electromagnetic potentials: We consider the three-dimensional Dirac equation in spherical coordinates\nwith coupling to static electromagnetic potential. The space components of the\npotential have angular (non-central) dependence such that the Dirac equation is\nseparable in all coordinates. We obtain exact solutions for the case where the\npotential satisfies the Lorentz gauge fixing condition and its time component\nis the Coulomb potential. The relativistic energy spectrum and corresponding\nspinor wavefunctions are obtained. The Aharonov-Bohm and magnetic monopole\npotentials are included in these solutions. The conventional relativistic\nunits, $\\hbar$ = c = 1, are used.",
        "positive": "Calabi-Yau compactification of type II string theories: Superstring theories are the most promising theories for unified description\nof all fundamental interactions including gravity. However, these theories are\nformulated consistently only in 10 spacetime dimensions. Therefore, to connect\nto the observable world, it is required to compactify 6 out of those 10\ndimensions in a suitable fashion.\n  In this thesis, we mainly consider compactifications of type II string\ntheories on Calabi-Yau threefolds. As a consequence, the resulting four\ndimensional theories preserve $\\mathcal{N}=2$ supersymmetry. In these cases the\nmetrics on the moduli spaces of the matter multiplets, vector and\nhypermultiplets, completely determine the low energy theories. Whereas the\nformer are very well understood by now, the complete description of\nhypermultiplets is more complicated. In fact, hypermultiplets receive both\nperturbative and non-perturbative corrections. The thesis mainly pertains to\nthe understanding of the non-perturbative corrections. Our findings for the\nhypermultiplets rely on the so called twistorial construction. We discuss this\ntechnique in details and use it throughout the course of this thesis. In\nparticular, armed with this, and exploiting various symmetries, especially\nS-duality and mirror symmetry, we discuss the procedure to derive the D-brane\nand NS5-brane instanton corrections to the hypermultiplet moduli space."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Does Boundary Distinguish Complexities?: Recently, Chapman et al. argued that holographic complexities for defects\ndistinguish action from volume. Motivated by their work, we study complexity of\nquantum states in conformal field theory with boundary. In generic\ntwo-dimensional BCFT, we work on the path-integral optimization which gives one\nof field-theoretic definitions for the complexity. We also perform holographic\ncomputations of the complexity in Takayanagi's AdS/BCFT model following by the\n\"complexity $=$ volume\" conjecture and \"complexity $=$ action\" conjecture. We\nfind that increments of the complexity due to the boundary show the same\ndivergent structures in these models except for the CA complexity in the\nAdS$_3$/BCFT$_2$ model as the argument by Chapman et al. Thus, we conclude that\nboundary does not distinguish the complexities in general.",
        "positive": "Exotic Scalar States in the AdS/CFT Correspondence: We investigate a family of solutions of Type IIb supergravity which\nasymptotically approach AdS_5 X S^5 but contain a non-constant dilaton and\nvolume scalar for the five-sphere. These solutions preserve an SO(1,3) X SO(6)\nsymmetry. We discuss the solution in the context of the AdS/CFT correspondence,\nand we find that as well as running coupling from the nontrivial dilaton, the\ncorresponding field theory has no supersymmetry and displays confinement at\nleast for a certain range of parameters."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic Confinement of the Solitary Quark: Single quarks moving in the vacuum of confining gauge theories are stopped by\na drag force. The holographic description relates the confining scale in the\nbulk geometry with a range of physical values for the drag force in the vacuum.\nThe vacuum drag force acting on the isolated quark directly manifests quark\nconfinement since it prevents the quark from walking freely in the vacuum.\nHowever, analytical expressions for the drag force as a function of the quark\nvelocity were lacking. In the present work, we propose that the vacuum drag\nforce is given by the regularized zero-temperature limit of the corresponding\nthermal drag force. Within this approach, we obtain the desired analytic\nexpressions in two different holographic models: the quadratic dilaton and the\nD-instanton. In both cases, we find well-behaved functions belonging to their\nphysical range of values.",
        "positive": "Minimal Affinizations of Representations of Quantum Groups: the\n  simply--laced case: We continue our study of minimal affinizations for algebras of type D, E."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Five-Brane Effective Action In M-Theory: On the world-volume of an $M$-theory five-brane propagates a two-form with\nself-dual field strength. As this field is non-Lagrangian, there is no obvious\nframework for determining its partition function. An analogous problem exists\nin Type IIB superstring theory for the self-dual five-form. The resolution of\nthese problems and definition of the partition function is explained. A more\ncomplete analysis of perturbative anomaly cancellation for $M$-theory\nfive-branes is also presented, uncovering some surprising details.",
        "positive": "Geodesic stability, Lyapunov exponents and quasinormal modes: Geodesic motion determines important features of spacetimes. Null unstable\ngeodesics are closely related to the appearance of compact objects to external\nobservers and have been associated with the characteristic modes of black\nholes. By computing the Lyapunov exponent, which is the inverse of the\ninstability timescale associated with this geodesic motion, we show that, in\nthe eikonal limit, quasinormal modes of black holes in any dimensions are\ndetermined by the parameters of the circular null geodesics. This result is\nindependent of the field equations and only assumes a stationary, spherically\nsymmetric and asymptotically flat line element, but it does not seem to be\neasily extendable to anti-de Sitter spacetimes. We further show that (i) in\nspacetime dimensions greater than four, equatorial circular timelike geodesics\nin a Myers-Perry black hole background are unstable, and (ii) the instability\ntimescale of equatorial null geodesics in Myers-Perry spacetimes has a local\nminimum for spacetimes of dimension d > 5."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantization of Scalar Fields in Curved Background and Quantum Algebras: We show that a suitable deformation of the algebra $h_k(1)$ of the creation\nand annihilation operators for a complex scalar field, initially quantized in\nMinkowski space--time, induces the canonical quantization of the same field in\na generic gravitational background. This discloses the physical meaning of the\ndeformation parameter $q$ which turns out to be related to the gravitational\nfield. The thermal properties are re-obtained in this formalism, and the\napplication to Schwarzschild and Rindler space-times are carried out.",
        "positive": "Non-perturbative triality in heterotic and type II N=2 strings: The non-perturbative equivalence of four-dimensional N=2 superstrings with\nthree vector multiplets and four hypermultiplets is analysed. These models are\nobtained through freely acting orbifold compactifications from the heterotic,\nthe symmetric and the asymmetric type II strings. The heterotic scalar\nmanifolds are (SU(1,1) / U(1))^3 for the S,T,U moduli sitting in the vector\nmultiplets and SO(4,4)/ (SO(4) X SO(4)) for those in the hypermultiplets. The\ntype II symmetric duals correspond to a self-mirror Calabi-Yau threefold\ncompactification with Hodge numbers h(1,1)=h(2,1)=3, while the type II\nasymmetric construction corresponds to a spontaneous breaking of the N=(4,4)\nsupersymmetry to N=(2,0). Both have already been considered in the literature.\nThe heterotic construction instead is new and we show that there is a\nweak/strong coupling S-duality relation between the heterotic and the\nasymmetric type IIA ground state with S(Het)=-1/S(As); we also show that there\nis a partial restoration of N=8 supersymmetry in the heterotic strong-coupling\nregime. We compute the full (non-)perturbative R2 and F2 corrections and\ndetermine the prepotential."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The contribution of scalars to ${\\cal N}=4$ SYM amplitudes II: Young\n  tableaux, asymptotic factorisation and strong coupling: We disentangle the contribution of scalars to the OPE series of null\npolygonal Wilson loops/MHV gluon scattering amplitudes in multicolour ${\\cal\nN}=4$ SYM. In specific, we develop a systematic computation of the $SO(6)$\nmatrix part of the Wilson loop by means of Young tableaux (with several\nexamples too). Then, we use a peculiar factorisation property (when a group of\nrapidities becomes large) to deduce an explicit polar form. Furthermore, we\nemphasise the advantages of expanding the logarithm of the Wilson loop in terms\nof 'connected functions' as we apply this procedure to find an explicit strong\ncoupling expansion (definitively proving that the leading order can prevail on\nthe classical $AdS_5$ string contribution).",
        "positive": "On Time-dependent Collapsing Branes and Fuzzy Odd-dimensional Spheres: We study the time-dependent dynamics of a collection of N\ncollapsing/expanding D0-branes in type IIA String Theory. We show that the\nfuzzy-S^3 and S^5 provide time-dependent solutions to the Matrix Model of\nD0-branes and its DBI generalisation. Some intriguing cancellations in the\ncalculation of the non-abelian DBI Matrix actions result in the fuzzy-S^3 and\nS^5 having the same dynamics at large-N. For the Matrix model, we find analytic\nsolutions describing the time-dependent radius, in terms of Jacobi elliptic\nfunctions. Investigation of the physical properties of these configurations\nshows that there are no bounces for the trajectory of the collapse at large-N.\nWe also write down a set of useful identities for fuzzy-S^3, fuzzy-S^5 and\ngeneral fuzzy odd-spheres."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Coadjoint Orbits and Conformal Field Theory: This thesis describes a new approach to conformal field theory. This approach\ncombines the method of coadjoint orbits with resolutions and chiral vertex\noperators to give a construction of the correlation functions of conformal\nfield theories in terms of geometrically defined objects. Explicit formulae are\ngiven for representations of Virasoro and affine algebras in terms of a local\ngauge choice on the line bundle associated with geometric quantization of a\ngiven coadjoint orbit; these formulae define a new set of explicit bosonic\nrealizations of these algebras. The coadjoint orbit realizations take the form\nof dual Verma modules, making it possible to avoid the technical difficulties\nassociated with the two-sided resolutions which arise from Feigin-Fuchs and\nWakimoto realizations. Formulae are given for screening and intertwining\noperators on the coadjoint orbit representations. Chiral vertex operators\nbetween Virasoro modules are constructed, and related directly to Virasoro\nalgebra generators in certain cases. From the point of view taken in this\nthesis, vertex operators have a geometric interpretation as differential\noperators taking sections of one line bundle to sections of another. A\nsuggestion is made that by connecting this description with recent work\nderiving field theory actions from coadjoint orbits, a deeper understanding of\nthe geometry of conformal field theory might be achieved.",
        "positive": "A-models in three and four dimensions: We introduce and study a new 3d Topological Field Theory which can be\nassociated to any compact real manifold X. This TFT is analogous to the 2d\nA-model and reduces to it upon compactification on an interval with suitable\nboundary conditions. It plays a role in 3d mirror symmetry as well as in the\nphysical approach to the geometric Langlands duality. A similar TFT can be\ndefined in four dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "SUSY Jumps Out of Superspace in the Supersymmetric Standard Model: The supersymmetric standard model (SSM) appears to be firmly grounded in\nsuperspace. For example, it would be natural to assume that all the physically\nimportant composite operators can be made by combining superfields and\nsuperspace derivatives. But even for the simplest possible, free, massless and\nunbroken SUSY theory in 3+1 dimensions, this is not true. This paper shows that\nthere is a large set of physically important composite operators in the SSM\nthat require explicit factors of the Grassmann odd `$\\theta$' parameters of\nsuperspace. These explicitly break superspace invariance. These composite\noperators will be called `Outfields', because they are intrinsically `outside'\nof superspace. It is not possible to write the Outfields using only superfields\nand superspace derivatives. The Outfields can be found in the BRST cohomology\nspace of the theory. The calculation of the BRST cohomology space for these\ntheories is performed in this paper using a spectral sequence analysis,\nstarting with the free massless theory, and then adding interactions, and then\nmasses.",
        "positive": "The bosonized version of the Schwinger model in four dimensions: a\n  blueprint for confinement?: For a $(3+1)$-dimensional generalization of the Schwinger model, we compute\nthe interaction energy between two test charges. The result shows that the\nstatic potential profile contains a linear term leading to the confinement of\nprobe charges, exactly as in the original model in two dimensions. We further\nshow that the same 4-dimensional model also appears as one version of the $ B\n\\wedge F$ models in $(3+1)$ dimensions under dualization of Stueckelberg-like\nmassive gauge theories. Interestingly, this particular model is characterized\nby the mixing between a $U(1)$ potential and an Abelian $3$-form field of the\ntype that appears in the topological sector of QCD."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On massive super(bi)gravity in the constructive approach: In this paper we investigate the possible supersymmetric extensions for the\nmassive (bi)gravity theories in the lowest non-trivial order. For this purpose\nwe construct the cubic interaction vertices for massive spin-2 and one or two\nmassive spin-3/2 fields restricting ourselves with the terms containing no more\nthan one derivative so that such models can be considered as the smooth\ndeformations for the usual (spontaneously broken) supergravity. Also we\ninvestigate all possible limits where one of the fields becomes massless.",
        "positive": "On D-brane-Anti D-brane Effective actions and their all order Bulk\n  Singularity Structures: All four point functions of brane anti brane system including their correct\nall order $\\alpha'$ corrections have been addressed. All five point functions\nof one closed string Ramond-Ramond (RR), two real tachyons and either one gauge\nfield or the scalar field in both symmetric and asymmetric pictures have also\nbeen explored. The entire analysis of $<C^{-2} A^0 T^0 T ^{0}>$ is carried out.\nNot only does it fix the vertex operator of RR in asymmetric picture and in\nhigher point functions of string theory amplitudes but also it confirms the\nfact that there is no issue of picture dependence of the mixed closed RR, gauge\nfields, tachyons and fermion fields in all symmetric or anti symmetric ones. We\ncompute $<C^{-2} \\phi^0 T^0 T ^{0}>$ S-matrix in the presence of a transverse\nscalar field, two real tachyons and that reveals two different kinds of bulk\nsingularity structures, involving an infinite number of $u$- channel gauge\nfield and $(u+s'+t')$- channel scalar bulk poles. In order to produce all those\nbulk singularity structures, we define various couplings at the level of the\neffective field theory that involve the mixing term of Chern-Simons coupling\n(with C-potential field) and a covariant derivative of the scalar field that\ncomes from the pull-back of brane. Eventually we explore their all order\n$\\alpha'$ corrections in the presence of brane anti brane system where various\nremarks will be also pointed out."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Instability of brane cosmological solutions with flux compactifications: We discuss the stability of the higher-dimensional de Sitter (dS) brane\nsolutions with two-dimensional internal space in the Einstein-Maxwel theory. We\nshow that an instability appears in the scalar-type perturbations with respect\nto the dS spacetime. We derive a differential relation which has the very\nsimilar structure to the ordinary laws of thermodynamics as an extension of the\nwork for the six-dimensional model [20]. In this relation, the area of dS\nhorizon (integrated over the two internal dimensions) exactly behaves as the\nthermodynamical entropy. The dynamically unstable solutions are in the\nthermodynamically unstable branch. An unstable dS compactification either\nevolves toward a stable configuration or two-dimensional internal space is\ndecompactified. These dS brane solutions are equivalent to the accelerating\ncosmological solutions in the six-dimensional Einstein-Maxwell-dilaton theory\nvia dimensional reduction. Thus, if the seed higher-dimensional solution is\nunstable, the corresponding six-dimensional solution is also unstable. From the\neffective four-dimensional point of view, a cosmological evolution from an\nunstable cosmological solution in higher dimensions may be seen as a process of\nthe transition from the initial cosmological inflation to the current dark\nenergy dominated Universe.",
        "positive": "Three Point Tree Level Amplitude in Superstring Theory: In order to check the definite amplitude and the exact zero result of the\namplitude of three massless points $(CAA)$ in both string theory and field\ntheory side for $p=n$ case and to find all gauge field couplings to R-R closed\nstring, we investigate the disk level S-matrix element of one Ramond-Ramond\nfield and two gauge field vertex operators in the world volume of BPS branes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Bethe-Salpeter equation for classical gravitational bound states: The Bethe-Salpeter equation is a non-perturbative, relativistic and covariant\ndescription of two-body bound states. We derive the classical Bethe-Salpeter\nequation for two massive point particles (with or without spin) in a bound\ngravitational system. This is a recursion relation which involves\ntwo-massive-particle-irreducible diagrams in the space of classical amplitudes,\ndefined by quotienting out by symmetrization over internal graviton exchanges.\nIn this context, we observe that the leading eikonal approximation to two-body\nscattering arises directly from unitarity techniques with a coherent state of\nvirtual gravitons. More generally, we solve the classical Bethe-Salpeter\nequation analytically at all orders by exponentiating the classical kernel in\nimpact parameter space. We clarify the connection between this classical kernel\nand the Hamilton-Jacobi action, making manifest the analytic continuation\nbetween classical bound and scattering observables. Using explicit analytic\nresummations of classical (spinless and spinning) amplitudes in momentum space,\nwe further explore the relation between poles with bound state energies and\nresidues with bound state wavefunctions. Finally, we discuss a relativistic\nanalogue of Sommerfeld enhancement which occurs for bound state cross sections.",
        "positive": "Spectral analysis of a flat plasma sheet model: The spectral analysis of the electromagnetic field on the background of a\ninfinitely thin flat plasma layer is carried out. This model is loosely\nimitating a single base plane from graphite and it is of interest for\ntheoretical studies of fullerenes. The model is naturally split into the\nTE-sector and TM-sector. Both the sectors have positive continuous spectra, but\nthe TM-modes have in addition a bound state, namely, the surface plasmon. This\nanalysis relies on the consideration of the scattering problem in the TE- and\nTM-sectors. The spectral zeta function and integrated heat kernel are\nconstructed for different branches of the spectrum in an explicit form. As a\npreliminary, the rigorous procedure of integration over the continuous spectra\nis formulated by introducing the spectral densityin terms of the scattering\nphase shifts. The asymptotic expansion of the integrated heat kernel at small\nvalues of the evolution parameter is derived. By making use of the technique of\nintegral equations, developed earlier by the same authors, the local heat\nkernel (Green's function or fundamental solution) is constructed also. As a\nby-product, a new method is demonstrated for deriving the fundamental solution\nto the heat conduction equation (or to the Schr\\\"odinger equation) on an\ninfinite line with the $\\delta $-like source. In particular, for the heat\nconduction equation on an infinite line with the $\\delta$-source a nontrivial\ncounterpart is found, namely, a spectral problem with point interaction, that\npossesses the same integrated heat kernel while the local heat kernels\n(fundamental solutions) in these spectral problems are different."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Geometric Approach to Modulus Stabilization: Modulus stabilization, a must for explaining the hierarchy problem in the\ncontext of the Randall-Sundrum (RS) scenario, is traditionally achieved through\nthe introduction of an extra field with {\\em ad hoc} couplings. We point out\nthat the stabilization can, instead, be achieved in a purely geometrodynamical\nway, with plausible quantum corrections in the gravity sector playing the key\nrole. The size of the corrections that lead to acceptable phenomenology is also\ndelineated.",
        "positive": "Brane Webs and Magnetic Quivers for SQCD: It is widely considered that the classical Higgs branch of 4d $\\mathcal{N}=2$\nSQCD is a well understood object. However there is no satisfactory\nunderstanding of its structure. There are two complications: (1) the Higgs\nbranch chiral ring contains nilpotent elements, as can easily be checked in the\ncase of $\\mathrm{SU}(N)$ with 1 flavour. (2) the Higgs branch as a geometric\nspace can in general be decomposed into two cones with nontrivial intersection,\nthe baryonic and mesonic branches. To study the second point in detail we use\nthe recently developed tool of magnetic quivers for five-brane webs, using the\nfact that the classical Higgs branch for theories with 8 supercharges does not\nchange through dimensional reduction. We compare this approach with the\ncomputation of the hyper-K\\\"ahler quotient using Hilbert series techniques,\nfinding perfect agreement if nilpotent operators are eliminated by the\ncomputation of a so called radical. We study the nature of the nilpotent\noperators and give conjectures for the Hilbert series of the full Higgs branch,\ngiving new insights into the vacuum structure of 4d $\\mathcal{N}=2$ SQCD. In\naddition we demonstrate the power of the magnetic quiver technique, as it\nallows us to identify the decomposition into cones, and provides us with the\nglobal symmetries of the theory, as a simple alternative to the techniques that\nwere used to date."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "AdS$_3$ four-point functions from $\\frac{1}{8}$-BPS states: We compute four-point functions in the Heavy-Heavy-Light-Light limit\ninvolving all possible $\\frac{1}{8}$-BPS heavy states whose dual supergravity\nsolutions are explicitly known, avoiding the use of Witten diagrams. This is\nachieved by using the AdS/CFT dictionary of type IIB supergravity on AdS$_3\n\\times S^3 \\times {\\cal M}_4$ that maps supersymmetric heavy operators whose\nconformal dimension is the order of the central charge to explicit\nasymptotically AdS supergravity solutions. Using the Ward Identities for the\ngenerators of the ${\\cal N}=(4,4)$ superconformal $SU(2)$ Kac-Moody algebra, we\ncan relate all of these four-point functions to each other and to other known\nfour-point functions involving $\\frac{1}{4}$-BPS heavy states, furnishing\nnon-trivial checks of the computations. Finally, the Ward Identities can be\nemployed to reconstruct the all-light four-point functions, providing the first\nholographic correlators of single-trace operators computed in AdS$_3$ involving\n$\\frac{1}{8}$-BPS operators.",
        "positive": "Cosmological twinlike models with multi scalar fields: We consider cosmological models driven by several canonical or noncanonical\nscalar fields. We show how the superpotential method enables one to construct\ntwinlike models for a particular canonical model from some noncanonical ones.\nWe conclude that it is possible to construct twinlike models for multi-field\ncosmological models, even when the spatial curvature is nonzero. This work\nextends the discussions of [D. Bazeia and J. D. Dantas, Phys. Rev. D, 85 (2012)\n067303] to cases with multi scalar fields and with non-vanished spatial\ncurvature, by using a different superpotential method."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Skyrmions on the Two-Sphere: We study static solutions of the Skyrme model on the two-sphere of radius L,\nfor various choices of potential. The high-density Skyrmion phase corresponds\nto the ratio beta=L/(size of Skyrmion) being small, whereas the low-density\nphase corresponds to beta being large. The transition between these two phases,\nand in particular the behaviour of a relevant order parameter, is examined.",
        "positive": "On quasitriangular Hopf algebras related to the Borel subalgebra of\n  sl(2): Explicit isomorphism is established between quasitriangular Hopf algebras\nstudied recently by O.Ogievetsky and by the present author."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the infrared behaviour of QCD Green functions in the Maximally\n  Abelian gauge: Functional equations like exact renormalisation group and Dyson-Schwinger\nequations have contributed to a better understanding of non-perturbative\nphenomena in quantum field theories in terms of the underlying Green functions.\nIn Yang-Mills theory especially the Landau gauge has been used, as it is the\nmost accessible gauge for these methods. In the maximally Abelian gauge first\nresults have been obtained which are very encouraging because Abelian infrared\ndominance has been found: The Abelian part of the gauge field propagator is\nenhanced at low momenta and thereby dominates the dynamics in the infrared.\nAlso the ambiguity of two different types of solutions (decoupling and scaling)\nexists in both gauges. It is demonstrated how the two solutions are related in\nthe maximally Abelian gauge. As in all two-point Dyson-Schwinger equations of\nthe MAG the infrared dominant diagrams are sunset diagrams, in addition, a BPHZ\nregularisation and renormalisation of a test system with a sunset-like diagram\nis presented.",
        "positive": "Gaussian Effective Potential Analysis of Sinh(Sine)-Gordon Models by New\n  Regularization-Renormalization Scheme: Using the new regularization and renormalization scheme recently proposed by\nYang and used by Ni et al, we analyse the sine-Gordon and sinh-Gordon models\nwithin the framework of Gaussian effective potential in D+1 dimensions. Our\nanalysis suffers no divergence and so does not suffer from the manipulational\nobscurities in the conventional analysis of divergent integrals. Our main\nconclusions agree exactly with those of Ingermanson for D=1,2 but disagree for\nD=3: the D=3 sinh(sine)-Gordon model is non-trivial. Furthermore, our analysis\nshows that for D=1,2, the running coupling constant (RCC)has poles for\nsine-Gordon model($\\gamma^2<0$) and the sinh-Gordon model ($\\gamma^2>0$) has a\npossible critical point $\\gamma^2_c$ while for D=3, the RCC has poles for both\n$\\gamma^2>0$ and $\\gamma^2<0$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Solving the Hagedorn temperature of AdS5/CFT4 via the Quantum Spectral\n  Curve: Chemical potentials and deformations: We describe how to calculate the Hagedorn temperature of $\\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM\ntheory and type IIB superstring theory on $AdS_5\\times S^5$ via the Quantum\nSpectral Curve (QSC) -- providing further details on our previous letters\n1706.03074 and 1803.04416. We solve the QSC equations perturbatively at weak 't\nHooft coupling $\\lambda$ up to seven-loop order and numerically at finite\ncoupling, finding that the perturbative results can be expressed in terms of\nsingle-valued harmonic polylogarithms. Moreover, we generalize the QSC to\ndescribe the Hagedorn temperature in the presence of chemical potentials.\nFinally, we show that the Hagedorn temperature in certain deformations of\n$\\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM theory (real-$\\beta$ and $\\gamma_i$ deformation) agrees\nwith the one in $\\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM theory at any value of $\\lambda$.",
        "positive": "Non-Local Deformation of a Supersymmetric Field Theory: In this paper, we will analyse a supersymmetric field theory deformed by\ngeneralized uncertainty principle and Lifshitz scaling. It will be observed\nthat this deformed supersymmetric field theory contains non-local fractional\nderivative terms. In order to construct such deformed N=1 supersymmetric\ntheory, a harmonic extension of functions will be used. However, the\nsupersymmetry will be only preserved for a free theory and will be broken by\nthe inclusion of interaction terms."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "New classes of bi-axially symmetric solutions to four-dimensional\n  Vasiliev higher spin gravity: We present new infinite-dimensional spaces of bi-axially symmetric\nasymptotically anti-de Sitter solutions to four-dimensional Vasiliev higher\nspin gravity, obtained by modifications of the Ansatz used in arXiv:1107.1217,\nwhich gave rise to a Type-D solution space. The current Ansatz is based on\ninternal semigroup algebras (without identity) generated by exponentials formed\nout of the bi-axial symmetry generators. After having switched on the vacuum\ngauge function, the resulting generalized Weyl tensor is given by a sum of\ngeneralized Petrov type-D tensors that are Kerr-like or 2-brane-like in the\nasymptotic AdS4 region, and the twistor space connection is smooth in twistor\nspace over finite regions of spacetime. We provide evidence for that the\nlinearized twistor space connection can be brought to Vasiliev gauge.",
        "positive": "On the effective action of the vacuum photon splitting in\n  Lorentz-violating QED: We consider one-loop radiative corrections from Lorentz- and CPT- violating\nextended QED to address the specific problem of finding explicitly an effective\naction describing amplitude of photon triple splitting. We show that it is not\npossible to find a nonzero photon triple splitting effective action, at least\nby using the derivative expansion method (at zero external momenta), up to\nleading order in the Lorentz- and CPT- violating parameter."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "6d SCFTs, 5d Dualities and Tao Web Diagrams: We propose 5d descriptions of 6d ${\\cal N}=(1,0)$ superconformal field\ntheories arising from Type IIA brane configurations with an $O8^-$-plane. We\nT-dualize the brane diagram along a compactification circle and obtain a\n5-brane web diagram with two $O7^-$-planes. The gauge theory description of the\nresulting 5d theory for a given 6d superconformal field theory is not unique,\nand we argue that the non-uniqueness leads to various dual 5d gauge theories.\nThere are three sources which lead to the 5d dualities. One type comes from\neither resolving both or one of the two $O7^-$-planes. The two situations give\nus two different ways to read off a 5d gauge theory from essentially the same\nweb diagram. The second type originates from different distributions of D5 or\nD7-branes, shifting the gauge group ranks of the 5d quiver theory. The last one\ncomes from the 90 or 45 degree rotations of the 5-brane web diagram, which is a\npart of the $SL(2,\\mathbb{Z})$ duality of Type IIB string theory, leading to\ncompletely different group structure. These lead to a very rich class of\ndualities between 5d gauge theories whose UV completion is the same 6d\nsuperconformal field theory. We also explore Higgsing of the 6d theories and\ntheir 5d counterparts. Decoupling the same flavors from the dual 5d theories\ngives rise to another dual 5d theories whose UV completion is the same 5d\nsuperconformal field theory. Finally we propose the 6d description of 5d\ntheories which is obtained by a generalization of 5d $T_N$ theories with\nadditional flavors, which turns out not to be in the class of Type IIA brane\nconstruction generically.",
        "positive": "SUSY QM Meets 5d Gravity: We report hidden quantum mechanical supersymmetry structure in\nfive-dimensional gravity with the Randall-Sundrum background. We show that two\nN=2 supersymmetries are hidden in the spectrum."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Novel Parametric Bound for Information Retrieval from Black Hole\n  Radiation: This paper has been withdrawn by author.",
        "positive": "On KKLT/CFT and LVS/CFT Dualities: We present a general discussion of the properties of three dimensional CFT\nduals to the AdS string theory vacua coming from type IIB Calabi-Yau flux\ncompactifications. Both KKLT and Large Volume Scenario (LVS) minima are\nconsidered. In both cases we identify the large `central charge', find a\nseparation of scales between the radius of AdS and the size of the extra\ndimensions and show that the dual CFT has only a limited number of operators\nwith small conformal dimension. Differences between the two sets of duals are\nidentified. Besides a different amount of supersymmetry ($\\mathcal{N}=1$ for\nKKLT and $\\mathcal{N}=0$ for LVS) we find that the LVS CFT dual has only one\nscalar operator with $\\mathcal{O}(1)$ conformal dimension, corresponding to the\nvolume modulus, whereas in KKLT the whole set of $h^{1,1}$ K\\\"ahler moduli have\nthis property. Also, the maximal number of degrees of freedom is estimated to\nbe larger in LVS than in KKLT duals. In both cases we explicitly compute the\ncoefficient of the logarithmic contribution to the one-loop vacuum energy which\nshould be invariant under duality and therefore provides a non-trivial\nprediction for the dual CFT. This coefficient takes a particularly simple form\nin the KKLT case."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Cosmological String Backgrounds from Gauged WZW Models: We discuss the four-dimensional target-space interpretation of bosonic\nstrings based on gauged WZW models, in particular of those based on the\nnon-compact coset space $SL(2,{\\bf R})\\times SO(1,1)^2 /SO(1,1)$. We show that\nthese theories lead, apart from the recently broadly discussed black-hole type\nof backgrounds, to cosmological string backgrounds, such as an expanding\nUniverse. Which of the two cases is realized depends on the sign of the level\nof the corresponding Kac-Moody algebra. We discuss various aspects of these new\ncosmological string backgrounds.",
        "positive": "The Polyakov loop and the heat kernel expansion at finite temperature: The lower order terms of the heat kernel expansion at coincident points are\ncomputed in the context of finite temperature quantum field theory for flat\nspace-time and in the presence of general gauge and scalar fields which may be\nnon Abelian and non stationary. The computation is carried out in the imaginary\ntime formalism and the result is fully consistent with invariance under\ntopologically large and small gauge transformations. The Polyakov loop is shown\nto play a fundamental role."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Free Large N Supersymmetric Yang-Mills Theory as a String Theory: The strong version of Maldacena's AdS/CFT conjecture implies that the large N\nexpansion of free N=4 super-YM theory describes an interacting string theory in\nthe extreme limit of high spacetime curvature relative to the string length.\nString states may then be understood as composed of SYM string bits. We\ninvestigate part of the low-lying spectrum of the tensionless (zero-coupling)\nlimit and find a large number of states that are not present in the infinite\ntension (strong-coupling) limit, notably several massless spin two particles.\nWe observe that all conformal dimensions are N-independent in the free SYM\ntheory, implying that masses in the corresponding string theory are unchanged\nby string interactions. Degenerate string states do however mix in the\ninteracting string theory because of the complicated N-dependence of general\nCFT two-point functions. Finally we verify the CFT crossing symmetry, which\ncorresponds to the dual properties of string scattering amplitudes. This means\nthat the SYM operator correlation functions define AdS dual models analogous to\nthe Minkowski dual models that gave rise to string theory.",
        "positive": "Generalized Madelung transformations for quantum wave equations I:\n  generalized spherical coordinates for field spaces: The Madelung transformation of the space in which a quantum wave function\ntakes its values is generalized from complex numbers to include field spaces\nthat contain orbits of groups that are diffeomorphic to spheres. The general\nform for the resulting real wave equations then involves structure constants\nfor the matrix algebra that is associated with the group action. The particular\ncases of the algebras of complex numbers, quaternions, and complex quaternions,\nwhich pertain to the Klein-Gordon equation, the relativistic Pauli equation,\nand the bi-Dirac equation, resp., are then discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-extremal branes: We prove that for arbitrary black brane solutions of generic Supergravities\nthere is an adapted system of variables in which the equations of motion are\nexactly invariant under electric-magnetic duality, i.e. the interchange of a\ngiven extended object by its electromagnetic dual. We obtain thus a procedure\nto automatically construct the electromagnetic dual of a given brane without\nneeding to solve any further equation. We apply this procedure to construct the\nnon-extremal (p, q)-string of Type-IIB String Theory (new in the literature),\nexplicitly showing how the dual (p, q)-five-brane automatically arises in this\nconstruction. In addition, we prove that the system of variables used is\nsuitable for a generic characterization of every double-extremal Supergravity\nbrane solution, which we perform in full generality.",
        "positive": "Inversion symmetric 3-monopoles and the Atiyah-Hitchin manifold: We consider 3-monopoles symmetric under inversion symmetry. We show that the\nmoduli space of these monopoles is an Atiyah-Hitchin submanifold of the\n3-monopole moduli space. This allows what is known about 2-monopole dynamics to\nbe translated into results about the dynamics of 3-monopoles. Using a numerical\nADHMN construction we compute the monopole energy density at various points on\ntwo interesting geodesics. The first is a geodesic over the two-dimensional\nrounded cone submanifold corresponding to right angle scattering and the second\nis a closed geodesic for three orbiting monopoles."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Unattainability of the Trans-Planckian regime in Nonlocal Quantum\n  Gravity: Based on the ultraviolet asymptotic freedom of nonlocal quantum gravity, we\nshow that the trans-Planckian energy regime is unattainable in laboratory\nexperiments. As physical implications, it turns out that the violation of\ncausality, typical of nonlocal field theories, can never be detected in\nparticle accelerators, while the asymptotic freedom of the theory provides an\nelegant solution to the so called trans-Planckian cosmological problem.",
        "positive": "Gravity = Yang-Mills: This essay's title is justified by discussing a class of Yang-Mills-type\ntheories of which standard Yang-Mills theories are special cases but which is\nbroad enough to include gravity as a double field theory. We use the framework\nof homotopy algebras, where conventional Yang-Mills theory is the tensor\nproduct ${\\cal K}\\otimes \\frak{g}$ of a `kinematic' algebra ${\\cal K}$ with a\ncolor Lie algebra $\\frak{g}$. The larger class of Yang-Mills-type theories are\ngiven by the tensor product of ${\\cal K}$ with more general Lie-type algebras\nof which ${\\cal K}$ itself is an example, up to anomalies that can be cancelled\nfor the tensor product with a second copy $\\bar{\\cal K}$. Gravity is then given\nby ${\\cal K}\\otimes \\bar{\\cal K}$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Quantization of FLPR Model: We quantize the Friedberg-Lee-Pang-Ren (FLPR) model, using an admissible\ngauge condition, within the framework of modified Faddeev-Jackiw formalism.\nFurther, we deduce the gauge symmetries and establish off-shell nilpotent and\nabsolutely anti-commuting (anti-)BRST symmetries. We also show that the\nphysical states of the theory are annihilated by the first class constraints\nwhich is consistent \\textit{\\`{a} la} Dirac formalism.",
        "positive": "General quantum-mechanical setting for field-antifield formalism as a\n  hyper-gauge theory: A general quantum-mechanical setting is proposed for the field-antifield\nformalism as a unique hyper-gauge theory in the field-antifield space. We\nformulate a Schr\\\"odinger-type equation to describe the quantum evolution in a\n\"current time\" purely formal in its nature. The corresponding Hamiltonian is\ndefined in the form of a supercommutator of the delta-operator with a\nhyper-gauge Fermion. The initial wave function is restricted to be annihilated\nwith the delta-operator. The Schr\\\"odinger's equation is resolved in a closed\nform of the path integral, whose action contains the symmetric Weyl's symbol of\nthe Hamiltonian. We take the path integral explicitly in the case of being a\nhyper-gauge Fermion an arbitrary function rather than an operator."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Induced fermionic current at finite temperature: Here we analyze the finite temperature expectation values of the charge and\ncurrent densities for a massive fermionic quantum field with nonzero chemical\npotential, $\\mu$, induced by a magnetic flux running along the axis of an\nidealized cosmic string. These densities are decomposed into the vacuum\nexpectation values and contributions coming from the particles and\nantiparticles. Specifically the charge density is an even periodic function of\nthe magnetic flux with the period equal to the quantum flux and an odd function\nof the chemical potential. The only nonzero component of the current density\ncorresponds to the azimuthal current and it is an odd periodic function of the\nmagnetic flux and an even function of the chemical potential. Both analyzed are\ndeveloped for the cases where $|\\mu |$ is smaller than the mass of the field\nquanta, $m$.",
        "positive": "Relations between the Worldline Quantum Field Theory and scattering\n  amplitudes for particles with spin: The Worldline Quantum Field Theory (WQFT) has proven to be an efficient tool\nfor calculating observables in gravitational wave physics. In contrast to other\nQFT-based techniques in the realm of gravitational wave physics, it makes the\nclassical limit very apparent. However, a natural question remains: How does it\nrelate to ordinary quantum field theories that we know from particle physics?\nThis question will be addressed by extending existing approaches to a\ndescription including spin. Furthermore, it will be explicitly shown that the\nWQFT can retain quantum contributions by summing up infinite towers of\nworldline loops."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Rotation Operator vs Particle Creation in a Curved Space Time: Taking into account a neutral massive scalar field minimally coupled to\ngravity, in a Robertson-Walker metric, it is shown that when the final state is\nconnected with the initial one by means of a Bogoliubov transformation, which\ndoes not include the single-mode rotation operator, the mean value of created\nparticles is conserved. When the rotation operator is considered, it is still\npossible to use the approach of single-mode squeezed operators and get the\nentropy as the logarithm of the created particles.",
        "positive": "Decoherence Problem in Ekpyrotic Phase: Quantum decoherence and the transition to semiclassical behavior during\ninflation has been extensively considered in the literature. In this paper, we\nuse a simple model to analyze the same process in ekpyrosis. Our result is that\nthe quantum to classical transition would not happen during an ekpyrotic phase\neven for superhorizon modes, and therefore the fluctuations cannot be\ninterpreted as classical. This implies the prediction of scale-free power\nspectrum in ekpyrotic/cyclic universe model requires more inspection."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The field theory limit of multiloop string amplitudes: We report on recent progress in the use of string techniques for the\ncomputation of field theory amplitudes. We show how one-loop renormalization\nconstants in Yang-Mills theory can be computed using the open spinning string,\nwe review the calculation of two-loop scalar amplitudes with the bosonic\nstring, and we briefly indicate how the technique can be applied to the\ntwo-loop vacuum bubbles of Yang-Mills theory.",
        "positive": "On the positivity of black hole degeneracies in string theory: Certain helicity trace indices of charged states in N=4 and N=8 superstring\ntheory have been computed exactly using their explicit weakly coupled\nmicroscopic description. These indices are expected to count the exact quantum\ndegeneracies of black holes carrying the same charges. In order for this\ninterpretation to be consistent, these indices should be positive integers. We\nprove this positivity property for a class of four/five dimensional black holes\nin type II string theory compactified on T^6/T^5 and on K3 \\times T^2/S^1. The\nproof relies on the mock modular properties of the corresponding generating\nfunctions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Topological Solitons in Discrete Space-Time as the Model of Fermions: In the present paper we discuss arguments, favouring the view that massive\nfermions represent dislocations (i.e. topological solitons) in discrete\nspace-time with Burgers vectors, parallel to an axis of time. If to put\nsymmetrical parts of tensors of distortions (i.e. derivatives of atomic\ndisplacements on coordinates) and mechanical stresses equal zero, the equations\nof the field theory of dislocations get the form of the Maxwell equations. If\nto consider these tensors as symmetrical, we shall receive the equations of the\ntheory of gravitation, and it turns out that the sum of tensor of distortions\nand pseudo-Euclidean metrical tensor is the analogue of metrical tensor. It is\nshown that we can also get Dirac equation with four-fermion interaction in the\nframework of the field theory of dislocations. This model explains quantization\nof electrical charge: it is proportional to the topological charge of\ndislocation, and this charge accepts quantized values because of discrete\nstructure of the 4-dimensional lattice.",
        "positive": "Wilson-loop One-point Functions in ABJM Theory: In this paper we initiate the study of correlation functions of a single\ntrace operator and a circular supersymmetric Wilson loop in ABJM theory. The\nsingle trace operator is in the scalar sector and is an eigenstate of the\nplanar two-loop dilatation operator. The Wilson loop is in the fundamental\nrepresentation of the gauge group or a suitable (super-)group. Such correlation\nfunctions at tree level can be written as an overlap of the Bethe state\ncorresponding to the single trace operator and a boundary state which\ncorresponds to the Wilson loop. There are various type of supersymmetric Wilson\nloops in ABJM theory. We show that some of them correspond to tree-level\nintegrable boundary states while some are not. For the tree-level integrable\nones, we prove their integrability and obtain analytic formula for the\noverlaps. For the non-integrable ones, we give examples of non-vanishing\noverlaps for Bethe states which violate selection rules."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the symmetry of $T\\bar T$ deformed CFT: We propose a symmetry of $T\\bar T$ deformed 2D CFT, which preserves the trace\nrelation. The deformed conformal killing equation is obtained. Once we consider\nthe background metric runs with the deformation parameter $\\mu$, the\ndeformation contributes an additional term in conformal killing equation, which\nplays the role of renormalization group flow of metric. The conformal symmetry\ncoincides with the fixed point. On the gravity side, this deformed conformal\nkilling equation can be described by a new boundary condition of AdS$_3$. In\naddition, based on the deformed conformal killing equation, we derive that the\nstress tensor of the deformed CFT equals to Brown-York's quasilocal stress\ntensor on a finite boundary with a counterterm. For a specific example, BTZ\nblack hole, we get $T\\bar T$ deformed conformal killing vectors and the\nassociated conserved charges are also studied.",
        "positive": "Manifestly Covariant Canonical Quantization of the Scalar Field and\n  Particle Localization: Particle localization within quantum field theory is revisited. Canonical\nquantization of a free scalar field theory is performed in a manifestly Lorentz\ncovariant way with respect to an arbitrary 3-surface $\\Sigma$, which is the\nsimultaneity surface associated with the observer, whose proper time direction\nis orthogonal to $\\Sigma$. Position on $\\Sigma$ is determined by a 4-vector\n${\\bar x}^\\mu$. The corresponding quantum position operator, formed in terms of\nthe operators $a^\\dagger ({\\bar x})$, $a({\\bar x})$, that create/annihilate\nparticles on $\\Sigma$, has thus well behaved properties under Lorentz\ntransformations. A generic state is a superposition of the states, created with\n$a^\\dagger ({\\bar x})$, the superposition coefficients forming multiparticle\nwave packet profiles---wave functions, including a single particle wave\nfunction that satisfies the covariant generalization of the Foldy equation. The\ncovariant center of mass operator is introduced and its expectation values in a\ngeneric multiparticle state calculated."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Critical behavior of charged Gauss-Bonnet AdS black holes in the grand\n  canonical ensemble: We study the thermodynamics in the grand canonical ensemble of D-dimensional\ncharged Gauss-Bonnet-AdS black holes in the extended phase space. We find that\nthe usual small-large black hole phase transition, which exhibits analogy with\nthe Van de Waals liquid-gas system holds in five-dimensional spherical charged\nGauss-Bonnet-AdS black holes when its potential is fixed within the range\n$0<\\Phi<\\frac{\\sqrt{3}\\pi}{4}$. For the other higher dimensional and\ntopological charged Gauss-Bonnet-AdS black holes, there is no such phase\ntransition. In the limiting case, Reissner-Nordstrom-AdS black holes, with\nvanishing Gauss-Bonnet parameter, there is no critical behavior in the grand\ncanonical ensemble. This result holds independent of the spacetime dimensions\nand topologies. We also examine the behavior of physical quantities in the\nvicinity of the critical point in the five-dimensional spherical charged\nGauss-Bonnet-AdS black holes.",
        "positive": "The radion and the perturbative metric in RS1: We calculate the linearized metric perturbations in the five dimensional\ntwo-brane model of Randall and Sundrum. In a carefully chosen gauge, we write\ndown and decouple Einstein equations for the perturbations and get the final\nand simple perturbative metric ansatz. This ansatz turns out to be equal to the\nlinear expansion of the metric solution of Charmousis et al. \\cite{rubakov}. We\nshow that this ansatz, the metric ansatz of Boos et al. \\cite{boos} and the one\nof Das and Mitov \\cite{das} are not incompatible, as it appears on the surface,\nbut completely equivalent by an allowed gauge transformation that we give."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Black hole thermodynamics from simulations of lattice Yang-Mills theory: We report on lattice simulations of 16 supercharge SU(N) Yang-Mills quantum\nmechanics in the 't Hooft limit. Maldacena duality conjectures that in this\nlimit the theory is dual to IIA string theory, and in particular that the\nbehavior of the thermal theory at low temperature is equivalent to that of\ncertain black holes in IIA supergravity. Our simulations probe the low\ntemperature regime for N <= 5 and the intermediate and high temperature regimes\nfor N <= 12. We observe 't Hooft scaling and at low temperatures our results\nare consistent with the dual black hole prediction. The intermediate\ntemperature range is dual to the Horowitz-Polchinski correspondence region, and\nour results are consistent with smooth behavior there. We include the Pfaffian\nphase arising from the fermions in our calculations where appropriate.",
        "positive": "Vortices in Theories with Flat Directions: In theories with flat directions containing vortices, such as supersymmetric\nQED, there is a vacuum selection effect in the allowed asymptotic\nconfigurations. We explain the role played by gauge fields in this effect and\ngive a simple criterion for determining what vacua will be chosen, namely those\nthat minimise the vector mass. We then consider the effect of vacuum selection\non stable (BPS) non-topological vortices in a simple Abelian model with N=2\nsupersymmetry which occurs as a low energy limit of Calabi-Yau\ncompactifications of type II superstrings. In this case the magnetic flux\nspreads over an arbitrarily large area. We discuss the implications for\ncosmology and for superstring inspired magnetic confinement scenarios."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hyperbolic Numbers and the Dirac Spinor: A representation of the Lorentz group is given in terms of 4 X 4 matrices\ndefined over the hyperbolic number system. The transformation properties of the\ncorresponding four component spinor are studied, and shown to be equivalent to\nthe transformation properties of the complex Dirac spinor. As an application,\nwe show that there exists an algebra of automorphisms of the complex Dirac\nspinor that leaves the transformation properties of its eight real components\ninvariant under any given Lorentz transformation. Interestingly, the\nrepresentation of the Lorentz algebra presented here is naturally embedded in\nthe Lie algebra of a group isomorphic to SO(3,3;R) instead of the conformal\ngroup SO(2,4;R).",
        "positive": "Hawking radiation of charged particles as tunneling from\n  Reissner-Nordstrom-de Sitter black holes with a global monopole: Applying Parikh's semi-classical tunneling method, we consider Hawking\nradiation of the charged massive particles as a tunneling process from the\nReissner-Nordstrom-de Sitter black hole with a global monopole. The result\nshows that the tunneling rate is related to the change of Bekenstein-Hawking\nentropy and the radiant spectrum is not a pure thermal one, but is consistent\nwith an underlying unitary theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Heterotic Non-Kahler Geometries via Polystable Bundles on Calabi-Yau\n  Threefolds: In arXiv:1008.1018 it is shown that a given stable vector bundle $V$ on a\nCalabi-Yau threefold $X$ which satisfies $c_2(X)=c_2(V)$ can be deformed to a\nsolution of the Strominger system and the equations of motion of heterotic\nstring theory. In this note we extend this result to the polystable case and\nconstruct explicit examples of polystable bundles on elliptically fibered\nCalabi-Yau threefolds where it applies. The polystable bundle is given by a\nspectral cover bundle, for the visible sector, and a suitably chosen bundle,\nfor the hidden sector. This provides a new class of heterotic flux\ncompactifications via non-Kahler deformation of Calabi-Yau geometries with\npolystable bundles. As an application, we obtain examples of non-Kahler\ndeformations of some three generation GUT models.",
        "positive": "Properties of Bigravity Solutions in a Solvable Class: We consider the properties of solutions in the bigravity theory for general\nmodels, which are parametrized by two parameters $\\alpha_{3}$ and $\\alpha_{4}$.\nAssuming that two metric tensors $g_{\\mu \\nu}$ and $f_{\\mu \\nu}$ satisfy the\ncondition $f_{\\mu \\nu}=C^{2}g_{\\mu \\nu}$ where $C$ is a constant, we\ninvestigate the conditions for the parameters so that the solutions with\n$C\\neq1$ could exist. We also discuss the magnitude and the sign of\ncorresponding cosmological constants.\n  For the black hole solution, we consider the black hole entropy to which the\nmassive spin-$2$ field contributes. In order to obtain the black hole entropy,\nwe take an approach which uses the Virasoro algebra and the central charge\ncorresponding to the surface term in the action."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Some Hidden Structure in BKL: The way spacetime behaves as one approaches a spacelike singularity is\nre-investigated. We find a simple twistorial presentation that includes and\nsimplifies the classic work of Belinskii, Khalatnikov and Lifshitz as well as\nthe more recent results of Damour, Henneaux and Nicolai. We speculate on the\napplication of our technique to the E{10} programme of M-theory.",
        "positive": "Non-uniform Black Strings with Schwarzschild-(Anti-)de Sitter Foliation: We present some exact non-uniform black string solutions of 5-dimensional\npure Einstein gravity as well as Einstein-Maxwell-dilaton theory at arbitrary\ndilaton coupling. The solutions share the common property that their\n4-dimensional slices are Schwarzchild-(anti-)de Sitter spacetimes. The pure\ngravity solution is also generalized to spacetimes of dimensions higher than 5\nto get non-uniform black branes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A semi-holographic model for heavy-ion collisions: We develop a semi-holographic model for the out-of-equilibrium dynamics\nduring the partonic stages of an ultrarelativistic heavy-ion collision. The\nmodel combines a weakly-coupled hard sector, involving gluon modes with energy\nand momenta of the order of the saturation momentum and relatively large\noccupation numbers, with a strongly-coupled soft sector, which physically\nrepresents the soft gluons radiated by the hard partons. The hard sector is\ndescribed by perturbative QCD, more precisely, by its semi-classical\napproximation (the classical Yang-Mills equations) which becomes appropriate\nwhen the occupation numbers are large. The soft sector is described by a\nmarginally deformed conformal field theory, which in turn admits a holographic\ndescription in terms of classical Einstein's equations in $AdS_5$ with a\nminimally coupled massless `dilaton'. The model involve two free parameters\nwhich characterize the gauge-invariant couplings between the hard and soft\nsectors. Via these couplings, the hard modes provide dynamical sources for the\ngravitational equations at the boundary of $AdS_5$ and feel the feedback of the\nlatter as additional soft sources in the classical Yang-Mills equations.\nImportantly, the initial conditions for this coupled dynamics are fully\ndetermined by the hard sector alone, i.e. by perturbative QCD, and are\nconveniently given by the color glass condensate (CGC) effective theory. We\nalso develop a new semi-holographic picture of jets in the QGP by attaching a\nnon-Abelian charge to the endpoint of the trailing string in $AdS_5$\nrepresenting a heavy quark. This leads to modified Nambu-Goto equations for the\nstring which govern the (collisional and radiative) energy loss by the heavy\nquark towards both hard and soft modes.",
        "positive": "Conifold Transitions and Five-Brane Condensation in M-Theory on Spin(7)\n  Manifolds: We conjecture a topology changing transition in M-theory on a non-compact\nasymptotically conical Spin(7) manifold, where a 5-sphere collapses and a CP(2)\nbolt grows. We argue that the transition may be understood as the condensation\nof M5-branes wrapping the 5-sphere. Upon reduction to ten dimensions, it has a\nphysical interpretation as a transition of D6-branes lying on calibrated\nsubmanifolds of flat space. In yet another guise, it may be seen as a geometric\ntransition between two phases of type IIA string theory on a G_2 holonomy\nmanifold with either wrapped D6-branes, or background Ramond-Ramond flux. This\nis the first non-trivial example of a topology changing transition with only\n1/16 supersymmetry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Boundary of the Future: We prove that the boundary of the future of a surface $K$ consists precisely\nof the points $p$ that lie on a null geodesic orthogonal to $K$ such that\nbetween $K$ and $p$ there are no points conjugate to $K$ nor intersections with\nanother such geodesic. Our theorem has applications to holographic screens and\ntheir associated light sheets and in particular enters the proof that\nholographic screens satisfy an area law.",
        "positive": "Non-perturbative superpotentials across lines of marginal stability: We discuss the behaviour of non-perturbative superpotentials in 4d N=1 type\nII compactifications (and orientifolds thereof) near lines of marginal\nstability, where the spectrum of contributing BPS D-brane instantons changes\ndiscontinuously. The superpotential is nevertheless continuous, in agreement\nwith its holomorphic dependence on the closed string moduli. The microscopic\nmechanism ensuring this continuity involves novel contributions to the\nsuperpotential: As an instanton becomes unstable against decay to several\ninstantons, the latter provide a multi-instanton contribution which\nreconstructs that of the single-instanton before decay. The process can be\nunderstood as a non-perturbative lifting of additional fermion zero modes of an\ninstanton by interactions induced by other instantons. These effects provide\nmechanisms via which instantons with U(1) symmetry can contribute to the\nsuperpotential. We provide explicit examples of these effects for non-gauge\nD-brane instantons, and for D-brane gauge instantons (where the motions in\nmoduli space can be interpreted as Higgsing, or Seiberg dualities)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "S-matrix and Quantum Tunneling in Gravitational Collapse: Using the recently introduced ACV reduced-action approach to transplanckian\nscattering of light particles, we show that the $S$-matrix in the region of\nclassical gravitational collapse is related to a tunneling amplitude in an\neffective field space. We understand in this way the role of both real and\ncomplex field solutions, the choice of the physical ones, the absorption of the\nelastic channel associated to inelastic multigraviton production and the\noccurrence of extra absorption below the critical impact parameter. We are also\nable to compute a class of quantum corrections to the original semiclassical\n$S$-matrix that we argue to be qualitatively sensible and which, generally\nspeaking, tend to smooth out the semiclassical results.",
        "positive": "Dissipative effects in finite density holographic superfluids: We derive the leading dissipative corrections of holographic superfluids at\nfinite temperature and chemical potential by employing our recently developed\ntechniques to study dissipative effects in the hydrodynamic limit of\nholographic theories. As part of our results, we express the incoherent\nconductivity, the shear and the three bulk viscosities in terms of\nthermodynamics and the black hole horizon data of the dual bulk geometries. We\nuse our results to show that all three bulk viscosities exhibit singular\nbehaviour close to the critical point."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Self-dual soliton solutions in a Chern-Simons-CP(1) model with a\n  nonstandard kinetic term: A generalization of the Chern-Simons-CP(1) model is considered by introducing\na nonstandard kinetic term. For a particular case, of this nonstandard kinetic\nterm, we show that the model support self-dual Bogomolnyi equations. The BPS\nenergy has a bound proportional to the sum of the magnetic flux and the CP(1)\ntopological charge. The self-dual equations are solved analytically and\nverified numerically.",
        "positive": "All-Order Quartic Couplings in Highly Symmetric D-brane-Anti-D-brane\n  Systems: We compute six-point string amplitudes for the scattering of one closed\nstring Ramond-Ramond state, two tachyons, and two gauge fields in the\nworldvolume of D-brane-anti-D-brane systems in the Type II superstring\ntheories. From the resulting S-matrix elements, we read off the precise form of\nthe couplings, including their exact numerical coefficients, of two tachyons\nand two gauge fields in the corresponding highly symmetric effective field\ntheory (EFT) Lagrangian in the worldvolume of D-brane-Anti-D-brane to all\norders in $\\alpha'$, which modify and complete previous proposals. We verify\nthat the EFT reproduces the infinite collection of stringy gauge field\nsingularities in dual channels. Inspired by interesting similarities between\nthe all-order highly symmetric EFTs and holographic duals of Vasiliev's higher\nspin gravities \\`a l\\`a Nilsson and Vasiliev, we make a proposal for\ntensionless limits of D-brane-anti-D-brane systems."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Moduli Space of BPS Walls in Supersymmetric Gauge Theories: Existence and uniqueness of the solution are proved for the `master equation'\nderived from the BPS equation for the vector multiplet scalar in the U(1) gauge\ntheory with Nf charged matter hypermultiplets with eight supercharges. This\nproof finally establishes the fact that the moduli space of the BPS domain wall\nsolution is CP^(N_f-1) for the gauge theory at finite gauge couplings.\nTherefore the moduli space at finite gauge couplings is topologically the same\nmanifold as that at infinite gauge coupling, where the gauged linear sigma\nmodel reduces to a nonlinear sigma model. The proof is extended to the U(Nc)\ngauge theory with Nf hypermultiplets in the fundamental representation,\nprovided the moduli matrix of the domain wall solution is U(1)-factorizable.\nThus the dimension of the moduli space of U(Nc) gauge theory is bounded from\nbelow by the dimension of the U(1)-factorizable part of the moduli space. We\nalso obtain sharp estimates of the asymptotic exponential decay which depend on\nboth the gauge coupling and the hypermultiplet mass differences.",
        "positive": "CALCULATION OF DE WITT--SEELEY--GILKEY COEFFICIENTS FOR MINIMAL\n  FOURTH--ORDER OPERATOR: De Witt--Seeley--Gilkey coefficients are calculated for the most general\nminimal differential fourth--order operator on Riemannian space of an arbitrary\ndimension."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Induced Gravity II: Grand Unification: As an illustration of a renormalizable, asymptotically-free model of induced\ngravity, we consider an $SO(10)$ gauge theory interacting with a real scalar\nmultiplet in the adjoint representation. We show that dimensional transmutation\ncan occur, spontaneously breaking $SO(10)$ to $SU(5){\\otimes}U(1),$ while\ninducing the Planck mass and a positive cosmological constant, all proportional\nto the same scale $v$. All mass ratios are functions of the values of coupling\nconstants at that scale. Below this scale (at which the Big Bang may occur),\nthe model takes the usual form of Einstein-Hilbert gravity in de Sitter space\nplus calculable corrections. We show that there exist regions of parameter\nspace in which the breaking results in a local minimum of the effective action,\nand a {\\bf positive} dilaton $(\\hbox{mass})^2$ from two-loop corrections\nassociated with the conformal anomaly. Furthermore, unlike the singlet case we\nconsidered previously, some minima lie within the basin of attraction of the\nultraviolet fixed point. Moreover, the asymptotic behavior of the coupling\nconstants also lie within the range of convergence of the Euclidean path\nintegral, so there is hope that there will be candidates for sensible vacua.\nAlthough open questions remain concerning unitarity of all such renormalizable\nmodels of gravity, it is not obvious that, in curved backgrounds such as those\nconsidered here, unitarity is violated. In any case, any violation that may\nremain will be suppressed by inverse powers of the reduced Planck mass.",
        "positive": "Non-perturbative de Sitter vacua via $\u03b1'$ corrections: The higher-derivative $\\alpha'$ corrections consistent with $O(d,d)$ duality\ninvariance can be completely classified for cosmological, purely time-dependent\nbackgrounds. This result is used to show that there are duality invariant\ntheories featuring string-frame de Sitter vacua as solutions that are\nnon-perturbative in $\\alpha'$, thus suggesting that classical string theory may\nrealize de Sitter solutions in an unexpected fashion."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supergravity Approach to Tachyon Potential in Brane-Antibrane Systems: Using an exact supergravity solution representing the Dp-\\bar{Dp} system, it\nis demonstrated that one can construct a supergravity analogue of the tachyon\npotential. Remarkably, the (regularized) minimum value of the potential turns\nout to be V(T_{0})=-2m with m denoting the ADM mass of a single Dp-brane. This\nresult, in a sense, appears to confirm that Sen's conjecture for the tachyon\ncondensation on unstable D-branes is indeed correct although the analysis used\nhere is semi-classical in nature and hence should be taken with some care. Also\nshown is the fact that the tachyon mass squared m^2_{T} (which has started out\nas being negative) can actually become positive definite and large as the\ntachyon rolls down toward the minimum of its potential. It indeed signals the\npossibility of successful condensation of the tachyon since it shows that near\nthe minimum of its potential, tachyon can become heavy enough to disappear from\nthe massless spectrum. Some cosmological implications of this tachyon potential\nin the context of ``rolling tachyons'' is also discussed.",
        "positive": "Introduction to AdS-CFT: These lectures present an introduction to AdS-CFT, and are intended both for\nbegining and more advanced graduate students, which are familiar with quantum\nfield theory and have a working knowledge of their basic methods. Familiarity\nwith supersymmetry, general relativity and string theory is helpful, but not\nnecessary, as the course intends to be as self-contained as possible. I will\nintroduce the needed elements of field and gauge theory, general relativity,\nsupersymmetry, supergravity, strings and conformal field theory. Then I\ndescribe the basic AdS-CFT scenario, of ${\\cal N}=4 $ Super Yang-Mills's\nrelation to string theory in $AdS_5\\times S_5$, and applications that can be\nderived from it: 3-point functions, quark-antiquark potential, finite\ntemperature and scattering processes, the pp wave correspondence and spin\nchains. I also describe some general properties of gravity duals of gauge\ntheories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the geometry of higher-spin gauge fields: We review a recent construction of the free field equations for totally\nsymmetric tensors and tensor-spinors that exhibits the corresponding linearized\ngeometry. These equations are not local for all spins >2, involve unconstrained\nfields and gauge parameters, rest on the curvatures introduced long ago by de\nWit and Freedman, and reduce to the local (Fang-)Fronsdal form upon partial\ngauge fixing. We also describe how the higher-spin geometry is realized in free\nString Field Theory, and how the gauge fixing to the light cone can be\neffected. Finally, we review the essential features of local compensator forms\nfor the higher-spin bosonic and fermionic equations with the same unconstrained\ngauge symmetry.",
        "positive": "D-branes and T-duality: We show how the $T$--duality between $D$--branes is realized (i) on\n$p$--brane solutions $(p=0,\\cdots ,9)$ of IIA/IIB supergravity and (ii) on the\n$D$--brane actions ($p=0,\\cdots ,3)$ that act as source terms for the\n$p$--brane solutions. We point out that the presence of a cosmological constant\nin the IIA theory leads, by the requirement of gauge invariance, to a\ntopological mass term for the worldvolume gauge field in the 2--brane case."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Bulk matter fields on two-field thick branes: In this paper we obtain a new solution of a brane made up of a scalar field\ncoupled to a dilaton. There is a unique parameter $b$ in the solution, which\ndecides the distribution of the energy density and will effect the localization\nof bulk matter fields. For free vector fields, we find that the zero mode can\nbe localized on the brane. And for vector fields coupled with the dilaton via\n$\\text{e}^{\\tau\\pi}F_{MN}F^{MN}$, the condition for localizing the zero mode is\n$\\tau\\geq-\\sqrt{b/3}$ with $0<b\\leq1$, or $\\tau>-1/\\sqrt{3b}$ with $b>1$, which\nincludes the case $\\tau=0$. While the zero mode for free Kalb-Ramond fields can\nnot be localized on the brane, if only we introduce a coupling between the\nKalb-Ramond fields and the dilaton via $\\text{e}^{\\zeta \\pi}H_{MNL}H^{MNL}$.\nWhen the coupling constant satisfies $\\zeta>1/\\sqrt{3b}$ with $b\\geq1$ or\n$\\zeta>\\frac{2-b}{\\sqrt{3b}}$ with $0<b<1$, the zero mode for the KR fields can\nbe localized on the brane. For spin half fermion fields, we consider the\ncoupling $\\eta\\bar{\\Psi}\\text{e}^{\\lambda \\pi}\\phi\\Psi$ between the fermions\nand the background scalars with positive Yukawa coupling $\\eta$. The effective\npotentials for both chiral fermions have three types of shapes decided by the\nrelation between the dilaton-fermion coupling constant $\\lambda$ and the\nparameter $b$. For $\\lambda\\leq-1/\\sqrt{3b}$, the zero mode of left-chiral\nfermion can be localized on the brane. While for $\\lambda>-1/\\sqrt{3b}$ with\n$b>1$ or $-1/\\sqrt{3b}<\\lambda<-\\sqrt{b/3}$ with $0<b\\leq1$, the zero mode for\nleft-chiral fermion also can be localized.",
        "positive": "$S$-duality of $u(1)$ gauge theory with $\u03b8=\u03c0$ on non-orientable\n  manifolds: Applications to topological insulators and superconductors: Electric-magnetic duality ($S$-duality) is a well-known property of pure\n$u(1)$ gauge theory in 3+1 dimensions. In this paper, we investigate the\ncompatibility of this duality with time-reversal symmetry. We consider two\ntheories obtained by coupling a Dirac fermion with an \"inverted\" sign of the\nmass $m$ to a $u(1)$ gauge field. Time-reversal in the two theories is\nimplemented respectively via the $T$ and $CT$ symmetries of the Dirac fermion.\nIt was recently conjectured (C. Wang and T. Senthil (arXiv:1505.03520), and M.\nMetlitski and A.Vishwanath (arXiv:1505.05142)) that in the $|m| \\to \\infty$\nlimit these two theories are $S$-dual to each other. We provide support for\nthis conjecture by studying partition functions of the two theories on\nnon-orientable manifolds as a way to probe the realization of time-reversal.\nUpon integrating out the Dirac fermion, topological terms in the actions of the\ntwo theories are generated. While on an orientable manifold topological terms\nin both theories reduce to a $\\theta$-term with $\\theta = \\pi$, on a\nnon-orientable manifold they are distinct. We explicitly compute partition\nfunctions of the two theories on the manifold $\\mathbb{RP}^4$ and show that\nthey are equal; this result combined with certain physical arguments is\nsufficient to establish the duality. The two theories can be viewed as a gauged\ntopological insulator in class AII and a gauged topological superconductor in\nclass AIII, and the bulk duality allows us to derive previously conjectured\nnon-trivial symmetric gapped surface states of these phases."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Kac-Moody and Virasoro Characters from the Perturbative Chern-Simons\n  Path Integral: We evaluate to one loop the functional integral that computes the partition\nfunctions of Chern-Simons theories based on compact groups, using the\nbackground field method and a covariant gauge fixing. We compare our\ncomputation with the results of other, less direct methods. We find that our\nmethod correctly computes the characters of irreducible representations of\nKac-Moody algebras. To extend the computation to non-compact groups we need to\nperform an appropriate analytic continuation of the partition function of the\ncompact group. Non-vacuum characters are found by inserting a Wilson loop in\nthe functional integral. We then extend our method to Euclidean Anti-de Sitter\npure gravity in three dimensions. The explicit computation unveils several\ninteresting features and lessons. The most important among them is that the\nvery definition of gravity in the first-order Chern-Simons formalism requires\nnon-trivial analytic continuations of the gauge fields outside their original\ndomains of definition.",
        "positive": "Modular Forms and $SL(2, {\\mathbb Z})$-covariance of type IIB\n  superstring theory: The local higher-derivative interactions that enter into the low-energy\nexpansion of the effective action of type IIB superstring theory with constant\ncomplex modulus generally violate the $U(1)$ R-symmetry of IIB supergravity by\n$q_U$ units. These interactions have coefficients that transform as\nnon-holomorphic modular forms under $SL(2, {\\mathbb Z})$ transformations with\nholomorphic and anti-holomorphic weights $(w,-w)$, where $q_U=-2w$.\n  In this paper $SL(2, {\\mathbb Z})$-covariance and supersymmetry are used to\ndetermine first-order differential equations on moduli space that relate the\nmodular form coefficients of classes of BPS-protected maximal $U(1)$-violating\ninteractions that arise at low orders in the low-energy expansion. These are\nthe moduli-dependent coefficients of BPS interactions of the form $d^{2p}\n\\mathcal{P}_n$ in linearised approximation, where $\\mathcal{P}_n$ is the\nproduct of $n$ fields that has dimension $=8$ with $q_U=8-2n$, and $p=0$, $2$\nor $3$. These first-order equations imply that the coefficients satisfy $SL(2,\n{\\mathbb Z})$-covariant Laplace eigenvalue equations on moduli space with\nsolutions that contain information concerning perturbative and non-perturbative\ncontributions to superstring amplitudes. For $p=3$ and $n\\ge 6$ there are two\nindependent modular forms, one of which has a vanishing tree-level\ncontribution.\n  The analysis of super-amplitudes for $U(1)$-violating processes involving\narbitrary numbers of external fluctuations of the complex modulus leads to a\ndiagrammatic derivation of the first-order differential relations and Laplace\nequations satisfied by the coefficient modular forms. Combining this with a\n$SL(2, {\\mathbb Z})$-covariant soft axio-dilaton limit that relates amplitudes\nwith different values of $n$ determines most of the modular invariant\ncoefficients, leaving a single undetermined constant."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Type II pp-wave Matrix Models from Point-like Gravitons: The BMN Matrix model can be regarded as a theory of coincident M-theory\ngravitons, which expand by Myers dielectric effect into the 2-sphere and\n5-sphere giant graviton vacua of the theory. In this note we show that, in the\nsame fashion, Matrix String theory in Type IIA pp-wave backgrounds arises from\nthe action for coincident Type IIA gravitons. In Type IIB, we show that the\naction for coincident gravitons in the maximally supersymmetric pp-wave\nbackground gives rise to a Matrix model which supports fuzzy 3-sphere giant\ngraviton vacua with the right behavior in the classical limit. We discuss the\nrelation between our Matrix model and the Tiny Graviton Matrix theory of\nhep-th/0406214.",
        "positive": "Planar Quantum Mechanics: an Intriguing Supersymmetric Example: After setting up a Hamiltonian formulation of planar (matrix) quantum\nmechanics, we illustrate its effectiveness in a non-trivial supersymmetric\nexample. The numerical and analytical study of two sectors of the model, as a\nfunction of 't Hooft's coupling $\\lambda$, reveals both a phase transition at\n$\\lambda=1$ (disappearence of the mass gap and discontinuous jump in Witten's\nindex) and a new form of strong-weak duality for $\\lambda \\to 1/\\lambda$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Resolving the Ghost Problem in non-Linear Massive Gravity: We analyze the ghost issue in the recently proposed models of non-linear\nmassive gravity in the ADM formalism. We show that, in the entire two-parameter\nfamily of actions, the Hamiltonian constraint is maintained at the complete\nnon-linear level and we argue for the existence of a non-trivial secondary\nconstraint. This implies the absence of the pathological Boulware-Deser ghost\nto all orders. To our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of the\nexistence of a consistent theory of massive gravity at the complete non-linear\nlevel, in four dimensions.",
        "positive": "Squeezed coherent states for noncommutative spaces with minimal length\n  uncertainty relations: We provide an explicit construction for Gazeau-Klauder coherent states\nrelated to non-Hermitian Hamiltonians with discrete bounded below and\nnondegenerate eigenspectrum. The underlying spacetime structure is taken to be\nof a noncommutative type with associated uncertainty relations implying minimal\nlengths. The uncertainty relations for the constructed states are shown to be\nsaturated in a Hermitian as well as a non-Hermitian setting for a perturbed\nharmonic oscillator. The computed value of the Mandel parameter dictates that\nthe coherent wavepackets are assembled according to sub-Poissonian statistics.\nFractional revival times, indicating the superposition of classical-like\nsub-wave packets are clearly identified."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Counterterms, Holonomy and Supersymmetry: The divergence structure of supergravity has long been a topic of concern\nbecause of the theory's non-renormalizability. In the context of string theory,\nwhere perturbative finiteness should be achieved, the supergravity counterterm\nstructures remain nonetheless of importance because they still occur, albeit\nwith finite coefficients. The leading nonvanishing supergravity counterterms\nhave a particularly rich structure that has a bearing on the preservation of\nsupersymmetry in string vacua in the presence of perturbative string\ncorrections. Although the holonomy of such manifolds is deformed by the\ncorrections, a Killing spinor structure nevertheless can persist. The\nintegrability conditions for the existence of such Killing spinors remarkably\nremain consistent with the perturbed effective field equations.",
        "positive": "Fake R^4's, Einstein Spaces and Seiberg-Witten Monopole Equations: We discuss the possible relevance of some recent mathematical results and\ntechniques on four-manifolds to physics. We first suggest that the existence of\nuncountably many R^4's with non-equivalent smooth structures, a mathematical\nphenomenon unique to four dimensions, may be responsible for the observed\nfour-dimensionality of spacetime. We then point out the remarkable fact that\nself-dual gauge fields and Weyl spinors can live on a manifold of Euclidean\nsignature without affecting the metric. As a specific example, we consider\nsolutions of the Seiberg-Witten Monopole Equations in which the U(1) fields are\ncovariantly constant, the monopole Weyl spinor has only a single constant\ncomponent, and the 4-manifold M_4 is a product of two Riemann surfaces\nSigma_{p_1} and Sigma_{p_2}. There are p_{1}-1(p_{2}-1) magnetic(electric)\nvortices on \\Sigma_{p_1}(\\Sigma_{p_2}), with p_1 + p_2 \\geq 2 (p_1=p_2= 1 being\nexcluded). When the two genuses are equal, the electromagnetic fields are\nself-dual and one obtains the Einstein space \\Sigma_p x \\Sigma_p, the monopole\ncondensate serving as the cosmological constant."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Correlation functions for M^N/S_N orbifolds: We develop a method for computing correlation functions of twist operators in\nthe bosonic 2-d CFT arising from orbifolds M^N/S_N, where M is an arbitrary\nmanifold. The path integral with twist operators is replaced by a path integral\non a covering space with no operator insertions. Thus, even though the CFT is\ndefined on the sphere, the correlators are expressed in terms of partition\nfunctions on Riemann surfaces with a finite range of genus g. For large N, this\ngenus expansion coincides with a 1/N expansion. The contribution from the\ncovering space of genus zero is `universal' in the sense that it depends only\non the central charge of the CFT. For 3-point functions we give an explicit\nform for the contribution from the sphere, and for the 4-point function we do\nan example which has genus zero and genus one contributions. The condition for\nthe genus zero contribution to the 3-point functions to be non--vanishing is\nsimilar to the fusion rules for an SU(2) WZW model. We observe that the 3-point\ncoupling becomes small compared to its large N limit when the orders of the\ntwist operators become comparable to the square root of N - this is a\nmanifestation of the stringy exclusion principle.",
        "positive": "Quantization of T_d- and O_h-symmetric Skyrmions: The geometrical construction of rational maps using a cubic grid has led to\nmany new Skyrmion solutions, with baryon numbers up to 108. Energy spectra of\nsome of the new Skyrmions are calculated here by semi-classical quantization.\nQuantization of the B=20 T_d-symmetric Skyrmion, which is one of the newly\nfound Skyrmions, is considered, and this leads to the development of a new\napproach to solving Finkelstein-Rubinstein (F-R) constraints. Matrix equations\nare simplified by introducing a Cartesian version of angular momentum basis\nstates, and the computations are easier. The quantum states of all\nT_d-symmetric Skyrmions, constructed from the cubic grid, are classified into\nthree classes, depending on the contribution of vertex points of the cubic grid\nto the rational maps. The analysis is extended to the larger symmetry group\nO_h. Quantum states of O_h-symmetric Skyrmions, constructed from the cubic\ngrid, form a subset of the T_d-symmetric quantum states."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Ricci-Flat and Charged Wormholes in Five Dimensions: We construct stationary Ricci-flat inter-universe Lorentzian wormhole\nsolutions in all D\\ge 5 dimensions that connect two flat asymptotic spacetimes.\nSuch a solution can be viewed as the gravity dual of a string tachyon state\nwhose linear momentum is larger than its tension. We focus our analysis on the\nD=5 wormholes which are not traversable for the timelike and null geodesics;\nhowever, we demonstrate that there exist accelerated timelike trajectories that\ntraverse from one asymptotic region to the other. We further study the\nminimally-coupled scalar wave equation and demonstrate that the quantum\ntunnelling between two worlds must occur. We also obtain charged wormholes in\nfive-dimensional supergravities. With appropriate choice of parameters, these\nwormholes connect AdS$_3\\times S^2$ in one asymptotic region to flat\nMinkowskian spacetime in the other.",
        "positive": "Stabilizing All Kahler Moduli in Type IIB Orientifolds: We describe a simple and robust mechanism that stabilizes all Kahler moduli\nin Type IIB orientifold compactifications. This is shown to be possible with\njust one non-perturbative contribution to the superpotential coming from either\na D3-instanton or D7-branes wrapped on an ample divisor. This\nmoduli-stabilization mechanism is similar to and motivated by the one used in\nthe fluxless G_2 compactifications of M-theory. After explaining the general\nidea, explicit examples of Calabi-Yau orientifolds with one and three Kahler\nmoduli are worked out. We find that the stabilized volumes of all two- and\nfour-cycles as well as the volume of the Calabi-Yau manifold are controlled by\na single parameter, namely, the volume of the ample divisor. This feature would\ndramatically constrain any realistic models of particle physics embedded into\nsuch compactifications. Broad consequences for phenomenology are discussed, in\nparticular the dynamical solution to the strong CP-problem within the\nframework."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Gauge Theory for Shallow Water: The shallow water equations describe the horizontal flow of a thin layer of\nfluid with varying height. We show that the equations can be rewritten as a\nd=2+1 dimensional gauge theory with a Chern-Simons term. The theory contains\ntwo Abelian gauge fields, corresponding to the conserved height and conserved\nvorticity of the fluid. In a certain linearised approximation, the shallow\nwater equations reduce to relativistic Maxwell-Chern-Simons theory. This\ndescribes Poincar\\'e waves. The chiral edge modes of the theory are identified\nas coastal Kelvin waves.",
        "positive": "Perturbative String Thermodynamics near Black Hole Horizons: We provide further computations and ideas to the problem of near-Hagedorn\nstring thermodynamics near (uncharged) black hole horizons, building upon our\nearlier work JHEP 1403 (2014) 086. The relevance of long strings to one-loop\nblack hole thermodynamics is emphasized. We then provide an argument in favor\nof the absence of $\\alpha'$-corrections for the (quadratic) heterotic thermal\nscalar action in Rindler space. We also compute the large $k$ limit of the\ncigar orbifold partition functions (for both bosonic and type II superstrings)\nwhich allows a better comparison between the flat cones and the cigar cones. A\ndiscussion is made on the general McClain-Roth-O'Brien-Tan theorem and on the\nfact that different torus embeddings lead to different aspects of string\nthermodynamics. The black hole/string correspondence principle for the 2d black\nhole is discussed in terms of the thermal scalar. Finally, we present an\nargument to deal with arbitrary higher genus partition functions, suggesting\nthe breakdown of string perturbation theory (in $g_s$) to compute\nthermodynamical quantities in black hole spacetimes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A toy model of bosonic non-canonical quantum field: A harmonic oscillator is an indefinite-frequency one if the parameter\n$\\omega$ is replaced by an operator. An ensemble of $N$ such oscillators may be\nregarded as a toy model of a bosonic quantum field. All the possible\nfrequencies associated with a given problem are present already in a single\noscillator and $N$ can be finite. Due to the operator character of $\\omega$ the\nresulting algebra of creation-annihilation operators is non-canonical. In the\nlimit of large $N$ one recovers perturbation theory formulas of the canonical\nquantum field theory but with form factors automatically built in. Vacuum\nenergy of the ensemble is finite, a fact discussed in the context of the\ncosmological constant problem. Space of states is given by a vector bundle with\nFock-type fibers. Interactions of the field with 2-level systems, including\nRabi oscillations and spontaneous emission, are discussed in detail.",
        "positive": "AdS Duals of Matrix Strings: We review recent work on the holographic duals of type II and heterotic\nmatrix string theories described by warped AdS_3 supergravities. In particular,\nwe compute the spectra of Kaluza-Klein primaries for type I, II supergravities\non warped AdS_3xS^7 and match them with the primary operators in the dual\ntwo-dimensional gauge theories. The presence of non-trivial warp factors and\ndilaton profiles requires a modification of the familiar dictionary between\nmasses and ``scaling'' dimensions of fields and operators. We present these\nmodifications for the general case of domain wall/QFT correspondences between\nsupergravities on warped AdS_{d+1}xS^q geometries and super Yang-Mills theories\nwith 16 supercharges."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Cosmologies with Null Singularities and their Gauge Theory Duals: We investigate backgrounds of Type IIB string theory with null singularities\nand their duals proposed in hep-th/0602107. The dual theory is a deformed N=4\nYang-Mills theory in 3+1 dimensions with couplings dependent on a light-like\ndirection. We concentrate on backgrounds which become AdS_5 x S^5 at early and\nlate times and where the string coupling is bounded, vanishing at the\nsingularity. Our main conclusion is that in these cases the dual gauge theory\nis nonsingular. We show this by arguing that there exists a complete set of\ngauge invariant observables in the dual gauge theory whose correlation\nfunctions are nonsingular at all times. The two-point correlator for some\noperators calculated in the gauge theory does not agree with the result from\nthe bulk supergravity solution. However, the bulk calculation is invalid near\nthe singularity where corrections to the supergravity approximation become\nimportant. We also obtain pp-waves which are suitable Penrose limits of this\ngeneral class of solutions, and construct the Matrix Membrane theory which\ndescribes these pp-wave backgrounds.",
        "positive": "Spectrum of the quantum Neumann model: We study numerically the spectrum and eigenfunctions of the quantum Neumann\nmodel, illustrating some general properties of a non trivial integrable model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Preheating with Fractional Powers: We consider preheating in models in which the potential for the inflaton is\ngiven by a fractional power, as is the case in axion monodromy inflation. We\nassume a standard coupling between the inflaton field and a scalar matter\nfield. We find that in spite of the fact that the oscillation of the inflaton\nabout the field value which minimizes the potential is anharmonic, there is\nnevertheless a parametric resonance instability, and we determine the Floquet\nexponent which describes this instability as a function of the parameters of\nthe inflaton potential.",
        "positive": "Electron star birth: A continuous phase transition at nonzero density: We show that charged black holes in Anti-de Sitter spacetime can undergo a\nthird order phase transition at a critical temperature in the presence of\ncharged fermions. In the low temperature phase, a fraction of the charge is\ncarried by a fermion fluid located a finite distance from the black hole. In\nthe zero temperature limit the black hole is no longer present and all charge\nis sourced by the fermions. The solutions exhibit the low temperature entropy\ndensity scaling s~T^{2/z} anticipated from the emergent IR criticality of\nrecently discussed electron stars."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Inflation, quantum fluctuations and cosmological perturbations: These lectures are intended to give a pedagogical introduction to the main\ncurrent picture of the very early universe. After elementary reviews of general\nrelativity and of the standard Big Bang model, the following subjects are\ndiscussed: inflation, the classical relativistic theory of cosmological\nperturbations and the generation of perturbations from scalar field quantum\nfluctuations during inflation.",
        "positive": "Matrix Model and Refined Wall-Crossing Formula: In this paper, we show how to get matrix models corresponding to the refined\nBPS states partition functions of $\\mathbb{C}^3$, resolved conifold and\n$\\mathbb{C}^3/\\mathbb{Z}_2$ by inserting the identity operator at a proper\nposition in the fermionic expression of the refined BPS states partition\nfunctions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Metastable Vacua in Superconformal SQCD-like Theories: We study dynamical supersymmetry breaking in vector-like superconformal N=1\ngauge theories. We find appropriate deformations of the superpotential to\novercome the problem of the instability of the non supersymmetric vacuum. The\nrequest for long lifetime translates into constraints on the physical couplings\nwhich in this regime can be controlled through efficient RG analysis.",
        "positive": "The geometry of one-loop amplitudes: We review a reduction formula by Petersson that reduces the calculation of a\none-loop amplitude with N external lines in n<N space-time dimensions to the\ncase n=N and give it a geometric interpretation. In the case n=N the\ncalculation of the euclidean amplitude is shown to be equivalent to the\ncalculation of the volume of a tetrahedron spanned by the momenta in\n(n-1)-dimensional hyperbolic space. The underlying geometry is intimately\nlinked to the geometry of the reduction formula."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "5-dim Superconformal Index with Enhanced En Global Symmetry: The five-dimensional $\\mathcal{N}=1$ supersymmetric gauge theory with Sp(N)\ngauge group and SO(2N_f) flavor symmetry describes the physics on N D4-branes\nwith $N_f$ D8-branes on top of a single O8 orientifold plane in Type I' theory.\nThis theory is known to be superconformal at the strong coupling limit with the\nenhanced global symmetry $E_{N_f+1}$ for $N_f\\le 7$. In this work we calculate\nthe superconformal index on $S^1\\times S^4$ for the Sp(1) gauge theory by the\nlocalization method and confirm such enhancement of the global symmetry at the\nsuperconformal limit for $N_f\\le 5$ to a few leading orders in the chemical\npotential. Both perturbative and (anti)instanton contributions are present in\nthis calculation. For $N_f=6,7$ cases some issues related the pole structure of\nthe instanton calculation could not be resolved and here we could provide only\nsome suggestive answer for the leading contributions to the index. For the\nSp(N) case, similar issues related to the pole structure appear.",
        "positive": "$\\mathcal{N} = 4$ polygonal Wilson loops: fermions: The contributions of scalars and fermions to the null polygonal bosonic\nWilson loops/gluon MHV scattering amplitudes in $\\mathcal{N} = 4$ SYM are\nconsidered. We first examine the re-summation of scalars at strong coupling.\nThen, we disentangle the form of the fermion contribution and show its strong\ncoupling expansion. In particular, we derive the leading order with the\nappearance of a fermion-anti-fermion bound state first and then effective\nmultiple bound states thereof. This reproduces the string minimal area result\nand also applies to the Nekrasov instanton partition function $\\mathcal{Z}$ of\nthe $\\mathcal{N}=2$ theories. Especially, in the latter case the method appears\nto be suitable for a systematic expansion."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Classical Double Copy for Half-Maximal Supergravities and T-duality: We study the classical double copy for ungauged half-maximal supergravities\nusing the Kaluza-Klein reduction of double field theory (DFT). We construct a\ngeneral formula for the Kaluza-Klein (KK) reduction of the DFT Kerr-Schild\nansatz. The KK reduction of the ansatz is highly nonlinear, but the associated\nequations of motion are linear. This linear structure implies that half-maximal\nsupergravities admit a classical double copy. We show that their single copy is\ngiven by a pair of Maxwell-scalar theories, which are the KK reduction of a\nhigher-dimensional single copy of DFT. We also investigate their T-duality\ntransformations - both the Buscher rule and continuous O(D,D) rotations.\nApplying the Buscher rule to the Kerr BH, we obtain a solution with a\nnontrivial Kalb-Ramond field and dilaton. We also identify the single copy of\nSen's heterotic BH and the chiral null model and show that the chiral null\nmodel is self-dual under T-duality rotations.",
        "positive": "Quantum Correction to Chaos in Schwarzian Theory: We discuss the quantum correction to chaos in the Schwarzian theory. We carry\nout the semi-classical analysis of the Schwarzian theory to study Feynman\ndiagrams of the Schwarzian soft mode. We evaluate the contribution of the soft\nmode to the out-of-time-order correlator up to order $\\mathcal{O}(g^4)$. We\nshow that the quantum correction of order $\\mathcal{O}(g^4)$ by the soft mode\ndecreases the maximum Lyapunov exponent $2\\pi/ \\beta$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Compositeness, Triviality and Bounds on Critical Exponents for Fermions\n  and Magnets: We argue that theories with fundamental fermions which undergo chiral\nsymmetry breaking have several universal features which are qualitatively\ndifferent than those of theories with fundamental scalars. Several bounds on\nthe critical indices $\\delta$ and $\\eta$ follow. We observe that in four\ndimensions the logarithmic scaling violations enter into the Equation of State\nof scalar theories, such as $\\lambda\\phi^4$, and fermionic models, such as\nNambu-Jona-Lasinio, in qualitatively different ways. These observations lead to\nuseful approaches for analyzing lattice simulations of a wide class of model\nfield theories. Our results imply that $\\lambda\\phi^4$ {\\it cannot} be a good\nguide to understanding the possible triviality of spinor $QED$.",
        "positive": "How to make the gravitational action on non-compact space finite: The recently proposed technique to regularize the divergences of the\ngravitational action on non-compact space by adding boundary counterterms is\nstudied. We propose prescription for constructing the boundary counterterms\nwhich are polynomial in the boundary curvature. This prescription is efficient\nfor both asymptotically Anti-de Sitter and asymptotically flat spaces. Being\nmostly interested in the asymptotically flat case we demonstrate how our\nprocedure works for known examples of non-compact spaces: Eguchi-Hanson metric,\nKerr-Newman metric, Taub-NUT and Taub-bolt metrics and others. Analyzing the\nregularization procedure when boundary is not round sphere we observe that our\ncounterterm helps to cancel large $r$ divergence of the action in the zero and\nfirst orders in small deviations of the geometry of the boundary from that of\nthe round sphere. In order to cancel the divergence in the second order in\ndeviations a new quadratic in boundary curvature counterterm is introduced. We\nargue that cancelation of the divergence for finite deviations possibly\nrequires infinite series of (higher order in the boundary curvature) boundary\ncounterterms."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Study of phases in a holographic QCD model: Witten-Sakai-Sugimoto model is used to study two flavour Yang-Mills theory\nwith large number of colours at finite temperature and in presence of chemical\npotential for baryon number and isospin. Sources for $U(1)_B$ and $U(1)_3$\ngauge fields on the flavour 8-branes are D4-branes wrapped on $S^4$ part of the\nbackground. Here, gauge symmetry on the flavour branes has been decomposed as\n$U(2) \\equiv U(1)_B \\times SU(2)$ and $U(1)_3$ is within $SU(2)$ and generated\nby the diagonal generator. We show various brane configurations, along with the\nphases in the boundary theory they correspond to, and explore the possibility\nof phase transition between various pairs of phases.",
        "positive": "Delta-function Interactions for the Bosonic and Spinning Strings and the\n  Generation of Abelian Gauge Theory: We construct contact interactions for bosonic and spinning strings. In the\ntensionless limit of the spinning string this reproduces the super-Wilson loop\nthat couples spinor matter to Abelian gauge theory. Adding boundary terms that\nquantise the motion of charges results in a string model equivalent to spinor\nQED. The strings represent lines of electric flux connected to the charges. The\npurely bosonic model is spoilt by divergences that are excluded from the\nspinning model by world-sheet supersymmetry, indicating a preference for spinor\nmatter."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Strings and Dissipative Mechanics: Noncritical strings in the \"coupling constant\" phase space and bosonic string\nin the affine-metric curved space are dissipative systems. But the quantum\ndescriptions of the dissipative systems have well known ambiguities. We suggest\nsome approach to solve the problems of this description. The generalized\nPoisson algebra for dissipative systems is considered.",
        "positive": "Normalization of D-instanton Amplitudes: D-instanton amplitudes suffer from various infrared divergences associated\nwith tachyonic or massless open string modes, leading to ambiguous contribution\nto string amplitudes. It has been shown previously that string field theory can\nresolve these ambiguities and lead to unambiguous expressions for D-instanton\ncontributions to string amplitudes, except for an overall normalization\nconstant that remains undetermined. In this paper we show that string field\ntheory, together with the world-sheet description of the amplitudes, can also\nfix this normalization constant. We apply our analysis to the special case of\ntwo dimensional string theory, obtaining results in agreement with the matrix\nmodel results obtained by Balthazar, Rodriguez and Yin."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Universal Thermal Instabilities and the High-Temperature Phase of the\n  N=4 Superstrings: Using the properties of gauged N=4 supergravity, we show that it is possible\nto derive a universal thermal effective potential that describes all possible\nhigh-temperature instabilities of the known N=4 superstrings. These\ninstabilities are due to non-perturbative dyonic modes, which become tachyonic\nin a region of the thermal moduli space M={s,t,u}; M is common to all\nnon-perturbative dual-equivalent N=4 superstrings in five dimensions. We\nanalyse the non-perturbative thermal potential and show the existence of a\nphase transition at high temperatures corresponding to a condensation of\n5-branes. This phase is described in detail, using an effective non-critical\nstring theory.",
        "positive": "Analytic description of monodromy oscillons: We develop precise analytic description of oscillons - long-lived\nquasiperiodic field lumps - in scalar field theories with nearly quadratic\npotentials, e.g. the monodromy potential. Such oscillons are essentially\nnonperturbative due to large amplitudes, and they achieve extreme longevities.\nOur method is based on a consistent expansion in the anharmonicity of the\npotential at strong fields, which is made accurate by introducing a\nfield-dependent \"running mass.\" At every order, we compute effective action for\nthe oscillon profile and other parameters. Comparison with explicit numerical\nsimulations in (3+1)-dimensional monodromy model shows that our method is\nsignificantly more precise than other analytic approaches."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Thick domain walls in a polynomial approximation: Relativistic domain walls are studied in the framework of a polynomial\napproximation to the field interpolating between different vacua and forming\nthe domain wall. In this approach we can calculate evolution of a core and of a\nwidth of the domain wall. In the single, cubic polynomial approximation used in\nthis paper, the core obeys Nambu-Goto equation for a relativistic membrane. The\nwidth of the domain wall obeys a nonlinear equation which is solved\nperturbatively. There are two types of corrections to the constant zeroth order\nwidth: the ones oscillating in time, and the corrections directly related to\ncurvature of the core. We find that curving a static domain wall is associated\nwith an increase of its width. As an example, evolution of a toroidal domain\nwall is investigated.",
        "positive": "Black Hole Formation in AdS and Thermalization on the Boundary: We investigate black hole formation by a spherically collapsing thin shell of\nmatter in AdS space. This process has been suggested to have a holographic\ninterpretation as thermalization of the CFT on the boundary of the AdS space.\nThe AdS/CFT duality relates the shell in the bulk to an off-equilibrium state\nof the boundary theory which evolves towards a thermal equilibrium when the\nshell collapses to a black hole. We use 2-point functions to obtain information\nabout the spectrum of excitations in the off-equilibrium state, and discuss how\nit characterizes the approach towards thermal equilibrium. The full holographic\ninterpretation of the gravitational collapse would require a kinetic theory of\nthe CFT at strong coupling. We speculate that the kinetic equations should be\ninterpreted as a holographic dual of the equation of motion of the collapsing\nshell."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Coherent String States in AdS_3 and SL(2,R) WZWN Model: In this paper we make the connection between semi-classical string\nquantization and exact conformal field theory quantization of strings in 2+1\nAnti de Sitter spacetime. More precisely, considering the WZWN model\ncorresponding to SL(2,R) and its covering group, we construct quantum {\\it\ncoherent} string states, which generalize the ordinary coherent states of\nquantum mechanics, and show that in the classical limit they correspond to\noscillating circular strings. After quantization, the spectrum is found to\nconsist of two parts: A continuous spectrum of low mass states (partly\ntachyonic) fulfilling the standard spin-level condition necessary for unitarity\n|j|< k/2, and a discrete spectrum of high mass states with asymptotic behaviour\nm^2\\alpha'\\propto N^2 (N positive integer). The quantization condition for the\nhigh mass states arises from the condition of finite positive norm of the\ncoherent string states, and the result agrees with our previous results\nobtained using semi-classical quantization. In the k\\to\\infty limit, all the\nusual properties of coherent or {\\it quasi-classical} states are recovered. It\nshould be stressed that we consider the circular strings only for simplicity\nand clarity, and that our construction can easily be used for other string\nconfigurations too. We also compare our results with those obtained in the\nrecent preprint hep-th/0001053 by Maldacena and Ooguri.",
        "positive": "Bouncing and cyclic universes in the charged AdS bulk background: We study bouncing and cyclic universes from an (n+1)-dimensional brane in the\n(n+2)-dimensional charged AdS bulk background. In the moving domain wall (MDW)\napproach this picture is clearly realized with a specified bulk configuration,\nthe 5D charged topological AdS (CTAdS_5) black hole with mass M and charge Q.\nThe bulk gravitational dynamics induces the 4D Friedmann equations with\nCFT-radiation and exotic stiff matters for a dynamic brane. This provides\nbouncing universes for k=0, -1 and cyclic universe for k=1, even though it has\nan exotic stiff matter from the charge Q. In this work we use the other of the\nBinetruy-Deffayet-Langlos (BDL) approach with the bulk Maxwell field. In this\ncase we are free to determine the corresponding mass M-tilde and charge Q-tilde\nbecause the mass term is usually included as an initial condition and the\ncharge is given by an unspecified solution to the Maxwell equation under the\nBDL metric. Here we obtain only bouncing universes if one does not choose two\nCTAdS_5 black holes as the bulk spacetime. We provide a way of avoiding the\nexotic matter on the brane by introducing an appropriate local matter. Finally\nwe discuss an important relation between the exotic holographic matter and\nLorentz invariance violation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Bi-metric theory of gravity from the non-chiral Plebanski action: We study a modification of the Plebanski action for general relativity, which\nleads to a modified theory of gravity with eight degrees of freedom. We show\nhow the action can be recasted as a bi-metric theory of gravity, and expanding\naround a bi-flat background we identify the six extra degrees of freedom with a\nsecond, massive graviton and a scalar mode.",
        "positive": "Superstrings on AdS_4 x CP^3 as a Coset Sigma-model: According to the recent proposal by Aharony, Bergman, Jafferis and Maldacena\nthe N=6 supersymmetric Chern-Simons theory in three dimensions has a 't Hooft\nlimit whose holographic dual is described by type IIA superstings on AdS_4 x\nCP^3 background. We argue that the Green-Schwarz action for type IIA string\ntheory on AdS_4 x CP^3 with kappa-symmetry partially fixed can be understood as\na coset sigma-model on the same space supplied with a proper Wess-Zumino term.\nWe construct the corresponding sigma-model Lagrangian and show that it is\ninvariant under a local fermionic symmetry which for generic bosonic string\nconfigurations allows one to remove 8 out of 24 fermionic degrees of freedom.\nThe remaining 16 fermions together with their bosonic partners should describe\nthe physical content of AdS_4 x CP^3 superstring. As further evidence, we\ndemonstrate that in the plane-wave limit the quadratic action arising from our\nmodel reproduces the one emerging from the type IIA superstring. The coset\nsigma-model is classically integrable which opens up the possibility to\ninvestigate its dynamics in a way very similar to the case of AdS_5 x S^5\nsuperstrings."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The gravity dual of supersymmetric gauge theories on a biaxially\n  squashed three-sphere: We present the gravity dual to a class of three-dimensional N=2\nsupersymmetric gauge theories on a biaxially squashed three-sphere, with a\nnon-trivial background gauge field. This is described by a 1/2 BPS Euclidean\nsolution of four-dimensional N=2 gauged supergravity, consisting of a\nTaub-NUT-AdS metric with a non-trivial instanton for the graviphoton field. The\nholographic free energy of this solution agrees precisely with the large N\nlimit of the free energy obtained from the localized partition function of a\nclass of Chern-Simons quiver gauge theories. We also discuss a different\nsupersymmetric solution, whose boundary is a biaxially squashed Lens space\nS^3/Z_2 with a topologically non-trivial background gauge field. This metric is\nof Eguchi-Hanson-AdS type, although it is not Einstein, and has a single unit\nof gauge field flux through the S^2 cycle.",
        "positive": "Holographic entropy inequalities and gapped phases of matter: We extend our studies of holographic entropy inequalities to gapped phases of\nmatter. For any number of regions, we determine the linear entropy inequalities\nsatisfied by systems in which the entanglement entropy satisfies an exact area\nlaw. In particular, we find that all holographic entropy inequalities are valid\nin such systems. In gapped systems with topological order, the \"cyclic\ninequalities\" derived recently for the holographic entanglement entropy\ngeneralize the Kitaev-Preskill formula for the topological entanglement\nentropy. Finally, we propose a candidate linear inequality for general 4-party\nquantum states."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Tachyon Condensation and the Emergence of Fermionic Strings from the\n  Bosonic String: The results conjectured here are based on tachyon condensation in\ncompactified bosonic strings. They can in fact be proven from compactification\nalone, but this step was not treated consistently here. The proof is given in a\nnew version of the paper: hep-th/0106235",
        "positive": "Brane localization of gravity in higher derivative theory: We consider a class of higher order corrections in the form of Euler\ndensities of arbitrary rank $n$ to the standard gravity action in $D$\ndimensions. We have previously shown that this class of corrections allows for\ndomain wall solutions despite the presence of higher powers of the curvature.\nIn the present paper we explicitly solve the linearized equation of motion for\ngravity fluctuations around the domain wall background and show that there\nalways exist one massless state (graviton) propagating on the wall and a\ncontinuous tower of massive states propagating in the bulk."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Conformal Quivers and Melting Molecules: Quiver quantum mechanics describes the low energy dynamics of a system of\nwrapped D-branes. It captures several aspects of single and multicentered BPS\nblack hole geometries in four-dimensional $\\mathcal{N} = 2$ supergravity such\nas the presence of bound states and an exponential growth of microstates. The\nCoulomb branch of an Abelian three node quiver is obtained by integrating out\nthe massive strings connecting the D-particles. It allows for a scaling regime\ncorresponding to a deep AdS$_2$ throat on the gravity side. In this scaling\nregime, the Coulomb branch is shown to be an $SL(2,\\mathbb{R})$ invariant\nmulti-particle superconformal quantum mechanics. Finally, we integrate out the\nstrings at finite temperature---rather than in their ground state---and show\nhow the Coulomb branch `melts' into the Higgs branch at high enough\ntemperatures. For scaling solutions the melting occurs for arbitrarily small\ntemperatures, whereas bound states can be metastable and thus long lived.\nThroughout the paper, we discuss how far the analogy between the quiver model\nand the gravity picture, particularly within the AdS$_2$ throat, can be taken.",
        "positive": "Recursive Representations of Arbitrary Virasoro Conformal Blocks: We derive recursive representations in the internal weights of N-point\nVirasoro conformal blocks in the sphere linear channel and the torus necklace\nchannel, and recursive representations in the central charge of arbitrary\nVirasoro conformal blocks on the sphere, the torus, and higher genus Riemann\nsurfaces in the plumbing frame."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Perturbative calculation of field space entanglement entropy: We present a general method for the perturbative calculation of the\nentanglement entropy between two interacting quantum fields. Previous attempts\nat calculating this quantity perturbatively have encountered a seemingly\npathological divergence; we explain why this divergence is a result of\nimproperly truncating a series expansion and give a prescription for avoiding\nthis problem. We then apply our method to a simple example of two mass-mixing\nscalar fields.",
        "positive": "$Z_N$ orbifold compactifications in $AdS_6$ with Gauss-Bonnet term: We present a general setup for junctions of semi-infinite 4-branes in $AdS_6$\nwith the Gauss-Bonnet term. The 3-brane tension at the junction of 4-branes can\nbe nonzero. Using the brane junctions as the origin of the $Z_N$ discrete\nrotation symmetry, we identify 3-brane tensions at three fixed points of the\norbifold $T^2/Z_3$ in terms of the 4-brane tensions. As a result, the three\n3-brane tensions can be simultaneously positive, which enables us to explain\nthe mass hierarchy by taking one of two branes apart from the hidden brane as\nthe visible brane, and hence does not introduce a severe cosmological problem."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the $L_\\infty$ formulation of Chern-Simons theories: $L_{\\infty}$ algebras have been recently studied as algebraic frameworks in\nthe formulation of gauge theories in which the gauge symmetries and the\ndynamics of the interacting theories are contained in a set of products acting\non a graded vector space. On the other hand, FDAs are differential algebras\nthat generalize Lie algebras by including higher-degree differential forms on\ntheir differential equations. In this article, we review the dual relation\nbetween FDAs and $L_{\\infty}$ algebras. We study the formulation of standard\nChern--Simons theories in terms of $L_{\\infty}$ algebras and extend the results\nto FDA-based gauge theories. We focus on two cases, namely a flat (or\nzero-curvature) theory and a generalized Chern--Simons theory, both including\nhigh-degree differential forms as fundamental fields.",
        "positive": "Non-relativistic three-dimensional supergravity theories and semigroup\n  expansion method: In this work we present an alternative method to construct diverse\nnon-relativistic Chern-Simons supergravity theories in three spacetime\ndimensions. To this end, we apply the Lie algebra expansion method based on\nsemigroups to a supersymmetric extension of the Nappi-Witten algebra. Two\ndifferent families of non-relativistic superalgebras are obtained,\ncorresponding to generalizations of the extended Bargmann superalgebra and\nextended Newton-Hooke superalgebra, respectively. The expansion method\nconsidered here allows to obtain known and new non-relativistic supergravity\nmodels in a systematic way. In particular, it immediately provides an invariant\ntensor for the expanded superalgebra, which is essential to construct the\ncorresponding Chern-Simons supergravity action. We show that the extended\nBargmann supergravity and its Maxwellian generalization appear as particular\nsubcases of a generalized extended Bargmann supergravity theory. In addition,\nwe demonstrate that the generalized extended Bargmann and generalized extended\nNewton-Hooke supergravity families are related through a contraction process."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exact $\u03b2$-function in Abelian and non-Abelian $\\mathcal{N}=1$\n  supersymmetric gauge models and its analogy with QCD $\u03b2$-function in\n  C-scheme: For $\\mathcal{N}=1$ supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory without matter it is\ndemonstrated that there is a class of renormalization schemes, in which the\nexact Novikov, Shifman, Vainshtein, and Zakharov (NSVZ) formula for the\nrenormalization group $\\beta$-function, defined in terms of the renormalized\ncoupling constant, is valid. These schemes are related with each other by\nfinite renormalizations forming a one-parameter commutative subgroup of general\nrenormalization group transformations. The analogy between the exact\n$\\beta$-function in $\\mathcal{N}=1$ supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory without\nmatter and the $\\beta$-function of quantum chromodynamics in the C-scheme is\ndiscussed.",
        "positive": "Cross-ladder effects in Bethe-Salpeter and Light-Front equations: Bethe-Salpeter (BS) equation in Minkowski space for scalar particles is\nsolved for a kernel given by a sum of ladder and cross-ladder exchanges. The\nsolution of corresponding Light-Front (LF) equation, where we add the\ntime-ordered stretched boxes, is also obtained. Cross-ladder contributions are\nfound to be very large and attractive, whereas the influence of stretched boxes\nis negligible. Both approaches -- BS and LF -- give very close results."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Linking Light Scalar Modes with A Small Positive Cosmological Constant\n  in String Theory: Based on the studies in Type IIB string theory phenomenology, we conjecture\nthat a good fraction of the meta-stable de Sitter vacua in the cosmic stringy\nlandscape tend to have a very small cosmological constant $\\Lambda$ when\ncompared to either the string scale $M_S$ or the Planck scale $M_P$, i.e.,\n$\\Lambda \\ll M_S^4 \\ll M_P^4$. These low lying de Sitter vacua tend to be\naccompanied by very light scalar bosons/axions. Here we illustrate this\nphenomenon with the bosonic mass spectra in a set of Type IIB string theory\nflux compactification models. We conjecture that small $\\Lambda$ with light\nbosons is generic among de Sitter solutions in string theory; that is, the\nsmallness of $\\Lambda$ and the existence of very light bosons (may be even the\nHiggs boson) are results of the statistical preference for such vacua in the\nlandscape. We also discuss a scalar field $\\phi^3/\\phi^4$ model to illustrate\nhow this statistical preference for a small $\\Lambda$ remains when quantum loop\ncorrections are included, thus bypassing the radiative instability problem.",
        "positive": "Poisson-Lie identities and dualities of Bianchi cosmologies: We investigate a special class of Poisson--Lie T-plurality transformations of\nBianchi cosmologies invariant with respect to non-semisimple Bianchi groups.\nFor six-dimensional semi-Abelian Manin triples $\\mathfrak{b}\\bowtie\n\\mathfrak{a}$ containing Bianchi algebras $\\mathfrak{b}$ we identify general\nforms of Poisson--Lie identities and dualities. We show that these can be\ndecomposed into simple factors, namely automorphisms of Manin triples,\nB-shifts, $\\beta$-shifts, and \"full\" or \"factorized\" dualities. Further, we\nstudy effects of these transformations and utilize the decompositions to obtain\nnew backgrounds which, supported by corresponding dilatons, satisfy Generalized\nSupergravity Equations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Weak cosmic censorship with $SU(2)$ gauge field and bound on\n  charge-to-mass ratio: We numerically construct the stationary solutions of $SU(2)$\nEinstein-Yang-Mills theory in four dimensional anti-de Sitter spacetime. When\nthe $t$ component of $SU(2)$ gauge field is taken to the only nonzero\ncomponent, we construct a class of counterexamples to the weak cosmic\ncensorship conjecture in Einstein-Maxwell theory. However, including a nonzero\n$\\phi$ component of $SU(2)$ gauge field, we can argue that there is a minimum\nvalue $q_W$, when the charge carried by the $\\phi$ component is larger than\nthis minimum value, for sufficiently large boundary electric amplitude $a$, the\noriginal counterexamples can be removed and cosmic censorship is preserved.",
        "positive": "On Gauge Invariant Cosmological Perturbations in UV-modified Horava\n  Gravity: We consider gauge invariant cosmological perturbations in UV-modified, z=3\nHorava gravity with one scalar matter field, which has been proposed as a\nrenormalizable gravity theory without the ghost problem in four dimensions. In\norder to exhibit its dynamical degrees of freedom, we consider the Hamiltonian\nreduction method and find that, by solving \"all\" the constraint equations, the\ndegrees of freedom are the same as those of Einstein gravity: One scalar and\ntwo tensor (graviton) modes when a scalar matter field presents. However, we\nconfirm that there is no extra graviton modes and general relativity is\nrecovered in IR, which achieves the consistency of the model. From the\nUV-modification terms which break the detailed balance condition in UV, we\nobtain scale-invariant power spectrums for \"non\"-inflationary backgrounds, like\nthe power-law expansions, without knowing the details of early expansion\nhistory of Universe. This could provide a new framework for the Big Bang\ncosmology. Moreover, we find that \"tensor and scalar fluctuations travel\ndifferently in UV, generally\". We present also some clarifying remarks about\nconfusing points in the literatures."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Anomaly Inflow of Rarita-Schwinger Field in 3 Dimensions: We study the anomaly inflow of the Rarita-Schwinger field with gauge symmetry\nin $3$ dimensions. We find that global anomalies of the Rarita-Schwinger field\nare obtained by the spectral flow, which is similar to Witten's $SU(2)$ global\nanomaly for a Weyl fermion. The Rarita-Schwinger operator is shown to be a\nself-adjoint Fredholm operator, and its spectral flow is determined by a path\non the set of self-adjoint Fredholm operators with the gap topology. From the\nspectral equivalence of the spectral flow, we find that the spectral flow of\nthe Rarita-Schwinger operator is equivalent to that of the spin-$3/2$ Dirac\noperator. From this fact, we confirm that the anomaly of the $3$-dimensional\nRarita-Schwinger field is captured by the anomaly inflow. Finally, we find that\nthere are no global anomalies of gauge-diffeomorphism transformations on spin\nmanifolds with any gauge group. We also confirm that the anomalous phase of the\npartition function which corresponds to the generator of $\\Omega_4^{{\\rm\nPin}^+}(pt)=\\mathbb{Z}_{16}$ is $\\exp(3i\\pi /8)$ for the Rarita-Schwinger\ntheory on unorientable ${\\rm Pin}^+$ manifolds without gauge symmetry.",
        "positive": "Study of the O(N) linear sigma model at finite temperature using the\n  2PPI expansion: We show that a new expansion which sums seagull and bubble graphs to all\norders, can be applied to the O(N) linear sigma model at finite temperature. We\nprove that this expansion can be renormalised with the usual counterterms in a\nmass independent scheme and that Goldstone's theorem is satisfied at each\norder. At the one loop order of this expansion, the Hartree result for the\neffective potential (daisy and superdaisy graphs) is recovered. We show that at\none loop 2PPI order, the self energy of the sigma meson can be calculated\nexactly and that diagrams are summed beyond the Hartree approximation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The algebraic structure of cut Feynman integrals and the diagrammatic\n  coaction: We study the algebraic and analytic structure of Feynman integrals by\nproposing an operation that maps an integral into pairs of integrals obtained\nfrom a master integrand and a corresponding master contour. This operation is a\ncoaction. It reduces to the known coaction on multiple polylogarithms, but\napplies more generally, e.g. to hypergeometric functions. The coaction also\napplies to generic one-loop Feynman integrals with any configuration of\ninternal and external masses, and in dimensional regularization. In this case,\nwe demonstrate that it can be given a diagrammatic representation purely in\nterms of operations on graphs, namely contractions and cuts of edges. The\ncoaction gives direct access to (iterated) discontinuities of Feynman integrals\nand facilitates a straightforward derivation of the differential equations they\nadmit. In particular, the differential equations for any one-loop integral are\ndetermined by the diagrammatic coaction using limited information about their\nmaximal, next-to-maximal, and next-to-next-to-maximal cuts.",
        "positive": "Graviton emission from simply rotating Kerr-de Sitter black holes:\n  Transverse traceless tensor graviton modes: In this article we present results for tensor graviton modes (in seven\ndimensions and greater, $n\\geq 3$) for greybody factors of Kerr-dS black holes\nand for Hawking radiation from simply rotating (n+4)-dimensional Kerr black\nholes. Although there is some subtlety with defining the Hawking temperature of\na Kerr-dS black hole, we present some preliminary results for emissions\nassuming the standard Hawking normalization and a Bousso-Hawking-like\nnormalization."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Novel Free Differential Algebras for Supergravity: We develop the theory of Free Integro-Differential Algebras (FIDA) extending\nthe powerful technique of Free Differential Algebras constructed by D.\nSullivan. We extend the analysis beyond the superforms to integral- and\npseudo-forms used in supergeometry. It is shown that there are novel structures\nthat might open the road to a deeper understanding of the geometry of\nsupergravity. We apply the technique to some models as an illustration and we\nprovide a complete analysis for D=11 supergravity. There, it is shown how the\nHodge star operator for supermanifolds can be used to analyze the set of\ncocycles and to build the corresponding FIDA. A new integral form emerges which\nplays the role of the truly dual to 4-form $F^{(4)}$ and we propose a new\nvariational principle on supermanifolds.",
        "positive": "Static BPS 'monopoles' in all even spacetime dimensions: Two families of SO(2n) Higgs models in $2n$ dimensional spacetime are\npresented. One family arises from the {\\it dimensional reduction} of higher\ndimensional Yang-Mills systems while the construction of the other one is {\\it\nad hoc}, the $n=2$ member of each family coinciding with the usual SU(2)\nYang-Mills--Higgs system without Higgs potential. All models support BPS\n'monopole' solutions. The 'dyons' of the {\\it dimensionally descended} models\nare also BPS, while the electrically charged solutions of the {\\it ad hoc}\nmodels are not BPS."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Force in Kappa-Deformed Relativistic Dynamics: We consider the physical implications of various choices of the\nthree-momentum basis in the kappa-deformed Poincare algebra. In particular, we\nfind that the energy dependence of the velocity of a kappa-particle leads to\nunexpected features in kappa-deformed kinematics. We also discuss the notion of\nkappa-deformed dynamics, and as a tool example we investigate the motion of a\nkappa-deformed particle under the action of a constant force.",
        "positive": "Superstring/Supergravity Mellin Correspondence in Grassmannian\n  Formulation: We extend the recently established Mellin correspondence of supergravity and\nsuperstring amplitudes to the case of arbitrary helicity configurations. The\namplitudes are discussed in the framework of Grassmannian varieties. We\ngeneralize Hodges' determinant to a function of two sets of independent\ncoordinates and show that tree-level supergravity amplitudes can be obtained by\ncontour integrations of both sets in separate Grassmannians while in\nsuperstring theory, one set of coordinates is identified with string vertex\npositions at the disk boundary and Mellin transformed into generalized\nhypergeometric functions of Mandelstam invariants."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chern-Simons EM-flation: We propose a new, generic mechanism of inflation mediated by a balance\nbetween potential forces and a Chern-Simons interaction. Such quasi-topological\ninteractions are ubiquitous in string theory. In the minisuperspace\napproximation, their effect on the dynamics can be mapped onto the problem of a\ncharged particle in an electromagnetic field together with an external\npotential; slow roll arises when the motion is dominated by the analogue of\n`magnetic drift'. This mechanism is robust against radiative corrections. We\nsuggest a possible experimental signature which, if observed, might be\nconsidered strong evidence for string theory.",
        "positive": "Kinky Vortons: Cosmic vortons are closed loops of superconducting cosmic strings carrying\ncurrent and charge. Despite a large number of studies the existence and\nstability of cosmic vorton solutions is still an open problem. Numerical\nsimulations of the nonlinear field theory are difficult to perform in\n(3+1)-dimensions, due to the existence of multiple length and time scales. In\nthis paper we study a (2+1)-dimensional analogue of cosmic vortons, which we\nrefer to as kinky vortons, where the cosmic string is replaced by a kink\nstring. Many of the expected qualitative aspects of cosmic vortons transfer to\nkinky vortons, with the advantage that several approximations used in the study\nof cosmic vortons can be replaced by exact results. Furthermore, the numerical\nstudy of kinky vortons requires less computational resources than cosmic\nvortons, so a number of issues can be addressed in some depth. The radius of\nthe kinky vorton is determined as a function of the charge and winding number,\nand it is shown that the chiral limit is a repulsive fixed point. Stability to\nboth axial and non-axial perturbations is demonstrated in the electric and\nchiral regimes, though surprisingly long lived ringing modes are observed.\nKinky vortons which are too magnetic are shown to suffer from a pinching\ninstability, which results in a reduction in the winding number and can convert\nmagnetic into electric solutions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Reconstructing interacting new agegraphic polytropic gas model in\n  non-flat FRW universe: We study the correspondence between the interacting new agegraphic dark\nenergy and the polytropic gas model of dark energy in the non-flat FRW\nuniverse. This correspondence allows to reconstruct the potential and the\ndynamics for the scalar field of the polytropic model, which describe\naccelerated expansion of the universe.",
        "positive": "Spectral Boundary Conditions in the Bag Model: We propose a reduced form of spectral boundary conditions for holding\nfermions in the bag in a chiral invariant way. Our boundary conditions do not\ndepend on time and allow Hamiltonian treatment of the system. They are suited\nfor studies of chiral phenomena both in Minkowski and Euclidean spaces."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "2D quantum gravity partition function on the fluctuating sphere: Motivated by recent works on the connection between 2D quantum gravity and\ntimelike Liouville theory, we revisit the latter and clarify some aspects of\nthe computation of its partition function: We present a detailed computation of\nthe Liouville partition function on the fluctuating sphere at finite values of\nthe central charge. The results for both the spacelike theory and the timelike\ntheory are given, and their properties analyzed. We discuss the derivation of\nthe partition function from the DOZZ formula, its derivation using the Coulomb\ngas approach, a semiclassical computation of it using the fixed area saddle\npoint, and, finally, we arrive to an exact expression for the timelike\npartition function whose expansion can be compared with the 3-loop perturbative\ncalculations reported in the literature. We also discuss the connection to the\n2D black hole and other related topics.",
        "positive": "Late Time Quantum Chaos of pure states in the SYK model: In this letter, we study the return amplitude, which is the overlap between\nthe initial state and the time evolved state, in the Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev (SYK)\nmodel. Initial states are taken to be product states in a spin basis. We\nnumerically study the return amplitude by exactly diagonalizing the\nHamiltonian. We also derive the analytic expression for the return amplitude in\nrandom matrix theory. The SYK results agree with the random matrix expectation.\nWe also study the time evolution under the different Hamiltonian that describes\nthe traversable wormholes in projected black holes in the context of\nholography. The time evolution now depends on the choice of initial product\nstates. The results are again explained by random matrix theory. In the\nsymplectic ensemble cases, we observed an interesting pattern of the return\namplitude where they show the second dip, ramp and plateau like behavior."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetric action for multiple D0-brane system: We have constructed a complete action for the system of N D0-branes in flat\n10D type IIA superspace. It is invariant under the rigid spacetime\nsupersymmetry and local worldline supersymmetry ($\\kappa$-symmetry). This\nlatter can be considered as supersymmetry of maximal 1d SU(N) SYM model which\nis made local by coupling to supergravity induced by embedding of the center of\nenergy worldline into the target superspace. The spinor moving frame technique\nis essentially used to achieve such a coupling. We discuss the differences with\nPanda-Sorokin multiple 0-brane action and with the dimensionally reduced 11D\nmultiple M-wave action.",
        "positive": "A speculative remark on holography: Holography suggests a considerable reduction of degrees of freedom in\ntheories with gravity. However it seems to be difficult to understand how\nholography could be realized in a closed re--contracting universe. In this\nletter we claim that a scenario which achieves that goal will eliminate all\nspatial degrees of freedom. This would require a different concept of quantum\nmechanics and would imply an intriguing increase of power for the natural laws."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Anti-de Sitter Quotients, Bubbles of Nothing, and Black Holes: In 3+1 dimensions there are anti-de quotients which are black holes with\ntoroidal event horizons. By analytic continuation of the Schwarzschild-anti-de\nSitter solution (and appropriate identifications) one finds two one parameter\nfamilies of spacetimes that contain these quotient black holes. One of these\nfamilies consists of B-metrics (\"bubbles of nothing\"), the other of black hole\nspacetimes. All of them have vanishing conserved charges.",
        "positive": "Duality of Chiral N=1 Supersymmetric Gauge Theories via Branes: Using a six-orientifold on top of a NS-fivebrane we construct a chiral N=1\nsupersymmetric gauge theory in four dimensions with gauge group SU(N_c) and\nmatter in the symmetric, antisymmetric and (anti)fundamental representations.\nAnomaly cancellation is fulfilled by the requirement of a smooth RR 7-form\ncharge distribution and leads us to the introduction of 8 half D-sixbranes\nending on the NS-fivebrane. We obtain the dual model from branes by a linking\nnumber argument. We check explicitly the 't Hooft anomaly matching conditions\nand the map between deformations in the original and the dual model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Algebraic Structure of Higher-Spin Field Equations and New Exact\n  Solutions: This Thesis reviews Vasiliev's approach to Higher-Spin Gauge Theory and\ncontains some original results concerning new exact solutions of the Vasiliev\nequations and the representation theory of the higher-spin algebra. The review\npart covers the various formulations of the free theory as well as Vasiliev's\nfull nonlinear equations, in particular focusing on their algebraic structure\nand on their properties in various space-time signatures. Then, the original\nresults are presented. First, the 4D Vasiliev equations are formulated in\nspace-times with signatures (4-p,p) and non-vanishing cosmological constant,\nand some new exact solutions are found, depending on continuous and discrete\nparameters: (a) an SO(4-p,p)-invariant family of solutions; (b) non-maximally\nsymmetric solutions with vanishing Weyl tensors and higher-spin gauge fields,\nthat differ from the maximally symmetric background solutions in the auxiliary\nfield sector; and (c) solutions of the chiral models with an infinite tower of\nWeyl tensors proportional to totally symmetric products of two principal\nspinors. These are apparently the first exact 4D solutions with non-vanishing\nmassless higher-spin fields. Finally, a generalized harmonic expansion of the\nVasiliev's master zero-form is performed as a map from the associative algebra\nA of operators on the singleton phase space to representations of the\nbackground isometry algebra that include one-particle states along with\nlinearized runaway solutions. Such Harish-Chandra modules are unitarizable in a\nTr_A-norm rather than in the standard Killing norm. We also take the first\nsteps towards a regularization scheme for handling strongly coupled\nhigher-derivative interactions within this operator formalism.",
        "positive": "Geometrothermodynamics of the Kehagias-Sfetsos Black Hole: The application of information geometric ideas to statistical mechanics using\na metric on the space of states, pioneered by Ruppeiner and Weinhold, has\nproved to be a useful alternative approach to characterizing phase transitions.\nSome puzzling anomalies become apparent, however, when these methods are\napplied to the study of black hole thermodynamics. A possible resolution was\nsuggested by Quevedo et al. who emphasized the importance of Legendre\ninvariance in thermodynamic metrics. They found physically consistent results\nfor various black holes when using a Legendre invariant metric, which agreed\nwith a direct determination of the properties of phase transitions from the\nspecific heat.\n  Recently, information geometric methods have been employed by Wei et al. to\nstudy the Kehagias-Sfetsos (KS) black hole in Horava-Lifshitz gravity. The\nformalism suggests that a coupling parameter in this theory plays a role\nanalogous to the charge in Reissner-Nordstrom (RN) black holes or angular\nmomentum in the Kerr black hole and calculation of the specific heat shows a\nsingularity which may be interpreted as a phase transition. When the curvature\nof the Ruppeiner metric is calculated for such a theory it does not, however,\nshow a singularity at the phase transition point.\n  We show that the curvature of a particular Legendre invariant (\"Quevedo\")\nmetric for the KS black hole is singular at the phase transition point. We\ncontrast the results for the Ruppeiner, Weinhold and Quevedo metrics and in the\nlatter case investigate the consistency of taking either the entropy or mass as\nthe thermodynamic potential."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Bound on the Superpotential: We prove a general bound on the superpotential in theories with broken\nsupersymmetry and broken R-symmetry, 2|W|< f_a F, where f_a and F are the\nR-axion and Goldstino decay constants, respectively. The bound holds for weakly\ncoupled as well as strongly coupled theories, thereby providing an exact result\nin theories with broken supersymmetry. We briefly discuss several possible\napplications.",
        "positive": "PT-symmetric quantum state discrimination: Suppose that a system is known to be in one of two quantum states, $|\\psi_1 >\n$ or $|\\psi_2 >$. If these states are not orthogonal, then in conventional\nquantum mechanics it is impossible with one measurement to determine with\ncertainty which state the system is in. However, because a non-Hermitian\nPT-symmetric Hamiltonian determines the inner product that is appropriate for\nthe Hilbert space of physical states, it is always possible to choose this\ninner product so that the two states $|\\psi_1 > $ and $|\\psi_2 > $ are\northogonal. Thus, quantum state discrimination can, in principle, be achieved\nwith a single measurement."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "$T\\bar{T}$-deformed Entanglement Entropy for Integrable Quantum Field\n  Theory: We calculate the $T\\bar{T}$-deformed entanglement entropy for integrable\nquantum field theories (IQFTs) using the form factor bootstrap approach. We\nsolve the form factor bootstrap axioms for the branch-point twist fields and\nobtain the deformed form factors. Using these form factors, we compute the\ndeformed von Neuman entropy up to two particle contributions. The solution of\nthe form factor axioms is not unique. We find that for the simplest solution of\nthe bootstrap axioms, the UV limit of the entanglement entropy takes the same\nform as the undeformed one, but the effective central charge is deformed. For\nsolutions with additional CDD-like factors, we can have different behaviors.\nThe IR corrections, which only depends on the particle spectrum is untouched.",
        "positive": "p-branes from (p-2)-branes in the Bosonic String Theory: We show that Dirichlet p-brane can be expressed as a configuration of\ninfinitely many Dirichlet (p-2)-branes in the bosonic string theory. Using this\nfact, we interpret the massless fields on the p-brane worldvolume as\ndeformations of the configuration of the (p-2)-branes. Especially we find that\nthe worldvolume gauge field parametrizes part of the group of diffeomorphisms\non the worldvolume."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Semi-Classical Field Theory as Decoherence Free Subspaces: We formulate semi-classical field theory as an approximate\ndecoherence-free-subspace of a finite-dimensional quantum-gravity hilbert\nspace. A complementarity construction can be realized as a unitary\ntransformation which changes the decoherence-free-subspace. This can be\ntranslated to signify that field theory on a global slice, in certain\nspace-times, is the simultaneous examination of two different superselected\nsectors of a field theory. We posit that a correct course graining procedure of\nquantum gravity should be WKB states propagating in a curved background in\nwhich particles exiting a horizon have imaginary components to their phases.\nThe field theory appears non-unitary, but it is due to the existence of\napproximate decoherence free sub-spaces. Furthermore, the importance of\noperator spaces in the course-graining procedure is discussed. We also briefly\ntouch on Firewalls.",
        "positive": "The gravitational cusp anomalous dimension from AdS space: Recently a new picture has been developed for examining Wilson lines, and the\ncorresponding anomalous dimensions which govern their renormalization\nproperties. By making a particular coordinate transform, the calculation of the\ncusp anomalous dimension in QED or QCD can be related to the energy of a pair\nof static charges in Euclidean Anti-de-Sitter (AdS) space. This paper shows how\nthe same picture can be used to describe Wilson lines in quantum gravity. We\nshow how the relevant cusp anomalous dimension (which has recently been shown\nto be one loop exact) can be obtained using the Newtonian limit of General\nRelativity. We also show how both the QED and gravity cases emerge as special\ncases of a general formulation, and that a continuous parameter exists which\ninterpolates between them. The results may be useful in examining the relations\nbetween gauge and gravity theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "CPT anomaly: a rigorous result in four dimensions: The existence of a CPT anomaly is established for a particular\nfour-dimensional Abelian lattice gauge theory with Ginsparg-Wilson fermions.",
        "positive": "6D Supersymmetric Nonlinear Sigma-Models in 4D, N=1 Superspace: Using 4D, N=1 superfield techniques, a discussion of the 6D sigma-model\npossessing simple supersymmetry is given. Two such approaches are described.\nForemost it is shown that the simplest and most transparent description arises\nby use of a doublet of chiral scalar superfields for each 6D hypermultiplet. A\nsecond description that is most directly related to projective superspace is\nalso presented. The latter necessarily implies the use of one chiral superfield\nand one nonminimal scalar superfield for each 6D hypermultiplet. A separate\nstudy of models of this class, outside the context of projective superspace, is\nalso undertaken."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic Cosmology from the First Law of Thermodynamics and the\n  Generalized Uncertainty Principle: The cosmological Friedmann equation sourced by the trace anomaly of a\nconformal field theory that is dual to the five-dimensional Schwarzschild-AdS\ngeometry can be derived from the first law of thermodynamics if the apparent\nhorizon of the boundary spacetime acquires a logarithmically-corrected\nBekenstein-Hawking entropy. It is shown that such a correction to the entropy\ncan arise when the generalized uncertainty principle (GUP) is invoked. The\nnecessary condition for such a thermodynamic derivation directly relates the\nGUP parameter to the conformal anomaly. It is consistent with the existence of\na gravitational cutoff for a theory containing $n$ light species. The absolute\nminimum in position uncertainty can be identified with the scale at which\ngravity becomes effectively five-dimensional.",
        "positive": "String breaking in QCD: dual superconductor vs. stochastic vacuum model: Effects of dispersion of the chromoelectric field of the flux tube on the\nstring-breaking distance are studied. The leading-order correction is shown to\nslightly diminish the result following from the Schwinger formula. Instead,\naccounting for corrections of all orders might result, at certain values of the\nLandau-Ginzburg parameter, in an increase of the string-breaking distance up to\none order of magnitude. An alternative formula for this distance is obtained\nwhen produced pairs are treated as holes in a confining pellicle, which spans\nover the contour of an external quark-antiquark pair. Generalizations of the\nobtained results to the cases of small temperatures, as well as temperatures\nclose to the critical one are also discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Superconductivity from D3/D7: Holographic Pion Superfluid: We show that a D3/D7 system (at zero quark mass limit) at finite isospin\nchemical potential goes through a superconductor (superfluid) like phase\ntransition. This is similar to a flavored superfluid phase studied in QCD\nliterature, where mesonic operators condensate. We have studied the frequency\ndependent conductivity of the condensate and found a delta function pole in the\nzero frequency limit. This is an example of superconductivity in a string\ntheory context. Consequently we have found a superfluid/supercurrent type\nsolution and studied the associated phase diagram. The superconducting\ntransition changes from second order to first order at a critical superfluid\nvelocity. We have studied various properties of the superconducting system like\nsuperfluid density, energy gap, second sound etc. We investigate the\npossibility of the isospin chemical potential modifying the embedding of the\nflavor branes by checking whether the transverse scalars also condense at low\ntemperature. This however does not seem to be the case.",
        "positive": "A light-cone approach to three-point functions in AdS_5 x S^5: We consider worldsheet correlation functions for strings in AdS_5 x S^5 using\na light-cone gauge for the worldsheet theory. We compute the saddle-point\napproximation to three-point functions of BMN vertex operators, all with large\ncharges, by explicitly finding the intersection of three euclidean BMN strings.\nWe repeat this calculation for non-BPS circular winding strings extended along\na great circle of the S^5, though in this case the appropriate form of the\nvertex operator is uncertain. Furthermore, we compute the spectrum of\nfluctuations about euclidean BMN strings for generic boundary conditions, and\nshow that the spectrum depends only on the total charge and not the details of\nthe string configuration. We extend our considerations to include near-BMN\nvertex operators and through the evaluation of the string path integral make\ncontact with the light-cone string field theory calculations of gauge theory\nthree-point structure constants."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Note on Supersymmetric Type II Solutions of Lifshitz Type: We discuss a class of supersymmetric type II non-relativistic solutions with\nexact or asymptotic scale invariance. As already emerged from previous\ninvestigations, we find a clear correspondence between anisotropic\nd-dimensional vacua and relativistic solutions in (d + 1)-dimensions. We will\nshow that supersymmetric four-dimensional Poincare' invariant backgrounds in\ntype IIB can descend to analogous solutions with anisotropic scaling in t and\n(x, y). This result can be applied to scale invariant theories, domain walls\ninterpolating between four-dimensional Lifshitz vacua and more general\nsolutions with only asymptotic or approximate scaling behaviour.",
        "positive": "Photon-Photon Scattering in Very Special Relativity: Starting from the Mandelstam-Leibbrandt prescription, we introduce a general\nrule for the null vector $\\bar{n}$ to compute any $SIM(2)$ integral and diagram\nwith an arbitrary number of external legs. Using the new prescription, the\ncomputation of the low energy limit of photon-photon scattering under the Very\nSpecial Relativity (VSR) framework is presented. The prescription preserves\nautomatically the Ward identities corresponding to the gauge symmetry. Within\nthe low momentum approximation we get the standard unpolarized differential\ncross section for photon-photon scattering. The result suggests that loops with\nany external photon legs on-shell will be zero in VSR."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Finite-gap equations for strings on AdS_3 x S^3 x T^4 with mixed 3-form\n  flux: We study superstrings on AdS_3 x S^3 x T^4 supported by a combination of\nRamond-Ramond and Neveu-Schwarz-Neveu-Schwarz three form fluxes, and construct\na set of finite-gap equations that describe the classical string spectrum.\nUsing the recently proposed all-loop S-matrix we write down the all-loop Bethe\nansatz equations for the massive sector. In the thermodynamic limit the Bethe\nansatz reproduces the finite-gap equations. As part of this derivation we\npropose expressions for the leading order dressing phases. These phases differ\nfrom the well-known Arutyunov-Frolov-Staudacher phase that appears in the pure\nRamond-Ramond case. We also consider the one-loop quantization of the algebraic\ncurve and determine the one-loop corrections to the dressing phases. Finally we\nconsider some classical string solutions including finite size giant magnons\nand circular strings.",
        "positive": "D-branes on Orbifolds with Discrete Torsion And Topological Obstruction: We find the orbifold analog of the topological relation recently found by\nFreed and Witten which restricts the allowed D-brane configurations of Type II\nvacua with a topologically non-trivial flat $B$-field. The result relies in\nDouglas proposal -- which we derive from worldsheet consistency conditions --\nof embedding projective representations on open string Chan-Paton factors when\nconsidering orbifolds with discrete torsion. The orbifold action on open\nstrings gives a natural definition of the algebraic K-theory group -- using\ntwisted cross products -- responsible for measuring Ramond-Ramond charges in\norbifolds with discrete torsion. We show that the correspondence between\nfractional branes and Ramond-Ramond fields follows in an interesting fashion\nfrom the way that discrete torsion is implemented on open and closed strings."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "String Causality: Withdrawn due to error. See D. Lowe, L. Susskind and J. Uglum,\nhep-th/9402136, for correct treatment. Apologies to all recipients.",
        "positive": "Charges in the UV completion of neutral electrodynamics: A theory with a non-compact form-symmetry is described by two closed form\nfields of degrees k and d-k. Effective theory examples are non-linear\nelectrodynamics, a photon field coupled to a neutron field, and a low energy\nGoldstone boson. We show these models cannot be completed in the UV without\nbreaking the non-compact form-symmetry down to a compact one. This amounts to\nthe existence of electric or magnetic charges. A theory with an unbroken\nnon-compact k-form symmetry is massless and free."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Surgical invariants of four-manifolds: A new topological invariant of closed connected orientable four-dimensional\nmanifolds is proposed. The invariant, constructed via surgery on a special\nlink, is a four-dimensional counterpart of the celebrated SU(2) three-manifold\ninvariant of Reshetikhin, Turaev and Witten.",
        "positive": "Conformal field theories in a periodic potential: results from\n  holography and field theory: We study 2+1 dimensional conformal field theories (CFTs) with a globally\nconserved U(1) charge, placed in a chemical potential which is periodically\nmodulated along the spatial direction $x$ with zero average: $\\mu(x) = V\n\\cos(kx)$. The dynamics of such theories depends only on the dimensionless\nratio $V/k$, and we expect that they flow in the infrared to new CFTs whose\nuniversality class changes as a function of $V/k$. We compute the\nfrequency-dependent conductivity of strongly-coupled CFTs using holography of\nthe Einstein-Maxwell theory in 4-dimensional anti-de Sitter space. We compare\nthe results with the corresponding computation of weakly-coupled CFTs,\nperturbed away from the CFT of free, massless Dirac fermions (which describes\ngraphene at low energies). We find that the results of the two computations\nhave significant qualitative similarities. However, differences do appear in\nthe vicinities of an infinite discrete set of values of $V/k$: the universality\nclass of the infrared CFT changes at these values in the weakly-coupled theory,\nby the emergence of new zero modes of Dirac fermions which are remnants of\nlocal Fermi surfaces. The infrared theory changes continuously in holography,\nand the classical gravitational theory does not capture the physics of the\ndiscrete transition points between the infrared CFTs. We briefly note\nimplications for a non-zero average chemical potential."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Initial Conditions for Inflation - A Short Review: I give a brief review of the status of research on the nature of initial\nconditions required to obtain a period of cosmological inflation. It is shown\nthat there is good evidence that in the case of large field models, the\ninflationary slow-roll trajectory is a local attractor in initial condition\nspace, whereas it is not in the case of small field models.",
        "positive": "A generalization of the Jordan-Schwinger map: classical version and its\n  q--deformation: For all three--dimensional Lie algebras the construction of generators in\nterms of functions on 4-dimensional real phase space is given with a\nrealization of the Lie product in terms of Poisson brackets. This is the\nclassical Jordan--Schwinger map which is also given for the deformed algebras\n${\\cal {SL}}_{q}(2,\\R)$, ${\\cal E}_{q} (2)$ and ${\\cal H}_q(1)$. The ${\\cal\nU}_{q}(n)$ algebra is discussed in the same context."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Radiative Corrections to the Mass of the Kink Using an Alternative\n  Renormalization Program: In this paper we compute the radiative correction to the mass of the kink in\n$\\phi^4$ theory in 1+1 dimensions, using an alternative renormalization\nprogram. In this newly proposed renormalization program the breaking of the\ntranslational invariance and the topological nature of the problem, due to the\npresence of the kink, is automatically taken into account. This will naturally\nlead to uniquely defined position dependent counterterms. We use the mode\nnumber cutoff in conjunction with the above program to compute the mass of the\nkink up to and including the next to the leading order quantum correction. We\ndiscuss the differences between the results of this procedure and the\npreviously reported ones.",
        "positive": "An Effective Theory Of Anomalous Momentum Diffusion From Holography: We consider a $U(1)$ Maxwell-Chern-Simons theory in $5$-dimensions, and\nanalyze the vector perturbations around a classical charged black-brane\nbackground. We solve the equations of motion for these perturbations in a\nderivative expansion. By computing the boundary current, we find that time and\nspatial derivatives can be interpreted as the induced electric and magnetic\nfield respectively, and the Chern-Simons term contributes to a nonzero\ndivergence of the boundary current which indicates a quantum anomaly. Using\nholography, we construct a two-derivative effective action for the vector\nperturbations. By complexifying the radial coordinate, and using appropriate\ntransformation, we construct the full solution on the complexified bulk\ncontour. By computing the on-shell action for the full Schwinger-Keldysh\ngeometry, we obtain the Keldysh functional. We find that the single boundary\non-shell action mixes parity, whereas the Keldysh functional does not depend on\nthe Chern-Simons term up to the quadratic orders in derivative expansion."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hamilton-Jacobi treatment of fields with constraints: In this paper the $Guler's$ formalism for the systems with finite degrees of\nfreedom is applied to the field theories with constraints. The integrability\nconditions are investigated and the path integral quantization is performed\nusing the action given by Hamilton-Jacobi formulation. The Proca's model is\ninvestigated in details.",
        "positive": "Representations of p-brane topological charge algebras: The known extended algebras associated with p-branes are shown to be\ngenerated as topological charge algebras of the standard p-brane actions. A\nrepresentation of the charges in terms of superspace forms is constructed. The\ncharges are shown to be the same in standard/extended superspace formulations\nof the action."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Connection Between 2d Topological Gravity and the Reduced\n  Hermitian Matrix Model: We discuss how concepts such as geodesic length and the volume of space-time\ncan appear in 2d topological gravity. We then construct a detailed mapping\nbetween the reduced Hermitian matrix model and 2d topological gravity at genus\nzero. This leads to a complete solution of the counting problem for planar\ngraphs with vertices of even coordination number. The connection between\nmulti-critical matrix models and multi-critical topological gravity at genus\nzero is studied in some detail.",
        "positive": "Mass scales, supersymmetry breaking and open strings: We review physical motivations and possible realizations of string vacua with\nlarge internal volume and/or low string scale and discuss the issue of\nsupersymmetry breaking. In particular, we describe the key features of\nScherk-Schwarz deformations in type I models and conclude by reviewing the\nphenomenon of ``brane supersymmetry breaking'': the tadpole conditions of some\ntype-I models require that supersymmetry be {\\it broken at the string scale} on\na collection of branes, while being exact, to lowest order, in the bulk and on\nother branes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fate of spin polarization in a relativistic fluid: An entropy-current\n  analysis: We derive relativistic hydrodynamic equations with a dynamical spin degree of\nfreedom on the basis of an entropy-current analysis. The first and second laws\nof local thermodynamics constrain possible structures of the constitutive\nrelations including a spin current and the antisymmetric part of the\n(canonical) energy-momentum tensor. Solving the obtained hydrodynamic equations\nwithin the linear-mode analysis, we find spin-diffusion modes, indicating that\nspin density is damped out after a characteristic time scale controlled by\ntransport coefficients introduced in the antisymmetric part of the\nenergy-momentum tensor in the entropy-current analysis. This is a consequence\nof mutual convertibility between spin and orbital angular momentum.",
        "positive": "Holography and quantum states in elliptic de Sitter space: We outline a program for interpreting the higher-spin dS/CFT model in terms\nof physics in the causal patch of a dS observer. The proposal is formulated in\n\"elliptic\" de Sitter space dS_4/Z_2, obtained by identifying antipodal points\nin dS_4. We discuss recent evidence that the higher-spin model is especially\nwell-suited for this, since the antipodal symmetry of bulk solutions has a\nsimple encoding on the boundary. For context, we test some other (free and\ninteracting) theories for the same property. Next, we analyze the notion of\nquantum field states in the non-time-orientable dS_4/Z_2. We compare the\nphysics seen by different observers, with the outcome depending on whether they\nshare an arrow of time. Finally, we implement the marriage between higher-spin\nholography and observers in dS_4/Z_2, in the limit of free bulk fields. We\nsucceed in deriving an observer's operator algebra and Hamiltonian from the\nCFT, but not her S-matrix. We speculate on the extension of this to interacting\nhigher-spin theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spherical membranes in Matrix theory: We consider membranes of spherical topology in uncompactified Matrix theory.\nIn general for large membranes Matrix theory reproduces the classical membrane\ndynamics up to 1/N corrections; for certain simple membrane configurations, the\nequations of motion agree exactly at finite N. We derive a general formula for\nthe one-loop Matrix potential between two finite-sized objects at large\nseparations. Applied to a graviton interacting with a round spherical membrane,\nwe show that the Matrix potential agrees with the naive supergravity potential\nfor large N, but differs at subleading orders in N. The result is quite\ngeneral: we prove a pair of theorems showing that for large N, after removing\nthe effects of gravitational radiation, the one-loop potential between\nclassical Matrix configurations agrees with the long-distance potential\nexpected from supergravity. As a spherical membrane shrinks, it eventually\nbecomes a black hole. This provides a natural framework to study Schwarzschild\nblack holes in Matrix theory.",
        "positive": "BRST BMS4 Symmetry and its Cocycles from Horizontality Conditions: The BRST structure of the extended Bondi-Metzner-Sachs symmetry group of\nasymptotically flat manifolds is investigated using the recently introduced\nframework of the Beltrami field parametrization of four-dimensional metrics.\nThe latter identifies geometrically the two physical degrees of freedom of the\ngraviton as fundamental fields. The graded BRST BMS4 nilpotent differential\noperator relies on four horizontality conditions giving a Lagrangian\nreformulation of the asymptotic BMS4 symmetry. A series of cocycles is found\nwhich indicate the possibility of anomalies for three-dimensional Lagrangian\ntheories to be built in the null boundaries of asymptotically flat spaces from\nthe principle of BRST BMS4 invariance."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetric Fivebrane Solitons: We study the conditions for the fivebrane worldvolume theory in D=11 to admit\nsupersymmetric solitons with non-vanishing self-dual three-form. We construct\nsome new soliton solutions consisting of ``superpositions'' of calibrated\nsurfaces, self-dual strings and instantons.",
        "positive": "The Torus Operator in Holography: We consider the non-local operator ${\\mathcal T}$ defined in 2-dimensional\nCFTs by the path integral over a torus with two punctures. Using the AdS/CFT\ncorrespondence, we study the spectrum and ground state of this operator in\nholographic such CFTs in the limit of large central charge $c$. In one region\nof moduli space, we argue that the operator retains a finite gap and has a\nground state that differs from the CFT vacuum only by order one corrections. In\nthis region the torus operator is much like the cylinder operator. But in\nanother region of moduli space we find a puzzle. Although our ${\\mathcal T}$ is\nof the manifestly positive form $A^\\dagger A$, studying the most tractable\nphases of $\\text{Tr}( {\\mathcal T}^n)$ suggests that ${\\mathcal T}$ has\nnegative eigenvalues. It seems clear that additional phases must become\nrelevant at large $n$, perhaps leading to novel behavior associated with a\nradically different ground state or a much higher density of states. By\nstudying the action of two such torus operators on the CFT ground state, we\nalso provide evidence that, even at large $n$, the relevant bulk saddles have\n$t=0$ surfaces with small genus."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Current correlators in the Coulomb branch of N=4 SYM: We study correlators of R-symmetry currents in the Coulomb branch of N = 4\nsupersymmetric gauge theory in the large-N limit, using the AdS/CFT\ncorrespondence. In particular, we consider gauge fields in the presence of\ngravity and scalar fields parameterizing the coset SL(6,R)/SO(6) in the context\nof five-dimensional gauged supergravity. From a ten-dimensional point of view\nthese backgrounds correspond to continuous D3-brane distributions. We find the\nsurprising result that all 2-point functions of gauge currents fall into the\nsame universality class, irrespectively of whether they correspond to broken or\nunbroken symmetries. We show that the problem of finding the spectrum can be\nmapped into an equivalent Schroedinger problem for supersymmetric quantum\nmechanics. The corresponding potential is the supersymmetric partner of the\npotential arising in studies of the spectrum for massless scalars and\ntransverse graviton fluctuations in these backgrounds and the associated\nspectra are also identical. We discuss in detail two examples where these\ncomputations can be done explicitly as in the conformal case.",
        "positive": "1/R multidimensional gravity with form-fields: stabilization of extra\n  dimensions, cosmic acceleration and domain walls: We study multidimensional gravitational models with scalar curvature\nnonlinearity of the type 1/R and with form-fields (fluxes) as a matter source.\nIt is assumed that the higher dimensional space-time undergoes\nFreund-Rubin-like spontaneous compactification to a warped product manifold. It\nis shown that for certain parameter regions the model allows for a freezing\nstabilization of the internal space near the positive minimum of the effective\npotential which plays the role of the positive cosmological constant. This\ncosmological constant provides the observable late-time accelerating expansion\nof the Universe if parameters of the model is fine tuned. Additionally, the\neffective potential has the saddle point. It results in domain walls in the\nUniverse. We show that these domain walls do not undergo inflation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Soldering spin-3/2 fermions in $D=2+1$: The soldering procedure has been for the first time generalized to the case\nof spin-3/2 fermionic theories. We have demonstrated that the fermionic part of\nthe so called \"New Topologically Massive Supergravity\" theory, which is of\nthird order in derivatives, can be soldered in order to obtain a fourth order\ndublet model analogue to the linearized version of the New Massive Gravity\ntheory, while the soldering of two second order self-dual models give us a\ntheory similar to the linearized version of the Einstein-Hilbert-Fierz-Pauli\ntheory.",
        "positive": "Three-Point Functions in N=4 SYM Theory at One-Loop: We analyze the one-loop correction to the three-point function coefficient of\nscalar primary operators in N=4 SYM theory. By applying constraints from the\nsuperconformal symmetry, we demonstrate that the type of Feynman diagrams that\ncontribute depends on the choice of renormalization scheme. In the planar\nlimit, explicit expressions for the correction are interpreted in terms of the\nhamiltonians of the associated integrable closed and open spin chains. This\nsuggests that at least at one-loop, the planar conformal field theory is\nintegrable with the anomalous dimensions and OPE coefficients both obtainable\nfrom integrable spin chain calculations. We also connect the planar results\nwith similar structures found in closed string field theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Conserved symmetries in noncommutative quantum mechanics: We consider a problem of the consistent deformation of physical system\nintroducing a new features, but preserving its fundamental properties. In\nparticular, we study how to implement the noncommutativity of space-time\nwithout violation of the rotational symmetry in quantum mechanics or the\nLorentz symmetry in f{i}eld theory. Since the canonical (Moyal)\nnoncommutativity breaks the above symmetries one should work with more general\ncase of coordinate-dependent noncommutative spaces, when the commutator between\ncoordinates is a function of these coordinates. F{i}rst we describe in general\nlines how to construct the quantum mechanics on coordinate-dependent\nnoncommutative spaces. Then we consider the particular examples: the Hydrogen\natom on rotationally invariant noncommutative space and the Dirac equation on\ncovariant noncommutative space-time.",
        "positive": "Banados-Teitelboim-Zanelli Black Hole in the Information Geometry: We examine the Banados-Teitelboim-Zanelli (BTZ) black hole in terms of the\ninformation geometry and consider what kind of quantum information produces the\nblack hole metric in close connection with the anti-de Sitter space/conformal\nfield theory (AdS/CFT) correspondence. We find a Hessian potential that exactly\nproduces both the BTZ metric and the entanglement entropy formula for CFT_{1+1}\nat a finite temperature. Taking a free-falling frame near the event horizon is\na key procedure to derive these exact results. We also find an alternative\nHessian potential that produces the same BTZ metric, which is found using the\nduality relation based on the Legendre transformation. We realize that the dual\nrepresentation originates from the entanglement Hamiltonian on the CFT side.\nOur results suggest that the present information-geometrical approach is very\npowerful for understanding the mechanism of the holographic renormalization\ngroup such as the AdS/CFT correspondence."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "1/16 BPS States in N=4 SYM: We investigate the problem of counting 1/16 BPS operators in N=4\nSuper-Yang-Mills theory at weak coupling. We present the complete set of 1/16\nBPS operators in the infinite N limit, which agrees with the counting of free\nBPS multi-graviton states in the gravity dual AdS5xS5. Further, we conjecture\nthat all 1/16 BPS operators in N=4 SYM are of the multi-graviton form, and give\nnumerical evidences for this conjecture. We discuss the implication of our\nconjecture and the seeming failure in reproducing the entropy of large 1/16 BPS\nblack holes in AdS5.",
        "positive": "Holographic Mixing Quantified: We compute the precise elementary/composite field content of mass eigenstates\nin holographic duals of warped models in a slice of AdS_5. This is accomplished\nby decomposing the bulk fields not in the usual Kaluza-Klein basis, but rather\ninto a holographic basis of 4D fields, corresponding to purely elementary\nsource or CFT composite fields. Generically, this decomposition yields kinetic\nand mass mixing between the elementary and composite sectors of the holographic\ntheory. Depending on where the bulk zero mode is localized, the\nelementary/composite content may differ radically, which we show explicitly for\nseveral examples including the bulk Randall-Sundrum graviton, bulk gauge boson,\nand Higgs boson."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Path Integrals on Riemannian Manifolds with Symmetry and Stratified\n  Gauge Structure: We study a quantum system in a Riemannian manifold M on which a Lie group G\nacts isometrically. The path integral on M is decomposed into a family of path\nintegrals on a quotient space Q=M/G and the reduced path integrals are\ncompletely classified by irreducible unitary representations of G. It is not\nnecessary to assume that the action of G on M is either free or transitive.\nHence the quotient space M/G may have orbifold singularities. Stratification\ngeometry, which is a generalization of the concept of principal fiber bundle,\nis necessarily introduced to describe the path integral on M/G. Using it we\nshow that the reduced path integral is expressed as a product of three factors;\nthe rotational energy amplitude, the vibrational energy amplitude, and the\nholonomy factor.",
        "positive": "Attraction, with Boundaries: We study the basin of attraction of static extremal black holes, in the\nconcrete setting of the STU model. By finding a connection to a decoupled\nToda-like system and solving it exactly, we find a simple way to characterize\nthe attraction basin via competing behaviors of certain parameters. The\nboundaries of attraction arise in the various limits where these parameters\ndegenerate to zero. We find that these boundaries are generalizations of the\nrecently introduced (extremal) subtracted geometry: the warp factors still\nexhibit asymptotic integer power law behaviors, but the powers can be different\nfrom one. As we cross over one of these boundaries (\"generalized\nsubttractors\"), the solutions turn unstable and start blowing up at finite\nradius and lose their asymptotic region. Our results are fully analytic, but we\nalso solve a simpler theory where the attraction basin is lower dimensional and\neasy to visualize, and present a simple picture that illustrates many of the\nbasic ideas."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Squeezed State Projectors in String Field Theory: We find a new subalgebra of the star product in the matter sector. Its\nelements are squeezed states whose matrices commute with (K_1)^2. This\nsubalgebra contains a large set of projectors. The states are represented by\ntheir eigenvalues and we find a mapping between the eigenvalues representation\nand other known representations. The sliver is naturally in this subalgebra.\nSurprisingly, all the generalized butterfly states are also in this subalgebra,\nenabling us to analyze their spectrum, and to show the orthogonality of\ndifferent butterfly states. This means that multi D-brane states can be built\nof butterfly states.",
        "positive": "Chiral Rings, Anomalies and Electric-Magnetic Duality: We study electric-magnetic duality in the chiral ring of a supersymmetric\nU(N_c) gauge theory with adjoint and fundamental matter, in presence of a\ngeneral confining phase superpotential for the adjoint and the mesons. We find\nthe magnetic solution corresponding to both the pseudoconfining and higgs\nelectric vacua. By means of the Dijkgraaf-Vafa method, we match the effective\nglueball superpotentials and show that in some cases duality works exactly\noffshell. We give also a picture of the analytic structure of the resolvents in\nthe magnetic theory, as we smoothly interpolate between different higgs vacua\non the electric side."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Discussion on Event Horizon and Quantum Ergosphere of Evaporating Black\n  Holes in a Tunnelling Framework: In this paper, with the Parikh-Wilczek tunnelling framework the positions of\nthe event horizon of the Vaidya black hole and the Vaidya-Bonner black hole are\ncalculated respectively. We find that the event horizon and the apparent\nhorizon of these two black holes correspond respectively to the two turning\npoints of the Hawking radiation tunnelling barrier. That is, the quantum\nergosphere coincides with the tunnelling barrier. Our calculation also implies\nthat the Hawking radiation comes from the apparent horizon.",
        "positive": "$\\mathcal{N}=1$ supersymmetric three-dimensional QED in the large-$N_f$\n  limit and applications to super-graphene: We study $\\mathcal{N}=1$ supersymmetric three-dimensional Quantum\nElectrodynamics with $N_f$ two-component fermions. Due to the infra-red (IR)\nsoftening of the photon, $\\ep$-scalar and photino propagators, the theory flows\nto an interacting fixed point deep in the IR, $p_E \\ll e^2 N_f/8$, where $p_E$\nis the euclidean momentum and $e$ the electric charge. At next-to-leading order\nin the $1/N_f$-expansion, we find that the flow of the dimensionless effective\ncoupling constant $\\overline{\\al}$ is such that: $\\overline{\\al} \\ra 8/\\big(N_f\n\\,(1+C/N_f)\\big) \\approx (8/N_f)(1-0.4317/N_f)$ where $C= 2\\,(12-\\pi^2)/\\pi^2$.\nHence, the non-trivial IR fixed point is stable with respect to quantum\ncorrections. Various properties of the theory are explored and related via a\nmapping to the ones of a $\\mathcal{N}=1$ model of super-graphene. In\nparticular, we derive the interaction correction coefficient to the optical\nconductivity of super-graphene, $C_{\\rm sg} = (12-\\pi^2)/(2\\pi) = 0.3391$,\nwhich is six times larger than in the non-supersymmetric case, $C_{\\rm g} =\n(92-9\\pi^2)/(18\\pi) = 0.0561$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Real topological string amplitudes: We discuss the physical superstring correlation functions in type I theory\n(or equivalently type II with orientifold) that compute real topological string\namplitudes. We consider the correlator corresponding to holomorphic derivative\nof the real topological amplitude $G_\\chi$, at fixed worldsheet Euler\ncharacteristic $\\chi$. This corresponds in the low-energy effective action to\nN=2 Weyl multiplet, appropriately reduced to the orientifold invariant part,\nand raised to the power $g'=-\\chi+1$. We show that the physical string\ncorrelator gives precisely the holomorphic derivative of topological amplitude.\nFinally, we apply this method to the standard closed oriented case as well, and\nprove a similar statement for the topological amplitude $F_g$.",
        "positive": "Momentum dissipation and effective theories of coherent and incoherent\n  transport: We study heat transport in two systems without momentum conservation: a\nhydrodynamic system, and a holographic system with spatially dependent,\nmassless scalar fields. When momentum dissipates slowly, there is a\nwell-defined, coherent collective excitation in the AC heat conductivity, and a\ncrossover between sound-like and diffusive transport at small and large\ndistance scales. When momentum dissipates quickly, there is no such excitation\nin the incoherent AC heat conductivity, and diffusion dominates at all distance\nscales. For a critical value of the momentum dissipation rate, we compute exact\nexpressions for the Green's functions of our holographic system due to an\nemergent gravitational self-duality, similar to electric/magnetic duality, and\nSL(2,R) symmetries. We extend the coherent/incoherent classification to\nexamples of charge transport in other holographic systems: probe brane theories\nand neutral theories with non-Maxwell actions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dynamical chemistry: non-equilibrium effective actions for reactive\n  fluids: We present two approaches for describing chemical reactions taking place in\nfluid phase. The first method mirrors the usual derivation of the hydrodynamic\nequations of motion by relating conserved---or to account for chemical\nreactions, non-conserved---currents to local-equilibrium parameters. The second\nmethod involves a higher-brow approach in which we attack the same problem from\nthe perspective of non-equilibrium effective field theory (EFT).\nNon-equilibrium effective actions are defined using the in-in formalism on the\nSchwinger-Keldysh contour and are therefore capable of describing thermal\nfluctuations and dissipation as well as quantum effects. The non-equilibrium\nEFT approach is especially powerful as all terms in the action are fully\nspecified by the symmetries of the system; in particular the second law of\nthermodynamics does not need to be included by hand, but is instead derived\nfrom the action itself. We find that the equations of motion generated by both\nmethods agree, but the EFT approach yields certain advantages. To demonstrate\nsome of these advantages we construct a quadratic action that is valid to very\nsmall distance scales---much smaller than the scales at which ordinary\nhydrodynamic theories break down. Such an action captures the full\nthermodynamic and quantum behavior of reactions and diffusion at quadratic\norder. Finally, taking the low-frequency and low-wavenumber limit, we reproduce\nthe linearized version of the well-known reaction-diffusion equations as a\nfinal coherence check.",
        "positive": "Two-loop five-point all plus helicity Yang-Mills amplitude: We re-compute the recently derived two-loop five-point all plus Yang-Mills\namplitude using Unitarity and Recursion. Recursion requires augmented recursion\nto determine the sub-leading pole. Using these methods the simplicity of this\namplitude is understood."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Constrained Superfields and Standard Realization of Nonlinear\n  Supersymmetry: A constrained superfield formalism has been proposed recently to analyze the\nlow energy physics related to Goldstinos. We prove that this formalism can be\nreformulated in the language of standard realization of nonlinear\nsupersymmetry. New relations have been uncovered in the standard realization of\nnonlinear supersymmetry.",
        "positive": "Grand Unification from Gauge Theory on $M_4 \\times Z_N$: The SU(5) grand unified theory (GUT) is derived from the geometrical point of\nview of gauge theory on three-sheeted space-time, i.e., $M_4 \\times Z_3$\nmanifold without recourse to noncommutative geometry. A derivation of SO(10)\nGUT is also discussed in the same point of view."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dilatonic Black Holes in Higher Curvature String Gravity: We give analytical arguments and demonstrate numerically the existence of\nblack hole solutions of the $4D$ Effective Superstring Action in the presence\nof Gauss-Bonnet quadratic curvature terms. The solutions possess non-trivial\ndilaton hair. The hair, however, is of ``secondary\" type\", in the sense that\nthe dilaton charge is expressed in terms of the black hole mass. Our solutions\nare not covered by the assumptions of existing proofs of the ``no-hair\"\ntheorem. We also find some alternative solutions with singular metric\nbehaviour, but finite energy. The absence of naked singularities in this system\nis pointed out.",
        "positive": "Duality walls and defects in 5d N=1 theories: We propose an explicit description of duality walls which encode at low\nenergy the global symmetry enhancement expected in the UV completion of certain\nfive-dimensional gauge theories. The proposal is supported by explicit\nlocalization computations and implies that the instanton partition function of\nthese theories satisfies novel and unexpected integral equations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Solitons via Lie-B\u00e4cklund Transformation for 5D Low-energy String\n  Theory: We apply a non-linear matrix transformation of Lie-Backlund type on a seed\nsoliton configuration in order to obtain a new solitonic solution in the\nframework of the 5D low-energy effective field theory of the bosonic string.\nThe seed solution represents a stationary axisymmetric two-soliton\nconfiguration previously constructed through the inverse scattering method and\nconsists of a massless gravitational field coupled to a non-trivial chargeless\ndilaton and to an axion field endowed with charge. We apply a fully\nparameterized non-linear matrix transformation of Ehlers type on this massless\nsolution and get a massive rotating axisymmetric gravitational soliton coupled\nto charged axion and dilaton fields. We discuss on some physical properties of\nboth the initial and the generated solitons and fully clarify the physical\neffect of the non-linear normalized Ehlers transformation on the seed solution,\nin particular, the generated field configuration acquires mass and charge\nterms, and does not possess some of the bizarre properties that the initial ISM\nsolitonic solution does.",
        "positive": "Transverse gravity versus observations: Theories of gravity invariant under those diffeomorphisms generated by\ntransverse vectors, $\\pd_\\m\\xi^\\m=0$ are considered. Such theories are dubbed\ntransverse, and differ from General Relativity in that the determinant of the\nmetric, $g$, is a transverse scalar. We comment on diverse ways in which these\nmodels can be constrained using a variety of observations. Generically, an\nadditional scalar degree of freedom mediates the interaction, so the usual\nconstraints on scalar-tensor theories have to be imposed. If the purely\ngravitational part is Einstein--Hilbert but the matter action is transverse,\nthe models predict that the three {\\em a priori} different concepts of mass\n(gravitational active and gravitational passive as well as inertial) are not\nequivalent anymore. These transverse deviations from General Relativity are\ntherefore tightly constrained, actually correlated with existing bounds on\nviolations of the equivalence principle, local violations of Newton's third law\nand/or violation of Local Position Invariance."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Superconformal and Super-BRS Invariance of the N = 1 Supersymmetric WZW\n  Model Based on Lie Superalgebra: We study the superconformal and super-BRS invariance of the supersymmetric\nWess-Zumino-Witten model based on Lie superalgebra. The computation of the\ncritical super-dimension of this model is done using the Fujikawa\nregularization. Finally, we recover the well-known result which fixes the\nrelative coupling constant a2 = 1 in a rigorous way.",
        "positive": "Cyclic Permutations in Kazama-Suzuki String Models: Moddings by cyclic permutation symmetries are performed in 4-dimensional\nstrings, built up from N=2 coset models of the type $CP_m=SU(m+1)/SU(m)\\times\nU(1)$. For some exemplifying cases, the massless chiral and antichiral states\nof $E_6$ are computed. The extent of the equivalence between different\nconformal invariant theories which possess equal chiral rings is analyzed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Remarks on Exact RG Equations: Exact RG equations are discussed with emphasis on the role of the anomalous\ndimension $\\eta$. For the Polchinski equation this may be introduced as a free\nparameter reflecting the freedom of such equations up to contributions which\nvanish in the functional integral. The exact value of $\\eta$ is only determined\nby the requirement that there should exist a well defined non trivial limit at\na IR fixed point. The determination of $\\eta$ is related to the existence of an\nexact marginal operator, for which an explicit form is given. The results are\nextended to the exact Wetterich RG equation for the one particle irreducible\naction $\\Gamma$ by a Legendre transformation. An alternative derivation of the\nderivative expansion is described. An application to $\\N=2$ supersymmetric\ntheories in three dimensions is described where if an IR fixed point exists\nthen $\\eta$ is not small.",
        "positive": "Collective Variables of Fermions and Bosonization: We first present a general method for extracting collective variables out of\nnon-relativistic fermions by extending the gauge theory of collective\ncoordinates to fermionic systems. We then apply the method to a system of\nnon-interacting flavored fermions confined in a one-dimensional\nflavor-independent potential. In the limit of a large number of particles we\nobtain a Lagrangian with the Wess-Zumino-Witten term, which is the well-known\nLagrangian describing the non-Abelian bosonization of chiral fermions on a\ncircle. The result is universal and does not depend on the details of the\nconfining potential."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Holographic Goldstino: We find the fingerprints of the Goldstino associated to spontaneous\nsupersymmetry breaking in a prototype holographic model for a strongly coupled\nfield theory. The Goldstino massless pole arises in two-point correlators of\nthe supercurrent, due to contact terms in supersymmetry Ward identities. We\nshow how these contact terms are obtained from the holographic renormalization\nof the gravitino sector, independently of the details of the bulk background\nsolution. For completeness, we provide an example of a family of such solutions\nin a simple supergravity model.",
        "positive": "Bulk flows in Virasoro minimal models with boundaries: The behaviour of boundary conditions under relevant bulk perturbations is\nstudied for the Virasoro minimal models. In particular, we consider the bulk\ndeformation by the least relevant bulk field which interpolates between the mth\nand (m-1)st unitary minimal model. In the presence of a boundary this bulk flow\ninduces an RG flow on the boundary, which ensures that the resulting boundary\ncondition is conformal in the (m-1)st model. By combining perturbative RG\ntechniques with insights from defects and results about non-perturbative\nboundary flows, we determine the endpoint of the flow, i.e. the boundary\ncondition to which an arbitrary boundary condition of the mth theory flows to."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gravitational F-terms of N=1 Supersymmetric Gauge Theories: We consider four-dimensional N=1 supersymmetric gauge theories in a\nsupergravity background. We use generalized Konishi anomaly equations and\nR-symmetry anomaly to compute the exact perturbative and non-perturbative\ngravitational F-terms. We study two types of theories: The first model breaks\nsupersymmetry dynamically, and the second is based on a $G_2$ gauge group. The\nresults are compared with the corresponding vector models. We discuss the\ndiagrammatic expansion of the $G_2$ theory.",
        "positive": "Opening the Pandora's box of quantum spinor fields: Lounesto's classification of spinors is a comprehensive and exhaustive\nalgorithm that, based on the bilinears covariants, discloses the possibility of\na large variety of spinors, comprising regular and singular spinors and their\nunexpected applications in physics and including the cases of Dirac, Weyl, and\nMajorana as very particular spinor fields. In this paper we pose the problem of\nan analogous classification in the framework of second quantization. We first\ndiscuss in general the nature of the problem. Then we start the analysis of two\nbasic bilinear covariants, the scalar and pseudoscalar, in the second quantized\nsetup, with expressions applicable to the quantum field theory extended to all\ntypes of spinors. One can see that an ampler set of possibilities opens up with\nrespect to the classical case. A quantum reconstruction algorithm is also\nproposed. The Feynman propagator is extended for spinors in all classes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A nonabelian particle-vortex duality in gauge theories: We define a nonabelian version of particle-vortex duality, by dimensionally\nextending usual (1+1)-dimensional nonabelian T-duality to (2+1) dimensions.\nWhile we will explicitly describe a global $SU(2)$ symmetry, our methods can\nalso be applied to a larger group $G$, by gauging an appropriate subgroup. We\nwill exemplify our duality with matter in both adjoint and fundamental\nrepresentations by considering a modification of ${\\cal N}=2$ supersymmetric\nYang-Mills theory (Seiberg-Witten theory reduced to (2+1) dimensions), and an\n$SU(2)\\times U(1)$ color-flavor locked theory that exhibits nonabelian vortex\nsolutions.",
        "positive": "Classification of (2,2) Compactification in Fermionic Strings: Replaced with revised (uncorrupted) version We present a general scheme for\ngenerating (2,2) symmetric fermionic string models and classify the models in\nD=8 and D=6 space time dimensions. We discuss the relationship to other\ncompactification schemes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "4D Scattering Amplitudes and Asymptotic Symmetries from 2D CFT: We reformulate the scattering amplitudes of 4D flat space gauge theory and\ngravity in the language of a 2D CFT on the celestial sphere. The resulting CFT\nstructure exhibits an OPE constructed from 4D collinear singularities, as well\nas infinite-dimensional Kac-Moody and Virasoro algebras encoding the asymptotic\nsymmetries of 4D flat space. We derive these results by recasting 4D dynamics\nin terms of a convenient foliation of flat space into 3D Euclidean AdS and\nLorentzian dS geometries. Tree-level scattering amplitudes take the form of\nWitten diagrams for a continuum of (A)dS modes, which are in turn equivalent to\nCFT correlators via the (A)dS/CFT dictionary. The Ward identities for the 2D\nconserved currents are dual to 4D soft theorems, while the bulk-boundary\npropagators of massless (A)dS modes are superpositions of the leading and\nsubleading Weinberg soft factors of gauge theory and gravity. In general, the\nmassless (A)dS modes are 3D Chern-Simons gauge fields describing the soft,\nsingle helicity sectors of 4D gauge theory and gravity. Consistent with the\ntopological nature of Chern-Simons theory, Aharonov-Bohm effects record the\n\"tracks\" of hard particles in the soft radiation, leading to a simple\ncharacterization of gauge and gravitational memories. Soft particle exchanges\nbetween hard processes define the Kac-Moody level and Virasoro central charge,\nwhich are thereby related to the 4D gauge coupling and gravitational strength\nin units of an infrared cutoff. Finally, we discuss a toy model for black hole\nhorizons via a restriction to the Rindler region.",
        "positive": "Relaxation time of a CFT plasma at finite coupling: Following recent formulation of second order relativistic viscous\nhydrodynamics for conformal fluids, we compute finite coupling corrections to\nthe relaxation time of N=4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills plasma. The result is\nexpected to be universal for any strongly coupled conformal gauge theory plasma\nin four dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Strong field limit of the Born-Infeld p-form electrodynamics: We study the strong field limit of p-form Born-Infeld theory. It turns out\nthat this limiting theory is a unique theory displaying the full symmetry group\nof the underlying canonical structure. Moreover, being a nonlinear theory, it\npossesses an infinite hierarchy of conservation laws.",
        "positive": "A note on the pp-wave solution of Minimal Massive 3D Gravity coupled\n  with Maxwell-Chern-Simons theory: In this work, we examine a family of $pp$-wave solutions of Minimal Massive\n3d Gravity (MMG) minimally coupled with the Maxwell-Chern-Simons theory. An\nelaborate investigation of the field equations shows that the theory admits\n$pp$-wave solutions provided that there exist an anti-self duality relation\nbetween the electric and the magnetic components of the Maxwell 2-form field.\nBy employing Noether-Wald formalism, we also construct Noether charges of the\ntheory within exterior algebra formalism."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-perturbative double scaling limits: Recently, the author has proposed a generalization of the matrix and vector\nmodels approach to the theory of random surfaces and polymers. The idea is to\nreplace the simple matrix or vector (path) integrals by gauge theory or\nnon-linear sigma model (path) integrals. We explain how this solves one of the\nmost fundamental limitation of the classic approach: we automatically obtain\nnon-perturbative definitions in non-Borel summable cases. This is exemplified\non the simplest possible examples involving O(N) symmetric non-linear sigma\nmodels with N-dimensional target spaces, for which we construct (multi)critical\nmetrics. The non-perturbative definitions of the double scaled, manifestly\npositive, partition functions rely on remarkable identities involving (path)\nintegrals.",
        "positive": "A Transfer Matrix Method for Resonances in Randall-Sundrum Models II:\n  The Deformed Case: Here we consider resonances of the Gauge, Gravity and Spinor fields in\nRandall-Sundrum-like scenarios. We consider membranes that are generated by a\nclass of topological defects that are deformed domain walls obtained from other\npreviously known ones. They are obtained by a deformation procedure generate\ndifferent potentials to the associated Schr\\\"odinger-like equation. The\nresonance spectra are calculated numerically using the method of Transfer\nMatrix developed by the authors and presented in JHEP 1108 (2011) 071. The new\ndeformed defects change the resonances spectra of all fields considered and the\nassociated phenomenology as well."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "BRST and Anti BRST structure of a topological current algebra: The BRST structure of a current satisfying a non abelian affine algebra in\ntwo dimensions was studied by Isidro and Ramallo and an N=2 Superconformal\nAlgebra was obtained. In this paper, we study the total BRST and anti BRST\nstructure of the topological algebra. We end up with an N=4 Superconformal\nalgebra in which the central charge drops out of most of the OPE's. The price\none has to pay is that the no. of operators proliferates tremendously and the\nalgebra becomes infinite dimensional.",
        "positive": "Running Scaling Dimensions in Holographic Renormalization Group Flows: Holographic renormalization group flows can be interpreted in terms of\neffective field theory. Based on such an interpretation, a formula for the\nrunning scaling dimensions of gauge-invariant operators along such flows is\nproposed. The formula is checked for some simple examples from the AdS/CFT\ncorrespondence, but can be applied also in non-AdS/non-CFT cases."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The 11-dimensional Metric for AdS/CFT RG Flows with Common SU(3)\n  Invariance: The compact 7-manifold arising in the compactification of 11-dimensional\nsupergravity is described by the metric encoded in the vacuum expectation\nvalues(vevs) in d=4, N=8 gauged supergravity. Especially, the space of\nSU(3)-singlet vevs contains various critical points and RG flows(domain walls)\ndeveloping along AdS_4 radial coordinate. Based on the nonlinear metric ansatz\nof de Wit-Nicolai-Warner, we show the geometric construction of the compact\n7-manifold metric and find the local frames(siebenbeins) by decoding the\nSU(3)-singlet vevs into squashing and stretching parameters of the 7-manifold.\nThen the 11-dimensional metric for the whole SU(3)-invariant sector is obtained\nas a warped product of an asymptotically AdS_4 space with a squashed and\nstretched 7-sphere. We also discuss the difference in the 7-manifold between\ntwo sectors, namely SU(3)xU(1)-invariant sector and G_2-invariant sector. In\nspite of the difference in base 6-sphere, both sectors share the 4-sphere of\nCP^2 associated with the common SU(3)-invariance of various 7-manifolds.",
        "positive": "Boundary State for Dissipative Quantum Mechanics and Thirring Model: The dissipative quantum system is studied using the Thirring model with a\nboundary mass. At the critical point where the Thirring coupling vanishes, the\ntheory reduces to a free fermion theory with a boundary mass. We construct\nboundary states for the dissipative quantum systems in one dimension, which\ndescribes the system off the critical points as well as at the critical points."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Bethe-Ansatz approach to the $\\mathcal N=4$ superconformal index at\n  finite rank: We investigate the Bethe-Ansatz (BA) approach to the superconformal index of\n${\\cal N}=4$ supersymmetric Yang-Mills with SU($N$) gauge group in the context\nof finite rank, $N$. We explicitly explore the role of the various types of\nsolutions to the Bethe-Ansatz Equations (BAE) in recovering the exact index for\n$N=2,3$. We classify the BAE solutions as standard (corresponding to a freely\nacting orbifold $T^2/\\mathbb{Z}_m \\times \\mathbb{Z}_n$) and non-standard. For\n$N=2$, we find that the index is fully recovered by standard solutions and\ndisplays an interesting pattern of cancellations. However, for $N\\ge 3$, the\nstandard solutions alone do not suffice to reconstruct the index. We present\nquantitative arguments in various regimes of fugacities that highlight the\nchallenging role played by the continuous families of non-standard solutions.",
        "positive": "Holographic Mutual Information of Two Disjoint Spheres: We study quantum corrections to holographic mutual information for two\ndisjoint spheres at a large separation by using the operator product expansion\nof the twist field. In the large separation limit, the holographic mutual\ninformation is vanishing at the semiclassical order, but receive quantum\ncorrections from the fluctuations. We show that the leading contributions from\nthe quantum fluctuations take universal forms as suggested from the boundary\nCFT. We find the universal behavior for the scalar, the vector, the tensor and\nthe fermionic fields by treating these fields as free fields propagating in the\nfixed background and by using the 1/n prescription. In particular, for the\nfields with gauge symmetries, including the massless vector boson and massless\ngraviton, we find that the gauge parts in the propagators play indispensable\nrole in reading the leading order corrections to the bulk mutual information."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "One-Instanton Prepotentials from WDVV equations in N=2 Supersymmetric\n  SU(4) Yang-Mills Theory: Prepotentials in N=2 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theories are known to obey\nnon-linear partial differential equations called\nWitten-Dijkgraaf-Verlinde-Verlinde (WDVV) equations. In this paper, the\nprepotentials at one-instanton level in N=2 supersymmetric SU(4) Yang-Mills\ntheory are studied from the standpoint of WDVV equations. Especially, it is\nshown that the one-instanton prepotentials are obtained from WDVV equations by\nassuming the perturbative prepotential and by using the scaling relation as a\nsubsidiary condition but are determined without introducing Seiberg-Witten\ncurve. In this way, various one-instanton prepotentials which satisfy both WDVV\nequations and scaling relation can be derived, but it turns out that among them\nthere exist one-instanton prepotentials which coincide with the instanton\ncalculus.",
        "positive": "Variations of Gauss-Codazzi-Ricci Equations in Kaluza-Klein Reduction\n  (String Theory) and Cauchy Problem (General Relativity): We find a kind of variations of Gauss-Codazzi-Ricci equations suitable for\nKaluza-Klein reduction and Cauchy problem. Especially the counterpart of\nextrinsic curvature tensor has antisymmetric part as well as symmetric one. If\nthe dependence of metric tensor on reduced dimensions is negligible it becomes\na pure antisymmetric tensor."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Bosonization and Duality in Arbitrary Dimensions: New Results: A generic massive Thirring Model in three space-time dimensions exhibits a\ncorrespondence with a topologically massive bosonized gauge action associated\nto a self-duality constraint, and we write down a general expression for this\nrelationship.\n  We also generalize this structure to $d$ dimensions, by adopting the\nso-called doublet approach, recently introduced. In particular, a non-\nconventional formulation of the bosonization technique in higher dimensions (in\nthe spirit of $d=3$), is proposed and, as an application, we show how fermionic\n(Thirring-like) representations for bosonic topologically massive models in\nfour dimensions may be built up.",
        "positive": "Renormalization group and bound states: Similarity renormalization group procedure identifies the role of bound\nstates in the low-energy rate of change of effective coupling constant in a\nmodel Hamiltonian with asymptotic freedom."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Brane webs and $O5$-planes: We explore the properties of five-dimensional supersymmetric gauge theories\nliving on $5$-brane webs in orientifold $5$-plane backgrounds. This allows\nconstructing quiver gauge theories with alternating $USp(2N)$ and $SO(N)$ gauge\ngroups with fundamental matter, and thus leads to the existence of new $5d$\nfixed point theories. The web description can be further used to study\nnon-perturbative phenomena such as enhancement of symmetry and duality. We\nfurther suggest that one can use these systems to engineer $5d$ $SO$ group with\nspinor matter. We present evidence for this claim.",
        "positive": "Minimal surfaces in AdS C-metric: We shed some light on the field theory interpretation of C-metric by\ninvestigating the minimal surfaces which are homologous to the given boundary\nregions. The accelerating black holes change the asymptotic structure of the\nspace-time. We focus on the geometry features of the minimal surface and study\nhow deep it reaches into the bulk. The regularized area of the minimal surface\nis not well defined and we introduce a new quantity $D(m,\\theta_0)$, defined as\nthe minimal surface divided by the area of the given boundary region, to study\nthe system."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Complete Diagrammatic Implementation of the Kinoshita-Lee-Nauenberg\n  Theorem at Next-to-Leading Order: We show for the first time in over 50 years how to correctly apply the\nKinoshita-Lee-Nauenberg theorem diagrammatically in a next-to-leading order\nscattering process. We improve on previous works by including all initial and\nfinal state soft radiative processes, including absorption and an infinite sum\nof partially disconnected amplitudes. Crucially, we exploit the Monotone\nConvergence Theorem to prove that our delicate rearrangement of this formally\ndivergent series is correct. This rearrangement yields a factorization of the\ninfinite contribution from the initial state soft photons that then cancels in\nthe physically observable cross section. We derive the first complete\nnext-to-leading order, high-energy Rutherford elastic scattering cross section\nin the $\\overline{\\mathrm{MS}}$ renormalization scheme as an explicit example\nof our procedure.",
        "positive": "Hawking radiation of massive fields in 2D: We extend the classic results of the paper P. C. W. Davies, S. A. Fulling,\nand W. G. Unruh \"Energy-momentum tensor near an evaporating black hole\" by\nconsidering a massive scalar field in a two dimensions in the presence of a\nthin shell collapse. We show that outside the shell the WKB approximation is\nvalid for any value of $r$ if $mr_{g} \\gg 1$, where $m$ is the mass of the\nfield, and $r_{g}$ is the Schwarzschild radius. Thus, we use semiclassical\nmodes to calculate the flux in the vicinity of the shell, and at spatial\ninfinity, $r \\rightarrow +\\infty$ at the final stage of the collapse, $t\n\\rightarrow +\\infty$ with the use of the covariant point-splitting\nregularization. We get that near the shell and at the spatial infinity the\nradiation is thermal with Hawking temperature. We obtain the negative flux\n$T_{vv}$ in the vicinity of the shell, which is similar to the classic result\nin the massless case."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Free energy, stability, and particle source in dynamical holography: By using the conserved currents in the bulk space-time, we study dynamical\nholographic systems and the relation between thermodynamical and dynamical\nstability of such systems. In particular, in the probe limit a generalized free\nenergy is defined with the property of monotonic decreasing in dynamic\nprocesses. It is then shown that the (absolute) thermodynamical stability\nimplies the dynamical stability, while the linear dynamical stability implies\nthe thermodynamical (meta-)stability. The holographic superfluid is taken as an\nexample to illustrate our general formalism, where the dynamic evolution of the\nsystem in contact with a particle source is clarified by theoretical\ninvestigation and numerical verification. The case going beyond the probe limit\nis also discussed.",
        "positive": "Renormalized Volume: We develop a universal distributional calculus for regulated volumes of\nmetrics that are singular along hypersurfaces. When the hypersurface is a\nconformal infinity we give simple integrated distribution expressions for the\ndivergences and anomaly of the regulated volume functional valid for any choice\nof regulator. For closed hypersurfaces or conformally compact geometries,\nmethods from a previously developed boundary calculus for conformally compact\nmanifolds can be applied to give explicit holographic formulae for the\ndivergences and anomaly expressed as hypersurface integrals over local\nquantities (the method also extends to non-closed hypersurfaces). The resulting\nanomaly does not depend on any particular choice of regulator, while the\nregulator dependence of the divergences is precisely captured by these\nformulae. Conformal hypersurface invariants can be studied by demanding that\nthe singular metric obey, smoothly and formally to a suitable order, a Yamabe\ntype problem with boundary data along the conformal infinity. We prove that the\nvolume anomaly for these singular Yamabe solutions is a conformally invariant\nintegral of a local Q-curvature that generalizes the Branson Q-curvature by\nincluding data of the embedding. In each dimension this canonically defines a\nhigher dimensional generalization of the Willmore energy/rigid string action.\nRecently Graham proved that the first variation of the volume anomaly recovers\nthe density obstructing smooth solutions to this singular Yamabe problem; we\ngive a new proof of this result employing our boundary calculus. Physical\napplications of our results include studies of quantum corrections to\nentanglement entropies."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Confined Vortices in Topologically Massive U(1)$\\times$U(1) Theory: We report on a new topological vortex solution in U(1)$\\times$U(1)\nMaxwell-Chern-Simons theory. The existence of the vortex is envisaged by\nanalytical means, and a numerical solution is obtained by integrating the\nequations of motion. These vortices have a long-range force because one of the\nU(1)s remains unbroken in the infrared, which is guarded by the Coleman-Hill\ntheorem. The sum of the winding numbers of an ensemble of vortices has to\nvanish; otherwise the system would have a logarithmically divergent energy. In\nturn, these vortices exhibit classical confinement. We investigate the rich\nparameter space of the solutions, and show that one recovers the\nAbrikosov-Nielsen-Olesen, U(1) Maxwell-Chern-Simons, U(1) pure Chern-Simons and\nglobal vortices as various limiting cases. Unlike these limiting cases, the\nhigher winding solutions of our vortices carry non-integer charges under the\nbroken U(1). This is the first vortex solution exhibiting such behavior.",
        "positive": "On partition functions of refined Chern-Simons theories on $S^3$: We present a new expression for the partition function of refined\nChern-Simons theory on $S^3$ with arbitrary gauge group, which is explicitly\nequal to $1$, when the coupling constant is zero. Using this form of partition\nfunction we show that the previously known Krefl-Schwarz representation of\npartition function of refined Chern-Simons theory on $S^3$ can be generalized\nto all simply-laced algebras. For all non-simply-laced gauge algebras, we\nderive similar representations of that partition function, which makes it\npossible to transform it into a product of multiple sine functions aiming at\nthe further establishment of duality with refined topological strings."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Some Comments on Dilaton Gravity: A Weyl invariant extension of Einstein gravity is studied. It simply consists\nin the group averaging of Einstein's action under Weyl transformations.\nContradicting cherished beliefs, a conformal anomaly is found in the trace of\nthe equations of motion if diffeomorphism invariance is to be a symmetry of the\nquantum theory. This anomaly however vanishes on shell, which signals the\nexistence of another gauge in which the anomaly is absent. It can be made also\nto vanish off-shell at the price of losing diffeomorphism invariance",
        "positive": "Towards an Effective Field Theory of QED: A procedure for reducing the functional integral of QED to an integral over\nbosonic gauge invariant fields is presented. Next, a certain averaging method\nfor this integral, giving a tractable effective quantum field theory, is\nproposed. Finally, the current-current propagator and the chiral anomaly are\ncalculated within this new formulation. These results are part of our programme\nof analyzing gauge theories with fermions in terms of local gauge invariants."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Black-Hole Solutions with Scalar Hair in Einstein-Scalar-Gauss-Bonnet\n  Theories: In the context of the Einstein-scalar-Gauss-Bonnet theory, with a general\ncoupling function between the scalar field and the quadratic Gauss-Bonnet term,\nwe investigate the existence of regular black-hole solutions with scalar hair.\nBased on a previous theoretical analysis, that studied the evasion of the old\nand novel no-hair theorems, we consider a variety of forms for the coupling\nfunction (exponential, even and odd polynomial, inverse polynomial, and\nlogarithmic) that, in conjunction with the profile of the scalar field, satisfy\na basic constraint. Our numerical analysis then always leads to families of\nregular, asymptotically-flat black-hole solutions with non-trivial scalar hair.\nThe solution for the scalar field and the profile of the corresponding\nenergy-momentum tensor, depending on the value of the coupling constant, may\nexhibit a non-monotonic behaviour, an unusual feature that highlights the\nlimitations of the existing no-hair theorems. We also determine and study in\ndetail the scalar charge, horizon area and entropy of our solutions.",
        "positive": "Mass and Thermodynamics of Kaluza-Klein Black Holes with Squashed\n  Horizons: Recently a five-dimensional Kaluza-Klein black hole solution with squashed\nhorizon has been found in hep-th/0510094. The black hole spacetime is\nasymptotically locally flat and has a spatial infinity $S^1 \\hookrightarrow\nS^{2}$. By using \"boundary counterterm\" method and generalized Abbott-Deser\nmethod, we calculate the mass of this black hole. When an appropriate\nbackground is chosen, the generalized Abbott-Deser method gives the same mass\nas the \"boundary counterterm\" method. The mass is found to satisfy the first\nlaw of black hole thermodynamics. The thermodynamic properties of the\nKaluza-Klein black hole are discussed and are compared to those of its\nundeformed counterpart, a five-dimensional Reissner-Nordstr\\\"om black hole."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic entropy bound from gravitational Fock space truncation: A simplified derivation of Yurtsever's result, which states that the entropy\nof a truncated bosonic Fock space is given by a holographic bound when the\nenergy of the Fock states is constrained gravitationally, is given for\nasymptotically flat spacetimes with arbitrary dimension d greater or equal to\nfour. For this purpose, a scalar field confined to a spherical volume in\nd-dimensional spacetime is considered. Imposing an upper bound on the total\nenergy of the corresponding Fock states which ensures that the system is in a\nstable configuration against gravitational collapse and imposing a cutoff on\nthe maximum energy of the field modes of the order of the Planck energy leads\nto an entropy bound of holographic type. A simple derivation of the entropy\nbound is also given for the fermionic case.",
        "positive": "4D supersymmetric gauge theories of spacetime translations: The paper addresses the question whether in four spacetime dimensions,\nbesides standard supergravity theories, field theories exist whose symmetries\ninclude local spacetime translations and supersymmetries generated by\ntransformations whose commutators contain infinitesimal local spacetime\ntranslations. It is shown that, up to local field redefinitions, there is a\nunique class of such supersymmetric field theories satisfying specified\nprerequisites which particularly concern the field content of the theories. The\ntheories of this class have global supersymmetry and are similar to globally\nsupersymmetric Yang-Mills theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Compact Objects from Spontaneous Symmetry Breaking: Gravitational waves from merging compact objects provides the opportunity to\nexplore the properties of black holes and neutron stars in the strong regime of\ngravity. It is therefore of interest to explore the theoretical model that\naccurately describes them. Using the coset construction, we build a worldline\nEffective Field Theory that is derived from symmetry principles, does not\ninvolve additional degrees of freedom, and describes the most general compact\nobject allowed in an effective Einstein-Maxwell vierbein theory. Such extended\nobject can be described by its mass, spin, charge and size effects: tides,\npolarization and dissipation. By recognizing the symmetry breaking pattern, we\nderive all the covariant building blocks and constraints to build up the\nrelevant invariant operators in the action to all orders. The developed theory\nelucidates the description of compact objects as an Effective Field Theory.",
        "positive": "Casimir forces in inhomogeneous media: renormalization and the principle\n  of virtual work: We calculate the Casimir forces in two configurations, namely, three parallel\ndielectric slabs and a dielectric slab between two perfectly conducting plates,\nwhere the dielectric materials are dispersive and inhomogeneous in the\ndirection perpendicular to the interfaces. A renormalization scheme is proposed\nconsisting of subtracting the effect of one interface with a single\ninhomogeneous medium. Some examples are worked out to illustrate this scheme.\nOur method always gives finite results and is consistent with the principle of\nvirtual work; it extends the Dzyaloshinskii-Lifshitz-Pitaeveskii force to\ninhomogeneous media."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hydrodynamic attractors for the speed of sound in holographic Bjorken\n  flow: The time evolution of the averaged energy momentum tensor as well as its\nvariation with energy density are calculated in a far-from-equilibrium state of\n$\\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM theory undergoing a Bjorken expansion. The calculation is\ncarried out holographically where we consider a collection of trajectories of\nthe energy density in the space of solutions by small changes to the initial\nconditions of the bulk spacetime. We argue that the proper interpretation of\nthe variation of the diagonal energy momentum tensor components with respect to\nthe energy density is that of a far-from-equilibrium speed of sound. We\ndemonstrate remarkable agreement with a corresponding hydrodynamic prediction.\nWe find by Borel resummation that the holographic system has one attractor for\nthis speed of sound longitudinal, and another transverse to the direction of\nBjorken expansion. Attractor times for various initial flow conditions show\nthat reaching an attractor does not imply or require local thermal equilibrium.\nIn the cases studied, reaching an attractor implies hydrodynamization\n(quantities evolve approximately according to hydrodynamics), justifying the\nname \\emph{hydrodynamic attractor }",
        "positive": "Rectangular W-algebras, extended higher spin gravity and dual coset CFTs: We analyze the asymptotic symmetry of higher spin gravity with $M \\times M$\nmatrix valued fields, which is given by rectangular W-algebras with su$(M)$\nsymmetry. The matrix valued extension is expected to be useful for the relation\nbetween higher spin gravity and string theory. With the truncation of spin as\n$s=2,3,\\ldots , n$, we evaluate the central charge $c$ of the algebra and the\nlevel $k$ of the affine currents with finite $c,k$. For the simplest case with\n$n=2$, we obtain the operator product expansions among generators by requiring\ntheir associativity. We conjecture that the symmetry is the same as that of\nGrassmannian-like coset based on our proposal of higher spin holography.\nComparing $c,k$ from the both theories, we obtain the map of parameters. We\nexplicitly construct low spin generators from the coset theory, and, in\nparticular, we reproduce the operator product expansions of the rectangular\nW-algebra for $n=2$. We interpret the map of parameters by decomposing the\nalgebra in the coset description."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The coupling of fermions to the three-dimensional noncommutative\n  $CP^{N-1}$ model: minimal and supersymmetric extensions: We consider the coupling of fermions to the three-dimensional noncommutative\n$CP^{N-1}$ model. In the case of minimal coupling, although the infrared\nbehavior of the gauge sector is improved, there are dangerous (quadratic)\ninfrared divergences in the corrections to the two point vertex function of the\nscalar field. However, using superfield techniques we prove that the\nsupersymmetric version of this model with ``antisymmetrized'' coupling of the\nLagrange multiplier field is renormalizable up to the first order in\n$\\frac{1}{N}$. The auxiliary spinor gauge field acquires a nontrivial\n(nonlocal) dynamics with a generation of Maxwell and Chern-Simons\nnoncommutative terms in the effective action. Up to the 1/N order all\ndivergences are only logarithimic so that the model is free from nonintegrable\ninfrared singularities.",
        "positive": "Three-loop contribution of the Faddeev-Popov ghosts to the\n  $\u03b2$-function of ${\\cal N}=1$ supersymmetric gauge theories and the NSVZ\n  relation: We find the three-loop contribution to the $\\beta$-function of ${\\cal N}=1$\nsupersymmetric gauge theories regularized by higher covariant derivatives\nproduced by the supergraphs containing loops of the Faddeev--Popov ghosts. This\nis done using a recently proposed algorithm, which essentially simplifies such\nmultiloop calculations. The result is presented in the form of an integral of\ndouble total derivatives in the momentum space. The considered contribution to\nthe $\\beta$-function is compared with the two-loop anomalous dimension of the\nFaddeev--Popov ghosts. This allows verifying the validity of the NSVZ equation\nwritten as a relation between the $\\beta$-function and the anomalous dimensions\nof the quantum superfields. It is demonstrated that in the considered\napproximation the NSVZ equation is satisfied for the renormalization group\nfunctions defined in terms of the bare couplings. The necessity of the\nnonlinear renormalization for the quantum gauge superfield is also confirmed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Type IIA Pati-Salam Flux Vacua: We show that for supersymmetric AdS vacua on Type IIA orientifolds with flux\ncompactifications, the RR tadpole cancellation conditions can be completely\nrelaxed, and then the four-dimensional N=1 supersymmetry conditions are the\nmain constraints on consistent intersecting D6-brane model building. We\nconstruct two kinds of three-family Pati-Salam models. In the first kind of\nmodels, the suitable three-family SM fermion masses and mixings can be\ngenerated at the stringy tree level, and then the rank one problem for the SM\nfermion Yukawa matrices can be solved. In the second kind of models, only the\nthird family of the SM fermions can obtain masses at tree level. In these\nmodels, the complex structure parameters can be determined by supersymmetric\nD6-brane configurations, and all the moduli may be stabilized. The initial\ngauge symmetries U(4)_C \\times U(2)_L \\times U(2)_R and U(4)_C \\times USp(2)_L\n\\times U(2)_R can be broken down to the SU(3)_C \\times SU(2)_L \\times\nU(1)_{B-L} \\times U(1)_{I_{3R}} due to the Green-Schwarz mechanism and D6-brane\nsplittings, and further down to the SM gauge symmetry around the string scale\nvia the supersymmetry preserving Higgs mechanism. Comparing to the previous\nmodel building, we have less bidoublet Higgs fields. However, there generically\nexist some exotic particles.",
        "positive": "Akin $N=2$ SUSY Yang Mills Theories and Instanton Expansion: The low energy effective actions of the $N=2$ SUSY $SU(N_c)$ QCD are\nconsidered at the symmetric point on the moduli space. The classes of such\ntheories have similar spectral curves. This fact allows us to show that all\nthese models have the same structure of the coupling matrix and to show that\nthe $N_f=2N_c$ spectral curve can not be presented as a double covering of the\nsphere. We calculate first instanton contributions to the coupling matrix and\nget nonperturbative $\\beta$-functions in the $SU(2)$ gauge theory with non-zero\nbare masses of the matter hypermultiplets."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Statics Dielectric Function and Interaction Potential In Strong\n  Coupling With AdS/CFT: In this paper, we studied the static dielectric function and interaction\npotential in strong coupling limit with AdS/CFT correspondence. The dielectric\nfunction is depressed compared with that in weak coupling. The interaction\npotential then presents a weaker screening characteristics in strong coupling,\nwhich indicates a smaller Debye mass compared with weak coupling.",
        "positive": "Gapless superconductivity and string theory: Coexistence of superconducting and normal components in nanowires at currents\nbelow the critical (a \"mixed\" state) would have important consequences for the\nnature and range of potential applications of these systems. For clean samples,\nit represents a genuine interaction effect, not seen in the mean-field theory.\nHere we consider properties of such a state in the gravity dual of a strongly\ncoupled superconductor constructed from D3 and D5 branes. We find numerically\nuniform gapless solutions containing both components but argue that they are\nunstable against phase separation, as their free energies are not convex. We\nspeculate on the possible nature of the resulting non-uniform sate (\"emulsion\")\nand draw analogies between that state and the familiar mixed state of a type II\nsuperconductor in a magnetic field."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dynamics of the electric current in an ideal electron gas: a sound mode\n  inside the quasi-particles: We study the equation of motion for the Noether current in an electron gas\nwithin the framework of the Schwinger-Keldysh Closed-Time-Path formalism. The\nequation is shown to be highly non-linear and irreversible even for a\nnon-interacting, ideal gas of electrons at non-zero density. We truncate the\nlinearised equation of motion, written as the Laurent series in Fourier space,\nso that the resulting expressions are local in time, both at zero and at small\nfinite temperatures. Furthermore, we show that the one-loop Coulomb\ninteractions only alter the physical picture quantitatively, while preserving\nthe characteristics of the dynamics that the electric current exhibits in the\nabsence of interactions. As a result of the composite nature of the Noether\ncurrent, {\\it composite sound} waves are found to be the dominant IR collective\nexcitations at length scales between the inverse Fermi momentum and the mean\nfree path that would exist in an interacting electron gas. We also discuss the\ndifference and the transition between the hydrodynamical regime of an ideal\ngas, defined in this work, and the hydrodynamical regime in phenomenological\nhydrodynamics, which is normally used for the description of interacting gases.",
        "positive": "Gauge symmetry of unimodular gravity in Hamiltonian formalism: We work out the description of the gauge symmetry of unimodular gravity in\nthe constrained Hamiltonian formalism. In particular, we demonstrate how the\ntransversality conditions restricting the diffeomorphism parameters emerge from\nthe algebra of the Hamiltonian constraints. The alternative form is long known\nas parametrizing the volume preserving diffeomorphisms by unrestricted\ntwo-forms instead of the transverse vector fields. This gauge symmetry is\nreducible. We work out the Hamiltonian description of this form of unimodular\ngravity (UG) gauge symmetry.\nBecchi-Rouet-Stora-Tyutin--Batalin-Fradkin-Vilkovisky (BFV-BRST) Hamiltonian\nformalism is constructed for both forms of the UG gauge symmetry. These two\nBRST complexes have a subtle inequivalence: Their BRST cohomology groups are\nnot isomorphic. In particular, for the first complex, which is related to the\nrestricted gauge parameters, the cosmological constant does not correspond to\nany nontrivial BRST cocycle, while for the alternative complex it does. In the\nwording of physics, this means $\\Lambda$ is a fixed parameter defined by the\nfield asymptotics rather than the physical observable from the standpoint of\nthe first complex. The second formalism views $\\Lambda$ as the observable with\nunrestricted initial data."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spectra of Conformal Field Theories with Current Algebras: This is an elementary review of our recent work on the classification of the\nspectra of those two-dimensional rational conformal field theories (RCFTs)\nwhose (maximal) chiral algebras are current algebras. We classified all\npossible partition functions for such theories when the defining\nfinite-dimensional Lie algebra is simple. The concepts underlying this work are\nemphasized, and are illustrated using simple examples.",
        "positive": "The local potential approximation in the background field formalism: Working within the familiar local potential approximation, and concentrating\non the example of a single scalar field in three dimensions, we show that the\ncommonly used approximation method of identifying the total and background\nfields, leads to pathologies in the resulting fixed point structure and the\nassociated spaces of eigenoperators. We then show how a consistent treatment of\nthe background field through the corresponding modified shift Ward identity,\ncan cure these pathologies, restoring universality of physical quantities with\nrespect to the choice of dependence on the background field, even within the\nlocal potential approximation. Along the way we point out similarities to what\nhas been previously found in the f(R) approximation in asymptotic safety for\ngravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "From Topological to Quantum Entanglement: Entanglement is a special feature of the quantum world that reflects the\nexistence of subtle, often non-local, correlations between local degrees of\nfreedom. In topological theories such non-local correlations can be given a\nvery intuitive interpretation: quantum entanglement of subsystems means that\nthere are \"strings\" connecting them. More generally, an entangled state, or\nsimilarly, the density matrix of a mixed state, can be represented by\ncobordisms of topological spaces. Using a formal mathematical definition of\nTQFT we construct basic examples of entangled states and compute their von\nNeumann entropy.",
        "positive": "Computation of the string tension in three dimensional Yang-Mills theory\n  using large N reduction: We numerically compute the string tension in the large N limit of three\ndimensional Yang-Mills theory using Wilson loops. Space-time loops are formed\nas products of smeared space-like links and unsmeared time-like links. We use\ncontinuum reduction and both unfolded and folded Wilson loops in the analysis."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Cosmological parameters from Planck data in SU(2)$_{\\rm CMB}$, their\n  local $\u039b$CDM values, and the modified photon Boltzmann equation: A review of the spatially flat cosmological model SU(2)$_{\\rm CMB}$,\nminimally induced by the postulate that the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB)\nis subject to an SU(2) rather than a U(1) gauge principle, is given.\nCosmological parameter values, which are determined from the Planck CMB power\nspectra at small angular scales, are compared to their values in spatially flat\n$\\Lambda$CDM from both local and global extractions. As a global model\nSU(2)$_{\\rm CMB}$ leans towards local $\\Lambda$CDM cosmology and is in tension\nwith some global $\\Lambda$CDM parameter values. We present spectral\nantiscreening / screening effects in SU(2)$_{\\rm CMB}$ radiance within the\nRayleigh-Jeans regime in dependence on temperature and frequency. Such radiance\nanomalies can cause CMB large-angle anomalies. Therefore, it is pointed out how\nSU(2)$_{\\rm CMB}$ modifies the Boltzmann equation for the perturbations of the\nphoton phase space distribution at low redshift and why this requires to the\nsolve the $\\ell$-hierarchy on a comoving momentum grid ($q$-grid) for all $z$.",
        "positive": "CHY-construction of Planar Loop Integrands of Cubic Scalar Theory: In this paper, by treating massive loop momenta to massless momenta in higher\ndimension, we are able to treat all-loop scattering equations as tree ones. As\nan application of the new aspect, we consider the CHY-construction of\nbi-adjoint phi_3 theory. We present the explicit formula for two-loop planar\nintegrands. We discuss carefully how to subtract various forward singularities\nin the construction. We count the number of terms obtained by our formula and\nby direct Feynman diagram calculation and find the perfect match, thus provide\na strong support for our results."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Wilsonian renormalisation and the exact cut-off scale from holographic\n  duality: We propose a method for determining the exact correspondence between the\nWilsonian cut-off scale on the boundary and its holographically dual bulk\ntheory. We systematically construct the multi-trace Wilsonian effective action\nfrom holographic renormalisation and evolve it by integrating out the\nasymptotically Anti-de Sitter bulk geometry with scalar probes. The Wilsonian\nnature of the effective action is shown by proving that it must be either\ndouble-trace, closing in on itself under successive integrations, or have an\ninfinite series of multi-trace terms. Focusing on composite scalar operator\nrenormalisation, we relate the Callan-Symanzik equation, the flow of the scalar\nanomalous dimension and the multi-trace beta functions to their dual RG flows\nin the bulk. Establishing physical renormalisation conditions on the behaviour\nof the large-$N$ anomalous dimension then enables us to extract the energy\nscales. Examples of pure AdS, GPPZ flow, black brane in AdS, M2 and M5 branes\nare studied before we generalise our results to arbitrary numbers of mass and\nthermal deformations of an ultra-violet CFT. Relations between the undeformed\nWilsonian cut-off, deformation scales and the deformed Wilsonian cut-off are\ndiscussed, as is phenomenology of each considered background. We see how a mass\ngap, the emergent infra-red CFT scaling, etc. arise in different effective\ntheories. We also argue that these results can have alternative interpretations\nthrough the flow of the conformal anomaly or the Ricci scalar curvature of\nboundary branes. They show consistency with the c-theorem.",
        "positive": "Thermodynamic Bethe ansatz and form factors for the homogeneous\n  sine-Gordon models: We provide a brief characterization of the main features of the homogeneous\nsine-Gordon models and discuss a general construction principle for colour\nvalued S-matrices, associated to a pair of simply laced Lie algebras, which\ncontain the homogeneous sine-Gordon models as a subclass. We give a brief\nintroduction to the thermodynamic Bethe ansatz and the form factor approach and\ndiscuss explicit solutions for both methods related to the homogeneous\nSine-Gordon models and its generalization."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Black Hole Horizon Fluctuations: It is generally admitted that gravitational interactions become large at an\ninvariant distance of order $1$ from the black hole horizon. We show that due\nto the ``atmosphere'' of high angular particles near the horizon strong\ngravitational interactions already occur at an invariant distance of the order\nof $\\sqrt[3]{M}$. The implications of these results for the origin of black\nhole radiation, the meaning of black hole entropy and the information puzzle\nare discussed.",
        "positive": "A strategy for the off-shell analysis of collinear singularities in\n  Feynman diagrams: In my PHD thesis I present a method for the off-shell singularity analysis of\nFeynman amplitudes based on the Speer sector decomposition of the Schwinger\nparametric integrals combined with the Mellin-Barnes tranform. I apply the\nmethod to one-loop corrections to Deep Inelastic Scattering."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Why Does Inflation Start at the Top of the Hill?: We show why the universe started in an unstable de Sitter state. The quantum\norigin of our universe implies one must take a `top down' approach to the\nproblem of initial conditions in cosmology, in which the histories that\ncontribute to the path integral, depend on the observable being measured. Using\nthe no boundary proposal to specify the class of histories, we study the\nquantum cosmological origin of an inflationary universe in theories like trace\nanomaly driven inflation in which the effective potential has a local maximum.\nWe find that an expanding universe is most likely to emerge in an unstable de\nSitter state, by semiclassical tunneling via a Hawking-Moss instanton. Since\nthe top down view is forced upon us by the quantum nature of the universe, we\nargue that the approach developed here should still apply when the framework of\nquantum cosmology will be based on M-Theory.",
        "positive": "Algebras and non-geometric flux vacua: In this work we classify the subalgebras satisfied by non-geometric Q-fluxes\nin type IIB orientifolds on T^6/(Z_2 x Z_2) with three moduli (S,T,U). We find\nthat there are five subalgebras compatible with the symmetries, each one\nleading to a characteristic flux-induced superpotential. Working in the\n4-dimensional effective supergravity we obtain families of supersymmetric AdS_4\nvacua with all moduli stabilized at small string coupling g_s. Our results are\nmostly analytic thanks to a judicious parametrization of the non-geometric, RR\nand NSNS fluxes. We are also able to leave the flux-induced C_4 and C_8 RR\ntadpoles as free variables, thereby enabling us to study which values are\nallowed for each Q-subalgebra. Another novel outcome is the appearance of\nmultiple vacua for special sets of fluxes. However, they generically have g_s >\n1 unless the net number of O3/D3 or O7/D7 sources needed to cancel the tadpoles\nis large. We also discuss briefly the issues of axionic shift symmetries and\ncancellation of Freed-Witten anomalies."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Free Fields for Any Spin in Relativistic Quantum Mechanics: A general discussion of the construction of free fields based on Weinberg\nanszatz is provided and various applications appearing in the litterature are\nconsidered.",
        "positive": "Free Fermion Cyclic/Symmetric Orbifold CFTs and Entanglement Entropy: In this paper we study the properties of two-dimensional CFTs defined by\ncyclic and symmetric orbifolds of free Dirac fermions, especially by focusing\non the partition function and entanglement entropy. Via the bosonization, we\nconstruct the twist operators which glue two complex planes to calculate the\npartition function of Z_2 orbifold CFT on a torus. We also find an expression\nof Z_N cyclic orbifold in terms of Hecke operators, which provides an explicit\nrelation between the partition functions of cyclic orbifolds and those of\nsymmetric ones. We compute the entanglement entropy and Renyi entropy in cyclic\norbifolds on a circle both for finite temperature states and for time-dependent\nstates under quantum quenches. We find that the replica method calculation is\nhighly non-trivial and new because of the contributions from replicas with\ndifferent boundary conditions. We find the full expression for the Z_2 orbifold\nand show that the periodicity gets doubled. Finally, we discuss extensions of\nour results on entanglement entropy to symmetric orbifold CFTs and make a\nheuristic argument towards holographic CFTs."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the M2-Brane Index on Noncommutative Crepant Resolutions: On certain M-theory backgrounds which are a circle fibration over a smooth\nCalabi-Yau, the quantum theory of M2 branes can be studied in terms of the\nK-theoretic Donaldson-Thomas theory on the threefold. We extend this relation\nto noncommutative crepant resolutions. In this case the threefold develops a\nsingularity and classical smooth geometry is replaced by the algebra of paths\nof a certain quiver. K-theoretic quantities on the quiver representation moduli\nspace can be computed via toric localization and result in certain rational\nfunctions of the toric parameters. We discuss in particular the case of the\nconifold and certain orbifold singularities.",
        "positive": "Black hole solutions with dilatonic hair in higher curvature gravity: A new numerical integration method for examining a black hole structure was\nrealized. Black hole solutions with dilatonic hair of 4D low energy effective\nSuperString Theory action with Gauss-Bonnet quadratic curvature contribution\nwere studied, using this method, inside and outside the event horizon.\nThermodynamical properties of this solution were also studied."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Kirchhoff gauge: We discuss the Kirchhoff gauge in classical electrodynamics. In this gauge\nthe scalar potential satisfies an elliptical equation and the vector potential\nsatisfies a wave equation with a nonlocal source. We find the solutions of both\nequations and show that, despite of the unphysical character of the scalar\npotential, the electric and magnetic fields obtained from the scalar and vector\npotentials are given by their well-known retarded expressions. We note that the\nKirchhoff gauge pertains to the class of gauges known as the velocity gauge.",
        "positive": "Lamb shift and Stark effect in simultaneous space-space and\n  momentum-momentum noncommutative quantum mechanics and $\u03b8$-deformed\n  $su(2)$ algebra: We study the spectrum of Hydrogen atom, Lamb shift and Stark effect in the\nframework of simultaneous space-space and momentum-momentum (s-s, p-p)\nnoncommutative quantum mechanics. The results show that the widths of Lamb\nshift due to noncommutativity is bigger than the one presented in [1]. We also\nstudy the algebras of abservables of systems of identical particles in s-s, p-p\nnoncommutative quantum mechanics. We intoduce $\\theta$-deformed $su(2)$\nalgebra."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Emergent Geometry from Entanglement Entropy in Matrix theory: Using Matrix theory, we propose a technique on how to compute the entangle-\nment entropy between a supergravity probe and modes on a spherical membrane. We\ndemonstrate that a membrane stretched between the probe and the sphere\nentangles these modes and can lead to an the entanglement entropy that encodes\ninformation about local gravitational geometry seen by the probe.",
        "positive": "QFT with Tensorial and Local Degrees of Freedom: Phase Structure from\n  Functional Renormalization: Field theories with combinatorial non-local interactions such as tensor\ninvariants are interesting candidates for describing a phase transition from\ndiscrete quantum-gravitational to continuum geometry. In the so-called\ncyclic-melonic potential approximation of a tensorial field theory on the\n$r$-dimensional torus it was recently shown using functional renormalization\ngroup techniques that no such phase transition to a condensate phase with a\ntentative continuum geometric interpretation is possible. Here, keeping the\nsame approximation, we show how to overcome this limitation amending the theory\nby local degrees freedom on $\\mathbb{R}^d$. We find that the effective $r-1$\ndimensions of the torus part dynamically vanish along the renormalization group\nflow while the $d$ local dimensions persist up to small momentum scales.\nConsequently, for $d>2$ one can find a phase structure allowing also for phase\ntransitions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Semiclassical S-matrix and black hole entropy in dilaton gravity: We use complex semiclassical method to compute scattering amplitudes of a\npoint particle in dilaton gravity with a boundary. This model has nonzero\nminimal black hole mass $M_{cr}$. We find that at energies below $M_{cr}$ the\nparticle trivially scatters off the boundary with unit probability. At higher\nenergies the scattering amplitude is exponentially suppressed. The\ncorresponding semiclassical solution is interpreted as formation of an\nintermediate black hole decaying into the final-state particle. Relating the\nsuppression of the scattering probability to the number of the intermediate\nblack hole states, we find an expression for the black hole entropy consistent\nwith thermodynamics. In addition, we fix the constant part of the entropy which\nis left free by the thermodynamic arguments. We rederive this result by\nmodifying the standard Euclidean entropy calculation.",
        "positive": "Geometry of Spin and Spin^c structures in the M-theory partition\n  function: We study the effects of having multiple Spin structures on the partition\nfunction of the spacetime fields in M-theory. This leads to a potential anomaly\nwhich appears in the eta-invariants upon variation of the Spin structure. The\nmain source of such spaces are manifolds with nontrivial fundamental group,\nwhich are also important in realistic models. We extend the discussion to the\nSpin^c case and find the phase of the partition function, and revisit the\nquantization condition for the C-field in this case. In type IIA string theory\nin ten dimensions, the mod 2 index of the Dirac operator is the obstruction to\nhaving a well-defined partition function. We geometrically characterize\nmanifolds with and without such an anomaly and extend to the case of nontrivial\nfundamental group. The lift to KO-theory gives the alpha-invariant, which in\ngeneral depends on the Spin structure. This reveals many interesting connection\nto positive scalar curvature manifolds and constructions related to the\nGromov-Lawson-Rosenberg conjecture. In the twelve-dimensional theory bounding\nM-theory, we study similar geometric questions, including choices of metrics\nand obtaining elements of K-theory in ten dimensions by pushforward in K-theory\non the disk fiber. We interpret the latter in terms of the families index\ntheorem for Dirac operators on the M-theory circle and disk. This involves\nsuperconnections, eta-forms, and infinite-dimensional bundles, and gives\nelements in Deligne cohomology in lower dimensions. We illustrate our\ndiscussion with many examples throughout."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Horizon temperature on the real line: We illustrate the analogue of the Unruh effect for a quantum system on the\nreal line. Our derivation relies solely on basic elements of representation\ntheory of the group of affine transformations without a notion of time or\nmetric. Our result shows that a thermal distribution naturally emerges in\nconnecting quantum states belonging to representations associated to distinct\nnotions of translational symmetry.",
        "positive": "Inflating in a Better Racetrack: We present a new version of our racetrack inflation scenario which, unlike\nour original proposal, is based on an explicit compactification of type IIB\nstring theory: the Calabi-Yau manifold P^4_[1,1,1,6,9]. The axion-dilaton and\nall complex structure moduli are stabilized by fluxes. The remaining 2 Kahler\nmoduli are stabilized by a nonperturbative superpotential, which has been\nexplicitly computed. For this model we identify situations for which a linear\ncombination of the axionic parts of the two Kahler moduli acts as an inflaton.\nAs in our previous scenario, inflation begins at a saddle point of the scalar\npotential and proceeds as an eternal topological inflation. For a certain range\nof inflationary parameters, we obtain the COBE-normalized spectrum of metric\nperturbations and an inflationary scale of M = 3 x 10^{14} GeV. We discuss\npossible changes of parameters of our model and argue that anthropic\nconsiderations favor those parameters that lead to a nearly flat spectrum of\ninflationary perturbations, which in our case is characterized by the spectral\nindex n_s = 0.95."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Construction of the classical $R$-matrices for the Toda and Calogero\n  models: We use the definition of the Calogero-Moser models as Hamiltonian reductions\nof geodesic motions on a group manifold to construct their $R$-matrices. In the\nToda case, the analogous construction yields constant $R$-matrices. By\ncontrast, for Calogero-Moser models they are dynamical objects.",
        "positive": "Wormholes and Supersymmetry: Revisions: reference added to: G. Gilbert, {\\sl Nucl.Phys.} {\\bf B328}, 159\n(1989)"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The gl(1|1) super-current algebra: the role of twist and logarithmic\n  fields: A free field representation of the gl(1|1)_k current algebra at arbitrary\nlevel k is given in terms of two scalar fields and a symplectic fermion. The\nprimary fields for all representations are explicitly constructed using the\ntwist and logarithmic fields in the symplectic fermion sector. A closed\noperator algebra is described at integer level k. Using a new super spin charge\nseparation involving gl(1|1)_N and su(N)_0, we describe how the gl(1|1)_N\ncurrent algebra can describe a non-trivial critical point of disordered Dirac\nfermions. Local gl(1|1) invariant lagrangians are defined which generalize the\nLiouville and sine-Gordon theories. We apply these new tools to the spin\nquantum Hall transition and show that it can be described as a logarithmic\nperturbation of the osp(2|2)_k current algebra at k=-2.",
        "positive": "CPT and Lorentz violation effects in hydrogen-like atoms: Within the framework of Lorentz-violating extended electrodynamics, the Dirac\nequation for a bound electron in an external electromagnetic field is\nconsidered assuming the interaction with a CPT-odd axial vector background\n$b_\\mu$. The quasi-relativistic Hamiltonian is obtained using a $1/c$-series\nexpansion. Relativistic Dirac eigenstates in a spherically-symmetric potential\nare found accurate up to the second order in $b_0$. $b_0$-induced CPT-odd\ncorrections to the electromagnetic dipole moment operators of a bound electron\nare calculated that contribute to the anapole moment of the atomic orbital and\nmay cause a specific asymmetry of the angular distribution of the radiation of\na hydrogen atom."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Monopole-like Excitations as a Source of Confinement in the\n  SU(2)-Gluodynamics: By making use of the Abelian projection method, a dual version of the\nSU(2)-gluodynamics with manifest monopole-like excitations, arising from the\nintegration over singular gauge transformations, is formulated in the continuum\nlimit. The resulting effective theory emerges due to the summation over the\ngrand canonical ensemble of these excitations in the dilute gas approximation.\nAs a result, the dual Abelian gauge boson acquires a nonvanishing (magnetic)\nmass due to the Debye screening effects in such a gas. The obtained theory is\nthen used for the construction of the corresponding effective potential of\nmonopole loop currents and the string representation. Finally, by virtue of\nthis representation, confining properties of the SU(2)-gluodynamics are\nemphasized.",
        "positive": "On a family of (1+1)-dimensional scalar field theory models: kinks,\n  stability, one-loop mass shifts: In this paper we construct a one-parametric family of (1+1)-dimensional\none-component scalar field theory models supporting kinks. Inspired by the\nsine-Gordon and $\\phi^4$ models, we look at all possible extensions such that\nthe kink second-order fluctuation operators are Schr\\\"odinger differential\noperators with P\\\"oschl-Teller potential wells. In this situation, the\nassociated spectral problem is solvable and therefore we shall succeed in\nanalyzing the kink stability completely and in computing the one-loop quantum\ncorrection to the kink mass exactly. When the parameter is a natural number,\nthe family becomes the hierarchy for which the potential wells are\nreflectionless, the two first levels of the hierarchy being the sine-Gordon and\n$\\phi^4$ models."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gerbes, (twisted) K-theory, and the supersymmetric WZW model: The aim of this talk is to explain how symmetry breaking in a quantum field\ntheory problem leads to a study of projective bundles, Dixmier-Douady classes,\nand associated gerbes. A gerbe manifests itself in different equivalent ways.\nBesides the cohomological description as a DD class, it can be defined in terms\nof a family of local line bundles or as a prolongation problem for an\n(infinite-dimensional) principal bundle, with the fiber consisting of (a\nsubgroup of) projective unitaries in a Hilbert space. The prolongation aspect\nis directly related to the appearance of central extensions of (broken)\nsymmetry groups. We also discuss the construction of twisted K-theory classes\nby families of supercharges for the supersymmetric Wess-Zumino-Witten model.",
        "positive": "An Inelastic Bound on Chaos: We study a generalization of the chaos bound that applies to\nout-of-time-ordered correlators between four different operators. We prove this\nbound under the same assumptions that apply for the usual chaos bound and\nextend it to non-hermitian operators. In a holographic theory, these\ncorrelators are controlled by inelastic scattering in the bulk and we comment\non implications. In particular, for holographic theories the bound together\nwith the equivalence principle suggests that gravity is the highest spin force,\nand the strongest one with that spin."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Self-isospectrality, special supersymmetry, and their effect on the band\n  structure: We study a planar model of a non-relativistic electron in periodic magnetic\nand electric fields that produce a 1D crystal for two spin components separated\nby a half-period spacing. We fit the fields to create a self-isospectral pair\nof finite-gap associated Lame equations shifted for a half-period, and show\nthat the system obtained is characterized by a new type of supersymmetry. It is\na special nonlinear supersymmetry generated by three commuting integrals of\nmotion, related to the parity-odd operator of the associated Lax pair, that\ncoherently reflects the band structure and all its peculiarities. In the\ninfinite period limit it provides an unusual picture of supersymmetry breaking.",
        "positive": "On higher spin symmetries in de Sitter QFTs: We consider the consequences of global higher-spin symmetries in quantum\nfield theories on a fixed de Sitter background of spacetime dimension $D \\ge\n3$. These symmetries enhance the symmetry group associated with the isometries\nof the de Sitter background and thus strongly constrain the dynamics of the\ntheory. In particular, we consider the case when a higher spin charge acts\nlinearly on a scalar operator to leading order in a Fefferman-Graham expansion\nnear the future/past conformal boundaries. We show that this implies that the\nexpectation values of the operator inserted near the boundaries are\nasymptotically Gaussian. Thus, these operators have trivial cosmological\nspectra, and on global de Sitter these operators have only Gaussian\ncorrelations between operators inserted near future/past infinity. The latter\nresult may be interpreted as an analogue of the Coleman-Mandula theorem for\nQFTs on de Sitter spacetime."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Time-dependent supergravity solutions in null dilaton background: A class of time dependent pp-waves with NS-NS flux in type IIA string theory\nis considered. The background preserves 1/4 supersymmetry and may provide a toy\nmodel of Big Bang cosmology with non trivial flux. At the Big Bang singularity\nin early past, the string theory is strongly coupled and Matrix string model\ncan be used to describe the dynamics. We also construct some time dependent\nsupergravity solutions for D-branes and analyze their supersymmetry properties.",
        "positive": "Singular P\u00f6schl-Teller II potentials and gravitating kinks: We report a two-dimensional (2D) gravitating kink model, for which both the\nbackground field equations and the linear perturbation equation are exactly\nsolvable. The background solution describes a sine-Gordon kink that\ninterpolating between two asymptotic AdS$_2$ spaces, and can be regarded as a\n2D thick brane world solution. The linear perturbation equation can be recasted\ninto a Schr\\\"odinger-like equation with singular P\\\"oschl-Teller II potentials.\nThere is no tachyonic state in the spectrum, so the solution is stable against\nthe linear perturbations. Besides, there can be $n=0,1,2,\\cdots$ bounded\nvibrational modes around the kink. The number of these vibrational modes varies\nwith model parameters."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exact Slope and Interpolating Functions in ABJM Theory: Using the Quantum Spectral Curve approach we compute exactly an observable\n(called slope function) in the planar ABJM theory in terms of an unknown\ninterpolating function h(\\lambda) which plays the role of the coupling in any\nintegrability based calculation in this theory. We verified our results with\nknown weak coupling expansion in the gauge theory and with the results of\nsemi-classical string calculations. Quite surprisingly at strong coupling the\nresult is given by an explicit rational function of h(\\lambda) to all orders.\n  By comparing the structure of our result with that of an exact\nlocalization-based calculation for a similar observable in JHEP 1006 (2010) 011\nwe conjecture an exact expression for h(\\lambda).",
        "positive": "On the Localisation of 4-Dimensional Brane-World Black Holes: In the context of brane-world models, we pursue the question of the existence\nof 5-dimensional solutions describing regular black holes localised close to\nthe brane. Employing a perturbed Vaidya-type line-element embedded in a warped\nfifth dimension, we attempt to localise the extended black-string singularity,\nand to restore the regularity of the AdS spacetime at a finite distance from\nthe brane by introducing an appropriate bulk energy-momentum tensor. As a\nsource for this bulk matter, we are considering a variety of non-ordinary\nfield-theory models of scalar fields either minimally-coupled to gravity, but\nincluding non-canonical kinetic terms, mixing terms, derivative interactions\nand ghosts, or non-minimally-coupled to gravity through a general coupling to\nthe Ricci scalar. In all models considered, even in the ones characterised by a\nhigh-degree of flexibility, a negative result was reached. Our analysis\ndemonstrates how difficult the analytic construction of a localised brane-world\nblack hole may be in the context of a well-defined field-theory model. Finally,\nwith regard to the question of the existence or not of a static classical black\nhole solution on the brane, our analysis suggests that such solutions could in\nprinciple exist, however, the associated field configuration itself has to be\ndynamic."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Entanglement Renormalization for Weakly Interacting Fields: We adapt the techniques of entanglement renormalization tensor networks to\nweakly interacting quantum field theories in the continuum. A key tool is\n\"quantum circuit perturbation theory,\" which enables us to systematically\nconstruct unitaries that map between wavefunctionals which are Gaussian with\narbitrary perturbative corrections. As an application, we construct a local,\ncontinuous MERA (cMERA) circuit that maps an unentangled scale-invariant state\nto the ground state of $\\varphi^4$ theory to 1-loop. Our local cMERA circuit\ncorresponds exactly to 1-loop Wilsonian RG on the spatial momentum modes. In\nother words, we establish that perturbative Wilsonian RG on spatial momentum\nmodes can be equivalently recast as a local cMERA circuit in $\\varphi^4$\ntheory, and argue that this correspondence holds more generally. Our analysis\nalso suggests useful numerical ansatzes for cMERA in the non-perturbative\nregime.",
        "positive": "Weak Cosmic Censorship and Second Law of Black Hole Thermodynamics in\n  Higher Derivative Gravity: Infalling matter may destroy a black hole and expose the naked singularity.\nThus, Penrose proposed the weak cosmic censorship conjecture to avoid such a\npossibility. On the other hand, if the black hole is not destroyed by infalling\nmatter, from the second law of black hole thermodynamics, the black hole\nentropy should increase due to the information carried by the infalling matter.\nIn this work, we demonstrate by examples of perturbative near-extremal black\nholes in higher derivative gravity theories that the second law implies weak\ncosmic censorship. We also compare our proposal to the one developed by Sorce\nand Wald based on the first law of black hole thermodynamics and show that the\nlatter fails to yield weak cosmic censorship in such cases. Finally, we give\nproof of our proposal for generic gravity theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Vacuum birefringence and the Schwinger effect in (3+1) de Sitter: In de Sitter space, the current induced by an electric field in vacuum is\nknown to feature certain peculiarities, such as infrared hyperconductivity for\nlight bosons in weak electric fields. Moreover, negative conductivity has been\nclaimed to occur for light bosons in moderate electric fields, and for fermions\nof any mass in electric fields below a certain threshold. Furthemore, in the\nlimit of large mass and weak electric field, the current contains terms which\nare not exponentially suppressed, contrary to the semiclassical intuition. Here\nwe explain these behaviors, showing that most of the reported negative\nconductivity is spurious. First, we show that the terms which are not\nexponentially suppressed follow precisely from the local Euler-Heisenberg\nLagrangian (suitably generalized to curved space). Thus, such terms are\nunrelated to pair creation or to the transport of electric charge. Rather, they\ncorrespond to non-linearities of the electric field (responsible in particular\nfor vacuum birefringence). The remaining contributions are exponentially\nsuppressed and correspond to the creation of Schwinger pairs. Second, we argue\nthat for light carriers the negative term in the regularized current does not\ncorrespond to a negative conductivity, but to the logarithmic running of the\nelectric coupling constant, up to the high energy Hubble scale. We conclude\nthat none of the above mentioned negative contributions can cause an\ninstability such as the spontaneous growth of an electric field in de Sitter,\nat least within the weak coupling regime. Third, we provide a heuristic\nderivation of infrared hyperconductivity, which clarifies its possible role in\nmagnetogenesis scenarios.",
        "positive": "Quasi-Single Field Inflation and Non-Gaussianities: In quasi-single field inflation models, massive isocurvature modes, that are\ncoupled to the inflaton and have mass of order the Hubble parameter, can have\nnontrivial impacts on density perturbations, especially non-Gaussianities. We\nstudy a simple example of quasi-single field inflation in terms of turning\ninflaton trajectory. Large bispectra with a one-parameter family of novel\nshapes arise, lying between the well-known local and equilateral shape. The\ntrispectra can also be very large and its magnitude tNL can be much larger than\nfNL squared."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "More on the RHIC fireball and dual black holes: We revisit the issue of the RHIC ``fireball'' as a dual black hole, and\nexplain some of the details. We discuss the nature of the (black hole)\ninformation paradox as a purely field theory (gauge theory) phenomenon and how\nthe paradox can be formulated in exactly the same way for the RHIC fireball and\na black hole. We stress the differences between the black holes produced in the\ngravity dual and the equilibrium situation of the Witten construction for\nfinite temperature AdS-CFT. We analyze the thermodynamics of the fireball, give\nmore arguments why $T_{fireball}\\propto m_{\\pi}$, including an effective field\ntheory one, and explain what entropy=area/4 means experimentally for the\nfireball.",
        "positive": "Topological String, Matrix Integral, and Singularity Theory: We study the relation between topological string theory and singularity\ntheory using the partition function of $A_{N-1}$ topological string defined by\nmatrix integral of Kontsevich type. Genus expansion of the free energy is\nconsidered, and the genus $g=0$ contribution is shown to be described by a\nspecial solution of $N$-reduced dispersionless KP system. We show a universal\ncorrespondences between the time variables of dispersionless KP hierarchy and\nthe flat coordinates associated with versal deformations of simple\nsingularities of type $A$. We also study the behavior of topological matter\ntheory on the sphere in a topological gravity background, to clarify the role\nof the topological string in the singularity theory. Finally we make some\ncomment on gravitational phase transition."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "ODE/IM correspondence for modified $B_2^{(1)}$ affine Toda field\n  equation: We study the massive ODE/IM correspondence for modified $B_2^{(1)}$ affine\nToda field equation. Based on the $\\psi$-system for the solutions of the\nassociated linear problem, we obtain the Bethe ansatz equations. We also\ndiscuss the T-Q relations, the T-system and the Y-system, which are shown to be\nrelated to those of the $A_3/{\\bf Z}_2$ integrable system. We consider the case\nthat the solution of the linear problem has a monodromy around the origin,\nwhich imposes nontrivial boundary conditions for the T-/Y-system. The\nhigh-temperature limit of the T- and Y-system and their monodromy dependence\nare studied numerically.",
        "positive": "A Model of Black Hole Evaporation and 4D Weyl Anomaly: We analyze time evolution of a spherically-symmetric collapsing matter from a\npoint of view that black holes evaporate by nature. We consider conformal\nmatters and solve the semi-classical Einstein equation $G_{\\mu\\nu}=8\\pi G\n\\langle T_{\\mu\\nu} \\rangle$ by using the 4-dimensional Weyl anomaly with a\nlarge $c$ coefficient. Here $\\langle T_{\\mu\\nu} \\rangle$ contains the\ncontribution from both the collapsing matter and Hawking radiation. The\nsolution indicates that the collapsing matter forms a dense object and\nevaporates without horizon or singularity, and it has a surface but looks like\nan ordinary black hole from the outside. Any object we recognize as a black\nhole should be such an object."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The shear viscosity of the non-commutative plasma: We compute the shear viscosity of the non-commutative N=4 super Yang-Mills\nquantum field theory at strong coupling using the dual supergravity background.\nSpecial interest derives from the fact that the background presents an\nintrinsic anisotropy in space through the distinction of commutative and\nnon-commutative directions. Despite this anisotropy the analysis exhibits the\nubiquitous result \\eta/s = 1/4\\pi for two different shear channels. In order to\nderive this result, we show that the boundary energy momentum tensor must\ncouple to the open string metric. As a byproduct we compute the renormalised\nholographic energy momentum tensor and show that it coincides with one in the\ncommutative theory.",
        "positive": "Accelerated quarks and energy loss in confinement theory: We study the energy loss rate (ELR) of the accelerated quark in terms of the\nholographic models for the two different motions, linear acceleration and\nuniform rotation. They are examined by two different non-conformal models with\nconfinement. We found in both models that the value of ELR is bounded from\nbelow by the string tension of the linear confinement potential between quark\nand anti-quark. The lower bounds of ELR are independent of the types of the\nmotion of the quark. They are determined by the string tension at the world\nsheet horizon of the model. These results are obtained when the model has the\ndiagonal background metric."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Stability of (M theory) Stars against Collapse : Role of\n  Anisotropic Pressures: Unitarity of evolution in gravitational collapses implies existence of\nmacroscopic stable horizonless objects. With such objects in mind, we study the\neffects of anisotropy of pressures on the stability of stars. We consider stars\nin four or higher dimensions and also stars in M theory made up of\n(intersecting) branes. Taking the stars to be static, spherically symmetric and\nthe equations of state to be linear, we study `singular solutions' and the\nasymptotic perturbations around them. Oscillatory perturbations are likely to\nimply instability. We find that non oscillatory perturbations, which may imply\nstability, are possible if an appropriate amount of anisotropy is present. This\nresult suggests that it may be possible to have stable horizonless objects in\nfour or any higher dimensions, and that anisotropic pressures may play a\ncrucial role in ensuring their stability.",
        "positive": "Heterotic Reduction of Courant Algebroid Connections and\n  Einstein-Hilbert Actions: We discuss Levi-Civita connections on Courant algebroids. We define an\nappropriate generalization of the curvature tensor and compute the\ncorresponding scalar curvatures in the exact and heterotic case, leading to\ngeneralized (bosonic) Einstein-Hilbert type of actions known from supergravity.\nIn particular, we carefully analyze the process of the reduction for the\ngeneralized metric, connection, curvature tensor and the scalar curvature."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Black Holes with Multiple Charges and the Correspondence Principle: We consider the entropy of near extremal black holes with multiple charges in\nthe context of the recently proposed correspondence principle of Horowitz and\nPolchinski, including black holes with two, three and four Ramond-Ramond\ncharges. We find that at the matching point the black hole entropy can be\naccounted for by massless open strings ending on the D-branes for all cases\nexcept a black hole with four Ramond-Ramond charges, in which case a possible\nresolution in terms of brane-antibrane excitations is considered.",
        "positive": "Deformations on Tilted Tori and Moduli Stabilisation at the Orbifold\n  Point: We discuss deformations of orbifold singularities on tilted tori in the\ncontext of Type IIA orientifold model building with D6-branes on special\nLagrangian cycles. Starting from $T^6/(\\mathbb{Z}_2 \\times \\mathbb{Z}_2)$, we\nmod out an additional $\\mathbb{Z}_3$ symmetry to describe phenomenologically\nappealing backgrounds and reduce to $\\mathbb{Z}_3$ and $\\Omega\\mathcal{R}$\ninvariant orbits of deformations. While D6-branes carrying SO(2N) or USp(2N)\ngauge groups do not constrain deformations, D6-branes with U(N) gauge groups\ndevelop non-vanishing D-terms if they couple to previously singular, now\ndeformed cycles. We present examples for both types of D6-branes, and in a\nthree-generation Pati-Salam model on $T^6/(\\mathbb{Z}_2 \\times \\mathbb{Z}_6')$\nwe find that ten out of 15 twisted complex structure moduli are indeed\nstabilised at the orbifold point by the existence of the brane stacks."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Closed String Tachyon Vacuum ?: In bosonic closed string field theory the \"tachyon potential\" is a potential\nfor the tachyon, the dilaton, and an infinite set of massive fields. Earlier\ncomputations of the potential did not include the dilaton and the critical\npoint formed by the quadratic and cubic interactions was destroyed by the\nquartic tachyon term. We include the dilaton contributions to the potential and\nfind that a critical point survives and appears to become more shallow. We are\nled to consider the existence of a closed string tachyon vacuum, a critical\npoint with zero action that represents a state where space-time ceases to be\ndynamical. Some evidence for this interpretation is found from the study of the\ncoupled metric-dilaton-tachyon effective field equations, which exhibit rolling\nsolutions in which the dilaton runs to strong coupling and the Einstein metric\nundergoes collapse.",
        "positive": "Noncommutative integrability: I compute the cohomology of a non-commutative complex underlying the notion\nof the gauge field on the fuzzy sphere."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Bose symmetry and the left- and right-chiral anomalies: It is generally assumed that in order to preserve Bose symmetry in the left-\n(or right-chiral) current it is necessary to equally distribute the chiral\nanomaly between the vectorial and the axial Ward identities, requiring the use\nof counterterms to restore consistency. In this work, we show how to calculate\nthe quantum breaking of the left- and right-chiral currents in a way that\nallows to preserve Bose symmetry independently of the chiral anomaly, using the\nImplicit Regularization method.",
        "positive": "Logarithmic extensions of minimal models: characters and modular\n  transformations: We study logarithmic conformal field models that extend the (p,q) Virasoro\nminimal models. For coprime positive integers $p$ and $q$, the model is defined\nas the kernel of the two minimal-model screening operators. We identify the\nfield content, construct the W-algebra W(p,q) that is the model symmetry (the\nmaximal local algebra in the kernel), describe its irreducible modules, and\nfind their characters. We then derive the SL(2,Z) representation on the space\nof torus amplitudes and study its properties. From the action of the\nscreenings, we also identify the quantum group that is Kazhdan--Lusztig-dual to\nthe logarithmic model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Invariant Differential Operators and Characters of the AdS_4 Algebra: The aim of this paper is to apply systematically to AdS_4 some modern tools\nin the representation theory of Lie algebras which are easily generalised to\nthe supersymmetric and quantum group settings and necessary for applications to\nstring theory and integrable models. Here we introduce the necessary\nrepresentations of the AdS_4 algebra and group. We give explicitly all singular\n(null) vectors of the reducible AdS_4 Verma modules. These are used to obtain\nthe AdS_4 invariant differential operators. Using this we display a new\nstructure - a diagram involving four partially equivalent reducible\nrepresentations one of which contains all finite-dimensional irreps of the\nAdS_4 algebra. We study in more detail the cases involving UIRs, in particular,\nthe Di and the Rac singletons, and the massless UIRs. In the massless case we\ndiscover the structure of sets of 2s_0-1 conserved currents for each spin s_0\nUIR, s_0=1,3/2,... All massless cases are contained in a one-parameter\nsubfamily of the quartet diagrams mentioned above, the parameter being the spin\ns_0. Further we give the classification of the so(5,C) irreps presented in a\ndiagramatic way which makes easy the derivation of all character formulae. The\npaper concludes with a speculation on the possible applications of the\ncharacter formulae to integrable models.",
        "positive": "RG flows in 2d QCD: 2d QCD, Yang-Mills theory with gauge group G and massless quarks in\nrepresentations (R_\\ell, R_r) of G, flows in the infrared to a CFT or a TQFT\ndepending on whether spectrum is gapless or gapped. We identify the infrared\neffective theory and construct the explicit RG flow map between the QCD\noperators in the UV and the IR, in particular identifying which operators\ncreate massive excitations and decouple in the IR, and those that create\nmassless excitations or vacua and remain as nontrivial IR operators. We\ndetermine the exact scaling dimensions of the QCD operators that remain in the\nIR, which generically acquire large anomalous dimensions. We also study QCD\ndeformed by various operators in the ultraviolet (such as mass terms or\nfour-fermi interactions), and determine the theory that emerges at low\nenergies. We conjecture and provide some evidence for QCD deformed by various\noperators developing a nonperturbative fermion condensate that dynamically\nbreaks the gauge symmetry G, thus explicitly realizing an old idea known as\n\"tumbling\" in an exactly soluble setting."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "S and T for SCFTs: We develop a general set of methods for computing the oblique electroweak\nparameters S and T for bottom-up and top-down motivated scenarios in which the\nHiggs weakly mixes with a superconformal extra sector. In addition to their\nutility in phenomenological studies, the observables S and T are also of purely\ntheoretical interest as they are defined by correlation functions of broken\nsymmetries. We show that in the limit where the extra sector enjoys an\napproximate custodial symmetry, the leading contributions to S and T can be\nrecast as calculable data of the theory in the conformal phase. Using this\nresult, we also obtain model-independent bounds on the sign and size of oblique\nelectroweak corrections from unitary superconformal theories.",
        "positive": "$U_q(sl(n))$ Difference Operator Realization: A unified and systematic scheme for constraction of differential opreator\nrealization of any irreducible representation of $sl(n)$ is developed. The\n$q$-analogue of this unified scheme is used to constract $q$-difference\noperator realization of any irreducible representation of $U_q(sl(n))$.\nExplicit results for $U_q(sl(2))$, $U_q(sl(3))$ and $U_q(sl(n))$ are given."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Cutkosky rule of three dimensional noncommutative field theory in\n  Lie algebraic noncommutative spacetime: We investigate the unitarity of three dimensional noncommutative scalar field\ntheory in the Lie algebraic noncommutative spacetime [x^i,x^j]=2i kappa\nepsilon^{ijk}x_k. This noncommutative field theory possesses a SL(2,R)/Z_2\ngroup momentum space, which leads to a Hopf algebraic translational symmetry.\nWe check the Cutkosky rule of the one-loop self-energy diagrams in the\nnoncommutative phi^3 theory when we include a braiding, which is necessary for\nthe noncommutative field theory to possess the Hopf algebraic translational\nsymmetry at quantum level. Then, we find that the Cutkosky rule is satisfied if\nthe mass is less than 1/(2^(1/2)kappa).",
        "positive": "BLACK HOLE MULTIPLETS AND SPONTANEOUS BREAKING OF LOCAL SUPERSYMMETRY: We classify states saturating a double or a single supersymmetric positivity\nbound of a four-dimensional N=4 supersymmetry. The massive four-dimensional\ndouble-bound states (Bogomolny states) are shown to form a light-like\nrepresentation of ten-dimensional supersymmetry. The single-bound states form a\nmassive representation (centrino multiplet) of a four-dimensional\nsupersymmetry. The first component of the centrino multiplet is identified with\nextreme black holes with regular horizon which have one quarter of unbroken\nsupersymmetry. The centrino multiplet includes a massive spin 3/2 state, the\ncentrino, as a highest spin state.\n  Existence of massive black hole supermultiplets may affect the massless\nsector of the theory. Assuming that gluino condensate is formed one can study\nits properties. The bilinear combination of covariantly constant Killing\nspinors supplies the possible form for a gluino condensate. The condensate has\nnull properties, does not introduce a cosmological constant, and may lead to a\nspontaneous breaking of local supersymmetry. This suggests that centrino may\nprovide a consistent super-Higgs mechanism."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic Cosmological Backgrounds, Wilson Loop (De)confinement and\n  Dilaton Singularities: We review a construction of holographic geometries dual to N=4 SYM theory on\na Friedmann-Robertson-Walker background and in the presence or absence of a\ngluon condensate and instanton density. We find the most general solution with\narbitrary scale factor and show that it is diffeomorphic to topological black\nholes. We introduce a time-dependent boundary cosmological constant \\lambda(t)\nand show energy-momentum conservation in this background. For constant \\lambda,\nthe deconfinement properties of the temporal Wilson loop are analysed. In most\ncases the Wilson loop confines throughout cosmological evolution. However,\nthere is an exceptional case which shows a transition from deconfinement at\nearly times to confinement at late times. We classify the presence or absence\nof horizons, with important implications for the Wilson loop.",
        "positive": "Fermi surfaces and gauge-gravity duality: We give a unified overview of the zero temperature phases of compressible\nquantum matter: i.e. phases in which the expectation value of a globally\nconserved U(1) density, Q, varies smoothly as a function of parameters.\nProvided the global U(1) and translational symmetries are unbroken, such phases\nare expected to have Fermi surfaces, and the Luttinger theorem relates the\nvolumes enclosed by these Fermi surfaces to <Q>. We survey models of\ninteracting bosons and/or fermions and/or gauge fields which realize such\nphases. Some phases have Fermi surfaces with the singularities of Landau's\nFermi liquid theory, while other Fermi surfaces have non-Fermi liquid\nsingularities. Compressible phases found in models applicable to condensed\nmatter systems are argued to also be present in models obtained by applying\nchemical potentials (and other deformations allowed by the residual symmetry at\nnon-zero chemical potential) to the paradigmic supersymmetric gauge theories\nunderlying gauge-gravity duality: the ABJM model in spatial dimension d=2, and\nthe N=4 SYM theory in d=3."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Can D-Branes Wrap Nonrepresentable Cycles?: Sometimes a homology cycle of a nonsingular compactification manifold cannot\nbe represented by a nonsingular submanifold. We want to know whether such\nnonrepresentable cycles can be wrapped by D-branes. A brane wrapping a\nrepresentable cycle carries a K-theory charge if and only if its Freed-Witten\nanomaly vanishes. However some K-theory charges are only carried by branes that\nwrap nonrepresentable cycles. We provide two examples of Freed-Witten\nanomaly-free D6-branes wrapping nonrepresentable cycles in the presence of a\ntrivial NS 3-form flux. The first occurs in type IIA string theory compactified\non the Sp(2) group manifold and the second in IIA on a product of lens spaces.\nWe find that the first D6-brane carries a K-theory charge while the second does\nnot.",
        "positive": "BFKL approach and six-particle MHV amplitude in N=4 super Yang-Mills: We consider the planar MHV amplitude in N=4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory\nfor 2 -> 4 particle scattering at two and three loops in the Regge kinematics.\nWe perform an analytic continuation of two-loop result for the remainder\nfunction found by Goncharov, Spradlin, Vergu and Volovich to the physical\nregion, where the remainder function does not vanish in the Regge limit. After\nthe continuation both the leading and the subleading in the logarithm of the\nenergy terms are extracted and analyzed. Using this result we calculate the\nnext-to-leading corrections to the impact factors required in the BFKL\napproach. The BFKL technique was used to find the leading imaginary and real\nparts of the remainder function at three loops."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Relevant boundary perturbations of CFT: A case study: We consider simple CFT models which contain massless bosons, or massless\nfermions or a supersymmetric combination of the two, on the strip. We study the\ndeformations of these models by relevant boundary operators. In particular, we\nwork out the details for a boundary operator with a quadratic dependence on the\nfields and argue that some of our results can be extended to a more general\nsituation. In the fermionic models, several subtleties arise due to the\ndoubling of zero modes at the UV fixed point and a ``GSO projected'' RG flow.\nWe attempt to resolve these issues and to discuss how bulk symmetries are\nrealised along the flow. We end with some speculations on possible string\ntheory applications of these results.",
        "positive": "Role of Various Entropies in the Black Hole Information Loss Problem: In a recent paper Hawking has argued that there is no information loss in\nblack holes in asymptotically AdS spacetimes. We remind that there are several\ntypes of information (entropy) in statistical physics -- fine grained\n(microscopic) and coarse grained (macroscopic) ones which behave differently\nunder unitary evolution. We suggest that the coarse grained information of the\nrest of the Universe is lost while fine grained information is preserved. A\npossibility to develop in quantum gravity an analogue of the Bogoliubov\nderivation of the irreversible Boltzmann and Navier - Stokes equations from the\nreversible mechanical equations is discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Gravitational Corrections to the Geometry of Charged AdS Black\n  Holes: We study the quantum gravitational corrections to the geometry of a\nfour-dimensionalcharged (Reissner-Nordstr\\\"om) Anti de Sitter black hole\nstarting from an effective field theory approach to quantum gravity. We use the\nexpression of the modified horizon radius to compute the quantum corrected Wald\nentropy, whose expression reproduces the logarithmic behaviour found by other\nmethods. We perform a thermodynamics analysis and compute the quantum\ngravitational corrections to the temperature, pressure, specific heat and\nHelmholtz free energy. All these quantities are renormalisation group\ninvariant. We find that a quantum charged AdS black hole can exist only for a\nbounded range of masses and that it can undergo a second order phase transition\nas it moves from a state with positive specific heat to a negative one.",
        "positive": "Worldine deviations and epicycles: In general relativity, only relative acceleration has an observer-independend\nmeaning: curvature and non-gravitational forces determine the rate at which\nworld lines of test bodies diverge or converge. We derive the equations\ngoverning both in the conventional geometric formalism as well as using the\nbackground field method. This allows us to generalize the results to test\nbodies with charge and/or spin. The application of the equations to the motion\nof particles in a central field results in an elegant, fully relativistic\nversion of the Ptolemaean epicycle scheme."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Color-Dual Fates of $F^3$, $R^3$, and $\\mathcal{N}=4$ Supergravity: We find that the duality between color and kinematics can be used to inform\nthe high energy behavior of effective field theories. Namely, we demonstrate\nthat the massless gauge theory of Yang-Mills deformed by a higher-derivative\n$F^3$ operator cannot be tree-level color-dual while consistently factorizing\nwithout a tower of additional four-point counterterms with rigidly fixed Wilson\ncoefficients that reaches to the ultraviolet (UV). We find through explicit\ncalculation a suggestive resummation, namely that their amplitudes are\nconsistent with the $\\alpha'$ expansion of those generated by the\n$(DF)^2+\\text{YM}$ theory, a known color-dual theory where the $F^2$ term has\nbeen given a mass squared proportional to $1 / \\alpha'$. As a result,\nconsidering consistent double-copy construction as a physical principle implies\nthat an $F^3$-based color-dual resolution of the UV divergence in\n$\\mathcal{N}=4$ supergravity comes at the cost of field-theoretic locality.\nSimilarly, when double-copying $F^3$ with itself, double-copy consistency lifts\n$R^3$ gravity to a family of gravity theories with an all-order tower of\nhigher-derivative corrections, which includes the closed bosonic string as a\nstandard adjoint-type double-copy.",
        "positive": "(Super)Oscillator on CP(N) and Constant Magnetic Field: We define the \"maximally integrable\" isotropic oscillator on CP(N) and\ndiscuss its various properties, in particular, the behaviour of the system with\nrespect to a constant magnetic field. We show that the properties of the\noscillator on CP(N) qualitatively differ in the N>1 and N=1 cases. In the\nformer case we construct the ``axially symmetric'' system which is locally\nequivalent to the oscillator. We perform the Kustaanheimo-Stiefel\ntransformation of the oscillator on CP(2) and construct some generalized\nMIC-Kepler problem. We also define a N=2 superextension of the oscillator on\nCP(N) and show that for N>1 the inclusion of a constant magnetic field\npreserves the supersymmetry of the system."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The paraboson Fock space and unitary irreducible representations of the\n  Lie superalgebra osp(1|2n): It is known that the defining relations of the orthosymplectic Lie\nsuperalgebra osp(1|2n) are equivalent to the defining (triple) relations of n\npairs of paraboson operators $b^\\pm_i$. In particular, with the usual star\nconditions, this implies that the ``parabosons of order p'' correspond to a\nunitary irreducible (infinite-dimensional) lowest weight representation V(p) of\nosp(1|2n). Apart from the simple cases p=1 or n=1, these representations had\nnever been constructed due to computational difficulties, despite their\nimportance. In the present paper we give an explicit and elegant construction\nof these representations V(p), and we present explicit actions or matrix\nelements of the osp(1|2n) generators. The orthogonal basis vectors of V(p) are\nwritten in terms of Gelfand-Zetlin patterns, where the subalgebra u(n) of\nosp(1|2n) plays a crucial role. Our results also lead to character formulas for\nthese infinite-dimensional osp(1|2n) representations. Furthermore, by\nconsidering the branching $ osp(1|2n) \\supset sp(2n) \\supset u(n)$, we find\nexplicit infinite-dimensional unitary irreducible lowest weight representations\nof sp(2n) and their characters.",
        "positive": "Dynamics of the topological structures in inhomogeneous media: We present a general review of the dynamics of topological solitons in 1 and\n2 dimensions and then discuss some recent work on the scattering of various\nsolitonic objects (such as kinks and breathers etc) on potential obstructions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "An approach to F-theory: We consider BPS configurations in theories with two timelike directions from\nthe perspective of the supersymmetry algebra. We show that whereas a BPS state\nin a theory with one timelike variable must have positive energy, in a theory\nwith two times any BPS state must have positive angular momentum in the\ntimelike plane, in that $Z_{0\\tilde{0}}>0$, where $0$ and $\\tilde{0}$ are the\ntwo timelike directions. We consider some generic BPS solutions of theories\nwith two timelike directions, and then specialise to the study of the (10,2)\ndimensional superalgebra for which the spinor operators generate 2-forms and\n6-forms. We argue that the BPS configurations of this algebra relate to\nF-theory in the same way that the BPS configurations of the eleven dimensional\nsupersymmetry algebra relate to M-theory. We show that the twelve dimensional\ntheory is one of fundamental 3-branes and 7-branes, along with their dual\npartners. We then formulate the new intersection rules for these objects. Upon\nreduction of this system we find the algebraic description of the IIB-branes\nand the M-branes. Given these correspondences we may begin an algebraic study\nof F-theory.",
        "positive": "The non-Abelian gauge theory of matrix big bangs: We study at the classical and quantum mechanical level the time-dependent\nYang-Mills theory that one obtains via the generalisation of discrete\nlight-cone quantisation to singular homogeneous plane waves. The non-Abelian\nnature of this theory is known to be important for physics near the\nsingularity, at least as far as the number of degrees of freedom is concerned.\nWe will show that the quartic interaction is always subleading as one\napproaches the singularity and that close enough to t=0 the evolution is driven\nby the diverging tachyonic mass term. The evolution towards asymptotically flat\nspace-time also reveals some surprising features."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Black hole production, eternal inflation, and information in quasi-de\n  Sitter space: When the slow-roll parameter $\\epsilon_H$ is smaller than $H^2/M_{\\rm Pl}^2$,\nthe quantum fluctuations of the inflaton after the horizon crossing are large\nenough to realize eternal inflation. Whereas they do not generate a sufficient\namount of density fluctuation of the inflaton to produce the black hole in\nquasi-de Sitter space, they can also generate the sizeable density fluctuation\nof the radiation when the number of degrees of freedom increases rapidly in\ntime, as predicted by the distance conjecture. We argue that the condition that\nthe density fluctuation of the radiation is not large enough to produce the\nblack hole until the end of inflation is equivalent to the no eternal inflation\ncondition. When the radiation emitted by the horizon does not produce the black\nhole, even if the number of degrees of freedom increases in time, the\ninformation paradox does not arise for $\\epsilon_H$ larger than $10^{-7} (H^2/\nM_{\\rm Pl}^2)$ and time scale shorter than $10^4 (M_{\\rm Pl}/H^2)$. Regardless\nof the presence of the information paradox, a static observer cannot retrieve a\nsufficient amount of information, which is consistent with the complementarity.",
        "positive": "Bott Periodicity and Realizations of Chiral Symmetry in Arbitrary\n  Dimensions: We compute the chiral symmetries of the Lagrangian for confining\n\"vector-like\" gauge theories with massless fermions in $d$-dimensional\nMinkowski space and, under a few reasonable assumptions, determine the form of\nthe quadratic fermion condensates which arise through spontaneous breaking of\nthese symmetries. We find that for each type (complex, real, or pseudoreal) of\nrepresentation of the gauge group carried by the fermions, the chiral\nsymmetries of the Lagrangian, as well as the residual symmetries after\ndynamical breaking, exactly follow the pattern of Bott periodicity as the\ndimension changes. The consequences of this for the topological features of the\nlow-energy effective theory are considered."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Effective electromagnetic interaction in a dense fermionic medium in\n  QED_{2+1}: The effective Lagrangian of arbitrary varying in space electromagnetic field\nin a dense medium is derived. It has been used for investigation of interaction\nbetween charged fermions in the medium. It is shown the possibility for the\nformation of metastable electron bound states in the medium when external\nmagnetic field is applied.",
        "positive": "Quasi-long-range ordering in a finite-size 2D Heisenberg model: We analyse the low-temperature behaviour of the Heisenberg model on a\ntwo-dimensional lattice of finite size. Presence of a residual magnetisation in\na finite-size system enables us to use the spin wave approximation, which is\nknown to give reliable results for the XY model at low temperatures T. For the\nsystem considered, we find that the spin-spin correlation function decays as\n1/r^eta(T) for large separations r bringing about presence of a\nquasi-long-range ordering. We give analytic estimates for the exponent eta(T)\nin different regimes and support our findings by Monte Carlo simulations of the\nmodel on lattices of different sizes at different temperatures."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Defect loops in gauged Wess-Zumino-Witten models: We consider loop observables in gauged Wess-Zumino-Witten models, and study\nthe action of renormalization group flows on them. In the WZW model based on a\ncompact Lie group G, we analyze at the classical level how the space of\nrenormalizable defects is reduced upon the imposition of global and affine\nsymmetries. We identify families of loop observables which are invariant with\nrespect to an affine symmetry corresponding to a subgroup H of G, and show that\nthey descend to gauge-invariant defects in the gauged model based on G/H. We\nstudy the flows acting on these families perturbatively, and quantize the fixed\npoints of the flows exactly. From their action on boundary states, we present a\nderivation of the \"generalized Affleck-Ludwig rule, which describes a large\nclass of boundary renormalization group flows in rational conformal field\ntheories.",
        "positive": "Vacuum static compactified wormholes in eight-dimensional Lovelock\n  theory: In this paper new exact solutions in eight dimensional Lovelock theory will\nbe presented. These solutions are vacuum static wormhole, black hole and\ngeneralized Bertotti-Robinson space-times with nontrivial torsion. All the\nsolutions have a cross product structure of the type $M_{5}\\times \\Sigma_{3} $\nwhere $M_{5}$ is a five dimensional manifold and $\\Sigma_{3}$ a compact\nconstant curvature manifold. The wormhole is the first example of a smooth\nvacuum static Lovelock wormhole which is neither Chern-Simons nor Born-Infeld.\nIt will be also discussed how the presence of torsion affects the\n\"navigableness\" of the wormhole for scalar and spinning particles. It will be\nshown that the wormhole with torsion may act as \"geometrical filter\": a very\nlarge torsion may \"increase the traversability\" for scalars while acting as a\n\"polarizator\" on spinning particles. This may have interesting phenomenological\nconsequences."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic flavour in the N=1 Polchinski-Strassler background: To endow the N=1* SYM theory with quarks, we embed D7-brane probes into its\ngravity dual, known as the Polchinski-Strassler background. The non-vanishing\n3-form flux G_3 in the background is dual to mass terms for the three adjoint\nchiral superfields, deforming the N=4 SYM theory to the N=1* SYM theory. We\nkeep its three mass parameters independent. This generalizes our analysis in\nhep-th/0610276 for the N=2* SYM theory. We work at second order in the mass\nperturbation, i.e. G_3 and its backreaction on the background are considered\nperturbatively up to this order. We find analytic solutions for the embeddings\nwhich in general depend also on angular variables. We discuss the properties of\nthe solutions and give error estimates on our approximation. By applying the\nmethod of holographic renormalization, we show that in all cases the embeddings\nare at least consistent with supersymmetry.",
        "positive": "Linearized Gravity in the Karch-Randall Braneworld: We present a linearized gravity investigation of the bent braneworld, where\nan AdS_4 brane is embedded in AdS_5. While we focus on static spherically\nsymmetric mass distributions on the brane, much of the analysis continues to\nhold for more general configurations. In addition to the identification of the\nmassive Karch-Randall graviton and a tower of Kaluza-Klein gravitons, we find a\nradion mode that couples to the trace of the energy-momentum tensor on the\nbrane. The Karch-Randall radion arises as a property of the embedding of the\nbrane in the bulk space, even in the context of a single brane model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "One-loop N=8 Supergravity Amplitudes from MHV Diagrams: We discuss the calculation of one-loop amplitudes in N=8 supergravity using\nMHV diagrams. In contrast to MHV amplitudes of gluons in Yang-Mills, tree-level\nMHV amplitudes of gravitons are not holomorphic in the spinor variables. In\norder to extend these amplitudes off shell, and use them as vertices to build\nloops, we introduce certain shifts for the spinor variables associated to the\nloop momenta. Using this off-shell prescription, we rederive the four-point MHV\namplitude of gravitons at one loop, in complete agreement with known results.\nWe also discuss the extension to the case of one-loop MHV amplitudes with an\narbitrary number of gravitons.",
        "positive": "Fractal Propagators in QED and QCD and Implications for the Problem of\n  Confinement: We show that QED radiative corrections change the propagator of a charged\nDirac particle so that it acquires a fractional anomalous exponent connected\nwith the fine structure constant. The result is a nonlocal object which\nrepresents a particle with a roughened trajectory whose fractal dimension can\nbe calculated. This represents a significant shift from the traditional Wigner\nnotions of asymptotic states with sharp well-defined masses. Non-abelian\nlong-range fields are more difficult to handle, but we are able to calculate\nthe effects due to Newtonian gravitational corrections. We suggest a new\napproach to confinement in QCD based on a particle trajectory acquiring a\nfractal dimension which goes to zero in the infrared as a consequence of\nself-interaction, representing a particle which, in the infrared limit, cannot\npropagate."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauge invariant formulation of systems with second class constraints: A covariant quantization method for physical systems with reducible\nconstraints is presented.",
        "positive": "Entanglement production in bosonic systems: Linear and logarithmic\n  growth: We study the time evolution of the entanglement entropy in bosonic systems\nwith time-independent, or time-periodic, Hamiltonians. In the first part, we\nfocus on quadratic Hamiltonians and Gaussian initial states. We show that all\nquadratic Hamiltonians can be decomposed into three parts: (a) unstable, (b)\nstable, and (c) metastable. If present, each part contributes in a\ncharacteristic way to the time-dependence of the entanglement entropy: (a)\nlinear production, (b) bounded oscillations, and (c) logarithmic production. In\nthe second part, we use numerical calculations to go beyond Gaussian states and\nquadratic Hamiltonians. We provide numerical evidence for the conjecture that\nentanglement production through quadratic Hamiltonians has the same asymptotic\nbehavior for non-Gaussian initial states as for Gaussian ones. Moreover, even\nfor non-quadratic Hamiltonians, we find a similar behavior at intermediate\ntimes. Our results are of relevance to understanding entanglement production\nfor quantum fields in dynamical backgrounds and ultracold atoms in optical\nlattices."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On classical de Sitter solutions and parametric control: Finding string backgrounds with de Sitter spacetime, where all approximations\nand corrections are controlled, is an open problem. We revisit the search for\nde Sitter solutions in the classical regime for specific type IIB supergravity\ncompactifications on group manifolds, an under-explored corner of the landscape\nthat offers an interesting testing ground for swampland conjectures. While the\nsupergravity de Sitter solutions we obtain numerically are ambiguous in terms\nof their classicality, we find an analytic scaling that makes four out of six\ncompactification radii, as well as the overall volume, arbitrarily large. This\npotentially provides parametric control over corrections. If we could show that\nthese solutions, or others to be found, are fully classical, they would\nconstitute a counterexample to conjectures stating that asymptotic de Sitter\nsolutions do not exist. We discuss this point in great detail.",
        "positive": "On Field Theory Thermalization from Gravitational Collapse: Motivated by its field theory interpretation, we study gravitational collapse\nof a minimally coupled massless scalar field in Einstein gravity with a\nnegative cosmological constant. After demonstrating the accuracy of the\nnumerical algorithm for the questions we are interested in, we investigate\nvarious aspects of the apparent horizon formation. In particular, we study the\ntime and radius of the apparent horizon formed as functions of the initial\nGaussian profile for the scalar field. We comment on several aspects of the\ndual field theory picture."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gravitational Correction to Running of Gauge Couplings: We calculate the contribution of graviton exchange to the running of gauge\ncouplings at lowest non-trivial order in perturbation theory. Including this\ncontribution in a theory that features coupling constant unification does not\nupset this unification, but rather shifts the unification scale. When\nextrapolated formally, the gravitational correction renders all gauge couplings\nasymptotically free.",
        "positive": "Open Superstring Star as a Continuous Moyal Product: By diagonalizing the three-string vertex and using a special coordinate\nrepresentation the matter part of the open superstring star is identified with\nthe continuous Moyal product of functions of anti-commuting variables. We show\nthat in this representation the identity and sliver have simple expressions.\nThe relation with the half-string fermionic variables in continuous basis is\ngiven."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Double-soft behavior of the dilaton of spontaneously broken conformal\n  invariance: The Ward identities involving the currents associated to the spontaneously\nbroken scale and special conformal transformations are derived and used to\ndetermine, through linear order in the two soft-dilaton momenta, the\ndouble-soft behavior of scattering amplitudes involving two soft dilatons and\nany number of other particles. It turns out that the double-soft behavior is\nequivalent to performing two single-soft limits one after the other. We confirm\nthe new double-soft theorem perturbatively at tree-level in a $D$-dimensional\nconformal field theory model, as well as nonperturbatively by using the\n\"gravity dual'' of ${\\cal{N}}=4$ super Yang-Mills on the Coulomb branch; i.e.\nthe Dirac-Born-Infeld action on AdS${}_5 \\times S^5$.",
        "positive": "Wall Crossing from Dirac Zeromodes: We explore the physics of two-body decay of BPS states using semiclassical\nanalysis to construct explicit solutions that illustrate the main features of\nwall crossing, for both ordinary and framed BPS states. In particular we\nrecover the primitive wall-crossing formula from an asymptotic analysis of\ncertain Dirac-type operators on monopole moduli spaces. Along the way we give\nan asymptotic metric for the moduli space of singular monopoles, analogous to\nthe Gibbons-Manton and Lee-Weinberg-Yi metrics for the moduli space of smooth\nmonopoles, and we find evidence for the existence of stable non-BPS\nboundstates. Our discussion applies to four-dimensional N = 2 super-Yang-Mills\ntheories with general gauge group and general 't Hooft defects."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Low Energy Theorem for SUSY Breaking with Gauge Supermultiplets: Low energy theorems of Nambu-Goldstone fermion associated with spontaneously\nbroken supersymmetry are studied for gauge supermultiplets. Two possible terms\nin the effective Lagrangian are needed to deal with massless gaugino and/or\nmassless gauge boson. As an illustrative example, a concrete model is worked\nout which can interpolate massless as well as massive gaugino and/or gauge\nboson to examine the low energy effective interaction of NG-fermion.",
        "positive": "Generalized Semilocal Theories and Higher Hopf Maps: \\def\\mon{S^3\\stackrel{S^1}{\\rightarrow}S^2}\n\\def\\inst{S^7\\stackrel{S^3}{\\rightarrow}S^4}\n\\def\\octo{S^{15}\\stackrel{S^7}{\\rightarrow}S^8} In semilocal theories, the\nvacuum manifold is fibered in a non-trivial way by the action of the gauge\ngroup. Here we generalize the original semilocal theory (which was based on the\nHopf bundle $\\mon$) to realize the next Hopf bundle $\\inst$, and its extensions\n$S^{2n+1}\\stackrel{S^3}\\rightarrow \\H P^n$. The semilocal defects in this class\nof theories are classified by $\\pi_3(S^3)$, and are interpreted as constrained\ninstantons or generalized sphaleron configurations. We fail to find a field\ntheoretic realization of the final Hopf bundle $\\octo$, but are able to\nconstruct other semilocal spaces realizing Stiefel bundles over Grassmanian\nspaces."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Retraction of \"Half-integer spin representations of the graded extension\n  of so(2,1) Lie algebra: Spin 3/2 particle in the Dirac-Oscillator potential\": The representation of the superalgebra SO(2,1) which is given by Eq. (3.1)\nand which resulted in the relativistic wave equation (4.1) is fully reducible.\nIn fact, its even part is the direct sum of two spin 1/2 representations of the\nLorentz group and does not represent spin 3/2 particle as we claimed.\nConsequently, we retract our claim and withdraw the manuscript.",
        "positive": "K3 surfaces, modular forms, and non-geometric heterotic\n  compactifications: We construct non-geometric compactifications by using the F-theory dual of\nthe heterotic string compactified on a two-torus, together with a close\nconnection between Siegel modular forms of genus two and the equations of\ncertain K3 surfaces. The modular group mixes together the K\\\"ahler, complex\nstructure, and Wilson line moduli of the torus yielding weakly coupled\nheterotic string compactifications which have no large radius interpretation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Superalgebra cohomology, the geometry of extended superspaces and\n  superbranes: We present here a cohomological analysis of the new spacetime superalgebras\nthat arise in the context of superbrane theory. They lead to enlarged\nsuperspaces that allow us to write D-brane actions in terms of fields\nassociated with the additional superspace variables. This suggests that there\nis an extended superspace/worldvolume fields democracy for superbranes.",
        "positive": "Solving the Schwarzian via the Conformal Bootstrap: We obtain exact expressions for a general class of correlation functions in\nthe 1D quantum mechanical model described by the Schwarzian action, that arises\nas the low energy limit of the SYK model. The answer takes the form of an\nintegral of a momentum space amplitude obtained via a simple set of\ndiagrammatic rules. The derivation relies on the precise equivalence between\nthe 1D Schwarzian theory and a suitable large $c$ limit of 2D Virasoro CFT. The\nmapping from the 1D to the 2D theory is similar to the construction of\nkinematic space. We also compute the out-of-time ordered four point function.\nThe momentum space amplitude in this case contains an extra factor in the form\nof a crossing kernel, or R-matrix, given by a 6j-symbol of SU(1,1). We argue\nthat the R-matrix describes the gravitational scattering amplitude near the\nhorizon of an AdS${}_2$ black hole. Finally, we discuss the generalization of\nsome of our results to ${\\cal N}=1$ and ${\\cal N}=2$ supersymmetric Schwarzian\nQM."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exact generalized partition function of 2D CFTs at large central charge: We discuss generalized partition function of 2d CFTs decorated by higher qKdV\ncharges on thermal cylinder. We propose that in the large central charge limit\nqKdV charges factorize such that generalized partition function can be\nrewritten in terms of auxiliary non-interacting bosons. The explicit expression\nfor the generalized free energy is readily available in terms of the boson\nspectrum, which can be deduced from the conventional thermal expectation values\nof qKdV charges. In other words, the picture of the auxiliary non-interacting\nbosons allows extending thermal one-point functions to the full\nnon-perturbative generalized partition function. We verify this conjecture for\nthe first seven qKdV charges using recently obtained pertrubative results and\nfind corresponding contributions to the auxiliary boson masses. We further\nextend these results by conjecturing the full spectrum of bosons and find an\nexact expression for the generalized partition function as a function of\ninfinite tower of chemical potentials in the limit of large central charge.",
        "positive": "Fluctuations of Quantum Fields in a Classical Background and Reheating: We consider the particle creation process associated with a quantum field\n\\chi in a time-dependent, homogeneous and isotropic, classical background. It\nis shown that the field square \\chi^2, the energy density and the pressure of\nthe created particles have large fluctuations comparable to their vacuum\nexpectation values. Possible effects of these fluctuations on the reheating\nprocess after inflation are discussed. After determining the correlation length\nof the fluctuations in two different models, corresponding to the decay in the\nparametric resonance regime and in the perturbation theory, it is found that\nthese fluctuations should be taken into account in the final thermalization\nprocess, in the back-reaction effects and when the formation of primordial\nblack holes is considered. In both models, by comparing quantum and thermal\nfluctuations with each other it is observed that very quick thermalization\nafter the complete inflaton decay is not always possible even when the\ninteraction rates are large. On the other hand, when the back-reaction effects\nare included during the preheating stage, the coherence of the inflaton\noscillations is shown to be lost because of the fluctuations in \\chi^2.\nFinally, we note that a large fluctuation in the energy density may cause a\nblack hole to form and we determine the fraction of total energy density that\ngoes into such primordial black holes in the model of preheating we consider."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Multidimensional gravity in non-relativistic limit: It is found the exact solution of the Poisson equation for the\nmultidimensional space with topology $M_{3+d}=\\mathbb{R}^3\\times T^d$. This\nsolution describes smooth transition from the newtonian behavior $1/r_3$ for\ndistances bigger than periods of tori (the extra dimension sizes) to\nmultidimensional behavior $1/r^{1+d}_{3+d}$ in opposite limit. In the case of\none extra dimension $d=1$, the gravitational potential is expressed via compact\nand elegant formula. It is shown that the corrections to the gravitational\nconstant in the Cavendish-type experiment can be within the measurement\naccuracy of Newton's gravitational constant $G_N$. It is proposed models where\nthe test masses are smeared over some (or all) extra dimensions. In\n10-dimensional spacetime with 3 smeared extra dimensions, it is shown that the\nsize of 3 rest extra dimensions can be enlarged up to submillimeter for the\ncase of 1TeV fundamental Planck scale $M_{Pl(10)}$. In the models where all\nextra dimensions are smeared, the gravitational potential exactly coincides\nwith the newtonian one. Nevertheless, the hierarchy problem can be solved in\nthese models.",
        "positive": "Gauge invariant gluon spin operator for spinless non-linear wave\n  solutions: We consider non-linear wave type solutions with mass scale parameter and\nvahished canonical spin density operator in a pure SU(2) quantum chtomodynamics\n(QCD). A new stationary solution which can be treated as a system of static\nWu-Yang monopole dressed in off-diagonal gluon field is proposed. A remarkable\nfeature of such a solution is that it possesses a finite energy density\neverywhere. All considered non-linear wave type solutions have common features:\npresence of a mass scale parameter, non-vanishing projection of the color\nmagnetic field along the propagation direction and zero spin density. The last\nproperty requires revision of the gauge invariant definition of the spin\ndensity operator which supposed to be massless vector field in the classical\ntheory. We construct a gauge invariant definition of the classical gluon spin\ndensity which is unique and Lorentz frame independent."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Realization of the Dirac bracket algebras through first class functions\n  and quantization of constrained systems: It is shown that a Dirac bracket algebra is isomorphic to the original\nPoisson bracket algebra of first class functions subject to first class\nconstraints. The isomorphic image of the Dirac bracket algebra in the\nstar-product commutator algebra is found.",
        "positive": "Gravitational Effects in Supersymmetric Domain Wall Backgrounds: A recent study of supersymmetric domain walls in $N=1$ supergravity theories\nrevealed a new class of domain walls interpolating between supersymmetric vacua\nwith different non-positive cosmological constants. We classify three classes\nof domain wall configurations and study the geodesic structure of the induced\nspace-time. Motion of massive test particles in such space-times shows that\nthese walls are always repulsive from the anti-deSitter (AdS) side, while on\nthe Minkowski side test particles feel no force. Freely falling particles far\naway from a wall in an AdS vacuum experience a constant proper acceleration,\n\\ie\\ they are Rindler particles. A new coordinate system for discussing AdS\nspace-time is presented which eliminates the use of a periodic time-like\ncoordinate."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Low-energy limit of N-photon amplitudes in a constant field: While the QED photon amplitudes at full momentum so far have been calculated\nonly up to the six-photon level, in the low-energy limit there are explicit\nformulas for all helicity components even at the N-photon level, obtained by\nMartin et al. in 2002. Here we use the worldline formalism to extend that\nresult to the N-photon amplitudes in a generic constant field. For both scalar\nand spinor QED, we obtain compact representations for the low-energy limits of\nthese amplitudes involving only simple algebra and a single global proper-time\nintegral with trigonometric integrand.",
        "positive": "Notes on quantum fields on two dimensional spacetimes: We point out how to construct the Hartle-Hawking-Israel state for the\nminimaly coupled massless quantum real scalar field in the two dimensional BTZ\nblack hole. We also calculate the renormalized energy-momentum tensor for the\nsame field in the eternal CGHS black hole, AdS, Robertson-Walker and Rindler\nspacetime in two dimensions. We also discuss the Boulware, the\nHartle-Hawking-Israel and the Unruh state for the eternal CGHS black hole."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Correlation between Polyakov loops oriented in two different directions\n  in SU(N) gauge theory on a two dimensional torus: We consider SU(N) gauge theories on a two dimensional torus with finite area,\n$A$. Let $T_\\mu(A)$ denote the Polyakov loop operator in the $\\mu$ direction.\nStarting from the lattice gauge theory on the torus, we derive a formula for\nthe continuum limit of $\\langle g_1(T_1(A)) g_2(T_2(A)) \\rangle$ as a function\nof the area of the torus where $g_1$ and $g_2$ are class functions. We show\nthat there exists a class function $\\xi_0$ for SU(2) such that $\\langle\n\\xi_0(T_1(A)) \\xi_0(T_2(A))\\rangle > 1$ for all finite area of the torus with\nthe limit being unity as the area of the torus goes to infinity. Only the\ntrivial representation contributes to $\\xi_0$ as $A\\to\\infty$ whereas all\nrepresentations become equally important as $A\\to 0$.",
        "positive": "Generalization of the Proca Action: We consider the Lagrangian of a vector field with derivative\nself-interactions with a priori arbitrary coefficients. Starting with a flat\nspace-time we show that for a special choice of the coefficients of the\nself-interactions the ghost-like pathologies disappear. For this we use the\ndegeneracy condition of the Hessian. This constitutes the Galileon-type\ngeneralization of the Proca action with only three propagating physical degrees\nof freedom. The longitudinal mode of the vector field is associated to the\nusual Galileon interactions for a specific choice of the overall functions. In\ndifference to a scalar Galileon theory, the generalized Proca field has more\nfree parameters and purely intrinsic vector interactions. We then extend this\nanalysis to a curved background. The resulting theory is the Horndeski Proca\naction with second order equations of motion on curved space-times."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Static Interactions of U(N) non-Abelian Vortices: Interactions between non-BPS non-Abelian vortices are studied in non-Abelian\nU(1) x SU(N) extensions of the Abelian-Higgs model in four dimensions. In\naddition to the usual type I/II Abelian superconductors, we find other two new\nregimes: type I*/II*.",
        "positive": "Black Brane Solution in Rastall AdS Massive Gravity and Viscosity Bound: In this paper, we introduced the black brane solution in Rastall theory and\nin the context of massive gravity. The ratio of shear viscosity to entropy\ndensity is calculated for this solution. Our result shows that the KSS bound\nviolates for this theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "An SLE approach to four dimensional black hole microstate entropy: In this note, we model the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy of a four dimensional\nextremal black hole in terms of classifying particles moving in its near\nhorizon AdS_2 geometry. We use the framework of SLE curves in AdS_2 to classify\nthese particle trajectories in terms of their boundary conditions. These turn\nout to be related to singular vectors in two-dimensional conformal quantum\ngravity theory in AdS_2 and the dynamics of these particles are governed by the\nHamiltonians of the integrable Calogero-like models, for these boundary\nconditions. We use this classification to count the leading order\nBekenstein-Hawking entropy of the black hole and arrive at a first principle\nmicroscopic computation of black hole degeneracy.",
        "positive": "One-Loop Effective Action and Schwinger Effect in (Anti-) de Sitter\n  Space: We study the Schwinger mechanism by a uniform electric field in ${\\rm dS}_2$\nand ${\\rm AdS}_2$ and the curvature effect on the Schwinger effect, and further\npropose a thermal interpretation of the Schwinger formula in terms of the\nGibbons-Hawking temperature and the Unruh temperature for an accelerating\ncharge in ${\\rm dS}_2$ and an analogous expression in ${\\rm AdS}_2$. The exact\none-loop effective action is found in the proper-time integral in each space,\nwhich is determined by the effective mass, the Maxwell scalar, and the scalar\ncurvature, and whose pole structure gives the imaginary part of the effective\naction and the exact pair-production rate. The exact pair-production rate is\nalso given the thermal interpretation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Semiclassical quantization of SU(3) skyrmions: Semiclassical quantization of the SU(3)-skyrmions is performed by means of\nthe collective coordinate method. The quantization condition known for the\nSU(2)-solitons quantized with SU(3) collective coordinates is generalized for\nthe SU(3) skyrmions with strangeness content different from zero. Quantization\nof the dipole-type configuration with large strangeness content found recently\nis considered as an example, the spectrum and the mass splitting of the\nquantized states are estimated. The energy and baryon number density of SU(3)\nskyrmions are presented in the form emphasizing their symmetry in different\nSU(2) subgroups of SU(3), and the lower boundary for the static energy of SU(3)\nskyrmions is derived.",
        "positive": "A Review on Tachyon Condensation in Open String Field Theories: We review the recent studies of tachyon condensation in string field theory.\nAfter introducing the open string field theory both for bosonic string and for\nsuperstring, we use them to examine the conjecture that the unstable\nconfigurations of the D-brane will decay into the `closed string vacuum'\nthrough the tachyon condensation. And we describe the attemps to construct a\nlower dimensional bosonic D-brane as an unstable lump solution of the string\nfield equation. We obtain exact results from another formulation, background\nindependent open string field theory. We also discuss some other topics which\nare related to tachyon condensation in string theory, such as the construction\nof a D-brane as a noncommutative soliton and some field theory models. This\npaper is based on my master's thesis submitted to Department of Physics,\nFaculty of Science, University of Tokyo on January 2001."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "One-loop Partition Functions of 3D Gravity: We consider the one-loop partition function of free quantum field theory in\nlocally Anti-de Sitter space-times. In three dimensions, the one loop\ndeterminants for scalar, gauge and graviton excitations are computed explicitly\nusing heat kernel techniques. We obtain precisely the result anticipated by\nBrown and Henneaux: the partition function includes a sum over \"boundary\nexcitations\" of AdS3, which are the Virasoro descendants of empty Anti-de\nSitter space. This result also allows us to compute the one-loop corrections to\nthe Euclidean action of the BTZ black hole as well its higher genus\ngeneralizations.",
        "positive": "Schwinger terms in gravitation in two dimensions as a consequence of the\n  gravitational anomaly: We compute the Schwinger term in the gravitational constraints in two\ndimensions, starting from the path integral in Hamiltonian form and the\nEinstein anomaly."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Some Complex Quantum Manifolds and their Geometry: After recalling briefly some basic properties of the quantum group $GL_q(2)$,\nwe study the quantum sphere $S_q^2$, quantum projective space $CP_q(N)$ and\nquantum Grassmannians as examples of complex (K\\\"{a}hler) quantum manifolds.\nThe differential and integral calculus on these manifolds are discussed. It is\nshown that many relations of classical projective geometry generalize to the\nquantum case. For the case of the quantum sphere a comparison is made with A.\nConnes' method.",
        "positive": "Accidental K\u00e4hler Moduli Inflation: We study a model of accidental inflation in type IIB string theory where\ninflation occurs near the inflection point of a small K\\\"ahler modulus. A\nracetrack structure helps to alleviate the known concern that string-loop\ncorrections may spoil K\\\"ahler Moduli Inflation unless having a significant\nsuppression via the string coupling or a special brane setup. Also, the\nhierarchy of gauge group ranks required for the separation between moduli\nstabilization and inflationary dynamics is relaxed. The relaxation becomes more\nsignificant when we use the recently proposed D-term generated racetrack model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Double Field Theory description of Heterotic gauge symmetry\n  enhancing-breaking: A Double Field Theory (DFT) description of gauge symmetry enhancing-breaking\nin the heterotic string is presented. The construction, based on previous\nresults for the bosonic string, relies on the extension of the tangent frame of\nDFT. The fluxes of a Scherk-Schwarz like generalized toroidal compactification\nare moduli dependent and become identified with the structure constants of the\nenhanced group at fixed \"self-dual\" points in moduli space. Slight\ndisplacements from such points provide the breaking of the symmetry, gauge\nbosons acquiring masses proportional to fluxes. The inclusion of fermions is\nalso discussed.",
        "positive": "Large-N Yang-Mills Theory as Classical Mechanics: To formulate two-dimensional Yang-Mills theory with adjoint matter fields in\nthe large-N limit as classical mechanics, we derive a Poisson algebra for the\ncolor-invariant observables involving adjoint matter fields. We showed\nrigorously in J. Math. Phys. 40, 1870 (1999) that different quantum orderings\nof the observables produce essentially the same Poisson algebra. Here we\nexplain, in a less precise but more pedagogical manner, the crucial topological\ngraphical observations underlying the formal proof."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Aging, phase ordering and conformal invariance: In a variety of systems which exhibit aging, the two-time response function\nscales as $R(t,s)\\approx s^{-1-a} f(t/s)$. We argue that dynamical scaling can\nbe extended towards conformal invariance, obtaining thus the explicit form of\nthe scaling function $f$. This quantitative prediction is confirmed in several\nspin systems, both for $T<T_c$ (phase ordering) and $T=T_c$ (non-equilibrium\ncritical dynamics). The 2D and 3D Ising models with Glauber dynamics are\nstudied numerically, while exact results are available for the spherical model\nwith a non-conserved order parameter, both for short-ranged and long-ranged\ninteractions, as well as for the mean-field spherical spin glass.",
        "positive": "Quadratic Effective Action for QED in D=2,3 Dimensions: We calculate the effective action for Quantum Electrodynamics (QED) in D=2,3\ndimensions at the quadratic approximation in the gauge fields. We analyse the\nanalytic structure of the corresponding nonlocal boson propagators\nnonperturbatively in k/m. In two dimensions for any nonzero fermion mass, we\nend up with one massless pole for the gauge boson . We also calculate in D=2\nthe effective potential between two static charges separated by a distance L\nand find it to be a linearly increasing function of L in agreement with the\nbosonized theory (massive Sine-Gordon model). In three dimensions we find\nnonperturbatively in k/m one massive pole in the effective bosonic action\nleading to screening. Fitting the numerical results we derive a simple\nexpression for the functional dependence of the boson mass upon the\ndimensionless parameter e^{2}/m ."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Perturbation theory improved by Strong coupling expansion: In theoretical physics, we sometimes have two perturbative expansions of\nphysical quantity around different two points in parameter space. In terms of\nthe two perturbative expansions, we introduce a new type of smooth\ninterpolating function consistent with the both expansions, which includes the\nstandard Pad\\'e approximant and fractional power of polynomial method\nconstructed by Sen as special cases. We point out that we can construct\nenormous number of such interpolating functions in principle while the \"best\"\napproximation for the exact answer of the physical quantity should be unique\namong the interpolating functions. We propose a criterion to determine the\n\"best\" interpolating function, which is applicable except some situations even\nif we do not know the exact answer. It turns out that our criterion works for\nvarious examples including specific heat in two-dimensional Ising model,\naverage plaquette in four-dimensional SU(3) pure Yang-Mills theory on lattice\nand free energy in c=1 string theory at self-dual radius. We also mention\npossible applications of the interpolating functions to system with phase\ntransition.",
        "positive": "Back-reaction as a quantum correction: In this work we will show how the back-reaction can be treated as a quantum\ncorrection. The novel semi-classical approach presented here consists in the\nintroduction of adequate quantum corrections into the r-t sector of the black\nhole metric. Thus, we will obtain corrected values for the temperature, entropy\nand emission rate, which at leading order coincide with the results in the\ntunneling frame. We have also applied this technique to the Little String\nTheory. Interestingly, we have found similar results for the entropy as using\nstring one-loop calculations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "N=4 BPS black holes and octonionic twistors: Stationary, spherically symmetric solutions of N=2 supergravity in 3+1\ndimensions have been shown to correspond to holomorphic curves on the twistor\nspace of the quaternionic-K\\\"ahler space which arises in the dimensional\nreduction along the time direction. In this note, we generalize this result to\nthe case of 1/4-BPS black holes in N=4 supergravity, and show that they too can\nbe lifted to holomorphic curves on a \"twistor space\" Z, obtained by fibering\nthe Grassmannian F=SO(8)/U(4) over the moduli space in three-dimensions\nSO(8,n_v+2)/SO(8)xSO(n_v+2). This provides a kind of octonionic generalization\nof the standard constructions in quaternionic geometry, and may be useful for\ngeneralizing the known BPS black hole solutions, and finding new non-BPS\nextremal solutions.",
        "positive": "On the Chiral Ring and Vacua of ${\\cal N}=1$ Adjoint SQCD: We analyze classical and quantum chiral ring relations of four dimensional\n${\\cal N} = 1$ adjoint SQCD with superpotential turned on for the adjoint\nfield. In particular, for the mass deformed theory we obtain the complete on\nshell vacuum expectation value for various gauge invariant chiral operators and\nfind non-trivial gaugino condensations. When approaching to massless limit\nnontrivial flat directions in the moduli space of vacua appear, where the\nCoulomb branch can be naturally classified and the Higgs branch receives\nquantum corrections. We argue that the solution of the chiral ring is in\none-to-one correspondence with supersymmetric vacua, provided that an\nadditional Konishi anomaly equation is included."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Neural Network Learning and Quantum Gravity: The landscape of low-energy effective field theories stemming from string\ntheory is too vast for a systematic exploration. However, the meadows of the\nstring landscape may be fertile ground for the application of machine learning\ntechniques. Employing neural network learning may allow for inferring novel,\nundiscovered properties that consistent theories in the landscape should\npossess, or checking conjectural statements about alleged characteristics\nthereof. The aim of this work is to describe to what extent the string\nlandscape can be explored with neural network-based learning. Our analysis is\nmotivated by recent studies that show that the string landscape is\ncharacterized by finiteness properties, emerging from its underlying tame,\no-minimal structures. Indeed, employing these results, we illustrate that any\nlow-energy effective theory of string theory is endowed with certain\nstatistical learnability properties. Consequently, several learning problems\ntherein formulated, including interpolations and multi-class classification\nproblems, can be concretely addressed with machine learning, delivering results\nwith sufficiently high accuracy.",
        "positive": "Spin-2 and the Weak Gravity Conjecture: Recently, it has been argued that application of the Weak Gravity Conjecture\n(WGC) to spin-2 fields implies a universal upper bound on the cutoff of the\neffective theory for a single spin-2 field. We point out here that these\narguments are largely spurious, because of the absence of states carrying\nspin-2 Stuckelberg $U(1)$ charge, and because of incorrect scaling assumptions.\nKnown examples such as Kaluza-Klein theory that respect the usual WGC do so\nbecause of the existence of a genuine $U(1)$ field under which states are\ncharged, as in the case of the Stuckelberg formulation of spin-1 theories, for\nwhich there is an unambiguously defined $U(1)$ charge. Theories of bigravity\nnaturally satisfy a naive formulation of the WGC, $M_W< M_{\\rm Pl}$, since the\nforce of the massless graviton is always weaker than the massive spin-2 modes.\nIt also follows that theories of massive gravity trivially satisfies this form\nof the WGC. We also point out that the identification of a massive spin-2 state\nin a truncated higher derivative theory, such as Einstein-Weyl-squared or its\nsupergravity extension, bears no relationship with massive spin-2 states in the\nUV completion, contrary to previous statements in the literature. We also\ndiscuss the conjecture from a swampland perspective and show how the emergence\nof a universal upper bound on the cutoff relies on strong assumptions on the\nscale of the couplings between the spin-2 and other fields, an assumption which\nis known to be violated in explicit examples."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Weak Coupling Chambers in N=2 BPS Quiver Theory: Using recent results on BPS quiver theory, we develop a group theoretical\nmethod to describe the quiver mutations encoding the quantum mechanical duality\nrelating the spectra of distinct quivers. We illustrate the method by computing\nthe BPS spectrum of the infinite weak chamber of some examples of N=2\nsupersymmetric gauge models without and with quark hypermultiplets.",
        "positive": "Bubbling Supertubes and Foaming Black Holes: We construct smooth BPS three-charge geometries that resolve the zero-entropy\nsingularity of the U(1) x U(1) invariant black ring. This singularity is\nresolved by a geometric transition that results in geometries without any\nbranes sources or singularities but with non-trivial topology. These geometries\nare both ground states of the black ring, and non-trivial microstates of the\nD1-D5-P system. We also find the form of the geometries that result from the\ngeometric transition of N zero-entropy black rings, and argue that, in general,\nsuch geometries give a very large number of smooth bound-state three-charge\nsolutions, parameterized by 6N functions. The generic microstate solution is\nspecified by a four-dimensional hyper-Kahler geometry of a certain signature,\nand contains a ``foam'' of non-trivial two-spheres. We conjecture that these\ngeometries will account for a significant part of the entropy of the D1-D5-P\nblack hole, and that Mathur's conjecture might reduce to counting certain\nhyper-Kahler manifolds."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Minimum length, extra dimensions, modified gravity and black hole\n  remnants: We construct a Hilbert space representation of minimum-length deformed\nuncertainty relation in presence of extra dimensions. Following this\nconstruction, we study corrections to the gravitational potential (back\nreaction on gravity) with the use of correspondingly modified propagator in\npresence of two (spatial) extra dimensions. Interestingly enough, for $r\n\\rightarrow 0$ the gravitational force approaches zero and the horizon for\nmodified Schwarzschild-Tangherlini space-time disappears when the mass\napproaches quantum-gravity energy scale. This result points out to the\nexistence of zero-temperature black hole remnants in ADD brane-world model.",
        "positive": "Relativistic String in a Pulse: I study a relativistic open string coupling through its endpoints to a plane\nwave with arbitrary temporal profile. The string's transverse oscillations\nrespond linearly to the external field. This makes it possible to solve the\nclassical equations, and to calculate the quantum-mechanical S-matrix in closed\nform. I analyze the dynamics of the string as the characteristic frequency and\nduration of the pulse are continuously varied. I derive, in particular, the\nmultipole expansion in the adiabatic limit of very long wavelengths, and\ndiscuss also more violent phenomena such as shock waves, cusps and null brane\nintersections. Apart from their relevance to the study of time-dependence in\nsuperstring theory, these results could have other applications, such as the\nteleportation of gravitational wave bursts by cosmic strings."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Frozen formalism and canonical quantization in group field theory: Canonical quantization of gravitational systems is obstructed by the problem\nof time. Due to diffeomorphism symmetry the Hamiltonian vanishes: dynamics with\nrespect to a background time parameter appears \"frozen.\" Two strategies towards\nthe quantization of such systems are the identification of a clock degree of\nfreedom before quantization (deparametrization), and quantization on a\nkinematical Hilbert space which is subject to constraints (Dirac quantization).\nThe usual canonical quantization in quantum field theory is analogous to\ndeparametrization. Here we introduce a frozen formalism and Dirac quantization\nfor a complex Klein-Gordon scalar field, and show that the resulting theory is\nequivalent to usual canonical quantization. We then apply the formalism to the\ngroup field theory formalism for quantum gravity, for which both\ndeparametrization and a \"timeless\" quantization have been proposed in past\nwork. We show how a frozen formalism for group field theory links between these\ntwo existing approaches, and illustrate in particular the construction of\nphysical observables. We derive effective cosmological dynamics for group field\ntheory in the new formalism and compare these to previous work. The frozen\nformalism could be extended to other approaches to quantum gravity that do not\nuse a preferred time parameter.",
        "positive": "UV/IR Mixing in Nonassociative Snyder phi^4 Theory: Using a quantization of the nonassociative and noncommutative Snyder phi^4\nscalar field theory in a Hermitian realization, we present in this article\nanalytical formulas for the momentum-conserving part of the one-loop two-point\nfunction of this theory in D-, 4-, and 3-dimensional Euclidean spaces, which\nare exact with respect to the noncommutative deformation parameter beta. We\nprove that these integrals are regularized by the Snyder deformation. These\nresults indicate that the Snyder deformation does partially regularize the UV\ndivergences of the undeformed theory, as it was proposed decades ago.\nFurthermore, it is observed that different nonassociative phi^4 products can\ngenerate different momentum-conserving integrals. Finally most importantly, a\nlogarithmic infrared divergence emerges in one of these interaction terms. We\nthen analyze sample momentum nonconserving integral qualitatively and show that\nit could exhibit IR divergence too. Therefore infrared divergences should\nexist, in general, in the Snyder phi^4 theory. We consider infrared divergences\nat the limit p -> 0 as UV-IR mixings induced by nonassociativity, since they\nare associated to the matching UV divergence in the zero-momentum limit and\nappear in specific types of nonassociative phi^4 products. We also discuss the\nextrapolation of the Snyder deformation parameter beta to negative values as\nwell as certain general properties of one-loop quantum corrections in Snyder\nphi^4 theory at the zero-momentum limit."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Rigorous Analysis of Renormalization Group Pathologies in the 4-State\n  Clock Model: We perform an exact renormalization-group analysis of one-dimensional 4-state\nclock models with complex interactions. Our aim is to provide a simple explicit\nillustration of the behavior of the renormalization-group flow in a system\nexhibiting a rich phase diagram. In particular we study the flow in the\nvicinity of phase transitions with a first-order character, a matter that has\nbeen controversial for years. We observe that the flow is continuous and\nsingle-valued, even on the phase transition surface, provided that the\nrenormalized Hamiltonian exist. The characteristics of such a flow are in\nagreement with the Nienhuis-Nauenberg standard scenario, and in disagreement\nwith the ``discontinuity scenario'' proposed by some authors and recently\ndisproved by van Enter, Fern\\'andez and Sokal for a large class of models (with\nreal interactions). However, there are some points in the space of interactions\nfor which a renormalized Hamiltonian cannot be defined. This pathological\nbehavior is similar, and in some sense complementary, to the one pointed out by\nGriffiths, Pearce and Israel for Ising models. We explicitly see that if the\ntransformation is truncated so as to preserve a Hamiltonian description, the\nresulting flow becomes discontinuous and multivalued at some of these points.\nThis suggests a possible explanation for the numerical results that motivated\nthe ``discontinuity scenario''.",
        "positive": "On 1/2 BPS Solutions in M-theory: We study singular 1/2 BPS solutions in M-theory using 11-dimensional\nsuperstar solutions. The superstar solutions and their corresponding plane wave\nlimits could give an insight how one may deform the boundary conditions to get\nsingular, but still physically acceptable, solutions. Starting from M-theory\nsolutions with an isometry, we will also study 10-dimensional solutions coming\nfrom these M-theory solutions compactified on a circle."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Gravity in Species Regime: A large number of particle species allows to formulate quantum gravity in a\nspecial double-scaling limit, the species limit. In this regime, quantum\ngravitational amplitudes simplify substantially. An infinite set of\nperturbative corrections, that usually blur the picture, vanishes, whereas the\ncollective and non-perturbative effects can be cleanly extracted. Such are the\neffects that control physics of black holes and of de Sitter and their\nentanglement curves. In string theory example, we show that the entropy of open\nstrings matches the Gibbons-Hawking entropy of a would-be de Sitter state at\nthe point of saturation of the species bound. This shows, from yet another\nangle, why quantum gravity/string theory cannot tolerate a de Sitter vacuum.\nFinally, we discuss various observational implications.",
        "positive": "Gauge theories and gravity: Pure gauge theories for de Sitter, anti de Sitter and orthogonal groups, in\nfour-dimensional Euclidean spacetime, are studied. It is shown that, if the\ntheory is asymptotically free and a dynamical mass is generated, then an\neffective geometry may be induced and a gravity theory emerges."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On D-Branes and Black Holes in Four Dimensions: We find extremal four dimensional black holes with finite area constructed\nentirely from intersecting D-branes. We argue that the microscopic degeneracy\nof these configurations agrees with the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy formula. The\nabsence of solitonic objects in these configurations may make them useful for\ndynamical studies of black holes.",
        "positive": "Topological String Partition Functions as Polynomials: We investigate the structure of the higher genus topological string\namplitudes on the quintic hypersurface. It is shown that the partition\nfunctions of the higher genus than one can be expressed as polynomials of five\ngenerators. We also compute the explicit polynomial forms of the partition\nfunctions for genus 2, 3, and 4. Moreover, some coefficients are written down\nfor all genus."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On QCD RFT corrections to the propagator of reggeized gluons: We calculate an one loop QCD Regge Field Theory (RFT) correction to the\npropagator of reggeized gluons basing on the QCD effective action of Lipatov,\n\\cite{LipatovEff,LipatovEff1,Our1,Our2,Our3,Our4}, and results of \\cite{Our5}\nwhere Dyson-Schwinger hierarchy of the equations for the correlators of\nreggeized gluon fields was derived. The correction is calculated entirely in\nthe framework of RFT with the use of the obtained expressions for the RFT bare\ntriple Reggeon vertices and propagator of reggeized gluons, the cases of bare\npropagator and propagator calculated to one-loop precision are considered\nseparately. In both results the obtained correction represents non-eikonal\ncontributions to the propagator kinematically suppressed by $1/\\sqrt{s}$ factor\nin comparison to the usual LLA contributions. The further application of the\nobtained results is discussed as well.",
        "positive": "Nontopological self-dual Maxwell-Higgs vortices: We study the existence of self-dual nontopological vortices in generalized\nMaxwell-Higgs models recently introduced in Ref. \\cite{gv}. Our investigation\nis explicitly illustrated by choosing a sixth-order self-interaction potential,\nwhich is the simplest one allowing the existence of nontopological structures.\nWe specify some Maxwell-Higgs models yielding BPS nontopological vortices\nhaving energy proportional to the magnetic flux, $\\Phi_{B}$, and whose profiles\nare numerically achieved. Particularly, we investigate the way the new\nsolutions approach the boundary values, from which we verify their\nnontopological behavior. Finally, we depict the profiles numerically found,\nhighlighting the main features they present."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Domain Wall and de Sitter Solutions of Gauged Supergravity: BPS domain wall solutions of gauged supergravities are found, including those\ntheories which have non-compact gauge groups. These include models that have\nboth an unstable de Sitter solution and stable domain wall solutions.",
        "positive": "Marginal Deformations with U(1)^3 Global Symmetry: We generate new 11-dimensional supergravity solutions from deformations based\non U(1)^3 symmetries. The initial geometries are of the form AdS_4 x Y_7, where\nY_7 is a 7-dimensional Sasaki-Einstein space. We consider a general family of\ncohomogeneity one Sasaki-Einstein spaces, as well as the recently-constructed\ncohomogeneity three L^{p,q,r,s} spaces. For certain cases, such as when the\nSasaki-Einstein space is S^7, Q^{1,1,1} or M^{1,1,1}, the deformed gravity\nsolutions correspond to a marginal deformation of a known dual gauge theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Generalized Jarlskog Invariants, Mass Degeneracies and Echelon Crosses: It is known that the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa (CKM) $n\\times n$ matrix can\nbe represented by a real matrix iff there is no CP-violation, and then the\nJarlskog invariants vanish. We investigate sufficient conditions for the\nopposite statement to hold, paying particular attention to degenerate cases. We\nfind that higher Jarlskog invariants are needed for $n\\geq 4$. One generic\nsufficient condition is provided by the existence of a so-called echelon cross.",
        "positive": "Dynamics of Toroidal Spiral Strings around Five-dimensional Black Holes: We examine the separability of the Nambu-Goto equation for test strings in a\nshape of toroidal spiral in a five-dimensional Kerr-AdS black hole. In\nparticular, for a `{\\it Hopf loop}\\rq string which is a special class of the\ntoroidal spiral strings, we show the complete separation of variables occurs in\ntwo cases, Kerr background and Kerr-AdS background with equal angular momenta.\nWe also obtain the dynamical solution for the Hopf loop around a black hole and\nfor the general toroidal spiral in Minkowski background."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gravitational and Schwinger model anomalies: how far can the analogy go?: We describe the most general treatment of all anomalies both for chiral and\nmassless Dirac fermions, in two-dimensional gravity. It is shown that for this\npurpose two regularization dependent parameters are present in the effective\naction. Analogy to the \\sc\\ model is displayed corresponding to a specific\nchoice of the second parameter, thus showing that the gravitational model\ncontains \\a\\ relations having no analogy in the \\sc\\ model.",
        "positive": "Quantization of Maxwell-Chern-Simons-Podolsky Theory: We quantize a generalized electromagnetism in 2 + 1 dimensions which contains\na higher-order derivative term by using Dirac's method. By introducing\nauxiliary fields we transform the original theory in a lower-order derivative\none which can be treated in a usual way."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic Cosmology on Closed Slices in 2+1 Dimensions: We apply the framework of Cauchy Slice Holography to the quantization of\ngravity on closed slices with $\\Lambda>0$ (with a focus on $2+1$ dimensions for\nconcreteness). We obtain solutions to the Wheeler-DeWitt equation in a basis of\nCPT-dual branches. Each branch is a $T^2$-deformed CFT partition function with\nimaginary central charge. We compute explicit solutions in $2+1$ dimensions in\na minisuperspace toy model of pure gravity. This analysis gives us evidence to\nconjecture a connection between the choice of superposition of branches and the\nchoice of class of geometries to sum over in the gravitational path integral.\nWe further show that, in full quantum gravity on closed slices, bulk unitarity\nholds, despite the Euclidean holographic field theory not being\nreflection-positive. We conjecture about the (non)uniqueness of the quantum\nstate of the Universe, in light of this analysis.",
        "positive": "On Orientifold Constructions of Type IIA Dual Pairs: In this paper we analyze the earlier constructions of the type IIA dual pairs\nthrough orientifolding. By an appropriate choice of $\\Gamma$-matrix basis for\nthe spinor representations of the $U$-duality group, we give an explicit\nrelationship between the orientifold models and their dual pairs."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Perturbation of multi-critical unitary matrix models, double scaling\n  limits, and Argyres-Douglas theories: Using the saddle point method, we give an explicit form of the planar free\nenergy and Wilson loops of unitary matrix models in the one-cut regime. The\nmulti-critical unitary matrix models are shown to undergo third-order phase\ntransitions at two points by studying the planar free energy. One of these\nungapped/gapped phase transitions is multi-critical, while the other is not\nmulti-critical. The spectral curve of the $k$-th multi-critical matrix model\nexhibits an $A_{4k-1}$ singularity at the multi-critical point. Perturbation\naround the multi-critical point and its double scaling limit are studied. In\norder to take the double scaling limit, the perturbed coupling constants should\nbe fine-tuned such that all the zero points of the spectral curve approach to\nthe $A_{4k-1}$ singular point. The fine-tuning is examined in the one-cut\nregime, and the scaling behavior of the perturbed couplings is determined. It\nis shown that the double scaling limit of the spectral curve is isomorphic to\nthe Seiberg-Witten curve of the Argyres-Douglas theory of type $(A_1,\nA_{4k-1})$.",
        "positive": "Supersymmetry in Quantum Mechanics of Colored Particles: The role of supercharge operators is studied in the case of a Dirac particle\nmoving in a constant chromomagnetic field. The Hamiltonian is factorised and\nthe ground state wave function in the case of unbroken supersymmetry is\ndetermined."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Review of localization in geometry: Review of localization in geometry: equivariant cohomology, characteristic\nclasses, Atiyah-Bott formula, Atiyah-Singer equivariant index formula,\nMathai-Quillen formalism",
        "positive": "D Branes and Phases on String Worldsheet: We generalize the worldsheet derivation of the topological open/closed string\nduality given in hep-th/0205297 to cases when there are different types of D\nbranes on the open string side. We use the mirror Landau-Ginzburg description\nto clarify the correspondence between D branes on the open string side and C\nphases on the closed string side. We also discuss the duality from the point of\nview of the B model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Thermoelectric conductivities, shear viscosity, and stability in an\n  anisotropic linear axion model: We study thermoelectric conductivities and shear viscosities in a\nholographically anisotropic model, which is dual to a spatially anisotropic\n$\\mathcal{N}=4$ super-Yang-Mills theory at finite chemical potential. Momentum\nrelaxation is realized through perturbing the linear axion field. Ac\nconductivity exhibits a coherent/incoherent metal transition. Deviations from\nthe Wiedemann-Franz law are also observed in our model. The longitudinal shear\nviscosity for prolate anisotropy violates the bound conjectured by\nKovtun-Son-Starinets. We also find that thermodynamic and dynamical\ninstabilities are not always equivalent by examining the Gubser-Mitra\nconjecture.",
        "positive": "On Convexity of Charged Operators in CFTs and the Weak Gravity\n  Conjecture: The Weak Gravity Conjecture is typically stated as a bound on the\nmass-to-charge ratio of a particle in the theory. Alternatively, it has been\nproposed that its natural formulation is in terms of the existence of a\nparticle which is self-repulsive under all long-range forces. We propose a\nclosely related, but distinct, formulation, which is that it should correspond\nto a particle with non-negative self-binding energy. This formulation is\nparticularly interesting in anti-de Sitter space, because it has a simple\nconformal field theory (CFT) dual formulation: let $\\Delta(q)$ be the dimension\nof the lowest-dimension operator with charge $q$ under some global $U(1)$\nsymmetry, then $\\Delta(q)$ must be a convex function of $q$. This formulation\navoids any reference to holographic dual forces or even to locality in\nspacetime, and so we make a wild leap, and conjecture that such convexity of\nthe spectrum of charges holds for any (unitary) conformal field theory, not\njust those that have weakly coupled and weakly curved duals. This Charge\nConvexity Conjecture, and its natural generalization to larger global symmetry\ngroups, can be tested in various examples where anomalous dimensions can be\ncomputed, by perturbation theory, $1/N$ expansions and semi-classical methods.\nIn all examples that we tested we find that the conjecture holds. We do not yet\nunderstand from the CFT point of view why this is true."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Black Ring is Unstable: We study non-axisymmetric linearised gravitational perturbations of the\nEmparan-Reall black ring using numerical methods. We find an unstable mode\nwhose onset lies within the \"fat\" branch of the black ring and continues into\nthe \"thin\" branch. Together with previous results using Penrose inequalities\nthat fat black rings are unstable, this provides numerical evidence that the\nentire black ring family is unstable.",
        "positive": "Group Theoretical Foundations of Fractional Supersymmetry: Fractional supersymmetry denotes a generalisation of supersymmetry which may\nbe constructed using a single real generalised Grassmann variable, $\\theta =\n\\bar{\\theta}, \\, \\theta^n = 0$, for arbitrary integer $n = 2, 3, ...$. An\nexplicit formula is given in the case of general $n$ for the transformations\nthat leave the theory invariant, and it is shown that these transformations\npossess interesting group properties. It is shown also that the two generalised\nderivatives that enter the theory have a geometric interpretation as generators\nof left and right transformations of the fractional supersymmetry group.\nCareful attention is paid to some technically important issues, including\ndifferentiation, that arise as a result of the peculiar nature of quantities\nsuch as $\\theta$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Bits of String and Bits of Branes: String-bit models are both an efficient way of organizing string perturbation\ntheory, and a possible non-perturbative composite description of string theory.\nThis is a summary of ideas and results of string-bit and superstring-bit\nmodels, as presented in the Strings '96 conference.",
        "positive": "Feynman Integrals: This course on Feynman integrals starts from the basics, requiring only\nknowledge from special relativity and undergraduate mathematics. Topics from\nquantum field theory and advanced mathematics are introduced as they are\nneeded. The course covers modern developments in the field of Feynman\nintegrals. Topics included in this course are: Representations of Feynman\nintegrals, integration-by-parts, differential equations, intersection theory,\nmultiple polylogarithms, Gelfand-Kapranov-Zelevinsky systems, coactions and\nsymbols, cluster algebras, elliptic Feynman integrals, motives associated to\nFeynman integrals."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Aperiodic spin chains at the boundary of hyperbolic tilings: In view of making progress towards establishing a holographic duality for\ntheories defined on a discrete tiling of the hyperbolic plane, we consider a\nrecently proposed boundary spin chain Hamiltonian with aperiodic couplings that\nare chosen such as to reflect the inflation rule, i.e. the construction\nprinciple, of the bulk tiling. As a remnant of conformal symmetry, the spin\ndegrees of freedom are arranged in multiplets of the dihedral group under which\nthe bulk lattice is invariant. For the boundary Hamiltonian, we use\nstrong-disorder RG techniques and evaluate correlation functions, the\nentanglement entropy and mutual information for the case that the ground state\nis in an aperiodic singlet phase. We find that two-point functions decay as a\npower-law with exponent equal to one. Furthermore, we consider the case that\nthe spin variables transform in the fundamental representation of $SO(N)$,\nleading to a gapless system, and find that the effective central charge\nobtained from the entanglement entropy scales as $\\ln N$, reflecting the number\nof local degrees of freedom. We also determine the dependence of this central\ncharge on the parameters specifying the bulk tiling. Moreover, we obtain an\nanalytical expression for the mutual information, according to which there is\nno phase transition at any finite value of the distance between the two\nintervals involved.",
        "positive": "Tracing the String: BMN correspondence at Finite J^2/N: Employing the string bit formalism of hep-th/0209215, we identify the basis\ntransformation that relates BMN operators in N=4 gauge theory to string states\nin the dual string field theory at finite g_2=J^2/N. In this basis, the\nsupercharge truncates at linear order in g_2, and the mixing amplitude between\n1 and 2-string states precisely matches with the (corrected) answer of\nhep-th/0206073 for the 3-string amplitude in light-cone string field theory.\nSupersymmetry then predicts the order g_2^2 contact term in the string bit\nHamiltonian. The resulting leading order mass renormalization of string states\nagrees with the recently computed shift in conformal dimension of BMN operators\nin the gauge theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Collinear Superspace: This letter provides a superfield based approach to constructing a collinear\nslice of $\\mathcal{N}$ = 1 superspace. The strategy is analogous to integrating\nout anti-collinear fermionic degrees-of-freedom as was developed in the context\nof soft-collinear effective theory. The resulting Lagrangian can be understood\nas an integral over collinear superspace, where half the supercoordinates have\nbeen integrated out. The application to $\\mathcal{N}$ = 1 super Yang-Mills is\npresented. Collinear superspace provides the foundation for future explorations\nof supersymmetric soft-collinear effective theory.",
        "positive": "Unitary Matrix Model of a Chiral [SU(N)]^K Gauge Theory: We build a matrix model of a chiral [SU(N)]^K gauge theory (5D SQCD\ndeconstructed down to 4D) using random unitary matrices to model chiral\nbifundamental fields (N,N-bar) (without (N-bar,N)). We verify the duality by\nmatching the loop equation of the matrix model to the anomaly equations of the\ngauge theory. Then we evaluate the matrix model's free energy and use it to\nderive the effective superpotential for the gaugino condensates."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "D-branes on Nonabelian Threefold Quotient Singularities: We investigate the classical moduli space of D-branes on a nonabelian\nCalabi-Yau threefold singularity and find that it admits topology-changing\ntransitions. We construct a general formalism of worldvolume field theories in\nthe language of quivers and give a procedure for computing the enlarged Kahler\ncone of the moduli space. The topology changing transitions achieved by varying\nthe Fayet-Iliopoulos parameters correspond to changes of linearization of a\ngeometric invariant theory quotient and can be studied by methods of algebraic\ngeometry. Quite surprisingly, the structure of the enlarged Kahler cone can be\ncomputed by toric methods. By using this approach, we give a detailed\ndiscussion of two low-rank examples.",
        "positive": "Large N Thirring Matter in Three Dimensions: In this paper we calculate properties of the three-dimensional system of N\nspecies of fermions at zero temperature and finite chemical potential, with the\nfour-fermionic interaction of the Thirring type. We observe that this model\nfits consistently into framework of the Landau Fermi liquid theory, and\npossesses a non-trivial zeroth and first Landau parameters. Our result is\nderived to all orders of the Thirring coupling constant and to the leading\norder of the large-N expansion. In particular we solve for the exact\ncurrent-current correlation function, and show that it exhibits a singular\nbehavior at zero frequency and twice of the Fermi momentum."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic paramagnetic-ferromagnetic phase transition of\n  Power-Maxwell-Gauss-Bonnet black holes: Based on the shooting method, we numerically investigate the properties of\nholographic paramagnetism-ferromagnetism phase transition in the presence of\nhigher order Gauss-Bonnet (\\emph{GB}) correction terms on the gravity side. On\nthe matter field side, however, we consider the effects of the Power-Maxwell\n(\\emph{PM}) nonlinear electrodynamics on the phase transition of this system.\nFor this purpose, we introduce a massive $2-$form coupled to \\emph{PM} field,\nand neglect the effects of $2-$form fields and gauge field on the background\ngeometry. We observe that increasing the strength of both the power parameter\n$q$ and \\emph{GB} coupling constant $\\alpha$ decrease the critical temperature\nof the holographic model, and lead to the harder formation of magnetic moment\nin the black hole background. Interestingly, we find out that at low\ntemperatures, the spontaneous magnetization and ferromagnetic phase transition\nhappen in the absence of external magnetic field. In this case, the critical\nexponent for magnetic moment has the mean field value, $1/2$, regardless of the\nvalues of $q$ and $\\alpha$. In the presence of external magnetic field,\nhowever, the magnetic susceptibility satisfies the Curie-Weiss law.",
        "positive": "Reflected entropy in Galilean conformal field theories and flat\n  holography: We obtain the reflected entropy for bipartite states in a class of\n$(1+1)$-dimensional Galilean conformal field theories ($GCFT_{1+1}$) through a\nreplica technique. Furthermore we compare our results with the entanglement\nwedge cross section (EWCS) obtained for the dual (2+1) dimensional\nasymptotically flat geometries in the context of flat holography. We find that\nour results are consistent with the duality between the reflected entropy and\nthe bulk EWCS for flat holographic scenarios."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Entropy for extremal Reissner- Nordstr\u00f8m black holes: We reinterpret recent work on extremal Reissner- Nordstr\\o m black holes to\nargue that the mass is a measure of the gravitational entropy. We also find\nthat the entropy of scalar fields in this background has a stronger divergence\nthan usual.",
        "positive": "Bound states in Functional Renormalization Group: Equivalence criteria are established for an effective Yukawa-type theory of\ncomposite fields representing two-particle fermion bound states with the\noriginal \"microscopic\" theory of interacting fermions based on the spectral\ndecomposition of the 2-to-2 fermion scattering amplitude. Functional\nrenormalisation group equations of the effective theory are derived exploiting\nrelations expressing the equivalence. The effect of truncating the spectral\ndecomposition is investigated quantitatively on the example of the\nnon-relativistic bound states of two oppositely charged fermi particles."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Complete Solution for M(atrix) Theory at Two Loops: The complete result for the effective potential for two graviton exchange at\ntwo loops in M(atrix) theory can be expressed in terms of a generalized\nhypergeometric function.",
        "positive": "Exactly solvable magnet of conformal spins in four dimensions: We provide the eigenfunctions for a quantum chain of $N$ conformal spins with\nnearest-neighbor interaction and open boundary conditions in the irreducible\nrepresentation of $SO(1,5)$ of scaling dimension $\\Delta = 2 - i \\lambda$ and\nspin numbers $\\ell=\\dot{\\ell}=0$. The spectrum of the model is separated into\n$N$ equal contributions, each dependent on a quantum number $Y_a=[\\nu_a,n_a]$\nwhich labels a representation of the principal series. The eigenfunctions are\northogonal and we computed the spectral measure by means of a new star-triangle\nidentity. Any portion of a conformal Feynmann diagram with square lattice\ntopology can be represented in terms of separated variables, and we reproduce\nthe all-loop \"fishnet\" integrals computed by B. Basso and L. Dixon via\nbootstrap techniques. We conjecture that the proposed eigenfunctions form a\ncomplete set and provide a tool for the direct computation of conformal data in\nthe fishnet limit of the supersymmetric $\\mathcal{N}=4\\,$ Yang-Mills theory at\nfinite order in the coupling, by means of a cutting-and-gluing procedure on the\nsquare lattice."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Higher Derivative Corrections to R-charged Black Holes: Boundary\n  Counterterms and the Mass-Charge Relation: We carry out the holographic renormalization of Einstein-Maxwell theory with\ncurvature-squared corrections. In particular, we demonstrate how to construct\nthe generalized Gibbons-Hawking surface term needed to ensure a perturbatively\nwell-defined variational principle. This treatment ensures the absence of ghost\ndegrees of freedom at the linearized perturbative order in the\nhigher-derivative corrections. We use the holographically renormalized action\nto study the thermodynamics of R-charged black holes with higher derivatives\nand to investigate their mass to charge ratio in the extremal limit. In five\ndimensions, there seems to be a connection between the sign of the higher\nderivative couplings required to satisfy the weak gravity conjecture and that\nviolating the shear viscosity to entropy bound. This is in turn related to\npossible constraints on the central charges of the dual CFT, in particular to\nthe sign of c-a.",
        "positive": "Information retrieval from Hawking radiation in the non-isometric model\n  of black hole interior: theory and quantum simulations: The non-isometric holographic model of the black hole interior stands out as\na potential resolution of the long-standing black hole information puzzle since\nit remedies the friction between the effective calculation and the microscopic\ndescription. In this study, combining the final-state projection model, the\nnon-isometric model of black hole interior and Hayden-Preskill thought\nexperiment, we investigate the information recovery from decoding Hawking\nradiation and demonstrate the emergence of the Page time in this setup. We\nincorporate the effective modes into the scrambling inside the horizon, which\nare usually disregarded in Hayden-Preskill protocols, and show that the Page\ntime can be identified as the transition of information transmission channels\nfrom the EPR projection to the local projections. This offers a new perspective\non the Page time. We compute the decoupling condition under which retrieving\ninformation is feasible and show that this model computes the black hole\nentropy consistent with the quantum extremal surface calculation. Assuming the\nfull knowledge of the dynamics of the black hole interior, we show how\nYoshida-Kitaev decoding strategy can be employed in the modified\nHayden-Preskill protocol. Furthermore, we perform experimental tests of both\nprobabilistic and Grover's search decoding strategies on the 7-qubit IBM\nquantum processors to validate our analytical findings and confirm the\nfeasibility of retrieving information in the non-isometric model. This study\nwould stimulate more interests to explore black hole information problem on the\nquantum processors."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "RG flows of integrable $\u03c3$-models and the twist function: In the study of integrable non-linear $\\sigma$-models which are assemblies\nand/or deformations of principal chiral models and/or WZW models, a rational\nfunction called the twist function plays a central role. For a large class of\nsuch models, we show that they are one-loop renormalizable, and that the\nrenormalization group flow equations can be written directly in terms of the\ntwist function in a remarkably simple way. The resulting equation appears to\nhave a universal character when the integrable model is characterized by a\ntwist function.",
        "positive": "All Tree-Level Correlators for M-theory on $AdS_7 \\times S^4$: We present a constructive derivation of all four-point tree-level holographic\ncorrelators for eleven dimensional supergravity on $AdS_7 \\times S^4$. These\ncorrelators correspond to four-point functions of arbitrary one-half BPS\noperators in the six-dimensional $(2,0)$ theory at large central charge. The\ncrucial observation is that the polar part of the correlators in Mellin space\nis fully captured by a drastically simpler Maximally R-symmetry Violating (MRV)\namplitude, while the contact part is fully fixed by superconformal Ward\nidentities and the flat space limit."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Removal of closed time-like curves by supertube domain walls: We discuss how closed time-like curves can be eliminated from certain\nsupergravity backgrounds by inclusion of domain-walls made of supertubes.\nSpecial emphasis is given to the mechanism by which the supertubes spread into\ndomain walls, which is similar to the enhanceon mechanism. Lecture notes from\nmy talk at the RTN meeting in Kolymbari, Crete, September 2004.",
        "positive": "HyperK\u00e4hler quotients and N=4 gauge theories in D=2: We consider certain N=4 supersymmetric gauge theories in D=2 coupled to\nquaternionic matter multiplets in a minimal way. These theories admit as\neffective theories sigma-models on non-trivial HyperK\\\"ahler manifolds obtained\nas HyperK\\\"ahler quotients. The example of ALE manifolds is discussed. (Based\non a talk given by P. Fr\\'e at the F. Gursey Memorial Conference, Istanbul,\nJune 1994)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Continuous area spectrum in regular black hole: We investigate highly damped quasinormal modes of regular black hole coupled\nto nonlinear electrodynamics. Using the WKB approximation combined with\ncomplex-integration technique, we show that the real part of the frequency\ndisappears in the highly damped limit. If we use the Bohr's correspondence\nprinciple, the area spectrum of this black hole is continuous. We discuss its\nimplication in the loop quantum gravity.",
        "positive": "Equivalence between different classical treatments of the O(N) nonlinear\n  sigma model and their functional Schrodinger equations: In this work we derive the Hamiltonian formalism of the O(N) non-linear sigma\nmodel in its original version as a second-class constrained field theory and\nthen as a first-class constrained field theory. We treat the model as a\nsecond-class constrained field theory by two different methods: the\nunconstrained and the Dirac second-class formalisms. We show that the\nHamiltonians for all these versions of the model are equivalent. Then, for a\nparticular factor-ordering choice, we write the functional Schrodinger equation\nfor each derived Hamiltonian. We show that they are all identical which\njustifies our factor-ordering choice and opens the way for a future\nquantization of the model via the functional Schrodinger representation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Scaling Lee-Yang Model on a Sphere. I. Partition Function: Some general properties of perturbed (rational) CFT in the background metric\nof symmetric 2D sphere of radius $R$ are discussed, including conformal\nperturbation theory for the partition function and the large $R$ asymptotic.\nThe truncated conformal space scheme is adopted to treat numerically perturbed\nrational CFT's in the spherical background. Numerical results obtained for the\nscaling Lee-Yang model lead to the conclusion that the partition function is an\nentire function of the coupling constant. Exploiting this analytic structure we\nare able to describe rather precisely the ``experimental'' truncated space\ndata, including even the large $R$ behavior, starting only with the CFT\ninformation and few first terms of conformal perturbation theory.",
        "positive": "$\u03ba$-Poincar\u00e9 invariant orientable field theories at 1-loop: We consider a family of $\\kappa$-Poincar\\'e invariant scalar field theories\non 4-d $\\kappa$-Minkowski space with quartic orientable interaction, that is\nfor which $\\phi$ and its conjugate $\\phi^\\dag$ alternate in the quartic\ninteraction, and whose kinetic operator is the square of a\n$U_\\kappa(iso(4))$-equivariant Dirac operator. The formal commutative limit\nyields the standard complex $\\phi^4$ theory. We find that the 2-point function\nreceives UV linearly diverging 1-loop corrections while it stays free of IR\nsingularities that would signal occurrence of UV/IR mixing. We find that all\nthe 1-loop planar and non-planar contributions to the 4-point function are UV\nfinite, stemming from the existence of the particular estimate for the\npropagator partly combined with its decay properties at large momenta, implying\nformally vanishing of the beta-functions at 1-loop so that the coupling\nconstants stay scale-invariant at 1-loop."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Sustainability of multi-field inflation and bound on string scale: We study the effects of the interaction terms between the inflaton fields on\nthe inflationary dynamics in multi-field models. With power law type potential\nand interactions, the total number of e-folds may get considerably reduced and\ncan lead to unacceptably short period of inflation. Also we point out that this\ncan place a bound on the characteristic scale of the underlying theory such as\nstring theory. Using a simple multi-field chaotic inflation model from string\ntheory, the string scale is constrained to be larger than the scale of grand\nunified theory.",
        "positive": "The Large Distance Limit of the Gravitational Effective Action in\n  Hyperbolic Backgrounds: The one-loop effective action for D-dimensional quantum gravity with negative\ncosmological constant, is investigated in space-times with compact hyperbolic\nspatial section. The explicit expansion of the effective action as a power\nseries of the curvature on hyperbolic background is derived, making use of\nheat-kernel and zeta-regularization techniques. It is discussed, at one-loop\nlevel, the Coleman-Weinberg type suppression of the cosmological constant,\nproposed by Taylor and Veneziano."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Deeply inelastic scattering structure functions on a hybrid quantum\n  computer: We outline a strategy to compute deeply inelastic scattering structure\nfunctions using a hybrid quantum computer. Our approach takes advantage of the\nrepresentation of the fermion determinant in the QCD path integral as a quantum\nmechanical path integral over 0+1-dimensional fermionic and bosonic worldlines.\nThe proper time evolution of these worldlines can be determined on a quantum\ncomputer. While extremely challenging in general, the problem simplifies in the\nRegge limit of QCD, where the interaction of the worldlines with gauge fields\nis strongly localized in proper time and the corresponding quantum circuits can\nbe written down. As a first application, we employ the Color Glass Condensate\neffective theory to construct the quantum algorithm for a simple dipole model\nof the $F_2$ structure function. We outline further how this computation scales\nup in complexity and extends in scope to other real-time correlation functions.",
        "positive": "Mass Gaps and Braneworlds -- In Memory of Peter Freund: Remembering the foundational contributions of Peter Freund to supergravity,\nand especially to the problems of dimensional compactification, reduction is\nconsidered with a non-compact space transverse to the lower dimensional theory.\nThe known problem of a continuum of Kaluza-Klein states is avoided here by the\noccurrence of a mass gap between a single normalizable zero-eigenvalue\ntransverse wavefunction and the edge of the transverse state continuum. This\nstyle of reduction does not yield a formally consistent truncation to the lower\ndimensional theory, so developing the lower-dimensional effective theory\nrequires integrating out the Kaluza-Klein states lying above the mass gap."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Brane Inflation, Solitons and Cosmological Solutions: I: In this paper we study various cosmological solutions for a D3/D7 system\ndirectly from M-theory with fluxes and M2-branes. In M-theory, these solutions\nexist only if we incorporate higher derivative corrections from the curvatures\nas well as G-fluxes. We take these corrections into account and study a number\nof toy cosmologies, including one with a novel background for the D3/D7 system\nwhose supergravity solution can be completely determined. This new background\npreserves all the good properties of the original model and opens up avenues to\ninvestigate cosmological effects from wrapped branes and brane-antibrane\nannihilation, to name a few. We also discuss in some detail semilocal defects\nwith higher global symmetries, for example exceptional ones, that could occur\nin a slightly different regime of our D3/D7 model. We show that the D3/D7\nsystem does have the required ingredients to realise these configurations as\nnon-topological solitons of the theory. These constructions also allow us to\ngive a physical meaning to the existence of certain underlying homogeneous\nquaternionic Kahler manifolds.",
        "positive": "Fully Localized Brane Intersections - The Plot Thickens: We study fully localized BPS brane solutions in classical supergravity using\na perturbative approach to the coupled Born-Infeld/bulk supergravity system. We\nderive first order bulk supergravity fields for world-volume solitons\ncorresponding to intersecting M2-branes and to a fundamental string ending on a\nD3-brane. One interesting feature is the appearance of certain off-diagonal\nmetric components and corresponding components of the gauge potentials. Making\nuse of a supersymmetric ansatz for the exact fields, we formulate a\nperturbative expansion which applies to $M2 \\perp M2 (0), M5 \\perp M5 (3)$ and\n$Dp \\perp Dp (p-2)$ intersections. We find that perturbation theory\nqualitatively distinguishes between certain of these cases: perturbation theory\nbreaks down at second order for intersecting M2-branes and D$p$-branes with\n$p\\le 3$ while it is well behaved, at least to this order, for the remaining\ncases. This indicates that the behavior of the full non-linear intersecting\nDp-brane solutions may be qualitatively different for $p \\le 3$ than for $p \\ge\n4$, and that fully localized asymptotically flat solutions for $p \\le 3$ may\nnot exist. We discuss the consistency of these results with world-volume field\ntheory properties."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-crystallographic reduction of generalized Calogero-Moser models: We apply a recently introduced reduction procedure based on the embedding of\nnon-crystallographic Coxeter groups into crystallographic ones to\nCalogero-Moser systems. For rational potentials the familiar generalized\nCalogero Hamiltonian is recovered. For the Hamiltonians of trigonometric,\nhyperbolic and elliptic type, we obtain novel integrable dynamical systems with\na second potential term which is rescaled by the golden ratio. We explicitly\nshow for the simplest of these non-crystallographic models how the\ncorresponding classical equations of motion can be derived from a Lie algebraic\nLax pair based on the larger, crystallographic Coxeter group.",
        "positive": "Circuit Complexity for Coherent-Thermal States in Bosonic String Theory: In this paper, we first construct thermofield double states for bosonic\nstring theory in the light-cone gauge. We then obtain a coherent-thermal string\nstate and a thermal-coherent string state. We use the covariance matrix\napproach to calculate the circuit complexity of coherent-thermal string states.\nIn this approach, we generate the optimal geodesics by a horizontal string\ngenerator, and then obtain the circuit complexity using the length of the\nminimal geodesics in the group manifold."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Effective actions for relativistic fluids from holography: Motivated by recent progress in developing action formulations of\nrelativistic hydrodynamics, we use holography to derive the low energy\ndissipationless effective action for strongly coupled conformal fluids. Our\nanalysis is based on the study of novel double Dirichlet problems for the\ngravitational field, in which the boundary conditions are set on two\ncodimension one timelike hypersurfaces (branes). We provide a geometric\ninterpretation of the Goldstone bosons appearing in such constructions in terms\nof a family of spatial geodesics extending between the ultraviolet and the\ninfrared brane. Furthermore, we discuss supplementing double Dirichlet problems\nwith information about the near-horizon geometry. We show that upon coupling to\na membrane paradigm boundary condition, our approach reproduces correctly the\ncomplex dispersion relation for both sound and shear waves. We also demonstrate\nthat upon a Wick rotation, our formulation reproduces the equilibrium partition\nfunction formalism, provided the near-horizon geometry is properly accounted\nfor. Finally, we define the conserved hydrodynamic entropy current as the\nNoether current associated with a particular transformation of the Goldstone\nbosons.",
        "positive": "On the Entropy of a Quantum Field in the Rotating Black Holes: By using the brick wall method we calculate the free energy and the entropy\nof the scalar field in the rotating black holes. As one approaches the\nstationary limit surface rather than the event horizon in comoving frame, those\nbecome divergent. Only when the field is comoving with the black hole (i.e.\n$\\Omega_0 = \\Omega_H$) those become divergent at the event horizon. In the\nHartle-Hawking state the leading terms of the entropy are $ A \\frac{1}{h} + B\n\\ln(h) + finite$, where $h$ is the cut-off in the radial coordnate near the\nhorizon. In term of the proper distance cut-off $\\epsilon$ it is written as $ S\n= N A_H/\\epsilon^2$. The origin of the divergence is that the density of state\non the stationary surface and beyond it diverges."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauss-Bonnet Brane World Gravity with a Scalar Field: The effective four-dimensional, linearised gravity of a brane world model\nwith one extra dimension and a single brane is analysed. The model includes\nhigher order curvature terms (such as the Gauss-Bonnet term) and a conformally\ncoupled scalar field. Large and small distance gravitational laws are derived.\nIn contrast to the corresponding Einstein gravity models, it is possible to\nobtain solutions with localised gravity which are compatible with observations.\nSolutions with non-standard large distance Newtonian potentials are also\ndescribed.",
        "positive": "Einstein-Yang-Mills Theory with a Massive Dilaton and Axion:\n  String-Inspired Regular and Black Hole Solutions: We study the classical theory of a non-Abelian gauge field (gauge group\n$SU(2)$) coupled to a massive dilaton, massive axion and Einstein gravity. The\ntheory is inspired by the bosonic part of the low-energy heterotic string\naction for a general Yang-Mills field, which we consider to leading order after\ncompactification to $(3+1)$ dimensions. We impose the condition that spacetime\nbe static and spherically symmetric, and we introduce masses via a\ndilaton-axion potential associated with supersymmetry (SUSY)-breaking by\ngaugino condensation in the hidden sector. In the course of describing the\npossible non-Abelian solutions of the simplified theory, we consider in detail\ntwo candidates: a massive dilaton coupled to a purely magnetic Yang-Mills\nfield, and a massive axion field coupled to a non-Abelian dyonic configuration,\nin which the electric and magnetic fields decay too rapidly to correspond to\nany global gauge charge. We discuss the feasibility of solutions with and\nwithout a nontrivial dilaton for the latter case, and present numerical regular\nand black hole solutions for the former."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "CFT duals of three-dimensional de Sitter gravity: We present a class of dS/CFT correspondence between two-dimensional CFTs and\nthree-dimensional de Sitter spaces. We argue that such a CFT includes an\nSU$(2)$ WZW model in the critical level limit $k\\to -2$, which corresponds to\nthe classical gravity limit. We can generalize this dS/CFT by considering the\nSU$(N)$ WZW model in the critical level limit $k\\to -N$, dual to the\nhigher-spin gravity on a three-dimensional de Sitter space. We confirm that\nunder this proposed duality the classical partition function in the gravity\nside can be reproduced from CFT calculations. We also point out a duality\nrelation known in higher-spin holography provides further evidence. Moreover,\nwe analyze two-point functions and entanglement entropy in our dS/CFT\ncorrespondence. Possible spectrum and quantum corrections in the gravity theory\nare discussed.",
        "positive": "Scattering of Vortices at near-critical coupling: The scattering of vortices at a critical value of the coupling constant in\nthe Lagrangian can be approximated by a geodesic motion in the moduli space of\nclassical static configurations of vortices. In this paper we give a scheme for\ngeneralising this idea to couplings that are near to the critical value. By\nperturbing a critically coupled field, we show that scattering of vortices at\nnear-critical coupling can be approximated by motion in the original moduli\nspace with a perturbed metric, and a potential. We apply this method to the\nscattering of two vortices, and compare our results to recent numerical\nsimulations, and find good agreement where the scattering is not highly\nsensitive to radiation into other field modes. We also investigate the\npossibility of bound stable orbits of two vortices in the quantum field theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "$\u03b3_{5}$ algebra ambiguities in Feynman amplitudes: momentum routing\n  invariance and anomalies in $D=4$ and $D=2$: We address the subject of chiral anomalies in two and four dimensional\ntheories. Ambiguities associated with the $\\gamma_5$ algebra within divergent\nintegrals are identified, even though the physical dimension is not altered in\nthe process of regularization. We present a minimal prescription that leads to\nunique results and apply it to a series of examples. For the particular case of\nabelian theories with effective chiral vertices, we show: 1- Its implication on\nthe way to display the anomalies democratically in the Ward identities. 2- The\npossibility to fix an arbitrary surface term in such a way that a momentum\nrouting independent result emerges. This leads to a reinterpretation of the\nrole of momentum routing in the process of choosing the Ward identity to be\nsatisfied in an anomalous process. 3- Momentum Routing Invariance (MRI) is a\nnecessary and sufficient condition to assure vectorial gauge invariance of\neffective chiral Abelian gauge theories. We also briefly discuss the case of\ncomplete chiral theories, using the Chiral Schwinger Model as an example.",
        "positive": "Off-Shell Extended Supersymmetries and Lorentz-Violating Abelian Gauge\n  Models: In this work, we propose the N=2 and N=4 supersymmetric extensions realized\noff-shell of the Abelian gauge model with Chern-Simons Lorentz-breaking term.\nWe start with the theory in 6 and 10 dimensions and reduce \\`{a} la Scherk the\nspace-like coordinates to carry out the D=5 model in both cases. Then, we\nreduce the fifth space-like coordinate using the Legendre transformation\ntechnique for dimensional reduction. The last reduction method provides us with\nauxiliary fields that yield the superalgebra closed off-shell. Since the\nreduced bosonic Lagrangians from $6D$ and $10D$ are the same as the N=2 and N=4\nSUSY-versions of the theory, respectively, we use the superspace-superfield\nformalism in N=1 to achieve the supersymmetric version of model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Unified Formalism for 6D Superamplitudes Based on a Symplectic\n  Grassmannian: Recently, twistor-like formulations of tree amplitudes involving $n$ massless\nparticles have been proposed for various 6D supersymmetric theories. The\nformulas are based on two different forms of the scattering equations: one\nbased on rational maps and the other based on polarized scattering equations.\nWe show that both formulations can be interpreted in terms of a symplectic (or\ncomplex Lagrangian) Grassmannian, $\\mathbb{LG}(n, 2n)$, and that they\ncorrespond to different ways of fixing the ${\\rm GL}(n, \\mathbb{C})$ symmetry\nof $\\mathbb{LG}(n, 2n)$. This provides an understanding of the equivalence of\nthese different-looking formulas, and it leads to new twistor-like formulas for\n6D superamplitudes.",
        "positive": "Local potential approximation for the renormalization group flow of\n  fermionic field theories: The second functional derivative of the effective potential of pure fermionic\nfield theories is rewritten in a factorized form which facilitates the\nevaluation of the renormalisation flow rate of the effective action in the\nWetterich equation. It is applied to the Local Potential Approximation in\ncases, when the effective potential depends on scalar composites built from the\nfermions. The procedure is demonstrated explicitly on the example of the\n$N_f$-flavor Gross-Neveu model and the one-flavor chiral Nambu--Jona-Lasinio\nmodel."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum and super-quantum group related to the Alexander-Conway\n  polynomial: We describe the quasitriangular structure (universal $R$-matrix) on the\nnon-standard quantum group $U_q(H_1,H_2,X^\\pm)$ associated to the\nAlexander-Conway matrix solution of the Yang-Baxter equation. We show that this\nHopf algebra is connected with the super-Hopf algebra $U_qgl(1|1)$ by a general\nprocess of superization.",
        "positive": "Dressing the Electron Star in a Holographic Superconductor: We construct new asymptotically AdS_4 solutions dual to 2+1 CFTs at finite\ndensity and zero temperature by combining the ingredients of the electron star\nand the holographic superconductor. The solutions, which we call \"compact\nelectron stars\", contain both a fermionic fluid and charged scalar hair in the\nbulk. We show that the new solutions are thermodynamically favoured in the\nregion of parameter space where they exist. Along the boundary of this region,\nwe find evidence for a continuous phase transition between the holographic\nsuperconductor and the compact star solution."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "(In)equivalence of Metric-Affine and Metric Effective Field Theories: In a geometrical approach to gravity the metric and the (gravitational)\nconnection can be independent and one deals with metric-affine theories. We\nconstruct the most general action of metric-affine effective field theories,\nincluding a generic matter sector, where the connection does not carry\nadditional dynamical fields. Among other things, this helps in identifying the\ncomplement set of effective field theories where there are other dynamical\nfields, which can have an interesting phenomenology. Within the latter set, we\nstudy in detail a vast class where the Holst invariant (the contraction of the\ncurvature with the Levi-Civita antisymmetric tensor) is a dynamical\npseudoscalar. In the Einstein-Cartan case (where the connection is metric\ncompatible and fermions can be introduced) we also comment on the possible\nphenomenological role of dynamical dark photons from torsion and compute\ninteractions of the above-mentioned pseudoscalar with a generic matter sector\nand the metric. Finally, we show that in an arbitrary realistic metric-affine\ntheory featuring a generic matter sector the equivalence principle always\nemerges at low energies without the need to postulate it.",
        "positive": "Object Picture of Quasinormal Modes for Stringy Black Holes: We study the quasinormal modes (QNMs) for stringy black holes. By using\nnumerical calculation, the relations between the QNMs and the parameters of\nblack holes are minutely shown. For (1+1)-dimensional stringy black hole, the\nreal part of the quasinormal frequency increases and the imaginary part of the\nquasinormal frequency decreases as the mass of the black hole increases.\nFurthermore, the dependence of the QNMs on the charge of the black hole and the\nflatness parameter is also illustrated. For (1+3)-dimensional stringy black\nhole, increasing either the event horizon or the multipole index, the real part\nof the quasinormal frequency decreases. The imaginary part of the quasinormal\nfrequency increases no matter whether the event horizon is increased or the\nmultipole index is decreased."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Infinitely many inequivalent field theories from one Lagrangian: Logarithmic time-like Liouville quantum field theory has a generalized PT\ninvariance, where T is the time-reversal operator and P stands for an S-duality\nreflection of the Liouville field $\\phi$. In Euclidean space the Lagrangian of\nsuch a theory, $L=\\frac{1}{2}(\\nabla\\phi)^2-ig\\phi\\exp(ia\\phi)$, is analyzed\nusing the techniques of PT-symmetric quantum theory. It is shown that L defines\nan infinite number of unitarily inequivalent sectors of the theory labeled by\nthe integer n. In one-dimensional space (quantum mechanics) the energy spectrum\nis calculated in the semiclassical limit and the mth energy level in the nth\nsector is given by $E_{m,n}\\sim(m+1/2)^2a^2/(16n^2)$.",
        "positive": "Surface modes and photonic modes in Casimir calculations for a compact\n  cylinder: A rigorous formulation of the problem of calculating the electromagnetic\nvacuum energy of an infinite dielectric cylinder is discussed. It is shown that\nthe physically relevant spectrum of electromagnetic excitations includes the\nsurface modes and photonic modes. The mathematical procedure of summing over\nthis spectrum is proposed, and the transition to imaginary frequencies is\naccomplished. As a result, it is justified the imaginary-frequency\nrepresentation for the vacuum energy which has been used in previous Casimir\nstudies for this configuration."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Effective field theory for hydrodynamics: Wess-Zumino term and anomalies\n  in two spacetime dimensions: We develop the formalism that incorporates quantum anomalies in the effective\nfield theory of non-dissipative fluids. We consider the effect of adding a\nWess-Zumino-like term to the low-energy effective action to account for\nanomalies. In this paper we restrict to two spacetime dimensions. We find\nmodifications to the constitutive relations for the current and the\nstress-energy tensor, and, more interestingly, half a new propagating mode\n(one-and-a-halfth sound): a left- or right-moving wave with propagation speed\nthat goes to zero with the anomaly coefficient. Unlike for the chiral magnetic\nwave in four dimensions, this mode propagates even in the absence of external\nfields. We check our results against a more standard, purely hydrodynamical\nderivation. Unitarity of the effective field theory suggests an upper bound on\nthe anomaly coefficient in hydrodynamics.",
        "positive": "Chiral symmetry breaking in three-dimensional quantum electrodynamics as\n  fixed point annihilation: Spontaneous chiral symmetry breaking in three dimensional ($d=3$) quantum\nelectrodynamics is understood as annihilation of an infrared-stable fixed point\nthat describes the large-N conformal phase by another unstable fixed point at a\ncritical number of fermions $N=N_c$. We discuss the root of universality of\n$N_c$ in this picture, together with some features of the phase boundary in the\n$(d,N)$ plane. In particular, it is shown that as $d\\rightarrow 4$,\n$N_c\\rightarrow 0$ with a constant slope, our best estimate of which suggests\nthat $N_c = 2.89$ in $d=3$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Review of AdS/CFT Integrability, Chapter IV.1: Aspects of Non-Planarity: We review the role of integrability in certain aspects of N=4 SYM which go\nbeyond the planar spectrum. In particular, we discuss integrability in relation\nto non-planar anomalous dimensions, multi-point functions and Maldacena-Wilson\nloops.",
        "positive": "Open Strings in a B-field Background as Electric Dipoles: Studying dynamics of open strings attached to a D2-brane in a NS two form\nfield background, we find that these open strings act as dipoles of U(1) gauge\nfield of the brane. This provides an string theoretic description of the flux\nmodifications needed for the DBI action on noncommutative torus."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holonomy Quantization of Moduli Spaces & Grothendieck Groups: Gelfand's charecterization of a topological space M by the duality\nrelationship of M and $\\mathcal{A} = \\mathcal{F}(M)$, the commutative algebra\nof functions on this space has deep implications including the development of\nspectral calculas by Connes .We investigate this scheme in this paper in the\ncontext of Monopole Moduli Space $\\mathcal{M}$ using Seiberg-Witten Equations.\nA observation has been made here that the methods of holonomy quantization\nusing graphs can be construed to construct a C* algebra corresponding to the\nloop space of the Moduli. A map is thereby conjectured with the corresponding\nprojectors of the algebra with the moduli space.",
        "positive": "First Order Description of D=4 static Black Holes and the\n  Hamilton-Jacobi equation: In this note we discuss the application of the Hamilton-Jacobi formalism to\nthe first order description of four dimensional spherically symmetric and\nstatic black holes. In particular we show that the prepotential characterizing\nthe flow coincides with the Hamilton principal function associated with the\none-dimensional effective Lagrangian. This implies that the prepotential can\nalways be defined, at least locally in the radial variable and in the moduli\nspace, both in the extremal and non-extremal case and allows us to conclude\nthat it is duality invariant. We also give, in this framework, a general\ndefinition of the ``Weinhold metric'' in terms of which a necessary condition\nfor the existence of multiple attractors is given. The Hamilton-Jacobi\nformalism can be applied both to the restricted phase space where the\nelectromagnetic potentials have been integrated out as well as in the case\nwhere the electromagnetic potentials are dualized to scalar fields using the\nso-called three-dimensional Euclidean approach. We give some examples of\napplication of the formalism, both for the BPS and the non-BPS black holes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Corrections to the black body radiation due to minimum-length deformed\n  quantum mechanics: Planck spectrum of black body radiation is usually derived by considering of\nquantized free electromagnetic field at a finite temperature. The\nminimum-length deformed quantization affects field theory both at the first and\nsecond quantization levels. Performing an exact calculation to the first order\nin deformation parameter, both of the corrections turn out to be of the same\norder. Nevertheless, the correction at the second quantization level has some\nqualitative difference, that may be interesting for future study to\ndifferentiate between these two sorts of corrections. In itself the correction\nto the black body radiation seems to be innocuous in light of the big-bang\nnucleosynthesis whenever the minimum length is less or equal to $10^{-19}$cm.",
        "positive": "Matrix factorisations and open topological string theory: Amplitudes in open topological string theory may be described completely by\ncertain A-infinity-categories. We detail a general construction of all cyclic\nminimal models for a given A-infinity-algebra and apply this result to the case\nof N=2 supersymmetric Landau-Ginzburg models. This allows to solve the\ntree-level theory in the sense that all amplitudes and hence the effective\nsuperpotential can be computed algorithmically. Furthermore, the construction\nprovides a novel derivation of the topological metric of such models."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "EYM equations in the presence of q-stars: We study Einstein-Yang-Mills equations in the presence of gravitating\nnon-topological soliton field configurations, of q-ball type. We produce\nnumerical solutions, stable with respect to gravitational collapse and to\nfission into free particles, and we study the effect of the field strength and\nthe eigen-frequency to the soliton parameters. We also investigate the\nformation of such soliton stars when the spacetime is asymptotically anti de\nSitter.",
        "positive": "Hairy strings: Zero modes of the worldsheet spinors of a closed string can source higher\norder moments of the bulk supergravity fields. In this work, we analyze various\nconfigurations of closed strings focusing on the imprints of the quantized\nspinor vevs onto the tails of bulk fields. We identify supersymmetric\narrangements for which all multipole charges vanish; while for others, we find\nthat one is left with NSNS and RR dipole and quadrupole moments. Our analysis\nis exhaustive with respect to all the bosonic fields of the bulk and to all\nhigher order moments. We comment on the relevance of these results to entropy\ncomputations of hairy black holes of a single charge or more, and to\nopen/closed string duality."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum tasks in holography: We consider an operational restatement of the holographic principle, which we\ncall the principle of asymptotic quantum tasks. Asymptotic quantum tasks are\nquantum information processing tasks with inputs given and outputs required on\npoints at the boundary of a spacetime. The principle of asymptotic quantum\ntasks states that tasks which are possible using the bulk dynamics should\ncoincide with tasks that are possible using the boundary. We extract\nconsequences of this principle for holography in the context of asymptotically\nAdS spacetimes. We argue for a novel connection between bulk causal structure\nand the phase transition in the boundary mutual information. Further, we note a\nconnection between holography and quantum cryptography, where the problem of\ncompleting asymptotic quantum tasks has been studied earlier. We study the\ncryptographic and AdS/CFT approaches to completing asymptotic quantum tasks and\nconsider the efficiency with which they replace bulk classical geometry with\nboundary entanglement.",
        "positive": "Quantum Purity at a Small Price: Easing a Black Hole Paradox: Following Hawking, it is usual to mimic the effect of collapse space-time\ngeometry on quantum fields in a semi-classical approximation by imposing\nsuitable boundary conditions at the origin of coordinates, which effectively\nbecomes a moving mirror. Suitable mirror trajectories induces a close analogue\nto the radiance of black holes, including a flux of outgoing radiation that\nappears accurately thermal. If the acceleration of the mirror eventually ceases\nthe complete state of the radiation field is a pure quantum state, even though\nit is indistinguishable from an accurately thermal state for an arbitrarily\nlong period of time and in a precise sense differs little from ``pure thermal''\nclosely followed by ``vacuum''. Suspicions that the semiclassical calculation\nof black hole radiance gives evidence for the evolution of pure into mixed\nstates are criticized on this basis. Possible extensions of the model to mimic\nblack holes more accurately (including the effects of back reaction and partial\ntransparency), while remaining within the realm of tractable models, are\nsuggested."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hadron Correlators and the Structure of the Quark Propagator: The structure of the quark propagator of $QCD$ in a confining background is\nnot known. We make an Ansatz for it, as hinted by a particular mechanism for\nconfinement, and analyze its implications in the meson and baryon correlators.\nWe connect the various terms in the K\\\"allen-Lehmann representation of the\nquark propagator with appropriate combinations of hadron correlators, which may\nultimately be calculated in lattice $QCD$. Furthermore, using the positivity of\nthe path integral measure for vector like theories, we reanalyze some mass\ninequalities in our formalism. A curiosity of the analysis is that, the exotic\ncomponents of the propagator (axial and tensor), produce terms in the hadron\ncorrelators which, if not vanishing in the gauge field integration, lead to\nviolations of fundamental symmetries. The non observation of these violations\nimplies restrictions in the space-time structure of the contributing gauge\nfield configurations. In this way, lattice $QCD$ can help us analyze the\nmicroscopic structure of the mechanisms for confinement.",
        "positive": "Skewon no-go theorem: Axion modification of the electrodynamics can be considered as produced by an\nirreducible part of the constitutive pseudotensor. In this paper, we study the\nmodification of wave propagation produced by the second irreducible part called\nskewon. We introduce the notions of skewon optic tensor and skewon optic\ncovector. With these devices we prove that in a pseudo-Riemannian manifold\nendowed with an arbitrary skewon at least one solution of the dispersion\nrelation is spacelike. This means that the skewon generates superluminal wave\nmotion and is thus ruled out on the basis of SR principles."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Intersection Numbers in Quantum Mechanics and Field Theory: By elaborating on the recent progress made in the area of Feynman integrals,\nwe apply the intersection theory for twisted de Rham cohomologies to simple\nintegrals involving orthogonal polynomials, matrix elements of operators in\nQuantum Mechanics and Green's functions in Field Theory, showing that the\nalgebraic identities they obey are related to the decomposition of twisted\ncocycles within cohomology groups, and which, therefore, can be derived by\nmeans of intersection numbers. Our investigation suggests an algebraic approach\ngenerically applicable to the study of higher-order moments of probability\ndistributions, where the dimension of the cohomology groups corresponds to the\nnumber of independent moments; the intersection numbers for twisted cocycles\ncan be used to derive linear and quadratic relations among them. Our study\noffers additional evidence of the intertwinement between physics, geometry, and\nstatistics.",
        "positive": "Topological Models on the Lattice and a Remark on String Theory Cloning: The addition of a topological model to the matter content of a conventional\nclosed-string theory leads to the appearance of many perturbatively-decoupled\nspace-time worlds. We illustrate this by classifying topological vertex models\non a triangulated surface. We comment on how such worlds could have been\ncoupled in the Planck era."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetric vacua of mass-deformed M2-brane theory: We count the supersymmetric vacua of mass-deformed N=6 U(N)xU(N)\nChern-Simons-matter theory by calculating the Witten index. When the\nChern-Simons level k is 1, our result perfectly agrees with that from the\ngravity dual, given by partitions of N. For general k, our index generalizes\npartitions of N, including additional degrees. We also comment on\nnon-relativistic superconformal theories constructed from this model.",
        "positive": "Particle physics from the noncommutative geometry point of view: Recent development in noncommutative geometry generalization of gauge theory\nis reviewed. The mathematical apparatus is reduced to minimum in order to allow\nthe non-mathematically oriented physicists to follow the development in the\ninteresting field of research. (Lectures presented at the Silesian School of\nTheoretical Physics: Standard Model and Beyond'93, Szczyrk (Poland), September\n1993.)"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-Extreme Black Holes of Five Dimensional N=2 AdS Supergravity: We derive and analyse the full set of equations of motion for non-extreme\nstatic black holes (including examples with the spatial curvatures k=-1 and\nk=0) in D=5 N=2 gauged supergravity by employing the techniques of \"very\nspecial geometry\". These solutions turn out to differ from those in the\nungauged supergravity only in the non-extremality function, which has an\nadditional term (proportional to the gauge coupling g), responsible for the\nappearance of naked singularities in the BPS-saturated limit. We derive an\nexplicit solution for the STU model of gauged supergravity which is\nincidentally also a solution of D=5 N=4 and N=8 gauged supergravity. This\nsolution is specified by three charges, the asymptotic negative cosmological\nconstant (minimum of the potential) and a non-extremality parameter. While its\nBPS-saturated limit has a naked singularity, we find a lower bound on the\nnon-extremality parameter (or equivalently on the ADM mass) for which the\nnon-extreme solutions are regular. When this bound is saturated the extreme\n(non-supersymmetric) solution has zero Hawking temperature and finite entropy.\nAnalogous qualitative features are expected to emerge for black hole solutions\nin D=4 gauged supergravity as well.",
        "positive": "Higher Derivative Scalar Tensor Theory in Unitary Gauge: Ostrogradsky instability generally appears in nondegenerate higher-order\nderivative theories and this issue can be resolved by removing any existing\ndegeneracy present in such theories. We consider an action involving terms that\nare at most quadratic in second derivatives of the scalar field and\nnon-minimally coupled with the curvature tensors. We perform a 3+1\ndecomposition of the Lagrangian to separate second-order time derivative terms\nfrom rest. This decomposition is useful for checking the degeneracy hidden in\nthe Lagrangian and helps us find conditions under which Ostrogradsky\ninstability does not appear. We show that our construction of Lagrangian\nresembles that of a GR-like theory for a particular case in the unitary gauge.\nAs an example, we calculate the equation of motion for the flat FRW. We also\nwrite the action for open and closed cases, free from higher derivatives for a\nparticular choice derived from imposing degeneracy conditions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Mass spectra in N=1 SQCD with additional fields. II: This article continues 1205.0410 [hep-th]. Considered is the N=1 SQCD-like\ntheory with SU(N_c) colors and 3N_c/2 <N_F <2N_c flavors of light quarks\nQ_i,\\bar Q_j, and with the additional N^2_F colorless flavored fields Phi_{ij}\nwith the large mass parameter \\mu_Phi>>Lambda. The mass spectra of this Phi\ntheory (and its dual variant, the dPhi theory) are calculated at different\nvalues of \\mu_Phi/Lambda >>1 within the dynamical scenario which implies that\nquarks can be in two different phases only: either this is the HQ (heavy quark)\nphase where they are confined, or they are higgsed at appropriate values of the\nlagrangian parameters. It is shown that at the left end of the conformal\nwindow, i.e. at 0<(2N_F-3N_c)/N_F << 1, the mass spectra of the direct and dual\ntheories are parametrically different.",
        "positive": "Braneworlds in six dimensions: new models with bulk scalars: Six dimensional bulk spacetimes with 3-- and 4--branes are constructed using\ncertain non--conventional bulk scalars as sources. In particular, we\ninvestigate the consequences of having the phantom (negative kinetic energy)\nand the Brans--Dicke scalar in the bulk while obtaining such solutions. We find\ngeometries with 4--branes with a compact on--brane dimension (hybrid\ncompactification) which may be assumed to be small in order to realize a\n3--brane world. On the other hand, we also construct, with similar sources,\nbulk spacetimes where a 3--brane is located at a conical singularity.\nFurthermore, we investigate the issue of localization of matter fields (scalar,\nfermion, graviton, vector) on these 3-- and 4--branes and conclude with\ncomments on our six dimensional models."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Barbero-Immirzi parameter in Regge calculus: We consider Regge calculus in the representation in terms of area tensors and\nself- and antiselfdual connections generalised to the case of Holst action that\nis standard Einstein action in the tetrad-connection variables plus topological\n(on equations of motion for connections) term with coefficient $1/\\gamma$,\n$\\gamma$ is Barbero-Immirzi parameter. The quantum measure is shown to\nexponentially decrease with areas with typical cut-off scales $4\\pi G$ and\n$4\\pi G\\gamma$ in spacelike and timelike regions, respectively ($G$ is the\nNewton constant).",
        "positive": "Drag force in a D-instanton background: We study the drag force and diffusion coefficient with respect to a moving\nheavy quark in a D-instanton background, which corresponds to the Yang-Mills\ntheory in the deconfining, high-temperature phase. It is shown that the\npresence of the D-instanton density tends to increase the drag force and\ndecrease the diffusion coefficient, reverse to the effects of the velocity and\nthe temperature. Moreover, the inclusion of the D-instanton density makes the\nmedium less viscous."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Topologically Twisted SUSY Gauge Theory, Gauge-Bethe Correspondence and\n  Quantum Cohomology: We calculate partition function and correlation functions in A-twisted 2d\n$\\mathcal{N}=(2,2)$ theories and topologically twisted 3d $\\mathcal{N}=2$\ntheories containing adjoint chiral multiplet with particular choices of\n$R$-charges and the magnetic fluxes for flavor symmetries. According to\nGauge-Bethe correspondence, they correspond to Heisenberg XXX and XXZ spin\nchain models. We identify the partition function as the inverse of the norm of\nthe Bethe eigenstates. Correlation functions are identified as the coefficients\nof the expectation value of Baxter $Q$-operators. In addition, we consider\ncorrelation functions of 2d $\\mathcal{N}=(2,2)^*$ theory and their relation to\nequivariant quantum cohomology and equivariant integration of cotangent bundle\nof Grassmann manifolds. Also, we study the ring relations of supersymmetric\nWilson loops in 3d $\\mathcal{N}=2^*$ theory and Bethe subalgebra of XXZ spin\nchain model.",
        "positive": "Noncommutative geometry of phase space: A version of noncommutative geometry is proposed which is based on\nphase-space rather than position space. The momenta encode the information\ncontained in the algebra of forms by a map which is the noncommutative\nextension of the duality between the tangent bundle and the cotangent bundle."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Pure Spinor Vertex Operators in Siegel Gauge and Loop Amplitude\n  Regularization: Since the b ghost in the pure spinor formalism is a composite operator\ndepending on non-minimal variables, it is not trivial to impose the Siegel\ngauge condition b_0 V=0 on BRST-invariant vertex operators. Using the antifield\nvertex operator V* of ghost-number +2, we show that Siegel gauge unintegrated\nvertex operators can be constructed as b_0 V* and Siegel gauge integrated\nvertex operators as \\int dz b_{-1} b_0 V*.\n  These Siegel gauge vertex operators depend on the non-minimal variables, so\nscattering amplitudes involving these operators need to be regularized using\nthe prescription developed previously with Nekrasov. As an example of this\nregularization prescription, we compute the four-point one-loop amplitude with\nfour Siegel gauge integrated vertex operators. This is the first one-loop\ncomputation in the pure spinor formalism that does not require unintegrated\nvertex operators.",
        "positive": "Topological Approach to Alice Electrodynamics: We analyze the unlocalized ``Cheshire charge'' carried by ``Alice strings.''\nThe magnetic charge on a string loop is carefully defined, and the transfer of\nmagnetic charge from a monopole to a string loop is analyzed using global\ntopological methods. A semiclassical theory of electric charge transfer is also\ndescribed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exotic Non-Supersymmetric Gauge Dynamics from Supersymmetric QCD: We extend Seiberg's qualitative picture of the behavior of supersymmetric QCD\nto nonsupersymmetric models by adding soft supersymmetry breaking terms. In\nthis way, we recover the standard vacuum of QCD with $N_f$ flavors and $N_c$\ncolors when $N_f < N_c$. However, for $N_f \\geq N_c$, we find new exotic\nstates---new vacua with spontaneously broken baryon number for $N_f = N_c$, and\na vacuum state with unbroken chiral symmetry for $N_f > N_c$. These exotic\nvacua contain massless composite fermions and, in some cases, dynamically\ngenerated gauge bosons. In particular Seiberg's electric-magnetic duality seems\nto persist also in the presence of (small) soft supersymmetry breaking. We\nargue that certain, specially tailored, lattice simulations may be able to\ndetect the novel phenomena. Most of the exotic behavior does not survive the\ndecoupling limit of large SUSY breaking parameters.",
        "positive": "D3-brane model building and the supertrace rule: A common way to obtain standard-model-like Lagrangians in string theory is to\nplace D3-branes inside flux compactifications. The bosonic and fermionic masses\nand couplings of the resulting gauge theory are determined by the\nten-dimensional metric and the fluxes, respectively, and the breaking of\nsupersymmetry is soft. However, not any soft-supersymmetry-breaking Lagrangian\ncan be obtained this way since the string theory equations of motion impose\ncertain relations between the soft couplings. We show that for D3-branes in\nbackground fluxes, these relations imply that the sums of the squares of the\nboson and of the fermion masses are equal and that, furthermore, one- and\ntwo-loop quantum corrections do not spoil this equality. This makes the use of\nD3-branes for constructing computationally controllable models for physics\nbeyond the standard model problematic."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Saddle point equations in Seiberg-Witten theory: N=2 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theories for all classical gauge groups, that\nis, for SU(N), SO(N), and Sp(N) is considered. The equations which define the\nSeiberg-Witten curve are proposed. In some cases they are solved. It is shown\nthat for (almost) all models allowed by the asymptotic freedom the 1-instanton\ncorrections which follows from these equations agree with the direct\ncomputations and with known results.",
        "positive": "Entanglement Entropy and Conformal Collider Physics in 2D CFTs: We consider a conformal field theory in two dimensions in which an external\nperturbation is placed. We study the energy flux and entanglement entropy for\none, two and multiple intervals and give a suggestion relating the two in some\ncases. We show that both the energy flux and the entanglement entropy exhibit a\nlight-cone singularity which strongly depends on the regularization we choose."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Superconformal indices of generalized Argyres-Douglas theories from 2d\n  TQFT: We study superconformal indices of 4d N=2 class S theories with certain\nirregular punctures called type $I_{k, N}$. This class of theories include\ngeneralized Argyres-Douglas theories of type $(A_{k-1}, A_{N-1})$ and more. We\nconjecture the superconformal indices in certain simplified limits based on the\nTQFT structure of the class S theories by writing an expression for the wave\nfunction corresponding to the puncture $I_{k, N}$. We write the Schur limit of\nthe wave function when $k$ and $N$ are coprime. When $k=2$, we also conjecture\na closed-form expression for the Hall-Littlewood index and the Macdonald index\nfor odd $N$. From the index, we argue that certain short-multiplet which can\nappear in the OPE of the stress-energy tensor is absent in the $(A_1, A_{2n})$\ntheory. We also discuss the mixed Schur indices for the N=1 class S theories\nwith irregular punctures.",
        "positive": "On the exponentially small corrections to ${\\cal N} = 2$ superconformal\n  correlators at large R-charge: In this note we consider Coulomb-branch chiral primary correlation functions\nin ${\\cal N} = 2$ superconformal QCD with gauge group $SU(2)$, in the limit of\nlarge R-charge ${\\cal J} = 2n$ for the chiral primary operators $[{\\cal O}(x)]^\nn$ with the inverse gauge coupling $\\tau$ held fixed. In previous work, these\ncorrelation functions were determined to all orders in $n$, up to unknown\nexponentially small corrections. In this paper we determine the first several\norders of the asymptotic expansion of the exponentially small correction\nitself. To do this we use: the physical interpretation of the exponentially\nsmall correction as the virtual propagation of a massive BPS particle, to fix\nthe leading term in the expansion; the supersymmetric recursion relations to\nderive differential equations for the coupling-dependence of the subleading\nterms; and the double-scaling limit, to fix undetermined coefficients in the\nsolution of the differential equation. We calculate the expansion of the\nexponentially small term up to and including relative order $n^{-{5\\over 2}}$.\nWe also use the recursion relations to calculate the subleading large-${\\cal\nJ}$ corrections to the exponentially small correction in the double-scaling\nlimit, up to and including relative order $n^{-5}$ at fixed double-scaled\ncoupling $\\lambda$. We compare the expansion to exact results from\nsupersymmetric localization at the coupling $\\tau = {{25}\\over \\pi} i$, up to\n$n=150$. At values $n\\sim 100-150$, we find the fixed-coupling and\ndouble-scaled large-R-charge expansions are accurate to within one part in $10^\n6$ and $10^ 8$, respectively, of the size of the exponentially small correction\nitself. Relative to the full correlator including the dominant EFT\ncontribution, these estimates give results accuracte to one part in $10^{15}$\nand $10^{17}$, respectively."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Multidimensional Worldline Instantons: We extend the worldline instanton technique to compute the vacuum pair\nproduction rate for spatially inhomogeneous electric background fields, with\nthe spatial inhomogeneity being genuinely two or three dimensional, both for\nthe magnitude and direction of the electric field. Other techniques, such as\nWKB, have not been applied to such higher dimensional problems. Our method\nexploits the instanton dominance of the worldline path integral expression for\nthe effective action.",
        "positive": "Warped AdS$_3$, dS$_3$ and flows from $\\mathcal{N} = (0,2)$ SCFTs: We present the general form of all timelike supersymmetric solutions to 3D\nU(1)^3 gauged supergravity, a known consistent truncation of string theory. We\nuncover a rich vacuum structure, including an infinite class of new\ntimelike-warped AdS_3 (Goedel) and timelike-warped dS_3 critical points. We\noutline the construction of supersymmetric flows, driven by irrelevant scalar\noperators in the SCFT, which interpolate between critical points. For flows\nfrom AdS_3 to Goedel, the natural candidate for the central charge decreases\nalong the flow. Flows to timelike-warped dS_3 exhibit topology change."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Instability of Squashed Spheres in the Kaluza-Klein Theory: We study in Kaluza-Klein theories stability of the extra space against\n\"squashing\", in other words, the homogeneous deformation. Quantum fluctuations\nof matter fields at one-loop level are taken into consideration. We calculate\nthe effective potential in models of the type, $M^4\\times S^3$ and $M^4\\times\nS^7$. It is found that in the case of scalar matter fields the stability\ndepends on the coupling to the scalar curvature.",
        "positive": "Nilpotent chiral superfield in N=2 supergravity and partial rigid\n  supersymmetry breaking: In the framework of N=2 conformal supergravity in four dimensions, we\nintroduce a nilpotent chiral superfield suitable for the description of partial\nsupersymmetry breaking in maximally supersymmetric spacetimes. As an\napplication, we construct Maxwell-Goldstone multiplet actions for partial N=2\n--> N=1 supersymmetry breaking on R x S^3, AdS_3 x S^1 (or its covering AdS_3 x\nR), and a pp-wave spacetime. In each of these cases, the action coincides with\na unique curved-superspace extension of the N=1 supersymmetric Born-Infeld\naction, which is singled out by the requirement of U(1) duality invariance."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "New Lie-Algebraic and Quadratic Deformations of Minkowski Space from\n  Twisted Poincare Symmetries: We consider two new classes of twisted D=4 quantum Poincar\\'{e} symmetries\ndescribed as the dual pairs of noncocommutative Hopf algebras. Firstly we\ninvestigate a two-parameter class of twisted Poincar\\'{e} algebras which\nprovide the examples of Lie-algebraic noncommutativity of the translations. The\ncorresponding associative star-products and new deformed Lie-algebraic\nMinkowski spaces are introduced. We discuss further the twist deformations of\nPoincar\\'{e} symmetries generated by the twist with its carrier in Lorentz\nalgebra. We describe corresponding deformed Poincar\\'{e} group which provides\nthe quadratic deformations of translation sector and define the quadratically\ndeformed Minkowski space-time algebra.",
        "positive": "Plasmons in Holographic Graphene: We demonstrate how self-sourced collective modes - of which the plasmon is a\nprominent example due to its relevance in modern technological applications -\nare identified in strongly correlated systems described by holographic Maxwell\ntheories. The characteristic $\\omega \\propto \\sqrt{k}$ plasmon dispersion for\n2D materials, such as graphene, naturally emerges from this formalism. We also\ndemonstrate this by constructing the first holographic model containing this\nfeature. This provides new insight into modeling such systems from a\nholographic point of view, bottom-up and top-down alike.\n  Beyond that, this method provides a general framework to compute the\ndynamical charge response of strange metals, which has recently become\nexperimentally accessible due to the novel technique of momentum-resolved\nelectron energy-loss spectroscopy (M-EELS). This framework therefore opens up\nthe exciting possibility of testing holographic models for strange metals\nagainst actual experimental data."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The massless hexagon integral in D = 6 dimensions: We evaluate the massless one-loop hexagon integral in six dimensions. The\nresult is given in terms of standard polylogarithms of uniform transcendental\nweight three, its functional form resembling the one of the remainder function\nof the two-loop hexagon Wilson loop in four dimensions.",
        "positive": "Topological twisting of conformal supercharges: Putting a twisted version of N=4 super Yang-Mills on a curved\nfour-dimensional manifold generically breaks all conformal supersymmetries. In\nthe special case where the four-manifold is a cone, we show that exactly two\nconformal supercharges remain unbroken. We construct an off-shell formulation\nof the theory such that the two unbroken conformal supercharges combine into a\nfamily of topological charges parameterized by CP^1. The resulting theory is\ntopological in the sense that it is independent of the metric on the\nthree-dimensional base of the cone."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Ghost Structure and Closed Strings in Vacuum String Field Theory: We complete the construction of vacuum string field theory by proposing a\ncanonical choice of ghost kinetic term -- a local insertion of the ghost field\nat the string midpoint with an infinite normalization. This choice, supported\nby level expansion studies in the Siegel gauge, allows a simple analytic\ntreatment of the ghost sector of the string field equations. As a result,\nsolutions are just projectors, such as the sliver, of an auxiliary CFT built by\ncombining the matter part with a twisted version of the ghost conformal theory.\nLevel expansion experiments lead to surprising new projectors -- butterfly\nsurface states, whose analytical expressions are obtained. With the help of a\nsuitable open-closed string vertex we define open-string gauge invariant\noperators parametrized by on-shell closed string states. We use regulated\nvacuum string field theory to sketch how pure closed string amplitudes on\nsurfaces without boundaries arise as correlators of such gauge invariant\noperators.",
        "positive": "Two $\u03b8_{\u03bc\u03bd}$ -deformed covariant relativistic quantum phase\n  spaces as Poincare-Hopf algebroids: We consider two quantum phase spaces which can be described by two Hopf\nalgebroids linked with the well-known $\\theta_{\\mu \\nu }$-deformed $D=4$\nPoincare-Hopf algebra $\\mathbb{H}$. The first algebroid describes $\\theta_{\\mu\n\\nu }$-deformed relativistic phase space with canonical NC space-time (constant\n$\\theta_{\\mu \\nu }$ parameters) and the second one incorporates dual to\n$\\mathbb{H}$ quantum $\\theta_{\\mu \\nu }$-deformed Poincare-Hopf group algebra\n$\\mathbb{G}$, which contains noncommutative space-time translations given by\n$\\Lambda $-dependent $\\Theta_{\\mu \\nu }$ parameters ($% \\Lambda $ $\\equiv\n\\Lambda_{\\mu \\nu }$ parametrize classical Lorentz group). The canonical\n$\\theta_{\\mu \\nu }$-deformed space-time algebra and its quantum phase space\nextension is covariant under the quantum Poincare transformations described by\n$\\mathbb{G}$. We will also comment on the use of Hopf algebroids for the\ndescription of multiparticle structures in quantum phase spaces."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic Entanglement Entropy with Momentum Relaxation: We studied the holographic entanglement entropy for a strip and sharp wedge\nentangling regions in momentum relaxation systems. In the case of strips, we\nfound analytic and numerical results for the entanglement entropy and showed\nthe effect on the minimal surface by the electric field. We also studied the\nentanglement entropy of wedges and confirmed that there is a linear change in\nthe electric field. This change is proportional to the thermoelectric\nconductivity, $\\bar\\alpha$, that can be measured.",
        "positive": "A search for minimal 4d N=1 SCFT: We discuss a candidate for a minimal interacting 4-dimensional N=1\nsuperconformal field theory (SCFT). The model contains a chiral primary\noperator u satisfying the chiral ring relation u^2=0, and its scaling dimension\nis \\Delta(u)=1.5. The model is derived by turning on a N=1 preserving\ndeformation of N=2 A2 Argyres-Douglas theory. The central charges are given by\n(a,c)=(263/768, 271/768) ~ (0.342,0.353). There is no moduli space of vacua, no\nflavor symmetry, and the chiral ring is finite."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Melvin Twists of global AdS_5 \\times S_5 and their Non-Commutative Field\n  Theory Dual: We consider the Melvin Twist of AdS_5 \\times S_5 under U(1) \\times U(1)\nisometry of the boundary S_3 of the global AdS_5 geometry and identify its\nfield theory dual. We also study the thermodynamics of the Melvin deformed\ntheory.",
        "positive": "Correlation functions of two-matrix models: We show how to calculate correlation functions of two matrix models. Our\nmethod consists in making full use of the integrable hierarchies and their\nreductions, which were shown in previous papers to naturally appear in\nmulti--matrix models. The second ingredient we use are the $W$--constraints. In\nfact an explicit solution of the relevant hierarchy, satisfying the\n$W$--constraints (string equation), underlies the explicit calculation of the\ncorrelation functions. In the course of our derivation we do not use any\ncontinuum limit tecnique. This allows us to find many solutions which are\ninvisible to the latter technique."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Semiclassical correlation functions of Wilson loops and local vertex\n  operators: We analyze correlation functions of Wilson loop observables and local vertex\noperators within the strong-coupling regime of the AdS/CFT correspondence. When\nthe local operator corresponds to a light string state with finite conserved\ncharges the correlation function can be evaluated in the semiclassical\napproximation of large string tension, where the contribution from the light\nvertex can be neglected. We consider the cases where the Wilson loops are\ndescribed by two concentric surfaces and the local vertices are the\nsuperconformal chiral primary scalar or a singlet massive scalar operator.",
        "positive": "Incoherent thermal transport from dirty black holes: We study thermal transport in strongly disordered, strongly interacting\nquantum field theories without quasiparticles using gauge-gravity duality. We\nanalyze linear perturbations of black holes with broken translational symmetry\nin Einstein-Maxwell-dilaton theories of gravity. Using general geometric\narguments in the bulk, we derive bounds on thermal conductivity for the dual\ndisordered field theories in one and two spatial dimensions. In the latter\ncase, the thermal conductivity is always non-zero at finite temperature, so\nlong as the dilaton potential is bounded from below. Hence, generic holographic\nmodels make non-trivial predictions about the thermal conductivity in a\nstrongly disordered, strongly coupled metal in two spatial dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Wild Wall Crossing and BPS Giants: We show that the BPS spectrum of pure SU(3) four-dimensional super Yang-Mills\nwith N=2 supersymmetry exhibits a surprising phenomenon: there are regions of\nthe Coulomb branch where the growth of the BPS degeneracies with the charge is\nexponential. We show this using spectral networks and independently using\nwall-crossing formulae and quiver methods. The computations using spectral\nnetworks provide a very nontrivial example of how these networks determine the\nfour-dimensional BPS spectrum. We comment on some physical implications of the\nwild spectrum: for example, exponentially many field-theoretic BPS states with\nlarge charge are gigantic. Finally, we exhibit some surprising, thus far\nunexplained, regularities of the BPS spectrum.",
        "positive": "String Gyratons in Supergravity: We study solutions of the supergravity equations with the string-like sources\nmoving with the speed of light. An exact solution is obtained for the\ngravitational field of a boosted ring string in any dimension greater than\nthree."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Cosmological Solution in M-theory on S^1/Z_2: We provide the first example of a cosmological solution of the Horava-Witten\nsupergravity. This solution is obtained by exchanging the role of time with the\nradial coordinate of the transverse space to the five-brane soliton. On the\nboundary this corresponds to rotating an instanton solution into a tunneling\nprocess in a space with Lorentzian signature, leading to an expanding universe.\nDue to the freedom to choose different non-trivial Yang-Mills backgrounds on\nthe boundaries, the two walls of the universe ( visible and hidden worlds)\nexpand differently. However at late times the anisotropy is washed away by\ngravitational interactions.",
        "positive": "Gauge theory of a massive relativistic spinning point particle: A massive relativistic spinning point particle in any number of dimensions\nhas in a previous article been shown to be described by first class\nconstraints, which define a gauge theory. In the present paper we find the\ncorresponding finite gauge transformations. By comparing the integrated gauge\ntransformations to transformation equations found by Pryce, we conclude that\nthe selection of gauge corresponds to selection of the relativistic center of\nmass frame in the model of Pryce, where a spinning particle is considered a\ncomposite object. The Lorentz group is identified as the gauge group, and as\ngauge field we identify the relativistic angular velocity. We also show that an\nanalogous physical interpretation is possible for the relativistic spherical\ntop of Hanson and Regge."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Constraints and Spectra of a Deformed Quantum Mechanics: We examine a deformed quantum mechanics in which the commutator between\ncoordinates and momenta is a function of momenta. The Jacobi identity\nconstraint on a two-parameter class of such modified commutation relations\n(MCR's) shows that they encode an intrinsic maximum momentum; a sub-class of\nwhich also imply a minimum position uncertainty. Maximum momentum causes the\nbound state spectrum of the one-dimensional harmonic oscillator to terminate at\nfinite energy, whereby classical characteristics are observed for the studied\ncases. We then use a semi-classical analysis to discuss general concave\npotentials in one dimension and isotropic power-law potentials in higher\ndimensions. Among other conclusions, we find that in a subset of the studied\nMCR's, the leading order energy shifts of bound states are of opposite sign\ncompared to those obtained using string-theory motivated MCR's, and thus these\ntwo cases are more easily distinguishable in potential experiments.",
        "positive": "Entanglement in Weakly Coupled Lattice Gauge Theories: We present a direct lattice gauge theory computation that, without using\ndualities, demonstrates that the entanglement entropy of Yang-Mills theories\nwith arbitrary gauge group $G$ contains a generic logarithmic term at\nsufficiently weak coupling $e$. In two spatial dimensions, for a region of\nlinear size $r$, this term equals $\\frac{1}{2} \\dim(G) \\log\\left(e^2 r\\right)$\nand it dominates the universal part of the entanglement entropy. Such\nlogarithmic terms arise from the entanglement of the softest mode in the\nentangling region with the environment. For Maxwell theory in two spatial\ndimensions, our results agree with those obtained by dualizing to a compact\nscalar with spontaneous symmetry breaking."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Local and Global Casimir Energies for a Semitransparent Cylindrical\n  Shell: The local Casimir energy density and the global Casimir energy for a massless\nscalar field associated with a $\\lambda\\delta$-function potential in a 3+1\ndimensional circular cylindrical geometry are considered. The global energy is\nexamined for both weak and strong coupling, the latter being the well-studied\nDirichlet cylinder case. For weak-coupling,through $\\mathcal{O}(\\lambda^2)$,\nthe total energy is shown to vanish by both analytic and numerical arguments,\nbased both on Green's-function and zeta-function techniques. Divergences\noccurring in the calculation are shown to be absorbable by renormalization of\nphysical parameters of the model. The global energy may be obtained by\nintegrating the local energy density only when the latter is supplemented by an\nenergy term residing precisely on the surface of the cylinder. The latter is\nidentified as the integrated local energy density of the cylindrical shell when\nthe latter is physically expanded to have finite thickness. Inside and outside\nthe delta-function shell, the local energy density diverges as the surface of\nthe shell is approached; the divergence is weakest when the conformal stress\ntensor is used to define the energy density. A real global divergence first\noccurs in $\\mathcal{O}(\\lambda^3)$, as anticipated, but the proof is supplied\nhere for the first time; this divergence is entirely associated with the\nsurface energy, and does {\\em not} reflect divergences in the local energy\ndensity as the surface is approached.",
        "positive": "Next-next-to-extremal Four Point Functions of N=4 1/2 BPS Operators in\n  the AdS/CFT Correspondence: Four point functions of general N=4 1/2-BPS primary fields, satisfying the\nnext-next-to-extremality condition\n\\Delta_{1}+\\Delta_{2}+\\Delta_{3}-\\Delta_{4}=4 are studied at large N and strong\ncoupling. We apply new techniques to evaluate the effective couplings in\nsupergravity, and confirm that the four derivative couplings arising in the\nfive-dimensional supergravity vanish on-shell. We then show that the four point\namplitude resulting from supergravity naturally splits into a \"free\" and an\ninteractive part which resembles an effective quartic interaction. The precise\nstructure agrees with superconformal symmetry and supports the conjecture\nformulated by Dolan, Osborn and Nirschl regarding the strongly coupled form of\nfour point correlators of chiral primary operators. We also evaluate the\namplitude in large N free field SYM theory and discuss the results in the\ncontext of the correspondence."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Towards the higher point holographic momentum space amplitudes: In this paper, we calculate higher point tree level vector amplitudes\npropagating in AdS$_4$. We use bulk perturbation theory to compute tree level\nWitten diagrams. We show that when these amplitudes are written in momentum\nspace, they reduce to relatively simple expressions. We explicitly compute four\nand five point correlators and also sketch a general strategy to compute the\nfull six-point correlators.",
        "positive": "All finite-mass Dirac monopoles: We present a \"primitive\" way of realizing finite-mass Dirac monopoles in\n$U(1)$ gauge theories involving a single non-minimally interacting scalar\nfield. Typically, the energy density of this type of monopole is not\nconcentrated at its core, but it is distributed in a spherical shell, as we\nillustrate on several exact solutions in the Bogomol'nyi-Prasad-Sommerfield\n(BPS) limit. We show that our construction can be interpreted as a limit of\ninfinitely massive $W$ bosons coupled to electromagnetic field-strength via a\ndipole moment. Combining our approach with ideas of Weinberg and Lee, we\npresent a general landscape of $U(1)$ gauge models that support a finite-mass\nDirac monopole. In fact, all classical monopoles, i.e., Wu-Yang, 't\nHooft-Polyakov, Cho-Maison, etc., are special points on this landscape."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "String theory and classical integrable systems: We discuss different formulations and approaches to string theory and $ 2d$\nquantum gravity. The generic idea to get a unique description of {\\it many}\ndifferent string vacua altogether is demonstrated on the examples in $ 2d$\nconformal, topological and matrix formulations. The last one naturally brings\nus to the appearance of classical integrable systems in string theory. Physical\nmeaning of the appearing structures is discussed and some attempts to find\ndirections of possible generalizations to ``higher-dimensional\" models are\nmade. We also speculate on the possible appearence of quantum integrable\nstructures in string theory.",
        "positive": "Four-Point Functions in Logarithmic Conformal Field Theories: The generic structure of 4-point functions of fields residing in\nindecomposable representations of arbitrary rank is given. The used algorithm\nis described and we present all results for Jordan-rank $r=2$ and $r=3$ where\nwe make use of permutation symmetry and use a graphical representation for the\nresults. A number of remaining degrees of freedom which can show up in the\ncorrelator are discussed in detail. Finally we present the results for\ntwo-logarithmic fields for arbitrary Jordan-rank."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Entanglement Entropy Evolution under Double-trace Deformation: In this paper, we study the bulk entanglement entropy evolution in conical\nBTZ black bole background using the heat kernel method. This is motivated by\nexploring the new examples where quantum corrections of entanglement entropy\ngive the leading contribution. We find that in the large black hole limit the\nbulk entanglement entropy decreases under the double-trace deformation which is\nconsistent with the holographic $c$ theorem and in the small black hole limit\nthe bulk entanglement entropy increases under the double-trace deformation.",
        "positive": "Gauged $\\mathcal{N}=3,D=4$ Supergravity: a new web of marginally\n  connected vacua: We analyze the vacuum structure of $\\mathcal{N}=3,D=4$ supergravity coupled\nto 9 vector multiplets with gauge group ${\\rm SO}(3)\\times {\\rm SU}(3)$. Aside\nfrom the central $\\mathcal{N}=3$ AdS$_4$ vacuum at the origin, on which the\nsupermultiplet structure reproduces the massless sector of M-theory\ncompactified on $\\mathrm{N^{0,1,0}}$, we find a rich structure of AdS$_4$ vacua\npreserving $\\mathcal{N}=0,1,2,3$ supersymmetry. These new vacua are arranged in\na manifold spanned by scalar fields corresponding to exactly marginal\ndeformations of the dual CFT. This manifold has the form $T^3/K$, where $K$ is\na discrete subgroup of the gauge group: $\\mathcal{N}=3,2$ and $1$ vacua\ncorrespond, respectively, to a point, a line and a surface in the\nthree-dimensional vacuum manifold. We study RG flows from the central\n$\\mathcal{N}=3$ vacuum and elaborate on the possible higher dimensional origin\nof the new vacua. For the reader's convenience we also provide a review of the\nembedding tensor formulation of $D=4$, $\\mathcal{N}=3$ gauged supergravities.\nIn particular we provide formulas involving the fermion shift tensors and mass\nmatrices in $\\mathcal{N}=3$ theories, which can be applied to a generic\ngauging."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "CHL Compactifications Revisited: CHL compactifications are supersymmetry preserving orbifolds of any\nperturbatively renormalizable and ultraviolet finite ground state of the\nperturbative string theories: heterotic, type I, or type II, preserving 32, 16,\n12, 8, 4, (or zero) supersymmetries, and retaining the perturbative\nrenormalizability and finiteness of the parent string vacuum. In this paper, we\nreview the genesis of the CHL (Chaudhuri-Hockney-Lykken) project within the\nbroader context of the full String/M Duality web, establishing the existence of\nmoduli spaces with a small number of massless scalar fields, the\ndecompactification of such moduli spaces to one of the five ten-dimensional\nsuperstring theories, and the appearance of electric-magnetic duality in only\nthe four-dimensional moduli spaces, a 1995 observation due to Chaudhuri &\nPolchinski. We present two mathematical curiosities easily deduced from the\nfermionic current algebra representation but whose physical significance is a\npuzzle: a 4D N=4 heterotic string vacuum with no massless scalar fields other\nthan the dilaton, and a 2D N=8 heterotic string vacuum with no abelian gauge\nfields, reiterating once more the necessity for a systematic classification of\nthe CHL orbifolds.",
        "positive": "Black holes and black hole thermodynamics without event horizons: We investigate whether black holes can be defined without using event\nhorizons. In particular we focus on the thermodynamic properties of event\nhorizons and the alternative, locally defined horizons. We discuss the\nassumptions and limitations of the proofs of the zeroth, first and second laws\nof black hole mechanics for both event horizons and trapping horizons. This\nleads to the possibility that black holes may be more usefully defined in terms\nof trapping horizons. We also show how Hawking radiation can also be seen to\narise from trapping horizons and discuss which horizon area should be\nassociated with the gravitational entropy."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Flux Attractors and Generating Functions: We use the flux attractor equations to study IIB supergravity\ncompactifications with ISD fluxes. We show that the attractor equations\ndetermine not just the values of moduli fields, but also the masses of those\nmoduli and the gravitino. We then show that the flux attractor equations can be\nrecast in terms of derivatives of a single generating function. We also find a\nsimple expression for this generating function in terms of the gravitino mass,\nwith both quantities considered as functions of the fluxes. For a simple\nprepotential, we explicitly solve the attractor equations. We conclude by\ndiscussing a thermodynamic interpretation of this generating function, and\npossible implications for the landscape.",
        "positive": "Connes-Kreimer-Epstein-Glaser Renormalization: Causal perturbative renormalization within the recursive Epstein-Glaser\nscheme involves extending, at each order, time-ordered operator-valued\ndistributions to coinciding points. This is achieved by a generalized Taylor\nsubtraction on test functions, which is transposed to distributions. We show\nhow the Epstein-Glaser recursive construction can, by means of a slight\nmodification of the Hopf algebra of Feynman graphs, be recast in terms of the\nnew Connes-Kreimer algebraic setup for renormalization. This is illustrated for\n$\\phi^4_4$-theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The canonical formulation of E$_{6(6)}$ exceptional field theory: We investigate the canonical formulation of the (bosonic) E$_{6(6)}$\nexceptional field theory. The explicit non-integral (not manifestly gauge\ninvariant) topological term of E$_{6(6)}$ exceptional field theory is\nconstructed and we consider the canonical formulation of a model theory based\non the topological two-form kinetic term. Furthermore we construct the\ncanonical momenta and the canonical Hamiltonian of the full bosonic E$_{6(6)}$\nexceptional field theory. Most of the canonical gauge transformations and some\nparts of the canonical constraint algebra are calculated. Moreover we discuss\nhow to translate the results canonically into the generalised vielbein\nformulation. We comment on the possible existence of generalised Ashtekar\nvariables.",
        "positive": "Thoughts on Holographic Complexity and its Basis-dependence: In this paper, we argue that holographic complexity should be a\nbasis-dependent quantity. Computational complexity of a state is defined as a\nminimum number of gates required to obtain that state from the reference state.\nDue to this minimality, it satisfies the triangle inequality, and can be\nregarded as a (discrete version of) distance in the Hilbert space. However, we\nshow a no-go theorem that any basis-independent distance cannot reproduce the\nbehavior of the holographic complexity. Therefore, if holographic complexity is\ndual to a distance in the Hilbert space, it should be basis-dependent, i.e., it\nis not invariant under a change of the basis of the Hilbert space."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Is N=4 Yang-Mills Theory Soluble?: The superconformal properties of N=4 Yang-Mills theory are most naturally\nstudied using the formalism of harmonic superspace. Superconformal invariance\nis shown to imply that the Green's functions of analytic operators are\ninvariant holomorphic sections of a line bundle on a product of certain\nharmonic superspaces and it is argued that the theory is soluble for a class of\nsuch operators.",
        "positive": "Commutators and propagators of Moyal star-products and microcausality\n  for free scalar field on noncommutative spacetime: We study the Moyal commutators and their expectation values between vacuum\nstates and non-vacuum states for free scalar field on noncommutative spacetime.\nThen from the Moyal commutators, we find that the microcausality is satisfied\nfor the linear operators of the free scalar field on noncommutative spacetime.\nWe construct the Feynman propagator of Moyal star-product for noncommutative\nscalar field theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Cosmology in Four Dimensions: We analyze the cosmological solutions to the recently proposed nonlocal\nquantum effective action for gravity with a cosmological term. We show that the\nvacuum energy decays with a slow-roll parameter proportional to the anomalous\ngravitational dressings.",
        "positive": "Non-Abelian T-duality of $AdS_{d\\le3}$ families by Poisson-Lie T-duality: We proceed to investigate the non-Abelian T-duality of $AdS_{2}$,\n$AdS_{2}\\times S^1$ and $AdS_{3}$ physical backgrounds, as well as the metric\nof the analytic continuation of $AdS_{2}$ from the point of view of Poisson-Lie\n(PL) T-duality. To this end, we reconstruct these metrics of the $AdS$ families\nas backgrounds of non-linear $\\sigma$-models on two- and three-dimensional Lie\ngroups. By considering the Killing vectors of these metrics and by taking into\naccount the fact that the subgroups of isometry Lie group of the metrics can be\ntaken as one of the subgroups of the Drinfeld double (with Abelian duals) we\nlook up the PL T-duality. To construct the dualizable metrics by the PL\nT-duality we find all subalgebras of Killing vectors that generate subgroup of\nisometries which acts freely and transitively on the manifolds defined by\naforementioned $AdS$ families. We then obtain the dual backgrounds for these\nfamilies of $AdS$ in such a way that we apply the usual rules of PL T-duality\nwithout further corrections. We have also investigated the conformal invariance\nconditions of the original backgrounds ($AdS$ families) and their dual\ncounterparts. Finally, by using the T-duality rules proposed by Kaloper and\nMeissner (KM) we calculate the Abelian T-duals of BTZ black hole up to two-loop\nby dualizing on the coordinates $ \\varphi$ and $ t $. When the dualizing is\nimplemented by the shift of direction $\\varphi$, we show that the horizons and\nsingularity of the dual spacetime are the same as in charged black string\nderived by Horne and Horowitz without $\\alpha'$-corrections, whereas in\ndualizing on the coordinate $t$ we find a new three-dimensional black string\nwhose structure and asymptotic nature are clearly determined. For this case, we\nshow that the T-duality transformation changes the asymptotic behavior from\n$AdS_3$ to flat."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Elimination of the Landau pole in QCD with the spontaneously generated\n  anomalous three-gluon interaction: We apply the Bogoliubov compensation principle to QCD. The non-trivial\nsolution of compensation equations for a spontaneous generation of the\nanomalous three-gluon interaction leads to the determination of parameters of\nthe theory, including behavior of the gauge coupling $\\alpha_s(Q^2)$ without\nthe Landau singularity, the gluon condensate $V_2\\,\\simeq\\,0.01\\,GeV^4$, mass\nof the lightest glueball $M_G\\,\\simeq\\,1500\\,MeV$ in satisfactory agreement\nwith the phenomenological knowledge. The results strongly support the\napplicability of N.N. Bogoliubov compensation approach to gauge theories of the\nStandard Model.",
        "positive": "On Gauge Theories as Matrix Models: The relation between the Seiberg-Witten prepotentials, Nekrasov functions and\nmatrix models is discussed. We derive quasiclassically the matrix models of\nEguchi-Yang type, describing the instantonic contribution to the deformed\npartition functions of supersymmetric gauge theories. The exact quasiclassical\nsolution for the case of conformal four-dimensional theory is studied in\ndetail, and some aspects of its relation with the recently proposed logarithmic\nbeta-ensembles are considered. We discuss also the \"quantization\" of this\npicture in terms of two-dimensional conformal theory with extended symmetry,\nand stress its difference from common picture of perturbative expansion a la\nmatrix models. Instead, the representation for Nekrasov functions in terms of\nconformal blocks or Whittaker vector suggests some nontrivial relation with\nTeichmueller spaces and quantum integrable systems."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Propagators and Gaussian effective actions in various patches of de\n  Sitter space: We consider time-ordered (or Feynman) propagators between two different\n$\\alpha-$states of a linear de Sitter Quantum Field in the global de Sitter\nmanifold and in the Poincar\\'e patch. We separately examine $\\alpha-\\beta$,\nIn-In and In-Out propagators and find the imaginary contribution to the\neffective actions. The In-In propagators are real in both the Poincar\\'e patch\nand in the global de Sitter manifold. On the other side the In-Out propagators\nat coincident points contain finite imaginary contributions in both patches in\neven dimensions, but they are not equivalent. In odd dimensions in both patches\nthe imaginary contributions are zero. For completeness, we also consider the\nStatic patch and identify in our construction the state that is equivalent to\nthe Bunch-Davies one in the Poincar\\'e patch.",
        "positive": "On the Infrared Limit of Two Dimensional QCD: We study the infrared limit of two dimensional QCD, with massless dynamical\nDirac fermions that are in the fundamental representation of the gauge group.\nWe find that the theory reduces to a spin generalization of the Calogero model\nwith an additional magnetic coupling which is of the Pauli type."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Wess-Zumino-Witten and fermion models in noncommutative space: We analyze the connection between Wess-Zumino-Witten and free fermion models\nin two-dimensional noncommutative space. Starting from the computation of the\ndeterminant of the Dirac operator in a gauge field background, we derive the\ncorresponding bosonization recipe studying, as an example, bosonization of the\nU(N) Thirring model. Concerning the properties of the noncommutative\nWess-Zumino-Witten model, we construct an orbit-preserving transformation that\nmaps the standard commutative WZW action into the noncommutative one.",
        "positive": "Path representation of su(2)_k states I: Operators and particles for\n  k=1,2: This is the first of two articles devoted to the analysis of the path\ndescription of the states in su(2)_k WZW models, a representation well suited\nfor constructive derivations of the fermionic characters. In this first\narticle, the cases k=1,2 are treated in detail, emphasizing a different\ndescription in each case (operators vs particles). For k=1, we first prove, as\na side result, the equivalence of two known path representations for the\nfinitized su(2)_1 states by displaying an explicit bijection. An immediate\noffshoot is the gain of a new and simple weighting for the (Kyoto) path\nrepresentation that generalizes to level k. The bijection also suggests two\noperator constructions for the su(2)_1 paths, a local and a nonlocal one, both\ninterrelated. These are formal operators that map a path to another path, so\nthat any path can be obtained by successive applications of these operators on\na simple reference (ground-state) path. The nonlocal operator description is\nthe starting point for a direct and elementary derivation of the su(2)_1 spinon\ncharacter. The second part presents an extensive study of the su(2)_2 paths\nfrom their particle point of view, where the particles are defined as the path\nbuilding blocks. The resulting generating functions appear to provide new (at\nleast superficially) fermionic forms of the characters. In particular, a nice\nrelationship between the sum of the j=0,1 characters at k=2 and the two ones at\nk=1 is unravelled."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spinors, Inflation, and Non-Singular Cyclic Cosmologies: We consider toy cosmological models in which a classical, homogeneous, spinor\nfield provides a dominant or sub-dominant contribution to the energy-momentum\ntensor of a flat Friedmann-Robertson-Walker universe. We find that, if such a\nfield were to exist, appropriate choices of the spinor self-interaction would\ngenerate a rich variety of behaviors, quite different from their widely studied\nscalar field counterparts. We first discuss solutions that incorporate a stage\nof cosmic inflation and estimate the primordial spectrum of density\nperturbations seeded during such a stage. Inflation driven by a spinor field\nturns out to be unappealing as it leads to a blue spectrum of perturbations and\nrequires considerable fine-tuning of parameters. We next find that, for simple,\nquartic spinor self-interactions, non-singular cyclic cosmologies exist with\nreasonable parameter choices. These solutions might eventually be incorporated\ninto a successful past- and future-eternal cosmological model free of\nsingularities. In an Appendix, we discuss the classical treatment of spinors\nand argue that certain quantum systems might be approximated in terms of such\nfields.",
        "positive": "Quantum-Corrected Cardy Entropy for Generic 1+1-Dimensional Gravity: Various studies have explored the possibility of explaining the\nBekenstein-Hawking (black hole) entropy by way of some suitable state-counting\nprocedure. Notably, many of these treatments have used the well-known Cardy\nformula as an intermediate step. Our current interest is a recent calculation\nin which Carlip has deduced the leading-order quantum correction to the\n(otherwise) classical Cardy formula. In this paper, we apply Carlip's\nformulation to the case of a generic model of two-dimensional gravity with\ncoupling to a dilaton field. We find that the corrected Cardy entropy includes\nthe anticipated logarithmic ``area'' term. Such a term is also evident when the\nentropic correction is derived independently by thermodynamic means. However,\nthere is an apparent discrepancy between the two calculations with regard to\nthe factor in front of the logarithm. In fact, the two values of this prefactor\ncan only agree for very specific two-dimensional models, such as that\ndescribing Jackiw-Teitelboim theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Bootstrapping High-Energy Observables: In this paper, we set up the numerical S-matrix bootstrap by using the\ncrossing symmetric dispersion relation (CSDR) to write down Roy equations for\nthe partial waves. As a motivation behind examining the local version of the\nCSDR, we derive a new, crossing symmetric, 3-channels-plus-contact-terms\nrepresentation of the Virasoro-Shapiro amplitude in string theory that\nconverges everywhere except at the poles. We then focus on gapped theories and\ngive novel analytic and semi-analytic derivations of several bounds on\nlow-energy data. We examine the high-energy behaviour of the experimentally\nmeasurable rho-parameter, introduced by Khuri and Kinoshita and defined as the\nratio of the real to the imaginary part of the amplitude in the forward limit.\nContrary to expectations, we find numerical evidence that there could be\nmultiple changes in the sign of this ratio before it asymptotes at high\nenergies. We compare our approach with other existing numerical methods and\nfind agreement, with improvement in convergence.",
        "positive": "Internal and Super Symmetry in String Bit Models: We study in a general way the construction of string bit Hamiltonians which\nare supersymmetric, We construct several quadratic and quartic polynomials in\nstring bit creation and annihilation operators ${\\bar\\phi}^A_{a_1\\cdots a_n}$,\n${\\phi}^A_{a_1\\cdots a_n}$,which commute with the supersymmetry generators\n$Q^a$. Among these operators are ones with the spinor tensor structure required\nto provide the lightcone worldsheet vertex insertion factors needed to give the\ncorrect interactions for the IIB superstring, whenever a closed string\nseparates into two closed strings or two closed strings join into one."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Topological Sigma B Model in 4-Dimensions: We propose a 4-dimensional version of topological sigma B-model, governing\nmaps from a smooth compact 4-manifold M to a Calabi-Yau target manifold X. The\ntheory depends on on complex structure of X, while is independent of Kaehler\nmetric of X. The theory is also a 4-dimensiona topological field theory in the\nsense that the theory is independent of variation of Riemannian metric of the\nsource 4-manifold M, potentially leading to new smooth invariant of\n4-manifolds. We argue that the theory also comes with a topological family\nparametrized by the extended moduli space of complex structures.",
        "positive": "Chern-Simons Theory and the Quark-Gluon Plasma: The generating functional for hard thermal loops in QCD is important in\nsetting up a resummed perturbation theory, so that all terms of a given order\nin the coupling constant can be consistently taken into account. It is also the\nfunctional which leads to a gauge invariant description of Debye screening and\nplasma waves in the quark-gluon plasma. We have recently shown that this\nfunctional is closely related to the eikonal for a Chern-Simons gauge theory.\nIn this paper, this relationship is explored and explained in more detail,\nalong with some generalizations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "N D0-branes and antibranes in the background independent string field\n  theory: In this paper we extend our previous work hep-th/0102063 to the case\nD0-brane+antibrane system.",
        "positive": "Stress-energy Tensor Correlators in N-dim Hot Flat Spaces via the\n  Generalized Zeta-Function Method: We calculate the expectation values of the stress-energy bitensor defined at\ntwo different spacetime points $x, x'$ of a massless, minimally coupled scalar\nfield with respect to a quantum state at finite temperature $T$ in a flat\n$N$-dimensional spacetime by means of the generalized zeta-function method.\nThese correlators, also known as the noise kernels, give the fluctuations of\nenergy and momentum density of a quantum field which are essential for the\ninvestigation of the physical effects of negative energy density in certain\nspacetimes or quantum states. They also act as the sources of the\nEinstein-Langevin equations in stochastic gravity which one can solve for the\ndynamics of metric fluctuations as in spacetime foams. In terms of\nconstitutions these correlators are one rung above (in the sense of the\ncorrelation -- BBGKY or Schwinger-Dyson -- hierarchies) the mean (vacuum and\nthermal expectation) values of the stress-energy tensor which drive the\nsemiclassical Einstein equation in semiclassical gravity. The low and the high\ntemperature expansions of these correlators are also given here: At low\ntemperatures, the leading order temperature dependence goes like $T^{N}$ while\nat high temperatures they have a $T^{2}$ dependence with the subleading terms\nexponentially suppressed by $e^{-T}$. We also discuss the singular behaviors of\nthe correlators in the $x'\\rightarrow x$ coincident limit as was done before\nfor massless conformal quantum fields."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Generic HKT geometries in the harmonic superspace approach: We explain how a generic HKT geometry can be derived using the language of N\n= 4 supersymmetric quantum mechanics. To this end, one should consider a\nLagrangian involving several (4,4,0) multiplets defined in harmonic superspace\nand subject to nontrivial harmonic constraints. Conjecturally, this general\nconstruction worked out earlier by Delduc and Ivanov gives a complete\nclassification of all HKT geometries. Each such geometry is generated by two\ndifferent functions (potentials) of a special type that depend on harmonic\nsuperfields and on harmonics.\n  Given these two potentials, one can derive the vielbeins, metric, connections\nand curvatures, but this is not so simple: one should solve rather complicated\ndifferential equations. We illustrate the general construction by giving a\ndetailed derivation of the metric for the hyper-Kaehler Taub-NUT manifold. In\nthe generic case, we arrive at an HKT geometry. In this paper, we give a simple\nproof of this assertion.",
        "positive": "Quantum Electron Transport and Duality in a One-Dimensional Interacting\n  System: We study the quantum electron transport in a one-dimensional interacting\nelectron system, called Schmid model, reformulating the model in terms of the\nbosonic string theory on a disk. The particle-kink duality of the model is\ndiscussed in the absence of the external electric field and further extended to\nthe model with a weak electric field. Using the linear response theory, we\nevaluate the electric conductance both for both weak and strong periodic\npotentials in the zero temperature limit. The electric conductance is invariant\nunder the particle-kink duality."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Character Expansion Methods for $\\mathrm{USp}(2N)$, $\\mathrm{SO}(n)$,\n  and $\\mathrm{O}(n)$ using the Characters of the Symmetric Group: In theories with supersymmetry, we can calculate a special partition\nfunction, known as the superconformal index. In particular, for a gauge group\nof $\\mathrm{U}(N)$ and particles belonging to the adjoint representation, there\nis a fast method known as the character expansion method, which uses the\ncharacters of the symmetric group. In this paper, we extend this method to\ntheories of particles belonging to specific representations of the gauge\ngroups: $\\mathrm{USp}(2N)$, $\\mathrm{SO}(n)$, and $\\mathrm{O}(n)$. Furthermore,\nwe propose a formula, which gives the large $N$ limit without using the\ncharacters.",
        "positive": "Asymptotically flat spacetimes with BMS$_3$ symmetry: We construct the phase space of 3-dimensional asymptotically flat spacetimes\nthat forms the bulk metric representation of the BMS group consisting of both\nsupertranslations and superrotations. The asymptotic symmetry group is a unique\ncopy of the BMS group at both null infinities and spatial infinity. The BMS\nphase space obeys a notion of holographic causality and can be parametrized by\nboundary null fields. This automatically leads to the antipodal identification\nof bulk fields between past and future null infinity in the absence of a global\nconical defect."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The General Solution for the Relativistic and Nonrelativistic\n  Schr\u00f6dinger Equation for the $\u03b4^{(n)}$-Function Potential in\n  1-dimension Using Cutoff Regularization, and the Fate of Universality: A general method has been developed to solve the Schr\\\"odinger equation for\nan arbitrary derivative of the $\\delta$-function potential in 1-d using cutoff\nregularization. The work treats both the relativistic and nonrelativistic\ncases. A distinction in the treatment has been made between the case when the\nderivative $n$ is an even number from the one when $n$ is an odd number. A\ngeneral gap equations for each case has been derived. The case of\n$\\delta^{(2)}$-function potential has been used as an example. The results from\nthe relativistic case show that the $\\delta^{(2)}$-function system behaves\nexactly like the $\\delta$-function and the $\\delta'$-function potentials, which\nmeans it also shares the same features with quantum field theories, like being\nasymptotically free, in the massless limit, it undergoes dimensional\ntransmutation and it possesses an infrared conformal fixed point. As a result\nthe evidence of universality of contact interactions has been extended further\nto include the $\\delta^{(2)}$-function potential.",
        "positive": "One-loop N = 4 super Yang-Mills scattering amplitudes in d dimensions,\n  relation to open strings and polygonal Wilson loops: In this review we discuss some recent developments related to one-loop N = 4\nsuper Yang-Mills scattering amplitudes calculated to all orders in epsilon. It\nis often the case that one-loop gauge theory computations are carried out to\norder epsilon^0, since higher order in epsilon contributions vanish in the\nlimit as epsilon goes to zero. We will show, however, that the higher order\ncontributions are actually quite useful. In the context of maximally\nsupersymmetric Yang-Mills, we consider two examples in detail to illustrate our\npoint. First we concentrate on computations with gluonic external states and\nargue that N = 4 supersymmetry implies a simple relation between\nall-orders-in-epsilon one-loop N = 4 super Yang-Mills amplitudes and the first\nand second stringy corrections to analogous tree-level superstring amplitudes.\nFor our second example we will derive a new result for the\nall-orders-in-epsilon one-loop superamplitude for planar six-particle NMHV\nscattering, an object which allows one to easily obtain six-point NMHV\namplitudes with arbitrary external states. We will then discuss the relevance\nof this computation to the evaluation of the ratio of the planar two-loop\nsix-point NMHV superamplitude to the planar two-loop six-point MHV\nsuperamplitude, a quantity which is expected to have remarkable properties and\nhas been the subject of much recent investigation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the structure of k-Lie algebras: We show that the structure constants of $k$-Lie algebras, $k>3$, with a\npositive definite metric are the sum of the volume forms of orthogonal\n$k$-planes. This generalizes the result for $k=3$ in arXiv:0804.2662 and\narXiv:0804.3078, and confirms a conjecture in math/0211170.",
        "positive": "T-dual-coordinate dependence makes the effective Kalb-Ramond field\n  nontrivial: We show that the fact that the string theory is unoriented does not\nnecessarily force the Kalb-Ramond field to vanish. We investigated the theory\nof the open string propagating in the weakly curved background. The effective\nKalb-Ramond field $B^{eff}_{\\mu\\nu}$, the background field of the effective\ntheory obtained on the solution of the boundary conditions, does not depend on\nthe $\\Omega$-even effective coordinate $q$, but on its T-dual $\\tilde{q}$ which\nis $\\Omega$-odd. This brakes the standard proof that the term with\n$B_{\\mu\\nu}^{eff}$ should vanish. From the world-sheet equations of motion we\nidentify $B_{\\mu\\nu}^{eff}$ with the torsion potential."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Supergravity Solutions of Branes in Melvin Universes: We study supergravity solutions of type II branes wrapping a Melvin universe.\nThese solutions provide the gravity description of non-commutative field\ntheories with non-constant non-commutative parameter. Typically these theories\nare non-supersymmetric, though they exhibit some feature of their corresponding\nsupersymmetric theories. An interesting feature of these non-commutative\ntheories is that there is a critical length in the theory in which for\ndistances larger than this length the effects of non-commutativity become\nimportant and for smaller distances these effects are negligible. Therefore we\nwould expect to see this kind of non-commutativity in large distances which\nmight be relevant in cosmology. We also study M5-brane wrapping on\n11-dimensional Melvin universe and its descendant theories upon compactifying\non a circle.",
        "positive": "Feeling de Sitter: We address the following question: To what extent can a quantum field tell if\nit has been placed in de Sitter space? Our approach is to use the techniques of\nnon-equilibrium quantum field theory to compute the time evolution of a state\nwhich starts off in flat space for (conformal) times $\\eta<\\eta_0$, and then\nevolves in a de Sitter background turned on instantaneously at $\\eta=\\eta_0$.\nWe find that the answer depends on what quantities one examines. We study a\nrange of them, all based on two-point correlation functions, and analyze which\nones approach the standard Bunch-Davies values over time. The outcome of this\nanalysis suggests that the nature of the equilibration process in this system\nis similar to that in more familiar systems."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Kaluza-Klein Schwinger effect and breakdown of four dimensional\n  effective theory: We show that electric fields in compactified spaces may cause breakdown of\nfour dimensional (4D) effective description of higher-dimensional theory. We\nconsider a charged massless complex scalar coupled to U(1) gauge theory in\n$\\mathbb{R}^{1,3}\\times {\\mathbb S}^1$ and discuss the effect of background\ngauge potential along a compact direction. The electric field produces the\ncharged particle non-perturbatively, which we call Kaluza-Klein (KK) Schwinger\neffect. We quantitatively show that KK modes can be produced even when the\nelectric field energy is much below the KK scale. The mechanism is rather\ngeneral and similar phenomena would occur in any compactification models when a\ngauge potential along compact direction evolves in time and experiences large\nenough field excursion.",
        "positive": "The Lie h-Invariant Conformal Field Theories and the Lie h-Invariant\n  Graphs: We use the Virasoro master equation to study the space of Lie h-invariant\nconformal field theories, which includes the standard rational conformal field\ntheories as a small subspace. In a detailed example, we apply the general\ntheory to characterize and study the Lie h-invariant graphs, which classify the\nLie h-invariant conformal field theories of the diagonal ansatz on SO(n). The\nLie characterization of these graphs is another aspect of the recently observed\nLie group-theoretic structure of graph theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Large Improved Wick Rotation Prescription in Stochastic Quantization of\n  Dissipative Systems: We apply Stochastic Quantization Method to dissipative systems at finite\ntemperature. Especially, the relation of SQM to the Caldeira-Leggett model is\nclarified ensuring that the naive Wick rotation is improved in this context. We\nshow that the Langevin system obtained by the \\lq\\lq Improved Wick Rotation \"\nprescription is equivalent to an ideal friction case ( low temperature limit)\nin the C-L model. We derive, based on our approach, a general formula on the\nfluctuation-dissipation theorem for higher derivative frictions.",
        "positive": "Scattering on D3-branes: In a direct open string approach we analyze scattering of massless states on\na stack of D3-branes. First we construct vertex operators on the D-branes. The\n4+6 splitting for the fermionic part is made possible by inserting\nappropriately defined projection operators. With the vertex operators\nconstructed we compute various tree amplitudes. The results are then compared\nwith the corresponding field theory computations of the $\\N=4$ SYM with\n$\\a'$-corrections: agreements are found. We comment on applications to AdS/CFT."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Thermodynamical description of the interaction between holographic dark\n  energy and dark matter: We present a thermodynamical description of the interaction between\nholographic dark energy and dark matter. If holographic dark energy and dark\nmatter evolve separately, each of them remains in thermodynamic equilibrium. A\nsmall interaction between them may be viewed as a stable thermal fluctuation\nthat brings a logarithmic correction to the equilibrium entropy. From this\ncorrection we obtain a physical expression for the interaction which is\nconsistent with phenomenological descriptions and passes reasonably well the\nobservational tests.",
        "positive": "Energy Computation in Wormhole Background with the Wheeler-DeWitt\n  Operators: We investigate the possibility of computing energy by means of operators\nassociated to the Wheeler-DeWitt equation. By choosing three dimensional\nwormholes as a framework, we apply such calculation scheme to the black hole\npair creation. We compare our results with the recent ones appeared in the\nliterature."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Universal de Sitter solutions at tree-level: Type IIA string theory compactified on SU(3)-structure manifolds with\norientifolds allows for classical de Sitter solutions in four dimensions. In\nthis paper we investigate these solutions from a ten-dimensional point of view.\nIn particular, we demonstrate that there exists an attractive class of de\nSitter solutions, whose geometry, fluxes and source terms can be entirely\nwritten in terms of the universal forms that are defined on all SU(3)-structure\nmanifolds. These are the forms J and Omega, defining the SU(3)-structure\nitself, and the torsion classes. The existence of such universal de Sitter\nsolutions is governed by easy-to-verify conditions on the SU(3)-structure,\nrendering the problem of finding dS solutions purely geometrical. We point out\nthat the known (unstable) solution coming from the compactification on SU(2)x\nSU(2) is of this kind.",
        "positive": "A Dual Path Integral Representation for Finite Temperature Quantum Field\n  Theory: We impose the periodicity conditions corresponding to the Matsubara formalism\nfor Thermal Field Theory as constraints in the imaginary time path integral.\nThese constraints are introduced by means of time-independent auxiliary fields\nwhich, by integration of the original variables, become dynamical fields in the\nresulting `dual' representation for the theory. This alternative representation\nhas the appealing property of involving fields which live in one dimension less\nthan the original ones, with a quantum partition function whose integration\nmeasure is identical to the one of its classical counterpart, albeit with a\ndifferent (spatially nonlocal) action."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Living with Ghosts and their Radiative Corrections: The role of higher derivative operators in 4D effective field theories is\ndiscussed in both non-supersymmetric and supersymmetric contexts. The approach,\nformulated in the Minkowski space-time, shows that theories with higher\nderivative operators do not always have an improved UV behaviour, due to\nsubtleties related to the analytical continuation from the Minkowski to the\nEuclidean metric. This continuation is further affected at the dynamical level\ndue to a field-dependence of the poles of the Green functions of the\nparticle-like states, for curvatures of the potential of order unity in ghost\nmass units. The one-loop scalar potential in lambda*phi^4 theory with a single\nhigher derivative term is shown to have infinitely many counterterms, while for\na very large mass of the ghost the usual 4D renormalisation is recovered. In\nthe supersymmetric context of the O'Raifeartaigh model of spontaneous\nsupersymmetry breaking with a higher derivative (supersymmetric) operator, it\nis found that quadratic divergences are present in the one-loop self-energy of\nthe scalar field. They arise with a coefficient proportional to the amount of\nsupersymmetry breaking and suppressed by the scale of the higher derivative\noperator. This is also true in the Wess-Zumino model with higher derivatives\nand explicit soft breaking of supersymmetry. In both models, the UV logarithmic\nbehaviour is restored in the decoupling limit of the ghost.",
        "positive": "Brane Theory Solitons: Field theories that describe {\\sl small} fluctuations of branes are limits of\n`brane theories' that describe {\\sl large} fluctuations. In particular,\nsupersymmetric sigma-models arise in this way. These lectures discuss the\nsoliton solutions of the associated `brane theories' and their relation to\ncalibrations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Auxiliary representations of Lie algebras and the BRST constructions: The method of construction of auxiliary representations for a given Lie\nalgebra is discussed in the framework of the BRST approach. The corresponding\nBRST charge turns out to be non -- hermitian. This problem is solved by the\nintroduction of the additional kernel operator in the definition of the scalar\nproduct in the Fock space. The existence of the kernel operator is proven for\nany Lie algebra.",
        "positive": "Nonadiabatic quantum Vlasov equation in spinor QED: The nonadiabatic quantum Vlasov equation in spinor QED is derived, and its\nrelation to the well-known adiabatic one is established by three methods. One\nis by an explicitly analytical expression, the second is by the Dirac equation\nin the V gauge, and the last is by introducing a turn-off electric field.\nWherein what the first two of them are given is an instantaneous relation.\nMoreover, the time evolution of the distribution function for a specific\nmomentum and the momentum distribution of created particle pairs after turning\noff the electric field are calculated and compared with those in scalar QED. It\nis found that both the oscillation periods of the distribution functions in\nspinor and scalar QED equal pi divided by the total energy of a particle after\nthe electric field is turned off. The momentum distributions in spinor and\nscalar QED show a novel oscillation and out-of-phase behavior that cannot be\nexplained by the Stokes phenomenon. These findings will further deepen our\nunderstanding of the quantum Vlasov equation and its application in vacuum pair\nproduction."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetry and Phenomenology of Heterotic and Type I Superstring\n  Models: This thesis is the discussion of heterotic and type I string phenomenology.\nThe heterotic string model is based on the free--fermionic formalism. This is\nthe first case where non--Abelian VEV's, as opposed to singlet VEV's are\nrequired for the cancellation of the Fayet--Iliopoulos term. It is noted that\nnon--Abelian fields are the only fields that can give rise to the satisfaction\nof the D--flat constraints in this model.\n  The type I models are based on T^6/Z_2x(Z_2)^s and T^6/Z_2xZ_2x(Z_2)^s\ncompactifications. The first example has N=2 supersymmetry and includes a rank\nreduction of the D5 gauge groups as a result of using a freely acting Kaluza\nKlein shift Z_2^s. The second case is an N=1 model. One has a choice of sign\nepsilon=+/-1 from terms not related to the principle orbits by S and T\ntransformations. This allows the breaking of supersymmetry with the\nintroduction of antibranes. For epsilon=-1 there is a problem with respect to\nparticle interpretation.\n  I magnetize the T^6/Z_2xZ_2 model for the epsilon=-1 case. This leads to\ntadpole complications for the g and f twisted sectors, but allows the h twisted\nsector to behave normally.",
        "positive": "Asymptotic Conformal Invariance of SU(2) and Standard Models in Curved\n  Space-time: The asymptotic conformal invariance of some SU(2) model and Standard Model in\ncurved space-time are investigated. We have examined the conditions for\nasymptotic conformal invariance for these models numerically."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Soliton Decay in Coupled System of Scalar Fields: A system of coupled scalar fields is introduced which possesses a spectrum of\nmassive single-soliton solutions. Some of these solutions are unstable and\ndecay into lower mass stable solitons. Some properties of the solutions are\nobtained using general principles including conservations of energy and\ntopological charges. Rest energies are calculated via a variational scheme, and\nthe dynamics of the coupled fields are obtained by solving the field equations\nnumerically.",
        "positive": "Anomaly related transport of Weyl fermions for Weyl semi-metals: We present a field theoretical model of anomalous transport in Weyl\nsemi-metals. We calculate the Chiral Magnetic and Chiral Vortical Effect in the\nelectric, axial (valley) and energy current. Our findings coincide with the\nresults of a recent analysis using kinetic theory in the bulk of the material.\nWe point out that the kinetic currents have to be identified with the covariant\ncurrents in quantum field theory. These currents are anomalous and the CME\nappears as anomalous charge creation/annihilation at the edges of the Weyl\nsemi-metal. We discuss a possible simultaneous experimental test of the chiral\nmagnetic and the chiral vortical effect sensitive to the temperature dependence\ninduce by the gravitational contribution to the axial anomaly."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Entanglement in massive Schwinger model at finite temperature and\n  density: We evaluate the entanglement entropy and entropic function of massive two\ndimensional QED (Schwinger model) at finite temperature, density, and\n$\\theta$-angle. In the strong coupling regime, the entropic function is\ndominated by the boson mass for large spatial intervals, and reduces to the CFT\nresult for small spatial intervals. We also discuss the entanglement spectrum\nat finite temperature and a finite $\\theta$-angle.",
        "positive": "Group theoretical approach to quantum fields in de Sitter space II. The\n  complementary and discrete series: We use an algebraic approach based on representations of de Sitter group to\nconstruct covariant quantum fields in arbitrary dimensions. We study the\ncomplementary and the discrete series which correspond to light and massless\nfields and which lead new feature with respect to the massive principal series\nwe previously studied (hep-th/0606119). When considering the complementary\nseries, we make use of a non-trivial scalar product in order to get local\nexpressions in the position representation. Based on these, we construct a\nfamily of covariant canonical fields parametrized by SU(1,1)/U(1). Each of\nthese correspond to the dS invariant alpha-vacua. The behavior of the modes at\nasymptotic times brings another difficulty as it is incompatible with the usual\ndefinition of the in and out vacua. We propose a generalized notion of these\nvacua which reduces to the usual conformal vacuum in the conformally massless\nlimit. When considering the massless discrete series we find that no covariant\nfield obeys the canonical commutation relations. To further analyze this\nsingular case, we consider the massless limit of the complementary scalar\nfields we previously found. We obtain canonical fields with a deformed\nrepresentation by zero modes. The zero modes have a dS invariant vacuum with\nsingular norm. We propose a regularization by a compactification of the scalar\nfield and a dS invariant definition of the vertex operators. The resulting\ntwo-point functions are dS invariant and have a universal logarithmic infrared\ndivergence."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "High-order corrections to inflationary perturbation spectra in quantum\n  gravity: We compute the inflationary perturbation spectra and the quantity $r+8n_{T}$\nto the next-to-next-to-leading log order in quantum gravity with purely virtual\nparticles (which means the theory $R+R^{2}+C^{2}$ with the fakeon\nprescription/projection for $C^{2}$). The spectra are functions of the\ninflationary running coupling $\\alpha (1/k)$ and satisfy the cosmic\nrenormalization-group flow equations, which determine the tilts and the running\ncoefficients. The tensor fluctuations receive contributions from the spin-2\nfakeon $\\chi_{\\mu \\nu }$ at every order of the expansion in powers of $\\alpha\n\\sim 1/115$. The dependence of the scalar spectrum on the $\\chi_{\\mu \\nu }$\nmass $m_{\\chi }$, on the other hand, starts from the $\\alpha ^{2}$ corrections,\nwhich are handled perturbatively in the ratio $m_{\\phi }/m_{\\chi }$, where\n$m_{\\phi }$ is the inflaton mass. The predictions have theoretical errors\nranging from $\\alpha ^{4}\\sim 10^{-8}$ to $\\alpha ^{3}\\sim 10^{-6}$. Nontrivial\nissues concerning the fakeon projection at higher orders are addressed.",
        "positive": "Covariant Phase Space Formulations of Superparticles and Supersymmetric\n  WZW Models: We present new covariant phase space formulations of superparticles moving on\na group manifold, deriving the fundamental Poisson brackets and current\nalgebras. We show how these formulations naturally generalise to the\nsupersymmetric Wess-Zumino-Witten models."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Two dimensional general covariance from three dimensions: A 3d generally covariant field theory having some unusual properties is\ndescribed. The theory has a degenerate 3-metric which effectively makes it a 2d\nfield theory in disguise. For 2-manifolds without boundary, it has an infinite\nnumber of conserved charges that are associated with graphs in two dimensions\nand the Poisson algebra of the charges is closed. For 2-manifolds with boundary\nthere are additional observables that have a Kac-Moody Poisson algebra. It is\nfurther shown that the theory is classically integrable and the general\nsolution of the equations of motion is given. The quantum theory is described\nusing Dirac quantization, and it is shown that there are quantum states\nassociated with graphs in two dimensions.",
        "positive": "Cosmology From Random Multifield Potentials: We consider the statistical properties of vacua and inflationary trajectories\nassociated with a random multifield potential. Our underlying motivation is the\nstring landscape, but our calculations apply to general potentials. Using\nrandom matrix theory, we analyze the Hessian matrices associated with the\nextrema of this potential. These potentials generically have a vast number of\nextrema. If the cross-couplings (off-diagonal terms) are of the same order as\nthe self-couplings (diagonal terms) we show that essentially all extrema are\nsaddles, and the number of minima is effectively zero. Avoiding this requires\nthe same separation of scales needed to ensure that Newton's constant is stable\nagainst radiative corrections in a string landscape. Using the central limit\ntheorem we find that even if the number of extrema is enormous, the typical\ndistance between extrema is still substantial -- with challenging implications\nfor inflationary models that depend on the existence of a complicated path\ninside the landscape."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Extremal limits and black hole entropy: Taking the extremal limit of a non-extremal Reissner-Nordstr\\\"om black hole\n(by externally varying the mass or charge), the region between the inner and\nouter event horizons experiences an interesting fate -- while this region is\nabsent in the extremal case, it does not disappear in the extremal limit but\nrather approaches a patch of $AdS_2\\times S^2$. In other words, the approach to\nextremality is not continuous, as the non-extremal Reissner-Nordstr\\\"om\nsolution splits into two spacetimes at extremality: an extremal black hole and\na disconnected $AdS$ space. We suggest that the unusual nature of this limit\nmay help in understanding the entropy of extremal black holes.",
        "positive": "Schwinger Mechanism and Hawking Radiation as Quantum Tunneling: The common interpretation of the Hawking radiation as quantum tunneling has\nsome ambiguity such as coordinate-dependence of tunneling rate and\nnon-invariance of the action under canonical transformations. It is shown that\nthe tunneling process of black holes can be successfully described by Rindler\ncoordinates in analogy with the Schwinger mechanism for pair production. We\nstudy the tunneling process of a charged black hole and a BTZ black hole."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "More Series related to the Euler Series: We present results for infinite series appearing in Feynman diagram\ncalculations, many of which are similar to the Euler series. These include both\none-, two- and three-dimensional series. All these series can be expressed in\nterms of zeta(2) and zeta(3).",
        "positive": "Fields topology and perturbation theory: The fields nonlinear modes quantization scheme is discussed. New form of the\nperturbation theory achieved by unitary mapping the quantum dynamics in the\nspace $W_G$ of (action, angle)-type collective variables. It is shown why the\ntransformed perturbation theory contributions may accumulated exactly on the\nboundary $\\pa W_G$. Abilities of the developed formalism are illustrated by\nexamples from quantum mechanics and field theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exact Solution of 2D Poincare Gravity Coupled to Fermion Matter: The 2D model of gravity with zweibeins $e^{a}$ and the Lorentz connection\none-form $\\omega^{a}_{\\ b}$ as independent gravitational variables coupled to\n2d massless Dirac matter is considered. It is shown that the classical\nequations of motion are exactly integrated in the case of chiral fermions.",
        "positive": "IIB String Theory and Sequestered Inflation: We develop sequestered inflation models, where inflation occurs along flat\ndirections in supergravity models derived from type IIB string theory. It is\ncompactified on a ${\\mathbb{T}^6 \\over \\mathbb{Z}_2 \\times \\mathbb{Z}_2}$\norientifold with generalized fluxes and O3/O7-planes. At Step I, we use flux\npotentials which 1) satisfy tadpole cancellation conditions and 2) have\nsupersymmetric Minkowski vacua with flat direction(s). The 7 moduli are split\ninto heavy and massless Goldstone multiplets. At Step II we add a nilpotent\nmultiplet and uplift the flat direction(s) of the type IIB string theory to\nphenomenological inflationary plateau potentials: $\\alpha$-attractors with 7\ndiscrete values $3\\alpha = 1, 2, 3, ..., 7$. Their cosmological predictions are\ndetermined by the hyperbolic geometry inherited from string theory. The masses\nof the heavy fields and the volume of the extra dimensions change during\ninflation, but this does not affect the inflationary dynamics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Classification and construction of unitary topological field theories in\n  two dimensions: We prove that unitary two-dimensional topological field theories are uniquely\ncharacterized by $n$ positive real numbers $\\lambda _1,\\ldots \\lambda _n$ which\ncan be regarded as the eigenvalues of a hermitean handle creation operator. The\nnumber $n$ is the dimension of the Hilbert space associated with the circle and\nthe partition functions for closed surfaces have the form $$\nZ_g=\\sum_{i=1}^{n}\\lambda _i^{g-1} $$ where $g$ is the genus. The eigenvalues\ncan be arbitary positive numbers. We show how such a theory can be constructed\non triangulated surfaces.",
        "positive": "Non-abelian T-folds: We discuss the conditions under which non-abelian T-duality can be considered\nas a chain of abelian T-dualities. Motivated by these results, we propose that\nthe topology of a non-abelian T-dual should be phrased in the language of\nT-folds, and give the explicit O(d, d) transformations which can be used to\nglue the dual space."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Distribution of the k-th smallest Dirac operator eigenvalue: Based on the exact relationship to Random Matrix Theory, we derive the\nprobability distribution of the k-th smallest Dirac operator eigenvalue in the\nmicroscopic finite-volume scaling regime of QCD and related gauge theories.",
        "positive": "Effective Action for Hard Thermal Loops in Gravitational Fields: We examine, through a Boltzmann equation approach, the generating action of\nhard thermal loops in the background of gravitational fields. Using the gauge\nand Weyl invariance of the theory at high temperature, we derive an explicit\nclosed-form expression for the effective action."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetric compactifications of heterotic strings with fluxes and\n  condensates: We discuss supersymmetric compactifications of heterotic strings in the\npresence of H-flux and general condensates using the formalism of G-structures\nand intrinsic torsion. We revisit the examples based on nearly-Kaehler coset\nspaces and show that supersymmetric solutions, where the Bianchi identity is\nsatisfied, can be obtained when both gaugino and dilatino condensates are\npresent.",
        "positive": "Supersymmetric Monopole Quantum Mechanics on Sphere: We study N=2 supersymmetric quantum mechanics of a charged particle on sphere\nin the background of Dirac magnetic monopole. We adopt CP(1) model approach in\nwhich the monopole interaction is free of singularity. In order to exploit\nmanifest U(1) covariance in the superspace formalism, we introduce a gauge\ncovariant chiral superfield which is annihilated by the gauge covariant\nsuperderivative instead of the usual superderivative. We carry out the\nquantization of the resulting system and compute the quantum mechanical\nspectrum. We obtain the condition for the spontaneous breaking of\nsupersymmetries explicitely in terms of the monopole charge and a parameter\ncharacterizing the operator ordering ambiguity. We find that the supersymmetry\nis spontaneously broken unless a certain combination of theses quantities\nsatisfies some quantization condition."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Noncommutativity Parameter As a Field on the String Worldsheet: We consider the noncommutativity parameter of the space-time as a bosonic\nworldsheet field. By finding a fermionic super-partner for it, we can find star\nproducts between the boson-boson, boson-fermion and fermion-fermion fields of\nsuperstring worldsheet and also between superfields of the worldsheet\nsuperspace. We find a two dimensional action for the noncommutativity parameter\nand its fermionic partner. We discuss the symmetries of this action.",
        "positive": "Schwinger-Keldysh Propagators from AdS/CFT Correspondence: We demonstrate how to compute real-time Green's functions for a class of\nfinite temperature field theories from their AdS gravity duals. In particular,\nwe reproduce the two-by-two Schwinger-Keldysh matrix propagator from a gravity\ncalculation. Our methods should work also for computing higher point Lorentzian\nsignature correlators. We elucidate the boundary condition subtleties which\nhampered previous efforts to build a Lorentzian-signature AdS/CFT\ncorrespondence. For two-point correlators, our construction is automatically\nequivalent to the previously formulated prescription for the retarded\npropagator."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Threebrane Absorption and Emission from a Brane-Antibrane System: We show that a previously proposed model based on a D3-brane--anti-D3-brane\nsystem at finite temperature can reproduce the low-frequency absorption and\nemission probabilities of the black threebrane of Type IIB supergravity\narbitrarily far from extremality, for arbitrary partial waves of a minimal\nscalar field. Our calculations cover in particular the case of the neutral\nthreebrane, which corresponds to the Schwarzschild black hole in seven\ndimensions. Our results provide not only significant evidence in favor of the\nbrane-antibrane model, but also a rationale for the condition that the energies\nof the two component gases agree with one another. In the course of our\nanalysis we correct previous results on the absorption probabilities of the\nnear-extremal threebrane, and extend them to the far-from-extremal regime.",
        "positive": "Gauge and Lorentz transformation placed on the same foundation: In this note we show that a \"dynamical\" interaction for arbitrary spin can be\nconstructed in a straightforward way if gauge and Lorentz transformations are\nplaced on the same foundation. As Lorentz transformations act on space-time\ncoordinates, gauge transformations are applied to the gauge field. Placing\nthese two transformations on the same ground means that all quantized field\nlike spin-1/2 and spin-3/2 spinors are functions not only of the coordinates\nbut also of the gauge field components. This change of perspective solves a\ncouple of problems occuring for higher spin fields like the loss of causality,\nbad high-energy properties and the deviation of the gyromagnetic ratio from its\nconstant value g=2 for any spin, as caused by applying the minimal coupling.\nStarting with a \"dynamical\" interaction, a non-minimal coupling can be derived\nwhich is consistent with causality, the expectation for the gyromagnetic ratio,\nand well-behaved for high energies. As a consequence, on this stage the\n(elektromagnetic) gauge field has to be considered as classical field.\nTherefore, standard quantum field theory cannot be applied. Despite this\ninconvenience, such a common ground is consistent with an old dream of\nphysicists almost a century ago. Our approach, therefore, indicates a\nstraightforward way to realize this dream."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Cutoff AdS/CFT duality and the quest for braneworld black holes: We present significant evidence in favour of the holographic conjecture that\n``4D black holes localized on the brane found by solving the classical bulk\nequations in $AdS_5$ are quantum corrected black holes and not classical\nones''. The crucial test is the calculation of the quantum correction to the\nNewtonian potential based on a numerical computation of $<T^a_b>$ in\nSchwarzschild spacetime for matter fields in the zero temperature Boulware\nvacuum state. For the case of the conformally invariant scalar field the\nleading order term is found to be $M/45\\pi r^3$. This result is equivalent to\nthe result which was previously obtained in the weak-field approximation using\nFeynman diagrams and which has been shown to be equivalent, via the AdS/CFT\nduality, to the analogous calculation in Randall-Sundrum braneworlds. This\nasymptotic behavior was not captured in the analytical approximations for\n$<T^a_b>$ proposed in the literature. The 4D backreaction equations are then\nused to make a prediction about the existence and the possible spacetime\nstructure of macroscopic static braneworld black holes.",
        "positive": "On the Horava-Lifshitz-like Gross-Neveu model: We describe a Horava-Lifshitz-like reformulated four-fermion Gross-Neveu\nmodel describing the dynamics of two-component spinors in (2+1)-dimensional\nspace-time. Within our study, we introduce the Lagrange multiplier, study the\ngap equation (including the finite temperature case) which turns out to display\nessentially distinct behaviors for even and odd values of the critical exponent\nz, and show that the dynamical parity breaking occurs only for the odd z. We\ndemonstrate that for any odd z, there exists a critical temperature at which\nthe dynamical parity breaking disappears. Besides of this, we obtain the\neffective propagator and show that the resulting effective theory is\nrenormalizable within the framework of the 1/N expansion for all values of z.\nAs one more application of the dynamical parity breaking, we consider coupling\nof the vector field to the fermions in the case of a simplified spinor-vector\ncoupling and discuss the generation the Chern-Simons term."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantisation of second class systems in the Batalin-Tyutin formalism: We review the Batalin-Tyutin approach of quantising second class systems\nwhich consists in enlarging the phase space to convert such systems into first\nclass. The quantisation of first class systems, it may be mentioned, is already\nwell founded. We show how the usual analysis of Batalin-Tyutin may be\ngeneralised, particularly if one is dealing with nonabelian theories. In order\nto gain a deeper insight into the formalism we have considered two specific\nexamples of second class theories-- the massive Maxwell theory (Proca model)\nand its nonabelian extension. The first class constraints and the involutive\nHamiltonian are explicitly constructed. The connection of our Hamiltonian\napproach with the usual Lagrangian formalism is elucidated. For the Proca model\nwe reveal the importance of a boundary term which plays a significant role in\nestablishing an exact identification of the extra fields in the Batalin-Tyutin\napproach with the St\\\"uckelberg scalar. Some comments are also made concerning\nthe corresponding identification in the nonabelian example.",
        "positive": "D=4, N=1 orientifolds with vector structure: We construct compact type IIB orientifolds with discrete groups Z_4, Z_6,\nZ_6', Z_8, Z_12 and Z_12'. These models are N=1 supersymmetric in D=4 and have\nvector structure. The possibility of having vector structure in Z_N\norientifolds with even N arises due to an alternative Omega-projection in the\ntwisted sectors. Some of the models without vector structure are known to be\ninconsistent because of uncancelled tadpoles. We show that vector structure\nleads to a sign flip in the twisted Klein bottle contribution. As a\nconsequence, all the tadpoles can be cancelled by introducing D9-branes and\nD5-branes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "BPS Black Holes in AdS4 from M-theory: We study supersymmetric black holes in $AdS_4$ in the framework of four\ndimensional gauged $\\N=2$ supergravity coupled to hypermultiplets. We derive\nthe flow equations for a general electrically gauged theory where the gauge\ngroup is Abelian and, restricting them to the fixed points, we derive the\ngauged supergravity analogue of the attractor equations for theories coupled to\nhypermultiplets. The particular models we analyze are consistent truncations of\nM-theory on certain Sasaki-Einstein seven-manifolds. We study the space of\nhorizon solutions of the form $AdS_2\\times \\Sigma_g$ with both electric and\nmagnetic charges and find a four-dimensional solution space when the theory\narises from a reduction on $Q^{111}$. For other $SE_7$ reductions, the\nsolutions space is a subspace of this. We construct explicit examples of\nspherically symmetric black holes numerically.",
        "positive": "Comments on the black hole information problem: String theory provides numerous examples of duality between gravitational\ntheories and unitary gauge theories. To resolve the black hole information\nparadox in this setting, it is necessary to better understand how unitarity is\nimplemented on the gravity side. We argue that unitarity is restored by\nnonlocal effects whose initial magnitude is suppressed by the exponential of\nthe Bekenstein-Hawking entropy. Time-slicings for which effective field theory\nis valid are obtained by demanding the mutual back-reaction of quanta be small.\nThe resulting bounds imply that nonlocal effects do not lead to observable\nviolations of causality or conflict with the equivalence principle for\ninfalling observers, yet implement information retrieval for observers who stay\noutside the black hole."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Bare Action and Regularized Functional Integral of Asymptotically Safe\n  Quantum Gravity: Investigations of Quantum Einstein Gravity (QEG) based upon the effective\naverage action employ a flow equation which does not contain any ultraviolet\n(UV) regulator. Its renormalization group trajectories emanating from a\nnon-Gaussian fixed point define asymptotically safe quantum field theories. A\npriori these theories are, somewhat unusually, given in terms of their\neffective rather than bare action. In this paper we construct a functional\nintegral representation of these theories. We fix a regularized measure and\nshow that every trajectory of effective average actions, depending on an IR\ncutoff only, induces an associated trajectory of bare actions which depend on a\nUV cutoff. Together with the regularized measure these bare actions give rise\nto a functional integral which reproduces the prescribed effective action when\nthe UV cutoff is removed. In this way we are able to reconstruct the underlying\nmicroscopic (\"classical\") system and identify its fundamental degrees of\nfreedom and interactions. The bare action of the Einstein-Hilbert truncation is\ncomputed and its flow is analyzed as an example. Various conceptual issues\nrelated to the completion of the asymptotic safety program are discussed.",
        "positive": "On O(N_c) d=3 N=2 supersymmetric QCD Theories: We study three dimensional N=2 supersymmetric QCD theories with O(N_c) gauge\ngroups and with N_f chiral multiplets in the vector representation. We argue\nthat for N_f < N_c-2 there is a runaway potential on the moduli space and no\nvacuum. For N_f >= N_c-2 there is a moduli space also in the quantum theory,\nand for N_f >= N_c-1 there is a superconformal fixed point at the origin of\nthis moduli space that has a dual description as the low-energy fixed point of\nan O(N_f-N_c+2) gauge theory. We test this duality in various ways; in some\ncases the duality for an O(2) gauge theory may be related to the known duality\nfor U(1) gauge theories. We also discuss real mass deformations, which allow to\nconnect theories with a different Chern-Simons level. This allows us to connect\nour duality with the known duality in O(N_c) theories with a Chern-Simons term\nof level k, where the dual gauge group is given by O(N_f+|k|-N_c+2)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Locally critical umklapp scattering and holography: Efficient momentum relaxation through umklapp scattering, leading to a power\nlaw in temperature d.c. resistivity, requires a significant low energy spectral\nweight at finite momentum. One way to achieve this is via a Fermi surface\nstructure, leading to the well-known relaxation rate Gamma ~ T^2. We observe\nthat local criticality, in which energies scale but momenta do not, provides a\ndistinct route to efficient umklapp scattering. We show that umklapp scattering\nby an ionic lattice in a locally critical theory leads to Gamma ~\nT^(2\\Delta(k_L)). Here \\Delta(k_L) \\geq 0 is the dimension of the (irrelevant\nor marginal) charge density operator J^t(w,k_L) in the locally critical theory,\nat the lattice momentum k_L. We illustrate this result with an explicit\ncomputation in locally critical theories described holographically via\nEinstein-Maxwell theory in Anti-de Sitter spacetime. We furthermore show that\nscattering by random impurities in these locally critical theories gives a\nuniversal Gamma ~ 1/log(1/T)",
        "positive": "Holographic Superconductors in a Cohesive Phase: We consider a four-dimensional N=2 gauged supergravity coupled to matter\nfields. The model is obtained by a U(1) gauging of a charged hypermultiplet and\ntherefore it is suitable for the study of holographic superconductivity. The\npotential has a topologically flat direction and the parameter running on this\n\"moduli space\" labels the new superconducting black holes. Zero temperature\nsolutions are constructed and the phase diagram of the theory is studied. The\nmodel has rich dynamics. The retrograde condensate is just a special case in\nthe new class of black holes. The calculation of the entanglement entropy makes\nmanifest the properties of a generic solution and the superconductor at zero\ntemperature is in a confined cohesive phase. The parameter running on the\ntopologically flat direction is a marginal coupling in the dual field theory.\nWe prove this statement by considering the way double trace deformations are\ntreated in the AdS/CFT correspondence. Finally, we comment on a possible\nconnection, in the context of gauge/gravity dualities, between the geometry of\nthe scalar manifold in N=2 supergravity models and the space of marginal\ndeformations of the dual field theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Closed N=2 Strings: Picture-Changing, Hidden Symmetries and SDG\n  Hierarchy: We study the action of picture-changing and spectral flow operators on a\nground ring of ghost number zero operators in the chiral BRST cohomology of the\nclosed N=2 string and describe an infinite set of symmetry charges acting on\nphysical states. The transformations of physical string states are compared\nwith symmetries of self-dual gravity which is the effective field theory of the\nclosed N=2 string. We derive all infinitesimal symmetries of the self-dual\ngravity equations in 2+2 dimensional spacetime and introduce an infinite\nhierarchy of commuting flows on the moduli space of self-dual metrics. The\ndependence on moduli parameters can be recovered by solving the equations of\nthe SDG hierarchy associated with an infinite set of abelian symmetries\ngenerated recursively from translations. These non-local abelian symmetries are\nshown to coincide with the hidden abelian string symmetries responsible for the\nvanishing of most scattering amplitudes. Therefore, N=2 string theory\n\"predicts\" not only self-dual gravity but also the SDG hierarchy.",
        "positive": "More About All Current-Algebraic Orbifolds: Recently a construction was given for the stress tensors of all sectors of\nthe general current-algebraic orbifold A(H)/H, where A(H) is any\ncurrent-algebraic conformal field theory with a finite symmetry group H. Here\nwe extend and further analyze this construction to obtain the mode formulation\nof each sector of each orbifold A(H)/H, including the twisted current algebra,\nthe Virasoro generators, the orbifold adjoint operation and the commutator of\nthe Virasoro generators with the modes of the twisted currents. As\napplications, general expressions are obtained for the twisted current-current\ncorrelator and ground state conformal weight of each twisted sector of any\npermutation orbifold A(H)/H, H \\subset S_N. Systematics are also outlined for\nthe orbifolds A(Lie h(H))/H of the (H and Lie h)-invariant conformal field\ntheories, which include the general WZW orbifold and the general coset\norbifold. Finally, two new large examples are worked out in further detail: the\ngeneral S_N permutation orbifold A(S_N)/S_N and the general inner-automorphic\norbifold A(H(d))/H(d)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A classification of supersymmetric Kaluza-Klein black holes with a\n  single axial symmetry: We extend the recent classification of five-dimensional, supersymmetric\nasymptotically flat black holes with only a single axial symmetry to black\nholes with Kaluza-Klein asymptotics. This includes a similar class of solutions\nfor which the supersymmetric Killing field is generically timelike, and the\ncorresponding base (orbit space of the supersymmetric Killing field) is of\nmulti-centred Gibbons-Hawking type. These solutions are determined by four\nharmonic functions on $\\mathbb{R}^3$ with simple poles at the centres\ncorresponding to connected components of the horizon, and fixed points of the\naxial symmetry. The allowed horizon topologies are $S^3$, $S^2\\times S^1$, and\nlens space $L(p, 1)$, and the domain of outer communication may have\nnon-trivial topology with non-contractible 2-cycles. The classification also\nreveals a novel class of supersymmetric (multi-)black rings for which the\nsupersymmetric Killing field is globally null. These solutions are determined\nby two harmonic functions on $\\mathbb{R}^3$ with simple poles at centres\ncorresponding to horizon components. We determine the subclass of Kaluza-Klein\nblack holes that can be dimensionally reduced to obtain smooth, supersymmetric,\nfour-dimensional multi-black holes. This gives a classification of\nfour-dimensional asymptotically flat supersymmetric multi-black holes first\ndescribed by Denef et al.",
        "positive": "Gravitational anomalies, axions and a string-inspired running vacuum\n  model in Cosmology: I review a string-inspired cosmological model with gravitational anomalies in\nits early epochs, which is based on fields from the (bosonic) massless\ngravitational multiplet of strings, in particular gravitons and Kalb Ramond\n(KR), string-model independent, axions (the dilaton is assumed constant). I\nshow how condensation of primordial gravitational waves, which are generared at\nthe very early eras immediately after the big bang, can lead to inflation of\nthe so called running vacuum model (RVM) type, without external inflatons. The\nrole of the slow-roll field is played by the KR axion, but it does not drive\ninflation. The non-linearities in the anomaly terms do. Chiral fermionic matter\nexcitations appear at the end of this RVM inflation, as a result of the decay\nof the RVM vacuum, and are held responsible for the cancellation of the\nprimordial gravitational anomalies. Chiral anomalies, however, survive in the\npost-inflationary epochs, and can lead to the generation of a non perturbative\nmass for the KR axion, which could thus play the role of dark matter in this\nUniverse. As a result of the condensed gravitational anomaly, there is a\nLorentz-invariance violating KR axion background, which remains undiluted\nduring the RVM inflation, and can lead to baryogenesis through leptogenesis in\nthe radiation era, in models with sterile right-handed neutrinos. I also\ndiscuss the phenomenology of the model in the modern era, paying particular\nattention to linking it with a version of RVM, called type II RVM, which\narguably can alleviate observed tensions in the current-epoch cosmological\ndata."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Mordell integrals and Giveon-Kutasov duality: We solve, for finite $N$, the matrix model of supersymmetric $U(N)$\nChern-Simons theory coupled to $N_{f}$ massive hypermultiplets of $R$-charge\n$\\frac{1}{2}$, together with a Fayet-Iliopoulos term. We compute the partition\nfunction by identifying it with a determinant of a Hankel matrix, whose entries\nare parametric derivatives (of order $N_{f}-1$) of Mordell integrals. We obtain\nfinite Gauss sums expressions for the partition functions. We also apply these\nresults to obtain an exhaustive test of Giveon-Kutasov (GK) duality in the\n$\\mathcal{N}=3$ setting, by systematic computation of the matrix models\ninvolved. The phase factor that arises in the duality is then obtained\nexplicitly. We give an expression characterized by modular arithmetic (mod 4)\nbehavior that holds for all tested values of the parameters (checked up to\n$N_{f}=12$ flavours).",
        "positive": "On BPS bounds in D=4 N=2 gauged supergravity: We determine the BPS bounds in minimal gauged supergravity in four spacetime\ndimensions. We concentrate on asymptotically anti-de Sitter (AdS) spacetimes,\nand find that there exist two disconnected BPS ground states of the theory,\ndepending on the presence of magnetic charge. Each of these ground states comes\nwith a different superalgebra and a different BPS bound, which we derive. As a\nbyproduct, we also demonstrate how the supersymmetry algebra has a built-in\nholographic renormalization method to define finite conserved charges."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Symmetry Resolved Measures in Quantum Field Theory: a Short Review: In this short review we present the key definitions, ideas and techniques\ninvolved in the study of symmetry resolved entanglement measures, with a focus\non the symmetry resolved entanglement entropy. In order to be able to define\nsuch entanglement measures, it is essential that the theory under study possess\nan internal symmetry. Then, symmetry resolved entanglement measures quantify\nthe contribution to a particular entanglement measure that can be associated to\na chosen symmetry sector. Our review focuses on conformal\n(gapless/massless/critical) and integrable (gapped/massive) quantum field\ntheories, where the leading computational technique employs symmetry fields\nknown as (composite) branch point twist fields.",
        "positive": "A Theory of Theories: We take a tour through the past, present and future of Effective Field\nTheory, with applications ranging from LHC physics to cosmology."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Towards Deriving Higgs Lagrangian from Gauge Theories: A new method of deriving the Higgs Lagrangian from vector-like gauge theories\nis explored. After performing a supersymmetric extension of gauge theories we\nidentify the auxiliary field associated with the \"meson\" superfield, in the low\nenergy effective theory, as the composite Higgs field. The auxiliary field, at\ntree level, has a \"negative squared mass\". By computing the one-loop effective\naction in the low energy effective theory, we show that a kinetic term for the\nauxiliary field emerges when an explicit non-perturbative mechanism for\nsupersymmetry breaking is introduced. We find that, due to the naive choice of\nthe Kaehler potential, the Higgs potential remains unbounded from the below. A\npossible scenario for solving this problem is presented. It is also shown that\nonce chiral symmetry is spontaneously broken via a non-zero vacuum expectation\nvalue of the Higgs field, the low energy composite fermion field acquires a\nmass and decouples, while in the supersymmetric limit it was kept massless by\nthe 't Hooft anomaly matching conditions.",
        "positive": "Strings below the Planck scale: We show that, for a class of critical strings in ${\\bf R}\\times S^{1}$-target\nspace, the description of string theory given by its field content (analog\nmodel) breaks down when the radius of $S^{1}$ decreases below\n$R_{0}=\\sqrt{\\alpha^{\\prime}}$, the self-dual point of the partition function\n$Z(R)$. We find that $Z(R)$ has a soft singularity at $R_{0}$ (a finite jump in\nthe first derivative of $Z$)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-Relativistic Non-Commutative Field Theory and UV/IR Mixing: We study a non-commutative non-relativistic scalar field theory in 2+1\ndimensions. The theory shows the UV/IR mixing typical of QFT on non-commutative\nspaces. The one-loop correction to the two-point function turns out to be given\nby a delta-function in momentum space. The one-loop correction to the\nfour-point function is of logarithmic type. We also evaluate the thermodynamic\npotential at two-loop order. To avoid an IR-singularity we have to introduce a\nchemical potential. The suppression of the non-planar contribution with respect\nto the planar one turns out to depend crucially on the value of the chemical\npotential.",
        "positive": "Orientifolds of SU(2)/U(1) WZW Models: The orientifolds of SU(2)/U(1) gauged WZW models are investigated. In\nparticular, we construct the new type orientifolds and identify their\ngeometries. We closely follow the analysis of D-branes in the SU(2)/U(1) WZW\nmodels, which was given by Maldacena, Moore and Seiberg."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quasi-local Energy in 3D Gravity with Torsion: We show that for generic stationary spacetime and specific Killing fields,\nWald's approach for quasi-local energy could be generalized to the first order\nformalism straightforwardly without introducing the Lorentz-Lie derivative. Via\nthis approach, we derive the general formula for the black hole entropy in\nthree dimensional torsional Mielke-Baekler gravity, reproducing precisely the\ntotal energy, the angular momentum as well as the black hole entropy for the\nBTZ-like solutions.",
        "positive": "Renormalization in an interpolating gauge in Yang-Mills theory: The Coulomb gauge in QCD is the only explicitly unitary gauge. But it suffers\nfrom energy-divergences which means that it is not rigorously well-defined. One\nway to define it unambiguously is as the limit of a gauge interpolating between\nthe Feynman gauge and the Coulomb gauge. This interpolating gauge is\ncharacterized by a parameter theta and the Coulomb gauge is obtained in the\nlimit theta tends to 0. We study the renormalization of this theta-gauge for\nall values of theta. Novel features include field mixing as well as scaling,\nthe renormalization of the theta parameter itself, and the appearance of new\ncounter-term structures at two-loop order."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the internal space dependence of the static quark-antiquark potential\n  in ${\\cal N}=4$ SYM plasma wind: We study the effect of the relative S^5-angle of a quark and an antiquark on\ntheir static potential and the related screening length in a strongly coupled\nmoving ${\\cal N}=4$ SYM plasma. The large velocity scaling law for the\nscreening length holds for any relative S^5-angle $\\theta$. However, the\nvelocity independent prefactor Z strongly depends on $\\theta$. For comparison\nwith QCD we propose to average Z over all relative orientations on S^5. This\ngenerates a suppression factor relative to the case $\\theta =0$.",
        "positive": "Batalin-Vilkovisky gauge-fixing of a chiral two-form in six dimensions: We perform the gauge-fixing of the theory of a chiral two-form boson in six\ndimensions starting from the action given by Pasti, Sorokin and Tonin. We use\nthe Batalin-Vilkovisky formalism, introducing antifields and writing down an\nextended action satisfying the classical master equation. Then we gauge-fix the\nthree local symmetries of the extended action in two different ways."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "SO(9) supergravity in two dimensions: We present maximal supergravity in two dimensions with gauge group SO(9). The\nconstruction is based on selecting the proper embedding of the gauge group into\nthe infinite-dimensional symmetry group of the ungauged theory. The bosonic\npart of the Lagrangian is given by a (dilaton-)gravity coupled non-linear\ngauged sigma-model with Wess-Zumino term. We give explicit expressions for the\nfermionic sector, the Yukawa couplings and the scalar potential which supports\na half-supersymmetric domain wall solution. The theory is expected to describe\nthe low-energy effective action upon reduction on the D0-brane near-horizon\nwarped AdS_2 x S^8 geometry, dual to the supersymmetric (BFSS) matrix quantum\nmechanics.",
        "positive": "Chiral fermions, massless particles and Poincare covariance: The coadjoint orbit method is applied to the construction of Hamiltonian\ndynamics of massless particles of arbitrary helicity. The unusual\ntransformation properties of canonical variables are interpreted in terms of\nnonlinear realizations of Poincare group. The action principle is formulated in\nterms of new space-time variables with standard transformation properties."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dynamical SUSY Breaking in Meta-Stable Vacua: Dynamical supersymmetry breaking in a long-lived meta-stable vacuum is a\nphenomenologically viable possibility. This relatively unexplored avenue leads\nto many new models of dynamical supersymmetry breaking. Here, we present a\nsurprisingly simple class of models with meta-stable dynamical supersymmetry\nbreaking: N=1 supersymmetric QCD, with massive flavors. Though these theories\nare strongly coupled, we definitively demonstrate the existence of meta-stable\nvacua by using the free-magnetic dual. Model building challenges, such as large\nflavor symmetries and the absence of an R-symmetry, are easily accommodated in\nthese theories. Their simplicity also suggests that broken supersymmetry is\ngeneric in supersymmetric field theory and in the landscape of string vacua.",
        "positive": "Standard-like Model from D=4 Type IIB Orbifolds: Based on the twisted R-R tadpole cancellation conditions at the singularities\nof D=4 Type IIB orbifold $T^6/ Z_3$, we propose a new bottom-up approach to\nembed standard model with three generations into string theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauge invariance of dimension two condensate in Yang-Mills theory: Gauge independence of dimension two condensate in Yang-Mills theory is\ndemonstrated by using a noncommutative theory technique.",
        "positive": "Maslov indices for periodic orbits: It is shown that there is a generalization of the Conley-Zehnder index for\nperiodic trajectories of a classical Hamiltonian system $(Q, \\omega, H)$ from\nthe case $Q = T^*R^n$ to arbitrary symplectic manifolds. As it turns out, it is\nprecisely this index which appears as a Maslov phase in the trace formulas by\nGutzwiller and Duistermaat-Guillemin. Contribution presented at the XIX ICGTMP\nSalamanca June 92."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Electroweak Knot: We demonstrate the existence of stable knot solitons in the standard\nelectroweak theory whose topological quantum number $\\pi_3(S^2)$ is fixed by\nthe Chern-Simon index of the $Z$ boson. The electroweak knots are made of the\nhelical magnetic flux tube of $Z$ boson which has a non-trivial dressing of the\nHiggs field, which could also be viewed as two quantized flux rings linked\ntogether whose linking number becomes the knot quantum number. We estimate the\nmass of the lightest knot to be around $21 TeV$.",
        "positive": "On Ghost Structure of Vacuum Superstring Field Theory: After discussing the general form of the kinetic operator around the tachyon\nvacuum, we determine the specific form of the pure-ghost kinetic operator Q^ by\nrequiring the twist invariance of the action. We obtain a novel result that the\nGrassmann-even piece Q_even of Q^ must act differently on GSO(+) sector and on\nGSO(-) sector to preserve the twist invariance, and show that this structure is\ncrucial for gauge invariance of the action. With this choice of Q^, we\nconstruct a solution in an approximation scheme which is conjectured to\ncorrespond to a non-BPS D9-brane. We consider both 0-picture cubic and\nBerkovits' non-polynomial superstring field theories for the NS sector."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Mixed States from Anomalies: There are several instances where quantum anomalies of continuous and\ndiscrete classical symmetries play an important role in fundamental physics.\nExamples come from chiral anomalies in the Standard Model of fundamental\ninteractions and gravitational anomalies in string theories. Their generic\norigin is the fact that classical symmetries may not preserve the domains of\nquantum operators like the Hamiltonian. In this work, we show by simple\nexamples that anomalous symmetries can often be implemented at the expense of\nworking with mixed states having non-zero entropies. In particular there is the\nresult on color breaking by non-abelian magnetic monopoles. This anomaly can be\nrectified by using impure states. We also argue that non-abelian groups of\ntwisted bundles are always anomalous for pure states sharpening an earlier\nargument of Sorkin and Balachandran. This is the case of mapping class groups\nof geons indicating that \"large\" diffeos are anomalous for pure states in the\npresence of geons. Nevertheless diffeo invariance may be restored by using\nimpure states. This work concludes with examples of these ideas drawn from\nmolecular physics.\n  The above approach using impure states is entirely equivalent to restricting\nall states to the algebra of observables invariant under the anomalous\nsymmetries. For anomalous gauge groups such as color, this would mean that we\nwork with observables singlet under global gauge transformations. For color,\nthis will mean that we work with color singlets, a reasonable constraint.",
        "positive": "Extended generalized geometry and a DBI-type effective action for branes\n  ending on branes: Starting from the usual bosonic membrane action, we develop the geometry\nsuitable for the description of $p$-brane backgrounds. Using the tools of\ngeneralized geometry we derive the generalization of string open-closed\nrelations. Nambu-Poisson structures are used to generalize the concept of\nsemiclassical noncommutativity of $D$-branes governed by Poisson tensor. We\nnaturally describe the correspondence of recently proposed commutative and\nnoncommutative versions of an effective action for $p$-branes ending on a\n$p'$-brane. We calculate the power series expansion of the action in background\nindependent gauge. Leading terms in the double scaling limit are given by a\ngeneralization of a (semi-classical) matrix model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "AdS2xS2 as an exact heterotic string background: An exact heterotic string theory on an AdS2xS2 background supported by an\nelectromagnetic flux is found as a marginal deformation of an SL(2,R)xSU(2) WZW\nmodel. Based on a talk given at NATO Advanced Study Institute and EC Summer\nSchool on String Theory: from Gauge Interactions to Cosmology, Cargese,\nCorsica, France, 7 Jun - 19 Jun 2004.",
        "positive": "GLSM's, gerbes, and Kuznetsov's homological projective duality: In this short note we give an overview of recent work on string propagation\non stacks and applications to gauged linear sigma models. We begin by outlining\nnoneffective orbifolds (orbifolds in which a subgroup acts trivially) and\nrelated phenomena in two-dimensional gauge theories, which realize string\npropagation on gerbes. We then discuss the `decomposition conjecture,' equating\nconformal field theories of strings on gerbes and strings on disjoint unions of\nspaces. Finally, we apply these ideas to gauged linear sigma models for\ncomplete intersections of quadrics, and use the decomposition conjecture to\nshow that the Landau-Ginzburg points of those models have a geometric\ninterpretation in terms of a (sometimes noncommutative resolution of a)\nbranched double cover, realized via nonperturbative effects, rather than as the\nvanishing locus of a superpotential. These examples violate old unproven lore\non GLSM's (e.g., that geometric phases must be related by birational\ntransformations), and we conclude by observing that in these examples (and\nconjecturing more generally in GLSM's), the phases are instead related by\nKuznetsov's `homological projective duality.'"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Operator product expansions in four-dimensional superconformal field\n  theories: The operator product expansion in four-dimensional superconformal field\ntheory is discussed. The OPE takes a particularly simple form for chiral\noperators, in $N=1$ and $N=2$, and for analytic operators, in $N=2$ and $N=4$.\nIt is argued that the Green's functions of such operators can be determined up\nto constants.",
        "positive": "Black hole size and phase space volumes: For extremal black holes the fuzzball conjecture says that the throat of the\ngeometry ends in a quantum `fuzz', instead of being infinite in length with a\nhorizon at the end. For the D1-D5 system we consider a family of sub-ensembles\nof states, and find that in each case the boundary area of the fuzzball\nsatisfies a Bekenstein type relation with the entropy enclosed. We suggest a\nrelation between the `capped throat' structure of microstate geometries and the\nfact that the extremal hole was found to have zero entropy in some gravity\ncomputations. We examine quantum corrections including string 1-loop effects\nand check that they do not affect our leading order computations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Conformal anomaly from dS/CFT correspondence: In frames of dS/CFT correspondence suggested by Strominger we calculate\nholographic conformal anomaly for dual euclidean CFT. The holographic\nrenormalization group method is used for this purpose. It is explicitly\ndemonstrated that two-dimensional and four-dimensional conformal anomalies (or\ncorresponding central charges) have the same form as those obtained in AdS/CFT\nduality.",
        "positive": "Asymptotic properties of the solutions of a differential equation\n  appearing in QCD: We establish the asymptotic behaviour of the ratio $h^\\prime(0)/h(0)$ for\n$\\lambda\\rightarrow\\infty$, where $h(r)$ is a solution, vanishing at infinity,\nof the differential equation $h^{\\prime\\prime}(r) = i\\lambda \\omega (r) h(r)$\non the domain $0 \\leq r <\\infty$ and $\\omega (r) = (1-\\sqrt{r}\nK_1(\\sqrt{r}))/r$. Some results are valid for more general $\\omega$'s."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Infrared self-consistent solutions of spinor QED3: Three-dimensional electrodynamics in the spinor (i.e. two-component) version\nis considered. With the use of the so called Salam's vertex, the infinite\nhierarchy of Dyson-Schwinger equations is turned into a set of four\nself-consistent equations for four parameters describing the infrared behavior\nof fermion and boson propagators. It is shown numerically, that this set of\nequations has solutions, at least for certain values of gauge parameter. For\nweak coupling (i.e. for heavy fermions) the values of all these quantities are\nfound analytically. In the case of massless bare fermion, masses of both\nparticles are generated leading thereby to parity breaking.",
        "positive": "Nonlinear chiral kinetic theory: From quantum field theory, we derive the chiral kinetic theory involving\nnonlinear quantum corrections coupled with spacetime-dependent electromagnetic\nfields and fluid velocity gradients. An equilibrium Wigner function determined\nby the kinetic equation verifies the nondissipativeness of the charge induced\nby the magneto-vortical coupling. We reveal that this nonlinear chiral kinetic\ntheory is consistent with the one-loop Euler--Heisenberg effective theory,\nindicating an indirect evidence of the trace anomaly in the kinetic theory. We\nalso argue a potential issue on the regularization, and demonstrate the\navailability of the point-splitting regularization in the nonlinear chiral\nkinetic theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chiral Symmetry Breaking and Point-Splitting Procedure in Light-Cone\n  Quantized QED in a Magnetic Field: The summation of all rainbow diagrams in QED in a strong magnetic field leads\nto a dynamical electron mass on the light-cone. Further contributions to this\nsummation however can cause problems with light-cone singularities. It is shown\nthat these problems are generally avoided by applying the point-splitting\nregularization to every diagram. The possibility of implementing this procedure\ninto the Lagrangian of the theory is discussed.",
        "positive": "Equivalence of Several Chern-Simons Matter Models: Not only does Chern-Simons (CS) coupling characterize statistics, but also\nspin and scaling dimension of matter fields. We demonstrate spin transmutation\nin relativistic CS matter theory, and moreover show equivalence of several\nmodels. We study CS vector model in some details, which provide consistent\ncheck to the assertion of the equivalence."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "An Automated Generation of Bootstrap Equations for Numerical Study of\n  Critical Phenomena: In this thesis, we introduce new tools for the conformal bootstrap, autoboot\nand qboot. Each tool solves a different step in the whole computational stack,\nand combined with an existing efficient tool SDPB which solves semidefinite\nprogramming (SDP), our tools make it easier to study conformal field theories\nwith more complicated global symmetries and with more general spectra. In the\nintroduction, we review how the conformal bootstrap method gives rich\ninformation about the theory at the fixed point of renormalization group, or in\nother words, the critical phenomena such as the Ising model at criticality. The\nfollowing three sections focus on the theories behind the implementation of\nautoboot and qboot, and the explicit implementation, freely available at\nhttps://github.com/selpoG/autoboot/ and https://github.com/selpoG/qboot/, is\ndiscussed in section 5. We also have two applications in the last section, the\nIsing model and the O(2) vector model in three dimensions, each of them has\nclose relationship with a physical system in the real world.",
        "positive": "Mabuchi spectrum from the minisuperspace: It was recently shown that other functionals contribute to the effective\naction for the Liouville field when considering massive matter coupled to\ntwo-dimensional gravity in the conformal gauge. The most important of these new\ncontributions corresponds to the Mabuchi functional. We propose a\nminisuperspace action that reproduces the main features of the Mabuchi action\nin order to describe the dynamics of the zero-mode. We show that the associated\nHamiltonian coincides with the (quantum mechanical) Liouville Hamiltonian. As a\nconsequence the Liouville theory and our model of the Mabuchi theory both share\nthe same spectrum, eigenfunctions and - in this approximation - correlation\nfunctions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Magnetic response from constant backgrounds to Coulomb sources: Magnetically uncharged, magnetic linear response of the vacuum filled with\narbitrarily combined constant electric and magnetic fields to an imposed static\nelectric charge is found within general nonlinear electrodynamics. When the\nelectric charge is point-like and external fields are parallel, the response\nfound may be interpreted as a field of two point-like magnetic charges of\nopposite polarity in one point. Coefficients characterizing the magnetic\nresponse and induced currents are specialized to Quantum Electrodynamics, where\nthe nonlinearity is taken as that determined by the Heisenberg-Euler effective\nLagrangian.",
        "positive": "Pauli Terms Must Be Absent In Dirac Equation: It should be of interest, whether Dirac's equation involves all 16 basis\nelements of his Clifford algebra $Cl_D.$ These include the 6 `tensorial'\n$\\sigma^{\\mu\\nu}$ with which the `Pauli terms' are formed. We find that these\nviolate a basic axiom of any *-algebra, when Dirac's $\\Psi$ is canonical. Then\nthe Dirac operator is spanned only by the 10 elements\n$1,i\\gamma_5,\\gamma^\\mu,\\gamma^\\mu\\gamma_5$ (which don't form a basis of $Cl_D$\nbecause the $\\sigma^{\\mu\\nu}$ are excluded)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "1+1-dimensional Yang-Mills equations and mass via quasiclassical\n  correction to action: Two-dimensional Yang-Mills models in a pseudo-euclidean space are considered\nfrom a point of view of a class of nonlinear Klein-Gordon-Fock equations. It is\nshown that the Nahm reduction does not work, another choice is proposed and\ninvestigated. A quasiclassical quantization of the models is based on\nFeynmann-Maslov path integral construction and its zeta function representation\nin terms of a Green function diagonal for an auxiliary heat equation with an\nelliptic potential. The natural renormalization use a freedom in vacuum state\nchoice as well as the choice of the norm of an evolution operator eigenvectors.\nA nonzero mass appears via the quasiclassical correction.",
        "positive": "Perturbative PDF of the total magnetization of the 4D Ising model: We compute, at one loop in perturbation theory, the probability density\nfunction of the total magnetization $M$ of the Ising model on the 4-torus and\nthe 4-sphere. We develop a single perturbative expansion that is valid in the\nsymmetric phase as well as the broken symmetry phase, provided that the\ncorrelation length is large compared to the system size $L$. We find that, at\nthe critical point, for large system size in lattice units, the PDF approaches\n$p(M)\\sim \\exp(-f(L) M^4)$. Consequently, the critical value of the Binder\ncumulant of the total magnetization is $U = 1 -\n\\frac{4\\,\\Gamma(5/4)^2}{3\\,\\Gamma(3/4)^2}$. We validate our results by\ncomparison with Monte Carlo simulation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hawking radiation of charged rotating AdS black holes in conformal\n  gravity for charged massive particles, complex scalar and Dirac particles: Extending researches on Hawking radiation to conformal gravity theory, we\ndiscuss Hawking radiation of different particles across charged rotating AdS\nblack holes in conformal gravity, including charged massive particles, complex\nscalar and spin-$1/2$ Dirac particles. To make the study of rotating black\nholes' tunneling radiation get rid of the dependence on dragging coordinate\nsystems, we investigate the radiation without dragging coordinate\ntransformations. The previous geodesic derivation existed some shortcomings.\nNot only did geodesics of massive and massless particles are derived by using\nquite different approaches, but also the treatment for massive case was\ninconsistent with the variation principle of action. Recently, Wu et al have\nremedied the shortcomings. In this paper, we introduce the improved treatment\nin conformal gravity and derive geodesic equations of massive and massless\nparticles in a unified and self-consistent way. Although the result that the\nblack holes' entropy is not one-quarter of horizon area differs from that in\nEinstein gravity, the tunneling probability of charged massive particles in\nconformal gravity is still related to the change of Bekenstein-Hawking entropy.",
        "positive": "Melting holographic mesons by applying a magnetic field: In the present letter we use holographic methods to show that a very intense\nmagnetic field lowers the temperature at which the mesons melt and decreases\nthe mass gap of the spectrum along with their masses. Consequently, there is a\nrange of temperatures for which mesons can be melted by applying a magnetic\nfield instead of increasing the temperature. We term this effect Magnetic Meson\nMelting (MMM), and we are able to observe it by constructing a configuration\nthat makes it possible to apply gauge/gravity methods to study fundamental\ndegrees of freedom in a quark-gluon plasma subject to a magnetic field as\nintense as that expected in high energy collisions. This is achieved by the\nconfection of a ten-dimensional background that is dual to the magnetized\nplasma and nonetheless permits the embedding of D7-branes in it. For such a\nbackground to exist, a scalar field has to be present and hence a scalar\noperator of dimension 2 appears in the gauge theory. We present here the\ndetails of the background and of the embedding of flavor D7-branes in it. Since\nour results are obtained from the gravity dual of the gauge theory, the\nanalysis is also interesting from the gravitational perspective."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dynamic Monte Carlo Measurement of Critical Exponents: Based on the scaling relation for the dynamics at the early time, a new\nmethod is proposed to measure both the static and dynamic critical exponents.\nThe method is applied to the two dimensional Ising model. The results are in\ngood agreement with the existing results. Since the measurement is carried out\nin the initial stage of the relaxation process starting from independent\ninitial configurations, our method is efficient.",
        "positive": "Racetrack Inflation and Cosmic Strings: We consider the coupling of racetrack inflation to matter fields as realised\nin the D3/D7 brane system. In particular, we investigate the possibility of\ncosmic string formation in this system. We find that string formation before or\nat the onset of racetrack inflation is possible, but they are then inflated\naway. Furthermore, string formation at the end of inflation is prevented by the\npresence of the moduli sector. As a consequence, no strings survive racetrack\ninflation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "All Fierz-Paulian massive gravity theories have ghosts or superluminal\n  modes: We show that all non-linear completions of the Fierz-Pauli massive gravity\nare ruled out, because all theories which might be ghost-free have superluminal\nmodes.",
        "positive": "The effect of higher derivative correction on $\u03b7/s$ and\n  conductivities in STU model: In this paper we study the ratio of shear viscosity to entropy, electrical\nand thermal conductivities for the R-charged black hole in STU model. We\ngeneralize previous works to the case of a black hole with three different\ncharges. Actually we use diffusion constant to obtain ratio of shear viscosity\nto entropy. By applying the thermodynamical stability we recover previous\nresults. Also we investigate the effect of higher derivative corrections."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Branes and Brane Worlds in M-Theory: A new class of warped Anti-de Sitter solutions is found, arising as the\nnear-horizon region of various semi-localized brane intersections. The dual\ngauge theories of AdS in warped spacetimes have reduced supersymmetry, which is\npertinent to the study of viable supersymmetric extensions of the Standard\nModel. In addition, various supergravity solutions are probed via the\nabsorption of various fields. In particular, we calculate exact absorption\nprobabilities which provide finite-energy probes of supergravity solutions away\nfrom the conformal limit. Lastly, we discuss how brane world scenarios may\narise from the near-horizon region of various p-brane configurations. Motivated\nby the dual non-commutative gauge theory, it is shown how a background B field\nmimics a negative four-dimensional cosmological constant, such that in both\ncases there is a massive four-dimensional graviton.",
        "positive": "High Temperature Symmetry Nonrestoration and Inverse Symmetry Breaking\n  on Extra Dimensions: We study $D$-dimensional gauge theory with an extra dimension of a circle at\nfinite temperature. We mainly focus on the expectation value of the gauge field\nfor the direction of the extra dimension, which is the order parameter of the\ngauge symmetry breaking. We evaluate the effective potential in the one-loop\napproximation at finite temperature. We show that the vacuum configuration of\nthe theory at finite temperature is determined by a $(D-1)$-dimensional gauge\ntheory defined by removing the Euclidean time coordinate as well as all of the\nfermions from the original $D$-dimensional gauge theory on the circle. It is\npointed out that gauge symmetry nonrestoration and/or inverse symmetry breaking\ncan occur at high temperature in a class of gauge theories on circles and that\nphase transitions (if they occur) are, in general, expected to be first order."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-Commutative Geometry in Higher Dimensional Quantum Hall Effect as\n  A-Class Topological Insulator: We clarify relations between the higher dimensional quantum Hall effect and\nA-class topological insulator. In particular, we elucidate physical\nimplications of the higher dimensional non-commutative geometry in the context\nof A-class topological insulator. This presentation is based on\narXiv:1403.5066.",
        "positive": "Pseudo entropy and pseudo-Hermiticity in quantum field theories: In this paper, we explore the concept of pseudo R\\'enyi entropy within the\ncontext of quantum field theories (QFTs). The transition matrix is constructed\nby applying operators situated in different regions to the vacuum state.\nSpecifically, when the operators are positioned in the left and right Rindler\nwedges respectively, we discover that the logarithmic term of the pseudo\nR\\'enyi entropy is necessarily real. In other cases, the result might be\ncomplex. We provide direct evaluations of specific examples within\n2-dimensional conformal field theories (CFTs). Furthermore, we establish a\nconnection between these findings and the pseudo-Hermitian condition. Our\nanalysis reveals that the reality or complexity of the logarithmic term of\npseudo R\\'enyi entropy can be explained through this pseudo-Hermitian\nframework.\n  Additionally, we investigate the divergent term of the pseudo R\\'enyi\nentropy. Interestingly, we observe a universal divergent term in the second\npseudo R\\'enyi entropy within 2-dimensional CFTs. This universal term is solely\ndependent on the conformal dimension of the operator under consideration. For\n$n$-th pseudo R\\'enyi entropy ($n\\ge 3$), the divergent term is intricately\nrelated to the specific details of the underlying theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "(0,2) Heterotic Gauge Couplings and their M-Theory Origin: We work out the relation between automorphic forms on SO(s+2,2) and gauge\none-loop corrections of heterotic K3 x T^2 string compactifications for the\ncases s=0,1. We find that one-loop gauge corrections of any orbifold limit of\nK3 can always be expressed by their instanton numbers and generic automorphic\nforms.These functions classify also one-loop gauge thresholds of N=1 (0,2)\nheterotic compactifications based on toroidal orbifolds T^6/Z_N. We compare\nthese results with the gauge couplings of M-theory compactified on S^1/Z_2 x\nT^6/Z_N using Witten's Calabi-Yau strong coupling expansion.",
        "positive": "Transposed Poisson superalgebra: In this paper we propose the notion of a transposed Poisson superalgebra. We\nprove that a transposed Poisson superalgebra can be constructed by means of a\ncommutative associative superalgebra and an even degree derivation of this\nalgebra. Making use of this we construct two examples of transposed Poisson\nsuperalgebra. One of them is the graded differential algebra of differential\nforms on a smooth finite dimensional manifold, where we use the Lie derivative\nas an even degree derivation. The second example is the commutative\nsuperalgebra of basic fields of the quantum Yang-Mills theory, where we use the\nBRST-supersymmetry as an even degree derivation to define a graded Lie bracket.\nWe show that a transposed Poisson superalgebra has six identities that play an\nimportant role in the study of the structure of this algebra."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Soft Bootstrap and Supersymmetry: The soft bootstrap is an on-shell method to constrain the landscape of\neffective field theories (EFTs) of massless particles via the consistency of\nthe low-energy S-matrix. Given assumptions on the on-shell data (particle\nspectra, linear symmetries, and low-energy theorems), the soft bootstrap is an\nefficient algorithm for determining the possible consistency of an EFT with\nthose properties. The implementation of the soft bootstrap uses the recently\ndiscovered method of soft subtracted recursion. We derive a precise criterion\nfor the validity of these recursion relations and show that they fail exactly\nwhen the assumed symmetries can be trivially realized by independent operators\nin the effective action. We use this to show that the possible pure (real and\ncomplex) scalar, fermion, and vector exceptional EFTs are highly constrained.\nNext, we prove how the soft behavior of states in a supermultiplet must be\nrelated and illustrate the results in extended supergravity. We demonstrate the\npower of the soft bootstrap in two applications. First, for the N= 1 and N=2\nCP^1 nonlinear sigma models, we show that on-shell constructibility establishes\nthe emergence of accidental IR symmetries. This includes a new on-shell\nperspective on the interplay between N=2 supersymmetry, low-energy theorems,\nand electromagnetic duality. We also show that N=2 supersymmetry requires\n3-point interactions with the photon that make the soft behavior of the scalar\nO(1) instead of vanishing, despite the underlying symmetric coset. Second, we\nstudy Galileon theories, including aspects of supersymmetrization, the\npossibility of a vector-scalar Galileon EFT, and the existence of\nhigher-derivative corrections preserving the enhanced special Galileon\nsymmetry. This is addressed by soft bootstrap and by application of\ndouble-copy/KLT relations applied to higher-derivative corrections of chiral\nperturbation theory.",
        "positive": "Yang-Mills Theory as an Illustration of the Covariant Quantization of\n  Superstrings: We present a new approach to the quantization of the superstring. After a\nbrief review of the classical Green-Schwarz formulation for the superstring and\nBerkovits' approach to its quantization based on pure spinors, we discuss our\nformulation without pure spinor constraints. In order to illustrate the ideas\non which our work is based, we apply them to pure Yang-Mills theory. In the\nappendices, we include some background material for the Green-Schwarz and\nBerkovits formulations, in order that this presentation be self contained."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Tenfold Way for Holography : AdS/CFT and Beyond: The main purpose of the present paper is to lay the foundations of\ngeneralizing the AdS/CFT (holography) idea beyond the conformal setting. The\nmain tool is to find suitable realizations of the bulk and boundary via group\ntheory. We use all ten families of classical real semisimple Lie groups $G$ and\nLie algebras $\\cal G$. For this are used several group and algebra\ndecompositions: the global Iwasawa decomposition and the local Bruhat and\nSekiguchi-like decomposititions. The same analysis is applied to the\nexceptional real semisimple Lie algebras.",
        "positive": "Twisted Bundles on Noncommutative $T^4$ and D-brane Bound States: We construct twisted quantum bundles and adjoint sections on noncommutative\n$T^4$, and investigate relevant D-brane bound states with non-Abelian\nbackgrounds. We also show that the noncommutative $T^4$ with non-Abelian\nbackgrounds exhibits SO$(4,4|Z)$ duality and via this duality we get a Morita\nequivalent $T^4$ on which only D0-branes exist. For a reducible non-Abelian\nbackground, the moduli space of D-brane bound states in Type II string theory\ntakes the form $\\prod_a (T^4)^{q_a}/S_{q_a}$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic entanglement entropy probes (non)locality: We study the short-distance structure of geometric entanglement entropy in\ncertain theories with a built-in scale of nonlocality. In particular we examine\nthe cases of Little String Theory and Noncommutative Yang-Mills theory, using\ntheir AdS/CFT descriptions. We compute the entanglement entropy via the\nholographic ansatz of Ryu and Takayanagi to conclude that the area law is\nviolated at distance scales that sample the nonlocality of these models, being\nreplaced by an extensive volume law. In the case of the noncommutative model,\nthe critical length scale that reveals the area/volume law transition is\nstrongly affected by UV/IR mixing effects. We also present an argument showing\nthat Lorentz symmetry tends to protect the area law for theories with\nfield-theoretical density of states.",
        "positive": "Solving the Simplest Theory of Quantum Gravity: We solve what is quite likely the simplest model of quantum gravity, the\nworldsheet theory of an infinitely long, free bosonic string in Minkowski\nspace. Contrary to naive expectations, this theory is non-trivial. We\nillustrate this by constructing its exact factorizable S-matrix. Despite its\nsimplicity, the theory exhibits many of the salient features expected from more\nmature quantum gravity models, including the absence of local off-shell\nobservables, a minimal length, a maximum achievable (Hagedorn) temperature, as\nwell as (integrable relatives of) black holes. All these properties follow from\nthe exact S-matrix. We show that the complete finite volume spectrum can be\nreconstructed analytically from this S-matrix with the help of the\nthermodynamic Bethe Ansatz. We argue that considered as a UV complete\nrelativistic two-dimensional quantum field theory the model exhibits a new type\nof renormalization group flow behavior, \"asymptotic fragility\". Asymptotically\nfragile flows do not originate from a UV fixed point."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dressed Giant Magnons on CP^3: A new example of AdS/CFT duality relating IIA string theory on AdS_4 x CP^3\nto N=6 superconformal Chern-Simons theory has recently been provided by ABJM.\nBy now a number of papers have considered particular giant magnon classical\nstring solutions in the CP^3 background, corresponding to excitations in the\nspin chain picture of the dual field theory. In this paper we apply the CP^3 =\nSU(4)/S(U(3) x U(1)) dressing method to the problem of constructing general\nclassical string solutions describing various configurations of giant magnons.\nAs a particular application we present a new giant magnon solution on CP^3.\nInterestingly the dressed solution carries only a single SO(6) charge, in\ncontrast with the dyonic magnons found in previous applications of the dressing\nmethod.",
        "positive": "On nonrelativistic 3D Spin-1 theories: We describe non-relativistic limits of the 3D Proca and square-root Proca\ntheories that yield spin-1 Schroedinger equations. Analogous results are found\nby generalized null reduction of the 4D Maxwell or complex self-dual Maxwell\nequations. We briefly discuss the extension to spin-2."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "GUT Scale Unification in Heterotic Strings: We present a class of heterotic compactifications where it is possible to\nlower the string unification scale down to the GUT scale, while preserving the\nvalidity of the perturbative analysis. We illustrate this approach with an\nexplicit example of a four-dimensional chiral heterotic vacuum with N=1\nsupersymmetry.",
        "positive": "A class of non-supersymmetric orientifolds: We study type IIB orientifolds on T^{2d}/Z_N with supersymmetry broken by the\ncompactification. We determine tadpole cancellation conditions including\nanti-branes and considering different actions for the parity Omega. Using these\nconditions we then obtain the spectrum of tachyons and massless states. Various\nexamples with N even correspond to type 0B orientifolds."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Generalized Logarithmic Electrodynamics: The generalized logarithmic electrodynamics with two parameters $\\beta$ and\n$\\gamma$ is considered. The indexes of refraction of light in the external\nmagnetic field are calculated. In the case $\\beta=\\gamma$ we come to results\nobtained by P. Gaete and J. Helay\\\"el-Neto [7] (Eur.Phys.J. C\\textbf{74}, 2816\n(2014)). The bound on the values of $\\beta$, $\\gamma$ was obtained from the\nBir\\'efringence Magn\\'etique du Vide (BMV) experiment. The symmetrical\nBelinfante energy-momentum tensor and dilatation current are found.",
        "positive": "Matching the linear spectra of twinlike defects: Twinlike defects refer to topological defect solutions of some apparently\ndifferent field models that share the same defect configuration and the same\nenergy density. Usually, one can distinguish twinlike defects in terms of their\nlinear spectra, but in some special cases twinlike defects even share the same\nlinear spectrum. In this paper, we derive the algebraic conditions for two\ntwinlike defects to share identical linear spectrum from the viewpoint of the\nnormal modes of the linear fluctuations. We also extend our discussion to\nbraneworld models, where gravity plays an important role."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Nilpotency Index of Conformal Manifolds: We show that exactly marginal operators of Supersymmetric Conformal Field\nTheories (SCFTs) with four supercharges cannot obtain a vacuum expectation\nvalue at a generic point on the conformal manifold. Exactly marginal operators\nare therefore nilpotent in the chiral ring. This allows us to associate an\ninteger to the conformal manifold, which we call the nilpotency index of the\nconformal manifold. We discuss several examples in diverse dimensions where we\ndemonstrate these facts and compute the nilpotency index.",
        "positive": "Algebraic Quantization, Good Operators and Fractional Quantum Numbers: The problems arising when quantizing systems with periodic boundary\nconditions are analysed, in an algebraic (group-) quantization scheme, and the\n``failure\" of the Ehrenfest theorem is clarified in terms of the already\ndefined notion of {\\it good} (and {\\it bad}) operators. The analysis of\n``constrained\" Heisenberg-Weyl groups according to this quantization scheme\nreveals the possibility for new quantum (fractional) numbers extending those\nallowed for Chern classes in traditional Geometric Quantization. This study is\nillustrated with the examples of the free particle on the circumference and the\ncharged particle in a homogeneous magnetic field on the torus, both examples\nfeaturing ``anomalous\" operators, non-equivalent quantization and the latter,\nfractional quantum numbers. These provide the rationale behind flux\nquantization in superconducting rings and Fractional Quantum Hall Effect,\nrespectively."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Evolution of Fixed-End Strings and the Off-Shell Disk Amplitude: An exact integral expression is found for the amplitude of a Bosonic string\nwith ends separated by a fixed distance $R$ evolving over a time $T$ between\narbitrary initial and final configurations. It is impossible to make a\ncovariant subtraction of a covariant quantity which would render the amplitude\nnon-zero. It is suggested that this fact (and not the tachyon) is responsible\nfor the lack of a continuum limit of regularized random-surface models with\ntarget-space dimension greater than one. It appears consistent, however, to\nremove this quantity by hand. The static potential of Alvarez and Arvis $V(R)$\nis recovered from the resulting finite amplitude for $R>R_{c}$. For $R<R_{c}$,\nwe find $V(R)=-\\infty$, instead of the usual tachyonic result. A\nrotation-invariant expression is proposed for special cases of the off-shell\ndisk amplitude. {\\it None} of the finite amplitudes discussed are Nambu or\nPolyakov functional integrals, except through an unphysical analytic\ncontinuation. We argue that the Liouville field does not decouple in off-shell\namplitudes, even when the space-time dimension is twenty-six.",
        "positive": "Perturbative and Non-Perturbative Partial Supersymmetry Breaking; N=4 ->\n  N=2 -> N=1: We show the existence of a supersymmetry breaking mechanism in string theory,\nwhere N=4 supersymmetry is broken spontaneously to N=2 and N=1 with moduli\ndependent gravitino masses. The spectrum of the spontaneously broken theory\nwith lower supersymmetry is in one-to-one correspondence with the spectrum of\nthe heterotic N=4 string. The mass splitting of the N=4 spectrum depends on the\ncompactification moduli as well as the three R-symmetry charges. We also show\nthat, in string theory, chiral theories can be obtained after spontaneous\nbreaking of extended supersymmetry. This was impossible at the level of field\ntheory. In the large moduli limit a restoration of the N=4 supersymmetry is\nobtained. As expected the graviphotons and some of the gauge bosons become\nmassive in N=1 vacua. At some special points of the moduli space some of the\nN=4 states with non-zero winding numbers and with spin 0 and {1/2} become\nmassless chiral superfields of the unbroken N=1 supersymmetry. Such vaccua have\na dual type II description, in which there are magnetically charged states with\nspin 0 and {1/2} that become massless. The heterotic-type II duality suggests\nsome novel non-perturbative transitions on the type II side. Such transitions\ndo not seem to have a geometric interpretation, since they relate type II\nvaccua with symmetric worlsheet structure to assymetric ones. The heteroric\ninterpretation of such a transition is an ordinary Higgsing of an SU(2) factor.\nIn the case of N=4 --> N=2, the perturbative N=2 prepotential is determined by\nthe perturbative N=4 BPS states. This observation let us to suggest a method\nwhich determines the exact non-perturbative prepotential of the effective N=2\nsupergravity using the shifted spectrum of the non-perturbative BPS states of\nthe underlying N=4 theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Note on the Classical BRST Symmetry of the Pure Spinor String in a\n  Curved Background: The classical pure spinor version of the heterotic superstring in a\nsupergravity and super Yang-Mills background is considered. We obtain the BRST\ntransformations of the world-sheet fields. They are consistent with the\nconstraints obtained from the nilpotence of the BSRT charge and the\nholomorphicity of the BRST current.",
        "positive": "Noncommutative field theories on $R^3_\u03bb$: Towards UV/IR mixing\n  freedom: We consider the noncommutative space $\\mathbb{R}^3_\\lambda$, a deformation of\nthe algebra of functions on $\\mathbb{R}^3$ which yields a \"foliation\" of\n$\\mathbb{R}^3$ into fuzzy spheres. We first construct a natural matrix base\nadapted to $\\mathbb{R}^3_\\lambda$. We then apply this general framework to the\none-loop study of a two-parameter family of real-valued scalar noncommutative\nfield theories with quartic polynomial interaction, which becomes a non-local\nmatrix model when expressed in the above matrix base. The kinetic operator\ninvolves a part related to dynamics on the fuzzy sphere supplemented by a term\nreproducing radial dynamics. We then compute the planar and non-planar 1-loop\ncontributions to the 2-point correlation function. We find that these diagrams\nare both finite in the matrix base. We find no singularity of IR type, which\nsignals very likely the absence of UV/IR mixing. We also consider the case of a\nkinetic operator with only the radial part. We find that the resulting theory\nis finite to all orders in perturbation expansion."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the mass spectrum of noncommutative Schwinger model in Euclidean\n  $\\mathbb{R}^{2}$ space: The mass spectrum of the noncommutative QED in two-dimensional Euclidean\n$\\mathbb{R}^{2}$ space is derived first in a perturbative approach at one-loop\nlevel and then in a nonperturbative approach using the equivalent bosonized\nnoncommutative effective action. It turns out that the mass spectrum of\nnoncommutative QED in two dimensions reduces to a single non-interacting meson\nwith mass $M_{\\gamma}=\\frac{g}{\\sqrt{\\pi}}$, as in commutative Schwinger model.",
        "positive": "A note on the (1, 1,..., 1) monopole metric: Recently K. Lee, E.J. Weinberg and P. Yi in CU-TP-739, hep-th/9602167,\ncalculated the asymptotic metric on the moduli space of (1, 1, ..., 1) BPS\nmonopoles and conjectured that it was globally exact. I lend support to this\nconjecture by showing that the metric on the corresponding space of Nahm data\nis the same as the metric they calculate."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dynamical Radion Superfield in Five-dimensional Action: We clarify the radion superfield dependence of 5D N=1 superspace action. The\nradion is treated as a dynamical field and appears in the action with the\ncorrect mode function. Our derivation is systematic and based on the\nsuperconformal formulation of 5D supergravity. We can read off the couplings of\nthe dynamical radion superfield to the matter superfields from our result. The\ncorrect radion mass can be obtained by calculating the radion potential from\nour superspace action.",
        "positive": "On Calabi-Yau generalized complete intersections from Hirzebruch\n  varieties and novel K3-fibrations: We consider the construction of Calabi-Yau varieties recently generalized to\nwhere the defining equations may have negative degrees over some projective\nspace factors in the embedding space. Within such \"generalized complete\nintersection\" Calabi-Yau (\"gCICY\") three-folds, we find several sequences of\ndistinct manifolds. These include both novel elliptic and K3-fibrations and\ninvolve Hirzebruch surfaces and their higher dimensional analogues. En route,\nwe generalize the standard techniques of cohomology computation to these\ngeneralized complete intersection Calabi-Yau varieties."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gravitational Radiation from String Cosmology: A spectrum of relic stochastic gravitational radiation, strongly tilted\ntowards high frequencies, and characterized by two basic parameters is shown to\nemerge in a class of string theory models. We estimate the required sensitivity\nfor detection of the predicted gravitational radiation and show that a region\nof our parameter space is within reach for some of the\nplannedgravitational-wave detectors.",
        "positive": "Magnetic Phase Diagram of Dense Holographic Multiquarks in the\n  Quark-gluon Plasma: We study phase diagram of the dense holographic gauge matter in the\nSakai-Sugimoto model in the presence of the magnetic field above the\ndeconfinement temperature. Even above the deconfinement, quarks could form\ncolour bound states through the remaining strong interaction if the density is\nlarge. We demonstrate that in the presence of the magnetic field for a\nsufficiently large baryon density, the multiquark-pion gradient\n(MQ-$\\mathcal{5}\\phi$) phase is more thermodynamically preferred than the\nchiral-symmetric quark-gluon plasma. The phase diagrams between the holographic\nmultiquark and the chiral-symmetric quark-gluon plasma phase are obtained at\nfinite temperature and magnetic field. In the mixed MQ-$\\mathcal{5}\\phi$ phase,\nthe pion gradient induced by the external magnetic field is found to be a\nlinear response for small and moderate field strengths. Its population ratio\ndecreases as the density is raised and thus the multiquarks dominate the phase.\nTemperature dependence of the baryon chemical potential, the free energy and\nthe linear pion gradient response of the multiquark phase are well approximated\nby a simple analytic function $\\sqrt{1-\\frac{T^{6}}{T^{6}_{0}}}$ inherited from\nthe metric of the holographic background."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic s+p Superconductors: We study the phase diagram of a holographic model realizing a U(2) global\nsymmetry on the boundary and show that at low temperature a phase with both\nscalar s and vector p condensates exists. This is the s+p-wave phase where the\nglobal U(2) symmetry and also the spatial rotational symmetry are spontaneously\nbroken. By studying the free energy we show that this phase is preferred when\nit exists. We also consider unbalanced configurations where a second chemical\npotential is turned on. They present a rich phase diagram characterized by the\ncompetition and coexistence of the s and p order parameters.",
        "positive": "Quantum non-equilibrium effects in rigidly-rotating thermal states: Based on known analytic results, the thermal expectation value of the\nstress-energy tensor (SET) operator for the massless Dirac field is analyzed\nfrom a hydrodynamic perspective. Key to this analysis is the Landau\ndecomposition of the SET, with the aid of which we find terms which are not\npresent in the ideal SET predicted by kinetic theory. Moreover, the quantum\ncorrections become dominant in the vicinity of the speed of light surface\n(SOL). While rigidly-rotating thermal states cannot be constructed for the\nKlein-Gordon field, we perform a similar analysis at the level of quantum\ncorrections previously reported in the literature and we show that the Landau\nframe is well-defined only when the system is enclosed inside a boundary\nlocated inside or on the SOL. We discuss the relevance of these results for\naccretion disks around rapidly-rotating pulsars."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Space-Time Symmetries of Non-Commutative Gauge Theories: We study the space-time symmetries and transformation properties of the\nnon-commutative U(1) gauge theory, by using Noether charges. We carry out our\nanalysis by keeping an open view on the possible ways $\\theta^{\\mu \\nu}$ could\ntransform. We conclude that $\\theta^{\\mu \\nu}$ cannot transform under any\nspace-time transformation since the theory is not invariant under the conformal\ntransformations, with the only exception of space-time translations. The same\nanalysis applies to other gauge groups.",
        "positive": "Infinite Sequence of Poincare Group Extensions: Structure and Dynamics: We study the structure and dynamics of the infinite sequence of extensions of\nthe Poincar{\\'e} algebra whose method of construction was described in a\nprevious paper [1]. We give explicitly the Maurer-Cartan (MC) 1-forms of the\nextended Lie algebras up to level three. Using these forms and introducing a\ncorresponding set of new dynamical couplings, we construct an invariant\nLagrangian, which describes the dynamics of a distribution of charged particles\nin an external electromagnetic field. At each extension, the distribution is\napproximated by a set of moments about the world line of its center of mass and\nthe field by its Taylor series expansion about the same line. The equations of\nmotion after the second extensions contain back-reaction terms of the moments\non the world line."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Huge Quantum Gravity Effects in the Solar System: Normally one thinks of the motion of the planets around the Sun as a highly\nclassical phenomenon, so that one can neglect quantum gravity in the Solar\nSystem. However, classical chaos in the planetary motion amplifies quantum\nuncertainties so that they become very large, giving huge quantum gravity\neffects. For example, evidence suggests that Uranus may eventually be ejected\nfrom the Solar System, but quantum uncertainties would make the direction at\nwhich it leaves almost entirely uncertain, and the time of its exit uncertain\nby about a billion billion years. For a time a billion billion years from now,\nthere are huge quantum uncertainties whether Uranus will be within the Solar\nSystem, within the Galaxy, or even within causal contact of the Galaxy.",
        "positive": "Stable non-BPS D-branes of type I: We review the boundary state description of the non-BPS D-branes in the type\nI string theory and show that the only stable configurations are the D-particle\nand the D-instanton. We also compute the gauge and gravitational interactions\nof the non-BPS D-particles and compare them with the interactions of the dual\nnon-BPS particles of the heterotic string finding complete agreement. In this\nway we provide further dynamical evidence of the heterotic/type I duality."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Noncommutative spacetime symmetries from covariant quantum mechanics: In the last decades, noncommutative spacetimes and their deformed\nrelativistic symmetries have usually been studied in the context of field\ntheory, replacing the ordinary Minkowski background with an algebra of\nnoncommutative coordinates. However, spacetime noncommutativity can also be\nintroduced into single-particle covariant quantum mechanics, replacing the\ncommuting operators representing the particle's spacetime coordinates with\nnoncommuting ones. In this paper we provide a full characterization of a wide\nclass of physically sensible single-particle noncommutative spacetime models\nand the associated deformed relativistic symmetries. In particular, we prove\nthat they can all be obtained from the standard Minkowski model and the usual\nPoincar\\'e transformations via a suitable change of variables. Contrary to\nprevious studies, we find that spacetime noncommutativity does not affect the\ndispersion relation of a relativistic quantum particle, but only the\ntransformation properties of its spacetime coordinates under translations and\nLorentz transformations.",
        "positive": "On the tensionless limit of gauged WZW models: The tensionless limit of gauged WZW models arises when the level of the\nunderlying Kac-Moody algebra assumes its critical value, equal to the dual\nCoxeter number, in which case the central charge of the Virasoro algebra\nbecomes infinite. We examine this limit from the world-sheet and target space\nviewpoint and show that gravity decouples naturally from the spectrum. Using\nthe two-dimensional black-hole coset SL(2,R)_k/U(1) as illustrative example, we\nfind for k=2 that the world-sheet symmetry is described by a truncated version\nof W_{\\infty} generated by chiral fields with integer spin s \\geq 3, whereas\nthe Virasoro algebra becomes abelian and it can be consistently factored out.\nThe geometry of target space looks like an infinitely curved hyperboloid, which\ninvalidates the effective field theory description and conformal invariance can\nno longer be used to yield reliable space-time interpretation. We also compare\nour results with the null gauging of WZW models, which correspond to infinite\nboost in target space and they describe the Liouville mode that decouples in\nthe tensionless limit. A formal BRST analysis of the world-sheet symmetry\nsuggests that the central charge of all higher spin generators should be fixed\nto a critical value, which is not seen by the contracted Virasoro symmetry.\nGeneralizations to higher dimensional coset models are also briefly discussed\nin the tensionless limit, where similar observations are made."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Integrability of BPS equations in ABJM theory: We investigate BPS equations which determine the configuration of an M2-M5\nbound state preserving half of the supersymmetries in the ABJM theory. We argue\nthat the BPS equations are classically integrable, showing that they admit a\nLax representation. The integrable structure of the BPS equations is closely\nrelated to that of the Nahm equations. Using this relation we formulate an\nefficient way of constructing solutions of the BPS equations from those of the\nNahm equations. As an illustration of our method, we construct explicitly the\nmost general solutions describing two M2-branes suspended between two parallel\nM5-branes as well as two semi-infinite M2-branes ending on an M5-brane. These\ninclude previously unknown new solutions. We also discuss a reduction of the\nBPS equations in connection with the periodic Toda chain.",
        "positive": "Heterotic Type I Strings at High Temperature: We show that the high temperature limits of the heterotic E8xE8 and\nSpin(32)/Z2 strings and their Type I A/B superstring duals are finite and\nconvergent. The Hagedorn growth of the degeneracies in the string mass level\nexpansion is suppressed by an exponential linear in the mass level number for\nboth heterotic strings, and suppressed by the exponential of the negative\nsquare root of the mass level number for the Type IB superstring. However, in\nthe massless gauge field theoretic limit of the Type IB open and closed\nsuperstring, we find clear evidence for the thermal deconfinement phase\ntransition at the self-dual temperature by examining the annulus graph alone.\nAbove the self-dual temperature, there is a discontinuity in the first\nderivative with respect to temperature of both the free energy, and the heavy\nquark potential, leading to a deconfined thermal gluon ensemble, with universal\n1/r potential, and temperature dependent corrections, as predicted by Luscher\nand Weisz. A number of essential aspects of the worldsheet formalism of the\nheterotic strings are derived in an appendix, deducing thereby the\nO8-D0-D8brane Type IA duals of all of the heterotic CHL island universe moduli\nspaces."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Liouville Decoherence in a Model of Flavour Oscillations in the presence\n  of Dark Energy: We study in some detail the master equation, and its solution in a simplified\ncase modelling flavour oscillations of a two-level system, stemming from the\nLiouville-string approach to quantum space time foam. In this framework we\ndiscuss the appearance of diffusion terms and decoherence due to the\ninteraction of low-energy string matter with space-time defects, such as\nD-particles in the specific model of ``D-particle foam'', as well as dark\nenergy contributions. We pay particular attention to contrasting the decoherent\nrole of a cosmological constant in inducing exponential quantum damping in the\nevolution of low-energy observables, such as the probability of flavour\noscillations, with the situation where the dark energy relaxes to zero for\nasymptotically large times, in which case such a damping is absent. Our\nfindings may be of interest to (astrophysical) tests of quantum space-time foam\nmodels in the not-so-distant future.",
        "positive": "Higgs phenomenon for higher spin fields on AdS_3: In a previous work, a marginal deformation of 2d coset type model with N=3\nsuperconformal symmetry was studied, and it was interpreted as a change of\nboundary conditions for bulk fields in the dual higher spin theory. The\ndeformation breaks generic higher spin gauge symmetry, and the generated mass\nof a spin 2 field was computed. The deformation might be related to the\nintroduction of finite string tension in a superstring theory. In this paper,\nwe extend the analysis and compute the masses of generic higher spin fields at\nthe leading order of 1/c (c is the CFT central charge) but at the full order of\nthe deformation parameter. We find that the masses are not generated for\nso(3)_R singlet higher spin fields at this order and the spectrum is the\nRegge-like one for so(3)_R triplet higher spin-charged fields."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Invariance of the Hamilton-Jacobi tunneling method for black holes and\n  FRW model: In this paper we revisit the topic of Hawking radiation as tunneling. We show\nthat the imaginary part of the action of the tunneling particle should be\nreconstructed in a covariant way, as a line integral along the classical\nforbidden trajectory of tunneling particles. As the quantum tunneling\nphenomenon, the probability of tunneling is related to the imaginary part of\nthe action for the classical forbidden trajectory. We do the calculations for\nmassless and massive particles, in Schwarzschild coordinate and Painlev\\'e\ncoordinate. The construction of particle action is invariant under coordinate\ntransformations, so this method of calculation black hole tunneling does not\nhave the so called \"factor 2 problem\". As an application, we find that the\ntemperature of Hawking temperature of apparent horizon in a FRW universe is\n$T=\\frac{\\kappa}{2\\pi}$. Based on this result, we briefly discuss the unified\nfirst law of apparent horizon in FRW universe.",
        "positive": "Backreacted D0/D4 background: We construct a supergravity background corresponding to a backreacted\nD0/D4-brane system. The background is holographically dual to the Venecianno\nlimit of the Berkoos-Douglas matrix model. It is known that the localized D0/D4\nsystem is unstable when the D0-branes are within the D4-branes. To circumvent\nthis difficulty we separate the D4s from the D0s, which are placed at the\norigin, and restore the symmetry of the combined system by distributing the\nD4-branes on a spherical shell around the D0-branes. The backreacted solution\nis first obtained perturbatively in N_f/N_c and displayed analytically to 1st\norder. A non-perturbative numerical solution is then presented."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On {\\cal N}=1 exact superpotentials from U(N) matrix models: In this letter we compute the exact effective superpotential of {\\cal N}=1\nU(N) supersymmetric gauge theories with N_f fundamental flavors and an\narbitrary tree-level polynomial superpotential for the adjoint Higgs field. We\nuse the matrix model approach in the maximally confinig phase. When restricted\nto the case of a tree-level even polynomial superpotential, our computation\nreproduces the known result of the SU(N) theory.",
        "positive": "Fermions with no fundamental charges call for extra dimensions: We call attention to that if assuming no conserved charges in the fundamental\ntheory with fermions, which carry only a spin and interact with only the\ngravity, the dimensions $4, 12, 20,.....,$ as well as all odd dimensions, are\nexcluded under the requirement of mass protection. If more than one family is\nrequired, than only dimensions d=2 (mod 4) remains as acceptable, since then\nother by 4 devisable dimensions are excluded."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Phase Structure of Compact QED from the Sine-Gordon/Massive Thirring\n  Duality: We discuss a phase structure of compact QED in four dimensions by considering\nthe theory as a perturbed topological model. In this scenario we use the\nsingular configuration with an appropriate regularization, and so obtain the\nresults similar to the lattice gauge theory due to the effect of topological\nobjects. In this paper we calculate the thermal pressure of the topological\nmodel by the use of a one-dimensional Coulomb gas approximation, which leads to\na phase structure of full compact QED. Furthermore the critical-line equation\nis explicitly evaluated. We also discuss relations between the monopole\ncondensation in compact QED in four dimensions and the chiral symmetry\nrestoration in the massive Thirring model in two dimensions.",
        "positive": "Long Range Forces in Quantum Gravity: We calculate the leading quantum and semi-classical corrections to the\nNewtonian potential energy of two widely separated static masses. In this\nlarge-distance, static limit, the quantum behaviour of the sources does not\ncontribute to the quantum corrections of the potential. These arise exclusively\nfrom the propagation of massless degrees of freedom. Our one-loop result is\nbased on Modanese's formulation and is in disagreement with Donoghue's recent\ncalculation. Also, we compare and contrast the structural similarities of our\napproach to scattering at ultra-high energy and large impact parameter. We\nconnect our approach to results from string perturbation theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Diffeomorphisms, Anomalies and the Fefferman-Graham Ambiguity: Using the Weyl transfomations induced by diffeomorphisms we set up a\ncohomological problem for the Fefferman-Graham coefficients. The\ncohomologically nontrivial solutions remove the ambiguity and give the nonlocal\nterms in the effective action responsible for the trace anomalies.",
        "positive": "Massless fermions localization on domain walls: Massless fermions on scalar domain walls are considered. Two walls are\nestablished, corresponding to 5-dimensional static spacetime asymptotically\nAnti de-Sitter, differentiated by the symmetry around the wall, and in each\ncase massless chiral fermions are coupled to the wall by a Yukawa term. We\nidentify a normalizable state associated to the migration of fermions toward\nthe edge of the wall. This effect is generated by the competition between the\nYukawa interaction and the gravitational repulsion on the matter fields, and it\nis independent of the $Z_2$ symmetry of the wall."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Simplicity of Perfect Atoms: Degeneracies in Supersymmetric Hydrogen: Supersymmetric QED hydrogen-like bound states are remarkably similar to\nnon-supersymmetric hydrogen, including an accidental degeneracy of the fine\nstructure and which is broken by the Lamb shift. This article classifies the\nstates, calculates the leading order spectrum, and illustrates the results in\nseveral limits. The relation to other non-relativistic bound states is\nexplored.",
        "positive": "The QCD static potential in D<4 dimensions at weak coupling: We study the static potential of a color singlet quark-antiquark pair with\n(fixed) distance r in D=3 and D=2 space-time dimensions at weak coupling (alpha\nr << 1 and g r << 1, respectively). Using the effective theory pNRQCD we\ndetermine the ultrasoft contributions, which cannot be computed in conventional\nperturbative QCD. We show in detail how the ultrasoft renormalization in pNRQCD\nis carried out. In three dimensions the precision of our results reaches\nO(alpha^3 r^2), i.e. NNLO in the multipole expansion, and NNLL in a\nalpha/DeltaV expansion, where DeltaV ~ alpha ln(alpha r). We even present\nresults up to partly N^4LL order and compare them to existing lattice data.\nFinally we discuss the relevance of the perturbative calculation in two\ndimensions, where the exact result is known."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Split-quaternionic representation of SDYM SU(1,1) instantons in S^2 x\n  S^2: This paper has been withdrawn by the authors due to some fatal errors that\ncannot be mended. The authors apologize for any inconvenience.",
        "positive": "On the Summation of Feynman Graphs: A functional method to achieve the summation of all Feynman graphs relevant\nto a particular Field Theory process is suggested, and applied to QED,\ndemonstrating manifestly gauge invariant calculations of the dressed photon\npropagator in approximations of increas- ing complexity. These lead in a\nnatural way to the extraction of the leading logarithmic divergences of every\nperturbative order, and to a demonstration of the possible cancellation of all\nsuch divergences in the calculation of the (inverse of the) photon's\nwavefunction renormalization constant Z3. This analysis provides a qualitative\nunderstanding of why the measured value of the renormalized fine structure\nconstant is, approximately, 1/137."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Database of Calabi-Yau Orientifolds and the Size of D3-Tadpoles: The classification of 4D reflexive polytopes by Kreuzer and Skarke allows for\na systematic construction of Calabi-Yau hypersurfaces as fine, regular, star\ntriangulations (FRSTs). Until now, the vastness of this geometric landscape\nremains largely unexplored. In this paper, we construct Calabi-Yau orientifolds\nfrom holomorphic reflection involutions of such hypersurfaces with Hodge\nnumbers $h^{1,1}\\leq 12$. In particular, we compute orientifold configurations\nfor all favourable FRSTs for $h^{1,1}\\leq 7$, while randomly sampling\ntriangulations for each pair of Hodge numbers up to $h^{1,1}=12$. We find\nexplicit string compactifications on these orientifolded Calabi-Yaus for which\nthe D3-charge contribution coming from O$p$-planes grows linearly with the\nnumber of complex structure and K\\\"ahler moduli. We further consider non-local\nD7-tadpole cancellation through Whitney branes. We argue that this leads to a\nsignificant enhancement of the total D3-tadpole as compared to conventional\n$\\mathrm{SO}(8)$ stacks with $(4+4)$ D7-branes on top of O7-planes. In\nparticular, before turning-on worldvolume fluxes, we find that the largest\nD3-tadpole in this class occurs for Calabi-Yau threefolds with\n$(h^{1,1}_{+},h^{1,2}_{-})=(11,491)$ with D3-brane charges\n$|Q_{\\text{D3}}|=504$ for the local D7 case and $|Q_{\\text{D3}}|=6,664$ for the\nnon-local Whitney branes case, which appears to be large enough to cancel\ntadpoles and allow fluxes to stabilise all complex structure moduli. Our data\nis publicly available under\nhttp://github.com/AndreasSchachner/CY_Orientifold_database .",
        "positive": "Perturbative Four-Point Functions In Planar N=4 SYM From\n  Hexagonalization: We use hexagonalization to compute four-point correlation functions of long\nBPS operators with special R-charge polarizations. We perform the computation\nat weak coupling and show that at any loop order our correlators can be\nexpressed in terms of single-valued polylogarithms with uniform maximal\ntranscendentality. As a check of our results we extract nine-loop OPE data and\ncompare it against sum rules of (squared) structures constants of non-protected\nexchanged operators described by hundreds of Bethe solutions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "BTZ Black Hole as Solution of 3d Higher Spin Gauge Theory: BTZ black hole is interpreted as exact solution of 3d higher spin gauge\ntheory. Solutions for free massless fields in BTZ black hole background are\nconstructed with the help of the star-product algebra formalism underlying the\nformulation of 3d higher spin theory. It is shown that a part of higher spin\nsymmetries remains unbroken for special values of the BTZ parameters.",
        "positive": "On the solutions to the string equation: The set of solutions to the string equation $[P,Q]=1$ where $P$ and $Q$ are\ndifferential operators is described.It is shown that there exists one-to-one\ncorrespondence between this set and the set of pairs of commuting differential\noperators.This fact permits us to describe the set of solutions to the string\nequation in terms of moduli spa- ces of algebraic curves,however the direct\ndescription is much simpler. Some results are obtained for the superanalog to\nthe string equation where $P$ and $Q$ are considered as superdifferential\noperators. It is proved that this equation is invariant with respect to\nManin-Radul, Mulase-Rabin and Kac-van de Leur KP-hierarchies."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gravitational leptogenesis, C, CP and strong equivalence: The origin of matter-antimatter asymmetry is one of the most important\noutstanding problems at the interface of particle physics and cosmology.\nGravitational leptogenesis (baryogenesis) provides a possible mechanism through\nexplicit couplings of spacetime curvature to appropriate lepton (or baryon)\ncurrents. In this paper, the idea that these strong equivalence principle\nviolating interactions could be generated automatically through quantum loop\neffects in curved spacetime is explored, focusing on the realisation of the\ndiscrete symmetries C, CP and CPT which must be broken to induce\nmatter-antimatter asymmetry. The related issue of quantum corrections to the\ndispersion relation for neutrino propagation in curved spacetime is considered\nwithin a fully covariant framework.",
        "positive": "Spontaneous Symmetry Breaking in the Nonlocal Scalar QED: We investigate the spontaneous symmetry breaking in a nonlocal version of the\nscalar QED. When the mass parameter $m^2$ satisfies the requirement $m^2>0$, we\nfind that all fields, including the Nambu-Goldstone field, acquire a non-zero\nmass dependent on the nonlocal scales. On the other hand, when $m^2=0$, we find\nthat the nonlocal corrections to the masses are very small and can be\nneglected."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "From the mass gap in O(N) to the non-Borel-summability in O(3) and O(4)\n  sigma-models: We give an analytical derivation of the mass gap of the O(N) sigma models and\ninvestigate a large-order behavior of the weak coupling asymptotic expansion\nfor the energy. For sufficiently large N the series is sign-oscillating, which\nis expected from the large N solution of the sigma model. However, for N=3 and\nN=4 the series are sign positive.",
        "positive": "Gravitational radiation from elastic particle scattering in models with\n  extra dimensions: In this paper we derive a formula for the energy loss due to elastic N to N\nparticle scattering in models with extra dimensions that are compactified on a\nradius R. In contrast to a previous derivation we also calculate additional\nterms that are suppressed by factors of frequency over compactification radius.\nIn the limit of a large compactification radius R those terms vanish and the\nstandard result for the non compactified case is recovered."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "An extremization principle for the entropy of rotating BPS black holes\n  in AdS$_5$: We show that the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy of a class of BPS electrically\ncharged rotating black holes in AdS$_5\\times S^5$ can be obtained by a simple\nextremization principle. We expect that this extremization corresponds to the\nattractor mechanism for BPS rotating black holes in five-dimensional gauged\nsupergravity, which is still unknown. The expression to be extremized has a\nsuggestive resemblance to anomaly polynomials and the supersymmetric Casimir\nenergy recently studied for $\\mathcal{N}=4$ super Yang-Mills.",
        "positive": "Frame-like formulation for free mixed-symmetry bosonic massless\n  higher-spin fields in AdS(d): In this paper we discuss in detail the frame-like formulation of free bosonic\nmassless higher-spin fields of general symmetry type in AdS(d), announced\nrecently in hep-th/0311164, hep-th/0501108. Properties of gauge invariant and\nAdS covariant action functionals and their flat limits are carefully analyzed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Crisis on Infinite Earths: Short-lived de Sitter Vacua in the String\n  Theory Landscape: We construct purely non-perturbative anti-de Sitter vacua in string theory\nwhich, on uplifting to a de Sitter (dS) one, have a decay time many orders of\nmagnitude smaller than those of standard constructions, such as the KKLT and\nLVS scenarios. By virtue of being constructed purely from non-perturbative\nterms, these vacua avoids certain obstructions plaguing other constructions of\ndS in string theory. This results in a new class of phenomenological dS vacua\nin string theory with novel distinctive characteristics such as having two\nmaxima. After examining whether these uplifted dS vacua obey the TCC, we\nrevisit some old problems of realization of dS space as a vacuum. We find that\nnot only is it phenomenologically hard to construct TCC-compatible vacua, but\nalso inherent temporal dependences of the degrees of freedom generically arise\nin such constructions, amongst other issues. This reinforces the idea that dS,\nif it exists in string theory, should be a Glauber-Sudarshan state and not a\nvacuum.",
        "positive": "Universality and the Renormalisation Group: Several functional renormalisation group (RG) equations including Polchinski\nflows and Exact RG flows are compared from a conceptual point of view and in\ngiven truncations. Similarities and differences are highlighted with special\nemphasis on stability properties. The main observations are worked out at the\nexample of O(N) symmetric scalar field theories where the flows, universal\ncritical exponents and scaling potentials are compared within a derivative\nexpansion. To leading order, it is established that Polchinski flows and ERG\nflows - despite their inequivalent derivative expansions - have identical\nuniversal content, if the ERG flow is amended by an adequate optimisation. The\nresults are also evaluated in the light of stability and minimum sensitivity\nconsiderations. Extensions to higher order and further implications are\nemphasized."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Stringy Correspondence Principle in Cosmology: We study a d-dimensional FRW universe, containing a perfect fluid with p = w\n\\rho and \\frac{1} {d - 1} \\le w \\le 1, and find a correspondence principle\nsimilar to that of Horowitz and Polchinski in the black hole case. This\nprinciple follows quite generally from thermodynamics and the conservation of\nenergy momentum tensor, and can be stated along similar lines as in the black\nhole case: ``When the temperature T of the universe becomes of order string\nscale the universe state becomes a highly excited string state. At the\ntransition, the entropies and energies of the universe and strings differ by\nfactors of {\\cal O}(1).'' Such a matching is absent for w \\ne 1 if the\ntransition is assumed to be when the curvature or the horizon length is of\norder string scale.",
        "positive": "Non-relativistic fluids on scale covariant Newton-Cartan backgrounds: The non-relativistic covariant framework for fields is extended to\ninvestigate fields and fluids on scale covariant curved backgrounds. The scale\ncovariant Newton-Cartan background is constructed using the localization of\nspacetime symmetries of non-relativistic fields in flat space. Following this,\nwe provide a Weyl covariant formalism which can be used to study scale\ninvariant fluids. By considering ideal fluids as an example, we describe its\nthermodynamic and hydrodynamic properties and explicitly demonstrate that it\nsatisfies the local second law of thermodynamics. As a further application, we\nconsider the low energy description of Hall fluids. Specifically, we find that\nthe gauge fields for scale transformations lead to corrections of the Wen-Zee\nand Berry phase terms contained in the effective action."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Butterflies with rotation and charge: We explore the butterfly effect for black holes with rotation or charge. We\nperturb rotating BTZ and charged black holes in 2+1 dimensions by adding a\nsmall perturbation on one asymptotic region, described by a shock wave in the\nspacetime, and explore the effect of this shock wave on the length of geodesics\nthrough the wormhole and hence on correlation functions. We find the effect of\nthe perturbation grows exponentially at a rate controlled by the temperature;\ndependence on the angular momentum or charge does not appear explicitly. We\ncomment on issues affecting the extension to higher-dimensional charged black\nholes.",
        "positive": "Gravitating M(atrix) Q-Balls: Q-ball configuration that represents oscillating or spinning closed membrane\nis constructed via M(atrix) theory. Upon gravitational collapse Q-balls are\nexpected to form Schwarzschild black holes. For quasi-static spherical\nmembrane, we probe spacetime geometry induced by monopole moment via D0-parton\nscattering off the Q-ball. We find a complete agreement with long distance\npotential calculated using eleven-dimensional supergravity. Generalizing to\nheterotic M(atrix) theory, we also construct Q-ball configurations of real\nprojective and disk membranes. The latter Q-ball configuration arises as\ntwisted sector of heterotic M(atrix) theory, hence, are expected to form a\ncharged black hole after gravitational collapse."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Mass Gap and Confinement in (2+1)-Dimensional Yang-Mills Theory: Using a gauge-invariant matrix parametrization of the gauge fields, we\npresent an analysis of how the mass gap arises in (2+1)-dimensional Yang-Mills\ntheory. We further derive an analytical continuum expression for the vacuum\nwavefunction and based on this we calculate the string tension which is in\nexcellent agreement with Monte Carlo simulations of the corresponding lattice\ngauge theory.",
        "positive": "Anthropic considerations in nuclear physics: In this short review, I discuss the sensitivity of the generation of the\nlight and the life-relevant elements like carbon and oxygen under changes of\nthe parameters of the Standard Model pertinent to nuclear physics. Chiral\neffective field theory allows for a systematic and precise description of the\nforces between two, three, and four nucleons. In this framework, variations\nunder the light quark masses and the electromagnetic fine structure constant\ncan also be consistently calculated. Combining chiral nuclear effective field\ntheory with Monte Carlo simulations allows to further calculate the properties\nof nuclei, in particular of the Hoyle state in carbon, that plays a crucial\nrole in the generation of the life-relevant elements in hot, old stars. The\ndependence of the triple-alpha process on the fundamental constants of Nature\nis calculated and some implications for our anthropic view of the Universe are\ndiscussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Varying constants quantum cosmology: We discuss minisuperspace models within the framework of varying physical\nconstants theories including $\\Lambda$-term. In particular, we consider the\nvarying speed of light (VSL) theory and varying gravitational constant theory\n(VG) using the specific ans\\\"atze for the variability of constants: $c(a) = c_0\na^n$ and $G(a)=G_0 a^q$. We find that most of the varying $c$ and $G$\nminisuperspace potentials are of the tunneling type which allows to use WKB\napproximation of quantum mechanics. Using this method we show that the\nprobability of tunneling of the universe \"from nothing\" ($a=0)$ to a Friedmann\ngeometry with the scale factor $a_t$ is large for growing $c$ models and is\nstrongly suppressed for diminishing $c$ models. As for $G$ varying, the\nprobability of tunneling is large for $G$ diminishing, while it is small for\n$G$ increasing. In general, both varying $c$ and $G$ change the probability of\ntunneling in comparison to the standard matter content (cosmological term,\ndust, radiation) universe models.",
        "positive": "Two Phases of Supersymmetric Gluodynamics: We argue that supersymmetric gluodynamics has two phases with equivalent\ninfrared behavior, one of which is asymptotically free and another one is\nsuperstrongly coupled in the ultraviolet domain."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "New N=4 Superfields and Sigma-models: In this note, we construct new representations of D=2, N=4 supersymmetry\nwhich do not involve chiral or twisted chiral multiplets. These multiplets may\nmake it possible to circumvent no-go theorems about N=4 superspace formulations\nof WZWN-models.",
        "positive": "Conformal solids and holography: We argue that a $SO(d)$ magnetic monopole in an asymptotically AdS space-time\nis dual to a $d$-dimensional strongly coupled system in a solid state. In light\nof this, it would be remiss of us not to dub such a field configuration\n$solidon$. In the presence of mixed boundary conditions, a solidon\nspontaneously breaks translations (among many other symmetries) and gives rise\nto Goldstone excitations on the boundary$-$the phonons of the solid. We derive\nthe quadratic action for the boundary phonons in the probe limit and show that,\nwhen the mixed boundary conditions preserve conformal symmetry, the\nlongitudinal and transverse sound speeds are related to each other as expected\nfrom effective field theory arguments. We then include backreaction and\ncalculate the free energy of the solidon for a particular choice of mixed\nboundary conditions, corresponding to a relevant multi-trace deformation of the\nboundary theory. We find such free energy to be lower than that of thermal AdS.\nThis suggests that our solidon undergoes a solid-to-liquid first order phase\ntransition by melting into a Schwarzschild-AdS black hole as the temperature is\nraised."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Emergent geometry from stochastic dynamics, or Hawking evaporation in\n  M(atrix) theory: We develop an microscopic model of the M-theory Schwarzschild black hole\nusing the Banks-Fischler-Shenker-Susskind Matrix formulation of quantum\ngravity. The underlying dynamics is known to be chaotic, which allows us to use\nmethods from Random Matrix Theory and non-equilibrium statistical mechanics to\npropose a coarse-grained bottom-up picture of the event horizon -- and the\nassociated Hawking evaporation phenomenon. The analysis is possible due to a\nhierarchy between the various timescales at work. Event horizon physics is\nfound to be non-local at the Planck scale, and we demonstrate how non-unitary\nphysics and information loss arise from the process of averaging over the\nchaotic unitary dynamics. Most interestingly, we correlate the onset of\nnon-unitarity with the emergence of spacetime geometry outside the horizon. We\nalso write a mean field action for the evolution of qubits -- represented by\npolarization states of supergravity modes. This evolution is shown to have\nsimilarities to a recent toy model of black hole evaporation proposed by Osuga\nand Page -- a model aimed at developing a plausible no-firewall scenario.",
        "positive": "Worldvolume and target space anomalies in the D=10 super--fivebrane\n  sigma--model: The fields of the conjectured ``heterotic\" super--fivebrane sigma--model in\nten dimensions are made out of a well known gravitational sector, the $X$ and\nthe $\\vartheta$, and of a still unknown heterotic sector which should be\ncoupled to the Yang--Mills fields. We compute the one--loop $d=6$ worldvolume\nand $D=10$ target space Lorentz--anomalies which arise from the gravitational\nsector of the heterotic super--fivebrane sigma--model, using a method which we\ndeveloped previously for the Green--Schwarz heterotic superstring. These\nanomalies turn out to carry an overall coefficient which is $1/2$ of that\nrequired by the string/fivebrane duality conjecture. As a consequence the\nworldvolume anomaly vanishes if the heterotic fields consist of 16 (rather than\n32) complex Weyl fermions on the worldvolume. This implies that the\nstring/fivebrane duality conjecture can not be based on a ``heterotic\"\nsuper--fivebrane sigma--model with only fermions in the heterotic sector.\nPossible implications of this result are discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Questions in the Theory of the (1,0)+(0,1) Quantized Fields: We find a mapping between antisymmetric tensor matter fields and the\nWeinberg's 2(2j+1)- component \"bispinor\" fields. Equations which describe the\nj=1 antisymmetric tensor field coincide with the Hammer-Tucker equations\nentirely and with the Weinberg ones within a subsidiary condition, the\nKlein-Gordon equation. The new Lagrangian for the Weinberg theory is proposed\nwhich is scalar and Hermitian. It is built on the basis of the concept of the\n`Weinberg doubles'. Origins of a contradiction between the classical theory,\nthe Weinberg theorem B-A=\\lambda for quantum relativistic fields and the\nclaimed `longitudity' of the antisymmetric tensor field (transformed on the\n(1,0)\\oplus (0,1) Lorentz group representation) after quantization are\nclarified. Analogs of the j=1/2 Feynman-Dyson propagator are presented in the\nframework of the j=1 Weinberg theory. It is then shown that under the definite\nchoice of field functions and initial and boundary conditions the massless j=1\nWeinberg-Tucker-Hammer equations contain all information that the Maxwell\nequations for electromagnetic field have. Thus, the former appear to be of use\nin describing some physical processes for which that could be necessitated or\nbe convenient.",
        "positive": "Generalized Causal Set d'Alembertians: We introduce a family of generalized d'Alembertian operators in D-dimensional\nMinkowski spacetimes which are manifestly Lorentz-invariant, retarded, and\nnon-local, the extent of the nonlocality being governed by a single parameter\n$\\rho$. The prototypes of these operators arose in earlier work as averages of\nmatrix operators meant to describe the propagation of a scalar field in a\ncausal set. We generalize the original definitions to produce an infinite\nfamily of ''Generalized Causet Box (GCB) operators'' parametrized by certain\ncoefficients $\\{a,b_n\\}$, and we derive the conditions on the latter needed for\nthe usual d'Alembertian to be recovered in the infrared limit. The continuum\naverage of a GCB operator is an integral operator, and it is these continuum\noperators that we mainly study. To that end, we compute their action on plane\nwaves, or equivalently their Fourier transforms g(p) [p being the\nmomentum-vector]. For timelike p, g(p) has an imaginary part whose sign depends\non whether p is past or future-directed. For small p, g(p) is necessarily\nproportional to p.p, but for large p it becomes constant, raising the\npossibility of a genuinely Lorentzian perturbative regulator for quantum field\ntheory. We also address the question of whether or not the evolution defined by\nthe GCB operators is stable, finding evidence that the original 4D causal set\nd'Alembertian is unstable, while its 2D counterpart is stable."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Yang-Mills thermodynamics: The confining phase: We summarize recent nonperturbative results obtained for the thermodynamics\nof an SU(2) and an SU(3) Yang-Mills theory being in its confining (center)\nphase. This phase is associated with a dynamical breaking of the local magnetic\ncenter symmetry. Emphasis is put on an explanation of the involved concepts.",
        "positive": "Symmetries of the stationary Einstein--Maxwell--dilaton theory: Gravity coupled three--dimensional $\\sigma$--model describing the stationary\nEinstein--Maxwell--dilaton system with general dilaton coupling is studied.\nKilling equations for the corresponding five--dimensional target space are\nintegrated. It is shown that for general coupling constant $\\alpha$ the\nsymmetry algebra is isomorphic to the maximal solvable subalgebra of $sl(3,R)$.\nFor two critical values $\\alpha =0$ and $\\alpha =\\sqrt{3}$, Killing algebra\nenlarges to the full $sl(3,R)$ and $su(2,1)\\times R$ algebras respectively,\nwhich correspond to five--dimensional Kaluza--Klein and four--dimensional\nBrans--Dicke--Maxwell theories. These two models are analyzed in terms of the\nunique real variables. Relation to the description in terms of complex Ernst\npotentials is discussed. Non--trivial discrete maps between different subspaces\nof the target space are found and used to generate new arbitrary--$\\alpha$\nsolutions to dilaton gravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Noncommuting Flux Sectors in a Tabletop Experiment: We show how one can use superconductors and Josephson junctions to create a\nlaboratory system which can explore the groundstates of the free\nelectromagnetic field in a 3-manifold with torsion in its cohomology.",
        "positive": "Lambda<0 Quantum Gravity in 2+1 Dimensions II: Black Hole Creation by\n  Point Particles: Using the recently proposed formalism for Lambda<0 quantum gravity in 2+1\ndimensions we study the process of black hole production in a collision of two\npoint particles. The creation probability for a BH with a simplest topology\ninside the horizon is given by the Liouville theory 4-point function projected\non an intermediate state. We analyze in detail the semi-classical limit of\nsmall AdS curvatures, in which the probability is dominated by the exponential\nof the classical Liouville action. The probability is found to be exponentially\nsmall. We then argue that the total probability of creating a horizon given by\nthe sum of probabilities of all possible internal topologies is of order unity,\nso that there is no exponential suppression of the total production rate."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Twisted CP(N-1) instanton projectors and the N-level quantum density\n  matrix: Twisted classical solutions to the $\\mathbb{C}P^{N-1}$ model play a key role\nin the analysis of such models on the spatially compactified cylinder\n$\\mathbb{S}_L^1 \\times {\\mathbb{R}^1}$ and have recently been shown to be\nimportant for the resurgent structure of this quantum field theory. Instantons\nand non-self-dual solutions both fractionalize, and domain walls formed by such\ntopological solutions can be associated with $N$-vacua having maximally\nrepulsive energy eigenvalues. The purpose of this paper is to reinforce this\nview through the investigation of a number of parallels between the\n$\\mathbb{C}P^{N-1}$ model and $N$-level quantum mechanical density matrices.\nSpecifically, we demonstrate the existence of a time-evolution equation for the\n$\\mathbb{C}P^{N-1}$ instanton projector analogous to the Liouville-von Neumann\nequation in the quantum mechanical formalism. The group theoretical analysis of\ndensity matrices and the $\\mathbb{C}P^{N-1}$ model are also closely related.\nFinally, we explore the emergence of geometrical (Berry) phases in both systems\nand their interrelationship.",
        "positive": "Entropic force in the presence of black hole: We derive the entropic force in the presence of the Schwarzschild black hole\nby using the local equipartition rule and holographic principle. On the other\nhand, when using the Tolman temperature, one does not arrive at the Newtonian\nforce law."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Lectures on the string landscape and the Swampland: We provide an overview of the string landscape and the Swampland program. Our\nreview of the string landscape covers the worldsheet and spacetime\nperspectives, including vacua and string dualities. We then review and motivate\nthe Swampland program from the lessons learned from the string landscape. These\nlecture notes are aimed to be self-contained and thus can serve as a starting\npoint for researchers interested in exploring these ideas.\n  These notes are an expanded version of two courses \"The String Landscape and\nthe Swampland\" taught by C.~Vafa at Harvard University in 2018 with a focus on\nthe landscape, written by M.~J.~Kang with additional material from N.~B.~Agmon,\nand in 2022 with a focus on the Swampland, written by A.~Bedroya.",
        "positive": "A Study of the SYK$_{2}$ Model with Twisted Boundary Conditions: We study a version of the 2-body Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev (SYK$_{2}$) model whose\ncomplex fermions exhibit twisted boundary conditions on the thermal circle. As\nwe show, this is physically equivalent to coupling the fermions to a\n1-dimensional external gauge field $A(t)$. In the latter formulation, the gauge\nfield itself can be thought of as arising from a radial symmetry reduction of a\n$(2+1)$-dimensional Chern-Simons gauge field $A_{\\mu}(t,\\mathbf{x})$. Using the\ndiagnostic tools of the out-of-time-order correlator (OTOC) and spectral form\nfactor (SFF), which probe the sensitivity to initial conditions and the\nspectral statistics respectively, we give a detailed and pedagogical study of\nthe integrable/chaotic properties of the model. We find that the twisting has\nno effect on the OTOCs and, by extension, the early-time chaos properties of\nthe model. It does, however, have two notable effects on the spectral form\nfactor; an enhancement of the early-time slope and the emergence of an explicit\ndisorder scale needed for the manifestation of zero modes. These zero modes are\nresponsible for the late-time exponential ramp in the quadratic SYK model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Supermoduli Space of Matrix String Theory: We study matrix string scattering amplitudes and matrix string instantons on\na marked Riemann surface in the limit of a vanishing string coupling constant.\nWe give an explicit parameterization of the moduli space of such instantons. We\nalso give a description of the set of fermionic supermoduli. The integration\nover the supermoduli leads to the inclusion of picture changing operators at\nthe interaction points. Finally we investigate the large N limit of the measure\non the instanton moduli space and show its convergence to the Weil-Petersson\nmeasure on the moduli space of marked Riemann surfaces.",
        "positive": "The 4d Superconformal Index from q-deformed 2d Yang-Mills: We identify the 2d topological theory underlying the N=2 4d superconformal\nindex with an explicit model: q-deformed 2d Yang-Mills. By this route we are\nable to evaluate the index of some strongly-coupled 4d SCFTs, such as Gaiotto's\nT_N theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "All timelike supersymmetric solutions of N=2, D=4 gauged supergravity\n  coupled to abelian vector multiplets: The timelike supersymmetric solutions of N=2, D=4 gauged supergravity coupled\nto an arbitrary number of abelian vector multiplets are classified using\nspinorial geometry techniques. We show that the generalized holonomy group for\nvacua preserving N supersymmetries is GL((8-N)/2,C) $\\ltimes$ N/2 C^((8-N)/2)\n$\\subseteq$ GL(8,R), where N=0,2,4,6,8. The spacetime turns out to be a\nfibration over a three-dimensional base manifold with U(1) holonomy and\nnontrivial torsion. Our results can be used to construct new supersymmetric AdS\nblack holes with nontrivial scalar fields turned on.",
        "positive": "Generalised U-dual solutions in supergravity: We discuss the notion of generalised U-duality as a solution generating\ntechnique in supergravity. We demonstrate a method to take solutions of type\nIIA supergravity on a 3-sphere, with NSNS flux, to new solutions of\n11-dimensional supergravity, using exceptional geometry techniques. These new\nsolutions are characterised by an underlying 3-algebra structure, and\ngeneralise features of solutions obtained by non-abelian T-duality, which\ninvolve an underlying ordinary Lie algebra. We focus on an example where we\nstart with the pp-F1-NS5 solution in type IIA supergravity. We discuss the\nproperties of our resulting new solution, including the possibility of viewing\nit globally as a U-fold, and its M2 and M5 brane charges. In the extremal case,\nthe new solution admits an AdS${}_3$ limit, which falls into a recently\nconstructed class of M-theory AdS$_{3}$ backgrounds -- this provides a global\ncompletion of our solution with a well-defined holographic dual, similar to the\nglobal completions of non-abelian T-dual solutions. Our full solution is a\n6-vector deformation of this AdS${}_3$ limit. We also explicitly solve the\nKilling spinor equation in the AdS${}_3$ limit, finding a $\\frac{1}{2}$-BPS\nsolution."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetric Gauge Theories with an Affine Quantum Moduli Space: All supersymmetric gauge theories based on simple groups which have an affine\nquantum moduli space, i.e. one generated by gauge invariants with no relations,\nW=0, and anomaly matching at the origin, are classified. It is shown that the\nonly theories with no gauge invariants (and moduli space equal to a single\npoint) are the two known examples, SU(5) with 5-bar + 10 and SO(10) with a\nspinor. The index of the matter representation must be at least as big as the\nindex of the adjoint in theories which have a non-trivial relation among the\ngauge invariants.",
        "positive": "The G\u00f6del solution in the modified gravity: We consider the modified gravity whose action represents itself as a sum of\nthe usual Einstein-Hilbert action and the gravitational Chern-Simons term and\nshow that the G\\\"{o}del metric solves the modified equations of motion, thus\nproving that the closed timelike curves whose presence is characteristic for\nthe G\\\"{o}del solution are not forbidden in the case of the Chern-Simons\nmodified gravity as well."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Consistency restrictions on maximal electric field strength in QFT: QFT with an external background can be considered as a consistent model only\nif backreaction is relatively small with respect to the background. To find the\ncorresponding consistency restrictions on an external electric field and its\nduration in QED and QCD, we analyze the mean energy density of quantized fields\nfor an arbitrary constant electric field E, acting during a large but finite\ntime T. Using the corresponding asymptotics with respect to the dimensionless\nparameter $eET^2$, one can see that the leading contributions to the energy are\ndue to the creation of paticles by the electric field. Assuming that these\ncontributions are small in comparison with the energy density of the electric\nbackground, we establish the above-mentioned restrictions, which determine, in\nfact, the time scales from above of depletion of an electric field due to the\nbackreaction",
        "positive": "Geometrical Tachyon Inflation in the Presence of a Bulk Tachyon Field: We present the study of the dynamics of the geometrical tachyon field on an\nunstable D3-brane in the background of a bulk tachyon field of a D3-brane\nsolution of Type-0 string theory. We find that the geometrical tachyon\npotential is modified by a function of the bulk tachyon and inflation occurs at\nweak string coupling, where the bulk tachyon condenses, near the top of the\ngeometrical tachyon potential. We also find a late accelerating phase when the\nbulk tachyon asymptotes to zero and the geometrical tachyon field reaches the\nminimum of the potential."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Source and Response Soft Charges for Maxwell Theory on $AdS_d$: We study asymptotic symmetries and their associated charges for Maxwell\ntheory on anti de Sitter (AdS) background in any dimension. This is obtained by\nconstructing a conserved symplectic structure for the bulk and a theory on the\nboundary, which we specify. We show that the boundary phase space is described\nby two scalars and two sets of \"source\" and \"response\" boundary gauge\ntransformations. The bulk dynamics is invariant under these two sets of\nboundary transformations. We study the (soft) charges associated with these two\nsets and show that they form an infinite dimensional Heisenberg type algebra.\nStudying the large AdS radius flat space limit, we show only the source soft\ncharges survive. We also analyze algebra of charges associated with SO(d-1,2)\nisometries of the background $AdS_d$ space and study how they act on our source\nand response charges. We briefly discuss implication of our results for the\nAdS/CFT.",
        "positive": "Holographic renormalization of Horndeski gravity: We study the renormalization of a particular sector of Horndeski theory. We\nfocus on the nonminimal coupling of a scalar field to the Gauss-Bonnet term\nthrough an arbitrary function of the former plus a kinetic coupling to the\nEinstein tensor. In the asymptotically AdS sector of the theory, we perform a\nnear-boundary expansion of the fields and we work out the asymptotic form of\nthe action and its variation. By assuming a power expansion of the scalar\ncoupling function and the Gauss-Bonnet term, we find specific conditions on\ntheir coefficients such that the action and charges are finite. To accomplish\nthe latter, a finite set of intrinsic boundary terms has to be added. If the\nnonminimal kinetic coupling is absent, the trace of the holographic\nstress-energy tensor cannot be zero while the dual CFT remains unitary as the\nscalar mass lies outside the Breitenlohner-Freedman bound. However, if one\nconsiders the kinetic coupling to the Einstein tensor, we find that its\ncontribution allows one to recover the unitarity of the dual CFT, motivating\nthe introduction of that term from a holographic viewpoint."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Nonperturbative deformation of D-brane states by the world sheet\n  noncommutativity: By introducing the noncommutativity in the world sheet, we discuss a\nmodification of the D-brane states in the closed string theory. In particular\nwe show how the world sheet noncommutativity induces a nonperturbative effect\nto the D-brane states.",
        "positive": "Scaling and superscaling solutions from the functional renormalization\n  group: We study the renormalization group flow of $\\mathbb{Z}_2$-invariant\nsupersymmetric and non-supersymmetric scalar models in the local potential\napproximation using functional renormalization group methods. We focus our\nattention to the fixed points of the renormalization group flow of these\nmodels, which emerge as scaling solutions. In two dimensions these solutions\nare interpreted as the minimal (supersymmetric) models of conformal field\ntheory, while in three dimension they are manifestations of the Wilson-Fisher\nuniversality class and its supersymmetric counterpart. We also study the\nanalytically continued flow in fractal dimensions between 2 and 4 and determine\nthe critical dimensions for which irrelevant operators become relevant and\nchange the universality class of the scaling solution. We also include novel\nanalytic and numerical investigations of the properties that determine the\noccurrence of the scaling solutions within the method. For each solution we\noffer new techniques to compute the spectrum of the deformations and obtain the\ncorresponding critical exponents."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Black Hole Entropy and String Instantons: The coupling of a string to gravity allows for Schwarzschild black holes\nwhose entropy to area relation is $S=(A/4)(1-4\\mu)$, where $\\mu$ is the string\ntension. This departure from the A/4 universality results from a string\ninstanton generating a black hole with smaller entropy at a temperature\nexceeding the Hawking value. The temperature is sensitive to the presence of\nclassical matter outside the black hole horizon but the entropy is not. The\nhorizon materializes at the quantum level. It is conjectured that such a\nmacroscopic non local effect may be operative in retrieving information from\nincipient black holes.",
        "positive": "Correlation functions of three-dimensional Yang-Mills theory from\n  Dyson-Schwinger equations: The two- and three-point functions and the four-gluon vertex of\nthree-dimensional Yang-Mills theory are calculated from their Dyson-Schwinger\nequations and the 3PI effective action. Within a self-contained truncation\nvarious effects of truncating Dyson-Schwinger equations are studied. Estimates\nfor the errors induced by truncations are derived from comparisons between\nresults from different equations, comparisons with lattice results, and varying\nhigher Green functions. The results indicate that the two-loop diagrams are\nimportant in the gluon propagator, where they are explicitly calculated, but\nnot for the vertices. Furthermore, the influence of the four-gluon vertex on\nlower Green functions is found to be small."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spectrum of two-dimensional $su(2)$ gauge theories coupled to massless\n  fermions in integer representations: The spectra of two-dimensional $su(2)$ gauge theories coupled to a single\nmassless Majorana fermion in integer representations, $J$, are numerically\ninvestigated using the Discrete Light-Cone Hamiltonian. One of our aims is to\nexplore the possible presence of massless states for $J>2$ in spite of the\nabsence of a continuous symmetry. After comparing to existing results for $J=1$\n(adjoint fermions), we present results for $J=2,3,4$. As expected, for $J=2$\nthere are no massless states but in contrast to the $J=1$ theory, the lightest\nstate is a boson. We find exact massless modes in the bosonic and fermionic\nsector for all values of total momentum for $J=3$ and $J=4$ and, in each\nsector, the number of massless modes grows with the value of the total\nmomentum. In addition to the spectrum, we present results on the particle\nnumber and momentum fraction distributions and argue for a separation of bulk\nstates from edge states.",
        "positive": "$N=1$ Superstring in $2+2$ Dimensions: In this paper we construct a $(2,2)$ dimensional string theory with manifest\n$N=1$ spacetime supersymmetry. We use Berkovits' approach of augmenting the\nspacetime supercoordinates by the conjugate momenta for the fermionic\nvariables. The worldsheet symmetry algebra is a twisted and truncated ``small''\n$N=4$ superconformal algebra. The realisation of the symmetry algebra is\nreducible with an infinite order of reducibility. We study the physical states\nof the theory by two different methods. In one of them, we identify a subset of\nirreducible constraints, which is by itself critical. We construct the BRST\noperator for the irreducible constraints, and study the cohomology and\ninteractions. This method breaks the $SO(2,2)$ spacetime symmetry of the\noriginal reducible theory. In another approach, we study the theory in a fully\ncovariant manner, which involves the introduction of infinitely many ghosts for\nghosts."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Anharmonic Noncommutative Oscillator at Finite Temperature: Classical and quantum anharmonic noncommutative oscillators with quartic\nself-interacting potential are considered and the effect of self-interaction\nterm on the free energy and partition function of both models is calculated to\nfirst order in coupling constant.",
        "positive": "Asymptotic freedom of Yang-Mills theory with gravity: We study the behaviour of Yang-Mills theory under the inclusion of gravity.\nIn the weak- gravity limit, the running gauge coupling receives no contribution\nfrom the gravitational sector, if all symmetries are preserved. This holds true\nwith and without cosmological constant. We also show that asymptotic freedom\npersists in general field-theory-based gravity scenarios including\ngravitational shielding as well as asymptotically safe gravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Lectures on Quantum Black Holes: In these notes we describe recent progress in understanding finite size\ncorrections to the black hole entropy. Much of the earlier work concerning\nquantum black holes has been in the limit of large charges when the area of the\neven horizon is also large. In recent years there has been substantial progress\nin understanding the entropy of supersymmetric black holes within string theory\ngoing well beyond the large charge limit. It has now become possible to begin\nexploring finite size effects in perturbation theory in inverse size and even\nnonperturbatively, with highly nontrivial agreements between thermodynamics and\nstatistical mechanics. Unlike the leading Bekenstein-Hawking entropy which\nfollows from the two-derivative Einstein-Hilbert action, these finite size\ncorrections depend sensitively on the phase under consideration and contain a\nwealth of information about the details of compactification as well as the\nspectrum of nonperturbative states in the theory. Finite-size corrections are\ntherefore very interesting as a valuable window into the microscopic degrees of\nfreedom of the quantum theory.",
        "positive": "Lagrangians Manifesting Color-Kinematics Duality in the NMHV Sector of\n  Yang-Mills: Scattering amplitudes in Yang-Mills theory are known to exhibit kinematic\nstructures which hint to an underlying kinematic algebra that is dual to the\ngauge group color algebra. This color-kinematics duality is still poorly\nunderstood in terms of conventional Feynman rules, or from a Lagrangian\nformalism. In this work, we present explicit Lagrangians whose Feynman rules\ngenerate duality-satisfying tree-level BCJ numerators, to any multiplicity in\nthe next-to-MHV sector of pure Yang Mills theory. Our Lagrangians make use of\nat most three pairs of auxiliary fields (2,1,0-forms) -- surprisingly few\ncompared to previous attempts of Lagrangians at low multiplicities. To restrict\nthe Lagrangian freedom it is necessary to make several non-trivial assumptions\nregarding field content, kinetic terms, and interactions, which we discuss in\nsome detail. Future progress likely hinges on relaxing these assumptions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Twistor space observables and quasi-amplitudes in 4D higher spin gravity: Vasiliev equations facilitate globally defined formulations of higher-spin\ngravity in various correspondence spaces associated with different phases of\nthe theory. In the four-dimensional case this induces a map from a generally\ncovariant formulation in spacetime with higher-derivative interactions to a\nformulation in terms of a deformed symplectic structure on a noncommutative\ndoubled twistor space, sending spacetime boundary conditions to various sectors\nof an associative star-product algebra. We look at observables given by\nintegrals over twistor space defining composite zero-forms in spacetime that do\nnot break any local symmetries and that are closed on shell. They can be\nevaluated locally in spacetime and interpreted as building blocks for dual\namplitudes. To regularize potential twistor-space divergencies arising in their\ncurvature expansion, we propose a closed-contour prescription that respects\nassociativity and hence higher-spin gauge symmetry. As a sample calculation, we\nexamine next-to-leading corrections to quasi-amplitudes for twistor-space plane\nwaves, and find cancellations that we interpret using transgression properties\nin twistor space.",
        "positive": "Thermodynamics of Rotating Lovelock-Lifshitz Black Branes: We investigate the thermodynamics of rotating Lovelock-Lifshitz black branes.\nWe calculate the conserved and thermodynamic quantities of the solutions and\nobtain a relation between temperature, angular velocity, energy density,\nentropy density and angular momentum density. We, also, obtain a Smarr-type\nformula for the energy density as a function of entropy and angular momentum\ndensities, and show that the thermodynamic quantities calculated in this paper\nsatisfy the first law of thermodynamics. Finally, we investigate the stability\nof black brane solutions in both canonical and grand-canonical ensemble. We\nfind that the solutions are thermally stable for the solutions with $z\\leq\nn-1$, while they can be unstable for $z>n-1$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Monopole-like Configuration from Quantized SU(3) Gauge Fields: Monopole field configurations have been extensively studied in both Abelian\nand non-Abelian gauge theories. The question of the quantum corrections to\nthese systems is a difficult one, since the classical monopoles have\nnon-perturbatively large couplings, which makes the standard, perturbative\nmethods for calculating quantum corrections suspect. Here we apply a modified\nversion of Heisenberg's quantization technique for strongly interacting,\nnonlinear fields to a classical solution of the SU(3) Yang-Mills field\nequations. This classical solution is not monopole-like and has an energy\ndensity which diverges as $r \\to \\infty$. However, the quantized version of\nthis solution has a monopole-like far field, and a non-divergent energy density\nas $r \\to \\infty$. This may point to the conclusion that monopoles may arise\nnot from quantizing classical monopole configurations, but from quantizing\nfield configurations which at the classical level do not appear monopole-like.",
        "positive": "Generalized coordinate Bethe ansatz for non diagonal boundaries: We compute the spectrum and the eigenstates of the open XXX model with\nnon-diagonal (triangular) boundary matrices. Since the boundary matrices are\nnot diagonal, the usual coordinate Bethe ansatz does not work anymore, and we\nuse a generalization of it to solve the problem."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hitchin's equations and integrability of BPS Z(N) strings in Yang-Mills\n  theories: We show that Z(N) string's BPS equations are equivalent to the Hitchin's\nequations (or self-duality equation) and also to the zero curvature condition.\nWe construct a general form for BPS Z(N) string solutions for arbitrary simple\ngauge groups with non-trivial center. Depending on the vacuum solutions\nconsidered, the Z(N) string's BPS equations reduce to different two dimensional\nintegrable field equations. For a particular vacuum we obtain the equation of\naffine Toda field theory.",
        "positive": "Reheating after S-Brane Ekpyrosis: In recent work, two of us proposed a nonsingular Ekpyrotic cosmology making\nuse of an S-brane which forms at the end of the phase of Ekpyrotic contraction.\nThis S-Brane mediates a transition between contraction and expansion.\nGraviitational waves passing through the S-Brane acquire a roughly\nscale-invariant spectrum, and if the S-Brane has zero shear, then a roughly\nscale-invariant spectrum of cosmological perturbatiions results. Here, we study\nthe production of gauge field fluctuations driven by the decay of the S-Brane,\nand we show that the reheating process via gauge field production will be\nefficient, leading to a radiation-dominated expanding phase."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Scale Factor Duality for Conformal Cyclic Cosmologies: The scale factor duality is a symmetry of dilaton gravity which is known to\nlead to pre-big-bang cosmologies. A conformal time version of the scale factor\nduality (SFD) was recently implemented as a UV/IR symmetry between decelerated\nand accelerated phases of the post-big-bang evolution within Einstein gravity\ncoupled to a scalar field. The problem investigated in the present paper\nconcerns the employment of the conformal time SFD methods to the construction\nof pre-big-bang and cyclic extensions of these models. We demonstrate that each\nbig-bang model gives rise to two qualitatively different pre-big-bang\nevolutions: a contraction/expansion SFD model and Penrose's Conformal Cyclic\nCosmology (CCC). A few examples of SFD symmetric cyclic universes involving\ncertain gauged K\\\"ahler sigma models minimally coupled to Einstein gravity are\nstudied. We also describe the specific SFD features of the thermodynamics and\nthe conditions for validity of the generalized second law in the case of\nGauss-Bonnet (GB) extension of these selected CCC models.",
        "positive": "Effective Action for Multi-Regge Processes in QCD: We construct the effective Lagrangian describing QCD in the multi-Regge\nkinematics. It is obtained from the original QCD\n  Lagrangian by eliminating modes of gluon and quark fields not appearing in\nthis underlying kinematics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "JT Gravity in de Sitter Space and the Problem of Time: We discuss the canonical quantisation of JT gravity in de Sitter space,\nfollowing earlier work by Henneaux, with particular attention to the problem of\ntime. Choosing the dilaton as the physical clock, we define a norm and operator\nexpectation values for states and explore the classical limit. We find that\nrequiring a conserved and finite norm and well-defined expectation values for\noperators imposes significant restrictions on states, as does the requirement\nof a classical limit. However, these requirements can all be met, with the\ndilaton providing a satisfactory physical clock. We construct several examples\nand analyse them in detail. We find that in fact an infinite number of states\nexist which meet the various conditions mentioned above.",
        "positive": "Bounding the Space of Holographic CFTs with Chaos: Thermal states of quantum systems with many degrees of freedom are subject to\na bound on the rate of onset of chaos, including a bound on the Lyapunov\nexponent, $\\lambda_L\\leq 2\\pi /\\beta$. We harness this bound to constrain the\nspace of putative holographic CFTs and their would-be dual theories of AdS\ngravity. First, by studying out-of-time-order four-point functions, we discuss\nhow $\\lambda_L=2\\pi/\\beta$ in ordinary two-dimensional holographic CFTs is\nrelated to properties of the OPE at strong coupling. We then rule out the\nexistence of unitary, sparse two-dimensional CFTs with large central charge and\na set of higher spin currents of bounded spin; this implies the inconsistency\nof weakly coupled AdS$_3$ higher spin gravities without infinite towers of\ngauge fields, such as the $SL(N)$ theories. This fits naturally with the\nstructure of higher-dimensional gravity, where finite towers of higher spin\nfields lead to acausality. On the other hand, unitary CFTs with classical\n$W_{\\infty}[\\lambda]$ symmetry, dual to 3D Vasiliev or hs[$\\lambda$] higher\nspin gravities, do not violate the chaos bound, instead exhibiting no chaos:\n$\\lambda_L=0$. Independently, we show that such theories violate unitarity for\n$|\\lambda|>2$. These results encourage a tensionless string theory\ninterpretation of the 3D Vasiliev theory. We also perform some CFT calculations\nof chaos in Rindler space in various dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Lattice fusion rules and logarithmic operator product expansions: The interest in Logarithmic Conformal Field Theories (LCFTs) has been growing\nover the last few years thanks to recent developments coming from various\napproaches. A particularly fruitful point of view consists in considering\nlattice models as regularizations for such quantum field theories. The\nindecomposability then encountered in the representation theory of the\ncorresponding finite-dimensional associative algebras exactly mimics the\nVirasoro indecomposable modules expected to arise in the continuum limit. In\nthis paper, we study in detail the so-called Temperley-Lieb (TL) fusion functor\nintroduced in physics by Read and Saleur [Nucl. Phys. B 777, 316 (2007)]. Using\nquantum group results, we provide rigorous calculations of the fusion of\nvarious TL modules. Our results are illustrated by many explicit examples\nrelevant for physics. We discuss how indecomposability arises in the \"lattice\"\nfusion and compare the mechanisms involved with similar observations in the\ncorresponding field theory. We also discuss the physical meaning of our lattice\nfusion rules in terms of indecomposable operator-product expansions of quantum\nfields.",
        "positive": "Sensitivity of inflationary predictions to pre-inflationary phases: How sensitive are the predictions of inflation to pre-inflationary conditions\nwhen the number of efolds of inflation is not too large? In an attempt to\naddress this question, we consider a simple model where the inflationary era is\npreceded by an era dominated by a radiation fluid, which is coupled to the\ninflaton only gravitationally and which extends back to the Planck era. We show\nthat there is a natural generalized Bunch-Davies vacuum state for perturbations\nto the coupled inflaton-gravity-fluid system at early times. With this choice\nof initial state the model predicts interesting deviations from the standard\npower spectrum of single field slow-roll inflation at large scales. However,\nthe deviations are too small to be observable in near future CMB observations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Thermal Hawking radiation of black hole with supertranslation field: Using the analytical solution for the Schwarzschild metric containing\nsupertranslation field, we consider two main ingredients of calculation of the\nthermal Hawking black hole radiation: solution for eigenmodes of the\nd'Alambertian and solution of the geodesic equations for null geodesics. For\ncalculation of Hawking radiation it is essential to determine the behavior of\nboth the eigenmodes and geodesics in the vicinity of horizon. The equation for\nthe eigenmodes is solved, first, perturbatively in the ratio $O(C)/M$ of the\nsupertranslation field to the mass of black hole, and, next, non-perturbatively\nin the near- horizon region. It is shown that in any order of perturbation\ntheory solution for the eigenmodes in the metric containing supertranslation\nfield differs from solution in the pure Schwarzschild metric by terms of order\n$L^{1/2}= (1-2M/r)^{1/2}$. In the non-perturbative approach, solution for the\neigenmodes differs from solution in the Schwarzschild metric by terms of order\n$L^{1/2}$ which vanish on horizon. Using the simplified form of geodesic\nequations in vicinity of horizon, it is shown that in vicinity of horizon the\nnull geodesics have the same behavior as in the Schwarzschild metric. As a\nresult, the density matrices of thermal radiation in both cases are the same.",
        "positive": "Central extensions of higher groups: Green-Schwarz mechanism and\n  2-connections: We study the smooth $2$-group structure arising in the presence of quantum\nfield theory with one-form symmetry. We acquire $2$-group structures obtained\nby a central extension of the zero-form symmetry by the one-form symmetry. We\ndetermine that the existence of a $2$-group structure is guaranteed by\nChern--Simons levels. We further verify how we will be able to provide a fix to\nthe current $2$-group problems by using the bibundle model. We outline the\nprincipal $2$-connection theory with respect to such $2$-group and compare it\nwith the ansatz obtained from the Green--Schwarz mechanism. We further propose\nthe existence of smooth $\\infty$-group symmetries in quantum field theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Space-Time and Matter in IIB Matrix Model - gauge symmetry and\n  diffeomorphism -: We pursue the study of the type IIB matrix model as a constructive definition\nof superstring. In this paper, we justify the interpretation of space-time as\ndistribution of eigenvalues of the matrices by showing that some low energy\nexcitations indeed propagate in it. In particular, we show that if the\ndistribution consists of small clusters of size $n$, low energy theory acquires\nlocal SU(n) gauge symmetry and a plaquette action for the associated gauge\nboson is induced, in addition to a gauge invariant kinetic term for a massless\nfermion in the adjoint representation of the SU(n). We finally argue a possible\nidentification of the diffeomorphism symmetry with permutation group acting on\nthe set of eigenvalues, and show that the general covariance is realized in the\nlow energy effective theory even though we do not have a manifest general\ncovariance in the IIB matrix model action.",
        "positive": "M Theory and Cosmology: This is a series of lectures on M Theory for cosmologists. After summarizing\nsome of the main properties of M Theory and its dualities I show how it can be\nused to address various fundamental and phenomenological issues in cosmology."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Webs of Walls: Webs of domain walls are constructed as 1/4 BPS states in d=4, N=2\nsupersymmetric U(Nc) gauge theories with Nf hypermultiplets in the fundamental\nrepresentation. Web of walls can contain any numbers of external legs and loops\nlike (p,q) string/5-brane webs. We find the moduli space M of a 1/4 BPS\nequation for wall webs to be the complex Grassmann manifold. When moduli spaces\nof 1/2 BPS states (parallel walls) and the vacua are removed from M, the\nnon-compact moduli space of genuine 1/4 BPS wall webs is obtained. All the\nsolutions are obtained explicitly and exactly in the strong gauge coupling\nlimit. In the case of Abelian gauge theory, we work out the correspondence\nbetween configurations of wall web and the moduli space CP^{Nf-1}.",
        "positive": "On the Yang-Mills Functional over Open Four-Manifolds: This early trial has been withdrawn by the author. For a completed and\npublished version cf. arXiv:math/0608597v5."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The origin of entropy production in spacetime thermodynamics: We find that the ambiguity term of approximate Killing vector field is\nresponsible for the entropy production term. Without the ambiguity term, pure\nEinstein theory and $f(R)$ satisfy the relation of thermodynamic equilibrium.\nConsidering such an ambiguity term of approximate Killing vector field, we can\nget the entropy production term and the entropy in $f(R)$ with a form defined\nby Jacobson. In pure Einstein theory, the shear term is the only geometric\ncontribution of entropy production term, while in $f(R)$ it can also\ncontribute. We believe our approach and conclusion can be generalized to other\ngravity theory.",
        "positive": "A review about Invariance Induced Gravity: Gravity and Spin from Local\n  Conformal-Affine Symmetry: In this review paper, we discuss how gravity and spin can be obtained as the\nrealization of the local Conformal-Affine group of symmetry transformations. In\nparticular, we show how gravitation is a gauge theory which can be obtained\nstarting from local invariance as the Poincar\\'{e} local symmetry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum BRST charge and OSp(1|8) superalgebra of twistor-like p-branes\n  with exotic supersymmetry and Weyl symmetry: Algebra of the constraints of twistor-like p-branes restoring 3/4 fraction of\nthe spontaneously broken D=4 N=1 supersymmetry is studied using the conversion\nmethod. Classical and quantum realizations of the BRST charge, unified\nsuperalgebra of the global generalized superconformal OSp(1|8) and Virasoro and\nWeyl symmetries are constructed. It is shown that the quantum Hermitian BRST\ncharge is nilpotent and the quantized OSp(1|8) superalgebra is closed.",
        "positive": "M5 branes and Theta Functions: We propose quantum states for Little String Theories (LSTs) arising from M5\nbranes probing A- and D-type singularities. This extends Witten's picture of M5\nbrane partition functions as theta functions to this more general setup.\nCompactifying the world-volume of the five-branes on a two-torus, we find that\nthe corresponding theta functions are sections of line bundles over complex\n4-tori. This formalism allows us to derive Seiberg-Witten curves for the\nresulting four-dimensional theories. Along the way, we prove a duality for LSTs\nobserved by Iqbal, Hohenegger and Rey."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauge models in modified triplectic quantization: We apply the modified triplectic formalism for quantizing several popular\ngauge models - non-abelian antisymmetric tensor field model, W2-gravity and\ntwo-dimensional gravity with dynamical torsion. The explicit solutions are\nobtained for the generating equations of the quantum action and the\ngauge-fixing functional. Using these solutions we construct the vacuum\nfunctional and obtain the corresponding transformations of the extended BRST\nsymmetry.",
        "positive": "The Spectrum of the Axion Dark Sector, Cosmological Observable and Black\n  Hole Superradiance Constraints: Consistent frameworks of quantum gravity often predict the existence of large\nnumbers of ultralight pseudoscalar degrees of freedom, forming the\nphenomenological landscape of the String Axiverse. The complexity of the\nextra-dimensional compactification manifolds and vacua determine that these\nfields could possess parameters with cosmologically significant scales, which\nspan many decades. Astrophysical observations of stellar binary and\nsupermassive black hole systems can be used to exclude the existence of certain\nultralight massive bosons, via the superradiance phenomenon. In this work it is\nshown how these measurements can be used to constrain properties of statistical\ndistributions for the masses of multiple bosonic field theories, inspired by\naxion field alignment models and an explicit realisation of the string axiverse\nin M-theory. Such a methodology can exclude $N_{\\rm ax} \\geq 30$ axion-like\nfields with a range of mass distribution widths and central values spanning\nmany orders of magnitude, covering axion phenomenologies important to the dark\nsector and grand unified theories. This is demonstrated for several examples of\naxions in string theory and M-theory, where the mass distributions in certain\ncases take universal forms found in random matrix theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Conformal perturbation theory from open string field theory: Conformal boundary conditions in two-dimensional conformal field theories\nmanifest lots of mathematical beauty and complexity and in many aspects present\nuncharted territory. Even less is known about the relevant boundary\ndeformations which connect them. A natural approach to the problem is via\nconformal perturbation theory, which however becomes quickly intractable and\npossibly ambiguous. Relying on the internal consistency of open string field\ntheory, which has been proved to be a consistent theory of conformal boundary\nconditions, we show how to construct nearby fixed points of the two-dimensional\nrenormalization group flow triggered by weakly relevant operators. As a simple\nillustration we calculate the boundary degeneracy $g$ to next-to-leading order\nfor a generic theory.",
        "positive": "Supersymmetric SYK model and random matrix theory: In this paper, we investigate the effect of supersymmetry on the symmetry\nclassification of random matrix theory ensembles. We mainly consider the random\nmatrix behaviors in the $\\mathcal{N}=1$ supersymmetric generalization of the\nSachdev-Ye-Kitaev (SYK) model, a toy model for the two-dimensional quantum\nblack hole with supersymmetric constraint. Some analytical arguments and\nnumerical results are given to show that the statistics of the supersymmetric\nSYK model could be interpreted as random matrix theory ensembles, with a\ndifferent eight-fold classification from the original SYK model and some new\nfeatures. The time-dependent evolution of the spectral form factor is also\ninvestigated, where predictions from random matrix theory are governing the\nlate time behavior of the chaotic Hamiltonian with supersymmetry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Rotating Black Holes, Closed Time-Like Curves, Thermodynamics, and the\n  Enhancon Mechanism: We reconsider supersymmetric five dimensional rotating charged black holes,\nand their description in terms of D-branes. By wrapping some of the branes on\nK3, we are able to explore the role of the enhancon mechanism in this system.\nWe verify that enhancon loci protect the black hole from violations of the\nSecond Law of Thermodynamics which would have been achieved by the addition of\ncertain D-brane charges. The same charges can potentially result in the\nformation of closed time-like curves by adding them to holes initially free of\nthem, and so the enhancon mechanism forbids this as well. Although this latter\nobservation is encouraging, it is noted that this mechanism alone does not\neliminate closed time-like curves from these systems, but is in accord with\nearlier suggestions that they may not be manufactured, in this context, by\nphysical processes.",
        "positive": "A maximally supersymmetric Kondo model: We study the maximally supersymmetric Kondo model obtained by adding a\nfermionic impurity to N=4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory. While the original\nKondo problem describes a defect interacting with a free Fermi liquid of\nitinerant electrons, here the ambient theory is an interacting CFT, and this\nintroduces qualitatively new features into the system. The model arises in\nstring theory by considering the intersection of a stack of M D5-branes with a\nstack of N D3-branes, at a point in the D3 worldvolume. We analyze the theory\nholographically, and propose a dictionary between the Kondo problem and\nantisymmetric Wilson loops in N=4 SYM. We perform an explicit calculation of\nthe D5 fluctuations in the D3 geometry and determine the spectrum of defect\noperators. This establishes the stability of the Kondo fixed point together\nwith its basic thermodynamic properties. Known supergravity solutions for\nWilson loops allow us to go beyond the probe approximation: the D5s disappear\nand are replaced by three-form flux piercing a new topologically non-trivial\nthree-sphere in the corrected geometry. This describes the Kondo model in terms\nof a geometric transition. A dual matrix model reflects the basic properties of\nthe corrected gravity solution in its eigenvalue distribution."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Hopf Algebra Structure in Self-dual Gravity: The two-dimensional non-linear sigma model approach to Self-dual Yang-Mills\ntheory and to Self-dual gravity given by Q-Han Park is an example of the deep\ninterplay between two and four dimensional physics. In particular, Husain's\ntwo-dimensional chiral model approach to Self-dual gravity is studied. We show\nthat the infinite hierarchy of conservation laws associated to the Husain model\ncarries implicitly a hidden infinite Hopf algebra structure.",
        "positive": "Notes on Worldsheet-Like Variables for Cluster Configuration Spaces: We continue the exploration of various appearances of cluster algebras in\nscattering amplitudes and related topics in physics. The cluster configuration\nspaces generalize the familiar moduli space ${\\mathcal M}_{0,n}$ to finite-type\ncluster algebras. We study worldsheet-like variables, which for classical types\nhave also appeared in the study of the symbol alphabet of Feynman integrals. We\nprovide a systematic derivation of these variables from $Y$-systems, which\nallows us to express the dihedral coordinates in terms of them and to write the\ncorresponding cluster string integrals in compact forms. We mainly focus on the\n$D_n$ type and show how to reach the boundaries of the configuration space, and\nwrite the saddle-point equations in terms of these variables. Moreover, these\nvariables make it easier to study various topological properties of the space\nusing a finite-field method. We propose conjectures about quasi-polynomial\npoint count, dimensions of cohomology, and the number of saddle points for the\n$D_n$ space up to $n=10$, which greatly extend earlier results."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Unitarity and vacuum deformation in QED with critical potential steps: The present article can be considered as a complement to the work P.R.D 93,\n045002 (2016) where an nonperturbative approach to QED with x-electric critical\npotential steps was developed. In the beginning we study conditions when in-\nand out-spaces of the QED under consideration are unitarily equivalent. Then we\nconstruct a general density operator with the vacuum initial condition. Such an\noperator describes a deformation of the initial vacuum state by x-electric\ncritical potential steps. We construct reductions of the deformed state to\nelectron and positron subsystems, calculating the loss of the information in\nthese reductions. We illustrate the general consideration studying the\ndeformation of the quantum vacuum between two capacitor plates. Finally we\ncalculate the entanglement measures of these reduced matrices as von Neumann\nentropies.",
        "positive": "Chiral solitons from dimensional reduction of Chern-Simons gauged\n  non-linear Schr\u00f6dinger model of FQHE: classical and quantum aspects: The soliton structure of a gauge theory recently proposed to describe chiral\nexcitations in the Fractional Quantum Hall Effect is investigated. A new type\nof non-linear derivative Schr\\\"odinger equation emerges as an effective\ndescription of the system that supports novel chiral solitons. We discuss the\nclassical properties of solutions with vanishing and non-vanishing boundary\nconditions (dark solitons) and we explain their relation to integrable systems.\nThe quantum analysis is also addressed in the framework of a semiclassical\napproximation improved by Renormalization Group arguments."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Superposition principle and Kirchhoff's integral theorem: The need for modification of the Huygens-Fresnel superposition principle\narises even in the description of the free fields of massive particles and,\nmore extensively, in nonlinear field theories. A wide range of formulations and\nsuperposition schemes for secondary waves are captured by Kirchhoff's integral\ntheorem. We discuss various versions of this theorem as well as its connection\nwith the superposition principle and the method of Green's functions. A\nsuperposition scheme inherent in linear field theories, which is not based on\nKirchhoff's integral theorem but instead relies on the completeness condition,\nis also discussed.",
        "positive": "A New Boundary Counterterm for Asymptotically AdS Spacetimes: We present a modified version of the boundary counterterm method for removing\ndivergences from the action of an asymptotically $AdS$ spacetime. The standard\napproach renders the action finite but leaves diffeomorphism invariance\npartially broken if the dimension of the spacetime is odd. We show that this\nsymmetry is restored by a new boundary counterterm, needed to cancel a\ndivergence that appears in dimensional regularization. The result is a finite,\ndiffeomorphism invariant action appropriate for gravitational physics. As an\nexample we calculate the action for the Kerr-$AdS_5$ black hole. Unlike the\nstandard boundary counterterm results, our action yields conserved charges that\nare consistent with the first law of black hole thermodynamics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gravitational Collapse, Chaos in CFT Correlators and the Information\n  Paradox: We consider gravitational collapse of a massless scalar field in\nasymptotically Anti de Sitter spacetime. Following the AdS/CFT dictionary we\nfurther study correlations in the field theory side by way of the Klein-Gordon\nequation of a probe scalar field in the collapsing background. We present\nevidence that in a certain regime the probe scalar field behaves chaotically,\nthus supporting Hawking's argument in the black hole information paradox\nproposing that although the information can be retrieved in principle,\ndeterministic chaos impairs, in practice, the process of unitary extraction of\ninformation from a black hole. We emphasize that quantum chaos will change this\npicture.",
        "positive": "Wilson Loops in 2D Noncommutative Euclidean Gauge Theory: 1.\n  Perturbative Expansion: We calculate quantum averages of Wilson loops (holonomies) in gauge theories\non the Euclidean noncommutative plane, using a path-integral representation of\nthe star-product. We show how the perturbative expansion emerges from a concise\ngeneral formula and demonstrate its anomalous behavior at large parameter of\nnoncommutativity for the simplest nonplanar diagram of genus 1. We discuss\nvarious UV/IR regularizations of the two-dimensional noncommutative gauge\ntheory in the axial gauge and, using the noncommutative loop equation,\nconstruct a consistent regularization."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dirichlet-Branes and Ramond-Ramond Charges: We show that Dirichlet-branes, extended objects defined by mixed\nDirichlet-Neumann boundary conditions in string theory, break half of the\nsupersymmetries of the type~II superstring and carry a complete set of electric\nand magnetic Ramond-Ramond charges. We also find that the product of the\nelectric and magnetic charges is a single Dirac unit, and that the quantum of\ncharge takes the value required by string duality. This is strong evidence that\nthe Dirchlet-branes are intrinsic to type II string theory and are the\nRamond-Ramond sources required by string duality. We also note the existence of\na previously overlooked 9-form potential in the IIa string, which gives rise to\nan effective cosmological constant of undetermined magnitude.",
        "positive": "Dynamics of Periodic Monopoles: BPS monopoles which are periodic in one of the spatial directions correspond,\nvia a generalized Nahm transform, to solutions of the Hitchin equations on a\ncylinder. A one-parameter family of solutions of these equations, representing\na geodesic in the 2-monopole moduli space, is constructed numerically. It\ncorresponds to a slow-motion dynamical evolution, in which two parallel\nmonopole chains collide and scatter at right angles."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The low energy limit of the AdS(3) x S(3) x M(4) spinning string: We derive the low-energy effective action for the spinning (GKP) string in\nAdS(3) x S(3) x M(4) where M(4) = S(3) x S(1) or T(4). In the first case the\naction consists of two O(4) non-linear sigma models which are coupled through\ntheir interaction with four massless Majorana fermions (plus one free decoupled\nscalar). While in the second case it consists of one O(4) sigma model coupled\nto four Majorana fermions together with four free scalars from the T(4). We\nshow that these models are classically integrable by constructing their Lax\nconnections.",
        "positive": "Emergent Adler-Bardeen theorem: We consider a QED$_{d+1}$, $d=1,3$ lattice model with emergent Lorentz or\nchiral symmetry, both when the interaction is irrelevant or marginal. While the\ncorrelations present symmetry breaking corrections, we prove that the\nAdler-Bardeen (AB) non-renormalization property holds at a non-perturbative\nlevel even at finite lattice: all radiative corrections to the anomaly are\nvanishing. The analysis uses a new technique based on the combination of\nnon-perturbative regularity properties obtained by exact renormalization Group\nmethods and Ward Identities. The AB property, essential for the\nrenormalizability of the standard model, is therefore a robust feature imposing\nno constraints on possible symmetry breaking terms, at least in the class of\nlattice models considered."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic Preheating: We propose a holographic description of cosmic preheating at strong coupling.\nIn this scenario the energy transfer between the inflaton and matter field is\nmimicked by a model of holographic superconductor. An exponential amplification\nof the matter field during preheating can be described by the quasi-normal\nmodes of a metastable \"black hole\" in the bulk spacetime with an expanding\nboundary. Our results reveal that the matter field can be produced continuously\nat strong coupling in contrast to the case of weak coupling with a\ndiscontinuous matter growth as inflaton oscillates. Furthermore, the\namplification of matter field has an enhanced dependence on the vacuum\nexpectation value of the inflaton at strong coupling. By virtue of the proposed\nmechanism, physics of the very early universe at an extremely high temperature\nright after inflation may become accessible.",
        "positive": "KP Hierarchies, Polynomial and Rational W Algebras on Riemann Surfaces:\n  a Global Approach: A covariant pseudodifferential calculus on Riemann surfaces, based on the\nKrichever-Novikov global picture, is presented. It allows defining scalar and\nmatrix KP operators, together with their reductions, in higher genus. Globally\ndefined Miura maps are considered and the arising of polynomial or rational\n${\\cal W}$ algebras on R.S. associated to each reduction are pointed out. The\nhigher genus NLS hierarchy is analyzed in detail."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Superpotentials and Charge Algebras of Gauge Theories: We propose a new \"Hamiltonian inspired\" covariant formula to define (without\nharmful ambiguities) the superpotential and the physical charges associated to\na gauge symmetry. The criterion requires the variation of the Noether current\nnot to contain any derivative terms in $\\partial_{\\mu}\\delta \\f$.\n  The examples of Yang-Mills (in its first order formulation) and 3-dimensional\nChern-Simons theories are revisited and the corresponding charge algebras (with\ntheir central extensions in the Chern-Simons case) are computed in a\nstraightforward way.\n  We then generalize the previous results to any (2n+1)-dimensional non-abelian\nChern-Simons theory for a particular choice of boundary conditions. We compute\nexplicitly the superpotential associated to the non-abelian gauge symmetry\nwhich is nothing but the Chern-Simons Lagrangian in (2n-1) dimensions. The\ncorresponding charge algebra is also computed. However, no associated central\ncharge is found for $n \\geq 2$.\n  Finally, we treat the abelian p-form Chern-Simons theory in a similar way.",
        "positive": "Fracton infrared triangle: In theories with conserved dipole moment, isolated charged particles\n(fractons) are immobile, but dipoles can move. We couple these dipoles to the\nfracton gauge theory and analyze the universal infrared structure. This\nuncovers an observable double kick memory effect which we relate to a novel\ndipole soft theorem. Together with their asymptotic symmetries this constitutes\nthe first realization of an infrared triangle beyond Lorentz symmetry. This\ndemonstrates the robustness of these IR structures and paves the way for their\ninvestigation in condensed matter systems and beyond."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Defect Partition Function from TDLs in Commutant Pairs: We study topological defect lines in two character rational conformal field\ntheories. Among them one set of two character theories are commutant pairs in\n$E_{8,1}$ conformal field theory. Using these defect lines we construct defect\npartition function in the $E_8$ theory. We find that the defects preserve only\na part of the $E_8$ current algebra symmetry. We also determine the defect\npartition function in $c=24$ CFTs using these defects lines of 2 character\ntheories and we find that, with appropriate choice of commutant pairs, these\ndefects preserve all current algebra symmetries of c = 24 CFTs.",
        "positive": "Effect of electromagnetic fields on the creation of scalar particles in\n  a flat Robertson-Walker space-time: The influence of electromagnetic fields on the creation of scalar particles\nfrom vacuum in a flat Robertson-Walker space-time is studied. The Klein Gordon\nequation with varying electric field and constant magnetic one is solved. The\nBogoliubov transformation method is applied to calculate the pair creation\nprobability and the number density of created particles. It is shown that the\nelectric field amplifies the creation of scalar particles while the magnetic\nfield minimizes it."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Some Properties of Charge-Conjugated Spinors in $D$ dimensions: Spinors for an arbitrary Minkowski space with signature ($t$, $s$) are\nreassessed in connection with $D$-dimensional free Dirac action. The\npossibility of writing down kinetic and mass terms for charge-conjugated\nspinors is discussed in terms of the number of time-like directions of the\nspace-time.",
        "positive": "Large $N$ Superconformal Indices for 3d Holographic SCFTs: We study a limit of the superconformal index of the ABJM theory on $S^1\\times\nS^2$ in which the size of the circle is much smaller than the radius of the\ntwo-sphere. We derive closed form expressions for the two leading terms in this\nCardy-like limit which are valid to all orders in the $1/N$ expansion. These\nresults are facilitated by a judicious rewriting of the superconformal index\nwhich establishes a connection with the Bethe Ansatz Equations that control the\ntopologically twisted index. Using the same technique we extend these results\nto the superconformal index of another holographic theory: 3d $\\mathcal{N}=4$\nSYM coupled to one adjoint and $N_f$ fundamental hypermultiplets. We discuss\nthe implications of our results for holography and the physics of charged\nrotating black holes in AdS$_4$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantization of open-closed BCOV theory, I: This is the first in a series of papers which analyze the problem of\nquantizing the theory coupling Kodaira-Spencer gravity (or BCOV theory) on\nCalabi-Yau manifolds using the formalism for perturbative QFT developed by the\nfirst author. In this paper, we focus on flat space $\\mathbb{C}^d$ for $d$ odd.\nWe prove that there exists a unique quantization of the theory coupling BCOV\ntheory and holomorphic Chern-Simons theory with gauge group the supergroup\n$GL(N \\mid N)$. We deduce a canonically defined quantization of BCOV theory on\nits own.\n  We also discuss some conjectural links between BCOV theory in various\ndimensions and twists of physical theories: in complex dimension $3$ we\nconjecture a relationship to twists of $(1,0)$ supersymmetric theories and in\ncomplex dimension $5$ to a twist of type IIB supergravity.",
        "positive": "Hidden Variables of Gravity and Geometry and the Cosmological Constant\n  Problem: We extend General Relativity by promoting Planck scale and the cosmological\nconstant into integration constants, interpreted as fluxes of $4$-forms hiding\nin the theory. When we include the charges of the $4$-forms, these `constants'\ncan vary discretely from region to region. We explain how the cosmological\nconstant problem can be solved in this new framework. When the cosmological\nconstant picks up contributions from two different $4$-forms, with an\nirrational ratio of charges, the spectrum of its values is a very fine\ndiscretuum. When the charges are mutually irrational, $\\frac{2\\kappa_{\\tt\neff}^2 \\kappa^2 |{\\cal Q}_i|}{3{\\cal T}^2_i} < 1$, the discharge processes\npopulating our discretuum will dynamically relax $\\Lambda$, ceasing as\n$\\Lambda$ approaches zero. Thus the theory exponentially favors a huge\nhierarchy $\\Lambda/\\mpl^4 \\ll 1$ instead of $\\Lambda/\\mpl^4 \\simeq 1$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "R^2 Corrections to Asymptotically Lifshitz Spacetimes: We study $R^{2}$ corrections to five-dimensional asymptotically Lifshitz\nspacetimes by adding Gauss-Bonnet terms in the effective action. For the\nzero-temperature backgrounds we obtain exact solutions in both pure\nGauss-Bonnet gravity and Gauss-Bonnet gravity with non-trivial matter. The\ndynamical exponent undergoes finite renormalization in the latter case. For the\nfinite-temperature backgrounds we obtain black brane solutions perturbatively\nand calculate the ratio of shear viscosity to entropy density $\\eta/s$. The KSS\nbound is still violated but unlike the relativistic counterparts, the causality\nof the boundary field theory cannot be taken as a constraint.",
        "positive": "F-theory, SO(32) and Toric Geometry: We show that the F-theory dual of the heterotic string with unbroken\nSpin(32)/Z_2 symmetry in eight dimensions can be described in terms of the same\npolyhedron that can also encode unbroken E_8\\times E_8 symmetry. By considering\nparticular compactifications with this K3 surface as a fiber, we can reproduce\nthe recently found `record gauge group' in six dimensions and obtain a new\n`record gauge group' in four dimensions. Our observations relate to the toric\ndiagram for the intersection of components of degenerate fibers and our\ndefinition of these objects, which we call `tops', is more general than an\nearlier definition by Candelas and Font."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Emergent D5-brane Background from D-strings: We solve the worldsheet theory describing the near-horizon dynamics of a\nD-string in the presence of a very large number N of D5-branes. The model is\npre-geometric in the sense that the near-horizon worldsheet Lagrangian does not\nhave dynamical fields associated with the dimensions transverse to the\nD5-branes. The solution at large N is shown to be given by a classical action\nfor the D-string moving in a curved ten-dimensional spacetime. The four\ndimensions transverse to the D5-branes emerge from the quantum loops of the\noriginal strongly coupled quantum worldsheet field theory. By comparing with\nthe Dirac-Born-Infeld plus Chern-Simons action for a D-string in a general type\nIIB background, we identify the string-frame metric, dilaton and Ramond-Ramond\nthree-form field-strength and find a match with the near-horizon geometry of a\nstack of D5-branes.",
        "positive": "Derivation of the exact NSVZ beta-function in N=1 SQED, regularized by\n  higher derivatives, by direct summation of Feynman diagrams: For N=1 supersymmetric quantum electrodynamics, regularized by higher\nderivatives, a method for summation of all Feynman diagrams defining the\nbeta-function is presented. Using this method we prove that the beta-function\nis given by an integral of a total derivative, which can be easily calculated.\nIt is shown that surviving terms give the exact NSVZ beta-function. The results\nare compared with the explicit three-loop calculation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Nonperturbative approach to(Wiener) functional integral with $\u03c6^4$\n  interaction: We propose the another, in principe nonperturbative, method of the evaluation\nof the Wiener functional integral for $\\phi^4$ term in the action. All infinite\nsummations in the results are proven to be convergent. We finf the\n\"generalized\" Gelfand -- Yaglom differential equation implying the functional\nintegral in the continuum limit.",
        "positive": "Symmetries and Compactifications of (4,0) Conformal Gravity: The free (4,0) superconformal theory in 6 dimensions and its toroidal\ndimensional reductions are studied. The reduction to four dimensions on a\n2-torus has an $SL(2,\\Z)$ duality symmetry that acts non-trivially on the\nlinearised gravity sector, interchanging the linearised Einstein equations and\nBianchi identities and giving a self-duality between strong and weak coupling\nregimes. The possibility of this extending to an interacting form of the theory\nis discussed and implications for the non-geometric picture of gravity that\ncould emerge are considered."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Secret Loss of Unitarity due to the Classical Background: We show that a quantum subsystem can become significantly entangled with a\nclassical background through a process with little or none semi-classical\nback-reactions. We study two quantum harmonic oscillators coupled to each other\nin a time-independent Hamiltonian. We compare it to its semi-classical\napproximation in which one of the oscillators is treated as the classical\nbackground. In this approximation, the remaining quantum oscillator has an\neffective Hamiltonian which is time-dependent, and its evolution appears to be\nunitary. However, in the fully quantum model, the two oscillators can entangle\nwith each other. Thus the unitarity of either individual oscillator is never\nguaranteed. We derive the critical time scale after which the unitarity of\neither individual oscillator is irrevocably lost. In particular, we give an\nexample that in the adiabatic limit, unitarity is lost before other relevant\nquestions can be addressed.",
        "positive": "Emission of scalar particles from cylindrical black holes: We study quantum tunneling of scalar particles from black strings. For this\npurpose we apply WKB approximation and Hamilton-Jacobi method to solve the\nKlein-Gordon equation for outgoing trajectories. We find the tunneling\nprobability of outgoing charged and uncharged scalars from the event horizon of\nblack strings, and hence the Hawking temperature for these black\nconfigurations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spin-density and Vorticity Contribution to the Cosmological Background: Relativistic non-Abelian spinning fluids can be formulated in group theory\nlanguage, where the corresponding Mathisson-Papapetrou equation for spinning\nfluids can be obtained in terms of a specific de Sitter group contraction. This\nframework is very suitable for studying the effects of a spinning fluid of\nmatter with vorticity and a spin density in a cosmological background.",
        "positive": "Considerations on Gravity as an Entropic Force and Entangled States: Verlinde's ideas considered gravity as an emergent force originated from\nentropic concepts. This hypothesis generated a huge number of papers through\nthe last recent years concerning classical and quantum approaches about the\nissue. In a recent paper Kobakhidze, using ultra-cold neutrons experiment,\nclaimed that Verlinde's entropic gravity is not correct. In this letter, by\nconsidering the nonadditivity property of the holographic screen, where we\nassumed that the bits are entangled states, we showed that it is possible to\nconfirm Verlinde's formalism."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauge/gravity duality and meta-stable dynamical supersymmetry breaking: We engineer a class of quiver gauge theories with several interesting\nfeatures by studying D-branes at a simple Calabi-Yau singularity. At weak 't\nHooft coupling we argue using field theory techniques that these theories admit\nboth supersymmetric vacua and meta-stable non-supersymmetric vacua, though the\narguments indicating the existence of the supersymmetry breaking states are not\ndecisive. At strong 't Hooft coupling we find simple candidate gravity dual\ndescriptions for both sets of vacua.",
        "positive": "Compact lattice U(1) and Seiberg-Witten duality: Simulations in compact U(1) lattice gauge theory in 4D show now beyond any\nreasonable doubts that the phase transition separating the Coulomb from the\nconfined phase is of first order, albeit a very weak one. This settles the\nissue from the numerical side. On the analytical side, it was suggested some\ntime ago, based on the qualitative analogy between the phase diagram of such a\nmodel and the one of scalar QED obtained by soft breaking the N=2\nSeiberg-Witten model down to N=0, that the phase transition should be of second\norder. In this work we take a fresh look at this issue and show that a proper\nimplementation of the Seiberg-Witten model below the supersymmetry breaking\nscale requires considering some new radiative corrections. Through the\nColeman-Weinberg mechanism this turns the second order transition into a weakly\nfirst order one, in agreement with the numerical results. We comment on several\nother aspects of this continuum model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Free field realization of the $osp(2n|2n)$ current algebra: The $osp(2n|2n)$ current algebra for a {\\it generic} positive integer $n$ at\ngeneral level $k$ is investigated. Its free field representation and\ncorresponding energy-momentum tensor are constructed. The associated screening\ncurrents of the first kind are also presented.",
        "positive": "One-loop effective actions and 2D hydrodynamics with anomalies: We revisit the study of a 2D quantum field theory in the hydrodynamic regime\nand develop a formalism based on Euclidean one-loop partition functions that is\nsuitable to analyze transport properties due to gauge and gravitational\nanomalies. To do so, we generalize the method of a modified Dirac operator\ndeveloped for zero-temperature anomalies to finite temperature, chemical\npotentials and rotations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Neutral Particles in Light of the Majorana-Ahluwalia Ideas: The first part of this article (Sections I and II) presents oneself an\noverview of theory and phenomenology of truly neutral particles based on the\npapers of Majorana, Racah, Furry, McLennan and Case. The recent development of\nthe construct, undertaken by Ahluwalia [{\\it Mod. Phys. Lett. A}{\\bf 9} (1994)\n439; {\\it Acta Phys. Polon. B}{\\bf 25} (1994) 1267; Preprints LANL\nLA-UR-94-1252, LA-UR-94-3118], could be relevant for explanation of the present\nexperimental situation in neutrino physics and astrophysics.\n  In Section III the new fundamental wave equations for self/anti-self\nconjugate type-II spinors, proposed by Ahluwalia, are re-casted to covariant\nform. The connection with the Foldy-Nigam-Bargmann-Wightman- Wigner (FNBWW)\ntype quantum field theory is found. The possible applications to the problem of\nneutrino oscillations are discussed.",
        "positive": "Massless spin-2 fields via lower spins: Solutions of massless spin-2 field equations are written in terms of massless\nspin-$\\frac{3}{2}$ Rarita-Schwinger fields and twistor spinors. It is shown\nthat the proposed massless spin-2 fields satisfy the tracelessness and\ndivergencelessness conditions and are in the kernel of the Laplace-Beltrami\noperator. A spin lowering procedure for special cases and a symmetry operator\nfor massless spin-2 fields are also obtained. Description of massless spin-2\nfields in terms of lower spin fields are found."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Analytical approximation of the stress-energy tensor of a quantized\n  scalar field in static spherically symmetric spacetimes: Analytical approximations for ${< \\phi^2 >}$ and ${< T^{\\mu}_{\\nu} >}$ of a\nquantized scalar field in static spherically symmetric spacetimes are obtained.\nThe field is assumed to be both massive and massless, with an arbitrary\ncoupling $\\xi$ to the scalar curvature, and in a zero temperature vacuum state.\nThe expressions for ${< \\phi^2 >}$ and ${< T^{\\mu}_{\\nu} >}$ are divided into\nlow- and high-frequency parts. The contributions of the high-frequency modes to\nthese quantities are calculated for an arbitrary quantum state. As an example,\nthe low-frequency contributions to ${< \\phi^2 >}$ and ${< T^{\\mu}_{\\nu} >}$ are\ncalculated in asymptotically flat spacetimes in a quantum state corresponding\nto the Minkowski vacuum (Boulware quantum state). The limits of the\napplicability of these approximations are discussed.",
        "positive": "Fixing the non-relativistic expansion of the 1PM potential: We obtain a first order post-Minkowskian two-body effective potential whose\npost-Newtonian expansion directly reproduces the Einstein-Infeld-Hoffmann\npotential. Post-Minkowskian potentials can be extracted from on-shell\nscattering amplitudes in a quantum field theory of scalar matter coupled to\ngravity. Previously, such potentials did not reproduce the\nEinstein-Infeld-Hoffmann potential without employing a suitable canonical\ntransformation. In this work, we resolve this issue by obtaining a new\nexpression for the first-order post-Minkowskian potential. This is accomplished\nby exploiting the reference frame dependence that arises in the scattering\namplitude computation. Finally, as a check on our result, we demonstrate that\nour new potential gives the correct scattering angle."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Periods and Duality Symmetries in Calabi-Yau Compactifications: We derive the period structure of several one-modulus Calabi-Yau manifolds.\nWith this knowledge we then obtain the generators of the duality group and the\nmirror map that defines the physical variable $t$ representing the radius of\ncompactification. We also describe the fundamental region of $t$ and discuss\nits relation with automorphic functions. As a byproduct of our analysis we\ncompute the non-perturbative corrections of Yukawa couplings.",
        "positive": "The Unruh-deWitt Detector and the Vacuum in the General Boundary\n  formalism: We discuss how to formulate a condition for choosing the vacuum state of a\nquantum scalar field on a timelike hyperplane in the general boundary\nformulation (GBF) using the coupling to an Unruh-DeWitt detector. We explicitly\nstudy the response of an Unruh-DeWitt detector for evanescent modes which occur\nnaturally in quantum field theory in the presence of the equivalent of a\ndielectric boundary. We find that the physically correct vacuum state has to\ndepend on the physical situation outside of the boundaries of the spacetime\nregion considered. Thus it cannot be determined by general principles\npertaining only to a subset of spacetime."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic D3-probe-D5 Model of a Double Layer Dirac Semimetal: The possibility of inter-layer exciton condensation in a holographic\nD3-probe-D5 brane model of a strongly coupled double monolayer Dirac semi-metal\nin a magnetic field is studied in detail. It is found that, when the charge\ndensities on the layers are exactly balanced so that, at weak coupling, the\nFermi surfaces of electrons in one monolayer and holes in the other monolayer\nwould be perfectly nested, inter-layer condensates can form for any separation\nof the layers. The case where both monolayers are charge neutral is special.\nThere, the inter-layer condensate occurs only for small separations and is\nreplaced by an intra-layer exciton condensate at larger separations. The phase\ndiagram for charge balanced monolayers for a range layer separations and\nchemical potentials is found. We also show that, in semi-metals with multiple\nspecies of massless fermions, the balance of charges required for Fermi surface\nnesting can occur spontaneously by breaking some of the internal symmetry of\nthe monolayers. This could have important consequences for experimental\nattempts to find inter-layer condensates.",
        "positive": "Cosmological Solutions in String Theories: We obtain a large class of cosmological solutions in the\ntoroidally-compactified low energy limits of string theories in $D$ dimensions.\nWe consider solutions where a $p$-dimensional subset of the spatial\ncoordinates, parameterising a flat space, a sphere, or an hyperboloid,\ndescribes the spatial sections of the physically-observed universe. The\nequations of motion reduce to Liouville or $SL(N+1,R)$ Toda equations, which\nare exactly solvable. We study some of the cases in detail, and find that under\nsuitable conditions they can describe four-dimensional expanding universes. We\ndiscuss also how the solutions in $D$ dimensions behave upon oxidation back to\nthe $D=10$ string theory or $D=11$ M-theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Living with Ghosts: Perturbation theory for gravity in dimensions greater than two requires\nhigher derivatives in the free action. Higher derivatives seem to lead to\nghosts, states with negative norm. We consider a fourth order scalar field\ntheory and show that the problem with ghosts arises because in the canonical\ntreatment, $\\phi$ and $\\Box \\phi $ are regarded as two independent variables.\nInstead, we base quantum theory on a path integral, evaluated in Euclidean\nspace and then Wick rotated to Lorentzian space. The path integral requires\nthat quantum states be specified by the values of $\\phi$ and $\\phi_{,\\tau}$. To\ncalculate probabilities for observations, one has to trace out over\n$\\phi_{,\\tau}$ on the final surface. Hence one loses unitarity, but one can\nnever produce a negative norm state or get a negative probability. It is shown\nthat transition probabilities tend toward those of the second order theory, as\nthe coefficient of the fourth order term in the action tends to zero. Hence\nunitarity is restored at the low energies that now occur in the universe.",
        "positive": "Analytic Loops and Gauge Fields: In this paper the linear representations of analytic Moufang loops are\ninvestigated. We prove that every representation of semisimple analytic Moufang\nloop is completely reducible and find all nonassociative irreducible\nrepresentations. We show that such representations are closely associated with\nthe (anti-)self-dual Yang-Mills equations in ${\\bf R}^8$"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Ghost Fermions: The path integral for ghost fermions, which is heuristically made use of in\nthe Batalin- Fradkin-Vilkovisky approach to quantization of constrained\nsystems, is derived from first principles. The derivation turns out to be\nrather different from that of physical fermions since the definition of Dirac\nstates for ghost fermions is subtle. With these results at hand, it is then\nshown that the nonminimal extension of the Becchi-Rouet-Stora-Tyutin operator\nmust be chosen differently from the notorious choice made in the literature in\norder to avoid the boundary terms that have always plagued earlier treatments.\nFurthermore it is pointed out that the elimination of states with nonzero ghost\nnumber requires the introduction of a thermodynamic potential for ghosts; the\nreason is that Schwarz's Lefschetz formula for the partition function of the\ntime- evolution operator is not capable, despite claims to the contrary, to get\nrid of nonzero ghost number states on its own. Finally, we comment on the\nproblems of global topological nature that one faces in the attempt to obtain\nthe solutions of the Dirac condition for physical states in a configuration\nspace of nontrivial geometry; such complications give rise to anomalies that do\nnot obey the Wess-Zumino consistency conditions.",
        "positive": "Quantum algebra of $N$ superspace: We identify the quantum algebra of position and momentum operators for a\nquantum system bearing an irreducible representation of the super Poincare\nalgebra in the N>1 and D=4 superspace both in the case where there are not\ncentral charges in the algebra and when they are present. This algebra is\nnoncommutative for the position operators. We use the properties of\nsuperprojectors acting on the superfields to construct explicit position and\nmomentum operators satisfying the algebra. They act on the projected wave\nfunctions associated to the various supermultiplets with defined superspin\npresent in the representation. We show that the quantum algebra associated to\nthe massive superparticle appears in our construction and is described by a\nsupermultiplet of superspin 0. This result generalizes the construction for\nD=4, N=1 reported recently. For the case N=2 with central charges we present\nthe equivalent results when the central charge and the mass are different. For\nthe kappa-symmetric case when these quantities are equal we discuss the\nreduction to the physical degrees of freedom of the corresponding superparticle\nand the construction of the associated quantum algebra."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "ModMax meets Susy: We give a prescription for N=1 supersymmetrization of any (four-dimensional)\nnonlinear electrodynamics theory with a Lagrangian density satisfying a\nconvexity condition that we relate to semi-classical unitarity. We apply it to\nthe one-parameter ModMax extension of Maxwell electrodynamics that preserves\nboth electromagnetic duality and conformal invariance, and its Born-Infeld-like\ngeneralization, proving that duality invariance is preserved. We also establish\nsuperconformal invariance of the superModMax theory by showing that its\ncoupling to supergravity is super-Weyl invariant. The higher-derivative\nphotino-field interactions that appear in any supersymmetric nonlinear\nelectrodynamics theory are removed by an invertible nonlinear superfield\nredefinition.",
        "positive": "Traversable Wormholes via a Double Trace Deformation: After turning on an interaction that couples the two boundaries of an eternal\nBTZ black hole, we find a quantum matter stress tensor with negative average\nnull energy, whose gravitational backreaction renders the Einstein-Rosen bridge\ntraversable. Such a traversable wormhole has an interesting interpretation in\nthe context of ER=EPR, which we suggest might be related to quantum\nteleportation. However, it cannot be used to violate causality. We also discuss\nthe implications for the energy and holographic entropy in the dual CFT\ndescription."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "New Constructions in Local Quantum Physics: Among several ideas which arose as consequences of modular localization there\nare two proposals which promise to be important for the classification and\nconstruction of QFTs. One is based on the observation that wedge-localized\nalgebras may have particle-like generators with simple properties and the\nsecond one uses the structural simplification of wedge algebras in the\nholographic lightfront projection. Factorizable d=1+1 models permit to analyse\nthe interplay between particle-like aspects and chiral field properties of\nlightfront holography. Pacs 11.10.-z, 11.55.-m",
        "positive": "Topological Effects in Our Brane World From Extra Dimensions: The theories in which our world presents a domain wall (brane) embedded in\nlarge extra dimensions predict new types of topological defects. These defects\narise due to the fact that the brane on which we live spontaneously breaks\nisometries of the extra space giving mass to some graviphotons. In many cases\nthe corresponding vacuum manifold has nontrivial homotopies -- this gives rise\nto topologically stable defects in four dimensions, such as cosmic strings and\nmonopoles that carry gravimagnetic flux. The core structure of these defects is\nsomewhat peculiar. Due to the fact that the translation invariance in the extra\ndirection(s) is restored in their core, they act as \"windows\" to the extra\ndimensions. We also discuss the corresponding analog of the Alice strings.\nEncircling such an object one would get transported onto a parallel brane."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Strings in extremal BTZ black holes: We study the spectrum of the worldsheet theory of the bosonic closed string\nin the massless and extremal rotating BTZ black holes. We use a hyperbolic\nWakimoto representation of the SL(2,R) currents to construct vertex operators\nfor the string modes on these backgrounds. We argue that there are tachyons in\nthe twisted sector, but these are not localised near the horizon. We study the\nrelation to the null orbifold in the limit of vanishing cosmological constant.\nWe also discuss the problem of extending this analysis to the supersymmetric\ncase.",
        "positive": "Scale-Invariance and the Strong Coupling Problem: The effective theory of adiabatic fluctuations around arbitrary\nFriedmann-Robertson-Walker backgrounds - both expanding and contracting -\nallows for more than one way to obtain scale-invariant two-point correlations.\nHowever, as we show in this paper, it is challenging to produce scale-invariant\nfluctuations that are weakly coupled over the range of wavelengths accessible\nto cosmological observations. In particular, requiring the background to be a\ndynamical attractor, the curvature fluctuations are scale-invariant and weakly\ncoupled for at least 10 e-folds only if the background is close to de Sitter\nspace. In this case, the time-translation invariance of the background\nguarantees time-independent n-point functions. For non-attractor solutions, any\npredictions depend on assumptions about the evolution of the background even\nwhen the perturbations are outside of the horizon. For the simplest such\nscenario we identify the regions of the parameter space that avoid both\nclassical and quantum mechanical strong coupling problems. Finally, we present\nextensions of our results to backgrounds in which higher-derivative terms play\na significant role."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Motion of Charged Spinning Particles in a Unified Field: Using a geometry wider than Riemannian one, the parameterized absolute\nparallelism (PAP-) geometry, we derived a new curve containing two parameters.\nIn the context of the geometrization philosophy, this new curve can be used as\na trajectory of charged spinning test particle in any unified field theory\nconstructed in the PAP-space. We show that imposing certain conditions on the\ntwo parameters, the new curve can be reduced to a geodesic curve giving the\nmotion of a scalar test particle or/and a modified geodesic giving the motion\nof neutral spinning test particle in gravitational field. The new method used\nfor derivation, the Bazanki method, shows a new feature in the new curve\nequation. This feature is that the equation contains the electromagnetic\npotential term together with the Lorentz term. We show the importance of this\nfeature in physical applications.",
        "positive": "Holographic Dissipative Properties of Non-relativistic Black Branes with\n  Hyperscaling Violation: In this work, we consider a class of hyperscaling violating Lifshitz-like\nblack branes with metric scaling components $z=2$ and $\\theta=-1$ whose\ncorresponding holographic model can be treated as a non-relativistic fluid\nexhibiting Lifshitz-type symmetry. Having performed analytical calculations via\nthe Klein-Gordon equation and the linear response theory, the experimental\nrealizations of the concerned model, namely the transport coefficients, are\nfound to behave as $\\eta \\propto T^{3/2}$, $\\sigma_{DC} \\propto T^{3/2}$, and\n$\\rho_{DC} \\propto T^{-3/2}$. The associated metric scaling exponents from the\nbulk theory are encrypted in the transport coefficients obtained for the\nholographic dual model. We believe that our analytical results can contribute\nto the endeavours in accomplishing a full understanding on the strongly coupled\nphenomena occurring in systems such as high temperature superconductors, the\nhypothetical magnetic monopoles, and liquid crystals."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Causality and the AdS Dirichlet problem: The (planar) AdS Dirichlet problem has previously been shown to exhibit\nsuperluminal hydrodynamic sound modes. This problem is defined by bulk\ngravitational dynamics with Dirichlet boundary conditions imposed on a rigid\ntimelike cut-off surface. We undertake a careful examination of this set-up and\nargue that, in most cases, the propagation of information between points on the\nDirichlet hypersurface is nevertheless causal with respect to the induced light\ncones. In particular, the high-frequency dynamics is causal in this sense.\nThere are however two exceptions and both involve boundary gravitons whose\npropagation is not constrained by the Einstein equations. These occur in i)\nAdS$_3$, where the boundary gravitons generally do not respect the induced\nlight cones on the boundary, and ii) Rindler space, where they are related to\nthe infinite speed of sound in incompressible fluids. We discuss implications\nfor the fluid/gravity correspondence with rigid Dirichlet boundaries and for\nthe black hole membrane paradigm.",
        "positive": "Linear gravity from conformal symmetry: We perform a unified systematic analysis of $d+1$ dimensional, spin $\\ell$\nrepresentations of the isometry algebra of the maximally symmetric spacetimes\nAdS$_{d+1}$, $\\mathbb{R}_{1,d}$ and dS$_{d+1}$. This allows us to explicitly\nconstruct the effective low-energy bulk equations of motion obeyed by linear\nfields, as the eigenvalue equation for the quadratic Casimir differential\noperator. We show that the bulk description of a conformal family is given by\nthe Fierz-Pauli system of equations. For $\\ell = 2$ this is a massive gravity\ntheory, while for $\\ell = 2$ conserved currents we obtain Einstein gravity and\ncovariant gauge fixing conditions. This analysis provides a direct algebraic\nderivation of the familiar AdS holographic dictionary at low energies, with\nanalogous results for Minkowski and de Sitter spacetimes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spin Thresholds, RG Flows, and Minimality in 4D $\\mathcal{N}=2$ QFT: Long ago, Argyres and Douglas discovered a particularly simple interacting 4D\n$\\mathcal{N}=2$ superconformal field theory (SCFT) on the Coulomb branch of\n$SU(3)$ $\\mathcal{N}=2$ super Yang-Mills. Further hints of the theory's\nsimplicity arise due to the fact that it has the smallest possible value of the\n$c$ central charge among unitary interacting $\\mathcal{N}=2$ SCFTs. A main\npurpose of this note is to uncover additional aspects of this minimal\nArgyres-Douglas (MAD) theory's simplicity. In particular, we argue that: (1)\nthe MAD theory shares an infinite set of large spin thresholds in part of its\noperator spectrum with the free $\\mathcal{N}=2$ Maxwell theory (this data is\ntherefore invariant under generic $\\mathcal{N}=2$-preserving renormalization\ngroup flows to the IR) and (2) the MAD theory has, at every order in the\nnatural grading, the smallest number of \"Schur\" operators of any unitary\n$\\mathcal{N}=2$ theory (interacting or free). We then show that property (1)\nhas a suitable generalization for all $(A_1, A_{2k})$ cousins of the MAD\ntheory. In particular, the corresponding large spin thresholds encode generic\nrenormalization group flows within this class. This construction therefore\ngives a different handle on these flows from the one provided by the\nSeiberg-Witten description. To emphasize the importance of these spin\nthresholds, we abstractly study theories with \"enough matter\" to form Higgs\nbranches and argue that infinitely many spin thresholds are small or vanishing.",
        "positive": "Three-point Correlation functions of Giant magnons with finite size: We compute holographic three-point correlation functions or structure\nconstants of a zero-momentum dilaton operator and two (dyonic) giant magnon\nstring states with a finite-size length in the semiclassical approximation. We\nshow that the semiclassical structure constants match exactly with the\nthree-point functions between two su(2) magnon single trace operators with\nfinite size and the Lagrangian in the large 't Hooft coupling constant limit. A\nspecial limit J>>sqrt(lambda) of our result is compared with the relevant\nresult based on the L\\\"uscher corrections."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Notes on Unfair Papers by Mebarki et al. on ``Quantum Nonsymmetric\n  Gravity'': It is pointed out that the essential parts of some recent papers by Mebarki\n{\\it et al.} (hep-th/9911045, hep-th/9911046, hep-th/9911048, hep-th/9911049,\ndated 6 Nov.1999) are taken from a book written by Nakanishi and Ojima,\npublished in 1990.",
        "positive": "A Hiker's Guide to K3 - Aspects of N=(4,4) Superconformal Field Theory\n  with central charge c=6: We study the moduli space ${\\cal M}$ of N=(4,4) superconformal field theories\nwith central charge c=6. After a slight emendation of its global description we\nfind the locations of various known models in the component of ${\\cal M}$\nassociated to K3 surfaces. Among them are the Z_2 and Z_4 orbifold theories\nobtained from the torus component of ${\\cal M}$. Here, SO(4,4) triality is\nfound to play a dominant role. We obtain the B-field values in direction of the\nexceptional divisors which arise from orbifolding. We prove T-duality for the\nZ_2 orbifolds and use it to derive the form of ${\\cal M}$ purely within\nconformal field theory. For the Gepner model (2)^4 and some of its orbifolds we\nfind the locations in ${\\cal M}$ and prove isomorphisms to nonlinear sigma\nmodels. In particular we prove that the Gepner model (2)^4 has a geometric\ninterpretation with Fermat quartic target space."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Generalized Fluctuation-Dissipation Theorem for Nonlinear Response\n  Functions: A nonlinear generalization of the Fluctuation-Dissipation Theorem (FDT) for\nthe n-point Green functions and the amputated 1PI vertex functions at finite\ntemperature is derived in the framework of the Closed Time Path formalism. We\nverify that this generalized FDT coincides with known results for n=2 and 3.\nNew explicit relations among the 4-point nonlinear response and correlation\n(fluctuation) functions are presented.",
        "positive": "Correlation Functions of the Scalar Field in Background NC U(1)\n  Yang-Mills: We consider the complex scalar field coupled to background NC U(1) YM and\ncalculate the correlator of two gauge invariant composite operators. We show\nhow the noncommutative gauge invariance is restored for higher correlators\n(though the Green's function itself is not invariant). It is interesting that\nthe recently discovered noncommutative solitons appear in the calculation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic Magnetized Chiral Density Wave: We explore the end point of the helical instability in finite density, finite\nmagnetic field background discussed by Kharzeev and Yee [1]. The nonlinear\nsolution is obtained and identified with the (magnetized) chiral density wave\nphase in literature. We find there are two branches of solutions, which match\nwith the two unstable modes in [1]. At large chemical potential and magnetic\nfield, the magnetized chiral density wave can be thermodynamically preferred\nover chirally symmetric phase and chiral symmetry breaking phase.\nInterestingly, we find an exotic state with vanishing chemical potential at\nlarge magnetic field. We also attempt to clarify the role of anomalous charge\nin holographic model.",
        "positive": "Dyonic Stars for Holography: We construct back-reacted asymptotically AdS_4 backgrounds with both electric\nand magnetic charge, at finite temperature and chemical potential. The system\nconsists of a condensed bulk Dirac field hovering over a charged black brane.\nWe give a detailed microscopic treatment of the bulk fermions, from which we\nderive the usual fluid approximations describing the condensate. In the context\nof holography, such a gravitational solution is dual to a (2+1)-dimensional CFT\nwith a U(1) current, at finite density and strong coupling, subjected to a\ntransverse magnetic field."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Static Black Holes in Higher Dimensional Einstein-Skyrme Models: In this paper we construct a class of hairy static black holes of higher\ndimensional Einstein-Skyrme theories with the cosmological constant $\\Lambda\n\\le 0$ whose scalar is an $SU(2)$ valued field. The spacetime is set to be\nconformal to $ \\mathcal{M}^4 \\times \\mathcal{N}^{N-4}$ where $\\mathcal{M}^4$\nand $\\mathcal{N}^{N-4}$ are a four dimensional spacetime and a compact Einstein\n$(N-4)$-dimensional submanifold for $N \\ge 5$, respectively, whereas $N=4$ is\nthe trivial case. We discuss the behavior of solutions near the boundaries,\nnamely, near the (event) horizon and in the asymptotic region. Then, we\nestablish local-global existence of black hole solutions and show that black\nholes with finite energy exist if their geometries are asymptotically\nRicci-flat. At the end, we perform a linear stability analysis using\nperturbative method and give a remark about their stability.",
        "positive": "Path Integration and Separation of Variables in Spaces of Constant\n  Curvature in Two and Three Dimensions: In this paper path integration in two- and three-dimensional spaces of\nconstant curvature is discussed: i.e.\\ the flat spaces $\\bbbr^2$ and $\\bbbr^3$,\nthe two- and three-dimensional sphere and the two- and three dimensional\npseudosphere. The Laplace operator in these spaces admits separation of\nvariables in various coordinate systems. In all these coordinate systems the\npath integral formulation will be stated, however in most of them an explicit\nsolution in terms of the spectral expansion can be given only on a formal\nlevel. What can be stated in all cases, are the propagator and the\ncorresponding Green function, respectively, depending on the invariant distance\nwhich is a coordinate independent quantity. This property gives rise to\nnumerous identities connecting the corresponding path integral representations\nand propagators in various coordinate systems with each other."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Self Avoiding Surfaces in the 3D Ising Model: We examine the geometrical and topological properties of surfaces surrounding\nclusters in the 3--$d$ Ising model. For geometrical clusters at the percolation\ntemperature and Fortuin--Kasteleyn clusters at $T_c$, the number of surfaces of\ngenus $g$ and area $A$ behaves as $A^{x(g)}e^{-\\mu(g)A}$, with $x$\napproximately linear in $g$ and $\\mu$ constant. These scaling laws are the same\nas those we obtain for simulations of 3--$d$ bond percolation. We observe that\ncross--sections of spin domain boundaries at $T_c$ decompose into a\ndistribution $N(l)$ of loops of length $l$ that scales as $l^{-\\tau}$ with\n$\\tau \\sim 2.2$. We also present some new numerical results for 2--$d$\nself-avoiding loops that we compare with analytic predictions. We address the\nprospects for a string--theoretic description of cluster boundaries.",
        "positive": "Supersymmetry and Inflation: Theories with elementary scalar degrees of freedom seem nowadays required for\nsimple descriptions of the Standard Model and of the Early Universe. It is then\nnatural to embed theories of inflation in supergravity, also in view of their\npossible ultraviolet completion in String Theory. After some general remarks on\ninflation in supergravity, we describe examples of minimal inflaton dynamics\nwhich are compatible with recent observations, including higher-curvature ones\ninspired by the Starobinsky model. We also discuss different scenarios for\nsupersymmetry breaking during and after inflation, which include a revived role\nfor non-linear realizations. In this spirit, we conclude with a discussion of\nthe link, in four dimensions, between \"brane supersymmetry breaking\" and the\nsuper--Higgs effect in supergravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Do black holes create polyamory?: Of course not, but if one believes that information cannot be destroyed in a\ntheory of quantum gravity, then we run into apparent contradictions with\nquantum theory when we consider evaporating black holes. Namely that the\nno-cloning theorem or the principle of entanglement monogamy is violated. Here,\nwe show that neither violation need hold, since, in arguing that black holes\nlead to cloning or non-monogamy, one needs to assume a tensor product structure\nbetween two points in space-time that could instead be viewed as causally\nconnected. In the latter case, one is violating the semi-classical causal\nstructure of space, which is a strictly weaker implication than cloning or\nnon-monogamy. We show that the lack of monogamy that can emerge in evaporating\nspace times is one that is allowed in quantum mechanics, and is very naturally\nrelated to a lack of monogamy of correlations of outputs of measurements\nperformed at subsequent instances of time of a single system. A particular\nexample of this is the Horowitz-Maldacena proposal, and we argue that it\nneedn't lead to cloning or violations of entanglement monogamy. For\nmeasurements on systems which appear to be leaving a black hole, we introduce\nthe notion of the temporal product, and argue that it is just as natural a\nchoice for measurements as the tensor product. For black holes, the tensor and\ntemporal products have the same measurement statistics, but result in different\ntype of non-monogamy of correlations, with the former being forbidden in\nquantum theory while the latter is allowed. In the case of the AMPS firewall\nexperiment we find that the entanglement structure is modified, and one must\nhave entanglement between the infalling Hawking partners and early time\noutgoing Hawking radiation which surprisingly tame violation of entanglement\nmonogamy.",
        "positive": "Bouncing cosmology from warped extra dimensional scenario: From the perspective of four dimensional effective theory on a two brane\nwarped geometry model, we examine the possibility of \"bouncing phenomena\"on our\nvisible brane. Our results reveal that the presence of warped extra dimension\nlead to a non-singular bounce on the brane scale factor and hence can remove\nthe \"big-bang singularity\". We also examine the possible parametric regions for\nwhich this bouncing is possible."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supercurrent, Supervirial and Superimprovement: Supersymmetric field theories possess a rich structure in their supercurrent\nsupermultiplets. Some symmetries are manifest in one supercurrent\nsupermultiplet but not in the others; for instance, R-symmetry is manifest in\nthe R-multiplet but not in the Ferrara-Zumino multiplet. Similarly, we argue\nthat dilatation symmetry is manifest in the Virial multiplet (also known as a\nvariant minimal supercurrent supermultiplet in the literature). It reveals that\nR-symmetry and dilatation symmetry are conceptually independent without further\nassumptions even though the superconformal symmetry connects the two. We show\nthe structure of the Virial multiplet for general renormalizable supersymmetric\nfield theories in (1+3) dimension to all orders in perturbation theory, and\ndiscuss the condition for the dilatation invariance (but not necessarily\nR-symmetric nor superconformal). We present novel scale invariant trajectories\nwith a nilpotent structure in coupling constants for non-unitary Wess-Zumino\nmodels with non-vanishing beta functions, which are, therefore, not\nsuperconformal.",
        "positive": "$\\mathcal{E} \\nabla^4 R^4$ type invariants and their gradient expansion: We analyse the constraints from supersymmetry on $ \\nabla^4 R^4$ type\ncorrections to the effective action in $\\mathcal{N}=2$ supergravity in eight\ndimensions. We prove that there are two classes of invariants that descend\nrespectively from type IIA and type IIB supergravity. We determine the first\nclass as $d$-closed superforms in superspace in eight dimensions, whereas we\nobtain the second class by dimensional reduction down to four dimensions, in\nwhich there is a single class of invariants transforming in the next to minimal\nunitary representation of $E_{7(7)}$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Superspace calculation of the three-loop dilatation operator of N=4 SYM\n  theory: We derive the three-loop dilatation operator of the flavor SU(2) subsector of\nN=4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory in the planar limit by a direct Feynman\ndiagram calculation in N=1 superspace. The transcendentality three\ncontributions which appear in intermediate steps cancel among each other,\nleaving a rational result which confirms the predictions from integrability. We\nderive finiteness conditions that allow us to avoid the explicit evaluation of\nentire classes of Feynman graphs and also yield constraints on the D-algebra\nmanipulations. Based on these results, we discover universal cancellation\nmechanisms. As a check for the consistency of our result, we verify the\ncancellation of all higher-order poles.",
        "positive": "Transport properties of N=4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory at finite\n  coupling: Gauge theory-string theory duality describes strongly coupled N=4\nsupersymmetric SU(n) Yang-Mills theory at finite temperature in terms of near\nextremal black 3-brane geometry in type IIB string theory. We use this\ncorrespondence to compute the leading correction in inverse 't Hooft coupling\nto the shear diffusion constant, bulk viscosity and the speed of sound in the\nlarge-n N=4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory plasma. The transport coefficients\nare extracted from the dispersion relation for the shear and the sound wave\nlowest quasinormal modes in the leading order alpha'-corrected black D3 brane\ngeometry. We find the shear viscosity extracted from the shear diffusion\nconstant to agree with result of [hep-th/0406264]; also, the leading correction\nto bulk viscosity and the speed of sound vanishes. Our computation provides a\nhighly nontrivial consistency check on the hydrodynamic description of the\nalpha'-corrected nonextremal black branes in string theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Color-Kinematics Relation from the Feynman Diagram Perspective: Feynman diagrams for gluon tree amplitudes are studied in the Feynman gauge\nand in any number of spacetime dimensions. The color-kinematics combinations\n$\\Delta=n_s-n_t-n_u$ of numerators are explicitly calculated for $N=4,5,6$\ngluons to see whether the color-kinematics relation $\\Delta=0$ is satisfied.\nThis is a tedious task because of the presence of four-gluon vertices, and the\nlarge number of Feynman diagrams, numerators, and $\\Delta$ combinations\ninvolved, especially when $N=6$. For on-shell amplitudes, it is found that\n$\\Delta=0$ for $N=4$, but $\\Delta\\not=0$ for $N=5$ and $N=6$ owing to the\npresence of the four-gluon vertex. However, a {\\it local} generalized gauge\ntransformation can bring about $\\Delta=0$ for $N=5$, but not for $N=6$. This\nraises the question whether gluon amplitudes satisfying the color-kinematics\nrelation contain non-local interactions.",
        "positive": "Natanzon-Orlov model and refined superintegrability: We reconsider the simple matrix model description of Hurwitz numbers proposed\nby S. Natanzon and A. Orlov, which uses the superintegrability property of the\ncomplex matrix model, and discuss a way of its possible supersymmetric\nextension to approach spin Hurwitz numbers."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Two-Dimensional Gravity and Nonlinear Gauge Theory: We review nonlinear gauge theory and its application to two-dimensional\ngravity. We construct a gauge theory based on nonlinear Lie algebras, which is\nan extension of the usual gauge theory based on Lie algebras. It is a new\napproach to generalization of the gauge theory. The two-dimensional gravity is\nderived from nonlinear Poincar{\\' e} algebra, which is the new Yang-Mills like\nformulation of the gravitational theory. As typical examples, we investigate\n$R^2$ gravity with dynamical torsion and generic form of 'dilaton' gravity. The\nsupersymmetric extension of this theory is also discussed.",
        "positive": "The quantum one loop trace anomaly of the higher spin conformal\n  conserved currents in the bulk of $AdS_{4}$: An analysis of the structure and singularities of the one loop two point\nfunction of the higher spin traceless and conserved currents constructed from\nthe single scalar field in $AdS$ space is presented. The detailed\nrenormalization procedure is constructed and the quantum violation of the\ntraceless Ward identity is investigated. The connection with the one loop\neffective action for higher spin gauge fields is discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Instanton Calculus in R-R 3-form Background and Deformed N=2 Super\n  Yang-Mills Theory: We study the ADHM construction of instantons in N=2 supersymmetric Yang-Mills\ntheory deformed in constant Ramond-Ramond (R-R) 3-form field strength\nbackground in type IIB superstrings. We compare the deformed instanton\neffective action with the effective action of fractional D3/D(-1) branes at the\norbifold singularity of C^2/Z_2 in the same R-R background. We find discrepancy\nbetween them at the second order in deformation parameters, which comes from\nthe coupling of the translational zero modes of the D(-1)-branes to the R-R\nbackground. We improve the deformed action by adding a term with space-time\ndependent gauge coupling. Although the space-time action differs from the\naction in the omega-background, both actions lead to the same instanton\nequations of motion at the lowest order in gauge coupling.",
        "positive": "Constraints for Three-Dimensional Higher-Spin Interactions and Conformal\n  Correlators: In the context of higher-spin holography, we compare the classification of\ncubic interaction vertices for higher-spin gravity theories in three dimensions\nto the possible three-point correlation functions of conserved higher-spin\ncurrents in two-dimensional conformal field theories. In both cases, the\nallowed structures are governed by triangle inequalities for the involved\nspins. It is established that higher-order correlators satisfy similar polygon\ninequalities and that the same inequalities are valid for higher-order\ncontinuations of cubic vertices in the three-dimensional higher-spin gravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Twistor Theory of the Airy Equation: We demonstrate how the complex integral formula for the Airy functions arises\nfrom Penrose's twistor contour integral formula. We then use the Lax\nformulation of the isomonodromy problem with one irregular singularity of order\nfour to show that the Airy equation arises from the anti-self-duality equations\nfor conformal structures of neutral signature invariant under the isometric\naction of the Bianchi II group. This conformal structure admits a null-K\\\"ahler\nmetric in its conformal class which we construct explicitly.",
        "positive": "Exact supersymmetry in the nonrelativistic hydrogen atom: We consider a Pauli particle in a Coulomb field. The supersymmetric\nHamiltonian is constructed, by explicitly giving the two supercharges $Q_{1}$\nand $ Q_{2}$ in the full three-dimensional space and which together with the\nHamiltonian, are shown to constitute an $S(2)$ superalgebra. This offers an\nalternative way of grouping the energy eigenstates into irreducible\nrepresentations of this symmetry group of the Hamiltonian."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic energy density in the Brans-Dicke teory: We study cosmological applications of the holographic energy density.\nConsidering the holographic energy density as a dynamical cosmological\nconstant, we need the Brans-Dicke theory as a dynamical framework instead of\ngeneral relativity. In this case we use the Bianchi identity as a consistency\nrelation to obtain physical solutions. It is shown that the future event\nhorizon as the IR cutoff provides the dark energy in the Brans-Dicke theory.\nFurthermore the role of the Brans-Dicke scalar is clarified in the dark\nenergy-dominated universe by calculating its equation of state.",
        "positive": "Fractionalized Non-Self-Dual Solutions in the CP(N-1) Model: We study non-self-dual classical solutions in the CP(N-1) model with Z_N\ntwisted boundary conditions on the spatially compactified cylinder. These\nsolutions have finite, and fractional, classical action and topological charge,\nand are `unstable' in the sense that the corresponding fluctuation operator has\nnegative modes. We propose a physical interpretation of these solutions as\nsaddle point configurations whose contributions to a resurgent semi-classical\nanalysis of the quantum path integral are imaginary non-perturbative terms\nwhich must be cancelled by infrared renormalon terms generated in the\nperturbative sector."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fermionic Schwinger effect and induced current in de Sitter space: We explore Schwinger effect of spin 1/2 charged particles with static\nelectric field in 1+3 dimensional de Sitter spacetime. We analytically\ncalculate the vacuum expectation value of the spinor current which is induced\nby the produced particles in the electric field. The renormalization is\nperformed with the adiabatic subtraction scheme. We find that the current\nbecomes negative, namely it flows in the direction opposite to the electric\nfield, if the electric field is weaker than a certain threshold value depending\non the fermion mass, which is also known to happen in the case of scalar\ncharged particles in 1+3 de Sitter spacetime. Contrary to the scalar case,\nhowever, the IR hyperconductivity is absent in the spinor case.",
        "positive": "Wess-Zumino Terms for the Deformed Skyrme Model: A formulation of Skyrme model as an embedded gauge theory with the constraint\ndeformed away from the spherical geometry is proposed. The gauge invariant\nformulation is obtained firstly generalizing the intrinsic geometry of the\nmodel and then converting the constraint to first-class through an iterative\nWess-Zumino procedure. The gauge invariant model is quantized via Dirac method\nfor first-class system. A perturbative calculation provides new free parameters\nrelated to deformation that improve the energy spectrum obtained in earlier\napproaches."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Nonabelian Bosonization as Duality: Applying the techniques of nonabelian duality to a system of Majorana\nfermions in 1+1 dimensions we obtain the level-one Wess-Zumino-Witten model as\nthe dual theory. This makes nonabelian bosonization a particular case of a\nnonabelian duality transformation, generalizing our previous result\n(hep-th/9401105) for the abelian case.",
        "positive": "Exact Local Supersymmetry, Absence of Superpartners, and Noncommutative\n  Geometries: It is pointed out that if we allow for the possibility of a multilayered\nuniverse, it is possible to maintain exact supersymmetry and arrange, in\nprinciple, for the vanishing of the cosmological constant. Superpartner(s) of a\nknown particle will then be associated with the other layers of such a\nuniverse. A concrete model realizing this scenario is exhibited in \\2\ndimensions, and it is suggested that it may be realizable in 3+1 dimensions.\nThe connection between this nonclassical geometry and noncommutative geometries\nis discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Inflaton as a MSSM Higgs and Open String Modulus Monodromy Inflation: It has been recently pointed out that the polarization BICEP2 results are\nconsistent with the identification of an inflaton mass m \\simeq 10^{13} GeV\nwith the SUSY breaking scale in an MSSM with a fine-tuned SM Higgs. This\nidentification leads to a Higgs mass m_h \\simeq 126 GeV, consistent with LHC\nmeasurements. Here we propose that this naturally suggests to identify the\ninflaton with the heavy MSSM Higgs system. The fact that the extrapolated Higgs\ncoupling lambda_{SM}\\simeq 0 at scales below the Planck scale suggests the\nHiggs degrees of freedom could be associated to a Wilson line or D-brane\nposition modulus in string theory. The Higgs system then has a shift symmetry\nand an N=2 structure which guarantees that its potential has an approximate\nquadratic chaotic inflation form. These moduli in string compactifications,\nbeing compact, allow for a trans-Planckian inflaton field range analogous to a\nversion of monodromy inflation.",
        "positive": "Two-logarithm matrix model with an external field: We investigate the two-logarithm matrix model with the potential\n$X\\Lambda+\\alpha\\log(1+X)+\\beta\\log(1-X)$ related to an exactly solvable\nKazakov-Migdal model. In the proper normalization, using Virasoro constraints,\nwe prove the equivalence of this model and the Kontsevich-Penner matrix model\nand construct the 1/N-expansion solution of this model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Topology of Vacuum Space-Time: We present a topological classification of vacuum space-time. Assuming the\n3-dimensional space allows a global chart, we show that the static vacuum\nspace-time of Einstein's theory can be classified by the knot topology\n$\\pi_3(S^3)=\\pi_3(S^2)$. Viewing Einstein's theory as a gauge theory of Lorentz\ngroup and identifying the gravitational connection as the gauge potential of\nLorentz group, we construct all possible vacuum gravitational connections which\ngive a vanishing curvature tensor. With this we show that the vacuum connection\nhas the knot topology, the same topology which describes the multiple vacua of\nSU(2) gauge theory. We discuss the physical implications of our result in\nquantum gravity.",
        "positive": "On Some Hypergeometric Solutions of the Conformal Ward Identities of\n  Scalar 4-point Functions in Momentum Space: We discuss specific hypergeometric solutions of the conformal Ward identities\n(CWI's) of scalar 4-point functions of primary fields in momentum space, in $d$\nspacetime dimensions. We determine such solutions using various dual conformal\nans\\\"atze (DCA's). We start from a generic dual conformal correlator, and\nrequire it to be conformally covariant in coordinate space. The two\nrequirements constrain such solutions to take a unique hypergeometric form.\nThey describe correlators which are at the same time conformal and dual\nconformal in any dimension. These specific ans\\\"atze also show the existence of\na link between 3- and 4-point functions of a CFT for such class of exact\nsolutions, similarly to what found for planar ladder diagrams. We show that in\n$d=4$ only the box diagram and its melonic variants, in free field theory,\nsatisfies such conditions, the remaining solutions being nonperturbative. We\nthen turn to the analysis of some approximate high energy fixed angle solutions\nof the CWI's which also in this case take the form of generalized\nhypergeometric functions. We show that they describe the behaviour of the\n4-point functions at large energy and momentum transfers, with a fixed $-t/s$.\nThe equations, in this case, are solved by linear combinations of Lauricella\nfunctions of 3 variables and can be rewritten as generalized 4K integrals. In\nboth cases the CWI's alone are sufficient to identify such solutions and their\nspecial connection with generalized hypergeometric systems of equations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "An N=1 duality cascade from a deformation of N=4 SUSY Yang-Mills: We study relevant deformations of an N=1 superconformal theory which is an\nexactly marginal deformation of U(N) N=4 SUSY Yang-Mills. The resulting theory\nhas a classical Higgs branch that is a complex deformation of the orbifold\nC^3/Z_n x Z_n that is a non-compact Calabi-Yau space with isolated conifold\nsingularities. At these singular points in moduli space the theory exhibits a\nduality cascade and flows to a confining theory with a mass gap. By exactly\nsolving the corresponding holomorphic matrix model we compute the exact quantum\nsuperpotential generated at the end of the duality cascade and calculate\nprecisely how quantum effects deform the classical moduli space by replacing\nthe conifold singularities with three-cycles of finite size. Locally the\nstructure is that of the deformed conifold, but the global geometry is\ndifferent. This desingularized quantum deformed geometry is the moduli space of\nprobe D3-branes at the end of a duality cascade realized on the worldvolume of\n(fractional) D3-branes placed at the isolated conifold singularities in the\ndeformation of the orbifold C^3/Z_n x Z_n with discrete torsion.",
        "positive": "Hamiltonian Formalism for Space-time Non-commutative Theories: Space-time non-commutative theories are non-local in time. We develop the\nHamiltonian formalism for non-local field theories in d space-time dimensions\nby considering auxiliary d+1 dimensional field theories which are local with\nrespect to the evolution time. The Hamiltonian path integral quantization is\nconsidered and the Feynman rules in the Lagrangian formalism are derived. The\ncase of non-commutative \\phi^3 theory is considered as an example."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hadron Physics From Superconformal Quantum Mechanics and its Light-Front\n  Holographic Embedding: The complex nonperturbative color-confining dynamics of QCD is well captured\nin a semiclassical effective theory based on superconformal quantum mechanics\nand its extension to the light-front. I describe here how this new approach to\nhadron physics incorporates confinement, the appearance of nearly massless\npseudoscalar particles, and Regge spectroscopy consistent with experiment. It\nalso gives remarkable connections between the meson and baryon spectrum across\nthe light and heavy-light hadron spectrum. I also briefly discuss how higher\nspin states are consistently described in this framework by the holographic\nembedding of the superconformal theory in a higher dimensional semiclassical\ngravity theory.",
        "positive": "Quasi-localized states on noncommutative solitons: We consider noncommutative gauge theories which have zero mass states\npropagating along both commutative and noncommutative dimensions. Solitons in\nthese theories generically carry U(m) gauge group on their world-volume. From\nthe point of view of string theory, these solitons correspond to\n  ``branes within branes''. We show that once the world-volume U(m) gauge\ntheory is in the Higgs phase, light states become quasi-localized, rather than\nstrictly localized on the soliton, i.e. they mix with light bulk modes and have\nfinite widths to escape into the noncommutative dimensions. At small values of\nU(m) symmetry breaking parameters, these widths are small compared to the\ncorresponding masses. Explicit examples considered are adjoint scalar field in\nthe background of a noncommutative vortex in U(1)-Higgs theory, and gauge\nfields in instanton backgrounds in pure gauge noncommutative theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Massive fluctuations in deconfining SU(2) Yang-Mills thermodynamics: We review how vertex constraints inherited from the thermal ground state\nstrongly reduce the integration support of loop four-momenta associated with\nmassive quasi-particles in bubble diagrams constituting corrections to the free\nthermal quasi-particle pressure. In spite of the observed increasingly\nsuppressing effect when increasing 2-particle-irreducible (2PI) loop order, a\nquantitative analysis enables us to disprove the conjecture voiced in\nhep-th/0609033 that the loop expansion would terminate at a finite order. This\nreveals the necessity to investigate exact expressions of (at least some)\nhigher-loop order diagrams. Explicit calculation shows that although the\nbehaviour of the 2PI three-loop contribution at low temperatures displays\nhierarchical suppression compared to lower loop-orders, its high-temperature\nexpression instead dominates all lower orders. However, an all-loop-order\nresummation of a class of 2PI bubble diagrams is shown to yield an analytic\ncontinuation of the low-temperature hierarchy to all temperatures in the\ndeconfining phase.",
        "positive": "Residual Representations of Spacetime: Spacetime is modelled by binary relations - by the classes of the\nautomorphisms $\\GL(\\C^2)$ of a complex 2-dimensional vector space with respect\nto the definite unitary subgroup $\\U(2)$. In extension of Feynman propagators\nfor particle quantum fields representing only the tangent spacetime structure,\nglobal spacetime representations are given, formulated as residues using\nenergy-momentum distributions with the invariants as singularities. The\nassociatated quantum fields are characterized by two invariant masses - for\ntime and position - supplementing the one mass for the definite unitary\nparticle sector with another mass for the indefinite unitary interaction sector\nwithout asymptotic particle interpretation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Tau-functions for Quiver Gauge Theories: The prepotentials for the quiver supersymmetric gauge theories are defined as\nquasiclassical tau-functions, depending on two different sets of variables: the\nparameters of the UV gauge theory or the bare compexified couplings, and the\nvacuum condensates of the theory in IR. The bare couplings are introduced as\nperiods on the UV base curve, and the consistency of corresponding gradient\nformulas for the tau-functions is proven using the Riemann bilinear relations.\nIt is shown, that dependence of generalised prepotentials for the quiver gauge\ntheories upon the bare couplings turns to coincide with the corresponding\nformulas for the derivatives of tau-functions for the isomonodromic\ndeformations. Computations for the SU(2) quiver gauge theories with bi- and\ntri-fundamental matter are performed explicitly and analysed in the context of\n4d/2d correspondence.",
        "positive": "Cubic interaction vertices for fermionic and bosonic arbitrary spin\n  fields: Using the light-cone gauge approach to relativistic field dynamics, we study\narbitrary spin fermionic and bosonic fields propagating in flat space of\ndimension greater than or equal to four. Generating functions of parity\ninvariant cubic interaction vertices for totally symmetric and mixed-symmetry\nmassive and massless fields are obtained. For the case of totally symmetric\nfields, we derive restrictions on the allowed values of spins and the number of\nderivatives. These restrictions provide a complete classification of parity\ninvariant cubic interaction vertices for totally symmetric fermionic and\nbosonic fields. As an example of application of the light-cone formalism, we\nobtain simple expressions for the Yang-Mills and gravitational interactions of\nmassive arbitrary spin fermionic fields. For some particular cases, using our\nlight-cone cubic vertices, we discuss the corresponding manifestly Lorentz\ninvariant and on-shell gauge invariant cubic vertices."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Symmetry Breaking in BRST Quantization of SU(3): New BRST-invariant states for SU(3) gauge field theory are presented. The\nstates have finite norms and unlike the states that are usually used to derive\npath integrals, they break SU(3) symmetry by choosing preferred gauge\ndirections. This symmetry breaking may also give effective masses to some of\nthe gauge bosons of the theory.",
        "positive": "Generalized Fuzzy Torus and its Modular Properties: We consider a generalization of the basic fuzzy torus to a fuzzy torus with\nnon-trivial modular parameter, based on a finite matrix algebra. We discuss the\nmodular properties of this fuzzy torus, and compute the matrix Laplacian for a\nscalar field. In the semi-classical limit, the generalized fuzzy torus can be\nused to approximate a generic commutative torus represented by two generic\nvectors in the complex plane, with generic modular parameter $\\tau$. The\neffective classical geometry and the spectrum of the Laplacian are correctly\nreproduced in the limit. The spectrum of a matrix Dirac operator is also\ncomputed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Interfaces and the extended Hilbert space of Chern-Simons theory: The low energy effective field theories of $(2+1)$ dimensional topological\nphases of matter provide powerful avenues for investigating entanglement in\ntheir ground states. In \\cite{Fliss:2017wop} the entanglement between distinct\nAbelian topological phases was investigated through Abelian Chern-Simons\ntheories equipped with a set of topological boundary conditions (TBCs). In the\npresent paper we extend the notion of a TBC to non-Abelian Chern-Simons\ntheories, providing an effective description for a class of gapped interfaces\nacross non-Abelian topological phases. These boundary conditions furnish a\ndefining relation for the extended Hilbert space of the quantum theory and\nallow the calculation of entanglement directly in the gauge theory. Because we\nallow for trivial interfaces, this includes a generic construction of the\nextended Hilbert space in any (compact) Chern-Simons theory quantized on a\nRiemann surface. Additionally, this provides a constructive and principled\ndefinition for the Hilbert space of effective ground states of gapped phases of\nmatter glued along gapped interfaces. Lastly, we describe a generalized notion\nof surgery, adding a powerful tool from topological field theory to the gapped\ninterface toolbox.",
        "positive": "M-theory on $AdS_4\\times S^7$ at 1-loop and beyond: We study graviton scattering on $AdS_4\\times S^7$, which is dual to the\nstress tensor multiplet four-point function in the maximally supersymmetric 3d\n$U(N)_1\\times U(N)_{-1}$ ABJM theory. We compute 1-loop corrections to this\nholographic correlator coming from Witten diagrams with supergravity $R$ and\nhigher derivative $R^4$ vertices, up to contact term ambiguities, and find that\nthe flat space limit matches the corresponding terms in the 11d M-theory\nS-matrix. We then use supersymmetric localization to show that all the 1-loop\ncontact terms vanish, as was previously observed for the $AdS_4\\times\nS^7/\\mathbb{Z}_2$ theory dual to $U(N)_2\\times U(N)_{-2}$ ABJM. Finally, we use\nthe recent localization results of Gaiotto and Abajian, as inspired by twisted\nM-theory, to compute all the short OPE coefficients in correlators of the\nstress tensor multiplet and the next lowest half-BPS operator, which we find\nsaturate the bootstrap bounds on these mixed correlators for all $N$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Ostrogradsky-Hamilton approach to geodetic brane gravity: We develop the Ostrogradsky-Hamilton formalism for geodetic brane gravity,\ndescribed by the Regge-Teitelboim geometric model in higher codimension. We\ntreat this gravity theory as a second-order derivative theory, based on the\nextrinsic geometric structure of the model. As opposed to previous treatments\nof geodetic brane gravity, our Lagrangian is linearly dependent on second-order\ntime derivatives of the field variables, the embedding functions. The\ndifference resides in a boundary term in the action, usually discarded.\nCertainly, this suggests applying an appropriate Ostrogradsky-Hamiltonian\napproach to this type of theories. The price to pay for this choice is the\nappearance of second class constraints. We determine the full set of phase\nspace constraints, as well as the gauge transformations they generate in the\nreduced phase space. Additionally, we compute the algebra of constraints and\nexplain its physical content. In the same spirit, we deduce the counting of the\nphysical degrees of freedom. We comment briefly on the naive formal canonical\nquantization emerging from our development.",
        "positive": "Thick Domain Walls and Charged Dilaton Black Holes: We study a black hole domain wall system in dilaton gravity which is the\nlow-energy limit of the superstring theory. We solve numerically equations of\nmotion for real self-interacting scalar field and justify the existence of\nstatic axisymmetric field configuration representing the thick domain wall in\nthe background of a charged dilaton black hole. It was also confirmed that the\nextreme dilaton black hole always expelled the domain wall."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Asymptotic factorisation of form factors in two-dimensional quantum\n  field theory: It is shown that the scaling operators in the conformal limit of a\ntwo-dimensional field theory have massive form factors which obey a simple\nfactorisation property in rapidity space. This has been used to identify such\noperators within the form factor bootstrap approach. A sum rule which yields\nthe scaling dimension of such operators is also derived.",
        "positive": "M2-branes on M-folds: We argue that the moduli space for the Bagger-Lambert A_4 theory at level k\nis (R^8 \\times R^8)/D_{2k}, where D_{2k} is the dihedral group of order 4k. We\nconjecture that the theory describes two M2-branes on a Z_{2k} ``M-fold'', in\nwhich a geometrical action of Z_{2k} is combined with an action on the branes.\nFor k=1, this arises as the strong coupling limit of two D2-branes on an O2^-\norientifold, whose worldvolume theory is the maximally supersymmetric SO(4)\ngauge theory. Finally, in an appropriate large-k limit we show that one\nrecovers compactified M-theory and the M2-branes reduce to D2-branes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Perturbation Theory at Eight Loops: Novel Structures and the Breakdown\n  of Manifest Conformality: We use the soft-collinear bootstrap to construct the 8-loop integrand for the\n4-point amplitude and 4-stress-tensor correlation function in planar maximally\nsupersymmetric Yang-Mills theory. Both have a unique representation in terms of\nplanar, conformal integrands grouped according to a hidden symmetry discovered\nfor correlation functions. The answer we find exposes a fundamental tension\nbetween manifest locality and planarity with manifest conformality not seen at\nlower loops. For the first time, the integrand must include terms that are\nfinite even on-shell and terms that are divergent even off-shell (so-called\n`pseudoconformal' integrals). We describe these novelties and their\nconsequences in this letter, and we make the full correlator and amplitude\navailable as part of this work's submission files to the arXiv.",
        "positive": "The Solutions of Affine and Conformal Affine Toda Field Theories: We give new formulations of the solutions of the field equations of the\naffine Toda and conformal affine Toda theories on a cylinder and\ntwo-dimensional Minkowski space-time. These solutions are parameterised in\nterms of initial data and the resulting covariant phase spaces are\ndiffeomorphic to the Hamiltonian ones. We derive the fundamental Poisson\nbrackets of the parameters of the solutions and give the general static\nsolutions for the affine theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "D-Instantons and asymptotic geometries: The large N limit of D3-branes is expected to correspond to a superconformal\nfield theory living on the boundary of the anti-de Sitter space appearing in\nthe near-horizon geometry. Dualizing the D3-brane to a D-instanton, we show\nthat this limit is equivalent to a type IIB S-duality. In both cases one\neffectively reaches the near-horizon geometry. This provides an alternative\napproach to an earlier derivation of the same result that makes use of the\nproperties of a gravitational wave instead of the D-instanton.",
        "positive": "Spinning particles, coadjoint orbits and Hamiltonian formalism: The extensive analysis of the dynamics of relativistic spinning particles is\npresented. Using the coadjoint orbits method the Hamiltonian dynamics is\nexplicitly described. The main technical tool is the factorization of general\nLorentz transformation into pure boost and rotation. The equivalent constrained\ndynamics on Poincare group (viewed as configuration space) is derived and\ncomplete classification of constraints is performed. It is shown that the first\nclass constraints generate local symmetry corresponding to the stability\nsubgroup of some point on coadjoint orbit. The Dirac brackets for second class\nconstraints are computed. Finally, canonical quantization is performed leading\nto infinitesimal form of irreducible representations of Poincare group."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Simple fixed-brane gauges in $S_1/Z_2$ braneworlds: For five-dimensional braneworlds with an $S_1/\\mathbb{Z}_2$ orbifold topology\nfor the extra dimension $x^5$, we discuss the validity of recent claims that a\ngauge exists where the two boundary branes lie at fixed positions and the\nmetric satisfies $g_{\\mu 5}=\\partial_5 g_{55}=0$ where $\\mu$ labels the\ntransverse dimensions. We focus on models where the bulk is empty apart from a\nnegative cosmological constant, which, in the case of cosmological symmetry,\nimplies the existence of a static frame with Schwarzschild-AdS geometry.\nConsidering the background case with the branes moving apart after a collision,\nwe show that such a gauge can be constructed perturbatively, expanding in\neither the time after collision or the brane velocity. Finally we examine how\ncosmological perturbations can be accommodated in such a gauge.",
        "positive": "Nonanalyticity of the induced Carroll-Field-Jackiw term at finite\n  temperature: In this paper, we discuss the behavior of the Carroll-Field-Jackiw (CFJ)\ncoefficient $k^{\\mu}$ arising due to integration over massive fermions, and the\nmodification suffered by its topological structure in the finite temperature\ncase. Our study is based on the imaginary time formalism and summation over the\nMatsubara frequencies. We demonstrate that the self-energy of photon is\nnon-analytic for the small $k^{\\mu}$ limit, i.e., the static limit $(k_0=0,\\vec\nk\\rightarrow 0)$ and the long wavelength limit $(k_0\\rightarrow 0,\\vec k= 0)$\ndo not commute, while the tensorial structure of the CFJ term holds in both\nlimits."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "D-Brane Recoil Mislays Information: We discuss the scattering of a light closed-string state off a $D$ brane,\ntaking into account quantum recoil effects on the latter, which are described\nby a pair of logarithmic operators. The light-particle and $D$-brane subsystems\nmay each be described by a world-sheet with an external source due to the\ninteraction between them. This perturbs each subsystem away from criticality,\nwhich is compensated by dressing with a Liouville field whose zero mode we\ninterpret as time. The resulting evolution equations for the $D$ brane and the\nclosed string are of Fokker-Planck and modified quantum Liouville type,\nrespectively. The apparent entropy of each subsystem increases as a result of\nthe interaction between them, which we interpret as the loss of information\nresulting from non-observation of the other entangled subsystem. We speculate\non the possible implications of these results for the propagation of closed\nstrings through a dilute gas of virtual $D$ branes.",
        "positive": "Effective Actions for Spin 0,1/2,1 in Curved Spacetimes: We calculate the effective potentials for scalar, Dirac and Yang-Mills fields\nin curved backgrounds using a new method for the determination of the heat\nkernel involving a re-summation of the Schwinger-DeWitt series.\nSelf-interactions are treated both to one loop order as usual and slightly\nbeyond one-loop order by means of a mean-field approximation. The new approach\ngives the familiar result for scalar fields, the Coleman-Weinberg potential\nplus corrections such as the leading-log terms, but the actual calculation is\nmuch faster. We furthermore show how to go systematically to higher loop order.\nThe Schwarzschild space-time is used to exemplify the procedure. Next we\nconsider phase transitions and we show that for a classical critical point to\nbe a critical point of the effective potential too, certain restrictions must\nbe imposed on as well its value as on the form of the classical potential and\nthe background geometry. We derive this extra condition for scalar fields with\narbitrary self couplings and comment on the case of fermions and gauge bosons\ntoo. Critical points of the effective action which are not there classically\nare also discussed. This has implications for inflation. The renormalised\nenergy-momentum tensor for a scalar field with arbitrary self-interaction and\nnon-minimal coupling to the gravitational background is also calculated to this\nimproved one-loop order as is the resulting conformal anomaly. Conditions for\nthe violation of energy conditions are described. Finally we discuss metric\nfluctuations and a self-consistency condition for such fluctuations is written\ndown for spin 0,1/2,1 quantum fields. This is of importance for the study of\ncosmic density fluctuations. All calculations are performed in the physically\nrelevant case of d=4 dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Recent Progress in Superstring Theory: Superstring theory has continued to develop at a rapid clip in the past few\nyears. Following a quick review of some of the major discoveries prior to 1998,\nthis talk focuses on a few of the more recent developments. The topics I have\nchosen to present are 1) the use of K-theory to classify conserved charges\ncarried by D-branes; 2) tachyon condensation on unstable D-brane systems; and\n3) an introduction to noncommutative field theories and their solitons.",
        "positive": "Non-Perturbative Completion of Hopf-Algebraic Dyson-Schwinger Equations: For certain quantum field theories, the Kreimer-Connes Hopf-algebraic\napproach to renormalization reduces the Dyson-Schwinger equations to a system\nof non-linear ordinary differential equations for the expansion coefficients of\nthe renormalized Green's function. We apply resurgent asymptotic analysis to\nfind the trans-series solutions which provide the non-perturbative completion\nof these formal Dyson-Schwinger expansions. We illustrate the general approach\nwith the concrete example of four dimensional massless Yukawa theory,\nconnecting with the exact functional solution found by Broadhurst and Kreimer.\nThe trans-series solution is associated with the iterative form of the\nDyson-Schwinger equations, and displays renormalon-like structure of\ninteger-repeated Borel singularities. Extraction of the Stokes constant is\npossible due to a property we call `functional resurgence'."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dynamical aspects of the plane-wave matrix model at finite temperature: We study dynamical aspects of the plane-wave matrix model at finite\ntemperature. One-loop calculation around general classical vacua is performed\nusing the background field method, and the integration over the gauge field\nmoduli is carried out both analytically and numerically. In addition to the\ntrivial vacuum, which corresponds to a single M5-brane at zero temperature, we\nconsider general static fuzzy-sphere type configurations. They are all 1/2 BPS,\nand hence degenerate at zero temperature due to supersymmetry. This degeneracy\nis resolved, however, at finite temperature, and we identify the configuration\nthat gives the smallest free energy at each temperature. The Hagedorn\ntransition in each vacuum is studied by using the eigenvalue density method for\nthe gauge field moduli, and the free energy as well as the Polyakov line is\nobtained analytically near the critical point. This reveals the existence of\nfuzzy sphere phases, which may correspond to the plasma-ball phases in N=4\nSU(\\infty) SYM on S^1 X S^3. We also perform Monte Carlo simulation to\nintegrate over the gauge field moduli. While this confirms the validity of the\nanalytic results near the critical point, it also shows that the trivial vacuum\ngives the smallest free energy throughout the high temperature regime.",
        "positive": "Perfect fluid brane-world model: By considering 5--dimensional cosmological models with a bulk filled with a\nperfect fluid and a cosmological constant, we have found regular instantonic\nsolution which is free from any singularity at the origin of the\nextra--coordinate and describe 5--dimensional asymptotically anti de Sitter\nwormhole, when the bulk has a topology $ R \\times S^4 $ and is filled with dust\nand a negative cosmological constant. Compactified brane-world instantons which\nare built up from such instantonic solution describe either a single brane or a\nstring of branes. Their analytical continuation to the pseudo--Riemannian\nmetric can give rise to either 4-dimensional inflating branes or solutions with\nthe same dynamical behaviour for extra--dimension and branes, in addition to\nmultitemporal solutions. Dust brane-world models with other spatial topologies\nare also considered."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Three dimensional large N monopole gas: We study the large N limit in the presence of magnetic monopoles in the\nYang-Mills/Higgs model in three dimensions. The physics in the limit depends\nstrongly on the distribution of eigenvalues of the Higgs field in the vacuum,\nand we propose a particular, nondegenerate configuration. It minimizes the free\nenergy at the moment of symmetry breaking. Given this, the magnetic monopoles\nshow a wide hierarchy of masses, and some are vanishing as 1/N. The dilute gas\npicture, then, provides an interesting structure in the large N limit.",
        "positive": "Analytical Multi-kinks in smooth potentials: In this work we present an approach which can be systematically used to\nconstruct nonlinear systems possessing analytical multi-kink profile\nconfigurations. In contrast with previous approaches to the problem, we are\nable to do it by using field potentials which are considerably smoother than\nthe ones of Doubly Quadratic family of potentials. This is done without losing\nthe capacity of writing exact analytical solutions. The resulting field\nconfigurations can be applied to the study of problems from condensed matter to\nbrane world scenarios."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Monopoles and flux strings from SU(2) adjoint scalars: We construct, in an SU(2) gauge theory with two adjoint scalars, flux strings\nwith monopoles attached at the ends. One scalar breaks SU(2) to U(1) and\nproduces monopoles, the other then breaks the U(1) and produces strings.\nDualizing, we write the theory in terms of effective string variables and show\nthat the flux in the string is exactly saturated by the monopoles at the ends.",
        "positive": "Clifford Algebra Derivation of the Characteristic Hypersurfaces of\n  Maxwell's Equations: An alternative, pedagogically simpler derivation of the allowed physical wave\nfronts of a propagating electromagnetic signal is presented using geometric\nalgebra. Maxwell's equations can be expressed in a single multivector equation\nusing 3D Clifford algebra (isomorphic to Pauli algebra spinorial formulation of\nelectromagnetism). Subsequently one can more easily solve for the time\nevolution of both the electric and magnetic field simultaneously in terms of\nthe fields evaluated only on a 3D hypersurface. The form of the special\n\"characteristic\" surfaces for which the time derivative of the fields can be\nsingular are quickly deduced with little effort."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Orbifolds, Defects and Sphere Partition Function: Gauge theories in the presence of codimension two vortex defects are known to\nbe related to the theories on orbifolds. By using this relation we study the\nlocalized path integrals of 2D N=(2,2) SUSY gauge theories with point-like\nvortex defects. We present a formula for the correlation functions of vortex\ndefects inserted at the north and the south poles of squashed spheres. For\nAbelian gauge theories the correlators are locally constant as functions of the\nparameters of the defect, but exhibit discontinuity at some threshold values\ndetermined by the deficit angle at the poles and the R-charges of the matter\nmultiplets. For non-Abelian gauge groups the correlators depend non-trivially\non the types of gauge symmetry breaking due to the defects.",
        "positive": "The four dimensional Yang--Mills partition function in the vicinity of\n  the vacuum: The partition function of four dimensional Euclidean, non-supersymmetric\nSU(2) Yang--Mills theory is calculated in the perturbative and weak coupling\nregime i.e. in a small open ball about the flat connection (what we call the\nvicinity of the vacuum) and when the gauge coupling constant acquires a small\nbut finite value.\n  The computation is based on various known inequalities, valid only in four\ndimensions, providing two-sided estimates for the exponentiated Yang--Mills\naction in terms of the $L^2$-norm of the derivative of the gauge potential\nonly; these estimates then give rise to Gaussian-like infinite dimensional\nintegrals involving the Laplacian hence can be formally computed via\nzeta-function and heat kernel techniques. It then turns out that these\nintegrals give a sharp value for the partition function in the aforementioned\nperturbative and weak coupling regime of the theory.\n  In the resulting expression for the partition function the original classical\ncoupling constant is shifted to a smaller one which can be interpreted as the\nmanifestation, in this approach, of the existence a non-trivial trivial\n$\\beta$-function and asymptotic freedom in non-Abelian gauge theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Some Constant Solutions to Zamolodchikov's Tetrahedron Equations: In this letter we present constant solutions to the tetrahedron equations\nproposed by Zamolodchikov. In general, from a given solution of the Yang-Baxter\nequation there are two ways to construct solutions to the tetrahedron equation.\nThere are also other kinds of solutions. We present some two-dimensional\nsolutions that were obtained by directly solving the equations using either an\nupper triangular or Zamolodchikov's ansatz.",
        "positive": "Causality and Self-consistency in Classical Electrodynamics: We present a pedagogical review of old inconsistencies of Classical\nElectrodynamics and of some new ideas that solve them. Problems with the\nelectron equation of motion and with the non-integrable singularity of its\nself-field energy tensor are well known. They are consequences, we show, of\nneglecting terms that are null off the charge world-line but that give a non\nnull contribution on its world-line. The electron self-field energy tensor is\nintegrable without the use of any kind of renormalization; there is no\ncausality violation and no conflict with energy conservation in the electron\nequation of motion, when its meaning is properly considered."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Special holonomy sigma models with boundaries: A study of (1,1) supersymmetric two-dimensional non-linear sigma models with\nboundary on special holonomy target spaces is presented. In particular, the\nconsistency of the boundary conditions under the various symmetries is studied.\nModels both with and without torsion are discussed.",
        "positive": "k-Strings as Fundamental Strings: It has been noticed that the k-string observables can be expressed in terms\nof the fundamental string ones. We identify a sufficient condition for a\ngeneric gravity dual background which when satisfied the mapping can be done.\nThe condition is naturally related to a preserved quantity under the\nT-dualities acting on the Dp-brane describing the high representation Wilson\nloops. We also find the explicit relation between the observables of the heavy\nk-quark and the single quark states. As an application to our generic study and\nmotivated by the fact that the anisotropic theories satisfy our condition, we\ncompute the width of the k-string in these theories to find that the\nlogarithmic broadening is still present, but the total result is affected by\nthe anisotropy of the space."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Stimulated Hawking Emission From Electromagnetic Analogue Black Hole:\n  Theory and Observation: In this paper we consider possible analogue Hawking radiation from a normal\ndielectric and metamaterial composite, having an analogue horizon where the\ndielectric parameters vanish and change sign upon crossing this transition\nzone. We follow a complex path analysis to show the presence of an analogue\nHawking temperature at the horizon and subsequent photon production from the\nambient electromagnetic field. Possibility of experimental observation is also\ncommented upon.",
        "positive": "Comparing Brane Inflation to WMAP: We compare the simplest realistic brane inflationary model to recent\ncosmological data, including WMAP 3-year cosmic microwave background (CMB)\nresults, Sloan Digital Sky Survey luminous red galaxies (SDSS LRG) power\nspectrum data and Supernovae Legacy Survey (SNLS) Type 1a supernovae distance\nmeasures. Here, the inflaton is simply the position of a $D3$-brane which is\nmoving towards a $\\bar{D}3$-brane sitting at the bottom of a throat (a warped,\ndeformed conifold) in the flux compactified bulk in Type IIB string theory. The\nanalysis includes both the usual slow-roll scenario and the Dirac-Born-Infeld\nscenario of slow but relativistic rolling. Requiring that the throat is inside\nthe bulk greatly restricts the allowed parameter space. We discuss possible\nscenarios in which large tensor mode and/or non-Gaussianity may emerge. Here,\nthe properties of a large tensor mode deviate from that in the usual slow-roll\nscenario, providing a possible stringy signature. Overall, within the brane\ninflationary scenario, the cosmological data is providing information about the\nproperties of the compactification of the extra dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "An Abstract Interface to Higher Spin Gauge Field Theory: A comprehensive approach to the theory of higher spin gauge fields is\nproposed. By explicitly separating out details of implementation from general\nprinciples, it becomes possible to focus on the bare minimum of requirements\nthat such a theory must satisfy. The abstraction is based on a survey of the\nprogress that has been achieved since relativistic wave equations for higher\nspin fields were first considered in the nineteen thirties. As a byproduct, a\nformalism is obtained that is abstract enough to describe a wide class of\nclassical field theories. The formalism, viewed as syntax, can then be\nsemantically mapped to a category of homotopy Lie algebras, thus showing that\nthe theory in some sense exists, at least as an abstract mathematical\nstructure. Still, a concrete physics-like, implementation remains to be\nconstructed. Lacking deep physical insight into the problem, an implementation\nin terms of generalized vertex operators is set up within which a brute force\niterative determination of the first few orders in the interaction can be\nattempted.",
        "positive": "On the Higher Spin Spectrum of Chern-Simons Theory coupled to Fermions\n  in the Large Flavour Limit: In this note, we compute the higher spin spectrum of $U(M)_k$ Chern-Simons\ntheory coupled to $N$ flavours of fundamental fermions, in the limit $N\\gg M$\nwith the 't Hooft coupling $\\lambda_M =\\frac{N}{k_m}$ held fixed, to order\n$M/N$. This theory possesses a slightly broken higher spin symmetry, and may be\nof interest from the perspective of higher-spin and non-supersymmetric\nholography. We find that anomalous dimensions of the higher spin currents\nachieve a finite value at strong coupling $\\lambda_M \\rightarrow \\infty$, which\ngrows with spin as $\\log s$ for large $s$, as expected for gauge theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Superconducting Cosmic Strings and One Dimensional Extended\n  Supersymmetric Algebras: In this article we study in detail the supersymmetric structures that\nunderlie the system of fermionic zero modes around a superconducting cosmic\nstring. Particularly, we extend the analysis existing in the literature on the\none dimensional $N=2$ supersymmetry and we find multiple $N=2$, $d=1$\nsupersymmetries. In addition, compact perturbations of the Witten index of the\nsystem are performed and we find to which physical situations these\nperturbations correspond. More importantly, we demonstrate that there exists a\nmuch more rich supersymmetric structure underlying the system of fermions with\n$N_f$ flavors and these are $N$-extended supersymmetric structures with\nnon-trivial topological charges, with \"$N$\" depending on the fermion flavors.",
        "positive": "Super Non-Abelian T-Duality: We analyse super non-Abelian T-duality for principal chiral models, symmetric\nspace sigma models, and semi-symmetric space sigma models for general Lie\nsupergroups. This includes T-duality along both bosonic and fermionic\ndirections. As an example, we perform the explicit dualisation of the OSp(1|2)\nprincipal chiral model, and, whilst the target superspace of this model is a\nthree-dimensional supergravity background, we find that its super non-Abelian\nT-dual falls outside the class of such backgrounds."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Renormalisation in Quantum Mechanics: We study a recently proposed quantum action depending on temperature. We\nconstruct a renormalisation group equation describing the flow of action\nparameters with temperature. At zero temperature the quantum action is obtained\nanalytically and is found free of higher time derivatives. It makes the quantum\naction an ideal tool to investigate quantum chaos and quantum instantons.",
        "positive": "Lectures on the functional renormalization group method: These introductory notes are about functional renormalization group equations\nand some of their applications. It is emphasised that the applicability of this\nmethod extends well beyond critical systems, it actually provides us a general\npurpose algorithm to solve strongly coupled quantum field theories. The\nrenormalization group equation of F. Wegner and A. Houghton is shown to resum\nthe loop-expansion. Another version, due to J. Polchinski, is obtained by the\nmethod of collective coordinates and can be used for the resummation of the\nperturbation series. The genuinely non-perturbative evolution equation is\nobtained in a manner reminiscent of the Schwinger-Dyson equations. Two variants\nof this scheme are presented where the scale which determines the order of the\nsuccessive elimination of the modes is extracted from external and internal\nspaces. The renormalization of composite operators is discussed briefly as an\nalternative way to arrive at the renormalization group equation. The scaling\nlaws and fixed points are considered from local and global points of view.\nInstability induced renormalization and new scaling laws are shown to occur in\nthe symmetry broken phase of the scalar theory. The flattening of the effective\npotential of a compact variable is demonstrated in case of the sine-Gordon\nmodel. Finally, a manifestly gauge invariant evolution equation is given for\nQED."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum-classical simulation of quantum field theory by quantum circuit\n  learning: We employ quantum circuit learning to simulate quantum field theories (QFTs).\nTypically, when simulating QFTs with quantum computers, we encounter\nsignificant challenges due to the technical limitations of quantum devices when\nimplementing the Hamiltonian using Pauli spin matrices. To address this\nchallenge, we leverage quantum circuit learning, employing a compact\nconfiguration of qubits and low-depth quantum circuits to predict real-time\ndynamics in quantum field theories. The key advantage of this approach is that\na single-qubit measurement can accurately forecast various physical parameters,\nincluding fully-connected operators. To demonstrate the effectiveness of our\nmethod, we use it to predict quench dynamics, chiral dynamics and jet\nproduction in a 1+1-dimensional model of quantum electrodynamics. We find that\nour predictions closely align with the results of rigorous classical\ncalculations, exhibiting a high degree of accuracy. This hybrid\nquantum-classical approach illustrates the feasibility of efficiently\nsimulating large-scale QFTs on cutting-edge quantum devices.",
        "positive": "On All-Order Higher-Point $\\text{D}p$-$\\overline{\\text{D}p}$ Effective\n  Actions: In this paper we derive a class of contributions to all orders in $\\alpha'$\nto the effective action of D-brane-anti D-brane systems in Type II String\nTheory, considering an amplitude involving a closed-string Ramond-Ramond state\nand four open-string states: two tachyons, a scalar and a gauge boson. This\ntype of amplitude arises in both Type IIA and Type IIB strings, and reveals a\nnumber of new effective couplings. Furthermore, we derive a series\nrepresentation for the result that goes beyond a factorized limit that was\nrecently studied, and which is expected to apply to more general six-point\namplitudes of superstrings, including external fermions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Bulk entanglement entropy in perturbative excited states: We compute the bulk entanglement entropy across the Ryu-Takayanagi surface\nfor a one-particle state in a scalar field theory in AdS$_3$. We work directly\nwithin the bulk Hilbert space and include the spatial spread of the scalar\nwavefunction. We give closed form expressions in the limit of small interval\nsizes and compare the result to a CFT computation of entanglement entropy in an\nexcited primary state at large $c$. Including the contribution from the\nbackreacted minimal area, we find agreement between the CFT result and the FLM\nand JLMS formulas for quantum corrections to holographic entanglement entropy.\nThis provides a non-trivial check in a state where the answer is not dictated\nby symmetry. Along the way, we provide closed-form expressions for the scalar\nfield Bogoliubov coefficients that relate the global and Rindler slicings of\nAdS$_3$.",
        "positive": "Time evolution of entanglement entropy from a pulse: We calculate the time evolution of the entanglement entropy in a 1+1 CFT with\na holographic dual when there is a localized left-moving packet of energy\ndensity. We find the gravity result agrees with a field theory result derived\nfrom the transformation properties of R\\'enyi entropy. We are able to reproduce\nbehavior which qualitatively agrees with CFT results of entanglement entropy of\na system subjected to a local quench. In doing so we construct a finite\ndiffeomorphism which tales three-dimensional anti-de Sitter space in the\nPoincar\\'e patch to a general solution, generalizing the diffeomorphism that\ntakes the Poincar\\'e patch a BTZ black hole. We briefly discuss the calculation\nof correlation functions in these backgrounds and give results at large\noperator dimension."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "T-branes through 3d mirror symmetry: T-branes are exotic bound states of D-branes, characterized by mutually\nnon-commuting vacuum expectation values for the worldvolume scalars. The\nM/F-theory geometry lifting D6/D7-brane configurations is blind to the T-brane\ndata. In this paper, we make this data manifest, by probing the geometry with\nan M2-brane. We find that the effect of a T-brane is to deform the membrane\nworldvolume superpotential with monopole operators, which partially break the\nthree-dimensional flavor symmetry, and reduce supersymmetry from N=4 to N=2.\nOur main tool is 3d mirror symmetry. Through this language, a very concrete\nframework is developed for understanding T-branes in M-theory. This leads us to\nuncover a new class of N=2 quiver gauge theories, whose Higgs branches mimic\nthose of membranes at ADE singularities, but whose Coulomb branches differ from\ntheir N=4 counterparts.",
        "positive": "Coupled bulk and brane fields about a de Sitter brane: We consider the evolution of a bulk scalar field in anti-de Sitter (AdS)\nspacetime linearly coupled to a scalar field on a de Sitter boundary brane. We\npresent results of a spectral analysis of the system, and find that the model\ncan exhibit both bound and continuum resonant modes. We find that zero, one, or\ntwo bound states may exist, depending upon the masses of the brane and bulk\nfields relative to the Hubble length and the AdS curvature scale and the\ncoupling strength. In all cases, we find a critical coupling above which there\nexists a tachyonic bound state. We show how the 5-dimensional spectral results\ncan be interpreted in terms of a 4-dimensional effective theory for the bound\nstates. We find excellent agreement between our analytic results and the\nresults of a new numerical code developed to model the evolution of bulk fields\ncoupled to degrees of freedom on a moving brane. This code can be used to model\nthe behaviour of braneworld cosmological perturbations in scenarios for which\nno analytic results are known."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Contracted and expanded integrable structures: We propose a generic framework to obtain certain types of contracted and\ncentrally extended algebras. This is based on the existence of quadratic\nalgebras (reflection algebras and twisted Yangians), naturally arising in the\ncontext of boundary integrable models. A quite old misconception regarding the\n\"expansion\" of the E_2 algebra into sl_2 is resolved using the representation\ntheory of the aforementioned quadratic algebras. We also obtain centrally\nextended algebras associated to rational and trigonometric (q-deformed)\nR-matrices that are solutions of the Yang--Baxter equation.",
        "positive": "The 5-D Choptuik critical exponent and holography: Recently, a holographic argument was used to relate the saturation exponent,\n$\\gamma_{BFKL}$, of four-dimensional Yang-Mills theory in the Regge limit to\nthe Choptuik critical scaling exponent, $\\gamma_{5d}$, in 5-dimensional black\nhole formation via scalar field collapse \\cite{alvarez-gaume}. Remarkably, the\nnumerical value of the former agreed quite well with previous calculations of\nthe latter. We present new results of an improved calculation of $\\gamma_{5d}$\nwith substantially decreased numerical error. Our current result is\n$\\gamma_{5d} = 0.4131 \\pm 0.0001$, which is close to, but not in strict\nagreement with, the value of $\\gamma_{BFKL}=0.409552$ quoted in\n\\cite{alvarez-gaume}."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum 3D Superstrings: The classical Green-Schwarz superstring action, with N=1 or N=2 spacetime\nsupersymmetry, exists for spacetime dimensions D=3,4,6,10, but quantization in\nthe light-cone gauge breaks Lorentz invariance unless either D=10, which leads\nto critical superstring theory, or D=3. We give details of results presented\npreviously for the bosonic and N=1 closed 3D (super)strings and extend them to\nthe N=2 3D superstring. In all cases, the spectrum is parity-invariant and\ncontains anyons of irrational spin.",
        "positive": "Counterterms for the Dirichlet Prescription of the AdS/CFT\n  Correspondence: We illustrate the Dirichlet prescription of the AdS/CFT correspondence using\nthe example of a massive scalar field and argue that it is the only entirely\nconsistent regularization procedure known so far. Using the Dirichlet\nprescription, we then calculate the divergent terms for gravity in the cases\n$d=2,4,6$, which give rise to the Weyl anomaly in the boundary conformal field\ntheory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Mechanism for Negative Differential Conductivity in Holographic\n  Conductors: We clarify the mechanism for negative differential conductivity in\nholographic conductors. Negative differential conductivity is a phenomenon in\nwhich the electric field decreses with the increase of the current. This\nphenomenon is widely observed in strongly correlated insulators, and it has\nbeen known that some models of AdS/CFT correspondence (holographic conductors)\nreproduces this behaviour. We study the mechanism for negative differential\nconductivity in holographic conductors by analyzing the lifetime of the bound\nstates of the charge carriers. We find that when the system exhibits negative\ndifferential conductivity, the lifetime of the bound states grows as the\nelectric field increases. This suggests that the negative differential\nconductivity in this system is realized by the supression of the ionization of\nthe bound states that supplies the free carriers.",
        "positive": "String Orbifolds and Quotient Stacks: In this note we observe that, contrary to the usual lore, string orbifolds do\nnot describe strings on quotient spaces, but rather seem to describe strings on\nobjects called quotient stacks, a result that follows from simply unraveling\ndefinitions, and is further justified by a number of results. Quotient stacks\nare very closely related to quotient spaces; for example, when the orbifold\ngroup acts freely, the quotient space and the quotient stack are homeomorphic.\nWe explain how sigma models on quotient stacks naturally have twisted sectors,\nand why a sigma model on a quotient stack would be a nonsingular CFT even when\nthe associated quotient space is singular. We also show how to understand twist\nfields in this language, and outline the derivation of the orbifold Euler\ncharacteristic purely in terms of stacks. We also outline why there is a sense\nin which one naturally finds B nonzero on exceptional divisors of resolutions.\nThese insights are not limited to merely understanding existing string\norbifolds: we also point out how this technology enables us to understand\norbifolds in M-theory, as well as how this means that string orbifolds provide\nthe first example of an entirely new class of string compactifications. As\nquotient stacks are not a staple of the physics literature, we include a\nlengthy tutorial on quotient stacks."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Self-Dual Supergravity from N=2 Strings: A new heterotic N=2 string with manifest target space supersymmetry is\nconstructed by combining a conventional N=2 string in the right-moving sector\nand a Green-Schwarz-Berkovits type string in the left-moving sector. The\ncorresponding sigma model is then obtained by turning on background fields for\nthe massless excitations. We compute the beta functions and we partially check\nthe OPE's of the superconformal algebra perturbatively in $\\alpha'$, all in\nsuperspace. The resulting field equations describe N=1 self-dual supergravity.",
        "positive": "A $U(N)$ Gauge Theory in Three Dimensions as an Ensemble of Surfaces: A particular $U(N)$ gauge theory defined on the three dimensional\ndodecahedral lattice is shown to correspond to a model of oriented\nself-avoiding surfaces. Using large $N$ reduction it is argued that the model\nis partially soluble in the planar limit."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Worldline Approach to QFT on Manifolds with Boundary: We use the image charge method to compute the trace of the heat kernel for a\nscalar field on a flat manifold with boundary, representing the trace by means\nof a worldline path integral and obtain useful non-iterative master formulae\nfor n insertions of the scalar potential. We discuss possible extensions of the\nmethod.",
        "positive": "Quantum Dynamics of a Bulk-Boundary System: The quantum dynamics of a bulk-boundary theory is closely examined by the use\nof the background field method. As an example we take the Mirabelli-Peskin\nmodel, which is composed of 5D super Yang-Mills (bulk) and 4D Wess-Zumino\n(boundary). Singular interaction terms play an important role of canceling the\ndivergences coming from the KK-mode sum. Some new regularization of the\nmomentum integral is proposed. An interesting background configuration of\nscalar fields is found. It is a localized solution of the field equation. In\nthis process of the vacuum search, we present a new treatment of the vacuum\nwith respect to the extra coordinate. The \"supersymmetric\" effective potential\nis obtained at the 1-loop full (w.r.t. the coupling) level. This is the\nbulk-boundary generalization of the Coleman-Weinberg's case. Renormalization\ngroup analysis is done where the correct 4d result is reproduced. The Casimir\nenergy is calculated and is compared with the case of the Kaluza-Klein model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Different Approaches for Bosonization in Higher Dimensions: We describe two distinct approaches for bosonization in higher dimensions;\none is based on a direct comparison of current correlation functions while the\nother relies on a Master lagrangean formalism. These are used to bosonise the\nMassive Thirring Model in three and four dimensions in the weak coupling regime\nbut with an arbitrary fermion mass. In both approaches the explicit bosonised\nlagrangean and current are derived in terms of gauge fields. The complete\nequivalence of the two bosonization methods is established. Exact results for\nthe free massive fermion theory are also obtained. Finally, the two-dimensional\ntheory is revisited and the possibility of extending this analysis for\narbitrary dimensions is indicated.",
        "positive": "Light as Caused by Neither by Bound States nor by Neutrinos: Participants of this workshop pursue the old Neutrino Theory of Light\nvigorously. Other physicists have long ago abandoned it, because it lacks gauge\ninvariance. In the recent Quantum Induction (QI), all basic Bose fields\n${\\mathcal B}^{P}$ are local limits of quantum fields composed of Dirac's\n$\\Psi$ (for leptons and quarks). The induced field equations of QI even\ndetermine all the interactions of those ${\\mathcal B}^{P}$. Thus a precise\ngauge invariance and other physical consequences are unavoidable. They include\nthe absence of divergencies, the exclusion of Pauli terms, a prediction of the\nHiggs mass and a `minimal' Quantum Gravity.\n  As we find in this paper, however, photons can't be bound states while\nMaxwell's potential $A_{\\mu}$ contains all basic Dirac fields except those of\nneutrinos."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "6d strings and exceptional instantons: We propose new ADHM-like methods to compute the Coulomb branch instanton\npartition functions of 5d and 6d supersymmetric gauge theories, with certain\nexceptional gauge groups or exceptional matters. We study $G_2$ theories with\n$n_{\\bf 7}\\leq 3$ matters in ${\\bf 7}$, and $SO(7)$ theories with $n_{\\bf\n8}\\leq 4$ matters in the spinor representation ${\\bf 8}$. We also study the\nelliptic genera of self-dual instanton strings of 6d SCFTs with exceptional\ngauge groups or matters, including all non-Higgsable atomic SCFTs with rank $2$\nor $3$ tensor branches. Some of them are tested with topological vertex\ncalculus. We also explore a D-brane-based method to study instanton particles\nof 5d $SO(7)$ and $SO(8)$ gauge theories with matters in spinor\nrepresentations, which further tests our ADHM-like proposals.",
        "positive": "On Volumes of Subregions in Holography and Complexity: The volume of the region inside the bulk Ryu-Takayanagi surface is a\ncodimension-one object, and a natural generalization of holographic complexity\nto the case of subregions in the boundary QFT. We focus on time-independent\ngeometries, and study the properties of this volume in various circumstances.\nWe derive a formula for computing the volume for a strip entangling surface and\na general asymptotically AdS bulk geometry. For an AdS black hole geometry, the\nvolume exhibits non-monotonic behaviour as a function of the size of the\nentangling region (unlike the behaviour of the entanglement entropy in this\nsetup, which is monotonic). For setups in which the holographic entanglement\nentropy exhibits transitions in the bulk, such as global AdS black hole,\ngeometries dual to confining theories and disjoint entangling surfaces, the\ncorresponding volume exhibits a discontinuous finite jump at the transition\npoint (and so do the volumes of the corresponding entanglement wedges). We\ncompute this volume discontinuity in several examples. Lastly, we compute the\ncodim-zero volume and the bulk action of the entanglement wedge for the case of\na sphere entangling surface and pure AdS geometry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Mode Regularization of the Configuration Space Path Integral in\n  Curved Space: The path integral representation of the transition amplitude for a particle\nmoving in curved space has presented unexpected challenges since the\nintroduction of path integrals by Feynman fifty years ago. In this paper we\ndiscuss and review mode regularization of the configuration space path\nintegral, and present a three loop computation of the transition amplitude to\ntest with success the consistency of such a regularization. Key features of the\nmethod are the use of the Lee-Yang ghost fields, which guarantee a consistent\ntreatment of the non-trivial path integral measure at higher loops, and an\neffective potential specific to mode regularization which arises at two loops.\nWe also perform the computation of the transition amplitude using the\nregularization of the path integral by time discretization, which also makes\nuse of Lee-Yang ghost fields and needs its own specific effective potential.\nThis computation is shown to reproduce the same final result as the one\nperformed in mode regularization.",
        "positive": "Quantum Field Theory on Curved Noncommutative Spacetimes: We summarize our recently proposed approach to quantum field theory on\nnoncommutative curved spacetimes. We make use of the Drinfel'd twist deformed\ndifferential geometry of Julius Wess and his group in order to define an action\nfunctional for a real scalar field on a twist-deformed time-oriented, connected\nand globally hyperbolic Lorentzian manifold. The corresponding deformed wave\noperator admits unique deformed retarded and advanced Green's operators,\nprovided we pose a support condition on the deformation. The solution space of\nthe deformed wave equation is constructed explicitly and can be canonically\nequipped with a (weak) symplectic structure. The quantization of the solution\nspace of the deformed wave equation is performed using *-algebras over the ring\nC[[\\lambda]]. As a new result we add a proof that there exist symplectic\nisomorphisms between the deformed and the undeformed symplectic\nR[[\\lambda]]-modules. This immediately leads to *-algebra isomorphisms between\nthe deformed and the formal power series extension of the undeformed quantum\nfield theory. The consequences of these isomorphisms are discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Minimal Local Lagrangians for Higher-Spin Geometry: The Fronsdal Lagrangians for free totally symmetric rank-s tensors rest on\nsuitable trace constraints for their gauge parameters and gauge fields. Only\nwhen these constraints are removed, however, the resulting equations reflect\nthe expected free higher-spin geometry. We show that geometric equations, in\nboth their local and non-local forms, can be simply recovered from local\nLagrangians with only two additional fields, a rank-(s-3) compensator and a\nrank-(s-4) Lagrange multiplier. In a similar fashion, we show that geometric\nequations for unconstrained rank-n totally symmetric spinor-tensors can be\nsimply recovered from local Lagrangians with only two additional\nspinor-tensors, a rank-(n-2) compensator and a rank-(n-3) Lagrange multiplier.",
        "positive": "Models of AdS_2 Backreaction and Holography: We develop models of 1+1 dimensional dilaton gravity describing flows to\n$AdS_2$ from higher dimensional $AdS$ and other spaces. We use these to study\nthe effects of backreaction on holographic correlators. We show that this\nscales as a relevant effect at low energies, for compact transverse spaces. We\nalso discuss effects of matter loops, as in the CGHS model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Reduction of BTZ spacetime to hypersurfaces of foliation: We reduce the BTZ spacetime to two kinds of hypersurfaces of foliation: one\nhaving a fixed radial coordinate and the other a fixed angular coordinate. The\nradial reduction leads to a Liouville type theory, and confirms, from the first\nprinciple, the expectation laid out in the literature. In the other endeavor,\nthe angular reduction of the 3D gravity is carried out in two different ways;\nthe first again yields a Liouville type theory (different from that of the\nradial reduction) and the second yields a 2D interacting quantum field theory\nwith quartic potential. Finally we discuss potential implications of our result\nfor the Equivalence Principle and Purity of Hawking radiation.",
        "positive": "Reformulating SU(N) Yang-Mills theory based on change of variables: We propose a new version of SU(N) Yang-Mills theory reformulated in terms of\nnew field variables which are obtained by a nonlinear change of variables from\nthe original Yang-Mills gauge field. The reformulated Yang-Mills theory enables\nus to study the low-energy dynamics by explicitly extracting the topological\ndegrees of freedom such as magnetic monopoles and vortices to clarify the\nmechanism for quark confinement.\n  The dual superconductivity in Yang-Mills theory is understood in a\ngauge-invariant manner, as demonstrated recently by a non-Abelian Stokes\ntheorem for the Wilson loop operator, although the basic idea of this\nreformulation is based on the Cho-Faddeev-Niemi decomposition of the gauge\npotential."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "4d N=1 from 6d N=(1,0) on a torus with fluxes: Compactifying N=(1,0) theories on a torus, with additional fluxes for global\nsymmetries, we obtain N=1 supersymmetric theories in four dimensions. It is\nshown that for many choices of flux these models are toric quiver gauge\ntheories with singlet fields. In particular we compare the anomalies deduced\nfrom the description of the six-dimensional theory and the anomalies of the\nquiver gauge theories. We also give predictions for anomalies of\nfour-dimensional theories corresponding to general compactifications of\nM5-branes probing C_2/Z_k singularities.",
        "positive": "N=1 Dual String Pairs and Gaugino Condensation: We study a class of four-dimensional N=1 heterotic string theories which have\nnontrivial quantum dynamics arising from asymptotically free gauge groups.\nThese models are obtained by orbifolding 4d N=2 heterotic/type II dual pairs by\nsymmetries which leave unbroken products of nonabelian gauge groups (without\ncharged matter) in a ``hidden sector'' on the heterotic side. Such models are\nexpected to break supersymmetry through gaugino condensation in the hidden\nsector. We find a dual description of the effects of gaugino condensation on\nthe type II side, where the corresponding superpotential arises at tree level.\nWe speculate that the conformal field theory underlying the type II description\nmay be related to a class of geometrical nonsupersymmetric string\ncompactifications."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "ChroNodynamics or a quantum theory involving deviations from uniform run\n  of time: Let us imagine that there is an overall quantum theory (not necessarily\nrecognized yet) of matter and energy ({\\it i.e.}, of elementary fermions and\nbosons) interacting with the physical spacetime (treated on a quantum level).\nSince states of quantum spacetime are so far not observed directly, they ought\nto be projected out from the overall Hilbert space (much like states of a\nquantum medium in the optical model often constructed in nuclear physics).\nThen, in the reduced Hilbert space only states of quantum matter and energy are\nleft, but now endowed with the energy width that enters through an\nantiHermitian interaction-like operator, a remainder of their coupling to the\nquantum spacetime. We postulate that such an energy width involves an averaged\ncoupling of quantum matter and energy to a classical field of time deviations\nfrom the uniform time run (in the classical spacetime of special relativity).\nThe well known time-temperature analogy helps us to fix other postulates\nleading altogether to a quantum theory we call chronodynamics (a loose analogue\nof thermodynamics of small deviations from thermal equilibrium).",
        "positive": "Notes on hyperloops in N=4 Chern-Simons-matter theories: We present new circular Wilson loops in three-dimensional N=4 quiver\nChern-Simons-matter theory on S^3. At any given node of the quiver, a\ntwo-parameter family of operators can be obtained by opportunely deforming the\n1/4 BPS Gaiotto-Yin loop. Including then adjacent nodes, the coupling to the\nbifundamental matter fields allows to enlarge this family and to construct loop\noperators based on superconnections. We discuss their classification, which\ndepends on both discrete data and continuous parameters subject to an\nidentification. The resulting moduli spaces are conical manifolds, similar to\nthe conifold of the 1/6 BPS loops of the ABJ(M) theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Skyrmions with low binding energies: Nuclear binding energies are investigated in two variants of the Skyrme\nmodel: the first replaces the usual Skyrme term with a term that is sixth order\nin derivatives, and the second includes a potential that is quartic in the pion\nfields. Solitons in the first model are shown to deviate significantly from\nans\\\"atze previously assumed in the literature. The binding energies obtained\nin both models are lower than those obtained from the standard Skyrme model,\nand those obtained in the second model are close to the experimental values.",
        "positive": "A Class of Exact Solutions For N-Anyons in a N-body Potential: A class of exact solutions are obtained for the problem of N-anyons\ninteracting via the N-body potential $V (\\vec x_1,\\vec x_2,...,\\vec x_N)$ =\n$-{e^2\\over\\sqrt{{1\\over N}\\sum_{i<j} (\\vec x_i-\\vec x_j)^2}}$ Unlike the\noscillator case the resulting spectrum is not linear in the anyon parameter\n$\\alpha (0\\leq \\alpha\\leq 1)$. However, a la oscillator case, cross-over\nbetween the ground states is shown to occur for N-anyons $(N\\geq 3)$\nexperiencing the above potential."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Linearized Nordstr\\\" om Supergravity in Eleven and Ten Dimensional\n  Superspaces (2): We present aspects of the component description of linearized Nordstr\\\" om\nSupergravity in eleven and ten dimensions. The presentation includes low order\ncomponent fields in the supermultiplet, the supersymmetry variations of the\nscalar graviton and gravitino trace, their supercovariantized field strengths,\nand the supersymmetry commutator algebra of these theories.",
        "positive": "On the Nonequilibrium Dynamics of Gravitational Algebras: We explore nonequilibrium features of certain operator algebras which appear\nin quantum gravity. The algebra of observables in a black hole background is a\nType $\\mathrm{II}_\\infty$ von Neumann algebra. We discuss how this algebra can\nbe coupled to the algebra of observable of an infinite reservoir within the\ncanonical ensemble, aiming to induce nonequilibrium dynamics. The resulting\ndynamics can lead the system towards a nonequilibrium steady state which can be\ncharacterized through modular theory. Within this framework we address the\ndefinition of entropy production and its relationship to relative entropy,\nalongside exploring other applications."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Hodge structure of elliptically fibered Calabi-Yau threefolds: The Hodge numbers of generic elliptically fibered Calabi-Yau threefolds over\ntoric base surfaces fill out the \"shield\" structure previously identified by\nKreuzer and Skarke. The connectivity structure of these spaces and bounds on\nthe Hodge numbers are illuminated by considerations from F-theory and the\nminimal model program. In particular, there is a rigorous bound on the Hodge\nnumber h_{21} <= 491 for any elliptically fibered Calabi-Yau threefold. The\nthreefolds with the largest known Hodge numbers are associated with a sequence\nof blow-ups of toric bases beginning with the Hirzebruch surface F_{12} and\nending with the toric base for the F-theory model with largest known gauge\ngroup.",
        "positive": "Hyperbolic and trigonometric hypergeometric solutions to the star-star\n  equation: We construct the hyperbolic and trigonometric solutions to the star-star\nrelation via the gauge/YBE correspondence by using the three-dimensional lens\npartition function and superconformal index for a certain N=2 supersymmetric\ngauge dual theories. This correspondence relates supersymmetric gauge theories\nto exactly solvable models of statistical mechanics. The equality of partition\nfunctions for the three-dimensional supersymmetric dual theories can be written\nas an integral identity for hyperbolic and basic hypergeometric functions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Witten Anomaly in 4d Heterotic Compactificaitons with N = 2\n  Supersymmetry: We showed that there is no SU(2) Witten anomaly in a large class of 4d N = 2\nsupersymmetric Heterotic string compactifications. The consistency conditions\nwe consider are the modularity of the new supersymmetric index, the integrality\nof BPS indices, and the discrete Peccei-Quinn shift symmetries. We also found\nan example where these conditions are not sufficient to show that the theory is\nanomaly free. This suggests that there are more conditions in the worldsheet\nSCFT essential for consistent string compactifications.",
        "positive": "Instantons and no wormholes in $AdS_3\\times S^3 \\times CY_2$: We study supergravity instantons sourced by axion (and saxion) fields in the\nEuclidean $AdS_3\\times S^3 \\times CY_2$ vacua of IIB supergravity. Such\ninstantons are described by geodesic curves on the moduli space; the timelike\ngeodesics can describe Euclidean wormholes, the lightlike geodesics describe\n(generalisations of) D-instantons and spacelike geodesics are sub-extremal\nversions thereof. We perform a concrete classification of such geodesics and\nfind that, despite earlier claims, the wormholes fail to be regular. A subclass\nof the lightlike geodesics is supersymmetric and, up to dualities, lift to\nEuclidean strings wrapping 2-cycles in the CY$_2$. The dual of these instantons\nare expected to be worldsheet instantons of the D1-D5 CFT."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exact Solutions of Exceptional Gauge Theories from Toric Geometry: We derive four dimensional gauge theories with exceptional groups $F_4$,\n$E_8$, $E_7$, and $E_7$ with matter, by starting from the duality between the\nheterotic string on $K3$ and F-theory on a elliptically fibered Calabi-Yau\n3-fold. This configuration is compactified to four dimensions on a torus, and\nby employing toric geometry, we compute the type IIB mirrors of the Calabi-Yaus\nof the type IIA string theory. We identify the Seiberg-Witten curves describing\nthe gauge theories as ALE spaces fibered over a $P^1$ base.",
        "positive": "Vacuum densities in braneworlds: We give a short review of the recent development in the investigation of the\nvacuum expectation values of the bulk and surface energy-momentum tensors\ngenerated by quantum fluctuations of a massive scalar field with general\ncurvature coupling parameter subject to Robin boundary conditions on two\ncodimension one parallel branes located on $(D+1)$-dimensional anti-de Sitter\n(AdS) bulk. An application to the Randall-Sundrum braneworld with arbitrary\nmass terms on the branes is discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Abelianization and Sequential Confinement in $2+1$ dimensions: We consider the lagrangian description of Argyres-Douglas theories of type\n$A_{2N-1}$, which is a $SU(N)$ gauge theory with an adjoint and one fundamental\nflavor. An appropriate reformulation allows us to map the moduli space of vacua\nacross the duality, and to dimensionally reduce. Going down to three\ndimensions, we find that the adjoint SQCD \"abelianizes\": in the infrared it is\nequivalent to a $\\mathcal{N}=4$ linear quiver theory. Moreover, we study the\nmirror dual: using a monopole duality to \"sequentially confine\" quivers tails\nwith balanced nodes, we show that the mirror RG flow lands on $\\mathcal{N}=4$\nSQED with $N$ flavors. These results provide a physical derivation of previous\nproposals for the three dimensional mirror of AD theories.",
        "positive": "Adiabatic Solutions in General Relativity and Boundary Symmetries: We investigate adiabatic solutions to general relativity for a spacetime with\nspatial slices with boundary, by Manton approximation. This approximation tells\nus for a theory with a Lagrangian in the natural form, a motion that is\ndescribed as a slow motion on the space of vacua-static solutions that minimize\nthe energy -- is a good approximate solution. To apply this to the case of\ngeneral relativity we first bring it to the natural form by splitting space and\ntime and choosing Gaussian normal coordinates, where a spacetime is described\nby the metric on its spatial slices. Then following Manton we propose slow\nsolutions such that each slice is a slowly changing diffeomorphism of a\nreference slice, and thus each solution is described by a vector field on the\nspatial slice.\n  These solutions will have the property that the action will become a\nfunctional of the vector fields on the boundaries of the spatial slices.\nMoreover using the Hodge-Morrey-Friedrichs decomposition we will show that the\nconstraints of general relativity will identify a unique solution for a given\nboundary value. Then we comment on the structure of the space of vacua which we\nshow to be a (pseudo)-Riemannian homogeneous space. We illustrate our procedure\nfor a specific reference slice we choose: the 3d Euclidean round ball."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Decoupling in an expanding universe: backreaction barely constrains\n  short distance effects in the CMB: We clarify the status of transplanckian effects on the cosmic microwave\nbackground (CMB) anisotropy. We do so using the boundary effective action\nformalism of hep-th/0401164 which accounts quantitatively for the cosmological\nvacuum ambiguity. In this formalism we can clearly 1) delineate the validity of\ncosmological effective actions in an expanding universe. The corollary of the\ninitial state ambiguity is the existence of an earliest time. The inability of\nan effective action to describe physics before this time demands that one sets\ninitial conditions on the earliest time hypersurface. A calculation then shows\nthat CMB anisotropy measurements are generically sensitive to high energy\ncorrections to the initial conditions. 2) We compute the one-loop contribution\nto the stress-tensor due to high-energy physics corrections to an arbitrary\ncosmological initial state. We find that phenomenological bounds on the\nbackreaction do not lead to strong constraints on the coefficient of the\nleading boundary irrelevant operator. Rather, we find that the power spectrum\nitself is the quantity most sensitive to initial state corrections. 3) The\ncomputation of the one-loop backreaction confirms arguments that irrelevant\ncorrections to the Bunch-Davies initial state yield non-adiabatic vacua\ncharacterized by an energy excess at some earlier time. However, this excess\nonly dominates over the classical background at times before the `earliest\ntime' at which the effective action is valid. We conclude that the cosmological\neffective action with boundaries is a fully self-consistent and quantitative\napproach to transplanckian corrections to the CMB.",
        "positive": "No-Go Theorem for Gauss-Bonnet Inflation without Inflaton Potential: Recently, an interesting inflationary scenario, named Gauss-Bonnet inflation,\nis proposed by Kanti et al.~\\cite{Kanti:2015pda,Kanti:2015dra}. In the model,\nthere is no inflaton potential but the inflaton couples to the Guass-Bonnet\nterm. In the case of quadratic coupling, they find inflation occurs with\ngraceful exit. The scenario is attractive because of the natural set-up.\nHowever, we show there exists the gradient instability in the tensor\nperturbations in this inflationary model. We further prove the no-go theorem\nfor the Gauss-Bonnet inflation without an inflaton potential."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The asymptotic symmetry of de Sitter spacetime: We show how to construct a set of Euclidean conformal correlation functions\non the boundary of a de Sitter space from an interacting bulk quantum field\ntheory with a certain asymptotic behaviour. We discuss the status of the\nboundary theory w.r.t. the reflection positivity and conclude that no obvious\nphysical holographic interpretation is available.",
        "positive": "Singularities, Firewalls, and Complementarity: Almheiri, Marolf, Polchinski, and Sully, recently claimed that once a black\nhole has radiated more than half its initial entropy (the Page time), the\nhorizon is replaced by a \"firewall\" at which infalling observers burn up, in\napparent violation of the equivalence principle and the postulates of black\nhole complementarity. In this paper I review the arguments for firewalls, and\ngive a slightly different interpretation of them. According to this\ninterpretation the horizon has standard properties, but the singularity is\nnon-standard. The growing entanglement of the black hole with Hawking radiation\ncauses the singularity to migrate toward the horizon, and eventually intersect\nit at the page time. The resulting collision of the singularity with the\nhorizon leads to the firewall. Complementarity applies to the horizon and not\nto the singular firewall.\n  Almheiri, Marolf, Polchinski, and Sully conjecture that firewalls form much\nearlier then the Page time; namely at the scrambling time. I argue that there\nis no reason to believe this generalization, and good reason to think it is\nwrong.\n  For most of this paper I will assume that the firewall argument is correct.\nIn the last section before the conclusion I will describe reasons for having\nreservations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exact Renormalization of Massless QED2: We perform the exact renormalization of two-dimensional massless gauge\ntheories. Using these exact results we discuss the cluster property and\nconfinement in both the anomalous and chiral Schwinger models.",
        "positive": "On the Stability of Black Strings/Branes: Some issues on the stability of black string or brane solutions are\nsummarized briefly. The stability of dS/AdS-Schwarzschild black strings has\nbeen investigated. Interestingly, the AdS-Schwarzschild black strings turn out\nto be stable as the horizon size becomes larger than the AdS scale. It is also\nshown that BTZ black strings in four dimensions are stable regardless of the\nhorizon size. Such stable feature seems to be common for several known black\nstrings in dimensions lower than five. Some implications of our results on the\nrole of non-uniformity in stable black string configurations are also\ndiscussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Polarization of the Fulling-Rindler vacuum by uniformly accelerated\n  mirror: Positive frequency Wightman function and vacuum expectation values of the\nenergy-momentum tensor are computed for a massive scalar field with general\ncurvature coupling parameter and satisfying Robin boundary condition on a\nuniformly accelerated infinite plate. The both regions of the right Rindler\nwedge, (i) on the right (RR region) and (ii) on the left (RL region) of the\nplate are investigated. For the case (ii) the electromagnetic field is\nconsidered as well. The mode summation method is used with combination of a\nvariant of the generalized Abel-Plana formula. This allows to present the\nexpectation values in the form of a sum of the purely Rindler and boundary\nparts. Near the plate surface the vacuum energy-momentum tensor is dominated by\nthe boundary term. At large distances from the plate and near the Rindler\nhorizon the main contribution comes from the purely Rindler part. In the RL\nregion the vacuum energy density of the electromagnetic field is negative near\nthe horizon and is positive near the plate.",
        "positive": "Two- and Three-particle States in a Nonrelativistic Four-fermion Model\n  in the Fine-tuning Renormalization Scheme. Goldstone mode \"against\" extension\n  theory: In a nonrelativistic contact four-fermion model we show that simple\nregularisation prescriptions together with a definite fine-tuning of the\ncut-off-parameter dependence of ``bare'' quantities give the exact solutions\nfor the two-particle sector and Goldstone modes. Their correspondence with the\nself-adjoint extension into Pontryagin space is established leading to\nself-adjoint semi-bounded Hamiltonians in three-particle sectors as well.\nRenormalized Faddeev equations for the bound states with Fredholm properties\nare obtained and analysed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Generalized Massive Gravity in $AdS_3$: In this note we investigate the generalized massive gravity in asymptotically\n$AdS_3$ spacetime by combining the two mass terms of topological massive\ngravity and new massive gravity theory. We study the linearized excitations\naround the $AdS_3$ background and find that at a specific value of a certain\ncombination of the two mass parameters (chiral line), one of the massive\ngraviton solutions becomes the left moving massless mode. It is shown that the\ntheory is chiral at this line under Brown-Henneaux boundary condition. Because\nof this degeneration of the gravitons the new log solution which has a\nlogarithmic asymptotic behavior is also a solution to this gravity theory at\nthe chiral line. The log boundary condition which was proposed to accommodate\nthis log solution is proved to be consistent at this chiral line. The resulting\ntheory is no longer chiral except at a special point on the chiral line, where\nanother new solution with log-square asymptotic behavior exists. At this\nspecial point, we prove that a new kind of boundary condition called log-square\nboundary condition, which accommodates this new solution, can be consistent.",
        "positive": "GUP-based and Snyder Non-Commutative Algebras, Relativistic Particle\n  models and Deformed Symmetries: A Unified Approach: We have developed a unified scheme for studying Non-Commutative algebras\nbased on Generalized Uncertainty Principle (GUP) and Snyder form in a\nrelativistically covariant point particle Lagrangian (or symplectic) framework.\nEven though the GUP based algebra and Snyder algebra are very distinct, the\nmore involved latter algebra emerges from an approximation of the Lagrangian\nmodel of the former algebra. Deformed Poincare generators for the systems that\nkeep space-time symmetries of the relativistic particle models have been\nstudied thoroughly.\n  From a purely constrained dynamical analysis perspective the models studied\nhere are very rich and provide insights on how to consistently construct\napproximate models from the exact ones when non-linear constraints are present\nin the system.\n  We also study dynamics of the GUP particle in presence of external\nelectromagnetic field."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-Extremal Rotating Black Holes in Five-Dimensional Gauged\n  Supergravity: Supersymmetric black holes in five-dimensional gauged supergravity must\nnecessarily be rotating, and so in order to study the passage to black holes\naway from supersymmetry, it is of great interest to obtain non-extremal black\nholes that again have non-zero rotation. In this paper we find a simple\nframework for describing non-extremal rotating black holes in five-dimensional\ngauged supergravities. Using this framework, we are able to construct a new\nsolution, describing the general single-charge solution of N=2 gauged\nsupergravity, with arbitrary values for the two rotation parameters.\nPreviously-obtained solutions with two or three equal charges also assume a\nmuch simpler form in the new framework, as also does the general solution with\nthree unequal charges in ungauged N=2 supergravity. We discuss the\nthermodynamics and BPS limit of the new single-charge solutions, and we discuss\nthe separability of the Hamilton-Jacobi and Klein-Gordan equations in these\nbackgrounds.",
        "positive": "AdS$_3$/RMT$_2$ Duality: We introduce a framework for quantifying random matrix behavior of 2d CFTs\nand AdS$_3$ quantum gravity. We present a 2d CFT trace formula, precisely\nanalogous to the Gutzwiller trace formula for chaotic quantum systems, which\noriginates from the $SL(2,\\mathbb{Z})$ spectral decomposition of the Virasoro\nprimary density of states. An analogy to Berry's diagonal approximation allows\nus to extract spectral statistics of individual 2d CFTs by coarse-graining, and\nto identify signatures of chaos and random matrix universality. This leads to a\nnecessary and sufficient condition for a 2d CFT to display a linear ramp in its\ncoarse-grained spectral form factor. Turning to gravity, AdS$_3$ torus\nwormholes are cleanly interpreted as diagonal projections of squared partition\nfunctions of microscopic 2d CFTs. The projection makes use of Hecke operators.\nThe Cotler-Jensen wormhole of AdS$_3$ pure gravity is shown to be extremal\namong wormhole amplitudes: it is the minimal completion of the random matrix\ntheory correlator compatible with Virasoro symmetry and\n$SL(2,\\mathbb{Z})$-invariance. We call this MaxRMT: the maximal realization of\nrandom matrix universality consistent with the necessary symmetries.\nCompleteness of the $SL(2,\\mathbb{Z})$ spectral decomposition as a trace\nformula allows us to factorize the Cotler-Jensen wormhole, extracting the\nmicroscopic object $Z_{\\rm RMT}(\\tau)$ from the coarse-grained product. This\ncaptures details of the spectrum of BTZ black hole microstates. $Z_{\\rm\nRMT}(\\tau)$ may be interpreted as an AdS$_3$ half-wormhole. We discuss its\nimplications for the dual CFT and modular bootstrap at large central charge."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Summation of all-loop UV Divergences in Maximally Supersymmetric Gauge\n  Theories: We consider the leading and subleading UV divergences for the four-point\non-shell scattering amplitudes in D=6,8,10 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theories\nin the planar limit. These theories belong to the class of maximally\nsupersymmetric gauge theories and presumably possess distinguished properties\nbeyond perturbation theory. In the previous works, we obtained the recursive\nrelations that allow one to get the leading and subleading divergences in all\nloops in a pure algebraic way. The all loop summation of the leading\ndivergences is performed with the help of the differential equations which are\nthe generalization of the RG equations for non-renormalizable theories. Here we\nmainly focus on solving and analyzing these equations. We discuss the\nproperties of the obtained solutions and interpretation of the results.",
        "positive": "Two intervals R\u00e9nyi entanglement entropy of compact free boson on\n  torus: We compute the $N=2$ R\\'enyi entanglement entropy of two intervals at equal\ntime in a circle, for the theory of a 2d compact complex free scalar at finite\ntemperature. This is carried out by performing functional integral on a genus 3\nramified cover of the torus, wherein the quantum part of the integral is\ncaptured by the four point function of twist fields on the worldsheet torus,\nand the classical piece is given by summing over winding modes of the genus 3\nsurface onto the target space torus. The final result is given in terms of a\nproduct of theta function and certain multi-dimensional theta function. We\ndemonstrate the T-duality invariance of the result. We also study its low\ntemperature limit. In the case in which the size of the intervals and of their\nseparation are much smaller than the whole system, our result is in exact\nagreement with the known result for two intervals on an infinite system at zero\ntemperature \\cite{eeoftwo}. In the case in which the separation between the two\nintervals is much smaller than the interval length, the leading thermal\ncorrections take the same universal form as proposed in\n\\cite{Cardy:2014jwa,Chen:2015cna} for R\\'enyi entanglement entropy of a single\ninterval."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Heterotic AdS_3/CFT_2 duality with (0,4) spacetime supersymmetry: We discuss the AdS_3/CFT_2 duality of a heterotic three-charge model with\n(0,4) target space supersymmetry. The worldsheet theory for heterotic strings\non the AdS_3 x S^3/Z_N x T^4 near-horizon geometry was constructed by Kutasov,\nLarsen and Leigh in [hep-th/9812027]. We propose that the dual conformal field\ntheory is given by a two-dimensional (0,4) sigma model arising on the Higgs\nbranch of an orbifolded ADHM model. As a non-trivial consistency check of the\ncorrespondence, we find that the left- and right-moving central charges of the\ninfrared conformal field theory agree with those predicted by the worldsheet\nmodel. Moreover, using the entropy function formalism, we show that to\nnext-to-leading order the central charge can also be obtained from an\nalpha'-corrected supergravity theory.",
        "positive": "Vertex Operators for Closed Superstrings: We construct an iterative procedure to compute the vertex operators of the\nclosed superstring in the covariant formalism given a solution of IIA/IIB\nsupergravity. The manifest supersymmetry allows us to construct vertex\noperators for any generic background in presence of Ramond-Ramond (RR) fields.\nWe extend the procedure to all massive states of open and closed superstrings\nand we identify two new nilpotent charges which are used to impose the gauge\nfixing on the physical states. We solve iteratively the equations of the vertex\nfor linear x-dependent RR field strengths. This vertex plays a role in studying\nnon-constant C-deformations of superspace. Finally, we construct an action for\nthe free massless sector of closed strings, and we propose a form for the\nkinetic term for closed string field theory in the pure spinor formalism."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The calculation of the thermodynamic quantities of the Bardeen black\n  hole: In this work we research on the thermodynamical properties of the Bardeen\nblack holes. We compute the series of new thermodynamic quantities such as\nlocal temperature, heat capacity, off-shell free energy of this kind of black\nhole in detail. We further analyze the thermodynamical characteristics of the\nBardeen black hole by varying its charge $q$ to check the existence and\nstability of the black hole.",
        "positive": "Entanglement of Local Operators and the Butterfly Effect: We study the robustness of quantum and classical information to perturbations\nimplemented by local operator insertions. We do this by computing multipartite\nentanglement measures in the Hilbert space of local operators in the Heisenberg\npicture. The sensitivity to initial conditions that we explore is an\nilluminating manifestation of the butterfly effect in quantum many-body\nsystems. We derive a \"membrane theory\" in Haar random unitary circuits to\ncompute the mutual information, logarithmic negativity, and reflected entropy\nin the local operator state by mapping to a classical statistical mechanics\nproblem and find that any local operator insertion delocalizes information as\nfast as is allowed by causality. Identical behavior is found for conformal\nfield theories admitting holographic duals where the bulk geometry is described\nby the eternal black hole with a local object situated at the horizon. In\ncontrast to these maximal scramblers, only an $O(1)$ amount of information is\nfound to be delocalized by local operators in integrable systems such as free\nfermions and Clifford circuits."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Higher-spin algebras and cubic interactions for simple mixed-symmetry\n  fields in AdS spacetime: Nonabelian Fradkin-Vasiliev cubic interactions for dual-graviton-like gauge\nfields with gravity and themselves are constructed in anti-de Sitter spacetime.\nThe Young diagrams of gauge potentials have shapes of 'tall-hooks', i.e. two\ncolumns the second of height one.\n  The underlying nonabelian algebra is a Clifford algebra with the anti-de\nSitter signature. We also discuss the universal enveloping realization of\nhigher-spin algebras, showing that there is a one-parameter family of algebras\ncompatible with unitarity, which is reminiscent of 3d deformed oscillators.",
        "positive": "Symplectic Field Theory of the Galilean Covariant Scalar and Spinor\n  Representations: Exploring the concept of the extended Galilei group $\\mathcal{G}$, a\nrepresentation for the symplectic quantum mechanics in the manifold of\n$\\mathcal{G}$, written in the light-cone of a five-dimensional De Sitter\nspace-time, is derived consistently with the method of the Wigner function. A\nHilbert space is constructed endowed with a simplectic structure, studying\nunitary operators describing rotations and translations, whose generators\nsatisfy the Lie algebra of $\\mathcal {G}$. This representation gives rise to\nthe Schr\\\"{o}dinger (Klein-Gordon-like) equation for the wave functions in\nphase-space, such that the dependent variables have the position and linear\nmomentum contents. Wave functions are associated with the Wigner function\nthrough the Moyal product, such that the wave functions represent a\nquasi-amplitude of probability. We construct the Pauli-Schr\\\"{o}dinger\n(Dirac-like) equation in phase-space in its explicitly covariant form. Finally,\nwe show the equivalence between the five dimensional formalism of phase-space\nwith the usual formalism, proposing a solution that recover the non-covariant\nform of the Pauli-Schr\\\"{o}dinger equation in phase-space."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The homogeneity theorem for supergravity backgrounds II: the\n  six-dimensional theories: We prove that supersymmetry backgrounds of (1,0) and (2,0) six-dimensional\nsupergravity theories preserving more than one half of the supersymmetry are\nlocally homogeneous. As a byproduct we also establish that the Killing spinors\nof such a background generate a Lie superalgebra.",
        "positive": "Convergent sequences of perturbative approximations for the anharmonic\n  oscillator II. Compact time approach: We present an alternative pathway in the application of the variation\nimprovement of ordinary perturbation theory exposed in [1] which can preserve\nthe internal symmetries of a model by means of a time compactification."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Covariant Form of the Navier-Stokes Equation for the Galilean\n  Conformal Algebra: We demonstrate that the Navier-Stokes equation can be covariantized under the\nfull infinite dimensional Galilean Conformal Algebra (GCA), such that it\nreduces to the usual Navier-Stokes equation in an inertial frame. The\ncovariantization is possible only for incompressible flows, i.e when the\ndivergence of the velocity field vanishes. Using the continuity equation, we\ncan fix the transformation of pressure and density under GCA uniquely. We also\nfind that when all chemical potentials vanish, $c_{s}$, which denotes the speed\nof sound in an inertial frame comoving with the flow, must either be a\nfundamental constant or given in terms of microscopic parameters. We will\ndiscuss how both could be possible. In absence of chemical potentials, we also\nfind that the covariance under GCA implies that either the viscosity should\nvanish or the microscopic theory should have a length scale or a time scale or\nboth. We further find that the higher derivative corrections to the\nNavier-Stokes equation, can be covariantized, only if they are restricted to\ncertain possible combinations in the inertial frame. We explicitly evaluate all\npossible three derivative corrections. Finally, we argue that our analysis\nhints that the parent relativistic theory with relativistic conformal symmetry\nneeds to be deformed before the contraction is taken to produce a sensible GCA\ninvariant dynamical limit.",
        "positive": "Heat kernels and zeta-function regularization for the mass of the\n  supersymmetric kink: We apply zeta-function regularization to the kink and susy kink and compute\nits quantum mass. We fix ambiguities by the renormalization condition that the\nquantum mass vanishes as one lets the mass gap tend to infinity while keeping\nscattering data fixed. As an alternative we write the regulated sum over zero\npoint energies in terms of the heat kernel and apply standard heat kernel\nsubtractions. Finally we discuss to what extent these procedures are equivalent\nto the usual renormalization conditions that tadpoles vanish."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A remark on gauge invariance in wavelet-based quantum field theory: Wavelet transform has been attracting attention as a tool for regularization\nof gauge theories since the first paper of (Federbush, Progr. Theor. Phys. 94,\n1135, 1995), where the integral representation of the fields by means of the\nwavelet transform was suggested: $$A_{\\mu}(x) = \\frac{1}{C_\\psi} \\int_{\\R_+\n\\times\\R^d} \\frac{1}{a^d} g \\left(\\frac{x-b}{a} \\right) A_{\\mu a}(b)\n\\frac{dad^db}{a},$$ with $A_{\\mu a}(b)$ being understood as the fields $A_\\mu$\nmeasured at point $b\\in \\R^d$ with resolution $a\\in\\R_+$. In present paper we\nconsider a wavelet-based theory of gauge fields, provide a counterpart of the\ngauge transform for the scale-dependent fields: $A_{\\mu a}(x)\\to A_{\\mu\na}(x)+\\d_\\mu f_a(x)$, and derive the Ward-Takahashi identities for them.",
        "positive": "Modular Hamiltonians for Deformed Half-Spaces and the Averaged Null\n  Energy Condition: We study modular Hamiltonians corresponding to the vacuum state for deformed\nhalf-spaces in relativistic quantum field theories on $\\mathbb{R}^{1,d-1}$. We\nshow that in addition to the usual boost generator, there is a contribution to\nthe modular Hamiltonian at first order in the shape deformation, proportional\nto the integral of the null components of the stress tensor along the Rindler\nhorizon. We use this fact along with monotonicity of relative entropy to prove\nthe averaged null energy condition in Minkowski space-time. This subsequently\ngives a new proof of the Hofman-Maldacena bounds on the parameters appearing in\nCFT three-point functions. Our main technical advance involves adapting newly\ndeveloped perturbative methods for calculating entanglement entropy to the\nproblem at hand. These methods were recently used to prove certain results on\nthe shape dependence of entanglement in CFTs and here we generalize these\nresults to excited states and real time dynamics. We also discuss the AdS/CFT\ncounterpart of this result, making connection with the recently proposed\ngravitational dual for modular Hamiltonians in holographic theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Deformed supersymmetric quantum mechanics with spin variables: We quantize the one-particle model of the ${\\rm SU}(2|1)$ supersymmetric\nmulti-particle mechanics with the additional semi-dynamical spin degrees of\nfreedom. We find the relevant energy spectrum and the full set of physical\nstates as functions of the mass-dimension deformation parameter $m$ and ${\\rm\nSU}(2)$ spin $q \\in \\big( \\mathbb{Z}_{>0}\\,$, $1/2 + \\mathbb{Z}_{\\geqslant\n0}\\big)\\,$. It is found that the states at the fixed energy level form\nirreducible multiplets of the supergroup ${\\rm SU}(2|1)\\,$. Also, the hidden\nsuperconformal symmetry ${\\rm OSp}(4|2)$ of the model is revealed in the\nclassical and quantum cases. We calculate the ${\\rm OSp}(4|2)$ Casimir\noperators and demonstrate that the full set of the physical states belonging to\ndifferent energy levels at fixed $q$ are unified into an irreducible ${\\rm\nOSp}(4|2)$ multiplet.",
        "positive": "Radiation Reaction and the Electromagnetic Energy-Momentum of Moving\n  Relativistic Charged Membranes: The charged membrane of Dirac provides a stable electron model with finite\nself energy. Its total mass $m$ has been previously calculated from the\nHamiltonian of the membrane. To complete the picture we evaluate it here on the\nbasis of the energy-momentum of its self field (radiation reaction) and obtain\nthe same result showing the consistency of the model. We show explicitly that\nthe old 4/3-problem does not arise. The electron's stability (the vanishing of\ntotal ${T^{\\mu \\nu}}_{, \\nu}$) is due to surface tension $\\kappa$ of the\nmembrane, but the model is as simple as the point particle, with two parameters\n$\\kappa$ and $e$; the surface tension parameter $\\kappa$ can be expressed in\nterms of the mass $m$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gravitational waves in warped compactifications: We study gravitational waves propagating on a warped Minkowski space-time\nwith D-4 compact extra dimensions. While Kaluza-Klein scales are typically too\nhigh for any current detection, we analyse how the warp factor changes the\nKaluza-Klein spectrum of gravitational waves. To that end we provide a complete\nand explicit expression for the warp factor, as well as the Green's function,\non a d-dimensional torus. This expression differs from that of braneworld\nmodels and should find further uses in string compactifications. We then\nevaluate the Kaluza-Klein spectrum of gravitational waves. Our preliminary\nnumerical results indicate not only a deviation from the standard toroidal\nspectrum, but also that the first masses get lowered due to the warp factor.",
        "positive": "Low energy Quantum Gravity from the Effective Average Action: Within the effective average action approach to quantum gravity, we recover\nthe low energy effective action as derived in the effective field theory\nframework, by studying the flow of possibly non-local form factors that appear\nin the curvature expansion of the effective average action. We restrict to the\none-loop flow where progress can be made with the aid of the non-local heat\nkernel expansion. We discuss the possible physical implications of the scale\ndependent low energy effective action through the analysis of the quantum\ncorrections to the Newtonian potential."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Generalized quantum Vlasov equation for particle creation and unitary\n  dynamics: The loss of time-translational invariance caused by a time-dependent external\nagent leads to particle creation effects in quantum field theory. This\nphenomenon results in ambiguities when selecting the quantum vacuum of the\ncanonical quantization. In this work we analyze how the time evolution of the\nnumber of created particles depends on these ambiguities when external agents\nare spatially homogeneous. In particular, we generalize the standard quantum\nVlasov equation in order to accommodate in its formulation the possibility of\nhaving different choices of vacuum, including adiabatic vacua. This study leads\nus to propose a new physical criterion stronger than the unitary implementation\nof the dynamics in order to reduce the quantization ambiguities.",
        "positive": "Radiative corrections and Lorentz violation: Radiative corrections in Lorentz violating (LV) models have already received\na lot of attention in the literature in recent years, with many instances where\na LV operator in one sector of the Standard Model Extension (SME) generates,\nvia loop corrections, one of the LV coefficients in the photon sector, which is\nprobably the most understood and well constrained part of the SME. In many of\nthese works, however, the now standard notation of the SME is not used, which\ncan obscure the comparison of different results, and their possible\nphenomenological relevance. In this work, we fill this gap, trying to build up\na more general perspective on the topic, bringing many of the results to the\nSME conventional notation and commenting on their possible phenomenological\nrelevance. We uncover one example where a result already presented in the\nliterature can be used to place a stronger bound on the temporal component of\nthe b_{\\mu} coefficient of the fermion sector of the SME."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Metastable Vacua and Complex Deformations: We use the non-normalizable complex deformations to describe the stringy\nrealizations of the metastable vacua in N = 1, SU(N_c) SUSY theories with N_f >\nN_c massive fundamental flavors. The consideration of the non-normalizable\ndeformations requires a modified Toric duality. The new approach considers the\ntachyon condensation between pairs of wrapped D5 branes and anti D5 branes and\nthe resulting mixing between some cycles in the geometry. We enlarge the class\nof metastable vacua to the case of branes-antibranes wrapped on cycles of\ndeformed A_n singularities.",
        "positive": "Superbranes, D=11 CJS supergravity and enlarged superspace\n  coordinates/fields correspondence: We discuss the r\\^ole of enlarged superspaces in two seemingly different\ncontexts, the structure of the $p$-brane actions and that of the\nCremmer-Julia-Scherk eleven-dimensional supergravity. Both provide examples of\na common principle: the existence of an {\\it enlarged superspaces\ncoordinates/fields correspondence} by which all the (worldvolume or spacetime)\nfields of the theory are associated to coordinates of enlarged superspaces. In\nthe context of $p$-branes, enlarged superspaces may be used to construct\nmanifestly supersymmetry-invariant Wess-Zumino terms and as a way of expressing\nthe Born-Infeld worldvolume fields of D-branes and the worldvolume M5-brane\ntwo-form in terms of fields associated to the coordinates of these enlarged\nsuperspaces. This is tantamount to saying that the Born-Infeld fields have a\nsuperspace origin, as do the other worldvolume fields, and that they have a\ncomposite structure. In $D$=11 supergravity theory enlarged superspaces arise\nwhen its underlying gauge structure is investigated and, as a result, the\ncomposite nature of the $A_3$ field is revealed: there is a full one-parametric\nfamily of enlarged superspace groups that solve the problem of expressing $A_3$\nin terms of spacetime fields associated to their coordinates. The corresponding\nenlarged supersymmetry algebras turn out to be deformations of an {\\it\nexpansion} of the $osp(1|32)$ algebra. The unifying mathematical structure\nunderlying all these facts is the cohomology of the supersymmetry algebras\ninvolved."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Numerical renormalization group-based approach to secular perturbation\n  theory: Perturbation theory is a crucial tool for many physical systems, when exact\nsolutions are not available, or nonperturbative numerical solutions are\nintractable. Naive perturbation theory often fails on long timescales, leading\nto secularly growing solutions. These divergences have been treated with a\nvariety of techniques, including the powerful dynamical renormalization group\n(DRG). Most of the existing DRG approaches rely on having analytic solutions up\nto some order in perturbation theory. However, sometimes the equations can only\nbe solved numerically. We reformulate the DRG in the language of differential\ngeometry, which allows us to apply it to numerical solutions of the background\nand perturbation equations. This formulation also enables us to use the DRG in\nsystems with background parameter flows, and therefore, extend our results to\nany order in perturbation theory. As an example, we apply this method to\ncalculate the soliton-like solutions of the Korteweg-de Vries equation deformed\nby adding a small damping term. We numerically construct DRG solutions which\nare valid on secular time scales, long after naive perturbation theory has\nbroken down.",
        "positive": "Bootstrap for Lattice Yang-Mills theory: We study the $SU(\\infty)$ lattice Yang-Mills theory at the dimensions\n$D=2,3,4$ via the numerical bootstrap method. It combines the Makeenko-Migdal\nloop equations, with a cut-off $L_{\\mathrm{max}}$ on the maximal length of\nloops, and positivity conditions on certain matrices of Wilson loops. Our\nalgorithm is inspired by the pioneering paper of P.Anderson and M.Kruczenski\nbut it is significantly more efficient, as it takes into account the symmetries\nof the lattice theory and uses the relaxation procedure in line with our\nprevious work on matrix bootstrap. We thus obtain rigorous upper and lower\nbounds on the plaquette average at various couplings and dimensions. For $D=4$,\nthe lower bound data appear to be close to the MC data in the strong coupling\nphase and the upper bound data in the weak coupling phase reproduce well the\n3-loop perturbation theory. Our results suggest that this bootstrap approach\ncan provide a tangible alternative to the, so far uncontested, Monte Carlo\napproach."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Effective String Theory Simplified: In this set of notes we simplify the formulation of the Poincare'-invariant\neffective string theory in D dimensions by adding an intrinsic metric and\nembedding its dynamics into the Polyakov formalism. We use this formalism to\nconstruct operators order by order in the inverse physical length of the\nstring, in a fully gauge-invariant framework. We use this construction to\ndiscuss universality and nonuniversality of observables up to and including\nnext-to-next-to-leading order in the long string expansion.",
        "positive": "Translations between Quaternion and Complex Quantum Mechanics: While in general there is no one-to-one correspondence between complex and\nquaternion quantum mechanics (QQM), there exists at least one version of QQM in\nwhich a {\\em partial} set of {\\em translations} may be made. We define these\ntranslations and use the rules to obtain rapid quaternion counterparts (some of\nwhich are new) of standard quantum mechanical results."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Massive Interacting Yang-Mills Multiplets Nine and Five Dimensions: We present interacting massive N=1 vector multiplet (VM) in nine dimensions\n(9D). Due to the identically-vanishing mass-term m(\\Bar\\lambda \\lambda ) \\equiv\n0 for (symplectic) pseudo-Majorana gaugino in 9D, we employ unconventional\ntechnique to give masses to fermions. In 9D, we consider the gauge group G for\nthe VM (A_\\mu{}^I, \\lambda^I , \\varphi^I) (I = 1, 2, \\cdots, dim G), where G is\nthe Yang-Mills gauge group, and the gaugino \\lambda^I is a pseudo-Majorana\nspinor. We break G by shifting the scalar \\varphi^I, so that the gaugino\n\\lambda^I as well as its super-partner gauge boson A_\\mu{}^I will get the same\nmass. The scalar \\varphi^I plays the role of a Nambu-Goldstone boson absorbed\ninto the longitudinal components of A_\\mu{}^I$, making the latter massive as a\nsuper-Proca-Stueckelberg mechanism. We also show that a similar method can be\nalso applied to N=2 VMs in 5D.",
        "positive": "Vector models and generalized SYK models: We consider the relation between SYK-like models and vector models by\nstudying a toy model where a tensor field is coupled with a vector field. By\nintegrating out the tensor field, the toy model reduces to the Gross-Neveu\nmodel in 1 dimension. On the other hand, a certain perturbation can be turned\non and the toy model flows to an SYK-like model at low energy. A\nchaotic-nonchaotic phase transition occurs as the sign of the perturbation is\naltered. We further study similar models that possess chaos and enhanced\nreparameterization symmetries."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Weyl transformations and trace anomalies in N=1, D=4 supergravities: We identify the supersymmetric extension of Weyl transformations in various\ntypes of supergravities, the minimal, nonminimal and new minimal N=1 SUGRA in\n4D, formulated in terms of superfields. Based also on previous results we\nconclude that there are only two types of trace anomalies in nonminimal and new\nminimal supergravities, which correspond to the two nontrivial cocycles of the\nminimal supergravity and, when reduced to component form, to the well-known\nsquared Weyl density and Euler density. There are nevertheless in new minimal\nsupergravity other nontrivial cocycles which, however, are mapped to zero in\nthe minimal supergravity.",
        "positive": "Derivative corrections to the Heisenberg-Euler effective action: We show that the leading derivative corrections to the Heisenberg-Euler\neffective action can be determined efficiently from the vacuum polarization\ntensor evaluated in a homogeneous constant background field. After deriving the\nexplicit parameter-integral representation for the leading derivative\ncorrections in generic electromagnetic fields at one loop, we specialize to the\ncases of magnetic- and electric-like field configurations characterized by the\nvanishing of one of the secular invariants of the electromagnetic field. In\nthese cases, closed-form results and the associated all-orders weak- and\nstrong-field expansions can be worked out. One immediate application is the\nleading derivative correction to the renowned Schwinger-formula describing the\ndecay of the quantum vacuum via electron-positron pair production in\nslowly-varying electric fields."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Nonlinear QED and Physical Lorentz Invariance: The spontaneous breakdown of 4-dimensional Lorentz invariance in the\nframework of QED with the nonlinear vector potential constraint\nA_{\\mu}^{2}=M^{2}(where M is a proposed scale of the Lorentz violation) is\nshown to manifest itself only as some noncovariant gauge choice in the\notherwise gauge invariant (and Lorentz invariant) electromagnetic theory. All\nthe contributions to the photon-photon, photon-fermion and fermion-fermion\ninteractions violating the physical Lorentz invariance happen to be exactly\ncancelled with each other in the manner observed by Nambu a long ago for the\nsimplest tree-order diagrams - the fact which we extend now to the one-loop\napproximation and for both the time-like (M^{2}>0) and space-like (M^{2}<0)\nLorentz violation. The way how to reach the physical breaking of the Lorentz\ninvariance in the pure QED case taken in the flat Minkowskian space-time is\nalso discussed in some detail.",
        "positive": "Bosonic D-branes at finite temperature with an external field: Bosonic boundary states at finite temperature are constructed as solutions of\nboundary conditions at $T\\neq 0$ for bosonic open strings with a constant gauge\nfield $F_{ab}$ coupled to the boundary. The construction is done in the\nframework of thermo field dynamics where a thermal Bogoliubov transformation\nmaps states and operators to finite temperature. Boundary states are given in\nterms of states from the direct product space between the Fock space of the\nclosed string and another identical copy of it. By analogy with zero\ntemperature, the boundary states heve the interpretation of $Dp$-brane at\nfinite temperature. The boundary conditions admit two different solutions. The\nentropy of the closed string in a $Dp$-brane state is computed and analysed. It\nis interpreted as the entropy of the $Dp$-brane at finite temperature."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Analogues of Discrete Torsion for the M-Theory Three-Form: In this article we shall outline a derivation of the analogue of discrete\ntorsion for the M-theory three-form potential. We find that some of the\ndifferences between orbifold group actions on the C field are classified by\nH^3(G, U(1)). We also compute the phases that the low-energy effective action\nof a membrane on T^3 would see in the analogue of a twisted sector, and note\nthat they are invariant under the obvious SL(3,Z) action.",
        "positive": "Manifestly supersymmetric M-theory: In this paper, the low-energy effective dynamics of M-theory,\neleven-dimensional supergravity, is taken off-shell in a manifestly\nsupersymmetric formulation. We show that a previously proposed relaxation of\nthe superspace torsion constraints does indeed accommodate a current\nsupermultiplet which lifts the equations of motion corresponding to the\nordinary second order derivative supergravity lagrangian. Whether the auxiliary\nfields obtained this way can be used to construct an off-shell lagrangian is\nnot yet known. We comment on the relation and application of this completely\ngeneral formalism to higher-derivative (R^4) corrections. Some details of the\ncalculation are saved for a later publication."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "New probe of modified gravity: We suggest a new efficient way to constrain a certain class of large scale\nmodifications of gravity. We show that the scale-free relation between density\nand size of Dark Matter halos, predicted within the LambdaCDM model with\nNewtonian gravity, gets modified in a wide class of theories of modified\ngravity.",
        "positive": "Emissivities for the various Graviton Modes in the Background of the\n  Higher-Dimensional Black Hole: The Hawking emissivities for the scalar-, vector-, and tensor-mode bulk\ngravitons are computed in the full range of the graviton's energy by adopting\nthe analytic continuation numerically when the spacetime background is\n$(4+n)$-dimensional non-rotating black hole. The total emissivity for the\ngravitons is only 5.16% of that for the spin-0 field when there is no extra\ndimension. However, this ratio factor increases rapidly when the extra\ndimensions exist. For example, this factor becomes 147.7%, 595.2% and 3496%\nwhen the number of extra dimensions is 1, 2 and 6, respectively. This fact\nindicates that the Hawking radiation for the graviton modes becomes more and\nmore significant and dominant with increasing the number of extra dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Deformation Quantization of sdiff($\u03a3_{2}$) SDYM Equation: Deformation quantization (the Moyal deformation) of SDYM equation for the\nalgebra of the area preserving diffeomorphisms of a 2-surface $\\Sigma_{2}$,\nsdiff($\\Sigma_{2}$), is studied. Deformed equation we call the master equation\n(ME) as it can be reduced to many integrable nonlinear equations in\nmathematical physics. Two sets of concerved charges for ME are found. Then the\nlinear systems for ME (the Lax pairs) associated with the conserved charges are\ngiven. We obtain the dressing operators and the infinite algebra of hidden\nsymmetries of ME. Twistor construction is also done.",
        "positive": "Natural beauty of the standard model -A derivation of the electro-weak\n  unified and quantum-gravity theory without assuming a Higgs particle-: We study the asymptotic behavior of a singular potential, and discuss the\nself-consistency condition for the spherical symmetric Klein-Gordon equation.\nIn our view, gravity and the weak force are subsidiary, derived from\nelectricity. Particularly, $SU(2)_L\\times U(1)$ unification is derived from the\n$L^2$ normalizability condition, without assuming a phase transition. A\npossible origin of the Higgs mechanism is proposed. Each particle pair of the\nstandard model is associated with the corresponding asymptotic expansion of an\neigen function.\n  Next we consider the meaning of internal and external degrees of freedom for\na 2 body problem, and find a complex U(1) phase of spins, which can not reduce\nto the local motion of an external observer. These degrees of freedom are\ninherent to the Poincar\\'{e} group, and can be expressed in terms of asymmetric\nspinor representations. We try to derive all gauge fields via this\nnonintegrable complex U(1) phase. As a spin-off, supersymmetry is regarded as a\nkind of Mach's principle for spinning frames-or the Ptolemaic (geocentric)\ntheory to confuse a rotating frame with an inertial frame.\n  Furthermore, we review classical experimental backgrounds for general\nrelativity, and discuss possible solutions for paradoxes in quantum gravity.\n  Taking angular momentums into account to improve above discussions, we can\nexplain the smallness of neutrino mass without assuming the see-saw mechanism.\nA natural geometric interpretation of the quark flavor mixing angle is added in\nthe Conclusion."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "BPS States and Vacuum Manifold of SU_q(n) Georgi-Glashow Model: We construct the Georgi-Glashow Lagrangian for gauge group SU_q(n). Breaking\nthis symmetry spontaneously gives q-dependent masses of gauge field and vacuum\nmanifold. It turned out that the vacuum manifold is parameterized by the\nnon-commutative quantities. We showed that the monopole solutions exist in this\nmodel, which is indicated by the presence of the BPS states.",
        "positive": "Quantum hydrodynamics of spinning particles in electromagnetic and\n  torsion fields: We develop a many-particle quantum-hydrodynamical model of fermion matter\ninteracting with the external classical electromagnetic and\ngravitational/inertial and torsion fields. The consistent hydrodynamical\nformulation is constructed for the many-particle quantum system of Dirac\nfermions on the basis of the nonrelativistic Pauli-like equation obtained via\nthe Foldy-Wouthuysen transformation. With the help of the Madelung\ndecomposition approach, the explicit relations between the microscopic and\nmacroscopic fluid variables are derived. The closed system of equations of\nquantum hydrodynamics encompasses the continuity equation, and the dynamical\nequations of the momentum balance and the spin density evolution. The possible\nexperimental manifestations of the torsion in the dynamics of spin waves is\ndiscussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Unstable States for Closed String with Massive Point: The stability problem for the hypocycloidal rotational states of the closed\nrelativistic string with a point-like mass is solved with the help of analysis\nof small disturbances of these states. Both analytical and numerical\ninvestigations showed an unexpected result: the mentioned states turned out to\nbe unstable. This conclusion is based upon the presence of roots with positive\nimaginary parts (increments) in the spectrum of frequencies of small\ndisturbances. But these increments were small enough, so this instability had\nnot been detected in previous numerical experiments. For the linear rotational\nstates (the particular case of hypocycloidal states) the stability was\nconfirmed. These results are important for applications of this model in hadron\nspectroscopy.",
        "positive": "Nonrelativistic Yang-Mills Theory for a Naturally Light Higgs Boson: We continue the study of the nonrelativistic short-distance completions of a\nnaturally light Higgs, focusing on the interplay between the gauge symmetries\nand the polynomial shift symmetries. We investigate the naturalness of\nnonrelativistic scalar quantum electrodynamics with a dynamical critical\nexponent $z=3$ by computing leading power law divergences to the scalar\npropagator in this theory. We find that power law divergences exhibit a more\nrefined structure in theories that lack boost symmetries. Finally, in this toy\nmodel, we show that it is possible to preserve a fairly large hierarchy between\nthe scalar mass and the high energy naturalness scale across 7 orders of\nmagnitude, while accommodating a gauge coupling of order 0.1."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Quantization of Anomalous Gauge Field Theory and BRST-invariant\n  Models of Two Dimensional Quantum Gravity: We analyze the problems with the so called gauge invariant quantization of\nthe anomalous gauge field theories originary due to Faddeev and Shatashvili\n(FS). Our analysis bring to a generalization of FS method which allows to\nconstruct a series of classically equivalent theories which are non equivalent\nat quantum level. We prove that these classical theories are all consistent\nwith the BRST invariance of the original gauge symmetry with suitably augmented\nfield content. As an example of such a scenario, we discuss the class of\nphysically distinct models of two dimensional induced gravity which are a\ngeneralization of the David-Distler-Kawai model.",
        "positive": "Collective and relative variables for a classical Klein-Gordon field: In this paper a set of canonical collective variables is defined for a\nclassical Klein-Gordon field and the problem of the definition of a set of\ncanonical relative variables is discussed. This last point is approached by\nmeans of a harmonic analysis is momentum space. This analysis shows that the\nrelative variables can be defined if certain conditions are fulfilled by the\nfield configurations. These conditions are expressed by the vanishing of a set\nof conserved quantities, referred to as supertranslations since as canonical\nobservables they generate a set of canonical transformations whose algebra is\nthe same as that which arises in the study of the asymptotic behaviour of the\nmetric of an isolated system in General Relativity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Unravelling the On-shell Constraints of Self-dual Supergravity Theories: We review a construction, using the harmonic space method, of solutions to\nthe superfield equations of motion for N-extended self-dual supergravity\ntheories. A superspace gauge condition suitable for the performance of a\ncomponent analysis is discussed.",
        "positive": "What is the Simplest Quantum Field Theory?: Conventional wisdom says that the simpler the Lagrangian of a theory the\nsimpler its perturbation theory, but an increased understanding of the\nstructure of the S-matrix in gauge theories and gravity has been pointing to\nthe opposite conclusion. In this paper we suggest that N=8 SUGRA has the\nsimplest interacting S-matrix in 4D. Using Grassmann coherent states for\nexternal particles shows that amplitudes with maximal SUSY are smooth objects,\nwith the action of SUSY manifest. We show that all tree amplitudes in N=4 SYM\nand N=8 SUGRA vanish at (supersymmetric) infinite complex momentum, and can\nthus be determined by recursion relations. We also identify the action of the\nnon-linearly realized E_{7(7)} symmetry of N=8 SUGRA on scattering amplitudes.\nWe give a simple discussion of the structure of 1-loop amplitudes in any QFT,\nin close parallel to recent work of Forde, showing that the coefficients of\nscalar \"triangle\" and \"bubble\" integrals are determined by the \"pole at\ninfinite momentum\" of tree amplitude products appearing in cuts. The on-shell\nsuperspace for maximal SUSY makes it easy to compute the multiplet sums that\narise in these cuts, leading to a simple proof of the absence of triangles and\nbubbles at 1-loop. We also argue that rational terms are absent. This\nestablishes the recent conjecture that 1-loop amplitudes in N=8 SUGRA have only\nscalar box integrals, just as N=4 SYM. It is natural to conjecture that with\nmaximal SUSY, amplitudes are completely determined by their leading\nsingularities even beyond tree- and 1-loop level; this would directly imply the\nperturbative finiteness of N=8 SUGRA. The remarkable properties of scattering\namplitudes call for an explanation in terms of a \"weak-weak\" dual formulation\nof QFT, a holographic dual of flat space."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Monodromy transform and the integral equation method for solving the\n  string gravity and supergravity equations in four and higher dimensions: The monodromy transform and corresponding integral equation method described\nhere give rise to a general systematic approach for solving integrable\nreductions of field equations for gravity coupled bosonic dynamics in string\ngravity and supergravity in four and higher dimensions. For different types of\nfields in space-times of $D\\ge 4$ dimensions with $d=D-2$ commuting isometries\n-- stationary fields with spatial symmetries, interacting waves or partially\ninhomogeneous cosmological models, the string gravity equations govern the\ndynamics of interacting gravitational, dilaton, antisymmetric tensor and any\nnumber $n\\ge 0$ of Abelian vector gauge fields (all depending only on two\ncoordinates). The equivalent spectral problem constructed earlier allows to\nparameterize the infinite-dimensional space of local solutions of these\nequations by two pairs of \\cal{arbitrary} coordinate-independent holomorphic\n$d\\times d$- and $d\\times n$- matrix functions ${\\mathbf{u}_\\pm(w),\n\\mathbf{v}_\\pm(w)}$ of a spectral parameter $w$ which constitute a complete set\nof monodromy data for normalized fundamental solution of this spectral problem.\nThe \"direct\" and \"inverse\" problems of such monodromy transform --- calculating\nthe monodromy data for any local solution and constructing the field\nconfigurations for any chosen monodromy data always admit unique solutions. We\nconstruct the linear singular integral equations which solve the inverse\nproblem. For any \\emph{rational} and \\emph{analytically matched} (i.e.\n$\\mathbf{u}_+(w)\\equiv\\mathbf{u}_-(w)$ and\n$\\mathbf{v}_+(w)\\equiv\\mathbf{v}_-(w)$) monodromy data the solution for string\ngravity equations can be found explicitly. Simple reductions of the space of\nmonodromy data leads to the similar constructions for solving of other\nintegrable symmetry reduced gravity models, e.g. 5D minimal supergravity or\nvacuum gravity in $D\\ge 4$ dimensions.",
        "positive": "Renormalization Group Flow for Noncommutative Fermi Liquids: Some recent studies of the AdS/CFT correspondence for condensed matter\nsystems involve the Fermi liquid theory as a boundary field theory. Adding\nB-flux to the boundary D-branes leads in a certain limit to the noncommutative\nFermi liquid, which calls for a field theory description of its critical\nbehavior. As a preliminary step to more general consideration, the modification\nof the Landau's Fermi liquid theory due to noncommutativity of spatial\ncoordinates is studied in this paper. We carry out the renormalization of\ninteractions at tree level and one loop in a weakly coupled fermion system in\ntwo spatial dimensions. Channels ZS, ZS' and BCS are discussed in detail. It is\nshown that while the Gaussian fixed point remains unchanged, the BCS\ninstability is modified due to the space non-commutativity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "BRST-BV Quantum Actions for Constrained Totally-Symmetric Integer HS\n  Fields: A constrained BRST-BV Lagrangian formulation for totally symmetric massless\nHS fields in a $d$-dimensional Minkowski space is extended to a non-minimal\nconstrained BRST-BV Lagrangian formulation by using a non-minimal BRST operator\n$Q_{c|\\mathrm{tot}}$ with non-minimal Hamiltonian BFV oscillators\n$\\overline{C}, \\overline{\\mathcal{P}}, \\lambda, \\pi$, as well as antighost and\nNakanishi-Lautrup tensor fields, in order to introduce an admissible\nself-consistent gauge condition. The gauge-fixing procedure involves an\noperator gauge-fixing BRST-BFV Fermion $\\Psi_H$ as a kernel of the gauge-fixing\nBRST-BV Fermion functional $\\Psi$, manifesting the concept of BFV-BV duality. A\nFock-space quantum action with non-minimal BRST-extended off-shell constraints\nis constructed as a shift of the total generalized field-antifield vector by a\nvariational derivative of the gauge-fixing Fermion $\\Psi$ in a total BRST-BV\naction $S^{\\Psi}_{0|s} = \\int d \\eta_0 \\langle \\chi^{\\Psi{} 0}_{\\mathrm{tot}|c}\n\\big| Q_{c|\\mathrm{tot}}\\big| \\chi^{\\Psi{} 0}_{\\mathrm{tot}|c}\\rangle$. We use\na gauge condition which depends on two gauge parameters, thereby extending the\ncase of $R_\\xi$-gauges. For triplet and duplet formulations we explored the\nrepresentations with only traceless field-antifield and source variables. For\nthe generating functionals of Green's functions, BRST symmetry transformations\nare suggested and Ward identities are obtained.",
        "positive": "Finite Theories and Marginal Operators on the Brane: We show how to use D and NS fivebranes in Type IIB superstring theory to\nconstruct large classes of finite N=1 supersymmetric four dimensional field\ntheories. In this construction, the beta functions of the theories are directly\nrelated to the bending of branes; in finite theories the branes are not bent,\nand vice versa. Many of these theories have multiple dimensionless couplings. A\ngroup of duality transformations acts on the space of dimensionless couplings;\nfor a large subclass of models, this group always includes an overall\n$SL(2,\\ZZ)$ invariance. In addition, we find even larger classes of theories\nwhich, although not finite, also have one or more marginal operators."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Families of N=2 field theories: This is the first article in the collection of reviews \"Exact results on N=2\nsupersymmetric gauge theories\", ed. J. Teschner. It describes how large\nfamilies of field theories with N=2 supersymmetry can be described by means of\nLagrangian formulations, or by compactification from the six-dimensional theory\nwith (2,0) supersymmetry on spaces of the form $M^4 \\times C$, with C being a\nRiemann surface. The class of theories that can be obtained in this way is\ncalled class $\\cal S$. This description allows us to relate key aspects of the\nfour-dimensional physics of class $\\cal S$ theories to geometric structures on\nC.",
        "positive": "Covariant Color-Kinematics Duality: We show that color-kinematics duality is a manifest property of the equations\nof motion governing currents and field strengths. For the nonlinear sigma model\n(NLSM), this insight enables an implementation of the double copy at the level\nof fields, as well as an explicit construction of the kinematic algebra and\nassociated kinematic current. As a byproduct, we also derive new formulations\nof the special Galileon (SG) and Born-Infeld (BI) theory.\n  For Yang-Mills (YM) theory, this same approach reveals a novel structure --\ncovariant color-kinematics duality -- whose only difference from the\nconventional duality is that $1/\\Box$ is replaced with covariant $1/D^2$.\nRemarkably, this structure implies that YM theory is itself the covariant\ndouble copy of gauged biadjoint scalar (GBAS) theory and an $F^3$ theory of\nfield strengths encoding a corresponding kinematic algebra and current.\nDirectly applying the double copy to equations of motion, we derive general\nrelativity (GR) from the product of Einstein-YM and $F^3$ theory. This exercise\nreveals a trivial variant of the classical double copy that recasts any\nsolution of GR as a solution of YM theory in a curved background.\n  Covariant color-kinematics duality also implies a new decomposition of\ntree-level amplitudes in YM theory into those of GBAS theory. Using this\nrepresentation we derive a closed-form, analytic expression for all BCJ\nnumerators in YM theory and the NLSM for any number of particles in any\nspacetime dimension. By virtue of the double copy, this constitutes an explicit\nformula for all tree-level scattering amplitudes in YM, GR, NLSM, SG, and BI."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Conformal Symmetry on World Volumes of Branes: We show how the anti-de Sitter isometries of a brane solution of supergravity\ntheory produce superconformal invariance of their world-volume action. In this\nway linear as well as non-linear superconformal actions are obtained in various\ndimensions. Two particular examples are a conformal action with the\nantisymmetric tensor in 6 dimensions in Pasti-Sorokin-Tonin formulation, and\nsuperconformal mechanics.",
        "positive": "Functional renormalization group of the non-linear sigma model and the\n  O(N) universality class: We study the renormalization group flow of the O(N) non-linear sigma model in\narbitrary dimensions. The effective action of the model is truncated to fourth\norder in the derivative expansion and the flow is obtained by combining the\nnon-perturbative renormalization group and the background field method. We\ninvestigate the flow in three dimensions and analyze the phase structure for\narbitrary N. The corresponding results about the critical properties of the\nmodels will serve as a reference for upcoming simulations with the Monte-Carlo\nrenormalization group."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On SUSY Restoration in Single-Superfield Inflationary Models of\n  Supergravity: We study the conditions of restoring supersymmetry (SUSY) after inflation in\nthe supergravity-based cosmological models with a single chiral superfield and\na quartic stabilization term in the K\\\"ahler potential. Some new, explicit, and\nviable inflationary models satisfying those conditions are found. The\ninflaton's scalar superpartner is dynamically stabilized during and after\ninflation. We also demonstrate a possibility of having small and adjustable\nSUSY breaking with a tiny cosmological constant.",
        "positive": "A note on the admissibility of complex BTZ metrics: We perform a nontrivial check of Witten's recently proposed admissibility\ncriterion for complex metrics. We consider the `quasi-Euclidean' metrics\nobtained from continuing the BTZ class of metrics to imaginary time. Of special\ninterest are the overspinning metrics, which are smooth in this\nthree-dimensional context. Their inclusion as saddle points in the\ngravitational path integral would lead to puzzling results in conflict with\nthose obtained using other methods. It is therefore encouraging that the\nadmissibility criterion discards them. For completeness, we perform an analysis\nof smoothness and admissibility for the family of quasi-Euclidean BTZ metrics\nat all values of the mass and angular momentum."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Vacuum Stability of the $\\mathcal{PT}$-Symmetric $\\left(\n  -\u03c6^{4}\\right) $ Scalar Field Theory: In this work, we study the vacuum stability of the classical unstable $\\left(\n-\\phi^{4}\\right) $ scalar field potential. Regarding this, we obtained the\neffective potential, up to second order in the coupling, for the theory in\n$1+1$ and $2+1$ space-time dimensions. We found that the obtained effective\npotential is bounded from below, which proves the vacuum stability of the\ntheory in space-time dimensions higher than the previously studied $0+1$ case.\nIn our calculations, we used the canonical quantization regime in which one\ndeals with operators rather than classical functions used in the path integral\nformulation. Therefore, the non-Hermiticity of the effective field theory is\nobvious. Moreover, the method we employ implements the canonical equal-time\ncommutation relations and the Heisenberg picture for the operators. Thus, the\nmetric operator is implemented in the calculations of the transition\namplitudes. Accordingly, the method avoids the very complicated calculations\nneeded in other methods for the metric operator. To test the accuracy of our\nresults, we obtained the exponential behavior of the vacuum condensate for\nsmall coupling values, which has been obtained in the literature using other\nmethods. We assert that this work is interesting, as all the studies in the\nliterature advocate the stability of the $\\left( -\\phi^{4}\\right) $ theory at\nthe quantum mechanical level while our work extends the argument to the level\nof field quantization.",
        "positive": "Roaming form factors for the tricritical to critical Ising flow: We study the massless flows described by the staircase model introduced by\nAl.B. Zamolodchikov through the analytic continuation of the sinh-Gordon\nS-matrix, focusing on the renormalisation group flow from the tricritical to\nthe critical Ising model. We show that the properly defined roaming limits of\ncertain sinh-Gordon form factors are identical to the form factors of the order\nand disorder operators for the massless flow. As a by-product, we also\nconstruct form factors for a semi-local field in the sinh-Gordon model, which\ncan be associated with the twist field in the ultraviolet limiting free\nmassless bosonic theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Restoring Reality for the Self-Dual N=2 String: It is known that the critical N=(2,2) string describes 2+2 dimensional\nself-dual gravity in a non-covariant form, since it requires the choice of a\ncomplex structure in the target, which leaves only U(1,1) Lorentz symmetry. We\nbriefly review picture-changing and spectral flow and show that the world-sheet\nMaxwell instantons individually break the Lorentz group further to SU(1,1).\nHowever, their contributions conspire to restore full SO(2,2) global symmetry\nif dilaton and axion fields are assembled in a null anti-self-dual two-form,\ndenying them the status of Lorentz scalars. We present the fully SO(2,2)\ninvariant tree-level three-point amplitude and the corresponding extension of\nthe Plebanski action for self-dual gravity.",
        "positive": "Timelike BKL singularities and chaos in AdS/CFT: We study the nature of a family of curvature singularities which are\nprecisely the timelike cousins of the spacelike singularities studied by\nBelinski, Khalatnikov, and Lifshitz (BKL). We show that the approach to the\nsingularity can be modeled by a billiard ball problem on hyperbolic space, just\nas in the case of BKL. For pure gravity, generic chaotic behavior is retained\nin (3+1) dimensions, and we provide evidence that it disappears in higher\ndimensions. We speculate that such singularities, if occurring in AdS/CFT and\nof the chaotic variety, may be interpreted as (transient) chaotic\nrenormalization group flows which exhibit features reminiscent of chaotic\nduality cascades."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Standard Model and 4-groups: We show that a categorical generalization of the the Poincar\\'e symmetry\nwhich is based on the n-crossed modules becomes natural and simple when n=3 and\nthat the corresponding 3-form and 4-form gauge fields have to be a Dirac spinor\nand a Lorentz scalar, respectively. Hence by using a Poincar\\'e 4-group we\nnaturally incorporate fermionic and scalar matter into the corresponding\n4-connection. The internal symmetries can be included into the 4-group\nstructure by using a 3-crossed module based on the $SL(2,\\mathbb{C}) \\times K$\ngroup, so that for $K=U(1)\\times SU(2) \\times SU(3)$ we can include the\nStandard Model into this categorification scheme.",
        "positive": "Differential dispersion relations with an arbitrary number of\n  subtractions: a recursive approach: Making use of a recursive approach, derivative dispersion relations are\ngeneralized for an arbitrary number of subtractions. The results for both cross\neven and odd amplitudes are theoretically consistent at sufficiently high\nenergies and in the region of small momentum transfer."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Superconformal Index of Class S Theories of Type D: We consider the superconformal index of class S theories of type D, which\narise by compactification of the (2,0) D_n theories on a punctured Riemann\nsurface C. We also allow for the presence of twist lines on C associated to the\nZ_2 outer automorphism of D_n. For a two-parameter slice (p=0, q, t) in the\nspace of superconformal fugacities, we determine the 2d TQFT that computes the\nindex.",
        "positive": "On Brane-Antibrane Forces: In this note, we will discuss two aspects of brane-antibrane forces. In one\naspect, we generalize the force calculation of D0-${\\bar {\\rm D}}$0 of Banks\nand Susskind to Dp-${\\bar {\\rm D}}p$ for $1\\le p \\leq 8$. In particular, we\nfind that the force is also divergent for p = 1 while for the other cases ($p\n\\ge 2$) the forces are in general finite when $Z \\to 0^+$, where $Z =\n\\frac{Y^2}{2\\pi^2\\alpha'} - 1$ with Y, the brane-antibrane separation. However,\nthe forces are divergent for all cases when Z < 0, signalling the occurrence of\nopen string tachyon condensation in this regime. The other deals with the\npuzzling static nature of the supergravity brane-antibrane configurations. We\nwill show that the force on a brane probe due to a brane-antibrane background\nvanishes when the probe is placed at the location of the coincident\nbrane-antibranes, thereby providing a direct evidence for the existence of\ngeneral static brane-antibrane configuration in the supergravity approximation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The CNM-Hypermultiplet Nexus: We consider additional properties of CNM (chiral-nonminimal) models. We show\nhow 4D, N = 2 nonlinear sigma-models can be described solely in terms of N = 1\nsuperfield CNM doublets. These actions are described by a Kahler potential\ntogether with an infinite number (in the general case) of terms involving its\nsuccessively higher derivatives. We briefly discuss how N = 2 supersymmetric\nextension of the previously proposed N = 1 CNM low-energy QCD effective action\ncan be achieved",
        "positive": "Information versus stability in an anti-de Sitter black hole: Information entropies associated with the energy density in position and\nmomentum spaces are build for an anti-de Sitter (AdS) black hole. These\nquantities, that satisfy an entropic uncertainty relation, vary with the\ntemperature. The higher is the black hole temperature, the greater/smaller is\nthe information encoded respectively in the position/momentum distributions of\nenergy. On the other hand, as it is well know, AdS black holes are subject to\nthe Hawking Page phase transition. The amplitude for dominance of the black\nhole phase over the thermal AdS phase increases with the temperature. So, as\nthe system becomes more stable, there is a change in the way that information\nis stored. In particular: information stored in the spatial energy density\nincreases while information stored in the energy density in momentum space\ndecreases."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Constraints on the interacting holographic dark energy model: We examined the interacting holographic dark energy model in a universe with\nspatial curvature. Using the near-flatness condition and requiring that the\nuniverse is experiencing an accelerated expansion, we have constrained the\nparameter space of the model and found that the model can accommodate a\ntransition of the dark energy from $\\omega_D>-1$ to $\\omega_D<-1$.",
        "positive": "Gauge Invariant Regularization in the AdS/CFT Correspondence and Ghost\n  D-branes: A field theoretic understanding of how the radial direction in the AdS/CFT\nCorrespondence plays the role of a gauge invariant measure of energy scale has\nlong been missing. In SU(N) Yang-Mills, a realization of a gauge invariant\ncutoff has been achieved by embedding the theory in spontaneously broken\nSU(N|N) gauge theory. With the recent discovery of ghost D-branes an AdS/CFT\nCorrespondence version of this scheme is now possible. We show that a very\nsimple construction precisely ties the two pictures together providing a\nconcrete understanding of the radial RG flow on the field theory side."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hofstadter Butterfly Diagram in Noncommutative Space: We study an energy spectrum of electron moving under the constant magnetic\nfield in two dimensional noncommutative space. It take place with the gauge\ninvariant way. The Hofstadter butterfly diagram of the noncommutative space is\ncalculated in terms of the lattice model which is derived by the Bopp's shift\nfor space and by the Peierls substitution for external magnetic field. We also\nfind the fractal structure in new diagram. Although the global features of the\nnew diagram are similar to the diagram of the commutative space, the detail\nstructure is different from it.",
        "positive": "Recrudescence of massive fermion production by oscillons: In this letter we bring together the physics of preheating, following a\nperiod of inflation, and the dynamics of non-topological solitons, namely\noscillons. We show that the oscillating condensate that makes up an oscillon\ncan be an efficient engine for producing heavy fermions, just as a homogeneous\ncondensate is known for doing the same. This then allows heavy fermions to be\nproduced when the energy scale of the Universe has dropped below the scale\nnaturally associated to the fermions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Heisenberg spin chain as a worldsheet coordinate for lightcone quantized\n  string: Although the energy spectrum of the Heisenberg spin chain on a circle defined\nby $H=\\frac{1}{4}\\sum_{k=1}^M(\\sigma_k^x\\sigma_{k+1}^x+\\sigma_k^y\\sigma_{k+1}^y\n+\\Delta\\sigma_k^z\\sigma_{k+1}^z)$ is well known for any fixed $M$, the boundary\nconditions vary according to whether $M\\in 4\\mathbb{N}+r$, where $r=-1,0,1,2$,\nand also according to the parity of the number of overturned spins in the\nstate, In string theory all these cases must be allowed because interactions\ninvolve a string with $M$ spins breaking into strings with $M_1<M$ and $M-M_1$\nspins (or vice versa). We organize the energy spectrum and degeneracies of $H$\nin the case $\\Delta=0$ where the system is equivalent to a system of free\nfermions. In spite of the multiplicity of special cases, in the limit\n$M\\to\\infty$ the spectrum is that of a free compactified worldsheet field. Such\na field can be interpreted as a compact transverse string coordinate\n$x(\\sigma)\\equiv x(\\sigma)+R_0$. We construct the bosonization formulas\nexplicitly in all separate cases, and for each sector give the Virasoro\nconformal generators in both fermionic and bosonic formulations. Furthermore\nfrom calculations in the literature for selected classes of excited states,\nthere is strong evidence that the only change for $\\Delta\\neq0$ is a change in\nthe compactification radius $R_0\\to R_\\Delta$. As $\\Delta\\to-1$ this radius\ngoes to infinity, giving a concrete example of noncompact space emerging from a\ndiscrete dynamical system. Finally we apply our work to construct the three\nstring vertex implied by a string whose bosonic coordinates emerge from this\nmechanism.",
        "positive": "Thermodynamic geometry and phase transition of spinning AdS black holes: Employing the thermodynamic geometry approach, we explore phase transition of\nfour dimensional spinning black holes in an anti-de Sitter (AdS) spaces and\nfound the following novel results. (i) Contrary to the charged AdS black hole,\nthermodynamic curvature of the spinning AdS black hole diverges at the critical\npoint, without needing normalization.(ii) There is a certain region with small\nentropy in the space of parameters for which the thermodynamic curvature is\npositive and the repulsive interaction dominates. Such behavior exists even\nwhen the pressure is extremely large. (iii) The dominant interactions in the\nmicrostructure of extremal spinning AdS black holes are strongly repulsive,\nwhich is similar to an ideal gas of fermions at zero temperature. (iv) The\nmaximum of thermodynamic curvature, $ \\left\\vert R\\right\\vert $, is equal to\n$C_{{}_{P}}$ maximum values for the Van der Waals fluid in the supercritical\nregion. While for the black hole, they are close to each other near the\ncritical point."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Entanglement entropy across a deformed sphere: I study the entanglement entropy (EE) across a deformed sphere in conformal\nfield theories (CFTs). I show that the sphere (locally) minimizes the universal\nterm in EE among all shapes. In arXiv:1407.7249 it was derived that the sphere\nis a local extremum, by showing that the contribution linear in the deformation\nparameter is absent. In this paper I demonstrate that the quadratic\ncontribution is positive and is controlled by the coefficient of the stress\ntensor two point function, $C_T$. Such a minimization result contextualizes the\nfruitful relation between the EE of a sphere and the number of degrees of\nfreedom in field theory. I work with CFTs with gravitational duals, where all\nhigher curvature couplings are turned on. These couplings parametrize conformal\nstructures in stress tensor $n$-point functions, hence I show the result for\ninfinitely many CFT examples.",
        "positive": "Nonminimal Maxwell-Chern-Simons-O(3)-sigma vortices: asymmetric\n  potential case: In this work we study a nonlinear gauged O(3)-sigma model with both minimal\nand nonminimal coupling in the covariant derivative. Using an asymmetric scalar\npotential, the model is found to exhibit both topological and non-topological\nsoliton solutions in the Bogomol'nyi limit."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Derived Category Structure and Non-linear Potential of Gauged S-Duality: Based on the modeling of type IIB string theory vacua using gauged S-duality\nand the Chan-Paton symmetries by introducing an infinite number of open string\ncharges (affinization), we derive the derived category formulation of the\nquantum mechanical world including gravity. This leads to the concept of a\nnon-linear potential of gauged and affinized S-duality which specifies the\nmorphism structure of this derived category.",
        "positive": "On the Supersymmetry of Non-BPS D-brane: In this paper we extend the boundary string field theory action for a non-BPS\nD-brane to the one including the target space fermions and the nonlinear\nsupersymmetry with 32 supercharges up to some order. This is based on the idea\nthat the vacuum with a non-BPS D-brane belongs to the spontaneously broken\nphase of the supersymmetry. As a result, we find that the action is almost\nuniquely determined up to the field redefinition ambiguities."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Invariant star-products on S^2 and the canonical trace: In the literature there are two different ways of describing an invariant\nstar product on $S^2$. We show that the products are actually the same. We also\ncalculate the canonical trace and use the Fedosov-Nest-Tsygan index theorem to\nobtain the characteristic class of this product.",
        "positive": "Massive Triadic Chern-Simons Spin-3 Theory: We introduce the massive gauge invariant, second order pure spin-3 theory in\nthree dimensions. It consists of the addition of the second order gauge\ninvariant massless pure spin-3 action with the first order\ntopological(generalized) Chern-Simons spin-3 term corrected with lower spin\nauxiliary actions which avoid lower spin ghosts propagation. This second order\nintermediate action completes the catalogue of massive spin-3 actions having\ntopological structure. We also consider its spontaneous break down through the\naddition of the inertial spin-3 nontopological Fierz-Pauli mass term. It is\nshown that this non gauge invariant pure spin-3 system is the uniform\ngeneralization of linearized massive vector Chern-Simons gravity and propagates\njust two spin $3^{\\pm}$ excitations having different masses."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Area Spectrum of Extremal Reissner-Nordstr\u00f6m Black Holes from\n  Quasi-normal Modes: Using the quasi-normal modes frequency of extremal Reissner-Nordstr\\\"om black\nholes, we obtain area spectrum for these type of black holes. We show that the\narea and entropy black hole horizon are equally spaced. Our results for the\nspacing of the area spectrum differ from that of schwarzschild black holes.",
        "positive": "Time-dependent cosmological constant in the Jackiw-Teitelboim cosmology: We study the obtainment of a time-dependent cosmological constant at D=2 in a\nmodel based on the Jackiw-Teitelboim cosmology. We show that the cosmological\nterm goes to zero asymptotically and can induce a nonsingular behavior at the\norigin."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "D-branes in group manifolds: In this paper we re-examine the geometric interpretation of gluing conditions\nin WZW models and the possible D-brane configurations that they give rise to.\nWe show how the boundary conditions are encoded in the gluing conditions\nimposed on the chiral currents. We analyse two special classes of gluing\nconditions: the first, which preserves the affine symmetry of the bulk theory,\ndescribes D-branes whose worldvolumes are given by `twisted' conjugacy classes;\nthe second class describes configurations which include subgroups and cosets.",
        "positive": "A fresh view of cosmological models describing very early Universe:\n  general solution of the dynamical equations: The dynamics of any spherical cosmology with a scalar field (`scalaron')\ncoupling to gravity is described by the nonlinear second-order differential\nequations for two metric functions and the scalaron depending on the `time'\nparameter. The equations depend on the scalaron potential and on the arbitrary\ngauge function that describes time parameterizations. This dynamical system can\nbe integrated for flat, isotropic models with very special potentials. But,\nsomewhat unexpectedly, replacing the `time' variable by one of the metric\nfunctions allows us to completely integrate the general spherical theory in any\ngauge and with apparently arbitrary potentials. The main restrictions on the\npotential arise from positivity of the derived analytic expressions for the\nsolutions, which are essentially the squared canonical momenta. An interesting\nconsequence is emerging of classically forbidden regions for these analytic\nsolutions. It is also shown that in this rather general model the inflationary\nsolutions can be identified, explicitly derived, and compared to the standard\napproximate expressions. This approach can be applied to intrinsically\nanisotropic models with a massive vector field (`vecton') as well as to some\nnon-inflationary models."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Formulation of Galilean relativistic Born-Infeld theory: In this paper, we formulate, for the first time, in a systematic manner,\nGalilean relativistic Born-Infeld action in detail. Exploiting maps connecting\nLorentz relativistic and Galilean relativistic vectors, we construct the two\nlimits (electric and magnetic) of Galilean relativistic Born-Infeld action from\nusual relativistic Born-Infeld theory. An action formalism is thereby derived.\nFrom this action, equations of motion are obtained either in the potential or\nfield formulation. Galilean version of duality transformations involving the\nelectric and magnetic fields are defined. They map the electric limit relations\nto the magnetic ones and vice-versa, exactly as happens for Galilean\nrelativistic Maxwell theory. We also explicitly show the Galilean boost and\ngauge invariances of the theory in both limits.",
        "positive": "One-loop bosonic string and De Sitter space: We calculate the bosonic string one-loop three- and four-point amplitudes to\nquadradic order in momentum, and we read off the one-loop low-energy\ntwo-derivative effective action for the massless fields, $S_{eff}$. Treating\nthe renormalized one-loop vacuum energy as a tunable parameter and\nextrapolating to a supercritical dimension $D > 26$, one can reach a regime\nwhere the one-loop couplings in Seff are of the same order as the tree-level\nones while all higher-loop corrections are negligible. Moreover the effective\nspacetime curvature is small in string units. We show that the effective action\nthus obtained admits weakly-curved de Sitter solutions with constant dilaton at\nsmall string coupling."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Role of the brane curvature scalar in the brane world cosmology: We include the brane curvature scalar to study its cosmological implication\nin the brane world cosmology. This term is usually introduced to obtain the\nwell-defined stress-energy tensor on the boundary of anti de\nSitter-Schwarzschild space. Here we treat this as the perturbed term for\ncosmological purpose. We find corrections to the well-known equation of the\nbrane cosmology. It contains new interesting terms which may play the important\nrole in the brane cosmology.",
        "positive": "One-loop Photon's Effective Action in the Noncommutative Scalar\n  QED$_{3}$: In this paper, we consider the evaluation of the effective action for photons\ncoupled to charged scalar fields in the framework of a $(2+1)$-dimensional\nnoncommutative spacetime. In order to determine the noncommutative Maxwell\nLagrangian density, we follow a perturbative approach, by integrating out the\ncharged scalar fields, to compute the respective graphs for the vev's\n$\\left\\langle AA \\right\\rangle$, $\\left\\langle AAA \\right\\rangle$ and\n$\\left\\langle AAAA \\right\\rangle$. Surprisingly, it is shown that these\ncontributions are planar and that, in the highly noncommutative limit,\ncorrespond to the Maxwell effective action and its higher-derivative\ncorrections. It is explicitly verified that the one-loop effective action is\ngauge invariant, as well as under discrete symmetries: parity, time reversal\nand charge conjugation. Moreover, a comparison of the main results with the\nnoncommutative QED$_{3}$ is established. In particular, the main difference is\nthe absence of parity violating terms in the photon's effective action coming\nfrom integrating out the charged scalar fields."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Multi-spin systems on a randomly triangulated surface: We consider a class of spin systems on randomly triangulated surfaces as\ndiscrete approximations to conformal matter fields coupled to 2d gravity. On\nthe basis of certain universality assumptions we argue that at critical points\nwith diverging string susceptibility the model either exhibits mean field\nbehaviour or it can effectively be described by a conformal matter system with\ncentral charge less than or equal to 1 coupled to 2d gravity. As a particular\nconsequence we conclude in the unitary case that the string susceptibility\nexponent is limited to possible values of the form 1/n, n=2,3,4,..., where n=2\ncorresponds to mean field behaviour.",
        "positive": "Cosmological Implications of a Lorentz Invariance Violating O(2) Model: We derive the free energy of a Lorentz invariance violating (LIV) O(2) model,\nfor which a non-vanishing commutator among it's momenta is supposed. Then we\ninvestigate the possible implications of such a matter field on the time\nevolution of a flat FRW universe at low and high temperatures."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Geometric Inflation: We argue that the presence of an inflationary epoch is a natural, almost\nunavoidable, consequence of the existence of a sensible effective action\ninvolving an infinite tower of higher-curvature corrections to the\nEinstein-Hilbert action. No additional fields besides the metric are required.\nWe show that a family of such corrections giving rise to a well-posed\ncosmological evolution exists and automatically replaces the\nradiation-dominated early-universe Big Bang by a singularity-free period of\nexponential growth of the scale factor, which is gracefully connected with\nstandard late-time $\\Lambda$CDM cosmology. The class of higher-curvature\ntheories giving rise to sensible cosmological evolution share additional\nremarkable properties such as the existence of Schwarzschild-like non-hairy\nblack holes, or the fact that, just like for Einstein gravity, the only degrees\nof freedom propagated on the vacuum are those of the standard graviton.",
        "positive": "Rotating black holes at future colliders II: Anisotropic scalar field\n  emission: This is the sequel to the first paper of the series, where we have discussed\nthe Hawking radiation from five-dimensional rotating black holes for spin 0,\n1/2 and 1 brane fields in the low frequency regime. We consider the emission of\na brane localized scalar field from rotating black holes in general space-time\ndimensions without relying on the low frequency expansions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A New Model for Elliptic Fibrations with a Rank One Mordell-Weil Group:\n  I. Singular Fibers and Semi-Stable Degenerations: We introduce a new model for elliptic fibrations endowed with a Mordell-Weil\ngroup of rank one. We call it a Q$_7(\\mathscr{L},\\mathscr{S})$ model.\n  It naturally generalizes several previous models of elliptic fibrations\npopular in the F-theory literature. The model is also explicitly smooth, thus\nrelevant physical quantities can be computed in terms of topological invariants\nin straight manner. Since the general fiber is defined by a cubic curve, basic\narithmetic operations on the curve can be done using the chord-tangent group\nlaw. We will use this model to determine the spectrum of singular fibers of an\nelliptic fibration of rank one and compute a generating function for its Euler\ncharacteristic. With a view toward string theory, we determine a semi-stable\ndegeneration which is understood as a weak coupling limit in F-theory. We show\nthat it satisfies a non-trivial topological relation at the level of\nhomological Chern classes. This relation ensures that the D3 charge in F-theory\nis the same as the one in the weak coupling limit.",
        "positive": "Meta-Stable Brane Configurations with Five NS5-Branes: From an N=1 supersymmetric electric gauge theory with the gauge group SU(N_c)\nx SU(N_c') with fundamentals for each gauge group, the bifundamentals and a\nsymmetric flavor and a conjugate symmetric flavor for SU(N_c), we apply Seiberg\ndual to each gauge group independently and obtain two N=1 supersymmetric dual\nmagnetic gauge theories with dual matters including the gauge singlets. By\nanalyzing the F-term equations of the dual magnetic superpotentials, we\ndescribe the intersecting brane configurations of type IIA string theory\ncorresponding to the meta-stable nonsupersymmetric vacua of these gauge\ntheories. The case where the above symmetric flavor is replaced by an\nantisymmetric flavor is also discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Twisted spectral geometry for the standard model: The Higgs field is a connection one-form as the other bosonic fields,\nprovided one describes space no more as a manifold M but as a slightly\nnon-commutative generalization of it. This is well encoded within the theory of\nspectral triples: all the bosonic fields of the standard model - including the\nHiggs - are obtained on the same footing, as fluctuations of a generalized\nDirac operator by a matrix-value algebra of functions on M. In the commutative\ncase, fluctuations of the usual free Dirac operator by the complex-value\nalgebra A of smooth functions on M vanish, and so do not generate any bosonic\nfield. We show that imposing a twist in the sense of Connes-Moscovici forces to\ndouble the algebra A, but does not require to modify the space of spinors on\nwhich it acts. This opens the way to twisted fluctuations of the free Dirac\noperator, that yield a perturbation of the spin connection. Applied to the\nstandard model, a similar twist yields in addition the extra scalar field\nneeded to stabilize the electroweak vacuum, and to make the computation of the\nHiggs mass in noncommutative geometry compatible with its experimental value.",
        "positive": "de Sitter State in Heterotic String Theory: Recent no-go theorems have ruled out four-dimensional classical de Sitter\nvacua in heterotic string theory. On the other hand, the absence of a\nwell-defined Wilsonian effective action and other related phenomena also appear\nto rule out such time-dependent vacua with de Sitter isometries, even in the\npresence of quantum corrections. In this note, we argue that a four-dimensional\nde Sitter space can still exist in SO(32) heterotic string theory as a\nGlauber-Sudarshan state, i.e. as a coherent state, over a supersymmetric\nMinkowski background, albeit within a finite temporal domain. Borel resummation\nand resurgence play a crucial role in constructing such a state in the Hilbert\nspace of heterotic theory governed entirely by the IR degrees of freedom."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Lorentzian Snyder spacetimes and their Galilei and Carroll limits from\n  projective geometry: We show that the Lorentzian Snyder models, together with their Galilei and\nCarroll limiting cases, can be rigorously constructed through the projective\ngeometry description of Lorentzian, Galilean and Carrollian spaces with\nnonvanishing constant curvature. The projective coordinates of such curved\nspaces take the role of momenta, while translation generators over the same\nspaces are identified with noncommutative spacetime coordinates. In this way,\none obtains a deformed phase space algebra, which fully characterizes the\nSnyder model and is invariant under boosts and rotations of the relevant\nkinematical symmetries. While the momentum space of the Lorentzian Snyder\nmodels is given by certain projective coordinates on (Anti-)de Sitter spaces,\nwe discover that the momentum space of the Galilean (Carrollian) Snyder models\nis given by certain projective coordinates on curved Carroll (Newton--Hooke)\nspaces. This exchange between the Galilei and Carroll limits emerging in the\ntransition from the geometric picture to the phase space picture is traced back\nto an interchange of the role of coordinates and translation operators. As a\nphysically relevant feature, we find that in Galilean Snyder spacetimes the\ntime coordinate does not commute with space coordinates, in contrast with\nprevious proposals for non-relativistic Snyder models, which assume that time\nand space decouple in the non-relativistic limit $c\\to \\infty$. This remnant\nmixing between space and time in the non-relativistic limit is a quite general\nPlanck-scale effect found in several quantum spacetime models.",
        "positive": "Illustrated study of the semi-holographic non-perturbative framework: Semi-holography has been proposed as an effective nonperturbative framework\nwhich can combine perturbative and nonperturbative effects consistently for\ntheories like QCD. It is postulated that the strongly coupled nonperturbative\nsector has a holographic dual in the form of a classical gravity theory in the\nlarge N limit, and the perturbative fields determine the gravitational boundary\nconditions. In this work, we pursue a fundamental derivation of this framework\nparticularly showing how perturbative physics by itself can determine the\nholographic dual of the infrared, and also the interactions between the\nperturbative and the holographic sectors. We firstly demonstrate that the\ninteractions between the two sectors can be constrained through the existence\nof a conserved local energy-momentum tensor for the full system up to hard-soft\ncoupling constants. As an illustration, we set up a bi-holographic toy theory\nwhere both the UV and IR sectors are strongly coupled and holographic with\ndistinct classical gravity duals. In this construction, the requirement that an\nappropriate gluing can cure the singularities (geodetic incompletenesses) of\nthe respective geometries leads us to determine the parameters of the IR theory\nand the hard-soft couplings in terms of those of the UV theory. The high energy\nscale behaviour of the hard-soft couplings is state-independent but their\nrunnings turn out to be state-dependent. We discuss how our approach can be\nadapted to the construction of the semi-holographic framework for QCD."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantization of 2-Plectic Manifolds: We describe an extension of the axioms of quantization to the case of\n2-plectic manifolds. We show how such quantum spaces can be obtained as stable\nclassical solutions in a zero-dimensional 3-algebra reduced model obtained by\ndimensional reduction of the Bagger-Lambert-Gustavsson theory. We demonstrate\nthat the groupoid approach to geometric quantization proposed by Hawkins and\nothers can be useful for quantizing 2-plectic manifolds. We discuss our results\nin the context of recent developments in the quantum geometry of M-branes, and\nin the nonassociative deformation of spacetime induced by closed strings in the\npresence of a 2-plectic form.",
        "positive": "Scalar-graviton interaction in the noncommutative space: We obtain the leading order interaction between the graviton and the neutral\nscalar boson in the context of noncommutative field theory. Our approach makes\nuse of the Ward identity associated with the invariance under a subgroup of\nsymplectic diffeomorphisms."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Black holes in string theory with duality twists: We consider 5D supersymmetric black holes in string theory compactifications\nthat partially break supersymmetry. We compactify type IIB on $T^4$ and then\nfurther compactify on a circle with a duality twist to give Minkowski vacua\npreserving partial supersymmetry ($\\mathcal{N}=6,4,2,0$) in five dimensions.\nThe effective supergravity theory is given by a Scherk-Schwarz reduction with a\nScherk-Schwarz supergravity potential on the moduli space, and the lift of this\nto string theory imposes a quantization condition on the mass parameters. In\nthis theory, we study black holes with three charges that descend from various\nten-dimensional brane configurations. For each black hole we choose the duality\ntwist to be a transformation that preserves the solution, so that it remains a\nsupersymmetric solution of the twisted theory with partially broken\nsupersymmetry. We discuss the quantum corrections arising from the twist to the\npure gauge and mixed gauge-gravitational Chern-Simons terms in the action and\nthe resulting corrections to the black hole entropy.",
        "positive": "The gravity duals of N=2 superconformal field theories: We study the gauge/gravity duality for theories with four dimensional ${\\cal\nN}=2$ supersymmetries. We consider the large class of generalized quiver field\ntheories constructed recently by one of us (D.G.). These field theories can\nalso be viewed as the IR limit of M5 branes wrapping a Riemann surface with\npunctures. We give a prescription for constructing the corresponding geometries\nand we discuss a few special cases in detail. There is a precise match for\nvarious quantities between the field theory and the M-theory description."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Gravity with Matter via Group Field Theory: A generalization of the matrix model idea to quantum gravity in three and\nhigher dimensions is known as group field theory (GFT). In this paper we study\ngeneralized GFT models that can be used to describe 3D quantum gravity coupled\nto point particles. The generalization considered is that of replacing the\ngroup leading to pure quantum gravity by the twisted product of the group with\nits dual --the so-called Drinfeld double of the group. The Drinfeld double is a\nquantum group in that it is an algebra that is both non-commutative and\nnon-cocommutative, and special care is needed to define group field theory for\nit. We show how this is done, and study the resulting GFT models. Of special\ninterest is a new topological model that is the ``Ponzano-Regge'' model for the\nDrinfeld double. However, as we show, this model does not describe point\nparticles. Motivated by the GFT considerations, we consider a more general\nclass of models that are defined using not GFT, but the so-called chain mail\ntechniques. A general model of this class does not produce 3-manifold\ninvariants, but has an interpretation in terms of point particle Feynman\ndiagrams.",
        "positive": "On higher spin partition functions: We observe that the partition function of the set of all free massless higher\nspins s=0,1,2,3,... in flat space is equal to one: the ghost determinants\ncancel against the \"physical\" ones or, equivalently, the (regularized) total\nnumber of degrees of freedom vanishes. This reflects large underlying gauge\nsymmetry and suggests analogy with supersymmetric or topological theory. The\nZ=1 property extends also to the AdS background, i.e. the 1-loop vacuum\npartition function of Vasiliev theory is equal to 1 (assuming a particular\nregularization of the sum over spins); this was noticed earlier as a\nconsistency requirement for the vectorial AdS/CFT duality. We find that Z=1 is\nalso true in the conformal higher spin theory (with higher-derivative d^{2s}\nkinetic terms) expanded near flat or conformally flat S^4 background. We also\nconsider the partition function of free conformal theory of symmetric traceless\nrank s tensor field which has 2-derivative kinetic term but only scalar gauge\ninvariance in flat 4d space. This non-unitary theory has a Weyl-invariant\naction in curved background and corresponds to \"partially massless\" field in\nAdS_5. We discuss in detail the special case of s=2 (or \"conformal graviton\"),\ncompute the corresponding conformal anomaly coefficients and compare them with\npreviously found expressions for generic representations of conformal group in\n4 dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Proof of new S-matrix formula from classical solutions in open string\n  field theory (or, Deriving on-shell open string field amplitudes without\n  using Feynman rules, Part II): We study relation between the gauge invariant quantity obtained in\n[arXiv:1908.09784] and the Feynman diagrams in the dressed $ \\mathcal B_0 $\ngauge in the open cubic string field theory. We derive a set of recurrence\nrelations that hold among the terms of this gauge invariant quantity. By using\nthese relations, we prove that this gauge invariant quantity equals the\n$S$-matrix at the tree level. We also present a proof that a set of new Feynman\nrules proposed in [arXiv:2003.05021 [hep-th]] reproduces the onshell disc\namplitudes correctly by using the same combinatorial identities.",
        "positive": "Off-Shell Quantum Electrodynamics: More than twenty years have passed since the threads of the `proper time\nformalism' in covariant classical and quantum mechanics were brought together\nto construct a canonical formalism for the relativistic mechanics of many\nparticles. Drawing on the work of Fock, Stueckelberg, Nambu, Schwinger, and\nFeynman, the formalism was raised from the status of a purely formal\nmathematical technique to a covariant evolution theory for interacting\nparticles. In the context of this theory, solutions have been found for the\nrelativistic bound state problem, classical and quantum scattering in\nrelativistic potentials, as well as applications in statistical mechanics.\n  It has been shown that a generalization of the Maxwell theory is required in\norder that the electromagnetic interaction be well-posed in the theory. The\nresulting theory of electromagnetism involves a fifth gauge field introduced to\ncompensate for the dependence of the gauge transformation on the invariant time\nparameter; permitting such dependence relaxes the requirement that individual\nparticles be on fixed mass shells and allows exchange of mass during\nscattering. In this paper, we develop the quantum field theory of off-shell\nelectromagnetism, and use it to calculate certain elementary processes,\nincluding Compton scattering and M{\\o}ller scattering. These calculations lead\nto {\\em qualitative} deviations from the usual scattering cross-sections, which\nare, however, small effects, but may be visible at small angles near the\nforward direction. The familiar IR divergence of the M{\\o}ller scattering is,\nmoreover, completely regularized."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Heterotic String in a Constant Magnetic Field: When a charged heterotic string is placed in a constant magnetic field B, we\nshow that this system can be solved exactly by using the cyclotron frequency.\nWe then calculate anomalies of the super Virasoro algebra, and give the\ncorresponding spectrum-generating algebra for this system. They differ from the\nfree case by the cyclotron frequency. It is remarkable that our system is\nequivalent to the completely free system when B takes integral values.",
        "positive": "A Holographic Realization of Ferromagnets: A holographic realization for ferromagnetic systems has been constructed.\nOwing to the holographic dictionary proposed on the basis of this realization,\nwe obtained relevant thermodynamic quantities such as magnetization, magnetic\nsusceptibility, and free energy. This holographic model reproduces the behavior\nof the mean field theory near the critical temperature. At low temperatures,\nthe results automatically incorporate the contributions from spin wave\nexcitations and conduction electrons."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Symplectic Deformations of Integrable Field Theories and AdS/CFT: Relativistic integrable field theories like the sine-Gordon equation have an\ninfinite set of conserved charges. In a light-front formalism these conserved\ncharges are closely related to the integrable modified KdV hierarchy at the\nclassical level. The latter hierarchy admits a family of symplectic structures\nwhich we argue can be viewed as deformations of the relativistic sine-Gordon\nsymplectic structure. These deformed theories are integrable but no longer\nrelativistic and the basic excitations of the theory, the solitons, have an\ninteresting non-relativistic dispersion relation that in a certain limit\nbecomes the dispersion relation of dyonic giant magnons of string theory in the\nAdS/CFT correspondence. We argue that the deformed classical theories can be\nlifted to quantum theories when the sine-Gordon theory is embedded in a larger\ntheory that describes the string world-sheet sigma model in AdS(5)xS(5).",
        "positive": "A graphic approach to identities induced from multi-trace\n  Einstein-Yang-Mills amplitudes: Symmetries of Einstein-Yang-Mills (EYM) amplitudes, together with the\nrecursive expansions, induce nontrivial identities for pure Yang-Mills\namplitudes. In the previous work \\cite{Hou:2018bwm}, we have already proven\nthat the identities induced from tree level single-trace EYM amplitudes can be\nprecisely expanded in terms of BCJ relations. In this paper, we extend the\ndiscussions to those identities induced from all tree level \\emph{multi-trace}\nEYM amplitudes. Particularly, we establish a refined graphic rule for\nmulti-trace EYM amplitudes and then show that the induced identities can be\nfully decomposed in terms of BCJ relations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Fourier transformation of Renormalization Invariant Coupling: Integral transformations of the QCD invariant (running) coupling and of some\nrelated objects are discussed. Special attention is paid to the Fourier\ntransformation, that is to transition from the space-time to the\nenergy--momentum representation.\n  The conclusion is that the condition of possibility of such a transition\nprovides us with one more argument against the real existence of unphysical\nsingularities observed in the perturbative QCD.\n  The second conclusion relates to the way of \"translation\" of some singular\nlong--range asymptotic behaviors to the infrared momentum region. Such a\ntransition has to be performed with the due account of the Tauberian theorem.\nThis comment relates to the recent ALPHA collaboration results on the\nasymptotic behavior of the QCD effective coupling obtained by lattice\nsimulation.",
        "positive": "Unifying attractor and non-attractor models of inflation under a single\n  soft theorem: We study the generation of local non-Gaussianity in models of canonical\nsingle field inflation when their backgrounds are either attractor or\nnon-attractor. We show that the invariance of inflation under space-time\ndiffeomorphisms can be exploited to make powerful statements about the squeezed\nlimit of the primordial bispectrum of curvature perturbations, valid to all\norders in slow roll parameters. In particular, by neglecting departures from\nthe adiabatic evolution of long-wavelength modes (for instance, produced in\nsharp transitions between slow-roll and ultra slow-roll phases), we derive a\ngeneral expression for the bispectrum's squeezed limit in co-moving\ncoordinates. This result consists in the standard Maldacena's consistency\nrelation (proportional to the spectral index of the power spectrum) plus\nadditional terms containing time derivatives of the power spectrum. In\naddition, we show that it is always possible to write the perturbed metric in\nconformal Fermi coordinates, independently of whether the inflationary\nbackground is attractor or non-attractor, allowing the computation of the\nphysical primordial bispectrum's squeezed limit as observed by local inertial\nobservers. We find that in the absence of sudden transitions between attractor\nand non-attractor regimes, observable local non-Gaussianity is generically\nsuppressed. Our results imply that large local non-Gaussianity is not a generic\nconsequence of non-attractor backgrounds."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Soft Matters, or the Recursions with Massive Spinors: We discuss recursion relations for scattering amplitudes with massive\nparticles of any spin. They are derived via a two-parameter shift of momenta,\ncombining a BCFW-type spinor shift with the soft limit of a massless particle\ninvolved in the process. The technical innovation is that spinors corresponding\nto massive momenta are also shifted. Our recursions lead to a reformulation of\nthe soft theorems. The well-known Weinberg's soft factors are recovered and, in\naddition, the subleading factors appear reshaped such that they are directly\napplicable to massive amplitudes in the modern on-shell language. Moreover, we\nobtain new results in the context of non-minimal interactions of massive matter\nwith photons and gravitons. These soft theorems are employed for practical\ncalculations of Compton and higher-point scattering. As a by-product, we\nintroduce a convenient representation of the Compton scattering amplitude for\nany mass and spin.",
        "positive": "The Automorphic Membrane: We present a 1-loop toroidal membrane winding sum reproducing the conjectured\n$M$-theory, four-graviton, eight derivative, $R^4$ amplitude. The $U$-duality\nand toroidal membrane world-volume modular groups appear as a Howe dual pair in\na larger, exceptional, group. A detailed analysis is carried out for $M$-theory\ncompactified on a 3-torus, where the target-space $Sl(3,\\Zint)\\times\nSl(2,\\Zint)$ $U$-duality and $Sl(3,\\Zint)$ world-volume modular groups are\nembedded in $E_{6(6)}(\\Zint)$. Unlike previous semi-classical expansions,\n$U$-duality is built in manifestly and realized at the quantum level thanks to\nFourier invariance of cubic characters. In addition to winding modes, a pair of\nnew discrete, flux-like, quantum numbers are necessary to ensure invariance\nunder the larger group. The action for these modes is of Born-Infeld type,\ninterpolating between standard Polyakov and Nambu-Goto membrane actions. After\nintegration over the membrane moduli, we recover the known $R^4$ amplitude,\nincluding membrane instantons. Divergences are disposed of by trading the\nnon-compact volume integration for a compact integral over the two variables\nconjugate to the fluxes -- a constant term computation in mathematical\nparlance. As byproducts, we suggest that, in line with membrane/fivebrane\nduality, the $E_6$ theta series also describes five-branes wrapped on $T^6$ in\na manifestly U-duality invariant way. In addition we uncover a new action of\n$E_6$ on ten dimensional pure spinors, which may have implications for ten\ndimensional super Yang--Mills theory. An extensive review of $Sl(3)$\nautomorphic forms is included in an Appendix."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Large Nonlinear $W_{\\infty}$ Algebras from Nonlinear Integrable\n  Deformations of Self Dual Gravity: A proposal for constructing a universal nonlinear ${\\hat W}_{\\infty}$ algebra\nis made as the symmetry algebra of a rotational Killing-symmetry reduction of\nthe nonlinear perturbations of Moyal-Integrable deformations of $D=4$ Self Dual\nGravity (IDSDG). This is attained upon the construction of a nonlinear bracket\nbased on nonlinear gauge theories associated with infinite dimensional Lie\nalgebras. A Quantization and supersymmetrization program can also be carried\nout. The relevance to the Kadomtsev-Petviashvili hierarchy, $2D$ dilaton\ngravity, quantum gravity and black hole physics is discussed in the concluding\nremarks.",
        "positive": "Scaling Behavior of Ricci Curvature at Short Distance near Two\n  Dimensions: We study the renormalization of the Ricci curvature as an example of\ngenerally covariant operators in quantum gravity near two dimensions. We find\nthat it scales with a definite scaling dimension at short distance. The Ricci\ncurvature singularity at the big bang can be viewed as such a scaling\nphenomenon. The problem of the spacetime singularity may be resolved by the\nscale invariance of the spacetime at short distance."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A note on E-strings: We study BPS states in type IIA string compactification on a local Calabi-Yau\n3-fold which are related to the BPS states of the E-string. Using\nPicard-Lefshetz transformations of the 3-cycles on the mirror manifold we\ndetermine automorphisms of the K-theory of the compact divisor of the\nCalabi-Yau which maps certain D-brane configurations to a bound state of single\nD4-brane with multiple D0-branes. This map allows us to write down the\ngenerating functions for the multiplicity of these BPS states.",
        "positive": "Strings in compact cosmological spaces: We confront the problem of giving a fundamental definition to perturbative\nstring theory in spacetimes with totally compact space (taken to be a torus for\nsimplicity, though the nature of the problem is very general) and non-compact\ntime. Due to backreaction induced by the presence of even a single string\nquantum, the usual formulation of perturbative string theory in a fixed\nclassical background is infrared-divergent at all subleading orders in the\nstring coupling, and needs to be amended. The problem can be seen as a closed\nstring analogue of D0-brane recoil under an impact by closed strings (a\nsituation displaying extremely similar infrared divergences). Inspired by the\ncollective coordinate treatment of the D0-brane recoil, whereby the\ntranslational modes of the D0-brane are introduced as explicit dynamical\nvariables in the path integral, we construct a similar formalism for the case\nof string-induced gravitational backreaction, in which the spatially uniform\nmodes of the background fields on the compact space are quantized explicitly.\nThe formalism can equally well be seen as an ultraviolet completion of a\nminisuperspace quantum cosmology with string degrees of freedom. We consider\nthe amplitudes for the universe to have two cross-sections with specified\nspatial properties and string contents, and show (at the first non-trivial\norder) that they are finite within our formalism."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Space-time noncommutativity with a bifermionic parameter: We consider a Moyal plane and propose to make the noncommutativity parameter\n\\Theta^{\\mu\\nu} bifermionic, i.e., composed of two fermionic (Grassmann odd)\nparameters. The Moyal product then contains a finite number of derivatives,\nwhich allows to avoid difficulties of the standard approach. As an example, we\nconstruct a two-dimensional noncommutative field theory model based on the\nMoyal product with a bifermionic parameter and show that it has a locally\nconserved energy-momentum tensor. The model has no problems with the canonical\nquantization and appears to be renormalizable.",
        "positive": "Deconstruction hierarchies and locality diagrams of conformal models: The relationship between locality graphs and deconstruction hierarchies of\nconformal models is explained, leading to computationally effective procedures\nfor determining the latter, and the relevant notions are illustrated with\nseveral examples."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Basic Canon in D=4, N=1 Superfield Theory: Five Primer Lectures: The topic of 4D, N = 1 supersymmetry is introduced for the reader with a\nprior background in relativistic quantum field theory. The presentation is\ndesigned to be a useful primer for those who plan to later engage in serious\ninvestigation of the area or as an overview for the generally interested.",
        "positive": "Topological G$_{2}$ and Spin(7) strings at 1-loop from double complexes: We study the topological $G_2$ and $Spin(7)$ strings at 1-loop. We define new\ndouble complexes for supersymmetric NSNS backgrounds of string theory using\ngeneralised geometry. The 1-loop partition function then has a target-space\ninterpretation as a particular alternating product of determinants of\nLaplacians, which we have dubbed the analytic torsion. In the case without flux\nwhere these backgrounds have special holonomy, we reproduce the worldsheet\ncalculation of the $G_2$ string and give a new prediction for the $Spin(7)$\nstring. We also comment on connections with topological strings on Calabi-Yau\nand K3 backgrounds."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A new higher-spin theory of supergravity in 2+1 dimensions: We construct a novel higher-spin theory of gravity in 2+1 spacetime\ndimensions. The construction is based on a higher-spin super-algebra extending\nthe Poincare group. Our algebra accommodates all integer and half-integer spins\nfrom 1 to infinity and, in contrast to the results in the existing literature,\nallows for an infinite number of particles of spin s. Subsequently, we\ngeneralise the construction to include a cosmological constant. In this case,\nthe higher-spin group is an extension of the AdS or dS group and contains only\nbosonic generators. Treating the higher-spin groups as gauge groups we write\ndown the Chern-Simons like action, the transformation laws for the fields of\nthe theory and their equations of motion in each of the three aforementioned\ncases. Finally, we comment on the generalisation of our algebras in $d+1$\ndimensions.",
        "positive": "On the stability of homogeneous black strings in AdS: In this paper we extend the analysis of the stability of an homogeneous black\nstring in the presence of a negative cosmological constant with minimally\ncoupled scalar fields. We recall the linear stability of this solutions under\ngeneric perturbations on the metric and of the scalar fields. Then, we extend\nthe study of the stability by presenting the existence of a non-generic\nperturbation which may lead to an unstable behavior. The later mode is\nfine-tuned since it requires the scalar field degree of freedom to be absent\nthrough the whole evolution of the system."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chiral transport in strong fields from holography: Anomaly-induced transport phenomena in presence of strong external\nelectromagnetic fields are explored within a 4D field theory defined\nholographically as $U(1)_V\\times U(1)_A$ Maxwell-Chern-Simons theory in\nSchwarzschild-$AdS_5$. Two complementary studies are reported. In the first\none, we present results on the Ohmic conductivity, diffusion constant, chiral\nmagnetic conductivity, and additional anomaly-induced transport coefficients as\nfunctions of external e/m fields. Next, gradient resummation in a constant\nbackground magnetic field is performed. All-order resummed constitutive\nrelations are parameterised by four momenta-dependent transport coefficient\nfunctions (TCFs). A highlight of this part is a thorough study of {\\it\nnon-dissipative} chiral magnetic waves (CMW) in strong magnetic fields.",
        "positive": "A Holographic Model for Paramagnetism/antiferromagnetism Phase\n  Transition: In this paper we build a holographic model of\nparamagnetism/antiferromagnetism phase transition, which is realized by\nintroducing two real antisymmetric tensor fields coupling to the background\ngauge field strength and interacting with each other in a dyonic black brane\nbackground. In the case without external magnetic field and in low\ntemperatures, the magnetic moments condense spontaneously in antiparallel\nmanner with the same magnitude and the time reversal symmetry is also broken\nspontaneously (if boundary spatial dimension is more than 2, spatial rotational\nsymmetry is broken spontaneously as well), which leads to an antiferromagnetic\nphase. In the case with weak external magnetic field, the magnetic\nsusceptibility density has a peak at the critical temperature and satisfies the\nCurie-Weiss law in the paramagnetic phase of antiferromagnetism. In the strong\nexternal magnetic field case, there is a critical magnetic field $B_c$ in\nantiferromagnetic phase: when magnetic field reaches $B_c$, the system will\nreturn into the paramagnetic phase by a second order phase transition."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Asymptotic freedom and safety in quantum gravity: We compute non-perturbative flow equations for the couplings of quantum\ngravity in fourth order of a derivative expansion. The gauge invariant\nfunctional flow equation for arbitrary metrics allows us to extract\n$\\beta$-functions for all couplings. In our truncation we find two fixed\npoints. One corresponds to asymptotically free higher derivative gravity, the\nother is an extension of the asymptotically safe fixed point in the\nEinstein-Hilbert truncation or extensions thereof. The infrared limit of the\nflow equations entails only unobservably small modifications of Einstein\ngravity coupled to a scalar field. Quantum gravity can be asymptotically free,\nbased on a flow trajectory from the corresponding ultraviolet fixed point to\nthe infrared region. This flow can also be realized by a scaling solution for\nvarying values of a scalar field. As an alternative possibility, quantum\ngravity can be realized by asymptotic safety at the other fixed point. There\nmay exist a critical trajectory between the two fixed points, starting in the\nextreme ultraviolet from asymptotic freedom. We compute critical exponents and\ndetermine the number of relevant parameters for the two fixed points.\nEvaluating the flow equation for constant scalar fields yields the universal\ngravitational contribution to the effective potential for the scalars.",
        "positive": "Phase Space Description of the Leading Order Quark and Gluon Production\n  from a Space-Time Dependent Chromofield: We derive source terms for the production of quarks and gluons from the QCD\nvacuum in the presence of a space-time dependent external chromofield A_{cl} to\nthe order of S^{(1)}. We found that the source terms for the parton production\nprocesses A_{cl} -> q\\bar{q} and A_{cl},A_{cl}A_{cl} -> gg also include the\nannihilation processes q\\bar{q} -> A_{cl} and gg -> A_{cl},A_{cl}A_{cl}. The\nsource terms we derive are applicable for the description of the production of\npartons with momentum p larger rhan gA which itself must be larger than\n\\Lambda_{QCD}. We observe that these source terms for the production of partons\nfrom a space-time dependent chromofield can be used to study the production and\nequilibration of the quark-gluon plasma during the very early stages of an\nultrarelativistic heavy-ion collision."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-Linear Sigma Model on Conifolds: Explicit solutions to the conifold equations with complex dimension $n=3,4$\nin terms of {\\it{complex coordinates (fields)}} are employed to construct the\nRicci-flat K\\\"{a}hler metrics on these manifolds. The K\\\"{a}hler 2-forms are\nfound to be closed. The complex realization of these conifold metrics are used\nin the construction of 2-dimensional non-linear sigma model with the conifolds\nas target spaces. The action for the sigma model is shown to be bounded from\nbelow. By a suitable choice of the 'integration constants', arising in the\nsolution of Ricci flatness requirement, the metric and the equations of motion\nare found to be {\\it{non-singular}}. As the target space is Ricci flat, the\nperturbative 1-loop counter terms being absent, the model becomes topological.\nThe inherent U(1) fibre over the base of the conifolds is shown to correspond\nto a gauge connection in the sigma model.\n  The same procedure is employed to construct the metric for the resolved\nconifold, in terms of complex coordinates and the action for a non-linear sigma\nmodel with resolved conifold as target space, is found to have a minimum value,\nwhich is topological. The metric is expressed in terms of the six real\ncoordinates and compared with earlier works. The harmonic function, which is\nthe warp factor in Type II-B string theory, is obtained and the ten-dimensional\nwarped metric has the $AdS_{5}\\times X_{5}$ geometry.",
        "positive": "The Moduli Space of Heterotic Line Bundle Models: a Case Study for the\n  Tetra-Quadric: It has recently been realised that polystable, holomorphic sums of line\nbundles over smooth Calabi-Yau three-folds provide a fertile ground for\nheterotic model building. Large numbers of phenomenologically promising such\nmodels have been constructed for various classes of Calabi-Yau manifolds. In\nthis paper we focus on a case study for the tetra-quadric - a Calabi-Yau\nhypersurface embedded in a product of four CP1 spaces. We address the question\nof finiteness of the class of consistent and physically viable line bundle\nmodels constructed on this manifold. Further, for a specific semi-realistic\nexample, we explore the embedding of the line bundle sum into the larger moduli\nspace of non-Abelian bundles, both by means of constructing specific polystable\nnon-Abelian bundles and by turning on VEVs in the associated low-energy theory.\nIn this context, we explore the fate of the Higgs doublets as we move in bundle\nmoduli space. The non-Abelian compactifications thus constructed lead to SU(5)\nGUT models with an additional global B-L symmetry. The non-Abelian\ncompactifications inherit many of the appealing phenomenological features of\nthe Abelian model, such as the absence of dimension four and dimension five\noperators triggering fast proton decay."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "2D $F(R)$ gravity and AdS$_2$/CFT$_1$ correspondence: We studied the canonical structure of 2D $F(R)$ gravity. Its equivalence with\nJackiw-Teitelboim gravity is demonstrated when no matter presents. Then, due to\nAdS$_2$/CFT$_1$ correspondence, such $F(R)$ gravity is equivalent to the\nSachdev-Ye--Kitaev models. The singular $D\\to 2$ limit of $F(R)$ gravity is\nalso studied. It is shown that in such a limit AdS$_2$/CFT$_1$ correspondence\nis not realized.",
        "positive": "An Introduction to T-Duality in String Theory: In these lectures a general introduction to T-duality is given. In the\nabelian case the approaches of Buscher, and Ro\\u{c}ek and Verlinde are\nreviewed. Buscher's prescription for the dilaton transformation is recovered\nfrom a careful definition of the gauge integration measure. It is also shown\nhow duality can be understood as a quite simple canonical transformation. Some\naspects of non-abelian duality are also discussed, in particular what is known\non relation to canonical transformations. Some implications of the existence of\nduality on the cosmological constant and the definition of distance in String\nTheory are also suggested."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic entanglement entropy of the BTZ black hole: We investigate quantum entanglement of gravitational configurations in 3D AdS\ngravity using the AdS/CFT correspondence. We derive explicit formulas for the\nholographic entanglement entropy (EE) of the BTZ black hole, conical\nsingularities and regularized AdS$_{3}$. The leading term in the large\ntemperature expansion of the holographic EE of the BTZ black hole reproduces\nexactly its Bekenstein-Hawking entropy S_BH, whereas the subleading term\nbehaves as ln S_BH. We also show that the leading term of the holographic EE\nfor the BTZ black hole can be obtained from the large temperature expansion of\nthe partition function of a broad class of 2D CFTs on the torus. This result\nindicates that black hole EE is not a fundamental feature of the underlying\ntheory of quantum gravity but emerges when the semiclassical notion of\nspacetime geometry is used to describe the black hole.",
        "positive": "N = 3 Conformal Supergravity in Four Dimensions: In this paper, we derive the action for $N=3$ conformal supergravity in four\nspace-time dimensions. We construct a density formula for $N=3$ conformal\nsupergravity based on the super form action principle. Finally, we embed the\n$N=3$ Weyl multiplet in the density formula to obtain the invariant action for\n$N=3$ conformal supergravity. There are two inequivalent embeddings by changing\na particular coefficient from real to imaginary. They lead to invariant\nactions, which will either be the supersymmetrization of the Weyl square term\nor the Pontryagin density in the eventuality of gauge fixing to Poincar\\'{e}\nsupergravity. As a consistency check of our formalism, we will show that the\nsupersymmetrization of the Pontryagin density is a total derivative. We will\ndemonstrate this for purely bosonic terms. We will also present the complete\naction for the supersymmetrization of the Weyl square term. We also discuss\nconsistent truncation of $N=4$ Weyl multiplet to $N=3$ Weyl multiplet and use\nit for a robust check of our results using the earlier known results in $N=4$\nconformal supergravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Computations on B-model geometric transitions: We study geometric transitions on Calabi- Yau manifolds from the perspective\nof the $B$ model. Looking toward physically motivated predictions, it is shown\nthat the traditional conifold transition is too simple a case to yield\nmeaningful results. The mathematics of a nontrivial example (of Aganagic and\nVafa) is worked out carefully, and the expected equivalence is demonstrated.",
        "positive": "Shape Invariant potentials depending on n parameters transformed by\n  translation: Shape Invariant potentials in the sense of [Gendenshte\\\"{\\i}n L.\\'E., JETP\nLett. 38, (1983) 356] which depend on more than two parameters are not know to\ndate. In [Cooper F., Ginocchio J.N. and Khare A., Phys. Rev. {\\bf 36 D}, (1987)\n2458] was posed the problem of finding a class of Shape Invariant potentials\nwhich depend on n parameters transformed by translation, but it was not solved.\nWe analyze the problem using some properties of the Riccati equation and we\nfind the general solution."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Projective Hoops: Loops in Hyperspace: We (re)derive the propagators and Feynman rules for the massless scalar and\nvector multiplets in N=2 Projective Superspace ('Projective Hyperspace'). With\nthese, we are able to calculate both the divergent and finite parts of 2, 3 &\n4-point functions at 1-loop for N=2 Super-Yang-Mills theory (SYM) explicitly in\nProjective Hyperspace itself. We find that effectively only the coupling\nconstant needs to be renormalized unlike in the N=1 case where an independent\nwavefunction renormalization is also required. This feature is similar to that\nof the background field gauge, even though we are using ordinary Fermi-Feynman\ngauge. The computation of 1-hoop beta-function is then straightforward and\nmatches with the known result. We also show that it receives no 2-hoops\ncontributions. All these calculations provide an alternative proof of the\nfiniteness of N=4 SYM.",
        "positive": "On the Quantizations of the Damped Systems: Based on a simple observation that a classical second order differential\nequation may be decomposed into a set of two first order equations, we\nintroduce a Hamiltonian framework to quantize the damped systems. In\nparticular, we analyze the system of a linear damped harmonic oscillator and\ndemonstrate that the time evolution of the Schr\\\"odinger equation is\nunambiguously determined."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "$1/N$ expansion of circular Wilson loop in $\\mathcal N=2$ superconformal\n  $SU(N)\\times SU(N)$ quiver: Localization approach to $\\mathcal N=2$ superconformal $SU(N) \\times SU(N)$\nquiver theory leads to a non-Gaussian two-matrix model representation for the\nexpectation value of BPS circular $SU(N)$ Wilson loop $\\langle\\mathcal\nW\\rangle$. We study the subleading $1/N^2$ term in the large $N$ expansion of\n$\\langle\\mathcal W\\rangle$ at weak and strong coupling. We concentrate on the\ncase of the symmetric quiver with equal gauge couplings which is equivalent to\nthe $\\mathbb Z_{2}$ orbifold of the $SU(2N)$ $\\mathcal N=4$ SYM theory. This\norbifold gauge theory should be dual to type IIB superstring in ${\\rm\nAdS}_5\\times (S^{5}/\\mathbb Z_{2})$. We present a string theory argument\nsuggesting that the $1/N^2$ term in $\\langle\\mathcal W\\rangle$ in the orbifold\ntheory should have the same strong-coupling asymptotics $ \\lambda^{3/2}$ as in\nthe $\\mathcal N=4$ SYM case. We support this prediction by a numerical study of\nthe localization matrix model on the gauge theory side. We also find a relation\nbetween the $1/N^2$ term in the Wilson loop expectation value and the\nderivative of the free energy of the orbifold gauge theory on 4-sphere.",
        "positive": "First order parent formulation for generic gauge field theories: We show how a generic gauge field theory described by a BRST differential can\nsystematically be reformulated as a first order parent system whose spacetime\npart is determined by the de Rham differential. In the spirit of Vasiliev's\nunfolded approach, this is done by extending the original space of fields so as\nto include their derivatives as new independent fields together with associated\nform fields. Through the inclusion of the antifield dependent part of the BRST\ndifferential, the parent formulation can be used both for on and off-shell\nformulations. For diffeomorphism invariant models, the parent formulation can\nbe reformulated as an AKSZ-type sigma model. Several examples, such as the\nrelativistic particle, parametrized theories, Yang-Mills theory, general\nrelativity and the two dimensional sigma model are worked out in details."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Nonpertubative Effects of Extreme Localization in Noncommutative\n  Geometry: ``Extremely'' localized wavefunctions in noncommutative geometry have\ndisturbances that are localized to distances smaller than $\\sqrt{\\theta}$,\nwhere $\\theta$ is the ``area'' parameter that measures noncommutativity. In\nparticular, distributions such as the sign function or the Dirac delta function\nare limiting cases of extremely localized wavefunctions. It is shown that Moyal\nstar products of extremely localized wavefunctions cannot be correctly computed\nperturbatively in powers of $\\theta$. Nonperturbative effects as a function of\n$\\theta$ are explicitly displayed through exact computations in several\nexamples. In particular, for distributions, star products end up being\nfunctions of $\\theta ^{-1}$ and have no expansion in positive powers of\n$\\theta$. This result provides a warning for computations in noncommutative\nspace that often are performed with perturbative methods. Furthermore, the\nresult may have interesting applications that could help elucidate the role of\nnoncommutative geometry in several areas of physics.",
        "positive": "Path Integral Quantization of Cosmological Perturbations: We derive the first order canonical formulation of cosmological perturbation\ntheory in a Universe filled by a few scalar fields. This theory is quantized\nvia well-defined Hamiltonian path integral. The propagator which describes the\nevolution of the initial (for instance, vacuum) state, is calculated."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Potential Analysis in Holographic Schwinger Effect: We analyze electrostatic potentials in the holographic Schwinger effect. The\npotential barrier for the pair production is estimated by a static potential\nconsisting of static mass energies, an electric potential from an external\nelectric-field, and the Coulomb potential between a particle and an\nantiparticle. Given that the Coulomb potential is supposed to be evaluated by\nthe minimal surface attaching on the conformal boundary as usual, the critical\nfield, where the potential barrier vanishes, exhibits a deviation of 30% from\nthe one obtained from the Dirac-Born-Infeld (DBI) action. We reconsider this\nissue by reexamining the Coulomb-potential part, which is evaluated by the\nclassical action of a string solution attaching on a probe D3-brane sitting at\nan intermediate position in the bulk AdS. Then the resulting critical-field\ncompletely agrees with the DBI result. This agreement gives rise to a strong\nsupport for the holographic scenario. We also discuss the finite-temperature\ncase and the temperature-dependent critical-field also agrees with the DBI\nresult.",
        "positive": "Oblique Confinement at $\u03b8\\neq 0$ in weakly coupled gauge theories\n  with deformations: The main focus of this work is to test the ideas related to the oblique\nconfinement in a theoretically controllable manner using the \"deformed QCD\" as\na toy model. We explicitly show that the oblique confinement in the weakly\ncoupled gauge theories emerges as a result of condensation of $N$ types of\nmonopoles shifted by the phase $\\exp(i\\frac{\\theta+2\\pi m}{N})$ in Bloch type\nconstruction. It should be contrasted with conventional and commonly accepted\nviewpoint that the confinement at $\\theta\\neq 0$ is due to the condensation of\nthe electrically charged dyons which indeed normally emerge in the systems with\n$\\theta\\neq 0$ as a result of Witten's effect. We explain the basic reason why\nthe \"dyon\" mechanism does not materialize-- it is because the Witten's effect\nholds for a static magnetic monopole treated as an external source. It should\nbe contrasted with our case when $N$- types of monopoles are not static, but\nrather the dynamical degrees of freedom which fluctuate and themselves\ndetermine the ground state of the system."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A renormalization group approach to Hamiltonian light-front field theory: A perturbative renormalization group is formulated for the study of\nHamiltonian light-front field theory near a critical Gaussian fixed point. The\nonly light-front renormalization group transformations found that can be\napproximated by dropping irrelevant operators and using perturbation theory\nnear Gaussian fixed volumes, employ invariant-mass cutoffs. These cutoffs\nviolate covariance and cluster decomposition, and allow functions of\nlongitudinal momenta to appear in all relevant, marginal, and irrelevant\noperators. These functions can be determined by insisting that the Hamiltonian\ndisplay a coupling constant coherence, with the number of couplings that\nexplicitly run with the cutoff scale being limited and all other couplings\ndepending on this scale only through perturbative dependence on the running\ncouplings. Examples are given that show how coupling coherence restores Lorentz\ncovariance and cluster decomposition, as recently speculated by Wilson and the\nauthor. The ultimate goal of this work is a practical Lorentz metric version of\nthe renormalization group, and practical renormalization techniques for\nlight-front quantum chromodynamics.",
        "positive": "Generalized black branes in AdS/CMT and holographic superconductors: AdS$_4$ generalized black branes are scrutinized in the context of AdS/CFT.\nHolographic superconductors are studied as dual objects to AdS$_4$ generalized\nblack branes, whose coefficients of response and transport in the dual\ncondensed matter theory are calculated and discussed. The holographic Weyl\nanomaly is also addressed. The holographic superconductor bound current is\nshown to be enhanced by the parameter controlling the family of AdS$_4$\ngeneralized black brane solutions, when compared to the standard\nAdS$_4$-Reissner-Nordstr\\\"om black brane results. In the probe limit, the\nelectrical DC conductivity for holographic superconductors with AdS$_4$\ngeneralized black brane dual background is also reported."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Constructing Lifshitz solutions from AdS: Under general assumptions, we show that a gravitational theory in d+1\ndimensions admitting an AdS solution can be reduced to a d-dimensional theory\ncontaining a Lifshitz solution with dynamical exponent z=2. Working in a d=4,\nN=2 supergravity setup, we prove that if the AdS background is N=2\nsupersymmetric, then the Lifshitz geometry preserves 1/4 of the supercharges,\nand we construct the corresponding Killing spinors. We illustrate these results\nin examples from supersymmetric consistent truncations of type IIB\nsupergravity, enhancing the class of known 4-dimensional Lifshitz solutions of\nstring theory. As a byproduct, we find a new AdS4 x S1 x T(1,1) solution of\ntype IIB.",
        "positive": "Quantum walk on a spin network: We apply a discrete quantum walk from a quantum particle on a discrete\nquantum spacetime from loop quantum gravity and show that the related\nEntanglement Entropy can drive a entropic force. We apply this concepts to\npropose a model of a walker position topologically encoded on a spin network."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Radial coordinates for defect CFTs: We study the two-point function of local operators in the presence of a\ndefect in a generic conformal field theory. We define two pairs of cross\nratios, which are convenient in the analysis of the OPE in the bulk and defect\nchannel respectively. The new coordinates have a simple geometric\ninterpretation, which can be exploited to efficiently compute conformal blocks\nin a power expansion. We illustrate this fact in the case of scalar external\noperators. We also elucidate the convergence properties of the bulk and defect\nOPE decompositions of the two-point function. In particular, we remark that the\nexpansion of the two-point function in powers of the new cross ratios converges\neverywhere, a property not shared by the cross ratios customarily used in\ndefect CFT. We comment on the crucial relevance of this fact for the numerical\nbootstrap.",
        "positive": "Supersymmetric Field Theory Based on Generalized Uncertainty Principle: We construct a quantum theory of free fermion field based on the generalized\nuncertainty principle using supersymmetry as a guiding principle. A\nsupersymmetric field theory with a real scalar field and a Majorana fermion\nfield is given explicitly and we also find that the supersymmetry algebra is\ndeformed from an usual one."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-Relativistic Positronium Spectrum in Relativistic Schroedinger\n  Theory: The lowest energy levels of positronium are studied in the non-relativistic\napproximation within the framework of Relativistic Schr\\\"odinger Theory (RST).\nSince it is very difficult to find the exact solutions of the RST field\nequations (even in the non-relativistic limit), an approximation scheme is set\nup on the basis of the hydrogen-like wave functions (i.e. polynomial times\nexponential). For any approximation order $\\NN (\\NN=0,1,2,3,...)$ there arises\na spectrum of approximate RST solutions with the associated energies, quite\nsimilarly to the conventional treatment of positronium in the standard quantum\ntheory (Appendix). For the lowest approximation order $(\\NN=0)$ the RST\nprediction for the \\emph{groundstate} energy exactly agrees with the\nconventional prediction of the standard theory. However for the higher\napproximation orders $(\\NN=1,2,3)$, the corresponding RST prediction differs\nfrom the conventional result by (roughly) $0,9 [eV]$ which confirms the\nprevious estimate of the error being due to the use of the spherically\nsymmetric approximation. The excited states require the application of\nhigher-order approximations $(\\NN>>3)$ and are therefore not adequately\ndescribed by the present orders $(\\NN\\le 3)$.",
        "positive": "Universal description of viscoelasticity with foliation preserving\n  diffeomorphisms: A universal description is proposed for generic viscoelastic systems with a\nsingle relaxation time. Foliation preserving diffeomorphisms are introduced as\nan underlying symmetry which naturally interpolates between the two extreme\nlimits of elasticity and fluidity. The symmetry is found to be powerful enough\nto determine the dynamics in the first order of strains."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Partition Functions in Even Dimensional AdS via Quasinormal Mode Methods: In this note, we calculate the one-loop determinant for a massive scalar\n(with conformal dimension $\\Delta$) in even-dimensional AdS$_{d+1}$ space,\nusing the quasinormal mode method developed in arXiv:0908.2657 by Denef,\nHartnoll, and Sachdev. Working first in two dimensions on the related Euclidean\nhyperbolic plane $H_2$, we find a series of zero modes for negative real values\nof $\\Delta$ whose presence indicates a series of poles in the one-loop\npartition function $Z(\\Delta)$ in the $\\Delta$ complex plane; these poles\ncontribute temperature-independent terms to the thermal AdS partition function\ncomputed in arXiv:0908.2657. Our results match those in a series of papers by\nCamporesi and Higuchi, as well as Gopakumar et al. in arXiv:1103.3627 and\nBanerjee et al. in arXiv:1005.3044. We additionally examine the meaning of\nthese zero modes, finding that they Wick-rotate to quasinormal modes of the\nAdS$_2$ black hole. They are also interpretable as matrix elements of the\ndiscrete series representations of $SO(2,1)$ in the space of smooth functions\non $S^1$. We generalize our results to general even dimensional AdS$_{2n}$,\nagain finding a series of zero modes which are related to discrete series\nrepresentations of $SO(2n,1)$, the motion group of $H_{2n}$.",
        "positive": "Perturbative soft photon theorems in de Sitter spacetime: We define a perturbative S-matrix in a local patch of de Sitter background in\nthe limit when the curvature length scale ($\\ell$) is large and study the\n'soft' behavior of the scalar QED amplitudes in de Sitter spacetime in generic\ndimensions. We obtain the leading and subleading perturbative corrections to\nflat space soft photon theorems in the large $\\ell$ limit, and comment on the\nuniversality of these corrections. We compare our results with the\nelectromagnetic memory tails obtained earlier in $d=4$ using classical\nradiation analysis."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Black Hole Entropy and String Theory: This is an expanded version of a talk given at ``{\\em IInd Recontre du\nVietnam}'' held at Ho Chi Minh City in October, 1995. We discuss several\naspects of black hole entropy in string theory. We first explain why the\ngeometric entropy in two dimensional noncritical string theory is\nnonperturbatively finite. We then explain the philosophy of regarding massive\nstring states as black branes and how the Beckenstein-Hawking entropy for\nextremal BPS black holes may be understood as coming from degeneracy of string\nstates. This is then discussed in the context of D-strings in Type IIB\nsuperstrings. We then describe non-BPS excitations of D-strings and their\nentropy and explore the possibility that their decay describes Hawking\nradiation. For these D-strings and other D-branes the entropy and temperature\nare consequences of the physical motion of stuck open strings along the D-brane\nand this leads to a simple space-time interpretation. Finally we speculate that\nthe horizon may be itself regarded as a D-brane.",
        "positive": "On Natural Inflation and Moduli Stabilisation in String Theory: Natural inflation relies on the existence of an axion decay constant which is\nsuper-Planckian. In string theory only sub-Planckian axion decay constants have\nbeen found in any controlled regime. However in field theory it is possible to\ngenerate an enhanced super-Planckian decay constant by an appropriate aligned\nmixing between axions with individual sub-Planckian decay constants. We study\nthe possibility of such a mechanism in string theory. In particular we\nconstruct a new realisation of an alignment scenario in type IIA string theory\ncompactifications on a Calabi-Yau where the alignment is induced through\nfluxes. Within field theory the original decay constants are taken to be\nindependent of the parameters which induce the alignment. In string theory\nhowever they are moduli dependent quantities and so interact gravitationally\nwith the physics responsible for the mixing. We show that this gravitational\neffect of the fluxes on the moduli can precisely cancel any enhancement of the\neffective decay constant. This censorship of an effective super-Planckian decay\nconstant depends on detailed properties of Calabi-Yau moduli spaces and occurs\nfor all the examples and classes that we study. We expand these results to a\ngeneral superpotential assuming only that the axion superpartners are fixed\nsupersymmetrically and are able to show for a large class of Calabi-Yau\nmanifolds, but not all, that the cancellation effect occurs and is independent\nof the superpotential. We also study simple models where the moduli are fixed\nnon-supersymmetrically and find that similar cancellation behaviour can emerge.\nFinally we make some comments on a possible generalisation to axion monodromy\ninflation models."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Solitons in the modified Yang-Mills theory: It is shown that pure Yang-Mills theory in the modified formulation admits\nsoliton solutions of classical field equations.",
        "positive": "A new 4d $\\mathcal{N}=1$ duality from the superconformal index: In this paper we propose a physical derivation of a 4d conjectural duality\nfor $USp(2N)$ with an anti-symmetric rank-two tensor and fundamental flavors,\nin presence of a non-trivial superpotential. This duality has been conjectured\nas a consequence of an exact identity between the superconformal indices of the\ntwo phases, proved in the mathematical literature. Here we show that the\nduality can be derived by a combined sequence of known dualities, deconfinement\nof tensor matter, RG flow and Higgsing. Furthermore, by following these steps\non the superconformal index, we provide an alternative derivation of the\nintegral identity as well."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Inflation, holography, and the choice of vacuum in de Sitter space: A family of de Sitter vacua introduced in hep-th/0203198 as plausible initial\nconditions for inflation, are discussed from the point of view of de Sitter\nholography. The vacua are argued to be physically acceptable and the\ninflationary picture provides a physical interpretation of a subfamily of de\nSitter invariant vacua. Some speculations on the issue of vacuum choice and the\nconnection between the CMBR and holography are also provided.",
        "positive": "New Results For Cuscuton Multi-Field Brane: We investigate braneworld models in the presence of the several scalar fields\nwith generalized dynamics. A new mechanism to control the internal structure of\nbrane in modified gravity is used to induce changes in the models in the\npresence of cuscuton dynamics. Examples with two- and three-field are\nconsidered, and we have found that the inclusion of the cuscuton can\nsignificantly alter the profile of the brane, causing unique changes in the\nwarp factor, energy density, stability potential and the corresponding zero\nmode."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Higher-Rank Supersymmetry and Topological Field Theory: The $N=2$ minimal superconformal model can be twisted yielding an example of\ntopological conformal field theory. In this article we investigate a Lie\ntheoretic extension of this process.",
        "positive": "High-temperature QCD and the classical Boltzmann equation in curved\n  spacetime: It has been shown that the high-temperature limit of perturbative thermal QCD\nis easily obtained from the Boltzmann transport equation for `classical'\ncoloured particles. We generalize this treatment to curved space-time. We are\nthus able to construct the effective stress-energy tensor. We give a\nconstruction for an effective action. As an example of the convenience of the\nBoltzmann method, we derive the high-temperature 3-graviton function. We\ndiscuss the static case."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quasi-Normal Modes for Subtracted Rotating and Magnetised Geometries: We obtain explicit separable solutions of the wave equation of massless\nminimally coupled scalar fields in the subtracted geometry of four-dimensional\nrotating and Melvin (magnetised) four-charge black holes of the STU model, a\nconsistent truncation of maximally supersymmetric supergravity with four types\nof electromagnetic fields. These backgrounds possess a hidden SL(2,R) x SL(2,R)\nx SO(3) symmetry and faithfully model the near horizon geometry of these black\nholes, but locate them in a confining asymptotically conical box. For each\nsubtracted geometry we obtain two branches of quasi-normal modes, given in\nterms of hypergeometric functions and spherical harmonics. One branch is\nover-damped and the other under-damped and they exhibit rotational splitting.\nNo black hole bomb is possible because the Killing field which co-rotates with\nthe horizon is everywhere timelike outside the black hole. A five-dimensional\nlift of these geometries is given locally by the product of a BTZ black hole\nwith a two-sphere. This allows an explicit analysis of the minimally coupled\nmassive five-dimensional scalar field. Again, there are two branches, both\ndamped, however now their oscillatory parts are shifted by the quantised wave\nnumber $k$ along the fifth circle direction.",
        "positive": "Anthropic Estimates for Many Parameters of Physics and Astronomy: Anthropic arguments of Carter, Carr, and Rees give two approximate power-law\nrelations between the elementary charge e, the mass of the proton m_p, and the\nmass of the electron m_e in Planck units: m_p ~ e^{18}, m_e ~ e^{21}. A\nrenormalization group argument of mine gives e^{-2} ~ -(10/pi)ln{m_p}.\nCombining this with the Carter-Carr-Rees relations gives e^2 ln{e} ~ -pi/180.\nTaking the exact solutions of these approximate equations gives values for e,\nm_p, and m_e whose logarithms have relative errors only 0.7%, 1.3%, and 1.0%\nrespectively, without using as input the observed values of any parameters with\npotentially continuous ranges. One can then get anthropic estimates for the\nmasses, sizes, luminosities, times, velocities, etc. for many other structures\nin physics and astronomy, from atoms to giraffes to the universe, as simple\npowers of the anthropic estimate for the elementary charge. For example, one\ngets an anthropic estimate for the real part of the logarithm of the dark\nenergy density with a relative error of only 0.2%."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "How Bob Laughlin Tamed the Giant Graviton from Taub-NUT space: In this paper we show how two dimensional electron systems can be modeled by\nstrings interacting with D-branes. The dualities of string theory allow several\ndescriptions of the system. These include descriptions in terms of solitons in\nthe near horizon D6-brane theory, non-commutative gauge theory on a D2-brane,\nthe Matrix Theory of D0-branes and finally as a giant graviton in M-theory. The\nsoliton can be described as a D2-brane with an incompressible fluid of\nD0-branes and charged string-ends moving on it. Including an NS5 brane in the\nsystem allows for the existence of an edge with the characteristic massless\nchiral edge states of the Quantum Hall system.",
        "positive": "Casimir densities for parallel plate in the Domain Wall background: The Casimir forces on two parallel plates in conformally flat domain wall\nbackground due to conformally coupled massless scalar field satisfying mixed\nboundary conditions on the plates is investigated. In the general case of mixed\nboundary conditions formulae are derived for the vacuum expectation values of\nthe energy-momentum tensor and vacuum forces acting on boundaries."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic Thermodynamic on the Brane in Topological\n  Reissner-Nordstr\u00f6m de Sitter Space: We consider the brane universe in the bulk background of the topological\nReissner-Nordstr\\\"om de Sitter black holes. We show that the thermodynamic\nquantities (including entropy) of the dual CFT take usual special forms\nexpressed in terms of Hubble parameter and its time derivative at the moment,\nwhen the brane crosses the black hole horizon or the cosmological horizon. We\nobtain the generalized Cardy-Verlinde formula for the CFT with an charge and\ncosmological constant, for any values of the curvature parameter $k$ in the\nFriedmann equations.",
        "positive": "Bell violation in the Sky: In this work, we have studied the possibility of setting up Bell's inequality\nviolating experiment in the context of cosmology, based on the basic principles\nof quantum mechanics. First we start with the physical motivation of\nimplementing the Bell's inequality violation in the context of cosmology. Then\nto set up the cosmological Bell violating test experiment we introduce a model\nindependent theoretical framework using which we have studied the creation of\nnew massive particles by implementing the WKB approximation method for the\nscalar fluctuations in presence of additional time dependent mass contribution.\nNext using the background scalar fluctuation in presence of new time dependent\nmass contribution, we explicitly compute the expression for the one point and\ntwo point correlation functions. Furthermore, using the results for one point\nfunction we introduce a new theoretical cosmological parameter which can be\nexpressed in terms of the other known inflationary observables and can also be\ntreated as a future theoretical probe to break the degeneracy amongst various\nmodels of inflation. Additionally, we also fix the scale of inflation in a\nmodel independent way without any prior knowledge of primordial gravitational\nwaves. Next, we also comment on the technicalities of measurements from isospin\nbreaking interactions and the future prospects of newly introduced massive\nparticles in cosmological Bell violating test experiment. Further, we cite a\nprecise example of this set up applicable in the context of string theory\nmotivated axion monodromy model. Then we comment on the explicit role of\ndecoherence effect and high spin on cosmological Bell violating test\nexperiment. In fine, we provide a theoretical bound on the heavy particle mass\nparameter for scalar fields, graviton and other high spin fields from our\nproposed setup."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Evaluation of the Casimir Force for a Dielectric-diamagnetic Cylinder\n  with Light Velocity Conservation Condition and the Analogue of Sellmeir's\n  Dispersion Law: We study the Casimir pressure for a dielectric-diamagnetic cylinder subject\nto light velocity conservation and with a dispersion law analogous to\nSellmeir's rule. Similarities to and differences from the spherical case are\npointed out.",
        "positive": "Some Cosmological Consequences of Weyl Invariance: We examine some Weyl invariant cosmological models in the framework of\ngeneralized dilaton gravity, in which the action is made of a set of $N$\nconformally coupled scalar fields. It will be shown that when the FRW ansatz\nfor the spacetime metric is assumed, the Ward identity for conformal invariance\nguarantees that the gravitational equations hold whenever the scalar fields EM\ndo so. It follows that any scale factor can solve the theory provided a\nnon-trivial profile for a dilaton field. In particular, accelerated expansion\nis a natural solution to the full set of equations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Absence of a VVDZ Discontinuity in AdS_AdS: We clarify the role of gauge invariance for the theory of an AdS4 brane\nembedded in AdS5. The presence of a nonvanishing mass parameter even for the\nlightest KK mode of the graviton indicates that all of the spin-2 modes\npropagate five polarization states. Despite this fact, it was shown earlier\nthat the classical theory has a smooth limit as the mass parameter is taken to\nzero. We argue that locality in the fifth dimension ensures that this property\nsurvives at the quantum level.",
        "positive": "Schur index of the ${\\cal N}=4$ $U(N)$ SYM via the AdS/CFT\n  correspondence: We calculate the Schur index of the ${\\cal N}=4$ $U(N)$ SYM with finite $N$\nvia the AdS/CFT correspondence as the contribution of D3-branes wrapped on\ncontractible cycles in $\\boldsymbol{S}^5$ on some assumptions motivated by\npreliminary analyses. As far as we have checked numerically it agrees with the\nindex calculated on the gauge theory side. In a certain limit it reproduces the\nanalytic result given by Bourdier, Drukker, and Felix."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Note on Holographic Weyl Anomaly and Entanglement Entropy: We develop a general approach to simplify the derivation of the holographic\nWeyl anomaly. As an application, we derive the holographic Weyl anomaly from\ngeneral higher derivative gravity in asymptotically $AdS_{5}$ and $AdS_{7}$.\nInterestingly, to derive all the central charges of 4d and 6d CFTs, we make no\nuse of equations of motion. Following Myers' idea, we propose a formula of\nholographic entanglement entropy for higher derivative gravity in\nasymptotically $AdS_5$. Applying this formula, we obtain the correct universal\nterm of entanglement entropy for 4d CFTs. It turns out that our formula is the\nleading term of Dong's proposal in asymptotically $AdS_5$. Since only the\nleading term contributes to the universal log term, we actually prove that\nDong's proposal yields the correct universal term of entanglement entropy for\n4d CFTs. This is a nontrivial test of Dong's proposal.",
        "positive": "Adiabatic Solutions in General Relativity as Null Geodesics on the Space\n  of Boundary Diffeomorphisms: We use a trick similar to Weinberg's for adiabatic modes, in a Manton\napproximation for general relativity on manifolds with spatial boundary. This\nresults in a description of the slow-time dependent solutions as null geodesics\non the space of boundary diffeomorphisms, with respect to a metric we prove to\nbe composed solely of the boundary data. We show how the solutions in the bulk\nspace is determined with the constraints of general relativity.\n  To give our description a larger perspective, we furthermore identify our\nresulting Lagrangian as a generalized version of the covariantized Lagrangian\nfor continuum mechanics. We study the cases of 3+1 and 2+1 dimensions and show\nfor the solutions we propose, the Hamiltonian constraint becomes the real\nhomogeneous Monge-Ampere equation in the special case of two spatial\ndimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Matrix Model for De Sitter: Based on a heuristic boost argument, we propose that the 4 dimensional de\nSitter space can be described by a spherical Chern-Simons matrix model near the\ncosmological horizon, or models generalizing this simple choice. The dimension\nof the Hilbert space is naturally finite. We also make some comments on\npossible realization of holography in this approach, and on possible relation\nto the conformal field theory approach.",
        "positive": "Superworldvolume dynamics of superbranes from nonlinear realizations: Based on the concept of the partial breaking of global supersymmetry (PBGS),\nwe derive the worldvolume superfield equations of motion for $N=1, D=4$\nsupermembrane, as well as for the space-time filling D2- and D3-branes, from\nnonlinear realizations of the corresponding supersymmetries. We argue that it\nis of no need to take care of the relevant automorphism groups when being\ninterested in the dynamical equations. This essentially facilitates\ncomputations. As a by-product, we obtain a new polynomial representation for\nthe $d=3,4$ Born-Infeld equations, with merely a cubic nonlinearity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chiral Hierarchies, Compositeness and the Renormalization Group: A wide class of models involve the fine--tuning of significant hierarchies\nbetween a strong--coupling ``compositeness'' scale, and a low energy dynamical\nsymmetry breaking scale. We examine the issue of whether such hierarchies are\ngenerally endangered by Coleman--Weinberg instabilities. A careful study using\nperturbative two--loop renormalization group methods finds that consistent\nlarge hierarchies are not generally disallowed.",
        "positive": "The Gauged (2,1) Heterotic Sigma-Model: The geometry of (2,1) supersymmetric sigma-models with isometry symmetries is\ndiscussed. The gauging of such symmetries in superspace is then studied. We\nfind that the coupling to the (2,1) Yang-Mills supermultiplet can be achieved\nprovided certain geometric conditions are satisfied. We construct the general\ngauged action, using an auxiliary vector to generate the full non-polynomial\nstructure."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Cosmological and phenomenological consequences of string theories: The Standard Model is the low-energy limit of a microscopic theory which\nincludes extra dimensions and new symmetries. A part of my thesis consisted in\nconstructing a new class of models with two extra dimensions. We showed that\nthese models can drive a dynamical symmetry breaking in four dimensions. In\nparticular, they are dual to models with four fermions which need a\nnon-perturbative treatment. We also studied supersymmetry and its local\nversion, supergravity, in string theory inspired models with ten dimensions.\nExtra fields called moduli are present after dimensional reduction and are\ngenerically flat directions of the total potential. We constructed a model of\nstabilisation for the moduli in which the supersymmetry breaking yields a light\ngravitino mass of order 10 TeV. The cosmological constant can be adjusted to be\nvery small. Such models exhibit a promising phenomenology.",
        "positive": "AdS2 Models in an Embedding Superspace: An embedding superspace, whose Bosonic part is the flat 2 + 1 dimensional\nembedding space for AdS2, is introduced. Superfields and several supersymmetric\nmodels are examined in the embedded AdS2 superspace."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hawking temperature of rotating charged black strings from tunneling: Thermal radiations from spherically symmetric black holes have been studied\nfrom the point of view of quantum tunneling. In this paper we extend this\napproach to study radiation of fermions from charged and rotating black\nstrings. Using WKB approximation and Hamilton-Jacobi method we work out the\ntunneling probabilities of incoming and outgoing fermions and find the correct\nHawking temperature for these objects. We show that in appropriate limits the\nresults reduce to those for the uncharged and non-rotating black strings.",
        "positive": "Phases of five-dimensional supersymmetric gauge theories: Five-dimensional $\\mathcal{N}=1$ theories with gauge group $U(N)$, $SU(N)$,\n$USp(2N)$ and $SO(N)$ are studied at large rank through localization on a large\nsphere. The phase diagram of theories with fundamental hypermultiplets is\nuniversal and characterized by third order phase transitions, with the\nexception of $U(N)$, that shows both second and third order transitions. The\nphase diagram of theories with adjoint or (anti-)symmetric hypermultiplets is\nalso determined and found to be universal. Moreover, Wilson loops in\nfundamental and antisymmetric representations of any rank are analyzed in this\nlimit. Quiver theories are discussed as well. All the results substantiate the\n$\\mathcal{F}$-theorem."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Nonlocal Infrared Modifications of Gravity. A Review: We review an approach developed in the last few years by our group in which\nGR is modified in the infrared, at an effective level, by nonlocal terms\nassociated to a mass scale. We begin by recalling the notion of quantum\neffective action and its associated nonlocalities, illustrating some of their\nfeatures with the anomaly-induced effective actions in $D=2$ and $D=4$. We\nexamine conceptual issues of nonlocal theories such as causality, degrees of\nfreedoms and ghosts, stressing the importance of the fact that these\nnonlocalities only emerge at the effective level. We discuss a particular class\nof nonlocal theories where the nonlocal operator is associated to a mass scale,\nand we show that they perform very well in the comparison with cosmological\nobservations, to the extent that they fit CMB, supernovae, BAO and structure\nformation data at a level fully competitive with $\\Lambda$CDM, with the same\nnumber of free parameters. We explore some extensions of these `minimal'\nmodels, and we finally discuss some directions of investigation for deriving\nthe required effective nonlocality from a fundamental local QFT.",
        "positive": "Some Lessons from the Schwinger Model: I shall recall a number of solutions to the Schwinger model in different\ngauges, having different boundary conditions and using different quantization\nsurfaces. I shall discuss various properties of these solutions emphasizing the\ndegrees of freedom necessary to represent the solution, the way the operator\nproducts are defined and the effects these features have on the chiral\ncondensate."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Admissible Gauges for Constrained Systems: The {\\it {gauge - fixing} } and {\\it gaugeless } methods for reducing the\nphase space in the generalized Hamiltonian dynamics are compared with the aim\nto define the class of admissible gauges . In the gaugeless approach, the\nreduced phase space of a Hamiltonian system with the first class constraints is\nconstructed locally, without any gauge fixing, using the following procedure:\nabelianization of constraints with the subsequent canonical transformation so\nthat some of the new momenta are equal to the new abelian constraints. As a\nresult the corresponding conjugate coordinates are ignorable ( nonphysical )\none while the remaining canonical pairs corresponds to the true dynamical\nvariables. This representation for the phase space prompts us the definition of\nsubclass of admissible gauges -- canonical gauges as functions depending only\non the ignorable coordinates. A practical method to recognize the canonical\ngauge is proposed .",
        "positive": "Logarithmic Conformal Field Theory and Seiberg-Witten Models: The periods of arbitrary abelian forms on hyperelliptic Riemann surfaces, in\nparticular the periods of the meromorphic Seiberg-Witten differential, are\nshown to be in one-to-one correspondence with the conformal blocks of\ncorrelation functions of the rational logarithmic conformal field theory with\ncentral charge c=c(2,1)=-2. The fields of this theory precisely simulate the\nbranched double covering picture of a hyperelliptic curve, such that generic\nperiods can be expressed in terms of certain generalised hypergeometric\nfunctions, namely the Lauricella functions of type F_D."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Wave Equation for the Wu Black Hole: Wu black hole is the most general solution of maximally supersymmetric gauged\nsupergravity in D=5, containing $U(1)^{3}$ gauge symmetry. We study the\nseparability of the massless Klein-Gordon equation and probe its singularities\nfor a general stationary, axisymmetric metric with orthogonal transitivity, and\napply the results to the Wu black hole solution. We start with the zero\nazimuthal-angle eigenvalues in the scalar field Ansatz and find that the\nresiduum of a pole in the radial equation is associated with the surface\ngravity calculated at this horizon. We then generalize our calculations to\nnonzero azimuthal eigenvalues and probing each horizon singularity, we show\nthat the residua of the singularities for each horizon are in general\nassociated with a specific combination of the surface gravity and the angular\nvelocities at the associated horizon. It turns out that for the Wu black hole\nboth the radial and angular equations are general Heun's equations with four\nregular singularities.",
        "positive": "Large gauge transformation, Soft theorem, and Infrared divergence in\n  inflationary spacetime: It is widely known that the primordial curvature perturbation $\\zeta$ has\nseveral universal properties in the infrared (IR) such as the soft theorem,\nwhich is also known as the consistency relation, and the conservation in time.\nThey are valid in rather general single clock models of inflation. It has been\nargued that these universal properties are deeply related to the large gauge\ntransformations in inflationary spacetime. However, the invariance under the\nlarge gauge transformations is not sufficient to show these IR properties. In\nthis paper, we show that the locality condition is crucial to show the\nconsistency relation and the conservation of $\\zeta$. This argument also can\napply to an interacting system with the inflaton and heavy fields which have\narbitrary integer spins, including higher spin fields, which may be motivated\nfrom string theory. We will also show that the locality condition guarantees\nthe cancellation of the IR divergences in a certain class of variables whose\ncorrelation functions resemble cosmologically observable quantities."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On anomalous conformal Ward identities for Wilson loops on polygon-like\n  contours with circular edges: We derive the anomalous conformal Ward identities for ${\\cal N}=4$ SYM Wilson\nloops on polygon-like contours with edges formed by circular arcs. With a\nsuitable choice of parameterisation they are very similarly to those for local\ncorrelation functions. Their solutions have a conformally covariant factor\ndepending on the distances of the corners times a conformally invariant\nremainder factor depending, besides on cross ratios of the corners, on the cusp\nangles and angles parameterising the torsion of the contours.",
        "positive": "Exactly Solvable Potentials and Quantum Algebras: Self-similar potentials and corresponding symmetry algebras are briefly\ndiscussed.\n  Talk presented at the XIXth ICGTMP, Salamanca, 29 June - 4July 1992."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "In\u00f6n\u00fc-Wigner Contraction and $D=2+1$ Supergravity: We present a generalization of the standard In\\\"on\\\"u-Wigner contraction by\nrescaling not only the generators of a Lie superalgebra but also the arbitrary\nconstants appearing in the components of the invariant tensor. The procedure\npresented here allows to obtain explicitly the Chern-Simons supergravity action\nof a contracted superalgebra. In particular we show that the Poincar\\'e limit\ncan be performed to a $D=2+1$ $\\left(p,q\\right) $ $% AdS$ Chern-Simons\nsupergravity in presence of the exotic form. We also construct a new\nthree-dimensional $\\left(2,0\\right) $ Maxwell Chern-Simons supergravity theory\nas a particular limit of $\\left(2,0\\right) $ $AdS$ -Lorentz supergravity\ntheory. The generalization for $\\mathcal{N}=p+q$ gravitini is also considered.",
        "positive": "Odd dimensional analogue of the Euler characteristic: When compact manifolds $X$ and $Y$ are both even dimensional, their Euler\ncharacteristics obey the K\\\"unneth formula $\\chi(X\\times Y)=\\chi(X) \\chi(Y)$.\nIn terms of the Betti numbers $b_p(X)$, $\\chi(X)=\\sum_{p}(-1)^p b_p(X)$,\nimplying that $\\chi(X)=0$ when $X$ is odd dimensional. We seek a linear\ncombination of Betti numbers, called $\\rho$, that obeys an analogous formula\n$\\rho(X\\times Y)=\\chi(X) \\rho(Y)$ when $Y$ is odd dimensional. The unique\nsolution is $\\rho(Y)=-\\sum_{p}(-1)^p p b_p(Y)$. Physical applications include:\n(1) $\\rho \\rightarrow (-1)^m \\rho $ under a generalized mirror map in $d=2m+1$\ndimensions, in analogy with $\\chi \\rightarrow (-1)^m \\chi $ in $d=2m$; (2)\n$\\rho$ appears naturally in compactifications of M-theory. For example, the\n4-dimensional Weyl anomaly for M-theory on $X^4 \\times Y^7$ is given by\n$\\chi(X^4)\\rho(Y^7)=\\rho(X^4 \\times Y^7) $ and hence vanishes when $Y^7$ is\nself-mirror. Since, in particular, $\\rho(Y\\times S^1)=\\chi(Y)$, this is\nconsistent with the corresponding anomaly for Type IIA on $X^4 \\times Y^6$,\ngiven by $\\chi(X^4)\\chi(Y^6)=\\chi(X^4 \\times Y^6)$, which vanishes when $Y^6$\nis self-mirror; (3) In the partition function of $p$-form gauge fields, $\\rho$\nappears in odd dimensions as $\\chi$ does in even."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Multiple M5-branes, String 2-connections, and 7d nonabelian Chern-Simons\n  theory: The worldvolume theory of coincident M5-branes is expected to contain a\nnonabelian 2-form/nonabelian gerbe gauge theory that is a higher analog of\nself-dual Yang-Mills theory. But the precise details -- in particular the\nglobal moduli / instanton / magnetic charge structure -- have remained elusive.\nHere we deduce from anomaly cancellation a natural candidate for the\nholographic dual of this nonabelian 2-form field, under AdS7/CFT6-duality. We\nfind this way a 7-dimensional nonabelian Chern-Simons theory of String\n2-connection fields, which, in a certain higher gauge, are given locally by\nnon-abelian 2-forms with values in an affine Kac-Moody Lie algebra. We\nconstruct the corresponding action functional on the entire smooth moduli\n2-stack of field configurations, thereby defining the theory globally, at all\nlevels and with the full instanton structure, which is nontrivial due to the\ntwists imposed by the quantum corrections. Along the way we explain some\ngeneral phenomena of higher nonabelian gauge theory that we need.",
        "positive": "Backreaction on Moving Mirrors and Black Hole Radiation: We compute the effect of quantum mechanical backreaction on the spectrum of\nradiation in a dynamical moving mirror model, mimicking the effect of a\ngravitational collapse geometry. Our method is based on the use of a combined\nWKB and saddle-point approximation to implement energy conservation in the\ncalculation of the Bogolyubov coefficients, in which we assume that the mirror\nparticle has finite mass m. We compute the temperature of the produced\nradiation as a function of time and find that after a relatively short time,\nthe temperature is reduced by a factor 1/2 relative to the standard result. We\ncomment on the application of this method to two-dimensional dilaton gravity\nwith a reflecting boundary, and conclude that the WKB approximation quickly\nbreaks down due to the appearance of naked singularities and/or white hole\nspace-times for the relevant WKB-trajectories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Constructing the theory at the boundary, its dynamics and degrees of\n  freedom: Given a theory in a region of space-time with boundaries, defined by a\nLagrangian, we propose a method to find the corresponding theory at the\nboundary (either space-like or time-like), that allows us to identify the\ndegrees of freedom at the boundary without any gauge fixing nor further\nassumptions a priori. We start by finding the corresponding action principle at\nthe boundary. From this, we can find the corresponding equations of motion, the\nsymmetries and degrees of freedom at the boundary. Then we characterise the\ndegrees of freedom at the boundary. We exemplify this method by analysing the\nbroadly studied 3-dimensional Abelian Chern-Simons theory. We found, through\nthe Hamiltonian framework, that the boundary theory has one degree of freedom\nthat can be characterised by the chiral boson: the Quantum Hall edge modes. We\nalso find a correspondence between a gauge fixing in the bulk with a boundary\ncondition and discuss whether this is enough to have a well-posed action\nprinciple and the possible scenarios.",
        "positive": "Non-Abelian Born-Infeld Action and Solitons for Critical Non-BPS Branes: The non-abelian flat directions in the tachyon potential of stable non-BPS\nbranes recently found are shown to persist to all orders in alpha' at tree\nlevel in the string coupling. We also obtain the non-abelian Born-Infeld action\nincluding the tachyon potential for a stack of stable non-BPS branes on a\ncritical orbifold. Finally we discuss stable soliton states on the non-BPS\nbrane."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "CFT, BCFT, ADE and all that: These pedagogical lectures present some material, classical or more recent,\non (Rational) Conformal Field Theories and their general setting ``in the\nbulk'' or in the presence of a boundary. Two well posed problems are the\nclassification of modular invariant partition functions and the determination\nof boundary conditions consistent with conformal invariance. It is shown why\nthe two problems are intimately connected and how graphs -ADE Dynkin diagrams\nand their generalizations- appear in a natural way.",
        "positive": "Toroidal and Elliptic Quiver BPS Algebras and Beyond: The quiver Yangian, an infinite-dimensional algebra introduced recently in\narXiv:2003.08909, is the algebra underlying BPS state counting problems for\ntoric Calabi-Yau three-folds. We introduce trigonometric and elliptic analogues\nof quiver Yangians, which we call toroidal quiver algebras and elliptic quiver\nalgebras, respectively. We construct the representations of the shifted\ntoroidal and elliptic algebras in terms of the statistical model of crystal\nmelting. We also derive the algebras and their representations from equivariant\nlocalization of three-dimensional $\\mathcal{N}=2$ supersymmetric quiver gauge\ntheories, and their dimensionally-reduced counterparts. The analysis of\nsupersymmetric gauge theories suggests that there exist even richer classes of\nalgebras associated with higher-genus Riemann surfaces and generalized\ncohomology theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Superrenormalizable quantum gravity with complex ghosts: We suggest and briefly review a new sort of superrenormalizable models of\nhigher derivative quantum gravity. The higher derivative terms in the action\ncan be introduced in such a way that all the unphysical massive states have\ncomplex poles. According to the literature on Lee-Wick quantization, in this\ncase the theory can be formulated as unitary, since all massive ghosts-like\ndegrees of freedom are unstable.",
        "positive": "NR $CFT_3$ duals in M-theory: We extend the search for supergravity solution duals of non-relativistic\n$d=3$ CFTs to $d=11$ supergravity. We consider the internal space to be an\n$S^2$ bundle over a product base: $S^2 \\times S^2$ and $S^2 \\times T^2$. For\npurely M-theoretic $S^2 \\times S^2$, we find only magnetic fluxes preserving\ntwo supersymmetries. $S^2 \\times T^2$ is far richer admitting in addition to\nmagnetic fluxes, various non-trivial electric fluxes which break all\nsupersymmetry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Singular Vectors of ${\\cal W}$ Algebras via DS Reduction of $A_2^(1)$: The BRST quantisation of the Drinfeld - Sokolov reduction applied to the case\nof $A^{(1)}_2\\,$ is explored to construct in an unified and systematic way the\ngeneral singular vectors in ${\\cal W}_3$ and ${\\cal W}_3^{(2)}$ Verma modules.\nThe construction relies on the use of proper quantum analogues of the classical\nDS gauge fixing transformations. Furthermore the stability groups $\\overline\nW^{(\\eta)}\\,$ of the highest weights of the ${\\cal W}\\,$ - Verma modules play\nan important role in the proof of the BRST equivalence of the\nMalikov-Feigin-Fuks singular vectors and the ${\\cal W}$ algebra ones. The\nresulting singular vectors are essentially classified by the affine Weyl group\n$W\\, $ modulo $\\overline W^{(\\eta)}\\,$. This is a detailed presentation of the\nresults announced in a recent paper of the authors (Phys. Lett. B318 (1993)\n85).",
        "positive": "C*algebras and differential geometry: This is the translation to appear in the \"SUPERSYMMETRY 2000 - Encyclopaedic\nDictionary\" of the original paper, published in March 1980, (C.R. Acad. Sci.\nParis, Ser. A-B, 290, 1980) in which basic notions of noncommutative geometry\nwere introduced and applied to noncommutative tori. These include connections\non finite projective modules, their curvature, and the Chern character. Finite\nprojective modules on the noncommutative two-torus $ \\Tb^2_{\\theta}$ were\nrealized as Schwartz spaces of vector valued functions on $\\Rb$. Explicit\nconstant curvature connections were constructed and a basic integrality\nphenomenon of the total curvature was displayed. The pseudo-differential\ncalculus and the Atiyah-Singer index theorems were extended to Lie group\nactions on $C^*$ algebras and used to explain the above integrality of the\ntotal curvature by an index formula for finite difference-differential\noperators on the line. Recent interest in the hep-th literature for basic\nnotions of noncommutative geometry in the case of noncommutative tori (cf for\ninstance hep-th/0012145 for an excellent review) prompted us to make the\nEnglish translation of the original paper available."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exact Non-Abelian Supertubes: Supertubes are supersymmetric configurations in string theory in which branes\nare extending along a closed curve. For a supertube of codimension two, its\ndipole charge is characterized by the duality monodromy around the closed\ncurve. When multiple codimension-2 supertubes are present, the monodromies\naround different supertubes can be non-commuting, namely non-Abelian.\nNon-Abelian configurations of supertubes are expected to play an important role\nin non-perturbative physics of string theory, especially black holes. In this\npaper, in the framework of five-dimensional supergravity, we construct exact\nsolutions describing codimension-2 supertubes in three-dimensional space. We\nuse an extension formula to construct a three-dimensional solution from a\ntwo-dimensional seed solution. The two-dimensional seed is an F-theory like\nconfiguration in which a torus is nontrivially fibered over a complex plane. In\nthe first example, there is a stack of circular supertubes around which there\nis a non-trivial monodromy. In some cases this can be thought of as a\nmicrostate of a black hole in AdS_2 x S^2. The second example is an\naxi-symmetric solution with two stacks of circular supertubes with non-Abelian\nmonodromies. In addition, there is a continuous distribution of charges on the\nsymmetry axis.",
        "positive": "Brane/flux annihilation transitions and nonperturbative moduli\n  stabilization: By extending the calculation of Kahler moduli stabilization to account for an\nembiggened antibrane, we reevaluate brane/flux annihilation in a warped throat\nwith one stabilized Kahler modulus. We find that depending on the relative size\nof various fluxes three things can occur: the decay process proceeds\nunhindered, the anti-D3-branes are forbidden to decay classically, or the\nentire space decompactifies. Additionally, we show that the Kahler modulus\nreceives a contribution from the collective 3-brane tension. This allows for a\nsignificant change in compactified volume during the transition and possibly\nmitigates some fine tuning otherwise required to achieve large volume."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Algebra of Chern-Simons Classes and the Poisson Bracket on it: Developing ideas based on combinatorial formulas for characteristic classes\nwe introduce the algebra modeling secondary characteristic classes associated\nto $N$ connections. Certain elements of the algebra correspond to the ordinary\nand secondary characteristic classes.That construction allows us to give easily\nthe explicit formulas for some known secondary classes and to construct the new\nones. We write how $i$-th differential and $i$-th homotopy operator in the\nalgebra are connected with the Poisson bracket defined in this algebra. There\nis an analogy between this algebra and the noncommutative symplectic geometry\nof Kontsevich. We consider then an algebraic model of the action of the gauge\ngroup. We describe how elements in the algebra corresponding to the secondary\ncharacteristic classes change under this action.",
        "positive": "Partition function of dyonic black holes in N=4 string theory: The dominant contribution to the semicanonical partition function of dyonic\nblack holes of N=4 string theory is computed for generic charges, generalizing\nrecent results of Shih and Yin. The result is compared to the black hole free\nenergy obtained from the conjectured relation to topological strings. If\ncertain perturbative corrections are included agreement is found to subleading\norder. These corrections modify the conjectured relation and implement\ncovariance with respect to electric-magnetic duality transformations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Anomalous Defects and Their Quantized Transverse Conductivities: Using a description of defects in solids in terms of three-dimensional\ngravity, we study the propagation of electrons in the background of\ndisclinations and screw dislocations. We study the situations where there are\nbound states that are effectively localized on the defect and hence can be\ndescribed in terms of an effective 1+1 dimensional field theory for the low\nenergy excitations. In the case of screw dislocations, we find that these\nexcitations are chiral and can be described by an effective field theory of\nchiral fermions. Fermions of both chirality occur even for a given direction of\nthe magnetic field. The ``net'' chirality of the system however is not always\nthe same for a given direction of the magnetic field, but changes from one sign\nof the chirality through zero to the other sign as the Fermi momentum or the\nmagnitude of the magnetic flux is varied. On coupling to an external\nelectromagnetic field, the latter becomes anomalous, and predicts novel\nconduction properties for these materials.",
        "positive": "Wilson Loops and Chiral Correlators on Squashed Sphere: We study chiral deformations of ${\\cal N}=2$ and ${\\cal N}=4$ supersymmetric\ngauge theories obtained by turning on $\\tau_J \\,{\\rm tr} \\, \\Phi^J$\ninteractions with $\\Phi$ the ${\\cal N}=2$ superfield. Using localization, we\ncompute the deformed gauge theory partition function $Z(\\vec\\tau|q)$ and the\nexpectation value of circular Wilson loops $W$ on a squashed four-sphere. In\nthe case of the deformed ${\\cal N}=4$ theory, exact formulas for $Z$ and $W$\nare derived in terms of an underlying $U(N)$ interacting matrix model replacing\nthe free Gaussian model describing the ${\\cal N}=4$ theory. Using the AGT\ncorrespondence, the $\\tau_J$-deformations are related to the insertions of\ncommuting integrals of motion in the four-point CFT correlator and chiral\ncorrelators are expressed as $\\tau$-derivatives of the gauge theory partition\nfunction on a finite $\\Omega$-background. In the so called Nekrasov-Shatashvili\nlimit, the entire ring of chiral relations is extracted from the\n$\\epsilon$-deformed Seiberg-Witten curve. As a byproduct of our analysis we\nshow that $SU(2)$ gauge theories on rational $\\Omega$-backgrounds are dual to\nCFT minimal models."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Permutation Orientifolds: We consider orientifold actions involving the permutation of two identical\nfactor theories. The corresponding crosscap states are constructed in rational\nconformal field theory. We study group manifolds, in particular the examples\n$SU(2) \\times SU(2)$ and $U(1)\\times U(1)$ in detail, comparing conformal field\ntheory results with geometry. We then consider orientifolds of tensor products\nof N=2 minimal models, which have a description as coset theories in rational\nconformal field theory and as Landau Ginzburg models. In the Landau Ginzburg\nlanguage, B-orientifolds and D-branes are described in terms of matrix\nfactorizations of the superpotential. We match the factorizations with the\ncorresponding crosscap states.",
        "positive": "Noncommutative field theory on $\\mathbb{R}^3_\u03bb$: We consider the noncommutative space $\\mathbb{R}^3_\\lambda$, a deformation of\nthe algebra of functions on $\\mathbb{R}^3$ which yields a foliation of\n$\\mathbb{R}^3$ into fuzzy spheres. We first review the construction of a\nnatural matrix basis adapted to $\\mathbb{R}^3_\\lambda$. We thus consider the\nproblem of defining a new Laplacian operator for the deformed algebra. We\npropose an operator which is not of Jacobi type. The implication for field\ntheory of the new Laplacian is briefly discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Scaling limit of the six vertex model in the framework of free field\n  representation: The scaling limit of the spectrum, $S$ matrix, and of the form factors of the\npolarization operator in the six vertex model has been found. The result for\nthe form factors is consistent with the form factors of the sine-Gordon model\nfound recently by Lukyanov. We discuss the origin of the structure of the free\nfield representation for the sine-Gordon model at the critical coupling from\nthe point of view of the lattice model.",
        "positive": "Nuclear Force from String Theory: We compute nuclear force in a holographic model of QCD on the basis of a\nD4-D8 brane configuration in type IIA string theory. Repulsive core of nucleons\nis quite important in nuclear physics, but its origin has not been\nwell-understood in strongly-coupled QCD. We find that string theory via\ngauge/string duality deduces this repulsive core at short distance between\nnucleons. Since baryons in the model are realized as solitons given by\nYang-Mills instanton configuration on flavor D8-branes, ADHM construction of\ntwo instantons probes well the nucleon interaction at short scale, which\nprovides the nuclear force quantitatively. We obtain, as well as a tensor\nforce, a central force which is strongly repulsive as suggested in experiments\nand lattice results. In particular, the nucleon-nucleon potential V(r) (as a\nfunction of the distance) scales as 1/r^2, which is peculiar to the holographic\nmodel. We compare our results with one-boson exchange model using the\nnucleon-nucleon-meson coupling obtained in our previous paper\n(arXiv:0806.3122)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Tachyon Perturbation on Two Dimensional Black Hole: We study the geometry of the two dimensional string theoretic black hole\nunder tachyonic perturbations. These perturbations are restricted to affect\nonly the metric and the dilaton, while other string theoretic excitations (like\nthe axion) are ignored. The metric and linearized dilaton perturbations are\ndetermined to lowest non-trivial order of the tachyonic hair in the presence of\nback reaction. We evaluate the Kretschmann scalar and argue that the horizon\ndoes not become singular in the presence of tachyon perturbations (to the order\nof our consideration). A closed-form solution of the allowed tachyon field and\nthat of the allowed tachyon potential emerges as a requirement of\nself-consistency of our solution.",
        "positive": "Laughlin states on the Poincare half-plane and its quantum group\n  symmetry: We find the Laughlin states of the electrons on the Poincare half-plane in\ndifferent representations. In each case we show that there exist a quantum\ngroup $su_q(2)$ symmetry such that the Laughlin states are a representation of\nit. We calculate the corresponding filling factor by using the plasma analogy\nof the FQHE."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chronology Protection in Generalized Godel Spacetime: The effective action of a free scalar field propagating in the generalized\nGodel spacetime is evaluated by the zeta-function regularization method. From\nthe result we show that the renormalized stress energy tensor may be divergent\nat the chronology horizon. This gives a support to the chronology protection\nconjecture.",
        "positive": "The Ultraviolet Behavior of N=8 Supergravity at Four Loops: We describe the construction of the complete four-loop four-particle\namplitude of N=8 supergravity. The amplitude is ultraviolet finite, not only in\nfour dimensions, but in five dimensions as well. The observed extra\ncancellations provide additional non-trivial evidence that N=8 supergravity in\nfour dimensions may be ultraviolet finite to all orders of perturbation theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exact solutions to quantum field theories and integrable equations: The exact solutions to quantum string and gauge field theories are discussed\nand their formulation in the framework of integrable systems is presented. In\nparticular I consider in detail several examples of appearence of solutions to\nthe first-order integrable equations of hydrodynamical type and stress that all\nknown examples can be treated as partial solutions to the same problem in the\ntheory of integrable systems.",
        "positive": "Clocks and Rods in Jackiw-Teitelboim Quantum Gravity: We specify bulk coordinates in Jackiw-Teitelboim (JT) gravity using a\nboundary-intrinsic radar definition. This allows us to study and calculate\nexactly diff-invariant bulk correlation functions of matter-coupled JT gravity,\nwhich are found to satisfy microcausality. We observe that quantum gravity\neffects dominate near-horizon matter correlation functions. This shows that\nquantum matter in classical curved spacetime is not a sensible model for\nnear-horizon matter-coupled JT gravity. This is how JT gravity, given our\nchoice of bulk frame, evades an information paradox. This echoes into the\nquantum expectation value of the near-horizon metric, whose analysis is\nextended from the disk model to the recently proposed topological completion of\nJT gravity. Due to quantum effects, at distances of order the Planck length to\nthe horizon, a dramatic breakdown of Rindler geometry is observed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Infinite violation of Bell inequalities in inflation: We study the violation of Bell-Mermin-Klyshko (BMK) inequalities in initial\nquantum states of scalar fields in inflation. We show that the Bell inequality\nis maximally violated by the Bunch-Davies vacuum which is a two-mode squeezed\nstate of a scalar field. However, we find that the violation of the BMK\ninequalities does not increase with the number of modes to measure. We then\nconsider a non-Bunch-Davies vacuum expressed by a four-mode squeezed state of\ntwo scalar fields. Remarkably, we find that the violation of the BMK\ninequalities increases exponentially with the number of modes to measure. This\nindicates that some evidence that our universe has a quantum mechanical origin\nmay survive in CMB data even if quantum entanglement decays exponentially\nafterward due to decoherence.",
        "positive": "Causality Criteria from Stability Analysis at Ultra-High Boost: In this work, we have exclusively employed the linear stability analysis at\nultra-high boost on two well-known stable-causal theories - second-order MIS\nand first-order BDNK, to identify the region of parameter space over which they\nare frame-invariantly stable and obey causal signal propagation. It has been\nshown that at near-luminal boost, stability criteria alone can provide the\ncausality constraints on transport coefficients, which are identical to the\nasymptotic causality conditions, without actually going to the asymptotic limit\nof the theories. Thus, we present an alternative approach to derive the\ncausality constraints, which is more appropriate for low-energy effective\ntheories like relativistic hydrodynamics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Decomposition of noncommutative U(1) gauge potential: We investigate the decomposition of noncommutative gauge potential\n$\\hat{A_{i}}$, and find it has inner structure, namely, $\\hat{A_{i}}$ can be\ndecomposed in two parts $\\hat{b_{i}}$ and $\\hat{a_{i}}$, here $\\hat{b_{i}}$\nsatisfies gauge transformations while $\\hat{a_{i}}$ satisfies adjoint\ntransformations, so dose the Seiberg-Witten mapping of noncommutative U(1)\ngauge potential. By means of Seiberg-Witten mapping, we construct a mapping of\nunit vector field between noncommutative space and ordinary space, and find the\nnoncommutative U(1) gauge potential and its gauge field tenser can be expressed\nin terms of the unit vector field. When the unit vector field has non\nsingularity point, noncommutative gauge potential and gauge field tenser will\nequal to ordinary gauge potential and gauge field tenser.",
        "positive": "Duality in Topological Quantum Field Theories: This thesis presents a thorough analysis of the links between the N=4\nsupersymmetric gauge theory in four dimensions and its three topological\ntwisted counterparts. Special emphasis is put in deriving explicit results in\nterms of the vacuum structure and low-energy effective description of\nfour-dimensional supersymmetric gauge theories. A key ingredient is the\nrealization of Montonten-Olive duality in the twisted theories, which is\ndiscussed in detail from different viewpoints."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exact results on ABJ theory and the refined topological string: We study the partition function of the ABJ theory, which is the N=6\nsuperconformal Chern-Simons matter theory with gauge group U(N)xU(N+M) and\nChern-Simons levels (k,-k). We exactly compute the ABJ partition function on a\nthree sphere for various k, M and N via the Fermi gas approach. By using these\nexact data, we show that the ABJ partition function is completely determined by\nthe refined topological string on local P^1 x P^1, including membrane instanton\neffects in the M-theory dual.",
        "positive": "Dressing a Scalar Mass up to Two-Loop Order at Finite Temperature: In this paper we use Modified Self-Consistent Resummation (MSCR) in order to\nobtain the scalar dressed mass by evaluating the self-energy up to two loops in\nthe neutral scalar $\\lambda \\phi^4$ model at finite temperature. With this\nlaboratory model we show that, if a theory is renormalizable at zero\ntemperature, using the MSCR it is always possible to obtain a finite corrected\nmass at finite temperature. This feature of the MSCR is not observed in some\nother approximation techniques usually found in the literature."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Unruh's detector in the presence of Lorentz symmetry breaking: We investigate the quantum field theory of a Lorentz non-invariant model with\na massive nonlinear dispersion relation in Minkowski space. The model involves\nsome non-causal signals in the form of wave packets propagating with\nsuper-luminal group velocities. To avoid the problems with causality we\ncharacterize the causal sector of the theory by a cutoff condition excluding\nall super-luminal group velocities. It is argued that in the causal theory\nsatisfying the energy positivity condition an Unruh's detector moving with a\nconstant velocity with respect to the preferred frame does not detect any\nparticle. But in a causal theory violating energy positivity, detection of a\nfield quanta occurs. We comment on the origin of this particle creation.",
        "positive": "Induced gauge interactions revisited: It has been shown that the old-fashioned idea of Sakharov's induced gravity\nand gauge interactions in the \"one-loop dominance\" version works astonishingly\nwell yielding reasonable parameters. It appears that induced coupling constants\nof gauge interactions of the standard model assume qualitatively realistic\nvalues. Moreover, it is possible to induce the Barbero--Immirzi parameter of\ncanonical gravity from the fields entering the standard model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauge-invariant quark and gluon fields in QCD: dynamics, topology, and\n  the Gribov ambiguity: We review the implementation, in a temporal-gauge formulation of QCD, of the\nnon-Abelian Gauss's law and the construction of gauge-invariant gauge and\nmatter fields. We then express the QCD Hamiltonian in terms of these\ngauge-invariant operator-valued fields, and discuss the relation of this\nHamiltonian and the gauge-invariant fields to the corresponding quantities in a\nCoulomb gauge formulation of QCD. We argue that a representation of QCD in\nterms of gauge-invariant quantities could be particularly useful for\nunderstanding low-energy phenomenology. We present the results of an\ninvestigation into the topological properties of the gauge-invariant fields,\nand show that there are Gribov copies of these gauge-invariant gauge fields,\nwhich are constructed in the temporal gauge, even though the conditions that\ngive rise to Gribov copies do not obtain for the gauge-dependent temporal-gauge\nfields.",
        "positive": "A black hole instability in five dimensions?: We study the moduli-space scattering of a two-charge supertube in the\nbackground of a rotating BPS D1-D5-P black hole in 4+1 dimensions, extending\nthe static analysis of Bena and Kraus (hep-th/0402144). While the magnetic\nforces associated with this motion change the details considerably, the final\nconclusion is similar to that of the static analysis: we find that one can\nbring the supertube to the horizon, so that the BMPV black hole and the\nsupertube merge. However, our analysis shows that this can occur even at\nsignificantly larger values of the angular momentum than was indicated by the\nstatic analysis. For a range of parameters, conservation laws and the area\ntheorem forbid the result of the merger from being any single known object:\nneither near-extremal black holes nor non-supersymmetric black rings are\nallowed. Such results suggest that the merger triggers an instability of the\nrotating D1-D5-P black hole, perhaps leading to bifurcation into a pair of\nblack objects."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Brief Summary of the Group-Variation Equations: A brief summary is given of the Group-Variation Equations and the island\ndiagram confinement mechanism, with an explanation of the prediction that the\ncylinder-topology minimal-area spanning surface term in the correlation\nfunction of two Wilson loops at large $N_c$, when it exists, must have a\npre-exponential factor, which for large area $A$ of the minimal-area\ncylinder-topology spanning surface, decreases with increasing $A$ at least as\nfast as $1/\\ln(\\sigma A)$, where $\\sigma$ is the area law parameter. This\nprediction is expected to be testable in lattice calculations.",
        "positive": "Quadratic reciprocity from a family of adelic conformal field theories: We consider a deformation of the two-dimensional free scalar field theory by\nraising the Laplacian to a positive real power. It turns out that the resulting\nnon-local generalized free action is invariant under two commuting actions of\nthe global conformal symmetry algebra, although it is no longer invariant under\nthe full Witt algebra. Furthermore, there is an adelic version of this family\nof conformal field theories, parameterized by the choice of a number field,\ntogether with a Hecke character. Tate's thesis gives the Green's functions of\nthese theories, and ensures that these Green's functions satisfy an adelic\nproduct formula. In particular, the local $L$-factors contribute to the\nprefactors of these Green's functions. Quadratic reciprocity turns out to be a\nconsequence of an adelic version of a holomorphic factorization property of\nthis family of theories on a quadratic extension of $\\mathbb{Q}$. We explain\nthat at the Archimedean place, the desired holomorphic factorization follows\nfrom the global conformal symmetry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exact Solutions v.s. Perturbative Calculations of Finite\n  $\u03a6^{3}$-$\u03a6^{4}$ Hybrid-Matrix-Model: There is a matrix model corresponding to a scalar field theory called\nGrosse-Wulkenhaar model, which is renormalizable by adding a harmonic\noscillator potential to scalar $\\Phi^{4}$ theory on Moyal spaces. There are\nmore unknowns in $\\Phi^{4}$ matrix model than in $\\Phi^{3}$ matrix model, for\nexample, in terms of integrability. We then construct a one-matrix model\n($\\Phi^{3}$-$\\Phi^{4}$ Hybrid-Matrix-Model) with multiple potentials, which is\na combination of a $3$-point interaction and a $4$-point interaction, where the\n$3$-point interaction of $\\Phi^{3}$ is multiplied by some positive definite\ndiagonal matrix $M$. This model is solvable due to the effect of this $M$. In\nparticular, the connected $\\displaystyle\\sum_{i=1}^{B}N_{i}$-point function\n$G_{|a_{N_{1}}^{1}\\cdots a_{N_{1}}^{1}|\\cdots|a_{1}^{B}\\cdots a_{N_{B}}^{B}|}$\nof $\\Phi^{3}$-$\\Phi^{4}$ Hybrid-Matrix-Model is studied in detail. This\n$\\displaystyle\\sum_{i=1}^{B}N_{i}$-point function can be interpreted\ngeometrically and corresponds to the sum over all Feynman diagrams (ribbon\ngraphs) drawn on Riemann surfaces with $B$ boundaries (punctures). Each\n$|a_{1}^{i}\\cdots a_{N_{i}}^{i}|$ represents $N_{i}$ external lines coming from\nthe $i$-th boundary (puncture) in each Feynman diagram. First, we construct\nFeynman rules for $\\Phi^{3}$-$\\Phi^{4}$ Hybrid-Matrix-Model and calculate\nperturbative expansions of some multipoint functions in ordinary methods.\nSecond, we calculate the path integral of the partition function\n$\\mathcal{Z}[J]$ and use the result to compute exact solutions for $1$-point\nfunction $G_{|a|}$ with $1$-boundary, $2$-point function $G_{|ab|}$ with\n$1$-boundary, $2$-point function $G_{|a|b|}$ with $2$-boundaries, and $n$-point\nfunction $G_{|a^{1}|a^{2}|\\cdots|a^{n}|}$ with $n$-boundaries. They include\ncontributions from Feynman diagrams corresponding to nonplanar Feynman diagrams\nor higher genus surfaces.",
        "positive": "Higher Order Graviton Scattering in M(atrix) Theory: In matrix theory the effective action for graviton-graviton scattering is a\ndouble expansion in the relative velocity and inverse separation. We discuss\nthe systematics of this expansion and subject matrix theory to a new test. Low\nenergy supergravity predicts the coefficient of the $v^6/r^{14}$ term, a\ntwo-loop effect, in agreement with explicit matrix model calculation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Aspects of Confinement and Screening in M theory: Confinement and Screening are investigated in SUSY gauge theories, realized\nby an M5 brane configuration, extending an approach applied previously to N=1\nSYM theory, to other models. The electric flux tubes are identified as M2\nbranes ending on the M5 branes and the conserved charge they carry is\nidentified as a topological property. The group of charges carried by the flux\ntubes is calculated and the results agree in all cases considered with the\nfield theoretical expectations. In particular, whenever the dynamical matter is\nexpected to screen the confining force, this is reproduced correctly in the M\ntheory realization.",
        "positive": "Lorentz Covariance in Epstein-Glaser Renormalization: We give explicit and inductive formulas for the construction of a Lorentz\ncovariant renormalization in the EG approach. This automatically provides for a\ncovariant BPHZ subtraction at totally spacelike momentum useful for massless\ntheories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dilaton Gravity and No-Hair Theorem in Two Dimensions: We study a general class of two-dimensional theories of the dilaton-gravity\ntype inspired by string theory and show that they admit charged\nmultiple-horizon black holes. These solutions are proved to satisfy scalar\nno-hair theorems.",
        "positive": "Covariant Description of D-branes in IIA Plane-Wave Background: We work out boundary conditions for the covariant open string in the type IIA\nplane wave background, which corresponds to the D-branes in the type IIA\ntheory. We use the kappa symmetric string action and see what kind of boundary\nconditions should be imposed to retain kappa symmetry. We find half BPS as well\nas quarter BPS branes and the analysis agrees with the previous work in the\nlight cone gauge if the result is available. Finally we find that D0-brane is\nnon-supersymmetric."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Deep Learning and Holographic QCD: We apply the relation between deep learning (DL) and the AdS/CFT\ncorrespondence to a holographic model of QCD. Using a lattice QCD data of the\nchiral condensate at a finite temperature as our training data, the deep\nlearning procedure holographically determines an emergent bulk metric as neural\nnetwork weights. The emergent bulk metric is found to have both a black hole\nhorizon and a finite-height IR wall, so shares both the confining and\ndeconfining phases, signaling the cross-over thermal phase transition of QCD.\nIn fact, a quark antiquark potential holographically calculated by the emergent\nbulk metric turns out to possess both the linear confining part and the Debye\nscreening part, as is often observed in lattice QCD. From this we argue the\ndiscrepancy between the chiral symmetry breaking and the quark confinement in\nthe holographic QCD. The DL method is shown to provide a novel data-driven\nholographic modeling of QCD, and sheds light on the mechanism of emergence of\nthe bulk geometries in the AdS/CFT correspondence.",
        "positive": "Duality Symmetries in N=2 Heterotic Superstring: We review the derivation and the basic properties of the perturbative\nprepotential in N=2 compactifications of the heterotic superstring. We discuss\nthe structure of the perturbative monodromy group and the embedding of rigidly\nsupersymmetric monodromies associated with enhanced gauge groups, at both\nperturbative and non-perturbative level."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Heisenberg symmetry and hypermultiplet manifolds: We study the emergence of Heisenberg (Bianchi II) algebra in hyper-K\\\"ahler\nand quaternionic spaces. This is motivated by the r\\^ole these spaces with this\nsymmetry play in $\\mathcal{N}=2$ hypermultiplet scalar manifolds. We show how\nto construct related pairs of hyper-K\\\"ahler and quaternionic spaces under\ngeneral symmetry assumptions, the former being a zooming-in limit of the latter\nat vanishing cosmological constant. We further apply this method for the two\nhyper-K\\\"ahler spaces with Heisenberg algebra, which is reduced to $U(1)\\times\nU(1)$ at the quaternionic level. We also show that no quaternionic spaces exist\nwith a strict Heisenberg symmetry -- as opposed to $\\text{Heisenberg} \\ltimes\nU(1)$. We finally discuss the realization of the latter by gauging appropriate\n$Sp(2,4)$ generators in $\\mathcal{N}=2$ conformal supergravity.",
        "positive": "N=4, d=3 Born-Infeld theory in component approach: Using the formalism of nonlinear realizations we construct the component\non-shell action of the N=4,d=3 Born-Infeld theory, which is the action of N=2,\nd=3 vector supermultiplet, fixed by invariance with respect to the additional\nspontaneously broken N=2, d=3 supersymmetry. Our construction shows that\ndealing with the systems with partial breaking of supersymmetry with vector\nfields in the multiplet, it is preferrable to use their formulation in terms of\nfermionic superfields only."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On T-Duality and Integrability for Strings on AdS Backgrounds: We discuss an interplay between T-duality and integrability for certain\nclassical non-linear sigma models. In particular, we consider strings on the\nAdS_5 x S^5 background and perform T-duality along the four isometry directions\nof AdS_5 in the Poincare patch. The T-dual of the AdS_5 sigma model is again a\nsigma model on an AdS_5 space. This classical T-duality relation was used in\nthe recently uncovered connection between light-like Wilson loops and MHV gluon\nscattering amplitudes in the strong coupling limit of the AdS/CFT duality. We\nshow that the explicit coordinate dependence along the T-duality directions of\nthe associated Lax connection (flat current) can be eliminated by means of a\nfield dependent gauge transformation. As a result, the gauge equivalent Lax\nconnection can easily be T-dualized, i.e. written in terms of the dual set of\nisometric coordinates. The T-dual Lax connection can be used for the derivation\nof infinitely many conserved charges in the T-dual model. Our construction\nimplies that local (Noether) charges of the original model are mapped to\nnon-local charges of the T-dual model and vice versa.",
        "positive": "Black Holes in Higher-Derivative Gravity: Extensions of Einstein gravity with higher-order derivative terms arise in\nstring theory and other effective theories, as well as being of interest in\ntheir own right. In this paper we study static black-hole solutions in the\nexample of Einstein gravity with additional quadratic curvature terms. A\nLichnerowicz-type theorem simplifies the analysis by establishing that they\nmust have vanishing Ricci scalar curvature. By numerical methods we then\ndemonstrate the existence of further black-hole solutions over and above the\nSchwarzschild solution. We discuss some of their thermodynamic properties, and\nshow that they obey the first law of thermodynamics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Conservation laws and stability of higher derivative extended\n  Chern-Simons: The higher derivative field theories are notorious for the stability problems\nboth at classical and quantum level. Classical instability is connected with\nunboundedness of the canonical energy, while the unbounded energy spectrum\nleads to the quantum instability. For a wide class of higher derivative\ntheories, including the extended Chern-Simons, other bounded conserved\nquantities which provide the stability can exist. The most general gauge\ninvariant extended Chern-Simons theory of arbitrary finite order $n$ admits $(n\n- 1)$-parameter series of conserved energy-momentum tensors. If the\n$00$-component of the most general representative of this series is bounded,\nthe theory is stable. The stability condition requires from the free extended\nChern-Simons theory to describe the unitary reducible representation of the\nPoincar\\'e group. The unstable theory corresponds to nonunitary representation.",
        "positive": "Superconnections and Matter: In a previous paper (hep-th/9801040), the superconnection formalism was used\nto fit the Higgs field into a U(n) gauge theory with particular emphasis on the\nn=2 case, aiming at the reconstruction of certain parts of the Standard Model.\nThe approach provides an alternative to the one bases on non-commutative\ngeometry. This work is continued by including matter fields (leptons only). We\nextend the Standard Model by including the right-handed neutrino field. The\npossibility of a finite neutrino mass is thus accounted for."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Entanglement Wedge Cross Section with Gauss-Bonnet Corrections and\n  Thermal Quench: The entanglement wedge cross section (EWCS) is numerically investigated\nstatically and dynamically in a five-dimension AdS-Vaidya spacetime with\nGauss-Bonnet (GB) corrections, focusing on two identical rectangular strips on\nthe boundary. In the static case, EWCS increases as the GB coupling constant\n$\\alpha$ increases and disentangles at small separation between two strips for\nsmaller $\\alpha$. For the dynamic case, such a monotonic relationship between\nEWCS and $\\alpha$ holds but the two strips no longer disentangle monotonically\nas in the static case. In the early thermal quenching stage, the\ndisentanglement occurs at smaller $\\alpha$ with larger separations. Two strips\nthen disentangle at larger {separation} with larger $\\alpha$ as time evolves.\nOur results indicate that the higher-order derivative corrections, like the\nentanglement measure in the dual boundary theory, also have nontrivial effects\non the EWCS evolution.",
        "positive": "Topological Twist of osp(2|2)\\oplus osp(2|2) Conformal Super Algebra in\n  Two Dimensions: A Lagrangian of the topological field theory is found in the twisted\nosp(2|2)\\oplus osp(2|2)conformal super algebra. The reduction on a moduli space\nis then elaborated through the vanishing Noether current."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Some Problems Concerning Interchange of Order of Integration in\n  Functional Integral Formalism of U(1) Gauge Field Theories: We show that in the functional integral formalism of U(1) gauge field theory\nsome formal manipulation such as interchange of order of integration can yield\nerroneous results. The example studied is analysed by Fubini theorem.",
        "positive": "Dimensional Reduction of Gravity and Relation between Static States,\n  Cosmologies and Waves: We introduce generalized dimensional reductions of an integrable\n1+1-dimensional dilaton gravity coupled to matter down to one-dimensional\nstatic states (black holes in particular), cosmological models and waves. An\nunusual feature of these reductions is the fact that the wave solutions depend\non two variables - space and time. They are obtained here both by reducing the\nmoduli space (available due to complete integrability) and by a generalized\nseparation of variables (applicable also to non integrable models and to higher\ndimensional theories). Among these new wave-like solutions we have found a\nclass of solutions for which the matter fields are finite everywhere in\nspace-time, including infinity.\n  These considerations clearly demonstrate that a deep connection exists\nbetween static states, cosmologies and waves. We argue that it should exist in\nrealistic higher-dimensional theories as well. Among other things we also\nbriefly outline the relations existing betweenthe low-dimensional models that\nwe have discussed hereand the realistic higher-dimensional ones.\n  This paper develops further some ideas already present in our previous\npapers. We briefly reproduce here (without proof) their main results in a more\nconcise form and give an important generalization."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Finslerian Quantum Field Theory: Finsler geometry motivates a generalization of the Riemannian structure of\nspacetime to include dependence of the spacetime metric and associated\ninvariant tensor fields on the four-velocity coordinates as well as the\nspacetime coordinates of the observer. It is then useful to consider the\ntangent bundle of spacetime with spacetime in the base manifold and\nfour-velocity space in the fiber. A physical basis for the differential\ngeometric structure of the spacetime tangent bundle is provided by the\nuniversal upper limit on proper acceleration relative to the vacuum. It is then\nnatural to consider a quantum field having a vanishing eigenvalue when acted on\nby the Laplace-Beltrami operator of the spacetime tangent bundle. On this basis\na quantum field theory can be constructed having a built-in intrinsic\nregularization at the Planck scale, and finite vacuum energy density.",
        "positive": "General Embedded Brane Effective Field Theories: We present a new general class of four-dimensional effective field theories\nwith interesting global symmetry groups. These theories arise from purely\ngravitational actions for (3+1)-dimensional branes embedded in higher\ndimensional spaces with induced gravity terms. The simplest example is the well\nknown Galileon theory, with its associated Galilean symmetry, arising as the\nlimit of a DGP brane world. However, we demonstrate that this is a special case\nof a much wider range of theories, with varying structures, but with the same\nattractive features such as second order equations. In some circumstances,\nthese new effective field theories allow potentials for the scalar fields on\ncurved space, with small masses protected by non-linear symmetries. Such models\nmay prove relevant to the cosmology of both the early and late universe."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On high energy scattering inside gravitational backgrounds: We analyze the high energy scattering inside gravitational backgrounds using\n't Hooft's formalism. The scattering is equivalent to geodesic shifts accross\nAichelburg-Sexl waves inside the gravitational backgrounds. We find solutions\nfor A-S waves inside various backgrounds and analyze them.",
        "positive": "Spectral expansion for finite temperature two-point functions and\n  clustering: Recently, the spectral expansion of finite temperature two-point functions in\nintegrable quantum field theories was constructed using a finite volume\nregularization technique and the application of multidimensional residues. In\nthe present work, the original calculation is revisited. By clarifying some\ndetails in the residue evaluations, we find and correct some inaccuracies of\nthe previous result. The final result for contributions involving no more than\ntwo particles in the intermediate states is presented. The result is verified\nby proving a symmetry property which follows from the general structure of the\nspectral expansion, and also by numerical comparison to the discrete finite\nvolume spectral sum. A further consistency check is performed by showing that\nthe expansion satisfies the cluster property up to the order of the evaluation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Axion production from gravitons off interacting 0-branes: We study axion-graviton scattering from a system of two D$0$-branes in a Type\nII superstring theory, a process which does not occur on a single brane. The\ntwo D$0$-branes interact via the exchange of closed string states which form a\ncylinder joining them. By compactifying on the $Z_3$ orbifold we find a non\nvanishing amplitude coming from the odd spin structure sector, thus from the\nexchanged RR states. We compute, in particular, the leading term of the\namplitude at large distance from the branes, which corresponds to taking a\nfield theory limit. This seems to suggest that the process takes place through\nthe coupling of an axion to the RR states exchanged between the 0-branes.",
        "positive": "Towards formalization of the soliton counting technique for the\n  Khovanov-Rozansky invariants in the deformed $\\mathcal{R}$-matrix approach: We consider recently developed Cohomological Field Theory soliton counting\ndiagram technique for Khovanov and Khovanov-Rozansky invariants [1,2]. Although\nthe expectation to obtain a new way for computing the invariants has not yet\ncome true, we demonstrate that soliton counting technique can be totally\nformalized at an intermediate stage, at least in particular cases. We present\nthe corresponding algorithm, based on the approach involving deformed\n$\\mathcal{R}$-matrix and minimal positive division, developed previously in\n[3]. We start from a detailed review of the minimal positive division approach,\ncomparing it with other methods, including the rigorous mathematical treatment\n[4]. Pieces of data obtained within our approach are presented in the\nAppendices."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-Abelian, supersymmetric black holes and strings in 5 dimensions: We construct and study the first supersymmetric black-hole and black-string\nsolutions of non-Abelian-gauged N=1,d=5 supergravity (N=1,d=5\nSuper-Einstein-Yang-Mills theory) with non-trivial SU(2) gauge fields: BPST\ninstantons for black holes and BPS monopoles of different kinds\n('t~Hooft-Polyakov, Wu-Yang and Protogenov) for black strings and also for\ncertain black holes that are well defined solutions only for very specific\nvalues of all the moduli. Instantons, as well as colored monopoles do not\ncontribute to the masses and tensions but do contribute to the entropies.\n  The construction is based on the characterization of the supersymmetric\nsolutions of gauged N=1,d=5 supergravity coupled to vector multiplets achieved\nin Ref. Bellorin:2007yp which we elaborate upon by finding the rules to\nconstruct supersymmetric solutions with one additional isometry, both for the\ntimelike and null classes. These rules automatically connect the timelike and\nnull non-Abelian supersymmetric solutions of N=1,d=5 SEYM theory with the\ntimelike ones of N=2,d=4 SEYM theory by dimensional reduction and oxidation. In\nthe timelike-to-timelike case the singular Kronheimer reduction recently\nstudied in Ref. Bueno:2015wva plays a crucial role.",
        "positive": "Fixed Points of Higher Derivative Gravity: We recalculate the beta functions of higher derivative gravity in four\ndimensions using the one--loop approximation to an Exact Renormalization Group\nEquation. We reproduce the beta functions of the dimensionless couplings that\nwere known in the literature but we find new terms for the beta functions of\nNewton's constant and of the cosmological constant. As a result, the theory\nappears to be asymptotically safe at a non--Gaussian Fixed Point, rather than\nperturbatively renormalizable and asymptotically free."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fermionic T-duality and Morita Equivalence: In this paper we investigate the relationship between the so-called fermionic\nT-duality and the Morita equivalence of noncommutative supertori. We first get\nan action satisfying the BRST invariance under nonvanishing constant R-R and\nNS-NS backgrounds in the hybrid formalism. We investigate the effect of bosonic\nT-duality transformation together with fermionic T-duality transformation in\nthis background and look for the resultant symmetry of transformations. We find\nthat the duality transformations correspond to Morita equivalence of\nnoncommutative supertori. In particular, we obtain the symmetry group\n$SO(2,2,{\\cal V}_{\\Z}^0)$ in two dimensions, where ${\\cal V}_{\\Z}^0$ denotes\nGrassmann even number whose body part belongs to ${\\Z}$.",
        "positive": "WBase: a C package to reduce tensor products of Lie algebra\n  representations: It is nearly twenty years that there exist computer programs to reduce\nproducts of Lie algebra irreps. This is a contribution in the field that uses a\nmodern computer language (``C'') in a highly structured and object-oriented\nway. This gives the benefits of high portability, efficiency, and makes it\neasier to include the functions in user programs. Characteristic of this set of\nroutines is the {\\it all-dynamic} approach for the use of memory, so that the\npackage only uses the memory resources as needed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chiral Dynamics and Meson with Non-commutative Dipole Field in\n  Gauge/Gravity Dual: Apply the T-duality and smeared twist to the D3-brane solution one can\nconstruct the supergravity backgrounds which may dual to supersymmetric or\nnon-supersymmetric non-commutative dipole field theory. We introduce D7-brane\nprobe into the dual supergravity background to study the chiral dynamics and\nmeson spectrum therein. We first find that the non-commutative dipole field\ndoes not induce the chiral symmetry breaking even if the supersymmetry was\ncompletely broken, contrast to the conventional believing that the chiral\nsymmetry will be broken in the non-supersymmetric theory. Next, we find that\nthe dipole field does not modify the meson spectrum in the supersymmetric\ntheory while it will reduce the meson bound-state energy in the\nnon-supersymmetric theory. We also evaluate the static quark anti-quark\npotential and see that the dipole field has an effect to produce attractive\nforce between the quark and anti-quark.",
        "positive": "The Jordanian Bicovariant Differential Calculus: We show that the Woronowicz prescription using a bimodule constructed out of\na tensorial product of a bimodule and its conjugate and a bi-coinvariant\nsinglet leads to a trivial differential calculus."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Scattering of Noncommutative (n,1) Solitons: We study scattering of noncommutative solitons in 2+1 dimensional scalar\nfield theory. In particular, we investigate a system of two solitons with level\nn and n' (the (n,n')-system) in the large noncommutativity limit. We show that\nthe scattering of a general (n,n')-system occurs at right angles in the case of\nzero impact parameter. We also derive an exact Kahler potential and the metric\nof the moduli space of the (n,1)-system. We examine numerically the (n,1)\nscattering and find that the closest distance for a fixed scattering angle is\nwell approximated by a function a+b*sqrt{n} where a and b are some numerical\nconstants.",
        "positive": "SUSY Breaking at the Tip of Throat and Mirage Mediation: We discuss some features of supersymmetry breaking induced by a\nbrane-localized source which is stabilized at the IR end of warped throat, and\nalso the resulting mirage mediation pattern of soft terms of the visible fields\nwhich are localized in the bulk space corresponding to the UV end of throat.\nSuch supersymmetry breaking scheme can be naturally realized in KKLT-type\nstring compactification, and predicts highly distinctive pattern of low energy\nsuperparticle masses which might be tested at the LHC."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Low-Temperature Thermodynamics of $A^{(2)}_2$ and su(3)-invariant Spin\n  Chains: We formulate the thermodynamic Bethe Ansatz (TBA) equations for the closed\n(periodic boundary conditions) $A^{(2)}_2$ quantum spin chain in an external\nmagnetic field, in the (noncritical) regime where the anisotropy parameter\n$\\eta$ is real. In the limit $\\eta \\to 0$, we recover the TBA equations of the\nantiferromagnetic su(3)-invariant chain in the fundamental representation. We\nsolve these equations for low temperature and small field, and calculate the\nspecific heat and magnetic susceptibility.",
        "positive": "Charged Rotating Black Hole in Three Spacetime Dimensions: The generalization of the black hole in three-dimensional spacetime to\ninclude an electric charge Q in addition to the mass M and the angular momentum\nJ is given. The field equations are first solved explicitly when Q is small and\nthe general form of the field at large distances is established. The total\n``hairs'' M, J and Q are exhibited as boundary terms at infinity. It is found\nthat the inner horizon of the rotating uncharged black hole is unstable under\nthe addition of a small electric charge. Next it is shown that when Q=0 the\nspinning black hole may be obtained from the one with J=0 by a Lorentz boost in\nthe $\\phi -t$ plane. This boost is an ``illegitimate coordinate\ntransformation'' because it changes the physical parameters of the solution.\nThe extreme black hole appears as the analog of a particle moving with the\nspeed of light. The same boost may be used when $Q\\neq 0$ to generate a\nsolution with angular momentum from that with J=0, although the geometrical\nmeaning of the transformation is much less transparent since in the charged\ncase the black holes are not obtained by identifying points in anti-de Sitter\nspace. The metric is given explicitly in terms of three parameters,\n$\\widetilde{M}$, $ \\widetilde{Q}$ and $\\omega $ which are the ``rest mass'' and\n``rest charge'' and the angular velocity of the boost. These parameters are\nrelated to M, J and Q through the solution of an algebraic cubic equation.\nAltogether, even without angular momentum, the electrically charged 2+1 black\nhole is somewhat pathological since (i) it exists for arbitrarily negative\nvalues of the mass, and (ii) there is no upper bound on the electric charge."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Conductivities from attractors: In the context of applications of the AdS/CFT correspondence to condensed\nmatter physics, we compute conductivities for field theory duals of dyonic\nplanar black holes in 3+1-dimensional Einstein-Maxwell-dilaton theories at zero\ntemperature. We combine the near-horizon data obtained via Sen's entropy\nfunction formalism with known expressions for conductivities. In this way we\nexpress the conductivities in terms of the extremal black hole charges. We\napply our approach to three different examples for dilaton theories for which\nthe background geometry is not known explicitly. For a constant scalar\npotential, the thermoelectric conductivity explicitly scales as\n$\\alpha_{xy}\\sim N^{3/2}$, as expected. For the same model, our approach yields\na finite result for the heat conductivity $\\kappa/T \\propto N^{3/2}$ even for\n$T \\rightarrow 0$.",
        "positive": "Quaternionic Spin: We rewrite the standard 4-dimensional Dirac equation in terms of quaternionic\n2-component spinors, leading to a formalism which treats both massive and\nmassless particles on an equal footing. The resulting unified description has\nthe correct particle spectrum to be a generation of leptons, with the correct\nnumber of spin/helicity states. Furthermore, precisely three such generations\nnaturally combine into an octonionic description of the 10-dimensional massless\nDirac equation, as discussed in previous work."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Black holes in five-dimensional Palatini $f(R)$ gravity and implications\n  for the AdS/CFT correspondence: We show that theories having second-order field equations in the context of\nhigher-dimensional modified gravity are not restricted to the family of\nLovelock Lagrangians, but can also be obtained if no a priori assumption on the\nrelation between the metric and affine structures of space-time is made\n(Palatini approach). We illustrate this fact by considering the case of\nPalatini $f(R)$ gravities in five dimensions. Our results provide an\nalternative avenue to explore new domains of the AdS/CFT correspondence without\nresorting to {\\it ad hoc} quasi-topological constructions.",
        "positive": "Scalar and tensor gauge field localization on deformed thick branes: We make an analysis about several aspects of localization of a scalar field\nand a Kalb-Ramond gauge field in a specific four dimensional AdS membrane\nembedded in a five dimensional space-time. The membrane is generated from a\ndeformation of the $\\lambda \\phi^4$ potential and belongs to a new class of\ndefect solutions. The study of deformed defects is important because they\ncontain internal structures and these may have implications to the way the\nbackground space-time is constructed and the way its curvature behaves. The\nmain objective is to observe the contributions of the deformation procedure to\nthe well known field localization methods."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Four dimensional ambitwistor strings and form factors of local and\n  Wilson line operators: We consider the description of form factors of local and Wilson line\noperators (reggeon amplitudes) in N=4 SYM within the framework of four\ndimensional ambitwistor string theory. We present the explicit expressions for\nstring composite operators corresponding to stress-tensor operator\nsupermultiplet and Wilson line operator insertion. It is shown, that\ncorresponding tree-level string correlation functions correctly reproduce\npreviously obtained Grassmannian integral representations. As by product we\nderive four dimensional tree-level scattering equations representations for the\nmentioned form factors and formulate a simple gluing procedure used to relate\noperator form factors with on-shell amplitudes.",
        "positive": "Six dimensional QCD at two loops: We construct the six dimensional Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) Lagrangian in a\nlinear covariant gauge and subsequently renormalize it at two loops in the\nMSbar scheme. The coupling constant corresponding to the gauge interaction is\nasymptotically free for all numbers of quark fields, Nf. Analysing the\nbeta-functions yields a rich spectrum of fixed points. For instance, the\nconformal window in the six dimensional theory is at Nf = 16 for the SU(3)\ncolour group. The critical theory structure is similar to that of an O(N)\nscalar theory in eight dimensions. Using the large N expansion the latter is\nshown to be in the same universality class as the Heisenberg ferromagnet.\nSimilarly using the large Nf expansion, six dimensional QCD is shown to be in\nthe same class as the two dimensional non-abelian Thirring model and four\ndimensional QCD. Abelian gauge theories are also renormalized at high loops in\nsix and eight dimensions. It is shown that the gauge parameter only appears in\nthe electron anomalous dimension at one loop, similar to four dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Bosonic Quadratic Actions for 11D Supergravity on AdS_7/4 x S_4/7: We determine from 11D supergravity the quadratic bulk action for the physical\nbosonic fields relevant for the computation of correlation functions of\nnormalized chiral operators in D=6, N=(0,2) and D=3, N=8 supersymmetric CFT in\nthe large N limit, as dictated by the AdS/CFT duality conjecture.",
        "positive": "A Landscape of AdS Flux Vacua: We analyse type IIA Calabi-Yau orientifolds with background fluxes and\nD6-branes. Rewriting the F-term scalar potential as a bilinear in flux-axion\npolynomials yields a more efficient description of the Landscape of flux vacua,\nas they are invariant under the discrete shift symmetries of the 4d effective\ntheory. In particular, expressing the extremisation conditions of the scalar\npotential in terms of such polynomials allows for a systematic search of vacua.\nWe classify families of N=0 Minkowski, N=1 AdS and N=0 AdS flux vacua,\nextending previous findings in the literature to the Calabi-Yau context. We\ncompute the spectrum of flux-induced masses for some of them and show that they\nare perturbatively stable, and in particular find a branch of N=0 AdS vacua\nwhere tachyons are absent. Finally, we extend this Landscape to the open string\nsector by including mobile D6-branes and their fluxes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Gravity Dual of Softly Broken N=1 Super Yang-Mills: Starting from the Maldacena-Nunez supergravity dual of N=1 super Yang-Mills\ntheory we study the inclusion of a supersymmetry breaking gaugino mass term. We\nconsider a class of non supersymmetric deformations of the MN solutions which\nhave been recently proposed in the literature. We show that they can be\ninterpreted as corresponding to the inclusion of both a mass and a condensate.\nWe calculate the vacuum energy of the supergravity solutions showing that the\nN-fold vacuum degeneracy of the N=1 theory is lifted by the inclusion of a mass\nterm.",
        "positive": "General Wigner Rotations in $D$ Dimensions: We construct general Wigner rotations for both massive and massless particles\nin $D$-dimensional spacetime. We work out the explicit expressions of these\nWigner rotations for arbitrary Lorentz transformations. We study the relation\nbetween the electromagnetic gauge invariance and the non-uniqueness of Wigner\nrotation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The semi-classical expansion and resurgence in gauge theories: new\n  perturbative, instanton, bion, and renormalon effects: We study the dynamics of four dimensional gauge theories with adjoint\nfermions for all gauge groups, both in perturbation theory and\nnon-perturbatively, by using circle compactification with periodic boundary\nconditions for the fermions. There are new gauge phenomena. We show that, to\nall orders in perturbation theory, many gauge groups are Higgsed by the gauge\nholonomy around the circle to a product of both abelian and nonabelian gauge\ngroup factors. Non-perturbatively there are monopole-instantons with fermion\nzero modes and two types of monopole-anti-monopole molecules, called bions. One\ntype are \"magnetic bions\" which carry net magnetic charge and induce a mass gap\nfor gauge fluctuations. Another type are \"neutral bions\" which are magnetically\nneutral, and their understanding requires a generalization of multi-instanton\ntechniques in quantum mechanics - which we refer to as the\nBogomolny-Zinn-Justin (BZJ) prescription - to compactified field theory. The\nBZJ prescription applied to bion-anti-bion topological molecules predicts a\nsingularity on the positive real axis of the Borel plane (i.e., a divergence\nfrom summing large orders in peturbation theory) which is of order N times\ncloser to the origin than the leading 4-d BPST instanton-anti-instanton\nsingularity, where N is the rank of the gauge group. The position of the\nbion--anti-bion singularity is thus qualitatively similar to that of the 4-d IR\nrenormalon singularity, and we conjecture that they are continuously related as\nthe compactification radius is changed. By making use of transseries and\nEcalle's resurgence theory we argue that a non-perturbative continuum\ndefinition of a class of field theories which admit semi-classical expansions\nmay be possible.",
        "positive": "Classical Fermi Fluid and Geometric Action for $c=1$: We formulate the $c=1$ matrix model as a quantum fluid and discuss its\nclassical limit in detail, emphasizing the $\\hbar$ corrections. We view the\nfermi fluid profiles as elements of \\winf-coadjoint orbit and write down a\ngeometric action for the classical phase space. In the specific representation\nof fluid profiles as `strings' the action is written in a four-dimensional form\nin terms of gauge fields built out of the embedding of the `string' in the\nphase plane. We show that the collective field action can be derived from the\nabove action provided one restricts to quadratic fluid profiles and ignores the\ndynamics of their `turning points'."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Topological aspects of Abelian gauge theory in superfield formulation: We discuss some aspects of the topological features of a non-interacting two\n(1+1)-dimensional Abelian gauge theory in the framework of superfield\nformalism. This theory is described by a BRST invariant Lagrangian density in\nthe Feynman gauge. We express the local and continuous symmetries, Lagrangian\ndensity, topological invariants and symmetric energy momentum tensor of this\ntheory in the language of superfields by exploiting the nilpotent (anti-)BRST-\nand (anti-)co-BRST symmetries. In particular, the Lagrangian density and\nsymmetric energy momentum tensor of this topological theory turn out to be the\nsum of terms that geometrically correspond to the translations of some local\nsuperfields along the Grassmannian directions of the four (2+2)-dimensional\nsupermanifold. In this interpretation, the (anti-)BRST- and (anti-)co-BRST\nsymmetries, that emerge after the imposition of the (dual) horizontality\nconditions, play a very important role.",
        "positive": "Gauge Theory Correlators from Non-Critical String Theory: We suggest a means of obtaining certain Green's functions in 3+1-dimensional\n${\\cal N} = 4$ supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory with a large number of colors\nvia non-critical string theory. The non-critical string theory is related to\ncritical string theory in anti-deSitter background. We introduce a boundary of\nthe anti-deSitter space analogous to a cut-off on the Liouville coordinate of\nthe two-dimensional string theory. Correlation functions of operators in the\ngauge theory are related to the dependence of the supergravity action on the\nboundary conditions. From the quadratic terms in supergravity we read off the\nanomalous dimensions. For operators that couple to massless string states it\nhas been established through absorption calculations that the anomalous\ndimensions vanish, and we rederive this result. The operators that couple to\nmassive string states at level $n$ acquire anomalous dimensions that grow as\n$2\\left (n g_{YM} \\sqrt {2 N} )^{1/2}$ for large `t Hooft coupling. This is a\nnew prediction about the strong coupling behavior of large $N$ SYM theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Some Properties of Type I' String Theory: The T-dual formulation of Type I superstring theory, sometimes called Type I'\ntheory, has a number of interesting features. Here we review some of them\nincluding the role of D0-branes and D8-branes in controlling possible gauge\nsymmetry enhancement.",
        "positive": "Orientiholes: By T-dualizing space-filling D-branes in IIB orientifold compactifications\nalong the three non-internal spatial directions, we obtain black hole bound\nstates living in a universe with a gauged spatial reflection symmetry. We call\nthese objects orientiholes. The gravitational entropy of various IIA\norientihole configurations provides an \"experimental\" estimate of the number of\nvacua in various sectors of the IIB landscape. Furthermore, basic physical\nproperties of orientiholes map to (sometimes subtle) microscopic features, thus\nproviding a useful alternative viewpoint on a number of issues arising in\nD-brane model building. More generally, we give orientihole generalizations of\nrecently derived wall crossing formulae, and conjecture a relation to the\ntopological string analogous to the OSV conjecture, but with a linear rather\nthan a quadratic identification of partition functions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Regular black holes in quadratic gravity: The first-order correction of the perturbative solution of the coupled\nequations of the quadratic gravity and nonlinear electrodynamics is\nconstructed, with the zeroth-order solution coinciding with the ones given by\nAy\\'on-Beato and Garc{\\'\\i}a and by Bronnikov. It is shown that a simple\ngeneralization of the Bronnikov's electromagnetic Lagrangian leads to the\nsolution expressible in terms of the polylogarithm functions. The solution is\nparametrized by two integration constants and depends on two free parameters.\nBy the boundary conditions the integration constants are related to the charge\nand total mass of the system as seen by a distant observer, whereas the free\nparameters are adjusted to make the resultant line element regular at the\ncenter. It is argued that various curvature invariants are also regular there\nthat strongly suggests the regularity of the spacetime. Despite the complexity\nof the problem the obtained solution can be studied analytically. The location\nof the event horizon of the black hole, its asymptotics and temperature are\ncalculated. Special emphasis is put on the extremal configuration.",
        "positive": "What exactly does Bekenstein bound?: The Bekenstein bound posits a maximum entropy for matter with finite energy\nconfined to a spacetime region. It is often interpreted as a fundamental limit\non the information that can be stored by physical objects. In this work, we\ntest this interpretation by asking whether the Bekenstein bound imposes\nconstraints on a channel's communication capacity, a context in which\ninformation can be given a mathematically rigorous and operationally meaningful\ndefinition. We first derive a bound on the accessible information and\ndemonstrate that the Bekenstein bound constrains the decoding instead of the\nencoding. Then we study specifically the Unruh channel that describes a\nstationary Alice exciting different species of free scalar fields to send\ninformation to an accelerating Bob, who is therefore confined to a Rindler\nwedge and exposed to the noise of Unruh radiation. We show that the classical\nand quantum capacities of the Unruh channel obey the Bekenstein bound. In\ncontrast, the entanglement-assisted capacity is as large as the input size even\nat arbitrarily high Unruh temperatures. This reflects that the Bekenstein bound\ncan be violated if we do not properly constrain the decoding operation in\naccordance with the bound. We further find that the Unruh channel can transmit\na significant number of zero-bits, which are communication resources that can\nbe used as minimal substitutes for the classical/quantum bits needed for many\nprimitive information processing protocols, such as dense coding and\nteleportation. We show that the Unruh channel has a large zero-bit capacity\neven at high temperatures, which underpins the capacity boost with entanglement\nassistance and allows Alice and Bob to perform quantum identification.\nTherefore, unlike classical bits and qubits, zero-bits and their associated\ninformation processing capability are not constrained by the Bekenstein bound."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Augmented Superfield Approach to Non-Yang-Mills Symmetries of Jackiw-Pi\n  Model: Novel Observations: We derive the off-shell nilpotent and absolutely anticommuting\nBecchi-Rouet-Stora-Tyutin (BRST) as well as anti-BRST symmetry transformations\ncorresponding to the non-Yang-Mills symmetry transformations of (2 + 1)-\ndimensional Jackiw-Pi (JP) model within the framework of \"augmented\" superfield\nformalism. The Curci-Ferrari restriction, which is a hallmark of non-Abelian\n1-form gauge theories, does not appear in this case. One of the novel features\nof our present investigation is the derivation of proper (anti-)BRST symmetry\ntransformations corresponding to the auxiliary field \\rho that can not be\nderived by any conventional means.",
        "positive": "qQCD$_2$ and G/G model: The 2D lattice gauge theory with a quantum gauge group $SL_q(2)$ is\nconsidered. When $q=e^{i\\frac{2\\pi}{k+2}}$, its weak coupling partition\nfunction coincides with the one of the G/G coset model ({\\em i.e.} equals the\nVerlinde numbers). However, despite such a remarkable coincidence, these models\nare not equivalent but, in some certain sense, dual to each other."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Magnetic monopoles over topologically non trivial Riemann Surfaces: An explicit canonical construction of monopole connections on non trivial\nU(1) bundles over Riemann surfaces of any genus is given. The class of monopole\nsolutions depend on the conformal class of the given Riemann surface and a set\nof integer weights. The reduction of Seiberg-Witten 4-monopole equations to\nRiemann surfaces is performed. It is shown then that the monopole connections\nconstructed are solutions to these equations.",
        "positive": "Lorentz violation and Condensed Matter Physics: We present heuristic arguments that hint to a possible connection of Lorentz\nviolation with observed phenomenon in condensed matter physics. Various\nreferences from condensed matter literature are cited where operators in the\nStandard Model Extension appear to be enhanced. Furthermore, we consider the\nLevy-Leblond equation, which is the analogue of Dirac equation in\nnon-relativistic quantum mechanics. We show that we can obtain the Levy-Leblond\nequation by adding enhanced Lorentz violating operators to the Dirac equation.\nBased on these observations, we propose that Lorentz violation exhibits itself\nin non-relativistic quantum mechanics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The supersymmetric affine Yangian: The affine Yangian of $\\mathfrak{gl}_1$ is known to be isomorphic to ${\\cal\nW}_{1+\\infty}$, the $W$-algebra that characterizes the bosonic higher spin --\nCFT duality. In this paper we propose defining relations of the Yangian that\nare relevant for the ${\\cal N}=2$ superconformal version of ${\\cal\nW}_{1+\\infty}$. Our construction is based on the observation that the ${\\cal\nN}=2$ superconformal ${\\cal W}_{1+\\infty}$ algebra contains two commuting\nbosonic ${\\cal W}_{1+\\infty}$ algebras, and that the additional generators\ntransform in bi-minimal representations with respect to these two algebras. The\ncorresponding affine Yangian can therefore be built up from two affine Yangians\nof $\\mathfrak{gl}_1$ by adding in generators that transform appropriately.",
        "positive": "Boundary States for AdS_2 Branes in AdS_3: We construct boundary states for the AdS_2 D-branes in AdS_3. We show that,\nin the semi-classical limit, the boundary states correctly reproduce geometric\nconfigurations of these branes. We use the boundary states to compute the one\nloop free energy of open string stretched between the branes. The result agrees\nprecisely with the open string computation in hep-th/0106129."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Line of fixed points in a bosonic tensor model: We consider the $O(N)^3$ tensor model of Klebanov and Tarnopolsky\n\\cite{Klebanov:2016xxf} in $d<4$ with a free covariance modified to fit the\ninfrared conformal scaling. We study the renormalization group flow of the\nmodel using a Wilsonian approach valid in any $d$ (notably we do not require\n$d=4-\\epsilon$ with small $\\epsilon$). At large $N$, the tetrahedral coupling\nhas a finite flow, hence it becomes a free parameter. The remaining flow can be\nparameterized by two couplings which do not mix. We show that, at leading order\nin $1/N$ but non perturbatively in the couplings, the beta functions stop at\nquadratic order in the pillow and double-trace couplings. We find four fixed\npoints which depend parametrically on the tetrahedral coupling. For purely\nimaginary values of the latter we identify a real and \\emph{infrared\nattractive} fixed point. We remark that an imaginary tetrahedral coupling is in\nfact natural from the onset as the tetrahedral invariant does not have any\npositivity property, and moreover in the large-$N$ limit beta functions depend\non the square of the tetrahedral coupling, thus they remain real, as long as\nthe other couplings stay real.",
        "positive": "Derivative expansion for the effective action of chiral gauge fermions.\n  The abnormal parity component: Explicit exact formulas are presented, for the leading order term in a strict\nchiral covariant derivative expansion, for the abnormal parity component of the\neffective action of two- and four-dimensional Dirac fermions in presence of\nscalar, pseudo-scalar, vector and axial vector background fields. The formulas\nhold for completely general internal symmetry groups and general\nconfigurations. In particular the scalar and pseudo-scalar fields need not be\non the chiral circle."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A note on unfree gauge symmetry: We study the general structure of field theories with the unfree gauge\nsymmetry where the gauge parameters are restricted by differential equations.\nThe examples of unfree gauge symmetries include volume preserving\ndiffeomorphisms in the unimodular gravity and various higher spin field\ntheories with transverse gauge symmetries. All the known examples of the models\nwith unfree gauge symmetry share one common feature. They admit local\nquantities which vanish on shell, though they are not linear combinations of\nLagrangian equations and their derivatives. We term these quantities as mass\nshell completion functions.\n  In the case of usual gauge symmetry with unconstrained gauge parameters, the\nirreducible gauge algebra involves the two basic constituents: the action\nfunctional and gauge symmetry generators. For the case of unfree gauge\nsymmetry, we identify two more basic constituents: operators of gauge parameter\nconstraints and completion functions. These two extra constituents are involved\nin the algebra of unfree gauge symmetry on equal footing with action and gauge\nsymmetry generators.\n  Proceeding from the algebra, we adjust the Faddeev-Popov (FP) path integral\nquantization scheme to the case of unfree gauge symmetry. The modified FP\naction involves the operators of the constraints imposed on the gauge\nparameters, while the corresponding BRST transformation involves the completion\nfunctions. The BRST symmetry ensures gauge independence of the path integral.\nWe provide two examples which admit the alternative unconstrained\nparametrization of gauge symmetry and demonstrate that they lead to the\nequivalent FP path integral.",
        "positive": "Holography at an Extremal De Sitter Horizon: Rotating maximal black holes in four-dimensional de Sitter space, for which\nthe outer event horizon coincides with the cosmological horizon, have an\ninfinite near-horizon region described by the rotating Nariai metric. We show\nthat the asymptotic symmetry group at the spacelike future boundary of the\nnear-horizon region contains a Virasoro algebra with a real, positive central\ncharge. This is evidence that quantum gravity in a rotating Nariai background\nis dual to a two-dimensional Euclidean conformal field theory. These results\nare related to the Kerr/CFT correspondence for extremal black holes, but have\ntwo key differences: one of the black hole event horizons has been traded for\nthe cosmological horizon, and the near-horizon geometry is a fiber over dS_2\nrather than AdS_2."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Black Hole Complementarity and the Physical Origin of the Stretched\n  Horizon: We discuss the idea of black hole complementarity, recently suggested by\nSusskind et al., and the notion of stretched horizon, in the light of the\ngeneralized uncertainty principle of quantum gravity. We discuss implications\nfor the no-hair theorem and we show that within this approach quantum hair\narises naturally.",
        "positive": "Localization of the action in AdS/CFT: We derive a simple formula for the action of any supersymmetric solution to\nminimal gauged supergravity in the AdS$_4$/CFT$_3$ correspondence. Such\nsolutions are equipped with a supersymmetric Killing vector, and we show that\nthe holographically renormalized action may be expressed entirely in terms of\nthe weights of this vector field at its fixed points, together with certain\ntopological data. In this sense, the classical gravitational partition function\nlocalizes in the bulk. We illustrate our general formula with a number of\nexplicit examples, in which exact dual field theory computations are also\navailable, which include supersymmetric Taub-NUT and Taub-bolt type spacetimes,\nas well as black hole solutions. Our simple topological formula also allows us\nto write down the action of any solution, provided it exists."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "T-systems and Y-systems in integrable systems: The T and Y-systems are ubiquitous structures in classical and quantum\nintegrable systems. They are difference equations having a variety of aspects\nrelated to commuting transfer matrices in solvable lattice models, q-characters\nof Kirillov-Reshetikhin modules of quantum affine algebras, cluster algebras\nwith coefficients, periodicity conjectures of Zamolodchikov and others,\ndilogarithm identities in conformal field theory, difference analogue of\nL-operators in KP hierarchy, Stokes phenomena in 1d Schr\\\"odinger problem,\nAdS/CFT correspondence, Toda field equations on discrete space-time, Laplace\nsequence in discrete geometry, Fermionic character formulas and combinatorial\ncompleteness of Bethe ansatz, Q-system and ideal gas with exclusion statistics,\nanalytic and thermodynamic Bethe ans\\\"atze, quantum transfer matrix method and\nso forth. This review article is a collection of short reviews on these topics\nwhich can be read more or less independently.",
        "positive": "On the phase structure of two--dimensional generalized Yang--Mills\n  theories: The phase structure of the generalized Yang--Mills theories is studied, and\nit is shown that {\\it almost} always, it is of the third order. As a specific\nexample, it is shown that all of the models with the interaction $\\sum_j\n(n_j-j+N)^{2k}$ exhibit third order phase transition. ($n_j$ is the length of\nthe $j$-th row of the Yang tableau corresponding to U($N$).) The special cases\nwhere the transition is not of the third order are also considered and, as a\nspecific example, it is shown that the model $\\sum_j (n_j-j+N)^2+g\\sum_j\n(n_j-j+N)^{4}$ exhibits a third order phase transition, except for\n$g=27\\pi^2/256$, where the order of the transition is 5/2."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Bosonic Fradkin-Tseytlin equations unfolded: We test infinite-dimensional extension of algebra su(k,k) proposed by Fradkin\nand Linetsky as the candidate for conformal higher spin algebra. Adjoint and\ntwisted-adjoint representations of su(k,k) on the space of this algebra are\ncarefully explored. For k=2 corresponding unfolded system is analyzed and it is\nshown to encode Fradkin-Tseytlin equations for the set of all integer spins\n1,2,... with infinite multiplicity.",
        "positive": "Parity violating gravitational response and anomalous constitutive\n  relations: We compute the parity violating part of the time-dependent gravitational\nresponse function of an ideal gas of Weyl fermions up to third order in the\nderivative expansion and give its full tensorial structure. Our main results\nare two functions that parametrize the energy-momentum tensor in terms of\ngauge-invariant combinations of vector and tensor metric perturbations. The\nzero frequency limit of these functions is related with the anomalous\nconstitutive relations and with the full anomalous partition function in the\npresence of gauge and mixed anomalies. In particular, our results imply the\nexistence of a previously unknown invariant contribution to the parity-odd\npartition function at third derivative order that we explicitly construct.\nBeyond the static limit, the gravitational response function may provide\nvaluable insights into time-dependent phenomena driven by anomalies."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Renormalization and resolution of singularities: Since the seminal work of Epstein and Glaser it is well established that\nperturbative renormalization of ultraviolet divergences in position space\namounts to extension of distributions onto diagonals. For a general Feynman\ngraph the relevant diagonals form a nontrivial arrangement of linear subspaces.\nOne may therefore ask if renormalization becomes simpler if one resolves this\narrangement to a normal crossing divisor. In this paper we study the extension\nproblem of distributions onto the wonderful models of de Concini and Procesi,\nwhich generalize the Fulton-MacPherson compactification of configuration\nspaces. We show that a canonical extension onto the smooth model coincides with\nthe usual Epstein-Glaser renormalization. To this end we use an analytic\nregularization for position space. The 't Hooft identities relating the pole\ncoefficients may be recovered from the stratification, and Zimmermann's forest\nformula is encoded in the geometry of the compactification. Consequently one\nsubtraction along each irreducible component of the divisor suffices to get a\nfinite result using local counterterms. As a corollary, we identify the Hopf\nalgebra of at most logarithmic Feynman graphs in position space, and discuss\nthe case of higher degree of divergence.",
        "positive": "Phase transition and entropy force between two horizons in\n  (n+2)-dimensional de Sitter space: In this paper, the effect of the space-time dimension on effective\nthermodynamic quantities in (n+2)-dimensional Reissoner-Nordstrom-de Sitter\nspace has been stud ied. Based on derived effective thermodynamic quantities,\nconditions for the phase transition are obtained. The result shows that the\naccelerating cosmic expansion can be attained by the entropy force arisen from\nthe interaction between horizons of black holes and our universe, which\nprovides a possible way to explain the physical mechanism for the accelerating\ncosmic expansion."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "$\u03bb$-deformed $AdS_5\\times S^5$ superstring from 4D Chern-Simons\n  theory: We present the construction of the $\\lambda$-deformation of $AdS_5\\times S^5$\nsuperstring from the four dimensional Chern-Simons-type gauge theory. The\nprocedure is applicable to all the semi-symmetric coset models and generalizes\nthe previous construction of $\\lambda$-deformation of the symmetric coset\nmodels.",
        "positive": "Particle description of zero energy vacuum. I. Virtual particles: First the \"frame problem\" is sketched: the motion of an isolated particle\nobeys a simple law in galilean frames, but how does the galilean character of\nthe frame manifest itself at the place of the particle? A description of vacuum\nas a system of virtual particles will help to answer this question. For future\napplication to such a description, the notion of global particle is defined and\nstudied. To this end, a systematic use of the Fourier transformation on the\nPoincare group is needed. The state of a system of n free particles is\nrepresented by a statistical operator W, which defines an operator-valued\nmeasure on the n-th power of the dual of the Poincare group. The inverse\nFourier-Stieltjes transform of that measure is called the characteristic\nfunction of the system; it is a function on the n-th power of the Poincare\ngroup. The main notion is that of global characteristic function: it is the\nrestriction of the characteristic function to the diagonal subgroup ; it\nrepresents the state of the system, considered as a single particle. The main\nproperties of characteristic functions, and particularly of global\ncharacteristic functions, are studied. A mathematical Appendix defines two\nfunctional spaces involved."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum vacuum, dark matter, dark energy and spontaneous supersymmetry\n  breaking: We study the vacuum condensate characterizing many physical phenomena. We\nshow that such a condensate may leads to non-trivial components of the dark\nenergy and of the dark matter and may induces the spontaneous supersymmetry\nbreaking, in a supersymmetric context. In particular, we consider the\ncondensate induced by thermal states, fields in curved space-time and mixed\nparticles.",
        "positive": "Orbifolding the Membrane Action: We study a simple class of orbifolds of the N=6 Chern-Simons Matter theory\nproposed by Aharony, Bergman, Jafferis and Maldacena. They are considered as a\nworld volume theory of membranes probing C^4/ (Z_k x Z_n) and include a new\nmembrane theory with N=4 supersymmetries. We find that the moduli spaces of\nthem are consistent with the fact that they probe C^4/ (Z_k x Z_n)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Acceleration Radiation for Orbiting Electrons: This paper presents an analysis of the radiation seen by an observer in\ncircular acceleration, for a magnetic spin. This is applied to an electron in a\nstorage ring, and the subtilty of the interaction of the spin with the spatial\nmotion of the electron is explicated. This interaction is shown to be time\ndependent (in the radiating frame), which explains the strange results found\nfor the electron's residual polarisation in the literature. Finally, some brief\ncomments about the radiation emitted by an accelerating detector are made where\nit is shown that the spectrum is correlated in that particles are emitted in\npairs.",
        "positive": "Cosmology with a dynamically screened scalar interaction in the dark\n  sector: Motivated in part by string theory, we consider a modification of the\nLambdaCDM cosmological model in which the dark matter has a long-range scalar\nforce screened by light particles. Scalar forces can have interesting effects\non structure formation: the main example presented here is the expulsion of\ndark matter halos from low density regions, or voids, in the galaxy\ndistribution."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "From Twisted Supersymmetry to Orbifold Lattices: We show how to derive the supersymmetric orbifold lattices of Cohen et al.\n\\cite{Cohen:2003xe,Cohen:2003qw} and Kaplan et al. \\cite{Kaplan:2005ta} by\ndirect discretization of an appropriate twisted supersymmetric Yang-Mills\ntheory. We examine in detail the four supercharge two dimensional theory and\nthe theory with sixteen supercharges in four dimensions. The continuum limit of\nthe latter theory is the well known Marcus twist of ${\\cal N}=4$ Yang-Mills.\nThe lattice models are gauge invariant and possess one exact supersymmetry at\nnon-zero lattice spacing.",
        "positive": "Noncommutativity separates the duo: An observation from the study of\n  bosonised Schwinger model: The paper has been withdrawn by the authors. The contents of the paper will\nbe used in a future communication which will contain major addition and shift\nof focus."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Vacuum thermal effects in flat space-time from conformal quantum\n  mechanics: The generators of radial conformal symmetries in Minkowski space-time can be\nmapped to the generators of time evolution in conformal quantum mechanics.\nWithin this correspondence we show that in conformal quantum mechanics the\nstate associated to the inertial vacuum in Minkowski space-time has the\nstructure of a thermofield double. Such state is built from a bipartite \"vacuum\nstate\", the ground state of the generators of hyperbolic time evolution, which\ncover only part of the time domain. When time evolution is restricted to a\nfinite time domain one obtains the temperature perceived by static diamond\nobservers in the Minkowski vacuum. When time evolution is determined by\ndilations, covering only half of the time line, the temperature of the\nthermofield double corresponds to the non-vanishing temperature perceived by\nMilne observers whose proper time evolution is confined to the future cone\n(Milne universe) of Minkowski space-time. The two pictures are related by a\nconformal transformation on the real line. Our result provides a purely group\ntheoretical derivation of the Milne and diamond temperature and shows that the\nfundamental ingredient for vacuum thermal effects is the presence of a horizon\nrather than acceleration.",
        "positive": "Kink-antikink collisions in a weakly interacting $\u03c6^4$ model: We study kink-antikink scattering in a one-parameter variant of the $\\phi^4$\ntheory where the model parameter controls the static intersoliton force. We\ninterpolate between the limit of no static force (BPS limit) and the regime\nwhere the static interaction is small (non-BPS). This allows us to study the\nimpact of the strength of the intersoliton static force on the soliton\ndynamics.\n  In particular, we analyze how the transition of a bound mode through the mass\nthreshold affects the soliton dynamics in a generic process, i.e., when a\nstatic intersoliton force shows up. We show that the thin, precisely localized\nspectral wall which forms in the limit of no static force, broadens in a\nwell-defined manner when a static force is included, giving rise to what we\nwill call a thick spectral wall. This phenomenon just requires that a discrete\nmode crosses into the continuum at some intermediate stage of the dynamics and,\ntherefore, should be observable in many soliton-antisoliton collisions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Scattering of Magnon Boundstates: We study the scattering of magnon boundstates in the spin-chain description\nof planar N=4 SUSY Yang-Mills. Starting from the conjectured exact S-matrix for\nmagnons in the SU(2) sector, we calculate the corresponding S-matrix for\nboundstates with an arbitrary number of constituent magnons. The resulting\nexpression has an interesting analytic structure with both simple and double\npoles. We also calculate the semiclassical S-matrix for the scattering of the\ncorresponding excitations on the string worldsheet known as Dyonic Giant\nMagnons. We find precise agreement with the magnon boundstate S-matrix in the\nlimit of large 't Hooft coupling.",
        "positive": "Graphs, lattices and deconstruction hierarchies: The mathematics underlying the connection between deconstruction lattices and\nlocality diagrams of conformal models is developed from scratch, with special\nemphasis on classification issues. In particular, the notions of equilocality\nclasses, deflation map, essential vertices and stem graphs are introduced in\norder to characterize those graphs that may arise as locality diagrams."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "An Alternative D$p$-brane Solution of Type IIB Supergravity: By separating the thermal circle from the extra dimensions, we find a novel\nexact D$p$-brane solution of Type IIB supergravity, which might provide a\nscenario for studying the non-perturbative dynamics of QCD$_4$ from the\nperspective of Type IIB supergravity.",
        "positive": "Network and Seiberg Duality: We define and study a new class of 4d N=1 superconformal quiver gauge\ntheories associated with a planar bipartite network. While UV description is\nnot unique due to Seiberg duality, we can classify the IR fixed points of the\ntheory by a permutation, or equivalently a cell of the totally non-negative\nGrassmannian. The story is similar to a bipartite network on the torus\nclassified by a Newton polygon. We then generalize the network to a general\nbordered Riemann surface and define IR SCFT from the geometric data of a\nRiemann surface. We also comment on IR R-charges and superconformal indices of\nour theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quaternionic Superconformal Field Theory: We develop a superfield formalism for N=4 superconformal two-dimensional\nfield theory. A list is presented of minimal free superfields, i.e. of\nmultiplets containing four bosons and four fermions. We show that the\nsuper-Poincar\\'e algebra of the six-dimensional superstring in the light-cone\ngauge is essentially equivalent to a local N=4 superconformal symmetry, and\noutline the construction of octonionic superconformal field theory.",
        "positive": "Ultra-Violet Infinities and Counterterms in Higher Dimensional\n  Yang-Mills: In this letter we investigate the ultra-violet behaviour of four-point\none-loop gluon amplitudes in dimensions greater than four coupled to various\nparticles types. We discuss the structure of the counterterms and their\ninherent symmetries."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The M5-brane on K3 x T^2: We discuss the low energy effective theory of an M5-brane wrapped on a smooth\nholomorphic four-cycle of K3 x T^2, including the special case of T^6. In\nparticular we give the lowest order equations of motion and resolve a puzzle\nconcerning the counting of massless modes that was reported in hep-th/9906094.\nIn order to find agreement with black hole entropy and anomaly inflow arguments\nwe propose that some of the moduli become massive.",
        "positive": "Emergent gravity from relatively local Hamiltonians and a possible\n  resolution of the black hole information puzzle: In this paper, we study a possibility where gravity and time emerge from\nquantum matter. Within the Hilbert space of matter fields defined on a spatial\nmanifold, we consider a sub-Hilbert space spanned by states which are\nparameterized by spatial metric. In those states, metric is introduced as a\ncollective variable that controls local structures of entanglement. The\nunderlying matter fields endow the states labeled by metric with an unambiguous\ninner product. Then we construct a Hamiltonian for the matter fields that is an\nendomorphism of the sub-Hilbert space, thereby inducing a quantum Hamiltonian\nof the metric. It is shown that there exists a matter Hamiltonian that induces\nthe general relativity in the semi-classical field theory limit. Although the\nHamiltonian is not local in the absolute sense, it has a weaker notion of\nlocality, called relative locality : the range of interactions is set by the\nentanglement present in target states on which the Hamiltonian acts. In\ngeneral, normalizable states are not invariant under the transformations\ngenerated by the Hamiltonian. As a result, a physical state spontaneously\nbreaks the Hamiltonian constraint, and picks a moment of time. The subsequent\nflow of time can be understood as a Goldstone mode associated with the broken\nsymmetry. The construction allows one to study dynamics of gravity from the\nperspective of matter fields. The Hawking radiation corresponds to a unitary\nevolution where entanglement across horizon is gradually transferred from color\ndegrees of freedom to singlet degrees of freedom. The underlying quantum states\nremain pure as evaporating black holes keep entanglement with early Hawking\nradiations in the singlet sector which is not captured by the\nBekenstein-Hawking entropy."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spontaneous Supersymmetry Breaking by Large-N Matrices: Motivated by supersymmetry breaking in matrix model formulations of\nsuperstrings, we present some concrete models, in which the supersymmetry is\npreserved for any finite $N$, but gets broken at infinite $N$, where $N$ is the\nrank of matrix variables. The models are defined as supersymmetric field\ntheories coupled to some matrix models, and in the induced action obtained\nafter integrating out the matrices, supersymmetry is spontaneously broken only\nwhen $N$ is infinity. In our models, the large value of $N$ gives a natural\nexplanation for the origin of small parameters appearing in the field theories\nwhich trigger the supersymmetry breaking. In particular, in the case of the\nO'Raifeartaigh model coupled to a certain supersymmetric matrix model, a\nnonsupersymmetric metastable vacuum appears near the origin of the field space,\nwhich is far from the position of the supersymmetric vacuum. We estimate its\nlifetime as a function of $N$.",
        "positive": "Perturbative higher-derivative terms in N=6 asymmetric orbifolds: We analyse the perturbative four-point amplitudes in the simplest string\ntheory examples of T-fold backgrounds, which enjoy N=6 supersymmetries in four\ndimensions. There are two theories defined as asymmetric orbifolds of order 2\nand 3, respectively. The perturbative spectrum and the one-loop four-point\namplitudes are shown to be invariant under an arithmetic symplectic group\ndefined over the Hurwitz (respectively Eisenstein) quaternions. The\nsupersymmetry constraints on the low energy effective couplings are determined\nand we conjecture the U-duality group of the theory and the non-perturbative\ncompletion of the six-derivative coupling as a rank one theta series. We\ndiscuss the non-perturbative spectrum of BPS states in the light of our\nanalysis."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Reply to \"Comment on Fine Structure Constant in the Spacetime of a\n  Cosmic String\": In this Reply, using E.R. Bezerra de Mello's comment, I correct calculations\nand results presented in Phys. Lett. B 614 (2005) 140-142 about fine structure\nconstant in the spacetime of a cosmic string.",
        "positive": "Quantization of classical curves: We discuss the relation between quantum curves (defined as solutions of\nequation $[P,Q]=\\hbar$, where $P,Q$ are ordinary differential operators) and\nclassical curves. We illustrate this relation for the case of quantum curve\nthat corresponds to the $(p,q)$-minimal model coupled to 2D gravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Scalar scattering amplitude in Gaussian wave-packet formalism: We compute an $s$-channel $2\\to2$ scalar scattering\n$\\phi\\phi\\to\\Phi\\to\\phi\\phi$ in the Gaussian wave-packet formalism at the\ntree-level. We find that wave-packet effects, including shifts of the pole and\nwidth of the propagator of $\\Phi$, persist even when we do not take into\naccount the time-boundary effect for $2\\to2$, proposed earlier. The result can\nbe interpreted that a heavy scalar $1\\to2$ decay $\\Phi\\to\\phi\\phi$, taking into\naccount the production of $\\Phi$, does not exhibit the in-state time-boundary\neffect unless we further take into account in-boundary effects for the $2\\to2$\nscattering. We also show various plane-wave limits.",
        "positive": "Localization of gauge theory on a four-sphere and supersymmetric Wilson\n  loops: We prove conjecture due to Erickson-Semenoff-Zarembo and Drukker-Gross which\nrelates supersymmetric circular Wilson loop operators in the N=4 supersymmetric\nYang-Mills theory with a Gaussian matrix model. We also compute the partition\nfunction and give a new matrix model formula for the expectation value of a\nsupersymmetric circular Wilson loop operator for the pure N=2 and the N=2*\nsupersymmetric Yang-Mills theory on a four-sphere. A four-dimensional N=2\nsuperconformal gauge theory is treated similarly."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "3-dimensional holographic trace anomaly from AdS/CFT correspondence: We explicitly obtain energy-momentum tensor at the asymptotic 3-dimensional\nregion of Schwarzschild AdS$_4$ and Taub-NUT-(A)dS$_4$ using the so-called\n`counter-term subtraction method' in Fefferman-Graham coordinate. The energy\nmomentum tensor is presented in a closed form for the AdS$_4$ and for the\nspecial case of Taub-NUT-dS and in an asymptotic series for other cases. The\nresult suggests that in light of AdS/CFT correspondence, the 3-dimensional\ntrace anomaly can be expressed in terms of the 3-dimensional volume and Ricci\nscalar.",
        "positive": "First order phase transitions and integrable field theory. The dilute\n  q-state Potts model: We consider the two-dimensional dilute q-state Potts model on its first order\nphase transition surface for 0<q\\leq 4. After determining the exact scattering\ntheory which describes the scaling limit, we compute the two-kink form factors\nof the dilution, thermal and spin operators. They provide an approximation for\nthe correlation functions whose accuracy is illustrated by evaluating the\ncentral charge and the scaling dimensions along the tricritical line."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "D3-D7 Quark-Gluon Plasmas: We present the string dual to finite temperature SU(Nc) N=4 SYM coupled to\nmassless fundamental matter introduced by Nf D7 branes, with Abelian flavor\nsymmetry. The analytic solution includes the backreaction of the flavors up to\nsecond order in the parameter that weighs the internal flavor loops,\nepsilon_h=(lambda_h Nf)/(8 pi^2 Nc), lambda_h being the 't Hooft coupling at\nthe temperature of the dual Quark-Gluon Plasma. We study the thermodynamics of\nthe system and its departure from conformality, which is a second order effect.\nWe then analyze the energy loss of partons moving through the plasma, finding\nthat the fundamental degrees of freedom enhance the jet quenching. The whole\nsetup is generalized to D3-D7 systems with D3-branes placed at the tip of a\ngeneric singular Calabi-Yau cone over a five-dimensional Sasaki-Einstein\nmanifold. We finally provide the equations for the inclusion of massive flavors\nin the N=4 SYM plasma.",
        "positive": "Fusion rules for the logarithmic $N=1$ superconformal minimal models I:\n  the Neveu-Schwarz sector: It is now well known that non-local observables in critical statistical\nlattice models, polymers and percolation for example, may be modelled in the\ncontinuum scaling limit by logarithmic conformal field theories. Fusion rules\nfor such theories, sometimes referred to as logarithmic minimal models, have\nbeen intensively studied over the last ten years in order to explore the\nrepresentation-theoretic structures relevant to non-local observables.\nMotivated by recent lattice conjectures, this work studies the fusion rules of\nthe $N=1$ supersymmetric analogues of these logarithmic minimal models in the\nNeveu-Schwarz sector. Fusion rules involving Ramond representations will be\naddressed in a sequel."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-singular four-dimensional black holes and the Jackiw-Teitelboim\n  theory: A four-dimensional dilaton-gravity action whose spherical reduction to two\ndimensions leads to the Jackiw-Teitelboim theory is presented. A nonsingular\nblack hole solution of the theory is obtained and its physical interpretation\nis discussed. The classical and semiclassical properties of the solution and of\nits 2d counterpart are analysed. The 2d theory is also used to model the\nevaporation process of the near-extremal 4d black hole. We describe in detail\nthe peculiarities of the black hole solutions, in particular the purely\ntopological nature of the Hawking radiation, in the context of the\nJackiw-Teitelboim theory.",
        "positive": "Janus and Multifaced Supersymmetric Theories: We investigate the various properties Janus supersymmetric Yang-Mills\ntheories. A novel vacuum structure is found and BPS monopoles and dyons are\nstudied. Less supersymmetric Janus theories found before are derived by a\nsimpler method. In addition, we find the supersymmetric theories when the\ncoupling constant depends on two and three spatial coordinates."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The FGK formalism for black p-branes in d dimensions: We present a generalization to an arbitrary number of spacetime (d) and\nworldvolume (p+1) dimensions of the formalism proposed by Ferrara, Gibbons and\nKallosh to study black holes (p=0) in d=4 dimensions. We include the special\ncases in which there can be dyonic and self- or anti-self-dual black branes.\nMost of the results valid for 4-dimensional black holes (relations between\ntemperature, entropy and non-extremality parameter, and between entropy and\nblack-hole potential on the horizon) are straightforwardly generalized.\n  We apply the formalism to the case of black strings in N=2,d=5 supergravity\ncoupled to vector multiplets, in which the black-string potential can be\nexpressed in terms of the dual central charge and work out an explicit example\nwith one vector multiplet, determining supersymmetric and non-supersymmetric\nattractors and constructing the non-extremal black-string solutions that\ninterpolate between them.",
        "positive": "Branes as BIons: A BIon may be defined as a finite energy solution of a non-linear field\ntheory with distributional sources. By contrast a soliton is usually defined to\nhave no sources. I show how harmonic coordinates map the exteriors of the\ntopologically and causally non-trivial spacetimes of extreme p-branes to BIonic\nsolutions of the Einstein equations in a topologically trivial spacetime in\nwhich the combined gravitational and matter energy momentum is located on\ndistributional sources. As a consequence the tension of BPS p-branes is\nclassically unrenormalized. The result holds equally for spacetimes with\nsingularities and for those, like the M-5-brane, which are everywhere\nsingularity free."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Bardeen-Anomaly and Wess-Zumino Term in the Supersymmetric Standard\n  Model: We construct the Bardeen anomaly and its related Wess-Zumino term in the\nsupersymmetric standard model. In particular we show that it can be written in\nterms of a composite linear superfield related to supersymmetrized Chern-Simons\nforms, in very much the same way as the Green-Schwarz term in four-dimensional\nstring theory. Some physical applications, such as the contribution to the g-2\nof gauginos when a heavy top is integrated out, are briefly discussed.",
        "positive": "Gravity and the spin-2 planar Schroedinger equation: A Schroedinger equation proposed for the GMP gapped spin-2 mode of fractional\nQuantum Hall states is found from a novel non-relativistic limit, applicable\nonly in 2+1 dimensions, of the massive spin-2 Fierz-Pauli field equations. It\nis also found from a novel null reduction of the linearized Einstein field\nequations in 3+1 dimensions, and in this context a uniform distribution of\nspin-2 particles implies, via a Brinkmann-wave solution of the non-linear\nEinstein equations, a confining harmonic oscillator potential for the\nindividual particles."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Hair and Black Hole Information: It has been shown that the quantum state of the graviton field outside a\nblack hole horizon carries information about the internal state of the hole. We\nexplain how this allows unitary evaporation: the final radiation state is a\ncomplex superposition which depends linearly on the initial black hole state.\nUnder time reversal, the radiation state evolves back to the original black\nhole quantum state. Formulations of the information paradox on a fixed\nsemiclassical geometry describe only a small subset of the evaporation Hilbert\nspace, and do not exclude overall unitarity.",
        "positive": "Dualities for Loop Amplitudes of N=6 Chern-Simons Matter Theory: In this paper we study the one- and two-loop corrections to the four-point\namplitude of N=6 Chern-Simons matter theory. Using generalized unitarity\nmethods we express the one- and two-loop amplitudes in terms of dual-conformal\nintegrals. Explicit integration by using dimensional reduction gives vanishing\none-loop result as expected, while the two-loop result is non-vanishing and\nmatches with the Wilson loop computation. Furthermore, the two-loop correction\ntakes the same form as the one-loop correction to the four-point amplitude of\nN=4 super Yang-Mills. We discuss possible higher loop extensions of this\ncorrespondence between the two theories. As a side result, we extend the method\nof dimensional reduction for three dimensions to five dimensions where dual\nconformal symmetry is most manifest, demonstrating significant simplification\nto the computation of integrals."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Density response of holographic metallic IR fixed points with\n  translational pseudo-spontaneous symmetry breaking: The density response of charged liquids contains a collective excitation\nknown as the plasmon. In holographic systems with translational invariance the\norigin of this collective excitation is traced back to the presence of\nzero-sound. Using a holographic model in which translational symmetry is broken\npseudo-spontaneously, we show the density response is not dominated by a single\nisolated mode at low momentum and temperature. As a consequence, the density\nresponse contains a broad asymmetric peak with an attenuation which does not\nincrease monotonically with momentum and temperature.",
        "positive": "$L$-functions in Scattering on $p$-adic Multiloop Surfaces: We study scattering processes on $p$-adic multiloop surfaces represented as\nmultiloop infinite graphs with total valence in each vertex equal $p+1$. They\nall are spaces of the constant negative curvature since they are quotients of\nthe $p$-adic hyperbolic plane over free acting discrete subgroup of $PGL(2,\n{\\bf Q}_p)$. Releasing the closed part of this graph containing all loops which\nis called reduced graph $T_{red}$ we can obtain $L$-function corresponding to\nthis closed graph. For the total graph we introduce the notion of the spherical\nfunctions being eigenfunctions of the Laplace operator acting on the graph and\nconsider $s$--wave scattering processes therefore defining scattering matrices\n$c_i$. The number of possibilities coincides with $|\\T_{red}|$ --- the number\nof vertices of the reduced graph. Taking the product over all $c_i$ we define\nthe total scattering matrix which appears to be essentially presented as a\nratio of $L$--functions: $C\\sim L(\\alpha_+)/L(\\alpha_-)$, where the function\n$L$ itself depends only on the shape of $\\Tr$ and not on the initial infinite\ngraph, and the only dependence of initial $p$ is contained in arguments\n$\\alpha_\\pm$ defined by $p$ and eigenvalue $t$ of the Laplacian. We also\npresent a proof by H.Bass of the theorem expressing $L$--functions on arbitrary\nfinite graphs via determinants of some local operators on these graphs."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Large N Structure of the IIB Matrix Model: We study large N behavior of the IIB matrix model using the equivalence\nbetween the IIB matrix model for finite N and a field theory on a\nnon-commutative periodic lattice with N x N sites. We find that the large N\ndependences of correlation functions can be obtained by naively counting the\nnumber of fields in the field theory on the non-commutative periodic lattice.\nFurthermore the large N scaling behavior of the coupling constant g is\ndetermined if we impose that the expectation values of Wilson loops are\ncalculable.",
        "positive": "Black Rings in Supergravity: We construct black ring solutions in five-dimensional $U(1)^3$ supergravity\nwhich carry three dipole charges, three electric charges and one angular\nmomentum parameter. These solutions are written in a form that is sufficiently\ncompact that their global and thermodynamic properties can be studied\nexplicitly. In particular, we find that the Smarr formula is obeyed regardless\nof whether or not conical singularities are present, whereas the first law of\nthermodynamics holds only in the absence of conical singularities. We also\npresent black ring solutions with three background magnetic fields."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Twisted heterotic/type I duality: We formulate a twisted version of the conjectured duality between heterotic\nand type I string theories. Our formulation relates the chiral part of the\nheterotic string with a type I topological B-model on a Calabi-Yau five-fold.\nWe provide a non-trivial check of this duality by showing that certain\ninfinite-dimensional Lie algebras of global gauge transformations built from\neach theory are isomorphic. Matching the structure constants of the Lie\nalgebras involves a detailed analysis of one-loop corrections on the type I\nside.",
        "positive": "A Relativistic Wave Equation for the Skyrmion: We propose a relativistically invariant wave equation for the Skyrme soliton.\nIt is a differential equation on the space $R^{1,3}\\times S^3$ which is\ninvariant under the Lorentz group and isospin. The internal variable valued in\n$SU(2)\\approx S^3$ describes the orientation of the soliton. The mass of a\nparticle of spin and isospin both equal to $j={1\\over 2},{3\\over 2}...$ is\npredicted to be $M=m\\sqrt{1+K_2j(j+1)\\over 1+K_1j(j+1)}$ which agrees with the\nknown spectrum for low angular momentum. The iso-scalar magnetic moment is\npredicted to be $-{K_1\\over 4m}{\\mathbf \\Sigma}$, where ${\\mathbf \\Sigma}$ is\nthe spin."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Model for SU(3) vacuum degeneracy using light-cone coordinates: Working in light-cone coordinates, we study the zero-modes and the vacuum in\na 2+1 dimensional SU(3) gauge model. Considering the fields as independent of\nthe tranverse variables, we dimensionally reduce this model to 1+1 dimensions.\nAfter introducing an appropriate su(3) basis and gauge conditions, we extract\nan adjoint field from the model. Quantization of this adjoint field and field\nequations lead to two constrained and two dynamical zero-modes. We link the\ndynamical zero-modes to the vacuum by writing down a Schrodinger equation and\nprove the non-degeneracy of the SU(3) vacuum provided that we neglect the\ncontribution of constrained zero-modes.",
        "positive": "Some Algebraic Symmetries of (2,2)-Supersymmetric Systems: The Hilbert spaces of supersymmetric systems admit symmetries which are often\nrelated to the topology and geometry of the (target) field-space. Here, we\nstudy certain (2,2)-supersymmetric systems in 2-dimensional spacetime which are\nclosely related to superstring models. They all turn out to posess some\nhitherto unexploited and geometrically and topologically unobstructed\nsymmetries, providing new tools for studying the topology and geometry of\nsuperstring target spacetimes, and so the dynamics of the effective field\ntheory in these."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Twistor Origin of the Superstring: After introducing a d=10 pure spinor $\\lambda^\\alpha$, the Virasoro\nconstraint $\\partial x^m \\partial x_m =0$ can be replaced by the twistor-like\nconstraint $\\partial x^m (\\gamma_m \\lambda)_\\alpha=0$. Quantizing this\ntwistor-like constraint leads to the pure spinor formalism for the superstring\nwhere the fermionic superspace variables $\\theta^\\alpha$ and their conjugate\nmomenta come from the ghosts and antighosts of the twistor-like constraint.",
        "positive": "Counting Exceptional Instantons: We show how to obtain the instanton partition function of N=2 SYM with\nexceptional gauge group EFG using blow-up recursion relations derived by\nNakajima and Yoshioka. We compute the two instanton contribution and match it\nwith the recent proposal for the superconformal index of rank 2 SCFTs with E6,\nE7 global symmetry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Entanglement signatures of phase transition in higher-derivative quantum\n  field theories: We show that the variation of the ground state entanglement in linear, higher\nspatial derivatives field theories at zero-temperature have signatures of phase\ntransition. Around the critical point, when the dispersion relation changes\nfrom linear to non-linear, there is a fundamental change in the reduced density\nmatrix leading to a change in the scaling of entanglement entropy. We suggest\npossible explanations involving both kinematical and dynamical effects. We\ndiscuss the implication of our work for 2-D condensed matter systems,\nblack-hole entropy and models of quantum gravity.",
        "positive": "Geometric Finiteness, Holography and Quasinormal Modes for the Warped\n  AdS_3 Black Hole: We show that there exists a precise kinematical notion of holography for the\nEuclidean warped $AdS_3$ black hole. This follows from the fact that the\nEuclidean warped $AdS_3$ black hole spacetime is a geometrically finite\nhyperbolic manifold. For such manifolds a theorem of Sullivan provides a\none-to-one correspondence between the hyperbolic structure in the bulk and the\nconformal structure of its boundary. Using this theorem we obtain the\nholographic quasinormal modes for the warped $AdS_3$ black hole."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Discrete R-symmetries and Anomaly Universality in Heterotic Orbifolds: We study discrete R-symmetries, which appear in 4D low energy effective field\ntheory derived from hetetoric orbifold models. We derive the R-symmetries\ndirectly from geometrical symmetries of orbifolds. In particular, we obtain the\ncorresponding R-charges by requiring that the couplings be invariant under\nthese symmetries. This allows for a more general treatment than the explicit\ncomputations of correlation functions made previously by the authors, including\nmodels with discrete Wilson lines, and orbifold symmetries beyond\nplane-by-plane rotational invariance. Surprisingly, for the cases covered by\nearlier explicit computations, the R-charges differ from the previous result.\nWe study the anomalies associated with these R-symmetries, and comment on the\nresults.",
        "positive": "On the origin of the mass gap for non-Abelian gauge theories in (2+1)\n  dimensions: An analysis of how the mass gap could arise in pure Yang-Mills theories in\ntwo spatial dimensions is given"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hypermultiplets and Topological Strings: The c-map relates classical hypermultiplet moduli spaces in compactifications\nof type II strings on a Calabi-Yau threefold to vector multiplet moduli spaces\nvia a further compactification on a circle. We give an off-shell description of\nthe c-map in N=2 superspace. The superspace Lagrangian for the hypermultiplets\nis a single function directly related to the prepotential of special geometry,\nand can therefore be computed using topological string theory. Similarly, a\nclass of higher derivative terms for hypermultiplets can be computed from the\nhigher genus topological string amplitudes. Our results provide a framework for\nstudying quantum corrections to the hypermultiplet moduli space, as well as for\nunderstanding the black hole wave-function as a function of the hypermultiplet\nmoduli.",
        "positive": "T-duality, Generalized Geometry and Non-Geometric Backgrounds: We discuss the action of O(d,d), and in particular T-duality, in the context\nof generalized geometry, focusing on the description of so-called non-geometric\nbackgrounds. We derive local expressions for the pure spinors descibing the\ngeneralized geometry dual to an SU(3) structure background, and show that the\nequations for N=1 vacua are invariant under T-duality. We also propose a local\ngeneralized geometrical definition of the charges f, H, Q and R appearing in\neffective four-dimensional theories, using the Courant bracket. We then address\ncertain global aspects, in particular whether the local non-geometric charges\ncan be gauged away in, for instance, backgrounds admitting a torus action, as\nwell as the structure of generalized parallelizable backgrounds."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Two field BPS solutions for generalized Lorentz breaking models: In this work we present nonlinear models in two-dimensional space-time of two\ninteracting scalar fields in the Lorentz and CPT violating scenarios. We\ndiscuss the soliton solutions for these models as well as the question of\nstability for them. This is done by generalizing a model recently published by\nBarreto and collaborators and also by getting new solutions for the model\nintroduced by them.",
        "positive": "Classical and Quantum Integrability of 2D Dilaton Gravities in Euclidean\n  space: Euclidean dilaton gravity in two dimensions is studied exploiting its\nrepresentation as a complexified first order gravity model. All local classical\nsolutions are obtained. A global discussion reveals that for a given model only\na restricted class of topologies is consistent with the metric and the dilaton.\nA particular case of string motivated Liouville gravity is studied in detail.\nPath integral quantisation in generic Euclidean dilaton gravity is performed\nnon-perturbatively by analogy to the Minkowskian case."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Higher spin gravity in 3D: black holes, global charges and\n  thermodynamics: Global charges and thermodynamic properties of three-dimensional higher spin\nblack holes that have been recently found in the literature are revisited.\nSince these solutions possess a relaxed asymptotically AdS behavior, following\nthe canonical approach, it is shown that the global charges, and in particular\nthe mass, acquire explicit nontrivial contributions given by nonlinear terms in\nthe deviations with respect to the reference background. It is also found that\nthere are cases for which the first law of thermodynamics is fulfilled in the\ncanonical ensemble, i.e., without work terms associated to the presence of\nhigher spin fields, and remarkably, the semiclassical higher spin black hole\nentropy is exactly reproduced from Cardy formula.",
        "positive": "Non-Commutative GUTs, Standard Model and C,P,T properties from\n  Seiberg-Witten map: Noncommutative generalizations of Yang-Mills theories using Seiberg-Witten\nmap are in general not unique. We study these ambiguities and see that SO(10)\nGUT, at first order in the noncommutativity parameter \\theta, is unique and\ntherefore is a truly unified theory, while SU(5) is not. We then present the\nnoncommutative Standard Model compatible with SO(10) GUT. We next study the\nreality, hermiticity and C,P,T properties of the Seiberg-Witten map and of\nthese noncommutative actions at all orders in \\theta. This allows to compare\nthe Standard Model discussed in [5] with the present GUT inspired one."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "To be unitary-invariant or not?: a simple but non-trivial proposal for\n  the complexity between states in quantum mechanics/field theory: We make comments on some shortcomings of the non-unitary-invariant and\nnon-bi-invariant complexity in quantum mechanics/field theory and argue that\nthe unitary-invariant and bi-invariant complexity is still a competitive\ncandidate in quantum mechanics/field theory, contrary to quantum circuits in\nquantum computation. Based on the unitary-invariance of the complexity and\nintuitions from the holographic complexity, we propose a novel complexity\nformula between two states. Our proposal shows that i) the complexity between\ncertain states in two dimensional CFTs is given by the Liouville action, which\nis compatible with the path-integral complexity; ii) it also gives natural\ninterpretation for both the CV and CA holographic conjectures and identify what\nthe reference states are in both cases. Our proposal explicitly produces the\nconjectured time dependence of the complexity: linear growth in chaotic\nsystems. Last but not least, we present interesting relations between the\ncomplexity and the Lyapunov exponent: the Lyapunov exponent is proportional to\nthe complexity growth rate in linear growth region.",
        "positive": "Yang-Mills Instantons and Dyons on Group Manifolds: We consider Euclidean SU(N) Yang-Mills theory on the space GxR, where G is a\ncompact semisimple Lie group, and introduce first-order BPS-type equations\nwhich imply the full Yang-Mills equations. For gauge fields invariant under the\nadjoint G-action these BPS equations reduce to first-order matrix equations, to\nwhich we give instanton solutions. In the case of G=SU(2)=S^3, our matrix\nequations are recast as Nahm equations, and a further algebraic reduction to\nthe Toda chain equations is presented and solved for the SU(3) example.\nFinally, we change the metric on GxR to Minkowski and construct finite-energy\ndyon-type Yang-Mills solutions. The special case of G=SU(2)xSU(2) may be used\nin heterotic flux compactifications."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Weak Gravity Conjecture and the Axionic Black Hole Paradox: In theories with a perturbatively massless 2-form (dual to an axion), a\nparadox may arise in the process of black hole evaporation. Schwarzschild black\nholes can support a non-trivial Wilson-line-type field, the integral of the\n2-form around their horizon. After such an 'axionic black hole' evaporates, the\nWilson line must be supported by the corresponding 3-form field strength in the\nregion formerly occupied by the black hole. In the limit of small axion\ndecay-constant f, the energy required for this field configuration is too\nlarge. The natural resolution is through the presence of light strings, which\nallow the black hole to \"shed\" its axionic hair sufficiently early. This gives\nrise to a new Weak-Gravity-type argument in the 2-form context: Small coupling,\nin this case f, enforces the presence of light strings or a low cutoff. We also\ndiscuss how this argument may be modified in situations where the weak coupling\nregime is achieved in the low-energy effective theory through an appropriate\ngauging of a model with a vector field and two 2-forms.",
        "positive": "Realizing three generations of the Standard Model fermions in the type\n  IIB matrix model: We discuss how the Standard Model particles appear from the type IIB matrix\nmodel, which is considered to be a nonperturbative formulation of superstring\ntheory. In particular, we are concerned with a constructive definition of the\ntheory, in which we start with finite-N matrices and take the large-N limit\nafterwards. In that case, it was pointed out recently that realizing chiral\nfermions in the model is more difficult than it had been thought from formal\narguments at N=infinity and that introduction of a matrix version of the warp\nfactor is necessary. Based on this new insight, we show that two generations of\nthe Standard Model fermions can be realized by considering a rather generic\nconfiguration of fuzzy S^2 and fuzzy S^2 * S^2 in the extra dimensions. We also\nshow that three generations can be obtained by squashing one of the S^2's that\nappear in the configuration. Chiral fermions appear at the intersections of the\nfuzzy manifolds with nontrivial Yukawa couplings to the Higgs field, which can\nbe calculated from the overlap of their wave functions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Perturbative and non-perturbative aspects of the proper time\n  renormalization group: The renormalization group flow equation obtained by means of a proper time\nregulator is used to calculate the two loop beta function and anomalous\ndimension eta of the field for the O(N) symmetric scalar theory. The standard\nperturbative analysis of the flow equation does not yield the correct results\nfor both beta and eta. We also show that it is still possible to extract the\ncorrect beta and eta from the flow equation in a particular limit of the\ninfrared scale. A modification of the derivation of the Exact Renormalization\nGroup flow, which involves a more general class of regulators, to recover the\nproper time renormalization group flow is analyzed.",
        "positive": "Vacuum Persistence Amplitude and Gravitational Potential in $f(R)$\n  Gravity: The source theory provides a straightforward way to obtain the Newton's\npotential upon establishing the vacuum-to-vacuum transition amplitude in\nquantized Einstein theory of gravity. Here, we use the same method to derive\nthe gravitational potential of two static point masses in $f(R)=R+aR^2$\ngravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Realization of $U_q(so(N))$ within the differntial algebra on ${\\bf\n  R}_q^N$: We realize the Hopf algebra $U_{q^{-1}}(so(N))$ as an algebra of differential\noperators on the quantum Euclidean space ${\\bf R}_q^N$. The generators are\nsuitable q-deformed analogs of the angular momentum components on ordinary\n${\\bf R}^N$. The algebra $Fun({\\bf R}_q^N)$ of functions on ${\\bf R}_q^N$\nsplits into a direct sum of irreducible vector representations of\n$U_{q^{-1}}(so(N))$; the latter are explicitly constructed as highest weight\nrepresentations.",
        "positive": "AdS/CFT and Strong Subadditivity of Entanglement Entropy: Recently, a holographic computation of the entanglement entropy in conformal\nfield theories has been proposed via the AdS/CFT correspondence. One of the\nmost important properties of the entanglement entropy is known as the strong\nsubadditivity. This requires that the entanglement entropy should be a concave\nfunction with respect to geometric parameters. It is a non-trivial check on the\nproposal to see if this property is indeed satisfied by the entropy computed\nholographically. In this paper we examine several examples which are defined by\nannuli or cusps, and confirm the strong subadditivity via direct calculations.\nFurthermore, we conjecture that Wilson loop correlators in strongly coupled\ngauge theories satisfy the same relation. We also discuss the relation between\nthe holographic entanglement entropy and the Bousso bound."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Model building on the non-factorisable type IIA\n  $\\bf{T^6/(\\mathbb{Z}_4\\times\u03a9\\mathcal{R})}$ orientifold: We construct global semi-realistic supersymmetric models with intersecting\nD6-branes on the non-factorisable orientifold\n$T^6/(\\mathbb{Z}_4\\times\\Omega\\mathcal{R})$. The non-factorisable structure\ngives rise to differences compared to the factorisable case: additional\nconditions for the three-cycles to be Lagrangian and extra constraints on the\nwrapping numbers for building fractional cycles.",
        "positive": "Recent developments in affine Toda field theory: Lectures at the CRM-CAP Summer School 'Particles and Fields 94' August 16-24\n1994, Banff, Alberta, Canada."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Secrets of the Metric In N=4 and N=2* Geometries: The metric of the gravity dual of a field theory should contain precisely the\nsame information as the field theory. We discuss this connection in the N=4\ntheory where a scalar vev may be introducedat the level of 5d supergravity and\nthe solutions lifted to 10d. We stress the role of brane probing in finding the\ncoordinates appropriate to the field theory. In these coordinates the metric\nparametrizes the gauge invariant operators of the field theory and either side\nof the duality is uniquely determined by the other. We follow this same chain\nof computations for the 10d lift of the N=2* geometry of Pilch and Warner. The\nbrane probe of the metric reveals the 2d moduli space and the functional form\nof the gauge coupling. In the coordinates appropriate to the field theory the\nmetric on moduli space takes a very simple form and one can read off the\ngravity predictions for operators in the field theory. Surprisingly there is\nlogarithmic renormalization even in the far UV where the field theory reverts\nto N=4 super Yang-Mills. We extend the analysis of Buchel et al to find the D3\nbrane source distribution that generates the supergravity prediction for the\ngauge coupling for the whole class of solutions corresponding to different\npoints on moduli space. This distribution does not account for the logarithmic\nbehaviour in the rest of the metric though. We discuss possible resolutions of\nthe discrepancy.",
        "positive": "N=1 dynamics with T_N theory: We study the dynamics of N=1 supersymmetric systems consisting of the\nstrongly-coupled superconformal theory T_N, SU(N) gauge groups, and fundamental\nchiral multiplets. We demonstrate that such systems exhibit familiar phenomena\nsuch as deformation of the vacuum moduli space, appearance of the dynamical\nsuperpotential, and Coulomb branches with N=1 Seiberg-Witten curves. The\nanalysis requires a rather detailed knowledge of the chiral ring of the T_N\ntheory, which will also be discussed at length."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetric AdS$_{5}$ solutions of type IIB supergravity without D3\n  branes: We analyse the most general bosonic supersymmetric solutions of type IIB\nsupergravity whose metrics are warped products of five-dimensional anti-de\nSitter space (AdS$_5$) with a five-dimensional Riemannian manifold $M_{5}$,\nwhere the five-form flux vanishes, while all remaining fluxes are allowed to be\nnon-vanishing consistent with SO(4,2) symmetry. This completes the program of\nclassifying all supersymmetric solutions of ten and eleven-dimensional\nsupergravity with an AdS$_5$ factor. We investigate the supersymmetry\nconditions in some special cases, and demonstrate how these are satisfied by a\nsolution originally found in arXiv:1410.2650[hep-th], utilising the method of\nnon-Abelian T-duality.",
        "positive": "Eigenvalue Dynamics for Multimatrix Models: By performing explicit computations of correlation functions, we find\nevidence that there is a sector of the two matrix model defined by the $SU(2)$\nsector of ${\\cal N}=4$ super Yang-Mills theory, that can be reduced to\neigenvalue dynamics. There is an interesting generalization of the usual Van\nder Monde determinant that plays a role. The observables we study are the BPS\noperators of the $SU(2)$ sector and include traces of products of both\nmatrices, which are genuine multi matrix observables. These operators are\nassociated to supergravity solutions of string theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Ultraviolet behavior of transverse gravity: The structure of the divergences for transverse theories of gravity is\nstudied to one-loop order. These theories are invariant only under those\ndiffeomorphisms that enjoy unit Jacobian determinant (TDiff), so that the\ndeterminant of the metric transforms as a true scalar instead of a density.\nGenerically, the models include an additional scalar degree of freedom\ncontained in the metric besides the usual spin two component. When the\ncosmological constant is fine tuned to zero, there are only two theories which\nare on shell finite, namely the one in which the symmetry is enhanced to the\nfull group of diffeomorphisms, i.e. Einstein's gravity, and another one denoted\nby WTDiff which enjoys local Weyl invariance. Both of them are free from the\nadditional scalar.",
        "positive": "Correlation Functions of Sp(2n) Invariant Higher-Spin Systems: We study the general structure of correlation functions in an\nSp(2n)-invariant formulation of systems of an infinite number of higher-spin\nfields. For n=4,8 and 16 these systems comprise the conformal higher-spin\nfields in space-time dimensions D=4,6 and 10, respectively, while when n=2, one\ndeals with conventional D=3 conformal field theories of scalars and spinors. We\nshow that for n>2 the Sp(2n) symmetry and current conservation makes the\n3-point correlators of two (rank-one or rank-two) conserved currents with a\nscalar operator be that of free theory.This situation is analogous to the one\nin conventional conformal field theories, where conservation of higher-spin\ncurrents implies that the theories are free."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Perturbative calculation of quasi-normal modes of arbitrary spin in\n  Schwarzschild spacetime: We calculate analytically the asymptotic form of quasi-normal modes of\nperturbations of arbitrary spin of a Schwarzschild black hole including\nfirst-order corrections. We use the Teukolsky equation which applies to both\nbosonic and fermionic modes. Remarkably, we arrive at explicit expressions\nwhich coincide with those derived using the Regge-Wheeler equation for integer\nspin. Our zeroth-order expressions agree with the results of WKB analysis. In\nthe case of Dirac fermions, our results are in good agreement with numerical\ndata.",
        "positive": "Renormalization in a Landau to Coulomb interpolating gauge in Yang-Mills\n  theory: The Coulomb gauge in QCD is the only explicitly unitary gauge. But it suffers\nfrom energy-divergences which means that it is not rigorously well-defined. One\nway to define it unambiguously is as the limit of a gauge interpolating between\nthe Landau gauge and the Coulomb gauge. This interpolating gauge is\ncharacterised by a parameter theta and the Coulomb gauge is obtained in the\nlimit theta tends to zero. We study the renormalization of this theta-gauge for\nall values of theta, and note some special features of it."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Kerr-Taub-NUT Spacetime with Maxwell and Dilaton Fields: We present an exact solution describing a stationary and axisymmetric object\nwith electromagnetic and dilaton fields. The solution generalizes the usual\nKerr-Taub-NUT (Newman-Unti-Tamburino) spacetime in general relativity and is\nobtained by boosting this spacetime in the fifth dimension and performing a\nKaluza-Klein reduction to four dimensions. We also discuss the physical\nparameters of this solution and calculate its gyromagnetic ratio.",
        "positive": "A Note on Partition Functions of Gepner Model Orientifolds: In this note we generalize the description of simple current extended Gepner\nModel orientifolds as presented in hep-th/0401148 to the case of even levels\nand non-trivial dressings of the parity transformation. We provide a\ncomprehensive list of all the important ingredients for the construction of\nsuch orientifolds. Namely we present explicit expressions for the Klein-bottle,\nannulus and Moebius strip amplitudes and derive the general tadpole\ncancellation conditions. As an example we construct a supersymmetric Pati-Salam\nlike model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Anyons and the Double Copy: We examine the double copy structure of anyons in gauge theory and gravity.\nUsing on-shell amplitude techniques, we construct little group covariant\nspinor-helicity variables describing massive particles with spin, which\ntogether with locality and unitarity enables us to derive the long-range\ntree-level scattering amplitudes involving anyons. We discover that classical\ngauge theory anyon solutions double copy to their gravitational counterparts in\na non-trivial manner. Interestingly, we show that the massless double copy\ncaptures the topological structure of curved spacetime in three dimensions by\nintroducing a non-trivial mixing of the topological graviton and the dilaton.\nFinally, we show that the celebrated Aharonov-Bohm phase can be derived\ndirectly from the constructed on-shell amplitude and that it too enjoys a\nsimple double copy to its gravitational counterpart.",
        "positive": "Leading quantum gravitational corrections to scalar QED: We consider the leading post-Newtonian and quantum corrections to the\nnon-relativistic scattering amplitude of charged scalars in the combined theory\nof general relativity and scalar QED. The combined theory is treated as an\neffective field theory. This allows for a consistent quantization of the\ngravitational field. The appropriate vertex rules are extracted from the\naction, and the non-analytic contributions to the 1-loop scattering matrix are\ncalculated in the non-relativistic limit. The non-analytical parts of the\nscattering amplitude, which are known to give the long range, low energy,\nleading quantum corrections, are used to construct the leading post-Newtonian\nand quantum corrections to the two-particle non-relativistic scattering matrix\npotential for two charged scalars. The result is discussed in relation to\nexperimental verifications."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Vacuum Instability in Electric Fields via AdS/CFT: Euler-Heisenberg\n  Lagrangian and Planckian Thermalization: We analyze vacuum instability of strongly coupled gauge theories in a\nconstant electric field using AdS/CFT correspondence. The model is the N=2\n1-flavor supersymmetric large N_c QCD in the strong 't Hooft coupling limit. We\ncalculate the Euler-Heisenberg effective Lagrangian L(E), which encodes the\nnonlinear response and the quantum decay rate of the vacuum in a background\nelectric field E, from the complex D-brane action in AdS/CFT. We find that the\ndecay rate given by Im L(E) becomes nonzero above a critical electric field set\nby the confining force between quarks. A large-E expansion of Im L(E) is found\nto coincide with that of the Schwinger effects in QED, replacing its electron\nmass by the confining force. Then, the time-dependent response of the system in\na strong electric field is solved non-perturbatively, and we observe a\nuniversal thermalization at a shortest timescale \"Planckian thermalization\ntime\" t ~ 1/T ~ E^{-1/2}. Here, T is an effective temperature which quarks feel\nin the nonequilibrium state with nonzero electric current, calculated in\nAdS/CFT as a Hawking temperature. Stronger electric fields accelerate the\nthermalization, and for a realistic value of the electric field in RHIC\nexperiment, we obtain t ~ 1 [fm/c], which is consistent with the believed\nvalue.",
        "positive": "Black hole to cosmic horizon microstates in string/M theory: timelike\n  boundaries and internal averaging: In this note, we resolve an apparent obstacle to string/M theory realizations\nof dS observer patch holography, finding a new role for averaging in quantum\ngravity. The solvable $T\\bar T(+\\Lambda_2)$ deformation recently provided a\ndetailed microstate count of the $dS_3$ cosmic horizon, reproducing the refined\nGibbons-Hawking entropy computed by Anninos et al along with the correct radial\nbulk geometry. On the gravity side, the deformation brings in the boundary to\njust outside a black hole horizon, where it is indistinguishable from the dS\ncosmic horizon, enabling a continuous passage to a bounded patch of dS. In\nstring/M theory, the relationship between AdS/CFT and dS involves uplifts that\nchange the internal topology, e.g. replacing an internal sphere $\\mathbb{S}$\nwith an internal hyperbolic space $\\mathbb{H}$ (and incorporating varying warp\nand conformal factors). We connect these two approaches, noting that the\ndifferences in the extra dimensions between AdS black hole and dS solutions are\nwashed out by internal averaging in the presence of a timelike boundary\nskirting the horizon. This helps to motivate a detailed investigation into the\npossibility of such timelike boundaries in (A)dS solutions of string/M theory,\nand we take initial steps toward suitable generalizations of Liouville walls as\none approach."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chiral symmetry breaking and the Unruh effect: The possibility of chiral symmetry restoration by acceleration is considered.\nThe Thermalization Theorem formalism and the large $N$ limit (with $N$ being\nthe number of pions) are employed to solve the lowest-order approximation to\nQCD at low energies in Rindler spacetime. It is shown that chiral symmetry is\nrestored for accelerations higher than the critical value $a_c=4\\pi f_\\pi$,\nwith $f_\\pi$ being the pion decay constant. The results are completely\nanalogous to those obtained in the inertial, finite-temperature case, evincing\nthe ontic character of the Unruh effect.",
        "positive": "Higgs Inflation on Braneworld: We discuss a Higgs inflation model in the warped DGP braneworld background.\nIt generates reasonable primordial perturbations. At the same time with\nenhanced non-minimal coupling it overcomes the severe problem in the Higgs\ninflation in 4 dimension, which says that the effective field theory become\ninvalid at an energy scale far below the energy scale for inflation exit.\nFurthermore we present the constraints for the parameters confront to PLANCK\nand related observations. PLANCK low-l data almost fixes the inflation energy\nscale in this Higgs inflation model with specific brane parameters."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Conformal Field Theories of Stochastic Loewner Evolutions: Stochastic Loewner evolutions (SLE) are random growth processes of sets,\ncalled hulls, embedded in the two dimensional upper half plane. We elaborate\nand develop a relation between SLE evolutions and conformal field theories\n(CFT) which is based on a group theoretical formulation of SLE processes and on\nthe identification of the proper hull boundary states. This allows us to define\nan infinite set of SLE zero modes, or martingales, whose existence is a\nconsequence of the existence of a null vector in the appropriate Virasoro\nmodules. This identification leads, for instance, to linear systems for\ngeneralized crossing probabilities whose coefficients are multipoint CFT\ncorrelation functions. It provides a direct link between conformal correlation\nfunctions and probabilities of stopping time events in SLE evolutions. We point\nout a relation between SLE processes and two dimensional gravity and conjecture\na reconstruction procedure of conformal field theories from SLE data.",
        "positive": "Solving the Hierarchy Problem with Noncompact Extra Dimensions: We show that gravitational effects of global cosmic 3-branes can be\nresponsible for compactification from six to four space-time dimensions,\nnaturally producing the observed hierarchy between electroweak and\ngravitational forces. The finite radius of the transverse dimensions follows\nfrom Einstein's equation, and is exponentially large compared with the scales\nassociated with the 3-brane. The space-time ends on a mild naked singularity at\nthe boundary of the transverse dimensions; nevertheless unitary boundary\nconditions render the singularity harmless."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Hidden Quantum Group of the 8-vertex Free Fermion Model: q-Clifford\n  Algebras: We prove in this paper that the elliptic $R$--matrix of the eight vertex free\nfermion model is the intertwiner $R$--matrix of a quantum deformed\nClifford--Hopf algebra. This algebra is constructed by affinization of a\nquantum Hopf deformation of the Clifford algebra.",
        "positive": "Large-N correlation functions in ${\\cal N} = 2$ superconformal QCD: We study extremal correlation functions of chiral primary operators in the\nlarge-N SU(N) ${\\cal N} = 2$ superconformal QCD theory and present new results\nbased on supersymmetric localization. We discuss extensively the\nbasis-independent data that can be extracted from these correlators using the\nleading order large-N matrix model free energy given by the four-sphere\npartition function. Special emphasis is given to single-trace 2- and 3-point\nfunctions as well as a new class of observables that are scalars on the\nconformal manifold. These new observables are particular quadratic combinations\nof the structure constants of the chiral ring. At weak 't Hooft coupling we\npresent perturbative results that, in principle, can be extended to arbitrarily\nhigh order. We obtain closed-form expressions up to the first subleading order.\nAt strong coupling we provide analogous results based on an approximate\nWiener-Hopf method."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Ramond-Ramond fields and twisted differential K-theory: We provide a systematic approach to describing the Ramond-Ramond (RR) fields\nas elements in twisted differential K-theory. This builds on a series of\nconstructions by the authors on geometric and computational aspects of twisted\ndifferential K-theory, which to a large extent were originally motivated by\nthis problem. In addition to providing a new conceptual framework and a\nmathematically solid setting, this allows us to uncover interesting and novel\neffects. Explicitly, we use our recently constructed Atiyah-Hirzebruch spectral\nsequence (AHSS) for twisted differential K-theory to characterize the RR fields\nand their quantization, which involves interesting interplay between geometric\nand topological data. We illustrate this with the examples of spheres, tori,\nand Calabi-Yau threefolds.",
        "positive": "Dual Spaces of Resonance In Thick $p-$Branes: In this work we consider $q-$form fields in a $p-$brane embedded in a\n$D=(p+2)$ space-time. The membrane is generated by a domain wall in a\nRandall-Sundrum-like scenario. We study conditions for localization of zero\nmodes of these fields. The expression agrees and generalizes the one found for\nthe zero, one, two and three-forms in a $3-$brane. By a generalization we mean\nthat our expression is valid for any form in an arbitrary dimension with\ncodimension one. We also point out that, even without the dilaton coupling,\nsome form fields are localized in the membrane. The massive modes are\nconsidered and the resonances are calculated using a numerical method. We find\nthat different spaces have identical resonance structures, which we call dual\nspaces of resonances(DSR)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chiral Zero Modes on Intersecting Heterotic 5-branes: We show that there exist two 27 and one 27bar of E6, net one chiral\nsupermultiplet as zero modes localized on the intersecting 5-branes in the E8 x\nE8 heterotic string theory. A heterotic background is constructed by the\nstandard embedding in the smeared solution, and the Dirac equation is solved\nexplicitly on this background. It provides, after a compactification of some of\nthe transverse dimensions, a Randall-Sundrum II like brane-world set-up in\nheterotic string theory.",
        "positive": "Dimensional flow and fuzziness in quantum gravity: emergence of\n  stochastic spacetime: We show that the uncertainty in distance and time measurements found by the\nheuristic combination of quantum mechanics and general relativity is reproduced\nin a purely classical and flat multi-fractal spacetime whose geometry changes\nwith the probed scale (dimensional flow) and has non-zero imaginary dimension,\ncorresponding to a discrete scale invariance at short distances. Thus,\ndimensional flow can manifest itself as an intrinsic measurement uncertainty\nand, conversely, measurement-uncertainty estimates are generally valid because\nthey rely on this universal property of quantum geometries. These general\nresults affect multi-fractional theories, a recent proposal related to quantum\ngravity, in two ways: they can fix two parameters previously left free (in\nparticular, the value of the spacetime dimension at short scales) and point\ntowards a reinterpretation of the ultraviolet structure of geometry as a\nstochastic foam or fuzziness. This is also confirmed by a correspondence we\nestablish between Nottale scale relativity and the stochastic geometry of\nmulti-fractional models."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holomorphic Analogs of Topological Gauge Theories: We introduce a new class of gauge field theories in any complex dimension,\nbased on algebra-valued (p,q)-forms on complex n-manifolds. These theories are\nholomorphic analogs of the well-known Chern-Simons and BF topological theories\ndefined on real manifolds. We introduce actions for different special\nholomorphic BF theories on complex, Kahler and Calabi-Yau manifolds and\ndescribe their gauge symmetries. Candidate observables, topological invariants\nand relations to integrable models are briefly discussed.",
        "positive": "Glueball Scattering Amplitudes from Holography: Using techniques developed in a previous paper three-point functions in field\ntheories described by holographic renormalization group flows are computed. We\nconsider a system of one active scalar and one inert scalar coupled to gravity.\nFor the GPPZ flow, their dual operators create states that are interpreted as\nglueballs of the N=1 SYM theory, which lies at the infrared end of the\nrenormalization group flow. The scattering amplitudes for three-glueball\nprocesses are calculated providing precise predictions for glueball decays in\nN=1 SYM theory. Numerical results for low-lying glueballs are included."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Space-Time Supersymmetry, IIA/B Duality and M-Theory: The connection between IIA superstring theory compactified on a circle of\nradius R and IIB theory compactified on a circle of radius 1/R is reexamined\nfrom the perspective of N=2, D=9 space-time supersymmetry. We argue that the\nconsistency of IIA/B duality requires the BPS states corresponding to momentum\nand winding of either of the type-II superstrings to transform as inequivalent\nsupermultiplets. We show that this is indeed the case for any finite\ncompactification radius, thus providing a nontrivial confirmation of IIA/B\nduality. From the point of view of N=2, D=9 supergravity, one is naturally led\nto an SL(2,Z) invariant field theory that encompasses both the M-theory torus\nand the Kaluza-Klein states of the IIB theory.",
        "positive": "Pole structure and biharmonic fields in conformal QFT in four dimensions: Imposing Huygens' Principle in a 4D Wightman QFT puts strong constraints on\nits algebraic and analytic structure. These are best understood in terms of\n``biharmonic fields'', whose properties reflect the presence of infinitely many\nconserved tensor currents. In particular, a universal third-order partial\ndifferential equation is derived for the most singular parts of connected\nscalar correlation functions. This PDE gives rise to novel restrictions on the\npole structure of higher correlation functions. An example of a six-point\nfunction is presented that cannot arise from free fields. This example is\nexploited to study the locality properties of biharmonic fields."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spectator electric fields, de Sitter space-time and the Schwinger effect: During a de Sitter stage of expansion the spectator fields of different spin\nare constrained by the critical density bound and by further requirements\ndetermined by their specific physical nature. The evolution of spectator\nelectric fields in conformally flat background geometries is occasionally\nconcocted by postulating the existence of ad hoc currents but this apparently\ninnocuous trick violates the second law of thermodynamics. Such a problem\noccurs, in particular, for those configurations (customarily employed for the\nanalysis of the Schwinger effect in four-dimensional de Sitter backgrounds)\nleading to an electric energy density which is practically unaffected by the\nexpansion of the underlying geometry. The obtained results are compared with\nmore mundane situations where Joule heating develops in the early stages of a\nquasi-de Sitter phase.",
        "positive": "Billiard Representation for Multidimensional Cosmology with Intersecting\n  p-branes near the Singularity: Multidimensional model describing the cosmological evolution of n Einstein\nspaces in the theory with l scalar fields and forms is considered. When\nelectro-magnetic composite p-brane ansatz is adopted, and certain restrictions\non the parameters of the model are imposed, the dynamics of the model near the\nsingularity is reduced to a billiard on the (N-1)-dimensional Lobachevsky\nspace, N = n+l. The geometrical criterion for the finiteness of the billiard\nvolume and its compactness is used. This criterion reduces the problem to the\nproblem of illumination of (N-2)-dimensional sphere by point-like sources. Some\nexamples with billiards of finite volume and hence oscillating behaviour near\nthe singularity are considered. Among them examples with square and triangle\n2-dimensional billiards (e.g. that of the Bianchi-IX model) and a 4-dimensional\nbilliard in ``truncated'' D = 11 supergravity model (without the Chern-Simons\nterm) are considered. It is shown that the inclusion of the Chern-Simons term\ndestroys the confining of a billiard."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Complete Analysis of Extensions of $D(n)_1$ Permutation Orbifolds: We give the full set of $S$ matrices for extensions of $D(n)_1$ permutation\norbifolds, extending our previous work to the yet unknown case of integer spin\nspinor currents. The main tool is triality of SO(8). We also provide fixed\npoint resolution matrices for spinor currents of $D(n)_1$ permutation orbifolds\nwith $n$ even and not multiple of four, where the spinor currents have\nhalf-integer spin.",
        "positive": "Gauge fields beyond perturbation theory: A new formulation of nonabelian gauge theories, introducing new ghost fields\nand new symmetry is proposed. This formulation does not suffer from Gribov\nambiguity and allows to quantize nonabelian gauge fields beyond perturbation\ntheory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "New N=1 Supersymmetric 3-dimensional Superstring Vacua from U-manifolds: Making use of non-perturbative U-duality symmetries of type II strings we\nconstruct new `superstring' vacua in three dimensions with N=1 supersymmetry.\nThis has an interpretation as compactifying formally from 13 dimensions\n(S-theory) on Calabi-Yau 5-folds possessing a $T^3 \\x T^2$ fibration. We\ndescribe some part of the massless multiplets, given by the Hodge spectrum, and\npoint to a corresponding 5-brane configuration.",
        "positive": "BRST theory without Hamiltonian and Lagrangian: We consider a generic gauge system, whose physical degrees of freedom are\nobtained by restriction on a constraint surface followed by factorization with\nrespect to the action of gauge transformations; in so doing, no Hamiltonian\nstructure or action principle is supposed to exist. For such a generic gauge\nsystem we construct a consistent BRST formulation, which includes the\nconventional BV Lagrangian and BFV Hamiltonian schemes as particular cases. If\nthe original manifold carries a weak Poisson structure (a bivector field giving\nrise to a Poisson bracket on the space of physical observables) the generic\ngauge system is shown to admit deformation quantization by means of the\nKontsevich formality theorem. A sigma-model interpretation of this quantization\nalgorithm is briefly discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Uplifting non-compact gauged supergravities: We provide the M-theory uplift of de Sitter vacua of SO(5,3) and SO(4,4)\ngaugings of maximal supergravity in 4 dimensions. We find new non-compact\nbackgrounds that are squashed hyperboloids with non-trivial flux for the 3-form\npotential. The uplift requires a new non-linear ansatz for the 11-dimensional\nmetric and for the 3-form potential that reduces to the known one leading to\nthe 7-sphere solution in the case of the SO(8) gauging.",
        "positive": "Ground state energy and topological mass in spacetimes with nontrivial\n  topology: In the present paper, we investigate the ground state energy of a massless\nscalar field and generation of topological mass by considering a\nquasi-periodically identified Minkowski spacetime and the `half-Einstein\nUniverse', that is, an Einstein Universe where the massless scalar field\npropagates under Dirichlet boundary condition. The analysis is performed\nconsidering one and two-loop corrections to the effective potential in both\ncases. Our results are compared with previous results found in literature."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Mass terms in the Skyrme Model: We consider various forms of the mass term that can be used in the Skyrme\nmodel and their implications on the properties of baryonic states. We show\nthat, with an appropriate choice for the mass term, without changing the\nasymptotic behaviour of the profile functions at large $r$, we can considerably\nreduce or increase the mass term's contribution to the classical mass of the\nsolitons. We find that multibaryon configurations can be classically bound at\nlarge baryon numbers for some choices of this mass term.",
        "positive": "M2-branes Coupled to Antisymmetric Fluxes: By turning on antisymmetric background fluxes, we study how multiple\nM2-branes are coupled to them. Our investigation concentrates on the gauge\ninvariance conditions for the Myers-Chern-Simons action. Furthermore, the\ndimensional reduction of M2-branes to D2-branes introduces more constraints on\nthe newly introduced tensors. Particularly, for the theory based on A_4\nalgebra, we are able to fix all components of them up to an overall\nnormalization constant. These results can not be simply obtained from the\npreviously proposed cubic matrix representation for this algebra. We also\ncomment on cubic matrices as the representations of 3-algebras."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Poisson structure on a space with linear SU(2) fuzziness: The Poisson structure is constructed for a model in which spatial coordinates\nof configuration space are noncommutative and satisfy the commutation relations\nof a Lie algebra. The case is specialized to that of the group SU(2), for which\nthe counterpart of the angular momentum, as well as the Euler parameterization\nof the phase space are introduced. SU(2)-invariant classical systems are\ndiscussed, and it is observed that the path of particle can be obtained by the\nsolution of a first-order equation, as the case with such models on commutative\nspaces. The examples of free particle, rotationally-invariant potentials, and\nspecially the isotropic harmonic oscillator are investigated in more detail.",
        "positive": "A slow review of the AGT correspondence: Starting with a gentle approach to the AGT correspondence from its 6d origin,\nthese notes provide a wide (albeit shallow) survey of the literature on\nnumerous extensions of the correspondence up to early 2020. This is an extended\nwriteup of the lectures given at the Winter School YRISW 2020, to appear in a\nspecial issue of JPhysA.\n  Class S is a wide class of 4d $N=2$ supersymmetric gauge theories (ranging\nfrom super-QCD to non-Lagrangian theories) obtained by twisted compactification\nof 6d $N=(2,0)$ superconformal theories on a Riemann surface. This 6d\nconstruction yields the Coulomb branch and Seiberg-Witten geometry of class S\ntheories, geometrizes S-duality, and leads to the AGT correspondence, which\nstates that many observables of class S theories are equal to 2d CFT\ncorrelators. For instance, the four-sphere partition function of a 4d $N=2$\nSU(2) superconformal quiver theory is equal to a Liouville CFT correlator of\nprimary operators.\n  Extensions of the AGT correspondence abound: asymptotically-free gauge\ntheories and Argyres-Douglas theories correspond to irregular CFT operators,\nquivers with higher-rank gauge groups and non-Lagrangian tinkertoys such as\n$T_N$ correspond to Toda CFT correlators, and nonlocal operators (Wilson-'t\nHooft loops, surface operators, domain walls) correspond to Verlinde networks,\ndegenerate primary operators, braiding and fusion kernels, and Riemann surfaces\nwith boundaries."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Bounded Bose fields: Examples for bounded Bose fields in two dimensions are presented.",
        "positive": "Derivative Expansion of the Effective Action for Massless Scalar\n  Electrodynamics in Arbitrary Gauge: It is shown how operator regularization can be used to obtain an expansion of\nthe effective action in powers of derivatives of the background field. This is\napplied to massless scalar electrodynamics to find the one-loop corrections to\nthe kinetic terms associated with both the scalar and vector fields in\narbitrary gauge. This allows us to examine the radiatively induced masses\narising in this model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fractional and Integer Charges from Levinson's Theorem: We compute fractional and integer fermion quantum numbers of static\nbackground field configurations using phase shifts and Levinson's theorem. By\nextending fermionic scattering theory to arbitrary dimensions, we implement\ndimensional regularization in a 1+1 dimensional gauge theory. We demonstrate\nthat this regularization procedure automatically eliminates the anomaly in the\nvector current that a naive regulator would produce. We also apply these\ntechniques to bag models in one and three dimensions.",
        "positive": "Strings versus Anti Strings in the inversion invariant or proper volume\n  formulation: The specific model studied is in the context of the modified measure\nformulation the string or branes where tension appear as an additional\ndynamical degree of freedom . We then consider the signed reparametrization\ninvariant volume element formulation of dynamical strings and branes and find\nthat the dynamical tension can produce positive tensions or negative tensions,\ncorresponding exactly to strings and branes and anti strings and anti branes\nrespectively. The anti strings are realized when a scalar time that defines the\nmodified measure runs in the opposite direction to the world sheet time. For\nstrings with positive tension, both times run in the same direction. The\nsituation resembles the situation in Relativistic Quantum Mechanics with\npositive and negative energies, proper time of particles running forward with\nrespect of coordinate time , while for anti particles proper tome runs opposite\nof coordinate time. An example where string anti string pair creation takes\nplace in analogy to the pair creation in an external electric field in QED\nbackground field, this time in the presence of a background scalar field that\ncouples to the strings and locally changes the tension, the tension field."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Massive 4D, N = 1 Superspin 1 & 3/2 Multiplets and Dualities: Lagrangians for several new off-shell 4D, N = 1 supersymmetric descriptions\nof massive superspin-1 and superspin-3/2 multiplets are described. Taken\ntogether with the models previously constructed, there are now four off-shell\nformulations for the massive gravitino multiplet (superspin-1) and six\noff-shell formulations for the massive graviton multiplet (superspin-3/2).\nDuality transformations are derived which relate some of these dynamical\nsystems.",
        "positive": "Minuscule ABCDE Lax Operators from 4D Chern-Simons Theory: Using 4D Chern-Simons (CS) theory with gauge symmetry $G$ having minuscule\ncoweights, we develop a suitable operator basis to deal with the explicit\ncalculation of the Lax operator of integrable spin chain satisfying the RLL\nequation. Using this basis, we derive the oscillator realisations of the full\nlist of the minuscule L-operators which are classified by the gauge symmetries\nA$_{N}$, B$_{N}$, C$_{N}$, D$_{N}$, E$_{6}$, E$_{7}$. We also complete missing\nresults regarding the non simply laced $SO_{2N+1}$ and $SP_{2N}$ gauge\nsymmetries and comment on their intrinsic features. Moreover, we investigate\nthe properties of links reported in Yangian spin chain studies between the\n(A-,D-) Lax operators and the (C-,B-) homologue. We show that these links are\ndue to discrete outer-automorphism symmetries that are explicitly worked out."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Variation of Entanglement Entropy in Scattering Process: In a scattering process, the final state is determined by an initial state\nand an S-matrix. We focus on two-particle scattering processes and consider the\nentanglement between these particles. For two types initial states; i.e., an\nunentangled state and an entangled one, we calculate perturbatively the change\nof entanglement entropy from the initial state to the final one. Then we show a\nfew examples in a field theory and in quantum mechanics.",
        "positive": "Cleaning up the cosmological constant: We present a novel idea for screening the vacuum energy contribution to the\noverall value of the cosmological constant, thereby enabling us to choose the\nbare value of the vacuum curvature empirically, without any need to worry about\nthe zero-point energy contributions of each particle. The trick is to couple\nmatter to a metric that is really a composite of other fields, with the\nproperty that the square-root of its determinant is the integrand of a\ntopological invariant, and/or a total derivative. This ensures that the vacuum\nenergy contribution to the Lagrangian is non-dynamical. We then give an\nexplicit example of a theory with this property that is free from Ostrogradski\nghosts, and is consistent with solar system physics and cosmological tests."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "kappa-deformed Spacetime From Twist: We twist the Hopf algebra of igl(n,R) to obtain the kappa-deformed spacetime\ncoordinates. Coproducts of the twisted Hopf algebras are explicitly given. The\nkappa-deformed spacetime obtained this way satisfies the same commutation\nrelation as that of the conventional kappa-Minkowski spacetime, but its Hopf\nalgebra structure is different from the well known kappa-deformed Poincare\nalgebra in that it has larger symmetry algebra than the kappa-Minkowski case.\nThere are some physical models which consider this symmetry. Incidentally, we\nobtain the canonical (theta-deformed) non-commutative spacetime from\ncanonically twisted igl(n,R) Hopf algebra.",
        "positive": "Siegel modular flavor group and CP from string theory: We derive the potential modular symmetries of heterotic string theory. For a\ntoroidal compactification with Wilson line modulus, we obtain the Siegel\nmodular group $\\mathrm{Sp}(4,\\mathbb{Z})$ that includes the modular symmetries\n$\\mathrm{SL}(2,\\mathbb{Z})_T$ and $\\mathrm{SL}(2,\\mathbb{Z})_U$ (of the\n\"geometric\" moduli $T$ and $U$) as well as mirror symmetry. In addition, string\ntheory provides a candidate for a CP-like symmetry that enhances the Siegel\nmodular group to $\\mathrm{GSp}(4,\\mathbb{Z})$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "New Integrable Structures in Large-N QCD: We study the anomalous dimensions of single trace operators composed of field\nstrengths $F_{\\mu\\nu}$ in large-N QCD. The matrix of anomalous dimensions is\nthe Hamiltonian of a compact spin chain with two spin one representations at\neach vertex corresponding to the selfdual and anti-selfdual components of\n$F_{\\mu\\nu}$. Due to the special form of the interaction it is possible to\nstudy separately renormalization of purely selfdual components. In this sector\nthe Hamiltonian is integrable and can be exactly solved by Bethe ansatz. Its\ncontinuum limit is described by the level two SU(2) WZW model.",
        "positive": "Hawking radiation in the kappa-spacetime: In this paper, we analyze the Hawking radiation of a kappa-deformed\nSchwarzchild black hole and obtain the deformed Hawking temperature. For this,\nwe first derive deformed metric for the kappa-spacetime, which in the generic\ncase, is not a symmetric tensor and also has a momentum dependence. We show\nthat the Schwarzchild metric obtained in the kappa-deformed spacetime has a\ndependence on energy. We use the fact that the deformed metric is conformally\nflat in the 1+1 dimensions, to solve the kappa-deformed Klein-Gordon equation\nin the background of the Schwarzchild metric. The method of Boguliobov\ncoefficients is then used to calculate the thermal spectrum of\nkappa-deformed-Schwarzchild black hole and show that the Hawking temperature is\nmodified by the non-commutativity of the kappa-spacetime."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Boundary state analysis on the equivalence of T-duality and Nahm\n  transformation in superstring theory: We investigated the equivalence of the T-duality for a bound state of D2 and\nD0-branes with the Nahm transformation of the corresponding gauge theory on a\n2-dimensional torus, using the boundary state analysis in superstring theory.\nIn contrast to the case of a 4-dimensional torus, it changes a sign in a\ntopological charge, which seems puzzling when regarded as a D-brane charge.\nNevertheless, it is shown that it agrees with the T-duality of the boundary\nstate, including a minus sign. We reformulated boundary states in the RR-sector\nusing a new representation of zeromodes, and show that the RR-coupling is\ninvariant under the T-duality. Finally, the T-duality invariance at the level\nof the Chern-Simon coupling is shown by deriving the Buscher rule for the\nRR-potentials, known as the 'Hori formula', including the correct sign.",
        "positive": "Limitations of holography: By studying global AdS using different foliations, global and Rindler-AdS, we\nshow that there are two different asymptotic Fefferman-Graham expansions\npossible and thus two different definitions of \"boundaries\". We demonstrate\nthat imposing boundary conditions on the two boundaries is not mutually\ncompatible even when these boundaries are pushed to infinity. Thus, these two\nprocedures define two genuinely distinct theories that we call global-CFT and\nRindler-CFT. We show that the Rindler-CFT is not the same as the theory one\ngets by \"Rindlerizing the global-CFT\" as described in hep-th/9804085. We\nconjecture that the Rindler theory is incapable of capturing the dynamics\ninside the horizon and discuss its implications for the BTZ-CFT duality\nproposed in hep-th/0106112."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Generalizing the Soldering procedure: We start this work by revisiting the problem of the soldering of two chiral\nSchwinger models of opposite chiralities. We verify that, in contrast with what\none can conclude from the soldering literature, the usual sum of these models\nis, in fact, gauge invariant and corresponds to a composite model, where the\ncomponent models are the vector and axial Schwinger models. As a consequence,\nwe reinterpret this formalism as a kind of degree of freedom reduction\nmechanism. This result has led us to discover a second soldering possibility\ngiving rise to the axial Schwinger model. This new result is seemingly rather\ngeneral. We explore it here in the soldering of two Maxwell-Chern-Simons\ntheories with different masses.",
        "positive": "Dyons, Superstrings, and Wormholes: We construct dyon solutions on a collection of coincident D4-branes, obtained\nby applying the group of T-duality transformations to a type I SO(32)\nsuperstring theory in 10 dimensions. The dyon solutions, which are exact, are\nobtained from an action consisting of the non-abelian Dirac-Born-Infeld action\nand Wess-Zumino-like action. When one of the spatial dimensions of the\nD4-branes is taken to be vanishingly small, the dyons are analogous to the 't\nHooft/Polyakov monopole residing in a 3+1 dimensional spacetime, where the\ncomponent of the Yang-Mills potential transforming as a Lorentz scalar is\nre-interpreted as a Higgs boson transforming in the adjoint representation of\nthe gauge group. We next apply a T-duality transformation to the vanishingly\nsmall spatial dimension. The result is a collection of D3-branes not all of\nwhich are coincident. Two of the D3-branes which are separated from the others\nacquire intrinsic, finite, curvature and are connected by a wormhole. The dyon\npossesses electric and magnetic charges whose values on each D3-brane are the\nnegative of one another. The gravitational effects, which arise after the\nT-duality transformation, occur despite the fact that the Lagrangian density\nfrom which the dyon solutions have been obtained does not explicitly include\nthe gravitational interaction. These solutions provide a simple example of the\nsubtle relationship between the Yang-Mills and gravitational interactions, i.e.\ngauge/gravity duality."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Froggatt-Nielsen models from E8 in F-theory GUTs: This paper studies F-theory SU(5) GUT models where the three generations of\nthe standard model come from three different curves. All the matter is taken to\ncome from curves intersecting at a point of enhanced E8 gauge symmetry. Giving\na vev to some of the GUT singlets naturally implements a Froggatt-Nielsen\napproach to flavour structure. A scan is performed over all possible models and\nthe results are filtered using phenomenological constraints. We find a unique\nmodel that fits observations of quark and lepton masses and mixing well. This\nmodel suffers from two drawbacks: R-parity must be imposed by hand and there is\na doublet-triplet splitting problem.",
        "positive": "Strings in Spacetime Cotangent Bundle and T-duality: A simple geometric description of T-duality is given by identifying the\ncotangent bundles of the original and the dual manifold. Strings propagate\nnaturally in the cotangent bundle and the original and the dual string phase\nspaces are obtained by different projections. Buscher's transformation follows\nreadily and it is literally projective. As an application of the formalism, we\nprove that the duality is a symplectomorphism of the string phase spaces."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hunting for Dynamical Supersymmetry Breaking in Theories That S-confine: The s-confining theories are a class of supersymmetric gauge theories with\ninfrared dynamics which are well-understood. Perturbing such theories can give\nrise to dynamical supersymmetry breaking. We realize simple models of dynamical\nsupersymmetry breaking by perturbing two of the 10 SU(N) s-confining gauge\ntheories by a single trilinear operator. These examples have locally stable\nvacua with spontaneous supersymmetry breaking. The first is SU(5) with two\ngenerations (consisting of an antisymmetric tensor and an antifundamental) plus\ntwo flavors. The second is SU(5) with three generations. The properties of the\nformer vacuum are calculable while those of the latter vacuum are not. We\nbriefly discuss the other SU(N) models.",
        "positive": "Light Cone $W_n$ Geometry and its Symmetries and Projective Field Theory: I show that the generalized Beltrami differentials and projective connections\nwhich appear naturally in induced light cone $W_n$ gravity are geometrical\nfields parametrizing in one-to-one fashion generalized projective structures on\na fixed base Riemann surface. I also show that $W_n$ symmetries are nothing but\ngauge transformations of the flat ${SL}(n,{\\bf C})$ vector bundles canonically\nassociated to the generalized projective structures. This provides an original\nformulation of classical light cone $W_n$ geometry. From the knowledge of the\nsymmetries, the full BRS algebra is derived. Inspired by the results of recent\nliterature, I argue that quantum $W_n$ gravity may be formulated as an induced\ngauge theory of generalized projective connections. This leads to projective\nfield theory. The possible anomalies arising at the quantum level are analyzed\nby solving Wess-Zumino consistency conditions. The implications for induced\ncovariant $W_n$ gravity are briefly discussed. The results presented, valid for\narbitrary $n$, reproduce those obtained for $n=2,3$ by different methods."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Boundary transitions of the O(n) model on a dynamical lattice: We study the anisotropic boundary conditions for the dilute O(n) loop model\nwith the methods of 2D quantum gravity. We solve the problem exactly on a\ndynamical lattice using the correspondence with a large $N$ matrix model. We\nformulate the disk two-point functions with ordinary and anisotropic boundary\nconditions as loop correlators in the matrix model. We derive the loop\nequations for these correlators and find their explicit solution in the scaling\nlimit. Our solution reproduces the boundary phase diagram and the boundary\ncritical exponents obtained recently by Dubail, Jacobsen and Saleur, except for\nthe cusp at the isotropic special transition point. Moreover, our solution\ndescribes the bulk and the boundary deformations away from the anisotropic\nspecial transitions. In particular it shows how the anisotropic special\nboundary conditions are deformed by the bulk thermal flow towards the dense\nphase.",
        "positive": "5d/4d U-dualities and N=8 black holes: We use the connection between the U-duality groups in d=5 and d=4 to derive\nproperties of the N=8 black hole potential and its critical points\n(attractors). This approach allows to study and compare the supersymmetry\nfeatures of different solutions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Open strings in integrable deformations of $\u03c3$-models: This contribution is based on a talk given by the author at the \"Dualities\nand Generalized Geometries\" session of the Corfu Summer Institute 2018\nworkshops. We overview the results of [1], focusing our attention on integrable\n$\\lambda$-deformations of WZW models with boundaries.",
        "positive": "Interpolating Bremsstrahlung function in ABJM: In ABJM theory, enriched RG flows between circular 1/6 BPS bosonic and 1/2\nBPS fermionic Wilson loops have been introduced in arXiv:2211.16501. These\nflows are triggered by deformations corresponding to parametric 1/6 BPS\nfermionic loops. In this paper we revisit the study of these operators, but\ninstead of circular contours we consider an interpolating cusped line and a\nlatitude and study their RG flow in perturbation theory. This allows for the\ndefinition of a Bremsstrahlung function away from fixed points. We generalize\nto this case the known cusp/latitude correspondence that relates the\nBremsstrahlung function to a latitude Wilson loop. We find that away from the\nconformal fixed points the ordinary identity is broken by the conformal anomaly\nin a controlled way. From a defect perspective, the breaking of the\ncorrespondence can be traced back to the appearance of an anomalous dimension\nfor fermionic operators localized on the defect. As a by-product, we provide a\nbrand new result for the two-loop cusp anomalous dimension of the 1/6 BPS\nfermionic and the 1/6 BPS bosonic Wilson lines."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Universal Relation Between Corrections to Entropy and Extremality: Perturbative corrections to General Relativity alter the expressions for both\nthe entropy of black holes and their extremality bounds. We prove a universal\nrelation between the leading corrections to these quantities. The derivation is\npurely thermodynamic and the result also applies beyond the realm of\ngravitational systems. In scenarios where the correction to the entropy is\npositive, our result proves that the perturbations decrease the mass of\nextremal black holes, when holding all other extensive variables fixed in the\ncomparison. This implies that the extremality relations of a wide class of\nblack holes display Weak Gravity Conjecture-like behavior.",
        "positive": "Stationary holographic plasma quenches and numerical methods for\n  non-Killing horizons: We explore use of the harmonic Einstein equations to numerically find\nstationary black holes where the problem is posed on an ingoing slice that\nextends into the interior of the black hole. Requiring no boundary conditions\nat the horizon beyond smoothness of the metric, this method may be applied for\nhorizons that are not Killing. As a non-trivial illustration we find black\nholes which, via AdS-CFT, describe a time-independent CFT plasma flowing\nthrough a static spacetime which asymptotes to Minkowski in the flow's past and\nfuture, with a varying spatial geometry in-between. These are the first\nexplicit examples of stationary black holes which do not have Killing horizons.\nWhen the CFT spacetime slowly varies, the CFT stress tensor derived from\ngravity is well described by viscous hydrodynamics. For fast variation it is\nnot, and the solutions are stationary analogs of dynamical quenches, with the\nplasma being suddenly driven out of equilibrium. We find evidence these flows\nbecome unstable for sufficiently strong quenches, and speculate the instability\nmay be turbulent."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Residues of bosonic string scattering amplitudes and the Lauricella\n  functions: We calculate explicitly residues of all n-point Koba-Nielsen (KN) amplitudes\nby using on-shell recursion relation of string scattering amplitudes (SSA). In\naddition, we show that the residues of all SSA including the KN amplitudes can\nbe expressed in terms of the Lauricella functions. This result demonstrates the\nexact SL(K+3,C) symmetry of the tree-level open bosonic string theory.\nMoreover, we derive an iteration relation among the residues of a given SSA.\nThis iteration relation is related to the SL(K+3,C) symmetry and can presumably\nbe used to soften the well-known hard SSA.",
        "positive": "Gravitational and Inertial Mass of Casimir Energy: It has been demonstrated, using variational methods, that quantum vacuum\nenergy gravitates according to the equivalence principle, at least for the\nfinite Casimir energies associated with perfectly conducting parallel plates.\nThis conclusion holds independently of the orientation of the plates. We review\nthese arguments and add further support to this conclusion by considering\nparallel semitransparent plates, that is, $\\delta$-function potentials, acting\non a massless scalar field, in a spacetime defined by Rindler coordinates. We\ncalculate the force on systems consisting of one or two such plates undergoing\nacceleration perpendicular to the plates. In the limit of small acceleration we\nrecover (via the equivalence principle) the situation of weak gravity, and find\nthat the gravitational force on the system is just $M\\mathbf{g}$, where\n$\\mathbf{g}$ is the gravitational acceleration and $M$ is the total mass of the\nsystem, consisting of the mass of the plates renormalized by the Casimir energy\nof each plate separately, plus the energy of the Casimir interaction between\nthe plates. This reproduces the previous result in the limit as the coupling to\nthe $\\delta$-function potential approaches infinity. Extension of this latter\nwork to arbitrary orientation of the plates, and to general compact quantum\nvacuum energy configurations, is under development."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Remarks on Tachyon Condensation in Superstring Field Theory: We generalize recent results on tachyon condensation in boundary string field\ntheory to the superstring.",
        "positive": "Entanglement Entropy in Holographic P-Wave Superconductor/Insulator\n  Model: We continue our study of entanglement entropy in the holographic\nsuperconducting phase transitions. In this paper we consider the holographic\np-wave superconductor/insulator model, where as the back reaction increases,\nthe transition is changed from second order to first order. We find that unlike\nthe s-wave case, there is no additional first order transition in the\nsuperconducting phase. We calculate the entanglement entropy for two strip\ngeometries. One is parallel to the super current, and the other is orthogonal\nto the super current. In both cases, we find that the entanglement entropy\nmonotonically increases with respect to the chemical potential."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Comment on ``New ansatz for metric operator calculation in\n  pseudo-Hermitian field theory'': In a recent Brief Report by Shalaby a new first-order perturbative\ncalculation of the metric operator for an $i\\phi^3$ scalar field theory is\ngiven. It is claimed that the result is an improvement on a previous\ncalculation by Bender, Brody and Jones because it is local. Unfortunately\nShalaby's calculation is not valid because of sign errors.",
        "positive": "The low-energy spectrum of (2,0) theory on T^5 x R: We consider the ADE-series of (2, 0) supersymmetric quantum theories on T^5\n\\times R, where the first factor is a flat spatial five-torus, and the second\nfactor denotes time. The quantum states of such a theory \\Phi are characterized\nby a discrete quantum number f \\in H^3 (T^5, C), where the finite abelian group\nC is the center subgroup of the corresponding simply connected simply laced Lie\ngroup G. At energies that are low compared to the inverse size of the T^5, the\nspectrum consists of a set of continua of states, each of which is\ncharacterized by the value of f and some number 5r of additional continuous\nparameters. By exploiting the interpretation of this theory as the ultraviolet\ncompletion of maximally supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory on T^4 \\times S^1\n\\times R with gauge group G_{adj} = G/C and coupling constant g given by the\nsquare root of the radius of the S^1 factor, one may compute the number N_f^r\n(\\Phi) of such continua. We perform these calculations in detail for the A- and\nD-series. While the Yang-Mills theory formalism is manifestly invariant under\nthe \\SL_4 (Z) mapping class group of T^4, the results are actually found to be\ninvariant under the \\SL_5 (Z) mapping class group of T^5, which provides a\nstrong consistency check."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Neutrino Dark Energy: There exist field theory models where the fermionic energy-momentum tensor\ncontains a term proportional to g_{\\mu\\nu}\\bar{\\Psi}\\Psi which can be\nresponsible for a dark matter to dark energy transmutation. We study some\ncosmological aspects of the new field theory effect where nonrelativistic\nneutrinos are obliged to be drawn into cosmological expansion (by means of\ndynamically changing their own parameters). This becomes possible as the\nmagnitudes of the cold neutrino and vacuum energy densities are comparable.\nSome of the features of such Cosmo-Low Energy Physics (CLEP) state in the toy\nmodel of the late time universe filled with homogeneous scalar field and\nuniformly distributed nonrelativistic neutrinos: neutrino mass increases as\na^{3/2} ($a=a(t)$ is the scale factor); its energy density scales as a sort of\ndark energy and its equation-of-state approaches w=-1 as a\\to\\infty; the total\nenergy density of such universe is less than it would be in the universe free\nof fermionic matter at all. CLEP state can be realized in the framework of an\nalternative gravity and matter fields theory. The latter is reduced to\ncanonical General Relativity when the fermionic matter built of the first two\nfermion families is only taken into account. In this case also the 5-th force\nproblem is resolved automatically.",
        "positive": "Anyons on the sphere: analytic states and spectrum: We analyze the quantum mechanics of anyons on the sphere in the presence of a\nconstant magnetic field. We introduce an operator method for diagonalizing the\nHamiltonian and derive a set of exact anyon energy eigenstates, in partial\ncorrespondence with the known exact eigenstates on the plane. We also comment\non possible connections of this system with integrable systems of the Calogero\ntype."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A duality in string theory on AdS$_3$: We consider bosonic string theory on $\\text{AdS}_3$ supported by Kalb-Ramond\nflux. It is well known that the $\\alpha'$ exact worldsheet theory is described\nby the $\\text{SL(2,R)}$ WZW model. In this note we perform checks of an\n$\\alpha'$ exact dual description proposed in [arXiv:2104.07233] involving a\nwinding condensate on a free theory background. We give the explicit map of\nvertex operators for normalizable states on both sides of the duality and\ndemonstrate the equivalence of their two and three point functions by direct\ncomputation. The duality is of strong-weak nature in $\\alpha'$.",
        "positive": "Gaugino mass term for D-branes and Generalized Complex Geometry: We compute the four-dimensional gaugino mass for a Dp-brane extended in\nspacetime and wrapping a cycle on the internal geometry in a warped\ncompactification with fluxes. Motivated by the backreaction of gaugino bilinear\nVEVs, we use Generalized Complex Geometry to characterize the internal geometry\nas well as the cycle wrapped by the brane. We find that the RR fluxes and the\nnon-closure of the generalized complex structures combine in the gaugino mass\nterms in the same form as they do in the bulk superpotential, while for the\nNSNS fluxes there is a crucial minus sign in the component normal to the brane.\nOur expression extends the known result for D3 and D7-branes in Calabi-Yau\nmanifolds, where the gaugino masses are induced respectively by the imaginary\nanti-self dual and imaginary self-dual components of the complex 3-form flux\n$G_3$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On noncommutative vacua and noncommutative solitons: We consider noncommutative theory of a compact scalar field. The recently\ndiscovered projector solitons are interpreted as classical vacua in the model\nconsidered. Localized solutions to the projector equation are pointed out and\ntheir brane interpretation is discussed. An example of the noncommutative\nsoliton interpolating between such vacua is given. No strong noncommutativity\nlimit is assumed.",
        "positive": "Condensate $\\langle A_\u03bc^+A_\u03bc^-\\rangle$ and massive magnetic\n  potential in Euclidean gauge theories: Euclidean $SU(2)$ gauge theory is studied in a nonlinear gauge. In this\ntheory, ghost condensation happens and gauge fields acquire tachyonic masses.\nIt is shown that these tachyonic masses are removed by a gauge field condensate\n$\\langle A_{\\mu}^+A_{\\mu}^-\\rangle$. Because of the ghost condensation,\nmonopole solutions are included naturally. We find the condensate $\\langle\nA_{\\mu}^+A_{\\mu}^-\\rangle$ makes the magnetic potential massive."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Mass Hierarchies and Dynamical Field Range: Several swampland conjectures suggest that there is a critical field range\nbeyond which the effective field theory (EFT) description breaks down in\nquantum gravity. In applications of these conjectures, however, the field range\nof interest is the field space distance traced by the physical trajectory that\nsolves the equations of motion. We refer to this field space distance as the\ndynamical field range. We show that in the absence of a mass hierarchy between\nthe light and heavy fields, the trajectory of the light field does not, in\ngeneral, follow a geodesic in field space. Then, stabilizing the heavy fields\nat the minimum of their potential does not accurately describe the dynamics of\nthe light field in general. A mass hierarchy can delay the breakdown of the\nEFT, and extend the effective field range. We illustrate these subtleties of\nmulti-field dynamics with axions in Type II string compactifications.",
        "positive": "Quantum Fluctuations of Bulk Inflaton in Inflationary Brane World: The inflationary scenario for the brane world driven by the bulk inflaton is\nproposed. The quantum fluctuations of the inflaton is calculated and compared\nto those of the conventional 4-dimensional inflationary scenario. It is shown\nthat the deviation of the primordial spectrum of this model from that of the\nconventional one is too small to be observed even if $AdS$ radius is very\nlarge. Hence, it turns out that the inflation caused by the bulk inflaton is\nviable in the context of brane world cosmology."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Sharpening the Weak Gravity Conjecture with Dimensional Reduction: We investigate the behavior of the Weak Gravity Conjecture (WGC) under\ntoroidal compactification and RG flows, finding evidence that WGC bounds for\nsingle photons become weaker in the infrared. By contrast, we find that a\nphoton satisfying the WGC will not necessarily satisfy it after toroidal\ncompactification when black holes charged under the Kaluza-Klein photons are\nconsidered. Doing so either requires an infinite number of states of different\ncharges to satisfy the WGC in the original theory or a restriction on allowed\ncompactification radii. These subtleties suggest that if the Weak Gravity\nConjecture is true, we must seek a stronger form of the conjecture that is\nrobust under compactification. We propose a \"Lattice Weak Gravity Conjecture\"\nthat meets this requirement: a superextremal particle should exist for every\ncharge in the charge lattice. The perturbative heterotic string satisfies this\nconjecture. We also use compactification to explore the extent to which the WGC\napplies to axions. We argue that gravitational instanton solutions in theories\nof axions coupled to dilaton-like fields are analogous to extremal black holes,\nmotivating a WGC for axions. This is further supported by a match between the\ninstanton action and that of wrapped black branes in a higher-dimensional UV\ncompletion.",
        "positive": "Twistor-Space Recursive Formulation of Gauge-Theory Amplitudes: Using twistor space intuition, Cachazo, Svrcek and Witten presented novel\ndiagrammatic rules for gauge-theory amplitudes, expressed in terms of maximally\nhelicity-violating (MHV) vertices. We define non-MHV vertices, and show how to\nuse them to give a recursive construction of these amplitudes. We also use them\nto illustrate the equivalence of various twistor-space prescriptions, and to\ndetermine the associated combinatoric factors."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Abelian 3d mirror symmetry on $\\mathbb{RP}^2 \\times \\mathbb{S}^1$ with\n  $N_f=1$: We consider a new 3d superconformal index defined as the path integral over\n$\\mathbb{RP}^2 \\times \\mathbb{S}^1$, and get the generic formula for this index\nwith arbitrary number of U$(1)$ gauge symmetries via the localization\ntechnique. We find two consistent parity conditions for the vector multiplet,\nand name them $\\mathcal{P}$ and $\\mathcal{CP}$. We find an interesting\nphenomenon that two matter multiplets coupled to the $\\mathcal{CP}$-type vector\nmultiplet merge together. By using this effect, we investigate the simplest\nversion of 3d mirror symmetry on $\\mathbb{RP}^2 \\times \\mathbb{S}^1$ and\nobserve four types of coincidence between the SQED and the XYZ model. We find\nthat merging two matters plays an important role for the agreement.",
        "positive": "Self-Dual Yang-Mills and Vector-Spinor Fields, Nilpotent Fermionic\n  Symmetry, and Supersymmetric Integrable Systems: We present a system of a self-dual Yang-Mills field and a self-dual\nvector-spinor field with nilpotent fermionic symmetry (but not supersymmetry)\nin 2+2 dimensions, that generates supersymmetric integrable systems in lower\ndimensions. Our field content is (A_\\mu{}^I, \\psi_\\mu{}^I, \\chi^{I J}), where I\nand J are the adjoint indices of arbitrary gauge group. The \\chi^{I J} is a\nStueckelberg field for consistency. The system has local nilpotent fermionic\nsymmetry with the algebra \\{N_\\alpha{}^I, N_\\beta{}^J \\} = 0. This system\ngenerates supersymmetric Kadomtsev-Petviashvili equations in D=2+1, and\nsupersymmetric Korteweg-de Vries equations in D=1+1 after appropriate\ndimensional reductions. We also show that a similar self-dual system in seven\ndimensions generates self-dual system in four dimensions. Based on our results\nwe conjecture that lower-dimensional supersymmetric integral models can be\ngenerated by non-supersymmetric self-dual systems in higher dimensions only\nwith nilpotent fermionic symmetries."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Drag force in a strongly coupled anisotropic plasma: We calculate the drag force experienced by an infinitely massive quark\npropagating at constant velocity through an anisotropic, strongly coupled N=4\nplasma by means of its gravity dual. We find that the gluon cloud trailing\nbehind the quark is generally misaligned with the quark velocity, and that the\nlatter is also misaligned with the force. The drag coefficient $\\mu$ can be\nlarger or smaller than the corresponding isotropic value depending on the\nvelocity and the direction of motion. In the ultra-relativistic limit we find\nthat generically $\\mu \\propto p$. We discuss the conditions under which this\nbehaviour may extend to more general situations.",
        "positive": "Brane Annihilations during Inflation: We investigate brane inflation driven by two stacks of mobile branes in a\nthroat. The stack closest to the bottom of the throat annihilates first with\nantibranes, resulting in particle production and a change of the equation of\nstate parameter w. We calculate analytically some observable signatures of the\ncollision; related decays are common in multi-field inflation, providing the\nmotivation for this case study. The discontinuity in w enters the matching\nconditions relating perturbations in the remaining degree of freedom before and\nafter the collision, affecting the power-spectrum of curvature perturbations.\nWe find an oscillatory modulation of the power-spectrum for scales within the\nhorizon at the time of the collision, and a slightly redder spectrum on\nsuper-horizon scales. We comment on implications for staggered inflation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Celestial insights into the S-matrix bootstrap: We consider 2-2 scattering in four spacetime dimensions in Celestial\nvariables. Using the crossing symmetric dispersion relation (CSDR), we recast\nthe Celestial amplitudes in terms of crossing symmetric partial waves. These\npartial waves have spurious singularities in the complex Celestial variable,\nwhich need to be removed in local theories. The locality constraints (null\nconstraints) admit closed form expressions, which lead to novel bounds on\npartial wave moments. These bounds allow us to quantify the degree of low spin\ndominance(LSD) for scalar theories. We study a new kind of positivity that\nseems to be present in a wide class of theories. We prove that this positivity\narises only in theories with a spin-0 dominance. The crossing symmetric partial\nwaves with spurious singularities removed, dubbed as Feynman blocks, have\nremarkable properties in the Celestial variable, namely typically realness, in\nthe sense of Geometric Function Theory (GFT). Using GFT techniques we derive\nnon-projective bounds on Wilson coefficients in terms of partial wave moments.",
        "positive": "Bulk gravitational field and dark radiation on the brane in dilatonic\n  brane world: We discuss the connection between the dark radiation on the brane and the\nbulk gravitational field in a dilatonic brane world model proposed by Koyama\nand Takahashi where the exact solutions for the five dimensional cosmological\nperturbations can be obtained analytically. It is shown that the dark radiation\nperturbation is related to the non-normalizable Kaluza-Klein (KK) mode of the\nbulk perturbations. For the de Sitter brane in the anti-de Sitter bulk, the\nsquared mass of this KK mode is $2 H^2$ where $H$ is the Hubble parameter on\nthe brane. This mode is shown to be connected to the excitation of small black\nhole in the bulk in the long wavelength limit. The exact solution for an\nanisotropic stress on the brane induced by this KK mode is found, which plays\nan important role in the calculation of cosmic microwave background radiation\nanisotropies in the brane world."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Effective String Theory Revisited: We revisit the effective field theory of long relativistic strings such as\nconfining flux tubes in QCD. We derive the Polchinski-Strominger interaction by\na calculation in static gauge. This interaction implies that a non-critical\nstring which initially oscillates in one direction gets excited in orthogonal\ndirections as well. In static gauge no additional term in the effective action\nis needed to obtain this effect. It results from a one-loop calculation using\nthe Nambu-Goto action. Non-linearly realized Lorentz symmetry is manifest at\nall stages in dimensional regularization. We also explain that independent of\nthe number of dimensions non-covariant counterterms have to be added to the\naction in the commonly used zeta-function regularization.",
        "positive": "On the definition of velocity in doubly special relativity theories: We discuss the definition of particle velocity in doubly relativity theories.\nThe general formula relating velocity and four-momentum of particle is given."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Entropy of black holes in topologically massive gravity: We study the issue of black hole entropy in the topologically massive\ngravity. Assuming that the presence of gravitational Chern-Simons term with the\ncoupling $1/\\mu$ does modify the horizon radius $\\tilde{r}_+$, we propose\n$\\tilde{S}_{BH}=\\pi \\tilde{r}_+/2G_3$ as the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy. This\nentropy of CS-BTZ black hole satisfies the first-law of thermodynamics and the\narea-law but it is slightly different from the shifted-entropy $S_c=\\pi\nr_+/2G_3+ (1/\\mu l)\\pi r_-/2G_3$ based on the BTZ black hole with outer $r_+$\nand inner horizon $r_-$. In the case of $r_-=0$, $\\tilde{S}_{BH}$ represents\nthe entropy of non-rotating BTZ black hole with the Chern-Simons term\n(NBTZ-CS), while $S_c$ reduces to the entropy of NBTZ black hole. It shows that\n$\\tilde{S}_{BH}$ may be a candidate for the entropy of the CS-BTZ black hole.",
        "positive": "Vortex solutions in nonpolynomial scalar QED: In order to investigate possible topological vortex structures in generalized\nmodels, we developed a perturbative generation approach for scalar-vector\ntheories. We demonstrate explicitly that the dielectric permeability functions\nmust have a nonpolynomial shape, i. e., the form of the logarithmic function.\nBasing on this result, we built models in $(2+1)D$ with logarithmic dielectric\npermeability in order to investigate the presence of topological vortex\nstructures in a Maxwell model. This type of scalar-vector models is important\nbecause they can generate stationary field solutions in theories describing the\ndynamics of the scalar field. As examples, we chose models of the complex\nscalar field coupled to the Maxwell field. Subsequently, we investigated the\nmodel's Bogomol'nyi equations to describe the field configurations. Then, we\ndemonstrate numerically, for an ansatz with rotational symmetry, that the\nsolutions of the complex scalar field generating minimum energy configurations\nare topological structures depending on the parameters obtained in the\nperturbative generation of the vector-scalar theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fused RSOS Lattice Models as Higher-Level Nonunitary Minimal Cosets: We consider the Forrester-Baxter RSOS lattice models with crossing parameter\n$\\lambda=(m'\\!-\\!m)\\pi/m'$ in Regime~III. In the continuum scaling limit, these\nmodels are described by the minimal models ${\\cal M}(m,m')$. We conjecture\nthat, for $\\lambda<\\pi/n$, the $n\\times n$ fused RSOS models with $n\\ge 2$ are\ndescribed by the higher-level coset $(A^{(1)}_1)_k\\otimes\n(A^{(1)}_1)_n/(A^{(1)}_1)_{k+n}$ at fractional level $k=nM/(M'\\!-\\!M)-2$ with\n$(M,M')=\\big(nm-(n\\!-\\!1)m',m'\\big)$. To support this conjecture, we\ninvestigate the one-dimensional sums arising from Baxter's off-critical corner\ntransfer matrices. In unitary cases ($m=m'\\!-\\!1$) it is known that, up to\nleading powers of $q$, these coincide with the branching functions\n$b_{r,s,\\ell}^{m'\\!-n,m'\\!,n}(q)$. For general nonunitary cases ($m<m'\\!-\\!1$),\nwe identify the ground state one-dimensional RSOS paths and relate them to the\nquantum numbers $(r,s,\\ell)$ in the various sectors. For $n=1,2,3$, we obtain\nthe local energy functions $H(a,b,c)$ in a suitable gauge and verify that the\nassociated one-dimensional sums produce finitized forms that converge, as $N$\nbecomes large, to the fractional level branching functions\n$b_{r,s,\\ell}^{M,M'\\!,n}(q)$. Extending the work of Schilling, we also\nconjecture finitized bosonic branching functions\n$b_{r,s,\\ell}^{M,M'\\!,n;(N)}(q)$ for general $n$ and check that these agree\nwith the one-dimensional sums for $n=1,2,3$ out to system sizes $N=14$. Lastly,\nthe finitized Kac characters $\\chi_{r,s,\\ell}^{P,P'\\!,n;(N)}(q)$ of the\n$n\\times n$ fused logarithmic minimal models ${\\cal LM}(p,p')$ are obtained by\ntaking the {\\em logarithmic limit\\/} $m,m'\\to\\infty$ with $m/m'\\to p/p'+$.",
        "positive": "Matrix Model for Discretized Moduli Space: We study the algebraic geometrical background of the Penner--Kontsevich\nmatrix model with the potential $N\\alpha \\tr {\\bigl(- \\fr 12 \\L X\\L X +\\log\n(1-X)+X\\bigr)}$. We show that this model describes intersection indices of\nlinear bundles on the discretized moduli space right in the same fashion as the\nKontsevich model is related to intersection indices (cohomological classes) on\nthe Riemann surfaces of arbitrary genera. The special role of the logarithmic\npotential originated from the Penner matrix model is demonstrated. The boundary\neffects which was unessential in the case of the Kontsevich model are now\nrelevant, and intersection indices on the discretized moduli space of genus $g$\nare expressed through Kontsevich's indices of the genus $g$ and of the lower\ngenera."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Wess-Zumino Model on Bosonic-Fermionic Noncommutative Superspace: In our previous paper we construct a renormalizable Wess-Zumino action on\nBFNC superspace at the second order approximation of noncommutative parameters.\nThe action contains about 200 terms which are necessary for renormalization. By\nremoving chiral covariant derivatives and chiral coordinates we found that the\nBFNC Wess-Zumino action can be transformed to a simpler form which have\nmanifest 1/2 supersymmetry. Based on this discovery, we can extend the BFNC\nWess-Zumino action to the all order of noncommutative parameters. At first we\nintroduce global symmetries, then obtain divergent operators in the effective\naction by using dimensional analysis, the next step is to construct all\npossible BFNC parameters, at the end we combine the BFNC parameters with the\ndivergent operators. We present the explicit action up to the fourth order of\nnoncommutative parameters. Because the action contain all possible divergent\noperators, it is renormalizable to all order in perturbative theory.",
        "positive": "The Conformal Manifold of Chern-Simons Matter Theories: We determine perturbatively the conformal manifold of N=2 Chern-Simons matter\ntheories with the aim of checking in the three dimensional case the general\nprescription based on global symmetry breaking, recently introduced. We discuss\nin details few remarkable cases like the N=6 ABJM theory and its less\nsupersymmetric generalizations with/without flavors. In all cases we find\nperfect agreement with the predictions of global symmetry breaking\nprescription."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Symmetric Potentials of Gauged Supergravities in Diverse Dimensions and\n  Coulomb Branch of Gauge Theories: A class of conformally flat and asymptotically anti-de Sitter geometries\ninvolving profiles of scalar fields is studied from the point of view of gauged\nsupergravity. The scalars involved in the solutions parameterise the\nSL(N,R)/SO(N) submanifold of the full scalar coset of the gauged supergravity,\nand are described by a symmetric potential with a universal form. These\ngeometries descend via consistent truncation from distributions of D3-branes,\nM2-branes, or M5-branes in ten or eleven dimensions. We exhibit analogous\nsolutions asymptotic to AdS_6 which descend from the D4-D8-brane system. We\nobtain the related six-dimensional theory by consistent reduction from massive\ntype IIA supergravity. All our geometries correspond to states in the Coulomb\nbranch of the dual conformal field theories. We analyze linear fluctuations of\nminimally coupled scalars and find both discrete and continuous spectra, but\nalways bounded below.",
        "positive": "Pati-Salam model in curved space-time from square root Lorentz manifold: There is a U(4')\\times U(4)-bundle on four-dimensional square root Lorentz\nmanifold. Then a Pati-Salam model in curved space-time (Lagrangian) and a\ngravity theory (Lagrangian) are constructed on square root Lorentz manifold\nbased on self-parallel transportation principle. An explicit formulation of\nSheaf quantization on this square root Lorentz manifold is shown. Sheaf\nquantization is based on superposition principle and construct a linear Sheaf\nspace in curved space-time. The transition amplitude in path integral\nquantization is given which is consistent with Sheaf quantization. All\nparticles and fields in Standard Model (SM) of particle physics and Einstein\ngravity are found in square root metric and the connections of bundle. The\ninteractions between particles/fields are described by Lagrangian explicitly.\nThere are few new physics in this model. The gravity theory is Einstein-Cartan\nkind with torsion. There are new particles, right handed neutrinos, dark\nphoton, Fiona, X^{\\pm C} and Y^0,Y^1,Y^2,Y_*^1,Y_*^2."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Lagrangians for Massive Dirac Chiral Superfields: A variant for the superspin one-half massive superparticle in $ 4D $, $\n\\mathcal{N}=1 $, based on Dirac superfields, is offered. As opposed to the\ncurrent known models that use spinor chiral superfields, the propagating fields\nof the supermultiplet are those of the lowest mass dimensions possible: scalar,\nDirac and vector fields. Besides the supersymmetric chiral condition, the Dirac\nsuperfields are not further constrained, allowing a very straightforward\nimplementation of the path-integral method. The corresponding superpropagators\nare presented. In addition, an interaction super Yukawa potential, formed by\nDirac and scalar chiral superfields, is given in terms of their component\nfields. The model is first presented for the case of two superspin one-half\nsuperparticles related by the charged conjugation operator, but in order to\ntreat the case of neutral superparticles, the Majorana condition on the Dirac\nsuperfields is also studied. We compare our proposal with the known models of\nspinor superfields for the one-half superparticle and show that it is\nequivalent to them.",
        "positive": "One-Loop Kahler Metric of D-Branes at Angles: We evaluate string one-loop contributions to the Kahler metric of D-brane\nmoduli (positions and Wilson lines), in toroidal orientifolds with branes at\nangles. Contributions due to bulk states in the loop are known, so we focus on\nthe contributions due to states localized at intersections of orientifold\nimages. We show that these quantum corrections vanish. This does not follow\nfrom the usual nonrenormalization theorems of supersymmetric field theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Angular Quantization of the Sine-Gordon Model at the Free Fermion Point: The goal of this paper is to analyse the method of angular quantization for\nthe Sine-Gordon model at the free fermion point, which is one of the most\ninvestigated models of the two-dimensional integrable field theories. The\nangular quantization method (see hep-th/9707091) is a continuous analog of the\nBaxter's corner transfer matrix method. Investigating the canonical\nquantization of the free massive Dirac fermions in one Rindler wedge we\nidentify this quantization with a representation of the infinite-dimensional\nalgebra introduced in the paper q-alg/9702002 and specialized to the free\nfermion point. We construct further the main ingredients of the SG theory in\nterms of the representation theory of this algebra following the approach by\nM.Jimbo, T.Miwa et al.",
        "positive": "The differential geometry of Fedosov's quantization: B. Fedosov has given a simple and very natural construction of a deformation\nquantization for any symplectic manifold, using a flat connection on the bundle\nof formal Weyl algebras associated to the tangent bundle of a symplectic\nmanifold. The connection is obtained by affinizing, nonlinearizing, and\niteratively flattening a given torsion free symplectic connection. In this\npaper, a classical analog of Fedosov's operations on connections is analyzed\nand shown to produce the usual exponential mapping of a linear connection on an\nordinary manifold. A symplectic version is also analyzed. Finally, some remarks\nare made on the implications for deformation quantization of Fedosov's index\ntheorem on general symplectic manifolds."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "SO(10) heterotic M-theory vacua: The SO(10) embedding of the Standard Model spectrum is supported by evidence\nfor neutrino masses. This thesis adapts the available formalism to study a\nclass of heterotic M-theory vacua with SO(10) grand unification group.\nCompactification to four dimensions with N = 1 supersymmetry is achieved on a\ntorus fibered Calabi-Yau 3-fold Z = X / tau_{X} with first homotopy group\npi_{1}(Z) = Z_{2}. Here X is an elliptically fibered Calabi-Yau 3-fold which\nadmits two global sections and tau_{X} is a freely acting involution on X. The\nvacua in this class have net number of three generations of chiral fermions in\nthe observable sector and may contain M5-branes in the bulk space which wrap\nholomorphic curves in Z. Vacua with nonvanishing and vanishing instanton\ncharges in the observable sector are considered. The latter case corresponds to\npotentially viable matter Yukawa couplings. Since pi_{1}(Z) = Z_{2}, the grand\nunification group can be broken with Z_{2} Wilson lines.\n  Realistic free-fermionic models preserve the SO(10) embedding of the Standard\nModel spectrum. These models have a stage in their construction which\ncorresponds to Z_{2} x Z_{2} orbifold compactification of the weakly coupled\n10-dimensional heterotic string. This correspondence identifies associated\nCalabi-Yau 3-folds which possess the structure of the above Z and X. This, in\nturn, allows the above formalism to be used to study heterotic M-theory vacua\nassociated with realistic free-fermionic models. It is argued how the top quark\nYukawa coupling in these models can be reproduced in the heterotic M-theory\nlimit.",
        "positive": "Exotic branes and mixed-symmetry potentials I: predictions from $E_{11}$\n  symmetry: Type II string theory or M-theory contains a broad spectrum of gauge\npotentials. In addition to the standard $p$-form potentials, various\nmixed-symmetry potentials have been predicted, which may couple to exotic\nbranes with non-standard tensions. Together with $p$-forms, mixed-symmetry\npotentials turn out to be essential to build the multiplets of the U-duality\nsymmetry in each dimension. In this paper, we systematically determine the set\nof mixed-symmetry potentials and exotic branes on the basis of the $E_{11}$\nconjecture. We also study the decompositions of U-duality multiplets into\nT-duality multiplets and determine which mixed-symmetry tensors are contained\nin each of the U-/T-duality multiplets."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Bouncing Cosmology in Three Dimensions: We consider a dynamical two-brane in a four dimensional black hole background\nwith scalar hair. At high temperature this black hole goes through a phase\ntransition by radiating away the scalar. The end phase is a topological\nadS-Schwarzschild black hole. We argue here that for a sufficiently low\ntemperature, the brane motion in this geometry is non-singular. This results in\na universe which passes over from a contracting phase to an expanding one\nwithout reaching a singularity.",
        "positive": "EPR = ER and Scattering Amplitude as Entanglement Entropy Change: We study the causal structure of the minimal surface of the four-gluon\nscattering, and find a world-sheet wormhole parametrized by Mandelstam\nvariables, thereby demonstrate the EPR = ER relation for gluon scattering. We\nalso propose that scattering amplitude is the change of the entanglement\nentropy by generalizing the holographic entanglement entropy of Ryu-Takayanagi\nto the case where two regions are divided in space-time."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Constant primary operators and where to find them: The strange case of\n  BPS defects in ABJ(M) theory: We investigate the one-dimensional defect SCFT defined on the $1/2$ BPS\nWilson line/loop in ABJ(M) theory. We show that the supermatrix structure of\nthe defect imposes a covariant supermatrix representation of the supercharges.\nExploiting this covariant formulation, we prove the existence of a long\nmultiplet whose highest weight state is a constant supermatrix operator. At\nweak coupling, we study this operator in perturbation theory and confirm that\nit acquires a non-trivial anomalous dimension. At strong coupling, we\nconjecture that this operator is dual to the lowest bound state of fluctuations\nof the fundamental open string in AdS$_4\\times \\mathbb{CP}_3$ around the\nclassical $1/2$ BPS solution. Quite unexpectedly, this operator also arises in\nthe cohomological equivalence between bosonic and fermionic Wilson loops. We\nalso discuss some regularization subtleties arising in perturbative\ncalculations on the infinite Wilson line.",
        "positive": "Geometric Holography, the Renormalization Group and the c-Theorem: In this paper the whole geometrical set-up giving a conformally invariant\nholographic projection of a diffeomorphism invariant bulk theory is clarified.\nBy studying the renormalization group flow along null geodesic congruences a\nholographic version of Zamolodchikov's c-theorem is proven."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Massive Supersymmetric Quantum Gauge Theory: We continue the study of the supersymmetric vector multiplet in a purely\nquantum framework. We obtain some new results which make the connection with\nthe standard literature. First we construct the one-dimensional physical\nHilbert space taking into account the (quantum) gauge structure of the model.\nThen we impose the condition of positivity for the scalar product only on the\nphysical Hilbert space. Finally we obtain a full supersymmetric coupling which\nis gauge invariant in the supersymmetric sense in the first order of\nperturbation theory. By integrating out the Grassmann variables we get an\ninteracting Lagrangian for a massive Yang-Mills theory related to ordinary\ngauge theory; however the number of ghost fields is doubled so we do not obtain\nthe same ghost couplings as in the standard model Lagrangian.",
        "positive": "Particle-Vortex Duality from 3d Bosonization: We provide a simple derivation of particle-vortex duality in d=2+1\ndimensions. Our starting point is a relativistic form of flux attachment,\ndesigned to transmute the statistics of particles. From this seed, we derive a\nweb of new dualities. These include particle-vortex duality for bosons as well\nas the recently discovered counterpart for fermions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Galileon-like vector fields: We construct simple Lagrangians of vector fields which involve second\nderivatives, but nevertheless lead to second order field equations. These\nvector fields are, therefore, analogs of generalized Galileons. Our\nconstruction is given first in Minkowski space, and then generalizied to\ninclude dynamical gravity. We present examples of backgrounds that are stable\nand ghost-free despite the absence of gauge invariance. Some of these\nbackgrounds violate the Null Energy Condition.",
        "positive": "One-particle-irreducible consistency relations for cosmological\n  perturbations: We derive consistency relations for correlators of scalar cosmological\nperturbations which hold in the \"squeezed limit\" in which one or more of the\nexternal momenta become soft. Our results are formulated as relations between\nsuitably defined one-particle irreducible N-point and (N-1)-point functions\nthat follow from residual spatial conformal diffeomorphisms of the unitary\ngauge Lagrangian. As such, some of these relations are exact to all orders in\nperturbation theory, and do not rely on approximate deSitter invariance or\nother dynamical assumptions (e.g., properties of the operator product expansion\nor the behavior of modes at horizon crossing). The consistency relations apply\nmodel-independently to cosmological scenarios where the time evolution is\ndriven by a single scalar field. Besides reproducing the known results for\nsingle-field inflation in the slow roll limit, we verify that our consistency\nrelations hold more generally, for instance in ghost condensate models in flat\nspace. We comment on possible extensions of our results to multi-field models."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the twisted chiral potential in 2d and the analogue of rigid special\n  geometry for 4-folds: We discuss how to obtain an N=(2,2) supersymmetric SU(3) gauge theory in two\ndimensions via geometric engineering from a Calabi-Yau 4-fold and compute its\nnon-perturbative twisted chiral potential. The relevant compact part of the\n4-fold geometry consists of two intersecting P^1's fibered over P^2. The rigid\nlimit of the local mirror of this geometry is a complex surface that\ngeneralizes the Seiberg-Witten curve and on which there exist two holomorphic\n2-forms. These stem from the same meromorphic 2-form as derivatives w.r.t. the\ntwo moduli, respectively. The middle periods of this meromorphic form give\ndirectly the twisted chiral potential. The explicit computation of these and of\nthe four-point Yukawa couplings allows for a non-trivial test of the analogue\nof rigid special geometry for a 4-fold with several moduli.",
        "positive": "Consequences of moduli stabilization in the Einstein-Maxwell landscape: A toy landscape sector is introduced as a compactification of the\nEinstein-Maxwell model on a product of two-spheres. Features of the model\ninclude: moduli stabilization, a distribution of the effective cosmological\nconstant of the dimensionally reduced 1+1 spacetime, which is different from\nthe analogous distribution of the Bousso-Polchinski landscape, and the absence\nof the so-called \"alpha-star\"-problem. This problem arises when the\nKachru-Kallosh-Linde-Trivedi stabilization mechanism is naively applied to the\nstates of the Bousso-Polchinski landscape. The model also contains anthropic\nstates, which can be readily constructed without needing any fine-tuning."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hairy Black-holes in Shift-symmetric Theories: Scalar hair of black holes in theories with a shift symmetry are constrained\nby the no-hair theorem of Hui and Nicolis, assuming spherical symmetry,\ntime-independence of the scalar field and asymptotic flatness. The most studied\ncounterexample is a linear coupling of the scalar with the Gauss-Bonnet\ninvariant. However, in this case the norm of the shift-symmetry current $J^2$\ndiverges at the horizon casting doubts on whether the solution is physically\nsound. We show that this is not an issue since $J^2$ is not a scalar quantity,\nsince $J^\\mu$ is not a diff-invariant current in the presence of Gauss-Bonnet.\nThe same theory can be written in Horndeski form with a non-analytic function\n$G_5 \\sim \\log X$. In this case the shift-symmetry current is diff-invariant,\nbut contains powers of $X$ in the denominator, so that its divergence at the\nhorizon is again immaterial. We confirm that other hairy solutions in the\npresence of non-analytic Horndeski functions are pathological, featuring\ndivergences of physical quantities as soon as one departs from\ntime-independence and spherical symmetry. We generalise the no-hair theorem to\nBeyond Horndeski and DHOST theories, showing that the coupling with\nGauss-Bonnet is necessary to have hair.",
        "positive": "Brane-world creation and black holes: An inflating brane-world can be created from ``nothing'' together with its\nAnti-de Sitter (AdS) bulk. The resulting space-time has compact spatial\nsections bounded by the brane. During inflation, the continuum of KK modes is\nseparated from the massless zero mode by the gap $m=(3/2) H$, where $H$ is the\nHubble rate. We consider the analog of the Nariai solution and argue that it\ndescribes pair production of ``Black cigars'' attached to the inflating brane.\nIn the case when the size of the instantons is much larger than the AdS radius,\nthe 5-dimensional action agrees with the 4-dimensional one. Hence, the 5D and\n4D gravitational entropies are the same in this limit. We also consider thermal\ninstantons with an AdS black hole in the bulk. These may be interpreted as\ndescribing the creation of a hot universe from nothing, or the production of\nAdS black holes in the vicinity of a pre-existing inflating brane-world. The\nLorentzian evolution of the brane-world after creation is briefly discussed. An\nadditional \"integration constant\" in the Friedmann equation -accompanying a\nterm which dilutes like radiation- describes the tidal force in the fifth\ndirection and arises from the mass of a spherical object inside the bulk. This\ncould be a 5-dimensional black hole or a \"parallel\" brane-world of negative\ntension concentrical with our brane-world. In the case of thermal solutions,\nand in the spirit of the $AdS/CFT$ correspondence, one may attribute the\nadditional term to thermal radiation in the boundary theory. Then, for\ntemperatures well below the AdS scale, the entropy of this radiation agrees\nwith the entropy of the black hole in the AdS bulk."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Monopoles and Harmonic Maps: Recently Jarvis has proved a correspondence between SU(N) monopoles and\nrational maps of the Riemann sphere into flag manifolds. Furthermore, he has\noutlined a construction to obtain the monopole fields from the rational map. In\nthis paper we examine this construction in some detail and provide explicit\nexamples for spherically symmetric SU(N) monopoles with various symmetry\nbreakings. In particular we show how to obtain these monopoles from harmonic\nmaps into complex projective spaces. The approach extends in a natural way to\nmonopoles in hyperbolic space and we use it to construct new spherically\nsymmetric SU(N) hyperbolic monopoles.",
        "positive": "Introduction to BRS symmetry: This paper contains a revised version of the lecture notes of a short course\non the quantization of gauge theories. Starting from a sketchy review of\nscattering theory, the paper describes the lines of BRST-Faddeev-Popov\nquantization considering the problem of a non-perturbative extension of this\nmethod. The connection between Slavnov-Taylor identity and S-matrix unitarity\nis also discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Renormalization of Tensorial Group Field Theories: Abelian U(1) Models\n  in Four Dimensions: We tackle the issue of renormalizability for Tensorial Group Field Theories\n(TGFT) including gauge invariance conditions, with the rigorous tool of\nmulti-scale analysis, to prepare the ground for applications to quantum gravity\nmodels. In the process, we define the appropriate generalization of some key\nQFT notions, including: connectedness, locality and contraction of (high)\nsubgraphs. We also define a new notion of Wick ordering, corresponding to the\nsubtraction of (maximal) melonic tadpoles. We then consider the simplest\nexamples of dynamical 4-dimensional TGFT with gauge invariance conditions for\nthe Abelian U(1) case. We prove that they are super-renormalizable for any\npolynomial interaction.",
        "positive": "Holographic subregion complexity under thermal quench in\n  Einstein-Maxwell-Axions theory with momentum relaxation: We investigate the evolution of holographic entanglement entropy (HEE) and\nholographic complexity (HC) under a thermal quench in Einstein-Maxwell-Axion\ntheory (EMA), which is dual to a field theory with momentum relaxation on the\nboundary. A strip-shaped boundary geometry is utilized to calculate HEE and HC\nvia `entropy=surface' and `complexity=volume' conjecture, respectively. By\nfixing other parameters we claim that either large enough black hole charge or\nwidth of the strip will introduce swallow-tail behaviors in HEE and\nmulti-values in HC due to the discontinuity of the minimum\nHubeny-Rangamani-Takayanagi (HRT) surface. Meanwhile, we explore the effects of\nmomentum relaxation on the evolution of HEE and HC. The results present that\nthe momentum relaxation will suppress the discontinuity to occur as it\nincreases. For large enough momentum relaxation the continuity of HEE and HC\nwill be recovered."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On general ultraviolet properties of a class of confining propagators: We study the ultraviolet properties of theories whose fundamental fields\ndisplay a confining, Gribov-type, propagator. These are propagators that\nexhibit complex poles and violate positivity, thus precluding a physical\npropagating particle interpretation. We show that the properties of this type\nof confining propagators do not change the ultraviolet behavior of the theory,\nin the sense that no new ultraviolet primitive divergences are generated, thus\nsecuring the renormalizability of these confining theories. We illustrate these\nproperties by studying a variety of models, including bosonic and fermionic\nconfined degrees of freedom. The more intricate case of Super Yang-Mills with\n${\\cal N} =1$ supersymmetries in the Wess-Zumino gauge is taken as example in\norder to prove these statements to all orders by means of the algebraic\nrenormalization set up.",
        "positive": "Holographic quantization of gravity in a black hole background: It was recently observed in \\cite{Park:2014tia} that the holographic nature\nof gravity may hold a key to quantization of gravity. The so-called\n\"holographic quantization\" has been carried out in\n\\cite{Park:2014noa,Park:2015ota} for Einstein gravity in a flat background.\nGeneralizing the procedure to a curved background is the main goal of the\npresent work. In particular, we consider the Einstein action expanded around a\nSchwarzschild background"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "What is an anomaly?: The anomaly of a quantum field theory is an expression of its projective\nnature. This starting point quickly leads to its manifestation as a special\nkind of field theory: a once-categorified invertible theory. We arrive at this\nstatement through a general discussion of projectivity and a discussion of\nprojectivity in quantum mechanics. We conclude with a general formula for the\nanomaly of a free spinor field.",
        "positive": "Vortices, topology and time: We relate physical time with the topology of magnetic field vortices. We base\nourselves on a formulation of unimodular gravity where the cosmological\nconstant $\\Lambda$ appears as the canonical dual to a variable which on-shell\nbecomes four-volume time. If the theory is restricted to a topological axionic\nform (viz. a parity-odd product of an electric and a magnetic field), such a\ntime variable becomes the spatial integral of the Chern-Simons density. The\nlatter equates to helicity, so that unimodular time is transmuted into the\nlinking number of the vortices of the topological magnetic field. The flow of\ntime can thus be interpreted as the progressive weaving of further links\nbetween magnetic field vortices, each link providing a quantum of time.\nNon-abelian extensions, and targetting parameters other than $\\Lambda$ are\nbriefly examined, exposing different types of vortices and a possible role for\ninter-linking leading to new phenomenology."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Real forms of extended Kac-Moody symmetries and higher spin gauge\n  theories: We consider the relation between higher spin gauge fields and real Kac-Moody\nLie algebras. These algebras are obtained by double and triple extensions of\nreal forms g_0 of the finite-dimensional simple algebras g arising in\ndimensional reductions of gravity and supergravity theories. Besides providing\nan exhaustive list of all such algebras, together with their associated\ninvolutions and restricted root diagrams, we are able to prove general\nproperties of their spectrum of generators with respect to a decomposition of\nthe triple extension of g_0 under its gravity subalgebra gl(D,R). These results\nare then combined with known consistent models of higher spin gauge theory to\nprove that all but finitely many generators correspond to non-propagating\nfields and there are no higher spin fields contained in the Kac-Moody algebra.",
        "positive": "Quantum bounds for gravitational de Sitter entropy and the\n  Cardy-Verlinde formula: We analyze different types of quantum corrections to the Cardy-Verlinde\nentropy formula in a Friedmann-Robertson-Walker universe and in an (anti)-de\nSitter space. In all cases we show that quantum corrections can be represented\nby an effective cosmological constant which is then used to redefine the\nparameters entering the Cardy-Verlinde formula so that it becomes valid also\nwith quantum corrections, a fact that we interpret as a further indication of\nits universality. A proposed relation between Cardy-Verlinde formula and the\nADM Hamiltonian constraint is given."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Applications of the Ashtekar gravity to four dimensional hyperk\u00e4hler\n  geometry and Yang-Mills Instantons: The Ashtekar-Mason-Newman equations are used to construct the hyperk\\\"ahler\nmetrics on four dimensional manifolds. These equations are closely related to\nanti self-dual Yang-Mills equations of the infinite dimensional gauge Lie\nalgebras of all volume preserving vector fields. Several examples of\nhyperk\\\"ahler metrics are presented through the reductions of anti self-dual\nconnections. For any gauge group anti self-dual connections on hyperk\\\"ahler\nmanifolds are constructed using the solutions of both Nahm and Laplace\nequations.",
        "positive": "Finite Size Effect from Classical Strings in deformed AdS$_3\\times$\n  S$^3$: We study the finite size effect of rigidly rotating and spinning folded\nstrings in $(AdS_3\\times S^3)_{\\varkappa}$ background. We calculate the leading\norder exponential corrections to the infinite size dispersion relation of the\ngiant magnon, and single spike solutions. For the spinning folded strings we\nwrite the finite size effect in terms of the known Lambert $W$-function."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Schwinger-Dyson BRST-Symmetry and the Equivalence of Hamiltonian and\n  Lagrangian Quantistion: Implementing the requirement that a field theory be invariant under\nSchwinger-Dyson BRST symmetry in the Hamiltonian formalism, we show the\nequivalence between Hamiltonian and Lagrangian BRST-formalism at the path\nintegral level. The Lagrangian quantum master equation is derived as a direct\nconsequence of the Fradkin-Vilkovisky theorem in Hamiltonian BRST quantisation.",
        "positive": "Harmonic oscillator on noncommutative spaces: A generalized harmonic oscillator on noncommutative spaces is considered.\nDynamical symmetries and physical equivalence of noncommutative systems with\nthe same energy spectrum are investigated and discussed. General solutions of\nthree-dimensional noncommutative harmonic oscillator are found and classified\naccording to dynamical symmetries. We have found conditions under which\nthree-dimensional noncommutative harmonic oscillator can be represented by\nordinary, isotropic harmonic oscillator in effective magnetic field."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Finite Temperature QED: Non-Cancellation of Infrared Divergencies and\n  Thermal Corrections to the Electron Magnetic Moment: In this work quantum electrodynamics at T > 0 is considered. For this purpose\nwe use thermo field dynamics and the causal approach to quantum field theory\naccording to Epstein and Glaser, the latter being a rigorous method to avoid\nthe well-known ultraviolet divergencies of quantum field theory. It will be\nshown that the theory is infrared divergent if the usual scattering states are\nused. The same is true if we use more general mixed states. This is in\ncontradiction to the results established in the literature, and we will point\nout why these earlier approaches fail to describe the infrared behaviour\ncorrectly. We also calculate the thermal corrections to the electron magnetic\nmoment in the low temperature approximation k_B T << m_e. This is done by\ninvestigating the scattering of an electron on a C-number potential in third\norder in the limit of small momentum transfer p -> q. We reproduce one of the\ndifferent results reported up to now in literature. In the low temperature\napproximation infrared finiteness is recovered in a very straightforward way:\nIn contrast to the literature we do not have to introduce a thermal Dirac\nequation or thermal spinors.",
        "positive": "Pre - Inflationary Clues from String Theory ?: \"Brane supersymmetry breaking\" occurs in String Theory when the only\navailable combinations of D-branes and orientifolds are not mutually BPS and\nyet do not introduce tree-level tachyon instabilities. It is characterized by\nthe emergence of a steep exponential potential, and thus by the absence of\nmaximally symmetric vacua. The corresponding low-energy supergravity admits\nintriguing spatially-flat cosmological solutions where a scalar field is forced\nto climb up toward the steep potential after an initial singularity, and\nadditional milder terms can inject an inflationary phase during the ensuing\ndescent. We show that, in the resulting power spectra of scalar perturbations,\nan infrared suppression is typically followed by a pre-inflationary peak that\nreflects the end of the climbing phase and can lie well apart from the\napproximately scale invariant profile. A first look at WMAP9 raw data shows\nthat, while the chi^2 fits for the low-l CMB angular power spectrum are clearly\ncompatible with an almost scale invariant behavior, they display nonetheless an\neye-catching preference for this type of setting within a perturbative string\nregime."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Topological aspects of brane fields: solitons and higher-form symmetries: In this note, we classify topological solitons of $n$-brane fields, which are\nnonlocal fields that describe $n$-dimensional extended objects. We consider a\nclass of $n$-brane fields that formally define a homomorphism from the $n$-fold\nloop space $\\Omega^n X_D$ of spacetime $X_D$ to a space $\\mathcal{E}_n$.\nExamples of such $n$-brane fields are Wilson operators in $n$-form gauge\ntheories. The solitons are singularities of the $n$-brane field, and we\nclassify them using the homotopy theory of ${\\mathbb{E}_n}$-algebras. We find\nthat the classification of codimension ${k+1}$ topological solitons with\n${k\\geq n}$ can be understood using homotopy groups of $\\mathcal{E}_n$. In\nparticular, they are classified by ${\\pi_{k-n}(\\mathcal{E}_n)}$ when ${n>1}$\nand by ${\\pi_{k-n}(\\mathcal{E}_n)}$ modulo a ${\\pi_{1-n}(\\mathcal{E}_n)}$\naction when ${n=0}$ or ${1}$. However, for ${n>2}$, their classification goes\nbeyond the homotopy groups of $\\mathcal{E}_n$ when ${k< n}$, which we explore\nthrough examples. We compare this classification to $n$-form $\\mathcal{E}_n$\ngauge theory. We then apply this classification and consider an ${n}$-form\nsymmetry described by the abelian group ${G^{(n)}}$ that is spontaneously\nbroken to ${H^{(n)}\\subset G^{(n)}}$, for which the order parameter\ncharacterizing this symmetry breaking pattern is an ${n}$-brane field with\ntarget space ${\\mathcal{E}_n = G^{(n)}/H^{(n)}}$. We discuss this\nclassification in the context of many examples, both with and without 't Hooft\nanomalies.",
        "positive": "The QCD Trace Anomaly as a Vacuum Effect (The vacuum is a medium is the\n  message!): We use arguments taken from the electrodynamics of media to deduce the QCD\ntrace anomaly from the expression for the vacuum energy in the presence of an\nexternal color magnetic field."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Drinfel'd Double of Bialgebroids for String and M Theories: Dual\n  Calculus Framework: We extend the notion of Lie bialgebroids for more general bracket structures\nused in string and M theories. We formalize the notions of calculus and dual\ncalculi on algebroids. We achieve this by reinterpreting the main results of\nthe matched pairs of Leibniz algebroids. By examining a rather general set of\nfundamental algebroid axioms, we present the compatibility conditions between\ntwo calculi on vector bundles which are not dual in the usual sense. Given two\nalgebroids equipped with calculi satisfying the compatibility conditions, we\nconstruct its double on their direct sum. This generalizes the Drinfel'd double\nof Lie bialgebroids. We discuss several examples from the literature including\nexceptional Courant brackets. Using Nambu-Poisson structures, we construct an\nexplicit example, which is important both from physical and mathematical point\nof views. This example can be considered as the extension of triangular Lie\nbialgebroids in the realm of higher Courant algebroids, that automatically\nsatisfy the compatibility conditions. We extend the Poisson generalized\ngeometry by defining Nambu-Poisson exceptional generalized geometry and prove\nsome preliminary results in this framework. We also comment on the global\npicture in the framework of formal rackoids and we slightly extend the notion\nfor vector bundle valued metrics.",
        "positive": "Flavor meson localization in 5d braneworld: We propose a brane-world, which contains flavor quarks and mesons, by\nembedding dimensionally reduced D7-brane in both the supersymmetric and\nnon-supersymmetric 5d background which are obtained as the solutions of type\nIIB supergravity compactified on Ad$S_5\\times S^5$. In the supersymmetric case,\nthe RS brane can be put at any point of the fifth coordinate, but it is pushed\nto the Ad$S_5$ boundary in the non-supersymmetric case. We study the\nlocalization of the flavor mesons, the fluctuation-modes of D7-brane, on the\nRandall-Sundrum brane in these backgrounds."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Anomalous U(1)s in Type I superstring vacua: We perform a systematic string computation of the masses of anomalous U(1)\ngauge bosons in four-dimensional orientifold vacua, and we study their\nlocalization properties in the internal (compactified) space. We find that N=1\nsupersymmetric sectors yield four-dimensional contributions, localized in the\nwhole six-dimensional internal space, while N=2 sectors give contributions\nlocalized in four internal dimensions. As a result, the U(1) gauge fields can\nbe much lighter than the string scale, so that when the latter is at the TeV,\nthey can mediate new non-universal repulsive forces at submillimeter distances\nmuch stronger than gravity. We also point out that even U(1)s which are free of\nfour-dimensional anomalies may acquire non-zero masses as a consequence of\nsix-dimensional anomalies.",
        "positive": "Entangled spins and ghost-spins: We study patterns of quantum entanglement in systems of spins and ghost-spins\nregarding them as simple quantum mechanical toy models for theories containing\nnegative norm states. We define a single ghost-spin as in arXiv:1602.06505\n[hep-th] as a 2-state spin variable with an indefinite inner product in the\nstate space. We find that whenever the spin sector is disentangled from the\nghost-spin sector (both of which could be entangled within themselves), the\nreduced density matrix obtained by tracing over all the ghost-spins gives rise\nto positive entanglement entropy for positive norm states, while negative norm\nstates have an entanglement entropy with a negative real part and a constant\nimaginary part. However when the spins are entangled with the ghost-spins,\nthere are new entanglement patterns in general. For systems where the number of\nghost-spins is even, it is possible to find subsectors of the Hilbert space\nwhere positive norm states always lead to positive entanglement entropy after\ntracing over the ghost-spins. With an odd number of ghost-spins however, we\nfind that there always exist positive norm states with negative real part for\nentanglement entropy after tracing over the ghost-spins."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hamiltonian BRST deformation of a class of n-dimensional BF-type\n  theories: Consistent Hamiltonian interactions that can be added to an abelian free\nBF-type class of theories in any n greater or equal to 4 spacetime dimensions\nare constructed in the framework of the Hamiltonian BRST deformation based on\ncohomological techniques. The resulting model is an interacting field theory in\nhigher dimensions with an open algebra of on-shell reducible first-class\nconstraints. We argue that the Hamiltonian couplings are related to a natural\nstructure of Poisson manifold on the target space.",
        "positive": "Supergravity in $2+\u03b5$ Dimensions: Supergravity theory in $2+\\epsilon$ dimensions is studied. It is invariant\nunder supertransformations in 2 and 3 dimensions. One-loop divergence is\nexplicitly computed in the background field method and a nontrivial fixed point\nis found. In quantizing the supergravity, a gauge fixing condition is devised\nwhich explicitly isolates conformal and superconformal modes. The\nrenormalization of the gravitationally dressed operators is studied and their\nanomalous dimensions are computed. Problems to use the dimensional reduction\nare also examined."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "One in a Billion: MSSM-like D-Brane Statistics: Continuing our recent work hep-th/0411173, we study the statistics of\nfour-dimensional, supersymmetric intersecting D-brane models in a toroidal\norientifold background. We have performed a vast computer survey of solutions\nto the stringy consistency conditions and present their statistical\nimplications with special emphasis on the frequency of Standard Model features.\nAmong the topics we discuss are the implications of the K-theory constraints,\nstatistical correlations among physical quantities and an investigation of the\nvarious statistical suppression factors arising once certain Standard Model\nfeatures are required. We estimate the frequency of an MSSM like gauge group\nwith three generations to be one in a billion.",
        "positive": "Massless $AdS_2$ scattering and Bethe ansatz: We first analyse the integrable scattering theory describing the massless\nexcitations of $AdS_2 \\times S^2 \\times T^6$ superstrings in the relativistic\nlimit. The matrix part of the S-matrix is obtained in the BMN limit from the\nconjectured exact expression, and compared with known S-matrices with N=1\nsupersymmetry. A dressing factor, yet unknown for the complete theory, is here\nconstructed based on relativistic crossing symmetry. We derive a Bethe-ansatz\ncondition by employing a transfer-matrix technique based on the so-called\nfree-fermion condition. This is known to overcome the problem of lack of a\nreference state. We then generalise the method to the massless non-relativistic\ncase, and compare the resulting Bethe-ansatz condition with a simple massless\nlimit of the one conjectured by Sorokin, Tseytlin, Wulff and Zarembo."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Complex Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev model in the double scaling limit: We solve for the exact energy spectrum, 2-point and 4-point functions of the\ncomplex SYK model, in the double scaling limit at all energy scales. This model\nhas a $U(1)$ global symmetry. The analysis shows how to incorporate a chemical\npotential in the chord diagram picture, and we present results for the various\nobservables also at a given fixed charge sector. In addition to matching to the\nspectral asymmetry, we consider an analogous asymmetry measure of the 2-point\nfunction obeying a non-trivial dependence on the operator's dimension. We also\nprovide the chord diagram structure for an SYK-like model that has a $U(M)$\nglobal symmetry at any disorder realization. We then show how to exactly\ncompute the effect of inserting very heavy operators, with formally infinite\nconformal dimension. The latter separate the gravitational spacetime into\nseveral parts connected by an interface, whose properties are exactly\ncomputable at all scales. In particular, light enough states can still go\nbetween the spaces. This behavior has a simple description in the chord diagram\npicture.",
        "positive": "Bianchi type I space and the stability of inflationary\n  Friedmann-Robertson-Walker space: Stability analysis of the Bianchi type I universe in pure gravity theory is\nstudied in details. We first derive the non-redundant field equation of the\nsystem by introducing the generalized Bianchi type I metric. This non-redundant\nequation reduces to the Friedmann equation in the isotropic limit. It is shown\nfurther that any unstable mode of the isotropic perturbation with respect to a\nde Sitter background is also unstable with respect to anisotropic\nperturbations. Implications to the choice of physical theories are discussed in\ndetails in this paper."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Cosmological perturbations from inhomogeneous preheating and multi-field\n  trapping: We consider inhomogeneous preheating in a multi-field trapping model. The\ncurvature perturbation is generated by inhomogeneous preheating which induces\nmulti-field trapping at the enhanced symmetric point (ESP), and results in\nfluctuation in the number of e-foldings. Instead of considering simple\nreheating after preheating, we consider a scenario of shoulder inflation\ninduced by the trapping. The fluctuation in the number of e-foldings is\ngenerated during this weak inflationary period, when the additional light\nscalar field is trapped at the local maximum of its potential. The situation\nmay look similar to locked or thermal inflation or even to hybrid inflation,\nbut we will show that the present mechanism of generating the curvature\nperturbation is very different from these others. Unlike the conventional\ntrapped inflationary scenario, we do not make the assumption that an ESP\nappears at some unstable point on the inflaton potential. This assumption is\ncrucial in the original scenario, but it is not important in the multi-field\nmodel. We also discuss inhomogeneous preheating at late-time oscillation, in\nwhich the magnitude of the curvature fluctuation can be enhanced to accommodate\nlow inflationary scale.",
        "positive": "Three-dimensional Maxwellian Extended Newtonian gravity and flat limit: In the present work we find novel Newtonian gravity models in three spacetime\ndimensions. We first present a Maxwellian version of the extended Newtonian\ngravity, which is obtained as the non-relativistic limit of a particular\n$U(1)$-enlargement of an enhanced Maxwell Chern-Simons gravity. We show that\nthe extended Newtonian gravity appears as a particular sub-case. Then, the\nintroduction of a cosmological constant to the Maxwellian extended Newtonian\ntheory is also explored. To this purpose, we consider the non-relativistic\nlimit of an enlarged symmetry. An alternative method to obtain our results is\npresented by applying the semigroup expansion method to the enhanced\nNappi-Witten algebra. The advantages of considering the Lie algebra expansion\nprocedure is also discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Universal Low-Energy Dynamics for Rotating Black Holes: Fundamental string theory has been used to show that low energy excitations\nof certain black holes are described by a two dimensional conformal field\ntheory. This picture has been found to be extremely robust. In this paper it is\nargued that many essential features of the low energy effective theory can be\ninferred directly from a semiclassical analysis of the general Kerr-Newman\nsolution of supersymmetric four-dimensional Einstein-Maxwell gravity, without\nusing string theory. We consider the absorption and emission of scalars with\norbital angular momentum, which provide a sensitive probe of the black hole. We\nfind that the semiclassical emission rates -including superradiant emission and\ngreybody factors - for such scalars agree in striking detail with those\ncomputed in the effective conformal field theory, in both four and five\ndimensions. Also the value of the quantum mass gap to the lowest-lying\nexcitation of a charge-$Q$ black hole, $E_{gap}=1/8Q^3$ in Planck units, can be\nderived without knowledge of fundamental string theory.",
        "positive": "On pure Yang-Mills theory in 3+1 dimensions: Hamiltonian, vacuum and\n  gauge invariant variables: In this work we discuss an analytic approach towards the solution of pure\nYang-Mills theory in 3+1 dimensional spacetime which strongly suggests that the\nrecent strategy already applied to pure Yang-Mills theory in 2+1 can be\nextended to 3+1 dimensions. We show that the local gauge invariant variables\nintroduced by Bars gives a natural generalisation to any dimension of the\nformalism of Karabali and Nair which recently led to a new understanding of the\nphysics of QCD in dimension 2+1. After discussing the kinematics of these\nvariables, we compute the jacobian between the Yang-Mills and Bars variables\nand propose a regularization procedure which preserves a generalisation of\nholomorphic invariance. We discuss the construction of the QCD hamiltonian\nproperly regularized and compute the behavior of the vacuum wave functional\nboth at weak and strong coupling. We argue that this formalism allows the\ndeveloppement of a strong coupling expansion in the continuum by computing the\nfirst local eigenstate of the kinetic part of Yang-Mills hamiltonian."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Instantons on D-branes: We consider type IIA compactification on $K3$. We show that the instanton\nsubsectors of the worldvolume of $N$ 4-branes wrapped around $K3$ lead to a\nHagedorn density of BPS states in accord with heterotic-type IIA duality in 6\ndimensions. We also find evidence that the correct framework to understand the\nresults of Nakajima on the appearance of affine Kac-Moody algebras on the\ncohomology of moduli space of instantons on ALE spaces is in the context of\nheterotic-type IIA string duality.",
        "positive": "A nonabelian square root of abelian vertex operators: Kadanoff's \"correlations along a line\" in the critical two-dimensional Ising\nmodel (1969) are reconsidered. They are the analytical aspect of a\nrepresentation of abelian chiral vertex operators as quadratic polynomials, in\nthe sense of operator valued distributions, in non-abelian exchange fields.\nThis basic result has interesting applications to conformal coset models. It\nalso gives a new explanation for the remarkable relation between the \"doubled\"\ncritical Ising model and the free massless Dirac theory. As a consequence,\nanalogous properties as for the Ising model order/disorder fields with respect\nboth to doubling and to restriction along a line are established for the\ntwo-dimensional local fields with chiral level 2 SU(2) symmetry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Generalized Killing-Yano equations in D=5 gauged supergravity: We propose a generalization of the (conformal) Killing-Yano equations\nrelevant to D=5 minimal gauged supergravity. The generalization stems from the\nfact that the dual of the Maxwell flux, the 3-form *F, couples naturally to\nparticles in the background as a `torsion'. Killing-Yano tensors in the\npresence of torsion preserve most of the properties of the standard\nKilling-Yano tensors, exploited recently for the higher-dimensional rotating\nblack holes of vacuum gravity with cosmological constant. In particular, the\ngeneralized closed conformal Killing-Yano 2-form gives rise to the tower of\ngeneralized closed conformal Killing-Yano tensors of increasing rank which in\nturn generate the tower of Killing tensors. An example of a generalized\nKilling-Yano tensor is found for the Chong-Cvetic-Lu-Pope black hole spacetime\n[hepth/0506029]. Such a tensor stands behind the separability of the\nHamilton-Jacobi, Klein-Gordon, and Dirac equations in this background.",
        "positive": "Generalized Second Law in String Cosmology: A generalized second law in string cosmology accounts for geometric and\nquantum entropy in addition to ordinary sources of entropy. The proposed\ngeneralized second law forbids singular string cosmologies, under certain\nconditions, and forces a graceful exit transition from dilaton-driven inflation\nby bounding curvature and dilaton kinetic energy."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic Entanglement Entropy in 2D Holographic Superconductor via\n  $AdS_3/CFT_2$: The aim of the present letter is to find the holographic entanglement entropy\n(HEE) in 2D holographic superconductors (HSC). Indeed, it is possible to\ncompute the exact form of this entropy due to an advantage of approximate\nsolutions inside normal and superconducting phases with backreactions. By\nmaking the UV and IR limits applied to the integrals, an approximate expression\nfor HEE is obtained. In case the software cannot calculate minimal surface\nintegrals analytically, it offers the possibility to proceed with a numerical\nevaluation of the corresponding terms. We'll understand how the area formula\nincorporates the structure of the domain wall approximation. We see that HEE\nchanges linearly with belt angle. It's due to the extensivity of this type of\nentropy and the emergent of an entropic force. We find that the wider belt\nangle corresponds to a larger holographic surface. Another remarkable\nobservation is that no \"confinement/deconfinement\" phase transition point\nexists in our $2D$ dual field theory. Furthermore we observe that the slope of\nthe HEE with respect to the temperature freedom(s) in low temperature system. A\nfirst order phase transition is detected near the critical point.",
        "positive": "Three-dimensional Background Field Gravity: A Hamilton-Jacobi analysis: We analyse the constraint structure of the Background Field model for three\ndimensional gravity including a cosmological term via the Hamilton-Jacobi\nformalism. We find the complete set of involutive Hamiltonians that assures the\nintegrability of the system and calculate the characteristic equations of the\nsystem. We established the equivalence between these equations and the field\nequations and also obtain the generators of canonical and gauge\ntransformations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holomorphic Vector Field and Topological Sigma Model on CP^1 World Sheet: Witten suggested that fixed-point theorems can be derived by the\nsupersymmetric sigma model on a Riemann manifold M with potential term induced\nfrom Killing vector on M. One of the well-known fixed-point theorem is the Bott\nresidue formula which represents intersection number of Chern classes of\nholomorphic vector bundles on a Kahler manifold M as sum of contributions from\nfixed point sets of a holomorphic vector field K on M. In this paper, we derive\nthe Bott residue formula by using topological sigma model (A-model) that\ndescribes dynamics of maps from CP^{1} to M, with potential term induced from\nthe vector field $K$. Our strategy is to restrict phase space of path integral\nto maps homotopic to constant maps. As an effect of adding a potential term to\ntopological sigma model, we are forced to modify BRST symmetry of the original\ntopological sigma model. Our potential term and BRST symmetry are closely\nrelated to the idea used in the paper by Beasley and Witten where potential\nterms induced from holomorphic section of a holomorphic vector bundle and\ncorresponding supersymmetry are considered.",
        "positive": "Parafermionic polynomials, Selberg integrals and three-point correlation\n  function in parafermionic Liouville field theory: In this paper we consider parafermionic Liouville field theory. We study\nintegral representations of three-point correlation functions and develop a\nmethod allowing us to compute them exactly. In particular, we evaluate the\ngeneralization of Selberg integral obtained by insertion of parafermionic\npolynomial. Our result is justified by different approach based on dual\nrepresentation of parafermionic Liouville field theory described by\nthree-exponential model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hamiltonian Reduction of $SL(2)$-theories at the Level of Correlators: Since the work of Bershadsky and Ooguri and Feigin and Frenkel it is well\nknown that correlators of $SL(2)$ current algebra for admissible\nrepresentations should reduce to correlators for conformal minimal models. A\nprecise proposal for this relation has been given at the level of correlators:\nWhen $SL(2)$ primary fields are expressed as $\\phi_j(z_n,x_n)$ with $x_n$ being\na variable to keep track of the $SL(2)$ representation multiplet (possibly\ninfinitely dimensional for admissible representations), then the minimal model\ncorrelator is supposed to be obtained simply by putting all $x_n=z_n$. Although\nstrong support for this has been presented, to the best of our understanding a\ndirect, simple proof seems to be missing so in this paper we present one based\non the free field Wakimoto construction and our previous study of that in the\npresent context. We further verify that the explicit $SL(2)$ correlators we\nhave published in a recent preprint reduce in the above way, up to a constant\nwhich we also calculate. We further discuss the relation to more standard\nformulations of hamiltonian reduction.",
        "positive": "Phantom Black Holes: The exact solutions of electrically charged phantom black holes with the\ncosmological constant are constructed. They are labelled by the mass, the\nelectrical charge, the cosmological constant and the coupling constant between\nthe phantom and the Maxwell field. It is found that the phantom has important\nconsequences on the properties of black holes. In particular, the extremal\ncharged phantom black holes can never be achieved and so the third law of\nthermodynamics for black holes still holds. The cosmological aspects of the\nphantom black hole and phantom field are also briefly discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Space-like Dp branes: accelerating cosmologies versus conformally de\n  Sitter space-time: We consider the space-like D$p$ brane solutions of type II string theories\nhaving isometries ISO$(p+1)$ $\\times$ SO$(8-p,1)$. These are asymptotically\nflat solutions or in other words, the metrics become flat at the time scale\n$\\tau \\gg \\tau_0$. On the other hand, when $\\tau \\sim \\tau_0$, we get $(p+1)+1$\ndimensional flat FLRWmetrics upon compactification on a $(8-p)$ dimensional\nhyperbolic space with time dependent radii. We show that the resultant\n$(p+1)+1$ dimensional metrics describe transient accelerating cosmologies for\nall $p$ from 1 to 6, i.e., from $(2+1)$ to $(7+1)$ space-time dimensions. We\nshow how the acceleration changes with the interplay of the various parameters\ncharacterizing the solutions in $(3+1)$ dimensions. Finally, for $\\tau \\ll\n\\tau_0$, after compactification on $(8-p)$ dimensional hyperbolic space, the\nresultant metrics are shown to take the form of $(p+1)+1$ dimensional de Sitter\nspaces upto a conformal transformation. Cosmologies here are decelerating, but,\nonly in a particular conformal frame we get eternal acceleration.",
        "positive": "Type 0A 2D Black Hole Thermodynamics and the Deformed Matrix Model: Recently, it has been proposed that the deformed matrix model describes a\ntwo-dimensional type 0A extremal black hole. In this paper, the thermodynamics\nof 0A charged non-extremal black holes is investigated. We observe that the\nfree energy of the deformed matrix model to leading order in 1/q can be seen to\nagree to that of the extremal black hole. We also speculate on how the deformed\nmatrix model is able to describe the thermodynamics of non-extremal black\nholes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Symmetry enhancements via 5d instantons, qW-algebrae and (1,0)\n  superconformal index: We explore N=(1,0) superconformal six-dimensional theories arising from\nM5-branes probing a transverse A_k singularity. Upon circle compactification to\n5 dimensions, we describe this system with a dual pq-web of five-branes and\npropose the spectrum of basic five-dimensional instanton operators driving\nglobal symmetry enhancement. For a single M5-brane, we find that the exact\npartition function of the 5d quiver gauge theory matches the 6d (1,0) index,\nwhich we compute by letter counting. We finally show that S-duality of the\npq-web implies new relations among vertex correlators of qW-algebrae.",
        "positive": "The Fate of Discrete 1-Form Symmetries in 6d: Recently introduced generalized global symmetries have been useful in order\nto understand non-perturbative aspects of quantum field theories in four and\nlower dimensions. In this paper we focus on 1-form symmetries of weakly coupled\n6d supersymmetric gauge theories coupled to dynamical tensor multiplets. We\nstudy the consistency of global 1-form symmetries corresponding to the center\nof the gauge groups, or subgroups thereof, by activating their background\nfields, which makes the instanton density fractional. In 6d, an instanton\nbackground for a given gauge theory sources BPS strings via tadpole\ncancellation. The non-trivial 1-form symmetry background configurations\ncontribute to the charge of the BPS strings. However, Dirac quantization\nimposes restrictions on the consistent 1-form backgrounds, since they can in\ngeneral lead to and induce fractional charges, thus making (part of) the\nputative higher-form symmetry inconsistent. This gives explicit criteria to\ndetermine whether the discrete 1-form symmetries are realized. We implement\nthese criteria in concrete examples originating from string compactifications.\nWe also corroborate this by finding that a non-trivial fractional contribution\nis related to states which explicitly break the global 1-form symmetry\nappearing as massive excitations of the 6d BPS strings. For 6d theories\nconsistently coupled to gravity, this hints at a symmetry breaking tower of\nstates. When the fractional contributions are absent, the F-theory realization\nof the theories points to the gauging of the 1-form symmetry via the presence\nof non-trivial Mordell--Weil torsion."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Intersecting M-branes: We present the magnetic duals of G\\\"uven's electric-type solutions of D=11\nsupergravity preserving $1/4$ or $1/8$ of the D=11 supersymmetry. We interpret\nthe electric solutions as $n$ orthogonal intersecting membranes and the\nmagnetic solutions as $n$ orthogonal intersecting 5-branes, with $n=2,3$; these\ncases obey the general rule that $p$-branes can self-intersect on\n$(p-2)$-branes. On reduction to $D=4$ these solutions become electric or\nmagnetic dilaton black holes with dilaton coupling constant $a=1$ (for $n=2$)\nor $a=1/\\sqrt{3}$ (for $n=3$). We also discuss the reduction to D=10.",
        "positive": "Elliptic Singularities, \u03b8-Puzzle and Domain Walls: We study N=1 four dimensional gluodynamics in the context of M-theory\ncompactifications on elliptically fibered Calabi-Yau fourfolds. Gaugino\ncondensates, \\theta-dependence, Witten index and domain walls are considered\nfor singularities of type $\\hat{A}_{n-1}$ and $\\hat{D}_{n+4}$. It is shown how\nthe topology of intersections among the irreducible components defining the\nsingular elliptic fiber, determine the entanglement of vacua and the appareance\nof domain walls."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Some Reflections on Moduli, Their Stabilization and Cosmology: We review some aspects of moduli in string theory. We argue that one should\nfocus on {\\it approximate moduli spaces}, and that there is evidence that such\nspaces exist non-perturbatively. We ask what it would mean for string theory to\npredict low energy supersymmetry. Aspects of two proposed mechanisms for fixing\nthe moduli are discussed, and solutions to certain cosmological problems\nassociated with moduli are proposed.",
        "positive": "Relativistic generalization of Brownian Motion: The relativistic generalization of the Brownian motion is discussed. We show\nthat the transformation property of the noise term is determined by requiring\nfor the equilibrium distribution function to be Lorentz invariant, such as the\nJ\\\"uttner distribution function. It is shown that this requirement generates an\nentanglement between the force term and the noise so that the noise itself\nshould not be a covariant quantity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Einsteinian gravity from a topological action: The curvature-squared model of gravity, in the affine form proposed by Weyl\nand Yang, is deduced from a topological action in 4D. More specifically, we\nstart from the Pontrjagin (or Euler) invariant. Using the BRST antifield\nformalism with a double duality gauge fixing, we obtain a consistent\nquantization in spaces of double dual curvature as classical instanton type\nbackground.\n  However, exact vacuum solutions with double duality properties exhibit a\n`vacuum degeneracy'. By modifying the duality via a scale breaking term, we\ndemonstrate that only Einstein's equations with an induced cosmological\nconstant emerge for the topology of the macroscopic background. This may have\nrepercussions on the problem of `dark energy' as well as `dark matter' modeled\nby a torsion induced quintaxion.",
        "positive": "Can effective four-dimensional scalar theory be asymptotically free in a\n  spacetime with extra dimensions?: We trace what happens with asymptotically free behavior of the running\ncoupling in $\\phi^{3}$ theory in six-dimensional space-time if to compactify\ntwo spatial dimensions on a 2D closed manifold. The result can be considered as\nan effective 4D theory of infinitely many KK-type scalar fields with triple\ninteractions. The effective \\emph{dimensional} coupling inherits running to\nzero at high mass scales in a modified form depending on the size of the\ncompact manifold. Some physical implications are discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Enhanced Coset Symmetries and Higher Derivative Corrections: After dimensional reduction to three dimensions, the lowest order effective\nactions for pure gravity, M-theory and the Bosonic string admit an enhanced\nsymmetry group. In this paper we initiate study of how this enhancement is\naffected by the inclusion of higher derivative terms. In particular we show\nthat the coefficients of the scalar fields associated to the Cartan subalgebra\nare given by weights of the enhanced symmetry group.",
        "positive": "Comments on (super)luminality: Recently, in an interesting work arXiv:1106.3972 a solution of the equations\nof motion of massive gravity was discussed, and it was shown that one of the\nfluctuations on that solution is superluminal. It was also stated that this\nrules out massive gravity. Here we find that the solution itself is rather\nunphysical. For this we show that there is another mode on the same background\nwhich grows and overcomes the background in an arbitrarily short period of\ntime, that can be excited by a negligible cost in energy. This solution is\ntriggered by the parameter governing the superluminality. Furthermore, we also\nshow that the solution, if viewed as a perfect fluid, has no rest frame, or\nthat the Lorentz transformation that is needed to boost to the rest frame is\nsuperluminal itself. The stress-tensor of this fluid has complex eigenvalues,\nand could not be obtained from any physically sensible matter. Moreover, for\nthe same setup we find another background solution, fluctuations of which are\nall stable and subluminal. Based on these results, we conclude that the\nsuperluminality found in arXiv:1106.3972 is an artifact of using an\ninappropriate background, nevertheless, this solution represents an instructive\nexample for understanding massive gravity. For instance, on this background the\nBoulware-Deser ghost is absent, even though this may naively appear not to be\nthe case."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Relating Berkovits and $A_\\infty$ Superstring Field Theories; Large\n  Hilbert Space Perspective: We lift the dynamical field of the $A_\\infty$ superstring field theory to the\nlarge Hilbert space by introducing a gauge invariance associated with the eta\nzero mode. We then provide a field redefinition which relates the lifted field\nto the dynamical field of Berkovits' superstring field theory in the large\nHilbert space. This generalizes the field redefinition in the small Hilbert\nspace described in earlier works, and gives some understanding of the relation\nbetween the gauge symmetries of the theories. It also provides a new\nperspective on the algebraic structure underlying gauge invariance of the\nWess-Zumino-Witten-like action.",
        "positive": "Brain Webs for Brane Webs: We propose a new technique for classifying 5d Superconformal Field Theories\narising from brane webs in Type IIB String Theory, using technology from\nMachine Learning to identify different webs giving rise to the same theory. We\nconcentrate on webs with three external legs, for which the problem is\nanalogous to that of classifying sets of 7-branes. Training a Siamese Neural\nNetwork to determine equivalence between any two brane webs shows an improved\nperformance when webs are considered equivalent under a weaker set of\nconditions. Thus, Machine Learning teaches us that the conjectured\nclassification of 7-brane sets is not complete, which we confirm with explicit\nexamples."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hidden Kerr/CFT at finite frequencies: Massless fields propagating in a generic Kerr black hole background enjoy a\nhidden SL(2,R)xSL(2,R) symmetry. We determine how the exact mode functions\ndecompose into representations of this symmetry group. This extends earlier\nresults on the low frequency limit of the massless scalar case to finite\nfrequencies and general spin. As an application, we numerically determine the\nparameters of the representations that appear in quasinormal modes. These\nresults represent a first step to formulating a more precise mapping to a\nholographic dual conformal field theory for generic black holes.",
        "positive": "Zero modes and divergence of entanglement entropy: We investigate the cause of the divergence of the entanglement entropy for\nthe free scalar fields in $(1+1)$ and $(D + 1)$ dimensional space-times. In a\ncanonically equivalent set of variables, we show explicitly that the divergence\nin the entanglement entropy of the continuum field in $(1 + 1)-$ dimensions is\ndue to the accumulation of large number of near-zero frequency modes as opposed\nto the commonly held view of divergence having UV origin. The feature revealing\nthe divergence in zero modes is related to the observation that the entropy is\ninvariant under a hidden scaling transformation even when the Hamiltonian is\nnot. We discuss the role of dispersion relations and the dimensionality of the\nspace-time on the behavior of entanglement entropy."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Comment on ``Additional analytically exact solutions for three-anyons''\n  and ``Fermion Ground State of Three Particles in a Harmonic Potential Well\n  and Its Anyon Interpolation'': The claim put forward in [hep-th/9512051, hep-th/9612244] that the energies\nof the ``missing'' states of three anyons in a harmonic potential depend\nlinearly on the statistics parameter, is incorrect because the wave functions\nproposed do not satisfy the anyonic interchange conditions.",
        "positive": "Entanglement and Fast Quantum Thermalization in Heavy Ion Collisions: Let $A$ be subsystem of a larger system $A \\cup B$, and $\\psi$ be a typical\nstate from the subspace of the Hilbert space ${\\cal H}_{AB}$ satisfying an\nenergy constraint. Then $\\rho_A(\\psi)= {\\rm Tr}_B | \\psi \\rangle \\langle \\psi\n|$ is nearly thermal. We discuss how this observation is related to fast\nthermalization of the central region ($\\approx A$) in heavy ion collisions,\nwhere $B$ represents other degrees of freedom (soft modes, hard jets, collinear\nparticles) outside of $A$. Entanglement between the modes in $A$ and $B$ plays\na central role: the entanglement entropy $S_A$ increases rapidly in the\ncollision. In gauge-gravity duality, $S_A$ is related to the area of extremal\nsurfaces in the bulk, which can be studied using gravitational duals."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Complete Classification of Four-Dimensional Black Hole and Membrane\n  Solutions in IR-modified Ho\u0159ava Gravity: Ho\\v{r}ava gravity has been proposed as a renormalizable, higher-derivative\ngravity without ghost problems, by considering different scaling dimensions for\nspace and time. In the non-relativistic higher-derivative generalization of\nEinstein gravity, the meaning and physical properties of black hole and\nmembrane space-times are quite different from the conventional ones. Here, we\nstudy the singularity and horizon structures of such geometries in IR-modified\nHo\\v{r}ava gravity, where the so-called \"detailed balance\" condition is softly\nbroken in IR. We classify all the viable static solutions without naked\nsingularities and study its close connection to non-singular cosmology\nsolutions. We find that, in addition to the usual point-like singularity at\n$r=0$, there exists a \"surface-like\" curvature singularity at finite $r=r_S$\nwhich is the cutting edge of the real-valued space-time. The degree of\ndivergence of such singularities is milder than those of general relativity,\nand the Hawking temperature of the horizons diverges when they coincide with\nthe singularities. As a byproduct we find that, in addition to the usual\n\"asymptotic limit,\" a consistent flow of coupling constants, that we called \"GR\nflow limit,\" is needed in order to recover general relativity in the IR.",
        "positive": "Are Most Particles Gravitons?: The number of baryons in the observable universe is of the order of\n$10^{80}$, as is the number of electrons. The number of photons is about nine\norders of magnitude greater, $10^{89}$, as is the estimated number of\nneutrinos. However, the number of gravitons could be more than twenty orders of\nmagnitude larger yet, of the order of $10^{113} r$, where $r$ is the\ntensor-to-scalar ratio for quantum fluctuations produced by inflation, which\ncould be as high as $0.1$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Proper Field Quantization in Black Hole Spacetimes: Canonical quantization of local field theories is classical black hole\nspacetimes with a single horizon leads to a particle number density with a\nthermal distribution in equilibrium at the Hawking temperature. A complete\ntreatment including non-local quantum gravity effects has shown however that\nthe full \"thermal vacuum\" of the theory is the false vacuum. In this work we\nfind the true vacuum consistent with the complete semiclassical analysis of\nquantum black holes. The theory is described by a \"microcanonical\" quantum\nfield theory with fixed energy E = M, the mass of the black hole.\nConsiderations making use of the microcanonical density matrix as well as the\nidempotency condition show that particles in black hole backgrounds are\ndescribed by pure states, unlike the canonical formulation.",
        "positive": "Confinement in the bulk, deconfinement on the wall: infrared equivalence\n  between compactified QCD and quantum magnets: In a spontaneously dimerized quantum antiferromagnet, spin-1/2 excitations\n(spinons) are confined in pairs by strings akin to those confining quarks in\nnon-abelian gauge theories. The system has multiple degenerate ground states\n(vacua) and domain walls between regions of different vacua. For two vacua, we\ndemonstrate that spinons on a domain wall are liberated, in a mechanism\nstrikingly similar to domain-wall deconfinement of quarks in variants of\nquantum chromodynamics. This observation not only establishes a novel\nphenomenon in quantum magnetism, but also provides a new direct link between\nparticle physics and condensed-matter physics. The analogy opens doors to\nimproving our understanding of particle confinement and deconfinement by\ncomputational and experimental studies in quantum magnetism."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Resurgence of large order relations: One of the main applications of resurgence in physics is the decoding of\nnonperturbative effects through large order relations. These relations connect\nperturbative asymptotic expansions of observables to expansions around other\nsaddle points. Together, this data is unified in transseries that describe the\nnonperturbative structure. It is known that large order relations themselves\nalso take the form of transseries. We study these large order transseries,\nuncover an interesting underlying geometry that we call the `Borel cylinder',\nand show that large order transseries in turn are resurgent -- that is: their\nnonperturbative sectors `know about each other' through Borel residues that are\nessentially equal to those of the original transseries. We show that with an\nappropriate resummation prescription, large order relations are often exact:\nthey can be used to exactly compute perturbative coefficients -- not just their\nlarge order growth. Finally, we argue that Stokes phenomenon plays an important\nrole for large order relations, for example if we want to extend the discrete\nindex of the perturbative coefficients to arbitrary complex values.",
        "positive": "More on the infrared renormalon in $SU(N)$ QCD(adj.) on\n  $\\mathbb{R}^3\\times S^1$: We present additional observations to previous studies on the infrared (IR)\nrenormalon in $SU(N)$ QCD(adj.), the $SU(N)$ gauge theory with $n_W$-flavor\nadjoint Weyl fermions on~$\\mathbb{R}^3\\times S^1$ with the $\\mathbb{Z}_N$\ntwisted boundary condition. First, we show that, for arbitrary finite~$N$, a\nlogarithmic factor in the vacuum polarization of the \"photon\" (the gauge boson\nassociated with the Cartan generators of~$SU(N)$) disappears under the\n$S^1$~compactification. Since the IR renormalon is attributed to the presence\nof this logarithmic factor, it is concluded that there is no IR renormalon in\nthis system with finite~$N$. This result generalizes the observation made by\nAnber and~Sulejmanpasic [J. High Energy Phys.\\ \\textbf{1501}, 139 (2015)] for\n$N=2$ and~$3$ to arbitrary finite~$N$. Next, we point out that, although\nrenormalon ambiguities do not appear through the Borel procedure in this\nsystem, an ambiguity appears in an alternative resummation procedure in which a\nresummed quantity is given by a momentum integration where the inverse of the\nvacuum polarization is included as the integrand. Such an ambiguity is caused\nby a simple zero at non-zero momentum of the vacuum polarization. Under the\ndecompactification~$R\\to\\infty$, where $R$ is the radius of the $S^1$, this\nambiguity in the momentum integration smoothly reduces to the IR renormalon\nambiguity in~$\\mathbb{R}^4$. We term this ambiguity in the momentum integration\n\"renormalon precursor\". The emergence of the IR renormalon ambiguity\nin~$\\mathbb{R}^4$ under the decompactification can be naturally understood with\nthis notion."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-Abelian Bosonization and Haldane's Conjecture: We study the long wavelength limit of a spin S Heisenberg antiferromagnetic\nchain. The fermionic Lagrangian obtained corresponds to a perturbed level 2S\nSU(2) Wess-Zumino-Witten model. This effective theory is then mapped into a\ncompact U(1) boson interacting with Z_{2S} parafermions. The analysis of this\neffective theory allows us to show that when S is an integer there is a mass\ngap to all excitations, whereas this gap vanishes in the half-odd-integer spin\ncase. This gives a field theory treatment of the so-called Haldane's conjecture\nfor arbitrary values of the spin S.",
        "positive": "The quantization of the chiral Schwinger model based on the BFT-BFV\n  formalism II: We apply an improved version of Batalin-Fradkin-Tyutin (BFT) Hamiltonian\nmethod to the a=1 chiral Schwinger Model, which is much more nontrivial than\nthe a>1.$ one. Furthermore, through the path integral quantization, we newly\nresolve the problem of the non-trivial $\\delta$ function as well as that of the\nunwanted Fourier parameter $\\xi$ in the measure. As a result, we explicitly\nobtain the fully gauge invariant partition function, which includes a new type\nof Wess-Zumino (WZ) term irrelevant to the gauge symmetry as well as usual WZ\naction."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Bootstrap Method in Theoretical Physics: In the realm of contemporary physics, the bootstrap method is typically\nassociated with an optimization-based approach to problem-solving. This method\nleverages our understanding of a specific physical problem, which is used as\nthe constraints for the optimization problem, to carve out the allowed region\nof our physical theory. Notably, this method often yields not only precise\nnumerical bounds for physical quantities but also offers theoretical insights\ninto the nature of the problem at hand. The modern numerical bootstrap method\nhas seen its greatest success in the fields of conformal field theory (via the\nconformal bootstrap) and Scattering amplitude (through the S-matrix bootstrap).\nThis dissertation presents the application of the bootstrap method to matrix\nmodels (random matrices), Yang-Mills theory, and conformal field theory. We\nwill commence with a review of the fundamental elements of these theories.\nFollowing this, we will delve into the bootstrap studies of these models.",
        "positive": "An Example of Higher Weight Superpotential Interaction in the Heterotic\n  String on Orbifolds: An explicit orbifold example of the non-zero correlation functions related to\nthe additional contribution to the induced mass term for Higgs particles at low\nenergies is given. We verify that they form finite dimensional representations\nof the target space modular transformation $SL_2(Z)$. This action of the\nmodular group is shown to be consistent with its action on the fixed points set\ndefining the twisted fields."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Heisenberg saturation of the Froissart bound from AdS-CFT: In a previous paper, we have analyzed high energy QCD from AdS-CFT and proved\nthe saturation of the Froissart bound (a purely QCD proof of which is still\nlacking). In this paper we describe the calculation in more physical terms and\nmap it to QCD language. We find a remarkable agreement with the 1952 Heisenberg\ndescription of the saturation (pre-QCD!) in terms of shockwave collisions of\npion field distributions. It provides a direct map between gauge theory physics\nand the gravitational physics on the IR brane of the Randall-Sundrum model.\nSaturation occurs through black hole production on the IR brane, which is in\nQCD production of a nonlinear pion field soliton of a Born-Infeld action in the\nhadron collision, that decays into free pions.",
        "positive": "Collective dynamics and the Anderson-Higgs mechanism in a bona fide\n  holographic superconductor: The holographic superconductor is one of the most popular models in the\ncontext of applied holography. Despite what its name suggests, it does not\ndescribe a superconductor. On the contrary, the low temperature phase of its\ndual field theory is a superfluid with a spontaneously broken U(1) global\nsymmetry. As already observed in the previous literature, a bona fide\nholographic superconductor can be constructed using mixed boundary conditions\nfor the bulk gauge field. By exploiting this prescription, we study the\nnear-equilibrium collective dynamics in the Higgs phase and reveal the\ncharacteristic features of the Anderson-Higgs mechanism. We show that second\nsound disappears from the spectrum and the gauge field acquires a finite energy\ngap of the order of the plasma frequency. We observe an overdamped to\nunderdamped crossover for the Higgs mode which acquires a finite energy gap\nbelow $\\approx T_c/2$, with $T_c$ the superconducting critical temperature.\nInterestingly, the energy gap of the Higgs mode at low temperature is\nsignificantly smaller than $2\\Delta$, with $\\Delta$ the superconducting energy\ngap. Finally, we interpret our results using Ginzburg-Landau theory and we\nconfirm the validity of previously derived perturbative analytic expressions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Duality and Transport for Supersymmetric Graphene from the Hemisphere\n  Partition Function: We use localization to compute the partition function of a four dimensional,\nsupersymmetric, abelian gauge theory on a hemisphere coupled to charged matter\non the boundary. Our theory has eight real supercharges in the bulk of which\nfour are broken by the presence of the boundary. The main result is that the\npartition function is identical to that of ${\\mathcal N}=2$ abelian\nChern-Simons theory on a three-sphere coupled to chiral multiplets, but where\nthe quantized Chern-Simons level is replaced by an arbitrary complexified gauge\ncoupling $\\tau$. The localization reduces the path integral to a single\nordinary integral over a real variable. This integral in turn allows us to\ncalculate the scaling dimensions of certain protected operators and two-point\nfunctions of abelian symmetry currents at arbitrary values of $\\tau$. Because\nthe underlying theory has conformal symmetry, the current two-point functions\ntell us the zero temperature conductivity of the Lorentzian versions of these\ntheories at any value of the coupling. We comment on S-dualities which relate\ndifferent theories of supersymmetric graphene. We identify a couple of\nself-dual theories for which the complexified conductivity associated to the\nU(1) gauge symmetry is $\\tau/2$.",
        "positive": "Residue Formulas for Prepotentials, Instanton Expansions and Conformal\n  Blocks: We study the extended prepotentials for the S-duality class of quiver gauge\ntheories, considering them as quasiclassical tau-functions, depending on gauge\ntheory condensates and bare couplings. The residue formulas for the third\nderivatives of extended prepotentials are proven, which lead to effective way\nof their computation, as expansion in the weak-coupling regime. We discuss also\nthe differential equations, following from the residue formulas, including the\nWDVV equations, proven to be valid for the $SU(2)$ quiver gauge theories. As a\nparticular example we consider the constrained conformal quiver gauge theory,\ncorresponding to the Zamolodchikov conformal blocks by 4d/2d duality. In this\ncase part of the found differential equations turn into nontrivial relations\nfor the period matrices of hyperelliptic curves."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Charge fluctuation entropy of Hawking radiation: a replica-free way to\n  find large entropy: We study the fluctuation entropy for two-dimensional matter systems with an\ninternal symmetry coupled to Jackiw--Teitelboim(JT) gravity joined to a\nMinkowski region. The fluctuation entropy is the Shannon entropy associated to\nprobabilities of finding particular charge for a region. We first consider a\ncase where the matter has a global symmetry. We find that the fluctuation\nentropy of Hawking radiation shows an unbounded growth and exceeds the\nentanglement entropy in presence of islands. This indicates that the global\nsymmetry is violated. We then discuss the fluctuation entropy for matter\ncoupled to a two-dimensional gauge field. We find a lower bound on the gauge\ncoupling $g_0$ in order to avoid a similar issue. Also, we point out a few\npuzzles related to the island prescription in presence of a gauge symmetry.",
        "positive": "The Influence of Higher Fock States in Light-Cone Gauge Theories: In the light-cone Fock state expansion of gauge theories, the influence of\nnon-valence states may be significant in precision non-perturbative\ncalculations. In two-dimensional gauge theories, it is shown how these states\nmodify the behaviour of the light-cone wavefunction in significant ways\nrelative to endemic choices of variational ansatz. Similar effects in\nfour-dimensional gauge theories are briefly discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Kinetic Equation for Fluids of Spin-1/2 Fermions: Fluid of spin-1/2 fermions is represented by a complex scalar field and a\nfour-vector field coupled both to the scalar and the Dirac fields. We present\nthe underlying action and show that the resulting equations of motion are\nidentical to the (hydrodynamic) Euler equations in the presence of Coriolis\nforce. As a consequence of the gauge invariances of this action we established\nthe quantum kinetic equation which takes account of noninertial properties of\nthe fluid in the presence of electromagnetic fields. The equations of the field\ncomponents of Wigner function in Clifford algebra basis are employed to\nconstruct new semiclassical covariant kinetic equations of the vector and\naxial-vector field components for massless as well as massive fermions.\nNonrelativistic limit of the chiral kinetic equation is studied and shown that\nit generates a novel three-dimensional transport theory which does not depend\non spatial variables explicitly and possesses a Coriolis force term. We\ndemonstrated that the three-dimensional chiral transport equations are\nconsistent with the chiral anomaly. For massive fermions the three-dimensional\nkinetic transport theory generated by the new covariant kinetic equations is\nestablished in small mass limit. It possesses the Coriolis force and the\nmassless limit can be obtained directly.",
        "positive": "Superstatistics approach to path integral for a relativistic particle: Superstatistics permits the calculation of the Feynman propagator of a\nrelativistic particle in a novel way from a superstatistical average over\nnon-relativistic single-particle paths. We illustrate this for the Klein-Gordon\nparticle in the Feshbach-Villars representation, and for the Dirac particle in\nthe Schroedinger-Dirac representation. As a byproduct we recover the worldline\nrepresentation of Klein-Gordon and Dirac propagators, and discuss the role of\nthe smearing distributions in fixing the reparametrization freedom. The\nemergent relativity picture that follows from our approach together with a\nnovel representation of the Lorentz group for the Feshbach-Villars particle are\nalso discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Vafa-Witten Theory on N=2 and N=4 Twisted Superspace in Four Dimensions: We construct a new off-shell twisted hypermultiplet with a scalar and an\nanti-self-dual tensor superfields. Using the N=2 twisted superspace formalism,\nwe construct a Donaldson-Witten theory coupled to the hypermultiplet. We show\nthat this action possesses the Vafa-Witten type N=4 twisted supersymmetry at\nthe on-shell level. We also reconstruct the action using a N=4 twisted\nsuperconnection formalism.",
        "positive": "Circuit Complexity in $\\mathcal{Z}_{2}$ ${\\cal EEFT}$: Motivated by recent studies of circuit complexity in weakly interacting\nscalar field theory, we explore the computation of circuit complexity in\n$\\mathcal{Z}_2$ Even Effective Field Theories ($\\mathcal{Z}_2$ EEFTs). We\nconsider a massive free field theory with higher-order Wilsonian operators such\nas $\\phi^{4}$, $\\phi^{6}$ and $\\phi^8.$ To facilitate our computation we\nregularize the theory by putting it on a lattice. First, we consider a simple\ncase of two oscillators and later generalize the results to $N$ oscillators.\nThe study has been carried out for nearly Gaussian states. In our computation,\nthe reference state is an approximately Gaussian unentangled state, and the\ncorresponding target state, calculated from our theory, is an approximately\nGaussian entangled state. We compute the complexity using the geometric\napproach developed by Nielsen, parameterizing the path ordered unitary\ntransformation and minimizing the geodesic in the space of unitaries. The\ncontribution of higher-order operators, to the circuit complexity, in our\ntheory has been discussed. We also explore the dependency of complexity with\nother parameters in our theory for various cases."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Coulomb and Higgs branch formulae for multi-centered black holes\n  and quiver invariants: In previous work we have shown that the equivariant index of multi-centered\nN=2 black holes localizes on collinear configurations along a fixed axis. Here\nwe provide a general algorithm for enumerating such collinear configurations\nand computing their contribution to the index. We apply this machinery to the\ncase of black holes described by quiver quantum mechanics, and give a\nsystematic prescription -- the Coulomb branch formula -- for computing the\ncohomology of the moduli space of quiver representations. For quivers without\noriented loops, the Coulomb branch formula is shown to agree with the Higgs\nbranch formula based on Reineke's result for stack invariants, even when the\ndimension vector is not primitive. For quivers with oriented loops, the Coulomb\nbranch formula parametrizes the Poincar\\'e polynomial of the quiver moduli\nspace in terms of single-centered (or pure-Higgs) BPS invariants, which are\nconjecturally independent of the stability condition (i.e. the choice of\nFayet-Iliopoulos parameters) and angular-momentum free. To facilitate further\ninvestigation we provide a Mathematica package \"CoulombHiggs.m\" implementing\nthe Coulomb and Higgs branch formulae.",
        "positive": "Differential Reduction Algorithms for Hypergeometric Functions Applied\n  to Feynman Diagram Calculation: We describe the application of differential reduction algorithms for Feynman\nDiagram calculation. We illustrate the procedure in the context of generalized\nhypergeometric functions, and give an example for a type of q-loop bubble\ndiagram."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "BPS quivers of five-dimensional SCFTs, Topological Strings and\n  q-Painlev\u00e9 equations: We study the discrete flows generated by the symmetry group of the BPS\nquivers for Calabi-Yau geometries describing five dimensional superconformal\nquantum field theories on a circle. These flows naturally describe the BPS\nparticle spectrum of such theories and at the same time generate bilinear\nequations of q-difference type which, in the rank one case, are q-Painlev\\'e\nequations. The solutions of these equations are shown to be given by grand\ncanonical topological string partition functions which we identify with\n$\\tau$-functions of the cluster algebra associated to the quiver. We exemplify\nour construction in the case corresponding to five dimensional $SU(2)$ pure\nSuper Yang-Mills and $N_f = 2$ on a circle.",
        "positive": "The Tensor Hierarchies of Pure N=2,d=4,5,6 Supergravities: We study the supersymmetric tensor hierarchy of pure (gauged) N=2,d=4,5,6\nsupergravity and compare them with those of the pure, ungauged, theories\n(worked out by Gomis and Roest for d=5) and the predictions of the Kac-Moody\napproach made by Kleinschmidt and Roest. We find complete agreement in the\nungauged case but we also find that, after gauging, new Stueckelberg symmetries\nreduce the number of independent \"physical\" top-forms. The analysis has to be\nperformed to all orders in fermion fields.\n  We discuss the construction of the worldvolume effective actions for the\np-branes which are charged with respect to the (p+1)-form potentials and the\nrelations between the tensor hierarchies and p-branes upon dimensional\nreduction."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Bell inequalities violation within non-Bunch-Davies states: We study the quantum nature of non-Bunch-Davies states in de Sitter space by\nevaluating CHSH inequality on a localized two-atom system. We show that quantum\nnonlocality can be generated through the Markovian evolution of two-atom,\nwitnessed by a violation of CHSH inequality on its final equilibrium state. We\nfind that the upper bound of inequality violation is determined by different\nchoices of de Sitter-invariant vacua sectors. In particular, with growing\nGibbons-Hawking temperature, the CHSH bound degrades monotonously for\nBunch-Davies vacuum sector. Due to the intrinsic correlation of\nnon-Bunch-Davies vacua, we find that the related violation of inequality can\nhowever drastically increase after certain turning point, and may persist for\narbitrarily large environment decoherence. This implies that the CHSH\ninequality is useful to classify the initial quantum state of the Universe.\nFinally, we clarify that the witnessed intrinsic correlation of\nnon-Bunch-Davies vacua can be utilized for quantum information applications,\ne.g., surpassing the Heisenberg uncertainty bound of quantum measurement in de\nSitter space.",
        "positive": "Superimposed Oscillations in Brane Inflation: In canonical scalar field inflation, the Starobinsky model (with a linear\npotential but discontinuous slope) is remarkable in that though slow-roll is\nviolated, both the power-spectrum and bi-spectrum can be calculated exactly\nanalytically. The two-point function is characterised by different power on\nlarge and small scales, and a burst of small amplitude superimposed\noscillations in between. Motivated by string-theory models with stuck branes,\nwe extend this analysis to Dirac Born Infeld (DBI) inflation, for which\ngeneralised slow-roll is violated at the discontinuity and a rapid variation in\nthe speed of sound c_s occurs. In an attempt to characterise the effect of\nnon-linear kinetic terms on the oscillatory features of the primordial\npower-spectrum, we show that the resulting power spectrum has a shape and\nfeatures which differ significantly from those of the standard Starobinsky\nmodel. In particular, the power-spectrum now takes very similar scale invariant\nvalues on large and small scales, while on intermediate scales it is\ncharacterised by much larger amplitude and higher frequency superimposed\noscillations. We also show that calculating non-Gaussianities in this model is\na complicated but interesting task since all terms in the cubic action now\ncontribute. Investigating whether the superimposed oscillations could fit to\nthe Planck Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) data (for instance by explaining\nthe large scale Planck anomalies) with, at the same time, small\nnon-Gaussianities remains an intriguing and open possibility."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spacetime Singularities in String and its Low Dimensional Effective\n  Theory: Spacetime singularities are studied in both the $D+d$-dimensional string\ntheory and its $D$-dimensional effective theory, obtained by the Kaluza-Klein\ncompactification. It is found that spacetime singularities in the low\ndimensional effective theory may or may not remain after lifted to the\n$D+d$-dimensional string theory, depending on particular solutions. It is also\nfound that there exist cases in which spacetime singularities appearing in\nhigh/low dimensional spacetimes do not necessarily happen on the same surfaces.",
        "positive": "Bosonization of non-relativstic fermions in 2-dimensions and collective\n  field theory: We revisit bosonization of non-relativistic fermions in one space dimension.\nOur motivation is the recent work on bubbling half-BPS geometries by Lin, Lunin\nand Maldacena (hep-th/0409174). After reviewing earlier work on exact\nbosonization in terms of a noncommutative theory, we derive an action for the\ncollective field which lives on the droplet boundaries in the classical limit.\nOur action is manifestly invariant under time-dependent reparametrizations of\nthe boundary. We show that, in an appropriate gauge, the classical collective\nfield equations imply that each point on the boundary satisfies Hamilton's\nequations for a classical particle in the appropriate potential. For the\nharmonic oscillator potential, a straightforward quantization of this action\ncan be carried out exactly for any boundary profile. For a finite number of\nfermions, the quantum collective field theory does not reproduce the results of\nthe exact noncommutative bosonization, while the latter are in complete\nagreement with the results computed directly in the fermi theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The First Physics Picture of Contractions from a Fundamental Quantum\n  Relativity Symmetry Including all Known Relativity Symmetries, Classical and\n  Quantum: In this article, we utilize the insights gleaned from our recent formulation\nof space(-time), as well as dynamical picture of quantum mechanics and its\nclassical approximation, from the relativity symmetry perspective in order to\npush further into the realm of the proposed fundamental relativity symmetry\n$SO(2,4)$ of our quantum relativity project. We explicitly trace how the\ndiverse actors in this story change through various contraction limits, paying\ncareful attention to the relevant physical units, in order to place all known\nrelativity theories -- quantum and classical -- within a single framework. More\nspecifically, we explore both of the possible contractions of $SO(2,4)$ and its\ncoset spaces in order to determine how best to recover the lower-level\ntheories. These include both new models and all familiar theories, as well as\nquantum and classical dynamics with and without Einsteinian special relativity.\nAlong the way, we also find connections with covariant quantum mechanics. The\nemphasis of this article rests on the ability of this language to not only\nencompass all known physical theories, but to also provide a path for\nextensions. It will serve as the basic background for more detailed\nformulations of the dynamical theories at each level, as well as the exact\nconnections amongst them.",
        "positive": "IR/UV mixing from local similarity maps of scalar non-Hermitian field\n  theories: We propose to \"gauge\" the group of similarity transformations that acts on a\nspace of non-Hermitian scalar theories. We introduce the \"similarity gauge\nfield\", which acts as a gauge connection on the space of non-Hermitian theories\ncharacterized by (and equivalent to a Hermitian) real-valued mass spectrum.\nThis extension leads to new effects: if the mass matrix is not the same in\ndistant regions of space, but its eigenvalues coincide pairwise in both\nregions, the particle masses stay constant in the whole spacetime, making the\nmodel indistinguishable from a standard, low-energy and scalar Hermitian one.\nHowever, contrary to the Hermitian case, the high-energy scalar particles\nbecome unstable at a particular wavelength determined by the strength of the\nemergent similarity gauge field. This instability corresponds to\nmomentum-dependent exceptional points, whose locations cannot be identified\nfrom an analysis of the eigenvalues of the coordinate-dependent squared mass\nmatrix in isolation, as one might naively have expected. For a doublet of\nscalar particles with masses of the order of 1 MeV and a similarity gauge\nrotation of order unity at distances of 1 meter, the corrections to the masses\nare about 10^{-7}eV, which makes no experimentally detectable imprint on the\nlow-energy spectrum. However, the instability occurs at 10^{18} eV,\nsuggestively in the energy range of detectable ultra-high-energy cosmic rays,\nthereby making this truly non-Hermitian effect and its generalizations of\nphenomenological interest for high-energy particle physics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Nonperturbative solution of scalar Yukawa model in two- and three-body\n  Fock space truncations: The Light-Front Tamm-Dancoff method of finding the nonperturbative solutions\nin field theory is based on the Fock decomposition of the state vector,\ncomplemented with the sector-dependent nonperturbative renormalization scheme.\nWe show in detail how to implement the renormalization procedure and to solve\nthe simplest nontrivial example of the scalar Yukawa model in the two- and\nthree-body Fock space truncations incorporating scalar \"nucleon\" and one or two\nscalar \"pions\".",
        "positive": "Higher-derivative Heterotic Double Field Theory and Classical Double\n  Copy: The generalized Kerr-Schild ansatz (GKSA) is a powerful tool for constructing\nexact solutions in Double Field Theory (DFT). In this paper we focus in the\nheterotic formulation of DFT, considering up to four-derivative terms in the\naction principle, while the field content is perturbed by the GKSA. We study\nthe inclusion of the generalized version of the Green-Schwarz mechanism to this\nsetup, in order to reproduce the low energy effective heterotic supergravity\nupon parametrization. This formalism reproduces higher-derivative heterotic\nbackground solutions where the metric tensor and Kalb-Ramond field are\nperturbed by a pair of null vectors. Next we study higher-derivative\ncontributions to the classical double copy structure. After a suitable\nidentification of the null vectors with a pair of $U(1)$ gauge fields, the\ndynamics is given by a pair of Maxwell equations plus higher derivative\ncorrections in agreement with the KLT relation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauge Invariant Target Space Entanglement in D-Brane Holography: It has been suggested in arXiv:2004.00613 that in Dp-brane holography,\nentanglement in the target space of the D-brane Yang-Mills theory provides a\nprecise notion of bulk entanglement in the gravity dual. We expand on this\ndiscussion by providing a gauge invariant characterization of operator\nsub-algebras corresponding to such entanglement. This is achieved by finding a\nprojection operator which imposes a constraint characterizing the target space\nregion of interest. By considering probe branes in the Coulomb branch we\nprovide motivation for why the operator sub-algebras we consider are\nappropriate for describing a class of measurements carried out with low-energy\nprobes in the corresponding bulk region of interest. We derive expressions for\nthe corresponding Renyi entropies in terms of path integrals which can be\ndirectly used in numerical calculations.",
        "positive": "Calculating the Higgs Mass in String Theory: In this paper, we establish a fully string-theoretic framework for\ncalculating one-loop Higgs masses directly from first principles in\nperturbative closed string theories. Our framework makes no assumptions other\nthan worldsheet modular invariance and is therefore applicable to all closed\nstrings, regardless of the specific string construction utilized. This\nframework can also be employed even when spacetime supersymmetry is broken (and\neven when this breaking occurs at the Planck scale), and can be utilized for\nall scalar Higgs fields, regardless of the particular gauge symmetries they\nbreak. This therefore includes the Higgs field responsible for electroweak\nsymmetry breaking in the Standard Model. Notably, using our framework, we\ndemonstrate that a gravitational modular anomaly generically relates the Higgs\nmass to the one-loop cosmological constant, thereby yielding a string-theoretic\nconnection between the two fundamental quantities which are known to suffer\nfrom hierarchy problems in the absence of spacetime supersymmetry. We also\ndiscuss a number of crucial issues involving the use and interpretation of\nregulators in UV/IR-mixed theories such as string theory, and the manner in\nwhich one can extract an EFT description from such theories. Finally, we\nanalyze the running of the Higgs mass within such an EFT description, and\nuncover the existence of a \"dual IR\" region which emerges at high energies as\nthe consequence of an intriguing scale-inversion duality symmetry. We also\nidentify a generic stringy effective potential for the Higgs fields in such\ntheories. Our results can therefore serve as the launching point for a rigorous\ninvestigation of gauge hierarchy problems in string theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "From black holes to baby universes in CGHS gravity: We study $\\widehat{\\text{CGHS}}$ gravity, a variant of the matterless\nCallan-Giddings-Harvey-Strominger model. We show that it describes a universal\nsector of the near horizon perturbations of non-extremal black holes in higher\ndimensions. In many respects this theory can be viewed as a flat space analog\nof Jackiw-Teitelboim gravity. The result for the Euclidean path integral\nimplies that $\\widehat{\\text{CGHS}}$ is dual to a Gaussian ensemble that we\ndescribe in detail. The simplicity of this theory allows us to compute exact\nquantities such as the quenched free energy and provides a useful playground to\nstudy baby universes, averages and factorization. We also give evidence for the\nexistence of a non-perturbative completion in terms of a matrix model. Finally,\nflat wormhole solutions are discussed.",
        "positive": "Gauge-invariant gravitational perturbations of maximally symmetric\n  spacetimes: Gravitational perturbations of anti-deSitter spacetime play important roles\nin AdS/CFT correspondence and the brane world scenario. In this paper, we\ndevelop a gauge-invariant formalism of gravitational perturbations of maximally\nsymmetric spacetimes including anti-deSitter spacetime. Existence of\nscalar-type master variables is shown and the corresponding master equations\nare derived."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Embedding of FRW Cosmology in DGP Scenario with a Non-Minimally Coupled\n  Scalar Field on the Brane: We construct a DGP inspired braneworld scenario where a scalar field\nnon-minimally coupled to the induced Ricci curvature is present on the brane.\nWe show that this model allows for an embedding of the standard Friedmann\ncosmology in the sense that the cosmological evolution of the background metric\non the brane can be described by the standard Friedmann equation. The relation\nbetween our framework and the dark-energy formalism is explored.",
        "positive": "Affine Jordan cells, logarithmic correlators, and hamiltonian reduction: We study a particular type of logarithmic extension of SL(2,R)\nWess-Zumino-Witten models. It is based on the introduction of affine Jordan\ncells constructed as multiplets of quasi-primary fields organized in\nindecomposable representations of the Lie algebra sl(2). We solve the\nsimultaneously imposed set of conformal and SL(2,R) Ward identities for two-\nand three-point chiral blocks. These correlators will in general involve\nlogarithmic terms and may be represented compactly by considering spins with\nnilpotent parts. The chiral blocks are found to exhibit hierarchical structures\nrevealed by computing derivatives with respect to the spins. We modify the\nKnizhnik-Zamolodchikov equations to cover affine Jordan cells and show that our\nchiral blocks satisfy these equations. It is also demonstrated that a simple\nand well-established prescription for hamiltonian reduction at the level of\nordinary correlators extends straightforwardly to the logarithmic correlators\nas the latter then reduce to the known results for two- and three-point\nconformal blocks in logarithmic conformal field theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Triage of the Sign Problem: We discuss the sign problem in QCD at nonzero chemical potential and its\nrelation with chiral symmetry breaking and the spectrum of the Dirac operator\nusing the framework of chiral random matrix theory. We show that the\nBanks-Casher formula is not valid for theories with a sign problem and has to\nbe replaced by an alternative mechanism that is worked out in detail for QCD in\none dimension at nonzero chemical potential.",
        "positive": "Low Energy Thermodynamics of JT Gravity and Supergravity: Aspects of the low energy physics of certain Jackiw-Teitelboim gravity and\nsupergravity theories are explored, using their recently presented\nnon-perturbative description in terms of minimal string models. This regime\nnecessarily involves non-perturbative phenomena, and the inclusion of wormhole\ngeometries connecting multiple copies of the nearly AdS$_2$ boundary in the\ncomputation of ensemble averages of key quantities. A new \"replica-scaling\"\nlimit is considered, combining the replica method and double scaling with the\nlow energy limit. Using it, the leading free energy, entropy, and specific heat\nare explored for various examples. Two models of particular note are the JT\nsupergravity theory defined as a (1,2) Altland-Zirnbauer matrix ensemble by\nStanford and Witten, and the Saad-Shenker-Stanford matrix model of ordinary JT\ngravity (non-perturbatively improved at low energy). The full models have a\nfinite non-vanishing spectral density at zero energy. The replica-scaling\nconstruction suggests for them a low temperature entropy and specific heat that\nare linear in temperature."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Effective asymptotic safety and its predictive power: Gauge-Yukawa\n  theories: Effective field theory provides a new perspective on the predictive power of\nRenormalization Group fixed points. Critical trajectories between different\nfixed points confine the regions of UV-complete, IR-complete, as well as\nconformal theories. The associated boundary surfaces cannot be crossed by the\nRenormalization Group flow of any effective field theory. We delineate cases in\nwhich the boundary surface acts as an infrared attractor for generic effective\nfield theories. Gauge-Yukawa theories serve as an example that is both\nperturbative and of direct phenomenological interest. We identify additional\nmatter fields such that all the observed coupling values of the Standard Model,\napart from the Abelian hypercharge, lie within the conformal region. We define\na quantitative measure of the predictivity of effective asymptotic safety and\ndemonstrate phenomenological constraints for the associated beyond\nStandard-Model Yukawa couplings.",
        "positive": "Building up spacetime with quantum entanglement II: It from BC-bit: In this note, we describe how collections of arbitrary numbers of \"BC-bits,\"\ndistinct non-interacting quantum systems each consisting of a holographic\nboundary conformal field theory (BCFT), can be placed in multipartite entangled\nstates in order to encode single connected bulk spacetimes that approximate\ngeometries dual to holographic CFT states. The BC-bit version of a holographic\nCFT state corresponds to a geometry that can be made arbitrarily similar to the\nassociated CFT-state geometry within a \"causal diamond\" region defined by\npoints that are spacelike separated from the boundary time slice at which the\nstate is defined. These holographic multi BC-bit states can be well-represented\nby tensor networks in which the individual tensors are associated with states\nof small numbers of BC-bits."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Higher-Order Differential Operators on a Lie Group and Quantization: This talk is devoted mainly to the concept of higher-order polarization on a\ngroup, which is introduced in the framework of a Group Approach to\nQuantization, as a powerful tool to guarantee the irreducibility of\nquantizations and/or representations of Lie groups in those anomalous cases\nwhere the Kostant-Kirilov co-adjoint method or the Borel-Weyl-Bott\nrepresentation algorithm do not succeed.",
        "positive": "Continuous-spin field propagator and interaction with matter: Action principles for the single and double valued continuous-spin\nrepresentations of the Poincare group have been recently proposed in a\nSegal-like formulation. We address three related issues: First, we explain how\nto obtain these actions directly from the Fronsdal-like and Fang-Fronsdal-like\nequations by solving the traceless constraints in Fourier space. Second, we\nintroduce a current, similar to the one of Berends, Burgers and Van Dam, which\nis bilinear in a pair of scalar matter fields, to which the bosonic\ncontinuous-spin field can couple minimally. Third, we investigate the current\nexchange mediated by a continuous-spin particle obtained from this action\nprinciple and investigate whether it propagates the right degrees of freedom,\nand whether it reproduces the known result for massless higher-spin fields in\nthe helicity limit."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Tensor calculus for supergravity on a manifold with boundary: Using the simple setting of 3D N=1 supergravity, we show how the tensor\ncalculus of supergravity can be extended to manifolds with boundary. We present\nan extension of the standard F-density formula which yields supersymmetric\nbulk-plus-boundary actions. To construct additional separately supersymmetric\nboundary actions, we decompose bulk supergravity and bulk matter multiplets\ninto co-dimension one submultiplets. As an illustration we obtain the\nsupersymmetric extension of the York-Gibbons-Hawking extrinsic curvature\nboundary term. We emphasize that our construction does not require any boundary\nconditions on off-shell fields. This gives a significant improvement over the\nexisting orbifold supergravity tensor calculus.",
        "positive": "On the Construction of Asymmetric Orbifold Models: Various asymmetric orbifold models based on chiral shifts and chiral\nreflections are investigated. Special attention is devoted to the consistency\nof the models with two fundamental principles for asymmetric orbifolds :\nmodular invariance and the existence of a proper Hilbert space formulation for\nstates and operators. The interplay between these two principles is\nnon-trivial. It is shown, for example, that their simultaneous requirement\nforces the order of a chiral reflection to be 4, instead of the naive 2. A\ncareful explicit construction is given of the associated one-loop partition\nfunctions. At higher loops, the partition functions of asymmetric orbifolds are\nbuilt from the chiral blocks of associated symmetric orbifolds, whose pairings\nare determined by degenerations to one-loop."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Mechanism to control the internal structure of thick brane: In this work we study braneworlds generated by several scalar fields. The\ninvestigation describes the necessary formalism to examine models and evaluate\nthe conditions for the stability of the gravitational sector under linear\nperturbations. In particular, we develop a mechanism that help us investigate\ndistinct situations controlled by two and by three fields, focusing on how the\nfields can be used to modify the internal structure of the brane.",
        "positive": "Rigorous path integrals for supersymmetric quantum mechanics: completing\n  the path integral proof of the index theorem: Many introductory courses in quantum mechanics include Feynman's time-slicing\ndefinition of the path integral, with a complete derivation of the propagator\nin the simplest of cases. However, attempts to generalize this, for instance to\nnon-quadratic potentials, encounter formidable analytic issues in showing the\nsuccessive approximations in fact converge to a definite expression for the\npath integral. The present work describes how to carry out the analysis for a\nclass of Lagrangians broad enough to include the evolution, in imaginary time,\nof spinors constrained to live on a Riemannian manifold. For these Lagrangians,\nthe successive time-slicing approximations converge. The limit provides a\ndefinition of the path integral which agrees with the imaginary-time Feynman\npropagator. With this as the definition, the steepest-descent approximation to\nthe path integral for twisted $N=1/2$ supersymmetric quantum mechanics is\nprovably correct. These results complete a new proof of the Atiyah-Singer index\ntheorem for the twisted Dirac operator."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Timelike Boundary Liouville Theory: The timelike boundary Liouville (TBL) conformal field theory consisting of a\nnegative norm boson with an exponential boundary interaction is considered. TBL\nand its close cousin, a positive norm boson with a non-hermitian boundary\ninteraction, arise in the description of the $c=1$ accumulation point of $c<1$\nminimal models, as the worldsheet description of open string tachyon\ncondensation in string theory and in scaling limits of superconductors with\nline defects. Bulk correlators are shown to be exactly soluble. In contrast,\ndue to OPE singularities near the boundary interaction, the computation of\nboundary correlators is a challenging problem which we address but do not fully\nsolve. Analytic continuation from the known correlators of spatial boundary\nLiouville to TBL encounters an infinite accumulation of poles and zeros. A\nparticular contour prescription is proposed which cancels the poles against the\nzeros in the boundary correlator $d(\\o) $ of two operators of weight $\\o^2$ and\nyields a finite result. A general relation is proposed between two-point CFT\ncorrelators and stringy Bogolubov coefficients, according to which the\nmagnitude of $d(\\o)$ determines the rate of open string pair creation during\ntachyon condensation. The rate so obtained agrees at large $\\o$ with a\nminisuperspace analysis of previous work. It is suggested that the mathematical\nambiguity arising in the prescription for analytic continuation of the\ncorrelators corresponds to the physical ambiguity in the choice of open string\nmodes and vacua in a time dependent background.",
        "positive": "A class of Calabi-Yau threefolds as manifolds of SU(2) structure: A class of abelian fibered Calabi-Yau threefolds X_{m,n} is shown yield SU(2)\nstructure, in addition to the standard SU(3) holonomy. Compactification of type\nII string theory on a manifold in this class give a 4D effective supergravity\ntheory in which the topology spontaneously breaks N=4 to N=2 supersymmetry. The\nbreaking occurs at a scale hierarchically lower than the compactification scale\nwhen the P^1 base is large compared to the T^4 fiber. We analyze the moduli\nspace of SU(2) structure metrics of the N=4 theory and its restriction to the\nmoduli space of Calabi-Yau metrics of the N=2 theory, showing that the latter\nagrees with the expectation computed from triple intersection numbers in the\nclassical limit. Finally, we analyze the twisted cohomology ring associated\nwith the SU(2) structure of X_{m,n} and show that the breaking of N=4 to N=2 is\nconveniently summarized in the lifting cohomology classes as one passes to the\nstandard cohomology ring, with massive modes persisting as torsion classes when\nthe coupling is nonminimal. The analysis is facilitated by the existence of\nexplicit first-order metrics obtained by classical supergravity dualities."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Unfolding Mixed-Symmetry Fields in AdS and the BMV Conjecture: I.\n  General Formalism: We present some generalities of unfolded on-shell dynamics that are useful in\nanalysing the BMV conjecture for mixed-symmetry fields in constantly curved\nbackgrounds. In particular we classify the Lorentz-covariant Harish-Chandra\nmodules generated from primary Weyl tensors of arbitrary mass and shape, and in\nbackgrounds with general values of the cosmological constant. We also discuss\nthe unfolded notion of local degrees of freedom in theories with and without\ngravity and with and without massive deformation parameters, using the language\nof Weyl zero-form modules and their duals.",
        "positive": "Two signs of a Schwinger term in a commutator of fermionic currents: We consider central extensions of two dimensional abelian current algebra and\nVirasoro algebra and see that the sign of the Schwinger term changes if we\narrange the Fourier modes of the fermion in the commutator in the order\nopposite to the normal. We argue that this is permissible in the case of\nfermions, but not in the case of bosons."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Infinite Black Hole Entropies at Infinite Distances and Tower of States: The aim of this paper is to elucidate a close connection between the black\nhole area law and the infinite distance conjecture in the context of the\nswampland. We consider families of black hole geometries, parametrized by their\nevent horizon areas or by the values of their entropies, and show that the\ninfinite entropy limit is always at infinite distance in the space of black\nhole geometries. It then follows from the infinite distance conjecture that\nthere must be a tower of states in the infinite entropy limit, and that\nignoring these towers on the horizon of the black hole would invalidate the\neffective theory when the entropy becomes large. We call this the black hole\nentropy distance conjecture. We then study two candidates for the tower of\nstates. The first are the Kaluza-Klein modes of the internal geometry of\nextremal ${\\cal N}=2$ black holes in string theory, whose masses on the horizon\nare fixed by the ${\\cal N}=2$ attractor formalism, and given in terms of the\nblack hole charges similarly to the entropy. However, we observe that it is\npossible to decouple their masses from the entropy, so that they cannot\ngenerically play the role of the tower. We thus consider a second kind of\nstates: inspired by N-portrait quantum models of non-extremal black holes, we\nargue that the Goldstone-like modes that interpolate among the black hole\nmicrostates behave like the expected light tower of states.",
        "positive": "Generalized Conformal and Superconformal Group Actions and Jordan\n  Algebras: We study the conformal groups of Jordan algebras along the lines suggested by\nKantor. They provide a natural generalization of the concept of conformal\ntransformations that leave 2-angles invariant to spaces where \"p-angles\" can be\ndefined. We give an oscillator realization of the generalized conformal groups\nof Jordan algebras and Jordan triple systems(JTS). These results are extended\nto Jordan superalgebras and super JTS's. We give the conformal algebras of\nsimple Jordan algebras, hermitian JTS's and the simple Jordan superalgebras as\nclassified by Kac."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Vortex Pairs in Charged Fluids: The motion of a vortex-(anti)vortex pair is studied numerically in the\nframework of a dynamical Ginzburg-Landau model, relevant to the description of\na superconductor or of an idealized bosonic plasma. It is shown that up to a\nfine \"cyclotron\" internal motion, also studied in detail, two vortices brought\ntogether, rotate around each other, while a vortex and an antivortex move in\nformation parallel to each other. The velocities of the vortices in both cases\nare measured to be in remarkable agreement with recent theoretical predictions,\ndown to intervortex distances as small as their characteristic diameter.",
        "positive": "A Review of Distributions on the String Landscape: We review some basic flux vacua counting techniques and results, focusing on\nthe distributions of properties over different regions of the landscape of\nstring vacua and assessing the phenomenological implications. The topics we\ndiscuss include: an overview of how moduli are stabilized and how vacua are\ncounted; the applicability of effective field theory; the uses of and\ndifferences between probabilistic and statistical analysis (and the relation to\nthe anthropic principle); the distribution of various parameters on the\nlandscape, including cosmological constant, gauge group rank, and SUSY-breaking\nscale; \"friendly landscapes\"; open string moduli; the (in)finiteness of the\nnumber of phenomenologically viable vacua; etc. At all points, we attempt to\nconnect this study to the phenomenology of vacua which are experimentally\nviable."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Coupling NEC-Violating Matter to Gravity: We show that effective theories of matter that classically violate the null\nenergy condition cannot be minimally coupled to Einstein gravity without being\ninconsistent with both string theory and black hole thermodynamics. We argue\nhowever that they could still be either non-minimally coupled or coupled to\nhigher-curvature theories of gravity.",
        "positive": "Unoriented 3d TFTs: This paper generalizes two facts about oriented 3d TFTs to the unoriented\ncase. On one hand, it is known that oriented 3d TFTs having a topological\nboundary condition admit a state-sum construction known as the Turaev-Viro\nconstruction. This is related to the string-net construction of fermionic\nphases of matter. We show how Turaev-Viro construction can be generalized to\nunoriented 3d TFTs. On the other hand, it is known that the \"fermionic\"\nversions of oriented TFTs, known as Spin-TFTs, can be constructed in terms of\n\"shadow\" TFTs which are ordinary oriented TFTs with an anomalous $\\mathbb{Z}_2$\n1-form symmetry. We generalize this correspondence to Pin$^+$-TFTs by showing\nthat they can be constructed in terms of ordinary unoriented TFTs with\nanomalous $\\mathbb{Z}_2$ 1-form symmetry having a mixed anomaly with\ntime-reversal symmetry. The corresponding Pin$^+$-TFT does not have any anomaly\nfor time-reversal symmetry however and hence it can be unambiguously defined on\na non-orientable manifold. In case a Pin$^+$-TFT admits a topological boundary\ncondition, one can combine the above two statements to obtain a\nTuraev-Viro-like construction of Pin$^+$-TFTs. As an application of these\nideas, we construct a large class of Pin$^+$-SPT phases."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Battle of the Bulge: Decay of the Thin, False Cosmic String: We consider the decay of cosmic strings that are trapped in the false vacuum\nin a theory of scalar electrodynamics in 3+1 dimensions. We restrict our\nanalysis to the case of thin-walled cosmic strings which occur when large\nmagnetic flux trapped inside the string. Thus the string looks like a tube of\nfixed radius, at which it is classically stable. The core of the string\ncontains magnetic flux in the true vacuum, while outside the string, separated\nby a thin wall, is the false vacuum. The string decays by tunnelling to a\nconfiguration which is represented by a bulge, where the region of true vacuum\nwithin, is ostensibly enlarged. The bulge can be described as the meeting, of a\nkink soliton anti-soliton pair, along the length of the string. It can be\ndescribed as a bulge appearing in the initial string, starting from the string\nof small, classically stable radius, expanding to a fat string of large,\nclassically unstable (to expansion) radius and then returning back to the\nstring of small radius along its length. This configuration is the bounce point\nof a corresponding O(2) symmetric instanton, which we can determine\nnumerically. Once the bulge appears it explodes in real time. The kink soliton\nanti-soliton pair recede from each other along the length of the string with a\nvelocity that quickly approaches the speed of light, leaving behind a fat tube.\nAt the same time the radius of the fat tube that is being formed, expands\n(transversely) as it is no longer classically stable, converting false vacuum\nto the true vacuum with ever diluting magnetic field within. The rate of this\nexpansion is determined by the energy difference between the true vacuum and\nthe false vacuum. Our analysis could be applied to a network, of cosmic strings\nformed in the very early universe or vortex lines in a superheated\nsuperconductor.",
        "positive": "Renormalization group analysis of cosmological constraint on the mass of\n  Higgs scalar: The Higgs boson of Standard Model, minimally coupled to the gravitation, is\nnot able to produce the inflation of early Universe if its mass exceeds the\nthreshold value, which is equal to m_H^{min} = 142 GeV in the tree\napproximation for the scalar potential. Two-loop corrections modify the\nestimate as m_H^{min} = 150 \\pm 3 GeV, so that higher-order corrections of\nperturbation theory are completely under control, though they are numerically\nimportant in respect of experimental searches."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Renormalization group flow equations from the 4PI equations of motion: The 4PI effective action provides a a hierarchy of integral equations which\nhave the form of Bethe-Salpeter equations. The vertex functions obtained from\nthese equations can be used to truncate the exact renormalization group flow\nequations. This truncation has the property that the flow is a total derivative\nwith respect to the flow parameter and is equivalent to solving the nPI\nequations of motion. This result establishes a direct connection between two\nnon-perturbative methods.",
        "positive": "The Cheshire Cap: A key role in black hole dynamics is played by the inner horizon; most of the\nentropy of a slightly nonextremal charged or rotating black hole is carried\nthere, and the covariant entropy bound suggests that the rest lies in the\nregion between the inner and outer horizon. An attempt to match this onto\nresults of the microstate geometries program suggests that a `Higgs branch' of\nunderlying long string states of the configuration space realizes the degrees\nof freedom on the inner horizon, while the `Coulomb branch' describes the\ninter-horizon region and beyond. Support for this proposal comes from an\nanalysis of the way singularities develop in microstate geometries, and their\nclose analogy to corresponding structures in fivebrane dynamics. These\nsingularities signal the opening up of the long string degrees of freedom of\nthe theory, which are partly visible from the geometry side. A conjectural\npicture of the black hole interior is proposed, wherein the long string degrees\nof freedom resolve the geometrical singularity on the inner horizon, yet are\nsufficiently nonlocal to communicate information to the outer horizon and\nbeyond."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Axion Inflation in Type II String Theory: Inflationary models driven by a large number of axion fields are discussed in\nthe context of type IIB compactifications with N=1 supersymmetry. The inflatons\narise as the scalar modes of the R-R two-forms evaluated on vanishing\ntwo-cycles in the compact geometry. The vanishing cycles are resolved by small\ntwo-volumes or NS-NS B-fields which sit together with the inflatons in the same\nsupermultiplets. String world-sheets wrapping the vanishing cycles correct the\nmetric of the R-R inflatons. They can help to generate kinetic terms close to\nthe Planck scale and a mass hierarchy between the axions and their non-axionic\npartners during inflation. At small string coupling, D-brane corrections are\nsubleading in the metric of the R-R inflatons. However, an axion potential can\nbe generated by D1 instantons or gaugino condensates on D5 branes. Models with\nsufficiently large number of axions admit regions of chaotic inflation which\ncan stretch over the whole axion field range for potentials from gaugino\ncondensates. These models could allow for a possibly detectable amount of\ngravitational waves with tensor to scalar ratio as high as r<0.14.",
        "positive": "Supergravity solitons and non-perturbative superstrings: A review is given of the implications of supersymmetric black holes for the\nnon-perturbative formulation of toroidally compactified superstrings, with\nparticular emphasis on symmetry enhancement at special vacua and S-duality of\nthe heterotic string."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Local particle-ghost symmetry: We study the quantization of systems with local particle-ghost symmetries.\nThe systems contain ordinary particles including gauge bosons and their\ncounterparts obeying different statistics. The particle-ghost symmetry is a\nkind of fermionic symmetry, different from the space-time supersymmetry and the\nBRST symmetry. Subsidiary conditions on states guarantee the unitarity of\nsystems.",
        "positive": "On Half-BPS States of the ABJM Theory: We analyze SU(2) invariant half-BPS states of the 3d \\cN=8 or \\cN=6 SCFT\nwithin the radial quantization of the ABJM theory, the theory proposed to\ndescribe N M2-branes in the R^3x C^4/Z_k background. After studying the\nclassical moduli space of these configurations, we explicitly construct a set\nof gauge invariant operators involving 't Hooft monopole operators\ncorresponding to these states. We show there is a one--to--one correspondence\nbetween the two sets carrying R-charge J and that they are labeled by Young\ntableaux of J boxes with a maximum of N rows. Restricting the full path\nintegral to this half-BPS sector of the theory, we show the latter is described\nin terms of N fermions in a 2d harmonic potential in the sector of vanishing\nangular momentum. The same classification, though in the N to infinity limit,\narise from the plane-wave (BMN) Matrix theory as well as the 11 dimensional LLM\nbubbling geometries, providing supportive evidence for the ABJM theory and/or\nthe Matrix model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On a class of gauge theories: We give a framework to describe gauge theory in which a nonassociative\nMoufang loop takes the place of the structure group. The structure of such\ngauge theory has many formal similarities with that of Yang-Mills theory. We\nextend the gauge invariance to this theory and construct an on-shell version of\nN=1 supersymmetric gauge theory.",
        "positive": "On Noncommutative Open String Theories: We investigate new compactifications of OM theory giving rise to a 3+1\ndimensional open string theory with noncommutative $x^0$-$x^1$ and $x^2$-$x^3$\ncoordinates. The theory can be directly obtained by starting with a D3 brane\nwith parallel (near critical) electric and magnetic field components, in the\npresence of a RR scalar field. The magnetic parameter permits to interpolate\ncontinuously between the $x^0$-$x^1$ noncommutative open string theory and the\n$x^2$-$x^3$ spatial noncommutative U(N) super Yang-Mills theory. We discuss\n$SL(2,Z)$ transformations of this theory. Using the supergravity description of\nthe large $N$ limit, we also compute corrections to the quark-antiquark Coulomb\npotential arising in the NCOS theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Krylov complexity of modular Hamiltonian evolution: We investigate the complexity of states and operators evolved with the\nmodular Hamiltonian by using the Krylov basis. In the first part, we formulate\nthe problem for states and analyse different examples, including quantum\nmechanics, two-dimensional conformal field theories and random modular\nHamiltonians, focusing on relations with the entanglement spectrum. We find\nthat the modular Lanczos spectrum provides a different approach to quantum\nentanglement, opening new avenues in many-body systems and holography. In the\nsecond part, we focus on the modular evolution of operators and states excited\nby local operators in two-dimensional conformal field theories. We find that,\nat late modular time, the spread complexity is universally governed by the\nmodular Lyapunov exponent $\\lambda^{mod}_L=2\\pi$ and is proportional to the\nlocal temperature of the modular Hamiltonian. Our analysis provides explicit\nexamples where entanglement entropy is indeed not enough, however the\nentanglement spectrum is, and encodes the same information as complexity.",
        "positive": "One-loop integrand from generalised scattering equations: Generalised bi-adjoint scalar amplitudes, obtained from integrations over\nmoduli space of punctured $\\mathbb{CP}^{k-1}$, are novel extensions of the CHY\nformalism. These amplitudes have realisations in terms of Grassmannian cluster\nalgebras. Recently connections between one-loop integrands for bi-adjoint cubic\nscalar theory and $\\mathcal{D}_n$ cluster polytope have been established. In\nthis paper using the $\\text{Gr}\\left(3,6\\right)$ cluster algebra, we relate the\nsingularities of $\\left(3,6\\right)$ amplitude to four-point one-loop integrand\nin the bi-adjoint cubic scalar theory through the $\\mathcal{D}_{4}$ cluster\npolytope. We also study factorisation properties of the $(3,6)$ amplitude at\nvarious boundaries in the worldsheet."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Kicking the Rugby Ball: Perturbations of 6D Gauged Chiral Supergravity: We analyze the axially-symmetric scalar perturbations of 6D chiral gauged\nsupergravity compactified on the general warped geometries in the presence of\ntwo source branes. We find all of the conical geometries are marginally stable\nfor normalizable perturbations (in disagreement with some recent calculations)\nand the nonconical for regular perturbations, even though none of them are\nsupersymmetric (apart from the trivial Salam-Sezgin solution, for which there\nare no source branes). The marginal direction is the one whose presence is\nrequired by the classical scaling property of the field equations, and all\nother modes have positive squared mass. In the special case of the conical\nsolutions, including (but not restricted to) the unwarped `rugby-ball'\nsolutions, we find closed-form expressions for the mode functions in terms of\nLegendre and Hypergeometric functions. In so doing we show how to match the\nasymptotic near-brane form for the solution to the physics of the source\nbranes, and thereby how to physically interpret perturbations which can be\nsingular at the brane positions.",
        "positive": "Wilson loops, $q \\bar{q}$ and $3 q$ potentials, Bethe--Salpeter equation: The derivation of the $ q \\bar q $ and the $ 3q $ potential for two dynamical\nquarks in a Wilson--loop context is reviewed. Some improvements are introduced.\nOnly the usual assumptions in the evaluation of the Wilson loop integrals and\nexpansions in the quark velocities are required for the result. It is shown\nthat under the same assumptions it is possible to obtain the relativistic\nflux--tube lagrangian and a $ q \\bar{q}$ Bethe--Salpeter equation with a\nconfining kernel for spinless quarks. IFUM 482/FT"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Large Mass Invariant Asymptotics of the Effective Action: We study the large mass asymptotics of the Dirac operator with a\nnondegenerate mass matrix m={diag}(m_1,m_2,m_3) in the presence of scalar and\npseudoscalar background fields taking values in the Lie algebra of the U(3)\ngroup. The corresponding one-loop effective action is regularized by the\nSchwinger's proper-time technique. Using a well-known operator identity, we\nobtain a series representation for the heat kernel which differs from the\nstandard proper-time expansion, if m_1\\ne m_2\\ne m_3. After integrating over\nthe proper-time we use a new algorithm to resum the series. The invariant\ncoefficients which define the asymptotics of the effective action are\ncalculated up to the fourth order and compared with the related Seeley-DeWitt\ncoefficients for the particular case of a degenerate mass matrix with\nm_1=m_2=m_3.",
        "positive": "Conformal field theory of the integer quantum Hall plateau transition: A solution to the long-standing problem of identifying the conformal field\ntheory governing the transition between quantized Hall plateaus of a disordered\nnoninteracting 2d electron gas, is proposed. The theory is a nonlinear sigma\nmodel with a Wess-Zumino-Novikov-Witten term, and fields taking values in a\nRiemannian symmetric superspace based on H^3 x S^3. Essentially the same\nconformal field theory appeared in very recent work on string propagation in\nAdS_3 backgrounds. We explain how the proposed theory manages to obey a number\nof tight constraints, two of which are constancy of the partition function and\nnoncriticality of the local density of states. An unexpected feature is the\nexistence of a truly marginal deformation, restricting the extent to which\nuniversality can hold in critical quantum Hall systems. The marginal coupling\nis fixed by matching the short-distance singularity of the conductance between\ntwo interior contacts to the classical conductivity sigma_xx = 1/2 of the\nChalker-Coddington network model. For this value, perturbation theory predicts\na critical exponent 2/pi for the typical point-contact conductance, in\nagreement with numerical simulations. The irrational exponent is tolerated by\nthe fact that the symmetry algebra of the field theory is Virasoro but not\naffine Lie algebraic."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Renormalization of the quantum chromodynamics with massive gluons: In our previously published papers, it was proved that the chromodynamics\nwith massive gluons can well be set up on the gauge-invariance principle. The\nquantization of the chromodynamics was perfectly performed in the both of\nHamiltonian and Lagrangian path-integral formalisms by using the Lagrangian\nundetermined multiplier method. In this paper, It is shown that the quantum\ntheory is invariant with respect to a kind of BRST-transformations. From the\nBRST-invariance of the theory, the Ward-Takahashi identities satisfied by the\ngenerating functionals of full Green functions, connected Green functions and\nproper vertex functions are successively derived. As an application of the\nabove Ward-Takahashi identities, the Ward-Takahashi identities obeyed by the\nmassive gluon and ghost particle propagators and various proper vertices are\nderived and based on these identities, the propagators and vertices are\nperfectly renormalized. Especially, as a result of the renormalization, the\nSlavnov-Taylor identity satisfied by renormalization constants is natually\ndeduced. To demonstrate the renormalizability of the theory, the one-loop\nrenormalization of the theory is carried out by means of the mass-dependent\nmomentum space subtraction scheme and the renormalization group approach,\ngiving an exact one-loop effective coupling constant and one-loop effective\ngluon and quark masses which show the asymptotically free behaviors as the same\nas those given in the quantum chromodynamics with massless gluons.",
        "positive": "Rational CFT With Three Characters: The Quasi-Character Approach: Quasi-characters are vector-valued modular functions having an integral, but\nnot necessarily positive, q-expansion. Using modular differential equations, a\ncomplete classification has been provided in arXiv:1810.09472 for the case of\ntwo characters. These in turn generate all possible admissible characters, of\narbitrary Wronskian index, in order two. Here we initiate a study of the\nthree-character case. We conjecture several infinite families of\nquasi-characters and show in examples that their linear combinations an\ngenerate admissible characters with arbitrarily large Wronskian index. The\nstructure is completely different from the order two case, and the novel coset\nconstruction of arXiv:1602.01022 plays a key role in discovering the\nappropriate families. Using even unimodular lattices, we construct some\nexplicit three-character CFT corresponding to the new admissible characters."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Analytic Bethe Ansatz and Baxter equations for long-range psl(2|2) spin\n  chain: We study the largest particle-number-preserving sector of the dilatation\noperator in maximally supersymmetric gauge theory. After exploring one-loop\nBethe Ansatze for the underlying spin chain with psl(2|2) symmetry for simple\nroot systems related to several Kac-Dynkin diagrams, we use the analytic Bethe\nAnzats to construct eigenvalues of transfer matrices with finite-dimensional\natypical representations in the auxiliary space. We derive closed Baxter\nequations for eigenvalues of nested Baxter operators. We extend these\nconsiderations for a non-distinguished root system with FBBF grading to all\norders of perturbation theory in 't Hooft coupling. We construct generating\nfunctions for all transfer matrices with auxiliary space determined by Young\nsupertableaux (1^a) and (s) and find determinant formulas for transfer matrices\nwith auxiliary spaces corresponding to skew Young supertableaux. The latter\nyields fusion relations for transfer matrices with auxiliary space\ncorresponding to representations labelled by square Young supertableaux. We\nderive asymptotic Baxter equations which determine spectra of anomalous\ndimensions of composite Wilson operators in noncompact psl(2|2) subsector of\nN=4 super-Yang-Mills theory.",
        "positive": "Short-distance analysis for algebraic euclidean field theory: Recently D. Buchholz and R. Verch have proposed a method for implementing in\nalgebraic quantum field theory ideas from renormalization group analysis of\nshort-distance (high energy) behavior by passing to certain scaling limit\ntheories. Buchholz and Verch distinguish between different types of theories\nwhere the limit is unique, degenerate, or classical, and the method allows in\nprinciple to extract the `ultraparticle' content of a given model, i.e. to\nidentify particles (like quarks and gluons) that are not visible at finite\ndistances due to `confinement'. It is therefore of great importance for the\nphysical interpretation of the theory. The method has been illustrated in a\nsimple model in with some rather surprising results.\n  This paper will focus on the question how the short distance behavior of\nmodels defined by euclidean means is reflected in the corresponding behavior of\ntheir Minkowski counterparts. More specifically, we shall prove that if a\neuclidean theory has some short distance limit, then it is possible to pass\nfrom this limit theory to a theory on Minkowski space, which is a short\ndistance limit of the Minkowski space theory corresponding to the original\neuclidean theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The S-matrix and ghost fields in quantum Yang-Mills gravity: The S-matrix in quantum Yang-Mills gravity with translation gauge symmetry in\nflat space-time is investigated. We obtain the generating functional of Green's\nfunctions, i.e., the vacuum-to-vacuum amplitude, for Yang-Mills gravity. The\nunitarity and gauge invariance of the S-matrix in a class of gauge conditions\nis preserved by massless ghost vector fields.",
        "positive": "Cosmology of strongly interacting fermions in the early universe: In view of growing interest in long range scalar forces in the early universe\nto generate primordial black holes, we study in detail the general relativistic\nformulation of a Fermi gas interacting with a scalar field in cosmology. Our\nmain finding is that the Yukawa interaction leads to a solution where the\nscalar field oscillates around zero fermion mass and all energy densities decay\nas radiation. On one hand, we show that if the Fermi gas starts relativistic,\nit could stay relativistic. On the other hand, if the fermions are initially\nnon-relativistic, they remain non-relativistic for all practical purposes. We\nfind that in both cases the energy density of the fermions and the scalar field\ndecays as radiation. In the non-relativistic case, this is due to an\noscillating and decaying effective mass. Such background dynamics questions\nwhether there is a substantial enhancement of the fermion density fluctuations\nin the non-relativistic case. Our work can be easily extended to more general\nfield dependent fermion mass. The analysis of the cosmological perturbations\nwill be presented in a follow-up work."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-Local Massive Gravity: We present a non-local generalization of three-dimensional New Massive\nGravity. This ``Non Local Massive Gravity'' is obtained from a top-down\nconstruction as the gravitational theory induced by Einstein gravity on a brane\ninserted in Anti-de Sitter space modified by an overall minus sign. The theory\ninvolves an infinite series of increasingly complicated higher-derivative\ncorrections to the Einstein-Hilbert action. We obtain an analytic formula for\nthe quadratic action of NLMG and show that its linearized spectrum consists of\nan infinite tower of positive-energy massive spin-2 modes. We compute the\nNewtonian potential and show that the introduction of the infinite series of\nterms makes it behave as $\\sim 1/r$ at short distances, as opposed to the\nlogarithmic behavior encountered when the series is truncated at any finite\norder. We use this and input from brane-world holography to argue that the\ntheory may contain asymptotically flat black hole solutions.",
        "positive": "Anomalous dimensions of monopole operators in scalar QED$_3$ with\n  Chern-Simons term: We study monopole operators with the lowest possible topological charge\n$q=1/2$ at the infrared fixed point of scalar electrodynamics in $2+1$\ndimension (scalar QED$_3$) with $N$ complex scalars and Chern-Simons coupling\n$|k|=N$. In the large $N$ expansion, monopole operators in this theory with\nspins $\\ell<O(\\sqrt{N})$ and associated flavor representations are expected to\nhave the same scaling dimension to sub-leading order in $1/N$. We use the\nstate-operator correspondence to calculate the scaling dimension to sub-leading\norder with the result $N-0.2789+O(1/N)$, which improves on existing leading\norder results. We also compute the $\\ell^2/N$ term that breaks the degeneracy\nto sub-leading order for monopoles with spins $\\ell=O(\\sqrt{N})$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quasi-relativistic fermions and dynamical flavour oscillations: We introduce new Lorentz-symmetry violating kinematics for a four-fermion\ninteraction model, where dynamical mass generation is allowed, irrespectively\nof the strength of the coupling. In addition, these kinematics lead to a\nquasi-relativistic dispersion relation, in the sense that it is relativistic in\nboth the infrared and the ultraviolet, but not in an intermediate regime,\ncharacterized by the mass $M$. For two fermions, we show that a flavour-mixing\nmass matrix is generated dynamically, and the Lorentz symmetric limit\n$M\\to\\infty$ leads to two free relativistic fermions, with flavour\noscillations. This model, valid for either Dirac or Majorana fermions, can\ndescribe any set of phenomenological values for the eigen masses and the mixing\nangle.",
        "positive": "On Calabi-Yau supermanifolds II: We study when Calabi-Yau supermanifolds M(1|2) with one complex bosonic\ncoordinate and two complex fermionic coordinates are super Ricci-flat, and find\nthat if the bosonic manifold is compact, it must have constant scalar\ncurvature."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Emergent symmetries at criticality in multi field RFT/DP: We study multifield extensions of Reggeon Field Theory (also equivalent to\nDirected Percolation model) at criticality in the perturbative\nepsilon-expansion below the upper critical dimension Dc=4 at one loop, for the\nspecial case when all fields have the same scale (anomalous) dimensions.\nAnalyzing all the fixed points of the renormalization group flow for N=2\nflavors and some for N=3, we find scale invariant solutions which are\ncharacterized by specific emergent global symmetries of the interacting\npotential. We also study two infinite families as a function of N having Z_N\nand S_{N+1} symmetries.",
        "positive": "On the rational solutions of the su(2)_k Knizhnik-Zamolodchikov equation: We present some new results on the rational solutions of the\nKnizhnik-Zamolodchikov equation for the four-point conformal blocks of isospin\nI primary fields in the SU(2)_k Wess-Zumino-Novikov-Witten model. The rational\nsolutions corresponding to integrable representations of the affine algebra\nsu(2)_k have been classified by Michel, Stanev and Todorov; provided that the\nconformal dimension is an integer, they are in one-to-one correspondence with\nthe local extensions of the chiral algebra. Here we give another description of\nthese solutions as specific braid-invariant combinations of the so called\nregular basis and display a new series of rational solutions for isospins I =\nk+1 corresponding to non-integrable representations of the affine algebra."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "All timelike supersymmetric solutions of three-dimensional half-maximal\n  supergravity: We first classify all supersymmetric solutions of the 3-dimensional\nhalf-maximal ungauged supergravity that possess a timelike Killing vector\ncoming from the Killing spinor bilinear by considering their identification\nunder the complexification of the local symmetry of the theory. It is found\nthat only solutions that preserve $16/2^n, 1 \\leq n \\leq 3$ real\nsupersymmetries are allowed. We then classify supersymmetric solutions under\nthe real local symmetry of the theory and we are able to solve the equations of\nmotion for all of them. It is shown that all such solutions can be expressed as\na direct sum of solutions of the integrable Liouville and SU(3) Toda systems.\nThis completes the construction of all supersymmetric solutions of the model\nsince the null case has already been solved.",
        "positive": "Four-point functions in N=2 superconformal field theories: Four-point correlation functions of hypermultiplet bilinear composites are\nanalysed in N=2 superconformal field theory using the superconformal Ward\nidentities and the analyticity properties of the composite operator\nsuperfields. It is shown that the complete amplitude is determined by a single\narbitrary function of the two conformal cross-ratios of the space-time\nvariables."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Violation of the Holographic Viscosity Bound in a Strongly Coupled\n  Anisotropic Plasma: We study the conductivity and shear viscosity tensors of a strongly coupled\nN=4 super-Yang-Mills plasma which is kept anisotropic by a theta parameter that\ndepends linearly on one of the spatial dimensions. Its holographic dual is\ngiven by an anisotropic axion-dilaton-gravity background and has recently been\nproposed by Mateos and Trancanelli as a model for the pre-equilibrium stage of\nquark-gluon plasma in heavy-ion collisions. By applying the membrane paradigm\nwhich we also check by numerical evaluation of Kubo formula and lowest lying\nquasinormal modes, we find that the shear viscosity purely transverse to the\ndirection of anisotropy saturates the holographic viscosity bound, whereas\nlongitudinal shear viscosities are smaller, providing the first such example\nnot involving higher-derivative theories of gravity and, more importantly, with\nfully known gauge-gravity correspondence.",
        "positive": "Supermembranes in curved superspace and near-horizon geometries: We give a description of supermembranes in nontrivial target-space\ngeometries. A special class are the $AdS_4\\times S^7$ and $AdS_7\\times S^4$\nspaces that have the maximal number of 32 supersymmetries."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Least-action principle and path-integral for classical mechanics: In this paper we show how the equations of motion of a superfield, which\nmakes its appearance in a path-integral approach to classical mechanics, can be\nderived without the need of the least-action principle",
        "positive": "Functional Integral in terms of the Field Strength: An Approach to\n  Chiral Symmetry Breaking: The chiral symmetry breaking in the 4-dimensional QED with the chirally\ninvariant four-fermion interaction is discussed by using a novel path integral\nexpression in terms of the field-strength tensor. In the local potential\napproximation, we find that the chiral symmetry is spontaneously broken for any\nnonzero gauge and four-fermion couplings on the tree level of an auxiliary\nfield $\\sigma$. The present approach allows us to easily include higher orders\nof the gauge coupling so that the effective potential up to the sixth order is\nobtained."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Complexity and Emergence of Warped $\\text{AdS}_3$ Space-time from Chiral\n  Liouville Action: In this work we explore the complexity path integral optimization process for\nthe case of warped $\\text{AdS}_3$/warped $\\text{CFT}_2$ correspondence. We\nfirst present the specific renormalization flow equations and analyze the\ndifferences with the case of CFT. We discuss how the \"chiral Liouville action\"\ncould replace the Liouville action as the suitable cost function for this case.\nStarting from the other side of the story, we also show how the deformed\nLiouville actions could be derived from the spacelike, timelike and null warped\nmetrics and how the behaviors of boundary topological terms creating these\nmetrics, versus the deformation parameter are consistent with our expectations.\nAs the main results of this work, we develop many holographic tools for the\ncase of warped $\\text{AdS}_3$, which include the tensor network structure for\nthe chiral warped CFTs, entangler function, surface/state correspondence,\nquantum circuits of Kac-Moody algebra and kinematic space of WAdS/WCFTs. In\naddition, we discuss how and why the path-integral complexity should be\ngeneralized and propose several other examples such as Polyakov, p-adic strings\nand Zabrodin actions as the more suitable cost functions to calculate the\ncircuit complexity.",
        "positive": "Properties of scalar perturbations generated by conformal scalar field: Primordial scalar perturbations may be generated when complex conformal\nscalar field rolls down its negative quartic potential. We begin with the\ndiscussion of peculiar infrared properties of this scenario. We then consider\nthe statistical anisotropy inherent in the model. Finally, we discuss the\nnon-Gaussianity of scalar perturbations. Because of symmetries, the bispectrum\nvanishes identically. We present a general expression for the trispectrum and\ngive its explicit form in the folded limit."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Extended supersymmetry with central charges in Dirac action with curved\n  extra dimensions: We discuss a new realization of $\\mathcal{N}$-extended quantum-mechanical\nsupersymmetry (QM SUSY) with central charges hidden in the four-dimensional\n(4D) mass spectrum of higher dimensional Dirac action with curved extra\ndimensions. We show that this $\\mathcal{N}$-extended QM SUSY results from\nsymmetries in extra dimensions, and the supermultiplets in this supersymmetry\nalgebra correspond to the Bogomol'nyi--Prasad--Sommerfield states. Furthermore,\nwe examine the model of the $S^2$ extra dimension with a magnetic monopole\nbackground and confirm that the $\\mathcal{N}$-extended QM SUSY explains the\ndegeneracy of the 4D mass spectrum.",
        "positive": "Some Properties of Large $N$ Two Dimensional Yang--Mills Theory: Large $N$ two-dimensional QCD on a cylinder and on a vertex manifold (a\nsphere with three holes) is investigated. The relation between the saddle-point\ndescription and the collective field theory of QCD$_2$ is established. Using\nthis relation, it is shown that the Douglas--Kazakov phase transition on a\ncylinder is associated with the presence of a gap in the eigenvalue\ndistributions for Wilson loops. An exact formula for the phase transition on\ndisc with an arbitrary boundary holonomy is found. The role of instantons in\ninducing such transitions is discussed. The zero-area limit of the partition\nfunction on a vertex manifold is studied. It is found that this partition\nfunction vanishes unless the boundary conditions satisfy a certain selection\nrule which is an analogue of momentum conservation in field theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Anatomy of Geodesic Witten Diagrams: We revisit the so-called \"Geodesic Witten Diagrams\" (GWDs) \\cite{ScalarGWD},\nproposed to be the holographic dual configuration of scalar conformal partial\nwaves, from the perspectives of CFT operator product expansions. To this end,\nwe explicitly consider three point GWDs which are natural building blocks of\nall possible four point GWDs, discuss their gluing procedure through\nintegration over spectral parameter, and this leads us to a direct\nidentification with the integral representation of CFT conformal partial waves.\nAs a main application of this general construction, we consider the holographic\ndual of the conformal partial waves for external primary operators with spins.\nMoreover, we consider the closely related \"split representation\" for the bulk\nto bulk spinning propagator, to demonstrate how ordinary scalar Witten diagram\nwith arbitrary spin exchange, can be systematically decomposed into scalar\nGWDs. We also discuss how to generalize to spinning cases.",
        "positive": "Gauge theory and SIM(2) superspace: In this paper the SIM(2) superspace formulation of the supersymmetric\nYang-Mills gauge theory minimally coupled to chiral superfields is discussed.\nThe super-Poincare invariant supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory is rewritten to\nSIM(2) superspace formalism and the effects of SIM(2) invariant but Lorentz\nbreaking terms are discussed. Two approaches are investigated. The first is\nbased on the gauge chiral representation of the supersymmetric gauge theory and\nthe second is based on the covariant representation of the supersymmetric gauge\ntheory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "4-D Quantum Dilaton Gravity During Inflation and Renormalization at One\n  loop: We consider 4D quantum-dilaton gravity with the most general coupling in a\nhomogeneous and isotropic universe, especially an inflationary one, which is\nessentially characterized by an exponentially expanding scale factor with time.\nWe show that on the inflationary background this theory can be miraculously\nrenormalized, at least at the one-loop level, which must be an effective theory\nduring the inflation of the un-constructed complete quantum theory of gravity.",
        "positive": "Euclidean-to-Lorentzian wormhole transition and gravitational symmetry\n  breaking in the Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev model: We study a two-site Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev model with complex couplings and a weak\ninter-site interaction. At low temperatures, the system is dual to a Euclidean\nwormhole in Jackiw-Teitelboim gravity plus matter. Interestingly, the energy\nspectrum becomes real for sufficiently strong inter-site coupling despite the\nHamiltonian being non-Hermitian. In gravity, this complex-to-real transition\ncorresponds to a Euclidean-to-Lorentzian transition: a dynamical restoration of\nthe gravitational SL(2,R) symmetry of the Lorentzian wormhole, broken to U(1)\nin the Euclidean wormhole. We show this by identifying an order parameter for\nthe symmetry breaking and by matching the oscillating patterns of the Green's\nfunctions. Above the transition, the system can be continued to Lorentzian\nsignature and is dual to an eternal traversable wormhole. Additionally, we\nobserve a thermal phase transition from the wormhole to two black holes and\nprovide a detailed matching of the associated physical quantities. The analysis\nof level statistics reveals that in a broad range of parameters the dynamics is\nquantum chaotic in the universality class of systems with time reversal\ninvariance."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Entanglement Entropy and Modular Hamiltonian of free fermion with\n  deformations on a torus: In this work, we perturbatively calculate the modular Hamiltonian to obtain\nthe entanglement entropy in a free fermion theory on a torus with three typical\ndeforma- tions, e.g., T\\bar{T} deformation, local bilinear operator\ndeformation, and mass deformation. For T\\bar{T} deformation, we find that the\nleading order correction of entanglement entropy is proportional to the\nexpectation value of the undeformed modular Hamiltonian. As a check, in the\nhigh/low-temperature limit, the entanglement entropy coincides with that\nobtained by the replica trick in the literature. Following the same\nperturbative strategy, we obtain the entanglement entropy of the free fermion\nvacuum state up to second-order by inserting a local bilinear operator\ndeformation in a moving mirror set- ting. In the uniformly accelerated mirror,\nthe first-order and second-order correction of entanglement entropy vanishes in\nthe late time limit. For mass deformation, we derive the entanglement entropy\nup to first-order deformation and comment on the second-order correction.",
        "positive": "Fractional Branes and Dynamical Supersymmetry Breaking: We study the dynamics of fractional branes at toric singularities, including\ncones over del Pezzo surfaces and the recently constructed Y^{p,q} theories. We\nfind that generically the field theories on such fractional branes show\ndynamical supersymmetry breaking, due to the appearance of non-perturbative\nsuperpotentials. In special cases, one recovers the known cases of\nsupersymmetric infrared behaviors, associated to SYM confinement (mapped to\ncomplex deformations of the dual geometries, in the gauge/string correspondence\nsense) or N=2 fractional branes. In the supersymmetry breaking cases, when the\ndynamics of closed string moduli at the singularity is included, the theories\nshow a runaway behavior (involving moduli such as FI terms or equivalently\ndibaryonic operators), rather than stable non-supersymmetric minima. We comment\non the implications of this gauge theory behavior for the infrared smoothing of\nthe dual warped throat solutions with 3-form fluxes, describing duality\ncascades ending in such field theories. We finally provide a description of the\ndifferent fractional branes in the recently introduced brane tiling\nconfigurations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Higher Level Open String States from Vacuum String Field Theory: We construct massive open string states around a classical solution in the\noscillator formulation of Vacuum String Field Theory. In order for the correct\nmass spectrum to be reproduced, the projection operators onto the modes of the\nleft- and right-half of the string must have an anomalous eigenvalue 1/2, and\nthe massive states are constructed using the corresponding eigenvector. We\nanalyze numerically the projection operators by regularizing them to finite\nsize matrices and confirm that they indeed have eigenvalue 1/2. Beside the\ndesired massive states, we have spurious massive as well as massless states,\nwhich are infinitely degenerate. We show that these unwanted states can be\ngauged away.",
        "positive": "A new class of de Sitter vacua in String Theory Compactifications: We revisit the stability of the complex structure moduli in the large volume\nregime of type-IIB flux compactifications. We argue that when the volume is not\nexponentially large, such as in K\\\"ahler uplifted dS vacua, the quantum\ncorrections to the tree-level mass spectrum can induce tachyonic instabilities\nin this sector. We discuss a Random Matrix Theory model for the classical\nspectrum of the complex structure fields, and derive a new stability bound\ninvolving the compactification volume and the (very large) number of moduli. We\nalso present a new class of vacua for this sector where the mass spectrum\npresents a finite gap, without invoking large supersymmetric masses. At these\nvacua the complex structure sector is protected from tachyonic instabilities\neven at non-exponential volumes. A distinguishing feature is that all fermions\nin this sector are lighter than the gravitino."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Continuous Spin Representation from Contraction of the Conformal Algebra: In this paper, we discuss the In\\\"on\\\"u-Winger contraction of the conformal\nalgebra. We start with the light-cone form of the Poincar\\'e algebra and extend\nit to write down the conformal algebra in $d$ dimensions. To contract the\nconformal algebra, we choose five dimensions for simplicity and compactify the\nthird transverse direction in to a circle of radius $R$ following Kaluza-Klein\ndimensional reduction method. We identify the inverse radius, $1/R$, as the\ncontraction parameter. After the contraction, the resulting representation is\nfound to be the continuous spin representation in four dimensions. Even though\nthe scaling symmetry survives the contraction, but the special conformal\ntranslation vector changes and behaves like the four-momentum vector. We also\ndiscussed the generalization to $d$ dimensions.",
        "positive": "Three Dimensional View of Arbitrary $q$ SYK models: In \\url{arXiv:1704.07208} it was shown that the spectrum and bilocal\npropagator of SYK model with four fermion interactions can be realized as a\nthree dimensional model in $AdS_2 \\times S^1/Z_2$ with nontrivial boundary\nconditions in the additional dimension. In this paper we show that a similar\npicture holds for generalizations of the SYK model with $q$-fermion\ninteractions. The 3D realization is now given on a space whose metric is\nconformal to $AdS_2 \\times S^1/Z_2$ and is subject to a non-trivial potential\nin addition to a delta function at the center of the interval. It is shown that\na Horava-Witten compactification reproduces the exact SYK spectrum and a\nnon-standard propagator between points which lie at the center of the interval\nexactly agrees with the bilocal propagator. As $q \\rightarrow \\infty$, the wave\nfunction of one of the modes at the center of the interval vanish as $1/q$,\nwhile the others vanish as $1/q^2$, in a way consistent with the fact that in\nthe SYK model only one of the modes contributes to the bilocal propagator in\nthis limit."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "String Cosmology: Concepts and Consequences: After recalling a few basic concepts from cosmology and string theory, I will\ndiscuss the main ideas/assumptions underlying string cosmology and show how\nthese lead to a two-parameter family of ``minimal\" models. I will then explain\nhow to compute, in terms of those parameters, the spectrum of scalar, tensor\nand electromagnetic perturbations, point at their ($T$ and $S$-type) duality\nsymmetries, and mention their most relevant physical consequences.",
        "positive": "Superconformal Ward Identities for Green Functions with Multiple\n  Supercurrent Insertions: Superconformal Ward identities for N=1 supersymmetric quantum field theories\nin four dimensions are convenienty obtained in the superfield formalism by\ncombining diffeomorphisms and Weyl transformations on curved superspace. Using\nthis approach we study the superconformal transformation properties of Green\nfunctions with one or more insertions of the supercurrent to all orders in\nperturbation theory. For the case of two insertions we pay particular attention\nto fixing the additional counterterms present, as well as to the purely\ngeometrical anomalies which contribute to the transformation behaviour.\nMoreover we show in a scheme-independent way how the quasi-local terms in the\nWard identities are related to similar terms which contribute to the\nsupercurrent two and three point functions.\n  Furthermore we relate our superfield approach to similar studies which use\nthe component formalism by discussing the implications of our approach for the\ncomponents of the supercurrent and of the supergravity prepotentials."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Spin Chain for the Symmetric Product CFT_2: We consider \"gauge invariant\" operators in Sym^N T^4, the symmetric product\norbifold of N copies of the 2d supersymmetric sigma model with T^4 target. We\ndiscuss a spin chain representation for single-cycle operators and study their\ntwo point functions at large N. We perform systematic calculations at the\norbifold point (\"tree level\"), where non-trivial mixing is already present, and\nsome sample calculations to first order in the blow-up mode of the orbifold\n(\"one loop\").",
        "positive": "Note on de Sitter vacua from perturbative and non-perturbative dynamics\n  in type IIB/F-theory compactifications: The properties of the effective scalar potential are studied in the framework\nof type IIB string theory, taking into account perturbative and\nnon-perturbative corrections. The former modify the K\\\"ahler potential and\ninclude $\\alpha'$ and logarithmic corrections generated when intersecting D7\nbranes are part of the internal geometric configuration. The latter add\nexponentially suppressed K\\\"ahler moduli dependent terms to the fluxed\nsuperpotential. The possibility of partial elimination of such terms which may\nhappen for particular choices of world fluxes is also taken into account. That\nbeing the case, a simple set up of three K\\\"ahler moduli is considered in the\nlarge volume regime, where only one of them is assumed to induce\nnon-perturbative corrections. It is found that the shape of the F-term\npotential crucially depends on the parametric space associated with the\nperturbative sector and the volume modulus. De Sitter vacua can be obtained by\nimplementing one of the standard mechanisms, i.e., either relying on D-terms\nrelated to $U(1)$ symmetries associated with the $D7$ branes, or introducing\n$\\overline{D3}$ branes. In general it is observed that the combined effects of\nnon-perturbative dynamics and the recently introduced logarithmic corrections\nlead to an effective scalar potential displaying interesting cosmological and\nphenomenological properties."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Resolution of Overlapping Branes: We obtain singularity resolutions for various overlapping brane\nconfigurations, including those of two heterotic 5-branes, type II 5-branes or\nD4-branes. In these solutions, the ``harmonic'' function H for each brane\ncomponent depends only on the associated four-dimensional relative transverse\nspace. The resolution is achieved by replacing these transverse spaces with\nEguchi-Hanson or Taub-NUT spaces, both of which admit a normalisable self-dual\n(or anti-self-dual) harmonic 2-form. Due to the manner in which the interaction\nterms for the form fields modify their Bianchi identities or equations of\nmotion, these normalisable harmonic 2-forms provide regular sources for the\nbranes. We also obtain resolved 5-branes and D4-branes wrapped on S^1, which is\nfibred over the transverse Eguchi-Hanson or Taub-NUT spaces. The T-duality\ninvariance of the NS-NS 5-brane is retained after the resolution. The resolved\n5-branes and D4-branes provide regular supergravity duals of certain\nsupersymmetric Yang-Mills theories in five and four dimensions.",
        "positive": "Young diagrams, Brauer algebras, and bubbling geometries: We study the 1/4 BPS geometries corresponding to the 1/4 BPS operators of the\ndual gauge theory side, in ${\\cal N}=4$ SYM. By analyzing asymptotic structure\nand flux integration of the geometries, we present a mapping between droplet\nconfigurations arising from the geometries and Young diagrams of the Brauer\nalgebra. In particular, the integer $k$ classifying the operators in the Brauer\nbasis is mapped to the mixing between the two angular directions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Free-Fermionic $SO(8)$ And tri$(\\mathbb{O})$: In this note, we speculate about the fundamental role being played by the\n$SO(8)$ group representations displaying the triality structure that\nnecessarily arise in models constructed under the free fermionic methodology as\nbeing remnants of the higher-dimensional triality algebra tri$(\\mathbb{O}) =\n\\mathfrak{so}(8)$.",
        "positive": "Solutions For Scalar Equations in AdS_4 with Adomian Method and Boundary\n  CFT_3 Duals: For a nonlinear partial differential equation for (pseudo)scalars in the bulk\nof Euclidean AdS_4, arising from a truncation of 11-dimensional supergravity\nover AdS_4 x S^7/Z_k, we use math tools and in particular Adomian Decomposition\nMethod, with initial data from near the boundary behavior of a special or\ngeneral solution, although we focus on normalizable modes and Dirichlet\nboundary condition, to get perturbative series solutions (of the equation valid\nin probe approximation) for three special modes of m^2=4, 0, -9/4. Meantime, we\nremind that for the skew-whiffed M2-branes background, there are Higgs-like\n(pseudo)scalars that make the equation homogeneous and provide spontaneous\nsymmetry breaking. Then, with the setups and solutions in the bulk, where all\nsupersymmetries and parity are broken, we swap the three fundamental\nrepresentations of SO(8) for gravitino, deform the ABJM-like three-dimensional\nboundary actions with various corresponding SU(4) x U(1)-singlet operators made\nof fermions, scalars and SU(N) gauge fields, find new SO(4)-invariant\ninstantons, and finally adjust the bulk and boundary solutions and confirm\nstate-operator AdS_4/CFT_3 correspondence."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Inflation with improved D3-brane potential and the fine tunings\n  associated with the model: We investigate brane-antibrane inflation in a warped deformed conifold\nbackground that includes contributions to the potential arising from imaginary\nanti-self-dual (IASD) fluxes including the term with irrational scaling\ndimension discovered recently. We find that the model can give rise to required\nnumber of e-foldings; observational constraint on COBE normalization is easily\nsatisfied and low value of the tensor to scalar ratio of perturbations is\nachieved. We observe that these corrections to the effective potential help in\nrelaxing the severe fine tunings associated with the earlier analysis.",
        "positive": "Matter scattering in $R_{\u03bc\u03bd}^2$ gravity and unitarity: We investigate the ultraviolet (UV) behavior of two-scalar elastic scattering\nwith graviton exchanges in higher curvature gravity theory. In the Einstein\ngravity, matter scattering is shown not to satisfy tree unitarity at high\nenergy. Among a few possible directions to cure unitarity (i.e. UV completion\nof Einstein gravity), string theory, modified gravity, inclusion of\nhigh-mass/high-spin states, we take $R_{\\mu\\nu}^2$ gravity coupled to matter.\nWe show that the matter scattering with graviton interactions satisfies the\nunitarity bound at high energy, in contrast with the Einstein gravity. The\ndifference in unitarity property of the two gravity theories is due to that in\nthe UV behavior of the propagator and is probably connected to that in another\nUV property, namely renormalizability property of the two."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Illuminating entanglement shadows of BTZ black holes by a generalized\n  entanglement measure: We define a generalized entanglement measure in the context of the AdS/CFT\ncorrespondence. Compared to the ordinary entanglement entropy for a spatial\nsubregion dual to the area of the Ryu-Takayanagi surface, we take into account\nboth entanglement between spatial degrees of freedom as well as between\ndifferent fields of the boundary theory. Moreover, we resolve the contribution\nto the entanglement entropy of strings with different winding numbers in the\nbulk geometry. We then calculate this generalized entanglement measure in a\nthermal state dual to the BTZ black hole in the setting of the D1/D5 system at\nand close to the orbifold point. We find that the entanglement entropy defined\nin this way is dual to the length of a geodesic with non-zero winding number.\nSuch geodesics probe the entire bulk geometry, including the entanglement\nshadow up to the horizon in the one-sided black hole as well as the wormhole\ngrowth in the case of a two-sided black hole for an arbitrarily long time.\nTherefore, we propose that the entanglement structure of the boundary state is\nenough to reconstruct asymptotically AdS$_3$ geometries up to extremal surface\nbarriers.",
        "positive": "Gauging nonrelativistic field theories using the coset construction: We discuss how nonrelativistic spacetime symmetries can be gauged in the\ncontext of the coset construction. We consider theories invariant under the\ncentrally extended Galilei algebra as well as the Lifshitz one, and we\ninvestigate under what conditions they can be supplemented by scale\ntransformations. We also clarify the role of torsion in these theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A perturbative analysis of tachyon condensation: Tachyon condensation in the open bosonic string is analyzed using a\nperturbative expansion of the tachyon potential around the unstable D25-brane\nvacuum. Using the leading terms in the tachyon potential, Pad\\'e approximants\ncan apparently give the energy of the stable vacuum to arbitrarily good\naccuracy. Level-truncation approximations up to level 10 for the coefficients\nin the tachyon potential are extrapolated to higher levels and used to find\napproximants for the full potential. At level 14 and above, the resulting\napproximants give an energy less than -1 in units of the D25-brane tension, in\nagreement with recent level-truncation results by Gaiotto and Rastelli. The\nextrapolated energy continues to decrease below -1 until reaching a minimum\nnear level 26, after which the energy turns around and begins to approach -1\nfrom below. Within the accuracy of this method, these results are completely\nconsistent with an energy which approaches -1 as the level of truncation is\ntaken to be arbitrarily large.",
        "positive": "Gauss-Bonnet Black Holes and Holographic Heat Engines Beyond Large N: Working in the extended black hole thermodynamics where a dynamical\ncosmological constant defines a thermodynamic pressure p, we study the\nefficiency of heat engines that perform mechanical work via the pdV terms now\npresent in the First Law. Here the black hole itself is the working substance,\nand we focus on a judiciously chosen engine cycle. We work in\nGauss-Bonnet-Einstein-Maxwell gravity with negative cosmological constant and,\nusing a high temperature expansion, compare the results for these `holographic'\nheat engines to that of previously studied cases with no Gauss-Bonnet sector.\nFrom the dual holographic large N field theory perspective, this amounts to\nstudying the effects of a class of 1/N corrections to the efficiency of the\ncycle."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "3d N=2 Theories from Cluster Algebras: We propose a new description of 3d $\\mathcal{N}=2$ theories which do not\nadmit conventional Lagrangians. Given a quiver $Q$ and a mutation sequence $m$\non it, we define a 3d $\\mathcal{N}=2$ theory $\\mathcal{T}[(Q,m)]$ in such a way\nthat the $S^3_b$ partition function of the theory coincides with the cluster\npartition function defined from the pair $(Q, m)$. Our formalism includes the\ncase where 3d $\\mathcal{N}=2$ theories arise from the compactification of the\n6d $(2,0)$ $A_{N-1}$ theory on a large class of 3-manifolds $M$, including\ncomplements of arbitrary links in $S^3$. In this case the quiver is defined\nfrom a 2d ideal triangulation, the mutation sequence represents an element of\nthe mapping class group, and the 3-manifold is equipped with a canonical ideal\ntriangulation. Our partition function then coincides with that of the\nholomorphic part of the $SL(N)$ Chern-Simons partition function on $M$.",
        "positive": "New forms of attraction: Attractor saddles for the black hole index: The count of microstates for supersymmetric black holes is typically obtained\nfrom a supersymmetric index in weakly-coupled string theory. We find the\nsaddles in the gravitational path integral corresponding to this index in a\ngeneral theory of $N=2$ supergravity in asymptotically flat space. This saddle\nexhibits a new attractor mechanism which explains the agreement between the\nstring theory index and the macroscopic entropy. These saddles are smooth,\ncomplex Euclidean spinning black holes that are supersymmetric but not\nextremal, i.e., they are formally finite-temperature solutions. With this new\nmechanism, the scalars and the electromagnetic fields get attracted to\ntemperature- and moduli-independent values at the north and south poles of the\nrotating black hole, although they vary along the Euclidean horizon in a\nnon-universal way. Further, although the area and the spin of the black hole\ndepend non-trivially on the temperature and on the moduli, the free energy is\nessentially a function only of the black hole charges (apart from a trivial\ndependence on the temperature and the moduli through the BPS mass), and agrees\nwith the string theory index."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "AdS/CFT duality at strong coupling: We study the strong coupling limit of AdS/CFT correspondence in the framework\nof a recently proposed fermionic formulation of the Bethe Ansatz equations\ngoverning the gauge theory anomalous dimensions. We provide examples of states\nthat do not follow the Gubser-Klebanov-Polyakov law at large 't Hooft coupling\n$\\lambda$, in contrast with recent results on the quantum string Bethe\nequations valid in that regime. This result indicates that the fermionic\nconstruction cannot be trusted at large $\\lambda$, although it remains an\nefficient tool to compute the weak coupling expansion of anomalous dimensions.",
        "positive": "A Geometric Construction of Solutions to 11D Supergravity: Necessary and sufficient conditions are provided for a class of warped\nproduct manifolds with non-vanishing flux to be supersymmetric solutions of 11D\nsupergravity. Many noncompact, but complete solutions can be obtained in this\nmanner, including the multi-membrane solution initially found by Duff and\nStelle. In a different direction, an explicit 5-parameter moduli space of\nsolutions to 11D supergravity is also constructed which can be viewed as\nnonsupersymmetric deformations of the Duff-Stelle solution."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dual String Description of Wilson Loop in Non-commutative Gauge Theory: The Wilson loop in some non-commutative gauge theories is studied by using\nthe dual string description in which the corresponding string is on the curved\nbackground with B field. For the theory in which a constant B field is turned\non along the brane worldvolume the Wilson loop always shows a Coulomb phase, as\nstudied in the previous literature. We extend the examination to the theory\nwith a non-constant B field, which duals to the gauge theory with non-constant\nnon-commutativity, and re-examine the theory in the presence of a nonzero B\nfield with one leg along the brane worldvolume and other transverse to it,\nwhich duals to a non-commutative dipole theory. The expectation value of the\nWilson loop is calculated to the lowest order by evaluating the area of the\nstring worldsheet. The results show that, while the non-commutativity could\nmodify the Coulomb type potential in IR it may produce a strong repulsive force\nbetween the quark and anti-quark if they are close enough. In particular, we\nfind that there presents a minimum distance between the quarks and that the\ndistance is proportional to the value of the non-commutativity, exhibiting the\nnature of the non-commutative theory.",
        "positive": "Matter correlators through a wormhole in double-scaled SYK: We compute the two-point function of matter operators in the double-scaled\nSYK (DSSYK) model, where the two matter operators are inserted at each end of\nthe cylindrical wormhole. We find that the wormhole amplitude in DSSYK is\nwritten as a trace over the chord Hilbert space. We also show that the length\nof the wormhole is stabilized in the semi-classical limit, by the same\nmechanism worked for the JT gravity case."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hopf Algebra Symmetry and String Theory: We investigate the Hopf algebra structure in string worldsheet theory and\ngive a unified formulation of the quantization of string and the space-time\nsymmetry. We reformulate the path integral quantization of string as a Drinfeld\ntwist at the worldsheet level. The coboundary relation shows that the Drinfeld\ntwist defines a module algebra which is equivalent to operators with normal\nordering. Upon applying the twist, the space-time diffeomorphism is deformed\ninto a twisted Hopf algebra, while the Poincar\\'e symmetry is unchanged. This\nsuggests a characterization of the symmetry: unbroken symmetries are twist\ninvariant Hopf subalgebras, while broken symmetries are realized as twisted\nones. We provide arguments that relate this twisted Hopf algebra to symmetries\nin path integral quantization.",
        "positive": "Three Dimensional Gauge Theory with Topological and Non-topological\n  Mass: Hamiltonian and Lagrangian Analysis: Three dimensional (abelian) gauged massive Thirring model is bosonized in the\nlarge fermion mass limit. A further integration of the gauge field results in a\nnon-local theory. A truncated version of that is the Maxwell Chern Simons (MCS)\ntheory with a conventional mass term or MCS Proca theory. This gauge invariant\ntheory is completely solved in the Hamiltonian and Lagrangian formalism, with\nthe spectra of the modes determined. Since the vector field constituting the\nmodel is identified (via bosonization) to the fermion current, the charge\ncurrent algebra, including the Schwinger term is also computed in the MCS Proca\nmodel."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Faster than light' photons and charged black holes: Photons propagating in curved spacetime may, depending on their direction and\npolarisation, have velocities exceeding the ``speed of light'' c. This\nphenomenon arises through vacuum polarisation in QED and is a tidal\ngravitational effect depending on the local curvature. It implies that the\nPrinciple of Equivalence does not hold for interacting quantum field theories\nin curved spacetime and reflects a quantum violation of local Lorentz\ninvariance. These results are illustrated for the propagation of photons in the\nReissner-Nordstr\\\"om spacetime characterising a charged black hole. A general\nanalysis of electromagnetic as well as gravitational birefringence is\npresented.",
        "positive": "Half-BPS SU(N) Correlators in N=4 SYM: In this note we study half-BPS operators in N=4 super Yang-Mills for gauge\ngroup SU(N) at finite N. In particular we elaborate on the results of\nhep-th/0410236, providing an exact formula for the null basis operators\nalgorithmically constructed there. For gauge groups U(N) and SU(N) we show that\nthis basis is dual to the basis of multi-trace operators with respect to the\ntwo point function. We use this to extend the results of hep-th/0611290\nconcerning factorisation and probabilities from U(N) to SU(N). We also give a\nconstruction for a separate diagonal basis of the SU(N) operators in terms of\nthe higher Hamiltonians of the complex matrix model reduction of this sector."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Cosmological Krylov Complexity: In this paper, we study the Krylov complexity ($K$) from the\nplanar/inflationary patch of the de Sitter space using the two mode squeezed\nstate formalism in the presence of an effective field having sound speed $c_s$.\nFrom our analysis, we obtain the explicit behavior of Krylov complexity ($K$)\nand lancoz coefficients ($b_n$) with respect to the conformal time scale and\nscale factor in the presence of effective sound speed $c_s$. Since lancoz\ncoefficients ($b_n$) grow linearly with integer $n$, this suggests that\nuniverse acts like a chaotic system during this period. We also obtain the\ncorresponding Lyapunov exponent $\\lambda$ in presence of effective sound speed\n$c_s$. We show that the Krylov complexity ($K$) for this system is equal to\naverage particle numbers suggesting it's relation to the volume. Finally, we\ngive a comparison of Krylov complexity ($K$) with entanglement entropy\n(Von-Neumann) where we found that there is a large difference between Krylov\ncomplexity ($K$) and entanglement entropy for large values of squeezing\namplitude. This suggests that Krylov complexity ($K$) can be a significant\nprobe for studying the dynamics of the cosmological system even after the\nsaturation of entanglement entropy.",
        "positive": "Quiver origami: discrete gauging and folding: We study two types of discrete operations on Coulomb branches of $3d$\n$\\mathcal{N}=4$ quiver gauge theories using both abelianisation and the\nmonopole formula. We generalise previous work on discrete quotients of Coulomb\nbranches and introduce novel wreathed quiver theories. We further study quiver\nfolding which produces Coulomb branches of non-simply laced quivers."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Solution of the Thirring Model with Imaginary Mass and Massless\n  Scattering: The Thirring model with imaginary mass (or the sine-Gordon model with\nimaginary coupling) is deeply related to all the flows between minimal\nconformal theories. We solve this model explicitely using the Bethe ansatz. We\nfind that there are Left and Right moving massless excitations with non trivial\nLR scattering. We compute the S matrix and recover the result conjectured by\nFendley et al.",
        "positive": "Two-Dimensional Thermofield Bosonization: The main objective of this paper is to obtain an operator realization for the\nbosonization of fermions in 1 + 1 dimensions, at finite, non-zero temperature\nT. This is achieved in the framework of the real time formalism of Thermofield\nDynamics. Formally the results parallel those of the T = 0 case. The well known\ntwo-dimensional Fermion-Boson correspondences at zero temperature are shown to\nhold also at finite temperature. In order to emphasize the usefulness of the\noperator realization for handling a large class of two-dimensional quantum\nfield-theoretic problems, we contrast this global approach with the cumbersome\ncalculation of the fermion-current two-point function in the imaginary-time\nformalism and real time formalisms. The calculations also illustrate the very\ndifferent ways in which the transmutation from Fermi-Dirac to Bose-Einstein\nstatistics is realized."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Brane Dynamics in Background Fluxes and Non-commutative Geometry: Branes in non-trivial backgrounds are expected to exhibit interesting\ndynamical properties. We use the boundary conformal field theory approach to\nstudy branes in a curved background with non-vanishing Neveu-Schwarz 3-form\nfield strength. For branes on an $S^3$, the low-energy effective action is\ncomputed to leading order in the string tension. It turns out to be a field\ntheory on a non-commutative `fuzzy 2-sphere' which consists of a Yang-Mills and\na Chern-Simons term. We find a certain set of classical solutions that have no\nanalogue for flat branes in Euclidean space. These solutions show, in\nparticular, how a spherical brane can arise as bound state from a stack of\nD0-branes.",
        "positive": "Bringing Yang-Mills Theory Closer to Quasiclassics: A deformation of pure Yang-Mill theory by a phantom field similar to the\nFaddeev-Popov ghost is considered. In this theory an {\\em Ersatz}-supersymmetry\nis identified which results in cancellation of quantum corrections up to\ntwo-loop order. A quadruplet built from two complex fields in the adjoint --\nthe Faddeev-Popov ghost $c^a$ and the phantom $\\Phi^a$, all with the wrong\nstatistics -- balances four gauge fields $a_\\mu^a$. At this level, the\ninstanton measure and the $\\beta$ function is fully determined by\nquasiclassics. In a simple $\\phi^4$ theory with a phantom added I identify a\nstrictly conserved {\\em Ersatz}-supercurrent. In the latter theory unitarity of\namplitudes persists despite the presence of the phantom. In deformed Yang-Mills\nit is likely (although not proven) to persist too in all amplitudes with only\ngluon external legs. It remains to be seen whether this construction is just a\ndevice facilitating some loop calculations or broader applications can be\nfound."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Extended Supersymmetry and Self-Duality in 2+2 Dimensions: The $N=2$ supersymmetric {\\it self-dual} Yang-Mills theory and the $N=4$ and\n$N=2$ {\\it self-dual} supergravities in $2+2$ space-time dimensions are\nformulated for the first time. These formulations utilize solutions of the\nBianchi identities subject to the super-Yang-Mills or supergravity constraints\nin the relevant $N$-extended superspace with the space-time signature $(2,2)$.",
        "positive": "Higgs Driven Geodetic Evolution/Nucleation of de-Sitter Brane: Geodetic evolution of a de-Sitter brane is exclusively driven by a Higgs\npotential, rather than by a plain cosmological constant. The deviation from\nEinstein gravity, parameterized by the conserved bulk energy, is characterized\nby a hairy horizon which serves as the locus of unbroken symmetry. The quartic\nstructure of the potential, singled out on finiteness grounds of the total\n(including the dark component) energy density, chooses the no-boundary\nproposal."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Harmonic N=2 Mechanics: N=2 superconformal many-body quantum mechanics in arbitrary dimensions is\ngoverned by a single scalar prepotential which determines the bosonic potential\nand the boson-fermion couplings. We present a special class of such models, for\nwhich the bosonic potential is absent. They are classified by homogeneous\nharmonic functions subject to physical symmetry requirements, such as\ntranslation, rotation and permutation invariance. The central charge is\nnaturally quantized. We provide some examples for systems of identical\nparticles in any dimension.",
        "positive": "Spectrum of Schroedinger field in a noncommutative magnetic monopole: The energy spectrum of a nonrelativistic particle on a noncommutative sphere\nin the presence of a magnetic monopole field is calculated. The system is\ntreated in the field theory language, in which the one-particle sector of a\ncharged Schroedinger field coupled to a noncommutative U(1) gauge field is\nidentified. It is shown that the Hamiltonian is essentially the angular\nmomentum squared of the particle, but with a nontrivial scaling factor\nappearing, in agreement with the first-quantized canonical treatment of the\nproblem. Monopole quantization is recovered and identified as the quantization\nof a commutative Seiberg-Witten mapped monopole field."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Bulk charges in eleven dimensions: Eleven dimensional supergravity has electric type currents arising from the\nChern-Simon and anomaly terms in the action. However the bulk charge integrates\nto zero for asymptotically flat solutions with topological trivial spatial\nsections. We show that by relaxing the boundary conditions to generalisations\nof the ALE and ALF boundary conditions in four dimensions one can obtain static\nsolutions with a bulk charge preserving between 1/16 and 1/4 of the\nsupersymmetries. One can introduce membranes with the same sign of charge into\nthese backgrounds. This raises the possibility that these generalized membranes\nmight decay quantum mechanically to leave just a bulk distribution of charge.\nAlternatively and more probably, a bulk distribution of charge can decay into a\ncollection of singlely charged membranes. Dimensional reductions of these\nsolutions lead to novel representations of extreme black holes in four\ndimensions with up to four charges. We discuss how the eleven-dimensional\nKaluza-Klein monopole wrapped around a space with non-zero first Pontryagin\nclass picks up an electric charge proportional to the Pontryagin number.",
        "positive": "Spontaneous Creation of the Brane World and Direction of the Time Arrow: In this note we consider the spontaneous creation of the brane world in\nfive-dimensional space with nondynamical external four-form field via\nspherically asymmetric bounce solution. We argue that spherically asymmetric\nbounce suggests several inequivalent directions of the time arrow upon the\nanalytic continuation to the space-time with Lorentzian signature. It it shown\nthat S-branes in the imaginary time emerge naturally upon the particular\ncontinuation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The general gaugings of maximal d=9 supergravity: We use the embedding tensor method to construct the most general maximal\ngauged/massive supergravity in d=9 dimensions and to determine its extended\nfield content. Only the 8 independent deformation parameters (embedding tensor\ncomponents, mass parameters etc.) identified by Bergshoeff \\textit{et al.} (an\nSL(2,R) triplet, two doublets and a singlet can be consistently introduced in\nthe theory, but their simultaneous use is subject to a number of quadratic\nconstraints. These constraints have to be kept and enforced because they cannot\nbe used to solve some deformation parameters in terms of the rest. The\ndeformation parameters are associated to the possible 8-forms of the theory,\nand the constraints are associated to the 9-forms, all of them transforming in\nthe conjugate representations. We also give the field strengths and the gauge\nand supersymmetry transformations for the electric fields in the most general\ncase. We compare these results with the predictions of the E11 approach,\nfinding that the latter predicts one additional doublet of 9-forms, analogously\nto what happens in N=2, d=4,5,6 theories.",
        "positive": "More on Holographic Volumes, Entanglement, and Complexity: Motivated by the holographic prescriptions for computing entanglement entropy\nand complexity, we study the properties of volumes/areas of bulk surfaces. We\nobtain a simple formula for the shape dependence of holographic entanglement\nentropy in terms of a certain integral over the entangling surface. This easily\ngeneralizes to any bulk codimension-$p$ extremal surface. We study additional\nproperties of bulk codimension-$p$ extremal surfaces corresponding to\nstrip/plane \"entangling surfaces\" in various geometries. We compute universal\nterms for codim-one volumes (conjectured to be dual to holographic subregion\ncomplexity) arising from performing relevant deformations. Finally, we describe\nseveral interesting bulk surface constructions which are presumably related to\nholographic complexity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Zero Curvature Formalism of the 4D Yang-Mills Theory in Superspace: The supersymmetric descent equations in superspace are discussed by means of\nthe introduction of two operators which allow to decompose the supersymmetric\ncovariant derivatives as BRS commutators.",
        "positive": "Lorentz Violation in Goldstone Gravity: We consider a theory of gravity in which a symmetric two-index tensor in\nMinkowski spacetime acquires a vacuum expectation value (vev) via a potential,\nthereby breaking Lorentz invariance spontaneously. When the vev breaks all the\ngenerators of the Lorentz group, six Goldstone modes emerge, two linear\ncombinations of which have properties that are identical to those of the\ngraviton in general relativity. Integrating out massive modes yields an\ninfinite number of Lorentz-violating radiative-correction terms in the\nlow-energy effective Lagrangian. We examine a representative subset of these\nterms and show that they modify the dispersion relation of the two propagating\ngraviton modes such that their phase velocity is direction-dependent. If the\nphase velocity of the Goldstone gravitons is subluminal, cosmic rays can emit\ngravi-Cherenkov radiation, and the detection of high-energy cosmic rays can be\nused to constrain these radiative correction terms. Test particles in the\nvicinity of the Goldstone gravitons undergo longitudinal oscillations in\naddition to the usual transverse oscillations as predicted by general\nrelativity. Finally, we discuss the possibility of having vevs that do not\nbreak all six generators and examine in detail one such theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "2-Group Symmetries and their Classification in 6d: We uncover 2-group symmetries in 6d superconformal field theories. These\nsymmetries arise when the discrete 1-form symmetry and continuous flavor\nsymmetry group of a theory mix with each other. We classify all 6d\nsuperconformal field theories with such 2-group symmetries. The approach taken\nin 6d is applicable more generally, with minor modifications to include\ndimension specific operators (such as instantons in 5d and monopoles in 3d),\nand we provide a discussion of the dimension-independent aspects of the\nanalysis. We include an ancillary mathematica code for computing 2-group\nsymmetries, once the dimension specific input is provided. We also discuss a\nmixed 't Hooft anomaly between discrete 0-form and 1-form symmetries in 6d.",
        "positive": "On Aspects of Holographic Thermal QCD at Finite Coupling: Some Physics (obtaining lattice-compatible deconfinement temperature, some\ntransport coefficients and Einstein's relation) and Mathematics (torsion\nclasses and supersymmetry) issues pertaining to the delocalized SYZ type IIA\nmirror of [1] and its M theory uplift in the MQGP limit of [2], are discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "D3-instantons, Mock Theta Series and Twistors: The D-instanton corrected hypermultiplet moduli space of type II string\ntheory compactified on a Calabi-Yau threefold is known in the type IIA picture\nto be determined in terms of the generalized Donaldson-Thomas invariants,\nthrough a twistorial construction. At the same time, in the mirror type IIB\npicture, and in the limit where only D3-D1-D(-1)-instanton corrections are\nretained, it should carry an isometric action of the S-duality group SL(2,Z).\nWe prove that this is the case in the one-instanton approximation, by\nconstructing a holomorphic action of SL(2,Z) on the linearized twistor space.\nUsing the modular invariance of the D4-D2-D0 black hole partition function, we\nshow that the standard Darboux coordinates in twistor space have modular\nanomalies controlled by period integrals of a Siegel-Narain theta series, which\ncan be canceled by a contact transformation generated by a holomorphic mock\ntheta series.",
        "positive": "Confinement of fermions by mixed vector-scalar linear potentials in\n  two-dimensional space-time: The problem of confinement of fermions in 1+1 dimensions is approached with a\nlinear potential in the Dirac equation by considering a mixing of Lorentz\nvector and scalar couplings. Analytical bound-states solutions are obtained\nwhen the scalar coupling is of sufficient intensity compared to the vector\ncoupling."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "More on thermal probes of a strongly coupled anisotropic plasma: We extend the analysis of 1211.2199, where the photon production rate of an\nanisotropic strongly coupled plasma with Nf<<Nc massless quarks was considered.\nWe allow here for non-vanishing quark masses and study how these affect the\nspectral densities and conductivities. We also compute another important probe\nof the plasma, the dilepton production rate. We consider generic angles between\nthe anisotropic direction and the photon and dilepton wave vectors, as well as\narbitrary quark masses and arbitrary values of the anisotropy parameter.\nGenerically, the anisotropy increases the production rate of both photons and\ndileptons, compared with an isotropic plasma at the same temperature.",
        "positive": "Quantum symmetries in discrete gauge theories: We analyse the fusion, braiding and scattering properties of discrete\nnon-abelian anyons. These occur in (2+1)-dimensional theories where a gauge\ngroup G is spontaneously broken down to some discrete subgroup H. We identify\nthe quantumnumbers of the electrically and magnetically charged sectors of the\nremaining discrete gauge theory, and show that on the quantum level the\nsymmetry group H is extended to the (quasi-triangular) Hopf algebra D(H). Most\nof our considerations are relevant for discrete gauge theories in\n(3+1)-dimensional space time as well."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holography for Heavy Ions Collisions at LHC and NICA: This is a contribution for the Proceedings of 5th International Conference on\nNew Frontiers in Physics (ICNFP 2016), held at Crete, 6-14 July 2016. Our goal\nis to obtain phenomenologically reliable insights for the physics of the\nquark-gluon plasma (QGP) from the holography. I briefly review how in the\nholographic setup one can describe the QGP formation in heavy ion collisions\nand how to get quantitatively the main characteristics of the QGP formation --\nthe total multiplicity and the thermalization time. To fit the experimental\nform of dependence of total multiplicity on energy, obtained at LHC, we have to\ndeal with a special anisotropic holographic model, related with the\nLifshitz-type background.\n  Our conjecture is that this Lifshitz-type background with non-zero chemical\npotential can be used to describe future data expected from NICA. In\nparticular, we present the results of calculations of the holographic\nconfinement/deconfinement phase transition in the $(\\mu,T)$ (chemical\npotential, temperature) plane in this anisotropic background and show the\ndependence of the transition line on the orientation of the quark pair. This\ndependence leads to a non-sharp character of physical confinement/deconfinement\nphase in the $(\\mu,T)$-plane. We use the bottom-up soft wall approach\nincorporating quark confinement deforming factor and vector field providing the\nnon-zero chemical potential. In this model we also estimate the holographic\nphoton production.",
        "positive": "Mode dependent field renormalization and triviality: We critically analyze the introduction of an independent zero momentum mode\nfield renormalization for Phi4. It leads to an infrared divergent effective\naction. It does not achieve its purpose: triviality still gives massless\nparticles in the broken phase in the continuum limit. It leads to an effective\npotential which is not the low energy limit of the effective action."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic renormalization in no-boundary quantum cosmology: Recent results of Hartle-Hawking wave functions on asymptotic dS boundaries\nshow non-normalizability, while the bulk origin is not clear. This paper\nattempts to addresse this problem by studying (Kerr-)dS_3 cosmology in Einstein\ngravity deformed by a minimally coupled scalar field. Various saddle-point\ncontributions exp[i(saddle-point action)] to the Hartle-Hawking wave functions\nare computed with mini-superspace formalism. The saddle-point actions are first\nobtained in the spacetime bulks by direct computation, then on the asymptotic\ndS boundary by holographic renormalization. It is found that the imaginary part\nof the saddle-point actions, as functions of scalar field deformation, are\ngenerally bounded in the bulk, but can diverge to -infty on the boundary. This\ncan probably be a source of the scalar field-related non-normalizability of the\nboundary Hartle-Hawking wave functions. For Kerr-dS_3 cosmology, some\nsaddle-point actions have imaginary parts diverging to -infty both in the bulk\nand on the boundary, when the boundary T^2 is stretched to infinitely long.\nThis can be an origin of non-normalizability of the boundary Hartle-Hawking\nwave functions related to temperature divergence. Finally the holographic\nrenormalization is extended to scalar-deformed dS_{d+1} (d>= 3) cosmologies for\nthe imaginary part of the saddle-point actions. The result is tested on a 5d\nexample, and saddle points leading to divergent contribution to the boundary\nHartle-Hawking wave function are shown to exist.",
        "positive": "Intersecting D-branes and black holes in type 0 string theory: We study intersecting D-branes in type 0 string theories and show that the\nD$p_{\\pm}$-brane bound states obey similar intersecting rules as the\nD$p$-branes of the type II theories. The D$5_{\\pm}$-D$1_{\\pm}$ brane system is\nstudied in detail. We show that the corresponding near-horizon geometry is the\n$AdS_3\\times S^3\\times T^4$ space and that there is no tachyon instability in\nthis background. The Bekenstein-Hawking entropy is calculated. The worldvolume\ntheory on the D$5_{\\pm}$-D$1_{\\pm}$ system is also studied. This theory\ncontains both bosons and fermions and it is seen to arise as a projection of\nthe supersymmetric gauge theory related to the D5-D1 system of the type IIB\ntheory. The Bekenstein-Hawking entropy formula is reproduced exactly using the\ndual conformal field theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Noncommutative Topological Quantum Field Theory-Noncommutative Floer\n  Homology: We present some ideas for a possible Noncommutative Floer Homology. The\ngeometric motivation comes from an attempt to build a theory which applies to\npractically every 3-manifold (closed, oriented and connected) and not only to\nhomology 3-spheres. There is also a physical motivation: one would like to\nconstruct a noncommutative topological quantum field theory. The two\nmotivations are closely related since in the commutative case at least, Floer\nHomology Groups are part of a certain (3+1)-dim Topological Quantum Field\nTheory.",
        "positive": "Acceleration of particles in Einstein-Maxwell-dilaton black holes: It has recently been pointed out that, under certain conditions, the energy\nof particles accelerated by black holes in the center-of-mass frame can become\narbitrarily high. In this paper, we study the collision of two particles in the\ncase of four-dimensional charged nonrotating, extremal charged rotating and\nnear-extremal charged rotating Kaluza-Klein black holes as well as the naked\nsingularity case in Einstein-Maxwell-dilaton theory. We find that the\ncenter-of-mass energy for a pair of colliding particles is unlimited at the\nhorizon of charged nonrotating Kaluza-Klein black holes, extremal charged\nrotating Kaluza-Klein black holes and in the naked singularity case."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Issues in M(atrix) Theory Compactification: We discuss issues concerning M(atrix) theory compactifications on curved\nspaces. We argue from the form of the graviton propagator on curved space that\nexcited string states do not decouple from the annulus D0-brane $v^4$\namplitude, unlike the flat space case. This argument shows that a large class\nof quantum mechanical systems with a finite number of degrees of freedom cannot\nreproduce supergravity answers. We discuss the specific example of an ALE space\nand suggest sources of possible higher derivative terms that might help\nreproduce supergravity results.",
        "positive": "Shockwave S-matrix from Schwarzian Quantum Mechanics: Schwarzian quantum mechanics describes the collective IR mode of the SYK\nmodel and captures key features of 2D black hole dynamics. Exact results for\nits correlation functions were obtained in JHEP {\\bf 1708}, 136 (2017)\n[arXiv:1705.08408]. We compare these results with bulk gravity expectations. We\nfind that the semi-classical limit of the out-of-time-order (OTO) four-point\nfunction exactly matches with the scattering amplitude obtained from the\nDray-'t Hooft shockwave $\\mathcal{S}$-matrix. We show that the two point\nfunction of heavy operators reduces to the semi-classical saddle-point of the\nSchwarzian action. We also explain a previously noted match between the OTO\nfour point functions and 2D conformal blocks. Generalizations to higher-point\nfunctions, and applications, are discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "4D Doubleton Conformal Theories, CPT and IIB String on AdS_5 X S^5: We study the unitary supermultiplets of the N=8, d=5 anti-de Sitter (AdS)\nsuperalgebra SU(2,2|4) which is the symmetry algebra of the IIB string theory\non AdS_5 X S^5. We give a complete classification of the doubleton\nsupermultiplets of SU(2,2|4) which do not have a Poincare limit and correspond\nto d=4 conformal field theories (CFT) living on the boundary of AdS_5. The CPT\nself-conjugate irreducible doubleton supermultiplet corresponds to d=4, N = 4\nsuper Yang-Mills theory. The other irreducible doubleton supermultiplets come\nin CPT conjugate pairs. The maximum spin range of the general doubleton\nsupermultiplets is 2. In particular, there exists a CPT conjugate pair of\ndoubleton supermultiplets corresponding to the fields of N=4 conformal\nsupergravity in d=4 which can be coupled to N=4 super Yang-Mills theory in d=4.\nWe also study the \"massless\" supermultiplets of SU(2,2|4) which can be obtained\nby tensoring two doubleton supermultiplets. The CPT self-conjugate \"massless\"\nsupermultiplet is the N=8 graviton supermultiplet in AdS_5. The other\n\"massless\" supermultiplets generally come in conjugate pairs and can have\nmaximum spin range of 4. We discuss the implications of our results for the\nconjectured CFT/AdS dualities.",
        "positive": "Coupling Dimers to CDT: This contribution reviews some recent results on dimers coupled to CDT. A\nbijective mapping between dimers and tree-like graphs allows for a simple way\nto introduce dimers to CDT. This can be generalized further to obtain different\nmulticritcal points."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Standard Model Quiver in de Sitter String Compactifications: We argue that the Standard Model quiver can be embedded into compact\nCalabi-Yau geometries through orientifolded D3-branes at del Pezzo\nsingularities $\\mathrm{dP}_n$ with $n\\geq 5$ in a framework including moduli\nstabilisation. To illustrate our approach, we explicitly construct a local\n$\\mathrm{dP}_{5}$ model via a combination of Higgsing and orientifolding. This\nprocedure reduces the original $\\mathrm{dP}_{5}$ quiver gauge theory to the\nLeft-Right symmetric model with three families of quarks and leptons as well as\na Higgs sector to further break the symmetries to the Standard Model gauge\ngroup. We embed this local model in a globally consistent Calabi-Yau flux\ncompactification with tadpole and Freed-Witten anomaly cancellations. The model\nfeatures closed string moduli stabilisation with a de Sitter minimum from\nT-branes, supersymmetry broken by the K\\\"ahler moduli, and the MSSM as the low\nenergy spectrum. We further discuss phenomenological and cosmological\nimplications of this construction.",
        "positive": "No $Z_N$ - bubbles in hot Yang-Mills theory: Pure Yang-Mills theory at high temperature is considered. We show that no\ndistinct $Z_N$- phases separated by domain walls do exist in the physical\nMinkowski space. That means the absense of the spontaneous breaking of $Z_N$-\nsymmetry in the physical meaning of this word."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Relativistic Spinning Particle in a Non-Commutative Extended Spacetime: The relativistic spinning particle model, proposed in [3,4], is analyzed in a\nHamiltonian framework. The spin is simulated by extending the configuration\nspace by introducing a light-like four vector degree of freedom. The model is\nheavily constrained and constraint analysis, in the Dirac scheme, is both novel\nand instructive. Our major finding is an associated novel non-commutative\nstructure in the extended space. This is obtained in a particular gauge. The\nmodel possesses a large gauge freedom and hence a judicious choice of gauge\nbecomes imperative. The gauge fixed system in reduced phase space simplifies\nconsiderably for further study. We have shown that this non-commutative phase\nspace algebra is essential in revealing the spin effects in the particle model\nthrough the Lorentz generator and Hamiltonian equations of motion.",
        "positive": "Heterotic SO(32) model building in four dimensions: Four dimensional heterotic SO(32) orbifold models are classified\nsystematically with model building applications in mind. We obtain all Z3, Z7\nand Z2N models based on vectorial gauge shifts. The resulting gauge groups are\nreminiscent of those of type-I model building, as they always take the form\nSO(2n_0)xU(n_1)x...xU(n_{N-1})xSO(2n_N). The complete twisted spectrum is\ndetermined simultaneously for all orbifold models in a parametric way depending\non n_0,...,n_N, rather than on a model by model basis. This reveals interesting\npatterns in the twisted states: They are always built out of vectors and\nanti--symmetric tensors of the U(n) groups, and either vectors or spinors of\nthe SO(2n) groups. Our results may shed additional light on the S-duality\nbetween heterotic and type-I strings in four dimensions. As a spin-off we\nobtain an SO(10) GUT model with four generations from the Z4 orbifold."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Anomalies, D-flatness and Small Instantons: Recently, Witten has proposed a mechanism for symmetry enhancement in\n$SO(32)$ heterotic string theory, where the singularity obtained by shrinking\nan instanton to zero size is resolved by the appearance of an $Sp(1)$ gauge\nsymmetry. In this short letter, we consider spacetime constraints from anomaly\ncancellation in six dimensions and D-flatness and demonstrate a subtlety which\narises in the moduli space when many instantons are shrunk to zero size.",
        "positive": "Flato-Fronsdal theorem for higher-order singletons: We prove a generalised Flato-Fronsdal theorem for higher-order, scalar and\nspinor, singletons. In the resulting infinite tower of bulk higher-spin fields,\nwe point out the occurrence of partially-massless fields of all depths. This\nleads us to conjecture a holographic duality between a higher-spin gravity\ntheory around $AdS_{d+1}$ with the aforementioned spectrum of fields, and a\nfree $CFT_d$ of fundamental (higher-order) scalar and spinor singletons. As a\nfirst check of this conjecture, we find that the total Casimir energy vanishes\nat one loop."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Liouville Models of Black Hole Evaporation: We construct new theories of dilation gravity coupled to conformal matter\nwhich are exact $c=26$ conformal field theories and presumably consistent\nframeworks for discussing black hole physics in two dimensions. They differ\nfrom the CGHS equations in the precise dilaton dependence of the cosmological\nconstant. A further modification proposed by Strominger with a view to\neliminating unphysical ghost Hawking radiation is also considered. The new\nclassical equations of motion are explicitly soluble, thus permitting an exact\nanalysis of both static and dynamic senarios. While the static solutions are\nphysically reasonable, the dynamical solutions include puzzling examples with\nwrong-sign Hawking radiation. We indicate how the latter problem may be\nresolved in the full quantum theory.",
        "positive": "Entropy of Killing horizons from Virasoro algebra in D-dimensional\n  extended Gauss-Bonnet gravity: We treat D-dimensional black holes with Killing horizon for extended\nGauss-Bonnet gravity. We use Carlip method and impose boundary conditions on\nhorizon what enables us to identify Virasoro algebra and evaluate its central\ncharge and Hamiltonian eigenvalue. The Cardy formula allows then to calculate\nthe number of states and thus provides for microscopic interpretation of\nentropy."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Doubly Periodic Instanton Zero Modes: Fermionic zero modes associated with doubly periodic SU(2) instantons of unit\ncharge are considered. In cases where the action density exhibits two\n`instanton cores' the zero mode peaks on one of four line-segments joining the\ntwo constituents. Which of the four possibilities is realised depends on the\nfermionic boundary conditions; doubly periodic, doubly anti-periodic or mixed.",
        "positive": "Currents, charges and algebras in exceptional generalised geometry: A classical $E_{d(d)}$-invariant Hamiltonian formulation of world-volume\ntheories of half-BPS p-branes in type IIb and eleven-dimensional supergravity\nis proposed, extending known results to $d \\leq 6$. It consists of a\nHamiltonian, characterised by a generalised metric, and a current algebra\nconstructed s.t. it reproduces the $E_{d(d)}$ generalised Lie derivative.\n$E_{d(d)}$-covariance necessitates the introduction of so-called charges,\nspecifying the type of p-brane and the choice of section. For p>2, currents of\np-branes are generically non-geometric due to the imposition of U-duality, e.g.\nthe M5-currents contain coordinates associated to the M2-momentum.\n  A derivation of the $E_{d(d)}$-invariant current algebra from a canonical\nPoisson structure is in general not possible. At most, one can derive a current\nalgebra associated to para-Hermitian exceptional geometry.\n  The membrane in the SL(5)-theory is studied in detail. It is shown that in a\ngeneralised frame the current algebra is twisted by the generalised fluxes. As\na consistency check, the double dimensional reduction from membranes in\nM-theory to strings in type IIa string theory is performed. Many features\ngeneralise to p-branes in SL(p+3) generalised geometries that form building\nblocks for the $E_{d(d)}$-invariant currents."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fermion Propagator in Quenched QED3 in the light of the\n  Landau-Khalatnikov-Fradkin transformation: We study the gauge dependence of the fermion propagator in quenched QED3 with\nand without dynamical symmetry breaking in the light of its\nLandau-Khalatnikov-Fradkin Transformation (LKFT). In the former case, starting\nwith the massive bare propagator in the Landau gauge, we obtain non\nperturbative propagator in an arbitrary covariant gauge. At the one-loop level\nit yields exact wavefunction renormalization and correct $(\\alpha \\xi)$ terms\nfor the mass fuction. Also, we obtain valuable information for the higher order\nperturbative expansion of the propagator. As for the case of dynamical chiral\nsymmetry breaking, we start by approximating the numerical solution to the\nSchwinger-Dyson equation in Landau gauge in the rainbow approximation in terms\nof analytic functions. We then LKF transform this result to obtain the\ndynamically generated fermion propagator in an arbitrary covariant gauge. We\nfind that the results obtained have nice qualitative features. We also extend\nthis exercise to the cases involving more reliable ans\\\"atze for the vertex and\nencounter similar (and improved) qualitative features.",
        "positive": "Black and White holes in four-dimensional Chern-Simons gravity: We discuss a four-dimensional gravitational action which was obtained\nreplacing a Randall-Sundrum type metric in the so called five-dimensional\nEinstein-Chern-Simons gravity action. We studied black hole solutions of the\ncorresponding 4-dimensional gravitational field equations. It is found that for\na spherically symmetric metric such equations lead to a spacetime with a\ncosmological constant inversely proportional to the square of the\ncompactification radius and to one solution dependent on an arbitrary constant\nC. If this constant is negative, we find a Schwarzschid-de Sitter black hole.\nIf C is positive, the solution can be understood as a white hole solution which\nis obtained applying to the solution with C<0 the discrete coordinate\ntransformation PT accompanied by the transformation C -C, with C>0,\ncorresponding to a transformation known as mass reversal."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quivers from Matrix Factorizations: We discuss how matrix factorizations offer a practical method of computing\nthe quiver and associated superpotential for a hypersurface singularity. This\nmethod also yields explicit geometrical interpretations of D-branes (i.e.,\nquiver representations) on a resolution given in terms of Grassmannians. As an\nexample we analyze some non-toric singularities which are resolved by a single\nCP1 but have \"length\" greater than one. These examples have a much richer\nstructure than conifolds. A picture is proposed that relates matrix\nfactorizations in Landau-Ginzburg theories to the way that matrix\nfactorizations are used in this paper to perform noncommutative resolutions.",
        "positive": "Refined chiral Slavnov-Taylor identities: Renormalization and Local\n  Physics: We study the quantization of chiral QED by means of an extended\nSlavnov-Taylor (ST) identity under which an external source and the ghost field\nform a doublet. This ST identity incorporates the Adler-Bardeen anomaly. We\nprove that the cohomology classes of the extended classical linearized ST\noperator ${\\cal S}'_0$ are modified with respect to the ones of the classical\nBRST differential in the FP neutral sector (physical observables). This\nprovides a counterexample showing that the introduction of a doublet can modify\nthe cohomology of the model, as a consequence of the fact that the counting\noperator for the doublet does not commute with ${\\cal S}'_0$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Mink$_3\\times S^3$ solutions of type II supergravity: We initiate the classification of supersymmetric solutions of type II\nsupergravity on $\\mathbb{R}^{1,2} \\times S^3 \\times M_4$. We find explicit\nlocal expressions for all backgrounds with either a single Killing spinor or\ntwo of equal norm, up to PDE's. We show that the only type II AdS$_4\\times S^3$\nsolution is the known $\\mathcal{N}=4$ AdS$_4$ background obtained from the\nnear-horizon limit of intersecting D2-D6 branes. Various known branes and\nintersecting brane systems are recovered, and we obtain a novel class of\n$\\mathbb{R}^{1,2} \\times S^2\\times S^3$ solutions in IIA.",
        "positive": "Non-perturbative Lorentzian Quantum Gravity, Causality and Topology\n  Change: We formulate a non-perturbative lattice model of two-dimensional Lorentzian\nquantum gravity by performing the path integral over geometries with a causal\nstructure. The model can be solved exactly at the discretized level. Its\ncontinuum limit coincides with the theory obtained by quantizing 2d continuum\ngravity in proper-time gauge, but it disagrees with 2d gravity defined via\nmatrix models or Liouville theory. By allowing topology change of the compact\nspatial slices (i.e. baby universe creation), one obtains agreement with the\nmatrix models and Liouville theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On heavy states in supersymmetric gluodynamics at large N: It is argued that there are states (quasiparticles) with masses ranging over\nthe scales $\\Lambda N_{c}^{1/3} \\div \\Lambda N_{c}$ in N=1 supersymmetric\nmulticolor gluodynamics. These states exist in the form of quantum bubbles made\nout of the BPS domain walls. Analogous states are likely to exist in\nnon-supersymmetric case as well.",
        "positive": "Vacuum Persistence in Fierz-Pauli Theory on a Curved Background: By explicitly constructing the Hilbert space, Higuchi showed that there is a\nlower bound on the mass of a minimally-coupled free spin-2 field on a curved\nbackground \\cite{HiguchiBound}. Using the vacuum persistence amplitude, we show\nthat this bound is modified by taking into account additional terms not\nprohibited by symmetry in the case of a maximally symmetric spacetime. This\nresult can further be generalized to the maximally symmetric space case, such\nas the FRW universe, and its corresponding bound of the deformation parameter\nis discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Systematic renormalization scheme in light-front dynamics with Fock\n  space truncation: Within the framework of the covariant formulation of light-front dynamics, we\ndevelop a general non-perturbative renormalization scheme based on the Fock\ndecomposition of the state vector and its truncation. The counterterms and bare\nparameters needed to renormalize the theory depend on the Fock sectors. We\npresent a general strategy in order to calculate these quantities, as well as\nstate vectors of physical systems, in a truncated Fock space. The explicit\ndependence of our formalism on the orientation of the light front plane is\nessential in order to analyze the structure of the counterterms. We apply our\nformalism to the two-body (one fermion and one boson) truncation in the Yukawa\nmodel and in QED, and to the three-body truncation in a scalar model. In QED,\nwe recover analytically, without any perturbative expansion, the\nrenormalization of the electric charge, according to the requirements of the\nWard identity.",
        "positive": "Quantum Dynamics of the Slow Rollover Transition in the Linear Delta\n  Expansion: We apply the linear delta expansion to the quantum mechanical version of the\nslow rollover transition which is an important feature of inflationary models\nof the early universe. The method, which goes beyond the Gaussian\napproximation, gives results which stay close to the exact solution for longer\nthan previous methods. It provides a promising basis for extension to a full\nfield theoretic treatment."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Towers of Light States at Infinite Distance: Upon investigating asymptotic regimes of the F-theory moduli space, we verify\nthat a tower of light states arises as predicted by the Distance Conjecture.\nSpecifically, we provide a geometric classification of the infinite distance\nlimits and comprehensively analyze the light states of the associated effective\ntheories. We thereby find for every infinite distance limit that the effective\ntheory either reduces to a weakly-coupled (dual) string theory or\ndecompactifies to a higher-dimensional theory. This is in full agreement with\nthe Emergent String Conjecture, which clarifies the physical nature of the\nlight particle tower either as the excitation modes of an emergent\nweakly-coupled string or as the Kaluza-Klein modes associated with a\ndecompactification of the spacetime. The results reported encompass both the\nK\\\"ahler and the complex structure limits of F-theory, respectively, in $4$ and\n$8$ dimensions, and hence are indicative of the overarching microscopic origins\nof the light towers.",
        "positive": "Chern-Simons theory, exactly solvable models and free fermions at finite\n  temperature: We show that matrix models in Chern-Simons theory admit an interpretation as\n1D exactly solvable models, paralleling the relationship between the Gaussian\nmatrix model and the Calogero model. We compute the corresponding Hamiltonians,\nground-state wavefunctions and ground-state energies and point out that the\nmodels can be interpreted as quasi-1D Coulomb plasmas. We also study the\nrelationship between Chern-Simons theory on $S^3$ and a system of N\none-dimensional fermions at finite temperature with harmonic confinement. In\nparticular we show that the Chern-Simons partition function can be described by\nthe density matrix of the free fermions in a very particular, crystalline,\nconfiguration. For this, we both use the Brownian motion and the matrix model\ndescription of Chern-Simons theory and find several common features with c=1\ntheory at finite temperature. Finally, using the exactly solvable model result,\nwe show that the finite temperature effect can be described with a specific\ntwo-body interaction term in the Hamiltonian, with 1D Coulombic behavior at\nlarge separations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "An all-order discontinuity at the electroweak phase transition: We define a non-local gauge-invariant Green's function which can distinguish\nbetween the symmetric (confinement) and broken (Higgs) phases of the hot\nSU(2)xU(1) electroweak theory to all orders in the perturbative expansion. It\nis related to the coupling of the Chern-Simons number to a massless Abelian\ngauge field. The result implies either that there is a way to distinguish\nbetween the phases, even though the macroscopic thermodynamical properties of\nthe system have been observed to be smoothly connected, or that the\nperturbative Coleman-Hill theorem on which the argument is based, is\ncircumvented by non-perturbative effects. We point out that this question could\nin principle be studied with three-dimensional lattice simulations.",
        "positive": "Kohn's theorem and Newton-Hooke symmetry for Hill's equations: Hill's equations, which first arose in the study of the Earth-Moon-Sun\nsystem, admit the two-parameter centrally extended Newton-Hooke symmetry\nwithout rotations. This symmetry allows for extending Kohn's theorem about the\ncenter-of-mass decomposition. Particular light is shed on the problem using\nDuval's \"Bargmann\" framework. The separation of the center-of-mass motion into\nthat of a guiding center and relative motion is derived by a generalized chiral\ndecomposition."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "D-brane categories: This is an exposition of recent progress in the categorical approach to\nD-brane physics. I discuss the physical underpinnings of the appearance of\nhomotopy categories and triangulated categories of D-branes from a string field\ntheoretic perspective, and with a focus on applications to homological mirror\nsymmetry.",
        "positive": "One-loop Corrections to Scalar and Tensor Perturbations during Inflation\n  in Stochastic Gravity: Based on the stochastic gravity, we study the loop corrections to the scalar\nand tensor perturbations during inflation. Since the loop corrections to scalar\nperturbations suffer infrared (IR) divergence, we consider the IR\nregularization to obtain the finite value. We find that the loop corrections to\nthe scalar perturbations are amplified by the e-folding; in other words there\nappear the logarithmic correction, just as discussed by M.Sloth et al. On the\nother hand, we find that the tensor perturbations do not suffer from infrared\ndivergence."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chiral Anomalies in the Spectral Action: The definition of the spectral action involves the trace operator over states\nin the physical Hilbert space. We show that in the presence of chiral fermions\nthere are consistency conditions on the fermionic representations. These\nconditions are identical to the conditions for absence of gauge and\ngravitational anomalies obtained in the path integral formalism.",
        "positive": "Indecomposable Representations in Z_n Symmetric b,c Ghost Systems via\n  Deformations of the Virasoro Field: The Virasoro field associated to b,c ghost systems with arbitrary integer\nspin lambda on an n-sheeted branched covering of the Riemann sphere is\ndeformed. This leads to reducible but indecomposable representations, if the\nnew Virasoro field acts on the space of states, enlarged by taking the tensor\nproduct over the different sheets of the surface. For lambda=1, proven LCFT\nstructures are made explicit through this deformation. In the other cases, the\nexistence of Jordan cells is ruled out in favour of a novel kind of\nindecomposable representations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Toric code-like models from the parameter space of $3D$ lattice gauge\n  theories: A state sum construction on closed manifolds \\'{a} la Kuperberg can be used\nto construct the partition functions of $3D$ lattice gauge theories based on\ninvolutory Hopf algebras, $\\mathcal{A}$, of which the group algebras,\n$\\mathbb{C}G$, are a particular case. Transfer matrices can be obtained by\ncarrying out this construction on a manifold with boundary. Various\nHamiltonians of physical interest can be obtained from these transfer matrices\nby playing around with the parameters the transfer matrix is a function of. The\n$2D$ quantum double Hamiltonians of Kitaev can be obtained from such transfer\nmatrices for specific values of these parameters. A initial study of such\nmodels has been carried out in \\cite{p1}. In this paper we study other regions\nof this parameter space to obtain some new and known models. The new model\ncomprise of Hamiltonians which \"partially\" confine the excitations of the\nquantum double Hamiltonians which are usually deconfined. The state sum\nconstruction allows for parameters depending on the position in obtaining the\ntransfer matrices and thus it is natural to expect disordered Hamiltonians from\nthem. Thus one set of known models consist of the disordered quantum double\nHamiltonians. Finally we obtain quantum double Hamiltonians perturbed by\nmagnetic fields which have been considered earlier in the literature to study\nthe stability of topological order to perturbations.",
        "positive": "Thermodynamics and Stability of Flat Anti-de Sitter Black Strings: We examine the thermodynamics and stability of 5-dimensional flat anti-de\nSitter (AdS) black strings, locally asymptotically anti-de Sitter spacetimes\nwhose spatial sections are AdS black holes with Ricci flat horizons. We find\nthat there is a phase transition for the flat AdS black string when the AdS\nsoliton string is chosen as the thermal background. We find that this bulk\nphase transition corresponds to a 4-dimensional flat AdS black hole to AdS\nsoliton phase transition on the boundary Karch-Randall branes. We compute the\npossibility of a phase transition from a flat AdS black string to a\n5-dimensional AdS soliton and show that, though possible for certain thin black\nstrings, the transition to the AdS soliton string is preferred. In contrast to\nthe case of the Schwarzschild-AdS black string, we find that the specific heat\nof the flat AdS black string is always positive; hence it is thermodynamically\nstable. We show numerically that both the flat AdS black string and AdS soliton\nstring are free of a Gregory-Laflamme instability for all values of the mass\nparameter. Therefore the Gubser-Mitra conjecture holds for these spacetimes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Environment Induced Time Arrow: The spread of the time arrows from the environment to an observed subsystem\nis followed within a harmonic model. A similarity is pointed out between\nirreversibility and a phase with spontaneously broken symmetry. The causal\nstructure of interaction might be lost in the irreversible case, as well. The\nClosed Time Path formalism is developed for classical systems and shown to\nhandle the time arrow problem in a clear and flexible manner. The quantum case\nis considered, as well, and the common origin of irreversibility and\ndecoherence is pointed out.",
        "positive": "Cartographing gravity-mediated scattering amplitudes: scalars and\n  photons: The effective action includes all quantum corrections arising in a given\nquantum field theory. Thus it serves as a powerful generating functional from\nwhich quantum-corrected scattering amplitudes can be constructed via tree-level\ncomputations. In this work we use this framework for studying gravity-mediated\ntwo-to-two scattering processes involving scalars and photons as external\nparticles. We construct a minimal basis of interaction monomials capturing all\ncontributions to these processes. This classification goes beyond the\nexpansions used in effective field theory since it retains the most general\nmomentum dependence in the propagators and couplings. In this way, we derive\nthe most general scattering amplitudes compatible with a relativistic quantum\nfield theory. Comparing to tree-level scattering in general relativity, we\nidentify the differential cross sections which are generated by the non-trivial\nmomentum dependence of the interaction vertices."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Radiation entropy bound from the second law of thermodynamics: It has been suggested heuristically by Unruh and Wald, and independently by\nPage, that among systems with given energy and volume, thermal radiation has\nthe largest entropy. The suggestion leads to the corresponding universal bound\non entropy of physical systems. Using a gedanken experiment we show that the\nbound follows from the second law of thermodynamics if the CPT symmetry is\nassumed and a certain general condition on matter holds. The experiment\nsuggests that a wide class of Lorentz invariant local quantum field theories\nobeys a bound on the density of states.",
        "positive": "Large N Master Field Optimization: the Quantum Mechanics of two\n  Yang-Mills coupled Matrices: We study the large N dynamics of two massless Yang-Mills coupled matrix\nquantum mechanics, by minimization of a loop truncated Jevicki-Sakita effective\ncollective field Hamiltonian. The loop space constraints are handled by the use\nof master variables. The method is successfully applied directly in the\nmassless limit for a range of values of the Yang-Mills coupling constant, and\nthe scaling behaviour of different physical quantities derived from their\ndimensions are obtained with a high level of precision. We consider both planar\nproperties of the theory, such as the large N ground state energy and\nmulti-matrix correlator expectation values, and also the spectrum of the\ntheory. For the spectrum, we establish that the U(N) traced fundamental\nconstituents remain massless and decoupled from other states, and that bound\nstates develop well defined mass gaps, with the mass of the two degenerate\nlowest lying bound states being determined with a particularly high degree of\naccuracy. In order to confirm, numerically, the physical interpretation of the\nspectrum properties of the U(N) traced constituents, we add masses to the\nsystem and show that, indeed, the U(N) traced fundamental constituents retain\ntheir \"bare masses\". For this system, we draw comparisons with planar results\navailable in the literature."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Effect of Auxiliary Fields to the Gap Equation in the\n  Nambu-Jona-Lasinio Model: This paper has been withdrawn by the authors because the results obtained\nhere had been corrected and appeared in hep-th/0306008.",
        "positive": "Are there Boltzmann brains in the vacuum: \"Boltzmann brains\" are human brains that arise as thermal or quantum\nfluctuations and last at least long enough to think a few thoughts. In many\nscenarios involving universes of infinite size or duration, Boltzmann brains\nare infinitely more common than human beings who arise in the ordinary way.\nThus we should expect to be Boltzmann brains, in contradiction to observation.\nWe discuss here the question of whether Boltzmann brains can arise as quantum\nfluctuations in the vacuum. Such Boltzmann brains pose an even worse problem\nthan those arising as fluctuations in the thermal state of an exponentially\nexpanding universe. We give several arguments for and against inclusion of\nvacuum Boltzmann brains in the anthropic reference class, but find neither\nchoice entirely satisfactory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Harrison transformation and charged black objects in Kaluza-Klein theory: We generate charged black brane solutions in $D-$dimensions in a theory of\ngravity coupled to a dilaton and an antisymmetric form, by using a\nHarrison-type transformation. The seed vacuum solutions that we use correspond\nto uplifted Kaluza-Klein black strings and black holes in $(D-p)$-dimensions. A\ngeneralization of the Marolf-Mann quasilocal formalism to the Kaluza-Klein\ntheory is also presented, the global charges of the black objects being\ncomputed in this way. We argue that the thermodynamics of the charged solutions\ncan be derived from that of the vacuum configurations. Our results show that\nall charged Kaluza-Klein solutions constructed by means of Harrison\ntransformations are thermodynamically unstable in a grand canonical ensemble.\nThe general formalism is applied to the case of nonuniform black strings and\ncaged black hole solutions in $D=5, 6$ Einstein-Maxwell-dilaton gravity, whose\ngeometrical properties and thermodynamics are discussed. We argue that the\ntopology changing transition scenario, which was previously proposed in the\nvacuum case, also holds in this case. Spinning generalizations of the charged\nblack strings are constructed in six dimensions in the slowly rotating limit.\nWe find that the gyromagnetic ratio of these solutions possesses a nontrivial\ndependence on the nonuniformity parameter.",
        "positive": "Quantum Effective Action in Spacetimes with Branes and Boundaries: We construct quantum effective action in spacetime with branes/boundaries.\nThis construction is based on the reduction of the underlying Neumann type\nboundary value problem for the propagator of the theory to that of the much\nmore manageable Dirichlet problem. In its turn, this reduction follows from the\nrecently suggested Neumann-Dirichlet duality which we extend beyond the tree\nlevel approximation. In the one-loop approximation this duality suggests that\nthe functional determinant of the differential operator subject to Neumann\nboundary conditions in the bulk factorizes into the product of its Dirichlet\ncounterpart and the functional determinant of a special operator on the brane\n-- the inverse of the brane-to-brane propagator. As a byproduct of this\nrelation we suggest a new method for surface terms of the heat kernel\nexpansion. This method allows one to circumvent well-known difficulties in heat\nkernel theory on manifolds with boundaries for a wide class of generalized\nNeumann boundary conditions. In particular, we easily recover several lowest\norder surface terms in the case of Robin and oblique boundary conditions. We\nbriefly discuss multi-loop applications of the suggested Dirichlet reduction\nand the prospects of constructing the universal background field method for\nsystems with branes/boundaries, analogous to the Schwinger-DeWitt technique."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Generalized dilaton-axion models of inflation, de Sitter vacua and\n  spontaneous SUSY breaking in supergravity: We propose the unified models of cosmological inflation, spontaneous SUSY\nbreaking, and the dark energy (de Sitter vacuum) in $N=1$ supergravity with the\ndilaton-axion chiral superfield $T$ in the presence of an $N=1$ vector\nmultiplet with the alternative Fayet-Iliopoulos term. By using the K\\\"ahler\npotential as $K=-\\alpha\\log(T+\\bar{T})$ and the superpotential as a sum of a\nconstant and a linear term, we find that viable inflation is possible for\n$3\\leq\\alpha\\leq\\alpha_{\\rm max}$ where $\\alpha_{\\rm max}\\approx 7.235$.\nObservations of the amplitude of primordial scalar perturbations fix the SUSY\nbreaking scale in our models as high as $10^{13}$ GeV. In the case of\n$\\alpha>3$ the axion gets the tree-level (non-tachyonic) mass comparable to the\ninflaton mass.",
        "positive": "Non-integrable Quantum Field Theories as Perturbations of Certain\n  Integrable Models: We approach the study of non--integrable models of two--dimensional quantum\nfield theory as perturbations of the integrable ones. By exploiting the\nknowledge of the exact $S$-matrix and Form Factors of the integrable field\ntheories we obtain the first order corrections to the mass ratios, the vacuum\nenergy density and the $S$-matrix of the non-integrable theories. As\ninteresting applications of the formalism, we study the scaling region of the\nIsing model in an external magnetic field at $T \\sim T_c$ and the scaling\nregion around the minimal model $M_{2,7}$. For these models, a remarkable\nagreement is observed between the theoretical predictions and the data\nextracted by a numerical diagonalization of their Hamiltonian."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic thermalization with initial long range correlation: We studied the evolution of Wightman correlator in a thermalizing state\nmodeled by AdS_3-Vaidya background. We gave a prescription for calculating\nWightman correlator in coordinate space without using any approximation. For\nequal-time correlator $\\langle O(v,x)O(v,0)\\rangle$, we obtained an enhancement\nfactor $v^2$ due to long range correlation present in the initial state. This\nwas missed by previous studies based on geodesic approximation. We found that\nthe long range correlation in initial state does not lead to significant\nmodification to thermalization time as compared to known results with generic\ninitial state. We also studied spatially integrated Wightman correlator and\nshowed evidence on the distinction between long distance and small momentum\nphysics for an out-of-equilibrium state. We also calculated radiation spectrum\nof particle weakly coupled to $O$ and found lower frequency mode approaches\nthermal spectrum faster than high frequency mode.",
        "positive": "Dynamics of (n, 1) Strings: An $(n, 1)$ string is a bound state of a D-string and $n$ fundamental\nstrings. It may be described by a D-string with a world volume electric field\nturned on. As the electric field approaches its critical value, $n$ becomes\nlarge. We calculate the 4-point function for transverse oscillations of an $(n,\n1)$ string, and the two-point function for massless closed strings scattering\noff an $(n, 1)$ string. In both cases we find a set of poles that becomes dense\nin the large $n$ limit. The effective tension that governs the spacing of these\npoles is the fundamental string tension divided by $1+(n\\lambda)^2$, where\n$\\lambda$ is the closed string coupling. We associate this effective tension\nwith the open strings attached to the $(n, 1)$ string, thereby governing its\ndynamics. We also argue that the effective coupling strenth of these open\nstrings is reduced by the electric field and approaches zero in the large $n$\nlimit."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Localization on the Landscape and Eternal Inflation: We investigate the validity of the assertion that eternal inflation populates\nthe landscape of string theory. We verify that bubble solutions do not satisfy\nthe Klein Gordon equation for the landscape potential. Solutions to the\nlandscape potential within the formalism of quantum cosmology are Anderson\nlocalized wavefunctions. Those are inconsistent with inflating bubble\nsolutions. The physical reasons behind the failure of a relation between\neternal inflation and the landscape are rooted in quantum phenomena such as\ninterference between wavefunction concentrated around the various vacua in the\nlandscape.",
        "positive": "Bilocal fields and gravity: We study a classical bilocal field theory perturbatively up to second order.\nThe chosen theory is the simplest which incorporates action-at-a-distance,\nwhile keeping non-local effects short-ranged. We show that the new degrees of\nfreedom introduced by bilocality can be interpreted as gravitational degrees of\nfreedom in the following sense: solutions of the bilocal system at linear and\nsecond order contain as a subset, gravitational perturbations (spacetime\nfluctuations) also to that order. In other words, gravity can be thought to\noriginate in a bilocal field theory. We examine potential implications."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Nodes, Monopoles and Confinement in 2+1-Dimensional Gauge Theories: In the presence of Chern-Simons interactions the wave functionals of physical\nstates in 2+1-dimensional gauge theories vanish at anumber of nodal points. We\nshow that those nodes are located at some classical configurations which carry\na non-trivial magnetic charge. In abelian gauge theories this fact explains why\nmagnetic monopoles are suppressed by Chern-Simons interactions. In non-abelian\ntheories it suggests a relevant role for nodal gauge field configurations in\nthe confinement mechanism of Yang-Mills theories. We show that the vacuum nodes\ncorrespond to the chiral gauge orbits of reducible gauge fields with\nnon-trivial magnetic monopole components.",
        "positive": "Instantons and the Hartle-Hawking-Maldacena Proposal for dS/CFT: We test the Maldacena proposal for the Hartle-Hawking late time quantum state\nin an asymptotically de Sitter universe. In particular, we calculate the\non-shell action for scalar instantons on the southern hemisphere of the\nfour-sphere and compare the result with the renormalized on-shell action for\nscalar instantons in EAdS$_4$. The two results agree provided the corresponding\ninstanton moduli as well as the curvature radii are analytically continued. The\ninstanton solutions in de Sitter are novel and satisfy mixed boundary\nconditions. We also point out that instantons on $S^4$ calculate the\nregularized volume of EAdS$_4$, while instantons on EAdS$_4$ calculate the\nvolume of $S^4$, where the boundary condition of the instanton in one space is\nidentified with the radius of curvature of the other. We briefly discuss the\nimplications of the above geometric property of instantons for higher-spin\nholography."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chiral Ring of Strange Metals: The Multicolor Limit: The low energy limit of a dense 2D adjoint QCD is described by a family of\n${\\cal N}=(2,2)$ supersymmetric coset conformal field theories. In previous\nwork we constructed chiral primaries for a small number $N < 6$ of colors. Our\naim in the present note is to determine the chiral ring in the multicolor limit\nwhere $N$ is sent to infinity. We shall find that chiral primaries are labeled\nby partitions and identify the ring they generate as the ring of Schur\npolynomials. Our findings impose strong constraints on the possible dual\ndescription through string theory in an $AdS_3$ compactification.",
        "positive": "Behavior of a Chiral Condensate Around Astrophysical-Mass Schwarschild\n  and Reissner-Nordstr\u00f6m Black Holes: In this work, we develop a perturbative method to describe the behavior of a\nchiral condensate around a spherical black hole whose mass is astrophysically\nrealistic. We use the inverse mass as the expansion parameter for our\nperturbative series. We test this perturbative method in the case of a\nSchwarzschild black hole, and we find that it agrees well with previous\nnumerical results. For an astrophysical-mass Schwarzschild black hole, the\nleading order contribution to the condensate is much larger (in most of space)\nthan the next-to-leading order contribution, providing further evidence for the\nvalidity of the perturbative approach. The size of the bubble of restored\nchiral symmetry is directly proportional to the size of the black hole. Next,\nwe apply this perturbative method to a Reissner-Nordstr\\\"om (RN) black hole. We\nfind that, as the charge-to-mass ratio increases, the bubble of restored chiral\nsymmetry becomes larger relative to the black hole. This effect is particularly\npronounced for near-extremal RN black holes. The case of an extremal RN black\nhole provides an interesting counterexample to the standard thermal explanation\nfor the formation of a bubble of restored chiral symmetry around a black hole."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Calogero Models for Distinguishable Particles: Motivated by topological bidimensional quantum models for distinguishable\nparticles, and by Haldane's definition of mutual statistics for different\nspecies of particles, we propose a new class of one-dimensional $1/r_{ij}^2$\nCalogero model with coupling constants $g_{ij}$ depending on the labels of the\nparticles. We solve the groundstate problem, and show how to build some classes\nof excited states.",
        "positive": "Stochastic Quantization Approach for Causal Dynamical Triangulation\n  String Field Theory: We construct a 2-dimensional Causal Dynamical Triangulation (CDT) model from\na matrix model which represents the loop gas model of closed string. The\ntarget-space index is reinterpreted as time or geodesic distance. We apply\nstochastic quantization method to the model to obtain the Generalized CDT\n(GCDT), which has additional interaction of creating baby universe. If we take\na specific scaling in continuum limit, we realize an extended GCDT model\ncharacterized by the non-critical string field theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fine-Tuning in Brane-antibrane Inflation: I give a brief overview of brane-antibrane inflation, with emphasis on the\nproblems of tuning to get a flat potential in the KKLMMT framework, and recent\nwork on the nature of superpotential corrections in that model.",
        "positive": "The S-matrix algebra of the AdS2 X S2 superstring: In this paper we find the Yangian algebra responsible for the integrability\nof the AdS2 X S2 X T^6 superstring in the planar limit. We demonstrate the\nsymmetry of the corresponding exact S-matrix in the massive sector, including\nthe presence of the secret symmetry. We give two alternative presentations of\nthe Hopf algebra, along with related discussions on the issue of evaluation\nrepresentations. We study the classical r-matrix, and re-discover the need for\na secret symmetry also in this context. Finally, taking the simplifying\nzero-coupling limit of the S-matrix as a generating R-matrix for the Algebraic\nBethe Ansatz, we obtain an effective model of free fermions on a periodic\nspin-chain. This limit should provide hints to the one-loop anomalous dimension\nof the mysterious superconformal quantum mechanics dual to the superstring\ntheory in this geometry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hawking Radiation of a Charged Black Hole in Quantum Gravity: We study black hole radiation of a Reissner-Nordstrom black hole with an\nelectric charge in the framework of quantum gravity. Based on a canonical\nquantization for a spherically symmetric geometry, under physically plausible\nassumptions, we solve the Wheeler-De Witt equation in the regions not only\nbetween the outer apparent horizon and the spatial infinity but also between\nthe spacetime singularity and the inner apparent horizon, and then show that\nthe mass loss rate of an evaporating black hole due to thermal radiation agrees\nwith the semiclassical result when we choose an integration constant properly\nby physical reasoning. Furthermore, we also solve the Wheeler-De Witt equation\nin the region between the inner Cauchy horizon and the outer apparent horizon,\nand show that the mass loss rate of an evaporating black hole has the same\nexpression. The present study is the natural generalization of the case of a\nSchwarzschild black hole to that of a charged Reissner-Nordstrom black hole.",
        "positive": "Notes on Soliton Bound-State Problems in Gauge Theory and String Theory: We review four basic examples where string theory and/or field theory\ndualities predict the existence of soliton bound-states. These include the\nexistence of threshold bound-states of D0 branes required by IIA/M duality and\nthe closely-related bound-states of instantons in the maximally supersymmetric\nfive dimensional gauge theory. In the IIB theory we discuss (p,q)-strings as\nbound-states of D and F strings, as well as the corresponding bound-states of\nmonopoles and dyons in N=4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory whose existence was\npredicted by Sen. In particular we consider the L^2-index theory relevant for\ncounting these states. In each case we show that the bulk contribution to the\nindex can be evaluated by relating it to an instanton effect in the\ncorresponding theory with a compact Euclidean time dimension. The boundary\ncontribution to the index can be determined by considering the asymptotic\nregions of the relevant moduli space."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Strong-Weak Coupling Duality in Four Dimensional String Theory: We present several pieces of evidence for strong-weak coupling duality\nsymmetry in the heterotic string theory, compactified on a six dimensional\ntorus. These include symmetry of the 1) low energy effective action, 2) allowed\nspectrum of electric and magnetic charges in the theory, 3) allowed mass\nspectrum of particles saturating the Bogomol'nyi bound, and 4) Yukawa couplings\nbetween massless neutral particles and massive charged particles saturating the\nBogomol'nyi bound. This duality transformation exchanges the electrically\ncharged elementary string excitations with the magnetically charged soliton\nstates in the theory. It is shown that the existence of a strong-weak coupling\nduality symmetry in four dimensional string theory makes definite prediction\nabout the existence of new stable monopole and dyon states in the theory with\nspecific degeneracies, including certain supersymmetric bound states of\nmonopoles and dyons. The relationship between strong-weak coupling duality\ntransformation in string theory and target space duality transformation in the\nfive-brane theory is also discussed. (Based on a talk given at the workshop on\nStrings and Gravity, Madras, India.)",
        "positive": "Quantum Group Symmetry and Quantum Hall Wavefunctions on a Torus: We find a quantum group structure in two-dimensional motion of\nnonrelativistic electrons in a uniform magnetic field on a torus. The\nrepresentation basis of the quantum algebra is composed of the quantum Hall\nwavefunctions proposed by Haldane-Rezayi at the Landau-level filling factor\n$\\nu=1/m$ ($m$ odd). It is also shown that the quantum group symmetry is\nrelevant to the degenerate Landau states and the deformation parameter of the\nquantum algebra is given by the filling factor."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "BPS State Counting in Local Obstructed Curves from Quiver Theory and\n  Seiberg Duality: In this paper we study the BPS state counting in the geometry of local\nobstructed curve with normal bundle O+O(-2). We find that the BPS states have a\nframed quiver description. Using this quiver description along with the Seiberg\nduality and the localization techniques, we can compute the BPS state indices\nin different chambers dictated by stability parameter assignments. This\nprovides a well-defined method to compute the generalized Donaldson-Thomas\ninvariants. This method can be generalized to other affine ADE quiver theories.",
        "positive": "Ward Identities in Non-equilibrium QED: We verify the QED Ward identity for the two- and three -point functions at\nnon-equilibrium in the HTL limit. We use the Keldysh formalism of real time\nfinite temperature field theory. We obtain an identity of the same form as the\nWard identity for a set of one loop self-energy and one loop three-point vertex\ndiagrams which are constructed from HTL effective propagators and vertices."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gribov horizon and BRST symmetry: a pathway to confinement: We summarize the construction of the Gribov-Zwanziger action and how it leads\nto a scenario which explains the confinement of gluons, in the sense that the\nelementary gluon excitations violate positivity. Then we address the question\nof how one can construct operators within this picture whose one-loop\ncorrelation functions have the correct analytic properties in order to\ncorrespond to physical excitations. For this we introduce the concept of\ni-particles.",
        "positive": "A Matrix Model for the Null-Brane: The null-brane background is a simple smooth 1/2 BPS solution of string\ntheory. By tuning a parameter, this background develops a big crunch/big bang\ntype singularity. We construct the DLCQ description of this space-time in terms\nof a Yang-Mills theory on a time-dependent space-time. Our dual Matrix\ndescription provides a non-perturbative framework in which the fate of both\n(null) time, and the string S-matrix can be studied."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exchange of helicity in a knotted electromagnetic field: In this work we present for the first time an exact solution of Maxwell\nequations in vacuum, having non trivial topology, in which there is an exchange\nof helicity between the electric and magnetic part of such field. We calculate\nthe temporal evolution of the magnetic and electric helicities, and explain the\nexchange of helicity making use of the Chern-Simon form. We also have found and\nexplained that, as time goes to infinity, both helicities reach the same value\nand the exchange between the magnetic and electric part of the field stops.",
        "positive": "Heterotic Sigma Models with N=2 Space-Time Supersymmetry: We study the non-linear sigma model realization of a heterotic vacuum with\nN=2 space-time supersymmetry. We examine the requirements of (0,2) + (0,4)\nworld-sheet supersymmetry and show that a geometric vacuum must be described by\na principal two-torus bundle over a K3 manifold."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Four-Loop Cusp Anomalous Dimension From Obstructions: We introduce a method for extracting the cusp anomalous dimension at L loops\nfrom four-gluon amplitudes in N=4 Yang-Mills without evaluating any integrals\nthat depend on the kinematical invariants. We show that the anomalous dimension\nonly receives contributions from the obstructions introduced in hep-th/0601031.\nWe illustrate this method by extracting the two- and three-loop anomalous\ndimensions analytically and the four-loop one numerically. The four-loop result\nwas recently guessed to be f^4 = - (4\\zeta^3_2+24\\zeta_2\\zeta_4+50\\zeta_6-\n4(1+r)\\zeta_3^2) with r=-2 using integrability and string theory arguments in\nhep-th/0610251. Simultaneously, f^4 was computed numerically in hep-th/0610248\nfrom the four-loop amplitude obtaining, with best precision at the symmetric\npoint s=t, r=-2.028(36). Our computation is manifestly s/t independent and\nimproves the precision to r=-2.00002(3), providing strong evidence in favor of\nthe conjecture. The improvement is possible due to a large reduction in the\nnumber of contributing terms, as well as a reduction in the number of\nintegration variables in each term.",
        "positive": "Light-cone Hamiltonian flow for positronium. The numerical solutions: The effective Hamiltonian, as obtained from applying the Hamiltonian flow\nequations to front form QED, are solved numerically for positronium. Both the\nexchange and the annihilation channels are included. The impact of different\nsimilarity functions is explicitly studied. Perfect numerical agreement with\nother methods is found."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Application of Microlocal Analysis to the Theory of Quantum Fields\n  Interacting with a Gravitational Field: It is explained how techniques from microlocal analysis can be used to settle\nsome long-standing questions that arise in the study of the interaction of\nquantum matter fields with a classical gravitational background field.",
        "positive": "Master Actions and Helicity Decomposition for Spin-4 Models in $3D$: The present work introduces a master action that interpolates between four\nself-dual models, $SD(i)$, for describing massive spin-4 particles in $D=2+1$\ndimensions. These models are designated by $i=1,2,3$ and $4$, representing the\norder in derivatives. Our results show that the four descriptions are quantum\nequivalent through comparison of their correlation functions, up to contact\nterms. A geometrical approach is demonstrated to be a useful tool in describing\nthe third and fourth order models. The construction of the master action relies\non the introduction of mixing terms, which must be free of particle content. We\nuse the helicity decomposition method to verify the absence of particle content\nin these terms, ensuring the proper functioning of the master action."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Magnetic Phenomena in Holographic Superconductivity with Lifshitz\n  Scaling: We investigate the effects of Lifshitz dynamical critical exponent z on a\nfamily of minimal D=4+1 holographic superconducting models, with a particular\nfocus on magnetic phenomena. We see that it is possible to have a consistent\nGinzburg-Landau approach to holographic superconductivity in a Lifshitz\nbackground. By following this phenomenological approach we are able to compute\na wide array of physical quantities. We also calculate the Ginzburg-Landau\nparameter for different condensates, and conclude that in systems with higher\ndynamical critical exponent, vortex formation is more strongly unfavored\nenergetically and exhibit a stronger Type I behavior. Finally, following the\nperturbative approach proposed by Maeda, Natsuume and Okamura, we calculate the\ncritical magnetic field of our models for different values of z.",
        "positive": "Combining the bi-Yang-Baxter deformation, the Wess-Zumino term and TsT\n  transformations in one integrable sigma-model: A multi-parameter integrable deformation of the principal chiral model is\npresented. The Yang-Baxter and bi-Yang-Baxter sigma-models, the principal\nchiral model plus a Wess-Zumino term and the TsT transformation of the\nprincipal chiral model are all recovered when the appropriate deformation\nparameters vanish. When the Lie group is SU(2), we show that this\nfour-parameter integrable deformation of the SU(2) principal chiral model\ncorresponds to the Lukyanov model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Polynomial deformations of $osp(1/2)$ and generalized parabosons: We consider the algebra $R$ generated by three elements $A,B,H$ subject to\nthree relations $[H,A]=A$, $[H,B]=-B$ and $\\{A,B\\}=f(H)$. When $f(H)=H$ this\ncoincides with the Lie superalgebra $osp(1/2)$; when $f$ is a polynomial we\nspeak of polynomial deformations of $osp(1/2)$. Irreducible representations of\n$R$ are described, and in the case $\\deg(f)\\leq 2$ we obtain a complete\nclassification, showing some similarities but also some interesting differences\nwith the usual $osp(1/2)$ representations. The relation with deformed\noscillator algebras is discussed, leading to the interpretation of $R$ as a\ngeneralized paraboson algebra.",
        "positive": "Zoology of heterotic supercurrent supermultiplets in d=2: We present various (0,2) heterotic supercurrent supermultiplets in (1+1)\ndimensional quantum field theories. From the minimal supercurrent\nsupermultiplets, we deduce conditions on symmetry enhancement such as Lorentz\ninvariance, (chiral) dilatation invariance, R-invariance, (chiral) conformal\ninvariance and their various combinations. Our construction covers many\ninteresting and/or exotic possibilities such as Lifshitz supersymmetry and\nwarped superconformal algebra. We also discuss the corresponding supergravity\nby gauging the supercurrent supermultiplet. In particular, we propose a novel\nclass of heterotic supergravity based on the virial supercurrent."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Zero Temperature Chiral Phase Transition in (2+1)-Dimensional QED with a\n  Chern-Simons Term: We investigate the zero temperature chiral phase transition in\n(2+1)-dimensional QED in the presence of a Chern-Simons term, changing the\nnumber of fermion flavors. In the symmetric phase, there are no light degrees\nof freedom even at the critical point. Unlike the case without a Chern-Simons\nterm, the phase transition is first-order.",
        "positive": "Lecture Notes on Superconductivity: Condensed Matter and QCD: Lecture notes delivered in Barcellona in the fall of 2003"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Towards the Construction of Wightman Functions of Integrable Quantum\n  Field Theories: The purpose of the ``bootstrap program'' for integrable quantum field\ntheories in 1+1 dimensions is to construct a model in terms of its Wightman\nfunctions explicitly. In this article, this program is mainly illustrated in\nterms of the sine-Gordon and the sinh-Gordon model and (as an exercise) the\nscaling Ising model. We review some previous results on sine-Gordon breather\nform factors and quantum operator equations. The problem to sum over\nintermediate states is attacked in the short distance limit of the two point\nWightman function for the sinh-Gordon and the scaling Ising model.",
        "positive": "FeynGrav : FeynCalc extension for gravity amplitudes: Package FeynGrav which provides a framework to deal with Feynman rules for\ngravity within FeynCalc is presented. We present a framework to deal with the\ncorresponding Feynman rules for general relativity and non-supersymmetric\nmatter minimally coupled to gravity. Applicability of the package is tested\nwith 2 -> 2 on-shell tree level graviton scattering, polarization operators,\nand one-loop scalar-gravitational interaction structure."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Bi-gravity with a single graviton: We analyze a bi-gravity model based on the first order formalism, having as\nfundamental variables two tetrads but only one Lorentz connection. We show that\non a large class of backgrounds its linearization agrees with general\nrelativity. At the non-linear level, additional degrees of freedom appear, and\nwe reveal the mechanism hiding them around the special backgrounds. We further\nargue that they do not contain a massive graviton, nor the Boulware-Deser\nghost. The model thus propagates only one graviton, whereas the nature of the\nadditional degrees of freedom remains to be investigated. We also present a\nfoliation-preserving deformation of the model, which keeps all symmetries\nexcept time diffeomorphisms and has three degrees of freedom.",
        "positive": "An Introduction to Counting Orbifolds: We review three methods of counting abelian orbifolds of the form C^3/Gamma\nwhich are toric Calabi-Yau (CY). The methods include the use of 3-tuples to\ndefine the action of Gamma on C^3, the counting of triangular toric diagrams\nand the construction of hexagonal brane tilings. A formula for the partition\nfunction that counts these orbifolds is given. Extensions to higher dimensional\norbifolds are briefly discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hawking Effect in 2-D String Theory: We use the matrix model to study the final state resulting from a coherent\nhigh energy pulse in 2-d string theory at large string coupling. We show that\nthe outgoing signal produced via reflection off the potential has a thermal\nspectrum, with the correct temperature and profile to be identified with\nHawking radiation. We confirm its origin as geometrical radiation produced by\nthe gravitational background. However, for a total incoming energy M, the\namount of energy carried by the thermal radiation scales only as log(M). Most\nof the incoming energy is returned via the transmitted wave, which does not\nhave a thermal spectrum, indicating the absence of macroscopic black hole\nformation.",
        "positive": "New advancements in AdS/CFT in lower dimensions: We review recent developments in the study of the AdS/CFT correspondence in\nlower dimensions. We start summarising the classification of AdS$_3\\times$S$^2$\nsolutions in massive Type IIA supergravity with (0,4) supersymmetries, and the\nconstruction of their 2d dual quiver CFTs. These theories are the seed for\nfurther developments, that we review next. First, we construct a new class of\nAdS$_3$ solutions in M-theory that describe M-strings in M5-brane\nintersections. Second, we generate a new class of AdS$_2\\times$S$^3$ solutions\nin massive IIA with 4 supercharges that we interpret as describing backreacted\nbaryon vertices within the 5d $\\mathcal{N}=1$ QFT living in D4-D8 branes.\nThird, we construct two classes of AdS$_2$ solutions in Type IIB. The first are\ndual to discrete light-cone quantised quantum mechanics living in null\ncylinders. The second class is interpreted as dual to backreacted baryon\nvertices within 4d $\\mathcal{N}=2$ QFT living in D3-D7 branes. Explicit dual\nquiver field theories are given for all classes of solutions. These are used to\ncompute the central charges of the CFTs, that are shown to agree with the\nholographic expressions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Multistrand Eigenvalue conjecture and Racah symmetries: Racah matrices of quantum algebras are of great interest at present time.\nThese matrices have a relation with $\\mathcal{R}$-matrices, which are much\nsimpler than the Racah matrices themselves. This relation is known as the\neigenvalue conjecture. In this paper we study symmetries of Racah matrices\nwhich follow from the eigenvalue conjecture for multistrand braids.",
        "positive": "Entropy signature of the running cosmological constant: Renormalization group (RG) improved cosmologies based upon a RG trajectory of\nQuantum Einstein Gravity (QEG) with realistic parameter values are investigated\nusing a system of cosmological evolution equations which allows for an\nunrestricted energy exchange between the vacuum and the matter sector. It is\ndemonstrated that the scale dependence of the gravitational parameters, the\ncosmological constant in particular, leads to an entropy production in the\nmatter system. The picture emerges that the Universe started out from a state\nof vanishing entropy, and that the radiation entropy observed today is\nessentially due to the coarse graining (RG flow) in the quantum gravity sector\nwhich is related to the expansion of the Universe. Furthermore, the RG improved\nfield equations are shown to possess solutions with an epoch of power law\ninflation immediately after the initial singularity. The inflation is driven by\nthe cosmological constant and ends automatically once the RG running has\nreduced the vacuum energy to the level of the matter energy density."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Construction of multi-instantons in eight dimensions: We consider an eight-dimensional local octonionic theory with the\nseven-sphere playing the role of the gauge group. Duality conditions for two-\nand four-forms in eight dimensions are related. Dual fields--octonionic\ninstantons--solve an 8D generalization of the Yang-Mills equation. Modifying\nthe ADHM construction of 4D instantons, we find general $k$-instanton 8D\nsolutions which depends on $16k-7$ effective parameters.",
        "positive": "On the S-Matrix of the Faddeev-Reshetikhin Model: The Faddeev-Reshetikhin model arises as a truncation of strings in AdS_5XS^5.\nIts two particle S-matrix should be obtained by diagonalizing its Hamiltonian.\nHowever this does not happen in a straightforward way. There is a Lorentz\nviolating term in the Hamiltonian which prevents its plain diagonalization. We\nthen find out the most general quartic Hamiltonian that can be diagonalized. It\nincludes the bosonic Thirring model as well as another model which shares the\nsame two particle S-matrix as the Faddeev-Reshetikhin model. We also find a one\nparameter family of interactions which lead to non-Hermitian Hamiltonians which\nhave unitary S-matrices and are PT symmetric."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Consistent Kinetic and Derivative Interactions for Gravitons: The only known fully ghost-free and consistent Lorentz-invariant kinetic term\nfor a graviton (or indeed for any spin-2 field) is the Einstein-Hilbert term.\nHere we propose and investigate a new family of candidate kinetic interactions\nand their extensions to derivative interactions involving several spin-2\nfields. These new terms generically break diffeomorphism invariance(s) and as a\nresult can lead to the propagation of 5 degrees of freedom for a single spin-2\nfield - analogous to ghost-free Massive Gravity. We discuss under what\ncircumstances these new terms can be used to build healthy effective field\ntheories and in the process establish the `Jordan' and `Einstein' frame\npictures for Massive-, Bi- and Multi-Gravity.",
        "positive": "Hot Giant Loop Holography: We argue that there is a phase transition in the expectation value of the\nPolyakov loop operator in the large N limit of the high temperature deconfined\nphase of N=4 Yang-Mills theory on a spatial S^3. It occurs for large completely\nsymmetric representation of the SU(N) symmetry group. We speculate that this\ntransition is reflected in the string theory dual as a critical behavior of the\nD3-brane duals of large representation loops."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Eikonal Approximation in AdS/CFT: From Shock Waves to Four-Point\n  Functions: We initiate a program to generalize the standard eikonal approximation to\ncompute amplitudes in Anti-de Sitter spacetimes. Inspired by the shock wave\nderivation of the eikonal amplitude in flat space, we study the two-point\nfunction E ~ < O_1 O_1 >_{shock} in the presence of a shock wave in Anti-de\nSitter, where O_1 is a scalar primary operator in the dual conformal field\ntheory. At tree level in the gravitational coupling, we relate the shock\ntwo-point function E to the discontinuity across a kinematical branch cut of\nthe conformal field theory four-point function A ~ < O_1 O_2 O_1 O_2 >, where\nO_2 creates the shock geometry in Anti-de Sitter. Finally, we extend the above\nresults by computing E in the presence of shock waves along the horizon of\nSchwarzschild BTZ black holes. This work gives new tools for the study of\nPlanckian physics in Anti-de Sitter spacetimes.",
        "positive": "Local models of Gauge Mediated Supersymmetry Breaking in String Theory: We describe local Calabi-Yau geometries with two isolated singularities at\nwhich systems of D3- and D7-branes are located, leading to chiral sectors\ncorresponding to a semi-realistic visible sector and a hidden sector with\ndynamical supersymmetry breaking. We provide explicit models with a 3-family\nMSSM-like visible sector, and a hidden sector breaking supersymmetry at a\nmeta-stable minimum. For singularities separated by a distance smaller than the\nstring scale, this construction leads to a simple realization of gauge mediated\nsupersymmetry breaking in string theory. The models are simple enough to allow\nthe explicit computation of the massive messenger sector, using dimer\ntechniques for branes at singularities. The local character of the\nconfigurations makes manifest the UV insensitivity of the supersymmetry\nbreaking mediation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Properties of {\\cal N}=1 SUSY Yang-Mills vacuums and domain walls: It is shown that there is no chirally symmetric vacuum state in the {cal N}=1\nsupersymmetric Yang-Mills theory. The values of the gluino condensate and the\nvacuum energy density are found out through a direct instanton calculation. A\nqualitative picture of domain wall properties is presented, and a new\nexplanation of the phenomenon of strings ending on the wall is proposed.",
        "positive": "More Exact Tunneling Solutions in Scalar Field Theory: We present exact bounce solutions and amplitudes for tunneling in i) a\npiecewise linear-quartic potential and ii) a piecewise quartic-quartic\npotential. We cross check their correctness by comparing with results obtained\nthrough the thin-wall approximation and with a piecewise linear-linear\npotential. We briefly comment on applications in cosmology."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Black Holes in Two Dimensions: We show that a whole class of quantum actions for dilaton-gravity, which\nreduce to the CGHS theory in the classical limit, can be written as a\nLiouville-like theory. In a sub-class of this, the field space singularity\nobserved by several authors is absent, regardless of the number of matter\nfields, and in addition it is such that the dilaton-gravity functional\nintegration range (the real line) transforms into itself for the Liouville\ntheory fields. We also discuss some problems associated with the usual\ncalculation of Hawking radiation, which stem from the neglect of back reaction.\nWe give an alternative argument incorporating back reaction but find that the\nrate is still asymptotically constant. The latter is due to the fact that the\nquantum theory does not seem to have a lower bound in energy and Hawking\nradiation takes positive Bondi (or ADM) mass solutions to arbitrarily large\nnegative mass.",
        "positive": "BRST Quantization of a Particle in AdS_5: We perform the quantization of a massive particle propagating on AdS_5. We\nuse the twistor formulation in which the action can be brought into a quadratic\nform. We construct the BRST operator which commutes with AdS_5 isometries\nforming SU(2,2). The condition of a consistent BRST quantization requires that\nthe AdS energy E is quantized in units of the AdS_5 radius R,\nE=\\frac{1}{2R}(N_a +N_b+4), with N_a, N_b being some non-negative integers. We\nalso argue that the mass operator will be identified with the moduli of the\nU(1) central extension Z of the SU(2,2|4) algebra in the supersymmetric case.\nThe spectrum of physical states with vanishing ghost number contains a\nparticular subset of `massless' SU(2,2) multiplets (including the bosonic part\nof the `novel short' supermultiplets). We hope that our results will help to\nquantize also the string on AdS_5."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Celestial Holography Revisited: We revisit the prescription commonly used to define holographic Celestial\nCorrelators as an integral transform of flat space scattering amplitudes. We\npropose a new prescription according to which holographic Celestial Correlators\nare a Mellin transform of Minkowski time-ordered correlators extrapolated to\nthe conformal boundary, which is analogous to the extrapolate definition of\nholographic correlators in AdS/CFT. Our proposal is motivated by an ambiguity\nin the standard prescription for Celestial Correlators owing the presence of a\ndivergent integral in the definition of conformal primary wave functions. We\nshow that perturbative Celestial Correlators defined in this new way are\nmanifestly recast in terms of corresponding Witten diagrams in Euclidean\nanti-de Sitter space. We also discuss the possibility of using this definition\nof Celestial Correlators in terms of bulk correlation functions to explore the\nnon-perturbative properties of Celestial Correlators dual to Conformal Field\nTheories in Minkowski space.",
        "positive": "SU(2) Yang-Mills quantum mechanics of spatially constant fields: As a first step towards a strong coupling expansion of Yang-Mills theory, the\nSU(2) Yang-Mills quantum mechanics of spatially constant gauge fields is\ninvestigated in the symmetric gauge, with the six physical fields represented\nin terms of a positive definite symmetric (3 x 3) matrix S. Representing the\neigenvalues of S in terms of elementary symmetric polynomials, the eigenstates\nof the corresponding harmonic oscillator problem can be calculated analytically\nand used as orthonormal basis of trial states for a variational calculation of\nthe Yang-Mills quantum mechanics. In this way high precision results are\nobtained in a very effective way for the lowest eigenstates in the spin-0\nsector as well as for higher spin. Furthermore I find, that practically all\nexcitation energy of the eigenstates, independently of whether it is a\nvibrational or a rotational excitation, leads to an increase of the expectation\nvalue of the largest eigenvalue <\\phi_3>, whereas the expectation values of the\nother two eigenvalues, <\\phi_1> and <\\phi_2>, and also the component <B_3> =\ng<\\phi_1\\phi_2> of the magnetic field, remain at their vacuum values."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holography Transformer: We have constructed a generative artificial intelligence model to predict\ndual gravity solutions when provided with the input of holographic entanglement\nentropy. The model utilized in our study is based on the transformer algorithm,\nwidely used for various natural language tasks including text generation,\nsummarization, and translation. This algorithm possesses the ability to\nunderstand the meanings of input and output sequences by utilizing multi-head\nattention layers. In the training procedure, we generated pairs of examples\nconsisting of holographic entanglement entropy data and their corresponding\nmetric solutions. Once the model has completed the training process, it\ndemonstrates the ability to generate predictions regarding a dual geometry that\ncorresponds to the given holographic entanglement entropy. Subsequently, we\nproceed to validate the dual geometry to confirm its correspondence with the\nholographic entanglement entropy data.",
        "positive": "Black hole chemistry and holography in generalized quasi-topological\n  gravity: We investigate the thermodynamics of AdS black holes in Generalized\nQuasitopological Gravity with and without electric charge, concentrating on the\nversion of the theory that is cubic in curvature. We study new aspects of\nHawking-Page transitions that occur for these black holes. Working within the\nframework of black hole chemistry, we find a variety of familiar and new\ncritical behaviour and phase transitions in four and higher dimensions for the\ncharged black holes. We also consider some holographic aspects of our work,\ndemonstrating how the ratio of viscosity to entropy is modified by inclusion of\nthese cubic curvature terms."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Extremal Black Hole/CFT Correspondence in (Gauged) Supergravities: We extend the investigation of the recently proposed Kerr/CFT correspondence\nto large classes of rotating black hole solutions in gauged and ungauged\nsupergravities. The correspondence, proposed originally for four-dimensional\nKerr black holes, asserts that the quantum states in the near-horizon region of\nan extremal rotating black hole are holographically dual to a two-dimensional\nchiral theory whose Virasoro algebra arises as an asymptotic symmetry of the\nnear-horizon geometry. In fact in dimension D there are [(D-1)/2] commuting\nVirasoro algebras. We consider a general canonical class of near-horizon\ngeometries in arbitrary dimension D, and show that in any such metric, the\n[(D-1)/2] central charges each imply, via the Cardy formula, a microscopic\nentropy that agrees with the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy of the associated\nextremal black hole. In the remainder of the paper we show for most of the\nknown rotating black hole solutions of gauged supergravity, and for the\nungauged supergravity solutions with four charges in D=4 and three charges in\nD=5, that their extremal near-horizon geometries indeed lie within the\ncanonical form. This establishes that in all these examples, the microscopic\nentropies of the dual CFTs agree with the Bekenstein-Hawking entropies of the\nextremal rotating black holes.",
        "positive": "An example of a uniformly accelerated particle detector with non-Unruh\n  response: We propose a scalar background in Minkowski spacetime imparting constant\nproper acceleration to a classical particle. In contrast to the case of a\nconstant electric field the proposed scalar potential does not create\nparticle-antiparticle pairs. Therefore an elementary particle accelerated by\nsuch field is a more appropriate candidate for an \"Unruh-detector\" than a\nparticle moving in a constant electric field. We show that the proposed\ndetector does not reveal the universal thermal response of the Unruh type."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Global F-theory Models: Instantons and Gauge Dynamics: We elucidate certain aspects of F-theory gauge dynamics, due to quantum\nsplitting of certain brane stacks, which are absent in the Type IIB limit. We\nalso provide a working implementation of an algorithm for computing cohomology\nof line bundles on arbitrary toric varieties. This should be of general use for\nstudying the physics of global Type IIB and F-theory models, in particular for\nthe explicit counting of zero modes for rigid F-theory instantons which\ncontribute to charged matter couplings. We illustrate the discussion by\nconstructing and analyzing in detail a compact F-theory GUT model in which a\nD-brane instanton generates the top Yukawa coupling non-perturbatively.",
        "positive": "Enhancement of Anomalous Boundary Current by High Temperature: Recently it is found that Weyl anomaly leads to novel anomalous currents in\nthe spacetime with a boundary. However, the anomalous current is suppressed by\nthe mass of charge carriers and the distance to the boundary, which makes it\ndifficult to be measured. In this paper, we explore the possible mechanisms for\nthe enhancement of anomalous currents. Interestingly, we find that the\nanomalous current can be significantly enhanced by the high temperature, which\nmakes easier the experimental detection. For free theories, the anomalous\ncurrent is proportional to the temperature in the high temperature limit. Note\nthat the currents can be enhanced by thermal effects only at high temperatures.\nIn general, this is not the case at low temperatures. For general temperatures,\nthe absolute value of the current of Neumann boundary condition first decreases\nand then increases with the temperature, while the current of Dirichlet\nboundary condition always increases with the temperature. It should be\nmentioned that the enhancement does not have an anomalous nature. In fact, the\nso-called anomalous current in this paper is not always related to Weyl\nanomaly. Instead, it is an anomalous effect due to the boundary."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Scattering amplitudes abandoning virtual particles: We emphasize that scattering amplitudes of a wide class of models to any\norder in the coupling are constructible by on-shell tree subamplitudes. This\nfollows from the Feynman-tree theorem combined with BCFW on-shell recursion\nrelations. In contrast to the usual Feynman diagrams, no virtual particles\nappear.",
        "positive": "Vortex structure deformation of rotating Lifshitz Holographic\n  Superconductors: We construct a type-II holographic superconductor from an anisotropic\nrotating background metric. We study the effects of the magnetic field on the\nvortex structure, including continuous deformations both from triangular to\nsquare lattices or vice versa. Our holographic model reproduces known\nexperimental vortex lattice deformations and the increment of the vortex\npopulation by increasing the external magnetic field."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "IR divergences and Regge limits of subleading-color contributions to the\n  four-gluon amplitude in N=4 SYM Theory: We derive a compact all-loop-order expression for the IR-divergent part of\nthe N=4 SYM four-gluon amplitude, which includes both planar and all\nsubleading-color contributions, based on the assumption that the higher-loop\nsoft anomalous dimension matrices are proportional to the one-loop soft\nanomalous dimension matrix, as has been recently conjectured.\n  We also consider the Regge limit of the four-gluon amplitude, and we present\nevidence that the leading logarithmic growth of the subleading-color amplitudes\nis less severe than that of the planar amplitudes. We examine possible 1/N^2\ncorrections to the gluon Regge trajectory, previously obtained in the planar\nlimit from the BDS ansatz. The double-trace amplitudes have Regge behavior as\nwell, with a nonsense-choosing Regge trajectory and a Regge cut which first\nemerges at three loops.",
        "positive": "Permutation orbifolds: A general theory of permutation orbifolds is developed for arbitrary twist\ngroups. Explicit expressions for the number of primaries, the partition\nfunction, the genus one characters, the matrix elements of modular\ntransformations and for fusion rule coefficients are presented, together with\nthe relevant mathematical concepts, such as Lambda-matrices and twisted\ndimensions. The arithmetic restrictions implied by the theory for the allowed\nmodular representations in CFT are discussed. The simplest nonabelian example\nwith twist group S_3 is described to illustrate the general theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Penrose Limits vs String Expansions: We analyse the relation between two a priori quite different expansions of\nthe string equations of motion and constraints in a general curved background,\nnamely one based on the covariant Penrose-Fermi expansion of the metric\nG_{\\mu\\nu} around a Penrose limit plane wave associated to a null geodesic\n\\gamma, and the other on the Riemann coordinate expansion in the exact metric\nG_{\\mu\\nu} of the string embedding variables around the null geodesic \\gamma.\nStarting with the observation that there is a formal analogy between the exact\nstring equations in a plane wave and the first order string equations in a\ngeneral background, we show that this analogy becomes exact provided that one\nchooses the background string configuration to be the null geodesic \\gamma\nitself. We then explore the higher-order correspondence between these two\nexpansions and find that for a general curved background they agree to all\norders provided that one works in Fermi coordinates and in the lightcone gauge.\nRequiring moreover the conformal gauge restricts one to the usual class of\n(Brinkmann) backgrounds admitting simultaneously the lightcone and the\nconformal gauge, without further restrictions.",
        "positive": "Bosonization, mass generation, and the pseudo Chern-Simons action: We discuss several aspects of a generalization of the Chern-Simons action\ncontaining the pseudo-differential operator$\\sqrt{-\\Box}$, which we shall call\npseudo Chern-Simons (PCS). Firstly, we derive the PCS from the bosonization of\nfree massive Dirac particles in (2+1)D in the limit when $m^2\\ll p^2$, where\n$m$ is the fermion mass and $p$ is its momentum. In this regime, the whole\nbosonized action also has a modified Maxwell term, involving the same\npseudo-differential operator. Furthermore, the large-mass $m^2\\gg p^2$ regime\nis also considered. We also investigate the main effects of the PCS term into\nthe Pseudo quantum electrodynamics (PQED), which describes the electromagnetic\ninteractions between charged particles in (2+1)D. We show that the massless\ngauge field of PQED becomes massive in the presence of a PCS term, without the\nneed of a Higgs mechanism. In the nonrelativistic limit, we show that the\nstatic potential has a repulsive term (given by the Coulomb potential) and an\nattractive part (given by a sum of special functions), whose competition\ngenerates bound states of particles with the same charge. Having in mind\ntwo-dimensional materials, we also conclude that the presence of a PCS term\ndoes not affect the renormalization either of the Fermi velocity and of the\nband gap in a Dirac-like material."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Superconformal line defects in 3D: We review recent progress in the study of line defects in three-dimensional\nChern-Simons-matter superconformal field theories, notably the ABJM theory. The\nfirst part is focused on kinematical defects supporting a topological sector of\nthe theory. After reviewing the construction of this sector, we concentrate on\nthe evaluation of topological correlators from the partition function of the\nmass-deformed ABJM theory and provide evidence on the existence of a\ntopological quantum mechanics living on the line. In the second part, we\nconsider dynamical defects realized as latitude BPS Wilson loops for which an\nexact evaluation is available in terms of a latitude Matrix Model. We discuss\nthe fundamental relation between these operators, the defect superconformal\nfield theory and bulk physical quantities like the Bremsstrahlung function.\nThis relation assigns a privileged role to BPS Wilson operators, which become\nthe meeting point for three exact approaches, localization, integrability and\nconformal bootstrap.",
        "positive": "The Canonical Quantization in Terms of Quantum Group and Yang-Baxter\n  Equation: In this paper it is shown that a quantum observable algebra, the\nHeisenberg-Weyl algebra, is just given as the Hopf algebraic dual to the\nclassical observable algebra over classical phase space and the Plank constant\nis included in this scheme of quantization as a compatible parameter living in\nthe quantum double theory.In this sense,the quantum Yang-Baxter equation\nnaturally appears as a necessary condition to be satisfied by a canonical\nelements,the universal R-matrix,intertweening the quantum and classical\nobservable algebras. As a byproduct,a new ``quantum group'' is obtained as the\nquantum double of the classical observable algebra"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Borel summability of perturbative series in 4d N=2 and 5d N=1 theories: We study weak coupling perturbative series in 4d N=2 and 5d N=1\nsupersymmetric gauge theories with Lagrangians. We prove that the perturbative\nseries of these theories in zero instanton sector are Borel summable for\nvarious observables. Our result for 4d $\\mathcal{N}=2$ case supports an\nexpectation from a recent proposal on a semiclassical realization of infrared\nrenormalons in QCD-like theories, where the semiclassical solution does not\nexist in N=2 theories and the perturbative series are unambiguous, namely Borel\nsummable. We also prove that the perturbative series in arbitrary number of\ninstanton sector are Borel summable for a wide class of theories. It turns out\nthat exact results can be obtained by summing over the Borel resummations in\neach number of instanton sector.",
        "positive": "Extended supersymmetry of the self-isospectral crystalline and soliton\n  chains: We study supersymmetric structure of the self-isospectral crystalline chains\nformed by N copies of the mutually displaced one-gap Lame systems. It is\ngenerated by the N(N-1) integrals of motion which are the first order matrix\ndifferential operators, by the same number of the nontrivial second order\nintegrals, and by the N third order Lax integrals. We show that the structure\nadmits distinct alternatives for a grading operator, and in dependence on its\nchoice one of the third order matrix integrals plays either the role of the\nbosonic central charge or the role of the fermionic supercharge to be a square\nroot of the spectral polynomial. Yet another peculiarity is that the set of all\nthe second order integrals of motion generates a nonlinear sub-superalgebra. We\nalso investigate the associated self-isospectral soliton chains, and discuss\npossible physical applications of the unusual extended supersymmetry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On entanglement entropy in non-Abelian lattice gauge theory and 3D\n  quantum gravity: Entanglement entropy is a valuable tool for characterizing the correlation\nstructure of quantum field theories. When applied to gauge theories, subtleties\narise which prevent the factorization of the Hilbert space underlying the\nnotion of entanglement entropy. Borrowing techniques from extended topological\nfield theories, we introduce a new definition of entanglement entropy for both\nAbelian and non-Abelian gauge theories. Being based on the notion of\nexcitations, it provides a completely relational way of defining regions.\nTherefore, it naturally applies to background independent theories, e.g.\ngravity, by circumventing the difficulty of specifying the position of the\nentangling surface. We relate our construction to earlier proposals and argue\nthat it brings these closer to each other. In particular, it yields the\nnon-Abelian analogue of the \"magnetic centre choice\", as obtained through an\nextended-Hilbert-space method, but applied to the recently introduced fusion\nbasis for 3D lattice gauge theories. We point out that the different\ndefinitions of entanglement theory can be related to a choice of (squeezed)\nvacuum state.",
        "positive": "The Fulling-Unruh effect in general stationary accelerated frames: We study the generalized Unruh effect for accelerated reference frames that\ninclude rotation in addition to acceleration. We focus particularly on the case\nwhere the motion is planar, with presence of a static limit in addition to the\nevent horizon. Possible definitions of an accelerated vacuum state are examined\nand the interpretation of the Minkowski vacuum state as a thermodynamic state\nis discussed. Such athermodynamic state is shown to depend on two parameters,\nthe acceleration temperature and a drift velocity, which are determined by the\nacceleration and angular velocity of the accelerated frame. We relate the\nproperties of Minkowski vacuum in the accelerated frame to the excitation\nspectrum of a detector that is stationary in this frame. The detector can be\nexcited both by absorbing positive energy quanta in the \"hot\" vacuum state and\nby emitting negative energy quanta into the \"ergosphere\" between the horizon\nand the static limit. The effects are related to similar effects in the\ngravitational field of a rotating black hole."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dynamics of Nonintegrable Phases in Softly Broken Supersymmetric Gauge\n  Theory with Massless Adjoint Matter: We study SU(N) supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory with massless adjoint matter\ndefined on $M^3\\otimes S^1$. The SU(N) gauge symmetry is broken maximally to\n$U(1)^{N-1}$, independent of the number of flavor and the boundary conditions\nof the fields associated with the Scherk-Schwarz mechanism of supersymmetry\nbreaking. The mass of the Higgs scalar is generated through quantum corrections\nin the extra dimensions. The quantum correction can become manifest by a finite\nHiggs boson mass at low energies even in the limit of small extra dimensions\nthanks to the supersymmetry breaking parameter of the Scherk-Schwarz mechanism.",
        "positive": "Progress in Higher Spin Gauge Theories: General properties of the theory of higher spin gauge fields in $AdS_4$ are\ndiscussed. Some new results on the 4d conformal higher spin gauge theory are\nannounced. Talk given at the International Conference \"Quantization, Gauge\nTheory and Strings\" in memory of E.S.Fradkin, Moscow, June 5-10, 2000."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Curvaton Dynamics and the Non-Linearity Parameters in Curvaton Model: We investigate the curvaton dynamics and the non-linearity parameters in\ncurvaton model with potential slightly deviating from the quadratic form in\ndetail. The non-linearity parameter $g_{NL}$ will show up due to the curvaton\nself-interaction. We also point out that the leading order of non-quadratic\nterm in the curvaton potential can be negative, for example in the axion-type\ncurvaton model. If a large positive $g_{NL}$ is detected, the axion-type\ncurvaton model will be preferred.",
        "positive": "A geometrical representation of the quantum information metric in the\n  gauge/gravity correspondence: We study a geometrical representation of the quantum information metric in\nthe gauge/gravity correspondence. We consider the quantum information metric\nthat measures the distance between the ground states of two theories on the\nfield theory side, one of which is obtained by perturbing the other. We show\nthat the information metric is represented by a back reaction to the volume of\na codimension-2 surface on the gravity side if the unperturbed field theory\npossesses the Poincare symmetry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Conformal Blocks for the 4-Point Function in Conformal Quantum Mechanics: Extending previous work on 2 -- and 3 -- point functions, we study the 4 --\npoint function and its conformal block structure in conformal quantum mechanics\nCFT$_1$, which realizes the SO(2,1) symmetry group. Conformal covariance is\npreserved even though the operators with which we work need not be primary and\nthe states are not conformally invariant. We find that only one conformal block\ncontributes to the four-point function. We describe some further properties of\nthe states that we use and we construct dynamical evolution generated by the\ncompact generator of SO(2.1).",
        "positive": "Rainbow statistics: Non-commutative quantum field theories and their global quantum group\nsymmetries provide an intriguing attempt to go beyond the realm of standard\nlocal quantum field theory. A common feature of these models is that the\nquantum group symmetry of their Hilbert spaces induces additional structure in\nthe multiparticle states which reflects a non-trivial momentum-dependent\nstatistics. We investigate the properties of this \"rainbow statistics\" in the\nparticular context of $\\kappa$-quantum fields and discuss the\nanalogies/differences with models with twisted statistics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "KK6 from M2 in BLG: We study the possibility that the Kaluza-Klein monopole (KK6) world-volume\naction may be obtained from the multiple membranes (M2) action which is\ndescribed by BLG theory. We first point out that the infinite dimensional Lie\n3-algebra based on the Nambu-Poisson structure could not only provide three\ndimensional manifolds to allow M5 from M2, which was studied by previous\nauthors, but also provide five dimensional manifolds to allow KK6 from M2. We\nnext present a possible way that the U(1) field on KK6 world-volume action\ncould be produced form the gauge potential in BLG theory.",
        "positive": "WDVV solutions from orthocentric polytopes and Veselov systems: N=4 superconformal n-particle quantum mechanics on the real line is governed\nby two prepotentials, U and F, which obey a system of partial nonlinear\ndifferential equations generalizing the Witten-Dijkgraaf-Verlinde-Verlinde\n(WDVV) equation. For U=0 one remains with the WDVV equation which suggests an\nansatz for F in terms of a set of covectors to be found. One approach\nconstructs such covectors from suitable polytopes, another method solves\nVeselov's \\vee-conditions in terms of deformed Coxeter root systems. I relate\nthe two schemes for the A_n example."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Toric Duality, Seiberg Duality and Picard-Lefschetz Transformations: Toric Duality arises as an ambiguity in computing the quiver gauge theory\nliving on a D3-brane which probes a toric singularity. It is reviewed how, in\nsimple cases Toric Duality is Seiberg Duality. The set of all Seiberg Dualities\non a single node in the quiver forms a group which is contained in a larger\ngroup given by a set of Picard-Lefschetz transformations. This leads to\nelements in the group (sometimes called fractional Seiberg Duals) which are not\nSeiberg Duality on a single node, thus providing a new set of gauge theories\nwhich flow to the same universality class in the Infra Red.",
        "positive": "Lifshitz holography with a probe Yang-Mills field: Taking as a probe an SU(2) gauge field with Yang-Mills action in a 3+1\ndimensional Lifshitz black hole background, we use the gauge/gravity\ncorrespondence to discuss finite temperature effects in the dual theory defined\non the boundary. In order to test the dependence of results on the anisotropic\nscaling exponent z we consider two analytical black hole solutions with z=2 and\nz=4. Apart from solving the equations of motion in the bulk using a numerical\napproach, we also apply an analytical approximation allowing the determination\nof the phase transition character, the critical exponent and the critical\ntemperature behavior as a function of z."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Noncommutative Spectral Geometry: A Short Review: We review the noncommutative spectral geometry, a gravitational model that\ncombines noncommutative geometry with the spectral action principle, in an\nattempt to unify General Relativity and the Standard Model of electroweak and\nstrong interactions. Despite the phenomenological successes of the model, the\ndiscrepancy between the predicted Higgs mass and the current experimental data\nindicate that one may have to go beyond the simple model considered at first.\nWe review the current status of the phenomenological consequences and their\nimplications. Since this model lives by construction at high energy scales,\nnamely at the Grand Unified Theories scale, it provides a natural framework to\ninvestigate early universe cosmology. We briefly review some of its\ncosmological consequences.",
        "positive": "Symmetries and Mass Splittings in QCD$_2$ Coupled to Adjoint Fermions: Two dimensional QCD coupled to fermions in the adjoint representation of the\ngauge group $SU(N)$, a useful toy model of QCD strings, is supersymmetric for a\ncertain ratio of quark mass and gauge coupling constant. Here we study the\ntheory in the vicinity of the supersymmetric point; in particular we exhibit\nthe algebraic structure of the model and show that the mass splittings as one\nmoves away from the supersymmetric point obey a universal relation of the form\n${M_i}^2(B)-{M_i}^2(F)=M_i\\delta m+O(\\delta m^3)$. We discuss the connection of\nthis relation to string and quark model expectations and verify it numerically\nfor large $N$. At least for low lying states the $O(\\delta m^3)$ corrections\nare extremely small. We also discuss a natural generalization of QCD$_2$ with\nan infinite number of couplings, which preserves SUSY. This leads to a Landau\n-- Ginzburg description of the theory, and may be useful for defining a scaling\nlimit in which smooth worldsheets appear."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Weakly Coupled de Sitter Vacua with Fluxes and the Swampland: It was recently argued that the swampland distance conjecture rules out dS\nvacua at parametrically large field distances. We point out that this\nconclusion can in principle be avoided in the presence of large fluxes that are\nnot bounded by a tadpole cancellation condition. We then study this possibility\nin the concrete setting of classical type IIA flux compactifications with\n(anti-)O6-planes, (anti-)D6-branes and/or KK monopoles and show that,\nnonetheless, parametrically controlled dS vacua are strongly constrained. In\nparticular, we find that such dS vacua are ruled out at parametrically large\nvolume and/or parametrically small string coupling. We also find obstructions\nin the general case where the parametrically large field is an arbitrary field\ncombination.",
        "positive": "On orbifolds and free fermion constructions: This work develops the correspondence between orbifolds and free fermion\nmodels. A complete classification is obtained for orbifolds X/G with X the\nproduct of three elliptic curves and G an abelian extension of a group (Z_2)^2\nof twists acting on X. Each such quotient X/G is shown to give a geometric\ninterpretation to an appropriate free fermion model, including the geometric\nNAHE+ model. However, the semi-realistic NAHE free fermion model is proved to\nbe non-geometric: its Hodge numbers are not reproduced by any orbifold X/G. In\nparticular cases it is shown that X/G can agree with some Borcea-Voisin\nthreefolds, an orbifold limit of the Schoen threefold, and several further\norbifolds thereof. This yields free fermion models with geometric\ninterpretations on such special threefolds."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "$SO(32)$ heterotic standard model vacua in general Calabi-Yau\n  compactifications: We study a direct flux breaking scenario in $SO(32)$ heterotic string theory\non general Calabi-Yau threefolds. The direct flux breaking, corresponding to\nhypercharge flux breaking in the F-theory context, allows us to derive the\nStandard Model in general Calabi-Yau compactifications. We present a general\nformula leading to the three generations of quarks and leptons and no chiral\nexotics in a background-independent way. As a concrete example, we show the\nthree-generation model on a complete intersection Calabi-Yau threefold.",
        "positive": "Weyl Invariance and Black Hole Evaporation: We consider the semiclassical dynamics of CGHS black holes with a\nWeyl-invariant effective action for conformal matter. The trace anomaly of\nPolyakov effective action is converted into the Virasoro anomaly thus leading\nto the same flux of Hawking radiation. The covariance of semiclassical\nequations can be restored through a non-local redefinition of the\nmetric-dilaton fields. The resulting theory turns out to be equivalent to the\nRST model. This provides a mechanism to solve semiclassical equations of 2D\ndilaton gravity coupled to conformal matter for classically soluble models."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "New fermionic soft theorems: Soft limits of massless S-matrix are known to reflect symmetries of the\ntheory. In particular for theories with Goldstone bosons, the double-soft limit\nof scalars reveals the coset structure of the vacuum manifold. In this letter,\nwe propose that such universal double-soft behavior is not only true for\nscalars, but also for spin-1/2 particles in four dimensions and fermions in\nthree dimensions. We first consider Akulov-Volkov theory, and demonstrate the\ndouble soft-limit of goldstinos yields the supersymmetry algebra. More\nsurprisingly we also find amplitudes in 3<N<=8 supergravity theories in four\ndimensions as well as N=16 supergravity in three dimensions behave universally\nin the double-soft-fermion limit, analogue to the scalar ones. The validity of\nthe new soft theorems at loop level is also studied. The results for\nsupergravity are beyond what is implied by SUSY Ward identities, and may impose\nnon-trivial constraints on the possible counter terms for supergravity\ntheories.",
        "positive": "Boundary Exchange Algebras and Scattering on the Half Line: Some algebraic aspects of field quantization in space-time with boundaries\nare discussed. We introduce an associative algebra, whose exchange properties\nare inferred from the scattering processes in integrable models with reflecting\nboundary conditions on the half line. The basic properties of this algebra are\nestablished and the Fock representations associated with certain involutions\nare derived. We apply these results for the construction of quantum fields and\nfor the study of scattering on the half line."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Cosmology with Yang-Mills Fields: We examine an extension of the ideas of quantum cosmology and, in particular,\nthe proposal of Hartle and Hawking for the boundary conditions of the Universe,\nto models which incorporate Yang-Mills fields. Inhomogeneous perturbations\nabout a homogeneous, isotropic minisuperspace background model are considered,\nby expanding the Yang-Mills fields in harmonics of the spatial directions which\nare taken to be three-spheres. The expansions are made explicit for $SO(N)$\ngauge fields thereby obtaining formulae compatible with the formalism\nconventionally used in quantum cosmology. We apply these results to the gauge\ngroup $SO(3)$ and derive the Lagrangian and the semi-classical wave function\nfor this special case.",
        "positive": "The phase space of the Wess-Zumino-Witten model: We prove that the covariant and Hamiltonian phase spaces of the\nWess-Zumino-Witten model on the cylinder are diffeomorphic and we derive the\nPoisson brackets of the theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gaugino Condensation in N=1 Supergravity Models with Multiple\n  Dilaton-Like Fields: We study supersymmetry breaking by hidden-sector gaugino condensation in N=1\nD=4 supergravity models with multiple dilaton-like moduli fields. Our work is\nmotivated by Type I string theory, in which the low-energy effective Lagrangian\ncan have different dilaton-like fields coupling to different sectors of the\ntheory. We construct the effective Lagrangian for gaugino condensation and use\nit to compute the visible-sector gaugino masses. We find that the gaugino\nmasses can be of order the gravitino mass, in stark contrast to heterotic\nstring models with a single dilaton field.",
        "positive": "Lax pair and Darboux transformation of noncommutative U(N) principal\n  chiral model: We present a noncommutative generalization of Lax formalism of U(N) principal\nchiral model in terms of a one-parameter family of flat connections. The Lax\nformalism is further used to derive a set of parametric noncommutative\nB\\\"{a}cklund transformation and an infinite set of conserved quantities. From\nthe Lax pair, we derive a noncommutative version of the Darboux transformation\nof the model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "(2+1)-Dimensional Black Hole with Coulomb-like Field: A (2+1)-static black hole solution with a nonlinear electric field is\nderived. The source to the Einstein equations is a nonlinear electrodynamics,\nsatisfying the weak energy conditions, and it is such that the energy momentum\ntensor is traceless. The obtained solution is singular at the origin of\ncoordinates. The derived electric field E(r) is given by $E(r)=q/r^2$, thus it\nhas the Coulomb form of a point charge in the Minkowski spacetime. This\nsolution describes charged (anti)--de Sitter spaces. An interesting\nasymptotically flat solution arises for $\\Lambda=0$.",
        "positive": "From higher-spin gauge interactions to Compton amplitudes for root-Kerr: We develop massive higher-spin theory as a framework for describing dynamics\nof rotating compact objects, such as Kerr black holes. In this paper, we\nexplore gauge interactions up to quartic order and corresponding Compton\namplitudes of higher-spin massive objects coupled to electromagnetism and\nYang-Mills theory. Their classical counterparts are known as root-Kerr\ngauge-theory solutions, whose amplitudes are closely related to those of Kerr\nblack holes. We use three distinct approaches: (i) massive higher-spin gauge\nsymmetry to introduce cubic interactions for all spins and the quartic\ninteractions up to spin 3, which is implemented both off shell and via Ward\nidentities; (ii) a chiral higher-spin approach to construct quartic Lagrangians\nwith correct degrees of freedom to all spins; (iii) on-shell functional\npatterns before and after taking the classical limit to constrain the Compton\namplitudes. As final results, we arrive at simple local formulae for the\ncandidate root-Kerr Compton amplitudes both in the quantum regime and classical\nlimit, to all orders in spin. This is a precursor to the gravitational Kerr\ncase, which is presented in a follow-up paper."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Casimir Effect and the Quantum Vacuum: In discussions of the cosmological constant, the Casimir effect is often\ninvoked as decisive evidence that the zero point energies of quantum fields are\n\"real''. On the contrary, Casimir effects can be formulated and Casimir forces\ncan be computed without reference to zero point energies. They are\nrelativistic, quantum forces between charges and currents. The Casimir force\n(per unit area) between parallel plates vanishes as \\alpha, the fine structure\nconstant, goes to zero, and the standard result, which appears to be\nindependent of \\alpha, corresponds to the \\alpha\\to\\infty limit.",
        "positive": "Walls, Lines, and Spectral Dualities in 3d Gauge Theories: In this paper we analyze various half-BPS defects in a general three\ndimensional N=2 supersymmetric gauge theory T. They correspond to closed paths\nin SUSY parameter space and their tension is computed by evaluating period\nintegrals along these paths. In addition to such defects, we also study wall\ndefects that interpolate between T and its SL(2,Z) transform by coupling the 3d\ntheory to a 4d theory with S-duality wall. We propose a novel spectral duality\nbetween 3d gauge theories and integrable systems. This duality complements a\nsimilar duality discovered by Nekrasov and Shatashvili. As another application,\nfor 3d N=2 theories associated with knots and 3-manifolds we compute periods of\n(super) A-polynomial curves and relate the results with the spectrum of domain\nwalls and line operators."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Higher Form Symmetries TFT in 6d: Symmetries and anomalies of a $d$-dimensional quantum field theory are often\nencoded in a $(d+1)$-dimensional topological action, called symmetry\ntopological field theory (TFT). We derive the symmetry TFT for the 2-form and\n1-form symmetries of 6d $(1,0)$ field theories, focusing on theories with a\nsingle tensor multiplet (rank 1). We implement this by coupling the low-energy\ntensor branch action to the background fields for the higher-form symmetries\nand by looking at the symmetry transformation rules on dynamical and background\nfields. These transformation rules also imply a mixing of the higher-form\nsymmetries in a 3-group structure. For some specific and related higher rank\ncases, we also derive the symmetry TFT from the holographic dual IIA\nsupergravity solutions. The symmetry TFT action contains a coupling between the\n2-form symmetry and the 1-form symmetry backgrounds, which leads to a mixed\nanomaly between the 1-form symmetries of the 5d KK-theory obtained by circle\ncompactification. We confirm this by a pure 5d analysis provided by the 5d\neffective low-energy Coulomb branch Lagrangian coupled to background fields. We\nalso derive the symmetry TFT for 5d $SU(p)$ supersymmetric gauge theories with\nChern-Simons level $q$ and for 5d theories without non-abelian gauge theory\ndescription at low-energy. Finally, we discuss the fate of the 2-form and\n1-form symmetry of rank 1 6d field theories when coupled to gravity.",
        "positive": "Lorentzian Lie 3-algebras and their Bagger-Lambert moduli space: We classify Lie 3-algebras possessing an invariant lorentzian inner product.\nThe indecomposable objects are in one-to-one correspondence with compact real\nforms of metric semisimple Lie algebras. We analyse the moduli space of\nclassical vacua of the Bagger-Lambert theory corresponding to these Lie\n3-algebras. We establish a one-to-one correspondence between one branch of the\nmoduli space and compact riemannian symmetric spaces. We analyse the asymptotic\nbehaviour of the moduli space and identify a large class of models with moduli\nbranches exhibiting the desired N^{3/2} behaviour."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exact form factors of the O(N) $\u03c3$-model: A general form factor formula for the $O(N)\\sigma$-model is constructed and\napplied to several operators. The large N limits of these form factors are\ncomputed and compared with the 1/N expansion of the $O(N)\\sigma$-model in terms\nof Feynman graphs and full agreement is found. In particular, O(3) and O(4)\nform factors are discussed. For the $O(3)\\sigma$-model several low particle\nform factors are calculated explicitly.",
        "positive": "Isomorphism of critical and off-critical operator spaces in\n  two-dimensional quantum field theory: For the simplest quantum field theory originating from a non-trivial fixed\npoint of the renormalization group, the Lee-Yang model, we show that the\noperator space determined by the particle dynamics in the massive phase and\nthat prescribed by conformal symmetry at criticality coincide."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Induced scalar potentials for hypermultiplets: Charged BPS hypermultiplets can develop a non-trivial self-interaction in the\nCoulomb branch of an N=2 supersymmetric gauge theory, whereas neutral BPS\nhypermultiplets in the Higgs branch may also have a non-trivial\nself-interaction in the presence of Fayet-Iliopoulos terms. The exact\nhypermultiplet low-energy effective action (LEEA) takes the form of the\nnon-linear sigma-model (NLSM) with a hyper-K\"ahler metric. A non-trivial scalar\npotential is also quantum-mechanically generated at non-vanishing central\ncharges, either perturbatively (Coulomb branch), or non-perturbatively (Higgs\nbranch). We calculate the effective scalar potentials for (i) a single charged\nhypermultiplet in the Coulomb branch and (ii) a single neutral hypermultiplet\nin the Higgs branch. The first case corresponds to the NLSM with the Taub-NUT\n(or KK-monopole) metric for the kinetic LEEA, whereas the second one is\nattached to the NLSM having the Eguchi-Hanson instanton metric.",
        "positive": "Four-point Green functions in the Schwinger Model: The evaluation of the 4-point Green functions in the 1+1 Schwinger model is\npresented both in momentum and coordinate space representations. The crucial\nrole in our calculations play two Ward identities: i) the standard one, and ii)\nthe chiral one. We demonstrate how the infinite set of Dyson-Schwinger\nequations is simplified, and is so reduced, that a given n-point Green function\nis expressed only through itself and lower ones. For the 4-point Green\nfunction, with two bosonic and two fermionic external `legs', a compact\nsolution is given both in momentum and coordinate space representations. For\nthe 4-fermion Green function a selfconsistent equation is written down in the\nmomentum representation and a concrete solution is given in the coordinate\nspace. This exact solution is further analyzed and we show that it contains a\npole corresponding to the Schwinger boson. All detailed considerations given\nfor various 4-point Green functions are easily generizable to higher functions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Complex BPS solitons with real energies from duality: Following a generic approach that leads to Bogomolny-Prasad-Sommerfield (BPS)\nsoliton solutions by imposing self-duality, we investigate three different\ntypes of non-Hermitian field theories. We consider a complex version of a\nlogarithmic potential that possess BPS super-exponential kink and antikink\nsolutions and two different types of complex generalisations of systems of\ncoupled sine-Gordon models with kink and antikink solution of complex versions\nof arctan type. Despite the fact that all soliton solutions obtainedin this\nmanner are complex in the non-Hermitian theories we show that they possess real\nenergies. For the complex extended sine-Gordon model we establish explicitly\nthat the energies are the same as those in an equivalent pair of a\nnon-Hermitian and Hermitian theory obtained from a pseudo-Hermitian approach by\nmeans of a Dyson map. We argue that the reality of the energy is due to the\ntopological properties of the complex BPS solutions. These properties result in\ngeneral from modified versions of antilinear CPT symmetries that relate\nself-dual and an anti-self-dual theories.",
        "positive": "How Noncommutative Gauge Theories Couple to Gravity: We study coupling of noncommutative gauge theories on branes to closed string\nin the bulk. We derive an expression for the gauge theory operator dual to the\nbulk graviton, both in bosonic string theory and superstring theory. In either\ncase, we find that the coupling is different from what was expected in the\nliterature when the graviton is polarized in the noncommutative directions. In\nthe case of superstring, the expression for the energy-momentum tensor is\nconsistent with the way the bulk metric appears in the action for the\nnoncommutative gauge theory. We also clarify some aspects of the correspondence\nbetween operators in the gauge theory and boundary conditions in the dual\ngravitational description."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Possible Central Extensions of Non-Relativistic Conformal Algebras in\n  1+1: We investigate possibility of central extension for non-relativistic\nconformal algebras in 1+1 dimension. Three different forms of charges can be\nsuggested. A trivial charge for temporal part of the algebra exists for all\nelements of l-Galilei algebra class. In attempt to find a central extension as\nof CGA for other elements of the l-Galilei class, possibility for such\nextension was excluded. For integer and half integer elements of the class we\ncan have an infinite extension of the generalized mass charge for the\nVirasoro-like extended algebra. For finite algebras a regular charge inspired\nby Schr\\\"odinger central extension is possible.",
        "positive": "Differential Renormalization, the Action Principle and Renormalization\n  Group Calculations: General prescriptions of differential renormalization are presented. It is\nshown that renormalization group functions are straightforwardly expressed\nthrough some constants that naturally arise within this approach. The status of\nthe action principle in the framework of differential renormalization is\ndiscussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Twisted holography of defect fusions: In the twisted M-theory setting, various types of fusion of M2 and M5 branes\ninduce coproducts between the algebra of operators on M2 branes and the algebra\nof operators on M5 branes. By doing a perturbative computation in the gravity\nside, which is captured by the 5d topological holomorphic $U(1)$ Chern-Simons\ntheory, we reproduce the non-perturbative coproducts.",
        "positive": "Radiation reaction from quantum electrodynamics and its implications for\n  the Unruh effect: The Abraham-Lorentz-Dirac theory predicts vanishing radiation reaction for\nuniformly accelerated charges. However, since an accelerating observer should\ndetect thermal radiation, the charge should be seen absorbing photons in the\naccelerated frame which, if nothing else occurs, would influence its motion.\nThis means that either there is radiation reaction seen in an inertial frame or\nthere should be an additional phenomenon seen in the accelerated frame\ncountering the effect of absorption. In this paper I rederive the\nAbraham--Lorentz--Dirac force from quantum electrodynamics, then I study the\ncase of a uniformly accelerated charge. I show that in the accelerated frame,\nin addition to the absorption of photons due to the Unruh effect there should\nalso be stimulated emission. The net effect of these phenomena on the motion of\nthe charge is found to be zero."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Finite BRST Mapping in Higher Derivative Models: We continue the study of finite field dependent BRST (FFBRST) symmetry in the\nquantum theory of gauge fields. An expression for the Jacobian of path integral\nmeasure is presented, depending on a finite field-dependent parameter, and the\nFFBRST symmetry is then applied to a number of well-established quantum gauge\ntheories in a form which includes higher-derivative terms. Specifically, we\nexamine the corresponding versions of the Maxwell theory, non-Abelian vector\nfield theory, and gravitation theory. We present a systematic mapping between\ndifferent forms of gauge-fixing, including those with higher-derivative terms,\nfor which these theories have better renormalization properties. In doing so,\nwe also provide the independence of the S-matrix from a particular gauge-fixing\nwith higher derivatives. Following this method, a higher-derivative quantum\naction can be constructed for any gauge theory in the FFBRST framework.",
        "positive": "Massive spin-2 field in arbitrary spacetimes -- the detailed derivation: We present the consistent theory of a free massive spin-2 field with 5\ndegrees of freedom propagating in spacetimes with an arbitrary geometry. We\nobtain this theory via linearizing the equations of the ghost-free massive\ngravity expressed in the tetrad formalism. The theory is parameterized by a\nnon-symmetric rank-2 tensor whose 16 components fulfill 11 constraints implied\nby the equations. When restricted to Einstein spaces, the theory reproduces the\nstandard description of massive gravitons. In generic spacetimes, the theory\ndoes not show the massless limit and always propagates five degrees of freedom,\neven for the vanishing mass parameter. We illustrate these features by an\nexplicit calculation for a homogeneous and isotropic cosmological background.\nIt turns out that the spin-2 particles are always stable if they are\nsufficiently massive, hence they may be a part of the Dark Mater."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Calculation of the multiplicative anomaly: The functional determinant multiplicative anomaly, or defect, is more closely\ninvestigated and explicit forms for products of linear operators are produced.\nI also present formulae for the defect of products of second order operators in\nterms of that for just two of the factors and discuss the specific cases of the\nsphere and hemisphere. The difference of Neumann and Dirichlet quantities on\nthe hemisphere is equal to that for spin-1/2 on the rim. This is proved\ngenerally.",
        "positive": "Nonperturbative Tests of Three-Dimensional Dualities: We test several conjectural dualities between strongly coupled superconformal\nfield theories in three dimensions by computing their exact partition functions\non a three-sphere as a function of Fayet-Iliopoulos and mass parameters. The\ncalculation is carried out using localization of the path integral and the\nmatrix model previously derived for superconformal N = 2 gauge theories. We\nverify that the partition functions of quiver theories related by mirror\nsymmetry agree provided the mass parameters and the Fayet-Iliopoulos parameters\nare exchanged, as predicted. We carry out a similar calculation for the mirror\nof N = 8 super-Yang-Mills theory and show that its partition function agrees\nwith that of the ABJM theory at unit Chern-Simons level. This provides a\nnonperturbative test of the conjectural equivalence of the two theories in the\nconformal limit."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Stability of branes trapped by d-dimensional black holes: The system of extended objects interplaying with a black hole describes or\nmimics various gravitational phenomena. In this brief paper, we report the\nresults of stability analysis of codimension-one Dirac-Nambu-Goto branes rest\nat the equatorial plane of $d$-dimensional spherical black holes, including the\nSchwarzschild and Schwarzschild-(anti-)de Sitter black holes. For the\nSchwarzschild and Schwarzschild-anti-de Sitter backgrounds the stability of\nbranes is shown analytically by means of a deformation technique. In contrast,\nfor the Schwarzschild-de Sitter background we demonstrate with the help of\nnumerics that the brane is unstable (only) against the s-wave sector of\nperturbations.",
        "positive": "What is the Magnetic Weak Gravity Conjecture for Axions?: The electric Weak Gravity Conjecture demands that axions with large decay\nconstant $f$ couple to light instantons. The resulting large instantonic\ncorrections pose problems for natural inflation. We explore an alternative\nargument based on the magnetic Weak Gravity Conjecture for axions, which we try\nto make more precise. Roughly speaking, it demands that the minimally charged\nstring coupled to the dual 2-form-field exists in the effective theory. Most\nnaively, such large-$f$ strings curve space too much to exist as static\nsolutions, thus ruling out large-$f$ axions. More conservatively, one might\nallow non-static string solutions to play the role of the required charged\nobjects. In this case, topological inflation would save the superplanckian\naxion. Furthermore, a large-$f$ axion may appear in the low-energy effective\ntheory based on two subplanckian axions in the UV. The resulting effective\nstring is a composite object built from several fundamental strings and domain\nwalls. It may or may not satisfy the magnetic Weak Gravity Conjecture depending\non how strictly the latter is interpreted and on the cosmological dynamics of\nthis composite object, which remain to be fully understood. Finally, we recall\nthat large-field brane inflation is naively possible in the codimension-one\ncase. We show how string-theoretic back-reaction closes this apparent loophole\nof large-$f$ (non-periodic) pseudo-axions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Kalb-Ramond fields in the Petiau-Duffin-Kemmer formalism and scale\n  invariance: Kalb-Ramond equations for massive and massless particles are considered in\nthe framework of the Petiau-Duffin-Kemmer formalism. We obtain $10\\times10$\nmatrices of the relativistic wave equation of the first-order and solutions in\nthe form of density matrix. The canonical and Belinfante energy-momentum\ntensors are found. We investigate the scale invariance and obtain the conserved\ndilatation current. It was demonstrated that the conformal symmetry is broken\neven for massless fields.",
        "positive": "Conformal symmetry breaking in holographic QCD: In this paper, we investigate a simple holographic model which describes the\nconformal symmetry breaking at zero temperature. The model is implemented in\nthe context of effective holographic models for QCD described by the\nEinstein-dilaton equations. The realization of spontaneous conformal symmetry\nbreaking shows a massless state in the spectrum. The existence of this state is\nconfirmed when we compute the two-point correlation function of the scalar\noperator in the dual field theory, where it has a pole. On the other hand, when\nthere is an explicit conformal symmetry breaking the massless state becomes\nmassive, which in the dual gravitational theory is related to a deformation of\nthe Anti-de Sitter (AdS) background by a massive scalar (dilaton) field.\nMoreover, we show the mass dependence on the conformal dimension of the\nlightest state."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fermions on the kink revisited: We study fermion modes localized on the kink in the 1+1 dimensional $\\phi^4$\nmodel, coupled to the Dirac fermions with backreaction. Using numerical methods\nwe construct self-consistent solutions of the corresponding system of coupled\nintegral-differential equations and study dependencies of the scalar field of\nthe kink and the normalizable fermion bound states on the values of the values\nof the parameters of the model. We show that the backreaction of the localized\nfermions significantly modifies the solutions, in particular it results in\nspatial oscillations of the profile of the kink and violations of the\nreflection symmetry of the configuration.",
        "positive": "Off-Shell Duality in Born-Infeld Theory: The classical equations of motion of Maxwell and Born-Infeld theories are\nknown to be invariant under a duality symmetry acting on the field strengths.\nWe implement the SL(2,Z) duality in these theories as linear but non-local\ntransformations on the potentials. We show that the action and the partition\nfunction in the Hamiltonian formalism are modular invariant in any gauge. For\nthe Born-Infeld theory we find that the longitudinal part of the fields have to\nbe complexified."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "(Unoriented) T-folds with few T's: We use the combined action of Z_2-chiral reflections (T-dualities) and shifts\nto build N=1,2 supersymmetric four-dimensional string compactifications with\nfew moduli. In particular, we consider Z_2^4 asymmetric orbifolds of Type IIB\non the maximal torus of SO(12) that mimic N=2 Calabi-Yau compactifications with\nsmall \"effective\" Hodge numbers starting from (h_{11}, h_{21})=(1,1). We\nanalyze possible unoriented projections, providing Type I examples with or\nwithout open strings. N=1 oriented asymmetric shift-orbifolds of Type IIB with\nfew chiral multiplets are also presented.",
        "positive": "HS in flat spacetime. The effective action method: This is the first paper in a series of three dealing with HS theories in flat\nspacetime. It is divided in three parts. The first part is an elaboration on\nthe method of effective action, initiated in a previous paper. We study the\nproperties of correlators of currents in the free fermion coupled to external\nhigher spin (HS) potentials, and develop techniques for their explicit\ncalculation. In particular we show how they can be calculated via ordinary\nFeynman diagram techniques. We also introduce the concept of {\\it curved}\n$L_\\infty$ algebra and show how it can be realized in the context of the\nfermion model. In part II we compare the results of the scalar model and those\nof the fermion model (coupled to HS fields). We show that the HS field\nformulation coming from the scalar model is the `square' of the one ensuing\nfrom the fermion model. Finally, in part III, we analyze the possible\nobstructions that one may meet in constructing the effective action: these are\nthe analogs of anomalies in ordinary gauge theories. We provide explicit and\ncompact formulas of the latter."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic partition functions and phases for higher genus Riemann\n  surfaces: We describe a numerical method to compute the action of Euclidean\nsaddlepoints for the partition function of a two-dimensional holographic CFT on\na Riemann surface of arbitrary genus, with constant curvature metric. We\nexplicitly evaluate the action for the saddles for genus two and map out the\nphase structure of dominant bulk saddles in a two-dimensional subspace of the\nmoduli space. We discuss spontaneous breaking of discrete symmetries, and show\nthat the handlebody bulk saddles always dominate over certain non-handlebody\nsolutions.",
        "positive": "Effective Field Theory for Acoustic and Pseudo-Acoustic Phonons in\n  Solids: We present a relativistic effective field theory for the interaction between\nacoustic and gapped phonons in the limit of a small gap. We show that, while\nthe former are the Goldstone modes associated with the spontaneous breaking of\nspacetime symmetries, the latter are pseudo-Goldstones associated with some\n(small) explicit breaking. We hence dub them \"pseudo-acoustic\" phonons. In this\nfirst investigation, we build our effective theory for the cases of one and two\nspatial dimensions, two atomic species, and assuming large distance isotropy.\nAs an illustrative example, we show how the theory can be applied to compute\nthe total lifetime of both acoustic and pseudo-acoustic phonons. This\nconstruction can find applications that range from the physics of bilayer\ngraphene to sub-GeV dark matter detectors."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chiral Condensate at Nonzero Chemical Potential in the Microscopic Limit\n  of QCD: The chiral condensate in QCD at zero temperature does not depend on the quark\nchemical potential (up to one third the nucleon mass), whereas the spectral\ndensity of the Dirac operator shows a strong dependence on the chemical\npotential. The cancellations which make this possible also occur on the\nmicroscopic scale, where they can be investigated by means of a random matrix\nmodel. We show that they can be understood in terms of orthogonality properties\nof orthogonal polynomials. In the strong non-Hermiticity limit they are related\nto integrability properties of the spectral density. As a by-product we find\nexact analytical expressions for the partially quenched chiral condensate in\nthe microscopic domain at nonzero chemical potential.",
        "positive": "Analytic thin wall false vacuum decay rate: We derive a closed-form false vacuum decay rate at one loop in the thin wall\nlimit, where the true and false vacua are nearly degenerate. We obtain the\nbounce configuration in $D$ dimensions, together with the Euclidean action with\na higher order correction, counter-terms and renormalization group running. We\nextract the functional determinant via the Gel'fand-Yaglom theorem for low and\ngeneric orbital multipoles. The negative and zero eigenvalues appear for low\nmultipoles and the translational zeroes are removed. We compute the\nfluctuations for generic multipoles, multiply and regulate the orbital modes.\nWe find an explicit finite renormalized decay rate in $D = 3, 4$ and give a\nclosed-form expression for the finite functional determinant in any dimension."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Study of Quantum Field Theories in AdS at Finite Coupling: We study the $O(N)$ and Gross-Neveu models at large $N$ on AdS$_{d+1}$\nbackground. Thanks to the isometries of AdS, the observables in these theories\nare constrained by the SO$(d,2)$ conformal group even in the presence of mass\ndeformations, as was discussed by Callan and Wilczek, and provide an\ninteresting two-parameter family of quantities which interpolate between the\nS-matrices in flat space and the correlators in CFT with a boundary. For the\nactual computation, we judiciously use the spectral representation to resum\nloop diagrams in the bulk. After the resummation, the AdS $4$-particle\nscattering amplitude is given in terms of a single unknown function of the\nspectral parameter. We then \"bootstrap\" the unknown function by requiring the\nabsence of double-trace operators in the boundary OPE. Our results are at\nleading nontrivial order in $\\frac{1}{N}$, and include the full dependence on\nthe quartic coupling, the mass parameters, and the AdS radius. In the bosonic\n$O(N)$ model we study both the massive phase and the symmetry-breaking phase,\nwhich exists even in AdS$_2$ evading Coleman's theorem, and identify the AdS\nanalogue of a resonance in flat space. We then propose that symmetry breaking\nin AdS implies the existence of a conformal manifold in the boundary conformal\ntheory. We also provide evidence for the existence of a critical point with\nbulk conformal symmetry, matching existing results and finding new ones for the\nconformal boundary conditions of the critical theories. For the Gross-Neveu\nmodel we find a bound state, which interpolates between the familiar bound\nstate in flat space and the displacement operator at the critical point.",
        "positive": "Spontaneous Breaking of Conformal Invariance and Trace Anomaly Matching: We argue that when conformal symmetry is spontaneously broken the trace\nanomalies in the broken and unbroken phases are matched. This puts strong\nconstraints on the various couplings of the dilaton. Using the uniqueness of\nthe effective action for the Goldstone supermultiplet for broken ${\\cal N}=1$\nsuperconformal symmetry the dilaton effective action is calculated."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Supersymmetric (2+1)D Noncommutative $CP^{(N-1)}$ Model in the\n  Fundamental Representation: In this paper we study the noncommutative supersymmetric $CP^{(N-1)}$ model\nin 2+1 dimensions, where the basic field is in the fundamental representation\nwhich, differently to the adjoint representation already studied in the\nliterature, goes to the usual supersymmetric $CP^{(N-1)}$ model in the\ncommutative limit. We analyze the phase structure of the model and calculate\nthe leading and subleading corrections in a 1/N expansion. We prove that the\ntheory is free of non-integrable UV/IR infrared singularities and is\nrenormalizable in the leading order. The two-point vertex function of the basic\nfield is also calculated and renormalized in an explicitly supersymmetric way\nup to the subleading order.",
        "positive": "Numerical experiments with p F- and q D-strings: the formation of (p,q)\n  bound states: We investigate the behaviour of (p,q) string networks, focusing on two\naspects: (1) modelling more realistic (p,q) string networks than the Z_N\nnetworks used so far and (2) investigating the effect of long-range\ninteractions on the evolution of the network. We model the network with no\nlong-range interactions using two sets of fields, complex scalars coupled to\ngauge fields, with a potential chosen such that the two types of strings will\nform bound states. This way we can model junctions of 3 strings with different\ntension; in Z_N models used so far in simulations all the strings have\nidentical tensions. In order to introduce long-range interactions we also study\na network in which one of the scalars forms global strings. We observe that in\nthe absence of long-range interactions the formation of bound states has a\nsignificant influence on the evolution of the network. When long-range\ninteractions are turned on the bound states are short-lived and have a minimal\neffect on the network evolution."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Enhanced D-Brane Categories from String Field Theory: We construct D-brane categories in B-type topological string theory as\nsolutions to string field equations of motion. Using the formalism of\nsuperconnections, we show that these solutions form a variant of a construction\nof Bondal and Kapranov. This analysis is an elaboration on recent work of\nLazaroiu. We also comment on the relation between string field theory and the\nderived category approach of Douglas, and Aspinwall and Lawrence.\nNon-holomorphic deformations make a somewhat unexpected appearance in this\nconstruction.",
        "positive": "Behavior of the Feshbach-Villars oscillator (FVO) in G\u00fcrses space-time\n  under Coulomb-type potential: Our research aims to investigate how the gravitational field influences the\nspectroscopic structure of the Feshbach-Villars oscillator in G\\\"urses\nspace-time. To achieve this, we utilize the first-order Feshbach-Villars\nversion of the Klein-Gordon equation, which is a relativistic wave equation for\nspinless particles. We examine the oscillator's quantum mechanical behavior in\nthe presence of a Coulomb-type potential, and calculate the resulting wave\nfunctions and energy levels for both free and interacting scenarios. In\naddition, we study the interaction between the Coulomb-type potential and\nG\\\"urses space-time affects the Feshbach-Villars oscillator's behavior,\nspecifically with regard to its spectroscopic structure. This study has\nimportant implications for our understanding of the interplay between quantum\nmechanics, relativity, and gravitational fields at the microscopic level."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Universality of Nonperturbative Effects in c<1 Noncritical String Theory: Nonperturbative effects in c<1 noncritical string theory are studied using\nthe two-matrix model. Such effects are known to have the form fixed by the\nstring equations but the numerical coefficients have not been known so far.\nUsing the method proposed recently, we show that it is possible to determine\nthe coefficients for (p,q) string theory. We find that they are indeed finite\nin the double scaling limit and universal in the sense that they do not depend\non the detailed structure of the potential of the two-matrix model.",
        "positive": "Black Hole entropy in D=2+1 dimensions from extended Chern-Simons term\n  in a gravitational background: We study the contribution to entropy of Black Holes in D=2+1 dimensions from\nan extension of the Chern Simons theory including higher derivative in a curved\nspace-time."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Large Field Ranges from Aligned and Misaligned Winding: We search for effective axions with super-Planckian decay constants in type\nIIB string models. We argue that such axions can be realised as long winding\ntrajectories in complex-structure moduli space by an appropriate flux choice.\nOur main findings are: The simplest models with aligned winding in a 2-axion\nfield space fail due to a general no-go theorem. However, equally simple models\nwith misaligned winding, where the effective axion is not close to any of the\nfundamental axions, appear to work to the best of our present understanding.\nThese models have large decay constants but no large monotonic regions in the\npotential, making them unsuitable for large-field inflation. We also show that\nour no-go theorem can be avoided by aligning three or more axions. We argue\nthat, contrary to misaligned models, such models can have both large decay\nconstants and large monotonic regions in the potential. Our results may be used\nto argue against the refined Swampland Distance Conjecture and strong forms of\nthe axionic Weak Gravity Conjecture. It becomes apparent, however, that\nrealising inflation is by far harder than just producing a light field with\nlarge periodicity.",
        "positive": "Black hole gas in TeV-gravity models: In a plasma at temperature close to the fundamental scale a small fraction of\nparticles will experience transplanckian collisions that may result in\nmicroscopic black holes (BHs). We study the dynamics of a system (a black hole\ngas) defined by radiation at a given temperature coupled to a distribution of\nBHs of different mass. Our analysis includes the production of BHs in\nphoton-photon collisions, BH evaporation, the absorption of radiation,\ncollisions of two BHs to give a larger one, and the effects of the expansion.\nWe find that the system may follow two different generic paths depending on the\ninitial temperature of the plasma."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Massive Fields with Arbitrary Integer Spin in Homogeneous\n  Electromagnetic Field: We study the interaction of gauge fields of arbitrary integer spins with the\nconstant electromagnetic field. We reduce the problem of obtaining the\ngauge-invariant Lagrangian of integer spin fields in the external field to\npurely algebraic problem of finding a set of operators with certain features\nusing the representation of the high-spin fields in the form of vectors in a\npseudo-Hilbert space. We consider such a construction up to the second order in\nthe electromagnetic field strength and also present an explicit form of\ninteraction Lagrangian for a massive particle of spin $s$ in terms of\nsymmetrical tensor fields in linear approximation. The result obtained does not\ndepend on dimensionality of space-time.",
        "positive": "Complete Supersymmetric Quantum Mechanics of Magnetic Monopoles in N=4\n  SYM Theory: We find the most general low energy dynamics of 1/2 BPS monopoles in the N=4\nsupersymmetric Yang-Mills theories (SYM) when all six adjoint Higgs expectation\nvalues are turned on. When only one Higgs is turned on, the Lagrangian is\npurely kinetic. When all six are turned on, however, this moduli space dynamics\nis augmented by five independent potential terms, each in the form of half the\nsquared norm of a Killing vector field on the moduli space. A generic\nstationary configuration of the monopoles can be interpreted as stable non BPS\ndyons, previously found as non-planar string webs connecting D3-branes. The\nsupersymmetric extension is also found explicitly, and gives the complete\nquantum mechanics of monopoles in N=4 SYM theory. We explore its supersymmetry\nalgebra."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum field theory with dynamical boundary conditions and the Casimir\n  effect: We study a coupled system that describes the interacting dynamics between a\nbulk field, confined to a finite region with timelike boundary, and a boundary\nobservable. In our system the dynamics of the boundary observable prescribes\ndynamical boundary conditions for the bulk field. We cast our classical system\nin the form of an abstract linear Klein-Gordon equation, in an enlarged Hilbert\nspace for the bulk field and the boundary observable. This makes it possible to\napply to our coupled system the general methods of quantization. In particular,\nwe implement the Fock quantization in full detail. Using this quantization we\nstudy the Casimir effect in our coupled system. Specifically, we compute the\nrenormalized local state polarization and the local Casimir energy, which we\ncan define for both the bulk field and the boundary observable of our system.\nNumerical examples in which the integrated Casimir energy is positive or\nnegative are presented.",
        "positive": "Non-abelian gerbes and some applications in string theory: We review a systematic construction of the 2-stack of bundle gerbes via\ndescent, and extend it to non-abelian gerbes. We review the role of non-abelian\ngerbes in orientifold sigma models, for the anomaly cancellation in\nsupersymmetric sigma models, and in a geometric description of so-called\nnon-geometric T-duals."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Link Invariants from Classical Chern-Simons Theory: Taking as starting point a perturbative study of the classical equations of\nmotion of the non-Abelian Chern-Simons Theory with non-dynamical sources, we\nsearch for analytical expressions for link invarians. In order to present these\nexpressions in a manifestly diffeomorphism-invariant form, we introduce a set\nof differential forms associated with submanifolds in Euclidean three-space\nthat allow us to write the link invariants as a kind of surface-dependent\ndiffeomorphism-invariants that present certain Abelian gauge symmetry.",
        "positive": "Strong Coupling in F-theory and Geometrically Non-Higgsable Seven-branes: Geometrically non-Higgsable seven-branes carry gauge sectors that cannot be\nbroken by complex structure deformation, and there is growing evidence that\nsuch configurations are typical in F-theory. We study strongly coupled physics\nassociated with these branes. Axiodilaton profiles are computed using\nRamanujan's theories of elliptic functions to alternative bases, showing\nexplicitly that the string coupling is order one in the vicinity of the brane;\nthat it sources nilpotent $SL(2,\\mathbb{Z})$ monodromy and therefore the\nassociated brane charges are modular; and that essentially all F-theory\ncompactifications have regions with order one string coupling. It is shown that\nnon-perturbative $SU(3)$ and $SU(2)$ seven-branes are related to weakly coupled\ncounterparts with D7-branes via deformation-induced Hanany-Witten moves on\n$(p,q)$ string junctions that turn them into fundamental open strings; only the\nformer may exist for generic complex structure. D3-brane near these and the\nKodaira type II seven-branes probe Argyres-Douglas theories. The BPS states of\nslightly deformed theories are shown to be dyonic string junctions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Batalin-Tyutin Quantization of the Self-Dual Massive Theory in Three\n  Dimensions: We quantize the self-dual massive theory by using the Batalin-Tyutin\nHamiltonian method, which systematically embeds second class constraint system\ninto first class one in the extended phase space by introducing the new fields.\nThrough this analysis we obtain simultaneously the St\\\"uckelberg scalar term\nrelated to the explicit gauge-breaking effect and the new type of Wess-Zumino\naction related to the Chern-Simons term.",
        "positive": "A systematic approach to correlators in $T\\bar{T}$ deformed CFTs: We investigate higher-order corrections to correlators in a general CFT with\nthe double trace $T\\bar{T}$ deformation. Traditional perturbation theory proves\ninadequate for addressing this issue, due to the intricate stress tensor flow\ninduced by the deformation. To tackle this challenge, we introduce a novel\ntechnique termed the conservation equation method. This method leverages the\ntrace relation and conservation property of the stress tensor to establish\nrelationships between higher and lower-order corrections and subsequently\ndetermine the correlators by enforcing symmetry properties. As an illustration,\nwe compute both first and higher-order corrections, demonstrating the impact of\nstress tensor deformation on correlators in a general deformed CFT. Our results\nalign with existing calculations in the literature."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Numerical twist-even SU(1,1)-singlet solutions in open string field\n  theory around the identity-based solution: Using the level truncation method, we construct numerical solutions, which\nare twist even and SU(1,1) singlet, in the theory around the Takahashi-Tanimoto\nidentity-based solution (TT solution) with a real parameter $a$ in the\nframework of bosonic open string field theory. We find solutions corresponding\nto \"double brane\" and \"ghost brane\" solutions which were constructed by Kudrna\nand Schnabl in the conventional theory around the perturbative vacuum. Our\nsolutions show somewhat similar $a$-dependence to tachyon vacuum and single\nbrane solutions, which we found in the earlier works. In this sense, we might\nbe able to expect that they are consistent with the conventional interpretation\nof $a$-dependence of the TT solution. We observe that numerical complex\nsolutions at low levels become real ones at higher levels for some region of\nthe parameter $a$. However, these real solutions do not so improve\ninterpretation for double brane.",
        "positive": "Some notes on the Big Trip: The big trip is a cosmological process thought to occur in the future by\nwhich the entire universe would be engulfed inside a gigantic wormhole and\nmight travel through it along space and time. In this paper we discuss\ndifferent arguments that have been raised against the viability of that\nprocess, reaching the conclusions that the process can actually occur by\naccretion of phantom energy onto the wormholes and that it is stable and might\noccur in the global context of a multiverse model. We finally argue that the\nbig trip does not contradict any holographic bounds on entropy and information."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-BPS Fractional Branes with Bose-Fermi Cancellation in Asymmetric\n  Orbifolds: We study non-BPS D-branes in the type II string vacua with chiral space-time\nSUSY constructed based on the asymmetric orbifolds of $\\mbox{K3} \\cong\nT^4/{\\Bbb Z}_2$ as a succeeding work of arXiv:1704.05262[hep-th]. We especially\nfocus on the fractional D-branes that contains the contributions from the\ntwisted sector of the ${\\Bbb Z}_2$ orbifolding.\n  We show that the cylinder partition functions for these fractional branes do\nnot vanish, as in the cases of ordinary non-BPS D-branes. This aspect is in a\nsharp contrast with the bulk-type branes studied in arXiv:1704.05262[hep-th].\nWe then discuss the extensions of models by including the discrete torsion\ndepending on the spin structures, and investigate whether we obtain the\nvanishing self-overlaps associated to the fractional branes. The\nexistence/absence of bose-fermi cancellations both in the closed and open\nstring spectra as well as the massless spectra in the twisted sectors crucially\ndepend on the discrete torsion. We find that some choices of the torsion indeed\nrealize the vanishing self-overlaps for the fractional branes, with keeping the\nvanishing torus partition function intact.",
        "positive": "The Complete Spectrum of the $W_N$ String: We obtain the complete physical spectrum of the $W_N$ string, for arbitrary\n$N$. The $W_N$ constraints freeze $N-2$ coordinates, while the remaining\ncoordinates appear in the currents only {\\it via} their energy-momentum tensor.\nThe spectrum is then effectively described by a set of ordinary Virasoro-like\nstring theories, but with a non-critical value for the central charge and a\ndiscrete set of non-standard values for the spin-2 intercepts. In particular,\nthe physical spectrum of the $W_N$ string includes the usual massless states of\nthe Virasoro string. By looking at the norms of low-lying states, we find\nstrong indications that all the $W_N$ strings are unitary."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Ultraviolet finite resummation of perturbative quantum gravity: If the metric is chosen to depend exponentially on the conformal factor, and\nif one works in a gauge where the conformal factor has the wrong sign\npropagator, perturbative quantum gravity corrections can be partially resummed\ninto a series of terms each of which is ultraviolet finite. These new terms\nhowever are not perturbative in some small parameter, and are not individually\nBRST invariant, or background diffeomorphism invariant. With appropriate\nparametrisation, the finiteness property holds true also for a full\nphenomenologically relevant theory of quantum gravity coupled to (beyond the\nstandard model) matter fields, provided massive tadpole corrections are set to\nzero by a trivial renormalisation.",
        "positive": "Integrability of Smooth Wilson Loops in N=4 Superspace: We perform a detailed study of the Yangian symmetry of smooth supersymmetric\nMaldacena-Wilson loops in planar N=4 super Yang-Mills theory. This hidden\nsymmetry extends the global superconformal symmetry present for these\nobservables. A gauge-covariant action of the Yangian generators on the Wilson\nline is established that generalizes previous constructions built upon path\nvariations. Employing these generators the Yangian symmetry is proven for\ngeneral paths in non-chiral N=4 superspace at the first perturbative order. The\nbi-local piece of the level-one generators requires the use of a regulator due\nto divergences in the coincidence limit. We perform regularization by point\nsplitting in detail, thereby constructing additional local and boundary\ncontributions as regularization for all level-one Yangian generators. Moreover,\nthe Yangian algebra at level one is checked and compatibility with local\nkappa-symmetry is established. Finally, the consistency of the Yangian symmetry\nis shown to depend on two properties: The vanishing of the dual Coxeter number\nof the underlying superconformal algebra and the existence of a novel\nsuperspace \"G-identity\" for the gauge field theory. This tightly constrains the\nconformal gauge theories to which integrability can possibly apply."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Cosmological singularities encoded in IR boundary correlations: We study the dynamics near big crunch singularities produced in asymptotic\nAdS cosmologies using gauge/gravity duality. The dual description consists of a\nconstant mass deformation of ABJM theory on de Sitter space and is well-defined\nand stable for small deformations. We identify the critical deformation where\nthe theory becomes unstable at weak and at strong coupling. Using spacelike\ngeodesics anchored on the boundary we compute two-point correlators of ABJM\noperators of large dimensions. Near the critical deformation a second saddle\npoint contribution enters, in which the spacelike geodesics probe the high\ncurvature region near the singularity. Its contribution strongly enhances the\nlong-distance correlations. This has a natural interpretation in the weakly\ncoupled boundary theory where the critical point corresponds to a massless\nlimit.",
        "positive": "Quantum field theory on toroidal topology: algebraic structure and\n  applications: The development of quantum theory on a torus has a long history, and can be\ntraced back to the 1920s, with the attempts by Nordstr\\\"om, Kaluza and Klein to\ndefine a fourth spatial dimension with a finite size, being curved in the form\nof a torus, such that Einstein and Maxwell equations would be unified. Many\ndevelopments were carried out considering cosmological problems in association\nwith particles physics, leading to methods that are useful for areas of\nphysics, in which size effects play an important role. This interest in finite\nsize effect systems has been increasing rapidly over the last decades, due\nprincipally to experimental improvements. In this review, the foundations of\ncompactified quantum field theory on a torus are presented in a unified way, in\norder to consider applications in particle and condensed matted physics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chiral and Gravitational Anomalies on Fermi Surfaces: A Fermi surface threaded by a Berry phase can be described by the\nWess-Zumino-Witten (WZW) term. After gauging, it produces a five-dimensional\nChern-Simons term in the action. We show how this Chern-Simons term captures\nthe essence of the Abelian, non-Abelian, and mixed gravitational anomalies in\ndescribing both in- and off-equilibrium phenomena. In particular we derive a\nnovel contribution to the Chiral Vortical Effect that arises when a temperature\ngradient is present. We also discuss the issue of universality of the anomalous\ncurrents.",
        "positive": "On the recent paper on quark confinement by Tomboulis: We point out missing links in the recent paper by Tomboulis in which he\nclaims a rigorous proof of quark confinement in 4D lattice gauge theory. We\nalso discuss if it is possible to correct his proof."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Background Independent String Field Theory: We develop a new background independent Moyal star formalism in bosonic open\nstring field theory. The new star product is formulated in a half-phase-space,\nand because phase space is independent of any background fields, the\ninteractions are background independent. In this basis there is a large amount\nof symmetry, including a supersymmetry OSp(d|2) that acts on matter and ghost\ndegrees of freedom, and simplifies computations. The BRST operator that defines\nthe quadratic kinetic term of string field theory may be regarded as the\nsolution of the equation of motion A*A=0 of a purely cubic background\nindependent string field theory. We find an infinite number of non-perturbative\nsolutions to this equation, and are able to associate them to the BRST operator\nof conformal field theories on the worldsheet. Thus, the background emerges\nfrom a spontaneous-type breaking of a purely cubic highly symmetric theory. The\nform of the BRST field breaks the symmetry in a tractable way such that the\nsymmetry continues to be useful in practical perturbative computations as an\nexpansion around some background. The new Moyal basis is called the $\\sigma\n$-basis, where $\\sigma$ is the worldsheet parameter of an open string. A vital\npart of the new star product is a natural and crucially needed mid-point\nregulator in this continuous basis, so that all computations are finite. The\nregulator is removed after renormalization and then the theory is finite only\nin the critical dimension. Boundary conditions for D-branes at the endpoints of\nthe string are naturally introduced and made part of the theory as simple rules\nin algebraic computations. A byproduct of our approach is an astonishing\nsuggestion of the formalism: the roots of ordinary quantum mechanics may\noriginate in the rules of non-commutative interactions in string theory.",
        "positive": "Tensor mesons, AdS/QCD and information: The Kaluza-Klein tower of higher spin-$S$ tensor meson resonances is here\nscrutinized in the AdS/QCD hard wall model, encompassing the already\nestablished resonances $\\rho(770)$, $f_2(1270)$, $\\omega_3(1670)$, $f_4(2050)$,\n$\\rho_5(2350)$, $f_6(2510)$ in PDG. A hybrid model employs both information\ntheory and AdS/QCD, where configurational-entropic Regge trajectories, relating\nthe configurational entropy of the tensor mesons family to their $S$ spin, and\nalso to their experimental mass spectra, are derived and analyzed. Therefore,\nthe mass spectra of higher spin-$S$ tensor meson resonances is obtained and\ncompared to the existing data in PDG."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Critical behavior of Born-Infeld AdS black holes in the extended phase\n  space thermodynamics: We study the thermodynamics of $D$-dimensional Born-Infeld AdS black holes in\nthe extended phase space. We find that the usual small-large black hole phase\ntransition, which exhibits analogy with the Van de Waals liquid-gas system\nholds in all dimensions greater than three. However, different from the\nfour-dimensional case, in the system of higher dimensional Born-Infeld AdS\nblack holes there is no reentrant phase transition. For the three-dimensional\nBorn-Infeld AS black hole, there does not exist critical phenomena.",
        "positive": "Hitchin's Equations and M-Theory Phenomenology: Phenomenological compactifications of M-theory involve 7-manifolds with G_2\nholonomy and various singularities. Here we study local geometries with such\nsingularities, by thinking of them as compactifications of 7d supersymmetric\nYang-Mills theory on a three-manifold Q_3. We give a general discussion of\ncompactifications of 7d Yang-Mills theory in terms of Higgs bundles on Q_3. We\nshow they can be constructed using spectral covers, which are Lagrangian branes\nwith a flat connection in the cotangent bundle T^*Q_3. We explain the\ndictionary with ALE fibrations over Q_3 and conjecture that these\nconfigurations have G_2 holonomy. We further develop tools to study the low\nenergy effective theory of such a model. We show that the naive massless\nspectrum is corrected by instanton effects. Taking the instanton effects into\naccount, we find that the massless spectrum and many of the interactions can be\ncomputed with Morse theoretic methods."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Finite temperature correlation functions from form factors: We investigate proposals of how the form factor approach to compute\ncorrelation functions at zero temperature can be extended to finite\ntemperature. For the two-point correlation function we conclude that the\nsuggestion to use the usual form factor expansion with the modification of\nintroducing dressing functions of various kinds is only suitable for free\ntheories. Dynamically interacting theories require a more severe change of the\nform factor program.",
        "positive": "Gravity dual of spin and charge density waves: At high enough charge density, the homogeneous state of the D3-D7' model is\nunstable to fluctuations at nonzero momentum. We investigate the end point of\nthis instability, finding a spatially modulated ground state, which is a charge\nand spin density wave. We analyze the phase structure of the model as a\nfunction of chemical potential and magnetic field and find the phase transition\nfrom the homogeneous state to be first order, with a second-order critical\npoint at zero magnetic field."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "$\u03b1'$-corrections and their double formulation: The present notes are based on three lectures, each ninety minutes long,\nprepared for the school 'Integrability, Dualities and Deformations', that ran\nfrom 23 to 27 August 2021 in Santiago de Compostela and virtually. These\nlectures, aimed at graduate students, require only a basic knowledge of string\ntheory. The main goal is to introduce $\\alpha'$-corrections to the\ngravitational sector of different formulations of closed string theory and to\nreformulate them using novel techniques based on double field theory.",
        "positive": "Particles with non abelian charges: Efficient methods for describing non abelian charges in worldline approaches\nto QFT are useful to simplify calculations and address structural properties,\nas for example color/kinematics relations. Here we analyze in detail a method\nfor treating arbitrary non abelian charges. We use Grassmann variables to take\ninto account color degrees of freedom, which however are known to produce\nreducible representations of the color group. Then we couple them to a U(1)\ngauge field defined on the worldline, together with a Chern-Simons term, to\nachieve projection on an irreducible representation. Upon gauge fixing there\nremains a modulus, an angle parametrizing the U(1) Wilson loop, whose\ndependence is taken into account exactly in the propagator of the Grassmann\nvariables. We test the method in simple examples, the scalar and spin 1/2\ncontribution to the gluon self energy, and suggest that it might simplify the\nanalysis of more involved amplitudes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Rigorous three-dimensional relativistic equation for quark-antiquark\n  bound states at finite temperature derived from the thermal QCD formulated in\n  the coherent-state representation: A rigorous three-dimensional relativistic equation for quark-antiquark bound\nstates at finite temperature is derived from the thermal QCD generating\nfunctional which is formulated in the coherent-state representation. The\ngenerating functional is derived newly and given a correct path-integral\nexpression. The perturbative expansion of the generating functional is\nspecifically given by means of the stationary-phase method. Especially, the\ninteraction kernel in the three-dimensional equation is derived by virtue of\nthe equations of motion satisfied by some quark-antiquark Green functions and\ngiven in a closed form which is expressed in terms of only a few types of Green\nfunctions. This kernel is much suitable to use for exploring the deconfinement\nof quarks. To demonstrate the applicability of the equation derived, the\none-gluon exchange kernel is derived and described in detail.",
        "positive": "What are we quantizing in integrable field theory?: We continue study of the connection of classical limit of integrable\nasymptotically free field theory to the finite-gap solutions of classical\nintegrable equations. In the limit the momenta of particles turn into the\nmoduli of Riemann surfaces while their isotopic structure is related to the\nperiod lattices. In this paper we explain that the classical limit of the local\noperators can be understood as a measure induced on the phase space by\nembedding into the projective space of \"classical fields\"."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Backreaction of Anti-M2 Branes on a Warped Stenzel Space: We find the superpotential governing the supersymmetric warped M-theory\nsolution with a transverse Stenzel space found by Cvetic, Gibbons, Lu and Pope\nin hep-th/0012011, and use this superpotential to extract and solve the twelve\ncoupled equations underlying the first-order backreacted solution of a stack of\nanti-M2 branes in this space. These anti-M2 branes were analyzed recently in a\nprobe approximation by Klebanov and Pufu, who conjectured that they should be\ndual to a metastable vacuum of a supersymmetric 2+1 dimensional theory. We find\nthat the would-be supergravity dual to such a metastable vacuum must have an\ninfrared singularity and discuss whether this singularity is acceptable or not.\nGiven that a similar singularity appears when placing anti-D3 branes in the\nKlebanov-Strassler solution, our work strengthens the possibility that\nanti-branes in warped throats do not give rise to metastable vacua.",
        "positive": "Consistent truncation of d = 11 supergravity on AdS_4 x S^7: We study the system of equations derived twenty five years ago by B. de Wit\nand the first author [Nucl. Phys. B281 (1987) 211] as conditions for the\nconsistent truncation of eleven-dimensional supergravity on AdS_4 x S^7 to\ngauged N = 8 supergravity in four dimensions. By exploiting the E_7(7)\nsymmetry, we determine the most general solution to this system at each point\non the coset space E_7(7)/SU(8). We show that invariants of the general\nsolution are given by the fluxes in eleven-dimensional supergravity. This\nallows us to both clarify the explicit non-linear ansatze for the fluxes given\npreviously and to fill a gap in the original proof of the consistent\ntruncation. These results are illustrated with several examples."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Superradiance around Rotating Dilatonic Black Hole: We consider a superradiance effect around rotating dilatonic black holes. We\nanalyze two cases: one is an exact solution with the coupling constant\n$\\alpha=\\sqrt{3}$, which effective action is reduced from the 5-dimensional\nKaluza-Klein theory, and the other is a slowly rotating dilatonic black holes\nwith arbitrary coupling constant. We find that there exists a critical value\n($\\alpha \\sim 1$), which is predicted from a superstring model, and the\nsuperradiant emission rate with coupling larger than the critical value becomes\nmuch higher than the Kerr-Newman case ($\\alpha=0$) in the maximally charged\nlimit. Consequently, 4-dimensional primordial black holes in higher dimensional\nunified theories are either rotating but almost neutral or charged but\neffectively non-rotating.",
        "positive": "Pathologies in Lovelock AdS Black Branes and AdS/CFT: We study the pathologies in AdS black branes in Lovelock theory. More\nprecisely, we examine the conditions that AdS black branes have the naked\nsingularity, the ghost instability and the dynamical instability. From the\npoint of view of the AdS/CFT correspondence, the pathologies in AdS black\nbranes indicate the pathologies in the corresponding CFT. Hence, we need to be\ncareful when we apply AdS/CFT in Lovelock theory to various phenomena such as\nthe shear viscosity to entropy ratio in strongly coupled quantum filed theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Compactified Little String Theories and Compact Moduli Spaces of Vacua: It is emphasized that compactified little string theories have compact moduli\nspaces of vacua, which globally probe compact string geometry. Compactifying\nvarious little string theories on T^3 leads to 3d theories with exact, quantum\nCoulomb branch given by: an arbitrary T^4 of volume M_s^2, an arbitrary K3 of\nvolume M_s^2, and moduli spaces of G=SU(N), SO(2N), or E_{6,7,8} instantons on\nan arbitrary T^4 or K3 of fixed volume. Compactifying instead on a T^2 leads to\n4d theories with a compact Coulomb branch base which, when combined with the\nexact photon gauge coupling fiber, is a compact, elliptically-fibered space\nrelated to the above spaces.",
        "positive": "Fermionic Halos at Finite Temperature in AdS/CFT: We explore the gravitational backreaction of a system consisting in a very\nlarge number of elementary fermions at finite temperature, in asymptotically\nAdS space. We work in the hydrodynamic approximation, and solve the\nTolman-Oppenheimer-Volkoff equations with a perfect fluid whose equation of\nstate takes into account both the relativistic effects of the fermionic\nconstituents, as well as its finite temperature effects. We find a novel 'dense\ncore-diluted halo' structure for the density profiles in the AdS bulk,\nsimilarly as recently reported in flat space, for the case of astrophysical\ndark matter halos in galaxies. We further study the critical equilibrium\nconfigurations above which the core undergoes gravitational collapse towards a\nmassive black hole, and calculate the corresponding critical central\ntemperatures, for two qualitatively different central regimes of the fermions:\nthe diluted-Fermi case, and the degenerate case. As a probe for the dual CFT,\nwe construct the holographic two-point correlator of a scalar operator with\nlarge conformal dimension in the worldline limit, and briefly discuss on the\nboundary CFT effects at the critical points."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Toric AdS4/CFT3 duals and M-theory Crystals: We study the recently proposed crystal model for three dimensional\nsuperconformal field theories arising from M2-branes probing toric Calabi-Yau\nfour-fold singularities. We explain the algorithms mapping a toric Calabi-Yau\nto a crystal and vice versa, and show how the spectrum of BPS meson states fits\ninto the crystal model.",
        "positive": "Ambiguity in mana and magic definition and knot states: We study the Mana and Magic for quantum states. They have a standard\ndefinition through the Clifford group, which is finite and thus classically\ncomputable. We introduce a modified Mana and Magic, which keep their main\nproperty of classical computability, while making other states classically\ncomputable. We also apply these new definitions to the studies of knot states\nof 2-strand knots."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Conformally Covariant Vector-Spinor Field in de Sitter Space: In this paper, we study the conformally invariant field equations for\nvector-spinor field in de Sitter space-time. The solutions are also obtained in\nterms of the de Sitter-Dirac plane waves. The related two-point functions are\ncalculated in both de Sitter ambient space formalism and intrinsic de Sitter\ncoordinate. In order to study the conformal invariance, Dirac s six-cone\nformalism is utilized in which the field equations are expressed in a\nmanifestly conformal way in 4 + 2 dimensional conformal space and then followed\nby the projection to de Sitter space.",
        "positive": "Spectrum of D=6, N=4b Supergravity on AdS_3 x S^3: The complete spectrum of D=6, N=4b supergravity with n tensor multiplets\ncompactified on AdS_3 x S^3 is determined. The D=6 theory obtained from the K_3\ncompactification of Type IIB string requires that n=21, but we let n be\narbitrary. The superalgebra that underlies the symmetry of the resulting\nsupergravity theory in AdS_3 coupled to matter is SU(1,1|2)_L x SU(1,1|2)_R.\nThe theory also has an unbroken global SO(4)_R x SO(n) symmetry inherited from\nD=6. The spectrum of states arranges itself into a tower of spin-2\nsupermultiplets, a tower of spin-1, SO(n) singlet supermultiplets, a tower of\nspin-1 supermultiplets in the vector representation of SO(n) and a special\nspin-1/2 supermultiplet also in the vector representation of SO(n). The SU(2)_L\nx SU(2)_R Yang-Mills states reside in the second level of the spin-2 tower and\nthe lowest level of the spin-1, SO(n) singlet tower and the associated field\ntheory exhibits interesting properties."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Group Field Theory in dimension four minus epsilon: Building on an analogy with ordinary scalar field theories, an epsilon\nexpansion for rank-3 tensorial group field theories with gauge invariance\ncondition is introduced. This allows to continuously interpolate between the\ndimension four group SU(2) X U(1) and the dimension three SU(2). In the first\nsituation, there is a unique marginal 4-valent coupling constant, but in\ncontrast to ordinary scalar field theory this model is asymptotically free. In\nthe SU(2) case, the presence of two marginally relevant 6-valent coupling\nconstants and one 4-valent super-renormalizable interaction spoils this\ninteresting property. However, the existence of a non-trivial fixed point is\nestablished in dimension four minus epsilon, hence suggesting that the SU(2)\ntheory might be asymptotically safe. To pave the way to future non-perturbative\ncalculations, the present perturbative results are discussed in the framework\nof the effective average action.",
        "positive": "Lorentz-Invariant Interpretation of Noncommutative Space-Time - global\n  version: The global version of the quantum symmetry defined by Chaichian et al\n(hep-th/0408069) is constructed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The conformal current algebra on supergroups with applications to the\n  spectrum and integrability: We compute the algebra of left and right currents for a principal chiral\nmodel with arbitrary Wess-Zumino term on supergroups with zero Killing form. We\ndefine primary fields for the current algebra that match the affine primaries\nat the Wess-Zumino-Witten points. The Maurer-Cartan equation together with\ncurrent conservation tightly constrain the current-current and current-primary\noperator product expansions. The Hilbert space of the theory is generated by\nacting with the currents on primary fields. We compute the conformal dimensions\nof a subset of these states in the large radius limit. The current algebra is\nshown to be consistent with the quantum integrability of these models to\nseveral orders in perturbation theory.",
        "positive": "One-loop divergences in massive gravity theory: The one-loop divergences are calculated for the recently proposed ghost-free\nversion of massive gravity, where the action depends on both metric and\nexternal tensor field f. The non-polynomial structure of the massive term is\nreduced to a more standard form by means of auxiliary tensor field, which is\nsettled on-shell after quantum calculations are performed. As one should\nexpect, the counterterms do not reproduce the form of the classical action.\nMoreover, the result has the form of the power series in f."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A note on the quantum-mechanical Ricci flow: We obtain Schroedinger quantum mechanics from Perelman's functional and from\nthe Ricci flow equations of a conformally flat Riemannian metric on a closed\n2-dimensional configuration space. We explore links with the recently discussed\n\"emergent quantum mechanics\".",
        "positive": "Higher Dimensional Schwinger-like Anomalous Effective Action: We construct explicit form of the anomalous effective action, in arbitrary\neven dimension, for Abelian vector and axial gauge fields coupled to Dirac\nfermions. It turns out to be a surprisingly simple extension of 2D Schwinger\nmodel effective action."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Instanton corrections in N=2 supersymmetric theories with classical\n  gauge groups and fundamental matter hypermultiplets: We compute instanton corrections to the low energy effective prepotential of\nN=2 supersymmetric theories in a variety of cases, including all classical\ngauge groups and even number of fundamental matter hypermultiplets. To this\nend, we take profit of a set of first- and second-order equations for the\nlogarithmic derivatives of the prepotential with respect to the dynamical scale\nexpressed in terms of Riemann's theta-function. These equations emerge in the\ncontext of the Whitham hierarchy approach to the low-energy Seiberg--Witten\nsolution of supersymmetric gauge theories. Our procedure is recursive and\nallows to compute the effective prepotential to arbitrary order in a remarkably\nstraightforward way. General expressions for up to three-instanton corrections\nare given. We illustrate the method with explicit expressions for several\ncases.",
        "positive": "Three loop anomalous dimensions of twist-3 gauge operators in N=4 SYM: We propose a closed expression for the three loop anomalous dimension of a\nclass of twist-3 operators built with gauge fields and covariant derivatives.\nTo this aim, we solve the long-range Bethe Ansatz equations at finite spin and\nprovide a consistent analytical formula obtained assuming maximal\ntranscendentality violation as suggested by the known one-loop anomalous\ndimension. The final result reproduces the universal cusp anomalous dimension\nand obeys recursion relations inspired by the principle of reciprocity\ninvariance."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Non-Singular One-Loop Wave Function of the Universe From a New\n  Eigenvalue Asymptotics in Quantum Gravity: Recent work on Euclidean quantum gravity on the four-ball has proved\nregularity at the origin of the generalized zeta-function built from\neigenvalues for metric and ghost modes, when diffeomorphism-invariant boundary\nconditions are imposed in the de Donder gauge. The hardest part of the analysis\ninvolves one of the four sectors for scalar-type perturbations, the eigenvalues\nof which are obtained by squaring up roots of a linear combination of Bessel\nfunctions of integer adjacent orders, with a coefficient of linear combination\ndepending on the unknown roots. This paper obtains, first, approximate analytic\nformulae for such roots for all values of the order of Bessel functions. For\nthis purpose, both the descending series for Bessel functions and their uniform\nasymptotic expansion at large order are used. The resulting generalized\nzeta-function is also built, and another check of regularity at the origin is\nobtained. For the first time in the literature on quantum gravity on manifolds\nwith boundary, a vanishing one-loop wave function of the Universe is found in\nthe limit of small three-geometry, which suggests a quantum avoidance of the\ncosmological singularity driven by full diffeomorphism invariance of the\nboundary-value problem for one-loop quantum theory.",
        "positive": "The Liouville side of the Vortex: We analyze conformal blocks with multiple (semi-)degenerate field insertions\nin Liouville/Toda conformal field theories an show that their vector space is\nfully reproduced by the four-dimensional limit of open topological string\namplitudes on the strip with generic boundary conditions associated to a\nsuitable quiver gauge theory. As a byproduct we identify the non-abelian vortex\npartition function with a specific fusion channel of degenerate conformal\nblocks."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-Perturbative Superpotentials in Landau-Ginzburg Compactification: We study the Landau-Ginzburg models which correspond to Calabi-Yau\nfour-folds. We construct the index of the typical states which correspond to\ntoric divisors. This index shows that whether a corresponding divisor can\ngenerate a non-perturbative superpotential. For an application, we consider the\nphase transition in terms of the orbifold construction. We obtain the simple\nmethod by which the divisor, which can not generate a superpotential in the\noriginal theory, can generate a superpotential after orbifoldization.",
        "positive": "Brane-induced decay of the Kaluza-Klein vacuum: The enhancement in the decay rate of the Kaluza-Klein vacuum due to the\npresence of a brane is studied, both in the test brane approximation and beyond\nit. Spontaneous brane materialization in the Kaluza-Klein vacuum is also\ndescribed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Leaving the Swampland: Non-geometric fluxes and the Distance Conjecture: We study a Type IIB isotropic toroidal compactification with non-geometric\nfluxes. Under the assumption of a hierarchy on the moduli, an effective scalar\npotential is constructed showing a runaway direction on the real part of the\nK\\\"ahler modulus while the rest of the moduli are stabilized. For the effective\nmodel to be consistent it is required that displacements in the field space are\nfinite. Infinite distances in field space would imply a breakdown in the\nhierarchy assumption on the moduli. In this context, the Swampland Distance\nConjecture is satisfied suggesting the possibility of leaving or entering the\nSwampland by a parametric control of the fluxes. This is achieved upon allowing\nthe non-geometric fluxes to take fractional values. In the process we are able\nto compute the cut-off scale below which the theory is valid, completely\ndepending on the flux configuration. We also report on the appearance of a\ndiscrete spectrum of values for the string coupling at the level of the\neffective theory.",
        "positive": "On the Role of a Torsion-like Field in a Scenario for the Spin Hall\n  Effect: Starting from an action that describes a Dirac fermion, we propose and\nanalyze a model based on a low-relativistic Pauli equation coupled to a\ntorsion-like term to study Spin Hall Effect (SHE). We point out a very\nparticular connection between the modified Pauli equation and the (SHE), where\nwhat we refer to torsion as field playing an important r\\^ole in the spin-orbit\ncoupling process. In this scenario, we present a proposal of a spin-type\ncurrent, considering the tiny contributions of torsion in connection with\ngeometrical properties of the material."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Remark on Lorentz Violation at Finite Temperature: We investigate the radiatively induced Chern-Simons-like term in\nfour-dimensional field theory at finite temperature. The Chern-Simons-like term\nis temperature dependent and breaks the Lorentz and CPT symmetries. We find\nthat this term remains undetermined although it can be found unambiguously in\ndifferent regularization schemes at finite temperature.",
        "positive": "The Tadpole Problem: We examine the mechanism of moduli stabilization by fluxes in the limit of a\nlarge number of moduli. We conjecture that one cannot stabilize all\ncomplex-structure moduli in F-theory at a generic point in moduli space (away\nfrom singularities) by fluxes that satisfy the bound imposed by the tadpole\ncancelation condition. More precisely, while the tadpole bound in the limit of\na large number of complex-structure moduli goes like 1/4 of the number of\nmoduli, we conjecture that the amount of charge induced by fluxes stabilizing\nall moduli grows faster than this, and is therefore larger than the allowed\namount. Our conjecture is supported by two examples: K3 x K3 compactifications,\nwhere by using evolutionary algorithms we find that moduli stabilization needs\nfluxes whose induced charge is 44% of the number of moduli, and Type IIB\ncompactifications on CP^3, where the induced charge of the fluxes needed to\nstabilize the D7-brane moduli is also 44% of the number of these moduli.\nProving our conjecture would rule out de Sitter vacua obtained via antibrane\nuplift in long warped throats with a hierarchically small supersymmetry\nbreaking scale, which require a large tadpole."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Knotted solutions for linear and nonlinear theories: electromagnetism\n  and fluid dynamics: We examine knotted solutions, the most simple of which is the \"Hopfion\", from\nthe point of view of relations between electromagnetism and ideal fluid\ndynamics. A map between fluid dynamics and electromagnetism works for initial\nconditions or for linear perturbations, allowing us to find new knotted fluid\nsolutions. Knotted solutions are also found to to be solutions of nonlinear\ngeneralizations of electromagnetism, and of quantum-corrected actions for\nelectromagnetism coupled to other modes. For null configurations,\nelectromagnetism can be described as a null pressureless fluid, for which we\ncan find solutions from the knotted solutions of electromagnetism. We also map\nthem to solutions of Euler's equations, obtained from a type of nonrelativistic\nreduction of the relativistic fluid equations.",
        "positive": "The Akulov-Volkov Lagrangian, Symmetry Currents and Spontaneously Broken\n  Extended Supersymmetry: A generalization of the Akulov-Volkov effective Lagrangian governing the self\ninteractions of the Nambu-Goldstone fermions associated with spontaneously\nbroken extended supersymmetry as well as their coupling to matter is presented\nand scrutinized. The resulting currents associated with R-symmetry,\nsupersymmetry and space-time translations are constructed and seen to form a\nsupermultiplet structure."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Thermal Duality and Hagedorn Transition from p-adic Strings: We develop the finite temperature theory of p-adic string models. We find\nthat the thermal properties of these non-local field theories can be\ninterpreted either as contributions of standard thermal modes with energies\nproportional to the temperature, or inverse thermal modes with energies\nproportional to the inverse of the temperature, leading to a \"thermal duality\"\nat leading order (genus one) analogous to the well known T-duality of string\ntheory. The p-adic strings also recover the asymptotic limits (high and low\ntemperature) for arbitrary genus that purely stringy calculations have yielded.\nWe also discuss our findings surrounding the nature of the Hagedorn transition.",
        "positive": "Manifolds of Fixed Points and Duality in Supersymmetric Gauge Theories: There are many physically interesting superconformal gauge theories in four\ndimensions. In this talk I discuss a common phenomenon in these theories: the\nexistence of continuous families of infrared fixed points. Well-known examples\ninclude finite ${\\cal N}=4$ and ${\\cal N}=2$ supersymmetric theories; many\nfinite ${\\cal N}=1$ examples are known also. These theories are a subset of a\nmuch larger class, whose existence can easily be established and understood\nusing the algebraic methods explained here. A relation between the ${\\cal N}=1$\nduality of Seiberg and duality in finite ${\\cal N}=2$ theories is found using\nthis approach, giving further evidence for the former. This talk is based on\nwork with Robert Leigh (hep-th/9503121)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "One-loop Gravitational Bremsstrahlung and Waveforms from a Heavy-Mass\n  Effective Field Theory: Using a heavy-mass effective field theory (HEFT), we study gravitational-wave\nemission in the scattering of two spinless black holes or neutron stars of\narbitrary masses at next-to-leading order in the Post-Minkowskian expansion. We\ncompute the contributions to the one-loop scattering amplitude with four\nscalars and one graviton which are relevant to the calculation of the\nwaveforms, also presenting expressions of classical tree-level amplitudes with\nfour scalars and up to two radiated gravitons. The latter are obtained using a\nnovel on-shell recursion relation for classical amplitudes with four scalars\nand an arbitrary number of gravitons. Our one-loop five-point amplitude is\nexpressed in terms of a single family of master integrals with the principal\nvalue prescription for linearised massive propagators, which we evaluate using\ndifferential equations. In our HEFT approach all hyper-classical iterations and\nquantum corrections to the amplitude are dropped at the diagrammatic level,\nthereby computing directly contributions to classical physics. Our result\nexhibits the expected factorisation of infrared divergences, the correct soft\nlimits, and highly nontrivial cancellations of spurious poles. Finally, using\nour amplitude result we compute numerically the corresponding next-to-leading\ncorrections to the spectral waveforms and the far-field time-domain waveforms\nusing the Newman-Penrose scalar $\\Psi_4$.",
        "positive": "N=2 Extremal Black Holes: It is shown that extremal magnetic black hole solutions of N = 2 supergravity\ncoupled to vector multiplets $X^\\Lambda$ with a generic holomorphic\nprepotential $F(X^\\Lambda)$ can be described as supersymmetric solitons which\ninterpolate between maximally symmetric limiting solutions at spatial infinity\nand the horizon. A simple exact solution is found for the special case that the\nratios of the $X^\\Lambda$ are real, and it is seen that the logarithm of the\nconformal factor of the spatial metric equals the Kahler potential on the\nvector multiplet moduli space. Several examples are discussed in detail."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Bouncing Cosmology from VECROs: We argue that, in the same way that in a black hole space-time VECROs will\nform in order to cancel the gravitational effects of a collapsing mass shell\nand prevent the formation of a singularity, in a contracting universe a gas of\nVECROs will form to hold up the contraction, prevent a Big Crunch singularity,\nand lead to a nonsingular cosmological bounce.",
        "positive": "T-duality and non-geometric solutions from double geometry: Although the introduction of generalised and extended geometry has been\nmotivated mainly by the appearance of dualities upon reductions on tori, it has\nuntil now been unclear how (all) the duality transformations arise from first\nprinciples in extended geometry. A proposal for solving this problem is given\nin the framework of double field theory. It is based on a clearly defined\nextension of the definition of gauge symmetry by isometries of an underlying\npseudo-Riemannian manifold. The ensuing relation between transformations of\ncoordinates and fields, which is now derived from first principles, differs\nfrom earlier proposals."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Rotating black ring on Kaluza-Klein bubbles: We construct a new exact solution to the 5D Einstein equations describing\nrotating black ring with a single angular momentum surrounded by two\nKaluza-Klein bubbles. The solution is generated by 2-soliton B\\\"{a}cklund\ntransformation. Its physical properties are computed and analyzed. The\ncorresponding static solution, the rotating black string and the boosted black\nstring are reproduced as limits.",
        "positive": "Large AdS black holes from QFT: We study the index of $\\mathcal{N}=4$ Yang-Mills theory on\n$S^3\\times\\mathbb{R}$ at large angular momenta. A generalized Cardy limit\nexhibits macroscopic entropy at large $N$. Our result is derived using free QFT\nanalysis, and also a background field method on $S^3$. The index sets a lower\nbound on the entropy. It saturates the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy of known\nsupersymmetric AdS$_5$ black holes, thus accounting for their microstates. We\nfurther analyze the so-called Macdonald index, exploring small black holes and\npossibly new black holes reminiscent of hairy black holes. Finally, we study\naspects of large supersymmetric AdS$_7$ black holes, using background field\nmethod on $S^5$ and 't Hooft anomalies."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Scattering in the Presence of a Reflecting and Transmitting Impurity: We investigate factorized scattering from a reflecting and transmitting\nimpurity. Bulk scattering is non trivial, provided that the bulk scattering\nmatrix depends separately on the spectral parameters of the colliding\nparticles, and not only on their difference. We show that a specific extension\nof a boundary algebra encodes the underlying scattering theory. The total\nscattering operator is constructed in this framework and shown to be unitary.",
        "positive": "Asymptotic Ground State for 10 Dimensional Reduced Supersymmetric SU(2)\n  Yang Mills Theory: We calculate the power law decay, and asymptotic form of a (unique) SO(9) and\nSU(2) invariant wave function satisfying, to leading and sub-leading order,\n$Q_{\\hat{\\beta}} \\psi = 0$ for all 16 supercharges of the matrix model\ncorresponding to supermembranes in 11 space-time dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Superembedding Origin of the Berkovits Pure Spinor Covariant\n  Quantization of Superstrings: We show that the pure spinor formalism proposed by Berkovits to covariantly\nquantize superstrings is a gauge fixed, twisted version of the complexified n=2\nsuperembedding formulation of the superstring. This provides the Berkovits\napproach with a geometrical superdiffeomorphism invariant ground. As a\nconsequence, the absence of the worldsheet (super)diffeomorphism ghosts in the\npure spinor quantization prescription and the nature of the Berkovits BRST\ncharge and antighost are clarified. Since superembedding is classically\nequivalent to the Green-Schwarz formulation, we thus also relate the latter to\nthe pure spinor construction.",
        "positive": "Supergravity as Generalised Geometry II: $E_{d(d)} \\times \\mathbb{R}^+$\n  and M theory: We reformulate eleven-dimensional supergravity, including fermions, in terms\nof generalised geometry, for spacetimes that are warped products of Minkowski\nspace with a $d$-dimensional manifold $M$ with $d\\leq7$. The reformation has a\n$E_{d(d)} \\times \\mathbb{R}^+$ structure group and is has a local $\\tilde{H}_d$\nsymmetry, where $\\tilde{H}_d$ is the double cover of the maximally compact\nsubgroup of $E_{d(d)}$. The bosonic degrees for freedom unify into a\ngeneralised metric, and, defining the generalised analogue $D$ of the\nLevi-Civita connection, one finds that the corresponding equations of motion\nare the vanishing of the generalised Ricci tensor. To leading order, we show\nthat the fermionic equations of motion, action and supersymmetry variations can\nall be written in terms of $D$. Although we will not give the detailed\ndecompositions, this reformulation is equally applicable to type IIA or IIB\nsupergravity restricted to a $(d-1)$-dimensional manifold. For completeness we\ngive explicit expressions in terms of $\\tilde{H}_4=\\mathit{Spin}(5)$ and\n$\\tilde{H}_7=\\mathit{SU}(8)$ representations for $d=4$ and $d=7$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Double-Scaling Limit of the O(N)-Symmetric Anharmonic Oscillator: In an earlier paper it was argued that the conventional double-scaling limit\nof an O(N)-symmetric quartic quantum field theory is inconsistent because the\ncritical coupling constant is negative and thus the integral representing the\npartition function of the critical theory does not exist. In this earlier paper\nit was shown that for an O(N)-symmetric quantum field theory in\nzero-dimensional spacetime one can avoid this difficulty if one replaces the\noriginal quartic theory by its PT-symmetric analog. In the current paper an\nO(N)-symmetric quartic quantum field theory in one-dimensional spacetime [that\nis, O(N)-symmetric quantum mechanics] is studied using the Schroedinger\nequation. It is shown that the global PT-symmetric formulation of this\ndifferential equation provides a consistent way to perform the double-scaling\nlimit of the O(N)-symmetric anharmonic oscillator. The physical nature of the\ncritical behavior is explained by studying the PT-symmetric quantum theory and\nthe corresponding and equivalent Hermitian quantum theory.",
        "positive": "Hidden symmetries in the two-dimensional isotropic antiferromagnet: We discuss the two-dimensional isotropic antiferromagnet in the framework of\ngauge invariance. Gauge invariance is one of the most subtle useful concepts in\ntheoretical physics, since it allows one to describe the time evolution of\ncomplex physical systesm in arbitrary sequences of reference frames. All\ntheories of the fundamental interactions rely on gauge invariance. In Dirac's\napproach, the two-dimensional isotropic antiferromagnet is subject to second\nclass constraints, which are independent of the Hamiltonian symmetries and can\nbe used to eliminate certain canonical variables from the theory. We have used\nthe symplectic embedding formalism developed by a few of us to make the system\nunder study gauge-invariant. After carrying out the embedding and Dirac\nanalysis, we systematically show how second class constraints can generate\nhidden symmetries. We obtain the invariant second-order Lagrangian and the\ngauge-invariant model Hamiltonian. Finally, for a particular choice of factor\nordering, we derive the functional Schr\\\"odinger equations for the original\nHamiltonian and for the first class Hamiltonian and show them to be identical,\nwhich justifies our choice of factor ordering."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exploring supersymmetric wormholes in $\\cal{N} = 2$ SYK with chords: A feature the $\\mathcal{N}=2$ supersymmetric Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev (SYK) model\nshares with extremal black holes is an exponentially large number of ground\nstates that preserve supersymmetry. In fact, the dimension of the ground state\nsubsector is a finite fraction of the total dimension of the SYK Hilbert space.\nThis fraction has a remarkably simple bulk interpretation as the probability\nthat the zero-temperature wormhole -- a supersymmetric Einstein-Rosen bridge --\nhas vanishing length. Using chord techniques, we compute the zero-temperature\nHartle-Hawking wavefunction; the results reproduce the ground state count\nobtained from boundary index computations, including non-perturbative\ncorrections. Along the way, we improve the construction [arXiv:2003.04405] of\nthe super-chord Hilbert space and show that the transfer matrix of the empty\nwormhole enjoys an enhanced $\\mathcal{N} = 4 $ supersymmetry. We also obtain\nexpressions for various two point functions at zero temperature. Finally, we\nfind the expressions for the supercharges acting on more general wormholes with\nmatter and present the superchord algebra.",
        "positive": "Dyson--Schwinger approach to Hamiltonian Quantum Chromodynamics: The general method for treating non-Gaussian wave functionals in the\nHamiltonian formulation of a quantum field theory, which was previously\nproposed and developed for Yang--Mills theory in Coulomb gauge, is generalized\nto full QCD. For this purpose the quark part of the QCD vacuum wave functional\nis expressed in the basis of coherent fermion states, which are defined in term\nof Grassmann variables. Our variational ansatz for the QCD vacuum wave\nfunctional is assumed to be given by exponentials of polynomials in the\noccurring fields and, furthermore, contains an explicit coupling of the quarks\nto the gluons. Exploiting Dyson--Schwinger equation techniques, we express the\nvarious $n$-point functions, which are required for the expectation values of\nobservables like the Hamiltonian, in terms of the variational kernels of our\ntrial ansatz. Finally the equations of motion for these variational kernels are\nderived by minimizing the energy density."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "\u03ba-deformations of D=4 Weyl and conformal symmetries: We provide first explicite examples of quantum deformations of D=4 conformal\nalgebra with mass-like deformation parameters, in applications to quantum\ngravity effects related with Planck mass. It is shown that one of the classical\n$r$-matrices defined on the Borel subalgebra of $sl(4)$ with $o(4,2)$ reality\nconditions describes the light-cone $\\kappa$-deformation of D=4 Poincar\\'{e}\nalgebra. We embed this deformation into the three-parameter family of\ngeneralized $\\kappa$-deformations, with $r$-matrices depending additionally on\nthe dilatation generator. Using the extended Jordanian twists framework we\ndescribe these deformations in the form of noncocommutative Hopf algebra. We\ndescribe also another four-parameter class of generalized\n$\\kappa$-deformations, which is obtained by continuous deformation of\ndistinguished $\\kappa$-deformation of D=4 Weyl algebra, called here the\nstandard $\\kappa$-deformation of Weyl algebra.",
        "positive": "Deformations of Euclidean Supersymmetries: We consider quantum supergroups that arise in non-anticommutative\ndeformations of N=(1/2,1/2) and N=(1,1) four-dimensional Euclidean\nsupersymmetric theories. Twist operators in the corresponding deformed algebras\nof superfields contain left spinor generators. We show that non-anticommutative\n$\\star$-products of superfields transform covariantly in the deformed\nsupersymmetries. This covariance guarantees the invariance of deformed\nsuperfield actions of models involving $\\star$-products of superfields."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Beyond fuzzy spheres: We study polynomial deformations of the fuzzy sphere, specifically given by\nthe cubic or the Higgs algebra. We derive the Higgs algebra by quantizing the\nPoisson structure on a surface in $\\mathbb{R}^3$. We find that several\nsurfaces, differing by constants, are described by the Higgs algebra at the\nfuzzy level. Some of these surfaces have a singularity and we overcome this by\nquantizing this manifold using coherent states for this nonlinear algebra. This\nis seen in the measure constructed from these coherent states. We also find the\nstar product for this non-commutative algebra as a first step in constructing\nfield theories on such fuzzy spaces.",
        "positive": "Quantum groups, non-commutative Lorentzian spacetimes and curved\n  momentum spaces: The essential features of a quantum group deformation of classical symmetries\nof General Relativity in the case with non-vanishing cosmological constant\n$\\Lambda$ are presented. We fully describe (anti-)de Sitter non-commutative\nspacetimes and curved momentum spaces in (1+1) and (2+1) dimensions arising\nfrom the $\\kappa$-deformed quantum group symmetries. These non-commutative\nspacetimes are introduced semiclassically by means of a canonical Poisson\nstructure, the Sklyanin bracket, depending on the classical $r$-matrix defining\nthe $\\kappa$-deformation, while curved momentum spaces are defined as orbits\ngenerated by the $\\kappa$-dual of the Hopf algebra of quantum symmetries.\nThroughout this construction we use kinematical coordinates, in terms of which\nthe physical interpretation becomes more transparent, and the cosmological\nconstant $\\Lambda$ is included as an explicit parameter whose $\\Lambda\n\\rightarrow 0$ limit provides the Minkowskian case. The generalization of these\nresults to the physically relevant (3+1)-dimensional deformation is also\ncommented."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-Abelian Stokes Theorem and Quark Confinement in SU(3) Yang-Mills\n  Gauge Theory: We derive a new version of SU(3) non-Abelian Stokes theorem by making use of\nthe coherent state representation on the coset space $SU(3)/(U(1)\\times\nU(1))=F_2$, the flag space. Then we outline a derivation of the area law of the\nWilson loop in SU(3) Yang-Mills theory in the maximal Abelian gauge (The\ndetailed exposition will be given in a forthcoming article). This derivation is\nperformed by combining the non-Abelian Stokes theorem with the reformulation of\nthe Yang-Mills theory as a perturbative deformation of a topological field\ntheory recently proposed by one of the authors. Within this framework, we show\nthat the fundamental quark is confined even if $G=SU(3)$ is broken by partial\ngauge fixing into $H=U(2)$ just as $G$ is broken to $H=U(1) \\times U(1)$. An\norigin of the area law is related to the geometric phase of the Wilczek-Zee\nholonomy for U(2). Abelian dominance is an immediate byproduct of these results\nand magnetic monopole plays the dominant role in this derivation.",
        "positive": "Camouflaged Supersymmetry: We establish a relation between certain classes of flux compactifications and\ncertain families of black hole microstate solutions. This connection reveals a\nrather unexpected result: there exist supersymmetric solutions of N=8\nsupergravity that live inside many N=2 truncations, but are not supersymmetric\ninside any of them. If this phenomenon is generic, it indicates the possible\nexistence of much larger families of supersymmetric black rings and black hole\nmicrostates than previously thought."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "R\u00e9nyi entropy at large energy density in 2D CFT: We investigate the R\\'enyi entropy and entanglement entropy of an interval\nwith an arbitrary length in the canonical ensemble, microcanonical ensemble and\nprimary excited states at large energy density in the thermodynamic limit of a\ntwo-dimensional large central charge $c$ conformal field theory. As a\ngeneralization of the recent work [Phys. Rev. Lett. 122 (2019) 041602], the\nmain purpose of the paper is to see whether one can distinguish these various\nlarge energy density states by the R\\'enyi entropies of an interval at\ndifferent size scales, namely, short, medium and long. Collecting earlier\nresults and performing new calculations in order to compare with and fill gaps\nin the literature, we give a more complete and detailed analysis of the\nproblem. Especially, we find some corrections to the recent results for the\nholographic R\\'enyi entropy of a medium size interval, which enlarge the\nvalidity region of the results. Based on the R\\'enyi entropies of the three\ninterval scales, we find that R\\'enyi entropy cannot distinguish the canonical\nand microcanonical ensemble states for a short interval, but can do the job for\nboth medium and long intervals. At the leading order of large $c$ the\nentanglement entropy cannot distinguish the canonical and microcanonical\nensemble states for all interval lengths, but the difference of entanglement\nentropy for a long interval between the two states would appear with $1/c$\ncorrections. We also discuss R\\'enyi entropy and entanglement entropy\ndifferences between the thermal states and primary excited state. Overall, our\nwork provides an up-to-date picture of distinguishing different thermal or\nprimary states at various length scales of the subsystem.",
        "positive": "Expanding $(n+1)$-Dimensional Wormhole Solutions in Brans-Dicke\n  Cosmology: We have obtained two classes of $(n+1)$-dimensional wormhole solutions using\na traceless energy-momentum tensor in Brans-Dicke theory of gravity. The first\nclass contains wormhole solutions in an open geometry while the second contains\nwormhole solutions in both open and closed universes. In addition to wormhole\ngeometries, naked singularities and maximally symmetric spacetime also appear\namong the solutions as special cases. We have also considered the travesibility\nof the wormhole solutions and have shown that they are indeed traverseable.\nFinally, we have discussed the energy-momentum tensor which supports this\ngeometry and have checked for the energy conditions. We have found that\nwormhole solutions in the first class of solutions violate weak energy\ncondition (WEC). In the second class, the wormhole geometries in a closed\nuniverse do violate WEC, but in an open universe with suitable choice of\nconstants the supporting matter energy-momentum tensor can satisfy WEC.\nHowever, even in this case the full effective energy-momentum tensor including\nthe scalar field and the matter energy-momentum tensor still violates the WEC."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Brane-Antibrane Systems Interaction under Tachyon Condensation: The interaction between a parallel brane-antibrane and brane-antibrane is\ninvestigated by regarding the brane-antibrane pair as a kink or anti-kink type\ntachyon condensed state. As the kink-type tachyon condensed state is known as a\nnon-BPS brane we expand the Lagrangian of tachyon effective field theory to the\nquadratic order in the off-diagonal fluctuation and then use the zeta-function\nregularization and Schwinger perturbative formula to evaluate the interaction\nwithin a kink-kink or a kink-antikink.\n  The results show that while the kink and kink has repulsive force the kink\nand anti-kink has attractive force and may annihilate by each others. We\ntherefore evaluate the free energy at finite temperature and determine the\ncritical temperature above which the stable state of kink-antikink system may\nbe found.",
        "positive": "Chern--Simons Perturbation Theory II: In a previous paper [\\AS], we used superspace techniques to prove that\nperturbation theory (around a classical solution with no zero modes) for\nChern--Simons quantum field theory on a general $3$-manifold $M$ is finite. We\nconjectured (and proved for the case of $2$-loops) that, after adding\ncounterterms of the expected form, the terms in the perturbation theory define\ntopological invariants. In this paper we prove this conjecture. Our proof uses\na geometric compactification of the region on which the Feynman integrand of\nFeynman diagrams is smooth as well as an extension of the basic propagator of\nthe theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "String Theory of Supertubes: String theory on AdS3 backgrounds arises as an IR limit of Little String\nTheory on NS5-branes. A wide variety of holographic RG flows from the fivebrane\ntheory in the UV to (orbifolds of) AdS3 in the IR is amenable to exact\ntreatment in worldsheet string theory as a class of null-gauged WZW models. The\ncondensate of stringy winding operators which resolves the near-source\nstructure of fivebranes on the Coulomb branch plays a crucial role in AdS3,\nrevealing stringy structure invisible to the supergravity approximation. The\nD-brane sector contains precursors of the long strings which dominate black\nhole entropy in the dual spacetime CFT.",
        "positive": "Closed Universe in Mirage Cosmology: We study the cosmological evolution of the closed universe on a spherical\nprobe brane moving in the AdS$_m\\times S^n$ background and the near-horizon\nbackground of the dilatonic D-branes. The Friedmann equations describing the\nevolution of the brane universe, and the effective energy density and pressure\nsimulated on the probe brane due to its motion in the curved background\nspacetime are obtained and analyzed. We also comment on the relevance of the\nspherical probe brane to the giant graviton for the special value of the probe\nenergy."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Entanglement islands and cutoff branes from path-integral optimization: Recently it was proposed that, the AdS/BCFT correspondence can be simulated\nby a holographic Weyl transformed CFT$_2$, where the cut-off brane plays the\nrole of the Karch-Randall (KR) brane \\cite{Basu:2022crn}. In this paper, we\nfocus on the Weyl transformation that optimizes the path integral computation\nof the reduced density matrix for a single interval in a holographic CFT$_2$.\nWhen we take the limit that one of the endpoint of the interval goes to\ninfinity (a half line), such a holographic Weyl transformed CFT$_2$ matches the\nAdS/BCFT configuration for a BCFT with one boundary. Without taking the limit,\nthe induced cutoff brane becomes a circle passing through the two endpoints of\nthe interval. We assume that the cutoff brane also plays the same role as the\nKR brane in AdS/BCFT, hence the path-integral-optimized purification for the\ninterval is in the island phase. This explains the appearance of negative\nmutual information observed in \\cite{Camargo:2022mme}. We check that, the\nentanglement entropy and the balanced partial entanglement entropy (BPE)\ncalculated via the island formulas, exactly match with the RT formula and the\nentanglement wedge cross-section (EWCS), which are allowed to anchor on the\ncutoff brane.",
        "positive": "Kinematic Hopf algebra and BCJ numerators at finite $\u03b1'$: In this letter, starting from a kinematic Hopf algebra, we first construct a\nclosed-form formula for all Bern-Carrasco-Johansson (BCJ) numerators in\nYang-Mills (YM) theory with infinite orders of $\\alpha'$ corrections, known as\n$\\rm DF^2+YM$ theory, when coupled to two heavy particles which can be removed\nthrough a simple factorization limit. The full $\\alpha'$ dependence appears\nsimply in massive physical propagator factors, with factorization strongly\nconstraining the construction. The intricate structure induced by the massive\npoles also naturally leads us to find a novel closed-form and local expression\nfor BCJ numerators in usual pure YM theory, based directly on the kinematic\nHopf algebra."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "(Non-)BPS bound states and D-brane instantons: We study non-perturbative effects in four-dimensional N=1 supersymmetric\norientifold compactifications due to D-brane instantons which are generically\nnot invariant under the orientifold projection. We show that they can yield\nsuperpotential contributions via a multi-instanton process at threshold. Some\nconstituents of this configuration form bound states away from the wall of\nmarginal stability which can decay in other regions of moduli space. A\nmicroscopic analysis reveals how contributions to the superpotential are\npossible when new BPS states compensate for their decay. We study this\nconcretely for D2-brane instantons along decaying special Lagrangians in Type\nIIA and for D5-branes instantons carrying holomorphic bundles in Type I theory.",
        "positive": "n+1 Dimensional Gravity duals to quantum criticalities with spontaneous\n  symmetry breaking: We reexamine the charged AdS domain wall solution to the\nEinstein-Abelian-Higgs model proposed by Gubser et al as holographic\nsuperconductors at quantum critical points and comment on their statement about\nthe uniqueness of gravity solutions. We generalize their explorations from 3+1\ndimensions to arbitrary $n+1$Ds and find that the $n+1\\geqslant5$D charged AdS\ndomain walls are unstable against electric perturbations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Deformed QED via Seiberg-Witten Map: With the help of the Seiberg-Witten map for photons and fermions we define a\ntheta-deformed QED at the classical level. Two possibilities of gauge-fixing\nare discussed. A possible non-Abelian extension for a pure theta-deformed\nYang-Mills theory is also presented.",
        "positive": "General solution of the Wess-Zumino consistency condition for Einstein\n  gravity: The Wess-Zumino consistency condition for four-dimensional Einstein gravity\nis investigated in the space of local forms involving the fields, the ghosts,\nthe antifields and their derivatives. Its general solution is constructed for\nall values of the form degree and of the ghost number. It is shown in\nparticular that the antifields (= sources for the BRST variations) can occur\nonly through cohomologically trivial terms."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "DBI with Primordial Magnetic Field in the Sky: In this paper, we study the generation of a large scale magnetic field with\namplitude of order $\\mu$G in an inflationary model which has been introduced in\nhep-th/0310221. This inflationary model based on existence of a speed limit for\ninflaton field. Generating a mass for inflaton at scale above the $\\phi_{IR}$,\nbreaks the conformal triviality of the Maxwell equation and causes to originate\na magnetic field during the inflation. The amplitude strongly depends on the\ndetails of reheating stage and also depends on the e-foldings parameter N. We\nfind the amplitude of the primordial magnetic field at decoupling time in this\ninflationary background using late time behavior of the theory.",
        "positive": "From topological to non-topological solitons: kinks, domain walls and\n  Q-balls in a scalar field model with non-trivial vacuum manifold: We consider a scalar field model with a self-interaction potential that\npossesses a discrete vacuum manifold. We point out that this model allows for\nboth topological as well as non-topological solitons. In (1+1) dimensions both\ntype of solutions have finite energy, while in (3+1) dimensions, the\ntopological solitons have finite energy per unit area only and correspond to\ndomain walls. Non-topological solitons with finite energy do exist in (3+1)\ndimensions due to a non-trivial phase of the scalar field and an associated\nU(1) symmetry of the model, though. We construct these so-called Q-ball\nsolutions numerically, point out the differences to previous studies with\ndifferent scalar field potentials and also discuss the influence of a minimal\ncoupling to both gravity as well as a U(1) gauge field. In this latter case,\nthe conserved Noether charge Q can be interpreted as the electric charge of the\nsolution."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Permutation Orientifolds of Gepner Models: In tensor products of a left-right symmetric CFT, one can define permutation\norientifolds by combining orientation reversal with involutive permutation\nsymmetries. We construct the corresponding crosscap states in general rational\nCFTs and their orbifolds, and study in detail those in products of affine\nU(1)_2 models or N=2 minimal models. The results are used to construct\npermutation orientifolds of Gepner models. We list the permutation orientifolds\nin a few simple Gepner models, and study some of their physical properties -\nsupersymmetry, tension and RR charges. We also study the action of\ncorresponding parity on D-branes, and determine the gauge group on a stack of\nparity-invariant D-branes. Tadpole cancellation condition and some of its\nsolutions are also presented.",
        "positive": "On a New Class of Integrable Models: We define a new class of integrable vertex models associated to quantum\ngroups at roots of unit"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Boundary Flows in general Coset Theories: In this paper we study the boundary effects for off-critical integrable field\ntheories which have close analogs with integrable lattice models. Our models\nare the $SU(2)_{k}\\otimes SU(2)_{l}/SU(2)_{k+l}$ coset conformal field theories\nperturbed by integrable boundary and bulk operators. The boundary interactions\nare encoded into the boundary reflection matrix. Using the TBA method, we\nverify the flows of the conformal BCs by computing the boundary entropies.\nThese flows of the BCs have direct interpretations for the fusion RSOS lattice\nmodels. For super CFTs ($k=2$) we show that these flows are possible only for\nthe Neveu-Schwarz sector and are consistent with the lattice results. The\nmodels we considered cover a wide class of integrable models. In particular, we\nshow how the the impurity spin is screened by electrons for the $k$-channel\nKondo model by taking $l\\to\\infty$ limit. We also study the problem using an\nindependent method based on the boundary roaming TBA. Our numerical results are\nconsistent with the boundary CFTs and RSOS TBA analysis.",
        "positive": "Large-Order Asymptotes for Dynamic Models Near Equilibrium: Instanton analysis is applied to model A of critical dynamics. It is shown\nthat the static instanton of the massless $\\phi^{4}$ model determines the\nlarge-order asymptotes of the perturbation expansion of the dynamic model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Bosonization in higher dimensions via noncommutative field theory: We propose the bosonization of a many-body fermion theory in D spatial\ndimensions through a noncommutative field theory on a (2D-1)-dimensional space.\nThis theory leads to a chiral current algebra over the noncommutative space and\nreproduces the correct perturbative Hilbert space and excitation energies for\nthe fermions. The validity of the method is demonstrated by bosonizing a\ntwo-dimensional gas of fermions in a harmonic trap.",
        "positive": "Elliptic Ruijsenaars-Schneider model from the cotangent bundle over the\n  two-dimensional current group: It is shown that the elliptic Ruijsenaars-Schneider model can be obtained\nfrom the cotangent bundle over the two-dimensional current group by means of\nthe Hamiltonian reduction procedure."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Twistor form of massive 6D superparticle: The massive six-dimensional (6D) superparticle with manifest (n,0)\nsupersymmetry is shown to have a supertwistor formulation in which its \"hidden\"\n(0,n) supersymmetry is also manifest. The mass-shell constraint is replaced by\nSpin(5) spin-shell constraints which imply that the quantum superparticle has\nzero superspin, for n=1 it propagates the 6D Proca supermultiplet.",
        "positive": "Four-Loop Nonplanar Cusp Anomalous Dimension in N=4 Supersymmetric\n  Yang-Mills Theory: The light-like cusp anomalous dimension is a universal function that controls\ninfrared divergences in quite general quantum field theories. In the maximally\nsupersymmetric Yang-Mills theory this function is fixed fully by integrability\nto the three-loop order. At four loops a non-planar correction appears which we\nobtain for the first time from a numerical computation of the Sudakov form\nfactor. Key ingredients are widely applicable methods to control the\nnumber-theoretic aspects of the appearing integrals. Our result shows\nexplicitly that quadratic Casimir scaling breaks down at four loops."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Universal Phase Space of AdS3 Gravity: We describe what can be called the \"universal\" phase space of AdS3 gravity,\nin which the moduli spaces of globally hyperbolic AdS spacetimes with compact\nspatial sections, as well as the moduli spaces of multi-black-hole spacetimes\nare realized as submanifolds. The universal phase space is parametrized by two\ncopies of the Universal Teichm\\\"uller space T(1) and is obtained from the\ncorrespondence between maximal surfaces in AdS3 and quasisymmetric\nhomeomorphisms of the unit circle. We also relate our parametrization to the\nChern-Simons formulation of 2+1 gravity and, infinitesimally, to the\nholographic (Fefferman-Graham) description. In particular, we obtain a relation\nbetween the generators of quasiconformal deformations in each T(1) sector and\nthe chiral Brown-Henneaux vector fields. We also relate the charges arising in\nthe holographic description (such as the mass and angular momentum of an AdS3\nspacetime) to the periods of the quadratic differentials arising via the Bers\nembedding of T(1)xT(1). Our construction also yields a symplectic map from\nT*T(1) to T(1)xT(1) generalizing the well-known Mess map in the compact spatial\nsurface setting.",
        "positive": "A Perturbative Window into Non-Perturbative Physics: We argue that for a large class of N=1 supersymmetric gauge theories the\neffective superpotential as a function of the glueball chiral superfield is\nexactly given by a summation of planar diagrams of the same gauge theory. This\nperturbative computation reduces to a matrix model whose action is the\ntree-level superpotential. For all models that can be embedded in string theory\nwe give a proof of this result, and we sketch an argument how to derive this\nmore generally directly in field theory. These results are obtained without\nassuming any conjectured dualities and can be used as a systematic method to\ncompute instanton effects: the perturbative corrections up to n-th loop can be\nused to compute up to n-instanton corrections. These techniques allow us to see\nmany non-perturbative effects, such as the Seiberg-Witten solutions of N=2\ntheories, the consequences of Montonen-Olive S-duality in N=1* and Seiberg-like\ndualities for N=1 theories from a completely perturbative planar point of view\nin the same gauge theory, without invoking a dual description."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Complex Langevin Equations and Schwinger-Dyson Equations: Stationary distributions of complex Langevin equations are shown to be the\ncomplexified path integral solutions of the Schwinger-Dyson equations of the\nassociated quantum field theory. Specific examples in zero dimensions and on a\nlattice are given. Relevance to the study of quantum field theory phase space\nis discussed.",
        "positive": "Asymptotically Anti-de Sitter spacetimes and their stress energy tensor: We consider asymtotically anti-de Sitter spacetimes in general dimensions. We\nreview the origin of infrared divergences in the on-shell gravitational action,\nand the construction of the renormalized on-shell action by the addition of\nboundary counterterms. In odd dimensions, the renormalized on-shell action is\nnot invariant under bulk diffeomorphisms that yield conformal transformations\nin the boundary (holographic Weyl anomaly). We obtain formulae for the\ngravitational stress energy tensor, defined as the metric variation of the\nrenormalized on-shell action, in terms of coefficients in the asymptotic\nexpansion of the metric near infinity. The stress energy tensor transforms\nanomalously under bulk diffeomorphisms broken by infrared divergences."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Conformal Supergravity from the AdS/CFT Correspondence: Construction of a five dimensional conformal supergravity (D=5 CSG) is\nattempted by applying the AdS/CFT correspondence to the F(4) AdS supergravity\nin six dimensions. As a first step, local transformation laws of D=5 CSG have\nbeen established, from which the Weyl weights of the various fields in D=5 can\nbe predicted.",
        "positive": "The geometric phases in a background with Lorentz-symmetry violation: We analyze the nonrelativistic quantum dynamics of a single neutral spin half\nparticle, with non-zero magnetic and electric dipole moments, moving in an\nexternal electromagnetic field in presence of Lorentz symmetry violation\nbackground. Also, we study the geometric phase for this model taking into\naccount the parameter that breaks the Lorentz symmetry. We investigate the\nHe-McKellar-Wilkens effect in this context and we verify that Lorentz violation\nparameter contribute to increase the electric dipole moment of the particle."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Bipartite Field Theories, Cluster Algebras and the Grassmannian: We review recent progress in Bipartite Field Theories. We cover topics such\nas their gauge dynamics, emergence of toric Calabi-Yau manifolds as master and\nmoduli spaces, string theory embedding, relationships to on-shell diagrams,\nconnections to cluster algebras and the Grassmannian, and applications to graph\nequivalence and stratification of the Grassmannian.",
        "positive": "Dilatonic Supergravity in Two Dimensions and the Disappearance of\n  Quantum Black Hole: We analyze a supergravity theory coupled to a dilaton and superconformal\nmatters in two dimensions. This theory is classically soluble and we find all\nthe solutions appeared in Callan, Giddings, Harvey and Strominger's dilatonic\ngravity also satisfy the constraints and the equations of motion in this\nsupersymmetric theory. We quantize this theory by following the procedure of\nDistler, Hlousek and Kawai. In the quantum action, the cosmological term is\nrenormalized to vanish. As a result, any solution corresponding to classical\nblack hole does not appear in the quantum theory, which should be compared with\nthe non-supersymmetric case."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Breaking an Abelian gauge symmetry near a black hole horizon: I argue that coupling the Abelian Higgs model to gravity plus a negative\ncosmological constant leads to black holes which spontaneously break the gauge\ninvariance via a charged scalar condensate slightly outside their horizon. This\nsuggests that black holes can superconduct.",
        "positive": "Currents of created pairs in strong electric fields: We calculate tree--level currents of created particles in strong background\nelectric fields in 4D QED for various initial states. Namely, we do that in\npulse background for initial vacuum and thermal states at past infinity. In\nboth cases we find that the current grows linearly with the length of the pulse\nwith coefficients of proportionality containing the characteristic Schwinger's\nfactor. For the constant electric field background we calculate the current for\nseveral different initial states. We observe that in such a case the current is\neither zero or linearly divergent. We explain the reason for such a behaviour\nand compare the situation in ordinary and scalar QED. Finally, we calculate the\ncurrent in two--dimensional situation in the presence of such settings when the\nso called Klein paradox can be observed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "AdS Dyonic Black Hole and its Thermodynamics: We obtain spherically-symmetric and $\\R^2$-symmetric dyonic black holes that\nare asymptotic to anti-de Sitter space-time (AdS), which are solutions in\nmaximal gauged four-dimensional supergravity, with just one of the U(1) fields\ncarrying both the electric and magnetic charges $(Q,P)$. We study the\nthermodynamics, and find that the usually-expected first law does not hold\nunless P=0, Q=0 or P=Q. For general values of the charges, we find that the\nfirst law requires a modification with a new pair of thermodynamic conjugate\nvariables. We show that they describe the scalar hair that breaks some of the\nasymptotic AdS symmetries.",
        "positive": "Anomaly Constraints on Gapped Phases with Discrete Chiral Symmetry: We prove that in $(3+1)d$ quantum field theories with $\\mathbb{Z}_N$\nsymmetry, certain anomalies forbid a symmetry-preserving vacuum state with a\ngapped spectrum. In particular, this applies to discrete chiral symmetries\nwhich are frequently present in gauge theories as we illustrate in examples.\nOur results also constrain the long-distance behavior of certain condensed\nmatter systems such as Weyl-semimetals and may have applications to\ncrystallographic phases with symmetry protected topological order. These\nresults may be viewed as analogs of the Lieb-Schultz-Mattis theorem for\ncontinuum field theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Cosmic Strings and Superstrings: Cosmic strings are predicted by many field-theory models, and may have been\nformed at a symmetry-breaking transition early in the history of the universe,\nsuch as that associated with grand unification. They could have important\ncosmological effects. Scenarios suggested by fundamental string theory or\nM-theory, in particular the popular idea of brane inflation, also strongly\nsuggest the appearance of similar structures. Here we review the reasons for\npostulating the existence of cosmic strings or superstrings, the various\npossible ways in which they might be detected observationally, and the special\nfeatures that might discriminate between ordinary cosmic strings and\nsuperstrings.",
        "positive": "F-Theory on Calabi-Yau Fourfolds: We discuss some aspects of F-theory in four dimensions on elliptically\nfibered Calabi-Yau fourfolds which are Calabi-Yau threefold fibrations. A\nparticularly simple class of such manifolds emerges for fourfolds in which the\ngeneric Calabi-Yau threefold fiber is itself an elliptic fibration and is K3\nfibered. Duality between F-theory compactified on Calabi-Yau fourfolds and\nheterotic strings on Calabi-Yau threefolds puts constraints on the cohomology\nof the fourfold. By computing the Hodge diamond of Calabi-Yau fourfolds we\nprovide first numerical evidence for F-theory dualities in four dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "$\\mathcal{CP}$ Violation from String Theory: We identify a natural way to embed $\\mathcal{CP}$ symmetry and its violation\nin string theory. The $\\mathcal{CP}$ symmetry of the low energy effective\ntheory is broken by the presence of heavy string modes. $\\mathcal{CP}$\nviolation is the result of an interplay of $\\mathcal{CP}$ and flavor symmetry.\n$\\mathcal{CP}$ violating decays of the heavy modes could originate a\ncosmological matter-antimatter asymmetry.",
        "positive": "Complete solution to Gaussian tensor model and its integrable properties: Similarly to the complex matrix model, the rainbow tensor models are\nsuperintegrable in the sense that arbitrary Gaussian correlators are explicitly\nexpressed through the Clebsh-Gordan coefficients. We introduce associated\n(Ooguri-Vafa type) partition functions and describe their $W$-representations.\nWe also discuss their integrability properties, which can be further improved\nby better adjusting the way the partition function is defined. This is a new\navatar of the old unresolved problem with non-Abelian integrability concerning\na clever choice of the partition function. This is a part of the long-standing\nproblem to define a non-Abelian lift of integrability from the fundamental to\ngeneric representation families of arbitrary Lie algebras."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exploring the Thermodynamics of Confining Models: Establishing a description for confinement is not something simple. In order\nto try to understand a little about this phenomenon, we will explore the\nthermodynamics of models that try to describe it in terms of propagators with\nviolation of positivity. In this work, \"confinement\" is always understood in\nthe sense of positivity violation of the propagator of the elementary fields.\nFor simplicity, we will define a model for scalar fields with a momentum\ndependent and nonlocal mass term. One of our objectives is to verify the\nthermodynamic properties of this Lagrangian in order to analyze possible\ninconsistencies. For this we use the functional formalism of Quantum Field\nTheory at finite temperature, from which we obtain the partition function and,\nconsequently, the thermodynamic variables such as pressure, energy density,\nentropy density, etc. Then, we obtain the two-point function at finite\ntemperature of the scalar field, in order to study whether or not there is a\nrestoration of positivity (hence, deconfinement, in our language).",
        "positive": "Entanglement entropy as a witness of the Aharonov-Bohm effect in QFT: We study the dependence of the entanglement entropy with a magnetic flux, and\nshow that the former quantity witnesses an Aharonov Bohm-like effect. In\nparticular, we consider free charged scalar and Dirac fields living on a two\ndimensional cylinder and study how the entanglement entropy for a strip-like\nregion on the surface of the cylinder is affected by a magnetic field enclosed\nby it."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Refined Topological Vertex, Cylindric Partitions and the U(1) Adjoint\n  Theory: We study the partition function of the compactified 5D U(1) gauge theory (in\nthe Omega-background) with a single adjoint hypermultiplet, calculated using\nthe refined topological vertex. We show that this partition function is an\nexample a periodic Schur process and is a refinement of the generating function\nof cylindric plane partitions. The size of the cylinder is given by the mass of\nadjoint hypermultiplet and the parameters of the Omega-background. We also show\nthat this partition function can be written as a trace of operators which are\ngeneralizations of vertex operators studied by Carlsson and Okounkov. In the\nlast part of the paper we describe a way to obtain (q,t) identities using the\nrefined topological vertex.",
        "positive": "Heterotic M(atrix) Strings and Their Interactions: Following recent proposal of Dijkgraaf, Verlinde and Verlinde, we show that\nthe M(atrix) theory compactified on $S_1/Z_2$ provides with a non-perturbative\ndescription of second-quantized light-cone heterotic string. This so-called\nheterotic M(atrix) string theory is defined by two-dimensional (8,0)\nsupersymmetric chiral gauge theory with gauge group SO(2N) in the large N\nlimit. We argue that at strong coupling fixed point the chiral gauge theory\nflows to a (8,0) superconformal field theory defined via $S_N$ symmetric\nproduct space orbifold. We show that the leading order correction to the strong\ncoupling expansion corresponds to a unique irrelevant operator of scaling\ndimension three and describes joining and splitting cubic interactions of\nlight-cone heterotic string. We also speculate on M(atrix) description of\nbosonic strings via dimensional reduction of d=26 Yang-Mills theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-Abelian Strong-Weak Coupling Duality in (String-Derived) N=4\n  Supersymmetric Yang-Mills Theories: We study strong-weak coupling duality (S-duality) in N=4 supersymmetric\nnon-Abelian Yang-Mills theories. These theories arise naturally as the\nlow-energy limit of four-dimensional toroidal compactifications of the\nheterotic string. Firstly, we define the free energy in the presence of\nelectric and magnetic fluxes using 't Hooft's prescription, i.e. through\nfunctional integrals at finite volume in the presence of twisted boundary\nconditions. Then, we compute those free energies in two limiting cases: small\nand large coupling constant. Finally, we extend the free-energies to all values\nof the coupling constant (and the theta angle) by presenting a fully S-duality\ninvariant ansatz. This ansatz obeys all relevant consistency conditions; in\nparticular, it obeys 't Hooft duality equations and Witten's magnetic-electric\ntransmutation. The existence of an S-duality invariant, consistent definition\nof free energies supports the claim made in the literature that S-duality is a\nduality symmetry of N=4 SUSY Yang-Mills. Our ansatz also suggests that N=4,\nirrespective of whether partially broken or not, is in a self-dual phase: no\nphase transitions occur between the strong and weak coupling regimes.",
        "positive": "Path integral formulation of noncommutative superspace in IKKT matrix\n  model: We propose a physical interpretation of our novel fermionic solution for the\nIKKT matrix model which obtained in our previous paper hep-th/0307236. We\nextend the configuration space of bosonic field to supernumbers space and\nobtain the noncommutative parameter which is not bi-grassmann but an ordinary\nnumber. This establishes the connection between Seiberg's noncommutative\nsuperspace and our solution of the IKKT matrix model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "$SL(3,\\mathbb{Z})$ Modularity and New Cardy Limits of the\n  $\\mathcal{N}=4$ Superconformal Index: The entropy of $1/16$-th BPS AdS$_5$ black holes can be microscopically\naccounted for by the superconformal index of the $\\mathcal{N}=4$\nsuper-Yang-Mills theory. One way to compute this is through a Cardy-like limit\nof a formula for the index obtained in [1] using the \"$S$-transformation\" of\nthe elliptic $\\Gamma$ function. In this paper, we derive more general\n$SL(3,\\mathbb{Z})$ modular properties of the elliptic $\\Gamma$ function. We\nthen use these properties to obtain a three integer parameter family of\ngeneralized Cardy-like limits of the $\\mathcal{N}=4$ superconformal index. From\nthese limits, we obtain entropy formulae that have a similar form as that of\nthe original AdS$_5$ black hole, up to an overall rescaling of the entropy. We\ninterpret this both on the field theory and the gravitational side. Finally, we\ncomment on how our work suggests a generalization of the Farey tail to four\ndimensions.",
        "positive": "Non-Abelian currents bootstrap: We initiate the study of correlation functions of non-Abelian spin-1\nconserved current in three dimensional conformal field theories using numerical\nconformal bootstrap. We discuss the general framework and apply it to the\nparticular cases of $SU(N)$ and $O(N)$ global symmetry. In both cases we obtain\ngeneral bounds on operator dimensions. In the large-$N$ limit our bounds show\nfeatures in correspondence of the expected position of fermionic QED$_3$ in\nthree dimensions, as well as other interesting theories. By imposing gaps\ninspired by the spectrum of QED$_3$ at large-$N$, we manage to restrict the\nplane of certain operator dimensions to a small island, where QED$_3$ must\nlive."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Note on the Algebraic Evaluation of Correlators in Local Chiral\n  Conformal Field Theory: We comment on a program designed for the study of local chiral algebras and\ntheir representations in 2D conformal field theory. Based on the algebraic\napproach described by W. Nahm, this program efficiently calculates arbitrary\nn-point functions of these algebras. The program is designed such that\ncalculations involving e.g. current algebras, W-algebras and N-Superconformal\nalgebras can be performed. As a non-trivial application we construct an\nextension of the Virasoro algebra by two fields with spin four and six using\nthe N=1-Super-Virasoro algebra.",
        "positive": "A new large N phase transition in YM2: Inspired by the interpretation of two dimensional Yang-Mills theory on a\ncylinder as a random walk on the gauge group, we point out the existence of a\nlarge N transition which is the gauge theory analogue of the cutoff transition\nin random walks. The transition occurs in the strong coupling region, with the\n't Hooft coupling scaling as alpha*log(N), at a critical value of alpha (alpha\n= 4 on the sphere). The two phases below and above the transition are studied\nin detail. The effective number of degrees of freedom and the free energy are\nfound to be proportional to N^(2-alpha/2) below the transition and to vanish\naltogether above it. The expectation value of a Wilson loop is calculated to\nthe leading order and found to coincide in both phases with the strong coupling\nvalue."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dualities among 1T-Field Theories with Spin, Emerging from a Unifying\n  2T-Field Theory: The relation between two time physics (2T-physics) and the ordinary one time\nformulation of physics (1T-physics) is similar to the relation between a\n3-dimensional object moving in a room and its multiple shadows moving on walls\nwhen projected from different perspectives. The multiple shadows as seen by\nobservers stuck on the wall are analogous to the effects of the 2T-universe as\nexperienced in ordinary 1T spacetime. In this paper we develop some of the\nquantitative aspects of this 2T to 1T relationship in the context of field\ntheory. We discuss 2T field theory in d+2 dimensions and its shadows in the\nform of 1T field theories when the theory contains Klein-Gordon, Dirac and\nYang-Mills fields, such as the Standard Model of particles and forces. We show\nthat the shadow 1T field theories must have hidden relations among themselves.\nThese relations take the form of dualities and hidden spacetime symmetries. A\nsubset of the shadows are 1T field theories in different gravitational\nbackgrounds (different space-times) such as the flat Minkowski spacetime, the\nRobertson-Walker expanding universe, AdS(d-k) x S(k) and others, including\nsingular ones. We explicitly construct the duality transformations among this\nconformally flat subset, and build the generators of their hidden SO(d,2)\nsymmetry. The existence of such hidden relations among 1T field theories, which\ncan be tested by both theory and experiment in 1T-physics, is part of the\nevidence for the underlying d+2 dimensional spacetime and the unifying\n2T-physics structure.",
        "positive": "Classical potential for general spinning bodies: In this paper we compute the spin-dependent terms of the gravitational\npotential for general spinning bodies at the leading Newton's constant $G$ and\nto all orders in spin. We utilize the on-shell approach, which extracts the\nclassical potential directly from the scattering amplitude. For spinning\nparticles, extra care is required due to the fact that the spin space of each\nparticle is independent. Once the appropriate matching procedures are applied,\ntaking the classical-spin limit we obtain the potential for general spinning\nbodies. When the Wilson coefficients are set to unity, we successfully\nreproduced the potential for the Kerr black hole. Interestingly, for finite\nspins, we find that the finite-spin deviations from Kerr Wilson coefficients\ncancel with that in the matching procedure, reproducing the Kerr potential\nwithout the need for taking the classical-spin limit. Finally, we find that\nwhen cast into the chiral basis, the spin-dependence of minimal coupling\nexhibits factorization, allowing us to take the classical-spin limit straight\nforwardly."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "SM gauge fields localized on non-Abelian vortices in 6 dimensions: A brane-world $SU(5)$ GUT model with global non-Abelian vortices is\nconstructed in six-dimensional spacetime. We find a solution with a vortex\nassociated to $SU(3)$ separated from another vortex associated to $SU(2)$. This\n$3-2$ split configuration achieves a geometric Higgs mechanism for $SU(5)\\to\nSU(3)\\times SU(2)\\times U(1)$ symmetry breaking. A simple deformation potential\ninduces a domain wall between non-Abelian vortices, leading to a linear\nconfining potential. The confinement stabilizes the vortex separation moduli,\nand assures the vorticity of $SU(3)$ group and of $SU(2)$ group to be\nidentical. This dictates the equality of the numbers of fermion zero modes in\nthe fundamental representation of $SU(3)$ (quarks) and of $SU(2)$ (leptons),\nleading to quark-lepton generations. The standard model massless gauge fields\nare localized on the non-Abelian vortices thanks to a field-dependent gauge\nkinetic function. We perform fluctuation analysis with an appropriate gauge\nfixing and obtain a four-dimensional effective Lagrangian of unbroken and\nbroken gauge fields at quadratic order. We find that $SU(3) \\times SU(2) \\times\nU(1)$ gauge fields are localized on the vortices and exactly massless.\nComplications in analyzing the spectra of gauge fields with the nontrivial\ngauge kinetic function are neatly worked out by a vector-analysis like method.",
        "positive": "The Bestiary of 6d (1,0) SCFTs: Nilpotent Orbits and Anomalies: Many six-dimensional $(1,0)$ SCFTs are known to fall into families labelled\nby nilpotent orbits of certain simple Lie algebras. For each of the three\ninfinite series of such families, we show that the anomalies for the continuous\nzero-form global symmetries of a theory labelled by a nilpotent orbit $O$ of\n$\\mathfrak{g}$ can be determined from the anomalies of the theory associated to\nthe trivial nilpotent orbit (the parent theory), together with the data of $O$.\nIn particular, knowledge of the tensor branch field theory is bypassed\ncompletely. We show that the known anomalies, previously determined from the\ngeometric/atomic construction, are reproduced by analyzing the Nambu--Goldstone\nmodes inside of the moment map associated to the $\\mathfrak{g}$ flavor symmetry\nof the parent SCFT. This provides further evidence for the physics underlying\nthe labelling of the SCFTs by nilpotent orbits. We remark on some consequences,\nsuch as the reinterpretation of the 6d $a$-theorem for such SCFTs in terms of\ngroup theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Solitons and soliton-antisoliton pairs of a Goldstone model in 3+1\n  dimensions: We study finite energy static solutions to a global symmetry breaking model\nin 3+1 dimensions described by an isovector scalar field. The basic features of\ntwo different types of configurations are discussed, one of them corresponding\nto axially symmetric multisolitons with topological charge $n$, and the other\none to unstable soliton-antisoliton pairs with zero topological charge.",
        "positive": "Fluctuation-dissipation theorem and quantum tunneling with dissipation: We suggest to take the fluctuation-dissipation theorem of Callen and Welton\nas a basis to study quantum dissipative phenomena (such as macroscopic quantum\ntunneling) in a manner analogous to the Nambu-Goldstone theorem for spontaneous\nsymmetry breakdown. It is shown that the essential physical contents of the\nCaldeira-Leggett model such as the suppression of quantum coherence by Ohmic\ndissipation are derived from general principles only, namely, the\nfluctuation-dissipation theorem and unitarity and causality (i.e., dispersion\nrelations), without referring to an explicit form of the Lagrangian. An\ninteresting connection between quantum tunneling with Ohmic dissipation and the\nAnderson's orthogonality theorem is also noted."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic dictionary from bulk reduction: We propose a holographic dictionary which comes from reducing the bulk\ntheories in an asymptotically flat spacetime to its null infinity. A general\nboundary theory is characterized by a fundamental field, an infinite tower of\ndescendant fields, constraints among the fundamental field and its descendants\nas well as a symplectic form. For the Carrollian diffeomorphisms, we can\nconstruct the corresponding Hamiltonians which are also the fluxes from the\nbulk, and whose quantum operators realize this algebra with a divergent central\ncharge. This central charge reflects the propagating degrees of freedom and can\nbe regularized. For the spinning theory, we need a helicity flux operator to\nclose the algebra which relates to the duality transformation.",
        "positive": "Self-energy of Strongly Interacting Fermions in Medium: a Holographic\n  Approach: We consider the self-energy of strongly interacting fermions in the medium\nusing gauge/gravity duality of $D4/D8$ system. We study the mass generation of\nthe thermal and/or dense medium and the collective excitation called plasmino,\nby considering the spectral function of fermion and its dispersion relation.\nOur results are very different from those of the hard thermal loop method: for\nzero density, there is no thermal mass or plasmino in any phase. Plasmino in\ndeconfined phase is not allowed in $D4/D8$ set up. In the confined phase, there\nis plasmino modes only for a window of density."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Bound States of Little Strings and Symmetric Orbifold CFTs: We study BPS bound states of little strings in a limit where they realise\nmonopole strings in five dimensional gauge theories. The latter have gauge\ngroup $U(M)^N$ and arise from compactification of $(1,0)$ little string\ntheories of type $A_{M-1} \\times A_{N-1}$. We find evidence that the partition\nfunction of a certain subclass of monopole strings of charge $(k,\\ldots,k)$\n($k\\geq 1$) is expressible as the partition function of a symmetric orbifold\nsigma model, whose target space is precisely the symmetric product of the\nmoduli space of monopoles with charge $(1, \\ldots, 1)$.",
        "positive": "P-term Strings and Semi-local Strings: P-term potentials can give rise to Nielsen-Olesen or semi-local cosmic\nstrings. We present a general analysis of these cosmic strings where we derive\nthe Bogomol'nyi equations and field profiles for both types of string and\ndiscuss their stability. We give an analysis of the fermionic zero modes that\ncould live on the strings and a brief discussion of the inflationary period\npreceding their formation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Effective interactions of the open bosonic string via field theory: We describe a method to extract an effective Lagrangian description for open\nbosonic strings, at zero transcendentality. The method relies on a particular\nformulation of its scattering amplitudes derived from color-kinematics duality.\nMore precisely, starting from a $(DF)^2 + \\text{YM}$ quantum field theory, we\nintegrate out all the massive degrees of freedom to generate an expansion in\nthe inverse string tension $\\alpha^\\prime$. We explicitly compute the\nLagrangian terms through $\\mathcal{O}(\\alpha^{\\prime 4})$, and target the\nsector of operators proportional to $F^4$ to all orders in $\\alpha^\\prime$.",
        "positive": "Exotic N dependent free energy of black brane solutions from 3D MSYM: Recently, Guarino et al. found that dyonically-gauged N=8 supergravity arises\nas a consistent truncation of massive type IIA supergravity when the gauge\ngroup is chosen to be ISO(7). In particular, they found a critical point of the\nsupergravity that uplifted to the first explicit N = 2 $AdS_4$ massive IIA\nbackground. Its free energy was also calculated. Though no black brane\nsolutions for this theory have been constructed yet, we nevertheless expect the\nfree energy of the black brane solutions to scale with the same N dependence as\nthe solution obtained by Guarino et al.. In this note, we will reproduce the\nexotic N dependence of the free energy of such black brane solutions from field\ntheory at finite temperature using the Smilga-Wiseman approach. The free energy\nexpression thus obtained also tells us about the temperature dependence of free\nenergy of such black brane solutions in a given low temperature regime."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Zero modes, entropy bounds and partition functions: Some recent finite temperature calculations arising in the investigation of\nthe Verlinde-Cardy relation are re-analysed. Some remarks are also made about\ntemperature inversion symmetry.",
        "positive": "Boundary Conditions in Rational Conformal Field Theories: We develop further the theory of Rational Conformal Field Theories (RCFTs) on\na cylinder with specified boundary conditions emphasizing the role of a triplet\nof algebras: the Verlinde, graph fusion and Pasquier algebras. We show that\nsolving Cardy's equation, expressing consistency of a RCFT on a cylinder, is\nequivalent to finding integer valued matrix representations of the Verlinde\nalgebra. These matrices allow us to naturally associate a graph $G$ to each\nRCFT such that the conformal boundary conditions are labelled by the nodes of\n$G$. This approach is carried to completion for $sl(2)$ theories leading to\ncomplete sets of conformal boundary conditions, their associated cylinder\npartition functions and the $A$-$D$-$E$ classification. We also review the\ncurrent status for WZW $sl(3)$ theories. Finally, a systematic generalization\nof the formalism of Cardy-Lewellen is developed to allow for multiplicities\narising from more general representations of the Verlinde algebra. We obtain\ninformation on the bulk-boundary coefficients and reproduce the relevant\nalgebraic structures from the sewing constraints."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetry, G-flux and Spin(7) manifolds: In this note we study warped compactifications of M-theory on manifolds of\nSpin(7) holonomy in the presence of background 4-form flux. The explicit form\nof the superpotential can be given in terms of the self -dual Cayley\ncalibration on the Spin(7) manifold, in agreement with the general formula\npropsed in hep-th/9911011.",
        "positive": "Thermal Evolution of the Non Supersymmetric Metastable Vacua in N=2\n  SU(2) SYM Softly Broken to N=1: It has been shown that four dimensional N=2 gauge theories, softly broken to\nN=1 by a superpotential term, can accommodate metastable non-supersymmetric\nvacua in their moduli space. We study the SU(2) theory at high temperatures in\norder to determine whether a cooling universe settles in the metastable vacuum\nat zero temperature. We show that the corrections to the free energy because of\nthe BPS dyons are such that may destroy the existence of the metastable vacuum\nat high temperatures. Nevertheless we demonstrate the universe can settle in\nthe metastable vacuum, provided that the following two conditions are hold:\nfirst the superpotential term is not arbitrarily small in comparison to the\nstrong coupling scale of the gauge theory, and second the metastable vacuum\nlies in the strongly coupled region of the moduli space."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "AdS_3/LCFT_2 - Correlators in New Massive Gravity: We calculate 2-point correlators for New Massive Gravity at the chiral point\nand find that they behave precisely as those of a logarithmic conformal field\ntheory, which is characterized in addition to the central charges c_L = c_R = 0\nby `new anomalies' b_L = b_R = -\\sigma\\frac{12\\ell}{G_N}, where \\sigma is the\nsign of the Einstein-Hilbert term, \\ell the AdS radius and G_N Newton's\nconstant.",
        "positive": "(Meta)stable closed vortices in 3+1 dimensional gauge theories with an\n  extended Higgs sector: In gauge theories with an extended Higgs sector the classical equations of\nmotion can have solutions that describe stable, closed finite energy vortices.\nSuch vortices separate two disjoint Higgs vacua, with one of the vacua embedded\nin the other in a manner that forms a topologically nontrivial knot. The\nknottedness stabilizes the vortex against shrinkage in 3+1 dimensional\nspace-time. But in a world with extra large dimensions we expect the\nconfiguration to decay by unknotting. As an example we consider the semilocal\n$\\theta_W \\to \\frac{\\pi}{2}$ limit of the Weinberg-Salam model. We present\nnumerical evidence for the existence of a stable closed vortex, twisted into a\ntoroidal configuration around a circular Higgs vacuum at its core."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Interaction potential and thermo-correction to the equation of state for\n  thermally stable Schwarzschild Anti-de Sitter black holes: The microscopic structure of black holes remains a challenging subject. In\nthis paper, based on the well-accepted fact that black holes can be mapped to\nthermodynamic systems, we make a preliminary exploration of the microscopic\nstructure of the thermodynamically stable Schwarzschild anti-de-Sitter (SAdS)\nblack hole. In accordance with the number density and thermodynamic scalar\ncurvature, we give the interaction potential among the molecules of\nthermodynamically stable SAdS black holes and analyze its effectiveness.\nMoreover, we derive the thermo-correction to the equation of state for such\nblack holes that arises from interactions among black-hole molecules using\nvirial coefficients.",
        "positive": "The complete N=3 Kaluza Klein spectrum of 11D supergravity on AdS_4 x\n  N^{010}: We derive the invariant operators of the zero-form, the one-form, the\ntwo-form and the spinor from which the mass spectrum of Kaluza Klein of\neleven-dimensional supergravity on AdS_4 x N^{010} can be derived by means of\nharmonic analysis. We calculate their eigenvalues for all representations of\nSU(3)xSO(3). We show that the information contained in these operators is\nsufficient to reconstruct the complete N=3 supersymmetry content of the\ncompactified theory. We find the N=3 massless graviton multiplet, the Betti\nmultiplet and the SU(3) Killing vector multiplet."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum matrix geometry in the lowest Landau level and higher Landau\n  levels: One of the most celebrated works of Professor Madore is the introduction of\nfuzzy sphere. I briefly review how the fuzzy two-sphere and its higher\ndimensional cousins are realized in the (spherical) Landau models in\nnon-Abelian monopole backgrounds. For extracting quantum geometry from the\nLandau models, we evaluate the matrix elements of the coordinates of spheres in\nthe lowest and higher Landau levels. For the lowest Landau level, the matrix\ngeometry is identified as the geometry of fuzzy sphere. Meanwhile for the\nhigher Landau levels, the obtained quantum geometry turns out to be a nested\nmatrix geometry with no classical counterpart. There exists a hierarchical\nstructure between the fuzzy geometries and the monopoles in different\ndimensions. That dimensional hierarchy signifies a Landau model counterpart of\nthe dimensional ladder of quantum anomaly.",
        "positive": "Lorentz-violating dimension-five operator contribution to the black body\n  radiation: We investigate the thermodynamics of a photon gas in an effective field\ntheory model that describes Lorentz violations through dimension-five operators\nand Horava-Lifshitz theory. We explore the electrodynamics of the model which\nincludes higher order derivatives in the Lagrangian that can modify the\ndispersion relation for the propagation of the photons. We shall focus on the\ndeformed black body radiation spectrum and modified Stefan-Boltzmann law to\naddress the allowed bounds on the Lorentz-violating parameter."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Tachyon condensation in the D0/D4 system: The D0/D4 system with a Neveu-Schwarz B-field in the spatial directions of\nthe D4-brane has a tachyon in the spectrum of the (0,4) strings. The tachyon\nsignals the instability of the system to form a bound state of the D0-brane\nwith the D4-brane. We use the Wess-Zumino-Witten like open superstring field\ntheory formulated by Berkovits to study the tachyon potential for this system.\nThe tachyon potential lies outside the universality class of the D-brane\nanti-D-brane system. It is a function of the B-field. We calculate the tachyon\npotential at the zeroth level approximation. The minimum of the tachyon\npotential in this case is expected to reproduce the mass defect involved in the\nformation of the D0/D4 bound state. We compare the minimum of the tachyon\npotential with the mass defect in three cases. For small values of the B-field\nwe obtain 70% of the expected mass defect. For large values of the B-field with\nPf$(2\\pi\\alpha' B) >0$ the potential reduces to that of the D-brane\nanti-D-brane reproducing 62% of the expected mass defect. For large values of\nthe B-field with Pf$(2\\pi\\alpha' B) <0$ the minimum of the tachyon potential\ngives 25% of the expected mass defect. At the tachyon condensate we show that\nthe (0,4) strings decouple from the low energy dynamics.",
        "positive": "From pre- to post-big bang: an (almost) self-dual cosmological history: We present a short introduction to a non-standard cosmological scenario\nmotivated by the duality symmetries of string theory, in which the big bang\nsingularity is replaced with a \"big bounce\" at high but finite curvature. The\nbouncing epoch is prepared by a long (possibly infinitely extended) phase of\ncosmic evolution, starting from an initial state asymptotically approaching the\nstring perturbative vacuum."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Metastable Flux Configurations and de Sitter Spaces: We derive stability conditions for the critical points of the no-scale scalar\npotential governing the dynamics of the complex structure moduli and the\naxio-dilaton in compactifications of type IIB string theory on Calabi-Yau\nthree-folds. We discuss a concrete example of a T^6 orientifold. We then\nconsider the four-dimensional theory obtained from compactifications of type\nIIB string theory on non-geometric backgrounds which are mirror to rigid\nCalabi-Yau manifolds and show that the complex structure moduli fields can be\nstabilized in terms of H_{RR} only, i.e. with no need of orientifold\nprojection. The stabilization of all the fields at weak coupling, including the\naxio-dilaton, may require to break supersymmetry in the presence of H_{NS} flux\nor corrections to the scalar potential.",
        "positive": "The tetrahexahedric Calogero model: We consider the spherical reduction of the rational Calogero model (of type\n$A_{n-1}$, without the center of mass) as a maximally superintegrable quantum\nsystem. It describes a particle on the $(n{-}2)$-sphere in a very special\npotential. A detailed analysis is provided of the simplest non-separable case,\n$n{=}4$, whose potential blows up at the edges of a spherical tetrahexahedron,\ntesselating the two-sphere into 24 identical right isosceles spherical\ntriangles in which the particle is trapped. We construct a complete set of\nindependent conserved charges and of Hamiltonian intertwiners and elucidate\ntheir algebra. The key structure is the ring of polynomials in Dunkl-deformed\nangular momenta, in particular the subspaces invariant and antiinvariant under\nall Weyl reflections, respectively."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "String Cosmology - Large-Field Inflation in String Theory: This is a short review of string cosmology. We wish to connect string-scale\nphysics as closely as possible to observables accessible to current or\nnear-future experiments. Our possible best hope to do so is a description of\ninflation in string theory. The energy scale of inflation can be as high as\nthat of Grand Unification (GUT). If this is the case, this is the closest we\ncan possibly get in energy scales to string-scale physics. Hence, GUT-scale\ninflation may be our best candidate phenomenon to preserve traces of\nstring-scale dynamics. Our chance to look for such traces is the primordial\ngravitational wave, or tensor mode signal produced during inflation. For\nGUT-scale inflation this is strong enough to be potentially visible as a B-mode\npolarization of the cosmic microwave background (CMB). Moreover, a GUT-scale\ninflation model has a trans-Planckian excursion of the inflaton scalar field\nduring the observable amount of inflation. Such large-field models of inflation\nhave a clear need for symmetry protection against quantum corrections. This\nmakes them ideal candidates for a description in a candidate fundamental theory\nlike string theory. At the same time the need of large-field inflation models\nfor UV completion makes them particularly susceptible to preserve imprints of\ntheir string-scale dynamics in the inflationary observables, the spectral index\n$n_s$ and the fractional tensor mode power $r$. Hence, we will focus this\nreview on axion monodromy inflation as a mechanism of large-field inflation in\nstring theory.",
        "positive": "The Massive Kaluza-Klein Monopole: We construct the (bosonic) effective worldvolume action of an M-theory\nKaluza-Klein monopole in a background given by the bosonic sector of\neleven-dimensional massive supergravity, i.e. a \"massive Kaluza-Klein\nmonopole\". As a consistency check we show that the direct dimensional reduction\nalong the isometry direction of the Taub-NUT space leads to the massive\nD-6-brane. We furthermore perform a double dimensional reduction in the\nmassless case and obtain the effective worldvolume action of a type IIA\nKaluza-Klein monopole."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Lorentz violation and generalized uncertainty principle: Investigations on possible violation of Lorentz invariance have been widely\npursued in the last decades, both from theoretical and experimental sides. A\ncomprehensive framework to formulate the problem is the standard model\nextension (SME) proposed by A.Kostelecky, where violation of Lorentz invariance\nis encoded into specific coefficients. Here we present a procedure to link the\ndeformation parameter $\\beta$ of the generalized uncertainty principle (GUP) to\nthe SME coefficients of the gravity sector. The idea is to compute the Hawking\ntemperature of a black hole in two different ways. The first way involves the\ndeformation parameter $\\beta$, and therefore we get a deformed Hawking\ntemperature containing the parameter $\\beta$. The second way involves a\ndeformed Schwarzschild metric containing the Lorentz violating terms\n$\\bar{s}^{\\mu\\nu}$ of the gravity sector of the SME. The comparison between the\ntwo different techniques yields a relation between $\\beta$ and\n$\\bar{s}^{\\mu\\nu}$. In this way bounds on $\\beta$ transferred from\n$\\bar{s}^{\\mu\\nu}$ are improved by many orders of magnitude when compared with\nthose derived in other gravitational frameworks. Also the opposite possibility\nof bounds transferred from $\\beta$ to $\\bar{s}^{\\mu\\nu}$ is briefly discussed.",
        "positive": "Multicore Noncommutative Bions: The noncommutative bion core of Constable, Myers and Tafjord (hep-th/9911136)\ndescribes the BPS D1-D3 brane intersection (where a single bundle of D1-branes\nis attached to the D3 brane) in the nonabelian Born-Infeld theory of D1-branes.\nThe possibility of extending this construction to BPS configurations with\nmultiple separated parallel bundles of D1-branes attached to a single D3-brane\nis discussed. The problem is reduced to solving the Nahm equation with novel\nboundary conditions. A concrete, non-trivial solution is presented."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The anomaly field theories of six-dimensional (2,0) superconformal\n  theories: We construct 7-dimensional quantum field theories encoding the anomalies of\nconformal field theories with (2,0) supersymmetry in six dimensions. We explain\nhow the conformal blocks of the (2,0) theories arise in this context. A result\nof independent interest is a detailed specification of the data required to\ndefine a (2,0) theory with topologically non-trivial spacetime and R-symmetry\nbundle.",
        "positive": "Universal horizons in maximally symmetric spaces: Universal horizons in Ho\\v{r}ava-Lifshitz gravity and Einstein-{\\ae}ther\ntheory are the equivalent of causal horizons in general relativity and appear\nto have many of the same properties, including a first law of horizon\nthermodynamics and thermal radiation. Since universal horizons are infrared\nsolutions of a putative power counting renormalizable quantum gravitational\ntheory, fully understanding their thermodynamics will shed light on the\ninterplay between black hole thermodynamics and quantum gravity. In this paper,\nwe provide a complete classification, including asymptotic charges, of all four\ndimensional static and spherically symmetric universal horizon solutions with\nmaximally symmetric asymptotics -- the equivalents of the Schwarzschild,\nSchwarzschild de Sitter or Schwarzschild anti-de Sitter spacetimes.\nAdditionally we derive the associated first laws for the universal horizon\nsolutions. Finally we prove that independent of asymptotic boundary conditions,\nany spherically symmetric solution in Ho\\v{r}ava-Lifshitz gravity with a\nuniversal horizon is also a solution of Einstein-{\\ae}ther theory, thereby\nbroadening and complementing the known equivalence region of the solution\nspaces."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Lorentzian inversion formula and the spectrum of the 3d O(2) CFT: We study the spectrum and OPE coefficients of the three-dimensional critical\nO(2) model, using four-point functions of the leading scalars with charges 0,\n1, and 2 ($s$, $\\phi$, and $t$). We obtain numerical predictions for low-twist\nOPE data in several charge sectors using the extremal functional method. We\ncompare the results to analytical estimates using the Lorentzian inversion\nformula and a small amount of numerical input. We find agreement between the\nanalytic and numerical predictions. We also give evidence that certain scalar\noperators lie on double-twist Regge trajectories and obtain estimates for the\nleading Regge intercepts of the O(2) model.",
        "positive": "Brackets, Sigma Models and Integrability of Generalized Complex\n  Structures: It is shown how derived brackets naturally arise in sigma-models via Poisson-\nor antibracket, generalizing a recent observation by Alekseev and Strobl. On\nthe way to a precise formulation of this relation, an explicit coordinate\nexpression for the derived bracket is obtained. The generalized Nijenhuis\ntensor of generalized complex geometry is shown to coincide up to a de-Rham\nclosed term with the derived bracket of the structure with itself, and a new\ncoordinate expression for this tensor is presented. The insight is applied to\ntwo known two-dimensional sigma models in a background with generalized complex\nstructure. Introductions to geometric brackets on the one hand and to\ngeneralized complex geometry on the other hand are given in the appendix."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Lectures on W algebras and W gravity: We give a review of the extended conformal algebras, known as $W$ algebras,\nwhich contain currents of spins higher than 2 in addition to the\nenergy-momentum tensor. These include the non-linear $W_N$ algebras; the linear\n$W_\\infty$ and $W_{1+\\infty}$ algebras; and their super-extensions. We discuss\ntheir applications to the construction of $W$-gravity and $W$-string theories.",
        "positive": "Stabilization of Extra Dimensions and The Dimensionality of the Observed\n  Space: We present a simple model for the late time stabilization of extra\ndimensions. The basic idea is that brane solutions wrapped around extra\ndimensions, which is allowed by string theory, will resist expansion due to\ntheir winding mode. The momentum modes in principle work in the opposite way.\nIt is this interplay that leads to dynamical stabilization. We use the idea of\ndemocratic wrapping \\cite{art5}-\\cite{art6}, where in a given decimation of\nextra dimensions, all possible winding cases are considered. To simplify the\nstudy further we assumed a symmetric decimation in which the total number of\nextra dimensions is taken to be $Np$ where N can be called the order of the\ndecimation. We also assumed that extra dimensions all have the topology of\ntori. We show that with these rather conservative assumptions, there exists\nsolutions to the field equations in which the extra dimensions are stabilized\nand that the conditions do not depend on $p$. This fact means that there exists\nat least one solution to the asymmetric decimation case. If we denote the\nnumber of observed space dimensions (excluding time) by $m$, the condition for\nstabilization is $m\\geq 3$ for pure Einstein gravity and $m\\leq 3$ for dilaton\ngravity massaged by string theory parameters."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Lorentz-violating graviton masses: getting around ghosts, low strong\n  coupling scale and VDVZ discontinuity: A theory with the action combining the Einstein--Hilbert term and graviton\nmass terms violating Lorentz invariance is considered at linearized level about\nMinkowskian background. It is shown that with one of the masses set equal to\nzero, the theory has the following properties: (i) there is a gap of order $m$\nin the spectrum, where $m$ is the graviton mass scale; (ii) the dispersion\nrelations at ${\\bf p}^2 \\gg m^2$ are $\\omega^2 \\propto {\\bf p}^2$, the spectrum\nof tensor modes being relativistic, while other modes having unconventional\nmaximum velocity; (iii) the VDVZ discontinuity is absent; (iv) the strong\ncoupling scale is $(mM_{Pl})^{1/2}$. The latter two properties are in sharp\ncontrast to the Lorentz-invariant gravity with the Pauli--Fierz mass term.",
        "positive": "Machine Learning Post-Minkowskian Integrals: We study a neural network framework for the numerical evaluation of Feynman\nloop integrals that are fundamental building blocks for perturbative\ncomputations of physical observables in gauge and gravity theories. We show\nthat such a machine learning approach improves the convergence of the Monte\nCarlo algorithm for high-precision evaluation of multi-dimensional integrals\ncompared to traditional algorithms. In particular, we use a neural network to\nimprove the importance sampling. For a set of representative integrals\nappearing in the computation of the conservative dynamics for a compact binary\nsystem in General Relativity, we perform a quantitative comparison between the\nMonte Carlo integrators VEGAS and i-flow, an integrator based on neural network\nsampling."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Flat structures on the deformations of Gepner chiral rings: We propose a simple method for the computation of the flat coordinates and\nSaito primitive forms on Frobenius manifolds of the deformations of Jacobi\nrings associated with isolated singularities. The method is based on using a\nconjecture about integral representations for the flat coordinates and on the\nSaito cohomology theory. This reduces the computation to a simple linear\nproblem. We consider the case of the deformed Gepner chiral rings. The\nknowledge of the flat structures of Frobenius manifolds can be used for exact\nsolution of the models of the topological conformal field theories\ncorresponding to these chiral rings.",
        "positive": "A finite entanglement entropy and the c-theorem: The trace over the degrees of freedom located in a subset of the space\ntransforms the vacuum state into a mixed density matrix with non zero entropy.\nThis is usually called entanglement entropy, and it is known to be divergent in\nquantum field theory (QFT). However, it is possible to define a finite quantity\nF(A,B) for two given different subsets A and B which measures the degree of\nentanglement between their respective degrees of freedom. We show that the\nfunction F(A,B) is severely constrained by the Poincare symmetry and the\nmathematical properties of the entropy. In particular, for one component sets\nin two dimensional conformal field theories its general form is completely\ndetermined. Moreover, it allows to prove an alternative entropic version of the\nc-theorem for 1+1 dimensional QFT. We propose this well defined quantity as the\nmeaningfull entanglement entropy and comment on possible applications in QFT\nand the black hole evaporation problem."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Mass and Thermodynamic Volume in Lifshitz Spacetimes: We examine the concept of black hole thermodynamic volume and its consistency\nwith thermodynamic mass in spacetimes that are not asymptotically flat but\ninstead have anisotropic Lifshitz scaling symmetry. We find that the\ngeneralized Smarr relation in anti de Sitter space -- extended to include a\npressure-volume term -- holds here as well, and that there exists a definition\nof thermodynamic mass and thermodynamic volume that satisfy both this relation\nand the $1^{st}$ law of thermodynamics. We compare the thermodynamic mass with\nother known quantities such as ADM, Brown-York and Hollands-Ishibashi-Marolf\nmasses. We also conjecture methods for obtaining a thermodynamic mass where\nthere is ambiguity due to the cosmological constant lengthscale depending on\nthe horizon radius lengthscale.",
        "positive": "QGP thermodynamics and meson spectroscopy with AdS/CFT: In this talk we present applications of the AdS/CFT correspondence to\nstrongly coupled systems at finite temperature and particle density. The model\nwe investigate contains adjoint matter described by the gauge multiplet of N=4,\nas well as fundamental matter given by the hypermultiplet of N=2 Super\nYang-Mills theory. In some aspects these systems can be thought of as models\nfor the quark-gluon plasma.\n  In the first part we review some properties of meson spectra obtained from\nthese holographic models. We discuss the implications of finite temperature and\nparticle density in these string-theory motivated setups. In particular, we\nfind a broadening of the vector meson peaks in the relevant spectral function\nat finite density. However, we do not observe a movement of the resonances to\nlower frequencies.\n  Moreover, we analyze the effects of strong coupling on heavy meson diffusion\nin medium. To do so, we make use of an effective model with dipole interaction,\nwhich is valid for heavy quarks at arbitrary coupling strength. We calculate\nthe momentum broadening -- normalized to the in-medium mass shift -- and\ncompare the large 't Hooft coupling AdS/CFT result with a perturbative result\nfor weak coupling. We find that the momentum broadening is reduced at large 't\nHooft coupling, leading to increased relaxation time."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Anomalous transport independent of gauge fields: We show that three-dimensional trace anomalies lead to new universal\nanomalous transport effects on a conformally-flat spacetime with background\nscalar fields. In contrast to conventional anomalous transports in quantum\nchromodynamics (QCD) or quantum electrodynamics (QED), our current is\nindependent of background gauge fields. Therefore, our anomalous transport\nsurvives even in the absence of vector-like external sources. By manipulating\nbackground fields, we suggest a setup to detect our anomalous transport. If one\nturns on scalar couplings in a finite interval and considers a conformal factor\ndepending just on (conformal) time, we find anomalous transport localized at\nthe interfaces of the interval flows perpendicularly to the interval. The\nmagnitude of the currents is the same on the two interfaces but with opposite\ndirections. Without the assumption on scalar couplings, and only assuming the\nconformal factor depending solely on (conformal) time as usually done in\ncosmology, one also finds the three-dimensional Hubble parameter naturally\nappears in our current.",
        "positive": "Meson supercurrents and the Meissner effect in the Sakai-Sugimoto model: The Sakai-Sugimoto model provides a holographic description for chiral\nsymmetry breaking. We use this model to investigate chirally broken phases in\nan external magnetic field at finite isospin and baryon chemical potentials.\nThe equations of motion for the bulk gauge fields are solved analytically and\nthe free energy is computed from the Yang-Mills and Chern-Simons contributions\nto the D8 brane action. In the case of a neutral pion condensate, a magnetic\nfield is found to induce nonzero gradients of the Goldstone boson fields\ncorresponding to meson supercurrents. A charged pion condensate, on the other\nhand, expels the magnetic field due to the Meissner effect. Upon comparing the\nGibbs free energies of these two phases we find that the rotation of the chiral\ncondensate into a charged pion condensate for finite isospin chemical\npotentials is partially undone by switching on a magnetic field, and we\ndetermine the critical magnetic field which removes the charged pion condensate\nin a first-order phase transition."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Thermodynamic stability of a cosmological SU(2)-weak gauge field: The CGF cosmology is a complete theory of cosmology from the electroweak\ntransition onward. It is semi-classical. At leading order the only matter is\ndark matter -- a cosmological SU(2)-weak gauge field (the CGF). Ordinary matter\nis a subleading correction from fluctuations around the classical state. The\nCGF is periodic in imaginary time. It acts as thermal bath for the fluctuations\nof the Standard Model fields. Here, the initial thermal state of the SU(2)\ngauge field fluctuations is constructed and shown to be thermodynamically\nstable. This is a warm-up for (1) constructing the initial thermal state of all\nthe fluctuations in order to calculate its time evolution and (2) showing that\ninitial state to be thermodynamically stable in order to show that the CGF\ncosmology is physically natural.",
        "positive": "A Cosmological Interpretation of Duality: We study the cosmological meaning of duality symmetry by considering a two\ndimensional model of string cosmology. We find that as seen by an internal\nobserver in this universe, the scale factor rebounds at the self-dual length.\nThis rebound is a consequence of the adiabatic expansion. Furthermore, in this\nsituation there are four mathematically different scenarios which describe\nphysically equivalent universes which are in fact indistinguishable. We also\nstress that $R$-duality suffices to prove that all possible evolutions present\na maximum temperature."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Four-loop anomalous dimensions in Leigh-Strassler deformations: We determine the scalar part of the four-loop chiral dilatation operator for\nLeigh-Strassler deformations of N=4 super Yang-Mills. This is sufficient to\nfind the four-loop anomalous dimensions for operators in closed scalar\nsubsectors. This includes the SU(2) subsector of the (complex)\nbeta-deformation, where we explicitly compute the anomalous dimension for\noperators with a single impurity. It also includes the \"3-string null\"\noperators of the cubic Leigh-Strassler deformation. Our four-loop results show\nthat the rational part of the anomalous dimension is consistent with a\nconjecture made in arXiv:1108.1583 based on the three-loop result of\narXiv:1008.3351 and the N=4 magnon dispersion relation. Here we find additional\nzeta(3) terms.",
        "positive": "Instanton operators and symmetry enhancement in 5d supersymmetric gauge\n  theories: Supersymmetric gauge theories in five dimensions often exhibit less symmetry\nthan the ultraviolet fixed points from which they flow. The fixed points might\nhave larger flavor symmetry or they might even be secretly six-dimensional\ntheories on S^1. Here we provide a simple criterion when such symmetry\nenhancement in the ultraviolet should occur, by a direct study of the fermionic\nzero modes around one-instanton operators."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "New Solution of the Open Bosonic String Field Theory: We present example of exact solution to Witten's open bosonic string field\ntheory. We will analyse the new BRST operator and we will argue that the new\nsolution describes the flow from zero slope limit to the tensionless limit in\nthe string world-sheet action.",
        "positive": "Adjusted Parallel Transport for Higher Gauge Theories: Many physical theories, including notably string theory, require non-abelian\nhigher gauge fields defining higher holonomy. Previous approaches to such\nhigher connections on categorified principal bundles require these to be fake\nflat. This condition, however, renders them locally gauge equivalent to\nconnections on abelian gerbes. For particular higher gauge groups, for example\n2-group models of the string group, this limitation can be overcome by\ngeneralizing the notion of higher connection. Starting from this observation,\nwe define a corresponding generalized higher holonomy functor which is free\nfrom the fake flatness condition, leading to a truly non-abelian parallel\ntransport."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Mixed Hodge Structures and Renormalization in Physics: We relate renormalization in perturbative quantum field theory to the theory\nof limiting mixed Hodge structures using parametric representations of Feynman\ngraphs.",
        "positive": "Brane intersections, anti-de Sitter spacetimes and dual superconformal\n  theories: We construct a class of intersecting brane solutions with horizon geometries\nof the form adS_k x S^l x S^m x E^n. We describe how all these solutions are\nconnected through the addition of a wave and/or monopoles. All solutions\nexhibit supersymmetry enhancement near the horizon. Furthermore we argue that\nstring theory on these spaces is dual to specific superconformal field theories\nin two dimensions whose symmetry algebra in all cases contains the large N=4\nalgebra A_{gamma}. Implications for gauged supergravities are also discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Rescaling of quantized skyrmions: from nucleon to baryons with heavy\n  flavor: The role of rescaling (expansion or squeezing) of quantized skyrmions is\nstudied for the spectrum of baryons beginning with nucleon and $\\Delta(1232)$,\nand with flavors strangeness, charm or beauty. The expansion of skyrmions due\nto the centrifugal forces has influence on the masses of baryons without flavor\n($N$ and especially $\\Delta$). The rescaling of skyrmions has smaller influence\non the spectrum of strange baryons, it is more important for the case of charm,\nand is crucial for baryons with beauty quantum number, where strong squeezing\ntakes place. Two competing tendencies are clearly observed: expansion of\nskyrmions when isospin (or spin) increases, and squeezing with increasing mass\nof the flavor. For the case of beauty baryon $\\Lambda_b$ satisfactory agreement\nwith data can be reached for the value $r_b= F_B/F_\\pi \\simeq 2.6 $, for the\ncase of $\\Sigma_b$ there should be $r_b\\sim 2$, so for the beauty flavor the\nmethod seems to be not quite satisfactory because of certain intrinsic\ndiscrepances. Some pentaquark states with hidden strangeness, charm or beauty\nare considered as well.",
        "positive": "Localized Tachyons and RG Flows: We study condensation of closed string tachyons living on defects, such as\norbifold fixed planes and Neveu-Schwarz fivebranes. We argue that the high\nenergy density of localized states decreases in the process of condensation of\nsuch tachyons. In some cases this means that $c_{eff}$ decreases along the\nflow; in others, $c_{eff}$ remains constant and the decreasing quantity is a\nclosed string analog, $g_{cl}$, of the ``boundary entropy'' of D-branes. We\ndiscuss the non-supersymmetric orbifolds $C/Z_n$ and $C^2/Z_n$. In the first\ncase tachyon condensation decreases $n$ and in some cases connects type II and\ntype 0 vacua. In the second case non-singular orbifolds are related by tachyon\ncondensation to both singular and non-singular ones. We verify that $g_{cl}$\ndecreases in flows between non-singular orbifolds. The main tools in the\nanalysis are the structure of the chiral ring of the perturbed theory, the\ngeometry of the resolved orbifold singularities, and the throat description of\nsingular conformal field theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On gravitational waves in Born-Infeld inspired non-singular cosmologies: We study the evolution of gravitational waves for non-singular cosmological\nsolutions within the framework of Born-Infeld inspired gravity theories, with\nspecial emphasis on the Eddington-inspired Born-Infeld theory. We review the\nexistence of two types of non-singular cosmologies, namely bouncing and\nasymptotically Minkowski solutions, from a perspective that makes their\nfeatures more apparent. We study in detail the propagation of gravitational\nwaves near these non-singular solutions and carefully discuss the origin and\nseverity of the instabilities and strong coupling problems that appear. We also\ninvestigate the role of the adiabatic sound speed of the matter sector in the\nregularisation of the gravitational waves evolution. We extend our analysis to\nmore general Born-Infeld inspired theories where analogous solutions are found.\nAs a general conclusion, we obtain that the bouncing solutions are generally\nmore prone to instabilities, while the asymptotically Minkowski solutions can\nbe rendered stable, making them appealing models for the early universe.",
        "positive": "On a Bosonic-Parafermionic Realization of $U_q(\\widehat{sl(2)})$: We realize the $U_q(\\widehat{sl(2)})$ current algebra at arbitrary level in\nterms of one deformed free bosonic field and a pair of deformed parafermionic\nfields. It is shown that the operator product expansions of these parafermionic\nfields involve an infinite number of simple poles and simple zeros, which then\ncondensate to form a branch cut in the classical limit $q\\rightarrow 1$. Our\nrealization coincides with those of Frenkel-Jing and Bernard when the level $k$\ntakes the values 1 and 2 respectively."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Effective action approach to the dynamical map: The dynamical map represents a fundamental concept in quantum field theory,\nproviding a solution of the field equations in the Fock space of asymptotic\nfields. In this paper, we show how to express the dynamical map of a scalar\nfield in the language of quantum effective action. This grants us new insights\ninto the study of topological defects in quantum field theory, showing a\nconnection between the usual least-action principle and Umezawa's boson\ntransformation method.",
        "positive": "Deformations of flows from type IIB supergravity: We consider supersymmetric SL(3,R) deformations of various type IIB\nsupergravity backgrounds which exhibit flows away from an asymptotically\nlocally AdS_5 x S^5 fixed point. This includes the gravity dual of the Coulomb\nbranch of N=1 super Yang Mills theory, for which the deformed superpotential is\nknown. We also consider the gravity duals of field theories which live on\nvarious curved backgrounds, such as Minkowski_2 x H^2, AdS_3 x S^1 and R x S^3.\nSome of the deformed theories flow from a four-dimensional N=1 superconformal\nUV fixed point to a two-dimensional (2,2) superconformal IR fixed point. We\nstudy nonsupersymmetric generalizations of the deformations of the above\nCoulomb branch flows."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Kinetic equations for massive Dirac fermions in electromagnetic field\n  with non-Abelian Berry phase: We derive a semi-classical effective action and the kinetic equation for\nmassive Dirac fermions in electromagnetic fields. The non-Abelian Berry phase\nstructure emerges from two helicity states of massive fermions with positive\nenergy. The classical spin emerges as a vector in SU(2) helicity space. The\ncontinuity equations for the fermion number and the classical spin are derived.\nThe fermion number is conserved while the spin charge is not conserved by\nanomaly. Previous results about the coefficients of the chiral magnetic effect\nfor the fermion and axial currents in the chiral limit can be reproduced after\nincluding the anti-fermion contributions. This provides an example for the\nemerging spin and non-Abelian Berry phase of Dirac fermions arising from the\nfermion mass.",
        "positive": "A study of truncation effects in boundary flows of the Ising model on a\n  strip: We investigate the idea that the effect of the truncation applied in the TCSA\nmethod on the spectrum coincides with the effect of a suitable changing of the\ncoefficients of the terms in the Hamiltonian operator. The investigation is\ndone in the case of the critical Ising model on a strip with an external\nmagnetic field on one of the boundaries. A detailed quantum field theoretical\ndescription of this model is also given, and we propose a description as a\nperturbation of the infinite coupling limit. The investigation is also carried\nout for a truncation method which preserves the solvability of the model. The\nresults of perturbative and numerical calculations presented support the above\nidea and show that the qualitative behaviour of the truncated spectrum as a\nfunction of the coupling constant depends on the truncation method."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Regular Conjugacy Classes in the Weyl Group and Integrable Hierarchies: Generalized KdV hierarchies associated by Drinfeld-Sokolov reduction to grade\none regular semisimple elements from non-equivalent Heisenberg subalgebras of a\nloop algebra $\\G\\otimes{\\bf C}[\\lambda,\\lambda^{-1}]$ are studied. The graded\nHeisenberg subalgebras containing such elements are labelled by the regular\nconjugacy classes in the Weyl group ${\\bf W}(\\G)$ of the simple Lie algebra\n$\\G$. A representative $w\\in {\\bf W}(\\G)$ of a regular conjugacy class can be\nlifted to an inner automorphism of $\\G$ given by $\\hat w=\\exp\\left(2i\\pi {\\rm\nad I_0}/m\\right)$, where $I_0$ is the defining vector of an $sl_2$ subalgebra\nof $\\G$.The grading is then defined by the operator $d_{m,I_0}=m\\lambda {d\\over\nd\\lambda} + {\\rm ad} I_0$ and any grade one regular element $\\Lambda$ from the\nHeisenberg subalgebra associated to $[w]$ takes the form $\\Lambda = (C_+\n+\\lambda C_-)$, where $[I_0, C_-]=-(m-1) C_-$ and $C_+$ is included in an\n$sl_2$ subalgebra containing $I_0$. The largest eigenvalue of ${\\rm ad}I_0$ is\n$(m-1)$ except for some cases in $F_4$, $E_{6,7,8}$. We explain how these Lie\nalgebraic results follow from known results and apply them to construct\nintegrable systems.If the largest ${\\rm ad} I_0$ eigenvalue is $(m-1)$, then\nusing any grade one regular element from the Heisenberg subalgebra associated\nto $[w]$ we can construct a KdV system possessing the standard $\\W$-algebra\ndefined by $I_0$ as its second Poisson bracket algebra. For $\\G$ a classical\nLie algebra, we derive pseudo-differential Lax operators for those\nnon-principal KdV systems that can be obtained as discrete reductions of KdV\nsystems related to $gl_n$. Non-abelian Toda systems are also considered.",
        "positive": "Boundary conditions for SU(2) Yang-Mills on $AdS_4$: We consider SU(2) Yang-Mills theory on $AdS_4$ by imposing various boundary\nconditions, which correspond to non-trivial deformations of its boundary $CFT$.\nWe obtain classical solutions of Yang-Mills fields up to the first subleading\norder correction by using small amplitude expansion of the gauge field without\nconsidering gravitational back reaction. We also consider SU(2) Yang-Mills\ninstanton solution in $AdS_4$ bulk, and propose a boundary action. It turns out\nthat the boundary theory is the Chern Simons theory with a non-local\ndeformation which has the form similar to the Wilson line. In the limit of the\ndeformation parameter $\\rho \\rightarrow \\infty$, this non-local deformation is\nsuppressed and the boundary theory becomes pure Chern Simons. For large but\nfinite values of $\\rho$, this non-local deformation can be treated\nperturbatively within the Chern-Simon theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Decay widths of three-impurity states in the BMN correspondence: We extend the study of the quantum mechanics of BMN gauge theory to the\nsector of three scalar impurities at one loop and all genus. The relevant\nmatrix elements of the non-planar one loop dilatation operator are computed in\nthe gauge theory basis. After a similarity transform the BMN gauge theory\nprediction for the corresponding piece of the plane wave string Hamiltonian is\nderived and shown to agree with light-cone string field theory. In the\nthree-impurity sector single string states are unstable for the decay into\ntwo-string states at leading order in g_2. The corresponding decay widths are\ncomputed.",
        "positive": "Instability of de Sitter Reissner-Nordstrom black hole in the 1/D\n  expansion: We study large D effective theory for D dimensional charged (Anti) de Sitter\nblack holes. Then we show that de Sitter Reissner-Nordstrom black hole becomes\nunstable against gravitational perturbations at larger charge than certain\ncritical value in higher dimension. Furthermore we find that there is a\nnon-trivial zero-mode static perturbation at the critical charge. The existence\nof static perturbations suggests the appearance of non-spherical symmetric\nsolution branches of static charged de Sitter black hole. This expectation is\nconfirmed by constructing the non-spherical symmetric static solutions of large\nD effective equations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Higher order curvature corrections and holographic renormalization group\n  flow: We study the holographic renormalization group (RG) flow in the presence of\nhigher-order curvature corrections to the $(d+1)$-dimensional Einstein-Hilbert\n(EH) action for an arbitrary interacting scalar matter field by using the\nsuperpotential approach. We find the critical points of the RG flow near the\nlocal minima and maxima of the potential and show the existence of the bounce\nsolutions. In contrast to the EH gravity, regarding the values of couplings of\nthe bulk theory, superpotential may have both upper and lower bounds. Moreover,\nthe behavior of the RG flow controls by singular curves. This study may shed\nsome light on how a c-function can exist in the presence of these corrections.",
        "positive": "New diagrammatic framework for higher-spin gravity: We consider minimal type-A higher-spin (HS) gravity in four dimensions, at\ntree level. We propose new diagrammatic rules for this theory, involving both\nFronsdal fields and Didenko-Vasiliev (DV) particles - linearized versions of HS\ngravity's \"BPS black hole\". The vertices include a standard minimal coupling\nbetween particle and gauge field, the Sleight-Taronna cubic vertex for HS\nfields, and a recently introduced vertex coupling two HS fields to a DV\nparticle. We show how these ingredients can be combined to reproduce all\nn-point functions of the theory's holographic dual - the free O(N) vector\nmodel. Our diagrammatic rules interpolate between the usual ones of field\ntheory and those of string theory. Our construction can be viewed as a bulk\nrealization of HS algebra."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-Relativistic M2-brane Gauge Theory and New Superconformal Algebra: We study non-relativistic limits of the N=6 Chern-Simons-Matter theory that\narises as a low-energy limit of the M2-brane gauge theory with background flux.\nThe model admits several different non-relativistic limits and we find that the\nmaximal supersymmetry we construct has 14 components of supercharges, which is\na novel example of non-relativistic superconformal algebra in (1+2) dimension.\nWe also investigate the other limits that realize less supersymmetries.",
        "positive": "(MS)SM-like models on smooth Calabi-Yau manifolds from all three\n  heterotic string theories: We perform model searches on smooth Calabi-Yau compactifications for both the\nsupersymmetric E8xE8 and SO(32) as well as for the non-supersymmetric\nSO(16)xSO(16) heterotic strings simultaneously. We consider line bundle\nbackgrounds on both favorable CICYs with relatively small h_11 and the Schoen\nmanifold. Using Gram matrices we systematically analyze the combined\nconsequences of the Bianchi identities and the tree-level\nDonaldson-Uhlenbeck-Yau equations inside the Kahler cone. In order to evaluate\nthe model building potential of the three heterotic theories on the various\ngeometries, we perform computer-aided scans. We have generated a large number\nof GUT-like models (up to over a few hundred thousand on the various geometries\nfor the three heterotic theories) which become (MS)SM-like upon using a freely\nacting Wilson line. For all three heterotic theories we present tables and\nfigures summarizing the potentially phenomenologically interesting models which\nwere obtained during our model scans."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non relativistic string compactifications on Calabi-Yau manifolds: We study Calabi-Yau compactifications of non relativistic string theory and\nshow that it can be derived from the corresponding relativistic Calabi-Yau\ncompactifications by taking the non relativistic limit of the resulting 4D\ntheory without changing the internal part.",
        "positive": "Dark energy in modified Gauss-Bonnet gravity: late-time acceleration and\n  the hierarchy problem: Dark energy cosmology is considered in a modified Gauss-Bonnet (GB) model of\ngravity where an arbitrary function of the GB invariant, $f(G)$, is added to\nthe General Relativity action. We show that such theory is endowed with a quite\nrich cosmological structure: it may naturally lead to an effective cosmological\nconstant, quintessence or phantom cosmic acceleration, with a possible\ntransition from deceleration to acceleration. It is demonstrated in the paper\nthat this theory is perfectly viable, since it is compliant with Solar System\nconstraints. Specific properties of $f(G)$ gravity in a de Sitter universe,\nsuch as dS and SdS solutions, their entropy and its explicit one-loop\nquantization are studied. The issue of a possible solution of the hierarchy\nproblem in modified gravities is addressed too."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quadratic Gravity and Restricted Weyl Symmetry: We investigate the relationship between quadratic gravity and a restricted\nWeyl symmetry where a gauge parameter $\\Omega(x)$ of Weyl transformation\nsatisfies a constraint $\\Box \\Omega = 0$ in a curved space-time. First, we\nbriefly review a model with a restricted gauge symmetry on the basis of QED\nwhere a $U(1)$ gauge parameter $\\theta(x)$ obeys a similar constraint $\\Box\n\\theta = 0$ in a flat Minkowski space-time, and explain that the restricted\ngauge symmetry removes one on-shell mode of gauge field, which together with\nthe Feynman gauge leaves only two transverse polarizations as physical states.\nNext, it is shown that the restricted Weyl symmetry also eliminates one\ncomponent of a dipole field in quadratic gravity around a flat Minkowski\nbackground, leaving only a single scalar state. Finally, we show that the\nrestricted Weyl symmetry cannot remove any dynamical degrees of freedom in\nstatic background metrics by using the zero-energy theorem of quadratic\ngravity. This fact also holds for the Euclidean background metrics without\nimposing the static condition.",
        "positive": "Hamiltonian study of the asymptotic symmetries of gauge theories: Asymptotic symmetries are a general and important feature of theories with\nlong-ranging fields, such as gravity, electromagnetism, and Yang-Mills. They\nappear in the formalism once the analytic behaviour of fields near infinity is\nspecified and have received a renewed interest in the last years after a\npossible connection with the information-loss paradox has been conjectured.\n  One of the various methods used to study the asymptotic symmetries of field\ntheories relies on the Hamiltonian formalism and was introduced in the seminal\nwork of Henneaux and Troessaert, who successfully applied it to the case of\ngravity and electrodynamics. The main advantage of this approach is that the\nstudy of the asymptotic symmetries ensues from clear-cut first principles.\n  After an extensive review of how the Hamiltonian approach to study asymptotic\nsymmetries of gauge theories works, we apply these methods to two specific\nsituations of physical interest. First, we deal with the non-abelian Yang-Mills\ncase and we show that the above principles lead to trivial asymptotic\nsymmetries (nothing else than the Poincar\\'e group) and, as a consequence, to a\nvanishing total colour charge. This is a new and somewhat unexpected result. It\nimplies that no globally colour-charged states exist in classical non-abelian\nYang-Mills theory.\n  The second situation considered is a scalar field minimally-coupled to an\nabelian gauge field, which can be used to study, at the same time, two specific\ncases: scalar electrodynamics and the abelian Higgs model. We show that the\nsituation in scalar electrodynamics amply depends on whether the scalar field\nis massive or massless, insofar as, in the latter case, one cannot canonically\nimplement asymptotic symmetries. Furthermore, we illustrate that, in the\nabelian Higgs model, the asymptotic canonical symmetries reduce to the\nPoincar\\'e group in an unproblematic fashion."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Casimir effect for Elko fields: The Casimir effect for {mass dimension one fermion fields (sometimes called\nElko)} in $3+1$ dimension is obtained using Dirichlet boundary conditions. It\nis shown the existence of a repulsive force four times greater than the case of\nthe scalar field. The precise reason for such differences are highlighted and\ninterpreted, as well as the right parallel of the Casimir effect due to scalar\nand fermionic fields.",
        "positive": "Gravitational Decoupling and Picard-Lefschetz: In this work, we consider tunneling between non-metastable states in\ngravitational theories. Such processes arise in various contexts, e.g., in\ninflationary scenarios where the inflaton potential involves multiple fields or\nmultiple branches. They are also relevant for bubble wall nucleation in some\ncosmological settings. However, we show that the transition amplitudes computed\nusing the Euclidean method generally do not approach the corresponding field\ntheory limit as $M_{p}\\rightarrow \\infty$. This implies that in the Euclidean\nframework, there is no systematic expansion in powers of $G_{N}$ for such\nprocesses. Such considerations also carry over directly to no-boundary\nscenarios involving Hawking-Turok instantons. In this note, we illustrate this\nfailure of decoupling in the Euclidean approach with a simple model of axion\nmonodromy and then argue that the situation can be remedied with a Lorentzian\nprescription such as the Picard-Lefschetz theory. As a proof of concept, we\nillustrate with a simple model how tunneling transition amplitudes can be\ncalculated using the Picard-Lefschetz approach."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dirac Equations, Light Cone Supersymmetry, and Superconformal Algebras: After a brief historical survey that emphasizes the role of the algebra\nobeyed by the Dirac operator, we examine an algebraic Dirac operator associated\nwith Lie algebras and Lie algebra cosets. For symmetric cosets, its\n``massless'' solutions display non-relativistic supersymmetry, and can be\nidentified with the massless degrees of freedom of some supersymmetric\ntheories: N=1 supergravity in eleven dimensions (M-theory), type IIB string\ntheory in ten and four dimensions, and in four dimensions, N=8 supergravity,\nN=4 super-Yang-Mills, and the N=1 Wess-Zumino multiplet. By generalizing this\nDirac operator to the affine case, we generate superconformal algebras\nassociated with cosets ${\\bf g}/\\bf h$, where $\\bf h$ contains the {\\it space}\nlittle group. Only for eleven dimensional supergravity is $\\bf h$ simple. This\nsuggests, albeit in a non-relativistic setting, that these may be the limit of\ntheories with underlying two-dimensional superconformal structure.",
        "positive": "Thermality of the Unruh effect with intermediate statistics: Utilizing quantum coherence monotone, we reexamine the thermal nature of the\nUnruh effect of an accelerating detector. We consider an UDW detector coupling\nto a n-dimensional conformal field in Minkowski spacetime, whose response\nspectrum generally exhibits an intermediate statistics of (1+1) anyon field. We\nfind that the thermal nature of the Unruh effect guaranteed by KMS condition is\ncharacterized by a vanishing asymptotic quantum coherence. We show that the\ntime-evolution of coherence monotone can distinguish the different thermalizing\nways of the detector, which depends on the scaling dimension of the conformal\nprimary field. In particular, for the conformal background with certain scaling\ndimension, we demonstrate that at fixed proper time a revival of coherence can\noccur even for growing Unruh decoherence. Finally, we show that coherence\nmonotone has distinct dynamics under the Unruh decoherence and a thermal bath\nfor a static observer."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The EFT stringy viewpoint on large distances: We observe a direct relation between the existence of fundamental axionic\nstrings, dubbed EFT strings, and infinite distance limits in 4d $\\mathcal{N}=1$\nEFTs coupled to gravity. The backreaction of EFT strings can be interpreted as\nRG flow of their couplings, and allows one to probe different regimes within\nthe field space of the theory. We propose that any 4d EFT infinite distance\nlimit can be realised as an EFT string flow. We show that along such limits the\nEFT string becomes asymptotically tensionless, and so the EFT eventually breaks\ndown. This provides an upper bound for the maximal field range of an EFT with a\nfinite cut-off, and reproduces the Swampland Distance Conjecture from a\nbottom-up perspective. Even if there are typically other towers of particles\nbecoming light, we propose that the mass of the leading tower scales as\n$m^2\\sim \\mathcal{T}^w$ in Planck units, with $\\mathcal{T}$ the EFT string\ntension and $w$ a positive integer. Our results hold even in the presence of a\nnon-trivial potential, as long as its energy scale remains well below the\ncut-off. We check both proposals for large classes of 4d $\\mathcal{N}=1$ string\ncompactifications, finding that only the values $w=1,2,3$ are realised.",
        "positive": "Polyakov Loop in Non-covariant Operator Formalism: We discuss a Polyakov loop in non-covariant operator formalism which consists\nof only physical degrees of freedom at finite temperature. It is pointed out\nthat although the Polyakov loop is expressed by a Euclidean time component of\ngauge fields in a covariant path integral formalism, there is no direct\ncounterpart of the Polyakov loop operator in the operator formalism because the\nEuclidean time component of gauge fields is not a physical degree of freedom.\nWe show that by starting with an operator which is constructed in terms of only\nphysical operators in the non-covariant operator formalism, the vacuum\nexpectation value of the operator calculated by trace formula can be rewritten\ninto a familiar form of an expectation value of Polyakov loop in a covariant\npath integral formalism at finite temperature for the cases of axial and\nCoulomb gauge."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "D-brane conformal field theory: We outline the structure of boundary conditions in conformal field theory. A\nboundary condition is specified by a consistent collection of reflection\ncoefficients for bulk fields on the disk together with a choice of an\nautomorphism \\omega of the fusion rules that preserves conformal weights.\nNon-trivial automorphisms \\omega correspond to D-brane configurations for\narbitrary conformal field theories.",
        "positive": "Entropy of Extremal Black Holes in Two Dimensions: Entropy for two dimensional extremal black holes is computed explicitly in a\nfinite-space formulation of the black hole thermodynamics and is shown to be\nzero {\\it locally}. Our results are in conformity with the recent one by\nHawking et al in four dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Mechanics of the Electric Charge: A simple argument against the existence of magnetic monopoles is given. The\nargument is an important part of the quantum theory of the electric charge\ndeveloped by the author.",
        "positive": "A Manifestly Local Theory of Vacuum Energy Sequestering: We present a manifestly local, diffeomorphism invariant and locally Poincare\ninvariant formulation of vacuum energy sequestering. In this theory, quantum\nvacuum energy generated by matter loops is cancelled by auxiliary fields. The\nauxiliary fields decouple from gravity almost completely. Their only residual\neffect is an a priori arbitrary, finite contribution to the curvature of the\nbackground geometry, which is radiatively stable. Its value is to be determined\nby a measurement, like the finite part of any radiatively stable UV-sensitive\nquantity in quantum field theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Can Hawking temperatures be negative ?: It has been widely believed that the Hawking temperature for a black hole is\n$uniquely$ determined by its metric and $positive$. But, I find that this does\n``not'' seem to be true in the recently discovered black holes which include\nthe exotic black holes and the black holes in the three-dimensional higher\ncurvature gravities. I show that the Hawking temperatures, which are measured\nby the quantum fields in thermal equilibrium with the black holes, are $not$\nthe usual Hawking temperature but the $new$ temperatures that have been\nproposed recently and can be $negative$. The associated new entropy formulae,\nwhich are defined by the first law of thermodynamics, versus the black hole\nmasses show some genuine effects of the black holes which do not occur in the\nspin systems. Some cosmological implications and physical origin of the\ndiscrepancy with the standard analysis are noted also.",
        "positive": "Black hole lasers, a mode analysis: We show that the black hole laser effect discovered by Corley & Jacobson\nshould be described in terms of frequency eigenmodes that are spatially bound.\nThe spectrum contains a discrete and finite set of complex frequency modes\nwhich appear in pairs and which encode the laser effect. In addition, it\ncontains real frequency modes that form a continuous set when space is\ninfinite, and which are only elastically scattered, i.e., not subject to any\nBogoliubov transformation. The quantization is straightforward, but the\ncalculation of the asymptotic fluxes is rather involved. When the number of\ncomplex frequency modes is small, our expressions differ from those given\nearlier. In particular, when the region between the horizons shrinks, there is\na minimal distance under which no complex frequency mode exists, and no\nradiation is emitted. Finally, we relate this effect to other dynamical\ninstabilities found for rotating black holes and in electric fields, and we\ngive the conditions to get this type of instability."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "OCTONION XY-PRODUCT: The octonion X-product changes the octonion multiplication table, but does\nnot change the role of the identity. The octonion XY-product is very similar,\nbut shifts the identity as well. This will be of interest to those applying th\noctonions to string theory.",
        "positive": "Comment on \"Dynamical Chern-Simons term generation at finite density\"\n  and \"Chern-Simons term at finite density\": We comment on the calculation of the Chern-Simons coefficient in\n(2+1)-dimensional gauge theories at finite chemical potential made by\nA.N.Sissakian, O.Yu.Shevchenko and S.B.Solganik (hep-th/9608159 and\nhep-th/9612140)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "N=2 Superconformal Affine Liouville Theory: We present a new supersymmetric integrable model: the $N=2$ superconformal\naffine Liouville theory. It interpolates between the $N=2$ super Liouville and\n$N=2$ super sine-Gordon theories and possesses a Lax representation on the\ncomplex affine Kac-Moody superalgebra ${\\hat {sl(2| 2)^{(1)}}}$. We show that\nthe higher spin $W_{1+\\infty}$-type symmetry algebra of ordinary conformal\naffine Liouville theory extends to a $N=2\\; W_{1/2 + \\infty}$-type\nsuperalgebra.",
        "positive": "Dirty Black Holes and Hairy Black Holes: An approach based on considerations of the non-classical energy momentum\ntensor outside the event horizon of a black hole provides additional physical\ninsight into the nature of discrete quantum hair on black holes and its effect\non black hole temperature. Our analysis both extends previous work based on the\nEuclidean action techniques, and corrects an omission in that work. We also\nraise several issues related to the effects of instantons on black hole\nthermodynamics and the relation between these effects and results in two\ndimensional quantum field theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Functional renormalization group approach to dipolar fixed point which\n  is scale-invariant but non-conformal: A dipolar fixed point introduced by Aharony and Fisher is a physical example\nof interacting scale-invariant but non-conformal field theories. We find that\nthe perturbative critical exponents computed in $\\epsilon$ expansions violate\nthe conformal bootstrap bound. We formulate the functional renormalization\ngroup equations a la Wetterich and Polchinski to study the fixed point. We\npresent some results in three dimensions within (uncontrolled) local potential\napproximations (with or without perturbative anomalous dimensions).",
        "positive": "Bosonic Fields in Crystal Manyfolds: A chain-like or a 1D crystal-like universe made of intersecting membranes in\nextra dimensions in a Randall-Sundrum scenario is studied. A background\ngravitational metric satisfying the right boundary conditions is considered to\nstudy the localization of the scalar, gauge and Kalb-Ramond field. It is found\nthat the wave function for the fields are Bloch waves. The mass modes equations\nare calculated allowing us to show the zero-gap mass behavior and the mass\ndispersion relation for each field. Finally we generalize all these results and\nconsider $q-$forms in the crystal membrane universe. We show that, depending to\nthe dimension $D$, the form $q$ and the dilation coupling $\\lambda$ the mass\nspectrum can be the same for the different bosonic field studied."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Higher Dimensional Charged Rotating Solutions in (A)dS Space-times: We present a class of solutions to the Einstein-Maxwell equations in\nd-dimensions, all of which are asymptotically (anti)-de Sitter space-times.\nThey describe electrically charged rotating solutions, which are\ngeneralizations of those found by Lemos (gr-qc/9404041). These solutions have\ntoroidal, planar or cylindrical horizons and can be interpreted as black holes,\nor black strings/branes. We calculate the inverse temperature and entropy, and\nthen we use the Brown-York stress-tensor to calculate mass and angular momenta\nof these solutions.",
        "positive": "Diagonal Form Factors in Landau-Lifshitz Models: We perturbatively study form factors in the Landau-Lifshitz model and the\ngeneralisation originating in the study of the N=4 super-Yang-Mills dilatation\ngenerator. In particular we study diagonal form factors which have previously\nbeen related to gauge theory structure constants. For the Landau-Lifshitz\nmodel, due to the non-relativistic nature of the theory, we are able to compute\nall orders in perturbation theory and to resum the series to find quantum form\nfactors for low numbers of external particles. We apply our form factors to the\nstudy of deformations of the integrable theory by means of form factor\nperturbation theory. As a check of our method we compute spin-chain S-matrix\nelements for the Leigh-Strassler family of marginal deformations to leading\norder in the deformation parameters."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "\"Krein\" regularization method: The \"Krein\" regularization method of quantum field theory is studied,\ninspired by the Krein space quantization and quantum metric fluctuations. It\nwas previously considered in the one-loop approximation, and this paper is\ngeneralized to all orders of perturbation theory. We directly recover the\nphysical results previously obtained starting from the standard QFT by imposing\nthe renormalization conditions. By applying our approach to the QFT in curved\nspace-time and quantum linear gravity, we discuss that there is no need for the\nhigher derivative of the metric tensor for the renormalization of the theory.\nThe advantage of our method compared to the previous ones is that the linear\nquantum gravity is renormalizable in all orders of perturbation theory.",
        "positive": "Rolling tachyon in anti-de Sitter space-time: We study the decay of the unstable D-particle in three-dimensional anti-de\nSitter space-time using worldsheet boundary conformal field theory methods. We\ntest the open string completeness conjecture in a background for which the\nphase space available is only field-theoretic. This could present a serious\nchallenge to the claim. We compute the emission of closed strings in the AdS(3)\nx S^3 x T^4 background from the knowledge of the exact corresponding boundary\nstate we construct. We show that the energy stored in the brane is mainly\nconverted into very excited long strings. The energy stored in short strings\nand in open string pair production is much smaller and finite for any value of\nthe string coupling. We find no \"missing energy\" problem. We compare our\nresults to those obtained for a decay in flat space-time and to a background in\nthe presence of a linear dilaton. Some remarks on holographic aspects of the\nproblem are made."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetric Calogero models from superfield gauging: Using the superfield gauging procedure, we construct new ${\\cal N}\\,{=}\\,2$\nand ${\\cal N}\\,{=}\\,4$ superfield systems that generalize Calogero models. In\nthe bosonic limit, these systems yield rational Calogero models and hyperbolic\nCalogero-Sutherland models in the ${\\cal N}\\,{=}\\,2$ case, and their ${\\rm\nU}(2)$ spin generalization in the ${\\cal N}\\,{=}\\,4$ case.",
        "positive": "Generalized AdS-Lorentz deformed supergravity on a manifold with\n  boundary: The purpose of this paper is to explore the supersymmetry invariance of a\nparticular supergravity theory, which we refer to as D=4 generalized\nAdS-Lorentz deformed supergravity, in the presence of a non-trivial boundary.\nIn particular, we show that the so-called generalized minimal AdS-Lorentz\nsuperalgebra can be interpreted as a peculiar torsion deformation of osp(4|1),\nand we present the construction of a bulk Lagrangian based on the\naforementioned generalized AdS-Lorentz superalgebra. In the presence of a\nnon-trivial boundary of space-time, that is when the boundary is not thought of\nas set at infinity, the fields do not asymptotically vanish, and this has some\nconsequences on the invariances of the theory, in particular on supersymmetry\ninvariance. In this work, we adopt the so-called rheonomic (geometric) approach\nin superspace and show that a supersymmetric extension of a Gauss-Bonnet like\nterm is required in order to restore the supersymmetry invariance of the\ntheory. The action we end up with can be recast as a MacDowell-Mansouri type\naction, namely as a sum of quadratic terms in the generalized AdS-Lorentz\ncovariant super field-strengths."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Conformal Symmetry and Universal Properties of Quantum Hall States: The low-lying excitations of a quantum Hall state on a disk geometry are edge\nexcitations. Their dynamics is governed by a conformal field theory on the\ncylinder defined by the disk boundary and the time variable. We give a simple\nand detailed derivation of this conformal field theory for integer filling,\nstarting from the microscopic dynamics of $(2+1)$-dimensional non-relativistic\nelectrons in Landau levels. This construction can be generalized to describe\nLaughlin's fractional Hall states via chiral bosonization, thereby making\ncontact with the effective Chern-Simons theory approach. The conformal field\ntheory dictates the finite-size effects in the energy spectrum. An experimental\nor numerical verification of these universal effects would provide a further\nconfirmation of Laughlin's theory of incompressible quantum fluids.",
        "positive": "Effect of the Minimal Length on Bose-Einstein Condensation in the\n  Relativistic Ideal Bose Gas: Based on the generalized uncertainty principle (GUP), the critical\ntemperature and the Helmholtz free energy of Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC)\nin the relativistic ideal Bose gas are investigated. At the non-relativistic\nlimit and the ultra-relativistic limit, we calculate the analytical form of the\nshifts of the critical temperature and the Helmholtz free energy caused by weak\nquantum gravitational effects. The exact numerical results of these shifts are\nobtained. Quantum gravity effects lift the critical temperature of BEC. By\nmeasuring the shift of the critical temperature, we can constrain the\ndeformation parameter $\\beta_0$. Furthermore, at lower densities, omitting\nquantum gravitational effects may lead to a metastable state while at\nsufficiently high densities, quantum gravitational effects tend to make BEC\nunstable. Using the numerical methods, the stable-unstable transition\ntemperature is found."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the 1-loop calculations of softly broken fermion-torsion theory in\n  curved space using the Stuckelberg procedure: The soft breaking of gauge or other symmetries is the typical Quantum Field\nTheory phenomenon. In many cases one can apply the Stuckelberg procedure, which\nmeans introducing some additional field (or fields) and restore the gauge\nsymmetry. The original softly broken theory corresponds to a particular choice\nof the gauge fixing condition. In this paper we use this scheme for performing\nquantum calculations for fermion-torsion theory, softly broken by the torsion\nmass in arbitrary curved spacetime.",
        "positive": "String Junctions in B Field Background: It has been recently shown that F-theory on K3 with background B fields (NSNS\nand RR 2-forms) is dual to the CHL string in 8 dimensions. In this paper, we\nreexamine this duality in terms of string junctions in type IIB string theory.\nIt is in particular stressed that certain 7-brane configurations produce Sp\ngauge groups in a novel way."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hidden Symmetry Unmasked: Matrix Theory and E(11): Dimensional reduction of eleven-dimensional supergravity to zero spacetime\ndimensions is expected to give a theory characterized by the hidden symmetry\nalgebra E(11), the end-point of the Cremmer-Julia prediction for the sequence\nof dimensional reductions of 11d supergravity to spacetime dimensions. In\nrecent work, we have given a prescription for the spacetime reduction of a\nsupergravity-Yang-Mills Lagrangian with large N flavor symmetry such that the\nlocal symmetries of the continuum Lagrangian are preserved in the resulting\nreduced matrix Lagrangian. This new class of reduced matrix models are the\nbasis for a nonperturbative proposal for M theory we have described in\nhep-th/0408057. The matrix models are also characterized by hidden symmetry\nalgebras in precise analogy with the Cremmer-Julia framework. The rank eleven\nalgebra E(11) is also known as the very-extension of the finite-dimensional Lie\nalgebra E(8). In an independent stream of work (hep-th/0402140), Peter West has\nprovided evidence which supports the conjecture that M theory has the symmetry\nalgebra E(11), showing that it successfully incorporates both the 11d\nsupergravity limit, as well as the 10d type IIA and type IIB supergravities,\nand inclusive of the full spectrum of Neveu-Schwarz and Dirichlet pbranes. In\nthis topical review, we give a pedagogical account of these recent developments\nalso providing an assessment of the insights that might be gained from linking\nthe algebraic and reduced matrix model perspectives in the search for M theory.\nNecessary mathematical details are covered starting from the basics in the\nappendices.",
        "positive": "Hexagon OPE Resummation and Multi-Regge Kinematics: We analyse the OPE contribution of gluon bound states in the double scaling\nlimit of the hexagonal Wilson loop in planar N=4 super Yang-Mills theory. We\nprovide a systematic procedure for perturbatively resumming the contributions\nfrom single-particle bound states of gluons and expressing the result order by\norder in terms of two-variable polylogarithms. We also analyse certain\ncontributions from two-particle gluon bound states and find that, after\nanalytic continuation to the $2\\to 4$ Mandelstam region and passing to\nmulti-Regge kinematics (MRK), only the single-particle gluon bound states\ncontribute. From this double-scaled version of MRK we are able to reconstruct\nthe full hexagon remainder function in MRK up to five loops by invoking\nsingle-valuedness of the results."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "$d\\geq 5$ static black holes with $S^2\\times S^{d-4}$ event horizon\n  topology: We present numerical evidence for the existence of new black hole solutions\nin $d\\geq 6$ spacetime dimensions. They approach asymptotically the Minkowski\nbackground and have an event horizon topology $S^2\\times S^{d-4}$. These static\nsolutions share the basic properties of the nonrotating black rings in five\ndimensions, in particular the presence of a conical singularity.",
        "positive": "Quantum Extremal Islands Made Easy, Part II: Black Holes on the Brane: We discuss holographic models of extremal and non-extremal black holes in\ncontact with a bath in d dimensions, based on a brane world model introduced in\narXiv:2006.04851. The main benefit of our setup is that it allows for a high\ndegree of analytic control as compared to previous work in higher dimensions.\nWe show that the appearance of quantum extremal islands in those models is a\nconsequence of the well-understood phase transition of RT surfaces, and does\nnot make any direct reference to ensemble averaging. For non-extremal black\nholes the appearance of quantum extremal islands has the right behaviour to\navoid the information paradox in any dimension. We further show that for these\nmodels the calculation of the full Page curve is possible in any dimension. The\ncalculation reduces to numerically solving two ODEs. In the case of extremal\nblack holes in higher dimensions, we find no quantum extremal islands for a\nwide range of parameters. In two dimensions, our results agree with\narXiv:1910.11077 at leading order; however a finite UV cutoff introduced by the\nbrane results in subleading corrections. For example, these corrections result\nin the quantum extremal surfaces moving further outward from the horizon, and\nshifting the Page transition to a slightly earlier time."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Percolation on Strings and the Cover-up of the c=1 Disaster: We study percolation on the worldsheets of string theory for $c=0,1/2,1$ and\n$2$. For $c<1$ we find that critical exponents measured from simulations agree\nquite well with the theoretical values. For $c=1$ we show how log corrections\ndetermined from the exact solution reconcile numerical results with the KPZ\npredictions. We extend this analysis to the large $c$ regime and estimate how\nfinite-size effects will effectively raise the ground state energy, masking the\npresence of the tachyon for moderate values of $c > 1$. It thus appears likely\nthat simulations for $c=2,3 \\ldots$ on numerically accessible lattices will\nfail to even capture the qualitative behavior of the continuum limit.",
        "positive": "Representations of tensor categories and Dynkin diagrams: In this note we illustrate by a few examples the general principle:\ninteresting algebras and representations defined over Z_+ come from category\ntheory, and are best understood when their categorical origination has been\ndiscovered. We show that indecomposable Z_+-representations of the character\nring of SU(2) satisfying certain conditions correspond to affine and infinite\nDynkin diagrams with loops. We also show that irreducible Z_+-representations\nof the Verlinde algebra (the character ring of the quantum group SU(2)_q, where\nq is a root of unity), satisfying similar conditions correspond to usual\n(non-affine) Dynkin diagrams with loops. Conjecturedly, the last result is\nrelated to the ADE classification of conformal field theories with the chiral\nalgebra \\hat{sl(2)}."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Polyakov formulas for GJMS operators from AdS/CFT: We argue that the AdS/CFT calculational prescription for double-trace\ndeformations leads to a holographic derivation of the conformal anomaly, and\nits conformal primitive, associated to the whole family of conformally\ncovariant powers of the Laplacian (GJMS operators) at the conformal boundary.\nThe bulk side involves a quantum 1-loop correction to the SUGRA action and the\nboundary counterpart accounts for a sub-leading term in the large-N limit. The\nsequence of GJMS conformal Laplacians shows up in the two-point function of the\nCFT operator dual to a bulk scalar field at certain values of its scaling\ndimension. The restriction to conformally flat boundary metrics reduces the\nbulk computation to that of volume renormalization which renders the universal\ntype A anomaly. In this way, we directly connect two chief roles of the\nQ-curvature: the main term in Polyakov formulas on one hand, and its relation\nto the Poincare metrics of the Fefferman-Graham construction, on the other\nhand. We find agreement with previously conjectured patterns including a\ngeneric and simple formula for the type A anomaly coefficient that matches all\nreported values in the literature concerning GJMS operators, to our knowledge.",
        "positive": "Observational Selection Effects in Quantum Cosmology: Scientific theories need to be testable by observations, say using Bayes'\ntheorem. A complete theory needs at least the three parts of dynamical laws for\nspecified physical variables, the correct solution of the dynamical laws\n(boundary conditions), and the connection with observations or experience or\nconscious perceptions (laws of psycho-physical parallelism). Principles are\nproposed for Bayesian meta-theories. One framework that obeys these principles\nis Sensible Quantum Mechanics (SQM), which is discussed. In principle, it\nallows one to test between single-history and many-worlds theories, and to\ndiscuss threats to certain theories from fake universes and Boltzmann brains.\nThe threat of fake universes may be dismissed if one doubts the\nsubstrate-independence of consciousness, which seems very implausible in the\nSQM framework. Boltzmann brains seem more problematic, though there are many\nconceivable solutions. SQM also suggests the possibility that past steps along\nour evolutionary ancestry may be so rare that they have occurred nowhere else\nwithin the part of the universe that we can observe."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Incorporation of anomalous magnetic moments in the two-body relativistic\n  wave equations of constraint theory: Using a Dirac-matrix substitution rule, applied to the electric charge, the\nanomalous magnetic moments of fermions are incorporated in local form in the\ntwo-body relativistic wave equations of constraint theory. The structure of the\nresulting potential is entirely determined, up to magnetic type form factors,\nfrom that of the initial potential descibing the mutual interaction in the\nabsence of anomalous magnetic moments. The wave equations are reduced to a\nsingle eigenvalue equation in the sectors of pseudoscalar and scalar states\n($j=0$). The requirement of a smooth introduction of the anomalous magnetic\nmoments imposes restrictions on the behavior of the form factors near the\norigin, in $x$-space. The nonrelativistic limit of the eigenvalue equation is\nalso studied.",
        "positive": "Gauge Mediation in F-Theory GUT Models: We study a simple framework for gauge-mediated supersymmetry-breaking in\nlocal GUT models based on F-theory 7-branes and demonstrate that a mechanism\nfor solving both the \\mu and \\mu/B_{\\mu} problems emerges in a natural way. In\nparticular, a straightforward coupling of the messengers to the Higgs sector\nleads to a geometry which not only provides us with an approximate U(1)_{PQ}\nsymmetry that forbids the generation of \\mu at the GUT scale, it also forces\nthe SUSY-breaking spurion field to carry a nontrivial PQ charge. This connects\nthe breaking of SUSY to the generation of \\mu so that the same scale enters\nboth. Moreover, the messenger sector naturally realizes the D3-instanton\ntriggered Polonyi model of arXiv:0808.1286 so this scale is exponentially\nsuppressed relative to M_{GUT}. The effective action at low scales is in fact\nprecisely of the form of the \"sweet spot supersymmetry\" scenario studied by Ibe\nand Kitano in arXiv:0705.3686."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Testing the non-linear flux ansatz for maximal supergravity: We put to test the recently proposed non-linear flux ansatz for maximal\nsupergravity in eleven dimensions, which gives the seven-dimensional flux in\nterms of the scalars and pseudoscalars of maximal N=8 supergravity, by\nconsidering a number of non-trivial solutions of gauged supergravity for which\nthe higher dimensional solutions are known. These include the G$_2$ and\nSU(4)$^-$ invariant stationary points. The examples considered constitute a\nvery non-trivial check of the ansatz, which it passes with remarkable success.",
        "positive": "Intersecting Defects and Supergroup Gauge Theory: We consider 5d supersymmetric gauge theories with unitary groups in the\n$\\Omega$-background and study codim-2/4 BPS defects supported on orthogonal\nplanes intersecting at the origin along a circle. The intersecting defects\narise upon implementing the most generic Higgsing (geometric transition) to the\nparent higher dimensional theory, and they are described by pairs of 3d\nsupersymmetric gauge theories with unitary groups interacting through 1d matter\nat the intersection. We explore the relations between instanton and generalized\nvortex calculus, pointing out a duality between intersecting defects subject to\nthe $\\Omega$-background and a deformation of supergroup gauge theories, the\nexact supergroup point being achieved in the self-dual or unrefined limit.\nEmbedding our setup into refined topological strings and in the simplest case\nwhen the parent 5d theory is Abelian, we are able to identify the supergroup\ntheory dual to the intersecting defects as the supergroup version of refined\nChern-Simons theory via open/closed duality. We also discuss the BPS/CFT side\nof the correspondence, finding an interesting large rank duality with\nsuper-instanton counting."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Static Charged Black Holes in Type IIA on a Nearly-Kahler Coset: We study static, spherically symmetric black hole solutions in\nfour-dimensional N=2 gauged supergravity with one vector multiplet and one\nhyper-tensor multiplet. This is derived from massive type IIA theory\ncompactified on the nearly-Kahler coset space G2/SU(3). It is well-known that\nthe Romans' mass parameter yields the Stuckelberg-type deformation of the gauge\nfield strengths in the four-dimensional system. This deformation requires that\nall the (covariant) derivatives of the scalar fields must vanish and the\ntwo-form field is closed. It turns out that charged solutions are forbidden.\nThis implies that only AdS vacua or Schwarzschild-AdS black holes are allowed\nas the static, spherically symmetric solutions.",
        "positive": "Pseudo-spontaneous $U(1)$ Symmetry Breaking in Hydrodynamics and\n  Holography: We investigate the low-energy dynamics of systems with pseudo-spontaneously\nbroken $U(1)$ symmetry and Goldstone phase relaxation. We construct a\nhydrodynamic framework which is able to capture these, in principle\nindependent, effects. We consider two generalisations of the standard\nholographic superfluid model by adding an explicit breaking of the $U(1)$\nsymmetry by either sourcing the charged bulk scalar or by introducing an\nexplicit mass term for the bulk gauge field. We find agreement between the\nhydrodynamic dispersion relations and the quasi-normal modes of both\nholographic models. We verify that phase relaxation arises only due to the\nbreaking of the inherent Goldstone shift symmetry. The interplay of a weak\nexplicit breaking of the $U(1)$ and phase relaxation renders the DC electric\nconductivity finite but does not result in a Drude-like peak. In this scenario\nwe show the validity of a universal relation, found in the context of\ntranslational symmetry breaking, between the phase relaxation rate, the mass of\nthe pseudo-Goldstone and the Goldstone diffusivity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Nambu-Goto and Polyakov Strings via the Relativistic Particles: We assume the bosonic string is a composite object of the relativistic\nparticles. The behavior of the relativistic particles in a curve enables us to\nobtain the Nambu-Goto and the Polyakov actions of the bosonic string. We\nobserve that the particles of these strings move with non-constant speeds along\nthem.",
        "positive": "Interaction of global and local monopoles: We study the direct interaction between global and local monopoles. While in\ntwo previous papers, the coupling between the two sectors was only indirect\nthrough the coupling to gravity, we here introduce a new term in the potential\nthat couples the Goldstone field and the Higgs field directly. We investigate\nthe influence of this term in curved space and compare it to the results\nobtained previously."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Constraints on Dark Energy from Inflation and the Swampland Conjectures: We discuss the prospects of measuring deviations of the dark energy equation\nof state from w=-1 by using the swampland conjectures to relate inflationary\nmodels to quintessence scenarios. This note is based on work done by the author\nwith H. Murayama and C. Chiang arXiv:1811.01987.",
        "positive": "Dynamical generation of wormholes with charged fluids in quadratic\n  Palatini gravity: The dynamical generation of wormholes within an extension of General\nRelativity (GR) containing (Planck's scale-suppressed) Ricci-squared terms is\nconsidered. The theory is formulated assuming the metric and connection to be\nindependent (Palatini formalism) and is probed using a charged null fluid as a\nmatter source. This has the following effect: starting from Minkowski space,\nwhen the flux is active the metric becomes a charged Vaidya-type one, and once\nthe flux is switched off the metric settles down into a static configuration\nsuch that far from the Planck scale the geometry is virtually indistinguishable\nfrom that of the standard Reissner-Nordstr\\\"om solution of GR. However, the\ninnermost region undergoes significant changes, as the GR singularity is\ngenerically replaced by a wormhole structure. Such a structure becomes\ncompletely regular for a certain charge-to-mass ratio. Moreover, the nontrivial\ntopology of the wormhole allows to define a charge in terms of lines of force\ntrapped in the topology such that the density of lines flowing across the\nwormhole throat becomes a universal constant. To the light of our results we\ncomment on the physical significance of curvature divergences in this theory\nand the topology change issue, which support the view that space-time could\nhave a foam-like microstructure pervaded by wormholes generated by quantum\ngravitational effects."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Curvature Couplings in $\\mathcal{N}=(2,2)$ Nonlinear Sigma Models on\n  $S^2$: Following recent work on GLSM localization, we work out curvature couplings\nfor rigidly supersymmetric nonlinear sigma models with superpotential for\ngeneral target spaces, describing both ordinary and twisted chiral superfields\non round two-sphere worldsheets. We briefly discuss why, unlike\nfour-dimensional theories, there are no constraints on Kahler forms in these\ntheories. We also briefly discuss general issues in topological twists of such\ntheories.",
        "positive": "Electrodynamic Casimir Effect in a Medium-Filled Wedge II: We consider the Casimir energy in a geometry of an infinite magnetodielectric\nwedge closed by a circularly cylindrical, perfectly conducting arc embedded in\nanother magnetodielectric medium, under the condition that the speed of light\nbe the same in both media. An expression for the Casimir energy corresponding\nto the arc is obtained and it is found that in the limit where the reflectivity\nof the wedge boundaries tends to unity the finite part of the Casimir energy of\na perfectly conducting wedge-shaped sheet closed by a circular cylinder is\nregained. The energy of the latter geometry possesses divergences due to the\npresence of sharp corners. We argue how this is a pathology of the assumption\nof ideal conductor boundaries, and that no analogous term enters in the present\ngeometry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Casimir Effect in 2D Stringy Black Hole Backgrounds: We consider the two-dimensional \"Schwarzschild\" and \"Reissner-Nordstrom\"\nstringy black holes as systems of Casimir type. We explicitly calculate the\nenergy-momentum tensor of a massless scalar field satisfying Dirichlet boundary\nconditions on two one-dimensional \"walls\". These results are obtained using the\nWald's axioms. Thermodynamical quantities such as pressure, specific heat,\nisothermal compressibility and entropy of the two-dimensional stringy black\nholes are calculated. A comparison is made between the obtained results and the\nlaws of thermodynamics. The results obtained for the extremal (Q=M) stringy\ntwo-dimensional charged black hole are identical in all three different vacua\nused; a fact that indicates its quantum stability.",
        "positive": "PT symmetry and supersymmetry: A re-formulated, non-Hermitian version of the Witten's supersymmetric quantum\nmechanics is presented. Its use of pseudo-Hermitian (so called PT symmetric)\nHamiltonians is reviewed and illustrated via several forms of an innovated\nsupersymmetric partnership between strongly singular (\"spiked\") harmonic\noscillators."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Casimir Piston of Real Materials and its Application to Multi-Layer\n  Models: In this article, we derive the formula for the Casimir force acting on a\npiston made of real material moving inside a perfectly conducting rectangular\nbox. It is shown that by taking suitable limits, one recovers the formula for\nthe Casimir force acting on a perfectly conducting piston or an infinitely\npermeable piston. Lifshitz formula for finite temperature Casimir force acting\non parallel plates made of real materials is re-derived by considering the\nfive-layer model in the context of piston approach. It is observed that the\ndivergences of the Casimir force will only cancel under certain conditions, for\nexample, when the regions separated by the plates are filled with media of the\nsame refractive index.",
        "positive": "A non-perturbative field theory approach for the Kondo effect: Emergence\n  of an extra dimension and its implication for the holographic duality\n  conjecture: Implementing Wilsonian renormalization group transformations in an iterative\nway, we develop a non-perturbative field theoretical framework, which takes\ninto account all-loop quantum corrections organized in the $1/N$ expansion,\nwhere $N$ represents the flavor number of quantum fields. The resulting\nclassical field theory is given by an effective Landau-Ginzburg theory for a\nlocal order parameter field, which appears in one-dimensional higher spacetime.\nWe claim that such all-loop quantum corrections are introduced into an equation\nof motion for the order parameter field through the evolution in the emergent\nextra dimension. Based on this non-perturbative theoretical framework, we solve\nthe Kondo effect, where the quantum mechanics problem in the projective\nformulation is mapped into a Landau-Ginzburg field theory for the hybridization\norder parameter field with an emergent extra dimension. We confirm the\nnon-perturbative nature of this field theoretical framework. Intriguingly, we\nshow that the Wilsonian renormalization group method can explain\nnon-perturbative thermodynamic properties of an impurity consistent with the\nBethe ansatz solutions. Finally, we speculate how our non-perturbative field\ntheoretical framework can be connected with the AdS$_{d+2}$/CFT$_{d+1}$ duality\nconjecture."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Semidirect product of CCR and CAR algebras and asymptotic states in\n  quantum electrodynamics: A C*-algebra containing the CCR and CAR algebras as its subalgebras and\nnaturally described as the semidirect product of these algebras is discussed. A\nparticular example of this structure is considered as a model for the algebra\nof asymptotic fields in quantum electrodynamics, in which Gauss' law is\nrespected. The appearence in this algebra of a phase variable related to\nelectromagnetic potential leads to the universal charge quantization.\nTranslationally covariant representations of this algebra with energy-momentum\nspectrum in the future lightcone are investigated. It is shown that vacuum\nrepresentations are necessarily nonregular with respect to total\nelectromagnetic field. However, a class of translationally covariant,\nirreducible representations is constructed excplicitly, which remain as close\nas possible to the vacuum, but are regular at the same time. The spectrum of\nenergy-momentum fills the whole future lightcone, but there are no vectors with\nenergy-momentum lying on a mass hyperboloid or in the origin.",
        "positive": "Freed-Witten anomaly and D-brane gauge theories: We discuss the different nature of the gauge theories on a D-brane or a stack\nof D-branes, in type II superstring theory, as follows from the Freed-Witten\nanomaly. Usually on a D-brane world-volume there is a standard gauge theory,\ndescribed by the A-field thought of as a connection on a complex vector bundle.\nActually, this is a particular case, even if it is the most common one. In\norder to get a complete picture, within the framework provided by the geometry\nof gerbes with connection, it is necessary to give a joint geometrical\ndescription of the A-field and the B-field, via the language of Cech\nhypercohomology. The Freed-Witten anomaly, which is a global world-sheet\nanomaly, imposes some constraints on such fields: we will show for each case\nwhat is the nature of the corresponding gauge theory on the D-brane or stack of\nD-branes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Nambu-Goto string with the Gauss-Bonnet term and point-like masses at\n  the ends: In the present paper we investigate classical dynamics of the Nambu-Goto\nstring with the Gauss-Bonnet term in the action and point-like masses at the\nends in the context of effective QCD string. The configurations of rigidly\nrotating string is studied and its application to phenomenological description\nof meson is discussed.",
        "positive": "Torsion, topology and CPT anomaly in two-dimensional chiral U(1) gauge\n  theory: We consider the CPT anomaly of two-dimensional chiral U(1) gauge theory on a\ntorus with topologically nontrivial zweibeins corresponding to the presence of\nspacetime torsion. The resulting chiral determinant can be expressed in terms\nof the standard chiral determinant without torsion, but with modified spinor\nboundary conditions. This implies that the two-dimensional CPT anomaly can be\nmoved from one spin structure to another by choosing appropriate zweibeins.\nSimilar results apply to higher-dimensional chiral gauge theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "World-sheet Instantons via the Myers Effect and N=1^* Quiver\n  Superpotentials: In this note we explore the stringy interpretation of non-perturbative\neffects in N=1^* deformations of the A_{k-1} quiver models. For certain types\nof deformations we argue that the massive vacua are described by Nk fractional\nD3-branes at the orbifold polarizing into k concentric 5-brane spheres each\ncarrying fractional brane charge. The polarization of the D3-branes induces a\npolarization of D-instantons into string world-sheets wrapped on the Myers\nspheres. We show that the superpotentials in these models are indeed generated\nby these world-sheet instantons. We point out that for certain parameter values\nthe condensates yield the exact superpotential for a relevant deformation of\nthe Klebanov-Witten conifold theory.",
        "positive": "Dynamics on asymptotically conical geometries: We obtain general results on the dynamics of exactly conical geometries,\nwhere we use the notion of boundaries at infinity to characterize asymptotic\nbehavior. As we demonstrate in examples, these notions also apply to smooth\ngeometries that are merely asymptotically conical, such as the Eguchi-Hanson or\nresolved conifold geometries. In these cases we obtain a rather complete\nqualitative understanding of the varieties of asymptotic behavior, and we probe\nthe connectivity of the phase space by finding infinitely large families of\nmultiple geodesics connecting a point on the infinite past boundary with a\npoint in the infinite future boundary."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Moduli Space Metric for Well Separated BPS Monoples: The Lagrangian for the motion of $n$ well-separated BPS monopoles is\ncalculated, by treating the monopoles as point particles with magnetic,\nelectric and scalar charges. It can be reinterpreted as the Lagrangian for\ngeodesic motion on the asymptotic region of the $n$-monopole moduli space,\nthereby determining the asymptotic metric on the moduli space. The metric is\nhyperk\\\"ahler, and is an explicit example of a type of metric considered\npreviously.",
        "positive": "New Geometrical Approach to Superstrings: We present a new geometrical approach to superstrings based on the\ngeometrical theory of integration on supermanifolds. This approach provides an\neffective way to calculate multi-loop superstring amplitudes for arbitrary\nbackgrounds. It makes possible to calculate amplitudes for the physical states\ndefined as BRST cohomology classes using arbitrary representatives. Since the\nnew formalism does not rely on the presence of primary representatives for the\nphysical states it is particulary valuable for analyzing the discrete states\nfor which no primary representatives are available. We show that the discrete\nstates provide information about symmetries of the background including odd\nsymmetries which mix Bose and Fermi states. The dilaton is an example of a\nnon-discrete state which cannot be covariantly represented by a primary vertex.\nThe new formalism allows to prove the dilaton theorem by a direct calculation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Effective field theory bootstrap, large-N $\u03c7$PT and holographic QCD: We review the effective field theory (EFT) bootstrap by formulating it as an\ninfinite-dimensional semidefinite program (SDP), built from the crossing\nsymmetric sum rules and the S-matrix primal ansatz. We apply the program to\nstudy the large-$N$ chiral perturbation theory ($\\chi$PT) and observe excellent\nconvergence of EFT bounds between the dual (rule-out) and primal (rule-in)\nmethods. This convergence aligns with the predictions of duality theory in SDP,\nenabling us to analyze the bound states and resonances in the ultra-violet (UV)\nspectrum. Furthermore, we incorporate the upper bound of unitarity to uniformly\nconstrain the EFT space from the UV scale $M$ using the primal method, thereby\nconfirming the consistency of the large-$N$ expansion. In the end, we translate\nthe large-$N$ $\\chi$PT bounds to constrain the higher derivative corrections of\nholographic QCD models.",
        "positive": "Implications of Minimal Length Scale on the Statistical Mechanics of\n  Ideal Gas: Several alternative approaches to quantum gravity problem suggest the\nmodification of the {\\it fundamental volume $\\omega_{0}$} of the accessible\nphase space for representative points. This modified fundamental volume has a\nnovel momentum dependence. In this paper, we study the effects of this\nmodification on the thermodynamics of an ideal gas within the microcanonical\nensemble and using the generalized uncertainty principle(GUP). Although the\ninduced modifications are important only in quantum gravity era, possible\nexperimental manifestation of these effects may provides strong support for\nunderlying quantum gravity proposal."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Lifetime and confinement of a quasi-gluon: The existence of genuine complex conjugated poles in the gluon propagator is\ndiscussed and related to confinement, string tension and condensates. The\nexistence of the anomalous poles leads to an untrivial analytic continuation\nfrom Euclidean to Minkowski space, where the pole part of the propagator is\nrelated to the spectrum of excited quasigluons.",
        "positive": "Improved Perturbation Theory and Four-Dimensional Space-Time in IIB\n  Matrix Model: We have analyzed IIB matrix model based on the improved mean field\napproximation (IMFA) and have obtained a clue that the four-dimensional\nspace-time appears as its most stable vacuum. This method is a systematic way\nto give an improved perturbation series and was first applied to IIB matrix\nmodel by Nishimura and Sugino. In our previous paper we reformed this method\nand proposed a criterion for convergence of the improved series, that is, the\nappearance of the ``plateau''. In this paper, we perform higher order\ncalculations, and find that our improved free energy tends to have a plateau,\nwhich shows that IMFA works well in IIB matrix model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Black Rings in Large $D$ Membrane Paradigm at the First Order: Black rings are the black objects found in $D$ spacetime dimensional gravity\nwhen $D \\geq 5$. These have event horizon topology $S^{D-3}\\times S^1$. In this\nwork the solutions of the large $D$ membrane paradigm dual to stationary black\nrings in Einstein-Maxwell theory with or without cosmological constant are\nstudied. It is shown that the first order membrane equations can only admit\nstatic asymptotically flat black rings, and the equilibrium angular velocity\nfor the asymptotically AdS black rings at large $D$ was obtained. The\nthermodynamic and dynamic stability of the asymptotically flat black ring\nsolutions is studied. The apparent shortcomings of some of these results are\nargued to be curable within the large $D$ membrane paradigm framework.",
        "positive": "A B\u00e4cklund transformation for elliptic four-point conformal blocks: We apply an integral transformation to solutions of a partial differential\nequation for five-point correlation functions in Liouville theory on a sphere\nwith one degenerate field $V_{-\\frac{1}{2b}}$. By repeating this\ntransformation, we can reach a whole lattice of values for the conformal\ndimensions of the four other operators. Factorizing out the degenerate field\nleads to integral representations of the corresponding four-point conformal\nblocks. We illustrate this procedure on the elliptic conformal blocks\ndiscovered in a previous publication."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Constrained HRT Surfaces and their Entropic Interpretation: Consider two boundary subregions $A$ and $B$ that lie in a common boundary\nCauchy surface, and consider also the associated HRT surface $\\gamma_B$ for\n$B$. In that context, the constrained HRT surface $\\gamma_{A:B}$ can be defined\nas the codimension-2 bulk surface anchored to $A$ that is obtained by a maximin\nconstruction restricted to Cauchy slices containing $\\gamma_B$. As a result,\n$\\gamma_{A:B}$ is the union of two pieces, $\\gamma^B_{A:B}$ and $\\gamma^{\\bar\nB}_{A:B}$ lying respectively in the entanglement wedges of $B$ and its\ncomplement $\\bar B$. Unlike the area $\\mathcal{A}\\left(\\gamma_A\\right)$ of the\nHRT surface $\\gamma_A$, at least in the semiclassical limit, the area\n$\\mathcal{A}\\left(\\gamma_{A:B}\\right)$ of $\\gamma_{A:B}$ commutes with the area\n$\\mathcal{A}\\left(\\gamma_B\\right)$ of $\\gamma_B$. To study the entropic\ninterpretation of $\\mathcal{A}\\left(\\gamma_{A:B}\\right)$, we analyze the\nR\\'enyi entropies of subregion $A$ in a fixed-area state of subregion $B$. We\nuse the gravitational path integral to show that the $n\\approx1$ R\\'enyi\nentropies are then computed by minimizing $\\mathcal{A}\\left(\\gamma_A\\right)$\nover spacetimes defined by a boost angle conjugate to\n$\\mathcal{A}\\left(\\gamma_B\\right)$. In the case where the pieces\n$\\gamma^B_{A:B}$ and $\\gamma^{\\bar B}_{A:B}$ intersect at a constant boost\nangle, a geometric argument shows that the $n\\approx1$ R\\'enyi entropy is then\ngiven by $\\frac{\\mathcal{A}(\\gamma_{A:B})}{4G}$. We discuss how the $n\\approx1$\nR\\'enyi entropy differs from the von Neumann entropy due to a lack of\ncommutativity of the $n\\to1$ and $G\\to0$ limits. We also discuss how the\nbehaviour changes as a function of the width of the fixed-area state. Our\nresults are relevant to some of the issues associated with attempts to use\nstandard random tensor networks to describe time dependent geometries.",
        "positive": "Entanglement entropy in Jackiw-Teitelboim gravity with matter: In this paper, I study the entanglement entropy in Hartle-Hawking states of\nJT gravity set up by a Euclidean path integral with an operator inserted\nsomewhere along the Euclidean boundary. I show that the entanglement entropy\nbetween the dual SYK models can be written to leading order in $1/G_N$ in a way\nthat resembles a formula for entanglement entropy in a compact lattice gauge\ntheory, but where the link that we appear to compute the entanglement across\ndepends on where we put the operator along the Euclidean boundary. I then\ndescribe a toy model where we can write down an explicit family of density\nmatrices whose von Neumann entropies exhibit such a phase transition as we tune\nan interpolating parameter. This behavior relies on a certain superselection\nsector structure and I comment on the possibility that the gravitational result\ncomes from a similar emergent superselection sector structure in SYK/JT\nholography. The main implication is that each copy of the SYK model should then\ncontain Hilbert space sectors labeled by multiple $SL(2,R)$ representations\nwhose entanglement gives rise to space."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "One-Loop Renormalization and Asymptotic Behaviour of a Higher-Derivative\n  Scalar Theory in Curved Spacetime: A higher-derivative, interacting, scalar field theory in curved spacetime\nwith the most general action of sigma-model type is studied. The one-loop\ncounterterms of the general theory are found. The renormalization group\nequations corresponding to two different, multiplicatively renormalizable\nvariants of the same are derived. The analysis of their asymptotic solutions\nshows that, depending on the sign of one of the coupling constants, we can\nconstruct an asymptotically free theory which is also asymptotically conformal\ninvariant at strong (or small) curvature. The connection that can be\nestablished between one of the multiplicatively renormalizable variants of the\ntheory and the effective theory of the conformal factor, aiming at the\ndescription of quantum gravity at large distances, is investigated.",
        "positive": "Towards Axion Monodromy Inflation with Warped KK-Modes: We present a particularly simple model of axion monodromy: Our axion is the\nlowest-lying KK-mode of the RR-2-form-potential $C_2$ in the standard\nKlebanov-Strassler throat. One can think of this inflaton candidate as being\ndefined by the integral of $C_2$ over the $S^2$ cycle of the throat. It obtains\nan exponentially small mass from the IR-region in which the $S^2$ shrinks to\nzero size both with respect to the Planck scale and the mass scale of local\nmodes of the throat. Crucially, the $S^2$ cycle has to be shared between two\nthroats, such that the second locus where the $S^2$ shrinks is also in a warped\nregion. Well-known problems like the potentially dangerous back-reaction of\nbrane/antibrane pairs and explicit supersymmetry breaking are not present in\nour scenario. However, the inflaton back-reaction starts to deform the geometry\nstrongly once the field excursion approaches the Planck scale. We derive the\nsystem of differential equations required to treat this effect quantitatively.\nNumerical work is required to decide whether back-reaction makes the model\nsuitable for realistic inflation. While we have to leave this crucial issue to\nfuture studies, we find it interesting that such a simple and explicit stringy\nmonodromy model allows an originally sub-Planckian axion to go through many\nperiods with full quantitative control before back-reaction becomes strong.\nAlso, the mere existence of our ultra-light throat mode (with double\nexponentially suppressed mass) is noteworthy."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Universal Spinning Black Holes and Theories of Class $\\mathcal R$: We study a supersymmetric, rotating, electrically charged black hole in\nAdS$_{4}$ which is a solution of four-dimensional minimal gauged supergravity.\nUsing holography we show that the free energy on $S^3$ and the superconformal\nindex of the dual three-dimensional $\\mathcal N=2$ SCFT, in the planar limit,\nare related in a simple universal way. This result applies to large classes of\nSCFTs constructed from branes in string and M-theory which we discuss in some\ndetail. For theories of class $\\mathcal R$, which arise from $N$ M5-branes\nwrapped on hyperbolic three-manifolds, we show that the superconformal index\nagrees with the black hole entropy in the large $N$ limit.",
        "positive": "On the Various Extensions of the BMS Group: The Bondi-Metzner-Sachs-van der Burg (BMS) group is the asymptotic symmetry\ngroup of radiating asymptotically flat spacetimes. It has recently received\nrenewed interest in the context of the flat holography and the infrared\nstructure of gravity. In this thesis, we investigate the consequences of\nconsidering extensions of the BMS group in four dimensions with superrotations.\nIn particular, we apply the covariant phase space methods on a class of first\norder gauge theories that includes the Cartan formulation of general relativity\nand specify this analysis to gravity in asymptotically flat spacetime.\nFurthermore, we renormalize the symplectic structure at null infinity to obtain\nthe generalized BMS charge algebra associated with smooth superrotations. We\nthen study the vacuum structure of the gravitational field, which allows us to\nrelate the so-called superboost transformations to the velocity kick/refraction\nmemory effect. Afterward, we propose a new set of boundary conditions in\nasymptotically locally (A)dS spacetime that leads to a version of the BMS group\nin the presence of a non-vanishing cosmological constant, called the\n$\\Lambda$-BMS asymptotic symmetry group. Using the holographic renormalization\nprocedure and a diffeomorphism between Bondi and Fefferman-Graham gauges, we\nconstruct the phase space of $\\Lambda$-BMS and show that it reduces to the one\nof the generalized BMS group in the flat limit."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Duality cascades and duality walls: We recast the phenomenon of duality cascades in terms of the Cartan matrix\nassociated to the quiver gauge theories appearing in the cascade. In this\nlanguage, Seiberg dualities for the different gauge factors correspond to Weyl\nreflections. We argue that the UV behavior of different duality cascades\ndepends markedly on whether the Cartan matrix is affine ADE or not. In\nparticular, we find examples of duality cascades that can't be continued after\na finite energy scale, reaching a \"duality wall\", in terminology due to M.\nStrassler. For these duality cascades, we suggest the existence of a UV\ncompletion in terms of a little string theory.",
        "positive": "Axions: Past, Present, and Future: I give a pedagogical and historical introduction to axion physics, and\nbriefly review the present status of axions in our understanding of particle\nphysics and cosmology. This is a contribution to Continuous Advances in QCD\n2002/Arkadyfest, held in honor of Arkady Vainshtein's 60th birthday."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Wilson loop from a Dyson equation: The Dyson equation proposed for planar temporal Wilson loops in the context\nof supersymmetric gauge theories is critically analysed thereby exhibiting its\ningredients and approximations involved. We reveal its limitations and identify\nits range of applicability in non-supersymmetric gauge theories. In particular,\nwe show that this equation is applicable only to strongly asymmetric planar\nWilson loops (consisting of a long and a short pair of loop segments) and as a\nconsequence the Wilsonian potential can be extracted only up to intermediate\ndistances. By this equation the Wilson loop is exclusively determined by the\ngluon propagator. We solve the Dyson equation in Coulomb gauge for the temporal\nWilson loop with the instantaneous part of the gluon propagator and for the\nspatial Wilson loop with the static gluon propagator obtained in the\nHamiltonian approach to continuum Yang-Mills theory and on the lattice. In both\ncases we find a linearly rising color potential.",
        "positive": "Gauge invariant regularisation in the ERG approach: A gauge invariant regularisation which can be used for non-perturbative\ntreatment of Yang-Mills theories within the exact renormalization group\napproach is constructed. It consists of a spontaneously broken SU(N|N)\nsuper-gauge extension of the initial Yang-Mills action supplied with covariant\nhigher derivatives. We demonstrate that the extended theory in four dimensions\nis ultra-violet finite perturbatively and argue that it has a sensible limit\nwhen the regularisation cutoff is removed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Geometric Engineering in Toric F-Theory and GUTs with U(1) Gauge Factors: An algorithm to systematically construct all Calabi-Yau elliptic fibrations\nrealized as hypersurfaces in a toric ambient space for a given base and gauge\ngroup is described. This general method is applied to the particular question\nof constructing SU(5) GUTs with multiple U(1) gauge factors. The basic data\nconsists of a top over each toric divisor in the base together with\ncompactification data giving the embedding into a reflexive polytope. The\nallowed choices of compactification data are integral points in an auxiliary\npolytope. In order to ensure the existence of a low-energy gauge theory, the\nelliptic fibration must be flat, which is reformulated into conditions on the\ntop and its embedding. In particular, flatness of SU(5) fourfolds imposes\nadditional linear constraints on the auxiliary polytope of compactifications,\nand is therefore non-generic. Abelian gauge symmetries arising in toric\nF-theory compactifications are studied systematically. Associated to each top,\nthe toric Mordell-Weil group determining the minimal number of U(1) factors is\ncomputed. Furthermore, all SU(5)-tops and their splitting types are determined\nand used to infer the pattern of U(1) matter charges.",
        "positive": "The Power of the Higgs Mechanism: Higher-Derivative BLG Theories: We use the novel Higgs mechanism of arXiv:0803.3218 to determine the leading\nhigher-derivative corrections to the Euclidean N = 8 Bagger-Lambert-Gustavsson\nfield theory. The result matches that previously found for Lorentzian\n3-algebras, pointing to a universal answer for all maximally supersymmetric\n3-algebra theories. We also comment on the extension to the\nlower-supersymmetric case of ABJM theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Soft Graviton Theorem in Arbitrary Dimensions: In this note we show that the recent conjecture proposed by Cachazo and\nStrominger holds at tree level in arbitrary dimensions. The proof makes crucial\nuse of the fact that the sub-leading operator is defined using the total\nangular momentum operator. A key ingredient that makes the proof possible is\nthe CHY formula for graviton amplitudes in arbitrary number of dimensions.",
        "positive": "On perturbative aspects of a nonminimal Lorentz-violating QED with\n  CPT-even dimension-5 terms: In this paper, we explicitly calculate the lower CPT-even one-loop quantum\ncorrections in nonminimal Lorentz-violating spinor QED with all possible\nCPT-even dimension-5 operators. Within our calculations, we restrict ourselves\nto the cases when these parameters are completely expressed in terms of one\nconstant vector."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On M-Algebras, the Quantisation of Nambu-Mechanics, and Volume\n  Preserving Diffeomorphisms: M-branes are related to theories on function spaces $\\cal{A}$ involving\nM-linear non-commutative maps from $\\cal{A} \\times \\cdots \\times \\cal{A}$ to\n$\\cal{A}$. While the Lie-symmetry-algebra of volume preserving diffeomorphisms\nof $T^M$ cannot be deformed when M>2, the arising M-algebras naturally relate\nto Nambu's generalisation of Hamiltonian mechanics, e.g. by providing a\nrepresentation of the canonical M-commutation relations, $[J_1,\\cdots,\nJ_M]=i\\hbar$. Concerning multidimensional integrability, an important\ngeneralisation of Lax-pairs is given.",
        "positive": "N=4 Superconformal Chern-Simons Theories with Hyper and Twisted Hyper\n  Multiplets: We extend the N=4 superconformal Chern-Simons theories of Gaiotto and Witten\nto those with additional twisted hyper-multiplets. The new theories are\ngenerically linear quiver gauge theories with the two types of hyper-multiplets\nalternating between gauge groups. Our construction includes the Bagger-Lambert\nmodel of SO(4) gauge group. A family of abelian theories are identified with\nthose proposed earlier in the context of the M-crystal model for M2-branes\nprobing (C^2/Z_n)^2 orbifolds. Possible extension with non-abelian BF couplings\nand string/M-theory realization are briefly discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quotients of the conifold in compact Calabi-Yau threefolds, and new\n  topological transitions: The moduli space of multiply-connected Calabi-Yau threefolds is shown to\ncontain codimension-one loci on which the corresponding variety develops a\ncertain type of hyperquotient singularity. These have local descriptions as\ndiscrete quotients of the conifold, and are referred to here as hyperconifolds.\nIn many (or possibly all) cases such a singularity can be resolved to yield a\ndistinct compact Calabi-Yau manifold. These considerations therefore provide a\nmethod for embedding an interesting class of singularities in compact\nCalabi-Yau varieties, and for constructing new Calabi-Yau manifolds. It is\nunclear whether the transitions described can be realised in string theory.",
        "positive": "KLT Factorization of Winding String Amplitudes: We uncover a Kawai-Lewellen-Tye (KLT)-type factorization of closed string\namplitudes into open string amplitudes for closed string states carrying\nwinding and momentum in toroidal compactifications. The winding and momentum\nclosed string quantum numbers map respectively to the integer and fractional\nwinding quantum numbers of open strings ending on a D-brane array localized in\nthe compactified directions. The closed string amplitudes factorize into\nproducts of open string scattering amplitudes with the open strings ending on a\nD-brane configuration determined by closed string data."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Clustering Cluster Algebras with Clusters: Classification of cluster variables in cluster algebras (in particular,\nGrassmannian cluster algebras) is an important problem, which has direct\napplication to computations of scattering amplitudes in physics. In this paper,\nwe apply the tableaux method to classify cluster variables in Grassmannian\ncluster algebras $\\mathbb{C}[Gr(k,n)]$ up to $(k,n)=(3,12), (4,10)$, or\n$(4,12)$ up to a certain number of columns of tableaux, using HPC clusters.\nThese datasets are made available on GitHub. Supervised and unsupervised\nmachine learning methods are used to analyse this data and identify structures\nassociated to tableaux corresponding to cluster variables. Conjectures are\nraised associated to the enumeration of tableaux at each rank and the tableaux\nstructure which creates a cluster variable, with the aid of machine learning.",
        "positive": "Field Theory on the q-deformed Fuzzy Sphere I: We study the q-deformed fuzzy sphere, which is related to D-branes on SU(2)\nWZW models, for both real q and q a root of unity. We construct for both cases\na differential calculus which is compatible with the star structure, study the\nintegral, and find a canonical frame of one-forms. We then consider actions for\nscalar field theory, as well as for Yang-Mills and Chern-Simons-type gauge\ntheories. The zero curvature condition is solved."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Diagrammar in an Extended Theory of Gravity: We show how the $S$-matrix of an extended theory of gravity defined by its\nthree-point amplitudes can be constructed by demanding factorisation. The\nresultant $S$-matrix has tree amplitudes obeying the same soft singularity\ntheorems as Einstein gravity including the sub-sub-leading terms.",
        "positive": "Off-shell higher-spin gauge supermultiplets and conserved supercurrents: This thesis presents the general structure of non-conformal higher-spin\nsupercurrent multiplets in three and four spacetime dimensions. Such\nsupercurrents are in one-to-one correspondence with off-shell massless\nhigher-spin gauge supermultiplets, some of which are constructed in this thesis\nfor the first time. In the first part of the thesis, we propose a new off-shell\nformulation for a massless integer superspin multiplet, whose gauge-invariant\naction involves an unconstrained complex superconformal prepotential, in\nconjunction with two types of compensators. Next, we deduce the structure of\nconsistent non-conformal higher-spin ${\\cal N}=1$ supercurrents. Explicit\nexpressions for such supercurrents are derived for various theories in 4D\n${\\cal N}=1$ Minkowski and AdS superspaces. These include a model of $N$\nmassive chiral superfields with an arbitrary mass matrix, along with free\ntheories of tensor and complex linear superfields. The second part of the\nthesis is devoted to ${\\cal N}=1$ and ${\\cal N}=2$ supersymmetric higher-spin\ntheories in 3D AdS space. Two dually equivalent off-shell Lagrangian\nformulations for the massless multiplets of arbitrary superspin in (1,1) AdS\nsuperspace and their corresponding supercurrents are derived. With regards to\n(2,0) AdS supersymmetry, we identify a multiplet of conserved higher-spin\ncurrents in models for a chiral superfield, which is then used to construct two\nseries of a massless half-integer superspin multiplet. Finally, our (2,0) AdS\nsupermultiplets are reduced to (1,0) AdS superspace, yielding four series of\n${\\cal N}=1$ supersymmetric higher-spin models. Further applications of these\nmassless models are discussed, one of which is related to the construction of\ntwo new off-shell formulations for the massive ${\\cal N}=1$ gravitino\nsupermultiplet in AdS."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "True self energy function and reducibility in effective scalar theories.\n  (Revised): This is the revised version of Sect. I - IV of the paper\nhttps://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.89.125022 originally published in 2014. The\nthing is that in https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.89.125022 the text was\ninsufficiently clear and, in addition, it contained (through my fault) a few\ntypos. This is the reason why I decided to offer a revised version.\n  Original abstract: This is the eighth paper in the series devoted to the\nsystematic study of effective theories. Below, I discuss the renormalization of\nthe one-loop two-leg functions in multicomponent effective scalar theory. It is\nshown that only a part of numerous contributions that appear in the general\nexpression for a two-leg graph can be considered as the true self-energy\nfunction. This part is completely fixed by the values of minimal coupling\nconstants; it is the only one that should be taken into account in the\nconventional process of the summation of Dyson's chain that results in explicit\nexpression for the full propagator. The other parts provide the well-defined\nfinite corrections for the graphs with the number of legs n > 2. It is also\nshown that there is no need to attract the renormalization prescriptions for\nthe higher derivatives of the two-leg function on the mass shell; the\nrequirements of finiteness and diagonability turn out to be quite sufficient.",
        "positive": "Scales and hierarchies in warped compactifications and brane worlds: Warped compactifications with branes provide a new approach to the hierarchy\nproblem and generate a diversity of four-dimensional thresholds. We investigate\nthe relationships between these scales, which fall into two classes.\nGeometrical scales, such as thresholds for Kaluza-Klein, excited string, and\nblack hole production, are generically determined soley by the spacetime\ngeometry. Dynamical scales, notably the scale of supersymmetry breaking and\nmoduli masses, depend on other details of the model. We illustrate these\nrelationships in a class of solutions of type IIB string theory with imaginary\nself-dual fluxes. After identifying the geometrical scales and the resulting\nhierarchy, we determine the gravitino and moduli masses through explicit\ndimensional reduction, and estimate their value to be near the four-dimensional\nPlanck scale. In the process we obtain expressions for the superpotential and\nKahler potential, including the effects of warping. We identify matter living\non certain branes to be effectively sequestered from the supersymmetry breaking\nfluxes: specifically, such \"visible sector\" fields receive no tree-level masses\nfrom the supersymmetry breaking. However, loop corrections are expected to\ngenerate masses, at the phenomenologically viable TeV scale."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Yang-Mills Theories on Noncommutative Space-Time: We describe some recent progress in our understanding of Yang-Mills theories\nformulated on noncommutative spaces and in particular how to formulate the\nstandard model on such spaces.",
        "positive": "Consistency of M-Theory on nonorientable manifolds: We prove that there is no parity anomaly in M-theory in the low-energy field\ntheory approximation. Our approach is computational. We determine generators\nfor the 12-dimensional bordism group of pin manifolds with a w_1-twisted\ninteger lift of w_4; these are the manifolds on which Wick-rotated M-theory\nexists. The anomaly cancellation comes down to computing a specific\neta-invariant and cubic form on these manifolds. Of interest beyond this\nspecific problem are our expositions of: computational techniques for\neta-invariants, the algebraic theory of cubic forms, Adams spectral sequence\ntechniques, and anomalies for spinor fields and Rarita-Schwinger fields."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The role of the Callan-Witten anomaly density as a Chern-Simons term in\n  Skyrme model: We consider axially symmetric solutions of the U(1) gauged Skyrme model\nsupplemented with a Callan-Witten (CW) anomaly density term. The main\nproperties of the solutions are studied, several specific features introduced\nby the presence of the CW term being identified. We find that the solitons\npossess a nonzero angular momentum proportional to the electric charge, which\nin addition to the usual Coulomb part, acquires an extra (topological)\ncontribution from the CW term. Specifically, it is shown that the slope of\nmass/energy $M$ $vs.$ electric charge $Q_e$ and angular momentum $J$ can be\nboth positive $and$ negative. Furthermore, it is shown that the gauged Skyrmion\npersists even when the quartic (Skyrme) kinetic term disappears.",
        "positive": "Solitons for the fuzzy sphere from matrix model: Recently we have introduced a matrix model depending on two coupling\nconstants $g^2$ and $\\lambda$, which contains the fuzzy sphere as a background;\nto obtain the classical limit $g^2$ must depend on $N$ in a precise way. In\nthis paper we show how to obtain the classical solitons of the $N \\to \\infty$\nlimit imposing the development $\\lambda = \\half + \\frac{\\lambda_0}{N}$; as a\nconsequence at finite $N$ one obtains a noncommutative version of the solitons\nfor the fuzzy sphere."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exact spectra of conformal supersymmetric nonlinear sigma models in two\n  dimensions: We study two-dimensional nonlinear sigma models in which the target spaces\nare the coset supermanifolds U(n+m|n)/[U(1)\\times U(n+m-1|n)] \\cong\nCP^{n+m-1|n} (projective superspaces) and OSp(2n+m|2n)/OSp(2n+m-1|2n) \\cong\nS^{2n+m-1|2n} (superspheres), n, m integers, -2\\leq m\\leq 2; these quantum\nfield theories live in Hilbert spaces with indefinite inner products. These\ntheories possess non-trivial conformally-invariant renormalization-group fixed\npoints, or in some cases, lines of fixed points. Some of the conformal\nfixed-point theories can also be obtained within Landau-Ginzburg theories. We\nobtain the complete spectra (with multiplicities) of exact conformal weights of\nstates (or corresponding local operators) in the isolated fixed-point conformal\nfield theories, and at one special point on each of the lines of fixed points.\nAlthough the conformal weights are rational, the conformal field theories are\nnot, and (with one exception) do not contain the affine versions of their\nsuperalgebras in their chiral algebras. The method involves lattice models that\nrepresent the strong-coupling region, which can be mapped to loop models, and\nthen to a Coulomb gas with modified boundary conditions. The results apply to\npercolation, dilute and dense polymers, and other statistical mechanics models,\nand also to the spin quantum Hall transition in noninteracting fermions with\nquenched disorder.",
        "positive": "The Phase Diagram of BPS Black Holes in AdS$_5$: Motivated by recent studies of supersymmetric black holes, we revisit the\nphase diagram of AdS black holes, whether BPS or not, with particular emphasis\non the role of rotation. We develop BPS thermodynamics systematically and, in\nmany explicit examples, we study its striking similarities with more familiar\nAdS black holes, as well as some differences. We highlight an important\nfugacity that preserves BPS saturation but is not captured by the\nsupersymmetric index."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Massive Fishnets: Recently, infinite families of massive Feynman integrals were found to\nfeature an unexpected Yangian symmetry. In the massless case, similar\nintegrability properties are understood via the interpretation of individual\nFeynman integrals as correlators in the massless fishnet theory introduced by\nG\\\"urdo\\u{g}an and Kazakov. Here we seek for an analogous interpretation of the\nintegrability of massive Feynman integrals. We contrast two approaches to\ndefine simple massive quantum field theories in four dimensions. First, we\ndiscuss spontaneous symmetry breaking in the massless bi-scalar fishnet theory.\nWe then propose an alternative route to a massive fishnet theory by taking a\ndouble-scaling limit of N=4 SYM theory on the Coulomb branch. Both approaches\nlead to a massive extension of the massless fishnet theory, differing in how\nmasses enter into the propagators. In the latter theory, planar off-shell\namplitudes are in one-to-one correspondence with precisely those massive\nFeynman integrals that were shown to be invariant under the Yangian. This\nsuggests a re-investigation of Coulomb branch N=4 SYM theory with regard to\nintegrability. Finally, we demonstrate that in the case of spontaneous symmetry\nbreaking, the original conformal symmetry leads to soft theorems for scattering\namplitudes in the broken phase.",
        "positive": "Fermion-induced quantum action of vortex systems: The quantum action generated by fermions which are minimally coupled to\nabelian vortex background fields is studied in D=2+1 and D=3+1 Euclidean\ndimensions. We present a detailed analysis of single- and binary-vortex\nconfigurations using the recently developed method of worldline numerics. The\ndependence of the fermion-induced quantum action on the fermion mass and the\nmagnetic fluxes carried by the vortices is studied, and the binary-vortex\ninteraction is computed. Additionally, we discuss the chiral condensate\ngenerated from a dilute gas of vortices in the intermediate fermion mass range\nfor the case D=3+1. As a byproduct, our findings provide insight into the\nvalidity limits of the derivative expansion, which is the standard analytical\napproach to inhomogeneous backgrounds."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Reheating in Chaotic D-Term Inflation: A simple model is discussed to give rise to successful reheating in chaotic\nD-term inflation with a quadratic inflaton potential, introducing a trilinear\ncoupling in the K\\\"ahler potential. Leptogenesis through the inflaton decay is\nalso discussed in this model.",
        "positive": "Noncommutative Yang-Mills-Higgs actions from derivation-based\n  differential calculus: Derivations of a noncommutative algebra can be used to construct differential\ncalculi, the so-called derivation-based differential calculi. We apply this\nframework to a version of the Moyal algebra ${\\cal{M}}$. We show that the\ndifferential calculus, generated by the maximal subalgebra of the derivation\nalgebra of ${\\cal{M}}$ that can be related to infinitesimal symplectomorphisms,\ngives rise to a natural construction of Yang-Mills-Higgs models on ${\\cal{M}}$\nand a natural interpretation of the covariant coordinates as Higgs fields. We\nalso compare in detail the main mathematical properties characterizing the\npresent situation to those specific of two other noncommutative geometries,\nnamely the finite dimensional matrix algebra $M_n({\\mathbb{C}})$ and the\nalgebra of matrix valued functions $C^\\infty(M)\\otimes M_n({\\mathbb{C}})$. The\nUV/IR mixing problem of the resulting Yang-Mills-Higgs models is also\ndiscussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "ABCD and ODEs: We outline a relationship between conformal field theories and spectral\nproblems of ordinary differential equations, and discuss its generalisation to\nmodels related to classical Lie algebras.",
        "positive": "\"Non-renormalization\" without supersymmetry: The g_{YM} perturbed, non supersymmetric extension of the dual single matrix\ndescription of 1/2 BPS states, within the Hilbert space reduction to the\noscillator subsector associated with chiral primaries is considered. This\nmatrix model is described in terms of a single hermitean matrix. It is found\nthat, apart from a trivial shift in the energy, the large N background,\nspectrum and interaction of invariant states are independent of g_{YM}. This\nproperty applies to more general D terms."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Screw Photon-Like (3+1)-Solitons in Extended Electrodynamics: This paper aims to present explicit photon-like (3+1) spatially finite\nsoliton solutions of screw type to the vacuum field equations of Extended\nElectrodynamics (EED) in relativistic formulation. We begin with emphasizing\nthe need for spatially finite soliton modelling of microobjects. Then we\nbriefly comment the properties of solitons and photons and recall some facts\nfrom EED. Making use of the localizing functions from differential topology\n(used in the partition of unity) we explicitly construct spatially finite screw\nsolutions. Further a new description of the spin momentum inside EED, based on\nthe notion for energy-momentum exchange between $F$ and $*F$, isintroduced and\nused to compute the integral spin momentum of a screw soliton. The consistency\nbetween the spatial and time periodicity naturally leads to a particular\nrelation between the longitudinal and transverse sizes of the screw solution,\nnamely, it is equal to $\\pi$. The Planck's formula $E=h\\nu$ in the form of\n$ET=h$ arizes as a measure of the integral spin momentum.",
        "positive": "Conformal Properties of Primary Fields in a q-Deformed Theory: We examine some of the standard features of primary fields in the framework\nof a $q$-deformed conformal field theory. By introducing a $q$-OPE between the\nenergy momentum tensor and a primary field, we derive the $q$-analog of the\nconformal Ward identities for correlation functions of primary fields. We also\nobtain solutions to these identities for the two-point function."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Anomaly analysis of Hawking radiation from Kaluza-Klein black hole with\n  squashed horizon: Considering gravitational and gauge anomalies at the horizon, a new method\nthat to derive Hawking radiations from black holes has been developed by\nWilczek et al. In this paper, we apply this method to non-rotating and rotating\nKaluza-Klein black holes with squashed horizon, respectively. For the rotating\ncase, we found that, after the dimensional reduction, an effective U(1) gauge\nfield is generated by an angular isometry. The results show that the gauge\ncurrent and energy-momentum tensor fluxes are exactly equivalent to Hawking\nradiation from the event horizon.",
        "positive": "Scrambling in Hyperbolic Black Holes: shock waves and pole-skipping: We study the scrambling properties of $(d+1)$-dimensional hyperbolic black\nholes. Using the eikonal approximation, we calculate out-of-time-order\ncorrelators (OTOCs) for a Rindler-AdS geometry with AdS radius $\\ell$, which is\ndual to a $d-$dimensional conformal field theory (CFT) in hyperbolic space with\ntemperature $T = 1/(2 \\pi \\ell)$. We find agreement between our results for\nOTOCs and previously reported CFT calculations. For more generic hyperbolic\nblack holes, we compute the butterfly velocity in two different ways, namely:\nfrom shock waves and from a pole-skipping analysis, finding perfect agreement\nbetween the two methods. The butterfly velocity $v_B(T)$ nicely interpolates\nbetween the Rindler-AdS result $v_B(T=\\frac{1}{2\\pi \\ell})=\\frac{1}{d-1}$ and\nthe planar result $v_B(T \\gg \\frac{1}{\\ell})=\\sqrt{\\frac{d}{2(d-1)}}$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Classification of Flat Directions in Perturbative Heterotic Superstring\n  Vacua with Anomalous U(1): We develop techniques to classify D- and F-flat directions for N=1\nsupersymmetric string vacua of the perturbative heterotic string theory, which\npossess an anomalous U(1) gauge group at the tree level. Genus-one corrections\ngenerate a Fayet-Iliopoulos term for the D-term of U(1)_A, which is canceled by\nnon-zero vacuum expectation values (VEVs) of certain massless multiplets in\nsuch a way that the anomalous U(1) is broken, while maintaining the D- and\nF-flatness of the effective field theory. A systematic analysis of flat\ndirections is given for non-zero VEVs of non-Abelian singlets, and the\ntechniques are illustrated for a specific model. The approach sets the stage to\nclassify the D- and F-flat directions for a large class of perturbative string\nvacua. This classification is a prerequisite to address systematically the\nphenomenological consequences of these models.",
        "positive": "Intertwining noncommutativity with gravity and particle physics: Here we present an overview on the various works, in which many collaborators\nhave contributed, regarding the interesting dipole of noncommutativity and\nphysics. In brief, we present the features that noncommutativity triggers both\nin the fields of gravity and particle physics, from a matrix-realized\nperspective, with the notion of noncommutative gauge theories to play the most\ncentral role in the whole picture. Also, under the framework of\nnoncommutativity, we examine the possibility of unifying the two fields\n(gravity-particle physics) in a single configuration."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Anomalous Ward identities for on-shell amplitudes at the conformal fixed\n  point: Conformal symmetry underlies many massless quantum field theories, but little\nis known about the consequences of this powerful symmetry for on-shell\nscattering amplitudes. Working in a dimensionally-regularised $\\phi^3$ model at\nthe conformal fixed point, we show that the on-shell renormalised amplitudes\nsatisfy anomalous conformal Ward identities. Each external on-shell state\ncontributes two terms to the anomaly. The first term is proportional to the\nelementary field anomalous dimension, and thus involves only lower-loop\ninformation. We show that the second term can be given as the convolution of a\nuniversal collinear function and lower-order amplitudes. The computation of the\nconformal anomaly is therefore simpler than that of the amplitude at the same\nperturbative order, which gives our anomalous conformal Ward identities a\nstrong predictive power in perturbation theory. Finally, we show that our\nresult is also of practical importance for dimensionally-regularised amplitudes\naway from the conformal fixed point.",
        "positive": "Structure of vertices in massless theories: We characterize the singularity set of massless theories by giving a complete\nset of the Landau polynomials. We find the general form of Gauss-Manin\nconnection. We show that for massless theories the dependence on momenta\ndecouples from the dependence on coupling and dimension. The latter is\ncompletely absorbed into a set of matrices that have no dependence on kinematic\nvariables."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetric Skyrmions : Numerical Solutions: We consider the ${\\cal N}=1$ Skyrme model and obtain supersymmetric skyrmion\nsolutions numerically. The model necessarily contains higher derivative terms\nand as a result the field equation becomes a fourth-order differential\nequation. Solving the equation directly leads to runaway solutions as expected\nin higher derivative theories. We, therefore, apply the perturbation method and\nshow that skyrmion solutions exist upto the second order in the coupling\nconstant.",
        "positive": "Chern-Simons Quantization of (2+1)-Anti-De Sitter Gravity on a Torus: Chern-Simons formulation of 2+1 dimensional Einstein gravity with a negative\ncosmological constant is investigated when the spacetime has the topology $\nR\\times T^{2}$. The physical phase space is shown to be a direct product of two\nsub-phase spaces each of which is a non-Hausdorff manifold plus a set with\nnonzero codimensions. Spacetime geometrical interpretation of each point in the\nphase space is also given and we explain the 1 to 2 correspondence with the ADM\nformalism from the geometrical viewpoint. In quantizing this theory, we\nconstruct a \"modified phase space\" which is a cotangnt bundle on a torus. We\nalso provide a modular invariant inner product and investigate the relation to\nthe quantum theory which is directly related to the spinor representation of\nthe ADM formalism. (This paper is the revised version of a previous\npaper(hep-th/9312151). The wrong discussion on the topology of the phase space\nis corrected.)"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Boosted Horizon of a Boosted Space-Time Geometry: We apply the ultrarelativistic boosting procedure to map the metric of\nSchwarzschild-de Sitter spacetime into a metric describing de Sitter spacetime\nplus a shock-wave singularity located on a null hypersurface, by exploiting the\npicture of the embedding of an hyperboloid in a five-dimensional Minkowski\nspacetime. After reverting to the usual four-dimensional formalism, we also\nsolve the geodesic equation and evaluate the Riemann curvature tensor of the\nboosted Schwarzschild-de Sitter metric by means of numerical calculations,\nwhich make it possible to reach the ultrarelativistic regime gradually by\nletting the boost velocity approach the speed of light. Eventually, the\nanalysis of the Kretschmann invariant (and of the geodesic equation) shows the\nglobal structure of space- time, as we demonstrate the presence of a \"scalar\ncurvature singularity\" within a 3-sphere and find that it is also possible to\ndefine what we have called \"boosted horizon\", a sort of elastic wall where all\nparticles are surprisingly pushed away. This seems to suggest that such\n\"boosted geometries\" are ruled by a sort of \"antigravity effect\" since all\ngeodesics seem to refuse entering the \"boosted horizon\" and are \"reflected\" by\nit, even though their initial conditions are aimed at driving the particles\ntowards the \"boosted horizon\" itself.",
        "positive": "Topologically Massive Gauge Theory: A Lorentzian Solution: We obtain a lorentzian solution for the topologically massive non-abelian\ngauge theory on AdS space by means of a SU(1, 1) gauge transformation of the\npreviously found abelian solution. There exists a natural scale of length which\nis determined by the inverse topological mass. The topological mass is\nproportional to the square of the gauge coupling constant. In the topologically\nmassive electrodynamics the field strength locally determines the gauge\npotential up to a closed 1-form via the (anti-)self-duality equation. We\nintroduce a transformation of the gauge potential using the dual field strength\nwhich can be identified with an abelian gauge transformation. Then we present\nthe map from the AdS space to the pseudo-sphere including the topological mass.\nThis is the lorentzian analog of the Hopf map. This map yields a global\ndecomposition of the AdS space as a trivial circle bundle over the upper\nportion of the pseudo-sphere which is the Hyperboloid model for the Lobachevski\ngeometry. This leads to a reduction of the abelian field equation onto the\npseudo-sphere using a global section of the solution on the AdS space. Then we\ndiscuss the integration of the field equation using the Archimedes map from the\npseudo-sphere to the cylinder over the ideal Poincare circle. We also present a\nbrief discussion of the holonomy of the gauge potential and the dual-field\nstrength on the upper portion of the pseudo-sphere."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "New Phases of Thermal SYM and LST from Kaluza-Klein Black Holes: We review the recently found map that takes any static and neutral\nKaluza-Klein black hole, i.e. any static and neutral black hole on\nMinkowski-space times a circle M^d x S^1, and maps it to a corresponding\nsolution for a non- and near-extremal brane on a circle. This gives a precise\nconnection between phases of Kaluza-Klein black holes and the thermodynamic\nbehavior of the non-gravitational theories dual to near-extremal branes on a\ncircle. In particular, for the thermodynamics of strongly-coupled\nsupersymmetric Yang-Mills theories on a circle we predict the existence of a\nnew non-uniform phase and find new information about the localized phase. We\nalso find evidence for the existence of a new stable phase of (2,0) Little\nString Theory in the canonical ensemble for temperatures above its Hagedorn\ntemperature.",
        "positive": "Superluminal Travel, UV/IR Mixing and Turbulence in the Lineland: We study renormalizable Lorentz invariant stable quantum field theories in\ntwo space-time dimensions with instantaneous causal structure (causal ordering\ninduced by the light \"cone\" time ordering). These models provide a candidate\nUV-completion of the two-dimensional ghost condensate. They exhibit a peculiar\nUV/IR mixing - energies of all excitations become arbitrarily small at high\nspatial momenta. We discuss several phenomena associated with this mixing.\nThese include the impossibility to reach a thermal equilibrium and\nmetastability of all excitations towards decay into short wavelength modes\nresulting in an indefinite turbulent cascade. In spite of the UV/IR mixing in\nmany cases the UV physics can still be decoupled from low energy phenomena.\nHowever, a patient observer in the Lineland is able to produce arbitrarily\nheavy particles simply by waiting for a long enough time."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Oblique DLCQ M-theory and Multiple M2-branes: We propose an oblique DLCQ as a limit to realize a theory of multiple\nM2-branes in M(atrix)-theory context. The limit is a combination of an infinite\nboosting of a space-like circle and a tuned tilting of the circle direction. We\nobtain a series of supergravity solutions describing various dual\nconfigurations including multiple M2-branes. For an infinite boosting along a\ncircle wrapped obliquely around a rectangular torus, Seiberg's DLCQ limit\ndistorts the torus modulus. In the context of supergravity, we show explicitly\nhow this torus modulus of $\\widetilde{\\text M}$-theory is realized as the\nvacuum modulus of dual IIB-theory.",
        "positive": "On the physical interpretation of effective actions using Schwinger's\n  formula: We show explicitly that Schwinger's formula for one-loop effective actions\ncorresponds to the summation of energies associated with the zero-point\noscillations of the fields. We begin with a formal proof, and after that we\nconfirm it using a regularization prescription."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The emergence of time: Classically, one could imagine a completely static space, thus without time.\nAs is known, this picture is unconceivable in quantum physics due to vacuum\nfluctuations. The fundamental difference between the two frameworks is that\nclassical physics is commutative (simultaneous observables) while quantum\nphysics is intrinsically noncommutative (Heisenberg uncertainty relations). In\nthis sense, we may say that time is generated by noncommutativity; if this\nstatement is correct, we should be able to derive time out of a noncommutative\nspace.\n  We know that a von Neumann algebra is a noncommutative space. About 50 years\nago the Tomita-Takesaki modular theory revealed an intrinsic evolution\nassociated with any given (faithful, normal) state of a von Neumann algebra, so\na noncommutative space is intrinsically dynamical. This evolution is\ncharacterised by the Kubo-Martin-Schwinger thermal equilibrium condition in\nquantum statistical mechanics (Haag, Hugenholtz, Winnink), thus modular time is\nrelated to temperature. Indeed, positivity of temperature fixes a\nquantum-thermodynamical arrow of time.\n  We shall sketch some aspects of our recent work extending the modular\nevolution to a quantum operation (completely positive map) level and how this\ngives a mathematically rigorous understanding of entropy bounds in physics and\ninformation theory. A key point is the relation with Jones' index of\nsubfactors.\n  In the last part, we outline further recent entropy computations in\nrelativistic quantum field theory models by operator algebraic methods, that\ncan be read also within classical information theory. The information contained\nin a classical wave packet is defined by the modular theory of standard\nsubspaces and related to the quantum null energy inequality.",
        "positive": "Stable non-BPS D-particles: It is shown that the orbifold of type IIB string theory by (-1)^{F_L} I_4\nadmits a stable non-BPS Dirichlet particle that is stuck on the orbifold fixed\nplane. It is charged under the SO(2) gauge group coming from the twisted\nsector, and transforms as a long multiplet of the D=6 supersymmetry algebra.\nThis suggests that it is the strong coupling dual of the perturbative stable\nnon-BPS state that appears in the orientifold of type IIB by \\Omega I_4."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "More About the Massive Multi-flavor Schwinger Model: The massive multi-flavor Schwinger model on a circle is reduced to a finite\ndimensional quantum mechanics problem. The model sensitively depends on the\nparameter $mL|\\cos\\onehalf\\theta|$ where $m$, $L$, and $\\theta$ are a typical\nfermion mass, the volume, and the vacuum angle, respectively.",
        "positive": "QED on the Groenewold Moyal Plane: We investigate a version of noncommutative QED where the interaction term,\nalthough natural, breaks the spin-statistics connection. We calculate $e^- +\ne^- -> e^- + e^-$ and $\\gamma + e^- -> \\gamma + e^-$ cross-sections in the tree\napproximation and explicitly display their dependence on theta^{\\mu \\nu}.\nRemarkably the zero of the elastic $e^- + e^- -> e^- + e^-$ cross-section at\n90-degrees in the center-of-mass system, which is due to Pauli principle, is\nshifted away as a function of theta^{\\mu \\nu} and energy."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The BPS Spectra of Two-Dimensional Supersymmetric Gauge Theories with\n  Twisted Mass Terms: The vacuum structure and spectra of two-dimensional gauge theories with\nN=(2,2) supersymmetry are investigated. These theories admit a twisted mass\nterm for charged chiral matter multiplets. In the case of a U(1) gauge theory\nwith N chiral multiplets of equal charge, an exact description of the BPS\nspectrum is obtained for all values of the twisted masses. The BPS spectrum has\ntwo dual descriptions which apply in the Higgs and Coulomb phases of the theory\nrespectively. The two descriptions are related by a massive analog of mirror\nsymmetry: the exact mass formula which is given by a one-loop calculation in\nthe Coulomb phase gives predictions for an infinite series of instanton\ncorrections in the Higgs phase. The theory is shown to exhibit many phenomena\nwhich are usually associated with N=2 theories in four dimensions. These\ninclude BPS-saturated dyons which carry both topological and Noether charges,\nnon-trivial monodromies of the spectrum in the complex parameter space, curves\nof marginal stability on which BPS states can decay and strongly coupled vacua\nwith massless solitons and dyons.",
        "positive": "Non-Abelian Stokes Theorem and Quark-Monopole Interaction: We derive a new non-abelian Stokes theorem by rewriting the Wilson loop as a\ngauge-invariant area integral, at the price of integrating over an auxiliary\nfield from the coset SU(N) / [U(1)]^{N-1} space. We then introduce the\nrelativistic quark--monopole interaction as a Wess--Zumino-type action, and\nextend it to the non-abelian case. We show that condensation of monopoles and\nconfinement can be investigated in terms of the behaviour of the monopole world\nlines. One can thus avoid hard problems of how to introduce monopole fields and\ndual Yang--Mills potentials."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Moving Mirror Model of Hawking Evaporation: The moving mirror model is designed to extract essential features of the\nblack hole formation and the subsequent Hawking radiation by neglecting\ncomplication due to a finite curvature. We extend this approach to dynamically\ntreat back reaction against the mirror motion due to Hawking radiation. It is\nfound that a unique model in two spacetime dimensions exists in which Hawking\nradiation completely stops and the end point of evaporation contains a\ndisconnected remnant. When viewed from asymptotic observers at one side of the\nspacetime, quantum mechanical correlation is recovered in the end. Although the\nthermal stage accompanying short range correlation may last for an arbitrarily\nlong period, at a much longer time scale a long tail of non-thermal correlation\nis clearly detected.",
        "positive": "Discrete gauge fields: The use of proper time as a tool for causality implementation in field theory\nis clarified and extended to allow a manifestly covariant definition of\ndiscrete fields proper to be applied in field theory and quantum mechanics. It\nimplies on a constraint between a radiation field and its sources, valid in\nprinciple for all fundamental interactions and with a solid experimental\nconfirmation for the electromagnetic one. Some results of its applications to\nan abelian classical theory (electrodynamics taken as a first example), and\nwith the discrete field being regarded as a classical representation of the\nfield quantum (photon) are anticipated in order to illuminate the physical\nmeaning and the origins of gauge fields and of their symmetries and\nsingularities. They are associated to a loss of field-source coherence."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "M-Horizons: We solve the Killing spinor equations and determine the near horizon\ngeometries of M-theory that preserve at least one supersymmetry. The M-horizon\nspatial sections are 9-dimensional manifolds with a Spin(7) structure\nrestricted by geometric constraints which we give explicitly. We also provide\nan alternative characterization of the solutions of the Killing spinor\nequation, utilizing the compactness of the horizon section and the field\nequations, by proving a Lichnerowicz type of theorem which implies that the\nzero modes of a Dirac operator coupled to 4-form fluxes are Killing spinors. We\nuse this, and the maximum principle, to solve the field equations of the theory\nfor some special cases and present some examples.",
        "positive": "Collective coordinates for the hybrid model: In the present work, we carry out the study of scattering solitons for the\nanti-kink/kink and kink/anti-kink configurations. Furthermore, we can observe\nthe same effects as those described by D. Bazeia et al.. We apply the\ncollective coordinate approximation method to describe both scattering\nconfigurations and verify that just as happens in the polynomial models\n$\\phi^4$ and $\\phi^6$, the method has its limitations regarding the initial\nscattering speeds. In such a way that, for certain initial speeds, the solution\nof collective coordinates agrees with the fullsimulation, and for other speeds,\nthere is a discrepancy in the solutions obtained by these two methods. We also\nnoticed that, considering the hybrid model, the null-vector problem persists\nfor both configurations, and when trying to fix it, a singularity is created in\nmoduli-space as well as in $\\phi^4$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Electron Propagator in External Electromagnetic Fields in Lower\n  Dimensions: We study the electron propagator in quantum electrodynamics in lower\ndimensions. In the case of free electrons, it is well known that the propagator\nin momentum space takes the simple form $S_F(p)=1/(\\gamma\\cdot p-m)$. In the\npresence of external electromagnetic fields, electron asymptotic states are no\nlonger plane-waves, and hence the propagator in the basis of momentum\neigenstates has a more intricate form. Nevertheless, in the basis of the\neigenfunctions of the operator $(\\gamma\\cdot \\Pi)^2$, where $\\Pi_\\mu$ is the\ncanonical momentum operator, it acquires the free form $S_F(p)=1/(\\gamma\\cdot\n\\bar{p}-m)$ where $\\bar{p}_\\mu$ depends on the dynamical quantum numbers. We\nconstruct the electron propagator in the basis of the $(\\gamma\\cdot \\Pi)^2$\neigenfunctions. In the (2+1)-dimensional case, we obtain it in an irreducible\nrepresentation of the Clifford algebra incorporating to all orders the effects\nof a magnetic field of arbitrary spatial shape pointing perpendicularly to the\nplane of motion of the electrons. Such an exercise is of relevance in graphene\nin the massless limit. The specific examples considered include the uniform\nmagnetic field and the exponentially damped static magnetic field. We further\nconsider the electron propagator for the massive Schwinger model incorporating\nthe effects of a constant electric field to all orders within this framework.",
        "positive": "Geometry of Fermionic Constraints in Superstring Theories: Considered are superparticle and superstring models invariant under\nsupersymmetry in a target superspace and local extended worldsheet\nsupersymmetry the latter replacing the fermionic $\\kappa$--symmetry of the\nconventional Green--Schwarz formulations. (Talk given at the Conference on\nGeometry of Constrained Dynamical Systems,\n  Cambridge, June 15-18, 1994)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Poisson-Lie Odd Bracket on Grassmann Algebra: This paper was withdrawn by the editors of SIGMA as it essentially coincides\nwith Phys. Lett. B 451 (1999), no. 3-4, 349-353.",
        "positive": "Overview of knot invariants at roots of unity: We discuss different invariants of knots and links that depend on a primitive\nroot of unity. We clarify the definitions of existing invariants with the\nReshetikhin-Turaev method, present the generalization of ADO invariants to\n$\\mathcal{U}_q(sl_N)$ and highlight the connections between different\ninvariants."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chaotic dynamics of strings in charged black hole backgrounds: We study the motion of a string in the background of Reissner-Nordstrom black\nhole, in both AdS as well as asymptotically flat spacetimes. We describe the\nphase space of this dynamical system through largest Lyapunov exponent,\nPoincare sections and basins of attractions. We observe that string motion in\nthese settings is particularly chaotic and comment on its characteristics.",
        "positive": "The String Uncertainty Relations follow from the New Relativity\n  Principle: The String Uncertainty Relations have been known for some time as the stringy\ncorrections to the original Heisenberg's Uncertainty principle. In this letter\nthe Stringy Uncertainty relations, and corrections thereof, are explicitly\nderived from the New Relativity Principle that treats all dimensions and\nsignatures on the same footing and which is based on the postulate that the\nPlanck scale is the minimal length in Nature in the same vein that the speed of\nlight was taken as the maximum velocity in Einstein's theory of Special\nRelativity. The Regge behaviour of the string's spectrum is also a natural\nconsequence of this New Relativity Principle."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The planar limit of the $\\mathcal{N} = 2$ $\\mathbf{E}$-theory: numerical\n  calculations and the large $\u03bb$ expansion: We study correlation functions of local operators and Wilson loop expectation\nvalues in the planar limit of a 4d $\\mathcal{N}=2$ superconformal ${\\rm SU}(N)$\nYM theory with hypermultiplets in the symmetric and antisymmetric\nrepresentations of the gauge group. This so-called $\\mathbf{E}$ theory is\nclosely related to $\\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM and has a holographic description in\nterms of a $\\mathbb{Z}_2$ orientifold of AdS$_5\\times S^5$. Using recent matrix\nmodel results based on supersymmetric localization we develop efficient\nnumerical methods to calculate two- and three-point functions of certain single\ntrace operators as well as 1/2-BPS Wilson loop expectation values as a function\nof the 't Hooft coupling $\\lambda$. We use our numerical results to arrive at\nsimple analytic expressions for these correlators valid up to the sixth order\nin the $\\lambda^{-1/2}$ strong coupling expansion. These results provide\nexplicit field theory predictions for the $\\alpha'$ corrections to the\nsupergravity approximation of type IIB string theory on the AdS$_5\\times\nS^5/\\mathbb{Z}_2$ orientifold.",
        "positive": "Coulomb Branch Amplitudes from a Deformed Amplituhedron Geometry: The Amplituhedron provides, via geometric means, the all-loop integrand of\nscattering amplitudes in maximally supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory.\nUnfortunately, dimensional regularization, used conventionally for integration,\nbreaks the beautiful geometric picture. This motivates us to propose a\n'deformed' Amplituhedron. Focusing on the four-particle amplitude, we introduce\ntwo deformation parameters, which can be interpreted as particle masses. We\nprovide evidence that the mass pattern corresponds to a specific choice of\nvacuum expectation values on the Coulomb branch. The deformed amplitude is\ninfrared finite, making the answer well-defined in four dimensions. Leveraging\nfour-dimensional integration techniques based on differential equations, we\ncompute the amplitude up to two loops. In the limit where the deformation\nparameters are taken to zero, we recover the known Bern-Dixon-Smirnov\namplitude. In the limit where only one deformation parameter is taken to zero,\nwe find a connection to the angle-dependent cusp anomalous dimension."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Cosmological expansion on a dilatonic brane-world: In this paper we study brane-world scenarios with a bulk scalar field, using\na covariant formalism to obtain a 4D Einstein equation via projection onto the\nbrane. We discuss, in detail, the effects of the bulk on the brane and how the\nscalar field contribute to the gravitational effects. We also discuss choice of\nconformal frame and show that the frame selected by the induced metric provides\na natural choice. We demonstrate our formalism by applying it to cosmological\nscenarios of Randall-Sundrum and Horava-Witten type models. Finally we consider\nthe cosmology of models where the scalar field couples non-minimally to the\nmatter on the brane. This gives rise to a novel scenario where the universe\nexpands from a finite scale factor with an initial period of accelerated\nexpansion, thus avoiding the singularity and flatness problem of the standard\nbig bang model.",
        "positive": "Chern-Simons-Rozansky-Witten topological field theory: We construct and study a new topological field theory in three dimensions. It\nis a hybrid between Chern-Simons and Rozansky-Witten theory and can be regarded\nas a topologically-twisted version of the N=4 d=3 supersymmetric gauge theory\nrecently discovered by Gaiotto and Witten. The model depends on a gauge group G\nand a hyper-Kahler manifold X with a tri-holomorphic action of G. In the case\nwhen X is an affine space, we show that the model is equivalent to Chern-Simons\ntheory whose gauge group is a supergroup. This explains the role of Lie\nsuperalgebras in the construction of Gaiotto and Witten. For general X, our\nmodel appears to be new. We describe some of its properties, focusing on the\ncase when G is simple and X is the cotangent bundle of the flag variety of G.\nIn particular, we show that Wilson loops are labeled by objects of a certain\ncategory which is a quantum deformation of the equivariant derived category of\ncoherent sheaves on X."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the block structure of the quantum R-matrix in the three-strand\n  braids: Quantum $\\mathcal{R}$-matrices are the building blocks for the colored HOMFLY\npolynomials. In the case of three-strand braids with an identical\nfinite-dimensional irreducible representation $T$ of $SU_q(N)$ associated with\neach strand one needs two matrices: $\\mathcal{R}_1$ and $\\mathcal{R}_2$. They\nare related by the Racah matrices $\\mathcal{R}_2 = \\mathcal{U} \\mathcal{R}_1\n\\mathcal{U}^{\\dagger}$. Since we can always choose the basis so that\n$\\mathcal{R}_1$ is diagonal, the problem is reduced to evaluation of\n$\\mathcal{R}_2$-matrices. This paper is one more step on the road to\nsimplification of such calculations. We found out and proved for some cases\nthat $\\mathcal{R}_2$-matrices could be transformed into a block-diagonal ones.\nThe essential condition is that there is a pair of accidentally coinciding\neigenvalues among eigenvalues of $\\mathcal{R}_1$-matrix. The angle of the\nrotation in the sectors corresponding to accidentally coinciding eigenvalues\nfrom the basis defined by the Racah matrix to the basis in which\n$\\mathcal{R}_2$ is block-diagonal is $\\pm \\frac{\\pi}{4}$.",
        "positive": "Large-N Gauge Theories: Four pedagogical Lectures at the NATO-ASI on \"Quantum Geometry\" in Akureyri,\nIceland, August 1999. Contents: 1. O(N) Vector Models, 2. Large-N QCD, 3. QCD\nin Loop Space, 4. Large-N Reduction"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Clocks, Algebras and Cosmology: Gauge invariant local observables describing primordial scalar quantum\nfluctuations in Inflationary Cosmology are identified as elements of a type\n$II$ de Sitter crossed product algebra. This algebra is defined, after adding a\nreference frame clock, as the algebra of clock dressed local operators. Clock\ndressing sets, in the weak gravity limit, the Schrodinger equation for gauge\ninvariant quantum fluctuations. Instead of using a slow roll inflaton potential\nto define the clock Hamiltonian and the clock state we suggest a natural double\nde Sitter clock making the whole algebra associated with the planar patch a\ntype $II$ factor. The corresponding clock states are EPR squeezed states. Using\nthis clock to define the needed clock dressing leads to concrete model\nindependent predictions of the inflationary parameters. Some speculative\nremarks on potential ways to define a type $I$ upgrading are briefly discussed.",
        "positive": "On the Jeffrey-Kirwan residue of BCD-instantons: We apply the Jeffrey-Kirwan method to compute the multiple integrals for the\n$BCD$ type Nekrasov partition functions of four dimensional $\\mathcal{N}=2$\nsupersymmetric gauge theories. We construct a graphical distinction rule to\ndetermine which poles are surrounded by their integration cycles. We compute\nthe instanton correction of the \"$Sp(0)$\" pure super-Yang-Mills theory and find\nthat\n$Z^{Sp(0)}_{k}=(-1)^{k}(2^{k}k!\\varepsilon_{1}^{k}\\varepsilon_{2}^{k})^{-1}$\nfor $k\\le 8$, which resembles the formula\n$Z^{U(1)}_{k}=(k!\\varepsilon_{1}^{k}\\varepsilon_{2}^{k})^{-1}$ for the pure\nsuper-Yang-Mills theory with gauge group $U(1)$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Solvable spectral problems from 2d CFT and N=2 gauge theories: The so-called 2d/4d correspondences connect two-dimensional conformal field\ntheory (2d CFT), N=2 supersymmetric gauge theories and quantum integrable\nsystems. The latter in the simplest case of the SU(2) gauge group are nothing\nbut the quantum-mechanical systems. In the present article we summarize our\nrecent results and list open problems concerning an application of the\naforementioned dualities in the studies of spectral problems for some\nSchrodinger operators with Mathieu-type periodic, periodic PT-symmetric and\n(Heun's) elliptic potentials.",
        "positive": "Perturbation solutions of relativistic viscous hydrodynamics for\n  longitudinally expanding fireballs: The solutions of relativistic viscous hydrodynamics for longitudinal\nexpanding fireballs is investigated with the Navier-Stokes theory and\nIsrael-Stewart theory. The energy and Euler conservation equations for the\nviscous fluid are derived in Rindler coordinates with the longitudinal\nexpansion effect is small. Under the perturbation assumption, an analytical\nperturbation solution for the Navier-Stokes approximation and numerical\nsolutions for the Israel-Stewart approximation are presented. The temperature\nevolution with both shear viscous effect and longitudinal acceleration effect\nin the longitudinal expanding framework are presented and specifically\ntemperature profile shows symmetry Gaussian shape in the Rindler coordinates.\nIn addition, in the presence of the longitudinal acceleration expanding effect,\nthe results of the Israel-Stewart approximation are compared to the results\nfrom Bjorken and Navier-Stokes approximation, and it gives a good description\nthan the Navier-Stokes theories results at the early stages of evolution."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Brane singularities and their avoidance in a fluid bulk: Using the method of asymptotic splittings, the possible singularity\nstructures and the corresponding asymptotic behavior of a 3-brane in a\nfive-dimensional bulk are classified, in the case where the bulk field content\nis parametrized by an analog of perfect fluid with an arbitrary equation of\nstate $P=\\gamma\\rho$ between the `pressure' $P$ and the `density' $\\rho$. In\nthis analogy with homogeneous cosmologies, the time is replaced by the extra\ncoordinate transverse to the 3-brane, whose world-volume can have an arbitrary\nconstant curvature. The results depend crucially on the constant parameter\n$\\gamma$: (i) For $\\gamma>-1/2$, the flat brane solution suffers from a\ncollapse singularity at finite distance, that disappears in the curved case.\n(ii) For $\\gamma<-1$, the singularity cannot be avoided and it becomes of the\ntype big rip for a flat brane. (iii) For $-1<\\gamma\\le -1/2$, the surprising\nresult is found that while the curved brane solution is singular, the flat\nbrane is not, opening the possibility for a revival of the self-tuning\nproposal.",
        "positive": "SDiff Gauge Theory and the M2 Condensate: We develop a general formalism for the construction, in $D$-dimensional\nMinkowski space, of gauge theories for which the gauge group is the\ninfinite-dimensional group SDiff$_n$ of volume-preserving diffeomorphisms of\nsome closed $n$-dimensional manifold. We then focus on the D=3 SDiff$_3$\nsuperconformal gauge theory describing a condensate of M2-branes; in\nparticular, we derive its ${\\cal N}=8$ superfield equations from a pure-spinor\nsuperspace action, and we describe its relationship to the D=3 SDiff$_2$\nsuper-Yang-Mills theory describing a condensate of D2-branes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Two-point correlator of twist-2 light-ray operators in N=4 SYM in BFKL\n  approximation: We generalize local operators of the leading twist-2 of N=4 SYM theory to the\ncase of complex Lorentz spin j using principal series representation of\nsl(2,R). We give the direct computation of correlation function of two such\nnon-local operators in the BFKL regime when j -> 1. The correlator appears to\nhave the expected conformal coordinate dependence governed by the anomalous\ndimension of twist-2 operator in NLO BFKL approximation predicted by Kotikov\nand Lipatov.",
        "positive": "The Reflection Coefficient of a Reflectionless Kink: Classically, reflectionless kinks transmit all incident radiation. Recently,\nwe have used an analyticity argument together with a solution of the\nLippmann-Schwinger equation to write down the leading quantum correction to the\nreflection probability. The argument was fast but rather indirect. In the\npresent paper, we calculate the reflection coefficient and probability by\nmethodically grinding through the Schrodinger picture time evolution. We find\nthe same answer. This answer contains contributions not considered in the\ntraditional calculation of meson-kink scattering in 1991. However, as a result\nof these contributions, our total result is zero in the case of the Sine-Gordon\nmodel, and so is consistent with integrability."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic entropy production in a Bjorken expanding hot and dense\n  strongly coupled quantum fluid: We analyze the time evolution of several physical observables, namely the\npressure anisotropy, the scalar condensate, the charge density, and also, for\nthe first time, the non-equilibrium entropy for a Bjorken expanding strongly\ncoupled $\\mathcal{N}=4$ Supersymmetric Yang-Mills plasma charged under an\nAbelian $U(1)$ subgroup of the global $SU(4)$ R-symmetry. This represents a\nfar-from-equilibrium, hot and dense strongly coupled quantum fluid with a\ncritical point in its phase diagram. For some sets of initial data preserving\nall the energy conditions, dynamically driven transient violations of the\ndominant and the weak energy conditions are observed when the plasma is still\nfar from the hydrodynamic regime. The energy conditions violations get stronger\nat larger values of the chemical potential to temperature ratio, $\\mu/T$,\nindicating that those violations become more relevant as the strongly coupled\nquantum fluid approaches its critical regime. For some of those energy\nconditions violations, it is observed a clear correlation with different\nplateau structures formed in the far from equilibrium entropy, indicating the\npresence of transient, early time windows where the Bjorken expanding plasma\nhas zero entropy production even while being far from equilibrium. The\nhydrodynamization of the pressure anisotropy and also the much later\nthermalization of the scalar condensate are generally found to be delayed,\nwithin small relative tolerances, as $\\mu/T$ is increased towards criticality.\nThe value of $\\mu/T$ in the medium is enhanced by increasing its initial charge\ndensity, and/or also by reducing its initial energy density.",
        "positive": "Maxwell's Theory on Non-Commutative Spaces and Quaternions: The Maxwell theory on non-commutative spaces has been considered. The\nnon-linear equations of electromagnetic fields on non-commutative spaces were\nobtained in the compact spin-tensor (quaternion) form. It was shown that the\nplane electromagnetic wave is the solution of the system of non-linear wave\nequations of the second order for the electric and magnetic induction fields.\nWe have found the canonical and symmetrical energy-momentum tensors and their\nnon-zero traces. So, the trace anomaly of the energy-momentum tensor was\nobtained in electrodynamics on non-commutative spaces. It was noted that the\ndual transformations of electromagnetic fields on non-commutative spaces are\nbroken."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Pohlmeyer reduction and Darboux transformations in Euclidean worldsheet\n  AdS_3: Pohlmeyer reduction has been instrumental both in the program for computing\ngluon scattering amplitudes at strong coupling, and more recently in the\nprogress towards semiclassical three-point correlators of heavy operators in\nAdS/CFT. After a detailed review of the method, we combine it with Darboux and\nCrum transformations in order to obtain a class of string solutions\ncorresponding to an arbitrary number of kinks and breathers of the elliptic\nsinh-Gordon equation. We also use our construction in order to identify the\npreviously found dressed giant gluon with the single breather solution.",
        "positive": "The double scaling limit of randomly coupled Pauli XY spins: We consider the double scaling limit of a model of Pauli spin operators\nrecently studied in Hanada et al. [1] and evaluate the moments of the\nHamiltonian by the chord diagrams. We find that they coincide with those of the\ndouble scaled SYK model, which makes it more likely that this model may play an\nimportant role in the study of holography. We compare the model with another\npreviously studied model. We also speculate on the form of the Hamiltonian in\nthe double scaling limit."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gerbes, Quantum Mechanics and Gravity: We prove that invariance of a quantum theory under the semiclassical vs.\nstrong-quantum duality $S/\\hbar\\longleftrightarrow\\hbar/S$, where S is the\nclassical action, is equivalent to noncommutativity (of the Heisenberg-algebra\ntype) of the coordinates of the space on which S is defined. We place these\nfacts in correspondence with gerbes and Neveu-Schwarz B-fields and discuss\ntheir implications for a quantum theory of gravity. Feynman's propagator turns\nout to be closely related to the trivialisation of a gerbe on configuration\nspace.",
        "positive": "Some Aspects of Massive World-Brane Dynamics: We study the internal dynamics of Ramond-Ramond solitons excited far from the\nBPS limit by leading Regge trajectory open strings. The simplest world volume\nprocess for such strings is splitting into two smaller pieces, and we calculate\nthe corresponding decay rates. Compared to the conventional open superstring,\nthe splitting of states polarized parallel to the brane is suppressed by powers\nof logarithms of the energy. The rate for states polarized transverse to the\nbrane {\\em decreases} with increasing energy. We also calculate the static\nforce between a D-brane excited by a massive open string and an unexcited\nD-brane parallel to it. The result shows that transversely polarized massive\nopen strings endow D-branes with a size of order the string scale."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Killing superalgebra deformations of ten-dimensional supergravity\n  backgrounds: We explore Lie superalgebra deformations of the Killing superalgebras of some\nten-dimensional supergravity backgrounds. We prove the rigidity of the Poincare\nsuperalgebras in types I, IIA and IIB, as well as of the Killing superalgebra\nof the Freund-Rubin vacuum of type IIB supergravity. We also prove rigidity of\nthe Killing superalgebras of the NS5, D0, D3, D4 and D5 branes, whereas we\nexhibit the possible deformations of the D1, D2, D6 and D7 brane Killing\nsuperalgebras, as well as of that of the type II fundamental string solutions.\nWe relate the superalgebra deformations of the D2 and D6 branes to those of the\n(delocalised) M2 brane and the Kaluza-Klein monopole, respectively. The good\nbehaviour under Kaluza-Klein reduction suggests that the deformed superalgebras\nought to have a geometric interpretation.",
        "positive": "Asymptotic Symmetry and the General Black Hole Solution in Ads_3 Gravity: We describe the Brown-Henneaux asymptotic symmetry of the general black holes\nin the Chern-Simons gauge theory of the gauge group $SL(2;{\\bf R})_L\\times\nSL(2;{\\bf R})_R$. We make it clear that the vector-like subgroup $SL(2; {\\bf\nR})_{L+R}$ plays an essential role in describing the asymptotic symmetry\nconsistently. We find a quite general black hole solution in the $AdS_3$\ngravity theory. The solution is specified by an infinite number of conserved\nquantities which constitute a family of mapping from $S^1$ to the gauge group.\nThe BTZ black hole is one of the simplest case."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The MFF Singular Vectors in Topological Conformal Theories: It is argued that singular vectors of the topological conformal (twisted\n$N=2$) algebra are identical with singular vectors of the $sl(2)$ Kac--Moody\nalgebra. An arbitrary matter theory can be dressed by additional fields to make\nup a representation of either the $sl(2)$ current algebra or the topological\nconformal algebra. The relation between the two constructions is equivalent to\nthe Kazama--Suzuki realisation of a topological conformal theory as\n$sl(2)\\oplus u(1)/u(1)$. The Malikov--Feigin--Fuchs (MFF) formula for the\n$sl(2)$ singular vectors translates into a general expression for topological\nsingular vectors. The MFF/topological singular states are observed to vanish in\nWitten's free-field construction of the (twisted) $N=2$ algebra, derived from\nthe Landau--Ginzburg formalism.",
        "positive": "Swampland geometry and the gauge couplings: The purpose of this paper is two-fold. First we review in detail the\ngeometric aspects of the swampland program for supersymmetric 4d effective\ntheories using a new and unifying language we dub `domestic geometry', the\ngeneralization of special K\\\"ahler geometry which does not require the\nunderlying manifold to be K\\\"ahler or have a complex structure. All 4d SUGRAs\nare described by domestic geometry. As special K\\\"ahler geometries, domestic\ngeometries carry formal brane amplitudes: when the domestic geometry describes\nthe supersymmetric low-energy limit of a consistent quantum theory of gravity,\nits formal brane amplitudes have the right properties to be actual branes. The\nmain datum of the domestic geometry of a 4d SUGRA is its gauge coupling, seen\nas a map from a manifold which satisfies the geometric Ooguri-Vafa conjectures\nto the Siegel variety; to understand the properties of the quantum-consistent\ngauge couplings we discuss several novel aspects of such `Ooguri-Vafa'\nmanifolds, including their Liouville properties.\n  Our second goal is to present some novel speculation on the extension of the\nswampland program to no-supersymmetric effective theories of gravity. The idea\nis that the domestic geometric description of the quantum-consistent effective\ntheories extends, possibly with some qualifications, also to the\nnon-supersymmetric case."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Confinement in 3d $\\mathcal{N}=2$ $Spin(N)$ gauge theories with vector\n  and spinor matters: We present various confinement phases of three-dimensional $\\mathcal{N}=2$\n$Spin(N)$ gauge theories with vector and spinor matters. The quantum Coulomb\nbranch of the moduli space of vacua is drastically changed when the rank of the\ngauge group and the matter contents are changed. In many examples, the Coulomb\nbranch is one- or two-dimensional but its interpretation varies. In some\nexamples, the Coulomb branch becomes three-dimensional and we need to introduce\na \"dressed\" Coulomb branch operator.",
        "positive": "Some properties of U(1) gauged Q-balls: In this paper we examine the properties of $U(1)$ gauged Q-balls in two\nmodels with different scalar field potentials. The obtained results demonstrate\nthat in the general case $U(1)$ gauged Q-balls possess properties, which differ\nconsiderably from those of Q-balls in the nongauged case with the same forms of\nthe scalar field potential. In particular, it is shown that in some cases the\ncharge of $U(1)$ gauged Q-ball can be bounded from above, whereas it is not so\nfor the corresponding nongauged Q-ball. Our conclusions are supported both by\nanalytical considerations and numerical calculations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Spectral Curve for AdS$_3$/CFT$_2$: a proposal: We conjecture the Quantum Spectral Curve equations for string theory on\n$AdS_3 \\times S^3 \\times T^4$ with RR charge and its CFT$_2$ dual. We show that\nin the large-length regime, under additional mild assumptions, the QSC\nreproduces the Asymptotic Bethe Ansatz equations for the massive sector of the\ntheory, including the exact dressing phases found in the literature. The\nstructure of the QSC shares many similarities with the previously known AdS$_5$\nand AdS$_4$ cases, but contains a critical new feature - the branch cuts are no\nlonger quadratic. Nevertheless, we show that much of the QSC analysis can be\nsuitably generalised producing a self-consistent system of equations. While\nfurther tests are necessary, particularly outside the massive sector, the\nsimplicity and self-consistency of our construction suggests the completeness\nof the QSC.",
        "positive": "Maximally supersymmetric solutions of $R^2$ supergravity: There are five maximally supersymmetric backgrounds in four-dimensional\noff-shell N=1 supergravity, two of which are well known: Minkowski superspace\nM^{4|4} and anti-de Sitter superspace AdS^{4|4}. The three remaining\nsupermanifolds support spacetimes of different topology, which are: R x S^3,\nAdS_3 x R, and a supersymmetric plane wave isometric to the Nappi-Witten group.\nAs is well known, the Minkowski and anti-de Sitter superspaces are solutions of\nthe Poincar\\'e and anti-de Sitter supergravity theories, respectively. Here we\ndemonstrate that the other three superspaces are solutions of no-scale $R^2$\nsupergravity. We also present a new (probably the simplest) derivation of the\nmaximally supersymmetric backgrounds of off-shell N=1 supergravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Black Hole Entropy and Localization in Supergravity: In this thesis, we examine in detail the notion of black hole entropy in\nQuantum Field Theories, with a specific focus on supersymmetric black holes and\nthe perturbative and non-perturbative quantum corrections to the classical\narea-law of Bekenstein-Hawking. To examine such corrections, we employ the\nformalism of Sen's Quantum Entropy Function where the complete quantum entropy\nof a supersymmetric black hole in theories of supergravity is defined as a\npath-integral in the near-horizon region of the black hole. Evaluation of this\npath-integral can then be conducted exactly using localization computation\ntechniques. Due to the exactness of the localization argument, the results\nobtained in this manner are therefore formally expected to re-sum all\nperturbative and non-perturbative corrections to the classical area-law, and\nthus connect to string-theoretic predictions. We investigate such connections\nin detail for specific supersymmetric black holes in the hopes of strengthening\na Boltzmann-type interpretation of their thermodynamic entropy as arising from\nthe degeneracies of the microscopic gravitational constituents (the D-branes).\nWe find that this picture holds very precisely for two types of black holes\npreserving four real supercharges in both four-dimensional $\\mathcal{N}=8$ and\n$\\mathcal{N}=4$ string theories and supergravities. From a broader point of\nview, such results can be interpreted as providing important examples where\nsupergravity theories encode the complete low-energy dynamics of string\ntheories and provide a consistent effective picture. Some interesting\nconnections to the mathematical theory of modular forms and mock modular forms\nare also exhibited.",
        "positive": "$G_2$-Manifolds from 4d N=1 Theories, Part I: Domain Walls: We propose new $G_2$-holonomy manifolds, which geometrize the Gaiotto-Kim 4d\nN=1 duality domain walls of 5d N=1 theories. These domain walls interpolate\nbetween different extended Coulomb branch phases of a given 5d superconformal\nfield theory. Our starting point is the geometric realization of such a 5d\nsuperconformal field theory and its extended Coulomb branch in terms of\nM-theory on a non-compact singular Calabi-Yau three-fold and its K\\\"ahler cone.\nWe construct the 7-manifold that realizes the domain wall in M-theory by\nfibering the Calabi-Yau three-fold over a real line, whilst varying its\nK\\\"ahler parameters as prescribed by the domain wall construction. In\nparticular this requires the Calabi-Yau fiber to pass through a canonical\nsingularity at the locus of the domain wall. Due to the 4d N=1 supersymmetry\nthat is preserved on the domain wall, we expect the resulting 7-manifold to\nhave holonomy $G_2$. Indeed, for simple domain wall theories, this construction\nresults in 7-manifolds, which are known to admit torsion-free $G_2$-holonomy\nmetrics. We develop several generalizations to new 7-manifolds, which realize\ndomain walls in 5d SQCD theories and walls between 5d theories which are\nUV-dual."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-supersymmetric Asymmetric Orbifolds with Vanishing Cosmological\n  Constant: We study type II string vacua defined by torus compactifications accompanied\nby T-duality twists. We realize the string vacua, specifically, by means of the\nasymmetric orbifolding associated to the chiral reflections combined with a\nshift, which are interpreted as describing the compactification on `T-folds'.\nWe discuss possible consistent actions of the chiral reflection on the\nRamond-sector of the world-sheet fermions, and explicitly construct\nnon-supersymmetric as well as supersymmetric vacua. Above all, we demonstrate a\nsimple realization of non-supersymmetric vacua with vanishing cosmological\nconstant at one loop. Our orbifold group is generated only by a single element,\nwhich results in simpler models than those with such property known previously.",
        "positive": "Black holes, compact objects and solar system tests in non-relativistic\n  general covariant theory of gravity: We study spherically symmetric static spacetimes generally filled with an\nanisotropic fluid in the nonrelativistic general covariant theory of gravity.\nIn particular, we find that the vacuum solutions are not unique, and can be\nexpressed in terms of the $U(1)$ gauge field $A$. When solar system tests are\nconsidered, severe constraints on $A$ are obtained, which seemingly pick up the\nSchwarzschild solution uniquely. In contrast to other versions of the\nHorava-Lifshitz theory, non-singular static stars made of a perfect fluid\nwithout heat flow can be constructed, due to the coupling of the fluid with the\ngauge field. These include the solutions with a constant pressure. We also\nstudy the general junction conditions across the surface of a star. In general,\nthe conditions allow the existence of a thin matter shell on the surface. When\napplying these conditions to the perfect fluid solutions with the vacuum ones\nas describing their external spacetimes, we find explicitly the matching\nconditions in terms of the parameters appearing in the solutions. Such matching\nis possible even without the presence of a thin matter shell."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Master Equation for QED in Exact Renormalization Group: Recently, one of us (H.S.) gave an explicit form of the Ward-Takahashi\nidentity for the Wilson action of QED. We first rederive the identity using a\nfunctional method. The identity makes it possible to realize the gauge symmetry\neven in the presence of a momentum cutoff. In the cutoff dependent realization,\nthe abelian nature of the gauge symmetry is lost, breaking the nilpotency of\nthe BRS transformation. Using the Batalin-Vilkovisky formalism, we extend the\nWilson action by including the antifield contributions. Then, the\nWard-Takahashi identity for the Wilson action is lifted to a quantum master\nequation, and the modified BRS transformation regains nilpotency. We also\nobtain a flow equation for the extended Wilson action.",
        "positive": "On a Jordan-algebraic formulation of quantum mechanics: Hilbert space\n  construction: In this note I discuss some aspects of a formulation of quantum mechanics\nbased entirely on the Jordan algebra of observables. After reviewing some facts\nof the formulation in the \\CS -approach I present a Jordan-algebraic Hilbert\nspace construction (inspired by the usual GNS-construction), thereby obtaining\na real Hilbert space and a (Jordan-) representation of the algebra of\nobservables on this space. Taking the usual case as a guideline I subsequently\nderive a Schr\\\"odinger equation on this Hilbert space."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Finite Gauge Theory on Fuzzy CP^2: We give a non-perturbative definition of U(n) gauge theory on fuzzy CP^2 as a\nmulti-matrix model. The degrees of freedom are 8 hermitian matrices of finite\nsize, 4 of which are tangential gauge fields and 4 are auxiliary variables. The\nmodel depends on a noncommutativity parameter 1/N, and reduces to the usual\nU(n) Yang-Mills action on the 4-dimensional classical CP^2 in the limit N ->\n\\infty. We explicitly find the monopole solutions, and also certain U(2)\ninstanton solutions for finite N. The quantization of the model is defined in\nterms of a path integral, which is manifestly finite. An alternative\nformulation with constraints is also given, and a scaling limit as R^4_\\theta\nis discussed.",
        "positive": "Solitons in a class of interacting scalar field theories without $SO(2)$\n  invariance: In this article, we study kink soliton configurations in interacting scalar\nfield theories containing two fields without $SO(2)$ invariance. We study a\nclass of such theories, the well-known Montonen-Sarker-Trullinger-Bishop model\nis one of them. These models are interesting since the $U(1)$ current is not\nconserved in them due to the presence of explicit symmetry breaking terms in\nthe action. The existence of kink soliton configurations is shown in terms of a\nsystem of first-order ordinary differential equations. Although $U(1)$ current\nin these models are non-conserved, our approach is general enough to study\nsoliton configurations in a generic two interacting scalar field theory. We\nalso discuss other benefits of this approach."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fermions and world-line supersymmetry: The world-line path-integral representation of fermion propagators is\ndiscussed. Particular attention is paid to the representation of $\\gamma_5$,\nwhich is connected to the realization of manifest world-line supersymmetry.",
        "positive": "Generalizing eleven-dimensional supergravity: We develop a procedure to reproduce the ten-dimensional generalized\nsupergravity equations from T-duality covariant equations, that facilitates\ngeneralization to U-duality covariant formulations of eleven-dimensional\nsupergravity. The latter leads to a modification of the eleven-dimensional\nsupergravity equations with terms that contain a rank-2 tensor field $J^{mn}$\nwhich is the eleven-dimensional analog of the non-unimodularity Killing vector\n$I^m$ in ten dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quark zero modes in intersecting center vortex gauge fields: The zero modes of the Dirac operator in the background of center vortex gauge\nfield configurations in $\\R^2$ and $\\R^4$ are examined. If the net flux in D=2\nis larger than 1 we obtain normalizable zero modes which are mainly localized\nat the vortices. In D=4 quasi-normalizable zero modes exist for intersecting\nflat vortex sheets with the Pontryagin index equal to 2. These zero modes are\nmainly localized at the vortex intersection points, which carry a topological\ncharge of $\\pm 1/2$. To circumvent the problem of normalizability the\nspace-time manifold is chosen to be the (compact) torus $\\T^2$ and $\\T^4$,\nrespectively. According to the index theorem there are normalizable zero modes\non $\\T^2$ if the net flux is non-zero. These zero modes are localized at the\nvortices. On $\\T^4$ zero modes exist for a non-vanishing Pontryagin index. As\nin $\\R^4$ these zero modes are localized at the vortex intersection points.",
        "positive": "Topological Susceptibility and Contact Term in QCD. A Toy Model: We study a number of different ingredients related to $\\theta$ dependence,\nthe non-dispersive contribution in topological susceptibility with the \"wrong\"\nsign, topological sectors in gauge theories, and related subjects using a\nsimple \"deformed QCD\". This model is a weakly coupled gauge theory, which\nhowever has all the relevant essential elements allowing us to study difficult\nand nontrivial questions which are known to be present in real strongly coupled\nQCD. Essentially we want to test the ideas related to the $U(1)_A$ problem in a\ntheoretically controllable manner using the \"deformed QCD\" as a toy model. One\ncan explicitly see microscopically how the crucial elements work."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Kinematic quantities for a spherical distribution of uniformly\n  accelerated observers: The kinematical quantities derived from the velocity field of a nongeodesic\ncongruence are studied. We found the shear tensor components are finite in time\nbut diverge at the event horizon of the spacetime located at $\\rho = 0$. The\nsurface gravity on the horizon is just the proper acceleration of the uniformly\nexpanding distribution of observers, in spherical Rindler coordinates. The\nRaychaudhuri equation is fulfilled for the congruence of particles worldlines.",
        "positive": "Complex Kerr Geometry, Twistors and the Dirac Electron: The Kerr-Newman spinning particle displays some remarkable relations to the\nDirac electron and has a reach spinor structure which is based on a twistorial\ndescription of the Kerr congruence determined by the Kerr theorem. We consider\nthe relation between this spinor-twistorial structure and spinors of the Dirac\nequation, and show that the Dirac equation may naturally be incorporated into\nKerr-Schild formalism as a master equation controlling the twistorial structure\nof Kerr geometry. As a result, the Dirac electron acquires an extended\nspace-time structure having clear coordinate description with natural\nincorporation of a gravitational field. The relation between the Dirac wave\nfunction and Kerr geometry is realized via a chain of links: {\\it Dirac wave\nfunction $ \\Rightarrow $ Complex Kerr-Newman Source $ \\Rightarrow $ Kerr\nTheorem $ \\Rightarrow $ Real Kerr geometry.} As a result, the wave function\nacquires the role of an ``order parameter'' which controls spin, dynamics, and\ntwistorial polarization of Kerr-Newman space-time."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Flux Compactification: We review recent work in which compactifications of string and M theory are\nconstructed in which all scalar fields (moduli) are massive, and supersymmetry\nis broken with a small positive cosmological constant, features needed to\nreproduce real world physics. We explain how this work implies that there is a\n``landscape'' of string/M theory vacua, perhaps containing many candidates for\ndescribing real world physics, and present the arguments for and against this\nidea. We discuss statistical surveys of the landscape, and the prospects for\ntestable consequences of this picture, such as observable effects of moduli,\nconstraints on early cosmology, and predictions for the scale of supersymmetry\nbreaking.",
        "positive": "Entanglement density and gravitational thermodynamics: In an attempt to find a quasi-local measure of quantum entanglement, we\nintroduce the concept of entanglement density in relativistic quantum theories.\nThis density is defined in terms of infinitesimal variations of the region\nwhose entanglement we monitor, and in certain cases can be mapped to the\nvariations of the generating points of the associated domain of dependence. We\nargue that strong sub-additivity constrains the entanglement density to be\npositive semi-definite. Examining this density in the holographic context, we\nmap its positivity to a statement of integrated null energy condition in the\ngravity dual. We further speculate that this may be mapped to a statement\nanalogous to the second law of black hole thermodynamics, for the extremal\nsurface."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Characters of irrelevant deformations: We analyse the $T\\bar{T}$ deformation of 2d CFTs in a special double-scaling\nlimit, of large central charge and small deformation parameter. In particular,\nwe derive closed formulae for the deformation of the product of left and right\nmoving CFT characters on the torus. It is shown that the $1/c$ contribution\ntakes the same form as that of a CFT, but with rescalings of the modular\nparameter reflecting a state-dependent change of coordinates. We also extend\nthe analysis for more general deformations that involve $T\\bar{T}$, $J\\bar{T}$\nand $T\\bar{J}$ simultaneously. We comment on the implications of our results\nfor holographic proposals of irrelevant deformations.",
        "positive": "Symmetric Orbifold Theories from Little String Residues: We study a class of Little String Theories (LSTs) of A type, described by $N$\nparallel M5-branes spread out on a circle and which in the low energy regime\nengineer supersymmetric gauge theories with $U(N)$ gauge group. The BPS states\nin this setting correspond to M2-branes stretched between the M5-branes.\nGeneralising an observation made in arXiv:1706.04425, we provide evidence that\nthe BPS counting functions of special subsectors of the latter exhibit a Hecke\nstructure in the Nekrasov-Shatashvili (NS) limit, i.e. the different orders in\nan instanton expansion of the supersymmetric gauge theory are related through\nthe action of Hecke operators. We extract $N$ distinct such reduced BPS\ncounting functions from the full free energy of the LST with the help of\ncontour integrals with respect to the gauge parameters of the $U(N)$ gauge\ngroup. Physically, the states captured by these functions correspond to\nconfigurations where the same number of M2-branes is stretched between some of\nthese neighbouring M5-branes, while the remaining M5-branes are collapsed on\ntop of each other and a particular singular contribution is extracted. The\nHecke structures suggest that these BPS states form the spectra of symmetric\norbifold CFTs. We furthermore show that to leading instanton order (in the\nNS-limit) the reduced BPS counting functions factorise into simpler building\nblocks. These building blocks are the expansion coefficients of the free energy\nfor $N=1$ and the expansion of a particular function, which governs the\ncounting of BPS states of a single M5-brane with single M2-branes ending on it\non either side. To higher orders in the instanton expansion, we observe new\nelements appearing in this decomposition, whose coefficients are related\nthrough a holomorphic anomaly equation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Asymptotic behavior of saxion-axion system in stringy quintessence model: We study the late time behavior of the slow-roll parameter in the stringy\nquintessence model when axion as well as saxion is allowed to move. Even though\nthe potential is independent of the axion at tree level, the axion can move\nthrough its coupling to the saxion and the background geometry. Then the\ncontributions of the axion kinetic energy to the slow-roll parameter and the\nvacuum energy density are not negligible when the slow-roll approximation does\nnot hold. As the dimension of the field space is doubled, the fixed point at\nwhich the time variation of the slow-roll parameter vanishes is not always\nstable. We find that the fixed point in the saxion-axion system is at most\npartially stable, in particular when the volume modulus and the axio-dilaton,\nthe essential ingredients of the string compactification, are taken into\naccount. It seems that as we consider more saxion-axion pairs, the stability of\nthe fixed point becomes difficult to achieve.",
        "positive": "Holographic Schwinger effect and electric instability with anisotropy: According to the gauge-gravity duality, we systematically study the Schwinger\neffect and electric instability with anisotropy in a top-down holographic\napproach. The anisotropic black brane and bubble (soliton) background in IIB\nsupergravity are employed and the dual theories in these backgrounds are\nexpected to be anisotropic theory at finite temperature and anisotropic theory\nwith confinement respectively. Then performing the potential analysis, we find\ndue to the anisotropy, the potential barrier behaves oppositely with parallel\nand perpendicular electric fields, and this behavior agrees with the previous\nstudy about the quark potential with anisotropy in this system. Afterwards, we\nevaluate the pair production rate by solving the equation of motion for a\nfundamental string numerically which reveals the consistent behavior with the\npotential analysis. Furthermore, the probe D7-brane as flavor is introduced\ninto the bulk in order to investigate the electric instability. The vacuum\ndecay rate can be obtained by evaluating the imaginary part of the D7-brane\naction which again agrees with our potential analysis. Solving the associated\nconstraint of gauge field strength on the flavor brane, we finally obtain the\nV-A curve displaying the distinct behavior of the conductivity in parallel and\nperpendicular direction which is in agreement with some bottom-up and\nphenomenologically holographic approaches in anisotropic fluid. Accordingly, we\nbelieve this work may be remarkable to study the electric features in strongly\ncoupled anisotropic system."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The many faces of brane-flux annihilation: Fluxes can decay via the nucleation of Brown-Teitelboim bubbles, but when the\ndecaying fluxes induce D-brane charges this process must be accompanied with an\nannihilation of D-branes. This occurs via dynamics inside the bubble wall as\nwas well described for (anti-)D3 branes branes annihilating against 3-form\nfluxes. In this paper we extend this to the other Dp branes with p smaller than\nseven. Generically there are two decay channels: one for the RR flux and one\nfor the NSNS flux. The RR channel is accompanied by brane annihilation that can\nbe understood from the Dp branes polarising into D(p+2) branes, whereas the\nNSNS channel corresponds to Dp branes polarising into NS5 branes or KK5 branes.\nWe illustrate this with the decay of antibranes probing local toroidal throat\ngeometries obtained from T-duality of the D6 solution in massive type IIA. We\nshow that anti-Dp branes are metastable against annihilation in these\nbackgrounds, at least at the probe level.",
        "positive": "Domain boundaries, Goldstone bosons and gravitational waves: The dynamical behaviour of domain boundaries between different realizations\nof the vacuum of scalar fields with spontaneously broken phases is\ninvestigated. They correspond to zero-modes of the Goldstone fields, moving\nwith the speed of light, and turn out to be accompanied by strongly oscillating\ngravitational fields. In certain space-time topologies this leads to a\nquantization condition for the symmetry breaking scale in terms of the Planck\nmass."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fock space resolutions of the Virasoro highest weight modules with c<=1: We extend Felder's construction of Fock space resolutions for the Virasoro\nminimal models to all irreducible modules with $c\\leq 1$. In particular, we\nprovide resolutions for the representations corresponding to the boundary and\nexterior of the Kac table.",
        "positive": "A Class of N=1 Dual String Pairs and its Modular Superpotential: We compare the N=1 F-theory compactification of Donagi, Grassi and Witten\nwith modular superpotential - and some closely related models - to dual\nheterotic models. We read of the F-theory spectrum from the cohomology of the\nfourfold and discuss on the heterotic side the gauge bundle moduli sector\n(including the spectral surface) and the necessary fivebranes. Then we consider\nthe N=1 superpotential and show how a heterotic superpotential matching the\nF-theory computation is built up by worldsheet instantons. Finally we discuss\nhow the original modular superpotential should be corrected by an additional\nmodular correction factor, which on the F-theory side matches nicely with a\n`curve counting function' for the del Pezzo surface. On the heterotic side we\nderive the same factor demanding correct T-duality transformation properties of\nthe superpotential."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A unifying description of dark energy: We review and extend a novel approach that we introduced recently, to\ndescribe general dark energy or scalar-tensor models. Our approach relies on an\nADM formulation based on the hypersurfaces where the underlying scalar field is\nuniform. The advantage of this approach is that it can describe in the same\nlanguage and in a minimal way a vast number of existing models, such as\nquintessence models, $F(R)$ theories, scalar tensor theories, their Horndeski\nextensions and beyond. It also naturally includes Horava-Lifshitz theories. As\nsummarized in this review, our approach provides a unified treatment of the\nlinear cosmological perturbations about a FLRW universe, obtained by a\nsystematic expansion of our general action up to quadratic order. This shows\nthat the behaviour of these linear perturbations is generically characterized\nby five time-dependent functions. We derive the full equations of motion in the\nNewtonian gauge, and obtain in particular the equation of state for dark energy\nperturbations, in the Horndeski case, in terms of these functions. Our unifying\ndescription thus provides the simplest and most systematic way to confront\ntheoretical models with current and future cosmological observations.",
        "positive": "Gravitating Non-Abelian Solitons and Black Holes with Yang-Mills Fields: We present a review of gravitating particle-like and black hole solutions\nwith non-Abelian gauge fields. The emphasis is given to the description of the\nstructure of the solutions and to the connection with the results of flat space\nsoliton physics. We describe the Bartnik-McKinnon solitons and the non-Abelian\nblack holes arising in the Einstein-Yang-Mills theory, and their various\ngeneralizations. These include axially symmetric and slowly rotating\nconfigurations, solutions with higher gauge groups, $\\Lambda$-term, dilaton,\nand higher curvature corrections. The stability issue is discussed as well. We\nalso describe the gravitating generalizations for flat space monopoles,\nsphalerons, and Skyrmions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Electric field-based quantization of the gauge invariant Proca theory: We consider the gauge invariant version of the Proca theory, where besides\nthe real vector field there is also the real scalar field. We quantize the\ntheory such that the commutator of the scalar field operator and the electric\nfield operator is given by a predefined three-dimensional vector field, say\n$\\cal E$ up to a global prefactor. This happens when the field operators of the\ngauge invariant Proca theory satisfy the proper gauge constraint. In\nparticular, we show that $\\cal E$ given by the classical Coulomb field leads to\nthe Coulomb gauge constraint making the vector field operator divergenceless.\nWe also show that physically unreadable gauge constraints can have a strikingly\nsimple $\\cal E$-representation in our formalism. This leads to the discussion\nof Debye, Yukawa, etc. gauges. In general terms, we explore the mapping between\nclassical vector fields and gauge constraints imposed on the operators of the\nstudied theory.",
        "positive": "Quark-hadron duality in hydrodynamics: an example: We consider the problem of transferring overall rotation of quark-gluon\nplasma to polarization of hyperons along the rotation axis. As a toy\ntheoretical model, we exploit that of pionic superfluidity induced by chemical\npotentials violating isotopic symmetry. Apparently, the model accounts only for\nthe light degrees of freedom, that is pions. The rotation, however, results in\nvortices which are infinitely thin in the hydrodynamic approximation. Field\ntheory resolves the singularity and predicts that the core of the vortices is\nbuild up on spins of baryons. We review consequences from the quark-hadron\nduality in this case. First, an anomalous triangle graph in effective field\ntheory turns to be dual to the vorticity term in the standard hydrodynamic\nexpansion. And, then, the overall coefficient determining the polarization of\nbaryons is fixed by duality with the triangle graph in the fundamental field\ntheory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Noncompact Gepner Models for Type II Strings on a Conifold and an ALE\n  Instanton: We construct modular invariant partition functions for type II strings on a\nconifold and a singular Eguchi-Hanson instanton by means of the SL(2,R)/U(1)\nversion of Gepner models. In the conifold case, we find an extra massless\nhypermultiplet in the IIB spectrum and argue that it may be identified as a\nsoliton. In the Eguchi-Hanson case, our formula is new and different from the\nearlier result, in particular does not contain graviton. The lightest IIB\nfields are combined into a six-dimensional (2,0) tensor multiplet with a\nnegative mass square. We give an interpretation to it as a doubleton-like mode.",
        "positive": "Dynamics for Super-Extremal Kerr Binary Systems at ${\\cal O}(G^2)$: Using the recently derived higher spin gravitational Compton amplitude from\nlow-energy analytically continued ($a/Gm\\gg1$) solutions of the Teukolsky\nequation for the scattering of a gravitational wave off the Kerr black hole,\nobservables for non-radiating super-extremal Kerr binary systems at second\npost-Minkowskian (PM) order and up to sixth order in spin are computed. The\nrelevant 2PM amplitude is obtained from the triangle-leading singularity in\nconjunction with a generalization of the holomorphic classical limit for\nmassive particles with spin oriented in generic directions. Explicit results\nfor the 2PM eikonal phase written for both Covariant and Canonical spin\nsupplementary conditions -- CovSSC and CanSSC respectively -- as well as the\n2PM linear impulses and individual spin kicks in the CanSSC are presented. The\nobservables reported in this letter are expressed in terms of generic contact\ndeformations of the gravitational Compton amplitude, which can then be\nspecialized to Teukolsky solutions. In the latter case, the resulting 2PM\nobservables break the newly proposed spin-shift symmetry of the 2PM amplitude\nstarting at the fifth order in spin. Aligned spin checks as well as the high\nenergy behavior of the computed observables are discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "S-move matrix in the NS sector of $N=1$ super Liouville field theory: In this paper we calculate matrix of modular transformations of the one-point\ntoric conformal blocks in the Neveu-Schwarz sector of $N=1$ super Liouville\nfield theory. For this purpose we use explicit expression for this matrix as\nintegral of product of certain elements of fusion matrix. This integral is\ncomputed using the chain of integral identities for supersymmetric hyperbolic\ngamma functions derived by the degeneration of the integrals of parafermionic\nelliptic gamma functions.",
        "positive": "Open String Descriptions of Space-like Singularities in Two Dimensional\n  String Theory: The matrix model formulation of two dimensional string theory has been shown\nto admit time dependent classical solutions whose closed string duals are\ngeodesically incomplete space-times with space-like boundaries. We investigate\nsome aspects of the dynamics of fermions in one such background. We show that\neven though the background solution appears pathological, the time evolution of\nthe system is smooth in terms of open string degrees of freedom, viz. the\nfermions. In particular, an initial state of fermions evolves smoothly into a\nwell defined final state over an infinite open string time interval, while the\ntime perceived by closed strings appears to end abruptly. We outline a method\nof calculating fermion correlators exactly using symmetry properties. The\nresult for the two point function is consistent with the semiclassical picture."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Analytic all-plus-helicity gluon amplitudes in QCD: We detail the calculation of two-loop all-plus helicity amplitudes for pure\nYang-Mills theory. The four dimensional unitarity methods and augmented\nrecursion techniques we have developed, together with a knowledge of the\nsingular structure of the amplitudes allow us to compute these in compact\nanalytic forms. Specifically we present the computation and analytic results\nfor the six- and seven-gluon leading colour two-loop amplitudes these being the\nfirst QCD two-loop amplitudes beyond five-points.",
        "positive": "Evanescent gravitons in Warped Anti-de Sitter space: Besides black holes, the phase space of three-dimensional massive gravity\nabout Warped-Anti de Sitter (WAdS) space contains solutions that decay\nexponentially in time. They describe evanescent graviton configurations that,\nwhile governed by a wave equation with non-vanishing effective mass, do not\ncarry net gravitational energy. Explicit examples of such solutions have been\nfound in the case of Topologically Massive Gravity; here, we generalize them to\na much more general ghost-free massive deformation, with the difference being\nthat the decay rate gets corrected due to the presence of higher-order terms."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetric AdS(4) compactifications of IIA supergravity: We derive necessary and sufficient conditions for N=1 compactifications of\n(massive) IIA supergravity to AdS(4) in the language of SU(3) structures. We\nfind new solutions characterized by constant dilaton and nonzero fluxes for all\nform fields. All fluxes are given in terms of the geometrical data of the\ninternal compact space. The latter is constrained to belong to a special class\nof half-flat manifolds.",
        "positive": "Wilson Lines and Symmetry Breaking on Orbifolds: Gauge symmetry breaking by boundary conditions on a manifold is known to be\nequivalent to Wilson-line breaking through a background gauge field, and is\ntherefore spontaneous. These equivalent pictures are related by a non-periodic\ngauge transformation. However, we find that boundary condition gauge symmetry\nbreaking on orbifolds is explicit; there is no gauge where all the breaking can\nbe attributed to a background gauge field. In the case of a five-dimensional\nSU(5) grand unified theory on S^1/Z_2, the vacuum with gauge symmetry broken to\nSU(3) x SU(2) x U(1) and that with SU(5) preserved are completely disconnected:\nthere is no physical process which causes tunneling between the two. This\nallows a certain localized explicit breaking of SU(5) on one of the orbifold\nfixed points in the theory with SU(5) breaking. Split multiplets on this fixed\npoint are shown not to induce violations of unitarity in scattering amplitudes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Construction of Lagrangian local symmetries for general quadratic theory: We propose a procedure which allows one to construct local symmetry\ngenerators of general quadratic Lagrangian theory. Manifest recurrence\nrelations for generators in terms of so-called structure matrices of the Dirac\nformalism are obtained. The procedure fulfilled in terms of initial variables\nof the theory, and do not implies either separation of constraints on first and\nsecond class subsets or any other choice of basis for constraints.",
        "positive": "Remarks on a $B \\wedge F$ model with topological mass from gauging spin: Aspects of screening and confinement are reassessed for a $B \\wedge F$ model\nwith topological mass with the gauging of spin. Our discussion is carried out\nusing the gauge-invariant, but path-dependent, variables formalism. We\nexplicitly show that the static potential profile is the sum of a Yukawa and a\nlinear potential, leading to the confinement of static external charges.\nInterestingly enough, similar results are obtained in a theory of antisymmetric\ntensor fields that results from the condensation of topological defects as a\nconsequence of the Julia-Toulouse mechanism."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-Geometric Vacua of the $\\mathbf{\\text{Spin}(32)/\\mathbb Z_2}$\n  Heterotic String and Little String Theories: We study a class of 6d $\\mathcal{N}=(1,0)$ non-geometric vacua of the\n$\\text{Spin}(32)/\\mathbb Z_2$ heterotic string which can be understood as\nfibrations of genus-two curves over a complex one-dimensional base. The 6d\n$\\mathcal{N}=(1,0)$ theories living on the defects that arise when the\ngenus-two fiber degenerates at a point of the base are analyzed by dualizing to\nF-theory on elliptic K3-fibered non-compact Calabi-Yau threefolds. We consider\nall possible degenerations of genus-two curves and systematically attempt to\nresolve the singularities of the dual threefolds. As in the analogous\nnon-geometric vacua of the $E_8\\times E_8$ heterotic string, we find that many\nof the resulting dual threefolds contain singularities which do not admit a\ncrepant resolution. When the singularities can be resolved crepantly, we\ndetermine the emerging effective theories which turn out to be little string\ntheories at a generic point on their tensor branch. We also observe a form of\nduality in which theories living on distinct defects are the same.",
        "positive": "Superluminal propagation from IR physics: One may believe that front velocities of waves in a given theory coincide\nwith the UV limit of phase velocities for any dispersion relations. This\nimplies that IR physics is irrelevant to the discussion of propagation speed of\nwaves. We first consider a theory that contains higher spatial derivatives in\nthe wave equation and prove that front velocities coincide with the UV limit of\nphase velocities, at least, if parity is conserved. However, we also show that\nfront velocities do not coincide with the UV limit of phase velocities in\ngeneral dispersion relations. We explicitly give several examples in which\nfront velocities are superluminal owing to an IR or intermediate energy scale\nproperty of dispersion relations even if the UV limit of phase velocities is\nluminal. Our finding conveys the important caution that not only UV physics but\nalso IR physics can be significant to superluminality."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Simple Bound on the Error of Perturbation Theory in Quantum Mechanics: I provide a straightforward proof that a simple harmonic oscillator perturbed\nby an (almost) arbitrary positive interaction has a perturbative expansion for\nany finite-time Euclidian transition amplitude which obeys the following\nresult: the difference of the sum of the first N terms of the series and the\nexact result is bounded in absolute value by the next term in the series. The\nproof makes no assumptions about either the strength of the interactions or the\nconvergence of the perturbation series. I then argue that the result\ngeneralizes immediately to a much broader class of quantum mechanical systems,\nincluding bare perturbation theory in quantum field theory. The case of\nrenormalized perturbation theory is more subtle and remains open, as does the\ngeneralization to energy levels and connected S-matrix elements.",
        "positive": "Interpolating gauges and the importance of a careful treatment of\n  epsilon term: We consider the use of interpolating gauges (with a gauge function (F[A;alpha\n]) in gauge theories to connect the results in a set of different gauges in the\npath-integral formulation. We point out that the results for physical\nobservables are very sensitive to the epsilon term that we have to add to deal\nwith singularities and thus cannot be left out of a discussion of\ngauge-independence generally. We further point out, with reasons, that the fact\nthat we can ignore this term in the discussion of gauge independence while\nvarying of the gauge parameter in Lorentz-type covariant gauges is an exception\nrather than a rule . We show that generally gauge-independence requires that\nthe epsilon-term has to be varied with alpha. We further show that if we make a\nnaive use of the epsilon term -i\\int d^{4}x[{1/2}A^{2}-\\bar{c}c]) (that is\nappropriate for the Feynman gauge) for general interpolating gauges with\narbitrary parameter values [i.e.alpha], we cannot preserve gauge independence\n[except when we happen to be in the infinitesimal neighborhood of the\nLorentz-type gauges]. We show with an explicit example that for such a naive\nuse of an epsilon-term, we develop serious pathology in the path-integral as\nalpha is/are varied. We point out that correct way to fix the epsilon-term in a\npath-integral in a non-Lorentz gauge is by connecting the path-integral to the\nLorentz-gauge path-integral with correct epsilon-term as has been done using\nthe finite field-dependent BRS transformations in recent years."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Field Strength Formulation of Effective QED3: Halpern's field strength's formulation of gauge theories is applied to\neffective QED_3, namely, a gauge invariant theory for an Abelian gauge field\n$A_\\mu$ with non-localities and self-interactions. The resulting description in\nterms of the pseudovector field $\\tilde{F}_\\mu =\n\\epsilon_{\\mu\\nu\\lambda}\\partial_\\nu A_\\lambda$ is applied to different\nexamples.",
        "positive": "Non-Wilsonian ultraviolet completion via transseries: We study some of the implications for the perturbative renormalization\nprogram when augmented with the Borel-Ecalle resummation. We show the emergence\nof a new kind of non-perturbative fixed point for the scalar $\\phi^4$ model,\nrepresenting an ultraviolet self-completion by transseries. We argue that this\ncompletion is purely non-Wilsonian and it depends on one arbitrary constant\nstemming from the transseries solution of the renormalization group equation.\nOn the other hand, if no fixed points are demanded through the adjustment of\nthis arbitrary constant, we end up with an effective theory in which the scalar\nmass is quadratically-sensitive to the cut-off, even working in dimensional\nregularization. Complete decoupling of the scalar mass to this energy scale can\nbe used to determine a physical prescription for the Borel-Laplace resummation\nof the renormalons in non-asymptotically free models. We also comment on\npossible orthogonal scenarios available in the literature that might play a\nrole when no fixed points exist."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Phase transitions in q-deformed 2d Yang-Mills theory and topological\n  strings: We analyze large N phase transitions for U(N) q-deformed two-dimensional\nYang-Mills theory on the sphere. We determine the phase diagram of the model\nand we show that, for small values of the deformation parameter, the theory\nexhibits a phase transition which is smoothly connected to the Douglas-Kazakov\nphase transition. For large values of the deformation parameter the phase\ntransition is absent. By explicitly computing the one-instanton suppression\nfactor in the weakly coupled phase, we also show that the transition is\ntriggered by instanton effects. Finally, we present the solution of the model\nin the strongly coupled phase. Our analysis suggests that, on certain\nbackgrounds, nonperturbative topological string theory has new phase\ntransitions at small radius. From the point of view of gauge theory, it\nsuggests a mechanism to smooth out large N phase transitions.",
        "positive": "Quantum information metric of conical defect: A concept of measuring the quantum distance between two different quantum\nstates which is called quantum information metric is presented. The holographic\nprinciple (AdS/CFT) suggests that the quantum information metric\n$G_{\\lambda\\lambda}$ between perturbed state and unperturbed state in field\ntheory has a dual description in the classical gravity. In this work we\ncalculate the quantum information metric of a theory which is dual to a conical\ndefect geometry and we show that it is $n$ times the one of its covering space.\nWe also give a holographic check for our result in the gravity side. Meanwhile,\nit was argued that $G_{\\lambda\\lambda}$ is dual to a codimension-one surface in\nspacetime and satisfies\n$G_{\\lambda\\lambda}=n_{d}\\cdot\\mbox{Vol}(\\Sigma_{max})/L^{d}$. We show that the\ncoefficient $n_d$ for conical defect should be rescaled by $n^2$ from the one\nfor AdS. A limit case of conical defect --- the massless BTZ black hole--- is\nalso considered. We show that the quantum information metric of the massless\nBTZ black hole disagrees with the one obtained by taking the vanishing\ntemperature limit in BTZ black hole. This provides a new arena in differiating\nthe different phases between BTZ spacetime and its massless cousin."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Toward Large N Thermal QCD from Dual Gravity: The Heavy Quarkonium\n  Potential: We continue our study on the gravity duals for strongly coupled large N QCD\nwith fundamental flavors both at zero and non-zero temperatures. The gravity\ndual at zero temperature captures the logarithmic runnings of the coupling\nconstants at far IR and the almost conformal, albeit strongly coupled, behavior\nat the UV. The full UV completion of gauge theory is accomplished in the\ngravity side by attaching an AdS cap to the IR geometry described in our\nprevious work. Attaching such an AdS cap is highly non-trivial because it\namounts to finding the right interpolating geometry and sources that take us\nfrom a gravity solution with non-zero three-form fluxes to another one that has\nalmost vanishing three-form fluxes. In this paper we give a concrete\nrealisation of such a scenario, completing the program advocated in our earlier\npaper. One of the main advantage of having such a background, in addition to\nproviding a dual description of the required gauge theory, is the absence of\nLandau poles and consequently the UV divergences of the Wilson loops. The\npotential for the heaviest fundamental quark anti-quark pairs, which are like\nthe heavy quarkonium states in realistic QCD, can be computed and their linear\nbehavior at large separations and zero temperature could be demonstrated. At\nsmall separations the expected Coulombic behavior appears to dominate. On the\nother hand, at non-zero temperatures interesting properties like heavy\nquarkonium type suppressions and melting are shown to emerge from our gravity\ndual. We provide some discussions of the melting temperature and compare our\nresults with the Charmonium spectrum and lattice simulations. We argue that, in\nspite of the large N nature of our construction, certain model-independent\npredictions can be made.",
        "positive": "Unified Field Theory Induced on the Brane World: We show how the gravity, gauge, and matter fields are induced on dynamically\nlocalized brane world."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Noncritical M-theory and the Gross-Neveu model in 2+1 dimensions: We point out a non-trivial connection between the model proposed by Horava\nand Keeler as a candidate for noncritical M-theory and the Gross-Neveu model\nwith fermionic fields obeying periodic boundary conditions in 2+1 dimensions.\nSpecifically, the vacuum energy of the former is identified with the large-N\nfree-energy of the latter up to an overall constant. This identification\ninvolves an appropriate analytic continuation of the subtraction point in\nnoncritical M-theory, which is related to the volume of the Liouville\ndimension. We show how the world-sheet cosmological constant may be obtained\nfrom the Gross-Neveu model. At its critical point, which is given in terms of\nthe golden mean, the values of the vacuum energy and of the cosmological\nconstant are 4/5 and 2/5 of the corresponding values at infinite string\ncoupling constant.",
        "positive": "K-theory in cutoff version of Vacuum String Field Theory: Solutions of the Vacuum String Field Theory (VSFT) equation of motion\ninvolving matter part are given by projectors, and they represent\nnonperturbative solutions (e.g. the sliver) interpreted as D25-branes (or lower\ndimensional branes), but they are not mathematically well defined as they have\nzero norm. In this work we will use a regularization procedure based on the\ncutoff version of Moyal String Field Theory (MSFT), a particular version of\nVSFT, and we will see that both the sliver and the butterfly states, in this\nregime, have a good mathematical description. In particular they are\nexponential functions belonging to $\\Sc(\\RR^{2Nd})$, the space of Schwartzian\nfunctions equipped with the *-product. Then we prove that if we classify those\nregularized solutions with K-theory group built out of the C*-algebra\n$\\bar{\\Sc}(\\RR^{2Nd})$ we find exactly the same result obtained considering a\nK-theoretic classification of D25-branes in usual string theory, using the\ntopological K-theory of vector bundles over the D25-brane worldvolume. We then\ncomment on the meaning of this result and possible physical implications."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dynamic SU(2) Structure from Seven-branes: We obtain a family of supersymmetric solutions of type IIB supergravity with\ndynamic SU(2) structure, which describe the local geometry near a stack of four\nD7-branes and one O7-plane wrapping a rigid four-cycle. The deformation to a\ngeneralized complex geometry is interpreted as a consequence of nonperturbative\neffects in the seven-brane gauge theory. We formulate the problem for\nseven-branes wrapping the base of an appropriate del Pezzo cone, and in the\nnear-stack limit in which the four-cycle is flat, we obtain an exact solution\nin closed form. Our solutions serve to characterize the local geometry of\nnonperturbatively-stabilized flux compactifications.",
        "positive": "Renormalization and dressing in quantum field theory: We illustrate the mass and charge renormalization procedures in quantum field\ntheory using, as an example, a simple model of interacting electrons and\nphotons. It is shown how addition of infinite renormalization counterterms to\nthe Hamiltonian helps to obtain finite and accurate results for the S-matrix.\nIn order to remove the ultraviolet divergences from the Hamiltonian, we apply\nthe Greenberg-Schweber ``dressing transformation'' and the Glazek-Wilson\n``similarity renormalization''. The resulting ``dressed particle'' Hamiltonian\nis finite in all orders of the perturbation theory and yields accurate S-matrix\nand bound state energies. The bare and virtual particles are removed from the\ntheory, and physical dressed particles interact via direct\naction-at-a-distance."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The String Phases of Hawking Radiation, De Sitter Stage and De Broglie\n  Type Duality: We explicitly describe the last stages of black hole evaporation in the\ncontext of string theory : the combined study of Quantum Field Theory (QFT) and\nString Theory (ST) in curved backgrounds allows us to go further in the\nunderstanding of quantum gravity effects. The string ``analogue model''(or\nthermo-dynamical approach) is a well suited framework for this purpose.The\nresults also apply to another physically relevant case: de Sitter background.\nSemiclassical (QFT) and quantum gravity (String) phases or regimes are properly\ndetermined (back reaction effects included). The Hawking-Gibbons temperature\n${T_H}$ of the semiclassical regime becomes the intrinsic string temperature\n${T_S}$ in the quantum gravity regime.The spectrum of black hole evaporation is\nan incomplete gamma function of $(T_S - T_H)$: the early evaporation is thermal\n(Hawking radiation), while at the end the black hole undergoes a phase\ntransition to a string state decaying (as string decay) into pure (non mixed)\nparticle states.Remarquably, explicit dynamical computations show that both\ngravity regimes: semiclassical (QFT) and quantum (string), are dual of each\nother, in the precise sense of the classical-quantum (de Broglie type) duality.",
        "positive": "Effects of Anomalous Magnetic Moment in the Quantum Motion of Neutral\n  Particle in Magnetic and Electric Fields Produced by a Linear Source in a\n  Conical Spacetime: In this paper we analyse the effect of the anomalous magnetic moment on the\nnon-relativistic quantum motion of a neutral particle in magnetic and electric\nfields produced by linear sources of constant current and charge density,\nrespectively."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Nearing 11d Extremal Intersecting Giants and New Decoupled Sectors in D\n  = 3,6 SCFT's: We extend the analysis of arXiv:0801.4457 [hep-th] to charged black hole\nsolutions of four-dimensional $U(1)^4$ gauged supergravity which carry three\ncharges. There are two decoupling near-horizon limits, one over the near-BPS\nblack hole solution and the other over the near-extremal, but non-BPS geometry.\nTaking the limit over the eleven dimensional uplift of these black hole\nsolutions, for both of these cases we obtain a geometry which has a piece\n(conformal) to rotating BTZ $\\times S^2$. We study the 4d, $11d$ and $5d, 3d$\nblack hole properties. Moreover, we show that the BTZ$\\times S^2$ geometry\nobtained after the near-BPS (near-extremal) limit is also a solution to\nfive-dimensional $U(1)^3$ un-gauged (gauged) STU supergravity. Based on these\ndecoupling limits we argue that there should be sectors of 3d CFT resulting\nfrom low energy limit of theory on $N$ M2-branes ($N\\to \\infty)$, which are\ndecoupled from the rest of the theory and are effectively described by a 2d\nCFT. The central charge of the 2d CFT in both near-BPS and near-extremal case\nscales as $N$. The engineering dimension of the operators in these decoupled\nsectors scales as $N^{4/3}$ (for near-BPS case) while as $N^{3/2}$ (for the\nnear-extremal case). Moreover, we discuss the description of the decoupled\nsectors as certain deformations of $6d$ CFT residing on the intersecting\nM5-brane giants.",
        "positive": "String moduli inflation: an overview: We present an overview of inflationary models derived from string theory\nfocusing mostly on closed string moduli as inflatons. After a detailed\ndiscussion of the eta-problem and different approaches to address it, we\ndescribe possible ways to obtain a de Sitter vacuum with all closed string\nmoduli stabilised. We then look for inflationary directions and present some of\nthe most promising scenarios where the inflatons are either the real or the\nimaginary part of Kaehler moduli. We pay particular attention on extracting\npotential observable implications, showing how most of the scenarios predict\nnegligible gravitational waves and could therefore be ruled out by the Planck\nsatellite. We conclude by briefly mentioning some open challenges in string\ncosmology beyond deriving just inflation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Entanglement Entropy, Relative Entropy and Duality: A definition for the entanglement entropy in both Abelian and non-Abelian\ngauge theories has been given in the literature, based on an extended Hilbert\nspace construction. The result can be expressed as a sum of two terms, a\nclassical term and a quantum term. It has been argued that only the quantum\nterm is extractable through the processes of quantum distillation and dilution.\nHere we consider gauge theories in the continuum limit and argue that quite\ngenerically, the classical piece is dominated by modes with very high momentum,\nof order the cut-off, in the direction normal to the entangling surface. As a\nresult, we find that the classical term does not contribute to the relative\nentropy or the mutual information, in the continuum limit, for states which\nonly carry a finite amount of energy above the ground state. We extend these\nconsiderations for $p$-form theories, and also discuss some aspects pertaining\nto electric-magnetic duality.",
        "positive": "High Temperature Asymptotics in Terms of Heat Kernel Coefficients:\n  Boundary Conditions with Spherical and Cylindrical Symmetries: The high temperature asymptotics of the Helmholtz free energy of\nelectromagnetic field subjected to boundary conditions with spherical and\ncylindrical symmetries are constructed by making use of a general expansion in\nterms of heat kernel coefficients and the related determinant. For this, some\nnew heat kernel coefficients and determinants had to be calculated for the\nboundary conditions under consideration. The obtained results reproduce all the\nasymptotics derived by other methods in the problems at hand and involve a few\nnew terms in the high temperature expansions. An obvious merit of this approach\nis its universality and applicability to any boundary value problem correctly\nformulated."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Superspace without torsion and the composite fundamental fermions: (N=2)-superspace without torsion is described, which is equivalent to an\n8-space with a discrete internal subspace. A number and a character of ties\ndetermine now an internal symmetry group, while in the supersymmetrical models\nthis one is determined by an extension degree N. Such a model can be\nconstructed for no less than 4 generations of the two-component fundamental\nfermions. Analogues of the Higgs fields appear in the model naturally after\ntransition to the Grassmannian extra coordinates. The connection between\ndiscrete and continues internal symmetries of the model is discussed. If one\nconsiders gravity as embedding the curved 4-space into a 12-dimensional flat\nspace, a U(1)-symmetry appears transformations of which should be connected\nwith the ones of SU(2)-group. If super-strong interacting gravitons are\nconstituents of the composite fermions, all this may open us another way to\nunify the known interactions. The main feature of this new approach may be the\nexternal see of gravitons underlying an internal structure of particles; the\nlack of any divergencies would be due the Planckian spectrum of external\ngravitons.",
        "positive": "Near-horizon symmetries of extremal black holes: Recent work has demonstrated an attractor mechanism for extremal rotating\nblack holes subject to the assumption of a near-horizon SO(2,1) symmetry. We\nprove the existence of this symmetry for any extremal black hole with the same\nnumber of rotational symmetries as known four and five dimensional solutions\n(including black rings). The result is valid for a general two-derivative\ntheory of gravity coupled to abelian vectors and uncharged scalars, allowing\nfor a non-trivial scalar potential. We prove that it remains valid in the\npresence of higher-derivative corrections. We show that SO(2,1)-symmetric\nnear-horizon solutions can be analytically continued to give SU(2)-symmetric\nblack hole solutions. For example, the near-horizon limit of an extremal 5D\nMyers-Perry black hole is related by analytic continuation to a non-extremal\ncohomogeneity-1 Myers-Perry solution."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "N=1 Supersymmetric Non-Abelian Compensator Mechanism for Extra Vector\n  Multiplet: We present a variant formulation of N=1 supersymmetric compensator mechanism\nfor an arbitrary non-Abelian group in four dimensions. This formulation\nresembles our previous variant supersymmetric compensator mechanism in 4D. Our\nfield content consists of the three multiplets: (i) A Non-Abelian Yang-Mills\nmultiplet (A_\\mu^I, \\lambda^I, C_{\\mu\\nu\\rho}^I), (ii) a tensor multiplet\n(B_{\\mu\\nu}^I, \\chi^I, \\varphi^I) and an extra vector multiplet (K_\\mu^I,\n\\rho^I, C_{\\mu\\nu\\rho}^I) with the index I for the adjoint representation of a\nnon-Abelian gauge group. The C_{\\mu\\nu\\rho}^I is originally an auxiliary field\ndual to the conventional auxiliary field D^I for the extra vector multiplet.\nThe vector K_\\mu^I and the tensor C_{\\mu\\nu\\rho}^I get massive, after absorbing\nrespectively the scalar \\varphi^I and the tensor B_{\\mu\\nu}^I. The superpartner\nfermion \\rho^I acquires a Dirac mass shared with \\chi^I. We fix all non-trivial\ncubic interactions in the total lagrangian, all quadratic terms in\nsupersymmetry transformations, and all quadratic interactions in field\nequations. The action invariance and the super-covariance of all field\nequations are confirmed up to the corresponding orders.",
        "positive": "Quantized hermitian superfields: We analyse the algebras generated by free component quantum fields together\nwith the susy generators $Q,\\bar Q$. Restricting to hermitian fields we first\nconstruct the scalar field algebra from which various scalar superfields can be\nobtained by exponentiation. Then we study the vector algebra and use it to\nconstruct the vector superfield. Surprisingly enough, the result is totally\ndifferent from the vector multiplet in the literature. It contains two\nhermitian four-vector components instead of one and a spin-3/2 field similar to\nthe gravitino in supergravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Implementing odd-axions in dimensional oxidation of non-geometric type\n  IIB action: In a setup of type IIB superstring compactification on an orientifold of a\n${\\mathbb T}^6/{\\mathbb Z}_4$ sixfold, the presence of geometric flux\n($\\omega$) and non-geometric fluxes ($Q, R$) is implemented along with the\nstandard NS-NS and RR three-form fluxes ($H, F$). After computing the F/D-term\ncontributions to the ${\\cal N}=1$ four dimensional effective scalar potential,\nwe rearrange the same into `suitable' pieces by using a set of new generalized\nflux orbits. Subsequently, we dimensionally oxidize the various pieces of the\ntotal four dimensional scalar potential to guess their ten-dimensional origin.",
        "positive": "Planar Yang-Mills theory: Hamiltonian, regulators and mass gap: We carry out the Hamiltonian analysis of non-Abelian gauge theories in (2+1)\ndimensions in a gauge-invariant matrix parametrization of the fields. A\ndetailed discussion of regularization issues and the construction of the\nrenormalized Laplace operator on the configuration space, which is proportional\nto the kinetic energy, are given. The origin of the mass gap is analyzed and\nthe lowest eigenstates of the kinetic energy are explicitly obtained; these\nhave zero charge and exhibit a mass gap . The nature of the corrections due to\nthe potential energy, the possibility of an improved perturbation theory and a\nSchrodinger-like equation for the states are also discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Symmetries and charges of general relativity at null boundaries: We study general relativity at a null boundary using the covariant phase\nspace formalism. We define a covariant phase space and compute the algebra of\nsymmetries at the null boundary by considering the boundary-preserving\ndiffeomorphisms that preserve this phase space. This algebra is the semi-direct\nsum of diffeomorphisms on the two sphere and a nonabelian algebra of\nsupertranslations that has some similarities to supertranslations at null\ninfinity. By using the general prescription developed by Wald and Zoupas, we\nderive the localized charges of this algebra at cross sections of the null\nsurface as well as the associated fluxes. Our analysis is covariant and applies\nto general non-stationary null surfaces. We also derive the global charges that\ngenerate the symmetries for event horizons, and show that these obey the same\nalgebra as the linearized diffeomorphisms, without any central extension. Our\nresults show that supertranslations play an important role not just at null\ninfinity but at all null boundaries, including non-stationary event horizons.\nThey should facilitate further investigations of whether horizon symmetries and\nconservation laws in black hole spacetimes play a role in the information loss\nproblem, as suggested by Hawking, Perry, and Strominger.",
        "positive": "Effect of the Gribov horizon on the Polyakov loop and vice versa: We consider finite temperature SU(2) gauge theory in the continuum\nformulation, which necessitates the choice of a gauge fixing. Choosing the\nLandau gauge, the existing gauge copies are taken into account by means of the\nGribov-Zwanziger (GZ) quantization scheme, which entails the introduction of a\ndynamical mass scale (Gribov mass) directly influencing the Green functions of\nthe theory. Here, we determine simultaneously the Polyakov loop (vacuum\nexpectation value) and Gribov mass in terms of temperature, by minimizing the\nvacuum energy w.r.t. the Polyakov loop parameter and solving the Gribov gap\nequation. Inspired by the Casimir energy-style of computation, we illustrate\nthe usage of Zeta function regularization in finite temperature calculations.\nOur main result is that the Gribov mass directly feels the deconfinement\ntransition, visible from a cusp occurring at the same temperature where the\nPolyakov loop becomes nonzero. In this exploratory work we mainly restrict\nourselves to the original Gribov-Zwanziger quantization procedure in order to\nillustrate the approach and the potential direct link between the vacuum\nstructure of the theory (dynamical mass scales) and (de)confinement. We also\npresent a first look at the critical temperature obtained from the Refined\nGribov-Zwanziger approach. Finally, a particular problem for the pressure at\nlow temperatures is reported."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Heavy Operators in Superconformal Chern-Simons Theory: We study the anomalous dimensions for scalar operators in ABJM theory in the\nSU(2) sector. The operators we consider have a classical dimension that grows\nas N in the large N limit. Consequently, the large N limit is not captured by\nsumming planar diagrams - non-planar contributions have to be included. We find\nthat the mixing matrix at two-loop order is diagonalized using a double coset\nansatz, reducing it to the Hamiltonian of a set of decoupled oscillators. The\nspectrum of anomalous dimensions, when interpreted in the dual gravity theory,\nshows that the energy of the fluctuations of the corresponding giant graviton\nis dependent on the size of the giant. The first subleading corrections to the\nlarge N limit are also considered. These subleading corrections to the\ndilatation operator do not commute with the leading terms, indicating that\nintegrability may not survive beyond the large N limit.",
        "positive": "Analogies in theoretical physics: Analogies have had and continue to have an important role in the development\nof theoretical physics. They may start from similarities of physical concepts\nfollowed by similarities in the mathematical formalization or it may be a\npurely mathematical aspect to suggest the development of analogous physical\nconcepts. More often a subtle non obvious interplay between these levels is\ninvolved. In this paper I will discuss two cases sufficiently intricate to\nillustrate some ways of how analogies work. The first topic is the introduction\nof spontaneous symmetry breaking in particle physics. The second one is the use\nof the renormalization group in the theory of critical phenomena and its\nstatistical interpretation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Noncommutativity In A Simple Toy Model: We discuss various symmetry properties of the reparametrization invariant toy\nmodel of a free non-relativistic particle and show that its commutativity and\nnoncommutativity (NC) properties are the artifact of the underlying symmetry\ntransformations. For the case of the symmetry transformations corresponding to\nthe noncommutative geometry, the mass parameter of the toy model turns out to\nbe noncommutative in nature. By exploiting the Becchi-Rouet-Stora-Tyutin (BRST)\nsymmetry transformations, we demonstrate the existence of the NC and show its\ncohomological equivalence with its commutative counterpart. A connection\nbetween the usual gauge symmetry transformations corresponding to the\ncommutative geometry and the quantum groups, defined on the phase space, is\nalso established for the present model at the level of Poisson bracket\nstructure. We show that, for the NC geometry, such a kind of quantum group\nconnection does not exist.",
        "positive": "Parametrization of Born-Infeld Type Phantom Dark Energy Model: Applying the parametrization of dark energy density, we can construct\ndirectly independent-model potentials. In Born-Infeld type phantom dark energy\nmodel, we consider four special parametrization equation of state parameter.\nThe evolutive behavior of dark energy density with respect to red-shift $z$,\npotentials with respect to $\\phi$ and $z$ are shown mathematically. Moreover,\nwe investigate the effect of parameter $\\eta$ upon the evolution of the\nconstructed potential with respect to $z$. These results show that the\nevolutive behavior of constructed Born-Infeld type dark energy model is quite\ndifferent from those of the other models."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Multi-matrix models and Noncommutative Frobenius algebras obtained from\n  symmetric groups and Brauer algebras: It has been understood that correlation functions of multi-trace operators in\n${\\cal N}=4$ SYM can be neatly computed using the group algebra of symmetric\ngroups or walled Brauer algebras. On the other hand such algebras have been\nknown to construct 2D topological field theories (TFTs). After reviewing the\nconstruction of 2D TFTs based on symmetric groups, we construct 2D TFTs based\non walled Brauer algebras. In the construction, the introduction of a dual\nbasis manifests a similarity between the two theories. We next construct a\nclass of 2D field theories whose physical operators have the same symmetry as\nmulti-trace operators constructed from some matrices. Such field theories\ncorrespond to non-commutative Frobenius algebras. A matrix structure arises as\na consequence of the noncommutativity. Correlation functions of the Gaussian\ncomplex multi-matrix models can be translated into correlation functions of the\ntwo-dimensional field theories.",
        "positive": "Vector perturbations of Kerr-AdS$_5$ and the Painlev\u00e9 VI transcendent: We analyze the Ansatz of separability for Maxwell equations in generically\nspinning, five-dimensional Kerr-AdS black holes. We find that the parameter \\mu\nintroduced in a previous work by O. Lunin can be interpreted as apparent\nsingularities of the resulting radial and angular equations. Using isomonodromy\ndeformations, we describe a non-linear symmetry of the system, under which \\mu\nis tied to the Painlev\\'e VI transcendent. By translating the boundary\nconditions imposed on the solutions of the equations for quasinormal modes in\nterms of monodromy data, we find a procedure to fix \\mu and study the behavior\nof the quasinormal modes in the limit of fast spinning small black holes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Inner products of Bethe states as partial domain wall partition\n  functions: We study the inner product of Bethe states in the inhomogeneous periodic XXX\nspin-1/2 chain of length L, which is given by the Slavnov determinant formula.\nWe show that the inner product of an on-shell M-magnon state with a generic\nM-magnon state is given by the same expression as the inner product of a\n2M-magnon state with a vacuum descendent. The second inner product is\nproportional to the partition function of the six-vertex model on a rectangular\nLx2M grid, with partial domain-wall boundary conditions.",
        "positive": "Infrared Limit of Gluon Amplitudes at Strong Coupling: In this note, we propose that the infrared structure of gluon amplitudes at\nstrong coupling can be fully extracted from a local consideration near cusps.\nThis is consistent with field theory and correctly reproduces the infrared\ndivergences of the four-gluon amplitude at strong coupling calculated recently\nby Alday and Maldacena."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Stringy KLT relations, global symmetries, and E_7(7) violation: We study consequences of the Kawai-Lewellen-Tye (KLT) relations applied to\ntree amplitudes in toroidal compactifications of string theory to four\ndimensions. The closed string tree amplitudes with massless external states\nrespect a global SU(4)xSU(4) symmetry, which is enhanced to the SU(8)\nR-symmetry of N=8 supergravity in the field theory limit. Our analysis focuses\non two aspects: (i) We provide a detailed account of the simplest\nSU(8)-violating amplitudes. We classify these processes and derive explicit\nsuperamplitudes for all local 5- and 6-point operators with SU(4)xSU(4)\nsymmetry at order alpha'^3. Their origin is the dilatonic operator exp(-6 phi)\nR^4 in the closed-string effective action. (ii) We expand the 6-point closed\nstring tree amplitudes to order alpha'^3 and use two different methods to\nisolate the SU(8)-singlet contribution from exp(-6 phi) R^4. This allows us to\nextract the matrix elements of the unique SU(8)-invariant supersymmetrization\nof R^4. Their single-soft scalar limits are non-vanishing. This demonstrates\nthat the N=8 supergravity candidate counterterm R^4 is incompatible with\ncontinuous E_7(7) symmetry. From the soft scalar limits, we reconstruct to\nquadratic order the SU(8)-invariant function of scalars that multiplies R^4,\nand show that it satisfies the Laplace eigenvalue equation derived recently\nfrom supersymmetry and duality constraints.",
        "positive": "Flipped SU(5) GUTs from E_8 Singularities in F-theory: In this paper we construct supersymmetric flipped SU(5) GUTs from E_8\nsingularities in F-theory. We start from an SO(10) singularity unfolded from an\nE_8 singularity by using an SU(4) spectral cover. To obtain realistic models,\nwe consider (3,1) and (2,2) factorizations of the SU(4) cover. After turning on\nthe massless U(1)_X gauge flux, we obtain the SU(5) X U(1)_X gauge group. Based\non the well-studied geometric backgrounds in the literature, we demonstrate\nseveral models and discuss their phenomenology."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Composite dynamical symmetry of M-branes: It is shown that the previously noticed internal dynamical $SO(D-1)$ symmetry\narXiv:1003.5189 for relativistic M-branes moving in $D$-dimensional space-time\nis naturally realized in the (extended by powers of $\\frac{1}{p_+}$) enveloping\nalgebra of the Poincar\\'e algebra.",
        "positive": "Sine-Gordon =/= Massive Thirring, and Related Heresies: By viewing the Sine-Gordon and massive Thirring models as perturbed conformal\nfield theories one sees that they are different (the difference being\nobservable, for instance, in finite-volume energy levels). The UV limit of the\nformer (SGM) is a gaussian model, that of the latter (MTM) a so-called {\\it\nfermionic} gaussian model, the compactification radius of the boson underlying\nboth theories depending on the SG/MT coupling. (These two families of conformal\nfield theories are related by a ``twist''.) Corresponding SG and MT models\ncontain a subset of fields with identical correlation functions, but each model\nalso has fields the other one does not, e.g. the fermion fields of MTM are not\ncontained in SGM, and the {\\it bosonic} soliton fields of SGM are not in MTM.\nOur results imply, in particular, that the SGM at the so-called ``free-Dirac\npoint'' $\\beta^2 = 4\\pi$ is actually a theory of two interacting bosons with\ndiagonal S-matrix $S=-1$, and that for arbitrary couplings the overall sign of\nthe accepted SG S-matrix in the soliton sector should be reversed. More\ngenerally, we draw attention to the existence of new classes of quantum field\ntheories, analogs of the (perturbed) fermionic gaussian models, whose partition\nfunctions are invariant only under a subgroup of the modular group. One such\nclass comprises ``fermionic versions'' of the Virasoro minimal models."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Infinite Dimensional Symmetries of Self-Dual Yang-Mills: We construct symmetries of the Chalmers-Siegel action describing self-dual\nYang-Mills theory using a canonical transformation to a free theory. The\nsymmetries form an infinite dimensional Lie algebra in the group algebra of\nisometries.",
        "positive": "Locating Overlap Information in Quantum Systems: When discussing the black hole information problem the term ``information\nflow'' is frequently used in a rather loose fashion. In this article I attempt\nto make this notion more concrete. I consider a Hilbert space which is\nconstructed as a tensor product of two subspaces (representing for example\ninside and outside the black hole). I discuss how the system has the capacity\nto contain information which is in NEITHER of the subspaces. I attempt to\nquantify the amount of information located in each of the two subspaces, and\nelsewhere, and analyze the extent to which unitary evolution can correspond to\n``information flow''. I define the notion of ``overlap information'' which\nappears to be well suited to the problem."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Holographic Fractional Topological Insulator: We give a holographic realization of the recently proposed low energy\neffective action describing a fractional topological insulator. In particular\nwe verify that the surface of this hypothetical material supports a fractional\nquantum Hall current corresponding to half that of a Laughlin state.",
        "positive": "Finite quantum gravity in dS and AdS spacetimes: We hereby study the properties of a large class of weakly nonlocal\ngravitational theories around the (anti-) de Sitter spacetime background. In\nparticular, we explicitly prove that the kinetic operator for the graviton\nfield has the same structure as the one in Einstein-Hilbert theory around any\nmaximally symmetric spacetime. Therefore, the perturbative spectrum is the same\nof standard general relativity, while the propagator on any maximally symmetric\nspacetime is a mere generalization of the one from Einstein's gravity derived\nand extensively studied in several previous papers. At quantum level the range\nof theories here presented is superrenormalizable or finite when proper (non\naffecting the propagator) terms cubic or higher in curvatures are added.\nFinally, it is proven that for a large class of nonlocal theories, which in\ntheir actions do involve neither the Weyl nor the Riemann tensor, the theory is\nclassically equivalent to the Einstein-Hilbert one with cosmological constant\nby means of a metric field redefinition at any perturbative order."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Global Monopole in Asymptotically dS/AdS Spacetime: In this paper, we investigate the global monopole in asymptotically dS/Ads\nspacetime and find that the mass of the monopole in the asymptotically dS\nspacetime could be positive if the cosmological constant is greater than a\ncritical value. This shows that the gravitational field of the global monopole\ncould be attractive or repulsive depending on the value of the cosmological\nconstant.",
        "positive": "Large D membrane for Higher Derivative Gravity and Black Hole Second Law: We derive the effective equations of the membranes dual to black holes in a\nparticular theory of higher derivative gravity namely Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet\n(EGB) gravity at sub-leading order in $1/D$ upto linear order in the\nGauss-Bonnet (GB) parameter $\\beta$. We find an expression for an entropy\ncurrent which satisfies a local version of second law onshell in this regime.\nWe also derive the membrane equations upto leading order in $1/D$ but\nnon-perturbatively in $\\beta$ for EGB gravity. In this regime we write down an\nexpression for a world-volume stress tensor of the membrane and also work out\nthe effective membrane equation for stationary black holes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Induced fermionic charge and current densities in two-dimensional rings: For a massive quantum fermionic field, we investigate the vacuum expectation\nvalues (VEVs) of the charge and current densities induced by an external\nmagnetic flux in a two-dimensional circular ring. Both the irreducible\nrepresentations of the Clifford algebra are considered. On the ring edges the\nbag (infinite mass) boundary conditions are imposed for the field operator.\nThis leads to the Casimir type effect on the vacuum characteristics. The radial\ncurrent vanishes. The charge and the azimuthal current are decomposed into the\nboundary-free and boundary-induced contributions. Both these contributions are\nodd periodic functions of the magnetic flux with the period equal to the flux\nquantum. An important feature that distinguishes the VEVs of the charge and\ncurrent densities from the VEV of the energy density, is their finiteness on\nthe ring edges. The current density is equal to the charge density for the\nouter edge and has the opposite sign on the inner edge. The VEVs are peaked\nnear the inner edge and, as functions of the field mass, exhibit quite\ndifferent features for two inequivalent representations of the Clifford\nalgebra. We show that, unlike the VEVs in the boundary-free geometry, the\nvacuum charge and the current in the ring are continuous functions of the\nmagnetic flux and vanish for half-odd integer values of the flux in units of\nthe flux quantum. Combining the results for two irreducible representations, we\nalso investigate the induced charge and current in parity and time-reversal\nsymmetric models. The corresponding results are applied to graphene rings with\nthe electronic subsystem described in terms of the effective Dirac theory with\nthe energy gap. If the energy gaps for two valleys of the graphene hexagonal\nlattice are the same, the charge densities corresponding to the separate\nvalleys cancel each other, whereas the azimuthal current is doubled.",
        "positive": "Exact Solution to the One-Plaquette Model of Induced QCD at Large $N$: The induced lattice gauge theory with various types of inducing fields in\nfundamental representation of $SU(N_{c})$ is considered.\n  In a simple case of one-plaquette lattice the model is solved in the large\n$N_{c}$ limit by means of loop equations.\n  Comparison with the solution of usual QCD shows the equivalence of induced\nand Wilson QCD providing that a mass and a number of flavours of inducing\nfields are sufficiently large. The possibility to take an asymptotically free\ncontinuum limit of induced QCD is discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Superstring Interactions in a pp-wave Background: We construct light-cone gauge superstring field theory in a pp-wave\nbackground with Ramond-Ramond flux. The leading term in the interaction\nHamiltonian is determined up to an overall function of $p^+$ by requiring\nclosure of the pp-wave superalgebra. The bosonic and fermionic Neumann matrices\nfor this cubic vertex are derived, as is the interaction point operator. We\ncomment on the development of a $1/\\mu p^+$ expansion for these results.",
        "positive": "Dimensional reduction of higher-point conformal blocks: Recently, with the help of Parisi-Sourlas supersymmetry an intriguing\nrelation was found expressing the four-point scalar conformal block of a\n(d-2)-dimensional CFT in terms of a five-term linear combination of blocks of a\nd-dimensional CFT, with constant coefficients. We extend this dimensional\nreduction relation to all higher-point scalar conformal blocks of arbitrary\ntopology restricted to scalar exchanges. We show that the constant coefficients\nappearing in the finite term higher-point dimensional reduction obey an\ninteresting factorization property allowing them to be determined in terms of\ncertain graphical Feynman-like rules and the associated finite set of vertex\nand edge factors. Notably, these rules can be fully determined by considering\nthe explicit power-series representation of just three particular conformal\nblocks: the four-point block, the five-point block and the six-point block of\nthe so-called OPE/snowflake topology. In principle, this method can be applied\nto obtain the arbitrary-point dimensional reduction of conformal blocks with\nspinning exchanges as well. We also show how to systematically extend the\ndimensional reduction relation of conformal partial waves to higher-points."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Notes on One-loop Calculations in Light-cone Gauge: Loop calculations in light-cone gauge must confront many technical\ncomplexities. We offer here a compendium of detailed light-cone calculations in\nYang-Mills theories (with no matter fields). We consistently regulate the p^+=0\nsingularities through discretization of the p^+ component of momentum. Although\nit is more cumbersome than the Mandelstam-Leibbrandt prescription, this choice\nhas the virtue of employing only positive norm states, retaining manifest\nunitarity. Some of the results given here are useful in a forthcoming paper\nwith D. Chakrabarti and J. Qiu on scattering of glue by glue, specifically the\nresults for the gluon self-energy and one-loop vertex corrections.",
        "positive": "Quantum Deformations of $\u03c4$-functions, Bilinear Identities and\n  Representation Theory: This paper is a brief review of recent results on the concept of\n``generalized $\\tau$-function'', defined as a generating function of all the\nmatrix elements in a given highest-weight representation of a universal\nenveloping algebra ${\\cal G}$. Despite the differences from the particular case\nof conventional $\\tau$-functions of integrable (KP and Toda lattice)\nhierarchies, these generic $\\tau$-functions also satisfy bilinear Hirota-like\nequations, which can be deduced from manipulations with intertwining operators.\nThe main example considered in details is the case of quantum groups, when such\n$\\tau$-``functions'' are not $c$-numbers but take their values in\nnon-commutative algebras (of functions on the quantum group $G$). The paper\ncontains only illustrative calculations for the simplest case of the algebra\nSL(2) and its quantum counterpart $SL_q(2)$, as well as for the system of\nfundamental representations of SL(n)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On instanton effects in the operator product expansion: We revisit the computation of instanton effects to various correlation\nfunctions in ${\\cal N}=4$ SYM and clarify a controversy existing in the\nliterature regarding their consistency with the OPE and conformal symmetry. To\ncheck these properties, we examine the conformal partial wave decomposition of\nfour-point correlators involving combinations of half-BPS and Konishi operators\nand isolate the contribution from the conformal primary scalar operators of\ntwist four. We demonstrate that the leading instanton correction to this\ncontribution is indeed consistent with conformal symmetry and compute the\ncorresponding corrections to the OPE coefficients and the scaling dimensions of\nsuch twist-four operators. Our analysis justifies the regularization procedure\nused to compute ultraviolet divergent instanton contribution to correlation\nfunctions involving unprotected operators.",
        "positive": "Patterns in Open String Field Theory Solutions: In open string field theory the kinetic operator mixes matter and ghost\nsectors, and thus the ghost structure of classical solutions is not universal.\nNevertheless, we have found from numerical analysis that certain ratios of\nexpectation values for states involving pure ghost excitations appear to be\nuniversal. We give an analytic expression for these ratios and find good\nevidence that they are common to all known solutions of open string field\ntheory, including the tachyon vacuum solution, lump solutions and string fields\nrepresenting marginal deformations. We also draw attention to a close\ncorrespondence between the expectation values for the pure matter components in\nthe tachyon vacuum solution and those in the solution of a simpler equation for\na ghost number zero string field. Finally we observe that the action of L_0 on\nthe tachyon condensate gives a state that is approximately factorized into a\nmatter and a ghost part."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "From Weak to Strong Coupling in Two-Dimensional Gravity: The strong coupling physics of two dimensional gravity at C=7, 13, 19 is\ndeciphered, by building up on previous works along the same line (for a recent\nreview, of the background material, see hep-th/9408069). It is shown that\nchirality becomes deconfined. The string suceptibility is derived, and found to\nbe real contrary to the continuation of the KPZ formula. Topological Liouville\nstring theories (without transverse degree of freedom) are explicitely solved.\nAltough they involve strongly coupled gravity, they share many features with\nthe standard matrix models.",
        "positive": "Discrete Anomaly and Dynamical Mass in 2+1 dimensional $U(1)_V\\times\n  U(1)_A$ Model: We note that in (2+1)-dimensional gauge theories with even number of massless\nfermions, there is anomalous $Z_2$ symmetry if theory is regularized in a\nparity-invariant way. We then consider a parity invariant $U(1)_V\\times U(1)_A$\nmodel, which induces a mutual Chern-Simons term in the effective action due to\n$Z_2$ anomaly. The effect of the discrete anomaly is studied in the induced\nspin and in the dynamical fermion mass."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Conformal Anisotropic Quantum Cosmology: In this paper we apply the ideas put forward by Ho\\v{r}ava, and introduce\nanisotropic transformations to cosmology. We start with the Kantowski-Sachs\ncosmological model and impose anisotropic transformation invariance on the\nminisuperspace variables. We study the symmetries of the anisotropic model and\nby canonical quantization find a Schr\\\"odinger type equation for $z\\ne 1$.\nFinally, we conclude that introducing anistropic invariance can be considered a\nsolution to the problem of time in quantum cosmology and gives some insight on\nthe structure of a well behaved quantum theory of gravity.",
        "positive": "Non-equilibrium effective field theory and second sound: We investigate the phenomenon of second sound in various states of matter\nfrom the perspective of non-equilibrium effective field theory (EFT). In\nparticular, for each state of matter considered, we find that at least two\n(though sometimes multiple) qualitatively different EFTs exist at finite\ntemperature such that there is always at least one EFT with a propagating\nsecond-sound wave and at least one with no such second-sound wave. To aid in\nthe construction of these EFTs, we use the method of cosets developed for\nnon-equilibrium systems. It turns out that the difference between the EFTs with\nand without second-sound modes can be understood as arising from different\nchoices of a new kind of inverse Higgs constraint. Finally, we demonstrate that\nit is possible to bypass the need for new inverse Higgs constraints by\nformulating EFTs on a new kind of manifold that is like the usual fluid\nworldvolume, but with reduced gauge symmetries."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Comments on A,B,C Chains of Heterotic and Type II Vacua: We construct, as hypersurfaces in toric varieties, Calabi-Yau manifolds\ncorresponding to F-theory vacua dual to E8*E8 heterotic strings compactified to\nsix dimensions on K3 surfaces with non-semisimple gauge backgrounds. These\nvacua were studied in the recent work of Aldazabal, Font, Ibanez and Uranga. We\nextend their results by constructing many more examples, corresponding to\nenhanced gauge symmetries, by noting that they can be obtained from previously\nknown Calabi-Yau manifolds corresponding to K3 compactification of heterotic\nstrings with simple gauge backgrounds by means of extremal transitions of the\nconifold type.",
        "positive": "AdS Weight Shifting Operators: We construct a new class of differential operators that naturally act on AdS\nharmonic functions. These are weight shifting operators that change the spin\nand dimension of AdS representations. Together with CFT weight shifting\noperators, the new operators obey crossing equations that relate distinct\nrepresentations of the conformal group. We apply our findings to the\ncomputation of Witten diagrams, focusing on the particular case of cubic\ninteractions and on massive, symmetric and traceless fields. In particular we\nshow that tree level 4-point Witten diagrams with arbitrary spins, both in the\nexternal fields and in the exchanged field, can be reduced to the action of\nweight shifting operators on similar 4-point Witten diagrams where all fields\nare scalars. We also show how to obtain the conformal partial wave expansion of\nthese diagrams using the new set of operators. In the case of 1-loop diagrams\nwith cubic couplings we show how to reduce them to similar 1-loop diagrams with\nscalar fields except for a single external spinning field (which must be a\nscalar in the case of a two-point diagram). As a bonus, we provide new CFT and\nAdS weight shifting operators for mixed-symmetry tensors."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetric Structure of the Bosonic String Theory in the Beltrami\n  Parametrization: We show that the bosonic string theory quantized in the Beltrami\nparametrization possesses a supersymmetric structure like the\nvector-supersymmetry already observed in topological field theories.",
        "positive": "The fine structure constant at the unification scale equal to 1/4pi?: A recently proposed topological mechanism for the quantization of the charge\ngives the value e_0=\\sqrt{\\hbar c} for both the fundamental electric and\nmagnetic charges. It is argued that the corresponding fine structure constant\n\\alpha_0=1/4pi could be interpreted as its value at the unification scale."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Isomonodromy equations on algebraic curves, canonical transformations\n  and Whitham equations: The Hamiltonian theory of isomonodromy equations for meromorphic connections\nwith irregular singularities on algebraic curves is constructed. An explicit\nformula for the symplectic structure on the space of monodromy and Stokes\nmatrices is obtained. The Whitham equations for the isomonodromy equations are\nderived. It is shown that they provide a flat connection on the space of the\nspectral curves of the Hitchin systems.",
        "positive": "A note on Friedmann equation of FRW universe in deformed Horava-Lifshitz\n  gravity from entropic force: With entropic interpretation of gravity proposed by Verlinde, we obtain the\nFriedmann equation of the Friedmann-Robertson-Walker universe for the deformed\nHo\\v{r}ava-Lifshitz gravity. It is shown that, when the parameter of\nHo\\v{r}ava-Lifshitz gravity $\\omega\\rightarrow \\infty$, the modified Friedmann\nequation will go back to the one in Einstein gravity. This results may imply\nthat the entropic interpretation of gravity is effective for the deformed\nHo\\v{r}ava-Lifshitz gravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Duality, Monopoles, Dyons, Confinement and Oblique Confinement in\n  Supersymmetric SO(N_c) Gauge Theories: We study supersymmetric $SO(N_c)$ gauge theories with $N_f$ flavors of quarks\nin the vector representation. Among the phenomena we find are dynamically\ngenerated superpotentials with physically inequivalent branches, smooth moduli\nspaces of vacua, confinement and oblique confinement, confinement without\nchiral symmetry breaking, massless composites (glueballs, exotics, monopoles\nand dyons), non-trivial fixed points of the renormalization group and massless\nmagnetic quarks and gluons. Our analysis sheds new light on a recently found\nduality in $N=1$ supersymmetric theories. The dual forms of some of the\ntheories exhibit ``quantum symmetries'' which involve non-local transformations\non the fields. We find that in some cases the duality has both $S$ and $T$\ntransformations generating $SL(2,Z)$ (only an $S_3$ quotient of which is\nrealized non-trivially). They map the original non-Abelian electric theory to\nmagnetic and dyonic non-Abelian theories. The magnetic theory gives a weak\ncoupling description of confinement while the dyonic theory gives a weak\ncoupling description of oblique confinement. Our analysis also shows that the\nduality in $N=1$ is a generalization of the Montonen-Olive duality of $N=4$\ntheories.",
        "positive": "The General Coset Orbifold Action: Recently an action formulation, called the general WZW orbifold action, was\ngiven for each sector of every WZW orbifold. In this paper we gauge this action\nby general twisted gauge groups to find the action formulation of each sector\nof every coset orbifold. Connection with the known current-algebraic\nformulation of coset orbifolds is discussed as needed, and some large examples\nare worked out in further detail."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Thermodynamics of Isoradial Quivers and Hyperbolic 3-Manifolds: The BPS sector of $\\mathcal{N}=2$, $4d$ toric quiver gauge theories, and its\ncorresponding D6-D2-D0 branes on Calabi-Yau threefolds, have been previously\nstudied using integrable lattice models such as the crystal melting model and\nthe dimer model. The asymptotics of the BPS sector, in the large N limit, can\nbe studied using the Mahler measure theory, \\cite{Zah}. In this work, we\nconsider the class of isoradial quivers and study their thermodynamical\nobservables and phase structure. Building on our previous results, and using\nthe relation between the Mahler measure and hyperbolic 3-manifolds, we propose\na new approach in the asymptotic analysis of the isoradial quivers. As a\nresult, we obtain the observables such as the BPS free energy, the BPS entropy\ndensity and growth rate of the isoradial quivers, as a function of the\n$R$-charges of the quiver and in terms of the hyperbolic volumes and the\ndilogarithm functions. The phase structure of the isoradial quivers is studied\nvia the analysis of the BPS entropy density at critical $R$-charges and\nuniversal results for the phase structure in this class are obtained. Explicit\nresults for the observables are obtained in some concrete examples of the\nisoradial quivers.",
        "positive": "Holographic CFTs on $AdS_d\\times S^n$ and conformal defects: We consider ($d+n+1$)-dimensional solutions of Einstein gravity with constant\nnegative curvature. Regular solutions of this type are expected to be dual to\nthe ground states of ($d+n$)-dimensional holographic CFTs on $AdS_d\\times S^n$.\nTheir only dimensionless parameter is the ratio of radii of curvatures of\n$AdS_d$ and $S^n$. The same solutions may also be dual to $(d-1)$-dimensional\nconformal defects in holographic QFT$_{d+n}$. We solve the gravity equations\nwith an associated conifold ansatz, and we classify all solutions both singular\nand regular by a combination of analytical and numerical techniques. There are\nno solutions, regular or singular, with two boundaries along the holographic\ndirection. Out of the infinite class of regular solutions, only one is\ndiffeomorphic to $AdS_{d+n+1}$ and another to $AdS_d\\times AdS_{n+1}$. For the\nregular solutions, we compute the on-shell action as a function of the relevant\nparameters."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Heterotic/Type II Triality and Instantons on $K_3$: A detailed understanding of instanton effects for half-BPS couplings is\npursued in theories with 16 supersymmetries. In particular, we investigate the\nduality between heterotic string on $T^4$ and type IIA on $K_3$ at the\n$T^4/Z_2$ orbifold point, as well as their higher and lower dimensional\nversions. We present a remarkably clean quantitative test of the duality at the\nlevel of $F^4$ couplings, by completely matching a purely one-loop heterotic\namplitude to a purely tree-level type II result. The triality of SO(4,4) and\nseveral other miracles are shown to be crucial for the duality to hold. Exact\nnon-perturbative new results for type I', F on $K_3$, M on $K_3$, and IIB on\n$K_3$ are found, and the general form of D-instanton contributions in type IIA\nor B on $T^4/Z_2$ is obtained. We also analyze the NS5-brane contributions in\ntype II on $K_3\\times T^2$, and predict the value $\\mu (N)=\\sum_{d|N} (1/d^3)$\nfor the bulk contribution to the index of the NS5-brane world-volume theory on\n$K_3 \\times T^2$.",
        "positive": "Canonical Noncommutativity Algebra for the Tetrad Field in General\n  Relativity: General relativity under the assumption of noncommuting components of the\ntetrad field is considered in this paper. Since the algebraic properties of the\ntetrad field representing the gravitational field are assumed to correspond to\nthe noncommutativity algebra of the coordinates in the canonical case of\nnoncommutative geometry, this idea is closely related to noncommutative\ngeometry as well as to canonical quantization of gravity. According to this\npresupposition generalized field equations for general relativity are derived\nwhich are obtained by replacing the usual tetrad field by the tetrad field\noperator within the actions and then building expectation values of the\ncorresponding field equations between coherent states. These coherent states\nrefer to creation and annihilation operators created from the components of the\ntetrad field operator. In this sense the obtained theory could be regarded as a\nkind of semiclassical approximation of a complete quantum description of\ngravity. The consideration presupposes a special choice of the tensor\ndetermining the algebra providing a division of space-time into two\ntwo-dimensional planes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Multi-charged moments and symmetry-resolved R\u00e9nyi entropy of free\n  compact boson for multiple disjoint intervals: We study multi-charged moments and symmetry-resolved R\\'enyi entropy of free\ncompact boson for multiple disjoint intervals. The R\\'enyi entropy evaluation\ninvolves computing the partition function of the theory on Riemann surfaces\nwith genus g>1. This makes R\\'enyi entropy sensitive to the local conformal\nalgebra of the theory. The free compact boson possesses a global U(1) symmetry\nwith respect to which we resolve R\\'enyi entropy. The multi-charged moments are\nobtained by studying the correlation function of flux-generating vertex\noperators on the associated Riemann surface. Symmetry-resolved R\\'enyi entropy\nis then obtained from the Fourier transforms of the charged moments. R\\'enyi\nentropy is shown to have the familiar equipartition into local charge sectors\nup to the leading order. The multi-charged moments are also essential in\nstudying the symmetry resolution of mutual information. The multi-charged\nmoments of the self-dual compact boson and massless Dirac fermion are also\nshown to match for the cases when the associated reduced density matrix moments\nare known to be the same. Finally, we numerically check our results against the\ntight-binding model.",
        "positive": "SU(2) Abelian projected action for renormalisation group flows: The dual Meissner effect scenario of confinement is analysed using exact\nrenormalisation group (ERG) equations. In particular, the low energy regime of\nSU(2) Yang-Mills is studied in a maximal Abelian gauge. It is shown that under\ngeneral conditions the effective action derived when integrated using ERG\nmethods contains the relevant degrees of freedom for confinement. In addition,\nthe physics in the confining regime is dual to that of the broken phase of an\nAbelian Higgs model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Higgs Branches of rank-0 5d theories from M-theory on $(A_j,A_l)$ and\n  $(A_k,D_n)$ singularities: We study the dynamics of M-theory on isolated non-toric Calabi-Yau threefold\nsingularities of type $(A_j,A_l)$ and $(A_k,D_n)$, engineering five-dimensional\nrank-zero SCFTs. Our approach consists in mapping these backgrounds to type IIA\nstring theory with D6 branes at angles and O6$^{-}$ planes, computing the\nfive-dimensional open string modes located at the brane intersections. This\npermits us to characterize the Higgs Branches of these theories as algebraic\nvarieties, determine the flavour and gauge group and inspect subtleties related\nto T-branes. Our methods apply for all the considered singularities: we give a\nclosed formula for the $(A_j,A_l)$ Higgs Branches, and tables for the Higgs\nBranches of the $(A_k,D_n)$ series.",
        "positive": "Boundary S-matrix of the $O(N)$-symmetric Non-linear Sigma Model: We conjecture that the $O(N)$-symmetric non-linear sigma model in the\nsemi-infinite $(1+1)$-dimensional space is ``integrable'' with respect to the\n``free'' and the ``fixed'' boundary conditions. We then derive, for both cases,\nthe boundary S-matrix for the reflection of massive particles of this model off\nthe boundary at $x=0$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Deconstructing the Wormhole: Factorization, Entanglement and Decoherence: We study the role of ensemble averaging in holography by exploring the\nrelation between the universal late time behavior of the spectral form factor\nand the second Renyi entropy of a thermal mixed state of the doubled system.\nBoth quantities receive contributions from wormhole saddle-points: in the\nformer case they lead to non-factorization while in the latter context they\nquantify decoherence due to the interaction with an environment. Our reasoning\nindicates that the space-time continuity responsible for non-factorization and\nspace-time continuity through entanglement are in direct competition with each\nother. In an accompanying paper, we examine this dual relationship in a general\nclass of 1D quantum systems with the help of a simple geometric path integral\nprescription.",
        "positive": "Total Variation in Hamiltonian Formalism and Symplectic-Energy\n  integrators: We present a discrete total variation calculus in Hamiltonian formalism in\nthis paper. Using this discrete variation calculus and generating functions for\nthe flows of Hamiltonian systems, we derive two-step symplectic-energy\nintegrators of any finite order for Hamiltonian systems from a variational\nperspective. The relationship between symplectic integrators derived directly\nfrom the Hamiltonian systems and the variationally derived symplectic-energy\nintegrators is explored."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Higgs mechanism and geometrical flows for two-manifolds: Using Perelman's approach for geometrical flows in terms of an entropy\nfunctional, the Higgs mechanism is studied dynamically along flows defined in\nthe space of parameters and in fields space. The model corresponds to\ntwo-dimensional gravity that incorporates torsion as the gradient of a Higgs\nfield, and with the reflection symmetry to be spontaneously broken. The results\nshow a discrete mass spectrum, and the existence of a mass gap between the\nUnbroken Exact Symmetry and the Spontaneously Broken Symmetry scenarios. In the\nlater scenario, the geometries at the degenerate vacua correspond to\nconformally flat manifolds without torsion; twisted two-dimensional geometries\nare obtained by building perturbation theory around a ground state; the\ntunneling quantum probability between vacua is determined along the flows.",
        "positive": "Meta-Stable Brane Configurations of Multiple Product Gauge Groups with\n  Orientifold 6 Plane: Starting from an N=1 supersymmetric electric gauge theory with the gauge\ngroup SU(N_c) x SU(N_c') x SU(N_c'') with fundamentals for each gauge group,\nthe bifundamentals, a symmetric flavor and a conjugate symmetric flavor for\nSU(N_c), we apply Seiberg dual to each gauge group, obtain the N=1\nsupersymmetric dual magnetic gauge theories with dual matters including the\ngauge singlets, and describe the intersecting brane configurations of type IIA\nstring theory corresponding to the meta-stable nonsupersymmetric vacua of this\ngauge theory. We also discuss the case where a symmetric flavor is replaced by\nan antisymmetric flavor. Next we apply to the case for N=1 supersymmetric\nelectric gauge theory with the gauge group SO(N_c) x SU(N_c') x SU(N_c'') with\nflavors for each gauge group and the bifundamentals. Finally, we describe the\ncase where the orientifold 6-plane charge is reversed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Tunnelling and dynamical violation of the Null Energy Condition: The Null Energy Condition is considered the most fundamental of the energy\nconditions, on which several key results, such as the singularity theorems, are\nbased. The Casimir effect is one of the rare equilibrium mechanisms by which it\nis breached without invoking modified gravity or non-minimal couplings to\nexotic matter. In this work we propose an independent dynamical mechanism by\nwhich it is violated, with the only ingredients being standard (but\nnon-perturbative) QFT and a minimally coupled scalar field in a double-well\npotential. As for the Casimir effect, we explain why the Averaged Null Energy\nCondition should not be violated by this mechanism. Nevertheless, the transient\nbehaviour could have profound impacts in Early Universe Cosmology.",
        "positive": "Holographic R\u00e9nyi entropy for two-dimensional N=(1,1) superconformal\n  field theory: In this paper we investigate the holographic R\\'enyi entropy in $\\mathcal\nN=1$ supergravity (SUGRA) in AdS$_3$ spacetime, which is dual to the\ntwo-dimensional $\\mathcal N=(1,1)$ superconformal field theory (SCFT). We\nconsider both cases of two short intervals on a line with zero temperature and\none interval on a circle with low temperature. In SUGRA side we consider\ncontributions of both graviton and gravitino, and in SCFT side we consider\ncontributions of both stress tensor $T$, $\\bar T$ and their superpartners $G$,\n$\\bar G$. We find matches between SUGRA and SCFT results."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "String backgrounds and LCFT: We describe a large class of exact string backgrounds with a null Killing\nvector arising, via a limiting \\`a la Penrose procedure, from string\nbackgrounds corresponding to coset conformal field theories for compact groups\nG_N/H_N times a free time-like boson U(1)_{-N}. In this way a class of novel\nlogarithmic conformal field theories (LCFT) emerges, that includes the one\nconstructed recently as an N\\to \\infty limit of the SU(2)_N/U(1) X U(1)_{-N}\ntheory. We explicitly give the exact operator algebra for the basic chiral\nfields as well as their representation in terms of free bosons, even though\nthese are not known in general at finite N. We also compute four-point\nfunctions of various operators in the theory. For the cases of the four- and\nfive-dimensional models, corresponding to a limit of the theory SO(D+1)_N/SO(D)\nX U(1)_{-N} for D=3 and 4, we also present the explicit expressions for the\nbackground fields.",
        "positive": "Super Yang-Mills at Weak, Intermediate and Strong Coupling: We consider three dimensional SU(N) N=1 super-Yang-Mills compactified on the\nspace-time R X S^1 X S^1. In particular, we compactify the light-cone\ncoordinate x^- on a light-like circle via DLCQ, and wrap the remaining\ntransverse coordinate on a spatial circle. By retaining only the first few\nexcited modes in the transverse direction, we are able to solve for bound state\nwave functions and masses numerically by diagonalizing the discretized\nlight-cone supercharge. This regularization of the theory is shown to preserve\nsupersymmetry. We plot bound state masses as a function of the coupling,\nshowing the transition in particle masses as we move from a weakly to a\nstrongly-coupled theory. We analyze both numerically and analytically massless\nstates which exist only in the limit of strong or weak gauge coupling. In\naddition, we find massless states that persist for all values of the gauge\ncoupling. An analytical treatment of these massless states is provided.\nInterestingly, in the strong coupling limit, these massless states become\nstring-like."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Tensor Track V: Holographic Tensors: We review the fast developing subject of tensor models for the\nNAdS$_2$/NCFT$_1$ holographic correspondence. We include a brief review of the\nSachdev-Ye-Kitaev (SYK) model and then focus on the associated quantum\nmechanical tensor models (GW and CTKT). We examine their main features and how\nthey compare with SYK. To end, we discuss different extensions: the large $D$\nlimit of matrix-tensor models, the large $N$ expansion of\nsymmetric/antisymmetric tensors, the use of probes, the construction of a\nbilocal action for tensors, some attempts to extend the above models to higher\ndimensions and a proposal to break the tensor symmetry.",
        "positive": "Energy Reflection Symmetry of Lie-Algebraic Problems: Where the\n  Quasiclassical and Weak Coupling Expansions Meet: We construct a class of one-dimensional Lie-algebraic problems based on sl(2)\nwhere the spectrum in the algebraic sector has a dynamical symmetry E -> - E.\nAll 2j+1 eigenfunctions in the algebraic sector are paired, and inside each\npair are related to each other by simple analytic continuation x -> ix, except\nthe zero mode appearing if j is integer. At j-> infinity the energy of the\nhighest level in the algebraic sector can be calculated by virtue of the\nquasiclassical expansion, while the energy of the ground state can be\ncalculated as a weak coupling expansion. The both series coincide identically."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Impossible Symmetries and Conformal Gravity: We explore the physics of relativistic gapless phases defined by a mixed\nanomaly between two generalized conserved currents. The gapless modes can be\nunderstood as Goldstone modes arising from the nonlinear realization of\n(generically higher-form) symmetries arising from these currents. In some\ncases, the anomaly cannot be reproduced by any local and unitary theory,\nindicating that the corresponding symmetries are impossible, in the sense that\nthey cannot appear in a Lorentzian physical system. We consider many examples\nof the general construction. Most notably, we study conformal gravity from this\nperspective, describing the higher-form symmetries of the linear theory and\nshowing how it can be understood in terms of anomalies. Along the way we\nclarify some aspects of electric-magnetic duality in linear conformal gravity.",
        "positive": "Holography for Einstein-Maxwell-dilaton theories from generalized\n  dimensional reduction: We show that a class of Einstein-Maxwell-Dilaton (EMD) theories are related\nto higher dimensional AdS-Maxwell gravity via a dimensional reduction over\ncompact Einstein spaces combined with continuation in the dimension of the\ncompact space to non-integral values (`generalized dimensional reduction').\nThis relates (fairly complicated) black hole solutions of EMD theories to\nsimple black hole/brane solutions of AdS-Maxwell gravity and explains their\nproperties. The generalized dimensional reduction is used to infer the\nholographic dictionary and the hydrodynamic behavior for this class of theories\nfrom those of AdS. As a specific example, we analyze the case of a black brane\ncarrying a wave whose universal sector is described by gravity coupled to a\nMaxwell field and two neutral scalars. At thermal equilibrium and finite\nchemical potential the two operators dual to the bulk scalar fields acquire\nexpectation values characterizing the breaking of conformal and generalized\nconformal invariance. We compute holographically the first order transport\ncoefficients (conductivity, shear and bulk viscosity) for this system."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Strings and Discrete Fluxes of QCD: We study discrete fluxes in four dimensional SU(N) gauge theories with a mass\ngap by using brane compactifications which give ${\\cal{N}} = 1$ or ${\\cal{N}} =\n0$ supersymmetry. We show that when such theories are compactified further on a\ntorus, the t'Hooft magnetic flux $m$ is related to the NS two-form modulus $B$\nby $B = 2\\pi {m\\over N}$. These values of $B$ label degenerate brane vacua,\ngiving a simple demonstration of magnetic screening. Furthermore, for these\nvalues of $B$ one has a conventional gauge theory on a commutative torus,\nwithout having to perform any T-dualities. Because of the mass gap, a generic\n$B$ does not give a four dimensional gauge theory on a non-commutative torus.\nThe Kaluza-Klein modes which must be integrated out to give a four dimensional\ntheory decouple only when $B=2\\pi {m\\over N}$. Finally we show that $2\\pi\n{m\\over N}$ behaves like a two form modulus of the QCD string. This confirms a\nprevious conjecture based on properties of large $N$ QCD suggesting a T-duality\ninvariance.",
        "positive": "On S-duality for holographic p-wave superconductors: We consider the generalization of the S-duality transformation previously\ninvestigated in the context of the FQHE and s-wave superconductivity to p-wave\nsuperconductivity in 2+1 dimensions in the framework of the AdS/CFT\ncorrespondence. The vector Cooper condensate transforms under the S-duality\naction to the pseudovector condensate at the dual side. The 3+1-dimensional\nEinstein-Yang-Mills theory, the holographic dual to p-wave superconductivity,\nis used to investigate the S-duality action via the AdS/CFT correspondence. It\nis shown that in order to implement the duality transformation, chemical\npotentials both on the electric and magnetic side of the duality have to be\nintroduced. A relation for the product of the nonabelian conductivities in the\ndual models is derived. We also conjecture a flavor S-duality transformation in\nthe holographic dual to 3+1-dimensional QCD low-energy QCD with non-abelian\nflavor gauge groups. The conjectured S-duality interchanges isospin and\nbaryonic chemical potentials."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauge theory and Higgs mechanism based on differential geometry on\n  discrete space M4 * ZN: Weinberg-Salam theory and $SU(5)$ grand unified theory are reconstructed\nusing the generalized differential calculus extended on the discrete space\n$M_4\\times Z_{\\mathop{}_{N}}$. Our starting point is the generalized gauge\nfield expressed by $A(x,n)=\\!\\sum_{i}a^\\dagger_{i}(x,n){\\bf d}a_i(x,n),\n(n=1,2,\\cdots N)$, where $a_i(x,n)$ is the square matrix valued function\ndefined on $M_4\\times Z_{\\mathop{}_{N}}$ and ${\\bf\nd}=d+\\sum_{m=1}^{\\mathop{}_{N}}d_{\\chi_m}$ is generalized exterior derivative.\nWe can construct the consistent algebra of $d_{\\chi_m}$ which is exterior\nderivative with respect to $Z_{\\mathop{}_{N}}$ and the spontaneous breakdown of\ngauge symmetry is coded in ${d_{\\chi_m}}$. The unified picture of the gauge\nfield and Higgs field as the generalized connection in non-commutative geometry\nis realized. Not only Yang-Mills-Higgs lagrangian but also Dirac lagrangian,\ninvariant against the gauge transformation, are reproduced through the inner\nproduct between the differential forms. Three sheets ($Z_3)$ are necessary for\nWeinberg-Salam theory including strong interaction and $SU(5)$ Gut. Our\nformalism is applicable to more realistic model like $SO(10)$ unification\nmodel.",
        "positive": "No Classicalization Beyond Spherical Symmetry: We point out that a field theory that exhibits the classicalization\nphenomenon for perfect spherical symmetry ceases to do so when the spherical\nsymmetry is significantly relaxed. We first investigate a small non-spherical\ndeformation and show that the classicalization radius tends to decrease in a\nregion where a shell made of the field is slightly flattened. Next, in order to\ndescribe a sufficiently large flattened region, we consider a high-energy\ncollision of planar shells and show that the system never classicalizes before\nreaching sub-cutoff lengths. This no-go result is further strengthened by an\nanalysis of a small non-planar deformation. Finally, we show that the shape of\na scattered planar wave is UV sensitive."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Late time physics of holographic quantum chaos: Quantum chaotic systems are often defined via the assertion that their\nspectral statistics coincides with, or is well approximated by, random matrix\ntheory. In this paper we explain how the universal content of random matrix\ntheory emerges as the consequence of a simple symmetry-breaking principle and\nits associated Goldstone modes. This allows us to write down an effective-field\ntheory (EFT) description of quantum chaotic systems, which is able to control\nthe level statistics up to an accuracy ${\\cal O} \\left(e^{-S} \\right)$ with $S$\nthe entropy. We explain how the EFT description emerges from explicit\nensembles, using the example of a matrix model with arbitrary invariant\npotential, but also when and how it applies to individual quantum systems,\nwithout reference to an ensemble. Within AdS/CFT this gives a general framework\nto express correlations between \"different universes\" and we explicitly\ndemonstrate the bulk realization of the EFT in minimal string theory where the\nGoldstone modes are bound states of strings stretching between bulk spectral\nbranes. We discuss the construction of the EFT of quantum chaos also in higher\ndimensional field theories, as applicable for example for higher-dimensional\nAdS/CFT dual pairs.",
        "positive": "Model of M-theory with Eleven Matrices: We show that an action of a supermembrane in an eleven-dimensional spacetime\nwith a semi-light-cone gauge can be written only with Nambu-Poisson bracket and\nan invariant symmetric bilinear form under an approximation. Thus, the action\nunder the conditions is manifestly covariant under volume preserving\ndiffeomorphism even when the world-volume metric is flat. Next, we propose two\n3-algebraic models of M-theory which are obtained as a second quantization of\nan action that is equivalent to the supermembrane action under the\napproximation. The second quantization is defined by replacing Nambu-Poisson\nbracket with finite-dimensional 3-algebras' brackets. Our models include eleven\nmatrices corresponding to all the eleven space-time coordinates in M-theory\nalthough they possess not SO(1,10) but SO(1,2) x SO(8) or SO(1,2) x SU(4) x\nU(1) covariance. They possess N=1 space-time supersymmetry in eleven dimensions\nthat consists of 16 kinematical and 16 dynamical ones. We also show that the\nSU(4) model with a certain algebra reduces to BFSS matrix theory if DLCQ limit\nis taken."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Mixed symmetry tensors in the worldline formalism: We consider the first quantised approach to quantum field theory coupled to a\nnon-Abelian gauge field. Representing the colour degrees of freedom with a\nsingle family of auxiliary variables the matter field transforms in a reducible\nrepresentation of the gauge group which - by adding a suitable Chern-Simons\nterm to the particle action - can be projected onto a chosen fully\n(anti-)symmetric representation. By considering F families of auxiliary\nvariables, we describe how to extend the model to arbitrary tensor products of\nF reducible representations, which realises a U(F) \"flavour\" symmetry on the\nworldline particle model. Gauging this symmetry allows the introduction of\nconstraints on the Hilbert space of the colour fields which can be used to\nproject onto an arbitrary irreducible representation, specified by a certain\nYoung Tableau. In particular the occupation numbers of the wavefunction - i.e.\nthe lengths of the columns (rows) of the Young Tableau - are fixed through the\nintroduction of Chern-Simons terms. We verify this projection by calculating\nthe number of colour degrees of freedom associated to the matter field. We\nsuggest that, using the worldline approach to quantum field theory, this\nmechanism will allow the calculation of one-loop scattering amplitudes with the\nvirtual particle in an arbitrary representation of the gauge group.",
        "positive": "Asyzygies, modular forms, and the superstring measure II: Precise factorization constraints are formulated for the three-loop\nsuperstring chiral measure, in the separating degeneration limit. Several\nnatural Ans\\\"atze in terms of polynomials in theta constants for the density of\nthe measure are examined. None of these Ans\\\"atze turns out to satisfy the dual\ncriteria of modular covariance of weight 6, and of tending to the desired\ndegeneration limit. However, an Ansatz is found which does satisfy these\ncriteria for the square of the density of the measure, raising the possibility\nthat it is not the density of the measure, but its square which is a polynomial\nin theta constants. A key notion is that of totally asyzygous sextets of spin\nstructures. It is argued that the Ansatz produces a vanishing cosmological\nconstant."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hamiltonian formulation of exactly solvable models and their physical\n  vacuum states: We clarify a few conceptual problems of quantum field theory on the level of\nexactly solvable models with fermions. The ultimate goal of our study is to\ngain a deeper understanding of differences between the usual (\"spacelike\") and\nlight-front forms of relativistic dynamics. We show that by incorporating\nsolutions of the operator field equations to the canonical formalism the\nspacelike and light front Hamiltonians of the derivative-coupling model acquire\nan equivalent structure. The same is true for the massive solvable theory, the\nFederbush model. In the conventional approach, the physical predictions in the\ntwo schemes disagree. Moreover, the derivative-coupling model is found to be\nalmost identical to a free theory, in contrast to the conventional canonical\ntreatment. Physical vacuum state of the Thirring model is then obtained by a\nBogoliubov transformation as a coherent state quadratic in composite boson\noperators. To perform the same task in the Federbush model, we derive a massive\nversion of Klaiber's bosonization and show that its light-front form is much\nsimpler.",
        "positive": "Amplitudes at Weak Coupling as Polytopes in AdS_5: We show that one-loop scalar box functions can be interpreted as volumes of\ngeodesic tetrahedra embedded in a copy of AdS_5 that has dual conformal\nspace-time as boundary. When the tetrahedron is space-like, it lies in a\ntotally geodesic hyperbolic three-space inside AdS_5, with its four vertices on\nthe boundary. It is a classical result that the volume of such a tetrahedron is\ngiven by the Bloch-Wigner dilogarithm and this agrees with the standard physics\nformulae for such box functions. The combinations of box functions that arise\nin the n-particle one-loop MHV amplitude in N=4 super Yang-Mills correspond to\nthe volume of a three-dimensional polytope without boundary, all of whose\nvertices are attached to a null polygon (which in other formulations is\ninterpreted as a Wilson loop) at infinity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Graviton as a Goldstone boson: Nonlinear Sigma Model for Tensor Field\n  Gravity: Spontaneous Lorentz invariance violation (SLIV) realized through a nonlinear\ntensor field constraint H_{}^2=\\pm M^2 (M is the proposed scale for Lorentz\nviolation) is considered in tensor field gravity theory, which mimics\nlinearized general relativity in Minkowski space-time. We show that such a SLIV\npattern, due to which the true vacuum in the theory is chosen, induces massless\ntensor Goldstone modes some of which can naturally be associated with the\nphysical graviton. When expressed in terms of the pure Goldstone modes, this\ntheory looks essentially nonlinear and contains a variety of Lorentz and CPT\nviolating couplings. Nonetheless, all SLIV effects turn out to be strictly\ncancelled in all the lowest order processes considered, provided that the\ntensor field gravity theory is properly extended to general relativity (GR).\nSo, as we generally argue, the measurable effects of SLIV, induced by\nelementary vector or tensor fields, are related to the accompanying gauge\nsymmetry breaking rather than to spontaneous Lorentz violation. The latter\nappears by itself to be physically unobservable, only resulting in a\nnon-covariant gauge choice in an otherwise gauge invariant and Lorentz\ninvariant theory. However, while Goldstonic vector and tensor field theories\nwith exact local invariance are physically indistinguishable from conventional\ngauge theories, there might appear some principal distinctions if this local\nsymmetry were slightly broken at very small distances controlled by quantum\ngravity in an explicit, rather than spontaneous, way that could eventually\nallow one to differentiate between them observationally.",
        "positive": "Susceptibility of a single photon wave packet: The explicit compact expression for the susceptibility tensor of a single\nphoton wave packet on the photon mass-shell is derived. It is assumed that the\nprobe photon is hard, the test photon is soft, and their total energy is below\nthe electron-positron pair creation threshold. It turns out that a single\nphoton wave packet can be regarded as a birefringent gyrotropic dispersive\nmedium in the process of light-by-light scattering. The explicit expression for\nthe inclusive probability to record the probe photon in the process of\nlight-by-light scattering is obtained in the first nontrivial order of\nperturbation theory where the interference effect of the free passed and\nscattered parts of the photon wave function dominates. This effect is of order\n$\\alpha^2$ in contrast to the standard contribution to the light-by-light\nscattering cross-section which is of order $\\alpha^4$. The possible nontrivial\nshapes of the wave functions of probe and test photons are taken into account.\nThe evolution of the Stokes parameters of a probe photon is described. The\nchange of the Stokes parameters is rather large for hard probe photons and\nsufficiently intense beams of soft test photons."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The trouble with asymptotically safe inflation: In this paper we investigate the perturbation theory of the asymptotically\nsafe inflation and we find that all modes of gravitational waves perturbation\nbecome ghosts in order to achieve a large enough number of e-folds. Formally we\ncan calculate the power spectrum of gravitational waves perturbation, but we\nfind that it is negative. It indicates that there is serious trouble with the\nasymptotically safe inflation.",
        "positive": "D-Branes and Twelve Dimensions: We study the D-brane solutions to type IIB superstring in ten dimensions and\nfind interpretation in terms of compactification of a twelve dimensional\nthree-brane of (a specific) F-theory on a torus $T^2$. In this frame-work,\nthere also exist a two-brane which may be argued to be equivalent to the\nthree-brane by utilizing the electric-magnetic duality in eleven dimensions. In\nthis context, we propose for the existence of an isometry in one of the\ntransverse directions to the three-brane in F-theory. As a consequence the\ntwo-brane may be identified with the three-brane in twelve dimensions itself.\nThe twelve dimensional picture of D-branes in type IIB theory suggests for the\nreformulation of type IIB superstring in terms of three-brane of F-theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Relation between the Mandelstam and the Cayley-Hamilton Identities: Starting from the characteristic polynomial for ordinary matrices we give a\ncombinatorial deduction of the Mandelstam identities and viceversa, thus\nshowing that the two sets of relations are equivalent. We are able to extend\nthis construction to supermatrices in such a way that we obtain the Mandelstam\nidentities in this case, once the corresponding characteristic equation is\nknown.",
        "positive": "Trialities of minimally supersymmetric 2d gauge theories: We study dynamics of two-dimensional N=(0,1) supersymmetric gauge theories.\nIn particular, we propose that there is an infrared triality between certain\ntriples of theories with orthogonal and symplectic gauge groups. The proposal\nis supported by matching of anomalies and elliptic genera. This triality can be\nviewed as a (0,1) counterpart of the (0,2) triality proposed earlier by two of\nthe authors and A. Gadde. We also describe the relation between global\nanomalies in gauge theoretic and sigma-model descriptions, filling in a gap in\nthe present literature."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Nonlinear realizations of $W_3$ symmetry: We deduce the $sl_{3}$ Toda realization of classical $W_3$ symmetry on two\nscalar fields in a geometric way, proceeding from a nonlinear realization of\nsome associate higher-spin symmetry $W_{3}^{\\infty}$. The Toda equations are\nrecognized as the constraints singling out a two-dimensional fully geodesic\nsubspace in the initial coset space of $W_{3}^{\\infty}$. The proposed geometric\napproach can be extended to other nonlinear algebras and integrable systems.",
        "positive": "A Self-Consistent Formulation of Quantum Field Theory on $S_{4}$: Recent developments in quantum gravity suggest that wormholes may influence\nthe observed values of the constants of nature. The Euclidean formulation of\nquantum gravity predicts that wormholes induce a probability distribution in\nthe space of possible fundamental constants. This distribution may computed by\nevaluating the functional integral about the stationary points of the action.\nIn particular, the effective action on a large spherical space may lead to the\nvanishing of the cosmological constant and possibly determine the values of\nother constants of nature. The ability to perform calculations involving\ninteracting quantum fields, particularly non-Abelian models, on a four-sphere\nis vital if one is to investigate this possibility. In this paper we present a\nself-consistent formulation of field theory on a four-sphere using the angular\nmomentum space representation of $SO(5)$. We give a review of field theory on a\nsphere and then show how a matrix element prescription in angular momentum\nspace overcomes previous limitations in calculational techniques.\n  The standard one-loop graphs of QED are given as examples."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Instanton partition functions in N=2 SU(N) gauge theories with a general\n  surface operator, and their W-algebra duals: We write down an explicit conjecture for the instanton partition functions in\n4d N=2 SU(N) gauge theories in the presence of a certain type of surface\noperator. These surface operators are classified by partitions of N, and for\neach partition there is an associated partition function. For the partition N=N\nwe recover the Nekrasov formalism, and when N=1+...+1 we reproduce the result\nof Feigin et. al. For the case N=1+(N-1) our expression is consistent with an\nalternative formulation in terms of a restricted SU(N)xSU(N) instanton\npartition function. When N=1+...+1+2 the partition functions can also be\nobtained perturbatively from certain W-algebras known as quasi-superconformal\nalgebras, in agreement with a recent general proposal.",
        "positive": "Very General Holographic Superconductors and Entanglement Thermodynamics: We construct and analyze holographic superconductors with generalized higher\nderivative couplings, in single R-charged black hole backgrounds in four and\nfive dimensions. These systems, which we call very general holographic\nsuperconductors, have multiple tuning parameters and are shown to exhibit a\nrich phase structure. We establish the phase diagram numerically as well as by\ncomputing the free energy, and then validated the results by calculating the\nentanglement entropy for these systems. The entanglement entropy is shown to be\na perfect indicator of the phase diagram. The differences in the nature of the\nentanglement entropy in R-charged backgrounds compared to the AdS-Schwarzschild\ncases are pointed out. We also compute the analogue of the entangling\ntemperature for a subclass of these systems and compare the results with\nnon-hairy backgrounds."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Scalar field theory on kappa-Minkowski spacetime and translation and\n  Lorentz invariance: We investigate the properties of kappa-Minkowski spacetime by using\nrepresentations of the corresponding deformed algebra in terms of undeformed\nHeisenberg-Weyl algebra. The deformed algebra consists of kappa-Poincare\nalgebra extended with the generators of the deformed Weyl algebra. The part of\ndeformed algebra, generated by rotation, boost and momentum generators, is\ndescribed by the Hopf algebra structure. The approach used in our\nconsiderations is completely Lorentz covariant. We further use an adventages of\nthis approach to consistently construct a star product which has a property\nthat under integration sign it can be replaced by a standard pointwise\nmultiplication, a property that was since known to hold for Moyal, but not also\nfor kappa-Minkowski spacetime. This star product also has generalized trace and\ncyclic properties and the construction alone is accomplished by considering a\nclassical Dirac operator representation of deformed algebra and by requiring it\nto be hermitian. We find that the obtained star product is not translationally\ninvariant, leading to a conclusion that the classical Dirac operator\nrepresentation is the one where translation invariance cannot simultaneously be\nimplemented along with hermiticity. However, due to the integral property\nsatisfied by the star product, noncommutative free scalar field theory does not\nhave a problem with translation symmetry breaking and can be shown to reduce to\nan ordinary free scalar field theory without nonlocal features and tachionic\nmodes and basicaly of the very same form. The issue of Lorentz invariance of\nthe theory is also discussed.",
        "positive": "An Holographic Cosmology: We present a new cosmological model, based on the holographic principle,\nwhich shares many of the virtues of inflation. The very earliest semiclassical\nera of the universe is dominated by a dense gas of black holes, with equation\nof state $p=\\rho$. Fluctuations lead to an instability to a phase with a dilute\ngas of black holes, which later decays via Hawking radiation to a radiation\ndominated universe. The quantum fluctuations of the initial state give rise to\na scale invariant spectrum of density perturbations, for a range of scales. We\npoint out a problem, that appears to prevent the range of scales predicted by\nthe model from coinciding with the range where such a spectrum has been\nobserved. We speculate that this may be related to our field theoretic\ntreatment of fluctuations in the highly holographic $p=\\rho$ background. The\nmonopole problem is solved in a manner completely different from inflationary\nmodels, and a relic density of highly charged extremal black monopoles is\npredicted. We discuss the nature of the entropy and flatness problems in our\nmodel."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hamiltonian Relativistic Two-Body Problem: Center of Mass and Orbit\n  Reconstruction: After a short review of the history and problems of relativistic Hamiltonian\nmechanics with action-at-a-distance inter-particle potentials, we study\nisolated two-body systems in the rest-frame instant form of dynamics. We give\nexplicit expressions of the relevant relativistic notions of center of mass, we\ndetermine the generators of the Poincare' group in presence of interactions and\nwe show how to do the reconstruction of particles' orbits from the relative\nmotion and the canonical non-covariant center of mass. In the case of a simple\nCoulomb-like potential model, it is possible to integrate explicitly the\nrelative motion and show the two dynamical trajectories.",
        "positive": "Three Body Interactions, Angular Momentum and Black Hole Moduli Spaces: We investigate the dynamics of a pair of (4+1)-dimensional black holes in the\nmoduli approximation and with fixed angular momentum. We find that spinning\nblack holes at small separations are described by the de Alfaro, Fubini and\nFurlan model. For more than two black holes, we find an explicit expression for\nthe three-body interactions in the moduli metric by associating them with the\none-loop three-point amplitude of a four-dimensional $\\phi^3$ theory. We also\ninvestigate the dynamics of a three black hole system in various\napproximations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "ABJ Wilson loops and Seiberg Duality: We study supersymmetric Wilson loops in the ${\\cal N} = 6$ supersymmetric\n$U(N_1)_k\\times U(N_2)_{-k}$ Chern-Simons-matter (CSM) theory, the ABJ theory,\nat finite $N_1$, $N_2$ and $k$. This generalizes our previous study on the ABJ\npartition function. First computing the Wilson loops in the $U(N_1) \\times\nU(N_2)$ lens space matrix model exactly, we perform an analytic continuation,\n$N_2$ to $-N_2$, to obtain the Wilson loops in the ABJ theory that is given in\nterms of a formal series and only valid in perturbation theory. Via a\nSommerfeld-Watson type transform, we provide a nonperturbative completion that\nrenders the formal series well-defined at all couplings. This is given by ${\\rm\nmin}(N_1,N_2)$-dimensional integrals that generalize the \"mirror description\"\nof the partition function of the ABJM theory. Using our results, we find the\nmaps between the Wilson loops in the original and Seiberg dual theories and\nprove the duality. In our approach we can explicitly see how the perturbative\nand nonperturbative contributions to the Wilson loops are exchanged under the\nduality. The duality maps are further supported by a heuristic yet very useful\nargument based on the brane configuration as well as an alternative derivation\nbased on that of Kapustin and Willett.",
        "positive": "Hopfions interaction from the viewpoint of the product ansatz: We discuss the relation between the solutions of the Skyrme model of lower\ndegrees and the corresponding axially symmetric Hopfions which is given by the\nprojection onto the coset space SU(2)/U(1). The interaction energy of the\nHopfions is evaluated directly from the product ansatz. Our results show that\nif the separation between the constituents is not very small, the product\nansatz can be considered as a relatively good approximation to the general\npattern of the charge one Hopfions interaction both in repulsive and attractive\nchannel."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Intersecting Brane Vacua and Non-perturbative Transitions: We discuss the process of transmutation of branes into Abelian magnetic flux\non the worldvolume of $D9$ branes. This phenomenon is T-dual to the\nrecombination of branes in the intersecting-brane description. In the low\nenergy limit this can be described by a Higgs mechanism involving bifundamental\nscalars. The Abelian magnetic background arises as a consequence of the\ncompactness of the internal space. Explicit (six-dimensional) examples based on\nthe supersymmetric and the Brane Supersymmetry Breaking (BSB)\n\\mathbb{T}^4/\\mathbb{Z}_2 orientifold are analyzed.",
        "positive": "The $F$-term Problem and other Challenges of Stringy Quintessence: We attempt a systematic analysis of string-theoretic quintessence models as\nan alternative to metastable de Sitter vacua. It appears that, within the\nboundaries of what is known, large-volume type-IIB flux compactifications are\npreferred. Here the quintessence scalar is the ratio of certain 4-cycle\nvolumes. It has already been noticed that the volume modulus, which must be\nstabilized, tends to remain too light. One may call this the \"light volume\nproblem\". In addition, we identify an \"$F$-term problem\": The positive energy\ndensity of standard-model SUSY breaking is higher than the depth of all known\nnegative contributions. We discuss what it would take to resolve these issues\nand comment on partially related challenges for axionic quintessence. In\nparticular, large cancellations between positive and negative potential terms\nappear unavoidable in general. As a further challenge, one should then explain\nwhy a small de-tuning cannot be used to uplift into a deep slow-roll regime,\nviolating de Sitter swampland conjectures."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Positivity of the Hypergeometric Coon Amplitude: We utilize a novel method for the partial-wave unitarity recently suggested\nin [1] to analyse the hypergeometric Coon amplitude. In this approach we use a\nnew type of harmonic numbers as a basis. Owing to the properties of the\nharmonic numbers this method bypasses lots of difficulties and can be used to\nderive a clear and unified form for the partial-wave coefficients. This new\napproach further streamlines the partial-wave unitarity analysis. As an\ninstance, we re-derive the unitarity bounds from Regge trajectory analysis and\nfind the new critical condition of the hypergeometric Coon amplitude. Our new\nmethod also benefits the discussion on the various limits of this amplitude.\nSpecifically, we demonstrate the manifest positivity of super string below\n$d\\leq10$ from our new perspective.",
        "positive": "Nonpointlike Particles in Harmonic Oscillators: Quantum mechanics ordinarily describes particles as being pointlike, in the\nsense that the uncertainty $\\Delta x$ can, in principle, be made arbitrarily\nsmall. It has been shown that suitable correction terms to the canonical\ncommutation relations induce a finite lower bound to spatial localisation.\nHere, we perturbatively calculate the corrections to the energy levels of an in\nthis sense nonpointlike particle in isotropic harmonic oscillators. Apart from\na special case the degeneracy of the energy levels is removed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Membrane Instantons and de Sitter Vacua: We investigate membrane instanton effects in type IIA strings compactified on\nrigid Calabi-Yau manifolds. These effects contribute to the low-energy\neffective action of the universal hypermultiplet. In the absence of additional\nfivebrane instantons, the quaternionic geometry of this hypermultiplet is\ndetermined by solutions of the three-dimensional Toda equation. We construct\nsolutions describing membrane instantons, and find perfect agreement with the\nstring theory prediction. In the context of flux compactifications we discuss\nhow membrane instantons contribute to the scalar potential and the\nstabilization of moduli. Finally, we demonstrate the existence of meta-stable\nde Sitter vacua.",
        "positive": "Correlation functions in the non-commutative Wess-Zumino-Witten model: We develop a systematic perturbative expansion and compute the one-loop\ntwo-points, three-points and four-points correlation functions in a\nnon-commutative version of the U(N) Wess-Zumino-Witten model in different\nregimes of the $\\theta$-parameter showing in the first case a kind of phase\ntransition around the value $\\theta_c = \\frac{\\sqrt{p^2 + 4 m^2}}{\\Lambda^2\np}$, where $\\Lambda$ is a ultraviolet cut-off in a Schwinger regularization\nscheme. As a by-product we obtain the functions of the renormalization group,\nshowing they are essentially the same as in the commutative case but applied to\nthe whole U(N) fields; in particular there exists a critical point where they\nare null, in agreement with a recent background field computation of the\nbeta-function, and the anomalous dimension of the Lie algebra-valued field\noperator agrees with the current algebra prediction. The non-renormalization of\nthe level $k$ is explicitly verified from the four-points correlator, where a\nleft-right non-invariant counter-term is needed to render finite the theory,\nthat it is however null on-shell. These results give support to the equivalence\nof this model with the commutative one."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Scaling Identities for Solitons beyond Derrick's Theorem: New integral identities satisfied by topological solitons in a range of\nclassical field theories are presented. They are derived by considering\nindependent length rescalings in orthogonal directions, or equivalently, from\nthe conservation of the stress tensor. These identities are refinements of\nDerrick's theorem.",
        "positive": "Thermal behavior of charged dilatonic black branes in AdS and UV\n  completions of Lifshitz-like geometries: Several classes of gravitational backgrounds in $3+1$ dimensions have been\nproposed as holographic duals to Lifshitz-like theories describing critical\nphenomena in $2+1$ dimensions with critical exponent $z\\geq 1$. We numerically\nexplore one such model, characterized by a temperature $T$ and chemical\npotential $\\mu$, and find how to embed these solutions into AdS for a range of\nvalues of $z$. We find no phase transition going from the $T\\ll\\mu$ to the\n$T\\gg \\mu$ regimes, and find that the solutions smoothly interpolate between\nthe Lifshitz-like behavior and the relativistic AdS-like behavior. Finally, we\nexploit some conserved quantities to find a relationship between the energy\ndensity $\\mc E$, entropy density $s$, and number density $n$, $\\mc\nE=\\frac{2}{3} \\left(Ts+\\mu n\\right)$. We show that this result is expected from\ngeneral scaling arguments, and generalizes to $\\mc E= \\frac{d}{d+1}\\left(Ts+\\mu\nn\\right)$ for a theory dual to AdS$_{d+2}$ (Poincar\\'e patch) asymptotics with\na local $U(1)$ gauge invariance."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Mass in Lovelock Unique Vacuum gravity theories: We derive an expression for conserved charges in Lovelock AdS gravity for\nsolutions having $k$-fold degenerate vacua, making manifest a link between the\ndegeneracy of a given vacuum and the nonlinearity of the energy formula. We\nshow for a black hole solution to the field equations on a branch of\nmultiplicity $k$ that its mass comes from an expression that contains the\nproduct of $k$ Weyl tensors. We prove that all divergent contributions of the\ntype (Weyl)$^q$, with $1\\le q<k$, are suppressed. Our conserved charge\ndefinition is a natural generalization of the Conformal Mass by Ashtekar,\nMagnon and Das to the cases when $k>1$. Our results provide insight on the\nholographic properties of degenerate Lovelock theories.",
        "positive": "A quantum information perspective on meson melting: We propose to use quantum information notions to characterize thermally\ninduced melting of nonperturbative bound states at high temperatures. We apply\ntensor networks to investigate this idea in static and dynamical settings\nwithin the Ising quantum field theory, where bound states are confined fermion\npairs - mesons. An equilibrium signature of meson melting is identified in the\ntemperature dependence of the thermal-state second R\\'enyi entropy, which\nvaries from exponential to power-law scaling. Out of equilibrium, we identify\nas the relevant signature the transition from an oscillatory to a linear\ngrowing behavior of reflected entropy after a thermal quench. These analyses\napply more broadly, which brings new ways of describing in-medium meson\nphenomena in quantum many-body and high-energy physics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supergravity Inspired Warped Compactifications and Effective\n  Cosmological Constants: We propose a supergravity inspired derivation of a Randall-Sundrum's type\naction as an effective description of the dynamics of a brane coupled to the\nbulk through gravity only. The cosmological constants in the bulk and on the\nbrane appear at the classical level when solving the equations of motion\ndescribing the bosonic sector of supergravities in ten and eleven dimensions\ncoupled to the brane. They are related to physical quantities like the brane\nelectric charge and thus inherit some of their physical properties. The most\nappealing property is their quantization: in d_\\perp extra dimensions,\nLambda_brane goes like N and Lambda_bulk like N^{2/(2-d_perp)}. This dynamical\norigin also explains the apparent fine-tuning required in the Randall-Sundrum\nscenario. In our approach, the cosmological constants are derived parameters\nand cannot be chosen arbitrarily; instead they are determined by the underlying\nLagrangian. Some of the branes we construct that support cosmological constant\nin the bulk have supersymmetric properties: D3-branes of type IIB superstring\ntheory provide an explicit example.",
        "positive": "Generalized Fractional Statistics: We link, by means of a semiclassical approach, the fractional statistics of\nparticles obeying the Haldane exclusion principle to the Tsallis statistics and\nderive a generalized quantum entropy and its associated statistics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Vertex operators, semiclassical limit for soliton S-matrices and the\n  number of bound states in Affine Toda Field Theories: Soliton time-delays and the semiclassical limit for soliton S-matrices are\ncalculated for non-simply laced Affine Toda Field Theories. The phase shift is\nwritten as a sum over bilinears on the soliton conserved charges. The results\napply to any two solitons of any Affine Toda Field Theory. As a by-product, a\ngeneral expression for the number of bound states and the values of the\ncoupling in which the S-matrix can be diagonal are obtained. In order to arrive\nat these results, a vertex operator is constructed, in the principal gradation,\nfor non-simply laced affine Lie algebras, extending the previous constructions\nfor simply laced and twisted affine Lie algebras.",
        "positive": "Podolsky electrodynamics from a condensation of topological defects: In this paper we demonstrate the arising of higher-derivative contributions\nto the effective action of electrodynamics on the base of generalized\nJulia-Toulouse mechanism and explicitly show that the complete effective action\ngenerated within this methodology is nonlocal."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Canonical Quantization of Open String and Noncommutative Geometry: We perform canonical quantization of open strings in the $D$-brane background\nwith a $B$-field. Treating the mixed boundary condition as a primary\nconstraint, we get a set of secondary constraints. Then these constraints are\nshown to be equivalent to orbifold conditions to be imposed on normal string\nmodes. These orbifold conditions are a generalization of the familiar orbifold\nconditions which arise when we describe open strings in terms of closed\nstrings. Solving the constraints explicitly, we obtain a simple Hamiltonian for\nthe open string, which reveals the nature of noncommutativity transparently.",
        "positive": "Invariant scalar product on extended Poincare algebra: Two methods can be used to calculate explicitly the Killing form on the Lie\nalgebras. The first one is a direct calculation of the traces of the generators\nin a matrix representation of the algebra, and the second one is the usage of\nthe group invariance of the scalar product. We use both methods in our\ncalculation of the scalar product on the extended Poincare algebra in order to\nhave a cross check of our results. The algebra is infinite-dimensional and\nrequires careful treatment of the infinities. The scalar product on the\nextended algebra found by both methods coincides and the important conclusion\nwhich follows is that Poincare generators are orthogonal to the gauge\ngenerators."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Unwinding in Hopfion vortex bunches: We investigate the behaviour of parallel Faddeev-Hopf vortices under energy\nminimization in a system with physically relevant, but unusual boundary\nconditions. The homotopy classification is no longer provided by the Hopf\ninvariant, but rather by the set of integer homotopy invariants proposed by\nPontrjagin. The nature of these invariants depends on the boundary conditions.\nA set of tightly wound parallel vortices of the usual Hopfion structure is\nobserved to form a bunch of intertwined vortices or unwind completely,\ndepending on the boundary conditions.",
        "positive": "Wavefunctionals/S-matrix techniques in de Sitter: Flat-space physics is highly constrained by basic principles such as Lorentz\ninvariance, locality, unitarity and causality. This is neatly seen in the\nstructure of scattering amplitudes. For processes occurring in an expanding\nbackground we do not have the same level of understanding, not even in the case\nof de Sitter space. In this talk I provide a brief account of some of the\nrecent efforts which aim to fill this gap. I will discuss some novel results in\nthe understanding of the analytic structure of the Bunch-Davies\nwavefunction(al) of the universe in the perturbative regime, some fundamental\nconstraints that it ought to satisfy as well as some general insights coming\nfrom an underlying combinatorial structure."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Dilaton Theorem and Closed String Backgrounds: The zero-momentum ghost-dilaton is a non-primary BRST physical state present\nin every bosonic closed string background. It is given by the action of the\nBRST operator on another state $\\x$, but remains nontrivial in the semirelative\nBRST cohomology. When local coordinates arise from metrics we show that dilaton\nand $\\x$ insertions compute Riemannian curvature and geodesic curvature\nrespectively. A proper definition of a CFT deformation induced by the dilaton\nrequires surface integrals of the dilaton and line integrals of $\\x$.\nSurprisingly, the ghost number anomaly makes this a trivial deformation. While\ndilatons cannot deform conformal theories, they actually deform conformal\nstring backgrounds, showing in a simple context that a string background is not\nnecessarily the same as a CFT. We generalize the earlier proof of quantum\nbackground independence of string theory to show that a dilaton shift amounts\nto a shift of the string coupling in the field-dependent part of the quantum\nstring action. Thus the ``dilaton theorem'', familiar for on-shell string\namplitudes, holds off-shell as a consequence of an exact symmetry of the string\naction.",
        "positive": "Minimal area surfaces in AdS_{n+1} and Wilson loops: The AdS/CFT correspondence relates the expectation value of Wilson loops in\nN=4 SYM to the area of minimal surfaces in AdS_5\n  In this paper we consider minimal area surfaces in generic Euclidean\nAdS_{n+1} using the Pohlmeyer reduction in a similar way as we did previously\nin Euclidean AdS_3. As in that case, the main obstacle is to find the correct\nparameterization of the curve in terms of a conformal parameter. Once that is\ndone, the boundary conditions for the Pohlmeyer fields are obtained in terms of\nconformal invariants of the curve. After solving the Pohlmeyer equations, the\narea can be expressed as a boundary integral involving a generalization of the\nconformal arc-length, curvature and torsion of the curve. Furthermore, one can\nintroduce the \\lambda-deformation symmetry of the contours by a simple change\nin the conformal invariants. This determines the \\lambda-deformed contours in\nterms of the solution of a boundary linear problem. In fact the condition that\nall \\lambda deformed contours are periodic can be used as an alternative to\nsolving the Pohlmeyer equations and is equivalent to imposing the vanishing of\nan infinite set of conserved charges derived from integrability."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Conformal perturbation theory beyond the leading order: Higher order conformal perturbation theory is studied for theories with and\nwithout boundaries. We identify systematically the universal quantities in the\nbeta function equations, and we give explicit formulae for the universal\ncoefficients at next-to-leading order in terms of integrated correlation\nfunctions. As an example, we analyse the radius-dependence of the conformal\ndimension of some boundary operators for the case of a single Neumann brane on\na circle, and for an intersecting brane configuration on a torus, reproducing\nin both cases the expected geometrical answer.",
        "positive": "Band spectrum is D-brane: We show that band spectrum of topological insulators can be identified as the\nshape of D-branes in string theory. The identification is based on a relation\nbetween the Berry connection associated with the band structure and the\nADHM/Nahm construction of solitons whose geometric realization is available\nwith D-branes. We also show that chiral and helical edge states are identified\nas D-branes representing a noncommutative monopole."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Rigidity of SU(2,2|2)-symmetric solutions in Type IIB: We investigate the existence of half-BPS solutions in Type IIB supergravity\nwhich are invariant under the superalgebra SU(2,2|2) realized on either AdS_5 x\nS^2 x S^1 or AdS_5 x S^3 warped over a Riemann surface \\Sigma with boundary. We\nprove that, in both cases, the only solution is AdS_5 x S^5 itself. We argue\nthat this result provides evidence for the non-existence of fully back-reacted\nintersecting D3/D7 branes with either AdS_5 x S^2 x S^1 x \\Sigma or AdS_5 x S^3\nx \\Sigma near-horizon limits.",
        "positive": "Brane New World and dS/CFT correspondence: The occurence of 5d de Sitter space with 4d de Sitter brane is discussed on\nclassical and quantum level. It is shown that quantum effects maybe produced by\ndual CFT living on the brane. Moreover, gravity trapping on the brane is proved\nvia the presentation of 5d dS gravity as 4d gravity coupled with gauge theory.\nThis supports the dS/CFT correspondence. Some open questions in 5d dS/4d CFT\ncorrespondence are briefly discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Scherk-Schwarz SUSY breaking from the viewpoint of 5D conformal\n  supergravity: We reinterpret the Scherk-Schwarz (SS) boundary condition for SU(2)_R in a\ncompactified five-dimensional (5D) Poincare supergravity in terms of the\ntwisted SU(2)_U gauge fixing in 5D conformal supergravity. In such translation,\nonly the compensator hypermultiplet is relevant to the SS twist, and various\nproperties of the SS mechanism can be easily understood. Especially, we show\nthe correspondence between the SS twist and constant superpotentials within our\nframework.",
        "positive": "Curvature Expansion for the Gluodynamics String including Perturbative\n  Gluonic Contributions: Perturbation theory in the nonperturbative QCD vacuum and the non-Abelian\nStokes theorem, representing a Wilson loop in the SU(2) gluodynamics as an\nintegral over all the orientations in colour space, are applied to a derivation\nof the correction to the string effective action in the lowest order in the\ncoupling constant $g$. This correction is due to the interaction of\nperturbative gluons with the string world sheet and affects only the coupling\nconstant of the rigidity term, while its contribution to the string tension of\nthe Nambu-Goto term vanishes. The obtained correction to the rigidity coupling\nconstant multiplicatively depends on the colour \"spin\" of the representation of\nthe Wilson loop under consideration and a certain path integral, which includes\nthe background Wilson loop average."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the evaluation of vortical susceptibility of chiral condensate in QCD: The vortical susceptibility of chiral condensate is derived in two ways.\nFirst we obtain this using the spectrum of the Dirac operator in a metric of a\ncurved space-time, which corresponds to rotation. Second we come to the\nexpression for the susceptibility via the holographic approach to QCD.",
        "positive": "The large level limit of Kazama-Suzuki models: Limits of families of conformal field theories are of interest in the context\nof AdS/CFT dualities. We explore here the large level limit of the\ntwo-dimensional N=(2,2) superconformal W_{n+1} minimal models that appear in\nthe context of the supersymmetric higher-spin AdS3/CFT2 duality. These models\nare constructed as Kazama-Suzuki coset models of the form SU(n+1)/U(n). We\ndetermine a family of boundary conditions in the limit theories, and use the\nmodular bootstrap to obtain the full bulk spectrum of N=2 super-W_{n+1}\nprimaries in the theory. We also confirm the identification of this limit\ntheory as the continuous orbifold C^n/U(n) that was discussed recently."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Finiteness Requirement for Six-Dimensional Euclidean Einstein\n  Gravity: The finiteness requirement for Euclidean Einstein gravity is shown to be so\nstringent that only the flat metric is allowed. We examine counterterms in 4D\nand 6D Ricci-flat manifolds from general invariance arguments.",
        "positive": "Scattering strings off quantum extremal surfaces: We consider a Hayden \\& Preskill like setup for both maximally chaotic and\nsub-maximally chaotic quantum field theories. We act on the vacuum with an\noperator in a Rindler like wedge $R$ and transfer a small subregion $I$ of $R$\nto the other wedge. The chaotic scrambling dynamics of the QFT Rindler time\nevolution reveals the information in the other wedge. The holographic dual of\nthis process involves a particle excitation falling into the bulk and crossing\ninto the entanglement wedge of the complement to $r=R \\backslash I$. With the\ngoal of studying the locality of the emergent holographic theory we compute\nvarious quantum information measures on the boundary that tell us when the\nparticle has entered this entanglement wedge. In a maximally chaotic theory,\nthese measures indicate a sharp transition where the particle enters the wedge\nexactly when the insertion is null separated from the quantum extremal surface\nfor $r$. For sub-maximally chaotic theories, we find a smoothed crossover at a\ndelayed time given in terms of the smaller Lyapunov exponent and dependent on\nthe time-smearing scale of the probe excitation. The information quantities\nthat we consider include the full vacuum modular energy $R \\backslash I$ as\nwell as the fidelity between the state with the particle and the state without.\nAlong the way, we find a new explicit formula for the modular Hamiltonian of\ntwo intervals in an arbitrary 1+1 dimensional CFT to leading order in the small\ncross ratio limit. We also give an explicit calculation of the Regge limit of\nthe modular flowed chaos correlator and find examples which do not saturate the\nmodular chaos bound. Finally, we discuss the extent to which our results reveal\nproperties of the target of the probe excitation as a \"stringy quantum extremal\nsurface\" or simply quantify the probe itself thus giving a new approach to\nstudying the notion of longitudinal string spreading."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Revealing the Landscape of Globally Color-Dual Multi-loop Integrands: We report on progress in understanding how to construct color-dual multi-loop\namplitudes. First we identify a cubic theory, semi-abelian Yang-Mills, that\nunifies many of the color-dual theories studied in the literature, and provides\na prescriptive approach for constructing $D$-dimensional color-dual numerators\nthrough one-loop directly from Feynman rules. By a simple weight counting\nargument, this approach does not further generalize to two-loops. As a first\nstep in understanding the two-loop challenge, we use a $D$-dimensional\ncolor-dual bootstrap to successfully construct globally color-dual local\ntwo-loop four-point nonlinear sigma model (NLSM) numerators. The double-copy of\nthese NLSM numerators with themselves, pure Yang-Mills, and $\\mathcal{N}=4$\nsuper-Yang-Mills correctly reproduce the known unitarity constructed integrands\nof special Galileons, Born-Infeld theory, and Dirac-Born-Infeld-Volkov-Akulov\ntheory, respectively. Applying our bootstrap to two-loop four-point pure\nYang-Mills, we exhaustively search the space of local numerators and find that\nit fails to satisfy global color-kinematics duality, completing a search\npreviously initiated in the literature. We pinpoint the failure to the bowtie\nunitarity cut, and discuss a path forward towards non-local construction of\ncolor-dual integrands at generic loop order.",
        "positive": "Derivative expansion of quadratic operators in a general 't Hooft gauge: A derivative expansion technique is developed to compute functional\ndeterminants of quadratic operators, non diagonal in spacetime indices. This\nkind of operators arise in general 't Hooft gauge fixed Lagrangians. Elaborate\napplications of the developed derivative expansion are presented."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Improved generating technique for D=5 supergravities and squashed\n  Kaluza-Klein Black Holes: Recently we suggested a solution generating technique for five-dimensional\nsupergravity with three Abelian vector fields based on the hidden SO(4,4)\nsymmetry of the three-dimensionally reduced theory. This technique generalizes\nthe $G_{2(2)}$ generating technique developed earlier for minimal 5D\nsupergravity (A. Bouchareb, G. Cl\\'ement, C-M. Chen, D. V. Gal'tsov, N. G.\nScherbluk, and Th. Wolf, Phys. Rev. D {\\bf 76}, 104032 (2007)) and provides a\nnew matrix representation for cosets forming the corresponding sigma-models in\nboth cases. Here we further improve these methods introducing a matrix-valued\ndualisation procedure which helps to avoid difficulties associated with solving\nthe dualisation equations in the component form. This new approach is used to\ngenerate a five-parametric rotating charged Kaluza-Klein black hole with the\nsquashed horizon adding one parameter more to the recent solution by Tomizawa,\nYasui and Morisawa which was constructed using the previous version of the\n$G_{2(2)}$ generating technique.",
        "positive": "The edge of chaos: quantum field theory and deep neural networks: We explicitly construct the quantum field theory corresponding to a general\nclass of deep neural networks encompassing both recurrent and feedforward\narchitectures. We first consider the mean-field theory (MFT) obtained as the\nleading saddlepoint in the action, and derive the condition for criticality via\nthe largest Lyapunov exponent. We then compute the loop corrections to the\ncorrelation function in a perturbative expansion in the ratio of depth $T$ to\nwidth $N$, and find a precise analogy with the well-studied $O(N)$ vector\nmodel, in which the variance of the weight initializations plays the role of\nthe 't Hooft coupling. In particular, we compute both the $\\mathcal{O}(1)$\ncorrections quantifying fluctuations from typicality in the ensemble of\nnetworks, and the subleading $\\mathcal{O}(T/N)$ corrections due to finite-width\neffects. These provide corrections to the correlation length that controls the\ndepth to which information can propagate through the network, and thereby sets\nthe scale at which such networks are trainable by gradient descent. Our\nanalysis provides a first-principles approach to the rapidly emerging NN-QFT\ncorrespondence, and opens several interesting avenues to the study of\ncriticality in deep neural networks."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "SU(2) x U(1) Yang-Mills theories in 3d with Higgs field and Gribov\n  ambiguity: We study the structure of the gauge propagators of a 3d version of the\nelectroweak interaction in terms of the Higgs vacuum expectation value nu, of\nthe non-Abelian gauge coupling g, and of the Abelian gauge coupling g', when\nnonperturbative effects related to the non-Abelian gauge fixing are introduced\nby means of an adapted path integral measure. In the perturbative regime of\nsmall non-Abelian coupling g and sufficiently large nu, the well-known standard\nZ and W propagators are recovered, together with a massless photon. In general,\ndepending on the relative magnitudes of g, g' and nu, we uncover a quite\ndifferent propagator structure. In a later stage of research, the results here\nderived can be used to study the associated phase diagram in more depth.",
        "positive": "Exceptional Algebra and Sporadic Groups at c=12: In earlier works, it was seen that a ${\\mathbb Z}/2$ orbifold of the theory\nof 24 free two-dimensional chiral fermions admits various sporadic finite\nsimple groups as global symmetry groups when viewed as an ${\\cal N}=1$, ${\\cal\nN}=2$, or ${\\cal N}=4$ superconformal field theory. In this note, we show that\nviewing the same theory as an SCFT with extended ${\\cal N}=1$ symmetry -- where\nthe extension is the same one which arises in string compactification on\nmanifolds of exceptional Spin$(7)$ holonomy -- yields theories which have\nglobal symmetry given by the sporadic groups $M_{24}, Co_2$ or $Co_3$. The\npartition functions twined by these symmetries, when decomposed into characters\nof the Spin(7) algebra, give rise to two-component vector-valued mock modular\nforms encoding an infinite-dimensional module for the corresponding sporadic\ngroups."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "$T\\bar T$-deformation and long range spin chains: We point out that two classes of deformations of integrable models, developed\ncompletely independently, have deep connections and share the same algebraic\norigin. One class includes the $T\\bar T$-deformation of 1+1 dimensional\nintegrable quantum field theory and related solvable irrelevant deformations\nproposed recently. The other class is a specific type of long range integrable\ndeformation of quantum spin chains introduced a decade ago, in the context of\n$\\mathcal{N} = 4$ super-Yang-Mills theory. We show that the detailed structures\nof the two deformations are formally identical and therefore share many\nfeatures. Both deformations preserve integrability and lead to non-local\ndeformed theories, resulting in a change of the corresponding factorized\nS-matrices. We also prove a factorisation formula for the expectation value of\nthe operators which trigger the deformation on the lattice; similar results in\nquantum field theory play an essential role in the solvability of such\ndeformations. We point out that the long range deformation is a natural\ncounterpart of the $T\\bar T$-deformation for integrable spin chains, and argue\nthat this observation leads to interesting new avenues to explore.",
        "positive": "Graphical Representation of Supersymmetry: A graphical representation of supersymmetry is presented. It clearly\nexpresses the chiral flow appearing in SUSY quantities, by representing spinors\nby {\\it directed lines} (arrows). The chiral suffixes are expressed by the\ndirections (up, down, left, right) of the arrows. The SL(2,C) invariants are\nrepresented by {\\it wedges}. Both the Weyl spinor and the Majorana spinor are\ntreated. We are free from the complicated symbols of spinor suffixes. The\nmethod is applied to the 5D supersymmetry. Many applications are expected. The\nresult is suitable for coding a computer program and is highly expected to be\napplicable to various SUSY theories (including Supergravity) in various\ndimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Closed string tachyon potential and $tt^*$ equation: Recently Dabholkar and Vafa proposed that closed string tachyon potential for\nnon-supersymmetric orbifold $\\C/\\Z_3$ in terms of the solution of a $tt^*$\nequation. We extend this result to $\\C^2/\\Z_n$ for $n=3,4,5$. Interestingly,\nthe tachyon potentials for $n=3$ and 4 are still given in terms of the\nsolutions of Painleve III type equation that appeared in the study of\n$\\C^1/\\Z_3$ with different boundary conditions. For $\\C^2/\\Z_5$ case, governing\nequations are of generalized Toda type. The potential is monotonically\ndecreasing function of RG flow.",
        "positive": "Odd Dimensional Nonlocal Liouville Conformal Field Theories: We construct Euclidean Liouville conformal field theories in odd number of\ndimensions. The theories are nonlocal and non-unitary with a log-correlated\nLiouville field, a ${\\cal Q}$-curvature background, and an exponential\nLiouville-type potential. We study the classical and quantum properties of\nthese theories including the finite entanglement entropy part of the sphere\npartition function $F$, the boundary conformal anomaly and vertex operators'\ncorrelation functions. We derive the analogue of the even-dimensional DOZZ\nformula and its semi-classical approximation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum tunneling from excited states: Recovering imaginary-time\n  instantons from a real-time analysis: We revisit the path integral description of quantum tunneling and show how it\ncan be generalized to excited states. For clarity, we focus on the simple toy\nmodel of a point particle in a double-well potential, for which we perform all\nsteps explicitly. Instead of performing the familiar Wick rotation from\nphysical to imaginary time - which is inconsistent with the requisite boundary\nconditions when treating tunneling from excited states - we regularize the path\nintegral by adding an infinitesimal complex contribution to the Hamiltonian,\nwhile keeping time strictly real. We find that this gives rise to a complex\nstationary-phase solution, in agreement with recent insights from\nPicard-Lefshitz theory. We then show that there exists a class of analytic\nsolutions for the corresponding equations of motion, which can be made to match\nthe appropriate boundary conditions in the physically relevant limits of a\nvanishing regulator and an infinite physical time. We provide a detailed\ndiscussion of this non-trivial limit. We find that, for systems without an\nexplicit time-dependence, our approach reproduces the picture of an\ninstanton-like solution defined on a finite Euclidean-time interval. Lastly, we\ndiscuss the generalization of our approach to broader classes of systems, for\nwhich it serves as a reliable framework for high-precision calculations.",
        "positive": "Multiflavor Correlation Functions in non-Abelian Gauge Theories at\n  Finite Density in two dimensions: We compute vacuum expectation values of products of fermion bilinears for\ntwo-dimensional Quantum Chromodynamics at finite flavored fermion densities. We\nintroduce the chemical potential as an external charge distribution within the\npath-integral approach and carefully analyse the contribution of different\ntopological sectors to fermion correlators. We show the existence of chiral\ncondensates exhibiting an oscillatory inhomogeneous behavior as a function of a\nchemical potential matrix. This result is exact and goes in the same direction\nas the behavior found in QCD_4 within the large N approximation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Defects in the discrete non-linear Schrodinger model: The discrete non-linear Schrodinger (NLS) model in the presence of an\nintegrable defect is examined. The problem is viewed from a purely algebraic\npoint of view, starting from the fundamental algebraic relations that rule the\nmodel. The first charges in involution are explicitly constructed, as well as\nthe corresponding Lax pairs. These lead to sets of difference equations, which\ninclude particular terms corresponding to the impurity point. A first glimpse\nregarding the corresponding continuum limit is also provided.",
        "positive": "Some thoughts about matrix coordinate transformations: Matrix coordinate transformations are defined as substitution operators\nwithout requiring an ordering prescription or an inclusion function from the\nAbelian coordinate transformations. We construct transforming objects mimicking\nmost of the properties of tensors. We point out some problems with the matrix\ngeneralization of contravariant vectors. We suggest to use the substitution\noperators to search for an inclusion function."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Meromorphic Functions and the Topology of Giant Gravitons: Using Mikhailov's map from holomorphic functions to supersymmetric D3-brane\nsolutions, we show how to construct giant gravitons in AdS5 x S5 with toroidal\ntopologies. In the 1/4-BPS sector we show that these are always of the form #^K\n(S2 x S1), and in the limit in which this becomes a set of m+n perpendicular\nspherical giants re-connected near to their intersections, we find K in terms\nof m,n. In the 1/8-BPS sector we find a similar class of solutions.",
        "positive": "Gauge Theory of the String Geodesic Field: A relativistic string is usually represented by the Nambu-Goto action in\nterms of the extremal area of a 2-dimensional timelike submanifold of Minkowski\nspace. Alternatively, a family of classical solutions of the string equation of\nmotion can be globally described in terms of the associated geodesic field. In\nthis paper we propose a new gauge theory for the geodesic field of closed and\nopen strings. Our approach solves the technical and conceptual problems\naffecting previous attempts to describe strings in terms of local field\nvariables. The connection between the geodesic field, the string current and\nthe Kalb-Ramond gauge potential is discussed and clarified. A non-abelian\ngeneralization and the generally covariant form of the model are also\ndiscussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "One dimensional Staggered Bosons, Clock models and their non-invertible\n  symmetries: We study systems of staggered boson Hamiltonians in a one dimensional lattice\nand in particular how the translation symmetry by one unit in these systems is\nin reality a non-invertible symmetry closely related to T-duality. We also\nstudy the simplest systems of clock models derived from these staggered boson\nHamiltonians. We show that the non-invertible symmetries of these lattice\nmodels together with the discrete ${\\mathbb Z}_N$ symmetry predict that these\nare critical points with a $U(1)$ current algebra at $c=1$ and radius\n$\\sqrt{2N}$ whenever $N>4$.",
        "positive": "BRST technique for the cosmological density matrix: The microcanonical density matrix in closed cosmology has a natural\ndefinition as a projector on the space of solutions of Wheeler-DeWitt\nequations, which is motivated by the absence of global non-vanishing charges\nand energy in spatially closed gravitational systems. Using the BRST/BFV\nformalism in relativistic phase space of gauge and ghost variables we derive\nthe path integral representation for this projector and the relevant\nstatistical sum. This derivation circumvents the difficulties associated with\nthe open algebra of noncommutative quantum Dirac constraints and the\nconstruction/regularization of the physical inner product in the subspace of\nBRS singlets. This inner product is achieved via the Batalin-Marnelius gauge\nfixing in the space of BRS-invariant states, which in its turn is shown to be a\nresult of truncation of the BRST/BFV formalism to the \"matter\" sector of\nrelativistic phase space."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Acceleration of the Universe, a Challenge for String Theory: Recent astronomical observations indicate that the universe is accelerating.\nWe argue that generic quintessence models that accommodate the present day\nacceleration tend to accelerate eternally. As a consequence the resulting\nspacetimes exhibit event horizons. Hence, quintessence poses the same problems\nfor string theory as asymptotic de Sitter spaces.",
        "positive": "Subleading non linear gravitational memory effect: We apply the new method based on null geodesics for detecting gravitational\nmemory and find the bulk memory in Newman-Unti gauge around the boundary of the\nconformally compactified space time. We show how we use the newly found\nconserved charges in the subleading orders of large-$r$ expansion of the BMS\ncharges to define the gravitational memory at each order in the non-linearised\ngravitational theory. We also find the gravitational shift in the $r$\ndirection. It is shown that the longitudinal displacement at order $1/r$ is the\nrelative radius change between two detectors derived by Strominger and\nZhiboedov."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Density Perturbations and Primordial Non-Gaussianities in a Closed\n  Universe: The spatial curvature of the universe is not yet known. Even though at\npresent the Universe is very close to being essentially flat and most\nsignatures of curvature appear to have been diluted by inflation, if the number\nof e-foldings during inflation is close to the minimum necessary to explain the\nhorizon problem, the curvature of the universe may have left imprints in the\ncosmic microwave background (CMB) that may be observable, especially at large\nangles. Motivated by general results on quantum cosmology and using effective\nfield theory techniques, we develop a general approach for analytically\ncomputing the power spectrum of density perturbations for a closed universe.\nFollowing a Hamiltonian formalism we determine the corresponding Bunch-Davis\nvacuum, find analytic expressions for two-point functions and higher\ncorrelators, expanding in terms of $S^3$ harmonics. In particular we\nconcentrate on potential implications for observable non-Gaussianities. We\nconsider cubic interactions as well as higher derivative ones to explore the\nconsequence of a speed of sound $c_s\\neq 1$. For large multipoles curvature\neffects are negligible and reproduce the known results for the flat case.\nHowever, they depart from the flat space result for relatively small\nmultipoles. In this limit non-Gaussianities may lead to potentially observable\nvalues of $f_{\\rm NL}$. In particular we find terms in $f_{\\rm NL}$ that are\nabsent in the flat space case, which are important at large scales and may be\nobservable even if a long period of inflation dilutes the curvature. We compare\nour results with previous discussions in the literature.",
        "positive": "Effective dynamics of a classical point charge: The effective Lagrangian of a point charge is derived by eliminating the\nelectromagnetic field within the framework of the classical closed time path\nformalism. The short distance singularity of the electromagnetic field is\nregulated by an UV cutoff. The Abraham-Lorentz force is recovered and its\nsimilarity to anomalies is underlined. The full cutoff-dependent linearized\nequation of motion is obtained, no runaway trajectories are found but the\neffective dynamics shows acausality if the cutoff is beyond the classical\ncharge radius. The strength of the radiation reaction force displays a pole in\nits cutoff-dependence in a manner reminiscent of the Landau-pole of\nperturbative QED. Similarity between the dynamical breakdown of the time\nreversal invariance and dynamical symmetry breaking is pointed out."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetric hyperbolic Calogero-Sutherland models by gauging: Novel $\\mathcal{N}{=}\\,2$ and $\\mathcal{N}{=}\\,4$ supersymmetric extensions\nof the Calogero-Sutherland hyperbolic systems are obtained by gauging the ${\\rm\nU}(n)$ isometry of matrix superfield models. The bosonic core of the\n$\\mathcal{N}{=}\\,2$ models is the standard $A_{n-1}$ Calogero-Sutherland\nhyperbolic system, whereas the ${\\mathcal N}{=}\\,4$ model contains additional\nsemi-dynamical spin variables and is an extension of the U(2) spin\nCalogero-Sutherland hyperbolic system. We construct two different versions of\nthe ${\\mathcal N}{=}\\,4$ model, with and without the interacting center-of-mass\ncoordinate in the bosonic sector.",
        "positive": "Doubly assisted Sauter-Schwinger effect: We study electron-positron pair creation by a strong and slowly varying\nelectric field, assisted by a weaker and more rapidly changing field (e.g., in\nthe keV regime) plus an additional high-energy (say MeV) photon. It turns out\nthat this combination can yield a pair creation probability which is\nexponentially larger than in the case where one (or more) of the three\ningredients is missing. Apart from a deeper understanding of these\nnon-perturbative phenomena, this double enhancement may pave the way for an\nexperimental verification of this fundamental prediction."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Infrared dynamics of massive scalars from the complementary series in de\n  Sitter space: We continue a previous study about the infrared loop effects in the\n$D$-dimensional de Sitter space for a real scalar $\\phi^4$ theory from the\ncomplementary series whose bare mass belongs to the interval\n$\\frac{\\sqrt{3}}{4}\\, \\left(D-1\\right) < m \\leq \\frac{D-1}{2}$, in units of the\nHubble scale. The lower bound comes from the appearance of discrete states in\nthe mass spectrum of the theory when that bound is violated, causing large IR\nloop effects in the vertices. We derive an equation which allows to perform a\nself--consistent resummation of the leading IR contributions from all loops to\nthe two-point correlation functions in an expanding Poincar\\'{e} patch of the\nde Sitter manifold. The resummation can be done for density perturbations of\nthe Bunch--Davies state which violate the de Sitter isometry. There exist\nsolutions having a singular (exploding) behavior and therefore the backreaction\ncan change the de Sitter geometry.",
        "positive": "Intertwining operator and integrable hierarchies from topological\n  strings: In [1], Nakatsu and Takasaki have shown that the melting crystal model behind\nthe topological strings vertex provides a tau-function of the KP hierarchy\nafter an appropriate time deformation. We revisit their derivation with a focus\non the underlying quantum $W_{1+\\infty}$ symmetry. Specifically, we point out\nthe role played by automorphisms and the connection with the intertwiner - or\nvertex operator - of the algebra. This algebraic perspective allows us to\nextend part of their derivation to the refined melting crystal model, lifting\nthe algebra to the quantum toroidal algebra of $\\mathfrak{gl}(1)$ (also called\nDing-Iohara-Miki algebra). In this way, we take a first step toward the\ndefinition of deformed hierarchies associated to A-model refined topological\nstrings."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Strong Perturbation Approach for the Dirac Equation in a Gauge Field: We discuss a possible approach to the problem of a gauge theory with a strong\ncoupling constant. It is seen that, instead of plane waves, we have to consider\nthe adiabatic eigenstates of the perturbation in order to get a meaningful\nperturbation approach.",
        "positive": "On bound states of Dirac particles in gravitational fields: We investigate the quantum motion of a neutral Dirac particle bouncing on a\nmirror in curved spacetime. We consider different geometries: Rindler,\nKasner-Taub and Schwarzschild, and show how to solve the Dirac equation by\nusing geometrical methods. We discuss, in a first-quantized framework, the\nimplementation of appropriate boundary conditions. This leads us to consider a\nRobin boundary condition that gives the quantization of the energy, the\nexistence of bound states and of critical heights at which the Dirac particle\nbounces, extending the well-known results established from the Schrodinger\nequation. We also allow for a nonminimal coupling to a weak magnetic field. The\nproblem is solved in an analytical way on the Rindler spacetime. In the other\ncases, we compute the energy spectrum up to the first relativistic corrections,\nexhibiting the contributions brought by both the geometry and the spin. These\ncalculations are done in two different ways. On the one hand, using a\nrelativistic expansion and, on the other hand, with Foldy-Wouthuysen\ntransformations. Contrary to what is sometimes claimed in the literature, both\nmethods are in agreement, as expected. Finally, we make contact with the GRANIT\nexperiment. Relativistic effects and effects that go beyond the equivalence\nprinciple escape the sensitivity of such an experiment. However, we show that\nthe influence of a weak magnetic field could lead to observable phenomena."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Weighted scale invariant quantum field theories: We study a class of Lorentz violating quantum field theories that contain\nhigher space derivatives, but no higher time derivatives, and become\nrenormalizable in the large N expansion. The fixed points of their\nrenormalization-group flows provide examples of exactly \"weighted scale\ninvariant\" theories, which are noticeable Lorentz violating generalizations of\nconformal field theories. We classify the scalar and fermion models that are\ncausal, stable and unitary. Solutions exist also in four and higher dimensions,\neven and odd. In some explicit four dimensional examples, we compute the\ncorrelation functions to the leading order in 1/N and the critical exponents to\nthe subleading order. We construct also RG flows interpolating between pairs of\nfixed points.",
        "positive": "Symplectic fusion rings and their metric: The fusion of fields in a rational conformal field theory gives rise to a\nring structure which has a very particular form. All such rings studied so far\nwere shown to arise from some potentials. In this paper the fusion rings of the\nWZW models based on the symplectic group are studied. It is shown that they\nindeed arise from potentials which are described. These potentials give rise to\nnew massive perturbations of superconformal hermitian symmetric models. The\nmetric of the perturbation is computed and is shown to be given by solutions of\nthe sinh--gordon equation. The kink structure of the theories is described, and\nit is argued that these field theories are integrable. The $S$ matrices for the\nfusion theories are argued to be non--minimal extensions of the $G_k\\times G_1/\nG_{k+1}$ $S$ matrices with the adjoint perturbation, in the case of $G=SU(N)$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Relative entropy equals bulk relative entropy: We consider the gravity dual of the modular Hamiltonian associated to a\ngeneral subregion of a boundary theory. We use it to argue that the relative\nentropy of nearby states is given by the relative entropy in the bulk, to\nleading order in the bulk gravitational coupling. We also argue that the\nboundary modular flow is dual to the bulk modular flow in the entanglement\nwedge, with implications for entanglement wedge reconstruction.",
        "positive": "Brane Transitions from Exceptional Groups: It is a well-known result by Hanany and Witten that, when two five-branes\nmove across each other, D3-branes stretching between them are generated. Later\nthe same brane configurations played a crucial role in understanding the\nworldvolume theory of multiple M2-branes. Recently the partition function of\nmultiple M2-branes was transformed to the Fredholm determinant for quantum\nalgebraic curves, where the characteristic 3/2 power law of degrees of freedom\nis reproduced and the determinant enjoys a large symmetry given by exceptional\nWeyl groups. The large exceptional Weyl group reproduces the Hanany-Witten\nbrane transitions and, besides, contains brane transitions unknown previously.\nAiming at understanding the new brane transitions better, we generalize our\nprevious study on the D5 quantum curve to the E7 case, which requires delicate\nhandling of degeneracies. By combining the results of these two cases, we\npropose a \"local\" rule for the brane transitions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Real valued functions for BFKL eigenvalue: We consider known expressions for the eigenvalue of the\nBalitsky-Fadin-Kuraev-Lipatov (BFKL) equation in $N=4$ super Yang-Mills theory\nas a real valued function of two variables anomalous dimension and the\nconformal spin. We define new real valued functions of two complex conjugate\nvariables that have a definite complexity analogous to the weight of the nested\nharmonic sums. We argue that those functions span a general space of functions\nfor the BFKL eigenvalue at any order of the perturbation theory.",
        "positive": "Single twistor description of massless, massive, AdS, and other\n  interacting particles: The Penrose transform between twistors and the phase space of massless\nparticles is generalized from the massless case to an assortment of other\nparticle dynamical systems, including special examples of massless or massive\nparticles, relativistic or non-relativistic, interacting or non-interacting, in\nflat space or curved spaces. Our unified construction involves always the\n\\it{same} twistor Z^A with only four complex degrees of freedom and subject to\nthe \\it{same} helicity constraint. Only the twistor to phase space transform\ndiffers from one case to another. Hence a unification of diverse particle\ndynamical systems is displayed by the fact that they all share the same twistor\ndescription. Our single twistor approach seems to be rather different and\nstrikingly economical construction of twistors compared to other past\napproaches that introduced multiple twistors to represent some similar but far\nmore limited set of particle phase space systems."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holography on local fields via Radon Transform: We define Radon transform and its inverse on the two-dimensional anti-de\nSitter space over local fields using a novel construction through a quadratic\nequation over the local field. We show that the holographic bulk reconstruction\nof quantum fields in this space can be formulated as the inverse Radon\ntransform, generalizing the case over the reals, studied earlier.",
        "positive": "Wall and Anti-Wall in the Randall-Sundrum Model and A New Infrared\n  Regularization: An approach to find the field equation solution of the Randall-Sundrum model\nwith the $S^1/Z_2$ extra axis is presented. We closely examine the infrared\nsingularity. The vacuum is set by the 5 dimensional Higgs field. Both the\ndomain-wall and the anti-domain-wall naturally appear, at the {\\it ends} of the\nextra compact axis, by taking a {\\it new infrared regularization}. The\nstability is guaranteed from the outset by the kink boundary condition. A {\\it\ncontinuous} (infrared-)regularized solution, which is a truncated {\\it Fourier\nseries} of a {\\it discontinuous} solution, is utilized.The ultraviolet-infrared\nrelation appears in the regularized solution."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Schr\u00f6dinger Functional of a Quantum Scalar Field in Static Space-Times\n  from Precanonical Quantization: The functional Schr\\\"odinger representation of a scalar field on an\n$n$-dimensional static space-time background is argued to be a singular\nlimiting case of the hypercomplex quantum theory of the same system obtained by\nthe precanonical quantization based on the space-time symmetric De Donder-Weyl\nHamiltonian theory. The functional Schr\\\"odinger representation emerges from\nthe precanonical quantization when the ultraviolet parameter $\\varkappa$\nintroduced by precanonical quantization is replaced by\n$\\underline{\\gamma}{}_0\\delta^\\mathrm{inv}(\\mathbf{0})$, where\n$\\underline{\\gamma}{}_0$ is the time-like tangent space Dirac matrix and\n$\\delta^\\mathrm{inv}(\\mathbf{0})$ is an invariant spatial $(n-1)$-dimensional\nDirac's delta function whose regularized value at $\\mathbf{x}=\\mathbf{0}$ is\nidentified with the cutoff of the volume of the momentum space. In this\nlimiting case, the Schr\\\"odinger wave functional is expressed as the trace of\nthe product integral of Clifford-algebra-valued precanonical wave functions\nrestricted to a certain field configuration and the canonical functional\nderivative Schr\\\"odinger equation is derived from the manifestly covariant\nDirac-like precanonical Schr\\\"odinger equation which is independent of a choice\nof a codimension-one foliation.",
        "positive": "Spinning Electroweak Sphalerons: We present numerical evidence for the existence of stationary spinning\ngeneralizations for the static sphaleron in the Weinberg-Salam theory. Our\nresults suggest that, for any value of the mixing angle $\\thetw$ and for any\nHiggs mass, the spinning sphalerons comprise a family labeled by their angular\nmomentum $J$. For $\\thetw\\neq 0$ they possess an electric charge $Q=eJ$ where\n$e$ is the electron charge. Inside they contain a monopole-antimonopole pair\nand a spinning loop of electric current, and for large $J$ they show a\nRegge-type behavior. It is likely that these sphalerons mediate the topological\ntransitions in sectors with $J\\neq 0$, thus enlarging the number of transition\nchannels. Their action {\\it decreases} with $J$, which may considerably affect\nthe total transition rate."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dimensional Expansion for the Ising Limit of Quantum Field Theory: A recently-proposed technique, called the dimensional expansion, uses the\nspace-time dimension $D$ as an expansion parameter to extract nonperturbative\nresults in quantum field theory. Here we apply dimensional-expansion methods to\nexamine the Ising limit of a self-interacting scalar field theory. We compute\nthe first few coefficients in the dimensional expansion for $\\gamma_{2n}$, the\nrenormalized $2n$-point Green's function at zero momentum, for $n\\!=\\!2$, 3, 4,\nand 5. Because the exact results for $\\gamma_{2n}$ are known at $D\\!=\\!1$ we\ncan compare the predictions of the dimensional expansion at this value of $D$.\nWe find typical errors of less than $5\\%$. The radius of convergence of the\ndimensional expansion for $\\gamma_{2n}$ appears to be ${{2n}\\over {n-1}}$. As a\nfunction of the space-time dimension $D$, $\\gamma_{2n}$ appears to rise\nmonotonically with increasing $D$ and we conjecture that it becomes infinite at\n$D\\!=\\!{{2n}\\over {n-1}}$. We presume that for values of $D$ greater than this\ncritical value, $\\gamma_{2n}$ vanishes identically because the corresponding\n$\\phi^{2n}$ scalar quantum field theory is free for $D\\!>\\!{{2n}\\over{n-1}}$.",
        "positive": "Enhanced Ultraviolet Cancellations in N = 5 Supergravity at Four Loop: We show that the four-loop four-point amplitudes of N = 5 supergravity are\nultraviolet finite in four dimensions, contrary to expectations based on\nsupersymmetry and duality-symmetry arguments. We explain why the diagrams of\nany covariant local formalism cannot manifestly exhibit the necessary\ncancellations for finiteness but instead require a new type of nontrivial\nultraviolet cancellation that we call \"enhanced cancellations\". We also show\nthat the three-loop four-point amplitudes in N = 4 and N = 5 supergravity\ntheories display enhanced cancellations. To construct the loop integrand, we\nuse the duality between color and kinematics. We apply standard methods for\nextracting ultraviolet divergences in conjunction with the FIRE5 integral\nreduction program to arrive at the four-loop results."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetric Cubic Galileons Have Ghosts: Galileons are higher-derivative theories of a real scalar which nevertheless\nadmit second order equations of motion. They have interesting applications as\ndark energy models and in early universe cosmology, and have been conjectured\nto arise as descriptions of brane dynamics in string theory. In the present\npaper, we study the bosonic sector of globally N=1 supersymmetric extensions of\nthe cubic Galileon Lagrangian in detail. Supersymmetry requires that the\nGalileon scalar now becomes paired with a second real scalar field. We prove\nthat the presence of this second scalar causes the equations of motion to\nbecome higher than second order, thus leading to the appearance of ghosts. We\nalso analyze the energy scales up to which, in an effective field theory\ndescription, the ghosts can be tamed.",
        "positive": "Particles of One-Half Topological Charge: We would like to show the existence of finite energy SU(2) Yang-Mills-Higgs\nparticles of one-half topological charge. The magnetic fields of these\nsolutions at spatial infinity correspond to the magnetic field of a positive\none-half magnetic monopole located at the origin and a semi-infinite Dirac\nstring which carries a magnetic flux of $\\frac{2\\pi}{g}$ going into the center\nof the sphere at infinity. Hence the net magnetic charge of the configuration\nis zero. The solutions possess gauge potentials that are singular along\none-half of the z-axis, elsewhere they are regular. There are two distinct\nconfigurations of these particles with different total energies and magnetic\ndipole moments. Their total energies are found to increase with the strength of\nthe Higgs field self-coupling constant $\\lambda$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dynamics of the Universal Confining String Theory on the Loop Space: Starting with the representation of the Wilson average in the Euclidean 4D\ncompact QED as a partition function of the Universal Confining String Theory,\nwe derive for it the corresponding loop equation, alternative to the familiar\none.\n  In the functional momentum representation the obtained equation decouples\ninto two independent ones, which describe the dynamics of the transverse and\nlongitudinal components of the area derivative of the Wilson loop. At some\ncritical value of the momentum discontinuity, which can be determined from a\ncertain equation, the transverse component does not propagate.\n  Next, we derive the equation for the momentum Wilson loop, where on the\nleft-hand side stands the sum of the squares of the momentum discontinuities,\nmultiplied by the loop, which describes its free propagation, while the\nright-hand side describes the interaction of the loop with the functional\nvorticity tensor current.\n  Finally, using the method of inversion of the functional Laplacian, we obtain\nfor the Wilson loop in the coordinate representation a simple Volterra type-II\nlinear integral equation, which can be treated perturbatively.",
        "positive": "1/N^2 corrections to the holographic Weyl anomaly: We compute the O(1) contribution to holographic c-a for IIB supergravity on\nAdS_5 x S^5/Z_n and on AdS_5 x T^{1,1}/Z_n. In both cases, we find agreement\nwith the dual field theory results, thus providing 1/N^2 checks of AdS/CFT with\nreduced supersymmetry. Since the holographic computation involves a sum over\nshortened multiplets in the KK tower, we provide some details on the S^5 and\nT^{1,1} spectra in a form that is convenient when considering their Z_n\norbifolds. The computation for the even Z_n orbifolds of S^5 includes a sum\nover the multiplets in the twisted sector that is essential for obtaining\nagreement with the dual field theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exact correlation functions in SU(2) N=2 superconformal QCD: We report an exact solution of 2- and 3-point functions of chiral primary\nfields in SU(2) N=2 super-Yang-Mills theory coupled to four hypermultiplets. It\nis shown that these correlation functions are non-trivial functions of the\ngauge coupling, obeying differential equations which take the form of the\nsemi-infinite Toda chain. We solve these equations recursively in terms of the\nZamolodchikov metric that can be determined exactly from supersymmetric\nlocalization on the four-sphere. Our results are verified independently in\nperturbation theory with a Feynman diagram computation up to 2-loops. This is a\nshort version of a companion paper that contains detailed technical remarks,\nadditional material and aspects of an extension to SU(N) gauge group.",
        "positive": "Non-Abelian String of a Finite Length: We consider world-sheet theories for non-Abelian strings assuming\ncompactification on a cylinder with a finite circumference $L$ and periodic\nboundary conditions. The dynamics of the orientational modes is described by\ntwo-dimensional CP$(N-1)$ model. We analyze both non-supersymmetric (bosonic)\nmodel and ${\\mathcal N}=(2,2)$ supersymmetric CP$(N-1)$ emerging in the case of\n1/2-BPS saturated strings in \\ntwo supersymmetric QCD with $N_f=N$. The\nnon-supersymmetric case was studied previously; technically our results agree\nwith those obtained previously, although our interpretation is totally\ndifferent. In the large-$N$ limit we detect a phase transition at $L\\sim\n\\Lambda_{\\rm CP}^{-1}$ (which is expected to become a rapid crossover at finite\n$N$). If at large $L$ the CP$(N-1)$ model develops a mass gap and is in the\nCoulomb/confinement phase, with exponentially suppressed finite-$L$ effects, at\nsmall $L$ it is in the deconfinement phase, and the orientational modes\ncontribute to the L\\\"usher term. The latter becomes dependent on the rank of\nthe bulk gauge group.\n  In the supersymmetric CP$(N-1)$ models at finite $L$ we find a large-$N$\nsolution which was not known previously. We observe a single phase\nindependently of the value of $L\\Lambda_{\\rm CP}$. For any value of this\nparameter a mass gap develops and supersymmetry remains unbroken. So does the\n$SU(N)$ symmetry of the target space. The mass gap turns out to be independent\nof the string length. The L\\\"uscher term is absent due to supersymmetry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Note on q-Deformed Two-Dimensional Yang-Mills and Open Topological\n  Strings: In this note we make a test of the open topological string version of the OSV\nconjecture, proposed in hep-th/0504054, in the toric Calabi-Yau manifold $X=\nO(-3)\\to\\mathbf{P}^2$ with background D4-branes wrapped on Lagrangian\nsubmanifolds. The D-brane partition function reduces to an expectation value of\nsome inserted operators of a q-deformed Yang-Mills theory living on a chain of\n$\\mathbf{P}^1$'s in the base $\\mathbf{P}^2$ of $X$. At large $N$ this partition\nfunction can be written as a sum over squares of chiral blocks, which are\nrelated to the open topological string amplitudes in the local $\\mathbf{P}^2$\ngeometry with branes at both the outer and inner edges of the toric diagram.\nThis is in agreement with the conjecture.",
        "positive": "On non-uniform black branes: Certain black branes are unstable toward fluctuations that lead to\nnon-uniform mass distributions. We study static, non-uniform solutions that\ndiffer only perturbatively from uniform ones. For uncharged black strings in\nfive dimensions, we find evidence of a first order transition from uniform to\nnon-uniform solutions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The arrow of time and the Weyl group: all supergravity billiards are\n  integrable: In this paper we show that all supergravity billiards corresponding to\nsigma-models on any U/H non compact-symmetric space and obtained by\ncompactifying supergravity to D=3 are fully integrable. The key point in\nestablishing the integration algorithm is provided by an upper triangular\nembedding of the solvable Lie algebra associated with U/H into SL(N,R) which\nalways exists. In this context we establish a remarkable relation between the\narrow of time and the properties of the Weyl group. The asymptotic states of\nthe developing Universe are in one-to-one correspondence with the elements of\nthe Weyl group which is a property of the Tits Satake universality classes and\nnot of their single representatives. Furthermore the Weyl group admits a\nnatural ordering in terms of L(T), the number of reflections with respect to\nthe simple roots and the direction of time flows is always towards increasing\nL(T), which plays the unexpected role of an entropy.",
        "positive": "Hawking radiation in a Rotating Kaluza-Klein Black Hole with Squashed\n  Horizons: We explore the signature of the extra dimension in the Hawking radiation in a\nrotating Kaluza-Klein black hole with squashed horizons. Comparing with the\nspherical case, we find that the rotating parameter brings richer physics. We\nobtain the appropriate size of the extra dimension which can enhance the\nHawking radiation and may open a window to detect the extra dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Non-handlebody Instantons in 3D Gravity: In this note we describe the contribution from non-handlebody geometries to\nthe partition function of three-dimensional pure gravity with negative\ncosmological constant on a Riemann surface of genus greater than one, extending\nprevious considerations for handlebodies.",
        "positive": "A GLSM realization of derived equivalence in $U(1) \\times U(2)$ models: The paper [arXiv:1506.06999] has studied a derived equivalence between two\nCalabi-Yau fivefolds. In this paper, we propose a new understanding from the\nviewpoint of the GLSM, by realizing these two Calabi-Yau fivefolds in two\ndifferent phases of a $U(1)\\times U(2)$ GLSM. We find that this method can be\ngeneralized to construct other examples of derived equivalence. The functor for\nthe equivalence can be realized by the brane transport along a path across\ndifferent phases. To implement the brane transport, we compute the small window\ncategories for anomalous $U(2)$ theories, extending previous results on window\ncategories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Two-point correlation functions of QCD in the Landau gauge: We investigate the gluon, ghost and quark propagators in the Landau gauge\nwith dynamic quarks. We perform a one-loop calculation in a model where the\nstandard Faddeev-Popov Lagrangian is complemented by a mass term for the gluons\nwhich is seen as a minimal way of taking into account the effect of the Gribov\ncopies. The analytic results are compared with lattice data obtained in four\ndimension and for two, three and four quark flavors. The gluon and ghost\npropagators are reproduced with a few percent accuracy in the whole range of\naccessible momenta. The scalar part of the quark propagator is found to be in\ngood agreement with the lattice data. However, the quark renormalization is\npoorly described. We attribute this discrepancy to the fact that the one-loop\ncorrections to this quantity are unusually small so that the two loop\ncontribution can not be discarded. The results are expressed in terms of the\ncoupling, the gluon mass and the light quark mass at 1 GeV.",
        "positive": "Modular Invariance and the Finiteness of Superstring Theory: The genus-dependence of multi-loop superstring amplitudes is bounded at large\norders in perturbation theory using the super-Schottky group parametrization of\nsupermoduli space. Partial estimates of supermoduli space integrals suggest an\nexponential dependence on the genus when the integration region is restricted\nto a single fundamental domain of the super-modular group in the super-Schottky\nparameter space. Bounds for N-point superstring scattering amplitudes are\nobtained for arbitrary N and are shown to be consistent with exact results\nrecently obtained for special type II string amplitudes for orbifold or\nCalabi-Yau compactifications. It is suggested that the generic estimates, which\nimply the validity of superstring perturbation theory in the weak-coupling\nlimit, might be used to determine scattering amplitudes at strong coupling\nbecause of the S-duality of type II and heterotic string theories.\nNon-perturbative effects are consistent with these estimates, based on a sum\nover closed surfaces, because they can be derived from an additional\ncontribution to the sum over surfaces corresponding to the insertion of\nDirichlet boundaries."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Darboux Transformation for Dirac Equations with (1+1) potentials: We study the Darboux transformation (DT) for Dirac equations with (1+1)\npotentials. Exact solutions for the adiabatic external field are constructed.\nThe connection between the exactly soluble Dirac (1+1) potentials and the\nsoliton solutions of the Davey--Stewartson equations is discussed.",
        "positive": "Supersymmetric CP^N Sigma Model on Noncommutative Superspace: We construct a closed form of the action of the supersymmetric $CP^N$ sigma\nmodel on noncommutative superspace in four dimensions. We show that this model\nhas $\\mathcal{N}={1/2}$ supersymmetry and that the transformation law is not\nmodified. The supersymmetric $CP^N$ sigma model on noncommutative superspace in\ntwo dimensions is obtained by dimensional reducing the model in four\ndimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A proposal for nonabelian (0,2) mirrors: In this paper we give a proposal for mirrors to (0,2) supersymmetric gauged\nlinear sigma models (GLSMs), for those (0,2) GLSMs which are deformations of\n(2,2) GLSMs. Specifically, we propose a construction of (0,2) mirrors for (0,2)\nGLSMs with E terms that are linear and diagonal, reducing to both the Hori-Vafa\nprescription as well as a recent (2,2) nonabelian mirrors proposal on the (2,2)\nlocus. For the special case of abelian (0,2) GLSMs, two of the authors have\npreviously proposed a systematic construction, which is both simplified and\ngeneralized by the proposal here.",
        "positive": "Thin-shell instanton tunneling: something-to-something or\n  nothing-to-something?: There exist two interpretations of instantons in the literature. The first\ninterpretation regards instanton as divider between the initial and final\nhypersurfaces. The Coleman-De Luccia instanton is one such an example. The\nsecond interpretation, proposed by Brown and Weinberg, considers instanton as\nconnector between the initial and final hypersurfaces. In this proceedings, we\ntry to suitably and intuitively argue that these two interpretations are\ncomplementary to each other under certain conditions. Furthermore, we\ndemonstrate that the decay rate obtained from the Euclidean treatment and the\nHamiltonian treatment both are consistent with each other, which may help to\ndissolve some concerns about the validity of regularization technique employed\nin the treatment of the cusp singularity of instantons. Based on these, we\nargue that instantons can be a sensible tool to address the information loss\nproblem."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Classical and quantum symmetries of $T\\bar T$-deformed CFTs: It has previously been proven that $T\\bar T$ - deformed CFTs possess Virasoro\n$\\times$ Virasoro symmetry at the full quantum level, whose generators are\nobtained by simply transporting the original CFT generators along the $T\\bar T$\nflow. In this article, we explicitly solve the corresponding flow equation in\nthe classical limit, obtaining an infinite set of conserved charges whose\naction on phase space is well-defined even when the theory is on a compact\nspace. The field-dependent coordinates that are characteristic of the $T\\bar T$\ndeformation are shown to emerge unambiguously from the flow. Translating the\nsymmetry transformations from the canonical to the covariant formalism, we find\nthat they are different from those that have been previously proposed in the\nLagrangian context, but that they agree precisely with those obtained from\nholography. We also comment on different possible bases for the symmetry\ngenerators and on how our explicit classical results could be extended\nperturbatively to the quantum level.",
        "positive": "Holographic complexity of anisotropic black branes: We use the complexity = action (CA) conjecture to study the full-time\ndependence of holographic complexity in anisotropic black branes. We find that\nthe time behaviour of holographic complexity of anisotropic systems shares a\nlot of similarities with the behaviour observed in isotropic systems. In\nparticular, the holographic complexity remains constant for some initial\nperiod, and then it starts to change so that the complexity growth rate\nviolates the Lloyd's bound at initial times, and approaches this bound from\nabove at later times. Compared with isotropic systems at the same temperature,\nthe anisotropy reduces the initial period in which the complexity is constant\nand increases the rate of change of complexity. At late times the difference\nbetween the isotropic and anisotropic results is proportional to the pressure\ndifference in the transverse and longitudinal directions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Instantons on Young diagrams with matters: We present the unrefined instanton partition functions of various 5d gauge\ntheories with matter beyond the fundamental representation as sums over Young\ndiagrams. By using these explicit expressions, we verify a range of identities\namong the instanton partition functions predicted by Higgsing procedures of\nfivebrane web diagrams and representation theory.",
        "positive": "Reggeization of N=8 Supergravity and N=4 Yang-Mills Theory II: The loop expansion for the n-point functions of N=4 Yang-Mills theory and N=8\nsupergravity can be formulated as the loop expansion of scalar field theory\nwith an infinite subclass being the ladder diagrams. We consider the sum of\nladder diagrams for gluon-gluon and graviton-graviton scattering in the Regge\nlimit. The reggeization of the gluon and the graviton is discussed in this\ncontext and that of hep-th/0701217. If the Bern, Dixon, Smirnov conjecture for\nplanar gluon-gluon scattering is correct, then the ladder sum for SU(N) gauge\ntheory at large N, correctly gives the Regge limit, with Regge trajectory\nfunction proportional to the cusp anomalous dimension.\n  In graviton-graviton scattering it is argued that the graviton lies on a\nRegge trajectory. Regge cuts are also present due to infinite sums of\nnon-planar graphs. The multiple exchange of Regge poles in non-planar graphs\ncan give a countable infinite number of moving Regge cuts which accumulate near\ns=0. It is conjectured that this may be related to the infinite number of\nnon-perturbative massless states which remain in the limit discussed by Green,\nOoguri and Schwarz."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Aspects of noncommutativity in field theory, strings and membranes: We study certain aspects of noncommutativity in field theory, strings and\nmembranes. We analyse the dynamics of an open membrane whose boundary is\nattached to p-branes. Noncommutative features of the boundary string\ncoordinates are revealed by algebraic consistency arguments. Next, we derive\nSeiberg-Witten-type maps relating currents and their divergences in nonabelian\nU(N) noncommutative gauge theory with the corresponding expressions in the\nordinary (commutative) description. We then exploit these maps to obtain the\nO(\\theta) structure of the commutator anomalies in noncommutative\nelectrodynamics. Finally, we discuss the issue of violation of Lorentz\ninvariance in noncommutative gauge theories by explicitly deriving, following a\nNoether-like approach, the criteria for preserving Poincare invariance. We also\nstudy general (deformed) conformal-Poincare (Galilean) symmetries consistent\nwith relativistic (nonrelativistic) canonical noncommutative spaces.",
        "positive": "Noncommutative Q-balls: We obtain Q-ball solutions in noncommutative scalar field theory with a\nglobal U(1) invariance. The Q-ball solutions are shown to be classically and\nquantum mechanically stable. We also find that \"excited Q-ball\" states exist\nfor some class of scalar potentials, which are classically stable in the large\nnoncommutativity limit."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Equivalence of Dual Theories: We discuss the equivalence of two dual scalar field theories in 2 dimensions.\nThe models are derived though the elimination of different fields in the same\nFreedman--Townsend model. It is shown that tree $S$-matrices of these models do\nnot coincide. The 2-loop counterterms are calculated. It turns out that while\none of these models is single-charged, the other theory is multi-charged. Thus\nthe dual models considered are non-equivalent on classical and quantum levels.\nIt indicates the possibility of the anomaly leading to non-equivalence of dual\nmodels.",
        "positive": "A Heterotic Hermitian--Yang--Mills Equivalence: We consider N=1, d=4 vacua of heterotic theories in the large radius limit in\nwhich alpha' << 1. We construct a real differential operator $\\mathcal{D}=\nD+\\bar{D}$ on an extension bundle $(Q, \\mathcal{D})$ with underlying topology\n$Q=(T^{1,0}X)^* \\oplus {\\rm End} \\, E \\oplus T^{1,0} X$ whose curvature is\nholomorphic and Hermitian-Yang-Mills with respect to the complex structure and\nmetric on the underlying non-Kahler complex 3-fold X if and only if the\nheterotic supersymmetry equations and Bianchi identity are satisfied. This is\nsuggestive of an analogue of the Donaldson--Uhlenbeck--Yau correspondence for\nheterotic vacua of this type."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hamiltonian Reduction of General Relativity and Conformal Unified Theory: We discuss the application of the method of the gaugeless Hamiltonian\nreduction to general relativity. This method is based on explicit resolving the\nglobal part of the energy constraint and on identification of one of the metric\ncomponents with the evolution parameter of the equivalent unconstrained\n(reduced) system. The Hamiltonian reduction reveals a possibility to unify\nGeneral Relativity and Standard Model of strong and electro-weak interactions\nwith the modulus of the Higgs field identified with the product of the\ndeterminant of 3D metric and the Planck constant. We give the geometrical\nfoundation of the scalar field, derive and discuss experimental consequences of\nthis unified model: the cosmic Higgs vacuum, the Hoyle-Narlikar cosmology, a\n$\\sigma$-model version of Standard Model without Higgs particle excitations and\ninflation.",
        "positive": "QMetrology from QCosmology: Study with Entangled Two Qubit Open Quantum\n  System in De Sitter Space: In this paper, our prime objective is to apply the techniques of parameter\nestimation theory and the concept of Quantum Metrology in the form of Fisher\nInformation to investigate the role of certain physical quantities in the open\nquantum dynamics of a two entangled qubit system under the Markovian\napproximation. There exist various physical parameters which characterize such\nsystem, but can not be treated as any quantum mechanical observable. It becomes\nimperative to do a detailed parameter estimation analysis to determine the\nphysically consistent parameter space of such quantities. We apply both\nClassical Fisher Information (CFI) and Quantum Fisher Information (QFI) to\ncorrectly estimate these parameters, which play significant role to describe\nthe out-of-equilibrium and the long range quantum entanglement phenomena of\nopen quantum system. Quantum Metrology, compared to classical parameter\nestimation theory, plays a two-fold superior role, improving the precision and\naccuracy of parameter estimation. Additionally, in this paper we present a new\navenue in terms of Quantum Metrology, which beats the classical parameter\nestimation. We also present an interesting result of revival of\nout-of-equilibrium feature at the late time scales, arising due to the long\nrange quantum entanglement at early time scale and provide a physical\ninterpretation for the same in terms of Bell's Inequality Violation in early\ntime scale giving rise to non-locality."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Quantum Spectrum of the Conserved Charges in Affine Toda Theories: The exact eigenvalues of the infinite set of conserved charges on the\nmulti-particle states in affine Toda theories are determined. This is done by\nconstructing a free field realization of the Zamolodchikov-Faddeev algebra in\nwhich the conserved charges are realized as derivative operators. The resulting\neigenvalues are renormalization group (RG) invariant, have the correct\nclassical limit and pass checks in first order perturbation theory. For $n=1$\none recovers the (RG invariant form of the) quantum masses of Destri and\nDeVega.",
        "positive": "Critical gravity with a scalar field in four dimensions: We consider the critical gravity theory with a scalar field in four\ndimensions. We find that this theory has the solution corresponding to the de\nSitter (dS), anti-de Sitter (AdS), and Minkowski background depending on\nwhether the action includes the cosmological term or not. The Minkowski\nbackground is the solution which cannot be obtained in the model without a\nscalar field. At the critical point, we show that the Abbott-Deser (AD) mass of\nthe Schwarzschild-de Sitter (SdS) black hole and the energy for the massless\ngraviton vanish, whose situation is not changed from the model without a scalar\nfield."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gravitational Couplings for y-Gop-Planes: The Wess-Zumino action for y deformed and generalized orientifold planes\n(yGOp-planes) is presented and one power expantion is realized from which\nprocesses that involves yGOp-planes, RR-forms, gravitons and gaugeons, are\nobtained. Finally non-standard yGOp-planes are showed.",
        "positive": "A Phase Transition between Small and Large Field Models of Inflation: We show that models of inflection point inflation exhibit a phase transition\nfrom a region in parameter space where they are of large field type to a region\nwhere they are of small field type. The phase transition is between a universal\nbehavior, with respect to the initial condition, at the large field region and\nnon-universal behavior at the small field region. The order parameter is the\nnumber of e-foldings. We find integer critical exponents at the transition\nbetween the two phases."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Magnetic quivers from brane webs with O7$^+$-planes: We consider the Higgs branch of 5d fixed points engineered using brane webs\nwith an O7$^+$-plane. We use the brane construction to propose a set of rules\nto extract the corresponding magnetic quivers. Such magnetic quivers are\ngenerically framed non-simply-laced quivers containing unitary as well as\nspecial unitary gauge nodes. We compute the Coulomb branch Hilbert series of\nthe proposed magnetic quivers. In some specific cases, an alternative magnetic\nquiver can be obtained either using an ordinary brane web or a brane web with\nan O5-plane. In these cases, we find a match at the level of the Hilbert\nseries.",
        "positive": "A categorical construction of 4D TQFTs: We construct a four dimensional topological Quantum Field Theory from a\nmodular tensor category. We complete the proof in the case of SU(2)q at a root\nof unity. Our construction may be important in the physical interpretation of\nthe Chern Simons state in the Ashtekar variables."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Measure on a Subspace of FRW Solutions and ``The Flatness Problem\" of\n  Standard Cosmology: We use the metric on the space of gravity fields given by DeWitt to construct\na unique kinematic measure on the space of FRW simple fluids and show that when\nthe mass parameter $\\Omega$ is used as a coordinate this measure is singular at\n$\\Omega = 1$. This singularity, combined with the time evolution of $\\Omega$,\ndistorts distributions of $\\Omega$ values to be concentrated in the\nneighborhood of 1 at early times. It is a distorted distribution of $\\Omega$\nvalues that sometimes misleads the casual observer to conclude that $\\Omega$\nmust be exactly equal to 1.",
        "positive": "Poisson geometry of flat connections for $\\roman{SU}(2)$-bundles on\n  surfaces: In earlier work we have shown that the moduli space $N$ of flat connections\nfor the (trivial) $\\roman{SU(2)}$-bundle on a closed surface of genus $\\ell\n\\geq 2$ inherits a structure of stratified symplectic space with two connected\nstrata $N_Z$ and $N_{(T)}$ and $2^{2\\ell}$ isolated points. In this paper we\nshow that, close to each point of $N_{(T)}$, the space $N$ and its Poisson\nalgebra look like a product of $\\bold C^{\\ell}$ endowed with the standard\nsymplectic Poisson structure with the reduced space and Poisson algebra of the\nsystem of $(\\ell-1)$ particles in the plane with total angular momentum zero,\nwhile close to one of the isolated points, the Poisson algebra on $N$ looks\nlike that of the reduced system of $\\ell$ particles in $\\bold R^3$ with total\nangular momentum zero. Moreover, in the genus two case where the space $N$ is\nknown to be smooth we locally describe the Poisson algebra and the various\nunderlying symplectic structures on the strata and their mutual positions\nexplicitly in terms of the Poisson structure."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Restricted Schur Polynomials and Finite N Counting: Restricted Schur polynomials have been posited as orthonormal operators for\nthe change of basis from N=4 SYM to type IIB string theory [1,2,3,4]. In this\nletter we briefly expound the relationship found between the restricted Schurs\nand the operators found by Brown, Heslop and Ramgoolam in [5]. We then briefly\nexamine the finite N counting of the restricted Schur polynomials.",
        "positive": "Unification of spins and charges in Grassmann space and in space of\n  differential forms: Polynomials in Grassmann space can be used to describe all the internal\ndegrees of freedom of spinors, scalars and vectors, that is their spins and\ncharges. It was shown that K\\\"ahler spinors, which are polynomials of\ndifferential forms, can be generalized to describe not only spins of spinors\nbut also spins of vectors as well as spins and charges of scalars, vectors and\nspinors. If the space (ordinary and noncommutative) has 14 dimensions or more,\nthe appropriate spontaneous break of symmetry leads gravity in $d$ dimensions\nto manifest in four dimensional subspace as ordinary gravity and all needed\ngauge fields as well as the Yukawa couplings. Both approaches, the K\\\"ahler's\none (if generalized) and our, manifest four generations of massless fermions,\nwhich are left handed SU(2) doublets and right handed SU(2) singlets. In this\ntalk a possible way of spontaneously broken symmetries is pointed out on the\nlevel of canonical momentum."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "$\u03b1$-attractors from supersymmetry breaking: We construct new models of inflation and spontaneous supersymmetry breaking\nin de Sitter vacuum, with a single chiral superfield, where inflaton is the\nsuperpartner of the goldstino. Our approach is based on hyperbolic K\\\"ahler\ngeometry, and a gauged (non-axionic) $U(1)_R$ symmetry rotating the chiral\nscalar field by a phase. The $U(1)_R$ gauge field combines with the angular\ncomponent of the chiral scalar to form a massive vector, and single-field\ninflation is driven by the radial part of the scalar. We find that in a certain\nparameter range they can be approximated by simplest Starobinsky-like (E-model)\n$\\alpha$-attractors, thus predicting $n_s$ and $r$ within $1\\sigma$ CMB\nconstraints. Supersymmetry (and $R$-symmetry) is broken at a high scale with\nthe gravitino mass $m_{3/2}\\gtrsim 10^{14}$ GeV, and the fermionic sector also\nincludes a heavy spin-$1/2$ field. In all the considered cases the inflaton is\nthe lightest field of the model.",
        "positive": "Kaluza-Klein vacuum multi-black holes in five-dimensions: We investigate five-dimensional vacuum solutions which represent rotating\nmulti-black holes in asymptotically Kaluza-Klein spacetimes. We show that\nmulti-black holes rotate maximally along extra dimension, and stationary\nconfigurations in vacuum are achieved by the balance of the gravitational\nattraction force and repulsive force caused by the rotations of black holes. We\nalso show that each black hole can have the different topology of the lens\nspace in addition to the spherical topology, and mass of black holes are\nquantized by the size of extra dimension and horizon topology."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hilbert schemes, Verma modules and spectral functions of hyperbolic\n  geometry with application to quantum invariants: In this article we exploit Ruelle-type spectral functions and analyze the\nVerma module over Virasoro algebra, boson-fermion correspondence, the analytic\ntorsion, the Chern-Simons and $\\eta$ invariants, as well as the generation\nfunction associated to dimensions of the Hochschild homology of the crossed\nproduct $\\mathbb{C}[S_n]\\ltimes \\mathcal{A}^{\\otimes n}$ ($\\mathcal{A}$ is the\n$q$-Weyl algebra). After analysing the Chern-Simons and $\\eta$ invariants of\nDirac operators by using irreducible $SU(n)$-flat connections on locally\nsymmetric manifolds of non-positive section curvature, we describe the\nexponential action for the Chern-Simons theory.",
        "positive": "Five-Dimensional Gauged Supergravity and Supersymmetry Breaking in\n  $M$~Theory: We extend the formulation of gauged supergravity in five dimensions, as\nobtained by compactification of $M$~theory on a deformed Calabi-Yau manifold,\nto include non-universal matter hypermultiplets. Even in the presence of this\ngauging, only the graviton supermultiplets and matter hypermultiplets can\ncouple to supersymmetry breaking sources on the walls, though these mix with\nvector supermultiplets in the bulk. Whatever the source of supersymmetry\nbreaking on the hidden wall, that on the observable wall is in general a\ncombination of dilaton- and moduli-dominated scenarios."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauged WZW Models Via Equivariant Cohomology: The problem of computing systematically the gauge invariant extension of WZW\nterm through equivariant cohomology is addressed. The analysis done by Witten\nin the two-dimensional case is extended to the four-dimensional ones. While\nCartan's model is used to find the anomaly cancelation condition. It is shown\nthat the Weil model is more appropriated to find the gauge invariant extension\nof the WZW term. In the process we point out that Weil's and Cartan's models\nare also useful to stress some connections with the abelian anomaly.",
        "positive": "Prediction and explanation in the multiverse: Probabilities in the multiverse can be calculated by assuming that we are\ntypical representatives in a given reference class. But is this class well\ndefined? What should be included in the ensemble in which we are supposed to be\ntypical? There is a widespread belief that this question is inherently vague,\nand that there are various possible choices for the types of reference objects\nwhich should be counted in. Here we argue that the ``ideal'' reference class\n(for the purpose of making predictions) can be defined unambiguously in a\nrather precise way, as the set of all observers with identical information\ncontent. When the observers in a given class perform an experiment, the class\nbranches into subclasses who learn different information from the outcome of\nthat experiment. The probabilities for the different outcomes are defined as\nthe relative numbers of observers in each subclass. For practical purposes,\nwider reference classes can be used, where we trace over all information which\nis uncorrelated to the outcome of the experiment, or whose correlation with it\nis beyond our current understanding. We argue that, once we have gathered all\npractically available evidence, the optimal strategy for making predictions is\nto consider ourselves typical in any reference class we belong to, unless we\nhave evidence to the contrary. In the latter case, the class must be\ncorrespondingly narrowed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gravitational collapse in AdS: instabilities, turbulence, and\n  information: The gravitational collapse in asymptotically AdS spacetimes is studied, using\nthe differential configurational entropy (DCE). The DCE is shown to comply with\nthe instability of the Einstein-Klein-Gordon system, leading to different\nstages in the route to turbulence and final black hole formation, including\nnear the critical behavior.",
        "positive": "Generalized Volume-Complexity For Two-Sided Hyperscaling Violating Black\n  Branes: In this paper, we investigate generalized volume-complexity $\\mathcal{C}_{\\rm\ngen}$ for a two-sided uncharged HV black brane in $d+2$ dimensions. This\nquantity which was recently introduced in [arXiv:2111.02429], is an extension\nof volume in the Complexity=Volume (CV) proposal, by adding higher curvature\ncorrections with a coupling constant $\\lambda$ to the volume functional. We\nnumerically calculate the growth rate of $\\mathcal{C}_{\\rm gen}$ for different\nvalues of the hyperscaling violation exponent $\\theta$ and dynamical exponent\n$z$. It is observed that $\\mathcal{C}_{\\rm gen}$ always grows linearly at late\ntimes provided that we choose $\\lambda$ properly. Moreover, it approaches its\nlate time value from below. For the case $\\lambda=0$, we find an analytic\nexpression for the late time growth rate for arbitrary values of $\\theta$ and\n$z$. However, for $\\lambda \\neq 0$, the late time growth rate can only be\ncalculated analytically for some specific values of $\\theta$ and $z$. We also\nexamine the dependence of the growth rate on $d$, $\\theta$, $z$ and $\\lambda$.\nFurthermore, we calculate the complexity of formation obtained from\nvolume-complexity and show that it is not UV divergent. We also examine its\ndependence on the thermal entropy and temperature of the black brane. At the\nend, we also numerically calculate the growth rate of $\\mathcal{C}_{\\rm gen}$\nfor the case where the higher curvature corrections are a linear combination of\nthe Ricci scalar, square of the Ricci tensor and square of the Riemann tensor.\nWe show that for appropriate values of the coupling constants, the late time\ngrowth rate is again linear."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "$\\mathcal{N}=1$ Liouville SCFT in Four Dimensions: We construct a four supercharges Liouville superconformal field theory in\nfour dimensions. The Liouville superfield is chiral and its lowest component is\na log-correlated complex scalar whose real part carries a background charge.\nThe action consists of a supersymmetric Paneitz operator, a background\nsupersymmetric $\\mathcal{Q}$-curvature charge and an exponential potential. It\nlocalizes semiclassically on solutions that describe curved superspaces with a\nconstant complex supersymmetric $\\mathcal{Q}$-curvature. The theory is\nnon-unitary with a continuous spectrum of scaling dimensions. We study the\ndynamics on the supersymmetric 4-sphere, show that the classical background\ncharge is not corrected quantum mechanically and calculate the super-Weyl\nanomaly. We derive an integral form for the correlation functions of vertex\noperators.",
        "positive": "Extrema of Mass, First Law of Black Hole Mechanics and Staticity Theorem\n  in Einstein-Maxwell-axion-dilaton Gravity: Using the ADM formulation of the Einstein-Maxwell axion-dilaton gravity we\nderived the formulas for the variation of mass and other asymptotic conserved\nquantities in the theory under consideration. Generalizing this kind of\nreasoning to the initial dota for the manifold with an interior boundary we got\nthe generalized first law of black hole mechanics. We consider an\nasymptotically flat solution to the Einstein-Maxwell axion-dilaton gravity\ndescribing a black hole with a Killing vector field timelike at infinity, the\nhorizon of which comprises a bifurcate Killing horizon with a bifurcate\nsurface. Supposing that the Killing vector field is asymptotically orthogonal\nto the static hypersurface with boundary S and compact interior, we find that\nthe solution is static in the exterior world, when the timelike vector field is\nnormal to the horizon and has vanishing electric and axion- electric fields on\nstatic slices."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dynamical Instabilities of the Randall-Sundrum Model: We derive dynamical equations to describe a single 3-brane containing fluid\nmatter and a scalar field coupling to the dilaton and the gravitational field\nin a five dimensional bulk. First, we show that a scalar field or an arbitrary\nfluid on the brane cannot evolve to cancel the cosmological constant in the\nbulk. Then we show that the Randall-Sundrum model is unstable under small\ndeviations from the fine-tuning between the brane tension and the bulk\ncosmological constant and even under homogeneous gravitational perturbations.\nImplications for brane world cosmologies are discussed.",
        "positive": "Emergence of classical structures from the quantum vacuum: After a quantum phase transition the quantum vacuum can break up to form\nclassical topological defects. We examine this process for scalar field models\nwith $Z_2$ symmetry for different quench rates for the phase transition. We\nfind that the number density of kinks at late times universally scales as $C\nm^{1/2} t^{-1/2}$ where $m$ is a mass scale in the model and $C\\approx 0.22$;\nit does not depend on the quench timescale in contrast to the Kibble-Zurek\nscaling for thermal phase transitions. A subleading correction $\\propto\nt^{-3/2}$ to the kink density depends on the details of the phase transition."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Origin of Divergences in Time-Dependent Orbifolds: We consider time-dependent orbifolds in String Theory and we show that\ndivergences are not associated with a gravitational backreaction since they\nappear in the open string sector too. They are related to the non existence of\nthe underlying effective field theory as in several cases fourth and higher\norder contact terms do not exist. Since contact terms may arise from the\nexchange of string massive states, we investigate and show that some three\npoints amplitudes with one massive state in the open string sector are\ndivergent on the time-dependent orbifolds. To check that divergences are\nassociated with the existence of a discrete zero eigenvalue of the Laplacian of\nthe subspace with vanishing volume, we construct the Generalized Null Boost\nOrbifold where this phenomenon can be turned on and off.",
        "positive": "Superconformal Multi-Black Hole Quantum Mechanics: The quantum mechanics of N slowly-moving charged BPS black holes in\nfive-dimensional ${\\cal N}=1$ supergravity is considered. The moduli space\nmetric of the N black holes is derived and shown to admit 4 supersymmetries. A\nnear-horizon limit is found in which the dynamics of widely separated black\nholes decouples from that of strongly-interacting, near-coincident black holes.\nThis decoupling suggests that the quantum states supported in the near-horizon\nmoduli space can be interpreted as internal states of a single composite black\nhole carrying all of the charge. The near-horizon theory is shown to have an\nenhanced D(2,1;0) superconformal symmetry. Eigenstates of the Hamiltonian H of\nthe near-horizon theory are ill-defined due to noncompact regions of the moduli\nspace corresponding to highly redshifted near-coincident black holes. It is\nargued that one should consider, instead of H eigenstates, eigenstates of $2\nL_0 = H+K$, where K is the generator of special conformal transformations. The\nresult is a well-defined Hilbert space with a discrete spectrum describing the\nN-black hole dynamics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Jets in a strongly coupled anisotropic plasma: In this paper, we study the dynamics of the light quark jet moving through\nthe static, strongly coupled $\\mathcal{N}=4$, anisotropic plasma with and\nwithout charge. The light quark is presented by a point-like initial condition\nfalling string in the context of the AdS/CFT. We calculate the stopping\ndistance of the light quark in the anisotropic medium and compare it with its\nisotropic value. By studying the falling string in the beam direction and\ntransverse direction, we find that the jet quenching increases in both\ndirections. Although, the enhancement of quenching is larger in the beam\ndirection. Also, the suppression of stopping distance is more prominent when\nthe anisotropic plasma have the same temperature as the isotropic plasma.",
        "positive": "Nongeometric Flux Compactifications: We investigate a simple class of type II string compactifications which\nincorporate nongeometric \"fluxes\" in addition to \"geometric flux\" and the usual\nH-field and R-R fluxes. These compactifications are nongeometric analogues of\nthe twisted torus. We develop T-duality rules for NS-NS geometric and\nnongeometric fluxes, which we use to construct a superpotential for the\ndimensionally reduced four-dimensional theory. The resulting structure is\ninvariant under T-duality, so that the distribution of vacua in the IIA and IIB\ntheories is identical when nongeometric fluxes are included. This gives a\nconcrete framework in which to investigate the possibility that generic string\ncompactifications may be nongeometric in any duality frame. The framework\ndeveloped in this paper also provides some concrete hints for how mirror\nsymmetry can be generalized to compactifications with arbitrary H-flux, whose\nmirrors are generically nongeometric."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Horava gravity vs. thermodynamics: the black hole case: Under broad assumptions breaking of Lorentz invariance in gravitational\ntheories leads to tension with unitarity because it allows for processes that\napparently violate the second law of thermodynamics. The crucial ingredient of\nthis argument is the existence of black hole solutions with the interior\nshielded from infinity by a causal horizon. We study how the paradox can be\nresolved in the healthy extension of Horava gravity. To this aim we analyze\nclassical solutions describing large black holes in this theory with the\nemphasis on their causal structure. The notion of causality is subtle in this\ntheory due to the presence of instantaneous interactions. Despite this fact, we\nfind that within exact spherical symmetry a black hole solution contains a\nspace-time region causally disconnected from infinity by a surface of finite\narea -- the `universal horizon'. We then consider small perturbations of\narbitrary angular dependence in the black hole background. We argue that\naspherical perturbations destabilize the universal horizon and, at non-linear\nlevel, turn it into a finite-area singularity. The causal structure of the\nregion outside the singularity is trivial. If the higher-derivative terms in\nthe equations of motion smear the singularity while preserving the trivial\ncausal structure of the solutions, the thermodynamics paradox would be\nobviated. As a byproduct of our analysis we prove that the black holes do not\nhave any non-standard long-range hair. We also comment on the relation with\nEinstein-aether theory, where the solutions with universal horizon appear to be\nstable.",
        "positive": "Conserved Charges in the Principal Chiral Model on a Supergroup: The classical principal chiral model in 1+1 dimensions with target space a\ncompact Lie supergroup is investigated. It is shown how to construct a local\nconserved charge given an invariant tensor of the Lie superalgebra. We\ncalculate the super-Poisson brackets of these currents and argue that they are\nfinitely generated. We show how to derive an infinite number of local charges\nin involution. We demonstrate that these charges Poisson commute with the\nnon-local charges of the model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Resurgence of the Cusp Anomalous Dimension: This work addresses the resurgent properties of the cusp anomalous\ndimension's strong coupling expansion, obtained from the integral\nBeisert-Eden-Staudacher (BES) equation. This expansion is factorially\ndivergent, and its first nonperturbative corrections are related to the mass\ngap of the $O(6)$ $\\sigma$-model. The factorial divergence can also be analysed\nfrom a resurgence perspective. Building on the work of Basso and Korchemsky, a\ntransseries ansatz for the cusp anomalous dimension is proposed and the\ncorresponding expected large-order behaviour studied. One finds\nnon-perturbative phenomena in both the positive and negative real coupling\ndirections, which need to be included to address the analyticity conditions\ncoming from the BES equation. After checking the resurgence structure of the\nproposed transseries, it is shown that it naturally leads to an unambiguous\nresummation procedure, furthermore allowing for a strong/weak coupling\ninterpolation.",
        "positive": "Dual Giant Gravitons in Sasaki-Einstein Backgrounds: We study the dynamics of a BPS D3-brane wrapped on a three-sphere in AdS_5 x\nL, a so-called dual giant graviton, where L is a Sasakian five-manifold. The\nphase space of these configurations is the symplectic cone X over L, and\ngeometric quantisation naturally produces a Hilbert space of L^2-normalisable\nholomorphic functions on X, whose states are dual to scalar chiral BPS\noperators in the dual superconformal field theory. We define classical and\nquantum partition functions and relate them to earlier mathematical\nconstructions by the authors and S.-T. Yau, hep-th/0603021. In particular, a\nSasaki-Einstein metric then minimises an entropy function associated with the\nD3-brane. Finally, we introduce a grand canonical partition function that\ncounts multiple dual giant gravitons. This is related simply to the\nindex-character of the above reference, and provides a method for counting\nmulti-trace scalar BPS operators in the dual superconformal field theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A new antisymmetric bilinear map for type-I gauge theories: In the case of gauge theories, which are ruled by an infinite-dimensional\ninvariance group, various choices of antisymmetric bilinear maps on field\nfunctionals are indeed available. This paper proves first that, within this\nbroad framework, the Peierls map (not yet the bracket) is a member of a larger\nfamily. At that stage, restriction to gauge-invariant functionals of the\nfields, with the associated Ward identities and geometric structure of the\nspace of histories, make it possible to prove that the new map is indeed a\nPoisson bracket in the simple but relevant case of Maxwell theory. The building\nblocks are available for gauge theories only: vector fields that leave the\naction functional invariant; the invertible gauge-field operator, and the Green\nfunction of the ghost operator.",
        "positive": "Bundle Gerbes Applied to Quantum Field Theory: This paper reviews recent work on a new geometric object called a bundle\ngerbe and discusses some new examples arising in quantum field theory. One\napplication is to an Atiyah-Patodi-Singer index theory construction of the\nbundle of fermionic Fock spaces parametrized by vector potentials in odd space\ndimensions and a proof that this leads in a simple manner to the known\nSchwinger terms (Mickelsson-Faddeev cocycle) for the gauge group action. This\ngives an explicit computation of the Dixmier-Douady class of the associated\nbundle gerbe. The method works also in other cases of fermions in external\nfields (external gravitational field, for example) provided that the APS\ntheorem can be applied; however, we have worked out the details only in the\ncase of vector potentials. Another example, in which the bundle gerbe curvature\nplays a role, arises from the WZW model on Riemann surfaces. A further example\nis the `existence of string structures' question. We conclude by showing how\nglobal Hamiltonian anomalies fit within this framework."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the N-pion extension of the Lovelace-Shapiro model: We reconsider a modification of the N-point amplitude of the Neveu-Schwarz\n(NS) model in which the tachyon becomes a pion by shifting its mass to zero and\nkeeping the super-projective invariance of the integrand of the amplitude. For\nthe scattering of four particles it reduces to the amplitude written by\nLovelace and Shapiro that has Adler zeroes. We confirm that also the N-pion\namplitude has Adler zeroes and show that it reduces to that of the non-linear\n$\\sigma$-model for $\\alpha' \\rightarrow 0$ keeping $F_\\pi$ fixed. The four- and\nsix-point flavour-ordered amplitudes satisfy tree-level unitarity since they\ncan be derived from the correspondent amplitudes of the NS model in ten\ndimensions by suitably choosing the components of the momenta of the external\nmesons in the six extra dimensions. Negative norm states (ghosts) are shown to\nappear instead in higher-point amplitudes. We also discuss several amplitudes\ninvolving different external mesons.",
        "positive": "General Construction of Tubular Geometry: We consider the problem of locally describing tubular geometry around a\nsubmanifold embedded in a (pseudo)Riemannian manifold in its general form.\nGiven the geometry of ambient space in an arbitrary coordinate system and\nequations determining the submanifold in the same system, we compute the\ntubular expansion coefficients in terms of this {\\it a priori data}. This is\ndone by using an indirect method that crucially applies the tubular expansion\ntheorem for vielbein previously derived. With an explicit construction\ninvolving the relevant coordinate and non-coordinate frames we verify\nconsistency of the whole method up to quadratic order in vielbein expansion.\nFurthermore, we perform certain (long and tedious) higher order computation\nwhich verifies the first non-trivial spin connection term in the expansion for\nthe first time. Earlier a similar method was used to compute tubular geometry\nin loop space. We explain this work in the light of our general construction."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Conformal symmetry of the critical 3D Ising model inside a sphere: We perform Monte-Carlo simulations of the three-dimensional Ising model at\nthe critical temperature and zero magnetic field. We simulate the system in a\nball with free boundary conditions on the two dimensional spherical boundary.\nOur results for one and two point functions in this geometry are consistent\nwith the predictions from the conjectured conformal symmetry of the critical\nIsing model.",
        "positive": "Backfiring Bosonisation: For a fermionic quantum field theory in $d=1+1$ dimensions, there is a subtle\ndifference between summing over spin structures and gauging $(-1)^F$. If the\ngravitational anomaly vanishes mod 16, then both operations are equivalent and\nyield a bosonic theory. But if the gravitational anomaly only vanishes mod 8,\nthen only gauging $(-1)^F$ is allowed, and the result is a fermionic theory.\nOur goal is to understand in detail how this happens, despite the fact $(-1)^F$\nis defined in terms of shifting the spin structure, which would na\\\"ively\nsuggest that both operations are equivalent. We do this from three\nperspectives: an abstract view in terms of anomalies, explicit CFT\ncalculations, and a Symmetry TFT perspective. To conclude, we illustrate our\nresults using the heterotic string and the famous self-triality of 8\nMajorana-Weyl fermions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-BPS Floating Branes and Bubbling Geometries: We derive a non-BPS linear ansatz using the charged Weyl formalism in string\nand M-theory backgrounds. Generic solutions are static and axially-symmetric\nwith an arbitrary number of non-BPS sources corresponding to various brane,\nmomentum and KKm charges. Regular sources are either four-charge non-extremal\nblack holes or smooth non-BPS bubbles. We construct several families such as\nchains of non-extremal black holes or smooth non-BPS bubbling geometries and\nstudy their physics. The smooth horizonless geometries can have the same mass\nand charges as non-extremal black holes. Furthermore, we find examples that\nscale towards the four-charge BPS black hole when the non-BPS parameters are\ntaken to be small, but the horizon is smoothly resolved by adding a small\namount of non-extremality.",
        "positive": "The Height of a Giraffe: A minor modification of the arguments of Press and Lightman leads to an\nestimate of the height of the tallest running, breathing organism on a\nhabitable planet as the Bohr radius multiplied by the three-tenths power of the\nratio of the electrical to gravitational forces between two protons (rather\nthan the one-quarter power that Press got for the largest animal that would not\nbreak in falling over, after making an assumption of unreasonable brittleness).\nMy new estimate gives a height of about 3.6 meters rather than Press's original\nestimate of about 2.6 cm. It also implies that the number of atoms in the\ntallest runner is very roughly of the order of the nine-tenths power of the\nratio of the electrical to gravitational forces between two protons, which is\nabout 3 x 10^32."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hydrodynamic Modes of a holographic $p-$ wave superfluid: In this work we analyze the hydrodynamics of a $p-$ wave superfluid on its\nstrongly coupled regime by considering its holographic description. We obtain\nthe poles of the retarded Green function through the computation of the\nquasi-normal modes of the dual AdS black hole background finding diffusive,\npseudo-diffusive and sound modes. For the sound modes we compute the speed of\nsound and its attenuation as function of the temperature. For the diffusive and\npseudo-diffusive modes we find that they acquire a non-zero real part at\ncertain finite momentum.",
        "positive": "Scattering three closed strings off a Dp-brane in pure spinor formalism: We compute the disk amplitude of three closed strings in the pure spinor\nformalism. Among others, this amplitude probes tree-level gravitational\ninteractions in the presence of Dp-branes. After disentangling holomorphic and\nanti-holomorphic closed string coordinates on the disk by means of introducing\nmonodromy phases we find a compact expression for the disk amplitude of three\nclosed strings in terms of open superstring six-point amplitudes. Furthermore,\nwe provide the low-energy expansion (in the inverse string tension) of our\namplitude and discuss some relevant Dp-brane couplings associated to it.\nFinally, we write down an expression for the general structure of the disk\namplitude of any number n_c of closed strings in terms of pure open string\namplitudes involving 2n_c open strings."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Celestial Feynman Rules for Scalars: Off-shell celestial amplitudes with both time-like and space-like external\nlegs are defined. The Feynman rules for scalar amplitudes, viewed as a set of\nrecursion relations for off-shell momentum space amplitudes, are transformed to\nthe celestial sphere using the split representation. For four-point celestial\namplitudes, the Feynman expansion is shown to be equivalent to a conformal\npartial wave decomposition, providing an interpretation of conformal partial\nwave expansion coefficients as integrals over off-shell three-point structures.\nA conformal partial wave decomposition for a simple four-point $s$-channel\nmassless scalar celestial amplitude is derived.",
        "positive": "Thermodynamic Stability and Phases of General Spinning Branes: We determine the thermodynamic stability conditions for near-extreme rotating\nD3, M5, and M2-branes with multiple angular momenta. Critical exponents near\nthe boundary of stability are discussed and compared with a naive field theory\nmodel. From a partially numerical computation we conclude that outside the\nboundary of stability, the angular momentum density tends to become spatially\ninhomogeneous.\n  Periodic Euclidean spinning brane solutions have been studied as models of\nQCD. We explain how supersymmetry is restored in the world-volume field theory\nin the limit of large spin and discuss the hierarchy of energy scales that\ndevelops as this limit is approached."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fluid/Gravity Correspondence For General Non-rotating Black Holes: In this paper, we investigate the fluid/gravity correspondence in spacetime\nwith general non-rotating weakly isolated horizon. With the help of Petrov-like\nboundary condition and large mean curvature limit, we show that the dual\nhydrodynamical system is described by a generalized forced incompressible\nNavier-Stocks equation. Specially, for stationary black holes or those\nspacetime with some asymptotically stationary conditions, such a system reduces\nto a standard forced Navier-Stocks system.",
        "positive": "Democratic actions with scalar fields: symmetric sigma models,\n  supergravity actions and the effective theory of the type IIB superstring: The dualization of the scalar fields of a theory into (d-2)-form potentials\npreserving all the global symmetries is one of the main problems in the\nconstruction of democratic pseudoactions containing simultaneously all the\noriginal fields and their duals. We study this problem starting with the\nsimplest cases and we show how it can be solved for scalars parametrizing\nRiemannian symmetric sigma-models as in maximal and half-maximal\nsupergravities. Then, we use this result to write democratic pseudoactions for\ntheories in which the scalars are non-minimally coupled to (p+1)-form\npotentials in any dimension. These results include a proposal of democratic\npseudoaction for the generic bosonic sector of 4-dimensional maximal and\nhalf-maximal ungauged supergravities. Furthermore, we propose a democratic\npseudoaction for the bosonic sector of N=2B,d=10 supergravity (the effective\naction of the type IIB superstring theory) containing two 0-, two 2-, one 4-,\ntwo 6- and three 8-forms which is manifestly invariant under global SL(2,R)\ntransformations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Unification of Gravitation and Gauge Fields: In this letter, I indicate that complex daor field should also have spinor\nsuffixes. The gravitation and gauge fields are unified under the framework of\ndaor field. I acquire the elegant coupling equation of gravitation and gauge\nfields, from which Einstein's gravitational equation can be deduced.",
        "positive": "Explicit Construction of the BRST Charge for W_4: We give the explicite form of the BRST charge Q for the algebra W_4=WA_3 in\nthe basis where the spin-3 and the spin-4 field are primary as well as for a\nbasis where the algebra closes quadratically."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Studies of a general flat space/boson star transition model in a box\n  through a language similar to holographic superconductors: We study a general flat space/boson star transition model in quasi-local\nensemble through approaches familiar from holographic superconductor theories.\nWe manage to find a parameter $\\psi_{2}$, which is proved to be useful in\ndisclosing properties of phase transitions. In this work, we explore effects of\nthe scalar mass, scalar charge and St$\\ddot{u}$ckelberg mechanism on the\ncritical phase transition points and the order of transitions mainly from\nbehaviors of the parameter $\\psi_{2}$. We mention that properties of\ntransitions in quasi-local gravity are strikingly similar to those in\nholographic superconductor models. We also obtain an analytical relation\n$\\psi_{2}\\varpropto(\\mu-\\mu_{c})^{1/2}$, which also holds for the condensed\nscalar operator in the holographic insulator/superconductor system in\naccordance with mean field theories.",
        "positive": "Non-commutativity in Unified Theories and Gravity: First, we briefly review the Coset Space Dimensional Reduction scheme and the\nresults of the best model so far. Then, we present the introduction of fuzzy\ncoset spaces used as extra dimensions and perform a dimensional reduction. In\nturn, we describe a construction which mimics the results of a reduction,\nstarting from a 4-dimensional theory and we present a successful example of a\ndynamical generation of fuzzy spheres. Finally, we propose a construction of\nthe 3-d gravity as a gauge theory on specific non-commutative spaces."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Translational Chern--Simons Action and New Planar Particle Dynamics: We consider a nonstandard $D=2+1$ gravity described by a translational\nChern--Simons action, and couple it to the nonrelativistic point particles. We\nfix the asymptotic coordinate transformations in such a way that the space part\nof the metric becomes asymptotically Euclidean. The residual symmetries are\n(local in time) translations and rigid rotations. The phase space Hamiltonian\n$H$ describing two-body interactions satisfies a nonlinear equation $H={\\cal\nH}(\\vec{x},\\vec{p};H)$ what implies, after quantization, a nonstandard form of\nthe Schr\\\"{o}dinger equation with energy-dependent fractional angular momentum\neigenvalues. Quantum solutions of the two-body problem are discussed. The bound\nstates with discrete energy levels correspond to a confined classical motion\n(for the planar distance between two particles $r\\leq r_0$) and the scattering\nstates with continuous energy correspond to classical motion for $r>r_0$.",
        "positive": "Construction of Affine and Conformal Affine Toda Solitons by Hirota's\n  Method: In this talk we report some results about the construction of soliton\nsolutions for the Affine and Conformal Affine Toda models using the Hirota's\nmethod. We obtain new classes of solitons connected to the degeneracies of the\nCartan matrix eigenvalues as well as to some particular features of the\nrecursive scheme developed here. We obtain an universal mass formula for all\nthose solitons. The examples of $SU(6)$ and $Sp(3)$ are discussed in some\ndetail. ( Talk presented at the VII J.A. Swieca Summer School, Section:\nParticles and\n  Fields, Campos do Jord\\~ao - Brasil - January/93)"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A note on the spin connection representation of gravity: The formulation of gravity in 3+1 dimensions in which the spin connection is\nthe basic field ($\\omega $-frame) leads to a theory with first and second class\nconstraints. Here, the Dirac brackets for the second class constraints are\nevaluated and the Dirac algebra of first class constraints is found to be the\nusual algebra associated to space-time reparametrizations and tangent space\nrotations. This establishes the classical equivalence with the vierbein\napproach (e-frame). The explicit form of the path integral for this theory is\ngiven and the quantum equivalence with the e-frame is also established.",
        "positive": "The radiative corrections of the triangular anomaly: We calculate the triangular anomaly in the next order in the Abelian-Higgs\ntheory with an appropriate number of families of chiral fermions and with\nYukawa couplings. The calculation is performed with the method of subtraction\naided by the Ward- Takahashi identities. This anomaly amplitude is performed\nwithout any regularization and is found to vanish."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Vacuum current and polarization induced by magnetic flux in a\n  higher-dimensional cosmic string in the presence of a flat boundary: In this paper we analyze the vacuum bosonic current and polarization induced\nby a magnetic flux running along a higher dimensional cosmic string in the\npresence of a flat boundary orthogonal to the string. In our analysis we assume\nthat the quantum field obeys Dirichlet or Neunmann conditions on the flat\nboundary. In order to develop this analysis we calculate the corresponding\nWightman function. As consequence of the boundary, the Wightamn function is\nexpressed in term of two contributions: The first one corresponds to the\nboundary-free cosmic string Wightman function, while the second one is induced\nby the boundary. The boundary-induced contributions have opposite signs for\nDirichlet and Newman scalars. Because the analysis of vacuum current and\npolarization effects in the boundary-free cosmic string spacetime have been\ndeveloped in the literature, here we are mainly interested in the calculations\nof the effects induced by the boundary. Regarding to the induced current, we\nshow that, depending on the condition adopted, the boundary-induced azimuthal\ncurrent can cancel or intensifies the total induced azimuthal current on the\nboundary; moreover, the boundary-induced azimuthal current is a periodic odd\nfunction of the magnetic flux. As to the vacuum expectation values of the field\nsquared and the energy-momentum tensor, the boundary-induced contributions are\neven functions of magnetic flux. In particular, we consider some special cases\nof the boundary-induced part of the energy density and evaluate the normal\nvacuum force on the boundary.",
        "positive": "Perturbative quantization of Yang-Mills theory with classical double as\n  gauge algebra: Perturbative quantization of Yang-Mills theory with a gauge algebra given by\nthe classical double of a semisimple Lie algebra is considered. The classical\ndouble of a real Lie algebra is a nonsemisimple real Lie algebra that admits a\nnonpositive definite invariant metric, the indefiniteness of the metric\nsuggesting an apparent lack of unitarity. It is shown that the theory is UV\ndivergent at one loop and that there are no radiative corrections at higher\nloops. One-loop UV divergences are removed through renormalization of the\ncoupling constant, thus introducing a renormalization scale. The terms in the\nclassical action that would spoil unitarity are proved to be cohomologically\ntrivial with respect to the Slavnov-Taylor operator that controls gauge\ninvariance for the quantum theory. Hence they do not contribute gauge invariant\nradiative corrections to the quantum effective action and the theory is\nunitary."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Covariant formulation of non-Abelian gauge theories without\n  anticommuting variables: A manifestly Lorentz invariant effective action for Yang-Mills theory\ndepending only on commuting fields is constructed. This action posesses a\nbosonic symmetry, which plays a role analogous to the BRST symmetry in the\nstandard formalism.",
        "positive": "Deformed Symmetry in Snyder Space and Relativistic Particle Dynamics: We describe the deformed Poincare-conformal symmetries implying the\ncovariance of the noncommutative space obeying Snyder's algebra. Relativistic\nparticle models invariant under these deformed symmetries are presented. A\ngauge (reparametrisation) independent derivation of\n  Snyder's algebra from such models is given. The algebraic transformations\nrelating the deformed symmetries with the usual (undeformed) ones are provided.\nFinally, an alternative form of an action yielding Snyder's algebra is\ndiscussed where the mass of a relativistic particle gets identified with the\ninverse of the noncommutativity parameter."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A numerical study of the RG equation for the deformed $O(3)$ nonlinear\n  sigma model: The Renormalization Group equation describing the evolution of the metric of\nthe nonlinear sigma model poses some nice mathematical problems involving\nfunctional analysis, differential geometry and numerical analysis. In this\narticle we briefly report some results obtained from the numerical study of the\nsolutions in the case of a two dimensional target space (deformation of the\n$O(3)$ sigma model). In particular, our analysis shows that the so-called\nsausages define an attracting manifold in the $U(1)$-symmetric case, at\none-loop level. Moreover, data from two-loop evolution are used to test the\nassociation put forward in Nucl. Phys., B406 (1993) 521 between the so-called\n$SSM_{\\nu}$ field theory and a certain $U(1)$-symmetric, factorized scattering\ntheory (FST).",
        "positive": "Anyon Black Holes: We propose a correspondence between an Anyon Van der Waals fluid and a (2+1)\ndimensional AdS black hole. Anyons are particles with intermediate statistics\nthat interpolates between a Fermi-Dirac statistics and a Bose-Einstein one. A\nparameter $\\alpha$ ($0<\\alpha<1$) characterizes this intermediate statistics of\nAnyons. The equation of state for the Anyon Van der Waals fluid shows that it\nhas a quasi Fermi-Dirac statistics for $\\alpha > \\alpha_c$, but a quasi\nBose-Einstein statistics for $\\alpha< \\alpha_c$. By defining a general form of\nthe metric for the (2+1) dimensional AdS black hole and considering the\ntemperature of the black hole to be equal with that of the Anyon Van der Waals\nfluid, we construct the exact form of the metric for a (2+1) dimensional AdS\nblack hole. The thermodynamic properties of this black hole is consistent with\nthose of the Anyon Van der Waals fluid. For $\\alpha< \\alpha_c$, the solution\nexhibits a quasi Bose-Einstein statistics. For $\\alpha > \\alpha_c$ and a range\nof values of the cosmological constant, there is, however, no event horizon so\nthere is no black hole solution. Thus, for these values of cosmological\nconstants, the AdS Anyon Van der Waals black holes have only quasi\nBose-Einstein statistics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hermitian realizations of the Yang model: The Yang model is an example of noncommutative geometry on a background\nspacetime of constant curvature. We discuss the Hermitian realizations of its\nassociated algebra on phase space in a perturbative expansion up to sixth\norder. We also discuss its realizations on extended phase spaces, that include\nadditional tensorial and/or vectorial degrees or freedom.",
        "positive": "Quantum Mechanics for the Swimming of Micro-Organism in Two Dimensions: In two dimensional fluid, there are only two classes of swimming ways of\nmicro-organisms, {\\it i.e.}, ciliated and flagellated motions. Towards\nunderstanding of this fact, we analyze the swimming problem by using\n$w_{1+\\infty}$ and/or $W_{1+\\infty}$ algebras. In the study of the relationship\nbetween these two algebras, there appear the wave functions expressing the\nshape of micro-organisms. In order to construct the well-defined quantum\nmechanics based on $W_{1+\\infty}$ algebra and the wave functions, essentially\nonly two different kinds of the definitions are allowed on the hermitian\nconjugate and the inner products of the wave functions. These two definitions\nare related with the shapes of ciliates and flagellates. The formulation\nproposed in this paper using $W_{1+\\infty}$ algebra and the wave functions is\nthe quantum mechanics of the fluid dynamics where the stream function plays the\nrole of the Hamiltonian. We also consider the area-preserving algebras which\narise in the swimming problem of micro-organisms in the two dimensional fluid.\nThese algebras are larger than the usual $w_{1+\\infty}$ and $W_{1+\\infty}$\nalgebras. We give a free field representation of this extended $W_{1+\\infty}$\nalgebra."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Relativistic superfluidity and vorticity from the nonlinear Klein-Gordon\n  equation: We investigate superfluidity, and the mechanism for creation of quantized\nvortices, in the relativistic regime. The general framework is a nonlinear\nKlein-Gordon equation in curved spacetime for a complex scalar field, whose\nphase dynamics gives rise to superfluidity. The mechanisms discussed are local\ninertial forces (Coriolis and centrifugal), and current-current interaction\nwith an external source. The primary application is to cosmology, but we also\ndiscuss the reduction to the non-relativistic nonlinear Schr\\\"{o}dinger\nequation, which is widely used in describing superfluidity and vorticity in\nliquid helium and cold-trapped atomic gases.",
        "positive": "On QCD String Theory and AdS Dynamics: The AdS/CFT correspondence of elementary string theory has been recently\nsuggested as a ``microscopic'' approach to QCD string theory in various\ndimensions. We use the microscopic theory to show that the ultraviolet regime\non the string world-sheet is mapped to the ultraviolet effects in QCD. In the\ncase of QCD_2, a world-sheet path integral representation of QCD strings is\nknown, in terms of a topological rigid string theory whose world-sheet\nsupersymmetry is reminiscent of Parisi-Sourlas supersymmetry. We conjecture\nthat the supersymmetric rigid string theory is dual to the elementary Type IIB\nstring theory in the singular AdS background that corresponds to the large-N\nlimit of QCD_2. We also generalize the rigid string with world-sheet\nParisi-Sourlas supersymmetry to dimensions greater than two, and argue that the\ntheory is asymptotically free, a non-zero string tension is generated\ndynamically through dimensional transmutation, and the theory is topological\nonly asymptotically in the ultraviolet."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Global Anomalies on the Hilbert Space: We show that certain global anomalies can be detected in an elementary\nfashion by analyzing the way the symmetry algebra is realized on the torus\nHilbert space of the anomalous theory. Distinct anomalous behaviours imprinted\nin the Hilbert space are identified with the distinct cohomology \"layers\" that\nappear in the classification of anomalies in terms of cobordism groups. We\nillustrate the manifestation of the layers in the Hilbert for a variety of\nanomalous symmetries and spacetime dimensions, including time-reversal\nsymmetry, and both in systems of fermions and in anomalous topological quantum\nfield theories (TQFTs) in 2+1d. We argue that anomalies can imply an exact\nbose-fermi degeneracy in the Hilbert space, thus revealing a supersymmetric\nspectrum of states; we provide a sharp characterization of when this phenomenon\noccurs and give nontrivial examples in various dimensions, including in\nstrongly coupled QFTs. Unraveling the anomalies of TQFTs leads us to develop\nthe construction of the Hilbert spaces, the action of operators and the modular\ndata in spin TQFTs, material that can be read on its own.",
        "positive": "Holographic thermalization patterns: We investigate the behaviour of various correlators in N=4 super Yang Mills\ntheory, taking finite coupling corrections into account. In the thermal limit\nwe investigate the flow of the quasinormal modes as a function of the 't Hooft\ncoupling. Then by using a specific model of holographic thermalization we\ninvestigate the deviation of the spectral densities from their thermal limit in\nan out-of-equilibrium situation. The main focus lies on the thermalization\npattern with which the various plasma constituents of different energies\napproach their final thermal distribution as the coupling constant decreases\nfrom the infinite coupling limit. All results point towards the weakening of\nthe usual top down thermalization pattern."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the violation of the holographic viscosity versus entropy KSS bound\n  in non relativistic systems: A computation of the quotient of shear viscosity to entropy density, or KSS\nnumber $\\eta/s$ is performed, in the non-relativistic and classical regime,\nfirst in Chiral Perturbation Theory, and then in the $SO(g+1)/SO(g)$ Non-Linear\nSigma Model in the large $g$ limit. Both are field theories stemming from a\nrenormalizable Sigma Model but in spite of that, we explicitly calculate how\none undercomes the KSS bound by increasing the number of degenerate pions\nsufficiently. However we argue that particle production could still keep the\nvalidity of the KSS bound in the weak sense. We also show how a large number of\nmolecular isomers (that we estimate in terms of simple molecular properties)\ncould undercome the bound in the strong sense. This might be possible with\ncarbon-based molecules. We finally argue that a measurement of $\\eta/s$ in\nHeavy Ion Collisions might be turned into an upper bound on the number of\nhadron resonances.",
        "positive": "Adding flavor to the gravity dual of non-commutative gauge theories: We study the addition of flavor degrees of freedom to the supergravity dual\nof the non-commutative deformation of the maximally supersymmetric gauge\ntheories. By considering D7 flavor branes in the probe approximation and\nstudying their fluctuations we extract the spectrum of scalar and vector mesons\nas a function of the non-commutativity. We find that the spectrum for very\nlarge non-commutative parameter is equal to the one in the commutative theory,\nwhile for some intermediate values of the non-commutativity some of the modes\ndisappear from the discrete spectrum. We also study the semiclassical dynamics\nof rotating open strings attached to the D7-brane, which correspond to mesons\nwith large spin. Under the effect of the non-commutativity the open strings get\ntilted. However, at small(large) distances they display the same Regge-like\n(Coulombic) behaviour as in the commutative theory. We also consider the\naddition of D5-flavor branes to the non-commutative deformation of the N=1\nsupersymmetric Maldacena-Nunez background."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "RPS Thermodynamics of Taub-NUT AdS Black Holes in the Presence of\n  Central Charge and the Weak Gravity Conjecture: We study the thermodynamics of the Taub-NUT AdS black holes by Visser\nholographic method using AdS radius as a constant parameter under the\nrestricted phase space approach. Instead of the variables $P$ and $V$, we deal\nwith the central charge and also chemical potential as a unique couple of\nconjugate thermodynamic variables. We study some interesting properties of the\nTaub-NUT black holes e.g. supercritical phase equilibrium in the $T-S$\nprocesses, $Q-\\Phi$ and the Hawking-Page phase transition in the $\\mu-C$\nprocesses. As a consequence, the consistency of the weak gravity conjecture of\nmulti-charge for Taub-NUT-AdS black holes at critical points is proved. We\nconclude that in the presence of the central charge and assuming\n$C=\\frac{3}{8}\\ell^2$, weak gravity conjecture could be satisfied in the\nTaub-NUT-AdS black holes with $\\hat{n}\\ll 1$.",
        "positive": "Topological Vector Symmetry of BRSTQFT and Construction of Maximal\n  Supersymmetry: The scalar and vector topological Yang-Mills symmetries determine a closed\nand consistent sector of Yang-Mills supersymmetry. We provide a geometrical\nconstruction of these symmetries, based on a horizontality condition on\nreducible manifolds. This yields globally well-defined scalar and vector\ntopological BRST operators. These operators generate a subalgebra of maximally\nsupersymmetric Yang-Mills theory, which is small enough to be closed off-shell\nwith a finite set of auxiliary fields and large enough to determine the\nYang-Mills supersymmetric theory. Poincar\\'e supersymmetry is reached in the\nlimit of flat manifolds. The arbitrariness of the gauge functions in BRSTQFTs\nis thus removed by the requirement of scalar and vector topological symmetry,\nwhich also determines the complete supersymmetry transformations in a twisted\nway. Provided additional Killing vectors exist on the manifold, an equivariant\nextension of our geometrical framework is provided, and the resulting\n\"equivariant topological field theory\" corresponds to the twist of super\nYang-Mills theory on Omega backgrounds."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Towards the MSSM from F-theory: We study the MSSM in F-theory. Its group is the commutant to a structure\ngroup SU(5) x U(1)_Y of a gauge bundle in E_8. The spectrum contains three\ngenerations of quarks and leptons plus vectorlike electroweak and colored\nHiggses. The minimal MSSM Yukawa couplings with matter parity is obtained at\nthe renormalizable level.",
        "positive": "Illustrating SUSY breaking effects on various inflation mechanisms: We consider the supersymmetry breaking effects on typical inflation models\nwith different types of K\\\"ahler potential. The critical size of\nsupersymmetry-breaking scale, above which the flatness of the inflaton\npotential is spoiled, drastically changes model by model. We present the\nuniversal description of such effects in terms of a field-dependent scaling\nfactor by which gravity-mediated supersymmetry breaking terms are suppressed or\nenhanced, based on the conformal supergravity framework. Such a description\nwould be useful when we estimate them in constructing supersymmetric models of\nparticle cosmology."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quasiconformal Realizations of E_{6(6)}, E_{7(7)}, E_{8(8)} and\n  SO(n+3,m+3), N=4 and N>4 Supergravity and Spherical Vectors: After reviewing the underlying algebraic structures we give a unified\nrealization of split exceptional groups F_{4(4)},E_{6(6)}, E_{7(7)}, E_{8(8)}\nand of SO(n+3,m+3) as quasiconformal groups that is covariant with respect to\ntheir (Lorentz) subgroups SL(3,R), SL(3,R)XSL(3,R), SL(6,R), E_{6(6)} and\nSO(n,m)XSO(1,1), respectively. We determine the spherical vectors of\nquasiconformal realizations of all these groups twisted by a unitary character\n$\\nu$. We also give their quadratic Casimir operators and determine their\nvalues in terms of $\\nu$ and the dimension $n_V$ of the underlying Jordan\nalgebras. For $\\nu= -(n_V+2)+i\\rho$ the quasiconformal action induces unitary\nrepresentations on the space of square integrable functions in $(2n_V+3)$\nvariables, that belong to the principle series. For special discrete values of\n$\\nu$ the quasiconformal action leads to unitary representations belonging to\nthe discrete series and their continuations. The manifolds that correspond to\n\"quasiconformal compactifications\" of the respective $(2n_V+3)$ dimensional\nspaces are also given. We discuss the relevance of our results to N=8\nsupergravity and to N=4 Maxwell-Einstein supergravity theories and, in\nparticular, to the proposal that three and four dimensional U-duality groups\nact as spectrum generating quasiconformal and conformal groups of the\ncorresponding four and five dimensional supergravity theories, respectively.",
        "positive": "Couplings of ${\\cal N}=4$, $d=1$ mirror supermultiplets: We construct models of coupled semi-dynamical (spin) and dynamical mirror\nmultiplets of ${\\cal N}=4$ supersymmetric mechanics in $d=1$ harmonic\nsuperspace. Specifically, we consider a semi-dynamical mirror multiplet ${\\bf\n(3,4,1)}$ coupled to dynamical mirror multiplets ${\\bf (1, 4, 3)}$ and ${\\bf\n(2, 4, 2)}$. Coupling of the multiplets ${\\bf (3, 4, 1)}$ and ${\\bf (1, 4, 3)}$\nyields a mirror counterpart of the earlier constructed model implying the Nahm\nequations for the spin variables with the bosonic component of the multiplet\n${\\bf (1, 4, 3)}$ as an evolution parameter. We also couple the mirror\nmultiplet ${\\bf (2,4,2)}$ to the mirror semi-dynamical multiplet ${\\bf (3, 4,\n1)}$ using chiral ${\\cal N}=4$ superspace. The models constructed admit a\ngeneralization to the SU$(2|1)$ deformation of ${\\cal N}=4$, $d=1$ Poincar\\'e\nsupersymmetry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Large superconformal near-horizons from M-theory: We report on a classification of supersymmetric solutions to 11D supergravity\nwith $SO(2,2) \\times SO(3)$ isometry, which are AdS/CFT dual to 2D CFTs with\n$\\mathcal{N} = (0,4)$ supersymmetry. We recover the Maldacena, Strominger,\nWitten (MSW) near-horizon with small superconformal symmetry and identify a\nclass of $AdS_3 \\times S^2 \\times S^2 \\times CY_2$ geometries with emergent\nlarge superconformal symmetry. This exhausts known compact geometries.\nCompactification of M-theory on $CY_2$ results in a vacuum of 7D supergravity\nwith large superconformal symmetry, providing a candidate near-horizon for an\nextremal black hole and a potential new setting to address microstates.",
        "positive": "Affine Toda field theories related to Coxeter groups of\n  non-crystallographic type: We propose affine Toda field theories related to the non-crystallographic\nCoxeter groups H_2, H_3 and H_4. The classical mass spectrum, the classical\nthree-point couplings and the one-loop corrections to the mass renormalisation\nare determined. The construction is carried out by means of a reduction\nprocedure from crystallographic to non-crystallographic Coxeter groups. The\nembedding structure explains for various affine Toda field theories that their\nparticles can be organised in pairs, such that their relative masses differ by\nthe golden ratio."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Orientifolds and D-branes in N=2 gauged linear sigma models: We study parity symmetries and boundary conditions in the framework of gauged\nlinear sigma models. This allows us to investigate the Kaehler moduli\ndependence of the physics of D-branes as well as orientifolds in a Calabi-Yau\ncompactification. We first determine the parity action on D-branes and define\nthe set of orientifold-invariant D-branes in the linear sigma model. Using\nprobe branes on top of orientifold planes, we derive a general formula for the\ntype (SO vs Sp) of orientifold planes. As applications, we show how\ncompactifications with and without vector structure arise naturally at\ndifferent real slices of the Kaehler moduli space of a Calabi-Yau\ncompactification. We observe that orientifold planes located at certain\ncomponents of the fixed point locus can change type when navigating through the\nstringy regime.",
        "positive": "Warped black holes in 3D general massive gravity: We study regular spacelike warped black holes in the three dimensional\ngeneral massive gravity model, which contains both the gravitational\nChern-Simons term and the linear combination of curvature squared terms\ncharacterizing the new massive gravity besides the Einstein-Hilbert term. The\nparameters of the metric are found by solving a quartic equation constrained by\nan inequality that imposes the absence of closed timelike curves. Explicit\nexpressions for the central charges are suggested by exploiting the fact that\nthese black holes are discrete quotients of spacelike warped AdS(3) and a known\nformula for the entropy. Previous results obtained separately in topological\nmassive gravity and in new massive gravity are recovered as special cases."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "S-duality invariant dilaton couplings at order $\u03b1'^3$: The Riemann curvature correction to the type II supergravity at\neight-derivative level is given schematically as\n$(t_8t_8+{1}{8}\\eps_{10}\\eps_{10})R^4$ at tree-level. The replacement of the\ngeneralized Riemann curvature in $t_8t_8R^4$, proposed by Gross and Sloan,\nproduces various NS-NS couplings which are invariant under T-duality. Recently,\nusing the combination of S-duality and T-duality transformations on these\ncouplings, we have found groups of couplings which are invariant under the\nS-duality transformation. In this paper, we have examined the couplings\ninvolving the dilaton with direct scattering amplitude calculations of four\nNS-NS vertex operators in the superstring theory and found exact agreement.\n  The coupling $\\eps_{10}\\eps_{10}R^4$ is a total derivative term at four-field\nlevel. The $\\sigma$-model beta function approach implies the presence of this\nterm at the tree-level. By examining the sphere-level scattering amplitude of\nfive gravitons, we have also confirmed the presence of this term in the\ntree-level effective action.",
        "positive": "The Large D Limit of Planar Diagrams: We show that in $\\text{O}(D)$ invariant matrix theories containing a large\nnumber $D$ of complex or Hermitian matrices, one can define a\n$D\\rightarrow\\infty$ limit for which the sum over planar diagrams truncates to\na tractable, yet non-trivial, sum over melon diagrams. In particular, results\nobtained recently in SYK and tensor models can be generalized to traditional,\nstring-inspired matrix quantum mechanical models of black holes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Domain-wall Supergravities from Sphere Reduction: Kaluza-Klein sphere reductions of supergravities that admit AdS x Sphere\nvacuum solutions are believed to be consistent. The examples include the S^4\nand S^7 reductions of eleven-dimensional supergravity, and the S^5 reduction of\nten-dimensional type IIB supergravity. In this paper we provide evidence that\nsphere reductions of supergravities that admit instead Domain-wall x Sphere\nvacuum solutions are also consistent, where the background can be viewed as the\nnear-horizon structure of a dilatonic p-brane of the theory. The resulting\nlower-dimensional theory is a gauged supergravity that admits a domain wall,\nrather than AdS, as a vacuum solution. We illustrate this consistency by taking\nthe singular limits of certain modulus parameters, for which the original S^n\ncompactifying spheres (n=4,5 or 7) become S^p x R^q, with p=n-q<n. The\nconsistency of the S^4, S^7 and S^5 reductions then implies the consistency of\nthe S^p reductions of the lower-dimensional supergravities. In particular, we\nobtain explicit non-linear ansatze for the S^3 reduction of type IIA and\nheterotic supergravities, restricting to the U(1)^2 subgroup of the SO(4) gauge\ngroup of S^3. We also study the black hole solutions in the lower-dimensional\ngauged supergravities with domain-wall backgrounds. We find new domain-wall\nblack holes which are not the singular-modulus limits of the AdS black holes of\nthe original theories, and we obtain their Killing spinors.",
        "positive": "Quantum Vacuum Experiments Using High Intensity Lasers: The quantum vacuum constitutes a fascinating medium of study, in particular\nsince near-future laser facilities will be able to probe the nonlinear nature\nof this vacuum. There has been a large number of proposed tests of the\nlow-energy, high intensity regime of quantum electrodynamics (QED) where the\nnonlinear aspects of the electromagnetic vacuum comes into play, and we will\nhere give a short description of some of these. Such studies can shed light,\nnot only on the validity of QED, but also on certain aspects of nonperturbative\neffects, and thus also give insights for quantum field theories in general."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Proper Time Method for Fermions: We show how Schwinger's proper time method can be used to evaluate directly\nthe determinant of first order operators associated with fermionic theories.\nSeveral examples are worked out in detail.",
        "positive": "Supergravity Couplings of Noncommutative D-branes: We discuss the supergravity couplings of noncommutative D-branes by\nconsidering the disk amplitudes with one closed string insertion. The result\nconfirms a recent proposal for the general form of the noncommutative\nYang-Mills operators coupling to the massless closed string modes. The\nconstruction involves smearing Yang-Mills field variables along an open Wilson\nline. For multiple D-branes interacting with background supergravity fields,\nthis prescription reduces, in the B=0 limit, to the ``symmetrized trace''\nprescription, and the supergravity fields are seen to be functionals of the\nnonabelian scalar fields on the branes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Differential calculus on q-Minkowski space: We wish to report here on a recent approach to the non-commutative calculus\non $q$-Minkowski space which is based on the reflection equations with no\nspectral parameter. These are considered as the expression of the invariance\n(under the coaction of the $q$-Lorentz group) of the commutation properties\nwhich define the different $q$-Minkowski algebras. This approach also allows us\nto discuss the possible ambiguities in the definition of $q$-Minkowski space\n${\\cal M}_q$ and its differential calculus. The commutation relations among the\ngenerators of ${\\cal M}_q$ (coordinates), ${\\cal D}_q$ (derivatives),\n$\\Lambda_q$ (one-forms) and a few invariant (scalar) operators are established\nand compared with earlier results.",
        "positive": "Post-Newtonian Multipoles from the Next-to-Leading Post-Minkowskian\n  Gravitational Waveform: We consider the frequency-domain LO and NLO post-Minkowskian (PM) waveforms\nobtained from the tree-level and one-loop amplitudes describing the scattering\nof two massive scalar objects and the emission of one graviton. We explicitly\ncalculate their post-Newtonian (PN) limit obtaining an expansion up to the\nthird subleading PN order in all ingredients: the tree-level amplitude, the odd\nand even parts of the real one-loop kernel, and the Compton or \"rescattering\"\ncuts, thus reaching 3PN precision for the latter. We provide explicit\nexpressions for the multipole decomposition of these results in the\ncenter-of-mass frame and compare them with the results obtained from the\nclassical Multipolar post-Minkowskian (MPM) method. We find perfect agreement\nbetween the two, once the BMS supertranslation frame is properly adjusted and\nthe infrared divergences due to rescattering are suitably subtracted in\ndimensional regularization. This shows that the approach proposed in\narXiv:2312.07452 can be applied beyond the soft-regime ensuring the agreement\nbetween amplitude-based and MPM results for generic frequencies."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauge/Gravity Duality, Green Functions of N=2 SYM and\n  Radial/Energy-Scale Relation: We consider supergravity configuration of D5 branes wrapped on supersymmetric\n2-cycles and use it to calculate one-point and two-point Green functions of\nsome special operators in N=2 super Yang-Mills theory. We show that Green\nfunctions obtained from supergravity include two very different parts. One of\nthem corresponds to perturbative results of quantum field theory, and another\nis a non-perturbative effect which corresponds to contribution from instantons\nwith fractional charge. Comparing Green functions obtained from supergravity\nand gauge theory, we obtain radial/energy-scale relation for this gauge/gravity\ncorrespondence with N=2 supersymmetry. This relation leads right beta-function\nof N=2 SYM from supergravity configuration.",
        "positive": "Generalized Charges, Part I: Invertible Symmetries and Higher\n  Representations: $q$-charges describe the possible actions of a generalized symmetry on\n$q$-dimensional operators. In Part I of this series of papers, we describe\n$q$-charges for invertible symmetries; while the discussion of $q$-charges for\nnon-invertible symmetries is the topic of Part II. We argue that $q$-charges of\na standard global symmetry, also known as a 0-form symmetry, correspond to the\nso-called $(q+1)$-representations of the 0-form symmetry group, which are\nnatural higher-categorical generalizations of the standard notion of\nrepresentations of a group. This generalizes already our understanding of\npossible charges under a 0-form symmetry! Just like local operators form\nrepresentations of the 0-form symmetry group, higher-dimensional extended\noperators form higher-representations. This statement has a straightforward\ngeneralization to other invertible symmetries: $q$-charges of higher-form and\nhigher-group symmetries are $(q+1)$-representations of the corresponding\nhigher-groups. There is a natural extension to higher-charges of non-genuine\noperators (i.e. operators that are attached to higher-dimensional operators),\nwhich will be shown to be intertwiners of higher-representations. This brings\ninto play the higher-categorical structure of higher-representations. We also\ndiscuss higher-charges of twisted sector operators (i.e. operators that appear\nat the boundary of topological operators of one dimension higher), including\noperators that appear at the boundary of condensation defects."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "An Analytic Method for $S$-Expansion involving Resonance and Reduction: In this paper we describe an analytic method able to give the multiplication\ntable(s) of the set(s) involved in an $S$-expansion process (with either\nresonance or $0_S$-resonant-reduction) for reaching a target Lie (super)algebra\nfrom a starting one, after having properly chosen the partitions over subspaces\nof the considered (super)algebras. This analytic method gives us a simple set\nof expressions to find the partitions over the set(s) involved in the process.\nThen, we use the information coming from both the initial (super)algebra and\nthe target one for reaching the multiplication table(s) of the mentioned\nset(s). Finally, we check associativity with an auxiliary computational\nalgorithm, in order to understand whether the obtained set(s) can describe\nsemigroup(s) or just abelian set(s) connecting two (super)algebras. We also\ngive some interesting examples of application, which check and corroborate our\nanalytic procedure and also generalize some result already presented in the\nliterature.",
        "positive": "Perturbative moduli stabilisation in type IIB/F-theory framework: We propose a new mechanism of (geometric) moduli stabilisation in type\nIIB/F-theory four-dimensional compactifications on Calabi-Yau manifolds, in the\npresence of 7-branes, that does not rely on non-perturbative effects. Complex\nstructure moduli and the axion-dilaton system are stabilised in the standard\nway, without breaking supersymmetry, using 3-form internal fluxes. K\\\"ahler\nclass moduli stabilisation utilises perturbative string loop corrections,\ntogether with internal magnetic fields along the D7-branes world-volume leading\nto Fayet-Iliopoulos D-terms in the effective supergravity action. The main\ningredient that makes the stabilisation possible at a de Sitter vacuum is the\nlogarithmic dependence of the string loop corrections in the large\ntwo-dimensional transverse volume limit of the 7-branes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Lorentz-Dirac Equation and the Physical Meaning of the Maxwell's\n  Fields: Classical Electrodynamics is not a consistent theory because of its field\ninadequate behaviour in the vicinity of their sources. Its problems with the\nelectron equation of motion and with non-integrable singularity of the electron\nself field and of its stress tensor are well known. These inconsistencies are\neliminated if the discrete and localized (classical photons) character of the\nelectromagnetic interaction is anticipatively recognized already in a classical\ncontext. This is possible, in a manifestly covariant way, with a new model of\nspacetime structure, shown in a previous paper $^{1}$, that invalidates the\nLorentz-Dirac equation. For a point classical electron there is no field\nsingularity, no causality violation and no conflict with energy conservation in\nthe electron equation of motion. The electromagnetic field must be\nre-interpreted in terms of average flux of classical photons. Implications of a\nsingularity-free formalism to field theory are discussed.",
        "positive": "Hidden Conformal Symmetry in Higher Derivative Dynamics: The Kerr/CFT correspondence provides a holographic description of spinning\nblack holes that exist in our universe, and the notion of hidden conformal\nsymmetry allows for a formulation of this correspondence away from extremality.\nIn this work we study how hidden conformal symmetry is manifest when we\nconsider dynamics beyond the Klein-Gordon equation, through studying the\nanalytic structure of higher derivative equations of motion of a massless probe\nscalar field on a Kerr background using the monodromy method. Since such higher\nderivative dynamics appear in known examples of holographic AdS/logCFT\ncorrespondences, we investigate whether or not a Kerr/logCFT correspondence\nmight be possible."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "C-P-T Fractionalization: Discrete spacetime symmetries of parity P or reflection R, and time-reversal\nT, act naively as $\\mathbb{Z}_2$-involutions in the passive transformation on\nthe spacetime coordinates; but together with a charge conjugation C, the total\nC-P-R-T symmetries have enriched active transformations on fields in\nrepresentations of the spacetime-internal symmetry groups of quantum field\ntheories (QFTs). In this work, we derive that these symmetries can be further\nfractionalized, especially in the presence of the fermion parity $(-1)^{\\rm\nF}$. We elaborate on examples including relativistic Lorentz invariant QFTs\n(e.g., spin-1/2 Dirac or Majorana spinor fermion theories) and nonrelativistic\nquantum many-body systems (involving Majorana zero modes), and comment on\napplications to spin-1 Maxwell electromagnetism (QED) or interacting Yang-Mills\n(QCD) gauge theories. We discover various C-P-R-T-$(-1)^{\\rm F}$ group\nstructures, e.g., Dirac spinor is in a projective representation of\n$\\mathbb{Z}_2^{\\rm C}\\times \\mathbb{Z}_2^{\\rm P} \\times \\mathbb{Z}_2^{\\rm T}$\nbut in an (anti)linear representation of an order-16 nonabelian finite group,\nas the central product between an order-8 dihedral (generated by C and P) or\nquaternion group and an order-4 group generated by T with T$^2=(-1)^{\\rm F}$.\nThe general theme may be coined as C-P-T or C-R-T fractionalization.",
        "positive": "Relativistic Quantum Theory with Fractional Spin and Statistics: These lectures discuss the formulation of quantum mechanics with fractional\nspin and statistics in 2+1 dimensions in a relativistic setting, emphasizing\nthe path-integral approach. The non-relativistic theory is reviewed from a\npath-integral viewpoint. The group-theoretical underpinnings of relativistic\nfractional spin are discussed, then the path-integral quantization of spin and\nof massive fermions without using spinors is reviewed. The path integral for a\nsystem of n relativistic particles with fractional spin is constructed, the\nspin-statistics relation and the Lorentz and Poincare' representation content\nof physical states are discussed. Some problems in formulating a field theory\nwith fractional statistics are presented, and their resolution in the operator\ncocycle approach is reviewed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Looking beyond the horizon: In this short talk we review our results from the paper hep-th/0604075 with\nthe main stress on the issues of causality and acoustic metric in eikonal\napproximation. In addition we correct the formula for the redshift of sound\nsignals from our original work. We show that, if there exists a special kind of\nBorn-Infeld type scalar field, then one can send information from inside a\nblack hole. This information is encoded in perturbations of the field\npropagating in non-trivial scalar field backgrounds, which serve as a \"new\nether\". Although the action of the theory is manifestly Lorentz-invariant the\nnon-trivial solutions break this symmetry spontaneously, allowing, the\nsuperluminal propagation of perturbations with respect to this \"new ether\". We\nfound the stationary solution for background, which describes the accretion of\nthe scalar field onto a black hole. Examining the propagation of small\nperturbations around this solution we show that the signals emitted inside the\nSchwarzschild horizon can reach an observer located outside the black hole.\nThus the accreting field forms a hydrodynamical analog of a black hole whose\nhorizon is inside of the gravitational black hole drawing in the scalar field.",
        "positive": "Novel symmetries in an interacting N = 2 supersymmetric quantum\n  mechanical model: We demonstrate the existence of a set of novel discrete symmetry\ntransformations in the case of an interacting N = 2 supersymmetric quantum\nmechanical model of a system of an electron moving on a sphere in the\nbackground of a magnetic monopole and establish its interpretation in the\nlanguage of differential geometry. These discrete symmetries are, over and\nabove, the usual three continuous symmetries of the theory which together\nprovide the physical realizations of the de Rham cohomological operators of\ndifferential geometry. We derive the nilpotent N = 2 SUSY transformations by\nexploiting our idea of supervariable approach and provide geometrical meaning\nto these transformations in the language of Grassmannian translational\ngenerators on a (1, 2)-dimensional supermanifold on which our N = 2 SUSY\nquantum mechanical model is generalized. We express the conserved supercharges\nand the invariance of the Lagrangian in terms of the supervariables (obtained\nafter the imposition of the SUSY invariant restrictions) and provide the\ngeometrical meaning to (i) the nilpotency property of the N = 2 supercharges,\nand (ii) the SUSY invariance of the Lagrangian of our N = 2 SUSY theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "UV-IR mixing and the quantum consistency of noncommutative gauge\n  theories: We study the quantum mechanical consistency of noncommutative gauge theories\nby perturbatively analyzing the Wilsonian quantum effective action in the\nmatrix formulation. In the process of integrating out UV states, we find new\ndivergences having dual UV-IR interpretations and no analogues in ordinary\nquantum field theories. The appearance of these new UV-IR divergences has\nprofound consequences for the renormalizability of the theory. In particular,\nrenormalizability fails in any nonsupersymmetric noncommutative gauge theory.\nIn fact, we argue that renormalizability generally fails in any noncommutative\ntheory that allows quantum corrections beyond one-loop. Thus, it seems that\nnoncommutative quantum theories are extremely sensitive to the UV, and only the\nsoftest UV behavior can be tolerated.",
        "positive": "A Lax Equation for the Non-Linear Sigma Model: We propose a Lax equation for the non-linear sigma model which leads directly\nto the conserved local charges of the system. We show that the system has two\ninfinite sets of such conserved charges following from the Lax equation, much\nlike dispersionless systems. We show that the system has two Hamiltonian\nstructures which are compatible so that it is truly a bi-Hamiltonian system.\nHowever, the two Hamiltonian structures act on the two distinct sets of charges\nto give the dynamical equations, which is quite distinct from the behavior in\nconventional integrable systems. We construct two recursion operators which\nconnect the conserved charges within a given set as well as between the two\nsets. We show explicitly that the conserved charges are in involution with\nrespect to either of the Hamiltonian structures thereby proving complete\nintegrability of the system. Various other interesting features are also\ndiscussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Towards thermodynamics of universal horizons in Einstein-\u00e6ther\n  theory: Holography grew out of black hole thermodynamics, which relies on the causal\nstructure and general covariance of general relativity. In Einstein-{\\ae}ther\ntheory, a generally covariant theory with a dynamical timelike unit vector,\nevery solution breaks local Lorentz invariance, thereby grossly modifying the\ncausal structure of gravity. However, there are still absolute causal\nboundaries, called \"universal horizons\", which are not Killing horizons yet\nobey a first law of black hole mechanics and must have an entropy if they do\nnot violate a generalized second law. We couple a scalar field to the timelike\nvector and show via the tunneling approach that the universal horizon radiates\nas a blackbody at a fixed temperature, even if the scalar field equations also\nviolate local Lorentz invariance. This suggests that the class of holographic\ntheories may be much broader than currently assumed.",
        "positive": "Revisiting the Y=0 open spin chain at one loop: In 2005, Berenstein and Vazquez determined an open spin chain Hamiltonian\ndescribing the one-loop anomalous dimensions of determinant-like operators\ncorresponding to open strings attached to Y=0 maximal giant gravitons. We\nconstruct the transfer matrix (generating functional of conserved quantities)\ncontaining this Hamiltonian, thereby directly proving its integrability. We\nfind the eigenvalues of this transfer matrix and the corresponding Bethe\nequations, which we compare with proposed all-loop Bethe equations. We note\nthat the Bethe ansatz solution has a certain \"gauge\" freedom, and is not\ncompletely unique."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Stable non-supersymmetric Anti-de Sitter vacua of massive IIA\n  supergravity: Stable non-supersymmetric Anti-de Sitter (AdS) vacua of string theory are\nwidely believed not to exist. In this letter, we analytically compute the full\nbosonic Kaluza-Klein spectrum around the ${\\rm G_2}$-invariant\nnon-supersymmetric $\\textrm{AdS}_4$ solution of massive IIA supergravity, and\nshow that it is perturbatively stable. We also provide evidence that six other\nnon-supersymmetric $\\textrm{AdS}_4$ solutions of massive IIA supergravity are\nperturbatively stable. Since previous studies have indicated that these AdS\nvacua may also be non-perturbatively stable, our findings pose a challenge to\nthe Swampland Conjecture.",
        "positive": "Reduced density matrix and internal dynamics for multicomponent regions: We find the density matrix corresponding to the vacuum state of a massless\nDirac field in two dimensions reduced to a region of the space formed by\nseveral disjoint intervals. We calculate explicitly its spectral decomposition.\nThe imaginary powers of the density matrix is a unitary operator implementing\nan internal time flow (the modular flow). We show that in the case of more than\none interval this evolution is non-local, producing both, advance in the causal\nstructure and \"teleportation\" between the disjoint intervals. However, it only\nmixes the fields on a finite number of trajectories, one for each interval. As\nan application of these results we compute the entanglement entropy for the\nmassive multi-interval case in the small mass limit."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Statistics and Quantum Group Symmetries: Using twisted realizations of the symmetric groups, we show that Bose and\nFermi statistics are compatible with transformations generated by compact\nquantum groups of Drinfel'd type.",
        "positive": "A magic pyramid of supergravities: By formulating N = 1, 2, 4, 8, D = 3, Yang-Mills with a single Lagrangian and\nsingle set of transformation rules, but with fields valued respectively in\nR,C,H,O, it was recently shown that tensoring left and right multiplets yields\na Freudenthal-Rosenfeld-Tits magic square of D = 3 supergravities. This was\nsubsequently tied in with the more familiar R,C,H,O description of spacetime to\ngive a unified division-algebraic description of extended super Yang-Mills in D\n= 3, 4, 6, 10. Here, these constructions are brought together resulting in a\nmagic pyramid of supergravities. The base of the pyramid in D = 3 is the known\n4x4 magic square, while the higher levels are comprised of a 3x3 square in D =\n4, a 2x2 square in D = 6 and Type II supergravity at the apex in D = 10. The\ncorresponding U-duality groups are given by a new algebraic structure, the\nmagic pyramid formula, which may be regarded as being defined over three\ndivision algebras, one for spacetime and each of the left/right Yang-Mills\nmultiplets. We also construct a conformal magic pyramid by tensoring conformal\nsupermultiplets in D = 3, 4, 6. The missing entry in D = 10 is suggestive of an\nexotic theory with G/H duality structure F4(4)/Sp(3) x Sp(1)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Multi-brid DBI Inflation: It is shown that it is possible to apply $\\delta \\cN$ to some special\nnon-canonic cases. We extended the multi-brid idea to the multi-field separable\nmodel with a non-canonical kinetic term, mainly the DBI model. Assuming a\nspecific surface for the end of inflation and introducing new fields, enable us\nto find an explicit expression for the number of e-folds in terms of the new\nfields. By using $\\delta$N formalism, we arrived at the cosmological\nparameters. We considered the DBI model for two different limits, viz., speed\nlimit and constant sound speed.",
        "positive": "Covariant Computation of the Low Energy Effective Action of the\n  Heterotic Superstring: We derive the low energy effective action of the heterotic superstring in\nsuperspace. This is achieved by coupling the covariantly quantized\nGreen-Schwarz superstring of Berkovits to a curved background and requiring\nthat the sigma model has superconformal invariance at tree level and at one\nloop in $\\a'$. Tree level superconformal invariance yields the complete\nsupergravity algebra, and one-loop superconformal invariance the equations of\nmotion of the low energy theory. The resulting low energy theory is old-minimal\nsupergravity coupled to a tensor multiplet. The dilaton is part of the\ncompensator multiplet."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauge Theories with a Layered Phase: We study abelian gauge theories with anisotropic couplings in $4+D$\ndimensions. A layered phase is present, in the absence as well as in the\npresence of fermions. A line of second order transitions separates the layered\nfrom the Coulomb phase, if $D\\leq 3$.",
        "positive": "Boundary Conditions in Brane-World Supergravity: Bulk supergravity on a manifold with boundary must be supplemented by\nboundary conditions that preserve local supersymmetry. This \"downstairs\"\npicture has certain advantages over the equivalent \"upstairs\" picture,\nexpressed in terms of orbifolds. In particular, Scherk-Schwarz supersymmetry\nbreaking can be described much more simply in the downstairs picture.\nNevertheless, physics on the fundamental domain can always be lifted upstairs,\nso long as fields are allowed to be discontinuous across the boundary. In this\ntalk we apply these considerations to five-dimensional supergravity in a warped\nRandall-Sundrum background."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Probing Smearing Effect by Point-Like Graviton in Plane-Wave Matrix\n  Model: We investigate the interaction between flat membrane and point-like graviton\nin the plane-wave matrix model. The one-loop effective potential in the large\ndistance limit is computed and is shown to be of r^{-3} type where r is the\ndistance between two objects. This type of interaction has been interpreted as\nthe one incorporating the smearing effect due to the configuration of flat\nmembrane in plane-wave background. Our result supports this interpretation and\nprovides one more evidence about it.",
        "positive": "Weyl-Invariant Lightlike Branes and Soldering of Black Hole Space-Times: We consider self-consistent coupling of the recently introduced new class of\nWeyl-conformally invariant lightlike branes (WILL-branes) to D=4\nEinstein-Maxwell system plus a D=4 three-index antisymmetric tensor gauge\nfield. We find static spherically-symmetric solutions where the space-time\nconsists of two regions with different black-hole-type geometries and different\nvalues for a dynamically generated cosmological constant, separated by the\nWILL-brane which ``straddles'' their common event horizon. Furthermore, the\nWILL-brane produces a potential ``well'' around itself acting as a trap for\ntest particles falling towards the horizon."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dwelling on de Sitter: A careful reduction of the three-dimensional gravity to the Liouville\ndescription is performed, where all gauge fixing and on-shell conditions come\nfrom the definition of asymptotic de Sitter spaces. The roles of both past and\nfuture infinities are discussed and the conditions space-time evolution imposes\non both Liouville fields are explicited. Space-times which correspond to\nnon-equivalent profiles of the Liouville field at past and future infinities\nare shown to exist. The qualitative implications of this for any tentative dual\ntheory are presented.",
        "positive": "Induced quantum numbers of a magnetic monopole at finite temperature: A Dirac electron field is quantized in the background of a Dirac magnetic\nmonopole, and the phenomenon of induced quantum numbers in this system is\nanalyzed. We show that, in addition to electric charge, also squares of orbital\nangular momentum, spin, and total angular momentum are induced. The functional\ndependence of these quantities on the temperature and the CP-violating vacuum\nangle is determined. Thermal quadratic fluctuations of charge and squared total\nangular momentum, as well as the correlation between them and their\ncorrelations with squared orbital angular momentum and squared spin, are\nexamined. We find the conditions when charge and squared total angular momentum\nat zero temperature are sharp quantum observables rather than mere quantum\naverages."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spinning Hexagons: We reduce the computation of three point function of three spinning operators\nwith arbitrary polarizations to a statistical mechanics problem via the hexagon\nformalism. The central building block of these correlation functions is the\nhexagon partition function. We explore its analytic structure and use it to\ngenerate perturbative data for spinning three point functions. For certain\npolarizations and any coupling, we express the full asymptotic three point\nfunction in determinant form. With the integrability approach established we\nopen the ground to study the large spin limit where dualities with null Wilson\nloops and integrable pentagons must appear.",
        "positive": "Supersymmetry breaking deformations and phase transitions in five\n  dimensions: We analyze a recently proposed supersymmetry breaking mass deformation of the\n$E_1$ superconformal fixed point in five dimensions which, at weak gauge\ncoupling, leads to pure $SU(2)$ Yang-Mills and which was conjectured to lead to\nan interacting CFT at strong coupling. We provide an explicit geometric\nconstruction of the deformation using brane-web techniques and show that for\nlarge enough gauge coupling a global symmetry is spontaneously broken and the\ntheory enters a new phase which, at infinite coupling, displays an instability.\nThe Yang-Mills and the symmetry broken phases are separated by a phase\ntransition. Depending on the structure of the potential, this can be first or\nsecond order."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fermion-Fermion and Boson-Boson Amplitudes: Surprising Similarities: Amplitudes for boson-boson and fermion-boson interactions are calculated in\nthe second order of perturbation theory in the Lobachevsky space. An essential\ningredient of the used model is the Weinberg's $2(2j+1)$ component formalism\nfor describing a particle of spin $j$, recently developed substantially. The\nboson-boson amplitude is then compared with the two-fermion amplitude obtained\nby Skachkov long ago on the ground of the hamiltonian formulation of quantum\nfield theory on the mass hyperboloid, $p_0^2 -{\\vec p}^{2}=M^2$, proposed by\nKadyshevsky. The parametrization of the amplitudes by means of the momentum\ntransfer in the Lobachevsky space leads to same spin structures in the\nexpressions of $T$ matrices for the fermion and the boson cases. However,\ncertain differences are found. Possible physical applications are discussed.",
        "positive": "A Non-Local Action for Electrodynamics: Duality Symmetry and the\n  Aharonov-Bohm Effect, Revisited: A non-local action functional for electrodynamics depending on the electric\nand magnetic fields, instead of potentials, has been proposed in the\nliterature. In this work we elaborate and improve this proposal. We also use\nthis formalism to confront the electric-magnetic duality symmetry of the\nelectromagnetic field and the Aharonov--Bohm effect, two subtle aspects of\nelectrodynamics that we examine in a novel way. We show how the former can be\nderived from the simple harmonic oscillator character of vacuum\nelectrodynamics, while also demonstrating how the magnetic version of the\nlatter naturally arises in an explicitly non-local manner."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "UV Divergence and Tensor Reduction: We present an efficient algorithm to decompose the ultraviolet (UV)\ndivergences of Feynman integrals to local divergences and various types of\nsub-divergences. With some reasonable assumptions the local divergences of\nFeynman integrals can be uniquely defined in dimensional regularization scheme.\nBy an asymptotic expansion in the hard momenta, the computation of local and\nsub-divergences is reduced to the computation of local divergences of massless\nvacuum integrals. In theories with spin $\\le\\frac{1}{2}$, the beta functions\nand anomalous dimensions can be extracted directly from the local divergence of\nintegrals.\n  We also propose two methods to reduce the tensor structures which can be used\nin the computation of local divergence. The first method is based on\ndimensional shift and is extremely powerful for integrals with loop number\n$L\\le3$. The second method is based on a PV reduction in a $d_{\\infty}$\ndimension subspace, and it is more suited in four and more loops.",
        "positive": "On Gravitation and Quanta: A slightly extended version, with a footnote added on December 19, 1997, of a\ncontributed Abstract to the Eight Marcel Grossmann Meeting, Jerusalem, June\n1997."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Extended Complex Trigonometry in Relation to Integrable 2D-Quantum Field\n  Theories and Duality: Multicomplex numbers of order n have an associated trigonometry (multisine\nfunctions with (n-1) parameters) leading to a natural extension of the\nsine-Gordon model. The parameters are constrained from the requirement of local\ncurrent conservation. In two dimensions for n < 6 known integrable models\n(deformed Toda and non-linear sigma, pure affine Toda...) with dual\ncounterparts are obtained in this way from the multicomplex space MC itself and\nfrom the natural embedding $\\MC_n \\subset \\MMC_m, n < m$. For $ n \\ge 6$ a\ngeneric constraint on the space of parametersis obtained from current\nconservation at first order in the interaction Lagragien.",
        "positive": "The Higgs and Coulomb/Confining Phases in \"Twisted-Mass\" Deformed\n  CP(N-1) Model: We consider non-supersymmetric two-dimensional CP(N-1) model deformed by a\nterm presenting the bosonic part of the twisted mass deformation of N=2\nsupersymmetric version of the model. Our deformation has a special form\npreserving a Z_N symmetry at the Lagrangian level. In the large mass limit the\nmodel is weakly coupled. Its dynamics is described by the Higgs phase, with Z_N\nspontaneously broken. At small masses it is in the strong coupling\nCoulomb/confining phase. The Z_N symmetry is restored. Two phases are separated\nby a phase transition. We find the phase transition point in the large-N limit.\nIt lies at strong coupling. As was expected, the phase transition is related to\nbroken versus unbroken Z_N symmetry in these two respective phases. The vacuum\nenergies for these phases are determined too."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic Description of Gravitational Anomalies: The holographic duality can be extended to include quantum theories with\nbroken coordinate invariance leading to the appearance of the gravitational\nanomalies. On the gravity side one adds the gravitational Chern-Simons term to\nthe bulk action which gauge invariance is only up to the boundary terms. We\nanalyze in detail how the gravitational anomalies originate from the modified\nEinstein equations in the bulk. As a side observation we find that the\ngravitational Chern-Simons functional has interesting conformal properties. It\nis invariant under conformal transformations. Moreover, its metric variation\nproduces conformal tensor which is a generalization of the Cotton tensor to\ndimension $d+1=4k-1, k\\in Z$. We calculate the modification of the holographic\nstress-energy tensor that is due to the Chern-Simons term and use the bulk\nEinstein equations to find its divergence and thus reproduce the gravitational\nanomaly. Explicit calculation of the anomaly is carried out in dimensions $d=2$\nand $d=6$. The result of the holographic calculation is compared with that of\nthe descent method and agreement is found. The gravitational Chern-Simons term\noriginates by Kaluza-Klein mechanism from a one-loop modification of M-theory\naction. This modification is discussed in the context of the gravitational\nanomaly in six-dimensional $(2,0)$ theory. The agreement with earlier\nconjectured anomaly is found.",
        "positive": "Accelerated Discovery of Machine-Learned Symmetries: Deriving the\n  Exceptional Lie Groups G2, F4 and E6: Recent work has applied supervised deep learning to derive continuous\nsymmetry transformations that preserve the data labels and to obtain the\ncorresponding algebras of symmetry generators. This letter introduces two\nimproved algorithms that significantly speed up the discovery of these symmetry\ntransformations. The new methods are demonstrated by deriving the complete set\nof generators for the unitary groups U(n) and the exceptional Lie groups $G_2$,\n$F_4$, and $E_6$. A third post-processing algorithm renders the found\ngenerators in sparse form. We benchmark the performance improvement of the new\nalgorithms relative to the standard approach. Given the significant complexity\nof the exceptional Lie groups, our results demonstrate that this\nmachine-learning method for discovering symmetries is completely general and\ncan be applied to a wide variety of labeled datasets."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "48 Crepant Paths to $\\text{SU}(2)\\!\\times\\!\\text{SU}(3)$: We study crepant resolutions of Weierstrass models of\n$\\text{SU}(2)\\!\\times\\!\\text{SU}(3)$-models, whose gauge group describes the\nnon-abelian sector of the Standard Model. The\n$\\text{SU}(2)\\!\\times\\!\\text{SU}(3)$-models are elliptic fibrations\ncharacterized by the collision of two Kodaira fibers with dual graphs that are\naffine Dynkin diagrams of type $\\widetilde{\\text{A}}_1$ and\n$\\widetilde{\\text{A}}_2$. Once we eliminate those collisions that do not have\ncrepant resolutions, we are left with six distinct collisions that are related\nto each other by deformations. Each of these six collisions has eight distinct\ncrepant resolutions whose flop diagram is a hexagon with two legs attached to\ntwo adjacent nodes. Hence, we consider 48 distinct resolutions that are\nconnected to each other by deformations and flops. We determine topological\ninvariants---such as Euler characteristics, Hodge numbers, and triple\nintersections of fibral divisors---for each of the crepant resolutions. We\nanalyze the physics of these fibrations when used as compactifications of\nM-theory and F-theory on Calabi--Yau threefolds yielding 5d ${\\mathcal N}=1$\nand 6d ${\\mathcal N}=(1,0)$ supergravity theories respectively. We study the 5d\nprepotential in the Coulomb branch of the theory and check that the\nsix-dimensional theory is anomaly-free and compatible with a 6d uplift from a\n5d theory.",
        "positive": "Algebraic Structures of N=(4,4) and N=(8,8) SUSY Sigma Models on Lie\n  groups and SUSY WZW Models: Algebraic structures of N = (4; 4) and N = (8; 8) supersymmetric (SUSY) two\ndimensional sigma models on Lie groups (in general) and SUSY Wess-Zumino-Witten\n(WZW) models (as special) are obtained. For SUSY WZW models, these algebraic\nstructures are reduced to Lie bialgebraic structures as for the N = (2; 2) SUSY\nWZW case; with the difference that there is a one 2-cocycle for the N = (4; 4)\ncase and there are two 2-cocycles for the N = (8; 8) case. In general, we show\nthat N = (8; 8) SUSY structure on Lie algebra must be constructed from two N =\n(4; 4) SUSY structures and in special there must be two 2-cocycles for Manin\ntriples (one 2-cocycle for each of the N = (4; 4) structures). Some examples\nare investigated. In this way, a calculational method for classifying the N =\n(4; 4) and N = (8; 8) structures on Lie algebras and Lie groups are obtained."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Learning holographic horizons: We apply machine learning to understand fundamental aspects of holographic\nduality, specifically the entropies obtained from the apparent and event\nhorizon areas. We show that simple features of only the time series of the\npressure anisotropy, namely the values and half-widths of the maxima and\nminima, the times these are attained, and the times of the first zeroes can\npredict the areas of the apparent and event horizons in the dual bulk geometry\nat all times with a fixed maximum length (30) of the input vector. Given that\nsimple Vaidya-type metrics constructed just from the apparent and event horizon\nareas can be used to approximately obtain unequal time correlation functions,\nwe argue that the corresponding entropy functions are the measures of\ninformation that need to be extracted from simple one-point functions to\nreconstruct specific aspects of correlation functions of the dual state with\nthe best possible approximations.",
        "positive": "Non-relativistic limit for Higher Spin Fields and Planar Schroedinger\n  Equation in 3D: Higher spin (HS) fields naturally occur in string theory, they are considered\nas a candidate for dark matter and may also appear as a collective excitation\nin condensed matter systems. In some cases one may study the HS fields in the\nnon-relativistic settings. Thus, it is of interest to know the non-relativistic\nlimit of HS fields and how to find the Schroedinger equation as the dynamical\nequation in this limit. In this paper, we consider the non-relativistic limit\nof HS fields in Minkowskian spacetime in 3D. We work both at the level of\nequation of motion and action/Lagrangian density. We find the systematic\nprocedures in both settings and show that they can be generalized to arbitrary\nHS fields."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Solvable N=(4,4) Type IIA String Theory in Plane-Wave Background and\n  D-Branes: We study various aspects of N=(4,4) type IIA GS superstring theory in the\npp-wave background, which arises as the compactification of maximally\nsupersymmetric eleven-dimensional pp-wave geometry along the spacelike isometry\ndirection. We show the supersymmetry algebra of N=(4,4) worldsheet\nsupersymmetry as well as non-linearly realized supersymmetry. We also give\nquantization of closed string and open string incorporating various boundary\nconditions. From the open string boundary conditions, we find configurations of\nD-branes which preserve half the supersymmetries. Among these we identify D4\nbrane configurations with longitudinal five brane configurations in matrix\nmodel on the eleven-dimensional pp-wave geometry.",
        "positive": "Background Free Quantum Gravity based on Conformal Gravity and Conformal\n  Field Theory on M^4: We study four dimensional quantum gravity formulated as a certain conformal\nfield theory at the ultraviolet fixed point, whose dynamics is described by the\ncombined system of Riegert-Wess-Zumino and Weyl actions. Background free nature\ncomes out as quantum diffeomorphism symmetry by quantizing the conformal factor\nof the metric field nonperturbatively. In this paper, Minkowski background M^4\nis employed in practice. The generator of quantum diffeomorphism that forms\nconformal algebra is constructed. Using it, we study the composite scalar\noperator that becomes a good conformal field. We find that physical fields are\ndescribed by such scalar fields with conformal dimension 4. Consequently,\ntensor fields outside the unitarity bound are excluded. Computations of quantum\nalgebra on M^4 are carried out in the coordinate space using operator products\nof the fields. The nilpotent BRST operator is also constructed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Action complexity of charged black holes with higher derivative\n  interactions: Quantum complexity of CFT states can be computed holographically from the\ndual gravitational solutions. In this paper, we have studied the late time\ngrowth of holographic complexity of a charged black hole in five-dimensional,\nAnti-de Sitter spacetime in the presence of quartic derivative interaction\nterms using the Complexity = Action conjecture. These interaction terms in the\ngravitational action can lead to the violation of Llyod's bound. The dual CFT\nis known to admit a hydrodynamic description where the KSS bound is also\nviolated due to the presence of higher derivative terms in the bulk action. The\norigin of terms which violate both the bounds are the same for the\ngravitational action of consideration. We have also discussed the late time\ncomplexity growth rate of the Jackiw-Teitelboim (JT) model with higher\nderivative corrections.",
        "positive": "Born-Infeld Kinematics: We encode dynamical symmetries of Born-Infeld theory in a geometry on the\ntangent bundle of generally curved spacetime manifolds. The resulting covariant\nformulation of a maximal acceleration extension of special and general\nrelativity is put to use in the discussion of particular point particle\ndynamics and the transition to a first quantized theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauge Theories for Gravity on a Line: Professor M. C. Polivanov and I met only a few times, during my infrequent\nvisits to the-then Soviet Union in the 1970's and 1980's. His hospitality at\nthe Moscow Steclov Institute made the trips a pleasure, while the scientific\nenvironment that he provided made them professionally valuable. But it is the\nhuman contact that I remember most vividly and shall now miss after his death.\nAt a time when issues of conscience were both pressing for attention and\ndifficult/dangerous to confront, Professor Polivanov made a deep impression\nwith his quiet but adamant commitment to justice. I can only guess at the\nsatisfaction he must have felt when his goal of gaining freedom for Yuri Orlov\nwas attained, and even more so these days when human rights became defensible\nin his country; it is regrettable that he cannot now enjoy the future that he\nstrived to attain.\n  One of our joint interests was the Liouville theory,$^{1,\\,2}$ which in turn\ncan be viewed as a model for gravity in two-dimensional space-time. Some recent\ndevelopments in this field are here summarized and dedicated to Polivanov's\nmemory, with the hope that he would have enjoyed knowing about them.",
        "positive": "Complete Set of Commuting Symmetry Operators for the Klein-Gordon\n  Equation in Generalized Higher-Dimensional Kerr-NUT-(A)dS Spacetimes: We consider the Klein-Gordon equation in generalized higher-dimensional\nKerr-NUT-(A)dS spacetime without imposing any restrictions on the functional\nparameters characterizing the metric. We establish commutativity of the\nsecond-order operators constructed from the Killing tensors found in\narXiv:hep-th/0612029 and show that these operators, along with the first-order\noperators originating from the Killing vectors, form a complete set of\ncommuting symmetry operators (i.e., integrals of motion) for the Klein-Gordon\nequation. Moreover, we demonstrate that the separated solutions of the\nKlein-Gordon equation obtained in arXiv:hep-th/0611245 are joint eigenfunctions\nfor all of these operators. We also present explicit form of the zero mode for\nthe Klein-Gordon equation with zero mass.\n  In the semiclassical approximation we find that the separated solutions of\nthe Hamilton-Jacobi equation for geodesic motion are also solutions for a set\nof Hamilton-Jacobi-type equations which correspond to the quadratic conserved\nquantities arising from the above Killing tensors."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Colored Tensor Models - a Review: Colored tensor models have recently burst onto the scene as a promising\nconceptual and computational tool in the investigation of problems of random\ngeometry in dimension three and higher. We present a snapshot of the cutting\nedge in this rapidly expanding research field. Colored tensor models have been\nshown to share many of the properties of their direct ancestor, matrix models,\nwhich encode a theory of fluctuating two-dimensional surfaces. These features\ninclude the possession of Feynman graphs encoding topological spaces, a 1/N\nexpansion of graph amplitudes, embedded matrix models inside the tensor\nstructure, a resumable leading order with critical behavior and a continuum\nlarge volume limit, Schwinger-Dyson equations satisfying a Lie algebra (akin to\nthe Virasoro algebra in two dimensions), non-trivial classical solutions and so\non. In this review, we give a detailed introduction of colored tensor models\nand pointers to current and future research directions.",
        "positive": "Wilson Loops and Wormholes: We analyse the properties of Wilson loop observables for holographic gauge\ntheories, when the dual bulk geometries have a single and/or multiple\nboundaries (Euclidean spacetime wormholes). Such observables lead to a\ngeneralisation and refinement of the characterisation in arXiv:2202.01372 based\non the compressibility of cycles and the pinching limit of higher genus Riemann\nsurfaces, since they carry information about the dynamics and phase structure\nof the dual gauge theory of an arbitrary dimensionality. Finally, we describe\nhow backreacting correlated observables such as Wilson loops can lead to\nwormhole saddles in the dual gravitational path integral, by taking advantage\nof a representation theoretic entanglement structure proposed in\narXiv:2110.14655 and arXiv:2204.01764 ."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Matrix model approach to the N=2 U(N) gauge theory with matter in the\n  fundamental representation: We use matrix model technology to study the N=2 U(N) gauge theory with N_f\nmassive hypermultiplets in the fundamental representation. We perform a\ncompletely perturbative calculation of the periods a_i and the prepotential\nF(a) up to the first instanton level, finding agreement with previous results\nin the literature. We also derive the Seiberg-Witten curve and differential\nfrom the large-M solution of the matrix model. We show that the two cases N_f<N\nand N \\le N_f < 2N can be treated simultaneously.",
        "positive": "Local Casimir Energy for a Wedge with circular outer boundary: The local Casimir energy is investigated for a wedge with and without a\ncircular outer boundary due to the confinement of a massless scalar field with\ngeneral curvature coupling parameter and satisfying the Dirichlet boundary\nconditions. Regularization procedure is carried out making use of a variant of\nthe generalized Abel-Plana formula, previously established by one of the\nauthors. The surface divergences in the vacuum expectation values of the energy\ndensity near the boundaries are considered. The corresponding results can be\napplied to the cosmic strings."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fate of Chiral Symmetries in Supersymmetric Quantum Chromodynamics: In supersymmetric quantum chromodynamics with N_c-colors and N_f-flavors of\nquarks, our effective superpotential provides the alternative description to\nthe Seiberg's N=1 duality at least for N_f>=N_c+2, where spontaneous breakdown\nof chiral symmetries leads to SU(N_c)_{L+R}xSU(N_f-N_c)_LXSU(N_f-N_c)_R as a\nnonabelian chiral symmetry. The anomaly-matching is ensured by the presence of\nNambu-Goldstone superfields associated with this breaking and the instanton\ncontributions are properly equipped in the effective superpotential.",
        "positive": "Generalized Electromagnetic fields in Chiral Medium: The time dependent Dirac-Maxwell's Equations in presence of electric and\nmagnetic sources are written in chiral media and the solutions for the\nclassical problem are obtained in unique simple and consistent manner. The\nquaternion reformulation of generalized electromagnetic fields in chiral media\nhas also been developed in compact, simple and consistent manner."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Renormalization group flows in AdS and the bootstrap program: We study correlation functions of the bulk stress tensor and boundary\noperators in Quantum Field Theories (QFT) in Anti-de Sitter (AdS) space. In\nparticular, we derive new sum rules from the two-point function of the stress\ntensor and its three-point function with two boundary operators. In AdS2, this\nleads to a bootstrap setup that involves the central charge of the UV limit of\nthe bulk QFT and may allows us to follow a Renormalization Group (RG) flow\nnon-perturbatively by continuously varying the AdS radius. Along the way, we\nestablish the convergence properties of the newly discovered local block\ndecomposition of the three-point function.",
        "positive": "On the geometry of soft breaking terms and N=1 superpotentials: We describe, in the context of M-theory on elliptically fibered Calabi-yau\nfourfolds, the change of variables that allow us to pass from the U(1)\ninvariant elliptic fibration to the one describing the uncompactified four\ndimensional limit, where the U(1) symmetry is broken. These changes of\nvariables are the analog to the ones used to derive from the Atiyah-Hitchin\nspace the complex structure of the Seiberg-Witten solution for N=2\nsupersymmetric Yang-Mills. The connection between these changes of variables\nand the recently introduced rotation of branes is discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Renormalisation Group Improved Thermal Coupling Constant In An External\n  Field: Starting from renormalised Effective Lagrangian, in the presence of an\nexternal Chromo-Electric field at finite temperature, the expression for\nthermal coupling constant ($\\alpha = (g^2)/(4 \\pi)$) as a function of\ntemperature and external field is derived, using finite temperature two\nparameter renormalisation group equation of Matsumoto, Nakano and Umezawa. For\nsome values of the parameters, the coupling constant is seen to be approaching\na value $\\sim unity$.",
        "positive": "Intersection numbers of Riemann surfaces from Gaussian matrix models: We consider a Gaussian random matrix theory in the presence of an external\nmatrix source. This matrix model, after duality (a simple version of the\nclosed/open string duality), yields a generalized Kontsevich model through an\nappropriate tuning of the external source. The n-point correlation functions of\nthis theory are shown to provide the intersection numbers of the moduli space\nof curves with a p-spin structure, n marked points and top Chern class. This\nsheds some light on Witten's conjecture on the relationship with the pth-KdV\nequation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "No-Drag String Configurations for Steadily Moving Quark-Antiquark Pairs\n  in a Thermal Bath: We investigate the behavior of stationary string configurations on a\nfive-dimensional AdS black hole background which correspond to quark-antiquark\npairs steadily moving in an N=4 super Yang-Mills thermal bath. There are many\nbranches of solutions, depending on the quark velocity and separation as well\nas on whether Euclidean or Lorentzian configurations are examined.",
        "positive": "Correlation Functions of Local Operators in 2D Gravity Coupled to\n  Minimal Matter: Recent advances are being discussed on the calculation, within the conformal\nfield theory approach, of the correlation functions for local operators in the\ntheory of 2D gravity coupled to the minimal models of matter."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Higher derivative quantum gravity with torsion in the conformally\n  Self-Dual Limit: The path integral for higher-derivative quantum gravity with torsion is\nconsidered. Applying the methods of two-dimensional quantum gravity, this path\nintegral is analyzed in the limit of conformally self-dual metrics. A scaling\nlaw for fixed-volume geometry is obtained.",
        "positive": "Shear Viscosity from AdS Born-Infeld Black Holes: We calculate the shear viscosity in the frame of AdS/CFT correspondence for\nthe field theory with a gravity dual of Einstein-Born-Infeld gravity. We find\nthat the ratio of $\\eta/s$ is still the conjectured universal value $1/4\\pi$ at\nleast up to the first order of the Born-Infeld parameter $1/b^2$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Phase control of Schwinger pair production by colliding laser pulses: We study the Schwinger electron-positron pair production by a strong\nelectromagnetic field of two colliding e-polarized laser pulses with a relative\nphase shift $\\Psi$. The spatio-temporal distribution of created pairs is very\nsensitive to this phase shift and to polarization of the pulses. We study this\ndependence in detail and demonstrate how it can be explained in terms of the\nunderlying invariant field structure of the counterpropagating focused pulses.",
        "positive": "Vanishing Noether Current in Weyl Invariant Gravities: We revisit the issue that the Noether current associated with a local scale\nsymmtery, or equivalently the Weyl symmetry, identically vanishes. Based on\nonly the second Noether theorem for a local symmetry, we prove that the Noether\ncurrent associated with the Weyl symmetry is in general vanishing in any Weyl\ninvariant gravitational theories in four dimensional Riemannian geometry. We\nalso clarify the reason: The Weyl transformation is non-dynamical in the sense\nthat it does not contain the derivative term of the transformation parameter as\nopposed to the conventional gauge transformation. Finally, we apply this result\nto a quantum theory of a general Weyl invariant gravity and derive currents\nassociated with choral symmetry, which is the $IOSp(10|10)$ supersymmetry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Two-dimensional QCD and strings: A review is given of recent research on two-dimensional gauge theories, with\nparticular emphasis on the equivalence between these theories and certain\nstring theories with a two-dimensional target space. Some related open problems\nare discussed.",
        "positive": "On string theory on AdS_3 x S^3 x T^4 with mixed 3-form flux: tree-level\n  S-matrix: We consider superstring theory on AdS_3 x S^3 x T^4 supported by a\ncombination of RR and NSNS 3-form fluxes (with parameter of the NSNS 3-form q).\nThis theory interpolates between the pure RR flux model (q=0) whose spectrum is\nexpected to be described by a Bethe ansatz and the pure NSNS flux model (q=1)\nwhich is described by the supersymmetric extension of the SL(2,R) x SU(2) WZW\nmodel. As a first step towards the solution of this integrable theory for\ngeneric value of q we compute the corresponding tree-level S-matrix for massive\nBMN-type excitations. We find that this S-matrix has a surprisingly simple\ndependence on q: the diagonal amplitudes have exactly the same structure as in\nthe q=0 case but with the BMN dispersion relation e^2 = p^2 + 1 replaced by the\none with shifted momentum and mass, e^2 = (p + q)^2 + 1 - q^2. The off-diagonal\namplitudes are then determined from the classical Yang-Baxter equation. We also\nconstruct the Pohlmeyer reduced model corresponding to this superstring theory\nand find that it depends on q only through its mass-squared parameter\nproportional to (1-q^2), implying that its relativistic S-matrix is\nq-independent."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The symmetry of large N=4 holography: For the proposed duality relating a family of N=4 superconformal coset models\nto a certain supersymmetric higher spin theory on AdS_3, the asymptotic\nsymmetry algebra of the bulk description is determined. It is shown that,\ndepending on the choice of the boundary charges, one may obtain either the\nlinear or the non-linear superconformal algebra on the boundary. We compare the\nnon-linear version of the asymptotic symmetry algebra with the non-linear coset\nalgebra and find non-trivial agreement in the 't Hooft limit, thus giving\nstrong support for the proposed duality. As a by-product of our analysis we\nalso show that the W_infinity symmetry of the coset theory is broken under the\nexactly marginal perturbation that preserves the N=4 superconformal algebra.",
        "positive": "Plasma conductivity at finite coupling: By taking into account the full order(\\alpha'^3) type IIB string theory\ncorrections to the supergravity action, we compute the leading finite 't Hooft\ncoupling order(\\lambda^{-3/2}) corrections to the conductivity of\nstrongly-coupled SU(N) {\\cal {N}}=4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills plasma in the\nlarge N limit. We find that the conductivity is enhanced by the corrections, in\nagreement with the trend expected from previous perturbative weak-coupling\ncomputations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Lorentz-violating corrections on the hydrogen spectrum induced by a\n  non-minimal coupling: The influence of a Lorentz-violating fixed background on fermions is\nconsidered by means of a torsion-free non-minimal coupling. The\nnon-relativistic regime is assessed and the Lorentz-violating Hamiltonian is\ndetermined. The effect of this Hamiltonian on the hydrogen spectrum is\ndetermined to first-order evaluation (in the absence of external magnetic\nfield), revealing that there appear some energy shifts that modify the fine\nstructure of the spectrum. In the case the non-minimal coupling is\ntorsion-like, no first order correction shows up in the absence of an external\nfield; in the presence of an external field, a secondary Zeeman effect is\nimplied. Such effects are then used to set up stringent bounds on the\nparameters of the model.",
        "positive": "Zero modes in de Sitter background: There are five well-known zero modes among the fluctuations of the metric of\nde~Sitter (dS) spacetime. For Euclidean signature, they can be associated with\ncertain spherical harmonics on the $S^4$ sphere, viz., the vector\nrepresentation $\\bf5$ of the global $SO(5)$ isometry. They appear, for example,\nin the perturbative calculation of the on-shell effective action of dS space,\nas well as in models containing matter fields. These modes are shown to be\nassociated with collective modes of $S^4$ corresponding to certain coherent\nfluctuations. When dS space is embedded in flat five dimensions $E^5,$ they may\nbe seen as a legacy of translation of the center of the $S^4$ sphere. Rigid\ntranslations of the $S^4$-sphere on $E^5$ leave the classical action invariant\nbut are unobservable displacements from the point of view of gravitational\ndynamics on $S^4.$ Thus, unlike similar moduli, the center of the sphere is not\npromoted to a dynamical degree of freedom. As a result, these zero modes do not\nsignify the possibility of physically realizable fluctuations or flat\ndirections for the metric of dS space. They are not associated with Killing\nvectors on $S^4$ but can be with certain non-isometric, conformal Killing forms\nthat locally correspond to a rescaling of the volume element $dV_4.$\n  For convenience, we frame our discussion in the context of renormalizable\ngravity, but the conclusions apply equally to the corresponding zero modes in\nEinstein gravity. We expect that these zero modes will be present to all orders\nin perturbation theory. They will occur for Lorentzian signature as well, so\nlong as the hyperboloid $H^4$ is locally stable, but there remain certain\ninfrared issues that need to be clarified. We conjecture that they will appear\nin any gravitational theory having dS background as a locally stable solution\nof the effective action, regardless of whether additional matter is included."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Matrix Models, Argyres-Douglas singularities and double scaling limits: We construct an N=1 theory with gauge group U(nN) and degree n+1 tree level\nsuperpotential whose matrix model spectral curve develops an A_{n+1}\nArgyres-Douglas singularity. We evaluate the coupling constants of the\nlow-energy U(1)^n theory and show that the large N expansion is singular at the\nArgyres-Douglas points. Nevertheless, it is possible to define appropriate\ndouble scaling limits which are conjectured to yield four dimensional\nnon-critical string theories as proposed by Ferrari. In the Argyres-Douglas\nlimit the n-cut spectral curve degenerates into a solution with n/2 cuts for\neven n and (n+1)/2 cuts for odd n.",
        "positive": "Holographic microstate counting for AdS$_4$ black holes in massive IIA\n  supergravity: We derive the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy for a class of BPS black holes in\nthe massive type IIA supergravity background AdS$_4 \\times S^6$ from a\nmicroscopic counting of supersymmetric ground states in a holographically dual\nfield theory. The counting is performed by evaluating the topologically twisted\nindex of three-dimensional $\\mathcal{N}=2$ Chern-Simons-matter gauge theories\nin the large $N$ limit. The $\\mathcal{I}$-extremization principle is shown to\nmatch the attractor mechanism for the near-horizon geometries constructed in\nthe four-dimensional dyonic $\\mathcal{N}=2$ gauged supergravity, that arises as\na consistent truncation of massive type IIA supergravity on $S^6$. In\nparticular, our results prove that the imaginary part of the three-dimensional\npartition functions plays a crucial r\\^ole in holography."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supergravity from Bosonic String: Deser-Zumino supergravity action for the graviton and gravitino pair, in four\ndimensions is deduced from the Nambu-Goto string action of the 26 dimension\nusing the Principle of Equivalence.",
        "positive": "Sklyanin Bracket and Deformation of the Calogero-Moser System: A two-dimensional integrable system being a deformation of the rational\nCalogero-Moser system is constructed via the symplectic reduction, performed\nwith respect to the Sklyanin algebra action. We explicitly resolve the\nrespective classical equations of motion via the projection method and quantize\nthe system."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Static brane--like vacuum solutions in D \\ge 5 dimensional spacetime\n  with positive ADM mass but no horizon: We describe static, brane--like, solutions to vacuum Einstein's equations in\nD = n + m + 2 dimensional spacetime with m \\ge 2 and n \\ge 1. These solutions\nhave positive ADM mass but no horizon. The curvature invariants are finite\neverywhere except at r = 0 where r is the radial coordinate in the m + 1\ndimensional space. The presence of n \\ge 1 extra dimensions is crucial for\nthese properties. Such solutions may be naturally anticipated if Mathur's\nfuzzball proposal for black holes is correct.",
        "positive": "Self-energy problem, vacuum polarization, and dual symmetry in\n  Born-Infeld-type $U(1)$ gauge theories: We extensively explore three different aspects of Born-Infeld (BI) type\nnonlinear $U(1)$ gauge-invariant modifications of Maxwell's classical\nelectrodynamics (also known as BI-type nonlinear electrodynamics) and bring\nsome new perspectives on these theories. First, within the framework of\nexponential $U(1)$ gauge theory, it is explicitly proved that although the\nelectric field at the location of the elementary point charges is not finite,\nbut the total electrostatic field energy is finite. Motivated by this\nobservation together with a wealth of evidence, we conjecture that all theories\nin 4-dimensional spacetime that belong to the BI family result in finite\nself-energy for elementary charged particles. In higher dimensions, it is found\nthat the weak-field coupling limit of BI-type theories, which is identified as\nthe weak field limit of effective Euler-Heisenberg (EH) theory, does not\npossess a regularizing ability to make the self-energy of a point charge\nfinite, which implies that the conjecture may not hold for some BI-type\ntheories. However, we explicitly prove that BI, logarithmic and exponential\n$U(1)$ gauge theories in arbitrary dimensions result in finite self-energy as\nwell. Next, we classically study the problem of vacuum polarization effects and\nthen systematically make a connection between all BI-type theories and QED. It\nis shown that all the BI-type theories classically predict the vacuum\npolarization effects, in which the final results are exactly in one-to-one\ncorrespondence with QED and the effective EH theory up to the leading order of\ncorrections. Finally, we present a new, simple proof indicating that ..."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Causality constraints on nonlinear supersymmetry: It is well-known that gravitino propagation in standard supergravities is\nfree of any causality problems. However, two issues related to gravitino\npropagation were recently uncovered in specific supergravities with nonlinear\nsupersymmetry. One of them concerns potential acausality/superluminality,\nwhereas the second one arises from the vanishing of the sound speed at specific\npoints during inflation. The former is famously related to positivity\nconstraints on specific EFT operators, derived from dispersion relations on the\nenergy-growing part of scattering amplitudes, and indeed we show that\nsubluminality constraints for the gravitino are related via the equivalence\ntheorem to positivity bounds in low-energy goldstino actions. However, the\nformer are stronger, in the sense that they apply to functions of the scalar\nfields not only in the ground state, but for any field values such as those\nscanned by time-dependent solutions, unlike bounds derived from $2\\to 2$\nscattering amplitudes in the vacuum. We also argue that nontrivial causality\nconstraints arise only in the case where nonlinear supersymmetry in the matter\nsector is encoded into superfield constraints which do not seem to arise from\nmicroscopic two-derivative lagrangians, in particular for the orthogonal\nconstraint used to build minimal models of inflation in supergravity. This\nallows us to propose simple alternatives which maintain the minimality of the\nspectra and are causal in all points of the theory parameter space. We also\ndiscuss minimal supergravity models of inflation along these lines.",
        "positive": "Casimir Forces in CFT with Defects and Boundaries: We investigate the quantum forces occurring between the defects and/or\nboundaries of a conformal field theory (CFT). We propose to model imperfect\ndefects and boundaries as localized relevant double-trace operators that deform\nthe CFT. Our focus is on pointlike and codimension-one planar defects. In the\ncase of two parallel membranes, we point out that the CFT 2-point function\ntends to get confined and develops a tower of resonances with constant decay\nrate when the operator dimension approaches the free field dimension. Using a\nfunctional formalism, we compute the quantum forces induced by the CFT between\na variety of configurations of pointlike defects, infinite plates and\nmembranes. Consistency arguments imply that these quantum forces are attractive\nat any distance. Forces of Casimir-Polder type appear in the UV, while forces\nof Casimir type appear in the IR, in which case the CFT gets repelled from the\ndefects. Most of the forces behave as a non-integer power of the separation,\ncontrolled by the dimension of the double-trace deformation. In the Casimir\nregime of the membrane-membrane configuration, the quantum pressure behaves\nuniversally as $1/\\ell^d$, however information about the double-trace nature of\nthe defects still remains encoded in the strength of the pressure."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Local Spacetime Physics from the Grassmannian: A duality has recently been conjectured between all leading singularities of\nn-particle N^(k-2)MHV scattering amplitudes in N=4 SYM and the residues of a\ncontour integral with a natural measure over the Grassmannian G(k,n). In this\nnote we show that a simple contour deformation converts the sum of Grassmannian\nresidues associated with the BCFW expansion of NMHV tree amplitudes to the CSW\nexpansion of the same amplitude. We propose that for general k the same\ndeformation yields the (k-2) parameter Risager expansion. We establish this\nequivalence for all MHV-bar amplitudes and show that the Risager degrees of\nfreedom are non-trivially determined by the GL(k-2) \"gauge\" degrees of freedom\nin the Grassmannian. The Risager expansion is known to recursively construct\nthe CSW expansion for all tree amplitudes, and given that the CSW expansion\nfollows directly from the (super) Yang-Mills Lagrangian in light-cone gauge,\nthis contour deformation allows us to directly see the emergence of local\nspace-time physics from the Grassmannian.",
        "positive": "World-Volume Effective Theory for Higher-Dimensional Black Holes: We argue that the main feature behind novel properties of higher-dimensional\nblack holes, compared to four-dimensional ones, is that their horizons can have\ntwo characteristic lengths of very different size. We develop a long-distance\nworldvolume effective theory that captures the black hole dynamics at scales\nmuch larger than the short scale. In this limit the black hole is regarded as a\nblackfold: a black brane (possibly boosted locally) whose worldvolume spans a\ncurved submanifold of the spacetime. This approach reveals black objects with\nnovel horizon geometries and topologies more complex than the black ring, but\nmore generally it provides a new organizing framework for the dynamics of\nhigher-dimensional black holes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "New Horizons for Black Holes and Branes: We initiate a systematic scan of the landscape of black holes in any\nspacetime dimension using the recently proposed blackfold effective worldvolume\ntheory. We focus primarily on asymptotically flat stationary vacuum solutions,\nwhere we uncover large classes of new black holes. These include helical black\nstrings and black rings, black odd-spheres, for which the horizon is a product\nof a large and a small sphere, and non-uniform black cylinders. More exotic\npossibilities are also outlined. The blackfold description recovers correctly\nthe ultraspinning Myers-Perry black holes as ellipsoidal even-ball\nconfigurations where the velocity field approaches the speed of light at the\nboundary of the ball. Helical black ring solutions provide the first instance\nof asymptotically flat black holes in more than four dimensions with a single\nspatial U(1) isometry. They also imply infinite rational non-uniqueness in\nultraspinning regimes, where they maximize the entropy among all stationary\nsingle-horizon solutions. Moreover, static blackfolds are possible with the\ngeometry of minimal surfaces. The absence of compact embedded minimal surfaces\nin Euclidean space is consistent with the uniqueness theorem of static black\nholes.",
        "positive": "Supermembranes and Super Matrix Models: We review recent developments in the theory of supermembranes and their\nrelation to matrix models."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Noncommutative Chern-Simons gauge and gravity theories and their\n  geometric Seiberg-Witten map: We use a geometric generalization of the Seiberg-Witten map between\nnoncommutative and commutative gauge theories to find the expansion of\nnoncommutative Chern-Simons (CS) theory in any odd dimension $D$ and at first\norder in the noncommutativity parameter $\\theta$. This expansion extends the\nclassical CS theory with higher powers of the curvatures and their derivatives.\n  A simple explanation of the equality between noncommutative and commutative\nCS actions in $D=1$ and $D=3$ is obtained. The $\\theta$ dependent terms are\npresent for $D\\geq 5$ and give a higher derivative theory on commutative space\nreducing to classical CS theory for $\\theta\\to 0$. These terms depend on the\nfield strength and not on the bare gauge potential.\n  In particular, as for the Dirac-Born-Infeld action, these terms vanish in the\nslowly varying field strength approximation: in this case noncommutative and\ncommutative CS actions coincide in any dimension.\n  The Seiberg-Witten map on the $D=5$ noncommutative CS theory is explored in\nmore detail, and we give its second order $\\theta$-expansion for any gauge\ngroup. The example of extended $D=5$ CS gravity, where the gauge group is\n$SU(2,2)$, is treated explicitly.",
        "positive": "Black Hole Evaporation. A Survey: This thesis is a review of black hole evaporation with emphasis on recent\nresults obtained for two dimensional black holes. First, the geometry of the\nmost general stationary black hole in four dimensions is described and some\nclassical quantities are defined. Then, a derivation of the spectrum of the\nradiation emitted during the evaporation is presented. In section four, a two\ndimensional model which has black hole solutions is introduced, the so-called\nCGHS model. These two dimensional black holes are found to evaporate. Unlike\nthe four dimensional case, the evaporation process can be studied analytically\nas long as the mass of the black hole is well above the two dimensional analog\nof the Planck mass. Finally, some proposals for resolving the so-called\ninformation paradox are reviewed and it is concluded that none of them is fully\nsatisfactory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On The Characters of Parafermionic Field Theories: We study cosets of the type $H_l/U(1)^r$, where $H$ is any Lie algebra at\nlevel $l$ and rank $r$. These theories are parafermionic and their characters\nare related to the string functions, which are generating functions for the\nmultiplicities of weights in the affine representations. An identity for the\ncharacters is described, which apply to all the algebras and all the levels.\nThe expression is of the Rogers Ramanujan type. We verify this conjecture, for\nmany algebras and levels, using Freudenthal Kac formula, which calculates the\nmultiplicities in the affine representations, recursively, up to some grade.\nOur conjecture encapsulates all the known results about these string functions,\nalong with giving a vast wealth of new ones.",
        "positive": "Perturbative Chern-Simons Theory From The Penner Model: We show explicitly that the perturbative SU(N) Chern-Simons theory arises\nnaturally from two Penner models, with opposite coupling constants. As a result\ncomputations in the perturbative Chern-Simons theory are carried out using the\nPenner model, and it turns out to be simpler and transparent. It is also shown\nthat the connected correlators of the puncture operator in the Penner model,\nare related to the connected correlators of the operator that gives the Wilson\nloop operator in the conjugacy class."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dispersion Relations in Non-Linear Electrodynamics and the Kinematics of\n  the Compton Effect in a Magnetic Background: Non-linear electrodynamic models are re-assessed in this paper to pursue an\ninvestigation of the kinematics of the Compton effect in a magnetic background.\nBefore considering specific models, we start off by presenting a general\nnon-linear Lagrangian built up in terms of the most general Lorentz- and\ngauge-invariant combinations of the electric and magnetic fields. The extended\nMaxwell-like equations and the energy-momentum tensor conservation are\npresented and discussed in their generality. We next expand the fields around a\nuniform and time-independent electric and magnetic backgrounds up to second\norder in the propagating wave, and compute dispersion relations which account\nfor the effect of the external fields. We obtain thereby the refraction index\nand the group velocity for the propagating radiation in different situations.\nIn particular, we focus on the kinematics of the Compton effect in presence of\nexternal magnetic fields. This yields constraints that relate the derivatives\nof the general Lagrangian with respect to the field invariants and the magnetic\nbackground under consideration. We carry out our inspection by focusing on some\nspecific non-linear electrodynamic effective models: Hoffmann-Infeld,\nEuler-Heisenberg, generalized Born-Infeld and Logarithmic.",
        "positive": "Thermodynamics of massless particles in curved spacetime: This work is devoted to study the behavior of massless particles within the\ncontext of curved spacetime. In essence, we investigate the consequences of the\nscale factor $C(\\eta)$ of the Friedmann-Robertson-Walker metric in the\nEinstein-aether formalism to study photon-like particles. To do so, we consider\nthe system within the canonical ensemble formalism in order to derive the\nfollowing thermodynamic state quantities: spectral radiance, Helmholtz free\nenergy, pressure, entropy, mean energy and the heat capacity. Moreover, the\ncorrection to the Stefan-Boltzmann law and the equation of states are also\nprovide. Particularly, we separate our study within three distinct cases, i.e.,\n$s=0,p=0$; $s=1,p=1$; $s=2,p=1$. In the first one, the results are derived\nnumerically. Nevertheless, for the rest of the cases, all the calculations are\naccomplished analytically showing explicitly the dependence of the scale factor\n$C(\\eta)$ and the Riemann zeta function $\\xi(s)$. Furthermore, our analyses are\naccomplished in general taking into account three different regimes of\ntemperature of the universe, i.e., the inflationary era ($T=10^{13}$ GeV), the\nelectroweak epoch ($T=10^{3}$ GeV) and the cosmic microwave background\n($T=10^{-13}$ GeV)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the High-Temperature Behaviour of the Closed Superstring: The high-temperature expansion for closed superstring one-loop free energy is\nstudied. The Laurent series representation is obtained and its sum is\nanalytically continued in order to investigate the nature of the critical\n(Hagedorn) temperature. It is found that beyond this critical temperature the\nstatistical sum contribution of the free energy is finite but has an imaginary\npart, signalling a possible metastability of the system.",
        "positive": "Holographic Two-Point Functions in Conformal Gravity: In this paper we compute the holographic two-point functions of four\ndimensional conformal gravity. Precisely we calculate the two-point functions\nfor Energy- Momentum (EM) and Partially Massless Response (PMR) operators that\nhave been identified as two response functions for two independent sources in\nthe dual CFT. The correlation function of EM with PMR tensors turns out to be\nzero which is expected according to the conformal symmetry. The two-point\nfunction of EM is that of a transverse and traceless tensor, and the two-point\nfunction of PMR which is a traceless operator contains two distinct parts, one\nfor a transverse-traceless tensor operator and another one for a vector field,\nboth of which fulfill criteria of a CFT. We also discuss about the unitarity of\nthe theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Three puzzles in cosmology: Cosmology presents us with several puzzles that are related to the\nfundamental structure of quantum theory. We discuss three such puzzles, linking\nthem to effects that arise in black hole physics. We speculate that puzzles in\ncosmology may be resolved by the vecro structure of the vacuum that resolves\nthe information paradox and the `bags of gold' problem for black holes.",
        "positive": "Tunneling decay of false kinks: We consider the decay of \"false kinks,\" that is, kinks formed in a scalar\nfield theory with a pair of degenerate symmetry-breaking false vacua in 1+1\ndimensions. The true vacuum is symmetric. A second scalar field and a peculiar\npotential are added in order for the kink to be classically stable. We find an\nexpression for the decay rate of a false kink. As with any tunneling event, the\nrate is proportional to $\\exp(-S_E)$ where $S_E$ is the Euclidean action of the\nbounce describing the tunneling event. This factor varies wildly depending on\nthe parameters of the model. Of interest is the fact that for certain\nparameters $S_E$ can get arbitrarily small, implying that the kink is only\nbarely stable. Thus, while the false vacuum itself may be very long-lived, the\npresence of kinks can give rise to rapid vacuum decay."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Conformal and non-conformal hyperloop deformations of the 1/2 BPS circle: We construct new large classes of BPS Wilson hyperloops in three-dimensional\n${\\cal N}=4$ quiver Chern-Simons-matter theory on $S^3$. The main strategy is\nto start with the 1/2 BPS Wilson loop of this theory, choose any linear\ncombination of the supercharges it preserves, and look for deformations built\nout of the matter fields that still preserve that supercharge. This is a\npowerful generalization of a recently developed approach based on deformations\nof 1/4 and 1/8 BPS bosonic loops, which itself was far more effective at\ndiscovering new operators than older methods relying on complicated ansatze. We\ndiscover many new moduli spaces of BPS hyperloops preserving varied numbers of\nsupersymmetries and varied subsets of the symmetries of the 1/2 BPS operator.\nIn particular, we find new bosonic operators preserving 2 or 3 supercharges as\nwell as new families of loops that do not share supercharges with any bosonic\nloops, including subclasses of both 1/8 and 1/4 BPS loops that are conformal.",
        "positive": "N=1 Dualities of SO and USp Gauge Theories and T-Duality of String\n  Theory: Extending recent work on SU gauge theory, we engineer local string models for\nN=1 four-dimensional SO and USp gauge theories coupled to matter in the\nfundamental. The local models are type IIB orientifolds with D7 branes on a\ncurved orientifold 7-plane, and matter realized by adding D3 branes on the\norientifold plane. The Higgs branches of the SO and USp theories can be matched\nwith the moduli spaces of SO and USp instantons on the compact four-dimensional\npart of the D7 branes worldvolume. The R-charge of the gauge theories is\nidentified with a U(1) symmetry on the worldvolume of an Euclidean D3 brane\ninstanton. We argue that the quantum field theory dualities of these gauge\ntheories arise from T-dualities of type IIB strings exchanging D7 and D3\ncharges. A crucial role is played by the induced D3 charge of D7 branes and an\norientifold 7-plane, both partially compactified on a $Z_2$ orbifold of K3."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Braided Momentum Structure of the q-Poincare Group: The $q$-Poincar\\'e group of \\cite{SWW:inh} is shown to have the structure of\na semidirect product and coproduct $B\\cocross \\widetilde{SO_q(1,3)}$ where $B$\nis a braided-quantum group structure on the $q$-Minkowski space of 4-momentum\nwith braided-coproduct $\\und\\Delta \\vecp=\\vecp\\tens 1+1\\tens \\vecp$. Here the\nnecessary $B$ is not a usual kind of quantum group, but one with braid\nstatistics. Similar braided-vectors and covectors $V(R')$, $V^*(R')$ exist for\na general R-matrix. The abstract structure of the $q$-Lorentz group is also\nstudied.",
        "positive": "Abelian Chern-Simons theory with toral gauge group, modular tensor\n  categories, and group categories: Classical and quantum Chern-Simons with gauge group $\\text{U}(1)^N$ were\nclassified by Belov and Moore in \\cite{belov_moore}. They studied both ordinary\ntopological quantum field theories as well as spin theories. On the other hand\na correspondence is well known between ordinary $(2+1)$-dimensional TQFTs and\nmodular tensor categories. We study group categories and extend them slightly\nto produce modular tensor categories that correspond to toral Chern-Simons.\nGroup categories have been widely studied in other contexts in the literature\n\\cite{frolich_kerler},\\cite{quinn},\\cite{joyal_street},\\cite{eno},\\cite{dgno}.\nThe main result is a proof that the associated projective representation of the\nmapping class group is isomorphic to the one from toral Chern-Simons. We also\nremark on an algebraic theorem of Nikulin that is used in this paper."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Membrane Dynamics in Three dimensional N=6 Supersymmetric Chern-Simons\n  Theory: We study the membrane scattering in the three-dimensional N=6 supersymmetric\nChern-Simons theory recently constructed by Aharony, Bergman, Jafferis and\nMaldacena and conjectured to be dual to M-theory on $AdS_4 \\times S^7/Z_k$. We\ncompute the one-loop effective action up to the $v^4$ terms in the derivative\nexpansion and find exact agreement with the results from the supergravity\ncomputations. In particular, our results imply that the $v^2$ term is not\nrenormalized and tree-level exact.",
        "positive": "'t Hooft vortices and phases of large N gauge theory: It is shown that a pair of vortex and anti-vortex is completely screened in\n2+1 dimensional Yang-Mills theory and 3+1 dimensional Yang-Mills theory in the\nstrong coupling limit, based on the recent conjecture of Maldacena. This is\nconsistent with the fact that these theories exhibit confinement."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Jet Quenching Parameter with Hyperscaling Violation: In this paper we study the behavior of jet quenching parameter in the\nbackground metric with hyperscaling violation at finite temperature.The\nbackground metric is covariant under a generalized Lifshitz scaling symmetry\nwith the dynamical exponent z and hyperscaling exponent $\\theta$. We evaluate\nthe jet quenching parameter for certain range of these parameters consistent\nwith the Gubser bound conditions in terms of T, z and $\\theta$. We compare our\nresults with those from conformal case and experimental data. Then we add a\nconstant electric field to this background and find its effect on the jet\nquenching parameter.",
        "positive": "On Quantum Black Holes: A pedagogical discussion is given of some aspects of \\lq\\lq quantum black\nholes\", primarily using recently developed two-dimensional models. After a\nshort preliminary concerning classical black holes, we give several motivations\nfor studying such models, especially the so called dilaton gravity models in\n$1+1$ dimensions. Particularly attractive is the one proposed by\nCallan,Giddings, Harvey and Strominger (CGHS), which is classically solvable\nand contains black hole solutions. Its semi-classical as well as classical\nproperties will be reviewed, including how a flux of matter fields produces a\nblack hole with a subsequent emission of Hawking radiation. Breakdown of such\nan approximation near the horizon, however, calls for exactly solvable variants\nof this model and some attempts in this direction will then be described. A\nfocus will be placed on a model with 24 matter fields, for which exact\nquantization can be performed and physical states constructed. A method will\nthen be proposed to extract space-time geometry described by these states in\nthe sense of quantum average and examples containing a black hole will be\npresented. Finally we give a (partial) list of future problems and discuss the\nnature of difficulties in resolving them."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Gravity Dual of Supersymmetric Renyi Entropy: Supersymmetric Renyi entropies are defined for three-dimensional N=2\nsuperconformal field theories on a branched covering of a three-sphere by using\nthe localized partition functions. Under a conformal transformation, the\nbranched covering is mapped to S^1 x H^2, whose gravity dual is the charged\ntopological AdS_4 black hole. The black hole can be embedded into\nfour-dimensional N=2 gauged supergravity where the mass and charge are related\nso that it preserves half of the supersymmetries. We compute the supersymmetric\nRenyi entropies with and without a certain type of Wilson loop operators in the\ngravity theory. We find they agree with those of the dual field theories in the\nlarge-N limit.",
        "positive": "Descent Relations in Type 0A/0B: The type 0 theories have twice as many stable D-branes as the type II\ntheories. In light of this added complication, we find the descent relations\nfor D-branes in the type 0A and 0B theories. In addition, we work out how the\ntwo types of D-branes differ in their couplings to NS-NS fields."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Comment on thickness-corrections to Nambu-wall: We comment on some calculations concerning the finite-thickness corrections\nto the (generalized) Nambu action for a curved domain wall in Minkowski space.\nContrary to a recent claim in the literature, we find no first order\ncorrections in the wall-thickness, and only one second order correction\nproportional to the Ricci curvature of the wall. These results are obtained by\nconsistently expanding the action and the equations of motion for the scalar\nfield.",
        "positive": "Carroll Limit of Non-BPS Dp-Brane: We find Carroll non-BPS Dp-brane action by performing Carroll limit of a\ncanonical form of unstable Dp-brane action. We analyze different Carroll limits\nand discuss solutions of the equations of motion of Carroll non-BPS Dp-brane at\nthe tachyon vacuum."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A New Class of Non-canonical Conformal Attractors for Multifield\n  Inflation: We propose a new broad class of multi-field non-canonical inflationary models\nas an extension of multi-field conformal cosmological attractors. This also\ngeneralizes the recently discovered class of non-canonical conformal attractors\nfor single field inflation. Kinetic terms of this class of models are\nphenomenologically arising from ${\\cal N}=1$ supergravity and from ${\\cal N}=1$\nsuperconformal theory, with two conformal scalar compensator fields in the\nlatter. We show that the inflationary dynamics and predictions of this class of\nmodels are stable with respect to the significant modification of both radial\nand angular part of the potential, but it is very sensitive to its minuscule\nmodification in the geometry of the field space metric. We also show that our\nframework can pass the latest observational constraints set by Planck 2018.",
        "positive": "The instability of $AdS$ black holes with lattices: The Anti-de Sitter (AdS) black hole with lattice structure plays an essential\nrole in the study of the optical conductivity in holographic approach. We\ninvestigate the instability of this sort of black holes which may lead to the\nholographic description of charge density waves. In the presence of homogeneous\naxion fields, we show that the instability of AdS-Reissner-Nordstr\\\"om(AdS-RN)\nblack hole is always suppressed. However, in the presence of Q-lattices, we\nfind that the unstable region becomes the smallest in the vicinity of the\ncritical region for metal/insulator phase transition. This novel phenomenon is\nreminiscent of the behavior of the holographic entanglement entropy during\nquantum phase transition."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "De Sitter solutions in N=4 matter coupled supergravity: We investigate the scalar potential of gauged N=4 supergravity with matter.\nThe extremum in the SU(1,1)/U(1) scalars is obtained for an arbitrary number of\nmatter multiplets. The constraints on the matter scalars are solved in terms of\nan explicit parametrisation of an\n  SO(6,6+n) element. For the case of six matter multiplets we discuss both\ncompact and noncompact gauge groups.\n  In an example involving noncompact groups and four scalars we find a\npotential with an absolute minimum and a positive cosmological constant.",
        "positive": "Asymptotic safety and field parametrization dependence in the f(R)\n  truncation: We study the dependence on field parametrization of the functional\nrenormalization group equation in the $f(R)$ truncation for the effective\naverage action. We perform a systematic analysis of the dependence of fixed\npoints and critical exponents in polynomial truncations. We find that, beyond\nthe Einstein-Hilbert truncation, results are qualitatively different depending\non the choice of parametrization. In particular, we observe that there are two\ndifferent classes of fixed points, one with three relevant directions and the\nother with two. The computations are performed in the background approximation.\nWe compare our results with the available literature and analyze how different\nschemes in the regularizations can affect the fixed point structure."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The type II superstring to order theta^4: The Green-Schwarz superstring action in a general type IIA or IIB\nsupergravity background is derived up to fourth order in the Grassmann-odd\ncoordinates theta. This is done by solving the superspace Bianchi identities\norder by order in theta, to quadratic order for all superfields and to quartic\norder for the supervielbeins. For a large class of backgrounds it is possible\nto fix the kappa symmetry in such a way that the action actually terminates at\nthe quartic order in theta.",
        "positive": "Bootstrapping the $a$-anomaly in $4d$ QFTs: Episode II: As recently shown, the a-anomaly of the UV fixed point of 4d quantum field\ntheories, can be constrained by studying scattering amplitudes. The basic idea\nis to couple the QFT to a dilaton and impose unitarity of the scattering\namplitudes of physical particles and probe dilatons. In this work we find new\nlower bounds on the $a$-anomaly in several gapped QFTs containing different\nnumbers of stable scalar particles."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum mechanics of bipartite ribbon graphs: Integrality, Lattices and\n  Kronecker coefficients: We define solvable quantum mechanical systems on a Hilbert space spanned by\nbipartite ribbon graphs with a fixed number of edges. The Hilbert space is also\nan associative algebra, where the product is derived from permutation group\nproducts. The existence and structure of this Hilbert space algebra has a\nnumber of consequences. The algebra product, which can be expressed in terms of\ninteger ribbon graph reconnection coefficients, is used to define solvable\nHamiltonians with eigenvalues expressed in terms of normalized characters of\nsymmetric group elements and degeneracies given in terms of Kronecker\ncoefficients, which are tensor product multiplicities of symmetric group\nrepresentations. The square of the Kronecker coefficient for a triple of Young\ndiagrams is shown to be equal to the dimension of a sub-lattice in the lattice\nof ribbon graphs. This leads to an answer to the long-standing question of a\ncombinatoric interpretation of the Kronecker coefficients. As an avenue to\nexplore quantum supremacy and its implications for computational complexity\ntheory, we outline experiments to detect non-vanishing Kronecker coefficients\nfor hypothetical quantum realizations/simulations of these quantum systems. The\ncorrespondence between ribbon graphs and Belyi maps leads to an interpretation\nof these quantum mechanical systems in terms of quantum membrane world-volumes\ninterpolating between string geometries.",
        "positive": "Quantum mechanics as a measurement theory on biconformal space: Biconformal spaces contain the essential elements of quantum mechanics,\nmaking the independent imposition of quantization unnecessary. Based on three\npostulates characterizing motion and measurement in biconformal geometry, we\nderive standard quantum mechanics, and show how the need for probability\namplitudes arises from the use of a standard of measurement. Additionally, we\nshow that a postulate for unique, classical motion yields Hamiltonian dynamics\nwith no measurable size changes, while a postulate for probabilistic evolution\nleads to physical dilatations manifested as measurable phase changes. Our\nresults lead to the Feynman path integral formulation, from which follows the\nSchroedinger equation. We discuss the Heisenberg uncertainty relation and\nfundamental canonical commutation relations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Poincare' Quasi-Hopf Symmetry and Non-Associative Spacetime Algebra from\n  Twisted Gauge Theories: In previous work, starting from the Moyal plane, we formulated interacting\ntheories of matter and gauge fields with only the former fields twisted. In\nthis approach, gauge theories, including the standard model, can be formulated\nwithout new gauge degrees of freedom. We show their underlying symmetry algebra\nto be Poincar\\'e quasi-Hopf . The associated spacetime algebra is hence\nnon-associative.",
        "positive": "Exact classical solutions of nonlinear sigma models on supermanifolds: We study two-dimensional nonlinear sigma models with target spaces being the\ncomplex super Grassmannian manifolds, that is, coset supermanifolds\n$G(m,p|n,q)\\cong U(m|n)/[U(p|q)\\otimes U(m-p|n-q)]$ for $0\\leq p \\leq m$,\n$0\\leq q \\leq n$ and $1\\leq p+q$. The projective superspace ${\\bf CP}^{m-1|n}$\nis a special case of $p=1$, $q=0$. For the two-dimensional Euclidean base\nspace, a wide class of exact classical solutions (or harmonic maps) are\nconstructed explicitly and elementarily in terms of Gramm-Schmidt\northonormalisation procedure starting from holomorphic bosonic and fermionic\nsupervector input functions. The construction is a generalisation of the\nnon-super case published more than twenty years ago by one of the present\nauthors."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Operator product expansion for conformal defects: We study the operator product expansion (OPE) for scalar conformal defects of\nany codimension in CFT. The OPE for defects is decomposed into \"defect OPE\nblocks\", the irreducible representations of the conformal group, each of which\npackages the contribution from a primary operator and its descendants. We use\nthe shadow formalism to deduce an integral representation of the defect OPE\nblocks. They are shown to obey a set of constraint equations that can be\nregarded as equations of motion for a scalar field propagating on the moduli\nspace of the defects. By employing the Radon transform between the AdS space\nand the moduli space, we obtain a formula of constructing an AdS scalar field\nfrom the defect OPE block for a conformal defect of any codimension in a scalar\nrepresentation of the conformal group, which turns out to be the Euclidean\nversion of the HKLL formula. We also introduce a duality between conformal\ndefects of different codimensions and prove the equivalence between the defect\nOPE block for codimension-two defects and the OPE block for a pair of local\noperators.",
        "positive": "Semiclassics of three-dimensional SCFTs from holography: We use holography to compute the large-$N$ effective field theory along the\nmoduli space of vacua of an infinite class of three-dimensional $\\mathcal{N}=2$\nSCFTs admitting a dual M-theory description. We focus in particular on toric\nmodels and show how the spectrum of large $R$-charge SCFT chiral scalar\noperators corresponds to a set of explicit semiclassical solutions of our\neffective field theory, which describe bound states of backreacting giant\ngravitons and baryonic-like M5-branes. Our semiclassical description allows for\na direct computation of the scaling dimensions of these operators and provides\na starting point for a semiclassical investigation of the SCFT data in the\nlarge $R$-charge sector. We consider the models corresponding to the\n$Y^{12}(\\mathbb{P}^2)$ and $Q^{111}$ Sasaki-Einstein spaces as explicit\nexamples."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Massive and Massless Black Holes: We review some recent work on the existence and classification of extreme\nblack-hole-type solutions in N=8 supergravity. For the black holes considered\n(those that are also solutions of N=4 supergravity and of the\nEinstein-Maxwell-dilaton theory with coupling a) a complete classification is\nachieved: the only possible values of a are \\sqrt{3},1,1/\\sqrt{3},0. Up to U\nduality transformations there is only one solution for each of those values.\nThe exception is a=0 for which an additional extreme but non-supersymmetric\nReissner-Nordstr\\\"om black hole solution exists. We also study the so-called\nmassless black-hole solutions. We argue that they can be understood as\ncomposite objects. At least one of the components would have ``negative mass''.\nWe also argue that these states, being annihilated by all the generators in the\nsupersymmetry algebra, could also constitute alternative vacua of the\nsupergravity theory.",
        "positive": "Type II compactifications on manifolds with SU(2) x SU(2) structure: We study compactifications of type II theories on SU(2) x SU(2) structure\nmanifolds to six, five and four spacetime dimensions. We use the framework of\ngeneralized geometry to describe the NS-NS sector of such compactifications and\nderive the structure of their moduli spaces. We show that in contrast to SU(3)\nx SU(3) structure compactifications, there is no dynamical SU(2) x SU(2)\nstructure interpolating between an SU(2) structure and an identity structure.\nFurthermore, we formulate type II compactifications on SU(2) x SU(2) structures\nin the context of exceptional generalized geometry which makes the U-duality\ngroup manifest and naturally incorporates the scalar degrees of freedom arising\nin the Ramond-Ramond sector. Via this formalism we derive the structure of the\nmoduli spaces as it is expected from N=4 supergravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Instanton Effects in Supersymmetric Yang-Mills Theories on ALE\n  Gravitational Backgrounds: In this letter we report on the computation of instanton-dominated\ncorrelation functions in supersymmetric YM theories on ALE spaces. Following\nthe approach of Kronheimer and Nakajima, we explicitly construct the self-dual\nconnection on ALE spaces necessary to perform such computations. We restrict\nour attention to the simplest case of an $SU(2)$ connection with lowest Chern\nclass on the Eguchi-Hanson gravitational background.",
        "positive": "Retrieving black hole information from the main Lorentzian saddle point: One of the most striking evidences of the information loss paradox is that,\naccording to the Hawking's calculation, the correlation functions of a test\nscalar field exponentially decay in time. In this paper, I argue that a\njudicious use of the steepest descent expansion on the classical saddle point\n(the Black Hole background), is enough to change this early time decay into a\nlate time growing, in agreement with information retrieval. I will explicitly\nshow this in the Jackiw-Teitelboim gravity. There, the so-called \"ramp\" in the\nbulk tow-point function, is analytically obtained without the need of any other\nsubdominant configurations of the gravity path integral."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "String representation of the SU(N)-inspired dual Abelian-Higgs-type\n  theory with the $\u0398$-term: String representation of the $[U(1)]^{N-1}$ gauge-invariant dual\nAbelian-Higgs-type theory, which is relevant to the SU(N)-QCD with the\n$\\Theta$-term and provides confinement of quarks, is derived. The N-dependence\nof the Higgs vacuum expectation value is found, at which the tension of the\nstring joining quarks becomes N-independent, similarly to the real QCD.\nContrary to that, the inverse coupling constant of the rigidity term of this\nstring always behaves approximately as 1/N. A long-range Aharonov-Bohm-type\ninteraction of a dyon (i.e., a quark which acquired a magnetic charge due to\nthe $\\Theta$-term) with a closed electric string becomes nontrivial at $\\Theta$\nnot equal to $N\\pi$ times an integer. On the contrary, at these critical values\nof $\\Theta$, the scattering of dyons over strings is absent.",
        "positive": "Chiral Gauge Theories on $R^3 \\times S^1$ and SUSY Breaking: We study SU(5) chiral gauge theories on $R^3\\times S^1$. With an unequal\nnumber of fundamental and antifundmental matter representations we calculate\nnontrivial pre-ADS superpotentials generated by composite multi-monopoles. We\nalso point out that the structure of the composite multi-monopoles can be\ndetermined simply from the affine Dynkin diagrams of the gauge group and its\nunbroken subgroup. For the case of one flavor, we find that the superpotential\nis independent of the composite meson. We show that dynamical 4D SUSY breaking\nin the simplest chiral SU(5) gauge theory can be demonstrated directly via\nsemi-classical effects on the circle."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Scalar Curvature in Discrete Gravity: We focus on studying, numerically, the scalar curvature tensor in a\ntwo-dimensional discrete space. The continuous metric of a two-sphere is\ntransformed into that of a lattice using two possible slicings. In the first,\nwe use two integers, while in the second we consider the case where one of the\ncoordinates is ignorable. The numerical results of both cases are then compared\nwith the expected values in the continuous limit as the number of cells of the\nlattice becomes very large.",
        "positive": "Finiteness Conditions for Light-Front Hamiltonians: In the context of simple models, it is shown that demanding finiteness for\nphysical masses with respect to a longitudinal cutoff, can be used to fix the\nambiguity in the renormalization of fermions masses in the Hamiltonian\nlight-front formulation. Difficulties that arise in applications of finiteness\nconditions to discrete light-cone quantization are discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Higher-point conformal blocks and entanglement entropy in heavy states: We consider conformal blocks of two heavy operators and an arbitrary number\nof light operators in a (1+1)-d CFT with large central charge. Using the\nmonodromy method, these higher-point conformal blocks are shown to factorize\ninto products of 4-point conformal blocks in the heavy-light limit for a class\nof OPE channels. This result is reproduced by considering suitable worldline\nconfigurations in the bulk conical defect geometry. We apply the CFT results to\ncalculate the entanglement entropy of an arbitrary number of disjoint intervals\nfor heavy states. The corresponding holographic entanglement entropy calculated\nvia the minimal area prescription precisely matches these results from CFT.\nAlong the way, we briefly illustrate the relation of these conformal blocks to\nRiemann surfaces and their associated moduli space.",
        "positive": "Matrix String Theory, 2D SYM Instantons and affine Toda systems: Extending a recent result of S.B. Giddings, F. Hacquebord and H. Verlinde, we\nshow that in the U(N) SYM Matrix theory there exist classical BPS instantons\nwhich interpolate between different closed string configurations via\njoining/splitting interactions similar to those of string field theory. We\nconstruct them starting from branched coverings of Riemann surfaces. For the\nclass of them which we analyze in detail the construction can be made explicit\nin terms U(N) affine Toda field theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Affine generalizations of gravity in the light of modern cosmology: We discuss new models of an `affine' theory of gravity in multidimensional\nspace-times with symmetric connections. We use and develop ideas of Weyl,\nEddington, and Einstein, in particular, Einstein's proposal to specify the\nspace - time geometry by use of the Hamilton principle. More specifically, the\nconnection coefficients are determined using a `geometric' Lagrangian that is\nan arbitrary function of the generalized (non-symmetric) Ricci curvature tensor\n(and, possibly, of other fundamental tensors) expressed in terms of the\nconnection coefficients regarded as independent variables. Such a theory\nsupplements the standard Einstein gravity with dark energy (the cosmological\nconstant, in the first approximation), a neutral massive (or tachyonic) vector\nfield (vecton), and massive (or tachyonic) scalar fields. These fields couple\nonly to gravity and can generate dark matter and/or inflation. The new field\nmasses (real or imaginary) have a geometric origin and must appear in any\nconcrete model. The concrete choice of the geometric Lagrangian determines\nfurther details of the theory, for example, the nature of the vector and scalar\nfields that can describe massive particles, tachyons, or even `phantoms'. In\n`natural' geometric theories, which are discussed here, dark energy must also\narise. We mainly focus on intricate relations between geometry and dynamics\nwhile only very briefly considering approximate cosmological models inspired by\nthe geometric approach.",
        "positive": "Rotating cosmologies: classical and quantum: We revisit spatially flat, anisotropic cosmologies within the framework of\nmini-superspace. Putting special emphasis on the symmetries of the\nmini-superspace action and on the associated conservation laws, we unveil a new\nclass of rotating cosmologies driven by solid matter. Their rotating is\nphysical, in that it is characterized in an invariant way in terms of a\nconserved angular momentum. Along the way, we confirm the results of Bartolo et\nal. regarding the slow decay of anisotropies for solid inflation. We then use\nour minisuperspace approach as a laboratory to address certain puzzles of\nquantum cosmology-among these, how to characterize the spacetime symmetries of\na quantum state at the level of the wavefunction of the universe. For the case\nof a solid driven cosmology, this question seems better defined than in more\nstandard cases. Other questions remain unanswered, though; in particular, the\ngeneral question of how to operate a minisuperspace-like truncation of degrees\nof freedom that is consistent at the quantum level."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fermionic continuous spin gauge field in (A)dS space: Fermionic continuous spin field propagating in (A)dS space-time is studied.\nGauge invariant Lagrangian formulation for such fermionic field is developed.\nLagrangian of the fermionic continuous spin field is constructed in terms of\ntriple gamma-traceless tensor-spinor Dirac fields, while gauge symmetries are\nrealized by using gamma-traceless gauge transformation parameters. It is\ndemonstrated that partition function of fermionic continuous spin field is\nequal to one. Modified de Donder gauge condition that considerably simplifies\nanalysis of equations of motion is found. Decoupling limits leading to\narbitrary spin massless, partial-massless, and massive fermionic fields are\nstudied.",
        "positive": "Instantons of Type IIB Supergravity in Ten Dimensions: A family of SO(10) symmetric instanton solutions in Type IIB supergravity is\ndeveloped. The instanton of least action is a candidate for the low-energy,\nsemiclassical approximation to the {D=--1} brane. Unlike a previously published\nsolution,[GGP] this admits an interpretation as a tunneling amplitude between\nperturbatively degenerate asymptotic states, but with action twice that found\npreviously. A number of associated issues are discussed such as the relation\nbetween the magnetic and electric pictures, an inversion symmetry of the\ndilaton and the metric, the $R\\times S^9$ topology of the background, and some\nproperties of the solution in an \"instanton frame\" corresponding to a\nLagrangian in which the dilaton's kinetic energy vanishes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Anomalies and Deconfinement: I discuss how instanton effects can be wiped-out due to the existence of\nanomalies. I first consider Compact Quantum Electrodynamics in 3 dimensions\nwhere confinement of electric charge is destroyed when fermions are added so\nthat a Chern-Simons term is generated as a one-loop effect. I also show that a\nsimilar phenomenon occurs in the two-dimensional abelian chiral Higgs model. In\nboth cases anomalies (parity anomaly, gauge anomaly) are responsible of the\ndeconfinement mechanism.",
        "positive": "Generalized Weyl systems and kappa-Minkowski space: We introduce the notion of generalized Weyl system, and use it to define\n*-products which generalize the commutation relations of Lie algebras. In\nparticular we study in a comparative way various *-products which generalize\nthe k-Minkowski commutation relations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Some remarks on mirror symmmetry and noncommutative elliptic curves: This paper agrees basically with the talk of the author at the workshop\n\"Homological Mirror Symmetry and Applications\", Institute for Advanced Study,\nPrinceton, March 2007.",
        "positive": "Towards a unitary, renormalizable and ultraviolet-complete quantum\n  theory of gravity: For any fundamental quantum field theory, unitarity, renormalizability, and\nrelativistic invariance are considered to be essential properties. Unitarity is\ninevitably connected to the probabilistic interpretation of the quantum theory,\nwhile renormalizability guarantees its completeness. Relativistic invariance,\nin turn, is a symmetry which derives from the structure of spacetime. So far,\nthe perturbative attempt to formulate a fundamental local quantum field theory\nof gravity based on the metric field seems to be in conflict with at least one\nof these properties. In quantum Ho\\v{r}ava gravity, a quantum Lifshitz field\ntheory of gravity characterized by an anisotropic scaling between space and\ntime, unitarity and renormalizability can be retained while Lorentz invariance\nis sacrificed at high energies and must emerge only as approximate symmetry at\nlow energies. I review various approaches to perturbative quantum gravity with\na particular focus on recent progress in the quantization of Ho\\v{r}ava\ngravity, supporting its theoretical status as a unitary, renormalizable and\nultraviolet-complete quantum theory of gravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On rectangular HOMFLY for twist knots: As a new step in the study of rectangularly-colored knot polynomials, we\nreformulate the prescription of arXiv:1606.06015 for twist knots in the\ndouble-column representations $R=[rr]$ in terms of skew Schur polynomials.\nThese, however, are mysteriously shifted from the standard topological locus,\nwhat makes further generalization to arbitrary $R=[r^s]$ not quite\nstraightforward.",
        "positive": "On the Causality Paradox and the Karch-Randall Braneworld as an EFT: Holography on cutoff surfaces can appear to be in tension with causality. For\nexample, as argued by Omiya and Wei [arxiv:2107.01219], double holography\nseemingly allows for superluminal signalling. In this paper we argue that the\nbrane description of double holography should be treated as an effective theory\nand demonstrate that causality violations due to faster-than-light\ncommunication are not visible above the associated cutoff length scale. This\nsuggests that end-of-the-world brane models are consistent with causality and\nthat the apparent superluminal signalling is a UV effect. Moreover, we argue\nthat short distance non-localities generically give rise to apparent\nfaster-than-light propagation of signals in Anti-de Sitter space.\n  Nonetheless, superluminal signalling indicates that the causal structure on\nholographic cutoff surfaces needs to be modified. We propose and study three\ndifferent candidate regions that might replace the domain of dependence in the\nbrane EFT of the Karch-Randall model. These regions are defined by unitarity on\nthe brane, through bulk entanglement wedges and through the nice slice\ncriterion, respectively. In all dimensions, these candidate regions exclude\nthose parts of the domain of dependence which are affected by superluminal\nsignalling. While all three definitions agree in two dimensions, they are\ndifferent in higher dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Local BRST cohomology for p-form gauge theories: In this thesis, we compute within the field-antifield formalism the local\nBRST cohomology of various theories involving p-form gauge fields. A particular\nemphasis is put on the cohomology groups corresponding to the consistent local\ninteractions, counterterms and candidate anomalies.",
        "positive": "Description of D-branes invariant under the Poisson-Lie T-plurality: We write the conditions for open strings with charged endpoints in the\nlanguage of gluing matrices. We identify constraints imposed on the gluing\nmatrices that are essential in this setup and investigate the question of their\ninvariance under the Poisson-Lie T-plurality transformations. We show that the\nchosen set of constraints is equivalent to the statement that the lifts of\nD-branes into the Drinfel'd double are right cosets with respect to a maximally\nisotropic subgroup and therefore it is invariant under the Poisson-Lie\nT-plurality transformations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetry and the Atiyah-Singer Index Theorem II: The Scalar\n  Curvature Factor in the Schr{\\\" o}dinger Equation: The quantization of the superclassical system used in the proof of the index\ntheorem results in a factor of $\\hbar^{2}R/8 $ in the Hamiltonian. The path\nintegral expression of the kernel is analyzed up to and including 2-loop order.\nThe existence of the scalar curvature term is confirmed by comparing the linear\nterm in the heat kernel expansion with the 2-loop order terms in the loop\nexpansion.",
        "positive": "Probabilities in the Arkani-Hamed-Dimopolous-Kachru landscape: In a previous paper we found that in the context of the string theory\n``discretuum'' proposed by Bousso and Polchinski, the cosmological constant\nprobability distribution varies wildly. However, the successful anthropic\npredictions of the cosmological constant depend crucially on the assumption of\na flat prior distribution. We conjectured that the staggered character of our\nBousso-Polchinski distribution will arise in any landscape model which\ngenerates a dense spectrum of low-energy constants from a wide distribution of\nstates in the parameter space of the fundamental theory. Here we calculate the\nvolume distribution for $\\Lambda$ in the simpler Arkani-Hamed-Dimopolous-Kachru\nlandscape model, and indeed this conjecture is borne out."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Classical group matrix models and universal criticality: We study generalizations of the Gross--Witten--Wadia unitary matrix model for\nthe special orthogonal and symplectic groups. We show using a standard Coulomb\ngas treatment -- employing a path integral formalism for the ungapped phase and\nresolvent techniques for the gapped phase with one coupling constant -- that in\nthe large $N$ limit, the free energy normalized modulo the square of the gauge\ngroup rank is twice the value for the unitary case. Using generalized Cauchy\nidentities for character polynomials, we then demonstrate the universality of\nthis phase transition for an arbitrary number of coupling constants by linking\nthis model to the random partition based on the Schur measure.",
        "positive": "Drinfeld--Sokolov Gravity: A lagrangian euclidean model of Drinfeld--Sokolov (DS) reduction leading to\ngeneral $W$--algebras on a Riemann surface of any genus is presented. The\nbackground geometry is given by the DS principal bundle $K$ associated to a\ncomplex Lie group $G$ and an $SL(2,\\Bbb C)$ subgroup $S$. The basic fields are\na hermitian fiber metric $H$ of $K$ and a $(0,1)$ Koszul gauge field $A^*$ of\n$K$ valued in a certain negative graded subalgebra $\\goth x$ of $\\goth g$\nrelated to $\\goth s$. The action governing the $H$ and $A^*$ dynamics is the\neffective action of a DS field theory in the geometric background specified by\n$H$ and $A^*$. Quantization of $H$ and $A^*$ implements on one hand the DS\nreduction and on the other defines a novel model of $2d$ gravity, DS gravity.\nThe gauge fixing of the DS gauge symmetry yields an integration on a moduli\nspace of DS gauge equivalence classes of $A^*$ configurations, the DS moduli\nspace. The model has a residual gauge symmetry associated to the DS gauge\ntransformations leaving a given field $A^*$ invariant. This is the DS\ncounterpart of conformal symmetry. Conformal invariance and certain non\nperturbative features of the model are discussed in detail."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Subcritical Superstrings: We introduce the Liouville mode into the Green-Schwarz superstring. Like\nmassive supersymmetry without central charges, there is no kappa symmetry.\nHowever, the second-class constraints (and corresponding Wess-Zumino term)\nremain, and can be solved by (twisted) chiral superspace in dimensions D=4 and\n6. The matter conformal anomaly is c = 4-D < 1. It thus can be canceled for\nphysical dimensions by the usual Liouville methods, unlike the bosonic string\n(for which the consistency condition is c = D <= 1).",
        "positive": "Unambiguous one-loop quantum energies of 1+1 dimensional bosonic field\n  configurations: We calculate one-loop quantum energies in a renormalizable self-interacting\ntheory in one spatial dimension by summing the zero-point energies of small\noscillations around a classical field configuration, which need not be a\nsolution of the classical field equations. We unambiguously implement standard\nperturbative renormalization using phase shifts and the Born approximation. We\nillustrate our method by calculating the quantum energy of a\nsoliton/antisoliton pair as a function of their separation. This energy\nincludes an imaginary part that gives a quantum decay rate and is associated\nwith a level crossing in the solutions to the classical field equation in the\npresence of the source that maintains the soliton/antisoliton pair."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-Abelian Cornucopions: An infinite family of cornucopions is found within the $SU(2)\\times U(1)$\nsector of the 4--d heterotic string low-energy theory, the extremal $U(1)$\nmagnetic dilatonic black hole being the lowest energy state. Non-abelian\ncornucopions are interpreted as sphalerons associated with potential barriers\nseparating topologically distinct Yang-Mills vacua on the $U(1)$ cornucopion\nbackground. A mass formula for non-abelian dilatonic black holes is derived,\nand the free energy is calculated through the Euclidean action.",
        "positive": "Symplectic formulation of the type IIB scalar potential with U-dual\n  fluxes: We present a symplectic formulation of the $N =1$ four-dimensional type IIB\nscalar potential arising from a flux superpotential which has four S-dual pairs\nof fluxes demanded by the U-dual completion arguments. Our symplectic\nformulation presents a very compact and concise way of expressing the generic\nscalar potential in just a few terms via using a set of symplectic identities\nalong with the so-called ``axionic-flux\" combinations. We demonstrate the\nutility of our symplectic master-formula by considering an underlying\nfour-dimensional type IIB supergravity model based on a ${\\mathbb\nT}^6/({\\mathbb Z}_2 \\times {\\mathbb Z}_2)$ orientifold, in which the scalar\npotential induced by the U-dual flux superpotential results in a total of 76276\nterms involving 128 flux parameters. Given that our symplectic formulation does\nnot need the information about the metric of the internal background, it is\napplicable to the models beyond the toroidal compactifications such as to those\nwhich use orientifolds of the Calabi-Yau threefolds."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Near-horizon dynamics of particle in extreme Reissner-Nordstr\u00f6m and\n  Cl\u00e9ment-Gal'tsov black hole backgrounds: action-angle variables: We analyze the periodic motion in the conformal mechanics describing the\nparticles moving near the horizon of extreme Reissner-Nordstr\\\"om and\naxion-dilaton (Cl\\'ement-Gal'tsov) black holes. For this purpose we extract the\n(two-dimensional) compact (\"angular\") parts of these systems and construct\ntheir action-angle variables. In the first case we get the well-known spherical\nLandau problem, which possesses hidden $so(3)$ symmetry, while in the latter\ncase the system does not have hidden constant of motion. In both cases we\nindicate the existence of \"critical points\", separating the regions of periodic\nmotions with qualitatively different properties.",
        "positive": "Electrically charged black hole with scalar hair: An electrically charged black hole solution with scalar hair in four\ndimensions is presented. The self-interacting scalar field is real and it is\nminimally coupled to gravity and electromagnetism. The event horizon is a\nsurface of negative constant curvature and the asymptotic region is locally an\nAdS spacetime. The asymptotic fall-off of the fields is slower than the\nstandard one. The scalar field is regular everywhere except at the origin, and\nis supported by the presence of electric charge which is bounded from above by\nthe AdS radius. In turn, the presence of the real scalar field smooths the\nelectromagnetic potential everywhere. Regardless the value of the electric\ncharge, the black hole is massless and has a fixed temperature. The entropy\nfollows the usual area law. It is shown that there is a nonvanishing\nprobability for the decay of the hairy black hole into a charged black hole\nwithout scalar field. Furthermore, it is found that an extremal black hole\nwithout scalar field is likely to undergo a spontaneous dressing up with a\nnontrivial scalar field, provided the electric charge is below a critical\nvalue."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supergeometry in Equivariant Cohomology: We analyze $S^1$ equivariant cohomology from the supergeometrical point of\nview. For this purpose we equip the external algebra of given manifold with\nequivariant even super(pre)symplectic structure, and show, that its\nPoincare-Cartan invariant defines equivariant Euler classes of surfaces. This\nallows to derive localization formulae by use of superanalog of Stockes\ntheorem.",
        "positive": "Boundary conditions for GL-twisted N=4 SYM: We consider topologically twisted N=4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory on a\nfour-manifold of the form V = W \\times R_+ or V = W \\times I, where W is a\nRiemannian three-manifold. Different kinds of boundary conditions apply at\ninfinity or at finite distance. We verify that each of these conditions defines\na `middle-dimensional' subspace of the space of all bulk solutions. Taking the\ntwo boundaries of V into account should thus generically give a discrete set of\nsolutions. We explicitly find the spherically symmetric solutions when W = S^3\nendowed with the standard metric. For widely separated boundaries, these\nconsist of a pair of solutions which coincide for a certain critical value of\nthe boundary separation and disappear for even smaller separations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Orbifolds of (0,2) Models: We study orbifolds of (0,2) models, including some cases with discrete\ntorsion. Our emphasis is on models which have a Landau-Ginzburg realization,\nwhere we describe part of the massless spectrum by computing the elliptic genus\nfor the orbifolded theory. Somewhat surprisingly, we find simple examples of\n(0,2) mirror pairs that are related by a quotient action. We present a detailed\ndescription of a family of such pairs.",
        "positive": "Symplectic Fluctuations for Electromagnetic Excitations of Hall Droplets: We show that the integer quantum Hall effect systems in plane, sphere or\ndisc, can be formulated in terms of an algebraic unified scheme. This can be\nachieved by making use of a generalized Weyl--Heisenberg algebra and\ninvestigating its basic features. We study the electromagnetic excitation and\nderive the Hamiltonian for droplets of fermions on a two-dimensional Bargmann\nspace (phase space). This excitation is introduced through a deformation\n(perturbation) of the symplectic structure of the phase space. We show the\nmajor role of Moser's lemma in dressing procedure, which allows us to eliminate\nthe fluctuations of the symplectic structure. We discuss the emergence of the\nSeiberg--Witten map and generation of an abelian noncommutative gauge field in\nthe theory. As illustration of our model, we give the action describing the\nelectromagnetic excitation of a quantum Hall droplet in two-dimensional\nmanifold."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Generalised connections and higher-spin equations: We consider high-derivative equations obtained setting to zero the divergence\nof the higher-spin curvatures in metric-like form, showing their equivalence to\nthe second-order equations emerging from the tensionless limit of open string\nfield theory, which propagate reducible spectra of particles with different\nspins. This result can be viewed as complementary to the possibility of setting\nto zero a single trace of the higher-spin field strengths, which yields an\nequation known to imply Fronsdal's equation in the compensator form. Higher\ntraces and divergences of the curvatures produce a whole pattern of\nhigh-derivative equations whose systematics is also presented.",
        "positive": "Heavy ions and string theory: We review a selection of recent developments in the application of ideas of\nstring theory to heavy ion physics. Our topics divide naturally into\nequilibrium and non-equilibrium phenomena. On the non-equilibrium side, we\ndiscuss generalizations of Bjorken flow, numerical simulations of black hole\nformation in asymptotically anti-de Sitter geometries, equilibration in the\ndual field theory, and hard probes. On the equilibrium side, we summarize\nimproved holographic QCD, extraction of transport coefficients, inclusion of\nchemical potentials, and approaches to the phase diagram. We close with some\npossible directions for future research."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Conformal bootstrap in two-dimensional conformal field theories with\n  non-diagonal spectrums: In this thesis we study two-dimensional conformal field theories with\nVirasoro algebra symmetry, following the conformal bootstrap approach. Under\nthe assumption that degenerate fields exist, we provide an extension of the\nanalytic conformal bootstrap method to theories with non-diagonal spectrums. We\nwrite the equations that determine structure constants, and find explicit\nsolutions in terms of special functions. We validate this results by\nnumerically computing four-point functions in diagonal and non-diagonal minimal\nmodels, and verifying that crossing symmetry is satisfied.\n  In addition, we build a proposal for a family of non-diagonal, non-rational\nconformal field theories for any central charges such that $\\Re{c} < 13$. This\nproposal is motivated by taking limits of the spectrum of D-series minimal\nmodels. We perform numerical computations of four-point functions in these\ntheories, and find that they satisfy crossing symmetry. These theories may be\nunderstood as non-diagonal extensions of Liouville theory.",
        "positive": "Relativistic Particle and Relativistic Fluids: Magnetic Moment and\n  Spin-Orbit Interactions: We consider relativistic charged particle dynamics and relativistic\nmagnetohydrodynamics using symplectic structures and actions given in terms of\nco-adjoint orbits of the Poincar\\'e group. The particle case is meant to\nclarify some points such as how minimal coupling (as defined in text) leads to\na gyromagnetic ratio of $2$, and to set the stage for fluid dynamics. The\ngeneral group-theoretic framework is further explained and is then used to set\nup Abelian magnetohydrodynamics including spin effects. An interesting new\nphysical effect is precession of spin density induced by gradients in pressure\nand energy density. The Euler equation (the dynamics of the velocity field) is\nalso modified by gradients of the spin density."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Wilson Line Integrals in the Unparticle Action: We consider the unparticle action that is made gauge invariant by inclusion\nof an open Wilson line factor. In deriving vertexes from such an action it has\nbeen customary to use a form of differentiating the Wilson line originally\nproposed by Mandelstam. Using a simple example, we show that the Mandelstam\nderivative is mathematically inconsistent. We show that there are two ways to\ndefine differentiation of the Wilson line. The mathematically consistent method\nis to differentiate the explicit dependence of the line on the endpoint. The\nother method is a functional derivative and corresponds in a limiting case to\nthe Mandelstam derivative. We also show that the only path that can be used in\nthe Wilson line integral that leaves the unparticle action both Poincare and\nscale invariant is the straight line.",
        "positive": "The Super D9-Brane and its Truncations: We consider two inequivalent truncations of the super D9--brane: the\n``Heterotic'' and the ``Type I'' truncation. Both of them lead to an N=1\nnonlinear supersymmetrization of the D=10 cosmological constant. The\npropagating degrees of freedom in the Heterotic and Type I truncation are given\nby the components of a D=10 vector multiplet and a single Majorana-Weyl spinor,\nrespectively. As a by-product we find that, after the Type I truncation, the\nRamond-Ramond super ten-form provides an interesting reformulation of the\nVolkov-Akulov action. These results can be extended to all dimensions in which\nspacetime filling D-branes exist, i.e. D=3,4,6 and 10."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Branes, Anti-Branes and Brauer Algebras in Gauge-Gravity duality: We propose gauge theory operators built using a complex Matrix scalar which\nare dual to brane-anti-brane systems in $AdS_5 \\times S^5 $, in the zero\ncoupling limit of the dual Yang-Mills. The branes involved are half-BPS giant\ngravitons. The proposed operators dual to giant-anti-giant configurations\nsatisfy the appropriate orthogonality properties. Projection operators in\nBrauer algebras are used to construct the relevant multi-trace Matrix\noperators. These are related to the ``coupled representations'' which appear in\n2D Yang-Mills theory. We discuss the implications of these results for the\nquantum mechanics of a complex matrix model, the counting of non-supersymmetric\noperators and the physics of brane-anti-brane systems. The stringy exclusion\nprinciple known from the properties of half-BPS giant gravitons, has a new\nincarnation in this context. It involves a qualitative change in the map\nbetween brane-anti-brane states to gauge theory operators. In the case of a\npair of sphere giant and anti-giant this change occurs when the sum of the\nmagnitudes of their angular momenta reaches $N$.",
        "positive": "Magnetic monopoles with internal structure: We investigate the presence of magnetic monopoles in a model that extends the\nnon Abelian model originally studied by 't Hooft and Polyakov with the\ninclusion of an extra neutral field. The investigation includes modifications\nof the dynamics of the gauged fields, and the main results unveil a route to\nconstruct solutions that engender internal structure and live in a compact\nspace."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Interactive Quadratic Gravity: A quadratic semiclassical theory, regarding the interaction of gravity with a\nmassive scalar quantum field, is considered in view of the renormalizable\nenergy-momentum tensor in a multi-dimensional curved spacetime. According to\nit, a self-consistent coupling between the square curvature term R^{2} and the\nquantum field \\Phi should be introduced in order to yield the \"correct\"\nrenormalizable energy-momentum tensor in quadratic gravity theories. The\nsubsequent interaction discards any higher-order derivative terms from the\ngravitational field equations, but, in the expence, it introduces a geometric\nsource term in the wave equation for the quantum field. Unlike the conformal\ncoupling case (R\\Phi ^{2}), this term does not represent an additional \"mass\"\nand, therefore, the quantum field interacts with gravity not only through its\nmass (or energy) content (~\\Phi ^{2}), but also, in a more generic way\n(R^{2}\\Phi). Within this context, we propose a general method to obtain\nmode-solutions for the quantum field, by means of the associated Green's\nfunction in an anisotropic six-dimensional background.",
        "positive": "Numerical determination of OPE coefficients in the 3D Ising model from\n  off-critical correlators: We propose a general method for the numerical evaluation of OPE coefficients\nin three dimensional Conformal Field Theories based on the study of the\nconformal perturbation of two point functions in the vicinity of the critical\npoint. We test our proposal in the three dimensional Ising Model, looking at\nthe magnetic perturbation of the $<\\sigma (\\mathbf {r})\\sigma(0)>$, $<\\sigma\n(\\mathbf {r})\\epsilon(0)>$ and $<\\epsilon (\\mathbf {r})\\epsilon(0)>$\ncorrelators from which we extract the values of\n$C^{\\sigma}_{\\sigma\\epsilon}=1.07(3)$ and\n$C^{\\epsilon}_{\\epsilon\\epsilon}=1.45(30)$. Our estimate for\n$C^{\\sigma}_{\\sigma\\epsilon}$ agrees with those recently obtained using\nconformal bootstrap methods, while $C^{\\epsilon}_{\\epsilon\\epsilon}$, as far as\nwe know, is new and could be used to further constrain conformal bootstrap\nanalyses of the 3d Ising universality class."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Explicit Derivation of Yang-Mills Self-Dual Solutions on non-Commutative\n  Harmonic Space: We develop the noncommutative harmonic space (NHS) analysis to study the\nproblem of solving the non-linear constraint eqs of noncommutative Yang-Mills\nself-duality in four-dimensions. We show that this space, denoted also as\nNHS($\\eta,\\theta$), has two SU(2) isovector deformations $\\eta^{(ij)}$ and\n$\\theta^{(ij)}$ parametrising respectively two noncommutative harmonic\nsubspaces NHS($\\eta,0$) and NHS($0,\\theta$) used to study the self-dual and\nanti self-dual noncommutative Yang-Mills solutions. We formulate the Yang-Mills\nself-dual constraint eqs on NHS($\\eta,0$) by extending the idea of harmonic\nanalyticity to linearize them. Then we give a perturbative self-dual solution\nrecovering the ordinary one. Finally we present the explicit computation of an\nexact self-dual solution.",
        "positive": "HKLL for the Non-Normalizable Mode: We discuss various aspects of HKLL bulk reconstruction for the free scalar\nfield in AdS$_{d+1}$. First, we consider the spacelike reconstruction kernel\nfor the non-normalizable mode in global coordinates. We construct it as a mode\nsum. In even bulk dimensions, this can be reproduced using a chordal Green's\nfunction approach that we propose. This puts the global AdS results for the\nnon-normalizable mode on an equal footing with results in the literature for\nthe normalizable mode. In Poincar\\'e AdS, we present explicit mode sum results\nin general even and odd dimensions for both normalizable and non-normalizable\nkernels. For generic scaling dimension $\\Delta$, these can be re-written in a\nform that matches with the global AdS results via an antipodal mapping, plus a\nremainder. We are not aware of a general argument in the literature for\ndropping these remainder terms, but we note that a slight complexification of a\nboundary spatial coordinate (which we call an $i \\epsilon$ prescription) allows\nus to do so in cases where $\\Delta$ is (half-) integer. Since the\nnon-normalizable mode turns on a source in the CFT, our primary motivation for\nconsidering it is as a step towards understanding linear wave equations in\ngeneral spacetimes from a holographic perspective. But when the scaling\ndimension $\\Delta$ is in the Breitenlohner-Freedman window, we note that the\nconstruction has some interesting features within AdS/CFT."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Revisiting the Multi-Monopole Point of $SU(N)$ $\\mathcal{N} = 2$ Gauge\n  Theory in Four Dimensions: Motivated by applications to soft supersymmetry breaking, we revisit the\nexpansion of the Seiberg-Witten solution around the multi-monopole point on the\nCoulomb branch of pure $SU(N)$ $\\mathcal{N}=2$ gauge theory in four dimensions.\nAt this point $N-1$ mutually local magnetic monopoles become massless\nsimultaneously, and in a suitable duality frame the gauge couplings\nlogarithmically run to zero. We explicitly calculate the leading threshold\ncorrections to this logarithmic running from the Seiberg-Witten solution by\nadapting a method previously introduced by D'Hoker and Phong. We compare our\ncomputation to existing results in the literature; this includes results\nspecific to $SU(2)$ and $SU(3)$ gauge theories, the large-$N$ results of\nDouglas and Shenker, as well as results obtained by appealing to integrable\nsystems or topological strings. We find broad agreement, while also clarifying\nsome lingering inconsistencies. Finally, we explicitly extend the results of\nDouglas and Shenker to finite $N$, finding exact agreement with our first\ncalculation.",
        "positive": "Maxwell symmetries and some applications: The Maxwell algebra is the result of enlarging the Poincar\\'{e} algebra by\nsix additional tensorial Abelian generators that make the fourmomenta\nnon-commutative. We present a local gauge theory based on the Maxwell algebra\nwith vierbein, spin connection and six additional geometric Abelian gauge\nfields. We apply this geometric framework to the construction of Maxwell\ngravity, which is described by the Einstein action plus a generalized\ncosmological term. We mention a Friedman-Robertson-Walker cosmological\napproximation to the Maxwell gravity field equations, with two scalar fields\nobtained from the additional gauge fields. Finally, we outline further\ndevelopments of the Maxwell symmetries framework."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Einstein-Cartan theory with the Holst term: Holst term represents an interesting addition to the Einstein-Cartan theory\nof gravity with torsion. When this term is present the contact interactions\nbetween vector and axial vector fermion currents gain an extra parity-violating\ncomponent. We re-derive this interaction using a simple representation for the\nHolst term. The same representation serves as a useful basis for the\ncalculation of one-loop divergences in the theory with external fermionic\ncurrents and cosmological constant. Furthermore, we explore the possibilities\nof the on-shell version of renormalization group and construct the equations\nfor the running of dimensionless parameters related to currents and for the\neffective Barbero-Immirzi parameter.",
        "positive": "Wormholes and Spectral Statistics in the Narain Ensemble: We study the spectral statistics of primary operators in the recently\nformulated ensemble average of Narain's family of free boson conformal field\ntheories, which provides an explicit (though exotic) example of an averaged\nholographic duality. In particular we study moments of the partition function\nby explicit computation of higher-degree Eisenstein series. This describes the\nanalog of wormhole contributions coming from a sum of over geometries in the\ndual theory of \"U(1) gravity\" in AdS$_3$. We give an exact formula for the\ntwo-point correlation function of the density of primary states. We compute the\nspectral form factor and show that the wormhole sum reproduces precisely the\nlate time plateau behaviour related to the discreteness of the spectrum. The\nspectral form factor does not exhibit a linear ramp."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Axial Anomaly in Noncommutative QED on R^4: The axial anomaly of the noncommutative U(1) gauge theory is calculated by a\nnumber of methods and compared with the commutative one. It is found to be\ngiven by the corresponding Chern class.",
        "positive": "The BF Formalism for QCD and Quark Confinement: Using the BF version of pure Yang-Mills, it is possible to find a covariant\nrepresentation of the 't Hooft magnetic flux operator. In this framework, 't\nHooft's pioneering work on confinement finds an explicit realization in the\ncontinuum. Employing the Abelian projection gauge we compute the expectation\nvalue of the magnetic variable and find the expected perimeter law. We also\ncheck the area law behaviour for the Wilson loop average and compute the string\ntension which turns out to be of the right order of magnitude."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Towards the classification of conformal field theories in arbitrary even\n  dimension: I identify the class of even-dimensional conformal field theories that is\nmost similar to two-dimensional conformal field theory. In this class the\nformula, elaborated recently, for the irreversibility of the\nrenormalization-group flow applies also to massive flows. This implies a\nprediction for the ratio between the coefficient of the Euler density in the\ntrace anomaly (charge a) and the stress-tensor two-point function (charge c).\nMore precisely, the trace anomaly in external gravity is quadratic in the Ricci\ntensor and the Ricci scalar and contains a unique central charge. I check the\nprediction in detail in four, six and eight dimensions, and then in arbitrary\neven dimension.",
        "positive": "Some C*-algebras associated to quantum gauge theories: Algebras associated with Quantum Electrodynamics and other gauge theories\nshare some mathematical features with T-duality Exploiting this different\nperspective and some category theory, the full algebra of fermions and bosons\ncan be regarded as a braided Clifford algebra over a braided commutative boson\nalgebra, sharing much of the structure of ordinary Clifford algebras."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Guide to AMSB QCD: We present a careful study of the chiral symmetry breaking minima and the\nbaryonic directions in supersymmetric QCD ($SU(N_c)$ with $N_f$ flavors)\nperturbed by Anomaly Mediated Supersymmetry Breaking (AMSB). For the\ns-confining case of $N_f = N_c + 1$ and most of the free-magnetic phase ($N_f\n\\leq 1.43 N_c$) we find that naive tree level baryonic runaways are stabilized\nby loop effects. Runaways are present, however, for the upper end of the free\nmagnetic phase ($N_f \\gtrsim 1.43 N_c$) and into conformal window, signaling\nthe existence of incalculable minima at large field values of ${\\cal O}\n(\\Lambda)$. Nevertheless, the chiral symmetry breaking points are locally\nstable, and are expected to continuously connect to the vacua of QCD for large\nSUSY breaking. The case of $N_f = N_c$ requires particular care due to the\ninherently strongly coupled nature of the quantum modified moduli space. Due to\nthe incalculability of critical K\\\"ahler potential terms, the stability of the\nchiral symmetry breaking point along baryonic directions cannot be determined\nfor $N_f=N_c$. With the exception of this case, all theories to which AMSB can\nbe applied ($N_f < 3 N_c$) possess stable chiral symmetry breaking minima, and\nall theories with $N_f \\lesssim 1.43 N_c$ (aside from $N_f = N_f$) are\nprotected from runaways to incalculable minima.",
        "positive": "The Hierarchy Problem and New Warped Extra Dimension: In this paper, we propose a new mechanism with warped extra dimension to\nsolve the hierarchy problem, which is parallel to the Randall-Sundrum (RS)\nbrane scenario. Different from the RS scenario, the fundamental scale is TeV\nscale and the four-dimensional Planck scale is generated from the exponential\nwarped extra dimension at size of a few TeV$^{-1}$. The experimental\nconsequences of this scenario are very different from that of the RS scenario.\nIn the explicit realization in the nonlocal gravity theory, there is a tower of\nspin-2 excitations with mass gap $10^{-4}\\text{eV}$ and they are coupled with\nthe gravitational scale to the standard model particles. We further discuss the\npossible generalizations in other modified gravity theories. The experimental\nconsequences are similar to $(4+N)$-dimensional large extra dimension but $N$\ncan be a non-integer, which satisfies the experimental constraints more easily\nthan the integer large extra dimension model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Tadpole Conjecture in the Interior of Moduli Space: We revisit moduli stabilization on Calabi-Yau manifolds with a discrete\nsymmetry. Invariant fluxes allow for a truncation to a symmetric locus in\ncomplex structure moduli space and hence drastically reduce the moduli\nstabilization problem in its dimensionality. This makes them an ideal testing\nground for the tadpole conjecture. For a large class of fourfolds, we show that\nan invariant flux with non-zero on-shell superpotential on the symmetric locus\nnecessarily stabilizes at least 60% of the complex structure moduli. In case\nthis invariant flux induces a relatively small tadpole, it is thus possible to\nbypass the bound predicted by the tadpole conjecture at these special loci. As\nan example, we discuss a Calabi-Yau hypersurface with $h^{3,1}=3878$ and show\nthat we can stabilize at least 4932 real moduli with a flux that induces\nM2-charge $N_\\text{flux} =3$.",
        "positive": "Frenkel electron and a spinning body in a curved background: We develop a variational formulation of a particle with spin in a curved\nspace-time background. The model is based on a singular Lagrangian which\nprovides equations of motion, a fixed value of spin and Frenkel condition on\nspin-tensor. Comparing our equations with those of Papapetrou we conclude that\nthe Frenkel electron in a gravitational field has the same behavior as a\nrotating body in the pole-dipole and leading-spin approximation. Due to\nconstraints presented in the formulation, position space is endowed with a\nnoncommutative structure induced by the spin of the particle. Therefore, the\nmodel provides a physically interesting example of a noncommutative particle in\na curved background."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Volume of the Universe after Inflation and de Sitter Entropy: We calculate the probability distribution for the volume of the Universe\nafter slow-roll inflation both in the eternal and in the non-eternal regime.\nFar from the eternal regime the probability distribution for the number of\ne-foldings, defined as one third of the logarithm of the volume, is sharply\npeaked around the number of e-foldings of the classical inflaton trajectory. At\nthe transition to the eternal regime this probability is still peaked (with the\nwidth of order one e-folding) around the average, which gets twice larger at\nthe transition point. As one enters the eternal regime the probability for the\nvolume to be finite rapidly becomes exponentially small. In addition to\ndeveloping techniques to study eternal inflation, our results allow us to\nestablish the quantum generalization of a recently proposed bound on the number\nof e-foldings in the non-eternal regime: the probability for slow-roll\ninflation to produce a finite volume larger than e^(S_dS/2), where S_dS is the\nde Sitter entropy at the end of the inflationary stage, is smaller than the\nuncertainty due to non-perturbative quantum gravity effects. The existence of\nsuch a bound provides a consistency check for the idea of de Sitter\ncomplementarity.",
        "positive": "Split String Formalism and the Closed String Vacuum, II: In this paper we consider a class of generalizations of Schnabl's solution of\nopen bosonic string field theory obtained by replacing the wedge state by an\narbitrary combination of wedge states. We find that under a few modest\nconditions such generalizations give a sensible deformation of Schnabl's\nsolution for the closed string vacuum--in particular, we can compute their\nenergies and show that they reproduce the value predicted by Sen's conjecture.\nThough these solutions are apparently gauge equivalent, they are not in general\nrelated by midpoint-preserving reparameterizations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exploring the $\u03b8$-vacuum structure in the functional\n  renormalization group approach: We investigate the $\\theta$-vacuum structure and the 't Hooft anomaly at\n$\\theta=\\pi$ in a simple quantum mechanical system on $S^1$ to scrutinize the\napplicability of the functional renormalization group (fRG) approach. Even\nthough the fRG is an exact formulation, a naive application of the fRG equation\nwould miss contributions from the $\\theta$ term due to the differential nature\nof the formulation. We first review this quantum mechanical system on $S^1$\nthat is solvable with both the path integral and the canonical quantization. We\ndiscuss how to construct the quantum effective action including the $\\theta$\ndependence. Such an explicit calculation poses a subtle question of whether a\nLegendre transform is well defined or not for general systems with the sign\nproblem. We then consider a deformed theory to relax the integral winding by\nintroducing a wine-bottle potential with the finite depth $\\propto g$, so that\nthe original $S^1$ theory is recovered in the $g\\to\\infty$ limit. We\nnumerically solve the energy spectrum in the deformed theory as a function of\n$g$ and $\\theta$ in the canonical quantization. We test the efficacy of the\nsimplest local potential approximation (LPA) in the fRG approach and find that\nthe correct behavior of the ground state energy is well reproduced for small\n$\\theta$. When the energy level crossing is approached, the LPA flow breaks\ndown and fails in describing the ground state degeneracy expected from the 't\nHooft anomaly. We finally turn back to the original theory and discuss an\nalternative formulation using the Villain lattice action. The analysis with the\nVillain lattice at $\\theta=\\pi$ indicates that the nonlocality of the effective\naction is crucial to capture the level crossing behavior of the ground states.",
        "positive": "Covariant techniques in Quantum Field Theory: In this paper some techniques useful to perform quantum field theory\ncomputations in a covariant manner are reviewed. In particular the background\nfield gauge, the zeta function regularization and the heat kernel approach are\nhighlighted. Some detailed calculations of the Schwinger-de Witt coefficients\nof the small proper time expansion of the heat kernel are also repeated in\ndetail. This work reports lectures given by Enrique \\'Alvarez at the\nIFT-UAM-CSIC in Madrid."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Multimomentum Hamiltonian Formalism: The standard Hamiltonian machinery, being applied to field theory, leads to\ninfinite-dimensional phase spaces. It is not covariant. In this article, we\npresent covariant finite-dimensional multimomentum Hamiltonian formalism for\nfield theory. This is the multisymplectic generalization of the Hamiltonian\nformalism in mechanics. In field theory, multimomentum canonical variables are\nfield functions and momenta corresponding to derivatives of fields with respect\nall world coordinates, not only the time. In case of regular Lagrangian\ndensities, the multimomentum Hamiltonian formalism is equivalent to the\nLagrangian formalism, otherwise for degenerate Lagrangian densities. In this\ncase, the Euler-Lagrange equations become undetermined and require additional\nconditions which remain elusive. In the framework of the multimomentum\nHamiltonian machinery, one obtaines them automatically as a part of Hamilton\nequations. The key point consists in the fact that, given a degenerate\nLagrangian density, one must consider a family of associated multimomentum\nHamiltonian forms in order to exaust solutions of the Euler-Lagrange equations.\nWe spell out degenerate quadratic and affine Lagrangian densities. The most of\nfield models are of these types. As a result, we get the general procedure of\ndescribing constraint field systems.",
        "positive": "Anthropic constraints on fermion masses: We summarize the results of previous research on the constraints imposed on\nquark masses by the anthropically-motivated requirement that there exist stable\nnuclei with the right charge to form complex molecules. We also mention an\nupper bound on the mass of the lightest lepton, derived from the requirement\nthat such nuclei be stable against electron capture."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetric Backgrounds and Black Holes in ${\\cal N}=(1,1)$\n  Cosmological New Massive Supergravity: Using an off-shell Killing spinor analysis we perform a systematic\ninvestigation of the supersymmetric background and black hole solutions of the\n${\\cal N}=(1,1)$ Cosmological New Massive Gravity model. The solutions with a\nnull Killing vector are the same pp-wave solutions that one finds in the ${\\cal\nN}=1$ model but we find new solutions with a time-like Killing vector that are\nabsent in the ${\\cal N}=1$ case. An example of such a solution is a Lifshitz\nspacetime. We also consider the supersymmetry properties of the so-called\nrotating hairy BTZ black holes and logarithmic black holes in an $AdS_3$\nbackground. Furthermore, we show that under certain assumptions there is no\nsupersymmetric Lifshitz black hole solution.",
        "positive": "Solving non-perturbative flow equations: Non-perturbative exact flow equations describe the scale dependence of the\neffective average action. We present a numerical solution for an approximate\nform of the flow equation for the potential in a three-dimensional N-component\nscalar field theory. The critical behaviour, with associated critical\nexponents, can be inferred with good accuracy."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Maximally supersymmetric solutions of D=4 N=2 gauged supergravity: We determine and analyze maximally supersymmetric configurations in\nfour-dimensional gauged N=2 supergravity, preserving eight supercharges. These\nmodels include arbitrary electric gaugings in the vector- and hypermultiplet\nsectors. We present several examples of such solutions and connect some of them\nto vacuum solutions of flux compactifications in string theory.",
        "positive": "Fused Potts Models: Generalizing the mapping between the Potts model with nearest neighbor\ninteraction and six vertex model, we build a family of \"fused Potts models\"\nrelated to the spin $k/2$ ${\\rm U}_{q}{\\rm su}(2)$ invariant vertex model and\nquantum spin chain. These Potts model have still variables taking values\n$1,\\ldots,Q$ ($\\sqrt{Q}=q+q^{-1}$) but they have a set of complicated multi\nspin interactions. The general technique to compute these interactions, the\nresulting lattice geometry, symmetries, and the detailed examples of $k=2,3$\nare given. For $Q>4$ spontaneous magnetizations are computed on the integrable\nfirst order phase transition line, generalizing Baxter's results for $k=1$. For\n$Q\\leq 4$, we discuss the full phase diagram of the spin one ($k=2$)\nanisotropic and ${\\rm U}_{q}{\\rm su}(2)$ invariant quantum spin chain (it\nreduces in the limit $Q=4$ ($q=1$) to the much studied phase diagram of the\nisotropic spin one quantum chain). Several critical lines and massless phases\nare exhibited. The appropriate generalization of the Valence Bond State method\nof Affleck et al. is worked out."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spacetime Structure of an Evaporating Black Hole in Quantum Gravity: The impact of the leading quantum gravity effects on the dynamics of the\nHawking evaporation process of a black hole is investigated. Its spacetime\nstructure is described by a renormalization group improved Vaidya metric. Its\nevent horizon, apparent horizon, and timelike limit surface are obtained taking\nthe scale dependence of Newton's constant into account. The emergence of a\nquantum ergosphere is discussed. The final state of the evaporation process is\na cold, Planck size remnant.",
        "positive": "Fermionic T-duality and momenta noncommutativity: In this article we establish the relationship between fermionic T-duality and\nmomenta noncommuativity. This is extension of known relation between bosonic\nT-duality and coordinate noncommutativity. The case of open string propagating\nin background of the type IIB superstring theory has been considered. We\nperform T-duality with respect to the fermionic variables instead to the\nbosonic ones. We also choose Dirichlet boundary conditions at the string\nendpoints, which lead to the momenta noncommutativity, instead Neumann ones\nwhich lead to the coordinates noncommutativity. Finally, we establish the main\nresult of the article that momenta noncommutativity parameters are just\nfermionic T-dual fields."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quiver Gauge Theory and Noncommutative Vortices: We construct explicit BPS and non-BPS solutions of the Yang-Mills equations\non noncommutative spaces R^{2n}_theta x G/H which are manifestly G-symmetric.\nGiven a G-representation, by twisting with a particular bundle over G/H, we\nobtain a G-equivariant U(k) bundle with a G-equivariant connection over\nR^{2n}_theta x G/H. The U(k) Donaldson-Uhlenbeck-Yau equations on these spaces\nreduce to vortex-type equations in a particular quiver gauge theory on\nR^{2n}_theta. Seiberg-Witten monopole equations are particular examples. The\nnoncommutative BPS configurations are formulated with partial isometries, which\nare obtained from an equivariant Atiyah-Bott-Shapiro construction. They can be\ninterpreted as D0-branes inside a space-filling brane-antibrane system.",
        "positive": "A zero-mode quantization of the Skyrmion: In the semi-classical approach to the Skyrme model, nuclei are approximated\nby quantum mechanical states on a finite-dimensional space of field\nconfigurations; in zero-mode quantization this space is generated by rotations\nand isorotations. Here, simulated annealing is used to find the axially\nsymmetric Skyrme configuration which extremizes the zero-mode quantized energy\nfor the nucleon."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Plane symmetric solutions in Horava-Lifshitz theory: The purpose of this paper is to find and analyze plane symmetric, static(non\nstatic) solutions in Ho\\v{r}ava- Lifshitz gravity. We discussed two versions of\nHorava gravity. First we showed that if the detailed balance principle have\nconsidered, there are both static and non-static solutions. We show that in\nstatic case there are two family of solvable models which either of them has a\nwell defined EOS, in analogous to the perfect fluid solutions in GR. In\nnon-static case we find a family of solutions. Some physical properties of\nthese solutions was discussed. Secondly we investigated the plane symmetric\nsolutions for a new modified version of Ho\\v{r}avaa gravity \\cite{bla}, which\nhas the new terms inserted action in it.",
        "positive": "How to construct a coordinate representation of a Hamiltonian operator\n  on a torus: The dynamical system of a point particle constrained on a torus is quantized\n\\`a la Dirac with two kinds of coordinate systems respectively; the Cartesian\nand toric coordinate systems. In the Cartesian coordinate system, it is\ndifficult to express momentum operators in coordinate representation owing to\nthe complication in structure of the commutation relations between canonical\nvariables. In the toric coordinate system, the commutation relations have a\nsimple form and their solutions in coordinate representation are easily\nobtained with, furthermore, two quantum Hamiltonians turning up. A problem\ncomes out when the coordinate system is transformed, after quantization, from\nthe Cartesian to the toric coordinate system."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "$T\\Bar{T}$ deformation on non-Hermitian two coupled SYK model: We investigate $T\\Bar{T}$ deformation on non-Hermitian coupled\nSachdev-Ye-Kitaev (SYK) model and the holographic picture. The relationship\nbetween ground state and thermofield double state is preserved under the\n$T\\Bar{T}$ deformation. We prove that $T\\Bar{T}$ deformed theory provides a\nreparameterization in large $N$ limit. These deformation effects is calculated\nnumerically with green functions and free energy. The thermodynamic phase\nstructures show the equivalence of the wormhole-black hole picture between\nnon-Hermitian model and Hermitian model still holds under $T\\Bar{T}$\ndeformation. We also study the correlation function in Lorentz time and revival\ndynamic.",
        "positive": "Connecting Localization and Wall-Crossing via D-Branes: We demonstrate explicitly that the vacuum expectation values (vevs) of BPS\nline operators in 4d N=2 super Yang-Mills theory compactified on a circle,\ncomputed by localization techniques, can be expanded in terms of Darboux\ncoordinates as proposed by Gaiotto, Moore, and Neitzke [arXiv:1006.0146].\nHowever, we need to refine the expansion by including additional novel monopole\nbubbling contributions to obtain a precise match. Using D-brane realization of\nthese singular BPS line operators, we derive and incorporate the monopole\nbubbling contributions as well as predict the degeneracies of framed BPS states\ncontributing to the line operator vevs in the limit of vanishing simultaneous\nspatial and R-symmetry rotation fugacity parameter."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Entropy of Lovelock Black Holes: A general formula for the entropy of stationary black holes in Lovelock\ngravity theories is obtained by integrating the first law of black hole\nmechanics, which is derived by Hamiltonian methods. The entropy is not simply\none quarter of the surface area of the horizon, but also includes a sum of\nintrinsic curvature invariants integrated over a cross section of the horizon.",
        "positive": "D-dimensional Randall-Sundrum models from Brans-Dicke theory and\n  Kaluza-Klein modes: We investigate the spectroscopy of scalar and vector Kaluza-Klein modes that\narise in a deformed Randall-Sundrum model that is constructed from Brans-Dicke\ntheory. The non-minimal coupling in the Brans Dicke theory translates into a\ndeformation of the Randall-Sundrum geometry that depends on the Brans-Dicke\nparameter $\\omega$. We find that the $\\omega$ parameter has a non-trivial\neffect in the spectroscopy of scalar and vector Kaluza-Klein modes. Our results\nsuggest the interpretation of $\\omega$ as a fine-tuning parameter."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Lorentz symmetry in conformally reduced Quantum Gravity: The functional renormalization group treatment of the conform reduced\nEinstein-Hilbert gravity is extended by following the evolution of the time and\nspace derivatives separately, in order to consider the Lorentz symmetry during\nthe evolution. We found the Reuter fixed point in the ultraviolet region. It is\nshown that starting from the Gaussian fixed point the Lorentz symmetry breaks\ndown in the vicinity of the Reuter fixed point. Similarly, in the symmetry\nbroken phase it also breaks down in the infrared region close to a critical\nsingularity scale. By calculating the anomalous dimension form the kinetic term\nof the action, we found a new relevant coupling belonging to the curvature.",
        "positive": "Saltatory Relaxation of the Cosmological Constant: We modify and extend an earlier proposal by Brown and Teitelboim to relax the\neffective cosmological term by nucleation of branes coupled to a three-index\ngauge potential. Microscopic considerations from string/M theory suggest two\nmajor innovations in the framework. First, the dependence of brane properties\non the compactification of extra dimensions may generate a very small quantized\nunit for jumps in the effective cosmological term. Second, internal degrees of\nfreedom for multiply coincident branes may enhance tunneling rates by\nexponentially large density of states factors. These new features essentially\nalter the relaxation dynamics. By requiring stability on the scale of the\nlifetime of the universe, rather than absolute stability, we derive a\nnon-trivial relation between the supersymmetry breaking scale and the value of\nthe cosmological term. It is plausibly, though not certainly, satisfied in\nNature."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Cubic Interaction for Higher Spins in $AdS_{d+1}$ space in the explicit\n  covariant form: We present a slightly modified prescription of the radial pullback formalism\nproposed previously by R. Manvelyan, R. Mkrtchyan and W. R\\\"uhl in 2012, where\nauthors investigated possibility to connect the main term of higher spin\ninteraction in flat $d+2$ dimensional space to the main term of interaction in\n$AdS_{d+1}$ space ignoring all trace and divergent terms but expressed directly\nthrough the $AdS$ covariant derivatives and including some curvature\ncorrections. In this paper we succeeded to solve all necessary \\emph{recurrence\nrelations} to finalize full radial pullback of the main term of cubic\nself-interaction for higher spin gauge fields in Fronsdal's formulation from\nflat to one dimension less $AdS_{d+1}$ space. Nontrivial solutions of\nrecurrence relations lead to the possibility to obtain the full set of\n$AdS_{d+1}$ dimensional interacting terms with all curvature corrections\nincluding trace and divergence terms from any interaction term in $d+2$\ndimensional flat space.",
        "positive": "Two-Scale Oscillons: Oscillons are spatially stationary, quasi-periodic solutions of nonlinear\nfield theories seen in settings ranging from granular systems, low temperature\ncondensates and early universe cosmology. We describe a new class of oscillon\nin which the spatial envelope can have \"off centre\" maxima and pulsate on\ntimescales much longer than the fundamental frequency. These are exact\nsolutions of the 1-D sine-Gordon equation and we demonstrate numerically that\nsimilar solutions exist in up to three dimensions for a range of potentials.\nThe dynamics of these solutions match key properties of oscillons that may form\nafter cosmological inflation in string-motivated monodromy scenarios."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hopf Solitons in the AFZ Model: The Aratyn-Ferreira-Zimerman (AFZ) model is a conformal field theory in\nthree-dimensional space. It has solutions that are topological solitons\nclassified by an integer-valued Hopf index. There exist infinitely many axial\nsolutions which have been found analytically. Axial, knot and linked solitons\nare found numerically to be static solutions using a modified volume preserving\nflow for Hopf index one to eight, allowing for comparison with other Hopf\nsoliton models. Solutions include a static trefoil knot at Hopf index five. A\none-parameter family of conformal Skyrme-Faddeev (CSF) models, consisting of\nlinear combinations of the Nicole and AFZ models, are also investigated\nnumerically. The transition of solutions for Hopf index four is mapped across\nthese models. A topological change between linked and axial solutions occurs,\nwith fewer models permitting axial solitons than linked solitons at Hopf index\nfour.",
        "positive": "The su(2|3) Undynamic Spin Chain: The integrable spin chain found in perturbative planar N=4 supersymmetric\ngauge theory is dynamic. Here we propose a reformulation which removes the\ndynamic effects in order to make the model more accessible to an algebraic\ntreatment."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gravity and the standard model with neutrino mixing: We present an effective unified theory based on noncommutative geometry for\nthe standard model with neutrino mixing, minimally coupled to gravity. The\nunification is based on the symplectic unitary group in Hilbert space and on\nthe spectral action. It yields all the detailed structure of the standard model\nwith several predictions at unification scale. Besides the familiar predictions\nfor the gauge couplings as for GUT theories, it predicts the Higgs scattering\nparameter and the sum of the squares of Yukawa couplings. From these relations\none can extract predictions at low energy, giving in particular a Higgs mass\naround 170 GeV and a top mass compatible with present experimental value. The\ngeometric picture that emerges is that space-time is the product of an ordinary\nspin manifold (for which the theory would deliver Einstein gravity) by a finite\nnoncommutative geometry F. The discrete space F is of KO-dimension 6 modulo 8\nand of metric dimension 0, and accounts for all the intricacies of the standard\nmodel with its spontaneous symmetry breaking Higgs sector.",
        "positive": "Exact Standard Model Compactifications from Intersecting Branes: We construct six stack D6-brane vacua (non-supersymmetric) that have at low\nenergy exactly the standard model (with right handed neutrinos). The\nconstruction is based on D6-branes intersecting at angles in $D = 4$ type\ntoroidal orientifolds of type I strings. Three U(1)'s become massive through\ntheir couplings to RR fields and from the three surviving massless U(1)'s at\nlow energies, one is the standard model hypercharge generator. The two extra\nmassless U(1)'s get broken, as suggested recently (hep-th/0205147), by\nrequiring some intersections to respect N=1 supersymmetry thus supporting the\nappearance of massless charged singlets. Proton and lepton number are gauged\nsymmetries and their anomalies are cancelled through a generalized\nGreen-Schwarz mechanism that gives masses to the corresponding gauge bosons\nthrough couplings to RR fields. Thus proton is stable and neutrinos are of\nDirac type with small masses as a result of a PQ like-symmetry. The models\npredict the existence of only two supersymmetric particles, superpartners of\n$\\nu_R$'s."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quasi-exact solvability and intertwining relations: We emphasize intertwining relations as a universal tool in constructing\none-dimensional quasi-exactly solvable operators and offer their possible\ngeneralization to the multidimensional case. Considered examples include all\nquasi-exactly solvable operators with invariant subspaces of monomials. We show\nthat the simplest case of generalized intertwining relations allows to\nnaturally relate quasi-exactly solvable operators with two invariant monomial\nsubspaces to a nonlinear parasupersymmetry of second order. Quantum-mechanical\nsystems with linear and nonlinear supersymmetry are discussed from the\nviewpoint of quasi-exact solvability. We construct such a general system with a\ncubic supersymmetry and argue that quantum-mechanical systems with nonlinear\nsupersymmetry of fourth order and higher are generally not quasi-exactly\nsolvable. Besides, we construct two examples of quasi-exactly solvable\noperators with invariant subspaces which cannot be reduced to monomial spaces.",
        "positive": "Transverse momentum broadening of heavy quark and gluon energy loss in\n  Sakai-Sugimoto model: In this paper, we calculate the transverse momentum diffusion coefficient\nkappa_T of heavy quark and gluon penetration length in the deconfinement phase\nof Sakai-Sugimoto model, which is known as a holographic dual of large N_c QCD.\nWe find that for the heavy quark moving through the thermal plasma with a\nconstant velocity v<1, the transverse momentum diffusion coefficient kappa_T is\nproportional to lamda*gamma^{{1/3}}*T^4/T_d, and the gluon penetration length\ndelta x is proportional to E^{{2/5}}. These results are different from those\ncalculated in N=4 super-Yang-Mills theory, where kappa_T is proportional to\nlambda*gamma^{{1/2}}*T^3 and delta x is proportional to E^{{1/3}},\nrespectively. In the high energy limit, the difference between the two pairs of\nresults should be evident, so we expect that the future LHC experiments can\ntell us which model is more closely related to the realistic strongly coupled\nQCD at finite temperature."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Vacuum String Field Theory: This is a brief review of vacuum string field theory, a new approach to open\nstring field theory based on the stable vacuum of the tachyon. We discuss the\nsliver state explaining its role as a projector in the space of half-string\nfunctionals. We review the construction of D-brane solutions in vacuum string\nfield theory, both in the algebraic approach and in the more general\ngeometrical approach that emphasizes the role of boundary CFT. -- To appear in\nthe Proceedings of Strings 2001, Mumbai, India.",
        "positive": "On renormalization of Poisson-Lie T-plural sigma models: Covariance of the one-loop renormalization group equations with respect to\nPoisson-Lie T-plurality of sigma models is discussed. The role of ambiguities\nin renormalization group equations of Poisson-Lie sigma models with truncated\nmatrices of parameters is investigated."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Massive Gravity in de Sitter Space via Gravitational Higgs Mechanism: In this paper we discuss massive gravity in de Sitter space via gravitational\nHiggs mechanism, which provides a nonlinear definition thereof. The Higgs\nscalars are described by a nonlinear sigma model, which includes higher\nderivative terms required to obtain the Fierz-Pauli mass term. Using the\naforesaid non-perturbative definition, we address appearance of an enhanced\nlocal symmetry and a null norm state in the linearized massive gravity in de\nSitter space at the special value of the graviton mass to the Hubble parameter\nratio. By studying full non-perturbative equations of motion, we argue that\nthere is no enhanced symmetry in the full nonlinear theory. We then argue that\nin the full nonlinear theory no null norm state is expected to arise at the\naforesaid special value. This suggests that no ghost might be present for lower\ngraviton mass values and the full nonlinear theory might be unitary for all\nvalues of the graviton mass and the Hubble parameter with no van\nDam-Veltman-Zakharov discontinuity. We argue that this is indeed the case by\nstudying full nonlinear Hamiltonian for the relevant conformal and helicity-0\nlongitudinal modes. In particular, we argue that no negative norm state is\npresent in the full nonlinear theory.",
        "positive": "$\u03ba$--deformed Wigner construction of relativistic wave functions\n  and free fields on $\u03ba$-Minkowski space: We describe the extension of the Wigner`s infinite-dimensional unitary\nrepresentations of Poincar\\'{e} group to the case of $\\kappa$-deformed\nPoincar\\'{e} group. We show that the corresponding coordinate wave functions on\nnoncommutative space-time are described by free field equations on\n$\\kappa$-deformed Minkowski space. The cases of Klein--Gordon, Dirac, Proca and\nMaxwell fields are considered. Finally some aspects of second quantization are\nalso discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Possible large-N transitions for complex Wilson loop matrices: It is shown that a very simple multiplicative random complex matrix model\ngeneralizes the large-N phase structure found in the unitary case: A\nperturbative regime is joined to a non-perturbative regime at a point where the\nsmoothness of some quantities breaks down. A generic complex Wilson loop matrix\nin a field theory admitting a 't Hooft planar limit could display a phase\ntransition in that limit as nonlinear effects become dominating over linear\nones.",
        "positive": "A Twistor Formulation of the Non-Heterotic Superstring with Manifest\n  Worldsheet Supersymmetry: We propose a new formulation of the $D=3$ type II superstring which is\nmanifestly invariant under both target-space $N=2$ supersymmetry and worldsheet\n$N=(1,1)$ super reparametrizations. This gives rise to a set of twistor\n(commuting spinor) variables, which provide a solution to the two Virasoro\nconstraints. The worldsheet supergravity fields are shown to play the r\\^ole of\nauxiliary fields."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chern-Simons Theory, Colored-Oriented Braids and Link invariants: A method to obtain explicit and complete topological solution of SU(2)\nChern-Simons theory on $S^3$ is developed. To this effect the necessary aspects\nof the theory of coloured-oriented braids and duality properties of conformal\nblocks for the correlators of $SU(2)_k$ Wess-Zumino conformal field theory are\npresented. A large class of representations of the generators of the groupoid\nof coloured-oriented braids are obtained. These provide a whole lot of new link\ninvariants of which Jones polynomials are the simplest examples. These new\ninvariants are explicitly calculated as illustrations for knots upto eight\ncrossings and two-component multicoloured links upto seven crossings.",
        "positive": "Algebraic Aspects of the Background Field Method: We discuss some algebraic properties of the background field method. We\nintroduce an extra gauge-fixing term for the background gauge field right at\nthe beginning in the action in such a way that BRST invariance is preserved.\nThe background effective action is considered and it is shown to satisfy both\nthe Slavnov-Taylor identities and the Ward identities. This allows to prove the\nbackground equivalence theorem by means of the standard techniques. We show\nthat the Legendre transform W_{bg} of the background gauge invariant action\ngives the same physical amplitudes as the original one we started with.\nMoreover, we point out that W_{bg} cannot in general be derived from a\nclassical action by the Gell-Mann-Low formula. Finally, we show that the BRST\ndoublet generated from the background field does not modify the anomaly of the\noriginal underlying gauge theory. The proof is algebraic and makes no use of\narguments based on power-counting."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Orbifolds of Permutation-Type as Physical String Systems at\n  Multiples of $c=26$ III. The Spectra of $\\hat{c}=52$ Strings: In the second paper of this series, I obtained the twisted BRST systems and\nextended physical-state conditions of all twisted open and closed $\\hat{c} =\n52$ strings. In this paper, I supplement the extended physical-state conditions\nwith the explicit form of the extended (twisted) Virasoro generators of all\n$\\hat{c} = 52$ strings, which allows us to discuss the physical spectra of\nthese systems. Surprisingly, all the $\\hat{c}=52$ spectra admit an equivalent\ndescription in terms of generically-unconventional Virasoro generators at\n$c=26$. This description strongly supports our prior conjecture that the\n$\\hat{c}=52$ strings are free of negative-norm states, and moreover shows that\nthe spectra of some of the simpler cases are equivalent to those of ordinary\nuntwisted open and closed $c=26$ strings.",
        "positive": "Domain Walls with Strings Attached: We have constructed a bulk & brane action of IIA theory which describes a\npair of BPS domain walls on S_1/Z_2, with strings attached. The walls are given\nby two orientifold O8-planes with coincident D8-branes and `F1-D0'-strings are\nstretched between the walls. This static configuration satisfies all matching\nconditions for the string and domain wall sources and has 1/4 of unbroken\nsupersymmetry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Seiberg-Witten period relations in Omega background: Omega-deformation of the Seiberg-Witten curve is known to be written in terms\nof the qq-character, namely the trace of a specific operator acting in a\nHilbert space spanned by certain Young diagrams. We define a differential form\nacting on this space and establish two discretised versions of the\nSeiberg-Witten expressions for the periods and related relations for the\nprepotential.",
        "positive": "The semi-classical energy of closed Nambu-Goto strings: We compute semi-classical corrections to the energy of rotating closed\nNambu-Goto strings. We confirm the results obtained by means of the\nPolchinski-Strominger action. We also show that in this semi-classical\napproximation, the spectrum of physical excitations contains modes that are\nunphysical non-perturbatively, i.e., to which no physical excitations of the\ncovariantly quantized Nambu-Goto string correspond."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hidden invariance of the free classical particle: A formalism describing the dynamics of classical and quantum systems from a\ngroup theoretical point of view is presented. We apply it to the simple example\nof the classical free particle. The Galileo group $G$ is the symmetry group of\nthe free equations of motion. Consideration of the free particle Lagrangian\nsemi-invariance under $G$ leads to a larger symmetry group, which is a central\nextension of the Galileo group by the real numbers. We study the dynamics\nassociated with this group, and characterize quantities like Noether invariants\nand evolution equations in terms of group geometric objects. An extension of\nthe Galileo group by U(1) leads to quantum mechanics.",
        "positive": "Spinning squashed extra dimensions and chiral gauge theory from\n  $\\cal{N}=4$ SYM: New solutions of $SU(N)$ ${\\cal N}=4$ SYM on $\\mathbb{R}^4$ interpreted as\nspinning self-intersecting extra dimensions are discussed. Remarkably, these\nbackgrounds lead to a low-energy sector with 3 generations of chiral fermions\ncoupled to scalar and gauge fields, with standard Lorentz-invariant kinematics.\nThis sector arises from zero modes localized on the rotation axes, which are\noblivious to the background rotation. The remaining modes are not described by\na Lorentz-invariant field theory and are mostly \"heavy\", but there is one\nsextet of tachyonic excitations. Assuming that the latter get stabilized e.g.\nby quantum effects, we argue that different rotation frequencies would induce a\nVEV for some of the low-energy scalar fields. We discuss configurations which\nmay lead to a low-energy physics not far from the broken phase of the standard\nmodel."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Noncommutative Generalized NS and Super Matrix KdV Systems from a\n  Noncommutative Version of (Anti-) Self-Dual Yang-Mills Equations: A noncommutative version of the (anti-) self-dual Yang-Mills equations is\nshown to be related via dimensional reductions to noncommutative formulations\nof the generalized (SO(3)/SO(2)) nonlinear Schrodinger (NS) equations, of the\nsuper-Korteweg- de Vries (super-KdV) as well as of the matrix KdV equations.\nNoncommutative extensions of their linear systems and bicomplexes associated to\nconserved quantities are discussed.",
        "positive": "On Brane Actions and Superembeddings: Actions for branes, with or without worldsurface gauge fields, are discussed\nin a unified framework. A simple algorithm is given for constructing the\ncomponent Green-Schwarz actions. Superspace actions are also discussed. Three\nexamples are given to illustrate the general procedure: the membrane in D=11\nand the D2-brane, which both have on-shell worldsurface supermultiplets, and\nthe membrane in D=4, which has an off-shell multiplet."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Field Theories in Nonextensive Tsallis Statistics: Within the framework of Tsallis statistics with q ~ 1, we construct a\nperturbation theory for treating relativistic quantum field systems. We find\nthat there appear initial correlations, which do not exist in the\nBoltzmann-Gibbs statistics. Applying this framework to a quark-gluon plasma, we\nfind that the so-called thermal masses of quarks and gluons are smaller than in\nthe case of Boltzmann-Gibbs statistics.",
        "positive": "The N=2 vector-tensor multiplet, central charge superspace, and\n  Chern-Simons couplings: We present a new, alternative interpretation of the vector-tensor multiplet\nas a 2-form in central charge superspace. This approach provides a geometric\ndescription of the (non-trivial) central charge transformations ab initio and\nis naturally generalized to include couplings of Chern-Simons forms to the\nantisymmetric tensor gauge field, giving rise to a N=2 supersymmetric version\nof the Green-Schwarz anomaly cancellation mechanism."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Some exact solutions of F(R) gravity with charged (a)dS black hole\n  interpretation: In this paper we obtain topological static solutions of some kind of pure\n$F(R)$ gravity. The present solutions are two kind: first type is uncharged\nsolution which corresponds with the topological (a)dS Schwarzschild solution\nand second type has electric charge and is equivalent to the\nEinstein-$\\Lambda$-conformally invariant Maxwell solution. In other word,\nstarting from pure gravity leads to (charged) Einstein-$\\Lambda$ solutions\nwhich we interpreted them as (charged) (a)dS black hole solutions of pure\n$F(R)$ gravity. Calculating the Ricci and Kreschmann scalars show that there is\na curvature singularity at $r=0$. We should note that the Kreschmann scalar of\ncharged solutions goes to infinity as $r \\rightarrow 0$, but with a rate slower\nthan that of uncharged solutions.",
        "positive": "Some Generalizations in Supersymmetric Quantum Mechanics and the\n  Supersymmetric $\\varepsilon$-System Revisited: We discuss two distinct aspects in supersymmetric quantum mechanics. First,\nwe introduce a new class of operators A and $\\bar{A}$ in terms of\nanticommutators between the momentum operator and N+1 arbitrary\nsuperpotentials. We show that these operators reduce to the conventional ones\nwhich are the starting point in standard supersymmetric quantum mechanics. In\nthis context, we argue furthermore that supersymmetry does not only connect\nSchr\\\"odinger-like operators, but also a more general class of differential\noperators. Second, we revisit the supersymmetric $\\varepsilon$-system recently\nintroduced in the literature by exploiting its intrinsic supersymmetry.\nSpecifically, combining the Hamilton hierarchy method and the\n$\\delta$-expansion method, we determine an energy for the first excited state\nof the bosonic Hamiltonian close to that calculated in earlier works."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetric Three Family SU(5) Grand Unified Models from Type IIA\n  Orientifolds with Intersecting D6-Branes: We construct some N=1 supersymmetric three-family SU(5) Grand Unified Models\nfrom type IIA orientifolds on $\\IT^6/(\\IZ_2\\times \\IZ_2)$ with D6-branes\nintersecting at general angles. These constructions are supersymmetric only for\nspecial choices of untwisted moduli. We show that within the above class of\nconstructions there are no supersymmetric three-family models with 3 copies of\n{\\bf 10}-plets unless there are simultaneously some {\\bf 15}-plets. We\nsystematically analyze the construction of such models and their spectra. The\nM-theory lifts of these brane constructions become purely geometrical\nbackgrounds: they are singular $G_2$ manifolds where the Grand Unified gauge\nsymmetries and three families of chiral fermions are localized at codimension 4\nand codimension 7 singularities respectively. We also study somepreliminary\nphenomenological features of the models.",
        "positive": "Superradiation in scattering of a Dirac particle off a point-like\n  nucleus with Z>137 with Z>137: The main concepts of the recently developed approach to singular problems of\nquantum mechanics are extended to the Dirac particle in the Coulomb field of a\npoint-like nucleus with its charge Z>137. The reflection and transmission\ncoefficients, which describe, respectively, the reflection of electron by the\nsingularity and its falling onto it, are analytically calculated, using the\nexact solutions of the Dirac equation. The superradiation phenomenon is found.\nIt suppresses the widely discussed effect of spontaneous electron- positron\npair creation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Superluminality in DHOST theory with extra scalar: We consider DHOST Ia theory interacting gravitationally with an additional\nconventional scalar field minimally coupled to gravity. At the linearized level\nof perturbations about cosmological background, we find that in the presence of\na slowly rolling extra scalar field, one of the modes generically propagates at\nsuperluminal speed. This result is valid for any stable cosmological\nbackground. We identify a subclass of DHOST Ia theories in which this\nsuperluminality property is absent, and all modes may propagate (sub)luminally.\nWe discuss possible implications for the interacting DHOST Ia theories.",
        "positive": "The growth of the $\\frac{1}{16}$-BPS index in 4d $\\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM: We study the Hamiltonian index of $\\frac{1}{16}$-BPS operators in 4d\n$\\mathcal{N}=4$ U(N) super Yang-Mills (SYM) theory numerically for\n$N=2\\,,\\dots,10$. We show that the large-charge asymptotics agree with analytic\nresults in the Cardy-like limit, as consistent with the entropy of\nsupersymmetric black hole in the dual AdS. The numerics also agree with the\nlarge-N analytic result, thus providing hints towards an exact formula for the\nindex. We then prove, using ideas from representation theory, that for values\nof charges (quantized in integer units) less than 2(N+1) the index agrees\nprecisely with the multi-graviton index, and then begins to deviate for larger\ncharges. Thus the U(N) SYM index interpolates between multi-graviton values at\nsmall charge and black hole growth at large charges."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Lifshitz motivated black holes in two-dimensional dilaton gravity: In this paper, we present four novel analytic Lifshitz motivated black hole\nsolutions in a two-dimensional dilaton gravity theory, which contains two\nscalar fields non-minimally coupled to gravity. Our solutions I and II contain\ntwo arbitrary integration constants in the blackening factor $f(r)$, with which\nwe can impose a novel extremality condition, in contrast with previously known\nblack hole field configurations. Solution I coincides with a previously\nreported AdS black hole when one of the integration constants vanishes in\n$f(r)$, the critical exponent is set to unity, and we have only one non-trivial\nscalar field. Solutions III and IV correspond to extreme black hole\nconfigurations with an asymptotically finite constant dilaton field. For all of\nour solutions, we show that $AdS_2$ spacetime arises as the geometry outside\nthe extremal black hole configurations, not only in the near horizon region,\nregardless of the critical exponent value $z$. In order to elucidate their\nblack hole nature, we explore the causal structure of solutions I and II with\nthe aid of suitable Kruskal-like coordinates and Penrose diagrams. By employing\nthe Hamilton-Jacobi method, we construct a boundary counter-term that renders a\nrenormalized action with a vanishing variation. We use this finite action for\nthe partition function in the semi-classical approximation. We establish a\nconsistent Thermodynamics, verified by the first law, across all the black hole\nsolutions presented, including the extremal cases.",
        "positive": "The Thermodynamics of Kaluza-Klein Black Hole/Bubble Chains: A Killing bubble is a minimal surface that arises as the fixed surface of a\nspacelike Killing field. We compute the bubble contributions to the Smarr\nrelations and the mass and tension first laws for spacetimes containing both\nblack holes and Killing bubbles. The resulting relations display an interesting\ninterchange symmetry between the properties of black hole horizons and those of\nKK bubbles. This interchange symmetry reflects the underlying relation between\nstatic bubbles and black holes under double analytic continuation of the time\nand Kaluza-Klein directions. The thermodynamics of bubbles involve a\ngeometrical quantity that we call the bubble surface gravity, which we show has\nseveral properties in common with the black hole surface gravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Finite dimensional representations of quantum affine algebras at roots\n  of unity: We describe explicitly the canonical map $\\chi:$ Spec $\\ue(\\a{g})\\\n\\rightarrow \\ $Spec $\\ze$, where $\\ue(\\a{g})$ is a quantum loop algebra at an\nodd root of unity $\\ve$. Here $\\ze$ is the center of $\\ue(\\a{g})$ and Spec $R$\nstands for the set of all finite--dimensional irreducible representations of an\nalgebra $R$. We show that Spec $\\ze$ is a Poisson proalgebraic group which is\nessentially the group of points of $G$ over the regular adeles concentrated at\n$0$ and $\\infty$. Our main result is that the image under $\\chi$ of Spec\n$\\ue(\\a{g})$ is the subgroup of principal adeles.",
        "positive": "The action of outer automorphisms on bundles of chiral blocks: On the bundles of WZW chiral blocks over the moduli space of a punctured\nrational curve we construct isomorphisms that implement the action of outer\nautomorphisms of the underlying affine Lie algebra. These bundle-isomorphisms\nrespect the Knizhnik-Zamolodchikov connection and have finite order. When all\nprimary fields are fixed points, the isomorphisms are endomorphisms; in this\ncase, the bundle of chiral blocks is typically a reducible vector bundle. A\nconjecture for the trace of such endomorphisms is presented; the proposed\nrelation generalizes the Verlinde formula. Our results have applications to\nconformal field theories based on non-simply connected groups and to the\nclassification of boundary conditions in such theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Axial momentum and quantization of the Majorana field: New approach to quantization of the relativistic Majorana field is presented.\nIt is based on expansion of the field into eigenfunctions of the axial momentum\n-- a novel observable introduced recently. Relativistic invariance is used as\nthe main guiding principle instead of canonical formalism. Hidden structure of\nthe quantized Majorana field in the form of real Clifford algebra of Hermitian\nfermionic operators is unveiled. Generators of the Poincar\\'e transformations\nin the Fock space are found as solutions of certain operator equations, without\ninvoking the principle of correspondence with classical conserved quantities.\nAlso operators of parity $\\hat{\\mbox{P}}$ and time reversal $\\hat{\\mbox{T}}$\nare constructed.",
        "positive": "Abelian-Higgs model from Cho-Faddeev-Niemi decomposition: Applying Cho-Faddeev-Niemi decomposition for SU(2) Yang-Mills field, we\nobtain the Abelian-Higgs Lagrangian by some approximation. Abelian-Higgs\nLagrangian with a spontaneous symmetry breaking potential has vortex solutions\nknown as Nielsen-Olesen solutions. We conclude that vortices as well as\nmagnetic monopoles can exist in Cho-Faddeev-Niemi decomposition of SU(2)\nYang-Mills field."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Unitarity of strings and non-compact Hermitian symmetric spaces: If G is a simple non-compact Lie group, with K its maximal compact subgroup,\nsuch that K contains a one-dimensional center C, then the coset space G/K is an\nHermitian symmetric non-compact space. SL(2,R)/U(1) is the simplest example of\nsuch a space. It is only when G/K is an Hermitian symmetric space that there\nexists unitary discrete representations of G. We will here study string\ntheories defined as G/K', K'=K/C, WZNW models. We will establish unitarity for\nsuch string theories for certain discrete representations. This proof\ngeneralizes earlier results on SL(2,R), which is the simplest example of this\nclass of theories. We will also prove unitarity of G/K conformal field theories\ngeneralizing results for SL(2,R)/U(1). We will show that the physical space of\nstates lie in the subspace of the G/K state space.",
        "positive": "Charged black holes on a Kaluza-Klein bubble: We construct a solution of two black holes on a Kaluza-Klein bubble in\nEinstein-Maxwell-dilaton theory. We explore the consequences of the presence of\ncharge for the properties of this solution, and obtain a generalized Smarr\nrelation and first law."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Algorithms and tools for iterated Eisenstein integrals: We present algorithms to work with iterated Eisenstein integrals that have\nrecently appeared in the computation of multi-loop Feynman integrals. These\nalgorithms allow one to analytically continue these integrals to all regions of\nthe parameter space, and to obtain fast converging series representations in\neach region. We illustrate our approach on the examples of hypergeometric\nfunctions that evaluate to iterated Eisenstein integrals as well as the\nwell-known sunrise graph.",
        "positive": "Non-perturbative orientifold transitions at the conifold: After orientifold projection, the conifold singularity in hypermultiplet\nmoduli space of Calabi-Yau compactifications cannot be avoided by geometric\ndeformations. We study the non-perturbative fate of this singularity in a local\nmodel involving O6-planes and D6-branes wrapping the deformed conifold in Type\nIIA string theory. We classify possible A-type orientifolds of the deformed\nconifold and find that they cannot all be continued to the small resolution.\nWhen passing through the singularity on the deformed side, the O-plane charge\ngenerally jumps by the class of the vanishing cycle. To decide which classical\nconfigurations are dynamically connected, we construct the quantum moduli space\nby lifting the orientifold to M-theory as well as by looking at the\nsuperpotential. We find a rich pattern of smooth and phase transitions\ndepending on the total sixbrane charge. Non-BPS states from branes wrapped on\nnon-supersymmetric bolts are responsible for a phase transition. We also\nclarify the nature of a Z_2 valued D0-brane charge in the 6-brane background.\nAlong the way, we obtain a new metric of G_2 holonomy corresponding to an\nO6-plane on the three sphere of the deformed conifold."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A note on the decay of noncommutative solitons: We propose an ansatz for the equations of motion of the noncommutative model\nof a tachyonic scalar field interacting with a gauge field, which allows one to\nfind time-dependent solutions describing decaying solitons. These correspond to\nthe collapse of lower dimensional branes obtained through tachyon condensation\nof unstable brane systems in string theory.",
        "positive": "Quantum Work and Information Geometry of a Quantum Myers-Perry Black\n  Hole: In this paper, we will obtain quantum work for a quantum scale five\ndimensional Myers-Perry black hole. Unlike heat represented by Hawking\nradiation, the quantum work is represented by a unitary information preserving\nprocess, and becomes important for black holes only at small quantum scales. It\nwill be observed that at such short distances, the quantum work will be\ncorrected by non-perturbative quantum gravitational corrections. We will use\nthe Jarzynski equality to obtain this quantum work modified by non-perturbative\nquantum gravitational corrections. These non-perturbative corrections will also\nmodify the stability of a quantum Myers-Perry black hole. We will define a\nquantum corrected information geometry by incorporating the non-perturbative\nquantum corrections in the information geometry of a Myers-Perry black hole. We\nwill use several different quantum corrected effective information metrics to\nanalyze the stability of a quantum Myers-Perry black hole."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Black magic session of concordance: Regge mass spectrum from Casson's\n  invariant: Recently, there had been a great deal of interest in obtaining and describing\nof all kinds of knots in links in hydrodynamics, electrodynamics, non Abelian\ngauge field theories and gravity. Although knots and links are observables of\nthe Chern-Simons (C-S) functional, the dynamical conditions for their\ngeneration lie outside of the scope of the C-S theory. The nontriviality of\ndynamical generation of knotted structures is caused by the fact that the\ncomplements of all knots/links, say, in S^3 are 3-manifolds which have\npositive, negative or zero curvature. The ability to curve the ambient space\nthus far is attributed to masses. The mass theorem of general relativity\nrequires the ambient 3-manifolds to be of non negative curvature. Recently, we\nestablished that, in the absence of boundaries, complements of dynamically\ngenerated knots/links are represented by 3-manifolds of non negative curvature.\nThis fact opens the possibility to discuss masses in terms of dynamically\ngenerated knotted/ linked structures. The key tool is the notion of knot/link\nconcordance. The concept of concordance is an adaptation of the concept of\ncobordism to knots and links. The logic of implementation of the concordance\nconcept to physical masses results in new interpretation of Casson's surgery\nformula in terms of the Regge trajectories. The latest thoroughly examined\nChew-Frautschi (C-F) plots associated with these trajectories demonstrate that\nthe hadron mass spectrum for both mesons and baryons is nicely described by the\ndata on the corresponding C-F plots. The physics behind Casson's surgery\nformula is similar but not identical to that described purely\nphenomenologically by Keith Moffatt in 1990. The developed topological\ntreatment is fully consistent with available rigorous mathematical and\nexperimentally observed results related to physics of hadrons",
        "positive": "Taming a resurgent ultra-violet renormalon: Perturbative expansions in quantum field theory diverge for at least two\nreasons: the number of Feynman diagrams increases dramatically with the loop\nnumber and the process of renormalization may make the contribution of some\ndiagrams large. We give an example of the second problem, from an ultra-violent\nrenormalon of $\\phi^3$ theory in 6 dimensions, where we can compute to very\nhigh loop-order. Taming this renormalon involves recent work on resurgence.\nThis challenge is much more demanding than the corresponding problem for Yukawa\ntheory in 4 dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Conserved gravitational charges from Yano tensors: The defining properties of Yano tensors naturally generalize those of Killing\nvectors to anti-symmetric tensor fields of arbitrary rank. We show how the Yano\ntensors of flat spacetime can be used to construct new, conserved gravitational\ncharges for transverse asymptotically flat spacetimes. The relationship of\nthese new charges to Yano tensors parallels that of ordinary ADM conserved\ncharges to Killing vectors. Hence, we call them Y-ADM charges. A rank n Y-ADM\ncharge is given by an integral over a co-dimension $n$ slice of spatial\ninfinity. In particular, a rank (p+1) Y-ADM charge in a p-brane spacetime is\ngiven by an integral over only the D-(p+2) dimensional sphere surrounding the\nbrane and may be regarded as an intensive property of the brane.",
        "positive": "The central charge in three dimensional anti-de Sitter space: This paper collects the various ways of computing the central charge\n$c=3l/2G$ arising in 3d asymptotically anti-de Sitter spaces, in the\nChern-Simons formulation. Their similarities and differences are displayed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Singular BPS boundary conditions in $\\mathcal{N} = (2,2)$ supersymmetric\n  gauge theories: We derive general BPS boundary conditions in two-dimensional\n$\\mathcal{N}=(2,2)$ supersymmetric gauge theories. We analyze the solutions of\nthese boundary conditions, and in particular those that allow the bulk fields\nto have poles at the boundary. We also present the brane configurations for the\nhalf- and quarter-BPS boundary conditions of the $\\mathcal{N}=(2,2)$\nsupersymmetric gauge theories in terms of branes in Type IIA string theory. We\nfind that both A-type and B-type brane configurations are lifted to M-theory as\na system of M2-branes ending on an M5-brane wrapped on a product of a\nholomorphic curve in $\\mathbb{C}^2$ with a special Lagrangian 3-cycle in\n$\\mathbb{C}^3$.",
        "positive": "A wide class of four point functions of BPS operators in N=4 SYM at\n  order g^4: The calculation of a large family of four point functions of general BPS\noperators in N=4 SYM is reduced to the evaluation of colour contractions. For\n1/2 BPS operators O_\\Delta the explicit results at order g^4 for the function <\nO_n O_2 O_n O_2 > are given up to n=6. The OPE of the general result is\nperformed up to the second order in the short distance expansion parameter. Two\nexamples are given, in which the mixing of the operators in the intermediate\nchannel can be resolved using four point functions computed by this method."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Monodromy Defects in Free Field Theories: We study co-dimension two monodromy defects in theories of conformally\ncoupled scalars and free Dirac fermions in arbitrary $d$ dimensions. We\ncharacterise this family of conformal defects by computing the one-point\nfunctions of the stress-tensor and conserved current for Abelian flavour\nsymmetries as well as two-point functions of the displacement operator. In the\ncase of $d=4$, the normalisation of these correlation functions are related to\ndefect Weyl anomaly coefficients, and thus provide crucial information about\nthe defect conformal field theory. We provide explicit checks on the values of\nthe defect central charges by calculating the universal part of the defect\ncontribution to entanglement entropy, and further, we use our results to\nextract the universal part of the vacuum R\\'enyi entropy. Moreover, we leverage\nthe non-supersymmetric free field results to compute a novel defect Weyl\nanomaly coefficient in a $d=4$ theory of free $\\mathcal{N}=2$ hypermultiplets.\nIncluding singular modes in the defect operator product expansion of\nfundamental fields, we identify notable relevant deformations in the singular\ndefect theories and show that they trigger a renormalisation group flow towards\nan IR fixed point with the most regular defect OPE. We also study Gukov-Witten\ndefects in free $d=4$ Maxwell theory and show that their central charges\nvanish.",
        "positive": "Quantum mechanics and quantum Hall effect on Riemann surfaces: The quantum mechanics of a system of charged particles interacting with a\nmagnetic field on Riemann surfaces is studied. We explicitly construct the wave\nfunctions of ground states in the case of a metric proportional to the Chern\nform of the $\\theta$-bundle, and the wave functions of the Landau levels in the\ncase of the the Poincar{\\' e} metric. The degeneracy of the the Landau levels\nis obtained by using the Riemann-Roch theorem. Then we construct the Laughlin\nwave function on Riemann surfaces and discuss the mathematical structure hidden\nin the Laughlin wave function. Moreover the degeneracy of the Laughlin states\nis also discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On possible composite structure of scalar fields in expanding universe: Scalar fields in curved backgrounds are assumed to be composite objects. As\nan example realizing such a possibility we consider a model of the massless\ntensor field $l_{\\mu\\nu}(x)$ in a 4-dim. background $g_{\\mu\\nu}(x)$ with\nspontaneously broken Weyl and scale symmetries. It is shown that the potential\nof $l_{\\mu\\nu}$, represented by a scalar quartic polynomial, has the degenerate\nextremal described by the composite Nambu-Goldstone scalar boson\n$\\phi(x):=g^{\\mu\\nu}l_{\\mu\\nu}$. Removal of the degeneracy shows that $\\phi$\nacquires a non-zero vev $\\langle\\phi\\rangle_{0}=\\mu$ which, together with the\nfree parameters of the potential, defines the cosmological constant. The latter\nis zero for a certain choice of the parameters.",
        "positive": "Rapid field excursions and the inflationary tensor spectrum: We consider the effects of fields with suddenly changing mass on the\ninflationary power spectra. In this context, when a field becomes light, it\nwill be excited. This process contributes to the tensor power spectrum. We\ncompute these effects in a gauge-invariant manner, where we use a novel\nanalytical method for evaluating the corrections to the tensor spectrum due to\nthese excitations. In the case of a scalar field, we show that the net impact\non the tensors is small as long as the perturbative expansion is valid. Thus,\nin these scenarios, measurement of tensor modes is still in one-to-one\ncorrespondence with the Hubble scale."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "BCJ and KK Relations from BRST Symmetry and Supergravity Amplitudes: We use Pure Spinor string theory to construct suitable kinematical factors\nwhich explicitly satisfy the Kleiss-Kuijf (KK) relations. Using the formula\nconceived by Bern et al. and employed by us for 4- and 5-point amplitudes in a\nprevious work, we are able to compute the 6-point supergravity amplitude from\nthe corresponding SYM building blocks given by Mafra et al.. We derive the KK\nand Bern-Carrasco-Johansson (BCJ) identities from the BRST invariance and we\ndiscuss the relations between Bern et al. building blocks and those of Mafra et\nal..",
        "positive": "No Ward-Takahashi identity violation for an Abelian tensorial group\n  field theories with closure constraint: This paper aims at investigating the nonperturbative functional\nrenormalization group for tensorial group field theories with nontrivial\nkinetic action and closure constraint. We consider the quartic melonic\njust-renormalizable $[U(1)]^6$ model and show that due to this closure\nconstraint the first order Ward-Takahashi identity takes the trivial form as\nfor the models with propagators proportional to identity. We then construct the\nnew version of the effective vertex expansion applicable to this class of\nmodels, which in particular allows to close the hierarchical structure of the\nflow equations in the melonic sector. As a consequence, there are no additional\nconstraints on the flow equations, and then we can focus on the existence of\nthe physical Wilson-Fisher fixed-points in the symmetric phase."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Emergent Gravity and Weyl's Volume Formula: In physical theories where the energy (action) is localized near a\nsubmanifold of Euclidean (Minkowski) space, there is a universal expression for\nthe energy (or the action). We derive a multipole expansion for the energy that\nhas a finite number of terms, and depends on intrinsic geometric invariants of\nthe submanifold and extrinsic invariants of the embedding of the submanifold.\nThis universal expression is a generalization of an exact formula of Hermann\nWeyl for the volume of a tube. We describe when our result is applicable, when\nour generalization gives an exact result, and when there are corrections (often\nexponentially small) to our formula. In special situations, dictated by\nspherical symmetry, the expression is a generalized Lovelock lagrangian for\ngravity, a class of theories that are interesting because they have no negative\nmetric states. We discuss whether these results represent a true theory of\nemergent gravity by discussing simple models where a higher dimensional quantum\nfield theory without a fundamental graviton leads to a gravity-like theory on a\nsubmanifold where all or some of the dynamical degrees of freedom are\nfluctuations of the metric on the submanifold.",
        "positive": "Brane/antibrane dynamics and KKLT stability: String theory has few or no stable nonsupersymmetric or de Sitter vacua, only\nmetastable ones. Antibranes are a simple source of supersymmetry breaking, as\nin the KKLT model, but various arguments have been given that these fail to\nproduce the desired vacua. Proper analysis of the system requires identifying\nthe correct effective field theories at various scales. We find that it\nreproduces the KKLT conclusions. This is an expanded version of a talk\npresented at SUSY 2015, Lake Tahoe."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Topological Strings on Singular Elliptic Calabi-Yau 3-folds and Minimal\n  6d SCFTs: We apply the modular approach to computing the topological string partition\nfunction on non-compact elliptically fibered Calabi-Yau 3-folds with higher\nKodaira singularities in the fiber. The approach consists in making an ansatz\nfor the partition function at given base degree, exact in all fiber classes to\narbitrary order and to all genus, in terms of a rational function of weak\nJacobi forms. Our results yield, at given base degree, the elliptic genus of\nthe corresponding non-critical 6d string, and thus the associated BPS\ninvariants of the 6d theory. The required elliptic indices are determined from\nthe chiral anomaly 4-form of the 2d worldsheet theories, or the 8-form of the\ncorresponding 6d theories, and completely fix the holomorphic anomaly equation\nconstraining the partition function. We introduce subrings of the known rings\nof Weyl invariant Jacobi forms which are adapted to the additional symmetries\nof the partition function, making its computation feasible to low base wrapping\nnumber. In contradistinction to the case of simpler singularities, generic\nvanishing conditions on BPS numbers are no longer sufficient to fix the modular\nansatz at arbitrary base wrapping degree. We show that to low degree, imposing\nexact vanishing conditions does suffice, and conjecture this to be the case\ngenerally.",
        "positive": "Hierarchy of Dirac, Pauli and Klein-Gordon conserved operators in\n  Taub-NUT background: The algebra of conserved observables of the SO(4,1) gauge-invariant theory of\nthe Dirac fermions in the external field of the Kaluza-Klein monopole is\ninvestigated. It is shown that the Dirac conserved operators have physical\nparts associated with Pauli operators that are also conserved in the sense of\nthe Klein-Gordon theory. In this way one gets simpler methods of analyzing the\nproperties of the conserved Dirac operators and their main algebraic structures\nincluding the representations of dynamical algebras governing the Dirac quantum\nmodes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Colour-Kinematics Duality for One-Loop Rational Amplitudes: Colour-kinematics duality is the conjecture of a group theory-like structure\nfor the kinematic dependence of scattering amplitudes in gauge theory and\ngravity. This structure has been verified at tree level in various ways, but\nsimilar progress has been lacking at loop level, where the power of the duality\nwould be most significant. Here we explore colour-kinematics duality at one\nloop using the self-dual sector as a starting point. The duality is shown to\nexist in pure Yang-Mills theory for two infinite classes of amplitudes:\namplitudes with any number of particles either all of the same helicity or with\none particle helicity opposite the rest. We provide a simple Lagrangian-based\nargument in favour of the double copy relation between gauge theory and gravity\namplitudes in these classes, and provide some explicit examples. We further\ndiscuss aspects of the duality which persist after integration, leading to\nrelations among partial amplitudes. Finally, we describe form factors in the\nself-dual theory at tree level which also satisfy the duality.",
        "positive": "Almost No-Scale Supergravity: We construct an explicit 5-dimensional supergravity model that realizes the\n\"no scale\" mechanism for supersymmetry breaking with no unstable moduli.\nSupersymmetry is broken by a constant superpotential localized on a brane, and\nthe radion is stabilized by Casimir energy from supergravity and massive\nhypermultiplets. If the standard model gauge and matter fields are localized on\na brane, then visible sector supersymmetry breaking is dominated by gravity\nloops and flavor-violating hypermultiplet loops, and gaugino masses are smaller\nthan scalar masses. We present a realistic model in which the the standard\nmodel gauge fields are partly localized. In this model visible sector\nsupersymmetry breaking is naturally gaugino mediated, while masses of the\ngravitino and gravitational moduli are larger than the weak scale."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Field dependent nilpotent symmetry for gauge theories: We construct the field dependent mixed BRST (combination of BRST and\nanti-BRST) transformations for pure gauge theories. These are shown to be an\nexact nilpotent symmetry of both the effective action as well as the generating\nfunctional for certain choices of the field dependent parameters. We show that\nthe Jacobian contributions for path integral measure in the definition of\ngenerating functional arising from BRST and anti-BRST part compensate each\nother. The field dependent mixed BRST transformations are also considered in\nfield/antifield formulation to show that the solutions of quantum master\nequation remain invariant under these. Our results are supported by several\nexplicit examples.",
        "positive": "BPS Wilson loops in $\\mathcal N \\geq 2$ superconformal\n  Chern-Simons-matter theories: In $\\mathcal N \\geq 2$ superconformal Chern-Simons-matter theories we\nconstruct the infinite family of Bogomol'nyi-Prasad-Sommerfield (BPS) Wilson\nloops featured by constant parametric couplings to scalar and fermion matter,\nincluding both line Wilson loops in Minkowski spacetime and circle Wilson loops\nin Euclidean space. We find that the connection of the most general BPS Wilson\nloop cannot be decomposed in terms of double-node connections. Moreover, if the\nquiver contains triangles, it cannot be interpreted as a supermatrix inside a\nsuperalgebra. However, for particular choices of the parameters it reduces to\nthe well-known connections of 1/6 BPS Wilson loops in\nAharony-Bergman-Jafferis-Maldacena (ABJM) theory and 1/4 BPS Wilson loops in\n$\\mathcal N = 4$ orbifold ABJM theory. In the particular case of $\\mathcal N =\n2$ orbifold ABJM theory we identify the gravity duals of a subset of operators.\nWe investigate the cohomological equivalence of fermionic and bosonic BPS\nWilson loops at quantum level by studying their expectation values, and find\nstrong evidence that the cohomological equivalence holds quantum mechanically,\nat framing one. Finally, we discuss a stronger formulation of the cohomological\nequivalence, which implies non-trivial identities for correlation functions of\ncomposite operators in the defect CFT defined on the Wilson contour and allows\nto make novel predictions on the corresponding unknown integrals that call for\na confirmation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Semi-classical geometry of charged black holes: At the classical level, two-dimensional dilaton gravity coupled to an abelian\ngauge field has charged black hole solutions, which have much in common with\nfour-dimensional Reissner-Nordstrom black holes, including multiple asymptotic\nregions, timelike curvature singularities, and Cauchy horizons. The black hole\nspacetime is, however, significantly modified by quantum effects, which can be\nsystematically studied in this two-dimensional context. In particular, the\nback-reaction on the geometry due to pair-creation of charged fermions\ndestabilizes the inner horizon and replaces it with a spacelike curvature\nsingularity. The semi-classical geometry has the same global topology as an\nelectrically neutral black hole.",
        "positive": "Competing p-wave orders: We construct electrically charged, asymptotically $AdS_5$ black hole\nsolutions that are dual to $d=4$ CFTs in a superfluid phase with either p-wave\nor $(p+ip)$-wave order. The two types of black holes have non-vanishing charged\ntwo-form in the bulk and appear at the same critical temperature in the\nunbroken phase. Both the p-wave and the $(p+ip)$-wave phase can be\nthermodynamically preferred, depending on the mass and charge of the two-form,\nand there can also be first order transitions between them. The p-wave black\nholes have a helical structure and some of them exhibit the phenomenon of pitch\ninversion as the temperature is decreased. Both the p-wave and the\n$(p+ip)$-wave black holes have zero entropy density ground states at zero\ntemperature and we identify some new ground states which exhibit scaling\nsymmetry, including a novel scenario for the emergence of conformal symmetry in\nthe IR."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Semichiral Sigma Models with 4D Hyperkaehler Geometry: Semichiral sigma models with a four-dimensional target space do not support\nextended N=(4,4) supersymmetries off-shell arXiv:0903.2376, arXiv:0912.4724. We\ncontribute towards the understanding of the non-manifest on-shell\ntransformations in (2,2) superspace by analyzing the extended on-shell\nsupersymmetry of such models and find that a rather general ansatz for the\nadditional supersymmetry (not involving central charge transformations) leads\nto hyperk\\\"ahler geometry. We give non-trivial examples of these models.",
        "positive": "On Deformations of Generalized Complex Structures: the Generalized\n  Calabi-Yau Case: We prove an analog of the Tian-Todorov theorem for twisted generalized\nCalabi-Yau manifolds; namely, we show that the moduli space of generalized\ncomplex structures on a compact twisted generalized Calabi-Yau manifold is\nunobstructed and smooth. We also construct the extended moduli space and study\nits Frobenius structure. The physical implications are also discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Shifted Quiver Yangians and Representations from BPS Crystals: We introduce a class of new algebras, the shifted quiver Yangians, as the BPS\nalgebras for type IIA string theory on general toric Calabi-Yau three-folds. We\nconstruct representations of the shifted quiver Yangian from general\nsubcrystals of the canonical crystal. We derive our results via equivariant\nlocalization for supersymmetric quiver quantum mechanics for various framed\nquivers, where the framings are determined by the shape of the subcrystals. Our\nresults unify many known BPS state counting problems, including open BPS\ncounting, non-compact D4-branes, and wall crossing phenomena, simply as\ndifferent representations of the shifted quiver Yangians. Furthermore, most of\nour representations seem to be new, and this suggests the existence of a zoo of\nBPS state counting problems yet to be studied in detail.",
        "positive": "Thermodynamic properties of the noncommutative quantum Hall effect with\n  anomalous magnetic moment: In this paper, we study the thermodynamic properties of the noncommutative\nquantum Hall effect (NCQHE) with anomalous magnetic moment (AMM) for both\nrelativistic and nonrelativistic cases in the high temperatures regime. Thus,\nwe use the canonical ensemble for a set of $N$-particles in contact with a\nthermal bath. Next, we explicitly determine the thermodynamic properties of our\ninterest, namely: the Helmholtz free energy, the entropy, the mean energy, and\nthe heat capacity. In order to perform the calculations, we work with the\nEuler-MacLaurin formula to construct the partition function of the system. In\nthat way, we plotted the graphs of thermodynamic properties as a function of\ntemperature for six different values of the magnetic field and of the NC\nparameters. As a result, we note that the Helmholtz free energy decreases with\nthe temperature, increases with the NC parameters, and can decrease or increase\nfor certain values of the magnetic field, white that the entropy increases with\nthe temperature, decreases with the NC parameters, and can decrease or increase\nfor certain values of the magnetic field. Besides, the mean energy increases\nlinearly with the temperature and its values for the relativistic case are\ntwice of the nonrelativistic case, consequently, the heat capacity for the\nrelativistic case is twice of the nonrelativistic case, where both are\nconstants, and therefore, satisfying the so-called Dulong-Petit law. Finally,\nwe also verify that there is no influence of the AMM on the thermodynamic\nproperties of the system."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Strings in plane-fronted gravitational waves: Brinkmann's plane-fronted gravitational waves with parallel rays --~shortly\npp-waves~-- are shown to provide, under suitable conditions, exact string vacua\nat all orders of the sigma-model perturbation expansion.",
        "positive": "Spacetime Structure of the Black Hole Evaporation: We study a self-consistent solution of the semi-classical Einstein equation\nincluding the back reaction from the Hawking radiation. Our geometry is\nconstructed by connecting flat space and the outgoing Vaidya metric at the\nlocus of the shock wave. In order to prove that this is the self-consistent\nsolution, we first show that the Weyl anomaly is canceled if we take the\neffects of the fluctuations of the metric into account. We further demonstrate\nthat the Hawking radiation occurs even if the geometry has no horizon. Then,\nthe energy-momentum tensor is found to be consistent with the semi-classical\nEinstein equation. Since our geometry has neither horizon nor singularity, all\nmatters inside the black hole finally come back to infinity. Therefore, no\ninformation is lost by the black hole evaporation. Furthermore, we take into\naccount the gray-body factor. We construct a stationary solution for a black\nhole in the heat bath and estimate the entropy. The entropy-area law is\nreproduced by the volume integration of the entropy density over the inside of\nthe horizon, and the black hole can be treated as an ordinary thermodynamic\nobject."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Open inflation in the landscape: Open inflation scenario is attracting a renewed interest in the context of\nstring landscape. Since there are a large number of metastable de Sitter vacua\nin string landscape, tunneling transitions to lower metastable vacua through\nthe bubble nucleation occur quite naturally. Although the deviation of Omega_0\nfrom unity is small by the observational bound, we argue that the effect of\nthis small deviation on the large angle CMB anisotropies can be significant for\ntensor-type perturbation in open inflation scenario. We consider the situation\nin which there is a large hierarchy between the energy scale of the quantum\ntunneling and that of the slow-roll inflation in the nucleated bubble. If the\npotential just after tunneling is steep enough, a rapid-roll phase appears\nbefore the slow-roll inflation. In this case the power spectrum is basically\ndetermined by the Hubble rate during the slow-roll inflation. If such\nrapid-roll phase is absent, the power spectrum keeps the memory of the high\nenergy density there in the large angular components. The amplitude of large\nangular components can be enhanced due to the effects of the wall fluctuation\nmode if the bubble wall tension is small. Therefore, one can construct some\nmodels in which the deviation of Omega_0 from unity is large enough to produce\nmeasurable effects. We also consider a more general class of models, where the\nfalse vacuum decay may occur due to Hawking-Moss tunneling, as well as the\nmodels involving more than one scalar field. We discuss scalar perturbations in\nthese models and point out that a large set of such models is already ruled out\nby observational data, unless there was a very long stage of slow-roll\ninflation after the tunneling. These results show that observational data allow\nus to test various assumptions concerning the structure of the string theory\npotentials and the duration of the last stage of inflation.",
        "positive": "Central charges for Kerr and Kerr-AdS black holes in diverse dimensions: In the previous work we give a microscopic explanation of the entropy for the\nBTZ black hole and four-dimensional Kerr black hole based on the massless\nscalar field theory on the horizon. An essential input is the central charges\nof those black holes. In this paper, we calculate the central charges for Kerr\nblack holes and Kerr-AdS black holes in diverse dimensions by rewriting the\nentropy formula in a suggesting way. Then we also give the statistical\nexplanation for the entropy of those black holes based on the scalar field on\nthe horizon which similar to 4D kerr black hole."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Conformal properties of soft-operators - 1 : Use of null-states: Soft-operators, loosely speaking, are operators which create or annihilate\nzero energy massless particles on the celestial sphere in Minkowski space. The\nLorentz group acts on the celestial sphere by conformal transformation and the\nsoft-operators transform as conformal primary operators of various dimension\nand spin. Working in space-time dimensions $D=4$ and $6$, we study some\nproperties of the conformal representations with the (leading) soft photon and\ngraviton as the highest weight vectors. Typically these representations contain\nnull-vectors. We argue, from the $S$-matrix point of view, that infinite\ndimensional asymptotic symmetries and conformal invariance require us to set\nsome of these null-vectors to zero. As a result, the corresponding\nsoft-operator satisfies linear PDE on the celestial sphere. Curiously, these\nPDEs are equations of motion of Euclidean gauge theories on the celestial\nsphere with scalar gauge-invariance, i.e, the gauge parameter is a scalar field\non the sphere. These are probably related to large $U(1)$ and supertranslation\ntransformations at infinity. Now, the PDE satisfied by the soft-operator can be\nconverted into PDE for the $S$-matrix elements with the insertion of the\nsoft-operator. These equations can then be solved subject to appropriate\nboundary conditions on the celestial sphere, provided by conformal invariance.\nThe solutions determine the soft $S$-matrix elements, for different helicities\nof the soft-particle, in terms of a single scalar function. This makes the\nWard-identity for the asymptotic symmetry almost integrable. The result of the\nintegration, which we are not able to perform completely, should of course be\nWeinberg's soft-theorem. Finally, we comment on the similarity between the\nroles played by null-states in the context of asymptotic symmetry and in string\ntheory in relation to space-time gauge symmetry.",
        "positive": "Multilinear Evolution Equations for Time-Harmonic Flows: It is shown that time-harmonic hypersurface motions in various, conformally\nflat, N-dimensional manifolds admit a multilinear description, dL/dt={ L, M_1,\n... , M_{N-2} }, automatically generating infinitely many conserved quantities,\nas well as leading to new (integrable) matrix equations. Interestingly, the\nconformal factor can be changed without changing L."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dirac Quantization of Restricted QCD: We discuss the quantization of the restricted gauge theory of SU(2) QCD\nregarding it as a second-class constraint system, and construct the BRST\nsymmetry of the constrained system in the framework of the improved Dirac\nquantization scheme. Our analysis tells that one could quantize the restricted\nQCD as if it is a first-class constraint system.",
        "positive": "Beyond CFT : Deformed Virasoro and Elliptic Algebras: In this lecture we discuss `beyond CFT' from symmetry point of view. After\nreviewing the Virasoro algebra, we introduce deformed Virasoro algebras and\nelliptic algebras. These algebras appear in solvable lattice models and we\nstudy them by free field approach."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Effective Field Theory and the Fermi Surface: This is an introduction to the method of effective field theory. As an\napplication, I derive the effective field theory of low energy excitations in a\nconductor, the Landau theory of Fermi liquids, and explain why the high-$T_c$\nsuperconductors must be described by a different effective field theory.",
        "positive": "On the mixed symmetry irreducible representations of the Poincare group\n  in the BRST approach: The lagrangian description of irreducible massless representations of the\nPoincare group with the corresponding Young tableaux having two rows along with\nsome explicit examples including the notoph and Weyl tensor is given. For this\npurpose is used the method of the BRST constructions adopted to the systems of\nsecond class constraints by the construction of an auxiliary representations of\nthe algebras of constraints in terms of Verma modules."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Topological inflation from the Starobinsky model in supergravity: We consider the ghost-free higher order corrections to the Starobinsky model\nin the old minimal supergravity. In general, higher order corrections cannot be\nforbidden by symmetries, which likely violate the flatness of the scalaron\npotential and makes inflation difficult to explain the present Universe. We\nfind a severe constraint on the dimensionless coupling of the $R^4$ correction\nas $-5.5 \\times 10^{-8}<s<9.1 \\times 10^{-8}$ from the recent results of the\nPlanck observation. If we start from the chaotic initial condition, the\nconstraint becomes much severer. However, in the case where the coupling of the\n$R^4$ correction is positive, the scalaron potential has a local maximum with\ntwo local minimum at the origin and infinity, which admits topological\ninflation. In this case, inflation can take place naturally if the coupling\nsatisfies the observational constraints.",
        "positive": "On the Picard-Fuchs equations of the SW models: We obtain the closed form of the Picard-Fuchs equations for $N=2$\nsupersymmetric Yang-Mills theories with classical Lie gauge groups. For a gauge\ngroup of rank $r$, there are $r-1$ regular and an exceptional differential\nequations. We describe the series solutions of the Picard-Fuchs equations in\nthe semi-classical regime."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "D3/D7 Quark-Gluon Plasma with Magnetically Induced Anisotropy: We study the effects of the temperature and of a magnetic field in the setup\nof an intersection of D3/D7 branes, where a large number of D7 branes is\nsmeared in the transverse directions to allow for a perturbative solution in a\nbackreaction parameter. The magnetic field sources an anisotropy in the plasma,\nand we investigate its physical consequences for the thermodynamics and energy\nloss of particles probing the system. In particular we comment on the\nstress-energy tensor of the plasma, the propagation of sound in the directions\nparallel and orthogonal to the magnetic field, the drag force of a quark moving\nthrough the medium and jet quenching.",
        "positive": "Bosons Doubling: It is shown that next-nearest-neighbor interactions may lead to unusual\nparamagnetic or ferromagnetic phases which physical content is radically\ndifferent from the standard phases. Actually there are several particles\ndescribed by the same quantum field in a manner similar to the species doubling\nof the lattice fermions. We prove the renormalizability of the theory at the\none loop level."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non Abelian Geometrical Tachyon: We investigate the dynamics of a pair of coincident D5 branes in the\nbackground of $k$ NS5 branes. It has been proposed by Kutasov that the system\nwith a single probing D-brane moving radially in this background is dual to the\ntachyonic DBI action for a non-BPS Dp brane. We extend this proposal to the\nnon-abelian case and find that the duality still holds provided one promotes\nthe radial direction to a matrix valued field associated with a non-abelian\ngeometric tachyon and a particular parametrization for the transverse scalar\nfields is chosen. The equations of motion of a pair of coincident D5 branes\nmoving in the NS5 background are determined. Analytic and numerical solutions\nfor the pair are found in certain simplified cases in which the U(2) symmetry\nis broken to $U(1) \\times U(1)$ corresponding to a small transverse separation\nof the pair. For certain range of parameters these solutions describe periodic\nmotion of the centre of mass of the pair 'bouncing off' a finite sized throat\nwhose minimum size is limited by the D5 branes separation.",
        "positive": "Emergence of Oscillons in an Expanding Background: We consider a (1+1) dimensional scalar field theory that supports oscillons,\nwhich are localized, oscillatory, stable solutions to nonlinear equations of\nmotion. We study this theory in an expanding background and show that oscillons\nnow lose energy, but at a rate that is exponentially small when the expansion\nrate is slow. We also show numerically that a universe that starts with\n(almost) thermal initial conditions will cool to a final state where a\nsignificant fraction of the energy of the universe -- on the order of 50% -- is\nstored in oscillons. If this phenomenon persists in realistic models, oscillons\nmay have cosmological consequences."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A novel method for computing torus amplitudes for $\\mathbb{Z}_{N}$\n  orbifolds without the unfolding technique: A novel method for computing torus amplitudes in orbifold compactifications\nis suggested. It applies universally for every Abelian $\\mathbb{Z}_{N}$\norbifold without requiring the unfolding technique. This method follows from\nthe possibility of obtaining integrals over fundamental domains of every Hecke\ncongruence subgroup $\\Gamma_{0}[N]$ by computing contour integrals over\none-dimensional curves uniformly distributed in these domains.",
        "positive": "Exceptional scalar theories in de Sitter space: The special galileon and Dirac-Born-Infeld (DBI) theories are effective field\ntheories of a single scalar field that have many interesting properties in flat\nspace. These theories can be extended to all maximally symmetric spaces, where\ntheir algebras of shift symmetries are simple. We study aspects of the curved\nspace versions of these theories: for the special galileon, we find a new\ncompact expression for its Lagrangian in de Sitter space and a field\nredefinition that relates it to the previous, more complicated formulation.\nThis field redefinition reduces to the well-studied galileon duality\nredefinition in the flat space limit. For the DBI theory in de Sitter space, we\ndiscuss the brane and dilaton formulations of the theory and present strong\nevidence that these are related by a field redefinition. We also give an\ninterpretation of the symmetries of these theories in terms of broken\ndiffeomorphisms of de Sitter space."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Matrix Integral Solution to [P,Q]=P and Matrix Laplace Transforms: In this paper we solve the following problems: (i) find two differential\noperators P and Q satisfying [P,Q]=P, where P flows according to the KP\nhierarchy \\partial P/\\partial t_n = [(P^{n/p})_+,P], with p := \\ord P\\ge 2;\n(ii) find a matrix integral representation for the associated $\\t au$-function.\nFirst we construct an infinite dimensional space {\\cal W}=\\Span_\\BC\n\\{\\psi_0(z),\\psi_1(z),... \\} of functions of z\\in\\BC invariant under the action\nof two operators, multiplication by z^p and A_c:= z \\partial/\\partial z - z +\nc. This requirement is satisfied, for arbitrary p, if \\psi_0 is a certain\nfunction generalizing the classical H\\\"ankel function (for p=2); our\nrepresentation of the generalized H\\\"ankel function as a double Laplace\ntransform of a simple function, which was unknown even for the p=2 case,\nenables us to represent the \\tau-function associated with the KP time evolution\nof the space \\cal W as a ``double matrix Laplace transform'' in two different\nways. One representation involves an integration over the space of matrices\nwhose spectrum belongs to a wedge-shaped contour \\gamma := \\gamma^+ + \\gamma^-\n\\subset\\BC defined by \\gamma^\\pm=\\BR_+\\E^{\\pm\\pi\\I/p}. The new integrals above\nrelate to the matrix Laplace transforms, in contrast with the matrix Fourier\ntransforms, which generalize the Kontsevich integrals and solve the operator\nequation [P,Q]=1.",
        "positive": "Some Properties of (Non) Critical Strings: We review some recent developments in string theory, emphasizing the\nimportance of vacuum instabilities, their relation to the density of states,\nand the role of space-time fermions in non-critical string theory. We also\ndiscuss the classical dynamics of two dimensional string theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Evolution properties of the knot's defect: The defect of differential (cyclotomic) expansion for colored HOMFLY-PT\npolynomials is conjectured to be invariant under any antiparallel evolution and\nchange linearly with the evolution in any parallel direction. In other words,\neach ${\\cal R}$-matrix can be substituted by an entire 2-strand braid in two\ndifferent ways: the defect remains intact when the braid is antiparallel and\nchanges by half of the added length when the braid is parallel.",
        "positive": "4D gravity on a non-BPS bent dilatonic brane: We investigate the localization of metastable four-dimensional gravity around\na bent dilatonic brane, embedded into a five-dimensional space, that exists\nonly up to distances sufficiently small compared to a crossover scale. Far from\nsuch scale, five-dimensional effects strongly deviate the Newtonian potential.\nWe study this effect by considering localization of massive gravity on a\nnon-BPS bent dilatonic 3-brane solution of a five-dimensional supergravity. Our\nresults show that the cosmological constant on the bent brane controls the size\nof the crossover scale. For sufficiently small positive cosmological constant,\nthat is in accord with the present observations, the crossover scale becomes\nvery large."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Wave aspect of Relativistic Quantum Fields: In the state-vector space for relativistic quantum fields a new set of basis\nvectors are introduced, which are taken to be eigenstates of the field\noperators themselves. The corresponding eigenvalues are then interpreted as\nrepresenting matter waves associated with the respective quantum fields. The\nrepresentation, based on such basis vectors, or the wave-representation\nnaturally emphasizes the wave aspect of the system, in contrast with the usual,\nFock or particle-representation emphasizing the particle aspect. For the case\nof a relativistic, free neutral field, the wave-representation is explicitly\nconstructed, and its mathematical properties as well as physical implications\nare studied in detail. It is expected that such an approach will find useful\napplications, e.g., in quantum optics.",
        "positive": "Spinor Lie derivatives and Fermion stress-energies: Stress-energies for Fermi fields are derived from the principle of general\ncovariance. This is done by developing a notion of Lie derivatives of spinors\nalong arbitrary vector fields. A substantial theory of such derivatives was\nfirst introduced by Kosmann; here I show how an apparent conflict in the\nliterature on this is due to a difference in the definitions of spinors, and\nthat tracking the Lie derivative of the Infeld-van der Waerden symbol, as well\nas the spinor fields under consideration, gives a fuller picture of the\ngeometry and leads to the Fermion stress-energy. The differences in the\ndefinitions of spinors do not affect the results here, but could matter in\ncertain quantum-gravity programs and for spinor transformations under discrete\nsymmetries."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Swampland Conjectures: A bridge from Quantum Gravity to Particle\n  Physics: The swampland is the set of seemingly consistent low-energy effective field\ntheories that cannot be consistently coupled to quantum gravity. In this review\nwe cover some of the conjectural properties that effective theories should\npossess in order not to fall in the swampland, and we give an overview of their\nmain applications to particle physics. The latter include predictions on\nneutrino masses, bounds on the cosmological constant, the electroweak and QCD\nscales, the photon mass, the Higgs potential and some insights about\nsupersymmetry.",
        "positive": "Lectures on Fuzzy and Fuzzy SUSY Physics: This is a preliminary version, comments and inputs are welcome.\n  Contents:\n  1. Introduction.\n  2. Fuzzy Spaces.\n  3. Star Products.\n  4. Scalar Fields on the Fuzzy Sphere.\n  5. Instantons, Monopoles and Projective Modules.\n  6. Fuzzy Nonlinear Sigma Models.\n  7. Fuzzy Gauge Theories.\n  8. The Dirac Operator and Axial Anomaly.\n  9. Fuzzy Supersymmetry.\n  10.Fuzzy Spaces as Hopf Algebras."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Supersymmetric Neveu-Schwarz Branes of Non-Relativistic String\n  Theory: We construct the basic Neveu-Schwarz (NS) brane solutions of non-relativistic\nstring theory using longitudinal T-duality as a solution generating technique.\nExtending the NS background fields to a supergravity multiplet, we verify that\nall solutions we find are half-supersymmetric. The two perturbative solutions\nwe find both have an interpretation as the background geometry outside a\nstring-like object. Correspondingly, we refer to these non-Lorentzian\nbackgrounds as winding string and unwound string solution. Whereas the winding\nstring is part of the on-shell spectrum of non-relativistic string theory, the\nunwound string only makes sense off-shell where it mediates the instantaneous\ngravitational force. Seen from the nine-dimensional point of view, we find that\nthe winding string solution is sourced by a non-relativistic massive particle\nand that the unwound string solution is sourced by a massless Galilean particle\nof zero colour and spin. We explain how these two string solutions fit into a\ndiscrete lightcone quantization of string theory. We shortly discuss the basic\nNS five-brane and Kaluza-Klein monopole solutions and show that they are both\nhalf-supersymmetric.",
        "positive": "What is the dual of a dipole?: We study gravitational solutions that admit a dual CFT description and carry\nnon zero dipole charge. We focus on the black ring solution in AdS_3 x S^3 and\nextract from it the one-point functions of all CFT operators dual to scalar\nexcitations of the six-dimensional metric. In the case of small black rings,\ncharacterized by the level N, angular momentum J and dipole charge q_3, we show\nhow the large N and J dependence of the one-point functions can be reproduced,\nunder certain assumptions, directly from a suitable ensemble in the dual CFT.\nFinally we present a simple toy model that describes the thermodynamics of the\nsmall black ring for arbitrary values of the dipole charge."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Bloch Wave Function for the Periodic Sphaleron Potential and\n  Unsuppressed Baryon and Lepton Number Violating Processes: For the periodic sphaleron potential in the electroweak theory, we find the\none-dimensional time-independent Schr\\\"{o}dinger equation with the Chern-Simons\nnumber as the coordinate, construct the Bloch wave function and determine the\ncorresponding conducting (pass) band structure. We show that the baryon-lepton\nnumber violating processes can take place without the exponential tunneling\nsuppression (at zero temperature) at energies around and above the barrier\nheight (sphaleron energy) at 9.0 TeV. Phenomenologically, probable detection of\nsuch processes at LHC is discussed.",
        "positive": "Stabilizing the gravitational action and Coleman's solution to the\n  cosmological constant problem: We use the 5-th time action formalism introduced by Halpern and Greensite to\nstabilize the unbounded Euclidean 4-D gravity in two simple minisuperspace\nmodels. In particular, we show that, at the semiclassical level ($\\hbar\n\\rightarrow 0$), we still have as a leading saddle point the $S^4$ solution and\nthe Coleman peak at zero cosmological constant, for a fixed De Witt\nsupermetric. At the quantum (one-loop) level the scalar gravitational modes\ngive a positive semi-definite Hessian contribution to the 5-D partition\nfunction, thus removing the Polchinski phase ambiguity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On meta-stable SQCD with adjoint matter and gauge mediation: We briefly review our analysis of a model with non supersymmetric vacua in\nN=1 gauge theories with adjoint matter and no R-symmetry. We show here that\nthis model without any modification fits into a direct gauge mediation scenario\nand leads to massive gauginos.",
        "positive": "Gauge invariance and background field formalism in the exact\n  renormalisation group: We discuss gauge symmetry and Ward-Takahashi identities for Wilsonian flows\nin pure Yang-Mills theories. The background field formalism is used for the\nconstruction of a gauge invariant effective action. The symmetries of the\neffective action under gauge transformations for both the gauge field and the\nauxiliary background field are separately evaluated. We examine how the\nsymmetry properties of the full theory are restored in the limit where the\ncut-off is removed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Eight-manifolds with G-structure in eleven dimensional supergravity: We extend the refined G-structure classification of supersymmetric solutions\nof eleven dimensional supergravity. We derive necessary and sufficient\nconditions for the existence of an arbitrary number of Killing spinors whose\ncommon isotropy group contains a compact factor acting irreducibly in eight\nspatial dimensions and which embeds in\n$(Spin(7)\\ltimes\\mathbb{R}^8)\\times\\mathbb{R}$. We use these conditions to\nexplicitly derive the general local bosonic solution of the Killing spinor\nequation admitting an N=4 SU(4) structure embedding in a\n$(Spin(7)\\ltimes\\mathbb{R}^8)\\times\\mathbb{R}$ structure, up to an\neight-manifold of SU(4) holonomy. Subject to very mild assumptions on the form\nof the metric, we explicitly derive the general local bosonic solutions of the\nKilling spinor equation for N=6 Sp(2) structures and N=8 $SU(2)\\times SU(2)$\nstructures embedding in a $(Spin(7)\\ltimes\\mathbb{R}^8)\\times\\mathbb{R}$\nstructure, again up to eight-manifolds of special holonomy. We construct\nseveral other classes of explicit solutions, including some for which the\npreferred local structure group defined by the Killing spinors does not\ncorrespond to any holonomy group in eleven dimensions. We also give a detailed\ngeometrical characterisation of all supersymmetric spacetimes in eleven\ndimensions admitting G-structures with structure groups of the form\n$(G\\ltimes\\mathbb{R}^8)\\times\\mathbb{R}$.",
        "positive": "Mirror Manifolds: A Brief Review and Progress Report: We first give a complete, albeit brief, review of the discovery of mirror\nsymmetry in $N=2$ string/conformal field theory. In particular, we describe the\nnaturality arguments which led to the initial mirror symmetry conjectures and\nthe subsequent work which established the existence of mirror symmetry through\ndirect construction. We then review a number of striking consequences of mirror\nsymmetry -- both conceptual and calculational. Finally, we describe recent work\nwhich introduces a variant on our original proof of the existence of mirror\nsymmetry. This work affirms classical--quantum symmetry duality as well as\nextends the domain of our initial mirror symmetry construction."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Multi-trace quasi-primary fields of $\\mathcal{N}=4$ $SYM_4$ from AdS\n  n-point functions: We develop a recursive algorithm for the investigation of infinite sequences\nof quasi-primary fields obtained from chiral primary operators (CPOs)\n$O^I_k(x)$ and eventually their derivatives by applying operator product\nexpansions and singling out SO(6) representations. We show that normal products\nof $O_2$ operators can be expressed in terms of projection operators on\nrepresentations of SO(20) and discuss intertwining operators for SO(6)\nrepresentations. Furthermore we derive $\\mathcal{O}(\\frac{1}{N^2})$ corrections\nto AdS/CFT 4-point functions by graphical combinatorics and finally extract\nanomalous dimensions by applying the method of conformal partial wave analysis.\nWe find infinite sequences of quasi-primary fields with vanishing anomalous\ndimensions and interpret them as 1/2-BPS or 1/4-BPS fields.",
        "positive": "Thermodynamical Interpretation of the Interacting Holographic Dark\n  Energy Model in a non-flat Universe: Motivated by the recent work of Wang, Lin, Pavon, and Abdalla [1], we\ngeneralize their work to the non-flat case. In particular, we provide a\nthermodynamical interpretation for the holographic dark energy model in a\nnon-flat universe. For this case, the characteristic length is no more the\nradius of the event horizon (R_E) but the event horizon radius as measured from\nthe sphere of the horizon (L). Furthermore, when interaction between the dark\ncomponents of the holographic dark energy model in the non-flat universe is\npresent its thermodynamical interpretation changes by a stable thermal\nfluctuation. A relation between the interaction term of the dark components and\nthis thermal fluctuation is obtained. In the limiting case of a flat universe,\ni.e. k=0, all results given in [1] are obtained."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Higher Curvature Gravity from Entanglement in Conformal Field Theories: By generalizing different recent works to the context of higher curvature\ngravity, we provide a unifying framework for three related results: (i) If an\nasymptotically AdS spacetime computes the entanglement entropies of ball-shaped\nregions in a CFT using a generalized Ryu-Takayanagi formula up to second order\nin state deformations around the vacuum, then the spacetime satisfies the\ncorrect gravitational equations of motion up to second order around AdS; (ii)\nThe holographic dual of entanglement entropy in higher curvature theories of\ngravity is given by Wald entropy plus a particular correction term involving\nextrinsic curvatures; (iii) CFT relative entropy is dual to gravitational\ncanonical energy (also in higher curvature theories of gravity). Especially for\nthe second point, our novel derivation of this previously known statement does\nnot involve the Euclidean replica trick.",
        "positive": "Ambiguities in the gravitational correction of quantum electrodynamics: We verify that quadratic divergences stemming from gravitational corrections\nto QED which have been conjectured to lead to asymptotic freedom near Planck\nscale are arbitrary (regularization dependent) and compatible with zero.\nMoreover we explicitly show that such arbitrary term contributes to the beta\nfunction of QED in a gauge dependent way in the gravitational sector."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Bootstrapping octagons in reduced kinematics from $A_2$ cluster algebras: Multi-loop scattering amplitudes/null polygonal Wilson loops in ${\\mathcal\nN}=4$ super-Yang-Mills are known to simplify significantly in reduced\nkinematics, where external legs/edges lie in an $1+1$ dimensional subspace of\nMinkowski spacetime (or boundary of the $\\rm AdS_3$ subspace). Since the edges\nof a $2n$-gon with even and odd labels go along two different null directions,\nthe kinematics is reduced to two copies of $G(2,n)/T \\sim A_{n{-}3}$. In the\nsimplest octagon case, we conjecture that all loop amplitudes and Feynman\nintegrals are given in terms of two overlapping $A_2$ functions (a special case\nof two-dimensional harmonic polylogarithms): in addition to the letters $v,\n1+v, w, 1+w$ of $A_1 \\times A_1$, there are two letters $v-w, 1- v w$ mixing\nthe two sectors but they never appear together in the same term; these are the\nreduced version of four-mass-box algebraic letters. Evidence supporting our\nconjecture includes all known octagon amplitudes as well as new computations of\nmulti-loop integrals in reduced kinematics. By leveraging this alphabet and\nconditions on first and last entries, we initiate a bootstrap program in\nreduced kinematics: within the remarkably simple space of overlapping $A_2$\nfunctions, we easily obtain octagon amplitudes up to two-loop NMHV and\nthree-loop MHV. We also briefly comment on the generalization to $2n$-gons in\nterms of $A_2$ functions and beyond.",
        "positive": "Emergence of Time from Dimensional Reduction in Noncommutative Geometry: By considering a new form of dimensional reduction for noncommutative field\ntheory, we show that the signature of spacetime may be changed. In particular,\nit is demonstrated that a temporal dimension can emerge from a purely Euclidean\ngeometry. We suggest that this mechanism may hint at the origin of time in the\nfundamental theory of quantum gravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Gauge/Gravity Correspondence for Non-Supersymmetric Theories: We review the string construction of the ``orientifold field theories'' and\nwe show that for these theories the gauge/gravity correspondence is only valid\nfor a large number of colours.",
        "positive": "Gravitating Magnetic Monopole in the Global Monopole Spacetime: In this paper we study the regular self-gravitating 't Hooft-Polyakov\nmagnetic monopole in a global monopole spacetime. We show that for the large\ndistance, the structure of the manifold corresponds to the\nReissner-Nordstr\\\"{o}m spacetime with a solid angle deficit factor. Although we\nanalyze static and spherically symmetric solutions, it is not possible to solve\nanalytically the system of coupled differential equations and only numerical\nevaluations can provide detailed information about the behavior of this system\nat the neighborhood of the defect's core. So, for this reason we solve\nnumerically the set of differential equations for the metric tensor and for the\nmatter fields for different values of the Higgs field vacuum expectation value,\n$\\eta$, and the self-coupling constant, $\\lambda$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Field Theory on the Noncommutative Plane with $E_q(2)$ Symmetry: We study properties of a scalar quantum field theory on the two-dimensional\nnoncommutative plane with $E_q(2)$ quantum symmetry. We start from the\nconsideration of a firstly quantized quantum particle on the noncommutative\nplane. Then we define quantum fields depending on noncommutative coordinates\nand construct a field theoretical action using the $E_q(2)$-invariant measure\non the noncommutative plane. With the help of the partial wave decomposition we\nshow that this quantum field theory can be considered as a second quantization\nof the particle theory on the noncommutative plane and that this field theory\nhas (contrary to the common belief) even more severe ultraviolet divergences\nthan its counterpart on the usual commutative plane. Finally, we introduce the\nsymmetry transformations of physical states on noncommutative spaces and\ndiscuss them in detail for the case of the $E_q(2)$ quantum group.",
        "positive": "Nucleon D-term in holographic QCD: The D-term is one of the conserved charges of hadrons defined as the forward\nlimit of the gravitational form factor $D(t)$. We calculate the nucleon's\nD-term in a holographic QCD model in which the nucleon is described as a\nsoliton in five dimensions. We show that the form factor $D(t)$ is saturated by\nthe exchanges of infinitely many $0^{++}$ and $2^{++}$ glueballs dual to\ntransverse-traceless metric fluctuations on the Wick rotated AdS$_7$ black hole\ngeometry. We refer to this phenomenon as `glueball dominance', in perfect\nanalogy to the vector meson dominance of the electromagnetic form factors.\nHowever, the value at vanishing momentum transfer $D(t=0)$ can be interpreted\nas due to the exchange of pairs of pions and infinitely many vector and\naxial-vector mesons without any reference to glueballs. We find that the D-term\nis slightly negative as a result of a cancellation between the isovector and\nisoscalar meson contributions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Double-winding Wilson loops in the $SU(N)$ Yang-Mills theory: We consider double-winding, triple-winding and multiple-winding Wilson loops\nin the $SU(N)$ Yang-Mills gauge theory. We examine how the area law falloff of\nthe vacuum expectation value of a multiple-winding Wilson loop depends on the\nnumber of color $N$. In sharp contrast to the difference-of-areas law recently\nfound for a double-winding $SU(2)$ Wilson loop average, we show irrespective of\nthe spacetime dimensionality that a double-winding $SU(3)$ Wilson loop follows\na novel area law which is neither difference-of-areas nor sum-of-areas law for\nthe area law falloff and that the difference-of-areas law is excluded and the\nsum-of-areas law is allowed for $SU(N)$ ($N \\ge 4$), provided that the string\ntension obeys the Casimir scaling for the higher representations. Moreover, we\nextend these results to arbitrary multi-winding Wilson loops. Finally, we argue\nthat the area law follows a novel law, which is neither sum-of-areas nor\ndifference-of-areas law when $N\\ge 3$. In fact, such a behavior is exactly\nderived in the $SU(N)$ Yang-Mills theory in the two-dimensional spacetime.",
        "positive": "Sigma-models having supermanifolds as target spaces: We study a topological sigma-model ($A$-model) in the case when the target\nspace is an ($m_0|m_1$)-dimensional supermanifold. We prove under certain\nconditions that such a model is equivalent to an $A$-model having an\n($m_0-m_1$)-dimensional manifold as a target space. We use this result to prove\nthat in the case when the target space of $A$-model is a complete intersection\nin a toric manifold, this $A$-model is equivalent to an $A$-model having a\ntoric supermanifold as a target space."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "How to Recover a Qubit That Has Fallen Into a Black Hole: We demonstrate an algorithm for the retrieval of a qubit, encoded in spin\nangular momentum, that has been dropped into a no-firewall black hole.\nRetrieval is achieved analogously to quantum teleportation by collecting\nHawking radiation and performing measurements on the black hole. Importantly,\nthese methods only require the ability to perform measurements from outside the\nevent horizon.",
        "positive": "On Choptuik's scaling in higher dimensions: We extend Choptuik's scaling phenomenon found in general relativistic\ncritical gravitational collapse of a massless scalar field to higher\ndimensions. We find that in the range 4 <= D <= 11 the behavior is\nqualitatively similar to that discovered by Choptuik. In each dimension we\nobtain numerically the universal numbers associated with the critical collapse:\nthe scaling exponent gamma and the echoing period Delta. The behavior of these\nnumbers with increasing dimension seems to indicate that gamma reaches a\nmaximum and Delta a minimum value around 11 <= D <= 13. These results and their\nrelation to the black hole--black string system are discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hawking radiation via anomaly cancelation for the black holes of\n  five-dimensional minimal gauged supergravity: The anomaly cancelation method proposed by Wilczek et al. is applied to the\ngeneral charged rotating black holes in five-dimensional minimal gauged\nsupergravity. Thus Hawking temperature and fluxes are found. The Hawking\ntemperature obtained agrees with the surface gravity formula. The black holes\nhave charge and two unequal angular momenta and these give rise to appropriate\nterms in the effective U(1) gauge field of the reduced (1+1)-dimensional\ntheory. In particular, it is found that the terms in this U(1) gauge field\ncorrespond exactly to the correct electrostatic potential and the two angular\nvelocities on the horizon of the black holes, and so the results for the\nHawking fluxes derived here from the anomaly cancelation method are in complete\nagreement with the ones obtained from integrating the Planck distribution.",
        "positive": "Mesons versus quasi-normal modes: undercooling and overheating: In holographic models of gauge theories with matter, there generically exists\na first order phase transition in which mesons dissociate. We perform a careful\nanalysis of the meson and quasi-particle spectra in the overheated resp.\nundercooled regimes close to the junction of the two phases. We show that all\noverheated finite meson masses eventually become infinitely degenerate, which\nimplies that any connection to the quasi-particle spectrum is more subtle than\npreviously suggested. For the Sakai-Sugimoto model no smooth connection between\nthese spectra is possible."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Bound on Massive Higher Spin Particles: According to common lore, massive elementary higher spin particles lead to\ninconsistencies when coupled to gravity. However, this scenario was not\ncompletely ruled out by previous arguments. In this paper, we show that in a\ntheory where the low energy dynamics of the gravitons are governed by the\nEinstein-Hilbert action, any finite number of massive elementary particles with\nspin more than two cannot interact with gravitons, even classically, in a way\nthat preserves causality. This is achieved in flat spacetime by studying\neikonal scattering of higher spin particles in more than three spacetime\ndimensions. Our argument is insensitive to the physics above the effective\ncut-off scale and closes certain loopholes in previous arguments. Furthermore,\nit applies to higher spin particles even if they do not contribute to\ntree-level graviton scattering as a consequence of being charged under a global\nsymmetry such as $\\mathbb{Z}_2$. We derive analogous bounds in anti-de Sitter\nspacetime from analyticity properties of correlators of the dual CFT in the\nRegge limit. We also argue that an infinite tower of fine-tuned higher spin\nparticles can still be consistent with causality. However, they necessarily\naffect the dynamics of gravitons at an energy scale comparable to the mass of\nthe lightest higher spin particle. Finally, we apply the bound in de Sitter to\nimpose restrictions on the structure of three-point functions in the squeezed\nlimit of the scalar curvature perturbation produced during inflation.",
        "positive": "On Gauge Theory and Topological String in Nekrasov-Shatashvili Limit: We study the Nekrasov-Shatashvili limit of the N=2 supersymmetric gauge\ntheory and topological string theory on certain local toric Calabi-Yau\nmanifolds. In this limit one of the two deformation parameters \\epsilon_{1,2}\nof the Omega background is set to zero and we study the perturbative expansion\nof the topological amplitudes around the remaining parameter. We derive\ndifferential equations from Seiberg-Witten curves and mirror geometries, which\ndetermine the higher genus topological amplitudes up to a constant. We show\nthat the higher genus formulae previously obtained from holomorphic anomaly\nequations and boundary conditions satisfy these differential equations. We also\nprovide a derivation of the holomorphic anomaly equations in the\nNekrasov-Shatashvili limit from these differential equations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Comments on SUSY Exact Action in 3D Supergravity: We consider 2+1 dimensional off-shell N = 1 pure supergravity that is\nconstructed from graviton, gravitino and auxiliary field. We show that the\n$R^2$ supersymmetric invariant and $R^2_{\\mu \\nu}$ supersymmetric invariant are\nexpressed as local supersymmetric exact terms up to mass terms for gravitino.\nIn both cases, the mass parameter is proportional to the off-shell\nsupersymmetric cosmological constant.",
        "positive": "A New Variant of the Casimir Effect and Its Exact Evaluation: A new version of the Casimir effect where the two plates conduct in specific,\ndifferent, directions is considered. By direct functional integration the\nevaluation of the Casimir energy as a function of the angle between the\nconduction directions is reduced to quadratures. Other applications of the\nmethod and a magnetic Casimir variant are mentioned."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Massive Spectral Sum Rules for the Dirac Operator: Massive spectral sum rules are derived for Dirac operators of $SU(N_c)$ gauge\ntheories with $N_f$ flavors. The universal microscopic massive spectral\ndensities of random matrix theory, where known, are all consistent with these\nsum rules.",
        "positive": "Coexistence of two vector order parameters: a holographic model for\n  ferromagnetic superconductivity: We study a generalization of the standard holographic p-wave superconductor\nfeaturing two interacting vector order parameters. Basing our argument on the\nsymmetry and linear response properties of the model, we propose it as a\nholographic effective theory describing a strongly coupled ferromagnetic\nsuperconductor. We show that the two order parameters undergo concomitant\ncondensations as a manifestation of an intrinsically interlaced\nelectric/magnetic dynamics. Such intertwined dynamics is confirmed by the study\nof the transport properties. We characterize thoroughly the equilibrium and the\nlinear response (i.e. optical conductivity and magnetic susceptibility) of the\nmodel at hand by means of a probe approximation analysis. Some insight about\nthe effects of backreaction in the normal phase can be gained by analogy with\nthe s-wave unbalanced holographic superconductor."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Leading singularities and off-shell conformal integrals: The three-loop four-point function of stress-tensor multiplets in N=4 super\nYang-Mills theory contains two so far unknown, off-shell, conformal integrals,\nin addition to the known, ladder-type integrals. In this paper we evaluate the\nunknown integrals, thus obtaining the three-loop correlation function\nanalytically. The integrals have the generic structure of rational functions\nmultiplied by (multiple) polylogarithms. We use the idea of leading\nsingularities to obtain the rational coefficients, the symbol - with an\nappropriate ansatz for its structure - as a means of characterising multiple\npolylogarithms, and the technique of asymptotic expansion of Feynman integrals\nto obtain the integrals in certain limits. The limiting behaviour uniquely\nfixes the symbols of the integrals, which we then lift to find the\ncorresponding polylogarithmic functions. The final formulae are numerically\nconfirmed. The techniques we develop can be applied more generally, and we\nillustrate this by analytically evaluating one of the integrals contributing to\nthe same four-point function at four loops. This example shows a connection\nbetween the leading singularities and the entries of the symbol.",
        "positive": "Confining solutions of SU(3) Yang-Mills theory: Spherically and cylindrically symmetric solutions of SU(3) Yang-Mills theory\nare found, whose gauge potentials have confining properties. The spherically\nsymmetric solutions give field distributions which have a spherical surface on\nwhich the gauge fields become infinite (which is similar to bag models of\nconfinement), and the other solution has a potential which increases at large\ndistances. The cylindrically symmetric solution describes a classical field\n\"string\" (flux tube) of the kind which is expected to form between quarks in\nthe dual superconductor picture of confinement. These solutions with classical\nconfining behaviour appear to be typical solutions for the classical SU(3)\nYang-Mills equations. This implies that the confining properties of the\nclassical SU(3) Yang-Mills theory are general properties of this theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Reducible Gauge Algebra of BRST-Invariant Constraints: We show that it is possible to formulate the most general first-class gauge\nalgebra of the operator formalism by only using BRST-invariant constraints. In\nparticular, we extend a previous construction for irreducible gauge algebras to\nthe reducible case. The gauge algebra induces two nilpotent, Grassmann-odd,\nmutually anticommuting BRST operators that bear structural similarities with\nBRST/anti-BRST theories but with shifted ghost number assignments. In both\ncases we show how the extended BRST algebra can be encoded into an operator\nmaster equation. A unitarizing Hamiltonian that respects the two BRST\nsymmetries is constructed with the help of a gauge-fixing Boson. Abelian\nreducible theories are shown explicitly in full detail, while non-Abelian\ntheories are worked out for the lowest reducibility stages and ghost momentum\nranks.",
        "positive": "Gauging Conformal Algebras with Relations between the Generators: We investigate the gauging of conformal algebras with relations between the\ngenerators. We treat the $W_{5/2}$--algebra as a specific example. We show that\nthe gauge-algebra is in general reducible with an infinite number of stages. We\nshow how to construct the BV-extended action, and hence the classical BRST\ncharge. An important conclusion is that this can always be done in terms of the\ngenerators of the $W$--algebra only, that is, independent of the realisation.\nThe present treatment is still purely classical, but already enables us to\nlearn more about reducible gauge algebras and the BV-formalism."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Reveal the lost entanglement for accelerated atoms in the\n  high-dimensional spacetime: When atoms are accelerated in the vacuum, entanglement among atoms will\ndegrade compared with the initial situation before the acceleration. In this\npaper, we propose a novel and interesting view that the lost entanglement can\nbe recovered completely when the high-dimensional spacetime is exploited, in\nthe case that the acceleration is not too large, since the entanglement loss\nrate caused by the large acceleration is faster than the recovery process. We\nalso calculate the entanglement change caused by the anti-Unruh effect and\nfound that the lost entanglement could just be recovered part by the anti-Unruh\neffect, and the anti-Unruh effect could only appear for a finite range of\nacceleration when interaction time scale is approximately shorter than the\nreciprocal of the energy gap in two dimensional spacetime. The limit case of\nzero acceleration is also investigated, which gives an analytical\ninterpretation for the increase or recovery of entanglement.",
        "positive": "T-duality for torus bundles with H-fluxes via noncommutative topology,\n  II: the high-dimensional case and the T-duality group: We use noncommutative topology to study T-duality for principal torus bundles\nwith H-flux. We characterize precisely when there is a \"classical\" T-dual,\ni.e., a dual bundle with dual H-flux, and when the T-dual must be\n\"non-classical,\" that is, a continuous field of noncommutative tori.\n  The duality comes with an isomorphism of twisted $K$-theories, required for\nmatching of D-brane charges, just as in the classical case. The isomorphism of\ntwisted cohomology which one gets in the classical case is replaced in the\nnon-classical case by an isomorphism of twisted cyclic homology.\n  An important part of the paper contains a detailed analysis of the\nclassifying space for topological T-duality, as well as the T-duality group and\nits action. The issue of possible non-uniqueness of T-duals can be studied via\nthe action of the T-duality group."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Electroweak multi-monopoles: We construct the multi-charge generalizations for the electroweak magnetic\nmonopole solution of Cho and Maison within a wide range of values of the\nmagnetic charge. We use the same ansatz for the axially symmetric fields as the\none previously employed to construct the electroweak sphalerons and compare the\ninternal structure of monopoles with that of sphalerons. The monopoles have\nzero dipole moment but a finite quadrupole momentum that rapidly increases with\ngrowing magnetic charge. For large charges, the monopole configurations are\nstrongly squashed and show inside a bubble of symmetric phase filled with a\nU(1) hypercharge field produced by a pointlike magnetic charge at the origin,\nstrong enough to suppress all other fields and restore the full gauge symmetry.\nThe bubble is surrounded by a large belt of broken phase containing a\nmagnetically charged ring filled with a nonlinear W-condensate, squeezed\nbetween two superconducting rings of opposite electric currents. In the far\nfield region there remains only the magnetic field supported by the total\nmagnetic charge contained at the origin and in the magnetic ring. The axially\nsymmetric monopoles are probably just a special case of more general monopole\nsolutions not possessing any continuous symmetries. The Cho-Maison monopole is\nstable but the stability of its multi-charge generalizations is not yet\nconfirmed. All electroweak monopoles have infinite energy due to the pointlike\nU(1) charge at the origin, but the energy is expected to become finite after\ntaking gravity into account, which should provide a cutoff via creating an\nevent horizon to shield the U(1) charge.",
        "positive": "Power Spectrum and Signatures for Cascade Inflation: The power spectrum of M-theory cascade inflation is derived. It possesses\nthree distinctive signatures: a decisive power suppression at small scales,\noscillations around the scales that cross the horizon when the inflaton\npotential jumps and stepwise decrease in the scalar spectral index. All three\nproperties result from features in the inflaton potential. Cascade inflation\nrealizes assisted inflation in heterotic M-theory and is driven by\nnon-perturbative interactions of N M5-branes. The features in the inflaton\npotential are generated whenever two M5-branes collide with the boundaries. The\nderived small-scale power suppression serves as a possible explanation for the\ndearth of observed dwarf galaxies in the Milky Way halo. The oscillations,\nfurthermore, allow to directly probe M-theory by measurements of the spectral\nindex and to distinguish cascade inflation observationally from other string\ninflation models."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exact Lorentz-violating $q$-deformed O($N$) universality class: We examine the influence of exact Lorentz-violating symmetry mechanism on the\nradiative quantum corrections to the critical exponents for massless\n$q$-deformed O($N$) $\\lambda\\phi^{4}$ scalar field theories. For that, we\nemploy three different and independent field-theoretic renormalization group\nmethods for computing analytically the $q$-deformed critical exponents up to\nnext-to-leading order. Then we generalize the former finite loop level results\nfor any loop order. We show that the Lorentz-violating $q$-deformed critical\nexponents, obtained through the three methods, turn out to be identical and\nfurthermore the same as their Lorentz-invariant $q$-deformed ones. We argue\nthat this result is in accordance with the universality hypothesis.",
        "positive": "Graphical Classification of Global SO(n) Invariants and Independent\n  General Invariants: This paper treats some basic points in general relativity and in its\nperturbative analysis. Firstly a systematic classification of global SO(n)\ninvariants, which appear in the weak-field expansion of n-dimensional\ngravitational theories, is presented. Through the analysis, we explain the\nfollowing points: a) a graphical representation is introduced to express\ninvariants clearly; b) every graph of invariants is specified by a set of\nindices; c) a number, called weight, is assigned to each invariant. It\nexpresses the symmetry with respect to the suffix-permutation within an\ninvariant. Interesting relations among the weights of invariants are given.\nThose relations show the consistency and the completeness of the present\nclassification; d) some reduction procedures are introduced in graphs for the\npurpose of classifying them. Secondly the above result is applied to the proof\nof the independence of general invariants with the mass-dimension $M^6$ for the\ngeneral geometry in a general space dimension. We take a graphical\nrepresentation for general invariants too. Finally all relations depending on\neach space-dimension are systematically obtained for 2, 4 and 6 dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "First-order classical Lagrangians for the nonminimal Standard-Model\n  Extension: In this paper, we derive the general leading-order classical Lagrangian\ncovering all fermion operators of the nonminimal Standard-Model Extension\n(SME). Such a Lagrangian is considered to be the point-particle analog of the\neffective field theory description of Lorentz violation that is provided by the\nSME. First of all, a suitable Ansatz is made for the Lagrangian of the\nspin-degenerate operators $\\hat{a}$, $\\hat{c}$, $\\hat{e}$, and $\\hat{f}$ at\nleading order in Lorentz violation. The latter is shown to satisfy the set of\nfive nonlinear equations that govern the map from the field theory to the\nclassical description. After doing so, the second step is to propose results\nfor the spin-nondegenerate operators $\\hat{b}$, $\\hat{d}$, $\\hat{H}$, and\n$\\hat{g}$. Although these are more involved than the Lagrangians for the\nspin-degenerate ones, an analytical proof of their validity is viable,\nnevertheless. The final step is to combine both findings to produce a generic\nLagrangian for the complete set of Lorentz-violating operators that is\nconsistent with the known minimal and nonminimal Lagrangians found in the\nliterature so far. The outcome reveals the leading-order structure of the\nclassical SME analog. It can be of use for both phenomenological studies of\nclassical bodies in gravitational fields and conceptual work on explicit\nLorentz violation in gravity. Furthermore, there may be a possible connection\nto Finsler geometry.",
        "positive": "One-loop energy-momentum tensor in QED with electric-like background: We have obtained nonperturbative one-loop expressions for the mean\nenergy-momentum tensor and current density of Dirac's field on a constant\nelectric-like background. One of the goals of this calculation is to give a\nconsistent description of back-reaction in such a theory. Two cases of initial\nstates are considered: the vacuum state and the thermal equilibrium state.\nFirst, we perform calculations for the vacuum initial state. In the obtained\nexpressions, we separate the contributions due to particle creation and vacuum\npolarization. The latter contributions are related to the Heisenberg-Euler\nLagrangian. Then, we study the case of the thermal initial state. Here, we\nseparate the contributions due to particle creation, vacuum polarization, and\nthe contributions due to the work of the external field on the particles at the\ninitial state. All these contributions are studied in detail, in different\nregimes of weak and strong fields and low and high temperatures. The obtained\nresults allow us to establish restrictions on the electric field and its\nduration under which QED with a strong constant electric field is consistent.\nUnder such restrictions, one can neglect the back-reaction of particles created\nby the electric field. Some of the obtained results generalize the calculations\nof Heisenberg-Euler for energy density to the case of arbitrary strong electric\nfields."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum electrodynamics of inhomogeneous anisotropic media: In this work we calculate the closed time path (CTP) generating functional\nfor the electromagnetic (EM) field interacting with inhomogeneous anisotropic\nmatter. For this purpose, we first find a general expression for the\nelectromagnetic field's influence action from the interaction of the field with\na composite environment consisting in the quantum polarization degrees of\nfreedom in each point of space, at arbitrary temperatures, connected to thermal\nbaths. Then, we evaluate the generating functional for the gauge field, in the\ntemporal gauge, by implementing the Faddeev-Popov procedure. Finally, through\nthe point-splitting technique, we calculate closed expressions for the energy,\nthe Poynting vector and the Maxwell tensor in terms of the Hadamard propagator.\nWe show that all the quantities have contributions from the field's initial\nconditions and also from the matter degrees of freedom. Throughout the whole\nwork we discuss and give insights about how the gauge invariance must be\ntreated in the formalism when the EM field is interacting with inhomogeneous\nanisotropic matter. We study the electrodynamics in the temporal gauge,\nobtaining the EM field's equation and a residual condition. Finally analyze the\ncase of the EM field in bulk material and also discuss several general\nimplications of our results in relation with the Casimir physics in a\nnonequilibrium scenario.",
        "positive": "On the Fock Space Realizations of Nonlinear Algebras Describing the High\n  Spin Fields in AdS Spaces: The method of construction of Fock space realizations of Lie algebras is\ngeneralized for nonlinear algebras. We consider as an example the nonlinear\nalgebra of constraints which describe the totally symmetric fields with higher\nspins in the AdS space-time."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Feynman integral relations from parametric annihilators: We study shift relations between Feynman integrals via the Mellin transform\nthrough parametric annihilation operators. These contain the momentum space IBP\nrelations, which are well-known in the physics literature. Applying a result of\nLoeser and Sabbah, we conclude that the number of master integrals is computed\nby the Euler characteristic of the Lee-Pomeransky polynomial. We illustrate\ntechniques to compute this Euler characteristic in various examples and compare\nit with numbers of master integrals obtained in previous works.",
        "positive": "Quasi-topological Gravities on General Spherically Symmetric Metric: In this work we study a more restricted class of quasi-topological gravity\ntheories where the higher curvature terms have no contribution to the equation\nof motion on general static spherically symmetric metric where $g_{tt} g_{rr}\n\\ne \\mathrm{constant}$. We construct such theories up to quintic order in\nRiemann tensor and observe an important property of these theories: the higher\norder term in the Lagrangian vanishes identically when evaluated on the most\ngeneral non-stationary spherically symmetric metric ansatz. This not only\nsignals the higher terms could only have non-trivial effects when considering\nperturbations, but also makes the theories quasi-topological on a much wider\nrange of metrics. As an example of the holographic effects of such theories, we\nconsider a general Einstein-scalar theory and calculate it's holographic shear\nviscosity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Double Soft Theorems and Shift Symmetry in Nonlinear Sigma Models: We show both the leading and subleading double soft theorems of the nonlinear\nsigma model follow from a shift symmetry enforcing Adler's zero condition in\nthe presence of an unbroken global symmetry. They do not depend on the\nunderlying coset G/H and are universal infrared behaviors of Nambu-Goldstone\nbosons. Although nonlinear sigma models contain an infinite number of\ninteraction vertices, the double soft limit is determined entirely by a single\nfour-point interaction, together with the existence of Adler's zeros.",
        "positive": "Cosmology from random entanglement: We construct entangled microstates of a pair of holographic CFTs whose dual\nsemiclassical description includes big bang-big crunch AdS cosmologies in\nspaces without boundaries. The cosmology is supported by inhomogeneous heavy\nmatter and it partially purifies the bulk entanglement of two disconnected\nauxiliary AdS spacetimes. We show that the island formula for the fine grained\nentropy of one of the CFTs follows from a standard gravitational replica trick\ncalculation. In generic settings, the cosmology is contained in the\nentanglement wedge of one of the two CFTs. We then investigate properties of\nthe cosmology-to-boundary encoding map, and in particular, its non-isometric\ncharacter. Restricting our attention to a specific class of states on the\ncosmology, we provide an explicit, and state-dependent, boundary representation\nof operators acting on the cosmology. Finally, under genericity assumptions, we\nargue for a non-isometric to approximately-isometric transition of the\ncosmology-to-boundary map for ``simple'' states on the cosmology as a function\nof the bulk entanglement, with tensor network toy models of our setup as a\nguide."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Initial State and Consistency Relations: We study the effect of the initial state on the consistency conditions for\nadiabatic perturbations. In order to be consistent with the constraints of\nGeneral Relativity, the initial state must be diffeomorphism invariant. As a\nresult, we show that initial wavefunctional/density matrix has to satisfy a\nSlavnov-Taylor identity similar to that of the action. We then investigate the\nprecise ways in which modified initial states can lead to violations of the\nconsistency relations. We find two independent sources of violations: i) the\nstate can include initial non-Gaussianities; ii) even if the initial state is\nGaussian, such as a Bogoliubov state, the modified 2-point function can modify\nthe q->0 analyticity properties of the vertex functional and result in\nviolations of the consistency relations.",
        "positive": "Comment on \"Background thermal contributions in testing the Unruh\n  effect\": Costa and Matsas (gr-qc/9412030) claimed in their recent paper that a thermal\nbath does not affect substantially the transition probability for fast moving\ninertial Unruh detector. It is shown that their claim holds only for small\n$\\beta \\Delta E$. We show that, for large enough $\\beta \\Delta E$, the\ntransition probability is not monotonically decreasing function of the\ndetector's speed contrary to their claim."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Galactic Halos and Black Holes in Non-Canonical Scalar Field Theories: We consider static spherically symmetric solutions of a general scalar field\ntheory with non-standard kinetic energy coupled to gravity with a view to\nexplain dark matter halos as a coherent state of the scalar field. Consistent\nsolutions are found with a smooth scalar profile which can describe observed\nrotation curves. Some of the solutions have negative scalar energy density near\nthe origin though the total energy is positive definite. The solutions with\npositive energy density everywhere have a steeper rotation curve near the\norigin than those that don't. We also reconsider the no scalar hair theorems\nfor black holes with emphasis on asymptotic boundary conditions and\nsuper-luminal propagation. Some modifications and extensions of previous\nanalyses are discussed.",
        "positive": "Gauge-invariant two-point correlator of energy density in deconfining\n  SU(2) Yang-Mills thermodynamics: The thesis is considering aspects of SU(2) Yang-Mills thermodynamics in its\ndeconfining high-temperature phase. We calculate the two-point correlation\nfunction of the energy density of the photon in a thermalized gas, at first in\nthe conventional U(1) gauge theory, followed by a calculation, where the photon\nis identified with the massless gauge mode in deconfining SU(2) Yang-Mills\nthermodynamics. Apart from the fact, that this calculation is interesting from\na technical point of view, we can consider several aspects of phenomenological\nrelevance. Since we interpret the two-point correlator of energy density as a\nmeasure for the energy transfer, and thus for the electromagnetic interaction\nof microscopic objects, such as atoms immersed into a photon gas, we are able\nto give an explanation for the unexpected stability of cold, innergalactic\nclouds consisting of atomic hydrogen.\n  Subsequently, we evaluate the spatial string tension in deconfining SU(2)\nYang-Mills thermodynamics, which can be regarded as measure for the magnetic\nflux through the area enclosed by the associated Wilson loop. On the level of\non-shell polarization effects for the massless mode we observe a perimeter-law,\nand we speculate that the lattice-obtained area-law is induced by off-shell\ncontributions to the polarization tensor. Moreover, we discuss an interesting\ntwo-loop result for the pressure which seems to be associated with the presence\nof screened magnetic monopoles being responsible for an area-law."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Lifting U-dualities: We present a novel global E_7(7) symmetry in five-dimensional maximal\nsupergravity as well as an E_8(8) symmetry in d=4. These symmetry groups which\nare known to be present after reduction to d=4 and d=3, respectively, appear as\nconformal extensions of the respective well-known hidden-symmetry groups. A\nglobal scaling symmetry of the Lagrangian is the key to enhancement of E_6(6)\nto E_7(7) in d=5 and E_7(7) to E_8(8) in d=4. The group action on the physical\nfields is induced by conformal transformations in auxiliary spaces of\ndimensions 27 and 56, respectively. The construction is analogous to the one\nwhere the conformal group of Minkowski space acts on the boundary of AdS_5\nspace. A geometrical picture underlying the action of these ``conformal duality\ngroups'' is given.",
        "positive": "Charged participants and their electromagnetic fields in an expanding\n  fluid: We investigate the space-time dependence of electromagnetic fields produced\nby charged participants in an expanding fluid. To address this problem, we need\nto solve the Maxwell's equations coupled to the hydrodynamics conservation\nequation, specifically the relativistic magnetohydrodynamics (RMHD) equations,\nsince the charged participants move with the flow. To gain analytical insight,\nwe approximate the problem by solving the equations in a fixed background\nBjorken flow, onto which we solve Maxwell's equations. The dynamical\nelectromagnetic fields interact with the fluid's kinematic quantities such as\nthe shear tensor and the expansion scalar, leading to additional non-trivial\ncoupling. We use mode decomposition of Green's function to solve the resulting\nnon-linear coupled wave equations. We then use this function to calculate the\nelectromagnetic field for two test cases: a point source and a transverse\ncharge distribution. The results show that the resulting magnetic field\nvanishes at very early times, grows, and eventually falls at later times."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Asymptotic Spectroscopy of Rotating Black Holes: We calculate analytically the transmission and reflection amplitudes for\nwaves incident on a rotating black hole in d=4, analytically continued to\nasymptotically large, nearly imaginary frequency. These amplitudes determine\nthe asymptotic resonant frequencies of the black hole, including quasinormal\nmodes, total-transmission modes and total-reflection modes. We identify these\nmodes with semiclassical bound states of a one-dimensional Schrodinger\nequation, localized along contours in the complexified r-plane which connect\nturning points of corresponding null geodesics. Each family of modes has a\ncharacteristic temperature and chemical potential. The relations between them\nprovide hints about the microscopic description of the black hole in this\nasymptotic regime.",
        "positive": "Topological Background Fields as Quantum Degrees of Freedom of\n  Compactified Strings: It is shown that background fields of a topological character usually\nintroduced as such in compactified string theories correspond to quantum\ndegrees of freedom which parametrise the freedom in choosing a representation\nof the zero mode quantum algebra in the presence of non-trivial topology. One\nconsequence would appear to be that the values of such quantum degrees of\nfreedom, in other words of the associated topological background fields, cannot\nbe determined by the nonperturbative string dynamics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Homotopy Operators and Locality Theorems in Higher-Spin Equations: A new class of shifted homotopy operators in higher-spin gauge theory is\nintroduced. A sufficient condition for locality of dynamical equations is\nformulated and Pfaffian Locality Theorem identifying a subclass of shifted\nhomotopies that decrease the degree of non-locality in higher orders of the\nperturbative expansion is proven.",
        "positive": "Recent Developments in String Theory: After briefly reviewing basic concepts of perturbative string theory, we\nexplain in simple terms some of the new findings that created excitement among\nthe string physicists. These developments include non-perturbative dualities\nand a unified picture that embraces the so-far known theories. (An overview for\nnon-experts)"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "BCJ, worldsheet quantum algebra and KZ equations: We exploit the correspondence between twisted homology and quantum group to\nconstruct an algebra explanation of the open string kinematic numerator. In\nthis setting the representation depends on string modes, and therefore the\ncohomology content of the numerator, as well as the location of the punctures.\nWe show that quantum group root system thus identified helps determine the\nCasimir appears in the Knizhnik-Zamolodchikov connection, which can be used to\nrelate representations associated with different puncture locations.",
        "positive": "Abelian Projections and Monopoles: The monopole confinement mechanism in the abelian projection of lattice\ngluodynamics is reviewed. The main topics are: the abelian projection on the\nlattice and in the continuum, a numerical study of the abelian monopoles in the\nlattice gauge theory. Additionally, we briefly review the notation of\ndifferential forms, duality, and the BKT transformation in the lattice gauge\ntheories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Field Parametrization Dependence in Asymptotically Safe Quantum Gravity: Motivated by conformal field theory studies we investigate Quantum Einstein\nGravity with a new field parametrization where the dynamical metric is\nbasically given by the exponential of a matrix-valued fluctuating field,\n$g_{\\mu\\nu}=\\bar{g}_{\\mu\\rho}(e^h)^\\rho_{\\nu}$. In this way, we aim to\nreproduce the critical value of the central charge when considering\n$2+\\epsilon$ dimensional spacetimes. With regard to the Asymptotic Safety\nprogram, we take special care of possible fixed points and new structures of\nthe corresponding RG flow in $d=4$ for both single- and bi-metric truncations.\nFinally, we discuss the issue of restoring background independence in the\nbi-metric setting.",
        "positive": "New DBI Inflation model with Kinetic Coupling to Einstein Gravity: In this paper we study a new class of inflation models which generalize the\nDirac-Born-Infeld (DBI) action with the addition of a nonminimal kinetic\ncoupling (NKC) term. We dubbed this model as the {\\it new DBI inflation model}.\nThe NKC term does not bring new dynamical degree of freedom, so the equations\nof motion remain of second order. However, with such a coupling, the action is\nno longer linear with respect to the Einstein curvature term ($R$ or\n$G^{\\mu\\nu}$), which leads to a correction term of $k^4$ in the perturbations.\nThe new DBI inflation model can be viewed as theories beyond Horndeski. Without\nviolating nearly scale-invariance, such a correction may lead to new effects on\nthe inflationary spectra that could be tested by future observations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Natural Inflation with Natural Trans-Planckian Axion Decay Constant from\n  Anomalous $U(1)_X$: We propose a natural inflation model driven by an imaginary or axionic\ncomponent of a K\\\"ahler modulus in string-inspired supergravity. The shift\nsymmetry of the axion is gauged under an anomalous $U(1)_X$ symmetry, which\nleads to a modulus-dependent Fayet-Iliopoulos (FI) term. The matter fields are\nstabilized by F-terms, and the real component of the modulus is stabilized by\nthe $U(1)_X$ D-term, while its axion remains light. Therefore, the masses of\nreal and imaginary components of the modulus are separated at different scales.\nThe scalar potential for natural inflation is realized by the superpotential\nfrom the non-perturbative effects. The trans-Planckian axion decay constant,\nwhich is needed to fit with BICEP2 observations, can be obtained naturally in\nthis model.",
        "positive": "Non-Trivial Directions for Scalar Fields: We study the eigenvectors of the renormalization-group matrix for scalar\nfields at the Gaussian fixed point, and find that that there exist ``relevant''\ndirections in parameter space. They correspond to theories with exponential\npotentials that are nontrivial and asymptotically free. All other potentials,\nincluding polynomial potentials, are ``irrelevant,'' and lead to trivial\ntheories. Away from the Gaussian fixed point, renormalization does not induce\nderivative couplings, but it generates non-local interactions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "CFT Duals for Extreme Black Holes: It is argued that the general four-dimensional extremal Kerr-Newman-AdS-dS\nblack hole is holographically dual to a (chiral half of a) two-dimensional CFT,\ngeneralizing an argument given recently for the special case of extremal Kerr.\nSpecifically, the asymptotic symmetries of the near-horizon region of the\ngeneral extremal black hole are shown to be generated by a Virasoro algebra.\nSemiclassical formulae are derived for the central charge and temperature of\nthe dual CFT as functions of the cosmological constant, Newton's constant and\nthe black hole charges and spin. We then show, assuming the Cardy formula, that\nthe microscopic entropy of the dual CFT precisely reproduces the macroscopic\nBekenstein-Hawking area law. This CFT description becomes singular in the\nextreme Reissner-Nordstrom limit where the black hole has no spin. At this\npoint a second dual CFT description is proposed in which the global part of the\nU(1) gauge symmetry is promoted to a Virasoro algebra. This second description\nis also found to reproduce the area law. Various further generalizations\nincluding higher dimensions are discussed.",
        "positive": "Tug-the-hook symmetry for quantum 6j-symbols: We introduce a novel symmetry for quantum 6j-symbols, which we call the\ntug-the-hook symmetry. Unlike other known symmetries, it is applicable for any\nrepresentations, including ones with multiplicities. We provide several\nevidences in favour of the tug-the-hook symmetry. First, this symmetry follows\nfrom the eigenvalue conjecture. Second, it is shown by several new examples of\nexplicit coincidence of 6j-symbols with multiplicities. Third, the tug-the-hook\nsymmetry for Wilson loops for knots in the 3d Chern-Simons theory implies the\ntug-the-hook symmetry for quantum 6j-symbols. An important implication of the\nanalysis is the generalization of the tug-the-hook symmetry for the\nChern-Simons Wilson loops to the case of links."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The quasi-particle picture and its breakdown after local quenches:\n  mutual information, negativity, and reflected entropy: We study the dynamics of (R\\'enyi) mutual information, logarithmic\nnegativity, and (R\\'enyi) reflected entropy after exciting the ground state by\na local operator. Together with recent results from Ref. [1], we are able to\nconjecture a close-knit structure between the three quantities that emerges in\nstates excited above the vacuum, including both local and global quantum\nquenches. This structure intimately depends on the chaoticity of the theory\ni.e. there exist distinct sets of equivalences for integrable and chaotic\ntheories. For rational conformal field theories (RCFT), we find all quantities\nto compute the quantum dimension of the primary operator inserted. In contrast,\nwe find the correlation measures to grow (logarithmically) without bound in all\n$c > 1$ conformal field theories with a finite twist gap. In comparing the\ncalculations in the two classes of theories, we are able to identify the\ndynamical mechanism for the breakdown of the quasi-particle picture in 2D\nconformal field theories. Intriguingly, we also find preliminary evidence that\nour general lessons apply to quantum systems considerably distinct from\nconformal field theories, such as integrable and chaotic spin chains,\nsuggesting a universality of entanglement dynamics in non-equilibrium systems.",
        "positive": "On the bootstrap structure of Yangian-invariant factorized S-matrices: It is pointed out that the apparent presence of the fusing rule for purely\nelastic scattering theories in theories with dynamical Yangian invariance\nimplies beautiful and hitherto unseen structure in the finite-dimensional\nrepresentation theory of Yangians."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Electroweak Theory and Noncommutative Geometry: The noncommutative generalisation of the standard electroweak model due to\nBalakrishna, Gursey and Wali is formulated in terms of the derivations\nDer_2(M_3) of a three dimensional representation of the su(2) Lie algebra of\nweak isospin. A light Higgs boson of mass about 130 GeV, together with four\nvery heavy scalar bosons are predicted.",
        "positive": "Radiative Correction to the Dirichlet Casimir Energy for\n  $\u03bb\u03c6^{4}$ Theory in Two Spatial Dimensions: In this paper, we calculate the next to the leading order Casimir energy for\nreal massive and massless scalar fields within $\\lambda\\phi^{4}$ theory,\nconfined between two parallel plates with the Dirichlet boundary condition in\ntwo spatial dimensions. Our results are finite in both cases, in sharp contrast\nto the infinite result reported previously for the massless case. In this paper\nwe use a renormalization procedure introduced earlier, which naturally\nincorporates the boundary conditions. As a result our radiative correction term\nis different from the previously calculated value. We further use a\nregularization procedure which help us to obtain the finite results without\nresorting to any analytic continuation techniques."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Modified Mooses: We summarize our findings on the quantum moduli constraints and\nsuperpotentials of an infinite family of moose extensions of $n_f = n_c$ SUSY\nQCD. For $n_c=2$, we perform concrete calculations using traditional\nintegrating out techniques as well as Intriligator's ``integrating in''\ntechnique. Checking the constraints and superpotentials in the limits of\nsetting $\\Lambda$'s to zero or integrating out mass terms, we find that the\nquantum moduli constraints are local in theory space and are equivalent to a\nconsistent structure of ``splitting relations'' amongst the different theories.\nExtending the results to arbitrary $n_c$, we show that the splitting relations,\nalong with a set of rules for flowing from a high energy theory to a low energy\ntheory, incorporate much of the physics of the moose chain. The relations can\nbe used both to simplify perturbative calculations of symmetry breaking and to\nincorporate nonperturbative effects.",
        "positive": "String Theory and Pre-big bang Cosmology: In string theory, the traditional picture of a Universe that emerges from the\ninflation of a very small and highly curved space-time patch is a possibility,\nnot a necessity: quite different initial conditions are possible, and not\nnecessarily unlikely. In particular, the duality symmetries of string theory\nsuggest scenarios in which the Universe starts inflating from an initial state\ncharacterized by very small curvature and interactions. Such a state, being\ngravitationally unstable, will evolve towards higher curvature and coupling,\nuntil string-size effects and loop corrections make the Universe \"bounce\" into\na standard, decreasing-curvature regime. In such a context, the hot big bang of\nconventional cosmology is replaced by a \"hot big bounce\" in which the bouncing\nand heating mechanisms originate from the quantum production of particles in\nthe high-curvature, large-coupling pre-bounce phase. Here we briefly summarize\nthe main features of this inflationary scenario, proposed a quarter century\nago. In its simplest version (where it represents an alternative and not a\ncomplement to standard slow-roll inflation) it can produce a viable spectrum of\ndensity perturbations, together with a tensor component characterized by a\n\"blue\" spectral index with a peak in the GHz frequency range. That means,\nphenomenologically, a very small contribution to a primordial B-mode in the CMB\npolarization, and the possibility of a large enough stochastic background of\ngravitational waves to be measurable by present or future gravitational wave\ndetectors."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Thermodynamics of a charged particle in a noncommutative plane in a\n  background magnetic field: Landau system in noncommutative space has been considered. To take into\naccount the issue of gauge invariance in noncommutative space, we incorporate\nthe Seiberg-Witten map in our analysis. Generalised Bopp-shift transformation\nis then used to map the noncommutative system to its commutative equivalent\nsystem. In particular we have computed the partition function of the system and\nfrom this we obtained the susceptibility of the Landau system and found that\nthe result gets modified by the spatial noncommutative parameter $\\theta$. We\nalso investigate the de Hass--van Alphen effect in noncommutative space and\nobserve that the oscillation of the magnetization and the susceptibility gets\nnoncommutative corrections. Interestingly, the susceptibility in the\nnoncommutative scenario is non-zero in the range of the magnetic field greater\nthan the threshold value which is in contrast to its commutative counterpart.\nThe results obtained are valid upto all orders in the noncommutative parameter\n$\\theta$.",
        "positive": "The black-hole/qubit correspondence: an up-to-date review: We give a review of the black-hole/qubit correspondence that incorporates not\nonly the earlier results on black hole entropy and entanglement measures, seven\nqubits and the Fano plane, wrapped branes as qubits and the attractor mechanism\nas a distillation procedure, but also newer material including error-correcting\ncodes, Mermin squares, Freudenthal triples and 4-qubit entanglement\nclassification."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Entanglement entropy and $T\\bar T$ deformations beyond antipodal points\n  from holography: We consider the entanglement entropies in dS$_d$ sliced (A)dS$_{d+1}$ in the\npresence of a hard radial cutoff for $2\\le d\\le 6$. By considering a one\nparameter family of analytical solutions, parametrized by their turning point\nin the bulk $r^\\star$, we are able to compute the entanglement entropy for\ngeneric intervals on the cutoff slice. It has been proposed that the field\ntheory dual of this scenario is a strongly coupled CFT, deformed by a certain\nirrelevant deformation -- the so-called $T\\bar T$ deformation. Surprisingly, we\nfind that we may write the entanglement entropies formally in the same way as\nthe entanglement entropy for antipodal points on the sphere by introducing an\neffective radius $R_\\text{eff}=R\\,\\cos(\\beta_\\epsilon)$, where $R$ is the\nradius of the sphere and $\\beta_\\epsilon$ related to the length of the\ninterval. Geometrically, this is equivalent to following the $T\\bar T$\ntrajectory until the generic interval corresponds to antipodal points on the\nsphere. Finally, we check our results by comparing the asymptotic behavior (no\nDirichlet wall present) with the results of Casini, Huerta and Myers. We then\nswitch on counterterms on the cutoff slice which are important with regards to\nthe field theory calculation. We explicitly compute the contributions of the\ncounterterms to the entanglement entropy by considering the Wald entropy. In\nthe second part of this work, we extend the field theory calculation of the\nentanglement entropy for antipodal points for a $d$-dimensional field theory in\ncontext of DS/dS holography. We find excellent agreement with the results from\nholography and show, in particular, that the effects of the counterterms in the\nfield theory calculation match the Wald entropy associated with the\ncounterterms on the gravity side.",
        "positive": "Framing and localization in Chern-Simons theories with matter: Supersymmetric localization provides exact results that should match QFT\ncomputations in some regularization scheme. The agreement is particularly\nsubtle in three dimensions where complex answers from localization procedure\nsometimes arise. We investigate this problem by studying the expectation value\nof the 1/6 BPS Wilson loop in planar ABJ(M) theory at three loops in\nperturbation theory. We reproduce the corresponding term in the localization\nresult and argue that it originates entirely from a non-trivial framing of the\ncircular contour. Contrary to pure Chern-Simons theory, we point out that for\nABJ(M) the framing phase is a non-trivial function of the couplings and that it\npotentially receives contributions from vertex-like diagrams. Finally, we\nbriefly discuss the intimate link between the exact framing factor and the\nBremsstrahlung function of the 1/2-BPS cusp."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gravity and compactified branes in matrix models: A mechanism for emergent gravity on brane solutions in Yang-Mills matrix\nmodels is exhibited. Newtonian gravity and a partial relation between the\nEinstein tensor and the energy-momentum tensor can arise from the basic matrix\nmodel action, without invoking an Einstein-Hilbert-type term. The key\nrequirements are compactified extra dimensions with extrinsic curvature M^4 x K\n\\subset R^D and split noncommutativity, with a Poisson tensor \\theta^{ab}\nlinking the compact with the noncompact directions. The moduli of the\ncompactification provide the dominant degrees of freedom for gravity, which are\ntransmitted to the 4 noncompact directions via the Poisson tensor. The\neffective Newton constant is determined by the scale of noncommutativity and\nthe compactification. This gravity theory is well suited for quantization, and\nargued to be perturbatively finite for the IKKT model. Since no\ncompactification of the target space is needed, it might provide a way to avoid\nthe landscape problem in string theory.",
        "positive": "Supersymmetric Calculation of Mixed K\u00e4HLER-Gauge and Mixed\n  K\u00e4HLER-Lorentz Anomalies: We present a manifestly supersymmetric procedure for calculating the\ncontributions from matter loops to the mixed K\\\"{a}hler-gauge and to the mixed\nK\\\"{a}hler- Lorentz anomalies in $N=1, D=4$ supergravity-matter systems. We\nshow how this procedure leads to the well-known result for the mixed\nK\\\"{a}hler-gauge anomaly. For general supergravity-matter systems the mixed\nK\\\"{a}hler-Lorentz anomaly is found to contain a term proportional to ${\\cal\nR}^2$ with a background field dependent coefficient as well as terms\nproportional to $(C_{mnpq})^2$ and to the Gauss-Bonnet topological density. We\nbriefly comment on the relationship between the mixed K\\\"{a}hler-Lorentz\nanomaly and the moduli dependent threshold corrections to gravitational\ncouplings in $Z_N$ orbifolds."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Higher-dimensional invariants in $6D$ super Yang-Mills theory: We exploit the $6D, {\\cal N}=(1,0)$ and ${\\cal N}=(1,1)$ harmonic superspace\napproaches to construct the full set of the maximally supersymmetric on-shell\ninvariants of the canonical dimension ${\\bf d=12}$ in $6D, \\,{\\cal N}=(1,1)$\nsupersymmetric Yang-Mills (SYM) theory. Both single- and double-trace\ninvariants are derived. Only four single-trace and two double-trace invariants\nprove to be independent. The invariants constructed can provide the possible\ncounterterms of ${\\cal N}=(1,1)$ SYM theory at four-loop order, where the first\ndouble-trace divergences are expected to appear. We explicitly exhibit the\ngauge sector of all invariants in terms of ${\\cal N} = (1, 0)$ gauge\nsuperfields and find the absence of ${\\cal N}=(1,1)$ supercompletion of the\n$F^6$ term in the abelian limit.",
        "positive": "Quantum Entanglement of Locally Excited States in Maxwell Theory: In 4 dimensional Maxwell gauge theory, we study the changes of (Renyi)\nentangle-ment entropy which are defined by subtracting the entropy for the\nground state from the one for the locally excited states generated by acting\nwith the gauge invariant local operators on the state. The changes for the\noperators which we consider in this paper reflect the electric-magnetic\nduality. The late-time value of changes can be interpreted in terms of\nelectromagnetic quasi-particles. When the operator constructed of both electric\nand magnetic fields acts on the ground state, it shows that the operator acts\non the late-time structure of quantum entanglement differently from free scalar\nfields."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spin-$s$ Rational $Q$-system: Bethe ansatz equations for spin-$s$ Heisenberg spin chain with $s\\ge1$ are\nsignificantly more difficult to analyze than the spin-$\\tfrac{1}{2}$ case, due\nto the presence of repeated roots. As a result, it is challenging to derive\nextra conditions for the Bethe roots to be physical and study the related\ncompleteness problem. In this paper, we propose the rational $Q$-system for the\nXXX$_s$ spin chain. Solutions of the proposed $Q$-system give all and only\nphysical solutions of the Bethe ansatz equations required by completeness. This\nis checked numerically and proved rigorously. The rational $Q$-system is\nequivalent to the requirement that the solution and the corresponding dual\nsolution of the $TQ$-relation are both polynomials, which we prove rigorously.\nBased on this analysis, we propose the extra conditions for solutions of the\nXXX$_s$ Bethe ansatz equations to be physical.",
        "positive": "On the Equivalence of Noncommutative Models in Various Dimensions and\n  Brane Condensation: Here we construct a map from the algebra of fields in two-dimensional\nnoncommutative of U(1) Yang-Mills fields interacting with Kaluza-Klein scalars\nto a D-dimensional one, as a solution in the two-dimensional model. This proves\nthe equivalence of noncommutative models in various (even) dimensions.\nPhysically this map describes condensation of D1-branes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dyonic BPS Saturated Black Holes of Heterotic String on a Six-Torus: Within effective heterotic superstring theory compactified on a six-torus we\nderive minimum energy (supersymmetric), static, spherically symmetric\nsolutions, which are manifestly invariant under the target space $O(6,22)$ and\nthe strong-weak coupling $SL(2)$ duality symmetries with 28 electric and 28\nmagnetic charges subject to one constraint. The class of solutions with a\nconstant axion corresponds to dyonic configurations subject to two charge\nconstraints, with purely electric [or purely magnetic] and dyonic\nconfigurations preserving ${1\\over 2}$ and ${1\\over 4}$ of $N=4$ supersymmetry,\nrespectively. General dyonic configurations in this class have a space-time of\nextreme Reissner-Nordstr\\\" om black holes while configurations with more\nconstrained charges have a null or a naked singularity.",
        "positive": "On Evaluation of Nonplanar Diagrams in Noncommutative Field Theory: This is a technical work about how to evaluate loop integrals appearing in\none loop nonplanar (NP) diagrams in noncommutative (NC) field theory. The\nconventional wisdom says that, barring the ultraviolet/infrared (UV/IR) mixing\nproblem, NP diagrams whose planar counterparts are UV divergent are rendered\nfinite by NC phases that couple the loop momentum to the external NC momentum\n\\rho^{\\mu}=\\theta^{\\mu\\nu}p_{\\nu}. We show that this is generally not the case.\nWe find that subtleties arise already on Euclidean spacetime. The situation is\neven worse in Minkowski spacetime due to its indefinite metric. We compare\ndifferent prescriptions that may be used to evaluate loop integrals in ordinary\ntheory. They are equivalent in the sense that they always yield identical\nresults. However, in NC theory there is no a priori reason that these\nprescriptions, except for the defining one built in Feynman propagator, are\nphysically justified. Employing them can lead to ambiguous results. For\n\\rho^2>0, the NC phase can worsen the UV property of loop integrals instead of\nalways improving it in high dimensions. We explain how this surprising\nphenomenon comes about from the indefinite metric. For \\rho^2<0, the NC phase\nimproves the UV property and softens the quadratic UV divergence in ordinary\ntheory to a bounded but indefinite UV oscillation. We employ a cut-off method\nto quantify the new UV non-regular terms. For \\rho^2>0, these terms are\ngenerally complex and thus also harm unitarity. As the new terms are not\navailable in the Lagrangian, our result casts doubts on previous demonstrations\nof one loop renormalizability based exclusively upon analysis of planar\ndiagrams, especially in theories with quadratic divergences."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauge theories in local causal perturbation theory: In this thesis quantum gauge theories are considered in the framework of\nlocal, causal perturbation theory. Gauge invariance is described in terms of\nthe BRS formalism. Local interacting field operators are constructed\nperturbatively and field equations are established. A nilpotent BRS\ntransformation is defined on the local algebra of fields. It allows the\ndefinition of the algebra of local observables as an operator cohomology. This\nalgebra of local observables can be represented in a Hilbert space.\n  The interacting field operators are defined in terms of time ordered products\nof free field operators. For the results above to hold the time ordered\nproducts must satisfy certain normalization conditions. To formulate these\nconditions also for field operators that contain a spacetime derivative a\nsuitable mathematical description of time ordered products is developed.\n  Among the normalization conditions are Ward identities for the ghost current\nand the BRS current. The latter are generalizations of a normalization\ncondition that is postulated by D\"utsch, Hurth, Krahe and Scharf for Yang-Mills\ntheory. It is not yet proven that this condition has a solution in every order.\nAll other normalization conditions can be accomplished simultaneously.\n  A principle for the correspondence between interacting quantum fields and\ninteracting classical fields is established. Quantum electrodynamics and\nYang-Mills theory are examined and the results are compared with the\nliterature.",
        "positive": "Holographic Quenches and Fermionic Spectral Functions: Using holographic methods we investigate the behaviour of fermionic spectral\nfunctions of strongly coupled 2+1 dimensional field theories as both\ntemperature and chemical potential are quenched."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Massless Scalar Field Vacuum in de Sitter Spacetime: As a spacetime with compact spatial sections, de Sitter spacetime does not\nhave a de Sitter-invariant ground state for a minimally-coupled massless scalar\nfield that gives definite expectation values for any observables not invariant\nunder constant shifts of the field. However, if one restricts to observables\nthat are shift invariant, as the action is, then there is a unique vacuum\nstate. Here we calculate the shift-invariant four-point function that is the\nvacuum expectation value of the product of the difference of the field values\nat one pair of points and of the difference of the field values at a second\npair of points. We show that this vacuum expectation value obeys a\ncluster-decomposition property of vanishing in the limit that the one pair of\npoints is moved arbitrarily far from the other pair. We also calculate the\nshift-invariant correlation of the gradient of the scalar field at two\ndifferent points and show that it also obeys a cluster-decomposition property.\nPossible relevance to a putative de Sitter-invariant quantum state for gravity\nis discussed.",
        "positive": "Renormalization group defects for boundary flows: Recently Gaiotto [1] considered conformal defects which produce an expansion\nof infrared local fields in terms of the ultraviolet ones for a given\nrenormalization group flow. In this paper we propose that for a boundary RG\nflow in two dimensions there exist boundary condition changing fields (RG\ndefect fields) linking the UV and the IR conformal boundary conditions which\ncarry similar information on the expansion of boundary fields at the fixed\npoints. We propose an expression for a pairing between IR and UV operators in\nterms of a four-point function with two insertions of the RG defect fields. For\nthe boundary flows in minimal models triggered by \\psi_{13} perturbation we\nmake an explicit proposal for the RG defect fields. We check our conjecture by\na number of calculations done for the example of (p,2)--> (p-1,1)+(p+1,1)\nflows."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "GLSM for Calabi-Yau Manifolds of Berglund-Hubsch Type: In this note we briefly present the results of our computation of special\nK\\\"ahler geometry for polynomial deformations of Berglund-H\\\"ubsch type\nCalabi-Yau manifolds. We also build mirror symmetric Gauge Linear Sigma Model\nand check that its partition function computed by Supersymmetric localization\ncoincides with exponent of the K\\\"ahler potential of the special metric.",
        "positive": "Quantum Seiberg-Witten periods for $\\mathcal{N}=2$ $SU(N_c)$ SQCD around\n  the superconformal point: We study the quantum Seiberg-Witten periods of ${\\cal N}=2$ superconformal\nfield theories which are obtained by taking the scaling limit of ${\\cal N}=2$\n$SU(N_c)$ SQCD around the superconformal fixed point. The quantum\nSeiberg-Witten curves of these superconformal field theories are shown to be\nclassified into the Schr\\\"odinger type and the SQCD type, which depend on\nflavor symmetry at the fixed point. We study the quantum periods and compute\nthe differential operators which relate the quantum periods to the classical\nones up to the fourth-order in the deformation parameter."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Sectional Curvature Bounds in Gravity: Regularisation of the\n  Schwarzschild Singularity: A general geometrical scheme is presented for the construction of novel\nclassical gravity theories whose solutions obey two-sided bounds on the\nsectional curvatures along certain subvarieties of the Grassmannian of\ntwo-planes. The motivation to study sectional curvature bounds comes from their\nequivalence to bounds on the acceleration between nearby geodesics. A universal\nminimal length scale is a necessary ingredient of the construction, and an\napplication of the kinematical framework to static, spherically symmetric\nspacetimes shows drastic differences to the Schwarzschild solution of general\nrelativity by the exclusion of spacelike singularities.",
        "positive": "Dual conformal symmetry at loop level; massive regularization: Dual conformal symmetry has had a huge impact on our understanding of planar\nscattering amplitudes in N=4 super Yang-Mills. At tree level, it combines with\nthe original conformal symmetry generators to a Yangian algebra, a hallmark of\nintegrability, and helps in determining the tree-level amplitudes. The latter\nare now known in closed form. At loop level, it determines the functional form\nof the four- and five-point scattering amplitudes to all orders in the coupling\nconstant, and gives restrictions at six points and beyond. The symmetry is best\nunderstood at loop level in terms of a novel AdS-inspired infrared\nregularization which makes the symmetry exact, despite the infrared\ndivergences. This has important consequences for the basis of loop integrals in\nthis theory. Recently, a number of selective reviews have appeared which\ndiscuss dual conformal symmetry, mostly at tree level. Here, we give an\nup-to-date account of dual conformal symmetry, focussing on its status at loop\nlevel."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Massive and modified gravity as self-gravitating media: We study the effective field theory that describes the low-energy physics of\nself-gravitating media. The field content consists of four derivatively coupled\nscalar fields that can be identified with the internal comoving coordinates of\nthe medium. Imposing SO(3) internal spatial invariance, the theory describes\nsupersolids. Stronger symmetry requirements lead to superfluids, solids and\nperfect fluids, at lowest order in derivatives. In the unitary gauge, massive\ngravity emerges, being thus the result of a continuous medium propagating in\nspacetime. Our results can be used to explore systematically the effects and\nsignatures of modifying gravity consistently at large distances. The dark\nsector is then described as a self-gravitating medium with dynamical and\nthermodynamic properties dictated by internal symmetries. These results\nindicate that the divide between dark energy and modified gravity, at large\ndistance scales, is simply a gauge choice.",
        "positive": "Physical content of Quadratic Gravity: We have recently undergone an analysis of gravitational theories as defined\nin first order formalism, where the metric and the connection are treated as\nindependent fields. The physical meaning of the connection field has\nhistorically been somewhat elusive. In this paper, a complete spin analysis of\nthe torsionless connection field is performed, and its consequences are\nexplored. The main properties of a hypothetical consistent truncation of the\ntheory are discussed as well."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Complexity of Holographic Flavors: Quantum complexity of a thermofield double state in a strongly coupled\nquantum field theory has been argued to be holographically related to the\naction evaluated on the Wheeler-DeWitt patch. The growth rate of quantum\ncomplexity in systems dual to Einstein-Hilbert gravity saturates a bound which\nfollows from the Heisenberg uncertainty principle. We consider corrections to\nthe growth rate in models with flavor degrees of freedom. They are realized by\nadding a small number of flavor branes to the system. Holographically, such\ncorrections come from the DBI action of the flavor branes evaluated on the\nWheeler-DeWitt patch. We relate corrections to the growth of quantum complexity\nto corrections to the mass of the system, and observe that the bound on the\ngrowth rate is never violated.",
        "positive": "Super Atiyah classes and obstructions to splitting of supermoduli space: The first obstruction to splitting a supermanifold S is one of the three\ncomponents of its super Atiyah class, the two other components being the\nordinary Atiyah classes on the reduced space M of the even and odd tangent\nbundles of S. We evaluate these classes explicitly for the moduli space of\nsuper Riemann surfaces (\"super moduli space\") and its reduced space, the moduli\nspace of spin curves. These classes are interpreted in terms of certain\nextensions arising from line bundles on the square of the varying (super)\nRiemann surface. These results are used to give a new proof of the\nnon-projectedness of ${\\mathfrak{M}}_{g,1}$, the moduli space of super Riemann\nsurfaces with one puncture."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Thermodynamics of Vortices in the Plane: The thermodynamics of vortices in the critically coupled abelian Higgs model,\ndefined on the plane, are investigated by placing $N$ vortices in a region of\nthe plane with periodic boundary conditions: a torus. It is noted that the\nmoduli space for $N$ vortices, which is the same as that of $N$\nindistinguishable points on a torus, fibrates into a $CP_{N-1}$ bundle over the\nJacobi manifold of the torus. The volume of the moduli space is a product of\nthe area of the base of this bundle and the volume of the fibre. These two\nvalues are determined by considering two 2-surfaces in the bundle corresponding\nto a rigid motion of a vortex configuration, and a motion around a fixed centre\nof mass. The partition function for the vortices is proportional to the volume\nof the moduli space, and the equation of state for the vortices is $P(A-4\\pi\nN)=NT$ in the thermodynamic limit, where $P$ is the pressure, $A$ the area of\nthe region of the plane occupied by the vortices, and $T$ the temperature.\nThere is no phase transition.",
        "positive": "Casimir Energy and Vacua vor Superconducting Ball in Supergravity: Casimir energy for solid conducting ball is considered on the base of some\nfinite models. One model is physical and built of a battery of parallel\nmetallic plates. Two finite models are based on the Higgs model of\nsuperconductivity. One of them is supersymmetric and based on the Witten field\nmodel for superconducting strings. Treatment shows that contribution of Casimir\nenergy can be very essential for superdence state in the neutron stars and\nnuclear matter."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Some exact BPS solutions for exotic vortices and monopoles: We present several analytical solutions of BPS vortices and monopoles in the\ngeneralized Abelian Maxwell-Higgs and Yang-Mills-Higgs theories, respectively.\nThese models have recently been extensively studied and several exact solutions\nhave already been obtained in \\cite{Casana:2014qfa, Casana:2013lna}. In each\ntheory, the dynamics is controlled by the additional two positive\nscalar-field-dependent functions, $f(|\\phi|)$ and $w(|\\phi|)$. For the case of\nvortices, we work in the ordinary symmetry-breaking Higgs potential, while for\nthe case of monopoles we have the ordinary condition of the Prasad-Sommerfield\nlimit. Our results generalize that of exact solutions found previously. We also\npresent solutions for BPS vortices with higher winding number. These solutions\nsuffer from the condition that $w(|\\phi|)$ has negative value at some finite\nrange of $r$, but we argue that since it satisfies the weaker positive-value\nconditions then the corresponding energy density is still positive-definite\nand, thus, they are acceptable BPS solutions.",
        "positive": "Casimir effect in toroidally compactified de Sitter spacetime: Vacuum energy density and stresses are investigated for a scalar field with\ngeneral curvature coupling parameter in (D+1)-dimensional de Sitter spacetime\nwith an arbitrary number of toroidally compactified spatial dimensions. The\ncorresponding expectation values are presented in the form of the sum of the\nvacuum expectation values in uncompactified dS spacetime and the part induced\nby the non-trivial topology. In the early stages of the cosmological evolution\nthe topological parts dominate. In this limit the behavior of the Casimir\ndensities does not depend on the curvature coupling parameter and coincides\nwith that for a conformally coupled massless field. At late stages of the\ncosmological expansion the expectation values are dominated by the part\ncorresponding to uncompactified dS spacetime. The vanishing of the topological\nparts is monotonic or oscillatory in dependence of the mass and the curvature\ncoupling parameter of the field."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Large Winding Sector of AdS/CFT: We study a family of classical strings on R x S^3 subspace of the AdS_5 x S^5\nbackground that interpolates between pulsating strings and single-spike\nstrings. They are obtained from the helical strings of hep-th/0609026 by\ninterchanging worldsheet time and space coordinates, which maps\nrotating/spinning string states with large spins to oscillating states with\nlarge winding numbers. From a finite-gap perspective, this transformation is\nrealised as an interchange of quasi-momentum and quasi-energy defined for the\nalgebraic curve. The gauge theory duals are also discussed, and are identified\nwith operators in the non-holomorphic sector of N=4 super Yang-Mills. They can\nbe viewed as excited states above the ``antiferromagnetic'' state, which is\n``the farthest from BPS'' in the spin-chain spectrum. Furthermore, we\ninvestigate helical strings on AdS_3 x S^1 in an appendix.",
        "positive": "Subleading soft dressings of asymptotic states in QED and perturbative\n  quantum gravity: We construct Faddeev-Kulish states in QED and perturbative quantum gravity to\nsubleading order in the soft momentum expansion and to first order in the\ncoupling constant, using the charge conservation formula of asymptotic\nsymmetries associated with the tree-level subleading soft theorems. We\ndemonstrate that the emission and absorption of soft photons/gravitons in\ndressed amplitudes vanish. The fact that no additional soft radiation may be\nadded to a dressed amplitude supports the claim that, in the dressed state\nformalism, the soft and hard sectors of scattering processes are correlated. We\nalso show that the dressed virtual amplitudes are equivalent to the\ninfrared-finite part of the traditional amplitudes constructed using Fock\nstates. Since there is no real soft radiation in the asymptotic Hilbert space,\nthe dressed state formalism gives the same cross sections as the\nBloch-Nordsieck method."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Strong interactions and gauge/string duality: We discuss some recent phenomenological models for strong interactions based\non the idea of gauge/string duality. A very good estimate for hadronic masses\ncan be found by placing an infrared cut off in AdS space. Considering static\nstrings in this geometry one can also reproduce the phenomenological Cornell\npotential for a quark anti-quark potential at zero temperature. Placing static\nstrings in an AdS Schwarzschild space with an infrared cut off one finds a\ntransition from a confining to a deconfining phase at some critical horizon\nradius (associated with temperature).",
        "positive": "Notes on the K3 Surface and the Mathieu group M_24: We point out that the elliptic genus of the K3 surface has a natural\ndecomposition in terms of dimensions of irreducible representations of the\nlargest Mathieu group M_24. The reason is yet a mystery."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Linear connections with propagating spin-3 field in gravity: We show that Fronsdal's Lagrangian for a free massless spin-3 gauge field in\nMinkowski spacetime is contained in a general Yang--Mills-like Lagrangian of\nmetric-affine gravity (MAG), the gauge theory of the general affine group in\nthe presence of a metric. Due to the geometric character of MAG, this can best\nbe seen by using Vasiliev's frame formalism for higher-spin gauge fields in\nwhich the spin-3 frame is identified with the tracefree nonmetricity one-form\nassociated with the shear generators of GL(n,R). Furthermore, for specific\ngravitational gauge models in the framework of full nonlinear MAG, exact\nsolutions are constructed, featuring propagating massless and massive spin-3\nfields.",
        "positive": "Aligned electromagnetic excitations of a black hole and their impact on\n  its quantum horizon: We show that elementary aligned electromagnetic excitations of black holes,\nas coming from exact Kerr-Schild solutions, represent light-like beam pulses\nwhich have a very strong back reaction on the metric and change the topology of\nthe horizon.\n  Based on York's proposal, that elementary deformations of the BH horizon are\nrelated with elementary vacuum fluctuations, we analyze deformation of the\nhorizon caused by the beam-like vacuum fluctuations and obtain a very specific\nfeature of the topological deformations of the horizon. In particular, we show\nhow the beams pierce the horizon, forming a multitude of micro holes in it. A\nconjecture is taken into consideration, that these specific excitations are\nconnected with the conformal-analytic properties of the Kerr geometry and are\nat the base of the emission mechanism."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetry in Singular Spaces: We develop the concept of supersymmetry in singular spaces, apply it in an\nexample for 3-branes in D=5 and comment on 8-branes in D=10. The new\nconstruction has an interpretation that the brane is a sink for the flux and\nrequires adding to the standard supergravity a (D-1)-form field and a\nsupersymmetry singlet field. This allows a consistent definition of\nsupersymmetry on a S_1/Z_2 orbifold, the bulk and the brane actions being\nseparately supersymmetric. Randall-Sundrum brane-worlds can be reproduced in\nthis framework without fine tuning. For fixed scalars, the doubling of unbroken\nsupersymmetries takes place and the negative tension brane can be pushed to\ninfinity. In more general BPS domain walls with 1/2 of unbroken\nsupersymmetries, the distance between branes in some cases may be restricted by\nthe collapsing cycles of the Calabi-Yau manifold. The energy of any static\nx^5-dependent bosonic configuration vanishes, E=0, in analogy with the\nvanishing of the Hamiltonian in a closed universe.",
        "positive": "On the Three-point Function in Minimal Liouville Gravity: The problem of the structure constants of the operator product expansions in\nthe minimal models of conformal field theory is revisited. We rederive these\npreviously known constants and present them in the form particularly useful in\nthe Liouville gravity applications. Analytic relation between our expression\nand the structure constant in Liouville field theory is discussed. Finally we\npresent in general form the three- and two-point correlation numbers on the\nsphere in the minimal Liouville gravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Note on Gauge Principle and Spontaneous Symmetry Breaking in Classical\n  Particle Mechanics: The U(1) gauge field is usually induced from the gauge principle, that is,\nthe extension of global U(1) phase transformation for matter field. However the\nphase itself is realized only for quantum theory. In this paper we introduce\nthe U(1) gauge field and gauge coupling from the gauge principle classically.\nThe gauge symmetry is spontaneously broken from the out set. The Higgs\nmechanism occurs and we obtain the London equation. The Hydrodynamical\ninterpretation of classical field we utilized is given, and the relation to\nsuper conductivity is discussed.",
        "positive": "Cosmological Double-Copy Relations: We present differential double-copy relations between gluon and graviton\nthree-point functions in (A)dS$_{d+1}$. We introduce a set of differential\noperators in (A)dS that naturally generalize on-shell kinematics of scattering\namplitudes in flat space. This provides a way to construct (A)dS correlators by\nreplacing the kinematic variables of amplitudes with the corresponding\ndifferential operators and suitably ordering them. By construction, the\nresulting correlators are manifestly conformally invariant, with the correct\nflat-space limit, and exhibit a differential double-copy structure."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Class of Integrable Metrics and Gauge Fields: Starting with the most general four-dimensional spacetime possessing two\ncommuting Killing vectors and a nontrivial Killing tensor, we analytically\nintegrate Einstein-Yang-Mills equations for a completely arbitrary gauge group.\nIt is assumed that the gauge field inherits the symmetries of the background\nand is aligned with the principal null directions of the spacetime.",
        "positive": "Non-perturbative propagators in quantum gravity: We employ non-perturbative renormalisation group methods to compute the full\nmomentum dependence of propagators in quantum gravity in general dimensions. We\ndisentangle all different graviton and Faddeev-Popov ghost modes and find\nqualitative differences in the momentum dependence of their propagators. This\nallows us to reconstruct the form factors quadratic in curvature from first\nprinciples, which enter physical observables like scattering cross sections.\nThe results are qualitatively stable under variations of the gauge fixing\nchoice."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Curved BPS domain wall solutions in five-dimensional gauged supergravity: We analyze the possibility of constructing supersymmetric curved domain wall\nsolutions in five-dimensional ${\\cal N}=2$ gauged supergravity, which are\nsupported by non-constant scalar fields belonging either to vector multiplets\nonly or to vector and hypermultiplets. We show that the BPS equations for the\nwarp factor and for the vector scalars are modified by the presence of a\nfour-dimensional cosmological constant on the domain wall, in agreement with\nearlier results by DeWolfe, Freedman, Gubser and Karch. We also show that the\ncosmological constant on the domain wall is anti-de Sitter like and that it\nconstitutes an independent quantity, not related to any of the objects\nappearing in the context of very special geometry.",
        "positive": "LIPS-thermalization of a relativistic gas: It is argued that two-particle collisions of relativistic particles \"at a\ndistance\", irrespective of their position in the configuration space, generate\nuniform distribution of particles in Lorentz invariant phase space."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "T duality and Wald entropy formula in the Heterotic Superstring\n  effective action at first order in $\u03b1'$: We consider the compactification on a circle of the Heterotic Superstring\neffective action to first order in the Regge slope parameter $\\alpha'$ and\nre-derive the $\\alpha'$-corrected Buscher rules first found in\narXiv:hep-th/9506156 , proving the T duality invariance of the\ndimensionally-reduced action to that order in $\\alpha'$. We use Iyer and Wald's\nprescription to derive an entropy formula that can be applied to black-hole\nsolutions which can be obtained by a single non-trivial compactification on a\ncircle and discuss its invariance under the $\\alpha'$-corrected T duality\ntransformations. This formula has been successfully applied to\n$\\alpha'$-corrected 4-dimensional non-extremal Reissner-Nordstr\\\"om black holes\nin arXiv:1910.14324 and we apply it here to a heterotic version of the\nStrominger-Vafa 5-dimensional extremal black hole.",
        "positive": "Quantum Hall Effect on Higher Dimensional Spaces: We analysis the quantum Hall effect exhibited by a system of particles moving\nin a higher dimensional space. This can be done by considering particles on the\nBergman ball {\\bb{B}_{\\rho}^d} of radius \\rho in the presence of an external\nmagnetic field B and investigate its basic features. Solving the corresponding\nHamiltonian to get the energy levels as well as the eigenfunctions. This can be\nused to study quantum Hall effect of confined particles in the lowest Landau\nlevel where density of particles and two point functions are calculated. We\ntake advantage of the symmetry group of the Hamiltonian on {\\bb{B}_{\\rho}^d} to\nmake link to the Landau problem analysis on the complex projective spaces CP^d.\nIn the limit \\rho\\lga\\infty, our analysis coincides with that corresponding to\nparticles on the flat geometry {\\bb{C}^d}. This task has been done for d=1, 2\nand finally for the generic case, i.e. d \\geq 3."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Heterotic Instantons for Monad and Extension Bundles: We consider non-perturbative superpotentials from world-sheet instantons\nwrapped on holomorphic genus zero curves in heterotic string theory. These\nsuperpotential contributions feature prominently in moduli stabilization and\nlarge field axion inflation, which makes their presence or absence, as well as\ntheir functional dependence on moduli, an important issue. We develop geometric\nmethods to compute the instanton superpotentials for heterotic string theory\nwith monad and extension bundles. Using our methods, we find a variety of\nexamples with a non-vanishing superpotential. In view of standard vanishing\ntheorems, we speculate that these results are likely to be attributed to the\nnon-compactness of the instanton moduli space. We test this proposal, for the\ncase of monad bundles, by considering gauged linear sigma models where\ncompactness of the instanton moduli space can be explicitly checked. In all\nsuch cases, we find that the geometric results are consistent with the\nvanishing theorems. Surprisingly, linearly dependent Pfaffians even arise for\ncases with a non-compact instanton moduli space. This suggests some gauged\nlinear sigma models with a non-compact instanton moduli space may still have a\nvanishing instanton superpotential.",
        "positive": "Perturbative gauge invariance: the electroweak theory: The concept of perturbative gauge invariance formulated exclusively by means\nof asymptotic fields is generalized to massive gauge fields. Applying it to the\nelectroweak theory leads to a complete fixing of couplings of scalar and ghost\nfields and of the coupling to leptons, in agreement with the standard theory.\nThe W/Z mass ratio is also determined, as well as the chiral character of the\nfermions. We start directly with massive gauge fields and leptons and,\nnevertheless, obtain a theory which satisfies perturbative gauge invariance."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "From Boundaries To Conditions Over Superspace: N=1 and 2 superconformal boundary conditions are shown to be the consequence\nof a boundary on the worldsheet superspace with positive codimension in the\nanticommuting subspace. In addition to the well-known boundary conditions, I\nalso find two new infinite series of N=2 boundary states. Their free field\nrealizations are given. A self-contained development of 2d superspace leads to\nnew perspectives on this subject.",
        "positive": "Standard Model and Gravity from Spinors: We propose to unify the Gravity and Standard Model gauge groups by using\nalgebraic spinors of the standard four-dimensional Clifford algebra, in\nleft-right symmetric fashion. This generates exactly a Standard Model family of\nfermions, and a Pati-Salam unification group emerges, at the Planck scale,\nwhere (chiral) self-dual gravity decouples. As a remnant of the unification,\nisospin-triplets spin-two particles may naturally appear at the weak scale,\nproviding a striking signal at the LHC."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum evolution of near-extremal Reissner-Nordstrom black holes: We study the near-horizon AdS_2\\timesS^2 geometry of evaporating\nnear-extremal Reissner-Nordstrom black holes interacting with null matter. The\nnon-local (boundary) terms t_{\\pm}, coming from the effective theory corrected\nwith the quantum Polyakov-Liouville action, are treated as dynamical variables.\nWe describe analytically the evaporation process which turns out to be\ncompatible with the third law of thermodynamics, i.e., an infinite amount of\ntime is required for the black hole to decay to extremality. Finally we comment\nbriefly on the implications of our results for the information loss problem.",
        "positive": "Defect CFT techniques in the 6d $\\mathcal{N} = (2,0)$ theory: Surface operators are among the most important observables of the 6d\n$\\mathcal{N} = (2,0)$ theory. Here we apply the tools of defect CFT to study\nlocal operator insertions into the 1/2-BPS plane. We first relate the 2-point\nfunction of the displacement operator to the expectation value of the bulk\nstress tensor and translate this relation into a constraint on the anomaly\ncoefficients associated with the defect. Secondly, we study the defect operator\nexpansion of the stress tensor multiplet and identify several new operators of\nthe defect CFT. Technical results derived along the way include the explicit\nsupersymmetry tranformations of the stress tensor multiplet and the\nclassification of unitary representations of the superconformal algebra\npreserved by the defect."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hidden superconformal symmetry of spinless Aharonov-Bohm system: A hidden supersymmetry is revealed in the spinless Aharonov-Bohm problem. The\nintrinsic supersymmetric structure is shown to be intimately related with the\nscale symmetry. As a result, a bosonized superconformal symmetry is identified\nin the system. Different self-adjoint extensions of the Aharonov-Bohm problem\nare studied in the light of this superconformal structure and interacting\nanyons. Scattering problem of the original Aharonov-Bohm model is discussed in\nthe context of the revealed supersymmetry.",
        "positive": "Holography in de Sitter and anti-de Sitter Spaces and Gel'fand Graev\n  Radon transform: Bulk reconstruction formulas similar to HKLL are obtained for de Sitter and\nanti-de Sitter spaces as the inverse Gel'fand Graev Radon transform. While\nthese generalize our previous result on the Euclidean anti-de Sitter space,\ntheir validity in here is restricted only to odd dimensions in both instances.\nThe exact Wightman function for the de Sitter space is then derived\nanalytically. The GGR transform fixes the coefficient of the Wightman function.\nFor the anti-de Sitter space it is shown that a reconstruction formula exists\nfor the case of time-like boundary as well. The restriction on the domain of\nintegration on the boundary is derived. As a special case, we point out that\nthe formula is valid for the BTZ black hole as well."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Diffusion in inhomogeneous media: We consider the transport of conserved charges in spatially inhomogeneous\nquantum systems with a discrete lattice symmetry. We analyse the retarded two\npoint functions involving the charge and the associated currents at long\nwavelengths, compared to the scale of the lattice, and, when the DC\nconductivity is finite, extract the hydrodynamic modes associated with charge\ndiffusion. We show that the dispersion relations of these modes are related to\nthe eigenvalues of a specific matrix constructed from the DC conductivity and\ncertain thermodynamic susceptibilities, thus obtaining generalised Einstein\nrelations. We illustrate these general results in the specific context of\nrelativistic hydrodynamics where translation invariance is broken using\nspatially inhomogeneous and periodic deformations of the stress tensor and the\nconserved $U(1)$ currents. Equivalently, this corresponds to considering\nhydrodynamics on a curved manifold, with a spatially periodic metric and\nchemical potential.",
        "positive": "Bound of Noncommutativity Parameter Based on Black Hole Entropy: We study the bound of the noncommutativity parameter in the noncommutative\nSchwarzschild black hole which is a solution of the noncommutative ISO(3,1)\nPoincare gauge group. The statistical entropy satisfying the area law in the\nbrick wall method yields a cutoff relation which depends on the\nnoncommutativity parameter. Requiring both the cutoff parameter and the\nnoncommutativity parameter to be real, the noncommutativity parameter can be\nshown to be bounded as $\\Theta > 8.4\\ times 10^{-2}l_{p}$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Einstein-Yang-Mills Scattering Amplitudes From Scattering Equations: We present the building blocks that can be combined to produce tree-level\nS-matrix elements of a variety of theories with various spins mixed in\narbitrary dimensions. The new formulas for the scattering of $n$ massless\nparticles are given by integrals over the positions of $n$ points on a sphere\nrestricted to satisfy the scattering equations. As applications, we obtain all\nsingle-trace amplitudes in Einstein--Yang--Mills (EYM) theory, and\ngeneralizations to include scalars. Also in EYM but extended by a B-field and a\ndilaton, we present all double-trace gluon amplitudes. The building blocks are\nmade of Pfaffians and Parke--Taylor-like factors of subsets of particle labels.",
        "positive": "Entanglement transfer from quantum matter to classical geometry in an\n  emergent holographic dual description of a scalar field theory: Applying recursive renormalization group transformations to a scalar field\ntheory, we obtain an effective quantum gravity theory with an emergent extra\ndimension, described by a dual holographic Einstein-Klein-Gordon type action.\nHere, the dynamics of both the dual order-parameter field and the metric tensor\nfield originate from density-density and energy-momentum tensor-tensor\neffective interactions, respectively, in the recursive renormalization group\ntransformation, performed approximately in the Gaussian level. This linear\napproximation in the recursive renormalization group transformation for the\ngravity sector gives rise to a linearized quantum Einstein-scalar theory along\nthe $z-$directional emergent space. In the large $N$ limit, where $N$ is the\nflavor number of the original scalar fields, quantum fluctuations of both\ndynamical metric and dual scalar fields are suppressed, leading to a classical\nfield theory of the Einstein-scalar type in $(D+1)$-spacetime dimensions. We\nshow that this emergent background gravity describes the renormalization group\nflows of coupling functions in the UV quantum field theory through the extra\ndimension. More precisely, the IR boundary conditions of the gravity equations\ncorrespond to the renormalization group $\\beta$-functions of the quantum field\ntheory, where the infinitesimal distance in the extra-dimensional space is\nidentified with an energy scale for the renormalization group transformation.\nFinally, we also show that this dual holographic formulation describes quantum\nentanglement in a geometrical way, encoding the transfer of quantum\nentanglement from quantum matter to classical gravity in the large $N$ limit.\nWe claim that this entanglement transfer serves as a microscopic foundation for\nthe emergent holographic duality description."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the geometry of the theory space in the ERG formalism: We consider the theory space as a manifold whose coordinates are given by the\ncouplings appearing in the Wilson action. We discuss how to introduce\nconnections on this theory space. A particularly intriguing connection can be\ndefined directly from the solution of the exact renormalization group (ERG)\nequation. We advocate a geometric viewpoint that lets us define\nstraightforwardly physically relevant quantities invariant under the changes of\na renormalization scheme.",
        "positive": "Starobinsky-Like Inflation in Dilaton-Brane Cosmology: We discuss how Starobinsky-like inflation may emerge from dilaton dynamics in\nbrane cosmology scenarios based on string theory, in which our universe is\nrepresented as a three-brane. The effective potential may acquire a constant\nterm from a density of effectively point-like non-pertubative defects on the\nbrane. Higher-genus corrections generate corrections to the effective potential\nthat are exponentially damped at large field values, as in the Starobinsky\nmodel, but at a faster rate, leading to a smaller prediction for the tensor-to\nscalar perturbation ratio r. This may be compensated partially by logarithmic\ndeformations on the world-sheet due to recoil of the defects due to scattering\nby string matter on the brane, which tend to enhance the tensor-to-scalar\nratio."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Nonassociative geometry: Friedmann-Robertson-Walker spacetime: In (Phys. Rev. D 62, 081501, 2000) we proposed a unified approach to\ndescription of continuous and discrete spacetime based on nonassociative\ngeometry and described nonassociative smooth and discrete de Sitter models. In\nour paper we give the description of nonassociative Friedmann-Robertson-Walker\nspacetime.",
        "positive": "New entropy formula for Kerr black holes: We introduce a new entropy formula for Kerr black holes inspired by recent\nresults for 3-dimensional black holes and cosmologies with soft Heisenberg\nhair. We show that also Kerr-Taub-NUT black holes obey the same formula."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Superstring BRST Cohomology: We first derive all world-sheet action functionals for NSR superstring models\nwith (1,1) supersymmetry and any number of abelian gauge fields, for gauge\ntransformations of the standard form. Then we prove for these models that the\nBRST cohomology groups $H^g(s)$, $g<4$ (with the antifields taken into account)\nare isomorphic to those of the corresponding bosonic string models, whose\ncohomology is fully known. This implies that the nontrivial global symmetries,\nNoether currents, background charges, consistent deformations and candidate\ngauge anomalies of an NSR (1,1) superstring model are in one-to-one\ncorrespondence with their bosonic counterparts.",
        "positive": "Precision Holography for $\\mathcal{N}=2^{*}$ on $S^4$ from type IIB\n  Supergravity: We find a new supersymmetric solution of type IIB supergravity which is\nholographically dual to the planar limit of the four-dimensional\n$\\mathcal{N}=2^*$ supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory on $S^4$. We study a probe\nfundamental string in this background which is dual to a supersymmetric Wilson\nloop in the $\\mathcal{N}=2^*$ theory. Using holography we calculate the\nexpectation value of this line operator to leading order in the 't Hooft\ncoupling. The result is a non-trivial function of the mass parameter of the\n$\\mathcal{N}=2^*$ theory that precisely matches the result from supersymmetric\nlocalization."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fermionic zero modes in self-dual vortex background: We study fermionic zero modes in the background of self-dual vortex on a\ntwo-dimensional non-compact extra space in 5+1 dimensions. In the Abelian Higgs\nmodel, we present an unified description of the topological and non-topological\nself-dual vortex on the extra two dimensions. Based on it, we study\nlocalization of bulk fermions on a brane with inclusion of Yang-Mills and\ngravity backgrounds in six dimensions. Through two simple cases, it is shown\nthat the vortex background contributes a phase shift to the fermionic zero\nmode, this phase is actually origin from the Aharonov-Bohm effect.",
        "positive": "Unified BRST description of AdS gauge fields: A concise formulation for mixed-symmetry gauge fields on AdS space is\nproposed. It is explicitly local, gauge invariant, and has manifest AdS\nsymmetry. Various other known formulations (including the original formulation\nof Metsaev and the unfolded formulation) can be derived through the appropriate\nreductions and gauge fixing. As a byproduct, we also identify some new useful\nformulations of the theory that can be interesting for further developments.\nThe formulation is presented in the BRST terms and extensively uses Howe\nduality. In particular, the BRST operator is a sum of the term associated to\nthe spacetime isometry algebra and the term associated to the Howe dual\nsymplectic algebra."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Intersecting Brane Worlds at One Loop: We develop techniques for one-loop diagrams on intersecting branes. The\none-loop propagator of chiral intersection states on D6 branes is calculated\nexactly and its finiteness is shown to be guaranteed by RR tadpole\ncancellation. The result is used to demonstrate the expected softening of power\nlaw running of Yukawa couplings at the string scale. We also develop methods to\ncalculate arbitrary N-point functions at one-loop, including those without\ngauge bosons in the loop. These techniques are also applicable to heterotic\norbifold models.",
        "positive": "On Universal Constants of AdS Black Holes from Hawking-Page Phase\n  Transition: We investigate the thermodynamic properties of the Hawking-Page phase\ntransition of AdS black holes. We present evidence for the existence of two\nuniversal critical constants associated with the Hawking-Page (HP) and minimum\nblack hole thermodynamical transition points. These constants are defined by\nC_S =\\frac{S_{HP}-S_{min}}{S_{min}} and C_T =\\frac{T_{HP}-T_{min}}{T_{min}}\nwhere S_{min}(S_{HP}) and T_{min}(T_{HP}) are the minimal (HP phase transition)\nentropy and temperature, respectively, below which no black hole can exist. For\na large class of four dimensional non-rotating black holes, we find C_S =2 and\nC_T = \\frac{2-\\sqrt{3}}{\\sqrt{3}}. For the rotating case, however, such\nuniversal ratios are slightly affected without losing the expected values.\nTaking small values of the involved rotating parameter, we recover the same\nconstants. Higher dimensional models, with other universal constants, are also\ndiscussed in some details."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Group $\u03c3$ Models: Field-theoretic models for fields taking values in quantum groups are\ninvestigated. First we consider $SU_q(2)$ $\\sigma$ model ($q$ real) expressed\nin terms of basic notions of noncommutative differential geometry. We discuss\nthe case in which the $\\sigma$ models fields are represented as products of\nconventional $\\sigma$ fields and of the coordinate-independent algebra. An\nexplicit example is provided by the $U_q(2)$ $\\sigma$ model with $q\\sp{N}=1$,\nin which case quantum matrices $U_q(2)$ are realised as $2N\\times 2N$ unitary\nmatrices. Open problems are pointed out.",
        "positive": "Holographic RG flow dual to attractor flow in extremal black holes: We extend the discussion of the \"Kerr/CFT correspondence\" and its recent\ndevelopments to the more general gauge/gravity correspondence in the full\nextremal black hole space-time of the bulk by using a technique of the\nholographic renormalization group (RG) flow. It is conjectured that the\nextremal black hole space-time is holographically dual to the chiral two\ndimensional field theory. Our example is a typical four dimensional\nReissner-Nordstrom black hole, a system in which the M5-brane is wrapped on\nfour cycles of Calabi-Yau threefold. In five dimensional supergravity view\npoint this near horizon geometry is $AdS_3\\times S^2$, and three dimensional\ngravity coupled to moduli fields is effectively obtained after a dimensional\nreduction on $S^2$. Constructing the Hamilton-Jacobi equation, we define the\nholographic RG flow from the three dimensional gravity. The central charge of\nthe Virasoro algebra is calculable from the conformal anomaly at the point\nwhere the beta function defined from gravity side becomes zero. In general, we\ncan also identify the c-function of the dual two dimensional field theory. We\nshow that these flow equations are completely equivalent to not only BPS but\nalso non-BPS attractor flow equations of the muduli fields. The attractor\nmechanism by which the values of the moduli fields are fixed at the event\nhorizon of the extremal black hole can be understood equivalently to the fact\nthat the RG flows are fixed at the critical points in the dual field theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Local charge conservation law as a source of gauge condition in quantum\n  electrodynamics: A formulation of quantum electrodynamics is proposed, in which the local law\nof conservation of electric charge serves as the source of the gauge condition.\nThe equations of motion of the gauge variable and the density of the charge\ndistribution in space following from this law are introduced into the quantum\ntheory as additional conditions. Along with fixing the gauge, the interaction\nof charges in the modified quantum theory is described by the dynamics of the\ncharge distribution density. The asymptotic states of free particles at spatial\ninfinity are replaced by the initial and final states of the electromagnetic\nsystem in the form of charged wave packets.",
        "positive": "High-Energy String Scattering Amplitudes and Signless Stirling Number\n  Identity: We give a complete proof of a set of identities (7) proposed recently from\ncalculation of high-energy string scattering amplitudes. These identities allow\none to extract ratios among high-energy string scattering amplitudes in the\nfixed angle regime from high-energy amplitudes in the Regge regime. The proof\nis based on a signless Stirling number identity in combinatorial theory. The\nresults are valid for arbitrary real values $L$ rather than only for $L=0,1$\nproved previously. The identities for non-integer real value $L$ were recently\nshown to be realized in high-energy compactified string scattering amplitudes\n[He S., Lee J.C., Yang Y., arXiv:1012.3158]. The parameter $L$ is related to\nthe mass level of an excited string state and can take non-integer values for\nKaluza-Klein modes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Freezing E3-brane instantons with fluxes: E3-instantons that generate non-perturbative superpotentials in IIB N=1\ncompactifications are more frequent than currently believed. Worldvolume fluxes\nwill typically lift the E3-brane geometric moduli and their fermionic\nsuperpartners, leaving only the two required universal fermionic zero-modes. We\nconsistently incorporate SL(2, Z) monodromies and world-volume fluxes in the\neffective theory of the E3-brane fermions and study the resulting zero-mode\nspectrum, highlighting the relation between F-theory and perturbative IIB\nresults. This leads us to a IIB derivation of the index for generation of\nsuperpotential terms, which reproduces and generalizes available results.\nFurthermore, we show how worldvolume fluxes can be explicitly constructed in a\none-modulus compactification, such that an E3-instanton has exactly two\nfermonic zero-modes. This construction is readily applicable to numerous\nscenarios.",
        "positive": "Slavnov-Taylor identities for noncommutative QED$_4$: In this work we present an analysis of the one-loop Slavnov-Taylor identities\nin noncommutative QED$_4$. The vectorial fermion-photon and the triple photon\nvertex functions were studied, with the conclusion that no anomalies arise."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The QM/NCG Correspondence: The correspondence between quantum mechanics and noncommutative geometry is\nillustrated in the context of the noncommutative ${\\rm AdS}^2_{\\theta}/{\\rm\nCFT_1}$ duality where ${\\rm CFT}_1$ is identified as conformal quantum\nmechanics. This model is conjectured to describe the gauge/gravity\ncorrespondence in one dimension. Applications to quantum black holes and\nemergent geometry/gravity are also discussed.",
        "positive": "A first-order formalism for timelike and spacelike brane solutions: We show that the construction of BPS-type equations for non-extremal black\nholes due to Miller et. al. can be extended to branes of arbitrary dimension\nand, more importantly, to time-dependent solutions. We call these first-order\nequations fake- or pseudo-BPS equations in light of the formalism that has been\ndeveloped for domain wall and cosmological solutions of gravity coupled to\nscalar fields. We present the fake/pseudo-BPS equations for all stationary\nbranes (timelike branes) and all time-dependent branes (spacelike branes) of an\nEinstein-dilaton-p-form system in arbitrary dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "'Real' gerbes and Dirac cones of topological insulators: A time-reversal invariant topological insulator occupying a Euclidean\nhalf-space determines a 'Quaternionic' self-adjoint Fredholm family. We show\nthat the discrete spectrum data for such a family is geometrically encoded in a\nnon-trivial 'Real' gerbe. The gerbe invariant, rather than a na\\\"ive counting\nof Dirac points, precisely captures how edge states completely fill up the bulk\nspectral gap in a topologically protected manner.",
        "positive": "Small $E_8$ Instantons and Tensionless Non-critical Strings: T-duality is used to extract information on an instanton of zero size in the\n$E_8\\times E_8$ heterotic string. We discuss the possibility of the appearance\nof a tensionless anti-self-dual non-critical string through an implementation\nof the mechanism suggested by Strominger of two coincident 5-branes. It is\nargued that when an instanton shrinks to zero size a tensionless non-critical\nstring appears at the core of the instanton. It is further conjectured that\nappearance of tensionless strings in the spectrum leads to new phase\ntransitions in six dimensions in much the same way as massless particles do in\nfour dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Electronic zero modes of vortices in Hall states of gapped graphene: Recent observation of a metal-insulator phase transition in the $\\nu=0$ Hall\nstate of graphene has inspired the idea that charge carriers in the metallic\nstate could be fractionally charged vortices. We examine the question of\nwhether vortices in particular gapped states of graphene and subject to\nexternal magnetic and pseudo-magnetic fields could have the mid-gap zero mode\nelectron states which would allow them to be charged.",
        "positive": "Functional renormalization with fermions and tetrads: We investigate some aspects of the renormalization group flow of gravity in\nthe presence of fermions, which have remained somewhat puzzling so far. The\nfirst is the sign of the fermionic contribution to the running of Newton's\nconstant, which depends on details of the cutoff. We argue that only one of the\npreviously used schemes correctly implements the cutoff on eigenvalues of the\nDirac operator, and it acts in the sense of screening Newton's constant. We\nalso show that K\\\"ahler fermions give the same contribution to the running of\nthe cosmological and Newton constant as four Dirac spinors. We then calculate\nthe graviton contributions to the beta functions by imposing the cutoffs on the\nirreducible spin components of the tetrad. In this way we can probe the gauge\ndependence of the off-shell flow. The results resemble closely those of the\nmetric formalism, except for an increased scheme-- and (off shell)\ngauge--dependence."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "From Large N Matrices to the Noncommutative Torus: We describe how and to what extent the noncommutative two-torus can be\napproximated by a tower of finite-dimensional matrix geometries. The\napproximation is carried out for both irrational and rational deformation\nparameters by embedding the algebra of the noncommutative torus into an\napproximately finite algebra. The construction is a rigorous derivation of the\nrecent discretizations of noncommutative gauge theories using finite\ndimensional matrix models, and it shows precisely how the continuum limits of\nthese models must be taken. We clarify various aspects of Morita equivalence\nusing this formalism and describe some applications to noncommutative\nYang-Mills theory.",
        "positive": "A Duality for Yang-Mills Moduli Spaces on Noncommutative Manifolds: Studied are the moduli spaces of Yang-Mills connections on finitely generated\nprojective modules associated with noncommutative flows. It is actually shown\nthat they are homeomorphic to those on the dual modules associated with the\ndual noncommutative flows. Moreover the result is also affirmative in the case\nof multiflows. As an important application, computed are the moduli spaces of\nthe instanton bundles over the noncommutative Euclidean 4-space with respect to\nthe canonical action of space translations without using the ADHM-construction."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "ABJ(M) Chiral Primary Three-Point Function at Two-loops: We compute the leading correction to the structure constant for the\nthree-point function of length-two chiral primary operators in planar ABJ(M)\ntheory at weak 't Hooft coupling.",
        "positive": "Holonomies of gauge fields in twistor space 1: bialgebra, supersymmetry,\n  and gluon amplitudes: We introduce a notion of holonomy in twistor space and construct a holonomy\noperator by use of a spinor-momenta formalism in twistor space. The holonomy\noperator gives a monodromy representation of the Knizhnik-Zamolodchikov (KZ)\nequation, which is mathematically equivalent to a linear representation of a\nbraid group. We show that an S-matrix functional for gluon amplitudes can be\nexpressed in terms of a supersymmetric version of the holonomy operator. A\nvariety of mathematical and physical concepts, such as integrability, general\ncovariance, Lorentz invariance and Yangian symmetry, are knit together by the\nholonomy operator. These results shed a new light on gauge theories in\nfour-dimensional spacetime."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Phase Transition Couplings in the Higgsed Monopole Model: Using a one-loop approximation for the effective potential in the Higgs model\nof electrodynamics for a charged scalar field, we argue for the existence of a\ntriple point for the renormalized (running) values of the selfinteraction\n$\\lambda$ and the \"charge\" g given by $(\\lambda_{run}, g^2) = (-{10/9}\n\\pi^2,{4/3}\\sqrt{{5/3}}{\\pi^2}) \\approx(-11, 17)$. Considering the\nbeta-function as a typical quantity we estimate that the one-loop approximation\nis valid with accuracy of deviations not more than 30% in the region of the\nparameters: $0.2 \\stackrel{<}{\\sim}{\\large \\alpha, \\tilde{\\alpha}}\n\\stackrel{<}{\\sim}1.35.$ The phase diagram given in the present paper\ncorresponds to the above-mentioned region of $\\alpha, \\tilde \\alpha$. Under the\npoint of view that the Higgs particle is a monopole with a magnetic charge g,\nthe obtained electric fine structure constant turns out to be\n$\\alpha_{crit}\\approx{0.18_5}$ by the Dirac relation. This value is very close\nto the $\\alpha_{crit}^{lat}\\approx{0.20}$ which in a U(1) lattice gauge theory\ncorresponds to the phase transition between the \"Coulomb\" and confinement\nphases. Such a result is very encouraging for the idea of an approximate\n\"universality\" (regularization independence) of gauge couplings at the phase\ntransition point. This idea was suggested by the authors in their earlier\npapers.",
        "positive": "Gravitational Scattering in the c = 1 Matrix Model: The $c=1$ matrix model is equivalent to $1+1$ dimensional string theory.\nHowever, the tachyon self-interaction in the former is local, while in the\nlatter it is nonlocal due to the gravitational, dilaton and higher string\nfields. By studying scattering of classical pulses we show that the appropriate\nnonlocal field redefinition converts the local matrix model interaction into\nthe expected string form. In particular, we see how the asymptotic behavior of\nthe gravitational field appears in the scattering."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dualities and signatures of G++ invariant theories: The G++ content of the formulation of gravity and M-theories as very-extended\nKac-Moody invariant theories is further analysed. The different exotic phases\nof all the G_B++ theories, which admit exact solutions describing intersecting\nbranes smeared in all directions but one, are derived. This is achieved by\nanalysing for all G++ the signatures which are related to the conventional one\n(1,D-1) by `dualities' generated by the Weyl reflections.",
        "positive": "Internal Space-time Symmetries of Massless Particles and Neutrino\n  Polarization as a Consequence of Gauge Invariance: There are gauge-transformation operators applicable to massless spin-1/2\nparticles within the little-group framework of internal space-time symmetries\nof massive and massless particles. It is shown that two of the $SL(2,c)$\nspinors are invariant under gauge transformations while the remaining two are\nnot. The Dirac equation contains only the gauge-invariant spinors leading to\npolarized neutrinos. It is shown that the gauge-dependent $SL(2,c)$ spinor is\nthe origin of the gauge dependence of electromagnetic four-potentials. It is\nnoted also that, for spin-1/2 particles, the symmetry group for massless\nparticles is an infinite-momentum/zero-mass limit of the symmetry group for\nmassive particles."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Manifestly $O(d,d)$ Invariant Approach to Space-Time Dependent String\n  Vacua: An $O(d,d)$ symmetry of the manifold of string vacua that do not depend on\n$d$ (out of $D$) space-time coordinates has been recently identified. Here we\nwrite down, for $d=D-1$, the low energy equations of motion and their general\nsolution in a manifestly $O(d,d)$-invariant form, pointing out an amusing\nsimilarity with the renormalization group framework. Previously considered\ncosmological and black hole solutions are recovered as particular examples.",
        "positive": "Parafermionic Representation of the Affine $sl(2/1)$ Algebra at\n  Fractional Level: The four fermionic currents of the affine superalgebra $sl(2/1)$ at\nfractional level $k=1/u-1$, u positive integer, are shown to be realised in\nterms of a free scalar field, an $sl(2)$ doublet field and a primary field of\nthe parafermionic algebra $Z_{u-1}$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Faddeev-Senjanovic Quantization of SU(n) N=2 Supersymmetric Gauge Field\n  System with Non-Abelian Chern-Simons Topological Term and Its Fractional Spin: Using Faddeev-Senjanovic path integral quantization for constrained Hamilton\nsystem, we quantize SU(n) N=2 supersymmetric gauge field system with\nnon-abelian Chern-Simons topological term in 2+1 dimensions, and use\nconsistency of a gauge condition naturally to deduce another gauge condition.\nFurther, we get the generating functional of Green function in phase space,\ndeduce the angular momentum based on the global canonical Noether theorem at\nquantum level, obtain the fractional spin of this supersymmetric system, and\nshow that the total angular momentum has the orbital angular momentum and spin\nangular momentum of the non-abelian gauge field. Finally, we find out the\nanomalous fractional spin and discover that the fractional spin has the\ncontributions of both the group superscript components and the A_0^s (x)\ncharge.",
        "positive": "Asymmetric Swiss-cheese brane-worlds: We study a brane-world cosmological scenario with local inhomogeneities\nrepresented by black holes. The brane is asymmetrically embedded into the bulk.\nThe black strings/cigars penetrating the Friedmann brane generate a\nSwiss-cheese type structure. This universe forever expands and decelerates, as\nits general relativistic analogue. The evolution of the cosmological fluid\nhowever can proceed along four branches, two allowed to have positive energy\ndensity, one of them having the symmetric embedding limit. On this branch a\nfuture pressure singularity can arise for either (a) a difference in the\ncosmological constants of the cosmological and black hole brane regions (b) a\ndifference in the left and right bulk cosmological constants. While the\nbehaviour (a) can be avoided by a redefinition of the fluid variables, (b)\nestablishes a critical value of the asymmetry over which the pressure\nsingularity occurs. We introduce the pressure singularity censorship which\nbounds the degree of asymmetry in the bulk cosmological constant. We also show\nas a model independent generic feature that the asymmetry source term due to\nthe bulk cosmological constant increases in the early universe. In order to\nobey the nucleosynthesis constraints, the brane tension should be constrained\ntherefore both from below and from above. With the maximal degree of asymmetry\nobeying the pressure singularity censorship, the higher limit is 10 times the\nlower limit. The degree of asymmetry allowed by present cosmological\nobservations is however much less, pushing the upper limit to infinity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Uniqueness Theorem for Static Black Hole Solutions of sigma-models in\n  Higher Dimensions: We prove the uniqueness theorem for self-gravitating non-linear sigma-models\nin higher dimensional spacetime. Applying the positive mass theorem we show\nthat Schwarzschild-Tagherlini spacetime is the only maximally extended, static\nasymptotically flat solution with non-rotating regular event horizon with a\nconstant mapping.",
        "positive": "Geometrical approach to the evaluation of multileg Feynman diagrams: A connection between one-loop $N$-point Feynman diagrams and certain\ngeometrical quantities in non-Euclidean geometry is discussed. A geometrical\nway to calculate the corresponding Feynman integrals is considered. (This paper\ncontains a brief review of the results presented in hep-th/9709216)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Casimir energy calculation for massive scalar field on spherical\n  surfaces: an alternative approach: In this study, the Casimir energy for massive scalar field with periodic\nboundary condition was calculated on spherical surfaces with $S^1$, $S^2$ and\n$S^3$ topologies. To obtain the Casimir energy on spherical surface, the\ncontribution of the vacuum energy of Minkowski space is usually subtracted from\nthat of the original system. In large mass limit for surface $S^2$; however,\nsome divergences would eventually remain in the obtained result. To remove\nthese remaining divergences, a secondary renormalization program was manually\nperformed. In the present work, a direct approach for calculation of the\nCasimir energy has been introduced. In this approach, two similar\nconfigurations were considered and then the vacuum energies of these\nconfigurations were subtracted from each other. This method provides more\nphysical meaning respect to the other common methods. Additionally, in large\nmass limit for surface $S^2$, it provides a situation in which the second\nrenormalization program is automatically conducted in the calculation\nprocedure, and there was no need to do that anymore manually. Finally, by\nplotting the obtained values for the Casimir energy of the topologies and\ninvestigating their appropriate limits, the logic agreement between the results\nof our scheme and those of previous studies were discussed.",
        "positive": "Comments on supersymmetric renormalization in two-dimensional curved\n  spacetime: In this technical note we introduce a manifestly gauge-invariant and\nsupersymmetric procedure to regularize and renormalize one-loop divergences of\nchiral multiplets in two-dimensional N=(2,2) theories in curved spacetime. We\napply the method, a version of Pauli-Villars regularization, to known examples\nof supersymmetric localization and demonstrate that the partition functions are\nrenormalized. An accompanying ancillary file, a Mathematica notebook,\nimplements the relevant supergravity transformations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "T-duality as coordinates permutation in double space for weakly curved\n  background: In the paper [1] we showed that in double space, where all initial\ncoordinates $x^\\mu$ are doubled $x^\\mu \\to y_\\mu$, the T-duality\ntransformations can be performed by exchanging places of some coordinates $x^a$\nand corresponding dual coordinates $y_a$. Here we generalize this result to the\ncase of weakly curved background where in addition to the extended coordinate\nwe will also transform extended argument of background fields with the same\noperator $\\hat {\\cal T}^a$. So, in the weakly curved background T-duality leads\nto the physically equivalent theory and complete set of T-duality\ntransformations form the same group as in the flat background. Therefore, the\ndouble space represent all T-dual theories in unified manner.",
        "positive": "Gravitational Rainbows: LIGO and Dark Energy at its Cutoff: The recent direct detection of a neutron star merger with optical counterpart\nhas been used to severely constrain models of dark energy that typically\npredict a modification of the speed of gravitational waves. We point out that\nthe energy scales observed at LIGO, and the particular frequency of the neutron\nstar event, lie very close to the strong coupling scale or cutoff associated\nwith many dark energy models. While it is true that at very low energies one\nexpects gravitational waves to travel at a speed different than light in these\nmodels, the same is no longer necessarily true as one reaches energy scales\nclose to the cutoff. We show explicitly how this occurs in a simple model with\na known partial UV completion. Within the context of Horndeski, we show how the\noperators that naturally lie at the cutoff scale can affect the speed of\npropagation of gravitational waves and bring it back to unity at those scales.\nWe discuss how further missions including LISA and PTAs could play an essential\nrole in testing such models."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gravitational Dyonic Amplitude at One-Loop and its Inconsistency with\n  the Classical Impulse: The recent proposal [1911.06318, 2010.07861] of implementing\nelectric-magnetic duality rotation at the level of perturbative scattering\namplitudes and its generalisation to gravitational context where usual\ngravitational mass is rotated to the NUT parameter of the Taub-NUT spacetime\nopens up an interesting avenue for studying NUT-charged objects as dynamical\nentities, in contrast to the usual approach where NUT-charged objects are\nconsidered as a static background. We extend the tree-order analysis to\none-loop order and find a disagreement between geodesic motion on Taub-NUT\nbackground and impulse computation of scattering amplitudes. As a by-product of\nour analysis, we find a relation between tidal response parameters and\nresonance excitation parameters in the language of quantum field theory\nscattering amplitudes.",
        "positive": "The moduli spaces of $3d$ ${\\cal N} \\ge 2$ Chern-Simons gauge theories\n  and their Hilbert series: We present a formula for the Hilbert series that counts gauge invariant\nchiral operators in a large class of 3d ${\\cal N} \\ge 2$\nYang-Mills-Chern-Simons theories. The formula counts 't Hooft monopole\noperators dressed by gauge invariants of a residual gauge theory of massless\nfields in the monopole background. We provide a general formula for the case of\nabelian theories, where nonperturbative corrections are absent, and consider a\nfew examples of nonabelian theories where nonperturbative corrections are well\nunderstood. We also analyze in detail nonabelian ABJ(M) theories as well as\nworldvolume theories of M2-branes probing Calabi-Yau fourfold and hyperK\\\"ahler\ntwofold singularities with ${\\cal N} = 2$ and ${\\cal N} = 3$ supersymmetry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Three-graviton scattering and recoil effects in M-atrix theory: We study the scattering of three gravitons in M-atrix theory at finite N.\nWith a specific choice of the background we obtain the complete result up to\ntwo loops. The contributions from three-body forces agree with the ones\npresented in recent papers. We extend the calculation and evaluate the two-body\nexchanges as well. Such terms, somewhat difficult to isolate and compute, had\nbeen neglected so far in the existing literature. We show that the result we\nhave obtained from M-atrix theory precisely matches the result from\none-particle reducible tree diagrams in eleven-dimensional supergravity .",
        "positive": "Matrix Models: Fermion Doubling vs. Anomaly: We present some arguments showing spectrum doubling of matrix models in the\nlimit $N\\to\\infty$ which is connected with fermionic determinant behaviour. The\nproblems are similar to ones encountered in the lattice gauge theories with\nchiral fermions. One may discuss the ``physical meaning'' of the doubling\nstates or ways to eliminate them. We briefly consider both situations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "$K$-field kinks: stability, exact solutions and new features: We study a class of noncanonical real scalar field models in\n$(1+1)$-dimensional flat space-time. We first derive the general criterion for\nthe classical linear stability of an arbitrary static soliton solution of these\nmodels. Then we construct first-order formalisms for some typical models and\nderive the corresponding kink solutions. The linear structures of these\nsolutions are also qualitatively analyzed and compared with the canonical kink\nsolutions.",
        "positive": "Dirac materials in parallel non-uniform electromagnetic fields generated\n  by SUSY: A new class of chiral Planar Hall Effect?: Within a Supersymmetric Quantum Mechanics (SUSY-QM) framework, the (3+1)\nDirac equation describing a Dirac material in the presence of external parallel\nelectric and magnetic fields is solved. Considering static but non-uniform\nelectric and magnetic profiles with translational symmetry along the\ny-direction, the Dirac equation is transformed into two decoupled pairs of\nSchr\\\"odinger equations, one for each chirality of the fermion fields. Taking\ntrigonometric and hyperbolic profiles for the vector and scalar potentials,\nrespectively, we arrive at SUSY partner P\\\"oschl-Teller-like quantum\npotentials. Restricting to the conditions of the potentials that support an\nanalytic zero-mode solution, we obtain a nontrivial current density in the same\nplane where the electric and magnetic fields lie, but perpendicular to both of\nthem, indicating the possibility of realizing the Planar Hall Effect.\nFurthermore, this non-vanishing current density is the sum of current densities\nfor the left- and right-chiralities, suggesting that the net current is a\nconsequence of chiral symmetry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quasinormal modes of black holes localized on the Randall-Sundrum\n  2-brane: We investigate conformal scalar, electromagnetic, and massless Dirac\nquasinormal modes of a brane-localized black hole. The background solution is\nthe four-dimensional black hole on a 2-brane that has been constructed by\nEmparan, Horowitz, and Myers in the context of a lower dimensional version of\nthe Randall-Sundrum model. The conformally transformed metric admits a Killing\ntensor, allowing us to obtain separable field equations. We find that the\nradial equations take the same form as in the four-dimensional \"braneless\"\nSchwarzschild black hole. The angular equations are, however, different from\nthe standard ones, leading to a different prediction for quasinormal\nfrequencies.",
        "positive": "The Algebroid Structure of Double Field Theory: By doubling the target space of a canonical Courant algebroid and\nsubsequently projecting down to a specific subbundle, we identify the data of\ndouble field theory (DFT) and hence define its algebroid structure. We specify\nthe properties of the DFT algebroid. We show that one of the Courant algebroid\nproperties plays the role of the strong constraint in the context of DFT. The\nDFT algebroid is a special example when properties of a Courant algebroid are\nrelaxed in a specific and dependent manner. When otherwise, we uncover\nadditional structures."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Kinematic Flow and the Emergence of Time: Perhaps the most basic question we can ask about cosmological correlations is\nhow their strength changes as we smoothly vary kinematic parameters. The answer\nis encoded in differential equations that govern this evolution in kinematic\nspace. In this Letter, we introduce a new perspective on these differential\nequations. We show that, in the simplified setting of conformally coupled\nscalars in a general FRW spacetime, the equations for arbitrary tree-level\nprocesses can be obtained from a small number of simple combinatorial rules.\nWhile this \"kinematic flow\" is defined purely in terms of boundary data, it\nreflects the physics of bulk time evolution. The unexpected regularity of the\nequations suggests the existence of an autonomously defined mathematical\nstructure from which cosmological correlations, and the time evolution of the\nassociated spacetime, emerge.",
        "positive": "D-Particle Dynamics and The Space-Time Uncertainty Relation: We argue that the space-time uncertainty relation of the form $\\Delta X\n\\Delta T \\gtrsim \\alpha'$ for the observability of the distances with respect\nto time, $\\Delta T$, and space, $\\Delta X$, is universally valid in string\ntheory including D-branes. This relation has been previously proposed by one\n(T.Y.) of the present authors as a simple qualitative representation of the\nperturbative short distance structure of fundamental string theory. We show\nthat the relation, combined with the usual quantum mechanical uncertainty\nprinciple, explains the key qualitative features of D-particle dynamics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "From superintegrability to tridiagonal representation of\n  $\u03b2$-ensembles: The wonderful formulas by I.Dumitriu and A.Edelman rewrite $\\beta$-ensemble,\nwith eigenvalue integrals containing Vandermonde factors in the power $2\\beta$,\nthrough integrals over tridiagonal matrices, where $\\beta$-dependent are the\npowers of individual matrix elements, not their differences. These potentially\nuseful formulas are usually deduced from rather complicated and non-transparent\ncombinatorics and are not as widely known as they deserve. We explain that the\nsuperintegrability property, i.e. a simple expression of the Gaussian averages\nof arbitrary Jack polynomials through the same Jack polynomials, is immediately\nconsistent with this tridiagonal representation, which may serve as a clue to\nits simple and transparent interpretation. For a formal non-perturbative proof,\nwe use the Virasoro constraints, which themselves acquire an interesting\nstructure in the tridiagonal realization. We also attract attention to the\nsurprising spontaneous breakdown of discrete invariance by the tridiagonal\nmeasure, which may signal a new interesting anomaly at the elementary level of\nthe basic eigenvalue matrix model.",
        "positive": "Non-linear perturbation of black branes at large $D$: The Einstein equations describing the black-brane dynamics both in Minkowski\nand AdS background were recently recast in the form of coupled diffusion\nequations in the large-$D$(imension) limit. Using such results in the\nliterature, we formulate a higher-order perturbation theory of black branes in\ntime domain and present the general form of solutions for arbitrary initial\nconditions. For illustrative purposes, the solutions up to the first or second\norder are explicitly written down for several kind of initial conditions, such\nas a Gaussian wave packet, shock wave, and rather general superposed sinusoidal\nwaves. These could be the first examples describing the non-trivial evolution\nof black-brane horizons in time domain. In particular, we learn some\ninteresting aspects of black-brane dynamics such as the Gregory-Laflamme (GL)\ninstability and non-equilibrium steady state (NESS). The formalism presented\nhere would be applicable to the analysis of various black branes and their\nholographically dual field theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Evanescent Effects Can Alter Ultraviolet Divergences in Quantum Gravity\n  without Physical Consequences: Evanescent operators such as the Gauss-Bonnet term have vanishing\nperturbative matrix elements in exactly D=4 dimensions. Similarly, evanescent\nfields do not propagate in D=4; a three-form field is in this class, since it\nis dual to a cosmological-constant contribution. In this Letter, we show that\nevanescent operators and fields modify the leading ultraviolet divergence in\npure gravity. To analyze the divergence, we compute the two-loop\nidentical-helicity four-graviton amplitude and determine the coefficient of the\nassociated (non-evanescent) R^3 counterterm studied long ago by Goroff and\nSagnotti. We compare two pairs of theories that are dual in D=4: gravity\ncoupled to nothing or to three-form matter, and gravity coupled to zero-form or\nto two-form matter. Duff and van Nieuwenhuizen showed that, curiously, the\none-loop conformal anomaly --- the coefficient of the Gauss-Bonnet operator ---\nchanges under p-form duality transformations. We concur, and also find that the\nleading R^3 divergence changes under duality transformations. Nevertheless, in\nboth cases the physical renormalized two-loop identical-helicity four-graviton\namplitude can be chosen to respect duality. In particular, its\nrenormalization-scale dependence is unaltered.",
        "positive": "Electroweak relaxation of cosmological hierarchy: A simple model for the late-time cosmic acceleration problem is presented in\nthe Starobinsky inflation with a negative bare cosmological constant as well as\na nonminimal coupling to the Higgs boson. After electroweak symmetry breaking,\nthe Starobinsky inflaton has been frozen until very recently, becoming a\nthawing quintessence, and a comparable magnitude to the observed dark energy\ndensity can be achieved without fine-tuning. Our proposal essentially reduces\nthe cosmological constant problem into the electroweak hierarchy problem, and\nits late-time behaviour is also consistent with the recently proposed swampland\ncriteria."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Necessity and Insufficiency of Scale Invariance for solving Cosmological\n  Constant Problem: A scenario based on the scale invariance for explaining the vanishing\ncosmological constant (CC) is discussed. I begin with a notice on the\nmiraculous fact of the CC problem that the vacuum energies totally vanish at\neach step of hierarchical and successive spontaneous symmetry breakings. I then\nargue that the classical scale invariance is a necessary condition for the\ncalculability of the vacuum energy.\n  Next, I discuss how sufficient the scale invariance is for solving the CC\nproblem. First in the framework of classical field theory, the scale invariance\nis shown to give a natural mechanism for realizing the miracle of vanishing\nvacuum energies at every step of spontaneous symmetry breakings. Then adopting\nEnglert-Truffin-Gastmans' prescription to maintain the scale invariance in\nquantum field theory, I point out that the quantum scale invariance alone is\nnot yet sufficient to avoid the superfine tuning of coupling constants for\nrealizing vanishingly small cosmological constant, whereas the hierarchy\nproblem may be solved. Another symmetry or a mechanism is still necessary which\nprotects the flat direction of the potential against the radiative corrections.",
        "positive": "Families of N=2 Strings: In a given 4d spacetime bakcground, one can often construct not one but a\nfamily of distinct N=2 string theories. This is due to the multiple ways N=2\nsuperconformal algebra can be embedded in a given worldsheet theory. We\nformulate the principle of obtaining different physical theories by gauging\ndifferent embeddings of the same symmetry algebra in the same ``pre-theory.''\nWe then apply it to N=2 strings and formulate the recipe for finding the\nassociated parameter spaces of gauging. Flat and curved target spaces of both\n(4,0) and (2,2) signatures are considered. We broadly divide the gauging\nchoices into two classes, denoted by alpha and beta, and show them to be\nrelated by T-duality. The distinction between them is formulated topologically\nand hinges on some unique properties of 4d manifolds. We determine what their\nparameter spaces of gauging are under certain simplicity ansatz for generic\nflat spaces (R^4 and its toroidal compactifications) as well as some curved\nspaces. We briefly discuss the spectra of D-branes for both alpha and beta\nfamilies."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Conformal Anomaly in bCFT from Momentum Space Perspective: We study the momentum space representation of energy-momentum tensor\ntwo-point functions on a space with a planar boundary in $d=3$. We show that\nnon-conservation of momentum in the direction perpendicular to the boundary\nallows for new phenomena compared to the boundary-less case. Namely we\ndemonstrate how local contact terms arise when the correlators are expanded in\nthe regime where parallel momentum is small compared to the perpendicular one,\nwhich corresponds to the near-boundary limit. By exploring two-derivative\ncounterterms involving components of Riemann tensor we identify a finite,\nscheme-independent part of the two-point function. We then relate this\ncomponent to the conformal anomaly $c_\\partial$ proportional to the boundary\ncurvature $\\hat{R}$. In the formalism of this paper $c_\\partial$ arises due to\nintegrating out bulk modes coupled to the curved space, which generate local\ncontributions the effective action at the boundary. To calculate the anomaly in\nspecific (free-field) examples, we combine the method of images with Feynman\ndiagrammatic techniques and propose a general methodology for perturbative\ncomputations of this type. The framework is tested by computing $c_\\partial$ on\nthe explicit example of free scalar with mixed boundary conditions where we\nfind agreement with the literature.",
        "positive": "An improved Nicolai map for super Yang-Mills theory: Adding a topological theta term to the action of $\\mathcal{N}{=}\\,1$ $D{=}4$\nsuper Yang-Mills theory modifies its Nicolai map. For the BPS value of the\ntheta angle a chiral version of the map emerges, which allows for a\nconsiderable simplification compared to the non-chiral formulation. We exhibit\nthese improvements to all orders in perturbation theory and compute the map to\nfourth order in the coupling on the Laudau-gauge hypersurface. The second-order\ncontribution vanishes, and antisymmetrizations are more manifest. All checks\nare verified to third order."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Metastable supersymmetry breaking and multitrace deformations of SQCD: Metastable vacua in supersymmetric QCD in the presence of single and\nmultitrace deformations of the superpotential are explored, with the aim of\nobtaining an acceptable phenomenology. The metastable vacua appear at one loop,\nhave a broken R-symmetry, and a magnetic gauge group that is completely\nHiggsed. With only a single trace deformation, the adjoint fermions from the\nmeson superfield are approximately massless at one loop, even though they are\nmassive at tree level and R-symmetry is broken. Consequently, if charged under\nthe standard model, they are unacceptably light. A multitrace quadratic\ndeformation generates fermion masses proportional to the deformation parameter.\nPhenomenologically viable models of direct gauge mediation can then be\nobtained, and some of their features are discussed.",
        "positive": "On the $\u0398$-term in electrodynamics: The term $\\Theta\\epsilon^{\\mu\\nu\\rho\\sigma}F_{\\mu\\nu}F_{\\rho\\sigma}$, when\nadded to the electromagnetic Lagrangian $-{1\\over 16\\pi}F^{\\mu\\nu}F_{\\mu\\nu}$,\ndoes not change the signature of the Lagrangian. Actually, it increases the\npart with negative kinetic energy term at the spatial infinity. For this reason\nit does not change the conclusion, that at the spatial infinity the magnetic\npart of the electromagnetic field should be absent."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Naked Singularities in 2d Dilaton Gravity: Roughly speaking, naked singularities are singularities that may be seen by\ntimelike observers. The Cosmic Censorship conjecture forbids their existence by\nstating that a reasonable system of energy will not, under reasonable\nconditions, collapse into a naked singularity. There are however many\n(classical) counter-examples to this conjecture in the literature. We propose a\ndefense of the conjecture through the quantum theory. We will show that the\nHawking effect and the accompanying back reaction, when consistently applied to\nnaked singularities in two dimensional models of dilaton gravity with matter\nand a cosmological constant, prevent their formation by causing them to explode\nor emit radiation catastrophically. This contrasts with black holes which\nradiate slowly. If this phenomenon is reproduced in the four dimensional world,\nthe explosion of naked singularities should have observable consequences.",
        "positive": "Fuzzy Complex Projective Spaces and their Star-products: We derive an explicit expression for an associative *-product on fuzzy\ncomplex projective spaces. This generalises previous results for the fuzzy\n2-sphere and gives a discrete non-commutative algebra of functions on fuzzy\ncomplex projective spaces, represented by matrix multiplication. The matrices\nare restricted to ones whose dimension is that of the totally symmetric\nrepresentations of SU(N). In the limit of infinite dimensional matrices we\nrecover the commutative algebra of functions on ordinary projective space.\nDerivatives on the fuzzy projective space are also expressed as matrix\ncommutators."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Enhanced Instability of de Sitter Space in Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet Gravity: We show that the addition of a topological Gauss-Bonnet term to the\ngravitational action can greatly increase the instability of four-dimensional\nde Sitter space, by favoring the nucleation of black holes. The pair-production\nrate given by the Euclidean action for the instanton takes the form exp(Delta\nS) where S is the entropy in Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet theory. The coefficient of\nthe Gauss-Bonnet term in the action sets a stability bound on the curvature of\nempty de Sitter space. For that coefficient in the low-energy effective action\nof heterotic string theory, the maximal curvature of de Sitter space is in\ngeneral much lower than the Planck scale.",
        "positive": "The Hopf Algebra Structure of the Two Loop Three Mass Non-Planar Feynman\n  Diagram: The method of using Hopf algebras for calculating Feynman integrals developed\nby Abreu et al. is applied to the two-loop non-planar on-shell diagram with\nmassless propagators and three external mass scales. We show that the existence\nof the method of cut Feynman diagrams comprising of the coproduct, the first\nentry condition and integrability condition that was found to be true for the\nplanar case also holds for the non-planar case; furthermore, the non-planar\nsymbol alphabet is the same as for the planar case. This is one of the main\nresults of this work, and they have been obtained by a systematic analysis of\nthe relevant cuts, using the symbolic manipulation codes HypExp and\nPolyLogTools. The obtained result for the symbol is cross-checked by an\nanalysis of the known two-loop original Feynman integral result. In addition,\nwe also reconstruct the full result from the symbol. This is the other main\nresult in this paper."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Correlation functions of the CFTs on torus with $T\\bar{T}$ deformation: In this paper, we investigate the correlation functions of the conformal\nfield theory (CFT) with the $T\\bar{T}$ deformation on torus in terms of\nperturbative CFT approach, which is the extension of the previous\ninvestigations on correlation functions defined on a plane. We systematically\nobtain the first order correction to the correlation functions of the CFTs with\n$T\\bar{T}$ deformation in both operator formalism and path integral language.\nAs a consistency check, we compute the deformed partition function, namely the\nzero-point correlation function, up to the first order, which is consistent\nwith results in literature. Moreover, we obtain a new recursion relation for\ncorrelation functions with multiple $T$'s and $\\bar{T}$'s insertion in generic\nCFTs on torus. Base on the recursion relations, we study some correlation\nfunctions of stress tensors up to the first order under $T\\bar{T}$ deformation.",
        "positive": "Scales of Gaugino Condensation and Supersymmetry Breaking in Nonstandard\n  M-Theory Embeddings: We investigate the formation of dynamical gaugino condensates and\nsupersymmetry breaking in the compactifications of Horava-Witten theory with\nperturbative nonstandard embeddings. Specific models are considered where the\nunderlying massless charged states of the condensing sector are determined by\nthe spectra of $Z_2 \\times Z_2 $ and $Z_4 $ orbifolds with nonstandard\nembeddings. We find among them viable examples where gaugino condensation is\ntriggered on the wall with the weakest gauge coupling at $M_{GUT} $. In all\nthese cases the magnitude of the condensate formed is below the energy scales\nat which extra dimensions are resolved, and so justifies the analysis of\ncondensation in an effective 4-dimensional framework. We make some comments\nconcerning the size of the largest extra dimension in the models considered. We\ndiscuss racetrack scenarios in the framework of perturbative nonstandard\nembeddings."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Topology and geometry of 6-dimensional (1,0) supergravity black hole\n  horizons: We show that the supersymmetric near horizon black hole geometries of\n6-dimensional supergravity coupled to any number of scalar and tensor\nmultiplets are either locally $AdS_3\\times \\Sigma^3$, where \\Sigma^3 is a\nhomology 3-sphere, or $\\bR^{1,1}\\times {\\cal S}^4$, where ${\\cal S}^4$ is a\n4-manifold whose geometry depends on the hypermultiplet scalars. In both cases,\nwe find that the tensorini multiplet scalars are constant and the associated\n3-form field strengths vanish. We also demonstrate that the $AdS_3\\times\n\\Sigma^3$ horizons preserve 2, 4 and 8 supersymmetries. For horizons with 4\nsupersymmetries, \\Sigma^3 is in addition a non-trivial circle fibration over a\ntopological 2-sphere. The near horizon geometries preserving 8 supersymmetries\nare locally isometric to either $AdS_3\\times S^3$ or $\\bR^{1,1}\\times T^4$.\nMoreover, we show that the $\\bR^{1,1}\\times {\\cal S}$ horizons preserve 1, 2\nand 4 supersymmetries and the geometry of ${\\cal S}$ is Riemann, K\\\"ahler and\nhyper-K\\\"ahler, respectively.",
        "positive": "Kustaanheimo-Stiefel transformation and static zero modes of Dirac\n  operator: By exploiting the relation between static zero modes of massless Dirac\noperator and Kustaanheimo-Stiefel (Hopf) bundle sections, a general zero modes\nAnsatz which depends on an arbitrary real vector-function on $R^3$ is\nconstructed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauge/Gravity Duality in Heterotic String Theory: Gravity duals for little string theories --- which give rise to\nfour-dimensional theories that undergo permanent confinement in the infrared\n--- have not been studied in great detail. We address this question in the\nframework of heterotic SO(32) and E_8 x E_8 string theory, constructing these\nbackgrounds by wrapping heterotic five-branes on calibrated two-cycles of\nnon-Kahler resolved conifolds. Related to deformations of the underlying little\nstring theories, we find numerous analytic solutions preserving N = 1\nsupersymmetry in four-dimensions. These theories all have non-abelian global\nsymmetries that generally arise from both the heterotic vector bundle and from\ncertain orbifold states. In the decoupling limit, we argue that the gravity\nduals are given by non-Kahler manifolds that have both blown-up two-cycles and\nthree-cycles at the origin. We argue this following certain duality sequences\nthat include M-theory torsional manifolds at an intermediate step, which help\nus to construct new type I' gauge/gravity duality pairs. In the M-theory\nduality frame, we also elucidate new sequences of flips and flops.",
        "positive": "Primordial Gravitational Waves and the Swampland: The swampland conjectures seek to distinguish effective field theories which\ncan be consistently embedded in a theory of quantum gravity from those which\ncan not (and are hence referred to as being in the swampland). We consider two\nsuch conjectures, known as the Swampland Distance and de Sitter Conjectures,\nshowing that taken together they place bounds on the amplitude of primordial\ngravitational waves generated during single field slow-roll inflation. The\nbounds depend on two parameters which for reasonable estimates restrict the\ntensor-to-scalar ratio to be within reach of future surveys."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Some remarks on the free fields realization of the bosonic string on\n  AdS3: We discuss the classical solutions of the equations of motion and the\npossible boundary condition for a bosonic string with Kalb-Ramond background in\nAdS3. It turns out that there exists three different physical sectors and that\nit is also possible to describe the motion on an extremal black hole\nbackground. The existence of three sectors clearly shows how one of the spectra\nproposed is incomplete. We consider also the classical 'canonical'\ntransformation which maps the string fields to the classical Wakimoto ones. It\nturns however out that the Wakimoto fields are not free because of the boundary\nconditions and in order to have the usual mode expansion with reasonable\nbehaviour under complex conjugation it is necessary to consider the\ncomplexification of AdS3 and then add some constraints. Furthermore they cover\nonly half AdS3 and we need different patches to cover the whole space and to\nmake the above mentioned transformation really canonical.",
        "positive": "Gauge-String Dualities and Some Applications: The first part of these lectures contains an introductory review of the\nAdS/CFT duality and of its tests. Applications to thermal gauge theory are also\ndiscussed briefly. The second part is devoted to a review of gauge-string\ndualities based on various warped conifold backgrounds, and to their\ncosmological applications."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "One-Instanton Test of a Seiberg-Witten Curve from M-theory: the\n  Antisymmetric Representation of SU(N): One-instanton predictions are obtained from the Seiberg-Witten curve derived\nfrom M-theory by Landsteiner and Lopez for the Coulomb branch of N=2\nsupersymmetric SU(N) gauge theory with a matter hypermultiplet in the\nantisymmetric representation. Since this cubic curve describes a Riemann\nsurface that is non-hyperelliptic, a systematic perturbation expansion about a\nhyperelliptic curve is developed, with a comparable expansion for the\nSeiberg-Witten differential. Calculation of the period integrals of the SW\ndifferential by the method of residues of D'Hoker, Krichever, and Phong enables\nus to compute the prepotential explicitly to one-instanton order. It is shown\nthat the one-instanton predictions for SU(2), SU(3), and SU(4) agree with\npreviously available results. For SU(N), N > 4, our analysis provides explicit\npredictions of a curve derived from M-theory at the one-instanton level in\nfield theory.",
        "positive": "On Elliptic String Solutions in AdS(3) and dS(3): Classical string actions in AdS(3) and dS(3) can be connected to the\nsinh-Gordon and cosh-Gordon equations through Pohlmeyer reduction. We show that\nthe problem of constructing a classical string solution with a given static or\ntranslationally invariant Pohlmeyer counterpart is equivalent to solving four\npairs of effective Schrodinger problems. Each pair consists of a flat potential\nand an n = 1 Lame potential whose eigenvalues are connected, and, additionally,\nthe four solutions satisfy a set of constraints. An approach for solving this\nsystem is developed by employing an interesting connection between the specific\nclass of classical string solutions and the band structure of the Lame\npotential. This method is used for the construction of several families of\nclassical string solutions, one of which turns out to be the spiky strings in\nAdS(3). New solutions include circular rotating strings in AdS(3) with singular\ntime evolution of their radius and angular velocity as well as classical string\nsolutions in dS(3)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Simplifying 4d $\\mathcal{N}=3$ Harmonic Superspace: We quantize super Yang-Mills action in $\\mathcal{N}=3$ harmonic superspace\nusing \"Fermi-Feynman\" gauge and also develop the background field formalism.\nThis leads to simpler propagators and Feynman rules that are useful in\nperforming explicit calculations. The superspace rules are used to show that\ndivergences do not appear at 1-loop and beyond. We also compute a finite\ncontribution to the effective action from a 4-point diagram at 1-loop, which\nmatches the expected covariant result.",
        "positive": "Constructive Matrix Theory: We extend the technique of constructive expansions to compute the connected\nfunctions of matrix models in a uniform way as the size of the matrix\nincreases. This provides the main missing ingredient for a non-perturbative\nconstruction of the $\\phi^{\\star 4}_4$ field theory on the Moyal four\ndimensional space."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dirac Equation Studies in the Tunnelling Energy Zone: We investigate the tunnelling zone V0 < E < V0+m for a one-dimensional\npotential within the Dirac equation. We find the appearance of superluminal\ntransit times akin to the Hartman effect.",
        "positive": "Noncommutative symmetric functions and Laplace operators for classical\n  Lie algebras: New systems of Laplace (Casimir) operators for the orthogonal and symplectic\nLie algebras are constructed. The operators are expressed in terms of paths in\ngraphs related to matrices formed by the generators of these Lie algebras with\nthe use of some properties of the noncommutative symmetric functions associated\nwith a matrix. The decomposition of the Sklyanin determinant into a product of\nquasi-determinants play the main role in the construction. Analogous\ndecomposition for the quantum determinant provides an alternative proof of the\nknown construction for the Lie algebra gl(N)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Konishi Anomalies and Curves without Adjoints: Generalized Konishi anomaly relations in the chiral ring of N=1\nsupersymmetric gauge theories with unitary gauge group and chiral matter field\nin two-index tensor representations are derived. Contrary to previous\ninvestigations of related models we do not include matter multiplets in the\nadjoint representation. The corresponding curves turn out to be hyperelliptic.\nWe also point out equivalences to models with orthogonal or symplectic gauge\ngroups.",
        "positive": "Flux Compactification of M-theory on Compact Manifolds with Spin(7)\n  Holonomy: At the leading order, M-theory admits minimal supersymmetric\ncompactifications if the internal manifold has exceptional holonomy. The\ninclusion of non-vanishing fluxes in M-theory and string theory\ncompactifications induce a superpotential in the lower dimensional theory,\nwhich depends on the fluxes. In this work, we verify the conjectured form of\nthis superpotential in the case of warped M-theory compactifications on Spin(7)\nholonomy manifolds. We calculate the most general causal N=1 three-dimensional,\ngauge invariant action coupled to matter in superspace and derive its component\nform using Ectoplasmic integration theory. We also derive a perturbative set of\nsolutions which emerges from a warped compactification on a Spin(7) holonomy\nmanifold with non-vanishing flux for the M-theory field strength and we show\nthat in general the Ricci flatness of the internal manifold is lost. Using the\nsuperpotential form we identify the supersymmetric vacua out of this general\nset of solutions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gravity localization in sine-Gordon braneworlds: In this work we study two types of five-dimensional braneworld models given\nby sine-Gordon potentials. In both scenarios, the thick brane is generated by a\nreal scalar field coupled to gravity. We focus our investigation on the\nlocalization of graviton field and the behaviour of the massive spectrum. In\nparticular, we analyse the localization of massive modes by means of a relative\nprobability method in a Quantum Mechanics context. Initially, considering a\nscalar field sine-Gordon potential, we find a localized state to the graviton\nat zero mode. However, when we consider a double sine-Gordon potential, the\nbrane structure is changed allowing the existence of massive resonant states.\nThe new results show how the existence of an internal structure can aid in the\nemergence of massive resonant modes on the brane.",
        "positive": "Lorentz violating effects on a quantized two-level system: In this work, we consider the effects of the Lorentz-violating (LV) term $\nv_{\\mu}\\bar{\\psi}\\gamma ^{\\mu}\\psi $ belonging to the fermion sector of the\nextended standard model on the dynamics of a quantum two-level system. We\nexamine how its non-relativistic counterpart, ${(\\mathbf{p}-e \\mathbf{A})\\cdot\n}\\mathbf{v}/{m_{e},}$ affects the Rabi oscillations of a two-level atom coupled\nwith a quantum cavity electromagnetic field. Taking an initial coherent field\nstate in a resonant cavity, it was found that the LV background increases the\nRabi frequency and the time interval between collapses and revivals of the\npopulation inversion function. It was found that initial field states with low\nmean number of photons are better probes in order to establish more stringent\nupper bounds on the background magnitude. In particular, for an initial vacuum\nstate in the cavity the upper limit $\\text{v}_{x}<10^{-10}eV$ was attained."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "q-deformed Dirac Monopole With Arbitrary Charge: We construct the deformed Dirac monopole on the quantum sphere for arbitrary\ncharge using two different methods and show that it is a quantum principal\nbundle in the sense of Brzezinski and Majid. We also give a connection and\ncalculate the analog of its Chern number by integrating the curvature over\n$S^2_q$.",
        "positive": "Wrapping rules (in) string theory: In this paper we show that the number of all 1/2-BPS branes in string theory\ncompactified on a torus can be derived by universal wrapping rules whose\nformulation we present. These rules even apply to branes in less than ten\ndimensions whose ten-dimensional origin is an exotic brane. In that case the\nwrapping rules contain an additional combinatorial factor that is related to\nthe highest dimension in which the ten-dimensional exotic brane, after\ncompactification, can be realized as a standard brane. We show that the\nwrapping rules also apply to cases with less supersymmetry. As a specific\nexample, we discuss the compactification of IIA/IIB string theory on\n$(T^4/{\\mathbb{Z}_2}) \\times T^n$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Noncommutative fluid dynamics in the Snyder space-time: In this paper, we construct for the first time the non-commutative fluid with\nthe deformed Poincare invariance. To this end, the realization formalism of the\nnoncommutative spaces is employed and the results are particularized to the\nSnyder space. The non-commutative fluid generalizes the fluid model in the\naction functional formulation to the noncommutative space. The fluid equations\nof motion and the conserved energy-momentum tensor are obtained.",
        "positive": "On Polyakov's basic variational formula for loop spaces: We use the homological algebra context to give a more rigorous proof of\nPolyakov's basic variational formula for loop spaces."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gluon confinement, i-particles and BRST soft breaking: A few issues on gluon confinement are addressed with the help of a\nrenormalizable gauge model obtained by introducing a replica of the\nFaddeev-Popov action and a soft breaking of the BRST symmetry. Confinement\nturns out to be encoded in the spectral properties of the corresponding\ncorrelation functions. While the propagators of the elementary fields have no\ninterpretation in terms of physical excitations, examples of local composite\noperators whose two-point correlation functions possess a spectral\nrepresentation with positive spectral density can be introduced. These\ncomposite operators turn out to be left invariant by the BRST transformations,\na feature which has strong consequences on their renormalizability properties.\nMoreover, they display a direct interpretation in terms of i-particles [1],\nwhich are the unphysical modes corresponding to a confining propagator of the\nGribov type. A possible way to take into account the effects of the Gribov\ncopies is also outlined.",
        "positive": "On the thin-string limit of the 6d stringlike defect model: We show that in 6d models localizing gravity on stringlike defects and\nsatisfying the dominant energy condition, the metric exterior to the string\ninevitably depends on the string's thickness. As a consequence, in the limit of\nthin string either the gravity delocalizes, or the six-dimensional Planck scale\nmust be much larger that the four-dimensional one."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Observability of Quantum Information Radiated from a Black Hole: We propose a resolution to the black-hole information-loss paradox: in one\nformulation of physical theory, information is preserved and macroscopic\ncausality is violated; in another, causality is preserved and pure states\nevolve to mixed states. However, no experiments can be performed that would\ndistinguish these two descriptions. We explain how this could work in practice;\na key ingredient is the suggested quantum-chaotic nature of black holes.",
        "positive": "Particle acceleration in Horava-Lifshitz black holes: In this paper we calculate the center-of-mass energy of two colliding test\nparticles near the rotating and non-rotating Horava-Lifshitz black hole. For\nthe case of slowly rotating KS solution of Horava-Lifshitz black hole we\ncompare our results with the case of Kerr black holes. We confirm the limited\nvalue of the center-of-mass energy for the static black holes and unlimited\nvalue of the center-of-mass energy for the rotating black holes. Numerically,\nwe discuss temperature dependence of the center-of-mass energy on the black\nhole horizon. We obtain the critical angular momentum of particles. In this\nlimit the center-of-mass energy of two colliding particles in the neighborhood\nof the rotating Horava-Lifshitz black hole could be arbitrarily high. We found\nappropriate conditions where the critical angular momentum could have an orbit\noutside the horizon. Finally, we obtain center-of-mass energy corresponding to\nthis circle orbit."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Anti-Self-Dual Spacetimes, Gravitational Instantons and Knotted Zeros of\n  the Weyl Tensor: We derive a superpotential for null electromagnetic fields in which the field\nline structure is in the form of an arbitrary torus knot. These fields are\nshown to correspond to single copies of a class of anti-self-dual Kerr-Schild\nspacetimes containing the Sparling-Tod metric. This metric is the pure Weyl\ndouble copy of the electromagnetic Hopfion, and we show that the Eguchi-Hanson\nmetric is a mixed Weyl double copy of this Hopfion and its conformally inverted\nstate. We formulate two conditions for electromagnetic fields, generalizing\ntorus knotted fields and linked optical vortices, that, via the zero rest mass\nequation for spin 1 and spin 2, defines solutions of linearized Einstein's\nequation possessing a Hopf fibration as the curves along which no stretching,\ncompression or precession will occur. We report on numerical findings relating\nthe stability of the linked and knotted zeros of the Weyl tensor and their\nrelation to linked optical vortices.",
        "positive": "From strings to the MSSM: We review recent progress in embedding the supersymmetric standard model into\nstring theory. We discuss how, with the incorporation of certain aspects of\ngrand unification, a search strategy can be developed that allows to\nefficiently find rather large numbers of promising string vacua. Global\nstring-derived models with the following features are discussed: (i) exact MSSM\nspectrum below the unification scale; (ii) R parity; (iii) hierarchical Yukawa\ncouplings with non-trivial mixing; (iv) solution to the mu problem; (v) see-saw\nsuppressed neutrino masses."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Nappi-Witten example and gravitational waves: The vanishing of the anomaly in the recent example of Nappi and Witten,\nconstructed from the Wess-Zumino-Witten model based on a certain non-semisimple\ngroup, follows from a more general result valid for gravitational waves. The\nconstruction of the metric is explained.}",
        "positive": "Nonperturbative studies of supersymmetric matrix quantum mechanics with\n  4 and 8 supercharges at finite temperature: We investigate thermodynamic properties of one-dimensional U(N)\nsupersymmetric gauge theories with 4 and 8 supercharges in the planar large-N\nlimit by Monte Carlo calculations. Unlike the 16 supercharge case, the\nthreshold bound state with zero energy is widely believed not to exist in these\nmodels. This led A.V. Smilga to conjecture that the internal energy decreases\nexponentially at low temperature instead of decreasing with a power law. In the\n16 supercharge case, the latter behavior was predicted from the dual black\n0-brane geometry and confirmed recently by Monte Carlo calculations. Our\nresults for the models with 4 and 8 supercharges indeed support the exponential\nbehavior, revealing a qualitative difference from the 16 supercharge case."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Logarithmic corrections to the FRW brane cosmology from 5d\n  Schwarzschild-deSitter black hole: Thermodynamics of 5d SdS black hole is considered. Thermal fluctuations\ndefine the (sub-dominant) logarithmic corrections to black hole entropy and\nthen to Cardy-Verlinde formula and to FRW brane cosmology. We demonstrate that\nlogarithmic terms (which play the role of effective cosmological constant)\nchange the behavior of 4d spherical brane in dS, SdS or Nariai bulk. In\nparticularly, bounce Universe occurs or 4d dS brane expands to its maximum and\nthen shrinks. The entropy bounds are also modified by next-to-leading terms.\nOut of braneworld context the logarithmic terms may suggest slight modification\nof standard FRW cosmology.",
        "positive": "Subleading contributions from instanton corrections in N = 2\n  supersymmetric black hole entropy: We present subleading corrections to the N=2 supersymmetric black hole\nentropy. These subleading contributions correspond to instanton corrections of\nthe Type II string theory. In particular we consider an axion free black hole\nsolution of low-energy effective Type II string theory. We present a procedure\nto include successively all instanton corrections. Expanding these corrections\nat particular points in moduli space yields polynomial and logarithmic\ninstanton corrections to the classical black hole entropy. We comment on a\nmicroscopic interpretation of these instanton corrections and find that the\nlogarithmic corrections correspond to subleading terms in the degeneracy of the\nspectrum of an underlying quantum theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "General null asymptotics and superrotation-compatible configuration\n  spaces in $d\\ge4$: We address the problem of consistent Campiglia-Laddha superrotations in $d>4$\nby solving Bondi-Sachs gauge vacuum Einstein equations at the non-linear level\nwith the most general boundary conditions preserving the null nature of\ninfinity. We discuss how to generalise the boundary structure to make the\nconfiguration space compatible with supertanslation-like and superrotation-like\ntransformations. One possibility requires that the time-independent boundary\nmetric on the cuts of $\\mathscr{I}$ is not fixed to be Einstein, while the\nother sticks to Einstein but time-dependent metrics. Both are novel features\nwith respect to the four-dimensional case, where time-dependence of the\ntwo-dimensional cross-sectional metric is not required and the Einstein\ncondition is trivially satisfied. Other cases are also discussed. These\nconditions imply that the configuration spaces are not asymptotically flat in\nthe standard sense. We discuss the implications on the construction of the\nphase space and the relationship with soft scattering theorems. We show that in\neven spacetime dimensions, the initial data compatible with such asymptotic\nsymmetries produce maximally polyhomogeneous expansions of the metric and we\nadvance a potential interpretation of this structure in terms of AdS/CFT and\nrealizations of Ricci-flat holography.",
        "positive": "Supercurrent: Vector Hair for an AdS Black Hole: In arXiv:0803.3295 [hep-th] a holographic black hole solution is discussed\nwhich exhibits a superconductor like transition. In the superconducting phase\nthe black holes show infinite DC conductivity. This gives rise to the\npossibility of deforming the solutions by turning on a time independent current\n(supercurrent), without any electric field. This type of deformation does not\nexist for normal (non-superconducting) black holes, due to the no-hair\ntheorems. In this paper we have studied such a supercurrent solution and the\nassociated phase diagram. Interestingly, we have found a \"special point\"\n(critical point) in the phase diagram where the second order superconducting\nphase transition becomes first order. Supercurrent in superconducting materials\nis a well studied phenomenon in condensed matter systems. We have found some\nqualitative agreement with known results."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exact S-matrices: Notes on exact S-matrices in 1+1 dimensions, based on lectures given at the\n1996 Eotvos Graduate School, Budapest, and at the Institut Henri Poincare,\nParis.",
        "positive": "Gravity in Complex Hermitian Space-Time: A generalized theory unifying gravity with electromagnetism was proposed by\nEinstein in 1945. He considered a Hermitian metric on a real space-time. In\nthis work we review Einstein's idea and generalize it further to consider\ngravity in a complex Hermitian space-time."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Schwinger-Keldysh Coset Construction: The coset construction is a tool for systematically building low energy\neffective actions for Nambu-Goldstone modes. This technique is typically used\nto compute time-ordered correlators appropriate for $S$-matrix computations for\nsystems in their ground state. In this paper, we extend this technique to the\nSchwinger-Keldysh formalism, which enables one to calculate a wider variety of\ncorrelators and applies also to systems in a mixed state. We focus our\nattention on internal symmetries and demonstrate that, after identifying the\nappropriate symmetry breaking pattern, Schwinger-Keldysh effective actions for\nNambu-Goldstone modes can be constructed using the standard rules of the coset\nconstruction. Particular emphasis is placed on the thermal state and ensuring\nthat correlators satisfy the KMS relation. We also discuss explicitly the power\ncounting scheme underlying our effective actions. We comment on the\nsimilarities and differences between our approach and others that have\npreviously appeared in the literature. In particular, our prescription does not\nrequire the introduction of additional ``diffusive'' symmetries and retains the\nfull non-linear structure generated by the coset construction. We conclude with\na series of explicit examples, including a computation of the\nfinite-temperature two-point functions of conserved spin currents in\nnon-relativistic paramagnets, antiferromagnets, and ferromagnets. Along the\nway, we also clarify the discrete symmetries that set antiferromagnets apart\nfrom ferromagnets, and point out that the dynamical KMS symmetry must be\nimplemented in different ways in these two systems.",
        "positive": "On the Effective Action of N=1 Supersymmetric Yang-Mills Theory: We propose a generalization of the Veneziano-Yankielowicz effective\nlow-energy action for N=1 SUSY Yang-Mills theory which includes composite\noperators interpolating pure gluonic bound states. The chiral supermultiplet of\nanomalies is embedded in a larger three-form multiplet and an extra term in the\neffective action is introduced. The mass spectrum and mixing of the lowest-spin\nbound states are studied within the effective Lagrangian approach. The physical\nmass eigenstates form two multiplets, each containing a scalar, pseudoscalar\nand Weyl fermion. The multiplet containing the states which are most closely\nrelated to glueballs is the lighter one."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Entanglement Temperature With Gauss-Bonnet Term: We compute the entanglement temperature using the first law-like of\nthermodynamics, $\\Delta E=T_{ent} \\Delta S_{EE}$, up to Gauss-Bonnet term in\nthe Jacobson-Myers entropy functional in any arbitrary spacetime dimension. The\ncomputation is done when the entangling region is the geometry of a slab. We\nalso show that such a Gauss-Bonnet term, which becomes a total derivative, when\nthe co-dimension two hypersurface is four dimensional, does not contribute to\nthe finite term in the entanglement entropy. We observe that the Weyl-squared\nterm does not contribute to the entanglement entropy. It is important to note\nthat the calculations are performed when the entangling region is very small\nand the energy is calculated using the normal Hamiltonian.",
        "positive": "WEAKLY-coupled IIA Flux Compactifications: We study compactifications of type IIA string theory on Calabi-Yau manifolds\nthat are mirror to a subset of the type IIB LARGE-volume models. A combination\nof flux, alpha' corrections and non-perturbative effects stabilises the moduli\nin a non-supersymmetric AdS vacuum. This vacuum has the feature that the\n(ten-dimensional) string coupling is exponentially small which can naturally\nlead to a TeV supersymmetry breaking scale with an intermediate string scale.\nThe AdS vacuum can be uplifted to a dS one through the introduction of D6\nbranes, and complex-structure modular inflation can be realised."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dynamics of Simplest Chiral Gauge Theories: Arguably, the simplest chiral gauge theories are $\\mathrm{SO}(10)$ with $N_f$\nfermion fields in the spinor representation {\\bf 16}. We study their dynamics\nusing their supersymmetric limits perturbed by an infinitesimal\nanomaly-mediated supersymmetry breaking as a guide. We predict the theory is\ngapped for $N_f=1,2$, while the $\\mathrm{SU}(N_f)$ global symmetry is broken to\n$\\mathrm{SO}(\\mathrm{N}_f)$ for moderately large $N_f \\geq 3$.",
        "positive": "Helicity conservation in Born-Infeld theory: We prove that the helicity is preserved in the scattering of photons in the\nBorn-Infeld theory (in 4d) on the tree level."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Classifying Superconformal Defects in Diverse Dimensions Part I:\n  Superconformal Lines: We initiate the classification of unitary superconformal defects in unitary\nsuperconformal field theories (SCFT) of diverse spacetime dimensions $3\\leq d\n\\leq 6$. Our method explores general constraints from the defect superconformal\nsymmetry, unitarity, as well as consistency conditions of local bulk-defect\ncouplings. Such features are common to all superconformal defects regardless of\nany Lagrangian description. In particular, modified Ward identities of\nconserved currents in the presence of the defect induce a distinguished set of\nconformal primary operators on the defect worldvolume, which includes the\nuniversal displacement operator associated with broken translations transverse\nto the defect. Consistency with the preserved superconformal symmetry and\nunitarity requires that such operators arrange into unitarity multiplets of the\ndefect superconformal algebra, which in turn leads to nontrivial constraints on\nwhat kinds of defects are admissible in a given SCFT. We carry out the analysis\nexplicitly for one-dimensional defects, namely superconformal lines, and leave\nthe study of higher dimensional defects to forthcoming work. We also comment on\nthe implications of our results for the deformations of superconformal lines\nand one-form symmetries in SCFTs.",
        "positive": "Landau Singularities and Symbology: One- and Two-loop MHV Amplitudes in\n  SYM Theory: We apply the Landau equations, whose solutions parameterize the locus of\npossible branch points, to the one- and two-loop Feynman integrals relevant to\nMHV amplitudes in planar $\\mathcal{N}=4$ super-Yang-Mills theory. We then\nidentify which of the Landau singularities appear in the symbols of the\namplitudes, and which do not. We observe that all of the symbol entries in the\ntwo-loop MHV amplitudes are already present as Landau singularities of one-loop\npentagon integrals."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Maximally rotating waves in AdS and on spheres: We study the cubic wave equation in AdS_(d+1) (and a closely related cubic\nwave equation on S^3) in a weakly nonlinear regime. Via time-averaging, these\nsystems are accurately described by simplified infinite-dimensional quartic\nHamiltonian systems, whose structure is mandated by the fully resonant spectrum\nof linearized perturbations. The maximally rotating sector, comprising only the\nmodes of maximal angular momentum at each frequency level, consistently\ndecouples in the weakly nonlinear regime. The Hamiltonian systems obtained by\nthis decoupling display remarkable periodic return behaviors closely analogous\nto what has been demonstrated in recent literature for a few other related\nequations (the cubic Szego equation, the conformal flow, the LLL equation).\nThis suggests a powerful underlying analytic structure, such as integrability.\nWe comment on the connection of our considerations to the Gross-Pitaevskii\nequation for harmonically trapped Bose-Einstein condensates.",
        "positive": "Adelic Model of Harmonic Oscillator: Adelic quantum mechanics is formulated. The corresponding model of the\nharmonic oscillator is considered. The adelic harmonic oscillator exhibits many\ninteresting features. One of them is a softening of the uncertainty relation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On free massless (pseudo)scalar quantum field theory in 1+1-dimensional\n  space-time: We construct a consistent quantum field theory of a free massless\n(pseudo)scalar field in 1+1-dimensional space-times free of infrared\ndivergences. We show that a continuous symmetry of (pseudo)scalar field\ntranslations is spontaneously broken. Goldstone bosons appear as quanta of a\nfree massless (pseudo)scalar field. We show that the main inequality between\nvacuum expectation values of certain operators which has been used for the\nderivation of the Mermin-Wagner-Hohenberg theorem is fulfilled in the quantum\nfield theory of a free massless (pseudo)scalar field free of infrared\ndivergences.",
        "positive": "Kinematic numerators from the worldsheet: cubic trees from labelled\n  trees: In this note we revisit the problem of explicitly computing tree-level\nscattering amplitudes in various theories in any dimension from worldsheet\nformulas. The latter are known to produce cubic-tree expansion of tree\namplitudes with kinematic numerators automatically satisfying\nJacobi-identities, once any half-integrand on the worldsheet is reduced to\nlogarithmic functions. We review a natural class of worldsheet functions called\n\"Cayley functions\", which are in one-to-one correspondence with labelled trees,\nand natural expansions of known half-integrands onto them with coefficients\nthat are particularly compact building blocks of kinematic numerators. We\npresent a general formula expressing kinematic numerators of all cubic trees as\nlinear combinations of coefficients of labelled trees, which satisfy Jacobi\nidentities by construction and include the usual combinations in terms of\nmaster numerators as a special case. Our results provide an efficient\nalgorithm, which is implemented in a Mathematica package, for computing all\ntree amplitudes in theories including non-linear sigma model, special Galileon,\nYang-Mills-scalar, Einstein-Yang-Mills and Dirac-Born-Infeld."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Nonperturbative Quantum Gravity: Asymptotic safety describes a scenario in which general relativity can be\nquantized as a conventional field theory, despite being nonrenormalizable when\nexpanding it around a fixed background geometry. It is formulated in the\nframework of the Wilsonian renormalization group and relies crucially on the\nexistence of an ultraviolet fixed point, for which evidence has been found\nusing renormalization group equations in the continuum.\n  \"Causal Dynamical Triangulations\" (CDT) is a concrete research program to\nobtain a nonperturbative quantum field theory of gravity via a lattice\nregularization, and represented as a sum over spacetime histories. In the\nWilsonian spirit one can use this formulation to try to locate fixed points of\nthe lattice theory and thereby provide independent, nonperturbative evidence\nfor the existence of a UV fixed point.\n  We describe the formalism of CDT, its phase diagram, possible fixed points\nand the \"quantum geometries\" which emerge in the different phases. We also\nargue that the formalism may be able to describe a more general class of\nHo\\v{r}ava-Lifshitz gravitational models.",
        "positive": "Group dualities, T-dualities, and twisted K-theory: This paper explores further the connection between Langlands duality and\nT-duality for compact simple Lie groups, which appeared in work of Daenzer-Van\nErp and Bunke-Nikolaus. We show that Langlands duality gives rise to\nisomorphisms of twisted K-groups, but that these K-groups are trivial except in\nthe simplest case of SU(2) and SO(3). Along the way we compute explicitly the\nmap on $H^3$ induced by a covering of compact simple Lie groups, which is\neither 1 or 2 depending in a complicated way on the type of the groups\ninvolved. We also give a new method for computing twisted K-theory using the\nSegal spectral sequence, giving simpler computations of certain twisted\nK-theory groups of compact Lie groups relevant for D-brane charges in WZW\ntheories and rank-level dualities. Finally we study a duality for orientifolds\nbased on complex Lie groups with an involution."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On General Axial Gauges for QCD: General Axial Gauges within a perturbative approach to QCD are plagued by\n'spurious' propagator singularities. Their regularisation has to face major\nconceptual and technical problems. We show that this obstacle is naturally\nabsent within a Wilsonian or 'Exact' Renormalisation Group approach and explain\nwhy this is so. The axial gauge turns out to be a fixed point under the flow,\nand the universal 1-loop running of the gauge coupling is computed.",
        "positive": "Three-forms, dualities and membranes in four-dimensional supergravity: We consider four-dimensional $\\mathcal{N}=1$ supergravity models of a kind\nappearing in string flux compactifications. It has been recently shown that, by\nusing double three-form multiplets instead of ordinary chiral multiplets, one\ncan promote to dynamical variables (part of) the quantized numbers appearing in\nthe flux-induced superpotential. We show that double three-form multiplets\nnaturally transform under symplectic dualities associated with the special\nK\\\"ahler structure that characterizes their scalar sector. Furthermore, we\ndiscuss how to couple membranes which carry arbitrary `electric-magnetic'\ncharges. The complete action is supersymmetric, kappa-symmetric and duality\ncovariant. As an application, we derive the flow equations for BPS domain walls\nsourced by membranes and give simple analytic examples of their solution."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Scalar Casimir effect for D-dimensional spherically symmetric Robin\n  boundaries: The vacuum expectation values for the energy-momentum tensor of a massive\nscalar field with general curvature coupling and obeying the Robin boundary\ncondition on spherically symmetric boundaries in D-dimensional space are\ninvestigated. The expressions are derived for the regularized vacuum energy\ndensity, radial and azimuthal stress components (i) inside and outside a single\nspherical surface and (ii) in the intermediate region between two concentric\nspheres. Regularization procedure is carried out by making use of the\ngeneralized Abel-Plana formula for the series over zeros of cylinder functions.\nAsymptotic behavior of the vacuum densities near the sphere and at large\ndistances is investigated. A decomposition of the Casimir energy into volumic\nand surface parts is provided for both cases (i) and (ii). We show that the\nmode sum energy, evaluated as a sum of the zero-point energies for each normal\nmode of frequency, and the volume integral of the energy density in general are\ndifferent, and argue that this difference is due to the existence of an\nadditional surface energy contribution.",
        "positive": "Restricted Schur Polynomials for Fermions and integrability in the\n  su(2|3) sector: We define restricted Schur polynomials built using both fermionic and bosonic\nfields which transform in the adjoint of the gauge group U(N). We show that\nthese operators diagonalize the free field two point function to all orders in\n1/N. As an application of our new operators, we study the action of the one\nloop dilatation operator in the su(2|3) sector in a large N but non-planar\nlimit. The restricted Schur polynomials we study are dual to giant gravitons.\nWe find that the one loop dilatation operator can be diagonalized using a\ndouble coset ansatz. The resulting spectrum of anomalous dimensions matches the\nspectrum of a set of decoupled oscillators. Finally, in an Appendix we study\nthe action of the one loop dilatation operator in an sl(2) sector. This action\nis again diagonalized by a double coset ansatz."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Cubic interaction vertices for massless higher spin supermultiplets in\n  d=4: We construct a range of supersymmetric cubic vertices for three massless\nhigher spin supermultiplets in the four-dimensional space. We use frame-like\nmultispinor formalism, which allows to avoid most of the technical difficulties\nand provides a uniform description for bosons and fermions. Our work is based\non the so-called Fradkin-Vasiliev formalism for construction of the cubic\nvertices, which requires the non-zero cosmological constant. Thus we first\nconstruct the vertices in AdS space and then consider the flat limit. We show\nthat the AdS supersymmetric vertex is a sum of four elementary vertices for\nsupermultiplet components, while one of the vertices vanishes in the flat limit\nin agreement with the Metsaev's classification.",
        "positive": "Topologically massive non-Abelian theory: superfield formalism: We apply the well-established techniques of geometrical superfield approach\nto Becchi-Rouet-Stora-Tyutin (BRST) formalism in the context of four (3 +\n1)-dimensional (4D) dynamical non-Abelian 2-form gauge theory by exploiting its\ninherent \"scalar\" and \"vector\" gauge symmetry transformations and derive the\ncorresponding off-shell nilpotent and absolutely anticommuting BRST and\nanti-BRST symmetry transformations. Our approach leads to the derivation of\nthree (anti-) BRST invariant Curci-Ferrari (CF)-type restrictions that are\nfound to be responsible for the absolute anticommutativity of the BRST and\nanti-BRST symmetry transformations. We derive the coupled Lagrangian densities\nthat respect the (anti-) BRST symmetry transformations corresponding to the\n\"vector\" gauge transformations. We also capture the (anti-) BRST invariance of\nthe CF-type restrictions and coupled Lagrangian densities within the framework\nof our superfield approach. We obtain, furthermore, the off-shell nilpotent\n(anti-) BRST symmetry transformations when the (anti-) BRST symmetry\ntransformations corresponding to the \"scalar\" and \"vector\" gauge symmetries are\nmerged together. These off-shell nilpotent \"merged\" (anti-) BRST symmetries\nare, however, found to be not absolutely anticommuting in nature."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Schr\u00f6dinger representation of SU(2) Skyrmion: Exploiting the SU(2) Skyrmion Lagrangian with second-class constraints\nassociated with Lagrange multiplier and collective coordinates, we convert the\nsecond-class system into the first-class one in the Batalin-Fradkin-Tyutin\nembedding through introduction of the St\\\"uckelberg coordinates. In this\nextended phase space we construct the \"canonical\" quantum operator commutators\nof the collective coordinates and their conjugate momenta to describe the\nSchr\\\"odinger representation of the SU(2) Skyrmion, so that we can define\nisospin operators and their Casimir quantum operator and the corresponding\neigenvalue equation possessing integer quantum numbers, and we can also assign\nvia the homotopy class $\\pi_{4}(SU(2))=Z_{2}$ half integers to the isospin\nquantum number for the solitons in baryon phenomenology. Different from the\nsemiclassical quantization previously performed, we exploit the \"canonical\"\nquantization scheme in the enlarged phase space by introducing the\nSt\\\"uckelberg coordinates, to evaluate the baryon mass spectrum having global\nmass shift originated from geometrical corrections due to the $S^{3}$ compact\nmanifold involved in the topological Skyrmion. Including ghosts and\nanti-ghosts, we also construct Becci-Rouet-Stora-Tyutin invariant effective\nLagrangian.",
        "positive": "A New Type of Loop Equations: We derive a new form of loop equations for light-like Wilson loops. In\nbosonic theories those loop equations close only for straight light-like Wilson\nlines. In the case of N=1 in ten dimensions they close for any light-like\nWilson loop. Upon dimensional reduction to N=4 SYM in four dimensions, these\nloops become exactly the chiral loops which can be evaluated semiclassically,\nin the strong coupling limit, by a minimal surface in anti de-Sitter space. We\nshow that the AdS calculation satisfies those loop equations. We also find a\nnew fermionic loop equation derived from the gauge theory fermionic equation of\nmotion."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the S-matrix of the Sub-leading Magnetic Deformation of the\n  Tricritical Ising Model in Two Dimensions: We compute the $S$-matrix of the Tricritical Ising Model perturbed by the\nsubleading magnetic operator using Smirnov's RSOS reduction of the\nIzergin-Korepin model. The massive model contains kink excitations which\ninterpolate between two degenerate asymmetric vacua. As a consequence of the\ndifferent structure of the two vacua, the crossing symmetry is implemented in a\nnon-trivial way. We use finite-size techniques to compare our results with the\nnumerical data obtained by the Truncated Conformal Space Approach and find good\nagreement.",
        "positive": "Interpolating function and Stokes Phenomena: When we have two expansions of physical quantity around two different points\nin parameter space, we can usually construct a family of functions, which\ninterpolates the both expansions. In this paper we study analytic structures of\nsuch interpolating functions and discuss their physical implications. We\npropose that the analytic structures of the interpolating functions provide\ninformation on analytic property and Stokes phenomena of the physical quantity,\nwhich we approximate by the interpolating functions. We explicitly check our\nproposal for partition functions of zero-dimensional $\\varphi^4$ theory and\nSine-Gordon model. In the zero dimensional Sine-Gordon model, we compare our\nresult with a recent result from resurgence analysis. We also comment on\nconstruction of interpolating function in Borel plane."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Brane worlds in gravity with auxiliary fields: Recently, Pani, Sotiriou, and Vernieri explored a new theory of gravity by\nadding nondynamical fields, i.e., gravity with auxiliary fields [Phys. Rev. D\n88, 121502(R) (2013)]. In this gravity theory, higher-order derivatives of\nmatter fields generically appear in the field equations. In this paper we\nextend this theory to any dimensions and discuss the thick braneworld model in\nfive dimensions. Domain wall solutions are obtained numerically. The stability\nof the brane system under the tensor perturbation is analyzed. We find that the\nsystem is stable under the tensor perturbation and the gravity zero mode is\nlocalized on the brane. Therefore, the four-dimensional Newtonian potential can\nbe realized on the brane.",
        "positive": "Genus-one open string amplitudes on AdS$_5\\times$S$^3$ from CFT: We bootstrap one-loop string corrections to the four-point function of\nhalf-BPS operators in a 4d $\\mathcal{N}=2$ SCFT with flavour group $SO(8)$,\ndual to gluon scattering at genus one on AdS$_5\\times$S$^3$. We identify an\n8-dimensional organising principle which governs the spectrum of double-trace\nanomalous dimensions, valid to all orders in the string length. This has\nprecise implications for the structure of one-loop Mellin amplitudes, which we\nexplicitly compute for the first three orders beyond the field-theory limit. We\nalso consider the corresponding position space representation, which is\nentirely determined by the square of a certain differential operator acting on\na simpler \"pre-correlator\". Finally, we show that the flat-space limit of the\nMellin amplitudes exactly matches the logarithmic terms of the genus-one\namplitude in 8-dimensional flat space, which we compute via a partial-wave\nanalysis."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Modification of Matrix Models by Square Terms of Scaling Operators: We study one (or two) matrix models modified by terms of the form\n$g(\\rho(P))^2 + g'(\\rho'({\\cal{O}}))^2$, where the matrix representation of the\npuncture operator $P$ and the one of a scaling operator ${\\cal{O}}$ are denoted\nby $\\rho(P)$ and $\\rho'({\\cal{O}})$ respectively. We rewrite the modified\nmodels as effective theories of baby universes. We find an upper bound for the\ngravitational dimension of ${\\cal{O}}$ under which we can fine tune the\ncoupling constants to obtain new critical behaviors in the continuum limit. The\nsimultaneous tuning of $g$ and $g'$ is possible if the representations\n$\\rho(P)$ and $\\rho'({\\cal{O}})$ are chosen so that the non-diagonal elements\nof the mass matrix of the effective theory vanish.",
        "positive": "p-Adic desription of Higgs mechanism II: General Theory: This paper belongs to the series devoted to the calculation of particle\nmasses in p-adic conformal field theory limit of TGD. The concept of\ntopological condensate generalizes the concept of 3-space. Various\nhierarchically ordered levels of the condensate obey effective p-adic topology\nand fractal considerations motivate the hypothesis that physically interesting\nvalues of p correspond to primes near prime powers of two, in particular\nMersenne primes. This hypothesis relates succesfully the fundamental elementary\npar- ticle mass scales to Planck mass scale. The fundamental description of\nHiggs mechanism is in terms of p-adic thermodynamics for the Virasoro generator\n$L^0$ (mass squared). Massivation follows from the small thermal mixing of\nmassless ground state with Planck mass excitations. The quantization of\ntemperature at low temperature limit gives earlier length scale hypothesis as a\nprediction. In this paper the general theory of Higgs mechanism is described\nand calculation of elementary fermion and boson masses is left to the third\npaper of the series."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Bulk Singularity Structures and all order $\u03b1'$ Contact Terms of\n  BPS String Amplitudes: The entire form of the amplitude of three SYM ( involving two transverse\nscalar fields, a gauge field) and a potential $C_{n-1}$ Ramond-Ramond (RR) form\nfield is found out. We first derive $<V_{C^{-2}} V_{A^{0}} V_{\\phi ^{0}}\nV_{\\phi ^{0}}>$ and then start constructing an infinite number of $t,s$ channel\nbulk singularity structures by means of all order $\\alpha'$ corrections to\npull-back of brane in an Effective Field Theory (EFT). Due to presence of the\ncomplete form of S-matrix, several new contact interactions as well as new\ncouplings are explored. It is also shown that these couplings can be verified\nat the level of EFT by either the combinations of Myers terms, pull-back,\nTaylor expanded of scalar fields or the mixed combination of the couplings of\nthis paper as well as employed Bianchi identities. For the first time, we also\nderive the algebraic and the complete form of the integrations for some\narbitrary combinations of Mandelstam variables and for the most general case\n$\\int d^2z |1-z|^{a} |z|^{b} (z - \\bar{z})^{c} (z + \\bar{z})^{3}$ on upper half\nplane as well.",
        "positive": "Quark-Monopole Potentials from Supersymmetric SL(3,R) Deformed IIB\n  Supergravity: We recompute the quark-monopole potential from supersymmetric SL(3,R)\ndeformation of IIB supergravity background dual to deformed Coulomb branch flow\nof the N=4 super Yang-Mills theory. The marginal deformations strengthen the\nCoulombic attraction between quarks and monopoles."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "An Analysis of the Wave Equation for the $U(1)^{2}$ Gauged Supergravity\n  Black Hole: We study the massless Klein-Gordon equation in the background of the most\ngeneral rotating dyonic AdS black hole in gauged $\\mathcal{N}=2$, $U(1)^{2}$\ngauged supergravity in $D=4$, given by Chow and Comp\\`{e}re [Phys. Rev.\nD\\textbf{89} (2014) 065003]. The angular part of the separable wave equation is\nof the Heun type, while the radial part is a Fuchsian equation with five\nregular singularities. The radial equation is further analyzed and written in a\nspecific form, that reveals the pole structure of the horizon equation, whose\nresidua are expressed in terms of the surface gravities and angular velocities\nassociated with respective horizons. The near-horizon (near-)extremal limits of\nthe solution are also studied, where the expected hidden conformal symmetry is\nrevealed. Furthermore, we present the retarded Green's functions for these\nlimiting cases. We also comment on the generality of the charge-dependent parts\nof the metric parameters and address some further examples of limiting cases.",
        "positive": "Schrodinger Equation for Lagrangian Path Integral with Scaling of Local\n  Time: A method for deriving the Schrodinger equation for Lagrangian path integral\nwith scaling of local time is given."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Dimensional-Reduction Anomaly: In a wide class of D-dimensional spacetimes which are direct or semi-direct\nsums of a (D-n)-dimensional space and an n-dimensional homogeneous ``internal''\nspace, a field can be decomposed into modes. As a result of this mode\ndecomposition, the main objects which characterize the free quantum field, such\nas Green functions and heat kernels, can effectively be reduced to objects in a\n(D-n)-dimensional spacetime with an external dilaton field. We study the\nproblem of the dimensional reduction of the effective action for such\nspacetimes. While before renormalization the original D-dimensional effective\naction can be presented as a ``sum over modes'' of (D-n)-dimensional effective\nactions, this property is violated after renormalization. We calculate the\ncorresponding anomalous terms explicitly, illustrating the effect with some\nsimple examples.",
        "positive": "Topics in D-geometry: We discuss the general theory of D-branes on Calabi-Yaus, recent results from\nthe theory of boundary states, and new results on the spectrum of branes on the\nquintic CY. (Contribution to the proceedings of Strings '99 in Potsdam,\nGermany.)"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Entanglement in simple spin networks with a boundary: We investigate the bipartite entanglement for the boundary states in a simple\ntype of spin networks with dangling edges, in which the two complementary parts\nare linked by two or more edges. Firstly, the spin entanglement is considered\nin the absence of the intertwiner entanglement. By virtue of numerical\nsimulations, we find that the entanglement entropy usually depends on the group\nelements. More importantly, when the intertwiner entanglement is taken into\naccount, we find that it is in general impossible to separate the total\nentanglement entropy into the contribution from spins on edges and the\ncontribution from intertwiners at vertices. These situations are in contrast to\nthe case when the two vertices are linked by a single edge.",
        "positive": "Modified brane cosmologies with induced gravity, arbitrary matter\n  content and a Gauss-Bonnet term in the bulk: We extend the covariant analysis of the brane cosmological evolution in order\nto take into account, apart from a general matter content and an\ninduced-gravity term on the brane, a Gauss-Bonnet term in the bulk. The\ngravitational effect of the bulk matter on the brane evolution can be described\nin terms of the total bulk mass as measured by a bulk observer at the location\nof the brane. This mass appears in the effective Friedmann equation through a\nterm characterized as generalized dark radiation that induces mirage effects in\nthe evolution. We discuss the normal and self-accelerating branches of the\ncombined system. We also derive the Raychaudhuri equation that can be used in\norder to determine if the cosmological evolution is accelerating."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Constrained Superfields and Applications: When supersymmetry is spontaneously broken it will be generically\nnon-linearly realized. A method to describe the non-linear realization of\nsupersymmetry is with constrained superfields. We discuss the basic features of\nthis description and review some recent developments in supergravity.",
        "positive": "The Ogievetsky-Polubarinov massive gravity and the benign Boulware-Deser\n  mode: We present our analysis of the theory constructed in 1965 by Ogievetsky and\nPolubarinov (OP) -- the first ever theory of interacting massive gravitons. Its\nmass term is adjusted in such a way that the non-linear field equations imply\nas a consequence the linear Hilbert-Lorentz condition, which restricts the spin\nof states in the theory. Strikingly, for special parameter values this theory\ncoincides with one of the \"ghost-free\" massive gravity models rediscovered only\nin 2010. For generic parameter values, however, it propagates 6 degrees of\nfreedom and shows ghost around flat space. Surprizingly, we find that the de\nSitter space remains stable for a large region of the parameter space, provided\nthat the Hubble expansion rate is large enough, hence the Boulware-Deser mode\nis benign in this case. We study also other solutions and find that the Milne\nuniverse -- a sector of Minkowski space -- is stable in the UV limit. This\npresumably implies that at the non-linear level the ghost instability in flat\nspace develops only for long waves, similarly to the classical Jeans\ninstability."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Angular quantization and form-factors in massive integrable models: We discuss an application of the method of the angular quantization to\nreconstruction of form-factors of local fields in massive integrable models.\nThe general formalism is illustrated with examples of the Klein-Gordon,\nsinh-Gordon and Bullough-Dodd models. For the latter two models the angular\nquantization approach makes it possible to obtain free field representations\nfor form-factors of exponential operators. We discuss an intriguing relation\nbetween the free field representations and deformations of the Virasoro\nalgebra. The deformation associated with the Bullough-Dodd models appears to be\ndifferent from the known deformed Virasoro algebra.",
        "positive": "Jordanian Twist Quantization of D=4 Lorentz and Poincare Algebras and\n  D=3 Contraction Limit: We describe in detail two-parameter nonstandard quantum deformation of D=4\nLorentz algebra $\\mathfrak{o}(3,1)$, linked with Jordanian deformation of\n$\\mathfrak{sl} (2;\\mathbb{C})$. Using twist quantization technique we obtain\nthe explicit formulae for the deformed coproducts and antipodes. Further\nextending the considered deformation to the D=4 Poincar\\'{e} algebra we obtain\na new Hopf-algebraic deformation of four-dimensional relativistic symmetries\nwith dimensionless deformation parameter. Finally, we interpret\n$\\mathfrak{o}(3,1)$ as the D=3 de-Sitter algebra and calculate the contraction\nlimit $R\\to\\infty$ ($R$ -- de-Sitter radius) providing explicit Hopf algebra\nstructure for the quantum deformation of the D=3 Poincar\\'{e} algebra (with\nmasslike deformation parameters), which is the two-parameter light-cone\n$\\kappa$-deformation of the D=3 Poincar\\'{e} symmetry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Statistical Gauge Theory for Relativistic Finite Density Problems: A relativistic quantum field theory is presented for finite density problems\nbased on the principle of locality. It is found that, in addition to the\nconventional ones, a local approach to the relativistic quantum field theories\nat both zero and finite density consistent with the violation of Bell like\ninequalities should contain, and provide solutions to at least three additional\nproblems, namely, 1) the statistical gauge invariance 2) the dark components of\nthe local observables and 3) the fermion statistical blocking effects, base\nupon an asymptotic non-thermo ensemble. An application to models are presented\nto show the importance of the discussions.",
        "positive": "Thermalization with chemical potentials, and higher spin black holes: We study the long time behaviour of local observables following a quantum\nquench in 1+1 dimensional conformal field theories possessing additional\nconserved charges besides the energy. We show that the expectation value of an\narbitrary string of {\\it local} observables supported on a finite interval\nexponentially approaches an equilibrium value. The equilibrium is characterized\nby a temperature and chemical potentials defined in terms of the quenched\nstate. For an infinite number of commuting conserved charges, the equilibrium\nensemble is a generalized Gibbs ensemble (GGE). We compute the thermalization\nrate in a systematic perturbation in the chemical potentials, using a new\ntechnique to sum over an infinite number of Feynman diagrams. The above\ntechnique also allows us to compute relaxation times for thermal Green's\nfunctions in the presence of an arbitrary number of chemical potentials. In the\ncontext of a higher spin (hs[\\lambda]) holography, the partition function of\nthe final equilibrium GGE is known to agree with that of a higher spin black\nhole. The thermalization rate from the CFT computed in our paper agrees with\nthe quasinormal frequency of a scalar field in this black hole."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Classical and Quantum Behavior of Genaralized Oscillators - action\n  variable, angle variable and quantum phase -: The relation that exists in quantum mechanics among action variables, angle\nvariables and the phases of quantum states is clarified, by referring to the\nsystem of a generalized oscillator. As a by-product, quantum-mechanical meaning\nof the classical Hamilton-Jacobi equation and related matters is clarified,\nwhere a new picture of quantum mechanics is introduced, to be called the\nHamilton-Jacobi picture.",
        "positive": "An N=1 Lagrangian for an N=3 SCFT: We propose that a certain $4d$ $\\mathcal{N}=1$ $SU(2)\\times SU(2)$ gauge\ntheory flows in the IR to an $\\mathcal{N}=3$ SCFT plus a single free chiral\nfield. The specific $\\mathcal{N}=3$ SCFT has rank $1$ and a dimension three\nCoulomb branch operator. The flow is generically expected to land at the\n$\\mathcal{N}=3$ SCFT deformed by the marginal deformation associated with said\nCoulomb branch operator. We also present a discussion about the properties\nexpected of various RG invariant quantities from $\\mathcal{N}=3$ superconformal\nsymmetry, and use these to test our proposal. Finally, we discuss a\ngeneralization to another $\\mathcal{N}=1$ model that we propose is related to a\ncertain rank $3$ $\\mathcal{N}=3$ SCFT through the turning of certain marginal\ndeformations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Noncompact Weyl-Einstein-Yang-Mills Model: A Semiclassical Quantum\n  Gravity: We construct and study perturbative unitarity (i.e., ghost and tachyon\nanalysis) of a $3+1$-dimensional noncompact Weyl-Einstein-Yang-Mills model. The\nmodel describes a local noncompact Weyl's scale plus $SU(N)$ phase invariant\nHiggs-like field, conformally coupled to a generic Weyl-invariant dynamical\nbackground. Here, the Higgs-like sector generates the Weyl's conformal\ninvariance of system. The action does not admit any dimensionful parameter and\ngenuine presence of de Sitter vacuum spontaneously breaks the noncompact gauge\nsymmetry in an analogous manner to the Standard Model Higgs mechanism. As to\nflat spacetime, the dimensionful parameter is generated within the dimensional\ntransmutation in quantum field theories, and thus the symmetry is radiatively\nbroken through the one-loop Effective Coleman-Weinberg potential. We show that\nthe mere expectation of reducing to Einstein's gravity in the broken phases\nforbids anti-de Sitter space to be its stable vacua. The model is unitary in de\nSitter and flat vacua around which a massless graviton, $N^2-1$ massless scalar\nbosons, $N$ massless Dirac fermions, $N^2-1$ Proca-type massive Abelian and\nnon-Abelian vector bosons are generically propagated.",
        "positive": "Enhanced Gauge Symmetries and K3 Surfaces: String-string duality dictates that type IIA strings compactified on a K3\nsurface acquire non-abelian gauge groups for certain values of the K3 moduli.\nWe argue that, contrary to expectation, the theories for which such enhanced\ngauge symmetries appear are not orbifolds in the string sense. For a specific\nexample we show that a theory with enhanced gauge symmetry and an orbifold\ntheory have the same classical K3 surface as a target space but the value of\nthe ``B-field'' differs. This raises the possibility that the conformal field\ntheory associated to a string theory with an enhanced gauge group is badly\nbehaved in some way."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Duality Web in 2+1 Dimensions and Condensed Matter Physics: Building on earlier work in the high energy and condensed matter communities,\nwe present a web of dualities in $2+1$ dimensions that generalize the known\nparticle/vortex duality. Some of the dualities relate theories of fermions to\ntheories of bosons. Others relate different theories of fermions. For example,\nthe long distance behavior of the $2+1$-dimensional analog of QED with a single\nDirac fermion (a theory known as $U(1)_{1/2}$) is identified with the $O(2)$\nWilson-Fisher fixed point. The gauged version of that fixed point with a\nChern-Simons coupling at level one is identified as a free Dirac fermion. The\nlatter theory also has a dual version as a fermion interacting with some gauge\nfields. Assuming some of these dualities, other dualities can be derived. Our\nanalysis resolves a number of confusing issues in the literature including how\ntime reversal is realized in these theories. It also has many applications in\ncondensed matter physics like the theory of topological insulators (and their\ngapped boundary states) and the problem of electrons in the lowest Landau level\nat half filling. (Our techniques also clarify some points in the fractional\nHall effect and its description using flux attachment.) In addition to\npresenting several consistency checks, we also present plausible (but not\nrigorous) derivations of the dualities and relate them to $3+1$-dimensional\n$S$-duality.",
        "positive": "The Dual of a Tidal Force in the D1D5 CFT: It was demonstrated that a string probe falling radially within a\nsuperstratum geometry would experience tidal forces. These tidal forces were\nshown to excite the string by converting its kinetic energy into stringy\nexcitations. Using the AdS/CFT correspondence we seek to understand this\nbehavior from the perspective of the dual D1D5 CFT. To study this process we\nturn on an interaction of the theory which is described by a deformation\noperator. We start with an initial state which is dual to a graviton probe\nmoving within the superstratum geometry. We then use two deformation operators\nto compute transition amplitudes between this state and a final state that\ncorresponds to stringy excitations. We show that this amplitude grows as $t^2$\nwith $t$ being the amount of time for which the deformation operators are\nturned on. We argue that this process in the CFT is suggestive of the tidal\neffects experienced by the probe propagating within the dual superstratum\ngeometry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Low-temperature Holographic Screens Correspond to Einstein-Rosen Bridges: Recent conjectures on the complexity of black holes suggest that their\nevolution manifests in the structural properties of Einstein-Rosen bridges,\nlike the length and volume. The complexity of black holes relates to the\ncomputational complexity of their dual, namely holographic, quantum systems\nidentified via the Gauge/Gravity duality framework. Interestingly, the latter\nallows us to study the evolution of a black hole as the transformation of a\nqubit collection performed through a quantum circuit. In this work, we focus on\nthe complexity of Einstein-Rosen bridges. More in detail, we start with a\npreliminary discussion about their computational properties, and then we aim to\nassess whether an Ising-like model could represent their holographic dual. In\nthis regard, we recall that the Ising model captures essential aspects of\ncomplex phenomena such as phase transitions and, in general, is deeply related\nto information processing systems. To perform this assessment, which relies on\na heuristic model, we attempt to describe the dynamics of information relating\nto an Einstein-Rosen bridge encoded in a holographic screen in terms of\ndynamics occurring in a spin lattice at low temperatures. We conclude by\ndiscussing our observations and related implications.",
        "positive": "Charged black holes in string-inspired gravity: I. Causal structures and\n  responses of the Brans-Dicke field: We investigate gravitational collapses of charged black holes in\nstring-inspired gravity models, including dilaton gravity and braneworld model,\nas well as f(R) gravity and the ghost limit. If we turn on gauge coupling, the\ncausal structures and the responses of the Brans-Dicke field depend on the\ncoupling between the charged matter and the Brans-Dicke field. For Type IIA\ninspired models, a Cauchy horizon exists, while there is no Cauchy horizon for\nType I or Heterotic inspired models. For Type IIA inspired models, the no-hair\ntheorem is satisfied asymptotically, while it is biased to the weak coupling\nlimit for Type I or Heterotic inspired models. Apart from string theory, we\nfind that in the ghost limit, a gravitational collapse can induce inflation by\nitself and create one-way traversable wormholes without the need of other\nspecial initial conditions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Starobinsky Inflation in the Swampland: We argue that the Starobinsky model of inflation, realised via an $R^2$ term\nin the Lagrangian, can originate from quantum effects due to a tower of light\nspecies. By means of two separate arguments, we show how this implies that the\nscale of the $R^2$ term must be of order of the species scale $\\Lambda_s$,\nnamely the energy at which gravity becomes strongly coupled. We discuss the\nimplications and challenges of this scenario for inflation, inflationary\nreheating, and string theory embeddings. In this context, we collect strong\nevidence to conclude that Starobinsky inflation lies in the Swampland.",
        "positive": "Critical properties of scalar field theory with Lorentz violation: Exact\n  treatment of Lorentz-violating mechanism: In this work, we compute analytically the infrared divergences of massless\nO($N$) self-interacting scalar field theories with Lorentz violation, which are\nexact in the Lorentz-violating $K_{\\mu\\nu}$ coefficients, for evaluating the\ncorresponding next-to-leading order critical exponents. For that, we apply\nthree distinct and independent field-theoretic renormalization group methods.\nWe find that the outcomes for the critical exponents are the same in the three\nmethods and, furthermore, are identical to their Lorentz invariant\ncounterparts. We generalize the results for all loop levels by employing a\ngeneral theorem arising from the exact procedure and give the corresponding\nphysical interpretation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "New Conformal Models with $c<2/5$: The zoo of two-dimensional conformal models has been supplemented by a series\nof nonunitary conformal models obtained by cosetting minimal models. Some of\nthem coincide with minimal models, some do not have even Kac spectrum of\nconformal dimensions.",
        "positive": "The Noncommutative Anandan's Quantum Phase: In this work we study the noncommutative nonrelativistic quantum dynamics of\na neutral particle, that possesses permanent magnetic and electric dipole\nmomenta, in the presence of an electric and magnetic fields. We use the\nFoldy-Wouthuysen transformation of the Dirac spinor with a non-minimal coupling\nto obtain the nonrelativistic limit. In this limit, we will study the\nnoncommutative quantum dynamics and obtain the noncommutative Anandan's\ngeometric phase. We analyze the situation where magnetic dipole moment of the\nparticle is zero and we obtain the noncommutative version of the\nHe-McKellar-Wilkens effect. We demonstrate that this phase in the\nnoncommutative case is a geometric dispersive phase. We also investigate this\ngeometric phase considering the noncommutativity in the phase space and the\nAnandan's phase is obtained."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Gauge Group Topology of 8d CHL Vacua: Compactifications of the CHL string to eight dimensions can be characterized\nby embeddings of root lattices into the rank 12 momentum lattice $\\Lambda_M$,\nthe so-called Mikhailov lattice. Based on this data, we devise a method to\ndetermine the global gauge group structure including all $U(1)$ factors. The\nkey observation is that, while the physical states correspond to vectors in the\nmomentum lattice, the gauge group topology is encoded in its dual. Interpreting\na non-trivial $\\pi_1(G) \\equiv {\\cal Z}$ for the non-Abelian gauge group $G$ as\nhaving gauged a ${\\cal Z}$ 1-form symmetry, we also prove that all CHL gauge\ngroups are free of a certain anomaly (arXiv:2008.10605) that would obstruct\nthis gauging. We verify this by explicitly computing ${\\cal Z}$ for all 8d CHL\nvacua with rank$(G)=10$. Since our method applies also to $T^2$\ncompactifications of heterotic strings, we further establish a map that\ndetermines any CHL gauge group topology from that of a \"parent\" heterotic\nmodel.",
        "positive": "Superspace Formulation of N=4 Super Yang-Mills Theory with a Central\n  Charge: A superspace formulation using superconnections and supercurvatures is\nspecifically constructed for N=4 extended super Yang-Mills theory with a\ncentral charge in four dimensions, first proposed by Sohnius, Stelle and West\nlong ago. We find that the constraints, almost uniquely derived from the\npossible spin structure of the multiplet, can be algebraically solved which\nresults in an off-shell supersymmetric formulation of the theory on the\nsuperspace."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hall Effect on Noncommutative Phase Space: When phase space coordinates are noncommutative, especially including\narbitrarily noncommutative momenta, the Hall effect is reinvestigated. A\nminimally gauge-invariant coupling of electromagnetic field is introduced by\nmaking use of Faddeev-Jackiw formulation for unconstrained and constrained\nsystems. We find that the parameter of noncommutative momenta makes an\nimportant contribution to the Hall conductivity.",
        "positive": "Symmetry Algebras of Quantum Matrix Models in the Large-N Limit: Quantum matrix models in the large-N limit arise in many physical systems\nlike Yang-Mills theory with or without supersymmetry, quantum gravity,\nstring-bit models, various low energy effective models of string theory,\nM(atrix) theory, quantum spin chain models, and strongly correlated electron\nsystems like the Hubbard model. We introduce, in a unifying fashion, a hierachy\nof infinite-dimensional Lie superalgebras of quantum matrix models. One of\nthese superalgebras pertains to the open string sector and another one the\nclosed string sector. Physical observables of quantum matrix models like the\nHamiltonian can be expressed as elements of these Lie superalgebras. This\nindicates the Lie superalgebras describe the symmetry of quantum matrix models.\nWe present the structure of these Lie superalgebras like their Cartan\nsubalgebras, root vectors, ideals and subalgebras. They are generalizations of\nwell-known algebras like the Cuntz algebra, the Virasoro algebra, the Toeplitz\nalgebra, the Witt algebra and the Onsager algebra. Just like we learnt a lot\nabout critical phenomena and string theory through their conformal symmetry\ndescribed by the Virasoro algebra, we may learn a lot about quantum\nchromodynamics, quantum gravity and condensed matter physics through this\nsymmetry of quantum matrix models described by these Lie superalgebras."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Two-Loop Maximal Unitarity with External Masses: We extend the maximal unitarity method at two loops to double-box basis\nintegrals with up to three external massive legs. We use consistency equations\nbased on the requirement that integrals of total derivatives vanish. We obtain\nunique formulae for the coefficients of the master double-box integrals. These\nformulae can be used either analytically or numerically.",
        "positive": "CP violation including universal one-loop corrections and heterotic\n  M-theory: CP violation by soft supersymmetry-breaking terms in orbifold\ncompactifications is investigated. We include the universal part of the\nmoduli-dependent threshold corrections in the construction of the\nnon-perturbative effective potential due to gaugino-condensation. This allows\ninterpolation of the magnitude of CP violating phases between the weakly and\nstrongly coupled regimes. We find that the universal threshold corrections have\na large effect on the CP violating phases in the weakly coupled regime."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the variational principle in the unfolded dynamics: The interplay between off-shell and on-shell unfolded systems is analysed.\nThe formulation of invariant constraints that put an off-shell system on shell\nis developed by adding new variables and derivation in the target space, that\nextends the original $Q$-derivation of the unfolded system to a bicomplex. The\nanalogue of the Euler-Lagrange equations in the unfolded dynamics is suggested.\nThe general class of invariant on-shell equation constraints is defined in\ncohomological terms. The necessary and sufficient condition for the on-shell\nequation constraints being Euler-Lagrange for some Lagrangian system is proven.\nThe proposed construction is illustrated by the scalar field example.",
        "positive": "Entanglement Entropy in a Non-Conformal Background: We use gauge-gravity duality to compute entanglement entropy in a\nnon-conformal background with an energy scale $\\Lambda$. At zero temperature,\nwe observe that entanglement entropy decreases by raising $\\Lambda$. However,\nat finite temperature, we realize that both $\\frac{\\Lambda}{T}$ and\nentanglement entropy rise together. Comparing entanglement entropy of the\nnon-conformal theory, $S_{A(N)}$, and of its conformal theory at the $UV$\nlimit, $ S_{A(C)}$, reveals that $S_{A(N)}$ can be larger or smaller than\n$S_{A(C)}$, depending on the value of $\\frac{\\Lambda}{T}$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holograghic Brownian motion in three dimensional G\u00f6del black hole: By using the AdS/CFT correspondence and G\\\"{o}del black hole background, we\nstudy the dynamics of heavy quark under a rotating plasma. In that case we\nfollow Atmaja (JHEP 1304, 021, (2013)) about Brownian motion in BTZ black hole.\nIn this paper we receive some new results for the case of\n$\\alpha^{2}l^{2}\\neq1$. This case, we must redefine the angular velocity of\nstring fluctuation. We obtain the time evolution of displacement square that\nangular velocity and show that it behaves as a Brownian particle in\nnon-relativistic limit. In this plasma, it seems that relating the Brownian\nmotion with physical observables is rather a difficult work. But our results\nmatch with Atmaja work in the limit $\\alpha^{2}l^{2}\\rightarrow1$.",
        "positive": "Noncommutative Model with Spontaneous Time Generation and Planckian\n  bound: We illustrate the thesis that if time did not exist, we would have to create\nit if space is noncommutative, and extend functions by something like\nSchroedinger's equation. We propose that the phenomenon is a somewhat general\nmechanism within noncommutative geometry for `spontaneous time generation'. We\nshow in detail how this works for the $su_2$ algebra $[x_i,x_j]=2\\imath\\lambda\n\\epsilon_{ij}{}^kx_k$ as noncommutative space, by explicitly adjoining the\nforced time variable. We find the natural induced noncommutative Schroedingers\nequation and show that it has the correct classical limit for a particle of\nsome mass $m\\ne 0$, which is generated as a second free parameter by the\ntheory. We show that plane waves exist provided $|\\vec p|< \\pi/2\\lambda$, i.e.\nwe find a Planckian bound on spatial momentum. We also propose dispersion\nrelations $|{\\del p^0\\over\\del \\vec p}|=|\\tan({\\lambda}|\\vec p|)|/m\\lambda$ for\nthe model and explore some elements of the noncommutative geometry. The model\nis complementary to our previous bicrossproduct one."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Note on AdS/CFT Dual of SL(2,Z) Action on 3D Conformal Field Theories\n  with U(1) Symmetry: In this letter, we elaborate on the SL(2,Z) action on three dimensional\nconformal field theories with U(1) symmetry introduced by Witten, by trying to\ngive an explicit verification of the claim regarding holographic dual of the S\noperation in AdS/CFT correspondence. A consistency check with the recently\nproposed prescription on boundary condition of bulk fields when we deform the\nboundary CFT in a non-standard manner is also discussed.",
        "positive": "Universal time-dependent deformations of Schrodinger geometry: We investigate universal time-dependent exact deformations of Schrodinger\ngeometry. We present 1) scale invariant but non-conformal deformation, 2)\nnon-conformal but scale invariant deformation, and 3) both scale and conformal\ninvariant deformation. All these solutions are universal in the sense that we\ncould embed them in any supergravity constructions of the Schrodinger invariant\ngeometry. We give a field theory interpretation of our time-dependent\nsolutions. In particular, we argue that any time-dependent chemical potential\ncan be treated exactly in our gravity dual approach."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Approximate solutions of exact renormalization group equations: We study exact renormalization group equations in the framework of the\neffective average action. We present analytical approximate solutions for the\nscale dependence of the potential in a variety of models. These solutions\ndisplay a rich spectrum of physical behaviour such as fixed points governing\nthe universal behaviour near second order phase transitions, critical\nexponents, first order transitions (some of which are radiatively induced) and\ntricritical behaviour.",
        "positive": "$W_{\\infty} Algebra in Two-Dimensional Black Hole: We study the $SL(2;R)/U(1)$ coset model of two-dimensional black hole and its\nrelation to the Liouville theory coupled to c=1 matter. We uncover a basic\nisomorphism in the algebraic structures of these theories and show that the\nblack hole model has the same physical spectrum as the c=1 model, i.e.\ntachyons, $W_\\infty$ currents and the ground ring elements. we also identify\nthe operator responsible for the creation of the mass of the black hole."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Thermodynamics of R-charged Black Holes in AdS(5) From Effective Strings: It is well known that the thermodynamics of certain near-extremal black holes\nin asymptotically flat space can be lifted to an effective string description\ncreated from the intersection of D-branes. In this paper we present evidence\nthat the semiclassical thermodynamics of near-extremal R-charged black holes in\nAdS(5)xS(5) is described in a similar manner by effective strings created from\nthe intersection of giant gravitons on the S(5). We also present a free fermion\ndescription of the supersymmetric limit of the one-charge black hole, and we\ngive a crude catalog of the microstates of the two and three-charge black holes\nin terms of operators in the dual conformal field theory.",
        "positive": "Remarks on four dimensional Euclidean gravity without Wick rotation: In reference to S. W. Hawking's article \"Information Loss in Black Holes\" [S.\nW. Hawking, Phys. Rev. D 72 (2005) 084013], where a four dimensional Euclidean\nspacetime without Wick rotation is adopted for quantum gravity, an arithmetic\nwith multiplicative modulus is mentioned here which incorporates both a\nhyperbolic (Minkowski) and circular (Euclidean) metric: The 16 dimensional\nconic sedenion number system is built on nonreal square roots of +1 and -1, and\ndescribes the Dirac equation through its 8 dimensional hyperbolic octonion\nsubalgebra [J. K\\\"oplinger, Appl. Math. Comput. (2006), in print, doi:\n10.1016/j.amc.2006.04.005]. The corresponding circular octonion subalgebra\nexhibits Euclidean metric, and its applicability in physics is being proposed\nfor validation. In addition to anti-de Sitter (AdS) spacetimes suggested by\nHawking, these conic sedenions are offered as computational tool to potentially\naid a description of quantum gravity on genuine four-dimensional Euclidean\nspacetime (without Wick rotation of the time element), while being consistent\nwith canonical spacetime metrics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetric Non-singular Fractional D2-branes and NS-NS 2-branes: We obtain regular deformed D2-brane solutions with fractional D2-branes\narising as wrapped D4-branes. The space transverse to the D2-brane is a\ncomplete Ricci-flat 7-manifold of G_2 holonomy, which is asymptotically conical\nwith principal orbits that are topologically CP^3 or the flag manifold\nSU(3)/(U(1) x U(1)). We obtain the solution by first constructing an L^2\nnormalisable harmonic 3-form. We also review a previously-obtained regular\ndeformed D2-brane whose transverse space is a different 7-manifold of G_2\nholonomy, with principal orbits that are topologically S^3 x S^3. This\ndescribes D2-branes with fractional NS-NS 2-branes coming from the wrapping of\n5-branes, which is supported by a non-normalisable harmonic 3-form on the\n7-manifold. We prove that both types of solutions are supersymmetric,\npreserving 1/16 of the maximal supersymmetry and hence that they are dual to\n{\\cal N}=1 three-dimensional gauge theories. In each case, the spectrum for\nminimally-coupled scalars is discrete, indicating confinement in the infrared\nregion of the dual gauge theories. We examine resolutions of other branes, and\nobtain necessary conditions for their regularity. The resolution of many of\nthese seems to lie beyond supergravity. In the process of studying these\nquestions, we construct new explicit examples of complete Ricci-flat metrics.",
        "positive": "On Integrable Models Related to the $osp(1,2)$ Gaudin Algebra: We define the $osp(1,2)$ Gaudin algebra and consider integrable models\ndescribed by it. The models include the $osp(1,2)$ Gaudin magnet and the Dicke\nmodel related to it. Detailed discussion of the simplest cases of these models\nis presented. The effect of the presence of fermions on the separation of\nvariables is indicated."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic thermalization with a chemical potential in Gauss-Bonnet\n  gravity: Holographic thermalization is studied in the framework of\nEinstein-Maxwell-Gauss-Bonnet gravity. We use the two-point correlation\nfunction and expectation value of Wilson loop, which are dual to the\nrenormalized geodesic length and minimal area surface in the bulk, to probe the\nthermalization. The numeric result shows that larger the Gauss-Bonnet\ncoefficient is, shorter the thermalization time is, and larger the charge is,\nlonger the thermalization time is, which implies that the Gauss-Bonnet\ncoefficient can accelerate the thermalization while the charge has an opposite\neffect. In addition, we obtain the functions with respect to the thermalization\ntime for both the thermalization probes at a fixed charge and Gauss-Bonnet\ncoefficient, and on the basis of these functions, we obtain the thermalization\nvelocity, which shows that the thermalization process is non-monotonic. At the\nmiddle and later periods of the thermalization process, we find that there is a\nphase transition point, which divides the thermalization into an acceleration\nphase and a deceleration phase. We also study the effect of the charge and\nGauss-Bonnet coefficient on the phase transition point.",
        "positive": "Hydrodynamics of holographic flavored plasmas: We provide a short review of the hydrodynamical properties of a class of\nstrongly coupled thermal gauge theories, coupled to massless fundamental flavor\nfields, having a dual supergravity description. The analysis is valid for more\ngeneral classes of nearly conformal holographic plasmas, where the breaking of\nconformality is driven by marginally (ir)relevant deformations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Comparison of spacetime defects which are homeomorphic but not\n  diffeomorphic: Certain remnants of a quantum spacetime foam can be modeled by a distribution\nof defects embedded in a flat classical spacetime. The presence of such\nspacetime defects affects the propagation of elementary particles. In this\narticle, we show explicitly that both topology and differential structure of\nthe defects are important for the particle motion. Specifically, we consider\nthree types of spacetime defects which are described by the same topological\nmanifold $\\mathbb{R}\\times\\big(\\mathbb{R}P^3-\\{\\text{point}\\}\\big)$ but which\nare not diffeomorphic to each other. We investigate the propagation of a\nmassless scalar field over the three different manifolds and find different\nsolutions of the \\mbox{Klein--Gordon} equation.",
        "positive": "More on a holographic dual of QCD: We investigate the interactions among the pion, vector mesons and external\ngauge fields in the holographic dual of massless QCD proposed in a previous\npaper, hep-th/0412141, on the basis of probe D8-branes embedded in a D4-brane\nbackground in type IIA string theory. We obtain the coupling constants by\nperforming both analytic and numerical calculations, and compare them with\nexperimental data. It is found that the vector meson dominance in the pion form\nfactor as well as in the Wess-Zumino-Witten term holds in an intriguing manner.\nWe also study the \\omega to \\pi\\gamma and \\omega to 3\\pi decay amplitudes. It\nis shown that the interactions relevant to these decay amplitudes have the same\nstructure as that proposed by Fujiwara et al. Various relations among the\nmasses and the coupling constants of an infinite tower of mesons are derived.\nThese relations play crucial roles in the analysis. We find that most of the\nresults are consistent with experiments."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Flux Periodicities and Quantum Hair on Holographic Superconductors: Superconductors in a cylindrical geometry respond periodically to a\ncylinder-threading magnetic flux, with the period changing from hc/2e to hc/e\ndepending on whether the Aharonov-Bohm effects are suppressed or not. We show\nthat Holographic Superconductors present a similar phenomenon, and that the\ndifferent periodicities follow from classical no-hair theorems. We also give\nthe Ginzburg-Landau description of the period-doubling phenomenon.",
        "positive": "Punctures and Dynamical Systems: With the aim of better understanding the class of 4D theories generated by\ncompactifications of 6D superconformal field theories (SCFTs), we study the\nstructure of N = 1 supersymmetric punctures for class S_Gamma theories, namely\nthe 6D SCFTs obtained from M5-branes probing an ADE singularity. For M5-branes\nprobing a C^2 / Z_k singularity, the punctures are governed by a dynamical\nsystem in which evolution in time corresponds to motion to a neighboring node\nin an affine A-type quiver. Classification of punctures reduces to determining\nconsistent initial conditions which produce periodic orbits. The study of this\nsystem is particularly tractable in the case of a single M5-brane. Even in this\n\"simple\" case, the solutions exhibit a remarkable level of complexity: Only\nspecific rational values for the initial momenta lead to periodic orbits, and\nsmall perturbations in these values lead to vastly different late time\nbehavior. Another difference from half BPS punctures of class S theories\nincludes the appearance of a continuous complex \"zero mode\" modulus in some\npuncture solutions. The construction of punctures with higher order poles\ninvolves a related set of recursion relations. The resulting structures also\ngeneralize to systems with multiple M5-branes as well as probes of D- and\nE-type orbifold singularities."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Solving Topological Field Theories on Mapping Tori: Using gauge theory and functional integral methods, we derive concrete\nexpressions for the partition functions of BF theory and the U(1|1) model of\nRozansky and Saleur on $\\Sigma x S^{1}$, both directly and using equivalent\ntwo-dimensional theories. We also derive the partition function of a certain\nnon-abelian generalization of the U(1|1) model on mapping tori and hence obtain\nexplicit expressions for the Ray-Singer torsion on these manifolds. Extensions\nof these results to BF and Chern-Simons theories on mapping tori are also\ndiscussed. The topological field theory actions of the equivalent\ntwo-dimensional theories we find have the interesting property of depending\nexplicitly on the diffeomorphism defining the mapping torus while the quantum\nfield theory is sensitive only to its isomorphism class defining the mapping\ntorus as a smooth manifold.",
        "positive": "A note on dual superconformal symmetry of the N=4 super Yang-Mills\n  S-matrix: We present a supersymmetric recursion relation for tree-level scattering\namplitudes in N=4 super Yang-Mills. Using this recursion relation, we prove\nthat the tree-level S-matrix of the maximally supersymmetric theory is\ncovariant under dual superconformal transformations. We further analyse the\nconsequences that the transformation properties of the trees under this\nsymmetry have on those of the loops. In particular, we show that the\ncoefficients of the expansion of generic one-loop amplitudes in a basis of\npseudo-conformally invariant scalar box functions transform covariantly under\ndual superconformal symmetry, and in exactly the same way as the corresponding\ntree-level amplitudes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum information erasure inside black holes: An effective field theory for infalling observers in the vicinity of a\nquasi-static black hole is given in terms of a freely falling lattice\ndiscretization. The lattice model successfully reproduces the thermal spectrum\nof outgoing Hawking radiation, as was shown by Corley and Jacobson, but can\nalso be used to model observations made by a typical low-energy observer who\nenters the black hole in free fall at a prescribed time. The explicit short\ndistance cutoff ensures that, from the viewpoint of the infalling observer, any\nquantum information that entered the black hole more than a scrambling time\nearlier has been erased by the black hole singularity. This property, combined\nwith the requirement that outside observers need at least of order the\nscrambling time to extract quantum information from the black hole, ensures\nthat a typical infalling observer does not encounter drama upon crossing the\nblack hole horizon in a theory where black hole information is preserved for\nasymptotic observers.",
        "positive": "Ten-dimensional lifts of global supersymmetry on curved spaces: Admissible curved space backgrounds for four-dimensional supersymmetric field\ntheories are determined by solving Killing spinor equations of four-dimensional\noff-shell supergravities. These can be obtained by combining ten-dimensional\ntype IIB supersymmetry with D-brane kappa-symmetry and identifying auxiliary\nfields of the four-dimensional supergravity fields in terms of type IIB fields.\nIn this paper we show how to extend a number of solutions of four-dimensional\nKilling spinor equations with four or less supercharges to solutions of the\nten-dimensional supersymmetry constraints."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Higher Level String Resonances in Four Dimensions: We study higher level Regge resonances of open superstrings, focusing on the\nuniversal part of the Neveu-Schwarz sector common to all D-brane realizations\nof the standard model. For Regge states with masses far above the fundamental\nstring scale, we discuss the spin-dependence of their decay rates into massless\ngauge bosons. Extending our previous work on lowest level string excitations,\nwe study the second mass level at which spins range from 0 to 3. We construct\nthe respective vertex operators and compute the amplitudes involving one\nmassive particle and two or three gauge bosons. To illustrate the use of BCFW\nrecursion relations in superstring theory, we build the four gluon amplitude\nfrom on-shell amplitudes involving string resonances and gauge bosons.",
        "positive": "Effective action in DSR1 quantum field theory: We present the one-loop effective action of a quantum scalar field with DSR1\nspace-time symmetry as a sum over field modes. The effective action has real\nand imaginary parts and manifest charge conjugation asymmetry, which provides\nan alternative theoretical setting to the study of the particle-antiparticle\nasymmetry in nature."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Strings in Noncommutative Spacetime: Free bosonic strings in noncommutative spacetime are investigated. The string\nspectrum is obtained in terms of light-cone quantization. We construct two\ndifferent models. In the first model the critical dimension is still required\nto be 26 while only extreme high energy spectrum is modified by noncommutative\neffect. In the second model, however, the critical dimension is reduced to be\nless than 26 while low-energy (massless) spectrum only contains degrees of\nfreedom of our four dimensional physics.",
        "positive": "Conformal Supersymmetry Breaking and Dynamical Tuning of the\n  Cosmological Constant: We propose \"conformal supersymmetry breaking\" models, which tightly relate\nthe conformal breaking scale (i.e. R-symmetry breaking scale) and the\nsupersymmetry breaking scale. The both scales are originated from the constant\nterm in the superpotential through the common source of the R-symmetry\nbreaking. We show that dynamical tuning between those mass scales significantly\nreduces the degree of fine-tuning necessary for generating the almost vanishing\ncosmological constant."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Observables and Gauge Fixing in Spontaneously Broken Gauge Theories: Gauge fixing and the observable fields for both abelian and non-abelian gauge\ntheories with spontaneous breaking of gauge symmetry are studied. We explicitly\nshow that it is possible to globally fix the gauge in the broken sector and\nhence construct physical fields even in the non-abelian theory. We predict that\nany high temperature restoration of gauge symmetry will be accompanied by a\nconfining transition.",
        "positive": "Photon sector analysis of Super and Lorentz symmetry breaking: effective\n  photon mass, bi-refringence and dissipation: Within the Standard Model Extension (SME), we expand our previous findings on\nfour classes of violations of Super-Symmetry (SuSy) and Lorentz Symmetry\n(LoSy), differing in the handedness of the Charge conjugation-Parity-Time\nreversal (CPT) symmetry and in whether considering the impact of photinos on\nphoton propagation. The violations, occurring at the early universe high\nenergies, show visible traces at present in the Dispersion Relations (DRs). For\nthe CPT-odd classes ($V_{\\mu}$ breaking vector) associated with the\nCarroll-Field-Jackiw (CFJ) model, the DRs and the Lagrangian show for the\nphoton an effective mass, gauge invariant, proportional to $|{\\vec V}|$. The\ngroup velocity exhibits a classic dependency on the inverse of the frequency\nsquared. For the CPT-even classes ($k_{F}$ breaking tensor), when the photino\nis considered, the DRs display also a massive behaviour inversely proportional\nto a coefficient in the Lagrangian and to a term linearly dependent on $k_{F}$.\nAll DRs display an angular dependence and lack LoSy invariance. In describing\nour results, we also point out the following properties: i) the appearance of\ncomplex or simply imaginary frequencies and super-luminal speeds and ii) the\nemergence of bi-refringence. Finally, we point out the circumstances for which\nSuSy and LoSy breakings, possibly in presence of an external field, lead to the\nnon-conservation of the photon energy-momentum tensor. We do so for both CPT\nsectors."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Path Integral Quantization of Generalized Quantum Electrodynamics: In this paper, a complete covariant quantization of generalized\nelectrodynamics is shown through the path integral approach. To this goal, we\nfirst studied the hamiltonian structure of system following Dirac's methodology\nand, then, we followed the Faddeev-Senjanovic procedure to obtain the\ntransition amplitude. The complete propagators (Schwinger-Dyson-Fradkin\nequations) of the correct gauge fixation and the generalized\nWard-Fradkin-Takahashi identities are also obtained. Afterwards, an explicit\ncalculation of one-loop approximation of all Green's functions and a discussion\nabout the obtained results are presented.",
        "positive": "Duality on Higher Order U(1) Bundles: A new global approach in the study of duality transformations is introduced.\nThe geometrical structure of complex line bundles is generalized to higher\norder U(1) bundles which are classified by quantized charges and duality maps\nare formulated over these structures. Quantum equivalence is shown between dual\ntheories. A global constraint is proven to be needed to achieve well defined\nbundles. These global structures are used to refine the proof of the duality\nequivalence between d=11 supermembrane and d=10 IIA Dirichlet supermembrane,\ngiving a complete topological interpretation to their quantized charges."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Pentagon And Tetrahedron Equations: We show that solutions of Pentagon equations lead to solutions of the\nTetrahedron equation. The result is obtained in the spectral parameter\ndependent case.",
        "positive": "Orientifolds of Non-Supersymmetric Asymmetric Orbifolds: We consider certain four dimensional supersymmetric and non-supersymmetric\nasymmetric orbifolds with vanishing cosmological constant up to two loops and\ngauge the world sheet parity transformation. This leads to new string vacua, in\nwhich Dp and D(p-4) branes or Dp and anti-D(p-4) are identified. Moreover, it\nis shown that different degrees of supersymmetry can be realized in the bulk\nand on the brane. We show that for non-supersymmetric models the cosmological\nconstant still vanishes at one loop order."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Compactification Effects in D-brane Inflation: We determine the scalar potential for a D3-brane in a warped conifold\nbackground subject to general ultraviolet perturbations. Incorporating the\neffects of imaginary anti-self-dual (IASD) fluxes and four-dimensional\ncurvature at the nonlinear level, we compute the leading terms in the D3-brane\npotential. We then provide strong cross-checks of our results by reproducing\nthem in the dual gauge theory. Finally, we observe that the D3-brane potential\ninduced by nonperturbative effects on D7-branes can be represented by a\nten-dimensional supergravity solution containing suitable IASD fluxes. Our\nmethod allows for the systematic inclusion of compactification effects and\nserves to constrain the D3-brane effective action in a large class of\nstabilized compactifications.",
        "positive": "Supersymmetric D3 brane and N=4 SYM actions in plane wave backgrounds: The explicit (all-order in fermions) form of the kappa-symmetric $D3$ brane\nprobe action was previously found in the two maximally supersymmetric type IIB\nvacua: flat space and $AdS_5 \\times S^5$. Here we present the form of the\naction in the third maximally supersymmetric type IIB background: gravitational\nplane wave supported by constant null 5-form strength. We study $D3$ brane\naction in both covariant and light cone kappa symmetry gauges. Like the\nfundamental string action, the $D3$ brane action takes a simple form once\nwritten in the light cone kappa-symmetry gauge. We also consider the\n$\\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM theory in 4d plane wave background. Since some\n(super)symmetries of plane wave SYM action are friendly to (super)symmetries of\nthe type IIB superstring in plane wave Ramond-Ramond background we suggest this\nSYM model may be useful in the context of AdS/CFT duality. We develop the\nHamiltonian light cone gauge formulation for this theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Note on Rotating Charged Black Holes in Einstein-Maxwell-Chern-Simons\n  Theory: We show that the general solution of Chong, Cvetic, Lu and Pope for\nnonextremal rotating charged black holes in five-dimensional minimal gauged\nsupergravity, or equivalently in the Einstein-Maxwell-Chern-Simons theory with\na negative cosmological constant and with the Chern-Simons coefficient $ \\nu=1\n$, admits a simple description in a Kerr-Schild type framework with two scalar\nfunctions. Next, assuming this framework as an ansatz, we obtain new analytic\nsolutions for slowly rotating charged black holes in the\nEinstein-Maxwell-Chern-Simons theory with $ \\nu\\neq 1 .$ Using a covariant\nsuperpotential derived from Noether identities within the\nKatz-Bicak-Lynden-Bell approach, we calculate the mass and angular momenta for\nthe general supergravity solution as well as for the slowly rotating solution\nwith two independent rotation parameters. For the latter case, we also\ncalculate the gyromagnetic ratios and obtain simple analytic formulas,\ninvolving both the parameters of the black holes and the Chern-Simons\ncoefficient.",
        "positive": "Holographic Renormalization for z=2 Lifshitz Space-Times from AdS: Lifshitz space-times with critical exponent z=2 can be obtained by\ndimensional reduction of Schroedinger space-times with critical exponent z=0.\nThe latter space-times are asymptotically AdS solutions of AdS gravity coupled\nto an axion-dilaton system and can be uplifted to solutions of type IIB\nsupergravity. This basic observation is used to perform holographic\nrenormalization for 4-dimensional asymptotically z=2 locally Lifshitz\nspace-times by Scherk-Schwarz dimensional reduction of the corresponding\nproblem of holographic renormalization for 5-dimensional asymptotically locally\nAdS space-times coupled to an axion-dilaton system. We can thus define and\ncharacterize a 4-dimensional asymptotically locally z=2 Lifshitz space-time in\nterms of 5-dimensional AdS boundary data. In this setup the 4-dimensional\nstructure of the Fefferman-Graham expansion and the structure of the\ncounterterm action, including the scale anomaly, will be discussed. We find\nthat for asymptotically locally z=2 Lifshitz space-times obtained in this way\nthere are two anomalies each with their own associated nonzero central charge.\nBoth anomalies follow from the Scherk--Schwarz dimensional reduction of the\n5-dimensional conformal anomaly of AdS gravity coupled to an axion-dilaton\nsystem. Together they make up an action that is of the Horava-Lifshitz type\nwith nonzero potential term for z=2 conformal gravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Induced N=2 composite supersymmetry in 2+1 dimensions: Starting from N=1 scalar supermultiplets in 2+1 dimensions, we build\nexplicitly the composite superpartners which define a N=2 superalgebra induced\nby the initial N=1 supersymmetry. The occurrence of this extension is linked to\nthe topologically conserved current out of which the composite superpartners\nare constructed.",
        "positive": "Brane-world and loop cosmology from a gravity-matter coupling\n  perspective: We show that the effective brane-world and the loop quantum cosmology\nbackground expansion histories can be reproduced from a modified gravity\nperspective in terms of an $f(R)$ gravity action plus a $g(R)$ term\nnon-minimally coupled with the matter Lagrangian. The reconstruction algorithm\nthat we provide depends on a free function of the matter density that must be\nspecified in each case and allows to obtain analytical solutions always. In the\nsimplest cases, the function $f(R)$ is quadratic in the Ricci scalar, $R$,\nwhereas $g(R)$ is linear. Our approach is compared with recent results in the\nliterature. We show that working in the Palatini formalism there is no need to\nimpose any constraint that keeps the equations second-order, which is a key\nrequirement for the successful implementation of the reconstruction algorithm."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Constructive algebraic renormalization of the abelian Higgs-Kibble model: We propose an algorithm, based on Algebraic Renormalization, that allows the\nrestoration of Slavnov-Taylor invariance at every order of perturbation\nexpansion for an anomaly-free BRS invariant gauge theory. The counterterms are\nexplicitly constructed in terms of a set of one-particle-irreducible Feynman\namplitudes evaluated at zero momentum (and derivatives of them). The approach\nis here discussed in the case of the abelian Higgs-Kibble model, where the zero\nmomentum limit can be safely performed. The normalization conditions are\nimposed by means of the Slavnov-Taylor invariants and are chosen in order to\nsimplify the calculation of the counterterms. In particular within this model\nall counterterms involving BRS external sources (anti-fields) can be put to\nzero with the exception of the fermion sector.",
        "positive": "Dirac-like Monopoles in Three Dimensions and Their Possible Influences\n  on the Dynamics of Particles: Dirac-like monopoles are studied in three-dimensional Abelian Maxwell and\nMaxwell-Chern-Simons models. Their scalar nature is highlighted and discussed\nthrough a dimensional reduction of four-dimensional electrodynamics with\nelectric and magnetic sources. Some general properties and similarities of them\nwhen are considered in Minkowski or Euclidian space are mentioned. However, by\nvirtue of the structure of the space-time in which they are considered a number\nof differences among them take place. Furthermore, we pay attention to some\nconsequences of these objects when acting upon usual particles. Among other\nsubjects, special attention is given to the study of a Lorentz-violating\nnon-minimal coupling between neutral fermions and the field generated by a\nmonopole alone. In addition, an analogue of the Aharonov-Casher effect is\ndiscussed in this framework."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Geometry of Special Galileon: Theory known as Special Galileon has recently attracted considerable interest\ndue to its peculiar properties. It has been shown that it represents an\nextremal member of the set of effective field theories with enhanced soft\nlimit. This property makes its tree-level S-matrix fully on-shell\nreconstructible and representable by means of the Cachazo-He-Yuan\nrepresentation. The enhanced soft limit is a consequence of new hidden symmetry\nof the Special Galileon action, however, until now, the origin of this peculiar\nsymmetry has remained unclear. In this paper we interpret this symmetry as a\nspecial transformation of the coset space $GAL(D,1)/SO(1,D-1)$ and show, that\nthere exists a three-parametric family of invariant Galileon actions. The\nlatter family is closed under duality which appears as a natural generalization\nof the above mentioned symmetry. We also present a geometric construction of\nthe Special Galileon action using $D$-dimensional brane propagating in\n$2D$-dimensional flat pseudo-riemannian space. Within such framework, the\nSpecial Galileon symmetry emerges as an $U(1,D-1)$ symmetry of the target\nspace, which can be treated as a $D$-dimensional K\\\"ahler manifold. Such a\ntreatment allows for classification of the higher order invariant Lagrangians\nneeded as counterterms on the quantum level. We also briefly comment on\nrelation between such higher order Lagrangians and the Lagrangians invariant\nwith respect to the polynomial shift symmetry.",
        "positive": "The many surprises of maximal supergravity: We describe recent developments regarding gauged N=8 supergravity in D=4.\nUsing the embedding tensor formulation we show how to classify all the extrema\nof this theory with a G2 residual gauge symmetry. Our classification contains\nall the vacua of the recently discovered family of SO(8) gauged maximal\nsupergravities."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "More on Weinberg's No Go Theorem in Quantum Gravity: We complement Weinberg's no go theorem on the cosmological constant problem\nin quantum gravity by generalizing it to the case of a scale-invariant theory.\nOur analysis makes use of the effective action and the BRST symmetry in a\nmanifestly covariant quantum gravity instead of the classical Lagrangian\ndensity and the $GL(4)$ symmetry in classical gravity. In this sense, our proof\nis very general since it does not depend on details of quantum gravity and\nholds true for general gravitational theories which are invariant under\ndiffeomorphisms. As an application of our theorem, we comment on an idea that\nin the asymptotic safety scenario the functional renormalization flow drives a\ncosmological constant to zero, solving the cosmological constant problem\nwithout reference to fine tuning of parameters. Finally, we also comment on the\npossibility of extending the Weinberg theorem in quantum gravity to the case\nwhere the translational invariance is spontaneously broken.",
        "positive": "Dynamical Structure of Irregular Constrained Systems: Hamiltonian systems with functionally dependent constraints (irregular\nsystems), for which the standard Dirac procedure is not directly applicable,\nare discussed. They are classified according to their behavior in the vicinity\nof the constraint surface into two fundamental types. If the irregular\nconstraints are multilinear (type I), then it is possible to regularize the\nsystem so that the Hamiltonian and Lagrangian descriptions are equivalent. When\nthe constraints are power of a linear function (type II), regularization is not\nalways possible and the Hamiltonian and Lagrangian descriptions may be\ndynamically inequivalent. It is shown that the inequivalence between the two\nformalisms can occur if the kinetic energy is an indefinite quadratic form in\nthe velocities. It is also shown that a system of type I can evolve in time\nfrom a regular configuration into an irregular one, without any catastrophic\nchanges. Irregularities have important consequences in the linearized\napproximation to nonlinear theories, as well as for the quantization of such\nsystems. The relevance of these problems to Chern-Simons theories in higher\ndimensions is discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Confinement in Covariant Gauges: We examine the weak coupling limit of Euclidean SU(n) gauge theory in\ncovariant gauges. Following an earlier suggestion, an equivariant\nBRST-construction is used to define the continuum theory on a finite torus. The\nequivariant gauge fixing introduces constant ghost fields as moduli of the\nmodel. We study the parameter- and moduli- space perturbatively. For $n_f \\leq\nn$ quark flavors, the moduli flow to a non-trivial fixed point in certain\ncritical covariant gauges and the one-loop effective potential indicates that\nthe global SU(n) color symmetry of the gauge fixed model is spontaneously\nbroken to $U(1)^{n-1}$. Ward identities and renormalization group arguments\nimply that the longitudinal gauge boson propagator at long range is dominated\nby $n(n-1)$ Goldstone bosons in these critical covariant gauges. In the large\n$n$ limit, we derive a nonlinear integral equation for the expectation value of\nlarge Wilson loops assuming that the exchange of Goldstone bosons dominates the\ninteraction at long range in critical covariant gauges. We find numerically\nthat the expectation value of large circular Wilson loops decreases\nexponentially with the enclosed area in the absence of dynamical fermions. The\ngauge invariance of this mechanism for confinement in critical covariant gauges\nis discussed.",
        "positive": "CFT for Closed String Tachyon Condensation: We construct a class of CFT's which describe space-dependent closed string\ntachyon backgrounds, as the IR limit of GLSM's in which the FI-parameter is\npromoted to a superfield. Whole process of tachyon condensation is described by\na single CFT. We apply this construction to several examples, in which target\nspace is deformed drastically, and the dilaton background may vary, as a\ntachyon condenses."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Note on an action for a particle in the Ho\u0159ava-Lifshitz Gravity: We reconsider a recently proposed action for a free particle which is\ncompatible with Ho\\v{r}ava-Lifshitz gravity, and then obtain the subluminal and\nthe superluminal limits without gauge ambiguity in terms of Hamiltonian\nformulation.",
        "positive": "Brane orbits: We complete the classification of half-supersymmetric branes in toroidally\ncompactified IIA/IIB string theory in terms of representations of the T-duality\ngroup. As a by-product we derive a last wrapping rule for the space-filling\nbranes. We find examples of T-duality representations of branes in lower\ndimensions, suggested by supergravity, of which none of the component branes\nfollow from the reduction of any brane in ten-dimensional IIA/IIB string\ntheory. We discuss the constraints on the charges of half-supersymmetric\nbranes, determining the corresponding T-duality and U-duality orbits."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "LREE of a Dynamical Unstable D$p$-brane: We derive the left-right entanglement entropy (LREE) for a bosonic\nD$p$-brane. This brane has tangential dynamics and has been dressed by a $U(1)$\ngauge potential, the Kalb-Ramond field and a tachyon field. For this purpose,\nthe R\\'{e}nyi entropy will be computed and then, by taking a special limit of\nit, the LREE will be obtained. Besides, the behavior of the LREE under the\ntachyon condensation process will be evaluated. In addition, after the\ntransition of the system, i.e. the collapse of the unstable brane, the second\nlaw of the thermodynamics on the LREE will be checked. We find that preserving\nthe second law imposes some conditions on the parameters of the setup.",
        "positive": "A general definition of $JT_a$ -- deformed QFTs: We propose a general path-integral definition of two-dimensional quantum\nfield theories deformed by an integrable, irrelevant vector operator\nconstructed from the components of the stress tensor and those of a $U(1)$\ncurrent. The deformed theory is obtained by coupling the original QFT to a flat\ndynamical gauge field and \"half\" a flat dynamical vielbein. The resulting\npartition function is shown to satisfy a geometric flow equation, which\nperfectly reproduces the flow equations for the deformed energy levels that\nwere previously derived in the literature. The S-matrix of the deformed QFT\ndiffers from the original S-matrix only by an overall phase factor that depends\non the charges and momenta of the external particles, thus supporting the\nconjecture that such QFTs are UV complete, although intrinsically non-local.\nFor the special case of an integrable QFT, we check that this phase factor\nprecisely reproduces the change in the finite-size spectrum via the\nThermodynamic Bethe Ansatz equations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dynamics and Observer-Dependence of Holographic Screens: We study the evolution of holographic screens, both generally and in explicit\nexamples, including cosmology and gravitational collapse. A screen $H$ consists\nof a one-parameter sequence of maximal surfaces called leaves. Its causal\nstructure is nonrelativistic. Each leaf can store all of the quantum\ninformation on a corresponding null slice holographically, at no more than one\nbit per Planck area. Therefore, we expect the screen geometry to reflect\ncertain coarse-grained quantities in the quantum gravity theory.\n  In a given spacetime, there are many different screens, which are naturally\nassociated to different observers. We find that this ambiguity corresponds\nprecisely to the free choice of a single function on $H$. We also consider the\nbackground-free construction of $H$, where the spacetime is not given. The\nevolution equations then constrain aspects of the full spacetime and the\nscreen's embedding in it.",
        "positive": "A Note on Holography and Phase Transitions: Focusing on the connection between the Landau theory of second order phase\ntransitions and the holographic approach to critical phenomena, we study\ndiverse field theories in an anti-de Sitter black hole background. Through\nsimple analytical approximations, solutions to the equations of motion can be\nobtained in closed form which give rather good approximations of the results\nobtained using more involved numerical methods. The agreement we find stems\nfrom rather elementary considerations on perturbation of Schr\\\"odinger\nequations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Geometric Recursion from Polytope Triangulations and Twisted Homology: A geometric approach to understanding recursion relations for scattering\namplitudes is developed. We achieve this by studying intersection numbers of\ntriangulated accordiohedra presented as hyperplane arrangements. The\ncancellation of spurious divergences is subsequently realized as a topological\nno-boundary condition.",
        "positive": "K-group identification of supergravity solutions: The problem with Bekenstein-Hawking entropy of black hole can be resolved\nwith quantum gravity theory with Dp-branes as supergravity solutions of type\nIIB string theory. Dp-brane solutions of type IIB are a direct analog of the\nSchwarzschild charged hole, so called black p-branes. The coincidence of the\nblack p-brane metrics and ten-dimensional metrics of N-parallel D3-branes was\nused from the viewpoint of the Azumaya structure on D-branes connected with\ndeformation of the classical moduli space. Applying Rosenberg theorem we can\nclassify Hilbert spaces of N coinciding Dp-branes as vector bundles through\nK-functor."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Stringy Stability of Dilaton Black Holes in 5-Dimensional Anti-de Sitter\n  Space: Flat electrical charged black holes in 5-dimensional anti-de Sitter space\nhave been applied to the study of the phase diagram of quark matter via AdS/CFT\ncorrespondence. In such application it is argued that since the temperature of\nthe quark gluon plasma is bounded away from zero, the dual black hole cannot be\narbitrarily cold, but becomes unstable due to stringy instability once it\nreaches sufficiently low temperature. We study the stringy stability of flat\ndilaton black holes with dilaton coupling $\\alpha=1$ in asymptotically anti-de\nSitter space and show that unlike the purely electrically charged black hole,\nthese dilaton black holes do not suffer from stringy instability.",
        "positive": "Extended Gauge Theory, Bi-Spinors, and Scalar Supersymmetry: Within the context of the extended bi-spinor gauge theory we describe a new\noff-shell realization of scalar supersymmetry (s-susy) of massless interacting\nfields with U(1), U(1) x SU(N) and U(1) x SU(N_1) x SU(N_2) gauge groups.\nS-susy acts in the space of graded differential forms. The realization is\nnon-linear in the non-abelian case. S-susy would not require the doubling of\nthe SM particle spectrum. Instead, essentially only the forth generation of\nquarks and leptons would be needed as extra field content. The theory is by\nconstruction globally U(2,2) invariant and is an example of a supersymmetric\nCFT."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "D6-Brane Model Building and Discrete Symmetries on T6/Z(2)xZ(6')xOR with\n  Discrete Torsion: We review several geometric aspects and properties of the orbifold\nT6/Z(2)xZ(6')xOR with discrete torsion, that are crucial with respect to global\nmodel building and the search for discrete gauge symmetries in the context of\nintersecting D6-brane models. A global six-stack Pati-Salam model is used for\nillustration, and various characteristics of its effective field theory are\ndiscussed.",
        "positive": "Generalized Free Conformal Field Theories at Infinite Temperature -- In\n  memory of Iwasaki-sensei: Can space-time symmetries such as Lorentz, dilatation, or conformal symmetry\nbe recovered at infinite temperature? To address this question, we study\ncorrelation functions of generalized free conformal field theories (a.k.a free\nholographic theories in thermal AdS space-time) at infinite temperature. We\nshow that they are broken at the leading order in bosonic correlation\nfunctions, but a non-trivial scaling symmetry may emerge."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Living Inside the Horizon of the D3-Brane: We consider a brane world residing in the interior region inside the horizon\nof the D3-brane. The horizon size then can be interpreted as the\ncompactification size. The macroscopically large size of extra dimensions can\nbe derived from the underlying string theory that has only one physical scale,\n{\\it i.e.,} the string scale. Then, the hierarchy between the string scale and\nthe Planck scale is provided by Ramon-Ramon charge of the D3-brane. This\npicture also offers a new perspective on various issues associated with the\nbrane world scenarios including the cosmological constant.",
        "positive": "A gauge covariant approximation to QED: We examine the Dyson-Schwinger equation for the fermion propagator in\nquenched QED in three and four dimension based on spectral representation with\nvertex ansatz which preserves Ward-Takahashi Identity.An appropriate\nrenormalization within dispersion integral smoothes the threshold behaviour of\nthe fermion self energy in three dimension.Thus we avoid the infrared\nsingurality in three dimension.The behaviour of the fermion propagator in three\ndimension near the threshold is then found to be similar to the four\ndimensional one.There exisit analytic solutions for arbitrary gauges and the\nfull propagators are expressed in terms of hypergeometric function in four\ndimension.There is a possibility of dynamical chiral symmetry breaking in four\ndimension with vanishing bare mass."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Heterotic $D=2 (1/3, 0)$ Susy Models: Following our previous work on fractional spin symmetries (FSS) \\cite{2, 4},\nwe build here a superspace representation of the heterotic $D=2(1/3,0)$\nsuperalgebra and derive a field theoretical model invariant under this\nsymmetry.",
        "positive": "Quantum Black Holes as Holograms in AdS Braneworlds: We propose a new approach for using the AdS/CFT correspondence to study\nquantum black hole physics. The black holes on a brane in an AdS$_{D+1}$\nbraneworld that solve the classical bulk equations are interpreted as duals of\n{\\it quantum-corrected} $D$-dimensional black holes, rather than classical\nones, of a conformal field theory coupled to gravity. We check this explicitly\nin D=3 and D=4. In D=3 we reinterpret the existing exact solutions on a flat\nmembrane as states of the dual 2+1 CFT. We show that states with a sufficiently\nlarge mass really are 2+1 black holes where the quantum corrections dress the\nclassical conical singularity with a horizon and censor it from the outside. On\na negatively curved membrane, we reinterpret the classical bulk solutions as\nquantum-corrected BTZ black holes. In D=4 we argue that the bulk solution for\nthe brane black hole should include a radiation component in order to describe\na quantum-corrected black hole in the 3+1 dual. Hawking radiation of the\nconformal field is then dual to classical gravitational bremsstrahlung in the\nAdS$_5$ bulk."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "DLCQ On a Twisted Torus: Recently it has been demonstrated by Dienes and Mafi, that the physics of\ntoroidal compactified models of extra dimensions can depend on the shape angle\nof the torus. Toroidal compactification has also recently been used as a\nregulator for numerical solutions of supersymmetric fields theories in 2+1\ndimensions. The question is; does the shape angle of the torus also affect the\nphysics in this situation? Clearly a numerical solution should be independent\nof the shape of the space we compactify on. We show that within the context of\nstandard DLCQ, that toroidal compactification is only allowed for a specific\nset of shape angles and for that set of shape angles the numerical solutions\nare unchanged.",
        "positive": "4D, N =1 Higher Spin Gauge Superfields and Quantized Twistors: For the gauge massless higher spin 4D, N = 1 off-shell supermultiplets\npreviously developed, we provide evidence of a twistor-like oscillator\nrealization that is intrinsically related to the superfield structure of the\ndynamical variables and gauge transformations. Gauge invariant field strengths\nand linearized Bianchi identities for these multiplets are worked out. It is\nfurther argued, inspired by earlier non- supersymmetric constructions due to\nKlishevich and Zinoviev, that a massive superspin-$s$ multiplet can be\ndescribed as a gauge-invariant dynamical system involving massless multiplets\nof superspins s, s-1/2, ..., 0. A gauge-invariant formulation for the massive\ngravitino multiplet is discussed in some detail."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Monte Carlo Hamiltonian: the Linear Potentials: We further study the validity of the Monte Carlo Hamiltonian method. The\nadvantage of the method, in comparison with the standard Monte Carlo Lagrangian\napproach, is its capability to study the excited states. We consider two\nquantum mechanical models: a symmetric one $V(x) = |x|/2$; and an asymmetric\none $V(x)=\\infty$, for $x < 0$ and $V(x)=x$, for $x \\ge 0$. The results for the\nspectrum, wave functions and thermodynamical observables are in agreement with\nthe analytical or Runge-Kutta calculations.",
        "positive": "Comparison between various notions of conserved charges in\n  asymptotically AdS-spacetimes: We derive hamiltionian generators of asymptotic symmetries for general\nrelativity with asymptotic AdS boundary conditions using the ``covariant phase\nspace'' method of Wald et al. We then compare our results with other\ndefinitions that have been proposed in the literature. We find that our\ndefinition agrees with that proposed by Ashtekar et al, with the spinor\ndefinition, and with the background dependent definition of Henneaux and\nTeitelboim. Our definition disagrees with the one obtained from the\n``counterterm subtraction method,'' but the difference is found to consist only\nof a ``constant offset'' that is determined entirely in terms of the boundary\nmetric. We finally discuss and justify our boundary conditions by a linear\nperturbation analysis, and we comment on generalizations of our boundary\nconditions, as well as inclusion of matter fields."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauge-Invariant Resummation Formalism and Unitarity in Non-Commutative\n  QED: We re-examine the perturbative properties of four-dimensional non-commutative\nQED by extending the pinch techniques to the theta-deformed case. The explicit\nindependence of the pinched gluon self-energy from gauge-fixing parameters, and\nthe absence of unphysical thresholds in the resummed propagators permits a\ncomplete check of the optical theorem for the off-shell two-point function. The\nknown anomalous (tachyonic) dispersion relations are recovered within this\nframework, as well as their improved version in the (softly broken) SUSY case.\nThese applications should be considered as a first step in constructing\ngauge-invariant truncations of the Schwinger-Dyson equations in the\nnon-commutative case. An interesting result of our formalism appears when\nconsidering the theory in two dimensions: we observe a finite gauge-invariant\ncontribution to the photon mass because of a novel incarnation of IR/UV mixing,\nwhich survives the commutative limit when matter is present.",
        "positive": "A Comment on Continuous Spin Representations of the Poincar\u00e9 Group and\n  Perturbative String Theory: We make a simple observation that the massless continuous spin\nrepresentations of the Poincar\\'e group are not present in perturbative string\ntheory constructions. This represents one of the very few model-independent\nlow-energy consequences of these models."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Codimension-2 Solutions in Five-Dimensional Supergravity: We study a new class of supersymmetric solutions in five-dimensional\nsupergravity representing multi-center configurations of codimension-2 branes\nalong arbitrary curves. Codimension-2 branes are produced in generic situations\nout of ordinary branes of higher codimension by the supertube effect and, when\nthey are exotic branes, spacetime generally becomes non-geometric. The\nsolutions are characterized by a set of harmonic functions on $\\mathbb{R}^3$\nwith non-trivial monodromies around codimension-2 branch-point singularities.\nThe solutions can be regarded as generalizations of the Bates-Denef/Bena-Warner\nmulti-center solutions with codimension-3 centers to include codimension-2\nones. We present some explicit examples of solutions with codimension-2\ncenters, and discuss their relevance for the black microstate (non-)geometry\nprogram.",
        "positive": "Cosmology in the presence of multiple light moduli: The generic expectation in string/supergravity models is that there are\nmultiple moduli fields with masses of the order of the supersymmetry breaking\nscale. We study the cosmology that arises as a result of vacuum misalignment of\nthese moduli fields (in contrast to previous studies which mostly focussed on\nthe single modulus case). We show that the dark radiation produced from the\nheavier moduli undergoes significant dilution. This happens even if there is a\nsmall splitting between the masses of the lightest and the heavier moduli. On\nthe other hand, in the absence of fast annihilation processes decay of heavier\nmoduli generically leads to overproduction of dark matter. We discuss a\nscenario where the problem can be addressed with a prompt dark matter\nannihilation to dark radiation. This can lead to realistic dark matter\nabundances, and the additional dark radiation produced as a result of this\nmechanism undergoes sufficient dilution as long as the annihilation is prompt."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Loops on the Celestial Sphere: We study the effect of loop corrections to conformal correlators on the\ncelestial sphere at null infinity. We first analyze finite one-loop celestial\namplitudes in pure Yang-Mills theory and Einstein gravity. We then turn to our\nmain focus: infrared divergent loop amplitudes in planar $\\mathcal{N}=4$ super\nYang-Mills theory. We compute the celestial one-loop amplitude in dimensional\nregularization and show that it can be recast as an operator acting on the\ncelestial tree-level amplitude. This extends to any loop order and the\nre-summation of all planar loops enables us to write down an expression for the\nall-loop celestial amplitude. Finally, we show that the exponentiated all-loop\nexpression given by the BDS formula gets promoted on the celestial sphere to an\noperator acting on the tree-level conformal correlation function, thus\nyielding, the celestial BDS formula.",
        "positive": "Variational approximation for two-time correlation functions in $\u03a6^4$\n  theory : optimization of the dynamics: We apply the time-dependent variational principle of Balian and V\\'en\\'eroni\nto the $ \\Phi^4$ theory. An appropriate parametrization for the variational\nobjects allows us to write coupled dynamical equations from which we derive\napproximations for the two-time correlation functions involving two, three or\nfour field operators."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the SU(1,1) Thermal Group of Bosonic Strings and D-Branes: All possible Bogoliubov operators that generate the thermal transformations\nin the Thermo Field Dynamics (TFD) form a SU(1,1) group. We discuss this\ncontruction in the bosonic string theory. In particular, the transformation of\nthe Fock space and string operators generated by the most general SU(1,1)\nunitary Bogoliubov transformation and the entropy of the corresponding thermal\nstring are computed. Also, we construct the thermal $D$-brane solution\ngenerated by the SU(1,1) transformation in a constant Kalb-Ramond field and\ncompute its entropy.",
        "positive": "Isometries in anti-de Sitter and Conformal Superspaces: We derive explicit forms for the superisometries of a wide class of\nsupercoset manifolds, including those with fermionic generators in the\nstability group. We apply the results to construct the action of SU(2,2|4) on\nthree supercoset manifolds: (10|32)-dimensional AdS_5 x S^5 superspace,\n(4|16)-dimensional conformal superspace, and a novel (10|16)-dimensional\nconformal superspace. Using superembedding techniques, we show, to lowest\nnon-trivial order in the fermions, that at the boundary of AdS_5, the\nsuperisometries of the AdS_5 x S^5$ superspace reduce to the standard N=4\nsuperconformal transformations. In particular, half of the 32 fermionic\ncoordinates decouple from the superisometries."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic Entanglement Entropy, Complexity, Fidelity Susceptibility\n  and Hierarchical UV/IR Mixing Problem in $AdS_2/\\mbox{open strings}$: In this paper, we will compute the holographic complexity (dual to a volume\nin AdS), holographic fidelity susceptibility and the holographic entanglement\nentropy (dual to an area in AdS) in a two-dimensional version of $AdS$ which is\ndual to open strings. We will explicitly demonstrate that these quantities are\nwell defined, and then argue that a relation for fidelity susceptibility and\ntime should hold in general due to the $AdS_2$ version of the classical\nKepler's principle. We will demonstrate that it holds for $AdS_2$ solution as\nwell as conformal copies metrics in bulk theory of a prescribed dual conformal\ninvariant quantum mechanics which have been obtained in open string theory. We\nwill also show that hierarchical UV/IR mixing exists in boundary string theory\nthrough the holographic bulk picture.",
        "positive": "Miracles and complementarity in de Sitter space: In this paper we consider a scenario, consisting of a de Sitter phase\nfollowed by a phase described by a scale factor $a(t)\\sim t^{q}$, where\n$1/3<q<1$, which can be viewed as an inflationary toy model. It is argued that\nthis scenario naively could lead to an information paradox. We propose that the\nphenomenon of Poincar\\'{e} recurrences plays a crucial role in the resolution\nof the paradox. We also comment on the relevance of these results to inflation\nand the CMBR."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Yukawa couplings in SO(10) heterotic M-theory vacua: We demonstrate the existence of a class of N=1 supersymmetric nonperturbative\nvacua of Horava-Witten M-theory compactified on a torus fibered Calabi-Yau\n3-fold Z with first homotopy group \\pi_{1}(Z)= Z2, having the following\nproperties: 1) SO(10) grand unification group, 2) net number of three\ngenerations of chiral fermions in the observable sector, and 3) potentially\nviable matter Yukawa couplings. These vacua correspond to semistable\nholomorphic vector bundles V_{Z} over Z having structure group SU(4)_C, and\ngenerically contain M5-branes in the bulk space. The nontrivial first homotopy\ngroup allows Wilson line breaking of the SO(10) symmetry. Additionally, we\npropose how the 11-dimensional Horava-Witten M-theory framework may be used to\nextend the perturbative calculation of the top quark Yukawa coupling in the\nrealistic free-fermionic models to the nonperturbative regime. The basic\nargument being that the relevant coupling couples twisted-twisted-untwisted\nstates and can be calculated at the level of the Z2 X Z2 orbifold without\nresorting to the full three generation models.",
        "positive": "Renormalizable Extension of the Abelian Higgs-Kibble Model with a\n  dimension 6 operator: A deformation of the Abelian Higgs Kibble model induced by a dimension 6\nderivative operator is studied. A novel differential equation is established\nfixing the dependence of the vertex functional on the coupling $z$ of the dim.6\noperator in terms of amplitudes at $z = 0$ (those of the power-counting\nrenormalizable Higgs-Kibble model). The latter equation holds in a formalism\nwhere the physical mode is described by a gauge-invariant field. The functional\nidentities of the theory in this formalism are studied. In particular we show\nthat the Slavnov-Taylor identities separately hold true at each order in the\nnumber of internal propagators of the gauge-invariant scalar. Despite being\nnon-power-counting renormalizable, the model at $z \\neq 0$ depends on a finite\nnumber of physical parameters."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Finiteness of the two-loop matter contribution to the triple gauge-ghost\n  vertices in ${\\cal N}=1$ supersymmetric gauge theories regularized by higher\n  derivatives: For a general renormalizable ${\\cal N}=1$ supersymmetric gauge theory with a\nsimple gauge group we verify the ultraviolet (UV) finiteness of the two-loop\nmatter contribution to the triple gauge-ghost vertices. These vertices have one\nleg of the quantum gauge superfield and two legs corresponding to the\nFaddeev--Popov ghost and antighost. By an explicit calculation made with the\nhelp of the higher covariant derivative regularization we demonstrate that the\nsum of the corresponding two-loop supergraphs containing a matter loop is not\nUV divergent in the case of using a general $\\xi$-gauge. In the considered\napproximation this result confirms the recently proved theorem that the triple\ngauge-ghost vertices are UV finite in all orders, which is an important\ningredient of the all-loop perturbative derivation of the\nNovikov-Shifman-Vainshtein-Zakharov relation.",
        "positive": "On AdS Black Strings at Large $D$: In this paper we study the stability of an homogeneous black string in the\npresence of a negative cosmological constant with minimally coupled scalar\nfields by using the large $D$ effective theory. This method allows us to\nexplore the dynamics of the black strings in the nonlinear regime. We find that\nup to the next-to-leading order of the $1/D$ expansion, the unique consistent\nsolution of the equations of motion must be uniform. This means the recently\nfound Gregory-Laflamme instability caused by fined-tuned non-generic\nperturbations would die out at late time in the evolution of the system."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Twisted Conformal Algebra so(4,2): A new twisted deformation, U_z(so(4,2)), of the conformal algebra of the\n(3+1)-dimensional Minkowskian spacetime is presented. This construction is\nprovided by a classical r-matrix spanned by ten Weyl-Poincare generators, which\ngeneralizes non-standard quantum deformations previously obtained for so(2,2)\nand so(3,2). However, by introducing a conformal null-plane basis it is found\nthat the twist can indeed be supported by an eight-dimensional carrier\nsubalgebra. By construction the Weyl-Poincare subalgebra remains as a Hopf\nsubalgebra after deformation. Non-relativistic limits of U_z(so(4,2)) are shown\nto be well defined and they give rise to new twisted conformal algebras of\nGalilean and Carroll spacetimes. Furthermore a difference-differential massless\nKlein-Gordon (or wave) equation with twisted conformal symmetry is constructed\nthrough deformed momenta and position operators. The deformation parameter is\ninterpreted as the lattice step on a uniform Minkowskian spacetime lattice\ndiscretized along two basic null-plane directions.",
        "positive": "Moyal Quantization for Constrained System: We study the Moyal quantization for the constrained system. One of the\npurposes is to give a proper definition of the Wigner-Weyl(WW) correspondence,\nwhich connects the Weyl symbols with the corresponding quantum operators. A\nHamiltonian in terms of the Weyl symbols becomes different from the classical\nHamiltonian for the constrained system, which is related to the fact that the\nnaively constructed WW correspondence is not one-to-one any more. In the Moyal\nquantization a geometrical meaning of the constraints is clear. In our\nproposal, the 2nd class constraints are incorporated into the definition of the\nWW correspondence by limiting the phasespace to the hypersurface. Even though\nwe assume the canonical commutation relations in the formulation, the Moyal\nbrackets between the Weyl symbols yield the same results as those for the\nconstrained system derived by using the Dirac bracket formulation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On quantum field theories with finitely many degrees of freedom: The existence of inequivalent representations in quantum field theory with\n{\\it finitely} many degrees of freedom is shown. Their properties are\nexemplified and analysed for concrete and simple models. In particular the\nrelations to Bogoliubov--Valatin quasi-particles, to thermo field dynamics, and\nto $q$--deformed quantum theories are put foreward. The thermal properties of\nthe non-trivial vacuum are given and it is shown that the thermodynamic\nequilibrium state is uniquely obtained by an irreversible vacuum dynamics.\nFinally, the theory is applied to a realistic model: the BCS--theory of\nsuperconductivity. An exact solution in order $O(N^{-1})$ for the full particle\nnumber conserving BCS--Hamiltonian with particle number symmetric ground state\nis given.",
        "positive": "On Abelian Gauge Symmetries and Proton Decay in Global F-theory GUTs: The existence of abelian gauge symmetries in four-dimensional F-theory\ncompactifications depends on the global geometry of the internal Calabi-Yau\nfourfold and has important phenomenological consequences. We study conceptual\nand phenomenological aspects of such U(1) symmetries along the Coulomb and the\nHiggs branch. As one application we examine abelian gauge factors arising after\na certain global restriction of the Tate model that goes beyond a local\nspectral cover analysis. In SU(5) GUT models this mechanism enforces a global\nU(1)_X symmetry that prevents dimension-4 proton decay and allows for an\nidentification of candidate right-handed neutrinos. We invoke a detailed\naccount of the singularities of Calabi-Yau fourfolds and their mirror duals\nstarting from an underlying E_8 and E_7 x U(1) enhanced Tate model. The global\nresolutions and deformations of these singularities can be used as the\nappropriate framework to analyse F-theory GUT models."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the \"old\" and \"new\" relativistic wave equations for the particle\n  having spin s=3/2: Relativistic wave equation of motion without redundant components for the\nparticle having spin 3/2 has been considered. In order to show the newness a\ncomparison with the known equations for the spin s=3/2 field is given.\nTherefore, the brief review of the relativistic wave equations for the particle\nwith spin s=3/2 is given. In our equation the wave function for the\nparticle-antiparticle doublet has only 8 components. The consideration is\ncarried out both at the level of relativistic quantum mechanics and at the\nlevel of local field theory. The extended Foldy--Wouthuysen transformation,\nwhich gives the operator link between these two levels is suggested.",
        "positive": "Energy-momentum non-conservation on noncommutative spacetime and the\n  existence of infinite spacetime dimension: From the constructions of the quantum spacetime, a four dimensional quantized\nspacetime can be embedded in a five dimensional continuous spacetime. Thus to\nobserve from the five dimensional continuous spacetime where the four\ndimensional quantized spacetime is embedded, there exist the energy-momentum\nflows between the five dimensional continuous spacetime and the four\ndimensional quantized spacetime. This makes the energy-momentum not locally\nconserved generally on the four dimensional quantized spacetime. We propose\nthat energy-momentum tensors of noncommutative field theories constructed from\nthe Noether approach are just the correct forms for the energy-momentum tensors\nof noncommutative field theories. The non-vanishing of the total divergences of\nthe energy-momentum tensors of noncommutative field theories just reflect that\nenergy-momentum are not locally conserved on noncommutative spacetime. At the\nsame time, from the constructions of the quantum spacetime, we propose that the\ntotal spacetime dimension of the quantum spacetime is infinite."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic superconductors near the Breitenlohner-Freedman bound: We discuss holographic superconductors in an arbitrary dimension whose dual\nblack holes have scalar hair of mass near the Breitenlohner-Freedman bound. We\nconcentrate on low temperatures in the probe limit. We show analytically that\nwhen the bound is saturated, the condensate diverges at low temperatures as\n$|\\ln T|^\\delta$, where $\\delta$ depends on the dimension. This mild divergence\nwas missed in earlier numerical studies. We calculate the conductivity\nanalytically and show that at low temperatures, all poles move toward the real\naxis. We obtain an increasingly large number of poles which approach the zeroes\nof the Airy function in 2+1 dimensions and of the Gamma function in 3+1\ndimensions. Our analytic results are in good agreement with numerical results\nwhenever the latter are available.",
        "positive": "A bound on energy dependence of chaos: We conjecture a chaos energy bound, an upper bound on the energy dependence\nof the Lyapunov exponent for any classical/quantum Hamiltonian mechanics and\nfield theories. The conjecture states that the Lyapunov exponent $\\lambda(E)$\ngrows no faster than linearly in the total energy $E$ in the high energy limit.\nIn other words, the exponent $c$ in $\\lambda(E) \\propto E^c \\,(E\\to\\infty)$\nsatisfies $c\\leq 1$. This chaos energy bound stems from thermodynamic\nconsistency of out-of-time-order correlators (OTOC's) and applies to any\nclassical/quantum system with finite $N$ / large $N$ ($N$ is the number of\ndegrees of freedom) under plausible physical conditions on the Hamiltonians. To\nthe best of our knowledge the chaos energy bound is satisfied by any\nclassically chaotic Hamiltonian system known, and is consistent with the\ncerebrated chaos bound by Maldacena, Shenker and Stanford which is for quantum\ncases at large $N$. We provide arguments supporting the conjecture for generic\nclassically chaotic billiards and multi-particle systems. The existence of the\nchaos energy bound may put a fundamental constraint on physical systems and the\nuniverse."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Universal Yang-Mills Action on Four Dimensional Manifolds: The usual action of Yang-Mills theory is given by the quadratic form of\ncurvatures of a principal G bundle defined on four dimensional manifolds. The\nnon-linear generalization which is known as the Born-Infeld action has been\ngiven. In this paper we give another non-linear generalization on four\ndimensional manifolds and call it a universal Yang-Mills action. The advantage\nof our model is that the action splits {\\bf automatically} into two parts\nconsisting of self-dual and anti-self-dual directions. Namely, we have\nautomatically the self-dual and anti-self-dual equations without solving the\nequations of motion as in a usual case. Our method may be applicable to recent\nnon-commutative Yang-Mills theories studied widely.",
        "positive": "W Algebras, W Gravities and their Moduli Spaces: By generalizing the Drinfel'd--Sokolov reduction we construct a large class\nof W algebras as reductions of Kac--Moody algebras. Furthermore we construct\nactions, invariant under local left and right W transformations, which are the\nclassical covariant induced actions for W gravity. Talk presented by T. Tjin at\nthe Trieste Summerschool on strings and related topics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Free Differential Algebras: Their Use in Field Theory and Dual\n  Formulation: The gauging of free differential algebras (FDA's) produces gauge field\ntheories containing antisymmetric tensors. The FDA's extend the Cartan-Maurer\nequations of ordinary Lie algebras by incorporating p-form potentials ($p >\n1$). We study here the algebra of FDA transformations. To every p-form in the\nFDA we associate an extended Lie derivative $\\ell$ generating a corresponding\n``gauge\" transformation. The field theory based on the FDA is invariant under\nthese new transformations. This gives geometrical meaning to the antisymmetric\ntensors. The algebra of Lie derivatives is shown to close and provides the dual\nformulation of FDA's.",
        "positive": "The Theory of Invariants and Interaction Symmetries: An application of the Gordan-Hilbert finite algebraic basis theorem is\nsuggested."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Comparison of the Proper Time Equation and the Renormalization Group\n  $\u03b2$-Function in String Theory: It is known that there is a proportionality factor relating the\n$\\beta$-function and the equations of motion viz. the Zamolodchikov metric.\nUsually this factor has to be obtained by other methods. The proper time\nequation, on the other hand, is the full equation of motion. We explain the\nreasons for this and illustrate it by calculating corrections to Maxwell's\nequation. The corrections are calculated to cubic order in the field strength,\nbut are exact to all orders in derivatives. We also test the gauge covariance\nof the proper time method by calculating higher (covariant) derivative\ncorrections to the Yang-Mills equation.",
        "positive": "Holomorphic generating functions for invariants counting coherent\n  sheaves on Calabi-Yau 3-folds: Let X be a Calabi-Yau 3-fold, T=D^b(coh(X)) the derived category of coherent\nsheaves on X, and Stab(T) the complex manifold of Bridgeland stability\nconditions Z on T. It is conjectured that one can define rational numbers\nJ^a(Z) for Z in Stab(T) and a in the numerical Grothendieck group K(T)\ngeneralizing Donaldson-Thomas invariants, which `count' Z-semistable (complexes\nof) coherent sheaves on X in class a, and whose transformation law under change\nof Z is known.\n  This paper explains how to combine such invariants J^a(Z), if they exist,\ninto a family of holomorphic generating functions F^a:Stab(T) --> C.\nSurprisingly, requiring the F^a to be continuous and holomorphic determines\nthem essentially uniquely, and implies they satisfy a p.d.e., which can be\ninterpreted as the flatness of a connection over Stab(T) with values in an\ninfinite-dimensional Lie algebra L.\n  The author believes that underlying this mathematics there should be some new\nphysics, in String Theory and Mirror Symmetry. String Theorists are invited to\nwork out and explain this new physics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Superstrings on Penrose limits of AdS$_7$ solutions: We consider the Penrose limit of AdS$_7$ solutions of massive Type IIA\nsupergravity. The resulting pp-wave geometry is supported by RR and NSNS\nfields. We quantize the Green--Schwarz superstring on the obtained pp-wave\nbackground, in the light-cone gauge.",
        "positive": "Generalized Parallelizable Spaces from Exceptional Field Theory: Generalized parallelizable spaces allow a unified treatment of consistent\nmaximally supersymmetric truncations of ten- and eleven-dimensional\nsupergravity in generalized geometry. Known examples are spheres, twisted tori\nand hyperboloides. They admit a generalized frame field over the coset space\n$M$=$G/H$ which reproduces the Lie algebra $\\mathfrak{g}$ of $G$ under the\ngeneralized Lie derivative. An open problem is a systematic construction of\nthese spaces and especially their generalized frames fields. We present a\ntechnique which applies to $\\dim M$=4 for SL(5) exceptional field theory. In\nthis paper the group manifold $G$ is identified with the extended space of the\nexceptional field theory. Subsequently, the section condition is solved to\nremove unphysical directions from the extended space. Finally, a SL(5)\ngeneralized frame field is constructed from parts of the left-invariant\nMaurer-Cartan form on $G$. All these steps impose conditions on $G$ and $H$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Journey Beyond the Schwarzschild Black Hole Singularity: We present the geodesical completion of the Schwarzschild black hole in four\ndimensions which covers the entire space in (u,v) Kruskal-Szekeres coordinates,\nincluding the spacetime behind the black and white hole singularities. The\ngravitational constant switches sign abruptly at the singularity, thus we\ninterpret the other side of the singularity as a region of antigravity. The\npresence of such sign flips is a prediction of local (Weyl) scale invariant\ngeodesically complete spacetimes which improve classical general relativity and\nstring theory. We compute the geodesics for our new black hole and show that\nall geodesics of a test particle are complete. Hence, an ideal observer, that\nstarts its journey in the usual space of gravity, can reach the other side of\nthe singularity in a finite amount of proper time. As usual, an observer\noutside of the horizon cannot verify that such phenomena exist. However, the\nfact that there exist proper observers that can see this, is of fundamental\nsignificance for the construction of the correct theory and the interpretation\nof phenomena pertaining to black holes and cosmology close to and beyond the\nsingularities.",
        "positive": "Manifest Duality in Born-Infeld Theory: Born-Infeld theory is formulated using an infinite set of gauge fields, along\nthe lines of McClain, Wu and Yu. In this formulation electromagnetic duality is\ngenerated by a fully local functional. The resulting consistency problems are\nanalyzed and the formulation is shown to be consistent."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Equilibrium partition function for nonrelativistic fluids: We construct an equilibrium partition function for a non-relativistic fluid\nand use it to constrain the dynamics of the system. The construction is based\non light cone reduction, which is known to reduce the Poincare symmetry to\nGalilean in one lower dimension. We modify the constitutive relations of a\nrelativistic fluid, and find that its symmetry broken phase - `null fluid' is\nequivalent to the non-relativistic fluid. In particular, their symmetries,\nthermodynamics, constitutive relations, and equilibrium partition function\nmatch exactly to all orders in derivative expansion.",
        "positive": "More on the universality of the Volkov-Akulov action under N = 1\n  nonlinear supersymmetry: We discuss further the universality of the Volkov-Akulov (V-A) action of a\nNambu-Goldstone (N-G) fermion for the spontaneous breaking of supersymmetry\n(SUSY). We show general relations between the standard V-A action and nonlinear\n(NL) SUSY actions including apparently (pathological) higher derivatives of the\nN-G fermion. Composite fields of the N-G fermions are found, which transform\nhomogeneously under NL SUSY transformations of V-A. Consequently, we obtain NL\nSUSY invariant constraints which connect our NL SUSY actions with the V-A\naction. The constraints are explicitly solved and we show examples of the NL\nSUSY actions which are equivalent to the V-A action."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Replica Limit of Unitary Matrix Integrals: We investigate the replica trick for the microscopic spectral density,\n$\\rho_s(x)$, of the Euclidean QCD Dirac operator. Our starting point is the\nlow-energy limit of the QCD partition function for $n$ fermionic flavors (or\nreplicas) in the sector of topological charge $\\nu$. In the domain of the\nsmallest eigenvalues, this partition function is simply given by a U(n) unitary\nmatrix integral. We show that the asymptotic behavior of $\\rho_s(x)$ for $x \\to\n\\infty$ is obtained from the $n\\to 0$ limit of this integral. The smooth\ncontributions to this series are obtained from an expansion about the replica\nsymmetric saddle-point, whereas the oscillatory terms follow from an expansion\nabout a saddle-point that breaks the replica symmetry. For $\\nu =0$ we recover\nthe small-$x$ logarithmic singularity of the resolvent by means of the replica\ntrick. For half integer $\\nu$, when the saddle point expansion of the U(n)\nintegral terminates, the replica trick reproduces the exact analytical result.\nIn all other cases only an asymptotic series that does not uniquely determine\nthe microscopic spectral density is obtained. We argue that bosonic replicas\nfail to reproduce the microscopic spectral density. In all cases, the exact\nanswer is obtained naturally by means of the supersymmetric method.",
        "positive": "Extremal Transitions and Five-Dimensional Supersymmetric Field Theories: We study five-dimensional supersymmetric field theories with one-dimensional\nCoulomb branch. We extend a previous analysis which led to non-trivial fixed\npoints with $E_n$ symmetry ($E_8$, $E_7$, $E_6$, $E_5=Spin(10)$, $E_4=SU(5)$,\n$E_3=SU(3)\\times SU(2)$, $E_2=SU(2)\\times U(1)$ and $E_1=SU(2)$) by finding two\nnew theories: $\\tilde E_1$ with $U(1)$ symmetry and $E_0$ with no symmetry. The\nlatter is a non-trivial theory with no relevant operators preserving the\nsuper-Poincar\\'e symmetry. In terms of string theory these new field theories\nenable us to describe compactifications of the type I' theory on $S^1/Z_2$ with\n16, 17 or 18 background D8-branes. These theories also play a crucial role in\ncompactifications of M-theory on Calabi--Yau spaces, providing physical models\nfor the contractions of del Pezzo surfaces to points (thereby completing the\nclassification of singularities which can occur at codimension one in K\\\"ahler\nmoduli). The structure of the Higgs branch yields a prediction which unifies\nthe known mathematical facts about del Pezzo transitions in a quite remarkable\nway."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The BRST Charge for the $\\hat{D}(2,1;\\a)$ Non-Linear\n  Quasi-Superconformal Algebra: The quantum BRST charge for the most general, two-dimensional, non-linear,\n$N=4$ quasi-superconformal algebra $\\hat{D}(1,2;\\a)$, whose linearisation is\nthe so-called `large' $N=4$ superconformal algebra, is constructed. The\n$\\hat{D}(1,2;\\a)$ algebra has $\\Hat{su(2)}_{k^+}\\oplus\n\\Hat{su(2)}_{k^-}\\oplus\\Hat{u(1)}$ Ka\\v{c}-Moody component, and $\\a=k^-/k^+$.\nAs a pre-requisite to our construction, we check the $\\hat{D}(1,2;\\a)$ Jacobi\nidentities and construct a classical BRST charge. Then, we analyse the quantum\nBRST charge nilpotency conditions and find the only solution, $k^+=k^-=-2$. The\n$\\hat{D}(1,2;1)$ algebra is actually isomorphic to the $SO(4)$-based\nBershadsky-Knizhnik non-linear quasi-superconformal algebra. We argue about the\nexistence of a new string theory with (i) the non-linearly realised $N=4$\nworld-sheet supersymmetry, (ii) non-unitary matter in a $\\hat{D}(1,2;\\a)$\nrepresentation of $k=-2$ and $c=-6$, and (iii) negative `critical dimension'.",
        "positive": "Asymptotically flat structure of hypergravity in three spacetime\n  dimensions: The asymptotic structure of three-dimensional hypergravity without\ncosmological constant is analyzed. In the case of gravity minimally coupled to\na spin-$5/2$ field, a consistent set of boundary conditions is proposed, being\nwide enough so as to accommodate a generic choice of chemical potentials\nassociated to the global charges. The algebra of the canonical generators of\nthe asymptotic symmetries is given by a hypersymmetric nonlinear extension of\nBMS$_{3}$. It is shown that the asymptotic symmetry algebra can be recovered\nfrom a subset of a suitable limit of the direct sum of the\nW$_{\\left(2,4\\right)}$ algebra with its hypersymmetric extension. The presence\nof hypersymmetry generators allows to construct bounds for the energy, which\nturn out to be nonlinear and saturate for spacetimes that admit\nglobally-defined \"Killing vector-spinors\". The null orbifold or Minkowski\nspacetime can then be seen as the corresponding ground state in the case of\nfermions that fulfill periodic or anti-periodic boundary conditions,\nrespectively. The hypergravity theory is also explicitly extended so as to\nadmit parity-odd terms in the action. It is then shown that the asymptotic\nsymmetry algebra includes an additional central charge, being proportional to\nthe coupling of the Lorentz-Chern-Simons form. The generalization of these\nresults in the case of gravity minimally coupled to arbitrary half-integer spin\nfields is also carried out. The hypersymmetry bounds are found to be given by a\nsuitable polynomial of degree $s+\\frac{1}{2}$ in the energy, where $s$ is the\nspin of the fermionic generators."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Multi-Calorons Revisited: Analytic Nahm data is re-examined for SU(2) calorons, or periodic instantons,\nof instanton charge 2. The Nahm equations are solved analytically in terms of\nJacobi elliptic functions and the possible matching conditions are classified.\nThe dimensions of framed moduli space for charge 2 caloron is enumerated and\nthe maximal parameter, which is 16 for charge 2, case is identified. The\nmonopole and instanton limits are also considered. It is found that the Nahm\ndata which does not correspond to the standard monopoles plays significant role\nfor calorons.",
        "positive": "On Current-Squared Flows and ModMax Theories: We show that the recently introduced ModMax theory of electrodynamics and its\nBorn-Infeld-like generalization are related by a flow equation driven by a\nquadratic combination of stress-energy tensors. The operator associated to this\nflow is a $4d$ analogue of the $T\\bar{T}$ deformation in two dimensions. This\nresult generalizes the observation that the ordinary Born-Infeld Lagrangian is\nrelated to the free Maxwell theory by a current-squared flow. As in that case,\nwe show that no analogous relationship holds in any other dimension besides\n$d=4$. We also demonstrate that the $\\mathcal{N}=1$ supersymmetric version of\nthe ModMax-Born-Infeld theory obeys a related supercurrent-squared flow which\nis formulated directly in $\\mathcal{N}=1$ superspace."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Tropical fans, scattering equations and amplitudes: We describe a family of tropical fans related to Grassmannian cluster\nalgebras. These fans are related to the kinematic space of massless scattering\nprocesses in a number of ways. For each fan associated to the Grassmannian\n${\\rm Gr}(k,n)$ there is a notion of a generalised $\\phi^3$ amplitude and an\nassociated set of scattering equations which further generalise the ${\\rm\nGr}(k,n)$ scattering equations that have been recently introduced. Here we\nfocus mostly on the cases related to finite Grassmannian cluster algebras and\nwe explain how face variables for the cluster polytopes are simply related to\nthe scattering equations. For the Grassmannians ${\\rm Gr}(4,n)$ the tropical\nfans we describe are related to the singularities (or symbol letters) of loop\namplitudes in planar $\\mathcal{N}=4$ super Yang-Mills theory. We show how each\nchoice of tropical fan leads to a natural class of polylogarithms, generalising\nthe notion of cluster adjacency and we describe how the currently known loop\ndata fit into this classification.",
        "positive": "S-branes from unbalanced black diholes: We construct new non-singular and time-dependent solutions from the black\ndiholes with unbalanced magnetic charge. These solutions are constructed by the\ndouble Wick rotation with the analytic continuation of the mass or\nNUT-parameter of unbalanced black diholes. In the limit of balanced magnetic\ncharge, our solutions reduce to the S-brane solution obtained from the black\ndiholes discussed by Jones et al. . We study the behaviors of metric components\nand discuss the s-charge over a constant time-slice. From the properties of the\nsolutions, we find that our solutions correspond to the S-brane type solutions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Asymptotics for the Fredholm Determinant of the Sine Kernel on a Union\n  of Intervals: In the bulk scaling limit of the Gaussian Unitary Ensemble of Hermitian\nmatrices the probability that an interval of length $s$ contains no eigenvalues\nis the Fredholm determinant of the sine kernel $\\sin(x-y)\\over\\pi(x-y)$ over\nthis interval. A formal asymptotic expansion for the determinant as $s$ tends\nto infinity was obtained by Dyson. In this paper we replace a single interval\nof length $s$ by $sJ$ where $J$ is a union of $m$ intervals and present a proof\nof the asymptotics up to second order. The logarithmic derivative with respect\nto $s$ of the determinant equals a constant (expressible in terms of\nhyperelliptic integrals) times $s$, plus a bounded oscillatory function of $s$\n(zero of $m=1$, periodic if $m=2$, and in general expressible in terms of the\nsolution of a Jacobi inversion problem), plus $o(1)$. Also determined are the\nasymptotics of the trace of the resolvent operator, which is the ratio in the\nsame model of the probability that the set contains exactly one eigenvalue to\nthe probability that it contains none. The proofs use ideas from orthogonal\npolynomial theory.",
        "positive": "Energy and Angular Momentum in Generic F(Riemann) Theories: We construct the conserved charge of generic gravity theories built on\narbitrary contractions of the Riemann tensor (but not on its derivatives) for\nasymptotically (anti)-de Sitter spacetimes. Our construction is a\ngeneralization of the ADT charges of linear and quadratic gravity theories in\ncosmological backgrounds. As an explicit example we find the energy and angular\nmomentum of the BTZ black hole in the 2+1 dimensional Born-Infeld gravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Generalized Matrix Mechanics: We propose a generalization of Heisenbergs' matrix mechanics based on\nmany-index objects. It is shown that there exists a solution describing a\nharmonic oscillator and many-index objects lead to a generalization of spin\nalgebra.",
        "positive": "Confinement and Chiral Dynamics in the Multi-flavor Schwinger Model: Two-dimensional QED with $N$ flavor fermions is solved at zero and finite\ntemperature with arbitrary fermion masses to explore QCD physics such as chiral\ncondensate and string tension. The problem is reduced to solving a\nSchr\\\"odinger equation for $N$ degrees of freedom with a specific potential\ndetermined by the ground state of the Schr\\\"odinger problem itself."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Bounds on Triangle Anomalies in (3+1)d: How many charged degrees of freedom are necessary to accommodate a certain\namount of 't Hooft anomaly? Using the conformal bootstrap for the four-point\nfunction of flavor current multiplets, we show that in all (3+1)d\nsuperconformal field theories the 't Hooft anomaly of a continuous flavor\nsymmetry is bounded from above by the 3/2 power of the current two-point\nfunction coefficient, which can be thought of as a measure for the amount of\ncharged degrees of freedom. We check our bounds against free fields and SQCD in\nthe conformal window.",
        "positive": "Collinear and Regge behavior of 2 -> 4 MHV amplitude in N = 4 super\n  Yang-Mills theory: We investigate the collinear and Regge behavior of the 2 -> 4 MHV amplitude\nin N = 4super Yang-Mills theory in the BFKL approach. The expression for the\nremainder function in the collinear kinematics proposed by Alday, Gaiotto,\nMaldacena, Sever and Vieira is analytically continued to the Mandelstam region.\nThe result of the continuation in the Regge kinematics shows an agreement with\nthe BFKL approach up to to five-loop level. We present the Regge theory\ninterpretation of the obtained results and discuss some issues related to a\npossible non-multiplicative renormalization of the remainder function in the\ncollinear limit."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Residual Gauge Fixing in Light-Front QCD: Understanding the nontrivial features of light-front QCD is a central goal in\ncurrent investigations of nonperturbative light-front field theory. We find\nthat, with the choice of light-front gauge with antisymmetric boundary\nconditions for the field variables, the residual gauge freedom is fixed and the\nlight-front QCD vacuum is trivial. The nontrivial structure in light-front QCD\nis determined by non-vanishing asymptotic physical (transverse) gauge fields at\nlongitudinal infinity, which are responsible for nonzero topological winding\nnumber.",
        "positive": "Echoes in the Kerr/CFT correspondence: The Kerr/CFT correspondence is a possible route to gain insight into the\nquantum theory of gravity in the near-horizon region of a Kerr black hole via a\ndual holographic conformal field theory (CFT). Predictions of the black hole\nentropy, scattering cross-section and the quasi normal modes from the dual\nholographic CFT corroborate this proposed correspondence. More recently, it has\nbeen suggested that quantum gravitational effects in the near-horizon region of\na black hole may drastically modify the classical general relativistic\ndescription, leading to potential observable consequences. In this paper, we\nstudy the absorption cross-section and quasi normal modes of a horizonless\nKerr-like exotic compact object (ECO) in the dual CFT picture. Our analysis\nsuggests that the near-horizon quantum modifications of the black hole can be\nunderstood as finite size and/or finite $N$ effects in the dual CFT. Signature\nof the near-horizon modification to a black hole geometry manifests itself as\ndelayed echoes in the ringdown (i.e. the postmerger phase) of a binary black\nhole coalescence. From our dual CFT analysis we show how the length of the\ncircle, on which the dual CFT lives, must be related to the echo time-delay\nthat depends on the position of the near-horizon quantum structure. We further\nderive the reflectivity of the ECO membrane in terms of the CFT modular\nparameters, showing that it takes the Boltzmann form."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Explicit Formulas for Neumann Coefficients in the Plane-Wave Geometry: We obtain explicit formulas for the Neumann coefficients and associated\nquantities that appear in the three-string vertex for type IIB string theory in\na plane-wave background, for any value of the mass parameter mu. The derivation\ninvolves constructing the inverse of a certain infinite-dimensional matrix, in\nterms of which the Neumann coefficients previously had been written only\nimplicitly. We derive asymptotic expansions for large mu and find unexpectedly\nsimple results, which are valid to all orders in 1/mu. Using BMN duality, these\ngive predictions for certain gauge theory quantities to all orders in the\nmodified 't Hooft coupling lambda'. A specific example is presented.",
        "positive": "Correlation Functions of Massless Interacting Scalar Fields in de Sitter\n  Space: We examine the behavior of correlation functions for a massless scalar field\nin de Sitter space with a quartic interaction. We find that two-loop\ncorrections are relevant, and that the resummation of these corrections\ngenerates a complicated structure whereby high momentum modes stay massless\nwhile low momentum modes develop a dynamical mass."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Basic and Equivariant Cohomology in Balanced Topological Field Theory: We present a detailed algebraic study of the N=2 cohomological set--up\ndescribing the balanced topological field theory of Dijkgraaf and Moore. We\nemphasize the role of N=2 topological supersymmetry and $sl(2,R)$ internal\nsymmetry by a systematic use of superfield techniques and of an $sl(2,R)$\ncovariant formalism. We provide a definition of N=2 basic and equivariant\ncohomology, generalizing Dijkgraaf's and Moore's, and of N=2 connection. For a\ngeneral manifold with a group action, we show that: $i$) the N=2 basic\ncohomology is isomorphic to the tensor product of the ordinary N=1 basic\ncohomology and a universal $sl(2,R)$ group theoretic factor: $ii$) the affine\nspaces of N=2 and N=1 connections are isomorphic.",
        "positive": "Pair production of Dirac particles in a d+1-dimensional noncommutative\n  space-time: This work addresses the computation of the propability of fermionic particle\npair production in $(d+1)-$ dimensional noncommutative Moyal space. Using the\nSeiberg-Witten maps that establish relations between noncommutative and\ncommutative field variables, to first order in the noncommutative parameter\n$\\theta$, we derive the probability density of vacuum-vacuum pair production of\nDirac particles. The cases of constant electromagnetic, alternating\ntime-dependent and space-dependent electric fields are considered and\ndiscussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the origin of constrained superfields: In this work we analyze constrained superfields in supersymmetry and\nsupergravity. We propose a constraint that, in combination with the constrained\ngoldstino multiplet, consistently removes any selected component from a generic\nsuperfield. We also describe its origin, providing the operators whose\nequations of motion lead to the decoupling of such components. We illustrate\nour proposal by means of various examples and show how known constraints can be\nreproduced by our method.",
        "positive": "SU(3) x SU(2) x U(1): The residual symmetry of extended conformal\n  gravity: Within the 4-dimensional conformal algebra, the presence of two translation\noperators implies the existence of 3 distinct metrics of definite Weyl weight\nconstructible from the translational gauge fields. If we demand that each of\nthese metrics give rise to a gauge theory of gravity, we are led to extend the\nsymmetry so that each of these three metrics has a corresponding translation\noperator. Assigning a vierbein to each of these three translations, a different\nspacetime metric arises for every choice of inner product of the vierbeins. The\ncovering group of the compact part of the minimal transitive group classifying\nthese inner products is $SU(4)$. An additional $SU(2)$ symmetry classifies the\nantisymmetric parts of the vierbein product. If the metric is chosen as the\ngauge field of the translations in the standard way, the SU(4) part of this\nsymmetry is broken to the semidirect product of $SU(3)$ with $U(1)$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic flavor in the gauge/gravity duality: In this paper we review some results on the generalization of the\ngauge/gravity duality to include fundamental matter by means of probe branes.\nWe compute the meson spectrum of maximally supersymmetric gauge theories in\nseveral dimensions, both in the Coulomb and Higgs branch. We also study the\naddition of flavor and compute the meson spectrum for non-commutative theories.\nAdditionally, we present a thorough search of supersymmetric embeddings of\nprobe branes in the Klebanov-Witten model.",
        "positive": "Linear Spinor Fields in Relativistic Dynamics: Linear spinor fields are a generalization of the Dirac field that have\ntransparent cluster decomposability properties needed for classical\ncorrespondence of relativistic quantum systems. The algebra of these fields\ndirectly incorporate gravitation within a group that unifies the dynamics of\nthe same number of additional hermitian carriers of quantum numbers as there\nare gauge fields in SU(3)$\\times$SU(2)$\\times$U(1). They also provide a\nmechanism for the dynamic mixing of massless neutrinos using a \"transverse\nmass\" conjugate to the affine parameter labeling translations along its\nlight-like trajectory, consistent with those in the standard model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Coulomb Gas Representations and Screening Operators of the N=4\n  Superconformal Algebras: The Coulomb gas representations are presented for the ${\\rm\nSU(2)}$$_k$-extended $N$=4 superconformal algebras, incorporating the\nFeigin-Fuchs representation of the\\break ${\\rm SU(2)}$$_k$ Kac-Moody algebra\nwith {\\sl arbitrary} level $k$. Then the long-standing problem of identifying\nthe whole set of charge-screening operators for the $N$=4 superconformal\nalgebras is solved and their explicit expressions are given. The method of\nachieving a rigorous proof of the $N$=4 Kac determinant formulae following Kato\nand Matsuda is suggested. The complete proof for them will be given elsewhere.\nOur results for the screening operators also provide the basis for studying the\nBRST formalism of the $N$=4 superconformal algebras ${\\sl {\\grave a}\\ la}$\nFelder.",
        "positive": "Revamped Braneworld Gravity: Gravity in five-dimensional braneworld backgrounds often exhibits problematic\nfeatures, including kinetic ghosts, strong coupling, and the vDVZ\ndiscontinuity. These problems are an obstacle to producing and analyzing\nbraneworld models with interesting and potentially observable modifications of\n4d gravity. We examine these problems in a general AdS_5/AdS_4 setup with two\nbranes and localized curvature from arbitrary brane kinetic terms. We use the\ninterval approach and an explicit ``straight'' gauge-fixing. We compute the\ncomplete quadratic gauge-fixed effective 4d action, as well as the leading\ncubic order corrections. We compute the exact Green's function for gravity as\nseen on the brane. In the full parameter space, we exhibit the regions which\navoid kinetic ghosts and tachyons. We give a general formula for the strong\ncoupling scale, i.e. the energy scale at which the linearized treatment of\ngravity breaks down, for relevant regions of the parameter space. We show how\nthe vDVZ discontinuity can be naturally but nontrivially avoided by ultralight\ngraviton modes. We present a direct comparison of warping versus localized\ncurvature in terms of their effects on graviton mode couplings. We exhibit the\nfirst example of DGP-like crossover behavior in a general warped setup."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Observational Tests to Discern the Topology of Planckian Space-Time: Observational diagnostics are constructed which reflect the underlying\ntopology of Planckian space-time, and are directly related to phenomena on much\nlarger scales. Specific predictions are made for the masses of elementary\nparticles, coupling constants, quark confinement, black hole states, and the\ncosmological constant. In particular, a mass of 131.6 GeV is found for the\nHiggs boson. The main presented result is a discrete spectral signature at\ninverse integer multiples of the zero point frequency $\\nu_0=857.3588$ MHz.\nThat is, each photon of frequency $\\nu_0m$, for an integer $m$, is paired with\nan otherwise identical photon $\\nu_0/m$, produced by the vacuum, but not vice\nversa. The reader interested in the latter result only, should proceed to\nSection 6 after the Introduction.",
        "positive": "Abelian Projection on the Torus for general Gauge Groups: We consider Yang-Mills theories with general gauge groups $G$ and twists on\nthe four torus. We find consistent boundary conditions for gauge fields in all\ninstanton sectors. An extended Abelian projection with respect to the Polyakov\nloop operator is presented, where $A_0$ is independent of time and in the\nCartan subalgebra. Fundamental domains for the gauge fixed $A_0$ are\nconstructed for arbitrary gauge groups. In the sectors with non-vanishing\ninstanton number such gauge fixings are necessarily singular. The singularities\ncan be restricted to Dirac strings joining magnetically charged defects. The\nmagnetic charges of these monopoles take their values in the co-root lattice of\nthe gauge group. We relate the magnetic charges of the defects and the windings\nof suitable Higgs fields about these defects to the instanton number."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quasi-Coherent States on Deformed Quantum Geometries: Matrix configurations coming from matrix models comprise many important\naspects of modern physics. They represent special quantum spaces and are thus\nstrongly related to noncommutative geometry. In order to establish a\nsemiclassical limit that allows to extract their intuitive geometrical content,\nthis thesis analyzes and refines an approach that associates a classical\ngeometry to a given matrix configuration, based on quasi-coherent states.\nWhile, so far, the approach is only well understood for very specific cases, in\nthis work it is reviewed and implemented on a computer, allowing the numerical\ninvestigation of deformations of these cases. It is proven that the classical\nspace can be made into a smooth manifold immersed into complex projective\nspace. Further, the necessity for the consideration of foliations thereof is\nshown in order to deal with the observed and subsequently described phenomenon\ncalled oxidation. The developed numerical methods allow the visualization of\nthe semiclassical limit as well as quantitative calculations. Explicit examples\nsuggest the stability under perturbations of the refined approach and highlight\nthe physical interpretation of the construction. All this supports a better\nunderstanding of the geometrical content of arbitrary matrix configurations as\nwell as their classical interpretation and establishes the determination of\nimportant quantities.",
        "positive": "Non-singular cosmology from non-supersymmetric AdS instability\n  conjecture: We show that the non-supersymmetric AdS instability conjecture can point to\nhow quantum gravity removes the initial Big Bang singularity, leading to a\npotential resolution for the past-incomplete inflationary universe. From the\nconstraints on the dynamics of the universe realized as the nucleation of a\nthin-wall bubble mediating the decay of the non-supersymmetric AdS vacuum, we\nfind the critical temperature $T_c$ and the critical scale factor $a_c$ for\nwhich the universe exists. These critical quantities are all finite and\ndetermined in terms of the parameters specifying the stringy 10D AdS vacuum\nsolutions. Additionally, we derive the prediction of quantum gravity for $T_c$\nand $a_c$ relying on the inflationary observations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Multiparticle states in braided lightlike $\u03ba$-Minkowski\n  noncommutative QFT: In this study, we construct a 1+1-dimensional, relativistic, free, complex\nscalar Quantum Field Theory on the noncommutative spacetime known as lightlike\n$\\kappa$-Minkowski. The associated $\\kappa$-Poincar\\'e quantum group of\nisometries is triangular, and its quantum R matrix enables the definition of a\nbraided algebra of N points that retains $\\kappa$-Poincar\\'e invariance.\nLeveraging our recent findings, we can now represent the generators of the\ndeformed oscillator algebra as nonlinear redefinitions of undeformed\noscillators, which are nonlocal in momentum space. The deformations manifest at\nthe multiparticle level, as the one-particle states are identical to the\nundeformed ones. We successfully introduce a covariant and involutive deformed\nflip operator using the R matrix. The corresponding deformed\n(anti-)symmetrization operators are covariant and idempotent, allowing for a\nwell-posed definition of multiparticle states, a result long sought in Quantum\nField Theory on $\\kappa$-Minkowski. We find that P and T are not symmetries of\nthe theory, although PT (and hence CPT) is. We conclude by noticing that\nidentical particles appear distinguishable in the new theory, and discuss the\nfate of the Pauli exclusion principle in this setting.",
        "positive": "Concerning the Double Scaling Limit in the $O(N)$ Vector Model in\n  Four-Dimensions: The 1/N expansion for the O(N) vector model in four dimensions is\nreconsidered. It is emphasized that the effective potential for this model\nbecomes everywhere complex just at the critical point, which signals an\nunstable vacuum. Thus a critical O(N) vector model cannot be consistently\ndefined in the 1/N expansion for four-dimensions, which makes the existence of\na double-scaling limit for this theory doubtful."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Celestial Quantum Error Correction I: Qubits from Noncommutative Klein\n  Space: Quantum gravity in 4D asymptotically flat spacetimes features spontaneous\nsymmetry breaking due to soft radiation hair, intimately tied to the\nproliferation of IR divergences. A holographic description via a putative 2D\nCFT is expected free of such redundancies. In this series of two papers, we\naddress this issue by initiating the study of Quantum Error Correction in\nCelestial CFT (CCFT). In Part I we construct a toy model with finite degrees of\nfreedom by revisiting noncommutative geometry in Kleinian hyperk\\\"ahler\nspacetimes. The model obeys a Wick algebra that renormalizes in the radial\ndirection and admits an isometric embedding \\`a la Gottesman-Kitaev-Preskill.\nThe code subspace is composed of 2-qubit stabilizer states which are robust\nunder soft spacetime fluctuations. Symmetries of the hyperk\\\"ahler space become\ndiscrete and translate into the Clifford group familiar from quantum\ncomputation. The construction is then embedded into the incidence relation of\ntwistor space, paving the way for the CCFT regime addressed in upcoming work.",
        "positive": "Integration-by-parts reductions of Feynman integrals using Singular and\n  GPI-Space: We introduce an algebro-geometrically motived integration-by-parts (IBP)\nreduction method for multi-loop and multi-scale Feynman integrals, using a\nframework for massively parallel computations in computer algebra. This\nframework combines the computer algebra system Singular with the workflow\nmanagement system GPI-Space, which is being developed at the Fraunhofer\nInstitute for Industrial Mathematics (ITWM). In our approach, the IBP relations\nare first trimmed by modern algebraic geometry tools and then solved by sparse\nlinear algebra and our new interpolation methods. These steps are efficiently\nautomatized and automatically parallelized by modeling the algorithm in\nGPI-Space using the language of Petri-nets. We demonstrate the potential of our\nmethod at the nontrivial example of reducing two-loop five-point nonplanar\ndouble-pentagon integrals. We also use GPI-Space to convert the basis of IBP\nreductions, and discuss the possible simplification of IBP coefficients in a\nuniformly transcendental basis."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Cosmological parameters in the noncommutative inflation: We investigate how the uncertainty of noncommutative spacetime could explain\nthe WMAP data. For this purpose, the spectrum is divided into the IR and UV\nregion. We introduce a noncommutative parameter of $\\gamma_0$ in the IR region\nand a noncommutative parameter of $\\mu_0$ in the UV region. We calculate\ncosmological parameters using the slow-roll expansion in the UV region and a\nperturbation method in the IR region. The power-law inflation is chosen to\nobtain explicit forms for the power spectrum, spectral index, and running\nspectral index. Further, these are used to fit the data.",
        "positive": "New phase in Chern-Simons theory on lens space: We consider $U(N)_k$ Chern-Simons theory on $S^3$ in Seifert framing and\nwrite down the partition function as a unitary matrix model. In the large $k$\nand large $N$ limit the eigenvalue density satisfies an upper bound\n$\\frac{1}{2\\pi\\lambda}$ where $\\lambda=N/(k+N)$. We study the partition\nfunction under saddle point approximation and find that the saddle point\nequation admits a gapped solution for the eigenvalue density. The on-shell\npartition function on this solution matches with the partition function in the\ncanonical framing up to a phase. However the eigenvalue density saturates the\nupper cap at a critical value of $\\lambda$ and ceases to exist beyond that. We\nfind a new phase (called cap-gap phase) in this theory for $\\lambda$ beyond the\ncritical value and see that the on-shell free energy for the cap-gap phase is\nless than that of the gapped phase. We also check the level-rank duality in the\ntheory and observe that the level-rank dual of the gapped phase is a\n\\emph{capped} phase whereas the cap-gap phase is level-rank dual to itself."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Search for Scaling Dimensions for Random Surfaces with c=1: We study numerically the fractal structure of the intrinsic geometry of\nrandom surfaces coupled to matter fields with $c=1$. Using baby universe\nsurgery it was possible to simulate randomly triangulated surfaces made of\n260.000 triangles. Our results are consistent with the theoretical prediction\n$d_H = 2+\\sqrt{2}$ for the intrinsic Hausdorff dimension.",
        "positive": "Beyond Squeezing \u00e0 la Virasoro Algebra: The generalization of squeezing is realized in terms of the Virasoro algebra.\nThe higher-order squeezing can be introduced through the higher-order\ntime-dependent potential, in which the standard squeezing operator is\ngeneralized to higher-order Virasoro operators. We give a formula that\ndescribes the number of particles generated by the higher-order squeezing when\na parameter specifying the degree of squeezing is small. The formula (18) shows\nthat the higher the order of squeezing becomes the larger the number of\ngenerated particles grows."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Bernoulli Numbers and Multi-brane Solutions in Cubic String Field Theory: In a previous paper [arXiv:1901.01681], we presented an analytic construction\nof multi-brane solutions in cubic open string field theory (CSFT) for any\ninteger brane number. Our $(N+1)$-brane solution is given in the pure-gauge\nform $\\Psi=U Q_\\textrm{B}U^{-1}$ in terms of a unitary string field $U$ which\nis specified by $[N/2]$ independent real parameters $\\alpha_k$. We saw that,\nfor various sample values of $N$ $(=2, 3, 4, 5,\\cdots)$, $\\alpha_k$ can be\nconsistently determined by two requirements: The energy density from the action\nshould reproduce that of $(N+1)$-branes, and the EOM of the solution against\nthe solution itself should hold. In this paper, we complete our construction by\ndetermining $\\alpha_k$ satisfying the two requirements for a generic $N$. We\nfind that each $\\alpha_k$ is given in a closed form by using the Bernoulli\nnumbers. We also present some supplementary results on our solution; the energy\ndensity of the solutions determined from its gravitational coupling, and the\nunitary string field $U$ as an exponential function.",
        "positive": "My Encounters --- as a Physicist --- with Mathematics: 25th anniversary and new building dedication Centre de Recherches\nMath\\'{e}matiques Montr\\'{e}al, Canada, October 1994"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "N=1 Heterotic string vacua from mirror symmetry: We review a systematic construction of $\\cx N=1$ supersymmetric heterotic\nstring vacua using mirror symmetry. The method provides a large class of\nexplicit solutions for stable, holomorphic vector bundles on Calabi-Yau n-folds\nZ_n in terms of toric geometry. Phenomenologically interesting\ncompactifications as well as non-perturbative dynamics of the heterotic string\nare discussed within this framework.",
        "positive": "Are 1+1 and 2+2 exceptional signatures?: We prove that 1+1 and 2+2 target `spacetimes' of a 0-brane are exceptional\nsignatures. Our proof is based on the requirement of SL(2,R) and `Lorentz'\nsymmetries of a first order lagrangian. Using a special kind of 0-brane called\n`quatl', we also show that the exceptional signatures 1+1 and 2+2 are closely\nrelated. Moreover, we argue that the 2+2 target `spacetime' can be understood\neither as 2+2 worldvolume `spacetime' or as `1+1-matrix-brane'. The possibility\nthat the exceptional 2+2-signature implies an exceptional chirotope is briefly\noutlined."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Duality in N=2 minimal model holography: Recently a duality between a family of \\mathcal{N}=2 supersymmetric higher\nspin theories on AdS3, and the 't Hooft like limit of a class of Kazama-Suzuki\nmodels (that are parametrised by N and k) was proposed. The higher spin\ntheories can be described by a Chern-Simons theory based on the\ninfinite-dimensional Lie algebra shs[\\mu], and under the duality, \\mu is to be\nidentified with \\lambda=N/(N+k+1). Here we elucidate the structure of the\n(quantum) asymptotic symmetry algebra sW_{\\infty}[\\mu] for arbitrary \\mu and\ncentral charge c. In particular, we show that for each value of the central\ncharge, there are generically four different values of \\mu that describe the\nsame sW_{\\infty} algebra. Among other things this proves that the quantum\nsymmetries on both sides of the duality agree; this equivalence does not just\nhold in the 't Hooft limit, but even at finite N and k.",
        "positive": "Elliptic Blowup Equations for 6d SCFTs. III: E-strings, M-strings and\n  Chains: We establish the elliptic blowup equations for E-strings and M-strings and\nsolve elliptic genera and refined BPS invariants from them. Such elliptic\nblowup equations can be derived from a path integral interpretation. We provide\ntoric hypersurface construction for the Calabi-Yau geometries of M-strings and\nthose of E-strings with up to three mass parameters turned on, as well as an\napproach to derive the perturbative prepotential directly from the local\ndescription of the Calabi-Yau threefolds. We also demonstrate how to\nsystematically obtain blowup equations for all rank one 5d SCFTs from E-string\nby blow-down operations. Finally, we present blowup equations for E-M and M\nstring chains."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Probing the near-horizon geometry of black rings: In many cases, the near-horizon geometry encodes sufficient information to\ncompute conserved charges of a gravitational solution, including thermodynamic\nquantities. These charges are Noether charges associated to asymptotic\nisometries that preserve appropriate boundary conditions at the future horizon.\nFor isolated, compact horizons these charges turn out to be integrable,\nconserved and finite, and they have been studied in many examples of interest,\nnotably in 3+1 dimensions. In higher dimensions, where the variety of horizon\nstructures is more diverse, it is still possible to apply the same method,\nalthough explicit examples have so far been limited to simple topologies. In\nthis paper, we demonstrate that such computations can also be applied to\nhigher-dimensional solutions with event horizons whose spacelike cross sections\nexhibit non-trivial topology. We provide several explicit examples, with\nparticular focus on the 5-dimensional black ring.",
        "positive": "$(q,t)$-KZ equations for quantum toroidal algebra and Nekrasov partition\n  functions on ALE spaces: We describe the general strategy for lifting the Wess-Zumino-Witten model\nfrom the level of one-loop Kac-Moody $U_q(\\widehat{\\mathfrak{g}})_k$ to generic\nquantum toroidal algebras. A nearly exhaustive presentation is given for the\ntwo series $U_{q,t}(\\widehat{\\widehat{\\mathfrak{gl}}}_1)$ and\n$U_{q,t}(\\widehat{\\widehat{\\mathfrak{gl}}}_n)$, when screenings do not exist\nand thus all the correlators are purely algebraic, i.e. do not include\nadditional hypergeometric type integrations/summations. Generalizing the\nconstruction of the intertwiner (refined topological vertex) of the\nDing-Iohara-Miki (DIM) algebra, we obtain the intertwining operators of the\nFock representations of the quantum toroidal algebra of type $A_n$. The\ncorrelation functions of these operators satisfy the\n$(q,t)$-Knizhnik-Zamolodchikov (KZ) equation, which features the ${\\cal\nR}$-matrix. Matching with the Nekrasov function for the instanton counting on\nthe ALE space is worked out explicitly. We also present an important\napplication of the DIM formalism to the study of $6d$ gauge theories described\nby the double elliptic integrable systems. We show that the modular and\nperiodicity properties of the gauge theories are neatly explained by the\nnetwork matrix models providing solutions to the elliptic $(q,t)$-KZ equations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dispersive fields in de Sitter space and event horizon thermodynamics: When Lorentz invariance is violated at high energy, the laws of black hole\nthermodynamics are apparently no longer satisfied. To shed light on this\nobservation, we study dispersive fields in de Sitter space. We show that the\nBunch-Davies vacuum state restricted to the static patch is no longer thermal,\nand that the Tolman law is violated. However we also show that, for free fields\nat least, this vacuum is the only stationary stable state, as if it were in\nequilibrium. We then present a precise correspondence between dispersive\neffects found in de Sitter and in black hole metrics. This indicates that the\nconsequences of dispersion on thermodynamical laws could also be similar.",
        "positive": "Meissner Effect from Landau Problem: The Landau problem for inhomogeneous magnetic fields is examined in a very\ngeneral context and several interesting analogies with the Nielsen-Olesen\nvortices are established. Firstly we show that the Landau problem with\nnon-homogeneous magnetic fields exhibits Meissner effect that is unstable\nunless two-body interactions are added and vortices emerge. Using the scaling\nfreedom we can write the Schr\\\"odinger equation in terms of the scales ratio\n$\\kappa ={ E}/{ m }\\propto 1- T/T_c $ where the last identification is realised\nsimply by using the Gizburg-Landau theory. We find our equations are valid in\nthe superconducting regime, and it is not possible for the Cooper pairs\namplitude to reach to a constant, non-zero value, and therefore the theory is\nunstable. The supersymmetric quantum mechanics version, by completeness, is\nalso considered."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The BPS Spectra of Gauge Theories in Two and Four Dimensions: We study N=(2,2) supersymmetric abelian gauge theories in two dimensions. The\nexact BPS spectrum of these models is shown to coincide with the spectrum of\nmassive hypermultiplets of certain N=2 supersymmetric gauge theories in four\ndimensions. A special case of these results involves a surprising connection\nbetween four-dimensional N=2 SQCD with N colours and N_{f}>N flavours at the\nroot of the baryonic Higgs branch and the supersymmetric CP^{2N-N_{f}-1}\nsigma-model in two dimensions. This correspondence implies a new prediction for\nthe strong-coupling spectrum of the four-dimensional theory.",
        "positive": "Spectral stochastic processes arising in quantum mechanical models with\n  a non-L2 ground state: A functional integral representation is given for a large class of quantum\nmechanical models with a non--L2 ground state. As a prototype the particle in a\nperiodic potential is discussed: a unique ground state is shown to exist as a\nstate on the Weyl algebra, and a functional measure (spectral stochastic\nprocess) is constructed on trajectories taking values in the spectrum of the\nmaximal abelian subalgebra of the Weyl algebra isomorphic to the algebra of\nalmost periodic functions. The thermodynamical limit of the finite volume\nfunctional integrals for such models is discussed, and the superselection\nsectors associated to an observable subalgebra of the Weyl algebra are\ndescribed in terms of boundary conditions and/or topological terms in the\nfinite volume measures."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic Superconductors in Horava-Lifshitz Gravity: We consider holographic superconductors related to the Schwarzschild black\nhole in the low energy limit of Ho\\v{r}ava-Lifshitz spacetime. The\nnon-relativistic electromagnetic and scalar fields are introduced to construct\na holographic superconductor model in Ho\\v{r}ava-Lifshitz gravity and the\nresults show that the $\\alpha_2$ term plays an important role, modifying the\nconductivity curve line by means of an attenuation the conductivity.",
        "positive": "Resurrecting the Strong KSS Conjecture: Many counterexamples to the proposed KSS bound $\\frac\\eta s \\ge \\frac 1\n{4\\pi}$ depend on constructing systems with large numbers of species. As a\nresult, the entropy density grows large and $\\frac \\eta s$ can be made\narbitrarily small. However, these constructions do not affect the dimensionless\nshear viscosity $\\frac {\\eta T}{\\epsilon + P}$, which agrees with the\ntraditional $\\frac \\eta s$ only for vanishing chemical potential. This raises\nthe possibility that a KSS-like bound holds for all systems, not just\nUV-complete quantum field theories, contrary to the previous understanding."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dualities from large N orbifold equivalence in Chern-Simons-matter\n  theories with flavor: We study large N orbifold equivalences involving three-dimensional N=3 and\nN=4 supersymmetric quiver Chern-Simons-matter theories. The gravity dual of the\nN=3 Chern-Simons-matter theory is described by AdS4xM7 where the tri-Sasaki\nmanifold M7 is known as the Eschenburg space. We find evidence that a large N\norbifold equivalence for the N=4 case continues from the M-theory limit to the\nweak-coupling limit. For the N=3 case, we find consistent large N equivalences\ninvolving a projection changing the nodes of the gauge groups, and also for a\nprojection changing Chern-Simons levels where for the latter projection, the\nBPS monopole operators behave as expected in large N equivalence. For both\ncases we show, using the gravity dual, that the critical temperature of the\nconfinement/deconfinement transition does not change and the entropy behaves as\nexpected under the orbifold equivalence. We show that large N orbifold\nequivalence changing Chern-Simons levels can be explained using the planar\nequivalence in the mirror dual.",
        "positive": "Spectral Flow, and the Spectrum of Multi-Center Solutions: We discuss \"spectral flow\" coordinate transformations that take\nasymptotically four-dimensional solutions into other asymptotically\nfour-dimensional solutions. We find that spectral flow can relate smooth\nthree-charge solutions with a multi-center Taub-NUT base to solutions where one\nor several Taub-NUT centers are replaced by two-charge supertubes, and vice\nversa. We further show that multi-parameter spectral flows can map such\nTaub-NUT centers to more singular centers that are either D2-D0 or pure\nD0-brane sources. Since supertubes can depend on arbitrary functions, we\nestablish that the moduli space of smooth horizonless black hole microstate\nsolutions is classically of infinite dimension. We also use the physics of\nsupertubes to argue that some multi-center solutions that appear to be bound\nstates from a four-dimensional perspective are in fact not bound states when\nconsidered from a five- or six-dimensional perspective."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Static Axially Symmetric Solutions of Einstein-Yang-Mills-Dilaton Theory: We construct static axially symmetric solutions of SU(2)\nEinstein-Yang-Mills-dilaton theory. Like their spherically symmetric\ncounterparts, these solutions are nonsingular and asymptotically flat. The\nsolutions are characterized by the winding number n and the node number k of\nthe gauge field functions. For fixed n with increasing k the solutions tend to\n``extremal'' Einstein-Maxwell-dilaton black holes with n units of magnetic\ncharge.",
        "positive": "Daemon Decay and Inflation: Quantum tunneling in Reissner-Nordstrom geometry is studied and the tunneling\nrate is determined. A possible scenario for cosmic inflation, followed by\nreheating phases and subsequent radiation-domination expansion, is proposed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Suppressing Hawking radiation by quantum Zeno effect: We present evidence that quantum Zeno effect, otherwise working only for\nmicroscopic systems, may also work for large black holes (BH's). The\nexpectation that a BH geometry should behave classically at time intervals\nlarger than the Planck time t_Pl indicates that the quantum process of\nmeasurement of classical degrees of freedom takes time of the order of t_Pl.\nSince BH has only a few classical degrees of freedom, such a fast measurement\nmakes a macroscopic BH strongly susceptible to the quantum Zeno effect, which\nrepeatedly collapses the quantum state to the initial one, the state before the\ncreation of Hawking quanta. By this mechanism, Hawking radiation from a BH of\nmass M is strongly suppressed by a factor of the order of m_Pl/M.",
        "positive": "Thermal Bekenstein-Hawking entropy from the worldsheet: We define and compute the leading sphere diagram contribution to the entropy\nof the BTZ black hole supported by Kalb-Ramond flux in bosonic string theory.\nIn a winding condensate description, integrating exactly over the constant mode\nfor the radial direction of AdS$_3$ reduces the problem to one of the\ncorrelation functions of winding operators in the free theory. The volume of\nthe residual PSL(2,$\\mathbb{C}$) gauge group of the sphere is canceled by the\naction of conformal transformations on the winding interaction insertions. We\nformulate a precise version of the replica trick in terms of (infinitesimally)\nnon-integer winding condensates to produce the entropy of the BTZ black hole.\nThe resulting entropy can be calculated from the one-point function of a\nnon-local operator on the worldsheet."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Null-vectors in Integrable Field Theory: The form factor bootstrap approach allows to construct the space of local\nfields in the massive restricted sine-Gordon model. This space has to be\nisomorphic to that of the corresponding minimal model of conformal field\ntheory. We describe the subspaces which correspond to the Verma modules of\nprimary fields in terms of the commutative algebra of local integrals of motion\nand of a fermion (Neveu-Schwarz or Ramond depending on the particular primary\nfield). The description of null-vectors relies on the relation between form\nfactors and deformed hyper-elliptic integrals. The null-vectors correspond to\nthe deformed exact forms and to the deformed Riemann bilinear identity. In the\noperator language, the null-vectors are created by the action of two operators\n$\\CQ$ (linear in the fermion) and $\\CC$ (quadratic in the fermion). We show\nthat by factorizing out the null-vectors one gets the space of operators with\nthe correct character. In the classical limit, using the operators $\\CQ$ and\n$\\CC$ we obtain a new, very compact, description of the KdV hierarchy. We also\ndiscuss a beautiful relation with the method of Whitham.",
        "positive": "Lifshitz scalar, brick wall method, and GUP in Ho\u0159ava-Lifshitz\n  Gravity: Using the brick wall method, we study statistical entropy for spherically\nsymmetric black holes in Ho\\v{r}ava-Lifshitz gravity. In particular, a Lifshitz\nscalar field is considered in order to incorporate foliation preserving\ndiffeomorphism which eventually gives a modified dispersion relation. Finally,\nwe obtain the area law without UV cutoff for $z > 3$, and discuss some of\nconsequences in connection with the generalized uncertainty principle."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Algebras, Regions, and Observers: In ordinary quantum field theory, one can define the algebra of observables\nin a given region in spacetime, but in the presence of gravity, it is expected\nthat this notion ceases to be well-defined. A substitute that appears to make\nsense in the presence of gravity and that also is more operationally meaningful\nis to consider the algebra of observables along the timelike worldline of an\nobserver. It is known that such an algebra can be defined in quantum field\ntheory, and the timelike tube theorem of quantum field theory suggests that\nsuch an algebra is a good substitute for what in the absence of gravity is the\nalgebra of a region. The static patch in de Sitter space is a concrete example\nin which it is useful to think in these terms and to explicitly incorporate an\nobserver in the description.",
        "positive": "Towards hydrodynamics without an entropy current: We present a generating functional which describes the equilibrium\nthermodynamic response of a relativistic system to external sources. A\nvariational principle gives rise to constraints on the response parameters of\nrelativistic hydrodynamics without making use of an entropy current. Our method\nreproduces and extends results available in the literature. It also provides a\ntechnique for efficiently computing n-point zero-frequency hydrodynamic\ncorrelation functions without the need to solve the equations of hydrodynamics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Moving NS Punctures on Super Spheres: One of the subtleties that has made superstring perturbation theory intricate\nat high string loop order is the fact that, as shown by Donagi and Witten,\nsupermoduli space is not holomorphically projected, nor is it holomorphically\nsplit. In recent years, Sen introduced the notion of vertical integration in\nmoduli space (further refined by Sen and Witten). This enables one to use the\ntraditional (only locally-defined) gauge fixing for the worldsheet gravitino in\nlocal patches, allowing one to formulate the theory on the moduli space of\nordinary Riemann surfaces, and then prescribes certain correction terms to\naccount for the incorrect gauge fixing to restore BRST invariance. This\napproach makes use of the fact that there is no obstruction to a smooth\nsplitting of supermoduli space. It may, however, not necessarily be the most\nconvenient or natural solution to the problem. There may be situations where\none would like to have a well-defined path integral at arbitrary string loop\norder from the outset. In this paper I initiate an alternative approach that\nimplements the fact that a smooth gauge slice for supermoduli space always\nexists. As a warmup, I focus specifically on super Riemann surfaces with the\ntopology of a 2-sphere in heterotic string theory, incorporating the\ncorresponding super curvature locally, and introduce a new well-defined smooth\ngauge fixing that leads to a globally defined path integral measure that\ntranslates fixed ($-1$) picture vertex operators (or handle operators) (that\nmay or may not be offshell) to integrated (0) picture. I also provide some\ncomments on the extension to arbitrary super Riemann surfaces.",
        "positive": "Crossing Symmetric Dispersion Relations without Spurious Singularities: Recently, there has been renewed interest in a crossing-symmetric dispersion\nrelation from the 1970s due to its implications for both regular quantum field\ntheory and conformal field theory. However, this dispersion relation introduces\nnonlocal spurious singularities and requires additional locality constraints\nfor their removal, a process that presents considerable technical challenges.\nIn this Letter, we address this issue by deriving a new crossing-symmetric\ndispersion relation that is free of spurious singularities, resulting in a\ncompact form of the contact terms in crossing-symmetric blocks. Our results\nestablish a solid foundation for the Polyakov bootstrap in conformal field\ntheories and the crossing-symmetry S-matrix bootstrap in quantum field\ntheories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Elliptic modular graph forms I: Identities and generating series: Elliptic modular graph functions and forms (eMGFs) are defined for arbitrary\ngraphs as natural generalizations of modular graph functions and forms obtained\nby including the character of an Abelian group in their Kronecker--Eisenstein\nseries. The simplest examples of eMGFs are given by the Green function for a\nmassless scalar field on the torus and the Zagier single-valued elliptic\npolylogarithms. More complicated eMGFs are produced by the non-separating\ndegeneration of a higher genus surface to a genus one surface with punctures.\neMGFs may equivalently be represented by multiple integrals over the torus of\ncombinations of coefficients of the Kronecker--Eisenstein series, and may be\nassembled into generating series. These relations are exploited to derive\nholomorphic subgraph reduction formulas, as well as algebraic and differential\nidentities between eMGFs and their generating series.",
        "positive": "Applications of the Gauge Principle to Gravitational Interactions: The idea of applying the gauge principle to formulate the general theory of\nrelativity started with Utiyama in 1956. I review various applications of the\ngauge principle applied to different aspects of the gravitational interactions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Functional renormalization group and 2PI effective action formalism: We combine two non-perturbative approaches, one based on the\ntwo-particle-irreducible (2PI) action, the other on the functional\nrenormalization group (fRG), in an effort to develop new non-perturbative\napproximations for the field theoretical description of strongly coupled\nsystems. In particular, we exploit the exact 2PI relations between the\ntwo-point and four-point functions in order to truncate the infinite hierarchy\nof equations of the functional renormalization group. The truncation is \"exact\"\nin two ways. First, the solution of the resulting flow equation is independent\nof the choice of the regulator. Second, this solution coincides with that of\nthe 2PI equations for the two-point and the four-point functions, for any\nselection of two-skeleton diagrams characterizing a so-called $\\Phi$-derivable\napproximation. The transformation of the equations of the 2PI formalism into\nflow equations offers new ways to solve these equations in practice, and\nprovides new insight on certain aspects of their renormalization. It also opens\nthe possibility to develop approximation schemes going beyond the strict\n$\\Phi$-derivable ones, as well as new truncation schemes for the fRG hierarchy.",
        "positive": "Nonrelativistic limit of the bosonic string: We propose the action for the nonrelativistic string invariant under general\ncoordinate transformations on the string worldsheet. The Hamiltonian\nformulation for the nonrelativistic string is given. Particular solutions of\nthe Euler-Lagrange equations are found in the time gauge."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Towards holographic flat bands: Motivated by the phenomenology in the condensed-matter flat-band Dirac\nsystems, we here construct a holographic model that imprints the symmetry\nbreaking pattern of a rather simple Dirac fermion model at zero chemical\npotential.In the bulk we explicitly include the backreaction to the\ncorresponding Lifshitz geometry and compute the dynamical critical exponent.\nMost importantly, we find that such a geometry is unstable towards a nematic\nphase, exhibiting an anomalous Hall effect and featuring a Drude-like shift of\nits spectral weight. Our findings should motivate further studies of the\nquantum phases emerging from such holographic models.",
        "positive": "Comments on magnetic black holes: We discuss aspects of magnetically charged black holes in the Standard Model.\nFor a range of charges, we argue that the electroweak symmetry is restored in\nthe near horizon region. The extent of this phase can be macroscopic. If $Q$ is\nthe integer magnetic charge, the fermions lead to order $Q$ massless two\ndimensional fermions moving along the magnetic field lines. These greatly\nenhance Hawking radiation effects."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Elliptic Genera of N=2 Hermitian Symmetric Space Models: Expressions are given for the elliptic genera of the Kazama-Suzuki models\nassociated with hermitian symmetric spaces when the problems of field\nidentifications are absent. We use the models' known Coulomb gas descriptions.",
        "positive": "Phase structures in fuzzy geometries: We study phase structures of quantum field theories in fuzzy geometries.\nSeveral examples of fuzzy geometries as well as QFT's on such geometries are\nconsidered. They are fuzzy spheres and beyond as well as noncommutative\ndeformations of BTZ blackholes. Analysis is done analytically and through\nsimulations. Several features like novel stripe phases as well as spontaneous\nsymmetry breaking avoiding Colemen, Mermin, Wagner theorem are brought out.\nAlso we establish that these phases are stable due to topological obstructions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Riemannian Geometry of Noncommutative Surfaces: A Riemannian geometry of noncommutative n-dimensional surfaces is developed\nas a first step towards the construction of a consistent noncommutative\ngravitational theory. Historically, as well, Riemannian geometry was recognized\nto be the underlying structure of Einstein's theory of general relativity and\nled to further developments of the latter. The notions of metric and\nconnections on such noncommutative surfaces are introduced and it is shown that\nthe connections are metric-compatible, giving rise to the corresponding Riemann\ncurvature. The latter also satisfies the noncommutative analogue of the first\nand second Bianchi identities. As examples, noncommutative analogues of the\nsphere, torus and hyperboloid are studied in detail. The problem of covariance\nunder appropriately defined general coordinate transformations is also\ndiscussed and commented on as compared with other treatments.",
        "positive": "Constraints from Conformal Symmetry on the Three Point Scalar Correlator\n  in Inflation: Using symmetry considerations, we derive Ward identities which relate the\nthree point function of scalar perturbations produced during inflation to the\nscalar four point function, in a particular limit. The derivation assumes\napproximate conformal invariance, and the conditions for the slow roll\napproximation, but is otherwise model independent. The Ward identities allow us\nto deduce that the three point function must be suppressed in general, being of\nthe same order of magnitude as in the slow roll model. They also fix the three\npoint function in terms of the four point function, upto one constant which we\nargue is generically suppressed. Our approach is based on analyzing the wave\nfunction of the universe, and the Ward identities arise by imposing the\nrequirements of spatial and time reparametrization invariance on it."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Path Integral Quantization of the First Order Einstein-Hilbert Action\n  from its Canonical Structure: We consider the form of the path integral that follows from canonical\nquantization and apply it to the first order form of the Einstein-Hilbert\naction in $d > 2$ dimensions. We show that this is inequivalent to what is\nobtained from applying the Faddeev-Popov (FP) procedure directly. Due to the\npresence of tertiary first class constraints, the measure of the path integral\nis found to have a substantially different structure from what arises in the FP\napproach. In addition, the presence of second class constraints leads to\nnon-trivial ghosts, which cannot be absorbed into the normalization of the path\nintegral. The measure of the path integral lacks manifest covariance.",
        "positive": "Landau Free Energy and Analytic Tricritical Point in Holographic\n  Superfluid: We investigate the analytical method in studying the holographic superfluid\nmodel which is described by Maxwell field minimally coupling to a charged\nscalar field in a fixed AdS black hole background. We propose a method that\nenables us to find exact value of coefficient in the solution and thus obtain\nhigher-order expansion of the associated Landau free energy of the holographic\nsuperfluid with flow. We determine the critical value of superfluid velocity at\nthe tricritical point of holographic superfluid and compare it with the\nnumerical value."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Three-point functions in the SU(2) sector at strong coupling: Extending the methods developed in our previous works (arXiv:1110.3949,\narXiv:1205.6060), we compute the three-point functions at strong coupling of\nthe non-BPS states with large quantum numbers corresponding to the composite\noperators belonging to the so-called SU(2) sector in the $\\mathcal{N}=4$\nsuper-Yang-Mills theory in four dimensions. This is achieved by the\nsemi-classical evaluation of the three-point functions in the dual string\ntheory in the $AdS_3 \\times S^3$ spacetime, using the general one-cut finite\ngap solutions as the external states. In spite of the complexity of the\ncontributions from various parts in the intermediate stages, the final answer\nfor the three-point function takes a remarkably simple form, exhibiting the\nstructure reminiscent of the one obtained at weak coupling. In particular, in\nthe Frolov-Tseytlin limit the result is expressed in terms of markedly similar\nintegrals, however with different contours of integration. We discuss a natural\nmechanism for introducing additional singularities on the worldsheet without\naffecting the infinite number of conserved charges, which can modify the\ncontours of integration.",
        "positive": "Thermodynamic Bethe Ansatz for the subleading magnetic perturbation of\n  the tricritical Ising model: We give further support to Smirnov's conjecture on the exact kink S-matrix\nfor the massive Quantum Field Theory describing the integrable perturbation of\nthe c=0.7 minimal Conformal Field theory (known to describe the tri-critical\nIsing model) by the operator $\\phi_{2,1}$. This operator has conformal\ndimensions $(7/16,7/16)$ and is identified with the subleading magnetic\noperator of the tri-critical Ising model. In this paper we apply the\nThermodynamic Bethe Ansatz (TBA) approach to the kink scattering theory by\nexplicitly utilising its relationship with the solvable lattice hard hexagon\nmodel. Analytically examining the ultraviolet scaling limit we recover the\nexpected central charge c=0.7 of the tri-critical Ising model. We also compare\nnumerical values for the ground state energy of the finite size system obtained\nfrom the TBA equations with the results obtained by the Truncated Conformal\nSpace Approach and Conformal Perturbation Theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Cosmological Constant Seesaw in Quantum Cosmology: Recently a phenomenological relationship for the observed cosmological\nconstant has been discussed by Motl and Carroll in the context of treating the\ncosmological constant as a $2\\times 2$ matrix but no specific realization of\nthe idea was provided. We realize a cosmological constant seesaw mechanism in\nthe context of quantum cosmology. The main observation used is that a positive\ncosmological constant plays the role of a $Mass^2$ term in the Wheeler DeWitt\n(WDW) equation. Modifying the WDW equation to include a coupling between two\nuniverses, one of which has planck scale vacuum energy and another which has\nvacuum energy at the supersymmetry breaking scale before mixing, we obtain the\nrelation $\\lambda = (10TeV)^8/M_{Pl}^4$ in a similar manner to the usual seesaw\nmechanism. We discuss how the picture fits in with our current understanding of\nstring/M-theory cosmologies. In particular we discuss how these results might\nbe extended in the context of exact wave functions of the universe derived from\ncertain string models.",
        "positive": "String Cosmology: `Old' String Theory is a theory of one-dimensional extended objects, whose\nvibrations correspond to excitations of various target-space field modes\nincluding gravity. In these lectures I will give an introduction to low-energy\nEffective Target-Space Actions derived from conformal invariance conditions of\nthe underlying sigma models in string theory, discuss cosmology, emphasizing\nthe role of the dilaton field in inducing inflationary scenaria and in general\nexpanding string universes. Specifically, I shall analyse some exact solutions\nof string theory with a linear dilaton, and discuss their role in inducing\nexpanding Robertson-Walker Universes. I will mention briefly pre-Big-Bang\nscenaria of String Cosmology, in which the dilaton plays a crucial role. In\nview of recent claims on experimental evidence on the existence of cosmic\nacceleration in the universe today, with a positive non-zero cosmological\nconstant (de Sitter type), I shall also discuss difficulties of incorporating\nsuch Universes with eternal acceleration in the context of critical string\ntheory, and present scenaria for a graceful exit from such a phase."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Oscillating Strings and Non-Abelian T-dual Klebanov-Witten Background: We study oscillating string solutions in the Klebanov-Witten and its\nnon-Abelian T-dual background dualised along an SU(2) isometry. We find the\nstring energy as the function of oscillation number and angular momentum. We\nshow that for a particular set of T-dual co-ordinates both the background have\nequal string states. We also study the string states where the strings are\nexpanding and contracting in the T-dual co-ordinate direction. We expect the\npresence of the superconformal field theory dual operators whose anomalous\ndimensions depend on T-dual co-ordinate.",
        "positive": "de Sitter versus Anti de Sitter flows and the (super)gravity landscape: Generic solutions are studied in Einstein-scalar gravity in an ansatz that\ncan interpolate between de Sitter and Anti-de Sitter regimes. The\nclassification of regular solutions of \\cite{exotic} is first extended to the\ndS regime. This implies, among others, the existence of cosmic clocks that\nreverse direction without passing through a curvature singularity. We then\nconsider an ansatz for solutions that interpolate between the dS and AdS\nregimes. The structure of such more general solutions and their singularities\nare studied. It is shown that there are no regular solutions that interpolate\nbetween dS and AdS extrema for generic potentials. This is unlike the Centaur\nsolutions that were shown to exist in two bulk dimensions. We also comment on\nthe potential interplay with recent dS conjectures and the dS BF bounds."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Center Vortices and Ghosts: Assuming that center vortices are the confining gauge field configurations,\nwe argue that in gauges that are sensitive to the confining center vortex\ndegrees of freedom, and where the latter lie on the Gribov horizon, the\ncorresponding ghost form factor is infrared divergent. Furthermore, this\ninfrared divergence disappears when center vortices are removed from the\nYang-Mills ensemble. On the other hand, for gauge conditions which are\ninsensitive to center vortex degrees of freedom, the ghost form factor is\ninfrared finite and does not change (qualitatively) when center vortices are\nremoved. Evidence for our observation is provided from lattice calculations.",
        "positive": "Counting BPS Operators in the Chiral Ring of N=2 Supersymmetric Gauge\n  Theories or N=2 Braine Surgery: This note is presenting the generating functions which count the BPS\noperators in the chiral ring of a N=2 quiver gauge theory that lives on N D3\nbranes probing an ALE singularity. The difficulty in this computation arises\nfrom the fact that this quiver gauge theory has a moduli space of vacua that\nsplits into many branches -- the Higgs, the Coulomb and mixed branches. As a\nresult there can be operators which explore those different branches and the\ncounting gets complicated by having to deal with such operators while avoiding\nover or under counting. The solution to this problem turns out to be very\nelegant and is presented in this note. Some surprises with \"surgery\" of\ngenerating functions arises."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Branch Point Twist Field Correlators in the Massive Free Boson Theory: Well-known measures of entanglement in one-dimensional many body quantum\nsystems, such as the entanglement entropy and the logarithmic negativity, may\nbe expressed in terms of the correlation functions of local fields known as\nbranch point twist fields in a replica quantum field theory. In this \"replica\"\napproach the computation of measures of entanglement generally involves a\nmathematically non-trivial analytic continuation in the number of replicas. In\nthis paper we consider two-point functions of twist fields and their analytic\ncontinuation in the 1+1 dimensional massive (non-compactified) free Boson\ntheory. This is one of the few theories for which all matrix elements of twist\nfields are known so that we may hope to compute correlation functions very\nprecisely. We study two particular two-point functions which are related to the\nlogarithmic negativity of semi-infinite disjoint intervals and to the\nentanglement entropy of one interval. We show that our prescription for the\nanalytic continuation yields results which are in full agreement with conformal\nfield theory predictions in the short-distance limit. We provide numerical\nestimates of universal quantities and their ratios, both in the massless (twist\nfield structure constants) and the massive (expectation values of twist fields)\ntheory. We find that particular ratios are given by divergent form factor\nexpansions. We propose such divergences stem from the presence of logarithmic\nfactors in addition to the expected power-law behaviour of two-point functions\nat short-distances. Surprisingly, at criticality these corrections give rise to\na log(logL) correction to the entanglement entropy of one interval of length L.\nThis hitherto overlooked result is in agreement with results by Calabrese,\nCardy and Tonni and has been independently derived by Blondeau-Fournier and\nDoyon (in preparation).",
        "positive": "Restricted Weyl Symmetry and Spontaneous Symmetry Breakdown of Conformal\n  Symmetry: We elucidate the relation between the restricted Weyl symmetry and\nspontaneous symmetry breakdown of conformal symmetry. Using a scalar-tensor\ngravity, we show that the restricted Weyl symmetry leads to spontaneous\nsymmetry breakdown of a global scale symmetry when the vacuum expectation value\nof a scalar field takes a non-zero value. It is then shown that this\nspontaneous symmetry breakdown induces spontaneous symmetry breakdown of\nspecial conformal symmetry in a flat Minkowski space-time, but the resultant\nNambu-Goldstone boson is not an independent physical mode but expressed in\nterms of the derivative of the dilaton which is the Nambu-Goldstone boson of\nthe global scale symmetry. In other words, the theories which are invariant\nunder the general coordinate transformation and the restricted Weyl\ntransformation exhibit a Nambu-Goldstone phase where both special conformal\ntransformation and dilatation are spontaneously broken while preserving the\nPoincar\\'{e} symmetry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exceptional field theories, superparticles in an enlarged 11D superspace\n  and higher spin theories: Recently proposed exceptional field theories (EFTs) making manifest the\nduality $E_{n(n)}$ symmetry, first observed as nonlinearly realized symmetries\nof the maximal $d=3,4,...,9$ supergravity ($n=11-d$) and containing 11D and\ntype IIB supergravity as sectors, were formulated in enlarged spacetimes. In\nthe case of $E_{7(7)}$ EFT such an enlarged spacetime can be identified with\nthe bosonic body of the $d=4$ central charge superspace $\\Sigma^{(60|32)}$, the\n${\\cal N}=8$ $d=4$ superspace completed by 56 additional bosonic coordinates\nassociated to central charges of the maximal $d=4$ supersymmetry algebra.\n  In this paper we show how the hypothesis on the relation of all the known\n$E_{n(n)}$ EFTs, including $n=8$, with supersymmetry leads to the conjecture on\nexistence of 11D exceptional field theory living in 11D tensorial central\ncharge superspace $\\Sigma^{(528|32)}$ and underlying all the $E_{n(n)}$ EFTs\nwith $n=2,...,8$, and probably the double field theory (DFT). We conjecture the\npossible form of the section conditions of such an 11D EFT and show that quite\ngeneric solutions of these can be generated by superparticle models the ground\nstates of which preserve from one half to all but one supersymmetry. The\nproperties of these superparticle models are briefly discussed. We argue that,\nupon quantization, their quantum states should describe free massless\nnon-conformal higher spin fields in D=11.\n  We also discuss some relevant representations of the M-theory superalgebra\nwhich, in the present context, describes supersymmetry of the 11D EFT.",
        "positive": "Novel Features of the Transport Coefficients in Lifshitz Black Branes: We study the transport coefficients, including the conductivities and shear\nviscosity of the non-relativistic field theory dual to the Lifshitz black brane\nwith multiple U(1) gauge fields by virtue of the gauge/gravity duality.\nFocusing on the case of double U(1) gauge fields, we systematically investigate\nthe electric, thermal and thermoelectric conductivities for the dual\nnon-relativistic field theory. In the large frequency regime, we find a\nnontrivial power law behavior in the electric AC conductivity when the\ndynamical critical exponent z>1 in (2+1)-dimensional field theory. The\nrelations between this novel feature and the `symmetric hopping model' in\ncondensed matter physics are discussed. In addition, we also show that the\nKovtun-Starinets-Son bound for the shear viscosity to the entropy density is\nnot violated by the additional U(1) gauge fields and dilaton in the Lifshitz\nblack brane."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Trace dynamics and division algebras: towards quantum gravity and\n  unification: We have recently proposed a Lagrangian in trace dynamics at the Planck scale,\nfor unification of gravitation, Yang-Mills fields, and fermions. Dynamical\nvariables are described by odd-grade (fermionic) and even-grade (bosonic)\nGrassmann matrices. Evolution takes place in Connes time. At energies much\nlower than Planck scale, trace dynamics reduces to quantum field theory. In the\npresent paper we explain that the correct understanding of spin requires us to\nformulate the theory in 8-D octonionic space. The automorphisms of the octonion\nalgebra, which belong to the smallest exceptional Lie group $G_2$, replace\nspace-time diffeomorphisms and internal gauge transformations, bringing them\nunder a common unified fold. Building on earlier work by other researchers on\ndivision algebras, we propose the Lorentz-weak unification at the Planck scale,\nthe symmetry group being the stabiliser group of the quaternions inside the\noctonions. This is one of the two maximal subgroups of $G_2$, the other one\nbeing $SU(3)$, the element preserver group of octonions. This latter group,\ncoupled with $U(1)_{em}$, describes the electro-colour symmetry, as shown\nearlier by Furey. We predict a new massless spin one boson [the Lorentz boson]\nwhich should be looked for in experiments. Our Lagrangian correctly describes\nthree fermion generations, through three copies of the group $G_2$, embedded in\nthe exceptional Lie group $F_4$. This is the unification group for the four\nfundamental interactions, and it also happens to be the automorphism group of\nthe exceptional Jordan algebra. Gravitation is shown to be an emergent\nclassical phenomenon. Whereas at the Planck scale, there is present a quantised\nversion of the Lorentz symmetry, mediated by the Lorentz boson. We argue that\nat sub-Planck scales, the self-adjoint part of the octonionic trace dynamics\nbears a relationship with string theory in eleven dimensions.",
        "positive": "Complexity of Mixed States in QFT and Holography: We study the complexity of Gaussian mixed states in a free scalar field\ntheory using the 'purification complexity'. The latter is defined as the lowest\nvalue of the circuit complexity, optimized over all possible purifications of a\ngiven mixed state. We argue that the optimal purifications only contain the\nessential number of ancillary degrees of freedom necessary in order to purify\nthe mixed state. We also introduce the concept of 'mode-by-mode purifications'\nwhere each mode in the mixed state is purified separately and examine the\nextent to which such purifications are optimal. We explore the purification\ncomplexity for thermal states of a free scalar QFT in any number of dimensions,\nand for subregions of the vacuum state in two dimensions. We compare our\nresults to those found using the various holographic proposals for the\ncomplexity of subregions. We find a number of qualitative similarities between\nthe two in terms of the structure of divergences and the presence of a volume\nlaw. We also examine the 'mutual complexity' in the various cases studied in\nthis paper."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gravitational Bremsstrahlung with tidal effects in the post-Minkowskian\n  expansion: We compute the mass and current quadrupole tidal corrections to the\nfour-momentum and energy flux radiated during the scattering of two spinless\nbodies, at leading order in $G$ and at all orders in the velocities, using the\neffective field theory worldline approach. In particular, we derive the\nconserved stress-energy tensor linearly coupled to gravity generated by the two\nbodies, including tidal fields, and the waveform in direct space. The integral\nis solved using scattering amplitude techniques. We show that our expressions\nare consistent with existing results up to the next-to-next-to-leading order in\nthe post-Newtonian expansion.",
        "positive": "Gravitational collapse in SYK models and Choptuik-like phenomenon: SYK model is a quantum mechanical model of fermions which is solvable at\nstrong coupling and plays an important role as perhaps the simplest holographic\nmodel of quantum gravity and black holes. The present work considers a deformed\nSYK model and a sudden quantum quench in the deformation parameter. The system,\nas in the undeformed case, permits a low energy description in terms of pseudo\nNambu Goldstone modes. The bulk dual of such a system represents a\ngravitational collapse, which is characterized by a bulk matter stress tensor\nwhose value near the boundary shows a sudden jump at the time of the quench.\nThe resulting gravitational collapse forms a black hole only if the deformation\nparameter $\\Delta\\epsilon$ exceeds a certain critical value $\\Delta\\epsilon_c$\nand forms a horizonless geometry otherwise. In case a black hole does form, the\nresulting Hawking temperature is given by a fractional power $T_{bh} \\propto\n(\\Delta\\epsilon - \\Delta\\epsilon_c)^{1/2}$, which is reminiscent of the\n`Choptuik phenomenon' of critical gravitational collapse."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Four-Dimensional Random Surfaces and One-Dimensional String Theory: We consider a new action of a two-dimensional field theory interacting with\ngravitational field. The action is interpreted as the area of a surface\nimbedded into four-dimensional Mincowski target space. In addition to\nreparametrization invariance the new action has one extra infinite-dimensional\nlocal symmetry with a clear geometrical meaning. The special gauge choice,\nwhich includes the gauge condition of tracelessness of the energy-momentum\ntensor, leads to an effective free scalar field theory. The problem of\nanomalies in quantum theory and possible connection with matrix quantum\nmechanics are also discussed.",
        "positive": "Strong restriction on inflationary vacua from the local gauge invariance\n  III: Infrared regularity of graviton loops: It has been claimed that the super Hubble modes of the graviton generated\nduring inflation can make loop corrections diverge. Even if we introduce an\ninfrared (IR) cutoff at a comoving scale as an ad hoc but a practical way for\nthe regularization, we encounter the secular growth, which may lead to the\nbreakdown of perturbative expansion for a sufficiently long lasting inflation.\nIn this paper, we show that the IR pathology concerning the graviton can be\nattributed to the presence of residual gauge degrees of freedom in the local\nobservable universe as in the case of the adiabatic curvature perturbation. We\nwill show that choosing the Euclidean vacuum as the initial state ensures the\ninvariance under the above-mentioned residual gauge transformations. We will\nalso show that as long as we consider a gauge invariant quantity in the local\nuniverse, we encounter neither the IR divergence nor the secular growth. The\nargument in this paper applies to general single field models of inflation up\nto a sufficiently high order in perturbation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Skyrmions, instantons, mass and curvature: We show that Skyrmions with massless pions in hyperbolic space provide a good\napproximation to Skyrmions with massive pions in Euclidean space, for a\nparticular relationship between the pion mass and the curvature of hyperbolic\nspace. Using this result we describe how a Skyrmion with massive pions in\nEuclidean space can be approximated by the holonomy along circles of a\nYang-Mills instanton. This is a generalization of the approximation of\nSkyrmions by the holonomy along lines of an instanton, which is only applicable\nto massless pions.",
        "positive": "Some Concepts of Modern Algebraic Geometry: Point, Ideal and\n  Homomorphism: Starting from classical algebraic geometry over the complex numbers (as it\ncan be found for example in Griffiths and Harris it was the goal of these\nlectures to introduce some concepts of the modern point of view in algebraic\ngeometry. Of course, it was quite impossible even to give an introduction to\nthe whole subject in such a limited time. For this reason the lectures and now\nthe write-up concentrate on the substitution of the concept of classical points\nby the notion of ideals and homomorphisms of algebras."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Thermal Equilibrium from the Hu-Paz-Zhang Master Equation: The exact master equation for a harmonic oscillator coupled to a heat bath,\nderived recently by Hu, Paz and Zhang, is simplified by taking the\nweak-coupling, late-time limit. The unique time-independent solution to this\nsimplified master equation is the canonical ensemble at the temperature of the\nbath. The frequency of the oscillator is effectively lowered by the interaction\nwith the bath.",
        "positive": "On the Structure Constants of Volume Preserving Diffeomorphism Algebra: Regularizing volume preserving diffeomorphism (VPD) is equivalent to a long\nstanding problem, namely regularizing Nambu-Poisson bracket. In this paper, as\na first step to regularizing VPD, we find general complete independent basis of\nVPD algebra. Especially, we find complete independent basis that give simple\nstructure constants, where three area preserving diffeomorphism (APD) algebras\nare manifest. This implies that an algebra that regularizes VPD algebra should\ninclude three u(N) Lie algebras."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "BLG theories at low values of Chern-Simons coupling: It was checked in paper [1] by comparing the moduli spaces and superconformal\nindices that two of the BLG theories $(SU(2)_{1}\\times SU(2)_{-1})/{\\mathbb\nZ}_2$ and $SU(2)_2\\times SU(2)_{-2}$ are dual to $U(2)_1\\times U(2)_{-1}$ and\n$U(2)_{2}\\times U(2)_{-2}$ ABJM theories, correspondingly. In this paper we\nconsider the BLG theories $SU(2)_1\\times SU(2)_{-1}$ and $(SU(2)_2\\times\nSU(2)_{-2})/{\\mathbb Z}_2$. These theories were noted in [1] to be a tensor\nproduct of two interacting ${\\mathcal N}=8$ SCFT's. In this paper we identify\nthe SCFT's that occur in the product. For both theories one of the sectors is\nthe IR limit of ${\\mathcal N}=8$ SU(2) SYM.",
        "positive": "Bound state transformation walls: In four dimensional N=2 supergravity theories, BPS bound states near marginal\nstability are described by configurations of widely separated constituents with\nnearly parallel central charges. When the vacuum moduli can be dialed\nadiabatically until the central charges become anti -parallel, a paradox\narises. We show that this paradox is always resolved by the existence of \"bound\nstate transformation walls\" across which the nature of the bound state changes,\nalthough the index does not jump. We find that there are two distinct phenomena\nthat can take place on these walls, which we call recombination and\nconjugation. The latter is associated to the presence of singularities at\nfinite distance in moduli space. Consistency of conjugation and wall-crossing\nrules near these singularities leads to new constraints on the BPS spectrum.\nSingular loci supporting massless vector bosons are particularly subtle in this\nrespect. We argue that the spectrum at such loci necessarily contains massless\nmagnetic monopoles, and that bound states around them transform by intricate\nhybrids of conjugation and recombination."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Detailed balance in Horava-Lifshitz gravity: We study Horava-Lifshitz gravity in the presence of a scalar field. When the\ndetailed balance condition is implemented, a new term in the gravitational\nsector is added in order to maintain ultraviolet stability. The\nfour-dimensional theory is of a scalar-tensor type with a positive cosmological\nconstant and gravity is nonminimally coupled with the scalar and its gradient\nterms. The scalar field has a double-well potential and, if required to play\nthe role of the inflation, can produce a scale-invariant spectrum. The total\naction is rather complicated and there is no analog of the Einstein frame where\nLorentz invariance is recovered in the infrared. For these reasons it may be\nnecessary to abandon detailed balance. We comment on open problems and future\ndirections in anisotropic critical models of gravity.",
        "positive": "Fate of domain walls in 5D gravitational theory with compact extra\n  dimension: We pursue the time evolution of the domain walls in 5D gravitational theory\nwith a compact extra dimension by numerical calculation. In order to avoid a\nkink-antikink pair that decays into the vacuum, we introduce a topological\nwinding in the field space. In contrast to the case of non-gravitational\ntheories, there is no static domain-wall solution in the setup. In the case\nthat the minimal value of the potential is non-negative, we find that both the\n3D space and the extra dimension will expand at late times if the initial value\nof the Hubble parameter is chosen as positive. The wall width almost remains\nconstant during the evolution. In other cases, the extra dimension diverges and\nthe 3D space shrinks to zero at a finite time."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Extremal Black Hole Horizons: Using the blackfold effective theory applied to extremal Kerr branes we\nprovide evidence for the existence of new stationary extremal black hole\nsolutions in asymptotically flat spacetime with both single and multiple\ndisconnected horizons. These include extremal doubly-spinning black rings,\nblack saturns, di-rings and bi-rings in five spacetime dimensions as well as\nextremal Myers-Perry black holes and black saturns in dimensions greater than\nfive. Some of these constructions constitute the first examples of black hole\nsolutions with extremal disconnected horizons in vacuum Einstein gravity.",
        "positive": "On the running of the gravitational constant: We show that there is no useful and universal definition of a running\ngravitational constant, G(E), in the perturbative regime below the Planck\nscale. By consideration of the loop corrections to several physical processes,\nwe show that the quantum corrections vary greatly, in both magnitude and sign,\nand do not exhibit the required properties of a running coupling constant. We\ncomment on the potential challenges of these results for the Asymptotic Safety\nprogram."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Dynamics on the Worldvolume from Classical su(n) Cohomology: A key symmetry of classical $p$-branes is invariance under worldvolume\ndiffeomorphisms. Under the assumption that the worldvolume, at fixed values of\nthe time, is a compact, quantisable K\\\"ahler manifold, we prove that the Lie\nalgebra of volume-preserving diffeomorphisms of the worldvolume can be\napproximated by $su(n)$, for $n\\to\\infty$. We also prove, under the same\nassumptions regarding the worldvolume at fixed time, that classical Nambu\nbrackets on the worldvolume are quantised by the multibrackets corresponding to\ncocycles in the cohomology of the Lie algebra $su(n)$.",
        "positive": "Towards a 3D reduction of the N-body Bethe-Salpeter equation: Starting with the homogeneous Bethe-Salpeter equation for two fermions, we\nperform a 3D reduction using a series expansion around an unspecified\npositive-energy instantaneous approximation of the kernel. A second series\nexpansion is made, at the 3D level, in order to get an \"hermitian\" potential.\nThe combination of both series gives a very simple result, which does not\ndepend of the initial approximation of the kernel anymore, and could be\nobtained directly by starting with an approximation of the free propagator. The\ngeneralisation of this result to a system of f (=0,...N) fermions and N-f\nbosons is easy."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Triangular invariants, three-point functions and particle stability on\n  the de Sitter universe: We study a class of three-point functions on the de Sitter universe and on\nthe asymptotic cone. A blending of geometrical ideas and analytic methods is\nused to compute some remarkable integrals, on the basis of a generalized\nstar-triangle identity living on the cone and on the complex de Sitter\nmanifold. We discuss an application of the general results to the study of the\nstability of scalar particles on the Sitter universe.",
        "positive": "Twisted reduction of quiver W-algebras: We consider the $k$-twisted Nekrasov-Shatashvili limit (NS$_k$ limit) of 5d\n(K-theoretic) and 6d (elliptic) quiver gauge theory, where one of the\nmultiplicative equivariant parameters is taken to be the $k$-th root of unity.\nWe obtain the extended center of the associated $q$-deformed quiver W-algebras\nconstructed by our formalism [arXiv:1512.08533; arXiv:1608.04651;\narXiv:1705.04410], which provides gauge theoretic proof of Bouwknegt-Pilch's\nstatement on the relation to the representation ring of quantum affine algebra."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Diagonal multi-matrix correlators and BPS operators in N=4 SYM: We present a complete basis of multi-trace multi-matrix operators that has a\ndiagonal two point function for the free matrix field theory at finite N. This\ngeneralises to multiple matrices the single matrix diagonalisation by Schur\npolynomials. Crucially, it involves intertwining the gauge group U(N) and the\nglobal symmetry group U(M) with Clebsch-Gordan coefficients of symmetric groups\nS_n. When applied to N=4 super Yang-Mills we consider the U(3) subgroup of the\nfull symmetry group. The diagonalisation allows the description of a dual basis\nto multi-traces, which permits the characterisation of the metric on operators\ntransforming in short representations at weak coupling. This gives a framework\nfor the comparison of quarter and eighth-BPS giant gravitons of AdS_5 x S^5\nspacetime to gauge invariant operators of the dual N=4 SYM.",
        "positive": "A Concise Review on M5-brane in Large C-Field Background: We give a concise review of recent developments of the M5-brane theory\nderived from the Bagger-Lambert model. It is a 6 dimensional supersymmetric\nself-dual gauge theory describing an M5-brane in a large constant $C$-field\nbackground. The non-Abelian gauge symmetry corresponds to diffeomorphisms\npreserving an exact 3-form on the worldvolume, which defines a Nambu-Poisson\nbracket. Various interesting geometric and algebraic properties of the theory\nare discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Shear viscosity of the $\u03a6^4$ theory from classical simulation: Shear viscosity of the classical $\\Phi^4$ theory is measured using classical\nmicrocanonical simulation. To calculate the Kubo formula, we measure the\nenergy-momentum tensor correlation function, and apply the Green-Kubo relation.\nBeing a classical theory, the results depend on the cutoff which should be\nchosen in the range of the temperature. Comparison with experimentally\naccessible systems is also performed.",
        "positive": "The Averaged Null Energy Condition and the Black Hole Interior in String\n  Theory: Recently it was shown that folded strings are spontaneously created behind\nthe horizon of the $SL(2,\\mathbb{R})_k/U(1)$ black hole. Here we show that\nthese folded strings violate the averaged null energy condition {\\it\nmacroscopically}. We discuss possible consequences of this observation on black\nhole physics in general, and on the information puzzle in particular."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Natural and Multi-Natural Inflation in Axion Landscape: We propose a landscape of many axions, where the axion potential receives\nvarious contributions from shift symmetry breaking effects. We show that the\nexistence of the axion with a super-Planckian decay constant is very common in\nthe axion landscape for a wide range of numbers of axions and shift symmetry\nbreaking terms, because of the accidental alignment of axions. The effective\ninflation model is either natural or multi-natural inflation in the axion\nlandscape, depending on the number of axions and the shift symmetry breaking\nterms. The tension between BICEP2 and Planck could be due to small modulations\nto the inflaton potential or steepening of the potential along the heavy axions\nafter the tunneling. The total duration of the slow-roll inflation our universe\nexperienced is not significantly larger than $60$ if the typical height of the\naxion potentials is of order $(10^{16-17}{\\rm \\,GeV})^4$.",
        "positive": "Revisitation of the original hot QCD collinear singularity problem: The long standing issue known as the hot QCD collinear singularity problem\nhas been proven to rely on an incorrect sequence of two mathematical\noperations. Here, the original derivation of this problem is entirely revisited\nwithin the correct sequence, bringing to light new and unexpected conclusions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "D-dimensional conformal sigma-models and their topological excitations: A talk presented at International Conference ICMP-2000, London, England",
        "positive": "Holographic Lattices Give the Graviton a Mass: We discuss the DC conductivity of holographic theories with translational\ninvariance broken by a background lattice. We show that the presence of the\nlattice induces an effective mass for the graviton via a gravitational version\nof the Higgs mechanism. This allows us to obtain, at leading order in the\nlattice strength, an analytic expression for the DC conductivity in terms of\nthe size of the lattice at the horizon. In locally critical theories this leads\nto a power law resistivity that is in agreement with an earlier field theory\nanalysis of Hartnoll and Hofman."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantization of anomaly coefficients in 6D $\\mathcal{N}=(1,0)$\n  supergravity: We obtain new constraints on the anomaly coefficients of 6D\n$\\mathcal{N}=(1,0)$ supergravity theories using local and global anomaly\ncancellation conditions. We show how these constraints can be strengthened if\nwe assume that the theory is well-defined on any spin space-time with an\narbitrary gauge bundle. We distinguish the constraints depending on the gauge\nalgebra only from those depending on the global structure of the gauge group.\nOur main constraint states that the coefficients of the anomaly polynomial for\nthe gauge group $G$ should be an element of $2 H^4(BG;\\mathbb{Z}) \\otimes\n\\Lambda_S$ where $\\Lambda_S$ is the unimodular string charge lattice. We show\nthat the constraints in their strongest form are realized in F-theory\ncompactifications. In the process, we identify the cocharacter lattice, which\ndetermines the global structure of the gauge group, within the homology lattice\nof the compactification manifold.",
        "positive": "Spin and helicity of massive particles: It is a well-known fact that helicity is a Lorentz-invariant for massless but\nnot for massive particles. Nevertheless, a satisfactory proof of this fact and\na detailed analysis on the relative orientation between spin and the momentum\nare not readily available. One such analysis was presented by Wigner where a\nformula for the angle between the spin and the momentum is derived for massive\nparticle states undergoing two successive boosts in orthogonal directions. In\nthis note, using the Wigner rotation, an alternative derivation is provided."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Deformations of Lifshitz holography: The simplest gravity duals for quantum critical theories with z=2 `Lifshitz'\nscale invariance admit a marginally relevant deformation. Generic black holes\nin the bulk describe the field theory with a dynamically generated momentum\nscale Lambda as well as finite temperature T. We describe the thermodynamics of\nthese black holes in the quantum critical regime where T >> Lambda^2. The\ndeformation changes the asymptotics of the spacetime mildly and leads to\nintricate UV sensitivities of the theory which we control perturbatively in\nLambda^2/T.",
        "positive": "Born-Infeld AdS Black Holes as Heat Engines: We study the efficiency of heat engines that perform mechanical work via the\npdV terms present in the First Law in extended gravitational thermodynamics. We\nuse charged black holes as the working substance, for a particular choice of\nengine cycle. The context is Einstein gravity with negative cosmological\nconstant and a Born-Infeld non-linear electrodynamics sector. We compare the\nresults for these `holographic' heat engines to previous results obtained for\nEinstein-Maxwell black holes, and for the case where there is a Gauss-Bonnet\nsector."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Combinatorial Quantum Gravity: Emergence of Geometric Space from Random\n  Graphs: We review and extend the recently proposed model of combinatorial quantum\ngravity. Contrary to previous discrete approaches, this model is defined on\n(regular) random graphs and is driven by a purely combinatorial version of\nRicci curvature, the Ollivier curvature, defined on generic metric spaces\nequipped with a Markov chain. It dispenses thus of notions such as simplicial\ncomplexes and Regge calculus and is ideally suited to extend quantum gravity to\ncombinatorial structures which have a priori nothing to do with geometry.\nIndeed, our results show that geometry and general relativity emerge from\nrandom structures in a second-order phase transition due to the condensation of\ncycles on random graphs, a critical point that defines quantum gravity\nnon-perturbatively according to asymptotic safety. In combinatorial quantum\ngravity the entropy area law emerges naturally as a consequence of\ninfinite-dimensional critical behaviour on networks rather than on lattices. We\npropose thus that the entropy area law is a signature of the random graph\nnature of space-(time) on the smallest scales.",
        "positive": "Transparent Dirac potentials in one dimension: the time-dependent case: We generalize the original derivation of transparent, static Schroedinger\npotentials by Kay and Moses, to obtain a large class of time-dependent\ntransparent Dirac potentials in one spatial dimension. They contain all known\ntransparent potentials as special cases and play a key role in the\nsemi-classical solution of 1+1 dimensional, fermionic quantum field theories of\nGross-Neveu and Nambu-Jona-Lasinio type."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Black holes in an asymptotically safe gravity theory with higher\n  derivatives: We present a class of spherically symmetric vacuum solutions to an\nasymptotically safe theory of gravity containing high-derivative terms. We find\nquantum corrected Schwarzschild-(anti)-de Sitter solutions with running\ngravitational coupling parameters. The evolution of the couplings is determined\nby their corresponding renormalization group flow equations. These black holes\nexhibit properties of a classical Schwarzschild solution at large length\nscales. At the center, the metric factor remains smooth but the curvature\nsingularity, while softened by the quantum corrections, persists. The solutions\nhave an outer event horizon and an inner Cauchy horizon which equate when the\nphysical mass decreases to a critical value. Super-extremal solutions with\nmasses below the critical value correspond to naked singularities. The Hawking\ntemperature of the black hole vanishes when the physical mass reaches the\ncritical value. Hence, the black holes in the asymptotically safe gravitational\ntheory never completely evaporate. For appropriate values of the parameters\nsuch stable black hole remnants make excellent dark matter candidates.",
        "positive": "Electric-Magnetic Duality and Effective Field Theories: Lectures given by C.G. in the Advanced School on Effective Theories\n(Almu\\~{n}ecar, Granada, 1995) on duality in N=2 supersymmetric Yang-Mills, and\nthe coupling to gravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Some solutions of linearized 5-d gravity with brane: We consider linearized 5-d gravity in the Randall-Sundrum brane world. The\nclass of static solutions for linearized Einstein equations is found. Also we\nobtaine wave solutions describing radiation from an imaginary point source\nlocated at the Planck distance from the brane. We analyze the fields asymptotic\nbehavior and peculiarities of matter sources.",
        "positive": "A Matrix Model for Baryons and Nuclear Forces: We propose a new matrix model describing multi-baryon systems. We derive the\naction from open string theory on the wrapped baryon vertex D-branes embedded\nin the D4-D8 model of large N holographic QCD. The positions of k baryons are\nunified into k x k matrices, with spin/isospin of the baryons encoded in a set\nof k-vectors. Holographic baryons are known to be very small in the large 't\nHooft coupling limit, and our model offers a better systematic approach to\ndynamics of such baryons at short distances. We compute energetics and spectra\n(k=1), and also short-distance nuclear force (k=2). In particular, we obtain a\nnew size of the holographic baryon and find a precise form of the repulsive\ncore of nucleons. This matrix model complements the instanton soliton picture\nof holographic baryons, whose small size turned out to be well below the\nnatural length scale of the approximation involved there. Our results show\nthat, nevertheless, the basic properties of holographic baryons obtained there\nare robust under stringy corrections within a few percents."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hamiltonian structure of three-dimensional gravity in Vielbein formalism: Considering Chern-Simons like gravity theories in three dimensions as first\norder systems, we analyze the Hamiltonian structure of three theories\nTopological massive gravity, New massive gravity, and Zwei-Dreibein Gravity.We\nshow that these systems demonstrate a new feature of the constrained systems in\nwhich a new kind of constraints emerge due to factorization of determinant of\nthe matrix of Poisson brackets of constraints. We find the desired number of\ndegrees of freedom as well as the generating functional of local Lorentz\ntransformations and diffeomorphism through canonical structure of the system.\nWe also compare the Hamiltonian structure of linearized version of the\nconsidered models with the original ones.",
        "positive": "Integrable Generalized Thirring Model: We derive the conditions that the coupling constants of the Generalized\nThirring Model have to satisfy in order for the model to admit an infinite\nnumber of commuting classical conserved quantities. Our treatment uses the\nbosonized version of the model, with periodic boundary conditions imposed on\nthe space coordinate. Some explicit examples that satisfy these conditions are\ndiscussed. We show that, with a different set of boundary conditions, there\nexist additional conserved quantities, and we find the Poisson Bracket algebra\nsatisfied by them."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Lump-like Structures in Scalar-field Models: In this work we investigate the presence of lump-like solutions in models\ndescribed by a single real scalar field. We take advantage of a procedure\nrecently used to describe explicit analytical solutions and we study several\ndistinct models, showing how the parameters can be used to control the specific\nfeatures of the lump-like structures. The proposed models are of direct\ninterest to the construction of q-balls, to induce tachyonic excitations and\ngravitating structures of nontopological profile on braneworld models with a\nsingle extra dimension, to map solitons in optical fibers, and to describe\ncollective excitations in Bose-Einstein condensates.",
        "positive": "Monopoles and Instantons in String Theory: In recent work, several classes of solitonic solutions of string theory with\nhigher-membrane structure have been obtained. These solutions can be classified\naccording to the symmetry possessed by the solitons in the subspace of the\nspacetime transverse to the membrane. Solitons with four-dimensional spherical\nsymmetry represent instanton solutions in string theory, while those with\nthree-dimensional spherical symmetry represent magnetic monopole-type\nsolutions. For both of these classes, we discuss bosonic as well as heterotic\nsolutions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Genus Drop in Hyperelliptic Feynman Integrals: The maximal cut of the nonplanar crossed box diagram with all massive\ninternal propagators was long ago shown to encode a hyperelliptic curve of\ngenus 3 in momentum space. Surprisingly, in Baikov representation, the maximal\ncut of this diagram only gives rise to a hyperelliptic curve of genus 2. To\nshow that these two representations are in agreement, we identify a hidden\ninvolution symmetry that is satisfied by the genus 3 curve, which allows it to\nbe algebraically mapped to the curve of genus 2. We then argue that this is\njust the first example of a general mechanism by means of which hyperelliptic\ncurves in Feynman integrals can drop from genus $g$ to $\\lceil g/2 \\rceil$ or\n$\\lfloor g/2 \\rfloor$, which can be checked for algorithmically. We use this\nalgorithm to find further instances of genus drop in Feynman integrals.",
        "positive": "Finite size giant magnons in the SU(2) x SU(2) sector of AdS_4 x CP^3: We use the algebraic curve and Luscher's mu-term to calculate the leading\norder finite size corrections to the dispersion relation of giant magnons in\nthe SU(2) x SU(2) sector of AdS_4 x CP^3. We consider a single magnon as well\nas one magnon in each SU(2). In addition the algebraic curve computation is\ngeneralized to give the leading order correction for an arbitrary multi-magnon\nstate in the SU(2) x SU(2) sector."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Heterotic Line Bundle Standard Models: In a previous publication, arXiv:1106.4804, we have found 200 models from\nheterotic Calabi-Yau compactifications with line bundles, which lead to\nstandard models after taking appropriate quotients by a discrete symmetry and\nintroducing Wilson lines. In this paper, we construct the resulting standard\nmodels explicitly, compute their spectrum including Higgs multiplets, and\nanalyze some of their basic properties. After removing redundancies we find\nabout 400 downstairs models, each with the precise matter spectrum of the\nsupersymmetric standard model, with one, two or three pairs of Higgs doublets\nand no exotics of any kind. In addition to the standard model gauge group, up\nto four Green-Schwarz anomalous U(1) symmetries are present in these models,\nwhich constrain the allowed operators in the four-dimensional effective\nsupergravity. The vector bosons associated to these anomalous U(1) symmetries\nare massive. We explicitly compute the spectrum of allowed operators for each\nmodel and present the results, together with the defining data of the models,\nin a database of standard models accessible at\nhttp://www-thphys.physics.ox.ac.uk/projects/CalabiYau/linebundlemodels/index.html.\nBased on these results we analyze elementary phenomenological properties. For\nexample, for about 200 models all dimension four and five proton decay\nviolating operators are forbidden by the additional U(1) symmetries.",
        "positive": "Quantum backreaction (Casimir) effect. II. Scalar and electromagnetic\n  fields: Casimir effect in most general terms may be understood as a backreaction of a\nquantum system causing an adiabatic change of the external conditions under\nwhich it is placed. This paper is the second installment of a work scrutinizing\nthis effect with the use of algebraic methods in quantum theory. The general\nscheme worked out in the first part is applied here to the discussion of\nparticular models. We consider models of the quantum scalar field subject to\nexternal interaction with ``softened'' Dirichlet or Neumann boundary conditions\non two parallel planes. We show that the case of electromagnetic field with\nsoftened perfect conductor conditions on the planes may be reduced to the other\ntwo. The ``softening'' is implemented on the level of the dynamics, and is not\nimposed ad hoc, as is usual in most treatments, on the level of observables. We\ncalculate formulas for the backreaction energy in these models. We find that\nthe common belief that for electromagnetic field the backreaction force tends\nto the strict Casimir formula in the limit of ``removed cutoff'' is not\nconfirmed by our strict analysis. The formula is model dependent and the\nCasimir value is merely a term in the asymptotic expansion of the formula in\ninverse powers of the distance of the planes. Typical behaviour of the energy\nfor large separation of the plates in the class of models considered is a\nquadratic fall-of. Depending on the details of the ``softening'' of the\nboundary conditions the backreaction force may become repulsive for large\nseparations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "S-Duality and the Dyon Spectrum in N=2 Super Yang-Mills Theory: We study the dyon spectrum in $N=2$ Super Yang-Mills theory with gauge group\n$SU(2)$ coupled to $N_f$ matter multiplets in the fundamental representation.\nFor magnetic charge one and two we determine the spectrum explicitly and show\nthat it is in agreement with the duality predictions of Seiberg and Witten. We\nbriefly discuss the extension to higher charge monopoles for the self-dual\n$N_f=4$ case and argue that the conjectured spectrum of dyons predicts the\nexistence of certain harmonic spinors on the moduli space of higher charge\nmonopoles.",
        "positive": "A small Universe: Many cosmological models assume or imply that the total size of the universe\nis very large, perhaps even infinite. Here we argue instead that the universe\nmight be comparatively small, in fact not much larger than the currently\nobserved size. A concrete implementation of this idea is provided by the\nno-boundary proposal, in combination with a plateau-shaped inflationary\npotential. In this model, opposing effects of the weighting of the wave\nfunction and of the criterion of allowability of the geometries conspire to\nfavour small universes. We point out that a small size of the universe also\nfits well with swampland conjectures, and we comment on the relation with the\ndark dimension scenario."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Punctures in W-string theory: Using the differential equation approach to W-algebras, we discuss the\ninclusion of punctures in W-string theory. The key result is the existence of\ndifferent kinds of punctures in W-strings. This is similar to the NS and R\npunctures occuring in superstring theories. We obtain the moduli associated\nwith these punctures and present evidence in existing W-string theories for\nthese punctures. The $W_3$ case is worked out in detail. It is conjectured that\nthe $(1,3)$ minimal model coupled to two dimensional gravity corresponds to\ntopological $W_3$-gravity.",
        "positive": "Universal self-similar scaling of spatial Wilson loops out of\n  equilibrium: We investigate strongly correlated non-Abelian plasmas out of equilibrium.\nBased on numerical simulations, we establish a self-similar scaling property\nfor the time evolution of spatial Wilson loops that characterizes a universal\nstate of matter far from equilibrium. Most remarkably, it exhibits a\ngeneralized area law which holds for sufficiently large ratio of spatial area\nand fractional power of time. Performing calculations also for the perturbative\nregime at higher momenta, we are able to characterize the full nonthermal\nscaling properties of SU(2) and SU(3) symmetric plasmas from short to large\ndistance scales in terms of two independent universal exponents and associated\nscaling functions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spinning black holes for generalized scalar tensor theories in three\n  dimensions: We consider a general class of scalar tensor theories in three dimensions\nwhose action contains up to second-order derivatives of the scalar field with\ncoupling functions that only depend on the standard kinetic term of the scalar\nfield, thus ensuring the invariance under the constant shift of the scalar\nfield. For this model, we show that the field equations for a stationary metric\nansatz together with a purely radial scalar field can be fully integrated. The\nkinetic term of the scalar field solution is shown to satisfy an algebraic\nrelation depending only on the coupling functions, and hence is constant while\nthe metric solution is nothing but the BTZ metric with an effective\ncosmological constant fixed in terms of the coupling functions. As a direct\nconsequence the thermodynamics of the solution is shown to be identical to the\nBTZ one with an effective cosmological constant, despite the presence of a\nscalar field. Finally, the expression of the semi-classical entropy of this\nsolution is also confirmed through a generalized Cardy-like formula involving\nthe mass of the scalar soliton obtained from the black hole by means of a\ndouble Wick rotation.",
        "positive": "Tropical Mirror Symmetry: Correlation functions: We formulate the mirror symmetry for correlation functions of tropical\nobservables. We prove the tropical mirror correspondence for correlation\nfunctions of evaluation observables on toric space. The key point of the proof\nis the localization of correlation functions for mirror states in type-B higher\ntopological quantum mechanics on trees. The correlation functions localize to\nthe correlation functions of holomorphic functions, defined recursively in\nLandau-Ginzburg-Saito theory with exponential mirror superpotential and\ntropical good section."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Extensions of the noncommutative Standard Model and the weak order one\n  condition: In the derivation of the Standard Model from the axioms of Noncommutative\nGeometry, the scalar sector is given by a finite Dirac operator which has to\nsatisfy the so-called \\emph{first-order condition}. However, the general\nsolution to this constraint still has unphysical terms which must be fine-tuned\nto zero. Moreover, the first-order condition generally does not survive in\nextensions to models with gauge groups larger that $U(1)\\times SU(2)\\times\nSU(3)$. In this paper we show that in the $U(1)_{\\rm B-L}$-extension one can\nimplement a weaker form of the first-order condition which we argue is\nnecessary in order for Noncommutative Gauge Theory to make sense at all, and\nthat this condition reduce the amount of fine-tuning to the off-diagonal terms\nin the Yukawa mass matrices for the leptons and quarks. We also show that this\ncondition eliminates the Majorana mass terms for right-handed neutrinos when it\nis applied to the Pati-Salam model.",
        "positive": "Picard-Fuchs Equations and Whitham Hierarchy in N=2 Supersymmetric\n  SU(r+1) Yang-Mills Theory: In general, Whitham dynamics involves infinitely many parameters called\nWhitham times, but in the context of N=2 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory it\ncan be regarded as a finite system by restricting the number of Whitham times\nappropriately. For example, in the case of SU(r+1) gauge theory without\nhypermultiplets, there are r Whitham times and they play an essential role in\nthe theory. In this situation, the generating meromorphic 1-form of the Whitham\nhierarchy on Seiberg-Witten curve is represented by a finite linear combination\nof meromorphic 1-forms associated with these Whitham times, but it turns out\nthat there are various differential relations among these differentials. Since\nthese relations can be written only in terms of the Seiberg-Witten 1-form,\ntheir consistency conditions are found to give the Picard-Fuchs equations for\nthe Seiberg-Witten periods."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exact renormalization group equation in presence of rescaling anomaly II\n  - The local potential approximation: Exact renormalization group techniques are applied to mass deformed N=4\nsupersymmetric Yang-Mills theory, viewed as a regularised N=2 model. The\nsolution of the flow equation, in the local potential approximation, reproduces\nthe one-loop (perturbatively exact) expression for the effective action of N=2\nsupersymmetric Yang-Mills theory, when the regularising mass, M, reaches the\nvalue of the dynamical cutoff. One speculates about the way in which further\nnon-perturbative contributions (instanton effects) may be accounted for.",
        "positive": "Calabi-Yau generalized complete intersections and aspects of cohomology\n  of sheaves: We consider generalized complete intersection manifolds in the product space\nof projective spaces, and work out useful aspects pertaining to the cohomology\nof sheaves over them. First, we present and prove a vanishing theorem on the\ncohomology groups of sheaves for subvarieties of the ambient product space of\nprojective spaces. We then prove an equivalence between configuration matrices\nof complete intersection Calabi-Yau manifolds. We also present a formula of the\ngenus of curves in generalized complete intersection manifolds. Some of these\ncurves arise as the fixed point locus of certain symmetry group action on the\ngeneralized complete intersection Calabi-Yau manifolds. We also make a\nblowing-up along the curves, by which one can generate new Calabi-Yau\nmanifolds. Moreover, an approach on spectral sequences is used to compute Hodge\nnumbers of generalized complete intersection Calabi-Yau manifolds and the genus\nof curves therein."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Field Theory With No Zero-Point Energy: Traditional quantum field theory can lead to enormous zero-point energy,\nwhich markedly disagrees with experiment. Unfortunately, this situation is\nbuilt into conventional canonical quantization procedures. For identical\nclassical theories, an alternative quantization procedure, called affine field\nquantization, leads to the desirable feature of having a vanishing zero-point\nenergy. This procedure has been applied to renormalizable and nonrenormalizable\ncovariant scalar fields, fermion fields, as well as general relativity. Simpler\nmodels are offered as an introduction to affine field quantization.",
        "positive": "Spectral Degeneracy in Supersymmetric Gluodynamics and One-Flavor QCD\n  related to N=1/2 SUSY: In supersymmetric gluodynamics (N=1 super-Yang-Mills theory) we show that the\nspectral functions induced by the nonchiral operator Tr G_{\\alpha\\beta}\n\\bar\\lambda^2 are fully degenerate in the J^{PC}=1^{\\pm -} channels. The above\noperator is related to N=1/2 generalization of SUSY. Using the planar\nequivalence, this translates into the statement of degeneracy between the\nmesons produced from the vacuum by the operators (\\bar \\Psi \\vec E\\Psi + i\\bar\n\\Psi \\vec B \\gamma^5\\Psi) and (\\bar \\Psi \\vec B\\Psi - i\\bar \\Psi \\vec E\n\\gamma^5\\Psi) in one-flavor QCD, up to 1/N corrections. Here \\Psi is the quark\nfield, and \\vec E ,\\vec B are chromoelectric/chromomagnetic fields,\nrespectively."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "An N=1 Lagrangian for the rank 1 E6 superconformal theory: We propose that a certain $4d$ $\\mathcal{N}=1$ $SU(4)$ gauge theory flows in\nthe IR to the rank $1$ $\\mathcal{N}=2$ strongly coupled SCFT with $E_6$ global\nsymmetry and $25$ free chiral fields. This proposal is tested by comparing\nvarious RG invariant quantities, notably, anomalies and the superconformal\nindex. We discuss the generalization to $\\mathcal{N}=1$ $SU(2n+2)$ gauge theory\nmodels flowing in the IR to the $R_{(2,2n+1)}$ family of strongly coupled SCFTs\nplus free fields.",
        "positive": "Yang-Mills Localization in Warped Space: We present a mechanism to localize zero mode non-Abelian gauge fields in a\nslice of AdS_5. As in the U(1) case, bulk and boundary mass terms allow for a\nmassless mode with an exponential profile that can be localized anywhere in the\nbulk. However in the non-Abelian extension, the cubic and quartic zero mode\ngauge couplings do not match, implying a loss of 4D gauge invariance. We show\nthat the symmetry can be restored at the nonlinear level by considering\nbrane-localized interactions, which are added in a gauge invariant way using\nboundary kinetic terms. Possible issues related to the scalar sector of the\ntheory, such as strong coupling and ghosts, are also discussed. Our approach is\nthen compared with other localization mechanisms motivated by dilaton gravity\nand deconstruction. Finally, we show how to localize the scalar component A_5\nzero mode anywhere in the bulk which could be relevant in gauge-Higgs\nunification models."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Model-Dependence of Minimal-Twist OPEs in $d>2$ Holographic CFTs: Following recent work on heavy-light correlators in higher-dimensional\nconformal field theories (CFTs) with a large central charge $C_T$, we clarify\nthe properties of stress tensor composite primary operators of minimal twist,\n$[T^m]$, using arguments in both CFT and gravity. We provide an efficient proof\nthat the three-point coupling $\\langle \\mathcal{O}_L\\mathcal{O}_L\n[T^m]\\rangle$, where $\\mathcal{O}_L$ is any light primary operator, is\nindependent of the purely gravitational action. Next, we consider corrections\nto this coupling due to additional interactions in AdS effective field theory\nand the corresponding dual CFT. When the CFT contains a non-zero three-point\ncoupling $\\langle TT \\mathcal{O}_L\\rangle$, the three-point coupling $\\langle\n\\mathcal{O}_L\\mathcal{O}_L [T^2]\\rangle$ is modified at large $C_T$ if $\\langle\nTT\\mathcal{O}_L \\rangle \\sim \\sqrt{C_T}$. This scaling is obeyed by the\ndilaton, by Kaluza-Klein modes of prototypical supergravity compactifications,\nand by scalars in stress tensor multiplets of supersymmetric CFTs. Quartic\nderivative interactions involving the graviton and the light probe field dual\nto $\\mathcal{O}_L$ can also modify the minimal-twist couplings; these local\ninteractions may be generated by integrating out a spin-$\\ell \\geq 2$ bulk\nfield at tree level, or any spin $\\ell$ at loop level. These results show how\nthe minimal-twist OPE coefficients can depend on the higher-spin gap scale,\neven perturbatively.",
        "positive": "The Genus Two Free Boson in Arakelov Geometry: Using Arakelov geometry, we compute the partition function of the noncompact\nfree boson at genus two. We begin by compiling a list of modular invariants\nwhich appear in the Arakelov theory of Riemann surfaces. Using these\nquantities, we express the genus two partition function as a product of modular\nforms, as in the well-known genus one case. We check that our result has the\nexpected obstruction to holomorphic factorization and behavior under\ndegeneration."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Randall-Sundrum Scenario at Nonzero Temperature: The effect of temperature is investigated in the Randall-Sundrum brane-world\nscenario. It is shown that for a spacetime ansatz motivated by similarity with\nAdS/CFT correspondence several features of the model, such as its $Z_2$\nsymmetry, are not maintained at nonzero temperatures.",
        "positive": "The kinematics of multiple Compton scattering of two-photon systems: We present a Stokes-Mueller method to calculate the cross sections associated\nwith multiple Compton scattering of an arbitrary two-photon system. This method\nis used to calculate the cross section in the scenario in which one of the\nmaximally entangled annihilation photons undergoes intermediate Compton\nscattering followed by the detection of both photons using a pair of Compton\npolarimeters. The method accounts for potential quantum-decoherence effects\ncaused by Compton scattering. Despite being grounded in quantum field theory,\nthe method does not require an in-depth understanding of its typically\nintricate prerequisites. As a result, this method is anticipated to be\naccessible to a broader community of physicists and is readily applicable in\nMonte Carlo simulations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Higher Dimensional Geometries from Matrix Brane constructions: Matrix descriptions of even dimensional fuzzy spherical branes $S^{2k} $ in\nMatrix Theory and other contexts in Type II superstring theory reveal, in the\nlarge $N$ limit, higher dimensional geometries $SO(2k+1)/U(k)$, which have an\ninteresting spectrum of $SO(2k+1)$ harmonics and can be up to 20 dimensional,\nwhile the spheres are restricted to be of dimension less than 10. In the case\n$k=2$, the matrix description has two dual field theory formulations. One\ninvolves a field theory living on the non-commutative coset $SO(5)/U(2)$ which\nis a fuzzy $S^2$ fibre bundle over a fuzzy $S^4$. In the other, there is a U(n)\ngauge theory on a fuzzy $S^4$ with $ {\\cal O}(n^3)$ instantons. The two\ndescriptions can be related by exploiting the usual relation between the fuzzy\ntwo-sphere and U(n) Lie algebra. We discuss the analogous phenomena in the\nhigher dimensional cases, developing a relation between fuzzy $SO(2k)/U(k)$\ncosets and unitary Lie algebras.",
        "positive": "On the partition sum of the NS five-brane: We study the Type IIA NS five-brane wrapped on a Calabi-Yau manifold X in a\ndouble-scaled decoupling limit. We calculate the euclidean partition function\nin the presence of a flat RR 3-form field. The classical contribution is given\nby a sum over fluxes of the self-dual tensor field which reduces to a\ntheta-function. The quantum contributions are computed using a T-dual IIB\nbackground where the five-branes are replaced by an ALE singularity. Using the\nsupergravity effective action we find that the loop corrections to the free\nenergy are given by B-model topological string amplitudes. This seems to\nprovide a direct link between the double-scaled little strings on the\nfive-brane worldvolume and topological strings. Both the classical and quantum\ncontributions to the partition function satisfy (conjugate) holomorphic anomaly\nequations, which explains an observation of Witten relating topological string\ntheory to the quantization of three-form fields."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Some Recent Progress in AdS/CFT: Much of modern string theory research concerns AdS/CFT duality, or more\ngenerally, gauge/gravity duality. The main subjects are a) Testing and\nunderstanding such dualities by exploring how they work for systems with a lot\nof supersymmetry b) Constructing and exploring approximate string theory duals\nof QCD c) Applying gauge/gravity duality to other areas of physics such as\ncondensed matter and nuclear physics. I will briefly discuss the first topic.",
        "positive": "Kaluza-Klein Monopoles and Gauged Sigma-Models: We propose an effective action for the eleven-dimensional (bosonic)\nKaluza-Klein monopole solution. The construction of the action requires that\nthe background fields admit an Abelian isometry group. The corresponding\nsigma-model is gauged with respect to this isometry. The gauged sigma-model is\nthe source for the monopole solution. A direct (double) dimensional reduction\nof the action leads to the effective action of a 10-dimensional D-6-brane (IIA\nKaluza-Klein monopole). We also show that the effective action of the\n10-dimensional heterotic Kaluza-Klein monopole (which is a truncation of the\nIIA monopole action) is T-dual to the effective action of the solitonic\n5-brane. We briefly discuss the kappa-symmetric extension of our proposal and\nthe possible role of gauged sigma-models in connection with the conjectured\nM-theory 9-brane."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic Space-time and Black Holes: Mirages As Alternate Reality: We revisit our investigation of the claim of [1] that old black holes contain\na firewall, i.e. an in-falling observer encounters highly excited states at a\ntime much shorter than the light crossing time of the Schwarzschild radius. We\nused the formalism of Holographic Space-time (HST) where there is no dramatic\nchange in particle physics inside the horizon until a time of order the\nSchwarzschild radius. We correct our description of the interior of the black\nhole . HST provides a complete description of the quantum mechanics along any\ntime-like trajectory, even those which fall through the black hole horizon. The\nlatter are described as alternative factorizations of the description of an\nexternal observer, turning the mirage of the interior provided by that\nobserver's membrane paradigm on the stretched horizon, into reality.",
        "positive": "Quantum-gravitational running/reduction of space-time dimension: Quantum-gravity renders the space-time dimension to depend on the size of\nregion; it monotonically increases with the size of region and asymptotically\napproaches four for large distances. This effect was discovered in numerical\nsimulations of lattice quantum gravity in the framework of causal dynamical\ntriangulation [hep-th/0505113] as well as in renormalization group approach to\nquantum gravity [hep-th/0508202]. However, along these approaches the\ninterpretation and the physical meaning of the effective change of dimension at\nshorter scales is not clear. Without invoking particular models in this essay\nwe show that, box-counting dimension in face of finite resolution of space-time\n(generally implied by quantum gravity) shows a simple way how both the\nqualitative and the quantitative features of this effect can be understood. In\nthis way we derive a simple analytic expression of space-time dimension\nrunning, which implies the modification of Newton's inverse square law in a\nperfect agreement with the modification coming from one-loop gravitational\nradiative corrections."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Tachyon condensation on brane sphalerons: We consider a sphaleron solution in field theory that provides a toy model\nfor unstable D-branes of string theory. We investigate the tachyon condensation\non a Dp-brane. The localized modes, including a tachyon, arise in the spectrum\nof a sphaleron solution of a \\phi^4 field theory on M^{p+1}\\times S^1. We use\nthese modes to find a multiscalar tachyon potential living on the sphaleron\nworld-volume. A complete cancelation between brane tension and the minimum of\nthe tachyon potential is found as the size of the circle becomes small.",
        "positive": "Entropy of the three dimensional Schwarzschild-de Sitter black hole: We study the three dimensional Schwarzschild-de Sitter (SdS$_3$) black hole\nwhich corresponds essentially to a conical defect. We compute the mass of the\nSdS$_3$ black hole from the correct definition of the mass in asymptotically de\nSitter space. Then we clarify the relation between the mass, entropy and\ntemperature for this black hole without any ambiguity. Also we establish the\nSdS$_3$/CFT$_2$-correspondence for the entropy by applying the Cardy formula to\na CFT with a central charge $c=3\\ell/2G_3$. Finally we discuss the entropy\nbounds for the SdS$_3$ black hole."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Monopoles and Strings in Yang-Mills Theories: Yang-Mills theory is studied in a variant of 't Hooft's maximal Abelian\ngauge. In this gauge magnetic monopoles arise in the Abelian magnetic field. We\nshow, however, that the full (non-Abelian) magnetic field does not possess any\nmonopoles, but rather strings of magnetic fluxes. We argue that these strings\nare the relevant infrared degrees of freedom. The properties of the magnetic\nstrings which arise from a dilute instanton gas are investigated for the gauge\ngroup SU(2).",
        "positive": "Classical and Quantum Wormholes in Einstein-Yang-Mills Theory: Wormhole spacetimes may be responsible for the possible loss of quantum\ncoherence and the introduction of additional fundamental quantum indeterminancy\nof the values of constants of nature. As a system which is known to admit such\nclassical wormhole solutions, Einstein-Yang-Mills (EYM) theory is revisited.\nSince the classical wormhole instanton solution in this theory has been studied\nextensively thus far, in the present work, ``quantum wormholes'' are explored.\nNamely in the context of a minisuperspace quantum cosmology model based on this\nEYM theory, ``quantum wormhole'', defined as a state represented by a solution\nto the Wheeler-DeWitt equation satisfying an appropriate wormhole boundary\ncondition, is discussed. Finally, it is proposed that the minisuperspace model\nbased on this theory in the presence of the cosmological constant may serve as\na simple yet interesting system displaying an overall picture of entire\nuniverse's history from the deep quantum domain all the way to the classical\ndomain."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "From Polygon Wilson Loops to Spin Chains and Back: Null Polygon Wilson Loops (WL) in N=4 SYM can be computed using the Operator\nProduct Expansion in terms of a transition amplitude on top of a color flux\ntube (FT). That picture is valid at any value of the 't Hooft coupling. So far\nit has been efficiently used at weak coupling (WC) in cases where only a single\nparticle is flowing. At any finite value of the coupling however, an infinite\nnumber of particles are flowing on top of the color FT. A major open problem in\nthis approach was how to deal with generic multi-particle states at WC. In this\npaper we study the propagation of any number of FT excitations at WC. We do\nthis by first mapping the WL into a sum of two point functions of local\noperators. This map allows us to translate the integrability techniques\ndeveloped for the spectrum problem back to the WL. E.g., the FT Hamiltonian can\nbe represented as a simple kernel acting on the loop. Having an explicit\nrepresentation for the FT Hamiltonian allows us to treat any number of\nparticles on an equal footing. We use it to bootstrap some simple cases where\ntwo particles are flowing, dual to N2MHV amplitudes. The FT is integrable and\ntherefore has other (infinite set of) conserved charges. The generating\nfunction of conserved charges is constructed from the monodromy (M) matrix\nbetween sides of the polygon. We compute it for some simple examples at leading\norder at WC. At strong coupling (SC), these Ms were the main ingredients of the\nY-system solution. To connect the WC and SC computations, we study a case where\nan infinite number of particles are propagating already at leading order at WC.\nWe obtain a precise match between the WC and SC Ms. That match is the WL\nanalogue of the well known Frolov-Tseytlin limit where the WC and SC\ndescriptions become identical. Hopefully, putting the WC and SC descriptions on\nthe same footing is the first step in understanding the all loop structure.",
        "positive": "Gravity and Electromagnetism in Noncommutative Geometry: We present a unified description of gravity and electromagnetism in the\nframework of a $Z_2$ noncommutative differential calculus. It can be considered\nas a ``discrete version\" of Kaluza-Klein theory, where the fifth continuous\ndimension is replaced by two discrete points. We derive an action which\ncoincides with the dimensionally reduced one of the ordinary Kaluza-Klein\ntheory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Abelian gauge symmetries and fluxed instantons in compactifications of\n  type IIB and F-theory: We discuss the role of Abelian gauge symmetries in type IIB orientifold\ncompactifications and their F-theory uplift. Particular emphasis is placed on\nU(1)s which become massive through the geometric St\\\"uckelberg mechanism in\ntype IIB. We present a proposal on how to take such geometrically massive U(1)s\nand the associated fluxes into account in the Kaluza-Klein reduction of\nF-theory with the help of non-harmonic forms. Evidence for this proposal is\nobtained by working out the F-theory effective action including such\nnon-harmonic forms and matching the results with the known type IIB\nexpressions. We furthermore discuss how world-volume fluxes on D3-brane\ninstantons affect the instanton charge with respect to U(1) gauge symmetries\nand the chiral zero mode spectrum. The classical partition function of\nM5-instantons in F-theory is discussed and compared with the type IIB results\nfor D3-brane instantons. The type IIB match allows us to determine the correct\nM5 partition function. Selection rules for the absence of chiral charged zero\nmodes on M5-instantons in backgrounds with G_4 flux are discussed and compared\nwith the type IIB results. The dimensional reduction of the democratic\nformulation of M-theory is presented in the appendix. This article is based on\nthe author's PhD thesis but includes minor modifications.",
        "positive": "GUP modified Hawking Radiation and Transmission/Reflection Coefficients\n  of Rotating Polytropic Black Hole: In this paper, we study the GUP (Generalized Uncertainty Principle) modified\nHawking radiation of rotating polytropic black hole given in the\nBoyer-Lindquist coordinates. To this end, the GUP modified Klein-Gordon\nequation is applied for investigating the quantum tunneling of scalar particles\nfrom the polytropic black hole. After reducing the obtained radial wave\nequation to the one-dimensional Schr\\\"{o}dinger equation, we derive the\nreflection and transmission probabilities of the radiation. A detail discussion\non how the reflection and transmission (greybody factor) probabilities are\nderived for this black hole is given. The results are graphically depicted and\nthe relevant physical interpretations are made."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Green's Functions for Vladimirov Derivatives and Tate's Thesis: Given a number field $K$ with a Hecke character $\\chi$, for each place $\\nu$\nwe study the free scalar field theory whose kinetic term is given by the\nregularized Vladimirov derivative associated to the local component of $\\chi$.\nThese theories appear in the study of $p$-adic string theory and $p$-adic\nAdS/CFT correspondence. We prove a formula for the regularized Vladimirov\nderivative in terms of the Fourier conjugate of the local component of $\\chi$.\nWe find that the Green's function is given by the local functional equation for\nZeta integrals. Furthermore, considering all places $\\nu$, the field theory\ntwo-point functions corresponding to the Green's functions satisfy an adelic\nproduct formula, which is equivalent to the global functional equation for Zeta\nintegrals. In particular, this points out a role of Tate's thesis in adelic\nphysics.",
        "positive": "Schwinger pair production: Explicit Localization of the world-line\n  instanton: We present a simple proof that the imaginary part of the world-line path\nintegral which computes the rate of Schwinger pair production of charged\nparticles in a constant electric field, is given exactly by the semiclassical\nWKB limit."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A New Action Principle for Witten's Topological Field Theory: In this letter a new gauge invariant, metric independent action is introduced\nfrom which Witten's Topological Quantum Field Theory may be obtained after\ngauge fixing using standard BRST techniques. In our model the BRST algebra of\ntransformations, under which the effective action is invariant, close off-shell\nin distintion with what occurs in the one proposed by Labastida and Pernici.\nOur approach provides the geometrical principle for the quantum theory. We also\ncompare our results with an alternative formulation presented by Baulieu and\nSinger.",
        "positive": "On the zero modes of the Faddev-Popov operator in the Landau gauge: Following Henyey procedure, we construct examples of zero modes of the\nFaddev-Popov operator in the Landau gauge in Euclidean space in D dimensions,\nfor both SU(2) and SU(3 groups. We consider gauge field configurations\n$A^a_\\mu$ which give rise to a field strength, $F^a_{\\mu\\nu} =\\partial_\\mu\nA^a_\\nu -\\partial_\\nu A^a_\\mu + f^{abc}A^b_\\mu A^c_\\nu$, whose nonlinear term,\n$ f^{abc}A^b_\\mu A^c_\\nu$, turns out to be nonvanishing. To our knowledge, this\nis the first time where such a non-abelian configuration is explicitly obtained\nin the case of SU(3) in 4D."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Appell Function $F_1$ and Regge String Scattering Amplitudes: We show that each 26D open bosonic Regge string scattering amplitude (RSSA)\ncan be expressed in terms of one single Appell function $F_1$ in the Regge\nlimit. This result enables us to derive infinite number of recurrence relations\namong RSSA at arbitrary mass levels, which are conjectured to be related to the\nknown SL(5,C) dynamical symmetry of $F_1$. In addition, we show that these\nrecurrence relations in the Regge limit can be systematically solved so that\nall RSSA can be expressed in terms of one amplitude. All these results are dual\nto high energy symmetries of fixed angle string scattering amplitudes\ndiscovered previously [4-8].",
        "positive": "Supersymmetric domain walls in maximal 6D gauged supergravity I: We find a large class of supersymmetric domain wall solutions from\nsix-dimensional $N=(2,2)$ gauged supergravity with various gauge groups. In\ngeneral, the embedding tensor lives in $\\mathbf{144}_c$ representation of the\nglobal symmetry $SO(5,5)$. We explicitly construct the embedding tensors in\n$\\mathbf{15}^{-1}$ and $\\overline{\\mathbf{40}}^{-1}$ representations of\n$GL(5)\\sim \\mathbb{R}^+\\times SL(5)\\subset SO(5,5)$ leading to $CSO(p,q,5-p-q)$\nand $CSO(p,q,4-p-q)\\ltimes\\mathbb{R}^4_{\\boldsymbol{s}}$ gauge groups,\nrespectively. These gaugings can be obtained from $S^1$ reductions of\nseven-dimensional gauged supergravity with $CSO(p,q,5-p-q)$ and\n$CSO(p,q,4-p-q)$ gauge groups. As in seven dimensions, we find\nhalf-supersymmetric domain walls for purely magnetic or purely electric\ngaugings with the embedding tensors in $\\mathbf{15}^{-1}$ or\n$\\overline{\\mathbf{40}}^{-1}$ representations, respectively. In addition, for\ndyonic gauge groups with the embedding tensors in both $\\mathbf{15}^{-1}$ and\n$\\overline{\\mathbf{40}}^{-1}$ representations, the domain walls turn out to be\n$\\frac{1}{4}$-supersymmetric as in the seven-dimensional analogue. By the\nDW/QFT duality, these solutions are dual to maximal and half-maximal super\nYang-Mills theories in five dimensions. All of the solutions can be uplifted to\nseven dimensions and further embedded in type IIB or M-theories by the\nwell-known consistent truncation of the seven-dimensional $N=4$ gauged\nsupergravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Equivalence of Two Contour Prescriptions in Superstring Perturbation\n  Theory: Conventional superstring perturbation theory based on the world-sheet\napproach gives divergent results for the S-matrix whenever the total center of\nmass energy of the incoming particles exceeds the threshold of production of\nany final state consistent with conservation laws. Two systematic approaches\nhave been suggested for dealing with this difficulty. The first one involves\ndeforming the integration cycles over the moduli space of punctured Riemann\nsurfaces into complexified moduli space. The second one treats the amplitude as\na sum of superstring field theory Feynman diagrams and deforms the integration\ncontours over loop energies of the Feynman diagram into the complex plane. In\nthis paper we establish the equivalence of the two prescriptions to all orders\nin perturbation theory. Since the second approach is known to lead to unitary\namplitudes, this establishes the consistency of the first prescription with\nunitarity.",
        "positive": "Lecture Notes on Holographic Renormalization: We review the formalism of holographic renormalization. We start by\ndiscussing mathematical results on asymptotically anti-de Sitter spacetimes. We\nthen outline the general method of holographic renormalization. The method is\nillustrated by working all details in a simple example: a massive scalar field\non anti-de Sitter spacetime. The discussion includes the derivation of the\non-shell renormalized action, of holographic Ward identities, anomalies and RG\nequations, and the computation of renormalized one-, two- and four-point\nfunctions. We then discuss the application of the method to holographic RG\nflows. We also show that the results of the near-boundary analysis of\nasymptotically AdS spacetimes can be analytically continued to apply to\nasymptotically de Sitter spacetimes. In particular, it is shown that the\nBrown-York stress energy tensor of de Sitter spacetime is equal, up to a\ndimension dependent sign, to the Brown-York stress energy tensor of an\nassociated AdS spacetime."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Unifying Approaches to Chiral Bosons: Chiral bosons, or self-dual p-form fields, are ubiquitous in string theoretic\ncontexts but are challenging to treat. Lagrangian constructions invariably\nintroduce a complexity be it auxiliary fields or sacrificing Lorentz\ninvariance. In this note we show how to pass between such different approaches\nto chiral bosons starting from a Chern Simons point of view to recover\nformulations of Pasti, Sorokin and Tonin and of Mkrtchyan. This leads to a\nnovel generalisation of the latter to include non-Abelian chiral bosons in\n2-dimensions, and generalisations to include twisted self-duality which are\nrelevant in T-duality symmetric approaches to string theory. Our approach also\nshows how global affine symmetries of two- and higher-dimensional chiral bosons\nemerge from broken Chern-Simons gauge transformations on the boundary.",
        "positive": "Nonperturbative dynamics for abstract (p,q) string networks: We describe abstract (p,q) string networks which are the string networks of\nSen without the information about their embedding in a background spacetime.\nThe non-perturbative dynamical formulation invented for spin networks, in terms\nof causal evolution of dual triangulations, is applied to them. The formal\ntransition amplitudes are sums over discrete causal histories that evolve (p,q)\nstring networks. The dynamics depend on two free SL(2,Z) invariant functions\nwhich describe the amplitudes for the local evolution moves."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Second Order Calculations of the O(N) sigma-Model Laplacian: For slowly varying fields on the scale of the lightest mass the logarithm of\nthe vacuum functional of a massive quantum field theory can be expanded in\nterms of local functionals satisfying a form of the Schrodinger equation, the\nprincipal ingredient of which is a regulated functional Laplacian. We extend a\nprevious work to construct the next to leading order terms of the Laplacian for\nthe Schrodinger equation that acts on such local functionals. Like the leading\norder the next order is completely determined by imposing rotational invariance\nin the internal space together with closure of the Poincare algebra.",
        "positive": "On the canonical formulation of gauge field theories and Poincare\n  transformations: We address the Hamiltonian formulation of classical gauge field theories\nwhile putting forward results some of which are not entirely new, though they\ndo not appear to be well known. We refer in particular to the fact that neither\nthe canonical energy momentum vector $(P^\\mu )$ nor the gauge invariant energy\nmomentum vector $(P_{\\textrm{inv}} ^\\mu )$ do generate space-time translations\nof the gauge field by means of the Poisson brackets: In a general gauge, one\nhas to consider the so-called kinematical energy momentum vector and, in a\nspecific gauge (like the radiation gauge in electrodynamics), one has to\nconsider the Dirac brackets rather than the Poisson brackets. Similar arguments\napply to rotations and to Lorentz boosts and are of direct relevance to the\n\"nucleon spin crisis\" since the spin of the proton involves a contribution\nwhich is due to the angular momentum vector of gluons and thereby requires a\nproper treatment of the latter. We conclude with some comments on the\nrelationships between the different approaches to quantization (canonical\nquantization based on the classical Hamiltonian formulation, Gupta-Bleuler,\npath integrals, BRST, covariant canonical approaches)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "M-brane bound states and the supersymmetry of BPS solutions in the\n  Bagger-Lambert theory: We continue our study of BPS equations and supersymmetric configurations in\nthe Bagger-Lambert theory. The superalgebra allows three different types of\ncentral extensions which correspond to compounds of various M-theory objects:\nM2-branes, M5-branes, gravity waves and Kaluza-Klein monopoles which intersect\nor have overlaps with the M2-branes whose dynamics is given by the\nBagger-Lambert action. As elementary objects they are all 1/2-BPS, and multiple\nintersections of $n$-branes generically break the supersymmetry into $1/2^n$,\nas it is well known. But a particular composite of M-branes can preserve from\n1/16 up to 3/4 of the original ${\\cal N}=8$ supersymmetries as previously\ndiscovered. In this paper we provide the M-theory interpretation for various\nBPS equations, and also present explicit solutions to some 1/2-BPS equations.",
        "positive": "Quantum Corrections in String Compactifications on SU(3) Structure\n  Geometries: We investigate quantum corrections to the classical four-dimensional\nlow-energy effective action of type II string theory compactified on SU(3)\nstructure geometries. Various methods previously developed for Calabi-Yau\ncompactifications are adopted to determine - under some simple assumptions\nabout the low-energy degrees of freedom - the leading perturbative corrections\nto the moduli space metrics in both alpha' and the string coupling constant. We\nfind - in complete analogy to the Calabi-Yau case - that the corrections take a\nuniversal form dependent only on the Euler characteristic of the\nsix-dimensional compact space."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-anomalous `Ward' identities to supplement large-N multi-matrix loop\n  equations for correlations: This work concerns single-trace correlations of Euclidean multi-matrix\nmodels. In the large-N limit we show that Schwinger-Dyson equations imply loop\nequations and non-anomalous Ward identities. Loop equations are associated to\ngeneric infinitesimal changes of matrix variables (vector fields). Ward\nidentities correspond to vector fields preserving measure and action. The\nformer are analogous to Makeenko-Migdal equations and the latter to\nSlavnov-Taylor identities. Loop equations correspond to leading large-N\nSchwinger-Dyson equations. Ward identities correspond to 1/N^2 suppressed\nSchwinger-Dyson equations. But they become leading equations since loop\nequations for non-anomalous vector fields are vacuous. We show that symmetries\nat infinite N persist at finite N, preventing mixing with multi-trace\ncorrelations. For one matrix, there are no non-anomalous infinitesimal\nsymmetries. For two or more matrices, measure preserving vector fields form an\ninfinite dimensional graded Lie algebra, and non-anomalous action preserving\nones a subalgebra. For Gaussian, Chern-Simons and Yang-Mills models we identify\nup to cubic non-anomalous vector fields, though they can be arbitrarily\nnon-linear. Ward identities are homogeneous linear equations. We use them with\nthe loop equations to determine some correlations of these models. Ward\nidentities alleviate the underdeterminacy of loop equations. Non-anomalous\nsymmetries give a naturalness-type explanation for why several linear\ncombinations of correlations in these models vanish.",
        "positive": "A new constraints separation for the original D=10 massless\n  superparticle: We study the problem of covariant separation between first and second class\nconstraints for the $D=10$ Brink-Schwarz superparticle. Opposite to the\nsupersymmetric light-cone frame separation, we show here that there is a\nLorentz covariant way to identify the second class constraints such that,\nhowever, supersymmetry is broken. Consequences for the $D=10$ superstring are\nbriefly discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "An approach to the classification of p-brane solitons: We give a review of some recent work on the construction and classification\nof $p$-brane solutions in maximal supergravity theories in all dimensions $4\\le\nD\\le 11$. These solutions include isotropic elementary and solitonic\n$p$-branes, dyonic $p$-branes, and multi-scalar $p$-branes. These latter two\ncategories include massless strings and black holes as special cases. For all\nthe solutions, we analyse their residual unbroken supersymmetry by means of an\nexplicit construction of the eigenvalues of the \\bog matrix, defined as the\nanticommutator of the conserved supercharges.",
        "positive": "The Chiral Gross-Neveu model on the lattice via a Landau-forbidden phase\n  transition: We study the phase diagram of the $(1+1)$-dimensional Gross-Neveu model with\nboth $g_x^2(\\bar{\\psi}\\psi)^2$ and $g_y^2(\\bar{\\psi}i\\gamma_5\\psi)^2$\ninteraction terms on a spatial lattice. The continuous chiral symmetry, which\nis present in the continuum model when $g_x^2=g_y^2$, has a mixed 't~Hooft\nanomaly with the charge conservation symmetry, which guarantees the existence\nof a massless mode. However, the same 't~Hooft anomaly also implies that the\ncontinuous chiral symmetry is broken explicitly in our lattice model.\nNevertheless, from numerical matrix product state simulations we find that, for\ncertain parameters of the lattice model, the continuous chiral symmetry\nreemerges in the infrared fixed point theory, even at strong coupling. We argue\nthat, to understand this phenomenon, it is crucial to go beyond mean-field\ntheory (or, equivalently, beyond the leading order term in a $1/N$ expansion).\nInterestingly, on the lattice, the chiral Gross-Neveu model appears at a\nLandau-forbidden second order phase transition separating two distinct and\nunrelated symmetry-breaking orders. We point out the crucial role of two\ndifferent 't Hooft anomalies or Lieb-Schultz-Mattis obstructions for this\nLandau-forbidden phase transition to occur."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Cosmology and the S-matrix: We study conditions for the existence of asymptotic observables in cosmology.\nWith the exception of de Sitter space, the thermal properties of accelerating\nuniverses permit arbitrarily long observations, and guarantee the production of\naccessible states of arbitrarily large entropy. This suggests that some\nasymptotic observables may exist, despite the presence of an event horizon.\nComparison with decelerating universes shows surprising similarities: Neither\ntype suffers from the limitations encountered in de Sitter space, such as\nthermalization and boundedness of entropy. However, we argue that no realistic\ncosmology permits the global observations associated with an S-matrix.",
        "positive": "Constraining Weil-Petersson volumes by universal random matrix\n  correlations in low-dimensional quantum gravity: Based on the discovery of the duality between Jackiw-Teitelboim quantum\ngravity and a double-scaled matrix ensemble by Saad, Shenker and Stanford in\n2019, we show how consistency between the two theories in the universal Random\nMatrix Theory (RMT) limit imposes a set of constraints on the volumes of moduli\nspaces of Riemannian manifolds. These volumes are given in terms of polynomial\nfunctions, the Weil-Petersson volumes, solving a celebrated nonlinear recursion\nformula that is notoriously difficult to analyze. Since our results imply\nlinear relations between the coefficients of the Weil-Petersson volumes, they\ntherefore provide both a stringent test for their symbolic calculation and a\npossible way of simplifying their construction. In this way, we propose a\nlong-term program to improve the understanding of mathematically hard aspects\nconcerning moduli spaces of hyperbolic manifolds by using universal RMT results\nas input."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fluxes in F-theory Compactifications on Genus-One Fibrations: We initiate the construction of gauge fluxes in F-theory compactifications on\ngenus-one fibrations which only have a multi-section as opposed to a section.\nF-theory on such spaces gives rise to discrete gauge symmetries in the\neffective action. We generalize the transversality conditions on gauge fluxes\nknown for elliptic fibrations by taking into account the properties of the\navailable multi-section. We test these general conditions by constructing all\nvertical gauge fluxes in a bisection model with gauge group SU(5) x Z2. The\nnon-abelian anomalies are shown to vanish. These flux solutions are dynamically\nrelated to fluxes on a fibration with gauge group SU(5) x U(1) by a conifold\ntransition. Considerations of flux quantization reveal an arithmetic constraint\non certain intersection numbers on the base which must necessarily be satisfied\nin a smooth geometry. Combined with the proposed transversality conditions on\nthe fluxes these conditions are shown to imply cancellation of the discrete Z2\ngauge anomalies as required by general consistency considerations.",
        "positive": "Holographic QFTs on S$^2\\times $S$^2$, spontaneous symmetry breaking and\n  Efimov saddle points: Holographic CFTs and holographic RG flows on space-time manifolds which are\n$d$-dimensional products of spheres are investigated. On the gravity side, this\ncorresponds to Einstein-dilaton gravity on an asymptotically $AdS_{d+1}$\ngeometry, foliated by a product of spheres. We focus on holographic theories on\n$S^2\\times S^2$, we show that the only regular five-dimensional bulk geometries\nhave an IR endpoint where one of the sphere shrinks to zero size, while the\nother remains finite. In the $Z_2$-symmetric limit, where the two spheres have\nthe same UV radii, we show the existence of a infinite discrete set of regular\nsolutions, satisfying an Efimov-like discrete scaling. The $Z_2$-symmetric\nsolution in which both spheres shrink to zero at the endpoint is singular,\nwhereas the solution with lowest free energy is regular and breaks $Z_2$\nsymmetry spontaneously. We explain this phenomenon analytically by identifying\nan unstable mode in the bulk around the would-be $Z_2$-symmetric solution. The\nspace of theories have two branches that are connected by a conifold transition\nin the bulk, which is regular and correspond to a quantum first order\ntransition. Our results also imply that $AdS_5$ does not admit a regular\nslicing by $S^2\\times S^2$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetric holography on AdS3: The proposed duality between Vasiliev's supersymmetric higher spin theory on\nAdS3 and the 't Hooft limit of the 2d superconformal Kazama-Suzuki models is\nanalysed in detail. In particular, we show that the partition functions of the\ntwo theories agree in the large N limit.",
        "positive": "Drude in D major: We study holographic momentum relaxation in the limit of a large number of\nspacetime dimensions D. For an axion model we find that momentum conservation\nis restored as D becomes large. To compensate we scale the strength of the\nsources with D so that momentum is relaxed even at infinite D. We analytically\nobtain the quasi-normal modes which control electric and heat transport, and\ngive their frequencies in a 1/D expansion. We also obtain the AC thermal\nconductivity as an expansion in 1/D, which at leading order takes Drude form.\nTo order 1/D our analytical result provides a reasonable approximation to the\nAC conductivity even at D=4, establishing large D as a practical method in this\ncontext. As a further application, we discuss the signature of the transition\nfrom coherent to incoherent behaviour known to exist in the system for finite\nD."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Phases of M2-brane Theories: We investigate different toric phases of 2+1 dimensional quiver gauge\ntheories arising from M2-branes probing toric Calabi-Yau 4 folds. A brane\ntiling for each toric phase is presented. We apply the 'forward algorithm' to\nobtain the toric data of the mesonic moduli space of vacua and exhibit the\nequivalence between the vacua of different toric phases of a given singularity.\nThe structures of the Master space, the mesonic moduli space, and the baryonic\nmoduli space are examined in detail. We compute the Hilbert series and use them\nto verify the toric dualities between different phases. The Hilbert series,\nR-charges, and generators of the mesonic moduli space are matched between toric\nphases.",
        "positive": "Solitons in the false vacuum: When a potential for a scalar field has two local minima, there arises\nstructure of spherical shells due to gravitational interactions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Wrapping the M Theory Five-Brane on K3: Using a recently constructed M5-brane world-volume action, we demonstrate\nthat wrapping the M5-brane on K3 gives the heterotic string in seven\ndimensions. To facilitate the comparison, a new version of the world-sheet\naction for the Narain-compactified heterotic string, with manifest T duality\ninvariance, is formulated.",
        "positive": "The Benefits of Stress: Resolution of the Lifshitz Singularity: Through the AdS/CFT correspondence, Lifshitz spacetimes describe field\ntheories with dynamical scaling ($z \\neq 1$). Although curvature invariants are\nsmall, the Lifshitz metric exhibits a null singularity in the IR with a large\ntidal force that excites string oscillator modes. However, Lifshitz is not a\nvacuum solution of the Einstein equations -- the metric is supported by\nnontrivial matter content which must be taken into account in analyzing the\npropagation of test objects. In this paper, we consider the interaction of a\nstring with a D0-brane density in the IR which supports a class of UV-complete\n$z=2$ Lifshitz constructions. We show that string/D-brane scattering in the\nRegge limit slows the string significantly, preventing divergent mode\nproduction and resolving the would-be singularity in string propagation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On N=2 low energy effective actions: We propose a Wilsonian action compatible with special geometry and higher\ndimension N=2 corrections, and show that the holomorphic contribution F to the\nlow energy effective action is independent of the infrared cutoff. We further\nshow that for asymptotically free SU(2) super Yang-Mills theories, the infrared\ncutoff can be tuned to cancel leading corrections to F. We also classify all\nlocal higher-dimensional contributions to the N=2 superspace effective action\nthat produce corrections to the Kahler potential when reduced to N=1\nsuperspace.",
        "positive": "Black hole complementarity: the inside view: Within the framework of black hole complementarity, a proposal is made for an\napproximate interior effective field theory description. For generic\ncorrelators of local operators on generic black hole states, it agrees with the\nexact exterior description in a region of overlapping validity, up to\ncorrections that are too small to be measured by typical infalling observers."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Double Copy of Electric-Magnetic Duality: We argue that the complex transformation relating the Schwarzschild to the\nTaub-NUT metric, introduced by Talbot, is in fact an electric-magnetic duality\ntransformation. We show that at null infinity, the complex transformation is\nequivalent to a complexified BMS supertranslation, which rotates the\nsupertranslation and the dual (magnetic) supertranslation charges. This can\nalso be seen from the cubic coupling between the classical source and its\nbackground, which for Taub-NUT is given by a complex phase rotation acting on\ngravitational minimal couplings. The same phase rotation generates dyons from\nelectrons at the level of minimally coupled amplitudes, manifesting the double\ncopy relation between the two solutions.",
        "positive": "Diffeomorphism group and conformal fields: Conformal fields are a new class of $Vect(N)$ modules which are more general\nthan tensor fields. The corresponding diffeomorphism group action is\nconstructed. Conformal fields are thus invariantly defined."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "An off-shell superspace reformulation of D=4, N=4 super-Yang-Mills\n  theory: D=4, N=4 super-Yang-Mills theory has an off-shell superspace formulation in\nterms of pure spinor superfields, which is directly inherited from the D=10\ntheory. That superspace, in particular the choice of pure spinor variables, is\nless suitable for dealing with fields that are inherently 4-dimensional, such\nas the superfields based on the scalars, which are gauge-covariant, and traces\nof powers of scalars, which are gauge-invariant. We give a reformulation of\nD=4, N=4 super-Yang-Mills theory in N=4 superspace, using inherently\n4-dimensional pure spinors. All local degrees of freedom reside in a superfield\nbased on the physical scalars. The formalism should be suited for calculations\nof correlators of traces of scalar superfields.",
        "positive": "Dimensional Transmutation and Dimensional Regularization in Quantum\n  Mechanics. II: Rotational Invariance: A thorough analysis is presented of the class of central fields of force that\nexhibit: (i) dimensional transmutation and (ii) rotational invariance. Using\ndimensional regularization, the two-dimensional delta-function potential and\nthe $D$-dimensional inverse square potential are studied. In particular, the\nfollowing features are analyzed: the existence of a critical coupling, the\nboundary condition at the origin, the relationship between the bound-state and\nscattering sectors, and the similarities displayed by both potentials. It is\nfound that, for rotationally symmetric scale-invariant potentials, there is a\nstrong-coupling regime, for which quantum-mechanical breaking of symmetry takes\nplace, with the appearance of a unique bound state as well as of a logarithmic\nenergy dependence of the scattering with respect to the energy."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Limitation to Quantum Measurements of Spacetime Distances: Inspired by the work of Wheeler among others, we have studied the problem of\nquantum measurements of space-time distances by applying the general principles\nof quantum mechanics as well as those of general relativity. Contrary to the\nfolklore, the minimum error in the measurement of a length is shown to be\nproportional to the one-third power of the length itself. This uncertainty in\nspace-time measurements implies an uncertainty of the space-time metric and\nyields quantum decoherence for particles heavier than the Planck mass. There is\nalso a corresponding minimum error in energy-momentum measurements.",
        "positive": "Dynamics of Baryons from String Theory and Vector Dominance: We consider a holographic model of QCD from string theory, a la Sakai and\nSugimoto, and study baryons. In this model, mesons are collectively realized as\na five-dimensional \\$U(N_F)=U(1)\\times SU(N_F)$ Yang-Mills field and baryons\nare classically identified as $SU(N_F)$ solitons with a unit Pontryagin number\nand $N_c$ electric charges. The soliton is shown to be very small in the large\n't Hooft coupling limit, allowing us to introduce an effective field ${\\cal\nB}$. Its coupling to the mesons are dictated by the soliton structure, and\nconsists of a direct magnetic coupling to the $SU(N_F)$ field strength as well\nas a minimal coupling to the $U(N_F)$ gauge field. Upon the dimensional\nreduction, this effective action reproduces all interaction terms between\nnucleons and an infinite tower of mesons in a manner consistent with the large\n$N_c$ expansion. We further find that all electromagnetic interactions, as\ninferred from the same effective action via a holographic prescription, are\nmediated by an infinite tower of vector mesons, rendering the baryon\nelectromagnetic form factors completely vector-dominated as well. We estimate\nnucleon-meson couplings and also the anomalous magnetic moments, which compare\nwell with nature."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the conformal anomaly from higher derivative gravity in AdS/CFT\n  correspondence: We follow to Witten proposal in the calculation of conformal anomaly from\nd+1-dimensional higher derivative gravity via AdS/CFT correspondence. It is\nassumed that some d-dimensional conformal field theories have a description in\nterms of above d+1-dimensional higher derivative gravity which includes not\nonly Einstein term and cosmological constant but also curvature squared terms.\nThe explicit expression for two-dimensional and four-dimensional anomalies is\nfound, it contains higher derivative corrections. In particular, it is shown\nthat not only Einstein gravity but also theory with the Lagrangian\n$L=aR^2+bR_{\\mu\\nu}R^{\\mu\\nu} + \\Lambda$ (even when a=0 or b=0) is\nfive-dimensional bulk theory for d=4 ${\\cal N}=4$ super Yang-Mills theory in\nAdS/CFT correspondence. Similar d+1=3 theory with (or without) Einstein term\nmay describe d=2 scalar or spinor CFTs. That gives new versions of bulk side\nwhich may be useful in different aspects. As application of our general\nformalism we find next-to-leading corrections to the conformal anomaly of\n${\\cal N}=2$ supersymmetric theory from d=5 AdS higher derivative gravity (low\nenergy string effective action).",
        "positive": "Polarization of the conformal vacuum in the Milne universe: The vacuum expectation values (VEVs) of the field squared and energy-momentum\ntensor for a massless scalar field are investigated in the Milne universe with\ngeneral number of spatial dimensions. The vacuum state depends on the choice of\nthe mode functions in the canonical quantization procedure and we assume that\nthe field is prepared in the conformal vacuum. As the first step an integral\nrepresentation for the difference of the Wightman functions corresponding to\nthe conformal and Minkowski vacua is derived. The mean field squared and\nenergy-momentum tensor are obtained in the coincidence limit. It is shown that\nthe Minkowski vacuum state is interpreted as a thermal one with respect to the\nconformal vacuum. The thermal factor is of the Bose-Einstein type in odd\ndimensional space and of the Fermi-Dirac type in even number of spatial\ndimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Warped Solitonic Deformations and Propagation of Black Holes in 5D\n  Vacuum Gravity: In this paper we use the anholonomic frames method to construct exact\nsolutions for vacuum 5D gravity with metrics having off-diagonal components.\nThe solutions are in general anisotropic and possess interesting features such\nas an anisotropic warp factor with respect to the extra dimension, or a\ngravitational scaling/running of some of the physical parameters associated\nwith the solutions. A certain class of solutions are found to describe\nSchwarzschild black holes which ``solitonically'' propagate in spacetime. The\nsolitonic character of these black hole solutions arises from the embedding of\na 3D soliton configuration (e.g. the soliton solutions to the\nKadomtsev-Petviashvily or sine-Gordon equations) into certain ansatz functions\nof the 5D metric. These solitonic solutions may either violate or preserve\nlocal Lorentz invariance. In addition there is a connection between these\nsolutions and noncommutative field theory.",
        "positive": "On a non-CP-violating electric dipole moment of elementary particles: A description of elementary particles should be based on irreducible\nrepresentations of the Poincar\\'e group. In the theory of massive\nrepresentations of the full Poincar\\'e group there are essentially four\ndifferent cases. One of them corresponds to the ordinary Dirac theory. The\nextension of Dirac theory to the remaining three cases makes it possible to\ndescribe an anomalous electric dipole moment of elementary particles without\nbreaking the reflections."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Renormalization-group flow in the 3D Georgi-Glashow model: The renormalization-group (RG) flow in the finite-temperature\n(2+1)-dimensional Georgi-Glashow model is explored. This is done in the limit\nwhen the squared electric coupling constant is much larger than the mass of the\nHiggs field. The novel equation describing the evolution of the Higgs mass is\nderived and integrated along the separatrices of the RG flow in the limit when\nthe original theory reduces to the 2D XY model. In particular, it is checked\nthat in the vicinity of the phase-transition point, there exists a range of\nparameters allowing to the Higgs mass evolved along some of the separatrices to\nremain much smaller than the squared electric coupling constant.",
        "positive": "The four-loop remainder function and multi-Regge behavior at NNLLA in\n  planar N=4 super-Yang-Mills theory: We present the four-loop remainder function for six-gluon scattering with\nmaximal helicity violation in planar N=4 super-Yang-Mills theory, as an\nanalytic function of three dual-conformal cross ratios. The function is\nconstructed entirely from its analytic properties, without ever inspecting any\nmulti-loop integrand. We employ the same approach used at three loops, writing\nan ansatz in terms of hexagon functions, and fixing coefficients in the ansatz\nusing the multi-Regge limit and the operator product expansion in the\nnear-collinear limit. We express the result in terms of multiple\npolylogarithms, and in terms of the coproduct for the associated Hopf algebra.\nFrom the remainder function, we extract the BFKL eigenvalue at\nnext-to-next-to-leading logarithmic accuracy (NNLLA), and the impact factor at\nNNNLLA. We plot the remainder function along various lines and on one surface,\nstudying ratios of successive loop orders. As seen previously through three\nloops, these ratios are surprisingly constant over large regions in the space\nof cross ratios, and they are not far from the value expected at asymptotically\nlarge orders of perturbation theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Non-Relativistic Superparticle in a Curved Background: Using a component formulation, we construct the supersymmetric action for a\nsuperparticle in a three-dimensional Newton-Cartan supergravity background and\nclarify its symmetries. Our construction proceeds by first constructing the\nsuperparticle in a flat background. Next, by boosting up the background\nsymmetries, we replace in a first step the flat background by a Galilean\nsupergravity background. In a second step the Galilean supergravity background\nis replaced by a Newton-Cartan supergravity background. We extend our results\nby adding a supersymmetric cosmological constant and compare the\nnon-relativistic superparticle with the relativistic kappa-symmetric\nthree-dimensional superparticle.",
        "positive": "The Polynomial Form of the Scattering Equations: The scattering equations, recently proposed by Cachazo, He and Yuan as\nproviding a kinematic basis for describing tree amplitudes for massless\nparticles in arbitrary space-time dimension (including scalars, gauge bosons\nand gravitons), are reformulated in polynomial form. The scattering equations\nfor $N$ particles are shown to be equivalent to a Moebius invariant system of\n$N-3$ equations, $\\tilde h_m=0$, $2 \\leq m \\leq N-2$, in $N$ variables, where\n$\\tilde h_m$ is a homogeneous polynomial of degree m, with the exceptional\nproperty of being linear in each variable taken separately. Fixing the Moebius\ninvariance appropriately, yields polynomial equations $h_m=0$, $1 \\leq m \\leq\nN-3$, in $N-3$ variables, where $h_m$ has degree $m$. The linearity of the\nequations in the individual variables facilitates computation, e.g the\nelimination of variables to obtain single variable equations determining the\nsolutions. Expressions are given for the tree amplitudes in terms of the\n$\\tilde h_m$ and $h_m$. The extension to the massive case for scalar particles\nis described and the special case of four dimensional space-time is discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic renormalization group flow, Wilson loops and field-theory\n  beta-functions: We study the Renormalization Group (RG) flow of critical bosonic background\nfields in the framework of the RG approach to string theory. In this approach\nquantum field theory beta-functions are the extra inputs in solving the string\ntheory sigma-model equations. We study two different situations, the first one\nis the Yang-Mills theory where the coupling constant diverges in the infrared\nlimit. The second case corresponds to a type of theories where the\nbeta-function has a pole in the infrared limit and it changes sign through the\npole (as in N=1 super-Yang-Mills theory). For this case in the strong coupling\nbranch, in the infrared, there is an interval of values of the coupling in\nwhich the theory only leads to confinement. We have obtained this range. We\nalso mention the theories with conformal-fixed points and their relation to\ntheories with a pole in the beta-functions. We calculate the Wilson loops in\nthese theories.",
        "positive": "Fermionic vacuum currents in topologically nontrivial braneworlds:\n  Two-brane geometry: The vacuum expectation value (VEV) of the fermionic current density is\ninvestigated in the geometry of two parallel branes in locally AdS spacetime\nwith a part of spatial dimensions compactified to a torus. Along the toral\ndimensions quasiperiodicity conditions are imposed with general phases and the\npresence of a constant gauge field is assumed. Different types of boundary\nconditions are discussed on the branes, including the bag boundary condition\nand the conditions arising in $Z_{2}$-symmetric braneworld models. Nonzero\nvacuum currents appear along the compact dimensions only. In the region between\nthe branes they are decomposed into the brane-free and brane-induced\ncontributions. Both these contributions are periodic functions of the magnetic\nflux enclosed by compact dimensions with the period equal to the flux quantum.\nDepending on the boundary conditions, the presence of the branes can either\nincrease or decrease the vacuum current density. For a part of boundary\nconditions, a memory effect is present in the limit when one of the branes\ntends to the AdS boundary. Unlike to the fermion condensate and the VEV of the\nenergy-momentum tensor, the VEV of the current density is finite on the branes.\nApplications are given to higher-dimensional generalizations of the\nRandall-Sundrum models with two branes and with toroidally compact subspace.\nThe features of the fermionic current are discussed in odd-dimensional parity\nand time-reversal symmetric models. The corresponding results for\nthree-dimensional spacetime are applied to finite length curved graphene tubes\nthreaded by a magnetic flux. It is shown that a nonzero current density can\nalso appear in the absence of the magnetic flux if the fields corresponding to\ntwo different points of the Brillouin zone obey different boundary conditions\non the tube edges."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hamiltonian dynamics of extended objects: We consider a relativistic extended object described by a reparametrization\ninvariant local action that depends on the extrinsic curvature of the\nworldvolume swept out by the object as it evolves. We provide a Hamiltonian\nformulation of the dynamics of such higher derivative models which is motivated\nby the ADM formulation of general relativity. The canonical momenta are\nidentified by looking at boundary behavior under small deformations of the\naction; the relationship between the momentum conjugate to the embedding\nfunctions and the conserved momentum density is established. The canonical\nHamiltonian is constructed explicitly; the constraints on the phase space, both\nprimary and secondary, are identified and the role they play in the theory\ndescribed. The multipliers implementing the primary constraints are identified\nin terms of the ADM lapse and shift variables and Hamilton's equations shown to\nbe consistent with the Euler-Lagrange equations.",
        "positive": "Strings and QCD?: Is large-$N$ QCD equivalent to a string theory? Maybe, maybe not. I review\nvarious attempts to answer the question."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exact WKB and the quantum Seiberg-Witten curve for 4d $N=2$ pure $SU(3)$\n  Yang-Mills, Part I: Abelianization: We investigate the exact WKB method for the quantum Seiberg-Witten curve of\n4d $N=2$ pure $SU(3)$ Yang-Mills, in the language of abelianization. The\nrelevant differential equation is a third-order equation on $\\mathbb{CP}^1$\nwith two irregular singularities. We employ the exact WKB method to study\nsolutions to such a third-order equation and the associated Stokes phenomena.\nWe also investigate the exact quantization condition for a certain spectral\nproblem. Moreover, exact WKB analysis leads us to consider new Darboux\ncoordinates on a moduli space of flat SL(3,$\\mathbb{C}$)-connections. In\nparticular, in the weak coupling region we encounter coordinates of higher\nlength-twist type generalizing Fenchel-Nielsen coordinates. The Darboux\ncoordinates are conjectured to admit asymptotic expansions given by the formal\nquantum periods series; we perform numerical analysis supporting this\nconjecture.",
        "positive": "p-Adic Statistical Field Theory and Convolutional Deep Boltzmann\n  Machines: Understanding how deep learning architectures work is a central scientific\nproblem. Recently, a correspondence between neural networks (NNs) and Euclidean\nquantum field theories (QFTs) has been proposed. This work investigates this\ncorrespondence in the framework of p-adic statistical field theories (SFTs) and\nneural networks (NNs). In this case, the fields are real-valued functions\ndefined on an infinite regular rooted tree with valence p, a fixed prime\nnumber. This infinite tree provides the topology for a continuous deep\nBoltzmann machine (DBM), which is identified with a statistical field theory\n(SFT) on this infinite tree. In the p-adic framework, there is a natural method\nto discretize SFTs. Each discrete SFT corresponds to a Boltzmann machine (BM)\nwith a tree-like topology. This method allows us to recover the standard DBMs\nand gives new convolutional DBMs. The new networks use O(N) parameters while\nthe classical ones use O(N^{2}) parameters."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "One-loop kink mass shifts: a computational approach: In this paper we develop a procedure to compute the one-loop quantum\ncorrection to the kink masses in generic (1+1)-dimensional one-component scalar\nfield theoretical models. The procedure uses the generalized zeta function\nregularization method helped by the Gilkey-de Witt asymptotic expansion of the\nheat function via Mellin's transform. We find a formula for the one-loop kink\nmass shift that depends only on the part of the energy density with no field\nderivatives, evaluated by means of a symbolic software algorithm that automates\nthe computation. The improved algorithm with respect to earlier work in this\nsubject has been tested in the sine-Gordon and $\\lambda(\\phi)_2^4$ models. The\nquantum corrections of the sG-soliton and $\\lambda(\\phi^4)_2$-kink masses have\nbeen estimated with a relative error of 0.00006% and 0.00007% respectively.\nThereafter, the algorithm is applied to other models. In particular, an\ninteresting one-parametric family of double sine-Gordon models interpolating\nbetween the ordinary sine-Gordon and a re-scaled sine-Gordon model is\naddressed. Another one-parametric family, in this case of $\\phi^6$ models, is\nanalyzed. The main virtue of our procedure is its versatility: it can be\napplied to practically any type of relativistic scalar field models supporting\nkinks.",
        "positive": "Two-Boundaries AdS/CFT Correspondence in Dilatonic Gravity: We discuss dilatonic gravity (bulk theory) from the point of view of\n(generalized) AdS/CFT correspondence. Self-consistent dilatonic background is\nconsidered. It may be understood as two boundaries space where AdS boundary\nappears as infinite boundary and new (singular) boundary occurs at short\ndistances. The two-point correlation function and conformal dimension for\nminimal and dilaton coupled scalar are found. Even for minimal scalar, the\nconformal dimension is found to be different on above two boundaries. Hence,\nnew CFT appears in AdS/CFT correspondence at short distances. AdS/CFT\ncorrespondence may be understood as interpolating bulk theory between two\ndifferent CFTs."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "T-duality and Actions for Non-BPS D-branes: We employ T-duality to restrict the tachyon dependence of effective actions\nfor non-BPS D-branes. For the Born-Infeld part the criteria of T-duality and\nsupersymmetry are satisfied by a simple extension of the D-brane Born-Infeld\naction.",
        "positive": "Inflation and late-time accelerated expansion driven by $k$-essence\n  degenerate dynamics: We consider a k-essence model in which a single scalar field can be\nresponsible for both primordial inflation and the present observed acceleration\nof the cosmological background geometry, while also admitting a nonsingular de\nSitter beginning of the Universe (it arises from de Sitter and ends in de\nSitter). The early one is driven by a slow-roll potential, and the late one is\ndriven by a dynamical dimensional reduction process which freezes the scalar\nfield in a degenerate surface, turning it into a cosmological constant. This is\ndone by proposing a realizable stable cosmic time crystal, although giving a\ndifferent interpretation to the ''moving ground stat'', in which there is no\nmotion because the system loses degrees of freedom. Furthermore, the model is\nfree of pathologies such as propagating superluminal perturbations, negative\nenergies, and perturbation instabilities."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "New boundary conditions for the c=-2 ghost system: We investigate a novel boundary condition for the bc system with central\ncharge c=-2. Its boundary state is constructed and tested in detail. It appears\nto give rise to the first example of a local logarithmic boundary sector within\na bulk theory whose Virasoro zero modes are diagonalizable.",
        "positive": "Quantum entropy and exact 4d/5d connection: We consider the AdS_2/CFT_1 holographic correspondence near the horizon of\nrotating five-dimensional black holes preserving four supersymmetries in N=2\nsupergravity. The bulk partition function is given by a functional integral\nover string fields in AdS_2 and is related to the quantum entropy via the Sen's\nproposal. Under certain assumptions we use the idea of equivariant localization\nto non-rigid backgrounds and show that the path integral of off-shell\nsupergravity on the near horizon background, which is a circle fibration over\nAdS_2xS^2, reduces to a finite dimensional integral over n_V+1 parameters C^A,\nwhere n_V is the number of vector multiplets of the theory while the C^0 mode\ncorresponds to a normalizable fluctuation of the metric. The localization\nsolutions, which rely only on off-shell supersymmetry, become after a field\nredefinition, the solutions found for localization of supergravity on\nAdS_2xS^2. We compute the renormalized action on the localization locus and\nshow that, in the absence of higher derivative corrections, it agrees with the\nfour dimensional counterpart computed on AdS_2x S^2. These results together\nwith possible one-loop contributions can be used to establish an exact\nconnection between five and four dimensional quantum entropies."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Modular Invariance and the Odderon: We identify a new symmetry for the equations governing odderon amplitudes,\ncorresponding in the Regge limit of QCD to the exchange of 3 reggeized gluons.\nThe symmetry is a modular invariance with respect to the unique normal subgroup\nof sl(2,Z) {\\,} of index 2.\n  This leads to a natural description of the Hamiltonian and conservation-law\noperators as acting on the moduli space of elliptic curves with a fixed\n``sign'': elliptic curves are identified if they can be transformed into each\nother by an {\\em even} number of Dehn twists.",
        "positive": "Stabilizing All Geometric Moduli in Heterotic Calabi-Yau Vacua: We propose a scenario to stabilize all geometric moduli - that is, the\ncomplex structure, Kahler moduli and the dilaton - in smooth heterotic\nCalabi-Yau compactifications without Neveu-Schwarz three-form flux. This is\naccomplished using the gauge bundle required in any heterotic compactification,\nwhose perturbative effects on the moduli are combined with non-perturbative\ncorrections. We argue that, for appropriate gauge bundles, all complex\nstructure and a large number of other moduli can be perturbatively stabilized -\nin the most restrictive case, leaving only one combination of Kahler moduli and\nthe dilaton as a flat direction. At this stage, the remaining moduli space\nconsists of Minkowski vacua. That is, the perturbative superpotential vanishes\nin the vacuum without the necessity to fine-tune flux. Finally, we incorporate\nnon-perturbative effects such as gaugino condensation and/or instantons. These\nare strongly constrained by the anomalous U(1) symmetries which arise from the\nrequired bundle constructions. We present a specific example, with a consistent\nchoice of non-perturbative effects, where all remaining flat directions are\nstabilized in an AdS vacuum."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Luscher Term for k-string Potential from Holographic One Loop\n  Corrections: We perform a systematic analysis of k-strings in the framework of the\ngauge/gravity correspondence. We discuss the Klebanov-Strassler supergravity\nbackground which is known to be dual to a confining supersymmetric gauge theory\nwith chiral symmetry breaking. We obtain the k-string tension in agreement with\nexpectations of field theory. Our main new result is the study of one-loop\ncorrections on the string theoretic side. We explicitly find the frequency\nspectrum for both the bosons and the fermions for quadratic fluctuations about\nthe classical supergravity solution. Further we use the massless modes to\ncompute 1/L contributions to the one loop corrections to the k-string energy.\nThis corresponds to the Luscher term contribution to the k-string potential on\nthe gauge theoretic side of the correspondence.",
        "positive": "A generalization of the Lax pair for the pure spinor superstring in AdS5\n  x S5: We show that the Lax pair of the pure spinor superstring in AdS5xS5 admits a\ngeneralization where the generators of the superconformal algebra are replaced\nby the generators of some infinite-dimensional Lie superalgebra."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Matter Bounce By Means of Ghost Condensation: Assuming the existence of a scalar field which undergoes \"ghost condensation\"\nand which has a suitably chosen potential, it is possible to obtain a\nnon-singular bouncing cosmology in the presence of regular matter and\nradiation. The potential for the ghost condensate field can be chosen such that\nthe cosmological bounce is stable against the presence of anisotropic stress.\nCosmological fluctuations on long wavelengths relevant to current cosmological\nobservations pass through the bounce unaffected by the new physics which yields\nthe bounce. Thus, this model allows for the realization of the \"matter bounce\"\nscenario, an alternative to inflationary cosmology for the generation of the\nobserved primordial fluctuations in which the inhomogeneities originate as\nquantum vacuum perturbations which exit the Hubble radius in the\nmatter-dominated phase of contraction.",
        "positive": "Shape Dependence of Entanglement Entropy in Conformal Field Theories: We study universal features in the shape dependence of entanglement entropy\nin the vacuum state of a conformal field theory (CFT) on $\\mathbb{R}^{1,d-1}$.\nWe consider the entanglement entropy across a deformed planar or spherical\nentangling surface in terms of a perturbative expansion in the infinitesimal\nshape deformation. In particular, we focus on the second order term in this\nexpansion, known as the entanglement density. This quantity is known to be\nnon-positive by the strong-subadditivity property. We show from a purely field\ntheory calculation that the non-local part of the entanglement density in any\nCFT is universal, and proportional to the coefficient $C_T$ appearing in the\ntwo-point function of stress tensors in that CFT. As applications of our\nresult, we prove the conjectured universality of the corner term coefficient\n$\\frac{\\sigma}{C_T}=\\frac{\\pi^2}{24}$ in $d=3$ CFTs, and the holographic Mezei\nformula for entanglement entropy across deformed spheres."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Casimir Energies for Spherically Symmetric Cavities: A general calculation of Casimir energies --in an arbitrary number of\ndimensions-- for massless quantized fields in spherically symmetric cavities is\ncarried out. All the most common situations, including scalar and spinor\nfields, the electromagnetic field, and various boundary conditions are treated\nwith care. The final results are given as analytical (closed) expressions in\nterms of Barnes zeta functions. A direct, straightforward numerical evaluation\nof the formulas is then performed, which yields highly accurate numbers of, in\nprinciple, arbitrarily good precision.",
        "positive": "Counting chiral primaries in N=1 d=4 superconformal field theories: I derive a procedure to count chiral primary states in N=1 superconformal\nfield theories in four dimensions. The chiral primaries are counted by putting\nthe N=1 field theory on S^3 X R. I also define an index that counts semi-short\nmultiplets of the superconformal theory. I construct N=1 supersymmetric\nLagrangians on S^3 X R for theories which are believed to flow to a conformal\nfixed point in the IR. For ungauged theories I reduce the field theory to a\nsupersymmetric quantum mechanics, whereas for gauge theories I use chiral ring\narguments. I count chiral primaries for SU(2) SYM with three flavors and its\nSeiberg dual. Those two results agree provided a new chiral ring relation\nholds."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Size of bulk fermions in the SYK model: The study of quantum gravity in the form of the holographic duality has\nuncovered and motivated the detailed investigation of various diagnostics of\nquantum chaos. One such measure is the operator size distribution, which\ncharacterizes the size of the support region of an operator and its evolution\nunder Heisenberg evolution. In this work, we examine the role of the operator\nsize distribution in holographic duality for the Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev (SYK) model.\nUsing an explicit construction of AdS$_2$ bulk fermion operators in a putative\ndual of the low temperature SYK model, we study the operator size distribution\nof the boundary and bulk fermions. Our result provides a direct derivation of\nthe relationship between (effective) operator size of both the boundary and\nbulk fermions and bulk $\\text{SL}(2; \\mathbb{R})$ generators.",
        "positive": "Regular spinors and fermionic fields: Bearing in mind the Lounesto spinor classification, we connect the expansion\ncoefficients of well behaved fermionic quantum field, i.e., a local field\nwithin a full Lorentz covariant theory, with and only with a given subclass of\nType-2 spinors according to Lounesto. We comment on theoretical possibilities\nas well as physical outputs for the other cases."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Possible explanations for fine-tuning of the universe: The Froggatt-Nielsen mechanism and the multi-local field theory are\ninteresting and promising candidates for solving the naturalness problem in the\nuniverse. These theories are based on the different physical principles: The\nformer assumes the micro-canonical partition function $\\int {\\cal{D}}\\phi\\\n\\prod_i \\delta (S_i^{}-I_i^{})$, and the latter assumes the partition function\n$\\int {\\cal{D}}\\phi\\ \\exp\\left(iS_M^{}\\right)$ where $S_M^{}$ is the\nmulti-local action $\\sum_i c_i^{}S_i^{}+\\sum_{i,j}c_{i,j}^{}S_i^{}S_j^{}+\\cdots\n$. Our main purpose is to show that they are equivalent in the sense that they\npredict the same fine-tuning mechanism. In order to clarify our argument, we\nfirst study (review) the similarity between the Froggatt-Nielsen mechanism and\nstatistical mechanics in detail, and show that the dynamical fine-tuning in the\nformer picture can be understood completely in the same way as the\ndetermination of the temperature in the latter picture. Afterward, we discuss\nthe multi-local theory and the equivalence between it and the the\nFroggatt-Nielsen mechanism. Because the multi-local field theory can be\nobtained from physics at the Planck/String scale, this equivalence indicates\nthat the micro-canonical picture can also originate in such physics. As a\nconcrete example, we also review the IIB matrix model as an origin of the\nmulti-local theory.",
        "positive": "Hawking radiation of scalar particles and fermions from squashed\n  Kaluza-Klein black holes based on a generalized uncertainty principle: We study the Hawking radiation from the five-dimensional charged static\nsquashed Kaluza-Klein black hole by the tunneling of charged scalar particles\nand charged fermions. In contrast to the previous studies of Hawking radiation\nfrom squashed Kaluza-Klein black holes, we consider the phenomenological\nquantum gravity effects predicted by the generalized uncertainty principle with\nthe minimal measurable length. We derive corrections of the Hawking temperature\nto general relativity, which are related to the energy of the emitted particle,\nthe size of the compact extra dimension, the charge of the black hole and the\nexistence of the minimal length in the squashed Kaluza-Klein geometry. We\nobtain some known Hawking temperatures in five and four-dimensional black hole\nspacetimes by taking limits in the modified temperature. We show that the\ngeneralized uncertainty principle may slow down the increase of the Hawking\ntemperature due to the radiation, which may lead to the thermodynamic stable\nremnant of the order of the Planck mass after the evaporation of the squashed\nKaluza-Klein black hole. We also find that the sparsity of the Hawking\nradiation modified by the generalized uncertainty principle may become infinite\nwhen the mass of the squashed Kaluza-Klein black hole approaches its remnant\nmass."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Deformed Double Current Algebras, Matrix Extended $\\mathcal W_{\\infty}$\n  Algebras, Coproducts, and Intertwiners from the M2-M5 Intersection: We study the algebraic structures which govern the deformation of\nsupersymmetric intersections of M2 and M5 branes. The universal algebras on M2\nand M5 branes are deformed double current algebra of $\\mathfrak{gl}_K$ and\n$\\mathfrak{gl}_K$-extended $\\mathcal{W}_{\\infty}$-algebra respectively. We give\na new presentation of the deformed double current algebra of $\\mathfrak{gl}_K$,\nand we give a rigorous mathematical construction of the\n$\\mathfrak{gl}_K$-extended $\\mathcal{W}_{\\infty}$-algebra. A new presentation\nof the affine Yangian of $\\mathfrak{gl}_K$ is also obtained. We construct\nvarious coproducts of these algebras, which are expected to encode the fusions\nof defects in twisted M-theory. The matrix extended Miura operators are\nidentified as intertwiners in certain bimodules of these algebras.",
        "positive": "Firewalls as artefacts of inconsistent truncations of quantum geometries: In this paper we argue that a firewall is simply a manifestation of an\ninconsistent truncation of non-perturbative effects that unitarize the\nsemiclassical black hole. Namely, we show that a naive truncation of quantum\ncorrections to the Hawking spectrum at order ${\\cal O}(e^{-S})$, inexorably\nleads to a \"localised'' divergent energy density near the black hole horizon.\nNevertheless, in the same approximation, a distant observer only sees a\ndiscretised spectrum and concludes that unitarity is achieved by ${\\cal\nO}(e^{-S})$ effects. This is due to the fact that instead, the correct quantum\ncorrections to the Hawking spectrum go like ${\\cal O}( g^{tt} e^{-S})$.\nTherefore, while at a distance far away from the horizon, where $g^{tt}\\approx\n1$, quantum corrections {\\it are} perturbative, they {\\it do} diverge close to\nthe horizon, where $g^{tt}\\rightarrow \\infty$. Nevertheless, these\n\"corrections\" nicely re-sum so that correlations functions are smooth at the\nwould-be black hole horizon. Thus, we conclude that the appearance of firewalls\nis just a signal of the breaking of the semiclassical approximation at the Page\ntime, even for large black holes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Operator Product Expansion and Conservation Laws in Non-Relativistic\n  Conformal Field Theories: We explore the consequences of conformal symmetry for the operator product\nexpansions in nonrelativistic field theories. Similar to the relativistic case,\nthe OPE coefficients of descendants are related to that of the primary.\nHowever, unlike relativistic CFTs the 3-point function of primaries is not\ncompletely specified by conformal symmetry. Here, we show that the 3-point\nfunction between operators with nonzero particle number, where (at least) one\noperator has the lowest dimension allowed by unitarity, is determined up to a\nnumerical coefficient. We also look at the structure of the family tree of\nprimaries with zero particle number and discuss the presence of conservation\nlaws in this sector.",
        "positive": "Electrically Charged One and a Half Monopole Solution: Recently, we have discussed the coexistence of a finite energy one-half\nmonopole and a 't Hooft-Polyakov monopole of opposite magnetic charges. In this\npaper, we would like to introduce electric charge into this new monopoles\nconfiguration, thus creating a one and a half dyon. This new dyon possesses\nfinite energy, magnetic dipole moment and angular momentum and is able to\nprecess in the presence of an external magnetic field. Similar to the other\ndyon solutions, when the Higgs self-coupling constant, $\\lambda$, is\nnonvanishing, this new dyon solution possesses critical electric charge, total\nenergy, magnetic dipole moment, and dipole separation as the electric charge\nparameter, $\\eta$, approaches one. The electric charge and total energy\nincrease with $\\eta$ to maximum critical values as $\\eta\\rightarrow1$ for all\nnonvanishing $\\lambda$. However, the magnetic dipole moment decreases with\n$\\eta$ when $\\lambda\\geq0.1$ and the dipole separation decreases with $\\eta$\nwhen $\\lambda\\geq1$ to minimum critical values as $\\eta\\rightarrow1$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Xerographic Distribution: Scientific Reasoning in a Large Universe: As observers of the universe we are physical systems within it. If the\nuniverse is very large in space and/or time, the probability becomes\nsignificant that the data on which we base predictions is replicated at other\nlocations in spacetime. Predictions of our future observations therefore\nrequire an assumed probability distribution---the xerographic\ndistribution---for our location among the possible ones. It is the combination\nof basic theory plus the xerographic distribution that can be predictive and\ntestable by further observations. This is illustrated by examining a toy model\nof a classical deterministic universe with a fixed flat metric.",
        "positive": "Central Charges in Non(anti)commutative N=2 Supersymmetric U(N) Gauge\n  Theory: We study the central charge of the deformed N=(1,0) supersymmetry algebra in\nnon(anti)commutative N=2 supersymmetric U(N) gauge theory. In the cases of\nN=1/2 superspace and N=2 harmonic superspace with the singlet deformation, we\nfind that the central charge is deformed by the non(anti)commutative parameters\nbut depends on the electric and magnetic charges. For generic deformation of\nN=2 harmonic superspace, we compute the O(C) correction to the central charges\nin the case of U(1) gauge group."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Sum rules and three point functions: Sum rules constraining the R-current spectral densities are derived\nholographically for the case of D3-branes, M2-branes and M5-branes all at\nfinite chemical potentials. In each of the cases the sum rule relates a certain\nintegral of the spectral density over the frequency to terms which depend both\non long distance physics, hydrodynamics and short distance physics of the\ntheory. The terms which which depend on the short distance physics result from\nthe presence of certain chiral primaries in the OPE of two R-currents which are\nturned on at finite chemical potential. Since these sum rules contain\ninformation of the OPE they provide an alternate method to obtain the structure\nconstants of the two R-currents and the chiral primary. As a consistency check\nwe show that the 3 point function derived from the sum rule precisely matches\nwith that obtained using Witten diagrams.",
        "positive": "Enlarging the Space of Viable Inflation Models: A Slingshot Mechanism: The viability of a given model for inflation is determined not only by the\nform of the inflaton potential, but also by the initial inflaton field\nconfiguration. In many models, field configurations which are otherwise\nwell-motivated nevertheless fail to induce inflation, or fail to produce an\ninflationary epoch of duration sufficient to solve the horizon and flatness\nproblems. In this paper, we propose a mechanism which enables inflation to\noccur even with such initial conditions. Our mechanism involves multiple scalar\nfields which experience a time-dependent mixing. This in turn leads to a\n\"re-overdamping\" phase as well as a parametric resonance which together\n\"slingshot\" the inflaton field from regions of parameter space that do not\ninduce inflation to regions that do. Our mechanism is flexible, dynamical, and\ncapable of yielding an inflationary epoch of sufficiently long duration. This\nslingshot mechanism can therefore be utilized in a variety of settings and\nthereby enlarge the space of potentially viable inflation models."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Semi-classical analysis of the inner product of Bethe states: We study the inner product of two Bethe states, one of which is taken\non-shell, in an inhomogeneous XXX chain in the Sutherland limit, where the\nnumber of magnons is comparable with the length L of the chain and the magnon\nrapidities arrange in a small number of macroscopically large Bethe strings.\nThe leading order in the large L limit is known to be expressed through a\ncontour integral of a dilogarithm. Here we derive the subleading term. Our\nanalysis is based on a new contour-integral representation of the inner product\nin terms of a Fredholm determinant. We give two derivations of the sub-leading\nterm. Besides a direct derivation by solving a Riemann-Hilbert problem, we give\na less rigorous, but more intuitive derivation by field-theoretical methods.\nFor that we represent the Fredholm determinant as an expectation value in a\nFock space of chiral fermions and then bosonize. We construct a collective\nfield for the bosonized theory, the short wave-length part of which may be\nevaluated exactly, while the long wave-length part is amenable to a $1/L$\nexpansion. Our treatment thus results in a systematic 1/L expansion of\nstructure factors within the Sutherland limit.",
        "positive": "Quantum vacuum effects on the final fate of a collapsing ball of dust: We consider the quantum vacuum effects of the massless scalar fields that are\nnon-minimally coupled to the background geometry of a collapsing homogeneous\nball of dust. It is shown that for a definite range of coupling constants,\nthere are repulsive quantum vacuum effects, capable of stopping the collapse\nprocess inside the black hole and precluding the formation of singularity. The\nfinal fate of the collapse will be a black hole with no singularity, inside\nwhich the matter stays balanced. The density of the final static matter will be\nclose to the Planck density. We show that the largest possible radius of the\nstable static ball inside a black hole with Schwarzschild mass $M$ is given by\n${{\\left( \\frac{1}{90\\pi }\\frac{M}{{{m}_{p}}} \\right)}^{\\frac{1}{3}}}{{\\ell\n}_{p}}$. If the black hole undergoes Hawking radiation, the final state will be\nan extremal quantum-corrected black hole, with zero temperature, with a remnant\nof matter inside. We show that the resolution of singularity is not disrupted\nunder Hawking radiation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Resolving the black hole causality paradox: The black hole information paradox is really a combination of two problems:\nthe causality paradox and the entanglement problem. The causality paradox\narises because in the semiclassical approximation infalling matter gets\ncausally trapped inside its own horizon; it is therefore unable to send its\ninformation back to infinity if we disallow propagation outside the light cone.\nWe show how the causality paradox is resolved in the fuzzball paradigm. One\nneeds to distinguish between two kinds of Rindler spaces: (a) Rindler space\nobtained by choosing accelerating coordinates in Minkowski space and (b)\n`pseudo-Rindler' space, which describes the region near the surface of a\nfuzzball. These two spaces differ in their vacuum fluctuations. While low\nenergy waves propagate the same way on both spaces, infalling objects with\nenergies $E\\gg T$ suffer an `entropy enhanced tunneling' in the pseudo-Rindler\nspacetime (b); this leads to the nucleation of a fuzzball before the infalling\nobject gets trapped inside a horizon.",
        "positive": "On the Unitarity of D=9,10,11 Conformal Supersymmetry: We consider the unitarity of D=9,10,11 conformal supersymmetry using the\nrecently established classification of the UIRs of the superalgebras\nosp(1|2n,R)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Relativistic field theories in a magnetic background as noncommutative\n  field theories: We study the connection of the dynamics in relativistic field theories in a\nstrong magnetic field with the dynamics of noncommutative field theories\n(NCFT). As an example, the Nambu-Jona-Lasinio models in spatial dimensions $d\n\\geq 2$ are considered. We show that this connection is rather sophisticated.\nIn fact, the corresponding NCFT are different from the conventional ones\nconsidered in the literature. In particular, the UV/IR mixing is absent in\nthese theories. The reason of that is an inner structure (i.e., dynamical\nform-factors) of neutral composites which plays an important role in providing\nconsistency of the NCFT. An especially interesting case is that for a magnetic\nfield configuration with the maximal number of independent nonzero tensor\ncomponents. In that case, we show that the NCFT are finite for even $d$ and\ntheir dynamics is quasi-(1+1)-dimensional for odd $d$. For even $d$, the NCFT\ndescribe a confinement dynamics of charged particles. The difference between\nthe dynamics in strong magnetic backgrounds in field theories and that in\nstring theories is briefly discussed.",
        "positive": "Superstring at the boundary of open supermembrane interacting with D=4\n  supergravity and matter supermultiplets: We present the complete supersymmetric and $\\kappa$--symmetric action for the\n4-dimensional interacting system of open supermembrane, dynamical supergravity\nand 3--form matter multiplets. The cases of a single 3-form matter multiplet\nand a quite generic model with a number of nonlinear interacting double 3-form\nmultiplets are considered. In all cases the fermionic parameter of the\n$\\kappa$-symmetry is subject to two apparently different projection conditions\nwhich suggests that the ground state of the system, in particular a domain\njunction, might preserve at most 1/4 of the spacetime supersymmetry. The\nboundary term of the open supermembrane action, needed to preserve the\n$\\kappa$-symmetry, has the meaning of the action of a superstring. The\nWess--Zumino term of this superstring action is expressed in terms of real\nlinear superfield playing the role of St\\\"uckelberg field for the 3--form gauge\nsymmetry. This indicates that this symmetry is broken spontaneously by the\nsuperstring at the boundary of supermembrane."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Pseudo-differential equations, and the Bethe Ansatz for the classical\n  Lie algebras: The correspondence between ordinary differential equations and Bethe ansatz\nequations for integrable lattice models in their continuum limits is\ngeneralised to vertex models related to classical simple Lie algebras. New\nfamilies of pseudo-differential equations are proposed, and a link between\nspecific generalised eigenvalue problems for these equations and the Bethe\nansatz is deduced. The pseudo-differential operators resemble in form the\nMiura-transformed Lax operators studied in work on generalised KdV equations,\nclassical W-algebras and, more recently, in the context of the geometric\nLanglands correspondence. Negative-dimension and boundary-condition dualities\nare also observed.",
        "positive": "A Note on GSO-Free RNS Superstrings and Pure Spinor Constraint: Using an elementary perturbative open string field theory solution involving\na twistor-like parameter, we study the cohomology of new nilpotent BRST charge\ncorresponding to the space-time background defined by this solution. The BRST\ncohomology of the deformed background automatically cuts off the GSO-odd\nspectrum in RNS superstring theory and keeps the GSO-even spectrum intact,\nwithout a need of GSO-projection. The on-shell constraints in the GSO-even\nsector get deformed in the new background, corresponding to BRST type\ntransformations of the low-energy effective action with the ghost-like\ncommuting spinor parameter satisfying the pure spinor constraint in $d=10$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "D-particles on T^4/Z_n orbifolds and their resolutions: We formulate the effective field theory of a D-particle on orbifolds of $T^4$\nby a cyclic group as a gauge theory in a $V$-bundle over the dual orbifold. We\nargue that this theory admits Fayet-Iliopoulos terms analogous to those present\nin the case of noncompact orbifolds. In the $n=2$ case, we present some\nevidence that turning on such terms resolves the orbifold singularities and may\nlead to a $K3$ surface realized as a blow up of the fixed points of the cyclic\ngroup action.",
        "positive": "Defect $a$-Theorem and $a$-Maximization: Conformal defects describe the universal behaviors of a conformal field\ntheory (CFT) in the presence of a boundary or more general impurities. The\ncoupled critical system is characterized by new conformal anomalies which are\nanalogous to, and generalize those of standalone CFTs. Here we study the\nconformal $a$- and $c$-anomalies of four dimensional defects in CFTs of general\nspacetime dimensions greater than four. We prove that under unitary defect\nrenormalization group (RG) flows, the defect $a$-anomaly must decrease, thus\nestablishing the defect $a$-theorem. For conformal defects preserving minimal\nsupersymmetry, the full defect symmetry contains a distinguished $U(1)_R$\nsubgroup. We derive the anomaly multiplet relations that express the defect\n$a$- and $c$-anomalies in terms of the defect (mixed) 't Hooft anomalies for\nthis $U(1)_R$ symmetry. Once the $U(1)_R$ symmetry is identified using the\ndefect $a$-maximization principle which we prove, this enables a\nnon-perturbative pathway to the conformal anomalies of strongly coupled\ndefects. We illustrate our methods by discussing a number of examples including\nboundaries in five dimensions and codimension-two defects in six dimensions. We\nalso comment on chiral algebra sectors of defect operator algebras and\npotential conformal collider bounds on defect anomalies."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Logarithmic Operators in Conformal Field Theory: Conformal field theories with correlation functions which have logarithmic\nsingularities are considered. It is shown that those singularities imply the\nexistence of additional operators in the theory which together with ordinary\nprimary operators form the basis of the Jordan cell for the operator $L_{0}$.\nAn example of the field theory possessing such correlation functions is given.",
        "positive": "Primordial non-Gaussianity from G-inflation: We present a comprehensive study of primordial fluctuations generated from\nG-inflation, in which the inflaton Lagrangian is of the form $K(\\phi,\nX)-G(\\phi, X)\\Box\\phi$ with $X=-(\\partial\\phi)^2/2$. The Lagrangian still gives\nrise to second-order gravitational and scalar field equations, and thus offers\na more generic class of single-field inflation than ever studied, with a richer\nphenomenology. We compute the power spectrum and the bispectrum, and clarify\nhow the non-Gaussian amplitude depends upon parameters such as the sound speed.\nIn so doing we try to keep as great generality as possible, allowing for non\nslow-roll and deviation from the exact scale-invariance."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "String Model with Dynamical Geometry and Torsion: A string model with dynamical metric and torsion is proposed. The geometry of\nthe string is described by an effective Lagrangian for the scalar and vector\nfields. The path integral quantization of the string is considered.",
        "positive": "Event Horizon Detecting Invariants: Some judiciously chosen local curvature scalars can be used to invariantly\ncharacterize event horizons of black holes in $D > 3$ dimensions, but they fail\nfor the three dimensional Ba\\~nados-Teitelboim-Zanelli (BTZ) black hole since\nall curvature invariants are constant. Here we provide an invariant\ncharacterization of the event horizon of the BTZ black hole using the curvature\ninvariants of codimension one hypersurfaces instead of the full spacetime. Our\nmethod is also applicable to black holes in generic dimensions but is most\nefficient in three, four, and five dimensions. We give four dimensional Kerr,\nfive dimensional Myers-Perry and three dimensional warped-anti-de Sitter, and\nthe three dimensional asymptotically flat black holes as examples."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Revisiting instanton corrections to the Konishi multiplet: We revisit the calculation of instanton effects in correlation functions in\n${\\cal N}=4$ SYM involving the Konishi operator and operators of twist two.\nPrevious studies revealed that the scaling dimensions and the OPE coefficients\nof these operators do not receive instanton corrections in the semiclassical\napproximation. We go beyond this approximation and demonstrate that, while\noperators belonging to the same ${\\cal N}=4$ supermultiplet ought to have the\nsame conformal data, the evaluation of quantum instanton corrections for one\noperator can be mapped into a semiclassical computation for another operator in\nthe same supermultiplet. This observation allows us to compute explicitly the\nleading instanton correction to the scaling dimension of operators in the\nKonishi supermultiplet as well as to their structure constants in the OPE of\ntwo half-BPS scalar operators. We then use these results, together with\ncrossing symmetry, to determine instanton corrections to scaling dimensions of\ntwist-four operators with large spin.",
        "positive": "Higgs Bundles for M-theory on $G_2$-Manifolds: M-theory compactified on $G_2$-holonomy manifolds results in 4d\n$\\mathcal{N}=1$ supersymmetric gauge theories coupled to gravity. In this paper\nwe focus on the gauge sector of such compactifications by studying the Higgs\nbundle obtained from a partially twisted 7d super Yang-Mills theory on a\nsupersymmetric three-cycle $M_3$. We derive the BPS equations and find the\nmassless spectrum for both abelian and non-abelian gauge groups in 4d. The\nmathematical tool that allows us to determine the spectrum is Morse theory, and\nmore generally Morse-Bott theory. The latter generalization allows us to make\ncontact with twisted connected sum (TCS) $G_2$-manifolds, which form the\nlargest class of examples of compact $G_2$-manifolds. M-theory on TCS\n$G_2$-manifolds is known to result in a non-chiral 4d spectrum. We determine\nthe Higgs bundle for this class of $G_2$-manifolds and provide a prescription\nfor how to engineer singular transitions to models that have chiral matter in\n4d."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The single copy of the gravitational holonomy: The double copy is a well-established relationship between gravity and gauge\ntheories. It relates perturbative scattering amplitudes as well as classical\nsolutions, and recently there has been mounting evidence that it also applies\nto non-perturbative information. In this paper, we consider the holonomy\nproperties of manifolds in gravity and prescribe a single copy of gravitational\nholonomy that differs from the holonomy in gauge theory. We discuss specific\ncases and give examples where the single copy holonomy group is reduced. Our\nresults may prove useful in extending the classical double copy. We also\nclarify previous misconceptions in the literature regarding gravitational\nWilson lines and holonomy.",
        "positive": "Exact Path Integral for 3D Higher Spin Gravity: Extending the works arXiv:1504.05991 and arXiv:1510.02142, we study three\ndimensional Euclidean higher spin gravity with negative cosmological constant.\nThis theory can be formulated in terms of SL(N,C) Chern-Simons theory. By\nintroducing auxiliary fields, we rewrite it in a supersymmetric way and compute\nits partition function exactly by using the localization method. We obtain a\ngood expression for the partition function in terms of characters for the\nvacuum and primaries in 2D unitary CFT with W_N symmetry. We also check that\nthe coefficients of the character expansion are positive integers and exhibit\nCardy formula in the large central charge limit."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Revisiting the dilatation operator of the Wilson-Fisher fixed point: We revisit the order $\\varepsilon$ dilatation operator of the Wilson-Fisher\nfixed point obtained by Kehrein, Pismak, and Wegner in light of recent results\nin conformal field theory. Our approach is algebraic and based only on symmetry\nprinciples. The starting point of our analysis is that the first correction to\nthe dilatation operator is a conformal invariant, which implies that its form\nis fixed up to an infinite set of coefficients associated with the scaling\ndimensions of higher-spin currents. These coefficients can be fixed using\nwell-known perturbative results, however, they were recently re-obtained using\nCFT arguments without relying on perturbation theory. Our analysis then implies\nthat all order-$\\varepsilon$ scaling dimensions of the Wilson-Fisher fixed\npoint can be fixed by symmetry.",
        "positive": "The large N limit of C/Z_N and supergravity: The C/Z_N orbifold of type II string theory has localized tachyons with m^2\nranging from -1+1/N to -2/N in units of 2/\\alpha'. We show that by restricting\nattention to the lightest tachyons it is possible to take a zero-slope limit\nwhere N is taken to infinity while N\\alpha' is held fixed. This is done by\napplying Buscher duality in the angular direction of the cone to obtain a\nsupergravity solution on which the tachyons are gravitational instabilities. In\nthis picture, supergravity provides a natural off-shell description of the\ntachyonic interactions. For example, the three-point couplings can be read off\neasily (to leading order in 1/N) from the supergravity action, and are in\nagreement with the on-shell couplings computed using CFT techniques."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Asymptotically isometric codes for holography: The holographic principle suggests that the low energy effective field theory\nof gravity, as used to describe perturbative quantum fields about some\nbackground has far too many states. It is then natural that any quantum error\ncorrecting code with such a quantum field theory as the code subspace is not\nisometric. We discuss how this framework can naturally arise in an algebraic\nQFT treatment of a family of CFT with a large-$N$ limit described by the single\ntrace sector. We show that an isometric code can be recovered in the $N\n\\rightarrow \\infty$ limit when acting on fixed states in the code Hilbert\nspace. Asymptotically isometric codes come equipped with the notion of simple\noperators and nets of causal wedges. While the causal wedges are additive, they\nneed not satisfy Haag duality, thus leading to the possibility of non-trivial\nentanglement wedge reconstructions. Codes with complementary recovery are\ndefined as having extensions to Haag dual nets, where entanglement wedges are\nwell defined for all causal boundary regions. We prove an asymptotic version of\nthe information disturbance trade-off theorem and use this to show that\nboundary theory causality is maintained by net extensions. We give a\ncharacterization of the existence of an entanglement wedge extension via the\nasymptotic equality of bulk and boundary relative entropy or modular flow.\nWhile these codes are asymptotically exact, at fixed $N$ they can have large\nerrors on states that do not survive the large-$N$ limit. This allows us to fix\nwell known issues that arise when modeling gravity as an exact codes, while\nmaintaining the nice features expected of gravity, including, among other\nthings, the emergence of non-trivial von Neumann algebras of various types.",
        "positive": "Age-dependent decay in the landscape: The picture of the \"multiverse\" arising in diverse cosmological scenarios\ninvolves transitions between metastable vacuum states. It was pointed out by\nKrauss and Dent that the transition rates decrease at very late times, leading\nto a dependence of the transition probability between vacua on the age of each\nvacuum region. I investigate the implications of this non-Markovian,\nage-dependent decay on the global structure of the spacetime in landscape\nscenarios. I show that the fractal dimension of the eternally inflating domain\nis precisely equal to 3, instead of being slightly below 3 in scenarios with\npurely Markovian, age-independent decay. I develop a complete description of a\nnon-Markovian landscape in terms of a nonlocal master equation. Using this\ndescription I demonstrate by an explicit calculation that, under some technical\nassumptions about the landscape, the probabilistic predictions of our position\nin the landscape are essentially unchanged, regardless of the measure used to\nextract these predictions. I briefly discuss the physical plausibility of\nrealizing non-Markovian vacuum decay in cosmology in view of the possible\ndecoherence of the metastable quantum state."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantization of Scalar Field in the Presence of Imaginary Frequency\n  Modes: Complex frequency modes occur for a scalar field near a rapidly rotating star\n{\\it with ergoregion but no event horizon}. Such complex frequency modes must\nbe included in the quantization of the field. As a model for this system, we\nhave investigated a real scalar field with mass $\\mu $ in a one-dimensional\nsquare-well potential. If the depth of the potential is greater than $\\mu^2$,\nthen there exist imaginary frequency modes. It is possible to quantize this\nsimple system, but the mode operators for imaginary frequencies satisfy unusual\ncommutation relations and do not admit a Fock-like representation or a ground\nstate. Similar properties have been discussed already by Fulling for a complex\nscalar field interacting with an external electrostatic potential. We are\ninterested in the field dynamics in the physical case where the initial state\nof the quantum field is specified before the complex frequency modes develop.\nAs a model for this, we investigated a free scalar field whose ``mass\" is\nnormal in the past and becomes ``tachyonic\" in the future. A particle detector\nin the far future placed in the in-vacuum state shows non-vanishing excitations\nrelated to the imaginary frequency modes as well. Implications of these results\nfor the question of vacuum stability near rapidly rotating stars and possible\napplications to other fields in physics are discussed briefly.",
        "positive": "Finite Temperature Casimir Effect in Randall-Sundrum Models: The finite temperature Casimir effect for a scalar field in the bulk region\nof the two Randall-Sundrum models, RSI and RSII, is studied. We calculate the\nCasimir energy and the Casimir force for two parallel plates with separation\n$a$ on the visible brane in the RSI model. High-temperature and low-temperature\ncases are covered. Attractiveness versus repulsiveness of the temperature\ncorrection to the force is discussed in the typical special cases of\nDirichlet-Dirichlet, Neumann-Neumann, and Dirichlet-Neumann boundary conditions\nat low temperature. The Abel-Plana summation formula is made use of, as this\nturns out to be most convenient. Some comments are made on the related\ncontemporary literature."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Path integral for multi-field inflation: We develop the path integral formalism for studying cosmological\nperturbations in multi-field inflation, which is particularly well suited to\nstudy quantum theories with gauge symmetries such as diffeomorphism invariance.\nWe formulate the gauge fixing conditions based on the Poisson brackets of the\nconstraints, from which we derive two convenient gauges that are appropriate\nfor multi-field inflation. We then adopt the in-in formalism to derive the most\ngeneral expression for the power spectrum of the curvature perturbation\nincluding the corrections from the interactions of the curvature mode with\nother light degrees of freedom. We also discuss the contributions of the\ninteractions to the bispectrum.",
        "positive": "Semiclassical torus blocks in the t-channel: We explicitly demonstrate the relation between the 2-point t-channel torus\nblock in the large-c regime and the geodesic length of a specific geodesic\ndiagram stretched in the thermal AdS3 spacetime"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Electrovacuum Near-horizon Geometries in Four and Five Dimensions: Associated to every stationary extremal black hole is a unique near-horizon\ngeometry, itself a solution of the field equations. These latter spacetimes are\nmore tractable to analyze and most importantly, retain properties of the\noriginal black hole which are intrinsic to the event horizon. After reviewing\ngeneral features of near-horizon geometries, such as SO(2,1) symmetry\nenhancement, I report on recent work on stationary, charged extremal black hole\nsolutions of the Einstein-Maxwell equations with a negative cosmological\nconstant in four dimensions and present a classification of near-horizon\ngeometries of black holes on this kind. In five dimensions, charged extremal\nblack hole solutions to minimal (gauged) supergravity, which arises naturally\nin string theory and the gauge theory/gravity correspondence, are considered. I\nconsider the classification of near-horizon geometries for the subset of such\nblack holes which are supersymmetric. Recent progress on the classification\nproblem in the general extremal, non-supersymmetric case is also discussed.",
        "positive": "On the elimination of infinitesimal Gribov ambiguities in non-Abelian\n  gauge theories: An alternative method to account for the Gribov ambiguities in gauge theories\nis presented. It is shown that, to eliminate Gribov ambiguities, at\ninfinitesimal level, it is required to break the BRST symmetry in a soft\nmanner. This can be done by introducing a suitable extra constraint that\neliminates the infinitesimal Gribov copies. It is shown that the present\napproach is consistent with the well established known cases in the literature,\ni.e., the Landau and maximal Abelian gauges. The method is valid for gauges\ndepending exclusively on the gauge field and is restricted to classical level.\nHowever, occasionally, we deal with quantum aspects of the technique, which are\nused to improve the results."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Comparing D-branes and Black Holes with 0- and 6-brane Charge: We consider configurations of D6-branes with D0-brane charge given by recent\nwork of Taylor and compute interaction potentials with various D-brane probes\nusing a 1-loop open string calculation. These results are compared to a\nsupergravity calculation using the solution given by Sheinblatt of an extremal\nblack hole carrying 0-brane and 6-brane charge.",
        "positive": "Effective Field Theory, Past and Future: This is a written version of the opening talk at the 6th International\nWorkshop on Chiral Dynamics, at the University of Bern, Switzerland, July 6,\n2009, to be published in the proceedings of the Workshop. In it, I reminisce\nabout the early development of effective field theories of the strong\ninteractions, comment briefly on some other applications of effective field\ntheories, and then take up the idea that the Standard Model and General\nRelativity are the leading terms in an effective field theory. Finally, I cite\nrecent calculations that suggest that the effective field theory of gravitation\nand matter is asymptotically safe."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spinor with Schr\\\" odinger symmetry and non-relativistic supersymmetry: We construct the $d$ dimensional \"half\" Schr\\\"odinger equation, which is a\nkind of the root of the Schr\\\"odinger equation, from the $d+1$ dimensional free\nDirac equation. The solution of the \"half\" Schr\\\"odinger equation also\nsatisfies the usual free Schr\\\"odinger equation. We also find that the explicit\ntransformation laws of the Schr\\\"odinger and the half Schr\\\"odinger fields\nunder the Schr\\\"odinger symmetry transformation are derived by starting from\nthe Klein-Gordon equation and the Dirac equation in $d+1$ dimensions. We derive\nthe 3 and 4 dimensional super-Schr\\\"odinger algebra from the superconformal\nalgebra in 4 and 5 dimensions. The algebra is realized by introducing two\ncomplex scalar and one complex) spinor fields and the explicit transformation\nproperties have been found.",
        "positive": "U(1) gauge invariance from open string field theory: The naive low energy effective action of the tachyon and the U(1) gauge field\nobtained from string field theory does not correspond to the world volume\naction of unstable branes in bosonic string theory. We show that there exists a\nfield redefinition which relates the gauge field and the tachyon of the string\nfield theory action to the fields in the world volume action of unstable\nbranes. We identify a string gauge symmetry which corresponds to the U(1) gauge\ntransformation. This is done to the first non-linear order in the fields. We\nexamine the vector fluctuations at the tachyon condensate till level (4,8)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Riemann Surfaces in Chern-Simons Theory: We construct from first principles the operator 'A-hat' that annihilates the\npartition functions (or wavefunctions) of three-dimensional Chern-Simons theory\nwith gauge groups SU(2), SL(2,R), or SL(2,C) on a knot complement M. The\noperator 'A-hat' is a quantization of the knot complement's classical\nA-polynomial A(l,m). The construction proceeds by decomposing three-manifolds\ninto ideal tetrahedra, and invoking a new, more global understanding of gluing\nin TQFT to put them back together. We advocate in particular that, properly\ninterpreted, \"gluing = symplectic reduction.\" We also arrive at a new\nfinite-dimensional state integral model for computing the analytically\ncontinued \"holomorphic blocks\" that compose any physical Chern-Simons partition\nfunction.",
        "positive": "Chiral Magnetic Wave: We consider a relativistic plasma containing charged chiral fermions in an\nexternal magnetic field, e.g a chirally symmetric quark-gluon plasma created in\nrelativistic heavy ion collisions. We show that triangle anomalies imply the\nexistence of a new type of collective gapless excitation in this system that\nstems from the coupling between the density waves of the electric and chiral\ncharges; we call it \"the Chiral Magnetic Wave\" (CMW). The CMW exists even in a\nneutral plasma, i.e. in the absence of the axial and vector chemical\npotentials. We demonstrate the existence of CMW and study its properties using\nthree different approaches: i) relativistic magnetohydrodynamics; ii)\ndimensional reduction to $(1+1)$ Sine-Gordon model, appropriate in a strong\nmagnetic field; and iii) holographic QCD (Sakai-Sugimoto model), appropriate at\nstrong coupling. We also briefly discuss the phenomenological implications of\nthe CMW for heavy ion collisions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Permutations of Massive Vacua: We discuss the permutation group G of massive vacua of four-dimensional gauge\ntheories with N=1 supersymmetry that arises upon tracing loops in the space of\ncouplings. We concentrate on superconformal N=4 and N=2 theories with N=1\nsupersymmetry preserving mass deformations. The permutation group G of massive\nvacua is the Galois group of characteristic polynomials for the vacuum\nexpectation values of chiral observables. We provide various techniques to\neffectively compute characteristic polynomials in given theories, and we deduce\nthe existence of varying symmetry breaking patterns of the duality group\ndepending on the gauge algebra and matter content of the theory. Our examples\ngive rise to interesting field extensions of spaces of modular forms.",
        "positive": "Relationship between Fujikawa's Method and the Background Field Method\n  for the Scale Anomaly: We show the equivalence between Fujikawa's method for calculating the scale\nanomaly and the diagrammatic approach to calculating the effective potential\nvia the background field method, for an $O(N)$ symmetric scalar field theory.\nFujikawa's method leads to a sum of terms, each one superficially in one-to-one\ncorrespondence with a vacuum diagram of the 1-loop expansion. From the\nviewpoint of the classical action, the anomaly results in a breakdown of the\nWard identities due to a scale-dependence of the couplings, whereas in terms of\nthe effective action, the anomaly is the result of the breakdown of Noether's\ntheorem due to explicit symmetry breaking terms of the effective potential."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Embedding of theories with SU(2|4) symmetry into the plane wave matrix\n  model: We study theories with SU(2|4) symmetry, which include the plane wave matrix\nmodel, 2+1 SYM on RxS^2 and N=4 SYM on RxS^3/Z_k. All these theories possess\nmany vacua. From Lin-Maldacena's method which gives the gravity dual of each\nvacuum, it is predicted that the theory around each vacuum of 2+1 SYM on RxS^2\nand N=4 SYM on RxS^3/Z_k is embedded in the plane wave matrix model. We show\nthis directly on the gauge theory side. We clearly reveal relationships among\nthe spherical harmonics on S^3, the monopole harmonics and the harmonics on\nfuzzy spheres. We extend the compactification (the T-duality) in matrix models\na la Taylor to that on spheres.",
        "positive": "Off-Shell Fields and Quantum Anomalies: We use the formalism of quantum off-shell fields for the case of pure\nYang-Mills fields. In this formalism one can compute in a systematic way the\nsecond order anomalies of the tree sector."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic Thermal Observables and M2-branes: We use holography in conjunction with recent results from supersymmetric\nlocalization to compute certain thermal observables for 3d $\\mathcal{N}=2$\nholographic SCFTs arising on the worldvolume of $N$ M2-branes. We obtain\nresults for the thermal free energy density on $S^1 \\times \\mathbb{R}^2$, the\nCasimir energy on $T^{2} \\times \\mathbb{R}$, and the three leading coefficients\nin the large temperature limit of the free energy on $S^1\\times S^2$ valid to\nsubleading order in the large $N$ limit. As a byproduct of our holographic\nanalysis we also present a conjecture for the structure of the large\ntemperature expansion of the thermal free energy of general 3d CFTs on\n$S^1\\times S^2$.",
        "positive": "Stability of the non-extremal enhancon solution I: perturbation\n  equations: We consider the stability of the two branches of non-extremal enhancon\nsolutions. We argue that one would expect a transition between the two branches\nat some value of the non-extremality, which should manifest itself in some\ninstability. We study small perturbations of these solutions, constructing a\nsufficiently general ansatz for linearised perturbations of the non-extremal\nsolutions, and show that the linearised equations are consistent. We show that\nthe simplest kind of perturbation does not lead to any instability. We reduce\nthe problem of studying the more general spherically symmetric perturbation to\nsolving a set of three coupled second-order differential equations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Moduli Stabilisation and de Sitter Vacua in MSSM Heterotic Orbifolds: We study the problem of moduli stabilisation in explicit heterotic orbifold\ncompactifications, whose spectra contain the MSSM plus some vector-like exotics\nthat can be decoupled. Considering all the bulk moduli, we obtain the 4D low\nenergy effective action for the compactification, which has contributions from\nvarious, computable, perturbative and non-perturbative effects. Hidden sector\ngaugino condensation and string worldsheet instantons result in a combination\nof racetrack, KKLT and cusp-form contributions to the superpotential, which\nlift all the bulk moduli directions. We point out the properties observed in\nour concrete models, which tend to be missed when only \"generic\" features of a\nmodel are assumed. We search for interesting vacua and find several de Sitter\nsolutions, but -- so far -- they all turn out to be unstable.",
        "positive": "Embedding AdS Black Holes in Ten and Eleven Dimensions: We construct the non-linear Kaluza-Klein ans\\\"atze describing the embeddings\nof the U(1)^3, U(1)^4 and U(1)^2 truncations of D=5, D=4 and D=7 gauged\nsupergravities into the type IIB string and M-theory. These enable one to\noxidise any associated lower dimensional solutions to D=10 or D=11. In\nparticular, we use these general ans\\\"atze to embed the charged AdS_5, AdS_4\nand AdS_7 black hole solutions in ten and eleven dimensions. The charges for\nthe black holes with toroidal horizons may be interpreted as the angular\nmomenta of D3-branes, M2-branes and M5-branes spinning in the tranverse\ndimensions, in their near-horizon decoupling limits. The horizons of the black\nholes coincide with the worldvolumes of the branes. The Kaluza-Klein ans\\\"atze\nalso allow the black holes with spherical or hyperbolic horizons to be\nreinterpreted in D=10 or D=11."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Generalized Gradient Flow Equation and Its Application to Super\n  Yang-Mills Theory: We generalize the gradient flow equation for field theories with nonlinearly\nrealized symmetry. Applying the formalism to super Yang-Mills theory, we\nconstruct a supersymmetric extension of the gradient flow equation. It can be\nshown that the super gauge symmetry is preserved in the gradient flow.\nFurthermore, choosing an appropriate modification term to damp the gauge\ndegrees of freedom, we obtain a gradient flow equation which is closed within\nthe Wess-Zumino gauge.",
        "positive": "CNM Models, Holomorphic Functions and Projective Superspace C-Maps: Continuing the investigation of CNM (chiral-nonminimal) hypermultiplet\nnonlinear sigma-models, we propose extensions of the concept of the c-map which\nrelate holomorphic functions to hyper-Kahler geometries. In particular, we show\nthat a whole series of hyper-Kahler potentials can be derived by replacing the\nrole of the 4D, N = 1 tensor multiplet in the original c-map by 4D, N = 1\nnon-minimal multiplets and auxiliary superfields. The resulting N = 2 models\nappear to have interesting connections to Calabi-Yau manifolds and algebraic\nvarieties. These models also emphasize the fact that special hyper-Kahler\nmanifolds (the analogs of special Kahler manifolds) without isometries exist."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Classical Weyl Transverse Gravity: We study various classical aspects of the Weyl transverse (WTDiff) gravity in\na general space-time dimension. First of all, we clarify a classical\nequivalence among three kinds of gravitational theories, those are, the\nconformally-invariant scalar tensor gravity, Einstein's general relativity and\nthe WTDiff gravity via the gauge fixing procedure. Secondly, we show that in\nthe WTDiff gravity the cosmological constant is a mere integration constant as\nin unimodular gravity, but it does not receive any radiative corrections unlike\nthe unimodular gravity. A key point in this proof is to construct a covariantly\nconserved energy-momentum tensor, which is achieved on the basis of this\nequivalence relation. Thirdly, we demonstrate that the Noether current for the\nWeyl transformation is identically vanishing, thereby implying that the Weyl\nsymmetry existing in both the conformally-invariant scalar tensor gravity and\nthe WTDiff gravity is a \"fake\" symmetry. We find it possible to extend this\nproof to all matter fields, i.e. the Weyl invariant scalar, vector and spinor\nfields. Fourthly, it is explicitly shown that in the WTDiff gravity the\nSchwarzshild black hole metric and a charged black hole one are classical\nsolutions to the equations of motion only when they are expressed in the\nCartesian coordinate system. Finally, we consider the\nFriedmann-Lemaitre-Robertson-Walker (FLRW) cosmology and provide some exact\nsolutions.",
        "positive": "Fake gaps in AdS_3/CFT_2: We discuss properties of interpolating geometries in three dimensional\ngravity in the presence of a chiral anomaly. This anomaly, which introduces an\nunbalance between left and right central charges, is protected under RG flows.\nFor this simple reason it is impossible to gap a system with such an anomaly.\nOur goal is to discuss how holography captures this basic and robust feature.\nWe demonstrate the absence of a mass gap by analysing the linearized spectrum\nand holographic entanglement entropy of these backgrounds in the context of\nAdS$_3$/CFT$_2$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Tensor extension of the Poincar\u00e9 algebra: A tensor extension of the Poincar\\'e algebra is proposed for the arbitrary\ndimensions. Casimir operators of the extension are constructed. A possible\nsupersymmetric generalization of this extension is also found in the dimensions\n$D=2,3,4$.",
        "positive": "Creation of Matter in the Universe and Groups of Type E7: We relate the mechanism of matter creation in the universe after inflation to\na simple and universal mathematical property of extended N > 1 supergravities\nand related compactifications of superstring theory. We show that in all such\nmodels, the inflaton field may decay into vector fields due to a nonminimal\nscalar-vector coupling. This coupling is compulsory for all scalars except N=2\nhyperscalars. The proof is based on the fact that all extended supergravities\ndescribed by symmetric coset spaces G/H have duality groups G of type E7, with\nexception of U(p,n) models. For N=2 we prove separately that special geometry\nrequires a non-minimal scalar-vector coupling. Upon truncation to N=1\nsupergravity, extended models generically preserve the non-minimal\nscalar-vector coupling, with exception of U(p,n) models and hyperscalars. For\nsome string theory/supergravity inflationary models, this coupling provides the\nonly way to complete the process of creation of matter in the early universe."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quanta of Geometry: Noncommutative Aspects: In the construction of spectral manifolds in noncommutative geometry, a\nhigher degree Heisenberg commutation relation involving the Dirac operator and\nthe Feynman slash of real scalar fields naturally appears and implies, by\nequality with the index formula, the quantization of the volume. We first show\nthat this condition implies that the manifold decomposes into disconnected\nspheres which will represent quanta of geometry. We then refine the condition\nby involving the real structure and two types of geometric quanta, and show\nthat connected spin-manifolds with large quantized volume are then obtained as\nsolutions. The two algebras M_2(H) and M_4(C) are obtained which are the exact\nconstituents of the Standard Model. Using the two maps from M_4 to S^4 the\nfour-manifold is built out of a very large number of the two kinds of spheres\nof Planckian volume. We give several physical applications of this scheme such\nas quantization of the cosmological constant, mimetic dark matter and area\nquantization of black holes.",
        "positive": "Krylov Complexity and Spectral Form Factor for Noisy Random Matrix\n  Models: We study the spectral properties of two classes of random matrix models:\nnon-Gaussian RMT with quartic and sextic potentials, and RMT with Gaussian\nnoise. We compute and analyze the quantum Krylov complexity and the spectral\nform factor for both of these models. We find that both models show suppression\nof the spectral form factor at short times due to decoherence effects, but they\ndiffer in their long-time behavior. In particular, we show that the Krylov\ncomplexity for the non-Gaussian RMT and RMT with noise deviates from that of a\nGaussian RMT. We discuss the implications and limitations of our results for\nquantum chaos and quantum information in open quantum systems. Our study\nreveals the distinct sensitivities of the spectral form factor and complexity\nto non-Gaussianity and noise, which contribute to the observed differences in\nthe different time domains."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Axial gravity, massless fermions and trace anomalies: This article deals with two main topics. One is odd parity trace anomalies in\nWeyl fermion theories in a 4d curved background, the second is the introduction\nof axial gravity. The motivation for reconsidering the former is to clarify the\ntheoretical background underlying the approach and complete the calculation of\nthe anomaly. The reference is in particular to the difference between Weyl and\nmassless Majorana fermions and to the possible contributions from tadpole and\nseagull terms in the Feynman diagram approach. A first, basic, result of this\npaper is that a more thorough treatment, taking account of such additional\nterms { and using dimensional regularization}, confirms the earlier result. The\nintroduction of an axial symmetric tensor besides the usual gravitational\nmetric is instrumental to a different derivation of the same result using Dirac\nfermions, which are coupled not only to the usual metric but also to the\nadditional axial tensor. The action of Majorana and Weyl fermions can be\nobtained in two different limits of such a general configuration. The results\nobtained in this way confirm the previously obtained ones.",
        "positive": "Exactness in the Path Integral of the Coulomb Potential in One Space\n  Dimension: We solve time-sliced path integrals of one-dimensional Coulomb system in an\nexact manner. In formulating path integrals, we make use of the Duru-Kleinert\ntransformation with Fujikawa's gauge theoretical technique. Feynman kernels in\nthe momentum representation both for bound states and scattering states will be\nobtained with clear pole structure that explains the exactness of the path\nintegral. The path integrals presented here can be, therefore, evaluated\nexactly by making use of Cauchy's integral theorem."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauge theory one-loop amplitudes and the BCFW recursion relations: We calculate gauge theory one-loop amplitudes with the aid of the complex\nshift used in the Britto-Cachazo-Feng-Witten (BCFW) recursion relations of tree\namplitudes. We apply the shift to the integrand and show that the contribution\nfrom the limit of infinite shift vanishes after integrating over the loop\nmomentum, by a judicious choice of basis for polarization vectors. This enables\nus to write the one-loop amplitude in terms of on-shell tree and lower point\none-loop amplitudes. Some of the tree amplitudes are forward amplitudes. We\nshow that their potential singularities do not contribute and the BCFW\nrecursion relations can be applied in such a way as to avoid these\nsingularities altogether. We calculate in detail $n$-point one-loop amplitudes\nfor $n=2,3,4$, and outline the generalization of our method to $n>4$.",
        "positive": "Nonnormalizable Zero Modes on BPS Junctions: Using an exact solution as a concrete example, Nambu-Goldstone modes on the\nBPS domain wall junction are worked out for N=1 supersymmetric theories in four\ndimensions. Their wave functions extend along the wall to infinity (not\nlocalized) and are not normalizable. It is argued that this feature is a\ngeneric phenomenon of Nambu-Goldstone modes on domain wall junctions in the\nbulk flat space in any dimensions. We formulate mode equations and show that\nfermion and boson with the same mass come in pairs except massless modes which\ncan appear singly, in accordance with unitary representations of (1, 0)\nsupersymmetry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Revisiting Soliton Contributions to Perturbative Amplitudes: It is often said that soliton contributions to perturbative processes in QFT\nare exponentially suppressed by a form factor. We provide a new derivation of\nthis form factor for a class of scalar theories with generic soliton moduli.\nThe derivation treats the soliton momenta relativistically and is valid at\nleading order in momentum transfer. The computation reduces to a matrix element\nin the quantum mechanics on the soliton moduli space. We investigate the\nconditions under which the latter leads to suppression. Extending this\nframework to instanton-solitons in five-dimensional Yang-Mills theory leaves\nopen the possibility that such contributions will not be suppressed.",
        "positive": "Vacuum fluctuations in axion-dilaton cosmologies: We study axion-dilaton cosmologies derived from the low-energy string\neffective action. We present the classical homogeneous\nFriedmann-Robertson-Walker solutions and derive the semi-classical perturbation\nspectra in the dilaton, axion and moduli fields in the pre-Big Bang scenario.\nBy constructing the unique S-duality invariant field perturbations for the\naxion and dilaton fields we derive S-duality invariant solutions, valid when\nthe axion field is time-dependent as well as in a dilaton-vacuum cosmology.\nWhereas the dilaton and moduli fields have steep blue perturbation spectra\n(with spectral index n=4) we find that the axion spectrum depends upon the\nexpansion rate of the internal dimensions (0.54<n<4) which allows\nscale-invariant (n=1) spectra. We note that for n<1 the metric is non-singular\nin the conformal frame in which the axion is minimally coupled."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Atick-Witten free energy, closed tachyon condensation and deformed\n  Poincare' symmetry: The dependence of the free energy of string theory on the temperature at T\nmuch larger than the Hagedorn temperature was found long ago by Atick and\nWitten and is $F(T)\\sim \\Lambda T^2$, where $\\Lambda$ diverges because of a\ntachyonic instability. We show that this result can be understood assuming\nthat, above the Hagedorn transition, Poincare' symmetry is deformed into a\nquantum algebra. Physically this quantum algebra describes a non-commutative\nspatial geometry and a discrete euclidean time. We then show that in string\ntheory this deformed Poincare' symmetry indeed emerges above the Hagedorn\ntemperature from the condensation of vortices on the world-sheet. This result\nindicates that the endpoint of the condensation of closed string tachyons with\nnon-zero winding is an infinite stack of spacelike branes with a given\nnon-commutative world-volume geometry. On a more technical side, we also point\nout that $T$-duality along a circle with antiperiodic boundary conditions for\nspacetime fermions is broken by world-sheet vortices, and the would-be T-dual\nvariable becomes non-compact.",
        "positive": "Perturbative S-matrix for massive scalar fields in global de Sitter\n  space: We construct a perturbative S-matrix for interacting massive scalar fields in\nglobal de Sitter space. Our S-matrix is formulated in terms of asymptotic\nparticle states in the far past and future, taking appropriate care for light\nfields whose wavefunctions decay only very slowly near the de Sitter conformal\nboundaries. An alternative formulation expresses this S-matrix in terms of\nresidues of poles in analytically-continued Euclidean correlators (computed in\nperturbation theory), making it clear that the standard Minkowski-space result\nis obtained in the flat-space limit. Our S-matrix transforms properly under\nCPT, is invariant under the de Sitter isometries and perturbative field\nredefinitions, and is unitary. This unitarity implies a de Sitter version of\nthe optical theorem. We explicitly verify these properties to second order in\nthe coupling for a general cubic interaction, including both tree- and\nloop-level contributions. Contrary to other statements in the literature, we\nfind that a particle of any positive mass may decay at tree level to any number\nof particles, each of arbitrary positive masses. In particular, even very light\nfields (in the complementary series of de Sitter representations) are not\nprotected from tree-level decays."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Deformation of N=4 Super Yang-Mills Theory in Graviphoton Background: We study deformation of N=4 super Yang-Mills theory from type IIB\nsuperstrings with D3-branes in the constant R-R background. We compute disk\namplitudes with one graviphoton vertex operator and investigate the zero-slope\nlimit of the amplitudes. We obtain the effective action deformed by the\ngraviphoton background, which contains the one defined in non(anti)commutative\nN=1 superspace as special case. The bosonic part of the Lagrangian gives the\nChern-Simons term coupled with the R-R potential. We study the vacuum\nconfiguration of the deformed Lagrangian and find the fuzzy sphere\nconfiguration for scalar fields.",
        "positive": "Comments on Summing over Bordisms in TQFT: Recent works in quantum gravity, motivated by the factorization problem and\nbaby universes, have considered sums over bordisms with fixed boundaries in\ntopological quantum field theory (TQFT). We discuss this construction and\nobserve a curious splitting formula for the total amplitude."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Note on Gauge Invariant Operators in Noncommutative Gauge Theories and\n  the Matrix Model: In this note we discuss local gauge-invariant operators in noncommutative\ngauge theories. Inspired by the connection of these theories with the Matrix\nmodel, we give a simple construction of a complete set of gauge-invariant\noperators. We make connection with the recent discussions of candidate\noperators which are dual to closed strings modes. We also discuss large Wilson\nloops which in the limit of vanishing noncommutativity, reduce to the closed\nWilson loops of the ordinary gauge theory.",
        "positive": "Nernst branes with Lifshitz asymptotics in N=2 gauged supergravity: We discuss two classes of non-supersymmetric interpolating solutions in N=2,\nD=4 gauged supergravity, that flow from either a z=2 Lifshitz geometry or a\nconformal AdS background to the near-horizon geometry of a Nernst brane. We\nobtain these solutions by constructing a z=2 supersymmetric Lifshitz solution\nin the STU model from a first-order rewriting of the action, then lifting it up\nto a five-dimensional background and subsequently modifying this\nfive-dimensional solution by a two-parameter family of deformations. Under\nreduction, these give four-dimensional non-supersymmetric Nernst brane\nsolutions. This is a step towards resolving the Lifshitz tidal force\nsingularity in the context of N=2 gauged supergravity and suggests an approach\nto encoding the Nernst brane in terms of the Schroedinger symmetry group of the\nholographically dual field theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Rotating BPS black holes in matter-coupled AdS(4) supergravity: Using the general recipe given in arXiv:0804.0009, where all timelike\nsupersymmetric solutions of N=2, D=4 gauged supergravity coupled to abelian\nvector multiplets were classified, we construct genuine rotating supersymmetric\nblack holes in AdS(4) with nonconstant scalar fields. This is done for the\nSU(1,1)/U(1) model with prepotential F=-iX^0X^1. In the static case, the black\nholes are uplifted to eleven dimensions, and generalize the solution found in\nhep-th/0105250 corresponding to membranes wrapping holomorphic curves in a\nCalabi-Yau five-fold. The constructed rotating black holes preserve one quarter\nof the supersymmetry, whereas their near-horizon geometry is one half BPS.\nMoreover, for constant scalars, we generalize (a supersymmetric subclass of)\nthe Plebanski-Demianski solution of cosmological Einstein-Maxwell theory to an\narbitrary number of vector multiplets. Remarkably, the latter turns out to be\nrelated to the dimensionally reduced gravitational Chern-Simons action.",
        "positive": "Noether symmetries, energy-momentum tensors and conformal invariance in\n  classical field theory: In the framework of classical field theory, we first review the Noether\ntheory of symmetries, with simple rederivations of its essential results, with\nspecial emphasis given to the Noether identities for gauge theories. Will this\nbaggage on board, we next discuss in detail, for Poincar\\'e invariant theories\nin flat spacetime, the differences between the Belinfante energy-momentum\ntensor and a family of Hilbert energy-momentum tensors. All these tensors\ncoincide on shell but they split their duties in the following sense:\nBelinfante's tensor is the one to use in order to obtain the generators of\nPoincar\\'e symmetries and it is a basic ingredient of the generators of other\neventual spacetime symmetries which may happen to exist. Instead, Hilbert\ntensors are the means to test whether a theory contains other spacetime\nsymmetries beyond Poincar\\'e. We discuss at length the case of scale and\nconformal symmetry, of which we give some examples. We show, for Poincar\\'e\ninvariant Lagrangians, that the realization of scale invariance selects a\nunique Hilbert tensor which allows for an easy test as to whether conformal\ninvariance is also realized. Finally we make some basic remarks on metric\ngenerally covariant theories and classical field theory in a fixed curved\nbakground."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Relations between elliptic multiple zeta values and a special derivation\n  algebra: We investigate relations between elliptic multiple zeta values and describe a\nmethod to derive the number of indecomposable elements of given weight and\nlength. Our method is based on representing elliptic multiple zeta values as\niterated integrals over Eisenstein series and exploiting the connection with a\nspecial derivation algebra. Its commutator relations give rise to constraints\non the iterated integrals over Eisenstein series relevant for elliptic multiple\nzeta values and thereby allow to count the indecomposable representatives.\nConversely, the above connection suggests apparently new relations in the\nderivation algebra. Under https://tools.aei.mpg.de/emzv we provide relations\nfor elliptic multiple zeta values over a wide range of weights and lengths.",
        "positive": "String Field Theory and the Fuzzy Sphere: We use boundary string field theory to study open string tachyon condensation\non a three-sphere closed string background. We consider the closed string\nbackground described by $SU(2)_k$ WZW model in the limit of large $k$. We\ncompute the exact tachyon potential and analyse the decay modes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Superstring Cosmology -- A Complementary Review: In this review, a number of approaches to superstring cosmology which make\nuse of key features which distinguish string theory from point particle\ntheories are discussed, with particular emphasis on emergent scenarios. One\nmotivation for the discussion is the realization that, in order to describe the\nevolution of the very early universe, it is necessary to go beyond a\nconventional effective field theory (EFT) analysis. Some of the conceptual\nproblems of an EFT analysis will be discussed. The review begins with a summary\nof the criteria for a successful early universe scenario, emphasizing that\ncosmic inflation is not the only scenario of early universe cosmology which is\nconsistent with current cosmological observations. Bouncing and emergent\nscenarios as interesting alternatives are introduced. Some realizations of\nthese scenarios from superstring theory are reviewed, e.g. String Gas\nCosmology, the Pre-Big-Bang scenario, the Ekpyrotic model, Double Field Theory\ncosmology and matrix model cosmology. In light of the difficulties in obtaining\ncosmic inflation from string theory (at the level of EFT), and realizing that\nthere are promising examples of alternative early universe scenarios which are\nderived from basic principles of superstring theory, one must entertain the\npossibility that the cosmology emerging from string theory will not involve an\nextended period of accelerated expansion.",
        "positive": "Instanton Effects in Orientifold ABJM Theory: We investigate another supersymmetric Chern-Simons theory called the\norientifold ABJM theory, which replaces the unitary supergroup structure of the\nABJM theory with an orthosymplectic one. Its non-perturbative structure is\ncompletely clarified by considering the duplication of the quiver."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the gravity dual of strongly coupled charged plasma: Locally asymptotically AdS solutions of Einstein equations coupled with a\nvector field with a weakly curved boundary metric are found within the\nfluid-gravity gradient expansion up to second order in gradients. This geometry\nis dual to 1+3 dimensional hydrodynamics with a conserved current in a weakly\ncurved background. The causal structure of the bulk geometry is determined and\nit is shown that the black brane singularity is shielded by an event horizon.",
        "positive": "Holographic isotropization linearized: The holographic isotropization of a highly anisotropic, homogeneous, strongly\ncoupled, non-Abelian plasma was simplified in arXiv:1202.0981 by linearizing\nEinstein's equations around the final, equilibrium state. This approximation\nreproduces the expectation value of the boundary stress tensor with a 20%\naccuracy. Here we elaborate on these results and extend them to observables\nthat are directly sensitive to the bulk interior, focusing for simplicity on\nthe entropy production on the event horizon. We also consider\nnext-to-leading-order corrections and show that the leading terms alone provide\na better description of the isotropization process for the states that are\nfurthest from equilibrium."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On critical models with $N\\leq 4$ scalars in $d=4-\u03b5$: We adopt a combination of analytical and numerical methods to study the\nrenormalization group flow of the most general field theory with quartic\ninteraction in $d=4-\\epsilon$ with $N=3$ and $N=4$ scalars. For $N=3$, we find\nthat it admits only three nondecomposable critical points: the Wilson-Fisher\nwith $O(3)$ symmetry, the cubic with $H_3=(\\mathbb{Z}_2)^3\\rtimes S_3$\nsymmetry, and the biconical with $O(2)\\times \\mathbb{Z}_2$. For $N=4$, our\nanalysis reveals the existence of new nontrivial solutions with discrete\nsymmetries and with up to three distinct field anomalous dimensions.",
        "positive": "SU(5) orientifolds, Yukawa couplings, Stringy Instantons and Proton\n  Decay: We construct a large class of SU(5) orientifold vacua with tadpole\ncancellation both for the standard and the flipped case. We give a general\nanalysis of superpotential couplings up to quartic order in orientifold vacua\nand identify the properties of needed Yukawa couplings as well as the baryon\nnumber violating couplings. We point out that successful generation of the\nperturbatively forbidden Yukawa couplings entails a generically disastrous rate\nfor proton decay from an associated quartic term in the superpotential,\ngenerated from the same instanton effects. We search for the appropriate\ninstanton effects that generate the missing Yukawa couplings in the SU(5) vacua\nwe constructed and find them in a small subset of them."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Infinite Conformal Algebras in Supersymmetric Theories on Four Manifolds: We study a supersymmetric theory twisted on a K\\\"ahler four manifold\n$M=\\Sigma_1 \\times \\Sigma_2 ,$ where $\\Sigma_{1,2}$ are 2D Riemann surfaces. We\ndemonstrate that it possesses a \"left-moving\" conformal stress tensor on\n$\\Sigma_1$ ($\\Sigma_2$) in a BRST cohomology, which generates the Virasoro\nalgebra with the conventional commutation relations. The central charge of the\nVirasoro algebra has a purely geometric origin and is proportional to the Euler\ncharacteristic $\\c$ of the $\\Sigma_2$ ($\\Sigma_1$) surface. It is shown that\nthis construction can be extended to include a realization of a Kac-Moody\nalgebra in BRST cohomology with a level proportional to the Euler\ncharacteristic $\\c .$ This structure is shown to be invariant under\nrenormalization group. A representation of the algebra $W_{1+\\infty}$ in terms\nof a free chiral supermultiplet is also given. We discuss the role of\ninstantons and a possible relation between the dynamics of 4D Yang-Mills\ntheories and those of 2D sigma models.",
        "positive": "Gravity duals of N=(0,2) SCFTs from M5-branes: We describe the general BPS system that governs the gravity duals of N=(0,2)\ntwo-dimensional superconformal field theories in the low-energy limit of\nM5-branes on a four-manifold, M4. In order to preserve supersymmetry, we\nrestrict to cases where the four-manifold is embedded in a Calabi-Yau fourfold\nthat is a sum of two line bundles over M4. We further reduce the N=(0,2) system\nto describe the gravity duals of SCFTs with N=(0,4) and N=(2,2) supersymmetry.\nIn the first case, the solutions fit in the larger class of AdS3xS2xCY3\nsolutions of M-theory dual to N=(0,4) SCFTs. In the case of the N=(2,2)\ntheories, the near-horizon limit of M4 is necessarily a product of two constant\ncurvature Riemann surfaces whose metrics are governed by a pair of Liouville\nequations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Higher Gauge Theory: 2-Connections on 2-Bundles: Connections and curvings on gerbes are beginning to play a vital role in\ndifferential geometry and mathematical physics -- first abelian gerbes, and\nmore recently nonabelian gerbes. These concepts can be elegantly understood\nusing the concept of `2-bundle' recently introduced by Bartels. A 2-bundle is a\ngeneralization of a bundle in which the fibers are categories rather than sets.\nHere we introduce the concept of a `2-connection' on a principal 2-bundle. We\ndescribe principal 2-bundles with connection in terms of local data, and show\nthat under certain conditions this reduces to the cocycle data for nonabelian\ngerbes with connection and curving subject to a certain constraint -- namely,\nthe vanishing of the `fake curvature', as defined by Breen and Messing. This\nconstraint also turns out to guarantee the existence of `2-holonomies': that\nis, parallel transport over both curves and surfaces, fitting together to\ndefine a 2-functor from the `path 2-groupoid' of the base space to the\nstructure 2-group. We give a general theory of 2-holonomies and show how they\nare related to ordinary parallel transport on the path space of the base\nmanifold.",
        "positive": "Holographic Meson Spectra in the Dense Medium with Chiral Condensate: We study two $1/N_c$ effects on the meson spectra by using the AdS/CFT\ncorrespondence where the $1/N_c$ corrections from the chiral condensate and the\nquark density are controlled by the gravitational backreaction of the massive\nscalar field and U(1) gauge field respectively. The dual geometries with zero\nand nonzero current quark masses are obtained numerically. We discuss meson\nspectra and binding energy of heavy quarkonium with the subleading corrections\nin the hard wall model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The (amazing) Super-Maze: The entropy of the three-charge NS5-F1-P black hole in Type IIA string theory\ncomes from the breaking of $N_1$ F1 strings into $N_1 N_5$ little strings,\nwhich become independent momentum carriers. In M theory, the little strings\ncorrespond to strips of M2 brane that connect pairs of parallel M5 branes\nseparated along the M-theory direction. We show that if one takes into account\nthe backreaction of the M-theory little strings on the M5 branes one obtains a\nmaze-like structure, to which one can add momentum waves. We also show that\nadding momentum waves to the little strings gives rise to a momentum-carrying\nbrane configuration -- a super-maze -- which locally preserves 16 supercharges.\nWe therefore expect the backreaction of the super-maze to give rise to a new\nclass of horizonless black-hole microstate solutions, which preserve the\nrotational symmetry of the black-hole horizon and carry $\\sqrt{5/6}$ of its\nentropy.",
        "positive": "Complexity of Magnetization and Magnetic Simplification: We use the complexity=volume (CV) prescription to study the effect of a\nmagnetic field on the computational complexity for states in the gauge theories\ndual to two different gravitational models. In one of these theories the\ncomplexity increases with the intensity of the magnetic field, while in the\nother a more interesting behavior is discovered, resulting in a phenomenon that\nwe term magnetic simplification. The relevant difference between the two\ntheories is that the content of the second includes a scalar operator with a\nnonvanishing vacuum expectation value. This leads us to conclude that the\ndirect impact of the magnetic field is to increase the complexity of a state,\nbut it can indirectly lower it by diminishing the complexity associated to\nadditional degrees of freedom when these do not vanish across the space. We\nadditionally compare the results obtained working in the full ten-dimensional\nbackgrounds and in their effective five-dimensional truncations, exhibiting\nthat the question is still current about which surface, whether the uplift of\nthe 5D extremal hypersurface or the extremal surface in 10D, should be used in\nthe CV prescription."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Edge states and thermodynamics of rotating relativistic fermions under\n  magnetic field: We discuss free Dirac fermions rotating uniformly inside a cylindrical cavity\nin the presence of background magnetic field parallel to the cylinder axis. We\nshow that in addition to the known bulk states the system contains massive edge\nstates with the masses inversely proportional to the radius of the cylinder.\nThe edge states appear at quantized threshold values of the fermion mass. In\nthe limit of infinite fermion mass the masses of the edge states remain finite\nbut, generally, nonzero as contrasted to the bulk states whose masses become\ninfinite. The presence of magnetic field affects the spectrum of both bulk and\nedge modes, and the masses of the edge states may vanish at certain values of\nmagnetic field. The moment of inertia of Dirac fermions is non-monotonically\nincreasing, oscillating function of magnetic field. The oscillations are well\npronounced in a low-temperature domain and they disappear at high temperatures.",
        "positive": "Dynamical Generation of Spacetime Signature by Massive Quantum Fields on\n  a Topologically Non-Trivial Background: The effective potential for a dynamical Wick field (dynamical signature)\ninduced by the quantum effects of massive fields on a topologically non-trivial\n$D$ dimensional background is considered. It is shown that when the radius of\nthe compactified dimension is very small compared with $\\Lambda^{1/2}$ (where\n$\\Lambda$ is a proper-time cutoff), a flat metric with Lorentzian signature is\npreferred on ${\\bf R}^4 \\times {\\bf S}^1$. When the compactification radius\nbecomes larger a careful analysis of the 1-loop effective potential indicates\nthat a Lorentzian signature is preferred in both $D=6$ and $D=4$ and that these\nresults are relatively stable under metrical perturbations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Simple Approach to Thermal Bethe Ansatz: We report on a new approach to the calculation of thermodynamic functions for\ncrossing-invariant models solvable by Bethe Ansatz. In the case of the XXZ\nHeisenberg chain we derive, for arbitrary values of the anysotropy, a single\nnon-linear integral equation from which the free energy can be exactly\ncalculated.These equations are shown to be equivalent to an infinite set of\nalgebraic equations of Bethe type which provide alternatively the\nthermodinamics.\n  The high-temperature expansion follows in a sistematic and relatively simple\nway from our non-linear integral equations. For low temperatures we obtain the\ncorrect central charge and predict the analytic structure of the full expansion\naround T=0. Furthermore, we derive a single non-linear integral equation\ndescribing the finite-size ground-state energy of the Sine-Gordon quantum field\ntheory.",
        "positive": "Non-Relativistic Chern-Simons Theories and Three-Dimensional\n  Horava-Lifshitz Gravity: We show that certain three-dimensional Horava-Lifshitz gravity theories can\nbe written as Chern-Simons gauge theories on various non-relativistic algebras.\nThe algebras are specific extensions of the Bargmann, Newton-Hooke and\nSchroedinger algebra each of which has the Galilean algebra as a subalgebra. To\nshow this we employ the fact that Horava-Lifshitz gravity corresponds to\ndynamical Newton-Cartan geometry. In particular, the extended Bargmann\n(Newton-Hooke) Chern-Simons theory corresponds to projectable Horava-Lifshitz\ngravity with a local U(1) gauge symmetry without (with) a cosmological\nconstant. Moreover we identify an extended Schroedinger algebra containing 3\nextra generators that are central with respect to the subalgebra of Galilean\nboosts, momenta and rotations, for which the Chern-Simons theory gives rise to\na novel version of non-projectable conformal Horava-Lifshitz gravity that we\nrefer to as Schroedinger gravity. This theory has a z=2 Lifshitz geometry as a\nvacuum solution and thus provides a new framework to study Lifshitz holography."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Geodesic equation in $k$-Minkowski spacetime: In this paper, we derive corrections to the geodesic equation due to the\n$k$-deformation of curved space-time, up to the first order in the deformation\nparameter a. This is done by generalizing the method from our previous paper\n[31], to include curvature effects. We show that the effect of\n$k$-noncommutativity can be interpreted as an extra drag that acts on the\nparticle while moving in this $k$-deformed curved space. We have derived the\nNewtonian limit of the geodesic equation and using this, we discuss possible\nbounds on the deformation parameter. We also derive the generalized uncertainty\nrelations valid in the non-relativistic limit of the $k$-space-time.",
        "positive": "Introduction to Lightcone Conformal Truncation: QFT Dynamics from CFT\n  Data: We both review and augment the lightcone conformal truncation (LCT) method.\nLCT is a Hamiltonian truncation method for calculating dynamical quantities in\nQFT in infinite volume. This document is a self-contained, pedagogical\nintroduction and \"how-to\" manual for LCT. We focus on 2D QFTs which have UV\ndescriptions as free CFTs containing scalars, fermions, and gauge fields,\nproviding a rich starting arena for LCT applications. Along our way, we develop\nseveral new techniques and innovations that greatly enhance the efficiency and\napplicability of LCT. These include the development of CFT radial quantization\nmethods for computing Hamiltonian matrix elements and a new SUSY-inspired way\nof avoiding state-dependent counterterms and maintaining chiral symmetry. We\nwalk readers through the construction of their own basic LCT code, sufficient\nfor small truncation cutoffs. We also provide a more sophisticated and\ncomprehensive set of Mathematica packages and demonstrations that can be used\nto study a variety of 2D models. We guide the reader through these packages\nwith several examples and illustrate how to obtain QFT observables, such as\nspectral densities and the Zamolodchikov $C$-function. Specific models\nconsidered are finite $N_c$ QCD, scalar $\\phi^4$ theory, and Yukawa theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Two Loop Effective Kaehler Potential: In this talk we study the renormalization of the effective Kaehler potential\nat one and two loops for general four dimensional (non--renormalizable) N=1\nsupersymmetric theories described by arbitrary Kaehler potential,\nsuperpotential and gauge kinetic function. We consider the Wess-Zumino model as\nan example.",
        "positive": "Boundary Ring: a way to construct approximate NG solutions with polygon\n  boundary conditions: I. Z_n-symmetric configurations: We describe an algebro-geometric construction of polygon-bounded minimal\nsurfaces in ADS_5, based on consideration of what we call the \"boundary ring\"\nof polynomials. The first non-trivial example of the Nambu-Goto (NG) solutions\nfor Z_6-symmetric hexagon is considered in some detail. Solutions are\nrepresented as power series, of which only the first terms are evaluated. The\nNG equations leave a number of free parameters (a free function). Boundary\nconditions, which fix the free parameters, are imposed on truncated series. It\nis still unclear if explicit analytic formulas can be found in this way, but\neven approximate solutions, obtained by truncation of power series, can be\nsufficient to investigate the Alday-Maldacena -- BDS/BHT version of the\nstring/gauge duality."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Symbology for elliptic multiple polylogarithms and the symbol prime: Elliptic multiple polylogarithms occur in Feynman integrals and in particular\nin scattering amplitudes. They can be characterized by their symbol, a tensor\nproduct in the so-called symbol letters. In contrast to the non-elliptic case,\nthe elliptic letters themselves satisfy highly non-trivial identities, which we\ndiscuss in this paper. Moreover, we introduce the symbol prime, an analog of\nthe symbol for elliptic symbol letters, which makes these identities manifest.\nWe demonstrate its use in two concrete examples at two-loop order: the\nunequal-mass sunrise integral in two dimensions and the ten-point double-box\nintegral in four dimensions. Finally, we also report the result of the\npolylogarithmic nine-point double-box integral, which arises as the soft limit\nof the ten-point integral.",
        "positive": "Bulk Reconstruction in Moduli Space Holography: It was recently suggested that certain UV-completable supersymmetric actions\ncan be characterized by the solutions to an auxiliary non-linear sigma-model\nwith special asymptotic boundary conditions. The space-time of this sigma-model\nis the scalar field space of these effective theories while the target space is\na coset space. We study this sigma-model without any reference to a potentially\nunderlying geometric description. Using a holographic approach reminiscent of\nthe bulk reconstruction in the AdS/CFT correspondence, we then derive its\nnear-boundary solutions for a two-dimensional space-time. Specifying a set of $\nSl(2,\\mathbb{R})$ boundary data we show that the near-boundary solutions are\nuniquely fixed after imposing a single bulk-boundary matching condition. The\nreconstruction exploits an elaborate set of recursion relations introduced by\nCattani, Kaplan, and Schmid in the proof of the $Sl(2)$-orbit theorem. We\nexplicitly solve these recursion relations for three sets of simple boundary\ndata and show that they model asymptotic periods of a Calabi--Yau threefold\nnear the conifold point, the large complex structure point, and the Tyurin\ndegeneration."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dual S-matrix Bootstrap I: 2D Theory: Using duality in optimization theory we formulate a dual approach to the\nS-matrix bootstrap that provides rigorous bounds to 2D QFT observables as a\nconsequence of unitarity, crossing symmetry and analyticity of the scattering\nmatrix. We then explain how to optimize such bounds numerically, and prove that\nthey provide the same bounds obtained from the usual primal formulation of the\nS-matrix Bootstrap, at least once convergence is attained from both\nperspectives. These techniques are then applied to the study of a gapped system\nwith two stable particles of different masses, which serves as a toy model for\nbootstrapping popular physical systems.",
        "positive": "Conformal Symmetries of the Self-Dual Yang-Mills Equations: We describe an infinite-dimensional Kac-Moody-Virasoro algebra of new hidden\nsymmetries for the self-dual Yang-Mills equations related to conformal\ntransformations of the 4-dimensional base space."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supercoherent States of OSp(8*|2N), Conformal Superfields and the\n  AdS_7/CFT_6 Duality: We study the positive energy unitary representations of 2N extended\nsuperconformal algebras OSp(8*|2N) in six dimensions. These representations can\nbe formulated in a particle basis or a supercoherent state basis, which are\nlabeled by the superspace coordinates in d=6. We show that the supercoherent\nstates that form the bases of positive energy representations of OSp(8*|2N) can\nbe identified with conformal superfields in six dimensions. The massless\nconformal superfields correspond precisely to the ultra short doubleton\nsupermultiplets of OSp(8*|2N). The other positive energy unitary\nrepresentations correspond to massive conformal superfields in six dimensions\nand they can be obtained by tensoring an arbitrary number of doubleton\nsupermultiplets with each other. The supermultiplets obtained by tensoring two\ncopies of the doubletons correspond to massless anti-de Sitter supermultiplets\nin d = 7.",
        "positive": "A local and renormalizable framework for the gauge-invariant operator\n  $A^2_{\\min}$ in Euclidean Yang-Mills theories in linear covariant gauges: We address the issue of the renormalizability of the gauge-invariant\nnon-local dimension-two operator $A^2_{\\rm min}$, whose minimization is defined\nalong the gauge orbit. Despite its non-local character, we show that the\noperator $A^2_{\\rm min}$ can be cast in local form through the introduction of\nan auxiliary Stueckelberg field. The localization procedure gives rise to an\nunconventional kind of Stueckelberg-type action which turns out to be\nrenormalizable to all orders of perturbation theory. In particular, as a\nconsequence of its gauge invariance, the anomalous dimension of the operator\n$A^2_{\\rm min}$ turns out to be independent from the gauge parameter $\\alpha$\nentering the gauge-fixing condition, being thus given by the anomalous\ndimension of the operator $A^2$ in the Landau gauge."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Emptiness formation probability of the XXZ spin-1/2 Heisenberg chain at\n  Delta=1/2: Using a multiple integral representation for the correlation functions, we\ncompute the emptiness formation probability of the XXZ spin-1/2 Heisenberg\nchain at anisotropy Delta=1/2. We prove it is expressed in term of the number\nof alternating sign matrices.",
        "positive": "Triality of Majorana-Weyl Spacetimes with Different Signatures: Higher dimensional Majorana-Weyl spacetimes present space-time dualities\nwhich are induced by the Spin(8) triality automorphisms. This corresponds to a\nvery fundamental property of the supersymmetry in higher dimensions, i.e. that\nany given theory can be formulated in different signatures all interconnected\nby the S_3 permutation group."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Limiting Geometries of Two Circular Maldacena-Wilson Loop Operators: We further analyze a recent perturbative two-loop calculation of the\nexpectation value of two axi-symmetric circular Maldacena-Wilson loops in N=4\ngauge theory. Firstly, it is demonstrated how to adapt the previous calculation\nof anti-symmetrically oriented circles to the symmetric case. By shrinking one\nof the circles to zero size we then explicitly work out the first few terms of\nthe local operator expansion of the loop. Our calculations explicitly\ndemonstrate that circular Maldacena-Wilson loops are non-BPS observables\nprecisely due to the appearance of unprotected local operators. The latter\nreceive anomalous scaling dimensions from non-ladder diagrams. Finally, we\npresent new insights into a recent conjecture claiming that coincident circular\nMaldacena-Wilson loops are described by a Gaussian matrix model. We report on a\nnovel, supporting two-loop test, but also explain and illustrate why the\nexisting arguments in favor of the conjecture are flawed.",
        "positive": "Quantum groups and deformed special relativity: The structure and properties of possible $q$-Minkowski spaces is discussed,\nand the corresponding non-commutative differential calculi are developed in\ndetail and compared with already existing proposals. This is done by stressing\nits covariance properties as described by appropriate reflection equations.\nSome isomorphisms among the space-time and derivative algebras are\ndemonstrated, and their representations are described briefly. Finally, some\nphysical consequences and open problems are discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Cosmological String Solutions in 4 Dimensions from 5d Black Holes: We obtain cosmological four dimensional solutions of the low energy effective\nstring theory by reducing a five dimensional black hole, and black hole--de\nSitter solution of Einstein gravity down to four dimensions. The appearance of\na cosmological constant in the five dimensional Einstein--Hilbert action\nproduces a special dilaton potential in the four dimensional effective string\naction. Cosmological scenarios implemented by our solutions are discussed.",
        "positive": "Modular Theory and Eyvind Wichmann's Contributions to modern Particle\n  Physics Theory: Some of the consequences of Eyvind Wichmann's contributions to modular theory\nand the QFT phase-space structure are presented. In order to show the power of\nthose ideas in contemporary problems, I selected the issue of algebraic\nholography as well as a new nonperturbative constructive approach (based on the\nmodular structur of wedge-localized algebras and modular inclusions) and show\nthat these ideas are recent consequences of the pathbreaking work which\nWichmann together with his collaborator Bisognano initiated in the mid\n70$^{ies}."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Superconductors from Superstrings: We establish that in a large class of strongly coupled 3+1 dimensional N=1\nquiver conformal field theories with gravity duals, adding a chemical potential\nfor the R-charge leads to the existence of superfluid states in which a chiral\nprimary operator of the schematic form O = \\lambda\\lambda + W condenses. Here\n\\lambda is a gluino and W is the superpotential. Our argument is based on the\nconstruction of a consistent truncation of type IIB supergravity that includes\na U(1) gauge field and a complex scalar.",
        "positive": "Aspects of holography and rotating AdS black holes: A comparison is made between the thermodynamics of weakly and strongly\ncoupled Yang-Mills with fixed angular momentum. The free energy of the strongly\ncoupled Yang-Mills is calculated by using a dual supergravity description\ncorresponding to a rotating black hole in an Anti de Sitter (AdS) background.\nAll thermodynamic quantities are shown have the same ratio of 3/4 (independent\nof angular momentum) between strong and weak coupling."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Brane structure from a scalar field in general covariant Horava-Lifshitz\n  gravity: In this paper we have considered the structure of the non-projectable\nHorava-Melby-Thompson (HMT) gravity to find braneworld scenarios. A\nrelativistic scalar field is considered in the matter sector and we have shown\nhow to reduce the equations of motion to first-order differential equations. In\nparticular, we have studied thick brane solutions of both the dilatonic and\nRandall-Sundrum types.",
        "positive": "Nonrelativistic pulsating strings: We explore nonrelativistic (NR) pulsating string configurations over torsion\nNewton-Cartan (TNC) geometry having topology $ R \\times S^2 $ and check the\ncorresponding analytic integrability criteria following Kovacic's algorithm. In\nthe first part we consider pulsating strings propagating over TNC geometry\nwhose world-sheet theory is described by relativistic CFTs. We compute\nconserved charges associated with the $ 2D $ sigma model and show that the\nclassical phase space corresponding to these NR pulsating string configurations\nis Liouvillian integrable. Finally, we consider nonrelativisitc scaling\nassociated with the world-sheet d.o.f. and show that the corresponding string\nconfiguration allows even simpler integrable structure."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Localization of Matter Fields in the 5D Standing Wave Braneworld: We investigate the localization problem of matter fields within the 5D\nstanding wave braneworld. In this model the brane emits anisotropic waves into\nthe bulk with different amplitudes along different spatial dimensions. We show\nthat in the case of increasing warp factor there exist the pure gravitational\nlocalization of all kinds of quantum and classical particles on the brane. For\nclassical particles the anisotropy of the background metric is hidden, brane\nfields exhibit standard Lorentz symmetry in spite of anisotropic nature of the\nprimordial 5D metric.",
        "positive": "Generalized BFT Formalism of Electroweak Theory in the Unitary Gauge: We systematically embed the SU(2)$\\times$U(1) Higgs model in the unitary\ngauge into a fully gauge-invariant theory by following the generalized BFT\nformalism. We also suggest a novel path to get a first-class Lagrangian\ndirectly from the original second-class one using the BFT fields."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "$H_0$ tension and the String Swampland: [Abridged] We realize the Agrawal-Obied-Vafa (AOV) swampland proposal of\nfading dark matter by the model of Salam-Sezgin and its string realization of\nCvetic-Gibbons-Pope. The model describes a compactification of 6-dimensional\nsupergravity with a monopole background on a 2-sphere. In 4 dimensions, there\nare 2 scalar fields, $X$ and $Y $, and the effective potential in the Einstein\nframe is an exponential with respect to $Y$ times a quadratic polynomial in the\nfield $e^{-X}$. When making the volume of the 2-sphere large, namely for large\nvalues of $Y$, there appears a tower of states, which according to the infinite\ndistance swampland conjecture becomes exponentially massless. If the standard\nmodel fields are confined on Neveu-Schwarz 5-branes the 6-dimensional gauge\ncouplings are independent of the string dilaton in the string frame, and upon\ncompactification to 4 dimensions the 4-dimensional gauge couplings depend on\n$X$ (rather than the dilaton $Y$) which is fixed at the minimum of the\npotential. This avoids direct couplings of the dilaton to matter suppressing\nextra forces competing with gravity. We show that this set up has the salient\nfeatures of the AOV models, and ergo can potentially ameliorate the tension\nbetween local distance ladder and cosmic microwave background estimates of the\nHubble constant $H_0$. Although the AOV proposal does not fully resolve the\ntension in $H_0$ measurements, it provides a dynamical dark energy model of\ncosmology that satisfies the de Sitter swampland conjecture. We comment on a\nviable solution to overcome the tension between low- and high-redshift\nobservations within the AOV background and discuss the implications for the\nswampland program.",
        "positive": "Configurations of two D-instantons: The potential between two separated D-instantons at fixed (super) space-time\npoints is obtained by a simple explicit integration over the `massive'\nvariables of the zero-dimensional reduction of ten-dimensional U(2) super\nYang-Mills theory. This potential vanishes for asymptotically large\nseparations, becoming significant at separations of around the ten-dimensional\nPlanck scale with a singularity at the origin, which is resolved by the extra\n`massless' internal Yang-Mills super-coordinates."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Superconformal vertex algebras in four dimensions: A superfield formalism for quantum fields with N-extended superconformal\nsymmetry is developed using vertex algebra techniques in four dimensions.",
        "positive": "Elements of (super-)Hamiltonian Formalism: In these lectures we discuss some basic aspects of Hamiltonian formalism,\nwhich usually do not appear in standard texbooks on classical mechanics for\nphysicists. We pay special attention to the procedure of Hamiltonian reduction\nillustrating it by the examples related to Hopf maps. Then we briefly discuss\nthe supergeneralisation(s) of the Hamiltonian formalism and present some simple\nmodels of supersymmetric mechanics on K\\\"ahler manifolds."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Notes on a singular Landau-Ginzburg family: We study some properties of a singular Landau-Ginzburg family characterized\nby the multi-variable superpotential $W=-X^{-1}(Y_1Y_2)^{n-1} + {1\\over n}\n(Y_1Y_2)^n - Y_3Y_4$. We will argue that (the infra-red limit of) this theory\ndescribes the topological degrees of freedom of the $c=1$ string compactified\nat $n$ times the self-dual radius. We also briefly comment on the possible\nrealization of these line singularities as singularities of Calabi-Yau\nmanifolds.",
        "positive": "Beyond the Elliptic Genus: Given a Riemann surface and a riemannian manifold M with certain\nrestrictions, we construct a cobordism invariant of M. This invariant is a\ngeneralization of the elliptic genus and it shares some similar properties."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Visualising quantum effective action calculations in zero dimensions: We present an explicit treatment of the two-particle-irreducible (2PI)\neffective action for a zero-dimensional quantum field theory. The advantage of\nthis simple playground is that we are required to deal only with functions\nrather than functionals, making complete analytic approximations accessible and\nfull numerical evaluation of the exact result possible. Moreover, it permits us\nto plot intuitive graphical representations of the behaviour of the effective\naction, as well as the objects out of which it is built. We illustrate the\nsubtleties of the behaviour of the sources and their convex-conjugate\nvariables, and their relation to the various saddle points of the path\nintegral. With this understood, we describe the convexity of the 2PI effective\naction and provide a comprehensive explanation of how the Maxwell construction\narises in the case of multiple, classically stable saddle points, finding\nresults that are consistent with previous studies of the\none-particle-irreducible (1PI) effective action.",
        "positive": "Effective Field Theory for Quasicrystals and Phasons Dynamics: We build an effective field theory (EFT) for quasicrystals -- aperiodic\nincommensurate lattice structures -- at finite temperature, entirely based on\nsymmetry arguments and a well-define action principle. By means of\nSchwinger-Keldysh techniques, we derive the full dissipative dynamics of the\nsystem and we recover the experimentally observed diffusion-to-propagation\ncrossover of the phason mode. From a symmetry point of view, the diffusive\nnature of the phason at long wavelengths is due to the fact that the internal\ntranslations, or phason shifts, are symmetries of the system with no associated\nNoether currents. The latter feature is compatible with the EFT description\nonly because of the presence of dissipation (finite temperature) and the lack\nof periodic order. Finally, we comment on the similarities with certain\nhomogeneous holographic models and we formally derive the universal relation\nbetween the pinning frequency of the phonons and the damping and diffusion\nconstant of the phason."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "$PSL(n|n)$ Sigma Model as a Conformal Field Theory: We discuss the sigma model on the $PSL(n|n)$ supergroup manifold. We\ndemonstrate that this theory is exactly conformal. The chiral algebra of this\nmodel is given by some extension of the Virasoro algebra, similar to the $W$\nalgebra of Zamolodchikov. We also show that all group invariant correlation\nfunctions are coupling constant independent and can be computed in the free\ntheory. The non invariant correlation functions are highly nontrivial and\ncoupling dependent. At the end we compare two and three-point correlation\nfunctions of the $PSL(1,1|2)$ sigma model with the correlation functions in the\nboundary theory of $AdS_3 \\times S^3$ and find a qualitative agreement.",
        "positive": "Propagations of massive graviton in the deformed Ho\u0159ava-Lifshitz\n  gravity: We study massive graviton propagations of scalar, vector, and tensor modes in\nthe deformed Ho\\v{r}ava-Lifshitz gravity by introducing Lorentz-violating mass\nterm. It turns out that vector and tensor modes are massively propagating on\nthe Minkowski spacetime background. However, adding the mass term does not cure\na ghost instability in the Ho\\v{r}ava scalar."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "From correlation functions to event shapes in QCD: We present a method for calculating event shapes in QCD based on correlation\nfunctions of conserved currents. The method has been previously applied to the\nmaximally supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory, but we demonstrate that\nsupersymmetry is not essential. As a proof of concept, we consider the simplest\nexample of a charge-charge correlation at one loop (leading order). We compute\nthe correlation function of four electromagnetic currents and explain in detail\nthe steps needed to extract the event shape from it. The result is compared to\nthe standard amplitude calculation. The explicit four-point correlation\nfunction may also be of interest for the CFT community.",
        "positive": "Quantum Black Hole Entropy from 4d Supersymmetric Cardy formula: We study supersymmetric index of 4d $SU(N)$ $\\mathcal{N}=4$ super Yang-Mills\ntheory on $S^1 \\times M_3$. We compute asymptotic behavior of the index in the\nlimit of shrinking $S^1$ for arbitrary $N$ by a refinement of supersymmetric\nCardy formula. The asymptotic behavior for the superconformal index case ($M_3\n=S^3$) at large $N$ agrees with the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy of rotating\nelectrically charged BPS black hole in $AdS_5$ via a Legendre transformation as\nrecently shown in literature. We also find that the agreement formally persists\nfor finite $N$ if we slightly modify the AdS/CFT dictionary between Newton\nconstant and $N$. This implies an existence of non-renormalization property of\nthe quantum black hole entropy. We also study the cases with other gauge groups\nand additional matters, and the orbifold $\\mathcal{N}=4$ super Yang-Mills\ntheory. It turns out that the entropies of all the CFT examples in this paper\nare given by $2\\pi \\sqrt{Q_1 Q_2 +Q_1 Q_3 +Q_2 Q_3 -2c(J_1 +J_2 )} $ with\ncharges $Q_{1,2,3}$, angular momenta $J_{1,2}$ and central charge $c$. The\nresults for other $M_3$ make predictions to the gravity side."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Neutron Acceleration in Uniform Electromagnetic Fields: The question as to whether neutron acceleration can occur in uniform\nelectromagnetic fields is examined. Although such an effect has been predicted\nusing the canonical equations of motion some doubt has been raised recently as\nto whether it is in principle observable for a spin 1/2 particle. To resolve\nthis issue a gedanken experiment is proposed and analyzed using a wave packet\nconstruction for the neutron beam. By allowing arbitrary orientation for the\nneutron spin as well as for the electric and magnetic fields a non vanishing\nacceleration of the center of the neutron wave packet is found which confirms\nthe predictions of the canonical formalism.",
        "positive": "Noether's Theorem and time-dependent quantum invariants: The time dependent-integrals of motion, linear in position and momentum\noperators, of a quantum system are extracted from Noether's theorem\nprescription by means of special time-dependent variations of coordinates. For\nthe stationary case of the generalized two-dimensional harmonic oscillator, the\ntime-independent integrals of motion are shown to correspond to special\nBragg-type symmetry properties. A detailed study for the non-stationary case of\nthis quantum system is presented. The linear integrals of motion are\nconstructed explicitly for the case of varying mass and coupling strength. They\nare obtained also from Noether's theorem. The general treatment for a\nmulti-dimensional quadratic system is indicated, and it is shown that the\ntime-dependent variations that give rise to the linear invariants, as conserved\nquantities, satisfy the corresponding classical homogeneous equations of motion\nfor the coordinates."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Twelve-Dimensional Supersymmetric Gauge Theory as the Large N Limit: Starting with the ordinary ten-dimensional supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory\nfor the gauge group U(N), we obtain a twelve-dimensional supersymmetric gauge\ntheory as the large N limit. The two symplectic canonical coordinates\nparametrizing the unitary N X N matrices for U(N) are identified with the extra\ncoordinates in twelve dimensions in the $N\\to\\infty$ limit. Applying further a\nstrong/weak duality, we get the `decompactified' twelve-dimensional theory. The\nresulting twelve-dimensional theory has peculiar gauge symmetry which is\ncompatible also with supersymmetry. We also establish a corresponding new\nsuperspace formulation with the extra coordinates. By performing a dimensional\nreduction from twelve dimensions directly into three dimensions, we see that\nthe Poisson bracket terms which are needed for identification with\nsupermembrane action arises naturally. This result indicates an universal\nduality mechanism that the 't Hooft limit of an arbitrary supersymmetric theory\npromotes the original supersymmetric theory in (D-1,1) dimensions into a theory\nin (D,2) dimensions with an additional pair of space-time coordinates. This\nalso indicates interesting dualities between supermembrane theory, type IIA\nsuperstring with D0-branes, and the recently-discovered twelve-dimensional\nsupersymmetric theories.",
        "positive": "Exploring the String Axiverse with Precision Black Hole Physics: It has recently been suggested that the presence of a plenitude of light\naxions, an Axiverse, is evidence for the extra dimensions of string theory. We\ndiscuss the observational consequences of these axions on astrophysical black\nholes through the Penrose superradiance process. When an axion Compton\nwavelength is comparable to the size of a black hole, the axion binds to the\nblack hole \"nucleus\" forming a gravitational atom in the sky. The occupation\nnumber of superradiant atomic levels, fed by the energy and angular momentum of\nthe black hole, grows exponentially. The black hole spins down and an axion\nBose-Einstein condensate cloud forms around it. When the attractive axion\nself-interactions become stronger than the gravitational binding energy, the\naxion cloud collapses, a phenomenon known in condensed matter physics as\n\"Bosenova\". The existence of axions is first diagnosed by gaps in the mass vs\nspin plot of astrophysical black holes. For young black holes the allowed\nvalues of spin are quantized, giving rise to \"Regge trajectories\" inside the\ngap region. The axion cloud can also be observed directly either through\nprecision mapping of the near horizon geometry or through gravitational waves\ncoming from the Bosenova explosion, as well as axion transitions and\nannihilations in the gravitational atom. Our estimates suggest that these\nsignals are detectable in upcoming experiments, such as Advanced LIGO, AGIS,\nand LISA. Current black hole spin measurements imply an upper bound on the QCD\naxion decay constant of 2 x 10^17 GeV, while Advanced LIGO can detect signals\nfrom a QCD axion cloud with a decay constant as low as the GUT scale. We\nfinally discuss the possibility of observing the gamma-rays associated with the\nBosenova explosion and, perhaps, the radio waves from axion-to-photon\nconversion for the QCD axion."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The All-Genus String Effective Action: We use the off-shell string effective action method developed by E.S. Fradkin\nand A.A. Tseytlin to obtain the formula for all-genus string effective action\nwith and without compactification at the low-energy approximation in the\nmassless background fields. We find that for the bosonic string, one can\ndetermine the dilaton vacuum expectation value from the all-genus effective\naction because of the nontrivial dependence of potential energy on dilaton. For\ncompactified four-dimensional string models, if one requires that the\ntarget-space dilaton field lie on a K\\\"ahler manifold, we obtain a constraint\nwhich will specify the worldsheet dilaton in terms of the constant background\nfields. We also show that under this constraint, the tree-level k\\\"ahlar\npotential and superpotential are not changed by the higher-genus effect. This\nproves again the non-renormalization theorem for a string moving in massless\nbackground fields in the low-energy approximation.",
        "positive": "The C Operator in PT-Symmetric Quantum Field Theory Transforms as a\n  Lorentz Scalar: A non-Hermitian Hamiltonian has a real positive spectrum and exhibits unitary\ntime evolution if the Hamiltonian possesses an unbroken PT (space-time\nreflection) symmetry. The proof of unitarity requires the construction of a\nlinear operator called C. It is shown here that C is the complex extension of\nthe intrinsic parity operator and that the C operator transforms under the\nLorentz group as a scalar."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetry, General Relativity and Unity of Nature: The basic idea and some physical implications of nonlinear supersymmetric\ngeneral relativity (NLSUSY GR) are presented. NLSUSY GR may give new insights\ninto the origin of mass and the mysterious relations between the cosmology and\nthe low energy particle physics, e.g. the spontaneous SUSY breaking scale, the\ncosmological constant, the (dark) energy density of the universe and the\nneutrino mass.",
        "positive": "Stringy gravity, interacting tensionless strings and massless higher\n  spins: Consequences of a strong version of the AdS/CFT correspondence for extremely\nstringy physics are examined. In particular, properties of N = 4 supersymmetric\nYang-Mills theory are used to extract results about interacting tensionless\nstrings and massless higher spin fields in an AdS_5 x S^5 background.\nFurthermore, the thermodynamics of this model signals the presence of a\nHawking-Page phase transition between AdS_5 space and a \"black hole\"-like high\ntemperature configuration even in the extreme string limit."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Two Phases of Topologically Massive Compact $U(1)$ Theory: The mean field like gauge invariant variational method formulated recently,\nis applied to a topologically massive QED in 3 dimensions. We find that the\ntheory has a phase transition in the Chern Simons coefficient $n$. The phase\ntransition is of the Berezinsky-Kosterlitz - Thouless type, and is triggered by\nthe liberation of Polyakov monopoles, which for $n>8$ are tightly bound into\npairs. In our Hamiltonian approach this is seen as a similar behaviour of the\nmagnetic vortices, which are present in the ground state wave functional of the\ncompact theory. For $n>8$, the low energy behavior of the theory is the same as\nin the noncompact case. For $n<8$ there are no propagating degrees of freedom\non distance scales larger than the ultraviolet cutoff. The distinguishing\nproperty of the $n<8$ phase, is that the magnetic flux symmetry is\nspontaneoously broken.",
        "positive": "Decoding the hologram: Scalar fields interacting with gravity: We construct smeared CFT operators which represent a scalar field in AdS\ninteracting with gravity. The guiding principle is micro-causality: scalar\nfields should commute with themselves at spacelike separation. To O(1/N) we\nshow that a correct and convenient criterion for constructing the appropriate\nCFT operators is to demand micro-causality in a three-point function with a\nboundary Weyl tensor and another boundary scalar. The resulting bulk\nobservables transform in the correct way under AdS isometries and commute with\nboundary scalar operators at spacelike separation, even in the presence of\nmetric perturbations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Traveling Faster than the Speed of Light in Non-Commutative Geometry: We study various dynamical aspects of solitons in non-commutative gauge\ntheories and find surprising results. Among them is the observation that the\nsolitons can travel faster than the speed of light for arbitrarily long\ndistances.",
        "positive": "Non-invertible self-duality defects of Cardy-Rabinovici model and mixed\n  gravitational anomaly: We study properties of self-duality symmetry in the Cardy-Rabinovici model.\nThe Cardy-Rabinovici model is the $4$d $U(1)$ gauge theory with electric and\nmagnetic matters, and it enjoys the $SL(2,\\mathbb{Z})$ self-duality at\nlow-energies. $SL(2,\\mathbb{Z})$ self-duality does not realize in a naive way,\nbut we notice that the $ST^{p}$ duality transformation becomes the legitimate\nduality operation by performing the gauging of $\\mathbb{Z}_N$ $1$-form symmetry\nwith including the level-$p$ discrete topological term. Due to such\ncomplications in its realization, the fusion rule of duality defects becomes a\nnon-group-like structure, and thus the self-duality symmetry is realized as a\nnon-invertible symmetry. Moreover, for some fixed points of the self-duality,\nthe duality symmetry turns out to have a mixed gravitational anomaly detected\non a $K3$ surface, and we can rule out the trivially gapped phase as a\nconsequence of anomaly matching. We also uncover how the conjectured phase\ndiagram of the Cardy-Rabinovici model satisfies this new anomaly matching\ncondition."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Classical and quantum dissipation in non homogeneous environments: We generalize the oscillator model of a particle interacting with a thermal\nreservoir by introducing arbitrary nonlinear couplings in the particle\ncoordinates.The equilibrium positions of the heat bath oscillators are promoted\nto space-time functions, which are shown to represent a modulation of the\ninternal noise by the external forces. The model thus provides a description of\nclassical and quantum dissipation in non homogeneous environments. In the\nclassical case we derive a generalized Langevin equation with nonlinear\nmultiplicative noise and a position-dependent fluctuation- dissipation theorem\nassociated to non homogeneous dissipative forces. When time-modulation of the\nnoise is present, a new force term is predicted besides the dissipative and\nrandom ones. The model is quantized to obtain the non homogenous influence\nfunctional and master equation for the reduced density matrix of the Brownian\nparticle. The quantum evolution equations reproduce the correct Langevin\ndynamics in the semiclassical limit. The consequences for the issues of\ndecoherence and localization are discussed.",
        "positive": "Complexity Growth with Lifshitz Scaling and Hyperscaling Violation: Using complexity=action proposal we study the growth rate of holographic\ncomplexity for Lifshitz and hyperscaling violating geometries. We will consider\nboth one and two sided black branes in an Einstein-Maxwell-Dilaton\ngravitational theory. We find that in either case Lloyd's bound is violated and\nthe rate of growth of complexity saturates to a value which is greater than\ntwice the mass of the corresponding black brane. This value reduces to the mass\nof the black brane in the isotropic case. We show that in two sided black brane\nthe saturation happens from above while for one sided black brane it happens\nfrom below."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Nambu-Goldstone Effective Theory of Information at Quantum Criticality: We establish a fundamental connection between quantum criticality of a\nmany-body system, such as Bose-Einstein condensates, and its capacity of\ninformation-storage and processing. For deriving the effective theory of modes\nin the vicinity of the quantum critical point we develop a new method by\nmapping a Bose-Einstein condensate of $N$-particles onto a sigma model with a\ncontinuous global (pseudo)symmetry that mixes bosons of different momenta. The\nBogolyubov modes of the condensate are mapped onto the Goldstone modes of the\nsigma model, which become gapless at the critical point. These gapless\nGoldstone modes are the quantum carriers of information and entropy. Analyzing\ntheir effective theory, we observe the information-processing properties\nstrikingly similar to the ones predicted by the black hole portrait. The energy\ncost per qubit of information-storage vanishes in the large-$N$ limit and the\ntotal information-storage capacity increases with $N$ either exponentially or\nas a power law. The longevity of information-storage also increases with $N$,\nwhereas the scrambling time in the over-critical regime is controlled by the\nLyapunov exponent and scales logarithmically with $N$. This connection reveals\nthat the origin of black hole information storage lies in the quantum\ncriticality of the graviton Bose-gas, and that much simpler systems that can be\nmanufactured in table-top experiments can exhibit very similar\ninformation-processing dynamics.",
        "positive": "Modular Anomaly Equation for Schur Index of $\\mathcal{N}=4$\n  Super-Yang-Mills: We propose a novel modular anomaly equation for the unflavored Schur index in\nthe $\\mathcal{N}=4$ $SU(N)$ super-Yang-Mills theory. The vanishing conditions\noverdetermine the modular ambiguity ansatz from the equation, thus together\nthey are sufficient to recursively compute the exact Schur indices for all\n$SU(N)$ gauge groups. Using the representations as MacMahon's generalized\nsum-of-divisors functions and Jacobi forms, we then prove our proposal as well\nas elucidate a general formula conjectured by Pan and Peelaers."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Unified Geometric Framework for Boundary Charges and Particle\n  Dressings: We provide a unified geometrical origin for both boundary charges and\nparticle dressings, with a focus on electrodynamics. The method is furthermore\ngeneralizable to QCD and gravity, and can be extended to the non-perturbative\ndomain.",
        "positive": "Computing the R^4 term at two Superstring Loops: We use a previously derived integral representation for the four graviton\namplitude at two loops in Superstring theory, whose leading term for vanishing\nmomenta gives the two-loop contribution to the R^4 term in the Effective\nAction. We find by an explicit computation that this contribution is zero, in\nagreement with a general argument implying the vanishing of the R^4 term beyond\none loop."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Why two makes it more attractive than just with one... or Bianchi\n  class-A models and Reissner-Nordstr\u00f6m Black Holes in Quantum N=2\n  Supergravity: Bianchi class-A models and Reissner-Nordst\\\"rom (RN) black hole scenarios are\nconsidered from the point of view of quantum N=2 Supergravity. It is shown that\nthe presence of Maxwell fields in the supersymmetry constraints implies a\nnon-conservation of the fermion number present in Bianchi class-A models. This\neffect corresponds to a mixing between different (Lorentz invariant) fermionic\nsectors in the wave function of the Universe. Quantum states are constituted by\nexponentials of N=2 supersymmetric Chern-Simons functionals. With respect to\nthe RN case, we analyse some problems and features present in a reduced model\nwith supersymmetry.\n  Lines of subsequent research work are then provided.",
        "positive": "Gauge Fields on Torus and Partition Function of Strings: In this paper we consider the interrelation between compactified string\ntheories on torus and gauge fields on it. We start from open string theories\nwith background gauge fields and derive partition functions by path integral.\nSince the effects of background fields and compactification correlate only\nthrough string zero modes, we investigate these zero modes. From this point of\nview, we discuss the Wilson loop mechanism at finite temperature. For the\nclosed string, only a few comments are mentioned."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Curvatons in Warped Throats: We present a curvaton model from type IIB string theory compactified on a\nwarped throat with approximate isometries. Considering an (anti-)D3-brane\nsitting at the throat tip as a prototype standard model brane, we show that the\nbrane's position in the isometry directions can play the role of curvatons. The\nbasic picture is that the fluctuations of the (anti-)D3-brane in the angular\nisometry directions during inflation eventually turns into the primordial\ncurvature perturbations, and subsequently the brane's oscillation excites other\nopen string modes on the brane and reheat the universe. We find in the explicit\ncase of the KS throat that a wide range of parameters allows a consistent\ncurvaton scenario. It is also shown that the oscillations of branes at throat\ntips are capable of producing large non-Gaussianity, either through curvature\nor isocurvature perturbations. Since such setups naturally arise in warped\n(multi-)throat compactifications and are constrained by observational data, the\nmodel can provide tests for compactification scenarios. This work gives an\nexplicit example of string theory providing light fields for generating\ncurvature perturbations. Such mechanisms free the inflaton from being\nresponsible for the perturbations, thus open up new possibilities for inflation\nmodels.",
        "positive": "More on the exponential bound of four dimensional simplicial quantum\n  gravity: A crucial requirement for the standard interpretation of Monte Carlo\nsimulations of simplicial quantum gravity is the existence of an exponential\nbound that makes the partition function well-defined. We present numerical data\nfavoring the existence of an exponential bound, and we argue that the more\nlimited data sets on which recently opposing claims were based are also\nconsistent with the existence of an exponential bound."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Time-like reductions of five-dimensional supergravity: In this paper we study the scalar geometries occurring in the dimensional\nreduction of minimal five-dimensional supergravity to three Euclidean\ndimensions, and find that these depend on whether one first reduces over space\nor over time. In both cases the scalar manifold of the reduced theory is\ndescribed as an eight-dimensional Lie group $L$ (the Iwasawa subgroup of\n$G_{2(2)}$) with a left-invariant para-quaternionic-K\\\"ahler structure. We show\nthat depending on whether one reduces first over space or over time, the group\n$L$ is mapped to two different open $L$-orbits on the pseudo-Riemannian\nsymmetric space $G_{2(2)}/(SL(2) \\cdot SL(2))$. These two orbits are\ninequivalent in the sense that they are distinguished by the existence of\nintegrable $L$-invariant complex or para-complex structures.",
        "positive": "Generalized Toda Theories from WZNW Reduction: We reconsider the, by Brink and Vasiliev, recently proposed generalized Toda\nfield theories using the framework of WZNW$\\rightarrow$Toda reduction. The\nreduced theory has a gauge symmetry which can be fixed in various ways. We\ndiscuss some different gauge choices. In particular we study the ${\\cal W}$\nalgebra associated with the generalized model in some different realizations,\ncorresponding to different gauge choices. We also investigate the mapping\nbetween the Toda field and a free field and show the relation between the\n${\\cal W}$ algebra generators expressed in terms of the two different fields.\nAll results apply also to the case of ordinary Toda theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Decoupling of High Dimension Operators from the Low Energy Sector in\n  Holographic Models: We study the decoupling of high dimension operators from the the description\nof the low-energy spectrum in theories where conformal symmetry is broken by a\nsingle scale, which we refer to as `broken CFTs'. Holographic duality suggests\nthat this decoupling occurs in generic backgrounds. We show how the decoupling\nof high mass states in the (d+1)-dimensional bulk relates to the decoupling of\nhigh energy states in the d-dimensional broken CFT. In other words, we explain\nwhy both high dimension operators and high mass states in the CFT decouple from\nthe low-energy physics of the mesons and glueballs. In many cases, the\ndecoupling can occur exponentially fast in the dimension of the operator.\nHolography motivates a new kind of form factor proportional to the two point\nfunction between broken CFT operators with very different scaling dimensions.\nThis new notion of decoupling can provide a systematic justification for\nholographic descriptions of QCD and condensed matter systems with only light\ndegrees of freedom in the bulk.",
        "positive": "A note on the S-matrix bootstrap for the 2d O(N) bosonic model: In this work we apply the S-matrix bootstrap maximization program to the 2d\nbosonic O(N) integrable model which has N species of scalar particles of mass m\nand no bound states. Since in previous studies theories were defined by\nmaximizing the coupling between particles and their bound states, the main\nproblem appears to be to find what other functional can be used to define this\nmodel. Instead, we argue that the defining property of this integrable model is\nthat it resides at a vertex of the convex space determined by the unitarity and\ncrossing constraints. Thus, the integrable model can be found by maximizing any\nlinear functional whose gradient points in the general direction of the vertex,\nnamely within a cone determined by the normals to the faces intersecting at the\nvertex. This is a standard problem in applied mathematics, related to\nsemi-definite programming and solvable by fast available numerical algorithms.\nThe information provided by the numerical solution is enough to reproduce the\nknown analytical solution without using integrability, namely the Yang-Baxter\nequation. This situation seems quite generic so we expect that other theories\nwithout continuous parameters can also be found by maximizing linear\nfunctionals in the convex space of allowed S-matrices."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic Schwinger Effect in a D-Instanton Background: The Schwinger effect in the presence of instantons is considered in this\npaper. Using AdS/CFT correspondence in the near horizon limit of the\nD3+D($-1$)-brane background, we calculate the total potential of a\nquark-antiquark pair in an external electric field. It is shown that instantons\ntend to suppress the pair creation effect and increase the critical electric\nfield above which the pairs are produced freely without any suppression.\nInterestingly, no other critical electric field, common for all confining field\ntheories, is observed here at finite temperature. However, as expected we find\nsuch a critical electric field at zero temperature. The pair production rate\nevaluated by the calculation of the expectation value of the circular Wilson\nloop also confirms this result.",
        "positive": "Macroscopic and Microscopic Entropy of Near-Extremal Spinning Black\n  Holes: A seven parameter family of five-dimensional black hole solutions depending\non mass, two angular momenta, three charges and the asymptotic value of a\nscalar field is constructed. The entropy is computed as a function of these\nparameters both from the Bekenstein-Hawking formula and from the degeneracies\nof the corresponding D-brane states in string theory. The expressions agree at\nand to leading order away from extremality."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Coarse graining and decoherence in quantum field theory: We consider a $\\lambda \\phi^4$ theory in Minkowski spacetime. We compute a\n\"coarse grained effective action\" by integrating out the field modes with\nwavelength shorter than a critical value. From this effective action we obtain\nthe evolution equation for the reduced density matrix (master equation). We\ncompute the diffusion coefficients of this equation and analyze the decoherence\ninduced on the long- wavelength modes. We generalize the results to the case of\na conformally coupled scalar field in DeSitter spacetime. We show that the\ndecoherence is effective as long as the critical wavelength is taken to be not\nshorter than the Hubble radius.",
        "positive": "Self-dual configurations in a generalized Abelian Chern-Simons-Higgs\n  model with explicit breaking of the Lorentz covariance: We have studied the existence of self-dual solitonic solutions in a\ngeneralization of the Abelian Chern-Simons-Higgs model. Such a generalization\nintroduces two different nonnegative functions, $\\omega_1(|\\phi|)$ and\n$\\omega(|\\phi|)$, which split the kinetic term of the Higgs field -\n$|D_\\mu\\phi|^2 \\rightarrow\\omega_1 (|\\phi|)|D_0\\phi|^2-\\omega(|\\phi|)\n|D_k\\phi|^2$ - breaking explicitly the Lorentz covariance. We have shown that a\nclean implementation of the Bogomolnyi procedure only can be implemented\nwhether $\\omega(|\\phi|) \\propto \\beta |\\phi|^{2\\beta-2}$ with $\\beta\\geq 1$.\nThe self-dual or Bogomolnyi equations produce an infinity number of soliton\nsolutions by choosing conveniently the generalizing function $\\omega_1(|\\phi|)$\nwhich must be able to provide a finite magnetic field. Also, we have shown that\nby properly choosing the generalizing functions it is possible to reproduce the\nBogomolnyi equations of the Abelian Maxwell-Higgs and Chern-Simons-Higgs\nmodels. Finally, some new self-dual $|\\phi|^6$-vortex solutions have been\nanalyzed both from theoretical and numerical point of view."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Generalized K$\\ddot{a}$hler Geometry in Kazama-Suzuki coset models: It is shown that Kazama-Suzuki conditions for the denominator subgroup of N=2\nsuperconformal $G/H$ coset model determine Generalized K$\\ddot{a}$hler geometry\non the target space of the corresponding N=2 supersymmetric $\\sigma$-model.",
        "positive": "A hint towards mass dimension one Flag-dipole spinors: In this report we advance in exploring further details concerning the formal\naspects of the construction of a Flag-dipole spinor. We report a\n(re-)definition of the dual structure which provide a Lorentz invariant and\nnon-null norm, ensuring a local theory. With the new dual structure at hands,\nwe look towards define relevant physical amounts, e.g., spin sums and quantum\nfield operator. As we will see, the Flag-dipole and the Elko's theory are quite\nfamilar. In this vein, it is possible, via a matrix transformation, to write\nFlag-dipole spinors in terms of Elko spinor, evincing that both spinors are\nphysically related and some physical amounts may be stated as equivalent."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Effect of Self-Interaction on Charged Black Hole Radiance: We extend our previous analysis of the modification of the spectrum of black\nhole radiance due to the simplest and probably most quantitatively important\nback-reaction effect, that is self-gravitational interaction, to the case of\ncharged holes. As anticipated, the corrections are small for low-energy\nradiation when the hole is well away from extremality, butbecome qualitatively\nimportant near extremality. A notable result is that radiation which could\nleave the hole with mass and charge characteristic of a naked singularity,\npredicted in the usual approximation of fixed space-time geometry, is here\nsuppressed. We discuss the nature of our approximations, and show how they work\nin a simpler electromagnetic analogue problem.",
        "positive": "Distributions in CFT II. Minkowski Space: CFTs in Euclidean signature satisfy well-accepted rules, such as the\nconvergent Euclidean OPE. It is nowadays common to assume that CFT correlators\nexist and have various properties also in Lorentzian signature. Some of these\nproperties may represent extra assumptions, and it is an open question if they\nhold for familiar statistical-physics CFTs such as the critical 3d Ising model.\nHere we consider Wightman 4-point functions of scalar primaries in Lorentzian\nsignature. We derive a minimal set of their properties solely from the\nEuclidean unitary CFT axioms, without using extra assumptions. We establish all\nWightman axioms (temperedness, spectral property, local commutativity,\nclustering), Lorentzian conformal invariance, and distributional convergence of\nthe s-channel Lorentzian OPE. This is done constructively, by analytically\ncontinuing the 4-point functions using the s-channel OPE expansion in the\nradial cross-ratios $\\rho, \\bar{\\rho}$. We prove a key fact that $|\\rho|,\n|\\bar{\\rho}| < 1$ inside the forward tube, and set bounds on how fast $|\\rho|,\n|\\bar{\\rho}|$ may tend to 1 when approaching the Minkowski space.\n  We also provide a guide to the axiomatic QFT literature for the modern CFT\naudience. We review the Wightman and Osterwalder-Schrader (OS) axioms for\nLorentzian and Euclidean QFTs, and the celebrated OS theorem connecting them.\nWe also review a classic result of Mack about the distributional OPE\nconvergence. Some of the classic arguments turn out useful in our setup. Others\nfall short of our needs due to Lorentzian assumptions (Mack) or unverifiable\nEuclidean assumptions (OS theorem)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Probability distribution of the vacuum energy density: As the vacuum state of a quantum field is not an eigenstate of the\nHamiltonian density, the vacuum energy density can be represented as a random\nvariable. We present an analytical calculation of the probability distribution\nof the vacuum energy density for real and complex massless scalar fields in\nMinkowski space. The obtained probability distributions are broad and the\nvacuum expectation value of the Hamiltonian density is not fully representative\nof the vacuum energy density.",
        "positive": "Volume independence for Yang-Mills fields on the twisted torus: We review some recent results related to the notion of volume independence in\nSU(N) Yang-Mills theories. The topic is discussed in the context of gauge\ntheories living on a d-dimensional torus with twisted boundary conditions.\nAfter a brief introduction reviewing the formalism for introducing gauge fields\non a torus, we discuss how volume independence arises in perturbation theory.\nWe show how, for appropriately chosen twist tensors, perturbative results to\nall orders in the 't Hooft coupling depend on a specific combination of the\nrank of the gauge group (N) and the periods of the torus (l) given by l\nN^{2/d}, for d even.We discuss the well-known relation to non-commutative field\ntheories and address certain threats to volume independence associated to the\noccurrence of tachyonic instabilities at one-loop order. We end by presenting\nsome numerical results in 2+1 dimensions that extend these ideas to the\nnon-perturbative domain."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Remark about Non-BPS D-Brane in Type IIA Theory: In this paper we would like to show simple mechanisms how from the action for\nnon-BPS D-brane we can obtain action describing BPS D(p-1)-brane in Type IIA\ntheory.",
        "positive": "Hermitian structures defined by linear electromagnetic constitutive laws: It is demonstrated that when the bundle of 2-forms on a four-dimensional\nmanifold M admits an almost-complex structure any choice of \"real + imaginary\"\nsubspace decomposition of the bundle defines a conjugation map, as well as a\nHermitian structure for the bundle. When the almost-complex structure comes\nfrom a linear electromagnetic constitutive law, the real and imaginary parts of\nthe Hermitian structure are then shown to represent the Hamiltonian for an\nanisotropic three-dimensional electromagnetic oscillator at each point of M and\na symplectic structure for each fiber. The complex form of the oscillator\nequations is also definable in terms of the geometric structures that were\nintroduced."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Curvature representation of the gonihedric action: We analyse the curvature representation of the gonihedric action $A(M)$ for\nthe cases when the dependence on the dihedral angle is arbitrary.",
        "positive": "An instability of higher-dimensional rotating black holes: We present the first example of a linearized gravitational instability of an\nasymptotically flat vacuum black hole. We study perturbations of a Myers-Perry\nblack hole with equal angular momenta in an odd number of dimensions. We find\nno evidence of any instability in five or seven dimensions, but in nine\ndimensions, for sufficiently rapid rotation, we find perturbations that grow\nexponentially in time. The onset of instability is associated with the\nappearance of time-independent perturbations which generically break all but\none of the rotational symmetries. This is interpreted as evidence for the\nexistence of a new 70-parameter family of black hole solutions with only a\nsingle rotational symmetry. We also present results for the Gregory-Laflamme\ninstability of rotating black strings, demonstrating that rotation makes black\nstrings more unstable."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Extended phase space thermodynamics and P-V criticality of black holes\n  with nonlinear source: In this paper, we consider the solutions of Einstein gravity in the presence\nof a generalized Maxwell theory, namely power Maxwell invariant. First, we\ninvestigate the analogy of nonlinear charged black hole solutions with the Van\nder Waals liquid--gas system in the extended phase space where the cosmological\nconstant appear as pressure. Then, we plot isotherm $P$--$V$ diagram and study\nthe thermodynamics of AdS black hole in the (grand canonical) canonical\nensemble in which (potential) charge is fixed at infinity. Interestingly, we\nfind the phase transition occurs in the both of canonical and grand canonical\nensembles in contrast to RN black hole in Maxwell theory which only admits\ncanonical ensemble phase transition. Moreover, we calculate the critical\nexponents and find their values are the same as those in mean field theory.\nBesides, considerably, we find in the grand canonical ensembles universal ratio\n$\\frac{P_{c}v_{c}}{T_{c}}$ is independent of spacetime dimensions.",
        "positive": "Supersymmetry and noncommutative geometry Part II: Supersymmetry\n  breaking: We describe how a soft supersymmetry breaking Lagrangian arises naturally in\nthe context of almost-commutative geometries that fall within the\nclassification of those having a supersymmetric particle content as well as a\nsupersymmetric spectral action. All contributions to such a Lagrangian are seen\nto either be generated automatically after introducing gaugino masses to the\ntheory or coming from the second Seeley-DeWitt coefficient that is already part\nof the spectral action. In noncommutative geometry, a supersymmetric particle\ncontent and the appearance of a soft breaking Lagrangian thus appear to be\nintimately connected to each other."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Semi-Hopf Algebra and Supersymmetry: We define a semi-Hopf algebra which is more general than a Hopf algebra. Then\nwe construct the supersymmetry algebra via the adjoint action on this semi-Hopf\nalgebra. As a result we have a supersymmetry theory with quantum gauge group,\ni.e., quantised enveloping algebra of a simple Lie algebra. For the example, we\nconstruct the Lagrangian N=1 and N=2 supersymmetry.",
        "positive": "Monopoles, Scattering, and Generalized Symmetries: We reconsider the problem of electrically charged, massless fermions\nscattering off magnetic monopoles. The interpretation of the outgoing states\nhas long been a puzzle as, in certain circumstances, they necessarily carry\nfractional quantum numbers. We argue that consistency requires such outgoing\nparticles to be attached to a topological co-dimension 1 surface, which ends on\nthe monopole. This surface cannot participate in a 2-group with the magnetic\n1-form symmetry and is often non-invertible. Equivalently, the outgoing\nradiation lies in a twisted sector and not in the original Fock space. The\noutgoing radiation therefore not only carries unconventional flavor quantum\nnumbers, but is often trailed by a topological field theory. We exemplify these\nideas in the 1+1 dimensional, chiral 3450 model which shares many of the same\nfeatures.\n  We comment on the effects of gauge field fluctuations on the lowest angular\nmomentum fermion scattering states in the presence of a magnetic monopole.\nWhile, to leading order, these zero modes can penetrate into the monopole core,\nin the full theory some of the zero modes are lifted and develop a small\ncentrifugal barrier. The dynamics of the zero modes is that of a multi-flavor\nSchwinger model with a space-dependent gauge coupling. Symmetries and anomalies\nconstrain the fate of the pseudo-zero modes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Solution of the relativistic Dirac-Hulthen problem: The one-particle three-dimensional Dirac equation with spherical symmetry is\nsolved for the Hulthen potential. The s-wave relativistic energy spectrum and\ntwo-component spinor wavefunctions are obtained analytically. Conforming to the\nstandard feature of the relativistic problem, the solution space splits into\ntwo distinct subspaces depending on the sign of a fundamental parameter in the\nproblem. Unique and interesting properties of the energy spectrum are pointed\nout and illustrated graphically for several values of the physical parameters.\nThe square integrable two-component wavefunctions are written in terms of the\nJacobi polynomials. The nonrelativistic limit reproduces the well-known\nnonrelativistic energy spectrum and results in Schrodinger equation with a\n\"generalized\" three-parameter Hulthen potential, which is the sum of the\noriginal Hulthen potential and its square.",
        "positive": "The kinematical AdS5xS5 Neumann coefficient: For the case of two particles a solution of the string field theory vertex\naxioms can be factorized into a standard form factor and a kinematical piece\nwhich includes the dependence on the size of the third string. In this paper we\nconstruct an exact solution of the kinematical axioms for AdS5xS5 which\nincludes all order wrapping corrections w.r.t. the size of the third string.\nThis solution is expressed in terms of elliptic Gamma functions and ordinary\nelliptic functions. The solution is valid at any coupling and we analyze its\nweak coupling, pp-wave and large L limit."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-associative star products and quantization of non-geometric\n  backgrounds in string and M-theory: We review two known in the literature exemples of non-associative star\nproducts. The first one is the phase space star product representing\nquantization of non-geometric $R$-flux background in closed string theory. The\nsecond is the octonionic star product which provides the quantization of the\nquasi-Poisson algebra isomorphic to the Malcev algebra of imaginary octonions.\nWe discuss in details the construction, properties and physical applications of\nthese star products. In particular, we consider the quantization of\nnon-geometric M-theory background. Based on these two exemples we formulate the\nminimal set of physically motivated conditions for the definition of\nnon-associative deformation quantization.",
        "positive": "Generalized Newton-Cartan Geometries for Particles and Strings: We discuss the generalized Newton-Cartan geometries that can serve as\ngravitational background fields for particles and strings. In order to enable\nus to define affine connections that are invariant under all the symmetries of\nthe structure group, we describe torsionful geometries with independent torsion\ntensors. A characteristic feature of the non-Lorentzian geometries we consider\nis that some of the torsion tensors are so-called `intrinsic torsion' tensors\nthat cannot be absorbed in any of the spin connections. Setting some components\nof these intrinsic torsion tensors to zero leads to constraints on the\ngeometry. For both particles and strings, we discuss various such constraints\nthat can be imposed consistently with the structure group symmetries. In this\nway, we reproduce several results in the literature."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "CMB Imprints of a Pre-Inflationary Climbing Phase: We discuss the implications for cosmic microwave background (CMB)\nobservables, of a class of pre-inflationary dynamics suggested by string models\nwhere SUSY is broken due to the presence of D-branes and orientifolds\npreserving incompatible portions of it. In these models the would-be inflaton\nis forced to emerge from the initial singularity climbing up a mild exponential\npotential, until it bounces against a steep exponential potential of \"brane\nSUSY breaking\" scenarios, and as a result the ensuing descent gives rise to an\ninflationary epoch that begins when the system is still well off its eventual\nattractor. If a pre-inflationary climbing phase of this type had occurred\nwithin 6-7 e-folds of the horizon exit for the largest observable wavelengths,\ndisplacement off the attractor and initial-state effects would conspire to\nsuppress power in the primordial scalar spectrum, enhancing it in the tensor\nspectrum and typically superposing oscillations on both. We investigate these\nimprints on CMB observables over a range of parameters, examine their\nstatistical significance, and provide a semi-analytic rationale for our\nresults. It is tempting to ascribe at least part of the large-angle anomalies\nin the CMB to pre-inflationary dynamics of this type.",
        "positive": "Wilson Loops and Minimal Surfaces: The AdS/CFT correspondence suggests that the Wilson loop of the large N gauge\ntheory with N=4 supersymmetry in 4 dimensions is described by a minimal surface\nin AdS_5 x S^5. We examine various aspects of this proposal, comparing gauge\ntheory expectations with computations of minimal surfaces. There is a\ndistinguished class of loops, which we call BPS loops, whose expectation values\nare free from ultra-violet divergence. We formulate the loop equation for such\nloops. To the extent that we have checked, the minimal surface in AdS_5 x S^5\ngives a solution of the equation. We also discuss the zig-zag symmetry of the\nloop operator. In the N=4 gauge theory, we expect the zig-zag symmetry to hold\nwhen the loop does not couple the scalar fields in the supermultiplet. We will\nshow how this is realized for the minimal surface."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Vacuum string field theory without matter-ghost factorization: We show that vacuum string field theory with the singular kinetic operator\nconjectured by Gaiotto, Rastelli, Sen and Zwiebach can be obtained by field\nredefinition from a regular theory constructed by Takahashi and Tanimoto. We\nsolve the equation of motion both by level truncation and by a series expansion\nusing the regulated butterfly state, and we find evidence that the energy\ndensity of a D25-brane is well defined and finite. Although the equation of\nmotion naively factorizes into the matter and ghost sectors in the singular\nlimit, subleading terms in the kinetic operator are relevant and the\nfactorization does not strictly hold. Nevertheless, solutions corresponding to\ndifferent D-branes can be constructed by changing the boundary condition in the\nboundary conformal field theory formulation of string field theory, and ratios\nof D-brane tensions are shown to be reproduced correctly.",
        "positive": "Renyi entropies of free bosons on the torus and holography: We analytically evaluate the Renyi entropies for the two dimensional free\nboson CFT. The CFT is considered to be compactified on a circle and at finite\ntemperature. The Renyi entropies S_n are evaluated for a single interval using\nthe two point function of bosonic twist fields on a torus. For the case of the\ncompact boson, the sum over the classical saddle points results in the\nRiemann-Siegel theta function associated with the A_{n-1} lattice. We then\nstudy the Renyi entropies in the decompactification regime. We show that in the\nlimit when the size of the interval becomes the size of the spatial circle, the\nentanglement entropy reduces to the thermal entropy of free bosons on a circle.\nWe then set up a systematic high temperature expansion of the Renyi entropies\nand evaluate the finite size corrections for free bosons. Finally we compare\nthese finite size corrections both for the free boson CFT and the free fermion\nCFT with the one-loop corrections obtained from bulk three dimensional\nhandlebody spacetimes which have higher genus Riemann surfaces as its boundary.\nOne-loop corrections in these geometries are entirely determined by quantum\nnumbers of the excitations present in the bulk. This implies that the leading\nfinite size corrections contributions from one-loop determinants of the\nChern-Simons gauge field and the Dirac field in the dual geometry should\nreproduce that of the free boson and the free fermion CFT respectively. By\nevaluating these corrections both in the bulk and in the CFT explicitly we show\nthat this expectation is indeed true."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Locally non-geometric fluxes and missing momenta in M-theory: We use exceptional field theory to describe locally non-geometric spaces of\nM-theory of more than three dimensions. For these spaces, we find a new set of\nlocally non-geometric fluxes which lie in the R-R sector in the weak-coupling\nlimit and can typically be characterised by mixed symmetry tensors. These\nspaces thus provide new examples of non-geometric backgrounds which go beyond\nthe NS-NS sector of string theory. Starting from twisted tori we construct\nduality chains that lead to these new non-geometric backgrounds and we show\nthat, just as in the four-dimensional case, there are missing momenta\nassociated to the mixed symmetry tensors.",
        "positive": "Nonlinear $\\hat{W}_{\\infty}$ Current Algebra in the SL(2,R)/U(1) Coset\n  Model: Previously we have established that the second Hamiltonian structure of the\nKP hierarchy is a nonlinear deformation, called $\\hat{W}_{\\infty}$, of the\nlinear, centerless $W_{\\infty}$ algebra. In this letter we present a free-field\nrealization for all generators of $\\hat{W}_{\\infty}$ in terms of two scalars as\nwell as an elegant generating function for the $\\hat{W}_{\\infty}$ currents in\nthe classical conformal $SL(2,R)/U(1)$ coset model. After quantization, a\nquantum deformation of $\\hat{W}_{\\infty}$ appears as the hidden current algebra\nin this model. The $\\hat{W}_{\\infty}$ current algebra results in an infinite\nset of commuting conserved charges, which might give rise to $W$-hair for the\n2d black hole arising in the corresponding string theory at level $k=9/4$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On stability of exponential cosmological solutions with non-static\n  volume factor in the Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet model: A (n+1)-dimensional gravitational model with Gauss-Bonnet term and\ncosmological constant term is considered. When ansatz with diagonal\ncosmological metrics is adopted, the solutions with exponential dependence of\nscale factors: a_i ~ exp( v^i t), i = 1, ..., n, are analysed for n > 3. We\nstudy the stability of the solutions with non-static volume factor, i.e. if\nK(v) = \\sum_{k = 1}^{n} v^k \\neq 0. We prove that under certain restriction R\nimposed solutions with K(v) > 0 are stable while solutions with K(v) < 0 are\nunstable. Certain examples of stable solutions are presented. We show that the\nsolutions with v^1 = v^2 = v^3 = H > 0 and zero variation of the effective\ngravitational constant are stable if the restriction R is obeyed.",
        "positive": "Tachyon condensation and Boundary States in Bosonic String: We discuss tachyon configuration for the unoriented bosonic string theory\nwhich produces a bosonic string theory with SO(32) gauge symmetry in ten\ndimensions. It is closely related to the tachyon condensation scenario proposed\nby A. Sen. We also give the boundary state description of the tachyon\ncondensation process, with some emphasis on the r\\^ole of orbifold conformal\nfield theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Classical Lagrangians for the nonminimal Standard-Model Extension at\n  higher orders in Lorentz violation: The current paper is dedicated to determining perturbative expansions for\nLagrangians describing classical, relativistic, pointlike particles subject to\nLorentz violation parameterized by the nonminimal Standard-Model Extension\n(SME). An iterative technique recently developed and applied to a\nLorentz-violating scalar field theory is now adopted to treat the\nspin-degenerate SME fermion sector. Lagrangians are obtained at third order in\nLorentz violation for the operators $\\hat{a}_{\\mu}$, $\\hat{c}_{\\mu}$,\n$\\hat{e}$, $\\hat{f}$, and $\\hat{m}$ for arbitrary mass dimension. The results\ndemonstrate the impact of nonzero spin on classical particle propagation. They\nwill be useful for phenomenological studies of modified gravity and could\nprovide useful insights into explicit Lorentz violation in curved spacetimes.",
        "positive": "Refined Chern-Simons Theory in Genus Two: Reshetikhin-Turaev (a.k.a. Chern-Simons) TQFT is a functor that associates\nvector spaces to two-dimensional genus g surfaces and linear operators to\nautomorphisms of surfaces. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that\nthere exists a Macdonald q,t-deformation -- refinement -- of these operators\nthat preserves the defining relations of the mapping class groups beyond genus\n1. For this we explicitly construct the refined TQFT representation of the\ngenus 2 mapping class group in the case of rank one TQFT. This is a direct\ngeneralization of the original genus 1 construction of arXiv:1105.5117, opening\na question if it extends to any genus. Our construction is built upon a\nq,t-deformation of the square of q-6j symbol of U_q(sl_2), which we define\nusing the Macdonald version of Fourier duality. This allows to compute the\nrefined Jones polynomial for arbitrary knots in genus 2. In contrast with genus\n1, the refined Jones polynomial in genus 2 does not appear to agree with the\nPoincare polynomial of the triply graded HOMFLY knot homology."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Moduli Spaces of M(atrix)-Theory Compactifications: By identifying the moduli space of coupling constants in the SYM description\nof toroidal compactifications of M(atrix)-Theory, we construct the M(atrix)\ndescription of the moduli spaces of Type IIA string theory compactified on T^n.\nAddition of theta terms to the M(atrix) SYM produces the shift symmetries\nnecessary to recover the correct global structure of the moduli spaces. Up to\nn=3, the corresponding BPS charges transform under the proper representations\nof the U-duality groups. For n=4,5, if we make the ansatz of including the BPS\ncharges corresponding to the wrapped M-theory 5-brane, the correspondence with\nType IIA continues to hold. However, for n=6, we find additional charges for\nwhich there are no obvious candidates in M(atrix)-Theory.",
        "positive": "Black Hole entropy by the brick wall method in four and five dimensions\n  with U(1) charges: Using the brick wall method we compute the statistical entropy of a scalar\nfield in a nontrivial background, in two different cases. These background are\ngenerated by four and five dimensional black holes with four and three U(1)\ncharges respectively. The Bekenstein entropy formula is generally obeyed, but\ncorrections are discussed in the latter case."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Comments on Gauge Equivalence in Noncommutative Geometry: We investigate the transformation from ordinary gauge field to noncommutative\none which was introduced by N.Seiberg and E.Witten (hep-th/9908142). It is\nshown that the general transformation which is determined only by gauge\nequivalence has a path dependence in `\\theta-space'. This ambiguity is\nnegligible when we compare the ordinary Dirac-Born-Infeld action with the\nnoncommutative one in the U(1) case, because of the U(1) nature and slowly\nvarying field approximation. However, in general, in the higher derivative\napproximation or in the U(N) case, the ambiguity cannot be neglected due to its\nnoncommutative structure. This ambiguity corresponds to the degrees of freedom\nof field redefinition.",
        "positive": "First Order formulation of Unimodular Gravity: First order lagrangians for the Weyl invariant formulation of Unimodular\nGravity are proposed. Several alternatives are examined; in some of them first\nand second order are equivalent in a certain gauge only."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Arrow of Time in String Theory: Inflation allows the problem of the Arrow of time to be understood as a\nquestion about the structure of spacetime: why was the intrinsic curvature of\nthe earliest spatial sections so much better behaved than it might have been?\nThis is really just the complement of a more familiar problem: what mechanism\nprevents the extrinsic curvature of the earliest spatial sections from\ndiverging, as classical General Relativity suggests? We argue that the stringy\nversion of \"creation from nothing\", sketched by Ooguri, Vafa, and Verlinde,\nsolves both of these problems at once. The argument, while very simple, hinges\non some of the deepest theorems in global differential geometry. These results\nimply that when a spatially toral spacetime is created from nothing, the\nearliest spatial sections are forced to be [quasi-classically] exactly locally\nisotropic. This local isotropy, in turn, forces the inflaton into its\nminimal-entropy state. The theory explains why the Arrow does not reverse in\nblack holes or in a cosmic contraction, if any.",
        "positive": "Hessence: A New View of Quintom Dark Energy: Recently a lot of attention has been drawn to build dark energy model in\nwhich the equation-of-state parameter $w$ can cross the phantom divide $w=-1$.\nOne of models to realize crossing the phantom divide is called quintom model,\nin which two real scalar fields appears, one is a normal scalar field and the\nother is a phantom-type scalar field. In this paper we propose a non-canonical\ncomplex scalar field as the dark energy, which we dub ``hessence'', to\nimplement crossing the phantom divide, in a similar sense as the quintom dark\nenergy model. In the hessence model, the dark energy is described by a single\nfield with an internal degree of freedom rather than two independent real\nscalar fields. However, the hessence is different from an ordinary complex\nscalar field, we show that the hessence can avoid the difficulty of the Q-balls\nformation which gives trouble to the spintessence model (An ordinary complex\nscalar field acts as the dark energy). Furthermore, we find that, by choosing a\nproper potential, the hessence could correspond to a Chaplygin gas at late\ntimes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Casimir energy of a dilute dielectric ball in the mode summation method: In the $(\\epsilon_1-\\epsilon_2)^2$--approximation the Casimir energy of a\ndilute dielectric ball is derived using a simple and clear method of the mode\nsummation. The addition theorem for the Bessel functions enables one to present\nin a closed form the sum over the angular momentum before the integration over\nthe imaginary frequencies. The linear in $(\\epsilon_1-\\epsilon_2)$ contribution\ninto the vacuum energy is removed by an appropriate subtraction. The role of\nthe contact terms used in other approaches to this problem is elucidated.",
        "positive": "On the quest for a holographic interpretation of the black hole\n  evaporation process: This paper has been withdrawn by the authors because the Hawking radiation\noutside the core was just obtained for a specific (and somewhat unphysical)\nmodel of the tail. Interested readers should instead look at the more recent\nhep-th/0407191 where more general results are given for the formation and\nevolution of black-holes on the brane."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "More on axial anomalies of Lifshitz fermions: We show that the gauge and metric field contribution to the axial anomaly of\na four-dimensional massless Lifshitz fermion theory with anisotropy scaling\nexponent z is identical to the relativistic case, hereby extending the results\nfound in arXiv:1103.5693 to arbitrary values of z. This is in accordance with\nthe fact that the axial anomaly is an infra-red phenomenon in disguise. We also\nprovide some new models that realize baryon and lepton number violation in\nnon-relativistic theories of gravity. In all cases, the volume of space\nexhibits a lower bound that is fixed by the gravitational coupling parameters.",
        "positive": "Holographic Brownian motion at finite density: Brownian motion of a heavy charged particle at zero and small (but finite)\ntemperature is studied in presence of finite density. We are primarily\ninterested in the dynamics at (near) zero temperature which is holographically\ndescribed by motion of a fundamental string in an (near-) extremal\nReissner-Nordstr$\\ddot{\\text{o}}$m black hole. We analytically compute the\nfunctional form of retarded Green's function for small frequencies and extract\nthe dissipative behavior at and near zero temperature."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic conductivity of zero temperature superconductors: Using the recently found by G. Horowitz and M. Roberts (arXiv:0908.3677)\nnumerical model of the ground state of holographic superconductors (at zero\ntemperature), we calculate the conductivity for such models. The universal\nrelation connecting conductivity with the reflection coefficient was used for\nfinding the conductivity by the WKB approach. The dependence of the\nconductivity on the frequency and charge density is discussed. Numerical\ncalculations confirm the general arguments of (arXiv:0908.3677) in favor of\nnon-zero conductivity even at zero temperature. In addition to the\nHorowitz-Roberts solution we have found (probably infinite) set of extra\nsolutions which are normalizable and reach the same correct RN-AdS asymptotic\nat spatial infinity. These extra solutions (which correspond to larger values\nof the grand canonical potential) lead to effective potentials that also vanish\nat the horizon and thus correspond to a non-zero conductivity at zero\ntemperature.",
        "positive": "Noncommutative Tachyon from Background Independent Open String Field\n  Theory: We analyze the tachyon field in the bosonic open string theory in a constant\nB-field background using the background independent open string field theory.\nWe show that in the large noncommutativity limit the action of tachyon field is\ngiven exactly by the potential term which has the same form as in the case\nwithout B-field but the product of tachyon field is taken to be the star\nproduct."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The PP-Wave Limits of Orbifolded AdS_5x S^5: Using the supergravity solution of $N_1$ D3-branes probing $A_{N_2-1}$\nsingularities we study the pp-wave limit of $AdS_5\\times S^5/Z_{N_2}$. We show\nthat there are two different pp-wave limits. One is the orbifold of the pp-wave\nlimit of $AdS_5\\times S^5$. In this case there is no symmetry enhancement. The\nother case is the same as the pp-wave limit of $AdS_5\\times S^5$ and therefore\nwe again see the maximal supersymmetry. We will also identify operators in the\nfour dimensional ${\\cal N}=2$ $SU(N_1)^{N_2}$ gauge theory which correspond to\nstringy excitations in the orbifolded pp-wave geometry. The existence of the\nmaximal pp-wave geometry indicates that there is a subsector of the\ncorresponding ${\\cal N}=2$ gauge theories which has enhanced ${\\cal N}=4$\nsupersymmetry. We also study the pp-wave limits of $AdS_{7,4}\\times\nS^{4,7}/Z_{N}$.",
        "positive": "Covariant entropy bound beyond general relativity: We propose a covariant entropy bound in gravitational theories beyond general\nrelativity (GR), using Wald-Jacobson-Myers entropy instead of\nBekenstein-Hawking entropy. We first extend the proof of the bound known in\n4-dimensional GR to D-dimensional GR, f(R) gravity and canonical scalar-tensor\ntheory. We then consider Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet (EGB) gravity as a more\nnon-trivial example and, under a set of reasonable assumptions, prove the bound\nin the GR branch of spherically symmetric configurations. As a corollary, it is\nshown that under the null and dominant energy conditions, the generalized\nsecond law holds in the GR branch of spherically symmetric configurations of\nEGB gravity at the fully nonlinear level."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Stochastic Calculus and Anticommuting Variables: A theory of integration for anticommuting paths is described. This is\ncombined with standard It\\^o calculus to give a geometric theory of Brownian\npaths on curved supermanifolds. (Invited lecture given at meeting on `Espaces\nde Lacets', Institut de Recherche Math\\'ematique Advanc\\'ee, Universit\\'e Louis\nPasteur, Strasbourg, June 1994.)",
        "positive": "Inflation Free, Stringy Generation of Scale-Invariant Cosmological\n  Fluctuations in D = 3 + 1 Dimensions: We propose an alternative scenario to cosmic inflation for producing the\ninitial seeds of cosmic structures. The cosmological fluctuations are generated\nby thermal fluctuation of the energy density of the ideal string gas in three\ncompact spatial dimensions. Statistical mechanics of the strings reveals that\nscalar power spectrum of the cosmological fluctuations on cosmic scales is\nscale-invariant for closed strings and inclines towards red for open strings in\nthree compact spatial dimensions. This generation of thermal fluctuations\nhappens during the Hagedorn era of string gas cosmology and without invoking an\ninflationary epoch the perturbations enter the radiation-dominated era. The\namplitude of the fluctuations is proportional to the ratio of the two length\nscales in the theory, i.e., the Planck length over the string length. Since\nmodes with the shorter wavelengths exit the Hubble radius at the end of the\nHagedorn phase at later times compare to the modes with long wavelengths, the\nscalar fluctuations gain mild tilt towards red."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Interacting Quantum Topologies and the Quantum Hall Effect: The algebra of observables of planar electrons subject to a constant\nbackground magnetic field B is given by A_theta(R^2) x A_theta(R^2) the product\nof two mutually commuting Moyal algebras. It describes the free Hamiltonian and\nthe guiding centre coordinates. We argue that A_theta(R^2) itself furnishes a\nrepresentation space for the actions of these two Moyal algebras, and suggest\nphysical arguments for this choice of the representation space. We give the\nproper setup to couple the matter fields based on A_theta(R^2) to\nelectromagnetic fields which are described by the abelian commutative gauge\ngroup G_c(U(1)), i.e. gauge fields based on A_0(R^2). This enables us to give a\nmanifestly gauge covariant formulation of integer quantum Hall effect (IQHE).\nThus, we can view IQHE as an elementary example of interacting quantum\ntopologies, where matter and gauge fields based on algebras A_theta^prime with\ndifferent theta^prime appear. Two-particle wave functions in this approach are\nbased on A_theta(R^2) x A_theta(R^2). We find that the full symmetry group in\nIQHE, which is the semi-direct product SO(2) \\ltimes G_c(U(1)) acts on this\ntensor product using the twisted coproduct Delta_theta. Consequently, as we\nshow, many particle sectors of each Landau level have twisted statistics. As an\nexample, we find the twisted two particle Laughlin wave functions.",
        "positive": "Algebraic Structure of S-Theory: The algebraic structure of S-Theory and its representations are described.\nThis structure includes up to 13 hidden dimensions. It implies the existence of\nan SO(10,2) covariant supergravity theory as a limit of the secret theory\nbehind string theory. The black hole entropy is invariant under transformations\nincluding the 11th and 12th dimensions. The discussion includes generalization\ninto curved spacetime via various contractions of the superalgebras OSp(1/32),\nOSp(1/64) etc.."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Cosmological consequences of scalar mesons from gauge/gravity\n  correspondence: We consider the spectrum of mesons for the gauge theory dual to a\nsupergravity configuration of intersecting D3/D7 branes, and use the expression\nfor the Lagrangian of the scalar mesons to compute explicitly the Lagrangian\nfor the lightest states in the infrared limit. Assuming that the matter content\nof this gauge theory is part of a hidden sector, which interacts with the\nstandard model only via gravity, we explore the cosmological consequences of\nthese lightest scalar mesons for a FRW universe. We show that phantom fields\nmay appear naturally in this kind of scenarios.",
        "positive": "Double-Spinor Superstrings on Coset Superspaces: The double-spinor formalism, proposed by Aisaka and Kazama, provides a basis\nfor the pure-spinor formalism, which allows manifestly super-Poincare covariant\nquantization of superstrings. We extend it to the case of backgrounds realized\nby coset superspaces. A general method constructing reparametrization invariant\naction is given using two concrete examples, the flat space-time and\nAdS(5)xS(5). We find that it is natural to double not only the spinor\ncoordinates but the whole superspace for describing double-spinor superstrings\non such backgrounds. The reparametrization invariant action has local\nsymmetries compensating those extra degrees of freedom, which guarantee the\nequivalence to the Green-Schwarz formalism."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Complex Entangling Surfaces for AdS and Lifshitz Black Holes?: We discuss the possible relevance of complex codimension-two extremal\nsurfaces to the the Ryu-Takayanagi holographic entanglement proposal and its\ncovariant Hubeny-Rangamani-Takayanagi (HRT) generalization. Such surfaces live\nin a complexified bulk spacetime defined by analytic continuation. We identify\nsurfaces of this type for BTZ, Schwarzschild-AdS, and Schwarzschild-Lifshitz\nplanar black holes. Since the dual CFT interpretation for the imaginary part of\ntheir areas is unclear, we focus on a straw man proposal relating CFT entropy\nto the real part of the area alone. For Schwarzschild-AdS and\nSchwarzschild-Lifshitz, we identify families where the real part of the area\nagrees with qualitative physical expectations for the appropriate CFT entropy\nand, in addition, where it is smaller than the area of corresponding real\nextremal surfaces. It is thus plausible that the CFT entropy is controlled by\nthese complex extremal surfaces.",
        "positive": "$J\\bar{T}$ deformed $CFT_2$ and String Theory: We study two dimensional conformal field theory with a left-moving conserved\ncurrent $J$, perturbed by an irrelevant, Lorentz symmetry breaking operator\nwith the quantum numbers of $J\\bar{T}$, using a combination of field and string\ntheoretic techniques. We show that the spectrum of the theory has some\ninteresting features, which may shed light on systems of interest for\nholography and black hole physics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Landau Instability and soliton formations: Consider at a finite temperature T a superfluid moving with a velocity v\nrelative to the thermal bath or its normal component. From Landau's argument\nthere exists a critical v_c (T) beyond which excitations can be spontaneously\ngenerated and the system becomes unstable. Identifying the final state induced\nby such an instability has been an outstanding open question. Using holographic\nduality we perform dynamical simulations of evolutions from initial unstable\nstates, and find that the system settles to a homogenous superfluid state with\na final velocity below the critical velocity. The dynamical evolution process\nappears to be highly chaotic, exhibiting transient turbulence. Nevertheless we\nare able to identify from the simulations a universal physical mechanism for\nthe reduction of superfluid velocity, in terms of spontaneous nucleation of\nsolitons. We also derive a simple analytic formula which relates the final\nvelocity to the number of solitons nucleated during the evolution.",
        "positive": "Integrable Spin Chains with U(1)^3 symmetry and generalized\n  Lunin-Maldacena backgrounds: We consider the most general three-state spin chain with U(1)^3 symmetry and\nnearest neighbour interaction. Our model contains as a special case the spin\nchain describing the holomorphic three scalar sector of the three parameter\ncomplex deformation of N=4 SYM, dual to type IIB string theory in the\ngeneralized Lunin-Maldacena backgrounds discovered by Frolov. We formulate the\ncoordinate space Bethe ansatz, calculate the S-matrix and determine for which\nchoices of parameters the S-matrix fulfills the Yang-Baxter equations. For\nthese choices of parameters we furthermore write down the R-matrix. We find in\ntotal four classes of integrable models. In particular, each already known\nmodel of the above type is nothing but one in a family of such models."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic thermal entropy from geodesic bit threads: The holographic bit threads are an insightful tool to investigate the\nholographic entanglement entropy and other quantities related to the bipartite\nentanglement in AdS/CFT. We mainly explore the geodesic bit threads in various\nstatic backgrounds, for the bipartitions characterized by either a sphere or an\ninfinite strip. In pure AdS and for the sphere, the geodesic bit threads\nprovide a gravitational dual of the map implementing the geometric action of\nthe modular conjugation in the dual CFT. In Schwarzschild AdS black brane and\nfor the sphere, our numerical analysis shows that the flux of the geodesic bit\nthreads through the horizon gives the holographic thermal entropy of the\nsphere. This feature is not observed when the subsystem is an infinite strip,\nwhenever we can construct the corresponding bit threads. The bit threads are\nalso determined by the global structure of the gravitational background;\nindeed, for instance, we show that the geodesic bit threads of an arc in the\nBTZ black hole cannot be constructed.",
        "positive": "Power-Law Entropic Corrections to Newton's Law and Friedmann Equations: A possible source of black hole entropy could be the entanglement of quantum\nfields in and out the horizon. The entanglement entropy of the ground state\nobeys the area law. However, a correction term proportional to a fractional\npower of area results when the field is in a superposition of ground and\nexcited states. Inspired by the power-law corrections to entropy and adopting\nthe viewpoint that gravity emerges as an entropic force, we derive modified\nNewton's law of gravitation as well as the corrections to Friedmann equations.\nIn a different approach, we obtained power-law corrected Friedmann equation by\nstarting from the first law of thermodynamics at apparent horizon of a FRW\nuniverse, and assuming that the associated entropy with apparent horizon has a\npower-law corrected relation. Our study shows a consistency between the\nobtained results of these two approaches. We also examine the time evolution of\nthe total entropy including the power-law corrected entropy associated with the\napparent horizon together with the matter field entropy inside the apparent\nhorizon and show that the generalized second law of thermodynamics is fulfilled\nin a region enclosed by the apparent horizon."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Effective Temperature of Non-equilibrium Dense Matter in Holography: We study properties of effective temperature of non-equilibrium steady states\nby using the anti-de Sitter spacetime/conformal field theory (AdS/CFT)\ncorrespondence. We consider non-equilibrium systems with a constant flow of\ncurrent along an electric field, in which the current is carried by both the\ndoped charges and those pair created by the electric field. We find that the\neffective temperature agrees with that of the Langevin systems if we take the\nlimit where the pair creation is negligible. The effect of pair creation raises\nthe effective temperature whereas the current by the doped charges contributes\nto lower the effective temperature in a wide range of the holographic models.",
        "positive": "The Lattice Dynamics of Completely Entangled States and its Application\n  to Communication Schemes: (Presented at conference on Fundamental Problems in Physics - UMBC - June\n1994) It is shown that among the orthogonal sets of EPR (completely entangled)\nstates there is a unique basis (up to equivalence) that is a also a perfectly\nresolved set of coherent states with respect to a pair of complementary\nobservables. This basis defines a lattice phase space in which quadratic\nHamiltonians constructed from the observables induce site-to-site hopping at\ndiscrete time intervals. When recently suggested communication\nschemes\\cite{BENa} are adapted to the lattice they are greatly enhanced,\nbecause the finite Heisenberg group structure allows dynamic generation of\nsignal sequences using the quadratic Hamiltonians. We anticipate the\npossibility of interferometry by determining the relative phases between\nsuccessive signals produced by the simplest Hamiltonians of this type, and we\nshow that they exhibit a remarkable pattern determined by the number-theoretic\nLegendre symbol."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A simple formula for gravitational MHV amplitudes: A simple formula is given for the n-field tree-level MHV gravitational\namplitude, based on soft limit factors. It expresses the full S_n symmetry\nnaturally, as a determinant of elements of a symmetric (n \\times n) matrix.",
        "positive": "Enhanced Gauge Symmetry in Type II and F-Theory Compactifications:\n  Dynkin Diagrams from Polyhedra: We explain the observation by Candelas and Font that the Dynkin diagrams of\nnonabelian gauge groups occurring in type IIA and F-theory can be read off from\nthe polyhedron $\\Delta^*$ that provides the toric description of the Calabi-Yau\nmanifold used for compacification. We show how the intersection pattern of\ntoric divisors corresponding to the degeneration of elliptic fibers follows the\nADE classification of singularities and the Kodaira classification of\ndegenerations. We treat in detail the cases of elliptic K3 surfaces and K3\nfibered threefolds where the fiber is again elliptic. We also explain how even\nthe occurrence of monodromy and non-simply laced groups in the latter case is\nvisible in the toric picture. These methods also work in the fourfold case."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Veneziano Amplitude for Winding Strings: String configurations with nonzero winding number describe soliton string\nstates. We compute the Veneziano amplitude for the scattering of arbitrary\nwinding states and show that in the large radius limit the strings always\nscatter trivially and with no change in the individual winding numbers of the\nstrings. In this limit, then, these states scatter as true solitons.",
        "positive": "A Constraint on Defect and Boundary Renormalization Group Flows: A conformal field theory (CFT) in dimension $d\\geq 3$ coupled to a planar,\ntwo-dimensional, conformal defect is characterized in part by a \"central\ncharge\" $b$ that multiplies the Euler density in the defect's Weyl anomaly. For\ndefect renormalization group flows, under which the bulk remains critical, we\nuse reflection positivity to show that $b$ must decrease or remain constant\nfrom ultraviolet to infrared. Our result applies also to a CFT in $d=3$ flat\nspace with a planar boundary."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Dynamics in Classical Time Evolution of Correlation Functions: The time-dependence of correlation functions under the influence of classical\nequations of motion is described by an exact evolution equation. For\nconservative systems thermodynamic equilibrium is a fixed point of these\nequations. We show that this fixed point is not universally stable, since\ninfinitely many conserved correlation functions obstruct the approach to\nequilibrium. Equilibrium can therefore be reached at most for suitably averaged\nquantities or for subsystems, similar to quantum statistics. The classical time\nevolution of correlation functions shows many dynamical features of quantum\nmechanics.",
        "positive": "Flipped and Unflipped SU(5) as Type IIA Flux Vacua: On Type IIA orientifolds with flux compactifications in supersymmetric AdS\nvacua, we for the first time construct SU(5) models with three anti-symmetric\n{\\bf 10} representations and without symmetric {\\bf 15} representations. We\nshow that all the pairs of the anti-fundamental {\\bf \\bar 5} and fundamental\n{\\bf 5} representations can obtain GUT/string-scale vector-like masses after\nthe additional gauge symmetry breaking via supersymmetry preserving Higgs\nmechanism. Then we have exact three {\\bf \\bar 5}, and no other chiral exotic\nparticles that are charged under SU(5) due to the non-abelian anomaly free\ncondition. Moreover, we can break the SU(5) gauge symmetry down to the SM gauge\nsymmetry via D6-brane splitting, and solve the doublet-triplet splitting\nproblem. Assuming that the extra one (or several) pair(s) of Higgs doublets and\nadjoint particles obtain GUT/string-scale masses via high-dimensional\noperators, we only have the MSSM in the observable sector below the GUT scale.\nThen the observed low energy gauge couplings can be generated via RGE running\nif we choose the suitable grand unified gauge coupling by adjusting the string\nscale. Furthermore, we construct the first flipped SU(5) model with exact three\n{\\bf 10}, and the first flipped SU(5) model in which all the Yukawa couplings\nare allowed by the global U(1) symmetries."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Plane Waves and Vacuum Interpolation: A 1/2-BPS family of time dependent plane wave spacetimes which give rise to\nexactly solvable string backgrounds is presented. In particular a solution\nwhich interpolates between Minkowski spacetime and the maximally supersymmetric\nhomogeneous plane wave along a timelike direction is analyzed. We work in d=4,\nN=2 supergravity, but the results can be easily extended to d=10,11. The\nconformal boundary of a particular class of solutions is studied.",
        "positive": "Holographic Q-Picture of Black Holes in Five Dimensional Minimal\n  Supergravity: In this article, we explore the holographic Q-picture description for the\ncharged rotating black holes in the five-dimensional minimal supergravity. The\ncentral charge in the Q-picture depends only on black hole charge, therefore\ncan be computed from the near horizon geometry of the extremal and non-rotating\ncounterpart. Moreover, the CFT temperatures can be identified by studying the\nhidden conformal symmetry, and the related gravity-CFT dictionary can be\ntranslated via thermodynamics analysis. The entropy and absorption cross\nsection computed from both gravity and CFT sides properly agree with each\nother."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "N=2 super-Born-Infeld theory revisited: I discuss the symmetry structure of the N=2 supersymmetric extension of the\nBorn-Infeld action in four dimensions, and confirm its interpretation as the\nGoldstone-Maxwell action associated with partial breaking of N=4 extended\nsupersymmetry down to N=2, by revealing a hidden invariance of the action with\nrespect to two non-linearly realized supersymmetries and two spontaneously\nbroken translations. I also argue about the uniqueness of supersymmetric\nextension of the Born-Infeld action, and its possible relation to\nnoncommutative geometry.",
        "positive": "All symmetric AdS(n>2) solutions of type II supergravity: All symmetric space AdS(n) solutions of ten-dimensional type IIA and type IIB\nsupergravity are constructed for n>2. There are a total of 26 geometries. Out\nof these only 7 allow for supersymmetries and these are the well known\nbackgrounds coming from near-horizon limits of (intersecting) branes in ten or\neleven dimensions and preserving 32, 16 or 8 supersymmetries."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Multi-Metric Gravity via Massive Gravity: A generalization to the theory of massive gravity is presented which includes\nthree dynamical metrics. It is shown that at the linear level, the theory\npredicts a massless spin-2 field which is decoupled from the other two\ngravitons which are massive and interacting. In this regime the matter\nnaturally should be coupled to massless graviton which introduces a preferred\nmetric that is the average of the primary metrics. The cosmological solution of\nthe theory shows the de-Sitter behavior with a function of mass as its\ncosmological constant. Surprisingly, it lacks any non-trivial solution when one\nof the metrics is taken to be Minkowskian and seems to enhance the predictions\nwhich suggests that there is no homogeneous, isotropic and flat solution for\nthe standard massive cosmology.",
        "positive": "On Form Factors and Correlation Functions in Twistor Space: In this paper, we continue our study of form factors and correlation\nfunctions of gauge-invariant local composite operators in the twistor-space\nformulation of N=4 super Yang-Mills theory. Using the vertices for these\noperators obtained in our recent papers arXiv:1603.04471 and arXiv:1604.00012,\nwe show how to calculate the twistor-space diagrams for general N^kMHV form\nfactors via the inverse soft limit, in analogy to the amplitude case. For\ngeneral operators without $\\dot\\alpha$ indices, we then reexpress the NMHV form\nfactors from the position-twistor calculation in terms of momentum twistors,\nderiving and expanding on a relation between the two twistor formalisms\npreviously observed in the case of amplitudes. Furthermore, we discuss the\ncalculation of generalized form factors and correlation functions as well as\nthe extension to loop level, in particular providing an argument promised in\narXiv:1410.6310."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Flux Quantization: Flux- and charge-quantization laws for higher gauge fields of Maxwell type --\ne.g. the common electromagnetic field (the \"A-field\") but also the B-, RR-, and\nC-fields considered in string/M-theory -- specify non-perturbative completions\nof these fields by encoding their solitonic behaviour and hence by specifying\nthe discrete charges carried by the individual branes (higher-dimensional\nmonopoles or solitons) that source the field fluxes.\n  This article surveys the general (rational-)homotopy theoretic understanding\nof flux- and charge-quantization via the Chern-Dold character map generalized\nto the non-linear (self-sourcing) Bianchi identities that appear in\nhigher-dimensional supergravity theories, notably for B&RR-fields in D=10, for\nthe C-field in D=11 supergravity, and for the B-field on fivebrane\nworldvolumes.",
        "positive": "Gravitating Meron-like topological solitons in massive Yang-Mills theory\n  and the Einstein-Skyrme model: We show that gravitating Merons in $D$-dimensional massive Yang-Mills theory\ncan be mapped to solutions of the Einstein-Skyrme model. The identification of\nthe solutions relies on the fact that, when considering the Meron ansatz for\nthe gauge connection $A=\\lambda U^{-1}dU$, the massive Yang-Mills equations\nreduce to the Skyrme equations for the corresponding group element $U$. In the\nsame way, the energy-momentum tensors of both theories can be identified and\ntherefore lead to the same Einstein equations. Subsequently, we focus on the\n$SU(2)$ case and show that introducing a mass for the Yang-Mills field\nrestricts Merons to live on geometries given by the direct product of $S^3$ (or\n$S^2$) and Lorentzian manifolds with constant Ricci scalar. We construct\nexplicit examples for $D=4$ and $D=5$. Finally, we comment on possible\ngeneralisations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "AdS_3 Partition Functions Reconstructed: For pure gravity in AdS_3, Witten has given a recipe for the construction of\nholomorphically factorizable partition functions of pure gravity theories with\ncentral charge c=24k. The partition function was found to be a polynomial in\nthe modular invariant j-function. We show that the partition function can be\nobtained instead as a modular sum which has a more physical interpretation as a\nsum over geometries. We express both the j-function and its derivative in terms\nof such a sum.",
        "positive": "Six-dimensional Methods for Four-dimensional Conformal Field Theories\n  II: Irreducible Fields: This note supplements an earlier paper on conformal field theories. There it\nwas shown how to construct tensor, spinor, and spinor-tensor primary fields in\nfour dimensions from their counterparts in six dimensions, where conformal\ntransformations act simply as SO(4,2) Lorentz transformations. Here we show how\nto constrain fields in six dimensions so that the corresponding primary fields\nin four dimensions transform according to irreducible representations of the\nfour-dimensional Lorentz group, even when the irreducibility conditions on\nthese representations involve the four-component Levi-Civita tensor\n$\\epsilon_{\\mu\\nu\\rho\\sigma}$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quark condensate in one-flavor QCD: We compute the condensate in QCD with a single quark flavor using numerical\nsimulations with the overlap formulation of lattice fermions. The condensate is\nextracted by fitting the distribution of low lying eigenvalues of the Dirac\noperator in sectors of fixed topological charge to the predictions of Random\nMatrix Theory. Our results are in excellent agreement with estimates from the\norientifold large-N_c expansion.",
        "positive": "Dynamical vs spectator models of (pseudo-)conformal Universe: We discuss two versions of the conformal scenario for generating scalar\ncosmological perturbations: a spectator version with a scalar field conformally\ncoupled to gravity and carrying negligible energy density, and a dynamical\nversion with a scalar field minimally coupled to gravity and dominating the\ncosmological evolution. By making use of the Newtonian gauge, we show that (i)\nno UV strong coupling scale is generated below $M_{Pl}$ due to mixing with\nmetric perturbations in the dynamical scenario, and (ii) the dynamical and\nspectator models yield identical results to the leading non-linear order. We\nargue that these results, which include potentially observable effects like\nstatistical anisotropy and non-Gaussianity, are characteristic of the entire\nclass of conformal models. As an example, we reproduce, within the dynamical\nscenario and working in comoving gauge, our earlier result on the statistical\nanisotropy, which was originally obtained within the spectator approach."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Regularization of Vacuum Fluctuations and Frame Dependence: We discuss the regularization of vacuum fluctuations in a gravitational\nbackground. It is shown that general covariance is broken even by a 4-momentum\ncut-off, consistent with Lorentzian symmetry. It is pointed out that general\ncovariance is a protective symmetry for the vacuum energy from power\ndivergences.",
        "positive": "Infinite Statistics and Black Holes in Matrix Theory: The concept of infinite statistics is applied to the analysis of black hole\nthermodynamics in Matrix Theory. It is argued that Matrix Theory partons,\nD0-branes, satisfy quantum infinite statistics, and that this observation\njustifies the recently proposed Boltzmann gas model of Schwarzschild black\nholes in Matrix Theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A zero-curvature representation of electromagnetism and the conservation\n  of electric charge: We show that the laws of electromagnetism in $(D+1)$-dimensional Minkowski\nspace-time $\\mathcal{M}$, explicitly for $D=1$, $2$ and $3$, can be obtained\nfrom an integral representation of the zero-curvature equation in the\ncorresponding loop space $\\mathcal{L}^{(D-1)}(\\mathcal{M})$. The conservation\nof the electric charge can be seen as the result of a hidden symmetry in this\nrepresentation of the dynamical equations.",
        "positive": "The Fate of the Radion in Models with Metastable Graviton: We clarify some general issues in models where gravity is localized at\nintermediate distances. We introduce the radion mode, which is usually\nneglected, and we point out that its role in the model is crucial. We show that\nthe brane bending effects discussed in the literature can be obtained in a\nformalism where the physical origin is manifest. The model violates positivity\nof energy due to a negative tension brane, which induces a negative kinetic\nterm for the radion. The very same effect that violates positivity is\nresponsible for the recovery of conventional Einstein gravity at intermediate\ndistances."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Caustic singularity in Ho$\\check {\\textbf{r}}$ava-Lifshitz gravity: In this note we searched for a family of solutions with Caustic singularity\nin non relativistic-renormalizable Ho$\\check {\\textbf{r}}$ava-Lifshitz\n(HL)theory without the general covariant. We show that in infrared (IR) limit\nand with a deviation from $\\lambda=1$ we have no caustic singularity. Also in\nultraviolet (UV) regime and for Ricci flat 3-dimensional (3d) spaces and\ncodimension 1 and for $\\lambda\\neq1$ the non linear terms should help bouncing\nthis kind of most dangerous would be caustics. But if 3d curvature does not\nvanish, higher curvature terms do help caustics even in codimension one. Thus\nthe arguments in [JCAP 0909:005,2009] are satisfied correctly.",
        "positive": "Holographic description of D3-branes in flat space: We describe a scheme for constructing the holographic dual of the full\nD3-brane geometry with charge $K$ by embedding it into a large anti-de Sitter\nspace of size $N$. Such a geometry is realized in a multi-center anti-de Sitter\ngeometry which admits a simple field theory interpretation as $SU(N+K)$ gauge\ntheory broken to $SU(N) \\times SU(K)$. We find that the characteristic size of\nthe D3-brane geometry is of order $(K/N)^{1/4} U^0$ where $U^0$ is the scale of\nthe Higgs. By choosing $N$ to be much larger than $K$, the scale of the\nD3-brane metric can be well separated from the Higgs scale in the radial\ncoordinate. We generalize the holographic energy-distance relation and estimate\nthe characteristic energy scale associated with these radial scales, and find\nthat the $E/U$ relation becomes effectively $U$ independent in the range\n$(K/N)^{1/2} U^0 < U < U^0$. This implies that all detailed structure of the\nD3-brane geometry is encoded in the fine structure of the boundary gauge theory\nat around the Higgs scale."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Photon splitting and photon-plasmon interaction in a dense medium: Three-photon vertex in a dense degenerated plasma is calculated. It is\ndiscovered the polarization tensor has the longitudinal part which makes\npossible an interaction between transverse and longitudinal modes in the\nmedium. Using dispersion relations it is shown that the only kinematically\npermitted type of the photon splitting is the decay of the transverse photon to\ntwo plasmons.",
        "positive": "Non-minimal coupling Gauss-Bonnet holographic superconductors: By employing the gauge/gravity duality, we disclose the effects of the\nnon-minimal coupling between the scalar and Maxwell fields on the holographic\nsuperconductors in the probe limit. As the background spacetime, we consider a\nfive dimensional Gauss-Bonnet (GB) black hole with a flat horizon. We find out\nthat the critical temperature decreases for larger values of GB coupling\nconstant or smaller values of non-minimal coupling constant, which means that\nthe condensation is harder to form. In addition, we study the electrical\nconductivity in the holographic setup. We show that at low frequency regime,\nKramers-Kronig relation connects both parts of conductivity to each other,\nwhile at high frequency, two parts go up with constant slope."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Higher-derivative Lorentz-breaking terms in extended QED at the finite\n  temperature: In this paper we discuss finiteness and ambiguities of the higher-derivative\nLorentz-breaking terms in extended QED with a magnetic coupling at the finite\ntemperature. We find that, beside of the higher-derivative\nCarroll-Field-Jackiw-like term and Myers-Pospelov term, many new terms arise in\na finite temperature case, but most of them vanish in high temperature limit.",
        "positive": "Comments on the Monopole-Antimonopole Pair Solutions: Recently, the monopole-antimonopole pair and monopole-antimonopole chain\nsolutions are solved with internal space coordinate system of $\\theta$-winding\nnumber $m$ greater than one. However, we notice that it is also possible to\nsolve these solutions numerically in terms of $\\theta$-winding number $m=1$\ninstead. When $m=1$, the exact asymptotic solutions at small and large\ndistances are parameterized by a single integer parameter $s$. Here we once\nagain study the monopole-antimonopole pair solution of the SU(2)\nYang-Mills-Higgs theory which belongs to the topological trivial sector\nnumerically in its new form. This solution with $\\theta$-winding and\n$\\phi$-winding number one is parameterized by $s=0$ at small $r$ and $s=1$ at\nlarge $r$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "An Alternative Approach for General Covariant Horava-Lifshitz Gravity\n  and Matter Coupling: Recently, Horava and Melby-Thompson proposed in arXiv:1007.2410 a\nnonrelativistic gravity theory with extended gauge symmetry that is free of the\nspin-0 graviton. We propose a minimal substitution recipe to implement this\nextended gauge symmetry which reproduce the results obtained by them. Our\nprescription has the advantage of being manifestly gauge invariant and\nimmediately generalizable to other fields, like matter. We briefly discuss the\ncoupling of gravity with scalar and vector fields found by our method. We show\nalso that the extended gauge invariance in gravity does not force the value of\n$\\lambda$ to be $\\lambda=1$ as originally claimed. However, the spin-0 graviton\nis eliminated even for general $\\lambda$.",
        "positive": "A Derivation of the Correct Treatment of 1/(eta.k)^p Singularities in\n  Axial Gauges: We use the earlier results on the correlations of axial gauge Green's\nfunctions and the Lorentz gauge Green's functions obtained via finite\nfield-dependent BRS transformations to study the question of the correct\ntreatment of 1/(eta\\cdot k)^p- type singularities in the axial gauge boson\npropagator. We show how the known treatment of the 1/(k^2)^n-type singularity\nin the Lorentz-type gauges can be used to write down the axial propagator via\nfield transformation. We examine the singularity structure of the latter and\nfind that the axial propagator so constructed has $no$ spurious poles, but a\ncomplex structure near $\\eta\\cdot k=0$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Harmonic Analysis and Mean Field Theory: We review some aspects of harmonic analysis for the Euclidean conformal\ngroup, including conformally-invariant pairings, the Plancherel measure, and\nthe shadow transform. We introduce two efficient methods for computing these\nquantities: one based on weight-shifting operators, and another based on\nFourier space. As an application, we give a general formula for OPE\ncoefficients in Mean Field Theory (MFT) for arbitrary spinning operators. We\napply this formula to several examples, including MFT for fermions and \"seed\"\noperators in 4d, and MFT for currents and stress-tensors in 3d.",
        "positive": "Renormalizability of Yang-Mills theory with Lorentz violation and gluon\n  mass generation: We show that pure Yang-Mills theories with Lorentz violation are\nrenormalizable to all orders in perturbation theory. To do this, we employ the\nalgebraic renormalization technique. Specifically, we control the breaking\nterms with a suitable set of external sources which, eventually, attain certain\nphysical values. The Abelian case is also analyzed as a starting point. The\nmain result is that the renormalizability of the usual Maxwell and Yang-Mills\nsectores are both left unchanged. Furthermore, in contrast to Lorentz violating\nQED, the odd CPT violation sector of Yang-Mills theories renormalizes\nindependently. Moreover, the method induces, in a natural way, mass terms for\nthe gauge field while the photon remains massless (at least n the sense of a\nProca-like term). The entire analysis is carried out at the Landau gauge."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Consistent deformations of [p,p]-type gauge field theories: Using BRST-cohomological techniques, we analyze the consistent deformations\nof theories describing free tensor gauge fields whose symmetries are\nrepresented by Young tableaux made of two columns of equal length p, p>1. Under\nthe assumptions of locality and Poincare invariance, we find that there is no\nconsistent deformation of these theories that non-trivially modifies the gauge\nalgebra and/or the gauge transformations. Adding the requirement that the\ndeformation contains no more than two derivatives, the only possible\ndeformation is a cosmological-constant-like term.",
        "positive": "An alternative way to explain how non-commutativity arises in the\n  bosonic string theory: In this work we will investigate how the non-commutativity arises into the\nstring theory, \\textit{i.e.}, how the bosonic string theory attaches to a\nD3-brane in the presence of magnetic fields. In order to accomplish the\nproposal, we departure from the commutative two-dimensional harmonic\noscillator, which after the application of the general Bopp's shifts Matrix\nMethod, the non-commutative version of the two-dimensional harmonic oscillator\nis obtained. After that, this non-commutative harmonic oscillator will be\nmapped into the bosonic string theory in the light cone frame, which it now\nappears as a bosonic string theory attached to a D3-brane."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Caustics bounding entanglement wedges: We study the caustics on the boundaries of entanglement wedges in the context\nof holography in asymptotically AdS$_3$ spacetimes. These entanglement wedges\nplay an important role in our understanding of the emergence of bulk locality.\nA procedure was proposed by Sanches and Weinberg [arXiv:1703.07780] for\nidentifying boundary operators which are local in the bulk, which also applies\nto certain regions that lie beyond the reach of HRT surfaces by taking\nadvantage of the lightsheets which bound entanglement wedges. We identify the\ncaustics which terminate these lightsheets in conical deficit and BTZ black\nhole spacetimes and find that in some examples these caustics lead to a sharp\ncorner in the entanglement wedge. The unexpected shape of these entanglement\nwedges leads, in those cases, to a breakdown of this procedure. Many of the\nproperties of the rich variety of caustics possible in higher dimensions\nremains to be explored which, as this work demonstrates, could lead to more\nunexpected features in the shapes of entanglement wedges.",
        "positive": "Real-time dynamics of matrix quantum mechanics beyond the classical\n  approximation: We describe a numerical method which allows us to go beyond the classical\napproximation for the real-time dynamics of many-body systems by approximating\nthe many-body Wigner function by the most general Gaussian function with\ntime-dependent mean and dispersion. On a simple example of a classically\nchaotic system with two degrees of freedom we demonstrate that this Gaussian\nstate approximation is accurate for significantly smaller field strengths and\nlonger times than the classical one. Applying this approximation to matrix\nquantum mechanics, we demonstrate that the quantum Lyapunov exponents are in\ngeneral smaller than their classical counterparts, and even seem to vanish\nbelow some temperature. This behavior resembles the finite-temperature phase\ntransition which was found for this system in Monte-Carlo simulations, and\nensures that the system does not violate the Maldacena-Shenker-Stanford bound\n$\\lambda_L < 2 \\pi T$, while the classical dynamics inevitably breaks the\nbound."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Onset of symmetry breaking by the functional RG method: A numerical algorithm is used to solve the bare and the effective potential\nfor the scalar $\\phi^4$ model in the local potential approximation. An\napproximate dynamical Maxwell-cut is found which reveals itself in the\ndegeneracy of the action for modes at some scale. This result indicates that\nthe potential develop singular field dependence as far as one can see it by an\nlgorithm of limited numerical accuracy",
        "positive": "Vortex Solutions of a Fermion Maxwell-Chern-Simons Theory: We explain how static multi-vortex solutions arise in non-linear field\ntheories, by taking the non-linear Schr\\\"odinger equation coupled to\nChern-Simons field (Jackiw-Pi model) and a fermion Chern-Simons theory as\nsimple examples. We then construct a fermion Maxwell-Chern-Simons theory which\nhas consistent static field equations, and show that it has the same vortex\nsolutions as the Jackiw-Pi model, but gives rise to quite different vortex\ndynamics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "N=8 SYM vs. N=6 Chern-Simons: Four-point amplitudes at two-loops: We compute the four-point amplitude in 3d N=8 SYM at two loops, by solving\nthe three dimensional scalar doublebox in dimensional regularization. We\ncompare it to the same result in the ABJM theory, to which maximal SYM should\nflow in the infrared at strong coupling. After proper rescalings, we find that\nthe two amplitudes coincide in the Regge limit.",
        "positive": "Monopole Bubbling via String Theory: In this paper, we propose a string theory description of generic 't Hooft\ndefects in $\\mathcal{N}=2$ $SU(N)$ supersymmetric gauge theories. We show that\nthe space of supersymmetric ground states is given by the moduli space of\nsingular monopoles and that in this setting, Kronheimer's correspondence is\nrealized as T-duality. We conjecture that this brane configuration can be used\nto study the full dynamics of monopole bubbling."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetry and trace formulas II. Selberg trace formula: By extending the new supersymmetric localization principle introduced in\n\\cite{Choi:2021yuz}, we present a path integral derivation of the Selberg trace\nformula on arbitrary compact Riemann surfaces, including the case of arbitrary\nvector-valued automorphic form and weight corresponding to Maass Laplacian. We\nalso generalize the method to formulate the Selberg trace formula on generic\ncompact locally symmetric space.",
        "positive": "Remark on integrating out heavy moduli in flux compactification: We study two steps of moduli stabilization in type IIB flux compactification\nwith gaugino condensations. We consider the condition that one can integrate\nout heavy moduli first with light moduli remaining. We give appendix, where\ndetail study is carried out for potential minima of the model with a six\ndimensional compact space with $h_{1,1}=h_{2,1}=1$, including the model, whose\nrespective moduli with $h_{1,1}, h_{2,1} \\neq 1$ are identified."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Boundary states and non-abelian orbifolds: In this note the open string partition function is analyzed carefully in a\nway to reveal the group-theoretical aspects. For the simple cases of ADE\norbifolds with regular Chan-Paton action a prescription for consistent boundary\nstates is given. In the process of outlining how they encode McKay\ncorrespondence, we argue that this results from a non-trivial conspiracy of\nnumerical factors in the string amplitudes.",
        "positive": "Support of dS/CFT correspondence from space-time perturbations: We analyse the spectrum of perturbations of the de Sitter space on the one\nhand, while on the other hand we compute the location of the poles in the\nConformal Field Theory (CFT) propagator at the border. The coincidence is\nstriking, supporting a dS/CFT correspondence. We show that the spectrum of\nthermal excitations of the CFT at the past boundary $I^{-}$ together with that\nspectrum at the future boundary $I^{+}$ is contained in the quasi-normal mode\nspectrum of the de Sitter space in the bulk."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Thermodynamic limit of the Nekrasov-type formula for E-string theory: We give a proof of the Nekrasov-type formula proposed by one of the authors\nfor the Seiberg-Witten prepotential for the E-string theory on R^4 x T^2. We\ntake the thermodynamic limit of the Nekrasov-type formula following the example\nof Nekrasov-Okounkov and reproduce the Seiberg-Witten description of the\nprepotential. The Seiberg-Witten curve obtained directly from the Nekrasov-type\nformula is of genus greater than one. We find that this curve is transformed\ninto the known elliptic curve by a simple map. We consider the cases in which\nthe low energy theory has E_8, E_7+A_1 or E_6+A_2 as a global symmetry.",
        "positive": "Dynamical stability of the Holographic System with Two Competing Orders: We investigate the dynamical stability of the holographic system with two\norder parameters, which exhibits competition and coexistence of condensations.\nIn the linear regime, we have developed the gauge dependent formalism to\ncalculate the quasi-normal modes by gauge fixing, which turns out be\nconsiderably convenient. Furthermore, by giving different Gaussian wave packets\nas perturbations at the initial time, we numerically evolve the full nonlinear\nsystem until it arrives at the final equilibrium state. Our results show that\nthe dynamical stability is consistent with the thermodynamical stability.\nInterestingly, the dynamical evolution, as well as the quasi-normal modes,\nshows that the relaxation time of this model is generically much longer than\nthe simplest holographic system. We also find that the late time behavior can\nbe well captured by the lowest lying quasi-normal modes except for the\nnon-vanishing order towards the single ordered phase. To our knowledge, this\nexception is the first counter example to the general belief that the late time\nbehavior towards a final stable state can be captured by the lowest lying\nquasi-normal modes. In particular, a double relation is found for this\nexception in certain cases."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Kodama state for topological quantum field theory beyond instantons: Constructing a symplectic structure that preserves the ordinary symmetries\nand the topological invariance for topological Yang-Mills theory, it is shown\nthat the Kodama (Chern-Simons) state traditionally associated with a\ntopological phase of unbroken diffeomorphism invariance for instantons, exists\nactually for the complete topological sector of the theory. The case of gravity\nis briefly discussed.",
        "positive": "Dipolar Dark Matter with Massive Bigravity: Massive gravity theories have been developed as viable IR modifications of\ngravity motivated by dark energy and the problem of the cosmological constant.\nOn the other hand, modified gravity and modified dark matter theories were\ndeveloped with the aim of solving the problems of standard cold dark matter at\ngalactic scales. Here we propose to adapt the framework of ghost-free massive\nbigravity theories to reformulate the problem of dark matter at galactic\nscales. We investigate a promising alternative to dark matter called dipolar\ndark matter (DDM) in which two different species of dark matter are separately\ncoupled to the two metrics of bigravity and are linked together by an internal\nvector field. We show that this model successfully reproduces the phenomenology\nof dark matter at galactic scales (MOND) as a result of a mechanism of\ngravitational polarisation. The model is safe in the gravitational sector, but\nbecause of the particular couplings of the matter fields and vector field to\nthe metrics, a ghost in the decoupling limit is present in the dark matter\nsector. However, it might be possible to push the mass of the ghost beyond the\nstrong coupling scale by an appropriate choice of the parameters of the model.\nCrucial questions to address in future work are the exact mass of the ghost,\nand the cosmological implications of the model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Classification of BPS Objects in N = 6 Chern-Simons Matter Theory: We investigate BPS conditions preserving n/12 (n = 1,...,6) supersymmetries\nin the Aharony-Bergman-Jafferis-Maldacena (ABJM) model. The BPS equations are\nclassified in terms of the number of preserved supercharges and remaining\nsubgroups of the SU(4)_R symmetry. We study structures of a map between\nprojection conditions for the supercharges in eleven dimensions and those in\nthe ABJM model. The BPS configurations in the ABJM model can be interpreted as\nknown BPS objects in eleven-dimensional Mtheory,such as intersecting M2,\nM5-branes, M-waves, KK-monopoles and M9-branes. We also show that these BPS\nconditions reduce to those in N = 8 super Yang-Mills theory via the standard\nD2-reduction procedure in a consistent way with the M-theory interpretation of\nthe BPS conditions.",
        "positive": "Large spin expansion of the wrapping correction to Freyhult-Rej-Zieme\n  twist operators: Twist operators in the closed sl(2) sector of planar N=4 SYM are\ncharacterized by their spin. The explicit dependence of anomalous dimensions on\nthis important parameter is a source of interesting information. Wrapping\ncorrections are a non trivial part of the calculation and are under control in\nthe framework of thermodynamical Bethe Ansatz valid for the full theory and\nthoroughly checked in that sector. The extension to more general twist\noperators beyond sl(2) has been recently accomplished for the so-called 3-gluon\noperators that are a special case of the generalized twist operators introduced\nby Freyhult, Rej and Zieme. Such operators are dual to spinning strings\nconfigurations with two spins S1, S2 in AdS_5 and charge in S^5. We compute the\nexpansion of the weak-coupling leading order wrapping correction in the gauge\ntheory limit dual to large S1 and fixed S2. We present a simple algorithm for\nthe calculation and provide explicit results illustrating the general structure\nof the expansion."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Dialogue of Multipoles: Matched Asymptotic Expansion for Caged Black\n  Holes: No analytic solution is known to date for a black hole in a compact\ndimension. We develop an analytic perturbation theory where the small parameter\nis the size of the black hole relative to the size of the compact dimension. We\nset up a general procedure for an arbitrary order in the perturbation series\nbased on an asymptotic matched expansion between two coordinate patches: the\nnear horizon zone and the asymptotic zone. The procedure is ordinary\nperturbation expansion in each zone, where additionally some boundary data\ncomes from the other zone, and so the procedure alternates between the zones.\nIt can be viewed as a dialogue of multipoles where the black hole changes its\nshape (mass multipoles) in response to the field (multipoles) created by its\nperiodic \"mirrors\", and that in turn changes its field and so on. We present\nthe leading correction to the full metric including the first correction to the\narea-temperature relation, the leading term for black hole eccentricity and the\n\"Archimedes effect\". The next order corrections will appear in a sequel. On the\nway we determine independently the static perturbations of the Schwarzschild\nblack hole in dimension d>=5, where the system of equations can be reduced to\n\"a master equation\" - a single ordinary differential equation. The solutions\nare hypergeometric functions which in some cases reduce to polynomials.",
        "positive": "On integrability of 2-dimensional $\u03c3$-models of Poisson-Lie type: We describe a simple procedure for constructing a Lax pair for suitable\n2-dimensional $\\sigma$-models appearing in Poisson-Lie T-duality"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Comments on Entanglement Entropy in the dS/CFT Correspondence: We consider the entanglement entropy in the dS/CFT correspondence.In Einstein\ngravity on de Sitter spacetime we propose the holographic entanglement entropy\nas the analytic continuation of the extremal surface in Euclidean anti-de\nSitter spacetime.Even though dual conformal field theories for Einstein gravity\non de Sitter spacetime have not been known yet,we analyzed the free $Sp(N)$\nmodel dual to Vasiliev's higher spin gauge theory as a toy model.In this model\nwe confirmed the behaviour similar to our holographic result from Einstein\ngravity.",
        "positive": "Closed Strings with Low Harmonics and Kinks: Low-harmonic formulas for closed relativistic strings are given. General\nparametrizations are presented for the addition of second- and third-harmonic\nwaves to the fundamental wave. The method of determination of the\nparametrizations is based upon a product representation found for the finite\nFourier series of string motion in which the constraints are automatically\nsatisfied. The construction of strings with kinks is discussed, including\nexamples. A procedure is laid out for the representation of kinks that arise\nfrom self-intersection, and subsequent intercommutation, for harmonically\nparametrized cosmic strings."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The incident wave in Aharonov-Bohm scattering wavefunction: It is shown that only the infinite angular momentum quantum states contribute\nto the incident wave in Aharonov-Bohm (AB) scattering. This result is clearly\nshown by recalculating the AB calculation with arbitrary decomposition of\nsummation over the angular momentum quantum numbers in wave function. It is\nmotivated from the fact that the pole contribution in the integral\nrepresentation used by Jackiw is given by only the infinite angular momentum\nstates, in which the closed contour integration involving this pole gives just\nthe incident wave.",
        "positive": "Instabilities in the Aether: We investigate the stability of theories in which Lorentz invariance is\nspontaneously broken by fixed-norm vector \"aether\" fields. Models with generic\nkinetic terms are plagued either by ghosts or by tachyons, and are therefore\nphysically unacceptable. There are precisely three kinetic terms that are not\nmanifestly unstable: a sigma model $(\\partial_\\mu A_\\nu)2$, the Maxwell\nLagrangian $F_{\\mu\\nu}F^{\\mu\\nu}$, and a scalar Lagrangian $(\\partial_\\mu\nA^\\mu)2$. The timelike sigma-model case is well-defined and stable when the\nvector norm is fixed by a constraint; however, when it is determined by\nminimizing a potential there is necessarily a tachyonic ghost, and therefore an\ninstability. In the Maxwell and scalar cases, the Hamiltonian is unbounded\nbelow, but at the level of perturbation theory there are fewer degrees of\nfreedom and the models are stable. However, in these two theories there are\nobstacles to smooth evolution for certain choices of initial data."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "From correlation functions to scattering amplitudes: We study the correlators of half-BPS protected operators in N=4\nsuper-Yang-Mills theory, in the limit where the positions of the adjacent\noperators become light-like separated. We compute the loop corrections by means\nof Lagrangian insertions. The divergences resulting from the light-cone limit\nare regularized by changing the dimension of the integration measure over the\ninsertion points. Switching from coordinates to dual momenta, we show that the\nlogarithm of the correlator is identical with twice the logarithm of the\nmatching MHV gluon scattering amplitude. We present a number of examples of\nthis new relation, at one and two loops.",
        "positive": "Non-Abelian Born-Infeld theory without the square root: A non-Abelian Born-Infeld theory is presented. The square root structure that\ncharacterizes the Dirac-Born-Infeld (DBI) action does not appear. The procedure\nis based on an Abelian theory proposed by Erwin Schr\\\"{o}dinger that, as he\nshowed, is equivalent to Born-Infeld theory. We briefly mention other possible\nsimilar proposals. Our results could be of interest in connection with string\ntheory and possible extensions of well known physical results in the usual\nBorn-Infeld Abelian case."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Analytical solution to DGLAP integro-differential equation via complex\n  maps in domains of contour integrals: A simple model for QCD dynamics in which the DGLAP integro-differential\nequation may be solved analytically has been considered in our previous papers\narXiv:1611.08787 [hep-ph] and arXiv:1906.07924 [hep-ph]. When such a model\ncontains only one term in the splitting function of the dominant parton\ndistribution, then Bessel function appears to be the solution to this\nsimplified DGLAP equation. To our knowledge, this model with only one term in\nthe splitting function for the first time has been proposed by Blumlein in\nhep-ph/9506403. In arXiv:1906.07924 [hep-ph] we have shown that a dual\nintegro-differential equation obtained from the DGLAP equation by a complex map\nin the plane of the Mellin moment in this model may be considered as the BFKL\nequation. Then, in arXiv:1906.07924 we have applied a complex diffeomorphism to\nobtain a standard integral from Gradshteyn and Ryzhik tables starting from the\ncontour integral for parton distribution functions that is usually taken by\ncalculus of residues. This standard integral from these tables appears to be\nthe Laplace transformation of Jacobian for this complex diffeomorphism. Here we\nwrite up all the formulae behind this trick in detail and find out certain\nimportant points for further development of this strategy. We verify that the\ninverse Laplace transformation of the Laplace image of the Bessel function may\nbe represented in a form of Barnes contour integral.",
        "positive": "Meta-Stable Brane Configurations by Quartic Superpotential for\n  Bifundamentals: The type IIA nonsupersymmetric meta-stable brane configuration consisting of\nthree NS5-branes, D4-branes and anti-D4-branes where the electric gauge theory\nsuperpotential has a quartic term for the bifundamentals besides a mass term is\nconstructed. By adding the orientifold 4-plane and 6-plane to this brane\nconfiguration, we also describe the intersecting brane configurations of type\nIIA string theory corresponding to the meta-stable nonsupersymmetric vacua of\ncorresponding gauge theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Weak cosmic censorship with excited scalar fields and bound on\n  charge-to-mass ratio: Recent study in [1] discovered that introducing a massive charged scalar\nfield and requiring the Weak Gravity Conjecture (WGC) to hold can eliminate a\nclass of Weak Cosmic Censorship Conjecture (WCCC) counterexamples in anti-de\nSitter spacetime, indicating a potential connection between WCCC and WGC. In\nthis paper, we extend the study to the case of excited-state scalar fields, and\nnumerically construct the static solutions of excited massive charged scalar\nfields coupled to the Einstein-Maxwell field in four dimensional spacetime with\nasymptotically anti-de Sitter boundary conditions. In the absence of scalar\nfield, there is a class of counterexamples to cosmic censorship. However, after\nadding the scalar field with sufficiently large charge, the original\ncounterexamples can be removed and cosmic censorship is preserved. We find this\nconclusion also applies to the excited-state of scalar field. There is a\nminimum value $q_c^{bound}$. When the charge of the excited scalar field is\nlarger than this minimum value, for sufficiently large boundary electric\namplitude $a$, there will not appear a region with arbitrarily large curvature.\nThat means there exists lower bound on the charge for excited state fields\nwhich protects cosmic censorship from being violated.",
        "positive": "Sphere quantization of Higgs and Coulomb branches and Analytic\n  Symplectic Duality: We employ the protected sphere correlation functions of three-dimensional\nSuper Conformal Field Theories with eight supercharges in order to define a\nquantization of their Higgs and Coulomb branches of vacua as real phase spaces.\nWe also employ hemisphere correlation functions to define a quantization of\ncertain real loci in the Higgs and Coulomb branches. Localization formulae and\ndualities applied to these quantizations result in a body of predictions about\nunitary representations of certain algebras, which may perhaps be understood as\nan ``analytic'' form of the symplectic duality program. In particular, the\nprotected correlation functions in the class of theories denoted as $T[G]$ are\nnaturally related to the theory of unitary representations of complex or real\nsemi-simple Lie groups."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Is the Euclidean path integral always equal to the thermal partition\n  function?: The Euclidean path integral is compared to the thermal (canonical) partition\nfunction in curved static space-times. It is shown that if spatial sections are\nnon-compact and there is no Killing horizon, the logarithms of these two\nquantities differ only by a term proportional to the inverse temperature, that\narises from the vacuum energy. When spatial sections are bordered by Killing\nhorizons the Euclidean path integral is not equal to the thermal partition\nfunction. It is shown that the expression for the Euclidean path integral\ndepends on which integral is taken first: over coordinates or over momenta. In\nthe first case the Euclidean path integral depends on the scattering phase\nshift of the mode and it is UV diverge. In the second case it is the total\nderivative and diverge on the horizon. Furthermore we demonstrate that there\nare three different definitions of the energy, and the derivative with respect\nto the inverse temperature of the Euclidean path integral does not give the\nvalue of any of these three types of energy. We also propose the new method of\ncomputation of the Euclidean path integral that gives the correct equality\nbetween the Euclidean path integral and thermal partition function for\nnon-compact spaces with and without Killing horizon.",
        "positive": "Smarr Mass formulas for BPS multicenter Black Holes: Mass formulas for multicenter BPS 4D black holes are presented. For example,\nADM mass for a two center BPS solution can be related to the intercencenter\ndistance $r$, the angular momentum $J^2$, the dyonic charge vectors $q_i$ and\nthe value of the scalar moduli at infinity ($z_\\infty$)by $M_{ADM}^2 =A\\left\n(1+ \\alpha J^2\\left(1+\\frac{2M_{ADM}}{r}+\\frac{A}{r^2}\\right)\\right)$ where\n$A(Q),\\alpha(q_i)$ are symplectic invariant quantities ($Q$, the total charge\nvector) depending on the special geometry prepotential defining the theory. The\nformula predicts the existence of a continuos class, for fixed value of the\ncharges, of BH's with interdistances $r\\in (0,\\infty)$ and $M_{ADM}\\in\n(\\infty,M_\\infty)$. Smarr-like expressions incorporating the intercenter\ndistance are obtained from it: $$ dM\\equiv\\Omega d J+\\Phi_i d q_i+ F dr,$$ in\naddition to an effective angular velocity $\\Omega$ and electromagnetic\npotentials $\\Phi_i$, the equation allows to define an effective \"force\", $F$,\nacting between the centers. This effective force is always negative: at\ninfinity we recover the familiar Newton law $F\\sim 1/r^2$ while at short\ndistances $F\\sim f_0+f_1/r^2$. Similar results can be easily obtained for more\ngeneral models and number of centers."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "f(R)-Gravity: \"Einstein Frame\" Lagrangian Formulation, Non-Standard\n  Black Holes and QCD-like Confinement/Deconfinement: We consider f(R) = R + R^2 gravity interacting with a dilaton and a special\nnon-standard form of nonlinear electrodynamics containing a square-root of\nordinary Maxwell Lagrangian. In flat spacetime the latter arises due to a\nspontaneous breakdown of scale symmetry and produces an effective\ncharge-confining potential. In the R + R^2 gravity case, upon deriving the\nexplicit form of the equivalent local \"Einstein frame\" Lagrangian action, we\nfind several physically relevant features due to the combined effect of the\ngauge field and gravity nonlinearities such as: appearance of dynamical\neffective gauge couplings and confinement-deconfinement transition effect as\nfunctions of the dilaton vacuum expectation value; new mechanism for dynamical\ngeneration of cosmological constant; deriving non-standard black hole solutions\ncarrying additional constant vacuum radial electric field and with\nnon-asymptotically flat \"hedge-hog\"-type spacetime asymptotics.",
        "positive": "Integrable sigma models and 2-loop RG flow: Following arXiv:1907.04737, we continue our investigation of the relation\nbetween the renormalizability (with finitely many couplings) and integrability\nin 2d $\\sigma$-models. We focus on the \"$\\lambda$-model,\" an integrable model\nassociated to a group or symmetric space and containing as special limits a\n(gauged) WZW model and an \"interpolating model\" for non-abelian duality. The\nparameters are the WZ level $k$ and the coupling $\\lambda$, and the fields are\n$g$, valued in a group $G$, and a 2d vector $A_\\pm$ in the corresponding\nalgebra. We formulate the $\\lambda$-model as a $\\sigma$-model on an extended $G\n\\times G \\times G$ configuration space $(g, h, \\bar{h})$, defining $h $ and\n$\\bar{h}$ by $A_+ = h \\partial_+ h^{-1}$, $A_- = \\bar{h} \\partial_-\n\\bar{h}^{-1}$. Our central observation is that the model on this extended\nconfiguration space is renormalizable without any deformation, with only\n$\\lambda$ running. This is in contrast to the standard $\\sigma$-model found by\nintegrating out $A_\\pm$, whose 2-loop renormalizability is only obtained after\nthe addition of specific finite local counterterms, resulting in a quantum\ndeformation of the target space geometry. We compute the 2-loop\n$\\beta$-function of the $\\lambda$-model for general group and symmetric spaces,\nand illustrate our results on the examples of $SU(2)/U(1)$ and $SU(2)$. Similar\nconclusions apply in the non-abelian dual limit implying that non-abelian\nduality commutes with the RG flow. We also find the 2-loop $\\beta$-function of\na \"squashed\" principal chiral model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetric solutions to gauged N=2 d=4 sugra: the full timelike\n  shebang: We discuss the structure of supersymmetric solutions in the timelike case to\ngeneral gauged N=2 d=4 supergravity theories coupled to non-Abelian vector\nmultiplets and hypermultiplets.",
        "positive": "Scattering into the fifth dimension of N=4 super Yang-Mills: We study an alternative to dimensional regularisation of planar scattering\namplitudes in N=4 super Yang-Mills theory by going to the Coulomb phase of the\ntheory. The infrared divergences are regulated by masses obtained from a Higgs\nmechanism, allowing us to work in four dimensions. The corresponding string\ntheory set-up suggests that the amplitudes have an exact dual conformal\nsymmetry. The latter acts on the kinematical variables of the amplitudes as\nwell as on the Higgs masses in an effectively five dimensional space. We\nconfirm this expectation by an explicit calculation in the gauge theory. A\nconsequence of this exact dual conformal symmetry is a significantly reduced\nset of scalar basis integrals that are allowed to appear in an amplitude. For\nexample, triangle sub-graphs are ruled out. We argue that the study of\nexponentiation of amplitudes is simpler in the Higgsed theory because\nevanescent terms in the mass regulator can be consistently dropped. We\nillustrate this by showing the exponentiation of a four-point amplitude to two\nloops. Finally, we also analytically compute the small mass expansion of a\ntwo-loop master integral with an internal mass."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A note on entanglement edge modes in Chern Simons theory: We elaborate on the extended Hilbert space factorization of Chern Simons\ntheory and show how this arises naturally from a proper regularization of the\nentangling surface in the Euclidean path integral. The regularization amounts\nto stretching the entangling surface into a co-dimension one surface which\nhosts edge modes of the Chern Simons theory when quantized on a spatial\nsubregion. The factorized state is a regularized Ishibashi state and reproduces\nthe well known topological entanglement entropies. We illustrate how the same\nfactorization arises from the glueing of two spatial subregions via the\nentangling product defined by Donnelly and Freidel.",
        "positive": "Dilaton shifts, probability measures, and decomposition: In this paper we discuss dilaton shifts (Euler counterterms) arising in\ndecomposition of two-dimensional quantum field theories with higher-form\nsymmetries. These take a universal form, reflecting underlying (noninvertible,\nquantum) symmetries. The first part of this paper constructs a general formula\nfor such dilaton shifts, and discusses related computations. In the second part\nof this paper, we comment on the relation between decomposition and ensembles."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Bulk spectral functions in single and multi-scalar gravity duals: We examine two point correlation functions involving the trace of the energy\nmomentum tensor in five dimensional gravity dual theories supported by one or\nmore scalar fields. A prescription for determining bulk channel spectral\nfunctions is developed. This prescription generalizes previous work which\ncentered on one scalar field. As an application of these techniques, we\ninvestigate the bulk spectral function and corresponding sum rule in the\nChamblin-Reall background. We show that, when expressed in terms of the beta\nfunction, the sum rule for the Chamblin-Reall background can be written in a\nform similar to the sum rule in Yang-Mills theory.",
        "positive": "New Spacetime-Supersymmetric Methods for the Superstring: In this talk, the new spacetime-supersymmetric description of the superstring\nis reviewed and some of its applications are described. These applications\ninclude the manifestly spacetime-supersymmetric calculation of scattering\namplitudes, the construction of a super-Poincar\\'e invariant open superstring\nfield theory, and the beta-function calculation of low-energy equations of\nmotion in superspace. Parts of this work have been done in collaboration with\ndeBoer, van Nieuwenhuizen, Ro\\v{c}ek, Sezgin, Skenderis, Stelle, and\nespecially, Siegel and Vafa."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Asymptotic Weyl double copy in Newman-Penrose formalism: In this paper, we provide a self-contained investigation of the Weyl double\ncopy in the Newman-Penrose formalism. We examine the Weyl double copy\nconstraints for the general asymptotically flat solution in the Newman-Unti\ngauge. We find that two transparent solutions of the asymptotic Weyl double\ncopy constraints lead to truncated solutions for both linearized and Einstein\ngravity theory where the solutions are in the manifest form of Petrov type N or\ntype D in the Newman-Unti gauge.",
        "positive": "A solution to the 4-tachyon off-shell amplitude in cubic string field\n  theory: We derive an analytic series solution of the elliptic equations providing the\n4-tachyon off-shell amplitude in cubic string field theory (CSFT). From such a\nsolution we compute the exact coefficient of the quartic effective action\nrelevant for time dependent solutions and we derive the exact coefficient of\nthe quartic tachyon coupling. The rolling tachyon solution expressed as a\nseries of exponentials $e^t$ is studied both using level-truncation\ncomputations and the exact 4-tachyon amplitude. The results for the level\ntruncated coefficients are shown to converge to those derived using the exact\nstring amplitude. The agreement with previous work on the subject, both on the\nquartic tachyon coupling and on the CSFT rolling tachyon, is an excellent test\nfor the accuracy of our off-shell solution."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "An Effective Supergravity for the Thermal Phases of N=4 Strings: A universal effective supergravity Lagrangian describing the thermal phases\nof heterotic strings on T^4 x S^1, IIA and IIB strings on K^3 x S^1 is\nconstructed. The resulting non-perturbative phase structure is discussed.",
        "positive": "Fibration structure in toric hypersurface Calabi-Yau threefolds: We find through a systematic analysis that all but 29,223 of the 473.8\nmillion 4D reflexive polytopes found by Kreuzer and Skarke have a 2D reflexive\nsubpolytope. Such a subpolytope is generally associated with the presence of an\nelliptic or genus one fibration in the corresponding birational equivalence\nclass of Calabi-Yau threefolds. This extends the growing body of evidence that\nmost Calabi-Yau threefolds have an elliptically fibered phase."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Friedmann-Lema\u00eetre-Robertson-Walker cosmologies in non-standard\n  gravity: The present thesis is focused on the study of FLRW cosmology in modified\ngravities and with scalar fields. The mystery of dark energy has made that the\nlast decade, many efforts in theoretical physics have been focused on the\nexplanation of the current acceleration of the Universe expansion. On the other\nhand, an early accelerated epoch, known as inflation, is also required in the\nstandard cosmological model in order to fit the observational data. Here, we\nstudy the possibility to explain both effects under the same mechanism, by\nmeans of scalar fields or modified gravity. In this sense, F(R) and\nGauss-Bonnet gravities are studied. This analysis is also extended to\nHo\\v{r}ava-Lifshitz gravity, a theory that seems to be power counting\nrenormalizable, in spite of it contains other serious problems that are also\ndiscussed in the thesis.",
        "positive": "Gravitational chiral anomaly and anomalous transport for fields with\n  spin 3/2: In a fluid with vorticity and acceleration, an axial current arises in the\nthird order of gradient expansion, called the kinematical vortical effect\n(KVE). While existing in the absence of gravitational fields, it is\nnevertheless associated with effects in curved space-time, namely with the\ngravitational chiral quantum anomaly. In this paper, the KVE transport\ncoefficients were found using the Zubarev quantum-statistical density operator\nfor the Rarita-Schwinger-Adler theory, which includes fields with spins 3/2 and\n1/2. A prediction is made about the possible form of the transport coefficients\nfor massless fields with arbitrary spin."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Phase and stability of black strings in Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet theory at\n  large D: The phase and stability of black strings in the Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet (EGB)\ntheory are investigated by using the large D effective theory approach. The\nspacetime metric and thermodynamics are derived up to the next-to-leading order\n(NLO) in the 1/D expansion. We find that the entropy current defined by the\nIyer-Wald formula follows the second law. As in the Einstein theory, the\nentropy difference from the total mass produces an entropy functional for the\neffective theory. Including the NLO correction, we find that for the large\nGauss-Bonnet coupling constant $\\alpha_{\\rm GB}$, the Gregory-Laflamme\ninstability of uniform black strings needs longer wavelength. Moreover, we show\nthat the critical dimension, beyond which non-uiform black strings becomes more\nstable than uniform ones, increases as $\\alpha_{\\rm GB}$ becomes large, and\napproaches to a finite value for $\\alpha_{\\rm GB}\\to \\infty$.",
        "positive": "Exact Path Integral for 3D Quantum Gravity II: Continuing the work arXiv:1504.05991, we discuss various aspects of three\ndimensional quantum gravity partition function in AdS in the semi-classical\nlimit. The partition function is holomorphic and is the one which we obtained\nby using the localization technique of Chern-Simons theory in arXiv:1504.05991.\nWe obtain a good expression for it in the summation form over Virasoro\ncharacters for the vacuum and primaries. A key ingredient for that is an\ninterpretation of boundary localized fermion. We also check that the\ncoefficients in the summation form over Virasoro characters of the partition\nfunction are positive integers and satisfy the Cardy formula. These give\nphysical interpretation that these coefficients represent the number of primary\nfields in the dual CFT in the large k limit."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Generalizing event shapes: In search of lost collider time: We introduce a new class of collider-type observables in conformal field\ntheories which we call generalized event shapes. They are defined as matrix\nelements of light-ray operators that are sensitive to the longitudinal, or\ntime-dependent, structure of the state produced in the collision. Generalized\nevent shapes can be studied using both correlation functions and scattering\namplitudes. They are infrared finite and smoothly transit over to the familiar\nevent shapes. We compute them in planar ${\\cal N}=4$ super-Yang-Mills theory at\nweak and strong coupling, and study their physical properties. We show that at\nstrong coupling both the stringy and quantum-gravitational corrections to the\nenergy-energy correlation exhibit longitudinal broadening that manifests itself\nthrough the presence of long-time tails in the energy flux measured by the\ndetectors.",
        "positive": "Large N expansion for the 2D Dyson gas: We discuss the 1/N expansion of the free energy of N logarithmically\ninteracting charges in the plane in an external field. For some particular\nvalues of the inverse temperature beta this system is equivalent to the\neigenvalue version of certain random matrix models, where it is refered to as\nthe \"Dyson gas\" of eigenvalues. To find the free energy at large N and the\nstructure of 1/N-corrections, we first use the effective action approach and\nthen confirm the results by solving the loop equation. The results obtained\ngive some new representations of the mathematical objects related to the\nDirichlet boundary value problem, complex analysis and spectral geometry of\nexterior domains. They also suggest interesting links with bosonic field theory\non Riemann surfaces, gravitational anomalies and topological field theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spacetime and Physical Equivalence: In this essay I begin to lay out a conceptual scheme for: (i) analysing\ndualities as cases of theoretical equivalence; (ii) assessing when cases of\ntheoretical equivalence are also cases of physical equivalence. The scheme is\napplied to gauge/gravity dualities. I expound what I argue to be their\ncontribution to questions about: (iii) the nature of spacetime in quantum\ngravity; (iv) broader philosophical and physical discussions of spacetime.\n(i)-(ii) proceed by analysing duality through four contrasts. A duality will be\na suitable isomorphism between models: and the four relevant contrasts are as\nfollows:\n  (a) Bare theory: a triple of states, quantities, and dynamics endowed with\nappropriate structures and symmetries; vs. interpreted theory: which is endowed\nwith, in addition, a suitable pair of interpretative maps.\n  (b) Extendable vs. unextendable theories: which can, respectively cannot, be\nextended as regards their domains of application.\n  (c) External vs. internal intepretations: which are constructed,\nrespectively, by coupling the theory to another interpreted theory vs. from\nwithin the theory itself.\n  (d) Theoretical vs. physical equivalence: which contrasts formal equivalence\nwith the equivalence of fully interpreted theories.\n  I apply this scheme to answering questions (iii)-(iv) for gauge/gravity\ndualities. I argue that the things that are physically relevant are those that\nstand in a bijective correspondence under duality: the common core of the two\nmodels. I therefore conclude that most of the mathematical and physical\nstructures that we are familiar with, in these models, are largely, though\ncrucially never entirely, not part of that common core. Thus, the\ninterpretation of dualities for theories of quantum gravity compels us to\nrethink the roles that spacetime, and many other tools in theoretical physics,\nplay in theories of spacetime.",
        "positive": "Genus expansion of HOMFLY polynomials: In the planar limit of the 't Hooft expansion, the Wilson-loop average in 3d\nChern-Simons theory (i.e. the HOMFLY polynomial) depends in a very simple way\non representation (the Young diagram), so that the (knot-dependent) Ooguri-Vafa\npartition function becomes a trivial KP tau-function. We study higher genus\ncorrections to this formula in the form of expansion in powers of z = q-q^{-1}.\nExpansion coefficients are expressed through the eigenvalues of the\ncut-and-join operators, i.e. symmetric group characters. Moreover, the\nz-expansion is naturally exponentiated. Representation through cut-and-join\noperators makes contact with Hurwitz theory and its sophisticated integrability\nproperties. Our formulas describe the shape of genus expansion for the HOMFLY\npolynomials, which for their matrix model counterparts is usually controlled by\nVirasoro like constraints and AMM/EO topological recursion. The genus expansion\ndiffers from the better studied weak coupling expansion at finite number of\ncolors N, which is described in terms of the Vassiliev invariants and\nKontsevich integral."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Heisenberg quantization for the systems of identical particles and the\n  Pauli exclusion principle in noncommutative spaces: We study the Heisenberg quantization for the systems of identical particles\nin noncommtative spaces. We get fermions and bosons as a special cases of our\nargument, in the same way as commutative case and therefore we conclude that\nthe Pauli exclusion principle is also valid in noncommutative spaces.",
        "positive": "Exploring Vacuum Manifold of Open String Field Theory: The global symmetry generated by K_n is a subgroup of the stringy gauge\nsymmetry. We explore the part of the vacuum manifold related by this symmetry.\nA strong evidence is presented that the analytic classical solutions to the\ncubic string field theory found earlier in Refs. [5,6] are actually related by\nthe symmetry and, therefore, all of them describe the same tachyon vacuum. Some\nremaining subtlety is pointed out."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "How unimodular gravity theories differ from general relativity at\n  quantum level: We investigate path integral quantization of two versions of unimodular\ngravity. First a fully diffeomorphism-invariant theory is analyzed, which does\nnot include a unimodular condition on the metric, while still being equivalent\nto other unimodular gravity theories at the classical level. The path integral\nhas the same form as in general relativity (GR), except that the cosmological\nconstant is an unspecified value of a variable, and it thus is unrelated to any\ncoupling constant. When the state of the universe is a superposition of vacuum\nstates, the path integral is extended to include an integral over the\ncosmological constant. Second, we analyze the standard unimodular theory of\ngravity, where the metric determinant is fixed by a constraint. Its path\nintegral differs from the one of GR in two ways: the metric of spacetime\nsatisfies the unimodular condition only in average over space, and both the\nHamiltonian constraint and the associated gauge condition have zero average\nover space. Finally, the canonical relation between the given unimodular\ntheories of gravity is established.",
        "positive": "On the Holomorphic Gauge Quantization of the Chern-Simons Theory and\n  Laughlin Wave Functions: Chern-Simons-Matter Lagrangian with noncompact gauge symmetry group is\nconsidered. The theory is quantized in the holomorphic gauge with a complex\ngauge fixing condition. The model is discussed, in which the the gauge and\nmatter fields are accompanied by the complex conjugate counterparts. It is\nargued, that such a theory represents an adequate framework for the description\nof the quantum Hall states."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The $q$-deformed Bogoliubov transformations: An approach for $q$-deformed Bogoliubov transformations is presented.\nAssuming a left-right module action together with an *-operation and deformed\ncommutation relations, we construct a q-deformation of the nonlinear Bogoliubov\ntransformation. Moreover we give a general result which can be applied in\nQuantum Field Theory. Finally, we introduce a Hopf structure when q is a root\nof unity.",
        "positive": "An All-Orders Derivative Expansion: We evaluate the exact $QED_{2+1}$ effective action for fermions in the\npresence of a family of static but spatially inhomogeneous magnetic field\nprofiles. This exact result yields an all-orders derivative expansion of the\neffective action, and indicates that the derivative expansion is an asymptotic,\nrather than a convergent, expansion."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Velocity distribution of free particles in the modified special\n  relativity theory: Keeping the two fundamental postulates of the special theory of relativity,\nthe principle of relativity and the constancy of the one-way velocity of light\nin all inertial frames of reference, and assuming two generalized Finslerian\nstructures of gravity-free space and time in the usual inertial coordinate\nsystem, we can modify the special theory of relativity. The modified theory is\nstill characterized by the localized Lorentz transformation between any two\nusual inertial coordinate systems. It together with the quantum mechanics\ntheory features a convergent and invariant quantum field theory. The modified\ntheory also involves a new velocity distribution for free particles that is\ndifferent from the Maxwell distribution. It is claimed that the deviation of\nthe new distribution from its previous formula will provide experimental means\nof judging the modified special relativity theory.",
        "positive": "Aspects of supertubes: We find supersymmetric solutions of the D4 brane Born-Infeld action\ndescribing D2 supertubes ending on an arbitrary curve inside a D4 brane. From\nthe D4 brane point of view, these are dyonic strings. We also consider various\nhigher dimensional extensions of the usual supertubes, involving expanded D4\nand D3 brane configurations. Finally, considering the worldsheet theory for\nopen strings on a supertube, we show that this configuration is an exact\nsolution to all orders in alpha'. Further the causal structure of the\nopen-string metric provides new insight into the arbitrary cross-section of the\nsupertube solutions. From this point of view, it is similar to the arbitrary\nprofile that appears for certain null plane waves."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Equivalence of the adiabatic expansion and Hadamard renormalization for\n  a charged scalar field: We examine the relationship between three approaches (Hadamard,\nDeWitt-Schwinger and adiabatic) to the renormalization of expectation values of\nfield operators acting on a charged quantum scalar field. First, we demonstrate\nthat the DeWitt-Schwinger representation of the Feynman Green's function is a\nparticular case of the Hadamard representation. Next, we restrict attention to\na spatially flat Friedmann-Lemaitre-Robertson-Walker universe with\ntime-dependent, purely electric, background electromagnetic field, considering\ntwo, three and four-dimensional space-times. Working to the order required for\nthe renormalization of the stress-energy tensor (SET), we find the adiabatic\nand DeWitt-Schwinger expansions of the Green's function when the space-time\npoints are spatially separated. In two and four dimensions, the resulting\nDeWitt-Schwinger and adiabatic expansions are identical. In three dimensions,\nthe DeWitt-Schwinger expansion contains terms of adiabatic order four which are\nnot necessary for the renormalization of the SET and hence absent in the\nadiabatic expansion. The equivalence of the DeWitt-Schwinger and adiabatic\napproaches to renormalization in the scenario considered is thereby\ndemonstrated in even dimensions. In odd dimensions the situation is less clear\nand further investigation is required in order to determine whether adiabatic\nrenormalization is a locally covariant renormalization prescription.",
        "positive": "Euclidean (A)dS spaces over $p$-adic numbers: With the help of Wick rotation over $p$-adic numbers $\\mathbb{Q}_p$, the\n$p$-adic version of Euclidean $\\textrm{dS}_2$ space(noted as $p\\textrm{dS}_2$)\nis obtained based on $p\\textrm{AdS}_2$($p$-adic version of Euclidean\n$\\textrm{AdS}_2$ space), the latter of which is already known. The\ncorresponding embedding equations are also found. The distances $D(X,Y)$'s on\n$p\\textrm{(A)dS}_1$ and $p\\textrm{AdS}_2$ have intuitive explanations. On the\ngraph representations of $\\mathbb{Q}_p$ and $\\mathbb{Q}_{p^2}$, namely\nBruhat-Tits trees $\\textrm{T}_{p}$ and $\\textrm{T}_{p^2}$, $D(X,Y)$ is found to\nbe the inverse of distance between a particular subgraph and the line\nconnecting $X$ and $Y$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "From Twistor Actions to MHV Diagrams: We show that MHV diagrams are the Feynman diagrams of certain twistor actions\nfor gauge theories in an axial gauge. The gauge symmetry of the twistor action\nis larger than that on space-time and this allows us to fix a gauge that makes\nthe MHV formalism manifest but which is inaccessible from space-time. The\nframework is extended to describe matter fields: as an illustration we\nexplicitly construct twistor actions for an adjoint scalar with arbitrary\npolynomial potential and a fermion in the fundamental representation and show\nhow this leads to additional towers of MHV vertices in the MHV diagram\nformalism.",
        "positive": "Non-linear sigma models on constant curvature target manifolds: a\n  functional renormalization group approach: We study non-linear sigma models on target manifolds with constant (positive\nor negative) curvature using the functional renormalization group and the\nbackground field method. We pay particular attention to the splitting Ward\nidentities associated to the invariance under reparametrization of the\nbackground field. Implementing these Ward identities imposes to use the\ncurvature as a formal expansion parameter, which allows us to close the flow\nequation of the (scale-dependent) effective action consistently to first order\nin the curvature. We shed new light on previous work using the background field\nmethod."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On critical dimension in spherical black brane phase transition: We study the Gregory-Laflamme instability of a large uniform black brane\nwrapping a two-sphere compactification manifold. This paper extends the work\narXiv:hep-th/0604015, where the compactifications on p-torus were considered.\nThe new features of the spherical case are the non-zero curvature of the\ncompactification manifold and the absence of the rescaling symmetry due to a\nbuilt-in stabilization mechanism. We calculate the order of the phase\ntransition in dependence on the number d of extended dimensions using the\nLandau-Ginzburg approach. It is found that for d > 11 a uniform spherical black\nbrane in microcanonical ensemble exhibits a smooth second order phase\ntransition towards a stable branch of non-uniform black brane solutions. The\ncritical number of extended dimensions, for which there is a change in the\norder of the phase transition, is different for microcanonical and canonical\nensembles and does not coincide with the critical number of dimensions in the\ncase of the flat toric compactifications. We briefly discuss the origin of this\nmismatch in the orders of phase transition for the different ensembles.",
        "positive": "Fluctuating geometries, q-observables, and infrared growth in\n  inflationary spacetimes: Infrared growth of geometrical fluctuations in inflationary spacetimes is\ninvestigated. The problem of gauge-invariant characterization of growth of\nperturbations, which is of interest also in other spacetimes such as black\nholes, is addressed by studying evolution of the lengths of curves in the\ngeometry. These may either connect freely falling \"satellites,\" or wrap\nnon-trivial cycles of geometries like the torus, and are also used in\ndiffeomorphism- invariant constructions of two-point functions of field\noperators. For spacelike separations significantly exceeding the Hubble scale,\nno spacetime geodesic connects two events, but one may find geodesics\nconstrained to lie within constant-time spatial slices. In inflationary\ngeometries, metric perturbations produce significant and growing corrections to\nthe lengths of such geodesics, as we show in both quantization on an inflating\ntorus and in standard slow-roll inflation. These become large, signaling\nbreakdown of a perturbative description of the geometry via such observables,\nand consistent with perturbative instability of de Sitter space. In particular,\nwe show that the geodesic distance on constant time slices during inflation\nbecomes non-perturbative a few e-folds after a given scale has left the\nhorizon, by distances \\sim 1/H^3 \\sim RS, obstructing use of such geodesics in\nconstructing IR-safe observables based on the spatial geometry. We briefly\ndiscuss other possible measures of such geometrical fluctuations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Electromagnetic quasinormal modes of rotating black strings and the\n  AdS/CFT correspondence: We investigate the quasinormal spectrum of electromagnetic perturbations of\nrotating black strings. Among the solutions of Einstein equations in the\npresence of a negative cosmological constant there are asymptotically anti-de\nSitter (AdS) black holes whose horizons have the topology of a cylinder. The\nstationary version of these AdS black holes represents rotating black strings.\nThe conformal field theory (CFT) dual of a black string lives in a Minkowski\nspace with a compact dimension. On the basis of the AdS/CFT duality, we\ninterpret a CFT plasma moving with respect to the preferred rest frame\nintroduced by the topology as the holographic dual to a rotating black string.\nWe explore the consequences of this correspondence by investigating the\nelectromagnetic perturbations of a black string for different rotation\nparameter values. As usual the electromagnetic quasinormal modes (QNM)\ncorrespond to the poles of retarded Green's functions of $R$-symmetry currents\nin the boundary field theory. The hydrodynamic regime of the QNM dispersion\nrelations are analytically studied. Finally, we investigate numerically the\neffect of rotation on all the family of black-string electromagnetic\nquasinormal modes. We interpret these results from the CFT perspective and\nnotice the emergence of effects like Doppler shift of the frequencies and\ndilation of the thermalization times.",
        "positive": "Brane Cosmology: The aim of these lectures is to give a brief introduction to brane cosmology.\nAfter introducing some basic geometrical notions, we discuss the cosmology of a\nbrane universe with matter localized on the brane. Then we introduce an\nintrinsic curvature scalar term in the bulk action, and analyze the cosmology\nof this induced gravity. Finally we present the cosmology of a moving brane in\nthe background of other branes, and as a particular example, we discuss the\ncosmological evolution of a test brane moving in a background of a Type-0\nstring theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Rolling Tachyons and Decaying Branes: We present new rolling tachyon solutions describing the classical decay of\nD-branes. Our methods are simpler than those appearing in recent works, yet our\nresults are exact in classical string theory. The role of pressure in the decay\nis studied using tachyon profiles with spatial variation. In this case the\nfinal state involves an array of codimension one D-branes rather than static,\npressureless tachyon matter.",
        "positive": "A Contribution of the Trivial Connection to Jones Polynomial and\n  Witten's Invariant of 3d Manifolds I: We use the Chern-Simons quantum field theory in order to prove a recently\nconjectured limitation on the 1/K expansion of the Jones polynomial of a knot\nand its relation to the Alexander polynomial. This limitation allows us to\nderive a surgery formula for the loop corrections to the contribution of the\ntrivial connection to Witten's invariant. The 2-loop part of this formula\ncoincides with Walker's surgery formula for Casson-Walker invariant. This\nproves a conjecture that Casson-Walker invariant is a 2-loop correction to the\ntrivial connection contribution to Witten's invariant of a rational homology\nsphere. A contribution of the trivial connection to Witten's invariant of a\nmanifold with nontrivial rational homology is calculated for the case of\nSeifert manifolds."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Domain wall description of superconductivity: In the present work we shall address the issue of electrical conductivity in\nsuperconductors in the perspective of superconducting domain wall solutions in\nthe realm of field theory. We take our set up made out of a dynamical complex\nscalar field coupled to gauge field to be responsible for superconductivity and\nan extra scalar real field that plays the role of superconducting domain walls.\nThe temperature of the system is interpreted through the fact that the soliton\nfollowing accelerating orbits is a Rindler observer experiencing a thermal\nbath.",
        "positive": "Smooth non-extremal D1-D5-P solutions as charged gravitational\n  instantons: We present an alternative and more direct construction of the\nnon-supersymmetric D1-D5-P supergravity solutions found by Jejjala, Madden,\nRoss and Titchener. We show that these solutions --- with all three charges and\nboth rotations turned on --- can be viewed as a charged version of the\nMyers-Perry instanton. We present an inverse scattering construction of the\nMyers-Perry instanton metric in Euclidean five-dimensional gravity. The angular\nmomentum bounds in this construction turn out to be precisely the ones\nnecessary for the smooth microstate geometries. We add charges on the\nMyers-Perry instanton using appropriate SO(4,4) hidden symmetry\ntransformations. The full construction can be viewed as an extension and\nsimplification of a previous work by Katsimpouri, Kleinschmidt and Virmani."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Multiparticle tree amplitudes in scalar field theory: Following an argument advanced by Feynman, we consider a method for obtaining\nthe effective action which generates the sum of tree diagrams with external\nphysical particles. This technique is applied, in the unbroken \\lambda \\phi^4\ntheory, to the derivation of the threshold amplitude for the production of $n$\nscalar particles by $n$ initial particles. The leading contributions to the\ntree amplitude, which become singular in the threshold limit, exhibit a\nfactorial growth with n.",
        "positive": "Superstrata: We give a survey of the present status of the microstate geometries called\nsuperstrata. Superstrata are smooth, horizonless solutions of six-dimensional\nsupergravity that represent some of the microstates of the D1-D5-P black hole\nin string theory. They are the most general microstate geometries of that sort\nwhose CFT dual states are identified. After reviewing relevant features of the\ndual CFT, we discuss the construction of superstratum solutions in\nsupergravity, based on the linear structure of the BPS equations. We also\nreview some of recent work on generalizations of superstrata and physical\nproperties of superstrata. Although the number of superstrata constructed so\nfar is not enough to account for the black-hole entropy, they give us valuable\ninsights into the microscopic physics of black holes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Normalization of Scattering States, Scattering Phase Shifts and\n  Levinson's Theorem: We show that the normalization integral for the Schr\\\"odinger and Dirac\nscattering wave functions contains, besides the usual delta-function, a term\nproportional to the derivative of the phase shift. This term is of zero measure\nwith respect to the integration over momentum variables and can be discarded in\nmost cases. Yet it carries the full information on phase shifts and can be used\nfor computation and manipulation of quantities which depend on phase shifts. In\nthis paper we prove Levinson's theorem in a most general way which assumes only\nthe completeness of states. In the case of a Dirac particle we obtain a new\nresult valid for positive and negative energies separately. We also make a\ngeneralization of known results, for the phase shifts in the asymptotic limit\nof high energies, to the case of singular potentials. As an application we\nconsider certain equations, which arise in a generalized interaction picture of\nquantum electrodynamics. Using the above mentioned results for the phase shifts\nwe prove that any solution of these equations, which has a finite number of\nbound states, has a total charge zero. Furthermore, we show that in these\nequations the coupling constant is not a free parameter, but rather should be\ntreated as an eigenvalue and hence must have a definite numerical value.",
        "positive": "Thorny Spheres and Black Holes with Strings: We consider thorny spheres, that is 2-dimensional compact surfaces which are\neverywhere locally isometric to a round sphere $S^2$ except for a finite number\nof isolated points where they have conical singularities. We use thorny spheres\nto generate, from a spherically symmetric solution of the Einstein equations,\nnew solutions which describe spacetimes pierced by an arbitrary number of\ninfinitely thin cosmic strings radially directed. Each string produces an angle\ndeficit proportional to its tension, while the metric outside the strings is a\nlocally spherically symmetric solution. We prove that there can be arbitrary\nconfigurations of strings provided that the directions of the strings obey a\ncertain equilibrium condition. In general this equilibrium condition can be\nwritten as a force-balance equation for string forces defined in a flat 3-space\nin which the thorny sphere is isometrically embedded, or as a constraint on the\nproduct of holonomies around strings in an alternative 3-space that is flat\nexcept for the strings. In the case of small string tensions, the constraint\nequation has the form of a linear relation between unit vectors directed along\nthe string axes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fisher Equation for a Decaying Brane: We consider the inhomogeneous decay of an unstable D-brane. The dynamical\nequation that describes this process (in light-cone time) is a variant of the\nnon-linear reaction-diffusion equation that first made its appearance in the\npioneering work of (Luther and) Fisher and appears in a variety of natural\nphenomena.",
        "positive": "Constraint structure and Hamiltonian treatment of Nappi-Witten model: We investigate the Hamiltonian analysis of Nappi-Witten model (WZW action\nbased on non semi simple gauge group) and find a time dependent\nnon-commutativity by canonical quantization. Our procedure is based on\nconstraint analysis of the model in two parts. A first class analysis is used\nfor gauge fixing the original model following by a second class analysis in\nwhich the boundary condition are treated as Dirac constraints. We find the\nreduced phase space by imposing our second class constraints on the variables\nin an extended Fourier space."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Renormalization Group Treatment of Nonrenormalizable Interactions: The structure of the UV divergencies in higher dimensional nonrenormalizable\ntheories is analysed. Based on renormalization operation and renormalization\ngroup theory it is shown that even in this case the leading divergencies\n(asymptotics) are governed by the one-loop diagrams the number of which,\nhowever, is infinite. Explicit expression for the one-loop counter term in an\narbitrary D-dimensional quantum field theory without derivatives is suggested.\nThis allows one to sum up the leading asymptotics which are independent of the\narbitrariness in subtraction of higher order operators. Diagrammatic\ncalculations in a number of scalar models in higher loops are performed to be\nin agreement with the above statements. These results do not support the idea\nof the na\\\"ive power-law running of couplings in nonrenormalizable theories and\nfail (with one exception) to reveal any simple closed formula for the leading\nterms.",
        "positive": "Quantizing SL(N) Solitons and the Hecke Alegbra: The problem of quantizing a class of two-dimensional integrable quantum field\ntheories is considered. The classical equations of the theory are the complex\n$sl(n)$ affine Toda equations which admit soliton solutions with real masses.\nThe classical scattering theory of the solitons is developed using Hirota's\nsolution techniques. A form for the soliton $S$-matrix is proposed based on the\nconstraints of $S$-matrix theory, integrability and the requirement that the\nsemi-classical limit is consistent with the semi-classical WKB quantization of\nthe classical scattering theory. The proposed $S$-matrix is an intertwiner of\nthe quantum group associated to $sl(n)$, where the deformation parameter is a\nfunction of the coupling constant. It is further shown that the $S$-matrix\ndescribes a non-unitary theory, which reflects the fact that the classical\nHamiltonian is complex. The spectrum of the theory is found to consist of the\nbasic solitons, scalar states (or breathers) and excited (or `breathing')\nsolitons. It is also noted that the construction of the $S$-matrix is valid for\nany representation of the Hecke algebra, allowing the definition of restricted\n$S$-matrices, in which case the theory is unitary."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Finite temperature effects in modular cosmology: We revisit the cosmological history in the presence of light moduli by\nincluding possible thermal effects in the scalar potential. The well known\ncosmological moduli problem regards initial energy stored in the moduli due to\na misalignment from its final position during inflation. We show that finite\ntemperature corrections to the scalar potential, in general, induce similar\neffects and these are likely to overcome the ones from the misalignment. This\nchanges important parameters like the preferred window for the numbers of\ne-fold during inflation and the final reheating temperature in a\nmodel-dependent manner. The general implications are a longer late modulus\ndominated epoch and a larger final reheating temperature. We explore all the\ndiscussed elements in type-IIB superstring Large Volume Compactification with a\nK\\\"ahler inflationary scenario, where zero temperature results are known. An\ninstability analysis, using a Floquet approach, is also performed for this\nexplicit case finding strong indications of possible oscillon production around\na nearly universal normalized critical temperature, where the Floquet exponents\nshow a divergent behaviour.",
        "positive": "Complex linear superfields, Supercurrents and Supergravities: We present expressions for the supercurrents generated by a generic\n$4D,~\\mathcal{N}=1$ theory of complex linear superfield $\\Sigma$. We verify\nthat these expressions satisfy the appropriate superspace conservation\nequations. Furthermore, we discuss the component projection in order to derive\nexpressions for the energy-momentum tensor, the supersymmetry current and the\nR-symmetry current when available. In addition, we discuss aspects of the\ncoupling of the theory to supergravity. Specifically, we present a\nstraightforward method to select the appropriate formulations of supergravity\nthat one must use in order to do the coupling. This procedure is controlled by\na superfield X originating from the Super-Poincar\\'{e} invariance of the\ntheory. We apply these results to examples of theories with higher derivative\nterms."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Topological Aspects of the Non-adiabatic Berry Phase: The topology of the non-adiabatic parameter space bundle is discussed for\nevolution of exact cyclic state vectors in Berry's original example of split\nangular momentum eigenstates. It turns out that the change in topology occurs\nat a critical frequency. The first Chern number that classifies these bundles\nis proportional to angular momentum. The non-adiabatic principal bundle over\nthe parameter space is not well-defined at the critical frequency.",
        "positive": "Four Dimensional Black Hole Microstates: From D-branes to Spacetime Foam: We propose that every supersymmetric four dimensional black hole of finite\narea can be split up into microstates made up of primitive half-BPS \"atoms''.\nThe mutual non-locality of the charges of these \"atoms'' binds the state\ntogether. In support of this proposal, we display a class of smooth,\nhorizon-free, four dimensional supergravity solutions carrying the charges of\nblack holes, with multiple centers each carrying the charge of a half-BPS\nstate. At vanishing string coupling the solutions collapse to a bound system of\nintersecting D-branes. At weak coupling the system expands into the non-compact\ndirections forming a topologically complex geometry. At strong coupling, a new\ndimension opens up, and the solutions form a \"foam'' of spheres threaded by\nflux in M-theory. We propose that this transverse growth of the underlying\nbound state of constitutent branes is responsible for the emergence of black\nhole horizons for coarse-grained observables. As such, it suggests the link\nbetween the D-brane and \"spacetime foam'' approaches to black hole entropy."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-perturbative Field Theory: In this talk we review recent developments which enable us to use techniques\nof integrable two-dimensional quantum field theories to solve exactly four\ndimensional N=4 gauge theory through the use of the AdS/CFT correspondence. By\n`solve' we mean here to find all anomalous dimensions of all operators of the\ntheory for any value of the gauge coupling. We illustrate the methods with the\ncase of the Konishi operator, the simplest operator not protected by\nsupersymmetry, whose perturbative anomalous dimension can be computed from the\nstring side of the AdS/CFT correspondence and is in exact agreement with a\ndirect gauge theory perturbative computation.",
        "positive": "Free energy and boundary anomalies on $\\mathbb{S}^a\\times \\mathbb{H}^b$\n  spaces: We compute free energies as well as conformal anomalies associated with\nboundaries for a conformal free scalar field. To that matter, we introduce the\nfamily of spaces of the form $\\mathbb{S}^a\\times \\mathbb{H}^b$, which are\nconformally related to $\\mathbb{S}^{a+b}$. For the case of $a=1$, related to\nthe entanglement entropy across $\\mathbb{S}^{b-1}$, we provide some new\nexplicit computations of entanglement entropies at weak coupling. We then\ncompute the free energy for spaces $\\mathbb{S}^a\\times \\mathbb{H}^b$ for\ndifferent values of $a$ and $b$. For spaces $\\mathbb{S}^{2n+1}\\times\n\\mathbb{H}^{2k}$ we find an exact match with the free energy on\n$\\mathbb{S}^{2n+2k+1}$. For $\\mathbb{H}^{2k+1}$ and $\\mathbb{S}^{3}\\times\n\\mathbb{H}^{3}$ we find conformal anomalies originating from boundary terms.\n  We also compute the free energy for strongly coupled theories through\nholography, obtaining similar results."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gravitational Regge bounds: We review the basic assumptions and spell out the detailed arguments that\nlead to the bound on the Regge growth of gravitational scattering amplitudes.\nThe minimal extra ingredient compared to the gapped case - in addition to\nunitarity, analyticity, subexponentiality, and crossing - is the assumption\nthat scattering at large impact parameters is controlled by known\nsemi-classical physics. We bound the Regge growth of amplitudes both with the\nfixed transferred momentum and smeared over it. Our basic conclusion is that\ngravitational scattering amplitudes admit dispersion relations with two\nsubtractions. For a sub-class of smeared amplitudes, black hole formation\nreduces the number of subtractions to one. Finally, using dispersion relations\nwith two subtractions we derive bounds on the local growth of relativistic\nscattering amplitudes. Schematically, the local bound states that the amplitude\ncannot grow faster than $s^2$.",
        "positive": "Decoupling Limit, Lens Spaces and Taub-NUT: D=4 Black Hole Microscopics\n  from D=5 Black Holes: We study the space-times of non-extremal intersecting p-brane configurations\nin M-theory, where one of the components in the intersection is a ``NUT,'' i.e.\na configuration of the Taub-NUT type. Such a Taub-NUT configuration\ncorresponds, upon compactification to D=4, to a Gross-Perry-Sorkin (GPS)\nmonopole. We show that in the decoupling limit of the CFT/AdS correspondence,\nthe 4-dimensional transverse space of the NUT configuration in D=5 is foliated\nby surfaces that are cyclic lens spaces S^3/Z_N, where N is the quantised\nmonopole charge. By contrast, in D=4 the 3-dimensional transverse space of the\nGPS monopole is foliated by 2-spheres. This observation provides a\nstraightforward interpretation of the microscopics of a D=4 string-theory black\nhole, with a GPS monopole as one of its constituents, in terms of the\ncorresponding D=5 black hole with no monopole. Using the fact that the\nnear-horizon region of the NUT solution is a lens space, we show that if the\neffect of the Kaluza-Klein massive modes is neglected, p-brane configurations\ncan be obtained from flat space-time by means of a sequence of dimensional\nreductions and oxidations, and U-duality transformations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "An N=1 Supersymmetric G_2-invariant Flow in M-theory: It was found that deformation of S^7 gives rise to renormalization group(RG)\nflow from N=8, SO(8)-invariant UV fixed point to N=1, G_2-invariant IR fixed\npoint in four-dimensional gauged N=8 supergravity. Also BPS supersymmetric\ndomain wall configuration interpolated between these two critical points. In\nthis paper, we use the G_2-invariant RG flow equations for both scalar fields\nand domain-wall amplitude and apply them to the nonlinear metric ansatz\ndeveloped by de Wit, Nicolai and Warner some time ago. We carry out the\nM-theory lift of the G_2-invariant RG flow through a combinatoric use of the\nfour-dimensional RG flow equations and eleven-dimensional Einstein-Maxwell\nequations. The nontrivial r(that is the coordinate transverse to the domain\nwall)-dependence of vacuum expectation values becomes consistent with not only\nat the critical points but also along the supersymmetric RG flow connecting two\ncritical points. By applying an ansatz for an eleven-dimensional three-form\ngauge field with varying scalars, we discover an exact solution to the\neleven-dimensional Einstein-Maxwell equations corresponding to the M-theory\nlift of the G_2-invariant RG flow.",
        "positive": "Near Horizon Limits of Massless BTZ and Their CFT Duals: We consider the massless BTZ black hole and show that it is possible to take\nits \"near horizon\" limit in two distinct ways. The first one leads to a null\nself-dual orbifold of AdS3 and the second to a spacelike singular AdS3/Z_K\norbifold in the large K limit, the \"pinching orbifold\". We show that from the\ndual 2d CFT viewpoint, the null orbifold corresponds to the p^+=0 sector of the\nDiscrete Light-Cone Quantisation (DLCQ) of the 2d CFT where a chiral sector of\nthe CFT is decoupled, while the pinching orbifold corresponds to taking an\ninfinite mass gap limit in both the right and left sectors of the 2d CFT,\nessentially leaving us with the states L_0=\\bar L_0=c/24 only. In the latter\ncase, one can combine the near horizon limit with sending the 3d Planck length\nl_P to zero, or equivalently the dual CFT central charge c to infinity. We\nprovide preliminary evidence that in that case some nontrivial dynamics may\nsurvive the limit."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "ABC-formula and R-operation for decay processes: The vacuum expectation value of the evolution operator for a general class of\nHamiltonians used in quantum field theory and statistical physics and which\ninclude unstable particles is considered. An exact formula which describes the\nlarge time behavior of the evolution operator is proved.",
        "positive": "Asymptotic conservation laws in field theory: A new, general, field theoretic approach to the derivation of asymptotic\nconservation laws is presented. In this approach asymptotic conservation laws\nare constructed directly from the field equations according to a universal\nprescription which does not rely upon the existence of Noether identities or\nany Lagrangian or Hamiltonian formalisms. The resulting general expressions of\nthe conservation laws enjoy important invariance properties and synthesize all\nknown asymptotic conservation laws, such as the ADM energy in general\nrelativity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Celestial holography meets twisted holography: 4d amplitudes from chiral\n  correlators: We propose a new program for computing a certain integrand of scattering\namplitudes of four-dimensional gauge theories which we call the \\textit{form\nfactor integrand}, starting from 6d holomorphic theories on twistor space. We\nshow that the form factor integrands can be expressed as sums of products of\n1.) correlators of a 2d chiral algebra, related to the algebra of asymptotic\nsymmetries uncovered recently in the celestial holography program, and 2.) OPE\ncoefficients of a 4d non-unitary CFT. We prove that conformal blocks of the\nchiral algebras are in one-to-one correspondence with local operators in 4d. We\nuse this bijection to recover the Parke-Taylor formula, the CSW formula, and\ncertain one-loop scattering amplitudes. Along the way, we explain and derive\nvarious aspects of celestial holography, incorporating techniques from the\ntwisted holography program such as Koszul duality. This perspective allows us\nto easily and efficiently recover the infinite-dimensional chiral algebras of\nasymptotic symmetries recently extracted from scattering amplitudes of massless\ngluons and gravitons in the celestial basis. We also compute some simple\none-loop corrections to the chiral algebras and derive the three-dimensional\nbulk theories for which these 2d algebras furnish an algebra of boundary local\noperators.",
        "positive": "High-energy effective theory for orbifold branes: We derive an effective theory on the orbifold branes of the Randall-Sundrum 1\n(RS1) braneworld scenario in the presence of a bulk brane. We concentrate on\nthe regime where the three branes are close and consider a scenario where the\nbulk brane collides with one of the orbifold branes. This theory allows us to\nunderstand the corrections to a low-energy approach due to the presence of\nhigher velocity terms, coming from the Kaluza-Klein modes. We consider the\nevolution of gravitational waves on a cosmological background and find that,\nwithin the large velocity limit, the boundary branes recover a purely\nfour-dimensional behavior."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the dualization of Born-Infeld theories: We construct a general Lagrangian, quadratic in the field strengths of $n$\nabelian gauge fields, which interpolates between BI actions of n abelian\nvectors and actions, quadratic in the vector field-strengths, describing\nMaxwell fields coupled to non-dynamical scalars, in which the electric-magnetic\nduality symmetry is manifest. Depending on the choice of the parameters in the\nLagrangian, the resulting BI actions may be inequivalent, exhibiting different\nduality groups. In particular we find, in our general setting, for different\nchoices of the parameters, a ${\\rm U}(n)$-invariant BI action, possibly related\nto the one in \\cite{Aschieri:2008ns}, as well as the recently found\n$\\mathcal{N}=2$ supersymmetric BI action \\cite{Ferrara:2014oka}.",
        "positive": "Adaptive Perturbation Theory I: Quantum Mechanics: Adaptive perturbation is a new method for perturbatively computing the\neigenvalues and eigenstates of quantum mechanical Hamiltonians that heretofore\nwere not believed to be obtainable by such methods. The novel feature of\nadaptive perturbation theory is that it decomposes a given Hamiltonian, $H$,\ninto an unperturbed part and a perturbation in a way which extracts the leading\nnon-perturbative behavior of the problem exactly. This paper introduces the\nmethod in the context of the pure anharmonic oscillator and then goes on to\napply it to the case of tunneling between both symmetric and asymmetric minima.\nIt concludes with an introduction to the extension of these methods to the\ndiscussion of a quantum field theory. A more complete discussion of this issue\nwill be given in the second paper in this series. This paper will show how to\nuse the method of adaptive perturbation theory to non-perturbatively extract\nthe structure of mass, wavefunction and coupling constant renormalization."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Effective Potential in PP-Wave Geometry: We calculate effective potentials in scalar field theories on the maximally\nsupersymmetric pp-wave background in ten dimensions. For this purpose we have\nto work in the light-cone formulation, and hence we introduce two methods to\ncompute them in the light-cone frame. One is to use the Yan's formula for\nevaluating one-loop correction terms. The other is to introduce a cut-off for\nthe light-cone momentum. These methods are also confirmed in the case of\nMinkowski spacetime.",
        "positive": "From $p$-adic to Archimedean Physics: Renormalization Group Flow and\n  Berkovich Spaces: We introduce the $p$-adic particle-in-a-box as a free particle with periodic\nboundary conditions in the $p$-adic spatial domain. We compute its energy\nspectrum, and show that the spectrum of the Archimedean particle-in-a-box can\nbe recovered from the $p$-adic spectrum via an Euler product formula. This\nproduct formula arises from a flow equation in Berkovich space, which we\ninterpret as a space of theories connected by a kind of renormalization group\nflow. We propose that Berkovich spaces can be used to relate $p$-adic and\nArchimedean quantities generally."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Particle Reflection Amplitudes in a_n^(1) Toda Field Theories: We determine the exact quantum particle reflection amplitudes for all known\nvacua of a_n^(1) affine Toda theories on the half-line with integrable boundary\nconditions. (Real non-singular vacuum solutions are known for about half of all\nthe classically integrable boundary conditions.) To be able to do this we use\nthe fact that the particles can be identified with the analytically continued\nbreather solutions, and that the real vacuum solutions are obtained by\nanalytically continuing stationary soliton solutions. We thus obtain the\nparticle reflection amplitudes from the corresponding breather reflection\namplitudes. These in turn we calculate by bootstrapping from soliton reflection\nmatrices which we obtained as solutions of the boundary Yang-Baxter equation\n(reflection equation).\n  We study the pole structure of the particle reflection amplitudes and uncover\nan unexpectedly rich spectrum of excited boundary states, created by particles\nbinding to the boundary. For a_2^(1) and a_4^(1) Toda theories we calculate the\nreflection amplitudes for particle reflection off all these excited boundary\nstates. We are able to explain all physical strip poles in these reflection\nfactors either in terms of boundary bound states or a generalisation of the\nColeman-Thun mechanism.",
        "positive": "On the Supersymmetric Index of the M-theory 5-brane and Little String\n  Theory: We propose a six-dimensional framework to calculate the supersymmetric index\nof M-theory 5-branes wrapped on a six-manifold with product topology $M_4\\times\nT^2$, where $M_4$ is a holomorphic 4-cycle in a Calabi-Yau three-fold. This is\nobtained by zero-modes counting of the self-dual tensor contribution plus\n``little'' string states and correctly reproduces the known results which can\nbe obtained by shrinking or blowing the $T^2$ volume parameter. We also extract\nthe geometric moduli space of the multi M5-brane system and infer the generic\nstructure of the supersymmetric index for more general geometries."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On free Lie algebras and particles in electro-magnetic fields: The Poincar\\'e algebra can be extended (non-centrally) to the Maxwell algebra\nand beyond. These extensions are relevant for describing particle dynamics in\nelectro-magnetic backgrounds and possibly including the backreaction due the\npresence of multipoles. We point out a relation of this construction to free\nLie algebras that gives a unified description of all possible kinematic\nextensions, leading to a symmetry algebra that we call Maxwell${}_\\infty$. A\nspecific dynamical system with this infinite symmetry is constructed and\nanalysed.",
        "positive": "Optimal number of terms in QED series: In 1952 Dyson put forward a simple and powerful argument indicating that the\nperturbative expansions of QED are asymptotic. His argument can be related to\nChandrasekhar's limit on the mass of a star for stability against gravitational\ncollapse. Combining these two arguments we estimate the optimal number of terms\nof the QED series to be 3.1(137)^{3/2}=5000."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "D-branes in curved spacetime: Nappi-Witten background: We find exact D-brane configurations in the Nappi-Witten background using the\nboundary state approach and describe how they are related by T-duality\ntransformations. We also show that the classical boundary conditions of the\nassociated sigma model correspond to a field dependent automorphism relating\nthe chiral currents and discuss the correspondence between the boundary state\napproach and the sigma model approach.",
        "positive": "Anomalous Maxwell equations for inhomogeneous chiral plasma: Using the chiral kinetic theory we derive the electric and chiral current\ndensities in inhomogeneous relativistic plasma. We also derive equations for\nthe electric and chiral charge chemical potentials that close the Maxwell\nequations in such a plasma. The analysis is done in the regimes with and\nwithout a drift of the plasma as a whole. In addition to the currents present\nin the homogeneous plasma (Hall current, chiral magnetic, chiral separation,\nand chiral electric separation effects, as well as Ohm's current) we derive\nseveral new terms associated with inhomogeneities of the plasma. Apart from\nvarious diffusion-like terms, we find also new dissipation-less terms that are\nindependent of relaxation time. Their origin can be traced to the Berry\ncurvature modifications of the kinetic theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Flux Compactifications Grow Lumps: The simplest flux compactifications are highly symmetric---a $q$-form flux is\nwrapped uniformly around an extra-dimensional $q$-sphere. In this paper, we\ninvestigate solutions that break the internal SO($q+1$) symmetry down to\nSO$(q)\\times\\mathbb Z_2$; we find a large number of such lumpy solutions, and\nshow that often at least one of them has lower vacuum energy, larger entropy,\nand is more stable than the symmetric solution. We construct the phase diagram\nof lumpy solutions, and provide an interpretation in terms of an effective\npotential. Finally, we provide evidence that the perturbatively stable vacua\nhave a non-perturbative instability to spontaneously sprout lumps; we give an\nestimate of the decay rate and argue that generically it is exponentially\nfaster than all other known decays.",
        "positive": "Relating Gribov-Zwanziger theory and Yang-Mills theory in\n  Batalin-Vilkovisky formalism: We consider the BRST invariant Gribov-Zwanziger theory with appropriate\nhorizon term in Batalin-Vilkovisky formalism. The usual infinitesimal BRST\ntransformation is generalized by considering the parameter finite and field\ndependent. We show that such finite field dependent BRST transformation with\nsuitable choice of finite parameter relates the generating functional of\nGribov-Zwanziger theory to that of the Yang-Mills theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Volume of the Quiver Vortex Moduli Space: We study the moduli space volume of BPS vortices in quiver gauge theories on\ncompact Riemann surfaces. The existence of BPS vortices imposes constraints on\nthe quiver gauge theories. We show that the moduli space volume is given by a\nvev of a suitable cohomological operator (volume operator) in a supersymmetric\nquiver gauge theory, where BPS equations of the vortices are embedded. In the\nsupersymmetric gauge theory, the moduli space volume is exactly evaluated as a\ncontour integral by using the localization. Graph theory is useful to construct\nthe supersymmetric quiver gauge theory and to derive the volume formula. The\ncontour integral formula of the volume (generalization of the Jeffrey-Kirwan\nresidue formula) leads to the Bradlow bounds (upper bounds on the vorticity by\nthe area of the Riemann surface divided by the intrinsic size of the vortex).\nWe give some examples of various quiver gauge theories and discuss properties\nof the moduli space volume in these theories. Our formula are applied to the\nvolume of the vortex moduli space in the gauged non-linear sigma model with\n$CP^N$ target space, which is obtained by a strong coupling limit of a parent\nquiver gauge theory. We also discuss a non-Abelian generalization of the quiver\ngauge theory and \"Abelianization\" of the volume formula.",
        "positive": "BPS Soliton Solutions of a D3-brane Action: The world-volume action of a probe D3-brane in $AdS_5 \\times S^5$ with $N$\nunits of flux has the field content, symmetries, and dualities of the $U(1)$\nfactor of ${\\cal N} = 4$ $U(N+1)$ super Yang--Mills theory, spontaneously\nbroken to $U(N) \\times U(1)$ by being on the Coulomb branch, with the massive\nfields integrated out. Thus, it might be the exact effective action (a highly\neffective action), or else a useful approximation to it. We construct an\n$SL(2,Z)$ multiplet of BPS soliton solutions of the D3-brane action and show\nthat in the $N=1$ case they correspond to the electrically charged states that\nhave been integrated out as well as magnetic monopoles and dyons. Their charges\nare uniformly spread on a spherical surface, a soliton bubble, which can be\ninterpreted as a phase boundary. This picture is consistent with previous\nresults in the string theory and field theory literature."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fermions in the Background of Dilatonic Sphalerons: We discuss the properties and interpretation of a discrete sequence of a\nstatic spherically symmetric solutions of the Yang-Mills-dilaton theory. This\nsequence is parametrized by the number $n$ of zeros of a component of the gauge\nfield potential. It is demonstrated that solutions with odd $n$ posses all the\nproperties of the sphaleron. It is shown that there are normalizable fermion\nzero modes in the background of these solutions. The question of instability is\ncritically analysed.",
        "positive": "N=1 Conformal Superspace in Four Dimensions: We construct in detail an N=1, D=4 superspace with the superconformal algebra\nas the structure group and discuss its relation to prior component approaches\nand the existing Poincar\\'e superspaces."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chaos and pole skipping in CFT$_2$: Recent work has suggested an intriguing relation between quantum chaos and\nenergy density correlations, known as pole skipping. We investigate this\nrelationship in two dimensional conformal field theories on a finite size\nspatial circle by studying the thermal energy density retarded two-point\nfunction on a torus. We find that the location $\\omega_* = i \\lambda$ of pole\nskipping in the complex frequency plane is determined by the central charge and\nthe stress energy one-point function $\\langle T\\rangle$ on the torus. In\naddition, we find a bound on $\\lambda$ in $c>1$ compact, unitary CFT$_2$s\nidentical to the chaos bound, $\\lambda \\leq 2\\pi T$. This bound is saturated in\nlarge $c$ CFT$_2$s with a sparse light spectrum, as quantified by\narXiv:1405.5137, for all temperatures above the dual Hawking-Page transition\ntemperature.",
        "positive": "Phase Space Non-commutativity and its Stability: We consider a generalised non-commutative space-time in which\nnon-commutativity is extended to all phase space variables. If strong enough,\nnon-commutativity can affect stability of the system. We perform stability\nanalysis on a couple of simple examples and show that a system can be\nstabilised by introducing quartic interactions provided they satisfy\nphase-space copositivity. In order to conduct perturbative analysis of these\nsystems one can use either canonical methods or phase-space path integral\nmethods which we present in some detail."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Infinite loop superalgebras of the Dirac theory on the Euclidean\n  Taub-NUT space: The Dirac theory in the Euclidean Taub-NUT space gives rise to a large\ncollection of conserved operators associated to genuine or hidden symmetries.\nThey are involved in interesting algebraic structures as dynamical algebras or\neven infinite-dimensional algebras or superalgebras. One presents here the\ninfinite-dimensional superalgebra specific to the Dirac theory in manifolds\ncarrying the Gross-Perry-Sorkin monopole. It is shown that there exists an\ninfinite-dimensional superalgebra that can be seen as a twisted loop\nsuperalgebra.",
        "positive": "Cosmology and Nonlinear Supersymmetric General Relativity: We discuss cosmological implications of nonlinear supersymmetric(NLSUSY)\ngeneral relativity(GR) of the form of Einstein-Hilbert(EH) action for empty\nspacetime, where NLSUSY GR is obtained by the geomtrical arguments on new\nspacetime just inspired by NLSUSY. The new action of NLSUSY GR is unstable and\nbreaks down spontaneously to EH action with Nambu-Goldstone(NG) fermion matter.\nWe show that NLSUSY GR elucidates the physical meanings of the cosmologically\nimportant quantities, e.g., the spontaneous SUSY breaking scale, the\ncosmological constant, the dark energy and the neutrino mass and describe\nnatually the paradigm of the accelerated expansion of the present universe."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Page Time as a Transition of Information Channels: High-fidelity\n  Information Retrieval for Radiating Black Holes: The effective field theory description of a radiating black hole introduces\nredundant degrees of freedom that necessitate annihilation of those modes at\nlate stages to conserve entropy. The prevailing view is that such effective\nprocess can result in information loss unless the redundant states are\nannihilated in maximally entangled pairs, resembling quantum teleportation. In\nthis Letter, we demonstrate that this view can be relaxed in a new\npostselection model. We investigate information recoverability in a radiating\nblack hole through the non-unitary dynamics that projects the randomly-selected\nmodes from a scrambling unitary. We show that the model has the merit of\nproducing the von Neumann entropy of black holes consistent with the island\nformula calculation and that information in the black hole interior can be\ndecoded from the Hawking radiation without loss after the Page time. Moreover,\nin this model the Page time gains a new interpretation as the transition point\nbetween two channels of information transmission when sufficient amounts of\neffective modes are annihilated inside the horizon. We present two decoding\nstrategies along with their quantum circuit realizations. The experimental\nverification of the strategies employs 7-qubit IBM quantum processors,\ndemonstrating the viability of these strategies and the potential for quantum\nprocessors to probe the black hole interior.",
        "positive": "Brane Tilings for Orientifolds: We give an elementary introduction to the recent derivation of the effective\nlow-energy gauge theories of D3-branes probing orientifolds of toric Calabi-Yau\n3-fold singularities via brane tiling techniques."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Hamilton-Jacobi treatment for non-abelian Chern-Simons system: The non-abelian Chern-Simons field interacting with $N$ component complex\nfield is treated as a constrained system using the Hamilton-Jacobi approach.\nThe reduced phase space Hamiltonian density is obtained without introducing\nLagrange multipliers and with out any additional gauge fixing condition. The\nquantization of this system is also discussed.",
        "positive": "Tunable tachyon mass in the PT-broken massive Thirring model: We study the full phase diagram of a non-Hermitian PT-symmetric\ngeneralization of the paradigmatic two-dimensional massive Thirring model.\nEmploying the non-perturbative functional renormalization-group, we find that\nthe model hosts a regime where PT symmetry is spontaneously broken. This new\nphase is characterized by a relevant imaginary mass, corresponding to\nmonstronic excitations displaying exponentially growing amplitudes for\ntime-like intervals and tachyonic (Lieb-Robison-bound breaking, oscillatory)\nexcitations for space-like intervals. Furthermore, since the phase manifests\nitself as an unconventional attractive spinodal fixed point, which is typically\nunreachable in finite real-life systems, we find that the effective\nrenormalized mass reached can be tuned through the microscopic parameters of\nthe model. Our results further predict that the new phase is robust to external\ngauge fields, contrary to the celebrated BKT phase in the PT unbroken sector.\nThe gauge field then provides an effective and easy means to tune the\nrenormalized imaginary mass through a wide range of values, and therefore the\namplitude growth/oscillation rate of the corresponding excitations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On New Vacua of non-Supersymmetric Strings: We describe two new types of vacua for ten-dimensional string models without\nsupersymmetry, in which dilaton potentials are compensated by constant electric\nor magnetic fields. These arise from $\\alpha '$ corrections to the equations of\nmotion, and we comment on the reliability of this expansion. We identify\nexplicitly unstable singlet scalar perturbations in the orientifold vacua, and\nwe argue that in both cases additional instabilities are induced by non-abelian\ncouplings.",
        "positive": "Interacting 2D Field-Theoretic Model for Hodge Theory: We take up the St${\\ddot u}$ckelberg-modified version of the two\n(1+1)-dimensional (2D) Proca theory, in interaction with the Dirac fields, to\nstudy its various continuous and discrete symmetry transformations and show\nthat this specific interacting 2D field-theoretic model provides a tractable\nexample for the Hodge theory because its symmetries (and corresponding\nconserved charges) provide the physical realizations of the de Rham\ncohomological operators of differential geometry at the algebraic level. The\nphysical state of this theory is chosen to be the harmonic state (of the Hodge\ndecomposed state) in the quantum Hilbert space which is annihilated by the\nconserved and nilpotent (anti-)BRST as well as (anti-)co-BRST charges. A\nphysical consequence of this study is an observation that the 2D anomaly, at\nthe quantum level, does not lead to any problem as far as the consistency and\nunitarity of our present 2D theory is concerned. In other words, our present 2D\nfield-theoretic model is amenable to particle interpretation despite the\npresence of the local chiral symmetry (which is associated with the nilpotent\n(anti-)co-BRST symmetry transformations) besides the presence of the nilpotent\n(anti-)BRST symmetries (which are connected with the local gauge symmetry). The\nphysicality condition with the (anti-)co-BRST charges implies that the 2D\nanomaly term is trivial in our present theory. Hence, our 2D theory is\nconsistent, unitary and amenable to particle interpretation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Rarita-Schwinger Quantum Free Field Via Deformation Quantization: Rarita-Schwinger (RS) quantum free field is reexamined in the context of\ndeformation quantization. It is found out that the subsidiary condition does\nnot introduce any change either in the Wigner function or in other aspects of\nthe deformation quantization formalism, in relation to the Dirac field case.\nThis happens because the vector structure of the RS field imposes constraints\non the space of wave function solutions and not on the operator structure. The\nRS propagator was also calculated within this formalism.",
        "positive": "Yang-Baxter $\u03c3$-model with WZNW term as ${ \\mathcal E}$-model: It turns out that many integrable $\\sigma$-models on group manifolds belong\nto the class of the so-called ${ \\mathcal E}$-models which are relevant in the\ncontext of the Poisson-Lie T-duality. We show that this is the case also for\nthe Yang-Baxter $\\sigma$-model with WZNW term introduced by Delduc, Magro and\nVicedo in \\cite{DMV15}."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Duality Symmetry in Momentum Frame: Siegel's action is generalized to the D=2(p+1) (p even) dimensional\nspace-time. The investigation of self-duality of chiral p-forms is extended to\nthe momentum frame, using Siegel's action of chiral bosons in two space-time\ndimensions and its generalization in higher dimensions as examples. The whole\nprocedure of investigation is realized in the momentum space which relates to\nthe configuration space through the Fourier transformation of fields. These\nactions correspond to non-local Lagrangians in the momentum frame. The\nself-duality of them with respect to dualization of chiral fields is uncovered.\nThe relationship between two self-dual tensors in momentum space, whose similar\nform appears in configuration space, plays an important role in the\ncalculation, that is, its application realizes solving algebraically an\nintegral equation.",
        "positive": "Physics of Finance: We give a brief introduction to the Gauge Theory of Arbitrage. Treating a\ncalculation of Net Present Values (NPV) and currencies exchanges as a parallel\ntransport in some fibre bundle, we give geometrical interpretation of the\ninterest rate, exchange rates and prices of securities as a proper connection\ncomponents. This allows us to map the theory of capital market onto the theory\nof quantized gauge field interacted with a money flow field. The gauge\ntransformations of the matter field correspond to a dilatation of security\nunits which effect is eliminated by a gauge transformation of the connection.\nThe curvature tensor for the connection consists of the excess returns to the\nrisk-free interest rate for the local arbitrage operation. Free quantum gauge\ntheory is equivalent to the assumption about the log-normal walks of assets\nprices. In general case the consideration maps the capital market onto lattice\nQED."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Charting the landscape of N=4 flux compactifications: We analyse the vacuum structure of isotropic Z_2 x Z_2 flux\ncompactifications, allowing for a single set of sources. Combining algebraic\ngeometry with supergravity techniques, we are able to classify all vacua for\nboth type IIA and IIB backgrounds with arbitrary gauge and geometric fluxes.\nSurprisingly, geometric IIA compactifications lead to a unique theory with four\ndifferent vacua. In this case we also perform the general analysis allowing for\nsources compatible with minimal supersymmetry. Moreover, some relevant examples\nof type IIB non-geometric compactifications are studied. The computation of the\nfull N=4 mass spectrum reveals the presence of a number of non-supersymmetric\nand nevertheless stable AdS_4 vacua. In addition we find a novel dS_4 solution\nbased on a non-semisimple gauging.",
        "positive": "A Quantum Correction To Chaos: We use results on Virasoro conformal blocks to study chaotic dynamics in\nCFT$_2$ at large central charge c. The Lyapunov exponent $\\lambda_L$, which is\na diagnostic for the early onset of chaos, receives $1/c$ corrections that may\nbe interpreted as $\\lambda_L = \\frac{2 \\pi}{\\beta} \\left( 1 + \\frac{12}{c}\n\\right)$. However, out of time order correlators receive other equally\nimportant $1/c$ suppressed contributions that do not have such a simple\ninterpretation. We revisit the proof of a bound on $\\lambda_L$ that emerges at\nlarge $c$, focusing on CFT$_2$ and explaining why our results do not conflict\nwith the analysis leading to the bound. We also comment on relationships\nbetween chaos, scattering, causality, and bulk locality."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "SymBuild: a package for the computation of integrable symbols in\n  scattering amplitudes: The article presents and documents the Mathematica package SymBuild. This\npackage implements the computation and manipulation of integrable symbols\nappearing in various calculations in high-energy scattering amplitudes. By\nusing Gr\\\"obner bases, implementing various simplifications and by the\npotential utilization of the C++ program SpaSM, integrable symbols in a large\nclass of alphabets (including roots) can be computed to high weights.",
        "positive": "Metric and coupling reversal in string theory: Invariance under reversing the sign of the metric G_{MN}(x) and/or the sign\nof the string coupling field H(x), where <H(x)> = g_s, leads to four possible\nUniverses denoted 1,I,J,K according as (G,H) goes to (G,H), (-G,H), (-G,-H),\n(G,-H), respectively. Universe 1 is described by conventional string/M theory\nand contains all M, D, F and NS branes. Universe I contains only D(-1), D3 and\nD7. Universe J contains only D1, D5, D9 and Type I. Universe K contains only F1\nand NS5 of IIB and Heterotic SO(32)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hidden symmetries of rationally deformed superconformal mechanics: We study the spectrum generating closed nonlinear superconformal algebra that\ndescribes $\\mathcal{N}=2$ super-extensions of rationally deformed quantum\nharmonic oscillator and conformal mechanics models with coupling constant\n$g=m(m+1)$, $m\\in {\\mathbb N}$. It has a nature of a nonlinear finite $W$\nsuperalgebra being generated by higher derivative integrals, and generally\ncontains several different copies of either deformed superconformal\n$\\mathfrak{osp}(2|2)$ algebra in the case of super-extended rationally deformed\nconformal mechanics models, or deformed super-Schrodinger algebra in the case\nof super-extension of rationally deformed harmonic oscillator systems.",
        "positive": "On Concept of Parity for a Fermion: The known problem of fermion parity is considered on the base of\ninvestigating possible linear single-valued representations of spinor coverings\nof the extended Lorentz group. It is shown that in the frame of this theory\ndoes not exist, as separate concepts, P-parity and T-parity for a fermion,\ninstead only some unified concept of (PT)-parity can be determined in a\ngroup-theoretical language."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Energy-momentum tensors in gauge theory: In field theory on a fibre bundle Y->X, an energy-momentum current is\nassociated to a lift onto Y of a vector field on X. Such a lift by no means is\nunique, and contains a vertical part. It follows that: (i) there are a set of\ndifferent energy-momentum currents, (ii) the Noether part of an energy-momentum\ncurrent can not be taken away, (iii) if a Lagrangian is not gauge-invariant,\nthe energy-momentum fails to be conserved.",
        "positive": "Chirality and Dirac Operator on Noncommutative Sphere: We give a derivation of the Dirac operator on the noncommutative $2$-sphere\nwithin the framework of the bosonic fuzzy sphere and define Connes' triple. It\nturns out that there are two different types of spectra of the Dirac operator\nand correspondingly there are two classes of quantized algebras. As a result we\nobtain a new restriction on the Planck constant in Berezin's quantization. The\nmap to the local frame in noncommutative geometry is also discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Lifetimes of (near) eternal false vacua: We consider examples of long-lived false vacua in quantum field theory that\narise from so-called `universes'. These false vacua are protected by a\n$(d-1)$-form global symmetry, where $d$ is the dimension of spacetime. The\nlifetimes of the false vacua are set by UV data: the tension of $(d-2)$-branes\ncharged under a $(d-2)$-form gauge symmetry. The lifetimes can be made\nparametrically long even when the difference in energy density between the\nfalse and true vacua is large compared to the natural scales of the field\ntheory. We study examples of near-eternal false vacua in abelian gauge theories\nin two dimensions and in four-dimensional QCD. In both cases, it is possible to\nview the $(d-1)$-form symmetries as arising from a modification of the sum over\ninstantons. We find that the modification of the instanton sum in 4d QCD leads\nto a higher-group symmetry structure involving the 3-form and conventional\n0-form global symmetries.",
        "positive": "CMB from EFT: In this work, we study the key role of generic Effective Field Theory (EFT)\nframework to quantify the correlation functions in a quasi de Sitter background\nfor an arbitrary initial choice of the quantum vacuum state. We perform the\ncomputation in unitary gauge, in which we apply the St$\\ddot{\\text{u}}$ckelberg\ntrick in lowest dimensional EFT operators which are broken under time\ndiffeomorphism. In particular, using this non-linear realization of broken time\ndiffeomorphism and truncating the action by considering the contribution from\ntwo derivative terms in the metric, we compute the two-point and three-point\ncorrelations from scalar perturbations and two-point correlation from tensor\nperturbations to quantify the quantum fluctuations observed in the Cosmic\nMicrowave Background (CMB) map. We also use equilateral limit and squeezed\nlimit configurations for the scalar three-point correlations in Fourier space.\nTo give future predictions from EFT setup and to check the consistency of our\nderived results for correlations, we use the results obtained from all classes\nof the canonical single-field and general single-field $P(X,\\phi)$ model. This\nanalysis helps us to fix the coefficients of the relevant operators in EFT in\nterms of the slow-roll parameters and effective sound speed. Finally, using CMB\nobservations from Planck we constrain all these coefficients of EFT operators\nfor the single-field slow-roll inflationary paradigm."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum corrections of Abelian Duality Transformations: A modification of the Abelian Duality transformations is proposed\nguaranteeing that a (not necessarily conformally invariant) $\\sigma$-model be\nquantum equivalent (at least up to two loops in perturbation theory) to its\ndual. This requires a somewhat non standard perturbative treatment of the {\\sl\ndual} $\\sigma$-model. Explicit formulae of the modified duality transformation\nare presented for a special class of block diagonal purely metric\n$\\sigma$-models.",
        "positive": "Testing spatial noncommutativiy via the Aharonov-Bohm effect: The possibility of detecting noncommutative space relics is analyzed using\nthe Aharonov-Bohm effect. We show that, if space is noncommutative, the\nholonomy receives non-trivial kinematical corrections that will produce a\ndiffraction pattern even when the magnetic flux is quantized. The scattering\nproblem is also formulated, and the differential cross section is calculated.\nOur results can be extrapolated to high energy physics and the bound $\\theta\n\\sim [ 10 {TeV}]^{-2}$ is found. If this bound holds, then noncommutative\neffects could be explored in scattering experiments measuring differential\ncross sections for small angles. The bound state Aharonov- Bohm effect is also\ndiscussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Radiation of Closed Strings between the Parallel Dynamical-Dressed\n  Unstable Dp-Branes: We introduce a boundary state which is corresponding to a D$p$-brane with\ntangential dynamics in the presence of the Kalb-Ramond field, a tachyonic field\nand a $U(1)$ gauge potential in a special gauge. From the interaction of such\nbranes radiation amplitude of a general massless closed string will be\ncomputed. The effects of the large distances of the branes on this radiation\nwill be studied. In the large distances of the branes, the possibility of axion\nradiation will be investigated. Our calculations will be in the context of the\nbosonic string theory.",
        "positive": "Embedding (R+R^2)-Inflation into Supergravity: We find the natural embedding of the (R+R^2)-inflationary model into the\nrecently constructed N=1 F(\\cal R)-supergravity. It gives a simple and viable\nrealization of chaotic inflation in supergravity. The only requirement for a\nslow-roll inflation is the existence of the (\\cal R)^3-term with an anomalously\nlarge coefficient in Taylor expansion of the F(\\cal R) function, where \\cal R\nis the covariantly-chiral scalar supercurvature superfield."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Pseudogauge freedom and the SO(3) algebra of spin operators: The energy-momentum and spin tensors for a given theory can be replaced by\nalternative expressions that obey the same conservation laws for the energy,\nlinear momentum, as well as angular momentum but, however, differ by the local\nredistribution of such quantities (with global energy, linear momentum, and\nangular momentum remaining unchanged). This arbitrariness is described in\nrecent literature as the pseudogauge freedom or symmetry. In this letter, we\nanalyze several pseudogauges used to formulate the relativistic hydrodynamics\nof particles with spin 1/2 and conclude that the canonical version of the spin\ntensor has an advantage over other forms as only the canonical definition\ndefines the spin operators that fulfill the SO(3) algebra of angular momentum.\nThis result sheds new light on the results encountered in recent papers\ndemonstrating pseudogauge dependence of various physical quantities. It\nindicates that for spin-polarization observables, the canonical version is\nfundamentally better suited for building a connection between theory and\nexperiment.",
        "positive": "Integrability and the AdS/CFT correspondence: In this article we review the recently discovered asymptotic integrability in\nthe planar N = 4 SYM theory and discuss its breakdown beyond the asymptotic\nregion due to the wrapping interactions. We also discuss novel dynamical tests\nof the AdS/CFT correspondence one can perform in the special cases when the\nwrapping interactions may be neglected."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On representation matrices of boundary conditions in $SU(n)$ gauge\n  theories compactified on two-dimensional orbifolds: We study the existence of diagonal representatives in each equivalence class\nof representation matrices of boundary conditions in $SU(n)$ or $U(n)$ gauge\ntheories compactified on the orbifolds $T^2/{\\mathbb Z}_N$ ($N = 2, 3, 4, 6$).\nWe suppose that the theory has a global $G' = U(n)$ symmetry. Using\nconstraints, unitary transformations and gauge transformations, we examine\nwhether the representation matrices can simultaneously become diagonal or not.\nWe show that at least one diagonal representative necessarily exists in each\nequivalence class on $T^2/{\\mathbb Z}_2$ and $T^2/{\\mathbb Z}_3$, but the\nrepresentation matrices on $T^2/{\\mathbb Z}_4$ and $T^2/{\\mathbb Z}_6$ can\ncontain not only diagonal matrices but also non-diagonal $2 \\times 2$ ones and\nnon-diagonal $3 \\times 3$ and $2 \\times 2$ ones, respectively, as members of\nblock-diagonal submatrices. These non-diagonal matrices have discrete\nparameters, which means that the rank-reducing symmetry breaking can be caused\nby the discrete Wilson line phases.",
        "positive": "Evidence for a novel shift-symmetric universality class from the\n  functional renormalization group: Wetterich's equation provides a powerful tool for investigating the existence\nand universal properties of renormalization group fixed points exhibiting\nquantum scale invariance. Motivated by recent works on asymptotically safe\nscalar-tensor theories, we develop a novel approximation scheme which projects\nthe functional renormalization group equation onto functions of the kinetic\nterm. Applying this projection to scalars and gauge fields, our analysis\nidentifies a new universality class with a very special spectrum of stability\ncoefficients. The implications of our findings in the context of asymptotically\nsafe gravity-matter systems are discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Trace anomaly of Weyl fermions in the Breitenlohner--Maison scheme for\n  $\u03b3_*$: We revisit the conformal anomaly for a Weyl fermion in four dimensions that\nhas generated some debate recently. We employ a perturbative expansion for the\nmetric around Minkowski space, dimensional regularization and a\nBreitenlohner--Maison prescription for the chiral $\\gamma$ matrix. We obtain a\nvanishing odd-parity contribution for Weyl fermions in four dimensions, while\nthe even-parity contribution is exactly half the one for a Dirac fermion.",
        "positive": "The NBI matrix model of IIB Superstrings: We investigate the NBI matrix model with the potential\n$X\\Lambda+X^{-1}+(2\\eta+1)\\log X$ recently proposed to describe IIB\nsuperstrings. With the proper normalization, using Virasoro constraints, we\nprove the equivalence of this model and the Kontsevich matrix model for\n$\\eta\\ne0$ and find the explicit transformation between the two models."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Cosmological Phases of the String Thermal Effective Potential: In a superstring framework, the free energy density, F, can be determined\nunambiguously at the full string level once supersymmetry is spontaneously\nbroken via geometrical fluxes. We show explicitly that only the moduli\nassociated to the supersymmetry breaking may give relevant contributions. All\nother spectator moduli \\mu_I give exponentially suppressed contributions for\nrelatively small (as compared to the string scale) temperature, T, and\nsupersymmetry breaking scale, M. More concisely, for \\mu_I > T and M, F takes\nthe form\n  F(T,M; \\mu_I)=F(T,M)+O[exp(- {\\mu_I\\over T}), exp(- {\\mu_I\\over M})]\n  We study the cosmological regime where T and M are below the Hagedorn\ntemperature scale T_H. In this regime, F remains finite for any values of the\nspectator moduli \\mu_I. We investigate extensively the case of one spectator\nmodulus \\mu_d corresponding to R_d, the radius-modulus field of an internal\ncompactified dimension. We show that its thermal effective potential admits\nfive phases, each of which can be described by a distinct but different\neffective field theory. For late cosmological times, the Universe is attracted\nto a \"Radiation-like evolution\" with M(t) ~ T(t)~ 1/a(t)~ t^{-2/d}. The\nspectator modulus \\mu(t) is stabilized either to the stringy enhanced symmetry\npoint where R_d=1, or fixed at an arbitrary constant \\mu_0>T,M. For arbitrary\nboundary conditions at some initial time, t_E, \\mu(t) may pass through more\nthan one effective field theory phase before its final attraction.",
        "positive": "Asymptotic realization of the super-BMS algebra at spatial infinity: Explicit boundary conditions are given at spatial infinity for\nfour-dimensional supergravity, which provide a realization of the super-BMS\nalgebra of Awada, Gibbons and Shaw. The results are then generalized to the\n$N$- extended super-BMS algebras."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Misleading inferences from discretization of empty spacetime:\n  Snyder-noncommutativity case study: Alternative approaches to the study of the quantum-gravity problem are\nhandling the role of spacetime very differently. Some are focusing on the\nanalysis of one or another novel formulation of \"empty spacetime\", postponing\nto later stages the introduction of particles and fields, while other\napproaches assume that spacetime should only be an emergent entity. We here\nargue that recent progress in the covariant formulation of quantum mechanics\nsuggests that empty spacetime is not physically meaningful. We illustrate our\ngeneral thesis in the specific context of the noncommutative Snyder spacetime,\nwhich is also of some intrinsic interest, since hundreds of studies were\ndevoted to its analysis. We show that empty Snyder spacetime, described in\nterms of a suitable kinematical Hilbert space, is discrete, but this is only a\nformal artifact: the discreteness leaves no trace on the observable properties\nof particles on the physical Hilbert space.",
        "positive": "KLT Factorization of Nonrelativistic String Amplitudes: We continue our study of the Kawai-Lewellen-Tye (KLT) factorization of\nwinding string amplitudes. In a toroidal compactification, amplitudes for\nwinding closed string states factorize into products of amplitudes for open\nstrings ending on an array of D-branes localized in the compactified\ndirections; the specific D-brane configuration is determined by the closed\nstring data. In this paper, we study a zero Regge slope limit of the KLT\nrelations between winding string amplitudes. Such a limit of string theory\nrequires a critically tuned Kalb-Ramond field in a compact direction, and leads\nto a self-contained corner called nonrelativistic string theory. This theory is\nunitary, ultraviolet complete, and its string spectrum and spacetime S-matrix\nsatisfy nonrelativistic symmetry. Moreover, the asymptotic closed string states\nin nonrelativistic string theory necessarily carry nonzero windings. First,\nstarting with relativistic string theory, we construct a KLT factorization of\namplitudes for winding closed strings in the presence of a critical Kalb-Ramond\nfield. Then, in the zero Regge limit, we uncover a KLT relation for amplitudes\nin nonrelativistic string theory. Finally, we show how such a relation can be\nreproduced from first principles in a purely nonrelativistic string theory\nsetting. We will also discuss connections to the amplitudes of string theory in\nthe discrete light cone quantization (DLCQ), a method that is relevant for\nMatrix theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On black holes in heterotic braneworlds: We explore the problem of braneworld black holes in the heterotic braneworld\nscenario of Lukas, Ovrut, Stelle and Waldram (LOSW). We show that black string\nsolutions are unstable, and demonstrate some unusual asymptotics in the\nlinearized metric. We also solve the fully coupled brane and bulk Einstein\nequations, finding an exact, though singular, solution which corresponds to a\nbrane black hole in which the branes spike apart at the Schwarzschild radius.",
        "positive": "Properties of the general NHDM. II. Higgs potential and its symmetries: We continue our analysis of the general N-Higgs-doublet model and focus of\nthe Higgs potential description in the space of gauge orbits. We develop a\ngeometric technique that allows us to study the global minimum of the potential\nwithout explicitly finding its position. We discuss symmetry patterns of the\nNHDM potential, and illustrate the general discussion with various specific\nvariants of the three-Higgs-doublet model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Lorentz violation and perpetual motion: We show that any Lorentz violating theory with two or more propagation speeds\nis in conflict with the generalized second law of black hole thermodynamics. We\ndo this by identifying a classical energy-extraction method, analogous to the\nPenrose process, which would decrease the black hole entropy. Although the\nusual definitions of black hole entropy are ambiguous in this context, we\nrequire only very mild assumptions about its dependence on the mass. This\nextends the result found by Dubovsky and Sibiryakov, which uses the Hawking\neffect and applies only if the fields with different propagation speeds\ninteract just through gravity. We also point out instabilities that could\ninterfere with their black hole {\\it perpetuum mobile}, but argue that these\ncan be neglected if the black hole mass is sufficiently large.",
        "positive": "Remarks on Weyl invariant p-branes and Dp-branes: A mechanism to find different Weyl invariant p-branes and Dp-branes actions\nis explained. Our procedure clarifies the Weyl invariance for such systems.\nBesides, by considering gravity-dilaton effective action in higher dimensions\nwe also derive a Weyl invariant action for p-branes. We argue that this\nderivation provides a geometrical scenario for the Weyl invariance of p-branes.\nOur considerations can be extended to the case of super-p-branes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Instanton Moduli and Brane Creation: We obtain new intersecting 5-brane, string and pp-wave solutions in the\nheterotic string on a torus and on a K3 manifold. In the former case the\n5-brane is supported by Yang-Mills instantons, and in the latter case both the\n5-brane and the string are supported by the instantons. The instanton moduli\nare parameterised by the sizes and locations of the instantons. We exhibit two\nkinds of phase transition in which, for suitable choices of the instanton\nmoduli, a 5-brane and/or a string can be created. One kind of phase transition\noccurs when the size of an instanton vanishes, while the other occurs when a\npair of Yang-Mills instantons coalesce. We also study the associated\nfive-dimensional black holes and the implications of these phase transitions\nfor the black-hole entropy. Specifically, we find that the entropy of the\nthree-charge black holes is zero when the instantons are separated and of\nnon-zero scale size, but becomes non-zero (which can be counted miscrospically)\nafter either of the phase transitions.",
        "positive": "Weyl multiplets of N=2 conformal supergravity in five Dimensions: We construct the Weyl multiplets of N=2 conformal supergravity in five\ndimensions. We show that there exist two different versions of the Weyl\nmultiplet, which contain the same gauge fields but differ in the matter field\ncontent: the Standard Weyl multiplet and the Dilaton Weyl multiplet. At the\nlinearized level we obtain the transformation rules for the Dilaton Weyl\nmultiplet by coupling it to the multiplet of currents corresponding to an\non-shell vector multiplet. We construct the full non-linear transformation\nrules for both multiplets by gauging the D=5 superconformal algebra F^2(4). We\nshow that the Dilaton Weyl multiplet can also be obtained by solving the\nequations of motion for an improved vector multiplet coupled to the Standard\nWeyl multiplet."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Marginal deformation of N=4 SYM and Penrose limits with continuum\n  spectrum: We study the Penrose limit about a null geodesic with 3 equal angular momenta\nin the recently obtained type IIB solution dual to an exactly marginal\n$\\gamma$-deformation of N=4 SYM. The resulting background has non-trivial NS\n3-form flux as well as RR 5- and 3-form fluxes. We quantise the light-cone\nGreen-Schwarz action and show that it exhibits a continuum spectrum. We show\nthat this is related to the dynamics of a charged particle moving in a Landau\nplane with an extra interaction induced by the deformation. We interpret the\nresults in the dual N=1 SCFT.",
        "positive": "Fermionic zero-norm states and enlarged supersymmetries of Type II\n  string: We calculate the NS-R fermionic zero-norm states of type II string spectrum.\nThe massless and some possible massive zero-norm states are identified to be\nresponsible for the space-time supersymmetry. The existence of other fermionic\nmassive zero-norm states with higher spinor-tensor indices correspond to new\nenlarged boson-fermion symmetries of the theory at high energy. We also discuss\nthe R-R charges and R-R zero-norm states and justify that perturbative string\ndoes not carry the massless R-R charges. However, the existence of some massive\nR-R zero-norm states make us speculate that string may carry some massive R-R\ncharges."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fermions as U(1) instantons: Anomalous quantization of the Electromagnetic field allows non-trivial (anti)\nself-dual configurations to exist in four-dimensional Euclidian space-time.\nThese instanton-like objects are described as massless spinor particles.",
        "positive": "Infrared Divergences in QED, Revisited: Recently it has been shown that the vacuum state in QED is infinitely\ndegenerate. Moreover a transition among the degenerate vacua is induced in any\nnontrivial scattering process and determined from the associated soft factor.\nConventional computations of scattering amplitudes in QED do not account for\nthis vacuum degeneracy and therefore always give zero. This vanishing of all\nconventional QED amplitudes is usually attributed to infrared divergences. Here\nwe show that if these vacuum transitions are properly accounted for, the\nresulting amplitudes are nonzero and infrared finite. Our construction of\nfinite amplitudes is mathematically equivalent to, and amounts to a physical\nreinterpretation of, the 1970 construction of Faddeev and Kulish."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Vacuum Cherenkov effect in logarithmic nonlinear quantum theory: We describe the radiation phenomena which can take place in the physical\nvacuum such as Cherenkov-type shock waves. Their macroscopical characteristics\n- cone angle, flash duration, radiation yield and spectral distribution - are\ncomputed. It turns out that the radiation yield is proportional to the square\nof the proper energy scale of the vacuum which serves also as the vacuum\ninstability threshold and the natural ultraviolet cutoff. While the analysis is\nmainly based on the theory engaging the logarithmic nonlinear quantum wave\nequation, some of the obtained results must be valid for any\nLorentz-invariance-violating theory describing the vacuum by (effectively)\ncontinuous medium in the long-wavelength approximation.",
        "positive": "Dispersion Relation for CFT Four-Point Functions: We present a dispersion relation in conformal field theory which expresses\nthe four point function as an integral over its single discontinuity.\nExploiting the analytic properties of the OPE and crossing symmetry of the\ncorrelator, we show that in perturbative settings the correlator depends only\non the spectrum of the theory, as well as the OPE coefficients of certain low\ntwist operators, and can be reconstructed unambiguously. In contrast to the\nLorentzian inversion formula, the validity of the dispersion relation does not\nassume Regge behavior and is not restricted to the exchange of spinning\noperators. As an application, the correlator $\\langle \\phi \\phi \\phi \\phi\n\\rangle$ in $\\phi^4$ theory at the Wilson-Fisher fixed point is computed in\nclosed form to order $\\epsilon^2$ in the $\\epsilon$ expansion."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Ramsey Scheme Applied to String Theoretical Processes: In this letter, we analyze the evolution of physical quantities due to the\ninteraction of strings with background fields. We will obtain the\ncharacteristic function for such a string theoretical process. This will be\ndone by generalizing the Ramsey scheme to world-sheet, and using it to obtain\nthe information about the evolution of quantity in a string theoretical\nprocess, without making two-point measurements. We will also use the\ncharacteristic function to obtain the average of the difference between the\ninitial and final values of such a quantity. Finally, using the characteristic\nfunction, we calculate fisher information for the difference of such a\nquantity.",
        "positive": "Space and time from translation symmetry: We show that the notions of space and time in algebraic quantum field theory\narise from translation symmetry if we assume asymptotic commutativity. We argue\nthat this construction can be applied to string theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Higher Grading Generalisations of the Toda Systems: In the present paper we obtain some integrable generalisations of the Toda\nsystem generated by flat connection forms taking values in higher ${\\bf\nZ}$--grading subspaces of a simple Lie algebra, and construct their general\nsolutions. One may think of our systems as describing some new fields of the\nmatter type coupled to the standard Toda systems. This is of special interest\nin nonabelian Toda theories where the latter involve black hole target space\nmetrics. We also give a derivation of our conformal system on the base of the\nHamiltonian reduction of the WZNW model; and discuss a relation between abelian\nand nonabelian systems generated by a gauge transformation that maps the first\ngrading description to the second. The latter involves grades larger than one.",
        "positive": "5D Black Holes and Strings with Higher Derivatives: We find asymptotically flat black hole and string solutions to 5D\nsupergravity in the presence of higher derivative terms. In some cases,\nincluding the fundamental heterotic string solution, the higher derivative\nterms smooth out naked singularities into regular geometries carrying zero\nentropy. We also compute corrections to the entropy of 5D Calabi-Yau black\nholes, and discuss the relation to previous results."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Landscaping with fluxes and the E8 Yukawa Point in F-theory: Integrality in the Hodge theory of Calabi-Yau fourfolds is essential to find\nthe vacuum structure and the anomaly cancellation mechanism of four dimensional\nF-theory compactifications. We use the Griffiths-Frobenius geometry and\nhomological mirror symmetry to fix the integral monodromy basis in the\nprimitive horizontal subspace of Calabi-Yau fourfolds. The Gamma class and\nsupersymmetric localization calculations in the 2d gauged linear sigma model on\nthe hemisphere are used to check and extend this method. The result allows us\nto study the superpotential and the Weil-Petersson metric and an associated tt*\nstructure over the full complex moduli space of compact fourfolds for the first\ntime. We show that integral fluxes can drive the theory to N=1 supersymmetric\nvacua at orbifold points and argue that fluxes can be chosen that fix the\ncomplex moduli of F-theory compactifications at gauge enhancements including\nsuch with U(1) factors. Given the mechanism it is natural to start with the\nmost generic complex structure families of elliptic Calabi-Yau 4-fold\nfibrations over a given base. We classify these families in toric ambient\nspaces and among them the ones with heterotic duals. The method also applies to\nthe creating of matter and Yukawa structures in F-theory. We construct two\nSU(5) models in F-theory with a Yukawa point that have a point on the base with\nan $E_8$-type singularity on the fiber and explore their embeddings in the\nglobal models. The explicit resolution of the singularity introduce a higher\ndimensional fiber and leads to novel features.",
        "positive": "Chemistry of Chern-Simons Supergravity: reduction to a BPS kink,\n  oxidation to M-theory and thermodynamical aspects: We construct a supersymmetric extension of the two dimensional\nKaluza-Klein-reduced gravitational Chern-Simons term, and globally study its\nsolutions, labelled by mass and U(1) charge c. The kink solution is BPS, and in\nan appropriate conformal frame all solutions asymptotically approach AdS. The\nthermodynamics of the Hawking effect yields interesting behavior for the\nspecific heat and hints at a Hawking-Page-like transition at T_{critical} \\sim\nc^{3/2}. We address implications for higher dimensions (\"oxidation\"), in\nparticular D=3,4 and 11, and comment briefly on AdS/CFT aspects of the kink."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Tunneling Between Schwarzschild-de Sitter Vacua: We extend the study of the effect of static primordial black holes on vacuum\ndecay. In particular, we compare the tunneling rates between vacua of different\nvalues of the cosmological constant and black hole mass by pointing out the\ndominant processes based on a numerical examination of the thin wall instanton.\nThree distinct cases are considered, namely the nucleation of a true vacuum\nbubble into the false vacuum, the nucleation of a false vacuum bubble into the\ntrue vacuum as well as the Farhi-Guth-Guven mechanism. As a proof of concept,\nit is shown that in order to increase the transition rate into an inflating\nregion, we find that not only is the inclusion of a black hole necessary, but\nthe inclusion of a cosmological constant in the initial phase is also required.\nAmong the cases studied, we show that the most likely scenario is the\nelimination of inhomogeneities in the final phase.",
        "positive": "RG Flow and Thermodynamics of Causal Horizons in Higher-Derivative AdS\n  Gravity: In arXiv:1508.01343 [hep-th], one of the authors proposed that in AdS/CFT the\ngravity dual of the boundary $c$-theorem is the second law of thermodynamics\nsatisfied by causal horizons in AdS and this was verified for Einstein gravity\nin the bulk. In this paper we verify this for higher derivative theories. We\npick up theories for which an entropy expression satisfying the second law\nexists and show that the entropy density evaluated on the causal horizon in a\nRG flow geometry is a holographic c-function. We also prove that given a theory\nof gravity described by a local covariant action in the bulk a sufficient\ncondition to ensure holographic c-theorem is that the second law of causal\nhorizon thermodynamics be satisfied by the theory. This allows us to explicitly\nconstruct holographic c-function in a theory where there is curvature coupling\nbetween gravity and matter and standard null energy condition cannot be defined\nalthough second law is known to hold. Based on the duality between c-theorem\nand the second law of causal horizon thermodynamics proposed in\narXiv:1508.01343 [hep-th] and the supporting calculations of this paper we\nconjecture that every Unitary higher derivative theory of gravity in AdS\nsatisfies the second law of causal horizon thermodynamics. If this is not true\nthen c-theorem will be violated in a unitary Lorentz invariant field theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Double expansion in asymptotically free theories: I propose an approximation scheme for asymptotically free field theories\ncombining both weak coupling and strong coupling series. The weak coupling\nexpansion is used to integrate the high frequency modes and the resulting low\nenergy effective theory is solved using the strong coupling expansion. In some\nmodels there exists an intermediate scale at which both expansions make sense.\nThe method is tested on few low dimensional models for which an exact solution\nis known.",
        "positive": "Large N Matrix Mechanics on the Light-Cone: We report a simplification in the large N matrix mechanics of light-cone\nmatrix field theories. The absence of pure creation or pure annihilation terms\nin the Hamiltonian formulation of these theories allows us to find their\nreduced large N Hamiltonians as explicit functions of the generators of the\nCuntz algebra. This opens up a free-algebraic playground of new reduced models\n-- all of which exhibit new hidden conserved quantities at large N and all of\nwhose eigenvalue problems are surprisingly simple. The basic tool we develop\nfor the study of these models is the infinite dimensional algebra of all\nnormal-ordered products of Cuntz operators, and this algebra also leads us to a\nspecial number-conserving subset of these models, each of which exhibits an\ninfinite number of new hidden conserved quantities at large N."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Geometrical Aspects of Fivebranes in Heterotic/F-Theory Duality in Four\n  Dimensions: We use the method of stable degenerations to study the local geometry of\nCalabi-Yau fourfolds for F-theory compactifications dual to heterotic\ncompactifications on a Calabi-Yau threefold with fivebranes wrapping\nholomorphic curves in the threefold. When fivebranes wrap intersecting curves,\nor when many fivebranes wrap the same curve, the dual fourfolds degenerate in\ninteresting ways. We find that some of these can be usefully described in terms\nof degenerations of the base of the elliptic fibrations of these fourfolds. We\nuse Witten's criterion to determine which of the fivebranes can lead to the\ngeneration of a non-perturbative superpotential.",
        "positive": "Thermodynamics of Spinning Branes and their Dual Field Theories: We present a general analysis of the thermodynamics of spinning black\np-branes of string and M-theory. This is carried out both for the\nasymptotically-flat and near-horizon case, with emphasis on the latter. In\nparticular, we use the conjectured correspondence between the near-horizon\nbrane solutions and field theories with 16 supercharges in various dimensions\nto describe the thermodynamic behavior of these field theories in the presence\nof voltages under the R-symmetry. Boundaries of stability are computed for all\nspinning branes both in the grand canonical and canonical ensemble, and the\neffect of multiple angular momenta is considered. A recently proposed\nregularization of the field theory is used to compute the corresponding\nboundaries of stability at weak coupling. For the D2, D3, D4, M2 and M5-branes\nthe critical values of Omega/T in the weak and strong coupling limit are\nremarkably close. Finally, we also show that for the spinning D3-brane the tree\nlevel R^4 correction supports the conjecture of a smooth interpolating function\nbetween the free energy at weak and strong coupling."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Analytical Calculation of Stored Electrostatic Energy per Unit Length\n  for an Infinite Charged Line and an Infinitely Long Cylinder in the Framework\n  of Born-Infeld Electrostatics: More than 80 years ago, Born-Infeld electrodynamics was proposed in order to\nremove the point charge singularity in Maxwell electrodynamics. In this work,\nafter a brief introduction to Lagrangian formulation of Abelian Born-Infeld\nmodel in the presence of an external source, we obtain the explicit forms of\nGauss's law and the energy density of an electrostatic field for Born-Infeld\nelectrostatics. The electric field and the stored electrostatic energy per unit\nlength for an infinite charged line and an infinitely long cylinder in\nBorn-Infeld electrostatics are calculated. Numerical estimations in this paper\nshow that the nonlinear corrections to Maxwell electrodynamics are considerable\nonly for strong electric fields. We present an action functional for Abelian\nBorn-Infeld model with an auxiliary scalar field in the presence of an external\nsource. This action functional is a generalization of the action functional\nwhich was presented by Tseytlin in his studies on low energy dynamics of\n$D$-branes (Nucl. Phys. \\textbf{B469}, 51 (1996); Int. J. Mod. Phys. A\n\\textbf{19}, 3427 (2004)). Finally, we derive the symmetric energy-momentum\ntensor for Abelian Born-Infeld model with an auxiliary scalar field.",
        "positive": "Operator Approach to Boundary Liouville Theory: We propose new methods for calculation of the discrete spectrum, the\nreflection amplitude and the correlation functions of boundary Liouville theory\non a strip with Lorentzian signature. They are based on the structure of the\nvertex operator $V=e^{-\\phi}$ in terms of the asymptotic operators. The methods\nfirst are tested for the particle dynamics in the Morse potential, where\nsimilar structures appear. Application of our methods to boundary Liouville\ntheory reproduces the known results obtained earlier in the bootstrap approach,\nbut there can arise a certain extension when the boundary parameters are near\nto critical values. Namely, in this case we have found up to four different\nequidistant series of discrete spectra, and the reflection amplitude is\nmodified respectively."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Flat entanglement spectra in fixed-area states of quantum gravity: We use the Einstein-Hilbert gravitational path integral to investigate\ngravitational entanglement at leading order $O(1/G)$. We argue that\nsemiclassical states prepared by a Euclidean path integral have the property\nthat projecting them onto a subspace in which the Ryu-Takayanagi or\nHubeny-Rangamani-Takayanagi surface has definite area gives a state with a flat\nentanglement spectrum at this order in gravitational perturbation theory. This\nmeans that the reduced density matrix can be approximated as proportional to\nthe identity to the extent that its Renyi entropies $S_n$ are independent of\n$n$ at this order. The $n$-dependence of $S_n$ in more general states then\narises from sums over the RT/HRT-area, which are generally dominated by\ndifferent values of this area for each $n$. This provides a simple picture of\ngravitational entanglement, bolsters the connection between holographic systems\nand tensor network models, clarifies the bulk interpretation of algebraic\ncenters which arise in the quantum error-correcting description of holography,\nand strengthens the connection between bulk and boundary modular Hamiltonians\ndescribed by Jafferis, Lewkowycz, Maldacena, and Suh.",
        "positive": "Construction of action for heterotic string field theory including the\n  Ramond sector: Extending the formulation for open superstring field theory given in\narXiv:1508.00366, we attempt to construct a complete action for heterotic\nstring field theory. The action is non-polynomial in the Ramond string field\nPsi, and we construct it order by order in Psi. Using a dual formulation in\nwhich the role of eta and Q is exchanged, the action is explicitly obtained at\nthe quadratic and quartic order in Psi with the gauge transformations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Symmetries of field theories on the non-commutative plane: New developments on the symmetries of non-relativistic field theoretical\nmodels on the non commutative plane are reviewed. It is shown in particular\nthat Galilean invariance strongly restricts the admissible interactions.\nMoreover, if a scalar field is coupled to a Chern - Simons gauge field, a\ngeometrical phase emerges for vortex - like solutions, transformed by Galilei\nboosts.",
        "positive": "On analytical study of holographic superconductors with Born-Infeld\n  electrodynamics: Based on the Sturm-Liouville eigenvalue problem, Banerjee \\emph{et al.}\nproposed a perturbative approach to analytically investigate the properties of\nthe ($2+1$)-dimensional superconductor with Born-Infeld electrodynamics [Phys.\nRev. D {\\bf 87}, 104001 (2013)]. By introducing an iterative procedure, we will\nfurther improve the analytical results and the consistency with the numerical\nfindings, and can easily extend the analytical study to the higher-dimensional\nsuperconductor with Born-Infeld electrodynamics. We observe that the higher\nBorn-Infeld corrections make it harder for the condensation to form but do not\naffect the critical phenomena of the system. Our analytical results can be used\nto back up the numerical computations for the holographic superconductors with\nvarious condensates in Born-Infeld electrodynamics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Instantons and Supersymmetry: The role of instantons in describing non-perturbative aspects of globally\nsupersymmetric gauge theories is reviewed. The cases of theories with N=1, N=2\nand N=4 supersymmetry are discussed. Special attention is devoted to the\nintriguing relation between instanton solutions in field theory and branes in\nstring theory.",
        "positive": "Large N Analysis of $T\\bar{T}$-deformation and Unavoidable Negative-norm\n  States: We study non-perturbative quantum aspects of $T\\bar{T}$-deformation of a free\n$O(N)$ vector model by employing the large $N$ limit. It is shown that bound\nstates of the original field appear and inevitably become negative-norm states.\nIn particular, the bound states can be regarded as the states of the conformal\nmode in a gravitational theory, where the Liouville action is induced with the\ncoefficient proportional to the minus of central charge. To make the theory\npositive-definite, some modification is required so as to preserve\ndiffeomorphism invariance due to the Faddeev-Popov ghosts with a negative\ncentral charge."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Light-cone formulation of conformal field theory adapted to AdS/CFT\n  correspondence: Light-cone formulation of conformal field theory in space-time of arbitrary\ndimension is developed. Conformal fundamental and shadow fields with arbitrary\nconformal dimension and arbitrary spin are studied. Representation of conformal\nalgebra generators on space of conformal fundamental and shadow fields in terms\nof spin operators which enter in light-cone gauge formulation of field dynamics\nin AdS space is found. As an example of application of light-cone formalism we\ndiscuss AdS/CFT correspondence for massive arbitrary spin AdS fields and\ncorresponding boundary CFT fields at the level of two point function.",
        "positive": "Bulk Renormalization Group Flows and Boundary States in Conformal Field\n  Theories: We propose using smeared boundary states $e^{-\\tau H}|\\cal B\\rangle$ as\nvariational approximations to the ground state of a conformal field theory\ndeformed by relevant bulk operators. This is motivated by recent studies of\nquantum quenches in CFTs and of the entanglement spectrum in massive theories.\nIt gives a simple criterion for choosing which boundary state should correspond\nto which combination of bulk operators, and leads to a rudimentary phase\ndiagram of the theory in the vicinity of the RG fixed point corresponding to\nthe CFT, as well as rigorous upper bounds on the universal amplitude of the\nfree energy. In the case of the 2d minimal models explicit formulae are\navailable. As a side result we show that the matrix elements of bulk operators\nbetween smeared Ishibashi states are simply given by the fusion rules of the\nCFT."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Energy from the gauge invariant observables: For a classical solution |Psi> in Witten's cubic string field theory, the\ngauge invariant observable <I|V|Psi> is conjectured to be equal to the\ndifference of the one-point functions of the closed string state corresponding\nto V, between the trivial vacuum and the one described by |Psi>. For a static\nsolution |Psi>, if V is taken to be the graviton vertex operator with vanishing\nmomentum, the gauge invariant observable is expected to be proportional to the\nenergy of |Psi>. We prove this relation assuming that |Psi> satisfies equation\nof motion and some regularity conditions. We discuss how this relation can be\napplied to various solutions obtained recently.",
        "positive": "Democratic Superstring Field Theory and its Gauge Fixing: This work is my contribution to the proceedings of the conference \"SFT2010 -\nthe third international conference on string field theory and related topics\"\nand it reflects my talk there, which described the democratic string field\ntheory and its gauge fixing.\n  The democratic string field theory is the only fully RNS string field theory\nto date. It lives in the large Hilbert space and includes all picture numbers.\nPicture changing amounts in this formalism to a gauge transformation. We\ndescribe the theory and its properties and show that when partially gauge fixed\nit can be reduced to the modified theory and to the non-polynomial theory. In\nthe latter case we can even include the Ramond sector in the picture-fixed\naction. We also show that another partial gauge-fixing leads to a new\nconsistent string field theory at picture number -1."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Reformulation of Boundary String Field Theory in terms of Boundary State: We reformulate bosonic boundary string field theory in terms of boundary\nstate. In our formulation, we can formally perform the integration of target\nspace equations of motion for arbitrary field configurations without assuming\ndecoupling of matter and ghost. Thus, we obtain the general form of the action\nof bosonic boundary string field theory. This formulation may help us to\nunderstand possible interactions between boundary string field theory and the\nclosed string sector.",
        "positive": "Classical Electrodynamics: Problems of Radiation Reaction: There are known problems of Lorentz-Dirac equation for moving with\nacceleration charged particle in classical electrodynamics. The model of\nextended in one dimension particle is proposed and shown that electromagnetic\nself-interaction can lead (with appropriate choice of retarded and advanced\ninteractions) to zero change in particle momentum. The hypothesis is\nformulated: all relativistic internal forces of various nature can give zero\nchange in particle momentum"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fluctuation dynamics in a relativistic fluid with a critical point: To describe dynamics of bulk and fluctuations near the QCD critical point we\ndevelop general relativistic fluctuation formalism for a fluid carrying baryon\ncharge. Feedback of fluctuations modifies hydrodynamic coefficients including\nbulk viscosity and conductivity and introduces nonlocal and non-instantaneous\nterms in constitutive equations. We perform necessary ultraviolet\n(short-distance) renormalization to obtain cutoff independent deterministic\nequations suitable for numerical implementation. We use the equations to\ncalculate the universal non-analytic small-frequency dependence of transport\ncoefficients due to fluctuations (long-time tails). Focusing on the critical\nmode we show how this general formalism matches existing Hydro+ description of\nfluctuations near the QCD critical point and nontrivially extends it inside and\noutside of the critical region.",
        "positive": "Radiation from a D-dimensional collision of shock waves: higher order\n  set up and perturbation theory validity: The collision of two D-dimensional, ultra-relativistic particles, described\nin General Relativity as Aichelberg-Sexl shock waves, is inelastic. In first\norder perturbation theory, the fraction of the initial centre of mass energy\nradiated away was recently shown to be 1/2 - 1/D. Here, we extend the formalism\nto higher orders in perturbation theory, and derive a general expression to\nextract the inelasticity, valid non-perturbatively, based on the Bondi mass\nloss formula. Then, to clarify why perturbation theory captures relevant\nphysics of a strong field process in this problem, we provide one variation of\nthe problem where the perturbative framework breaks down: the collision of\nultra-relativistic charged particles. The addition of charge, and the\nassociated repulsive nature of the source, originates an extra radiation burst,\nwhich we argue to be an artifact of the perturbative framework, veiling the\nrelevant physics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "From $p$-Adic to Zeta Strings: This article is related to construction of zeta strings from $p$-adic ones.\nIn addition to investigation of $p$-adic string for a particular prime number\n$p$, it is also interesting to study collective effects taking into account all\nprimes $p$. An idea behind this approach is that a zeta string is a whole thing\nwith infinitely many faces which we see as $p$-adic strings. The name zeta\nstring has origin in the Riemann zeta function contained in related Lagrangian.\nThe starting point in construction a zeta string is Lagrangian for a $p$-adic\nopen string. There are two types of approaches to get a Lagrangian for zeta\nstring from Lagrangian for $p$-adic strings: additive and multiplicative\napproaches, that are related to two forms of the definition of the Riemann zeta\nfunction. As a result of differences in approaches, one obtains several\ndifferent Lagrangians for zeta strings. We briefly discuss some properties of\nthese Lagrangians, related potentials, equations of motion, mass spectrum and\npossible connection with ordinary strings. This is a review of published papers\nwith some new views.",
        "positive": "4d ensembles of percolating center vortices and monopole defects: the\n  emergence of flux tubes with N-ality and gluon confinement: Ensembles of magnetic defects represent quantum variables that have been\ndetected and extensively explored in lattice ${\\rm SU}(N)$ pure Yang-Mills\ntheory. They successfully explain many properties of confinement and are\nstrongly believed to capture the (infrared) path-integral measure. In this\nwork, we initially motivate the presence of magnetic non-Abelian degrees of\nfreedom in these ensembles. Next, we consider a simple Gaussian model to\naccount for fluctuations. In this case, both center vortices and monopoles\nbecome relevant degrees in Wilson loop averages. These physical inputs are then\nimplemented in an ensemble of percolating center vortices in four dimensions by\nproposing a measure to compute center-element averages. The introduction of\nphenomenological information such as monopole tension, stiffness, and fusion\nleads to an effective YMH model with adjoint Higgs fields. If monopoles also\ncondense, then the gauge group undergoes ${\\rm SU}(N) \\to {\\rm Z}(N)$ SSB. This\npattern has been proposed as a strong candidate to describe confinement. In the\npresence of external quarks, these models are known to be dominated by\nclassical solutions, formed by flux tubes with $N$-ality as well as by confined\ndual monopoles (gluons)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Differential Calculus on Iso_q (N), Quantum Poincare' Algebra and q -\n  Gravity: We present a general method to deform the inhomogeneous algebras of the\n$B_n,C_n,D_n$ type, and find the corresponding bicovariant differential\ncalculus. The method is based on a projection from $B_{n+1}, C_{n+1}, D_{n+1}$.\nFor example we obtain the (bicovariant) inhomogeneous $q$-algebra $ISO_q(N)$ as\na consistent projection of the (bicovariant) $q$-algebra $SO_q(N+2)$. This\nprojection works for particular multiparametric deformations of $SO(N+2)$, the\nso-called ``minimal\" deformations. The case of $ISO_q(4)$ is studied in detail:\na real form corresponding to a Lorentz signature exists only for one of the\nminimal deformations, depending on one parameter $q$. The quantum Poincar\\'e\nLie algebra is given explicitly: it has 10 generators (no dilatations) and\ncontains the {\\sl classical} Lorentz algebra. Only the commutation relations\ninvolving the momenta depend on $q$. Finally, we discuss a $q$-deformation of\ngravity based on the ``gauging\" of this $q$-Poincar\\'e algebra: the lagrangian\ngeneralizes the usual Einstein-Cartan lagrangian.",
        "positive": "Supersymmetry Breaking on Gauged Non-Abelian Vortices: There are a large number of systems characterized by a completely broken\ngauge symmetry, but with an unbroken global color-flavor diagonal symmetry,\ni.e., systems in the so-called color-flavor locked phase. If the gauge symmetry\nbreaking supports vortices, the latter develop non-Abelian orientational\nzero-modes and become non-Abelian vortices, a subject of intense study in the\nlast several years. In this paper we consider the effects of weakly gauging the\nfull exact global flavor symmetry in such systems, deriving an effective\ndescription of the light excitations in the presence of a vortex. Surprising\nconsequences are shown to follow. The fluctuations of the vortex orientational\nmodes get diffused to bulk modes through tunneling processes. When our model is\nembedded in a supersymmetric theory, the vortex is still 1/2 BPS saturated, but\nthe vortex effective action breaks supersymmetry spontaneously."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Role of the Annihilation Channel in Front Form Positronium: The annihilation channel is implemented into the front form calculations of\nthe positronium spectrum presented in a previous publication. The effective\nHamiltonian is calculated analytically. Its eigensolutions are obtained\nnumerically. A complete separation of the dynamical and instantaneous part of\nthe annihilation interaction is observed. We find the remarkable effect that\nthe annihilation channel stabilizes the cutoff behavior of the spectrum.",
        "positive": "Kibble-Zurek Scaling in a Holographic p-wave Superconductor: We study the Kibble-Zurek mechanism in a 2d holographic p-wave superconductor\nmodel with a homogeneous source quench on the critical point. We derive, on\ngeneral grounds, the scaling of the Kibble-Zurek time, which marks\nbreaking-down of adiabaticity. It is expressed in terms of four critical\nexponents, including three static and one dynamical exponents. Via explicit\ncalculations within a holographic model, we confirm the scaling of the\nKibble-Zurek time and obtain the scaling functions in the quench process. We\nfind the results are formally similar to a homogeneous quench in a higher\ndimensional holographic s-wave superconductor. The similarity is due to the\nspecial type of quench we take. We expect differences in the quench dynamics if\nthe condition of homogeneous source and dominance of critical mode are relaxed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Celestial Yang-Mills Amplitudes and D=4 Conformal Blocks: We discuss the properties of recently constructed \"single-valued\" celestial\nfour-gluon amplitudes. We show that the amplitude factorizes into the \"current\"\npart and the \"scalar\" part. The current factor is given by the group-dependent\npart of the Wess-Zumino-Witten correlator of four holomorphic currents with a\nnon-vanishing level of Ka\\v{c}-Moody algebra. The scalar factor can be\nexpressed in terms of a complex integral of the Koba-Nielsen form, similar to\nthe integrals describing four-point correlators in Coulomb gas models and, more\ngenerally, in the infinite central charge limit of Liouville theory. The scalar\npart can be also obtained by a dimensional reduction of a single D=4 conformal\nblock and the shadow block from Minkowski space to the celestial sphere.",
        "positive": "Universal amplitude ratios of two-dimensional percolation from field\n  theory: We complete the determination of the universal amplitude ratios of\ntwo-dimensional percolation within the two-kink approximation of the form\nfactor approach. For the cluster size ratio, which has for a long time been\nelusive both theoretically and numerically, we obtain the value 160.2, in good\nagreement with the lattice estimate 162.5 +/- 2 of Jensen and Ziff."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Einstein-Maxwell system, Ward identities, and the Vilkovisky\n  construction: The gauge fixing dependence of the one-loop effective action of quantum\ngravity in the proper-time representation is investigated for a space of\narbitrary curvature, and the investigation is extended to Maxwell-Einstein\ntheory. The construction of Vilkovisky and DeWitt for removal of this depence\nis then considered in general gauges, and it is shown that nontrivial criteria\narising from a Ward identity of the theory must be obeyed by the regularization\nscheme, if the construction is to remove the gauge dependence of quadratic and\nquartic divergences. The results apply also to non-Abelian gauge theories; they\nare used to address the question of gauge dependence of asymptotic freedom\narising through internal graviton lines at one-loop order as suggested by\nRobinson and Wilczek.",
        "positive": "An Index for Non-relativistic Superconformal Field Theories: We study the highest-weight representation of N=2 supersymmetric Schrodinger\nalgebra which appears in non-relativistic superconformal field theories in\n(1+2) dimension. We define the index for the non-relativistic superconformal\nfield theories and study its properties. As a concrete example, we compute the\nindex for the non-relativistic limit of N=6 superconformal Chern-Simons-matter\ntheory recently proposed by Aharony et al."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "No radiative generation of Chern-Simons-like term in Lorentz-violating\n  QED: dealing with IR divergences: The issue intensively claimed in the literature on the generation of a\nCPT-odd and Lorentz violating Chern-Simons-like term by radiative corrections\nowing to a CPT violating interaction -- the axial coupling of fermions with a\nconstant vector field $b_\\m$ -- is mistaken. The presence of massless gauge\nfield triggers IR divergences that might show up from the UV subtractions,\ntherefore, so as to deal with the (actual physical) IR divergences, the\nLowenstein-Zimmermann subtraction scheme, in the framework of BPHZL\nrenormalization method, has to be adopted. The proof on the non generation of\nsuch a Chern-Simons-like term is done, independent of any kind of\nregularization scheme, at all orders in perturbation theory.",
        "positive": "Reconstructing slow-roll Scalar-Tensor Gauss-Bonnet single field\n  inflation from running spectral data: We examine cosmological inflation in a broad family of scalar-tensor models\ncharacterized by scalar-dependent non minimal kinetic couplings and\nGauss-Bonnet terms. Using a slow roll-approximation, we compute in detail\ntheoretical expectations of observables as spectral indexes, scalar-to-tensor\nratio, their running and their running of the running in terms of the\nparameters which characterize the scalar-tensor model. Hierarchies of\nconsistency equations relating scalar and tensor pertubations and higher order\nrunning parameters are presented and examined at the slow roll approximation\nfor the kind of models of interest in this work. From We find detailed\nexpressions for constraints among these parameters. For a specific model, we\nanalyse such quantities and make contact with latest Planck observational data ."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Vortex dynamics in nonrelativistic Abelian Higgs model: The dynamics of the gauge vortex with arbitrary form of a contour is\nconsidered in the framework of the nonrelativistic Abelian Higgs model,\nincluding the possibility of the gauge field interaction with the fermion\nasymmetric background. The equations for the time derivatives of the curvature\nand the torsion of the vortex contour generalizing the Betchov-Da Rios\nequations in hydrodynamics, are obtained. They are applied to study the\nconservation of helicity of the gauge field forming the vortex, twist, and\nwrithe numbers of the vortex contour. It is shown that the conservation of\nhelicity is broken when both terms in the equation of the vortex motion are\npresent, first due to the exchange of excitations of the phase and modulus of\nthe scalar field and the second one due to the coupling of the gauge field\nforming the vortex, with the fermion asymmetric background.",
        "positive": "Confinement, NonAbelian monopoles, and 2D CP(N-1) model on the\n  worldsheet of finite-length strings: Quark confinement is proposed to be a dual Meissner effect of nonAbelian\nkind. Important hints come from physics of strongly-coupled\ninfrared-fixed-point theories in N=2 supersymmetric QCD, which turn into\nconfining vacua under a small relevant perturbation. The quest for the\nsemiclassical origin of the nonAbelian monopoles, ubiquitous as the infrared\ndegrees of freedom in supersymmetric gauge theories, motivates us to study the\nquantum dynamics of 2D CP(N-1)model defined on a finite-width worldstrip, with\nvarious boundary conditions. The model is found to possess a unique phase\n(\"confinement phase\"), independent of the length of the string, showing the\nquantum persistence of the nonAbelian monopole."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Loop corrections for Kaluza-Klein AdS amplitudes: Recently we conjectured the four-point amplitude of graviton multiplets in\n${\\rm AdS}_5 \\times {\\rm S}^5$ at one loop by exploiting the operator product\nexpansion of $\\mathcal{N}=4$ super Yang-Mills theory. Here we give the first\nextension of those results to include Kaluza-Klein modes, obtaining the\namplitude for two graviton multiplets and two states of the first KK mode. Our\nmethod again relies on resolving the large N degeneracy among a family of long\ndouble-trace operators, for which we obtain explicit formulas for the leading\nanomalous dimensions. Having constructed the one-loop amplitude we are able to\nobtain a formula for the one-loop corrections to the anomalous dimensions of\nall twist five double-trace operators.",
        "positive": "Holographic Symmetry Energy of the Nuclear Matter: We calculate the symmetry energy of the nuclear matter by using the bottom-up\napproach, so called hard wall model. To consider the nuclear matter, we\nintroduce the isospin for u- and d-quarks. We find that in the hard wall model,\nthe symmetry energy of the nuclear matter is proportional to the square of\nnucleon density. We also study the symmetry energy of the quark matter in the\ndeconfining phase. Finally, we investigate the effect of the symmetry energy on\nthe Hawking-Page transition and show that at the given quark density, the\nHawking-Page transition temperature decreases due to the symmetry energy."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Kaniadakis holographic dark energy in Brans-Dicke cosmology: By using the holographic hypothesis and Kaniadakis generalized entropy, which\nis based on relativistic statistical theory and modified Boltzmann-Gibbs\nentrory, we build Kaniadakis holographic dark energy (DE) model in the\nBrans-Dicke framework. We drive cosmological parameters of Kaniadakis\nholographic DE model, with IR cutoff as the Hubble horizon, in order to\ninvestigate its cosmological consequences. Our study shows that, even in the\nabsence of an interaction between the dark sectors of cosmos, the Kaniadakis\nholographic dark energy model with the Hubble radius as IR cutoff can explain\nthe present accelerated phase of the universe expansion in the Brans-Dicke\ntheory. The stability of the model, using the squared of sound speed, has been\nchecked and it is found that the model is unstable in non-interacting case and\ncan be stable for some range of model parameters within the interacting case.",
        "positive": "Ricci Flow of 3-D Manifolds with One Killing Vector: We implement a suggestion by Bakas and consider the Ricci flow of 3-d\nmanifolds with one Killing vector by dimensional reduction to the corresponding\nflow of a 2-d manifold plus scalar (dilaton) field. By suitably modifying the\nflow equations in order to make them manifestly parabolic, we are able to show\nthat the equations for the 2-d geometry can be put in the form explicitly\nsolved by Bakas using a continual analogue of the Toda field equations. The\nonly remaining equation, namely that of the scale factor of the extra\ndimension, is a linear equation that can be readily solved using standard\ntechniques once the 2-geometry is specified. We illustrate the method with a\ncouple of specific examples."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Factorization of S^3/Z_n partition function: We investigate S^3/Z_n partition function of 3d N = 2 supersymmetric field\ntheories. In a gauge theory the partition function is the sum of the\ncontributions of sectors specified by holonomies, and we should carefully\nchoose the relative signs among the contributions. We argue that the\nfactorization to holomorphic blocks is a useful criterion to determine the\nsigns and propose a formula for them. We show that the orbifold partition\nfunction of a general non-gauge theory is correctly factorized provided that we\ntake appropriate relative signs. We also present a few examples of gauge\ntheories. We point out that the sign factor for the orbifold partition function\nis closely related to a similar sign factor in the lens space index and the 3d\nindex.",
        "positive": "Effective Theory of Squeezed Correlation Functions: Various inflationary scenarios can often be distinguished from one another by\nlooking at the squeezed limit behavior of correlation functions. Therefore, it\nis useful to have a framework designed to study this limit in a more systematic\nand efficient way. We propose using an expansion in terms of weakly coupled\nsuper-horizon degrees of freedom, which is argued to generically exist in a\nnear de Sitter space-time. The modes have a simple factorized form which leads\nto factorization of the squeezed-limit correlation functions with power-law\nbehavior in $k_{\\rm long}/k_{\\rm short}$. This approach reproduces the known\nresults in single-, quasi-single-, and multi-field inflationary models.\nHowever, it is applicable even if, unlike the above examples, the additional\ndegrees of freedom are not weakly coupled at sub-horizon scales. Stronger\nresults are derived in two-field (or sufficiently symmetric multi-field)\ninflationary models. We discuss the observability of the non-Gaussian 3-point\nfunction in the large-scale structure surveys, and argue that the squeezed\nlimit behavior has a higher detectability chance than equilateral behavior when\nit scales as $(k_{\\rm long}/k_{\\rm short})^\\Delta$ with $\\Delta<1$ -- where\nlocal non-Gaussianity corresponds to $\\Delta=0$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "String Theory and the Path to Unification: A Review of Recent\n  Developments: This is a pedagogical review article surveying the various approaches towards\nunderstanding gauge coupling unification within string theory. As is well\nknown, one of the major problems confronting string phenomenology has been an\napparent discrepancy between the scale of gauge coupling unification predicted\nwithin string theory, and the unification scale expected within the framework\nof the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM). In this article, I provide\nan overview of the different approaches that have been taken in recent years\ntowards reconciling these two scales, and outline some of the major recent\ndevelopments in each. These approaches include\n  1) string GUT models;\n  2) higher affine levels and non-standard hypercharge normalizations;\n  3) heavy string threshold corrections;\n  4) light supersymmetric thresholds;\n  5) effects from intermediate-scale gauge and matter structure beyond the\nMSSM;\n  6) strings without supersymmetry; and\n  7) strings at strong coupling.",
        "positive": "Generalized Einstein-Maxwell theory: Seeley-DeWitt coefficients and\n  logarithmic corrections to the entropy of extremal and non-extremal black\n  holes: We present a consolidated manual of Euclidean gravity approaches for finding\nthe logarithmic corrections to the entropy of the full Kerr-Newman family of\nblack holes in both extremal and non-extremal limits. Seeley-DeWitt\ncoefficients for the quadratic fluctuations of a concern gravity theory appear\nto be the key ingredients in this manual. Following the manual, we calculate\nthe first three Seeley-DeWitt coefficients and logarithmic corrections to the\nentropy of extremal and non-extremal black holes in a generalized\nEinstein-Maxwell theory minimally-coupled to additional massless scalar,\nvector, spin-1/2 Dirac and spin-3/2 Rarita-Schwinger fields. We finally employ\nthe Seeley-DeWitt data to reproduce the logarithmic entropy corrections for\nextremal black holes in all $\\mathcal{N} \\geq 2$ Einstein-Maxwell supergravity\nvia an alternative local supersymmetrization method."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Yukawa Textures From Singular Spectral Data: The Yukawa textures of effective heterotic models are studied by using\nsingular spectral data. One advantage of this approach is that it is possible\nto dissect the cohomologies of the bundles into smaller parts and identify the\npieces that contain the zero modes, which can potentially have non-zero Yukawa\ncouplings. Another advantage is the manifest relationship between the Yukawa\ntextures in heterotic models and local F-theory models in terms of fields\nliving in bulk or localized inside the 7-branes. We only work with Weierstrass\nelliptically fibered Calabi-Yau manifolds here. The idea for generalizing this\napproach to every elliptically fibered Calabi-Yau with rational sections is\ngiven at the end of this paper.",
        "positive": "Acceleration and Energy Loss in N=4 SYM: We give a brief overview of the results obtained in arXiv:0803.3070,\nconcerning the rate of energy loss of an accelerating quark in strongly-coupled\nN=4 super-Yang-Mills, both at zero and finite temperature. For phenomenological\npurposes, our main result is that, when a quark is created within the plasma\ntogether with its corresponding antiquark, the quark starts feeling the plasma\nonly after the q-\\bar{q} separation becomes larger than the (v-dependent)\nscreening length, and from this point on the motion is correctly described by\nthe analytic energy loss formula previously derived by Herzog et al. and Gubser\nwithin the stationary or late-time approximations. The present text is a\nslightly expanded version of two talks given at the XIII Mexican School of\nParticles and Fields in October 2008."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "N=5 three-algebras and 5-graded Lie superalgebras: We discuss a generalization of N=6 three-algebras to N=5 three-algebras in\nconnection to anti-Lie triple systems and basic Lie superalgebras of type II.\nWe then show that the structure constants defined in anti-Lie triple systems\nagree with those of N=5 superconformal theories in three dimensions.",
        "positive": "Coisotropic D8-branes and Model-building: Up to now chiral type IIA vacua have been mostly based on intersecting\nD6-branes wrapping special Lagrangian 3-cycles on a CY three-fold. We argue\nthat there are additional BPS D-branes which have so far been neglected, and\nwhich seem to have interesting model-building features. They are coisotropic\nD8-branes, in the sense of Kapustin and Orlov. The D8-branes wrap 5-dimensional\nsubmanifolds of the CY which are trivial in homology, but contain a worldvolume\nflux that induces D6-brane charge on them. This induced D6-brane charge not\nonly renders the D8-brane BPS, but also creates D=4 chirality when two\nD8-branes intersect. We discuss in detail the case of a type IIA Z2 x Z2\norientifold, where we provide explicit examples of coisotropic D8-branes. We\nstudy the chiral spectrum, SUSY conditions, and effective field theory of\ndifferent systems of D8-branes in this orientifold, and show how the magnetic\nfluxes generate a superpotential for untwisted Kahler moduli. Finally, using\nboth D6-branes and coisotropic D8-branes we construct new examples of MSSM-like\ntype IIA vacua."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Problem of Constructing the Current Operators in Quantum Field\n  Theory: Lorentz invariance of the current operators implies that they satisfy the\nwell-known commutation relations with the representation operators of the\nLorentz group. It is shown that if the standard construction of the current\noperators in quantum field theory is used then the commutation relations are\nbroken by the Schwinger terms.",
        "positive": "A note on Polyakov's nonlocal form of the effective action: A technical point regarding the invariance of Polyakov's nonlocal form of the\neffective action under uniform rescalings is briefly addressed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetric Non-Abelian Born-Infeld Theory: Using the natural curvature invariants as building blocks in a superfield\nconstruction, we show that the use of a symmetric trace is mandatory if one is\nto reproduce the square root structure of the non-Abelian Dirac-Born-Infeld\nLagrangian in the bosonic sector. We also discuss the BPS relations in\nconnection with our supersymmetry construction.",
        "positive": "Quantum deformations of Schwarzschild and Schwarzschild-de Sitter\n  spacetimes: A quantum Schwarzschild spacetime and a quantum Schwarzschild-de Sitter\nspacetime with cosmological constant $\\Lambda$ are constructed within the\nframework of a noncommutative Riemannian geometry developed in an earlier\npublication. The metrics and curvatures of the quantum Schwarzschild spacetime\nand the quantum Schwarzschild-de Sitter spacetime are computed. It is shown\nthat up to the second order in the deformation parameter, the quantum\nspacetimes are solutions of a noncommutative Einstein equation which is\nproposed in this paper."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Prepotential of N=2 SU(2) Yang-Mills gauge theory coupled with a massive\n  matter multiplet: We discuss the N=2 SU(2) Yang-Mills theory coupled with a massive matter in\nthe weak coupling. In particular, we obtain the instanton expansion of its\nprepotential. Instanton contributions in the mass-less limit are completely\nreproduced. We study also the double scaling limit of this massive theory and\nfind that the prepotential with instanton corrections in the double scaling\nlimit coincides with that of N=2 SU(2) Yang-Mills theory without matter.",
        "positive": "Pseudo Hermitian interactions in the Dirac Equation: We consider $(2+1)$ dimensional massless Dirac equation in the presence of\ncomplex vector potentials. It is shown that such vector potentials (leading to\ncomplex magnetic fields) can produce bound states and the Dirac Hamiltonians\nare $\\eta$-pseudo Hermitian. Some examples have been explicitly worked out."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Torsion and Supersymmetry in Omega-background: We study the dimensional reduction of ten-dimensional super Yang-Mills theory\nin curved backgrounds with torsion. We examine the parallel spinor conditions\nand the constraints for the torsion parameters which preserve supersymmetry and\ngauge symmetry in four dimensions. In particular we examine the ten-dimensional\nOmega-background with the torsion which is identified with the R-symmetry\nWilson line gauge fields. After the dimensional reduction, we obtain the\nOmega-deformed N=4 super Yang-Mills theory. Solving the parallel spinor\nconditions and the torsion constraints, we classify the deformed supersymmetry\nassociated with the topological twist of N=4 supersymmetry. We also study\ndeformed supersymmetries in the Nekrasov-Shatashvili limit.",
        "positive": "Non-Supersymmetric Orbifolds: We study compact non-supersymmetric Z_N orbifolds in various dimensions. We\ncompute the spectrum of several tachyonic type II and heterotic examples and\npartially classify tachyon-free heterotic models. We also discuss the relation\nto compactification on K3 and Calabi-Yau manifolds."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Finite One-Loop Calculations in Quantum Gravity: Graviton Self-Energy,\n  Perturbative Gauge Invariance and Slavnov-Ward Identities: In this paper we show that the one-loop graviton self-energy contribution is\nultraviolet finite, without introducing counterterms, and cutoff-free in the\nframework of causal perturbation theory. In addition, it satisfies the\ngravitational Slavnov-Ward identities for the two-point connected Green\nfunction. The condition of perturbative gauge invariance to second order for\nloop graphs is proved. Corrections to the Newtonian potential are also derived.",
        "positive": "Two-dimensional S-matrices from unitarity cuts: Using unitarity methods, we compute, for several massive two-dimensional\nmodels, the cut-constructible part of the one-loop 2->2 scattering S-matrices\nfrom the tree-level amplitudes. We apply our method to various integrable\ntheories, finding evidence that for supersymmetric models the one-loop S-matrix\nis cut-constructible, while for models without supersymmetry (but with\nintegrability) the missing rational terms are proportional to the tree-level\nS-matrix and therefore can be interpreted as a shift in the coupling. Finally,\napplying our procedure to the world-sheet theory for the light-cone gauge-fixed\nAdS_5 x S^5 superstring we reproduce, at one-loop in the near-BMN expansion,\nthe S-matrix known from integrability techniques."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Partition Functions of Three-Dimensional Pure Gravity: The three-dimensional pure quantum gravity with a negative cosmological\nconstant has been conjectured to be dual to an extremal conformal field theory\n(ECFT), of central charge c=24k for some positive integer k. We compute the\npartition function of the dual ECFT by summing over gravitational instanton\ncontributions. In particular, we conjecture an exact expression for the\ncontribution from handlebodies to the partition function for all genera and all\nvalues of k, and provide nontrivial evidences for the conjecture at genus two.",
        "positive": "Counting rule for Nambu-Goldstone modes in nonrelativistic systems: The counting rule for Nambu-Goldstone modes is discussed using Mori's\nprojection operator method in nonrelativistic systems at zero and finite\ntemperatures. We show that the number of Nambu-Goldstone modes is equal to the\nnumber of broken charges, Q_a, minus half the rank of the expectation value of\n[Q_a,Q_b]."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Ambiguities in the local thermal behavior of the scalar radiation in\n  one-dimensional boxes: This paper reports certain ambiguities in the calculation of the ensemble\naverage $\\left<T_\\mu{}_\\nu\\right>$ of the stress-energy-momentum tensor of an\narbitrarily coupled massless scalar field in one-dimensional boxes in flat\nspacetime. The study addresses a box with periodic boundary condition (a\ncircle) and boxes with reflecting edges (with Dirichlet's or Neumann's boundary\nconditions at the endpoints). The expressions for $\\left<T^\\mu{}^\\nu\\right>$\nare obtained from finite-temperature Green functions. In an appendix, in order\nto control divergences typical of two dimensions, these Green functions are\ncalculated for related backgrounds with arbitrary number of dimensions and for\nscalar fields of arbitrary mass, and specialized in the text to two dimensions\nand for massless fields. The ambiguities arise due to the presence in\n$\\left<T^\\mu{}^\\nu\\right>$ of double series that are not absolutely convergent.\nThe order in which the two associated summations are evaluated matters, leading\nto two different thermodynamics for each type of box. In the case of a circle,\nit is shown that the ambiguity corresponds to the classic controversy in the\nliterature whether or not zero mode contributions should be taken into account\nin computations of partition functions. In the case of boxes with reflecting\nedges, it results that one of the thermodynamics corresponds to a total energy\n(obtained by integrating the non homogeneous energy density over space) that\ndoes not depend on the curvature coupling parameter $\\xi$ as expected; whereas\nthe other thermodynamics curiously corresponds to a total energy that does\ndepend on $\\xi$. Thermodynamic requirements (such as local and global\nstability) and their restrictions to the values of $\\xi$ are considered.",
        "positive": "Conformal invariance and quantum integrability of sigma models on\n  symmetric superspaces: We consider two dimensional non linear sigma models on few symmetric\nsuperspaces, which are supergroup manifolds of coset type. For those spaces\nwhere one loop beta function vanishes, two loop beta function is calculated and\nis shown to be zero. Vanishing of beta function in all orders of perturbation\ntheory is shown for the principal chiral models on group supermanifolds with\nzero Killing form. Sigma models on symmetric (super) spaces on supergroup\nmanifold $G/H$ are known to be classically integrable. We investigate a\npossibility to extend an argument of absence of quantum anomalies in non local\ncurrent conservation from non super case to the case of supergroup manifolds\nwhich are asymptotically free in one loop."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Cancellation of nonrenormalizable hypersurface divergences and the\n  d-dimensional Casimir piston: Using a multidimensional cut-off technique, we obtain expressions for the\ncut-off dependent part of the vacuum energy for parallelepiped geometries in\nany spatial dimension d. The cut-off part yields nonrenormalizable hypersurface\ndivergences and we show explicitly that they cancel in the Casimir piston\nscenario in all dimensions. We obtain two different expressions for the\nd-dimensional Casimir force on the piston where one expression is more\nconvenient to use when the plate separation a is large and the other when a is\nsmall (a useful $a \\to 1/a$ duality). The Casimir force on the piston is found\nto be attractive (negative) for any dimension d. We apply the d-dimensional\nformulas (both expressions) to the two and three-dimensional Casimir piston\nwith Neumann boundary conditions. The 3D Neumann results are in numerical\nagreement with those recently derived in arXiv:0705.0139 using an optical path\ntechnique providing an independent confirmation of our multidimensional\napproach. We limit our study to massless scalar fields.",
        "positive": "Half-Supersymmetric Solutions in Five-Dimensional Supergravity: We present a systematic classification of half-supersymmetric solutions of\ngauged N=2, D=5 supergravity coupled to an arbitrary number of abelian vector\nmultiplets for which at least one of the Killing spinors generate a time-like\nKilling vector."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Black Holes in Quantum Gravity: We review some recent results obtained for black holes using effective field\ntheory methods applied to quantum gravity, in particular the unique effective\naction. Black holes are complex thermodynamical objects that not only have a\ntemperature but also have a pressure. Furthermore, they have quantum hair which\nprovides a solution to the black hole information paradox.",
        "positive": "Cerenkov radiation from collisions of straight cosmic (super)strings: We consider Cerenkov radiation which must arise when randomly oriented\nstraight cosmic (super)strings move with relativistic velocities without\nintercommutation. String interactions via dilaton, two-form and gravity\n(gravity being the dominant force in the ultra-relativistic regime) leads to\nformation of superluminal sources which generate Cerenkov radiation of dilatons\nand axions. Though the effect is of the second order in the couplings of\nstrings to these fields, its total efficiency is increased by high dependence\nof the radiation rate on the Lorentz-factor of the collision."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spin chains from super-models: We construct and study a class of N particle supersymmetric Hamiltonians with\nnearest and next-nearest neighbor inverse-square interaction in one dimension.\nWe show that inhomogeneous XY models in an external non-uniform magnetic field\ncan be obtained from these super-Hamiltonians in a particular limit decoupling\nthe fermionic degrees of freedom from the kinematic ones. We further consider a\nsuitable deformation of these super-models such that inhomogeneous XXZ\nHamiltonians in an external non-uniform magnetic field are obtained in the same\nlimit. We show that this deformed Hamiltonian with rational potential is, (i)\nmapped to a set of free super-oscillators through a similarity transformation\nand (ii) supersymmetric in terms of a new, non-standard realization of the\nsupercharge. We construct many exact eigenstates of this Hamiltonian and\ndiscuss about the applicability of this technique to other models.",
        "positive": "Asymptotic solution of Schwinger -- Dyson equation for the gluon\n  propagator in the infrared region: The equation for the gluon propagator in the approach of\nBaker-Ball-Zachariasen is considered. The possibility of non-integer power\ninfrared behaviour is studied, $D(q) \\sim (q^2)^{-c}$, $q^2 \\rightarrow 0$. It\nis shown that the characteristic equation for the exponent has no solutions at\n$-1\\leq c\\leq 3$. The approximations made to obtain the closed integral\nequation are analysed and the conclusion on the infrared behaviour of the gluon\npropagator $D(q) \\sim 1/(q^2)^2$, $q^2 \\rightarrow 0$ is made when the\ntransverse part of the triple gluon vertex is taken into account."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Mass deformation of twisted super Yang-Mills theory with fuzzy sphere\n  solution: We investigate mass deformation of twisted superalgebra of U(N) super\nYang-Mills (SYM) theories in several models and in several dimensions,\nmotivated by the method formulated in [1]. We show that there are several ways\nto perform the deformation, if a model possesses four scalar supercharges\nexcept for two dimensional B-model. We also evaluate classical vacuum solutions\nof the potentials of scalar fields for each model. We then find that it is\nalways possible to find fuzzy sphere solution in the theories.",
        "positive": "Degeneration of the Elliptic Algebra $A_{q,p}(\\widehat{sl_2})$ and Form\n  Factors in the sine-Gordon Theory: Following the work with Jimbo and Miwa, we introduce a certain degeneration\nof the elliptic algebra $A_{q,p}(\\widehat{sl_2})$ and its boson realization. We\ninvestigate its rational limit. The limit is the central extension of the\nYangian double DY(sl_2) at level one. We give a new boson realization of it.\nBased on these algebras, we reformulate the Smirnov's form factor bootstrap\napproach to the sine-Gordon theory and the SU(2) invariant Thirring model. A\nconjectural integral formula for form factor in the sine-Gordon theory is\nderived."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Special symmetries of the charged Kerr-AdS black hole of D=5 minimal\n  gauged supergravity: In this note we prove that the Hamilton-Jacobi equation in the background of\nthe recently discovered charged Kerr-AdS black hole of D=5 minimal gauged\nsupergravity is separable, for arbitrary values of the two rotation parameters.\nThis allows us to write down an irreducible Killing tensor for the spacetime.\nAs a result we also show that the Klein-Gordon equation in this background is\nseparable. We also consider the Dirac equation in this background in the\nspecial case of equal rotation parameters and show it has separable solutions.\nFinally we discuss the near-horizon geometry of the supersymmetric limit of the\nblack hole.",
        "positive": "Symmetry Reduction and Exact Solutions in Twisted Noncommutative Gravity: We review the noncommutative gravity of Wess et al. and discuss its physical\napplications. We define noncommutative symmetry reduction and construct\ndeformed symmetric solutions of the noncommutative Einstein equations. We apply\nour framework to find explicit deformed cosmological and black hole solutions\nand discuss their phenomenology.\n  This article is based on a joint work with Thorsten Ohl."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Generalized Konishi anomaly, Seiberg duality and singular effective\n  superpotentials: Using the generalized Konishi anomaly (GKA) equations, we derive the\neffective superpotential of four-dimensional N=1 supersymmetric SU(n) gauge\ntheory with n+2 fundamental flavors. We find, however, that the GKA equations\nare only integrable in the Seiberg dual description of the theory, but not in\nthe direct description of the theory. The failure of integrability in the\ndirect, strongly coupled, description suggests the existence of\nnon-perturbative corrections to the GKA equations.",
        "positive": "Non-renormalization of induced charges and constraints on strongly\n  coupled theories: It is shown that global fermionic charges induced in vacuum by slowly\nvarying, topologically non-trivial background scalar fields are not\nrenormalized provided that expansion in momenta of background fields is valid.\nThis suggests that strongly coupled theories obey induced charge matching\nconditions which are analogous, but generally not equivalent, to 't Hooft\nanomaly matching conditions. We give a few examples of induced charge matching.\nIn particular, the corresponding constraints in softly broken supersymmetric\nQCD suggest non-trivial low energy mass pattern, in full accord with the\nresults of direct analyses."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Brane Stabilization and Regionality of Extra Dimensions: Extra dimensions are a common feature of beyond the Standard Model physics.\nIn a braneworld scenario, local physics on the brane can depend strongly on the\nbrane's location within the bulk. Generically, the relevant properties of the\nbulk manifold for the physics on/of the brane are neither local nor global, but\ndepend on the structure of finite regions of the bulk, even for locally\nhomogeneous and isotropic bulk geometries. In a recent work, various mechanisms\n(in a braneworld context) were considered to stabilize the location of a brane\nwithin bulk spaces of non-trivial topology. In this work we elaborate on and\ngeneralize that work by considering additional bulk and brane dimensionalities\nas well as different boundary conditions on the bulk scalar field that provides\na Casimir force on the brane, providing further insight on this effect.\n  In D=2+1 (D=5+1) we consider both local and global contributions to the\neffective potential of a 1-brane (4-brane) wrapped around both the\n2-dimensional hyperbolic horn and Euclidean cone, which are used as toy models\nof an extra-dimensional manifold. We calculate the total energy due to brane\ntension and elastic energy (extrinsic curvature) as well as that due to the\nCasimir energy of a bulk scalar satisfying both Dirchlet and Neumann boundary\nconditions on the brane. In some cases stable minima of the potential are found\nthat result from the competition of at least two of the contributions.\nGenerically, any one of these effects may be sufficient when the bulk space has\nless symmetry than the manifolds considered here. We highlight the importance\nof the Casimir effect for the purpose of brane stabilization.",
        "positive": "Robustness of Inflation to Inhomogeneous Initial Conditions: We consider the effects of inhomogeneous initial conditions in both the\nscalar field profile and the extrinsic curvature on different inflationary\nmodels. In particular, we compare the robustness of small field inflation to\nthat of large field inflation, using numerical simulations with Einstein\ngravity in 3+1 dimensions. We find that small field inflation can fail in the\npresence of subdominant gradient energies, suggesting that it is much less\nrobust to inhomogeneities than large field inflation, which withstands dominant\ngradient energies. However, we also show that small field inflation can be\nsuccessful even if some regions of spacetime start out in the region of the\npotential that does not support inflation. In the large field case, we confirm\nprevious results that inflation is robust if the inflaton occupies the\ninflationary part of the potential. Furthermore, we show that increasing\ninitial scalar gradients will not form sufficiently massive inflation-ending\nblack holes if the initial hypersurface is approximately flat. Finally, we\nconsider the large field case with a varying extrinsic curvature K, such that\nsome regions are initially collapsing. We find that this may again lead to\nlocal black holes, but overall the spacetime remains inflationary if the\nspacetime is open, which confirms previous theoretical studies."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Non-Supersymmetric Large-N 3D CFT And Its Gravity Dual: We propose a three dimensional non-supersymmetric theory that is conformal in\nthe large N limit. In a certain well defined bosonic sub-sector of gauge\ninvariant operators, this theory is planar equivalent to the theory recently\nproposed by Aharony, Bergman, Jafferis and Maldacena as the theory on multiple\nM2 branes at an orbifold singularity. We discuss the realization of the theory\non a brane configuration of type 0B string theory. Moreover, we propose an 11D\ngravity dual, obtained by a projection of M-theory on AdS4 x S7 / Z_k.",
        "positive": "Permutation symmetry in large N Matrix Quantum Mechanics and Partition\n  Algebras: We describe the implications of permutation symmetry for the state space and\ndynamics of quantum mechanical systems of matrices of general size $N$. We\nsolve the general 11- parameter permutation invariant quantum matrix harmonic\noscillator Hamiltonian and calculate the canonical partition function. The\npermutation invariant sector of the Hilbert space, for general Hamiltonians,\ncan be described using partition algebra diagrams forming the bases of a tower\nof partition algebras $P_k(N)$. The integer $k$ is interpreted as the degree of\nmatrix oscillator polynomials in the quantum mechanics. Families of interacting\nHamiltonians are described which are diagonalised by a representation theoretic\nbasis for the permutation invariant subspace which we construct for $ N \\ge 2k\n$. These include Hamiltonians for which the low-energy states are permutation\ninvariant and can give rise to large ground state degeneracies related to the\ndimensions of partition algebras. A symmetry-based mechanism for quantum many\nbody scars discussed in the literature can be realised in these matrix systems\nwith permutation symmetry. A mapping of the matrix index values to lattice\nsites allows a realisation of the mechanism in the context of modified\nBose-Hubbard models. Extremal correlators analogous to those studied in AdS/CFT\nare shown to obey selection rules based on Clebsch-Gordan multiplicities\n(Kronecker coefficients) of symmetric groups."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic dark energy with varying gravitational constant in\n  Horava-Lifshitz cosmology: We investigate the holographic dark energy scenario with a varying\ngravitational constant in a flat background in the context of\nHo\\v{r}ava-Lifshitz gravity. We extract the exact differential equation\ndetermining the evolution of the dark energy density parameter, which includes\n$G$ variation term. Also we discuss a cosmological implication of our work by\nevaluating the dark energy equation of state for low redshifts containing\nvarying $G$ corrections.",
        "positive": "Anomalous transport and holographic momentum relaxation: The chiral magnetic and vortical effects denote the generation of\ndissipationless currents due to magnetic fields or rotation. They can be\nstudied in holographic models with Chern-Simons couplings dual to anomalies in\nfield theory. We study a holographic model with translation symmetry breaking\nbased on linear massless scalar field backgrounds. We compute the electric DC\nconductivity and find that it can vanish for certain values of the translation\nsymmetry breaking couplings. Then we compute the chiral magnetic and chiral\nvortical conductivities. They are completely independent of the holographic\ndisorder couplings and take the usual values in terms of chemical potential and\ntemperature. To arrive at this result we suggest a new definition of\nenergy-momentum tensor in presence of the gravitational Chern-Simons coupling."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Geometry of a desingularization of eleven-dimensional gravitational\n  spinors: We show that the space of gravitational spinors in eleven dimensions, defined\nby equations $\\Gamma_{\\alpha\\beta}^i\\lambda^{\\alpha}\\lambda^{\\beta}=0$ admits a\ndesingularization with nice geometric properties. In particular the\ndesingularization fibers over the isotropic Grassmannian OGr(2,11). This\nenables us to recast equations of linearized eleven-dimensional supergravity\nadapted to 3-form potential into Cauchy-Riemann equations on a super extension\nof isotropic Grassmannian OGr(2,11).",
        "positive": "Wavefunctions for Non-Abelian Vortices: We construct exact wavefunctions of two vortices on a plane, a single vortex\non the cylinder and a vortex on the torus. In each case, the physics is shown\nto be equivalent to a particle moving in a covering space, something simple to\nsolve in those examples. We describe how our solutions fit into the general\ntheory of quantum mechanics of $N$ particles on a two-dimensional space and\nattribute our success to the fact that the fundamental groups are Abelian in\nthose simple cases that we are considering."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Some Computations in Background Independent Open-String Field Theory: Recently, background independent open-string field theory has been formally\ndefined in the space of all two-dimensional world-sheet theories. In this\npaper, to make the construction more concrete, I compute the action for an\noff-shell tachyon field of a certain simple type. From the computation it\nemerges that, although the string field action does not coincide with the\nworld-sheet (matter) partition function in general, these functions do coincide\non shell. This can be demonstrated in general, as long as matter and ghosts are\ndecoupled.",
        "positive": "On the (0,4) Conformal Field Theory of the Throat: In SO(32) heterotic string theory, the space-time at the core of N coincident\nNS-fivebranes is an infinite throat, R x S^3. As shown by Witten, the throat\nsignals a singularity in the usual heterotic string conformal field theory and\na non--perturbative USp(2N) gauge group appears, due to the N small instantons\nat the fivebranes' core. Nevertheless, we look for some trace of the\nnon-perturbative physics in a description of the heterotic string infinitely\nfar down the throat. Our guide is a D1-brane probing N D5-branes in type I,\nwhich yields a 1+1 dimensional (0,4) supersymmetric model with ADHM data in its\ncouplings, as shown by Douglas. The neighbourhood of the classical boundary of\nthe hypermultiplet moduli space of the theory flows to an exact conformal field\ntheory description of the throat theory. Ironically, the remnant of the\nnon-perturbative symmetry is indeed found in the conformal field theory,\nlurking in the structure of the partition function, and encoded in a family of\ndeformations of the theory along flat directions. The deformations have an\nexplicit description using the flow from the type I theory, and have a\nhyperKahler structure. Similar results hold true for the analogous (4,4)\nsupersymmetric situation in the type IIB theory, as is evident in the work of\nDiaconescu and Seiberg."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "BPS Spectrum, Indices and Wall Crossing in N=4 Supersymmetric Yang-Mills\n  Theories: BPS states in N=4 supersymmetric SU(N) gauge theories in four dimensions can\nbe represented as planar string networks with ends lying on D3-branes. We\nintroduce several protected indices which capture information on the spectrum\nand various quantum numbers of these states, give their wall crossing formula\nand describe how using the wall crossing formula we can compute all the indices\nat all points in the moduli space.",
        "positive": "Holographic Description of Noncommutative Schwinger Effect: We consider the phenomenon of spontaneous pair production in presence of an\nexternal electric field for noncommutative Yang Mills theories. Using\nMaldacena's holographic conjecture the threshold electric field for pair\nproduction is computed from the quark-antiquark potential for noncommutative\ntheories. As an effect of noncommutativity, the threshold electric field is\nseen to be smaller than its commutative counterpart. We also estimate the\ncorrection to the pair production rate of quark-antiquark pairs to the first\norder of the noncommutative deformation parameter. Our result bears resemblance\nwith an earlier work (based on field theoretic methods)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chiral flavors and M2-branes at toric CY4 singularities: We extend the stringy derivation of N=2 AdS4/CFT3 dualities to cases where\nthe M-theory circle degenerates at complex codimension-two submanifolds of a\ntoric conical CY4. The type IIA backgrounds include D6-branes, and the dual N=2\nquiver gauge theories contain chiral flavors. We provide a general recipe to\nderive the geometric moduli space of flavored versions of Abelian toric quiver\ngauge theories. The CY4 cone is reproduced thanks to a non-trivial quantum\nF-term relation between diagonal monopole operators and bifundamental fields.\nWe find new field theory duals to many geometries, including Q111.",
        "positive": "Spiky strings and single trace operators in gauge theories: We consider single trace operators of the form O_{m_1 ... m_n} = tr D_+^{m_1}\nF ... D_+^{m_n} F which are common to all gauge theories. We argue that, when\nall m_i are equal and large, they have a dual description as strings with\ncusps, or spikes, one for each field F. In the case of N=4 SYM, we compute the\nenergy as a function of angular momentum by finding the corresponding solutions\nin AdS_5 and compare with a 1-loop calculation of the anomalous dimension. As\nin the case of two spikes (twist two operators), there is agreement in the\nfunctional form but not in the coupling constant dependence. After that, we\nanalyze the system in more detail and find an effective classical mechanics\ndescribing the motion of the spikes. In the appropriate limit, it is the same\n(up to the coupling constant dependence) as the coherent state description of\nlinear combinations of the operators O_{m_1 ... m_n} such that all m_i are\nequal on average. This agreement provides a map between the operators in the\nboundary and the position of the spikes in the bulk. We further suggest that\nmoving the spikes in other directions should describe operators with\nderivatives other than D_+ indicating that these ideas are quite generic and\nshould help in unraveling the string description of the large-N limit of gauge\ntheories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Generic predictions of quantum theories of gravity: I discuss generic consequences (sometimes called \"soft predictions\") of a\nclass of background independent quantum theories of spacetime called causal\nspin network theories. These are theories whose kinematics and dynamics is\nbased on the evolution of labeled graphs, by local moves, such as in loop\nquantum gravity and spin foam models. Some generic consequences are well known,\nincluding the discreteness of quantum geometry, the elimination of spacetime\nsingularities, the entropy of black hole and cosmological horizons and the fact\nthat positive cosmological constant spacetimes are hot. Within the last few\nyears three possible generic consequences have come to light. These are 1)\nDeformed special relativity as the symmetry of the ground state, 2) Elementary\nparticles as coherent excitations of quantum geometry, 3) Locality is\ndisordered. I discuss some possible experimental consequences of each.",
        "positive": "The Gross-Neveu model on a sphere with a magnetic monopole: We study, for the first time, the phase structure of the Gross--Neveu model\nwith a combination of a (constant) gravitational and a magnetic field. This has\nbeen made possible by our finding of an exact solution to the problem, namely\nthe effective potential for the composite fermions. Then, from the\ncorresponding implicit equation the phase diagram for the dynamical fermion\nmass is calculated numerically for some values of the magnetic field. %(what\ncan be done with arbitrary precision). For a small magnetic field the phase\ndiagram hints to the possibility of a second order phase transition at some\ncritical curvature. With growing magnetic field only the phase with broken\nchiral symmetry survives, because the magnetic field prevents the decay of the\nchiral condensate. This result is bound to have important consequences in early\nuniverse cosmology."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Geometry of the Gauge Algebra in Noncommutative Yang-Mills Theory: A detailed description of the infinite-dimensional Lie algebra of star-gauge\ntransformations in noncommutative Yang-Mills theory is presented. Various\ndescriptions of this algebra are given in terms of inner automorphisms of the\nunderlying deformed algebra of functions on spacetime, of deformed symplectic\ndiffeomorphisms, of the infinite unitary Lie algebra, and of the algebra of\ncompact operators on a quantum mechanical Hilbert space. The spacetime and\nstring interpretations are also elucidated.",
        "positive": "Functional renormalization group for p=2 like glassy matrices in the\n  planar approximation: I. Vertex expansion at equilibrium: In this paper, we study the equilibrium states of a $N\\times N$ stochastic\ncomplex random matrix $M$, whose entries evolve in time accordingly with a\nLangevin equation including both Gaussian white noises and a linear disorder,\nmaterialized by the Wigner random matrices. In large $N$-limit, the disorders\nbehave as effective kinetics, and we examine a coarse-graining over the Wigner\nspectrum accordingly with two different schemes that we call respectively\nactive and passive. We then investigate explicit solutions of the\nnonperturbative renormalization group using vertex and derivative expansion, a\nsimple way to deal with the nonlocal nature of the effective field theory at\nlarge $N$. Our main statement is the existence of well-behaved fixed point\nsolutions and at least some evidence about a discontinuous (first order) phase\ntransition between a condensed and a dilute phase. We finally interpret the\nresulting phase space regarding the out-of-equilibrium process related to the\ndynamical phase transitions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Emergent geometry in N=6 Chern-Simons-matter theory: We investigate a strong coupling expansion of N=6 superconformal Chern-Simons\ntheory obtained from the semiclassical analysis of low energy, effective\ndegrees of freedom given by the eigenvalues of a certain matrix model. We show\nhow the orbifolded sphere S^7/Z_k of the dual geometry emerges dynamically from\nthe distribution of the eigenvalues. As a test of this approach we compute the\nenergy of off-diagonal excitations, finding perfect agreement with the\ndispersion relation of giant magnons.",
        "positive": "Quasi-Normal Modes of a Natural AdS Wormhole in Einstein-Born-Infeld\n  Gravity: We study the matter perturbations of a new AdS wormhole in (3+1)-dimensional\nEinstein-Born-Infeld gravity, called \"natural wormhole\", which does not require\nexotic matters. We discuss the stability of the perturbations by numerically\ncomputing the quasi-normal modes (QNMs) of a massive scalar field in the\nwormhole background. We investigate the dependence of quasi-normal frequencies\non the mass of scalar field as well as other parameters of the wormhole. It is\nfound that the perturbations are always stable for the wormhole geometry which\nhas the general relativity (GR) limit when the scalar field mass m satisfies a\ncertain, tachyonic mass bound m^2 > m^2_* with m^2_* < 0, analogous to the\nBreitenlohner-Freedman (BF) bound in the global-AdS space, m^2_BF = 3 Lambda/4.\nIt is also found that the BF-like bound m^2_* shifts by the changes of the\ncosmological constant Lambda or angular-momentum number l, with a level\ncrossing between the lowest complex and pure-imaginary modes for zero angular\nmomentum l = 0. Furthermore, it is found that the unstable modes can also have\noscillatory parts as well as non-oscillatory parts depending on whether the\nreal and imaginary parts of frequencies are dependent on each other or not,\ncontrary to arguments in the literature. For wormhole geometries which do not\nhave the GR limit, the BF-like bound does not occur and the perturbations are\nstable for arbitrary tachyonic and non-tachyonic masses, up to a critical mass\nm^2_c > 0 where the perturbations are completely frozen."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Entanglement after Quantum Quenches in Lifshitz Scalar Theories: We study the time evolution of the entanglement entropy after quantum\nquenches in Lifshitz free scalar theories, with the dynamical exponent $z>1$,\nby using the correlator method. For quantum quenches we consider two types of\ntime-dependent mass functions: end-critical-protocol (ECP) and\ncis-critical-protocol (CCP). In both cases, at early times the entanglement\nentropy is independent of the subsystem size. After a critical time ($t_c$),\nthe entanglement entropy starts depending on the subsystem size significantly.\nThis critical time $t_c$ for $z = 1$ in the fast ECP and CCP has been explained\nwell by the fast quasi-particle of the quasi-particle picture. However, we find\nthat for $z > 1$ this explanation does not work and $t_c$ is delayed. We\nexplain why $t_c$ is delayed for $z>1$ based on the quasiparticle picture: in\nessence, it is due to the competition between the fast and slow quasiparticles.\nAt late times, in the ECP, the entanglement entropy slowly increases while, in\nthe CCP, it is oscillating with a well defined period by the final mass scale,\nindependently of $z$. We give an interpretation of this phenomena by the\ncorrelator method. As $z$ increases, the entanglement entropy increases, which\ncan be understood by long-range interactions due to $z$.",
        "positive": "Kramers-Wannier-like duality defects in (3+1)d gauge theories: We introduce a class of non-invertible topological defects in (3+1)d gauge\ntheories whose fusion rules are the higher-dimensional analogs of those of the\nKramers-Wannier defect in the (1+1)d critical Ising model. As in the\nlower-dimensional case, the presence of such non-invertible defects implies\nself-duality under a particular gauging of their discrete (higher-form)\nsymmetries. Examples of theories with such a defect include SO(3) Yang-Mills\n(YM) at $\\theta = \\pi$, $\\mathcal{N}=1$ SO(3) super YM, and $\\mathcal{N}=4$\nSU(2) super YM at $\\tau = i$. We also introduce an analogous construction in\n(2+1)d, and give a number of examples in Chern-Simons-matter theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Constraining momentum space CFT correlators with consistent position\n  space OPE limit and the collider bound: Consistency with position space OPE limit requires momentum space CFT\ncorrelators to have only total energy singularity. We show that this\nrequirement gives a simple proof of the known result that the parity-odd\nstructure cannot exist for three-point correlators of exactly conserved\ncurrents with spins $s_i,s_j,s_k$, when triangle inequality $s_i\\le s_j+s_k$ is\nviolated. We also show that even for parity even correlation functions the\nproperties are different inside and outside the triangle inequality. It was\npreviously shown that if we allow for weakly broken higher spin symmetry,\nparity-odd correlators can exist even when triangle inequality is violated. In\nthis paper we establish a relation between non-conservation Ward-Takahashi (WT)\nidentities for weakly broken currents using known WT identities for exactly\nconserved currents. This allows us to calculate the parity violating results\noutside the triangle inequality using parity-even free bosonic and free\nfermionic results. In general, there is one parity-odd structure and two\nparity-even structures for three-point functions. It can be shown that the\ncoefficient of one of the parity-even and odd parts can be combined into a\ncomplex parameter $c$ when correlators are expressed in spinor-helicity\nvariables. When this complex parameter takes real value $c=\\pm 1$ it\ncorresponds to either the free boson or free fermion theory. When $c$ is a pure\nphase, it corresponds to Chern-Simons matter theories. Furthermore,\nre-expressing known results for conformal collider bounds we see that $\\lvert\nc\\rvert\\le 1$ for generic 3d CFTs and $\\lvert c\\rvert\\le f(\\Delta_{gap})$ for\nholographic CFTs.",
        "positive": "A model for Hopfions on the space-time S^3 x R: We construct static and time dependent exact soliton solutions for a theory\nof scalar fields taking values on a wide class of two dimensional target\nspaces, and defined on the four dimensional space-time S^3 x R. The\nconstruction is based on an ansatz built out of special coordinates on S^3. The\nrequirement for finite energy introduces boundary conditions that determine an\ninfinite discrete spectrum of frequencies for the oscillating solutions. For\nthe case where the target space is the sphere S^2, we obtain static soliton\nsolutions with non-trivial Hopf topological charges. In addition, such hopfions\ncan oscillate in time, preserving their topological Hopf charge, with any of\nthe frequencies belonging to that infinite discrete spectrum."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Rank 48 gauge group in heterotic string: We discuss the existence of a non-perturbative gauge sector that can raise\nthe rank of the gauge group of the N_4=2 heterotic string up to 48. These gauge\nbosons, that don't exist in six dimensions, co-exist with those originating\nfrom small instantons shrinking to zero size.",
        "positive": "Higher-curvature generalization of Eguchi-Hanson spaces: We construct higher-dimensional generalizations of the Eguchi-Hanson\ngravitational instanton in the presence of higher-curvature deformations of\ngeneral relativity. These spaces are solutions to Einstein gravity supplemented\nwith the dimensional extension of the quadratic Chern-Gauss-Bonnet invariant in\narbitrary even dimension $D=2m\\geq 4$, and they are constructed out of\nnon-trivial fibrations over $(2m-2)$-dimensional K\\\"ahler-Einstein manifolds.\nDifferent aspects of these solutions are analyzed; among them, the\nregularization of the on-shell Euclidean action by means of the addition of\ntopological invariants. We also consider higher-curvature corrections to the\ngravity action that are cubic in the Riemann tensor and explicitly construct\nEguchi-Hanson type solutions for such."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Generalized T-Q relations and the open XXZ chain: We propose a generalization of the Baxter T-Q relation which involves more\nthan one independent Q(u). We argue that the eigenvalues of the transfer matrix\nof the open XXZ quantum spin chain are given by such generalized T-Q relations,\nfor the case that at most two of the boundary parameters {\\alpha_-, \\alpha_+,\n\\beta_-, \\beta_+} are nonzero, and the bulk anisotropy parameter has values\n\\eta = i \\pi/2, i\\pi/4, ...",
        "positive": "Skeleton expansion and large spin bootstrap for $\u03c6^3$ theory: We study skeleton expansion of $\\phi^3$ theory in $6+\\epsilon$ dimensions as\nwell as its global symmetry generalizations. We use it to compute the four\npoint function of the scalar field $\\phi$ up to $\\epsilon^2$. We also do a\nlarge spin bootstrap approach to the same model up to order $\\epsilon^2$ and\ncheck that both results agree."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Decorated $\\mathbb{Z}_{2}$ Symmetry Defects and Their Time-Reversal\n  Anomalies: We discuss an isomorphism between the possible anomalies of\n$(d+1)$-dimensional quantum field theories with $\\mathbb{Z}_{2}$ unitary global\nsymmetry, and those of $d$-dimensional quantum field theories with\ntime-reversal symmetry $\\mathsf{T}$. This correspondence is an instance of\nsymmetry defect decoration. The worldvolume of a $\\mathbb{Z}_{2}$ symmetry\ndefect is naturally invariant under $\\mathsf{T},$ and bulk $\\mathbb{Z}_{2}$\nanomalies descend to $\\mathsf{T}$ anomalies on these defects. We illustrate\nthis correspondence in detail for $(1+1)d$ bosonic systems where the bulk\n$\\mathbb{Z}_{2}$ anomaly leads to a Kramers degeneracy in the symmetry defect\nHilbert space, and exhibit examples. We also discuss $(1+1)d$ fermion systems\nprotected by $\\mathbb{Z}_{2}$ global symmetry where interactions lead to a\n$\\mathbb{Z}_{8}$ classification of anomalies. Under the correspondence, this is\ndirectly related to the $\\mathbb{Z}_{8}$ classification of $(0+1)d$ fermions\nprotected by $\\mathsf{T}$. Finally, we consider $(3+1)d$ bosonic systems with\n$\\mathbb{Z}_{2}$ symmetry where the possible anomalies are classified by\n$\\mathbb{Z}_{2}\\times \\mathbb{Z}_{2}$. We construct topological field theories\nrealizing these anomalies and show that their associated symmetry defects\nsupport anyons that can be either fermions or Kramers doublets.",
        "positive": "Restricting affine Toda theory to the half-line: We restrict affine Toda field theory to the half-line by imposing certain\nboundary conditions at $x=0$. The resulting theory possesses the same spectrum\nof solitons and breathers as affine Toda theory on the whole line. The\nclassical solutions describing the reflection of these particles off the\nboundary are obtained from those on the whole line by a kind of method of\nmirror images. Depending on the boundary condition chosen, the mirror must be\nplaced either at, in front, or behind the boundary. We observe that incoming\nsolitons are converted into outgoing antisolitons during reflection. Neumann\nboundary conditions allow additional solutions which are interpreted as\nboundary excitations (boundary breathers). For $a_n^{(1)}$ and $c_n^{(1)}$ Toda\ntheories, on which we concentrate mostly, the boundary conditions which we\nstudy are among the integrable boundary conditions classified by Corrigan\net.al. As applications of our work we study the vacuum solutions of real\ncoupling Toda theory on the half-line and we perform semiclassical calculations\nwhich support recent conjectures for the $a_2^{(1)}$ soliton reflection\nmatrices by Gandenberger."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Unstable Behaviours of Classical Solutions in Spinor-type Conformal\n  Invariant Fermionic Models: It is well known that instantons are classical topological solutions existing\nin the context of quantum field theories that lie behind the standard model of\nparticles. To provide a better understanding for the dynamical nature of\nspinor-type instanton solutions, conformal invariant pure spinor fermionic\nmodels that admit particle-like solutions for the derived classical field\nequations are studied in this work under cosine wave forcing. For this purpose\nthe effects of external periodic forcing on two systems having different\ndimensions and quantum spinor numbers and have been obtained under the use of\nHeisenberg ansatz are investigated by constructing their Poincar\\'e sections in\nphase space. As a result, bifurcations and chaos are observed depending on the\nexcitation amplitude of the external forcing in both pure spinor fermionic\nmodels.",
        "positive": "Nut Charge, Anti-de Sitter Space and Entropy: It has been proposed that spacetimes with a U(1) isometry group have\ncontributions to the entropy from Misner strings as well as from the area of\n$d-2$ dimensional fixed point sets. In this paper we test this proposal by\nconstructing Taub-Nut-AdS and Taub-Bolt-AdS solutions which are examples of a\nnew class of asymptotically locally anti-de Sitter spaces. We find that with\nthe additional contribution from the Misner strings, we exactly reproduce the\nentropy calculated from the action by the usual thermodynamic relations. This\nentropy has the right parameter dependence to agree with the entropy of a\nconformal field theory on the boundary, which is a squashed three-sphere, at\nleast in the limit of large squashing. However the conformal field theory and\nthe normalisation of the entropy remain to be determined."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Generalized statistics and the algebra of observables: A short review is given of how to apply the algebraic Heisenberg quantization\nscheme to a system of identical particles. For two particles in one dimension\nthe approach leads to a generalization of the Bose and Fermi description which\ncan be expressed in the form of a 1/x^2 statistics interaction between the\nparticles. For an N-particle system it is shown how a particular\ninfinite-dimensional algebra arises as a generalization of the su(1,1) algebra\nwhich is present for the two-particle system.",
        "positive": "Vacuum currents in braneworlds on AdS bulk with compact dimensions: The two-point function and VEV of the current density are investigated for a\nmassive charged scalar field with arbitrary curvature coupling in the geometry\nof a brane on background of AdS spacetime with partial toroidal\ncompactification.The presence of a gauge field flux enclosed by compact\ndimensions is assumed.On the brane the field obeys Robin boundary condition and\nalong compact dimensions periodicity conditions with general phases are\nimposed.There is a range in the space of values for the coefficient in the\nboundary condition where Poincare vacuum is unstable.This range depends on the\nbrane location.In models with compact dimensions the stability condition is\nless restrictive than for AdS bulk with trivial topology.Vacuum charge density\nand components of current along non-compact dimensions vanish. VEV of the\ncurrent density along compact dimensions is a periodic function of the gauge\nfield flux with a period equal to the flux quantum.It is decomposed into the\nboundary-free and brane-induced contributions.The asymptotic behavior of the\nlatter is investigated near the brane, AdS boundary and horizon.In contrast to\nVEVs of the field squared and energy-momentum tensor, current density is finite\non brane and vanishes for the special case of Dirichlet boundary condition.Both\nboundary-free and brane-induced contributions vanish on AdS\nboundary.Brane-induced contribution vanishes on the horizon and for points near\nthe horizon the current is dominated by the boundary-free part.In the\nnear-horizon limit, the latter is connected to the corresponding quantity for a\nmassless field in the Minkowski bulk by a simple conformal relation.Depending\non the value of the Robin coefficient, the presence of the brane can either\nincrease or decrease the vacuum currents. Applications are given for a\nhigher-dimensional version of the Randall-Sundrum 1-brane model"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Extended Soliton Solutions in an Effective Action for SU(2) Yang-Mills\n  Theory: The Skyrme-Faddeev-Niemi (SFN) model which is an O(3) $\\sigma$ model in three\ndimensional space up to fourth-order in the first derivative is regarded as a\nlow-energy effective theory of SU(2) Yang-Mills theory. One can show from the\nWilsonian renormalization group argument that the effective action of\nYang-Mills theory recovers the SFN in the infrared region. However, the theory\ncontains an additional fourth-order term which destabilizes the soliton\nsolution. We apply the perturbative treatment to the second derivative term in\norder to exclude (or reduce) the ill behavior of the original action and show\nthat the SFN model with the second derivative term possesses soliton solutions.",
        "positive": "Classical Functional Bethe Ansatz for $SL(N)$: separation of variables\n  for the magnetic chain: The Functional Bethe Ansatz (FBA) proposed by Sklyanin is a method which\ngives separation variables for systems for which an $R$-matrix is known.\nPreviously the FBA was only known for $SL(2)$ and $SL(3)$ (and associated)\n$R$-matrices. In this paper I advance Sklyanin's program by giving the FBA for\ncertain systems with $SL(N)$ $R$-matrices. This is achieved by constructing\nrational functions $\\A(u)$ and $\\B(u)$ of the matrix elements of $T(u)$, so\nthat, in the generic case, the zeros $x_i$ of $\\B(u)$ are the separation\ncoordinates and the $P_i=\\A(x_i)$ provide their conjugate momenta. The method\nis illustrated with the magnetic chain and the Gaudin model, and its wider\napplicability is discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "String Theory and the Fuzzy Torus: We outline a brief description of non commutative geometry and present some\napplications in string theory. We use the fuzzy torus as our guiding example.",
        "positive": "Instabilities of the Small Black Hole: a view from N=4 SYM: We compute a one-loop effective action for the constant modes of the scalars\nand the Polyakov loop matrix of N=4 SYM on S^3 at finite temperature and weak\n't Hooft coupling. Above a critical temperature, the effective potential\ndevelops new unstable directions accompanied by new saddle points which only\npreserve an SO(5) subgroup of the SO(6) global R-symmetry. We identify this\nphenomenon as the weak coupling version of the well known Gregory-Laflamme\nlocalization instability in the gravity dual of the strongly coupled field\ntheory: The small AdS_5 black hole when viewed as a ten dimensional,\nasymptotically AdS_5 X S^5 solution smeared on the S^5 is unstable to\nlocalization on S^5. Our effective potential, in a specific Lorentzian\ncontinuation, can provide a qualitative holographic description of the decay of\nthe \"topological black hole'' into the AdS bubble of nothing."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic and Wilsonian Renormalization Groups: We develop parallels between the holographic renormalization group in the\nbulk and the Wilsonian renormalization group in the dual field theory. Our\nphilosophy differs from most previous work on the holographic RG; the most\nnotable feature is the key role of multi-trace operators. We work out the forms\nof various single- and double-trace flows. The key question, `what cutoff on\nthe field theory corresponds to a radial cutoff in the bulk?' is left\nunanswered, but by sharpening the analogy between the two sides we identify\npossible directions.",
        "positive": "Quantum vacuum energies and Casimir forces between partially transparent\n  $\u03b4$-function plates: In this paper the quantum vacuum energies induced by massive fluctuations of\none real scalar field on a configuration of two partially transparent plates\nare analysed. The physical properties of the infinitely thin plates are\ncharacterized by two Dirac-$\\delta$ potentials. We find that an\nattractive/repulsive Casimir force arises between the plates when the weights\nof the $\\delta$'s have equal/different sign. If some of the plates absorbs\nfluctuations below some threshold of energy (the corresponding weight is\nnegative) there is the need to set a minimum mass to the scalar field\nfluctuations to preserve unitarity in the corresponding quantum field theory.\nTwo repulsive $\\delta$-interactions are compatible with massless fluctuations.\nThe effect of Dirichlet boundary conditions at the endpoints of the interval\n$(-a,a)$ on a massless scalar quantum field theory defined on this interval is\ntantamount letting the weights of the repulsive $\\delta$-interactions to\n$+\\infty$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Twistor approach to higher-spin theories and matrix model: We discuss recent endeavours in connecting twistor theory to higher-spin\ntheories and the IKKT- matrix model. Starting with a brief review on\nhigher-spin algebra hs in four-dimensional target space, we elucidate how\nhigher-spin symmetry can be encoded in hs-valued sections/holomorphic\ndifferential forms on (non-commutative) twistor space. This provides an\nefficient way to construct local higher-spin theories in spacetime from some\nactions on (non-commutative) twistor space. Remarkably, some higher-spin\ntheories obtained within the framework of twistor theory can have non-trivial\nscattering amplitudes in flat space.",
        "positive": "Dynamical SUSY Breaking at Meta-Stable Minima from D-branes at\n  Obstructed Geometries: We study the existence of long-lived meta-stable supersymmetry breaking vacua\nin gauge theories with massless quarks, upon the addition of extra massive\nflavors. A simple realization is provided by a modified version of SQCD with\nN_{f,0} < N_c massless flavors, N_{f,1} massive flavors and additional singlet\nchiral fields. This theory has local meta-stable minima separated from a\nrunaway behavior at infinity by a potential barrier. We find further examples\nof such meta-stable minima in flavored versions of quiver gauge theories on\nfractional branes at singularities with obstructed complex deformations, and\nstudy the case of the dP_1 theory in detail. Finally, we provide an explicit\nString Theory construction of such theories. The additional flavors arise from\nD7-branes on non-compact 4-cycles of the singularity, for which we find a new\nefficient description using dimer techniques."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On primordial trispectrum from exchanging scalar modes in general\n  multiple field inflationary models: We make an complementary investigation of the primordial trispectrum from\nexchanging intermediate scalar modes in multi-field inflation models with\ngeneralized kinetic terms. Together with the calculation of irreducible\ncontributions to the primordial trispectrum in Ref.[103], we give the full\nleading-order primordial trispectrum in generalized multi-field models.",
        "positive": "Chirally Symmetric Phase of Supersymmetric Gluodynamics: We argue that supersymmetric gluodynamics (theory of gluons and gluinos) has\na condensate-free phase. Unlike the standard phase, the discrete axial symmetry\nof the Lagrangian is unbroken in this phase, and the gluino condensate does not\ndevelop. Extra unconventional vacua are supersymmetric and are characterized by\nthe presence of (bosonic and fermionic) massless bound states. A set of\narguments in favor of the conjecture includes: (i) analysis of the effective\nLagrangian of the Veneziano-Yankielowicz type which we amend to properly\nincorporate all symmetries of the model; (ii) consideration of an unsolved\nproblem with the Witten index; (iii) interpretation of a mismatch between the\nstrong-coupling and weak coupling instanton calculations of the gluino\ncondensate detected previously. Impact on Seiberg's results is briefly\ndiscussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Finite N Quiver Gauge Theory: At finite N the number of restricted Schur polynomials is greater than or\nequal to the number of generalized restricted Schur polynomials. In this note\nwe study this discrepancy and explain its origin. We conclude that, for quiver\ngauge theories, in general, the generalized restricted Schur polynomials\ncorrectly account for the complete set of finite N constraints and they provide\na basis, while the restricted Schur polynomials only account for a subset of\nthe finite N constraints and are thus overcomplete. We identify several\nsituations in which the restricted Schur polynomials do in fact account for the\ncomplete set of finite N constraints. In these situations the restricted Schur\npolynomials and the generalized restricted Schur polynomials both provide good\nbases for the quiver gauge theory. Finally, we demonstrate situations in which\nthe generalized restricted Schur polynomials reduce to the restricted Schur\npolynomials.",
        "positive": "A sufficient condition for de Sitter vacua in type IIB string theory: We derive a sufficient condition for realizing meta-stable de Sitter vacua\nwith small positive cosmological constant within type IIB string theory flux\ncompactifications with spontaneously broken supersymmetry. There are a number\nof `lamp post' constructions of de Sitter vacua in type IIB string theory and\nsupergravity. We show that one of them -- the method of `K\\\"ahler uplifting' by\nF-terms from an interplay between non-perturbative effects and the leading\n$\\alpha'$-correction -- allows for a more general parametric understanding of\nthe existence of de Sitter vacua. The result is a condition on the values of\nthe flux induced superpotential and the topological data of the Calabi-Yau\ncompactification, which guarantees the existence of a meta-stable de Sitter\nvacuum if met. Our analysis explicitly includes the stabilization of all\nmoduli, i.e. the K\\\"ahler, dilaton and complex structure moduli, by the\ninterplay of the leading perturbative and non-perturbative effects at\nparametrically large volume."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Nonabelian Gauge Symmetry in the Causal Epstein-Glaser Approach: We present some generalizations of a recently proposed alternative approach\nto nonabelian gauge theories based on the causal Epstein-Glaser method in\nperturbative quantum field theory. Nonabelian gauge invariance is defined by a\nsimple commutator relation in every order of perturbation theory separately\nusing only the linear (abelian) BRS-transformations of the asymptotic fields.\nThis condition is sufficient for the unitarity of the S-matrix in the physical\nsubspace. We derive the most general specific coupling compatible with the\nconditions of nonabelian gauge invariance and normalizability. We explicitly\nshow that the quadrilinear terms, the four-gluon-coupling and the\nfour-ghost-coupling, are generated by our linear condition of nonabelian gauge\ninvariance. Moreover, we work out the required generalizations for linear\ngauges.",
        "positive": "Classical stability of higher-derivative q-theory in the\n  four-form-field-strength realization: We show that higher-derivative $q$-theory in the four-form-field-strength\nrealization does not suffer from the Ostrogradsky instability at the classical\nlevel."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Gonihedric Paradigm Extensions of the Ising Model: We suggest a generalization of the Feynman path integral to an integral over\nrandom surfaces. The proposed action is proportional to the linear size of the\nrandom surfaces and is called gonihedric. The convergence and the properties of\nthe partition function are analysed. The model can also be formulated as a spin\nsystem with identical partition function. The spin system represents a\ngeneralisation of the Ising model with ferromagnetic, antiferromagnetic and\nquartic interactions. Higher symmetry of the model allows to construct dual\nspin systems in three and four dimensions. In three dimensions the transfer\nmatrix describes the propagation of closed loops and we found its exact\nspectrum. It is a unique exact solution of the tree-dimensional statistical\nspin system. In three and four dimensions the system exhibits the second order\nphase transitions. The gonihedric spin systems have exponentially degenerated\nvacuum states separated by the potential barriers and can be used as a storage\nof binary information.",
        "positive": "Reconstructing the Bulk Dual of ABJM from Holographic Entanglement\n  Entropy: Recent work has shown that entanglement and the structure of spacetime are\nintimately related. One way to investigate this is to begin with an\nentanglement entropy in a conformal field theory (CFT) and use the AdS/CFT\ncorrespondence to calculate the bulk metric. We perform this calculation for\nABJM, a particular 3-dimensional supersymmetric CFT (SCFT), in its ground\nstate. In particular we are able to reconstruct the pure AdS4 metric from the\nholographic entanglement entropy of the boundary ABJM theory in its ground\nstate. Moreover, we are able to predict the correct AdS radius purely from\nentanglement. We also address the general philosophy of relating entanglement\nand spacetime through the Holographic Principle, as well as some of the\nphilosophy behind our calculations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the alternative formulation of the three-dimensional noncommutative\n  superspace: In this paper we propose a new version for the noncommutative superspace in\n3D. This version is shown to be convenient for performing quantum calculations.\nIn the paper, we use the theory of the chiral superfield as a prototype for\npossible generalizations, calculating the one-loop two-point function of a\nchiral supefield and the one-loop low-energy effective action in this theory.",
        "positive": "Holographic RG flows and transport coefficients in\n  Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet-Maxwell theory: We apply the membrane paradigm and the holographic Wilsonian approach to the\nEinstein-Gauss-Bonnet-Maxwell theory. The transport coefficients for a\nquark-gluon plasma living on the cutoff surface are derived in a spacetime of\ncharged black brane. Because of the mixing of the Gauss-Bonnet coupling and the\nMaxwell fields, the vector modes/shear modes of the metric and Maxwell\nfluctuations turn out to be very difficult to decouple. We firstly evaluate the\nAC conductivity at a finite cutoff surface by solving the equation of motion\nnumerically, then manage to derive the radial flow of DC conductivity with the\nuse of the Kubo formula. It turns out that our analytical results match the\nnumerical data in low frequency limit very well. The diffusion constant\n$D(u_c)$ is also derived in a long wavelength expansion limit. We find it\ndepends on the Gauss-Bonnet coupling as well as the position of the cutoff\nsurface."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Remarks on the renormalization of gauge invariant operators in\n  Yang-Mills theory: A simplified proof of a theorem by Joglekar and Lee on the renormalization of\nlocal gauge invariant operators in Yang-Mills theory is given. It is based on\n(i) general properties of the antifield-antibracket formalism; and (ii)\nwell-established results on the cohomology of semi-simple Lie algebras.",
        "positive": "Scientific Biography of Stanley Mandelstam, Part I: 1955-1980: I review Stanley Mandelstam's many contributions to particle physics, quantum\nfield theory and string theory covering the years 1955 through 1980. His more\nrecent work will be reviewed by Nathan Berkovits. This is my contribution to\nthe Memorial Volume for Stanley Mandelstam (World Scientific, 2017)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Anomaly free U(1) chiral gauge theories on a two dimensional torus: We consider anomaly free combinations of chiral fermions coupled to $U(1)$\ngauge fields on a 2D torus first in the continuum and then on the lattice in\nthe overlap formulation. Both in the continuum and on the lattice, when the\nbackground consists of sufficiently large constant gauge potentials the action\ninduced by the fermions varies significantly under certain singular gauge\ntransformations. ``Ruling away'' such discontinuities cannot be justified in\nthe continuum framework and does not naturally fit on the lattice. Complete\ngauge invariance in the continuum can be restored in some models by choosing\nspecial boundary conditions for the fermions. Evidence is presented that gauge\naveraging the overlap phases in these models produces correct continuum\nresults.",
        "positive": "The dyon spectra of finite gauge theories: It is shown that all the (p,q) dyon bound states exist and are unique in N=4\nand N=2 with four massless flavours supersymmetric SU(2) Yang-Mills theories,\nwhere p and q are any relatively prime integers. The proof can be understood in\nthe context of field theory alone, and does not rely on any duality assumption.\nWe also give a general physical argument showing that these theories should\nhave at least an exact Gamma(2) duality symmetry, and then deduce in particular\nthe existence of the (2p,2q) vector multiplets in the Nf=4 theory. The\ncorresponding massive theories are studied in parallel, and it is shown that\nthough in these cases the spectrum is no longer self-dual at a given point on\nthe moduli space, it is still in perfect agreement with an exact S duality. We\nalso discuss the interplay between our results and both the semiclassical\nquantization and the heterotic-type II string-string duality conjecture."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Topological classes of thermodynamics of the rotating charged AdS black\n  holes in gauged supergravities: In this paper, we explore the topological numbers of the rotating charged AdS\nblack holes in four- and five-dimensional gauged supergravity theories within\nthe framework of the thermodynamical topological approach to black holes,\nadopting the generalized off-shell Helmholtz free energy. We demonstrate that\nthe number of the rotation parameters has a considerable effect on the\ntopological numbers of the five-dimensional rotating AdS black holes.\nFurthermore, we indicate that the topological numbers of the four- and\nfive-dimensional rotating AdS black holes are blind to the number of the\nelectric charge parameters.",
        "positive": "Bit thread, entanglement distillation, and entanglement of purification: We investigate the relations between bit thread, entanglement distillation\nand entanglement of purification in the holographic framework. Specifically, we\ngive a bit thread interpretation for the one-shot entanglement distillation\n(OSED) tensor network, which can be understood as reconstructing the geometric\nstructure of the bulk spacetime from the entanglement information of the\nboundary quantum system through the \"surface growth scheme\". Moreover, by\nshowing that the holographic entanglement of purification (EoP) process can be\nregarded as a special case of our \"surface growth scheme\", we naturally obtain\nthe bit thread interpretation of the holographic EoP in our framework, which\nturns out to be different from the existing interpretations. Since our\ninterpretation for holographic EoP is obtained in a more general and physical\nframework, the advantage of our version is that it is more natural, and\npossibly more reasonable to reflect the real physical entanglement structures."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Liouville three-point function: The recently proposed expression for the general three point function of\nexponential fields in quantum Liouville theory on the sphere is considered. By\nexploiting locality or crossing symmetry in the case of those four-point\nfunctions, which may be expressed in terms of hypergeometric functions, a set\nof functional equations is found for the general three point function. It is\nshown that the expression proposed by the Zamolodchikovs solves these\nfunctional equations and that under certain assumptions the solution is unique.",
        "positive": "A Holographic Entanglement Entropy at Spi: Defining finite entanglement entropy for a subregion in quantum field theory\nrequires the introduction of two logically independent scales: an IR scale that\ncontrols the size of the subregion, and a UV cut-off. In AdS/CFT, the IR scale\nis the AdS lengthscale, the UV cut-off is the bulk radial cut-off, and the\nsubregion is specified by dimensionless angles. This is the data that\ndetermines Ryu-Takayanagi surfaces and their areas in AdS/CFT. We argue that in\nasymptotically flat space there exists the notion of a \"spi-subregion\" that one\ncan associate to spatial infinity (spi). Even though geometrically quite\ndifferent from an AdS subregion, this angle data has the crucial feature that\nit allows an interpretation as a bi-partitioning of spi. Therefore, the area of\nthe RT surface associated to the spi-subregion can be interpreted as the\nentanglement entropy of the reduced density matrix of the bulk state under this\nbi-partition, as in AdS/CFT. For symmetric spi-subregions, these RT surfaces\nare the waists of Asymptotic Causal Diamonds. In empty flat space they reduce\nto Rindler horizons, and are analogues of the AdS-Rindler horizons of Casini,\nHuerta \\& Myers. We connect these definitions to previous work on minimal\nsurfaces anchored to screens in empty space, but also generalize the discussion\nto the case where there are black holes in the bulk. The phases of black hole\nRT surfaces as the spi-subregion is varied, naturally connect with those of\nblack holes (small and large) in AdS. A key observation is that the radial\ncut-off is associated to an IR scale in flat space -- and in fact there are no\nUV divergences. We argue that this is consistent with previous suggestions that\nin sub-AdS scales the holographic duality is an IR/IR correspondence and that\nthe degrees of freedom are {\\em not} those of a local QFT, but those of long\nstrings. Strings are of course, famously UV finite."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Abelian Decomposition of Sp(2N) Yang-Mills Theory: In the previous paper, we generalized the method of Abelian decomposition to\nthe case of SO(N) Yang-Mills theory. This method that was proposed by Faddeev\nand Niemi introduces a set of variables for describing the infrared limit of a\nYang-Mills theory. Here, we extend the decomposition method further to the\ngeneral case of four-dimensional Sp(2N) Yang-Mills theory. We find that the\nSp(2N) connection decomposes according to irreducible representations of SO(N).",
        "positive": "Toroidal Orbifold Models with a Wess-Zumino Term: Closed bosonic string theory on toroidal orbifolds is studied in a Lagrangian\npath integral formulation. It is shown that a level one twisted WZW action\nwhose field value is restricted to Cartan subgroups of simply-laced Lie groups\non a Riemann surface is a natural and nontrivial extension of a first quantized\naction of string theory on orbifolds with an antisymmetric background field."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "(4,4) superfield supergravity: We present the N=4 superspace constraints for the two-dimensional (2d)\noff-shell (4,4) supergravity with the superfield strengths expressed in terms\nof a (4,4) twisted (scalar) multiplet TM-I, as well as the corresponding\ncomponent results, in a form suitable for applications. The constraints are\nshown to be invariant under the N=4 super-Weyl transformations, whose N=4\nsuperfield parameters form another twisted (scalar) multiplet TM-II. To solve\nthe constraints, we propose the Ansatz which makes the N=4 superconformal\nflatness of the N=4 supergravity curved superspace manifest. The locally (4,4)\nsupersymmetric TM-I matter couplings, with the potential terms resulting from\nspontaneous supersymmetry breaking, are constructed. We also find the full\n(4,4) superconformally invariant (improved) TM-II matter action. The latter can\nbe extended to the (4,4) locally supersymmetric Liouville action which is\nsuitable for describing (4,4) supersymmetric non-critical strings.",
        "positive": "Dirac-Born-Infeld Counter-Term and Black Hole Thermodynamics: We revisit the Dirac-Born-Infeld--like boundary counter-term for four\ndimensional theory of gravity. We show that it correctly executes complete\nbackground subtraction for both asymptotically AdS and asymptotically flat\ngeometries. With an appropriate choice of ensemble, we reproduce dyonic black\nhole thermodynamics with both types of asymptotics by studying local\nthermodynamics on the cut-off surface."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Comments on M$_{24}$ representations and $CY_3$ geometries: We show using string dualities that Mathieu moonshine controls Gromov-Witten\ninvariants and periods of the holomorphic 3-form $\\Omega$ for certain $CY_3$\nmanifolds. We also discuss how the period vectors appear in flux\ncompactifications on these $CY_3$ manifolds and work out the connection between\nthe sporadic group M$_{24}$ and the Yukawa couplings in four dimensional\ntheories that arise from heterotic string theory compactifications on these\n$CY_3$ manifolds.",
        "positive": "AdS/BCFT from Conformal Bootstrap: Construction of Gravity with Branes\n  and Particles: We initiate a conformal bootstrap program to study AdS3/BCFT2 with heavy\nexcitations. We start by solving the bootstrap equations associated with\ntwo-point functions of scalar/non-scalar primaries under the assumption that\none-point functions vanish. These correspond to gravity with a brane and a\nnon-spinning/spinning particle where the brane and the particle do not\nintersect with each other. From the bootstrap equations, we obtain the energy\nspectrum and the modified black hole threshold. We then carefully analyze the\ngravity duals and find the results perfectly match the BCFT analysis. In\nparticular, brane self-intersections, which are usually considered to be\nproblematic, are nicely avoided by the black hole formation. Despite the\nassumption to solve the bootstrap equations, one-point functions of scalar\nprimaries can be non-zero in general. We construct the holographic dual for a\nnon-vanishing one-point function, in which the heavy particle can end on the\nbrane, by holographically computing the Renyi entropy in AdS/BCFT. As a bonus,\nwe find a refined formula for the holographic Renyi entropy, which appears to\nbe crucial to correctly reproduce the boundary entropy term. On the other hand,\nwe explain why one-point functions of non-scalar primaries always vanish from\nthe gravity dual. The independence of the bootstrap equations to the boundary\nentropy helps us to construct gravity duals with negative tension branes. We\nalso find a holographic dual of boundary primaries."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Braneworld Universe From Colliding Bubbles: Much work has been devoted to the phenomenology and cosmology of the\nso-called braneworld universe, where our (3+1)-dimensional universe lies on a\nbrane surrounded by a (4+1)-dimensional bulk spacetime that is essentially\nempty except for a negative cosmological constant and the various modes\nassociated with gravity. For such a braneworld cosmology, the difficulty of\njustifying some preferred initial conditions inevitably arises. The various\nproposals for inflation restricted to the brane only partially explain the\nhomogeneity and isotropy of the resulting braneworld universe because the\nhomogeneity and isotropy of the bulk must be assumed. We propose a mechanism by\nwhich a brane surrounded by AdS space arises naturally so that the homogeneity\nand isotropy of both the brane and the bulk are guaranteed. We postulate an\ninitial false vacuum phase of (4+1)-dimensional Minkowski or de Sitter space\nsubsequently decaying to a true vacuum of anti-de Sitter space, assumed\ndiscretely degenerate. This decay takes place through bubble nucleation. When\ntwo bubbles of the true AdS vacuum collide, a brane (or domain wall) inevitably\nforms between the two AdS phases. We live on this brane. The SO(3,1) symmetry\nof the collision geometry ensures the three-dimensional spatial homogeneity and\nisotropy of the universe on the brane as well as of the bulk. In the\nsemi-classical limit, this symmetry is exact. We sketch how the leading quantum\ncorrections translate into cosmological perturbations.",
        "positive": "Is volume the holographic dual of fidelity susceptibility?: It was proposed by Miyaji et al. that the fidelity susceptibility of a state\nof a conformal field theory under a marginal deformation is holographically\ndual to the volume of a maximal time slice in the dual Anti de Sitter\nspacetime. We study this proposal by analyzing the leading and subleading\ndivergences in these two quantities in two specific scenarios. We find that\nalthough the structure of the divergences in these two quantities is similar,\ntheir numerical coefficients are inconsistent with an exact relationship\nbetween these two quantities."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Clifford analysis approach to superspace: A new framework for studying superspace is given, based on methods from\nClifford analysis. This leads to the introduction of both orthogonal and\nsymplectic Clifford algebra generators, allowing for an easy and canonical\nintroduction of a super-Dirac operator, a super-Laplace operator and the like.\nThis framework is then used to define a super-Hodge coderivative, which,\ntogether with the exterior derivative, factorizes the Laplace operator. Finally\nboth the cohomology of the exterior derivative and the homology of the Hodge\noperator on the level of polynomial-valued super-differential forms are\nstudied. This leads to some interesting graphical representations and provides\na better insight in the definition of the Berezin-integral.",
        "positive": "Leptogenesis from Gravity Waves in Models of Inflation: We present a new mechanism for creating the observed cosmic matter-antimatter\nasymmetry which satisfies all three Sakharov conditions from one common thread,\ngravitational waves. We generate lepton number through the gravitational\nanomaly in the lepton number current. The source term comes from elliptically\npolarizated gravity waves that are produced during inflation if the inflaton\nfield contains a CP-odd component. In simple inflationary scenarios, the\ngenerated matter asymmetry is very small. We describe some special conditions\nin which our mechanism can give a matter asymmetry of realistic size."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Multi-Field Coset Space Realizations of $w_{1+\\infty}$: We extend the coset space formulation of the one-field realization of\n$w_{1+\\infty}$ to include more fields as the coset parameters. This can be done\neither by choosing a smaller stability subalgebra in the nonlinear realization\nof $w_{1+\\infty}$ symmetry, or by considering a nonlinear realization of some\nextended symmetry, or by combining both options. We show that all these\npossibilities give rise to the multi-field realizations of $w_{1+\\infty}$. We\ndeduce the two-field realization of $w_{1+\\infty}$ proceeding from a coset\nspace of the symmetry group $\\tilde{G}$ which is an extension of $w_{1+\\infty}$\nby the second self-commuting set of higher spin currents. Next, starting with\nthe unextended $w_{1+\\infty}$ but placing all its spin 2 generators into the\ncoset, we obtain a new two-field realization of $w_{1+\\infty}$ which\nessentially involves a $2D$ dilaton. In order to construct the invariant action\nfor this system we add one more field and so get a new three-field realization\nof $w_{1+\\infty}$. We re-derive it within the coset space approach, by applying\nthe latter to an extended symmetry group $\\hat{G}$ which is a nonlinear\ndeformation of $\\tilde{G}$. Finally we present some multi-field generalizations\nof our three-field realization and discuss several intriguing parallels with\n$N=2$ strings and conformal affine Toda theories.",
        "positive": "Classical Observables using Exponentiated Spin factors: Electromagnetic\n  Scattering: In [arXiv:1906.10100], the authors argued that the Newman-Janis symmetry on\nthe space of classical solutions in general relativity and electromagnetism\ncould be used in the space of scattering amplitudes to map an amplitude with\nexternal scalar states to an amplitude associated to the scattering of\n``infinite spin particles''. The minimal coupling of these particles to the\ngravitational or Maxwell field is equivalent to the classical coupling of the\nKerr black hole with linearized gravity or the so-called $\\sqrt{\\text{Kerr}}$\ncharged state with the electromagnetic field. The action of the Newman-Janis\nsymmetry on scattering amplitudes was then used to compute the linear impulse\nat first post-Minkowskian (1PM) order, via the Kosower, Maybee, O'Connell\n(KMOC) formalism. In this paper, we continue with the idea of using the\nNewman-Janis symmetry on the space of scalar QED amplitudes to compute\nclassical observables such as the radiative gauge field and the angular\nimpulse. We show that for tree-level amplitudes, the Newman-Janis symmetry\naction can be reinterpreted as a dressing of the photon propagator. This turns\nout to be an efficient way to compute these classical observables. Along the\nway, we highlight a subtlety that arises in proving the conservation of angular\nmomentum for scalar -$\\sqrt{\\text{Kerr}}$ scattering."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Line defects and (framed) BPS quivers: The BPS spectrum of certain N=2 supersymmetric field theories can be\ndetermined algebraically by studying the representation theory of BPS quivers.\nWe introduce methods based on BPS quivers to study line defects. The presence\nof a line defect opens up a new BPS sector: framed BPS states can be bound to\nthe defect. The defect can be geometrically described in terms of laminations\non a curve. To a lamination we associate certain elements of the Leavitt path\nalgebra of the BPS quiver and use them to compute the framed BPS spectrum. We\nalso provide an alternative characterization of line defects by introducing\nframed BPS quivers. Using the theory of (quantum) cluster algebras, we derive\nan algorithm to compute the framed BPS spectra of new defects from known ones.\nLine defects are generated from a framed BPS quiver by applying certain\nsequences of mutation operations. Framed BPS quivers also behave nicely under a\nset of \"cut and join\" rules, which can be used to study how N=2 systems with\ndefects couple to produce more complicated ones. We illustrate our formalism\nwith several examples.",
        "positive": "Fundamental String Solutions in Open String Field Theories: In Witten's open cubic bosonic string field theory and Berkovits' superstring\nfield theory we investigate solutions of the equations of motion with\nappropriate source terms, which correspond to Callan-Maldacena solution in\nBorn-Infeld theory representing fundamental strings ending on the D-branes. The\nsolutions are given in order by order manner, and we show some full order\nproperties in the sense of (alpha)'-expansion. In superstring case we show that\nthe solution is 1/2 BPS in full order."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Algebras in Higher Dimensional Statistical Mechanics - the Exceptional\n  Partition (MEAN Field) Algebras: We determine the structure of the partition algebra $P_n(Q)$ (a generalized\nTemperley-Lieb algebra) for specific values of $Q \\in \\C$, focusing on the\nquotient which gives rise to the partition function of $n$ site $Q$-state Potts\nmodels (in the continuous $Q$ formulation) in arbitrarily high lattice\ndimensions (the mean field case). The algebra is non-semi-simple iff $Q$ is a\nnon-negative integer less than $n$. We determine the dimension of the key\nirreducible representation in every specialization.",
        "positive": "Infrared and Ultraviolet Finiteness of Topological BF Theory in Two\n  Dimensions: The two--dimensional topological BF model is considered in the Landau gauge\nin the framework of perturbation theory. Due to the singular behaviour of the\nghost propagator at long distances, a mass term to the ghost fields is\nintroduced as infrared regulator. Relying on the supersymmetric algebraic\nstructure of the resulting massive theory, we study the infrared and\nultraviolet renormalizability of the model, with the outcome that it is\nperturbatively finite."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Vortices in De Sitter Spacetimes: We investigate vortex solutions to the Abelian Higgs field equations in a\nfour dimensional de Sitter spacetime background. We obtain both static and\ndynamic solutions with axial symmetry that are generalizations of the\nNielsen-Olesen gauge vortices in flat spacetime. The static solution is located\nin the static patch of de Sitter space. We numerically solve the field\nequations in an inflationary (big bang) patch and find a time dependent vortex\nsoution, whose effect to create a deficit angle in the spacetime. We show that\nthis solution can be interpreted in terms of a renormalization group flow in\naccord with a generalized {$c$}-theorem, providing evidence in favour of a\ndS/CFT correspondence.",
        "positive": "Topological Defects Formation with Momentum Dissipation: We employ holographic techniques to explore the effects of momentum\ndissipation on the formation of topological defects during the critical\ndynamics of a strongly coupled superconductor after a linear quench of\ntemperature. The gravity dual is the dRGT massive gravity in which the\nconservation of momentum in the boundary field theory is broken by the presence\nof a bulk graviton mass. From the scaling relations of defects number and\n\"freeze-out\" time to the quench rate for various graviton masses, we\ndemonstrate that the momentum dissipation induced by graviton mass has little\neffect on the scaling laws compared to the Kibble-Zurek mechanism. Inspired\nfrom Pippard's formula in condensed matter, we propose an analytic relation\nbetween the coherence length and the graviton mass, which agrees well with the\nnumerical results from the quasi-normal modes analysis. As a result, the\ncoherence length decreases with respect to the graviton mass, which indicates\nthat the momentum dissipation will augment the number of topological defects."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Geometric Construction of non-linear Sigma models with Q-ball/Q-kink\n  solutions: Non-linear Sigma models involving U(1) symmetry group are studied using a\ngeometrical formalism. In this type of models, Q-balls and Q-Kinks solutions\nare found. The geometrical framework described in this article allows the\nidentification of the necessary conditions on the metric and the potential to\nguarantee the existence of these Q-balls and Q-Kinks. Using this procedure,\nSigma models where both types of solutions coexist, have been identified. Only\nthe internal rotational frequency distinguishes which one of these defects will\narise.",
        "positive": "Thermodynamics of Asymptotically Conical Geometries: We study the thermodynamical properties of a class of asymptotically conical\n(AC) geometries known as \"subtracted geometries\". We derive the mass and\nangular momentum from the regulated Komar Integral and the Hawking-Horowitz\nprescription and show that they are equivalent. By deriving the asymptotic\ncharges we show that the Smarr formula and the first law of thermodynamics\nhold. We also propose an analog of Christodulou-Ruffini inequality. The\nanalysis can be generalized to other AC geometries."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the On-Shell: The Action of AdS$_4$ Black Holes: We compute the on-shell action of static, BPS black holes in AdS$_4$ from\n${\\cal N}=2$ gauged supergravity coupled to vector multiplets and show that it\nis equal to minus the entropy of the black hole. Holographic renormalization is\nused to demonstrate that with appropriate boundary conditions on the scalar\nfields, the divergent and finite contributions from the asymptotic boundary\nvanish. The entropy arises from the extrinsic curvature on $\\Sigma_g\\times S^1$\nevaluated at the horizon, where $\\Sigma_g$ may have any genus $g\\geq 0$. This\nprovides a clarification of the equivalence between the partition function of\nthe twisted ABJM theory on $\\Sigma_g\\times S^1$ and the entropy of the dual\nblack hole solutions. It also demonstrates that the complete entropy resides on\nthe AdS$_2\\times \\Sigma_g$ horizon geometry, implying the absence of hair for\nthese gravity solutions.",
        "positive": "Scattering Amplitudes for Binary Systems beyond GR: Amplitude methods have proven to be a promising technique to perform\nPost-Minkowskian calculations used as inputs to construct gravitational\nwaveforms. In this paper, we show how these methods can be extended beyond the\nstandard calculations in General Relativity with a minimal coupling to matter.\nAs proof of principle, we consider spinless particles conformally coupled to a\ngravitational helicity-0 mode. We clarify the subtleties in the matching\nprocedure that lead to the potential for conformally coupled matter. We show\nthat in the probe particle limit, we can reproduce well known results for the\nfield profile. With the scattering amplitudes at hand, we compute the\nconservative potential and scattering angle for the binary system. We find that\nthe result is a non trivial expansion that involves not only the coupling\nstrengths, but also a non trivial dependence on the energy/momentum of the\nscattered particles."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Loop calculations in the three dimensional Gribov-Zwanziger Lagrangian: The three dimensional Gribov-Zwanziger Lagrangian is analysed at one and two\nloops. Specifically, the two loop gap equation is evaluated and the Gribov mass\nis expressed in terms of the coupling constant. The one loop corrections to the\npropagators of all the fields are determined. It is shown that when the gap\nequation is satisfied the Faddeev-Popov ghost and both Bose and Grassmann\nlocalizing ghosts all enhance in the infrared limit at one loop. This verifies\nthat the Kugo-Ojima confinement criterion holds to this order and we also show\nthat both Grassmann ghosts are enhanced at two loops. For the Bose ghost we\ndetermine the full form of the propagator in the zero momentum limit for both\nthe transverse and longitudinal pieces and confirm Zwanziger's recent general\nanalysis for the low energy behaviour. We provide an alternative but equivalent\nversion of the horizon condition expressing it as the vacuum expectation value\nof an operator involving only the localizing Bose ghost field. The one loop\nstatic potential is also determined.",
        "positive": "Extended Effective Field Theory of Inflation: We present a general framework where the effective field theory of single\nfield inflation is extended by the inclusion of operators with mass dimension 3\nand 4 in the unitary gauge. These higher dimensional operators introduce\nquartic and sextic corrections to the dispersion relation. We study the regime\nof validity of this extended effective field theory of inflation and the effect\nof these higher dimensional operators on CMB observables associated with scalar\nperturbations, such as the speed of sound, the amplitude of the power spectrum\nand the tensor-to-scalar ratio. Tensor perturbations remain instead, unaltered."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chaos Rules out Integrability of Strings in AdS_5 x T^{1,1}: We show that certain classical string configurations in AdS_5 x T^{1,1} are\nchaotic. This answers the question of integrability of string on such\nbackgrounds in the negative. We consider a string localized in the center of\nAdS_5 that winds around two circles of T^{1,1}. The corresponding dynamical\nsystem is equivalent to two coupled gravitational pendula and allows a very\nintuitive understanding. We find conclusive evidence of chaotic behavior by\nsystematically analyzing the workings of the KAM theorem. We also show that the\nlargest Lyapunov exponent is positive.",
        "positive": "Fermi Coordinates and Penrose Limits: We propose a formulation of the Penrose plane wave limit in terms of null\nFermi coordinates. This provides a physically intuitive (Fermi coordinates are\ndirect measures of geodesic distance in space-time) and manifestly covariant\ndescription of the expansion around the plane wave metric in terms of\ncomponents of the curvature tensor of the original metric, and generalises the\ncovariant description of the lowest order Penrose limit metric itself, obtained\nin hep-th/0312029. We describe in some detail the construction of null Fermi\ncoordinates and the corresponding expansion of the metric, and then study\nvarious aspects of the higher order corrections to the Penrose limit. In\nparticular, we observe that in general the first-order corrected metric is such\nthat it admits a light-cone gauge description in string theory. We also\nestablish a formal analogue of the Weyl tensor peeling theorem for the Penrose\nlimit expansion in any dimension, and we give a simple derivation of the\nleading (quadratic) corrections to the Penrose limit of AdS_5 x S^5."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Algebra of Deformed Differential Operators and Induced Integrable Toda\n  Field Theory: We build in this paper the algebra of q-deformed pseudo-differential\noperators shown to be an essential step towards setting a q-deformed\nintegrability program. In fact, using the results of this q-deformed algebra,\nwe derive the q-analogues of the generalized KdV hierarchy. We focus in\nparticular on the first leading orders of this q-deformed hierarchy namely the\nq-KdV and q-Boussinesq integrable systems. We present also the q-generalization\nof the conformal transformations of the currents and discuss the primarity\ncondition of the fields by using the Volterra gauge group transformations for\nthe q-covariant Lax operators. An induced su(n)-Toda(su(2)-Liouville) field\ntheory construction is discussed and other important features are presented.",
        "positive": "G-Bounce: We present a wide class of models which realise a bounce in a spatially flat\nFriedmann universe in standard General Relativity. The key ingredient of the\ntheories we consider is a noncanonical, minimally coupled scalar field\nbelonging to the class of theories with Kinetic Gravity Braiding /\nGalileon-like self-couplings. In these models, the universe smoothly evolves\nfrom contraction to expansion, suffering neither from ghosts nor gradient\ninstabilities around the turning point. The end-point of the evolution can be a\nstandard radiation-domination era or an inflationary phase. We formulate\nnecessary restrictions for Lagrangians needed to obtain a healthy bounce and\nillustrate our results with phase portraits for simple systems including the\nrecently proposed Galilean Genesis scenario."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Noncommutative Burgers Equation: We present a noncommutative version of the Burgers equation which possesses\nthe Lax representation and discuss the integrability in detail. We find a\nnoncommutative version of the Cole-Hopf transformation and succeed in the\nlinearization of it. The linearized equation is the (noncommutative) diffusion\nequation and exactly solved. We also discuss the properties of some exact\nsolutions. The result shows that the noncommutative Burgers equation is\ncompletely integrable even though it contains infinite number of time\nderivatives. Furthermore, we derive the noncommutative Burgers equation from\nthe noncommutative (anti-)self-dual Yang-Mills equation by reduction, which is\nan evidence for the noncommutative Ward conjecture. Finally, we present a\nnoncommutative version of the Burgers hierarchy by both the Lax-pair generating\ntechnique and the Sato's approach.",
        "positive": "Doubling of background solution in 5D stabilized brane world model: We discuss a model providing two different stationary background solutions\nwith flat and $dS_{4}$ metric on the branes under the same values of the\nfundamental parameters. It is shown that only an additional fine-tuning of the\nbrane scalar field potentials can provide a separation between two background\nsolutions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Cosmic Censorship of Trans-Planckian Field Ranges in Gravitational\n  Collapse: A classical solution where the (scalar) field value moves by an ${\\cal O}(1)$\nrange in Planck units is believed to signal the breakdown of Effective Field\nTheory (EFT). One heuristic argument for this is that such a field will have\nenough energy to be inside its own Schwarzschild radius, and will result in\ncollapse. In this paper, we consider an inverse problem: what kind of field\nranges arise during the gravitational collapse of a classical field? Despite\nthe fact that collapse has been studied for almost a hundred years, most of the\ndiscussion is phrased in terms of fluid stress tensors, and not fields. An\nexception is the scalar collapse made famous by Choptuik. We re-consider\nChoptuik-like systems, but with the emphasis now on the evolution of the\nscalar. We give strong evidence that generic spherically symmetric collapse of\na massless scalar field leads to super-Planckian field movement. But we also\nnote that in every such supercritical collapse scenario, the large field range\nis hidden behind an apparent horizon. We also discuss how the familiar perfect\nfluid models for collapse like Oppenheimer-Snyder and Vaidya should be viewed\nin light of our results.",
        "positive": "On the Relation between Wilson Action and CJT Effective Action: A relation between Wilson action and the Cornwall-Jackiw-Tomboulis effective\naction, which was recently suggested by Periwal, is here derived using\npath-integral techniques."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Vacuum energy of the Bukhvostov-Lipatov model: Bukhvostov and Lipatov have shown that weakly interacting instantons and\nanti-instantons in the $O(3)$ non-linear sigma model in two dimensions are\ndescribed by an exactly soluble model containing two coupled Dirac fermions. We\npropose an exact formula for the vacuum energy of the model for twisted\nboundary conditions, expressing it through a special solution of the classical\nsinh-Gordon equation. The formula perfectly matches predictions of the standard\nrenormalized perturbation theory at weak couplings as well as the conformal\nperturbation theory at short distances. Our results also agree with the Bethe\nansatz solution of the model. A complete proof the proposed expression for the\nvacuum energy based on a combination of the Bethe ansatz techniques and the\nclassical inverse scattering transform method is presented in the second part\nof this work [40].",
        "positive": "On Super-Liouville Operator Constructions: We review the construction of field operators of the N=1 supersymmetric\nLiouville theory in terms of the components of a quantized free superfield."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Josephson instantons and Josephson monopoles in a non-Abelian Josephson\n  junction: Non-Abelian Josephson junction is a junction of non-Abelian color\nsuperconductors sandwiching an insulator, or non-Abelian domain wall if\nflexible, whose low-energy dynamics is described by a $U(N)$ principal chiral\nmodel with the conventional pion mass. A non-Abelian Josephson vortex is a\nnon-Abelian vortex (color magnetic flux tube) residing inside the junction,\nthat is described as a non-Abelian sine-Gordon soliton. In this paper, we\npropose Josephson instantons and Josephson monopoles, that is, Yang-Mills\ninstantons and monopoles inside a non-Abelian Josephson junction, respectively,\nand show that they are described as $SU(N)$ Skyrmions and $U(1)^{N-1}$ vortices\nin the $U(N)$ principal chiral model without and with a twisted mass term,\nrespectively. Instantons with a twisted boundary condition are reduced (or\nT-dual) to monopoles, implying that ${\\mathbb C}P^{N-1}$ lumps are T-dual to\n${\\mathbb C}P^{N-1}$ kinks inside a vortex. Here we find $SU(N)$ Skyrmions are\nT-dual to $U(1)^{N-1}$ vortices inside a wall. Our configurations suggest a yet\nanother duality between ${\\mathbb C}P^{N-1}$ lumps and $SU(N)$ Skyrmions as\nwell as that between ${\\mathbb C}P^{N-1}$ kinks and $U(1)^{N-1}$ vortices,\nviewed from different host solitons. They also suggest a duality between\nfractional instantons and bions in the ${\\mathbb C}P^{N-1}$ model and those in\nthe $SU(N)$ principal chiral model.",
        "positive": "Hagedorn Temperature in Large $N$ Majorana Quantum Mechanics: We discuss two types of quantum mechanical models that couple large numbers\nof Majorana fermions and have orthogonal symmetry groups. In models of vector\ntype, only one of the symmetry groups has a large rank. The large $N$ limit is\ntaken keeping $gN=\\lambda$ fixed, where $g$ multiplies the quartic Hamiltonian.\nWe introduce a simple model with $O(N)\\times SO(4)$ symmetry, whose energies\nare expressed in terms of the quadratic Casimirs of the symmetry groups. This\nmodel may be deformed so that the symmetry is $O(N)\\times O(2)^2$, and the\nHamiltonian reduces to that studied in arXiv:1802.10263. We find analytic\nexpressions for the large $N$ density of states and free energy. In both vector\nmodels, the large $N$ density of states varies approximately as\n$e^{-|E|/\\lambda}$ for a wide range of energies. This gives rise to critical\nbehavior as the temperature approaches the Hagedorn temperature $T_{\\rm H} =\n\\lambda$. In the formal large $N$ limit, the specific heat blows up as $(T_H-\nT)^{-2}$, which implies that $T_H$ is the limiting temperature. However, at any\nfinite $N$, it is possible to reach arbitrarily large temperatures. Thus, the\nfinite $N$ effects smooth out the Hagedorn transition. We also study models of\nmatrix type, which have two $O(N)$ symmetry groups with large rank. An example\nis provided by the Majorana matrix model with $O(N)^2\\times O(2)$ symmetry,\nwhich was studied in arXiv:1802.10263. In contrast with the vector models, the\ndensity of states is smooth and nearly Gaussian near the middle of the\nspectrum."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "How Complete is the Classification of W-Symmetries ?: In 2D conformal quantum field theory, we continue a systematic study of\nW-algebras with two and three generators and their highest weight\nrepresentations focussing mainly on rational models. We review the known facts\nabout rational models of W(2,\\delta)-algebras. Our new rational models of\nW-algebras with two generators all belong to one of the known series. The\nmajority of W-algebras with three generators -including the new ones\nconstructed in this letter- can be explained as subalgebras or truncations of\nCasimir algebras. Nonetheless, for one solution of W(2,4,6) we reveal some\nfeatures that do not fit into the pattern of Casimir algebras or orbifolds\nthereof. This shows that there are more W-algebras than those predicted from\nCasimir algebras (or Toda field theories). However, most of the known rational\nconformal field theories belong to the minimal series of some Casimir algebra.",
        "positive": "Eigenvalue conjecture and colored Alexander polynomials: We connect two important conjectures in the theory of knot polynomials. The\nfirst one is the property Al_R(q) = Al_{[1]}(q^{|R|}) for all single hook Young\ndiagrams R, which is known to hold for all knots. The second conjecture claims\nthat all the mixing matrices U_{i} in the relation {\\cal R}_i = U_i{\\cal\nR}_1U_i^{-1} between the i-th and the first generators {\\cal R}_i of the braid\ngroup are universally expressible through the eigenvalues of {\\cal R}_1. Since\nthe above property of Alexander polynomials is very well tested, this relation\nprovides a new support to the eigenvalue conjecture, especially for i>2, when\nits direct check by evaluation of the Racah matrices and their convolutions is\ntechnically difficult."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Reflecting magnons from D7 and D5 branes: We obtain the reflection matrices for the scattering of elementary magnons\nfrom certain open boundaries, corresponding to open strings ending on D7 and D5\nbranes in $AdS_5\\times S^5$. In each case we consider two possible orientations\nfor the vacuum state. We show that symmetry arguments are sufficient to\ndetermine the reflection matrices up to at most two unknown functions. The D7\nreflection matrices obey the boundary Yang Baxter-Equation. This is automatic\nfor one vacuum orientation, and requires a natural choice of ratio between two\nunknowns for the other. In contrast, the D5 reflection matrices do not obey the\nboundary Yang Baxter-Equation. In both cases we show consistency with the\nexistent weak and strong coupling results.",
        "positive": "\"Separation of Variables and Hamiltonian Formulation for the Ernst\n  Equation\": It is shown that the vacuum Einstein equations for an arbitrary stationary\naxisymmetric space-time can be completely separated by re-formulating the Ernst\nequation and its associated linear system in terms of a non-autonomous\nSchlesinger-type dynamical system. The conformal factor of the metric coincides\n(up to some explicitly computable factor) with the $\\tau$-function of the Ernst\nequation in the presence of finitely many regular singularities. We also\npresent a canonical formulation of these results, which is based on a\n``two-time\" Hamiltonian approach, and which opens new avenues for the\nquantization of such systems."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Symmetry-resolved Page curves: Given a statistical ensemble of quantum states, the corresponding Page curve\nquantifies the average entanglement entropy associated with each possible\nspatial bipartition of the system. In this work, we study a natural extension\nin the presence of a conservation law and introduce the symmetry-resolved Page\ncurves, characterizing average bipartite symmetry-resolved entanglement\nentropies. We derive explicit analytic formulae for two important statistical\nensembles with a $U(1)$-symmetry: Haar-random pure states and random fermionic\nGaussian states. In the former case, the symmetry-resolved Page curves can be\nobtained in an elementary way from the knowledge of the standard one. This is\nnot true for random fermionic Gaussian states. In this case, we derive an\nanalytic result in the thermodynamic limit based on a combination of techniques\nfrom random-matrix and large-deviation theories. We test our predictions\nagainst numerical calculations and discuss the sub-leading finite-size\ncorrections.",
        "positive": "Numerical Experiments in String Cosmology: We investigate some classical aspects of fundamental strings via numerical\nexperiments. In particular, we study the thermodynamics of a string network\nwithin a toroidal universe, as a function of string energy density and space\ndimensionality. We find that when the energy density of the system is low, the\ndominant part of the string is in the form of closed loops of the shortest\nallowed size, which correspond to the momentum string modes. At a certain\ncritical energy density corresponding to the Hagedorn temperature, the system\nundergoes a phase transition characterized by the formation of very long loops,\nwinding a number of times around the torus. These loops correspond to the\nwinding string modes. As the energy density is increased, all the extra energy\ngoes into these long strings. We then study the lifetime of winding modes as a\nfunction of the space densionality. We find that in the low--energy density\nregime, long winding strings decay only if the space dimensionality of the\ntoroidal universe is equal to 3. This finding supports the proposed\ncosmological scenario by Brandenberger and Vafa, which attempts to explain the\nspace dimensionality and to avoid the initial singularity by means of string\ntheory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Matrix models for D-particle dynamics and the string/black hole\n  transition: For a generic two-dimensional 0A string background, we map the\nDirac-Born-Infeld action to a matrix model. This is achieved using a canonical\ntransformation. The action describes D0-branes in this background, while the\nmatrix model has a potential which encodes all the information of the\nbackground geometry. We apply this formalism to specific backgrounds: For\nRindler space, we obtain a matrix model with an upside-down quadratic\npotential, while for AdS_2 space, the potential is linear. Furthermore we\nanalyze the black hole geometry with RR flux. In particular, we show that at\nthe Hagedorn temperature, the resulting matrix model coincides with the one for\nthe linear dilaton background. We interpret this result as a realization of the\nstring/black hole transition.",
        "positive": "Gauge Symmetries Emerging from Extra Dimensions: We argue that extra dimensions with a properly chosen compactification scheme\ncould be a natural source for emergent gauge symmetries. Actually, some\nproposed vector field potential terms or polynomial vector field constraints\nintroduced in five-dimensional Abelian and non-Abelian gauge theory is shown to\nsmoothly lead to spontaneous violation of an underlying 5D spacetime symmetry\nand generate pseudo-Goldstone vector modes as conventional 4D gauge boson\ncandidates. As a special signature, there appear, apart from conventional gauge\ncouplings, some properly suppressed direct multi-photon (multi-boson, in\ngeneral) interactions in emergent QED and Yang-Mills theories whose observation\ncould shed light on their high-dimensional nature. Moreover, in emergent\nYang-Mills theories an internal symmetry G also occurs spontaneously broken to\nits diagonal subgroups once 5D Lorentz violation happens. This breaking origins\nfrom the extra vector field components playing a role of some adjoint scalar\nfield multiplet in the 4D spacetime. So, one naturally has the Higgs effect\nwithout a specially introduced scalar field multiplet. Remarkably, when being\napplied to Grand Unified Theories this results in a fact that the emergent GUTs\ngenerically appear broken down to the Standard Model just at the 5D Lorentz\nviolation scale M.\n  PACS numbers: 11.15.-q, 11.30.Cp, 11.30.Pb, 11.10.Kk"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic Weak Measurement: In this paper, we study a holographic description of weak measurements in\nconformal field theories (CFTs). Weak measurements can be viewed as a soft\nprojection that interpolates between an identity operator and a projection\noperator, and can induce an effective central charge distinct from the\nunmeasured CFT. We model the weak measurement by an interface brane, separating\ndifferent geometries dual to the post-measurement state and the unmeasured CFT,\nrespectively. In an infinite system, the weak measurement is related to ICFT\nvia a spacetime rotation. We find that the holographic entanglement entropy\nwith twist operators located on the defect is consistent in both calculations\nfor ICFT and weak measurements. We additionally calculate the boundary entropy\nvia holographic entanglement as well as partition function. In a finite system,\nthe weak measurement can lead to a rich phase diagram: for marginal\nmeasurements the emergent brane separates two AdS geometries, while for\nirrelevant measurements the post-measurement geometry features an AdS spacetime\nand a black hole spacetime that are separated by the brane. Although the\nmeasurement is irrelevant in the later phase, the post-measurement geometry can\nrealize a Python's lunch.",
        "positive": "Some Results on Mutual Information of Disjoint Regions in Higher\n  Dimensions: We consider the mutual Renyi information I^n(A,B)=S^n_A+S^n_B-S^n_{AUB} of\ndisjoint compact spatial regions A and B in the ground state of a\nd+1-dimensional conformal field theory (CFT), in the limit when the separation\nr between A and B is much greater than their sizes R_{A,B}. We show that in\ngeneral I^n(A,B)\\sim C^n_AC^n_B(R_AR_B/r^2)^a, where a the smallest sum of the\nscaling dimensions of operators whose product has the quantum numbers of the\nvacuum, and the constants C^n_{A,B} depend only on the shape of the regions and\nuniversal data of the CFT.\n  For a free massless scalar field, where 2x=d-1, we show that C^2_AR_A^{d-1}\nis proportional to the capacitance of a thin conducting slab in the shape of A\nin d+1-dimensional electrostatics, and give explicit formulae for this when A\nis the interior of a sphere S^{d-1} or an ellipsoid. For spherical regions in\nd=2 and 3 we obtain explicit results for C^n for all n and hence for the\nleading term in the mutual information by taking n->1. We also compute a\nuniversal logarithmic correction to the area law for the Renyi entropies of a\nsingle spherical region for a scalar field theory with a small mass."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hyperkahler Singularities in Superstrings Compactification and 2d N=4\n  Conformal Field Theory: We study the singularities of the Higgs branch of supersymmetric U(1)^r gauge\ntheories with eight supercharges. We derive new solutions for the moduli space\nof vacua preserving manifestly the eight supercharges by using a geometric\nrealization of the SU(2)_R symmetry and a separation procedure of the gauge and\nSU(2)_R charges, which allow us to put the hypermultiplet vacua in a form\ndepending on a parameter $\\gamma$. For $\\gamma=1$, we obtain new models which\nflow in the infrared to 2d N=(4,4) conformal models and we show that the\nclassical moduli spaces are given by intersecting cotangent weighted complex\nprojective spaces containing the small instanton singularity, discussed in\n[17], as a leading special case. We also make comments regarding the d$2d N=4\nconformal Liouville description of the Higgs branch throat by following the\nanalysis of [18]. Other features are also discussed.",
        "positive": "Charged Matter: Physics and Renormalisation: Descriptions of the ground state in unbroken gauge theories with charged\nparticles are discussed. In particular it is shown that the on-shell Green's\nfunctions and S-matrix elements corresponding to the scattering of these\nvariables in QED are free of soft and phase infra red divergences and that\nthese variables may be multiplicatively renormalised."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Collective String Field Theory of Matrix Models in the BMN Limit: We develop a systematic procedure for deriving canonical string field theory\nfrom large N matrix models in the Berenstein-Maldacena-Nastase limit. The\napproach, based on collective field theory, provides a generalization of\nstandard string field theory.",
        "positive": "Higher order fermion effective polynomial interactions: Three different fermion effective potentials given by series of bilinears,\n$\\sum_j^N (\\bar{\\psi}_a \\psi_a)^{2^j}$ , $\\sum_j^N (\\bar{\\psi}_a \\psi_a)^{j}$\nand also $\\sum_j^N (\\bar{\\psi}_a \\gamma_\\mu \\psi_a)^{2j}$ where $a=1,...N_r$\nand integer $j$ are investigated by introducing sets of auxiliary fields. A\nmininal procedure is adopted to deal with the auxiliary fields and an effective\nbosonized model in each case is found by assuming weak field fluctuations, i.e.\nweak enough when compared to (normalized) coupling constants. Different fermion\ncondensates are considered for the ground state in the first two series\nanalysed and the factorization of all higher order condensates into the lowest\norder one is found in most cases, i.e. in general $<(\\overline{\\psi}_a\n\\psi_a)^n> \\propto <\\bar{\\psi}_a \\psi_a>^n$. For the case of the third series\nbuilt with vector-type bilinears no condensation is assumed to occur. The\ncorresponding (weak) scalar fields effective models for the three cases are\nexpanded in polynomial interactions. The resulting low energy effective boson\nmodel may a exhibit new approximate symmetry depending on the terms present in\nthe original series-model and on the values of the coupling constants."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Metastable Supertubes and non-extremal Black Hole Microstates: We study the dynamics of supertubes in smooth bubbling geometries with three\ncharges and three dipole charges that can describe black holes, black rings and\ntheir microstates. We find the supertube Hamiltonian in these backgrounds and\nshow that there exist metastable supertube configurations, that can decay into\nsupersymmetric and non-supersymmetric ones via brane-flux annihilation. We also\nfind stable non-supersymmetric configurations. Both the metastable and the\nstable non-supersymmetric configuration are expected to describe microstate\ngeometries for non-extremal black holes, and we discuss the implication of\ntheir existence for the fuzzball proposal.",
        "positive": "Finite anticanonical transformations in field-antifield formalism: We study the role of arbitrary (finite) anticanonical transformations in the\nfield-antifield formalism, and the gauge-fixing procedure based on the use of\nthese transformations. The properties of the generating functionals of the\nGreen functions subjected to finite anticanonical transformations are\nconsidered."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Neumann and Neumann-Rosochatius integrable systems from membranes on\n  AdS_4xS^7: It is known that large class of classical string solutions in the type IIB\nAdS_5xS^5 background is related to the Neumann and Neumann-Rosochatius\nintegrable systems, including spiky strings and giant magnons. It is also\ninteresting if these integrable systems can be associated with some membrane\nconfigurations in M-theory. We show here that this is indeed the case by\npresenting explicitly several types of membrane embedding in AdS_4xS^7 with the\nsearched properties.",
        "positive": "Elliptic non-Abelian Donaldson-Thomas invariants of $\\mathbb{C}^3$: We compute the elliptic genus of the D1/D7 brane system in flat space,\nfinding a non-trivial dependence on the number of D7 branes, and provide an\nF-theory interpretation of the result. We show that the JK-residues\ncontributing to the elliptic genus are in one-to-one correspondence with\ncoloured plane partitions and that the elliptic genus can be written as a\nchiral correlator of vertex operators on the torus. We also study the quantum\nmechanical system describing D0/D6 bound states on a circle, which leads to a\nplethystic exponential formula that can be connected to the M-theory graviton\nindex on a multi-Taub-NUT background. The formula is a conjectural expression\nfor higher-rank equivariant K-theoretic Donaldson-Thomas invariants on\n$\\mathbb{C}^3$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Schwarzschild deformed supergravity background: possible geometry origin\n  of fermion generations and mass hierarchy: TThe problem of fermion masses hierarchy in the Standard Model is considered\non a toy model of a 10-dimensional space-time with a IIA supergravity type\nbackground. Dirac equation on this background, after compactification of extra\n4- and 1-dimensional subspaces, gives the spectrum of Fermi fields which\nprofiles in 5 dimensions and corresponding Higgs generated masses in 4\ndimensions depend on the eigenvalues of Dirac operator on the named compact\nsubspaces. Schwarzschild Euclidean deformation of the supergravity throat with\nthe \"apple-shaped\" conical singularity permits to leave only three\nnon-divergent angular modes interpreted as three generations of the down-type\nquarks. Calculated ratio $m_{d} / m_{s} = e^{-3}$ exactly coincides with its\nexperimentally observed value for integer values of two free parameters of the\n10-dimensional background. Equations for non-chiral modes coincide with the\nnon-relativistic Schr\\\"odinger equation for an electron moving in a Coulomb\nfield; the corresponding small fermion masses generated by the twisted boundary\nconditions are expressed through the degenerate hypergeometric functions.",
        "positive": "The inverse loop transform: The loop transform in quantum gauge field theory can be recognized as the\nFourier transform (or characteristic functional) of a measure on the space of\ngeneralized connections modulo gauge transformations. Since this space is a\ncompact Hausdorff space, conversely, we know from the Riesz-Markov theorem that\nevery positive linear functional on the space of continuous functions thereon\nqualifies as the loop transform of a regular Borel measure on the moduli space.\nIn the present article we show how one can compute the finite joint\ndistributions of a given characteristic functional, that is, we derive the\ninverse loop transform."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Topological shadows and complexity of islands in multiboundary wormholes: Recently, remarkable progress in recovering the Page curve of an evaporating\nblack hole (BH) in Jackiw-Teitelboim gravity has been achieved through use of\nQuantum Extremal surfaces (QES). Multi-boundary Wormhole (MbW) models have been\ncrucial in parallel model building in three dimensions. Motivated by this we\nhere use the latter models to compute the subregion complexity of the Hawking\nquanta of the evaporating BH in AdS$_{3}$ and obtain the Page curve associated\nwith this information theoretic measure. We use three- and $n$-boundary\nwormhole constructions to elucidate our computations of volumes below the\nHubeny-Rangamani-Takayanagi (HRT) surfaces at different times. Time is\nrepresented by the growing length of the throat horizons corresponding to\nsmaller exits of the multi-boundary wormhole and the evaporating bigger exit\nshrinks with evolving time. We track the change in choice of HRT surfaces with\ntime and plot the volume with time. The smooth transition of Page curve is\nrealized by a discontinuous jump at Page time in volume subregion complexity\nplots and the usual Page transition is realized as a phase transition due to\nthe inclusion of the island in this context. We discuss mathematical\nintricacies and physical insights regarding the inclusion of the extra volume\nat Page time. The analysis is backed by calculations and lessons from kinematic\nspace and tensor networks.",
        "positive": "D-brane anti-D-brane effective action and brane interaction in open\n  string channel: We construct the effective action of a $D_p$-brane-anti-$D_p$-brane system by\nmaking use of the non-abelian extension of tachyonic DBI action. We succeed the\nconstruction by restricting the Chan-Paton factors of two non-BPS $D_p$-branes\nin the action to the Chan-Paton factors of a $D_p\\bar{D}_p$ system. For the\nspecial case that both branes are coincident, the action reduces to the one\nproposed by A. Sen. \\\\The effective $D_p\\bar{D}_p$ potential indicates that\nwhen branes separation is larger than the string length scale, there are two\nminima in the tachyon direction. As branes move toward each other under the\ngravitational force, the tachyon tunneling from false to true vacuum may make a\nbubble formation followed by a classical evolution of the bubble. On the other\nhand, when branes separation is smaller than the string length scale, the\npotential shows one maximum and one minimum. In this case, a homogeneous\ntachyon rolling in real time makes an attractive potential for the branes\ndistance. This classical force is speculated to be the effective force between\nthe two branes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Holographic QCD Axion: A holographic model of QCD axion is presented. It describes a composite axion\nin the KSVZ class. Having a gravity dual, based on the Witten-Sakai-Sugimoto\nmodel, it is calculable in the strongly coupled regime. Its basic properties\nare derived, including the low energy Lagrangian, from which the axion\ncouplings to nucleons can be derived. Basic features in the deconfined phase\nare studied as well. In particular, the temperature dependence of the axion\nmass is extracted from the topological susceptibility. As an aside, the\ntopological susceptibility of strongly coupled ${\\cal N}=4$ SYM at finite\ntemperature is derived for the first time.",
        "positive": "BRST-BFV, Dirac and Projection Operator Quantizations: Correspondence of\n  States: The correspondence between BRST-BFV, Dirac and projection operator approaches\nto quantize constrained systems is analyzed. It is shown that the component of\nthe BFV wave function with maximal number of ghosts and antighosts in the\nSchrodinger representation may be viewed as a wave function in the projection\noperator approach. It is shown by using the relationship between different\nquantization techniques that the Marnelius inner product for BRST-BFV systems\nshould be in general modified in order to take into account the topology of the\ngroup; the Giulini-Marolf group averaging prescription for the inner product is\nobtained from the BRST-BFV method. The relationship between observables in\ndifferent approaches is also found."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Self-avoiding effective strings in lattice gauge theories: It is shown that the effective string recently introduced to describe the\nlong distance dynamics of 3D gauge systems in the confining phase has an\nintriguing description in terms of models of 2D self-avoiding walks in the\ndense phase. The deconfinement point, where the effective string becomes N=2\nsupersymmetric, may then be interpreted as the tricritical Theta point where\nthe polymer chain undergoes a collapse transition. As a consequence, a\nuniversal value of the deconfinement temperature is predicted.",
        "positive": "Constraining conformal field theories with a slightly broken higher spin\n  symmetry: We consider three dimensional conformal field theories that have a higher\nspin symmetry that is slightly broken. The theories have a large N limit, in\nthe sense that the operators separate into single trace and multitrace and obey\nthe usual large N factorization properties. We assume that the spectrum of\nsingle trace operators is similar to the one that one gets in the Vasiliev\ntheories. Namely, the only single trace operators are the higher spin currents\nplus an additional scalar. The anomalous dimensions of the higher spin currents\nare of order 1/N. Using the slightly broken higher spin symmetry we constrain\nthe three point functions of the theories to leading order in N. We show that\nthere are two families of solutions. One family can be realized as a theory of\nN fermions with an O(N) Chern-Simons gauge field, the other as a N bosons plus\nthe Chern-Simons gauge field. The family of solutions is parametrized by the 't\nHooft coupling. At special parity preserving points we get the critical O(N)\nmodels, both the Wilson-Fisher one and the Gross-Neveu one. Our analysis also\nfixes the on shell three point functions of Vasiliev's theory on AdS_4 or dS_4."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Vacuum currents in partially compactified Rindler spacetime with an\n  application to cylindrical black holes: The vacuum expectation value of the current density for a charged scalar\nfield is investigated in Rindler spacetime with a part of spatial dimensions\ncompactified to a torus. It is assumed that the field is prepared in the\nFulling-Rindler vacuum state. For general values of the phases in the\nperiodicity conditions and the lengths of compact dimensions, the expressions\nare provided for the Hadamard function and vacuum currents. The current density\nalong compact dimensions is a periodic function of the magnetic flux enclosed\nby those dimensions and vanishes on the Rindler horizon. The obtained results\nare compared with the corresponding currents in the Minkowski vacuum. The\nnear-horizon and large-distance asymptotics are discussed for the vacuum\ncurrents around cylindrical black holes. In the near-horizon approximation the\nlengths of compact dimensions are determined by the horizon radius. At large\ndistances from the horizon the geometry is approximated by a locally anti-de\nSitter spacetime with toroidally compact dimensions and the lengths of compact\ndimensions are determined by negative cosmological constant.",
        "positive": "Cut-off QFT and black hole entropy: We clarify the relationship between black hole entropy and the number of\ndegrees of freedom in the dual QFT with a cut-off. We show that simple gravity\narguments predict the correct cut-off procedure."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On effective K\u00e4hler potential in N=2, d=3 SQED: We compute the two-loop effective K\\\"ahler potential in three-dimensional N=2\nsupersymmetric electrodynamics with Chern-Simons kinetic term for the gauge\nsuperfield. The effective action is constructed on the base of background field\nmethod with one parametric family of gauges. In such an approach, the quadratic\npart of quantum action mixes the gauge and matter quantum superfields yielding\nthe complications in the computations of the loop supergraphs. To avoid this\nobstacle and preserve dependence on the gauge parameter we make a nonlocal\nchange of quantum matter superfields after which the propagator is\ndiagonalized, however the new vertices have appeared. We fix the suitable\nbackground and develop the efficient procedure of calculating the two-loop\nsupergraphs with the new vertices. We compute the divergent and finite parts of\nthe superfield effective action, find the two-loop effective K\\\"ahler potential\nand show that it does not depend on the gauge parameter.",
        "positive": "Holography and ARPES sum-rules: We study correlation functions of elementary fermions in strongly interacting\nfield theories using the AdS/CFT correspondence. This correspondence\ngenerically associates bulk fields to composite operators in field theory. We\nmodify the holographic prescription in order to obtain correlators that\ncorrespond to fermonic single-particle excitations by introducing a dynamical\nfermionic source localized on a UV brane in a holographic background. We work\nout the conditions when these correlators obey the zeroth frequency sum-rule\nsatisfied by angle-resolved photo-emission spectroscopy (ARPES) and are thus\ndirectly relevant to the AdS/CMT correspondence. To illustrate our techniques,\nwe study field theories at zero chemical potential with an arbitrary dynamical\nexponent z, i.e., the Lifshitz invariant conformal field theories, including\nthe usual relativistic case z=1."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Topology and Strings: Topics in $N=2$: A review on topological strings and the geometry of the space of two\ndimensional theories. (Lectures given by C. Gomez at the Enrico Fermi Summer\nSchool, Varenna, July 1994)",
        "positive": "(Non)-projective bounds on gravitational EFT: In this paper we study both projective and non-projective constraints on\nfour-dimensional gravitational effective fields theories implied from\nunitarity, causality and crossing, assuming perturbative UV completions in\n$M_{\\rm pl}$. We derive bounds on the Wilson coefficients of $R^3$ and\n$D^{2n}R^4$ from its dispersive representation, utilizing both numerical\nsemi-definite programming and analytic geometry analysis. From the former, we\nderive projective bounds on ratios of couplings and observe accumulation point\nspectrum populating the boundary of the allowed region. For the latter we\nconsider the non-projective geometry of the EFThedron, which we relate to the\nknown $L$-moment problem in the literature. This allows us to move beyond\npositivity and incorporate the upper bound from unitarity of the imaginary\nparts of partial waves. This leads to sharp bounds on individual coefficients,\nwhich are of order unity when normalized with respect to the UV scale. Finally,\nthe non-projective geometry also allows us to derive optimal bounds reflecting\nassumptions of low-spin dominance, improving previous results. We complement\nthe analytic analysis with a simple linear programming approach that validates\nthe bounds."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Deconfinement Transition of AdS/QCD at ${\\cal O}(\u03b1'^3)$: We study the confinement/deconfinement phase transition of holographic\nAdS/QCD models by using Ricci flat $AdS_5$ black holes up to ${\\cal\nO}(\\alpha'^3)$, which corresponds to the $\\lambda$ expansion correction in the\ndual field theory to $\\lambda^{-3/2}$, where $\\lambda$ is the 't Hooft coupling\nconstant. We consider two cases: one is the hard-wall AdS/QCD model where a\nsmall radius region of the $AdS_5$ is removed; the other is the case where one\nof spatial coordinates for the $AdS_5$ space is compactified, resulting in\nWitten's QCD model in 2+1 dimensions. We find that in the hard-wall AdS/QCD\nmodel, the deconfinement temperature decreases when the $\\lambda$ expansion\ncorrections are taken into account, while in Witten's QCD model, the\ndeconfinement transition always happens when the ratio of inverse temperature\n$\\beta$ to the period $\\beta_s$ of the compactified coordinate decreases to\none, $\\beta/\\beta_s=1$, the same as the case without the ${\\cal O}(\\alpha'^3)$\ncorrection.",
        "positive": "More on Asymptotically Anti-de Sitter Spaces in Topologically Massive\n  Gravity: Recently, the asymptotic behaviour of three-dimensional anti-de Sitter\ngravity with a topological mass term was investigated. Boundary conditions were\ngiven that were asymptotically invariant under the two-dimensional conformal\ngroup and that included a fall-off of the metric sufficiently slow to\nconsistently allow pp-wave type of solutions. Now, pp-waves can have two\ndifferent chiralities. Above the chiral point and at the chiral point, however,\nonly one chirality can be considered, namely the chirality that has the milder\nbehaviour at infinity. The other chirality blows up faster than AdS and does\nnot define an asymptotically AdS spacetime. By contrast, both chiralities are\nsubdominant with respect to the asymptotic behaviour of AdS spacetime below the\nchiral point. Nevertheless, the boundary conditions given in the earlier\ntreatment only included one of the two chiralities (which could be either one)\nat a time. We investigate in this paper whether one can generalize these\nboundary conditions in order to consider simultaneously both chiralities below\nthe chiral point. We show that this is not possible if one wants to keep the\ntwo-dimensional conformal group as asymptotic symmetry group. Hence, the\nboundary conditions given in the earlier treatment appear to be the best\npossible ones compatible with conformal symmetry. In the course of our\ninvestigations, we provide general formulas controlling the asymptotic charges\nfor all values of the topological mass (not just below the chiral point)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "New spherically symmetric solutions in Einstein-Yang-Mills-Higgs model: We study classical solutions in the SU(2) Einstein-Yang-Mills-Higgs theory.\nThe spherically symmetric ans\\\"atze for all fields are given and the equations\nof motion are derived as a system of ordinary differential equations. The\nasymptotics and the boundary conditions at space origin for regular solutions\nand at event horizon for black hole solutions are studied. Using the shooting\nmethod, we found numerical solutions to the theory. For regular solutions, we\nfind two new sets of asymptotically flat solutions. Each of these sets contains\ncontinua of solutions in the parameter space spanned by the shooting\nparameters. The solutions bifurcate along these parameter curves and the\nbifurcation are argued to be due to the internal structure of the model. Both\nsets of the solutions are asymptotically flat but one is exponentially so and\nthe other is so with oscillations. For black holes, a new set of boundary\nconditions is studied and it is found that there also exists a continuum of\nblack hole solutions in parameter space and similar bifurcation behavior is\nalso present to these solutions. The SU(2) charges of these solutions are found\nzero and these solutions are proven to be unstable.",
        "positive": "Emergent Threebrane Lattices: In this article the anomalous dimension of a class of operators with a bare\ndimension of O(N) is studied. The operators considered are dual to excited\nstates of a two giant graviton system. In the Yang Mills theory they are\ndescribed by restricted Schur polynomials, labeled with Young diagrams that\nhave at most two columns. In a certain limit the dilatation operator looks like\na lattice version of a second derivative, with the lattice emerging from the\nYoung diagram itself."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Unraveling L_{n,k}: Grassmannian Kinematics: It was recently proposed that the leading singularities of the S-Matrix of N\n= 4 super Yang-Mills theory arise as the residues of a contour integral over a\nGrassmannian manifold, with space-time locality encoded through residue\ntheorems generalizing Cauchy's theorem to more than one variable. We provide a\nmethod to identify the residue corresponding to any leading singularity, and we\ncarry this out very explicitly for all leading singularities at tree level and\none-loop. We also give several examples at higher loops, including all generic\ntwo-loop leading singularities and an interesting four-loop object. As a\nspecial case we consider a 12-pt N^4MHV leading singularity at two loops that\nhas a new kinematic structure involving double square roots. Our analysis\nresults in a simple picture for how the topological structure of loop graphs is\nreflected in various substructures within the Grassmannian.",
        "positive": "Exactly solvable models of two-dimensional dilaton gravity and quantum\n  eternal black holes: New approach to exact solvability of dilaton gravity theories is suggested\nwhich appeals directly to structure of field equations. It is shown that black\nholes regular at the horizon are static and their metric is found explicitly.\nIf a metric possesses singularities the whole spacetime can be divided into\ndifferent sheets with one horizon on each sheet between neighboring\nsingularities with a finite value of dilaton field (addition horizons may arise\nat infinite value of it), neighboring sheets being glued along the singularity.\nThe position of singularities coincide with the values of dilaton in solutions\nwith a constant dilaton field. Quantum corrections to the Hawking temperature\nvanish. For a wide subset of these models the relationship between the total\nenergy and the total entropy of the quantum finite size system is the same as\nin the classical limit. For another subset the metric itself does not acquire\nquantum corrections. The present paper generalizes Solodukhin's results on the\nRST model in that instead of a particular model we deal with whole classes of\nthem. Apart from this, the found models exhibit some qualitatively new\nproperties which are absent in the RST model. The most important one is that\nthere exist quantum black holes with geometry regular everywhere including\ninfinity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Parent field theory and unfolding in BRST first-quantized terms: For free-field theories associated with BRST first-quantized gauge systems,\nwe identify generalized auxiliary fields and pure gauge variables already at\nthe first-quantized level as the fields associated with algebraically\ncontractible pairs for the BRST operator. Locality of the field theory is taken\ninto account by separating the space--time degrees of freedom from the internal\nones. A standard extension of the first-quantized system, originally developed\nto study quantization on curved manifolds, is used here for the construction of\na first-order parent field theory that has a remarkable property: by\nelimination of generalized auxiliary fields, it can be reduced both to the\nfield theory corresponding to the original system and to its unfolded\nformulation. As an application, we consider the free higher-spin gauge theories\nof Fronsdal.",
        "positive": "Kleiss-Kuijf Relations from Momentum Amplituhedron Geometry: In recent years, it has been understood that color-ordered scattering\namplitudes can be encoded as logarithmic differential forms on positive\ngeometries. In particular, amplitudes in maximally supersymmetric Yang-Mills\ntheory in spinor helicity space are governed by the momentum amplituhedron. Due\nto the group-theoretic structure underlying color decompositions, color-ordered\namplitudes enjoy various identities which relate different orderings. In this\npaper, we show how the Kleiss-Kuijf relations arise from the geometry of the\nmomentum amplituhedron. We also show how similar relations can be realised for\nthe kinematic associahedron, which is the positive geometry of bi-adjoint\nscalar cubic theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Oscillating Inflation with a non-minimally coupled scalar field: The oscillating inflation model recently proposed by Damour and Mukhanov is\ninvestigated with a non-minimal coupling. Numerical study confirms an\ninflationary behavior and the density perturbation is obtained. A successful\ninflation requires the gravity-dilaton coupling to be small.",
        "positive": "Wrapped branes with fluxes in 8d gauged supergravity: We study the gravity dual of several wrapped D-brane configurations in\npresence of 4-form RR fluxes partially piercing the unwrapped directions. We\npresent a systematic approach to obtain these solutions from those without\nfluxes. We use D=8 gauged supergravity as a starting point to build up these\nsolutions. The configurations include (smeared) M2-branes at the tip of a G_2\ncone on S^3 x S^3, D2-D6 branes with the latter wrapping a special Lagrangian\n3-cycle of the complex deformed conifold and an holomorphic sphere in its\ncotangent bundle T^*S^2, D3-branes at the tip of the generalized resolved\nconifold, and others obtained by means of T duality and KK reduction. We\nelaborate on the corresponding N=1 and N=2 field theories in 2+1 dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "NLIE of Dirichlet sine-Gordon Model for Boundary Bound States: We investigate boundary bound states of sine-Gordon model on the finite-size\nstrip with Dirichlet boundary conditions. For the purpose we derive the\nnonlinear integral equation (NLIE) for the boundary excited states from the\nBethe ansatz equation of the inhomogeneous XXZ spin 1/2 chain with boundary\nimaginary roots discovered by Saleur and Skorik. Taking a large volume (IR)\nlimit we calculate boundary energies, boundary reflection factors and boundary\nLuscher corrections and compare with the excited boundary states of the\nDirichlet sine-Gordon model first considered by Dorey and Mattsson. We also\nconsider the short distance limit and relate the IR scattering data with that\nof the UV conformal field theory.",
        "positive": "String theory and the crisis of particle physics II or the ascent of\n  metaphoric arguments: This is a completely reformulated presentation of a previous paper with the\nsame title; this time with a much stronger emphasis on conceptual aspects of\nstring theory and a detailed review of its already more than four decades\nlasting history within a broader context, including some little-known details.\nAlthough there have been several books and essays on the sociological impact\nand its philosophical implications, there is yet no serious attempt to\nscrutinize its claims about particle physics using the powerful conceptual\narsenal of contemporary local quantum physics. I decided to leave the previous\nfirst version on the arXiv because it may be interesting to the reader to\nnotice the change of viewpoint and the reason behind it. Other reasons for\npreventing my first version to go into print and to rewrite it in such a way\nthat its content complies with my different actual viewpoint can be found at\nthe end of the article. The central message, contained in sections 5 and 6, is\nthat string theory is not what string theorists think and claim it is. The\nwidespread acceptance of a theory whose interpretation has been obtained by\nmetaphoric reasoning had a corroding influence on the rest of particle physics\ntheory as will be illustrated in several concrete cases. The work is dedicated\nto the memory of Juergen Ehlers with whom I shared many critical ideas, but\ntheir formulation in this essay is fully within my responsibility."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Field sources in a planar anisotropic CPT-odd gauge model: In the present paper we study some new classical Lorentz violating effects in\nplanar electrodynamics due to the presence of stationary point-like field\nsources. Starting from the Carroll-Field-Jackiw model defined in (3+1)\ndimensions, which belongs to the electromagnetic CPT-odd sector of the Standard\nModel Extension (SME), we apply the dimensional reduction procedure obtaining a\n(2+1)-dimensional model that encompasses an electromagnetic sector composed of\nthe Maxwell-Chern-Simons electrodynamics, a pure scalar sector described by a\nmassless Klein-Gordon field, and a mixed sector where the background vector\nmediates contributions involving both the scalar and the gauge fields. For all\nthe sectors of this planar theory, we explore some physical phenomena that\narise from the interactions between external sources. Specifically, we obtain\nperturbative effects up to second order in the background vector related to the\npresence of both electric and scalar planar charges and Dirac points.",
        "positive": "Effective holographic models for QCD: glueball spectrum and trace\n  anomaly: We investigate effective holographic models for QCD arising from five\ndimensional Dilaton-Gravity. The models are characterized by a dilaton with a\nmass term in the UV, dual to a CFT deformation by a relevant operator, and\nquadratic in the IR. The UV constraint leads to the explicit breaking of\nconformal symmetry whereas the IR constraint guarantees linear confinement. We\npropose semi-analytic interpolations between the UV and the IR and obtain a\nspectrum for scalar and tensor glueballs consistent with lattice QCD data. We\nuse the glueball spectrum as a physical constraint to find the evolution of the\nmodel parameters as the mass term goes to zero. Finally, we reproduce the\nuniversal result for the trace anomaly of deformed CFTs and propose a\ndictionary between this result and the QCD trace anomaly. A nontrivial\nconsequence of this dictionary is the emergence of a $\\beta$ function similar\nto the two-loop perturbative QCD result."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spin-field Interaction Effects and Loop Dynamics in AdS/CFT Duality: The spin-field interaction is considered, in the context of the gauge\nfields/string correspondence, in the large 't Hooft coupling limit. The latter\ncan be viewed as a WKB-type approximation to the AdS/CFT duality conjecture.\nBasic theoretical objects entering the present study are (a) the Wilson loop\nfunctional, on the gauge field side and (b) the sigma model action for the\nstring propagating in AdS$_5$. Spin effects are introduced in a worldline\nsetting, via the spin factor for a particle entity propagating on a Wilson loop\ncontour. The computational tools employed for conducting the relevant analysis,\nfollow the methodological guidelines introduced in two papers by Polyakov and\nRychkov. The main result is expressed in terms of the modification of the spin\nfactor brought about by dynamical effects, both perturbative and\nnon-perturbative, according to AdS/CFT in the considered limit.",
        "positive": "On the AdS/CFT correspondence and quantum entanglement: String theory provides one of the most deepest insights into quantum gravity.\nIts single most central and profound result is the gauge/gravity duality, i.e.\nthe emergence of gravity from gauge theory. The two examples of M(atrix)-theory\nand the AdS/CFT correspondence, together with the fundamental phenomena of\nquantum entanglement, are of paramount importance to many fundamental problems\nincluding the physics of black holes (in particular to the information loss\nparadox), the emergence of spacetime geometry and to the problem of the\nreconciliation of general relativity and quantum mechanics. In this article an\naccount of the AdS/CFT correspondence and the role of quantum entanglement in\nthe emergence of spacetime geometry using strictly the language of quantum\nfield theory is put forward."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Axion arising from warped extra-dimensional gauge fields: We present a connection between two known solutions to the strong-CP problem:\nthe standard introduction of axions and the extra-dimensional one, relying on\ntopological arguments. Using an equivalent lower-dimensional set-up with a\nwarped extra-dimension but without adding any new fields, it is shown that an\nadditional light degree of freedom appears. Like an axion, it couples to the\ntopological charge density via Fermionic loop corrections. Its decay constant\nis related to the geometry of the extra dimension and is suppressed by the\nwarping scale.",
        "positive": "Non-perturbative gauge transformations of arbitrary fermion correlation\n  functions in quantum electrodynamics: We study the transformation of the dressed electron propagator and the\ngeneral $N$-point functions under a change in the covariant gauge of internal\nphoton propagators. We re-establish the well known Landau-Khalatnikov-Fradkin\ntransformation for the propagator and generalise it to arbitrary correlation\nfunctions in configuration space, finding that it coincides with the analogous\nresult for scalar fields. We comment on the consequences for perturbative\napplication in momentum-space."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-Abelian strings in N=1 supersymmetric QCD: Non-Abelian flux tubes (strings) are well studied in N=2 supersymmetric QCD\nin (3+1) dimensions. In addition to translational zero modes they have also\norientational moduli associated with rotations of their fluxes inside a\nnon-Abelian group. The dynamics of the orientational moduli is described by the\ntwo dimensional CP(N-1) model living on the world sheet of the non-Abelian\nstring. In this paper we consider a deformation of N=2 supersymmetric QCD with\nthe U(N) gauge group and N_f=N quark flavors with a mass term $\\mu$ of the\nadjoint matter. In the limit of large $\\mu$ the theory flows to an N=1\nsupersymmetric QCD. We study the solution for the non-Abelian string in this\nlimit and derive an effective theory on the string world sheet. The bosonic\nsector of this theory is still given by the CP(N-1) model but its scale is\nexponentially small as compared to the scale of the four dimensional bulk\ntheory in contrast to the N=2 case where these scales are equal. We study also\nthe fermionic sector of the world sheet theory. Upon the deformation the\nnon-Abelian string is no longer BPS and we show that the fermionic\nsuperorientational zero modes are all lifted. This leaves us with the pure\nbosonic CP(N-1) model on the string world sheet in the limit of N=1 QCD. We\nalso discuss what happens to confined monopoles at large $\\mu$.",
        "positive": "Biharmonic Conformal Field Theories: The main result of this paper is the construction of a conformally covariant\noperator in two dimensions acting on scalar fields and containing fourth order\nderivatives. In this way it is possible to derive a class of Lagrangians\ninvariant under conformal transformations. They define conformal field theories\nsatisfying equations of the biharmonic type. Two kinds of these biharmonic\nfield theories are distinguished, characterized by the possibility or not of\nthe scalar fields to transform non-trivially under Weyl transformations. Both\ncases are relevant for string theory and two dimensional gravity. The\nbiharmonic conformal field theories provide higher order corrections to the\nequations of motion of the metric and give a possibility of adding new terms to\nthe Polyakov action."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Revisiting the Supersymmetric Pati-Salam Models from Intersecting\n  D6-branes: Employing new scanning methods, we revisit the systematic construction of\nthree-family $N=1$ supersymmetric Pati-Salam models in Type IIA orientifolds on\n${\\bf T}^6/(\\mathbb Z_2\\times \\mathbb Z_2)$ with intersecting D6-branes.\nArising from the stacks of D6-branes with $U(n)$ gauge symmetries, the\nPati-Salam gauge symmetries $SU(4)_C\\times SU(2)_L \\times SU(2)_R$ can be\nbroken down to the Standard Model via D-brane splitting as well as D- and\nF-flatness preserving Higgs mechanism. Also, the hidden sector contains\n$USp(n)$ branes, which are parallel with the orientifold planes or their\n${\\mathbb Z_2}$ images. We find that the Type II T-duality in the previous\nstudy is not an equivalent relation in Pati-Salam model building if the model\nis not invariant under $SU(2)_L$ and $SU(2)_R$ exchange, and provides a way to\nobtain new models. We systematically construct the new models with three\nfamilies, which usually do not have gauge coupling unification at the string\nscale. We for the first time construct the Pati-Salam models with one wrapping\nnumber equal to $5$. In particular, we find that these models carry more\nrefined gauge couplings, and thus with more possibility to have approximate\ngauge coupling unification.",
        "positive": "Four loop renormalization of phi^3 theory in six dimensions: We renormalize six dimensional phi^3 theory in the modified minimal\nsubtraction (MSbar) scheme at four loops. From the resulting beta-function,\nanomalous dimension and mass anomalous dimension we compute four loop critical\nexponents relevant to the Lee-Yang edge singularity and percolation problems.\nUsing resummation methods and information on the exponents of the relevant two\ndimensional conformal field theory we obtain estimates for exponents in\ndimensions 3, 4 and 5 which are in reasonable agreement with other techniques\nfor these two problems. The renormalization group functions for the more\ngeneral theory with an O(N) symmetry are also computed in order to obtain\nestimates of exponents at various fixed points in five dimensions. Included in\nthis O(N) analysis is the full evaluation of the mass operator mixing matrix of\nanomalous dimensions at four loops. We show that its eigen-exponents are in\nagreement with the mass exponents computed at O(1/N^2) in the non-perturbative\nlarge N expansion."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "$SQED_4$ and $QED_4$ on the null-plane: We studied the scalar electrodynamics ($SQED_{4}$) and the spinor\nelectrodynamics ($QED_{4}$) in the null-plane formalism. We followed the\nDirac's technique for constrained systems to perform a detailed analysis of the\nconstraint structure in both theories. We imposed the appropriated boundary\nconditions on the fields to fix the hidden subset first class constraints which\ngenerate improper gauge transformations and obtain an unique inverse of the\nsecond class constraint matrix. Finally, choosing the null-plane gauge\ncondition, we determined the generalized Dirac brackets of the independent\ndynamical variables which via the correspondence principle give the\n(anti)-commutators for posterior quantization.",
        "positive": "The attractor mechanism as a distillation procedure: In a recent paper it has been shown that for double extremal static\nspherically symmetric BPS black hole solutions in the STU model the well-known\nprocess of moduli stabilization at the horizon can be recast in a form of a\ndistillation procedure of a three-qubit entangled state of GHZ-type. By\nstudying the full flow in moduli space in this paper we investigate this\ndistillation procedure in more detail. We introduce a three-qubit state with\namplitudes depending on the conserved charges the warp factor, and the moduli.\nWe show that for the recently discovered non-BPS solutions it is possible to\nsee how the distillation procedure unfolds itself as we approach the horizon.\nFor the non-BPS seed solutions at the asymptotically Minkowski region we are\nstarting with a three-qubit state having seven nonequal nonvanishing amplitudes\nand finally at the horizon we get a GHZ state with merely four nonvanishing\nones with equal magnitudes. The magnitude of the surviving nonvanishing\namplitudes is proportional to the macroscopic black hole entropy. A systematic\nstudy of such attractor states shows that their properties reflect the\nstructure of the fake superpotential. We also demonstrate that when starting\nwith the very special values for the moduli corresponding to flat directions\nthe uniform structure at the horizon deteriorates due to errors generalizing\nthe usual bit flips acting on the qubits of the attractor states."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic dual of a time machine: We apply the $AdS/CFT$ holography to the simplest possible eternal time\nmachine solution in $AdS_3$ based on two conical defects moving around their\ncenter of mass along a circular orbit. Closed timelike curves in this\nspace-time extend all the way to the boundary of $AdS_3$, violating causality\nof the boundary field theory. By use of the geodesic approximation we address\nthe \"grandfather paradox\" in the dual $1+1$ dimensional field theory and\ncalculate the two-point retarded Green function. It has a non-trivial\nanalytical structure both at negative and positive times, providing us with an\nintuition on how an interacting quantum field could behave once causality is\nbroken. In contrast with the previous considerations our calculations reveal\nthe possibility of a consistent and controllable evolution of a quantum system\nwithout any need to impose additional consistency constraints.",
        "positive": "M-Theory on the Orbifold C^2/Z_N: We construct M-theory on the orbifold C^2/Z_N by coupling 11-dimensional\nsupergravity to a seven-dimensional Yang-Mills theory located on the orbifold\nfixed plane. It is shown that the resulting action is supersymmetric to leading\nnon-trivial order in the 11-dimensional Newton constant. This action provides\nthe starting point for a reduction of M-theory on G_2 spaces with co-dimension\nfour singularities."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Structure of Conserved Charges in Open Spin Chains: We study the local conserved charges in integrable spin chains of the XYZ\ntype with nontrivial boundary conditions. The general structure of these\ncharges consists of a bulk part, whose density is identical to that of a\nperiodic chain, and a boundary part. In contrast with the periodic case, only\ncharges corresponding to interactions of even number of spins exist for the\nopen chain. Hence, there are half as many charges in the open case as in the\nclosed case. For the open spin-1/2 XY chain, we derive the explicit expressions\nof all the charges. For the open spin-1/2 XXX chain, several lowest order\ncharges are presented and a general method of obtaining the boundary terms is\nindicated. In contrast with the closed case, the XXX charges cannot be\ndescribed in terms of a Catalan tree pattern.",
        "positive": "On the short string limit of the folded spinning string in AdS5 x S5: In this paper we generalize the results of arXiv:0806.4758 to non-zero value\nJ of angular momentum in S^5. We compute the 1-loop correction to the energy of\nthe folded spinning string in AdS_5 x S^5 in the particular limit of slow short\nstring approximation. In this limit the string is moving in a near-flat central\nregion of AdS_5 slowly rotating in both AdS_5 and S^5. The one-loop correction\nshould represent the first subleading correction to strong coupling expansion\nof the anomalous dimension of short gauge theory operators of the form Tr D^S\nZ^J in the SL(2) sector."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Correlators in tensor models from character calculus: We explain how the calculations of arXiv:1704.08648, which provided the first\nevidence for non-trivial structures of Gaussian correlators in tensor models,\nare efficiently performed with the help of the (Hurwitz) character calculus.\nThis emphasizes a close similarity between technical methods in matrix and\ntensor models and supports a hope to understand the emerging structures in very\nsimilar terms. We claim that the $2m$-fold Gaussian correlators of rank $r$\ntensors are given by $r$-linear combinations of dimensions with the Young\ndiagrams of size $m$. The coefficients are made from the characters of the\nsymmetric group $S_m$ and their exact form depends on the symmetries of the\nmodel. As the simplest application of this new knowledge, we provide simple\nexpressions for correlators in the Aristotelian tensor model as tri-linear\ncombinations of dimensions.",
        "positive": "Holographic Monopole Catalysis of Baryon Decay: We study how monopole catalysis of baryon decay is realized in holographic\nQCD. Physics of monopole catalysis becomes much simpler in holographic\ndescription as it occurs due to the violation of the Bianchi identity for the\n5D gauge symmetry when magnetic monopole is present. In holographic QCD we find\na unified picture of the baryon number violation under magnetic monopole or\nelectroweak sphaleron, giving a new mechanism of baryon number violation. We\nalso embed our set-up in the string theory model by Sakai and Sugimoto."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Geometrisation of electromagnetic interaction: A new concept for the geometrisation of electromagnetic interaction is\nproposed. Instead of the concept \"extended field--point sources\", interacting\nMaxwell's and Dirac's fields are considered as a unified closed noneuclidean\nand nonriemannean space--time 4-manifold. This manifold can be considered as\ngeometrical realisation of the \"dressed electron\" idea. Within this approach,\nthe Dirac equation proves to be a relation that accounts for topological and\nmetric characteristics of this manifold. Dirac's spinors serve as basis vectors\nof its fundamental group representation, while the electromagnetic field\ncomponents prove to be components of a curvature tensor of the manifold\ncovering space. Energy, momentum components, mass, charge, spin and\nparticle--antiparticle states appear to be geometrical characteristics of the\nabove manifold.",
        "positive": "Consistent gauge interaction involving dynamical coupling and anomalous\n  current: We show a possible way to construct a consistent formalism where the\neffective electric charge can change with space and time without destroying the\ninvariance. In the previous work [1][2] we took the gauge coupling to be of the\nform $g(\\phi)j_\\mu (A^{\\mu} +\\partial^{\\mu}B)$ where $B$ is an auxiliary field,\n$ \\phi $ is a scalar field and the current $j_\\mu$ is the Dirac current. This\nterm produces a constraint $ (\\partial_{\\mu}\\phi) j^{\\mu}=0 $ which can be\nrelated to M.I.T bag model by boundary condition. In this paper we show that\nwhen we use the term $ g(\\phi)j_{\\mu}(A^{\\mu} -\n\\partial^{\\mu}(\\frac{1}{\\square}\\partial_{\\rho}A^{\\rho})) $, instead of the\nauxiliary field $ B $, there is a possibility to produce a theory with\ndynamical coupling constant, which does not produce any constraint or\nconfinement. The coupling $ j_{\\mu}^{A}(A^{\\mu} -\n\\partial^{\\mu}(\\frac{1}{\\square}\\partial_{\\rho}A^{\\rho})) $ where $ j_{\\mu}^{A}\n$ is an anomalous current also discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Magnetically-Charged Black Branes and Viscosity/Entropy Ratios: We consider asymptotically-AdS $n$-dimensional black brane solutions in a\ntheory of gravity coupled to a set of $N$ $p$-form field strengths, in which\nthe field strengths carry magnetic charges. For appropriately chosen charges,\nthe metrics are isotropic in the $(n-2)$ transverse directions. However, in\ngeneral the field strength configurations break the full Euclidean symmetry of\nthe $(n-2)$-dimensional transverse space. We then study the linearised equation\nfor transverse traceless metric perturbations in these backgrounds, and by\nemploying the Kubo formula we obtain expressions for $\\eta/S$, the ratio of\nshear viscosity to entropy density. We find that the KSS bound on the ratio\n$\\eta/S$ is generally violated in these solutions. We also extend the\ndiscussion by including also a dilatonic scalar field in the theory, leading to\nsolutions that are asymptotically Lifshitz with hyperscaling violation.",
        "positive": "Particle Acceleration in Kerr-(anti-) de Sitter Black Hole Backgrounds: Recently, Ban\\~{a}dos, Silk and West (BSW) found that the center-of-mass\nenergy of two colliding test particles in the neighborhood of an extreme Kerr\nblack hole could be arbitrarily high when one particle has the critical angular\nmomentum $L_\\text{C}$. In their paper, they considered the black holes living\nin a Minkowski space-time with a zero cosmological constant. In this work, we\nstudy this process of particles in the backgrounds of the Kerr black holes\nliving in a space-time with a nonzero cosmological constant. We find that for\nkerr black holes living in a space-time with a negative cosmological constant\n(Kerr-anti-de Sitter black holes), this process of particles could happen only\nif the Kerr-anti-de Sitter black hole is extreme and an additional fine tuning\nis satisfied; while for kerr black holes living in a space-time with a positive\ncosmological constant (Kerr-de Sitter black holes), this process of particles\ncould happen no matter the Kerr-de Sitter black hole is extreme or not. We also\nstudy the particle collision outside the outer horizon of the Kerr-(anti-) de\nSitter black hole in some cases. We find that there is a possibility that we\ncould tune one colliding particle's angular momentum to gain the large\ncenter-of-mass energy without increase the particle's energy."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Correlation functions in the non-relativistic AdS/CFT correspondence: We study the correlation functions of scalar operators in the theory defined\nas the holographic dual of the Schroedinger background with dynamical exponent\nz=2 at zero temperature and zero chemical potential. We offer a closed\nexpression of the correlation functions at tree level in terms of Fourier\ntransforms of the corresponding n-point functions computed from pure AdS in the\nlightcone frame. At the loop level this mapping does not hold and one has to\nuse the full Schroedinger background, after proper regularization. We\nexplicitly compute the 3-point function comparing it with the specific 3-point\nfunction of the non-relativistic theory of cold atoms at unitarity. We find\nagreement of both 3-point functions, including the part not fixed by the\nsymmetry, up to an overall normalization constant.",
        "positive": "Intersecting brane models and F-theory in six dimensions: We analyze six-dimensional supergravity theories coming from intersecting\nbrane models on the toroidal orbifold T^4/Z_2. We use recently developed tools\nfor mapping general 6D supergravity theories to F-theory to identify F-theory\nconstructions dual to the intersecting brane models. The F-theory picture\nilluminates several aspects of these models. In particular, we have some new\ninsight into the matter spectrum on intersecting branes, and analyze gauge\ngroup enhancement as branes approach orbifold points. These novel features of\nintersecting brane models are also relevant in four dimensions, and are\nconfirmed in 6D using more standard Chan-Paton methods."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Knots in Physics: After Dirac introduced the monopole, topological objects have played\nincreasingly important roles in physics. In this review we discuss the role of\nthe knot, the most sophisticated topological object in physics, and related\ntopological objects in various areas in physics. In particular, we discuss how\nthe knots appear in Maxwell's theory, Skyrme theory, and multi-component\ncondensed matter physics.",
        "positive": "A gauge invariant regulator for the ERG: A gauge invariant regularisation for dealing with pure Yang-Mills theories\nwithin the exact renormalization group approach is proposed. It is based on the\nregularisation via covariant higher derivatives and includes auxiliary\nPauli-Villars fields which amounts to a spontaneously broken SU(N|N)\nsuper-gauge theory. We demonstrate perturbatively that the extended theory is\nultra-violet finite in four dimensions and argue that it has a sensible limit\nwhen the regularization cutoff is removed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Numerical Study of Cosmic Censorship in String Theory: Recently Hertog, Horowitz, and Maeda have argued that cosmic censorship can\nbe generically violated in string theory in anti-de Sitter spacetime by\nconsidering a collapsing bubble of a scalar field whose mass saturates the\nBreitenlohner-Freedman bound. We study this system numerically and find that\nfor various choices of initial data black holes form rather than naked\nsingularities, implying that in these cases cosmic censorship is upheld.",
        "positive": "Dynamical Black Holes in 2+1 Dimensions: We investigate the global structure of a recently discovered simple exact,\nnon-stationary solution of topologically massive and new massive gravity with\nthe asymptotic charges of an undeformed BTZ black hole. We establish the\nexistence of a timelike singularity in the causal structure of the spacetime\neven in the absence of angular momentum. The dynamical trapping and event\nhorizons are determined and we investigate the evolution of the outer horizon\nshowing that it may increase or decrease with time, depending on the value of\nthe mass parameter. Finally, we test two proposals for dynamical entropy on\nthis solution, one of them depending on the Kodama vector. In addition we show\nthat the Kodama vector leads to the correct entropy for all stationary black\nholes in 2+1 dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quasinormal Modes of Asymptotically (A)dS Black Hole in Lovelock\n  Background: We study the quasinormal modes of the massless scalar field in asymptotically\n(A)dS black holes in Lovelock spacetime by using the sixth order of the WKB\napproximation. We consider the effects of the second and third order of\nLovelock coupling constants on quasinormal frequencies spectrum as well as\ncosmological constant.",
        "positive": "The Luttinger-Schwinger Model: We study the Luttinger-Schwinger model, i.e. the (1+1) dimensional model of\nmassless Dirac fermions with a non-local 4-point interaction coupled to a\nU(1)-gauge field. The complete solution of the model is found using the\nboson-fermion correspondence, and the formalism for calculating all gauge\ninvariant Green functions is provided. We discuss the role of anomalies and\nshow how the existence of large gauge transformations implies a fermion\ncondensate in all physical states. The meaning of regularization and\nrenormalization in our well-defined Hilbert space setting is discussed. We\nillustrate the latter by performing the limit to the Thirring-Schwinger model\nwhere the interaction becomes local."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetry and Noncommutative Geometry: The purpose of this article is to apply the concept of the spectral triple,\nthe starting point for the analysis of noncommutative spaces in the sense of\nA.~Connes, to the case where the algebra $\\cA$ contains both bosonic and\nfermionic degrees of freedom. The operator $\\cD$ of the spectral triple under\nconsideration is the square root of the Dirac operator und thus the forms of\nthe generalized differential algebra constructed out of the spectral triple are\nin a representation of the Lorentz group with integer spin if the form degree\nis even and they are in a representation with half-integer spin if the form\ndegree is odd. However, we find that the 2-forms, obtained by squaring the\nconnection, contains exactly the components of the vector multiplet\nrepresentation of the supersymmetry algebra. This allows to construct an action\nfor supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory in the framework of noncommutative\ngeometry.",
        "positive": "Generating the superpotential on a D-brane category: I: I study A-infinity enhancements of algebraic Calabi-Yau triangulated\ncategories admitting a (triangle) generator, showing that the Serre pairing on\nsuch categories determines and is determined by a cyclic pairing on an\nenhancement of the generator. Using this result, I construct a formal\ntopological string field action inducing an extended D-brane superpotential for\nsuch categories. I also give a procedure for lifting certain 2d boundary\ntopological field theories to open topological string theories generated by a\nsingle D-brane."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-Linear Electrodynamics: Zeroth and First Laws of Black Hole\n  Mechanics: The Zeroth and First Laws of Black Hole Mechanics are derived in the context\nof non-linear electrodynamics coupled to gravity. The Zeroth Law is shown to\nhold quite generally even if the Dominant Energy Condition is violated. The\nderivation of the First Law is discussed in detail for general matter fields\ncoupled to gravity. The general mass variation formula obtained includes a term\npreviously omitted in some of the literature. This is then applied to the case\nof non-linear electrodynamics and the usual First Law is found to hold true. As\nan example, Born-Infeld theory is discussed. The results are extended to\ninclude scalar fields in a very general way, including additional terms arising\nfrom the variation of the asymptotic values of the scalars.",
        "positive": "Comment on `One Loop Renormalization of Soliton Quantum Mass Corrections\n  in 1+1 Dimensional Scalar Field Theory Models' (Phys. Lett. B542 (2002) 282\n  [hep-th/0206047]): We refute the claim that previous works on the one-loop quantum mass of\nsolitons had incorrectly dropped a surface term from a partial integration.\nRather, the paper quoted in the title contains a fallacious derivation with two\ncompensating errors. We also remark that the $\\phi^2\\cos^2\\ln(\\phi^2)$ model\nconsidered in that paper does not have solitons at the quantum level because at\ntwo-loop order the degeneracy of the vacua is lifted. This may be remedied,\nhowever, by a supersymmetric extension."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Wormhole and Entanglement (Non-)Detection in the ER=EPR Correspondence: The recently proposed ER=EPR correspondence postulates the existence of\nwormholes (Einstein-Rosen bridges) between entangled states (such as EPR\npairs). Entanglement is famously known to be unobservable in quantum mechanics,\nin that there exists no observable (or, equivalently, projector) that can\naccurately pick out whether a generic state is entangled. Many features of the\ngeometry of spacetime, however, are observables, so one might worry that the\npresence or absence of a wormhole could identify an entangled state in ER=EPR,\nviolating quantum mechanics, specifically, the property of state-independence\nof observables. In this note, we establish that this cannot occur: there is no\nmeasurement in general relativity that unambiguously detects the presence of a\ngeneric wormhole geometry. This statement is the ER=EPR dual of the\nundetectability of entanglement.",
        "positive": "D-brane instantons and the effective field theory of flux\n  compactifications: We provide a description of the effects of fluxes on euclidean D-brane\ninstantons purely in terms of the 4d effective action. The effect corresponds\nto the dressing of the effective non-perturbative 4d effective vertex with 4d\nflux superpotential interactions, generated when the moduli fields made massive\nby the flux are integrated out. The description in terms of effective field\ntheory allows a unified description of non-perturbative effects in all flux\ncompactifications of a given underlying fluxless model, globally in the moduli\nspace of the latter. It also allows us to describe explicitly the effects on\nD-brane instantons of fluxes with no microscopic description, like\nnon-geometric fluxes. At the more formal level, the description has interesting\nconnections with the bulk-boundary map of open-closed two-dimensional\ntopological string theory, and with the $\\NN=1$ special geometry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Master Field in Generalised $QCD_2$: As an illustration of the formalism of the master field we consider\ngeneralised $QCD_2$. We show how Wilson Loop averages for an arbitrary contour\ncan be computed explicitly and with some ease. A generalised Hopf equation is\nshown to govern the behaviour of the eigenvalue density of Wilson loops. The\ncollective field description of the theory is therefore deduced. Finally, the\nnon-trivial master gauge field and field strengths are obtained. These results\ndo not seem easily accessible with conventional means.",
        "positive": "Patterns of chiral symmetry breaking and a candidate for a C-theorem in\n  four dimensions: We test a candidate for a four-dimensional C-function. This is done by\nconsidering all asymptotically free, vectorlike gauge theories with N_f flavors\nand fermions in arbitrary representations of any simple Lie group. Assuming\nspontaneous breaking of chiral symmetry in the infrared limit and that the\nvalue of the C-function in this limit is determined by the number of Goldstone\nbosons, we find that only in the case of a theory with two colors and fermions\nin one single pseudo-real representation of SU(2) the C-theorem seems to be\nviolated. Conversely, this might also be a sign of new constraints, restricting\nthe number of flavors consistent with spontaneous chiral symmetry breaking. For\nall other groups and representations we find that this candidate C-function\ndecreases along the renormalization group flow."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Scanning space-time with patterns of entanglement: In the ${\\rm AdS}_3/{\\rm CFT}_2$ setup we elucidate how gauge invariant\nboundary patterns of entanglement of the CFT vacuum are encoded into the bulk\nvia the coefficient dynamics of an $A_{N-3}$, $N\\geq 4$ cluster algebra. In the\nstatic case this dynamics of encoding manifests itself in kinematic space,\nwhich is a copy of de Sitter space ${\\rm dS}_2$, in a particularly instructive\nmanner. For a choice of partition of the boundary into $N$ regions the patterns\nof entanglement, associated with conditional mutual informations of overlapping\nregions, are related to triangulations of geodesic $N$-gons. Such\ntriangulations are then mapped to causal patterns in kinematic space. For a\nfixed $N$ the space of all causal patterns is related to the associahedron\n${\\mathcal K}^{N-3}$ an object well-known from previous studies on scattering\namplitudes. On this space of causal patterns cluster dynamics acts by a\nrecursion provided by a Zamolodchikov's $Y$-system of type $(A_{N-3},A_1)$. We\nobserve that the space of causal patterns is equipped with a partial order, and\nis isomorphic to the Tamari lattice. The mutation of causal patterns can be\nencapsulated by a walk of $N-3$ particles interacting in a peculiar manner in\nthe past light cone of a point of ${\\rm dS}_2$.",
        "positive": "Topological Aspects of Gauge Fixing Yang-Mills Theory on S4: For an $S_4$ space-time manifold global aspects of gauge-fixing are\ninvestigated using the relation to Topological Quantum Field Theory on the\ngauge group. The partition function of this TQFT is shown to compute the\nregularized Euler character of a suitably defined space of gauge\ntransformations. Topological properties of the space of solutions to a\ncovariant gauge conditon on the orbit of a particular instanton are found using\nthe $SO(5)$ isometry group of the $S_4$ base manifold. We obtain that the Euler\ncharacter of this space differs from that of an orbit in the topologically\ntrivial sector. This result implies that an orbit with Pontryagin number\n$\\k=\\pm1$ in covariant gauges on $S_4$ contributes to physical correlation\nfunctions with a different multiplicity factor due to the Gribov copies, than\nan orbit in the trivial $\\k=0$ sector. Similar topological arguments show that\nthere is no contribution from the topologically trivial sector to physical\ncorrelation functions in gauges defined by a nondegenerate background\nconnection. We discuss possible physical implications of the global gauge\ndependence of Yang-Mills theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Lectures on conformal field theory and Kac-Moody algebras: This is an introduction to the basic ideas and to a few further selected\ntopics in conformal quantum field theory and in the theory of Kac-Moody\nalgebras.",
        "positive": "Bremsstrahlung Radiation At a Vacuum Bubble Wall: When charged particles collide with a vacuum bubble, they can radiate strong\nelectromagnetic waves due to rapid deceleration. Owing to the energy loss of\nthe particles by this bremsstrahlung radiation, there is a non-negligible\ndamping pressure acting on the bubble wall even when thermal equilibrium is\nmaintained. In the non-relativistic region, this pressure is proportional to\nthe velocity of the wall and could have influenced the bubble dynamics in the\nearly universe."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Lobachevsky geometry of (super)conformal mechanics: We give a simple geometric explanation for the similarity transformation\nmapping one-dimensional conformal mechanics to free-particle system. Namely, we\nshow that this transformation corresponds to the inversion of the Klein model\nof Lobachevsky space (non-compact complex projective plane). We also extend\nthis picture to the N=2k superconformal mechanics described in terms of\nLobachevsky superspace.",
        "positive": "General equilibrium second-order hydrodynamic coefficients for free\n  quantum fields: We present a systematic calculation of the corrections of the stress-energy\ntensor and currents of the free boson and Dirac fields up to second order in\nthermal vorticity, which is relevant for relativistic hydrodynamics. These\ncorrections are non-dissipative because they survive at general thermodynamic\nequilibrium with non vanishing mean values of the conserved generators of the\nLorentz group, i.e. angular momenta and boosts. Their equilibrium nature makes\nit possible to express the relevant coefficients by means of correlators of the\nangular-momentum and boost operators with stress-energy tensor and current,\nthus making simpler to determine their so-called \"Kubo formulae\". We show that,\nat least for free fields, the corrections are of quantum origin and we study\nseveral limiting cases and compare our results with previous calculations. We\nfind that the axial current of the free Dirac field receives corrections\nproportional to the vorticity independently of the anomalous term."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Thermodynamics of black branes in asymptotically Lifshitz spacetimes: Recently, a class of gravitational backgrounds in 3+1 dimensions have been\nproposed as holographic duals to a Lifshitz theory describing critical\nphenomena in 2+1 dimensions with critical exponent $z\\geq 1$. We continue our\nearlier work \\cite{Bertoldi:2009vn}, exploring the thermodynamic properties of\nthe \"black brane\" solutions with horizon topology $\\mathbb{R}^2$. We find that\nthe black branes satisfy the relation $\\mathcal{E}=\\frac{2}{2+z}Ts$ where\n$\\mathcal{E}$ is the energy density, $T$ is the temperature, and $s$ is the\nentropy density. This matches the expected behavior for a 2+1 dimensional\ntheory with a scaling symmetry $(x_1,x_2)\\to \\lambda (x_1,x_2)$, $t\\to\n\\lambda^z t$.",
        "positive": "Into the EFThedron and UV constraints from IR consistency: Recently it was proposed that the theory space of effective field theories\nwith consistent UV completions can be described as a positive geometry, termed\nthe EFThedron. In this paper we demonstrate that at the core, the geometry is\ngiven by the convex hull of the product of two moment curves. This makes\ncontact with the well studied bi-variate moment problem, which in various\ninstances has known solutions, generalizing the Hankel matrices of couplings\ninto moment matrices. We are thus able to obtain analytic expressions for\nbounds, which perfectly match numerical results from semi-definite programing\nmethods. Furthermore, we demonstrate that crossing symmetry in the IR imposes\nnon-trivial constraints on the UV spectrum. In particular, permutation\ninvariance for identical scalar scattering requires that any UV completion\nbeyond the scalar sector must contain arbitrarily high spins, including at\nleast all even spins $\\ell\\le28$, with the ratio of spinning spectral functions\nbounded from above, exhibiting large spin suppression. The spinning spectrum\nmust also include at least one state satisfying a bound $m^2_{J}<M^2 \\frac{(\nJ^2-12) ( J^4 - 32 J^2 +204)}{8 (150 - 43 J^2 + 2 J^4)}$, where\n$J^2=\\ell(\\ell+1)$, and $M^2$ is the mass of the heaviest spin 2 state in the\nspectrum."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fine Structure of Jackiw-Teitelboim Quantum Gravity: We investigate structural aspects of JT gravity through its BF description.\nIn particular, we provide evidence that JT gravity should be thought of as (a\ncoset of) the noncompact subsemigroup SL$^+$(2,R) BF theory. We highlight\nphysical implications, including the famous sinh Plancherel measure. Exploiting\nthis perspective, we investigate JT gravity on more generic manifolds with\nemphasis on the edge degrees of freedom on entangling surfaces and\nfactorization. It is found that the one-sided JT gravity degrees of freedom are\ndescribed not just by a Schwarzian on the asymptotic boundary, but also include\nfrozen SL$^+$(2,R) degrees of freedom on the horizon, identifiable as JT\ngravity black hole states. Configurations with two asymptotic boundaries are\nlinked to 2d Liouville CFT on the torus surface.",
        "positive": "Statistical ensemble equivalence problem: A problem of the equivalence of statistical ensembles is critically analyzed.\nIt is shown, that although different probability distributions of statistical\nphysics have the same behavior in the thermodynamic limit, there are physical\nobservables -- semi-intensive variables -- which keep memory of the underlying\nensembles. This property is an universal one and can be observed even in the\nsimplest case of the grand canonical and canonical ensembles of the classical\nstatistical physics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dynamics of D-branes I. The non-Abelian Dirac-Born-Infeld action, its\n  first variation, and the equations of motion for D-branes --- with remarks on\n  the non-Abelian Chern-Simons/Wess-Zumino term: In earlier works, D(1) (arXiv:0709.1515 [math.AG]), D(11.1) (arXiv:1406.0929\n[math.DG]), D(11.2) (arXiv:1412.0771 [hep-th]), and D(11.3.1) (arXiv:1508.02347\n[math.DG]), we have explained why a D-brane in string theory, when treated as a\nfundamental dynamical object, can be described by a map $\\varphi$ from an\nAzumaya/matrix manifold $X^{Az}$ (cf. D-brane world-volume) with a fundamental\nmodule with a connection $(E,\\nabla)$ (cf. Chan-Paton bundle) to the target\nspace-time $Y$. In this sequel, we construct a non-Abelian Dirac-Born-Infeld\naction functional $S_{DBI}^{(\\Phi, g, B)}(\\varphi,\\nabla)$ for such pairs\n$(\\varphi,\\nabla)$. We next develop a technical tool needed to study variations\nof this action and apply it to derive the first variation $\\delta\nS_{DBI}^{(\\Phi,g,B)}/\\delta(\\varphi,\\nabla)$ of $S_{DBI}^{(\\Phi,g,B)}$ with\nrespect to $(\\varphi,\\nabla)$. The equations of motion that govern the dynamics\nof D-branes then follow. A complete action for a D-brane world-volume must\ninclude also the Chern-Simons/Wess-Zumino term\n$S_{CS/WZ}^{(C)}(\\varphi,\\nabla)$ that governs how the D-brane world-volume\ncouples with the Ramond-Ramond fields $C$ on $Y$. In the current notes, a\nversion $S^{(C,B)}_{CS/WZ}(\\varphi,\\nabla)$ of non-Abelian\nChern-Simons/Wess-Zumino action functional for $(\\varphi,\\nabla)$ that follows\nthe same guide with which we construct $S^{(\\Phi,g,B)}_{DBI}(\\varphi,\\nabla)$\nis constructed for lower-dimensional D-branes (i.e. D(-1)-, D0-, D1-,\nD2-branes). Its first variation $\\delta\nS^{(C,B)}_{CS/WZ}(\\varphi,\\nabla)/\\delta(\\varphi,\\nabla)$ is derived and its\ncontribution to the equations of motion for $(\\varphi, \\nabla)$ follows. The\ncurrent notes lay down a foundation toward the dynamics of D-branes along the\nline of this D-project.",
        "positive": "Flavor structure with multi moduli in 5D supergravity: We study 5-dimensional supergravity on S^1/Z_2 with a physical Z_2-odd vector\nmultiplet, which yields an additional modulus other than the radion. We derive\n4-dimensional effective theory and find additional terms in the Kahler\npotential that are peculiar to the multi moduli case. Such terms can avoid\ntachyonic soft scalar masses at tree-level, which are problematic in the single\nmodulus case. We also show that the flavor structure of the soft terms are\ndifferent from that in the single modulus case when hierarchical Yukawa\ncouplings are generated by wavefunction localization in the fifth dimension. We\npresent a concrete model that stabilizes the moduli at a supersymmetry breaking\nMinkowski minimum, and show the low energy sparticle spectrum."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Heat Kernel on $AdS$: We explicitly evaluate the heat kernel for the Laplacian of arbitrary spin\ntensor fields on the thermal quotient of (Euclidean) $AdS_N$ for $N\\geq 3$\nusing the group theoretic techniques employed for $AdS_3$ in arXiv:0911.5085.\nOur approach is general and can be used, in principle, for other quotients as\nwell as other symmetric spaces.",
        "positive": "On the Holography of Free Yang-Mills: We study the AdS$_5$/CFT$_4$ duality where the boundary CFT is free\nYang-Mills theory with gauge group SU(N). At the planar level we use the\nspectrum and correlation functions of the boundary theory to explicate features\nof the bulk theory. Further, by computing the one-loop partition function of\nthe bulk theory using the methods of arXiv:1603.05387, we argue that the bulk\ncoupling constant should be shifted to $N^2$ from $N^2-1$. Similar conclusions\nare reached by studying the dualities in thermal AdS$_5$ with $S^1\\times S^3$\nboundary."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On The Quantization Of Constraint Systems: A Lagrangian Approach: It is possible to introduce external time dependent back ground fields in the\nformulation of a system as fields whose dynamics can not be deduced from Euler\nLagrange equations of motion. This method leads to singular Lagrangians for\nreal systems. We discuss quantization of constraint systems in these cases and\nintroduce generalized Gupta-Bleuler quantization. In two examples we show\nexplicitly that this method of quantization leads to true Schr\\\"{o}dinger\nequations.",
        "positive": "Spacetime Structures and Physical Theories: General relativity is applied to the strong interaction; the nexus between\nthe two being arrived at by constructing a line element having the Yukawa form,\nwhich is used to describe geometrically the classical dynamics of a particle\nmoving under the influence of the short-range strong interaction. It is shown\nthat, with reasonable assumptions, the theory of general relativity can be made\ncompatible with quantum mechanics by using the general relativistic field\nequations to construct a Robertson-Walker metric for a quantum particle. The\nresulting line element of the particle can be transformed entirely to that of a\nMinkowski spacetime, and the spacetime dynamics of the particle described by a\nMinkowski observer takes the form of quantum mechanics. It is also discussed\nthe physical aspects of the affine connection in general relativity and its\nrelationship with the field strength of the electromagnetic field and strong\ninteraction. A heuristic geometric formulation of the electromagnetic field as\nan independent spacetime structure is presented."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic mesons in global Pilch-Warner background geometry: In this paper we study D-brane scalar fluctuations in global Pilch-Warner\nbackground geometry. We consider configurations of the probe branes compatible\nwith the kappa symmetry preserving condition and the brane classical equations\nof motion. The corresponding meson spectra, obtained by the fluctuations along\nthe transverse brane directions, admit equidistant structure for the higher\nmodes, but some of them show additional shifts in their ground states.",
        "positive": "Two-Loop Scattering Amplitudes from the Riemann Sphere: The scattering equations give striking formulae for massless scattering\namplitudes at tree level and, as shown recently, at one loop. The progress at\nloop level was based on ambitwistor string theory, which naturally yields the\nscattering equations. We proposed that, for ambitwistor strings, the standard\nloop expansion in terms of the genus of the worldsheet is equivalent to an\nexpansion in terms of nodes of a Riemann sphere, with the nodes carrying the\nloop momenta. In this paper, we show how to obtain two-loop scattering\nequations with the correct factorization properties. We adapt genus-two\nintegrands from the ambitwistor string to the nodal Riemann sphere and show\nthat these yield correct answers, by matching standard results for the\nfour-point two-loop amplitudes of maximal supergravity and super-Yang-Mills\ntheory. In the Yang-Mills case, this requires the loop analogue of the\nParke-Taylor factor carrying the colour dependence, which includes non-planar\ncontributions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic Entropy Cone Measures: We investigate numerically several proxy measures for the number of states\ncontained within the holographic entropy cone, compared to the number contained\nwithin the quantum entropy cone, for states with $3$ and $4$ parties. We find\nan interesting tension: while measures focused on calculating the volume ratios\nbetween the two cones indicate that the quantum cone is much larger than the\nholographic one, measures based on the generation of random states and then\ncalculating the entropies thereof imply that almost all such randomly generated\nstates are also contained within the holographic entropy cone. Also\ninterestingly, the volume measures strongly indicate a difference in the number\nof states within the quantum or stabiliser cones versus the number in the\nholographic cone, which is not reproduced by the other classes of measures. We\ncomment on the difference between the two classes of measures, and why each may\nbe preferable.",
        "positive": "Axions in String Theory $-$ Slaying the Hydra of Dark Radiation: It is widely believed that string theory easily allows for a QCD axion in the\ncosmologically favoured mass range. The required small decay constant, $f_a\\ll\nM_P$, can be implemented by using a large compactification volume. This points\nto the Large Volume Scenario which in turn makes certain cosmological\npredictions: First, the closed string axion behaves similarly to a\nfield-theoretic axion in the pre-inflationary scenario, i.e. the initial value\ncan be tuned but one is constrained by isocurvature fluctuations. In addition,\nthe volume represents a long-lived modulus that may lead to an early\nmatter-dominated phase. Finally, the decay of the volume modulus to its own\naxion tends to overproduce dark radiation. In this paper we aim to carefully\nanalyze the cosmology by studying models that not only allow for a QCD axion\nbut also include inflation. Quite generally, limits on isocurvature\nfluctuations restrict us to relatively low-scale inflation, which in the\npresent stringy context points to K\\\"ahler moduli inflation. As a novel feature\nwe find that the lightest (volume) modulus couples strongly to the Higgs. It\nhence quickly decays to the SM, thus resolving the original dark radiation\nproblem. This decay is much faster than that of the inflaton, implying that\nreheating is determined by the inflaton decay. The inflaton could potentially\nreintroduce a dark radiation problem since it decays to lighter moduli and\ntheir axions with equal rates. However, due its mixing with the QCD-saxion, the\ninflaton has also a direct decay rate to the SM, enhanced by the number of SM\ngauge bosons. This results in an amount of dark radiation that is consistent\nwith present limits but potentially detectable in future measurements."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Canonical Analysis of Inhomogeneous Dark Energy Model and Theory of\n  Limiting Curvature: This paper is devoted to the canonical analysis of inhomogeneous Dark Energy\nModel and the model of limiting curvature that were proposed recently by\nChamseddine and V. Mukhanov. We argue these models are well defined and have\nsimilar properties as a system consisting from general gravity action and\naction for incoherent dust.",
        "positive": "$(\u03b1')^4$ corrections to the N=2 supersymmetric Born-Infeld action: We consider the N=2 supersymmetric Born-Infeld action and compute one-loop\ndivergences quantizing the theory in N=1 superspace. We find that in the\npresence of non constant curvature the theory is not renormalizable. The\nstructure of the $(\\alpha')^4$ counterterm, proportional to derivatives of the\ncurvature, is consistent with effective action calculations from superstring\ntheory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Q-stars in 2+1 dimensions: We study q-stars with one or two scalar fields, non-abelian, and\nfermion-scalar q-stars in 2+1 dimensions in an anti de Sitter or flat\nspacetime. We fully investigate their properties, such as mass, particle\nnumber, radius, numerically, and focus on the matter of their stability against\ndecay to free particles and gravitational collapse. We also provide analytical\nsolutions in the case of flat spacetime and other special cases.",
        "positive": "Penrose Limits and RG Flows: The Penrose-Gueven limit simplifies a given supergravity solution into a\npp-wave background. Aiming at clarifying its relation to renormalization group\nflow we study the Penrose-Guven limit of supergravity backgrounds that are dual\nto non-conformal gauge theories. The resulting backgrounds fall in a class\nsimple enough that the quantum particle is exactly solvable. We propose a map\nbetween the effective time-dependent quantum mechanical problem and the RG flow\nin the gauge theory. As a testing ground we consider explicitly two Penrose\nlimits of the infrared fixed point of the Pilch-Warner solution. We analyze the\ncorresponding gauge theory picture and write down the operators which are the\nduals of the low lying string states. We also address RG flows of a different\nnature by considering the Penrose-Gueven limit of a stack of N D_p branes. We\nnote that in the far IR (for p<3)the limit generically has negative\nmass-squared. This phenomenon signals, in the world sheet picture, the\nnecessity to transform to another description. In this regard, we consider\nexplicitly the cases of M2 from D2 and F1 from D1 ."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Contraction based classification of supersymmetric extensions of\n  kinematical Lie algebras: We study supersymmetric extensions of classical kinematical algebras from the\npoint of view of contraction theory. It is shown that contracting the\nsupersymmetric extension of the anti-de Sitter algebra leads to a hierarchy\nsimilar in structure to the classical Bacry-L\\'evy-Leblond classification",
        "positive": "Quantum field propagator for extended-objects in the microcanonical\n  ensemble and the S-matrix formulation: Starting with the well-known Nambu-Goto action for an N-extended body system\nthe propagator in the microcanonical ensemble is explicitly computed. This\npropagator is independent of the temperature and, in contrast with the previous\nreferences, takes account on all the non-local effects produced by the extended\nobjects (e.g., strings) in interaction. The relation between relativistic\nquantum field theories in the microcanonical approach and the pure S-matrix\nformulation is stablished and analyzed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Introductory Lectures on Multiple Membranes: These lecture notes introduce the multiple membrane theories known as BLG and\nABJM. We assume the reader is familiar with string theory, but not with\nM-theory, 11-dimensional supergravity or membranes. We therefore start with a\nbackground on M-theory and its extended objects before discussing BLG and ABJM.\nThe link to string theory via dimensional reduction will be maintained\nthroughout.",
        "positive": "On the IR Divergences in de Sitter Space: loops, resummation and the\n  semi-classical wavefunction: In this paper, we revisit the infrared (IR) divergences in de Sitter (dS)\nspace using the wavefunction method, and explicitly explore how the resummation\nof higher-order loops leads to the stochastic formalism. In light of recent\ndevelopments of the cosmological bootstrap, we track the behaviour of these\nnontrivial IR effects from perturbation theory to the non-perturbative regime.\nSpecifically, we first examine the perturbative computation of wavefunction\ncoefficients, and show that there is a clear distinction between classical\ncomponents from tree-level diagrams and quantum ones from loop processes.\nCosmological correlators at loop level receive contributions from tree-level\nwavefunction coefficients, which we dub classical loops. This distinction\nsignificantly simplifies the analysis of loop-level IR divergences, as we find\nthe leading contributions always come from these classical loops. Then we\ncompare with correlators from the perturbative stochastic computation, and find\nthe results there are essentially the ones from classical loops, while quantum\nloops are only present as subleading corrections. This demonstrates that the\nleading IR effects are contained in the semi-classical wavefunction which is a\nresummation of all the tree-level diagrams. With this insight, we go beyond\nperturbation theory and present a new derivation of the stochastic formalism\nusing the saddle-point approximation. We show that the Fokker-Planck equation\nfollows as a consequence of two effects: the drift from the Schr\\\"odinger\nequation that describes the bulk time evolution, and the diffusion from the\nPolchinski's equation which corresponds to the exact renormalization group flow\nof the coarse-grained theory on the boundary."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Unitary S-matrix for 2D Black Hole Formation and Evaporation: We study the black hole information paradox in the context of a\ntwo-dimensional toy model given by dilaton gravity coupled to $N$ massless\nscalar fields. After making the model well-defined by imposing reflecting\nboundary conditions at a critical value of the dilaton field, we quantize the\ntheory and derive the quantum quantum $S$-matrix for the case that $N$=$24$.\nThis $S$-matrix is unitary by construction, and we further argue that in the\nsemiclassical regime it describes the formation and subsequent Hawking\nevaporation of two-dimensional black holes. Finally, we note an interesting\ncorrespondence between the dilaton gravity $S$-matrix and that of the $c=1$\nmatrix model.",
        "positive": "Rigid Particle and its Spin Revisited: The arguments by Pandres that the double valued spherical harmonics provide a\nbasis for the irreducible spinor representation of the three dimensional\nrotation group are further developed and justified. The usual arguments against\nthe inadmissibility of such functions, concerning hermiticity, orthogonality,\nbehavior under rotations, etc., are all shown to be related to the unsuitable\nchoice of functions representing the states with opposite projections of\nangular momentum. By a correct choice of functions and definition of inner\nproduct those difficulties do not occur. And yet the orbital angular momentum\nin the ordinary configuration space can have integer eigenvalues only, for the\nreason which have roots in the nature of quantum mechanics in such space. The\nsituation is different in the velocity space of the rigid particle, whose\naction contains a term with the extrinsic curvature."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Multi-scale gravity and cosmology: The gravitational dynamics and cosmological implications of three classes of\nrecently introduced multi-scale spacetimes (with, respectively, ordinary,\nweighted and q-derivatives) are discussed. These spacetimes are non-Riemannian:\nthe metric structure is accompanied by an independent measure-differential\nstructure with the characteristics of a multi-fractal, namely, different\ndimensionality at different scales and, at ultra-short distances, a discrete\nsymmetry known as discrete scale invariance. Under this minimal paradigm, five\ngeneral features arise: (a) the big-bang singularity can be replaced by a\nfinite bounce, (b) the cosmological constant problem is reinterpreted, since\naccelerating phases can be mimicked by the change of geometry with the time\nscale, without invoking a slowly rolling scalar field, (c) the discreteness of\ngeometry at Planckian scales can leave an observable imprint of logarithmic\noscillations in cosmological spectra and (d) give rise to an alternative\nmechanism to inflation or (e) to a fully analytic model of cyclic mild\ninflation, where near scale invariance of the perturbation spectrum can be\nproduced without strong acceleration. Various properties of the models and\nexact dynamical solutions are discussed. In particular, the multi-scale\ngeometry with weighted derivatives is shown to be a Weyl integrable spacetime.",
        "positive": "Black hole complementarity from AdS/CFT: We study a simple version of the AdS/CFT (anti-de Sitter spacetime/Conformal\nField Theory) correspondence, where operators have integer conformal\ndimensions. In this model, bulk causality follows from boundary analyticity,\neven in nontrivial black hole backgrounds that break the underlying conformal\nsymmetry. This allows a natural set of quasi-local bulk observables to be\nconstructed. Estimates of finite central charge corrections to semiclassical\ncorrelators are made. These corrections are used to determine the regime of\nvalidity of effective field theory in the bulk spacetime. The results are\nconsistent with black hole complementarity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-abelian U-duality at work: Non-abelian U-duality originates from the construction of exceptional\nDrinfel'd algebra (EDA), which extends the constriction of the classical\nDrinfel'd double. This symmetry is a natural extension of Poisson--Lie\nT-duality and is believed to be a symmetry of Type II string/M-theory or their\nlow-energy effective theories. In this paper, we consider non-abelian\nU-dualities of 11- or 10-dimensional backgrounds starting with E${}_{n(n)}$ EDA\nwith $n\\leq 6$ with vanishing trombone gauging. The latter guarantees that all\ndual backgrounds satisfy the standard supergravity equations of motion. In\nparticular, when the duality includes a timelike T-duality, we obtain solutions\nof M$^*$-theory or Type II$^*$ background equations, as expected. Also starting\nwith coboundary EDA's we provide examples of generalised Yang--Baxter\ndeformations of M-theory and Type IIB backgrounds. The obtained results provide\nexplicit examples when non-abelian U-duality works well as a solution\ngenerating transformation.",
        "positive": "Non-local conformal symmetry in Fronsdal theory: We write a first order action for higher-spin fields and construct a\ncanonical map to Fronsdal theory. The first-order description is defined over\ncomplex field configurations and has conformal invariance. We show that it is\npossible to push forward these transformations to a set of symmetries in\nFronsdal theory that satisfies the conformal algebra but is not given by\nstandard conformal change of coordinates."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Perturbative and instanton corrections to the OPE of CPOs in N=4 SYM_4: We study perturbative and instanton corrections to the Operator Product\nExpansion of the lowest weight Chiral Primary Operators of N=4 SYM_4. We\nconfirm the recently observed non-renormalization of various operators (notably\nof the double-trace operator with dimension 4 in the 20 irrep of SU(4)), that\nappear to be unprotected by unitarity restrictions. We demonstrate the\nsplitting of the free-field theory stress tensor and R-symmetry current in\nsupermultiplets acquiring different anomalous dimensions in perturbation theory\nand argue that certain double-trace operators also undergo a perturbative\nsplitting into operators dual to string and two-particle gravity states\nrespectively. The instanton contributions affect only those double-trace\noperators that acquire finite anomalous dimensions at strong coupling. For the\nleading operators of this kind, we show that the ratio of their anomalous\ndimensions at strong coupling to the anomalous dimensions due to instantons is\nthe same number.",
        "positive": "Non-extremal Black Hole Microstates: Fuzzballs of Fire or Fuzzballs of\n  Fuzz ?: We construct the first family of microstate geometries of near-extremal black\nholes, by placing metastable supertubes inside certain scaling supersymmetric\nsmooth microstate geometries. These fuzzballs differ from the classical black\nhole solution macroscopically at the horizon scale, and for certain probes the\nfluctuations between various fuzzballs will be visible as thermal noise far\naway from the horizon. We discuss whether these fuzzballs appear to infalling\nobservers as fuzzballs of fuzz or as fuzzballs of fire. The existence of these\nsolutions suggests that the singularity of non-extremal black holes is resolved\nall the way to the outer horizon and this \"backwards in time\" singularity\nresolution can shed light on the resolution of spacelike cosmological\nsingularities."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "1/16-BPS Black Holes and Giant Gravitons in the AdS_5 X S^5 Space: We explore 1/16-BPS objects of type IIB string theory in AdS_5 * S^5. First,\nwe consider supersymmetric AdS_5 black holes, which should be 1/16-BPS and have\na characteristic that not all physical charges are independent. We point out\nthat the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy of these black holes admits a remarkably\nsimple expression in terms of (dependent) physical charges, which suggests its\nmicroscopic origin via certain Cardy or Hardy-Ramanujan formula. We also note\nthat there is an upper bound for the angular momenta given by the electric\ncharges. Second, we construct a class of 1/16-BPS giant graviton solutions in\nAdS_5 * S^5 and explore their properties. The solutions are given by the\nintersections of AdS_5 * S^5 and complex 3 dimensional holomorphic hyperspaces\nin C^{1+5}, the latter being the zero loci of three holomorphic functions which\nare homogeneous with suitable weights on coordinates. We investigate examples\nof giant gravitons, including their degenerations to tensionless strings.",
        "positive": "Macroscopic superstrings as interpolating solitons: It is known that, in string sigma-model metric, the `extreme' fivebrane\nsolution of D=10 supergravity interpolates between D=10 Minkowski spacetime and\na supersymmetric $S^3$ compactification to a linear dilaton vacuum. We show\nhere that, in {\\it fivebrane} sigma-model metric, the extreme string solution\nof D=10 supergravity interpolates between Minkowski spacetime and a hitherto\nunknown supersymmetric $S^7$ compactification of d=10 supergravity to a\nthree-dimensional anti-de Sitter generalization of the linear dilaton vacuum,\nwhich may be invariantly characterized in terms of conformal\n  Killing vectors. The dilaton field diverges near the string core but this\ndivergence may be eliminated by re-interpreting the string solution as the\nextreme membrane solution of 11-dimensional supergravity. We show that the\nlatter has an analytic extension through a regular degenerate event horizon to\nan interior region containing a curvature singularity. We obtain analogous\nresults for other extended object solutions of supergravity theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Two-loop renormalization of N=1 supersymmetric electrodynamics,\n  regularized by higher derivatives: Two-loop $\\beta$-function and anomalous dimension are calculated for N=1\nsupersymmetric quantum electrodynamics, regularized by higher derivatives in\nthe minimal subtraction scheme. The result for two-loop contribution to the\n$\\beta$-function appears to be equal to 0, does not depend on the form of\nregularizing term and does not lead to anomaly puzzle. Two-loop anomalous\ndimension can be also made independent on parameters of higher derivative\nregularization by a special choice of subtraction scheme.",
        "positive": "Recoiling D-branes: We propose a new method to describe a recoiling D-brane that is elastically\nscattered by closed strings in the non-relativistic region. We utilize the\nlow-energy effective field theory on the worldvolume of the D-brane, and the\nvelocity of the D-brane is described by the time derivative of the expectation\nvalues of the massless scalar fields on the worldvolume. The effects of the\nclosed strings are represented by a source term for the massless fields in this\nmethod. The momentum conservation condition between the closed strings and the\nD-brane is derived up to the relative sign of the momentum of the D-brane."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetry Breaking and Restoration in the Interval: We study fermions, such as gravitinos and gauginos in supersymmetric\ntheories, propagating in a five-dimensional bulk where the fifth dimension is\nan interval. We show the mass spectrum becomes independent from the\nScherk-Schwarz parameter if the boundary mass terms obey a relation of\nalignment with the bulk supersymmetry breaking.",
        "positive": "Two-loop supersymmetric QCD and half-maximal supergravity amplitudes: Using the duality between color and kinematics, we construct two-loop\nfour-point scattering amplitudes in $\\mathcal{N}=2$ super-Yang-Mills (SYM)\ntheory coupled to $N_f$ fundamental hypermultiplets. Our results are valid in\n$D\\le 6$ dimensions, where the upper bound corresponds to six-dimensional\nchiral $\\mathcal{N}=(1,0)$ SYM theory. By exploiting a close connection with\n$\\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM theory - and, equivalently, six-dimensional\n$\\mathcal{N}=(1,1)$ SYM theory - we find compact integrands with\nfour-dimensional external vectors in both the maximally-helicity-violating\n(MHV) and all-chiral-vector sectors. Via the double-copy construction\ncorresponding $D$-dimensional half-maximal supergravity amplitudes with\nexternal graviton multiplets are obtained in the MHV and all-chiral sectors.\nAppropriately tuning $N_f$ enables us to consider both pure and matter-coupled\nsupergravity, with arbitrary numbers of vector multiplets in $D=4$. As a bonus,\nwe obtain the integrands of the genuinely six-dimensional supergravities with\n$\\mathcal{N}=(1,1)$ and $\\mathcal{N}=(2,0)$ supersymmetry. Finally, we extract\nthe potential ultraviolet divergence of half-maximal supergravity in\n$D=5-2\\epsilon$ and show that it non-trivially cancels out as expected."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Bosonized supersymmetry from the Majorana-Dirac-Staunton theory and\n  massive higher-spin fields: We propose a (3+1)D linear set of covariant vector equations, which unify the\nspin 0 ``new Dirac equation'' with its spin 1/2 counterpart, proposed by\nStaunton. Our equations describe a spin (0,1/2) supermultiplet with different\nnumbers of degrees of freedom in the bosonic and fermionic sectors. The\ntranslation-invariant spin deegres of freedom are carried by two copies of the\nHeisenberg algebra. This allows us to realize space-time supersymmetry in a\nbosonized form. The grading structure is provided by an internal reflection\noperator. Then the construction is generalized by means of the Majorana\nequation to a supersymmetric theory of massive higher-spin particles. The\nresulting theory is characterized by a nonlinear symmetry superalgebra, that,\nin the large-spin limit, reduces to the super-Poincare algebra with or without\ntensorial central charge.",
        "positive": "Practical scheme of reduction to gauge invariant variables: For systems with first class constraints the reduction scheme to the gauge\ninvariant variables is considered. The method is based on the analysis of\nrestricted 1-forms in gauge invariant variables. This scheme is applied to the\nmodels of electrodynamics and Yang-Mills theory. For the finite dimensional\nmodel with $SU(2)$ gauge group of symmetry the possible mechanism of\nconfinement is obtained."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "(Non-)Decoupled Supersymmetric Field Theories: We study some consequences of coupling supersymmetric theories to\n(super)gravity. To linear order, the couplings are determined by the\nenergy-momentum supermultiplet. At higher orders, the couplings are determined\nby contact terms in correlation functions of the energy-momentum\nsupermultiplet. We focus on the couplings of one particular field in the\nsupergravity multiplet, the auxiliary field $M$. We discuss its linear and\nquadratic (seagull) couplings in various supersymmetric theories. In analogy to\nthe local renormalization group formalism, we provide a prescription for how to\nfix the quadratic couplings. They generally arise at two-loops in perturbation\ntheory. We check our prescription by explicitly computing these couplings in\nseveral examples such as mass-deformed ${\\cal N}$ = 4 and in the Coulomb phase\nof some theories. These couplings affect the Lagrangians of rigid\nsupersymmetric theories in curved space. In addition, our analysis leads to a\ntransparent derivation of the phenomenon known as Anomaly Mediation. In\ncontrast to previous approaches, we obtain both the gaugino and scalar masses\nof Anomaly Mediation by relying just on classical, minimal supergravity and a\nmanifestly local and supersymmetric Wilsonian point of view. Our discussion\nnaturally incorporates the connection between Anomaly Mediation and\nsupersymmetric $AdS_4$ Lagrangians. This note can be read without prior\nfamiliarity with Anomaly Mediated Supersymmetry Breaking (AMSB).",
        "positive": "Classical r-matrices for the generalised Chern-Simons formulation of 3d\n  gravity: We study the conditions for classical r-matrices to be compatible with the\ngeneralised Chern-Simons action for 3d gravity. Compatibility means solving the\nclassical Yang-Baxter equations with a prescribed symmetric part for each of\nthe real Lie algebras and bilinear pairings arising in the generalised\nChern-Simons action. We give a new construction of r-matrices via a generalised\ncomplexification and derive a non-linear set of matrix equations determining\nthe most general compatible r-matrix. We exhibit new families of solutions and\nshow that they contain known solutions for special parameter values"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dirac Sea for Bosons: It is proposed to make formulation of second quantizing a bosonic theory by\ngeneralizing the method of filling the Dirac negative energy sea for fermions.\nWe interpret that the correct vacuum for the bosonic theory is obtained by\nadding minus one boson to each single particle negative energy states while the\npositive energy states are empty. The boson states are divided into two sectors\n; the usual positive sector with positive and zero numbers of bosons and the\nnegative sector with negative numbers of bosons. Once it comes into the\nnegative sector it cannot return to the usual positive sector by ordinary\ninteraction due to a barrier. It is suggested to use as a playround models in\nwhich the filling of empty fermion Dirac sea and the removal of boson from the\nnegative energy states are not yet performed. We put forward such a naive\nvacuum world and propose a CPT-like theorem for it.We study it in detail and\ngive a proof for $\\lambda/4 (\\phi^+\\phi)^2$ theory. The CPT-like theorem is a\nstrong reflection, but does not include inversion of operator order which is\ninvolved in the ordinary CPT theorem. Instead it needs certain analytic\ncontinuation of the multiple wave function when the state is formulated as a\nfinite number of particles present.",
        "positive": "Three-dimensional N=8 conformal supergravity and its coupling to BLG\n  M2-branes: This paper is concerned with the problem of coupling the N=8 superconformal\nBagger-Lambert-Gustavsson (BLG) theory to N=8 conformal supergravity in three\ndimensions. We start by constructing the on-shell N=8 conformal supergravity in\nthree dimensions consisting of a Chern-Simons type term for each of the gauge\nfields: the spin connection, the SO(8) R-symmetry gauge field and the spin 3/2\nRarita-Schwinger (gravitino) field. We then proceed to couple this theory to\nthe BLG theory. The final theory should have the same physical content, i.e.,\ndegrees of freedom, as the ordinary BLG theory. We discuss briefly the\nproperties of this \"topologically gauged\" BLG theory and why this theory may be\nuseful."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spherical Casimir energies and Dedekind sums: Casimir energies on space-times having general lens spaces as their spatial\nsections are shown to be given in terms of generalised Dedekind sums related to\nZagier's. These are evaluated explicitly in certain cases as functions of the\norder of the lens space. An easily implemented recursion approach is used.",
        "positive": "Relativistic invariance of the vacuum: Relativistic invariance of the vacuum is (or follows from) one of the\nWightman axioms which is commonly believed to be true. Without these axioms,\nhere we present a direct and general proof of continuous relativistic\ninvariance of all real-time vacuum correlations of fields, not only scattering\n(forward in time), based on closed time path formalism. The only assumptions\nare basic principles of relativistic quantum field theories: the relativistic\ninvariance of the Lagrangian, of the form including known interactions\n(electromagnetic, weak and strong), and standard rules of quantization. The\nproof is in principle perturbative leaving a possibility of spontaneous\nviolation of invariance. Time symmetry is however manifestly violated."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Functional determinant and Green functions for a fermionic gauge theory\n  on the disk: We study a theory of Dirac fermions on a disk in presence of an\nelectromagnetic field. Using the heat-kernel technique we compute the\nfunctional determinant which results after decoupling the zero-flux gauge\ndegrees of freedom from the fermions. We also compute the Green functions of\nthe remaining fermionic theory with the appropriate boundary conditions.\nFinally we analyze the coset model associated to this gauge theory and compute\nall its correlations functions.",
        "positive": "Gauge theories on compact toric surfaces, conformal field theories and\n  equivariant Donaldson invariants: We show that equivariant Donaldson polynomials of compact toric surfaces can\nbe calculated as residues of suitable combinations of Virasoro conformal\nblocks, by building on AGT correspondence between N = 2 supersymmetric gauge\ntheories and two-dimensional conformal field theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Kink scattering in the presence of geometric constrictions: We investigate kink-antikink collisions in a model characterized by two\nscalar fields in the presence of geometric constrictions. The model includes an\nauxiliary function that modifies the kinematics associated with one of the two\nfields. An important fact is that one of the fields can be solved\nindependently, being responsible for changing the internal structure of the\nsecond one. We performed several collisions and observed the presence of\nresonance windows for small values of the parameters. Furthermore, we have been\nable to show the alternation between the appearance of oscillating pulses, as\nwell as the annihilation and formation of kink-antikink pairs when the\ngeometric constriction is more pronounced. The study of kink dynamics in models\nwith geometric constrictions is connected with issues of interest such as\ndomain wall formation and magnetization at the manometric scale.",
        "positive": "Twisted Superspace: We formulate the ten-dimensional super-Yang-Mills theory in a twisted\nsuperspace with 8+1 supercharges. Its constraints do not imply the equations of\nmotion and we solve them. As a preliminary step for a complete formulation in a\ntwisted superspace, we give a superspace path-integral formulation of the N=2,\nd=4 super-Yang-Mills theory without matter. The action is the sum of a\nChern--Simons term depending on a super-connection plus a BF-like term. The\nintegration over the superfield B implements the twisted superspace constraints\non the super-gauge field, and the Chern-Simons action reduces to the known\naction in components."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Computing the elliptic genus of higher rank E-strings from genus 0 GW\n  invariants: We show that the elliptic genus of the higher rank E-strings can be computed\nbased solely on the genus 0 Gromov-Witten invariants of the corresponding\nelliptic geometry. To set up our computation, we study the structure of the\ntopological string free energy on elliptically fibered Calabi-Yau manifolds\nboth in the unrefined and the refined case, determining the maximal amount of\nthe modular structure of the partition function that can be salvaged. In the\ncase of fibrations exhibiting only isolated fibral curves, we show that the\nprincipal parts of the topological string partition function at given\nbase-wrapping can be computed from the knowledge of the genus 0 Gromov-Witten\ninvariants at this base-wrapping, and the partition function at lower\nbase-wrappings. For the class of geometries leading to the higher rank\nE-strings, this leads to the result stated in the opening sentence.",
        "positive": "Analytic derivation of dual gluons and monopoles from SU(2) lattice\n  Yang-Mills theory. I. BF Yang-Mills representation: In this series of three papers, we generalize the derivation of dual photons\nand monopoles by Polyakov, and Banks, Myerson and Kogut, to obtain\napproximative models of SU(2) lattice gauge theory. The papers take three\ndifferent representations as their starting points: the representation as a BF\nYang-Mills theory, the spin foam representation and the plaquette\nrepresentation. The derivations are based on stationary phase approximations.\n  In this first article, we cast 3- and 4-dimensional SU(2) lattice gauge\ntheory in the form of a lattice BF Yang-Mills theory. In several steps, the\nexpectation value of a Wilson loop is transformed into a path integral over a\ndual gluon field and monopole-like degrees of freedom. The action contains the\ntree-level Coulomb interaction and a nonlinear coupling between dual gluons,\nmonopoles and current."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Higgsed network calculus: We introduce a formalism for describing holomorphic blocks of 3d quiver gauge\ntheories using networks of Ding-Iohara-Miki algebra intertwiners. Our approach\nis very direct and gives an explicit identification of the blocks with\nDotsenko-Fateev type integrals for q-deformed quiver W-algebras. We also\nexplain how quiver theories corresponding to Dynkin diagrams of superalgebras\narise, write down the corresponding partition functions and W-algebras, and\nexplain the connection with supersymmetric Macdonald-Ruijsenaars commuting\nHamiltonians.",
        "positive": "Higher spins, quadratic forms and amplitudes: The light-cone Hamiltonians for spin 1 and spin 2 fields, describing both the\npure and the maximally supersymmetric theories, may be expressed as quadratic\nforms. In this paper, we show that this feature extends to light-cone higher\nspin theories. To first order in the coupling constant, we prove that the\nhigher spin Hamiltonians, with and without supersymmetry, are quadratic forms.\nScattering amplitude structures emerge naturally in this framework and we\nrelate the momentum space vertex in a supersymmetric higher spin theory to the\ncorresponding vertex in the N=4 Yang-Mills theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Gauge Invariance of the Chern-Simons Action for N D-Branes: In this short note we provide a proof that the Chern-Simons part of the\naction for N D-branes is invariant under gauge transformations of the RR fields\nof the type C_p ->C_p + d\\Lambda_{p-1}, and rewrite the action in a form that\nmakes this symmetry manifest.",
        "positive": "Clausius relation and Friedmann equation in FRW universe model: It has been shown that Friedmann equation of FRW universe can be derived from\nthe first law of thermodynamics in Einstein gravity, Gauss-Bonnet gravity,\nLovelock gravity, scalar-tensor gravity and $f(R)$ gravity. Moreover, it was\npointed out that the temperature of the apparent horizon can be obtained using\nthe tunneling formalism for the corresponding observers defined by Kodama\nvector. In this article, we find that the energy flux through the apparent\nhorizon can be determined by using the Kodama vector. This implies the fact\nthat the Clausius relation and the first law of thermodynamics associated with\nthe apparent horizon in FRW universe is relative to the Kodama observers.We\nillustrate the derivation of Friedmann equation, and also extend the study to\nthe cases of Ho\\v{r}ava-Lifshitz gravity and IR modified Ho\\v{r}ava-Lifshitz\ngravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chaos in the Quantum Field Theory $S$-matrix: A number of studies have shown that chaos occurs in scattering: the outgoing\ndeflection angle is seen to be an erratic function of the impact parameter. We\npropose to extend this to quantum field theory, and to use erratic behavior of\nthe many-particle $S$-matrix as a probe of chaos.",
        "positive": "Bootstrapping 3D Fermions: We study the conformal bootstrap for a 4-point function of fermions\n$\\langle\\psi\\psi\\psi\\psi\\rangle$ in 3D. We first introduce an embedding\nformalism for 3D spinors and compute the conformal blocks appearing in fermion\n4-point functions. Using these results, we find general bounds on the\ndimensions of operators appearing in the $\\psi \\times \\psi$ OPE, and also on\nthe central charge $C_T$. We observe features in our bounds that coincide with\nscaling dimensions in the Gross-Neveu models at large $N$. We also speculate\nthat other features could coincide with a fermionic CFT containing no relevant\nscalar operators."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Strong-Weak Coupling Duality in Three Dimensional String Theory: Following an old result of Marcus and Schwarz we argue that in the heterotic\nstring theory compactified on a seven dimensional torus, the target space\nduality group O(7,23;Z) and the strong-weak coupling duality transformations\ncombine into the group O(8,24;Z). We discuss symmetry of the combined spectrum\nof elementary particles and solitons in the theory, and also show that the\nexistence of this symmetry predicts the number of harmonic forms on the moduli\nspace of periodic arrays of BPS monopoles in (3+1) dimensions. Finally, we show\nthat the O(8,24;Z) transformations relate the soliton solutions of Dabholkar\net. al. representing the fundamental string to the soliton solutions of Greene\net. al. representing `stringy cosmic strings'.",
        "positive": "Complete and Consistent Non-Minimal String Corrections to Supergravity: We give a complete and consistent solution to string corrected (deformed),\nD=10, N=1 supergravity as the non-minimal low energy limit of string theory. We\nsolve the Bianchi identities with suitable constraints to second order in the\nstring slope parameter. In so doing we pave the way for continuing the study of\nthe many applications of these results. We also modify, reaffirm and correct a\npreviously given incomplete solution, and we introduce an important adjustment\nto the known first order results."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quaternionic Lorentz group and Dirac equation: We formulate Lorentz group representations in which ordinary complex numbers\nare replaced by linear functions of real quaternions and introduce dotted and\nundotted quaternionic one-dimensional spinors. To extend to parity the\nspace-time transformations, we combine these one-dimensional spinors into\nbi-dimensional column vectors. From the transformation properties of the\ntwo-component spinors, we derive a quaternionic chiral representation for the\nspace-time algebra. Finally, we obtain a quaternionic bi-dimensional version of\nthe Dirac equation.",
        "positive": "The first law of differential entropy and holographic complexity: We construct the CFT dual of the first law of spherical causal diamonds in\nthree-dimensional AdS spacetime. A spherically symmetric causal diamond in\nAdS$_3$ is the domain of dependence of a spatial circular disk with vanishing\nextrinsic curvature. The bulk first law relates the variations of the area of\nthe boundary of the disk, the spatial volume of the disk, the cosmological\nconstant and the matter Hamiltonian. In this paper we specialize to first-order\nmetric variations from pure AdS to the conical defect spacetime, and the bulk\nfirst law is derived following a coordinate based approach. The AdS/CFT\ndictionary connects the area of the boundary of the disk to the differential\nentropy in CFT$_2$, and assuming the `complexity=volume' conjecture, the volume\nof the disk is considered to be dual to the complexity of a cutoff CFT. On the\nCFT side we explicitly compute the differential entropy and holographic\ncomplexity for the vacuum state and the excited state dual to conical AdS using\nthe kinematic space formalism. As a result, the boundary dual of the bulk first\nlaw relates the first-order variations of differential entropy and complexity\nto the variation of the scaling dimension of the excited state, which\ncorresponds to the matter Hamiltonian variation in the bulk. We also include\nthe variation of the central charge with associated chemical potential in the\nboundary first law. Finally, we comment on the boundary dual of the first law\nfor the Wheeler-deWitt patch of AdS, and we propose an extension of our CFT\nfirst law to higher dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Quantum Check of AdS/dCFT: We build the framework for performing loop computations in the defect version\nof N=4 super Yang-Mills theory which is dual to the probe D5-D3 brane system\nwith background gauge-field flux. In this dCFT, a codimension-one defect\nseparates two regions of space-time with different ranks of the gauge group and\nthree of the scalar fields acquire non-vanishing and space-time-dependent\nvacuum expectation values. The latter leads to a highly non-trivial mass mixing\nproblem between different colour and flavour components, which we solve using\nfuzzy-sphere coordinates. Furthermore, the resulting space-time dependence of\nthe theory's Minkowski space propagators is handled by reformulating these as\npropagators in an effective AdS4. Subsequently, we initiate the computation of\nquantum corrections. The one-loop correction to the one-point function of any\nlocal gauge-invariant scalar operator is shown to receive contributions from\nonly two Feynman diagrams. We regulate these diagrams using dimensional\nreduction, finding that one of the two diagrams vanishes, and discuss the\nprocedure for calculating the one-point function of a generic operator from the\nSU(2) subsector. Finally, we explicitly evaluate the one-loop correction to the\none-point function of the BPS vacuum state, finding perfect agreement with an\nearlier string-theory prediction. This constitutes a highly non-trivial test of\nthe gauge-gravity duality in a situation where both supersymmetry and conformal\nsymmetry are partially broken.",
        "positive": "Master Symmetry for Holographic Wilson Loops: We identify the symmetry underlying the recently observed spectral-parameter\ntransformations of holographic Wilson loops alias minimal surfaces in AdS/CFT.\nThe generator of this nonlocal symmetry is shown to furnish a raising operator\non the classical Yangian-type charges of symmetric coset models. We explicitly\ndemonstrate how this master symmetry acts on strong-coupling Wilson loops and\nindicate a possible extension to arbitrary coupling."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exceptional versus superPoincar\u00e9 algebra as the defining symmetry of\n  maximal supergravity: We describe how one may use either the superPoincar\\'e algebra or the\nexceptional algebra to construct maximal supergravity theories in the\nlight-cone formalism. The d=4 construction shows both symmetries albeit in a\nnon-linearly realized manner. In d=11, we find that we have to choose which of\nthese two symmetries to use, in constructing the theory. In order to understand\nthe other \"unused\" symmetry, one has to perform a highly non-trivial field\nredefinition. We argue that this shows that one cannot trust counterterm\narguments that do not take the full symmetry of the theory into account.\nFinally we discuss possible consequences for Superstring theory and M-theory.",
        "positive": "Spinor representation of the general Lorentz group for spin 1/2\n  particles and CPT: We show that the attempt to introduce all of the discrete space-time\ntransformations into the spinor representation of the Lorentz group as wholly\nindependent transformations (as in the vectorial representation) leads to an\n8-component spinor representation in general. The first indications seem to\nimply that CPT can be violated in this formulation without going outside of\nfield theory. However one needs further study to reach a final conclusion."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Central Extensions of Supersymmetry in Four and Three Dimensions: We consider the maximal central extension of the supertranslation algebra in\nd=4 and 3, which includes tensor central charges associated to topological\ndefects such as domain walls (membranes) and strings. We show that for all\nN-extended superalgebras these charges are related to nontrivial configurations\non the scalar moduli space. For N=2 theories obtained from compactification on\nCalabi-Yau threefolds, we give an explicit realization of the moduli-dependent\ncharges in terms of wrapped branes.",
        "positive": "An infinite class of extremal horizons in higher dimensions: We present a new class of near-horizon geometries which solve Einstein's\nvacuum equations, including a negative cosmological constant, in all even\ndimensions greater than four. Spatial sections of the horizon are inhomogeneous\nS^2-bundles over any compact Kaehler-Einstein manifold. For a given base, the\nsolutions are parameterised by one continuous parameter (the angular momentum)\nand an integer which determines the topology of the horizon. In six dimensions\nthe horizon topology is either S^2 x S^2 or CP^2 # -CP^2. In higher dimensions\nthe S^2-bundles are always non-trivial, and for a fixed base, give an infinite\nnumber of distinct horizon topologies. Furthermore, depending on the choice of\nbase we can get examples of near-horizon geometries with a single rotational\nsymmetry (the minimal dimension for this is eight). All of our horizon\ngeometries are consistent with all known topology and symmetry constraints for\nthe horizons of asymptotically flat or globally Anti de Sitter extremal black\nholes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Comment on the Odd Flows for the Supersymmetric KdV equation: In a recent paper Dargis and Mathieu introduced integrodifferential odd flows\nfor the supersymmetric KdV equation. These flows are obtained from the nonlocal\nconservation laws associated with the fourth root of its Lax operator. In this\nnote I show that only half of these flows are of the standard Lax form, while\nthe remaining half provide us with hamiltonians for an SKdV-type reduction of a\nnew supersymmetric hierarchy. This new hierarchy is shown to be closely related\nto the Jacobian supersymmetric KP-hierarchy of Mulase and Rabin. A detailed\nstudy of the algebra of additional symmetries of this new hierarchy reveals\nthat it is isomorphic to the super-W_{1+\\infty} algebra, thus making it a\ncandidate for a possible interrelationship between superintegrability and\ntwo-dimensional supergravity.",
        "positive": "Jackiw-Teitelboim quantum gravity with defects and the Aharonov-Bohm\n  effect: We study the theory of Jackiw-Teitelboim gravity with generalized dilaton\npotential on Euclidean two-dimensional negatively curved backgrounds. The\neffect of the generalized dilaton potential is to induce a conical defect on\nthe two-dimensional manifold. We show that this theory can be written as the\nordinary quantum mechanics of a charged particle on a hyperbolic disk in the\npresence of a constant background magnetic field plus a pure gauge\nAharonov-Bohm field. This picture allows us to exactly calculate the\nwavefunctions and propagators of the corresponding gravitational dynamics. With\nthis method we are able to reproduce the gravitational density of states as\nwell as compute the R\\'eyni and entanglement entropies for the Hartle-Hawking\nstate. While we reproduce the classical entropy at high temperature, we also\nfind an extra topological contribution that becomes dominant at low\ntemperatures. We then show how the presence of defects modify correlation\nfunctions, including the out-of-time-ordered correlation, and decrease the\nLyapunov exponent. This is achieved two ways: by directly quantizing the\nboundary Schwarzian theory and by dimensionally reducing $SL(2,\\mathbb{Z})$\nblack holes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetric non-Abelian noncommutative Chern-Simons theory: In this work, we study the three-dimensional non-Abelian noncommutative\nsupersymmetric Chern-Simons model with the U(N) gauge group. Using a superfield\nformulation, we prove that, for the pure gauge theory, the Green functions are\none-loop finite in any gauge, if the gauge superpotential belongs to the\nfundamental representation of $u(N)$; this result also holds when matter in the\nfundamental representation is included. However, the cancellation of both\nultraviolet and ultraviolet/infrared infrared divergences only happens in a\nspecial gauge if the coupling of the matter is in the adjoint representation.\nWe also look into the finite one-loop quantum corrections to the effective\naction: in the pure gauge sector the Maxwell together with its corresponding\ngauge fixing action are generated; in the matter sector, the Chern-Simons term\nis generated, inducing a shift in the classical Chern-Simons coefficient.",
        "positive": "Scattering Matrix of the SU(n) Gauge Theory with Explicit Gauge Mass\n  Term: Based on the renormalisability of the SU(n) theory with massive gauge bosons,\nwe start with the path integral of the generating functional for the\nrenormalized Green functions and develop a method to construct the scattering\nmatrix so that the unitarity is evident. By using as basical variables the\nrenormalized field functions and defining the unperturbed Hamiltonian operator\n$H_0$ that, under the Lorentz condition, describes the free particles of the\ninitial and final states in scattering processes, we form an operator\ndescription with which the renormalized Green functions can be expressed as the\nvacuum expectations of the time ordered products of the Heisenberg operators of\nthe renormalized field functions, that satisfy the usual equal time commutation\nor anticommutation rules. From such an operator description we find a total\nHamiltonian $\\widetilde{H}$ that determine the time evolution of the Heisenberg\noperators of the renormalized field functions. The scattering matrix is nothing\nbut the matrix of the operator $U(\\infty, -\\infty)$, which describes the time\nevolution from $-\\infty$ to $\\infty$ in the interaction picture specified by\n$\\widetilde{H}$ and $H_0$, respect to a base formed by the physical eigen\nstates of $H_0$. We also explain the asymptotic field viewpoint of constructing\nthe scattering matrix within our operator description. Moreover, we find a\nformular to express the scattering matrix elements in terms of the truncated\nrenormalized Green functions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Schwinger-Dyson Equations in 2D Induced Gravity in Covariant Gauges: We formulate the Schwinger-Dyson equations in the ladder approximation for 2D\ninduced quantum gravity with fermions using covariant gauges of harmonic type.\nIt is shown that these equations can be formulated consistently in a gauge of\nLandau type (for negative cosmological constant). A numerical analysis of the\nequations hints towards the possibility of chiral symmetry breaking, depending\non the value of the coupling constant.",
        "positive": "Engineering 3D $\\mathcal{N}=2$ theories using the quantum affine\n  $\\mathfrak{sl}(2)$ algebra: The algebraic engineering technique is applied to a class of 3D\n$\\mathcal{N}=2$ gauge theories on the omega-deformed background\n$\\mathbb{R}_\\epsilon^2\\times S^1$. The vortex partition function and the\nfundamental qq-character are obtained from a network of intertwiners between\nrepresentations of the shifted (or asymptotic) quantum affine\n$\\mathfrak{sl}(2)$ algebra. This network involves two types of representations,\nthe prefundamental representation of Hernandez-Jimbo, and a new vertex\nrepresentation acting on a bosonic Fock space. The brane system associated to\nthis network is identified: D3 branes carry the prefundamental module while\nNS5-branes (+D5) support the Fock module. In the process, we highlight the role\nof shifted quantum algebras in implementing the Higgsing procedure."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Three- and four-point correlators of operators dual to folded string\n  solutions in AdS_5 x S^5: Recently there has been progress on the calculation of n-point correlation\nfunctions with two \"heavy\" (with large quantum numbers) states at strong\ncoupling. We extend these findings by computing three-point functions\ncorresponding to a folded three-spin semiclassical string with one angular\nmomentum in AdS and two equal spins in the sphere. We recover previous results\nas limiting cases. Also, following a recent paper by Buchbinder and Tseytlin,\nwe provide relevant four-point functions and consider some of their limits.",
        "positive": "Topological SL(2) Gauge Theory on Conifold: Using a two component $SL(2) $ isospinor formalism, we study the link between\nconifold $T^{\\ast}\\mathbb{S}^{3}$ and q-deformed non commutative holomorphic\ngeometry in complex four dimensions. Then, thinking about conifold as a\nprojective complex three dimension hypersurface embedded in non compact\n$WP^{5}(1,-1,1,-1,1,-1) $ space and using conifold local isometries, we study\ntopological $SL(2) $ gauge theory on $T^{\\ast}\\mathbb{S}^{3}$ and its\nreductions to lower dimension sub-manifolds $T^{\\ast}\\mathbb{S}^{2}$,\n$T^{\\ast}\\mathbb{S}^{1}$ and their real slices. Projective symmetry is also\nused to build a supersymmetric QFT$%_{4}$ realization of these backgrounds.\nExtensions for higher dimensions with conifold like properties are explored.\n\\bigskip \\textbf{Key words}: Conifold, q-deformation, non commutative complex\ngeometry, topological gauge theory. Nambu like background."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Towards Early Dark Energy in String Theory: Early Dark Energy (EDE) is a prominent model to resolve the Hubble tension,\nwhich employs a dynamical axion with a periodic potential. In this work, we\ntake first steps towards the embedding of this model into stable\ncompactifications of string theory. First, we provide a pedagogical review of\nthe EDE scenario and its main challenges. Second, we construct a simple\nsupergravity toy model using only minimal ingredients. Already at this level,\nwe can understand the origin of the harmonics of the EDE scalar potential in\nterms of a delicate balance of the leading terms from separate non-perturbative\neffects. Third and final, we embed the model into a KKLT-type compactification,\nwith the EDE scalar field realized by a two-form axion. We find that a\nsuccessful embedding, with all moduli stabilized, requires restrictive\nassumptions both on the Pfaffians and on the exponents of the non-perturbative\nterms responsible for the EDE dynamics. We point out that such non-generic\nconditions reflect well known challenges of the EDE model and further\ninvestigation might guide us towards a conclusive resolution.",
        "positive": "The Flux-Scaling Scenario: De Sitter Uplift and Axion Inflation: Non-geometric flux-scaling vacua provide promising starting points to realize\naxion monodromy inflation via the F-term scalar potential. We show that these\nvacua can be uplifted to Minkowski and de Sitter by adding an anti D3-brane or\na D-term containing geometric and non-geometric fluxes. These uplifted\nnon-supersymmetric models are analyzed with respect to their potential to\nrealize axion monodromy inflation self-consistently. Admitting rational values\nof the fluxes, we construct examples with the required hierarchy of mass\nscales."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Graviton self-energy from worldlines: Worldline approaches, when available, often simplify and make more efficient\nthe calculation of various observables in quantum field theories. In this\ncontribution we first review the calculation of the graviton self-energy due to\na loop of virtual particles of spin 0, 1/2 and 1, all of which have a\nwell-known worldline description. For the case of the graviton itself, an\nelegant worldline description is still missing, though one can still describe\nit by constructing a worldline representation of the differential operators\nthat arise in the quadratic approximation of the Einstein-Hilbert action. We\nhave recently analyzed the latter approach, and we use it here to calculate the\none-loop graviton self energy due to the graviton itself in this formalism.",
        "positive": "Celestial Current Algebra from Low's Subleading Soft Theorem: The leading soft photon theorem implies that four-dimensional scattering\namplitudes are controlled by a two-dimensional (2D) $U(1)$ Kac-Moody symmetry\nthat acts on the celestial sphere at null infinity ($\\mathcal{I}$). This\ncelestial $U(1)$ current is realized by components of the electromagnetic\nvector potential on the boundaries of $\\mathcal{I}$. Here, we develop a\nparallel story for Low's subleading soft photon theorem. It gives rise to a\nsecond celestial current, which is realized by vector potential components that\nare subleading in the large radius expansion about the boundaries of\n$\\mathcal{I}$. The subleading soft photon theorem is reexpressed as a celestial\nWard identity for this second current, which involves novel shifts by one unit\nin the conformal dimension of charged operators."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Wilson Lines and Ishibashi States in AdS$_3$/CFT$_2$: We provide a refined interpretation of a gravitational Wilson line in AdS$_3$\nin terms of Ishibashi states in the dual CFT$_2$. Our strategy is to give a\nmethod to evaluate the Wilson line that accounts for all the information\ncontained in the representation, and clarify the role of boundary conditions at\nthe endpoints of the line operator. This gives a novel way to explore and\nreconstruct the local bulk dynamics which we discuss. We also compare our\nfindings with other interpretations of Ishibashi states in AdS$_3$/CFT$_2$.",
        "positive": "Cosmological Correlators Through the Looking Glass: Reality, Parity, and\n  Factorisation: We consider the evolution of quantum fields during inflation, and show that\nthe total-energy singularities appearing in the perturbative expansion of the\nlate-time Wavefunction of the Universe are purely real when the external states\nare massless scalars and massless gravitons. Our proof relies on the tree-level\napproximation, Bunch-Davies initial conditions, and exact scale invariance\n(IR-convergence), but without any assumptions on invariance under de Sitter\nboosts. We consider all $n$-point functions and allow for the exchange of\nadditional states of any mass and integer spin. Our proof makes use of a\ndecomposition of the inflationary bulk-bulk propagator of massive spinning\nfields which preserves UV-convergence and ensures that the time-ordered\ncontributions are purely real after we rotate to Euclidean time. We use this\nreality property to show that the maximally-connected parts of wavefunction\ncoefficients, from which total-energy singularities come from, are purely real.\nIn a theory where all states are in the complementary series, this reality\nextends to the full wavefunction coefficient. We then use our reality theorem\nto show that parity-odd correlators (correlators that are mirror asymmetric)\nare factorised and do not diverge when the total-energy is conserved. We pay\nspecial attention to the parity-odd four-point function (trispectrum) of\ninflationary curvature perturbations and use our reality/factorisation theorems\nto show that this observable is factorised into a product of cubic diagrams\nthereby enabling us to derive exact shapes. We present examples of couplings\nbetween the inflaton and massive spin-$1$ and spin-$2$ fields, with the\nparity-violation in the trispectrum driven by Chern-Simons corrections to the\nspinning field two-point function, or from parity-violating cubic interactions\nwhich we build within the Effective Field Theory of Inflation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Probing the String Winding Sector: We probe a slice of the massive winding sector of bosonic string theory from\ntoroidal compactifications of Double Field Theory (DFT). This string subsector\ncorresponds to states containing one left and one right moving oscillators. We\nperform a generalized Kaluza Klein compactification of DFT on generic\n$2n$-dimensional toroidal constant backgrounds and show that, up to third order\nin fluctuations, the theory coincides with the corresponding effective theory\nof the bosonic string compactified on $n$-dimensional toroidal constant\nbackgrounds, obtained from three-point amplitudes. The comparison between both\ntheories is facilitated by noticing that generalized diffeomorphisms in DFT\nallow to fix generalized harmonic gauge conditions that help in identifying the\nphysical degrees of freedom. These conditions manifest as conformal anomaly\ncancellation requirements on the string theory side. The explicit expression\nfor the gauge invariant effective action containing the physical massless\nsector (gravity+antisymmetric+gauge+ scalar fields) coupled to towers of\ngeneralized Kaluza Klein massive states (corresponding to compact momentum and\nwinding modes) is found. The action acquires a very compact form when written\nin terms of fields carrying $O(n,n)$ indices, and is explicitly T-duality\ninvariant. The global algebra associated to the generalized Kaluza Klein\ncompactification is discussed.",
        "positive": "Relaxation dynamics in a strongly coupled Fermi superfluid: The key feature of time-dependent dynamics in a paired Fermi superfluid is\nthe presence of a large number of independent degrees of freedom---the pairing\namplitudes of fermions with different momenta. We argue that useful prototypes\nof this dynamics come from D-brane constructions of string theory. Using a\nspecific example of that kind, we identify the mechanism by which a strongly\ncoupled Fermi superfluid relaxes to equilibrium; it involves a wave of\nexcitation in the momentum space, propagating from the Fermi surface towards\nthe ultraviolet. For a sudden quench induced by a change in the fermion\ncoupling, we find that the relaxation occurs rapidly, over only a few\noscillations of the quasiparticle gap."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Paragrassmann Differential Calculus: Explicit general constructions of paragrassmann calculus with one and many\nvariables are given. Relations of the paragrassmann calculus to quantum groups\nare outlined and possible physics applications are briefly discussed. This\npaper is the same as the original 9210075 except added Appendix and minor\nchanges in Acknowledgements and References. IMPORTANT NOTE: This paper bears\nthe same title as the Dubna preprint E5-92-392 but is NOT identical to it,\ncontaining new results, extended discussions, and references.",
        "positive": "On the Inflationary Perturbations of Massive Higher-Spin Fields: Cosmological perturbations of massive higher-spin fields are generated during\ninflation, but they decay on scales larger than the Hubble radius as a\nconsequence of the Higuchi bound. By introducing suitable couplings to the\ninflaton field, we show that one can obtain statistical correlators of massive\nhigher-spin fields which remain constant or decay very slowly outside the\nHubble radius. This opens up the possibility of new observational signatures\nfrom inflation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Kontsevich-Segal Criterion in the No-Boundary State Constrains\n  Inflation: We show that the Kontsevich-Segal (KS) criterion, applied to the complex\nsaddles that specify the semiclassical no-boundary wave function, acts as a\nselection mechanism on inflationary scalar field potentials. Completing the\nobservable phase of slow-roll inflation with a no-boundary origin, the KS\ncriterion effectively bounds the tensor-to-scalar ratio of cosmic microwave\nbackground fluctuations to be less than 0.08, in line with current\nobservations. We trace the failure of complex saddles to meet the KS criterion\nto the development of a tachyon in their spectrum of perturbations.",
        "positive": "Strings from IIB Matrices: D-string action is constructed from IIB matrices, a spacetime commutator is\nessential in this construction. This hints at the central role of the spacetime\nuncertainty relation in a unified formulation of strings. Vertex operators of\nfundamental strings are also discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Hartree approximation in curved spacetimes revisited I: the\n  effective potential in de Sitter: We consider a quantum scalar field with {\\lambda}{\\phi}^4 interaction in\ncurved spacetimes. The quantum effects are taken into account nonperturbatively\nusing the Hartree approximation to the 2PI effective action. Although this\napproximation has been considered in many previous works, we reconsider it\nusing a consistent nonperturbative renormalization procedure, which we extend\nto general curved spacetimes. We obtain the renormalized equations for the mean\nfield and for the propagator of the fluctuations, showing explicitly their\nindependence on the arbitrary scale introduced by the regularization scheme. We\napply our results to the particular case of de Sitter spacetime and discuss\nspontaneous symmetry breaking. The results depend strongly on the\nrenormalization procedure.",
        "positive": "Quiver Theories for Moduli Spaces of Classical Group Nilpotent Orbits: We approach the topic of Classical group nilpotent orbits from the\nperspective of their moduli spaces, described in terms of Hilbert series and\ngenerating functions. We review the established Higgs and Coulomb branch quiver\ntheory constructions for A series nilpotent orbits. We present systematic\nconstructions for BCD series nilpotent orbits on the Higgs branches of quiver\ntheories defined by canonical partitions; this paper collects earlier work into\na systematic framework, filling in gaps and providing a complete treatment. We\nfind new Coulomb branch constructions for above minimal nilpotent orbits,\nincluding some based upon twisted affine Dynkin diagrams. We also discuss\naspects of 3d mirror symmetry between these Higgs and Coulomb branch\nconstructions and explore dualities and other relationships, such as\nHyperKahler quotients, between quivers. We analyse all Classical group\nnilpotent orbit moduli spaces up to rank 4 by giving their unrefined Hilbert\nseries and the Highest Weight Generating functions for their decompositions\ninto characters of irreducible representations and/or Hall Littlewood\npolynomials."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Lehmann-Symanzik-Zimmermann S-Matrix elements on the Moyal Plane: Field theories on the Groenewold-Moyal(GM) plane are studied using the\nLehmann-Symanzik-Zimmermann(LSZ) formalism. The example of real scalar fields\nis treated in detail. The S-matrix elements in this non-perturbative approach\nare shown to be equal to the interaction representation S-matrix elements. This\nis a new non-trivial result: in both cases, the S-operator is independent of\nthe noncommutative deformation parameter $\\theta_{\\mu\\nu}$ and the change in\nscattering amplitudes due to noncommutativity is just a time delay. This result\nis verified in two different ways. But the off-shell Green's functions do\ndepend on $\\theta_{\\mu\\nu}$. In the course of this analysis, unitarity of the\nnon-perturbative S-matrix is proved as well.",
        "positive": "Some Correlators of $SU(3)_3$ WZW Models on Higher-Genus Riemann\n  Surfaces: Using the conformal embedding on the torus, we can express some characters of\n$SU(3)_3$ in terms of $SO(8)_1$ characters. Then with the help of crossing\nsymmetry, modular transformation and factorization properties of Green\nfunctions, we will calculate a class of correlators of $SU(3)_3$ on arbitrary\nRiemann surfaces. This method can apply to all $k>1$ WZW models which can be\nconformally embedded in some $k=1$ WZW models."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Loops in exceptional field theory: We study certain four-graviton amplitudes in exceptional field theory in\ndimensions $D\\geq 4$ up to two loops. As the formulation is manifestly\ninvariant under the U-duality group $E_{11-D}(\\mathbb{Z})$, our resulting\nexpressions can be expressed in terms of automorphic forms. In the low energy\nexpansion, we find terms in the M-theory effective action of type $R^4$,\n$\\nabla^4R^4$ and $\\nabla^6 R^4$ with automorphic coefficient functions in\nagreement with independent derivations from string theory. This provides in\nparticular an explicit integral formula for the exact string theory $\\nabla^6\nR^4$ threshold function. We exhibit moreover that the usual supergravity\nlogarithmic divergences cancel out in the full exceptional field theory\namplitude, within an appropriately defined dimensional regularisation scheme.\nWe also comment on terms of higher derivative order and the role of the section\nconstraint for possible counterterms.",
        "positive": "A unified approach to standard and exotic dualizations through graded\n  geometry: Gauge theories can often be formulated in different but physically equivalent\nways, a concept referred to as duality. Using a formalism based on graded\ngeometry, we provide a unified treatment of all parent theories for different\ntypes of standard and exotic dualizations. Our approach is based on treating\ntensor fields as functions of a certain degree on graded supermanifolds\nequipped with a suitable number of odd coordinates. We present a universal\ntwo-parameter first order action for standard and exotic electric/magnetic\ndualizations and prove in full generality that it yields two dual second order\ntheories with the desired field content and dynamics. Upon choice of\nparameters, the parent theory reproduces (i) the standard and exotic duals for\np-forms and (ii) the standard and double duals for (p,1) bipartite tensor\nfields, such as the linearized graviton and the Curtright field. Moreover, we\ndiscuss how deformations related to codimension-1 branes are included in the\nparent theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Bi-Graded Markovian Matrices as Non-Local Dirac Operators and a New\n  Quantum Evolution: Measuring distances on a lattice in noncommutative geometry involves square,\nsymmetric and real ``three-diagonal'' matrices, with the sum of their elements\nobeying a supremum condition, together with a constraint forcing the absolute\nvalue of the maximal eigenvalue to be equal to 1. In even dimensions, these\nmatrices are unipotent of order two, while in odd dimensions only their squares\nare Markovian. We suggest that these bi-graded Markovian matrices (i.e.\nconsisting in the square roots of Markovian matrices) can be thought of as\nnon-local Dirac operators. The eigenvectors of these matrices are spinors.\nTreating these matrices as determining the stochastic time evolution of states\nmight explain why one observes only left handed neutrinos. Some other physical\ninterpretations are suggested. We end by presenting a mathematical conjecture\napplying to q-graded Markovian matrices.",
        "positive": "Asymptotic Bethe Ansatz S-matrix and Landau-Lifshitz type effective 2-d\n  actions: Motivated by the desire to relate Bethe ansatz equations for anomalous\ndimensions found on the gauge theory side of the AdS/CFT correspondence to\nsuperstring theory on AdS_5 x S5 we explore a connection between the asymptotic\nS-matrix that enters the Bethe ansatz and an effective two-dimensional quantum\nfield theory. The latter generalizes the standard ``non-relativistic''\nLandau-Lifshitz (LL) model describing low-energy modes of ferromagnetic\nHeisenberg spin chain and should be related to a limit of superstring effective\naction. We find the exact form of the quartic interaction terms in the\ngeneralized LL type action whose quantum\n  S-matrix matches the low-energy limit of the asymptotic S-matrix of the spin\nchain of Beisert, Dippel and Staudacher (BDS). This generalises to all orders\nin the `t Hooft coupling an earlier computation of Klose and Zarembo of the\nS-matrix of the standard LL model. We also consider a generalization to the\ncase when the spin chain S-matrix contains an extra ``string'' phase and\ndetermine the exact form of the LL 4-vertex corresponding to the low-energy\nlimit of the ansatz of Arutyunov, Frolov and Staudacher (AFS). We explain the\nrelation between the resulting ``non-relativistic'' non-local action and the\nsecond-derivative string sigma model. We comment on modifications introduced by\nstrong-coupling corrections to the AFS phase. We mostly discuss the SU(2)\nsector but also present generalizations to the SL(2) and SU(1|1) sectors,\nconfirming universality of the dressing phase contribution by matching the\nlow-energy limit of the AFS-type spin chain S-matrix with tree-level\nstring-theory S-matrix."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Greybody Radiation and Quasinormal Modes of Kerr-like Black Hole in\n  Bumblebee Gravity Model: In the framework of the Lorentz symmetry breaking (LSB), we investigate the\nquasinormal modes (QNMs) and the greybody factors (GFs) of the Kerr-like black\nhole spacetime obtained from the bumblebee gravity model. In particular, we\nanalyze the scalar and fermionic perturbations of the black hole within the\nframework of both semi-analytic WKB method and the time domain approach. The\nimpacts of the LSB on the bosonic/fermionic QNMs and GFs of the Kerr-like black\nhole are investigated in detail. The obtained results are graphically depicted\nand discussed.",
        "positive": "Towards Deconstruction of the Type D (2,0) Theory: We propose a four-dimensional supersymmetric theory that deconstructs, in a\nparticular limit, the six-dimensional $(2,0)$ theory of type $D_k$. This 4d\ntheory is defined by a necklace quiver with alternating gauge nodes\n$\\mathrm{O}(2k)$ and $\\mathrm{Sp}(k)$. We test this proposal by comparing the\n6d half-BPS index to the Higgs branch Hilbert series of the 4d theory. In the\nprocess, we overcome several technical difficulties, such as Hilbert series\ncalculations for non-complete intersections, and the choice of $\\mathrm{O}$\nversus $\\mathrm{SO}$ gauge groups. Consistently, the result matches the Coulomb\nbranch formula for the mirror theory upon reduction to 3d."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Composite BPS skyrmions from an exact isospin symmetry breaking: We study the BPS Skyrme model with potentials breaking the isospin symmetry\nand analyse how properties of exact solitonic solutions depend on a form of the\nisospin breaking potential. In the case of the strong symmetry breaking a new\ntopologic structure is observed which enables us to decompose a BPS skyrmion\ninto a lower dimensional defect localised on a brane (kink). We investigate\nsome thermodynamical properties of such solitons as well as the role of the\nsymmetry breaking potential in the resulting mean-field equation of state.",
        "positive": "Effective cosmological constant from TeV-scale physics: Simple\n  field-theoretic model: Adopting the q-theory approach to the cosmological constant problem, a simple\nfield-theoretic model is presented which generates an effective cosmological\nconstant (remnant vacuum energy density) of the observed order of magnitude,\n\\Lambda_{eff} \\sim (meV)^4, if there exist new TeV-scale ultramassive particles\nwith electroweak interactions. The model is simple, in the sense that it\ninvolves only a few types of fields and two energy scales, the gravitational\nenergy scale E_{Planck}\\sim 10^{15} TeV and the electroweak (new-physics)\nenergy scale E_{ew}\\sim 1-10 TeV."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Field Theory in 2T-physics with N=1 Supersymmetry: We construct N=1 supersymmetric field theory in 4+2 dimensions compatible\nwith the theoretical framework of 2T physics and its gauge symmetries. The\nfields are arranged into 4+2 dimensional chiral and vector supermultiplets, and\ntheir interactions are uniquely fixed by SUSY and 2T-physics gauge symmetries.\nIn a particular gauge the 4+2 theory reduces to ordinary supersymmetric field\ntheory in 3+1 dimensions without any Kaluza-Klein remnants, but with some\nadditional constraints in 3+1 dimensions of interesting phenomenological\nrelevance. This construction is another significant step in the development of\n2T-physics as a structure that stands above 1T-physics.",
        "positive": "Bootstraps to Strings: Solving Random Matrix Models with Positivity: A new approach to solving random matrix models directly in the large $N$\nlimit is developed. First, a set of numerical values for some low-pt\ncorrelation functions is guessed. The large $N$ loop equations are then used to\ngenerate values of higher-pt correlation functions based on this guess. Then\none tests whether these higher-pt functions are consistent with positivity\nrequirements, e.g., $\\langle \\text{tr }M^{2k} \\rangle \\ge 0$. If not, the\nguessed values are systematically ruled out. In this way, one can constrain the\ncorrelation functions of random matrices to a tiny subregion which contains\n(and perhaps converges to) the true solution. This approach is tested on single\nand multi-matrix models and handily reproduces known solutions. It also\nproduces strong results for multi-matrix models which are not believed to be\nsolvable. A tantalizing possibility is that this method could be used to search\nfor new critical points, or string worldsheet theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "About quantum fluctuations and holographic principle in\n  (4+n)-dimensional spacetime: In the article we present explicit expressions for quantum fluctuations of\nspacetime in the case of $(4+n)$-dimensional spacetimes, and consider their\nholographic properties and some implications for clocks, black holes and\ncomputation. We also consider quantum fluctuations and their holographic\nproperties in ADD model and estimate the typical size and mass of the clock to\nbe used in precise measurements of spacetime fluctuations. Numerical\nestimations of phase incoherence of light from extra-galactic sources in ADD\nmodel are also presented.",
        "positive": "Non-Linear Electrodynamics in Curved Backgrounds: We study non-linear electrodynamics in curved space from the viewpoint of\ndualities. After establishing the existence of a topological bound for\nself-dual configurations of Born-Infeld field in curved space, we check that\nthe energy-momentum tensor vanishes. These properties are shown to hold for\ngeneral duality-invariant non-linear electrodynamics. We give the dimensional\nreduction of Born-Infeld action to three dimensions in a general curved\nbackground admitting a Killing vector. The SO(2) duality symmetry becomes\nmanifest but other symmetries present in flat space are broken, as is U-duality\nwhen one couples to gravity. We generalize our arguments on duality to the case\nof n U(1) gauge fields, and present a new Lagrangian possessing SO(n) X\nSO(2)_elemag duality symmetry. Other properties of this model such as Legendre\nduality and enhancement of the symmetry by adding dilaton and axion, are\nstudied. We extend our arguments to include a background b-field in the curved\nspace, and give new examples including almost Kaehler manifolds and\nSchwarzshild black holes with a $b$-field."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Jaynes-Gibbs principle of maximal entropy and the non-equilibrium\n  propagators of the O(N) phi^4 theory at large N: We present a novel procedure for calculating non-equilibrium two-point\nGreen's functions in the $O(N) \\phi^{4}$ theory at large $N$. The\nnon-equilibrium density matrix $\\rho$ is constructed via the Jaynes-Gibbs\nprinciple of maximal entropy and it is directly implemented into the\nDyson-Schwinger equations through initial value conditions. In the large $N$\nlimit we perform an explicit evaluation of two-point Green's functions for two\nillustrative choices of $\\rho$.",
        "positive": "Shockwaves in black hole microstate geometries: Gravitational solutions involving shockwaves have attracted significant\nrecent interest in the context of black holes and quantum chaos. Certain\nclasses of supersymmetric two-charge black hole microstates are described by\nsupergravity solutions containing shockwaves, that are horizonless and smooth\naway from the shockwave. These configurations have been used to describe how\nblack hole microstates absorb and scramble perturbations. In this paper we\nconstruct the first family of asymptotically flat supersymmetric three-charge\nmicrostate solutions that contain shockwaves. We identify a family of\nholographically dual states of the D1-D5 CFT and show that these pass a set of\ntests, including a precision holographic test. We find precise agreement\nbetween gravity and CFT. Our results may prove useful for constructing more\ngeneral families of black hole microstate solutions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dimers and Orientifolds: We introduce new techniques based on brane tilings to investigate D3-branes\nprobing orientifolds of toric Calabi-Yau singularities. With these new tools,\none can write down many orientifold models and derive the resulting low-energy\ngauge theories living on the D-branes. Using the set of ideas in this paper one\nrecovers essentially all orientifolded theories known so far. Furthermore, new\norientifolds of non-orbifold toric singularities are obtained. The possible\napplications of the tools presented in this paper are diverse. One particular\napplication is the construction of models which feature dynamical supersymmetry\nbreaking as well as the computation of D-instanton induced superpotential\nterms.",
        "positive": "$\\mathcal{N} = 2$ higher spins: superfield equations of motion, the\n  hypermultiplet supercurrents, and the component structure: As a continuation of our previous papers arXiv:2109.07639 and\narXiv:2202.08196, we study the linearized structure of the manifestly $4D,\n\\mathcal{N} = 2$ supersymmetric theory of the cubic couplings of the higher\nspin gauge superfields to the matter hypermultiplets. We consider in detail the\nsuperfield equations of motion, construct the conserved hypermultiplet\nsuperfield currents, explore their component structure (basically in the\nbosonic sector) and compare it with the corresponding currents in the\nconventional higher-spin bosonic theory. We thoroughly study the $\\mathcal{N} =\n2$ spin $\\mathbf{2}$ and $\\mathbf{3}$ models as instructive examples."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A note on the 3D Ising model as a string theory: It has long been argued that the continuum limit of the 3D Ising model is\nequivalent to a string theory. Unfortunately, in the usual starting point for\nthis equivalence -- a certain lattice theory of surfaces -- it is not at all\nobvious how to take the continuum limit. In this note, I reformulate the\nlattice theory of surfaces in a fashion such that the continuum limit is\nstraightforward. I go on to discuss how this new formulation may overcome some\nfundamental objections to the notion that the Ising model is equivalent to a\nstring theory. In an appendix, I also discuss some aspects of fermion doubling,\nand the lattice fermion formulation of the 2D Ising model.",
        "positive": "On Fractional Quantum Hall Solitons and Chern-Simons Quiver Gauge\n  Theories: We investigate a class of hierarchical multiple layers of fractional quantum\nHall soliton (FQHS) systems from Chern-Simons quivers embedded in M-theory on\nthe cotangent on a 2-dimensional complex toric variety \\bf V^2, which is dual\nto type IIA superstring on a 3-dimensional complex manifold \\bf {CP}^1\\times\nV^2 fibered over a real line \\mathbb{R}. Based on M-theory/Type IIA duality,\nFQHS systems can be derived from wrapped D4-branes on 2-cycles in \\bf\n{CP}^1\\times V^2 type IIA geometry. In this realization, the magnetic source\ncan be identified with gauge fields obtained from the decomposition of the R-R\n3-form on a generic combination of 2-cycles. Using type IIA D-brane flux data,\nwe compute the filling factors for models relying on \\bf{CP}^2 and the zeroth\nHirzebruch surface."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "(2,0) Lagrangian Structures: By including an additional self-dual three-form we construct a Lorentz\ninvariant lagrangian for the abelian (2,0) tensor supermultiplet. The extra\nthree-form is a supersymmetry singlet and decouples from the (2,0) tensor\nsupermultiplet. We also present an interacting non-abelian generalization which\nreproduces the equations of motion of [arXiv:1007.2982 [hep-th]] and can\ndescribe some aspects of two interacting M5-branes.",
        "positive": "Graviton localization and Newton law for a dS_4 brane in 5D bulk: We consider an dS_4 brane embedded in a five-dimensional bulk with a\npositive, vanishing or negative bulk cosmological constant and derive the\nlocalized graviton spectrum that consists of a normalizable zero-mode separated\nby a gap from a continuum of massive states. We estimate the massive sector\ncontribution to the static potential at short distances and find that only in\nthe case of a negative bulk cosmological constant there is a range, determined\nby the effective four-dimensional and the bulk cosmological constants, where\nthe conventional Newton law is valid."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Splitting Supersymmetry in String Theory: We point out that type I string theory in the presence of internal magnetic\nfields provides a concrete realization of split supersymmetry. To lowest order,\ngauginos are massless while squarks and sleptons are superheavy. We build such\nrealistic U(3)xU(2)xU(1) models on stacks of magnetized D9-branes. Though not\nunified into a simple group, these theories preserve the successful\nsupersymmetric relation of gauge couplings, as they start out with equal SU(3)\nand SU(2) couplings and the correct initial sin^2\\theta_W at the\ncompactification scale of M_{GUT}\\simeq 2x10^{16} GeV, and they have the\nminimal low-energy particle content of split supersymmetry. We also propose a\nmechanism in which the gauginos and higgsinos are further protected by a\ndiscrete R-symmetry against gravitational corrections, as the gravitino gets an\ninvariant Dirac mass by pairing with a member of a Kaluza-Klein tower of\nspin-3/2 particles. In addition to the models proposed here, split\nsupersymmetry offers novel strategies for realistic model-building. So,\nTeV-scale string models previously dismissed because of rapid proton decay, or\nincorrect sin^2\\theta_W, or because there were no unused dimensions into which\nto dilute the strength of gravity, can now be reconsidered as candidates for\nrealistic split theories with string scale near M_{GUT}, as long as the\ngauginos and higgsinos remain light.",
        "positive": "Casimir energy and the superconducting phase transition: We study the influence of Casimir energy on the critical field of a\nsuperconducting film, and we show that by this means it might be possible to\ndirectly measure, for the first time, the variation of Casimir energy that\naccompanies the superconducting transition. It is shown that this novel\napproach may also help clarifying the long-standing controversy on the\ncontribution of TE zero modes to the Casimir energy in real materials."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Violation of Lorentz symmetries and thermal effects in Compton\n  scattering: In this paper, the differential cross section for the Compton scattering\nprocess is calculated. Two types of corrections are investigated: corrections\ndue to violation of Lorentz symmetry and thermal effects. An extended QED is\nconsidered to introduce the parameter that leads to the breaking of symmetry.\nWhile temperature effects are introduced using Thermofield Dynamics formalism.\nIt is shown that the differential cross section changes with both corrections.\nThese corrections are dominant at appropriate limits. These special cases are\nanalyzed and compared with other results from the literature.",
        "positive": "Scaling in four dimensional quantum gravity: We discuss scaling relations in four dimensional simplicial quantum gravity.\nUsing numerical results obtained with a new algorithm called ``baby universe\nsurgery'' we study the critical region of the theory. The position of the phase\ntransition is given with high accuracy and some critical exponents are\nmeasured. Their values prove that the transition is continuous. We discuss the\nproperties of two distinct phases of the theory. For large values of the bare\ngravitational coupling constant the internal Hausdorff dimension is {\\em two}\n(the elongated phase), and the continuum theory is that of so called branched\npolymers. For small values of the bare gravitational coupling constant the\ninternal Hausdorff dimension seems to be {\\em infinite} (the crumpled phase).\nWe conjecture that this phase corresponds to a theory of topological gravity.\n{\\em At} the transition point the Hausdorff dimension might be finite and\nlarger than two. This transition point is a potential candidate for a\nnon-perturbative theory of quantum gravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hairy black holes in theories with massive gravitons: This is a brief survey of the known black hole solutions in the theories of\nghost-free bigravity and massive gravity. Various black holes exist in these\ntheories, in particular those supporting a massive graviton hair. However, it\nseems that solutions which could be astrophysically relevant are the same as in\nGeneral Relativity, or very close to them. Therefore, the no-hair conjecture\nessentially applies, and so it would be hard to detect the graviton mass by\nobserving black holes.",
        "positive": "Operator Dictionaries and Wave Functions in AdS/CFT and dS/CFT: Dual AdS/CFT correlators can be computed in two ways: differentiate the bulk\npartition function with respect to boundary conditions, or extrapolate bulk\ncorrelation functions to the boundary. These dictionaries were conjectured to\nbe equivalent by Banks, Douglas, Horowitz, and Martinec. We revisit this\nquestion at the level of bulk path integrals, showing that agreement in the\npresence of interactions requires careful treatment of the renormalization of\nbulk composite operators. By contrast, we emphasize that proposed dS/CFT\nanalogues of the two dictionaries are inequivalent. Next, we show quite\ngenerally that the wave function for Euclidean AdS analytically continues to\nthe dS wave function with Euclidean initial conditions. Most of our arguments\nconsider interacting fields on a fixed background, but in a final section we\ndiscuss the inclusion of bulk dynamical gravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Induced Field Theory on the Brane World - Gravity, Extrinsic Curvature,\n  and Gauge Fields: We show how the gravity, extrinsic curvature, and gauge field theories are\ninduced on dynamically localized brane world. They should obey the\nGauss-Codazzi-Ricci equation in addition to their own equations of motion. As\nan example, we derive the solitonic solution for curved domain wall in five\ndimensions in terms of gravity and extrinsic curvature fields of the brane, and\nthen derive the effective action for their field theory on the brane.",
        "positive": "Rolling Tachyon Boundary State, Conserved Charges and Two Dimensional\n  String Theory: The boundary state associated with the rolling tachyon solution on an\nunstable D-brane contains a part that decays exponentially in the asymptotic\npast and the asymptotic future, but it also contains other parts which either\nremain constant or grow exponentially in the past or future. We argue that the\ntime dependence of the latter parts is completely determined by the requirement\nof BRST invariance of the boundary state, and hence they contain information\nabout certain conserved charges in the system. We also examine this in the\ncontext of the unstable D0-brane in two dimensional string theory where these\nconserved charges produce closed string background associated with the discrete\nstates, and show that these charges are in one to one correspondence with the\nsymmetry generators in the matrix model description of this theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "D-branes and Cosmology: D-branes, topological defects in string theory on which string endpoints can\nlive, may give new insight into the understanding of the cosmological evolution\nof the Universe at early epochs. We analyze the dynamics of D-branes in curved\nbackgrounds and discuss the parameter space of M-theory as a function of the\ncoupling constant and of the curvature of the Universe. We show that D-branes\nmay be efficiently produced by gravitational effects. Furthermore, in curved\nspacetimes the transverse fluctuations of the D-branes develop a tachyonic mode\nand when the fluctuations grow larger than the horizon the branes become\ntensionless and break up. This signals a transition to a new regime. We discuss\nthe implications of our findings for the singularity problem present in string\ncosmology, suggesting the existence of a limiting value for the curvature which\nis in agreement with the value suggested by the cosmological version of the\nholography principle. We also comment on possible implications for the\nso-called brane world scenario, where the Standard Model gauge and matter\nfields live inside some branes while gravitons live in the bulk.",
        "positive": "Entropy production, viscosity bounds and bumpy black holes: The ratio of shear viscosity to entropy density, $\\eta/s$, is computed in\nvarious holographic geometries that break translation invariance (but are\nisotropic). The shear viscosity does not have a hydrodynamic interpretation in\nsuch backgrounds, but does quantify the rate of entropy production due to a\nstrain. Fluctuations of the metric components $\\delta g_{xy}$ are massive about\nthese backgrounds, leading to $\\eta/s < 1/(4\\pi)$ at all finite temperatures\n(even in Einstein gravity). As the temperature is taken to zero, different\nbehaviors are possible. If translation symmetry breaking is irrelevant in the\nfar IR, then $\\eta/s$ tends to a constant at $T=0$. This constant can be\nparametrically small. If the translation symmetry is broken in the far IR\n(which nonetheless develops emergent scale invariance), then $\\eta/s \\sim T^{2\n\\nu}$ as $T \\to 0$, with $\\nu \\leq 1$ in all cases we have considered. While\nthese results violate simple bounds on $\\eta/s$, we note that they are\nconsistent with a possible bound on the rate of entropy production due to\nstrain."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Classical Renormalization of Codimension-two Brane Couplings: The curvature on codimension-two and higher branes is not regular for\narbitrary matter sources. Nevertheless, the low-energy theory for an observer\non such a brane should be well-defined and independent to any regularization\nprocedure. This is achieved via appropriate classical renormalization of the\nbrane couplings, and leads to a natural hierarchy between standard model\ncouplings and couplings to gravity.",
        "positive": "Towards the Standard Model spectrum from elliptic Calabi-Yau: We show that it is possible to construct supersymmetric three-generation\nmodels of Standard Model gauge group in the framework of non-simply-connected\nelliptically fibered Calabi-Yau, without section but with a bi-section. The\nfibrations on a cover Calabi-Yau, where the model has 6 generations of SU(5)\nand the bundle is given via the spectral cover description, use a different\ndescription of the elliptic fibre which leads to more than one global section.\nWe present two examples of a possible cover Calabi-Yau with a free involution:\none is a fibre product of rational elliptic surfaces $dP_9$; another example is\nan elliptic fibration over a Hirzebruch surface. There we give the necessary\namount of chiral matter by turning on in the bundles a further parameter,\nrelated to singularities of the fibration and the branching of the spectral\ncover."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Light Cone QED in a Homogeneous Electric Background: I present an exact solution for the Heisenberg picture, Dirac electron in the\npresence of an electric field which depends arbitrarily upon the light cone\ntime parameter $x^+ = (t+x)/\\sqrt{2}$. This is the largest class of background\nfields for which the mode functions have ever been obtained. The solution\napplies to electrons of any mass and in any spacetime dimension. The\ntraditional ampiguity at $p^+ = 0$ is explicitly resolved. It turns out that\nthe initial value operators include not only $(I + \\gamma^0 \\gamma^1) \\psi$ at\n$x^+ = 0$ but also $(I - \\gamma^0 \\gamma^1) \\psi$ at $x^- = -L$. Pair creation\nis a discrete and instantaneous event on the light cone, so one can compute the\nparticle production rate in real time. In $D=1+1$ dimensions one can also see\nthe anomaly. Another novel feature of the solution is that the expectation\nvalue of the currents operators depends non-analytically upon the background\nfield. This seems to suggest a new, strong phase of QED.",
        "positive": "A New Mechanism for Trapping of Photon: We propose a new mechanism for trapping bulk gauge field, giving rise to a\nmassless photon on a flat Minkowski 3-brane in the Randall-Sundrum model in\nfive space-time dimensions. The mechanism we propose employs the topological\nHiggs mechansim where a topological term and a 3-form gauge potential play an\nimportant role. This new mechanism might be considered as a gauge field's\nanalog of the localization of bulk fermions with the mass term of a 'kink'\nprofile."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Classical and Quantum Composite p-branes: We discuss classical composite p-brane solutions and their quantization using\nthe conjecture that their fluctuations may be described via degrees of freedom\nof Dirichlet strings ended on these p-branes. We work with Dirichlet\n(super)strings in framework of string field theory for open (super)strings. To\nelaborate in this scheme the eleventh dimension modes we take just a collection\nof Dirichlet strings which in their middle points have jumps in eleventh\ndimension. This theory can be seen as string field theory in infinite momentum\nframe of an eleven dimensional object.",
        "positive": "Fermions and scalars in $\\mathcal{N} = 4$ Wilson loops at strong\n  coupling and beyond: We study the strong coupling behaviour of null polygonal Wilson loops/gluon\namplitudes in $\\mathcal{N} = 4$ SYM, by using the OPE series and its\nintegrability features. For the hexagon we disentangle the $SU(4)$ matrix\nstructure of the form factors for fermions, organising them in a pattern\nsimilar to the Young diagrams used previously for the scalar sector\n\\cite{BFPR2,BFPR3}. Then, we complete and extend the discussion of \\cite{BFPR1}\nby showing, at strong coupling, the appearance of a new effective particle in\nthe series: the fermion-antifermion bound state, the so-called meson. We\ndiscuss its interactions in the OPE series with itself by forming (effective)\nbound states and with the gluons and bound states of them. These lead the OPE\nseries to the known $AdS_5$ minimal area result for the Wls, described in terms\nof a set of TBA-like equations. This approach allows us to detect all the\none-loop contributions and, once the meson has formed, applies to\n$\\mathcal{N}=2$ Nekrasov partition function via the parallel meson/instanton\n(in particular, they share the mechanism by which their bound states emerge and\nform the TBA node). Finally, to complete the strong coupling analysis, we\nconsider the scalar sector for any polygon, confirming the emergence of a\nleading contribution from the non-perturbative theory on the sphere $S^5$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Aspects of AdS$_2$ holography with non-constant dilaton: In this proceedings contribution we summarize and discuss results of Refs.\n\\cite{Grumiller:2013swa, Grumiller:2015vaa} in the light of recent developments\nin $\\textrm{AdS}_2$ holography \\cite{Maldacena:2016upp, Jensen:2016pah,\nEngelsoy:2016xyb}.",
        "positive": "Cosmic strings in a space-time with positive cosmological constant: We study Abelian strings in a fixed de Sitter background. We find that the\ngauge and Higgs fields extend smoothly across the cosmological horizon and that\nthe string solutions have oscillating scalar fields outside the cosmological\nhorizon for all currently accepted values of the cosmological constant. If the\ngauge to Higgs boson mass ratio is small enough, the gauge field function has a\npower-like behaviour, while it is oscillating outside the cosmological horizon\nif Higgs and gauge boson mass are comparable. Moreover, we observe that Abelian\nstrings exist only up to a maximal value of the cosmological constant and that\ntwo branches of solutions exist that meet at this maximal value. We also\nconstruct radially excited solutions that only exist for non-vanishing values\nof the cosmological constant and are thus a novel feature as compared to flat\nspace-time. Considering the effect of the de Sitter string on the space-time,\nwe observe that the deficit angle increases with increasing cosmological\nconstant. Lensed objects would thus be separated by a larger angle as compared\nto asymptotically flat space-time."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exact Solvability of the Calogero and Sutherland Models: Translationally invariant symmetric polynomials as coordinates for $N$-body\nproblems with identical particles are proposed. It is shown that in those\ncoordinates the Calogero and Sutherland $N$-body Hamiltonians, after\nappropriate gauge transformations, can be presented as a {\\it quadratic}\npolynomial in the generators of the algebra $sl_N$ in finite-dimensional\ndegenerate representation. The exact solvability of these models follows from\nthe existence of the infinite flag of such representation spaces, preserved by\nthe above Hamiltonians. A connection with Jack polynomials is discussed.",
        "positive": "One-loop effective actions and higher spins. II: In this paper we continue and improve the analysis of the effective actions\nobtained by integrating out a scalar and a fermion field coupled to external\nsymmetric sources, started in the previous paper. The first subject we study is\nthe geometrization of the results obtained there, that is we express them in\nterms of covariant Jacobi tensors. The second subject concerns the treatment of\ntadpoles and seagull terms in order to implement off-shell covariance in the\ninitial model. The last and by far largest part of the paper is a repository of\nresults concerning all two point correlators (including mixed ones) of\nsymmetric currents of any spin up to 5 and in any dimensions between 3 and 6.\nIn the massless case we also provide formulas for any spin in any dimension."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Comment on 4D Lorentz invariance violations in the brane-world: The brane-world scenario offers the possibility for signals to travel outside\nour visible universe and reenter it. We find the condition for a signal emitted\nfrom the brane to return to the brane. We study the propagation of such signals\nand show that, as seen by a 4D observer, these signals arrive earlier than\nlight traveling along the brane. We also study the horizon problem and find\nthat, while the bulk signals can travel far enough to homogenize the visible\nuniverse, it is unlikely that they have a significant effect since they are\nredshifted in the gravitational field of the bulk black hole.",
        "positive": "Holographic Josephson Junctions and Berry holonomy from D-branes: We construct a holographic model for Josephson junctions with a defect system\nof a Dp brane intersecting a D(p+2) brane. In addition to providing a\ngeometrical picture for the holographic dual, this leads us very naturally to\nsuggest the possibility of non-Abelian Josephson junctions characterized in\nterms of the topological properties of the branes. The difference between the\nlocations of the endpoints of the Dp brane on either side of the defect\ntranslates into the phase difference of the condensate in the Josephson\njunction. We also add a magnetic flux on the D(p+2) brane and allow it evolve\nadiabatically along a closed curve in the space of the magnetic flux, while\ngenerating a non-trivial Berry holonomy."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Membrane Pregeometry and the Vanishing of the Cosmological Constant: We suggest a model of induced gravity in which the fundamental object is a\nrelativistic {\\it membrane} minimally coupled to a background metric and to an\nexternal three index gauge potential. We compute the low energy limit of the\ntwo-loop effective action as a power expansion in the surface tension. A\ngeneralized bootstrap hypothesis is made in order to identify the physical\nmetric and gauge field with the lowest order terms in the expansion of the\nvacuum average of the composite operators conjugate to the background fields.\nWe find that the large distance behaviour of these classical fields is\ndescribed by the Einstein action with a cosmological term plus a Maxwell type\naction for the gauge potential. The Maxwell term enables us to apply the\nHawking-Baum argument to show that the physical cosmological constant is\n``~probably~'' zero.",
        "positive": "Charged string solutions with dilaton and modulus fields: We find charged, abelian, spherically symmetric solutions (in flat\nspace-time) corresponding to the effective action of $D=4$ heterotic string\ntheory with scale-dependent dilaton $\\p$ and modulus $\\vp$ fields. We take into\naccount perturbative (genus-one), moduli-dependent `threshold' corrections to\nthe coupling function $f(\\p,\\vp)$ in the gauge field kinetic term $f(\\p,\\vp)\nF^2_{\\m\\n}$, as well as non-perturbative scalar potential $V(\\p, \\vp)$, e.g.\ninduced by gaugino condensation in the hidden gauge sector. Stable, finite\nenergy, electric solutions (corresponding to on abelian subgroup of a\nnon-abelian gauge group) have the small scale region as the weak coupling\nregion ($\\phi\\ra -\\infty$) with the modulus $\\vp$ slowly varying towards\nsmaller values. Stable, finite energy, abelian magnetic solutions exist only\nfor a specific range of threshold correction parameters. At small scales they\ncorrespond to the strong coupling region ($\\p\\ra \\infty$) and the\ncompactification region ($\\vp\\ra 0$). The non-perturbative potential $V$ plays\na crucial role at large scales, where it fixes the asymptotic values of $\\phi$\nand $\\vp$ to be at the minimum of $V$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Nonassociative Snyder phi4 Quantum Field Theory: In this article we define and quantize a truncated form of the nonassociative\nand noncommutative Snyder phi^4 field theory using the functional method in\nmomentum space. More precisely, the action is approximated by expanding up to\nthe linear order in the Snyder deformation parameter beta, producing an\neffective model on commutative spacetime for the computation of the two-, four-\nand six-point functions. The two- and four-point functions at one loop have the\nsame structure as at the tree level, with UV divergences faster than in the\ncommutative theory. The same behavior appears in the six-point function, with a\nlogarithmic UV divergence and renders the theory unrenormalizable at beta^1\norder except for the special choice of free parameters s_1=-s_2. We expect\neffects from nonassociativity on the correlation functions at beta^1 order, but\nthese are cancelled due to the average over permutations.",
        "positive": "Holographic superconductivity in M-Theory: Using seven-dimensional Sasaki-Einstein spaces we construct solutions of D=11\nsupergravity that are holographically dual to superconductors in three\nspacetime dimensions. Our numerical results indicate a new zero temperature\nsolution dual to a quantum critical point."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Regularization of On-Shell Diagrams: In this letter we discuss a regularization scheme for the integration of\ngeneric on-shell forms. The basic idea is to extend the three-particle\namplitudes to the space of unphysical helicities keeping the dimension of the\nrelated coupling constant fixed, and construct on-shell forms out of them. We\nbriefly discuss the analytic structure of the extended on-shell diagrams, both\nat tree level and one loop. Furthermore, we propose an integration contour\nwhich, applied to the relevant on-shell forms, allows to extract the\nfour-particle amplitudes in Lorentz signature at one loop. With this contour at\nhand, we explicitly apply our procedure to this case obtaining the IR\ndivergences as poles in the deformation parameter space, as well as the correct\nfunctional form for the finite term. This procedure provides a natural\nregularization for generic on-shell diagrams.",
        "positive": "Condition for the Superradiance Modes in Higher-Dimensional Rotating\n  Black Holes with Multiple Angular Momentum Parameters: The condition for the existence of the superradiance modes is derived for the\nincident scalar, electromagnetic and gravitational waves when the spacetime\nbackground is a higher-dimensional rotating black hole with multiple angular\nmomentum parameters. The final expression of the condition is $0 < \\omega <\n\\sum_i m_i \\Omega_i$, where $\\Omega_i$ is an angular frequency of the black\nhole and, $\\omega$ and $m_i$ are the energy of the incident wave and the $i$-th\nazimuthal quantum number. The physical implication of this condition in the\ncontext of the brane-world scenarios is discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chiral Anomaly at Infinite Temperature: Using the heat kernel regularization we show that the Abelian chiral anomaly\nin the limit of infinite temperature it is not a well defined quantity,\ncontrary to what happens at any finite temperature. We show that there is an\nambiguity in the ordering of the limits of infinite temperature and removal of\nthe cut-off so that changing this ordering we find different results for the\nchiral anomaly. We discuss these cases and their possible interpretation.",
        "positive": "Ultraviolet singularities in classical brane theory: We construct for the first time an energy-momentum tensor for the\nelectromagnetic field of a p-brane in arbitrary dimensions, entailing finite\nenergy-momentum integrals. The construction relies on distribution theory and\nis based on a Lorentz-invariant regularization, followed by the subtraction of\ndivergent and finite counterterms supported on the brane. The resulting\nenergy-momentum tensor turns out to be uniquely determined. We perform the\nconstruction explicitly for a generic flat brane. For a brane in arbitrary\nmotion our approach provides a new paradigm for the derivation of the,\notherwise divergent, self-force of the brane. The so derived self-force is\nautomatically finite and guarantees, by construction, energy-momentum\nconservation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Does boundary quantum mechanics imply quantum mechanics in the bulk?: Perturbative bulk reconstruction in AdS/CFT starts by representing a free\nbulk field $\\phi^{(0)}$ as a smeared operator in the CFT. A series of $1/N$\ncorrections must be added to $\\phi^{(0)}$ to represent an interacting bulk\nfield $\\phi$. These corrections have been determined in the literature from\nseveral points of view. Here we develop a new perspective. We show that\ncorrelation functions involving $\\phi^{(0)}$ suffer from ambiguities due to\nanalytic continuation. As a result $\\phi^{(0)}$ fails to be a well-defined\nlinear operator in the CFT. This means bulk reconstruction can be understood as\na procedure for building up well-defined operators in the CFT which thereby\nsingles out the interacting field $\\phi$. We further propose that the\ndifficulty with defining $\\phi^{(0)}$ as a linear operator can be\nre-interpreted as a breakdown of associativity. Presumably $\\phi^{(0)}$ can\nonly be corrected to become an associative operator in perturbation theory.\nThis suggests that quantum mechanics in the bulk is only valid in perturbation\ntheory around a semiclassical bulk geometry.",
        "positive": "N=2 superparticle near horizon of extreme Kerr-Newman-AdS-dS black hole: Conformal mechanics related to the near horizon extreme Kerr-Newman-AdS-dS\nblack hole is studied. A unique N=2 supersymmetric extension of the conformal\nmechanics is constructed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Topological and noninertial effects in an Aharonov-Bohm ring: In this paper, we study the influence of topological and noninertial effects\non a Dirac particle confined in an Aharonov-Bohm (AB) ring. Next, we explicitly\ndetermine the Dirac spinor and the energy spectrum for the relativistic bound\nstates. We observe that this spectrum depends on the quantum number $n$,\nmagnetic flux $\\Phi$ of the ring, angular velocity $\\omega$ associated to the\nnoninertial effects of a rotating frame, and on the deficit angle $\\eta$\nassociated to the topological effects of a cosmic string. We verified that this\nspectrum is a periodic function and grows in values as a function of $n$,\n$\\Phi$, $\\omega$, and $\\eta$. In the nonrelativistic limit, we obtain the\nequation of motion for the particle, where now the topological effects are\ngenerated by a conic space. However, unlike relativistic case, the spectrum of\nthis equation depends linearly on the velocity $\\omega$ and decreases in values\nas a function of $\\omega$. Comparing our results with other works, we note that\nour problem generalizes some particular cases of the literature. For instance,\nin the absence of the topological and noninertial effects ($\\eta=1$ and\n$\\omega=0$) we recover the usual spectrum of a particle confined in an AB ring\n($\\Phi\\neq{0}$) or in an 1D quantum ring ($\\Phi=0$).",
        "positive": "Renormalized electric and magnetic charges for $O(r^n)$ large gauge\n  symmetries: In this work we present the construction of a renormalized symplectic form on\nan extended phases space where the higher order large gauge transformations act\ncanonically. The expressions of the sub$^n$-leading electric charges associated\nto each $O(r^n)$ LGT are then obtained, in agreement with the expressions\npreviously proposed in arXiv:1810.04619 by means of the tree-level\nsub$^n$-leading formulas. We also present the duality extension of the extended\nphase space, computing the full electromagnetic charge algebra, showing a tower\nof central extensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Localization of Fermions on a String-like Defect: We study localization of bulk fermions on a string-like defect with the\nexponentially decreasing warp factor in six dimensions with inclusion of U(1)\ngauge background from the viewpoint of field theory, and give the conditions\nunder which localized spin 1/2 and 3/2 fermions can be obtained.",
        "positive": "General Solution of the Two-Dimensional Intertwining Relations for\n  Supercharges with Hyperbolic (Lorentz) Metrics: The supersymmetrical intertwining relations are the most productive part of\nthe supersymmetrical method in two-dimensional Quantum Mechanics. Most\ninteresting are relations with hyperbolic form of derivatives in supercharges.\nSo far, several explicit solutions were found, and they provide nontrivial\ntwo-dimensional potentials which were further studied by means of\nsupersymmetrical methods. In the present paper the general solution of\nintertwining relations with hyperbolic structure of supercharges is obtained.\nThe corresponding potentials are built explicitly, and it is evident that some\nof them were not known before now."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Construction of consistent interactions in higher derivative Yang-Mills\n  gauge theory with matter fields: We show the consistent interactions in the generalized electrodynamics gauge\ntheory with higher derivative matter fields by means of the order reduction\nmethod. We deduce the BRST deformations in the reduced Lagrangian and using the\nequations of motion of the auxiliary fields in the antighost number zero part\nin the resulting deformed action, we are able to obtain the consistent coupling\nterms added into the original Lagrangian density which are compatible with the\ndeformation master equations. We emphasize that the order of deformations is\ntruncated at four and the corresponding higher-order deformations are equal to\nzero precisely. Moreover, the local Abelian gauge symmetry turns out to be\nnon-Abelian after the deformation procedure.",
        "positive": "BPS solitons with internal structure in the gauged $O(3)$ sigma model: We investigate the existence of self-dual solitons with internal structure in\na gauged $O(3)$ nonlinear sigma model immersed in a dielectric medium generated\nby a real scalar field (dubbed the source field). We consider rotationally\nsymmetric configurations and applying the {Bogomol'nyi-Prasad-Sommerfield}\nformalism to obtain the energy lower bound and the respective {first-order\ndifferential equations (or self-dual equations).} By solving such a system of\nequations for three different dielectric media, we find the internal structure\ngenerates relevant changes in the soliton profiles when compared with the ones\nobtained without the presence of the dielectric medium."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum phase transition and Resurgence: Lessons from 3d $\\mathcal{N}=4$\n  SQED: We study a resurgence structure of a quantum field theory with a phase\ntransition to uncover relations between resurgence and phase transitions. In\nparticular, we focus on three-dimensional $\\mathcal{N}=4$ supersymmetric\nquantum electrodynamics (SQED) with multiple hypermultiplets, where a\nsecond-order quantum phase transition has been recently proposed in the\nlarge-flavor limit. We provide interpretations of the phase transition from the\nviewpoints of Lefschetz thimbles and resurgence. For this purpose, we study the\nLefschetz thimble structure and properties of the large-flavor expansion for\nthe partition function obtained by the supersymmetric localization. We show\nthat the second-order phase transition is understood as a phenomenon where a\nStokes and anti-Stokes phenomenon occurs simultaneously. The order of the phase\ntransition is determined by how saddles collide at the critical point. In\naddition, the phase transition accompanies an infinite number of Stokes\nphenomena due to the supersymmetry. These features are appropriately mapped to\nthe Borel plane structures as the resurgence theory expects. Given the lessons\nfrom the SQED, we provide a more general discussion on the relationship between\nthe resurgence and phase transitions. In particular, we show how the\ninformation on the phase transition is decoded from the Borel resummation\ntechnique.",
        "positive": "Differential equations on unitarity cut surfaces: We reformulate differential equations (DEs) for Feynman integrals to avoid\ndoubled propagators in intermediate steps. External momentum derivatives are\ndressed with loop momentum derivatives to form tangent vectors to unitarity cut\nsurfaces, in a way inspired by unitarity-compatible IBP reduction. For the\none-loop box, our method directly produces the final DEs without any\nintegration-by-parts reduction. We further illustrate the method by deriving\nmaximal-cut level differential equations for two-loop nonplanar five-point\nintegrals, whose exact expressions are yet unknown. We speed up the computation\nusing finite field techniques and rational function reconstruction."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Standard Model Fermions and Infinite-Dimensional R-Symmetries: Following up on our earlier work where we showed how to amend a scheme\noriginally proposed by M. Gell-Mann to identify the 48 spin 1/2 fermions of N=8\nsupergravity that remain after complete breaking of N=8 supersymmetry with the\n3x16 quarks and leptons of the Standard Model, we further generalize the\nconstruction to account for the full SU(3)_c x SU(2)_w x U(1)_Y assignments,\nwith an additional family symmetry SU(3)_f. Our proposal relies in an essential\nway on embedding the SU(8) R-symmetry of N=8 supergravity into the\n(infinite-dimensional) `maximal compact' subgroup K(E10) of the conjectured\nmaximal duality symmetry E10. As a by-product, it predicts fractionally charged\nand possibly strongly interacting massive gravitinos. It also indicates how E10\nand K(E10) can supersede supersymmetry as a guiding principle for unification.",
        "positive": "Inflation and deformation of conformal field theory: It has recently been suggested that a strongly coupled phase of inflation may\nbe described holographically in terms of a weakly coupled quantum field theory\n(QFT). Here, we explore the possibility that the wave function of an\ninflationary universe may be given by the partition function of a boundary QFT.\nWe consider the case when the field theory is a small deformation of a\nconformal field theory (CFT), by the addition of a relevant operator O, and\ncalculate the primordial spectrum predicted in the corresponding holographic\ninflation scenario. Using the Ward-Takahashi identity associated with Weyl\nrescalings, we derive a simple relation between correlators of the curvature\nperturbation and correlators of the deformation operator O at the boundary.\nThis is done without specifying the bulk theory of gravitation, so that the\nresult would also apply to cases where the bulk dynamics is strongly coupled.\nWe comment on the validity of the Suyama-Yamaguchi inequality, relating the\nbi-spectrum and tri-spectrum of the curvature perturbation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chern-Simons perturbative series revisited: A group-theoretical structure in a perturbative expansion of the Wilson loops\nin the 3d Chern-Simons theory with $SU(N)$ gauge group is studied in symmetric\napproach. A special basis in the center of the universal enveloping algebra\n$ZU(\\mathfrak{sl}_N)$ is introduced. This basis allows one to present group\nfactors in an arbitrary irreducible finite-dimensional representation.\nDeveloped methods have wide applications, the most straightforward and evident\nones are mentioned. Namely, Vassiliev invariants of higher orders are computed,\na conjecture about existence of new symmetries of the colored HOMFLY\npolynomials is stated, and the recently discovered tug-the-hook symmetry of the\ncolored HOMFLY polynomial is proved.",
        "positive": "SO(N) Superpotential, Seiberg-Witten Curves and Loop Equations: We consider the exact superpotential of N=1 super Yang-Mills theory with\ngauge group SO(N) and arbitrary tree-level polynomial superpotential of one\nadjoint Higgs field. A field-theoretic derivation of the glueball\nsuperpotential is given, based on factorization of the N=2 Seiberg-Witten\ncurve. Following the conjecture of Dijkgraaf and Vafa, the result is matched\nwith the corresponding SO(N) matrix model prediction. The verification involves\nan explicit solution of the first non-trivial loop equation, relating the\nspherical free energy to that of the non-orientable surfaces with topology\n$RP^2$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Structure of solutions of the Skyrme model on three-sphere. Numerical\n  results: The hedgehog Skyrme model on three-sphere admits very rich spectrum of\nsolitonic solutions which can be encompassed by a strikingly simple scheme. The\nmain result of this paper is the statement of the tripartite structure of\nsolutions of the model and the discovery in what configurations these solutions\nappear. The model contains features of more complicated models in General\nRelativity and as such can give insight into them.",
        "positive": "Supersymmetrizing 5d instanton operators: We construct a supersymmetric version of instanton operators in\nfive-dimensional Yang-Mills theories. This is possible by considering a\nfive-dimensional generalization of the familiar four-dimensional topologically\ntwisted theory, where the gauge configurations corresponding to instanton\noperators are supersymmetric."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Curvature Perturbations in Anisotropic Inflation with Symmetry Breaking: We study curvature perturbations in the anisotropic inflationary model with a\ncomplex scalar field charged under a $U(1)$ gauge field in Bianchi I universe.\nDue to Abelian Higgs mechanism, the gauge field receives an additional\nlongitudinal mode. We verify that the dominant contributions into statistical\nanisotropies come from matter fields perturbations and one can neglect the\ncontributions from the metric perturbations. It is shown that the contribution\nof longitudinal mode into the statistical anisotropy power spectrum, though\nexponentially small, has an opposite sign compared to the corresponding\ncontribution from the transverse mode. We obtain an upper bound on gauge\ncoupling in order to satisfy the observational constraints on curvature\nperturbations anisotropy.",
        "positive": "Vacuum energies due to delta-like currents: simulating classical objects\n  along branes with arbitrary codimensions: In this paper we investigate the vacuum energies of several models of quantum\nfields interacting with static external currents (linear couplings)\nconcentrated along parallel branes with an arbitrary number of codimensions. We\nshow that we can simulate the presence of static charges distributions as well\nas the presence of classical static dipoles in any dimension for massive and\nmassless fields. We also show that we can produce confining potentials with\nmassless self interacting scalar fields as well as long range anisotropic\npotentials."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Pair Creation of Black Holes by Domain Walls: In this paper we study the production of pairs of neutral and charged black\nholes by domain walls, finding classical solutions and calculating their\nclassical actions. We find that neutral black holes whose creation is mediated\nby Euclidean instantons must be produced mutually at rest with respect to one\nanother, but for charged black holes a new type of instanton is possible in\nwhich after formation the two black holes accelerate away from one another.\nThese new types of instantons are not possible in Einstein-Maxwell theory with\na cosmological constant. We also find that the creation of non-orientable black\nhole solutions can be mediated by Euclidean instantons and that in addition if\none is prepared to consider entirely Lorentzian no-boundary type contributions\nto the path integral then mutually accelerating pairs may be created even in\nthe neutral case. Finally we consider the production of Kaluza-Klein monopoles\nboth by a standard cosmological term and in the presence of a domain wall. We\nfind that compactification is accompanied by the production of pairs of\nKaluza-Klein monopoles.",
        "positive": "Stability of asymptotically AdS wormholes in vacuum against scalar field\n  perturbations: The stability of certain class of asymptotically AdS wormholes in vacuum\nagainst scalar field perturbations is analyzed. For a free massive scalar\nfield, the stability of the perturbation is guaranteed provided the squared\nmass is bounded from below by a negative quantity. Depending on the base\nmanifold of the AdS asymptotics, this lower bound could be more stringent than\nthe Breitenlohner-Freedman bound. An exact expression for the spectrum is found\nanalytically. For a scalar field perturbation with a nonminimal coupling, slow\nfall-off asymptotic behavior is also allowed, provided the squared mass\nfulfills certain negative upper bound. Although the Ricci scalar is not\nconstant, an exact expression for the spectrum of the scalar field can also be\nfound, and three different quantizations for the scalar field can be carried\nout. They are characterized by the fall-off of the scalar field, which can be\nfast or slow with respect to each asymptotic region. For these perturbations,\nstability can be achieved in a range of negative squared masses which depends\non the base manifold of the AdS asymptotics. This analysis also extends to a\nclass of gravitational solitons with a single conformal boundary."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Yangian Symmetry, S-Matrices and Bethe Ansatz for the AdS5 x S5\n  Superstring: We discuss the relation between the recently derived bound state S-matrices\nfor the AdS5 x S5 superstring and Yangian symmetry. We will study the relation\nbetween this Yangian symmetry and the Bethe ansatz. In particular we can use it\nto derive the Bethe equations for bound states.",
        "positive": "Covariant action for conformal higher spin gravity: Conformal Higher Spin Gravity is a higher spin extension of Weyl gravity and\nis a family of local higher spin theories, which was put forward by Segal and\nTseytlin. We propose a manifestly covariant and coordinate-independent action\nfor these theories. The result is based on an interplay between higher spin\nsymmetries and deformation quantization: a locally equivalent but manifestly\nbackground-independent reformulation, known as the parent system, of the\noff-shell multiplet of conformal higher spin fields (Fradkin-Tseytlin fields)\ncan be interpreted in terms of Fedosov deformation quantization of the\nunderlying cotangent bundle. This brings into the game the invariant quantum\ntrace, induced by the Feigin-Felder-Shoikhet cocycle of Weyl algebra, which\nextends Segal's action into a gauge invariant and globally well-defined action\nfunctional on the space of configurations of the parent system. The same action\ncan be understood within the worldline approach as a correlation function in\nthe topological quantum mechanics on the circle."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Phase transition of photons and gravitons in a Casimir box: A first order phase transition for photons and gravitons in a Casimir box is\nstudied analytically from first principles with a detailed understanding of\nsymmetry breaking due to the boundary conditions. It is closely related to\nBose-Einstein condensation and accompanied by a quantum phase transition whose\ncontrol parameter is the chemical potential for optical helicity.",
        "positive": "Exact Three-Point Functions of Determinant Operators in Planar N=4\n  Supersymmetric Yang-Mills Theory: We introduce a nonperturbative approach to correlation functions of two\ndeterminant operators and one non-protected single-trace operator in planar N=4\nsupersymmetric Yang-Mills theory. Based on the gauge/string duality, we propose\nthat they correspond to overlaps on the string worldsheet between an integrable\nboundary state and a state dual to the single-trace operator. We determine the\nboundary state using symmetry and integrability of the dual superstring sigma\nmodel, and write down expressions for the correlators at finite coupling, which\nwe conjecture to be valid for operators of arbitrary size. The proposal is put\nto test at weak coupling."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A scale-relativistic derivation of the Dirac Equation: The application of the theory of scale relativity to microphysics aims at\nrecovering quantum mechanics as a new non-classical mechanics on a\nnon-derivable space-time. This program was already achieved as regards the\nSchr\\\"odinger and Klein Gordon equations, which have been derived in terms of\ngeodesic equations in this framework: namely, they have been written according\nto a generalized equivalence/strong covariance principle in the form of free\nmotion equations $D^2x/ds^2=0$, where $D/ds$ are covariant derivatives built\nfrom the description of the fractal/non-derivable geometry. Following the same\nline of thought and using the mathematical tool of Hamilton's bi-quaternions,\nwe propose here a derivation of the Dirac equation also from a geodesic\nequation (while it is still merely postulated in standard quantum physics). The\ncomplex nature of the wave function in the Schr\\\"odinger and Klein-Gordon\nequations was deduced from the necessity to introduce, because of the\nnon-derivability, a discrete symmetry breaking on the proper time differential\nelement. By extension, the bi-quaternionic nature of the Dirac bi-spinors\narises here from further discrete symmetry breakings on the space-time\nvariables, which also proceed from non-derivability.",
        "positive": "Entanglement dynamics: Generalized master equation for uniformly\n  accelerated two-level systems: We propose a new form for the quantum master equation in the theory of open\nquantum systems. This new formalism allows one to describe the dynamics of\ntwo-level systems moving along different hyperbolic trajectories with distinct\nproper times. In the Born-Markov approximation, we consider a quantum massless\nscalar field coupled with two-level systems. Starting from a separable state we\nshow the emergence of entanglement harvesting. For different proper\naccelerations we verify also the entanglement sudden death."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Double Actions on Operator Algebras and Orbifold Quantum Field\n  Theories: Starting from a local quantum field theory with an unbroken compact symmetry\ngroup $G$ in 1+1-dimensional spacetime we construct disorder fields\nimplementing gauge transformations on the fields (order variables) localized in\na wedge region. Enlarging the local algebras by these disorder fields we obtain\na nonlocal field theory, the fixpoint algebras of which under the appropriately\nextended action of the group $G$ are shown to satisfy Haag duality in every\nsimple sector. The specifically 1+1 dimensional phenomenon of violation of Haag\nduality of fixpoint nets is thereby clarified. In the case of a finite group\n$G$ the extended theory is acted upon in a completely canonical way by the\nquantum double $D(G)$ and satisfies R-matrix commutation relations as well as a\nVerlinde algebra. Furthermore, our methods are suitable for a concise and\ntransparent approach to bosonization. The main technical ingredient is a\nstrengthened version of the split property which should hold in all reasonable\nmassive theories. In the appendices (part of) the results are extended to\narbitrary locally compact groups and our methods are adapted to chiral theories\non the circle.",
        "positive": "Graviton oscillations in the two-brane world: We study the braneworld effective action in the two-brane Randall-Sundrum\nmodel. In the framework of this essentially-nonlocal action we reveal the\norigin of an infinite sequence of gravitational wave modes -- the usual\nmassless one as well as the tower of Kaluza-Klein massive ones. Mixing of the\nmodes, which parametrically depends on the background value of the modulus of\nthe extra dimension, can be interpreted as radion-induced gravitational-wave\noscillations, a classical analogue to meson and neutrino oscillations. We show\nthat these oscillations arising in M-theory-inspired braneworld setups could\nlead to effects detectable by gravitational-wave interferometers."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen correlations between two uniformly accelerated\n  oscillators: We consider the quantum correlations, i.e. the entanglement, between two\nsystems uniformly accelerated with identical acceleration a in opposite Rindler\nquadrants which have reached thermal equilibrium with the Unruh heat bath. To\nthis end we study an exactly soluble model consisting of two oscillators\ncoupled to a massless scalar field in 1+1 dimensions. We find that for some\nvalues of the parameters the oscillators get entangled shortly after the moment\nof closest approach. Because of boost invariance there are an infinite set of\npairs of positions where the oscillators are entangled. The maximal\nentanglement between the oscillators is found to be approximately 1.4\nentanglement bits.",
        "positive": "Toward a \"fundamental theorem of quantal measure theory\": We address the extension problem for quantal measures of path-integral type,\nconcentrating on two cases: sequential growth of causal sets, and a particle\nmoving on the finite lattice Z_n. In both cases the dynamics can be coded into\na vector-valued measure mu on Omega, the space of all histories. Initially mu\nis defined only on special subsets of Omega called cylinder-events, and one\nwould like to extend it to a larger family of subsets (events) in analogy to\nthe way this is done in the classical theory of stochastic processes. Since\nquantally mu is generally not of bounded variation, a new method is required.\nWe propose a method that defines the measure of an event by means of a sequence\nof simpler events which in a suitable sense converges to the event whose\nmeasure one is seeking to define. To this end, we introduce canonical sequences\napproximating certain events, and we propose a measure-based criterion for the\nconvergence of such sequences. Applying the method, we encounter a simple event\nwhose measure is zero classically but non-zero quantally."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Rigid and gauge Noether symmetries for constrained systems: We develop the general theory of Noether symmetries for constrained systems.\nIn our derivation, the Dirac bracket structure with respect to the primary\nconstraints appears naturally and plays an important role in the\ncharacterization of the conserved quantities associated to these Noether\nsymmetries. The issue of projectability of these symmetries from tangent space\nto phase space is fully analyzed, and we give a geometrical interpretation of\nthe projectability conditions in terms of a relation between the Noether\nconserved quantity in tangent space and the presymplectic form defined on it.\nWe also examine the enlarged formalism that results from taking the Lagrange\nmultipliers as new dynamical variables; we find the equation that characterizes\nthe Noether symmetries in this formalism. The algebra of generators for Noether\nsymmetries is discussed in both the Hamiltonian and Lagrangian formalisms. We\nfind that a frequent source for the appearance of open algebras is the fact\nthat the transformations of momenta in phase space and tangent space only\ncoincide on shell. Our results apply with no distinction to rigid and gauge\nsymmetries; for the latter case we give a general proof of existence of Noether\ngauge symmetries for theories with first and second class constraints that do\nnot exhibit tertiary constraints in the stabilization algorithm. Among some\nexamples that illustrate our results, we study the Noether gauge symmetries of\nthe Abelian Chern-Simons theory in $2n+1$ dimensions. An interesting feature of\nthis example is that its primary constraints can only be identified after the\ndetermination of the secondary constraint. The example is worked out retaining\nall the original set of variables.",
        "positive": "Twistors and Actions on Coset Manifolds: Particle and string actions on coset spaces typically lack a quadratic\nkinetic term, making their quantization difficult. We define a notion of\ntwistors on these spaces, which are hypersurfaces in a vector space that\ntransform linearly under the isometry group of the coset. By associating the\npoints of the coset space with these hypersurfaces, and the internal\ncoordinates of these hypersurfaces with momenta, it is possible to construct\nmanifestly symmetric actions with leading quadratic terms. We give a general\nalgorithm and work out the case of a particle on AdS_p explicitly. In this\ncase, the resulting action is a world-line gauge theory with sources, (the\ngauge group depending on p) which is equivalent to a nonlocal world-line\nsigma-model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "What is the Entropy in Entropic Gravity?: We investigate theories in which gravity arises as a consequence of entropy.\nWe distinguish between two approaches to this idea: holographic gravity, in\nwhich Einstein's equation arises from keeping entropy stationary in equilibrium\nunder variations of the geometry and quantum state of a small region, and\nthermodynamic gravity, in which Einstein's equation emerges as a local equation\nof state from constraints on the area of a dynamical lightsheet in a fixed\nspacetime background. Examining holographic gravity, we argue that its\nunderlying assumptions can be justified in part using recent results on the\nform of the modular energy in quantum field theory. For thermodynamic gravity,\non the other hand, we find that it is difficult to formulate a self-consistent\ndefinition of the entropy, which represents an obstacle for this approach. This\ninvestigation points the way forward in understanding the connections between\ngravity and entanglement.",
        "positive": "Representations of affine Lie algebras, parabolic differential\n  equations, and Lame functions: We consider correlation functions for the Wess-Zumino-Witten model on the\ntorus with the insertion of a Cartan element; mathematically this means that we\nconsider the function of the form $F=\\Tr (\\Phi_1 (z_1)\\ldots \\Phi_n\n(z_n)q^{-\\d}e^{h})$ where $\\Phi_i$ are intertwiners between Verma modules and\nevaluation modules over an affine Lie algebra $\\ghat$, $\\d$ is the grading\noperator in a Verma module and $h$ is in the Cartan subalgebra of $\\g$. We\nderive a system of differential equations satisfied by such a function. In\nparticular, the calculation of $q\\frac{\\d} {\\d q} F$ yields a parabolic second\norder PDE closely related to the heat equation on the compact Lie group\ncorresponding to $\\g$. We consider in detail the case $n=1$, $\\g = \\sltwo$. In\nthis case we get the following differential equation ($q=e^{\\pi \\i \\tau}$): $\n\\left( -2\\pi\\i (K+2)\\frac{\\d}{\\d\\tau} +\\frac{\\d^2}{\\d x^2}\\right) F =\n(m(m+1)\\wp(x+\\frac{\\tau}{2}) +c)F$, which for $K=-2$ (critical level) becomes\nLam\\'e equation. For the case $m\\in\\Z$ we derive integral formulas for $F$ and\nfind their asymptotics as $K\\to -2$, thus recovering classical Lam\\'e\nfunctions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Probing $ \u03b7$ deformed backgrounds with $ Dp $ branes: In this Letter, based on the notion of Gauge/Gravity duality we explore the\nlow frequency behaviour associated with the retarded two point correlators in\nthe ground state of the strongly correlated quantum liquid that is dual to $\n\\eta $- deformed background in ($ 2+1 $)D. The massless charge carriers in the\ndual gauge theory are sourced due to some \\textit{probe} $ N_f $ flavour $ Dp $\nbrane configurations in the bulk. In our analysis we stick to the NS sector and\ncompute the two point correlators by turning on fluctuations associated with\nthe worldvolume gauge fields in the bulk spacetime. Our analysis reveals the\nexistence of holographic zero sound modes for ($ 1+1 $)D QFTs those are dual to\nbosonic $ \\eta $ deformed $ AdS_3 \\times S^{3} $ with vanishing RR fields.",
        "positive": "The Gravity Dual of a Density Matrix: For a state in a quantum field theory on some spacetime, we can associate a\ndensity matrix to any subset of a given spacelike slice by tracing out the\nremaining degrees of freedom. In the context of the AdS/CFT correspondence, if\nthe original state has a dual bulk spacetime with a good classical description,\nit is natural to ask how much information about the bulk spacetime is carried\nby the density matrix for such a subset of field theory degrees of freedom. In\nthis note, we provide several constraints on the largest region that can be\nfully reconstructed, and discuss specific proposals for the geometric\nconstruction of this dual region."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Calibrated Surfaces and Supersymmetric Wilson Loops: We study the dual gravity description of supersymmetric Wilson loops whose\nexpectation value is unity. They are described by calibrated surfaces that end\non the boundary of anti de-Sitter space and are pseudo-holomorphic with respect\nto an almost complex structure on an eight-dimensional slice of AdS_5 x S^5.\nThe regularized area of these surfaces vanishes, in agreement with field theory\nnon-renormalization theorems for the corresponding operators.",
        "positive": "Complexified Ward Identity in pure Yang-Mills theory at tree-level: Up until now, the BCFW technique has been a widely used method in getting the\namplitudes in various theories. Usually, the vanishing of the boundary term is\nnecessary for the efficiency of the method. However, there are also many kinds\nof amplitudes which will have boundary terms. Hence it will be nice if it is\npossible to get the boundary terms in an efficient manner. As is well-known, in\ngauge theory the Ward identity imposes constraints on the form of the\namplitude. In [1], we studied the Ward identity with a pair of shifted lines\nand the implied recursion relations. In this article, we discuss the\ncomplexified Ward identity in more detail. In particular we give a proof of the\ncomplexified Ward identity directly from the Feynman rules in Feynman-Lorentz\ngauge. Furthermore, we give more examples in calculating the one-line off-shell\ncurrents using this technique."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The superstring Hagedorn temperature in a pp-wave background: The thermodynamics of type IIB superstring theory in the maximally\nsupersymmetric plane wave background is studied. We compute the thermodynamic\npartition function for non-interacting strings exactly and the result differs\nslightly from previous computations. We clarify some of the issues related to\nthe Hagedorn temperature in the limits of small and large constant RR 5-form.\nWe study the thermodynamic behavior of strings in the case of $AdS_3 \\times S^3\n\\times T^4$ geometries in the presence of NS-NS and RR 3-form backgrounds. We\nalso comment on the relationship of string thermodynamics and the thermodynamic\nbehavior of the sector of Yang-Mills theory which is the holographic dual of\nthe string theory.",
        "positive": "An Introduction To The Web-Based Formalism: This paper summarizes our rather lengthy paper, \"Algebra of the Infrared:\nString Field Theoretic Structures in Massive ${\\cal N}=(2,2)$ Field Theory In\nTwo Dimensions,\" and is meant to be an informal, yet detailed, introduction and\nsummary of that larger work."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Particle/String field theory induced by W-gravity non-linear sigma\n  models and the Grand String Symmetry: Preliminary investigations of the topological phase of string theory along\nthe lines of a (restricted) $\\dot{w}_{\\infty}$ non-linear sigma model are\nprovided. Gauge fixing the w gravity gauge fields by preserving a geometric\nidentity Lorenz covariantizes the w-particle and gauge covariantizes the YM.\nThe notion of foliation ghosts is introduced. Connection between\n$\\dot{w}_{\\infty}$ and homotopy associative algebras is indicated. The second\nquantized twistor space of string theory is constructed and compared with the\nfirst quantised one. Speculations about the relevance of the massive string\nfields to the compactification of the bosonic string down to four dimensions\ntimes the standard model group as well as to the solution of the background\nindependence problem and the integration over moduli space problem are also\nprovided.",
        "positive": "Scalar-tensor mixing from icosahedral inflation: We study the mixed scalar-tensor two-point function in icosahedral inflation.\nWithin the regime of validity of the effective field theory, this has to be\nperturbatively small; in particular, much smaller than the scalar spectrum.\nHowever, it can be much bigger that the tensor spectrum itself. We discuss\nobservational implications for the CMB temperature-polarization spectrum."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Brane Bremsstrahlung in DBI Inflation: We consider the effect of trapped branes on the evolution of a test brane\nwhose motion generates DBI inflation along a warped throat. The coupling\nbetween the inflationary brane and a trapped brane leads to the radiation of\nnon-thermal particles on the trapped brane. We calculate the Gaussian spectrum\nof the radiated particles and their backreaction on the DBI motion of the\ninflationary brane. Radiation occurs for momenta lower than the speed of the\ntest brane when crossing the trapped brane. The slowing down effect is either\ndue to a parametric resonance when the interaction time is small compared to\nthe Hubble time or a tachyonic resonance when the interaction time is large. In\nboth cases the motion of the inflationary brane after the interaction is\ngoverned by a chameleonic potential,which tends to slow it down. We find that a\nsingle trapped brane can hardly slow down a DBI inflaton whose fluctuations\nlead to the Cosmic Microwave Background spectrum. A more drastic effect is\nobtained when the DBI brane encounters a tightly spaced stack of trapped\nbranes.",
        "positive": "E10 Orbifolds: We study Z2 orbifolds of M-theory in terms of E10. We find a simple relation\nbetween the Z2 action on E10 and the imaginary root that corresponds\n[hep-th/0401053] to the \"twisted sector\" branes. We discuss the connection\nbetween the Kac-Moody algebra DE10 and the \"untwisted\" sector, and we\ndemonstrate how DE18 can describe both the untwisted and twisted sectors\nsimultaneously."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Electromagnetic Entrapment in Gravity: We derive specific properties of electromagnetism when gravitational effects\nare not negligible and analyze their impact on new physics at the horizons of\nblack holes. We show that a neutral configuration of charges in a region of\nhigh redshift, characterized by a large $g^{tt}$, produces a highly localized\nelectromagnetic field that vanishes just beyond that region. This phenomenon\nimplies the existence of extensive families of spacetime structures generated\nby electromagnetic degrees of freedom that are as compact as black holes. We\nconstruct neutral bound states of extremal black holes in four dimensions and\nin five dimensions, where one direction is compact. These geometries are\nindistinguishable from a neutral black hole, referred to as distorted\nSchwarzschild, except in an infinitesimal region near its horizon where the\nentrapped electromagnetic structures start to manifest. The five-dimensional\nsolutions satisfy various criteria for describing black hole microstructure:\nthey increase in size with the Newton constant, are as compact as the\nSchwarzschild black hole, and have an entropy that scales like $M^2$.",
        "positive": "Towards topological quantum computer: One of the principal obstacles on the way to quantum computers is the lack of\ndistinguished basis in the space of unitary evolutions and thus the lack of the\ncommonly accepted set of basic operations (universal gates). A natural choice,\nhowever, is at hand: it is provided by the quantum R-matrices, the entangling\ndeformations of non-entangling (classical) permutations, distinguished from the\npoints of view of group theory, integrable systems and modern theory of\nnon-perturbative calculations in quantum field and string theory. Observables\nin this case are (square modules of) the knot polynomials, and their pronounced\nintegrality properties could provide a key to error correction. We suggest to\nuse R-matrices acting in the space of irreducible representations, which are\nunitary for the real-valued couplings in Chern-Simons theory, to build a\ntopological version of quantum computing."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Products of Current Operators in the Exact Renormalization Group\n  Formalism: Given a Wilson action invariant under global chiral transformations, we can\nconstruct current composite operators in terms of the Wilson action. The short\ndistance singularities in the multiple products of the current operators are\ntaken care of by the exact renormalization group. The Ward-Takahashi identity\nis compatible with the finite momentum cutoff of the Wilson action. The exact\nrenormalization group and the Ward-Takahashi identity together determine the\nproducts. As a concrete example, we study the Gaussian fixed-point Wilson\naction of the chiral fermions to construct the products of current operators.",
        "positive": "Notes on Oscillator-Like Interactions of Various Spin Relativistic\n  Particles: The equations for various spin particles with oscillator-like interactions\nare discussed in this talk. Contents: 1. Comment on \"The Klein-Gordon\nOscillator\"; 2. The Dirac oscillator in quaternion form; 3. The Dirac-Dowker\noscillator; 4. The Weinberg oscillator; 5. Note on the two-body Dirac\noscillator."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "One-dimensional classical adjoint SU(2) Coulomb Gas: The equation of state of a one-dimensional classical nonrelativistic Coulomb\ngas of particles in the adjoint representation of SU(2) is given. The problem\nis solved both with and without sources in the fundamental representation at\neither end of the system. The gas exhibits confining properties at low\ndensities and temperatures and deconfinement in the limit of high densities and\ntemperatures. However, there is no phase transition to a regime where the\nstring tension vanishes identically; true deconfinement only happens for\ninfinite densities and temperatures. In the low density, low temperature limit,\na new type of collective behavior is observed.",
        "positive": "A Diagramatic Analysis of Duality in Supersymmetric Gauge Theories: We introduce a diagramatic notation for supersymmetric gauge theories. The\nnotation is a tool for exploring duality and helps to present the field content\nof more complicated models in a simple visual way. We introduce the notation\nwith a few examples from the literature. The power of the formalism allows us\nto study new models with gauge group $(SU(N))^k$ and their duals. Amongst these\nare models which, contrary to a naive analysis, possess no conformal phase."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Smarr Formula and an Extended First Law for Lovelock Gravity: We study properties of static, asymptotically AdS black holes in Lovelock\ngravity. Our main result is a Smarr formula that gives the mass in terms of\ngeometrical quantities together with the parameters of the Lovelock theory. As\nin Einstein gravity, the Smarr formula follows from applying the first law to\nan infinitesimal change in the overall length scale. However, because the\nLovelock couplings are dimensionful, we must first prove an extension of the\nfirst law that includes their variations. Key ingredients in this construction\nare the Killing-Lovelock potentials associated with each of the the higher\ncurvature Lovelock interactions. Geometric expressions are obtained for the new\nthermodynamic potentials conjugate to variation of the Lovelock couplings.",
        "positive": "Global geometric properties of AdS space and the AdS/CFT correspondence: The Poisson kernels and relations between them for a massive scalar field in\na unit ball $B^n$ with Hua's metric and conformal flat metric are obtained by\ndescribing the $B^n$ as a submanifold of an $(n+1)$-dimensional embedding\nspace. Global geometric properties of the AdS space are discussed. We show that\nthe $(n+1)$-dimensional AdS space AdS$_{n+1}$ is isomorphic to $RP^1\\times B^n$\nand boundary of the AdS is isomorphic to $RP^1\\times S^{n-1}$. Bulk-boundary\npropagator and the AdS/CFT like correspondence are demonstrated based on these\nglobal geometric properties of the $RP^1\\times B^n$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Seiberg-Witten Map with Lorentz-Invariance and Gauge-Covariant Star\n  Product: We develop the Seiberg-Witten map using the gauge-covariant star product with\nthe noncommutativity tensor $\\theta^{\\mu\\nu}(x)$. The latter guarantees the\nLorentz invariance of the theory. The usual form of this map and its other\nrecent generalizations do not consider such a covariant star product. We\nconstruct the Seiberg-Witten map for the gauge parameter, the gauge field and\nthe strength tensor to the first order in the noncommutativity parameter\n$\\theta^{\\mu\\nu}(x)$. Prescription for the generalization of the map to higher\norders is also given. Interestingly, the associativity of the covariant star\nproduct both in the first and second orders requires the same constraints,\nnamely, on the $\\theta^{\\mu\\nu}(x)$ and on the space-time connection. This fact\nsuggests that the same constraints could be enough to ensure the associativity\nin all orders. The resulting Seiberg-Witten map applies both to the internal\nand space-time gauge theories. Comparisons with the Seiberg-Witten map based on\nother (non-covariant) star products are given and some characteristic\nproperties are also presented. As an application, we consider the $GL(2, C)$\nnoncommutative gauge theory of gravitation, in which it is shown that the\nconnection determines a space-time with symplectic structure (as proposed by\nZumino et al [AIP Conf. Proc. 1200 (2010), 204, arXiv:0910.0459]). This example\nshows that the constraints required for the associativity of the\ngauge-covariant star product can be satisfied. The presented $GL(2, C)$\nnoncommutative gauge theory of gravitation is also compared to the one (given\nby Chamseddine [Phys. Rev. D 69 (2004), 024015, hep-th/0309166]) with\nnon-covariant star product.",
        "positive": "Deforming black holes in AdS: We investigate how changes in the boundary metric affect the shape of AdS\nblack holes. Most of our work is analytic and based on the AdS C-metric. Both\nasymptotically hyperbolic and compact black holes are studied. It has recently\nbeen shown that the AdS C-metric contains configurations of highly deformed\nblack holes, and we show that these deformations are usually the result of\nsimilar deformations of the boundary metric. However, quite surprisingly, we\nalso find cases where the horizon is insensitive to certain large changes in\nthe boundary geometry. This motivates the search for a new family of black hole\nsolutions with the same boundary geometry in which the horizon does respond to\nthe changes in the boundary. We numerically construct these solutions and we\n(numerically) explore how the horizon response to boundary deformations depends\non temperature."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Solar System Constraints on Gauss-Bonnet Dark Energy: Quadratic curvature Gauss-Bonnet gravity may be the solution to the dark\nenergy problem, but a large coupling strength is required. This can lead to\nconflict with laboratory and planetary tests of Newton's law, as well as light\nbending. The corresponding constraints are derived. If applied directly to\ncosmological scales, the resulting bound on the density fraction is |Omega_GB|\n< 3.6 x 10^-32.",
        "positive": "Deforming the theory lambda-phi-4 along the parameters and fields\n  gradient flows: Considering the action for the theory $\\lambda\\phi^{4}$ for a massive scalar\nbosonic field as an entropy functional on the space of coupling constants and\non the space of fields, we determine the gradient flows for the scalar field,\nthe mass, and the self-interaction parameter. When the flow parameter is\nidentified with the energy scale, we show that there exist phase transitions\nbetween unbroken exact symmetry scenarios and spontaneous symmetry breaking\nscenarios at increasingly high energies. Since a non-linear heat equation\ndrives the scalar field through a {\\it reaction-diffusion} process, in general\nthe flows are not reversible, mimicking the renormalization group flows of the\n$c$-theorem; the deformation of the field at increasingly high energies can be\ndescribed as non-linear traveling waves, or solitons associated to self-similar\nsolutions"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Spatial Structure of Monopoles: We study the spatial structure of 1/4 BPS solitons in 4 dimensional N=4 gauge\ntheory. A weak binding approximation is used where the soliton is made of\nseveral \"ingredient\" particles. Some spatial moduli are described which are not\naccounted for in the (p,q) web picture. These moduli are counted and their\neffect on the solutions is demonstrated. The potential for off BPS\nconfigurations is estimated by a simple expression and is found to agree with\nprevious expressions. We discuss the fermionic zero modes of the solitons, and\nfind agreement with web predictions.",
        "positive": "Anomalous dimensions of twist-two operators in extended N=2 and N=4\n  super Yang-Mills theories: We perform direct diagrammatic calculations of the anomalous dimensions of\ntwist-two operators in extended N=2 and N=4 super Yang-Mills theories (SYM). In\nthe case of N=4 SYM, we compute the four-loop anomalous dimension of the\ntwist-two operator for several fixed values of Lorentz spin. This is the first\ndirect diagrammatic calculation of this kind, and we confirm results previously\nobtained by means of integrability. For N=2 SYM, we obtain the general result\nfor the anomalous dimension at third order of perturbation theory and find the\nthree-loop Cusp anomalous dimension."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "From Inverse to Delayed Magnetic Catalysis in Strong Magnetic Field: We study magnetic field effect on chiral phase transition in a\nNambu--Jona-Lasinio model. In comparison with mean field approximation\ncontaining quarks only, including mesons as quantum fluctuations in the model\nleads to a transition from inverse to delayed magnetic catalysis at finite\ntemperature and delays the transition at finite baryon chemical potential. The\nlocation of the critical end point depends on the the magnetic field\nnon-monotonously.",
        "positive": "Extreme black hole entropy obtained in an operational approach: The entropy of anti-de Sitter Reissner-Nordstrom black hole is found to be\nstored in the material which gathers to form it and equals to $A/4$ regardless\nof material states. Extending the study to two kinds of extreme black holes, we\nfind different entropy results for the first kind of extreme black hole due to\ndifferent material states. However for the second kind of extreme black hole\nthe results of entropy are uniform independently of the material states.\nRelations between these results and the stability of two kinds of extreme black\nholes have been addressed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-Relativistic and Ultra-Relativistic Scaling Limits of Multimetric\n  Gravity: We present a method of contraction that can be applied to re-construct the\nrecent extended non-relativistic and ultra-relativistic algebras as well as\ncorresponding action principles. The methodology involves the use of multiple\ncopies of Poincar\\'e algebra. Consequently, the contraction defines\nnon-relativistic or ultra-relativistic limits of multimetric theories of\ngravity. In particular, we show that the non-relativistic scaling limit of\nbi-metric gravity corresponds to the recent formulation of an action principle\nfor Newtonian gravity with a constant background mass density.",
        "positive": "Acoustic Black Holes from Abelian Higgs Model with Lorentz Symmetry\n  Breaking: In this paper we derive acoustic black hole metrics in the (3+1) and\n(2+1)-dimensional Abelian Higgs model with Lorentz symmetry breaking. In this\nset up the sound waves lose the Lorentz boost invariance and suffer a\n'birefringence' effect. We have found acoustic black holes and respective\nHawking temperatures depending on the Lorentz violating parameter. Furthermore,\nwe obtain an acoustic Kerr-like black hole metric with the Lorentz violating\nterm affecting its rate of loss of mass. We also have shown that for suitable\nvalues of the Lorentz violating parameter a wider spectrum of particle wave\nfunction can be scattered with increased amplitude by the acoustic black hole."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Lobachevsky holography in conformal Chern-Simons gravity: We propose Lobachevsky boundary conditions that lead to asymptotically H^2xR\nsolutions. As an example we check their consistency in conformal Chern-Simons\ngravity. The canonical charges are quadratic in the fields, but nonetheless\nintegrable, conserved and finite. The asymptotic symmetry algebra consists of\none copy of the Virasoro algebra with central charge c=24k, where k is the\nChern-Simons level, and an affine u(1). We find also regular non-perturbative\nstates and show that none of them corresponds to black hole solutions. We\nattempt to calculate the one-loop partition function, find a remarkable\nseparation between bulk and boundary modes, but conclude that the one-loop\npartition function is ill-defined due to an infinite degeneracy. We comment on\nthe most likely resolution of this degeneracy.",
        "positive": "Spacetime structure of static solutions in Gauss-Bonnet gravity: neutral\n  case: We study the spacetime structures of the static solutions in the\n$n$-dimensional Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet-$\\Lambda$ system systematically. We\nassume the Gauss-Bonnet coefficient $\\alpha$ is non-negative. The solutions\nhave the $(n-2)$-dimensional Euclidean sub-manifold, which is the Einstein\nmanifold with the curvature $k=1,~0$ and -1. We also assume $4{\\tilde\n\\alpha}/\\ell^2\\leq 1$, where $\\ell$ is the curvature radius, in order for the\nsourceless solution (M=0) to be defined. The general solutions are classified\ninto plus and minus branches. The structures of the center, horizons, infinity\nand the singular point depend on the parameters $\\alpha$, $\\ell^2$, $k$, $M$\nand branches complicatedly so that a variety of global structures for the\nsolutions are found. In the plus branch, all the solutions have the same\nasymptotic structure at infinity as that in general relativity with a negative\ncosmological constant. For the negative mass parameter, a new type of\nsingularity called the branch singularity appears at non-zero finite radius\n$r=r_b>0$. The divergent behavior around the singularity in Gauss-Bonnet\ngravity is milder than that around the central singularity in general\nrelativity. In the $k=1,~0$ cases the plus-branch solutions do not have any\nhorizon. In the $k=-1$ case, the radius of the horizon is restricted as\n$r_h<\\sqrt{2\\tilde{\\alpha}}$ ($r_h>\\sqrt{2\\tilde{\\alpha}}$) in the plus (minus)\nbranch. There is also the extreme black hole solution with positive mass in\nspite of the lack of electromagnetic charge. We briefly discuss the effect of\nthe Gauss-Bonnet corrections on black hole formation in a collider and the\npossibility of the violation of third law of the black hole thermodynamics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hidden supersymmetry in quantum bosonic systems: We show that some simple well studied quantum mechanical systems without\nfermion (spin) degrees of freedom display, surprisingly, a hidden\nsupersymmetry. The list includes the bound state Aharonov-Bohm, the Dirac delta\nand the Poschl-Teller potential problems, in which the unbroken and broken N=2\nsupersymmetry of linear and nonlinear (polynomial) forms is revealed.",
        "positive": "N=2 Gauge Theories from Wrapped Five-branes: We present string duals of four dimensional N=2 pure SU(N) SYM theory. The\ntheory is obtained as the low energy limit of D5-branes wrapped on non-trivial\ntwo-cycles. Using seven dimensional gauged supergravity and uplifting the\nresult to ten dimensions, we obtain solutions corresponding to various points\nof the N=2 moduli space. The more symmetric solution may correspond to a point\nwith rotationally invariant classical vevs. By turning on seven dimensional\nscalar fields, we find a solution corresponding to a linear distribution of\nvevs. Both solutions are conveniently studied with a D5-probe, which also\nconfirms many of the standard expectations for N=2 solutions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "About the Cauchy problem in Stelle's quadratic gravity: The focus of the present work is on the Cauchy problem for the quadratic\ngravity models introduced in \\cite{stelle}-\\cite{stelle2}. These are\nrenormalizable higher order derivative models of gravity, but at cost of\nghostly states propagating in the phase space. A previous work on the subject\nis \\cite{noakes}. The techniques employed here differ slightly from those in\n\\cite{noakes}, but the main conclusions agree. Furthermore, the analysis of the\ninitial value formulation in \\cite{noakes} is enlarged and the use of harmonic\ncoordinates is clarified. In particular, it is shown that the initial\nconstraints found \\cite{noakes} include a redundant one. In other words, this\nconstraint is satisfied when the equations of motion are taken into account. In\naddition, some terms that are not specified in \\cite{noakes} are derived\nexplicitly. This procedure facilitates application of some of the mathematical\ntheorems given in \\cite{ringstrom}. As a consequence of these theorems, the\nexistence of both $C^\\infty$ solutions and maximal globally hyperbolic\ndevelopments is proved. The obtained equations may be relevant for the\nstability analysis of the solutions under small perturbations of the initial\ndata.",
        "positive": "Renormalization and redundancy in 2d quantum field theories: We analyze renormalization group (RG) flows in two-dimensional quantum field\ntheories in the presence of redundant directions. We use the operator picture\nin which redundant operators are total derivatives. Our analysis has three\nlevels of generality. We introduce a redundancy anomaly equation which is\nanalyzed together with the RG anomaly equation previously considered by\nH.Osborn [8] and D.Friedan and A.Konechny [7]. The Wess-Zumino consistency\nconditions between these anomalies yield a number of general relations which\nshould hold to all orders in perturbation theory. We further use conformal\nperturbation theory to study field theories in the vicinity of a fixed point\nwhen some of the symmetries of the fixed point are broken by the perturbation.\nWe relate various anomaly coefficients to OPE coefficients at the fixed point\nand analyze which operators become redundant and how they participate in the RG\nflow. Finally, we illustrate our findings by three explicit models constructed\nas current-current perturbations of SU(2)_k WZW model. At each generality level\nwe discuss the geometric picture behind redundancy and how one can reduce the\nnumber of couplings by taking a quotient with respect to the redundant\ndirections. We point to the special role of polar representations for the\nredundancy groups."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Central Charge of the Warped AdS^3 Black Hole: The AdS/CFT conjecture offers the possibility of a quantum description for a\nblack hole in terms of a CFT. This has led to the study of general AdS^3 type\nblack holes with a view to constructing an explicit toy quantum black hole\nmodel. Such a CFT description would be characterized by its central charge and\nthe dimensions of its primary fields. Recently the expression for the central\ncharges (C_L, C_R) of the CFT dual to the warped AdS^3 have been determined\nusing asymptotic symmetry arguments. The central charges depend, as expected,\non the warping factor. We show that topological arguments, used by Witten to\nconstrain central charges for the BTZ black hole, can be generalized to deal\nwith the warped AdS^3 case. Topology constrains the warped factor to be\nrational numbers while quasinormal modes are conjectured to give the dimensions\nof primary fields. We find that in the limit when warping is large or when it\ntakes special rational values the system tends to Witten's conjectured unique\nCFT's with central charges that are multiples of 24.",
        "positive": "Analytic charged BHs in $f(\\mathcal{R})$ gravity: In this article, we seek exact charged spherically symmetric black holes\n(BHs) with considering $f(\\mathcal{R})$ gravitational theory. These BHs are\ncharacterized by convolution and error functions. Those two functions depend on\na constant of integration which is responsible to make such a solution deviate\nfrom the Einstein general relativity (GR). The error function which constitutes\nthe charge potential of the Maxwell field depends on the constant of\nintegration and when this constant is vanishing we can not reproduce the\nReissner-Nordstr\\\"om BH in the lower order of $f(\\mathcal{R})$. This means that\nwe can not reproduce Reissner-Nordstr\\\"om BH in lower-order-curvature theory,\ni.e., in GR limit $f(\\mathcal{R})=\\mathcal{R}$, we can not get the well known\ncharged BH. We study the physical properties of these BHs and show that it is\nasymptotically approached as a flat spacetime or approach AdS/dS spacetime.\nAlso, we calculate the invariants of the BHS and show that the singularities\nare milder than those of BH's of GR. Additionally, we derive the stability\ncondition through the use of geodesic deviation. Moreover, we study the\nthermodynamics of our BH and investigate the impact of the\nhigher-order-curvature theory. Finally, we show that all the BHs are stable and\nhave radial speed equal to one through the use of odd-type mode."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Finite Temperature behavior of the CPT-even and parity-even\n  electrodynamics of the Standard Model Extension: In this work, we examine the finite temperature properties of the CPT-even\nand Lorentz-invariance-violating (LIV) electrodynamics of the standard model\nextension, represented by the term $W_{\\alpha \\nu \\rho \\phi}F^{\\alpha\n\\nu}F^{\\rho \\phi}$. We begin analyzing the hamiltonian structure following the\nDirac's procedure for constrained systems and construct a well-defined and\ngauge invariant partition function in the functional integral formalism. Next,\nwe specialize for the non-birefringent coefficients of the tensor $W_{\\alpha\n\\nu \\rho \\phi}$. In the sequel, the partition function is explicitly carried\nout for the parity-even sector of the tensor $W_{\\alpha \\nu \\rho \\phi}$. The\nmodified partition function is a power of the Maxwell's partition function. It\nis observed that the LIV coefficients induce an anisotropy in the black body\nangular energy density distribution. The Planck's radiation law, however,\nretains its frequency dependence and the Stefan-Boltzmann law keeps the usual\nform, except for a change in the Stefan-Boltzmann constant by a factor\ncontaining the LIV contributions.",
        "positive": "Generalized Gravitational Entropy of Interacting Scalar Field and\n  Maxwell Field: The generalized gravitational entropy proposed by Lewkowycz and Maldacena in\nrecent is extended to the interacting real scalar field and Maxwell field\nsystem. Using the BTZ geometry we first investigate the case of free real\nscalar field and then show a possible way to calculate the entropy of the\ninteracting scalar field. Next, we investigate the Maxwell field system. We\nexactly solve the wave equation and calculate the analytic value of the\ngeneralized gravitational entropy. We also use the Einstein equation to find\nthe effect of backreaction of the Maxwell field on the area of horizon. The\nassociated modified area law is consistent with the generalized gravitational\nentropy."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Effective action for a quantum scalar field in warped spaces: We investigate the one-loop corrections at zero, as well as finite\ntemperature, of a scalar field taking place in a braneworld motived warped\nbackground. After to reach a well defined problem, we calculate the effective\naction with the corresponding quantum corrections to each case.",
        "positive": "Counting planar diagrams with various restrictions: Explicit expressions are considered for the generating functions concerning\nthe number of planar diagrams with given numbers of 3- and 4-point vertices. It\nis observed that planar renormalization theory requires diagrams with\nrestrictions, in the sense that one wishes to omit `tadpole' inserions and\n`seagull' insertions; at a later stage also self-energy insertions are to be\nremoved, and finally also the dressed 3-point inserions and the dressed 4-point\ninsertions. Diagrams with such restrictions can all be counted exactly. This\nresults in various critical lines in the $\\lambda$-$g$ plane, where $\\lambda$\nand $g$ are effective zero-dimensional coupling constants. These lines can be\nlocalized exactly."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Division Algebras and Extended SuperKdVs: The division algebras R, C, H, O are used to construct and analyze the\nN=1,2,4,8 supersymmetric extensions of the KdV hamiltonian equation. In\nparticular a global N=8 super-KdV system is introduced and shown to admit a\nPoisson bracket structure given by the \"Non-Associative N=8 Superconformal\nAlgebra\".",
        "positive": "Symplectic Symmetry of the Neutrino Mass For Many Neutrino Flavors: The algebraic structure of the neutrino mass Hamiltonian is presented for two\nneutrino flavors considering both Dirac and Majorana mass terms. It is shown\nthat the algebra is Sp(8) and also discussed how the algebraic structure\ngeneralizes for the case of more than two neutrino flavors."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Causal connectability between quantum systems and the black hole\n  interior in holographic duality: In holographic duality an eternal AdS black hole is described by two copies\nof the boundary CFT in the thermal field double state. This identification has\nmany puzzles, including the boundary descriptions of the event horizons, the\ninteriors of the black hole, and the singularities. Compounding these mysteries\nis the fact that, while there is no interaction between the CFTs, observers\nfrom them can fall into the black hole and interact. We address these issues in\nthis paper. In particular, we (i) present a boundary formulation of a class of\nin-falling bulk observers; (ii) present an argument that a sharp bulk event\nhorizon can only emerge in the infinite $N$ limit of the boundary theory; (iii)\ngive an explicit construction in the boundary theory of an evolution operator\nfor a bulk in-falling observer, making manifest the boundary emergence of the\nblack hole horizons, the interiors, and the associated causal structure. A\nby-product is a concept called causal connectability, which is a criterion for\nany two quantum systems (which do not need to have a known gravity dual) to\nhave an emergent sharp horizon structure.",
        "positive": "Large scalar gaps in 2D CFTs with generalized polynomials: We present an analytic way of writing simple crossing symmetric expressions\nand use them to search for unitary 4-point functions in 2D CFTs. We've applied\nour method for a class of functions we called generalized polynomials to\nachieve large gaps for operators with integer scaling dimension less or equal\nto 18."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Brane world from IIB matrices: We have recently proposed a dynamical mechanism that may realize a flat\nfour-dimensional space time as a brane in type IIB superstring theory. A\ncrucial role is played by the phase of the chiral fermion integral associated\nwith the IKKT Matrix Theory, which is conjectured to be a nonperturbative\ndefinition of type IIB superstring theory. We demonstrate our mechanism by\nstudying a simplified model, in which we find that a lower-dimensional brane\nindeed appears dynamically. We also comment on some implications of our\nmechanism on model building of the brane world.",
        "positive": "Quantum transfer matrices for discrete and continuous quasi-exactly\n  solvable problems: We clarify the algebraic structure of continuous and discrete quasi-exactly\nsolvable spectral problems by embedding them into the framework of the quantum\ninverse scattering method. The quasi-exactly solvable hamiltonians in one\ndimension are identified with traces of quantum monodromy matrices for specific\nintegrable systems with non-periodic boundary conditions. Applications to the\nAzbel-Hofstadter problem are outlined."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "General formula for symmetry factors of Feynman diagrams: General formula for symmetry factors (S-factor) of Feynman diagrams\ncontaining fields with high spins is derived. We prove that symmetry factors of\nFeynman diagrams of well-known theories do not depend on spins of fields. In\ncontributions to S-factors, self-conjugate fields and non self-conjugate fields\nplay the same roles as real scalar fields and complex scalar fields,\nrespectively. Thus, the formula of S-factors for scalar theories --- theories\ninclude only real and complex scalar fields --- works on all well-known\ntheories of fields with high spins.Two interesting consequences deduced from\nour result are : (i) S-factors of all external connected diagrams consisting of\nonly vertices with three different fields, e.g., spinor QED, are equal to\nunity; (ii) some diagrams with different topologies can contribute the same\nfactor, leading to the result that the inverse S-factor for the total\ncontribution is the sum of inverse S-factors, i.e., 1/S = \\sum_i (1/S_i).",
        "positive": "Noncommutativity from spectral flow: We investigate the transition from second to first order systems. This\ntransforms configuration space into phase space and hence introduces\nnoncommutativity in the former. Quantum mechanically, the transition may be\ndescribed in terms of spectral flow. Gaps in the energy or mass spectrum may\nbecome large which effectively truncates the available state space. Using both\noperator and path integral languages we explicitly discuss examples in quantum\nmechanics, (light-front) quantum field theory and string theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Odd Scalar Curvature in Field-Antifield Formalism: We consider the possibility of adding a Grassmann-odd function \\nu to the odd\nLaplacian. Requiring the total \\Delta operator to be nilpotent leads to a\ndifferential condition for \\nu, which is integrable. It turns out that the odd\nfunction \\nu is not an independent geometric object, but is instead completely\nspecified by the antisymplectic structure E and the density \\rho. The main\nimpact of introducing the \\nu term is that it makes compatibility relations\nbetween E and \\rho obsolete. We give a geometric interpretation of \\nu as\n(minus 1/8 times) the odd scalar curvature of an arbitrary antisymplectic,\ntorsion-free and \\rho-compatible connection. We show that the total \\Delta\noperator is a \\rho-dressed version of Khudaverdian's \\Delta_E operator, which\ntakes semidensities to semidensities. We also show that the construction\ngeneralizes to the situation where \\rho is replaced by a non-flat line bundle\nconnection F. This generalization is implemented by breaking the nilpotency of\n\\Delta with an arbitrary Grassmann-even second-order operator source.",
        "positive": "Decoherence and Microscopic Diffusion at SYK: Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev (SYK) or embedded random ensembles are models of $N$\nfermions with random k-body interactions. They play an important role in\nunderstanding black hole dynamics, quantum chaos, and thermalization. We study\nout of equilibrium scenarios in these systems and show they display perfect\ndecoherence at all times. This peculiar feature makes them very attractive in\nthe context of the quantum-to-classical transition and the emergence of\nclassical general relativity. Based on this feature and unitarity, we propose a\nrate/continuity equation for the dynamics of the $\\mathcal{O}(e^N)$ microstates\nprobabilities. The effective permutation symmetry of the models drastically\nreduces the number of variables, allowing for compact expressions of n-point\ncorrelation functions and entropy of the microscopic distribution. Further\nassuming a generalized Fermi golden rule allows finding analytic formulas for\nthe kernel spectrum at finite $N$, providing a series of short and long time\nscales controlling the out of equilibrium dynamics of this model. This approach\nto chaos, long time scales, and $1/N$ corrections might be tested in future\nexperiments."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Group field theory with non-commutative metric variables: We introduce a dual formulation of group field theories, making them a type\nof non-commutative field theories. In this formulation, the variables of the\nfield are Lie algebra variables with a clear interpretation in terms of\nsimplicial geometry. For Ooguri-type models, the Feynman amplitudes are\nsimplicial path integrals for BF theories. This formulation suggests ways to\nimpose the simplicity constraints involved in BF formulations of 4d gravity\ndirectly at the level of the group field theory action. We illustrate this by\ngiving a new GFT definition of the Barrett-Crane model.",
        "positive": "Apparently noninvariant terms of $U(N)\\times U(N)$ nonlinear sigma model\n  in the one-loop approximation: We show how the Apparently Noninvariant Terms (ANTs), which emerge in\nperturbation theory of nonlinear sigma models, are consistent with the\nnonlinearly realized symmetry by employing the Ward-Takahashi identity (in the\nform of an inhomogeneous Zinn-Justin equation). In the literature the\ndiscussions on ANTs are confined to the SU(2) case. We generalize them to the\nU(N) case and demonstrate explicitly at the one-loop level that despite the\npresence of divergent ANTs in the effective action of the \"pions\", the symmetry\nis preserved."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The no-drag frame for anomalous chiral fluid: We show that for an anomalous fluid carrying dissipationless chiral magnetic\nand/or vortical currents there is a frame in which a stationary obstacle\nexperiences no drag, but energy and charge currents do not vanish, resembling\nsuperfluidity. However, unlike ordinary superfluid flow, the anomalous chiral\ncurrents do transport entropy in this frame. We show that the second law of\nthermodynamics completely determines the amounts of these anomalous\nnon-dissipative currents in the \"no-drag frame\" as polynomials in temperature\nand chemical potential with known anomaly coefficients. These general results\nare illustrated and confirmed by a calculation in the chiral kinetic theory and\nquark-gluon plasma at high temperature.",
        "positive": "Bardeen variables and hidden gauge symmetries in linearized massive\n  gravity: We give a detailed discussion of the use of the (3+1) decomposition and of\nBardeen's variables in massive gravity linearized over a Minkowski as well as\nover a de Sitter background. In Minkowski space the Bardeen \"potential\" \\Phi,\nthat in the massless case is a non-radiative degree of freedom, becomes\nradiative and describes the helicity-0 component of the massive graviton. Its\ndynamics is governed by a simple Klein-Gordon action, supplemented by a term\n(\\Box \\Phi)^2 if we do not make the Fierz-Pauli tuning of the mass term. In de\nSitter the identification of the variable that describes the radiative degree\nof freedom in the scalar sector is more subtle, and even involves expressions\nnon-local in time. The use of this new variable provides a simple and\ntransparent derivation of the Higuchi bound and of the disappearance of the\nscalar degree of freedom at a special value of $m_g^2/H^2$. The use of this\nformalism also allows us to uncover the existence of a hidden gauge symmetry of\nthe massive theory, that becomes manifest only once the non-dynamical\ncomponents of the metric are integrated out, and that is present both in\nMinkowski and in de Sitter."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Infinite Quantum Group Symmetry of Fields in Massive 2D Quantum Field\n  Theory: Starting from a given S-matrix of an integrable quantum field theory in $1+1$\ndimensions, and knowledge of its on-shell quantum group symmetries, we describe\nhow to extend the symmetry to the space of fields. This is accomplished by\nintroducing an adjoint action of the symmetry generators on fields, and\nspecifying the form factors of descendents. The braiding relations of quantum\nfield multiplets is shown to be given by the universal $\\CR$-matrix. We develop\nin some detail the case of infinite dimensional Yangian symmetry. We show that\nthe quantum double of the Yangian is a Hopf algebra deformation of a level zero\nKac-Moody algebra that preserves its finite dimensional Lie subalgebra. The\nfields form infinite dimensional Verma-module representations; in particular\nthe energy-momentum tensor and isotopic current are in the same multiplet.",
        "positive": "Two-Dimensional N=(2,2) Dilaton Supergravity from Graded Poisson-Sigma\n  Models II: Analytic Solution and BPS States: The integrability of N=(2,2) dilaton supergravity in two dimensions is\nstudied by the use of the graded Poisson Sigma model approach. Though important\ndifferences compared to the purely bosonic models are found, the general\nanalytic solutions are obtained. The latter include minimally gauged models as\nwell as an ungauged version. BPS solutions are an especially interesting\nsubclass."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Rotating Rindler-AdS Space: If the Hamiltonian of a quantum field theory is taken to be a timelike\nisometry, the vacuum state remains empty for all time. We search for such\nstationary vacua in anti-de Sitter space. By considering conjugacy classes of\nthe Lorentz group, we find interesting one-parameter families of stationary\nvacua in three-dimensional anti-de Sitter space. In particular, there exists a\nfamily of rotating Rindler vacua, labeled by the rotation parameter beta, which\nare related to the usual Rindler vacuum by non-trivial Bogolubov\ntransformations. Rotating Rindler-AdS space possesses not only an\nobserver-dependent event horizon but even an observer-dependent ergosphere. We\nalso find rotating vacua in global AdS provided a certain region of spacetime\nis excluded.",
        "positive": "Pauli-Villars' regularization of ghosts in path-integral string\n  formulation: I consider Pauli-Villars' regulators for the ghosts in the path-integral\nstring formulation and show how they preserve conformal invariance. I calculate\nthe regulator contributions to the effective action and to the central charge\nand demonstrate the consistency of the mean-field quantization of the\nNambu-Goto string in $2<d\\leq26$. The higher-derivative corrections to the\nLiouville action are briefly considered for the Pauli-Villars and proper-time\nregularizations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spectral Asymptotics of Eigen-value Problems with Non-linear Dependence\n  on the Spectral Parameter: We study asymptotic distribution of eigen-values $\\omega$ of a quadratic\noperator polynomial of the following form $(\\omega^2-L(\\omega))\\phi_\\omega=0$,\nwhere $L(\\omega)$ is a second order differential positive elliptic operator\nwith quadratic dependence on the spectral parameter $\\omega$. We derive\nasymptotics of the spectral density in this problem and show how to compute\ncoefficients of its asymptotic expansion from coefficients of the asymptotic\nexpansion of the trace of the heat kernel of $L(\\omega)$. The leading term in\nthe spectral asymptotics is the same as for a Laplacian in a cavity. The\nresults have a number of physical applications. We illustrate them by examples\nof field equations in external stationary gravitational and gauge backgrounds.",
        "positive": "Kerr/CFT correspondence in a 4D extremal rotating regular black hole\n  with a non-linear magnetic monopole: We carry out the Kerr/CFT correspondence in a four-dimensional extremal\nrotating regular black hole with a non-linear magnetic monopole (NLMM). One\nproblem in this study would be whether our geometry can be a solution or not.\nWe search for the way making our rotating geometry into a solution based on the\nfact that the Schwarzschild regular black hole geometry with a NLMM can be a\nsolution. However, in the attempt to extend the Schwarzschild case that we can\nnaturally consider, it turns out that it is impossible to construct a model in\nwhich our geometry can be a exact solution. We manage this problem by making\nuse of the fact that our geometry can be a solution approximately in the whole\nspace-time except for the black hole's core region. As a next problem, it turns\nout that the equation to obtain the horizon radii is given by a fifth-order\nequation due to the regularization effect. We overcome this problem by treating\nthe regularization effect perturbatively. As a result, we can obtain the\nnear-horizon extremal Kerr (NHEK) geometry with the correction of the\nregularization effect. Once obtaining the NHEK geometry, we can obtain the\ncentral charge and the Frolov-Thorne temperature in the dual CFT. Using these,\nwe compute its entropy through the Cardy formula, which agrees with the one\ncomputed from the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Renormalization without infinities: Most renormalizable quantum field theories can be rephrased in terms of\nFeynman diagrams that only contain dressed irreducible 2-, 3-, and 4-point\nvertices. These irreducible vertices in turn can be solved from equations that\nalso only contain dressed irreducible vertices. The diagrams and equations that\none ends up with do not contain any ultraviolet divergences. The original bare\nLagrangian of the theory only enters in terms of freely adjustable integration\nconstants. It is explained how the procedure proposed here is related to the\nrenormalization group equations. The procedure requires the identification of\nunambiguous \"paths\" in a Feynman diagrams, and it is shown how to define such\npaths in most of the quantum field theories that are in use today. We do not\nclaim to have a more convenient calculational scheme here, but rather a scheme\nthat allows for a better conceptual understanding of ultraviolet infinities.\n  Dedicated to Paul Frampton's 60th birthday",
        "positive": "Can a gravitational wave and a magnetic monopole coexist?: We investigate the behavior of small perturbations around the Kaluza-Klein\nmonopole in the five dimensional space-time. We find that the even parity\ngravitational wave does not propagate in the five dimensional space-time with\nKaluza-Klein monopole provided that the gravitational wave is constant in the\nfifth direction. We conclude that a gravitational wave and a U(1) magnetic\nmonopole do not coexist in five dimensional Kaluza-Klein spacetime."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Self-Organized Critical Multiverse: Recently a dynamical selection mechanism for vacua based on search\noptimization was proposed in the context of false-vacuum eternal inflation on\nthe landscape. The search algorithm, defined by local vacuum transitions, is\noptimal in regions of the landscape where the dynamics are tuned at\ncriticality, with de Sitter vacua having an average lifetime of order their\nPage time. The purpose of this paper is to shed light on the nature of the\ndynamical phase transition at the Page lifetime. We focus on a finite region of\nthe landscape, which exchanges volume with the rest of the landscape and as\nsuch acts as an open system. Through a change of variables the master equation\ngoverning the comoving volume of de Sitter vacua is mapped to a stochastic\nequation for coupled overdamped stochastic oscillators -- the well-known\nOrnstein-Uhlenbeck process. The rest of the landscape, which acts as an\nenvironment, is assumed to result in a non-vanishing driving term for all sites\nin the region with uncorrelated, white noise fluctuations (though not\nnecessarily Gaussian). We first show that the static susceptibility of the\noscillators diverges as the average lifetime of de Sitter vacua approaches the\nPage time. Thus, optimal regions of the landscape are most susceptible to\nvolume influx from their environing landscape. We then show that the\ndisplacement fluctuations for the oscillators exhibit a $1/f$ power spectrum\nover a broad range of frequencies, precisely at the critical Page lifetime\ndistribution. A $1/f$ power spectrum is a hallmark of non-equilibrium systems\nat criticality. In analogy with sand avalanches in the abelian sandpile or\nneuronal avalanches in the brain, de Sitter vacua at criticality can be thought\nof as undergoing scale invariant volume fluctuation avalanches.",
        "positive": "Comments on the scalar propagator in AdS x S and the BMN plane wave: We discuss the scalar propagator on generic AdS_{d+1} x S^{d'+1} backgrounds.\nFor the conformally flat situations and masses corresponding to Weyl invariant\nactions the propagator is powerlike in the sum of the chordal distances with\nrespect to AdS_{d+1} and S^{d'+1}. In all other cases the propagator depends on\nboth chordal distances separately. We discuss the KK mode summation to\nconstruct the propagator in brief. For AdS_5 x S^5 we relate our propagator to\nthe expression in the BMN plane wave limit and find a geometric interpretation\nof the variables occurring in the known explicit construction on the plane\nwave."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Some Exact Solutions for Maximally Symmetric Topological Defects in Anti\n  de Sitter Space: We obtain exact analytical solutions for a class of SO($l$) Higgs field\ntheories in a non-dynamic background $n$-dimensional anti de Sitter space.\nThese finite transverse energy solutions are maximally symmetric\n$p$-dimensional topological defects where $n=(p+1)+l$. The radius of curvature\nof anti de Sitter space provides an extra length scale that allows us to study\nthe equations of motion in a limit where the masses of the Higgs field and the\nmassive vector bosons are both vanishing. We call this the double BPS limit. In\nanti de Sitter space, the equations of motion depend on both $p$ and $l$. The\nexact analytical solutions are expressed in terms of standard special\nfunctions. The known exact analytical solutions are for kink-like defects\n($p=0,1,2,\\dotsc;\\, l=1$), vortex-like defects ($p=1,2,3;\\, l=2$), and the\n'tHooft-Polyakov monopole ($p=0;\\, l=3$). A bonus is that the double BPS limit\nautomatically gives a maximally symmetric classical glueball type solution. In\ncertain cases where we did not find an analytic solution, we present numerical\nsolutions to the equations of motion. The asymptotically exponentially\nincreasing volume with distance of anti de Sitter space imposes different\nconstraints than those found in the study of defects in Minkowski space.",
        "positive": "Entropy Production during Asymptotically Safe Inflation: The Asymptotic Safety scenario predicts that the deep ultraviolet of Quantum\nEinstein Gravity is governed by a nontrivial renormalization group fixed point.\nAnalyzing its implications for cosmology using renormalization group improved\nEinstein equations we find that it can give rise to a phase of inflationary\nexpansion in the early Universe. Inflation is a pure quantum effect here and\nrequires no inflaton field. It is driven by the cosmological constant and ends\nautomatically when the renormalization group evolution has reduced the vacuum\nenergy to the level of the matter energy density. The quantum gravity effects\nalso provide a natural mechanism for the generation of entropy. It could easily\naccount for the entire entropy of the present Universe in the massless sector."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Note on the boundary terms in AdS/CFT correspondence for\n  Rarita-Schwinger field: In this letter the boundary problem for massless and massive Rarita-Schwinger\nfield in the AdS/CFT correspondence is considered. The considerations are along\nthe lines of a paper by Henneaux (hep-th/9902137) and are based on the\nrequirement the solutions to be a stationary point for the action functional.\nIt is shown that this requirement, along with a definite asymptotic behavior of\nthe solutions, fixes the boundary term that must be added to the initial\nRarita-Schwinger action. It is also shown that the boundary term reproduce the\nknown two point correlation functions of certain local operators in CFT living\non the boundary.",
        "positive": "On New Proposal for Holographic BCFT: This paper is an extended version of our short letter on a new proposal for\nholographic boundary conformal field, i.e., BCFT. By using the\nPenrose-Brown-Henneaux (PBH) transformation, we successfully obtain the\nexpected boundary Weyl anomaly. The obtained boundary central charges satisfy\nnaturally a c-like theorem holographically. We then develop an approach of\nholographic renormalization for BCFT, and reproduce the correct boundary Weyl\nanomaly. This provides a non-trivial check of our proposal. We also investigate\nthe holographic entanglement entropy of BCFT and find that our proposal gives\nthe expected orthogonal condition that the minimal surface must be normal to\nthe spacetime boundaries if they intersect. This is another support for our\nproposal. We also find that the entanglement entropy depends on the boundary\nconditions of BCFT and the distance to the boundary; and that the entanglement\nwedge behaves a phase transition, which is important for the self-consistency\nof AdS/BCFT. Finally, we show that the proposal of arXiv:1105.5165 is too\nrestrictive that it always make vanishing some of the boundary central charges."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Worldline Formalism and Noncommutative Theories: The objective of this Ph.D. thesis is the implementation of the Worldline\nFormalism in the frame of Noncommutative Quantum Field Theories. The result is\na master formula for the 1-loop effective action that is applied to a number of\nscalar models -- among them the Grosse-Wulkenhaar model. As a byproduct we find\nan expression for the small propertime expansion of general nonlocal operators'\nHeat Kernel. As an introduction, basic notions of spectral functions, Quantum\nField Theories --path integrals and renormalization by means of spectral\nfunctions-- and the Worldline Formalism for commutative theories are given.",
        "positive": "Volume complexity for Janus $\\mathrm{AdS}_3$ geometries: We investigate the complexity=volume proposal in the case of Janus AdS$_3$\ngeometries, both at zero and finite temperature. The leading contribution\ncoming from the Janus interface is a logarithmic divergence, whose coefficient\nis a function of the dilaton excursion. In the presence of the defect,\ncomplexity is no longer topological and becomes temperature-dependent. We also\nstudy the time evolution of the extremal volume for the time-dependent Janus\nBTZ black hole. This background is not dual to an interface but to a pair of\nentangled CFTs with different values of the couplings. At late times, when the\nequilibrium is restored, the couplings of the CFTs do not influence the\ncomplexity rate. On the contrary, the complexity rate for the\nout-of-equilibrium system is always smaller compared to the pure BTZ black hole\nbackground."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the effective superpotential in the generic higher-derivative\n  superfield supersymmetric three-dimensional gauge theory: We formulate a generic three-dimensional superfield higher-derivative gauge\ntheory coupled to the matter, which, in certain cases reduces to the\nthree-dimensional scalar super-QED, or supersymmetric Maxwell-Chern-Simons or\nChern-Simons theories with matter. For this theory, we explicitly calculate the\none-loop effective potential.",
        "positive": "Alien calculus and a Schwinger--Dyson equation: two-point function with\n  a nonperturbative mass scale: Starting from the Schwinger--Dyson equation and the renormalization group\nequation for the massless Wess--Zumino model, we compute the dominant\nnonperturbative contributions to the anomalous dimension of the theory, which\nare related by alien calculus to singularities of the Borel transform on\ninteger points. The sum of these dominant contributions has an analytic\nexpression. When applied to the two-point function, this analysis gives a tame\nevolution in the deep euclidean domain at this approximation level, making\ndoubtful the arguments on the triviality of the quantum field theory with\npositive \\(\\beta\\)-function. On the other side, we have a singularity of the\npropagator for time like momenta of the order of the renormalization group\ninvariant scale of the theory, which has a nonperturbative relationship with\nthe renormalization point of the theory. All these results do not seem to have\nan interpretation in terms of semiclassical analysis of a Feynman path\nintegral."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Lagrangian for the Majorana-Ahluwalia Construct: The equations describing self/anti-self charge conjugate states, recently\nproposed by Ahluwalia, are re-written to covariant form. The corresponding\nLagrangian for the neutral particle theory is proposed. From a\ngroup-theoretical viewpoint the construct is an example of the\nNigam-Foldy-Bargmann-Wightman-Wigner-type quantum field theory based on the\ndoubled representations of the extended Lorentz group. Relations with the\nSachs-Schwebel and Ziino-Barut concepts of relativistic quantum theory are\ndiscussed.",
        "positive": "How small hydrodynamics can go: Numerous experimental and theoretical results in liquids and plasmas suggest\nthe presence of a critical momentum at which the shear diffusion mode collides\nwith a non-hydrodynamic relaxation mode, giving rise to propagating shear\nwaves. This phenomenon, labelled as \"k-gap\", could explain the surprising\nidentification of a low-frequency elastic behaviour in confined liquids. More\nrecently, a formal study of the perturbative hydrodynamic expansion showed that\ncritical points in complex space, such as the aforementioned k-gap, determine\nthe radius of convergence of linear hydrodynamics, its regime of applicability.\nIn this work, we combine the two new concepts and we study the radius of\nconvergence of linear hydrodynamics in \"real liquids\" by using several data\nfrom simulations and experiments. We generically show that the radius of\nconvergence increases with temperature and it surprisingly decreases with the\nelectromagnetic interactions coupling. More importantly, for all the systems\nconsidered, we find that such radius is set by the Wigner-Seitz radius, the\ncharacteristic inter-atomic distance of the liquid, which provides a natural\nmicroscopic bound."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Perils of Towers in the Swamp: Dark Dimensions and the Robustness of\n  Effective Field Theories: Recently there has been an interesting revival of the idea to use large extra\ndimensions to address the dark energy problem, exploiting the (true)\nobservation that towers of states with masses split, by $M^2_N = f(N) m^2,$\nwith $f$ an unbounded function of the integer $N$, sometimes contribute to the\nvacuum energy only an amount of order $m^D$ in $D$ dimensions. It has been\nargued that this fact is a consequence of swampland conjectures and may require\na departure from Effective Field Theory (EFT) reasoning. We test this claim\nwith calculations for Casimir energies in extra dimensions. We show why the\ndomain of validity for EFTs ensures that the tower spacing scale $m$ is always\nan upper bound on the UV scale for the lower-energy effective theory; use of an\nEFT with a cutoff part way up a tower is not a controlled approximation. We\nhighlight the role played by the sometimes-suppressed contributions from towers\nin extra-dimensional approaches to the cosmological constant problem, old and\nnew, and point out difficulties encountered in exploiting it. We compare recent\nswampland realizations of these arguments with earlier approaches using\nstandard EFT examples, discussing successes and limitations of both.",
        "positive": "The KdV Action and Deformed Minimal Models: An action is constructed that gives an arbitrary equation in the KdV or MKdV\nhierarchies as equation of motion; the second Hamiltonian structure of the KdV\nequation and the Hamiltonian structure of the MKdV equation appear as Poisson\nbracket structures derived from this action. Quantization of this theory can be\ncarried out in two different schemes, to obtain either the quantum KdV theory\nof Kupershmidt and Mathieu or the quantum MKdV theory of Sasaki and Yamanaka.\nThe latter is, for specific values of the coupling constant, related to a\ngeneralized deformation of the minimal models, and clarifies the relationship\nof integrable systems of KdV type and conformal field theories. As a\ngeneralization it is shown how to construct an action for the $SL(3)$-KdV\n(Boussinesq) hierarchy."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Partonic description of a supersymmetric p-brane: We consider supersymmetric extensions of a recently proposed partonic\ndescription of a bosonic p-brane which reformulates the Nambu-Goto action as an\ninteracting multi-particle action with Filippov-Lie algebra gauge symmetry. We\nconstruct a worldline supersymmetric action by postulating, among others, a\np-form fermion. Demanding a local worldline supersymmetry rather than the full\nworldvolume supersymmetry, we circumvent a known no-go theorem against the\nconstruction of a Ramond-Neveu-Schwarz supersymmetric action for a p-brane of\np>1. We also derive a spacetime supersymmetric Green-Schwarz extension from the\npreexisting kappa-symmetric action.",
        "positive": "Classical Dirac Observables: the Emergence of Rest-Frame Particle and\n  Field Theories: A review is given of the canonical reduction of gauge and relativistic\nparticle theories and of a new covariant rest-frame instant form of dynamics\naccording to Dirac's theory of constraints"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Constructing Canonical Feynman Integrals with Intersection Theory: Canonical Feynman integrals are of great interest in the study of scattering\namplitudes at the multi-loop level. We propose to construct $d\\log$-form\nintegrals of the hypergeometric type, treat them as a representation of Feynman\nintegrals, and project them into master integrals using intersection theory.\nThis provides a constructive way to build canonical master integrals whose\ndifferential equations can be solved easily. We use our method to investigate\nboth the maximally cut integrals and the uncut ones at one and two loops, and\ndemonstrate its applicability in problems with multiple scales.",
        "positive": "Quantum gravity effects in statistical mechanics with modified\n  dispersion relation: Planck scale inspired theories which are also often accompanied with maximum\nenergy and/or momentum scale predict deformed dispersion relations compared to\nordinary special relativity and quantum mechanics. In this paper we resort to\nthe methods of statistical mechanics in order to determine the effects of a\ndeformed dispersion relation along with upper bound in partition function as\nmaximum energy and/or momentum scale can have on the thermodynamics of photon\ngas. We have analyzed two distinct quantum gravity models in this paper"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Starting--point of Supergravity: In this report I wish to recall how the basic concepts and ingredients of\nsupergravity were formulated by Dmitrij V. Volkov and the present author in\n1973-74 under the first investigation of the super-Higgs effect .",
        "positive": "Radiation reaction for multipole moments: We propose a Poincare-invariant description for the effective dynamics of\nsystems of charged particles by means of intrinsic multipole moments. To\nachieve this goal we study the effective dynamics of such systems within two\nframeworks -- the particle itself and hydrodynamical one. We give a\nrelativistic-invariant definition for the intrinsic multipole moments both\npointlike and extended relativistic objects. Within the hydrodynamical\nframework we suggest a covariant action functional for a perfect fluid with\npressure. In the case of a relativistic charged dust we prove the equivalence\nof the particle approach to the hydrodynamical one to the problem of radiation\nreaction for multipoles. As the particular example of a general procedure we\nobtain the effective model for a neutral system of charged particles with\ndipole moment."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quasinormal modes in pure de sitter spacetimes: We have studied scalar perturbations as well as fermion perturbations in pure\nde Sitter space-times. For scalar perturbations we have showed that\nwell-defined quasinormal modes can exist provided that the mass of scalar field\n$m>\\frac{d-1}{2l}$. The quasinormal frequencies of fermion perturbations in\nthree and four dimensional cases have also been presented. We found that\ndifferent from other dimensional cases, in three dimensional pure de Sitter\nspacetime there is no quasinormal mode for the s-wave. This interesting\ndifference caused by the spacial dimensions is true for both scalar and fermion\nperturbations.",
        "positive": "Distributive Laws and the Koszulness: We study algebras with a distributive law and the Koszulness of associated\noperads. As a corollary of our theory we prove that the homology operad of the\nlittle cubes operad is Koszul, the result which was originally proven by E.\nGetzler and J.D.S. Jones in their preprint \"Operads, homotopy algebra, and\niterated integrals for double loop spaces\" using the combinatorics of the\nstratification of the Fulton-MacPherson compactification of the configuration\nspace. Since the above mentioned result whose purely algebraic proof we give\nplays and important role in closed string field theory and especially the\nmethods used in the original proof of Getzler and Jones are very relevant for\nthis part of mathematical physics, we decided to put our paper here, though\nsome 80% of its material belongs rather to universal and homological algebra."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Virasoro Action and Virasoro Constraints on Integrable Hierarchies of\n  the $r$-Matrix Type: For a large class of hierarchies of integrable equations admitting a\nclassical $r-$matrix, we propose a construction for the Virasoro algebra\nactionon the Lax operators which commutes with the hierarchy flows. The\nconstruction relies on the existence of dressing transformations associated to\nthe $r$-matrix and does not involve the notion of a tau function. The\ndressing-operator form of the Virasoro action gives the corresponding\nformulation of the Virasoro constraints on hierarchies of the $r-$matrix type.\nWe apply the general construction to several examples which include KP, Toda\nand generalized KdV hierarchies, the latter both in scalar and the\nDrinfeld-Sokolov formalisms. We prove the consistency of Virasoro action on the\nscalar and matrix (Drinfeld-Sokolov) Lax operators, and make an observation on\nthe difference in the form of string equations in the two formalisms.",
        "positive": "SUSY and the bi-vector: In this note we give an explicit formula for the preserved Killing spinors in\ndeformed string theory backgrounds corresponding to integrable Yang--Baxter\ndeformations realized via (sequences of) TsT transformations. The Killing\nspinors can be expressed only in terms of the bi-vector $\\Theta$ which encodes\nthe deformation. This formula is applicable to deformed backgrounds related to\n$r$-matrices of various ranks, including those that do not satisfy the\nunimodularity condition and give rise to backgrounds in generalized\nsupergravity. We conjecture that our formula also remains valid for integrable\ndeformations which are not realized via TsT transformations and motivate this\nconjecture by explicit examples."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fermionic signal of vacuum polarization in strong laser fields: Vacuum polarization (VP) is investigated for the interaction of a polarized\n$\\gamma$-ray beam of GeV photons with a counterpropagating ultraintense laser\npulse. In a conventional setup of a vacuum birefringence measurement, a VP\nsignal is the emerging small circular (linear) polarization of the initially\nlinearly (circularly) polarized probe photons. The pair production via the\nnonlinear Breit-Wheeler process in such a high-energy environment eliminates\npart of the $\\gamma$-photons in the outgoing $\\gamma$-beam, increasing the\nstatistical error and decreasing the accuracy of this VP signal. In contrast,\nwe investigate the conversion of the emerging circular polarization of\n$\\gamma$-photons into longitudinal polarization of the created positrons,\nconsidering the latter as the main VP signal. To study the VP effects in the\nhighly nonlinear regime, where the Euler-Heisenberg effective Lagrangian method\nbreaks down, we have developed a Monte-Carlo simulation method, incorporating\nvacuum birefringence and dichroism via the one-loop QED probabilities in the\nlocally constant field approximation. Our Monte Carlo method will enable the\nstudy of VP effects in strong fields of arbitrary configuration. With 10~PW\nlaser systems, we demonstrate the feasibility of detecting the fermionic signal\nof the VP effect at the 5$\\sigma$ confidence level with a few hours of\nmeasurement time.",
        "positive": "A Modified Holographic Dark Energy Model with Infrared Infinite Extra\n  Dimension(s): We propose a modified holographic dark energy (MHDE) model with the Hubble\nscale as the infrared (IR) cutoff. Introducing the infinite extra dimension(s)\nat very large distance scale, we consider the black hole mass in higher\ndimensions as the ultraviolet cutoff. Thus, we can probe the effects of the IR\ninfinite extra dimension(s). As a concrete example, we consider the\nDvali-Gabadadze-Porrati (DGP) model and its generalization. We find that the\nDGP model is dual to the MHDE model in five dimensions, and the $\\Lambda$CDM\nmodel is dual to the MHDE model in six dimensions. Fitting the MHDE model to\nthe observational data, we obtain that $\\Omega_{m0}=0.269^{+0.030}_{-0.027}$,\n$\\Omega_{k0}=0.003^{+0.011}_{-0.012}$, and the number of the spatial dimensions\nis $N=4.78^{+0.68}_{-0.44}$. The best fit value of $N$ implies that there might\nexist two IR infinite extra dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Decays of Four Intersecting Fluxbranes: We consider decays of four intersecting fluxbranes which are obtained by\nconsidering a higher dimensional Kerr blackhole with four angular momentum\nparameters, which is the maximum number of angular momentum parameters in\nstring/M-theory. As a result of the intersection, we get lower dimensional\nfluxbranes. Since generic magnetic fields break all supersymmetries, the\nresulting fluxbranes are unstable and will decay. Just as a single fluxbrane\ndecays into the nucleation of spherical D6-branes; the intersecting ones decay\ninto the nucleation of lower dimensional spherical branes. Contrary to a single\nfluxbrane case, the decay of four intersecting fluxbranes has additional decay\nchannels. We also calculate the corresponding Euclidean action to obtain the\ndecay rates. Although the action cannot be explicitly and simply written in\nterms of the magnetic parameters, we can extract some interesting results by\ntaking various limits of the magnetic parameters.",
        "positive": "Asymptotic Limits and Sum Rules for Propagators in Quantum\n  Chromodynamics: In gauge field theories with asymptotic freedom, the short distance\nproperties of Green's functions can be obtained on the basis of weak coupling\nperturbation expansions. Within this framework, the large momentum behavior of\nthe structure functions for gluon, quark and ghost propagators is derived. The\nlimits are found for general, covariant, linear gauges, and in all directions\nof the complex $k^2-$plane. Except for the coefficients, the functional forms\nof the leading asymptotic terms for the various structure functions are\nindependent of the gauge parameter. They are determined exactly in terms of\none-loop expressions (two-loop expressions in cases where one-loop terms\nvanish). With the exception of the Landau gauge, the asymptotic expressions for\nthe gauge field propagator play an important r\\^{o}le for the corresponding\nlimits of quark and ghost propagators. For {\\it all} gauges considered, it is\nthe sign of the one-loop anomalous dimension coefficient of the gluon field in\nLandau gauge (as a fixed point of the gauge parameter) which is of considerable\nrelevance for the asymptotics of the various propagators. The bounds obtained\nfrom the asymptotic expressions, together with the analytic properties of the\nstructure functions, generally lead to un-subtracted dispersion\nrepresentations. In special cases, for a limited number of flavors, sum rules\nare obtained for the discontinuities along the real axis. The sum rule for the\ngluon propagator is a generalization of the superconvergence relation derived\npreviously in the Landau gauge."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "$T \\bar{T}$ deformation of the Ising model and its ultraviolet\n  completion: Pure $T\\bar{T}$ deformations of conformal field theories are generally\nasymptotically incomplete in the ultra-violet (UV) due to square-root\nsingularities in the ground state energy on a cylinder of circumference $R$,\nsuch that the theory is ill-defined for distances shorter than some critical\n$R_*$. In this article we show how a theory can be completed if one includes an\ninfinite number of additional irrelevant perturbations. This is fully\ndemonstrated in the case of the Ising model at $c_{IR}= 1/2$ in the infra-red\n(IR), where we find two completions with central charges $c_{UV} = 3/2$ and\n$c_{UV} = 7/10$, the latter being the tri-critical Ising model. Both of these\nUV completions have ${\\cal N}=1$ supersymmetry which is broken in the\nrenormalization group flow to low energies. We also consider multiple\n$T\\bar{T}$ deformations of a free massless boson, where we cannot find a UV\ncompletion that is consistent with the c-theorem. For negative coupling $g$,\nwhich violates the c-theorem, in both cases we find $c_{UV} = -c_{IR}$ as $g\n\\to -\\infty$. Finally we also study pure $T\\bar{T}$ deformations of the\noff-critical Ising model.",
        "positive": "Quantisation of the gauge-invariant models for massive higher-spin\n  bosonic fields: In 2001, Zinoviev proposed a gauge-invariant formulation for a massive\nbosonic field with spin $s \\geq 2$ in a spacetime of constant curvature. In\nthis paper we carry out the Faddeev-Popov quantisation of this theory in\n$d$-dimensional Minkowski space. We also make use of the Zinoviev theory to\nderive a generalisation of the Singh-Hagen model for a massive integer-spin\nfield in $d>4 $ dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Two-Loop Symbol of all Multi-Regge Regions: We study the symbol of the two-loop n-gluon MHV amplitude for all Mandelstam\nregions in multi-Regge kinematics in N=4 super Yang-Mills theory. While the\nnumber of distinct Mandelstam regions grows exponentially with n, the increase\nof independent symbols turns out to be merely quadratic. We uncover how to\nconstruct the symbols for any number of external gluons from just two building\nblocks which are naturally associated with the six- and seven-gluon amplitude,\nrespectively. The second building block is entirely new, and in addition to its\nsymbol, we also construct a prototype function that correctly reproduces all\nterms of maximal functional transcendentality.",
        "positive": "Integrable boundaries in AdS/CFT: revisiting the Z=0 giant graviton and\n  D7-brane: We consider the worldsheet boundary scattering and the corresponding boundary\nalgebras for the Z=0 giant graviton and the Z=0 D7-brane in the AdS/CFT\ncorrespondence. We consider two approaches to the boundary scattering, the\nusual one governed by the (generalized) twisted Yangians and the q-deformed\nmodel of these boundaries governed by the quantum affine coideal subalgebras.\nWe show that the q-deformed approach leads to boundary algebras that are of a\nmore compact form than the corresponding twisted Yangians, and thus are\nfavourable to use for explicit calculations. We obtain the q-deformed\nreflection matrices for both boundaries which in the q->1 limit specialize to\nthe ones obtained using twisted Yangians."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Universal $\u03ba$-Poincar\u00e9 covariant differential calculus over\n  $\u03ba$-Minkowski space: Unified graded differential algebra, generated by $\\kappa$-Minkowski\nnoncommutative (NC) coordinates, Lorentz generators and anticommuting\none-forms, is constructed. It is compatible with $\\kappa$-Poincar\\'e-Hopf\nalgebra. For time- and space-like deformations, the super-Jacobi identities are\nnot satisfied. By introducing additional generator, interpreted as exterior\nderivative, we find a new unique algebra that satisfies all super-Jacobi\nidentities. It is universal and valid for all type of deformations (time-,\nspace-, and light-like). For time-like deformations this algebra coincides with\nthe one in \\cite{sitarz}. Different realizations of our algebra in terms of\nsuper-Heisenberg algebra are presented. For light-like deformations we get 4D\nbicovariant calculus, with $\\kappa$-Poincar\\'e-Hopf algebra and present the\ncorresponding twist, which is written in a new covariant way, using Poincar\\'e\ngenerators only. In the time- and space-like case this twist leads to\n$\\kappa$-Snyder space. Our results might lead to applications in NC quantum\nfield theories (especially electrodynamics and gauge theories), quantum gravity\nmodels, and Planck scale physics.",
        "positive": "A tachyonic extension of the stringy no-go theorem: We investigate the tachyon-dilaton-metric system to study the \"graceful exit\"\nproblem in string theoretic inflation, where tachyon plays the role of the\nscalar field. From the phase space analysis, we find that the inflationary\nphase does not smoothly connect to a Friedmann-Robertson-Walker (FRW) expanding\nuniverse, thereby providing a simple tachyonic extension of the recently proved\nstringy no-go theorem."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dual Superconformal Invariance, Momentum Twistors and Grassmannians: Dual superconformal invariance has recently emerged as a hidden symmetry of\nplanar scattering amplitudes in N=4 super Yang-Mills theory. This symmetry can\nbe made manifest by expressing amplitudes in terms of `momentum twistors', as\nopposed to the usual twistors that make the ordinary superconformal properties\nmanifest. The relation between momentum twistors and on-shell momenta is\nalgebraic, so the translation procedure does not rely on any choice of\nspace-time signature. We show that tree amplitudes and box coefficients are\nsuccinctly generated by integration of holomorphic delta-functions in momentum\ntwistors over cycles in a Grassmannian. This is analogous to, although distinct\nfrom, recent results obtained by Arkani-Hamed et al. in ordinary twistor space.\nWe also make contact with Hodges' polyhedral representation of NMHV amplitudes\nin momentum twistor space.",
        "positive": "Multitrace Deformations of Vector and Adjoint Theories and their\n  Holographic Duals: We present general methods to study the effect of multitrace deformations in\nconformal theories admitting holographic duals in Anti de Sitter space. In\nparticular, we analyse the case that these deformations introduce an\ninstability both in the bulk AdS space and in the boundary CFT. We also argue\nthat multitrace deformations of the O(N) linear sigma model in three dimensions\ncorrespond to nontrivial time-dependent backgrounds in certain theories of\ninfinitely many interacting massless fields on AdS_4, proposed years ago by\nFradkin and Vasiliev. We point out that the phase diagram of a truly marginal\nlarge-N deformation has an infrared limit in which only an O(N) singlet field\nsurvives. We draw from this case lessons on the full string-theoretical\ninterpretation of instabilities of the dual boundary theory and exhibit a toy\nmodel that resolves the instability of the O(N) model, generated by a marginal\nmultitrace deformation. The resolution suggests that the instability may not\nsurvive in an appropriate UV completion of the CFT."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Lorentz Transformation in Flat 5D Complex-Hyperbolic Space: The Lorentz transfomation is derived in 5D flat pseudo-complex affine space\nor TT Space. The TT space or pseudo-Complex space accomodates one\nuncompactified time-like extra dimension. It is shown that the maximum\nallowable speed for particles living in TT space exceeds the speed of light, c,\nthe absolute speed of the Minkowski space.",
        "positive": "Out-of-time-order correlators in quantum mechanics: The out-of-time-order correlator (OTOC) is considered as a measure of quantum\nchaos. We formulate how to calculate the OTOC for quantum mechanics with a\ngeneral Hamiltonian. We demonstrate explicit calculations of OTOCs for a\nharmonic oscillator, a particle in a one-dimensional box, a circle billiard and\nstadium billiards. For the first two cases, OTOCs are periodic in time because\nof their commensurable energy spectra. For the circle and stadium billiards,\nthey are not recursive but saturate to constant values which are linear in\ntemperature. Although the stadium billiard is a typical example of the\nclassical chaos, an expected exponential growth of the OTOC is not found. We\nalso discuss the classical limit of the OTOC. Analysis of a time evolution of a\nwavepacket in a box shows that the OTOC can deviate from its classical value at\na time much earlier than the Ehrenfest time."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hilbert Series for Moduli Spaces of Instantons on C^2/Z_n: We study chiral gauge-invariant operators on moduli spaces of G instantons\nfor any classical group G on A-type ALE spaces using Hilbert Series (HS).\nModuli spaces of instantons on an ALE space can be realized as Higgs branches\nof certain quiver gauge theories which appear as world-volume theories on Dp\nbranes in a Dp-D(p+4) system with the D(p+4) branes (with or without O(p+4)\nplanes) wrapping the ALE space. We study in detail a list of quiver gauge\ntheories which are related to G-instantons of arbitrary ranks and instanton\nnumbers on a generic A_{n-1} ALE space and discuss the corresponding brane\nconfigurations. For a large class of theories, we explicitly compute the Higgs\nbranch HS which reveals various algebraic/geometric aspects of the moduli space\nsuch as the dimension of the space, generators of the moduli space and\nrelations connecting them. In a large number of examples involving lower rank\ninstantons, we demonstrate that HS for equivalent instantons of isomorphic\ngauge groups but very different quiver descriptions do indeed agree, as\nexpected.",
        "positive": "A Note on Poly-Instanton Effects in Type IIB Orientifolds on Calabi-Yau\n  Threefolds: The zero mode structure for the generation of poly-instanton corrections for\nEuclidian D3-branes wrapping complex surfaces in Type IIB orientifolds with O7-\nand O3-planes is analyzed. Working examples of such surfaces and explicit\nembeddings into compact Calabi-Yau threefolds are presented, with special\nemphasis on geometries capable of realizing the LARGE volume scenario."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Brief lectures on duality, integrability and deformations: We provide a pedagogical introduction to some aspects of integrability,\ndualities and deformations of physical systems in 0+1 and in 1+1 dimensions. In\nparticular, we concentrate on the T-duality of point particles and strings as\nwell as on the Ruijsenaars duality of finite many-body integrable models, we\nreview the concept of the integrability and, in particular, of the Lax\nintegrability and we analyze the basic examples of the Yang-Baxter deformations\nof non-linear sigma-models. The central mathematical structure which we\ndescribe in detail is the E-model which is the dynamical system exhibiting all\nthose three phenomena simultaneously. The last part of the paper contains\noriginal results, in particular a formulation of sufficient conditions for\nstrong integrability of non-degenerate E-models.",
        "positive": "Skyrmions in models with pions and rho mesons: A problem with the standard Skyrme model is that Skyrmion binding energies\nare around $15\\%$, being much larger than the order $1\\%$ binding energies of\nthe nuclei that they aim to describe. Here we consider theories that extend the\nstandard Skyrme model of pions by including rho mesons, via dimensional\ndeconstruction of Yang-Mills theory with an extra dimension. We report the\nfirst results of parallel numerical computations of multi-Skyrmions in theories\nof this type, including a model that reduces Skyrmion energies below those of\nthe standard Skyrme model whilst retaining exactly the same Faddeev-Bogomolny\nenergy bound. We compute all Skyrmions with baryons numbers up to 12 and find\nthat the inclusion of rho mesons reduces binding energies to less than $4\\%,$\nand therefore moves Skyrmion theory closer to experimental data. Furthermore,\nwe find that this dramatic reduction in binding energies is obtained without\nchanging the qualitative features of the Skyrmions, such as their symmetries."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Cohomological Field Theories with K\u00e4hler Structure: This paper is devoted to a general and self-contained approach to any\ncohomological field theory with K\\\"{a}hler structure.",
        "positive": "Jordan blocks and the Bethe ansatz II: The eclectic spin chain beyond\n  $K=1$: We continue the classification of the Jordan chains of the eclectic three\nstate spin chain that we started in our previous article. Following the same\nsteps, we construct the generalised eigenvectors of this spin chain by\ncomputing the strongly twisted limit of linear combinations of eigenvectors of\na twisted XXX $SU(3)$ spin chain. We show that this classification problem can\nbe mapped to the computation of the number of positive integer solutions of a\nsystem of linear equations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Static spherisymmetric solutions, gravitational lensing and perihelion\n  precession in Einstein--Kalb--Ramond theory: Static, spherically symmetric solutions of the Einstein--Kalb--Ramond (KR)\nfield equations are obtained. Besides an earlier known exact solution, we also\nfind an approximate, asymptotically flat solution for which the metric\ncoefficients are obtained as an infinte series in $\\frac{1}{r}$. Subsequently,\nwe study gravitational lensing and perihelion precession in these spacetimes\nand obtain explicit formulae which include corrections to these effects in the\npresence of the KR field.",
        "positive": "Instanton modifications of the bound state singularity in the Schwinger\n  Model: We consider the quark-antiquark Green's function in the Schwinger Model with\ninstanton contributions taken into account. Thanks to the fact that this\nfunction may analytically be found, we draw out singular terms, which arise due\nto the formation of the bound state in the theory -- the massive Schwinger\nboson. The principal term has a pole character. The residue in this pole\ncontains contributions from various instanton sectors: $0,\\pm 1, \\pm 2$. It is\nshown, that the nonzero ones change the factorizability property. The formula\nfor the residue is compared to the Bethe-Salpeter wave function found as a\nfield amplitude. Next, it is demonstrated, that apart from polar part, there\nappears in the Green's function also the weak branch point singularity of the\nlogarithmic and dilogarithmic nature. These results are not in variance with\nthe universally adopted $S$-matrix factorization."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Noncommutative Cohomological Field Theory and GMS soliton: We show that it is possible to construct a quantum field theory that is\ninvariant under the translation of the noncommutative parameter\n$\\theta_{\\mu\\nu}$. This is realized in a noncommutative cohomological field\ntheory. As an example, a noncommutative cohomological scalar field theory is\nconstructed, and its partition function is calculated. The partition function\nis the Euler number of Gopakumar, Minwalla and Strominger (GMS) soliton space.",
        "positive": "Knotted instantons from annihilations of monopole-instanton complex: Monopoles and instantons are sheets (membranes) and strings in d=5+1,\nrespectively, and instanton strings can terminate on monopole sheets. We\nconsider a pair of monopole and anti-monopole sheets which is unstable to decay\nand results in a creation of closed instanton strings. We show that when an\ninstanton string is stretched between the monopole sheets, there remains a new\ntopological soliton of codimension five after the pair annihilation, i.e., a\ntwisted closed instanton string or a knotted instanton."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Domain Wall AdS/QCD: We construct a new holographic description of QCD using domain wall fermions.\nThe construction consists of probe D7 branes in a D5 brane geometry describing\nquarks on a 4+1d defect in a 5+1d gauge theory. We then compactify one\ndimension of the D5 to introduce confinement in the gauge degrees of freedom.\nIn addition we allow a spatial dependent mass term for the D7 brane quarks to\nisolate chiral fermions on 3+1d domain walls. The D7 world volume fields, when\nrestricted to the domain wall position, provide an AdS/QCD description. We\ncompute the spectrum and compare to data. We include higher dimension operators\nto systematically improve the description.",
        "positive": "Minimal Model Holography: We review the duality relating 2d W_N minimal model CFTs, in a large N 't\nHooft like limit, to higher spin gravitational theories on AdS_3."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Reality of Superstring Field Theory Action: We determine the reality conditions on the string fields that make the action\nfor heterotic and type II string field theories real.",
        "positive": "N=1 domain wall solutions of massive type II supergravity as generalized\n  geometries: We study N=1 domain wall solutions of type IIB supergravity compactified on a\nCalabi-Yau manifold in the presence of RR and NS electric and magnetic fluxes.\nWe show that the dynamics of the scalar fields along the direction transverse\nto the domain wall is described by gradient flow equations controlled by a\nsuperpotential W. We then provide a geometrical interpretation of the gradient\nflow equations in terms of the mirror symmetric compactification of type IIA.\nThey correspond to a set of generalized Hitchin flow equations of a manifold\nwith SU(3)xSU(3)structure which is fibered over the direction transverse to the\ndomain wall."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Open Strings: This review is devoted to open strings, and in particular to the often\nsurprising features of their spectra. It follows and summarizes developments\nthat took place mainly at the University of Rome ``Tor Vergata'' over the last\ndecade, and centred on world-sheet aspects of the constructions now commonly\nreferred to as ``orientifolds''. Our presentation aims to bridge the gap\nbetween the world-sheet analysis, that first exhibited many of the novel\nfeatures of these systems, and their geometric description in terms of extended\nobjects, D-branes and O-planes, contributed by many other colleagues, and most\nnotably by J. Polchinski. We therefore proceed through a number of prototype\nexamples, starting from the bosonic string and moving on to ten-dimensional\nfermionic strings and their toroidal and orbifold compactifications, in an\nattempt to guide the reader in a self-contained journey to the more recent\ndevelopments related to the breaking of supersymmetry.",
        "positive": "Higher-Spin Interactions: four-point functions and beyond: In this work we construct an infinite class of four-point functions for\nmassless higher-spin fields in flat space that are consistent with the gauge\nsymmetry. In the Lagrangian picture, these reflect themselves in a peculiar\nnon-local nature of the corresponding non-abelian higher-spin couplings implied\nby the Noether procedure that starts from the fourth order. We also comment on\nthe nature of the colored spin-2 excitation present both in the open string\nspectrum and in the Vasiliev system, highlighting how some aspects of String\nTheory appear to reflect key properties of Field Theory that go beyond its low\nenergy limit. A generalization of these results to n-point functions, fermions\nand mixed-symmetry fields is also addressed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Local supersymmetry without SUSY partners: A gauge theory for a superalgebra that includes an internal gauge (G) and\nlocal Lorentz algebras, and that could describe the low energy particle\nphenomenology is constructed. These two symmetries are connected by fermionic\nsupercharges. The system includes an internal gauge connection 1-form $A$, a\nspin-1/2 Dirac spinor $\\psi$, the Lorentz connection $\\omega$, and the vielbein\n$e$. The connection one-form is in the adjoint representation of G, while\n$\\psi$ is in the fundamental. In contrast to standard supergravity, the metric\nis not a fundamental field and is in the center of the superalgebra: it is not\nonly invariant under the internal gauge group and under Lorentz\ntransformations, but is also invariant under supersymmetry. The features of\nthis theory that mark the difference with standard supersymmetry are: A) The\nnumber of fermionic and bosonic states is not necessarily the same; B) There\nare no superpartners with equal mass, \"bosoninos\", sleptons and squarks are\nabsent; C) Although this supersymmetry originates in a local gauge theory and\ngravity is included, there is no gravitino; D) Fermions acquire mass from their\ncoupling to the background or from self-couplings, while bosons remain\nmassless. In odd dimensions, the Chern-Simons form provides an action that is\nquasi-invariant under the entire superalgebra. In even dimensions, the\nYang-Mills form $ < F *F>$ is the only natural option, and the symmetry breaks\ndown to [G x SO(1,D-1)]. In 4D, the construction follows the Townsend - Mac\nDowell-Mansouri approach. Due to the absence of osp(4|2)-invariant traces in\nfour dimensions, the resulting Lagrangian is only invariant under [U(1) x\nSO(3,1)], and includes a Nambu--Jona-Lasinio term. In this case, the Lagrangian\ndepends on a single dimensionful parameter that fixes Newton's constant, the\ncosmological constant and the NJL coupling.",
        "positive": "A model of a Fermi liquid using gauge-gravity duality: We use gauge-gravity duality to model the crossover from a conformal critical\npoint to a confining Fermi liquid, driven by a change in fermion density. The\nshort-distance conformal physics is represented by an anti-de Sitter geometry,\nwhich terminates into a confining state along the emergent spatial direction.\nThe Luttinger relation, relating the area enclosed by the Fermi surfaces to the\nfermion density, is shown to follow from Gauss's Law for the bulk electric\nfield. We argue that all low energy modes are consistent with Landau's Fermi\nliquid theory. An explicit solution is obtained for the Fermi liquid for the\ncase of hard-wall boundary conditions in the infrared."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Pole skipping in holographic theories with bosonic fields: We study pole skipping in holographic CFTs dual to diffeomorphism invariant\ntheories containing an arbitrary number of bosonic fields in the large $N$\nlimit. Defining a weight to organize the bulk equations of motion, a set of\ngeneral pole-skipping conditions are derived. In particular, the frequencies\nsimply follow from general covariance and weight matching. In the presence of\nhigher spin fields, we find that the imaginary frequency for the highest-weight\npole-skipping point equals the higher-spin Lyapunov exponent which lies outside\nof the chaos bound. Without higher spin fields, we show that the energy density\nGreen's function has its highest-weight pole skipping happening at a location\nrelated to the OTOC for arbitrary higher-derivative gravity, with a Lyapunov\nexponent saturating the chaos bound and a butterfly velocity matching that\nextracted from a shockwave calculation. We also suggest an explanation for this\nmatching at the metric level by obtaining the on-shell shockwave solution from\na regularized limit of the metric perturbation at the skipped pole.",
        "positive": "Domain walls with non-Abelian orientational moduli: Domain walls with non-Abelian orientational moduli are constructed in U(N)\ngauge theories coupled to Higgs scalar fields with degenerate masses. The\nassociated global symmetry is broken by the domain walls, resulting in the\nNambu-Goldstone (and quasi-Nambu-Goldstone) bosons, which form the non-Abelian\norientational moduli. As walls separate, the wave functions of the non-Abelian\norientational moduli spread between domain walls. By taking the limit of Higgs\nmass differences to vanish, we clarify the convertion of wall position moduli\ninto the non-Abelian orientational moduli. The moduli space metric and its\nKahler potential of the effective field theory on the domain walls are\nconstructed. We consider two models: a U(1) gauge theory with several charged\nHiggs fields, and a U(N) gauge theory with 2N Higgs fields in the fundamental\nrepresentation. More details are found in our paper published in Phys. Rev. D77\n(2008) 125008 [arXiv:0802.3135 [hep-th]]."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Flattening of the EFT-Hedron: Supersymmetric Positivity Bounds and the\n  Search for String Theory: We examine universal positivity constraints on $2 \\to 2$ scattering in 4d\nplanar $N=4$ supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory with higher-derivative\ncorrections. We present numerical evidence that the convex region of allowed\nWilson coefficients (the ``EFT-hedron'') flattens completely along about\none-third of its dimensions when an increasing number of constraints on the\nspectral density from crossing-symmetry are included. Our analysis relies on\nthe formulation of the positivity constraints as a linear optimization problem,\nwhich we implement using two numerical solvers, SDPB and CPLEX. Motivated by\nthe flattening, we propose a novel partially resummed low-energy expansion of\nthe $2 \\to 2$ amplitude. As part of the analysis, we provide additional\nevidence in favor of the conjecture [1] that the Veneziano amplitude is the\nonly amplitude compatible with both S-matrix bootstrap constraints and string\nmonodromy.",
        "positive": "The general form of the star-product on the Grassman algebra: We study the general form of the noncommutative associative product (the\nstar-product) on the Grassman algebra; the star-product is treated as a\ndeformation of the usual \"pointwise\" product. We show that up to a similarity\ntransformation, there is only one such product. The relation of the algebra\n${\\cal F}$, the algebra of elements of the Grassman algebra with the\nstar-product as a product, to the Clifford algebra is discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A new look at one-loop integrals in string theory: We revisit the evaluation of one-loop modular integrals in string theory,\nemploying new methods that, unlike the traditional 'orbit method', keep\nT-duality manifest throughout. In particular, we apply the\nRankin-Selberg-Zagier approach to cases where the integrand function grows at\nmost polynomially in the IR. Furthermore, we introduce new techniques in the\ncase where `unphysical tachyons' contribute to the one-loop couplings. These\nmethods can be viewed as a modular invariant version of dimensional\nregularisation. As an example, we treat one-loop BPS-saturated couplings\ninvolving the $d$-dimensional Narain lattice and the invariant Klein\n$j$-function, and relate them to (shifted) constrained Epstein Zeta series of\nO(d,d;Z). In particular, we recover the well-known results for d=2 in a few\neasy steps.",
        "positive": "Conformal chiral boson models on twisted doubled tori and non-geometric\n  string vacua: We derive and analyze the conditions for quantum conformal and Lorentz\ninvariance of the duality symmetric interacting chiral boson sigma-models,\nwhich are conjectured to describe non-geometric string theory backgrounds. The\none-loop Weyl and Lorentz anomalies are computed for the general case using the\nbackground field method. Subsequently, our results are applied to a class of\n(on-shell) Lorentz invariant chiral boson models which are based on twisted\ndoubled tori. Our findings are in agreement with those expected from the\neffective supergravity approach, thereby firmly establishing that the chiral\nboson models under consideration provide the string worldsheet description of\nN=4 gauged supergravities with electric gaugings. Furthermore, they demonstrate\nthat twisted doubled tori are indeed the doubled internal geometries underlying\na large class of non-geometric string compactifications. For compact gaugings\nthe associated chiral boson models are automatically conformal, a fact that is\nexplained by showing that they are actually chiral WZW models in disguise."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Conformal invariance for Wilson actions: We discuss the realization of conformal invariance for Wilson actions using\nthe formalism of the exact renormalization group. This subject has been studied\nextensively in the recent works of O. J. Rosten. The main purpose of this paper\nis to reformulate Rosten's formulas for conformal transformations using a\nmethod developed earlier for the realization of any continuous symmetry in the\nexact renormalization group formalism. The merit of the reformulation is\nsimplicity and transparency via the consistent use of equation-of-motion\noperators. We derive equations that imply the invariance of the Wilson action\nunder infinitesimal conformal transformations which are non-linearly realized\nbut form a closed conformal algebra. The best effort has been made to make the\npaper self-contained; ample background on the formalism is provided.",
        "positive": "Asymptotically Lifshitz Black Holes in Einstein-Maxwell-Dilaton Theories: We study Einstein-Maxwell-dilaton theories with a cosmological constant and\nU(1)^N gauge symmetry, considering metrics asymptotically approaching the\nLifshiftz metric. We study the dependence of the phase diagram on the value of\nthe dynamical exponent. Along the way, we apply holographic renormalization and\npropose a counterterm valid for arbitrary dimension and dynamical exponent in\nour setup."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spectrum of the reflection operators in different integrable structures: The reflection operators are the simplest examples of the non-local integrals\nof motion, which appear in many interesting problems in integrable CFT. For the\nso-called Fateev, quantum AKNS, paperclip and KdV integrable structures, they\nare built from the (chiral) reflection S-matrices for the Liouville and cigar\nCFTs. Here we give the full spectrum of the reflection operators associated\nwith these integrable structures. We also obtained a relation between the\nreflection S-matrices of the cigar and Liouville CFTs. The results of this work\nare applicable for the description of the scaling behaviour of the Bethe states\nin exactly solvable lattice systems and may be of interest to the study of the\nGeneralized Gibbs Ensemble associated with the above mentioned integrable\nstructures.",
        "positive": "Entanglement rules for holographic Fermi surfaces: In this paper, based on the notion of Gauge/Gravity duality, we explore the\nlaws of entanglement thermodynamics for most generic classes of Quantum Field\nTheories with hyperscaling violation. In our analysis, we note that for Quantum\nField Theories with compressible \\textit{quark} like excitation, the first law\nof entanglement thermodynamics gets modified due to the presence of an\nadditional term that could be identified as the entanglement chemical potential\nassociated with \\textit{hidden} Fermi surfaces of the boundary theory. Most\nnotably, we find that the so called entanglement chemical potential does not\ndepend on the size of the entangling region and is purely determined by the\nquark d.o.f. encoded within the entangling region."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetric Sigma Model geometry: This is a review of how sigma models formulated in Superspace have become\nimportant tools for understanding geometry. Topics included are: The\n(hyper)k\\\"ahler reduction; projective superspace; the generalized Legendre\nconstruction; generalized K\\\"ahler geometry and constructions of hyperk\\\"ahler\nmetrics on Hermitean symmetric spaces.",
        "positive": "Non-commuting coordinates in vortex dynamics and in the Hall effect,\n  related to \"exotic\" Galilean symmetry: Vortex dynamics in a thin superfluid ${}^4$He film as well as in a type II\nsuperconductor is described by the classical counterpart of the model advocated\nby Peierls, and used for deriving the ground states of the Fractional Quantum\nHall Effect. The model has non-commuting coordinates, and is obtained by\nreduction from a particle associated with the ``exotic'' extension of the\nplanar Galilei group."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Selected Topics in the Large Quantum Number Expansion: In this review we study quantum field theories and conformal field theories\nwith global symmetries in the limit of large charge for some of the generators\nof the symmetry group. At low energy the sectors of the theory with large\ncharge are described by a hybrid form of Goldstone's theorem, involving its\nrelativistic and non-relativistic forms. The associated effective field theory\nin the infrared allows the computation of anomalous dimensions, and operator\nproduct expansion coefficients in a well defined expansion in inverse powers of\nthe global charge. This applies even when the initial theory does not have a\nreliable semiclassical approximation. The large quantum number expansion\ncomplements, and may provide an alternative approach to the bootstrap and\nnumerical treatments. We will present some general features of the symmetry\nbreaking patterns and the low-energy effective actions, and a fairly large\nnumber of examples exhibiting the salient features of this method.",
        "positive": "Gribov ambiguity and degenerate systems: The relation between Gribov ambiguity and degeneracies in the symplectic\nstructure of physical systems is analyzed. It is shown that, in\nfinite-dimensional systems, the presence of Gribov ambiguities in regular\nconstrained systems (those where the constraints are functionally independent)\nalways leads to a degenerate symplectic structure upon Dirac reduction. The\nimplications for the Gribov-Zwanziger approach to QCD are discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Evaporating Firewalls: In this note, we begin by reviewing an argument (independent from 1304.6483)\nthat the large AdS black holes dual to typical high-energy pure states of a\nsingle holographic CFT must have some structure at the horizon (i.e. a\nfirewall/fuzzball). By weakly coupling the CFT to an auxiliary system, such a\nblack hole can be made to evaporate. In a case where the auxiliary system is a\nsecond identical CFT, it is possible (for specific initial states) that the\nsystem evolves to precisely the thermofield double state as the original black\nhole evaporates. In this case, the dual geometry should include the \"late-time\"\npart of the eternal AdS black hole spacetime which includes smooth spacetime\nbehind the horizon of the original black hole. Thus, we can say that the\nfirewall evaporates. This provides a specific realization of the recent ideas\nof Maldacena and Susskind that the existence of smooth spacetime behind the\nhorizon of an evaporating black hole can be enabled by maximal entanglement\nwith a Hawking radiation system (in our case the second CFT) rather than\nprevented by it. For initial states which are not finely-tuned to produce the\nthermofield double state, the question of whether a late-time infalling\nobserver experiences a firewall translates to a question about the gravity dual\nof a typical high-energy state of a two-CFT system.",
        "positive": "Cosmic censorship inside black holes: A simple argument is given that a traversable Cauchy horizon inside a black\nhole is incompatible with unitary black hole evolution. The argument assumes\nthe validity of black hole complementarity and applies to a generic black hole\ncarrying angular momentum and/or charge. In the second part of the paper we\nreview recent work on the semiclassical geometry of two-dimensional charged\nblack holes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On conformal field theories with low number of primary fields: Using Verlinde formula and the symmetry of the modular matrix we describe an\nalgorithm to find all conformal field theories with low number of primary\nfields. We employ the algorithm on up to eight primary fields. Four new\nconformal field theories are found which do not appear to come from current\nalgebras. This supports evidence to the fact that rational conformal field\ntheories are far richer than suspected before.",
        "positive": "Reflected Entropy in Boundary/Interface Conformal Field Theory: Boundary conformal field theory (BCFT) and interface conformal field theory\n(ICFT) attract attention in the context of the information paradox problem. On\nthis background, we develop the idea of the reflected entropy in BCFT/ICFT. We\nfirst introduce the left-right reflected entropy (LRRE) in BCFT and show that\nits holographic dual is given by the area of the entanglement wedge cross\nsection (EWCS) through AdS/BCFT. We also present how to evaluate the reflected\nentropy in ICFT. By using this technique, we can show the universal behavior of\nthe Markov gap in some special cases. Furthermore, we clarify what is the\nholographic dual of boundary primary correlation functions by using this\nLRRE/EWCS duality."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A simple mechanical analog of the field theory of tachyon matter: In this brief note we show that the zero dimensional version of the field\ntheory of tachyon matter proposed by Sen, provides an action integral\nformulation for the motion of a particle in the presence of Newtonian gravity\nand nonlinear damping (quadratic in velocity).",
        "positive": "Gravity and Form Scattering and Renormalisation of Gravity in Six and\n  Eight Dimensions: We calculate one-loop scattering amplitudes for gravitons and two-forms in\ndimensions greater than four. The string based Kawai-Lewellen-Tye relationships\nallow gravitons and two-forms to be treated in a unified manner. We use the\nresults to determine the ultra-violet infinities present in these amplitudes\nand show how these determine the renormalised one-loop action in six and eight\ndimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Massive spin 2 excitations in $AdS_6\\times S^2$ warped spacetimes: We study (massive) spin-2 fluctuations around warped $AdS_6$ solutions with\n$16$ supersymmetries in type IIB supergravity. We identify two classes of\nfluctuations which are universally present for all solutions of this form. The\nholographically dual operators have scaling dimensions $\\Delta=5+3\\ell$ and\n$\\Delta=6+3\\ell$, where the integer $\\ell$ encodes the $R$-symmetry charge.\nThey are identified as descendant states in respective BPS multiplets (the\ncurrent multiplet for $\\Delta=5$). We also compute the normalization of the\nenergy-momentum tensor two-point function and show that it is related to the\n$S^5$ partition function of the dual $5d$ SCFTs.",
        "positive": "Omega-deformed SYM on a Gibbons-Hawking Space: We study an $\\mathcal{N}=2$, pure $U(1)$ SYM theory on a Gibbons-Hawking\nspace $\\Omega$-deformed using the $U(1)$ isometry. The resultant 3D theory,\nafter an appropriate \"Nekrasov-Witten\" change of variables, is asymptotically\nequivalent to the undeformed theory at spatial infinity but differs from it as\none approaches the NUT centers which are fixed points under the $U(1)$ action.\nThe 3D theory may be recast in the form of a generalized hyperk\\\"ahler sigma\nmodel introduced in \\cite{Dey:2014lja} where the target space is a\none-parameter family of hyperk\\\"ahler spaces. The hyperk\\\"ahler fibers have a\npreferred complex structure which for the deformed theory depends on the\nparameter of $\\Omega$-deformation. The metric on the hyperk\\\"ahler fiber can be\nreduced to a standard metric on $\\mathbb{C} \\times T^2$ with the modular\nparameter of the torus depending explicitly on the $\\Omega$-deformation\nparameter. The contribution of the NUT center to the sigma model path integral,\nexpected to be a holomorphic section of a holomorphic line bundle over the\ntarget space on grounds of supersymmetry, turns out to be a Jacobi theta\nfunction in terms of certain \"deformed\" variables."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supergravity and p-brane Ansatz: This project explores the $D=11$ supergravity model and the properties of its\np-brane ansatz. The initial field content (graviton, gravitino and the\nanti-symmetric tensor field) in the action of $D=11$ supergravity is explained\nin the context of supersymmetry. The action is then decomposed to the bosonic\nsector, which is compared with the $\\sigma$-model in string theory at a low\nenergy limit $\\alpha'\\xrightarrow{}0$. The dilaton in the $D=10$ string theory\ncan be realised from the dimensional reduction of $D=11$ supergravity, which\ngives the scalar contribution in the action to form the single-charge action.\nThe field equation of the single-charged action is then derived. An\n$SO(D-d)\\times Poincare_{d}$ ansatz is introduced to simplify the field\nequation. The solution of the field equation bifurcates into the electric\nansatz and the magnetic ansatz. These ansatzes are called p-branes which are\nstring-like objects that exist in their p-dimensional world volume embedded in\nthe ambient spacetime. The BPS bounds are saturated for these p-branes, and\nupon dimensional reduction, they are similar to extremal Riessner-Nordstrom\nblack holes up to the scalar. The branic motion is then derived and a special\ncase of parallel brane orbit is explored. Similar to the Riessner-Nordstrom\nblack hole, the circular orbit is found to require a specific angular momentum\nthat increases further from the central brane. The circular orbit always exists\nfor the extremal case, but the black branes that do not saturate the BPS bound\nmay not have a circular orbit below a threshold angular momentum.",
        "positive": "Counter-term charges generate bulk symmetries: We further explore the counter-term subtraction definition of charges (e.g.,\nenergy) for classical gravitating theories in spacetimes of relevance to\ngauge/gravity dualities; i.e., in asymptotically anti-de Sitter spaces and\ntheir kin. In particular, we show in general that charges defined via the\ncounter-term subtraction method generate the desired asymptotic symmetries. As\na result, they can differ from any other such charges, such as those defined by\nbulk spacetime-covariant techniques, only by a function of auxiliary\nnon-dynamical structures such as a choice of conformal frame at infinity (i.e.,\na function of the boundary fields alone). Our argument is based on the Peierls\nbracket, and in the AdS context allows us to demonstrate the above result even\nfor asymptotic symmetries which generate only conformal symmetries of the\nboundary (in the chosen conformal frame). We also generalize the counter-term\nsubtraction construction of charges to the case in which additional\nnon-vanishing boundary fields are present."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Functional Hamilton-Jacobi and Schr\u00f6dinger Equations and\n  Functional Renormalization Group: Functional Hamilton-Jacobi (HJ) equation, the central equation of the\nholographic renormalization group (HRG), functional Schr\\\"{o}dinger equation,\nand generalized Wilson-Polchinski (WP) equation, the central equation of the\nfunctional renormalization group (FRG), are considered in $D$-dimensional\ncoordinate and abstract (formal) spaces. Instead of extra coordinates or an FRG\nscale, a holographic scalar field $\\varLambda$ is introduced. The extra\ncoordinate (or scale) is obtained as the amplitude of delta-field or constant\nfield configurations of $\\varLambda$. A rigorous derivation of corresponding\nintegro-differential equation hierarchies for Green functions (GFs) as well as\nthe integration formula for functionals are given. Using the integration\nformula, the functional (arbitrary configuration of $\\varLambda$) solution for\nthe translation-invariant two-particle GF is obtained. For the delta-field and\nthe constant field configurations of $\\varLambda$ this solution is studied in\ndetail. Separable solution for two-particle GF is briefly discussed. Then,\nrigorous derivation of the quantum HJ and the continuity functional equations\nfrom the functional Schr\\\"{o}dinger equation as well as the semiclassical\napproximation are given. An iterative procedure for solving the functional\nSchr\\\"{o}dinger equation is suggested. Translation-invariant solutions for\nvarious GFs (both hierarchies) on delta-field configuration of $\\varLambda$ are\nobtained. In context of continuity equation and open quantum field systems an\noptical potential is briefly discussed. Modes coarse graining growth functional\nfor WP functional is analyzed. An approximation scheme is proposed for the\ngeneralized WP equation. With an optimized regulator translation-invariant\nsolutions for two-particle and four-particle amputated GFs from approximated WP\nhierarchy are found analytically.",
        "positive": "Bulk correlation functions in 2D quantum gravity: We compute bulk 3- and 4-point tachyon correlators in the 2d Liouville\ngravity with non-rational matter central charge c<1, following and comparing\ntwo approaches. The continuous CFT approach exploits the action on the tachyons\nof the ground ring generators deformed by Liouville and matter ``screening\ncharges''. A by-product general formula for the matter 3-point OPE structure\nconstants is derived. We also consider a ``diagonal'' CFT of 2D quantum\ngravity, in which the degenerate fields are restricted to the diagonal of the\nsemi-infinite Kac table. The discrete formulation of the theory is a\ngeneralization of the ADE string theories, in which the target space is the\nsemi-infinite chain of points."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "BFV-BRST Quantization of 2D Supergravity: Two-dimensional supergravity theory is quantized as an anomalous gauge\ntheory. In the Batalin-Fradkin (BF) formalism, the anomaly-canceling\nsuper-Liouville fields are introduced to identify the original second-class\nconstrained system with a gauge-fixed version of a first-class system. The\nBFV-BRST quantization applies to formulate the theory in the most general class\nof gauges. A local effective action constructed in the configuration space\ncontains two super-Liouville actions; one is a noncovariant but local\nfunctional written only in terms of 2D supergravity fields, and the other\ncontains the super-Liouville fields canceling the super-Weyl anomaly. Auxiliary\nfields for the Liouville and the gravity super-multiplets are introduced to\nmake the BRST algebra close off-shell. Inclusion of them turns out to be\nessentially important especially in the super-lightcone gauge-fixing, where the\nsuper-curvature equations ($\\dl^3_-g_{++} =\\dl^2_-\\chi_{++}=0$) are obtained as\na result of BRST invariance of the theory. Our approach reveals the origin of\nthe graded-SL(2,R) current algebra symmetry in a transparent manner.",
        "positive": "D-Branes in Para-Hermitian Geometries: We introduce T-duality invariant versions of D-branes in doubled geometry\nusing a global covariant framework based on para-Hermitian geometry and metric\nalgebroids. We define D-branes as conformal boundary conditions for the open\nstring version of the Born sigma-model, where they are given by maximally\nisotropic vector bundles which do not generally admit the standard geometric\npicture in terms of submanifolds. When reduced to the conventional sigma-model\ndescription of a physical string background as the leaf space of a foliated\npara-Hermitian manifold, integrable branes yield D-branes as leaves of\nfoliations which are interpreted as Dirac structures on the physical spacetime.\nWe define a notion of generalised para-complex D-brane, which realises our\nD-branes as para-complex versions of topological A/B-branes. We illustrate how\nour formalism recovers standard D-branes in the explicit example of reductions\nfrom doubled nilmanifolds."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic insulator/superconductor transitions in the three\n  dimensional AdS soliton: We investigate the holographic description of a superconductor constructed in\nthe (2+1)-dimensional AdS soliton background in the probe limit. We study the\nholographic properties through both analytical and numerical methods. With\nanalytical methods, we are the first to obtain the exact formula for critical\nphase transition points as $\\mu_{c}=1+\\sqrt{1+m^2}$. Around the transition\npoints, we find a correspondence between the value of the scalar field at the\ntip and the scalar operator at infinity. We also generalize the front\nproperties to holographic models in higher dimensional AdS soliton spacetime.\nMoreover, we examine effects of the scalar mass on stability of phase\ntransitions with numerical methods. With $m^{2}\\in (-0.38,0]$, we arrive at the\nclassical second order insulator/superconductor phase transition. Surprisingly,\nthere is no stable superconducting phases in cases of $m^{2}\\in (-1,-0.38]$. In\nother words, superconductor only exists in a certain range of the scalar mass\nin the (2+1)-dimensional AdS soliton spacetime, which is very different from\nproperties in other spacetime.",
        "positive": "Lambda<0 Quantum Gravity in 2+1 Dimensions I: Quantum States and Stringy\n  S-Matrix: We consider the theory of pure gravity in 2+1 dimensions, with negative\ncosmological constant. The theory contains simple matter in the form of point\nparticles; the later are classically described as lines of conical\nsingularities. We propose a formalism in which quantum amplitudes for process\ninvolving black holes and point particles are obtained as Liouville field\ntheory (LFT) correlation functions on Riemann surfaces X. Point particles are\ndescribed by LFT vertex operators, black holes (asymptotic regions) are in\ncorrespondence with boundaries of X. We analyze two examples: the amplitude for\nemission of a particle by the BTZ black hole, and the amplitude of black hole\ncreation by two point particles. We then define an inner product between\nquantum states. The value of this inner product can be interpreted as the\namplitude for one set of point particles to go into another set producing black\nholes. The full particle S-matrix is then given by the sum of all such\namplitudes. This S-matrix is that of a non-critical string theory, with the\nworld-sheet CFT being essentially the Liouville theory. Lambda<0 quantum\ngravity in 2+1 dimensions is thus a string theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Cubic Action in Double Field Theory: We study target space theory on a torus for the states with $N_L+N_R=2$\nthrough Double Field Theory. The spin-two Fierz-Pauli fields are not allowed\nwhen all spatial dimensions are non-compact. The massive states provide both\nnon-vanishing momentum and winding numbers in the target space theory. To\nderive the cubic action, we provide the unique constraint for $N_L\\neq N_R$\ncompatible with the integration by part. We first make a correspondence of\nmassive and massless fields. The quadratic action is gauge invariant by\nintroducing the mass term. We then proceed to the cubic order. The cubic action\nis also gauge invariant by introducing the coupling between the one-form field\nand other fields. The massive states do not follow the consistent truncation.\nOne should expect the self-consistent theory by summing over infinite modes.\nHence the naive expectation is wrong up to the cubic order. In the end, we show\nthat the momentum and winding modes cannot both appear for only one compact\ndoubled space.",
        "positive": "Canonical quantization, path integral representations, and\n  pseudoclassical description of massive Weyl neutrinos in external backgrounds: We study massive 1/2-spin particles in various external backgrounds keeping\nin mind applications to neutrino physics. We are mainly interested in massive\nMajorana (Weyl) fields. However, massive neutral Dirac particles are also\nconsidered. We formulate classical Lagrangian theory of the massive Weyl field\nin terms of Grassmann-odd two-component spinors. Then we construct the\nHamiltonian formulation of such a theory, which turns out to be a theory with\nsecond-class constraints. Using this formulation we canonically quantize the\nmassive free Weyl field. We derive propagators of the Weyl field and relate\nthem to the propagator of a massive Dirac particle. We also study the massive\nWeyl particles propagating in the background mater. We find the path integral\nrepresentation for the propagator of such a field, as well as the corresponding\npseudoclassical particle action. The massless limit of the Weyl field\ninteracting with the matter is considered and compared with results of other\nworks. Finally, the path integral representation for the propagator of the\nneutral massive Dirac particle with an anomalous magnetic moment moving in the\nbackground matter and external electromagnetic field, as well as the\ncorresponding pseudoclassical particle action are constructed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exact analytical solutions of second-order conformal hydrodynamics: We present some exact solutions of relativistic second-order hydrodynamic\nequations in theories with conformal symmetry. Starting from a spherically\nexpanding solution in ideal hydrodynamics, we take into account general\nconformal second-order corrections, and construct, for the first time, fully\nanalytical axisymmetric exact solutions including the case with nonzero\nvorticity. These solutions are time-reversible despite having a nonvanishing\nshear stress tensor and provide a useful quantitative measure of the\nsecond-order effects in relativistic hydrodynamics.",
        "positive": "Fermionic Wigs for AdS-Schwarzschild Black Holes: We provide the metric, the gravitino fields and the gauge fields to all\norders in the fermionic zero modes for D=5 and D=4, N=2 gauged supergravity\nsolutions starting from non-extremal AdS--Schwarzschild black holes. We compute\nthe Brown-York stress--energy tensor on the boundary of AdS_5 / AdS_4 spaces\nand we discuss some implications of the fermionic corrections to perfect fluid\ninterpretation of the boundary theory. The complete non-linear solution, which\nwe denote as fermionic wig, is achieved by acting with supersymmetry\ntransformations upon the supergravity fields and that expansion naturally\ntruncates at some order in the fermionic zero modes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "One loop boundary effects: techniques and applications: A pedagogical introduction to the heat kernel technique, zeta function and\nCasimir effect is presented. Several applications are considered. First we\nderive the high temperature asymptotics of the free energy for boson fields in\nterms of the heat kernel expansion and zeta function. Another application is\nchiral anomaly for local (MIT bag) boundary conditions. Then we rederive the\nCasimir energies for perfectly conducting rectangular cavities using a new\ntechnique. The new results for the attractive Casimir force acting on each of\nthe two perfectly conducting plates inside an infinite perfectly conducting\nwaveguide of the same cross section as the plates are presented at zero and\nfinite temperatures.",
        "positive": "Monopoles, Dirac operator and index theory for fuzzy\n  ${SU(3)}/({U(1)\\times U(1)})$: The intersection of the 10-dimensional fuzzy conifold $Y_F^{10}$ with $S^5_F\n\\times S^5_F$ is the compact 8-dimensional fuzzy space $X_F^8$. We show that\n$X_F^8$ is (the analogue of) a principal $U(1)\\times U(1)$ bundle over fuzzy\n${SU(3)}/({U(1) \\times U(1)}) \\left(\\equiv\\mathcal{M}^6_F\\right)$. We construct\n$\\mathcal{M}_F^6$ using the Gell-Mann matrices by adapting Schwinger's\nconstruction. The space $\\mathcal{M}_F^6$ is of relevance in higher dimensional\nquantum Hall effect and matrix models of $D$-branes.\n  Further we show that the sections of the monopole bundle can be expressed in\nthe basis of $SU(3)$ eigenvectors. We construct the Dirac operator on\n$\\mathcal{M}_F^6$ from the Ginsparg-Wilson algebra on this space. Finally, we\nshow that the index of the Dirac operator correctly reproduces the known\nresults in the continuum."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Renormalization Group Flow, Stability, and Bulk Viscosity in a Large N\n  Thermal QCD Model: The ultraviolet completion of a large N QCD model requires introducing new\ndegrees of freedom at certain scale so that the UV behavior may become\nasymptotically conformal with no Landau poles and no UV divergences of Wilson\nloops. These UV degrees of freedom are represented by certain anti-branes\narranged on the blown-up sphere of a warped resolved conifold in a way that\nthey are separated from the other set of branes that control the IR behavior of\nthe theory. This separation of the branes and the anti-branes creates\ninstability in the theory. Further complications arise from the curvature of\nthe ambient space. We show that, despite these analytical hurdles, stability\nmay still be achieved by switching on appropriate world-volume fluxes on the\nbranes. The UV degrees of freedom, on the other hand, modify the RG flow in the\nmodel. We discuss this in details by evaluating the flow from IR confining to\nUV conformal. Finally we lay down a calculational scheme to study bulk\nviscosity which, in turn, would signal the inherent non-conformality in this\nmodel.",
        "positive": "Towards a finite quantum supergravity: In this paper we study an N=1 supersymmetric extension of a perturbatively\nsuper-renormalizable (nonlocal)theory of gravity in four dimensions. The\nnonlocal supergravity theory is power-counting super-renormalizable and tree\nlevel unitary with the same particle content of the local N=1 supergravity (as\nsimple example, unitarity of the three dimensional N=1 and N=2 supergravity is\nproved). We believe that extended SO(N) supergravity, for N=4 or N=8, might be\nfree from divergences also at one loop. The extended supergravities would then\nresult finite at any order in the loop expansion."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Strings from 3D gravity: asymptotic dynamics of AdS$_3$ gravity with\n  free boundary conditions: Pure three-dimensional gravity in anti-de Sitter space can be formulated as\nan SL(2,R) $\\times $ SL(2,R) Chern-Simons theory, and the latter can be reduced\nto a WZW theory at the boundary. In this paper we show that AdS$_3$ gravity\nwith free boundary conditions is described by a string at the boundary whose\ntarget spacetime is also AdS$_3$. While boundary conditions in the standard\nconstruction of Coussaert, Henneaux, and van Driel are enforced through\nconstraints on the WZW currents, we find that free boundary conditions are\npartially enforced through the string Virasoro constraints.",
        "positive": "Excited state g-functions from the Truncated Conformal Space: In this paper we consider excited state g-functions, that is, overlaps\nbetween boundary states and excited states in boundary conformal field theory.\nWe find a new method to calculate these overlaps numerically using a variation\nof the truncated conformal space approach. We apply this method to the Lee-Yang\nmodel for which the unique boundary perturbation is integrable and for which\nthe TBA system describing the boundary overlaps is known. Using the truncated\nconformal space approach we obtain numerical results for the ground state and\nthe first three excited states which are in excellent agreement with the TBA\nresults. As a special case we can calculate the standard g-function which is\nthe overlap with the ground state and find that our new method is considerably\nmore accurate than the original method employed by Dorey et al."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Islands in Schwarzschild black holes: We study the Page curve for asymptotically flat eternal Schwarzschild black\nholes in four and higher spacetime dimensions. Before the Page time, the\nentanglement entropy grows linearly in time. After the Page time, the\nentanglement entropy of a given region outside the black hole is largely\nmodified by the emergence of an island, which extends to the outer vicinity of\nthe event horizon. As a result, it remains a constant value which reproduces\nthe Bekenstein-Hawking entropy, consistent with the finiteness of the von\nNeumann entropy for an eternal black hole.",
        "positive": "Exact String Theory Instantons by Dimensional Reduction: We identify exact gauge-instanton-like solutions to (super)-string theory\nusing the method of dimensional reduction. We find in particular the Polyakov\ninstanton of 3d QED, and a class of generalized Yang-Mills merons. We discuss\ntheir marginal deformations, and show that for the $3d$ instanton they\ncorrespond to a dissociation of vector- and axial-magnetic charges."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Conformal Bootstrap with Reinforcement Learning: We introduce the use of reinforcement-learning (RL) techniques to the\nconformal-bootstrap programme. We demonstrate that suitable soft Actor-Critic\nRL algorithms can perform efficient, relatively cheap high-dimensional searches\nin the space of scaling dimensions and OPE-squared coefficients that produce\nsensible results for tens of CFT data from a single crossing equation. In this\npaper we test this approach in well-known 2D CFTs, with particular focus on the\nIsing and tri-critical Ising models and the free compactified boson CFT. We\npresent results of as high as 36-dimensional searches, whose sole input is the\nexpected number of operators per spin in a truncation of the conformal-block\ndecomposition of the crossing equations. Our study of 2D CFTs uses only the\nglobal $so(2,2)$ part of the conformal algebra, and our methods are equally\napplicable to higher-dimensional CFTs. When combined with other, already\navailable, numerical and analytical methods, we expect our approach to yield an\nexciting new window into the non-perturbative structure of arbitrary (unitary\nor non-unitary) CFTs.",
        "positive": "Constructing Nongeometric Vacua in String Theory: In this paper we investigate compactifications of the type II and heterotic\nstring on four-dimensional spaces with nongeometric monodromies. We explicitly\nconstruct backgrounds which contain the \"Duality Twists\" discussed by Dabholkar\nand Hull. Similar constructions of nongeometric backgrounds have been discussed\nfor type II strings by Hellerman, McGreevy, and Williams. We find that imposing\nsuch monodromies projects out many moduli from the resulting vacua and argue\nthat these backgrounds are the spacetime realizations of interpolating\nasymmetric orbifolds."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetric Quantum Mechanics of Monopoles in N=4 Yang-Mills Theory: A supersymmetric collective coordinate expansion of the monopole solution of\n$N=4$ Yang-Mills theory is performed resulting in an $N=4$ supersymmetric\nquantum mechanics on the moduli space of monopole solutions.",
        "positive": "Quantum entanglement in de Sitter space from Stringy Axion: An analysis\n  using $\u03b1$ vacua: In this work, we study the phenomena of quantum entanglement by computing de\nSitter entanglement entropy from von Neumann measure. For this purpose we\nconsider a bipartite quantum field theoretic setup in presence of axion\noriginating from ${\\bf Type~ II~B}$ string theory. We consider the initial\nvacuum to be CPT invariant non-adiabatic $\\alpha$ vacua state under ${\\bf\nSO(1,4)}$ ismometry, which is characterized by a real one-parameter family. To\nimplement this technique we use a ${\\bf S^2}$ which divide the de Sitter into\ntwo exterior and interior sub-regions. First, we derive the wave function of\naxion in an open chart for $\\alpha$ vacua by applying Bogoliubov transformation\non the solution for Bunch-Davies vacuum state. Further, we quantify the density\nmatrix by tracing over the contribution from the exterior region. Using this\nresult we derive entanglement entropy, R$\\acute{e}$nyi entropy and explain the\nlong-range quantum effects in primordial cosmological correlations. We also\nprovide a comparison between the results obtained from Bunch-Davies vacuum and\nthe generalized $\\alpha$ vacua, which implies that the amount of quantum\nentanglement and the long-range effects are larger for non zero value of the\nparameter $\\alpha$. Most significantly, our derived results for $\\alpha$ vacua\nprovides the necessary condition for generating non zero entanglement entropy\nin primordial cosmology."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "From $\\mathcal{N}=4$ Super-Yang-Mills on $\\mathbb{RP}^4$ to bosonic\n  Yang-Mills on $\\mathbb{RP}^2$: We study the four-dimensional $\\mathcal{N}=4$ super-Yang-Mills (SYM) theory\non the unorientable spacetime manifold $\\mathbb{RP}^4$. Using supersymmetric\nlocalization, we find that for a large class of local and extended SYM\nobservables preserving a common supercharge $\\mathcal{Q}$, their expectation\nvalues are captured by an effective two-dimensional bosonic Yang-Mills (YM)\ntheory on an $\\mathbb{RP}^2$ submanifold. This paves the way for understanding\n$\\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM on $\\mathbb{RP}^4$ using known results of YM on\n$\\mathbb{RP}^2$. As an illustration, we derive a matrix integral form of the\nSYM partition function on $\\mathbb{RP}^4$ which, when decomposed into discrete\nholonomy sectors, contains subtle phase factors due to the nontrivial\n$\\eta$-invariant of the Dirac operator on $\\mathbb{RP}^4$. We also comment on\npotential applications of our setup for AGT correspondence, integrability and\nbulk-reconstruction in AdS/CFT that involve cross-cap states on the boundary.",
        "positive": "Flat $\\mathfrak{so}(p,q)$-Connections for Manifolds of Non-Euclidean\n  Signature: The well-known fact that $S^1$, $S^3$ and $S^7$ are parallelizable manifolds\nadmitting flat connections is revisited. The role of torsion in the\nconstruction of those flat connections is made explicit, and the possibilities\nallowed by different metric signatures are examined. A necessary condition for\nparallelizability in an open region is that the torsion tensor must be\ncovariantly constant. This property can be used to obtain a relation between a\ntorsion-free and flat connections. Our treatment covers Riemannian and\npseudo-Riemannian (non-Euclidean signature) hyperbolic manifolds of dimensions\nthree and seven. Apart from the spherical cases mentioned above, the explicit\nflat $\\mathfrak{so}(p,q)$ connections with $p+q=3,7$ are constructed for the\ncoset manifolds $SO(p,q+1)/SO(p,q)$ or $SO(p+1,q)/SO(p,q)$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Infrared-modified gravities and massive gravitons: We review some theoretical and phenomenological aspects of massive gravities\nin 4 dimensions. We start from the Fierz--Pauli theory with Lorentz-invariant\nmass terms and then proceed to Lorentz-violating masses. Unlike the former\ntheory, some models with Lorentz-violation have no pathologies in the spectrum\nin flat and nearly flat backgrounds and lead to interesting phenomenology.",
        "positive": "Dynamical Supersymmetry Breaking with T_N Theory: We demonstrate that the supersymmetry is dynamically broken in the\nfour-dimensional SU(N) gauge theory coupled to a strongly-coupled\nsuperconformal theory T_N. This is a direct generalization of the model of\nsupersymmetry breaking on deformed moduli space in supersymmetric QCD with an\nSU(2) gauge group."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A BRST charge for non-critical $\\W_{2,s}$ strings: We present a general argument for the construction of BRST charges of the\n`non-critical' $\\W_{2,4}$, $\\W_{2,5}$, $\\W_{2,6}$, and $\\W_{2,8}$ strings. This\nevidences the existence of BRST charges for a kind of soft-type algebras which\ncan be constructed from two copies of quantum $\\W_{2,s}$ algebras,\n(s=3,4,5,6,8).",
        "positive": "Matrix Model of Chern-Simons Matter Theories Beyond The Spherical Limit: A class of matrix models which arises as partition function in U(N)\nChern-Simons matter theories on three sphere is investigated. Employing the\nstandard technique of the 1/N expansion we solve the system beyond the planar\nlimit. In particular we study a case where the matrix model potential has 1/N\ncorrection and give a general solution thereof up to the order of 1/N^2. We\nconfirm that the general solution correctly reproduces the past exact result of\nthe free energy up to the order in the case of pure Chern-Simons theory. We\nalso apply to the matrix model of N=2 Chern-Simons theory with arbitrary\nnumbers of fundamental chiral multiplets and anti-fundamental ones, which does\nnot admit the Fermi gas analysis in general."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Thermodynamics of rotating thin shells in the BTZ spacetime: We investigate the thermodynamic equilibrium states of a rotating thin shell,\ni.e., a ring, in a (2+1)-dimensional spacetime with a negative cosmological\nconstant. The inner and outer regions with respect to the shell are given by\nthe vacuum anti-de Sitter and the rotating Ba\\~{n}ados-Teitelbom-Zanelli\nspacetimes, respectively. The first law of thermodynamics on the thin shell,\ntogether with three equations of state for the pressure, the local inverse\ntemperature and the thermodynamic angular velocity of the shell, yields the\nentropy of the shell, which is shown to depend only on its gravitational radii.\nWhen the shell is pushed to its own gravitational radius and its temperature is\ntaken to be the Hawking temperature of the corresponding black hole, the\nentropy of the shell coincides with the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy. In\naddition, we consider simple ans\\\"atze for the equations of state, as well as a\npower-law equation of state where the entropy and the thermodynamic stability\nconditions can be examined analytically.",
        "positive": "Higher Spin Black Holes: We study classical solutions of three dimensional higher spin gravity in the\nChern-Simons formulation. We find solutions that generalize the BTZ black hole\nand carry spin-3 charge. The black hole entropy formula yields a result for the\nasymptotic growth of the partition function at finite spin-3 chemical\npotential. Along the way, we develop technology for computing AdS/CFT\ncorrelation functions involving higher spin operators."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Evolutionary algorithms for multi-center solutions: Large classes of multi-center supergravity solutions have been constructed in\nthe study of supersymmetric black holes and their microstates. Many smooth\nmulti-center solutions have the same charges as supersymmetric black holes,\nwith all centers deep inside a long black-hole-like throat. These\nconfigurations are constrained by regularity, absence of closed timelike\ncurves, and charge quantization. Due to these constraints, constructing\nexplicit solutions with several centers in generic arrangements, and with all\nparameters in physically relevant ranges, is a hard task. In this work we\npresent an optimization algorithm, based on evolutionary algorithms and\nBayesian optimization, that systematically constructs numerical solutions\nsatisfying all constraints. We exhibit explicit examples of novel five-center\nand seven-center machine-precision solutions.",
        "positive": "Sequestering effects on and of vacuum decay: We consider phase transitions and their contributions to vacuum energy in the\nmanifestly local theory of vacuum energy sequestering. We demonstrate that the\nabsence of instabilities imposes constraints on the couplings of gravitating\nand non-gravitating sectors, which can be satisfied in a large class of models.\nWe further show by explicit construction that the vacuum energy contributions\nto the effective cosmological constant in the descendant vacua are generically\nstrongly suppressed by the ratios of spacetime volumes of parent and descendant\ngeometries. This means that the cosmological constant in de Sitter descendant\nvacua remains insensitive to phase transitions which may have occurred in the\ncourse of its cosmic history."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "TFD Extension of Open String Field Theory: We study the application of the rules of Thermo Field Dynamics (TFD) to the\ncovariant formulation of Open String Field Theory (OSFT). We extend the states\nspace and fields according to the duplication rules of TFD and construct the\ncorresponding classical action. The result is interpreted as a theory whose\nfields would encode the statistical information of open strings.\n  The physical spectrum of the free theory is studied through the cohomology of\nthe extended BRST charge, and, as a result, we get new fields in the spectrum\nemerging by virtue of the quantum entanglement and, noticeably, it presents\ndegrees of freedom that could be identified as those of closed strings. We also\nshow, however, that their appearing in the action is directly related to the\nchoice of the inner product in the extended algebra, so that different sectors\nof fields could be eliminated from the theory by choosing that product\nconveniently.\n  Finally, we study the extension of the three-vertex interaction and provide a\nsimple prescription for it whose results at tree-level agree with those of the\nconventional theory.",
        "positive": "Optical theorem and indefinite metric in $\u03bb\u03c6^4$ delta-theory: A class of effective field theory called delta-theory, which improves\nultraviolet divergences in quantum field theory, is considered. We focus on a\nscalar model with a quartic self-interaction term and construct the delta\ntheory by applying the so-called delta prescription. We quantize the theory\nusing field variables that diagonalize the Lagrangian, which include a standard\nscalar field and a ghost or negative norm state. As well known, the indefinite\nmetric may lead to the loss of unitary of the $S$-matrix. We study the optical\ntheorem and check the validity of the cutting equations for three processes at\none-loop order, and found suppressed violations of unitarity in the delta\ncoupling parameter of the order of $\\xi^4$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Ghost-free, finite, fourth order D=3 (alas) gravity: Canonical analysis of a recently proposed [1] linear+quadratic curvature\ngravity model in D=3 displays its pure fourth derivative quadratic branch as a\nghost-free (massless) excitation. Hence it both negates an old no-go theorem\nand is power-counting UV finite. It is also conformal-invariant, so the metric\nis underdetermined. While the 2-term branch is also ghost-free, it has, as\nshown in [1], a second-derivative, two-tensor equivalent, akin to the second\norder scalar-tensor form of ostensibly fourth order, $R+R^2$, actions. This\ncorrespondence fails for the pure quadratic branch: it is irreducibly\nfourth-order.",
        "positive": "String-Loop Corrections Versus Non-Extremality: We discuss a magnetic black-hole solution to the equations of motion of the\nstring-loop-corrected effective action. At the string-tree level, this solution\nis the extremal magnetic black hole described by the \"chiral null model.\" In\nthe extremal case, the string-loop correction is constant, and this fact is\nused to analytically solve the loop-corrected equations of motion. In\ndistinction to the tree-level solution, the resulting loop-corrected solution\nhas the horizon at a finite distance from the origin; its location is a\nfunction of the loop correction. The loop-corrected configuration is compared\nwith a string-tree-level non-extremal magnetic black hole solution which also\nhas the horizon at a finite distance from the origin. We find that for an\nappropriate choice of the free parameters of solutions, the loop-corrected\nmagnetic black hole can be approximated by a tree-level non-extremal solution.\nWe compare the thermodynamic properties of the loop-corrrected and non-extremal\nsolutions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Poincare Invariance of a Quantized Duality Symmetric Theory: The noncovariant duality symmetric action put forward by Schwarz-Sen is\nquantized by means of the Dirac bracket quantization procedure. The resulting\nquantum theory is shown to be, nevertheless, relativistically invariant.",
        "positive": "The Final State of Black Strings and p-Branes, and the Gregory-Laflamme\n  Instability: It is shown that the usual entropy argument for the Gregory-Laflamme (GL)\ninstability for $some$ appropriate black strings and $p$-branes gives\nsurprising agreement up to a few percent. This may provide a strong support to\nthe GL's horizon fragmentation, which would produce the array of\nhigher-dimensional Schwarzschild-type's black holes finally. On the other hand,\nanother estimator for the size of the black hole end-state relative to the\ncompact dimension indicates a second order (i.e., smooth) phase transition for\nsome $other$ appropriate compactifications and total dimension of spacetime\nwherein the entropy argument is not appropriate. In this case,\nHorowitz-Maeda-type's non-uniform black strings or $p$-branes can be the final\nstate of the GL instability."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "BCFT moduli space in level truncation: We propose a new non-perturbative method to search for marginal deformations\nin level truncated open string field theory. Instead of studying the flatness\nof the effective potential for the marginal field (which is not expected to\ngive a one-to-one parametrization of the BCFT moduli space), we identify a new\nnon-universal branch of the tachyon potential which, from known analytic\nexamples, is expected to parametrize the marginal flow in a much larger region\nof the BCFT moduli space. By a level 18 computation in Siegel gauge, we find an\nincreasingly flat effective potential in the non-universal sector, connected to\nthe perturbative vacuum and we confirm that the coefficient of the marginal\nfield (lambda_SFT) has a maximum compatible with the value where the solutions\nstop existing in the standard Sen-Zwiebach approach. At the maximal reachable\nlevel, the effective potential still deviates from flatness for large values of\nthe tachyon, but the Ellwood invariants stay close to the correct BCFT values\non the whole branch and the full periodic moduli space of the cosine\ndeformation is covered.",
        "positive": "Interacting Higher-Spin Gauge Models in BRST-antifield Formalism: Interacting higher-spin gauge models including fermions are derived in the\nBRST-antifield formalism. We introduce massless totally-symmetric rank-$n$\ntensor-spinors, which is Dirac spinors in $D$-dimensional spacetime, as well as\nmassless bosonic totally-symmetric tensors. By applying the BRST deformation\nscheme, the free higher-spin gauge theory is deformed such that the deformed\naction $S$ would satisfy the master equation $(S,S)=0$. We obtain interactions\nof two fermions and one boson, and those of a fermion and a boson in turn. They\ncontain all orders in the deformation parameter and satisfy the master equation\nexactly. Employing the BRST deformation scheme built on AdS spaces, we derive\ninteracting higher-spin gauge models including fermions on AdS spaces as well.\nWe also consider the case that infinite series contained in our models are\nconvergent."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Basic Representations of A_{2l}^(2) and D_{l+1}^(2) and the Polynomial\n  Solutions to the Reduced BKP Hierarchies: Basic representations of A_{2l}^(2) and D_{l+1}^(2) are studied. The weight\nvectors are represented in terms of Schur's $Q$-functions. The method to get\nthe polynomial solutions to the reduced BKP hierarchies is shown to be\nequivalent to a certain rule in Maya game.",
        "positive": "Basic curvature and the Atiyah cocycle in gauge theory: We study connections on higher structures such as Lie and Courant algebroids\nand their description as differential graded manifolds and explore the role of\ntheir basic curvature tensor and of the Atiyah cocycle in topological sigma\nmodels and higher gauge theories. The basic curvature of a connection on a Lie\nalgebroid is a measure for the compatibility of the connection with the Lie\nbracket and it appears in the BV operator of topological sigma models in 2D.\nHere we define a basic curvature tensor for connections on Courant algebroids\nand we show that in the description of a Courant algebroid as a QP manifold it\nappears naturally as part of the homological vector field together with the\nGualtieri torsion of a generalised connection. The Atiyah cocycle of a\nconnection on a differential graded manifold is a measure of the compatibility\nof the connection with the homological vector field. We argue that in the\ngraded-geometric description of higher gauge theories, the structure of gauge\ntransformations is governed by a Kapranov L$_{\\infty}[1]$ algebra, whose binary\nbracket is given by the Atiyah cocycle. We also revisit some aspects of derived\nstructures and we uncover the role of the Atiyah cocycle in deriving\n$E$-tensors for $E$-connections on Lie and Courant algebroids from ordinary\ntensors on differential graded manifolds."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Embedding Unimodular Gravity in String Theory: Unimodular Gravity is a theory displaying Weyl rescalings of the metric and\ntransverse (volume-preserving) diffeomorphisms as gauge symmetries, as opposed\nto the full set of diffeomorphisms displayed by General Relativity. Recently,\nwe presented a systematic comparison of both theories, concluding that both of\nthem are equivalent in everything but the behaviour of the cosmological\nconstant under radiative corrections. A careful study of how Unimodular Gravity\ncan be embedded in the string theory framework has not been provided yet and\nwas not analyzed there in detail. In this article, we provide such an explicit\nanalysis, filling the gap in the literature. We restrict ourselves to the\nunoriented bosonic string theory in critical dimension for the sake of\nsimplicity, although we argue that no differences are expected for other string\ntheories. Our conclusions are that both a Diff and a WTDiff invariance\nprinciple are equally valid for describing the massless excitations of the\nstring spectrum.",
        "positive": "Anisotropic evolution of a D-brane: The evolution of a probe D-brane in the p-brane background has been\nconsidered. The anisotropic evolution of the world-volume of the D-brane with a\ngiven topology of a world-volume in a form of a direct product of a\nn-dimensional flat space and (3-n)-dimensional sphere has been obtained. In\nthis case the anisotropy is described with the aid of two parameters (Hubble\nparameters). The special case of this evolution, namely the isotropic evolution\ncorresponds to equality of these two parameters. In the latter case the masses\nand charges of the background p-branes have been derived."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Possible Constraints on String Theory in Closed Space with Symmetries: It is well known that certain quadratic constraints have to be imposed on\nlinearized gravity in closed space with symmetries. We review this phenomenon\nand discuss one of the constraints which arise in linearized gravity on static\nflat torus in detail. Then we point out that the mode with negative kinetic\nenergy, which is necessary for satisfying this constraint, appears to be\nmissing in the free bosonic string spectrum.",
        "positive": "Correlators Of Operators with a Large R-charge: Correlation functions of operators with a conformal dimension of O(N^2) are\nnot well approximated by the planar limit. The non-planar diagrams, which in\nthe bulk spacetime correspond to string loop corrections, are enhanced by huge\ncombinatorial factors. In this article we show how these loop corrections can\nbe resummed. As a typical example of our results, in the half-BPS background of\nM maximal giant gravitons we find the usual 1/N expansion is replaced by a\n1/(M+N) expansion. Further, we find that there is a simple exact relationship\nbetween amplitudes computed in the trivial background and amplitudes computed\nin the background of M maximal giant gravitons. Finally, we also find strong\nevidence for the BMN-type sectors suggested in arXiv:0801.4457. The decoupling\nlimit of arXiv:0801.4457 captures the decoupled low energy world volume theory\nof the intersecting giant graviton system and this theory is weakly coupled\neven when the original N=4 super Yang-Mills theory is strongly coupled."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Drinfeld's second realization of the AdS/CFT su(2|2) Yangian: We construct Drinfeld's second realization of the Yangian based on\npsu(2|2)xR^3 symmetry. The second realization is traditionally more suitable\nfor deriving the quantum double and the universal R matrix with respect to the\nfirst realization, originally obtained by Beisert, and it is generically more\nuseful in order to study finite dimensional representations. We show that the\ntwo realization are isomorphic, where the isomorphism is almost the standard\none given by Drinfeld for simple Lie algebras, but needs some crucial\ncorrections to account for the central charges. We also evaluate the generators\nof the second realization on the fundamental representation, finding the\ninteresting result that the rapidity variable for some generators gets boosted\nby the energy eigenvalue.",
        "positive": "Towards a Holographic Model of the QCD Phase Diagram: We describe the temperature-chemical potential phase diagrams of holographic\nmodels of a range of strongly coupled gauge theories that display chiral\nsymmetry breaking/restoration transitions. The models are based on the\nD3/probe-D7 system but with a phenomenologically chosen running\ncoupling/dilaton profile. We realize chiral phase transitions with either\ntemperature or density that are first or second order by changing the dilaton\nprofile. Although the models are only caricatures of QCD they show that\nholographic models can capture many aspects of the QCD phase diagram and hint\nat the dependence on the running coupling."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fluxes in Heterotic and Type II String Compactifications: In this paper we consider heterotic compactifications on K3 x T2 as well as\ntype II compactifications on K3-fibred Calabi-Yau spaces with certain fluxes\nfor the gauge and RR field strengths F and H turned on. By providing an\nidentification of corresponding fluxes we show that the well-known N=2\nheterotic/type II string-string duality still holds for a subset of all\npossible fluxes, namely those which arise from six-dimensional gauge fields\nwith internal magnetic flux on the common two-sphere P1, which is the base\nspace of the type II K3-fibration. On the other hand, F- and H-fluxes without\nP1-support, such as heterotic F-fluxes on the torus T2 or type II H-fluxes on\ncycles of the K3-fibre cannot be matched in any simple way, which is a\nchallenge for heterotic/type II string-string duality. Our analysis is based on\nthe comparison of terms in the effective low-energy heterotic and type II\nactions which are induced by the fluxes, such as the Green-Schwarz couplings\nrelated to flux-induced U(1) anomalies, the effective superpotential and the\nFayet-Iliopoulos scalar potential.",
        "positive": "From the string vacuum to FLRW or de Sitter via $\u03b1'$ corrections: We first make more precise a recent \"Hamiltonian\" reformulation of the\nHohm-Zwiebach approach to the tree-level, $O(d,d)$-invariant string cosmology\nequations at all orders in the $\\alpha'$ expansion, and recall how it allows to\ngive a simple characterization of a large class of cosmological scenarios\nconnecting, through a non-singular bounce, two duality-related perturbative\nsolutions at early and late times. We then discuss the effects of adding to the\naction a non-perturbative, $O(d,d)$-breaking, dilaton potential $V(\\phi)$. The\nresulting cosmological solutions, assumed to approach at early times the\nperturbative string vacuum (with vanishing curvature and string coupling), can\nstabilize the dilaton at late times and simultaneously approach either a\nmatter-dominated FLRW cosmology or a de-Sitter-like inflationary phase,\ndepending on initial conditions and on the properties of $V(\\phi)$ at\nmoderate-coupling. We also identify a general mechanism for generating\nisotropic late-time attractors from a large basin of anisotropic initial\nconditions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Metric 3-Lie algebras for unitary Bagger-Lambert theories: We prove a structure theorem for finite-dimensional indefinite-signature\nmetric 3-Lie algebras admitting a maximally isotropic centre. This algebraic\ncondition indicates that all the negative-norm states in the associated\nBagger-Lambert theory can be consistently decoupled from the physical Hilbert\nspace. As an immediate application of the theorem, new examples beyond index 2\nare constructed. The lagrangian for the Bagger-Lambert theory based on a\ngeneral physically admissible 3-Lie algebra of this kind is obtained. Following\nan expansion around a suitable vacuum, the precise relationship between such\ntheories and certain more conventional maximally supersymmetric gauge theories\nis found. These typically involve particular combinations of N=8 super\nYang-Mills and massive vector supermultiplets. A dictionary between the 3-Lie\nalgebraic data and the physical parameters in the resulting gauge theories will\nthereby be provided.",
        "positive": "On holographic braneworld cosmology: Recently, S. Antonini and B. Swingle builded a holographic model for\nbraneworld cosmology by introducing an ``end-of-the-world\" (ETW) brane moving\nin a charged black hole spactime. In this paper, we will show that a\nholographic description of braneworld cosmology is possible for a general black\nhole spacetime with a pure tension brane if one implements a mixed boundary\ncondition on the ETW brane. As a simple example, we study AdS-Schwarzschild\nblack holes and show that a sensible Euclidean braneworld solution is\ncompatible with localization of gravity on the ETW brane."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Master symmetry in the $AdS_5\\times S^5$ pure spinor string: We lift the set of classical non-local symmetries recently studied by Klose,\nLoebbert, and M\\\"unkler in the context of $\\mathbb Z_2$ cosets to the pure\nspinor description of the superstring in the $AdS_5\\times S^5$ background.",
        "positive": "Supermembrane in D=5: component action: Based on the connection between partial breaking of global supersymmetry,\ncoset approach, which realized the given pattern of supersymmetry breaking, and\nthe Nambu-Goto actions for the extended objects, we have constructed on-shell\ncomponent action for N=1, D=5 supermembrane and its dual cousins. We\ndemonstrate that the proper choice of the components and the use of the\ncovariant (with respect to broken supersymmetry) derivatives drastically\nsimplify the action: it can be represented as a sum of four terms each having\nan explicit geometric meaning."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Topological Dyons: Using a two potential approach, dyon solutions have been found in the\ntemporal and non-temporal gauges for a non-Abelian theory. Both the charges,\nelectric and magnetic, of the temporal dyon solution are topological, while for\nthe non-temporal case both charges are partially topological.",
        "positive": "Geometric flow equations for the number of space-time dimensions: In this paper we consider new geometric flow equations, called D-flow, which\ndescribe the variation of space-time geometries under the change of the number\nof dimensions. The D-flow is originating from the non-trivial dependence of the\nvolume of space-time manifolds on the number of space-time dimensions and it is\ndriven by certain curvature invariants. We will work out specific examples of\nD-flow equations and their solutions for the case of D-dimensional spheres and\nFreund-Rubin Compactification. The discussion of the paper is motivated from\nrecent swampland considerations, where the number $D$ of space-time dimensions\nis treated as a new swampland parameter."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Adler-Bell-Jackiw anomaly in VSR electrodynamics: In this paper, we examine the problem of anomalies of the fermionic currents\nin the context of the very special relativity (VSR). We consider the VSR\ncontributions to the triangle amplitude $\\left\\langle J_{5}^{\\lambda} J^{\\mu}\nJ^{\\nu} \\right\\rangle $, which allows the evaluation of the vector and axial\nWard identities. Actually, we observe that the VSR nonlocal effects respect the\nvector Ward identity, and it also contributes in a very interesting and unique\nway for the Adler-Bell-Jackiw anomaly.",
        "positive": "Monopole-antimonopole: interaction, scattering and creation: The interaction of a magnetic monopole-antimonopole pair depends on their\nseparation as well as on a second \"twist\" degree of freedom. This novel\ninteraction leads to a non-trivial bound state solution known as a sphaleron\nand to scattering in which the monopole-antimonopole bounce off each other and\ndo not annihilate. The twist degree of freedom also plays a role in numerical\nexperiments in which gauge waves collide and create monopole-antimonopole\npairs. Similar gauge wavepacket scatterings in the Abelian-Higgs model lead to\nthe production of string loops that may be relevant to superconductors. Ongoing\nnumerical experiments to study the production of electroweak sphalerons that\nresult in changes in the Chern-Simons number, and hence baryon number, are also\ndescribed but have not yet met with success."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Circularly polarized gravitational waves in Chern-Simons gravity\n  originated from an axion domain wall: We study a scattering problem of gravitational waves (GWs) by an axion domain\nwall in Chern-Simons (CS) gravity. We find that circular polarization of GWs is\nproduced after passing through the domain wall. It turns out that the circular\npolarization is sizable if the frequency of the GW is comparable to a critical\nvalue determined by the characteristic CS length scale and the energy scale of\nthe axion domain wall. Thus, observations of the circular polarization could\ngive a stringent constraint on the characteristic CS length scale or could be a\nnew avenue to search for axion.",
        "positive": "Holographic modified gravity: In this paper we study cosmological application of holographic dark energy\ndensity in the modified gravity framework. We employ the holographic model of\ndark energy to obtain the equation of state for the holographic energy density\nin spatially flat universe. Our calculation show, taking\n$\\Omega_{\\Lambda}=0.73$ for the present time, it is possible to have $w_{\\rm\n\\Lambda}$ crossing -1. This implies that one can generate phantom-like equation\nof state from a holographic dark energy model in flat universe in the modified\ngravity cosmology framework. Also we develop a reconstruction scheme for the\nmodified gravity with $f(R)$ action."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the `Irreducible' Freedman-Townsend Vertex: An irreducible cohomological derivation of the Freedman-Townsend vertex in\nfour dimensions is given.",
        "positive": "Complexity Equals Action: We conjecture that the quantum complexity of a holographic state is dual to\nthe action of a certain spacetime region that we call a Wheeler-DeWitt patch.\nWe illustrate and test the conjecture in the context of neutral, charged, and\nrotating black holes in AdS, as well as black holes perturbed with static\nshells and with shock waves. This conjecture evolved from a previous conjecture\nthat complexity is dual to spatial volume, but appears to be a major\nimprovement over the original. In light of our results, we discuss the\nhypothesis that black holes are the fastest computers in nature."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Effective field theories and inflationary magnetogenesis: The effective approach is applied to the analysis of inflationary\nmagnetogenesis. Rather than assuming a particular underlying description, all\nthe generally covariant terms potentially appearing with four space-time\nderivatives in the effective action have been included and weighted by\ninflaton-dependent couplings. The higher derivatives are suppressed by the\nnegative powers of a typical mass scale whose specific values ultimately depend\non the tensor to scalar ratio. During a quasi-de Sitter stage the corresponding\ncorrections always lead to an asymmetry between the hypermagnetic and the\nhyperelectric susceptibilities. After presenting a general method for the\nestimate of the gauge power spectra, the obtained results are illustrated for\ngeneric models and also in the case of some non-generic scenarios where either\nthe inflaton has some extra symmetry or the higher-order terms are potentially\ndominant.",
        "positive": "Nonsingular electrovacuum solutions with dynamically generated\n  cosmological constant: We consider static spherically symmetric configurations in a Palatini\nextension of General Relativity including $R^2$ and Ricci-squared terms, which\nis known to replace the central singularity by a wormhole in the electrovacuum\ncase. We modify the matter sector of the theory by adding to the usual Maxwell\nterm a nonlinear electromagnetic extension which is known to implement a\nconfinement mechanism in flat space. One feature of the resulting theory is\nthat the non-linear electric field leads to a dynamically generated\ncosmological constant. We show that with this matter source the solutions of\nthe model are asymptotically de Sitter and possess a wormhole topology. We\ndiscuss in some detail the conditions that guarantee the absence of\nsingularities and of traversable wormholes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Shape of Gravity in a Warped Deformed Conifold: We study the spectrum of the gravitational modes in Minkowski spacetime due\nto a 6-dimensional warped deformed conifold, i.e., a warped throat, in\nsuperstring theory. After identifying the zero mode as the usual 4D graviton,\nwe present the KK spectrum as well as other excitation modes. Gluing the throat\nto the bulk (a realistic scenario), we see that the graviton has a rather\nuniform probability distribution everywhere while a KK mode is peaked in the\nthroat, as expected. Due to the suppressed measure of the throat in the wave\nfunction normalization, we find that a KK mode's probability in the bulk can be\ncomparable to that of the graviton mode. We also present the tunneling\nprobabilities of a KK mode from the inflationary throat to the bulk and to\nanother throat. Due to resonance effect, the latter may not be suppressed as\nnatively expected. Implication of this property to reheating after brane\ninflation is discussed.",
        "positive": "Non-Commutative Gauge Theories and the Cosmological Constant: We discuss the issue of the cosmological constant in non-commutative\nnon-supersymmetric gauge theories. In particular, in orbifold field theories\nnon-commutativity acts as a UV cut-off. We suggest that in these theories\nquantum corrections give rise to a vacuum energy \\rho, that is controlled by\nthe non-commutativity parameter \\theta, \\rho ~ 1/theta^2 (only a soft\nlogarithmic dependence on the Planck scale survives). We demonstrate our claim\nin a two-loop computation in field theory and by certain higher loop examples.\nBased on general expressions from string theory, we suggest that the vacuum\nenergy is controlled by non-commutativity to all orders in perturbation theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Nonlinear realisation approach to topologically massive supergravity: We develop a nonlinear realisation approach to topologically massive\nsupergravity in three dimensions, with and without a cosmological term. It is a\nnatural generalisation of a similar construction for ${\\cal N}=1$ supergravity\nin four dimensions, which was recently proposed by one of us. At the heart of\nboth formulations is the nonlinear realisation approach to gravity which was\ngiven by Volkov and Soroka fifty years ago in the context of spontaneously\nbroken local supersymmetry. In our setting, the action for cosmological\ntopologically massive supergravity is invariant under two different local\nsupersymmetries. One of them acts on the Goldstino, while the other\nsupersymmetry leaves the Goldstino invariant. The former can be used to gauge\naway the Goldstino, and then the resulting action coincides with that given in\nthe literature.",
        "positive": "Double copy for tree-level form factors. Part II. Generalizations and\n  special topics: Both the Bern, Carrasco and Johansson (BCJ) and the Kawai, Lewellen and Tye\n(KLT) double-copy formalisms have been recently generalized to a class of\nscattering matrix elements (so-called form factors) that involve local\ngauge-invariant operators. In this paper we continue the study of double copy\nfor form factors. First, we generalize the double-copy prescription to form\nfactors of higher-length operators ${\\rm tr}(\\phi^m)$ with $m\\geq3$. These\nhigher-length operators introduce new non-trivial color identities, but the\ndouble-copy prescription works perfectly well. The closed formulae for the\nCK-dual numerators are also provided. Next, we discuss the $\\vec{v}$ vectors\nwhich are central ingredients appearing in the factorization relations of both\nthe KLT kernels and the gauge form factors. We present a general construction\nrule for the $\\vec{v}$ vectors and discuss their universal properties. Finally,\nwe consider the double copy for the form factor of the ${\\rm tr}(F^2)$ operator\nin pure Yang-Mills theory. In this case, we propose a new prescription that\ninvolves a gauge invariant decomposition for the form factor and a combination\nof different CK-dual numerators appearing in the expansion."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Comments On The Two-Dimensional Landau-Ginzburg Approach To Link\n  Homology: We describe rules for computing a homology theory of knots and links in\n$\\mathbb{R}^3$. It is derived from the theory of framed BPS states bound to\ndomain walls separating two-dimensional Landau-Ginzburg models with (2,2)\nsupersymmetry. We illustrate the rules with some sample computations, obtaining\nresults consistent with Khovanov homology. We show that of the two\nLandau-Ginzburg models discussed in this context by Gaiotto and Witten one,\n(the so-called Yang-Yang-Landau-Ginzburg model) does not lead to topological\ninvariants of links while the other, based on a model with target space equal\nto the universal cover of the moduli space of $SU(2)$ magnetic monopoles, will\nindeed produce a topologically invariant theory of knots and links.",
        "positive": "\u03b2-deformed matrix model and Nekrasov partition function: We study Penner type matrix models in relation with the Nekrasov partition\nfunction of four dimensional \\mathcal{N}=2, SU(2) supersymmetric gauge theories\nwith N_F=2,3 and 4. By evaluating the resolvent using the loop equation for\ngeneral \\beta, we explicitly construct the first half-genus correction to the\nfree energy and demonstrate the result coincides with the corresponding\nNekrasov partition function with general \\Omega-background, including higher\ninstanton contributions after modifying the relation of the Coulomb branch\nparameter with the filling fraction. Our approach complements the proof using\nthe Selberg integrals directly which is useful to find the contribution in the\nseries of instanton numbers for a given deformation parameter."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "One PI and Wilsonian Actions in SUSY theories: The soft breaking terms in supersymmetric theories are calculated at some\nhigh scale characterizing the hidden supersymmetry breaking sector, and then\nevolved down to the TeV scale. These parameters are usually presented as the\nones that should be compared to experiment. The physical parameters however are\nthose occurring in the quantum effective (1PI) action - in particular the\nphysical mass is the location of the pole in the full quantum propagator. Here\nwe discuss the relation between the two and the possible existence of additive\ncontributions to the gaugino mass. We argue that infra red effects which\nviolate non-renormalization theorems are absent (for the 1PI action) if the\ncalculation is done at a generic point in field space so that an effective IR\ncutoff is present. It follows that if a gaugino mass term is absent in the\nWilsonian action it is absent in the 1PI action.",
        "positive": "The Wilson-Polchinski exact renormalization group equation: The critical exponent $\\eta $ is not well accounted for in the Polchinski\nexact formulation of the renormalization group (RG). With a particular emphasis\nlaid on the introduction of the critical exponent $\\eta $, I re-establish\n(after Golner, hep-th/9801124) the explicit relation between the early Wilson\nexact RG equation, constructed with the incomplete integration as cutoff\nprocedure, and the formulation with an arbitrary cutoff function proposed later\non by Polchinski. I (re)-do the analysis of the Wilson-Polchinski equation\nexpanded up to the next to leading order of the derivative expansion. I finally\nspecify a criterion for choosing the ``best'' value of $\\eta $ to this order.\nThis paper will help in using more systematically the exact RG equation in\nvarious studies."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetrical Separation of Variables for Scarf II Model: Partial\n  Solvability: Recently, a new quantum model - two-dimensional generalization of the Scarf\nII - was completely solved analytically by SUSY method for the integer values\nof parameter. Now, the same integrable model, but with arbitrary values of\nparameter, will be studied by means of supersymmetrical intertwining relations.\nThe Hamiltonian does not allow the conventional separation of variables, but\nthe supercharge operator does allow, leading to the partial solvability of the\nmodel. This approach, which can be called as the first variant of\nSUSY-separation, together with shape invariance of the model, provides\nanalytical calculation of the part of spectrum and corresponding wave functions\n(quasi-exact-solvability). The model is shown to obey two different variants of\nshape invariance which can be combined effectively in construction of energy\nlevels and wave functions.",
        "positive": "S-brane solutions with (anti-)self-dual parallel charge density form on\n  a Ricci-flat submanifold: A D-dimensional cosmological model with several scalar fields and\nantisymmetric (p+2)-form is considered. For dimensions D = 4m+1 = 5, 9, 13, ...\nand p = 2m-1 = 1, 3, 5, ... we obtain a family of new cosmological type\nsolutions with 4m-dimensional oriented Ricci-flat submanifold N of Euclidean\nsignature. These solutions are characterized by a self-dual or anti-self-dual\nparallel charge density form Q of rank 2m defined on N. The (sub)manifold N may\nbe chosen to be K\\ddot{a}hler, or hyper-K\\ddot{a}hler one, or 8-dimensional\nmanifold of Spin(7) holonomy. The generalization of solutions to a chain of\nextra marginal) Ricci-flat factor-spaces is also presented. Solutions with\naccelerated expansion of extra factor-spaces are singled out. Certain examples\nof new solutions for IIA supergravity and for a chain of B_D-models in\ndimensions D = 14, 15, ... are considered."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Comments on s-rule violating configurations in field theory: We explicitly construct a configuration of ${\\cal N}=4$ supersymmetry\nYang-Mills theory with gauge group $U(N)$ on an interval on length $L$ with a\nD5-like boundary condition on one end and an NS5-like boundary condition on the\nother. For $N>1$, such a configuration violates the $s$-rule and is\nnon-supersymmetric. We compute the energy relative to the BPS bound of these\nconfigurations and find that it is proportional to $N(N^2-1) g_{YM4}^{-2}\nL^{-3}$.",
        "positive": "Strings as Flux Tube and Deconfinement on Branes in Gauge Theories: We propose gauge theories in which the unstable branes and the fundamental\nstring are realized as classical solutions. While the former are represented by\ndomain wall like configurations of a scalar field coupled to the gauge field,\nthe latter is by a confined flux tube in the bulk. It is shown that the\nconfined flux tube is really a source of the bulk B-field. Our model also\nprovides a natural scenario of the confinement on the brane in the context of\nthe open string tachyon condensation. It is also argued that the fundamental\nstring can be realized as a classical solution in a certain IIB matrix model as\nin our model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Vertex Operators in 4D Quantum Gravity Formulated as CFT: We study vertex operators in 4D conformal field theory derived from quantized\ngravity, whose dynamics is governed by the Wess-Zumino action by Riegert and\nthe Weyl action. Conformal symmetry is equal to diffeomorphism symmetry in the\nultraviolet limit, which mixes positive-metric and negative-metric modes of the\ngravitational field and thus these modes cannot be treated separately in\nphysical operators. In this paper, we construct gravitational vertex operators\nsuch as the Ricci scalar, defined as space-time volume integrals of them are\ninvariant under conformal transformations. Short distance singularities of\nthese operator products are computed and it is shown that their coefficients\nhave physically correct sign. Furthermore, we show that conformal algebra holds\neven in the system perturbed by the cosmological constant vertex operator as in\nthe case of the Liouville theory shown by Curtright and Thorn.",
        "positive": "Matter Coupled F(4) Gauged Supergravity Lagrangian: We construct the so far unknown Lagrangian of D=6, N=2 F(4) Supergravity\ncoupled to an arbitrary number of vector multiplets whose scalars span the\ncoset manifold SO(4,n)/{SO(4) x SO(n)}.\n  This is done first in the ungauged case and then extended to the compact\ngauging of SU(2) x G, where SU(2) is the R-symmetry diagonal subgroup of\nSU(2)_L x SU(2)_R = SO(4) and G is a compact subgroup of SO(n), n being the\nnumber of vector multiplets, and such that dim G = n.\n  The knowledge of the Lagrangian allows in principle to refine the AdS_6/CFT_5\ncorrespondence already discussed, as far as supersymmetric multiplets are\nconcerned, in a previous related paper. With respect to the latter we also give\na more exaustive treatment of the construction of the theory at the level of\nsuperspace Bianchi identities and in particular of the scalar potential."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "String corrections to AdS amplitudes and the double-trace spectrum of\n  N=4 SYM: We consider $\\alpha'$ corrections to four-point correlators of half-BPS\noperators in $\\mathcal{N}=4$ super Yang-Mills theory in the supergravity limit.\nBy demanding the correct behaviour in the flat space limit, we find that the\nleading $(\\alpha')^3$ correction to the Mellin amplitude is fixed for arbitrary\ncharges of the external operators. By considering the mixing of double-trace\noperators we can find the $(\\alpha')^3$ corrections to the double-trace\nspectrum which we give explicitly for $su(4)$-singlet operators. We observe\nstriking patterns in the corrections to the spectra which hint at their common\nten-dimensional origin. By extending the observed patterns and imposing them at\norder $(\\alpha')^5$ we are able to reproduce the recently found result for the\ncorrection to the Mellin amplitude for $\\langle \\mathcal{O}_2 \\mathcal{O}_2\n\\mathcal{O}_p \\mathcal{O}_p \\rangle$ correlators. By applying a similar logic\nto the $[0,1,0]$ channel of $su(4)$ we are able to deduce new results for the\ncorrelators of the form $\\langle \\mathcal{O}_2 \\mathcal{O}_3 \\mathcal{O}_{p-1}\n\\mathcal{O}_p \\rangle$.",
        "positive": "Connections, Field Redefinitions and Heterotic Supergravity: We study heterotic supergravity at $\\mathcal{O}(\\alpha')$, first described in\ndetail in 1989 by Bergshoeff and de Roo. In particular, we discuss an ambiguity\nof a connection choice on the tangent bundle. It is well known that at\n$\\mathcal{O}(\\alpha')$ the Hull connection gives a consistent supergravity\ntheory with supersymmetry transformations given in the usual way. We consider\ndeformations of this connection corresponding to field redefinitions, and the\nnecessary corrections to the supersymmetry transformations. We are interested\nin the moduli space of such field redefinitions which allow for supersymmetric\nsolutions to the equations of motion. We show that for solutions on $M_4\\times\nX$, where $M_4$ is Minkowski and $X$ is compact, the moduli space of\ninfinitesimal field redefinitions is given by $H^{(0,1)}(X,\\textrm{End}(TX))$.\nThis space corresponds to infinitesimally close connections for which the\nequations of motion are satisfied. The setup suggests a symmetry between the\ngauge connection and the tangent bundle connection, as also employed by\nBergshoeff and de Roo. We argue that this symmetry should be kept to higher\norders in $\\alpha'$, and propose a natural choice for the corresponding tangent\nbundle connection used in curvature computations. In particular, the Hull\nconnection should be corrected at second and higher orders in $\\alpha'$ from\nthis point of view."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Localization and Diagonalization: A review of functional integral\n  techniques for low-dimensional gauge theories and topological field theories: We review localization techniques for functional integrals which have\nrecently been used to perform calculations in and gain insight into the\nstructure of certain topological field theories and low-dimensional gauge\ntheories. These are the functional integral counterparts of the Mathai-Quillen\nformalism, the Duistermaat-Heckman theorem, and the Weyl integral formula\nrespectively. In each case, we first introduce the necessary mathematical\nbackground (Euler classes of vector bundles, equivariant cohomology, topology\nof Lie groups), and describe the finite dimensional integration formulae. We\nthen discuss some applications to path integrals and give an overview of the\nrelevant literature. The applications we deal with include supersymmetric\nquantum mechanics, cohomological field theories, phase space path integrals,\nand two-dimensional Yang-Mills theory.",
        "positive": "Hydrodynamics of strongly coupled non-conformal fluids from\n  gauge/gravity duality: The subject of relativistic hydrodynamics is explored using the tools of\ngauge/gravity duality. A brief literature review of AdS/CFT and gauge/gravity\nduality is presented first. This is followed by a pedagogical introduction to\nthe use of these methods in determining hydrodynamic dispersion relations,\n$w(q)$, of perturbations in a strongly coupled fluid. Shear and sound mode\nperturbations are examined in a special class of gravity duals: those where the\nmatter supporting the metric is scalar in nature. Analytical solutions (to\norder $q^4$ and $q^3$ respectively) for the shear and sound mode dispersion\nrelations are presented for a subset of these backgrounds. The work presented\nhere is based on previous publications by the same author, though some\npreviously unpublished results are also included. In particular, the subleading\nterm in the shear mode dispersion relation is analyzed using the AdS/CFT\ncorrespondence without any reference to the black hole membrane paradigm."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Entanglement Entropy of de Sitter Space \u03b1-Vacua: We generalize the analysis of arXiv:1210.7244 to de Sitter space \\alpha-vacua\nand compute the entanglement entropy of a free scalar for the half-sphere at\nlate time.",
        "positive": "Super-Yang-Mills Theory in SIM(1) Superspace: In this paper, we will analyse three dimensional supersymmetric Yang-Mills\ntheory coupled to matter fields in $SIM(1)$ superspace formalism. The original\ntheory which is invariant under the full Lorentz group has $\\mathcal{N} =1$\nsupersymmetry. However, when we break the Lorentz symmetry down to $SIM(1)$\ngroup, the $SIM(1)$ superspace will break half the supersymmetry of the\noriginal theory. Thus, the resultant theory in $SIM(1)$ superspace will have\n$\\mathcal{N} =1/2$ supersymmetry. This is the first time that $\\mathcal{N} =1 $\nsupersymmetry will be broken down to $\\mathcal{N} =1/2$ supersymmetry, for a\nthree dimensional theory, on a manifold without a boundary. This is because it\nis not possible to use non-anticommutativity to break $\\mathcal{N} =1$\nsupersymmetry down to $\\mathcal{N} =1/2$ supersymmetry in three dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Noncommutative Nonlinear Supersymmetry: We present noncommutative nonlinear supersymmetric theories. The first\nexample is a non-polynomial Akulov-Volkov-type lagrangian with noncommutative\nnonlinear global supersymmetry in arbitrary space-time dimensions. The second\nexample is the generalization of this lagrangian to Dirac-Born-Infeld\nlagrangian with nonlinear supersymmetry realized in dimensions D=2,3,4, 6 and\n10.",
        "positive": "Low-energy scattering of extremal black holes by neutral matter: We investigate the decay of a spherically symmetric near-extremal charged\nblack hole, including back-reaction effects, in the near-horizon region. The\nnon-locality of the effective action controlling this process allows and also\nforces us to introduce a complementary set of boundary conditions which permit\nto determine the asymptotic late time Hawking flux. The evaporation rate goes\ndown exponentially and admits an infinite series expansion in Planck's\nconstant. At leading order it is proportional to the total mass and the higher\norder terms involve higher order momenta of the classical stress-tensor.\nMoreover we use this late time behaviour to go beyond the near-horizon\napproximation and comment on the implications for the information loss paradox."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "1/4 BPS circular loops, unstable world-sheet instantons and the matrix\n  model: The standard prescription for computing Wilson loops in the AdS/CFT\ncorrespondence in the large coupling regime and tree-level involves minimizing\nthe string action. In many cases the action has more than one saddle point as\nin the simple example studied in this paper, where there are two 1/4 BPS string\nsolutions, one a minimum and the other not. Like in the case of the regular\ncircular loop the perturbative expansion seems to be captured by a free matrix\nmodel. This gives enough analytic control to extrapolate from weak to strong\ncoupling and find both saddle points in the asymptotic expansion of the matrix\nmodel. The calculation also suggests a new BMN-like limit for nearly BPS Wilson\nloop operators.",
        "positive": "On the ultraviolet behaviour of quantum fields over noncommutative\n  manifolds: By exploiting the relation between Fredholm modules and the\nSegal-Shale-Stinespring version of canonical quantization, and taking as\nstarting point the first-quantized fields described by Connes' axioms for\nnoncommutative spin geometries, a Hamiltonian framework for fermion quantum\nfields over noncommutative manifolds is introduced. We analyze the ultraviolet\nbehaviour of second-quantized fields over noncommutative 3-tori, and discuss\nwhat behaviour should be expected on other noncommutative spin manifolds."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "N=2 Super-Conformal Filed Theory on the Basis of osp(2|2): Using a unified and systematic scheme, the free field realization of\nirreducible representations of osp(2|2) is constructed. By using these\nrealization, the correlation functions of N=2 super-conformal model based on\nosp(2|2) symmetry and free field representation of ${\\hat{osp(2|2)}}$\ngenerators are calculated. Free field representation of currents are used to\ndetermine the stress-energy tensor and the central charge of the model.",
        "positive": "Large N BPS states and emergent quantum gravity: This paper provides a heuristic derivation of how classical gravitational\nphysics in the AdS/CFT correspondence appears from the strong dynamics of the\nN=4 SYM theory in a systematic way. We do this in a minisuperspace\napproximation by studying 1/8 BPS configurations. We show that this is related\nto a gauged matrix quantum mechanics of commuting matrices. We can show that\nour description matches the semiclassical physics of 1/8 BPS states in\nsupergravity. We also provide a heuristic description of how massive strings\nappear in the geometry, and how at strong 't Hooft coupling they become local\non the five sphere suggesting that they can be realized as a sigma model on a\nweakly curved background. In the process we also clarify some aspects of 1/2\nBPS states. We also have a conjectured realization of some 1/8 BPS giant\ngraviton wave functions in the dynamics, which captures all 1/8 BPS giant\ngravitons constructed by Mikhailov. This leads to a lot of different topology\nchanges which can be treated heuristically."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Box Graphs and Resolutions I: Box graphs succinctly and comprehensively characterize singular fibers of\nelliptic fibrations in codimension two and three, as well as flop transitions\nconnecting these, in terms of representation theoretic data. We develop a\nframework that provides a systematic map between a box graph and a crepant\nalgebraic resolution of the singular elliptic fibration, thus allowing an\nexplicit construction of the fibers from a singular Weierstrass or Tate model.\nThe key tool is what we call a fiber face diagram, which shows the relevant\ninformation of a (partial) toric triangulation and allows the inclusion of more\ngeneral algebraic blowups. We shown that each such diagram defines a sequence\nof weighted algebraic blowups, thus providing a realization of the fiber\ndefined by the box graph in terms of an explicit resolution. We show this\ncorrespondence explicitly for the case of SU(5) by providing a map between box\ngraphs and fiber faces, and thereby a sequence of algebraic resolutions of the\nTate model, which realizes each of the box graphs.",
        "positive": "The geodesic rule and the spectrum of the vacuum: We analyze the consequences of a recent argument justifying the validity of\nthe \"geodesic rule\" which can be used to determine the density of global\ntopological defects. We derive a formula that provides a rough estimate of the\nnumber of string-like defects formed in a phase transition. We apply this\nformula to vacua which are spheres. We provide some reasons for the deviation\nof our predictions from the corresponding accepted values."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Evidence for an Algebra of $\\boldsymbol{G_2}$ Instantons: In this short note, we present some evidence towards the existence of an\nalgebra of BPS $G_2$ instantons. These are instantonic configurations that\ngovern the partition functions of 7d SYM theories on local $G_2$ holonomy\nmanifolds $\\mathcal X$. To shed light on such structure, we begin investigating\nthe relation with parent 4d $\\mathcal N=1$ theories obtained by geometric\nengineering M-theory on $\\mathcal X$. The main point of this paper is to\nsubstantiate the following dream: the holomorphic sector of such theories on\nmulti-centered Taub-NUT spaces gives rise to an algebra whose characters\norganise the $G_2$ instanton partition function. As a first step towards this\nprogram, we argue by string duality that a multitude of geometries $\\mathcal X$\nexist that are dual to well-known 4d SCFTs arising from D3 branes probes of CY\ncones: all these models are amenable to analysis along the lines suggested by\nDijkgraaf, Gukov, Neitzke and Vafa in the context of topological M-theory.\nMoreover, we discuss an interesting relation to Costello's twisted M-theory,\nwhich arises at local patches, and is a key ingredient in identifying the\nrelevant algebras.",
        "positive": "Notes on anomalies, elliptic curves and the BS-D conjecture: We consider anomaly cancellation for $SU(N)\\times SU(2)\\times U(1)$ gauge\ntheories where the left-handed chiral multiplets are in higher $SU(2)$\nrepresentations. In particular, if the left-handed quarks and leptons transform\nunder the triplet representation of $SU(2)$ and if the $U(1)$ gauge group is\ncompact then up to an overall scaling there is only one possible nontrivial\nassignment for the hypercharges if $N=3$, and two if $N=9$. Otherwise there are\ninfinitely many. We use the Mordell-Weil theorem, Mazur's theorem and the\nCremona elliptic curve database which uses Kolyvagin's theorem on the Birch\nSwinnerton-Dyer conjecture to prove these statements."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Mellin Amplitudes for Dual Conformal Integrals: Motivated by recent work on the utility of Mellin space for representing\nconformal correlators in $AdS$/CFT, we study its suitability for representing\ndual conformal integrals of the type which appear in perturbative scattering\namplitudes in super-Yang-Mills theory. We discuss Feynman-like rules for\nwriting Mellin amplitudes for a large class of integrals in any dimension, and\nfind explicit representations for several familiar toy integrals. However we\nshow that the power of Mellin space is that it provides simple representations\neven for fully massive integrals, which except for the single case of the\n4-mass box have not yet been computed by any available technology. Mellin space\nis also useful for exhibiting differential relations between various multi-loop\nintegrals, and we show that certain higher-loop integrals may be written as\nintegral operators acting on the fully massive scalar $n$-gon in $n$\ndimensions, whose Mellin amplitude is exactly 1. Our chief example is a very\nsimple formula expressing the 6-mass double box as a single integral of the\n6-mass scalar hexagon in 6 dimensions.",
        "positive": "Heat kernel: proper time method, Fock-Schwinger gauge, path integral\n  representation, and Wilson line: The proper time method plays an important role in modern mathematics and\nphysics. It includes many approaches, each of which has its pros and cons. This\nwork is devoted to the description of one model case, which reflects the\nsubtleties of construction and can be extended to a more general cases (curved\nspace, manifold with boundary), and contains two interrelated parts: asymptotic\nexpansion and path intergal representation. The paper discusses in details the\nimportance of gauge conditions and role of the ordered exponentials, gives the\nproof of a new non-recursive formula for the Seeley-DeWitt coefficients on the\ndiagonal, as well as the equivalence of the two main approaches using the\nexponential formula."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Symplectic and Killing Symmetries of AdS$_3$ Gravity: Holographic vs\n  Boundary Gravitons: The set of solutions to the AdS$_3$ Einstein gravity with Brown-Henneaux\nboundary conditions is known to be a family of metrics labeled by two arbitrary\nperiodic functions, respectively left and right-moving. It turns out that there\nexists an appropriate presymplectic form which vanishes on-shell. This promotes\nthis set of metrics to a phase space in which the Brown-Henneaux asymptotic\nsymmetries become symplectic symmetries in the bulk of spacetime. Moreover, any\nelement in the phase space admits two global Killing vectors. We show that the\nconserved charges associated with these Killing vectors commute with the\nVirasoro symplectic symmetry algebra, extending the Virasoro symmetry algebra\nwith two $U(1)$ generators. We discuss that any element in the phase space\nfalls into the coadjoint orbits of the Virasoro algebras and that each orbit is\nlabeled by the $U(1)$ Killing charges. Upon setting the right-moving function\nto zero and restricting the choice of orbits, one can take a near-horizon\ndecoupling limit which preserves a chiral half of the symplectic symmetries.\nHere we show two distinct but equivalent ways in which the chiral Virasoro\nsymplectic symmetries in the near-horizon geometry can be obtained as a limit\nof the bulk symplectic symmetries.",
        "positive": "Angular Momentum Loss Due to Spin-Orbit Effects in the Post-Minkowskian\n  Expansion: We calculate the spin-orbit corrections to the loss of angular momentum in a\ntwo-body scattering at third Post-Minkowskian order, $\\mathcal O(G^3)$, from\nscattering amplitudes using the eikonal operator. These results include effects\nlinear in spin, are valid for generic spin orientations and are presented in a\nmanifestly Poincar\\'e covariant way. We include both radiative losses, by means\nof the leading-order gravitational waveform, and static losses by means of the\nappropriate $-i0$ prescription in the leading soft graviton theorem, finding\nagreement with known results in the Post-Newtonian limit."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Spectrum of Light States in Large N Minimal Models: $W_{N,k}$ minimal models possess an interesting class of `light' primaries\nwhich control much of the low energy density of states in the large $N$ 't\nHooft limit. In this paper we conduct a detailed exploration of their\ndistribution using a combination of numerical and analytical techniques. We\nalso make some observations about the density of states of the full CFT. Our\nresults appear to support the contention that there is no finite temperature\nanalogue of the Hawking-Page transition in these systems.",
        "positive": "On the algebraic structure of Killing superalgebras: We study the algebraic structure of the Killing superalgebra of a\nsupersymmetric background of $11$-dimensional supergravity and show that it is\nisomorphic to a filtered deformation of a $\\mathbb Z$-graded subalgebra of the\nPoincar\\'e superalgebra. We are able to map the classification problem for\nhighly supersymmetric backgrounds (i.e., those which preserve more than half\nthe supersymmetry) to the classification problem of a certain class of filtered\ndeformations of graded subalgebras of the Poincar\\'e superalgebra. We show that\none can reconstruct a highly supersymmetric background from its Killing\nsuperalgebra; in so doing, we relate the bosonic field equations of\n$11$-dimensional supergravity to the Jacobi identity of the Killing\nsuperalgebra and show in this way that preserving more than half the\nsupersymmetry implies the bosonic field equations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the connection between hydrodynamics and quantum chaos in holographic\n  theories with stringy corrections: Pole-skipping is a recently discovered signature of many-body quantum chaos\nin collective energy dynamics. It establishes a precise connection between\nresummed, all-order hydrodynamics and the underlying microscopic chaos. In this\npaper, we demonstrate the existence of pole-skipping in holographic conformal\nfield theories with higher-derivative gravity duals. In particular, we first\nconsider Einstein-Hilbert gravity deformed by curvature-squared ($R^2$)\ncorrections and then type IIB supergravity theory with the $\\alpha'^3 R^4$\nterm, where $\\alpha'$ is set by the length of the fundamental string. The\nformer case allows us to discuss the effects of leading-order $1/N_c$\ncorrections (with $N_c$ being the number of colours of the dual gauge group)\nand phenomenological coupling constant dependence. In Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet\ntheory, pole-skipping turns out to be valid non-perturbatively in the\nGauss-Bonnet coupling. The $\\alpha'^3 R^4$ deformation enables us to study\nperturbative inverse 't Hooft coupling corrections ($\\alpha'^3 \\sim 1 /\n\\lambda^{3/2}$) in $SU(N_c)$, $\\mathcal{N} = 4$ supersymmetric Yang-Mills\ntheory with infinite $N_c$. While the maximal Lyapunov exponent characterising\nquantum chaos remains uncorrected, the butterfly velocity is shown to depend\nboth on $N_c$ and the coupling. Several implications of the relation between\nhydrodynamics and chaos are discussed, including an intriguing similarity\nbetween the dependence of the butterfly velocity and the ratio of shear\nviscosity to entropy density on stringy corrections.",
        "positive": "On rotations in front form dynamics: Quantum field theories in front-form dynamics are not manifestly rotationally\ninvariant. We study a model bound-state equation in 3+1 dimensional front-form\ndynamics, which was shown earlier to reproduce the Bohr and hyperfine structure\nof positronium. We test this model with regard to its rotational symmetry and\nfind that rotational invariance is preserved to a high degree. Also, we find\nand quantify the expected dependence on the cut-off."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "D-instanton partition functions: Duality arguments are used to determine D-instanton contributions to certain\neffective interaction terms of type II supergravity theories in various\ndimensions. This leads to exact expressions for the partition functions of the\nfinite N D-instanton matrix model in d=4 and 6 dimensions that generalize our\nprevious expression for the case d=10. These results are consistent with the\nfact that the Witten index of the T-dual D-particle process should only be\nnon-vanishing for d=10.",
        "positive": "Thermalization of Wightman functions in AdS/CFT and quasinormal modes: We study the time evolution of Wightman two-point functions of scalar fields\nin AdS$_3$-Vaidya, a spacetime undergoing gravitational collapse. In the\nboundary field theory, the collapse corresponds to a quench process where the\ndual 1+1 dimensional CFT is taken out of equilibrium and subsequently\nthermalizes. From the two-point function, we extract an effective occupation\nnumber in the boundary theory and study how it approaches the thermal\nBose-Einstein distribution. We find that the Wightman functions, as well as the\neffective occupation numbers, thermalize with a rate set by the lowest\nquasinormal mode of the scalar field in the BTZ black hole background. We give\na heuristic argument for the quasinormal decay, which is expected to apply to\nmore general Vaidya spacetimes also in higher dimensions. This suggests a\nunified picture in which thermalization times of one- and two-point functions\nare determined by the lowest quasinormal mode. Finally, we study how these\nresults compare to previous calculations of two-point functions based on the\ngeodesic approximation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Acceleration-Extended Galilean Symmetries with Central Charges and their\n  Dynamical Realizations: We add to Galilean symmetries the transformations describing constant\naccelerations. The corresponding extended Galilean algebra allows, in any\ndimension $D=d+1$, the introduction of one central charge $c$ while in $D=2+1$\nwe can have three such charges: c, \\theta and \\theta'.\n  We present nonrelativistic classical mechanics models, with higher order time\nderivatives and show that they give dynamical realizations of our algebras. The\npresence of central charge $c$ requires the acceleration square Lagrangian\nterm. We show that the general Lagrangian with three central charges can be\nreinterpreted as describing an exotic planar particle coupled to a dynamical\nelectric and a constant magnetic field.",
        "positive": "Infrared limit in external field scattering: Scattering of electrons/positrons by external classical electromagnetic wave\npacket is considered in infrared limit. In this limit the scattering operator\nexists and produces physical effects, although the scattering cross-section is\ntrivial."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "An introduction to Goldstone boson physics and to the coset construction: These lecture notes are based on a six-hour series of lectures given at the\nXVII Modave summer school in mathematical physics, aimed at Ph.D. students in\nhigh-energy theoretical physics.\n  The manuscript starts by briefly stating Goldstone's theorem and emphasises\nthe motivations behind Goldstone physics; the main asset being the universality\nof spontaneous symmetry breaking (SSB) which is the fundamental hypothesis of\nGoldstone's theorem. Once the different notions of SSB will be\nclarified/reviewed, Goldstone's theorem will be stated and proved. A prediction\nof this theorem is the existence of gapless particles, called Nambu-Goldstone\nmodes (NG modes). From the discussion on Goldstone's results, some aspects of\nthe NG modes will emerge. Besides to be gapless, they are systematically weakly\ncoupled at low energy. Therefore, an effective field theory (EFT) building tool\ncalled ``coset construction'' will be presented to explicitly display these\nspecific features of the NG modes. The coset construction suits our goal since\nit is mainly based on the symmetry realisation of the perturbed theory around\nthe background inducing SSB. From the general obtained EFT, a counting rule for\nthe NG modes will be derived. The limitations of this rule as well as the still\nongoing generalisation will be discussed (e.g. spacetime symmetry breaking).\nThe tools developed during this course will be illustrated with a concrete\nexample in physics: ferromagnetism. The notes end with a brief state of the art\nof Goldstone physics. This provides some directions into which the interested\nreader could investigate to expand his knowledge on the subject.\n  N.B.: No prerequisites are required beside the standard courses of a Master\nin theoretical physics.",
        "positive": "Holographic Magnetic Susceptibility: The (2+1)-dimensional static magnetic susceptibility in strong-coupling is\nstudied via a Reissner-Nordstr\\\"{o}m-AdS geometry. The analyticity of the\nsusceptibility on the complex momentum $\\mathfrak{q}$-plane in relation to the\nFriedel-like oscillation in coordinate space is explored. In contrast to the\nbranch-cuts crossing the real momentum-axis for a Fermi liquid, we prove that\nthe holographic magnetic susceptibility remains an analytic function of the\ncomplex momentum around the real axis in the limit of zero temperature, At zero\ntemperature, we located analytically two pairs of branch-cuts that are parallel\nto the imaginary momentum-axis for large $|\\text{Im}\\ \\mathfrak{q}|$ but become\nwarped with the end-points keeping away from the real and imaginary\nmomentum-axes. We conclude that these branch-cuts give rise to the exponential\ndecay behaviour of Friedel-like oscillation of magnetic susceptibility in\ncoordinate space. We also derived the analytical forms of the susceptibility in\nlarge and small-momentum, respectively."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Symmetry Non-Restoration at High Temperature: We study the effect of next-to-leading order contributions on the phenomenon\nof symmetry non-restoration at high temperature in an $O(N_1)\\times O(N_2)$\nmodel.",
        "positive": "A Space-Time Orbifold: A Toy Model for a Cosmological Singularity: We explore bosonic strings and Type II superstrings in the simplest time\ndependent backgrounds, namely orbifolds of Minkowski space by time reversal and\nsome spatial reflections. We show that there are no negative norm physical\nexcitations. However, the contributions of negative norm virtual states to\nquantum loops do not cancel, showing that a ghost-free gauge cannot be chosen.\nThe spectrum includes a twisted sector, with strings confined to a ``conical''\nsingularity which is localized in time. Since these localized strings are not\nvisible to asymptotic observers, interesting issues arise regarding unitarity\nof the S-matrix for scattering of propagating states. The partition function of\nour model is modular invariant, and for the superstring, the zero momentum\ndilaton tadpole vanishes. Many of the issues we study will be generic to\ntime-dependent cosmological backgrounds with singularities localized in time,\nand we derive some general lessons about quantizing strings on such spaces."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Background Independence in String Theory: I discuss various aspects of background independence in the context of string\ntheory, for which so far we have no manifestly background independent\nformulation. After reviewing the role of background independence in classical\nEinstein gravity, I discuss recent results implying that there is a conflict in\nstring theory between manifest background independence and manifest duality\ninvariance when higher-derivative corrections are included. The resolution of\nthis conflict requires the introduction of new gauge degrees of freedom\ntogether with an enlarged gauge symmetry. This suggests more generally that a\nmanifestly background independent and duality invariant formulation of string\ntheory requires significantly enhanced gauge symmetries.",
        "positive": "Superstrings and WZNW Models: We give a brief review of our approach to the quantization of superstrings.\nNew is a covariant derivation of the measure at tree level and a path integral\nformula for this measure."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Link Invariants of Finite Type and Perturbation Theory: The Vassiliev-Gusarov link invariants of finite type are known to be closely\nrelated to perturbation theory for Chern-Simons theory. In order to clarify the\nperturbative nature of such link invariants, we introduce an algebra V_infinity\ncontaining elements g_i satisfying the usual braid group relations and elements\na_i satisfying g_i - g_i^{-1} = epsilon a_i, where epsilon is a formal variable\nthat may be regarded as measuring the failure of g_i^2 to equal 1.\nTopologically, the elements a_i signify crossings. We show that a large class\nof link invariants of finite type are in one-to-one correspondence with\nhomogeneous Markov traces on V_infinity. We sketch a possible application of\nlink invariants of finite type to a manifestly diffeomorphism-invariant\nperturbation theory for quantum gravity in the loop representation.",
        "positive": "The Kazhdan-Lusztig conjecture for W-algebras: The main result in this paper is the character formula for arbitrary\nirreducible highest weight modules of W algebras. The key ingredient is the\nfunctor provided by quantum Hamiltonian reduction, that constructs the W\nalgebras from affine Kac-Moody algebras and in a similar fashion W modules from\nKM modules. Assuming certain properties of this functor, the W characters are\nsubsequently derived from the Kazhdan-Lusztig conjecture for KM algebras. The\nresult can be formulated in terms of a double coset of the Weyl group of the KM\nalgebra: the Hasse diagrams give the embedding diagrams of the Verma modules\nand the Kazhdan-Lusztig polynomials give the multiplicities in the characters."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "5D BPS Quivers and KK Towers: We explore BPS quivers for D=5 theories, compactified on a circle and\ngeometrically engineered over local Calabi-Yau 3-folds, for which many of known\nmachineries leading to (refined) indices fail due to the fine-tuning of the\nsuperpotential. For Abelian quivers, the counting reduces to a geometric one,\nbut the technically challenging $L^2$ cohomology proved to be essential for\nsensible BPS spectra. We offer a mathematical theorem to remedy the difficulty,\nbut for non-Abelian quivers, the cohomology approach itself fails because the\nrelevant wavefunctions are inherently gauge-theoretical. For the Cartan part of\ngauge multiplets, which suffers no wall-crossing, we resort to the D0 picture\nand reconstruct entire KK towers. We also perform numerical checks using a\nmulti-center Coulombic routine, with a simple hypothesis on the quiver\ninvariants, and extend this to electric BPS states in the weak coupling\nchamber. We close with a comment on known Donaldson-Thomas invariants and on\nhow $L^2$ index might be read off from these.",
        "positive": "High energy QCD Lipatov's effective action in Euclidean space: The continuation of high energy QCD Lipatov's effective action to Euclidean\nspace is performed. The resulting Euclidean QCD RFT action is considered\nseparately in Euclidean \"light-cone\" coordinates and axial gauge suitable for\nthe numerical and analytical calculations correspondingly. The further\napplication of the obtained results is also discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Rational Top and its Classical R-matrix: We construct a rational integrable system (the rational top) on a coadjoint\norbit of ${\\rm SL}_N$ Lie group. It is described by the Lax operator with\nspectral parameter and classical non-dynamical skew-symmetric $r$-matrix. In\nthe case of the orbit of minimal dimension the model is gauge equivalent to the\nrational Calogero-Moser (CM) system. To obtain the results we represent the Lax\noperator of the CM model in two different factorized forms -- without spectral\nparameter (related to spinless case) and another one with the spectral\nparameter. The latter gives rise to the rational top while the first one is\nrelated to generalized Cremmer-Gervais $r$-matrices. The gauge transformation\nrelating the rational top and CM model provides a classical rational version of\nthe IRF-Vertex correspondence. From a geometrical point of view it describes\nthe modification of ${\\rm SL}(N,\\mathbb C)$-bundles over degenerated elliptic\ncurve. In view of Symplectic Hecke Correspondence the rational top is related\nto the rational spin CM model. Possible applications and generalizations of the\nsuggested construction are discussed. In particular, the obtained $r$-matrix\ndefines a class of KZB equations.",
        "positive": "The problematic backreaction of SUSY-breaking branes: In this paper we investigate the localisation of SUSY-breaking branes which,\nin the smeared approximation, support specific non-BPS vacua. We show, for a\nwide class of boundary conditions, that there is no flux vacuum when the branes\nare described by a genuine delta-function. Even more, we find that the smeared\nsolution is the unique solution with a regular brane profile. Our setup\nconsists of a non-BPS AdS_7 solution in massive IIA supergravity with smeared\nanti-D6-branes and fluxes T-dual to ISD fluxes in IIB supergravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Composite Gauge fields and Broken Symmetries: A generalization of the non-Abelian version of the $CP^{N-1}$ models (also\nknown as Grassmannian models) is presented. The generalization helps\naccommodate a partial breaking of the non-Abelian gauge symmetry. Constituents\nof the composite gauge fields, in many cases, are naturally constrained to\nbelong to an anomaly free representation which in turn generates a composite\nscalar simulating Higgs mechanism to break the gauge symmetry dynamically for\nlarge $N$. Two cases are studied in detail: one based on the SU(2) gauge group\nand the other on SO(10). Breakings such as SU(2)$\\to$U(1) or\nSO(10)$\\to$SU(5)$\\times$U(1) are found feasible. Properties of the composites\nfields and gauge boson masses are computed by doing a derivative expansion of\nthe large $N$ effective action.",
        "positive": "Chiral fermions, Gravity and GUTs: We discuss a global anomaly associated with the coupling of chiral Weyl\nfermions to gravity. The Standard Model based upon\n$SU(3){\\times}SU(2){\\times}{U(1)}$ which has 15 fermions per generation is\nshown to be inconsistent if all background spin manifolds with signature\ninvariant $\\tau=8k$ are allowed. Similarly, GUTs based on odd number of Weyl\nfermions are inconsistent. Consistency can be achieved by adding an extra Weyl\nfermion which needs to couple only to gravity. For arbitrary $\\tau$'s,\ngeneralized spin structures are needed, and the global anomaly cancellation\nrequires that the net index of the total Dirac operator with spin and internal\ngauge connections be even. As a result GUTs with fundamental multiplets which\ncontain multiples of 16 Weyls per generation are selected. The simplest\nconsistent GUT is the SO(10) model with a multiplet of 16 Weyls per generation.\nThe combined gravity and internal symmetry gauge group of the theory is then\n$[Spin(3,1){\\times}Spin(10)]/Z_2$. Physical implications of these results are\ncommented on."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Baryons and Skyrmions in QCD with Quarks in Higher Representations: We study the baryonic sector of QCD with quarks in the two index symmetric or\nantisymmetric representation. The minimal gauge invariant state that carries\nbaryon number cannot be identified with the Skyrmion of the low energy chiral\neffective Lagrangian. Mass, statistics and baryon number do not match. We\ncarefully investigate the properties of the minimal baryon in the large N limit\nand we find that it is unstable under formation of bound states with higher\nbaryonic number. These states match exactly with the properties of the Skyrmion\nof the effective Lagrangian.",
        "positive": "Stability Analysis of Classical String Solutions and the Dressing Method: The dressing method is a technique to construct new solutions in non-linear\nsigma models under the provision of a seed solution. This is analogous to the\nuse of autoBacklund transformations for systems of the sine-Gordon type. In a\nrecent work, this method was applied in the sigma model that describes string\npropagation on $\\mathbb{R} \\times \\mathrm{S}^2$, using as seeds the elliptic\nclassical string solutions. Some of the new solutions that emerge reveal\ninstabilities of their elliptic precursors. The focus of the present work is\nthe fruitful use of the dressing method in the study of the stability of closed\nstring solutions. It establishes an equivalence between the dressing method and\nthe conventional linear stability analysis. More importantly, this equivalence\nholds true in the presence of appropriate periodicity conditions that closed\nstrings must obey. Our investigations point to the direction of the dressing\nmethod being a general tool for the study of the stability of classical string\nconfigurations in the diverse class of symmetric spacetimes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Resonance structures in kink-antikink scattering in a quantum vacuum: We investigate kink-antikink scattering in the $\\lambda \\phi^4$ model in the\npresence of an additional scalar field, $\\psi$, that is in its quantum vacuum\nand interacts with $\\phi$ via a $\\xi \\phi^2\\psi^2$ term where $\\xi$ is the\ncoupling. The final state of such a scattering is either a bound state with\neventual annihilation or a reflection of the kink-antikink pair. Without the\n$\\psi$ field, the outcome is known to depend fractally on the initial velocity\nof the kink-antikink pair. In the quantum vacuum of the $\\psi$ field, the\nfractal dependence gets modified and disappears above a critical interaction\nstrength, $\\xi \\approx 0.1$.",
        "positive": "Effective potential of gluodynamics in background of Polyakov loop and\n  colormagnetic field: In SU(N) gluodynamics, above the de-confinement temperature, the effective\npotential has minima at non-zero $A_0$-background fields in the two-loop\napproximation. Also, it has a minimum at non-zero chromomagnetic background\nfield, known as 'Savvidy'-vacuum, which shows up on the one-loop level. In this\npaper, we join these two approaches. We formulate, at finite temperature, the\neffective action, or the free energy, in SU(2) gluodynamics on the two-loop\nlevel, with both, $A_0$ background and magnetic background present at the same\ntime, which was not done so far. We provide the necessary representations for\nboth, effective numerical calculation and high-temperature expansions.\n  The results are represented as a 3D plot of the real part of the effective\npotential. Also, we reproduce for zero either, the $A_0$-background or the\nmagnetic background, the known minima and compare them. The imaginary part is,\non the two-loop level, still present. We mention that, as is known from\nliterature for the case without $A_0$-background, the imaginary part is\ncompensated by the ring ('daisy') diagrams. However, our results reveal an\nunnatural, singular behavior of the effective potential in the region, where\nthe imaginary part sets in. Our conclusion is that one has to go beyond the\ntwo-loop approximation and its ring improved version, in order to investigate\nthe minimum of the effective action as a function of $A_0$ and chromomagnetic\nfield, and its stability, at least in the approximation of superdaisy diagrams,\ni.e., the Hartree approximation in the CJT formalism."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gapped Goldstones at the cut-off scale: a non-relativistic EFT: At finite density, the spontaneous breakdown of an internal non-Abelian\nsymmetry dictates, along with gapless modes, modes whose gap is fixed by the\nalgebra and proportional to the chemical potential: the gapped Goldstones.\nGenerically the gap of these states is comparable to that of other\nnon-universal excitations or to the energy scale where the dynamics is strongly\ncoupled. This makes it non-straightforward to derive a universal ef effective\nfield theory (EFT) description realizing all the symmetries. Focusing on the\nillustrative example of a fully broken SU (2) group, we demonstrate that such\nan EFT can be constructed by carving out around the Goldstones, gapless and\ngapped, at small 3-momentum. The rules governing the EFT, where the gapless\nGoldstones are soft while the gapped ones are slow, are those of standard\nnonrelativistic EFTs, like for instance nonrelativistic QED. In particular, the\nEFT Lagrangian formally preserves gapped Goldstone number, and processes where\nsuch number is not conserved are described inclusively by allowing for\nimaginary parts in the Wilson coefficients. Thus, while the symmetry is\nmanifestly realized in the EFT, unitarity is not. We comment on the application\nof our construction to the study of the large charge sector of conformal field\ntheories with non-Abelian symmetries.",
        "positive": "A Short Review of Time Dependent Solutions and Space-like Singularities\n  in String Theory: These lecture notes provide a short review of the status of time dependent\nbackgrounds in String theory, and in particular those that contain space-like\nsingularities. Despite considerable efforts, we do not have yet a full and\ncompelling picture of such backgrounds. We review some of the various attempts\nto understand these singularities via generalizations of the BKL dynamics,\nusing worldsheet methods and using non-perturbative tools such as the AdS/CFT\ncorrespondence and M(atrix) theory. These lecture notes are based on talks\ngiven at Cargese 06 and the dead-sea conference 06."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Induced vacuum condensates in the background of a singular magnetic\n  vortex in 2+1-dimensional space-time: We show that the vacuum of the quantized massless spinor field in\n2+1-dimensional space-time is polarized in the presence of a singular magnetic\nvortex. Depending on the choice of the boundary condition at the location of\nthe vortex, either chiral symmetry or parity is broken; the formation of the\nappropriate vacuum condensates is comprehensively studied. In addition, we find\nthat current, energy and other quantum numbers are induced in the vacuum.",
        "positive": "Mass Deformed ABJM Theory on Three Sphere in Large N limit: In this paper the free energy of the mass deformed ABJM theory on S^3 in the\nlarge N limit is studied. We find a new solution of the large N saddle point\nequation which exists for an arbitrary value of the mass parameter, and compute\nthe free energies for these solutions. We also show that the solution\ncorresponding to an asymptotically AdS_4 geometry is singular at a certain\nvalue of the mass parameter and does not exist over this critical value. It is\nnot clear what the gravity dual of the mass deformed ABJM theory on S^3 for the\nmass parameter larger than the critical value is."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Towards A Nonsingular Tachyonic Big Crunch: We discuss an effective field theory background containing the gravitational\nfield, the dilaton and a closed string tachyon, and couple this background to a\ngas of fundamental strings and D strings. Allowing for the possibility of a\nnon-vanishing dilaton potential of Casimir type, we demonstrate the possibility\nof obtaining a nonsingular, static tachyon condensate phase with fixed dilaton.\nThe time reversal of our solution provides a candidate effective field theory\ndescription of a Hagedorn phase of string gas cosmology with fixed dilaton.",
        "positive": "String GUT Scenarios with Stabilised Moduli: Taking into account the recently proposed poly-instanton corrections to the\nsuperpotential and combining the race-track with a KKLT respectively LARGE\nVolume Scenario in an intricate manner, we show that we gain exponential\ncontrol over the parameters in an effective superpotential. This allows us to\ndynamically stabilise moduli such that a conventional MSSM scenario with the\nstring scale lowered to the GUT scale is realised. Depending on the cycles\nwrapped by the MSSM branes, two different scenarios for the hierarchy of soft\nmasses arise. The first one is a supergravity mediated model with M_3/2=1TeV\nwhile the second one features mixed anomaly-supergravity mediation with\nM_3/2=10^10GeV and split supersymmetry. We also comment on dynamically lowering\nthe scales such that the tree-level cosmological constant is of the order\n\\Lambda=(10^-3eV)^4."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Nonrelativistic expansion of type IIA NS5 brane: We carry out nonrelativistic expansion for NS5 brane based on a codimension\ntwo foliation of type IIA supergravity background. We simultaneously expand the\nworld-volume fields in an appropriate $ 1/c^2 $ expansion together with the\nbackground fluxes. When put together, the resulting procedure yields a finite\nworld-volume action for nonrelativistic NS5 brane that is coupled to String\nNewton-Cartan background.",
        "positive": "Pair Production in Real Proper Time and Unitarity Without Borel\n  Ambiguity: The pair production of scalar particles in electromagnetic background fields\nis analyzed using real proper time formulation of 1-loop effective action.\nAfter explaining how real proper time formulation keeps unitarity of the\nparticle creation process in an unambiguous way and discussing the (lack of)\npair production in uniform (magnetic) electric backgrounds, we apply these\nideas to general electric field backgrounds. Our approach is based on a\nrecursive perturbative expansion of the proper time propagator $U(t)$ and we\nshow how the pair production probabilities can be obtained from its\nsingularities which arises upon a Pade summation of the expansion. We computed\nthe pair production probabilities for general space or time dependent electric\nfields in locally constant approximation and showed they match with the\nwell-known worldline instanton calculations of pulse and periodic backgrounds.\nLater, for one dimensional periodic electric and magnetic backgrounds, we\nshowed how the WKB integrals appear in the classical limit. We linked both\ncases to specific WKB cycles in different spectral regions of the WKB problem\nand computed the WKB actions by evaluating the WKB integrals as well as by\ntaking phase space integrals directly along Lefschetz thimbles. Finally, we\nexplain the equivalence of our construction with exact WKB method in the\nclassical limit by showing how the WKB cycles precisely contribute to the pair\nproduction process which is in complete agreement with our time dependent\nsetting."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Overlapping Branes in M-Theory: We construct new supersymmetric solutions of $D$=11 supergravity describing\n$n$ orthogonally ``overlapping\" membranes and fivebranes for $n$=2,\\dots,8.\nOverlapping branes arise after separating intersecting branes in a direction\ntransverse to all of the branes. The solutions, which generalize known\nintersecting brane solutions, preserve at least $2^{-n}$ of the supersymmetry.\nEach pairwise overlap involves a membrane overlapping a membrane in a 0-brane,\na fivebrane overlapping a fivebrane in a 3-brane or a membrane overlapping a\nfivebrane in a string. After reducing $n$ overlapping membranes to obtain $n$\noverlapping $D$-2-branes in $D$=10, $T$-duality generates new overlapping\n$D$-brane solutions in type IIA and type IIB string theory. Uplifting certain\ntype IIA solutions leads to the $D$=11 solutions. Some of the new solutions\nreduce to dilaton black holes in $D$=4. Additionally, we present a $D$=10\nsolution that describes two $D$-5-branes overlapping in a string. $T$-duality\nthen generates further $D$=10 solutions and uplifting one of the type IIA\nsolutions gives a new $D$=11 solution describing two fivebranes overlapping in\na string.",
        "positive": "The Faddeev-Popov Method Demystified: We discuss how to implement the Legendre transform using the Faddeev-Popov\nmethod of Quantum Field Theory. By doing this, we provide an alternate way to\nunderstand the essence of the Faddeev-Popov method, using only concepts that\nare very familiar to the students (such as the Legendre transform), and without\nneeding any reference to Quantum Field Theory. Two examples of Legendre\ntransform calculated with the Faddeev-Popov method are given to better clarify\nthe point."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Bosonic and Supersymmetric Current Algebras for Non-Semi-Simple\n  Groups: We present a systematic approach to constructing current algebras based on\nnon-semi-simple groups. The Virasoro central charges corresponding to these\ncurrent algebras are not, in general, given by integer numbers. The key point\nin this construction is that the bilinear form appearing in the current algebra\ncan be different from the bilinear form used to raise and lower group indices.\nThe action which realises this current algebra as its symmetry is also found.",
        "positive": "The Toda system and solution to the $\\cal{N}$=2 SUSY Yang-Mills theory: We briefly review the place of the Toda closed chain and the Toda field\ntheory in solution to the $\\cal{N}$=2 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory. The\nclassical and quantum aspects of the correspondence are mentioned and the role\nof branes as degrees of freedom is emphasized."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Painleve III and 2D Polymers: Recently the scaling function of the dilute non-contractible self-avoiding 2D\npolymer loop on a cylinder was related to the Painleve III transcendent. Using\nthe perturbation theory, the thermidynamic Bethe ansatz and numerical\ncalculations we argue a similar relation for the contractible self-avoiding\nloop.",
        "positive": "The effect of different regulators in the non-local field-antifield\n  quantization: Recently it was shown how to regularize the Batalin-Vilkovisky (BV)\nfield-antifield formalism of quantization of gauge theories with the non-local\nregularization (NLR) method. The objective of this work is to make an analysis\nof the behaviour of this NLR formalism, connected to the BV framework, using\ntwo different regulators: a simple second order differential regulator and a\nFujikawa-like regulator. This analysis has been made in the light of the well\nknown fact that different regulators can generate different expressions for\nanomalies that are related by a local couterterm, or that are equivalent after\na reparametrization. This has been done by computing precisely the anomaly of\nthe chiral Schwinger model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Heterotic Strings on ${\\mathbb T^3}/{\\mathbb Z_2}$, Nikulin involutions\n  and M-theory: We first describe the low energy dynamics of ten dimensional heterotic\nsupergravity compactified on the smooth, flat 3-manifold ${\\mathbb\nT^3}/{\\mathbb Z_2}$, without supersymmetry, and explain how it arises from flat\nheterotic gauge fields. The semi-classical theory has both Coulomb and Higgs\nbranches of non-supersymmetric vacua. We then give an exact worldsheet\ndescription as asymmetric orbifolds of $\\mathbb T^3$, where the orbifold\ngenerator involves a Nikulin non-symplectic involution $\\theta$ of the even\nself-dual lattice $\\Gamma_{(19,3)}$. Along the way we briefly compare our\nfindings with M-theory on $\\text{K3}/\\theta$. Our construction gives a novel\nCFT description of the semi-classical field theory moduli space. In particular,\nthe Wilson line parameters in the lattice $I\\subset \\Gamma_{(19,3)}$ of\nsignature $(19-s,1)$ which is invariant under $\\theta$, and in its orthogonal\ncomplement $N$, correspond respectively to Coulomb and Higgs branch moduli.\nThere is a rich pattern of transitions amongst Higgs and Coulomb branches which\nwe describe using the worldsheet theory.",
        "positive": "Anomalous Gauge Theories with Antisymmetric Tensor Fields: We derive a dual theory of the four-dimensional anomalous U(1) gauge theory\nwith a Wess--Zumino (WZ) term and with a St\\\"uckelberg type mass term by means\nof a duality transformation at each of the classical and quantum levels. It is\nshown that in the dual anomalous U(1) gauge theory, the $BF$ term with a\nrank-two antisymmetric tensor field plays the roles of the WZ term as well as\nthe mass term of the U(1) gauge field. Similar anomalous U(1) gauge theory with\n$BF$ term is considered in six-dimensions by introducing a rank-four\nantisymmetric tensor field. In addition to this theory, we propose a\nsix-dimensional anomalous U(1) gauge theory including an extended $BF$ term\nwith a rank-two antisymmetric tensor field, discussing a difference between the\ntwo theories. We also consider a four-dimensional anomalous SU(2)$\\times$U(1)\ngauge theory with $BF$ term and recognize a crucial role of the $BF$ term in\ncancelling the non-abelian chiral anomaly."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Casimir Energies for Isorefractive or Diaphanous Balls: It is familiar that the Casimir self-energy of a homogeneous dielectric ball\nis divergent, although a finite self-energy can be extracted through second\norder in the deviation of the permittivity from the vacuum value. The exception\noccurs when the speed of light inside the spherical boundary is the same as\nthat outside, so the self-energy of a perfectly conducting spherical shell is\nfinite, as is the energy of a dielectric-diamagnetic sphere with\n$\\varepsilon\\mu=1$, a so-called isorefractive or diaphanous ball. Here we\nre-examine that example, and attempt to extend it to an electromagnetic\n$\\delta$-function sphere, where the electric and magnetic couplings are equal\nand opposite. Unfortunately, although the energy expression is superficially\nultraviolet finite, additional divergences appear that render it difficult to\nextract a meaningful result in general, but some limited results are presented.",
        "positive": "Relativistic ideal Fermi gas at zero temperature and preferred frame: We discuss the limit T->0 of the relativistic ideal Fermi gas of luxons\n(particles moving with the speed of light) and tachyons (hypothetical particles\nfaster than light) based on observations of our recent paper: K. Kowalski, J.\nRembielinski and K.A. Smolinski, Phys. Rev. D, 76, 045018 (2007). For bradyons\nthis limit is in fact the nonrelativistic one and therefore it is not studied\nherein."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Vacuum fluctuations and topological Casimir effect in\n  Friedmann-Robertson-Walker cosmologies with compact dimensions: We investigate the Wightman function, the vacuum expectation values of the\nfield squared and the energy-momentum tensor for a massless scalar field with\ngeneral curvature coupling parameter in spatially flat\nFriedmann-Robertson-Walker universes with an arbitrary number of toroidally\ncompactified dimensions. The topological parts in the expectation values are\nexplicitly extracted and in this way the renormalization is reduced to that for\nthe model with trivial topology. In the limit when the comoving lengths of the\ncompact dimensions are very short compared to the Hubble length, the\ntopological parts coincide with those for a conformal coupling and they are\nrelated to the corresponding quantities in the flat spacetime by standard\nconformal transformation. In the opposite limit of large comoving lengths of\nthe compact dimensions, in dependence of the curvature coupling parameter, two\nregimes are realized with monotonic or oscillatory behavior of the vacuum\nexpectation values. In the monotonic regime and for nonconformally and\nnonminimally coupled fields the vacuum stresses are isotropic and the equation\nof state for the topological parts in the energy density and pressures is of\nbarotropic type. In the oscillatory regime, the amplitude of the oscillations\nfor the topological part in the expectation value of the field squared can be\neither decreasing or increasing with time, whereas for the energy-momentum\ntensor the oscillations are damping.",
        "positive": "Logarithmic corrections to black hole entropy from Kerr/CFT: It has been shown by A. Sen that logarithmic corrections to the black hole\narea-entropy law are entirely determined macroscopically from the massless\nparticle spectrum. They therefore serve as powerful consistency checks on any\nproposed enumeration of quantum black hole microstates. Sen's results include a\nmacroscopic computation of the logarithmic corrections for a five-dimensional\nnear extremal Kerr-Newman black hole. Here we compute these corrections\nmicroscopically using a stringy embedding of the Kerr/CFT correspondence and\nfind perfect agreement."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Asymptotically de Sitter dilatonic space-time, holographic RG flow and\n  conformal anomaly from (dilatonic) dS/CFT correspondence: The number of asymptotically de Sitter (non-singular) solutions of 5d\ndilatonic gravity with positive cosmological constant is found. These solutions\nare similar to the previously known asymptotically AdS spaces where dilaton may\ngenerate the singularity. Using these solutions the consistent $c$-function is\nproposed in the same way as in AdS/CFT. The consistency of RG flow gives\nfurther support for dS/CFT correspondence. From holographic RG flow equations\nwe calculate the holographic 4d conformal anomaly with dilatonic contributions.\nThis conformal anomaly turns out to be the same as in AdS/CFT correspondence.",
        "positive": "Three Etudes in QFT: We review QFT from the algebraic structure of its perturbative expansion and\npoint out three new results."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-Gaussianity as a Particle Detector: We study the imprints of massive particles with spin on cosmological\ncorrelators. Using the framework of the effective field theory of inflation, we\nclassify the couplings of these particles to the Goldstone boson of broken time\ntranslations and the graviton. We show that it is possible to generate\nobservable non-Gaussianity within the regime of validity of the effective\ntheory, as long as the masses of the particles are close to the Hubble scale\nand their interactions break the approximate conformal symmetry of the\ninflationary background. We derive explicit shape functions for the scalar and\ntensor bispectra that can serve as templates for future observational searches.",
        "positive": "Seiberg's Duality from Monodromy of Conifold Singularity: Duality between N=1 supersymmetric gauge theories(Seiberg's duality) is\ngeometrized, in the framework of AdS/CFT correspodences. It is shown that\nSeiberg's duality corresponds to monodromy of wrapped D5 branes on the homology\ncycles of a generalized conifold where D3 branes are located. The celebrated\n\\tilde{N}_c=N_f-N_c, \\tilde{N}_f=N_f rule is reproduced and a braid group\nstructure in a sequence of dualities, is found."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Extended BMS Algebra of Celestial CFT: We elaborate on the proposal of flat holography in which four-dimensional\nphysics is encoded in two-dimensional celestial conformal field theory (CCFT).\nThe symmetry underlying CCFT is the extended BMS symmetry of (asymptotically)\nflat spacetime. We use soft and collinear theorems of Einstein-Yang-Mills\ntheory to derive the OPEs of BMS field operators generating superrotations and\nsupertranslations. The energy-momentum tensor, given by a shadow transform of a\nsoft graviton operator, implements superrotations in the Virasoro subalgebra of\n$\\mathfrak{bms_4}$. Supertranslations can be obtained from a single translation\ngenerator along the light-cone direction by commuting it with the\nenergy-momentum tensor. This operator also originates from a soft graviton and\ngenerates a flow of conformal dimensions. All supertranslations can be\nassembled into a single primary conformal field operator on celestial sphere.",
        "positive": "Towards a Gravity Dual for the Large Scale Structure of the Universe: The dynamics of the large-scale structure of the universe enjoys at all\nscales, even in the highly non-linear regime, a Lifshitz symmetry during the\nmatter-dominated period. In this paper we propose a general class of\nsix-dimensional spacetimes which could be a gravity dual to the\nfour-dimensional large-scale structure of the universe. In this set-up, the\nLifshitz symmetry manifests itself as an isometry in the bulk and our universe\nis a four-dimensional brane moving in such six-dimensional bulk. After finding\nthe correspondence between the bulk and the brane dynamical Lifshitz exponents,\nwe find the intriguing result that the preferred value of the dynamical\nLifshitz exponent of our observed universe, at both linear and non-linear\nscales, corresponds to a fixed point of the RGE flow of the dynamical Lifshitz\nexponent in the dual system where the symmetry is enhanced to the Schrodinger\ngroup containing a non-relativistic conformal symmetry. We also investigate the\nRGE flow between fixed points of the Lifshitz dynamical exponent in the bulk\nand observe that this flow is reflected in a growth rate of the large-scale\nstructure, which seems to be in qualitative agreement with what is observed in\ncurrent data. Our set-up might provide an interesting new arena for testing the\nideas of holography and gravitational duals."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dynamics in Non-Globally-Hyperbolic Static Spacetimes III: Anti-de\n  Sitter Spacetime: In recent years, there has been considerable interest in theories formulated\nin anti-de Sitter (AdS) spacetime. However, AdS spacetime fails to be globally\nhyperbolic, so a classical field satisfying a hyperbolic wave equation on AdS\nspacetime need not have a well defined dynamics. Nevertheless, AdS spacetime is\nstatic, so the possible rules of dynamics for a field satisfying a linear wave\nequation are constrained by our previous general analysis--given in paper\nII--where it was shown that the possible choices of dynamics correspond to\nchoices of positive, self-adjoint extensions of a certain differential\noperator, $A$. In the present paper, we reduce the analysis of electromagnetic,\nand gravitational perturbations in AdS spacetime to scalar wave equations. We\nthen apply our general results to analyse the possible dynamics of scalar,\nelectromagnetic, and gravitational perturbations in AdS spacetime. In AdS\nspacetime, the freedom (if any) in choosing self-adjoint extensions of $A$\ncorresponds to the freedom (if any) in choosing suitable boundary conditions at\ninfinity, so our analysis determines all of the possible boundary conditions\nthat can be imposed at infinity. In particular, we show that other boundary\nconditions besides the Dirichlet and Neumann conditions may be possible,\ndepending on the value of the effective mass for scalar field perturbations,\nand depending on the number of spacetime dimensions and type of mode for\nelectromagnetic and gravitational perturbations.",
        "positive": "On dynamical realizations of l-conformal Galilei and Newton-Hooke\n  algebras: In two recent papers [N. Aizawa, Y. Kimura, J. Segar, J. Phys. A 46 (2013)\n405204] and [N. Aizawa, Z. Kuznetsova, F. Toppan, J. Math. Phys. 56 (2015)\n031701], representation theory of the centrally extended l-conformal Galilei\nalgebra with half-integer l has been applied so as to construct second order\ndifferential equations exhibiting the corresponding group as kinematical\nsymmetry. It was suggested to treat them as the Schrodinger equations which\ninvolve Hamiltonians describing dynamical systems without higher derivatives.\nThe Hamiltonians possess two unusual features, however. First, they involve the\nstandard kinetic term only for one degree of freedom, while the remaining\nvariables provide contributions linear in momenta. This is typical for\nOstrogradsky's canonical approach to the description of higher derivative\nsystems. Second, the Hamiltonian in the second paper is not Hermitian in the\nconventional sense. In this work, we study the classical limit of the quantum\nHamiltonians and demonstrate that the first of them is equivalent to the\nHamiltonian describing free higher derivative nonrelativistic particles, while\nthe second can be linked to the Pais-Uhlenbeck oscillator whose frequencies\nform the arithmetic sequence omega_k=(2k-1), k=1,...,n. We also confront the\nhigher derivative models with a genuine second order system constructed in our\nrecent work [A. Galajinsky, I. Masterov, Nucl. Phys. B 866 (2013) 212] which is\ndiscussed in detail for l=3/2."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Failure of the ladder approximation to QCD: The proof of the failure of the ladder approximation to QCD is given in\nmanifestly gauge-invariant way. This proof is valid for the full gluon\npropagator and for all types of quarks. The summation of the ladder diagrams\nwithin the Schwinger-Dyson integral equation for the quark-gluon vertex, on\naccount of the corresponding Slavnov-Taylor identity, provides an additional\nconstraint on the quark Schwinger-Dyson equation itself in the ladder\napproximation. It requires that there is neither running nor current quark\nmasses in the ladder approximation. Thus, all the results based on the\nnontrivial (analytical or numerical) solutions to the quark Schwinger-Dyson\nequation in the ladder approximation should be reconsidered, and its use in the\nwhole energy/momentum range should be abandoned.",
        "positive": "Lagrangian and Presymplectic Particle Dynamics with Maximal Acceleration: We discuss some Lagrangian and presymplectic models concerning test particles\nin electromagnetic and gravitational fields, with the aim of describing an\nupper bound to the acceleration. Some models are based on the relativistic\nphase space and others on the bundle of the Lorentz frames. For the second\ncase, an appropriate version of the methods of analytic mechanics, including\nthe Noether theorem, is developed. A strict application of the analogy with the\nbound to velocity which appears in relativity theory gives rise to interesting\nmodels which, however, have an unphysical energy-momentum spectrum or do not\nimply the required upper bound. With some modifications we obtain more\nacceptable models with a correct energy-momentum spectrum and with an upper\nbound to a quantity similar to the acceleration, that we call\n\"pseudo-acceleration\"."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Renormalized Effective Actions in Radially Symmetric Backgrounds I:\n  Partial Wave Cutoff Method: The computation of the one-loop effective action in a radially symmetric\nbackground can be reduced to a sum over partial-wave contributions, each of\nwhich is the logarithm of an appropriate one-dimensional radial determinant.\nWhile these individual radial determinants can be evaluated simply and\nefficiently using the Gel'fand-Yaglom method, the sum over all partial-wave\ncontributions diverges. A renormalization procedure is needed to unambiguously\ndefine the finite renormalized effective action. Here we use a combination of\nthe Schwinger proper-time method, and a resummed uniform DeWitt expansion. This\nprovides a more elegant technique for extracting the large partial-wave\ncontribution, compared to the higher order radial WKB approach which had been\nused in previous work. We illustrate the general method with a complete\nanalysis of the scalar one-loop effective action in a class of radially\nseparable SU(2) Yang-Mills background fields. We also show that this method can\nbe applied to the case where the background gauge fields have asymptotic limits\nappropriate to uniform field strengths, such as for example in the Minkowski\nsolution, which describes an instanton immersed in a constant background.\nDetailed numerical results will be presented in a sequel.",
        "positive": "Mock Modularity In CHL Models: Dabholkar, Murthy and Zagier (DMZ) proved that there is a canonical\ndecomposition of a meromorphic Jacobi form of integral index for\n$\\mathrm{SL}(2, \\mathbb{Z})$ with poles on torsion points\n$z\\in\\mathbb{Q}\\tau+\\mathbb{Q}$ into polar and finite parts, and showed that\nthe finite part is a mock Jacobi form. In this paper we generalize the results\nof DMZ to meromorphic Jacobi forms of rational index for congruence subgroups\nof $\\mathrm{SL}(2, \\mathbb{Z})$. As an application, we establish that a large\nclass of single-centered black hole degeneracies in CHL models are given by the\nFourier coefficients of mock Jacobi forms. In this process we refine the result\nof DMZ regarding the set of charges for which the single-centered black hole\ndegeneracies are given by a mock modular form. In particular, in the case\nstudied by DMZ, we present examples of charges for which the single-centered\ndegeneracies are not captured by the mock modular form of the expected index."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the solution of a supersymmetric model of correlated electrons: We consider the exact solution of a model of correlated electrons based on\nthe superalgebra $Osp(2|2)$. The corresponding Bethe ansatz equations have an\ninteresting form. We derive an expression for the ground state energy at half\nfilling. We also present the eigenvalue of the transfer matrix commuting with\nthe Hamiltonian.",
        "positive": "Geometric confinement in gauge theories: In 1978, Friedberg and Lee introduced the phenomenological soliton bag model\nof hadrons, generalizing the MIT bag model developed in 1974 shortly after the\nformulation of QCD. In this model, quarks and gluons are confined due to\ncoupling with a real scalar field $\\rho$ which tends to zero outside some\ncompact region $S\\subset{\\mathbb R}^3$ determined dynamically from the\nequations of motion. The gauge coupling in the soliton bag model is running as\nthe inverse power of $\\rho$ already at the semiclassical level. We show that\nthis model arises naturally as a consequence of introducing the warped product\nmetric ${\\mathrm{d}}s^2_M + \\rho^2{\\mathrm{d}}s^2_G$ on the principal\n$G$-bundle $P(M,G)\\cong M\\times G$ with a non-Abelian group $G$ over Minkowski\nspace $M={\\mathbb R}^{3,1}$. Confinement of quarks and gluons in a compact\ndomain $S\\subset{\\mathbb R}^3$ is a consequence of the collapse of the bundle\nmanifold $M\\times G$ to $M$ outside $S$ due to shrinking of the group manifold\n$G$ to a point. We describe the formation of such regions $S$ as a dynamical\nprocess controlled by the order parameter field $\\rho$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum geometry, stability and modularity: By exploiting new mathematical relations between Pandharipande-Thomas (PT)\ninvariants, closely related to Gopakumar-Vafa (GV) invariants, and rank 0\nDonaldson-Thomas (DT) invariants counting D4-D2-D0 BPS bound states, we\nrigorously compute the first few terms in the generating series of Abelian\nD4-D2-D0 indices for compact one-parameter Calabi-Yau threefolds of\nhypergeometric type. In all cases where GV invariants can be computed to\nsufficiently high genus, we find striking confirmation that the generating\nseries is modular, and predict infinite series of Abelian D4-D2-D0 indices.\nConversely, we use these results to provide new constraints for the direct\nintegration method, which allows to compute GV invariants (and therefore the\ntopological string partition function) to higher genus than hitherto possible.\nThe triangle of relations between GV/PT/DT invariants is powered by a new\nexplicit formula relating PT and rank 0 DT invariants, which is proven in an\nAppendix by the second named author. As a corollary, we obtain rigorous\nCastelnuovo-type bounds for PT and GV invariants for CY threefolds with Picard\nrank one.",
        "positive": "On stable type IIA de-Sitter vacua with geometric flux: We present a class of tachyon-free (stable) AdS as well as dS solutions in\nthe context of type IIA orientifold compactifications. This model is based on a\ntype IIA setting having geometric flux which, in addition, also includes the\nusual NS-NS three-form flux ${\\rm H}_3$ and the RR $p$-form fluxes ${\\rm F}_p$\nfor $p \\in \\{0, 2, 4, 6\\}$. Although all the saxionic moduli are stabilized,\nthere remains a combination of the RR axions which is flat, and the dS solution\nis realized through the $D$-term effects induced by the geometric fluxes,\nwithout which one can only have AdS solutions. Using flux scaling arguments we\nalso discuss how to engineer a parametric control in these models, in the sense\nof realizing the respective AdS/dS solutions in large volume, weak\nstring-coupling as well as large complex-structure regime. We also discuss open\npossibilities (e.g. about the unknown status on having the complete set of\nBianchi identities) under which such tachyon-free dS solutions may or may not\nbe viable."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Bosonisation in Three-Dimensional Quantum Field Theory: We show in three dimensions, using functional integral techniques, the\nequivalence between the partition functions of the massive Thirring model and a\ngauge theory with two gauge fields, to all orders in the inverse fermion mass.\nDetailed bosonisation identities, also valid to all orders in the inverse mass,\nare derived. Specialisation to the lowest (and next to lowest) orders reveals\nthat the gauge theory simplifies to the Maxwell-Chern-Simons theory. Some\ninteresting consequences are discussed in this case.",
        "positive": "Non-Invertible Symmetries of $\\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM and Twisted\n  Compactification: Non-invertible symmetries have recently been understood to provide\ninteresting contraints on RG flows of QFTs. In this work, we show how\nnon-invertible symmetries can also be used to generate entirely new RG flows,\nby means of so-called \"non-invertible twisted compactification\". We illustrate\nthe idea in the example of twisted compactifications of 4d $\\mathcal{N}=4$\nsuper-Yang-Mills (SYM) to three dimensions. After giving a catalogue of\nnon-invertible symmetries descending from Montonen-Olive duality\ntransformations of 4d $\\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM, we show that twisted\ncompactification by non-invertible symmetries can be used to obtain 3d\n$\\mathcal{N}=6$ theories which appear otherwise unreachable if one restricts to\ntwists by invertible symmetries."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-BPS String Junctions and Dyons in N=4 Super-Yang-Mills: We construct non-BPS dyon solutions of N=4 SU(n) supersymmetric Yang-Mills\ntheory. These solutions are the worldvolume solitons which describe non-BPS\nType IIB non-planar string junctions connecting n parallel D3-branes. The\nsolutions are smooth deformations of the 1/4 BPS states which describe planar\nstring junctions.",
        "positive": "The Mile High Magic Pyramid: Using a unified formulation of $\\mathcal{N} = 1, 2, 4, 8$, super Yang-Mills\ntheories in $D = 3$ spacetime dimensions with fields valued respectively in\n$\\mathbb{R, C, H, O}$, it was shown that tensoring left and right multiplets\nyields a Freudenthal magic square of $D = 3$ supergravities. When tied in with\nthe more familiar $\\mathbb{R, C, H, O}$ description of super Yang-Mills in $D =\n3, 4, 6, 10$ this results in a magic pyramid of supergravities: the known $4\n\\times 4$ magic square at the base in $D=3$, a $3\\times 3$ square in $D=4$, a\n$2 \\times 2$ square in $D=6$ and Type II supergravity at the apex in $D=10$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A multishell solution in the Skyrme model: We consider multishell configurations in the Skyrme model within the rational\nmap ansatz. We show that equations for the Skyrme field are linearized in the\nlimit of large number of shells, thus allowing for a simple analytic solution.\nAlthough this solution is approximate, it provides an accurate description of\nmultishell configurations in the Skyrme model in the region where the Skyrme\nfield is large, $F\\gg1$. We use this solution to calculate the mass and the\nroot mean square radius of multishell skyrmion configurations. In particular,\nfor solutions with one unit of baryon charge per shell (the ``hedgehog''\nsolution) the mass scales as $M\\propto B^2$, and its rms radius scales as\n$B^{1/2}$ with the baryon charge $B$. This scaling for the mass can be reduced\nto $M\\propto B^{4/3}$ in the model with many units of baryon charge per shell.\nAlthough this solution is unstable against decays into single-shell or\nsingle-skyrmion configurations, it may be useful for modelling skyrmion stars\nor compact composite objects in some models of dark matter if the decay of such\nconfigurations is prevented by some mechanism.",
        "positive": "Snyder's Quantized Space-time and De Sitter Special Relativity: There is a one-to-one correspondence between Snyder's model in de Sitter\nspace of momenta and the \\dS-invariant special relativity. This indicates that\nphysics at the Planck length $\\ell_P$ and the scale $R=3/\\Lambda$ should be\ndual to each other and there is in-between gravity of local \\dS-invariance\ncharacterized by a dimensionless coupling constant $g=\\ell_P/R\\sim 10^{-61}$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Superconformal Sum Rules and the Spectral Density Flow of the Composite\n  Dilaton (ADD) Multiplet in $\\mathcal{N}=1$ Theories: We discuss the signature of the anomalous breaking of the superconformal\nsymmetry in $\\mathcal{N}=1$ super Yang Mills theory, mediated by the\nFerrara-Zumino hypercurrent ($\\mathcal{J}$) with two vector ($\\mathcal V$)\nsupercurrents $(\\mathcal{JVV})$ and its manifestation in the anomaly action, in\nthe form of anomaly poles. This allows to investigate in a unified way both\nconformal and chiral anomalies. The analysis is performed in parallel to the\nStandard Model, for comparison. We investigate, in particular, massive\ndeformations of the $\\mathcal{N}=1$ theory and the spectral densities of the\nanomaly form factors which are extracted from the components of this\ncorrelator. In this extended framework it is shown that all the anomaly form\nfactors are characterized by spectral densities which flow with the mass\ndeformation. In particular, the continuum contributions from the two-particle\ncuts of the intermediate states turn into into poles in the zero mass limit,\nwith a single sum rule satisfied by each component. Non anomalous form factors,\ninstead, in the same anomalous correlators, are characterized by non-integrable\nspectral densities. These tend to uniform distributions as one moves towards\nthe conformal point, with a clear dual behaviour. As in a previous analysis of\nthe dilaton pole of the Standard Model, also in this case the poles can be\ninterpreted as signaling the exchange of a composite dilaton/axion/dilatino\n(ADD) multiplet in the effective Lagrangian.[...]",
        "positive": "Universal Ratios and Correlation Functions: We review some recent results concerning the quantitative analysis of the\nuniversality classes of two-dimensional statistical models near their critical\npoint. We also discuss the exact calculation of the two--point correlation\nfunctions of disorder operators in a free theory of complex bosonic and\nfermionic field, correlators ruled by a Painleve differential equation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On exponential suppression of the cosmological constant in non-SUSY\n  strings at two loops and beyond: Two independent criteria are presented that together guarantee exponential\nsuppression of the two-loop cosmological constant in non-supersymmetric\nheterotic strings. They are derived by performing calculations in both the full\nstring theory and in its underlying effective field theory, and come\nrespectively from contributions that involve only physical untwisted states,\nand contributions that include orbifold twisted states. The criteria depend\npurely on the spectrum and charges, so a model that satisfies them will do so\nwith no fine-tuning. An additional consistency condition (emerging from the\nso-called separating degeneration limit of the two-loop diagram) is that the\none-loop cosmological constant must also be suppressed, by Bose-Fermi\ndegeneracy in the massless spectrum. We remark that theories of this kind, that\nhave continued exponential suppression to higher orders, can form the basis for\na string implementation of the \"naturalness without supersymmetry\" idea.",
        "positive": "Gauge Invariance and Tachyon Condensation in Open String Field Theory: The gauge invariance of open string field theory is considered from the point\nof view of level truncation, and applications to the tachyon condensation\nproblem are discussed. We show that the region of validity of Feynman-Siegel\ngauge can be accurately determined using the level truncation method. We then\nshow that singularities previously found in the tachyon effective potential are\ngauge artifacts arising from the boundary of the region of validity of\nFeynman-Siegel gauge. The problem of finding the stable vacuum and tachyon\npotential without fixing Feynman-Siegel gauge is addressed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Confining String from the Soft Dilaton Theorem: A candidate for the confining string of gauge theories is constructed via a\nrepresentation of the ultraviolet divergences of quantum field theory by a\nclosed string dilaton insertion, computed through the soft dilaton theorem. The\nresulting (critical) confining string is conformally invariant, singles out\nnaturally $d=4$ dimensions, and can not be used to represent theories with\nLandau poles.",
        "positive": "Penrose Limit and String Theories on Various Brane Backgrounds: We investigate the Penrose limit of various brane solutions including\nDp-branes, NS5-branes, fundamental strings, (p,q) fivebranes and (p,q) strings.\nWe obtain special null geodesics with the fixed radial coordinate (critical\nradius), along which the Penrose limit gives string theories with constant\nmass. We also study string theories with time-dependent mass, which arise from\nthe Penrose limit of the brane backgrounds. We examine equations of motion of\nthe strings in the asymptotic flat region and around the critical radius. In\nparticular, for (p,q) fivebranes, we find that the string equations of motion\nin the directions with the B field are explicitly solved by the spheroidal wave\nfunctions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Autonomous Renormalization of Phi^4 in Finite Geometry: The autonomous renormalization of the O(N)-symmetric scalar theory is based\non an infinite re-scaling of constant fields, whereas finite-momentum modes\nremain finite. The natural framework for a detailed analysis of this method is\na system of finite size, where all non-constant modes can be integrated out\nperturbatively and the constant mode is treated by a saddle-point approximation\nin the thermodynamic limit. The calculation provides a better understanding of\nthe properties of of the effective action and corroborates earlier findings\nconcerning a heavy Higgs particle at about 2 TeV.",
        "positive": "3d-3d Correspondence and 2d $\\mathcal{N}=(0,2)$ Boundary Conditions: We consider quiver forms that appear in the motivic Donaldson-Thomas\ngenerating series or characters of conformal field theories and relate them to\n3d $\\mathcal{N}=2$ theories on $D^2 \\times_q S^1$ with certain boundary\nconditions preserving 2d $\\mathcal{N}=(0,2)$ supersymmetry. We apply this to\nthe 3d-3d correspondence and provide a Lagrangian description of 3d\n$\\mathcal{N}=2$ theories $T[M_3]$ with 2d $\\mathcal{N}=(0,2)$ boundary\nconditions for 3-manifolds $M_3$ in several contexts."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A class of rotating hairy black holes in arbitrary dimensions: A class of exact rotating black hole solutions of gravity nonminimally\ncoupled to a self-interacting scalar field in arbitrary dimensions is\npresented. These spacetimes are asymptotically locally anti-de Sitter manifolds\nand have a Ricci-flat event horizon hiding a curvature singularity at the\norigin. The scalar field is real and regular everywhere and its effective mass,\ncoming from the nonminimal coupling with the scalar curvature, saturates the\nBreitenlohner-Freedman bound for the corresponding spacetime dimension. The\nrotating black hole is obtained by applying an improper coordinate\ntransformation to the static one. Although both spacetimes are locally\nequivalent, they are globally different, as it is confirmed by the nonvanishing\nangular momentum of the rotating black hole. It is found that the mass is\nbounded from below by the angular momentum in agreement with the existence of\nan event horizon. The thermodynamical analysis is carried out in the grand\ncanonical ensemble. The first law is satisfied and a Smarr formula is\nexhibited. The thermodynamical local stability of the rotating hairy black\nholes is established from their Gibbs free energy. However, the global\nstability analysis establishes that the vacuum spacetime is always preferred\nover the hairy black hole. Thus, the hairy black hole is likely to decay into\nthe vacuum one for any temperature.",
        "positive": "Differential expansion for link polynomials: The differential expansion is one of the key structures reflecting group\ntheory properties of colored knot polynomials, which also becomes an important\ntool for evaluation of non-trivial Racah matrices. This makes highly desirable\nits extension from knots to links, which, however, requires knowledge of the\n$6j$-symbols, at least, for the simplest triples of non-coincident\nrepresentations. Based on the recent achievements in this direction, we\nconjecture a shape of the differential expansion for symmetrically-colored\nlinks and provide a set of examples. Within this study, we use a special\nframing that is an unusual extension of the topological framing from knots to\nlinks. In the particular cases of Whitehead and Borromean rings links, the\ndifferential expansions are different from the previously discovered."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Notes on Exact Multi-Soliton Solutions of Noncommutative Integrable\n  Hierarchies: We study exact multi-soliton solutions of integrable hierarchies on\nnoncommutative space-times which are represented in terms of quasi-determinants\nof Wronski matrices by Etingof, Gelfand and Retakh. We analyze the asymptotic\nbehavior of the multi-soliton solutions and found that the asymptotic\nconfigurations in soliton scattering process can be all the same as commutative\nones, that is, the configuration of N-soliton solution has N isolated localized\nenergy densities and the each solitary wave-packet preserves its shape and\nvelocity in the scattering process. The phase shifts are also the same as\ncommutative ones. Furthermore noncommutative toroidal Gelfand-Dickey hierarchy\nis introduced and the exact multi-soliton solutions are given.",
        "positive": "Gauge and Poincare' Invariant Regularization and Hopf Symmetries: We consider the regularization of a gauge quantum field theory following a\nmodification of the Polchinski proof based on the introduction of a cutoff\nfunction. We work with a Poincare' invariant deformation of the ordinary\npoint-wise product of fields introduced by Ardalan, Arfaei, Ghasemkhani and\nSadooghi, and show that it yields, through a limiting procedure of the cutoff\nfunctions, to a regularized theory, preserving all symmetries at every stage.\nThe new gauge symmetry yields a new Hopf algebra with deformed co-structures,\nwhich is inequivalent to the standard one."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Global Aspects Of Gauged Wess-Zumino-Witten Models: A study of the gauged Wess-Zumino-Witten models is given focusing on the\neffect of topologically non-trivial configurations of gauge fields. A\ncorrelation function is expressed as an integral over a moduli space of\nholomorphic bundles with quasi-parabolic structure. Two actions of the\nfundamental group of the gauge group is defined: One on the space of gauge\ninvariant local fields and the other on the moduli spaces. Applying these in\nthe integral expression, we obtain a certain identity which relates correlation\nfunctions for configurations of different topologies. It gives an important\ninformation on the topological sum for the partition and correlation functions.",
        "positive": "Lipkin model on a quantum computer: Atomic nuclei are important laboratories for exploring and testing new\ninsights into the universe, such as experiments to directly detect dark matter\nor explore properties of neutrinos. The targets of interest are often heavy,\ncomplex nuclei that challenge our ability to reliably model them (as well as\nquantify the uncertainty of those models) with classical computers. Hence there\nis great interest in applying quantum computation to nuclear structure for\nthese applications. As an early step in this direction, especially with regards\nto the uncertainties in the relevant quantum calculations, we develop circuits\nto implement variational quantum eigensolver (VQE) algorithms for the\nLipkin-Meshkov-Glick model, which is often used in the nuclear physics\ncommunity as a testbed for many-body methods. We present quantum circuits for\nVQE for two and three particles and discuss the construction of circuits for\nmore particles. Implementing the VQE for a two-particle system on the IBM\nQuantum Experience, we identify initialization and two-qubit gates as the\nlargest sources of error. We find that error mitigation procedures reduce the\nerrors in the results significantly, but additional quantum hardware\nimprovements are needed for quantum calculations to be sufficiently accurate to\nbe competitive with the best current classical methods."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Open String BRST Cohomology for Generalized Complex Branes: It has been shown recently that the geometry of D-branes in general\ntopologically twisted (2,2) sigma-models can be described in the language of\ngeneralized complex structures. On general grounds such D-branes (called\ngeneralized complex (GC) branes) must form a category. We compute the BRST\ncohomology of open strings with both ends on the same GC brane. In mathematical\nterms, we determine spaces of endomorphisms in the category of GC branes. We\nfind that the BRST cohomology can be expressed as the cohomology of a Lie\nalgebroid canonically associated to any GC brane. In the special case of\nB-branes, this leads to an apparently new way to compute Ext groups of\nholomorphic line bundles supported on complex submanifolds: while the usual\nmethod leads to a spectral sequence converging to the Ext, our approach\nexpresses the Ext group as the cohomology of a certain differential acting on\nthe space of smooth sections of a graded vector bundle on the submanifold. In\nthe case of coisotropic A-branes, our computation confirms a proposal of D.\nOrlov and one of the authors (A.K.).",
        "positive": "Isospectral flow in Loop Algebras and Quasiperiodic Solutions of the\n  Sine-Gordon Equation: The sine-Gordon equation is considered in the hamiltonian framework provided\nby the Adler-Kostant-Symes theorem. The phase space, a finite dimensional\ncoadjoint orbit in the dual space $\\grg^*$ of a loop algebra $\\grg$, is\nparametrized by a finite dimensional symplectic vector space $W$ embedded into\n$\\grg^*$ by a moment map. Real quasiperiodic solutions are computed in terms of\ntheta functions using a Liouville generating function which generates a\ncanonical transformation to linear coordinates on the Jacobi variety of a\nsuitable hyperelliptic curve."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Hall states as matrix Chern-Simons theory: We propose a finite Chern-Simons matrix model on the plane as an effective\ndescription of fractional quantum Hall fluids of finite extent. The\nquantization of the inverse filling fraction and of the quasiparticle number is\nshown to arise quantum mechanically and to agree with Laughlin theory. We also\npoint out the effective equivalence of this model, and therefore of the quantum\nHall system, with the Calogero model.",
        "positive": "Isotropic Lifshitz point in the O(N) Theory: The presence of an isotropic tricritical Lifshitz point for the O(N) scalar\ntheory is investigated in the 1/N expansion by means of the Functional\nRenormalization Group equations. At leading order, the non-trivial Lifshitz\npoint is observed if the number of dimensions d is taken between d=4 and d=8,\nand the eigenvalue spectrum of the associated eigendirections is derived. At\norder 1/N, the anomalous dimension eta_N is computed and it is found to vanish\nboth in d=4 and d=8, while it turns out to be positive between these two\nvalues, although strongly dependent on the choice of infrared regulator."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Coupled Quintessence and Phantom Based On a Dilaton: Based on dilatonic dark energy model, we consider two cases: dilaton field\nwith positive kinetic energy(coupled quintessence) and with negative kinetic\nenergy(phantom). In the two cases, we investigate the existence of attractor\nsolutions which correspond to an equation of state parameter $\\omega=-1$ and a\ncosmic density parameter $\\Omega_\\sigma=1$. We find that the coupled term\nbetween matter and dilaton can't affect the existence of attractor solutions.\nIn the Mexican hat potential, the attractor behaviors, the evolution of state\nparameter $\\omega$ and cosmic density parameter $\\Omega$, are shown\nmathematically. Finally, we show the effect of coupling term on the evolution\nof $X(\\frac{\\sigma}{\\sigma_0})$ and $Y(\\frac{\\dot{\\sigma}}{\\sigma^2_0})$ with\nrespect to $N(lna)$ numerically.",
        "positive": "Note on off-shell relations in nonlinear sigma model: In this note, we investigate relations between tree-level off-shell currents\nin nonlinear sigma model. Under Cayley parametrization, all odd-point currents\nvanish. We propose and prove a generalized $U(1)$ identity for even-point\ncurrents. The off-shell $U(1)$ identity given in [1] is a special case of the\ngeneralized identity studied in this note. The on-shell limit of this identity\nis equivalent with the on-shell KK relation. Thus this relation provides the\nfull off-shell correspondence of tree-level KK relation in nonlinear sigma\nmodel."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Wilson loops in unitary matrix models at finite $N$: It is known that the expectation value of Wilson loops in the\nGross-Witten-Wadia (GWW) unitary matrix model can be computed exactly at finite\n$N$ for arbitrary representations. We study the perturbative and\nnon-perturbative corrections of Wilson loops in the $1/N$ expansion, either\nanalytically or numerically using the exact result at finite $N$. As a\nby-product of the exact result of Wilson loops, we propose a large $N$ master\nfield of GWW model. This master field has an interesting eigenvalue\ndistribution. We also study the Wilson loops in large representations, called\nGiant Wilson loops, and comment on the Hagedorn/deconfinement transition of a\nunitary matrix model with a double trace interaction.",
        "positive": "Holographic heavy-baryons in the Witten-Sakai-Sugimoto model with the\n  D0-D4 background: We extend the holographic analysis of light-baryon spectrum in \\cite{key-50}\nto the case involving the heavy flavors. With the construction of the\nWitten-Sakai-Sugimoto model in the D0-D4 background, we use the mechanism\nproposed in \\cite{key-59,key-60,key-61} by including two light and one heavy\nflavor branes, to describe the heavy-light baryons as heavy mesons bound to a\nflavor instanton. The background geometry of this model corresponds to an\nexcited state in the dual field theory with nonzero glue condensate\n$\\left\\langle \\mathrm{Tr}\\mathcal{F}\\wedge\\mathcal{F}\\right\\rangle\n=8\\pi^{2}N_{c}\\tilde{\\kappa}$, or equivalently a $\\theta$ angle, which is\nproportional to the number density of the D0-brane charge. At strongly coupled\nlimit, this model shows that the heavy meson is always bound in the form of the\nzero mode of the flavor instanton in the fundamental representation. We\nsystematically study the quantization for the effective Lagrangian of\nheavy-light baryons by employing the soliton picture, and derive the mass\nspectrum of heavy-light baryons in the situation with single- and double-heavy\nbaryon. We find the difference in the mass spectrum becomes smaller if the\ndensity of D0-brane charge increases and the constraint of stable states of the\nheavy-light baryons is $1<b<3$. It indicates that baryon can not stably exist\nfor sufficiently large density of D0 charge which is in agreement with the\nconclusions in the previous study of this model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Three-photon annihilation of the electron-positron pairs: Three-photon annihilation of the electron-positron pairs (= $(e^{-},\ne^{+})-$pairs) is considered in the electron rest frame. The energy of the\nincident positron can be arbitrary. The analytical expression for the\ncross-section of three-photon annihilation of the $(e^{-},e^{+})-$pair has been\nderived and investigated.",
        "positive": "Gravity Duals of Fractional Branes in Various Dimensions: We derive type II supergravity solutions corresponding to space-filling\nregular and fractional Dp branes on (9-p)-dimensional conical transverse\nspaces. Fractional Dp-branes are wrapped D(p+2)-branes; therefore, our\nsolutions exist only if the base of the cone has a non-vanishing Betti number\nb_2. We also consider 11-dimensional SUGRA solutions corresponding to regular\nand fractional M2 branes on 8-dimensional cones whose base has a non-vanishing\nb_3. (In this case a fractional M2-brane is an M5-brane wrapped over a\n3-cycle.) We discuss the gauge theory intepretation of these solutions, as well\nas of the solutions constructed by Cvetic et al. in hep-th/0011023 and\nhep-th/0012011."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dilatonic AdS-Kerr Solution to AdS/CFT Correspondence: We consider the $AdS_5$ solution deformed by a non-constant dilaton\ninterpolating between the standard AdS (UV region) and flat boundary background\n(IR region). We show that this dilatonic solution can be generalized to the\ncase of a non-flat boundaries provided that the metric of the boundaries\nsatisfies the vacuum Einstein field equations. As an example, we describe the\ncase when the four-dimensional boundaries represent the Kerr space-time.",
        "positive": "On the quantization of isomonodromic deformations on the torus: The quantization of isomonodromic deformation of a meromorphic connection on\nthe torus is shown to lead directly to the Knizhnik-Zamolodchikov-Bernard\nequations in the same way as the problem on the sphere leads to the system of\nKnizhnik-Zamolodchikov equations. The Poisson bracket required for a\nHamiltonian formulation of isomonodromic deformations is naturally induced by\nthe Poisson structure of Chern-Simons theory in a holomorphic gauge fixing.\nThis turns out to be the origin of the appearance of twisted quantities on the\ntorus."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Consistency Conditions for Holographic Duality: We show that if the beta functions of a field theory are given by the\ngradient of a certain potential on the space of couplings, a gravitational\nbackground in one more dimension can express the renormalization group (RG)\nflow of the theory. The field theory beta functions and the gradient flow\nconstraint together reconstruct the second order spacetime equations of motion.\nThe RG equation reduces to the conventional gravitational computation of the\nspacetime quasilocal stress tensor, and a c-theorem holds true as a consequence\nof the Raychaudhuri equation. Conversely, under certain conditions, if the RG\nevolution of a field theory possesses a monotonic c-function, the flow of\ncouplings can be expressed in terms of a higher dimensional gravitational\nbackground.",
        "positive": "General 2 charge geometries: Two charge BPS horizon free supergravity geometries are important in\nproposals for understanding black hole microstates. In this paper we construct\na new class of geometries in the NS1-P system, corresponding to solitonic\nstrings carrying fermionic as well as bosonic condensates. Such geometries are\nrequired to account for the full microscopic entropy of the NS1-P system. We\nthen briefly discuss the properties of the corresponding geometries in the dual\nD1-D5 system."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The gauge dual of Romans mass: We deform the recently proposed holographic duality between the ABJM N=6\nChern-Simons-matter theory and type IIA string theory in AdS4xCP3. We add a\nnon-zero Romans mass F_0, whose dual we identify as the sum of the Chern-Simons\nlevels for the two gauge groups. One can naturally identify four different\ntheories, with different amounts of supersymmetry and of flavor symmetry.",
        "positive": "Universal entropy bound and discrete space-time: Starting from the universal entropy bounds suggested by Bekenstein and\nSusskind and applying them to the black-body radiation situation, we get a\ncut-off of space $ \\Delta x \\geq \\chi l_{\\mathrm{P}}$ with $\\chi \\geq 0.1$. We\ngo further to get a cut-off of time $ \\Delta t \\geq \\chi l_{\\mathrm{P}}/c $,\nthus, the discrete space-time structure is obtained. With the discrete\nspace-time, we can explain the uncertainty principle. Based on the hypothesis\nof information theory and the entropy of black holes, we get the precise value\nof the parameter $\\chi$ and demonstrate the reason why the entropy bounds hold."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Attractor Flow and Small Black Holes: We study the attractor flow and near horizon geometry of two-charge small\nblack holes in heterotic string theory. The Hessian of Sen's entropy function\nwith respect to the moduli fields has standard attractor properties and shows\nthe interesting factorization at the attractor fixed points. We notice that the\nstability conditions are preserved under arbitrary\n$\\alpha^{\\prime}$-corrections to the black hole solutions.",
        "positive": "COSMOS-${\\it e}'$-GTachyon from String Theory: In this article, our prime objective is to study the inflationary paradigm\nfrom generalized tachyon (GTachyon) living on the world volume of a non-BPS\nstring theory. The tachyon action is considered here is getting modified\ncompared to the original action. One can quantify the amount of the\nmodification via a power $q$ instead of $1/2$ in the effective action. Using\nthis set up we study inflation from various types of tachyonic potentials,\nusing which we constrain the index $q$ within, $1/2<q<2$, Regge slope\n$\\alpha^{'}$, string coupling constant $g_{s}$ and mass scale of tachyon $M_s$,\nfrom the recent Planck 2015 and Planck+BICEP2/Keck Array joint data. We\nexplicitly study the inflationary consequences from single field, assisted\nfield and multi-field tachyon set up. Specifically for single field and\nassisted field case we derive the results in the quasi-de-Sitter background in\nwhich we will utilize the details of cosmological perturbations and quantum\nfluctuations. Also we derive the expressions for all inflationary observables\nusing any arbitrary vacuum and Bunch-Davies vacuum. For single field and\nassisted field case we derive-the inflationary flow equations, new sets of\nconsistency relations. Also we derive the field excursion formula for tachyon,\nwhich shows that assisted inflation is in more safer side compared to the\nsingle field case to validate effective field theory framework. Further we\nstudy the features of CMB Angular power spectrum from TT, TE and EE\ncorrelations from scalar fluctuations within the allowed range of $q$ for each\npotentials from single field set-up. We also put constraints from the\ntemperature anisotropy and polarization spectra, which shows that our analysis\nis consistent with the Planck 2015 data. Finally, using $\\delta N$ formalism we\nderive the expressions for inflationary observables in the context of\nmulti-field tachyons."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Two-particle irreducible effective actions versus resummation: analytic\n  properties and self-consistency: Approximations based on two-particle irreducible (2PI) effective actions\n(also known as $\\Phi$-derivable, Cornwall-Jackiw-Tomboulis or Luttinger-Ward\nfunctionals depending on context) have been widely used in condensed matter and\nnon-equilibrium quantum/statistical field theory because this formalism gives a\nrobust, self-consistent, non-perturbative and systematically improvable\napproach which avoids problems with secular time evolution. The strengths of\n2PI approximations are often described in terms of a selective resummation of\nFeynman diagrams to infinite order. However, the Feynman diagram series is\nasymptotic and summation is at best a dangerous procedure. Here we show that,\nat least in the context of a toy model where exact results are available, the\ntrue strength of 2PI approximations derives from their self-consistency rather\nthan any resummation. This self-consistency allows truncated 2PI approximations\nto capture the branch points of physical amplitudes where adjustments of\ncoupling constants can trigger an instability of the vacuum. This, in effect,\nturns Dyson's argument for the failure of perturbation theory on its head. As a\nresult we find that 2PI approximations perform better than Pad\\'e approximation\nand are competitive with Borel-Pad\\'e resummation. Finally, we introduce a\nhybrid 2PI-Pad\\'e method.",
        "positive": "Fractional branes, warped compactifications and backreacted orientifold\n  planes: The standard extremal p-brane solutions in supergravity are known to allow\nfor a generalisation which consists of adding a linear dependence on the\nworld-volume coordinates to the usual harmonic function. In this note we\ndemonstrate that remarkably this generalisation goes through in exactly the\nsame way for p-branes with fluxes added to it that correspond to fractional\np-branes. We relate this to warped orientifold compactifications by trading the\nDp-branes for Op-planes that solve the RR tadpole condition. This allows us to\ninterpret the worldvolume dependence as due to lower-dimensional scalars that\nflow along the massless directions in the no-scale potential. Depending on the\ndetails of the fluxes these flows can be supersymmetric domain wall flows. Our\nsolutions provide explicit examples of backreacted orientifold planes in\ncompactifications with non-constant moduli."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Effective action for QED_4 through zeta function regularization: We obtain, through zeta function methods, the one-loop effective action for\nmassive Dirac fields in the presence of a uniform, but otherwise general,\nelectromagnetic background. After discussing renormalization, we compare our\nzeta function result with Schwinger's proper time approach.",
        "positive": "Quiver Gauge Theory of Nonabelian Vortices and Noncommutative Instantons\n  in Higher Dimensions: We construct explicit BPS and non-BPS solutions of the Yang-Mills equations\non the noncommutative space R^{2n}_\\theta x S^2 which have manifest spherical\nsymmetry. Using SU(2)-equivariant dimensional reduction techniques, we show\nthat the solutions imply an equivalence between instantons on R^{2n}_\\theta x\nS^2 and nonabelian vortices on R^{2n}_\\theta, which can be interpreted as a\nblowing-up of a chain of D0-branes on R^{2n}_\\theta into a chain of spherical\nD2-branes on R^{2n} x S^2. The low-energy dynamics of these configurations is\ndescribed by a quiver gauge theory which can be formulated in terms of new\ngeometrical objects generalizing superconnections. This formalism enables the\nexplicit assignment of D0-brane charges in equivariant K-theory to the\ninstanton solutions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The evolution of the universe from noncompact Kaluza-Klein theory: We develope a 5D mechanism inspired in the Campbell's theorem, to explain the\n(neutral scalar field governed) evolution of the universe from a initially\ninflationary expansion that has a change of phase towards a decelerated\nexpansion and thereinafter evolves towards the present day observed celerated\n(quintessential) expansion.",
        "positive": "One-loop omega-potential of charged massive particles in a constant\n  homogeneous magnetic field at high temperatures: The explicit expressions for the high-temperature expansions of the one-loop\ncorrections to the omega-potential coming from charged scalar and Dirac\nparticles and, separately, from antiparticles in a constant homogeneous\nmagnetic field are derived. The explicit expressions for the non-perturbative\ncorrections to the effective action at finite temperature and density are\nobtained. Thermodynamic properties of a gas of charged scalars in a constant\nhomogeneous magnetic field are analyzed in the one-loop approximation. It turns\nout that, in this approximation, the system suffers a first-order phase\ntransition from the diamagnetic to the superconducting state at sufficiently\nhigh densities. The improvement of the one-loop result by summing the ring\ndiagrams is investigated. This improvement leads to a drastic change in\nthermodynamic properties of the system. The gas of charged scalars passes to\nthe ferromagnetic state in place of the superconducting one at high densities\nand sufficiently low temperatures, in the high temperature regime."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Regular Cosmological Examples of Tree-Level Dilaton-Driven Models: We construct some examples of analytic solutions of the low energy (i.e.\ntree-level) string cosmological effective action. We work with the ``minimal''\nfield content (i.e. graviton and dilaton) in the absence of any dilaton\npotential. Provided the metric is sufficiently inhomogeneous we find solutions\nwhose curvature invariants are bounded and everywhere defined in time and\nspace. The dilaton coupling and its associated energy density are regular and\nhomogeneous. A phase of growing (and non-singular) dilaton coupling compatible\nwith the regularity of the curvature invariants without the addition of higher\ncurvature (or higher genus) corrections to the tree-level effective action. We\ndiscuss the symmetries of the obtained solutions.",
        "positive": "Relativistic Stars in Randall-Sundrum Gravity: The non-linear behaviour of Randall-Sundrum gravity with one brane is\nexamined. Due to the non-compact extra dimension, the perturbation spectrum has\nno mass gap, and the long wavelength effective theory is only understood\nperturbatively. The full 5-dimensional Einstein equations are solved\nnumerically for static, spherically symmetric matter localized on the brane,\nyielding regular geometries in the bulk with axial symmetry. An elliptic\nrelaxation method is used, allowing both the brane and asymptotic radiation\nboundary conditions to be simultaneously imposed. The same data that specifies\nstars in 4-dimensional gravity, uniquely constructs a 5-dimensional solution.\nThe algorithm performs best for small stars (radius less than the AdS length)\nyielding highly non-linear solutions. An upper mass limit is observed for these\nsmall stars, and the geometry shows no global pathologies. The geometric\nperturbation is shown to remain localized near the brane at high densities, the\nconfinement interestingly increasing for both small and large stars as the\nupper mass limit is approached. Furthermore, the static spatial sections are\nfound to be approximately conformal to those of AdS. We show that the intrinsic\ngeometry of large stars, with radius several times the AdS length, is described\nby 4-dimensional General Relativity far past the perturbative regime. This\nindicates that the non-linear long wavelength effective action remains local,\neven though the perturbation spectrum has no mass gap. The implication is that\nRandall-Sundrum gravity, with localized brane matter, reproduces relativistic\nastrophysical solutions, such as neutron stars and massive black holes,\nconsistent with observation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Anisotropic Weyl symmetry and cosmology: We construct an anisotropic Weyl invariant theory in the ADM formalism and\ndiscuss its cosmological consequences. It extends the original anisotropic Weyl\ninvariance of Ho\\v{r}ava-Lifshitz gravity using an extra scalar field. The\naction is invariant under the anisotropic transformations of the space and time\nmetric components with an arbitrary value of the critical exponent $z$. One of\nthe interesting features is that the cosmological constant term maintains the\nanisotropic symmetry for $z=-3$. We also include the ordinary matter and show\nthat it can preserve the anisotropic Weylinvariance if the equation of state\nsatisfies $P_m= z\\rho_m/3$. Then, we study cosmology of the\nEinstein-Hilbert-anisotropic Weyl (EHaW) action including the ordinary matter\nboth with or without anisotropic Weyl invariance. The correlation of the\ncritical exponent $z$ and the equation of state parameter $\\omega_m$ provides a\nnew perspective of the cosmology. It is also shown that for particular value of\n$z=-3$, the EHaW action admits a late time accelerating universe.",
        "positive": "Matrix Quantization of Gravitational Edge Modes: Gravitational subsystems with boundaries carry the action of an\ninfinite-dimensional symmetry algebra, with potentially profound implications\nfor the quantum theory of gravity. We initiate an investigation into the\nquantization of this corner symmetry algebra for the phase space of gravity\nlocalized to a region bounded by a 2-dimensional sphere. Starting with the\nobservation that the algebra $\\mathfrak{sdiff}(S^2)$ of area-preserving\ndiffeomorphisms of the 2-sphere admits a deformation to the finite-dimensional\nalgebra $\\mathfrak{su}(N)$, we derive novel finite-$N$ deformations for two\nimportant subalgebras of the gravitational corner symmetry algebra.\nSpecifically, we find that the area-preserving hydrodynamical algebra\n$\\mathfrak{sdiff}(S^2)\\oplus_{\\mathcal{L}}\\mathbb{R}^{S^2}$ arises as the\nlarge-$N$ limit of $\\mathfrak{sl}(N,\\mathbb C)\\oplus\\mathbb{R}$ and that the\nfull area-preserving corner symmetry algebra\n$\\mathfrak{sdiff}(S^2)\\oplus_{\\mathcal{L}}\\mathfrak{sl}(2,\\mathbb{R})^{S^2}$ is\nthe large-$N$ limit of the pseudo-unitary group $\\mathfrak{su}(N,N)$. We find\nmatching conditions for the Casimir elements of the deformed and continuum\nalgebras and show how these determine the value of the deformation parameter\n$N$ as well as the representation of the deformed algebra associated with a\nquantization of the local gravitational phase space. Additionally, we present a\nnumber of novel results related to the various algebras appearing, including a\ndetailed analysis of the asymptotic expansion of the $\\mathfrak{su}(N)$\nstructure constants, as well as an explicit computation of the full\n$\\mathfrak{diff}(S^2)$ structure constants in the spherical harmonic basis. A\nconsequence of our work is the definition of an area operator which is\ncompatible with the deformation of the area-preserving corner symmetry at\nfinite $N$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Aspects of the N=4 SYM amplitude -- Wilson polygon duality: We discuss formulation of Wilson polygon - MHV amplitude duality at the\nperturbative level in various regularizations. For four gluons it is shown that\nat one loop one can formulate diagrammatic correspondence interpolating between\nthe dimensional regularization and the off-shell one. We suggest new\ninterpretation of all types of box diagrams in terms of the dual simplex in\ndimensional regularization and describe its degeneration to the Wilson polygon.\nThe interesting nullification phenomena for the low-energy amplitudes in the\nHiggsed phase has been found.",
        "positive": "A Comment on the Zamolodchikov c-Function and the Black String Entropy: Using the spectral representation approach to the Zamolodchikov's c-function\nand the Maldacena conjecture for the D1-branes, we compute the entropy of type\nIIB strings. An agreement, up to a numerical constant which cannot be\ndetermined using this approach, with the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy is found."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Squashing and supersymmetry enhancement in three dimensions: We consider mass-deformed theories with ${\\cal N}\\geq2$ supersymmetry on\nround and squashed three-spheres. By embedding the supersymmetric backgrounds\nin extended supergravity we show that at special values of mass deformations\nthe supersymmetry is enhanced on the squashed spheres. When the $3d$ partition\nfunction can be obtained by a limit of a $4d$ index we also show that for these\nspecial mass deformations only the states annihilated by extra supercharges\ncontribute to the index. By using an equivalence between partition functions on\nsquashed spheres and ellipsoids, we explain the recently observed squashing\nindependence of the partition function of mass-deformed ABJ(M) theory on the\nellipsoid. We provide further examples of such simplification for various $3d$\nsupersymmetric theories.",
        "positive": "Renormalization of the commutative scalar theory with harmonic term to\n  all orders: The noncommutative scalar theory with harmonic term (on the Moyal space) has\na vanishing beta function. In this paper, we prove the renormalizability of the\ncommutative scalar field theory with harmonic term to all orders by using\nmultiscale analysis in the momentum space. Then, we consider and compute its\none-loop beta function, as well as the one on the degenerate Moyal space. We\ncan finally compare both to the vanishing beta function of the theory with\nharmonic term on the Moyal space."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic thermal DC response in the hydrodynamic limit: We consider black hole solutions of Einstein gravity that describe\ndeformations of CFTs at finite temperature in which spatial translations have\nbeen broken explicitly. We focus on deformations that are periodic in the\nnon-compact spatial directions, which effectively corresponds to considering\nthe CFT on a spatial torus with a non-trivial metric. We apply a DC thermal\ngradient and show that in a hydrodynamic limit the linearised, local thermal\ncurrents can be determined by solving linearised, forced Navier-Stokes\nequations for an incompressible fluid on the torus. We also show how\nsub-leading corrections to the thermal current can be calculated as well as\nshowing how the full stress tensor response that is generated by the DC source\ncan be obtained. We also compare our results with the fluid-gravity approach.",
        "positive": "Long Range Forces and Supersymmetric Bound States: We consider the long range forces between two BPS particles on the Coulomb\nbranch of N=2 and N=4 supersymmetric gauge theories. The 1/r potential is\nunambiguously fixed, even at strong coupling, by the moduli dependence of\ncentral charges supported by the BPS states. The effective Coulombic coupling\nvanishes on marginal stability curves, while sign changes on crossing these\ncurves explain the restructuring of the spectrum of composite BPS states. This\nrestructuring proceeds via the delocalization of the composite state on\napproach to the curve of marginal stability. Therefore the spectrum of BPS\nstates can be inferred by analyzing the submanifolds of the moduli space where\nthe long range potential is attractive. This method also allows us to find\ncertain non-BPS bound states and their stability domains. As examples, we\nconsider the dissociation of the W boson and higher charge dyons at strong\ncoupling in N=2 SU(2) SYM, quark-monopole bound states in N=2 SYM with one\nflavor, and composite dyons in N=2 SU(3) SYM."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Renormalization Group Flows from Gravity in Anti-de Sitter Space versus\n  Black Hole No-Hair Theorems: Black hole no-hair theorems are proven using inequalities that govern the\nradial dependence of spherically symmetric configurations of matter fields. In\nthis paper, we analyze the analogous inequalities for geometries dual to\nrenormalization group flows via the AdS/CFT correspondence. These inequalities\ngive much useful information about the qualitative properties of such flows.\nFor Poincare invariant flows, we show that generic flows of relevant or\nirrelevant operators lead to singular geometries. For the case of irrelevant\noperators, this leads to an apparent conflict with Polchinski's decoupling\ntheorem, and we offer two possible resolutions to this problem.",
        "positive": "A tale of (M)2 twists: We study the parameter space of magnetically charged\nAdS$_2\\times\\mathbb{WCP}^{1}_{[n_-,n_+]}$ solutions in 4d U$(1)^4$ gauged STU\nsupergravity. We show that both \\emph{twist} and \\emph{anti-twist} solutions\nare realised and give constraints for their existence in terms of the magnetic\ncharges of the solution. We provide infinite families of both classes of\nsolution in terms of their magnetic charges and weights of the orbifold. As a\nbyproduct of our analysis we obtain a closed form expression for the\nfree-energy of the 4-charge magnetic solution in terms of the magnetic charges\nand weights $n_{\\pm}$. We also show that the AdS$_2$ solution is the\nnear-horizon of an asymptotically AdS$_4$ black hole which can be found in the\nliterature."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "New relations for tree-level form factors and scattering amplitudes: We show that tree-level form factors with length-two operators in\nYang-Mills-scalar (YMS) theory exhibit structures very similar to scattering\namplitudes of gluons and scalars, which leads to new relations between them.\nJust like amplitudes, $n$-point Yang-Mills form factors with ${\\rm tr}(F^2)$\noperator can be decomposed as a linear combination of form factors with ${\\rm\ntr}(\\phi^2)$ operator and $r$ external scalars in YMS theory, where the\ncoefficients are given by Lorentz products of the $r$ linearized field\nstrengths. Moreover, we show that any such $n$-point form factor of ${\\rm\ntr}(\\phi^2)$ operator can be further expanded into $(n{+}1)$-point YMS\namplitudes with an additional off-shell scalar leg. In addition to unravelling\nhidden structures, our results provide an efficient algorithm for computing\nall-multiplicity length-two form factors in any dimension, as well as their\nCachazo-He-Yuan formulae via those of the YMS amplitudes.",
        "positive": "Isomonodromy, Painlev\u00e9 Transcendents and Scattering off of Black Holes: We apply the method of isomonodromy to study the scattering of a generic\nKerr-NUT-(A)dS black hole. For generic values of the charges, the problem is\nrelated to the connection problem of the Painlev\\'e VI transcendent. We review\na few facts about Painlev\\'e VI, Garnier systems and the Hamiltonian structure\nof flat connections in the Riemann sphere. We then outline a method for\ncomputing the scattering amplitudes based on Hamilton-Jacobi structure of\nPainlev\\'e, and discuss the implications of the generic result to black hole\ncomplementarity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Lattice Coulomb Hamiltonian and Static Color-Coulomb Field: The lattice Coulomb-gauge hamiltonian is derived from the transfer matrix of\nWilson's Euclidean lattice gauge theory, wherein the lattice form of Gauss's\nlaw is satisfied identically. The restriction to a fundamental modular region\n(no Gribov copies) is implemented in an effective hamiltonian by the addition\nof a \"horizon function\" $G$ to the lattice Coulomb-gauge hamiltonian. Its\ncoefficient $\\gamma_0$ is a thermodynamic parameter that ultimately sets the\nscale for hadronic mass, and which is related to the bare coupling constant\n$g_0$ by a \"horizon condition\". This condition determines the low-momentum\nbehavior of the (ghost) propagator that transmits the instantaneous\nlongitudinal color-electric field, and thereby provides for a confinement-like\nfeature in leading order in a new weak-coupling expansion.",
        "positive": "Aspects of Type IIB Theory on ALE Spaces: D-brane technology and strong/weak coupling duality supplement traditional\norbifold techniques by making certain background geometries more accessible. In\nthis spirit, we consider some of the geometric properties of the type IIB\ntheory on R^6 \\times M where M is an `Asymptotically Locally Euclidean (ALE)'\ngravitational instanton. Given the self-duality of the theory, we can extract\nthe geometry (both singular and resolved) seen by the weakly coupled IIB string\nby studying the physics of a D1-brane probe. The construction is both amusing\nand instructive, as the physics of the probe completely captures the\nmathematics of the construction of ALE instantons via `HyperKahler Quotients',\nas presented by Kronheimer. This relation has been noted by Douglas and Moore\nfor the A-series. We extend the explicit construction to the case of the D- and\nE-series -- uncovering a quite beautiful structure -- and highlight how all of\nthe elements of the mathematical construction find their counterparts in the\nphysics of the type IIB D-string. We discuss the explicit ALE metrics which may\nbe obtained using these techniques, and comment on the role duality plays in\nrelating gauged linear sigma models to conformal field theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Yukawa Coupling Structure in Intersecting D-brane Models: The structure of Yukawa coupling matrices is investigated in type IIA\nT^6/(Z_2 x Z_2) orientifold models with intersecting D-branes. Yukawa coupling\nmatrices are difficult to be realistic in the conventional models in which the\ngeneration structure emerges by the multiple intersection of D-branes in the\nfactorized T^6 = T^2 x T^2 x T^2. We study the new type of flavor structure,\nwhere Yukawa couplings are dynamically generated, and show this type of models\nlead to nontrivial structures of Yukawa coupling matrices, which can be\nrealistic.",
        "positive": "On axial current in rotating and accelerating medium: Statistical average of the axial current is evaluated on the basis of the\ncovariant Wigner function. In the resulting formula, chemical potential $\\mu$,\nangular velocity $\\Omega$ and acceleration $a$ enter in combination $\\mu \\pm\n(\\Omega \\pm ia)/2$. The limiting cases of zero mass and zero temperature are\ninvestigated in detail. In the zero-mass limit, the axial current is described\nby a smooth function only at temperatures higher than the Unruh temperature. At\nzero temperature, the axial current, as a function of the angular velocity and\nchemical potential, vanishes in a two-dimensional plane region."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Yang-Mills connections valued on the octonionic algebra: We consider a formulation of Yang-Mills theory where the gauge field is\nvalued on an octonionic algebra and the gauge transformation is the group of\nautomorphisms of it. We show, under mild assumptions, that the only possible\ngauge formulations are the usual $\\mathfrak{su}(2)$ or $\\mathfrak{u}(1)$\nYang-Mills theories.",
        "positive": "A Two-Dimensional String Cosmology: We study two-dimensional string theory on a time-dependent background, whose\nworldsheet description consists of Liouville theory at central charge c = 1 and\nLiouville theory at central charge c = 25, together with the conformal ghosts.\nWe compute the tree-level three-point and four-point cosmological wavefunctions\nin string perturbation theory. The latter is evaluated numerically by\ndecomposing the Liouville four-point correlation functions into Virasoro\nconformal blocks and three-point function coefficients and integrating over the\nmoduli space of the four-punctured sphere string diagram. This computation\nnumerically confirms a surprisingly simple conjectural result for the\nfour-point wavefunction whose physical interpretation remains to be clarified."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A 5d/2d/4d correspondence: We propose a correspondence between two-dimensional (0,4) sigma models with\ntarget space the moduli spaces of r monopoles, and four-dimensional N=4, U(r)\nYang-Mills theory on del Pezzo surfaces. In particular, the two- and\nfour-dimensional BPS partition functions are argued to be equal. The\ncorrespondence relies on insights from five-dimensional supersymmetric gauge\ntheory and its geometric engineering in M-theory, hence the name \"5d/2d/4d\ncorrespondence\". We provide various tests of our proposal. The most stringent\nones are for r=1, for which we prove the equality of partition functions.",
        "positive": "Some nonrenormalizable theories are finite: Some nonrenormalizable theories are less singular than all renormalizable\ntheories, and one can use lattice simulations to extract physical information\nfrom them. This paper discusses four nonrenormalizable theories that have\nfinite euclidian and minkowskian Green's functions. Two of them have finite\neuclidian action densities and describe scalar bosons of finite mass. The space\nof nonsingular nonrenormalizable theories is vast."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Lienard-Wiechert field of accelerated massless charges: We determine for the first time the electromagnetic field generated by a\ngeneric massless accelerated charge, solving exactly Maxwell's equations. This\nresult may shed new light on the possible existence of such particles in\nnature.",
        "positive": "Multifield Positivity Bounds for Inflation: Positivity bounds represent nontrivial limitations on effective field\ntheories (EFTs) if those EFTs are to be completed into a Lorentz-invariant,\ncausal, local, and unitary framework. While such positivity bounds have been\napplied in a wide array of physical contexts to obtain useful constraints,\ntheir application to inflationary EFTs is subtle since Lorentz invariance is\nspontaneously broken during cosmic inflation. One path forward is to employ a\n$\\textit{Breit parameterization}$ to ensure a crossing-symmetric and analytic\nS-matrix in theories with broken boosts. We extend this approach to a theory\nwith multiple fields, and uncover a fundamental obstruction that arises unless\nall fields obey a dispersion relation that is approximately lightlike. We then\napply the formalism to various classes of inflationary EFTs, with and without\nisocurvature perturbations, and employ this parameterization to derive new\npositivity bounds on such EFTs. For multifield inflation, we also consider\nbounds originating from the generalized optical theorem and demonstrate how\nthese can give rise to stronger constraints on EFTs compared to constraints\nfrom traditional elastic positivity bounds alone. We compute various shapes of\nnon-Gaussianity (NG), involving both adiabatic and isocurvature perturbations,\nand show how the observational parameter space controlling the strength of NG\ncan be constrained by our bounds."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "C-algebras and their applications to reflection groups and conformal\n  field theories: The aim of this lecture is to present the concept of C-algebra and to\nillustrate its applications in two contexts: the study of reflection groups and\ntheir folding on the one hand, the structure of rational conformal field\ntheories on the other. For simplicity the discussion is restricted to finite\nCoxeter groups and conformal theories with a $\\hat{sl}(2)$ current algebra, but\nit may be extended to a larger class of groups and theories associated with\n$\\hat{sl}(N)$. (Proceedings of the RIMS Symposium, Kyoto, 16-19 December 1996.)",
        "positive": "A Cosmology of a Trans-Planckian Theory and Dark Energy: We investigate a model based on a generalised version of the Fourier\ntransform for curved space-time manifolds. This model is possible if the metric\nhas an asymptotic flat region which allows a duality to be implement between\ncoordinates and momenta, hence, the models's name, trans-Planckian. The theory\nand the action are based on the postulate of the absolute egalitarian relation\nbetween coordinates $x$ and momenta $p$. We show how to implement this\nconstruction in a cosmological setting, on a Friedman-Robertson-Walker metric\nbackground, where the asymptotic time infinity plays the role of the required\nasymptotic flat region. We discuss the effect of gravity, and, in particular,\nof the Hubble expansion of the universe scale factor on the Fourier map. The\ndual inflationary stage is responsible for making the dual sector of the action\ninaccessible at ordinary low energies. We propose a scenario in which an\neffective positive cosmological constant is caused by how the dual sector of\nthe theory affects the equation of state for matter particles."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Constrained instantons and kink-antikink collisions: We show that constrained $CP^1$ instantons, combined with the Relativistic\nModuli Space approach, can accurately describe kink-antikink collisions in the\n$\\phi^4$ model.",
        "positive": "A Yang--Mills Theory in Loop Space and Chapline--Manton Coupling: We consider a Yang--Mills theory in loop space whose gauge group is a\nKac--Moody group with the central extension. From this theory, we derive a\nlocal field theory constructed of Yang--Mills fields and abelian antisymmetric\nand symmetric tensor fields of the second rank. The Chapline--Manton coupling,\nthat is, coupling of Yang--Mills fields and a second-rank antisymmetric tensor\nfield via the Chern--Simons 3-form is obtained in a systematic manner."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Two-Dimensional Quantum Gravity on a Disk: We study a two-dimensional conformal field theory coupled to quantum gravity\non a disk. Using the continuum Liouville field approach, we compute three-point\ncorrelation functions of boundary operators. The structure of momentum\nsingularities is different from that of correlation functions on a sphere and\nis more complicated. We also compute four-point functions of boundary operators\nand three-point functions of two boundary operators and one bulk operator.",
        "positive": "Heterotic string plus five-brane systems with asymptotic AdS3: We present NS1+NS5-brane solutions of heterotic supergravity on curved\ngeometries. They interpolate between a near horizon AdS3 x X^k x T^{7-k} region\nand R^{1,1} x c(X^k) x T^{7-k}, where X^k (with k = 3,5,6,7) is a k-dimensional\ngeometric Killing spinor manifold, c(X^k) its Ricci-flat cone and T^{7-k} a\n(7-k)-torus. The solutions require first order alpha'-corrections to the field\nequations, and special point-like instantons play an important role, whose\nsingular support is a calibrated submanifold wrapped by the NS5-brane. It is\nalso possible to add a gauge anti-5-brane. We determine the super isometries of\nthe near horizon geometry which are supposed to appear as symmetries of the\nholographically dual two-dimensional conformal field theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Thick brane models in generalized theories of gravity: This work deals with thick braneworld models, in an environment where the\nRicci scalar is changed to accommodate the addition of two extra terms, one\ndepending on the Ricci scalar itself, and the other, which takes into account\nthe trace of the energy-momentum tensor of the scalar field that sources the\nbraneworld scenario. We suppose that the scalar field engenders standard\nkinematics, and we show explicitly that the gravity sector of this new\nbraneworld scenario is linearly stable. We illustrate the general results\ninvestigating two distinct models, focusing on how the brane profile is changed\nin the modified theories.",
        "positive": "Fractional Galilean Symmetries: We generalize the differential representation of the operators of the\nGalilean algebras to include fractional derivatives. As a result a whole new\nclass of scale invariant Galilean algebras are obtained. The first member of\nthis class has dynamical index $z=2$ similar to the Schr\\\"odinger algebra. The\nsecond member of the class has dynamical index $z=3/2$, which happens to be the\ndynamical index Kardar-Parisi-Zhang equation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The QCD $\u03b2$-function On The String Worldsheet: We consider confining strings in pure gluodynamics and its extensions with\nadjoint (s)quarks. We argue that there is a direct map between the set of bulk\nfields and the worldsheet degrees of freedom. This suggests a close link\nbetween the worldsheet $S$-matrix and parton scattering amplitudes. We report\nan amusing relation between the Polchinski--Strominger amplitude responsible\nfor the breakdown of integrability on the string worldsheet and the Yang--Mills\n$\\beta$-function \\[ b_0={D_{cr}-D_{ph}\\over 6}\\;. \\]\n  Here $b_0=11/3$ is the one-loop $\\beta$-function coefficient in the pure\nYang--Mills theory, $D_{cr}=26$ is the critical dimension of bosonic strings\nand $D_{ph}=4$ is the dimensionality of the physical space-time we live in. A\nnatural extension of this relation continues to hold in the presence of adjoint\n(s)quarks, connecting two of the most celebrated anomalies---the scale anomaly\nin quantum chromodynamics (QCD) and the Weyl anomaly in string theory.",
        "positive": "Heretics of the False Vacuum: Gravitational Effects On and Of Vacuum\n  Decay 2: This paper reexamines the question of vacuum decay in theories of quantum\ngravity. In particular it suggests that decay into stable flat or AdS vacua,\nnever occurs. Instead, vacuum decay occurs, if at all, into a cosmological\nspacetime. If the latter has negative cosmological constant, it undergoes a Big\nCrunch, which suggests that the whole picture is inconsistent. The question of\ndecay of de Sitter space must be very carefully defined."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Calculation of Nonperturbative Terms in Open String Models: Nonperturbative corrections in type II string theory corresponding to Riemann\nsurfaces with one boundary are calculated in several noncompact geometries of\ndesingularized orbifolds. One of these models has a complicated phase structure\nwhich is explored. A general condition for integrality of the numerical\ninvariants is discussed.",
        "positive": "Mass Deformed L-BLG Theory From ABJ Theory: We construct mass deformed SU(N) L-BLG theory together with $U(M-N)_k$\nChern-Simons theory. This mass deformed L-BLG theory is a low energy world\nvolume theory of a stack of $N$ number of M2-brane far away from $C^4/Z_k$\nsingularity. We carry out this by defining a special scaling limit of the\nfields of this theory and simultaneously sending the Chern-Simons level to\ninfinity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "D-branes at Singularities, Compactification, and Hypercharge: We report on progress towards the construction of SM-like gauge theories on\nthe world-volume of D-branes at a Calabi-Yau singularity. In particular, we\nwork out the topological conditions on the embedding of the singularity inside\na compact CY threefold, that select hypercharge as the only light U(1) gauge\nfactor. We apply this insight to the proposed open string realization of the SM\nof hep-th/0508089, based on a D3-brane at a dP_8 singularity, and present a\ngeometric construction of a compact Calabi-Yau threefold with all the required\ntopological properties. We comment on the relevance of D-instantons to the\nbreaking of global U(1) symmetries.",
        "positive": "Opening up extra dimensions at ultra-large scales: The standard picture of viable higher-dimensional theories is that extra\ndimensions manifest themselves at short distances only, their effects being\nnegligible at scales larger than some critical value. We show that this is not\nnecessarily true in models with infinite extra dimensions. As an example, we\nconsider a five-dimensional scenario with three 3-branes in which gravity is\nfive-dimensional both at short {\\it and} very long distance scales, with\nconventional four-dimensional gravity operating at intermediate length scales.\nA phenomenologically acceptable range of validity of four-dimensional gravity\nextending from microscopic to cosmological scales is obtained without strong\nfine-tuning of parameters."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "`Thermodynamics' of Minimal Surfaces and Entropic Origin of Gravity: Deformations of minimal surfaces lying in constant time slices in static\nspace-times are studied. An exact and universal formula for a change of the\narea of a minimal surface under shifts of nearby point-like particles is found.\nIt allows one to introduce a local temperature on the surface and represent\nvariations of its area in a thermodynamical form by assuming that the entropy\nin the Planck units equals the quarter of the area. These results provide a\nstrong support to a recent hypothesis that gravity has an entropic origin, the\nminimal surfaces being a sort of holographic screens. The gravitational entropy\nalso acquires a definite physical meaning related to quantum entanglement of\nfundamental degrees of freedom across the screen.",
        "positive": "Strongly coupled $\\mathcal{N}=4$ super Yang-Mills plasma on the Coulomb\n  branch II: Transport coefficients and hard probe parameters: We study $\\mathcal{N} = 4$ super Yang-Mills theory on the Coulomb branch\n(cSYM) by using its Type IIB supergravity dual. We compute the transport\ncoefficients, and hard probe parameters of $\\mathcal{N} = 4$ cSYM at finite\ntemperature $T$. We use the rotating black 3-brane solution of Type IIB\nsupergravity with a single non-zero rotation parameter $r_{0}$ after\nanalytically continuing $r_{0}\\rightarrow -ir_{0}$, and in an ensemble where\nthe Hawking temperature $T$ and a scalar condensate $<\\mathcal{O}>\\sim r_{0}^4$\nare held fixed. We find that the bulk viscosity to entropy density ratio of the\nlarge black hole branch decreases with temperature and has a maxima around the\ncritical temperature $T_{c}$ while, for the small black hole branch, it\nincreases with temperature. The other transport coefficients and parameters of\nhard probes, such as the conductivity, jet quenching parameter, drag force, and\nmomentum diffusion coefficients of the large black hole branch increase with\ntemperature and asymptote to their conformal value while, for the small black\nhole branch, they decrease with temperature."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Cosmological perturbations in a generalized gravity including tachyonic\n  condensation: We present unified ways of handling the cosmological perturbations in a class\nof gravity theory covered by a general action in eq. (1). This gravity includes\nour previous generalized $f(\\phi,R)$ gravity and the gravity theory motivated\nby the tachyonic condensation. We present general prescription to derive the\npower spectra generated from vacuum quantum fluctuations in the slow-roll\ninflation era. An application is made to a slow-roll inflation based on the\ntachyonic condensation with an exponential potential.",
        "positive": "One-loop effective scalar-tensor gravity: Non-minimal interactions are proven to be generated at the one-loop level in\nsimple scalar-tensor gravity models. The John interaction from the Fab Four\nclass is generated. The interaction affects the speed of gravitational waves in\nthe contemporary Universe. Its role in low-energy phenomenology is discussed.\nBrans-Dicke-like interaction is generated in a non-minimal model. An\nopportunity to generate a dynamic low-energy Newton constant is addressed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Brane Induced Gravity: From a No-Go to a No-Ghost Theorem: Numerous claims in the literature suggest that gravity induced on a higher\nco-dimensional surface violates unitarity in the weak coupling regime. However,\nit remained unclear, why a conserved source localized on this surface and\ngiving rise to an induced gravity term at low energies would absorb and emit\nthe associated ghost, given a consistent source-free theory. In this article it\nis shown that the appearance of the induced Einstein Hilbert term does not\nthreaten the unitarity of the theory. The physics arguments behind this\nstatement are presented in a semi-covariant language, but the detailed proof is\ngiven using Dirac's constraint analysis. It is shown that the would-be ghost\nhighlighted in previous works is non-dynamical and therefore not associated\nwith a state in the Hilbert space. As a result of these investigations, brane\ninduced gravity goes without a ghost, opening an exciting window of opportunity\nfor consistent deformations of gravity at the largest observable distances.",
        "positive": "Quasi-Relativistic Center-of-Mass Variables in Applications: Collective center-of-mass variables are introduced in the Lagrangian\nformalism of the relativistic classical mechanics of directly interacting\nparticles. It is shown that the transition to the Hamiltonian formalism leads\nto the Bakamjian-Thomas model. The quantum-mechanical system consisting of two\nspinless particles is investigated. Quasi-relativistic corrections to the\ndiscrete energy spectrum are calculated for some Coulomb-like interactions\nhaving field theoretical analogues."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum double of Heisenberg-Weyl algebra, its universal R-matrix and\n  their representations: In this paper a new quasi-triangular Hopf algebra as the quantum double of\nthe Heisenberg-Weyl algebra is presented.Its universal R-matrix is built and\nthe corresponding representation theory are studied with the explict\nconstruction for the representations of this quantum double. \\newpage",
        "positive": "The new form of the equation of state for dark energy fluid and\n  accelerating universe: We suggest to generalize the dark energy equation of state (EoS) by\nintroduction the relaxation equation for pressure which is equivalent to\nconsideration of the inhomogeneous EoS cosmic fluid which often appears as the\neffective model from strings/brane-worlds. As another, more wide generalization\nwe discuss the inhomogeneous EoS which contains derivatives of pressure. For\nseveral explicit examples motivated by the analogy with classical mechanics the\naccelerating FRW cosmology is constructed. It turns out to be the\nasymptotically de Sitter or oscillating universe with possible transition from\ndeceleration to acceleration phase. The coupling of dark energy with matter in\naccelerating FRW universe is considered, it is shown to be consistent with\nconstrained (or inhomogeneous) EoS."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "D-dimensional Induced Gauge Theory as a Solvable Matrix Model: We discuss basic features and new developments in recently proposed induced\ngauge theory solvable in any number of dimensions in the limit of infinite\nnumber of colours. Its geometrical (string) picture is clarified, using planar\ngraph expansion of the corresponding matrix model. New analytical approach is\nproposed for this theory which is based on its equivalence to an effective\ntwo-matrix model. It is shown on some particular examples how the approach\nworks.\n  This approach may be applicable to a wide class of matrix models with\ntree-like quadratic couplings of matrices.\n  (This talk was presented on the International Symposium on Lattice\n  Field Theory \"LATTICE-92\" in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, 15-19\n  September 1992)",
        "positive": "Spinning $\u03c3$-model solitons in $2+1$ Anti-de Sitter space: We obtain numerical solutions for rotating topological solitons of the\nnonlinear $\\sigma$-model in three-dimensional Anti-de Sitter space. Two types\nof solutions, $i)$ and $ii)$, are found. The $\\sigma$-model fields are\neverywhere well defined for both types of solutions, but they differ in their\nspace-time domains. Any time slice of the space-time for the type $i)$ solution\nhas a causal singularity, despite the fact that all scalars constructed the\ncurvature tensor are bounded functions. No evidence of a horizon is seen for\nany of the solutions, and therefore the type $i)$ solutions have naked\nsingularities.\n  On the other hand, the space-time domain, along with the fields, for the type\n$ii)$ solutions are singularity free. Multiple families of solutions exhibiting\nbifurcation phenomena are found for this case."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-Quadratic Gauge Fixing and Global Gauge Invariance in the Effective\n  Action: The possibility of having a gauge fixing term in the effective Lagrangian\nthat is not a quadratic expression has been explored in spin-two theories so as\nto have a propagator that is both traceless and transverse. We first show how\nthis same approach can be used in spontaneously broken gauge theories as an\nalternate to the 't Hooft gauge fixing which avoids terms quadratic in the\nscalar fields. This \"non-quadratic\" gauge fixing in the effective action\nresults in there being two complex Fermionic and one real Bosonic ghost fields.\nA global gauge invariance involving a Fermionic gauge parameter, analogous to\nthe usual BRST invariance, is present in this effective action.",
        "positive": "Lattice QCD as a theory of interacting surfaces: Pure gauge lattice QCD at arbitrary D is considered. Exact integration over\nlink variables in an arbitrary D-volume leads naturally to an appearance of a\nset of surfaces filling the volume and gives an exact expression for functional\nof their boundaries. The interaction between each two surfaces is proportional\nto their common area and is realized by a non-local matrix differential\noperator acting on their boundaries. The surface self-interaction is given by\nthe QCD$_2$ functional of boundary. Partition functions and observables (Wilson\nloop averages) are written as an averages over all configurations of an\ninteger-valued field living on a surfaces."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Amplitude/Wilson Loop duality in $\\mathcal{N}=2$ SCQCD: We compute the four-point amplitude with external adjoint particles in\n$\\mathcal{N}=2$ SCQCD at two loops using $\\mathcal{N}=1$ superspace Feynman\ndiagrams, extending the results of arXiv:1406.7283. We consider the\ndiagrammatic difference with the corresponding process of $\\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM\nfinding a non vanishing result, which is a non trivial function of the\nkinematic variables. This demonstrates that in $\\mathcal{N}=2$ SCQCD, even in\nthe sector with external particles in the vector multiplet, the\namplitude/Wilson loop duality is inevitably broken at two loops.",
        "positive": "Kaluza-Klein modes of $U(1)$ gauge vector field on brane with\n  codimension-$d$: From the paper [JHEP 01 (2019) 021], it is known that the effective action of\na massless $U(1)$ gauge vector field on a codimension-2 brane is gauge\ninvariant due to the coupling between the vector Kaluza-Klein (KK) modes with\ntwo types of scalar KK modes. It is interesting to generalize this result to a\nbrane world model with an arbitrary number of extra dimensions. In this work,\nwe first investigate the case with three extra dimensions. After KK\ndecomposition, there are three types of scalar KK modes. In addition to the\nmutual coupling between these scalar modes, there are also coupling between the\nscalar and the vector KK modes. The coupling constants are not all independent.\nThe relationships between the coupling constants enable us to obtain a gauge\ninvariant effective action, from which we can see that the masses of the vector\nKK modes depend on all the three extra dimensions. The masses of the scalar\nmodes, however, depend only on two of the three extra dimensions. Then we\ngeneralize the results into branes with codimension $d$ ($d=1, 2...$), and find\nthat $d$ will directly affect the masses of the KK modes. But there is always a\ngauge invariant effective action for the massive vector KK modes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Relationships Between Exact RGs and some Comments on Asymptotic Safety: The standard flow equation for the effective average action can be derived\nfrom a Legendre transform of Polchinski's exact renormalization group equation.\nHowever, the latter is not well adapted for finding fixed-points with non-zero\nanomalous dimension. Instead, it is more convenient to use a modified version\nwhich ensures that the redundant coupling associated with the normalization of\nthe field never appears in the action. Taking this as the starting point, a\nLegendre transform is constructed allowing a direct derivation of the\ncorresponding flow equation for the effective average action. This equation is\nthen used to exactly construct some illuminating though essentially trivial)\nasymptotically safe trajectories emanating from various non-unitary\nfixed-points. Finally, in the context of asympotically safe quantum gravity, it\nis pointed out that the standard argument that the anomalous dimension of\nNewton's constant is necessarily 2-d at a non-trivial fixed-point is\nincomplete. The implications of this are discussed.",
        "positive": "Vacuum instability in a constant inhomogeneous electric field. A new\n  example of exact nonperturbative calculations: Basic quantum processes (such as particle creation, reflection, and\ntransmission on the corresponding Klein steps) caused by inverse-square\nelectric fields are calculated. These results represent a new example of exact\nnonperturbative calculations in the framework of QED. The inverse-square\nelectric field is time-independent, inhomogeneous in the $x$-direction, and is\ninversely proportional to $x$ squared. We find exact solutions of the Dirac and\nKlein-Gordon equations with such a field and construct corresponding in- and\nout-states. With the help of these states and using the techniques developed in\nthe framework of QED with $x$-electric potential steps, we calculate\ncharacteristics of the vacuum instability, such as differential and total mean\nnumbers of particles created from the vacuum and vacuum-to-vacuum transition\nprobabilities. We study the vacuum instability for two particular backgrounds:\nfor fields widely stretches over the $x$-axis (small-gradient configuration)\nand for the fields sharply concentrates near the origin $x=0$ (sharp-gradient\nconfiguration). We compare exact results with ones calculated numerically.\nFinally, we consider the electric field configuration, composed by\ninverse-square fields and by an $x$-independent electric field between them to\nstudy the role of growing and decaying processes in the vacuum instability."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Conversion of Gravitons into Photons in $TE_{mo}$ Mode: We consider the conversion of gravitons into photons in the $ TE_{mo} $ mode.\nCross sections in different directions are given.",
        "positive": "An Sl(2,Z) Multiplet of Nine-Dimensional Type II Supergravity Theories: We show that only by performing generalized dimensional reductions all\npossible brane configurations are taken into account and one gets the complete\nlower-dimensional theory. We apply this idea to the reduction of type IIB\nsupergravity in an SL(2,R)-covariant way and establish T duality for the type\nII superstring effective action in the context of generalized dimensional\nreduction giving the corresponding generalized Buscher's T duality rules. The\nfull (generalized) dimensional reduction involves all the S duals of\nD-7-branes: Q-7-branes and a sort of composite 7-branes. The three species\nconstitute an SL(2,Z) triplet. Their presence induces the appearance of the\ntriplet of masses of the 9-dimensional theory. The T duals, including a\n``KK-8A-brane'', which must have a compact transverse dimension have to be\nconsidered in the type IIA side. Compactification of 11-dimensional\nKK-9M-branes (a.k.a. M-9-branes) on the compact transverse dimension give\nD-8-branes while compactification on a worldvolume dimension gives\nKK-8A-branes. The presence of these KK-monopole-type objects breaks translation\ninvariance and two of them given rise to an SL(2,R)-covariant ``massive\n11-dimensional supergravity'' whose reduction gives the massive 9-dimensional\ntype II theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-linear sigma models via the chiral de Rham complex: We propose a physical interpretation of the chiral de Rham complex as a\nformal Hamiltonian quantization of the supersymmetric non-linear sigma model.\nWe show that the chiral de Rham complex on a Calabi-Yau manifold carries all\ninformation about the classical dynamics of the sigma model. Physically, this\nprovides an operator realization of the non-linear sigma model. Mathematically,\nthe idea suggests the use of Hamiltonian flow equations within the vertex\nalgebra formalism with the possibility to incorporate both left and right\nmoving sectors within one mathematical framework.",
        "positive": "A superspace gauge-invariant formulation of a massive tridimensional\n  2-form field: By dimensional reduction of a massive supersymmetric B$\\wedge $F theory, a\nmanifestly N=1 supersymmetric completion of a massive antisymmetric tensor\ngauge theory is constructed in (2+1) dimensions. In the N=1-D=3 superspace, a\nnew topological term is used to give mass for the Kalb-Ramond field. We have\nintroduced a massive gauge invariant model using the Stuckelberg formalism and\nan abelian topologically massive theory for the Kalb-Ramond superfield. An\nequivalence of both massive models is suggested. Further, a component field\nanalysis is performed, showing a second supersymmetry in the model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Superconformal generalizations of the Starobinsky model: We find a way to represent the Starobinsky model in terms of a simple\nconformally invariant theory with spontaneous symmetry breaking. We also\npresent a superconformal theory, which, upon spontaneous breaking of the\nsuperconformal symmetry, provides a consistent supergravity generalization of\nthe Starobinsky model.",
        "positive": "Charting the Landscape of Modified Gravity: We explore brane induced gravity on a 3-brane in six locally flat dimensions.\nTo regulate the short distance singularities in the brane core, we resolve the\nthin brane by a cylindrical 4-brane, with the geometry of 4D Minkowski $\\times$\na circle, which has an axion flux to cancel the vacuum pressure in the compact\ndirection. We discover a large diversity of possible solutions controlled by\nthe axion flux, as governed by its boundary conditions. Hence brane induced\ngravity models really give rise to a {\\it landscape} of vacua, at least\nsemiclassically. For sub-critical tensions, the crossover scale, below which\ngravity may look 4D, and the effective 4D gravitational coupling are sensitive\nto vacuum energy. This shows how the vacuum energy problem manifests in brane\ninduced gravity: instead of tuning the 4D curvature, generically one must tune\nthe crossover scale. On the other hand, in the near-critical limit, branes live\ninside very deep throats which efficiently compactify the angular dimension. In\nthere, 4D gravity first changes to $5D$, and only later to $6D$. The crossover\nscale saturates at the gravitational see-saw scale, independent of the tension.\nUsing the fields of static loops on a wrapped brane, we check the perturbative\ndescription of long range gravity below the crossover scale. In sub-critical\ncases the scalars are strongly coupled already at the crossover scale even in\nthe vacuum, because the brane bending is turned on by the axion flux. Near the\ncritical limit, linearized perturbation theory remains under control below the\ncrossover scale, and we find that linearized gravity around the vacuum looks\nlike a scalar-tensor theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Sub-classical fields and polarization in electrodynamics: Expectation values of the electromagnetic field and the electric current are\nintroduced at space-time resolution which belongs to the quantum domain. These\nallow us to approach some key features of classical electrodynamics from the\nunderlying QED. One is the emergence of the radiation field in the retarded\nsolution of the Maxwell equation, derived from an action principle. Another\nquestion discussed is the systematic derivation of the polarizability of a\ncharge system. Furthermore, the decoherence and the consistency of the photon\nfield is established by a perturbative calculation of the reduced density\nmatrix for the electromagnetic field within the Closed Time Path formalism.",
        "positive": "Regularizations of Action-Complexity for a Pure BTZ Black Hole\n  Microstate: In the action-complexity proposal there are two different methods to\nregularize the gravitational on-shell action, which are equivalent in the\nframework of AdS/CFT. In this paper, we want to study the equivalence of them\nfor a pure BTZ black hole microstate. The microstate is obtained from a\ntwo-sided BTZ black hole truncated by a dynamical timelike ETW brane. Moreover,\nit is dual to a finite energy pure state in a two-dimensional CFT. We show that\nif one includes the timelike counterterms inspired by holographic\nrenormalization as well as the Gibbons-Hawking-York term on the timelike\nboundary of the WDW patch, which exists in one of the regularizations, the\ncoefficients of the UV divergent terms of action-complexity in the two methods\nbecome equal to each other. Furthermore, we compare the finite terms of\naction-complexity in both regularizations, and show that when the UV cutoff\nsurface is close enough to the asymptotic boundary of the bulk spacetime,\naction-complexities in both regularizations become exactly equal to each other."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Level-rank duality of D-branes on the SU(N) group manifold: The consequences of level-rank duality for untwisted D-branes on an SU(N)\ngroup manifold are explored. Relations are found between the charges of\nD-branes (which are classified by twisted K-theory) belonging to su(N)_K and\nsu(K)_N WZW theories, in the case of odd N+K. An isomorphism between the charge\nalgebras is also demonstrated in this case.",
        "positive": "Ambitwistor String Theory in the Operator Formalism: After a brief overview of the operator formalism for conventional string\ntheory, an operator formalism for ambitwistor string theory is presented. It is\nshown how tree level supergravity scattering amplitudes are recovered in this\nformalism. More general applications of this formalism to loop amplitudes and\nthe construction of an ambitwistor string field theory are briefly discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "q-Painleve equation from Virasoro constraints: The q-Painleve equation, satisfied by the Fourier transform of the q-Virasoro\nconformal blocks at c=1, is interpreted as a reformulation of the string\nequation and two other Virasoro constraints in the $5d$ Dotsenko-Fateev matrix\nmodel.",
        "positive": "The $\\mathcal {OSP}(2,2|16)$ superconformal theory is free!: The SuperConformal theory in three space-time dimensions with SO(16)\n$R$-symmetry, 128 bosons, and 128 fermions, cannot sustain interactions. This\nresult is obtained using both light-cone superspace techniques which rely on\nalgebraic consistency, and covariant methods which rely on SO(16) Fierz\nidentities which fail to produce the desired algebra."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "An $S$-Matrix for Massless Particles: The traditional $S$-matrix does not exist for theories with massless\nparticles, such as quantum electrodynamics. The difficulty in isolating\nasymptotic states manifests itself as infrared divergences at each order in\nperturbation theory. Building on insights from the literature on coherent\nstates and factorization, we construct an $S$-matrix that is free of\nsingularities order-by-order in perturbation theory. Factorization guarantees\nthat the asymptotic evolution in gauge theories is universal, i.e. independent\nof the hard process. Although the hard $S$-matrix element is computed between\nwell-defined few particle Fock states, dressed/coherent states can be seen to\nform as intermediate states in the calculation of hard $S$-matrix elements. We\npresent a framework for the perturbative calculation of hard $S$-matrix\nelements combining Lorentz-covariant Feynman rules for the dressed-state\nscattering with time-ordered perturbation theory for the asymptotic evolution.\nWith hard cutoffs on the asymptotic Hamiltonian, the cancellation of\ndivergences can be seen explicitly. In dimensional regularization, where the\nhard cutoffs are replaced by a renormalization scale, the contribution from the\nasymptotic evolution produces scaleless integrals that vanish. A number of\nillustrative examples are given in QED, QCD, and $\\mathcal{N}=4$ super\nYang-Mills theory.",
        "positive": "LOOP SPACE HAMILTONIAN FOR $c \\le 1$ OPEN STRINGS: We construct a string field Hamiltonian describing the dynamics of open and\nclosed strings with effective target-space dimension $c\\le 1 $. In order to do\nso, we first derive the Dyson-Schwinger equations for the underlying large $N$\nvector+matrix model and formulate them as a set of constraints satisfying\ndecoupled Virasoro and U(1) current algebras. The Hamiltonian consists of a\nbulk and a boundary term having different scaling dimensions. The time\nparameters corresponding to the two terms are interpreted from the the point of\nview of the fractal geometry of the world surface."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Generalized two-field $\u03b1$-attractors from the hyperbolic\n  triply-punctured sphere: We study generalized two-field $\\alpha$-attractor models whose rescaled\nscalar manifold is the triply-punctured sphere endowed with its complete\nhyperbolic metric, whose underlying complex manifold is the modular curve\n$Y(2)$. Using an explicit embedding into the end compactification, we compute\nsolutions of the cosmological evolution equations for a few globally\nwell-behaved scalar potentials, displaying particular trajectories with\ninflationary behavior as well as more general cosmological trajectories of\nsurprising complexity. In such models, the orientation-preserving isometry\ngroup of the scalar manifold is isomorphic with the permutation group on three\nelements, acting on $Y(2)$ as the group of anharmonic transformations. When the\nscalar potential is preserved by this action, $\\alpha$-attractor models of this\ntype provide a geometric description of two-field `modular invariant\n$j$-models' in terms of gravity coupled to a non-linear sigma model with\ntopologically non-trivial target and with a finite (as opposed to discrete but\ninfinite) group of symmetries. The precise relation between the two\nperspectives is provided by the elliptic modular function $\\lambda$, which can\nbe viewed as a field redefinition that eliminates almost all of the countably\ninfinite unphysical ambiguity present in the Poincar\\'e half-plane description\nof such models.",
        "positive": "Some Aspects of Quantum Gravity in the Causal Approach: We describe the construction of quantum gravity, i.e. of a theory of\nself-interacting massless spin-2 quantum gauge fields, the gravitons, on flat\nspace-time, in the framework of causal perturbation theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "$\\mathcal{N}=2^\\star$ from Topological Amplitudes in String Theory: In this paper, we explicitly construct string theory backgrounds that realise\nthe so-called $\\mathcal N=2^\\star$ gauge theory. We prove the consistency of\nour models by calculating their partition function and obtaining the correct\ngauge theory spectrum. We further provide arguments in favour of the\nuniversality of our construction which covers a wide class of models all of\nwhich engineer the same gauge theory. We reproduce the corresponding Nekrasov\npartition function once the $\\Omega$-deformation is included and the\nappropriate field theory limit taken. This is achieved by calculating the\ntopological amplitudes $F_g$ in the string models. In addition to heterotic and\ntype II constructions, we also realise the mass deformation in type I theory,\nthus leading to a natural way of uplifting the result to the instanton sector.",
        "positive": "Standard-like Models as Type IIB Flux Vacua: We construct new semi-realistic Type IIB flux vacua on $Z_2\\times Z_2$\norientifolds with three- and four- Standard Model (SM) families and up to three\nunits of quantized flux. The open-string sector is comprised of magnetized\nD-branes and is T-dual to supersymmetric intersecting D6-brane constructions.\nThe SM sector contains magnetized D9-branes with negative D3-brane charge\ncontribution. There are large classes of such models and we present explicit\nconstructions for representative ones. In addition to models with one and two\nunits of quantized flux, we also construct the first three- and four-family\nStandard-like models with supersymmetric fluxes, i.e. comprising three units of\nquantized flux. Supergravity fluxes are due to the self-dual NS-NS and R-R\nthree-form field strength and they fix the toroidal complex structure moduli\nand the dilaton. The supersymmetry conditions for the D-brane sector fix in\nsome models all three toroidal K\\\"ahler moduli. We also provide examples where\ntoroidal K\\\" ahler moduli are fixed by strong gauge dynamics on the ``hidden\nsector'' D7-brane. Most of the models possess Higgs doublet pairs with Yukawa\ncouplings that can generate masses for quarks and leptons. The models have\n(mainly right-) chiral exotics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hamiltonian Frenet-Serret dynamics: The Hamiltonian formulation of the dynamics of a relativistic particle\ndescribed by a higher-derivative action that depends both on the first and the\nsecond Frenet-Serret curvatures is considered from a geometrical perspective.\nWe demonstrate how reparametrization covariant dynamical variables and their\nprojections onto the Frenet-Serret frame can be exploited to provide not only a\nsignificant simplification of but also novel insights into the canonical\nanalysis. The constraint algebra and the Hamiltonian equations of motion are\nwritten down and a geometrical interpretation is provided for the canonical\nvariables.",
        "positive": "Remarks on spherical monodromy defects for free scalar fields: The computation of the effect of a simple monodromy defect in the case of a\nsphere with twisted boundary conditions is revisited and streamlined using\nearlier calculations for a similar system. Compact and explicit expressions are\nfound for arbitrary integer dimensions. Comments on other work are made."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Positive Geometries of Quartic Interactions II : Stokes polytopes,\n  Lower Forms on Associahedra and Worldsheet Forms: In [1], two of the present authors along with P. Raman attempted to extend\nthe Amplituhedron program for scalar field theories [2] to quartic scalar\ninteractions. In this paper we develop various aspects of this proposal. Using\nrecent seminal results in Representation theory [3,4], we show that\nprojectivity of scattering forms and existence of kinematic space associahedron\ncompletely capture planar amplitudes of quartic interaction. We generalise the\nresults of [1] and show that for any $n$-particle amplitude, the positive\ngeometry associated to the projective scattering form is a convex realisation\nof Stokes polytope which can be naturally embedded inside one of the ABHY\nassociahedra defined in [2,5]. For a special class of Stokes polytopes with\nhyper-cubic topology, we show that they have a canonical convex realisation in\nkinematic space as boundaries of kinematic space associahedra.\n  We then use these kinematic space geometric constructions to write worldsheet\nforms for $\\phi^{4}$ theory which are forms of lower rank on the CHY moduli\nspace. We argue that just as in the case of bi-adjoint $\\phi^3$ scalar\namplitudes, scattering equations can be used as diffeomorphisms between certain\n$\\frac{n-4}{2}$ forms on the worldsheet and $\\frac{n-4}{2}$ forms on ABHY\nassociahedron that generate quartic amplitudes.",
        "positive": "Intuitive understanding of non-gaussianity in ekpyrotic and cyclic\n  models: It has been pointed out by several groups that ekpyrotic and cyclic models\ngenerate significant non-gaussianity. In this paper, we present a physically\nintuitive, semi-analytic estimate of the bispectrum. We show that, in all such\nmodels, there is an intrinsic contribution to the non-gaussianity parameter\nf_{NL} that is determined by the geometric mean of the equation of state w_{ek}\nduring the ekpyrotic phase and w_{c} during the phase that curvature\nperturbations are generated and whose value is O(100) or more times the\nintrinsic value predicted by simple slow-roll inflationary models,\nf_{NL}^{intrinsic} = O(0.1). Other contributions to f_{NL}, which we also\nestimate, can increase |f_{NL}| but are unlikely to decrease it significantly,\nmaking non-gaussianity a useful test of these models. Furthermore, we discuss a\npredicted correlation between the non-gaussianity and scalar spectral index\nthat sharpens the test."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Logarithmic Corrections, Entanglement Entropy, and UV Cutoffs in de\n  Sitter Spacetime: It has been argued that the entropy of de Sitter space corresponds to the\nentanglement between disconnected regions computable by switching on a replica\nparameter $q$ modeled by the quotient dS$/\\mathbb{Z}_q$. Within this framework,\nwe show that the centrally-extended asymptotic symmetry algebra near the cosmic\nhorizon is a single copy of the Virasoro algebra. The resulting density of\nstates matches the semi-classical result of Gibbons and Hawking up to an\nundetermined constant that is chosen to reproduce the entanglement entropy\npreviously found in the literature. It follows that the logarithmic quantum\ncorrections to the Cardy entropy reproduces the known one-loop result computed\nin the bulk in the presence of a cutoff. The resulting entanglement entropy\nfollows the divergent area law, where the UV cutoff is now a function of the\nreplica parameter. Thus, as the near-horizon CFT fixes the cutoff in units of\nthe Planck scale, the model can be viewed as a probe into whether the defect\nHilbert space has a finite dimension; indeed, the limit $q\\to 0$, reproduces\nBanks' formula. We also study the quantum corrections of the effective\ndescription of the horizon entropy by means of Liouville field theory, where\nthe large $q$ limit corresponds to a realization of dS$_3$/CFT$_2$\ncorrespondence matching the logarithmic corrections to three-dimensional de\nSitter space obtained by computing the one-loop contribution to the quantum\ngravity partition function in the round three-sphere.",
        "positive": "Krylov Complexity of Open Quantum Systems: From Hard Spheres to Black\n  Holes: We examine the complexity of quasi-static chaotic open quantum systems. As a\nprototypical example, we analytically compute the Krylov complexity of a slowly\nleaking hard-sphere gas using Berry's conjecture. We then connect it to the\nholographic complexity of a $d+1$-dimensional evaporating black hole using the\nComplexity=Volume proposal. We model the black hole spacetime by stitching\ntogether a sequence of static Schwarzschild patches across incoming negative\nenergy null shock waves. Under certain identification of parameters, we find\nthe late time complexity growth rate during each quasi-static equilibrium to be\nthe same in both systems."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Integrable Mapping as the Discrete Group of Inner Symmetry of\n  Integrable Systems: It is shown that each integrable mapping is connected with a hierarchical\ncompletely integrable sytem of equations of evolution type which are invariant\nwith respect to the transformation described by this mapping.",
        "positive": "Lorentz Violating $p$-form Gauge Theories in Superspace: Very special relativity (VSR) keeps the main features of special relativity\nbut breaks rotational invariance due to an intrinsic preferred direction. We\nstudy the VSR modified extended BRST and anti-BRST symmetry of the\nBatalin-Vilkovisky (BV) actions corresponding to the $p=1,2,3$-form gauge\ntheories. Within VSR framework, we discuss the extended BRST invariant and\nextended BRST and anti-BRST invariant superspace formulations for these BV\nactions. Here we observe that the VSR modified extended BRST invariant BV\nactions corresponding to the $p=1,2,3$-form gauge theories can be written\nmanifestly covariant manner in a superspace with one Grassmann coordinate.\nMoreover, two Grassmann coordinates are required to describe the VSR modified\nextended BRST and extended anti-BRST invariant BV actions in a superspace.\nThese results are consistent with the Lorentz invariant (special relativity)\nformulation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Shape of Mesons in Holographic QCD: Based on the expectation that constituent quark model may capture right\nphysics in the large N limit, we point out that orbital angular momentum of the\nquark-antiquark pair inside light mesons of low spins in the constituent quark\nmodel may provide a clue for the holographic dual string model of large N QCD.\nOur discussion, relying on a few suggestive assumptions, leads to a necessity\nof world-sheet fermions in the bulk of dual strings that can incorporate\nintrinsic spins of fundamental QCD degrees of freedom. We also comment on an\ninteresting issue of the size of mesons in the context of holographic QCD.",
        "positive": "The Cosmological Constant, Dark Matter and the ElectroWeak Scale meet in\n  the Swampland: The Swampland program, which looks for low energy theories consistent with\nquantum gravity, has led to the introduction of a dark dimension stemming from\nthe cosmological constant. We show that the same argument leads to the\nemergence of the electroweak scale, once the dark dimension is realised in a\nwarped background. A warped extra dimension at the TeV scale is, therefore,\npostulated, where the long-standing problem of the hierarchy between the\nelectroweak scale and Planck scale can be addressed. In the emergent holistic\npicture of gravity and gauge interactions, both Planck and the electroweak\nscales are emergent from a theory with two fundamental scales: $10^{-2}$ eV and\n$10^{10}$ GeV. Hence, a bridge is established between the two standard models\nof particle physics and cosmology."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "What If Dirac Pionini Existed in a Purely Chiral Superfield Formulation?: By an explicit construction, it is shown that the geometry of the SU(3) pion\nmultiplet with respect to the group manifold SU_L(3) x SU_R(3) maybe deformed\nto admit a second pseudoscalar multiplet that is analogous to the Z_0 in\nunified theories of the electroweak interactions. This observation is found to\nplay a key role in the construction of the N = 1 supersymmetric models with\npions and Dirac-like spin-1/2 superpartners (\"pionini\").",
        "positive": "Superradiant scattering by a black hole binary: I present evidence of a novel guise of superradiance that arises in black\nhole binary spacetimes. Given the right initial conditions, a wave will be\namplified as it scatters off the binary. This process, which extracts energy\nfrom the orbital motion, is driven by absorption across the horizons and is\nmost pronounced when the individual black holes are not spinning. Focusing on\nreal scalar fields, I demonstrate how modern effective field theory (EFT)\ntechniques enable the computation of the superradiant amplification factor\nanalytically when there exist large separations of scales. Although exploiting\nthese hierarchies inevitably means that the amplification factor is always\nnegligible (it is never larger than about one part in $10^{10}$) in the EFT's\nregime of validity, this work has interesting theoretical implications for our\nunderstanding of general relativity and lays the groundwork for future studies\non superradiant phenomena in binary systems."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetry and noncommutative geometry Part I: Supersymmetric\n  almost-commutative geometries: Noncommutative geometry has seen remarkable applications for high energy\nphysics, viz. the geometrical interpretation of the Standard Model. The\nquestion whether it also allows for supersymmetric theories has so far not been\nanswered in a conclusive way. In this first of three papers we do a systematic\nanalysis of the possibilities for almost-commutative geometries on a\n4-dimensional, flat background to exhibit not only a particle content that is\neligible for supersymmetry but also have a supersymmetric action. We come up\nwith an approach in which we identify the basic 'building blocks' of\npotentially supersymmetric theories and the demands for their action to be\nsupersymmetric. Examples that satisfy these demands turn out to be sparse.",
        "positive": "Detectors in weakly-coupled field theories: We initiate a study of asymptotic detector operators in weakly-coupled field\ntheories. These operators describe measurements that can be performed at future\nnull infinity in a collider experiment. In a conformal theory they can be\nidentified with light-ray operators, and thus have a direct relation to the\nspectrum of the theory. After a general discussion of the underlying physical\npicture, we show how infrared divergences of general detector operators can be\nrenormalized in perturbation theory, and how they give rise to detector\nanomalous dimensions. We discuss in detail how this renormalization can be\nperformed at the intersections of the Regge trajectories where non-trivial\nmixing occurs, which is related to the poles in anomalous dimensions at special\nvalues of spin. Finally, we discuss novel horizontal trajectories in scalar\ntheories and show how they contribute to correlation functions. Our\ncalculations are done in the example of $\\phi^4$ theory in $d=4-\\epsilon$\ndimensions, but the methods are applicable more broadly. At the Wilson-Fisher\nfixed point our results include an explicit expression for the Pomeron\nlight-ray operator at two loops, as well as a prediction for the value of the\nRegge intercept at five loops."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Magnetic monopoles, alive: We review recent developments in understanding the physics of the magnetic\nmonopoles in unbroken non-Abelian gauge theories. Since numerical data on the\nmonopoles are accumulated in lattice simulations, the continuum theory is\nunderstood as the limiting case of the lattice formulation. In this review,\nwritten for a memorial volume dedicated to the memory of Academician A.B.\nMigdal, we emphasize physical effects related to the monopoles. In particular,\nwe discuss the monopole-antimonopole potential at short and larger distances as\nwell as a dual formulation of the gluodynamics, relevant to the physics of the\nconfinement.",
        "positive": "Trivial Second-Order Lagrangians in Classial Field Theory: Trivial second-order Lagrangians are studied and a complete description of\nthe dependence on the second-order derivatives is given. This extends previous\nwork of Olver and others. In particular, this description involves some\npolynomial expressions called hyper-Jacobians. There exists some linear\ndependencies between these polynomials which are elucidated for the\n(second-order) hyper-Jacobians."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exploring a simple sector of the Einstein-Maxwell landscape: We explore the four dimensional Einstein-Maxwell landscape as a toy model in\nwhich we can formulate a sphere compactification stabilized by an\nelectromagnetic field. Replacing the compactification sphere by J spheres, we\nobtain a simple sector of the (2J+2)-dimensional Einstein-Maxwell landscape. In\nthis toy model, we analyze some properties which are very difficult to uncover\nin the string theory landscape, including: complete moduli stabilization,\nstability conditions, and state counting. We also show how to construct\nanthropic states in this model. A detailed comparison between the main features\nof this landscape and the Bousso-Polchinski landscape is given. We finally\nspeculate on the impact of these phenomena in the string theory landscape.",
        "positive": "Super-Weyl Anomaly from Holography and Rigid Supersymmetry Algebra on\n  Two-Sphere: Operators transform anomalously under the symmetry in the presence of quantum\nanomalies. We study this aspect of the super-Weyl anomaly in $\\mathcal N=(1,1)$\nsuperconformal field theories (SCFTs), in the context of AdS/CFT. In\nparticular, we carry out holographic renormalization for $(1,1)$ pure AdS$_3$\nsupergravity that is supposed to be a gravity dual of the $\\mathcal N=(1,1)$\nSCFT, and derive holographic superconformal Ward identities with corresponding\nanomalies. We show that the obtained super-Weyl anomaly of the $\\mathcal\nN=(1,1)$ SCFT induces a quantum correction term in the transformation law of\nthe supercurrent under the rigid supersymmetry. We demonstrate that the\ncorrection term does not affect the $\\mathcal N=(1,1)$ rigid supersymmetry\nalgebra on two-sphere."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Variational Equations and Symmetries in the Lagrangian Formalism II.\n  Arbitrary Vector Fields: We continue the study of symmetries in the Lagrangian formalism of arbitrary\norder with the help of the so-called Anderson-Duchamp-Krupka equations. For the\ncase of second-order equations and arbitrary vector fields we are able to\nestablish a polynomial structure in the second-order derivatives. This\nstructure is based on the some linear combinations of Olver hyper-Jacobians. We\nuse as the main tools Fock space techniques and induction. This structure can\nbe used to analyze Lagrangian systems with groups of Noetherian symmetries. As\nan illustration we analyze the case of Lagrangian equations with Abelian gauge\ninvariance.",
        "positive": "Note on constants of motion in conformal mechanics associated with near\n  horizon extremal Myers-Perry black holes: We investigate dynamics of probe particles moving in the near-horizon limit\nof (2N+1)-dimensional extremal Myers-Perry black hole (in the cases of N=3,4,5)\nwith arbitrary rotation parameters. Very recently it has been shown\narXiv:1703.00713v1 [hep-th] that in the most general case with nonequal\nnonvanishing rotational parameters the system admits separation of variables in\nN-dimensional ellipsoidal coordinates. We wrote down the explicit expressions\nof Liouville integrals of motion, given in arXiv:1703.00713v1 [hep-th] in\nellipsoidal coordinates, in initial \"Cartesian\" coordinates in seven, nine and\neleven dimensions, and found that these expressions hold in any dimension.\nThen, taking the limit where all of the rotational parameters are equal, we\nreveal that each of these N-1 integrals of motion results in the Hamiltonian of\nthe spherical mechanics of a (2N+1)-dimensional MP black hole with equal\nnonvanishing rotational parameters."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Homotopy Operators and One-Loop Vacuum Energy at the Tachyon Vacuum: We construct the homotopy operators for the BRST operator in the theory\naround the identity-based solutions, which are believed to represent the\ntachyon vacuum in cubic bosonic open string field theory. Using the homotopy\noperators, we find that the one-loop vacuum energy at the tachyon vacuum is\nindependent of moduli such as interbrane distances, which are included in the\nBRST operator. We also revisit the cohomology problem, which was solved earlier\nwithout the homotopy operators.",
        "positive": "Poisson Chern-Simons Gauge Theory: We formulate Poisson Chern-Simons gauge theories on compact group manifolds.\nThese describe a sector of the large representation limit of noncommutative\nChern-Simons in the same way as the light-cone formulation of the membrane\naction describe a sector of the large N Matrix model. While the formulation we\ngive is on a group manifold, only excitations that are invariant under the left\naction of the stability group of a weight are allowed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Eisenhart lifts and symmetries of time-dependent systems: Certain dissipative systems, such as Caldirola and Kannai's damped simple\nharmonic oscillator, may be modelled by time-dependent Lagrangian and hence\ntime dependent Hamiltonian systems with $n$ degrees of freedom. In this paper\nwe treat these systems, their projective and conformal symmetries as well as\ntheir quantisation from the point of view of the Eisenhart lift to a Bargmann\nspacetime in $n+2$ dimensions, equipped with its covariantly constant null\nKilling vector field. Reparametrization of the time variable corresponds to\nconformal rescalings of the Bargmann metric. We show how the Arnold map lifts\nto Bargmann spacetime. We contrast the greater generality of the\nCaldirola-Kannai approach with that of Arnold and Bateman. At the level of\nquantum mechanics, we are able to show how the relevant Schr\\\"odinger equation\nemerges naturally using the techniques of quantum field theory in curved\nspacetimes, since a covariantly constant null Killing vector field gives rise\nto well defined one particle Hilbert space. Time-dependent Lagrangians arise\nnaturally also in cosmology and give rise to the phenomenon of Hubble friction.\nWe provide an account of this for Friedmann-Lemaitre and Bianchi cosmologies\nand how it fits in with our previous discussion in the non-relativistic limit.",
        "positive": "Shifts in BCFW method for QED: We study the application of BCFW recursion relations to the QED processes\n$0\\to e^- e^+ n \\gamma$. Based on 6-point amplitudes (both MHVA and NMHVA)\ncomputed from Feynman diagrams in the Berends-Giele gauge, we conduct a\ncomprehensive study on all different shifts. Then we propose a new shift (LLYZ\nshift) which can lead to the full amplitudes for these processes and can have\nsome realistic computation advantages. We compare the number of terms and the\nindependent amplitudes of this novel shift with a few typical shifts."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Renormalization Flow, Duality, and Supersymmetry Breaking in Some N=1\n  Product-Group Theories: We discuss the renormalization group flow, duality, and supersymmetry\nbreaking in N = 1 supersymmetric SU(N)xSU(M) gauge theories.",
        "positive": "Precision decay rate calculations in quantum field theory: Tunneling in quantum field theory is worth understanding properly, not least\nbecause it controls the long term fate of our universe. There are however, a\nnumber of features of tunneling rate calculations which lack a desirable\ntransparency, such as the necessity of analytic continuation, the\nappropriateness of using an effective instead of classical potential, and the\nsensitivity to short-distance physics. This paper attempts to review in\npedagogical detail the physical origin of tunneling and its connection to the\npath integral. Both the traditional potential-deformation method and a recent\nmore direct propagator-based method are discussed. Some new insights from using\napproximate semi-classical solutions are presented. In addition, we explore the\nsensitivity of the lifetime of our universe to short distance physics, such as\nquantum gravity, emphasizing a number of important subtleties."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Competing interactions and the Lifshitz-type Nonlinear Sigma Model: We establish the equivalence between the continuum limit of the quantum\nspherical model with competing interactions, which is relevant to the\ninvestigation of Lifshitz points, and the O(N) nonlinear sigma model with the\naddition of higher order spatial derivative operators, which breaks the Lorentz\nsymmetry and is known as Lifshitz-type (or anisotropic) nonlinear sigma model.\nIn the context of the 1/N expansion, we also discuss the renormalization\nproperties of this nonlinear sigma model and find the nontrivial fixed points\nof the beta-functions in various dimensions, which turn out to be connected\nwith the existence of phase transitions in the quantum spherical model.",
        "positive": "The Vacua of 5d,N=2 Gauged Yang-Mills/Einstein/Tensor Supergravity:\n  Abelian Case: We give a detailed study of the critical points of the potentials of the\nsimplest non-trivial N=2 gauged Yang-Mills/Einstein supergravity theories with\ntensor multiplets. The scalar field target space of these examples is\nSO(1,1)XSO(2,1)/SO(2). The possible gauge groups are SO(2)XU(1)_R and\nSO(1,1)XU(1)_R, where U(1)_R is a subgroup of the R-symmetry group SU(2)_R, and\nSO(2) and SO(1,1) are subgroups of the isometry group of the scalar manifold.\nThe scalar potentials of these theories consist of a contribution from the\nU(1)_R gauging and a contribution that is due to the presence of the tensor\nfields. We find that the latter contribution can change the form of the\nsupersymmetric extrema from maxima to saddle points. In addition, it leads to\nnovel critical points not present in the corresponding gauged\nYang-Mills/Einstein supergravity theories without the tensor multiplets. For\nthe SO(2)XU(1)_R gauged theory these novel critical points correspond to\nanti-de Sitter ground states. For the non-compact SO(1,1)XU(1)_R gauging, the\nnovel ground states are de Sitter. The analysis of the critical points of the\npotential carries over in a straightforward manner to the generic family of N=2\ngauged Yang-Mills/Einstein supergravity theories coupled to tensor multiplets\nwhose scalar manifolds are of the form SO(1,1)XSO(n-1,1)/SO(n-1)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Stringy de Sitter Spacetimes: We reexamine a family of models with a 3+1-dimensional de Sitter spacetime\nobtained in the standard tree-level low-energy limit of string theory with a\nnon-trivial anisotropic axion-dilaton background. While such limiting\napproximations are encouraging but incomplete, our analysis reveals a host of\nnovel features, and shows these models to interpolate between standard and well\nunderstood supersymmetric string theory solutions. Finally, we conjecture that\nthis de Sitter spacetime naturally arises by including more of the stringy\ndegrees of freedom, such as a recently advanced variant of the phase-space\nformalism, as well as the analytic continuation of a complex two-dimensional\nFano variety arising as a small resolution in a Calabi-Yau 5-fold.",
        "positive": "Baryon number violation and novel canonical anti-commutation relations: The possible neutron-antineutron oscillation is described by an effective\nquadratic Lagrangian analogous to the BCS theory. It is shown that the\nconventional equal-time anti-commutation relations of the neutron variable\n$n(t,\\vec{x})$ are modified by the baryon number violating terms. This is\nestablished by the Bjorken--Johnson--Low prescription and also by the canonical\nquantization combined with equations of motion. This novel canonical behavior\ncan give rise to an important physical effect, which is illustrated by\nanalyzing the Lagrangian that violates the baryon number but gives rise to the\ndegenerate effective Majorana fermions and thus no neutron-antineutron\noscillation. Technically, this model is neatly treated using a relativistic\nanalogue of the Bogoliubov transformation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On N = 2 superfield for N = 2 vector supermultiplet in two dimensional\n  spacetime: We focus on the superfield formulation for a N = 2 vector supermultiplet in\ntwo dimensional spacetime and explicitly show that the Wess-Zumino gauge\ncondition for a N = 2 superfield is compatible with familiar SUSY (plus U(1)\ngauge) transformations for the vector supermultiplet. N = 2 SUSY invariant mass\nand Yukawa interaction terms for the vector supermultiplet are also constructed\nfrom the superfield explicitly in addition to a free (kinetic) action.",
        "positive": "SO(2,d-1) Gauge Theory of Gravity in d Dimensional Spacetime and\n  $AdS_d/CFT_{d-1}$ Correspondence: Gravity in d dimensions is formulated as the gauge theory of local SO(2,d-1)\ngauge group. The Chern-Pontryagin index ${\\cal P}_{2n}$ plays a crucial role in\nboth gravity and gauge theories. ${\\cal P}_{2n}(gravity)$ gives the\ngravitational Lagrangian in 2n dimensions, having the vacuum solution\n$AdS_{2n}$. The same but global symmetry is shared with the gauge theories and\n0,1-cochains of the Chern-Simon index ${\\cal C}_{2n}(gauge)$ take part of\n$CFT_{2n-1}$ and $CFT_{2n-2}$, respectively. Gravity in odd dimensions is quite\nanalogously formulated to that in even dimensions. This gives new insights on\nAdS/CFT correspondence."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the conformal spin dependence of the perturbative QCD vacuum\n  singularity: We study the four-gluon scattering amplitude in the high energy limit of QCD\nwritten in terms of its conformal expansion. We highlight the need to include\nboth even and odd conformal spin contributions in order to map it to an\niterative representation in rapidity and transverse momentum space which we\nhave evaluated numerically. By Fourier expanding in a set of three azimuthal\nangles, we find a new form for the amplitude in terms of $_4F_3$ hypergeometric\nfunctions. An alternative formulation is possible when connecting this Fourier\nexpansion with Bessel kernels studied in analytic number theory.",
        "positive": "Poincar\u00e9 symmetries and representations in pseudo-Hermitian quantum\n  field theory: This paper explores quantum field theories with pseudo-Hermitian\nHamiltonians, where PT-symmetric Hamiltonians serve as a special case. In\nspecific regimes, these pseudo-Hermitian Hamiltonians have real eigenspectra,\northogonal eigenstates, and unitary time evolution. So far, most\npseudo-Hermitian quantum field theories have been constructed using analytic\ncontinuation or by adding non-Hermitian terms to otherwise Hermitian\nHamiltonians. However, in this paper, we take a different approach. We\nconstruct pseudo-Hermitian scalar and fermionic quantum field theories from\nfirst principles, by extending the Poincar\\'e algebra to include non-Hermitian\ngenerators. This allows us to develop consistent pseudo-Hermitian quantum field\ntheories, with Lagrangian densities transforming appropriately under the proper\nPoincar\\'e group. By doing so, we establish a more solid theoretical foundation\nfor the emerging field of non-Hermitian quantum field theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Critical Behaviour of Anomalous Currents, Electric-Magnetic\n  Universality and CFT_4: We discuss several aspects of superconformal field theories in four\ndimensions (CFT_4), in the context of electric-magnetic duality. We analyse the\nbehaviour of anomalous currents under RG flow to a conformal fixed point in\nN=1, D=4 supersymmetric gauge theories. We prove that the anomalous dimension\nof the Konishi current is related to the slope of the beta function at the\ncritical point. We extend the duality map to the (nonchiral) Konishi current.\nAs a byproduct we compute the slope of the beta function in the strong coupling\nregime. We note that the OPE of $T_{\\mu\\nu}$ with itself does not close, but\nmixes with a special additional operator $\\Sigma$ which in general is the\nKonishi current. We discuss the implications of this fact in generic\ninteracting conformal theories. In particular, a SCFT_4 seems to be naturally\nequipped with a privileged off-critical deformation $\\Sigma$ and this allows us\nto argue that electric-magnetic duality can be extended to a neighborhood of\nthe critical point. We also stress that in SCFT_4 there are two central\ncharges, c and c', associated with the stress tensor and $\\Sigma$,\nrespectively; c and c' allow us to count both the vector multiplet and the\nmatter multiplet effective degrees of freedom of the theory.",
        "positive": "Deriving Gauge Symmetry and Spontaneous Lorentz Violation: We consider a class of field theories with a four-vector field $A_{\\mu}(x)$\nin addition to other fields supplied with a global charge symmetry - theories\nwhich have partial gauge symmetry in the sense of only imposing it on those\nterms in the Lagrangian density which have derivatives as factors in them. We\nsuppose that spontaneous Lorentz invariance breaking occurs in such a theory\ndue to the four-vector field taking a non-zero vacuum expectation value. Under\nsome very mild assumptions, we show that this Lorentz violation is not\nobservable and the whole theory is practically gauge invariant. A very\nimportant presupposition for this theorem is that an initial condition is\nimposed on the no-derivative expressions corresponding to the early Universe\nbeing essentially in a vacuum state. This condition then remains true forever\nand can be interpreted as a gauge constraint. We formulate the conditions under\nwhich the spontaneous Lorentz violation becomes observable. Spontaneously\nbroken Lorentz invariance could be seen by some primordially existing or\ncreated \"fossil\" charges with the property of moving through the Universe with\na fixed velocity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetry without hermiticity: A new model of supersymmetry between bosons and fermions is proposed. Its\nrepresentation space is spanned by states with PT symmetry and real energies\nbut the inter-related partner Hamiltonians themselves remain complex and\nnon-Hermitian. The formalism admits vanishing Witten index.",
        "positive": "World-Sheet Supersymmetry Without Contact Terms: Green and Seiberg showed that, in simple treatments of fermionic string\ntheory, it is necessary to introduce contact interactions when vertex operators\ncollide. Otherwise, certain superconformal Ward identities would be violated.\nIn this note, we show how these contact terms arise naturally when proper\naccount is taken of the superconformal geometry involved when punctures\ncollide. More precisely, we show that there is no contact term at all! Rather,\ncorrections arise to the ``na\\\"\\i ve\" formula when the boundary of moduli space\nis described correctly."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Generalized BF Theory in Superspace as Underlying Theory of 11D\n  Supergravity: We construct a generalized BF theory in superspace that can embed\neleven-dimensional supergravity theory. Our topological BF theory can\naccommodate all the necessary Bianchi identities for teleparallel superspace\nsupergravity in eleven-dimensions, as the simplest but nontrivial solutions to\nsuperfield equations for our superspace action. This indicates that our theory\nmay have solutions other than eleven-dimensional supergravity, accommodating\ngeneralized theories of eleven-dimensional supergravity. Therefore our\ntopological theory can be a good candidate for the low energy limit of\nM-theory, as an underlying fundamental theory providing a `missing link'\nbetween eleven-dimensional supergravity and M-theory.",
        "positive": "Instantons in Schwinger Model: The known calculations of the fermion condensate $<\\bar{\\psi}\\psi>$ and the\ncorrelator $<\\bar{\\psi}\\psi(x) ~\\bar{\\psi}\\psi(0)>$ have been interpreted in\nterms of {\\em localized} instanton solutions minimizing the {\\em effective}\naction. Their size is of order of massive photon Compton wavelength $\\mu^{-1}$.\nAt high temperature, these instantons become quasistatic and present the\n2-dimensional analog of the `walls' found recently in 4-dimensional gauge\ntheories. In spite of the static nature of these solutions, they should not be\ninterpreted as `thermal solitons' living in Minkowski space: the mass of these\nwould-be solitons does not display itself in the physical correlators. At small\nbut nonzero fermion mass, the high-T partition function of $QED_2$ is saturated\nby the rarefied gas of instantons and antiinstantons with density $\\propto\nm~\\exp\\{-S^{inst.}\\}~=~m~\\exp\\{-\\pi T/\\mu\\}$ to be confronted with the dense\nstrongly correlated instanton-antiinstanton liquid saturating the partition\nfunction at $T=0$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "String Scattering from D-branes in Type 0 Theories: We derive fully covariant expressions for all two-point scattering amplitudes\ninvolving closed string tachyon and massless strings from Dirichlet brane in\ntype 0 theories. The amplitude for two massless D-brane fluctuations to produce\nclosed string tachyon is also evaluated. We then examine in detail these string\nscattering amplitudes in order to extract world-volume couplings of the tachyon\nwith itself and with massless fields on a D-brane. We find that the tachyon\nappears as an overall coupling function in the Born-Infeld action.",
        "positive": "Study of the Question of an Ultraviolet Zero in the Six-Loop Beta\n  Function of the O($N$) $\u03bb|\\vec \u03c6|^4$ Theory: We study the possibility of an ultraviolet (UV) zero in the six-loop beta\nfunction of an O($N$) $\\lambda |\\vec \\phi|^4$ field theory in $d=4$ spacetime\ndimensions. For general $N$, in the range of values of $\\lambda$ where a\nperturbative calculation is reliable, we find evidence against such a UV zero\nin this six-loop beta function."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Numerical universal solutions in $a$-gauge in open string field theory: In bosonic open string field theory, we construct numerical universal\nsolutions in $a$-gauge corresponding to ``double brane'' and ``ghost brane''\nsolutions in Siegel gauge in addition to the tachyon vacuum solution, and\nevaluate their gauge invariants, which are energy and gauge-invariant\nobservable. The $a$-gauge condition, which contains a real parameter $a$, was\nintroduced by Asano and Kato. In earlier works it has been applied to find the\ntachyon vacuum solution with the level truncation method up to level $14$. The\n``double brane'' and ``ghost brane'' solutions were constructed by Kudrna and\nSchnabl in Siegel gauge, which corresponds to ($a=0$)-gauge, up to level $28$.\nStarting from these solutions, by varying $a$ little by little, we have\nconstructed numerical solutions in $a$-gauge for various values of $a$\nincluding $a=\\infty$ up to level $20$. Contrary to naive expectation, the gauge\ninvariants of ``double brane'' and ``ghost brane'' solutions in $a$-gauge seem\nto be non-constant for $a$. In particular, although the normalized energy $E$\nof the ``double brane'' solution in $a$-gauge is approximately two for $a\\sim\n0$, we find that $E$ becomes almost one for $0.5<a<1$. The gauge-invariant\nobservable also behaves similarly. It might imply that the ``double brane''\nsolution varies to a single brane solution in such $a$-gauges.",
        "positive": "Quantum spectrum of tachyonic black holes in a brane-anti-brane system: Recently, some authors have considered the quantum spectrum of black holes .\nThis consideration is extended to tachyonic black holes in a brane-anti-brane\nsystem. In this study, black holes are constructed from two branes which are\nconnected by a tachyonic tube. As the branes come closer to each other, they\nevolve and make a transition to thermal black branes. It will be shown that the\nspectrum of these black holes depends on the tachonic potential and the\nseparation distance between the branes. By decreasing the separation distance,\nmore energy emerges and the spectrum of the black hole increases."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "One-dimensional model of a quantum nonlinear harmonic oscillator: In this paper we study the quantization of the nonlinear oscillator\nintroduced by Mathews and Lakshmanan. This system with position-dependent mass\nallows a natural quantization procedure and is shown to display shape\ninvariance. Its energy spectrum is found by factorization. The linear harmonic\noscillator appears as the $\\lambda\\to 0$ limit of this nonlinear oscillator,\nwhose energy spectrum and eigenfunctions are compared to the linear ones.",
        "positive": "Reduced sigma-model on AdS_5 x S^5: one-loop scattering amplitudes: We compute one-loop S-matrix in the reduced sigma-model which describes AdS_5\nx S^5 string theory in the near-flat-space limit. The result agrees with the\ncorresponding limit of the S-matrix in the full sigma-model, which demonstrates\nthe consistency of the reduction at the quantum level."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exotic Massive Gravity: Causality and a Birkhoff-like Theorem: We study the local causality issue via the Shapiro time-delay computations in\nthe on-shell consistent exotic massive gravity in three dimensions. The theory\nshows time-delay as opposed to time-advance despite having a ghost at the\nlinearized level both for asymptotically flat and anti-de Sitter spacetimes. We\nalso prove a Birkhoff-like theorem: any solution with a hypersurface orthogonal\nnon-null Killing vector field is conformally flat; and find some exact\nsolutions.",
        "positive": "Critical Formation of Trapped Surfaces in the Collision of Non-expanding\n  Gravitational Shock Waves in de Sitter Space-Time: We study the formation of marginally trapped surfaces in the head-on\ncollision of two shock waves in de Sitter space-time as a function of the\ncosmological constant and the shock wave energy. We search for a marginally\ntrapped surface on the past light cone of the collision plane.\n  For space-time dimension $D\\geq3$ there exists a critical value of the shock\nwave energy above which there is no trapped surface of this type. For $D>3$ the\ncritical value of the shock wave energy depends on the de Sitter radius, and\nthere is no this type trapped surface formation for a large cosmological\nconstant. For D=3, the critical value of the shock wave energy is independent\nof the cosmological constant. At the critical point the trapped surface is\nfinite. Below the critical energy value, the area of trapped surface depends on\nthe cosmological constant and the shock wave energy."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "String Field Theory Around the Tachyon Vacuum: Assuming that around the tachyon vacuum the kinetic term of cubic open string\nfield theory is made purely of ghost operators we are led to gauge invariant\nactions which manifestly implement the absence of open string dynamics around\nthis vacuum. We test this proposal by showing the existence of lump solutions\nof arbitrary codimension in this string field theory. The key ingredients in\nthis analysis are certain assumptions about the analyticity properties of\ntachyon Green's functions. With the help of some further assumptions about the\nproperties of these Green's functions, we also calculate the ratios of tensions\nof lump solutions of different dimensions. The result is in perfect agreement\nwith the known answers for the ratios of tensions of D-branes of different\ndimensions.",
        "positive": "Emergent D4-Brane Background from D-Particles: We show that the solution of a pre-geometric strongly coupled quantum\nmechanical model describing K D-particles in the presence of N D4-branes in\ntype IIA string theory, at fixed K and large N, yields an effective action\ndescribing the motion of the K D-particles in a classical ten-dimensional\ncurved space-time. By comparing the effective action with the non-abelian\nD-brane action in an arbitrary supergravity background, we identify the metric,\ndilaton and Ramond-Ramond fields and find a precise match with the near-horizon\nD4-brane geometry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Cosmological Perturbations Through a General Relativistic Bounce: The ekpyrotic and cyclic universe scenarios have revived the idea that the\ndensity perturbations apparent in today's universe could have been generated in\na `pre-singularity' epoch before the big bang. These scenarios provide explicit\nmechanisms whereby a scale invariant spectrum of adiabatic perturbations may be\ngenerated without the need for cosmic inflation, albeit in a phase preceding\nthe hot big bang singularity. A key question they face is whether there exists\na unique prescription for following perturbations through the bounce, an issue\nwhich is not yet definitively settled. This goal of this paper is more modest,\nnamely to study a bouncing Universe model in which neither General Relativity\nnor the Weak Energy Condition is violated. We show that a perturbation which is\npure growing mode before the bounce does not match to a pure decaying mode\nperturbation after the bounce. Analytical estimates of when the comoving\ncurvature perturbation varies around the bounce are given. It is found that in\ngeneral it is necessary to evaluate the evolution of the perturbation through\nthe bounce in detail rather than using matching conditions.",
        "positive": "Non-Abelian Sine-Gordon Solitons: We point out that non-Abelian sine-Gordon solitons stably exist in the $U(N)$\nchiral Lagrangian. They also exist in a $U(N)$ gauge theory with two $N$ by $N$\ncomplex scalar fields coupled to each other. One non-Abelian sine-Gordon\nsoliton can terminate on one non-Abelian global vortex. They are relevant in\nchiral Lagrangian of QCD or in color-flavor locked phase of high density QCD,\nwhere the anomaly is suppressed at asymptotically high temperature or density,\nrespectively."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Anomalous Dimensions of Non-Chiral Operators from AdS/CFT: Non-chiral operators with positive anomalous dimensions can have interesting\napplications to supersymmetric model building. Motivated by this, we develop a\nnew method for obtaining the anomalous dimensions of non-chiral double-trace\noperators in N=1 superconformal field theories (SCFTs) with weakly-coupled AdS\nduals. Via the Hamiltonian formulation of AdS/CFT, we show how to directly\ncompute the anomalous dimension as a bound state energy in the gravity dual.\nThis simplifies previous approaches based on the four-point function and the\nOPE. We apply our method to a class of effective AdS5 supergravity models, and\nwe find that the binding energy can have either sign. If such models can be UV\ncompleted, they will provide the first calculable examples of SCFTs with\npositive anomalous dimensions.",
        "positive": "Black Composite M-branes: We generalise all the known supersymmetric composite M-branes to the\ncorresponding black configurations. Thermodynamical formulae is written by\nusing the simple rules to construct these black branes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauge anomalies in Lorentz-violating QED: In this work we study the issue of gauge anomalies in Lorentz-violating QED.\nTo do so, we opt to use the Becchi-Rouet-Stora-Tyutin formalism within the\nalgebraic renormalization approach, reducing our study to a cohomology problem.\nSince this approach is independent of the renormalization scheme, the results\nobtained here are expected to be general. We find that the Lorentz-violating\nQED is free of gauge anomalies to all orders in perturbation theory.",
        "positive": "String Solitons and T-duality: We construct for arbitrary dimensions a universal T-duality covariant\nexpression for the Wess-Zumino terms of supersymmetric String Solitons in\ntoroidally compactified string theories with 32 supercharges. The worldvolume\nfields occurring in the effective action of these String Solitons form either a\nvector or a tensor multiplet with 16 supercharges. We determine the dimensions\nof the conjugacy classes under T-duality to which these String Solitons belong.\nWe do this in two steps. First, we determine the T-duality representations of\nthe $p$-forms of maximal supergravities that contain the potentials that couple\nto these String Solitons. We find that these are p-forms, with D-4\\le p\\le 6 if\nD \\ge 6 and with D-4\\le p\\le D if D < 6, transforming in the antisymmetric\nrepresentation of rank m=p+4-D\\le 4 of the T-duality symmetry SO(10-D,10-D).\nAll branes support vector multiplets except when m=10-D. In that case the\nT-duality representation splits, for D<10, into a selfdual and anti-selfdual\npart, corresponding to 5-branes supporting either a vector or a tensor\nmultiplet. In a second step we show that only certain well-defined lightlike\ndirections in the anti-symmetric tensor representations of the T-duality group\ncorrespond to supersymmetric String Solitons. These lightlike directions define\nthe conjugacy classes. As a by-product we show how by a straightforward\nprocedure all solitonic fields of maximal supergravity are derived using the\nKac-Moody algebra E(11)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Direct Computation of Monodromy Matrices and Classification of 4d N=2\n  Heterotic--IIA Dual Vacua: We compute the monodromy matrices on the special geometry of 4d N=2\nHeterotic--IIA dual vacua in some simple cases by numerical evaluation of the\nperiod integrals, without assuming geometric background. The integrality of the\nmonodromy matrices constrains some classification invariants of the string\nvacua. We also mention some mathematical open problems on period polynomials\nfor modular form with poles.",
        "positive": "Junction equations for two spherically symmetric spacetimes and the\n  distributional method: Applying the distributional formalism to study the dynamics of thin shells in\ngeneral relativity, we regain the junction equations for matching of two\nspherically symmetric spacetimes separated by a singular hypersurface. In\nparticular, we have shown how to define and insert the relevant sign functions\nin the junction equations corresponding to the signs of the extrinsic curvature\ntensor occurred in the Darmois-Israel method."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The uses of Whitham hierarchies: We review some of the uses of Whitham hierarchies in the context of the\ntheory of the prepotential in N=2 supersymmetric gauge theories. We focus on\nthe structure of the contact terms in the twisted topological theory, and on\nthe connection between Whitham hierarchies and the u-plane integrals for higher\nrank gauge groups, trying to put together the different approaches involved in\nthis connection. We also review two other uses of the Whitham hierarchies: the\ninterpretation of the slow times as supersymmetry breaking parameters, and the\nnew techniques to extract instanton corrections using the RG equations written\nin terms of theta functions.",
        "positive": "Chiral Anomaly and Ginsparg-Wilson Relation on the Noncommutative Torus: We evaluate chiral anomaly on the noncommutative torus with the overlap Dirac\noperator satisfying the Ginsparg-Wilson relation in arbitrary even dimensions.\nUtilizing a topological argument we show that the chiral anomaly is combined\ninto a form of the Chern character with star products."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Large N Volume Independence and an Emergent Fermionic Symmetry: Large-N volume independence in circle-compactified QCD with N_f \\geq 1\nadjoint Weyl fermions implies the absence of any phase transitions as the\nradius is dialed to arbitrarily small values. This class of theories are\nbelieved to possess a Hagedorn density of hadronic states. It turns out that\nthese properties are in apparent tension with each other, because a Hagedorn\ndensity of states typically implies a phase transition at some finite radius.\nThis tension is resolved if there are degeneracies between the spectra of\nbosonic and fermionic states, as happens in the N_f=1 supersymmetric case.\nResolution of the tension for N_f>1 then suggests the emergence of a fermionic\nsymmetry at large N, where there is no supersymmetry. We can escape the\nColeman-Mandula theorem since the N=\\infty theory is free, with a trivial\nS-matrix. We show an example of such a spectral degeneracy in a\nnon-supersymmetric toy example which has a Hagedorn spectrum.",
        "positive": "Noncommutative Hall Effect: When coordinates are noncommutative, the Hall effect is reinvestigated. The\nHall conductivity is expressed with noncommutative parameters, so that in the\ncommutative limit it tends to the conventional result."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Positivity Constraints on Interacting Spin-2 Fields: The consistency of the EFT of two interacting spin-2 fields is checked by\napplying forward limit positivity bounds on the scattering amplitudes to\nexclude the region of parameter space devoid of a standard UV completion. We\nfocus on two classes of theories that have the highest possible EFT cutoff,\nnamely those theories modelled on ghost-free interacting theories of a single\nmassive spin-2 field. We find that the very existence of interactions between\nthe spin-2 fields implies more stringent bounds on all the parameters of the\nEFT, even on the spin-2 self-interactions. This arises for two reasons. First,\nwith every new field included in the low-energy EFT, comes the `knowledge' of\nan extra pole to be subtracted, hence strengthening the positivity bounds.\nSecond, while adding new fields increases the number of free parameters from\nthe new interactions, this is rapidly overcome by the increased number of\npositivity bounds for different possible scattering processes. We also discuss\nhow positivity bounds appear to favour relations between operators that\neffectively raise the cutoff of the EFT.",
        "positive": "Decoherence and thermalization of Unruh-DeWitt detector in arbitrary\n  dimensions: We study the decoherence and thermalization of an Unruh-DeWitt detector\nlinearly coupled to the free massless scalar field in flat spacetime of\narbitrary dimensions ($d\\geq 2$). The initial state of the detector is chosen\nto be a pure state consisting of a linear superposition of ground and excited\nstates, and we calculate the time evolution of reduced density matrix of the\ndetector. Using perturbation method, we analytically derive the transition rate\nof the detector (the rate of change of the diagonal elements in the density\nmatrix) and the decoherence rate (the rate of change of the off-diagonal\nelements in the density matrix). We find that the results are not the same in\nodd and even dimensional spacetimes, but the unitarity of the qubit is\npreserved in both cases. The real part of the decoherence rate is related to\nthe transition rate, while the imaginary part may contain different forms of\ndivergence terms in different dimensions due to the temporal order product\noperator and the singularities of the Wightman function for quantum field\ntheory. We derive the recurrence formula to obtain the divergence terms in each\ndimension and analyze the renormalization problem."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-linear partially massless symmetry in an SO(1,5) continuation of\n  conformal gravity: We construct a non-linear theory of interacting spin-2 fields that is\ninvariant under the partially massless (PM) symmetry to all orders. This theory\nis based on the SO(1,5) group, in analogy with the SO(2,4) formulation of\nconformal gravity, but has a quadratic spectrum free of ghost instabilities.\nThe action contains a vector field associated to a local SO(2) symmetry which\nis manifest in the vielbein formulation of the theory. We show that, in a\nperturbative expansion, the SO(2) symmetry transmutes into the PM\ntransformations of a massive spin-2 field. In this context, the vector field is\ncrucial to circumvent earlier obstructions to an order-by-order construction of\nPM symmetry. Although the non-linear theory lacks enough first class\nconstraints to remove all helicity-0 modes from the spectrum, the PM\ntransformations survive to all orders. The absence of ghosts and strong\ncoupling effects at the non-linear level are not addressed here.",
        "positive": "Discontinuities in Scalar Perturbations of Topological Black Holes: We study the perturbative behaviour of topological black holes. We calculate\nboth analytically and numerically the quasi-normal modes of scalar\nperturbations. In the case of small black holes we find discontinuities of the\nquasi-normal modes spectrum at the critical temperature and we argue that this\nis evidence of a second-order phase transition."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hard Thermal Loops, Static Response and the Composite Effective Action: First, we investigate the static non-Abelian Kubo equation. We prove that it\ndoes not possess finite energy solutions; thereby we establish that gauge\ntheories do not support hard thermal solitons. A similar argument shows that\n\"static\" instantons are absent. In addition, we note that the static equations\nreproduce the expected screening of the non-Abelian electric field by a gauge\ninvariant Debye mass m=gT sqrt((N+N_F/2)/3). Second, we derive the non-Abelian\nKubo equation from the composite effective action. This is achieved by showing\nthat the requirement of stationarity of the composite effective action is\nequivalent, within a kinematical approximation scheme, to the condition of\ngauge invariance for the generating functional of hard thermal loops.",
        "positive": "A Note on Orientifolds and F-theory: An orientifold of Type-IIB theory on a $K3$ realized as a $Z_2$ orbifold is\nconstructed which corresponds to F-theory compactification on a Calabi-Yau\norbifold with Hodge numbers $(51, 3)$. The T-dual of this model is analogous to\nan orbifold with discrete torsion in that the action of orientation reversal\nhas an additional phase on the twisted sectors, and both 9-branes and 5-branes\ncarry orthogonal gauge groups. An orientifold of the $Z_3$ orbifold and its\nrelation to F-theory is briefly discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Kinks and branes in models with hyperbolic interactions: In this work we investigate several models described by a single real scalar\nfield with non-polynomial interactions, constructed to support topological\nsolutions. We do this using the deformation procedure to introduce a function\nwhich allows to construct two distinct families of hyperbolic potentials,\ncontrolled by three distinct parameters, in the standard formalism. In this\nway, the procedure allows us to get analytical solutions, and then investigate\nthe energy density, linear stability and zero mode. We move on and introduce a\nnon-standard formalism to obtain compact solutions, analytically. We also\ninvestigate these hyperbolic models in the braneworld context, considering both\nthe standard and non-standard possibilities. The results show how to construct\ndistinct braneworld models which are implemented via the first order formalism\nand are stable against fluctuation of the metric tensor.",
        "positive": "Scaling solutions for asymptotically free quantum gravity: We compute scaling solutions of functional flow equations for quantum gravity\nin a general truncation with up to four derivatives of the metric. They connect\nthe asymptotically free ultraviolet fixed point, which is accessible to\nperturbation theory, to the non-perturbative infrared region. The existence of\nsuch scaling solutions is necessary for a renormalizable quantum field theory\nof gravity. If the proposed scaling solution is confirmed beyond our\napproximations asymptotic freedom is a viable alternative to asymptotic safety\nfor quantum gravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The weaving of curved geometries: In the physical interpretation of states in non-perturbative loop quantum\ngravity the so-called weave states play an important role. Until now only\nweaves representing flat geometries have been introduced explicitly. In this\npaper the construction of weaves for non-flat geometries is described; in\nparticular, weaves representing the Schwarzschild solution are constructed.",
        "positive": "R\u00e9nyi Mutual Information in Quantum Field Theory: We study a proper definition of R\\'enyi mutual information (RMI) in quantum\nfield theory as defined via the Petz R\\'enyi relative entropy. Unlike the\nstandard definition, the RMI we compute is a genuine measure of correlations\nbetween subsystems, as evidenced by its non-negativity and monotonicity under\nlocal operations. Furthermore, the RMI is UV finite and well-defined in the\ncontinuum limit. We develop a replica path integral approach for the RMI in\nquantum field theories and evaluate it explicitly in 1+1D conformal field\ntheory using twist fields. We prove that it bounds connected correlation\nfunctions and check our results against exact numerics in the massless free\nfermion theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Moduli potentials in string compactifications with fluxes: mapping the\n  Discretuum: We find de Sitter and flat space solutions with all moduli stabilized in four\ndimensional supergravity theories derived from the heterotic and type II string\ntheories, and explain how all the previously known obstacles to finding such\nsolutions can be removed. Further, we argue that if the compact manifold allows\na large enough space of discrete topological choices then it is possible to\ntune the parameters of the four dimensional supergravity such that a hierarchy\nis created and the solutions lie in the outer region of moduli space in which\nthe compact volume is large in string units, the string coupling is weak, and\nstring perturbation theory is valid. We show that at least two light chiral\nsuperfields are required for this scenario to work, however, one field is\nsufficient to obtain a minimum with an acceptably small and negative\ncosmological constant. We discuss cosmological issues of the scenario and the\npossible role of anthropic considerations in choosing the vacuum of the theory.\nWe conclude that the most likely stable vacuua are in or near the central\nregion of moduli space where string perturbation theory is not strictly valid,\nand that anthropic considerations cannot help much in choosing a vacuum.",
        "positive": "Nonclassical Light in Interferometric Measurements: It is shown that the even and odd coherent light and other nonclassical\nstates of light like superposition of coherent states with different phases may\nreplace the squeezed light in interferometric gravitational wave detector to\nincrease its sensitivity. (Contribution to the Second Workshop on Harmonic\nOscillator, Cocoyoc, Mexico, March 1994)"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Another View on the Shape Equation for Strings: The question how an $M$-dimensional extended object must be shaped so that a\nrigid motion gives an $M$-brane solution ($M+1$ dimensional timelike zero mean\ncurvature surface) in $M+2$ dimensional Minkowski space is discussed for closed\nstrings",
        "positive": "Irreversibility and decoherence in an ideal gas: Different models are described where non-interacting particles generate\ndissipative effective forces by the mixing of infinitely many soft normal\nmodes. The effective action is calculated for these models within the Closed\nTime Path formalism. This is a well known scheme for quantum systems but its\napplication in classical mechanics presents a new, more unified derivation and\ntreatment of dissipative forces within classical and quantum physics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Some Aspects of Quantum Mechanics and Quantum Field Theory on Quantum\n  Space- Time: This thesis is devoted to studying various aspects of quantum mechanics on\nnon-commutative space-time and to capture some of the surviving aspects of\nsymmetries of quantum field theory on such space-time, illustrated through toy\nmodels in (0 + 1) dimension. This allows one to gain some insights into this\nand other related issues in a more transparent manner.",
        "positive": "Asymptotically free scalar curvature-ghost coupling in Quantum Einstein\n  Gravity: We consider the asymptotic-safety scenario for quantum gravity which\nconstructs a non-perturbatively renormalisable quantum gravity theory with the\nhelp of the functional renormalisation group. We verify the existence of a\nnon-Gaussian fixed point and include a running curvature-ghost coupling as a\nfirst step towards the flow of the ghost sector of the theory. We find that the\nscalar curvature-ghost coupling is asymptotically free and RG relevant in the\nultraviolet. Most importantly, the property of asymptotic safety discovered so\nfar within the Einstein-Hilbert truncation and beyond remains stable under the\ninclusion of the ghost flow."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Interior of Schwarzschild black hole as a relativistic free particle: Using the standard Hamiltonian approach followed by ADM formalism to the\ngeometry of a Schwarzschild black hole, we show that the interior spacetime of\nSchwarzschild black hole behaves like a relativistic free particle with Planck\nmass $M_{p}$. We further present the (anti-)BRST quantization of the\nrelativistic free particle representing the interior of Schwarzschild black\nhole. With help of the (anti-)BRST formalism, we determine the physical states\nof the system in general Hilbert space. This is a novel observation in the\ncontext of gauge theoretic approach to gravity.",
        "positive": "Statistical Origin of Black Hole Entropy in Matrix Theory: The statistical entropy of black holes in M-theory is considered. Assuming\nMatrix theory is the discretized light-cone quantization of a theory with\neleven-dimensional Lorentz invariance, we map the counting problem onto the\noriginal Gibbons-Hawking calculation of the thermodynamic entropy."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Uniqueness of $U_q(N)$ as a quantum gauge group and representations of\n  its differential algebra: To construct a quantum group gauge theory one needs an algebra which is\ninvariant under gauge transformations. The existence of this invariant algebra\nis closely related with the existence of a differential algebra $\\delta _{{\\cal\nH}} G_{q}$ compatible with the Hopf algebra structure. It is shown that $\\delta\n_{{\\cal H}} G_{q}$ exists only for the quantum group $U_{q}(N)$ and that the\nquantum group $SU_q(N)$ as a quantum gauge group is not allowed. The\nrepresentations of the algebra $\\delta _{{\\cal H}} G_{q}$ are con- structed.\nThe operators corresponding to the differentials are realized via derivations\non the space of all irreducible *-representations of $U_q(2)$. With the help of\nthis construction infinitesimal gauge transformations in two-dimensional\nclassical space-time are described.",
        "positive": "Strongly Coupled Perturbations in Two-Field Inflationary Models: We study models of inflation with two scalar fields and non-canonical kinetic\nterms, focusing on the case in which the curvature and isocurvature\nperturbations are strongly coupled to each other. In the regime where a heavy\nmode can be identified and integrated out, we clarify the passage from the full\ntwo-field model to an effectively single-field description. However, the strong\ncoupling sets a new scale in the system, and affects the evolution of the\nperturbations as well as the beginning of the regime of validity of the\neffective field theory. In particular, the predictions of the model are\nsensitive to the relative hierarchy between the coupling and the mass of the\nheavy mode. As a result, observables are not given unambiguously in terms of\nthe parameters of an effectively single field model with non-trivial sound\nspeed. Finally, the requirement that the sound horizon crossing occurs within\nthe regime of validity of the effective theory leads to a lower bound on the\nsound speed. Our analysis is done in an extremely simple toy model of slow-roll\ninflation, which is chosen for its tractability, but is non-trivial enough to\nillustrate the richness of the dynamics in non-canonical multi-field models."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Extended Algebra of the SU(2) Wess-Zumino-Witten Models: The Wess-Zumino-Witten model defined on the group SU(2) has a unique\n(non-trivial) simple current of conformal dimension k/4 for each level k. The\nextended algebra defined by this simple current is carefully constructed in\nterms of generalised commutation relations, and the corresponding\nrepresentation theory is investigated. This extended algebra approach is proven\nto realise a faithful (\"free-field-type\") representation of the SU(2) model.\nSubtleties in the formulation of the extended theory are illustrated throughout\nby the k=1, 2 and 4 models. For the first two cases, bases for the modules of\nthe extended theory are given and rigorously justified.",
        "positive": "The Landau-Ginzburg to Calabi-Yau Dictionary for D-Branes: Based on work by Orlov, we give a precise recipe for mapping between B-type\nD-branes in a Landau-Ginzburg orbifold model (or Gepner model) and the\ncorresponding large-radius Calabi-Yau manifold. The D-branes in Landau-Ginzburg\ntheories correspond to matrix factorizations and the D-branes on the Calabi-Yau\nmanifolds are objects in the derived category. We give several examples\nincluding branes on quotient singularities associated to weighted projective\nspaces. We are able to confirm several conjectures and statements in the\nliterature."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Line Defect Quantum Numbers & Anomalies: We explore the connection between the global symmetry quantum numbers of line\ndefects and 't Hooft anomalies. Relative to local (point) operators, line\ndefects may transform projectively under both internal and spacetime\nsymmetries. This phenomenon is known as symmetry fractionalization, and in\ngeneral it signals the presence of certain discrete 't Hooft anomalies. We\ndescribe this in detail in the context of free Maxwell theory in four\ndimensions. This understanding allows us to deduce the 't Hooft anomalies of\nnon-Abelian gauge theories with renormalization group flows into Maxwell theory\nby analyzing the fractional quantum numbers of dynamical magnetic monopoles. We\nillustrate this method in $SU(2)$ gauge theories with matter fermions in\ndiverse representations of the gauge group. For adjoint matter, we uncover a\nmixed anomaly involving the 0-form and 1-form symmetries, extending previous\nresults. For $SU(2)$ QCD with fundamental fermions, the 't Hooft anomaly for\nthe 0-form symmetries that is encoded by the fractionalization patterns of\nlines in the Maxwell phase is a consequence of the familiar perturbative\n(triangle) anomaly.",
        "positive": "World-volume Effective Theories of Locally Non-geometric Branes: We study world-volume effective theories of five-branes in type II string\ntheories. We determine the bosonic zero-modes of the NS5-brane, the\nKaluza-Klein monopole, the exotic Q5-, R5-branes and a space-filling brane, by\ndirect calculations within the formalism of double field theory (DFT). We show\nthat these zero-modes are Nambu-Goldstone modes associated with the\nspontaneously broken gauge symmetries in DFT. They are organized into the\nbosonic part of the six-dimensional $\\mathcal{N} = (1,1)$ vector and the\n$\\mathcal{N} = (2,0)$ tensor multiplets. Among other things, we examine the\nlocally non-geometric R5-branes and space-filling branes that are characterized\nby the winding space. We also study effective theories of five-branes with\nstring worldsheet instanton corrections."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Study of the OSV Conjecture for 4D N=2 Extremal Black Holes in Type IIB\n  String Theory: In this survey we study the OSV conjecture for 4D N=2 extremal black holes of\ntype IIB suprstring theory. We apply T-duality to find the generalized\nprepotential of the low energy limit of this superstring theory up to one-loop\norder in the closed string coupling. On the other hand, we calculate the\ntree-level and one-loop free energies of B-model topological string theory. To\ncompare them we will explicitly show that the OSV conjecture holds for type IIB\nN=2 extremal black holes.",
        "positive": "BPS surface operators and calibrations: We present here a careful study of the holographic duals of BPS surface\noperators in the 6d ${\\cal N}=(2,0)$ theory. Several different classes of\nsurface operators have been recently identified and each class has a specific\ncalibration form - a 3-form in $AdS_7\\times S^4$ whose pullback to the M2-brane\nworld-volume is equal to the volume form. In all but one class, the appropriate\nforms are closed, so the action of the M2-brane is easily expressed in terms of\nboundary data, which is the geometry of the surface. Specifically, for surfaces\nof vanishing anomaly, it is proportional to the integral of the square of the\nextrinsic curvature. This can be extended to the case of surfaces with\nanomalies, by taking the ratio of two surfaces with the same anomaly. This\ngives a slew of new expectation values at large $N$ in this theory.\n  For one specific class of surface operators, which are Lagrangian\nsubmanifolds of ${\\mathbb R}^4\\subset {\\mathbb R}^6$, the structure is far\nricher and we find that the M2-branes are special Lagrangian submanifold of an\nappropriate six-dimensional almost Calabi-Yau submanifold of $AdS_7\\times S^4$.\nThis allows for an elegant treatment of many such examples."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exact asymptotically flat charged hairy black holes with a dilaton\n  potential: We find broad classes of exact 4-dimensional asymptotically flat black hole\nsolutions in Einstein-Maxwell theories with a non-minimally coupled dilaton and\nits non-trivial potential. We consider a few interesting limits, in particular,\na regular generalization of the dilatonic Reissner-Nordstr{\\\"o}m solution and,\nalso, smooth deformations of supersymmetric black holes. Further examples are\nprovided for more general dilaton potentials. We discuss the thermodynamical\nproperties and show that the first law is satisfied. In the non-extremal case\nthe entropy depends, as expected, on the asymptotic value of the dilaton. In\nthe extremal limit, the entropy is determined purely in terms of charges and is\nindependent of the asymptotic value of the dilaton. The attractor mechanism can\nbe used as a criterion for the existence of the regular solutions. Since there\nis a `competition' between the effective potential and dilaton potential, we\nalso obtain regular extremal black hole solutions with just one U(1) gauge\nfield turned on.",
        "positive": "On Higher Spin Symmetries in AdS_{5}: A special embedding of the SU(4) algebra in SU(10), including both spin two\nand spin three symmetry generators, is constructed. A possible five dimensional\naction for massless spin two and three fields with cubic interaction is\nconstructed. The connection with the previously investigated higher spin\ntheories in $AdS_{5}$ background is discussed. Generalization to the more\ngeneral case of symmetries, including spins $2,3,\\dots s$, is shown."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Reflection Amplitudes of Boundary Toda Theories and Thermodynamic Bethe\n  Ansatz: We study the ultraviolet asymptotics in $A_n$ affine Toda theories with\nintegrable boundary actions. The reflection amplitudes of non-affine Toda\ntheories in the presence of conformal boundary actions have been obtained from\nthe quantum mechanical reflections of the wave functional in the Weyl chamber\nand used for the quantization conditions and ground-state energies. We compare\nthese results with the thermodynamic Bethe ansatz derived from both the bulk\nand (conjectured) boundary scattering amplitudes. The two independent\napproaches match very well and provide the non-perturbative checks of the\nboundary scattering amplitudes for Neumann and $(+)$ boundary conditions. Our\nresults also confirm the conjectured boundary vacuum energies and the duality\nconjecture between the two boundary conditions.",
        "positive": "Higher Spin Scattering in Superstring Theory: We compute scattering amplitudes of leading Regge trajectory states in open\nsuperstring theories. Highest spin states at mass level n with spin s=n+1 for\nbosons and s=n+1/2 for fermions are generated by particularly simple vertex\noperators. Hence, the cubic couplings of bosons and fermions on the leading\nRegge trajectory are given for arbitrary n. The same can be achieved for higher\npoint amplitudes, and this article focuses on four point level with one heavy\nmaximum spin state and three massless states in any bose-fermi combination,\nputting particular emphasis on manifest cyclic symmetry. Except for the four\nfermion coupling, all our results remain valid in any D<10 dimensional\ncompactification scenario, so they might become relevant at LHC in case of an\nexperimentally accessible low string scale. But even if not directly\nobservable, superstring amplitudes provide important clues on higher spin\ndynamics and their consistent interactions in field theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic entanglement from the UV to the IR: In AdS/CFT, observables on the boundary are invariant under renormalization\ngroup (RG) flow in the bulk. In this paper, we study holographic entanglement\nentropy under bulk RG flow and find that it is indeed invariant. We focus on\ntree-level RG flow, where massive fields in a UV theory are integrated out to\ngive the IR theory. We explicitly show that in several simple examples,\nholographic entanglement entropy calculated in the UV theory agrees with that\ncalculated in the IR theory. Moreover, we give an argument for this agreement\nto hold for general tree-level RG flow. Along the way, we generalize the\nreplica method of calculating holographic entanglement entropy to bulk theories\nthat include matter fields with nonzero spin.",
        "positive": "The renormalization group equations revisited: Starting from a well defined local Lagrangian, we analyze the renormalization\ngroup equations in terms of the two different arbitrary scales associated with\nthe regularization procedure and with the physical renormalization of the bare\nparameters, respectively. We apply our formalism to the minimal subtraction\nscheme using dimensional regularization. We first argue that the relevant\nregularization scale in this case should be dimensionless. By relating bare and\nrenormalized parameters to physical observables, we calculate the coefficients\nof the renormalization group equation up to two loop order in the $\\phi^4$\ntheory. We show that the usual assumption, considering the bare parameters to\nbe independent of the regularization scale, is not a direct consequence of any\nphysical argument. The coefficients that we find in our two-loop calculation\nare identical to the standard practice. We finally comment on the decoupling\nproperties of the renormalized coupling constant."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Induced vacuum current and magnetic flux in quantum scalar matter in the\n  background of a vortex defect with the Neumann boundary condition: A topological defect in the form of the Abrikosov-Nielsen-Olesen vortex in a\nspace of arbitrary dimension is considered as a gauge-flux-carrying tube that\nis impenetrable for quantum matter. Charged scalar matter field is quantized in\nthe vortex background with the perfectly rigid (Neumann) boundary condition\nimposed at the side surface of the vortex. We show that a current circulating\naround the vortex is induced in the vacuum, if the Compton wavelength of the\nmatter field exceeds the transverse size of the vortex considerably. The vacuum\ncurrent is periodic in the value of the gauge flux of the vortex, providing a\nquantum-field-theoretical manifestation of the Aharonov-Bohm effect. The vacuum\ncurrent leads to the appearance of an induced vacuum magnetic flux that for\nsome values of the tube thickness exceeds the vacuum magnetic flux induced by a\nsingular vortex filament. The results were compared to the results obtained\nearlier in the case of the perfectly reflecting (Dirichlet) boundary condition\nimposed at the side surface of the vortex. It is shown that the absolute value\nof the induced vacuum current and the induced vacuum magnetic flux in the case\nof the Neumann boundary condition is greater than in the case of the Dirichlet\nboundary condition.",
        "positive": "Integrability of Black Hole Orbits in Maximal Supergravity: We study the dynamics of a pair of extremal (half-BPS) black holes in\n$\\mathcal{N}=8$ supergravity, as a potentially solvable model of gravitational\ndynamics. As a diagnosis of hidden symmetries, we ask whether the perihelion of\nthe orbits precesses over time. We consider black hole charge vectors with\narbitrary misalignment. First, we use scattering amplitude methods to compute\nthe leading post-Newtonian correction for general mass ratios. This computation\nis greatly simplified by introducing a suitable on-shell superspace. Second, we\nstudy the probe limit to all orders in velocity and Newton's constant through a\nten-dimensional brane setup. In all cases we find no precession. We relate this\nto the absence of scalar triangle integrals."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Kerr/CFT Correspondence in Twistor Space: Ingoing and outgoing principal null geodesics in Kerr spacetimes are\ncharacterized as part of parametrized families of strings in complex Kerr\ngeometry and are associated with holomorphic curves in twistor space with help\nof the Kerr theorem. They are defined on 2-dimensional twistor manifolds, one\nfor outgoing and one for ingoing principal null congruences, and are solutions\nof free twistor string models on these 2-dimensional twistor manifolds. Such a\ntwistor string model implies a conformal field theory and, assuming the\napplicability of the Cardy formula, agreement with the Bekenstein-Hawking area\nlaw can be achieved depending on the effective central charge and temperature.\nA couple of (ambi)twistor string candidate models are examined.",
        "positive": "Firewalls and flat mirrors: An alternative to the AMPS experiment which\n  evades the Harlow-Hayden obstacle: If quantum gravity does not lead to a breakdown of predictability, then\nAlmheiri, Marolf, Polchinski and Sully (AMPS) have argued that an observer\nfalling into a black hole can perform an experiment which verifies a violation\nof entanglement monogamy - that late time Hawking radiation is maximally\nentangled with early time Hawking radiation and also with infalling radiation -\nsomething impossible in quantum field theory. However, as pointed out by Hayden\nand Harlow, this experiment is infeasible, as the time required to perform the\nexperiment is almost certainly longer than the lifetime of the black hole. Here\nwe propose an alternative firewall experiment which could actually be performed\nwithin the black hole's lifetime. The alternative experiment involves forming\nan entangled black hole in which the unscrambling of information is precomputed\non a quantum memory prior to the creation of the black hole and without acting\non the matter which forms the black hole or emerges from it. This would allow\nan observer near a black hole to signal faster than light. As another\napplication of our precomputing strategy, we show how one can produce entangled\nblack holes which acts like ``flat mirrors'', in the sense that information\ncomes out almost instantly (as in the Hayden-Preskill scenario), but also\nemerge unscrambled, so that it can actually be observed instantly as well.\nFinally, we prove that a black hole in thermal equilibrium with its own\nradiation, is uncorrelated with this radiation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Asymptotic Bethe ansatz of ABJM open spin chain from giant graviton: In our previous work, the two-loop integrability of ABJM determinant like\noperator has been well established. In this paper, we push the integrability to\nall loop orders. The asymptotic Bethe ansatz equations for ABJM determinant\nlike operator (open string attached on giant graviton) are obtained. In the\nderivation, the symmetries preserved by the bulk and the boundary played a\ncrucial role. Taking the weak coupling limit and applying appropriate fermionic\ndualities, we obtained a different set of scalar sector Bethe equations with\nour previous results. When the \"gauge\" transformation on Bethe equations was\nintroduced, the discrepancy disappeared.",
        "positive": "Magnetic monopole loops generated from calorons with nontrivial holonomy: We study whether or not magnetic monopoles are generated from calorons\ndefined in the space $\\mathbb{R}^3\\times S^1$ with the period $\\beta$. We give\nnumerical evidence that one-caloron solution with nontrivial holonomy generates\ntwo loops of magnetic monopole and each loop passing through one of the two\npoles of the caloron winds along the time direction for small $\\beta$, while\ntwo loops approach each other to fuse into an unwinding loop for large $\\beta$,\nsuggesting the existence of a critical value of $\\beta$ separating two\ndifferent phases. This work is a first step to explain quark\nconfinement/deconfinement at finite temperature from the viewpoint of dual\nsuperconductor picture in our framework."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "MHV Amplitudes in N=4 Super Yang-Mills and Wilson Loops: It is a remarkable fact that MHV amplitudes in maximally supersymmetric\nYang-Mills theory at arbitrary loop order can be written as the product of the\ntree amplitude with the same helicity configuration and a universal,\nhelicity-blind function of the kinematic invariants. In this note we show how\nfor one-loop MHV amplitudes with an arbitrary number of external legs this\nuniversal function can be derived using Wilson loops. Our result is in precise\nagreement with the known expression for the infinite sequence of MHV amplitudes\nin N=4 super Yang-Mills. In the four-point case, we are able to reproduce the\nexpression of the amplitude to all orders in the dimensional regularisation\nparameter epsilon. This prescription disentangles cleanly infrared divergences\nand finite terms, and leads to an intriguing one-to-one mapping between certain\nWilson loop diagrams and (finite) two-mass easy box functions.",
        "positive": "Calculation of master integrals in terms of elliptic multiple\n  polylogarithms: In modern quantum field theory, one of the most important tasks is the\ncalculation of loop integrals. Loop integrals appear when evaluating the\nFeynman diagrams with one or more loops by integrating over the internal\nmomenta. Even though this problem has already been in place since the\nmid-twentieth century, we not only do not understand how to calculate all\nclasses of these integrals beyond one loop, we do not even know in what class\nof functions the answer is expressed. To partially solve this problem,\ndifferent variations of new functions called usually elliptic multiple\npolylogarithms have been introduced in the last decade. In this paper, we\nexplore the possibilities and limitations of this class of functions. As a\npractical example, we chose the processes associated with the physics of heavy\nquarkonium at the two-loop level."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Integrable vector perturbations of W-invariant theories and their\n  quantum group symmetry: Perturbations of $WD_n$ and $W_3$ conformal theories which generalize the\n$(1,2)$ perturbations of conformal minimal models are shown to be integrable by\ncounting argument. $A_{2n-1,q}^{(2)}$ and $D_{4,q}^ {(3)}$ symmetries of\ncorresponding S-matrices are conjectured and proved by explicit construction of\nconserved nonlocal charges in the $WD_3$ case with the proper quantum group of\nsymmetry.",
        "positive": "A Covariant Entropy Conjecture: We conjecture the following entropy bound to be valid in all space-times\nadmitted by Einstein's equation: Let A be the area of any two-dimensional\nsurface. Let L be a hypersurface generated by surface-orthogonal null geodesics\nwith non-positive expansion. Let S be the entropy on L. Then S does not exceed\nA/4.\n  We present evidence that the bound can be saturated, but not exceeded, in\ncosmological solutions and in the interior of black holes. For systems with\nlimited self-gravity it reduces to Bekenstein's bound. Because the conjecture\nis manifestly time reversal invariant, its origin cannot be thermodynamic, but\nmust be statistical. Thus it places a fundamental limit on the number of\ndegrees of freedom in nature."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quartic interaction vertex in the massive integer higher spin field\n  theory in a constant electromagnetic field: We consider the massive integer higher spin fields coupled to an external\nconstant electromagnetic field in flat space of arbitrary dimension and find a\ngauge invariant quartic interaction vertex which is quadratic in dynamical\nhigher spin field and quadratic in external field. Construction of the vertex\nis based on the BRST approach to higher spin filed theory where no off-shell\nconstraints on the fields and on the gauge parameters are imposed from the very\nbeginning (unconstrained formulation).",
        "positive": "Renormalization of Entanglement Entropy from topological terms: We propose a renormalization scheme for Entanglement Entropy of 3D CFTs with\na 4D asymptotically AdS gravity dual in the context of the gauge/gravity\ncorrespondence. The procedure consists in adding the Chern form as a boundary\nterm to the area functional of the Ryu-Takayanagi minimal surface. We provide\nan explicit prescription for the renormalized Entanglement Entropy, which is\nderived via the replica trick. This is achieved by considering a Euclidean\ngravitational action renormalized by the addition of the Chern form at the\nspacetime boundary, evaluated in the conically-singular replica manifold. We\nshow that the addition of this boundary term cancels the divergent part of the\nEntanglement Entropy, recovering the results obtained by Taylor and Woodhead.\nWe comment on how this prescription for renormalizing the Entanglement Entropy\nis in line with the general program of topological renormalization in\nasymptotically AdS gravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Casimir energy of a massive fermionic field confined in a d+1\n  dimensional slab-bag: We evaluate the fermionic Casimir effect associated with a massive fermion\nconfined within a planar (d+1) dimensional slab-bag, on which MIT bag model\nboundary conditions of standard type, along a single spatial direction, are\nimposed. A simple and effective method for adding up the zero-point energy\neigenvalues, corresponding to a quantum field under the influence of arbitrary\nboundary conditions, imposed on the field on flat surfaces perpendicular to a\nchosen spatial direction, is proposed. Using this procedure, an analytic result\nis obtained, from which small and large fermion mass limits, valid for an\narbitrary number of dimensions, are derived. They match some known results in\nparticular cases. The method can be easily extended to other configurations.",
        "positive": "Vacuum Polarization and Energy Conditions at a Planar Frequency\n  Dependent Dielectric to Vacuum Interface: The form of the vacuum stress-tensor for the quantized scalar field at a\ndielectric to vacuum interface is studied. The dielectric is modeled to have an\nindex of refraction that varies with frequency. We find that the stress-tensor\ncomponents, derived from the mode function expansion of the Wightman function,\nare naturally regularized by the reflection and transmission coefficients of\nthe mode at the boundary. Additionally, the divergence of the vacuum energy\nassociated with a perfectly reflecting mirror is found to disappear for the\ndielectric mirror at the expense of introducing a new energy density near the\nsurface which has the opposite sign. Thus the weak energy condition is always\nviolated in some region of the spacetime. For the dielectric mirror, the mean\nvacuum energy density per unit plate area in a constant time hypersurface is\nalways found to be positive (or zero) and the averaged weak energy condition is\nproven to hold for all observers with non-zero velocity along the normal\ndirection to the boundary. Both results are found to be generic features of the\nvacuum stress-tensor and not necessarily dependent of the frequency dependence\nof the dielectric."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Is Holographic Entropy and Gravity the result of Quantum Mechanics?: In this paper we suggest a connection between quantum mechanics and\nVerlinde's recently proposed entropic force theory for the laws of Newton. We\npropose an entropy based on the quantum mechanical probability density\ndistribution. With the assumption that the holographic principle holds we\npropose that our suggested quantum entropy generalizes the Bekenstein entropy\nused by Verlinde in his approach. Based on this assumption we suggest that\nVerlinde's entropic theory of gravity has a quantum mechanical origin. We\nestablish a reformulation of the Newtonian potential for gravity based on this\nquantum mechanical entropy. We also discuss the notion of observation and the\ncorrespondence to classical physics. Finally we give a discussion, a number of\nopen problems and some concluding remarks.",
        "positive": "Supersymmetric Lorentz-Covariant Hyperspaces and self-duality equations\n  in dimensions greater than (4|4): We generalise the notions of supersymmetry and superspace by allowing\ngenerators and coordinates transforming according to more general Lorentz\nrepresentations than the spinorial and vectorial ones of standard lore. This\nyields novel SO(3,1)-covariant superspaces, which we call hyperspaces, having\ndimensionality greater than (4|4) of traditional super-Minkowski space. As an\napplication, we consider gauge fields on complexifications of these\nsuperspaces; and extending the concept of self-duality, we obtain classes of\ncompletely solvable equations analogous to the four-dimensional self-duality\nequations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Finite temperature $0^{-+}$ glueball spectrum from non-susy D3 brane of\n  Type IIB string theory: Here, we calculate the pseudo-scalar glueball mass at finite temperature from\nthe holographic QCD in $3+1$ dimensions. The decoupled geometry of the\nnon-supersymmetric (non-susy) D$3$ brane at the finite temperature which is the\nsolution of the type-II supergravity is considered as the dual theory of QCD.\nWe calculate the mass spectrum from the axion fluctuation in this gravity\nbackground using WKB approximations. Approximating the WKB equation for various\norders of mass, we derive the analytical expressions of the mass spectrum of\n$0^{-+}$ at the finite temperature. Finally we evaluate the masses numerically\nas $m_{-+}=2.5$GeV and $m_{-+}^*=3.8$GeV from the complete WKB equation. The\nmass of a given state is found to decrease with increasing temperature and\nbecomes zero at confinement -deconfinement transition temperature which is\nconsistent with the idea of deconfinement and also matches with some recent\nlattice results. From this temperature variation, the QCD transition point is\nfound to be about $186$MeV.",
        "positive": "Bulk Locality and Entanglement Swapping in AdS/CFT: Localized bulk excitations in AdS/CFT are produced by operators which modify\nthe pattern of entanglement in the boundary state. We show that simple\nmodels--consisting of entanglement swapping operators acting on a qubit system\nor a free field theory--capture qualitative features of gravitational\nbackreaction and reproduce predictions of the Ryu-Takayanagi formula. These\nentanglement swapping operators naturally admit multiple representations\nassociated with different degrees of freedom, thereby reproducing the code\nsubspace structure emphasized by Almheiri, Dong, and Harlow. We also show that\nthe boundary Reeh-Schlieder theorem implies that equivalence of certain\noperators on a code subspace necessarily breaks down when non-perturbative\neffects are taken into account (as is expected based on bulk arguments)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Combinatorics of Solitons in Noncritical String Theory: We study the combinatorics of solitons in $D<2$ (or $c<1$) string theory. The\nweights in the summation over multi-solitons are shown to be automatically\ndetermined if we further require that the partition function with soliton\nbackground be a $\\tau$ function of the KP hierarchy, in addition to the\n$W_{1+\\infty}$ constraint.",
        "positive": "Radiation from a charge circulating inside a waveguide with dielectric\n  filling: The emitted power of the radiation from a charged particle moving uniformly\non a circle inside a cylindrical waveguide is considered. The expressions for\nthe energy flux of the radiation passing through the waveguide cross-section\nare derived for both TE and TM waves. The results of the numerical evaluation\nare presented for the number of emitted quanta depending on the waveguide\nradius, the radius of the charge rotation orbit and dielectric permittivity of\nthe filling medium. These results are compared with the corresponding\nquantities for the synchrotron radiation in a homogeneous medium."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Free harmonic oscillators, Jack polynomials and Calogero-Sutherland\n  systems: The algebraic structure and the relationships between the eigenspaces of the\nCalogero-Sutherland model (CSM) and the Sutherland model (SM) on a circle are\ninvestigated through the Cherednik operators. We find an exact connection\nbetween the simultaneous non-symmetric eigenfunctions of the $A_{N-1}$\nCherednik operators, from which the eigenfunctions of the CSM and SM are\nconstructed, and the monomials. This construction, not only, allows one to\nwrite down a harmonic oscillator algebra involving the Cherednik operators,\nwhich yields the raising and lowering operators for both of these models, but\nalso shows the connection of the CSM with free oscillators and the SM with free\nparticles on a circle. We also point out the subtle differences between the\nexcitations of the CSM and the SM.",
        "positive": "New classes of solutions for Euclidean scalar field theories: This paper presents new classes of exact radial solutions to the nonlinear\nordinary differential equation that arises as a saddle-point condition for a\nEuclidean scalar field theory in $D$-dimensional spacetime. These solutions are\nfound by exploiting the dimensional consistency of the radial differential\nequation for a single {\\it massless} scalar field, which allows one to\ntransform to an autonomous equation. For massive theories the radial equation\nis not exactly solvable but the massless solutions provide useful\napproximations to the results for the massive case. The solutions presented\nhere depend on the power of the interaction and on the spatial dimension, both\nof which may be noninteger. Scalar equations arising in the study of conformal\ninvariance fit into this framework and classes of new solutions are found.\nThese solutions exhibit two distinct behaviours as $D\\to2$ from above."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "q-Deformed Supersymmetry and Dynamic Magnon Representations: It was recently noted that the dispersion relation for the magnons of planar\nN=4 SYM can be identified with the Casimir of a certain deformation of the\nPoincare algebra, in which the energy and momentum operators are supplemented\nby a boost generator J. By considering the relationship between J and su(2|2) x\nR^2, we derive a q-deformed super-Poincare symmetry algebra of the kinematics.\nUsing this, we show that the dynamic magnon representations may be obtained by\nboosting from a fixed rest-frame representation. We comment on aspects of the\ncoalgebra structure and some implications for the question of boost-covariance\nof the S-matrix.",
        "positive": "Vacuum energy for Yang-Mills fields in $R^d\\times S^1$: One-loop,\n  two-loop, and beyond: The vacuum energy is calculated for Yang-Mills (YM) system defined in $D$\ndimensional space-time of $S^1\\times R^d$ ($D=d+1$), where the possibility of\nthe YM fields to acquire the vacuum expectation values on $S^1$ is taken into\naccount. The vacuum energy has already been obtained to the order of one-loop\nin many people. Here we calculate the vacuum energy in $D$ dimensions to\ntwo-loop order. With an intention to reach higher loops, an approximation\nmethod is proposed, which is especially effective in higher dimensions. By this\nmethod, we can treat the higher-loop contributions of YM interactions as easily\nas we treat one-loop effect. As a check, we show reproduction of the two-loop\ncontribution ($D$-dependence of the coefficient as well as the functional form)\nwhen the coupling constant is small. This approximation method is useful not\nonly for the Kaluza-Klein theories but also for the finite temperature-density\nsystem (as a quark-gluon plasma)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Shape of Branes Pulled by Strings: We examine the system where a string stretches between pair of D-branes, and\nstudy the bending of the D-brane caused by the tension of the string. If the\ndistance between the pair of D-branes is sent to infinity, the tension of the\nstring stretching between them is strong enough to pull the spike all the way\nto infinity. We study the shape of these spikes when the branes are finite\ndistance apart using two different methods. First, we consider a string\nstretched between a pair of D2-branes in type IIA theory by going to the\nM-theory limit in which all of these branes are M-theory 2-branes embedded\nalong a holomorphic curve. Second, we consider a D-string stretched between a\npair of D3-branes in type IIB theory and infer the geometry of the D3-brane\nembeddings from the configuration of the adjoint scalar field in the magnetic\nmonopole solution of Prasad and Sommerfield. The case of fundamental string\nstretching between a pair of D3-branes follows from S-duality. The energy of\nthese configurations matches the expected value based on fundamental string and\nD-string tensions.",
        "positive": "Gauged WZW models and Non-abelian duality: We consider WZW models based on the non-semi-simple algebras that they were\nrecently constructed as contractions of corresponding algebras for semi-simple\ngroups. We give the explicit expression for the action of these models, as well\nas for a generalization of them, and discuss their general properties.\nFurthermore we consider gauged WZW models based on these non-semi-simple\nalgebras and we show that there are equivalent to non-abelian duality\ntransformations on WZW actions. We also show that a general non-abelian duality\ntransformation can be thought of as a limiting case of the non-abelian quotient\ntheory of the direct product of the original action and the WZW action for the\nsymmetry gauge group $H$. In this action there is no Lagrange multiplier term\nthat constrains the gauge field strength to vanish. A particular result is that\nthe gauged WZW action for the coset $(G_k \\otimes H_l)/H_{k+l}$ is equivalent,\nin the limit $l\\to \\infty$, to the dualized WZW action for $G_k$ with respect\nto the subgroup $H$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quiver Gauge Theory and Extended Electric-magnetic Duality: We construct N=1 A-D-E quiver gauge theory with the gauge kinetic term which\ndepends on the adjoint chiral superfields, as a low energy effective theory on\nD5-branes wrapped on 2-cycles of Calabi-Yau 3-fold in IIB string theory. The\nfield-dependent gauge kinetic term can be engineered by introducing B-field\nwhich holomorphically varies on the base space (complex plane) of Calabi-Yau.\nWe consider Weyl reflection on A-D-E node, which acts non-trivially on the\ngauge kinetic term. It is known that Weyl reflection is related to N=1\nelectric-magnetic duality. Therefore, the non-trivial action implies an\nextension of the electric-magnetic duality to the case with the field-dependent\ngauge kinetic term. We show that this extended duality is consistent from the\nfield theoretical point of view. We also consider the duality map of the\noperators.",
        "positive": "Dual Descriptions of Supersymmetry Breaking: Dynamical supersymmetry breaking is considered in models which admit\ndescriptions in terms of electric, confined, or magnetic degrees of freedom in\nvarious limits. In this way, a variety of seemingly different theories which\nbreak supersymmetry are actually inter-related by confinement or duality.\nSpecific examples are given in which there are two dual descriptions of the\nsupersymmetry breaking ground state."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Principles and symmetries of complexity in quantum field theory: Based on general and minimal properties of the {\\it discrete} circuit\ncomplexity, we define the complexity in {\\it continuous} systems in a\ngeometrical way. We first show that the Finsler metric naturally emerges in the\ngeometry of the complexity in continuous systems. Due to fundamental symmetries\nof quantum field theories, the Finsler metric is more constrained and\nconsequently, the complexity of SU($n$) operators is uniquely determined as a\nlength of a geodesic in the Finsler geometry. Our Finsler metric is\nbi-invariant contrary to the right-invariance of discrete qubit systems. We\nclarify why the bi-invariance is relevant in quantum field theoretic systems.\nAfter comparing our results with discrete qubit systems we show most results in\n$k$-local right-invariant metric can also appear in our framework. Based on the\nbi-invariance of our formalism, we propose a new interpretation for the\nSchr\\\"{o}dinger's equation in isolated systems - the quantum state evolves by\nthe process of minimizing \"computational cost.\"",
        "positive": "The Cosmological Constant and the Electroweak Scale: String theory has no parameter except the string scale, so a dynamically\ncompactified solution to 4 dimensional spacetime should determine both the\nPlanck scale and the cosmological constant $\\Lambda$. In the racetrack K\\\"ahler\nuplift flux compactification model in Type IIB theory, where the string theory\nlandscape is generated by scanning over discrete values of all the flux\nparameters, a statistical preference for an exponentially small $\\Lambda$ is\nfound to be natural (arXiv:1305.0753). Within this framework and matching the\nmedian $\\Lambda$ value to the observed $\\Lambda$, a mass scale ${\\bf m}\\simeq\n100$ GeV naturally appears. We explain how the electroweak scale can be\nidentified with this mass scale."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Short Distance Repulsive Gravity as a Consequence of Non Trivial PPN\n  Parameters $\u03b2$ and $\u03b3$: We look for a graviton-dilaton theory which can predict non trivial values of\nthe PPN parameters $\\beta$ and/or $\\gamma$ for a charge neutral point star,\nwithout any naked singularity. With the potential for dilaton $\\phi$ set to\nzero, it contains one arbitrary function $\\psi(\\phi)$. Our requirements impose\ncertain constraints on $\\psi$, which lead to the following generic and model\nindependent novel results: For a charge neutral point star, the gravitational\nforce becomes repulsive at distances of the order of, but greater than, the\nSchwarzschild radius $r_0$. There is also no horizon for $r > r_0$. These\nresults suggest that black holes are unlikely to form in a stellar collapse in\nthis theory.",
        "positive": "Early Universe Evolution in Graviton-Dilaton Models: We present a class of graviton-dilaton models which leads to a singularity\nfree evolution of the universe. We study the evolution of a homogeneous\nisotropic universe. We follow an approach which enables us to analyse the\nevolution and obtain its generic features even in the absence of explicit\nsolutions, which are not possible in general. We describe the generic evolution\nof the universe and show, in particular, that it is singularity free in the\npresent class of models. Such models may stand on their own as interesting\nmodels for singularity free cosmology, and may be studied accordingly. They may\nalso arise from string theory. We discuss critically a few such possibilities."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dynamal (super)symmetries of monopoles and vortices: The dynamical (super)symmetries for various monopole systems are reviewed.\nFor a Dirac monopole, no smooth Runge-Lenz vector can exist; there is, however,\na spectrum-generating conformal $o(2,1)$ dynamical symmetry that extends into\n$osp(1/1)$ or $osp(1/2)$ for spin 1/2 particles. Self-dual 't\nHooft-Polyakov-type monopoles admit an $su(2/2)$ dynamical supersymmetry\nalgebra, which allows us to reduce the fluctuation equation to the spin zero\ncase. For large $r$ the system reduces to a Dirac monopole plus an suitable\ninverse-square potential considered before by McIntosh and Cisneros, and by\nZwanziger in the spin 0 case, and to the `dyon' of D'Hoker and Vinet for spin\n1/2. The asymptotic system admits a Kepler-type dynamical symmetry as well as a\n`helicity-supersymmetry' analogous to the one Biedenharn found in the\nrelativistic Kepler problem. Similar results hold for the Kaluza-Klein monopole\nof Gross-Perry-Sorkin. For the magnetic vortex, the N=2 supersymmetry of the\nPauli Hamiltonian in a static magnetic field in the plane combines with the\n$o(2)\\times o(2,1)$ bosonic symmetry into an $o(2)\\times osp(1/2)$ dynamical\nsuperalgebra.",
        "positive": "A QP perspective on topology change in Poisson-Lie T-duality: We describe topological T-duality and Poisson-Lie T-duality in terms of QP\n(differential graded symplectic) manifolds and their canonical transformations.\nDuality is mediated by a QP-manifold on doubled non-abelian \"correspondence\"\nspace, from which we can perform mutually dual symplectic reductions, where\ncertain canonical transformations play a vital role. In the presence of\nspectator coordinates, we show how the introduction of \"bibundle\" structure on\ncorrespondence space realises changes in the global fibration structure under\nPoisson-Lie duality. Our approach can be directly translated to the worldsheet\nto derive dual string current algebras. Finally, the canonical transformations\nappearing in our reduction procedure naturally suggest a Fourier-Mukai integral\ntransformation for Poisson-Lie T-duality."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Planck-Suppressed Operators: We show that the recent Planck limits on primordial non-Gaussianity impose\nstrong constraints on light hidden sector fields coupled to the inflaton via\noperators suppressed by a high mass scale \\Lambda. We study a simple effective\nfield theory in which a hidden sector field is coupled to a shift-symmetric\ninflaton via arbitrary operators up to dimension five. Self-interactions in the\nhidden sector lead to non-Gaussianity in the curvature perturbations. To be\nconsistent with the Planck limit on local non-Gaussianity, the coupling to any\nhidden sector with light fields and natural cubic couplings must be suppressed\nby a very high scale \\Lambda > 10^5 H. Even if the hidden sector has Gaussian\ncorrelations, nonlinearities in the mixing with the inflaton still lead to\nnon-Gaussian curvature perturbations. In this case, the non-Gaussianity is of\nthe equilateral or orthogonal type, and the Planck data requires \\Lambda > 10^2\nH.",
        "positive": "Definition of Magnetic Monopole Numbers for SU(N) Lattice Gauge-Higgs\n  Models: A geometric definition for a magnetic charge of Abelian monopoles in SU(N)\nlattice gauge theories with Higgs fields is presented. The corresponding local\nmonopole number defined for almost all field configurations does not require\ngauge fixing and is stable against small perturbations. Its topological content\nis that of a 3-cochain. A detailed prescription for calculating the local\nmonopole number is worked out. Our method generalizes a magnetic charge\ndefinition previously invented by Phillips and Stone for SU(2)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "SL(2,Z) S-duality of Super D-string Action in Type IIB Supergravity\n  Background: It is shown in a quantum-mechanically exact manner that a supersymmetric and\n$\\kappa$-symmetric D-string action in a general type IIB supergravity\nbackground is transformed to a form of the type IIB Green-Schwarz superstring\naction with the SL(2,Z) covariant tension through an S-duality transformation.\nThis result precisely proves a conjecture mentioned previously that the SL(2,Z)\nS-duality of a super D-string action in a flat background is also valid even in\na curved IIB background geometry. We point further out the validity of the more\ngeneralized conjecture that various duality relations of super D-brane and\nM-brane actions originally found in a flat background also hold true in general\nten dimensional type II supergravity and eleven dimensional supergravity\nbackground geometries by applying the present formalism to those cases.",
        "positive": "Space--Time Symmetry, CPT and Mirror Fermions: The motivations for the construction of an 8-component representation of\nfermion fields based on a two dimensional representation of time reversal\ntransformation and CPT invariance are discussed. Some of the elementary\nproperties of the quantum field theory in the 8-component representation are\nstudied. It includes the space-time and charge conjugation symmetries, the\nimplementation of a reality condition, the construction of interaction\ntheories, the field theoretical imaginary- and real-time approach to\nthermodynamics of fermionic systems, the quantization of fermion fields, their\nparticle content and the Feynman rules for perturbation theories. It is shown\nthat in the new presentation, a CPT violation can be formulated in principle.\nThe construction of interaction theories in the 8-component theory for fermions\nis shown to be constrained by the CPT invariance. The short distance behavior\nand relativistic covariance are studied. In the path integral representation of\nthe thermodynamical potential, the conventional imaginary-time approach is\nshown to be smoothly connected to a real-time thermal field theory in the\n8-component representation for fermion fields without any additional\nsubtraction of infinities. The metastability at zero density and the nature of\nthe spontaneous CP violation in color superconducting phases of strong\ninteraction ground states are clarified."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On dynamical mass generation in three dimensional supersymmetric U(1)\n  gauge field theory: We investigate and contrast the non-perturbative infra red structure of N=1\nand N=2 supersymmetric non-compact U(1) gauge field theory in three space-time\ndimensions with N matter flavours. We study the Dyson-Schwinger equations in a\ngeneral gauge using superfield formalism; this ensures that supersymmetry is\nkept manifest, though leads to spurious infra red divergences which we have to\navoid carefully. In the N=1 case the superfield formalism allows us to choose a\nvertex which satisfies the U(1) Ward identity exactly, and we find the expected\ncritical behaviour in the wavefunction renormalization and strong evidence for\nthe existence of a gauge independent dynamically generated mass, but with no\nevidence for a critical flavour number. We study the N=2 model by dimensional\nreduction from four dimensional N=1 electrodynamics, and we refine the old\ngauge dependence argument that there is no dynamical mass generation. We\nrecognize that the refinement only holds after dimensional reduction.",
        "positive": "Self-dual 6d 2-form fields coupled to non-abelian gauge field: quantum\n  corrections: We study a 6d model of a set of self-dual 2-form $B$-fields interacting with\na non-abelian vector $A$-field which is restricted to a 5d subspace. One\nmotivation is that if the gauge vector could be expressed in terms of the\n$B$-field or integrated out, this model could lead to an interacting theory of\n$B$-fields only. Treating the 5d gauge vector as a background field, we compute\nthe divergent part of the corresponding one-loop effective action which has the\n$(DF)^2+F^3$ structure and compare it with similar contributions from other 6d\nfields. We also discuss a 4d analog of the non-abelian self-dual model, which\nturns out to be UV finite."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Black hole microstates in AdS: We extend a recently derived higher-dimensional Cardy formula to include\nangular momenta, which we use to obtain the Bekensten-Hawking entropy of AdS\nblack branes, compactified rotating branes, and large Schwarzschild/Kerr black\nholes. This is the natural generalization of Strominger's microscopic\nderivation of the BTZ black hole entropy to higher dimensions. We propose an\nextension to include $U(1)$ charge, which agrees with the Bekenstein-Hawking\nentropy of large Reissner-Nordstrom/Kerr-Newman black holes at high\ntemperature. We extend the results to arbitrary hyperscaling violation exponent\n(this captures the case of black D$p$-branes as a subclass) and reproduce\nlogarithmic corrections.",
        "positive": "Fermions on lattice and chiral invariance: A model for lattice fermion is proposed which is, (i) free from doublers,\n(ii) hermitian, and (iii) chirally invariant. The price paid is the loss of\nhypercubic and reflection symmetries in the lattice action. Thanks to the\n$\\epsilon$-prescription, correlation functions are free from the ill effects\ndue to the loss of these symmetries. In weak coupling approximation, the U(1)\nvector current of a gauge theory of lattice fermion in this model is conserved\nin the continuum limit. As for the U(1) axial vector current, one obtains the\nABJ anomaly if the continuum limit is implemented before the chiral limit $m =\n0$. The anomaly disappears, as in the Wilson model, if the order of the two\nlimits is reversed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dynamics of Multiparticle Systems with non - Abelian Symmetry: We consider the dynamics governing the evolution of a many body system\nconstrained by an nonabelian local symmetry. We obtain explicit forms of the\nglobal macroscopic condition assuring that at the microscopic level the\nevolution respects the overall symmetry constraint. We demonstrate the\nconstraint mechanisms for the case of SU(2) system comprising particles in\nfundamental, and adjoint representations (`nucleons' and `pions').",
        "positive": "Origin of Pure Spinor Superstring: The pure spinor formalism for the superstring, initiated by N. Berkovits, is\nderived at the fully quantum level starting from a fundamental\nreparametrization invariant and super-Poincare invariant worldsheet action. It\nis a simple extension of the Green-Schwarz action with doubled spinor degrees\nof freedom with a compensating local supersymmetry on top of the conventional\nkappa-symmetry. Equivalence to the Green-Schwarz formalism is manifest from the\noutset. The use of free fields in the pure spinor formalism is justified from\nthe first principle. The basic idea works also for the superparticle in 11\ndimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hamiltonian Cosmological Perturbation Theory: The Hamiltonian approach to cosmological perturbations in general relativity\nin finite space-time is developed, where a cosmological scale factor is\nidentified with spatial averaging the metric determinant logarithm.\n  This identification preserves the number of variables and leads to a\ncosmological perturbation theory with the scalar potential perturbations in\ncontrast to the kinetic perturbations in the Lifshitz version which are\nresponsible for the ``primordial power spectrum'' of CMB in the inflationary\nmodel. The Hamiltonian approach enables to explain this ``spectrum'' in terms\nof scale-invariant variables and to consider other topical problem of modern\ncosmology in the context of quantum cosmological creation of both universes and\nparticles from the stable Bogoliubov vacuum.",
        "positive": "Gauged Hopfions: We discuss the $U(1)$ gauged version of the 3+1 dimensional Faddeev-Skyrme\nmodel supplemented by the Maxwell term. We show that there exist axially\nsymmetric static solutions coupled to the non-integer toroidal flux of magnetic\nfield, which revert to the usual Hopfions ${\\cal A}_{m,n}$ of lower degrees\n$Q=mn$ in the limit of the gauge coupling constant vanishing. The masses of the\nstatic gauged Hopfions are found to be less than the corresponding masses of\nthe usual ungauged solitons ${\\cal A}_{1,1}$ and ${\\cal A}_{2,1}$ respectively,\nthey become lighter as gauge coupling increases. The dependence of the\nsolutions on the gauge coupling is investigated. We find that in the strong\ncoupling regime the gauged Hopfion carries two magnetic fluxes, which are\nquantized in units of $2\\pi$, carrying $n$ and $m$ quanta respectively. The\nfirst flux encircles the position curve and the second one is directed along\nthe symmetry axis. Effective quantization of the field in the gauge sector may\nallow us to reconsider the usual arguments concerning the lower topological\nbound in the Faddeev-Skyrme-Maxwell model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Anyons with anomalous gyromagnetic ratio & the Hall effect: Letting the mass depend on the spin-field coupling as\n$M^2=m^2-(eg/2c^2)F_{\\alpha\\beta}S^{\\alpha\\beta}$, we propose a new set of\nrelativistic planar equations of motion for spinning anyons. Our model can\naccommodate any gyromagnetic ratio $g$ and provides us with a novel version of\nthe Bargmann-Michel-Telegdi equations in 2+1 dimensions. The system becomes\nsingular when the field takes a critical value, and, for $g\\neq2$, the only\nallowed motions are those which satisfy the Hall law. For each $g\\neq2,0$ a\nsecondary Hall effect arises also for another critical value of the field. The\nnon-relativistic limit of our equations yields new models which generalize our\nprevious ``exotic'' model, associated with the two-fold central extension of\nthe planar Galilei group.",
        "positive": "Maximally symmetric nuts in 4d $\\mathcal{N}=2$ higher derivative\n  supergravity: We initiate a systematic study of supersymmetric backgrounds in 4d\n$\\mathcal{N}=2$ Euclidean supergravity in the presence of infinite towers of\nhigher derivative corrections. Adopting a Gibbons-Hawking view towards the\nevaluation of the action in terms of nuts and bolts, we consider the two\nmaximally symmetric vacua $\\mathbb{R}^4$ and $\\mathbb{H}^4$ (Euclidean AdS$_4$)\nand their unique supersymmetric deformations with (anti-) self-dual Maxwell\ntensors corresponding to a single nut at the center. These are the Omega\nbackground of Nekrasov-Okounkov, $\\Omega\\, \\mathbb{R}^4$, and its\ngeneralization with a cosmological constant of Martelli-Passias-Sparks, denoted\n$\\Omega\\, \\mathbb{H}^4$ (also known as the gravity dual of the $U(1) \\times\nU(1)$ squashed sphere). We write down the BPS configurations in the\nsuperconformal formalism in the presence of vector multiplets and derive the\ncorresponding off- and on-shell actions. Our results provide a rigorous proof\nfor important parts of the conjecture in arXiv:2111.06903 and its holographic\ncorollary in arXiv:2204.02992, which we discuss in detail along with extensions\nsuch as the addition of hypermultiplets and the presence of conical defects."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-Pauli Effects from Noncommutative Spacetimes: Noncommutative spacetimes lead to nonlocal quantum field theories (qft's)\nwhere spin-statistics theorems cannot be proved. For this reason, and also\nbacked by detailed arguments, it has been suggested that they get corrected on\nsuch spacetimes leading to small violations of the Pauli principle. In a recent\npaper \\cite{Pauli}, Pauli-forbidden transitions from spacetime noncommutativity\nwere calculated and confronted with experiments. Here we give details of the\ncomputation missing from this paper. The latter was based on a spacetime\n$\\mathcal{B}_{\\chi\\vec{n}}$ different from the Moyal plane. We argue that it\nquantizes time in units of $\\chi$. Energy is then conserved only mod\n$\\frac{2\\pi}{\\chi}$. Issues related to superselection rules raised by non-Pauli\neffects are also discussed in a preliminary manner.",
        "positive": "BRST Analysis of the Supersymmetric Higher Spin Field Models: We develop the BRST approach for all massless integer and half-integer higher\nspins in 4D Minkowski space, using the two component spinor nota- tion and\ndevelop the Lagrangian formulation for supersymmetric higher spin models. It is\nshown that the problem of second class constraints disappears and the BRST\nprocedure becomes much more simple than in tensorial nota- tion. Furthermore,\nwe demonstrate that the BRST procedure automatically provides extra auxiliary\ncomponents that belong in the set of supersymmetry auxiliary components.\nFinally, we demonstrate how supersymmetry transfo- rmations are realized in\nsuch an approach. As a result, we conclude that the BRST approach to higher\nspin supersymmetric theories allows to derive both the Lagrangian and the\nsupersymmetry transformations. Although most part of the work is devoted to\nmassless component supersymmetric models, we also discuss generalization for\nmassive component supersymmetric models and for superfield models."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum symmetries of faces models and the double triangle algebra: Symmetries of trigonometric integrable two dimensional statistical face\nmodels are considered. The corresponding symmetry operators on the Hilbert\nspace of states of the quantum version of these models define a weak *-Hopf\nalgebra isomorphic to the Ocneanu double triangle algebra.",
        "positive": "Extreme Kerr black hole microstates with horizon fluff: We present a one-function family of solutions to 4D vacuum Einstein\nequations. While all diffeomorphic to the same extremal Kerr black hole, they\nare labeled by well-defined conserved charges and are hence distinct\ngeometries. We show that this family of solutions forms a phase space the\nsymplectic structure of which is invariant under a $U(1)$ Kac-Moody algebra\ngenerated by currents $\\mathbb{J}_n$ and Virasoro generators $\\mathbb{L}_n$\nwith central charge six times angular momentum of the black hole. This symmetry\nalgebra is well-defined everywhere in the spacetime, near the horizon or in the\nasymptotic flat region. Out of the appropriate combination of $\\mathbb{J}_n$\ncharges, we construct another Virasoro algebra at the same central charge.\nRequiring that these two Virasoro algebras should describe the same system\nleads us to a proposal for identifying extreme Kerr black hole microstates,\ndubbed as extreme Kerr fluff. Counting these microstates, we not only correctly\nreproduce the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy of extreme Kerr black hole, but also\nits expected logarithmic corrections."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "UV Constraints on Massive Spinning Particles: Lessons from the Gravitino: Self-interacting massive particles with spin $\\geq 1$ unavoidably violate\nunitarity; the question is at what scale. For spin-$1$ the strong coupling\nscale (at which perturbative unitarity is lost) cannot be raised by any finite\ntuning of the interactions, while for spin-$2$ there exists a special tuning of\nthe Wilson coefficients which can raise this scale (and enjoys numerous special\nproperties such as ghost-freedom). Here, we fill in the missing piece by\ndescribing how the self-interactions of a massive spin-$3/2$ field, or \"massive\ngravitino\", become strongly coupled at high energies. We show that while\nseveral different structures appear in the leading order potential, the strong\ncoupling scale cannot be raised (in the absence of additional fields). At the\nlevel of the off-shell Lagrangian, it is always the non-linear symmetries of\nthe longitudinal Stuckelberg mode that dictate the strong coupling, and we show\nthat in general it is only possible to parametrically raise the strong coupling\nscale if Wess-Zumino structures exist. We complement this off-shell approach\nwith a first analysis of positivity bounds for a massive spin-$3/2$ particle,\nshowing that any potential self-interaction which contributes to an on-shell\n2-to-2 elastic process at tree level must vanish if this low-energy theory is\nto have a standard UV completion. We identify the mixing between the\nlongitudinal mode and the transverse modes as the main obstacle to positivity,\nand clarify how the non-Abelian nature of non-linear (dRGT) massive gravity\nallows it to satisfy positivity where all known spin $\\geq 3/2$ Abelian\ntheories fail. Our results imply that a massive gravitino cannot appear alone\nin a controlled EFT---it must be accompanied by other particles, e.g.~as part\nof a supermultiplet. Together with the spin-$1$ and spin-$2$ cases, we suggest\nfeatures which will persist in even higher spin massive theories.",
        "positive": "Localization of supergravity on the brane: A supersymmetric Randall-Sundrum brane-world demands that not merely the\ngraviton but the entire supergravity multiplet be trapped on the brane. To\ndemonstrate this, we present a complete ansatz for the reduction of (D=5,N=4)\ngauged supergravity to (D=4,N=2) ungauged supergravity in the Randall-Sundrum\ngeometry. We verify that it is consistent to lowest order in fermion terms. In\nparticular, we show how the graviphotons avoid the `no photons on the brane'\nresult because they do not originate from Maxwell's equations in D=5 but rather\nfrom odd-dimensional self-duality equations. In the case of the fivebrane, the\nRandall-Sundrum mechanism also provides a new Kaluza-Klein way of obtaining\nchiral supergravity starting from non-chiral."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Skyrmions confined as beads on a vortex ring: A very simple, quadratic potential is used to construct vortex strings in a\ngeneralized Skyrme model and an additional quadratic potential is used to embed\nsine-Gordon-type halfkinks onto the string worldline, yielding half-Skyrmions\non a string. The strings are furthermore compactified onto a circle and the\nhalfkinks are forced to appear in pairs; in particular 2B halfkinks\n(half-Skyrmions) will appear as beads on a ring with B being the number of\ntimes the host vortex is twisted and also the baryon number (Skyrmion number)\nfrom the bulk point of view. Finally, we construct an effective field theory on\nthe torus, describing the kinks living on the vortex rings.",
        "positive": "Krylov Localization and suppression of complexity: Quantum complexity, suitably defined, has been suggested as an important\nprobe of late-time dynamics of black holes, particularly in the context of\nAdS/CFT. A notion of quantum complexity can be effectively captured by\nquantifying the spread of an operator in Krylov space as a consequence of time\nevolution. Complexity is expected to behave differently in chaotic many-body\nsystems, as compared to integrable ones. In this paper we investigate Krylov\ncomplexity for the case of interacting integrable models at finite size and\nfind that complexity saturation is suppressed as compared to chaotic systems.\nWe associate this behavior with a novel localization phenomenon on the Krylov\nchain by mapping the theory of complexity growth and spread to an Anderson\nlocalization hopping model with off-diagonal disorder, and find that\nlocalization is enhanced in the integrable case due to a stronger disorder in\nthe hopping amplitudes, inducing an effective suppression of Krylov complexity.\nWe demonstrate this behavior for an interacting integrable model, the XXZ spin\nchain, and show that the same behavior results from a phenomenological model\nthat we define: This model captures the essential features of our analysis and\nis able to reproduce the behaviors we observe for chaotic and integrable\nsystems via an adjustable disorder parameter."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Compatibility of Poisson--Lie transformations with symmetries of\n  Generalized Supergravity Equations: We investigate two types of transformations that keep NS-NS Generalized\nSupergravity Equations satisfied : $\\chi$-symmetry that shifts dilaton and\ngauge transformations that change both dilaton and vector field $J$. Due to\nthese symmetries there is a large set of dilatons and vector fields $J$ that\n(for a fixed metric and B-field) satisfy Generalized Supergravity Equations but\nonly some of them can be be used as input for Poisson--Lie transformations.\nConditions that define the admissible dilatons are given and examples are\npresented.",
        "positive": "From Topological Field Theories to Covariant Matrix Strings: This paper is a shortened version of the previous work hep-th/9907099: We\npropose a topological quantum field theory as a twisted candidate to formulate\ncovariant matrix strings. The model relies on the octonionic or complexified\ninstanton equations defined on an eight dimensional manifold with reduced\nholonomy. To allow untwisting of the model without producing an anomaly, we\nsuggest (partially twisted) W-gravity as an \"extended\" 2d-gravity sector."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Towards a Finite-$N$ Hologram: We suggest that holographic tensor models related to SYK are viable\ncandidates for exactly (ie., non-perturbatively in $N$) solvable holographic\ntheories. The reason is that in these theories, the Hilbert space is a spinor\nrepresentation, and the Hamiltonian (at least in some classes) can be arranged\nto commute with the Clifford level. This makes the theory solvable level by\nlevel. We demonstrate this for the specific case of the uncolored $O(n)^3$\ntensor model with arbitrary even $n$, and reduce the question of determining\nthe spectrum and eigenstates to an algebraic equation relating Young tableaux.\nSolving this reduced problem is conceptually trivial and amounts to matching\nthe representations on either side, as we demonstrate explicitly at low levels.\nAt high levels, representations become bigger, but should still be tractable.\nNone of our arguments require any supersymmetry.",
        "positive": "Correlators in superconformal quivers made QUICK: In this paper we conclude the program of 2012.15792 and 2105.00257 about\nperturbative approaches for $\\mathcal{N}=2$ superconformal quiver theories in\n4D. We consider several classes of observables that involve multitrace local\noperators and Wilson loops scattered in all the possible ways among the quiver.\nWe evaluate them exploiting the multi-matrix model arising from supersymmetric\nlocalisation and we generalise the solution to both $SU(N)$ and $U(N)$ cases.\nMoreover, we provide QUICK (QUIver Correlator Kit) a Wolfram Mathematica\npackage designed to automatise the perturbative solution of the $A_{q-1}$\nmulti-matrix model for all the observables mentioned above. Given the\ninterpolating nature of the superconformal quiver theories $A_{q-1}$, the\npackage is an efficient tool to compute correlators also in SCQCD,\n$\\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM and its $\\mathbb{Z}_q$ orbifolds. This manuscript includes\na user guide and some pedagogical examples."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Static Patch Solipsism: Conformal Symmetry of the de Sitter Worldline: We show that the propagators of gravitons and scalar fields seen by a static\npatch observer in de Sitter spacetime are controlled by hidden SL(2,R)\nsymmetries, at all frequencies. The retarded Green's function is determined by\nan SL(2,R) x SL(2,R) action generated by conformal Killing vectors of de Sitter\nspacetime times a line. This observation uses the fact that the static patch of\ndS_{d+1} x R is conformal to the hyperbolic patch of AdS_3 x S^{d-1}. The poles\nof the propagators, the quasinormal frequencies, are generated by associated\nSL(2,R) actions. The quasinormal mode generating algebras capture the conformal\nweights more usually read off from the fields at future and past infinity. For\nconformally coupled scalar fields, and for gravitons in four dimensions, this\nSL(2,R) algebra has an enhanced supersymmetric structure and is generated by\nparticular conformal Killing vectors of de Sitter spacetime. We show how the\nworldline de Sitter propagators can be reproduced from a `level matched' left\nand right moving conformal quantum mechanics with an appropriate spectrum of\nprimary operators. Our observations are consistent with the notion that the\nstatic patch of de Sitter spacetime is dually described by a (level matched)\nlarge N worldline conformal quantum mechanics.",
        "positive": "Strong gauging or decoupling ghost matter: Gauging extra matter is a common way to couple two CFTs discontinuously. We\nmay consider gauging matter by strongly coupled gauge theories at criticality\nrather than by weakly coupled (asymptotic free) gauge theories. It often\ntriggers relevant deformations and possibly leads to a non-trivial fixed point.\nIn many examples such as the IR limit of SQCDs (and their variants), the\nrelevant RG flow induced by this strong gauging makes the total central charge\n$a$ increase rather than decrease compared with the sum of the original\ndecoupled CFTs. The dilaton effective field theory argument given by\nKomargodski and Schwimmer does not apply because strong gauging is not a simple\ndeformation by operators in the original two decoupled CFTs and it may not be\nUV complete. When the added matter is vector-like, one may emulate strong\ngauging in a UV completed manner by decoupling of ghost matter. While the UV\ncompleted description makes the dilaton effective field theory argument\npossible, due to the non-unitarity, we cannot conclude the positivity of the\ncentral charge difference in accordance with the observations in various\nexamples that show the contrary."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Relation between large dimension operators and oscillator algebra of\n  Young diagrams: The operators with large scaling dimensions can be labelled by Young\ndiagrams. Among other bases, the operators using restricted Schur polynomials\nhave been known to have a large $N$ but nonplanar limit under which they map to\nstates of a system of harmonic oscillators. We analyze the oscillator algebra\nacting on pairs of long rows or long columns in the Young diagrams of the\noperators. The oscillator algebra can be reached by a Inonu-Wigner contraction\nof the $u(2)$ algebra inside of the $u(p)$ algebra of $p$ giant gravitons. We\npresent evidences that integrability in this case can persist at higher loops\ndue to the presence of the oscillator algebra which is expected to be robust\nunder loop corrections in the nonplanar large $N$ limit.",
        "positive": "Signals of a Quantum Universe: Structure in the Universe is widely believed to have originated from quantum\nfluctuations during an early epoch of accelerated expansion. Yet, the patterns\nwe observe today do not distinguish between quantum or classical primordial\nfluctuations; current cosmological data is consistent with either possibility.\nWe argue here that a detection of primordial non-Gaussianity can resolve the\npresent situation, and provide a litmus-test for the quantum origin of cosmic\nstructure. Unlike in quantum mechanics, vacuum fluctuations cannot arise in\nclassical theories and therefore long-range classical correlations must result\nfrom (real) particles in the initial state. Similarly to flat-space scattering\nprocesses, we show how basic principles require these particles to manifest\nthemselves as poles in the $n$-point functions, in the so-called folded\nconfigurations. Following this observation, and assuming fluctuations are (i)\ncorrelated over large scales, and (ii) generated by local evolution during an\ninflationary phase, we demonstrate that: the absence of a pole in the folded\nlimit of non-Gaussian correlators uniquely identifies the quantum vacuum as the\ninitial state. In the same spirit as Bell's inequalities, we discuss how this\ncan be circumvented if locality is abandoned. We also briefly discuss the\nimplications for simulations of a non-Gaussian universe."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Higher spins in the symmetric orbifold of K3: The symmetric orbifold of K3 is believed to be the CFT dual of string theory\non AdS3 x S3 x K3 at the tensionless point. For the case when the K3 is\ndescribed by the orbifold T4/Z2, we identify a subsector of the symmetric\norbifold theory that is dual to a higher spin theory on AdS3. We analyse how\nthe BPS spectrum of string theory can be described from the higher spin\nperspective, and determine which single-particle BPS states are accounted for\nby the perturbative higher spin theory.",
        "positive": "Scalar perturbation of gravitating double-kink solutions: In this letter, a two-dimensional (2D) gravity-scalar model is studied. This\nmodel supports interesting double-kink solutions, and the corresponding metric\nsolutions can be derived analytically. Depending on a tunable parameter $c$,\nthe metric can be symmetric or asymmetric. The Schr\\\"odinger-like equation for\nnormal modes of the physical linear perturbation is derived. As $c$ varies, the\neffective potential can have one or two singular barriers. If $c$ is larger\nthan a critical value, the zero mode will be normalizable, despite of the\nappearance of a strong repulsive singularity. The double-kink solution is\nalways stable against linear perturbations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Grassmannian Heterotic Sigma Model: We study the non-minimal supersymmetric heterotically deformed\n$\\mathcal{N}=(0,2)$ sigma model with the Grassmannian target space\n$\\mathcal{G}_{M,N}$. To develop the appropriate superfield formalism, we begin\nwith a simplified model with flat target space, find its beta function up to\ntwo loops, and prove a non-renormalization theorem. Then we generalize the\nresults to the full model with the Grassmannian target space. Using the\ngeometric formulation, we calculate the beta functions and discuss the 't Hooft\nand Veneziano limits.",
        "positive": "Mirror theories of 3d $\\mathcal{N}=2$ SQCD: Using a recently proposed duality for $U(N)$ supersymmetric QCD (SQCD) in\nthree dimensions with monopole superpotential, in this paper we derive the\nmirror dual description of $\\mathcal{N}=2$ SQCD with unitary gauge group,\ngeneralizing the known mirror dual description of abelian gauge theories. We\nmatch the chiral ring of the dual theories and their partition functions on the\nsquashed sphere. We also conjecture a generalization for SQCD with orthogonal\nand symplectic gauge groups."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Membrane and fivebrane instantons from quaternionic geometry: We determine the one-instanton corrections to the universal hypermultiplet\nmoduli space coming both from Euclidean membranes and NS-fivebranes wrapping\nthe cycles of a (rigid) Calabi-Yau threefold. These corrections are completely\nencoded by a single function characterizing a generic four-dimensional\nquaternion-Kahler metric without isometries. We give explicit solutions for\nthis function describing all one-instanton corrections, including the\nfluctuations around the instanton to all orders in the string coupling\nconstant. In the semi-classical limit these results are in perfect agreement\nwith previous supergravity calculations.",
        "positive": "The appearence of the resolved singular hypersurface\n  {x_0}{x_1}-{{x_2}^n} =0 in the classical phase space of the Lie group SU(n): A classical phase space with a suitable symplectic structure is constructed\ntogether with functions which have Poisson brackets algebraically identical to\nthe Lie algebra structure of the Lie group SU(n). In this phase space we show\nthat the orbit of the generators corresponding to the simple roots of the Lie\nalgebra give rise to fibres that are complex lines containing spheres. There\nare n-1 spheres on a fibre and they intersect in exactly the same way as the\nCartan matrix of the Lie algebra. This classical phase space bundle,being\ncompact,has a description as a variety.Our construction shows that the variety\ncontaining the intersecting spheres is exactly the one obtained by resolving\nthe singularities of the variety {x_0}{x_1}-{{x_2}^n}=0 in {C^3}. A direct\nconnection between this singular variety and the classical phase space\ncorresponding to the Lie group SU(n) is thus established."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "BRS Symmetry and Cohomology: The BRS symmetry determines physical states, Lagrange densities and candidate\nanomalies. It renders gauge fixing unobservable in physical states and is\nrequired if negative norm states are to decouple also in interacting models.\nThe relevant mathematical structures and the elementary cohomological\ninvestigations are presented.",
        "positive": "From AdS/CFT correspondence to hydrodynamics: We compute the correlation functions of R-charge currents and components of\nthe stress-energy tensor in the strongly coupled large-N finite-temperature N=4\nsupersymmetric Yang-Mills theory, following a recently formulated Minkowskian\nAdS/CFT prescription. We observe that in the long-distance, low-frequency\nlimit, such correlators have the form dictated by hydrodynamics. We deduce from\nthe calculations the R-charge diffusion constant and the shear viscosity. The\nvalue for the latter is in agreement with an earlier calculation based on the\nKubo formula and absorption by black branes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Consistent Off-Shell Tree String Amplitudes: We give a construction of off-shell tree bosonic string amplitudes, based on\nthe operatorial formalism of the $N$-string Vertex, with three external\nmassless states both for open and closed strings by requiring their being\nprojective invariant. In particular our prescription leads, in the low-energy\nlimit, to the three-gluon amplitude in the usual covariant gauge.",
        "positive": "Cosmic Censorship for AdS$_5$-Kerr: We show that cosmic censorship takes an exceptionally complex and interesting\nform in the case of five-dimensional AdS-Kerr black holes, due to the unusually\ndistant relation obtaining in that case between the black hole parameters and\nthe physical mass and angular momentum. One finds that, in this case,\ncensorship is less restrictive than one might hope: it apparently allows some\nrather bizarre behaviour, and in particular does not prohibit arbitrarily large\nangular momenta. We find however that most of the unwelcome geometries\npermitted by censorship can be eliminated by requiring stability against\npair-production of branes. We suggest that the small set of surviving\nproblematic cases can be eliminated in a natural way by imposing a certain\n(holographic) bound on the physical mass."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Can negative bare couplings make sense? The $\\vec\u03c6^4$ theory at\n  large $N$: Scalar $\\lambda\\phi^4$ theory in 3+1D, for a positive coupling constant\n$\\lambda>0$, is known to have no interacting continuum limit, which is referred\nto as quantum triviality. However, it has been recently argued that the theory\nin 3+1D with an $N$-component scalar $\\vec{\\phi}$ and a\n$(\\vec{\\phi}\\cdot\\vec{\\phi})^{\\,2}=\\vec{\\phi}^{\\,4}$ interaction term does have\nan interacting continuum limit at large $N$. It has been suggested that this\ncontinuum limit has a negative (bare) coupling constant and exhibits asymptotic\nfreedom, similar to the $\\mathcal{P}\\mathcal{T}$-symmetric $-g\\phi^4$ field\ntheory. In this paper I study the $\\vec{\\phi}^{\\,4}$ theory in 3+1D at large\n$N$ with a negative coupling constant $-g<0$, and with the scalar field taking\nvalues in a $\\mathcal{P}\\mathcal{T}$-symmetric complex domain. The theory is\nnon-trivial, has asymptotic freedom, and has a Landau pole in the IR, and I\ndemonstrate that the thermal partition function matches that of the\npositive-coupling $\\lambda>0$ theory when the Landau poles of the two theories\n(in the $\\lambda>0$ case a pole in the UV) are identified with one another.\nThus the $\\vec{\\phi}^{\\,4}$ theory at large $N$ appears to have a negative bare\ncoupling constant; the coupling only becomes positive in the IR, which in the\ncontext of other $\\mathcal{P}\\mathcal{T}$-symmetric and large-$N$ quantum field\ntheories I argue is perfectly acceptable.",
        "positive": "Comment on ``Reduction of static field equation of Faddeev model to\n  first order PDE'', arXiv:0707.2207: The authors of the article Phys. Lett. B 652 (2007) 384, (arXiv:0707.2207),\npropose an interesting method to solve the Faddeev model by reducing it to a\nset of first order PDEs. They first construct a vectorial quantity $\\bm \\alpha\n$, depending on the original field and its first derivatives, in terms of which\nthe field equations reduce to a linear first order equation. Then they find\nvectors $\\bm \\alpha_1$ and $\\bm \\alpha_2$ which identically obey this linear\nfirst order equation. The last step consists in the identification of the $\\bm\n\\alpha_i$ with the original $\\bm \\alpha$ as a function of the original field.\nUnfortunately, the derivation of this last step in the paper cited above\ncontains an error which invalidates most of its results."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Some aspects of interaction amplitudes of D branes carrying worldvolume\n  fluxes: We report a systematic study of the stringy interaction between two sets of\nDp branes placed parallel at a separation in the presence of two worldvolume\nfluxes for each set. We focus in this paper on that the two fluxes on one set\nhave the same structure as those on the other set but they in general differ in\nvalues, which can be both electric or both magnetic or one electric and one\nmagnetic. We compute the respective stringy interaction amplitude and find that\nthe presence of electric fluxes gives rise to the open string pair production\nwhile that of magnetic ones to the open string tachyon mode. The interplay of\nthese two leads to the open string pair production enhancement in certain cases\nwhen one flux is electric and the other is magnetic. In particular, we find\nthat this enhancement occurs even when the electric flux and the magnetic one\nshare one common field strength index which is impossible in the one-flux case\nstudied previously by the present author and his collaborator in [17]. This\ntype of enhancement may have realistic physical applications, say, as a means\nto explore the existence of extra dimensions.",
        "positive": "A bulk inflaton from large volume extra dimensions: The universe may have extra spatial dimensions with large volume that we\ncannot perceive because the energy required to excite modes in the extra\ndirections is too high. Many examples are known of such manifolds with a large\nvolume and a large mass gap. These compactifications can help explain the\nweakness of four-dimensional gravity and, as we show here, they also have the\ncapacity to produce reasonable potentials for an inflaton field. Modeling the\ninflaton as a bulk scalar field, it becomes very weakly coupled in four\ndimensions, and this enables us to build phenomenologically acceptable\ninflationary models with tunings at the few per mil level. We speculate on dark\nmatter candidates and the possibility of braneless models in this setting."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Joule-Thomson expansion for noncommutative uncharged black holes: In this work we study the Joule-Thomson expansion for uncharged black holes\nin a noncommutative scenario characterized by a parameter $\\theta$, which is\npresent in the horizon function. We calculate the inversion temperature for\nsome values of $\\theta$ and the isenthalpics for fixed masses. We find that the\nuncharged noncommutative black hole behaves as a charged commutative one.",
        "positive": "Casimir Effect for a Semitransparent Wedge and an Annular Piston: We consider the Casimir energy due to a massless scalar field in a geometry\nof an infinite wedge closed by a Dirichlet circular cylinder, where the wedge\nis formed by $\\delta$-function potentials, so-called semitransparent\nboundaries. A finite expression for the Casimir energy corresponding to the arc\nand the presence of both semitransparent potentials is obtained, from which the\ntorque on the sidewalls can be derived. The most interesting part of the\ncalculation is the nontrivial nature of the angular mode functions. Numerical\nresults are obtained which are closely analogous to those recently found for a\nmagnetodielectric wedge, with the same speed of light on both sides of the\nwedge boundaries. Alternative methods are developed for annular regions with\nradial semitransparent potentials, based on reduced Green's functions for the\nangular dependence, which allows calculations using the multiple-scattering\nformalism. Numerical results corresponding to the torque on the radial plates\nare likewise computed, which generalize those for the wedge geometry. Generally\nuseful formulas for calculating Casimir energies in separable geometries are\nderived."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the metric of the space of states in a modified QCD: The form of the resulting Feynman propagators in a proposed local and gauge\ninvariant QCD for massive fermions suggests the existence of indefinite metric\nassociated to quark states, a property that might relate it with the known\nLee-Wick theories. Thus, the nature of the asymptotic free quark states in the\ntheory is investigated here by quantizing the quadratic part of the quark\naction. As opposite to the case in the standard QCD, the free theory does not\nshow Hamiltonian constraints. The propagation modes include a family of\nmassless waves and a complementary set of massive oscillations. The theory can\nbe quantized in a way that the massive modes show positive metric and the\nmassless ones exhibit negative norms. It is remarked that, since QCD is\nexpected to not exhibit gluon or quark asymptotic states, the presence of\nnegative metric massless modes does not constitute a definite drawback of the\ntheory. In addition, the fact that the positive metric quark states are\nmassive, seems to be a good feature of the model, being consistent with the\napproximate existence of asymptotically free massive states in high energy\nprocesses.",
        "positive": "Asymptotic freedom for $\u03bb\u03c6^4_{\\star}$ QFT in Snyder-de Sitter\n  space: We analyze the model of a self-interacting $\\phi^4_{\\star}$ scalar field\ntheory in Snyder-de Sitter space. After analytically computing the one-loop\nbeta functions {in the small noncommutativity and curvature limit}, we solve\nnumerically the corresponding system of differential equations, showing that in\nthis limit the model possesses at least one regime in which the theory is\nasymptotically free. Moreover, in a given region of the parameter space we also\nobserve a peculiar running of the parameter associated to the curvature, which\nchanges its sign and therefore can be interpreted as a transition from an IR\nde-Sitter space to and UV anti-de Sitter one."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Bubble formation in phi^4 theory in the thin-wall limit and beyond: Scalar field theory with an asymmetric potential is studied at zero\ntemperature and high-temperature for phi^4 theory with both phi and phi^3\nsymmetry breaking. The equations of motion are solved numerically to obtain\nO(4) symmetric and O(3) cylindrical symmetric bounce solutions. These solutions\ncontrol the rates for tunneling from the false vacuum to the true vacuum by\nbubble formation. The range of validity of the thin-wall approximation (TWA) is\ninvestigated. An analytical solution for the bounce is presented, which\nreproduces the action in the thin-wall as well as the thick-wall limits.",
        "positive": "The gauge invariant quark Green's function in two-dimensional QCD: The gauge invariant quark Green's function, defined with a path-ordered phase\nfactor along a straight line, is studied in two-dimensional QCD in the\nlarge-N_c limit by means of an exact integrodifferential equation. It is found\nto be infrared finite with singularities represented by an infinite number of\nthreshold type branch points with a power of -3/2, starting at positive mass\nsquared values. The Green's function is analytically determined."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Summation of diagrams in N=1 supersymmetric electrodynamics, regularized\n  by higher derivatives: For the massless N=1supersymmetric electrodynamics, regularized by higher\nderivatives, the Feynman diagrams, which define the divergent part of the\ntwo-point Green function and can not be found from Schwinger-Dyson equations\nand Ward identities, are partially summed. The result can be written as a\nspecial identity for Green functions.",
        "positive": "Worldline approach for spinor fields in manifolds with boundaries: The worldline formalism is a useful scheme in Quantum Field Theory which has\nalso become a powerful tool for numerical computations. It is based on the\nfirst quantization of an auxiliary point-particle whose transition amplitudes\ncorrespond to the heat-kernel of the operator of quantum fluctuations of the\nfield theory. However, to study a quantum field theory in a bounded manifold\none needs to restrict the path integration domain of the auxiliary\npoint-particle to a specific subset of worldlines enclosed by those boundaries.\nIn the present article it is shown how to implement this restriction for the\ncase of a spinor field in a two-dimensional curved half-plane under MIT bag\nboundary conditions, and compute the first few heat-kernel coefficients as a\nverification of the proposed construction. This construction admits several\ngeneralisations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Localization of fermions in different domain wall models: Localization of fermions is studied in different gravitational domain wall\nmodels. These are generalizations of the brane-world models considered by\nRandall and Sundrum, but which also allow gravitational localization.\nTherefore, they might be considered as possible realistic scenarios for\nphenomenology.",
        "positive": "Flavor Superconductivity & Superfluidity: In these lecture notes we derive a generic holographic string theory\nrealization of a p-wave superconductor and superfluid. For this purpose we also\nreview basic D-brane physics, gauge/gravity methods at finite temperature, key\nconcepts of superconductivity and recent progress in distinct realizations of\nholographic superconductors and superfluids. Then we focus on a D3/D7-brane\nconstruction yielding a superconducting or superfluid vector-condensate. The\ncorresponding gauge theory is 3+1-dimensional N=2 supersymmetric Yang-Mills\ntheory with SU(N) color and SU(2) flavor symmetry. It shows a second order\nphase transition to a phase in which a U(1) subgroup of the SU(2) symmetry is\nspontaneously broken and typical superconductivity signatures emerge, such as a\nconductivity (pseudo-)gap and the Meissner-Ochsenfeld effect. Condensates of\nthis nature are comparable to those recently found experimentally in p-wave\nsuperconductors such as a ruthenate compound. A string picture of the pairing\nmechanism and condensation is given using the exact knowledge of the\ncorresponding field theory degrees of freedom."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Meson decays from string splitting: We discuss exclusive decays of large spin mesons into mesons in models of\nlarge N_c quenched QCD at strong coupling using string theory. The rate of the\nprocesses are calculated by studying the splitting of a macroscopic string on\nthe relevant dual gravity backgrounds. We study analytic formulas for the decay\nrates of mesons made up of very heavy or very light quarks.",
        "positive": "On The Baxter's Q - Operator for the XXX Spin Chain: We discuss the construction of Baxter's Q-operator. The suggested approach\nleads to the one-parametric family of Q-operators, satisfying to the\nwronslian-type relations. Also we have found the generalization of Baxter\noperators, with defines the nondiagonal part of the monodromy."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Notes on Collective Field Theory of Matrix and Spin Calogero Models: Matrix models and related Spin-Calogero-Sutherland models are of major\nrelevance in a variety of subjects, ranging from condensed matter physics to\nQCD and low dimensional string theory. They are characterized by integrability\nand exact solvability. Their continuum, field theoretic representations are\nlikewise of definite interest. In this paper we describe various continuum,\nfield theoretic representations of these models based on bosonization and\ncollective field theory techniques. We compare various known representations\nand describe some nontrivial applications.",
        "positive": "2+1 Gravity without dynamics: A three dimensional generally covariant theory is described that has a 2+1\ncanonical decomposition in which the Hamiltonian constraint, which generates\nthe dynamics, is absent. Physical observables for the theory are described and\nthe classical and quantum theories are compared with ordinary 2+1 gravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Open superstring partition function in constant gauge field background\n  at finite temperature: We find the general expression for the open superstring partition function on\nthe annulus in a constant abelian gauge field background and at finite\ntemperature. We use the approach based on Green-Schwarz string path integral in\nthe light-cone gauge and compare it with NSR approach. We discuss the super\nYang-Mills theory limit and mention some D-brane applications.",
        "positive": "Functional integration and gauge ambiguities in generalized abelian\n  gauge theories: We consider the covariant quantization of generalized abelian gauge theories\non a closed and compact n-dimensional manifold whose space of gauge invariant\nfields is the abelian group of Cheeger-Simons differential characters. The\nspace of gauge fields is shown to be a non-trivial bundle over the orbits of\nthe subgroup of smooth Cheeger-Simons differential characters. Furthermore each\norbit itself has the structure of a bundle over a multi-dimensional torus. As a\nconsequence there is a topological obstruction to the existence of a global\ngauge fixing condition. A functional integral measure is proposed on the space\nof gauge fields which takes this problem into account and provides a\nregularization of the gauge degrees of freedom. For the generalized p-form\nMaxwell theory closed expressions for all physical observables are obtained.\nThe Greens functions are shown to be affected by the non-trivial bundle\nstructure. Finally the vacuum expectation values of circle-valued\nhomomorphisms, including the Wilson operator for singular p-cycles of the\nmanifold, are computed and selection rules are derived."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Asymptotic safety in the f(R) approximation: In the asymptotic safety programme for quantum gravity, it is important to go\nbeyond polynomial truncations. Three such approximations have been derived\nwhere the restriction is only to a general function f(R) of the curvature R>0.\nWe confront these with the requirement that a fixed point solution be smooth\nand exist for all non-negative R. Singularities induced by cutoff choices force\nthe earlier versions to have no such solutions. However, we show that the most\nrecent version has a number of lines of fixed points, each supporting a\ncontinuous spectrum of eigen-perturbations. We uncover and analyse the first\nfive such lines. Sensible fixed point behaviour may be achieved if one\nconsistently incorporates geometry/topology change. As an exploratory example,\nwe analyse the equations analytically continued to R<0, however we now find\nonly partial solutions.We show how these results are always consistent with,\nand to some extent can be predicted from, a straightforward analysis of the\nconstraints inherent in the equations.",
        "positive": "Open and Closed String Interpretation of SUSY CFT's on Branes with\n  Boundaries: We consider certain supersymmetric configurations of intersecting branes and\nbranes ending on branes and analyze the duality between their open and closed\nstring interpretation. The examples we study are chosen such that we have the\nlower dimensional brane realizing an n+1 dimensional conformal field theory on\nits worldvolume and the higher dimensional one introducing a conformal\nboundary. We also consider two CFTs, possibly with different central charges,\ninteracting along a common conformal boundary. We show with a probe calculation\nthat the dual closed string description is in terms of gravity in an AdS_{n+2}\nbulk with an AdS_{n+1} defect or two different AdS_{n+2} spaces joined along a\ndefect. We also comment briefly on the expected back-reaction."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Point-splitting regularization of composite operators and anomalies: The point-splitting regularization technique for composite operators is\ndiscussed in connection with anomaly calculation. We present a pedagogical and\nself-contained review of the topic with an emphasis on the technical details.\nWe also develop simple algebraic tools to handle the path ordered exponential\ninsertions used within the covariant and non-covariant version of the\npoint-splitting method. The method is then applied to the calculation of the\nchiral, vector, trace, translation and Lorentz anomalies within diverse\nversions of the point-splitting regularization and a connection between the\nresults is described. As an alternative to the standard approach we use the\nidea of deformed point-split transformation and corresponding Ward-Takahashi\nidentities rather than an application of the equation of motion, which seems to\nsave the complexity of the calculations.",
        "positive": "Membrane Paradigm and Holographic DC Conductivity for Nonlinear\n  Electrodynamics: Membrane paradigm is a powerful tool to study properties of black hole\nhorizons. We first explore the properties of the nonlinear electromagnetic\nmembrane of black holes. For a general nonlinear electrodynamics field, we show\nthat the conductivities of the horizon usually have off-diagonal components and\ndepend on the normal electric and magnetic fields on the horizon. Via the\nholographic duality, we find a model-independent expression for the holographic\nDC conductivities of the conserved current dual to a probe nonlinear\nelectrodynamics field in a neutral and static black brane background. It shows\nthat these DC conductivities only depend on the geometric and electromagnetic\nquantities evaluated at the horizon. We can also express the DC conductivities\nin terms of the temperature, charge density and magnetic field in the boundary\ntheory, as well as the values of the couplings in the nonlinear electrodynamics\nat the horizon."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Topological quantum field theory and crossing number: In this paper, we construct a new topological quantum field theory of\ncohomological type and show that its partition function is a crossing number.",
        "positive": "Gauged Nambu-Jona-Lasinio Model at O(1/N) with and without a\n  Chern-Simons Term: We solve the gauged Nambu--Jona-Lasinio model at leading order in the large\n$N$ expansion by computing the anomalous dimensions of all the fields of the\nmodel and other gauge independent critical exponents by examining the scaling\nbehaviour of the Schwinger Dyson equation. We then restrict to the three\ndimensional model and include a Chern Simons term to discover the\n$\\theta$-dependence of the same exponents where $\\theta$ is the Chern Simons\ncoupling."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Phantom Divide in String Gas Cosmology: One of the main virtues of string gas cosmology is that it resolves\ncosmological singularities. Since the Universe can be approximated by a locally\nasymptotically de Sitter spacetime by the end of the inflationary era, a\nsingularity theorem implies that these cosmologies effectively violate the Null\nEnergy Condition [not just the Strong Energy Condition]. We stress that this is\nan extremely robust result, which does not depend on assuming that the spatial\nsections remain precisely flat in the early Universe. This means, however, that\nit must be possible for string cosmologies to cross the recently much-discussed\n\"phantom divide\" [from w < -1 to w > -1, where w is the equation-of-state\nparameter]. This naturally raises the question as to whether the phantom divide\ncan be crossed again, to account for recent observations suggesting that w < -1\nat the present time. We argue that non-perturbative string effects rule out\nthis possibility, even if the NEC violation in question is only \"effective\".",
        "positive": "Continuum Modes of Nonlocal Field Theories: A class of nonlocal Lorentzian quantum field theories is introduced in\narXiv:1502.01655 and arXiv:1411.6513, where the d'Alembertian operator $\\Box$\nis replaced by a non-analytic function of the d'Alembertian, $f(\\Box)$. This is\ninspired by the Causal Set program where such an evolution arises as the\ncontinuum limit of a wave equation on causal sets. The spectrum of these\ntheories contains a continuum of massive excitations. This is perhaps the most\nimportant feature which leads to distinct/interesting phenomenology. In this\npaper, we study properties of the continuum massive modes in depth. We derive\nthe path integral formulation of these theories. Meanwhile, this derivation\nintroduces a dual picture in terms of local fields which clearly shows how\ncontinuum massive modes of the nonlocal field interact. The dual picture, in\nprinciple, provides a path to extension beyond scalar fields and addressing the\nissue of renormalization."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Bosonic Massless Higher Spin Fields from Matrix Model: We study matrix models as a new approach to formulate massless higher spin\ngauge field theory. As a first step in this direction, we show that the free\nequation of motion of bosonic massless higher spin gauge fields can be derived\nfrom that of a matrix model.",
        "positive": "Non-Einstein geometries in Chiral Gravity: We analyze the asymptotic solutions of Chiral Gravity (Topologically Massive\nGravity at \\mu l = 1 with Brown-Henneaux boundary conditions) focusing on\nnon-Einstein metrics. A class of such solutions admits curvature singularities\nin the interior which are reflected as singularities or infinite bulk energy of\nthe corresponding linear solutions. A non-linear solution is found exactly. The\nback-reaction induces a repulsion of geodesics and a shielding of the\nsingularity by an event horizon but also introduces closed timelike curves."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Refined $E_n$ Chern-Simons theory: The partition function of refined Chern-Simons theory on 3d sphere for the\nexceptional $E_n$ gauge algebras is presented in terms of multiple sine\nfunctions. Gopakumar-Vafa (BPS) approximation is calculated and presented in\nthe form of some refined topological string partition function.",
        "positive": "Sources for Chern-Simons theories: The coupling between Chern-Simons theories and matter sources defined by\nbranes of different dimensionalities is examined. It is shown that the standard\ncoupling to membranes, such as the one found in supergravity or in string\ntheory, does not operate in the same way for CS theories; the only p-branes\nthat naturally couple seem to be those with p=2n; these p-branes break the\ngauge symmetry (and supersymmetry) in a controlled and sensible manner."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Notes on highest weight modules of the elliptic algebra ${\\cal\n  A}_{q,p}\\left(\\widehat{sl}_2\\right)$: We discuss a construction of highest weight modules for the recently defined\nelliptic algebra ${\\cal A}_{q,p}(\\widehat{sl}_2)$, and make several conjectures\nconcerning them. The modules are generated by the action of the components of\nthe operator $L$ on the highest weight vectors. We introduce the vertex\noperators $\\Phi$ and $\\Psi^*$ through their commutation relations with the\n$L$-operator. We present ordering rules for the $L$- and $\\Phi$-operators and\nfind an upper bound for the number of linearly independent vectors generated by\nthem, which agrees with the known characters of $\\widehat{sl}_2$-modules.",
        "positive": "Minimal models of field theories: Chiral Higher Spin Gravity: There exists a unique class of local Higher Spin Gravities with propagating\nmassless fields in $4d$ - Chiral Higher Spin Gravity. Originally, it was\nformulated in the light-cone gauge. We construct a covariant form of this\ntheory as a Free Differential Algebra up to NLO, i.e. at the level of equations\nof motion. It also contains the recently discovered covariant forms of the\nhigher spin extensions of SDYM and SDGR, as well as SDYM and SDGR themselves.\nFrom the mathematical viewpoint the result is equivalent to taking the minimal\nmodel (in the sense of $L_\\infty$-algebras) of the jet-space extension of the\nBV-BRST formulation of Chiral Higher Spin Gravity, thereby, containing also\ninformation about (presymplectic AKSZ) action, counterterms, anomalies, etc."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gravity induced over a smooth soliton: I consider gravity induced over a smooth (finite thickness) soliton. Graviton\nkinetic term is coupled to bulk scalar that develops solitonic vacuum\nexpectation value. Couplings of Kaluza-Klein modes to soliton-localized matter\nare suppressed, giving rise to crossover distance $r_c=M_{P}^2/M_{*}^3$ between\n4D and 5D behavior. This system can be viewed as a finite thickness brane\nregularization of the model of Dvali, Gabadadze and Porrati.",
        "positive": "An Infinite Dimensional Symmetry Algebra in String Theory: Symmetry transformations of the space-time fields of string theory are\ngenerated by certain similarity transformations of the stress-tensor of the\nassociated conformal field theories. This observation is complicated by the\nfact that, as we explain, many of the operators we habitually use in string\ntheory (such as vertices and currents) have ill-defined commutators. However,\nwe identify an infinite-dimensional subalgebra whose commutators are not\nsingular, and explicitly calculate its structure constants. This constitutes a\nsubalgebra of the gauge symmetry of string theory, although it may act on\nauxiliary as well as propagating fields. We term this object a {\\it weighted\ntensor algebra}, and, while it appears to be a distant cousin of the\n$W$-algebras, it has not, to our knowledge, appeared in the literature before."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gluonic fields of a static particle to all orders in 1/N: We determine the expectation value of the gauge invariant operator Tr\n[F^2+... ] for N=4 SU(N) SYM, in the presence of an infinitely heavy static\nparticle in the symmetric representation of SU(N). We carry out the computation\nin the context of the AdS/CFT correspondence, by considering the perturbation\nof the dilaton field caused by the presence of a D3 brane dual to such an\nexternal probe. We find that the effective chromo-electric charge of the probe\nhas exactly the same expression as the one recently found in the computation of\nenergy loss by radiation.",
        "positive": "Strong coupling expansion for general relativity: Strong coupling expansion is computed for the Einstein equations in vacuum in\nthe Arnowitt-Deser-Misner (ADM) formalism. The series is given by the duality\nprinciple in perturbation theory as presented in [M.Frasca, Phys. Rev. A 58,\n3439 (1998)]. An example of application is also given for a two-dimensional\nmodel of gravity expressed through the Liouville equation showing that the\nexpansion is not trivial and consistent with the exact solution, in agreement\nwith the general analysis. Application to the Einstein equations in vacuum in\nthe ADM formalism shows that the spacetime near singularities is driven by\nspace homogeneous equations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Worldline Instantons and Pair Production in Inhomogeneous Fields: We show how to do semiclassical nonperturbative computations within the\nworldline approach to quantum field theory using ``worldline instantons''.\nThese worldline instantons are classical solutions to the Euclidean worldline\nloop equations of motion, and are closed spacetime loops parametrized by the\nproper-time. Specifically, we compute the imaginary part of the one loop\neffective action in scalar QED using ``worldline instantons'', for a wide class\nof inhomogeneous electric field backgrounds. We treat both time dependent and\nspace dependent electric fields, and note that temporal inhomogeneities tend to\nshrink the instanton loops, while spatial inhomogeneities tend to expand them.\nThis corresponds to temporal inhomogeneities tending to enhance local pair\nproduction, with spatial inhomogeneities tending to suppress local pair\nproduction. We also show how the worldline instanton technique extends to\nspinor QED.",
        "positive": "Quantum Interaction $\u03c6^4_4$: the Construction of Quantum Field\n  defined as a Bilinear Form: We construct the solution $\\phi(t,{\\bf x})$ of the quantum wave equation\n$\\Box\\phi + m^2\\phi + \\lambda:\\!\\!\\phi^3\\!\\!: = 0$ as a bilinear form which can\nbe expanded over Wick polynomials of the free $in$-field, and where\n$:\\!\\phi^3(t,{\\bf x})\\!: $ is defined as the normal ordered product with\nrespect to the free $in$-field. The constructed solution is correctly defined\nas a bilinear form on $D_{\\theta}\\times D_{\\theta}$, where $D_{\\theta}$ is a\ndense linear subspace in the Fock space of the free $in$-field. On\n$D_{\\theta}\\times D_{\\theta}$ the diagonal Wick symbol of this bilinear form\nsatisfies the nonlinear classical wave equation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Noncommutative scalar fields in compact spaces: quantisation and\n  implications: In this paper we consider a two component scalar field theory, with\nnoncommutativity in its conjugate momentum space. We quantize such a theory in\na compact space with the help of dressing transformations and we reveal a\nsignificant effect of introducing such noncommutativity as the splitting of the\nenergy levels of each individual mode that constitutes the whole system. We\nfurther compute the thermal partition function exactly with predicted deformed\ndispersion relations from noncommutative theories and compare the results with\nusual results. It is found that thermodynamic quantities in noncommutative\nmodels, irrespective of whether the model is more deformed in infrared/UV\nregion, show deviation from standard results in high temperature region.",
        "positive": "M-strings, Elliptic Genera and N=4 String Amplitudes: We study mass-deformed N=2 gauge theories from various points of view. Their\npartition functions can be computed via three dual approaches: firstly,\n(p,q)-brane webs in type II string theory using Nekrasov's instanton calculus,\nsecondly, the (refined) topological string using the topological vertex\nformalism and thirdly, M theory via the elliptic genus of certain M-strings\nconfigurations. We argue for a large class of theories that these approaches\nyield the same gauge theory partition function which we study in detail. To\nmake their modular properties more tangible, we consider a fourth approach by\nconnecting the partition function to the equivariant elliptic genus of R^4\nthrough a (singular) theta-transform. This form appears naturally as a specific\nclass of one-loop scattering amplitudes in type II string theory on T^2, which\nwe calculate explicitly."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Matrix models for irregular conformal blocks and Argyres-Douglas\n  theories: As regular conformal blocks describe the N=2 superconformal gauge theories in\nfour dimensions, irregular conformal blocks are expected to reproduce the\ninstanton partition functions of the Argyres-Douglas theories. In this paper,\nwe construct matrix models which reproduce the irregular conformal conformal\nblocks of the Liouville theory on sphere, by taking a colliding limit of the\nPenner-type matrix models. The resulting matrix models have not only\nlogarithmic terms but also rational terms in the potential. We also discuss\ntheir relation to the Argyres-Douglas type theories.",
        "positive": "Progress in classically solving ten dimensional supersymmetric reduced\n  Yang-Mills theories: It is shown that there exists an on-shell light cone gauge where half of the\nfermionic components of the super vector potential vanish, so that part of the\nsuperspace flatness conditions becomes linear. After reduction to $(1+1)$\nspace-time dimensions, the general solution of this subset of equations is\nderived. The remaining non-linear equations are written in a form which is\nanalogous to Yang equations, albeit with superderivatives involving sixteen\nfermionic coordinates. It is shown that this non-linear part may, nevertheless,\nbe solved by methods similar to powerful technics previously developed for the\n(purely bosonic) self-dual Yang Mills equations in four dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Damped Electromagnetic fluctuations in the early universe?: This short note considers the effects of quantum theory on the linear\nevolution of the magnetic fields during and after inflation. The analysis\nappears to show that the magnetic fields decay exponentially in the\nhigh-temperature radiation era due to a combination of ohmic dissipation and\nvacuum polarisation.",
        "positive": "An Alternative to Particle Dark Matter: We propose an alternative to particle dark matter that borrows ingredients of\nMOdified Newtonian Dynamics (MOND) while adding new key components. The first\nnew feature is a dark matter fluid, in the form of a scalar field with small\nequation of state and sound speed. This component is critical in reproducing\nthe success of cold dark matter for the expansion history and the growth of\nlinear perturbations, but does not cluster significantly on non-linear scales.\nInstead, the missing mass problem on non-linear scales is addressed by a\nmodification of the gravitational force law. The force law approximates MOND at\nlarge and intermediate accelerations, and therefore reproduces the empirical\nsuccess of MOND at fitting galactic rotation curves. At ultra-low\naccelerations, the force law reverts to an inverse-square-law, albeit with a\nlarger Newton's constant. This latter regime is important in galaxy clusters\nand is consistent with their observed isothermal profiles, provided the\ncharacteristic acceleration scale of MOND is mildly varying with scale or mass,\nsuch that it is ~12 times higher in clusters than in galaxies. We present an\nexplicit relativistic theory in terms of two scalar fields. The first scalar\nfield is governed by a Dirac-Born-Infeld action and behaves as a dark matter\nfluid on large scales. The second scalar field also has single-derivative\ninteractions and mediates a fifth force that modifies gravity on non-linear\nscales. Both scalars are coupled to matter via an effective metric that depends\nlocally on the fields. The form of this effective metric implies the equality\nof the two scalar gravitational potentials, which ensures that lensing and\ndynamical mass estimates agree. Further work is needed in order to make both\nthe acceleration scale of MOND and the fraction at which gravity reverts to an\ninverse-square law explicitly dynamical quantities, varying with scale or mass."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Staccato radiation from the decay of large amplitude oscillons: We study the decay of large amplitude, almost periodic breather-like states\nin a deformed sine-Gordon model in one spatial dimension. We discover that\nthese objects decay in a staggered fashion via a series of transitions, during\nwhich higher harmonics are released as short, staccato bursts of radiation.\nFurther, we argue that this phenomenon is not restricted to one particular\nmodel, and that similar mechanisms of radiative decay of long-lived oscillating\nstates can be observed for a wide class of physical systems, including the\n$\\phi^6$ model.",
        "positive": "Adding subtractions: comparing the impact of different Regge behaviors: Dispersion relations let us leverage the analytic structure of scattering\namplitudes to derive constraints such as bounds on EFT coefficients.\n  An important input is the large-energy behavior of the amplitude. In this\npaper, we systematically study how different large-energy behavior affects EFT\nbounds for the $2 \\to 2$ amplitude of complex scalars coupled to photons,\ngravity, both, or neither. In many cases we find that singly-subtracted\ndispersion relations (1SDRs) yield exactly the same bounds as doubly subtracted\nrelations (2SDRs). However, we identify another assumption, which we call\n\"$t$-channel dominance,\" that significantly strengthens the EFT bounds. This\nassumption, which amounts to the requirement that the $++ \\to ++$ amplitude has\nno $s$-channel exchange, is justified in certain cases and is analogous to the\ncondition that the isospin-2 channel does not contribute to the pion amplitude.\nUsing this assumption in the absence of massless exchanges, we find that the\nallowed region for the complex scalar EFT is identical to one recently\ndiscussed for pion scattering at large-$N$. In the case of gravity and a gauge\nfield, we are able to derive a number of interesting bounds. These include an\nupper bound for $G$ in terms of the gauge coupling $e^2$ and the leading\ndispersive EFT coefficient, which is reminiscent of the weak gravity\nconjecture. In the $e \\to 0$ limit, we find that assuming smeared 1SDRs plus\n$t$-channel dominance restores positivity on the leading EFT coefficient whose\npositivity was spoiled by the inclusion of gravity. We interpret this to mean\nthat the negativity of that coefficient in the presence of gravity would imply\nthat the global $U(1)$ symmetry must be gauged."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gaugings and other supergravity tools of p-brane physics: In this series of lectures I present a review of the geometric structures of\nsupergravity in diverse dimensions mostly relevant to p-brane physics and to\npinpoint the correspondence between the macroscopic and microscopic description\nof branes. In particular I review duality transformations, coset manifold\nstructures and the general steps involved by the process of gauging\nsupergravity lagrangians both with respect to compact, non compact and non\nsemisimple groups. I focus specifically on the issue of the Domain Wall field\ntheory correspondence and its relation with the gaugings of supergravity in p+2\ndimensions. A complete review of the geometries involved by D=5, N=2\nsupergravity and of its most general form is given with emphasis on the problem\nof finding smooth supersymmetric realizations of the Randall Sundrum scenarios.\nI also give a general review of the algebraic machinery involved by the\nSolvable Lie algebra description of the scalar manifolds of supergravity and I\nemphasize its distinguished role in pinpointing the superstring interpretation\nof supergravity p brane solutions and the macroscopic/microscopic\ncorrespondence.",
        "positive": "A New Description of the E_6 Singularity: We discuss a new type of Landau-Ginzburg potential for the E_6 singularity of\nthe form $W=const+(Q_1(x)+P_1(x)\\sqrt{P_2(x)})/x^3$ which featured in a recent\nstudy of heterotic/typeII string duality. Here $Q_1,P_1$ and $P_2$ are\npolynomials of degree 15,10 and 10, respectively. We study the properties of\nthe potential in detail and show that it gives a new and consistent description\nof the E_6 singularity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "String theory, $\\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM and Riemann hypothesis: We discuss new relations among string theory, four-dimensional\n$\\mathcal{N}=4$ supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory (SYM) and the Riemann\nhypothesis. It is known that the Riemann hypothesis is equivalent to an\ninequality for the sum of divisors function $\\sigma (n)$. Based on previous\nresults in literature, we focus on the fact that $\\sigma (n)$ appears in a\nproblem of counting supersymmetric states in the $\\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM with\n$SU(3)$ gauge group: the Schur limit of the superconformal index plays a role\nof a generating function of $\\sigma (n)$. Then assuming the Riemann hypothesis\ngives bounds on information on the $1/8$-BPS states in the $\\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM.\nThe AdS/CFT correspondence further connects the Riemann hypothesis to the type\nIIB superstring theory on $AdS_5 \\times S^5$. In particular, the Riemann\nhypothesis implies a miraculous cancellation among Kaluza-Klein modes of the\nsupergravity multiplet and D3-branes wrapping supersymmetric cycles in the\nstring theory. We also discuss possibilities to gain new insights on the\nRiemann hypothesis from the physics side.",
        "positive": "Mutual information on the fuzzy sphere: We numerically calculate entanglement entropy and mutual information for a\nmassive free scalar field on commutative (ordinary) and noncommutative (fuzzy)\nspheres. We regularize the theory on the commutative geometry by discretizing\nthe polar coordinate, whereas the theory on the noncommutative geometry\nnaturally posseses a finite and adjustable number of degrees of freedom. Our\nresults show that the UV-divergent part of the entanglement entropy on a fuzzy\nsphere does not follow an area law, while the entanglement entropy on a\ncommutative sphere does. Nonetheless, we find that mutual information (which is\nUV-finite) is the same in both theories. This suggests that nonlocality at\nshort distances does not affect quantum correlations over large distances in a\nfree field theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Entanglement entropies of an interval in the free Schr\u00f6dinger field\n  theory at finite density: We study the entanglement entropies of an interval on the infinite line in\nthe free fermionic spinless Schr\\\"odinger field theory at finite density and\nzero temperature, which is a non-relativistic model with Lifshitz exponent\n$z=2$. We prove that the entanglement entropies are finite functions of one\ndimensionless parameter proportional to the area of a rectangular region in the\nphase space determined by the Fermi momentum and the length of the interval.\nThe entanglement entropy is a monotonically increasing function. By employing\nthe properties of the prolate spheroidal wave functions of order zero or the\nasymptotic expansions of the tau function of the sine kernel, we find analytic\nexpressions for the expansions of the entanglement entropies in the asymptotic\nregimes of small and large area of the rectangular region in the phase space.\nThese expansions lead to prove that the analogue of the relativistic entropic\n$C$ function is not monotonous. Extending our analyses to a class of free\nfermionic Lifshitz models labelled by their integer dynamical exponent $z$, we\nfind that the parity of this exponent determines the properties of the\nbipartite entanglement for an interval on the line.",
        "positive": "Quantum mechanics in de Sitter space: We consider some possible phenomenological implications of the extended\nuncertainty principle, which is believed to hold for quantum mechanics in de\nSitter spacetime. The relative size of the corrections to the standard results\nis however of the order of the ratio between the length scale of the quantum\nmechanical system and the de Sitter radius, and therefore exceedingly small.\nNevertheless, the existence of effects due to the large scale curvature of\nspacetime in atomic experiments has a theoretical relevance."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gravitational Correction to Fuzzy String in Metastable Brane\n  Configuration: We study dynamics of a cosmic string in a metastable brane configuration in\nType IIA string theory. We first discuss a decay process of the cosmic string\nvia a fuzzy brane (equivalently bubble/string bound state) by neglecting\ngravitational corrections in ten-dimension. We find that depending on the\nstrength of the magnetic field induced on the bubble, the decay rate can be\neither larger or smaller than that of $O(4)$ symmetric bubble. Then, we\ninvestigate gravitational corrections to the fuzzy brane by using the extremal\nblack $NS$-five brane solution, which makes the lifetime of the metastable\nstate longer.",
        "positive": "Baby Skyrmions on the Two-Sphere: We find the static multi-soliton solutions of the baby Skyrme model on the\ntwo-sphere for topological charges 1 =< B =< 14. Numerical full-field results\nshow that the charge-one Skyrmion is spherical, the charge-two Skyrmion is\ntoroidal, and Skyrmions with higher charge all have point symmetries which are\nsubgroups of O(3). We find that a rational map ansatz yields very good\napproximations to the full-field solutions. We point out a strong connection\nbetween the discrete symmetries of our solutions and those of corresponding\nsolutions of the 3D Skyrme model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Construction of the Vacuum String Field Theory on a non-BPS Brane: In the framework of the Sen conjectures a construction of vacuum superstring\nfield theory on a non-BPS brane is discussed. A distinguished feature of this\ntheory is a presence of a ghost kinetic operator mixing GSO+/- sectors. A\ncandidate for such kinetic operator with zero cohomology is discussed.",
        "positive": "Introducing LambdaTensor1.0 - A package for explicit symbolic and\n  numeric Lie algebra and Lie group calculations: Due to the occurrence of large exceptional Lie groups in supergravity,\ncalculations involving explicit Lie algebra and Lie group element manipulations\neasily become very complicated and hence also error-prone if done by hand.\nResearch on the extremal structure of maximal gauged supergravity theories in\nvarious dimensions sparked the development of a library for efficient abstract\nmultilinear algebra calculations involving sparse and non-sparse higher-rank\ntensors, which is presented here."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Twistor action for general relativity: We reformulate Euclidean general relativity without cosmological constant as\nan action governing the complex structure of twistor space. Extending Penrose's\nnon-linear graviton construction, we find a correspondence between twistor\nspaces with partially integrable almost complex structures and four-dimensional\nspace-times with off-shell metrics. Using this, we prove that our twistor\naction reduces to Plebanski's action for general relativity via the Penrose\ntransform. This should lead to new insights into the geometry of graviton\nscattering as well as to the derivation of computational tools like\ngravitational MHV rules.",
        "positive": "Towards a Unified Theory of Massless Superfields of All Superspins: We describe the ``universal'' action for massless superfields of all\nsuperspins in N = 1, D = 4 anti-de Sitter superspace as a gauge theory of\nunconstrained superfields taking their values in the commutative algebra of\nanalytic functions over a one-sheeted hyperboloid in $R^{3,1}$. The action is\ninvariant under N = 2 supersymmetry transformations which form a closed algebra\noff the mass-shell."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Deformations, Moduli Stabilisation and Gauge Couplings at One-Loop: We investigate deformations of $\\mathbb{Z}_2$ orbifold singularities on the\ntoroidal orbifold $T^6/(\\mathbb{Z}_2\\times\\mathbb{Z}_6)$ with discrete torsion\nin the framework of Type IIA orientifold model building with intersecting\nD6-branes wrapping special Lagrangian cycles. To this aim, we employ the\nhypersurface formalism developed previously for the orbifold\n$T^6/(\\mathbb{Z}_2\\times\\mathbb{Z}_2)$ with discrete torsion and adapt it to\nthe $\\mathbb{Z}_2\\times\\mathbb{Z}_6\\times\\Omega\\mathcal{R}$ point group by\nmodding out the remaining $\\mathbb{Z}_3$ subsymmetry and the orientifold\nprojection $\\Omega\\mathcal{R}$. We first study the local behaviour of the\n$\\mathbb{Z}_3\\times\\Omega\\mathcal{R}$ invariant deformation orbits under\nnon-zero deformation and then develop methods to assess the deformation effects\non the fractional three-cycle volumes globally. We confirm that D6-branes\nsupporting USp(2N) or SO(2N) gauge groups do not constrain any deformation,\nwhile deformation parameters associated to cycles wrapped by D6-branes with\nU(N) gauge groups are constrained by D-term supersymmetry breaking. These\nfeatures are exposed in global prototype MSSM, Left-Right symmetric and\nPati-Salam models first constructed in arXiv:1509.00048 and arXiv:1409.1236,\nfor which we here count the number of stabilised moduli and study flat\ndirections changing the values of some gauge couplings. Finally, we confront\nthe behaviour of tree-level gauge couplings under non-vanishing deformations\nalong flat directions with the one-loop gauge threshold corrections at the\norbifold point and discuss phenomenological implications, in particular on\npossible LARGE volume scenarios and the corresponding value of the string scale\n$M_{\\text{string}}$, for the same global D6-brane models.",
        "positive": "Dynamical solutions of warped six dimensional supergravity: We derive a new class of exact time dependent solutions in a warped six\ndimensional supergravity model. Under the assumptions we make for the form of\nthe underlying moduli fields, we show that the only consistent time dependent\nsolutions lead to all six dimensions evolving in time, implying the eventual\ndecompactification or collapse of the extra dimensions. We also show how the\ndynamics affects the quantization of the deficit angle."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gravity localization and mass hierarchy in scalar-tensor branes: We consider a braneworld model in the scalar-tensor gravity. In order to\nsolve the gauge hierarchy problem in this model, our world should be confined\non the positive tension brane rather than on the negative one. This is crucial\nto reproduce a correct Friedmann-like equation on the brane. Interestingly, it\nis found that the spacing of mass spectrum in this scenario is very tiny, but\nthe light gravitons cannot be observed individually in colliders because of\ntheir sufficiently weak interaction with matter fields on the visible brane.",
        "positive": "Quantization of Field Theory on the Light Front: Canonical formulation of quantum field theory on the Light Front (LF) is\nreviewed. The problem of constructing the LF Hamiltonian which gives the theory\nequivalent to original Lorentz and gauge invariant one is considered. We\ndescribe possible ways of solving this problem: (a) the limiting transition\nfrom the equal-time Hamiltonian in a fast moving Lorentz frame to LF\nHamiltonian, (b) the direct comparison of LF perturbation theory in coupling\nconstant and usual Lorentz-covariant Feynman perturbation theory. The results\nof the application of method (b) to QED-1+1 and QCD-3+1 are given. Gauge\ninvariant regularization of LF Hamiltonian via introducing a lattice in\ntransverse coordinates and imposing periodic boundary conditions in LF\ncoordinate x^- for gauge fields on the interval |x^-| smaller than L is also\nconsidered."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On confinement in a light-cone Hamiltonian for QCD: The canonical front form Hamiltonian for non-Abelian SU(N) gauge theory in\n3+1 dimensions and in the light-cone gauge is mapped non-perturbatively on an\neffective Hamiltonian which acts only in the Fock space of a quark and an\nantiquark. Emphasis is put on the many-body aspects of gauge field theory, and\nit is shown explicitly how the higher Fock-space amplitudes can be retrieved\nself-consistently from solutions in the $q\\bar q$-space. The approach is based\non the novel method of iterated resolvents and on discretized light-cone\nquantization driven to the continuum limit. It is free of the usual\nperturbative Tamm-Dancoff truncations in particle number and coupling constant\nand respects all symmetries of the Lagrangian including covariance and gauge\ninvariance. Approximations are done to the non-truncated formalism. Together\nwith vertex as opposed to Fock-space regularization, the method allows to apply\nthe renormalization programme non-perturbatively to a Hamiltonian. The\nconventional QCD scale is found arising from regulating the transversal\nmomenta. It conspires with additional mass scales to produce possibly\nconfinement.",
        "positive": "The $u$-plane integral, mock modularity and enumerative geometry: We revisit the low-energy effective $U(1)$ action of topologically twisted\n$\\mathcal N=2$ SYM theory with gauge group of rank one on a generic oriented\nsmooth 4-manifold $X$ with nontrivial fundamental group. After including a\nspecific new set of $\\mathcal Q$-exact operators to the known action, we\nexpress the integrand of the path integral of the low-energy $U(1)$ theory as\nan anti-holomorphic derivative. This allows us to use the theory of mock\nmodular forms and indefinite theta functions for the explicit evaluation of\ncorrelation functions of the theory, including but not restricted to those that\nphysically reproduce Donaldson invariants, thus facilitating the computations\ncompared to previously used methods. As an explicit check of our results, we\ncompute the path integral for the product ruled surfaces $X=\\Sigma_g \\times\n\\mathbb{CP}^1$ for the reduction on either factor and compare the results with\nexisting literature. In the case of reduction on the Riemann surface\n$\\Sigma_g$, via an equivalent topological A-model on $\\mathbb{CP}^1$, we will\nbe able to express the generating function of genus zero Gromov-Witten\ninvariants of the moduli space of flat rank one connections over $\\Sigma_g$ in\nterms of an indefinite theta function, whence we would be able to make concrete\nnumerical predictions of these enumerative invariants in terms of modular data,\nthereby allowing us to derive results in enumerative geometry from number\ntheory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Duality, Equivalence, Mass and The Quest For The Vacuum: I contemplate the possibility that the mismatch between the maximally\nsymmetric point (the free fermionic point) and the strictly self-dual point in\nthe Narain moduli space plays a role in the string vacuum selection. The role\nof self-duality in the recent formulation of quantum mechanics from an\nequivalence postulate, and the new perspective that it offers on the\nfoundations of quantum gravity and the origin of mass, are discussed.",
        "positive": "Emergent Cosmology from Matrix Theory: Matrix theory is a proposed non-perturbative definition of superstring theory\nin which space is emergent. We begin a study of cosmology in the context of\nmatrix theory. Specifically, we show that matrix theory can lead to an emergent\nnon-singular cosmology which, at late times, can be described by an expanding\nphase of Standard Big Bang cosmology. The horizon problem of Standard Big Bang\ncosmology is automatically solved. We show that thermal fluctuations in the\nemergent phase source an approximately scale-invariant spectrum of cosmological\nperturbations and a scale-invariant spectrum of gravitational waves. Hence, it\nappears that matrix theory can lead to a successful scenario for the origin of\nperturbations responsible for the currently observed structure in the universe\nwhile providing a consistent UV-complete description."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Weyl Invariance and the Origins of Mass: By a uniform and simple Weyl invariant coupling of scale and matter fields,\nwe construct theories that unify massless, massive, and partially massless\nexcitations. Masses are related to tractor Weyl weights, and\nBreitenlohner-Freedman stability bounds in anti de Sitter amount to reality of\nthese weights. The method relies on tractor calculus -- mathematical machinery\nallowing Weyl invariance to be kept manifest at all stages. The equivalence\nbetween tractor and higher spin systems with arbitrary spins and masses is also\nconsidered.",
        "positive": "Boson Stars in a Theory of Complex Scalar Fields coupled to $U(1)$ Gauge\n  Field and Gravity: We study boson shells and boson stars in a theory of complex scalar field\ncoupled to the $U(1)$ gauge field $A_{\\mu}$ and Einstein gravity with the\npotential: $V(|\\Phi|) := \\frac{1}{2} m^{2} \\left(|\\Phi|+ a \\right)^2$. This\ncould be considered either as a theory of massive complex scalar field coupled\nto electromagnetic field and gravity in a conical potential or as a theory in\nthe presence of a potential which is an overlap of a parabolic and a conical\npotential. Our theory has a positive cosmological constant $(\\Lambda := 4 \\pi G\nm^2 a^2)$. Boson stars are found to come in two types, having either ball-like\nor shell-like charge density. We have studied the properties of these solutions\nand have also determined their domains of existence for some specific values of\nthe parameters of the theory. Similar solutions have also been obtained by\nKleihaus, Kunz, Laemmerzahl and List, in a V-shaped scalar potential."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Celestial double copy from the worldsheet: Using the ambitwistor string, we compute tree-level celestial amplitudes for\nbiadjoint scalars, Yang-Mills and gravity to all multiplicities. They are\npresented in compact CHY-like formulas with operator-valued scattering\nequations and numerators acting on a generalized hypergeometric function. With\nthese we extend the celestial double copy to tree-level amplitudes with\narbitrary number of external states. We also show how color-kinematics duality\nis implemented in celestial amplitudes and its interpretation in terms of a\ngeneralized twisted cohomology theory.",
        "positive": "New Asymptotic Conservation laws for Electromagnetism: We obtain the subleading tail to the memory term in the late time\nelectromagnetic radiative field generated due to a generic scattering of\ncharged bodies. We show that there exists a new asymptotic conservation law\nwhich is related to the subleading tail term. The corresponding charge is made\nof a mode of the asymptotic electromagnetic field that appears at\n$\\mathcal{O}(e^5)$ and we expect that it is uncorrected at higher orders. This\nhints that the subleading tail arises from classical limit of a 2-loop soft\nphoton theorem. Building on the $m=1$ \\cite{1903.09133, 1912.10229} and $m=2$\ncases, we propose that there exists a conservation law for every $m$ such that\nthe respective charge involves an $\\mathcal{O}(e^{2m+1})$ mode and is conserved\nexactly. This would imply a hierarchy of an infinite number of $m$-loop soft\ntheorems. We also predict the structure of $m^{th}$ order tails to the memory\nterm that are tied to the classical limit of these soft theorems."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Bifurcation of Plasma Balls and Black Holes to Lobed Configurations: At high energy densities any quantum field theory is expected to have an\neffective hydrodynamic description. When combined with the gravity/gauge\nduality an unified picture emerges, where gravity itself can have a formal\nholographic hydrodynamic description. This provides a powerful tool to study\nblack holes in a hydrodynamic setup. We study the stability of plasma balls,\nholographic duals of Scherck-Schwarz (SS) AdS black holes. We find that\nrotating plasma balls are unstable against m-lobed perturbations for rotation\nrates higher than a critical value. This unstable mode signals a bifurcation to\na new branch of non-axisymmetric stationary solutions which resemble a\n\"peanut-like\" rotating plasma. The gravitational dual of the rotating plasma\nball must then be unstable and possibly decay to a non-axisymmetric long-lived\nSS AdS black hole. This instability provides therefore a mechanism that bounds\nthe rotation of SS black holes. Our results are strictly valid for the SS AdS\ngravity theory dual to a SS gauge theory. The latter is particularly important\nbecause it shares common features with QCD, namely it is non-conformal,\nnon-supersymmetric and has a confinement/deconfinement phase transition. We\nfocus our analysis in 3-dimensional plasmas dual to SS AdS_5 black holes, but\nmany of our results should extend to higher dimensions and to other gauge\ntheory/gravity dualities with confined/deconfined phases and admitting a fluid\ndescription.",
        "positive": "Three-dimensional black holes and descendants: We determine the most general three-dimensional vacuum spacetime with a\nnegative cosmological constant containing a non-singular Killing horizon. We\nshow that the general solution with a spatially compact horizon possesses a\nsecond commuting Killing field and deduce that it must be related to the BTZ\nblack hole (or its near-horizon geometry) by a diffeomorphism. We show there is\na general class of asymptotically AdS$_3$ extreme black holes with arbitrary\ncharges with respect to one of the asymptotic-symmetry Virasoro algebras and\nvanishing charges with respect to the other. We interpret these as descendants\nof the extreme BTZ black hole."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Hair in Electrodynamics and Gravity: We demonstrate the existence of quantum hair in electrodynamics and gravity\nusing effective action techniques. In the case of electrodynamics we use the\nEuler-Heisenberg effective action while in the case of quantum gravity we use\nthe unique effective action. We give a general formulation of these effects\nwhich applies to both theories and discuss analogies and differences between\nthem. Furthermore, we present a QED analog to black hole evaporation.\nSpontaneous pair production in the external field of a ball of charge is\nanalogous to Hawking radiation from black holes. Assuming spherical symmetry,\nthe Gauss law prevents the external field from depending on the density profile\nof the ball. Quantum corrections violate these expectations, showing that\nquantum radiation can encode classically forbidden information about the\nsource.",
        "positive": "Holographic Walking Technicolor from D-branes: We investigate a model of dynamical electroweak symmetry breaking via a dual\ngravitational description. The gravity dual is obtained by embedding a D7 -\nanti-D7 pair of branes into a type IIB background that is dual to a walking\ngauge theory. We develop further a previous study of this model. In particular,\nwe show that there is a nontrivial relation that needs to be satisfied in order\nfor axial-vector modes to exist. Furthermore, we compute explicitly the\nelectroweak S parameter. The result is positive-definite and, as was to be\nexpected, much smaller than in earlier QCD-like D-brane constructions. We also\nfind the masses and decay constants of the vector and axial-vector mesons in\nthis model. This allows us to obtain another estimate for S by summing the\ncontributions of the discrete states. It is noteworthy that, in contrast to\nprevious holographic studies, the sum of the first several lowest-lying states\ndoes give a very good approximation to the full answer."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "DDF Construction and D-Brane Boundary States in Pure Spinor Formalism: Open string boundary conditions for non-BPS D-branes in type II string\ntheories discussed in hep-th/0505157 give rise to two sectors with integer (R\nsector) and half-integer (NS sector) modes for the combined fermionic matter\nand bosonic ghost variables in pure spinor formalism. Exploiting the manifest\nsupersymmetry of the formalism we explicitly construct the DDF (Del Giudice, Di\nVecchia, Fubini) states in both the sectors which are in one-to-one\ncorrespondence with the states in light-cone Green-Schwarz formalism. We also\ngive a proof of validity of this construction. A similar construction in the\nclosed string sector enables us to define a physical Hilbert space in pure\nspinor formalism which is used to project the covariant boundary states of both\nthe BPS and non-BPS instantonic D-branes. These projected boundary states take\nexactly the same form as those found in light-cone Green-Schwarz formalism and\nare suitable for computing the cylinder diagram with manifest open-closed\nduality.",
        "positive": "Elusive Order Parameters for Non-Abelian Gauge Theories: In this Letter, we construct a set of order parameters for non-Abelian gauge\ntheories which probe directly the unbroken group and are free of the\ndeficiencies caused by quantum fluctuations and gauge fixing which have plagued\nall previous attempts. These operators can be used to map out the phase diagram\nof a non-Abelian gauge theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Standard Clocks in the Primordial Trispectrum: We calculate the primordial trispectrum of curvature perturbation in\nquasi-single field inflation, with general sound speeds for both the inflaton\nand the massive scalar. Special attention is paid to various soft limits of the\ntrispectrum, where the shape function shows characteristic oscillatory pattern\n(known as the quantum primordial standard clock signal) as a function of the\nmomentum ratio. Our calculation is greatly simplified by using the \"mixed\npropagator\" developed under a diagrammatic representation of the in-in\nformalism.",
        "positive": "Large N limit of O(N) vector models: Using a simple identity between various partial derivatives of the energy of\nthe vector model in 0+0 dimensions, we derive explicit results for the\ncoefficients of the large N expansion of the model. These coefficients are\nfunctions in a variable $\\rho^2$, which is the expectation value of the two\npoint function in the limit $N=\\infty$. These functions are analytic and have\nonly one (multiple) pole in $\\rho^2$. We show to all orders that these\nexpressions obey a given general formula. Using this formula it is possible to\nderive the double scaling limit in an alternative way. All the results obtained\nfor the double scaling limit agree with earlier calculations. (to be published\nin Physics Letters B)"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic geometry for non-relativistic systems emerging from\n  generalized flow equations: An intriguing result presented by two of the present authors is that an anti\nde Sitter space can be derived from a conformal field theory by considering a\nflow equation. A natural expectation is that given a certain data on the\nboundary system, the associated geometry would be able to emerge from a flow,\neven beyond the conformal case. As a step along this line, we examine this\nscenario for non-relativistic systems with anisotropic scaling symmetries, such\nas Lifshitz field theories and Schr\\\"odinger invariant theories. In consequence\nwe obtain a new hybrid geometry of Lifshitz and Schr\\\"odinger spacetimes as a\ngeneral holographic geometry in this framework. We confirm that this geometry\nreduces to each of them by considering special non-relativistic models.",
        "positive": "Discrete symmetries in the Kaluza-Klein-like theories: In theories of the Kaluza-Klein kind there are spins or total angular moments\nin higher dimensions which manifest as charges in the observable $d=(3+1)$. The\ncharge conjugation requirement, if following the prescription in ($3+1$), would\ntransform any particle state out of the Dirac sea into the hole in the Dirac\nsea, which manifests as an anti-particle having all the spin degrees of freedom\nin $d$, except $S^{03}$, the same as the corresponding particle state. This is\nin contradiction with what we observe for the anti-particle. In this paper we\nredefine the discrete symmetries so that we stay within the subgroups of the\nstarting group of symmetries, while we require that the angular moments in\nhigher dimensions manifest as charges in $d=(3+1)$. We pay attention on spaces\nwith even $d$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Mott transition with Holographic Spectral function: We show that the Mott transition can be realized in a holographic model of a\nfermion with bulk mass, $m$, and a dipole interaction of coupling strength $p$.\nThe phase diagram contains gapless, pseudo-gap and gapped phases and the first\none can be further divided into four sub-classes. We compare the spectral\ndensities of our holographic model with the Dynamical Mean Field Theory (DMFT)\nresults for Hubbard model as well as the experimental data of Vanadium Oxide\nmaterials. Interestingly, single-site and cluster DMFT results of Hubbard model\nshare some similarities with the holographic model of different parameters,\nalthough the spectral functions are quite different due to the asymmetry in the\nholography part. The theory can fit the X-ray absorption spectrum (XAS) data\nquite well, but once the theory parameters are fixed with the former it can fit\nthe photoelectric emission spectrum (PES) data only if we symmetrize the\nspectral function.",
        "positive": "Two-dimensional black holes in the limiting curvature theory of gravity: In this paper we discuss modified gravity models in which growth of the\ncurvature is dynamically restricted. To illustrate interesting features of such\nmodels we consider a modification of two-dimensional dilaton gravity theory\nwhich satisfies the limiting curvature condition. We show that such a model\ndescribes two-dimensional black holes which contain the de Sitter-like core\ninstead of the singularity of the original non-modified theory. In the second\npart of the paper we study Vaidya type solutions of the model of the limiting\ncurvature theory of gravity and used them to analyse properties of black holes\nwhich are created by the collapse of null fluid. We also apply these solutions\nto study interesting features of a black hole evaporation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Lie based 4-dimensional higher Chern-Simons theory: We present and study a model of 4-dimensional higher Chern-Simons theory,\nspecial Chern-Simons (SCS) theory, instances of which have appeared in the\nstring literature, whose symmetry is encoded in a skeletal semistrict Lie\n2-algebra constructed from a compact Lie group with non discrete center. The\nfield content of SCS theory consists of a Lie valued 2-connection coupled to a\nbackground closed 3-form. SCS theory enjoys a large gauge and gauge for gauge\nsymmetry organized in an infinite dimensional strict Lie 2-group. The partition\nfunction of SCS theory is simply related to that of a topological gauge theory\nlocalizing on flat connections with degree 3 second characteristic class\ndetermined by the background 3-form. Finally, SCS theory is related to a\n3-dimensional special gauge theory whose 2-connection space has a natural\nsymplectic structure with respect to which the 1-gauge transformation action is\nHamiltonian, the 2-curvature map acting as moment map.",
        "positive": "Singularity Free (Homogeneous Isotropic) Universe in Graviton-Dilaton\n  Models: We present a class of graviton-dilaton models in which a homogeneous\nisotropic universe, such as our observed one, evolves with no singularity at\nany time. Such models may stand on their own as interesting models for\nsingularity free cosmology, and may be studied further accordingly. They may\nalso arise from string theory. We discuss critically a few such possibilities."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Three-dimensional Poincar\u00e9 supergravity and $\\mathcal{N}$-extended\n  supersymmetric BMS$_{3}$ algebra: A new approach for obtaining the three-dimensional Chern-Simons supergravity\nfor the Poincar\\'e algebra is presented. The $\\mathcal{N}$-extended Poincar\\'e\nsupergravity is obtained by expanding the super Lorentz theory. We extend our\nprocedure to their respective asymptotic symmetries and show that the\n$\\mathcal{N}=(1,2,4)$ super-BMS$_{3}$ appear as expansions of one Virasoro\nsuperalgebra. Interestingly, the $\\mathcal{N}$-extended super-BMS$_{3}$\nobtained here are not only centrally extended but also endowed with internal\nsymmetry. We also show that the $\\mathcal{N}$-extended super Poincar\\'e\nalgebras with both central and automorphism generators are finite subalgebras.",
        "positive": "Einstein spaces in five and seven dimensions and non-supersymmetric\n  gauge theories: A one-parameter family of new solutions representing Einstein spaces in\n$d=5,7$ is presented, and used to construct non-supersymmetric backgrounds in\ntype IIB and M-theory that asymptotically approach $AdS_5\\times S^5$ and\n$AdS_7\\times S^4$ . Upon dimensional reduction, the latter gives a type IIA\nsolution representing a 4-brane with Ramond-Ramond charge, which interpolates\nbetween the \"near-horizon\" non-extremal D4 brane and a geometry connected by\nT-duality to a new constant dilaton solution in type IIB. We discuss the\npossibility that M-theory on this space may be related to a (0,2)\nsix-dimensional field theory on $S^1\\times S^1$, with fermions obeying\nantiperiodic boundary conditions in both circles."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "R\u00e9nyi entanglement asymmetry in 1+1-dimensional conformal field\n  theories: In this paper, we consider the R\\'enyi entanglement asymmetry of excited\nstates in the 1+1 dimensional free compact boson conformal field theory (CFT)\nat equilibrium. We obtain a universal CFT expression written by correlation\nfunctions for the charged moments via the replica trick. We provide detailed\nanalytic computations of the second R\\'enyi entanglement asymmetry in the free\ncompact boson CFT for excited states $\\Psi=V_{\\beta}+V_{-\\beta}$ and\n$\\Phi=V_{\\beta}+J$ with $V_{\\beta}$ and $J=i\\partial\\phi$ being the vertex\noperator and current operator respectively. We make numerical tests of the\nuniversal CFT computations using the XX spin chain model. Taking the\nnon-Hermite fake RDMs into consideration, we propose an effective way to test\nthem numerically, which can be applied to other excited states. The CFT\npredictions are in perfect agreement with the exact numerical calculations.",
        "positive": "R\u00e9nyi mutual information in quantum field theory, tensor networks, and\n  gravity: We explore a large class of correlation measures called the $\\alpha-z$\nR\\'enyi mutual informations (RMIs). Unlike the commonly used notion of RMI\ninvolving linear combinations of R\\'enyi entropies, the $\\alpha-z$ RMIs are\npositive semi-definite and monotonically decreasing under quantum operations,\nmaking them sensible measures of total (quantum and classical) correlations.\nThis follows from their descendance from R\\'enyi relative entropies. In\naddition to upper bounding connected correlation functions between subsystems,\nwe prove the much stronger statement that for certain values of $\\alpha$ and\n$z$, the $\\alpha-z$ RMIs also lower bound connected correlation functions. We\ndevelop an easily implementable replica trick which enables us to compute the\n$\\alpha-z$ RMIs in a variety of many-body systems including conformal field\ntheories, free fermions, random tensor networks, and holography."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Small Black Hole Constituents and Horizontal Symmetry: By exploiting the role of the horizontal symmetry SL(2,R), we extend the\nanalysis and classification of two-centered extremal black hole charge\nconfigurations to the case of \"small\" single-centered constituents. These\nlatter are seen to decrease the number of independent horizontal-invariant\npolynomials from four to one, depending on the rank of the charge orbit\nsupporting each of the two centers. Within U-duality groups of type E7, both\nreducible and irreducible symmetric supergravity models in four space-time\ndimensions are considered, thus encompassing N = 2 and N = 8 theories.",
        "positive": "A New Class of non-Hermitian Quantum Hamiltonians with PT Symmetry: In a remarkable development Bender and coworkers have shown that it is\npossible to formulate quantum mechanics consistently even if the Hamiltonian\nand other observables are not Hermitian. Their formulation, dubbed PT quantum\nmechanics, replaces hermiticity by another set of requirements, notably that\nthe Hamiltonian should be invariant under the discrete symmetry PT, where P\ndenotes parity and T denotes time reversal. All prior work has focused on the\ncase that time reversal is even (T^2 = 1). We generalize the formalism to the\ncase of odd time reversal (T^2 = -1). We discover an analogue of Kramer's\ntheorem for PT quantum mechanics, present a prototypical example of a PT\nquantum system with odd time reversal, and discuss potential applications of\nthe formalism. Odd time reversal symmetry applies to fermionic systems\nincluding quarks and leptons and a plethora of models in nuclear, atomic and\ncondensed matter physics. PT quantum mechanics makes it possible to enlarge the\nset of possible Hamiltonians that physicists could deploy to describe\nfundamental physics beyond the standard model or for the effective description\nof condensed matter phenomena."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Ghost Kinetic Operator of Vacuum String Field Theory: Using the data of eigenvalues and eigenvectors of Neumann matrices in the\n3-string vertex, we prove analytically that the ghost kinetic operator of\nvacuum string field theory obtained by Hata and Kawano is equal to the ghost\noperator inserted at the open string midpoint. We also comment on the values of\ndeterminants appearing in the norm of sliver state.",
        "positive": "Wess-Zumino-Witten model off criticality: We study the renormalization group flow properties of the Wess-Zumino-Witten\nmodel in the region of couplings between $g^2=0$ and $g^2=4\\pi/k$, by\nevaluating the two-loop Zamolodchikov's $c$-function. We also discuss the\nregion of negative couplings."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "An attempt to resolve the cosmological constant problem in the modified\n  Yang's noncommutative quantized space-time: We attempt to resolve the cosmological constant problem through the key\nconcept of the quantized number of spatial degrees of freedom in the modified\nYang's quantized space-time, $n_{\\rm {dof}} (V_3^{R(\\tau)})$.",
        "positive": "Thermodynamics in the NC disc: We study the thermodynamics of a scalar field on a noncommutative disc\nimplementing the boundary as the limit case of an interaction with an\nappropriately chosen confining background. We explicitly obtain expressions for\nthermodynamic potentials of gases of particles obeying different statistics. In\norder to do that, we derive an asymptotic expansion for the density of the\nzeros of Laguerre polynomials. As a result we prove that the Bose-Einstein\ncondensation in the noncommutative disc does not take place."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Modifications of the Page Curve from correlations within Hawking\n  radiation: We investigate quantum correlations between successive steps of black hole\nevaporation and investigate whether they might resolve the black hole\ninformation paradox. 'Small' corrections in various models were shown to be\nunable to restore unitarity. We study a toy qubit model of evaporation that\nallows small quantum correlations between successive steps and reaffirm\nprevious results. Then, we relax the 'smallness' condition and find a\nnontrivial upper and lower bound on the entanglement entropy change during the\nevaporation process. This gives a quantitative measure of the size of the\ncorrection needed to restore unitarity. We find that these entanglement entropy\nbounds lead to a significant deviation from the expected Page curve.",
        "positive": "Nonperturbative Effects and the Large-Order Behavior of Matrix Models\n  and Topological Strings: This work addresses nonperturbative effects in both matrix models and\ntopological strings, and their relation with the large-order behavior of the\n1/N expansion. We study instanton configurations in generic one-cut matrix\nmodels, obtaining explicit results for the one-instanton amplitude at both one\nand two loops. The holographic description of topological strings in terms of\nmatrix models implies that our nonperturbative results also apply to\ntopological strings on toric Calabi-Yau manifolds. This yields very precise\npredictions for the large-order behavior of the perturbative genus expansion,\nboth in conventional matrix models and in topological string theory. We test\nthese predictions in detail in various examples, including the quartic matrix\nmodel, topological strings on the local curve, and Hurwitz theory. In all these\ncases we provide extensive numerical checks which heavily support our\nnonperturbative analytical results. Moreover, since all these models have a\ncritical point describing two-dimensional gravity, we also obtain in this way\nthe large-order asymptotics of the relevant solution to the Painleve I\nequation, including corrections in inverse genus. From a mathematical point of\nview, our results predict the large-genus asymptotics of simple Hurwitz numbers\nand of local Gromov-Witten invariants."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Principal chiral model scattering and the alternating quantum spin chain: We consider the critical alternating quantum spin chain with ${q_{+}\\over\n2}$, ${q_{-} \\over2}$ spins. Using the Bethe ansatz technique we find explicit\nexpressions for the $S$-matrix of the model. We show that in the limit that\n$q_{\\pm} \\rightarrow \\infty$ our results coincide with the ones obtained for\nthe principal chiral model level one, for the LL (RR) LR scattering. We also\nstudy the scattering of the bound states of the model and we recover the\nresults of the XXZ (sine -Gordon) model.",
        "positive": "Dynamical Meson Melting in Holography: We discuss mesons in thermalizing gluon backgrounds in the N=2 supersymmetric\nQCD using the gravity dual. We numerically compute the dynamics of a probe\nD7-brane in the Vaidya-AdS geometry that corresponds to a D3-brane background\nthermalizing from zero to finite temperatures by energy injection. In static\nbackgrounds, it has been known that there are two kinds of brane embeddings\nwhere the brane intersects the black hole or not. They correspond to the phases\nwith melted or stable mesons. In our dynamical setup, we obtain three cases\ndepending on final temperatures and injection time scales. The brane stays\noutside of the black hole horizon when the final temperature is low, while it\nintersects the horizon and settles down to the static equilibrium state when\nthe final temperature is high. Between these two cases, we find the overeager\ncase where the brane dynamically intersects the horizon although the final\ntemperature is not high enough for a static brane to intersect the horizon. The\ninterpretation of this phenomenon in the dual field theory is meson melting due\nto non-thermal effects caused by rapid energy injection. In addition, we\ncomment on the late time evolution of the brane and a possibility of its\nreconnection."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Internal magnetic fields and supersymmetry in orientifolds: Within the context of type I strings, we show the equivalence between BPS D9\nbranes with internal magnetic fluxes H_i in the three torii and non-BPS D3\nbranes with inverted internal magnetic fluxes 1/H_i. We then construct new\nsupersymmetric examples of Z_2 x Z_2 orientifolds with discrete torsion which\nin the past had only non-supersymmetric solutions and emphasize the role of new\ntwisted tadpole cancellation conditions, arising in the presence of magnetic\nfields, in order to get a consistent spectrum. In a second and independent part\nof the paper, we construct a new nine-dimensional type IIB orientifold with\nScherk-Schwarz deformation which has the peculiarity of introducing a new type\nof non-BPS O9 planes and which contains as top branes a Scherk-Schwarz\ndeformation of non-BPS D9 branes.The model contains charged D7 and D3 branes\nwith a soft supersymmetry breaking spectrum.",
        "positive": "Green Function Method for Nonlinear Systems: We show that a Green function solution can be given for a class of\nnon-homogeneous nonlinear systems having relevance in quantum field theory.\nThis in turn means that a quantum field theory in the strong coupling limit can\nbe formulated and the spectrum obtained."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "de Sitter Vacua in Type IIB String Theory: Classical Solutions and\n  Quantum Corrections: We revisit the classical theory of ten-dimensional two-derivative gravity\ncoupled to fluxes, scalar fields, D-branes, anti D-branes and\nOrientifold-planes. We show that such set-ups do not give rise to a\nfour-dimensional positive curvature spacetime with the isometries of de Sitter\nspacetime. We further argue that a de Sitter solution in type IIB theory may\nstill be achieved if the higher-order curvature corrections are carefully\ncontrolled. Our analysis relies on the derivation of the de Sitter condition\nfrom an explicit background solution by going beyond the supergravity limit of\ntype IIB theory. As such this also tells us how the background supersymmetry\nshould be broken and under what conditions D-term uplifting can be realized\nwith non self-dual fluxes.",
        "positive": "Collective modes of polarizable holographic media in magnetic fields: We consider a neutral holographic plasma with dynamical electromagnetic\ninteractions in a finite external magnetic field. The Coulomb interactions are\nintroduced via mixed boundary conditions for the Maxwell gauge field. The\ncollective modes at finite wave-vector are analyzed in detail and compared to\nthe magneto-hydrodynamics results valid only at small magnetic fields.\nSurprisingly, at large magnetic field, we observe the appearance of two\nplasmon-like modes whose corresponding effective plasma frequency grows with\nthe magnetic field and is not supported by any background charge density.\nFinally, we identify a mode collision which allows us to study the radius of\nconvergence of the linearized hydrodynamics expansion as a function of the\nexternal magnetic field. We find that the radius of convergence in momentum\nspace, related to the diffusive transverse electromagnetic mode, increases\nquadratically with the strength of the magnetic field."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the computation of non-perturbative effective potentials in the\n  string theory landscape -- IIB/F-theory perspective: We discuss a number of issues arising when computing non-perturbative effects\nsystematically across the string theory landscape. In particular, we cast the\nstudy of fairly generic physical properties into the language of\ncomputability/number theory and show that this amounts to solving systems of\ndiophantine equations. In analogy to the negative solution to Hilbert's 10th\nproblem, we argue that in such systematic studies there may be no algorithm by\nwhich one can determine all physical effects. We take large volume type IIB\ncompactifications as an example, with the physical property of interest being\nthe low-energy non-perturbative F-terms of a generic compactification. A\nsimilar analysis is expected to hold for other kinds of string vacua, and we\ndiscuss in particular the extension of our ideas to F-theory. While these\nresults imply that it may not be possible to answer systematically certain\nphysical questions about generic type IIB compactifications, we identify\nparticular Calabi-Yau manifolds in which the diophantine equations become\nlinear, and thus can be systematically solved. As part of the study of the\nrequired systematics of F-terms, we develop technology for computing Z_2\nequivariant line bundle cohomology on toric varieties, which determines the\npresence of particular instanton zero modes via the Koszul complex. This is of\ngeneral interest for realistic IIB model building on complete intersections in\ntoric ambient spaces.",
        "positive": "Higher-Derivative Quantum Gravity with Purely Virtual Particles:\n  Renormalizability and Unitarity: We review the formulation of quantum field theories with purely virtual\nparticles, a new type of degrees of freedom that can mediate interactions\nwithout ever appear as external on-shell states. This property allows to solve\nthe problem of ghosts in higher-derivative quantum gravity, leading to a\nrenormalizable and unitary theory. The main steps for the BRST quantization of\ngravity are recalled and renormalizability is discussed. Then, we introduce\npurely virtual particles in a general quantum field theory and show the\nderivation of the so-called spectral identities, which are a key ingredient to\nprove unitarity. Finally, phenomenological consequences and predictions in\ninflationary cosmology are presented."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "${\\cal N}{=}\\,4$ supersymmetric Calogero-Sutherland models: Starting from the Hamiltonian formulation of supersymmetric Calogero models\nassociated with the classical $A_n$, $B_n$, $C_n$ and $D_n$ series we construct\nthe ${\\cal N}{=}\\,2$ and ${\\cal N}{=}\\,4$ supersymmetric extensions of the\ntheir hyperbolic/trigonometric Calogero-Sutherland cousins. The bosonic core of\nthese models are the standard Calogero-Sutherland hyperbolic/trigonometric\nsystems.",
        "positive": "The higher grading structure of the WKI hierarchy and the two-component\n  short pulse equation: A higher grading affine algebraic construction of integrable hierarchies,\ncontaining the Wadati-Konno-Ichikawa (WKI) hierarchy as a particular case, is\nproposed. We show that a two-component generalization of the Sch\\\" afer-Wayne\nshort pulse equation arises quite naturally from the first negative flow of the\nWKI hierarchy. Some novel integrable nonautonomous models are also proposed.\nThe conserved charges, both local and nonlocal, are obtained from the Riccati\nform of the spectral problem. The loop-soliton solutions of the WKI hierarchy\nare systematically constructed through gauge followed by reciprocal B\\\" acklund\ntransformation, establishing the precise connection between the whole WKI and\nAKNS hierarchies. The connection between the short pulse equation with the\nsine-Gordon model is extended to a correspondence between the two-component\nshort pulse equation and the Lund-Regge model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Massless Spectra of Three Generation U(N) Heterotic String Vacua: We provide the methods to compute the complete massless spectra of a class of\nrecently introduced supersymmetric E8 x E8 heterotic string models which invoke\nvector bundles with U(N) structure group on simply connected Calabi-Yau\nmanifolds and which yield flipped SU(5) and MSSM string vacua of potential\nphenomenological interest. We apply Leray spectral sequences in order to derive\nthe localisation of the cohomology groups H^i(X,V_a \\times V_b),\nH^i(X,\\bigwedge^2 V) and H^i(X,{\\bf S}^2 V) for vector bundles defined via\nFourier-Mukai transforms on elliptically fibered Calabi-Yau manifolds. By the\nmethod of bundle extensions we define a stable U(4) vector bundle leading to\nthe first flipped SU(5) model with just three generations, i.e. without any\nvector-like matter. Along the way, we propose the notion of Lambda-stability\nfor heterotic bundles.",
        "positive": "Universality of Loop Corrected Soft Theorems in 4d: In \\cite{1808.03288}, logarithmic correction to subleading soft photon and\nsoft graviton theorems have been derived in four spacetime dimensions from the\nratio of IR-finite S-matrices. This has been achieved after factoring out\nIR-divergent components from the traditional electromagnetic and gravitational\nS-matrices using Grammer-Yennie prescription. Although the loop corrected\nsubleading soft theorems are derived from one-loop scattering amplitudes\ninvolving scalar particles in a minimally coupled theory with scalar contact\ninteraction, it has been conjectured that the soft factors are universal\n(theory independent) and one-loop exact (don't receive corrections from higher\nloops).\n  This paper extends the analysis conducted in \\cite{1808.03288} to encompass\ngeneral spinning particle scattering with non-minimal couplings permitted by\ngauge invariance and general coordinate invariance. By re-deriving the\n$\\ln\\omega$ soft factors in this generic setup, we establish their universal\nnature. Furthermore, we summarize the results of loop corrected soft photon and\ngraviton theorems up to sub-subleading order, which follows from the analysis\nof one and two loop QED and quantum gravity S-matrices. While the classical\nversions of these soft factors have already been derived in the literature, we\nput forth conjectures regarding the quantum soft factors and outline potential\nstrategies for their derivation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Triumph And Limitations Of Quantum Field Theory: Talk presented at the conference ``Historical and Philosophical Reflections\non the Foundations of Quantum Field Theory,'' at Boston University, March 1996.\nIt will be published in the proceedings of this conference.",
        "positive": "Cold planar horizons are floppy: Extremal planar black holes of four dimensional Einstein-Maxwell theory with\na negative cosmological constant have an AdS$_2 \\times \\R^2$ near horizon\ngeometry. We show that this near horizon geometry admits a deformation to a two\nparameter family of extremal geometries with inhomogeneous, spatially periodic\nhorizons. At a linear level, static inhomogeneous perturbations of AdS$_2\n\\times \\R^2$ decay towards the horizon and thus appear irrelevant under the\nholographic RG flow. However we have found numerically that nonlinear effects\nlead to inhomogeneous near horizon geometries. A consequence of these\nobservations is that an arbitrarily small periodic deformation of the boundary\ntheory at nonzero charge density does not flow to AdS$_2 \\times \\R^2$ in the\nIR, but rather to an inhomogeneous horizon. These results shed light on\nexisting numerical studies of low temperature periodically modulated black\nholes and also offer a new mechanism for holographic metal-insulator crossovers\nor transitions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chiral transition in the probe approximation from an\n  Einstein-Maxwell-dilaton gravity model: We refine an earlier introduced 5-dimensional gravity solution capable of\nholographically capturing several qualitative aspects of (lattice) QCD in a\nstrong magnetic background such as the anisotropic behaviour of the string\ntension, inverse catalysis at the level of the deconfinement transition or\nsensitivity of the entanglement entropy to the latter. Here, we consistently\nmodify our solution of the considered Einstein-Maxwell-dilaton system to not\nonly overcome an unphysical flattening at large distances in the\nquark-antiquark potential plaguing earlier work, but also to encapsulate\ninverse catalysis for the chiral transition in the probe approximation. This\nbrings our dynamical holographic QCD model yet again closer to a stage at which\nit can be used to predict magnetic QCD quantities not directly computable via\nlattice techniques.",
        "positive": "Non-Abelian T-duality for open strings: In the first part of the talk we discuss T-duality for a free boson on a\nworld sheet with boundary in a setting suitable for the generalization to\nnon-trivial backgrounds. The gauging method as well as the canonical\ntransformation are considered. In both cases Dirichlet strings as T-duals of\nNeumann strings arise in a generic way. In the second part the gauging method\nis employed to construct the T-dual of a model with non-Abelian isometries."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Action, Mass and Entropy of Schwarzschild-de Sitter black holes and the\n  de Sitter/CFT Correspondence: We investigate a recent proposal for defining a conserved mass in\nasymptotically de Sitter spacetimes that is based on a conjectured holographic\nduality between such spacetimes and Euclidean conformal field theory. We show\nthat an algorithm for deriving such terms in asymptotically anti de Sitter\nspacetimes has an asymptotically de Sitter counterpart, and derive the explicit\nform for such terms up to 9 dimensions. We show that divergences of the\non-shell action for de Sitter spacetime are removed in any dimension in\ninflationary coordinates, but in covering coordinates a linear divergence\nremains in odd dimensions that cannot be cancelled by local terms that are\npolynomial in boundary curvature invariants. We show that the class of\nSchwarzschild-de Sitter black holes up to 9 dimensions has finite action and\nconserved mass, and construct a definition of entropy outside the cosmological\nhorizon by generalizing the Gibbs-Duhem relation in asymptotically dS\nspacetimes. The entropy is agreement with that obtained from CFT methods in\n$d=2$. In general our results provide further supporting evidence for a dS/CFT\ncorrespondence, although some important interpretive problems remain.",
        "positive": "Coulomb gauge ghost propagator and the Coulomb potential: The ghost propagator and the Coulomb potential are evaluated in Coulomb gauge\non the lattice, using an improved gauge fixing scheme which includes the\nresidual symmetry. This setting has been shown to be essential in order to\nexplain the scaling violations in the instantaneous gluon propagator. We find\nthat both the ghost propagator and the Coulomb potential are insensitive to the\nGribov problem or the details of the residual gauge fixing, even if the Coulomb\npotential is evaluated from the A0--propagator instead of the Coulomb kernel.\nIn particular, no signs of scaling violations could be found in either\nquantity, at least to well below the numerical accuracy where these violations\nwere visible for the gluon propagator. The Coulomb potential from the\nA0-propagator is shown to be in qualitative agreement with the (formally\nequivalent) expression evaluated from the Coulomb kernel."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Monopole Index for N=4 Chern-Simons Theories: We compute a certain index for an N=4 Chern-Simons theory with gauge group\nU(N)^r in the large N limit with taking account of monopole contribution, and\ncompare it to the corresponding multi-particle index for M-theory in the dual\ngeometry AdS_4 x X_7. The internal space X_7 has non-trivial two-cycles, and\nM2-branes wrapped on them contribute to the multi-particle index. We establish\none-to-one map between r-1 independent magnetic charges on the gauge theory\nside and the same number of charges on the gravity side: the M-momentum and r-2\n(=b_2(X_7)) wrapping numbers. With a certain assumption for the wrapped\nM2-brane contribution, we confirm the agreement of the indices for many sectors\nspecified by the r-1 charges by using analytic and numerical methods.",
        "positive": "Quantum Spherical Spins with Local Symmetry: We construct a quantum system of spherical spins with a continuous local\nsymmetry. The model is exactly soluble in the thermodynamic limit and exhibits\na number of interesting properties. We show that the local symmetry is\nspontaneously broken at finite as well as zero temperatures, implying the\nexistence of classical and quantum phase transitions with a nontrivial critical\nbehavior. The dynamical generation of gauge fields and the equivalence with the\n$CP^{(\\mathcal{N}-1)}$ model in the limit $\\mathcal{N}\\rightarrow\\infty$ are\ninvestigated. The dynamical generation of gauge fields is a consequence of the\nrestoration of the local symmetry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hessian geometry and the holomorphic anomaly: We present a geometrical framework which incorporates higher derivative\ncorrections to the action of N = 2 vector multiplets in terms of an enlarged\nscalar manifold which includes a complex deformation parameter. This enlarged\nspace carries a deformed version of special Kahler geometry which we\ncharacterise. The holomorphic anomaly equation arises in this framework from\nthe integrability condition for the existence of a Hesse potential.",
        "positive": "Fat Gravitons, the Cosmological Constant and Sub-millimeter Tests: We revisit the proposal that the resolution of the Cosmological Constant\nProblem involves a sub-millimeter breakdown of the point-particle approximation\nfor gravitons. No fundamental description of such a breakdown, which\nsimultaneously preserves the point-particle nature of matter particles, is yet\nknown. However, basic aspects of the self-consistency of the idea, such as\npreservation of the macroscopic Equivalence Principle while satisfying quantum\nnaturalness of the cosmological constant, are addressed in this paper within a\nSoft Graviton Effective Theory. It builds on Weinberg's analysis of soft\ngraviton couplings and standard heavy particle effective theory, and minimally\nencompasses the experimental regime of soft gravity coupled to hard matter. A\nqualitatively distinct signature for short-distance tests of gravity is\ndiscussed, bounded by naturalness to appear above approximately 20 microns."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Geometric conservation in curved spacetime and entropy: We provide an improved definition of new conserved quantities derived from\nthe energy-momentum tensor in curved spacetime by introducing an additional\nscalar function. We find that the conserved current and the associated\nconserved charge become geometric under a certain initial condition of the\nscalar function, and show that such a conserved geometric current generally\nexists in curved spacetime. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the geometric\nconserved current agrees with the entropy current for the perfect fluid, thus\nthe conserved charge is the total entropy of the system. While the geometric\ncharge can be regarded as the entropy for non-dissipative fluid, its physical\nmeaning should be investigated for more general cases.",
        "positive": "$SU_q(2)$ Lattice Gauge Theory: We reformulate the Hamiltonian approach to lattice gauge theories such that,\nat the classical level, the gauge group does not act canonically, but instead\nas a Poisson-Lie group. At the quantum level, it then gets promoted to a\nquantum group gauge symmetry. The theory depends on two parameters - the\ndeformation parameter $\\lambda$ and the lattice spacing $a$. We show that the\nsystem of Kogut and Susskind is recovered when $\\lambda \\rightarrow 0$, while\nQCD is recovered in the continuum limit (for any $\\lambda$). We thus have the\npossibility of having a two parameter regularization of QCD."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Four-dimensional Lattice Gauge Theory with ribbon categories and the\n  Crane-Yetter state sum: Lattice Gauge Theory in 4-dimensional Euclidean space-time is generalized to\nribbon categories which replace the category of representations of the gauge\ngroup. This provides a framework in which the gauge group becomes a quantum\ngroup while space-time is still given by the `classical' lattice. At the\ntechnical level, this construction generalizes the Spin Foam Model dual to\nLattice Gauge Theory and defines the partition function for a given\ntriangulation of a closed and oriented piecewise-linear 4-manifold. This\ndefinition encompasses both the standard formulation of d=4 pure Yang-Mills\ntheory on a lattice and the Crane-Yetter invariant of 4-manifolds. The\nconstruction also implies that a certain class of Spin Foam Models formulated\nusing ribbon categories are well-defined even if they do not correspond to a\nTopological Quantum Field Theory.",
        "positive": "Charged Black Holes with Scalar Hair: We consider a class of Einstein-Maxwell-Dilaton theories, in which the\ndilaton coupling to the Maxwell field is not the usual single exponential\nfunction, but one with a stationary point. The theories admit two charged black\nholes: one is the Reissner-Nordstr{\\o}m (RN) black hole and the other has a\nvarying dilaton. For a given charge, the new black hole in the extremal limit\nhas the same AdS$_2\\times$Sphere near-horizon geometry as the RN black hole,\nbut it carries larger mass. We then introduce some scalar potentials and obtain\nexact charged AdS black holes. We also generalize the results to black\n$p$-branes with scalar hair."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "5 loops in 24/5 dimensions: A first quantised approach to loop amplitudes based on the pure spinor\nparticle is applied to the systematics of four-particle amplitudes in maximally\nsupersymmetric field theories. Counting of fermionic zero modes allows the\nidentification of momentum factors multiplying R**4 in the case of supergravity\n(and F**4 in the Yang--Mills case) thereby making manifest their ultraviolet\nproperties as a function of dimension, D. For L=2,3,4 loops the leading\nsupergravity divergence is in D=4+6/L dimensions and proportional to d*2L R**4,\nin line with earlier field theory calculations. However, at five loops there is\na radical change in the systematics, suggesting the presence of a contribution\nwith an explicit L=5 logarithmic ultraviolet divergence when D=24/5 that is\nproportional to d*8 R**4. We further argue that d*8 R**4 should receive\ncontributions from all loops, which would imply that N=8 supergravity (with\nD=4) is not protected by supersymmetry from a seven-loop divergence.",
        "positive": "A compendium of logarithmic corrections in AdS/CFT: We study the logarithmic corrections to various CFT partition functions in\nthe context of the AdS$_4$/CFT$_3$ correspondence for theories arising on the\nworldvolume of M2-branes. We utilize four-dimensional gauged supergravity and\nheat kernel methods and present general expressions for the logarithmic\ncorrections to the gravitational on-shell action and black hole entropy for a\nnumber of different supergravity backgrounds. We outline several subtle\nfeatures of these calculations and contrast them with a similar analysis of\nlogarithmic corrections performed directly in the eleven-dimensional uplift of\na given four-dimensional supergravity background. We find results consistent\nwith AdS/CFT provided that the infinite sum over KK modes on the internal space\nis regularized in a specific manner. This analysis leads to an explicit\nexpression for the logarithmic correction to the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy of\nlarge Kerr-Newmann and Reissner-Nordstr\\\"om black holes in AdS$_4$. Our results\nalso have important implications for effective field theory coupled to gravity\nin AdS$_4$ and for the existence of scale-separated AdS$_4$ vacua in string\ntheory, which come in the form of new constraints on the field content and mass\nspectrum of matter fields."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Deformed Cauchy random matrix ensembles and large $N$ phase transitions: We study a new hermitian one-matrix model containing a logarithmic Penner's\ntype term and another term, which can be obtained as a limit from logarithmic\nterms. For small coupling, the potential has an absolute minimum at the origin,\nbut beyond a certain value of the coupling the potential develops a double\nwell. For a higher critical value of the coupling, the system undergoes a large\n$N$ third-order phase transition.",
        "positive": "Strong Brane Gravity and the Radion at Low Energies: For the 2-brane Randall-Sundrum model, we calculate the bulk geometry for\nstrong gravity, in the low matter density regime, for slowly varying matter\nsources. This is relevant for astrophysical or cosmological applications. The\nwarped compactification means the radion can not be written as a homogeneous\nmode in the orbifold coordinate, and we introduce it by extending the\ncoordinate patch approach of the linear theory to the non-linear case. The\nnegative tension brane is taken to be in vacuum. For conformally invariant\nmatter on the positive tension brane, we solve the bulk geometry as a\nderivative expansion, formally summing the `Kaluza-Klein' contributions to all\norders. For general matter we compute the Einstein equations to leading order,\nfinding a scalar-tensor theory with $\\omega(\\Psi) \\propto \\Psi / (1 - \\Psi)$,\nand geometrically interpret the radion. We comment that this radion scalar may\nbecome large in the context of strong gravity with low density matter.\nEquations of state allowing $(\\rho - 3 P)$ to be negative, can exhibit behavior\nwhere the matter decreases the distance between the 2 branes, which we\nillustrate numerically for static star solutions using an incompressible fluid.\nFor increasing stellar density, the branes become close before the upper mass\nlimit, but after violation of the dominant energy condition. This raises the\ninteresting question of whether astrophysically reasonable matter, and initial\ndata, could cause branes to collide at low energy, such as in dynamical\ncollapse."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauge dependence of the one-loop divergences in $6D$, ${\\cal N} = (1,0)$\n  abelian theory: We study the gauge dependence of the one-loop effective action for the\nabelian $6D$, ${\\cal N}=(1,0)$ supersymmetric gauge theory formulated in\nharmonic superspace. We introduce the superfield $\\xi$-gauge, construct the\ncorresponding gauge superfield propagator, and calculate the one-loop two-and\nthree-point Green functions with two external hypermultiplet legs. We\ndemonstrate that in the general $\\xi$-gauge the two-point Green function of the\nhypermultiplet is divergent, as opposed to the Feynman gauge $\\xi =1$. The\nthree-point Green function with two external hypermultiplet legs and one leg of\nthe gauge superfield is also divergent. We verified that the Green functions\nconsidered satisfy the Ward identity formulated in ${\\cal N}=(1,0)$ harmonic\nsuperspace and that their gauge dependence vanishes on shell. Using the result\nfor the two- and three-point Green functions and arguments based on the gauge\ninvariance, we present the complete divergent part of the one-loop effective\naction in the general $\\xi$-gauge.",
        "positive": "Worldsheet Instanton Corrections to Five-branes and Waves in Double\n  Field Theory: We make a comprehensive study on the string winding corrections to\nsupergravity solutions in double field theory (DFT). We find five-brane and\nwave solutions of diverse codimensions in which the winding coordinates are\nnaturally included. We discuss a physical interpretation of the winding\ncoordinate dependence. The analysis based on the geometric structures behind\nthe solutions leads to an interpretation of the winding dependence as string\nworldsheet instanton corrections. We also give a brief discussion on the\norigins of these winding corrections in gauged linear sigma model. Our analysis\nreveals that for every supergravity solution, one has DFT solutions that\ninclude string winding corrections."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quark contribution to the reggeon-reggeon-gluon vertex in QCD: The quark loop contribution to the reggeon-reggeon-gluon vertex is calculated\nin QCD, where the reggeon is the reggeized gluon. Compared with the vertex in\nthe Born approximation, this contribution exhibits a new spin structure as well\nas the gluon loop one. A remarkable but not complete cancellation between gluon\nand quark contributions to this new spin structure takes place for the case of\nthree massless quark flavours.",
        "positive": "Two-loop beta-function from the exact renormalization group: We calculate the two-loop renormalization group (RG) beta-function of a\nmassless scalar field theory from the irreducible version of Polchinski's exact\nRG flow equation. To obtain the correct two-loop result within this method, it\nis necessary to take the full momentum-dependence of the irreducible four-point\nvertex and the six-point vertex into account. Although the same calculation\nwithin the orthodox field theory method is less tedious, the flow equation\nmethod makes no assumptions about the renormalizability of the theory, and\npromises to be useful for performing two-loop calculations for\nnon-renormalizable condensed-matter systems. We pay particular attention to the\nproblem of the field rescaling and the effect of the associated exponent eta on\nthe RG flow."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "W-algebras arising as chiral algebras of conformal field theory: It is argued that chiral algebras of conformal field theory possess a\nW-algebra structure. A survey of explicitly known W-algebras and their\nconstructions is given. (Talk given at the XIX International Colloquium on\n``Group Theoretical Methods in Physics'', Salamanca, Spain, June 29 -- July 4,\n1992)",
        "positive": "On Domain-Wall/QFT Dualities in Various Dimensions: We investigate domain-wall/quantum field theory correspondences in various\ndimensions. Our general analysis does not only cover the well-studied cases in\nten and eleven dimensions but also enables us to discuss new cases like a Type\nI/Heterotic 6-brane in ten dimensions and domain wall dualities in lower than\nten dimensions. The examples we discuss include `d-branes' in six dimensions\npreserving 8 supersymmetries and extreme black holes in various dimensions. In\nthe latter case we construct the quantum mechanics Hamiltonian and discuss\nseveral limits."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chiral Symmetry on ${\\bf S}^2_F$: In this talk we give a brief description of the formulation of chiral and\ngauge symmetries on the fuzzy sphere . In particular fermion doublers are shown\nto be absent and the correct anomaly equation in two dimensions is obtained in\nthe corresponding continuum limit .",
        "positive": "Black Hole Information: Hawking's 1974 calculation of thermal emission from a classical black hole\nled to his 1976 proposal that information may be lost from our universe as a\npure quantum state collapses gravitationally into a black hole, which then\nevaporates completely into a mixed state of thermal radiation. Another\npossibility is that the information is not lost, but is stored in a remnant of\nthe evaporating black hole. A third idea is that the information comes out in\nnonthermal correlations within the Hawking radiation, which would be expected\nto occur at too slow a rate, or be too spread out, to be revealed by any\nnonperturbative calculation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Casimir Theory of the Relativistic Piecewise Uniform String: The Casimir energy for the transverse oscillations of a piecewise uniform\nclosed string is calculated. The string is relativistic in the sense that the\nvelocity of transverse waves is always equal to c. The great adaptibility of\nthis string model with respect to various regularization methods is pointed\nout. We survey several regularization methods: the cutoff method, the complex\ncontour integration method, and the zeta-function method. The most powerful\nmethod in the present case is the contour integration method. The Casimir\nenergy turns out to be negative, and the more so the larger is the number of\npieces in the string. The thermodynamic free energy F is calculated for a\ntwo-piece string in the limit when the tension ratio x = T_I/T_II approaches\nzero. For large values of the length ratio s = L_II/L_I, the Hagedorn\ntemperature becomes proportional to the square root of s.",
        "positive": "On quantum-mechanical equations of motion in representation dependent of\n  external sources: In the present paper, we consider in detail the aspects of the Heisenberg's\nequations of motion, related to their transformation to the representation\ndependent of external sources. We provide with a closed solution as to the\nvariation-derivative motion equations in the general case of a normal form\n(symbol) chosen. We show that the action in the path integral does depend\nactually on a particular choice of a normal symbol. We have determined both the\naspects of the latter dependence: the specific boundary conditions for virtual\ntrajectories, and the specific boundary terms in the action."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Metric for Gradient RG Flow of the Worldsheet Sigma Model Beyond First\n  Order: Tseytlin has recently proposed that an action functional exists whose\ngradient generates to all orders in perturbation theory the Renormalization\nGroup (RG) flow of the target space metric in the worldsheet sigma model. The\ngradient is defined with respect to a metric on the space of coupling constants\nwhich is explicitly known only to leading order in perturbation theory, but at\nthat order is positive semi-definite, as follows from Perelman's work on the\nRicci flow. This gives rise to a monotonicity formula for the flow which is\nexpected to fail only if the beta function perturbation series fails to\nconverge, which can happen if curvatures or their derivatives grow large. We\ntest the validity of the monotonicity formula at next-to-leading order in\nperturbation theory by explicitly computing the second-order terms in the\nmetric on the space of coupling constants. At this order, this metric is found\nnot to be positive semi-definite. In situations where this might spoil\nmonotonicity, derivatives of curvature become large enough for higher order\nperturbative corrections to be significant.",
        "positive": "On the role of constraints and degrees of freedom in the Hamiltonian\n  formalism: Unfortunately, the Hamiltonian mechanics of degenerate Lagrangian systems is\nusually presented as a mere recipe of Dirac, with no explanation as to how it\nworks. Then it comes to discussing conjectures of whether all primary\nconstraints correspond to gauge symmetries, and it goes all the way to\nabsolutely wrong claims such as the statement that electrodynamics or gravity\nhave only two physical components each, with others being spurious. One has to\nbe very careful because non-dynamical, or constrained, does not mean\nunphysical. I give a pedagogical introduction to the degenerate Hamiltonian\nsystems, showing both very simple mechanical examples and general arguments\nabout how it works. For the familiar field theory models, I explain why the\ngauge freedom there \"hits twice\" in the sense of producing twice as many\nfirst-class constraints as gauge symmetries, and why primary, and only primary,\nconstraints should be put into the total Hamiltonian."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Comment on Inflation and Alternative Cosmology: We respond to, and comment upon, a number of points raised in a recent paper\nby Kofman, Linde, and Mukhanov.",
        "positive": "The Grand View of Physics: Abdus Salam was known for his `grand views', grand views of science as well\nas grand views of society. In this talk the grand view of theoretical physics\nis put in perspective."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Schwarzschild Fuzzball and Explicitly Unitary Hawking Radiations: We provide a fuzzball picture for Schwarzshild black holes, in which matters\nand energy consisting the hole are not positioned on the central point\nexclusively but oscillate around there in a serial of eigen-modes, each of\nwhich features a special level of binding degrees and are quantum mechanically\npossible to be measured outside the horizon. By listing these modes explicitly\nfor holes as large as $6M_\\mathrm{pl}$, we find that their number increases\nexponentially with the area. Basing on this picture, we present a simple but\nexplicitly unitary derivation of hawking radiations.",
        "positive": "Fusion multiplicities as polytope volumes: N-point and higher-genus\n  su(2) fusion: We present the first polytope volume formulas for the multiplicities of\naffine fusion, the fusion in Wess-Zumino-Witten conformal field theories, for\nexample. Thus, we characterise fusion multiplicities as discretised volumes of\ncertain convex polytopes, and write them explicitly as multiple sums measuring\nthose volumes. We focus on su(2), but discuss higher-point (N>3) and\nhigher-genus fusion in a general way. The method follows that of our previous\nwork on tensor product multiplicities, and so is based on the concepts of\ngeneralised Berenstein-Zelevinsky diagrams, and virtual couplings. As a\nby-product, we also determine necessary and sufficient conditions for\nnon-vanishing higher-point fusion multiplicities. In the limit of large level,\nthese inequalities reduce to very simple non-vanishing conditions for the\ncorresponding tensor product multiplicities. Finally, we find the minimum level\nat which the higher-point fusion and tensor product multiplicities coincide."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Segmented Strings in $AdS_3$: We study segmented strings in flat space and in $AdS_3$. In flat space, these\nwell known classical motions describe strings which at any instant of time are\npiecewise linear. In $AdS_3$, the worldsheet is composed of faces each of which\nis a region bounded by null geodesics in an $AdS_2$ subspace of $AdS_3$. The\ntime evolution can be described by specifying the null geodesic motion of kinks\nin the string at which two segments are joined. The outcome of collisions of\nkinks on the worldsheet can be worked out essentially using considerations of\ncausality. We study several examples of closed segmented strings in $AdS_3$ and\nfind an unexpected quasi-periodic behavior. We also work out a WKB analysis of\nquantum states of yo-yo strings in $AdS_3$ and find a logarithmic term\nreminiscent of the logarithmic twist of string states on the leading Regge\ntrajectory.",
        "positive": "Local BCJ numerators for ten-dimensional SYM at one loop: We obtain local numerators satisfying the BCJ color-kinematics duality at one\nloop for super-Yang-Mills theory in ten dimensions. This is done explicitly for\nsix points via the field-theory limit of the genus-one open superstring\ncorrelators for different color orderings, in an analogous manner to an earlier\nderivation of local BCJ-satisfying numerators at tree level from disk\ncorrelators. These results solve an outstanding puzzle from a previous analysis\nwhere the six-point numerators did not satisfy the color-kinematics duality."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Asymptotic level density in heterotic string theory and rotating black\n  holes: We calculate the density of states with given mass and spin in string theory\nand obtain asymptotic formulas. We also compute the tree-level gyromagnetic\ncouplings for arbitrary physical states in the heterotic string theory. These\nresults are then applied to study whether fundamental strings can consistently\ndescribe the microphysics of the black hole horizon in the case of a general\nclassical solution characterized by mass, charge and angular momentum.",
        "positive": "On Some Algebraic Structures Arising in String Theory: Lian and Zuckerman proved that the homology of a topological chiral algebra\ncan be equipped with the structure of a BV-algebra; \\ie one can introduce a\nmultiplication, an odd bracket, and an odd operator $\\Delta$ having the same\nproperties as the corresponding operations in Batalin-Vilkovisky quantization\nprocedure. We give a simple proof of their results and discuss a generalization\nof these results to the non chiral case. To simplify our proofs we use the\nfollowing theorem giving a characterization of a BV-algebra in terms of\nmultiplication and an operator $\\Delta$: {\\em If $A$ is a supercommutative,\nassociative algebra and $\\Delta$ is an odd second order derivation on $A$\nsatisfying $\\Delta^2=0$, one can provide $A$ with the structure of a\nBV-algebra.}"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "An application of Cubical Cohomology to Adinkras and Supersymmetry\n  Representations: An Adinkra is a class of graphs with certain signs marking its vertices and\nedges, which encodes off-shell representations of the super Poincar\\'e algebra.\nThe markings on the vertices and edges of an Adinkra are cochains for cubical\ncohomology. This article explores the cubical cohomology of Adinkras, treating\nthese markings analogously to characteristic classes on smooth manifolds.",
        "positive": "Covariant Lagrange multiplier constrained higher derivative gravity with\n  scalar projectors: We formulate higher derivative gravity with Lagrange multiplier constraint\nand scalar projectors. Its gauge-fixed formulation as well as vector fields\nformulation is developed and corresponding spontaneous Lorentz symmetry\nbreaking is investigated. We show that the only propagating mode is higher\nderivative graviton while scalar and vector modes do not propagate. Despite to\nhigher derivatives structure of the action, its first FRW equation is the first\norder differential equation which admits the inflationary universe solution."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Differential Geometry on the Space of Connections via Graphs and\n  Projective Limits: In a quantum mechanical treatment of gauge theories (including general\nrelativity), one is led to consider a certain completion, $\\agb$, of the space\n$\\ag$ of gauge equivalent connections. This space serves as the quantum\nconfiguration space, or, as the space of all Euclidean histories over which one\nmust integrate in the quantum theory. $\\agb$ is a very large space and serves\nas a ``universal home'' for measures in theories in which the Wilson loop\nobservables are well-defined. In this paper, $\\agb$ is considered as the\nprojective limit of a projective family of compact Hausdorff manifolds,\nlabelled by graphs (which can be regarded as ``floating lattices'' in the\nphysics terminology). Using this characterization, differential geometry is\ndeveloped through algebraic methods. In particular, we are able to introduce\nthe following notions on $\\agb$: differential forms, exterior derivatives,\nvolume forms, vector fields and Lie brackets between them, divergence of a\nvector field with respect to a volume form, Laplacians and associated heat\nkernels and heat kernel measures. Thus, although $\\agb$ is very large, it is\nsmall enough to be mathematically interesting and physically useful. A key\nfeature of this approach is that it does not require a background metric. The\ngeometrical framework is therefore well-suited for diffeomorphism invariant\ntheories such as quantum general relativity.",
        "positive": "Ultraviolet Divergences and Scale-Dependent Gravitational Couplings: I review the field-theoretic renomalization group approach to quantum\ngravity, built around the existence of a non-trivial ultraviolet fixed point in\nfour dimensions. I discuss the implications of such a fixed point, found in\nthree largely unrelated non-perturbative approaches, and how it relates to the\nvacuum state of quantum gravity, and specifically to the running of $G$. One\ndistinctive feature of the new fixed point is the emergence of a second\ngenuinely non-perturbative scale, analogous to the scaling violation parameter\nin non-abelian gauge theories. I argue that it is natural to identify such a\nscale with the small observed cosmological constant, which in quantum gravity\ncan arise as a non-perturbative vacuum condensate.\n  (Plenary Talk, 12-th Marcel Grossmann Conference on Recent Developments in\nGeneral Relativity, Astrophysics and Relativistic Field Theories, UNESCO Paris,\nJuly 12-18, 2009)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Duality-invariant Quantum Field Theories of Charges and Monopoles: We present a manifestly Lorentz- and SO(2)-Duality-invariant local Quantum\nField Theory of electric charges, Dirac magnetic monopoles and dyons. The\nmanifest invariances are achieved by means of the PST-mechanism. The dynamics\nfor classical point particles is described by an action functional living on a\ncircle, if the Dirac-Schwinger quantization condition for electric and magnetic\ncharges holds. The inconsistent classical field theory depends on an arbitrary,\nbut fixed, external vector field, a generalization of the Dirac-string.\nNevertheless, the Quantum Field Theory, obtained from this classical action via\na functional integral approach, turns out to be independent of the particular\nvector field chosen, and thus consistent, if the Dirac-Schwinger quantization\ncondition holds. We provide explicit expressions for the generating functionals\nof observables, proving that they are Dirac-string independent. Since\nLorentz-invariance is manifest at each step, the quantum theory admits also a\nmanifestly diffeomorphism invariant coupling to external gravity. Relations\nwith previous formulations, and with SO(2)--non invariant theories are\nclarified.",
        "positive": "$\u039b$ Scattering Equations: The CHY representation of scattering amplitudes is based on integrals over\nthe moduli space of a punctured sphere. We replace the punctured sphere by a\ndouble-cover version. The resulting scattering equations depend on a parameter\n$\\Lambda$ controlling the opening of a branch cut. The new representation of\nscattering amplitudes possesses an enhanced redundancy which can be used to\nfix, modulo branches, the location of four punctures while promoting $\\Lambda$\nto a variable. Via residue theorems we show how CHY formulas break up into sums\nof products of smaller (off-shell) ones times a propagator. This leads to a\npowerful way of evaluating CHY integrals of generic rational functions, which\nwe call the $\\Lambda$ algorithm."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Calabi-Yau threefolds with large h^{2, 1}: We carry out a systematic analysis of Calabi-Yau threefolds that are\nelliptically fibered with section (\"EFS\") and have a large Hodge number h^{2,\n1}. EFS Calabi-Yau threefolds live in a single connected space, with regions of\nmoduli space associated with different topologies connected through transitions\nthat can be understood in terms of singular Weierstrass models. We determine\nthe complete set of such threefolds that have h^{2, 1} >= 350 by tuning\ncoefficients in Weierstrass models over Hirzebruch surfaces. The resulting set\nof Hodge numbers includes those of all known Calabi-Yau threefolds with h^{2,\n1} >= 350, as well as three apparently new Calabi-Yau threefolds. We speculate\nthat there are no other Calabi-Yau threefolds (elliptically fibered or not)\nwith Hodge numbers that exceed this bound. We summarize the theoretical and\npractical obstacles to a complete enumeration of all possible EFS Calabi-Yau\nthreefolds and fourfolds, including those with small Hodge numbers, using this\napproach.",
        "positive": "A supersymmetric Skyrme model: Construction of a supersymmetric extension of the Skyrme term was a\nlong-standing problem because of the auxiliary field problem; that is, the\nauxiliary field may propagate and cannot be eliminated, and the problem of\nhaving fourth-order time derivative terms. In this paper, we construct for the\nfirst time a supersymmetric extension of the Skyrme term in four spacetime\ndimensions, in the manifestly supersymmetric superfield formalism that does not\nsuffer from the auxiliary field problem. Chiral symmetry breaking in\nsupersymmetric theories results not only in Nambu-Goldstone (NG) bosons (pions)\nbut also in the same number of quasi-NG bosons so that the low-energy theory is\ndescribed by an SL(N,C)-valued matrix field instead of SU(N) for NG bosons. The\nsolution of auxiliary fields is trivial on the canonical branch of the\nauxiliary field equation, in which case our model results in a fourth-order\nderivative term that is not the Skyrme term. For the case of SL(2,C), we find\nexplicitly a nontrivial solution to the algebraic auxiliary field equations\nthat we call a non-canonical branch, which when substituted back into the\nLagrangian gives a Skyrme-like model. If we restrict to a submanifold, where\nquasi-NG bosons are turned off, which is tantamount to restricting the Skyrme\nfield to SU(2), then the fourth-order derivative term reduces exactly to the\nstandard Skyrme term. Our model is the first example of a nontrivial auxiliary\nfield solution in a multi-component model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Observables and amplitudes for spinning particles and black holes: We develop a general formalism for computing classical observables for\nrelativistic scattering of spinning particles, directly from on-shell\namplitudes. We then apply this formalism to minimally coupled Einstein-gravity\namplitudes for the scattering of massive spin 1/2 and spin 1 particles with a\nmassive scalar, constructed using the double copy. In doing so we reproduce\nrecent results at first post-Minkowskian order for the scattering of spinning\nblack holes, through quadrupolar order in the spin-multipole expansion.",
        "positive": "Superstring action in AdS_5 x S^5: kappa symmetry light cone gauge: As part of program to quantize superstrings in AdS_5 x S^5 background in\nlight cone approach we find the explicit form of the corresponding\nGreen-Schwarz action in fermionic light-cone kappa-symmetry gauge. The\nresulting action is quadratic and quartic in fermions. In the flat space limit\nit reduces to the standard light-cone Green-Schwarz action, and also has the\ncorrect superparticle limit. We discuss fixing the bosonic light-cone gauge and\na reformulation of the action in terms of 2-d Dirac spinors."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Holographic form for Wilson's RG: An attempt is made to make precise the connection between Wilson's RG and\n\"Holographic RG\" by writing Wilson's RG in a holographic form. A functional\nformulation is given for the exact RG evolution of a scalar field in $d$ (flat)\ndimensions. It is shown that a change of variables maps the action to that for\na scalar field in $AdS_{d+1}$. This provides a holographic form for Wilson's RG\nthat can be called \"Holographic RG\". This mapping can only be done for a\nspecific form of the cutoff function in the Exact Renormalization Group\nformalism. The notion of scale and conformal invariance in the presence of a\n{\\em finite} UV cutoff is emphasized. The discussion is primarily about the\ntwo-point function and the Gaussian fixed point. Some remarks are made about\nnontrivial fixed points.",
        "positive": "RS1, Higher Derivatives and Stability: We demonstrate the classical stability of the weak/Planck hierarchy within\nthe Randall-Sundrum scenario, incorporating the Goldberger-Wise mechanism and\nhigher-derivative interactions in a systematic perturbative expansion. Such\nhigher-derivative interactions are expected if the RS model is the low-energy\ndescription of some more fundamental theory. Generically, higher derivatives\nlead to ill-defined singularities in the vicinity of effective field theory\nbranes. These are carefully treated by the methods of classical\nrenormalization."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Solving CFTs with Weakly Broken Higher Spin Symmetry: The method of large spin perturbation theory allows to analyse conformal\nfield theories (CFT) by turning the crossing equations into an algebraic\nproblem. We apply this method to a generic CFT with weakly broken higher spin\n(HS) symmetry, to the first non-trivial order in the breaking parameter. We\nshow that the spectrum of broken currents, for any value of the spin, follows\nfrom crossing symmetry. After discussing a generic model of a single scalar\nfield, we focus on vector models with $O(N)$ global symmetry. We rediscover the\nspectrum of several models, including the $O(N)$ Wilson-Fisher model around\nfour dimensions, the large $O(N)$ model in $2<d<4$ and cubic models around six\ndimensions, not necessarily unitary. We also discuss models where the\nfundamental field is not part of the spectrum. Examples of this are weakly\ncoupled gauge theories and our method gives an on-shell gauge invariant way to\nstudy them. At first order in the coupling constant we show that again the\nspectrum follows from crossing symmetry, to all values of the spin. Our method\nprovides an alternative to usual perturbation theory without any reference to a\nLagrangian.",
        "positive": "Logarithmic correction to the entropy of extremal black holes in\n  $\\mathcal{N}=1$ Einstein-Maxwell supergravity: We study one-loop covariant effective action of \\say{non-minimally coupled}\n$\\mathcal{N}=1$, $d=4$ Einstein-Maxwell supergravity theory by heat kernel\ntool. By fluctuating the fields around the classical background, we study the\nfunctional determinant of Laplacian differential operator following\nSeeley-DeWitt technique of heat kernel expansion in proper time. We then\ncompute the Seeley-DeWitt coefficients obtained through the expansion. A\nparticular Seeley-DeWitt coefficient is used for determining the logarithmic\ncorrection to Bekenstein-Hawking entropy of extremal black holes using quantum\nentropy function formalism. We thus determine the logarithmic correction to the\nentropy of Kerr-Newman, Kerr and Reissner-Nordstr\\\"{o}m black holes in\n{\\say{non-minimally coupled}} $\\mathcal{N}=1$, $d=4$ Einstein-Maxwell\nsupergravity theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Why the Cosmological Constant Problem is Hard: We consider a recent proposal to solve the cosmological constant problem\nwithin the context of brane world scenarios with infinite volume extra\ndimensions. In such theories bulk can be supersymmetric even if brane\nsupersymmetry is completely broken. The bulk cosmological constant can\ntherefore naturally be zero. Since the volume of the extra dimensions is\ninfinite, it might appear that at large distances one would measure the bulk\ncosmological constant which vanishes. We point out a caveat in this argument.\nIn particular, we use a concrete model, which is a generalization of the\nDvali-Gabadadze-Porrati model, to argue that in the presence of non-zero brane\ncosmological constant at large distances such a theory might become effectively\nfour dimensional. This is due to a mass gap in the spectrum of bulk graviton\nmodes. In fact, the corresponding distance scale is set precisely by the brane\ncosmological constant. This phenomenon appears to be responsible for the fact\nthat bulk supersymmetry does not actually protect the brane cosmological\nconstant.",
        "positive": "New Insight into the Relation between Torsion and Electromagnetism: In several unified field theories the torsion trace is set equal to the\nelectromagnetic potential. Using fibre bundle techniques we show that this is\nno leading principle but a formal consequence of another geometric relation\nbetween space-time and electromagentism."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Low-Energy Dynamics of String Solitons: The dynamics of a class of fivebrane string solitons is considered in the\nmoduli space approximation. The metric on moduli space is found to be flat.\nThis implies that at low energies the solitons do not interact, and their\nscattering is trivial. The range of validity of the approximation is also\nbriefly discussed.",
        "positive": "IR Dynamics on Branes and Space-Time Geometry: We consider the type I theory compactified on $T^3$. When the D5-brane wraps\nthe $T^3$ it yields a D2-brane in seven dimensions. In the leading\napproximation the moduli space of vacua of the three dimensional field theory\non the brane is $T^4/\\ZZ_2$. The dual M theory description of this theory is a\ncompactification on K3 and our 2-brane is the eleven dimensional 2-brane at a\npoint in K3. We use this fact to conclude that strong coupling IR effects in\nthe three dimensional theory on the brane turn its moduli space into a K3. This\ninterpretation allows us to solve various strongly coupled gauge theories in\nthree dimensions by identifying their Coulomb branch with a piece of a\n(sometime singular) K3."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Summing one- and two-dimensional series related to the Euler series: We present results for some infinite series appearing in Feynman diagram\ncalculations, many of which are similar to the Euler series. These include both\none-dimensional and two-dimensional series. Most of these series can be\nexpressed in terms of zeta(2), zeta(3), the Catalan constant G and Cl{2}(pi/3)\nwhere Cl{2}(theta) is Clausen's function.",
        "positive": "A comment on a fine-grained description of evaporating black holes with\n  baby universes: We study a partially fine-grained description of an evaporating black hole by\nintroducing an open baby universe with a boundary. Since the Page's calculation\nof the entropy of Hawking radiation involves an ensemble average over a class\nof states, one can formally obtain a fine-grained state by purifying this\nsetup. For AdS black holes with a holographic dual, this purification amounts\nto introducing an additional boundary (i.e., baby universe) and then connecting\nit to the original black hole through an Einstein-Rosen bridge. We uncover\nseveral details of this setup. As applications, we briefly discuss how this\nbaby universe modifies the semi-classical gravitational Gauss law as well as\nthe gravitational dressing of operators behind the horizon."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Quantum Gravitational Relaxation of The Cosmological Constant: Similar to QCD, general relativity has a $\\Theta$ sector due to large\ndiffeomorphisms. We make explicit, for the first time, that the gravitational\nCP violating $\\Theta$ parameter is non-perturbatively related to the\ncosmological constant. A gravitational pseudoscalar coupling to massive\nfermions gives rise to general relativity from a topological $B\\wedge F$ theory\nthrough a chiral symmetry breaking mechanism. We show that a gravitational\nPeccei-Quinn like mechanism can dynamically relax the cosmological constant.",
        "positive": "Open String Fields as Matrices: We show that the action expanded around Erler-Maccaferri's N D-brane solution\ndescribes the N+1 D-brane system where one D-brane disappears due to tachyon\ncondensation. String fields on multi-branes can be regarded as block matrices\nof a string field on a single D-brane in the same way as matrix theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Branes, AdS gravitons and Virasoro symmetry: We consider travelling waves propagating on the anti-de Sitter (AdS)\nbackground. It is pointed out that for any dimension d, this space of solutions\nhas a Virasoro symmetry with a non-zero central charge. This result is a\nnatural generalization to higher dimensions of the three-dimensional\nBrown-Henneaux symmetry.",
        "positive": "On the Spectrum of Superspheres: Sigma models on coset superspaces, such as odd dimensional superspheres, play\nan important role in physics and in particular the AdS/CFT correspondence. In\nthis work we apply recent general results on the spectrum of coset space models\nand on supergroup WZNW models to study the conformal sigma model with target\nspace S^{3|2}. We construct its vertex operators and provide explicit formulas\nfor their anomalous dimensions, at least to leading order in the sigma model\ncoupling. The results are used to revisit a non-perturbative duality between\nthe supersphere and the OSP(4|2) Gross-Neveu model that was conjectured by\nCandu and Saleur. With the help of powerful all-loop results for 1/2 BPS\noperators in the Gross-Neveu model we are able to recover the entire zero mode\nspectrum of the sigma model at a certain finite value of the Gross-Neveu\ncoupling. In addition, we argue that the sigma model constraints and equations\nof motion are implemented correctly in the dual Gross-Neveu description. On the\nother hand, high(er) gradient operators of the sigma model are not all\naccounted for. It is possible that this discrepancy is related to an\ninstability from high gradient operators that has previously been observed in\nthe context of Anderson localization."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "q-Electroweak, q-Gravity, and Knotted Solitons: If the Lie group of a non-Abelian theory is replaced by the corresponding\nq-group, one is led to replace the Lie algebra by two dual algebras. The first\nof these lies close to the Lie algebra that it is replacing while the second\nintroduces new degrees of freedom. We interpret the theory based on the first\nalgebra as a modification of standard field theory while we propose that the\nnew degrees of freedom introduced by the second algebra describe solitonic\nrather than point particle sources. We have earlier found that the modified\nq-electroweak theory differs very little from the standard theory. Here we find\na similar result for q-gravity. Both of the modified theories are incomplete,\nhowever, and must be completed by the solitonic sector. We propsoe that the\nsolitonic sector of both q-electroweak and q-gravity have the symmetry of knots\nassociated with SU_q(2). Since the Lorentz group is here deformed, there is no\nlonger the standard classification of particles described by mass and spin.\nThere is instead a classification of irreducible structures determined by\nSU_q(2).",
        "positive": "Non-universal corrections to the tension ratios in softly broken N=2\n  SU(N) gauge theory: Calculation by Douglas and Shenker of the tension ratios for vortices of\ndifferent N-alities in the softly broken N=2 supersymmetric SU(N) Yang-Mills\ntheory, is carried to the second order in the adjoint multiplet mass m.\nCorrections to the ratios violating the well-known sine formula are found,\nshowing that it is not a universal quantity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holography, Hydrodynamization and Heavy-Ion Collisions: In the course of the past several years holography has emerged as an ab\ninitio tool in exploring strongly-time-dependent phenomena in gauge theories.\nThese lecture notes overview recent developments in this area driven by\nphenomenological questions concerning applicability of hydrodynamics\n(hydrodynamization) under extreme conditions occurring in ultrarelativistic\nheavy-ion collisions at RHIC and LHC. The topics include hydrodynamization time\nscale, holographic collisions, as well as hydrodynamization from the point of\nview of the asymptotic character of the hydrodynamic gradient expansion. The\nemphasis is put on concepts rather than calculational techniques and a\nparticular attention is devoted to present these developments in the context of\nthe most recent advances and some of the open problems.",
        "positive": "Massive graviton from diffeomorphism invariance: We describe a mechanism in which the graviton acquires a mass from the\nfunctional measure without violating the diffeomorphism symmetry nor including\nSt\\\"uckelberg fields. Since gauge invariance is not violated, the number of\ndegrees of freedom goes as in general relativity. For the same reason,\nBoulware-Deser ghosts and the vDVZ disconinuity do not show up. The graviton\nthus becomes massive at the quantum level while avoiding the usual issues of\nmassive gravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Presymplectic minimal models of local gauge theories: We elaborate on the recently proposed notion of a weak presymplectic gauge\nPDE. It is a $\\mathbb{Z}$-graded bundle over the space-time manifold, equipped\nwith a degree $1$ vector field and a compatible graded presymplectic structure.\nThis geometrical data naturally defines a Lagrangian gauge field theory.\nMoreover, it encodes not only the Lagrangian of the theory but also its\nfull-scale Batalin-Vilkovisky (BV) formulation. In particular, the respective\nfield-antifield space arises as a symplectic quotient of the super-jet bundle\nof the initial fiber bundle. A remarkable property of this approach is that\namong the variety of presymplectic gauge PDEs encoding a given gauge theory we\ncan pick a minimal one that usually turns out to be finite-dimensional, and\nunique in a certain sense. The approach can be considered as an extension of\nthe familiar AKSZ construction to not necessarily topological and\ndiffeomorphism-invariant theories. We present a variety of examples including\n$p$-forms, chiral Yang-Mills theory, Holst gravity, and conformal gravity. We\nalso explain the explicit relation to the non-BV-BRST version of the formalism,\nwhich happens to be closely related to the covariant phase space and the\nmultisymplectic approaches.",
        "positive": "Magnetic Photon Splitting: the S-Matrix Formulation in the Landau\n  Representation: Calculations of reaction rates for the third-order QED process of photon\nsplitting in strong magnetic fields traditionally have employed either the\neffective Lagrangian method or variants of Schwinger's proper-time technique.\nRecently, Mentzel, Berg and Wunner (1994) presented an alternative derivation\nvia an S-matrix formulation in the Landau representation. Advantages of such a\nformulation include the ability to compute rates near pair resonances above\npair threshold. This paper presents new developments of the Landau\nrepresentation formalism as applied to photon splitting, providing significant\nadvances beyond the work of Mentzel et al. by summing over the spin quantum\nnumbers of the electron propagators, and analytically integrating over the\ncomponent of momentum of the intermediate states that is parallel to field. The\nensuing tractable expressions for the scattering amplitudes are satisfyingly\ncompact, and of an appearance familiar to S-matrix theory applications. Such\ndevelopments can facilitate numerical computations of splitting considerably\nboth below and above pair threshold. Specializations to two regimes of interest\nare obtained, namely the limit of highly supercritical fields and the domain\nwhere photon energies are far inferior to that for the threshold of\nsingle-photon pair creation. In particular, for the first time the\nlow-frequency amplitudes are simply expressed in terms of the Gamma function,\nits integral and its derivatives. In addition, the equivalence of the\nasymptotic forms in these two domains to extant results from effective\nLagrangian/proper-time formulations is demonstrated."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holography and the Page curve of an evaporating black hole: We consider a radiating black hole with a holographic dual such that its\nentanglement entropy does not exceed the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy, to obtain\na Page curve. We make use of some mathematical identities that should be held\nfor the entanglement entropy to be well-defined. This work is not going to give\na resolution to the information paradox. Rather it shows that the general shape\nof the Page curve is a consequence of holography, independent of the details of\ngravitation theory.",
        "positive": "New Formulations of D=10 Supersymmetry and D8-O8 Domain Walls: We discuss a generalized form of IIA/IIB supergravity depending on all R-R\npotentials C^(p) (p=0,1,...,9) as the effective field theory of Type IIA/IIB\nsuperstring theory. For the IIA case we explicitly break this R-R democracy to\neither p<=3 or p>=5 which allows us to write a new bulk action that can be\ncoupled to N=1 supersymmetric brane actions.\n  The case of 8-branes is studied in detail using the new bulk & brane action.\nThe supersymmetric negative tension branes without matter excitations can be\nviewed as orientifolds in the effective action. These D8-branes and O8-planes\nare fundamental in Type I' string theory. A BPS 8-brane solution is given which\nsatisfies the jump conditions on the wall. It implies a quantization of the\nmass parameter in string units. Also we find a maximal distance between the two\nwalls, depending on the string coupling and the mass parameter. We derive the\nsame results via supersymmetric flow equations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Interface of Cosmology with String and M(ILLENNIUM) Theory: The purpose of this review is to discuss recent developments occurring at the\ninterface of cosmology with string and M-theory. We begin with a short review\nof 1980s string cosmology and the Brandenberger-Vafa mechanism for explaining\nspacetime dimensionality. It is shown how this scenario has been modified to\ninclude the effects of p-brane gases in the early universe. We then introduce\nthe Pre-Big-Bang scenario (PBB), Ho\\v{r}ava-Witten heterotic M-theory and the\nwork of Lukas, Ovrut and Waldram, and end with a discussion of large extra\ndimensions, the Randall-Sundrum model and Brane World cosmologies.",
        "positive": "Nonextensive entropies impact onto thermodynamics and phase structure of\n  Kerr-Newman black holes: Taking the nonextensive Tsallis and R\\'enyi entropies into account, we\nexplore thermodynamic properties and phase transitions of the Kerr-Newman black\nholes (KNBH) in the microcanonical and canonical ensembles. We also compare our\nresults with those obtained by attributing the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy bound\nto the mentioned black holes. Our analysis indicates that, similarly to the\nstandard Boltzmann picture, isolated KNBH in the microcanonical approach are\nstable against axisymmetric perturbations in both Tsallis and R\\'enyi models.\nOn the other hand, in considering the case when the black holes are enveloped\nby a bath of thermal radiation in the canonical treatment, the KNBH based on\nthe Tsallis and R\\'enyi entropies can be stable for some values of the entropy\nparameters, in contrast to the traditional Boltzmann framework. For the case of\nR\\'enyi entropy, we find that a Hawking-Page transition and a first order small\nblack hole/large black hole transition can occur in a similar fashion as in\nrotating black holes in an anti-de Sitter space. Finally, we employ the\nRuppeneir geometrothermodynamic technique to provide a new perspective on\nstudying the nature of interactions between black hole microstructures,\nrevealing a non-trivial impact of nonextensive entropies."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-BPS D-brane Near NS5-branes: We use tachyon field theory effective action to study the dynamics of a\nnon-BPS Dp-brane propagating in the vicinity of k NS5-branes. For the time\ndependent tachyon condensation we will concentrate on the case of the large\ntachyon and the case when a non-BPS D-brane is close to NS5-branes. For spatial\ndependent tachyon condensation we will argue that the problem reduces to the\nstudy of the motion of an array of D(p-1)-branes and D(p-1)-antibranes in the\nvicinity of k NS5-branes.",
        "positive": "Dynamical Conifold Transitions and Moduli Trapping in M-Theory Cosmology: We study five-dimensional Kasner cosmologies in the vicinity of a conifold\nlocus occurring in a time-dependent Calabi-Yau compactification of M-theory.\nThe dynamics of M2-brane winding modes, which become light in this region, is\ntaken into account using a suitable gauged supergravity action. We find\ncosmological solutions which interpolate between the two branches of the\ntransition, establishing that conifold transitions can be realized dynamically.\nHowever, generic solutions do not correspond to transitions, but to the moduli\ngetting trapped close to the conifold locus. This effect results from an\ninterplay between the scalar potential and Hubble friction. We show that the\ndynamics does not depend on the details of the potential, but only on its\noverall shape."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Soliton stability in some knot soliton models: We study the issue of stability of static soliton-like solutions in some\nnon-linear field theories which allow for knotted field configurations.\nConcretely, we investigate the AFZ model, based on a Lagrangian quartic in\nfirst derivatives with infinitely many conserved currents, for which infinitely\nmany soliton solutions are known analytically. For this model we find that\nsectors with different (integer) topological charge (Hopf index) are not\nseparated by an infinite energy barrier. Further, if variations which change\nthe topological charge are allowed, then the static solutions are not even\ncritical points of the energy functional. We also explain why soliton solutions\ncan exist at all, in spite of these facts. In addition, we briefly discuss the\nNicole model, which is based on a sigma-model type Lagrangian. For the Nicole\nmodel we find that different topological sectors are separated by an infinite\nenergy barrier.",
        "positive": "Simplifying Multiloop Integrands and Ultraviolet Divergences of Gauge\n  Theory and Gravity Amplitudes: We use the duality between color and kinematics to simplify the construction\nof the complete four-loop four-point amplitude of N=4 super-Yang-Mills theory,\nincluding the nonplanar contributions. The duality completely determines the\namplitude's integrand in terms of just two planar graphs. The existence of a\nmanifestly dual gauge-theory amplitude trivializes the construction of the\ncorresponding N=8 supergravity integrand, whose graph numerators are double\ncopies (squares) of the N=4 super-Yang-Mills numerators. The success of this\nprocedure provides further nontrivial evidence that the duality and double-copy\nproperties hold at loop level. The new form of the four-loop four-point\nsupergravity amplitude makes manifest the same ultraviolet power counting as\nthe corresponding N=4 super-Yang-Mills amplitude. We determine the amplitude's\nultraviolet pole in the critical dimension of D=11/2, the same dimension as for\nN=4 super-Yang-Mills theory. Strikingly, exactly the same combination of vacuum\nintegrals (after simplification) describes the ultraviolet divergence of N=8\nsupergravity as the subleading-in-1/N_c^2 single-trace divergence in N=4\nsuper-Yang-Mills theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Planar scattering amplitudes from Wilson loops: We derive an expression for parton scattering amplitudes of planar gauge\ntheory in terms of sums of Wilson loops. We study in detail the example of\nYang-Mills theory with an adjoint Higgs field. The expression exhibits the\nT-duality performed by Alday and Maldacena in the AdS dual as a Fourier\ntransform in loop space. When combined with the AdS/CFT correspondence for\nWilson loops and a strong coupling argument for the dominance of 1PI diagrams,\nthis leads to a derivation of the Alday-Maldacena holographic prescription for\nscattering amplitudes in terms of momentum Wilson loops. The formula leads to a\nconjecture for a relationship between position-space and momentum-space Wilson\nloops in N=4 SYM at finite coupling.",
        "positive": "Space and time dimensions of algebras with applications to Lorentzian\n  noncommutative geometry and quantum electrodynamics: An analogy with real Clifford algebras on even-dimensional vector spaces\nsuggests to assign a couple of space and time dimensions modulo 8 to any\nalgebra (represented over a complex Hilbert space) containing two self-adjoint\ninvolutions and an anti-unitary operator with specific commutation relations.\n  It is shown that this assignment is compatible with the tensor product: the\nspace and time dimensions of the tensor product are the sums of the space and\ntime dimensions of its factors. This could provide an interpretation of the\npresence of such algebras in PT-symmetric Hamiltonians or the description of\ntopological matter.\n  This construction is used to build an indefinite (i.e. pseudo-Riemannian)\nversion of the spectral triples of noncommutative geometry, defined over Krein\nspaces instead of Hilbert spaces. Within this framework, we can express the\nLagrangian (both bosonic and fermionic) of a Lorentzian almost-commutative\nspectral triple. We exhibit a space of physical states that solves the\nfermion-doubling problem. The example of quantum electrodynamics is described."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "String integrability of defect CFT and dynamical reflection matrices: The D3-D5 probe-brane system is holographically dual to a defect CFT which is\nknown to be integrable. The evidence comes mainly from the study of correlation\nfunctions at weak coupling. In the present work we shed light on the emergence\nof integrability on the string theory side. We do so by constructing the double\nrow transfer matrix which is conserved when the appropriate boundary conditions\nare imposed. The corresponding reflection matrix turns out to be dynamical and\ndepends both on the spectral parameter and the string embedding coordinates.",
        "positive": "Low energy effective theory for two branes system: We derive the low energy effective theory for two branes system solving the\nbulk geometry formally in the covariant curvature formalism developed by\nShiromizu, Maeda and Sasaki. As expected, the effective theory looks like a\nEinstein-scalar system. Using this theory we can discuss the cosmology and\nnon-linear gravity at low energy scales."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Phenomenology in minimal theory of massive gravity: We investigate the minimal theory of massive gravity (MTMG) recently\nintroduced. After reviewing the original construction based on its Hamiltonian\nin the vielbein formalism, we reformulate it in terms of its Lagrangian in both\nthe vielbein and the metric formalisms. It then becomes obvious that, unlike\nprevious attempts in the literature of Lorentz-violating massive gravity, not\nonly the potential but also the kinetic structure of the action is modified\nfrom the de Rham-Gabadadze-Tolley (dRGT) massive gravity theory. We confirm\nthat the number of physical degrees of freedom in MTMG is two at fully\nnonlinear level. This proves the absence of various possible pathologies such\nas superluminality, acausality and strong coupling. Afterwards, we discuss the\nphenomenology of MTMG in the presence of a dust fluid. We find that on a flat\nhomogeneous and isotropic background we have two branches. One of them\n(self-accelerating branch) naturally leads to acceleration without the genuine\ncosmological constant or dark energy. For this branch both the scalar and the\nvector modes behave exactly as in general relativity (GR). The phenomenology of\nthis branch differs from GR in the tensor modes sector, as the tensor modes\nacquire a non-zero mass. Hence, MTMG serves as a stable nonlinear completion of\nthe self-accelerating cosmological solution found originally in dRGT theory.\nThe other branch (normal branch) has a dynamics which depends on the\ntime-dependent fiducial metric. For the normal branch, the scalar mode sector,\neven though as in GR only one scalar mode is present (due to the dust fluid),\ndiffers from the one in GR, and, in general, structure formation will follow a\ndifferent phenomenology. The tensor modes will be massive, whereas the vector\nmodes, for both branches, will have the same phenomenology as in GR.",
        "positive": "One loop radiative corrections to the translation-invariant\n  noncommutative Yukawa Theory: We elaborate in this paper a translation-invariant model for fermions in\n4-dimensional noncommutative Euclidean space. The construction is done on the\nbasis of the renormalizable noncommutative translation-invariant Phi4 theory\nintroduced by R. Gurau et al. We combine our model with the scalar model, in\norder to study the noncommutative pseudo-scalar Yukawa theory. After we derive\nthe Feynman rules of the theory, we perform an explicit calculation of the\nquantum corrections at one loop level to the propagators and vertices."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Corner symmetry and quantum geometry: By virtue of the Noether theorems, the vast gauge redundancy of general\nrelativity provides us with a rich algebra of boundary charges that generate\nphysical symmetries. These charges are located at codimension-2 entangling\nsurfaces called corners. The presence of non-trivial corner symmetries\nassociated with any entangling cut provides stringent constraints on the\ntheory's mathematical structure and a guide through quantization. This report\nreviews new and recent results for non-perturbative quantum gravity, which are\nnatural consequences of this structure. First, we establish that the corner\nsymmetry derived from the gauge principle encodes quantum entanglement across\ninternal boundaries. We also explain how the quantum representation of the\ncorner symmetry algebra provides us with a notion of quantum geometry. We then\nfocus our discussion on the first-order formulation of gravity and show how\nmany results obtained in the continuum connect naturally with previous results\nin loop quantum gravity. In particular, we show that it is possible to get,\npurely from quantization and without discretization, an area operator with\ndiscrete spectrum, which is covariant under local Lorentz symmetry. We\nemphasize that while loop gravity correctly captures some of the gravitational\nquantum numbers, it does not capture all of them, which points towards\nimportant directions for future developments. Finally, we discuss the\nunderstanding of the gravitational dynamics along null surfaces as a\nconservation of symmetry charges associated with a Carrollian fluid.",
        "positive": "From Feynman graphs to Witten diagrams: We investigate the possibility of generalizing Gopakumar's microscopic\nderivation [1] of Witten diagrams in large N free quantum field theory to\ninteracting theories. For simplicity we consider a massless, matrix valued real\nscalar field with $\\Phi^h$ interaction in d-dimensions. Using Schwinger's\nproper time formulation and organizing the sum over Feynman graphs by the\nnumber of loops $\\ell$, we show that the two-point function can be expressed as\na sum over boundary-to-boundary propagators of bulk scalars in $AdS_{d+1}$ with\nmass determined by $\\ell$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Effective Field Theories of Post-Newtonian Gravity: A comprehensive\n  review: [Abridged] This review article presents the progress made over the last\ndecade, since the introduction of effective field theories (EFTs) into\npost-Newtonian (PN) gravity. These have been put forward in the context of\ngravitational waves (GWs) from the compact binary inspiral. The mature\ndevelopment of this interdisciplinary field has resulted in significant\nadvances of wide interest to physics at several levels serving various\npurposes. The field has firmly demonstrated, that seemingly disparate physical\ndomains, such as quantum field theory and classical gravity, are related, and\nthat the EFT framework is a universal one, where it has been proven to supply a\nrobust methodology to boost progress in the development of PN theory. The\nreview is aimed at a broad audience, from general readers new to the field, to\nspecialists and experts in related subjects.\n  The review begins with an overview of the introduction of EFTs into classical\ngravity and their development. Then, the basic ideas, which form the conceptual\nfoundation of EFTs, are provided, and the strategy of a multi-stage EFT\nframework, which is utilized for the PN binary inspiral problem, is outlined.\nThe main body of the review is then dedicated to presenting in detail the study\nof each of the effective theories at each of the intermediate scales in the\nproblem, up to the actual GW observables. The review is concluded with the\nmultiple prospects of building on the progress in the field, and using further\nmodern field theory insights and tools, to specifically address the study of\nGWs, as well as to broadly expand our fundamental understanding of gauge and\ngravity theories across the classical and quantum regimes.",
        "positive": "Positivity, entanglement entropy, and minimal surfaces: The path integral representation for the Renyi entanglement entropies of\ninteger index n implies these information measures define operator correlation\nfunctions in QFT. We analyze whether the limit $n\\rightarrow 1$, corresponding\nto the entanglement entropy, can also be represented in terms of a path\nintegral with insertions on the region's boundary, at first order in $n-1$.\nThis conjecture has been used in the literature in several occasions, and\nspecially in an attempt to prove the Ryu-Takayanagi holographic entanglement\nentropy formula. We show it leads to conditional positivity of the entropy\ncorrelation matrices, which is equivalent to an infinite series of polynomial\ninequalities for the entropies in QFT or the areas of minimal surfaces\nrepresenting the entanglement entropy in the AdS-CFT context. We check these\ninequalities in several examples. No counterexample is found in the few known\nexact results for the entanglement entropy in QFT. The inequalities are also\nremarkable satisfied for several classes of minimal surfaces but we find\ncounterexamples corresponding to more complicated geometries. We develop some\nanalytic tools to test the inequalities, and as a byproduct, we show that\npositivity for the correlation functions is a local property when supplemented\nwith analyticity. We also review general aspects of positivity for large N\ntheories and Wilson loops in AdS-CFT."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Einstein-Yang-Mills theory : I. Asymptotic symmetries: Asymptotic symmetries of the Einstein-Yang-Mills system with or without\ncosmological constant are explicitly worked out in a unified manner. In\nagreement with a recent conjecture, one finds a Virasoro-Kac-Moody type algebra\nnot only in three dimensions but also in the four dimensional asymptotically\nflat case.",
        "positive": "Smeared and unsmeared chiral vertex operators: We prove unboundedness and boundedness of the unsmeared and smeared chiral\nvertex operators, respectively. We use elementary methods in bosonic Fock\nspace, only. Possible applications to conformal two - dimensional quantum field\ntheory, perturbation thereof, and to the perturbative construction of the\nsine-Gordon model by the Epstein-Glaser method are discussed. From another\npoint of view the results of this paper can be looked at as a first step\ntowards a Hilbert space interpretation of vertex operator algebras."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Bulk scalar emission from a rotating black hole pierced by a tense brane: We study the emission of scalar fields into the bulk from a six-dimensional\nrotating black hole pierced by a 3-brane. We determine the angular eigenvalues\nin the presence of finite brane tension by using the continued fraction method.\nThe radial equation is integrated numerically, giving the absorption\nprobability (graybody factor) in a wider frequency range than in the\npreexisting literature. We then compute the power and angular momentum emission\nspectra for different values of the rotation parameter and brane tension, and\ncompare their relative behavior in detail. As is expected from the earlier\nresult for a nonrotating black hole, the finite brane tension suppresses the\nemission rates. As the rotation parameter increases, the power spectra are\nreduced at low frequencies due to the smaller Hawking temperature and are\nenhanced at high frequencies due to superradiance. The angular momentum spectra\nare enhanced over the whole frequency range as the rotation parameter\nincreases. The spectra and the amounts of energy and angular momentum radiated\naway into the bulk are thus determined by the interplay of these effects.",
        "positive": "Pure-Higgs states from the Lefschetz-Sommese theorem: We consider a special class of N=4 quiver quantum mechanics relevant in the\ndescription of BPS states of D4D0 branes in type II Calabi-Yau\ncompactifications and the corresponding 4-dimensional black holes. These\nquivers have two abelian nodes in addition to an arbitrary number of\nnon-abelian nodes and satisfy some simple but stringent conditions on the set\nof arrows, in particular closed oriented loops are always present. The Higgs\nbranch can be described as the vanishing locus of a section of a vector bundle\nover a product of a projective space with a number of Grassmannians. The\nLefschetz-Sommese theorem then allows to separate induced from singular\ncohomology which leads to the notion of pure-Higgs states. We compute explicit\nformulae for an index counting these pure-Higgs states and prove -- for this\nspecial class of quivers -- some previously stated conjectures about them."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Superconformal Field Theories for Compact Manifolds with Spin(7)\n  Holonomy: We present a construction of superconformal field theories for manifolds with\nSpin(7) holonomy. Geometrically these models correspond to the realization of\nSpin(7) manifolds as anti-holomorphic quotients of Calabi-Yau fourfolds.\nDescribing the fourfolds as Gepner models and requiring anomaly cancellation we\ndetermine the resulting Betti numbers of the Spin(7) superconformal field\ntheory. As in the G_2 case, we find that the Gepner model and the geometric\nresult disagree.",
        "positive": "Brane universe and holography in spacetime of charged AdS dilaton black\n  hole: In the background of a charged AdS dilaton black hole, we investigate the\nmovement of a self-graviting 3-brane and relevant holographic effects as the\nbrane move close to the AdS boundary. The induced metric on brane corresponds\nto an exact FLRW geometry, while the evolution of brane is determined by Israel\njunction condition and the effective Einstein field equation on brane together.\nWhen the brane approaches the AdS boundary, AdS/CFT correspondence implies that\na radiation dominated FLRW-universe ($P=\\frac{1}{3}\\rho$) should be given.\nAccording to the holographic renormalization procedure, we involve an\nappropriate surface counterterm into the gravitational action for achieving\n$P=\\frac{1}{3}\\rho$ on brane. This surface counterterm also plays a important\nrole in caculating the mass of charged AdS dilaton black hole. Finally, we\nobtain the thermodynamic quantities and give an extend Cardy-Verlinde formula\non brane."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "An approach to quantum gravity from 4-$\u03b5$ dimension: A calculational scheme of quantum-gravitational effects on the physical\nquantities is proposed. The calculations are performed in 4-$\\epsilon$\ndimension with $1/N$-expansion scheme, where the Einstein gravity is\nrenormalizable and it has an ultraviolet fixed-point within the 1/N-expansion.\nIn order to perform a consistent perturbation in $4-\\epsilon$ dimension,\nspin-3/2 fields should be adopted as the N matter-fields whose loop-corrections\nare included in the effective action. After calculating the physical quantities\nat $4-\\epsilon$ dimension, the four-dimensional aspects of them can be seen by\ntaking the limit of $\\epsilon=0$. In taking this limit, any higher derivative\nterms are not introduced as the counter terms since no divergence appears at\n$\\epsilon=0$ in our scheme. According to this approach, we have examined the\neffective potential of a scalar field to see the possibility of the spontaneous\nsymmetry breaking due to the gravitational loop corrections.",
        "positive": "Solution of N=2 Gauge Theories via Compactification to Three Dimensions: A number of N=2 gauge theories can be realized by brane configurations in\nType IIA string theory. One way of solving them involves lifting the brane\nconfiguration to M-theory. In this paper we present an alternative way of\nanalyzing a subclass of these theories (elliptic models). We observe that upon\ncompactification on a circle one can use a version of mirror symmetry to map\nthe original brane configuration into one containing only D-branes.\nSimultaneously the Coulomb branch of the four-dimensional theory is mapped to\nthe Higgs branch of a five-dimensional theory with three-dimensional\nimpurities. The latter does not receive quantum corrections and can be analyzed\nexactly. The solution is naturally formulated in terms of an integrable system,\nwhich is a version of a Hitchin system on a punctured torus."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Solving N=3 super-Yang-Mills equations in harmonic superspace: We analyze the superfield constraints of the D=4, N=3 SYM-theory using\nlight-cone gauge conditions. The SU(3)/U(1)xU(1) harmonic variables are\ninterpreted as auxiliary spectral parameters, and the transform to the\nharmonic-superspace representation is considered. Our nilpotent gauge for the\nbasic harmonic superfield simplifies the SYM-equations of motion. A partial\nGrassmann decomposition of these equations yields the solvable linear system of\niterative equations.",
        "positive": "Meromorphic Scaling Flow of N=2 Supersymmetric SU(2) Yang-Mills with\n  Matter: Beta-functions are derived for the flow of N=2 SUSY SU(2) Yang-Mills in\n4-dimensions with massless matter multiplets in the fundamental representation\nof the gauge group. The beta-functions represent the flow of the couplings as\nthe VEV of the Higgs field is lowered and are modular forms of weight -2. They\nhave the correct asymptotic behaviour at both the strong and weak coupling\nfixed points. Corrections to the massless beta-functions when masses are turned\non are discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Numerical simulation of non-extensive Boltzmann equation: We present first results of the development of a test particle simulation for\nsolving non-extensive extensions of the elastic two-particle Boltzmann\nequation. Stationary one-particle energy distributions with power-law tail are\nobtained.",
        "positive": "Complex Monopoles in the Georgi-Glashow-Chern-Simons Model: We investigate the three dimensional Georgi-Glashow model with a Chern-Simons\nterm. We find that there exist complex monopole solutions of finite action.\nThey dominate the path integral and disorder the Higgs vacuum, but electric\ncharges are not confined. Subtleties in the gauge fixing procedure in the path\nintegral and issues related to Gribov copies are noted."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The particle spectrum of the Tricritical Ising Model with spin reversal\n  symmetric perturbations: We analyze the evolution of the particle spectrum of the Tricritical Ising\nModel by varying the couplings of the energy and vacancy density fields. The\nparticle content changes from the spectrum of a supersymmetric theory (either\nof an exact or a spontaneously broken supersymmetric theory) to the spectrum of\nseven particles related to the underlying E_7 structure. In the low temperature\nphase some of these excitations are topologically charged particles that are\nstable under an arbitrary variation of the parameters. The high and low\ntemperature phases of the model are related by duality. In some regions of the\ntwo couplings there are also present false vacua and sequences of bound states.\nIn order to study the non-integrable features of this model we employ the Form\nFactor Perturbation Theory and the Truncated Conformal Space Approach.",
        "positive": "Correlations vs connectivity in R-charge: The holographic relation between quantum correlations and connectivity of\nspacetime is explored for single R-charged AdS$_5$ black holes and their\nhalf-BPS limits (superstars). In a two boundary set-up, the wormhole between\nboth universes reduces to a designable and computable quantum mechanical\ncorrelation between the dual microscopic degrees of freedom in the BPS limit.\nThis quantum connectivity is seen as a naked singularity by a single sided\nobserver. In a single boundary set-up, as a small step towards the description\nof entangled black holes, we describe quantum teleportation between two labs in\ndifferent locations of the transverse 5-sphere using entangled gravitons in a\nreference state that provides a classical channel between both labs."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "YANG-MILLS-HIGGS versus CONNES-LOTT: By a suitable choice of variables we show that every Connes-Lott model is a\nYang-Mills-Higgs model. The contrary is far from being true. Necessary\nconditions are given. Our analysis is pedestrian and illustrated by examples.",
        "positive": "Peculiar properties of a charged dilatonic black hole in AdS_5: We study a charged dilatonic black hole in AdS_5, derived from a lagrangian\ninvolving a gauge field whose kinetic term is modified by the exponential of a\nneutral scalar. This black hole has two properties which one might reasonably\ndemand of the dual of a Fermi liquid: Its entropy is proportional to\ntemperature at low temperature, and its extremal limit supports normal modes of\nmassless, charged bulk fermions. The black hole we study has a simple analytic\nform because it can be embedded in type IIB string theory as the near-horizon\nlimit of D3-branes with equal spins in two of the three independent transverse\nplanes. Two further properties can be deduced from this embedding: There is a\nthermodynamic instability, reminiscent of ferromagnetism, at low temperatures;\nand there is an AdS_3 factor in the extremal near-horizon geometry which\naccounts for the linear dependence of entropy on temperature. Altogether, it is\nplausible that the dilatonic black hole we study, or a relative of it with\nsimilar behavior in the infrared, is the dual of a Fermi liquid; however, the\nparticular embedding in string theory that we consider is unlikely to have such\na dual description, unless through some unexpected boson-fermion equivalence at\nlarge N."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On genus expansion of superpolynomials: Recently it was shown that the (Ooguri-Vafa) generating function of HOMFLY\npolynomials is the Hurwitz partition function, i.e. that the dependence of the\nHOMFLY polynomials on representation R is naturally captured by symmetric group\ncharacters (cut-and-join eigenvalues). The genus expansion and expansion\nthrough Vassiliev invariants explicitly demonstrate this phenomenon. In the\npresent letter we claim that the superpolynomials are not functions of such a\ntype: symmetric group characters do not provide an adequate linear basis for\ntheir expansions. Deformation to superpolynomials is, however, straightforward\nin the multiplicative basis: the Casimir operators are \\beta-deformed to\nHamiltonians of the Calogero-Moser-Sutherland system. Applying this trick to\nthe genus and Vassiliev expansions, we observe that the deformation is fully\nstraightforward only for the thin knots. Beyond the family of thin knots\nadditional algebraically independent terms appear in the Vassiliev and genus\nexpansions. This can suggest that the superpolynomials do in fact contain more\ninformation about knots than the colored HOMFLY and Kauffman polynomials.\nHowever, even for the thin knots the beta-deformation is non-innocent: already\nin the simplest examples it seems inconsistent with the postivity of colored\nsuperpolynomials in non-(anti)symmetric representations, which also happens in\nI.Cherednik's (DAHA-based) approach to the torus knots.",
        "positive": "A non-Fock fermion toy model: Recent progress in mathematical theory of random processes provides us with\nnon-Fock product systems (continuous tensor products of Hilbert spaces) used\nhere for constructing a toy model for fermions. Some state vectors describe\ninfinitely many particles in a finite region; the particles accumulate to a\npoint. Electric charge can be assigned to the particles, the total charge being\nzero. Time dynamics is not considered yet, only kinematics (a single time\ninstant)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Semiclassical Methods in Curved Spacetime and Black Hole Thermodynamics: Improved semiclassical techniques are developed and applied to a treatment of\na real scalar field in a $D$-dimensional gravitational background. This\nanalysis, leading to a derivation of the thermodynamics of black holes, is\nbased on the simultaneous use of: (i) a near-horizon description of the scalar\nfield in terms of conformal quantum mechanics; (ii) a novel generalized WKB\nframework; and (iii) curved-spacetime phase-space methods. In addition, this\nimproved semiclassical approach is shown to be asymptotically exact in the\npresence of hierarchical expansions of a near-horizon type. Most importantly,\nthis analysis further supports the claim that the thermodynamics of black holes\nis induced by their near-horizon conformal invariance.",
        "positive": "Kaluza-Kelin Higher Derivative Gravity and Friedmann-Robertson-Walker\n  Cosmology: Kaluza-Klein approach in an N(=1+3+D)-dimensional Friedmann-Robertson-Walker\ntype space is often adopted in the literature. We derive a compact expression\nfor the Friedmann equation in a (1+3+D)-dimensional space. The redundancy of\nthe associated field equations due to the Bianchi identity is analyzed. We also\nstudy the dilaton gravity theory with higher-derivative gravitational\ncouplings. It turns out that higher-order terms will not affect the Friedmann\nequation in a constant flat internal space. This is true only for the flat-De\nSitter external space. The inflationary solution in an induced-gravity model is\nalso discussed as an application."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Aharonov-Bohm Scattering of a Localized Wave Packet: Analysis of the\n  Forward Direction: The Aharonov-Bohm scattering of a localized wave packet is considered. A\ncareful analysis of the forward direction points out new results: according to\nthe time-dependent solution obtained by means of the asymptotic representation\nfor the propagator (kernel), a phenomenon of auto-interference occurs along the\nforward direction, where, also, the probability density current is evaluated\nand found finite.",
        "positive": "Heterotic G_2-manifold compactifications with fluxes and fermionic\n  condensates: We consider flux compactifications of heterotic string theory in the presence\nof fermionic condensates on M_{1,2} times X_7 with both factors carrying a\nKilling spinor. In other words, M_{1,2} is either de Sitter, anti-de Sitter or\nMinkowski, and X_7 possesses a nearly parallel G_2-structure or has\nG_2-holonomy. We solve the complete set of field equations and the Bianchi\nidentity to order alpha'. The latter is satisfied via a non-standard embedding\nby choosing the gauge field to be a G_2-instanton. It is shown that none of the\nsolutions to the field equations is supersymmetric."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Unfolded Equations for Current Interactions of 4d Massless Fields as a\n  Free System in Mixed Dimensions: Interactions of massless fields of all spins in four dimensions with currents\nof any spin is shown to result from a solution of the linear problem that\ndescribes a gluing between rank-one (massless) system and rank-two (current)\nsystem in the unfolded dynamics approach. Since the rank-two system is dual to\na free rank-one higher-dimensional system, that effectively describes conformal\nfields in six space-time dimensions, the constructed system can be interpreted\nas describing a mixture between linear conformal fields in four and six\ndimensions. Interpretation of the obtained results in spirit of AdS/CFT\ncorrespondence is discussed.",
        "positive": "The first law of heterotic stringy black hole mechanics at zeroth order\n  in alpha prime: We re-derive the first law of black hole mechanics in the context of the\nHeterotic Superstring effective action compactified on a torus to leading order\nin alpha prime, using Wald's formalism, covariant Lie derivatives and momentum\nmaps. The Kalb-Ramond field strength of this theory has Abelian Chern-Simons\nterms which induce Nicolai-Townsend transformations of the Kalb-Ramond field.\nWe show how to deal with all these gauge symmetries deriving the first law in\nterms of manifestly gauge-invariant quantities. In presence of Chern-Simons\nterms, several definitions of the conserved charges exist, but the formalism\npicks up only one of them to play a role in the first law.\n  This work is a first step towards the derivation of the first law at first\norder in alpha prime where, more complicated, non-Abelian, Lorentz\n(\"gravitational\") and Yang-Mills Chern-Simons terms are included in the\nKalb-Ramond field strength. The derivation of a first law is a necessary step\ntowards the derivation of a manifestly gauge-invariant entropy formula which is\nstill lacking in the literature. In its turn, this entropy formula is needed to\ncompare unambiguously macroscopic and microscopic black hole entropies."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The second law of thermodynamics, TCP, and Einstein causality in anti-de\n  Sitter space-time: If the vacuum is passive for uniformly accelerated observers in anti-de\nSitter space-time (i.e. cannot be used by them to operate a \"perpetuum\nmobile\"), they will (a) register a universal value of the Hawking-Unruh\ntemperature, (b) discover a TCP symmetry, and (c) find that observables in\ncomplementary wedge-shaped regions are commensurable (local) in the vacuum\nstate. These results are model independent and hold in any theory which is\ncompatible with some weak notion of space-time localization.",
        "positive": "TASI Lectures on Supergravity and String Vacua in Various Dimensions: These lectures aim to provide a global picture of the spaces of consistent\nquantum supergravity theories and string vacua in higher dimensions. The\nlectures focus on theories in the even dimensions 10, 8, and 6. Supersymmetry,\nalong with with anomaly cancellation and other quantum constraints, places\nstrong limitations on the set of physical theories which can be consistently\ncoupled to gravity in higher-dimensional space-times. As the dimensionality of\nspace-time decreases, the range of possible supergravity theories and the set\nof known string vacuum constructions expand. These lectures develop the basic\ntechnology for describing a variety of string vacua, including heterotic,\nintersecting brane, and F-theory compactifications. In particular, a systematic\npresentation is given of the basic elements of F-theory. In each dimension, we\nsummarize the current state of knowledge regarding the extent to which\nsupergravity theories not realized in string theory can be shown to be\ninconsistent."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The asymptotic growth of states of the 4d N=1 superconformal index: We show that the superconformal index of N=1 superconformal field theories in\nfour dimensions has an asymptotic growth of states which is exponential in the\ncharges. Our analysis holds in a Cardy-like limit of large charges, for which\nthe index is dominated by small values of chemical potentials. In this limit we\nfind the saddle points of the integral that defines the superconformal index\nusing two different methods. One method, valid for finite N, is to first take\nthe Cardy-like limit and then find the saddle points. The other method is to\nanalyze the saddle points at large N and then take the Cardy-like limit. The\nresult of both analyses is that the asymptotic growth of states of the\nsuperconformal index exactly agrees with the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy of\nsupersymmetric black holes in the dual AdS$_5$ theory.",
        "positive": "Kondo effect from a Lorentz-violating domain wall description of\n  superconductivity: We extend recent results on domain wall description of superconductivity in\nan Abelian Higgs model by introducing a particular Lorentz-violating term. The\ntemperature of the system is interpreted through the fact that the soliton\nfollowing accelerating orbits is a Rindler observer experiencing a thermal\nbath. We show that this term can be associated with the {\\sl Kondo effect},\nthat is, the Lorentz-violating parameter is closely related to the\nconcentration of magnetic impurities living on a superconducting domain wall.\nWe also found that the critical temperature decreasing with the impurity\nconcentration as a non single-valued function, for the case $T_K < T_{c0}$,\ndevelops a negative curvature and presents deviations from the Abrikosov and\nGor'kov theory, a phenomenon already supported by experimental evidence."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spinflation with Angular Potentials: We investigate in detail the cosmological consequences of realistic angular\ndependent potentials in the brane inflation scenario. Embedding a warped throat\ninto a compact Calabi-Yau space with all moduli stabilized breaks the no-scale\nstructure and induces angular dependence in the potential of the probe\nD3-brane. We solve the equations of motion from the DBI action in the warped\ndeformed conifold including linearized perturbations around the imaginary\nself-dual solution. Our numerical solutions show that angular dependence is a\nnext to leading order correction to the dominant radial motion of the brane,\nhowever, just as angular motion typically increases the amount of inflation\n(spinflation), having additional angular dependence also increases the amount\nof inflation. We also derive an analytic approximation for the number of\ne-foldings along the DBI trajectory in terms of the compactification\nparameters.",
        "positive": "An Alternative to Exact Renormalization and Cosmological Solutions in\n  String Theory: In this work we review the application of a functional method, serving as an\nalternative to the Wilsonian Exact Renormalization approach, to stringy bosonic\n$\\sigma$-models with metric and dilaton backgrounds on a spherical world sheet\n[1]. We derive an exact evolution equation for the dilaton with the amplitude\nof quantum fluctuations, driven by the kinetic term of the two-dimensional\nworld-sheet theory. The linear dilaton conformal field theory, corresponding to\na linearly (in cosmic Einstein-frame time) expanding Universe, appears as a\ntrivial fixed point of this equation. With the help of conformal-invariance\nconditions, we find a logarithmic dilaton as another, exact and non trivial,\nfixed-point solution. Cosmological implications of our solutions are briefly\ndiscussed, in particular the transition (exit) from the expanding Universe of\nthe linear dilaton to the Minkowski vacuum, corresponding to the non-trivial\nfixed point of our generalised flow. This novel renormalization-group method\nmay therefore offer new insights into exact properties of string theories of\nphysical significance."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-Equilibrium Critical Phenomena From Probe Brane Holography in\n  Schr\u00f6dinger Spacetime: We study the non-equilibrium steady-state phase transition from probe brane\nholography in $z=2$ Schr\\\"odinger spacetime. Concerning differential\nconductivity, a phase transition could occur in the conductor state.\nConsidering constant current operator as the external field and the\nconductivity as an order parameter, we derive scaling behavior of order\nparameter near the critical point. We explore the critical exponents of the\nnon-equilibrium phase transition in two different Schr\\\"odinger spacetimes,\nwhich originated $1)$ from supergravity, and $2)$ from AdS blackhole in the\nlight-cone coordinates. Interestingly, we will see that even at the zero charge\ndensity, in our first geometry, the dynamical critical exponent of $z=2$ has a\nmajor effect on the critical exponents.",
        "positive": "Strings on Orientifolds: We construct several examples of compactification of Type IIB theory on\norientifolds and discuss their duals. In six dimensions we obtain models with\n$N=1$ supersymmetry, multiple tensor multiplets, and different gauge groups. In\nnine dimensions we obtain a model that is dual to M-theory compactified on a\nKlein bottle."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Positive-definite states of a Klein-Gordon type particle: A possible way for the consistent probability interpretation of the\nKlein-Gordon equation is proposed. It is assumed that some states of a scalar\ncharged particle cannot be physically realized. The rest of quantum states are\nproven to have positive-definite probability distributions.",
        "positive": "Small dark energy without small parameters: We present a prototype model that resolves the cosmological constant problem\nusing matter alone, i.e., without modifying gravity. Its generic cosmological\nsolutions adjust an arbitrarily large, negative dark energy to a positive value\nparametrically suppressed by an initial field velocity. Inflationary initial\nconditions lead to a positive dark energy exponentially smaller in magnitude\nthan any model parameter, or any scale in the initial conditions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Extended supersymmetry for the Bianchi-type cosmological models: In this paper we propose a superfield description for all Bianchi-type\ncosmological models. The action is invariant under world-line local $n=4$\nsupersymmetry with $SU(2)_{local}XSU(2)_{global}$ internal symmetry. Due to the\ninvariance of the action we obtain the constraints, which form a closed\nsuperalgebra of the $n=4$ supersymmetric quantum mechanics. This procedure\nprovides the inclusion of supermatter in a sistematic way.",
        "positive": "Discretizing Gravity in Warped Spacetime: We investigate the discretized version of the compact Randall-Sundrum model.\nBy studying the mass eigenstates of the lattice theory, we demonstrate that for\nwarped space, unlike for flat space, the strong coupling scale does not depend\non the IR scale and lattice size. However, strong coupling does prevent us from\ntaking the continuum limit of the lattice theory. Nonetheless, the lattice\ntheory works in the manifestly holographic regime and successfully reproduces\nthe most significant features of the warped theory. It is even in some respects\nbetter than the KK theory, which must be carefully regulated to obtain the\ncorrect physical results. Because it is easier to construct lattice theories\nthan to find exact solutions to GR, we expect lattice gravity to be a useful\ntool for exploring field theory in curved space."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A tunneling picture of dual giant Wilson loop: We further discuss a rotating dual giant Wilson loop (D3-brane) solution\nconstructed in Lorentzian AdS by Drukker et al. The solution is shown to be\ncomposed of a dual giant Wilson loop and a dual giant graviton by minutely\nexamining its shape. This observation suggests that the corresponding\ngauge-theory operator should be a k-th symmetric Wilson loop with the\ninsertions of dual giant graviton operators. To support the correspondence, the\nclassical action of the solution should be computed and compared with the\ngauge-theory result. For this purpose we first perform a Wick rotation to the\nLorentzian solution by following the tunneling prescription and obtain\nEuclidean solutions corresponding to a circular or a straight-line Wilson loop.\nIn Euclidean signature boundary terms can be properly considered in the\nstandard manner and the classical action for the Euclidean solutions can be\nevaluated. The result indeed reproduces the expectation value of the k-th\nsymmetric Wilson loop as well as the power-law behavior of the correlation\nfunction of dual giant graviton operators.",
        "positive": "Pulling the Boundary into the Bulk: Motivated by the ability to consistently apply the Ryu-Takayanagi\nprescription for general convex surfaces and the relationship between\nentanglement and geometry in tensor networks, we introduce a novel, covariant\nbulk object - the holographic slice. The holographic slice is found by\nconsidering the continual removal of short range information in a boundary\nstate. It thus provides a natural interpretation as the bulk dual of a series\nof coarse-grained holographic states. The slice possesses many desirable\nproperties that provide consistency checks for its boundary interpretation.\nThese include monotonicity of both area and entanglement entropy, uniqueness,\nand the inability to probe beyond late-time black hole horizons. Additionally,\nthe holographic slice illuminates physics behind entanglement shadows, as\nminimal area extremal surfaces anchored to a coarse-grained boundary may probe\nentanglement shadows. This lets the slice flow through shadows. To aid in\ndeveloping intuition for these slices, many explicit examples of holographic\nslices are investigated. Finally, the relationship to tensor networks and\nrenormalization (particularly in AdS/CFT) is discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Nonabelian Particle-Vortex Duality: We define a nonabelian particle-vortex duality as a $3-$dimensional analogue\nof the usual $2-$dimensional worldsheet nonabelian T-duality. The\ntransformation is defined in the presence of a global $SU(2)$ symmetry and,\nalthough derived from a string theoretic setting, we formulate it generally. We\nthen apply it to so-called \"semilocal strings\" in an $SU(2)_{G}\\times U(1)_{L}$\ngauge theory, originally discovered in the context of cosmic string physics.",
        "positive": "Gauged WZW models for space-time groups and gravitational actions: In this paper we investigate gauged Wess-Zumino-Witten models for space-time\ngroups as gravitational theories, following the trend of recent work by\nAnabalon, Willison and Zanelli. We discuss the field equations in any dimension\nand study in detail the simplest case of two space-time dimensions and gauge\ngroup SO(2,1). For this model we study black hole solutions and we calculate\ntheir mass and entropy which resulted in a null value for both."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Operator spectroscopy for 4d SCFTs with a=c: We study a rich set of four-dimensional superconformal field theories (SCFTs)\nwith both central charges identical: $a = c$. These are constructed via the\ndiagonal $\\mathcal{N}=2$ or $\\mathcal{N}=1$ gauging of the flavor symmetry $G$\nof a collection of $\\mathcal{N}=2$ Argyres-Douglas theories of type\n$\\mathcal{D}_p(G)$, with or without adjoint chiral multiplets, in\narXiv:2106.12579 and arXiv:2111.12092. We compute superconformal indices of\nsome theories where the rank of $G$ is low, performing a refined test for\nunitarity, and further determine the relevant and marginal operator content in\ndetail. We find that most of these theories flow to interacting SCFTs with\n$a=c$ in the infrared.",
        "positive": "The canonical structure of Podolsky's generalized electrodynamics on the\n  Null-Plane: In this work we will develop the canonical structure of Podolsky's\ngeneralized electrodynamics on the null-plane. This theory has second-order\nderivatives in the Lagrangian function and requires a closer study for the\ndefinition of the momenta and canonical Hamiltonian of the system. On the\nnull-plane the field equations also demand a different analysis of the\ninitial-boundary value problem and proper conditions must be chosen on the\nnull-planes. We will show that the constraint structure, based on Dirac\nformalism, presents a set of second-class constraints, which are exclusive of\nthe analysis on the null-plane, and an expected set of first-class constraints\nthat are generators of a U(1) group of gauge transformations. An inspection on\nthe field equations will lead us to the generalized radiation gauge on the\nnull-plane, and Dirac Brackets will be introduced considering the problem of\nuniqueness of these brackets under the chosen initial-boundary condition of the\ntheory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Conformal perturbation of off-critical correlators in the 3D Ising\n  universality class: Thanks to the impressive progress of conformal bootstrap methods we have now\nvery precise estimates of both scaling dimensions and OPE coefficients for\nseveral 3D universality classes. We show how to use this information to obtain\nsimilarly precise estimates for off-critical correlators using conformal\nperturbation. We discuss in particular the $< \\sigma (r) \\sigma (0) >$, $<\n\\epsilon (r) \\epsilon (0) >$ and $< \\sigma (r) \\epsilon (0) >$ two point\nfunctions in the high and low temperature regimes of the 3D Ising model and\nevaluate the leading and next to leading terms in the $s = t r^{\\Delta_{t}}$\nexpansion, where $t$ is the reduced temperature. Our results for $< \\sigma (r)\n\\sigma (0) >$ agree both with Monte Carlo simulations and with a set of\nexperimental estimates of the critical scattering function.",
        "positive": "Fluid-gravity correspondence and causal first-order relativistic viscous\n  hydrodynamics: The fluid-gravity correspondence is a duality between anti-de Sitter Einstein\ngravity and a relativistic fluid living at the conformal boundary. We show that\none can accommodate the causal first-order viscous hydrodynamics recently\ndeveloped by Bemfica, Disconzi, Noronha, and Kovtun in this framework, by\nrequiring a set of natural conditions for the geometric data at the horizon.\nThe latter hosts an induced Carrollian fluid, whose equations of motion are\nshown to be tightly tied to the ones describing the fluid at the boundary.\nFunctional expressions for the transport coefficients are found --with those\nassociated to viscosity and heat flux uniquely determined--, satisfying a set\nof known causality requirements for the underlying equations of motion."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Vacuum block thermalization in semi-classical 2d CFT: The universal nature of black hole collapse in asymptotically $AdS_3$\ngravitational theories suggests that its holographic dual process,\nthermalization, should similarly be fixed by the universal features of 2d CFT\nwith large central charge $c$. It is known that non-equilibrium states with\nscaling dimensions of order $c$ can be sorted into states that eventually\nthermalize and those that fail to do so. By proving an equivalence between\nbounded Virasoro coadjoint orbits and certain (in)stability intervals of Hill's\nequation it is shown that a state that fails to thermalize can be promoted to a\nthermalizing state by preparing the system beforehand with an energy greater\nthan an appropriate threshold energy. It is generally a difficult problem to\nascertain whether a state will thermalize or not. As partial progress to this\nproblem a set of lower bounds are presented for the treshold energy, which can\nalternatively be interpreted as criteria for thermalization.",
        "positive": "Generalized W-algebras and Integrable Hierarchies: We report on generalizations of the KdV-type integrable hierarchies of\nDrinfel'd and Sokolov. These hierarchies lead to the existence of new classical\n$W$-algebras, which arise as the second Hamiltonian structure of the\nhierarchies. In particular, we present a construction of the $W_n^{(l)}$\nalgebras."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Type II/F-theory Superpotentials and Ooguri-Vafa Invariants of Compact\n  Calabi-Yau Threefolds with Three Deformations: We calculate the D-brane superpotentials for two Calabi-Yau manifolds with\nthree deformations by the generalized hypergeometric GKZ systems, which give\nrise to the flux superpotentials $\\mathcal{W}_{GVW}$ of the dual F-theory\ncompactification on the relevant Calabi-Yau fourfolds in the weak decoupling\nlimit. We also compute the Ooguri-Vafa invariants from A-model expansion with\nmirror symmetry, which are related to the open Gromov-Witten invariants.",
        "positive": "THE NUMBER OF SPHALERON INSTABILITIES OF THE BARTNIK-McKINNON SOLITONS\n  AND NON-ABELIAN BLACK HOLES: It is proven that there are precisely $n$ odd-parity sphaleron-like unstable\nmodes of the $n$-th Bartnik-McKinnon soliton and the $n$-th non-abelian black\nhole solution of the Einstein-Yang-Mills theory for the gauge group $SU(2)$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Projectively-Compact Spinor Vertices and Space-Time Spin-Locality in\n  Higher-Spin Theory: The concepts of compact and projectively-compact spin-local spinor vertices\nare introduced. Vertices of this type are shown to be space-time spin-local,\ni.e. their restriction to any finite subset of fields is space-time local. The\nknown spinor spin-local cubic vertices with the minimal number of space-time\nderivatives are verified to be projectively-compact. This has the important\nconsequence that spinor spin-locality of the respective quartic vertices would\nimply their space-time spin-locality. More generally, it is argued that the\nproper class of solutions of the non-linear higher-spin equations that leads to\nthe minimally non-local (presumably space-time spin-local) vertices is\nrepresented by the projectively-compact vertices. The related aspects of the\nhigher-spin holographic correspondence are briefly discussed.",
        "positive": "(S)QCD on R^3 x S^1: Screening of Polyakov loop by fundamental quarks\n  and the demise of semi-classics: Recently, it was argued that the thermal deconfinement transition in pure\nYang-Mills theory is continuously connected to a quantum phase transition in\nsoftly-broken N=1 SYM theory on R^3 x S^1. The transition is semiclassically\ncalculable at small S^1 size L, occurs as the soft mass m_soft and L vary, and\nis driven by a competition between perturbative effects and nonperturbative\ntopological molecules. These are correlated instanton--anti-instanton tunneling\nevents, whose constituents are monopole-instantons \"bound\" by attractive\nlong-range forces. The mechanism driving the transition is universal for all\nsimple gauge groups, with or without a center, such as SU(N) or G_2. Here, we\nconsider theories with fundamental quarks. We examine the role topological\nobjects play in determining the fate of the (exact or approximate)\ncenter-symmetry in SU(2) SQCD, with or without soft-breaking terms. In theories\nwhose large-m_soft limit is thermal nonsupersymmetric QCD with massive quarks,\nwe find a crossover of the Polyakov loop, from approximately center-symmetric\nat small 1/L to maximally center-broken at larger 1/L, as seen in lattice\nthermal QCD with massive quarks and T=1/L. We argue that in all calculable\ncases, including SQCD with exact center symmetry, quarks deform\ninstanton-monopoles by their quantum fluctuations and do not contribute to\ntheir binding. The semiclassical approximation and the molecular picture of the\nvacuum fail, upon decreasing the quark mass, precisely when quarks would begin\nmediating a long-range attractive force between monopole-instantons, calling\nfor a dual description of the resulting strong-coupling theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A note on unparticle in lower dimensions: Using the gauge-invariant but path-dependent variables formalism, we examine\nthe effect of the space-time dimensionality on a physical observable in the\nunparticle scenario. We explicitly show that long-range forces between\nparticles mediated by unparticles are still present whenever we go over into\nlower dimensions.",
        "positive": "Hawking radiation from z=3 and z=1-Lifshitz black holes: The Hawking radiation considered as a tunneling process, by using a\nHamilton-Jacobi prescription, is discussed for both z=3 and z=1-Lifshitz black\nholes. We have found that the tunneling rate (which is not thermal but related\nto the change of entropy) for the z=3-Lifshitz black hole (which does not\nsatisfy the Area/4-law) does not yield (give us) the ecpected tunneling rate:\n$\\Gamma\\simeq exp(\\Delta S)$, where $\\Delta S$ is the change of black hole\nentropy, if we compare with the z=1-Lifshitz black hole (BTZ black hole, which\nsatisfies the Area/4-law)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Manifest gravitational duality near anti de Sitter space-time: We derive a manifestly duality-invariant formulation of the action principle\nfor linearized gravity on anti de Sitter background. The analysis is based on\nthe two-potential formalism, obtained upon resolution of the constraints in the\nHamiltonian formulation. We discuss the relevance of our result in the context\nof holography.",
        "positive": "Shadows of 5D Black Holes from String Theory: We study the shadow behaviors of five dimensional (5D) black holes embedded\nin type IIB superstring/supergravity inspired spacetimes by considering\nsolutions with and without rotations. Geometrical properties as shapes and\nsizes are analyzed in terms of the D3-brane number and the rotation parameter.\nConcretely, we find that the shapes are indeed significantly distorted by such\nphysical parameters and the size of the shadows decreases with the brane or\n\"color\" number and the rotation. Then, we investigate geometrical observables\nand energy emission rate aspects."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "W-representations of the fermionic matrix and Aristotelian tensor models: We show that the fermionic matrix model can be realized by\n$W$-representation. We construct the Virasoro constraints with higher algebraic\nstructures, where the constraint operators obey the Witt algebra and null\n3-algebra. The remarkable feature is that the character expansion of the\npartition function can be easily derived from such Virasoro constraints. It is\na $\\tau$-function of the KP hierarchy. We construct the fermionic Aristotelian\ntensor model and give its $W$-representation. Moreover, we analyze the\nfermionic red tensor model and present the $W$-representation and character\nexpansion of the partition function.",
        "positive": "DBI Genesis: An Improved Violation of the Null Energy Condition: We show that the DBI conformal galileons, derived from the world-volume\ntheory of a 3-brane moving in an AdS bulk, admit a background, stable under\nquantum corrections, which violates the Null Energy Condition (NEC). The\nperturbations around this background are stable and propagate subluminally.\nUnlike other known examples of NEC violation, such as ghost condensation and\nconformal galileons, this theory also admits a stable, Poincare-invariant\nvacuum, with a Lorentz-invariant S-matrix satisfying standard analyticity\nconditions. Like conformal galileons, perturbations around deformations of the\nPoincare invariant vacuum propagate superluminally."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Emergence of a Big Bang singularity in an exact string background: The origin of Big Bang singularity in 3+1 dimensions can be understood in an\nexact string theory background obtained by an analytic continuation of a cigar\nlike geometry with a nontrivial dilaton. In a T-dual conformal field theory\npicture there exists a closed string tachyon potential which excises the\nsingular space-time of a strongly coupled regime to ensure that a higher\ndimensional universe has no curvature singularity. However in 3+1 dimensions\nthe universe exhibits all the pathology of a standard Big Bang cosmology. The\nemergence of a singularity now owes to a higher dimensional orbifold\nsingularity which does not have a curvature singularity in higher dimensions,\nsuggesting that close to the compactification scale an effective description of\n3+1 dimensions breaks down and bouncing universe emerges in 5 and higher\ndimensions.",
        "positive": "Traversable wormhole without interaction: We show that strong quantum entanglement can support a stable traversable\nwormhole without any explicit interaction or tunnelling term between the two\nboundary theories of the wormhole. Specifically we work with two complex SYK\nmodels. The entangled state is prepared using a tunnelling term in imaginary\ntime but the tunnelling term is removed from the time evolution operator so the\ntwo complex SYK models are not coupled. Low temperature states show revival\ndynamics which is the hallmark of a traversable wormhole geometry. To send any\nmeaningful information from one system to the other, one only needs to turn on\na very small interaction term. The technique that we are employing can be\napplied to other systems to study aspects of quantum entanglement."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dyons with potentials: duality and black hole thermodynamics: A modified version of the double potential formalism for the electrodynamics\nof dyons is constructed. Besides the two vector potentials, this manifestly\nduality invariant formulation involves four additional potentials, scalar\npotentials which appear as Lagrange multipliers for the electric and magnetic\nGauss constraints and potentials for the longitudinal electric and magnetic\nfields. In this framework, a static dyon appears as a Coulomb-like solution\nwithout string singularities. Dirac strings are needed only for the Lorentz\nforce law, not for Maxwell's equations. The magnetic charge no longer appears\nas a topological conservation law but as a surface integral on a par with\nelectric charge. The theory is generalized to curved space. As in flat space,\nthe string singularities of dyonic black holes are resolved. As a consequence\nall singularities are protected by the horizon and the thermodynamics is shown\nto follow from standard arguments in the grand canonical ensemble.",
        "positive": "Recent Trends in Superstring Phenomenology: We review for non-experts possible phenomenological scenari in String Theory.\nIn particular we focus on vacuum configurations with intersecting and/or\nmagnetized unoriented D-branes. We will show how a TeV scale tension may be\ncompatible with the existence of Large Extra Dimensions and how anomalous\nU(1)'s can give rise to interesting signatures at LHC or in cosmic rays.\nFinally, we discuss unoriented D-brane instantons as a source of\nnon-perturbative effects that can contribute to moduli stabilization and susy\nbraking in combination with fluxes. We conclude with an outlook and directions\nfor future work."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Timelike Tube Theorem in Curved Spacetime: The timelike tube theorem asserts that in quantum field theory without\ngravity, the algebra of observables in an open set U is the same as the\ncorresponding algebra of observables in its ``timelike envelope'' E(U), which\nis an open set that is in general larger. The theorem was originally proved in\nthe 1960's by Borchers and Araki for quantum fields in Minkowski space. Here we\nsketch the proof of a version of the theorem for quantum fields in a general\nreal analytic spacetime. Details have appeared elsewhere.",
        "positive": "New Charged Black Holes with Conformal Scalar Hair: A new class of four-dimensional, hairy, stationary solutions of the\nEinstein-Maxwell-Lambda system with a conformally coupled scalar field is\nconstructed in this paper. The metric belongs to the Plebanski-Demianski family\nand hence its static limit has the form of the charged C-metric. It is shown\nthat, in the static case, a new family of hairy black holes arises. They turn\nout to be cohomogeneity-two, with horizons that are neither Einstein nor\nhomogenous manifolds. The conical singularities in the C-metric can be removed\ndue to the back reaction of the scalar field providing a new kind of regular,\nradiative spacetime. The scalar field carries a continuous parameter\nproportional to the usual acceleration present in the C-metric. In the\nzero-acceleration limit, the static solution reduces to the dyonic\nBocharova-Bronnikov-Melnikov-Bekenstein solution or the dyonic extension of the\nMartinez-Troncoso-Zanelli black holes, depending on the value of the\ncosmological constant."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetry on Three-dimensional Lorentzian Curved Spaces and Black\n  Hole Holography: We study N <= 2 superconformal and supersymmetric theories on Lorentzian\nthreemanifolds with a view toward holographic applications, in particular to\nBPS black hole solutions. As in the Euclidean case, preserved supersymmetry for\nasymptotically locally AdS solutions implies the existence of a (charged)\n\"conformal Killing spinor\" on the boundary. We find that such spinors exist\nwhenever there is a conformal Killing vector which is null or timelike. We\nmatch these results with expectations from supersymmetric four-dimensional\nasymptotically AdS black holes. In particular, BPS bulk solutions in global AdS\nare known to fall in two classes, depending on their graviphoton magnetic\ncharge, and we reproduce this dichotomy from the boundary perspective. We\nfinish by sketching a proposal to find the dual superconformal quantum\nmechanics on the horizon of the magnetic black holes.",
        "positive": "Saturating unitarity bounds at U-duality symmetric points: It has recently been shown that the leading Wilson coefficient in type II\nstring theory can take (almost) all values allowed by unitarity, crossing\nsymmetry and maximal supersymmetry in D=10 and D=9 dimensions. This suggests\nthat string theory might define the unique consistent quantum theory of gravity\nwith maximal supersymmetry. We study the minima of the leading Wilson\ncoefficient in D=6, 7 and 8 dimensions and find the global minimum at the point\nin moduli space with maximal symmetry. The minimum value turns out to always be\nnegative for D<8."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Forms and algebras in (half-)maximal supergravity theories: The forms in D-dimensional (half-)maximal supergravity theories are discussed\nfor 3 $\\leq$ D $\\leq$ 11. Superspace methods are used to derive consistent sets\nof Bianchi identities for all the forms for all degrees, and to show that they\nare soluble and fully compatible with supersymmetry. The Bianchi identities\ndetermine Lie superalgebras that can be extended to Borcherds superalgebras of\na special type. It is shown that any Borcherds superalgebra of this type gives\nthe same form spectrum, up to an arbitrary degree, as an associated Kac-Moody\nalgebra. For maximal supergravity up to D-form potentials, this is the very\nextended Kac-Moody algebra E11. It is also shown how gauging can be carried out\nin a simple fashion by deforming the Bianchi identities by means of a new\nalgebraic element related to the embedding tensor. In this case the appropriate\nextension of the form algebra is a truncated version of the so-called tensor\nhierarchy algebra.",
        "positive": "Matched Asymptotic Expansion for Caged Black Holes - Regularization of\n  the Post-Newtonian Order: The \"dialogue of multipoles\" matched asymptotic expansion for small black\nholes in the presence of compact dimensions is extended to the Post-Newtonian\norder for arbitrary dimensions. Divergences are identified and are regularized\nthrough the matching constants, a method valid to all orders and known as\nHadamard's partie finie. It is closely related to \"subtraction of\nself-interaction\" and shows similarities with the regularization of quantum\nfield theories. The black hole's mass and tension (and the \"black hole\nArchimedes effect\") are obtained explicitly at this order, and a Newtonian\nderivation for the leading term in the tension is demonstrated. Implications\nfor the phase diagram are analyzed, finding agreement with numerical results\nand extrapolation shows hints for Sorkin's critical dimension - a dimension\nwhere the transition turns second order."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Applications of the Weyl-Wigner formalism to noncommutative geometry: In this dissertation the Weyl-Wigner approach is presented as a map between\nfunctions on a real cartesian symplectic vector space and a set of operators on\na Hilbert space, to analyse some aspects of the relations between quantum and\nclassical formalism, both as a quantization, and as a classical limit. It is\npresented an extension of this formalism to the case of a more general\nclassical phase space, namely one whose configuration space is a compact simple\nLie group. In the second part, it is used to develop a fuzzy approximation to\nthe algebra of functions on a disc. This is the first example of a fuzzy space\noriginating from a classical space which has a boundary. It is analysed how\nthis approximation copes the presence of ultraviolet divergences even in\nnoninteracting field theories on a disc.",
        "positive": "Yangian Invariant Scattering Amplitudes in Supersymmetric Chern-Simons\n  Theory: We propose a generating function for scattering amplitudes of N=6\nsuper-Chern-Simons theory which parallels a recent work on N=4 super-Yang-Mills\ntheory by Arkani-Hamed et al. Our result suggests that the scattering\namplitudes of the super-Chern-Simons theory exhibit Yangian invariance."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Sigma-model soliton intersections from exceptional calibrations: A first-order `BPS' equation is obtained for 1/8 supersymmetric intersections\nof soliton-membranes (lumps) of supersymmetric (4+1)-dimensional massless sigma\nmodels, and a special non-singular solution is found that preserves 1/4\nsupersymmetry. For 4-dimensional hyper-K\\\"ahler target spaces ($HK_4$) the BPS\nequation is shown to be the low-energy limit of the equation for a\nCayley-calibrated 4-surface in $\\bE^4\\times HK_4$. Similar first-order\nequations are found for stationary intersections of Q-lump-membranes of the\nmassive sigma model, but now generic solutions preserve either 1/8\nsupersymmetry or no supersymmetry, depending on the time orientation.",
        "positive": "Three-loop universal anomalous dimension of the Wilson operators in N=4\n  SUSY Yang-Mills model: We present results for the three-loop universal anomalous dimension of Wilson\ntwist-2 operators in the N=4 Supersymmetric Yang-Mills model. These results are\nobtained by extracting the most complicated contributions from the three loop\nnon-singlet anomalous dimensions in QCD which were calculated recently. Their\nsingularities at j=1 agree with the predictions obtained from the BFKL equation\nfor N=4 SYM in the next-to-leading order. The asymptotics of universal\nanomalous dimension at large j is in an agreement with the expectations based\non an interpolation between weak and strong coupling regimes in the framework\nof the AdS/CFT correspondence."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Phenomenology from the Landscape of String Vacua: This article is the author's PhD thesis. After a review of string vacua\nobtained through compactification (with and wothout fluxes), it presents and\ndescribes various aspects of the Landscape of string vacua. At first it gives\nan introduction and an overview of the statistical study of the set of four\ndimensional string vacua, giving the detailed study of one corner of this set\n(G2-holonomy compactifications of M-theory). Then it presents the ten\ndimensional approach to string vacua, concentrating on the ten dimensional\ndescription of the Type IIA flux vacua. Finally it gives two examples of models\nhaving some interesting and characteristic phenomenological features, and that\nbelong to two different corners of the Landscape: warped compactifications of\nType IIB String Theory and M-theory compactifications on G2-holonomy manifolds.",
        "positive": "Low's Subleading Soft Theorem as a Symmetry of QED: It was shown by F. Low in the 1950s that the subleading terms of soft photon\nS-matrix elements obey a universal linear relation. In this paper we give a new\ninterpretation to this old relation, for the case of massless QED, as an\ninfinitesimal symmetry of the S-matrix. The symmetry is shown to be locally\ngenerated by a vector field on the conformal sphere at null infinity. Explicit\nexpressions are constructed for the associated charges as integrals over null\ninfinity and shown to generate the symmetry. These charges are local\ngeneralizations of electric and magnetic dipole charges."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Lagrangian formulation of massive fermionic totally antisymmetric tensor\n  field theory in AdS_d space: We apply the BRST approach, developed for higher spin field theories, to\nLagrangian construction for totally antisymmetric massive fermionic fields in\nAdS_d space. As well as generic higher spin massive theories, the obtained\nLagrangian theory is a reducible gauge model containing, besides the basic\nfield, a number of auxiliary (Stuckelberg) fields and the order of reducibility\ngrows with the value of the rank of the antisymmetric field. However, unlike\nthe generic higher spin theory, for the special case under consideration we\nshow that one can get rid of all the auxiliary fields and the final Lagrangian\nfor fermionic antisymmetric field is formulated only in terms of basic field.",
        "positive": "From giant gravitons to black holes: We study AdS$_5$ black holes from a recently suggested giant graviton\nexpansion formula for the index of $U(N)$ maximal super-Yang-Mills theory. We\ncompute the large $N$ entropy at fixed charges and giant graviton numbers $n_I$\nby a saddle point analysis, and further maximize it in $n_I$. This agrees with\nthe dual black hole entropy in the small black hole limit. To get black holes\nat general sizes, one should note that various giant graviton indices cancel\nbecause gauge theory does not suffer from a Hagedorn-like pathology by an\ninfinite baryonic tower. With one assumption on the mechanism of this\ncancellation, we account for the dual black hole entropy at general sizes. We\ninterpret our results as analytic continuations of the large $N$ free energies\nof SCFTs, and based on it compute the entropies of AdS$_{4,7}$ black holes from\nM5, M2 giant gravitons."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quasi-normal modes of a dielectric ball and some their implications: It is shown that the quasi-normal modes arise, in a natural way, when\nconsidering the oscillations in unbounded regions by imposing the radiation\ncondition at spatial infinity with a complex wave vector $k$. Hence\nquasi-normal modes are not peculiarities of gravitation problems only (black\nholes and relativistic stars). It is proposed to consider the space form of the\nquasi-normal modes with allowance for their time dependence. As a result, the\nproblem of their unbounded increase when $r\\to \\infty$ is not encountered more.\nThe properties of quasi-normal modes of a compact dielectric sphere are\ndiscussed in detail. It is argued that the spatial form of these modes\n(especially so-called surface modes) should be taken into account, for example,\nwhen estimating the potential health hazards due to the use of portable\ntelephones.",
        "positive": "Loop Corrections in Double Field Theory: Non-trivial Dilaton Potentials: It is believed that the invariance of the generalised diffeomorphisms\nprevents any non-trivial dilaton potential from double field theory. It is\ntherefore difficult to include loop corrections in the formalism. We show that\nby redefining a non-local dilaton field, under strong constraint which is\nnecessary to preserve the gauge invariance of double field theory, the theory\ndoes permit non-constant dilaton potentials and loop corrections. If the fields\nhave dependence on only one single coordinate, the non-local dilaton is\nidentical to the ordinary one with an additive constant."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Two dimensional QCD is a one dimensional Kazakov-Migdal model: We calculate the partition functions of QCD in two dimensions on a cylinder\nand on a torus in the gauge $\\partial_{0} A_{0} = 0$ by integrating explicitly\nover the non zero modes of the Fourier expansion in the periodic time variable.\nThe result is a one dimensional Kazakov-Migdal matrix model with eigenvalues on\na circle rather than on a line. We prove that our result coincides with the\nstandard expansion in representations of the gauge group. This involves a non\ntrivial modular transformation from an expansion in exponentials of $g^2$ to\none in exponentials of $1/g^2$. Finally we argue that the states of the $U(N)$\nor $SU(N)$ partition function can be interpreted as a gas of N free fermions,\nand the grand canonical partition function of such ensemble is given explicitly\nas an infinite product.",
        "positive": "Natural Cutoffs effect on Charged Rotating TeV-Scale Black Hole\n  Thermodynamics: We study the thermodynamics of charged rotating black hole in large extra\ndimensions scenario where quantum gravity effects are taken into account. We\nconsider the effects of minimal length, minimal momentum, and maximal momentum\nas natural cutoffs on the thermodynamics of charged rotating TeV-scale black\nholes. In this framework the effect of the angular momentum and charge on the\nthermodynamics of the black hole are discussed. We focus also on frame dragging\nand Sagnac effect of the micro black holes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Relativistic Elasticity of Stationary Fluid Branes: Fluid mechanics can be formulated on dynamical surfaces of arbitrary\nco-dimension embedded in a background space-time. This has been the main object\nof study of the blackfold approach in which the emphasis has primarily been on\nstationary fluid configurations. Motivated by this approach we show under\ncertain conditions that a given stationary fluid configuration living on a\ndynamical surface of vanishing thickness and satisfying locally the first law\nof thermodynamics will behave like an elastic brane when the surface is subject\nto small deformations. These results, which are independent of the number of\nspace-time dimensions and of the fluid arising from a gravitational dual,\nreveal the (electro)elastic character of (charged) black branes when\nconsidering extrinsic perturbations.",
        "positive": "P-T phase diagram of a holographic s+p model from Gauss-Bonnet gravity: In this paper, we study the holographic s+p model in 5-dimensional bulk\ngravity with the Gauss-Bonnet term. We work in the probe limit and give the\n$\\Delta$-T phase diagrams at three different values of the Gauss-Bonnet\ncoefficient to show the effect of the Gauss-Bonnet term. We also construct the\nP-T phase diagrams for the holographic system using two different definitions\nof the pressure and compare the results."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Stringy Hartle-Hawking State: We argue that non-perturbative $\\alpha'$ stringy effects render the\nHartle-Hawking state associated with the $SL(2)/U(1)$ eternal black hole\nsingular at the horizon. We discuss implications of this observation on\nfirewalls in string theory.",
        "positive": "Cosmic microwave background polarization, Faraday rotation and\n  stochastic gravity-waves backgrounds: A magnetic field, coherent over the horizon size at the decoupling and strong\nenough to rotate the polarization plane of the CMBR, can be generated from the\nelectromagnetic vacuum fluctuations amplified by the space-time evolution of\nthe dilaton coupling. The possible relevance of this result for superstring\ninspired cosmological models is discussed. Particular attention will be paid to\nthe connection between Faraday rotation signals and stochastic gravity-wave\nbackgrounds."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetric solutions of N=2 d=4 sugra: the whole ungauged shebang: In this article we complete the classification of the supersymmetric\nsolutions of N=2 D=4 ungauged supergravity coupled to an arbitrary number of\nvector- and hypermultiplets. We find that in the timelike case the\nhypermultiplets cause the constant-time hypersurfaces to be curved and have\nsu(2) holonomy identical to that of the hyperscalar manifold. The solutions\nhave the same structure as without hypermultiplets but now depend on functions\nwhich are harmonic in the curved 3-dimensional space. We discuss an example\nobtained from a hyper-less solution via the c-map. In the null case we find\nthat the hyperscalars can only depend on the null coordinate and the solutions\nare essentially those of the hyper-less case.",
        "positive": "Covariant representation theory of the Poincar\u00e9 algebra and some of\n  its extensions: There has been substantial calculational progress in the last few years for\ngauge theory amplitudes which involve massless four dimensional particles. One\nof the central ingredients in this has been the ability to keep precise track\nof the Poincare algebra quantum numbers of the particles involved. Technically,\nthis is most easily done using the well-known four dimensional spinor helicity\nmethod. In this article a natural generalization to all dimensions higher than\nfour is obtained based on a covariant version of the representation theory of\nthe Poincare algebra. Covariant expressions for all possible polarization\nstates, both bosonic and fermionic, are constructed. For the fermionic states\nthe analysis leads directly to pure spinors. The natural extension to the\nrepresentation theory of the on-shell supersymmetry algebra results in an\nelementary derivation of the supersymmetry Ward identities for scattering\namplitudes with massless or massive legs in any integer dimension from four\nonwards. As a proof-of-concept application a higher dimensional analog of the\nvanishing helicity-equal amplitudes in four dimensions is presented in (super)\nYang-Mills theory, Einstein (super-)gravity and superstring theory in a flat\nbackground."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Noncommutative Momentum for Arbitrary Spin Polarization: There have been comments on the starting paper, hep-th/0106074, which point\nout unclear motivation and definitions on noncommutative momentum introduced.\nTherefore, to give more clear presentation, this paper is withdrawn.",
        "positive": "Ghost-free higher derivative unimodular gravity: The unimodular version of the ghost-free higher derivative gravity is\nobtained. It is the unimodular reduction of some particular lagrangians\nquadratic in curvature."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dynamical Decay of Brane-Antibrane and Dielectric Brane: Using D-brane effective field theories, we study dynamical decay of unstable\nbrane systems : (i) a parallel brane-antibrane pair with separation l and (ii)\na dielectric brane. In particular we give explicitly the decay width of these\nunstable systems, and describe how the decay proceeds after the tunnel effect.\nThe decay (i) is analysed by the use of a tachyon effective action on the\nDp-Dpbar. A pair annihilation starts by nucleation of a bubble of a tachyon\ndomain wall which represents a throat connecting these branes, and the\ntunneling decay width is found to be proportional to exp(-l^{p+1} T_{Dp}). We\nstudy also the decay leaving topological defects corresponding to\nlower-dimensional branes, which may be relevant for recent inflationary\nbraneworld scenario. As for the decay (ii), first we observe that Dp-branes\ngenerically ``curl up'' in a nontrivial RR field strength. Using this\nviewpoint, we compute the decay width of the dielectric D2-branes by\nconstructing relevant Euclidean bounce solutions in the shape of a funnel. We\nalso give new solutions in doughnut shape which are involved with nucleation of\ndielectric branes from nothing.",
        "positive": "Topological couplings in higher derivative extensions of supersymmetric\n  three-form gauge theories: We consider a topological coupling between a pseudo-scalar field and a 3-form\ngauge field in ${\\cal N}=1$ supersymmetric higher derivative 3-form gauge\ntheories in four spacetime dimensions. We show that ghost/tachyon-free higher\nderivative Lagrangians with the topological coupling can generate various\npotentials for the pseudo-scalar field by solving the equation of motion for\nthe 3-form gauge field. We give two examples of higher derivative Lagrangians\nand the corresponding potentials: one is a quartic order term of the field\nstrength and the other is the term which can generate a cosine-type potential\nof the pseudo-scalar field."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Current Algebra and Bosonization in Three Dimensions: We consider the fermion-boson mapping in three dimensional space-time, in the\nAbelian case, from the current algebra point of view. We show that in a\npath-integral framework one can derive a general bosonization recipe leading,\nin the bosonic language, to the correct equal-time current commutators of the\noriginal free fermionic theory.",
        "positive": "On Bogomolny equations in generalized gauged baby BPS Skyrme models: Using the concept of strong necessary conditions (CSNC), we derive Bogomolny\nequations and BPS bounds for two modifications of the gauged baby BPS Skyrme\nmodel: the nonminimal coupling to the gauge field and k-deformed model. In\nparticular, we study, how the Bogomolny equations and the equation for the\npotential, reflect these two modifications. In both examples, the CSNC method\nshows to be a very useful tool."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Vacuum Radiation in Conformally Invariant Quantum Field Theory: Although the whole conformal group $SO(4,2)$ can be considered as a symmetry\nin a classical massless field theory, the subgroup of special conformal\ntransformations (SCT), usually related to transitions to uniformly accelerated\nframes, causes vacuum radiation in the corresponding quantum field theory, in\nanalogy to the Fulling-Unruh effect. The spectrum of the outgoing particles can\nbe calculated exactly and proves to be a generalization of the Planckian one.",
        "positive": "Retrofitting and the mu Problem: One of the challenges of supersymmetry (SUSY) breaking and mediation is\ngenerating a mu term consistent with the requirements of electro-weak symmetry\nbreaking. The most common approach to the problem is to generate the mu term\nthrough a SUSY breaking F-term. Often these models produce unacceptably large B\nmu terms as a result. We will present an alternate approach, where the mu term\nis generated directly by non-perturtative effects. The same non-perturbative\neffect will also retrofit the model of SUSY breaking in such a way that mu is\nat the same scale as masses of the Standard Model superpartners. Because the mu\nterm is not directly generated by SUSY breaking effects, there is no associated\nB mu problem. These results are demonstrated in a toy model where a stringy\ninstanton generates mu."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gravity Dual of Two-Dimensional $\\mathcal{N} = (2,2)^*$ Supersymmetric\n  Yang-Mills Theory and Integrable Models: The 2D $\\mathcal{N}=(2,2)^*$ supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory can be obtained\nfrom the 2D $\\mathcal{N}=(4,4)$ theory with a twisted mass deformation. In this\npaper we construct the gravity dual theory of the 2D $\\mathcal{N}=(2,2)^*$\nsupersymmetric $U(N)$ Yang-Mills theory at the large $N$ and large 't Hooft\ncoupling limit using the 5D gauged supergravity. In the UV regime, this\nconstruction also provides the gravity dual of the 2D $\\mathcal{N}=(2,2)^*$\n$U(N)$ topological Yang-Mills-Higgs theory. We propose a triality in the UV\nregime among integrable model, gauge theory and gravity, and we make some\nchecks of this relation at classical level.",
        "positive": "Homage to Ettore Majorana: Homage is paid to E. Majorana by dedicating our recent work in his memory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Black Hole Geometries in Noncommutative String Theory: We obtain a generalized Schwarzschild (GS-) and a generalized\nReissner-Nordstrom (GRN-) black hole geometries in (3+1)-dimensions, in a\nnoncommutative string theory. In particular, we consider an effective theory of\ngravity on a curved $D_3$-brane in presence of an electromagnetic (EM-) field.\nTwo different length scales, inherent in its noncommutative counter-part, are\nexploited to obtain a theory of effective gravity coupled to an U(1)\nnoncommutative gauge theory to all orders in $\\Theta$. It is shown that the\nGRN-black hole geometry, in the Planckian regime, reduces to the GS-black hole.\nHowever in the classical regime it may be seen to govern both\nReissner-Nordstrom and Schwarzschild geometries independently. The emerging\nnotion of 2D black holes evident in the frame-work are analyzed. It is argued\nthat the $D$-string in the theory may be described by the near horizon 2D black\nhole geometry, in the gravity decoupling limit. Finally, our analysis explains\nthe nature of the effective force derived from the nonlinear EM-field and\naccounts for the Hawking radiation phenomenon in the formalism.",
        "positive": "High-Energy theory for close Randall Sundrum branes: We obtain an effective theory for the radion dynamics of the two-brane\nRandall Sundrum model, correct to all orders in brane velocity in the limit of\nclose separation, which is of interest for studying brane collisions and early\nUniverse cosmology. Obtained via a recursive solution of the Bulk equation of\nmotions, the resulting theory represents a simple extension of the\ncorresponding low-energy effective theory to the high energy regime. The\nfour-dimensional low-energy theory is indeed not valid when corrections at\nsecond order in velocity are considered. This extension has the remarkable\nproperty of including only second derivatives and powers of first order\nderivatives. This important feature makes the theory particularly easy to\nsolve. We then extend the theory by introducing a potential and detuning the\nbranes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Lattice Landau gauge via Stereographic Projection: The complete cancellation of Gribov copies and the Neuberger 0/0 problem of\nlattice BRST can be avoided in modified lattice Landau gauge. In compact U(1),\nwhere the problem is a lattice artifact, there remain to be Gribov copies but\ntheir number is exponentially reduced. Moreover, there is no cancellation of\ncopies there as the sign of the Faddeev-Popov determinant is positive. Applied\nto the maximal Abelian subgroup this avoids the perfect cancellation amongst\nthe remaining Gribov copies for SU(N) also. In addition, based on a definition\nof gauge fields on the lattice as stereographically-projected link variables,\nit provides a framework for gauge fixed Monte-Carlo simulations. This will\ninclude all Gribov copies in the spirit of BRST. Their average is not zero, as\ndemonstrated explicitly in simple models. This might resolve present\ndiscrepancies between gauge-fixed lattice and continuum studies of QCD Green's\nfunctions.",
        "positive": "Density matrices in quantum gravity: We study density matrices in quantum gravity, focusing on topology change. We\nargue that the inclusion of bra-ket wormholes in the gravity path integral is\nnot a free choice, but is dictated by the specification of a global state in\nthe multi-universe Hilbert space. Specifically, the Hartle-Hawking (HH) state\ndoes not contain bra-ket wormholes. It has recently been pointed out that\nbra-ket wormholes are needed to avoid potential bags-of-gold and strong\nsubadditivity paradoxes, suggesting a problem with the HH state. Nevertheless,\nin regimes with a single large connected universe, approximate bra-ket\nwormholes can emerge by tracing over the unobserved universes. More drastic\npossibilities are that the HH state is non-perturbatively gauge equivalent to a\nstate with bra-ket wormholes, or that the third-quantized Hilbert space is\none-dimensional. Along the way we draw some helpful lessons from the well-known\nrelation between worldline gravity and Klein-Gordon theory. In particular, the\ncommutativity of boundary-creating operators, which is necessary for\nconstructing the alpha states and having a dual ensemble interpretation, is\nsubtle. For instance, in the worldline gravity example, the Klein-Gordon field\noperators do not commute at timelike separation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "From Simplified BLG Action to the First-Quantized M-Theory: Concise summary of the recent progress in the search for the world-volume\naction for multiple M2 branes. After a recent discovery of simplified version\nof BLG action, which is based on the ordinary Lie-algebra structure, does not\nhave coupling constants and extra dynamical fields, attention should be\nswitched to the study of M2 brane dynamics. A viable brane analogue of Polyakov\nformalism and Belavin-Knizhnik theorem for strings can probably be provided by\nPalatini formalism for 3d (super)gravity.",
        "positive": "TBA Equations and Quantization Conditions: It has been recently realized that, in the case of polynomial potentials, the\nexact WKB method can be reformulated in terms of a system of TBA equations. In\nthis paper we study this method in various examples. We develop a graphical\nprocedure due to Toledo, which provides a fast and simple way to study the\nwall-crossing behavior of the TBA equations. When complemented with exact\nquantization conditions, the TBA equations can be used to solve spectral\nproblems exactly in Quantum Mechanics. We compute the quantum corrections to\nthe all-order WKB periods in many examples, as well as the exact spectrum for\nmany potentials. In particular, we show how this method can be used to\ndetermine resonances in unbounded potentials."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "\"Self-tuning\" and Conformality: We consider an infinite-volume brane world setup where a codimension one\nbrane is coupled to bulk gravity plus a scalar field with vanishing potential.\nThe latter is protected by bulk supersymmetry, which is intact even if brane\nsupersymmetry is completely broken as the volume of the extra dimension is\ninfinite. Within this setup we discuss a flat solution with a ``self-tuning''\nproperty, that is, such a solution exists for a continuous range of values for\nthe brane tension. This infinite-volume solution is free of any singularities,\nand has the property that the brane cosmological constant is protected by bulk\nsupersymmetry. We, however, also point out that consistency of the coupling\nbetween bulk gravity and brane matter generically appears to require that the\nbrane world-volume theory be conformal.",
        "positive": "Radiation from SU(3) monopole scattering: The energy radiated during the scattering of SU(3) monopoles is estimated as\na function of their asymptotic velocity v. In a typical scattering process the\ntotal energy radiated is of order v^3 as opposed to v^5 for SU(2) monopoles.\nFor charge (1,1) monopoles the dipole radiation produced is estimated for all\ngeodesics on the moduli space. For charge (2,1) monopoles the dipole radiation\nis estimated for the axially symmetric geodesic. The power radiated appears to\ndiverge in the massless limit. The implications of this for the case of\nnon-Abelian unbroken symmetry are discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Classification of Singular Spinor Fields and Other Mass Dimension One\n  Fermions: We investigate the constraint equations of the Lounesto spinor fields\nclassification and show that it can be used to completely characterize all the\nsingular classes, which are potential accommodations for further mass dimension\none fermions, beyond the well known Elko spinor fields. This result can be\nuseful for two purposes: besides a great abridgement in the classification of a\ngiven spinor field, we provide a general form of each class of spinor fields,\nwhich can be used furthermore to search for a general classification of spinors\ndynamics.",
        "positive": "Simple variables for AdS$_5 \\times S^5$ superspace: We introduce simple variables for describing the AdS$_5\\times S^5$\nsuperspace, i. e. $\\frac{PSU(2,2|4)}{SO(4,1)\\times SO(5)}$. The idea is to\nembed the coset superspace into a space described by variables which are in\nlinear (ray) representations of the supergroup $PSU(2,2|4)$ by imposing certain\nsupersymmetric quadratic constraints (up to two overall U(1) factors). The\nconstruction can be considered as a supersymmetric generalisation of the\nelementary realisations of the $AdS_5$ and the $S^5$ spaces by the SO(4,2) and\nSO(6) invariant quadratic constraints on two six-dimensional flat spaces."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Canticle on (4,0) Supergravity-Scalar Multiplet Systems for a\n  ``Cognoscente'': Extending prior investigations, we study three of the the four distinct\nminimal (4,0) scalar multiplets coupled to (4,0) supergravity. It is found that\nthe scalar multiplets manifest their differences at the component level by\npossessing totally different couplings to the supergravity fields. Only the\nSM-I multiplet possesses a conformal coupling. For the remaining multiplets,\nterms linear in the world sheet curvature and/or SU(2) gauge field strengths\nare required to appear in the action by local supersymmetry.",
        "positive": "Superconnections: an Interpretation of the Standard Model: The mathematical framework of superbundles suggests that one considers the\nHiggs field as a natural constituent of a superconnection. I propose to take as\nsuperbundle the exterior algebra obtained from a Hermitian vector bundle of\nrank 5 for the Standard Model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hopf Algebraic Structures in the Cutting Rules: Since the Connes--Kreimer Hopf algebra was proposed, revisiting present\nquantum field theory has become meaningful and important from algebraic points.\nIn this paper, the Hopf algebra in the cutting rules is constructed. Its\ncoproduct contains all necessary ingredients for the cutting equation crucial\nto proving perturbative unitarity of the S-matrix. Its antipode is compatible\nwith the causality principle. It is obtained by reducing the Hopf algebra in\nthe largest time equation which reflects partitions of the vertex set of a\ngiven Feynman diagram. First of all, the Connes--Kreimer Hopf algebra in the\nBPHZ renormalization instead of the dimensional regularization and the minimal\nsubtraction is described so that the strategy of setting up Hopf algebraic\nstructures of Feynman diagrams becomes clear.",
        "positive": "Fluctuations in the Entropy of Hawking Radiation: We use the gravitational path integral (GPI) to compute the fluctuations of\nthe Hawking radiation entropy around the Page curve, in a two-dimensional model\nintroduced by Penington \\emph{et al}. Before the Page time, we find that\n$\\delta S = e^{-S}/\\sqrt{2}$, where $S$ is the black hole entropy. This result\nagrees with the Haar-averaged entropy fluctuations of a bipartite system, which\nwe also compute at leading order. After the Page time, we find that $\\delta S\n\\sim e^{-S}$, up to a prefactor that depends logarithmically on the width of\nthe microcanonical energy window. This is not symmetric under exchange of\nsubsystem sizes and so does not agree with the Haar average for a subsystem of\nfixed Hilbert space dimension. The discrepancy can be attributed to the fact\nthat the black hole Hilbert space dimension is not fixed by the state\npreparation: even in a microcanonical ensemble with a top-hat smearing\nfunction, the GPI yields an additive fluctuation in the number of black hole\nstates. This result, and the fact that the Page curve computed by the GPI is\nsmooth, all point towards an ensemble interpretation of the GPI."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A-twisted correlators and Hori dualities: The Hori-Tong and Hori dualities are infrared dualities between\ntwo-dimensional gauge theories with $\\mathcal{N}{=}(2,2)$ supersymmetry, which\nare reminiscent of four-dimensional Seiberg dualities. We provide additional\nevidence for those dualities with $U(N_c)$, $USp(2N_c)$, $SO(N)$ and $O(N)$\ngauge groups, by matching correlation functions of Coulomb branch operators on\na Riemann surface $\\Sigma_g$, in the presence of the topological $A$-twist. The\n$O(N)$ theories studied, denoted by $O_+ (N)$ and $O_- (N)$, can be understood\nas $\\mathbb{Z}_2$ orbifolds of an $SO(N)$ theory. The correlators of these\ntheories on $\\Sigma_g$ with $g > 0$ are obtained by computing correlators with\n$\\mathbb{Z}_2$-twisted boundary conditions and summing them up with weights\ndetermined by the orbifold projection.",
        "positive": "Exact Combinatorics of Bern-Kosower-type Amplitudes for Two-Loop\n  $\u03a6^3$ Theory: Counting the contribution rate of a world-line formula to Feynman diagrams in\n$\\phi^3$ theory, we explain the idea how to determine precise combinatorics of\nBern-Kosower-like amplitudes derived from a bosonic string theory for $N$-point\ntwo-loop Feynman amplitudes. In this connection we also present a method to\nderive simple and compact world-line forms for the effective action."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Consistent Pauli reduction on group manifolds: We prove an old conjecture by Duff, Nilsson, Pope and Warner asserting that\nthe NS-NS sector of supergravity (and more general the bosonic string) allows\nfor a consistent Pauli reduction on any d-dimensional group manifold G, keeping\nthe full set of gauge bosons of the G x G isometry group of the bi-invariant\nmetric on G. The main tool of the construction is a particular generalised\nScherk-Schwarz reduction ansatz in double field theory which we explicitly\nconstruct in terms of the group's Killing vectors. Examples include the\nconsistent reduction from ten dimensions on $S^3\\times S^3$ and on similar\nproduct spaces. The construction is another example of globally geometric\nnon-toroidal compactifications inducing non-geometric fluxes.",
        "positive": "On The Bound States Of Photons In Noncommutative Quantum Electrodynamics: We consider the possibility that photons of noncommutative QED can make bound\nstates. Using the potential model, developed based on the constituent gluon\npicture of QCD glue-balls, arguments are presented in favor of existence of\nthese bound states. The basic ingredient of potential model is that the\nself-interacting massless gauge particles may get mass by inclusion\nnon-perturbative effects."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "BiHermitian Supersymmetric Quantum Mechanics: BiHermitian geometry, discovered long ago by Gates, Hull and Rocek, is the\nmost general sigma model target space geometry allowing for (2,2) world sheet\nsupersymmetry. In this paper, we work out supersymmetric quantum mechanics for\na biHermitian target space. We display the full supersymmetry of the model and\nillustrate in detail its quantization procedure. Finally, we show that the\nquantized model reproduces the Hodge theory for compact twisted generalized\nKaehler manifolds recently developed by Gualtieri. This allows us to recover\nand put in a broader context the results on the biHermitian topological sigma\nmodels obtained by Kapustin and Li.",
        "positive": "A Comparison of Supersymmetry Breaking and Mediation Mechanisms: We give a unified treatment of different models of supersymmetry breaking and\nmediation from a four dimensional effective field theory standpoint. In\nparticular a comparison between GMSB and various gravity mediated versions of\nSUSY breaking shows that, once the former is embedded within a SUGRA framework,\nthere is no particular advantage to that mechanism from the point of view of\nFCNC suppression. We point out the difficulties of all these scenarios - in\nparticular the cosmological modulus problem. We end with a discussion of\npossible string theory realizations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Currents on Grassmann algebras: We define currents on a Grassmann algebra $Gr(N)$ with $N$ generators as\ndistributions on its exterior algebra (using the symmetric wedge product). We\ninterpret the currents in terms of ${\\Z}_2$-graded Hochschild cohomology and\nclosed currents in terms of cyclic cocycles (they are particular multilinear\nforms on $Gr(N)$). An explicit construction of the vector space of closed\ncurrents of degree $p$ on $Gr(N)$ is given by using Berezin integration.",
        "positive": "Confined two-dimensional fermions at finite density: We introduce the chemical potential in a system of two-dimensional massless\nfermions, confined to a finite region, by imposing twisted boundary conditions\nin the Euclidean time direction. We explore in this simple model the\napplication of functional techniques which could be used in more complicated\nsituations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Near-Conformal Dynamics at Large Charge: We investigate four-dimensional near-conformal dynamics by means of the\nlarge-charge limit. We first introduce and justify the formalism in which\nnear-conformal invariance is insured by adding a dilaton and then determine the\nlarge-charge spectrum of the theory. The dilaton can also be viewed as the\nradial mode of the EFT. We calculate the two-point functions of charged\noperators. We discover that the mass of the dilaton, parametrising the\nnear-breaking of conformal invariance, induces a novel term that is logarithmic\nin the charge. One can therefore employ the large-charge limit to explore\nnear-conformal dynamics and determine dilaton-related properties.",
        "positive": "The Loop Group of E_8 and K-Theory from 11d: We examine the conjecture that an 11d E_8 bundle, appearing in the\ncalculation of phases in the M-Theory partition function, plays a physical role\nin M-Theory, focusing on consequences for the classification of string theory\nsolitons. This leads for example to a classification of IIA solitons in terms\nof that of LE_8 bundles in 10d. Since K(Z,2) approximates LE_8 up to \\pi_{14},\nthis reproduces the K-Theoretic classification of IIA D-branes while treating\nNSNS and RR solitons more symmetrically and providing a natural interpretation\nof G_0 as the central extension of LE_8."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The fermion-boson map for large $d$ and its connection to lattice\n  transformations: I point out that the phase transitions of the $d+1$ Gross-Neveu and\n$CP^{N-1}$ models at finite temperature and imaginary chemical potential can be\nmapped to transformations of regular hexagonal and regular triangular lattices\nto square lattice. The duality elements of two continuous models of fermions\nand bosons and two discrete lattice models make their appearance offering a new\nview of their phase transitions. I also show that the fermion-boson map in odd\ndimensions at finite temperature and imaginary chemical potential has a\ngeneralization for arbitrary $d$ that gives an expression of the transfer\nmomentum of fundamental particles that behave like Bloch waves. These particles\nare travelling inside a periodic potential and scattering from specific\nsurfaces (hexagonal and triangular kind) with a specific ordered construction\nbased on golden ratio formula $\\phi=\\frac{1}{\\phi}+1$ and its generalization. I\nfurther argue that this transfer momentum gives us a modified Bragg Law\nequation which it has a large $d$ limit to the well known expression for the\ntransfer momentum when the scattering lattice is square. Interestingly these\nsurfaces make a family of some first Brillouin zones that interact with\nparticle beams and the maximum amount of momentum of the beam is transferred to\nthem for specific angles related to their construction. Their construction is\nbased on the golden ratio $\\phi$ and the Riemann $\\zeta(n)$ functions. The\nzeros and extrema of the Bloch-Wigner-Ramakrishnan $D_d(z)$ functions and\nClausen $Cl_d(\\theta) $ functions play an important role to the analysis since\nthey allow us not only to study the lattice transformations but also to study\nthe fermionic theory deep inside the strong coupling regime as the dimension of\nthe theory increases.",
        "positive": "Calogero-Sutherland Approach to Defect Blocks: Extended objects such as line or surface operators, interfaces or boundaries\nplay an important role in conformal field theory. Here we propose a systematic\napproach to the relevant conformal blocks which are argued to coincide with the\nwave functions of an integrable multi-particle Calogero-Sutherland problem.\nThis generalizes a recent observation in 1602.01858 and makes extensive\nmathematical results from the modern theory of multi-variable hypergeometric\nfunctions available for studies of conformal defects. Applications range from\nseveral new relations with scalar four-point blocks to a Euclidean inversion\nformula for defect correlators."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Gravity, Field Theory and Signatures of Noncommutative Spacetime: A pedagogical introduction to some of the main ideas and results of field\ntheories on quantized spacetimes is presented, with emphasis on what such field\ntheories may teach us about the problem of quantizing gravity. We examine to\nwhat extent noncommutative gauge theories may be regarded as gauge theories of\ngravity. UV/IR mixing is explained in detail and we describe its relations to\nrenormalization, to gravitational dynamics, and to deformed dispersion\nrelations in models of quantum spacetime of interest in string theory and in\ndoubly special relativity. We also discuss some potential experimental probes\nof spacetime noncommutativity.",
        "positive": "Electric/Magnetic Field Deformed Giant Gravitons in Melvin Geometry: The rotating D3-brane in the $AdS_5 \\times S^5$ spacetime could be blowed up\nto the spherical BPS configuration which has the same energy and quantum number\nof the point-like graviton and is called as a giant graviton. The configuration\nis stable only if its angular momentum was less than a critical value of $P_c$.\nIn this paper we investigate the properties of the giant graviton in the\nelectric/magnetic Melvin geometries of deformed $AdS_5 \\times S^5$ spacetime\nwhich was obtained in our previous paper (hep-th/0512117, Phys. Rev. D73 (2006)\n026007). We find that in the magnetic Melvin spacetime the giant graviton has\nlower energy than the point-like graviton. Also, the critical value of the\nangular momentum is an increasing function of the magnetic field flux $B$. In\nparticular, it is seen that while increasing the angular momentum the radius of\ngiant graviton is initially an increasing function, then, after it reach its\nmaximum value it becomes a decreasing function of the angular momentum. During\nthese regions the giant graviton is still a stable configuration, contrast to\nthat in the undeformed theory. Finally, beyond the critical value of angular\nmomentum the giant graviton has higher energy than the point-like graviton and\nit eventually becomes unstable. Our analyses show that the electric Melvin\nfield will always render the giant graviton unstable."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-commutative Gross-Neveu model at large N: The non-commutative O(N) Gross-Neveu model is solved in the large N limit in\ntwo and three space-time dimensions. The commutative version of the two\ndimensional model is a renormalizable quantum field theory, both in a coupling\nconstant expansion and an expansion in 1/N. The non-commutative version has a\nrenormalizable coupling constant expansion where ultraviolet divergences can be\nremoved by adjusting counterterms to each order. On the other hand, in a\nprevious work, we showed that the non-commutative theory is not renormalizable\nin the large N expansion. This is argued to be due to a combined effect of\nasymptotic freedom and the ultraviolet/infrared mixing that occurs in a\nnon-commutative field theory. In the present paper we will elaborate on this\nresult and extend it to study the large N limit of the three dimensional\nGross-Neveu model. We shall see that the large N limit of the three dimensional\ntheory is also trivial when the ultraviolet cutoff is removed.",
        "positive": "Conformal Dilaton-Higgs Gravity on Warped Spacetimes: Black Hole\n  Paradoxes revisited: We investigate on a Randall-Sundrum warped spacetime, a Kerr-like black hole\nin the conformal dilaton-Higgs $(\\omega,\\Phi)$ gravity model. We applied the\nantipodal boundary condition on the Klein surface using the\n$\\mathds{Z}_2$-symmetry in the \"large\" (bulk) extra dimension. It turns out\nthat the pseudo-Riemannian 5D manifold can be written as an effective 4D\nRiemannian brane spacetime, $\\mathds{R}^2_+\\times\\mathds{R}^1\\times S^1$, where\n$\\mathds{R}^2_+$ is conformally flat. The solution in valid on both manifolds.\nSo the solution can equally well described by an instanton solution. An\nadvantage is that antipodicity can be maintained without a \"cut-and-past\"\nmethod or to rely on quantum cloning, when treating the scattering description\nof the evaporation process of the Hawking radiation. We need only the\nwindingnumber as quantum number. Moreover, the equations are invariant under\ntime reversal. The problem of finding the matching condition of the\nnear-horizon approximation and the far-away Regge-Wheeler approximation, can\npossibly be solved by splitting the spacetime in a dilaton field times an\n\"un-physical\" spacetime, which is conformally flat. In the case of a constant\ngauge field, we find that the conform invariant mass term $\\sim \\Phi^2\\omega^2$\nin the Lagrangian follows directly from the superfluous dilaton equation by\nsuitable choice of the scale of the extra dimension.Finally, we bring forward\nthe relation between the embedded Klein surface in $\\mathds{R}^4$ and the\nquantum mechanical information paradox."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Gribov horizon and the one-loop color-Coulomb potential: We recalculate the color-Coulomb potential to one-loop order, under the\nassumption that the effect of the Gribov horizon is to make i) the transverse\ngluon propagator less singular; and ii) the color-Coulomb potential more\nsingular, than their perturbative behavior in the low-momentum limit. As a\nfirst guess, the effect of the Gribov horizon is mimicked by introducing a\ntransverse momentum-dependent gluon mass term, leading to a propagator of the\nGribov form, with the prescription that the mass parameter should be adjusted\nto the unique value where the infrared behavior of the Coulomb potential is\nenhanced. We find that this procedure leads to a Coulomb potential rising\nasymptotically as a linear term modified by a logarithm.",
        "positive": "Classical Soft Graviton Theorem due to Scalar Fields on 4-D Minkowski\n  Background: The classical soft graviton theorem expresses the behavior of low-frequency\ngravitational radiation. In this paper, simplistic proofs of the classical soft\ngraviton theorem for massless and massive scalar fields on $4$-D Minkowski\nbackground are presented without considering the correction to the behavior of\nscalar fields and gravitational stress-energy tensor due to the perturbation in\nthe background."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory in D=6 without anti-commuting variables: Supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory is formulated in six dimensions, without the\nuse of anti-commuting variables. This is achieved using a new Nicolai map, to\nthird order in the coupling constant. This is the second such map in six\ndimensions and highlights a potential ambiguity in the formalism.",
        "positive": "Dimers in a Bottle: We revisit D3-branes at toric CY$_3$ singularities with orientifolds and\ntheir description in terms of dimer models. We classify orientifold actions on\nthe dimer through smooth involutions of the torus. In particular, we describe\nnew orientifold projections related to maps on the dimer without fixed points,\nleading to Klein bottles. These new orientifolds lead to novel $\\mathcal{N}=1$\nSCFT's that resemble, in many aspects, non-orientifolded theories. For\ninstance, we recover the presence of fractional branes and some of them trigger\na cascading RG-flow \\`a la Klebanov-Strassler. The remaining involutions lead\nto non-supersymmetric setups, thus exhausting the possible orientifolds on\ndimers."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Reflected Entropy and Entanglement Wedge Cross Section with the First\n  Order Correction: We study the holographic duality between the reflected entropy and the\nentanglement wedge cross section with the first order correction. In the field\ntheory side, we consider the reflected entropy for $\\rho_{AB}^m$, where\n$\\rho_{AB}$ is the reduced density matrix for two intervals in the ground\nstate. The reflected entropy in the 2d holographic conformal field theories is\ncomputed perturbatively up to the first order in $m-1$ by using the\nsemiclassical conformal block. In the gravity side, we compute the entanglement\nwedge cross section in the backreacted geometry by cosmic branes with tension\n$T_m$ which are anchored at the AdS boundary. Comparing both results we find a\nperfect agreement, showing the duality works with the first order correction in\n$m-1$.",
        "positive": "Holographic Bjorken Flow at Large-D: We use gauge/gravity duality to study the dynamics of strongly coupled gauge\ntheories undergoing boost invariant expansion in an arbitrary number of\nspace-time dimensions (D). By keeping the scale of the late-time energy density\nfixed, we explore the infinite-D limit and study the first few corrections to\nthis expansion. In agreement with other studies, we find that the large-D\ndynamics are controlled by hydrodynamics and we use our computation to\nconstrain the leading large-D dependence of a certain combination of transport\ncoefficients up to 6-th order in gradients. Going beyond late time physics, we\ndiscuss how non-hydrodynamic modes appear in the large-D expansion in the form\nof a trans-series in D, identical to the non-perturbative contributions to the\ngradient expansion. We discuss the consequence of this trans-series in the\nnon-convergence of the large-D expansion."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Strong-Coupling Expansion and the Ultra-local Approximation in Field\n  Theory: We discuss the strong-coupling expansion in Euclidean field theory. In a\nformal representation for the Schwinger functional, we treat the off-diagonal\nterms of the Gaussian factor as a perturbation about the remaining terms of the\nfunctional integral. We first study the strong-coupling expansion in the \\phi^4\ntheory and also quantum electrodynamics. Assuming the ultra-local\napproximation, we examine the analytic structure of the zero-dimensional\ngenerating functions in the complex coupling constants plane. Second, we\ndiscuss the ultra-local generating functional in two idealized field theory\nmodels. To control the divergences of the strong-coupling perturbative\nexpansion two different steps are used. First, we introduce a lattice structure\nto give meaning to the ultra-local generating functional. Using an analytic\nregularization procedure we discuss briefly how it is possible to obtain a\nrenormalized Schwinger functional associated with these scalar models, going\nbeyond the ultra-local approximation. Using the strong-coupling perturbative\nexpansion we show how it is possible to compute the renormalized vacuum energy\nof a self-interacting scalar field, going beyond the one-loop level.",
        "positive": "Holography versus Correspondence principle: eternal\n  Schwarzschild-anti-de Sitter geometry: It is shown that the correspondence principle and the holographic principle\nare incompatible in the background of an eternal Schwarzschild-anti-de Sitter\ngeometry. The argument is based on the observation that algebraic structures of\nlocal quantum field and CFT operators are not equivalent. This implies, in\nparticular, the bulk CFT must be singular near the black-hole horizon. A CFT\nHilbert space representation is elaborated which may correspond to the AdS\nblack hole in the dual theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Semi-classical wormholes and time machines are unstable: We show that Lorentzian (traversable) wormholes and time machines with\nsemi-classical spacetimes are unstable due to their violation of the null\nenergy condition (NEC). Semi-classicality of the energy-momentum tensor in a\ngiven quantum state (required for semi-classicality of the spacetime) implies\nlocalization of its wavefunction in phase space, leading to evolution according\nto the classical equations of motion. Previous results related to violation of\nthe NEC then require that the configuration is unstable to small perturbations.",
        "positive": "Manipulating the internal structure of Bloch walls: In this work, we describe a procedure to manipulate the internal structure of\nlocalized configurations of the Bloch wall type. We consider a three-field\nmodel and develop a first order formalism based on the minimization of the\nenergy of the static fields. The results show that the third field may be\ndecoupled and used to change the geometric arrangement of the Bloch wall,\ngiving rise to a diversity of modifications of its internal structure. The\nprocedure captures effects that goes beyond the standard situation and can be\nused in several applications of practical interest, in particular, for the\nstudy of the magnetization of magnetic materials at the nanometric scale."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Notes on the ambient approach to boundary values of AdS gauge fields: The ambient space of dimension d+2 allows to formulate both fields on\nAdS(d+1) and conformal fields in d dimensions such that the symmetry algebra\no(d,2) is realized linearly. We elaborate an ambient approach to the boundary\nanalysis of gauge fields on anti de Sitter spacetime. More technically, we use\nits parent extension where fields are still defined on AdS or conformal space\nthrough arbitrary intrinsic coordinates while the ambient construction works in\nthe target space. In this way, a manifestly local and o(d,2)-covariant\nformulation of the boundary behaviour of massless symmetric tensor gauge fields\non AdS(d+1) spacetime is obtained. As a byproduct, we identify some useful\nambient formulation for Fronsdal fields, conformal currents and shadow fields\nalong with a concise generating-function formulation of the Fradkin-Tseytlin\nconformal fields somewhat similar to the one obtained by Metsaev. We also show\nhow this approach extends to more general gauge theories and discuss its\nrelation to the unfolded derivation of the boundary dynamics recently proposed\nby Vasiliev.",
        "positive": "Decelerating cosmologies are de-scramblers: Stationary observers in static spacetimes see falling objects spread\nexponentially fast, or fast-scramble, near event horizons. We generalize this\npicture to arbitrary cosmological horizons. We give examples of exponential\nfast-scrambling and power-law scrambling and \"de-scrambling\" as charges\npropagate freely near a horizon. In particular we show that when the universe\nis decelerating, information hidden behind the apparent horizon is de-scrambled\nas it re-enters the view of the observer. In contrast to the de Sitter case,\nthe power-law scaling suggests that the microscopic dynamics of the horizon are\nlocal."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Roadmap on Wilson loops in 3d Chern-Simons-matter theories: This is a compact review of recent results on supersymmetric Wilson loops in\nABJ(M) and related theories. It aims to be a quick introduction to the state of\nthe art in the field and a discussion of open problems. It is divided into\nshort chapters devoted to different questions and techniques. Some new results,\nperspectives and speculations are also presented. We hope this might serve as a\nbaseline for further studies of this topic.",
        "positive": "Completeness in supergravity constructions: We prove that the supergravity r- and c-maps preserve completeness. As a\nconsequence, any component H of a hypersurface {h=1} defined by a homogeneous\ncubic polynomial such that -d^2 h is a complete Riemannian metric on H defines\na complete projective special Kahler manifold and any complete projective\nspecial Kahler manifold defines a complete quaternionic Kahler manifold of\nnegative scalar curvature. We classify all complete quaternionic Kahler\nmanifolds of dimension less or equal to 12 which are obtained in this way and\ndescribe some complete examples in 16 dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Regular basis and R-matrices for the su(n)_k Knizhnik-Zamolodchikov\n  equation: Dynamical R-matrix relations are derived for the group-valued chiral vertex\noperators in the SU(n) WZNW model from the KZ equation for a general four-point\nfunction including two step operators. They fit the exchange relations for the\nU_q(sl_n) covariant quantum matrix derived previously by solving the dynamical\nYang-Baxter equation. As a byproduct, we extend the regular basis introduced\nearlier for SU(2) chiral fields to SU(n) step operators and display the\ncorresponding triangular matrix representation of the braid group.",
        "positive": "Quenches on thermofield double states and time reversal symmetry: In this paper we study a quench protocol on thermofield double states in the\npresence of time-reversal symmetry that is inspired by the work of Gao,\nJafferis and Wall.\n  The deformation is a product of hermitian operators on the left and right\nsystems that are identical to each other and that lasts for a small amount of\ntime.\n  We study the linear dependence on the quench to the properties of the\ndeformation under time reversal. If the quench is time symmetric, then the\nlinear response after the quench of all T-even operators vanishes. This\nincludes the response of the energy on the left system and all the\nthermodynamic expectation values (the time averaged expectation values of the\noperators). Also, we show under an assumption of non-degeneracy of the\nHamiltonian that the entanglement entropy between left and right is not\naffected to this order. We also study a variation of the quench where an\ninstantaneous deformation is given by an operator of fixed T-parity and it's\ntime derivative. It is shown that the sign of the response of the Hamiltonian\nis correlated with the T-parity of the operator. We can then choose the sign of\nthe amplitude of the quench to result in a reduction in the energy. This\nimplies a reduction of the entanglement entropy between both sides."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Relativistic Relative of the Magnon S-Matrix: We construct a relativistic scattering theory based on a q deformation and\nlarge string tension limit of the magnon S-matrix of the string world sheet\ntheory in AdS_5 x S^5. The S-matrix falls naturally into a previously studied\nclass associated to affine quantum groups, in this case for a twisted affine\nloop superalgebra associated to an outer automorphism of sl(2|2). This infinite\nalgebra includes the celebrated triply extended psl(2|2) x R^3 algebra, but\nonly two of the centres, the lightcone components of the 2-momentum, are\nnon-vanishing. The algebra has the interpretation as an extended supersymmetry\nalgebra including a non-trivial R-symmetry. The representation theory of this\nalgebra has some complications in that tensor products are reducible but\nindecomposable, however, we find that structure meshes perfectly with the\nbootstrap, or fusion, equations of S-matrix theory. The bootstrap equations can\nthen be used inductively to generate the complete S-matrix. Unlike the magnon\ntheory, the relativistic theory only has a finite set of states and we find\nthat - at least when the deformation parameter q is a root of unity - the\nspectrum matches precisely the soliton spectrum of the relativistic theory\nunderlying the Pohlmeyer reduction of the string world sheet theory known as\nthe semi-symmetric space sine-Gordon theory.",
        "positive": "Perturbed Conformal Field Theory on Fluctuating Sphere: General properties of perturbed conformal field theory interacting with\nquantized Liouville gravity are considered in the simplest case of spherical\ntopology. We discuss both short distance and large distance asymptotic of the\npartition function. The crossover region is studied numerically for a simple\nexample of the perturbed Yang-Lee model, complemented in general with arbitrary\nconformal ``spectator'' matter. The latter is not perturbed and remains\nconformal along the flow, thus giving a control over the Liouville central\ncharge. The partition function is evaluated numerically from combined analytic\nand perturbative information. In this paper we use the perturbative information\nup to third order. At special points the four-point integral can be evaluated\nand compared with our data. At the solvable point of minimal Liouville gravity\nwe are in remarkably good agreement with the matrix model predictions.\nPossibilities to compare the result with random lattice simulations is\ndiscussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Baxterization, dynamical systems, and the symmetries of integrability: We resolve the `baxterization' problem with the help of the automorphism\ngroup of the Yang-Baxter (resp. star-triangle, tetrahedron, \\dots) equations.\nThis infinite group of symmetries is realized as a non-linear (birational)\nCoxeter group acting on matrices, and exists as such, {\\em beyond the narrow\ncontext of strict integrability}. It yields among other things an unexpected\nelliptic parametrization of the non-integrable sixteen-vertex model. It\nprovides us with a class of discrete dynamical systems, and we address some\nrelated problems, such as characterizing the complexity of iterations.",
        "positive": "Multi--dimensional IWP Solutions for Heterotic String Theory: We present extremal stationary solutions that generalize the\nIsrael-Wilson-Perjes class for the d+3-dimensional low-energy limit of\nheterotic string theory with n >= d+1 U(1) gauge fields compactified on a\nd-torus. A rotating axisymmetric dyonic solution is obtained using the matrix\nErnst potential formulation and expressed in terms of a single d+1 X d+1-matrix\nharmonic function. By studying the asymptotic behaviour of the field\nconfigurations we define the physical charges of the field system. The\nextremality condition makes the charges to saturate the\nBogomol'nyi-Prasad-Sommerfield (BPS) bound. The gyromagnetic ratios of the\ncorresponding field configurations appear to have arbitrary values. A subclass\nof rotating dyonic black hole-type solutions arises when the NUT charges are\nset to zero. In the particular case d=1, n=6, which correspond to N=4, D=4\nsupergravity, the found dyon reproduces the supersymmetric dyonic solution\nconstructed by Bergshoeff et al."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetric Yang-Mills and Supergravity Amplitudes at One Loop: By applying the known expressions for SYM and SUGRA tree amplitudes, we write\ngenerating functions for the NNMHV box coefficients of SYM as well as the MHV,\nNMHV, and NNMHV box coefficients for SUGRA. The all-multiplicity generating\nfunctions utilize covariant, on-shell superspace whereby the contribution from\narbitrary external states in the supermultiplet can be extracted by Grassmann\noperators. In support of the relation between dual Wilson loops and SYM\nscattering amplitudes at weak coupling, the SYM amplitudes are presented in a\nmanifestly dual superconformal form. We introduce ordered box coefficients for\ncalculating SUGRA quadruple cuts and prove that ordered coefficients generate\nphysical cut amplitudes after summing over permutations of the external legs.\nThe ordered box coefficients are produced by sewing ordered subamplitudes,\npreviously used in applying on-shell recursion relations at tree level. We\ndescribe our verification of the results against the literature, and a formula\nfor extracting the contributions from external gluons or gravitons to NNMHV\nsuperamplitudes is presented.",
        "positive": "Elastic Kink-Meson Scattering: In classical field theory, radiation does not reflect off of reflectionless\nkinks. In quantum field theory, radiation quanta, called mesons, can be\nreflected. We provide a general analytical formula for the leading order\namplitude and probability for the elastic scattering of mesons off of\nreflectionless quantum kinks. In the case of the Sine-Gordon model we verify\nthat, due to a cancellation of six contributing processes, our general formula\nyields an amplitude of zero, as is required by integrability."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "W_{\\infty} Gauge Transformations and the Electromagnetic Interactions of\n  Electrons in the Lowest Landau Level: We construct a $W_{\\infty}$ gauge field theory of electrons in the lowest\nLandau level. For this purpose we introduce an external gauge potential $\\cal A\n$ such that its $W_{\\infty}$ gauge transformations cancel against the gauge\ntransformation of the electron field. We then show that the electromagnetic\ninteractions of electrons in the lowest Landau level are obtained through a\nnon-linear realization of $\\cal A$ in terms of the $U(1)$ gauge potential\n$A^{\\m}$. As applications we derive the effective Lagrangians for circular\ndroplets and for the $\\n =1$ quantum Hall system.",
        "positive": "Cosmological String Gas on Orbifolds: It has long been known that strings wound around incontractible cycles can\nplay a vital role in cosmology. In particular, in a spacetime with toroidal\nspatial hypersurfaces, the dynamics of the winding modes may help yield three\nlarge spatial dimensions. However, toroidal compactifications are\nphenomenologically unrealistic. In this paper we therefore take a first step\ntoward extending these cosmological considerations to $D$-dimensional toroidal\norbifolds. We use numerical simulation to study the timescales over which\n\"pseudo-wound\" strings unwind on these orbifolds with trivial fundamental\ngroup. We show that pseudo-wound strings can persist for many ``Hubble times''\nin some of these spaces, suggesting that they may affect the dynamics in the\nsame way as genuinely wound strings. We also outline some possible extensions\nthat include higher-dimensional wrapped branes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Does the radioactive decay obey the Poisson statistics?: It is shown that a nontrivial quantum structure of our space at macroscopic\nscales, which may exist as a relic of quantum gravity processes in the early\nuniverse, gives rise to a new phenomenon: spontaneous origin of an interference\npicture in every physical process. This explains why statistical distributions\nin radioactivity measurements may be different from the Poisson distribution.",
        "positive": "Nahm Equations and Boundary Conditions: We derive certain boundary conditions in Nahm's equations by considering a\nsystem of N parallel D1-branes perpendicular to a D3-brane in type IIB string\ntheory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Semiclassical black holes expose forbidden charges and censor divergent\n  densities: Classically, the black hole (BH) horizon is a rigid surface of infinite\nredshift; whereas the uncertainty principle dictates that the semiclassical\n(would-be) horizon cannot be fixed in space nor can it exhibit any divergences.\nWe propose that this distinction underlies the BH information-loss paradox, the\napparent absence of BH hair, the so-called trans-Planckian problem and the\nrecent \"firewall\" controversy. We argue that the correct prescription is to\nfirst integrate out the fluctuations of the background geometry and only then\nevaluate matter observables. The basic idea is illustrated using a system of\ntwo strongly coupled harmonic oscillators, with the heavier oscillator\nrepresenting the background. We then apply our proposal to matter fields near a\nBH horizon, initially treating the matter fields as classical and the\nbackground as semiclassical. In this case, the average value of the associated\ncurrent does not vanish; so that it is possible, in principle, to measure the\nglobal charge of the BH. Then the matter is, in addition to the background,\ntreated quantum mechanically. We show that the average energy density of matter\nas seen by an asymptotic observer is finite and proportional to the BH entropy,\nrather than divergent. We discuss the implications of our results for the\nvarious controversial issues concerning BH physics.",
        "positive": "On microscopic structure of the QCD vacuum: We propose a new class of regular stationary axially symmetric solutions in a\npure QCD which correspond to monopole-antimonopole pairs at macroscopic scale.\nThe solutions represent vacuum field configurations which are locally stable\nagainst quantum gluon fluctuations in any small space-time vicinity. This\nimplies that the monopole-antimonopole pair can serve as a structural element\nin microscopic description of QCD vacuum formation through the monopole pair\ncondensation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quasilocal energy for three-dimensional massive gravity solutions with\n  chiral deformations of AdS boundary conditions: We consider critical gravity in three dimensions; that is, the New Massive\nGravity theory formulated about Anti-de Sitter (AdS) space with the specific\nvalue of the graviton mass for which it results dual to a two-dimensional\nconformal field theory with vanishing central charge. As it happens with Kerr\nblack holes in four-dimensional critical gravity, in three-dimensional critical\ngravity the Banados-Teitelboim-Zanelli black holes have vanishing mass and\nvanishing angular momentum. However, provided suitable asymptotic conditions\nare chosen, the theory may also admit solutions carrying non-vanishing charges.\nHere, we give simple examples of exact solutions that exhibit falling-off\nconditions that are even weaker than those of the so-called Log-gravity. For\nsuch solutions, we define the quasilocal stress-tensor and use it to compute\nconserved charges. Despite the drastic deformation of AdS3 asymptotic, these\nsolutions have finite mass and angular momentum.",
        "positive": "A Model for High Energy Scattering in Quantum Gravity: We present a model for high energy two body scattering in a quantum theory of\ngravity. The model is applicable for center of mass energies higher than the\nrelevant Planck scale. At impact parameters smaller than the Schwarzchild\nradius appropriate to the center of mass energy and total charge of the initial\nstate, the cross section is dominated by an inelastic process in which a single\nlarge black hole is formed. The black hole then decays by Hawking radiation.\nThe elastic cross section is highly suppressed at these impact parameters\nbecause of the small phase space for thermal decay into a high energy two body\nstate. For very large impact parameter the amplitude is dominated by\neikonalized single graviton exchange. At intermediate impact parameters the\nscattering is more complicated, but since the Schwarzchild radius grows with\nenergy, we speculate that a more sophisticated eikonal calculation which uses\nthe nonlinear classical solutions of the field equations may provide a good\napproximation at all larger impact parameters. We discuss the extent to which\nblack hole production will be observable in theories with low scale quantum\ngravity and large dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Worldvolume origin of Higher M Theories: Exceptional Periodicity (EP) has taught us that there are families of M\nTheory-like superalgebras in spacetime dimensions $11,19,27,\\dots$ up to\ninfinity. In this paper, we make the conjecture that M Theory at each level of\nEP can be realized as a brane worldvolume theory of an M Theory superalgebra at\nsome higher level of EP.",
        "positive": "Lorentz-covariant sampling theory for fields: Sampling theory is a discipline in communications engineering involved with\nthe exact reconstruction of continuous signals from discrete sets of sample\npoints. From a physics perspective, this is interesting in relation to the\nquestion of whether spacetime is continuous or discrete at the Planck scale,\nsince in sampling theory we have functions which can be viewed as equivalently\nresiding on a continuous or discrete space. Further, it is possible to\nformulate analogues of sampling which yield discreteness without disturbing\nunderlying spacetime symmetries. In particular, there is a proposal for how\nthis can be adapted for Minkowski spacetime. Here we will provide a detailed\nexamination of the extension of sampling theory to this context. We will also\ndiscuss generally how spacetime symmetries manifest themselves in sampling\ntheory, which at the surface seems in conflict with the fact that the\ndiscreteness of the sampling is not manifestly covariant. Specifically, we will\nshow how the symmetry of a function space with a sampling property is\nequivalent to the existence of a family of possible sampling lattices related\nby the symmetry transformations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Recent Attempts in the Analysis of Black Hole Radiation: In this thesis, we first present a brief review of black hole radiation which\nis commonly called Hawking radiation. The existence of Hawking radiation by\nitself is well established by now because the same result is derived by several\ndifferent methods. On the other hand, there remain several aspects of the\neffect which have yet to be clarified. We clarify some arguments in previous\nworks on the subject and then attempt to present the more satisfactory\nderivations of Hawking radiation. To be specific, we examine the analyses in\nthe two recent derivations of Hawking radiation which are based on anomalies\nand tunneling; both of these derivations were initiated by Wilczek and his\ncollaborators. We then present a simple derivation based on anomalies by\nemphasizing a systematic use of covariant currents and covariant anomalies\ncombined with boundary conditions which have clear physical meaning. We also\nextend a variant of the tunneling method proposed by Banerjee and Majhi to a\nKerr-Newman black hole by using the technique of the dimensional reduction near\nthe horizon. We directly derive the black body spectrum for a Kerr-Newman black\nhole on the basis of the tunneling mechanism.We directly derive the black body\nspectrum for a Kerr-Newman black hole on the basis of the tunneling mechanism.",
        "positive": "Counting Photons in Static Electric and Magnetic Fields: We describe the electromagnetic field by the massless limit of a massive\nvector field in the presence of a Coulomb gauge fixing term. The gauge fixing\nterm ensures that, in the massless limit, the longitudinal mode is removed from\nthe spectrum and only the two transverse modes survive. The system, coupled to\na classical conserved current, is quantized in the canonical formalism. The\nclassical field configurations due to time-independent electric charges and\ncurrents are represented by coherent states of longitudinal and transverse\nphotons, respectively. The occupation number in these states is finite. In\nparticular, the number of longitudinal photons bound by an electric charge q is\ngiven by N=q^2/(16\\pi\\hbar)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Static multi-soliton solutions in the affine su(N+1) Toda models: We study some static multi-soliton configurations in the su(N + 1) Toda\nmodels. Such configurations exist for N > 1. We construct explicitly a\nmulti-soliton solution for any N and study conditions for having such\nsolutions. The number of static solitons is limited by the rank of the su(N +\n1) Lie algebra. We give some examples of non-static multi-soliton solutions\nwith static components.",
        "positive": "Fermionic Path Integrals and Two-Dimensional Ising Model with Quenched\n  Site Disorder: The notion of the integral over the anticommuting Grassmann variables is\napplied to analyze the fermionic structure of the 2D Ising model with quenched\nsite dilution. In the $N$-replica scheme, the model is explicitly reformulated\nas a theory of interacting fermions on a lattice. For weak dilution, the\ncontinuum-limit approximation implies the log-log singularity in the specific\nheat near $T_c$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-perpetual Eternal Inflation and the Emergent de Sitter Swampland\n  Conjecture: We introduce a novel correlation, $n_s$ - $\\Delta N$, connecting CMB\nparameters to the required total e-folds for eternal inflation. This\ncorrelation provides a robust tool for evaluating eternal (string) inflation\nmodels using CMB data and explores the impact of quantum fluctuations on\nnon-attractor phases. By generalizing eternal inflation criteria, our\nparameterization simplifies rigorous testing of predictions and reveals a link\nbetween refined de Sitter conjecture parameters and the eternal nature of the\ncosmic landscape. This points to a general tendency towards eternal behavior in\nlow-energy effective field theories within the landscape, opening the\npossibility for our cosmic stage to potentially embrace a 'multiverse'\nscenario.",
        "positive": "Ad$S_5$ with two boundaries and holography of $\\cal{N}=$4 SYM theory: According to the AdS/CFT correspondence, the ${\\cal N}=4$ supersymmetric\nYang-Mills (SYM) theory is studied through its gravity dual whose configuration\nhas two boundaries at the opposite sides of the fifth coordinate. At these\nboundaries, in general, the four dimensional (4D) metrics are different, then\nwe expect different properties for the theory living in two boundaries. It is\nstudied how these two different properties of the theory are obtained from a\ncommon 5D bulk manifold in terms of the holographic method. We could show in\nour case that the two theories on the different boundaries are described by the\nAd$S_5$, which is separated into two regions by a domain wall. This domain wall\nis given by a special point of the fifth coordinate. Some issues of the\nentanglement entropy related to this bulk configuration are also discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Twisted C-brackets: We consider the double field formulation of the closed bosonic string theory,\nand calculate the Poisson bracket algebra of the symmetry generators governing\nboth general coordinate and local gauge transformations. Parameters of both of\nthese symmetries depend on a double coordinate, defined as a direct sum of the\ninitial and T-dual coordinate. When no antisymmetric field is present, the\n$C$-bracket appears as the Lie bracket generalization in a double theory. With\nthe introduction of the Kalb-Ramond field, the $B$-twisted $C$-bracket appears,\nwhile with the introduction of the non-commutativity parameter, the\n$\\theta$-twisted $C$-bracket appears. We present the derivation of these\nbrackets and comment on their relations to analogous twisted Courant brackets\nand T-duality.",
        "positive": "Building the Full Fermion-Photon Vertex of QED by Imposing\n  Multiplicative Renormalizability of the Schwinger-Dyson Equations for the\n  Fermion and Photon Propagators: In principle, calculation of a full Green's function in any field theory\nrequires knowledge of the infinite set of multi-point Green's functions, unless\none can find some way of truncating the corresponding Schwinger-Dyson\nequations. For the fermion and boson propagators in QED this requires an {\\it\nansatz} for the full three point vertex. Here we illustrate how the properties\nof gauge invariance, gauge covariance and multiplicative renormalizability\nimpose severe constraints on this fermion-boson interaction, allowing a\nconsistent truncation of the propagator equations. We demonstrate how these\nconditions imply that the 3-point vertex {\\bf in the propagator equations} is\nlargely determined by the behaviour of the fermion propagator itself and not by\nknowledge of the many higher point functions. We give an explicit form for the\nfermion-photon vertex, which in the fermion and photon propagator fulfills\nthese constraints to all orders in leading logarithms for massless QED, and\naccords with the weak coupling limit in perturbation theory at ${\\cal\nO}(\\alpha)$. This provides the first attempt to deduce non-perturbative Feynman\nrules for strong physics calculations of propagators in massless QED that\nensures a more consistent truncation of the 2-point Schwinger-Dyson equations.\nThe generalisation to next-to-leading order and masses will be described in a\nlonger publication."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chiral anomaly as a composite operator in the gradient flow exact\n  renormalization group formalism: The gradient flow exact renormalization group (GFERG) is an idea that\nincorporates gauge invariant gradient flows into the formalism of the exact\nrenormalization group (ERG). GFERG introduces a Wilson action with a cutoff\nwhile keeping vector gauge invariance manifestly. The details of the formalism\nare still to be worked out. In this paper, we apply GFERG to construct the\nWilson action of massless Dirac fermions under the background chiral gauge\nfields. By formulating the chiral anomaly as a ``composite operator,'' we make\nthe scale invariance of the anomaly manifest. We argue that the same result\nextends to QCD.",
        "positive": "Homogeneous M2 duals: Motivated by the search for new gravity duals to M2 branes with $N>4$\nsupersymmetry --- equivalently, M-theory backgrounds with Killing superalgebra\n$\\mathfrak{osp}(N|4)$ for $N>4$ --- we classify homogeneous M-theory\nbackgrounds with symmetry Lie algebra $\\mathfrak{so}(n) \\oplus\n\\mathfrak{so}(3,2)$ for $n=5,6,7$. We find that there are no new backgrounds\nwith $n=6,7$ but we do find a number of new (to us) backgrounds with $n=5$. All\nbackgrounds are metrically products of the form $\\operatorname{AdS}_4 \\times\nP^7$, with $P$ riemannian and homogeneous under the action of\n$\\operatorname{SO}(5)$, or $S^4 \\times Q^7$ with $Q$ lorentzian and homogeneous\nunder the action of $\\operatorname{SO}(3,2)$. At least one of the new\nbackgrounds is supersymmetric (albeit with only $N=2$) and we show that it can\nbe constructed from a supersymmetric Freund--Rubin background via a Wick\nrotation. Two of the new backgrounds have only been approximated numerically.\n(The second version of this paper includes an appendix by Alexander~S.~Haupt,\nclosing a gap in our original analysis.)"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Note on the Neutrino Theory of Light: In this small note we ask several questions which are relevant to the\nconstruction of the self-consistent neutrino theory of light. The previous\nconfusions in such attempts are explained in the more detailed publication.",
        "positive": "Differential Structure on kappa-Minkowski Spacetime Realized as Module\n  of Twisted Weyl Algebra: The differential structure on the kappa-Minkowski spacetime from Jordanian\ntwist of Weyl algebra is constructed, and it is shown to be closed in\n4-dimensions in contrast to the conventional formulation. Based on this\ndifferential structure, we have formulated a scalar field theory in this\nkappa-Minkowski spacetime."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "PiTP Lectures on Complexity and Black Holes: This is the first of three PiTP lectures on complexity and its role in black\nhole physics.",
        "positive": "Snyder space revisited: We examine basis functions on momentum space for the three dimensional\nEuclidean Snyder algebra. We argue that the momentum space is isomorphic to the\nSO(3) group manifold, and that the basis functions span either one of two\nHilbert spaces. This implies the existence of two distinct lattice structures\nof space, on which continuous rotations and translations are unitarily\nimplementable."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "SUSY Breaking in Local String/F-Theory Models: We investigate bulk moduli stabilisation and supersymmetry breaking in local\nstring/F-theory models where the Standard Model is supported on a del Pezzo\nsurface or singularity. Computing the gravity mediated soft terms on the\nStandard Model brane induced by bulk supersymmetry breaking in the LARGE volume\nscenario, we explicitly find suppressions by M_s/M_P ~ V^{-1/2} compared to\nM_{3/2}. This gives rise to several phenomenological scenarios, depending on\nthe strength of perturbative corrections to the effective action and the source\nof de Sitter lifting, in which the soft terms are suppressed by at least\nM_P/V^{3/2} and may be as small as M_P/V^2. Since the gravitino mass is of\norder M_{3/2} ~ M_P/V, for TeV soft terms all these scenarios give a very heavy\ngravitino (M_{3/2} >= 10^8 GeV) and generically the lightest moduli field is\nalso heavy enough (m >= 10 TeV) to avoid the cosmological moduli problem. For\nTeV soft terms, these scenarios predict a minimal value of the volume to be V ~\n10^{6-7} in string units, which would give a unification scale of order M_{GUT}\n~ M_s V^{1/6} ~ 10^{16} GeV. The strong suppression of gravity mediated soft\nterms could also possibly allow a scenario of dominant gauge mediation in the\nvisible sector but with a very heavy gravitino M_{3/2} > 1 TeV.",
        "positive": "Classical Hair in String Theory I: General Formulation: We discuss why classical hair is desirable for the description of black\nholes, and show that it arises generically in a wide class of field theories\ninvolving extra dimensions. We develop the canonical formalism for theories\nwith the matter content that arises in string theory. General covariance and\nduality are used to determine the form of surface terms. We derive an effective\ntheory (reduced Hamiltonian) for the hair in terms of horizon variables. %\naccessible to an observer at infinity. Solution of the constraints expresses\nthese variables in terms of hair accessible to an observer at infinity. We\nexhibit some general properties of the resulting theory, including a formal\nidentification of the temperature and entropy. The Cveti\\v{c}-Youm dyon is\ndescribed in some detail, as an important example."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A relation between massive and massless string tree amplitudes: We uncover a relation between the scattering amplitudes of massive strings\nand the $\\alpha'$ expansion of the massless string amplitude at tree level.\nMore precisely, the n-point tree amplitude of n-1 massless and one massive\nstate is written as a linear combination of n+1 massless string amplitudes at\nthe $\\alpha'^2$ order.",
        "positive": "AdS-Taub-NUT spacetimes and exact black bounces with scalar hair: We present a new family of exact four-dimensional Taub-NUT spacetimes in\nEinstein-$\\Lambda$ theory supplemented with a conformally coupled scalar field\nexhibiting a power-counting super-renormalizable potential. The construction\nproceeds as follows: A solution of a conformally coupled theory with a\nconformal potential, henceforth the seed $(g_{\\mu\\nu},\\phi)$, is transformed by\nthe action of a specific change of frame in addition with a simultaneous shift\nof the seed scalar. The new configuration, $(\\bar{g}_{\\mu\\nu},\\bar{\\phi})$,\nsolves the field equations of a conformally coupled theory with the\naforementioned super-renormalizable potential. The solution spectrum of the\nseed is notoriously enhanced. We highlight the existence of two types of exact\nblack bounces given by de Sitter and anti-de Sitter geometries that transit\nacross three different configurations each. The de Sitter geometries transit\nfrom a regular black hole with event and cosmological horizons to a bouncing\ncosmology connecting two de Sitter Universes with different values of the\nasymptotic cosmological constant. An intermediate phase represented by a de\nSitter wormhole or by a bouncing cosmology that connects two de Sitter\nUniverses is shown, this under the presence of a cosmological horizon. On the\nother hand, the anti-de Sitter geometries transit from a regular black hole\nwith inner and event horizons to a wormhole that connects two asymptotic\nboundaries with different constant curvatures. The intermediate phase is given\nby an anti-de Sitter regular black hole with a single event horizon that\nappears in two different settings. As a regular anti-de Sitter black hole\ninside of an anti-de Sitter wormhole or as an anti-de Sitter regular black hole\nwith an internal cosmological bounce. These geometries are smoothly connected\nby the mass parameter only. Other black holes, bouncing cosmologies and\nwormholes are also found."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Note on the Near Horizon Charges for the Five Dimensional Myers-Perry\n  Black Holes: Inspired by the recent work on the spacetime structure near generic black\nhole horizons [1], the near horizon charges for an explicit example in higher\ndimensions than four (d > 4), namely for the five dimensional Myers-Perry\nmetric with two equal rotation parameter are found in Hamiltonian formalism.\nFinding the supertranslation and the one-form superrotation, it is proved that\nthe Myers-Perry black hole with two equal rotation parameter a = b does not\nsatisfy the gauge flatness condition due to the non-vanishing associated field\nstrength in five dimensional spacetime. It is shown that as the near horizon\nlimit of such a metric satisfies a specific set of boundary conditions, the\nnear horizon algebra can be represented as an infinitely many copies of\nHeisenberg algebras as a generalisation to the Kerr case in four dimensions.",
        "positive": "Dielectric-branes in Non-supersymmetric SO(3)-invariant Perturbation of\n  Three-dimensional N=8 Yang-Mills Theory: We study non-supersymmetric SO(3)-invariant deformations of d=3, N=8 super\nYang-Mills theory and their type IIA string theory dual. By adding both gaugino\nmass and scalar mass, dielectric D4-brane potential coincides with D5-brane\npotential in type IIB theory. We find the region of parameter space where the\nnon-supersymmetric vacuum is described by stable dielectric NS5-branes. By\nconsidering the generalized action for NS5-branes in the presence of D4-flux,\nwe also analyze the properties of dielectric NS5-branes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "BPS D3-branes on smooth ALE manifolds: In this talk I review the recent construction of a new family of classical\nBPS solutions of type IIB supergravity describing 3-branes transverse to a\n6-dimensional space with topology $\\mathbb{R}^{2}\\times$ALE. They are\ncharacterized by a non-trivial flux of the supergravity 2-forms through the\nhomology 2-cycles of a generic smooth ALE manifold. These solutions have two\nKilling spinors and thus preserve $\\mathcal{N}=2$ supersymmetry. They are\nexpressed in terms of a quasi harmonic function $H$ (the ``warp factor''),\nwhose properties was studied in detail in the case of the simplest ALE, namely\nthe Eguchi-Hanson manifold. The equation for $H$ was identified as an instance\nof the confluent Heun equation.",
        "positive": "Where in the String Landscape is Quintessence: We argue that quintessence may reside in certain corners of the string\nlandscape. It arises as a linear combination of internal space components of\nhigher rank forms, which are axion-like at low energies, and may mix with\n4-forms after compactification of the Chern-Simons terms to 4D due to internal\nspace fluxes. The mixing induces an effective mass term, with an action which\n{\\it preserves} the axion shift symmetry, breaking it spontaneously after the\nbackground selection. With several axions, several 4-forms, and a low string\nscale, as in one of the setups already invoked for dynamically explaining a\ntiny residual vacuum energy in string theory, the 4D mass matrix generated by\nrandom fluxes may have ultralight eigenmodes over the landscape, which are\nquintessence. We illustrate how this works in simplest cases, and outline how\nto get the lightest mass to be comparable to the Hubble scale now, $H_0 \\sim\n10^{-33} {\\rm eV}$. The shift symmetry protects the smallest mass from\nperturbative corrections in field theory. Further, if the ultralight eigenmode\ndoes not couple directly to any sector strongly coupled at a high scale, the\nnon-perturbative field theory corrections to its potential will also be\nsuppressed. Finally, if the compactification length is larger than the string\nlength by more than an order of magnitude, the gravitational corrections may\nremain small too, even when the field value approaches $M_{Pl}$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Reggeization of N=8 Supergravity and N=4 Yang--Mills Theory: We show that the gluon of N=4 Yang--Mills theory lies on a Regge trajectory,\nwhich then implies that the graviton of N=8 supergravity also lies on a Regge\ntrajectory. This is consistent with the conjecture that N=8 supergravity is\nultraviolet finite in perturbation theory.",
        "positive": "Non-linear WKB Analysis of the String Equation: We apply non-linear WKB analysis to the study of the string equation. Even\nthough the solutions obtained with this method are not exact, they approximate\nextremely well the true solutions, as we explicitly show using numerical\nsimulations. ``Physical'' solutions are seen to be separatrices corresponding\nto degenerate Riemann surfaces. We obtain an analytic approximation in\nexcellent agreement with the numerical solution found by Parisi et al. for the\n$k=3$ case."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Little IIB Matrix Model: We study the zero-dimensional reduced model of D=6 pure super Yang-Mills\ntheory and argue that the large N limit describes the (2,0) Little String\nTheory. The one-loop effective action shows that the force exerted between two\ndiagonal blocks of matrices behaves as 1/r^4, implying a six-dimensional\nspacetime. We also observe that it is due to non-gravitational interactions. We\nconstruct wave functions and vertex operators which realize the D=6, (2,0)\ntensor representation. We also comment on other \"little\" analogues of the IIB\nmatrix model and Matrix Theory with less supercharges.",
        "positive": "Mass formulae and staticity condition for dark matter charged black\n  holes: The Arnowitt-Deser-Misner formalism is used to derive variations of mass,\nangular momentum and canonical energy for Einstein-Maxwell {\\it dark matter}\ngravity in which the auxiliary gauge field coupled via kinetic mixing term to\nthe ordinary Maxwell one, which mimics properties of {\\it hidden sector}.\nInspection of the initial data for the manifold with an interior boundary,\nhaving topology of $S^2$, enables us to find the generalised first law of black\nhole thermodynamics in the aforementioned theory. It has been revealed that the\nstationary black hole solution being subject to the condition of encompassing a\nbifurcate Killing horizon with a bifurcation sphere, which is non-rotating,\nmust be static and has vanishing {\\it magnetic} Maxwell and {\\it dark matter}\nsector fields, on static slices of the spacetime under consideration."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fractons in curved space: We consistently couple simple continuum field theories with fracton\nexcitations to curved spacetime backgrounds. We consider homogeneous and\nisotropic fracton field theories, with a conserved $U(1)$ charge and dipole\nmoment. Coupling to background fields allows us to consistently define a\nstress-energy tensor for these theories and obtain the respective Ward\nidentities. Along the way, we find evidence for a mixed gauge-gravitational\nanomaly in the symmetric tensor gauge theory which naturally couples to\nconserved dipoles. Our results generalise to systems with arbitrarily higher\nconserved moments, in particular, a conserved quadrupole moment.",
        "positive": "Further results on Functional Determinants of Laplacians in Simplicial\n  Complexes: We investigate the functional determinant of the laplacian on piece-wise flat\ntwo-dimensional surfaces, with conical singularities in the interior and/or\ncorners on the boundary. Our results extend earlier investigations of the\ndeterminants on smooth surfaces with smooth boundaries. The differences to the\nsmooth case are: a) different ``interaction energies'' between pairs of conical\nsingularities than one would expect from a naive extrapolation of the results\nfor a smooth surface; and b) ``self-energies'' of the singularities."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Tropical Amplitudes For Colored Lagrangians: Recently a new formulation for scattering amplitudes in Tr($\\Phi^3$) theory\nhas been given based on simple combinatorial ideas in the space of kinematic\ndata. This allows all-loop integrated amplitudes to be expressed as ''curve\nintegrals'' defined using tropical building blocks - the ''headlight\nfunctions''. This paper shows how the formulation extends to the amplitudes of\nmore general Lagrangians. We will present a number of different ways of\nintroducing tropical ''numerator functions'' that allow us to describe general\nLagrangian interactions. The simplest family of these ''tropical numerators''\ncomputes the amplitudes of interesting Lagrangians with infinitely many\ninteractions. We also describe methods for tropically formulating the\namplitudes for general Lagrangians. One uses a variant of ''Wick contraction''\nto glue together numerator factors for general interaction vertices. Another\nuses a natural characterization of polygons on surfaces to give a novel\ncombinatorial description of all possible diagrams associated with arbitrary\nvalence interactions.",
        "positive": "N=2 Moduli Spaces and N=1 Dualities for SO(n_c) and USp(2n_c) SuperQCD: We determine the exact global structure of the moduli space of $N{=}2$\nsupersymmetric $SO(n)$ and $\\USp(2n)$ gauge theories with matter\nhypermultiplets in the fundamental representations, using the\nnon-renormalization theorem for the Higgs branches and the exact solutions for\nthe Coulomb branches. By adding an $(N{=}2)$--breaking mass term for the\nadjoint chiral field and varying the mass, the $N{=}2$ theories can be made to\nflow to either an ``electric'' $N{=}1$ supersymmetric QCD or its $N{=}1$ dual\n``magnetic'' version. We thus obtain a derivation of the $N{=}1$ dualities of\nSeiberg."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spatially Modulated Vacua in a Lorentz-invariant Scalar Field Theory: Spatial modulation has been studied for a long time in condensed matter,\nnuclear matter and quark matter, so far in non-relativistic field theories. In\nthis paper, spatially modulated vacua at zero temperature and zero density are\nstudied in relativistic field theories. We first propose an adaptation of the\nNambu-Goldstone theorem to higher derivative theories under the assumption of\nthe absence of ghosts: when a global symmetry is spontaneously broken due to\nvacuum expectation values of space-time derivatives of fields, a\nNambu-Goldstone (NG) boson appears without a canonical kinetic (quadratic\nderivative) term with a quartic derivative term in the modulated direction\nwhile a Higgs boson appears with a canonical kinetic term. We demonstrate this\nin a simple model allowing (meta)stable modulated vacuum of a phase modulation\n(Fulde-Ferrell state), where an NG mode associated with spontaneously broken\ntranslational and $U(1)$ symmetries appears.",
        "positive": "On Hawking Radiation of 3D Rotating Hairy Black Holes: We study the Hawking radiation of 3D rotating hairy black holes. More\nconcretely, we compute the transition probability of a bosonic and fermionic\nparticle in such backgrounds. Thew, we show that the transition probability is\nindependent of the nature of the particle. It is observed that the charge of\nthe scalar hair B and the rotation parameter a control such a probability."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-Perturbative Mass Renormalization in Quenched QED from the Worldline\n  Variational Approach: Following Feynman's successful treatment of the polaron problem we apply the\nsame variational principle to quenched QED in the worldline formulation. New\nfeatures arise from the description of fermions by Grassmann trajectories, the\nsupersymmetry between bosonic and fermionic variables and the much more\nsingular structure of a renormalizable gauge theory like QED in 3+1 dimensions.\nWe take as trial action a general retarded quadratic action both for the\nbosonic and fermionic degrees of freedom and derive the variational equations\nfor the corresponding retardation functions. We find a simple analytic,\nnon-perturbative, solution for the anomalous mass dimension gamma_m(alpha) in\nthe MS scheme. For small couplings we compare our result with recent four-loop\nperturbative calculations while at large couplings we find that gamma_m(alpha)\nbecomes proportional to (alpha)^(1/2). The anomalous mass dimension shows no\nobvious sign of the chiral symmetry breaking observed in calculations based on\nthe use of Dyson-Schwinger equations, however we find that a perturbative\nexpansion of gamma_m(alpha) diverges for alpha > 0.7934. Finally, we\ninvestigate the behaviour of gamma_m(alpha) at large orders in perturbation\ntheory.",
        "positive": "On the Physical Propagators of QED: The true variables in QED are the transverse photon components and Dirac's\nphysical electron, constructed out of the fermionic field and the longitudinal\ncomponents of the photon. We calculate the propagators in terms of these\nvariables to one loop and demonstrate their gauge invariance. The physical\nelectron propagator is shown not to suffer from infrared divergences in any\ngauge. In general, all physical Green's functions are gauge invariant and\ninfrared-finite."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gravitational waves from spectator Gauge-flation: We investigate the viability of inflation with a spectator sector comprised\nof non-Abelian gauge fields coupled through a higher order operator. We dub\nthis model \"spectator Gauge-flation\". We study the predictions for the\namplitude and tensor tilt of chiral gravitational waves and conclude that a\nslightly red-tilted tensor power spectrum is preferred $n_T=-{\\cal O}(0.01)$.\nAs with related models, the enhancement of chiral gravitational waves with\nrespect to the single-field vacuum gravitational wave background is controlled\nby the parameter $\\gamma=g^2 Q^2/H^2$, where $g$ is the gauge coupling, $H$ is\nthe Hubble scale and $Q$ is the VEV of the $SU(2)$ sector. The requirement that\nthe $SU(2)$ is a spectator sector leads to a maximum allowed value for\n$\\gamma$, thereby constraining the possible amplification. In order to provide\nconcrete predictions, we use an $\\alpha$-attractor T-model potential for the\ninflaton sector. Potential observation of chiral gravitational waves with\nsignificantly tilted tensor spectra would then indicate the presence of\nadditional couplings of the gauge fields to axions, like in the spectator\naxion-SU(2) model, or additional gauge field operators.",
        "positive": "Spectral flow as a map between N=(2,0)-models: The space of $(2,0)$ models is of particular interest among all\nheterotic-string models because it includes the models with the minimal\n$SO(10)$ unification structure, which is well motivated by the Standard Model\nof particle physics data. The fermionic $\\mathbb{Z}_2\\times \\mathbb{Z}_2$\nheterotic-string models revealed the existence of a new symmetry in the space\nof string configurations under the exchange of spinors and vectors of the\n$SO(10)$ GUT group, dubbed spinor-vector duality. Such symmetries are important\nfor the understanding of the landscape of string vacua and ultimately for the\npossible operation of a dynamical vacuum selection mechanism in string theory.\nIn this paper we generalize this idea to arbitrary internal rational Conformal\nField Theories (RCFTs). We explain how the spectral flow operator normally\nacting within a general $(2,2)$ theory can be used as a map between $(2,0)$\nmodels. We describe the details, give an example and propose more simple\ncurrents that can be used in a similar way."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Kaluza-Klein from Colour-Kinematics Duality for Massive Fields: We consider a broad class of massive four dimensional effective theories\ndescribing an infinite tower of charged massive spin 1 states, interacting with\nmassless spin 1 and spin 0. The spectrum is chosen to be the same as that\nappears in the Kaluza-Klein theory reduction of 5d Yang-Mills to ensure the\nabsence of any spurious poles in a possible double copy formulation. The\neffective theories are characterized by multiple different couplings between\ndifferent fields which are unconstrained by symmetries and low energy criteria.\nRemarkably, by demanding that the scattering amplitudes preserve\ncolour-kinematics duality for different scattering processes, required for the\nexistence of a massive double copy, we find that our 4d Lagrangian is fixed\nuniquely to the Kaluza-Klein compactification of 5d Yang-Mills theory together\nwith its known double copy consistent higher derivative operators.",
        "positive": "Infra-red dynamics of D1-branes at the conifold: We study the infra-red dynamics of D1-branes at the conifold. We show using\nmethods developed to study the infra-red dynamics of (4,4) theories, the\ninfra-red degrees of freedom of the (2,2) theory of a single D1-brane at the\nconifold is that of a linear dilaton with background charge of $\\sqrt{2}$ and a\ncompact scalar. The gauge theory of $N$ D1-branes at the conifold is used to\nformulate the matrix string in the conifold background."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gravity theory on Poisson manifold with $R$-flux: A novel gravity theory based on Poisson Generalized Geometry is investigated.\nA gravity theory on a Poisson manifold equipped with a Riemannian metric is\nconstructed from a contravariant version of the Levi-Civita connection, which\nis based on the Lie algebroid of a Poisson manifold. Then, we show that in\nPoisson Generalized Geometry the $R$-fluxes are consistently coupled with such\na gravity. An $R$-flux appears as a torsion of the corresponding connection in\na similar way as an $H$-flux which appears as a torsion of the connection for-\nmulated in the standard Generalized Geometry. We give an analogue of the\nEinstein-Hilbert action coupled with an $R$-flux, and show that it is invariant\nunder both $\\beta$-diffeomorphisms and $\\beta$-gauge transformations.",
        "positive": "Renormalisation group and the Planck scale: I discuss the renormalisation group approach to gravity, its link to Steven\nWeinberg's asymptotic safety scenario, and give an overview of results with\napplications to particle physics and cosmology."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Superparticle on the Surface S_2: A superparticle action which is globally supersymmetric in the target space\nis proposed. The supersymmetry is the supersymmetric extension of the rotation\ngroup O(3).",
        "positive": "On Matrix Model Formulations of Noncommutative Yang-Mills Theories: We study stability of noncommutative spaces in matrix models and discuss the\ncontinuum limit which leads to noncommutative Yang-Mills theories (NCYM). It\nturns out that most of noncommutative spaces in bosonic models are unstable.\nThis indicates perturbative instability of fuzzy R^D pointed out by Van\nRaamsdonk and Armoni et al. persists to nonperturbative level in these cases.\nIn this sense, these bosonic NCYM are not well-defined, or at least their\nmatrix model formulations studied in this paper do not work. We also show that\nnoncommutative backgrounds are stable in a supersymmetric matrix model deformed\nby a cubic Myers term, though the deformation itself breaks supersymmetry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "K\u00e4ll\u00e9n-Lehmann representation of noncommutative quantum\n  electrodynamics: Noncommutative (NC) quantum field theory is the subject of many analyses on\nformal and general aspects looking for deviations and, therefore, potential\nnoncommutative spacetime effects. Within of this large class, we may now pay\nsome attention to the quantization of NC field theory on lower dimensions and\nlook closely at the issue of dynamical mass generation to the gauge field. This\nwork encompasses the quantization of the two-dimensional massive quantum\nelectrodynamics and three-dimensional topologically massive quantum\nelectrodynamics. We begin by addressing the problem on a general dimensionality\nmaking use of the perturbative Seiberg-Witten map to, thus, construct a general\naction, to only then specify the problem to two and three dimensions. The\nquantization takes place through the K\\\"all\\'en-Lehmann spectral representation\nand Yang-Feldman-K\\\"all\\'en formulation, where we calculate the respective\nspectral density function to the gauge field. Furthermore, regarding the photon\ntwo-point function, we discuss how its infrared behavior is related to the term\ngenerated by quantum corrections in two dimensions, and, moreover, in three\ndimensions, we study the issue of nontrivial {\\theta}-dependent corrections to\nthe dynamical mass generation.",
        "positive": "Flavor-Dependence and Higher Orders of Gauge-Independent Solutions in\n  Strong Coupling Gauge Theory: The fermion flavor $N_f$ dependence of non-perturbative solutions in the\nstrong coupling phase of the gauge theory is reexamined based on the\ninterrelation between the inversion method and the Schwinger-Dyson equation\napproach. Especially we point out that the apparent discrepancy on the value of\nthe critical coupling in QED will be resolved by taking into account the higher\norder corrections which inevitably lead to the flavor-dependence. In the\nquenched QED, we conclude that the gauge-independent critical point\n$\\alpha_c=2\\pi/3$ obtained by the inversion method to the lowest order will be\nreduced to the result $\\alpha_c=\\pi/3$ of the Schwinger-Dyson equation in the\ninfinite order limit, but its convergence is quite slow. This is shown by\nadding the chiral-invariant four-fermion interaction."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Recursion Relations for One-Loop Gravity Amplitudes: We study the application of recursion relations to the calculation of finite\none-loop gravity amplitudes. It is shown explicitly that the known four, five,\nand six graviton one-loop amplitudes for which the external legs have identical\noutgoing helicities, and the four graviton amplitude with helicities (-,+,+,+)\ncan be derived from simple recursion relations. The latter amplitude is derived\nby introducing a one-loop three-point vertex of gravitons of positive helicity,\nwhich is the counterpart in gravity of the one-loop three-plus vertex in\nYang-Mills. We show that new issues arise for the five point amplitude with\nhelicities (-,+,+,+,+), where the application of known methods does not appear\nto work, and we discuss possible resolutions.",
        "positive": "N=1, D=10 Tensionless Superbranes II: We consider a model for tensionless (null) p-branes with N=1 global\nsupersymmetry in 10-dimensional Minkowski space-time. We give an action for the\nmodel and show that it is reparametrization and kappa-invariant. We also find\nsome solutions of the classical equations of motion. In the case of null\nsuperstring (p=1), we obtain the general solution in arbitrary gauge."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fluctuations in finite density holographic quantum liquids: We study correlators of the global U(1) currents in holographic models which\ninvolve N=4 SYM coupled to the finite density matter in the probe brane sector.\nWe find the spectral density associated with the longitudinal response to be\nexhausted by the zero sound pole and argue that this could be consistent with\nthe behavior of Fermi liquid with vanishing Fermi velocity. However the\ntransversal response shows an unusual momentum independent behavior. Inclusion\nof magnetic field leads to a gap in the dispersion relation for the zero sound\nmode propagating in the plane of magnetic field. For small values of the\nmagnetic field B the gap in the spectrum scales linearly with B, which is\nconsistent with Kohn's theorem for nonrelativistic fermions with pairwise\ninteraction. We do not find signatures of multiple Landau levels expected in\nLandau Fermi liquid theory. We also consider the influence of generic higher\nderivative corrections on the form of the spectral function.",
        "positive": "Kahler spinning particles: We construct the U(N) spinning particle theories, which describe particles\nmoving on Kahler spaces. These particles have the same relation to the N=2\nstring as usual spinning particles have to the NSR string. We find the\nrestrictions on the target space of the theories coming from supersymmetry and\nfrom global anomalies. Finally, we show that the partition functions of the\ntheories agree with what is expected from their spectra, unlike that of the N=2\nstring in which there is an anomalous dependence on the proper time."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Intermediate Coupling Regime in the AdS/CFT Correspondence: The correspondence between the 't Hooft limit of N=4 super Yang-Mills theory\nand tree-level IIB superstring theory on AdS(5)xS(5) in a Ramond-Ramond\nbackground at values of lambda=g^2 N ranging from infinity to zero is examined\nin the context of unitarity. A squaring relation for the imaginary part of the\nholographic scattering of identical string fields in the two-particle channels\nis found, and a mismatch between weak and strong 't Hooft coupling is pointed\nout within the correspondence. Several interpretations and implications are\nproposed.",
        "positive": "The Topological G2 String: We construct new topological theories related to sigma models whose target\nspace is a seven dimensional manifold of G_2 holonomy. We define a new type of\ntopological twist and identify the BRST operator and the physical states.\nUnlike the more familiar six dimensional case, our topological model is defined\nin terms of conformal blocks and not in terms of local operators of the\noriginal theory. We also present evidence that one can extend this definition\nto all genera and construct a seven-dimensional topological string theory. We\ncompute genus zero correlation functions and relate these to Hitchin's\nfunctional for three-forms in seven dimensions. Along the way we develop the\nanalogue of special geometry for G_2 manifolds. When the seven dimensional\ntopological twist is applied to the product of a Calabi-Yau manifold and a\ncircle, the result is an interesting combination of the six dimensional A- and\nB-models."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Monopole operators in N=4 Chern-Simons theories and wrapped M2-branes: Monopole operators in Abelian N=4 Chern-Simons theories described by circular\nquiver diagrams are investigated. The magnetic charges of non-diagonal U(1)\ngauge symmetries form the SU(p)xSU(q) root lattice where p and q are numbers of\nuntwisted and twisted hypermultiplets, respectively. For monopole operators\ncorresponding to the root vectors, we propose a correspondence between the\nmonopole operators and states of a wrapped M2-brane in the dual geometry.",
        "positive": "The representations of Temperley-Lieb-Jones algebras: Representations of braid group obtained from rational conformal field\ntheories can be used to obtain explicit representations of Temperley-Lieb-Jones\nalgebras. The method is described in detail for SU(2)$_k$ Wess - Zumino\nconformal field theories and its generalization to an arbitrary rational\nconformal field theory outlined. Explicit definition of an associated linear\ntrace operation in terms of a certain matrix element in the space of conformal\nblocks of such a conformal theory is presented. Further for every primary field\nof a rational conformal field theory, there is a subfactor of hyperfinite\nII$_1$ factor with trivial relative commutant. The index of the subfactor is\ngiven in terms of identity - identity element of certain duality matrix for\nconformal blocks of four-point correlators. Jones formula for index ( $<$ 4 )\nfor subfactors corresponds to spin ${\\frac{1}{2}}$ representation of SU(2)$_k$\nWess-Zumino conformal field theory. Definition of the trace operation also\nprovides a method of obtaining link invariants explicitly."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Tetrahedral and Cubic Monopoles: Using a numerical implementation of the ADHMN construction, we compute the\nfields and energy densities of a charge three monopole with tetrahedral\nsymmetry and a charge four monopole with octahedral symmetry. We then construct\na one parameter family of spectral curves and Nahm data which represent charge\nfour monopoles with tetrahedral symmetry, which includes the monopole with\noctahedral symmetry as a special case. In the moduli space approximation, this\nfamily describes a novel kind of four monopole scattering and we use our\nnumerical scheme to construct the energy density at various times during the\nmotion.",
        "positive": "Acausality in Nonlocal Gravity Theory: We investigate the nonlocal gravity theory by deriving nonlocal equations of\nmotion using the traditional variation principle in a homogeneous background.\nWe focus on a class of models with a linear nonlocal modification term in the\naction. It is found that the resulting equations of motion contain the advanced\nGreen's function, implying that there is an acausality problem. As a\nconsequence, a divergence arises in the solutions due to contributions from the\nfuture infinity unless the Universe will go back to the radiation dominated era\nor become the Minkowski spacetime in the future. We also discuss the relation\nbetween the original nonlocal equations and its biscalar-tensor representation\nand identify the auxiliary fields with the corresponding original nonlocal\nterms. Finally, we show that the acusality problem cannot be avoided by any\nfunction of nonlocal terms in the action."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Lectures on Mirror Symmetry and Topological String Theory: These are notes of a series of lectures on mirror symmetry and topological\nstring theory given at the Mathematical Sciences Center at Tsinghua University.\nThe N=2 superconformal algebra, its deformations and its chiral ring are\nreviewed. A topological field theory can be constructed whose observables are\nonly the elements of the chiral ring. When coupled to gravity, this leads to\ntopological string theory. The identification of the topological string A- and\nB-models by mirror symmetry leads to surprising connections in mathematics and\nprovides tools for exact computations as well as new insights in physics. A\nrecursive construction of the higher genus amplitudes of topological string\ntheory expressed as polynomials is reviewed.",
        "positive": "Superconformal invariants for scattering amplitudes in N=4 SYM theory: Recent studies of scattering amplitudes in planar N=4 SYM theory revealed the\nexistence of a hidden dual superconformal symmetry. Together with the\nconventional superconformal symmetry it gives rise to powerful restrictions on\nthe planar scattering amplitudes to all loops. We study the general form of the\ninvariants of both symmetries. We first construct an integral representation\nfor the most general dual superconformal invariants and show that it allows a\nconsiderable freedom in the choice of the integration measure. We then perform\na half-Fourier transform to twistor space, where conventional conformal\nsymmetry is realized locally, derive the resulting conformal Ward identity for\nthe integration measure and show that it admits a unique solution. Thus, the\ncombination of dual and conventional superconformal symmetries, together with\ninvariance under helicity rescalings, completely fixes the form of the\ninvariants. The expressions obtained generalize the known tree and one-loop\nsuperconformal invariants and coincide with the recently proposed coefficients\nof the leading singularities of the scattering amplitudes as contour integrals\nover Grassmannians."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Constructing the correlation function of four stress-tensor multiplets\n  and the four-particle amplitude in N=4 SYM: We present a construction of the integrand of the correlation function of\nfour stress-tensor multiplets in N=4 SYM at weak coupling. It does not rely on\nFeynman diagrams and makes use of the recently discovered symmetry of the\nintegrand under permutations of external and integration points. This symmetry\nholds for any gauge group, so it can be used to predict the integrand both in\nthe planar and non-planar sectors. We demonstrate the great efficiency of\ngraph-theoretical tools in the systematic study of the possible permutation\nsymmetric integrands. We formulate a general ansatz for the correlation\nfunction as a linear combination of all relevant graph topologies, with\narbitrary coefficients. Powerful restrictions on the coefficients come from the\nanalysis of the logarithmic divergences of the correlation function in two\nsingular regimes: Euclidean short-distance and Minkowski light-cone limits. We\ndemonstrate that the planar integrand is completely fixed by the procedure up\nto six loops and probably beyond. In the non-planar sector, we show the absence\nof non-planar corrections at three loops and we reduce the freedom at four\nloops to just four constants. Finally, the correlation function/amplitude\nduality allows us to show the complete agreement of our results with the\nfour-particle planar amplitude in N=4 SYM.",
        "positive": "A Geometric Representation for the Proca Model: The Proca model is quantized in an open-path dependent representation that\ngeneralizes the Loop Representation of gauge theories. The starting point is a\ngauge invariant Lagrangian that reduces to the Proca Lagrangian when certain\ngauge is selected."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Recent results for Yang-Mills theory restricted to the Gribov region: We summarize recent results for the Gribov-Zwanziger Lagrangian which\nincludes the effect of restricting the path integral to the first Gribov\nregion. These include the two loop MSbar and one loop MOM gap equations for the\nGribov mass.",
        "positive": "Anomaly Inflow at Singularities: Many noncompact Type I orbifolds satisfy tadpole constraints yet are\nanomalous. We present a generalization of the anomaly inflow mechanism for some\nof these cases in six and four dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chern-Simons and Born-Infeld gravity theories and Maxwell algebras type: Recently was shown that standard odd and even-dimensional General Relativity\ncan be obtained from a $(2n+1)$-dimensional Chern-Simons Lagrangian invariant\nunder the $B_{2n+1}$ algebra and from a $(2n)$-dimensional Born-Infeld\nLagrangian invariant under a subalgebra $\\cal{L}^{B_{2n+1}}$ respectively. Very\nRecently, it was shown that the generalized In\\\"on\\\"u-Wigner contraction of the\ngeneralized AdS-Maxwell algebras provides Maxwell algebras types $\\cal{M}_{m}$\nwhich correspond to the so called $B_{m}$ Lie algebras. In this article we\nreport on a simple model that suggests a mechanism by which standard\nodd-dimensional General Relativity may emerge as a weak coupling constant limit\nof a $(2p+1)$-dimensional Chern-Simons Lagrangian invariant under the Maxwell\nalgebra type $\\cal{M}_{2m+1}$, if and only if $m\\geq p$. Similarly, we show\nthat standard even-dimensional General Relativity emerges as a weak coupling\nconstant limit of a $(2p)$-dimensional Born-Infeld type Lagrangian invariant\nunder a subalgebra $\\cal{L}^{\\cal{M}_{2m}}$ of the Maxwell algebra type, if and\nonly if $m\\geq p$. It is shown that when $m<p$ this is not possible for a\n$(2p+1)$-dimensional Chern-Simons Lagrangian invariant under the\n$\\cal{M}_{2m+1}$ and for a $(2p)$-dimensional Born-Infeld type Lagrangian\ninvariant under $\\cal{L}^{\\cal{M}_{2m}}$ algebra.",
        "positive": "Hypersymmetry bounds and three-dimensional higher-spin black holes: We investigate the hypersymmetry bounds on the higher spin black hole\nparameters that follow from the asymptotic symmetry superalgebra in higher-spin\nanti-de Sitter gravity in three spacetime dimensions. We consider anti-de\nSitter hypergravity for which the analysis is most transparent. This is a\n$osp(1\\vert 4) \\oplus osp(1\\vert 4)$ Chern-Simons theory which contains,\nbesides a spin-$2$ field, a spin-$4$ field and a spin-$5/2$ field. The\nasymptotic symmetry superalgebra is then the direct sum of two-copies of the\nhypersymmetric extension $W_{(2,\\frac52,4)}$ of $W_{(2,4)}$, which contains\nfermionic generators of conformal weight $5/2$ and bosonic generators of\nconformal weight $4$ in addition to the Virasoro generators. Following standard\nmethods, we derive bounds on the conserved charges from the anticommutator of\nthe hypersymmetry generators. The hypersymmetry bounds are nonlinear and are\nsaturated by the hypersymmetric black holes, which turn out to possess\n$1/4$-hypersymmetry and to be \"extreme\", where extremality can be defined in\nterms of the entropy: extreme black holes are those that fulfill the\nextremality bounds beyond which the entropy ceases to be a real function of the\nblack hole parameters. We also extend the analysis to other $sp(4)$-solitonic\nsolutions which are maximally (hyper)symmetric."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Choptuik Scaling and The Merger Transition: The critical solution in Choptuik scaling is shown to be closely related to\nthe critical solution in the black-string black-hole transition (the merger),\nthrough double analytic continuation, and a change of a boundary condition. The\ninterest in studying various space-time dimensions D for both systems is\nstressed. Gundlach-Hod-Piran off-critical oscillations, familiar in the\nChoptuik set-up, are predicted for the merger system and are predicted to\ndisappear above a critical dimension D*=10. The scaling constants, Delta(D),\ngamma(D), are shown to combine naturally to a single complex number.",
        "positive": "Scale-dependent Hausdorff dimensions in 2d gravity: By appropriate scaling of coupling constants a one-parameter family of\nensembles of two-dimensional geometries is obtained, which interpolates between\nthe ensembles of (generalized) causal dynamical triangulations and ordinary\ndynamical triangulations. We study the fractal properties of the associated\ncontinuum geometries and identify both global and local Hausdorff dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Zeta function regularization, anomaly and complex mass term: If the zeta function regularization is used and a complex mass term\nconsidered for fermions, the phase does not appear in the fermion determinant.\nThis is not a drawback of the regularization, which can recognize the phase\nthrough source terms, as demonstrated by the anomaly equation which is\nexplicitly derived here for a complex mass term.",
        "positive": "Non-linear Holographic Entanglement Entropy Inequalities for Single\n  Boundary 2D CFT: Significant work has gone into determining the minimal set of entropy\ninequalities that determine the holographic entropy cone. Holographic systems\nwith three or more parties have been shown to obey additional inequalities that\ngeneric quantum systems do not. We consider a two dimensional conformal field\ntheory that is a single boundary of a holographic system and find four\nadditional non-linear inequalities which are derived from strong subadditivity\nand the formula for the entanglement entropy of a region on the conformal field\ntheory. We also present an equality obtained by application of a hyperbolic\nextension of Ptolemy's theorem to a two dimensional conformal field theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spontaneously Generated Tensor Field Gravity: An arbitrary local theory of a symmetric two-tensor field $H_{\\mu \\nu}$ in\nMinkowski spacetime is considered, in which the equations of motion are\nrequired to be compatible with a nonlinear length-fixing constraint $H_{\\mu\n\\nu}^{2}=\\pm M^{2}$ leading to spontaneous Lorentz invariance violation, SLIV\n($M$ is the proposed scale for SLIV). Allowing the parameters in the Lagrangian\nto be adjusted so as to be consistent with this constraint, the theory turns\nout to correspond to linearized general relativity in the weak field\napproximation, while some of the massless tensor Goldstone modes appearing\nthrough SLIV are naturally collected in the physical graviton. In essence the\nunderlying diffeomophism invariance emerges as a necessary condition for the\ntensor field $H_{\\mu \\nu}$ not to be superfluously restricted in degrees of\nfreedom, apart from the constraint due to which the true vacuum in the theory\nis chosen by SLIV. The emergent theory appears essentially nonlinear, when\nexpressed in terms of the pure Goldstone tensor modes and contains a plethora\nof new Lorentz and $CPT$ violating couplings. However, these couplings do not\nlead to physical Lorentz violation once this tensor field gravity is properly\nextended to conventional general relativity.",
        "positive": "AdS/CFT v.s. String Loops: The one string-loop correction to the energies of two impurity BMN states are\ncomputed using IIB light-cone string field theory with an improved 3-string\nvertex that has been proposed by Dobashi and Yoneya. As in previous published\ncomputations, the string vertices are truncated to the 2-impurity channel. The\nresult is compared with the prediction from non-planar corrections in the BMN\nlimit of $\\mathcal{N}=4$ supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory. It is found to agree\nat leading order -- one-loop in Yang-Mills theory -- and is close but not quite\nin agreement at order two Yang-Mills loops. Furthermore, in addition to the\nleading 1/2 power in the t'Hooft coupling, which is generic in string field\ntheory, and which we have previously argued cancels, we find that the 3/2 and\n5/2 powers are also miraculously absent."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Form factor representation of the correlation function of the two\n  dimensional Ising model on a cylinder: The correlation function of the two dimensional Ising model with the nearest\nneighbours interaction on the finite size lattice with the periodical boundary\nconditions is derived. The expressions similar to the form factor expansion are\nobtained both for the paramagnetic and ferromagnetic regions of coupling\nparameter. The peculiarities caused by finite size are analyzed. The scaling\nlimit of the lattice form factor expansion is evaluated.",
        "positive": "Stringy scaling of n-point hard string scattering amplitudes: Motivated by the recent calculation of the SL(K+3,C) symmetry of n-point\nLauricella string scattering amplitudes (SSA) of open bosonic string theory, we\ncalculate ratios of the solvable infinite linear relations of arbitrary n-point\nhard SSA (HSSA). We discover a general stringy scaling behavior for all n-point\nHSSA to all string loop orders. For the special case of n=4, the stringy\nscaling behavior reduces to the infinite linear relations and constant ratios\namong HSSA conjectured by Gross [8] and later corrected and calculated by the\nmethod of decoupling of zero-norm states [11]."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Extremal Charged Black Holes and Superradiantly Unstable Quasinormal\n  Modes: It was recently shown that the extremal charged black holes in STU\nsupergravity suffer from superradiant instability owing to the existence of the\nunstable (low-frequency) quasibound states associated with a charged massive\nscalar field. In this paper, we show numerically that for some charge\nconfigurations, these black holes can also excite the (higher-frequency)\nsuperradiantly unstable quasinormal modes. We find empirically that the\nunstable modes are closely related to having a volcano-shaped effective\npotential in the Schr\\\"odinger-like wave equation.",
        "positive": "Lorentzian Vacuum Transitions for Anisotropic Universes: The vacuum transition probabilities for anisotropic universes in the presence\nof a scalar field potential in the Wentzel-Kramers-Brillouin approximation are\nstudied. We follow the work by Cespedes et al [Phys. Rev. D 104, 026013\n(2021)], which discuss these transitions in the isotropic context using the\nWheeler-DeWitt equation, the Lorentzian Hamiltonian approach and the thin wall\nlimit. First, we propose a general procedure to adapt their formalism to\ncompute the decay rates for any superspace model. Then we apply it to compute\nthe transition probabilities of an Friedmann-Lemaitre-Robertson-Walker (FLRW)\nmetric with both positive and zero curvature, reproducing in this way one of\nthe results obtained at Cespedes et al. We then proceed to apply the formalism\nto three anisotropic metrics, namely, Kantowski-Sachs, Bianchi III and biaxial\nBianchi IX to compute the rate decays for these three cases. In the process we\nfind that this method involves some conditions which relates the effective\nnumber of independent degrees of freedom resulting on all probabilities being\ndescribed with only two independent variables. For the Bianchi III metric, we\nfind that a general effect of anisotropy is to decrease the transition\nprobability as the degree of anisotropy is increased, having as the isotropic\nlimit the flat FLRW result."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "All-loop cuts from the Amplituhedron: The definition of the amplituhedron in terms of sign flips involves both\none-loop constraints and the \"mutual positivity\" constraint. To gain an\nunderstanding of the all-loop integrand of $\\mathcal{N}=4$ sYM requires\nunderstanding the crucial role played by mutual positivity. This paper is an\nattempt towards developing a procedure to introduce the complexities of mutual\npositivity in a systematic and controlled manner. As the first step in this\nprocedure, we trivialize these constraints and understand the geometry\nunderlying the remaining constraints to all loops and multiplicities. We\npresent a host of configurations which correspond to various faces of the\namplituhedron. The results we derive are valid at all multiplicities and loop\norders for the maximally helicity violating (MHV) configurations. These include\ndetailed derivations for the results in arXiv:1810.08208 [hep-th]. We conclude\nby indicating how one might move beyond trivial mutual positivity by presenting\na series of configuration which re-introduce it bit by bit.",
        "positive": "Cross-Order Integral Relations from Maximal Cuts: We study the ABDK relation using maximal cuts of one- and two-loop integrals\nwith up to five external legs. We show how to find a special combination of\nintegrals that allows the relation to exist, and how to reconstruct the terms\nwith one-loop integrals squared. The reconstruction relies on the observation\nthat integrals across different loop orders can have support on the same\ngeneralized unitarity cuts and can share global poles. We discuss the\nappearance of nonhomologous integration contours in multivariate residues.\nTheir origin can be understood in simple terms, and their existence enables us\nto distinguish contributions from different integrals. Our analysis suggests\nthat maximal and near-maximal cuts can be used to infer the existence of\nintegral identities more generally."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "BRST-anti-BRST covariant theory for the second class constrained\n  systems. A general method and examples: The BRST-anti-BRST covariant extension is suggested for the split involution\nquantization scheme for the second class constrained theories. The constraint\nalgebra generating equations involve on equal footing a pair of BRST charges\nfor second class constraints and a pair of the respective anti-BRST charges.\nFormalism displays explicit Sp(2) \\times Sp(2) symmetry property. Surprisingly,\nthe the BRST-anti-BRST algebra must involve a central element, related to the\nnonvanishing part of the constraint commutator and having no direct analogue in\na first class theory. The unitarizing Hamiltonian is fixed by the requirement\nof the explicit BRST-anti-BRST symmetry with a much more restricted ambiguity\nif compare to a first class theory or split involution second class case in the\nnonsymmetric formulation. The general method construction is supplemented by\nthe explicit derivation of the extended BRST symmetry generators for several\nexamples of the second class theories, including self--dual nonabelian model\nand massive Yang Mills theory.",
        "positive": "BCS instabilities of electron stars to holographic superconductors: We study fermion pairing and condensation towards an ordered state in\nstrongly coupled quantum critical systems with a holographic AdS/CFT dual. On\nthe gravity side this is modeled by a system of charged fermion interacting\nthrough a BCS coupling. At finite density such a system has a BCS instability.\nWe combine the relativistic version of mean-field BCS with the semi-classical\nfluid approximation for the many-body state of fermions. The resulting\ngroundstate is the AdS equivalent of a charged neutron star with a\nsuperconducting core. The spectral function of the fermions confirms that the\nground state is ordered through the condensation of the pair operator. A\nnatural variant of the BCS star is shown to exist where the gap field couples\nStueckelberg-like to the AdS Maxwell field. This enhances the tendency of the\nsystem to superconduct."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Natural inflation with multiple sub-Planckian axions: We extend the Kim-Nilles-Peloso (KNP) alignment mechanism for natural\ninflation to models with $N>2$ axions, which obtains a super-Planckian\neffective axion decay constant $f_{\\textrm{eff}}\\gg M_{Pl}$ through an\nalignment of the anomaly coefficients of multiple axions having sub-Planckian\nfundamental decay constants $f_0\\ll M_{Pl}$. The original version of the KNP\nmechanism realized with two axions requires that some of the anomaly\ncoefficients should be of the order of $f_{\\textrm{eff}}/f_0$, which would be\nuncomfortably large if $f_{\\rm eff}/f_0 \\gtrsim {\\cal O}(100)$ as suggested by\nthe recent BICEP2 results. We note that the KNP mechanism can be realized with\nthe anomaly coefficients of $\\mathcal{O}(1)$ if the number of axions $N$ is\nlarge as $N\\ln N\\gtrsim 2\\ln (f_{\\textrm{eff}}/f_0)$, in which case the\neffective decay constant can be enhanced as $f_{\\rm eff}/f_0 \\sim \\sqrt{N\n!}\\,n^{N-1}$ for $n$ denoting the typical size of the integer-valued anomaly\ncoefficients. Comparing to the other multiple axion scenario, the N-flation\nscenario which requires $N \\sim f_{\\textrm{eff}}^2/f_0^2$, the KNP mechanism\nhas a virtue of not invoking to a too large number of axions, although it\nrequires a specific alignment of the anomaly coefficients, which can be\nachieved with a probability of ${\\cal O}(f_0/f_{\\rm eff})$ under a random\nchoice of the anomaly coefficients. We also present a simple model realizing a\nmultiple axion monodromy along the inflaton direction.",
        "positive": "Alternative to Higgs and Unification: In this paper, we discuss the self-consistency condition for the spherical\nsymmetric Klein-Gordon equation, and then discuss a natural possibility that\ngravity and weak coupling constants g_G and g_W may be defined after g_{EM}. In\nthis point of view, gravity and the weak force are subsidiary derived from\nelectricity. Particularly, SU(2)_L * U(1) unification is derived without\nassuming a phase transition.\n  A possible origin of the Higgs mechanism is proposed. Each particle pair of\nthe standard model is associated with the corresponding asymptotic expansion of\nan eigen function."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Simple Holographic Superconductor with Momentum Relaxation: We study a holographic superconductor model with momentum relaxation due to\nmassless scalar fields linear to spatial coordinates($\\psi_I = \\beta\n\\delta_{Ii} x^i$), where $\\beta$ is the strength of momentum relaxation. In\naddition to the original superconductor induced by the chemical\npotential($\\mu$) at $\\beta=0$, there exists a new type of superconductor\ninduced by $\\beta$ even at $\\mu=0$. It may imply a new `pairing' mechanism of\nparticles and antiparticles interacting with $\\beta$, which may be interpreted\nas `impurity'. Two parameters $\\mu$ and $\\beta$ compete in forming a\nsuperconducting phase. As a result, the critical temperature behaves\ndifferently depending on $\\beta/\\mu$. It decreases when $\\beta/\\mu$ is small\nand increases when $\\beta/\\mu$ is large, which is a novel feature compared to\nother models. After analysing ground states and phase diagrams for various\n$\\beta/\\mu$, we study optical electric($\\sigma$), thermoelectric($\\alpha$), and\nthermal($\\bar{\\kappa}$) conductivities. When the system undergoes a phase\ntransition from a normal to a superconducting phase, $1/\\omega$ pole appears in\nthe imaginary part of the electric conductivity, implying infinite DC\nconductivity. If $\\beta/\\mu <1$, at small $\\omega$, a two-fluid model with an\nimaginary $1/\\omega$ pole and the Drude peak works for $\\sigma$, $\\alpha$, and\n$\\bar{\\kappa}$, but if $\\beta/\\mu >1$ a non-Drude peak replaces the Drude peak.\nIt is consistent with the coherent/incoherent metal transition in its metal\nphase. The Ferrell-Glover-Tinkham (FGT) sum rule is satisfied for all cases\neven when $\\mu=0$.",
        "positive": "Unitary representations of N-conformal Galilei group: All unitary irreducible representations of centrally extended (N-odd)\nN-conformal Galilei group are constructed. The \"on-shell\" action of the group\nis derived and shown to coincide, in special but most important case, with that\nobtained in: J. Gomis, K. Kamimura, Phys. Rev. {\\bf D85} (2012), 045023."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Symmetries and supersymmetries of the Dirac operators in curved\n  spacetimes: It is shown that the main geometrical objects involved in all the symmetries\nor supersymmetries of the Dirac operators in curved manifolds of arbitrary\ndimensions are the Killing vectors and the Killing-Yano tensors of any ranks.\nThe general theory of external symmetry transformations associated to the usual\nisometries is presented, pointing out that these leave the standard Dirac\nequation invariant providing the correct spin parts of the group generators.\nFurthermore, one analyzes the new type of symmetries generated by the\ncovariantly constant Killing-Yano tensors that realize certain square roots of\nthe metric tensor. Such a Killing-Yano tensor produces simultaneously a\nDirac-type operator and the generator of a one-parameter Lie group connecting\nthis operator with the standard Dirac one. In this way the Dirac operators are\nrelated among themselves through continuous transformations associated to\nspecific discrete ones. It is shown that the groups of this continuous symmetry\ncan be only U(1) or SU(2), as those of the (hyper-)Kahler spaces, but arising\neven in cases when the requirements for these special geometries are not\nfulfilled. To exemplify, the Euclidean Taub-NUT space with its Dirac-type\noperators is presented in much details, pointing out that there is an\ninfinite-loop superalgebra playing the role of a closed dynamical algebraic\nstructure. As a final topic, we go to consider the properties of the Dirac-type\noperators of the Minkowski spacetime.",
        "positive": "Vortex Lattices and Crystalline Geometries: We consider $AdS_2 \\times R^2$ solutions supported by a magnetic field, such\nas those which arise in the near-horizon limit of magnetically charged $AdS_4$\nReissner-Nordstrom black branes. In the presence of an electrically charged\nscalar field, such magnetic solutions can be unstable to spontaneous formation\nof a vortex lattice. We solve the coupled partial differential equations which\ngovern the charged scalar, gauge field, and metric degrees of freedom to lowest\nnon-trivial order in an expansion around the critical point, and discuss the\ncorrections to the free energy and thermodynamic functions arising from the\nformation of the lattice. We describe how such solutions can also be\ninterpreted, via S-duality, as characterizing infrared crystalline phases of\nconformal field theories doped by a chemical potential, but in zero magnetic\nfield; the doped conformal field theories are dual to geometries that exhibit\ndynamical scaling and hyperscaling violation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gravity and its Mysteries: Some Thoughts and Speculations: I gave a rambling talk about gravity and its many mysteries at Chen-Ning\nYang's 85th Birthday Celebration held in November 2007. I don't have any\nanswers.",
        "positive": "Spin Two Glueball Mass and Glueball Regge Trajectory from Supergravity: We calculate the mass of the lowest lying spin two glueball in N=1 super\nYang-Mills from the dual Klebanov-Strassler background. We show that the Regge\ntrajectory obtained is linear; the 0++, 1-- and 2++ states lie on a line of\nslope 0.23 -measured in units of the conifold deformation. We also compare mass\nratios with lattice data and find agreement within one standard deviation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Gravitino Swampland Conjecture: We extend the swampland from effective field theories (EFTs) inconsistent\nwith quantum gravity to EFTs inconsistent with quantum supergravity. This\nenlarges the swampland to include EFTs that become inconsistent when the\ngravitino is quantized. We propose the Gravitino Swampland Conjecture: the\ngravitino sound speed must be non-vanishing in all EFTs that are low energy\nlimits of quantum supergravity. This seemingly simple statement has important\nconsequences for both theories and observations. The conjecture is consistent\nwith and supported by the KKLT and LVS scenarios for moduli stabilization in\nstring theory.",
        "positive": "A Classical and Spinorial Description of the Relativistic Spinning\n  Particle: In a previous work we showed that spin can be envisioned as living in a phase\nspace that is dual to the standard phase space of position and momentum. In\nthis work we demonstrate that the second class constraints inherent in this\n\"Dual Phase Space\" picture can be solved by introducing a spinorial\nparameterization of the spinning degrees of freedom. This allows for a purely\nfirst class formulation that generalizes the usual relativistic description of\nspinless particles and provides several insights into the nature of spin and\nits relationship with spacetime and locality. In particular, we find that the\nspin motion acts as a Lorentz contraction on the four-velocity and that, in\naddition to proper time, spinning particles posses a second gauge invariant\nobservable which we call proper angle. Heuristically, this proper angle\nrepresents the amount of Zitterbewegung necessary for a spin transition to\noccur. Additionally, we show that the spin velocity satisfies a causality\nconstraint, and even more stringently, that it is constant along classical\ntrajectories. This leads to the notion of \"half-quantum\" states which violate\nthe classical equations of motion, and yet do not experience an exponential\nsuppression in the path integral. Finally we give a full analysis of the\nPoisson bracket structure of this new parametrization."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Confinement in the q-state Potts model: an RG-TCSA study: In the ferromagnetic phase of the q-state Potts model, switching on an\nexternal magnetic field induces confinement of the domain wall excitations. For\nthe Ising model (q = 2) the spectrum consists of kink-antikink states which are\nthe analogues of mesonic states in QCD, while for q = 3, depending on the sign\nof the field, the spectrum may also contain three-kink bound states which are\nthe analogues of the baryons. In recent years the resulting \"hadron\" spectrum\nwas described using several different approaches, such as quantum mechanics in\nthe confining linear potential, WKB methods and also the Bethe-Salpeter\nequation. Here we compare the available predictions to numerical results from\nrenormalization group improved truncated conformal space approach (RG-TCSA).\nWhile mesonic states in the Ising model have already been considered in a\ndifferent truncated Hamiltonian approach, this is the first time that a\nprecision numerical study is performed for the 3-state Potts model. We find\nthat the semiclassical approach provides a very accurate description for the\nmesonic spectrum in all the parameter regime for weak magnetic field, while the\nlow-energy expansion from the Bethe-Salpeter equation is only valid for very\nweak fields where it gives a slight improvement over the semiclassical results.\nIn addition, we confirm the validity of the recent predictions for the baryon\nspectrum obtained from solving the quantum mechanical three-body problem.",
        "positive": "Lattice analogues of W-algebras and Classical Integrable Equations: We propose a regular way to construct lattice versions of $W$-algebras, both\nfor quantum and classical cases. In the classical case we write the algebra\nexplicitly and derive the lattice analogue of Boussinesq equation from the\nHamiltonian equations of motion. Connection between the lattice\nFaddeev-Takhtadjan-Volkov algebra [1] and q-deformed Virasoro is also\ndiscussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "String Field Theory of $c\\leq 1$ Noncritical Strings: We construct a string field Hamiltonian for a noncritical string theory with\nthe continuum limit of the Ising model or its generalization as the matter\ntheory on the worldsheet. It consists of only three string vertices as in the\ncase for $c=0$. We also discuss a general consistency condition that should be\nsatisfied by this kind of string field Hamiltonian.",
        "positive": "Generalized geometric vacua with eight supercharges: We investigate compactifications of type II and M-theory down to $AdS_5$ with\ngeneric fluxes that preserve eight supercharges, in the framework of\nExceptional Generalized Geometry. The geometric data and gauge fields on the\ninternal manifold are encoded in a pair of generalized structures corresponding\nto the vector and hyper-multiplets of the reduced five-dimensional\nsupergravity. Supersymmetry translates into integrability conditions for these\nstructures, generalizing, in the case of type IIB, the Sasaki-Einstein\nconditions. We show that the ten and eleven-dimensional type IIB and M-theory\nKilling-spinor equations specialized to a warped $AdS_5$ background imply the\ngeneralized integrability conditions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Construction of exact Riemannian instanton solutions: We give the exact construction of Riemannian (or stringy) instantons, which\nare classical solutions of 2d Yang-Mills theories that interpolate between\ninitial and final string configurations. They satisfy the Hitchin equations\nwith special boundary conditions. For the case of U(2) gauge group those\nequations can be written as the sinh-Gordon equation with a delta function\nsource. Using techniques of integrable theories based on the zero curvature\nconditions, we show that the solution is a condensate of an infinite number of\none-solitons with the same topological charge and with all possible rapidities.",
        "positive": "On equivalence of Floer's and quantum cohomology: (In the revised version the relevant aspect of noncompactness of the moduli\nof instantons is discussed. It is shown nonperturbatively that any BRST trivial\ndeformation of A-model which does not change the ranks of BRST cohomology does\nnot change the topological correlation functions either) We show that the Floer\ncohomology and quantum cohomology rings of the almost Kahler manifold M, both\ndefined over the Novikov ring of the loop space LM of M, are isomorphic. We do\nit using a BRST trivial deformation of the topological A-model. As an example\nwe compute the Floer = quantum cohomology of the 3-dimensional flag space Fl_3."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Simple Construction of Elliptic Boundary K-Matrix: We give the infinite-dimensional representation for the elliptic $ K\n$-operator satisfying the boundary Yang-Baxter equation. By restricting the\nfunctional space to finite-dimensional space, we construct the elliptic $ K\n$-matrix associated to Belavin's completely $ \\mathbb{Z} $-symmetric $ R\n$-matrix.",
        "positive": "Calabi-Yau Genus-One Fibrations and Twisted Dimensional Reductions of\n  F-theory: In this brief note we explore the space of genus one and elliptic fibrations\nwithin CY manifolds, their organizing principles, and how they relate to the\nset of all CY manifolds. We provide examples of genus one fibered manifolds\nthat exhibit different Hodge numbers -- and physically lead to different gauge\ngroups - than their Jacobian fibrations. We suggest a physical mechanism for\nunderstanding this difference in twisted circle reductions of 6-dimensional\ncompactifications of F-theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Mechanics of Integrable Spins on Coadjoint Orbits: We investigate classical integrable spins defined on the reduced phase spaces\nof coadjoint orbits of $G= SU(N)$ and study quantum mechanics of them.\n  After discussions on a complete set of commuting functions on each orbit and\nconstruction of integrable spin models on the flag manifolds, we quantize a\nconcrete example of integrable spins on SU(3) flag manifold in the coherent\nstate quantization scheme and solve explicitly the time-dependent Schr\\\"odinger\nequation.",
        "positive": "Large spin limits of AdS/CFT and generalized Landau-Lifshitz equations: We consider AdS_5 x S^5 string states with several large angular momenta\nalong AdS_5 and S^5 directions which are dual to single-trace Super-Yang-Mills\n(SYM) operators built out of chiral combinations of scalars and covariant\nderivatives. In particular, we focus on the SU(3) sector (with three spins in\nS^5) and the SL(2) sector (with one spin in AdS_5 and one in S^5), generalizing\nrecent work hep-th/0311203 and hep-th/0403120 on the SU(2) sector with two\nspins in S^5. We show that, in the large spin limit and at the leading order in\nthe effective coupling expansion, the string sigma model equations of motion\nreduce to matrix Landau-Lifshitz equations. We then demonstrate that the\ncoherent-state expectation value of the one-loop SYM dilatation operator\nrestricted to the corresponding sector of single trace operators is also\neffectively described by the same equations. This implies a universal leading\norder equivalence between string energies and SYM anomalous dimensions, as well\nas a matching of integrable structures. We also discuss the more general 5-spin\nsector and comment on SO(6) states dual to non-chiral scalar operators."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Null Geodesics in Brane World Universe: We study null bulk geodesic motion in the brane world cosmology in the RS2\nscenario and in the static universe in the bulk of the charged topological AdS\nblack hole. We obtain equations describing the null bulk geodesic motion as\nobserved in one lower dimensions. We find that the null geodesic motion in the\nbulk of the brane world cosmology in the RS2 scenario is observed to be under\nthe additional influence of extra non-gravitational force by the observer on\nthe three-brane, if the brane universe does not possess the Z_2 symmetry. As\nfor the null geodesic motion in the static universe in the bulk of the charged\nAdS black hole, the extra force is realized even when the brane universe has\nthe Z_2 symmetry.",
        "positive": "Casimir piston for massless scalar fields in three dimensions: We study the Casimir piston for massless scalar fields obeying Dirichlet\nboundary conditions in a three dimensional cavity with sides of arbitrary\nlengths $a,b$ and $c$ where $a$ is the plate separation. We obtain an exact\nexpression for the Casimir force on the piston valid for any values of the\nthree lengths. As in the electromagnetic case with perfect conductor\nconditions, we find that the Casimir force is negative (attractive) regardless\nof the values of $a$, $b$ and $c$. Though cases exist where the interior\ncontributes a positive (repulsive) Casimir force, the total Casimir force on\nthe piston is negative when the exterior contribution is included. We also\nobtain an alternative expression for the Casimir force that is useful\ncomputationally when the plate separation $a$ is large."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Thermodynamical Behaviour of Composite Stringy Black Holes: We study the thermodynamical and geometrical behaviour of the black holes\nthat arise as solutions of the heterotic string action. We discuss the\nnear-horizon scaling behaviour of the solutions that are described by\ntwo-dimensional Anti-de Sitter Space AdS(2). We find that finite-energy\nexcitations of AdS(2) are suppressed only for scaling limits characterised by a\ndilaton which is constant near the horizon, whereas this suppression does not\noccur when the dilaton is non constant.",
        "positive": "Baxter operators for arbitrary spin II: This paper presents the second part of our study devoted to the construction\nof Baxter operators for the homogeneous closed XXX spin chain with the quantum\nspace carrying infinite or finite-dimensional $s\\ell_2$ representations. We\nconsider the Baxter operators used in \\cite{BLZ,Shortcut}, formulate their\nconstruction uniformly with the construction of our previous paper. The\nbuilding blocks of all global chain operators are derived from the general\nYang-Baxter operators and all operator relations are derived from general\nYang-Baxter relations. This leads naturally to the comparison of both\nconstructions and allows to connect closely the treatment of the cases of\ninfinite-dimensional representation of generic spin and finite-dimensional\nrepresentations of integer or half-integer spin. We proof not only the\nrelations between the operators but present also their explicit forms and\nexpressions for their action on polynomials representing the quantum states."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum tunneling from paths in complex time: We study quantum mechanical tunneling using complex solutions of the\nclassical field equations. Simple visualization techniques allow us to unify\nand generalize previous treatments, and straightforwardly show the connection\nto the standard approach using Euclidean instanton solutions. We demonstrate\nthat the negative modes of solutions along various contours in the complex time\nplane reveal which paths give the leading contribution to tunneling and which\ndo not, and we provide a criterion for identifying the negative modes. Central\nto our approach is the solution of the background and perturbation equations\nnot only along a single path, but over an extended region of the complex time\nplane. Our approach allows for a fully continuous and coherent treatment of\nclassical evolution interspersed by quantum tunneling events, and is applicable\nin situations where singularities are present and also where Euclidean\nsolutions might not exist.",
        "positive": "Retrofitting O'Raifeartaigh Models with Dynamical Scales: We provide a method for obtaining simple models of supersymmetry breaking,\nwith all small mass scales generated dynamically, and illustrate it with\nexplicit examples. We start from models of perturbative supersymmetry breaking,\nsuch as O'Raifeartaigh and Fayet models, that would respect an $R$ symmetry if\ntheir small input parameters transformed as the superpotential does. By\ncoupling the system to a pure supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory (or a more\ngeneral supersymmetric gauge theory with dynamically small vacuum expectation\nvalues), these parameters are replaced by powers of its dynamical scale in a\nway that is naturally enforced by the symmetry. We show that supersymmetry\nbreaking in these models may be straightforwardly mediated to the\nsupersymmetric Standard Model, obtain complete models of direct gauge\nmediation, and comment on related model building strategies that arise in this\nsimple framework."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gravity from quantum mechanics of finite matrices: We revisit the Berenstein-Maldacena-Nastase (BMN) conjecture relating\nM-theory on a PP-wave background and Matrix Quantum Mechanics (MQM) of $N\\times\nN$ matrices. In particular, we study the BMN MQM at strong coupling and finite\n$N$ and derive an effective Hamiltonian that describes non-relativistic free\nparticles in a harmonic trap. The energy spectrum predicted by this Hamiltonian\nmatches the supergravity excitation spectrum around the PP-wave background, if\nwe further assume the existence of bound states. Our derivation is based on the\nstrong coupling expansion of the wavefunction and supersedes the naive path\nintegral approach that can lead to incorrect results, as we demonstrate in a\nsimple toy model. We conclude with open questions about various regimes of the\ntheory when we vary the size of the matrices, the coupling and the temperature.",
        "positive": "Weyl-Conformally-Invariant Lightlike p-Brane Theories: New Aspects in\n  Black Hole Physics and Kaluza-Klein Dynamics: We introduce and study in some detail the properties of a novel class of\nWeyl-conformally invariant p-brane theories which describe intrinsically\nlightlike branes for any odd world-volume dimension. Their dynamics\nsignificantly differs from that of the ordinary (conformally non-invariant)\nNambu-Goto p-branes. We present explicit solutions of the Weyl-invariant\nlightlike brane- (WILL-brane) equations of motion in various gravitational\nmodels of physical relevance exhibiting various new phenomena. In D=4 the\nWILL-membrane serves as a material and charged source for gravity and\nelectromagnetism in the coupled Einstein-Maxwell-WILL-membrane system; it\nautomatically positions itself on (``straddles'') the common event horizon of\nthe corresponding matching black hole solutions, thus providing an explicit\ndynamical realization of the membrane paradigm in black hole physics. In\nproduct spaces of interest in Kaluza-Klein theories the WILL-brane wraps\nnon-trivially around the compact (internal)dimensions and still describes\nmassless mode dynamics in the non-compact (space-time) dimensions. Due to\nnontrivial variable size of the internal compact dimensions we find new types\nof physically interesting solutions describing massless brane modes trapped on\nbounded planar circular orbits with non-trivial angular momentum, and with\nlinear dependence between energy and angular momentum."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Landau-type quantization from a Lorentz symmetry violation background\n  with crossed electric and magnetic fields: We investigate the arising of an analogue of the Landau quantization from a\nbackground of the violation of the Lorentz symmetry established by a time-like\n4-vector and a field configuration of crossed electric and magnetic field. We\nalso analyse the effects on this Landau-type system subject to a hard-wall\nconfining potential by showing a particular case where a discrete spectrum of\nenergy can be obtained. Further, we analyse the effects of a linear confining\npotential on the Landau-type system. We show that a quantum effect\ncharacterized by the dependence of the cyclotron frequency on the quantum\nnumbers of the system can arise in this analogue of the Landau system. As an\nexample, we calculate the cyclotron frequency associated with ground state of\nthe system.",
        "positive": "Romans type IIA theory and the heterotic strings: In this paper we study $T^2$ compactification of 6-dimensional massive type\nIIA supergravity in presence of\n  Ramond-Ramond background fluxes. The resulting theory in four dimensions is\nshown to possess $SL(2,R)\\times SL(2,R)\\times O(4,20)$ duality symmetry. It is\nshown that specific elements of this symmetry relate massive type IIA\ncompactified on $K3\\times T^2$ (with fluxes along $K3$) to the ordinary type\nIIA compactified on $K3\\times T^2$ (with fluxes along $T^2$). In turn, this\nrelationship is exploited to relate Romans theory to heterotic strings. The\nD8-brane (domain-wall) wrapped on $K3\\times T^2$ is related to {\\it pure\ngravity} heterotic solution which is a direct product of 6-dimensional flat\nspacetime and a 4-dimensional Taub-NUT instanton."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Boundary remnant of Yangian symmetry and the structure of rational\n  reflection matrices: For the classical principal chiral model with boundary, we give the subset of\nthe Yangian charges which remains conserved under certain integrable boundary\nconditions, and extract them from the monodromy matrix. Quantized versions of\nthese charges are used to deduce the structure of rational solutions of the\nreflection equation, analogous to the 'tensor product graph' for solutions of\nthe Yang-Baxter equation. We give a variety of such solutions, including some\nfor reflection from non-trivial boundary states, for the SU(N) case, and\nconfirm these by constructing them by fusion from the basic solutions.",
        "positive": "Nonperturbative effects and resurgence in JT gravity at finite cutoff: We investigate the nonperturbative structure of Jackiw-Teitelboim gravity at\nfinite cutoff, as given by its proposed formulation in terms of a\n$T\\bar{T}$-deformed Schwarzian quantum mechanics. Our starting point is a\ncareful computation of the disk partition function to all orders in the\nperturbative expansion in the cutoff parameter. We show that the perturbative\nseries is asymptotic and that it admits a precise completion exploiting the\nanalytical properties of its Borel transform, as prescribed by resurgence\ntheory. The final result is then naturally interpreted in terms of the\nnonperturbative branch of the $T\\bar{T}$-deformed spectrum. The finite-cutoff\ntrumpet partition function is computed by applying the same strategy. In the\nsecond part of the paper, we propose an extension of this formalism to\narbitrary topologies, using the basic gluing rules of the undeformed case. The\nWeil-Petersson integrations can be safely performed due to the nonperturbative\ncorrections and give results that are compatible with the flow equation\nassociated with the $T\\bar{T}$ deformation. We derive exact expressions for\ngeneral topologies and show that these are captured by a suitable deformation\nof the Eynard-Orantin topological recursion. Finally, we study the \"slope\" and\n\"ramp\" regimes of the spectral form factor as functions of the cutoff\nparameter."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Surface States in Holographic Weyl Semimetals: We study the surface states of a strongly coupled Weyl semimetal within\nholography. By explicit numerical computation of an inhomogeneous holographic\nWeyl semimetal we observe the appearance of an electric current restricted to\nthe surface in presence of electric chemical potential. The total current is\nuniversal in the sense that it only depends on the topology of the phases\nshowing that the bulk-boundary correspondence holds even at strong coupling.\nThe implications of this result are subtle and may shed some light on anomalous\ntransport at weak coupling.",
        "positive": "The finite $N$ origin of the Bardeen-Moshe-Bander phenomenon and its\n  extension at $N=\\infty$ by singular fixed points: We study the $O(N)$ model in dimension three (3$d$) at large and infinite $N$\nand show that the line of fixed points found at $N=\\infty$ --the\nBardeen-Moshe-Bander (BMB) line-- has an intriguing origin at finite $N$. The\nlarge $N$ limit that allows us to find the BMB line must be taken on particular\ntrajectories in the $(d,N)$-plane: $d=3-\\alpha/N$ and not at fixed dimension\n$d=3$. Our study also reveals that the known BMB line is only half of the true\nline of fixed points, the second half being made of singular fixed points. The\npotentials of these singular fixed points show a cusp for a finite value of the\nfield and their finite $N$ counterparts a boundary layer."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Projectivised representations of $U_q osp(2,2)$: We construct representations of the enveloping algebra $U_q osp(2,2)$ in\nterms of finite difference operators and we discuss this result in the\nframework of quasi-exactly-solvable equations.",
        "positive": "A non-standard matter distribution in the RS1 model and the coupling\n  constant of the radion: In the zero mode approximation we solve exactly the equations of motion for\nlinearized gravity in the Randall-Sundrum model with a non-standard\ndistribution of matter in the neighbourhood of the negative tension brane. It\nis shown that the form of this distribution can strongly affect the coupling of\nthe radion to matter. We believe that such a situation can arise in models with\na realistic mechanisms of matter localization."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "F-term uplifting and the supersymmetric integration of heavy moduli: We study in detail the stability properties of the simplest F-term uplifting\nmechanism consistent with the integration of heavy moduli. This way of\nuplifting vacua guarantees that the interaction of the uplifting sector with\nthe moduli sector is consistent with integrating out the heavy fields in a\nsupersymmetric way. The interactions between light and heavy fields are\ncharacterized in terms of the Kahler invariant function, G = K + log |W|^2,\nwhich is required to be separable in the two sectors. We generalize earlier\nresults that when the heavy fields are stabilized at a minimum of the Kahler\nfunction G before the uplifting (corresponding to stable AdS maxima of the\npotential), they remain in a perturbatively stable configuration for\narbitrarily high values of the cosmological constant (or the Hubble parameter\nduring inflation). By contrast, supersymmetric minima and saddle points of the\nscalar potential are always destabilized for sufficiently large amount of\nuplifting. We prove that these results remain unchanged after including gauge\ncouplings in the model. We also show that in more general scenarios, where the\nKahler function is not separable in the light and heavy sectors, the minima of\nthe Kahler function still have better stability properties at large uplifting\nthan other types of critical points.",
        "positive": "Coupling between Galileon and massive gravity with composite metrics: We investigate the coupling between a Galileon scalar field and massive\ngravity through composite metrics. We derive the full set of equations of\nmotion for a flat Friedmann-Robertson-Walker background, and study linear\nperturbations around it. Generally, the nonminimal coupling with the composite\nmetric will excite all 6 degrees of freedom of the spatial metric\nperturbations, one of which may correspond to the Boulware-Deser ghost."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Black Hole Evaporation, Quantum Hair and Supertranslations: In a black hole, hair and quantum information retrieval are interrelated\nphenomena. The existence of any new form of hair necessarily implies the\nexistence of features in the quantum-mechanically evaporated radiation.\nClassical supertranslation hair can be only distinguished from global\ndiffeomorphisms if we have access to the interior of the black hole. Indirect\ninformation on the interior can only be obtained from the features of the\nquantum evaporation. Supertranslations $(T^-,T^+) \\in BMS_{-}\\otimes BMS_{+}$\ncan be used as bookkepers of the probability distributions of the emitted\nquanta where the first element describes the classical injection of energy and\nthe second one is associated to quantum-mechanical emission. The connection\nbetween $T^-$ and $T^+$ is determined by the interior quantum dynamics of the\nblack hole. We argue that restricting to the diagonal subgroup is only possible\nfor decoupled modes, which do not bring any non-trivial information about the\nblack hole interior and therefore do not constitute physical hair. We show that\nthis is also true for gravitational systems without horizon, for which both\ninjection and emission can be described classically. Moreover, we discuss and\nclarify the role of infrared physics in purification.",
        "positive": "String vacuum backgrounds with covariantly constant null Killing vector\n  and 2d quantum gravity: We consider a $2d$ sigma model with a $2+N$ - dimensional Minkowski signature\ntarget space metric having a covariantly constant null Killing vector. We study\nsolutions of the conformal invariance conditions in $2+N$ dimensions and find\nthat generic solutions can be represented in terms of the RG flow in $N$ -\ndimensional ``transverse space'' theory. The resulting conformal invariant\nsigma model is interpreted as a quantum action of the $2d$ scalar (``dilaton\")\nquantum gravity model coupled to a (non-conformal) `transverse' sigma model.\nThe conformal factor of the $2d$ metric is identified with a light cone\ncoordinate of the $2+N$ - dimensional sigma model. We also discuss the case\nwhen the transverse theory is conformal (with or without the antisymmetric\ntensor background) and reproduce in a systematic way the solutions with flat\ntransverse space known before."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Hamiltonian Analysis of Spin-3 Chern-Simons-Like Theories of\n  Gravity: In this paper, we consider spin-3 Chern-Simons-like theories of gravity as\nextended theories of spin-3 gravity in (2+1)- dimension. In order to determine\nthe number of local degrees of freedom we present the Hamiltonian formulation\nof these theories. We extract the Hamiltonian density, then we find primary and\nsecondary constraints of these theories. Then we obtain the Poisson brackets of\nthe primary and the secondary constraints. After that we count the number of\nlocal degrees of freedom of spin-3 Chern-Simons-like theories of gravity. We\napply this method on spin-3 Einstein-Cartan gravity and spin-3 topologically\nmassive gravity. According to the our results the spin-3 Einstein-Cartan\ngravity and the spin-3 topologically massive gravity have respectively zero and\none bulk local degree of freedom.",
        "positive": "Summing Up Instantons in Three-Dimensional Yang-Mills Theories: We show that the four derivative terms in the effective action of\nthree-dimensional N=8 Yang-Mills theory are determined by supersymmetry. These\nterms receive both perturbative and non-perturbative corrections. Using our\ntechnique for constraining the effective action, we are able to determine the\nexact form of the eight fermion terms in the supersymmetric completion of the\n$F^4$ term, including all instanton corrections. As a consequence, we argue\nthat the integral of the Euler density over $k$ monopole moduli space in SU(2)\nYang-Mills is determined by our non-renormalization theorem for all values of\n$k$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Twisted Bundle on Noncommutative Space and U(1) Instanton: We study the notion of twisted bundles on noncommutative space. Due to the\nexistence of projective operators in the algebra of functions on the\nnoncommutative space, there are twisted bundles with non-constant dimension.\nThe U(1) instanton solution of Nekrasov and Schwarz is such an example. As a\nmathematical motivation for not excluding such bundles, we find gauge\ntransformations by which a bundle with constant dimension can be equivalent to\na bundle with non-constant dimension.",
        "positive": "Dynamical renormalization and universality in classical multifield\n  cosmological models: We study the scaling behavior of classical multifield cosmological models\nwith complete scalar manifold $({\\cal M},{\\cal G})$ and positive smooth scalar\npotential $\\Phi$, introducing a dynamical renormalization group action which\nrelates their UV and IR limits. We show that the RG flow of such models\ninterpolates between a modification of the geodesic flow of $({\\cal M},{\\cal\nG})$ (obtained in the UV limit) and the gradient flow of $({\\cal M},{\\cal\nG},V)$ (obtained in the IR limit), where the classical effective potential $V$\nis proportional to $\\sqrt{2\\Phi}$. Using this fact, we show that two-field\nmodels whose scalar manifold has constant Gaussian curvature equal to $-1$, $0$\nor $1$ are infrared universal in the sense that they suffice to describe the\nfirst order IR approximants of cosmological orbits for all two-field models\nwith positive smooth scalar potential."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Thermodynamics, Euclidean Gravity and Kaluza-Klein Reduction: The aim of this paper is to find out a correspondence between one-loop\neffective action $W_E$ defined by means of path integral in Euclidean gravity\nand the free energy $F$ obtained by summation over the modes. The analysis is\ngiven for quantum fields on stationary space-times of a general form. For such\nproblems a convenient procedure of a \"Wick rotation\" from Euclidean to\nLorentzian theory becomes quite non-trivial implying transition from one real\nsection of a complexified space-time manifold to another. We formulate\nconditions under which $F$ and $W_E$ can be connected and establish an explicit\nrelation of these functionals. Our results are based on the Kaluza-Klein method\nwhich enables one to reduce the problem on a stationary space-time to\nequivalent problem on a static space-time in the presence of a gauge\nconnection. As a by-product, we discover relation between the asymptotic\nheat-kernel coefficients of elliptic operators on a $D$ dimensional stationary\nspace-times and the heat-kernel coefficients of a $D-1$ dimensional elliptic\noperators with an Abelian gauge connection.",
        "positive": "Collective-Field Excitations in the Calogero Model: We consider the large-N Calogero model in the \\h\\ collective-field approach\nbased on the $1/N$ expansion. The Bogomol'nyi limit appears and the\ncorresponding equation for the semiclassical configuration gives the correct\nground-state energy. Using the method of the orthogonal polynomial we find the\nexcitation spectrum of density fluctuations around the semiclassical solution\nfor any value of the statistical parametar $\\l$. The wave functions of the\nexcited states are explicitly constructed as a product of Hermite polynomials\nin terms of the collective modes.The two-point correlation function is\ncalculated as a series expansion in $1/\\rho$ for any intermediate statistics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A potential for Generalized Kahler Geometry: We show that, locally, all geometric objects of Generalized Kahler Geometry\ncan be derived from a function K, the \"generalized Kahler potential''. The\nmetric g and two-form B are determined as nonlinear functions of second\nderivatives of K. These nonlinearities are shown to arise via a quotient\nconstruction from an auxiliary local product (ALP) space.",
        "positive": "On Equivalence of Topological and Quantum 2d Gravity: We demonstrate the equivalence of Virasoro constraints imposed on continuum\nlimit of partition function of Hermitean 1-matrix model and the Ward identities\nof Kontsevich's model. Since the first model describes ordinary $d = 2$ quantum\ngravity, while the second one is supposed to coincide with Witten's topological\ngravity, the result provides a strong implication that the two models are\nindeed the same."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Confining Strings: We propose a hypothesis that all gauge theories are equivalent to a certain\nnon-standard string theory. Different gauge groups are accounted for by weights\nascribed to the world sheets of different topologies. The hypothesis is checked\nin the case of the compact abelian theories, where we show how condensing\nmonopole -instanton fields are reproduced by the summation over surfaces. In\nthe non-abelian case we prove that the loop equations are satisfied modulo\ncontact terms. The structure of these terms unfortunately remains undetermined.",
        "positive": "Towards inflation and dark energy cosmologies from modified Gauss-Bonnet\n  theory: We consider a physically viable cosmological model that has a field dependent\nGauss-Bonnet coupling in its effective action, in addition to a standard scalar\nfield potential. The presence of such terms in the four dimensional effective\naction gives rise to several novel effects, such as a four dimensional flat\nFriedmann-Robertson-Walker universe undergoing a cosmic inflation at early\nepoch, as well as a cosmic acceleration at late times. The model predicts,\nduring inflation, spectra of both density perturbations and gravitational waves\nthat may fall well within the experimental bounds. Furthermore, this model\nprovides a mechanism for reheating of the early universe, which is similar to a\nmodel with some friction terms added to the equation of motion of the scalar\nfield, which can imitate energy transfer from the scalar field to matter"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Shape Dependence and RG Flow of Entanglement Entropy: We use a mix of field theoretic and holographic techniques to elucidate\nvarious properties of quantum entanglement entropy. In (3+1)-dimensional\nconformal field theory we study the divergent terms in the entropy when the\nentangling surface has a conical or a wedge singularity. In (2+1)-dimensional\nfield theory with a mass gap we calculate, for an arbitrary smooth entanglement\ncontour, the expansion of the entropy in inverse odd powers of the mass. We\nshow that the shape-dependent coefficients that arise are even powers of the\nextrinsic curvature and its derivatives. A useful dual construction of a\n(2+1)-dimensional theory, which allows us to exhibit these properties, is\nprovided by the CGLP background. This smooth warped throat solution of\n11-dimensional supergravity describes renormalization group flow from a\nconformal field theory in the UV to a gapped one in the IR. For this flow we\ncalculate the recently introduced renormalized entanglement entropy and confirm\nthat it is a monotonic function.",
        "positive": "Blushift of a tachyon in the charged 2D black hole: We study the propagation of string fields (metric $G_{\\mu\\nu}$, Mawxell gauge\npotential $A_{\\mu}$, dilaton $\\Phi$, and tachyon $T$) in a two-dimensional (2D)\ncharged black hole. It is shown that the tachyon is a propagating field both\ninside and outside the black hole. This becomes infinitely blueshifted at the\ninner horizon. We confirm that the inner horizon is unstable, whereas the outer\nhorizon is stable."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Baryonium in Confining Gauge Theories: We show a new class of embedding solutions of D5 brane, which wraps on $S^5$\nin the AdS${}_5\\times S^5$ space-time and contains fundamental strings as U(1)\nflux to form a baryon vertex. The new solution given here is different from the\nbaryon vertex since it consists of two same side (north or south) poles of\n$S^5$ as cusps, which are put on different points in our three dimensional\nspace. This implies that the same magnitude of electric displacement exists at\neach cusp, but their orientations are opposite due to the flux number\nconservation. This configuration is therefore regarded as a D5-$\\bar{D5}$ bound\nstate, and we propose this as the vertex of a baryonium state, which is made of\na baryon and an anti-baryon. By attaching quarks and anti-quarks to the two\ncusps of this vertex, it is possible to construct a realistic baryonium.",
        "positive": "Note on asymptotic symmetries and soft gluon theorems: Recently, the leading soft gluon theorem with single soft emission was shown\nto be the Ward identity of a two dimensional $\\cal G$-Kac-Moody symmetry. In\nthis note, we show that the leading soft gluon theorem can be interpreted as\nthe Ward identity for the asymptotic symmetries of non-Abelian gauge theory. We\nfurther argue that the sub-leading soft gluon theorem can follow from the same\nsymmetry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum geometry and gravitational entropy: Most quantum states have wavefunctions that are widely spread over the\naccessible Hilbert space and hence do not have a good description in terms of a\nsingle classical geometry. In order to understand when geometric descriptions\nare possible, we exploit the AdS/CFT correspondence in the half-BPS sector of\nasymptotically AdS_5 x S^5 universes. In this sector we devise a\n\"coarse-grained metric operator\" whose eigenstates are well described by a\nsingle spacetime topology and geometry. We show that such half-BPS universes\nhave a non-vanishing entropy if and only if the metric is singular, and that\nthe entropy arises from coarse-graining the geometry. Finally, we use our\nentropy formula to find the most entropic spacetimes with fixed asymptotic\nmoments beyond the global charges.",
        "positive": "On The S-Matrix of Ising Field Theory in Two Dimensions: We explore the analytic structure of the non-perturbative S-matrix in\narguably the simplest family of massive non-integrable quantum field theories:\nthe Ising field theory (IFT) in two dimensions, which may be viewed as the\nIsing CFT deformed by its two relevant operators, or equivalently, the scaling\nlimit of the Ising model in a magnetic field. Our strategy is that of collider\nphysics: we employ Hamiltonian truncation method (TFFSA) to extract the\nscattering phase of the lightest particles in the elastic regime, and combine\nit with S-matrix bootstrap methods based on unitarity and analyticity\nassumptions to determine the analytic continuation of the 2 to 2 S-matrix\nelement to the complex s-plane. Focusing primarily on the \"high temperature\"\nregime in which the IFT interpolates between that of a weakly coupled massive\nfermion and the E8 affine Toda theory, we will numerically determine 3-particle\namplitudes, follow the evolution of poles and certain resonances of the\nS-matrix, and exclude the possibility of unknown wide resonances up to\nreasonably high energies."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Renormalization Group Running of Newton's G: The Static Isotropic Case: Corrections are computed to the classical static isotropic solution of\ngeneral relativity, arising from non-perturbative quantum gravity effects. A\nslow rise of the effective gravitational coupling with distance is shown to\ninvolve a genuinely non-perturbative scale, closely connected with the\ngravitational vacuum condensate, and thereby, it is argued, related to the\nobserved effective cosmological constant. Several analogies between the\nproposed vacuum condensate picture of quantum gravitation, and non-perturbative\naspects of vacuum condensation in strongly coupled non-abelian gauge theories\nare developed. In contrast to phenomenological approaches, the underlying\nfunctional integral formulation of the theory severely constrains possible\nscenarios for the renormalization group evolution of couplings. The expected\nrunning of Newton's constant $G$ is compared to known vacuum polarization\ninduced effects in QED and QCD. The general analysis is then extended to a set\nof covariant non-local effective field equations, intended to incorporate the\nfull scale dependence of $G$, and examined in the case of the static isotropic\nmetric. The existence of vacuum solutions to the effective field equations in\ngeneral severely restricts the possible values of the scaling exponent $\\nu$.",
        "positive": "Five-dimensional N=4, SU(2) X U(1) Gauged Supergravity from Type IIB: We construct the complete and explicit non-linear Kaluza-Klein ansatz for\nderiving the bosonic sector of N=4 SU(2)\\times U(1) gauged five-dimensional\nsupergravity from the reduction of type IIB supergravity on S^5. This provides\nthe first complete example of such an S^5 reduction that includes non-abelian\ngauge fields, and it allows any bosonic solution of the five-dimensional N=4\ngauged theory to be embedded in D=10."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Epstein-Glaser approach to pQFT: graphs and Hopf algebras: The paper aims at investigating perturbative quantum field theory (pQFT) in\nthe approach of Epstein and Glaser (EG) and, in particular, its formulation in\nthe language of graphs and Hopf algebras (HAs). Various HAs are encountered,\neach one associated with a special combination of physical concepts such as\nnormalization, localization, pseudo-unitarity, causality and an associated\nregularization, and renormalization. The algebraic structures, representing the\nperturbative expansion of the S-matrix, are imposed on the operator-valued\ndistributions which are equipped with appropriate graph indices. Translation\ninvariance ensures the algebras to be analytically well-defined and graded\ntotal symmetry allows to formulate bialgebras. The algebraic results are given\nembedded in the physical framework, which covers the two recent EG versions by\nFredenhagen and Scharf that differ with respect to the concrete recursive\nimplementation of causality. Besides, the ultraviolet divergences occuring in\nFeynman's representation are mathematically reasoned. As a final result, the\nchange of the renormalization scheme in the EG framework is modeled via a HA\nwhich can be seen as the EG-analog of Kreimer's HA.",
        "positive": "Solvable Relativistic Hydrogenlike System in Supersymmetric Yang-Mills\n  Theory: The classical Kepler problem, as well as its quantum mechanical version, the\nHydrogen atom, enjoy a well-known hidden symmetry, the conservation of the\nLaplace-Runge-Lenz vector, which makes these problems superintegrable. Is there\na relativistic quantum field theory extension that preserves this symmetry? In\nthis Letter we show that the answer is positive: in the non-relativistic limit,\nwe identify the dual conformal symmetry of planar $\\mathcal{N}=4$ super\nYang-Mills with the well-known symmetries of the Hydrogen atom. We point out\nthat the dual conformal symmetry offers a novel way to compute the spectrum of\nbound states of massive $W$ bosons in the theory. We perform nontrivial tests\nof this setup at weak and strong coupling, and comment on the possible\nextension to arbitrary values of the coupling."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Charged black lens in de Sitter space: We obtain a charged black lens solution in the five-dimensional\nEinstein-Maxwell-Chern-Simons theory with a positive cosmological constant. It\nis shown that the solution obtained here describes the formation of a black\nhole with the spatial cross section of a sphere from that of the lens space of\nL(n,1) in five-dimensional de Sitter space.",
        "positive": "Arithmetic and Attractors: We study relations between some topics in number theory and supersymmetric\nblack holes. These relations are based on the ``attractor mechanism'' of N=2\nsupergravity. In IIB string compactification this mechanism singles out certain\n``attractor varieties.'' We show that these attractor varieties are constructed\nfrom products of elliptic curves with complex multiplication for N=4 and N=8\ncompactifications. The heterotic dual theories are related to rational\nconformal field theories. In the case of N=4 theories U-duality inequivalent\nbackgrounds with the same horizon area are counted by the class number of a\nquadratic imaginary field. The attractor varieties are defined over fields\nclosely related to class fields of the quadratic imaginary field. We discuss\nsome extensions to more general Calabi-Yau compactifications and explore\nfurther connections to arithmetic including connections to Kronecker's\nJugendtraum and the theory of modular heights. The paper also includes a short\nreview of the attractor mechanism. A much shorter version of the paper\nsummarizing the main points is the companion note entitled ``Attractors and\nArithmetic'' (hep-th/9807056)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Noncommutative $R^d$ via closed star product: We consider linear star products on $R^d$ of Lie algebra type. First we\nderive the closed formula for the polydifferential representation of the\ncorresponding Lie algebra generators. Using this representation we define the\nWeyl star product on the dual of the Lie algebra. Then we construct a gauge\noperator relating the Weyl star product with the one which is closed with\nrespect to some trace functional, $Tr( f\\star g)= Tr( f\\cdot g)$. We introduce\nthe derivative operator on the algebra of the closed star product and show that\nthe corresponding Leibnitz rule holds true up to a total derivative. As a\nparticular example we study the space $R^3_\\theta$ with $\\mathfrak{su}(2)$ type\nnoncommutativity and show that in this case the closed star product is the one\nobtained from the Duflo quantization map. As a result a Laplacian can be\ndefined such that its commutative limit reproduces the ordinary commutative\none. The deformed Leibnitz rule is applied to scalar field theory to derive\nconservation laws and the corresponding noncommutative currents.",
        "positive": "Non-linear theory for multiple M2 branes: We present a manifestly SO(8) invariant non-linear Lagrangian for describing\nthe non-abelian dynamics of the bosonic degrees of freedom of N coinciding M2\nbranes in flat spacetime. The theory exhibits a gauge symmetry structure of the\nBF type (semidirect product of SU(N) and translations) and at low energies it\nreduces exactly to the bosonic part of the Lorentzian Bagger-Lambert Lagrangian\nfor group SU(N). There are eight scalar fields satisfying a free-scalar\nequation. When one of them takes a large expectation value, the non-linear\nLagrangian gets simplified and the theory can be connected to the non-abelian\nLagrangian describing the dynamics of N coinciding D2 branes. As an\napplication, we show that the BPS fuzzy funnel solution describing M2 branes\nending into a single M5 brane is an exact solution of the non-linear system."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Out of Equilibrium Quantum Field Theory --- Perturbation Theory and\n  Generalized Boltzmann Equation: This paper describes perturbative framework, on the basis of the\nclosed-time-path formalism, in terms of quasiparticle picture for studying\nquasiuniform relativistic quantum field systems near equilibrium and\nnonequilibrium quasistationary systems. Two calculational schemes are\nintroduced, the one is formulated on the basis of the initial-particle\ndistribution function and the one is formulated on the basis of the\n``physical''-particle distribution function. It is shown that both schemes are\nequivalent and lead to a generalized kinetic or Boltzmann equation. Concrete\nprocedure of computing a generic amplitude is presented.",
        "positive": "Stable bound orbits around a supersymmetric black lens: In higher-dimensional Schwarzschild black hole spacetimes, there are no\nstable bound orbits of particles. In contrast to this, it is shown that there\nare stable bound orbits in a five-dimensional black lens spacetime."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Cardy-like asymptotics of the 4d $\\mathcal{N}=4$ index and AdS$_5$\n  blackholes: Choi, Kim, Kim, and Nahmgoong have recently pioneered analyzing a Cardy-like\nlimit of the superconformal index of the 4d $\\mathcal{N}=4$ theory with\ncomplexified fugacities which encodes the entropy of the dual supersymmetric\nAdS$_5$ blackholes. Here we study the Cardy-like asymptotics of the index\nwithin the rigorous framework of elliptic hypergeometric integrals, thereby\nfilling a gap in their derivation of the blackhole entropy function, finding a\nnew blackhole saddle-point, and demonstrating novel bifurcation phenomena in\nthe asymptotics of the index as a function of fugacity phases. We also comment\non the relevance of the supersymmetric Casimir energy to the blackhole entropy\nfunction in the present context.",
        "positive": "On lightcone string field theory from Super Yang-Mills and holography: We investigate the issues of holography and string interactions in the\nduality between SYM and the pp wave background. We argue that the Penrose\ndiagram of the maximally supersymmetric pp-wave has a one dimensional boundary.\nThis fact suggests that the holographic dual of the pp-wave can be described by\na quantum mechanical system. We believe this quantum mechanical system should\nbe formulated as a matrix model. From the SYM point of view this matrix model\nis built out of the lowest lying KK modes of the SYM theory on an $S^3$\ncompactification, and it relates to a wave which has been compactified along\none of the null directions. String interactions are defined by finite time\namplitudes on this matrix model. For closed strings they arise as in AdS-CFT,\nby free SYM diagrams. For open strings, they arise from the diagonalization of\nthe hamiltonian to first order in perturbation theory. Estimates of the leading\nbehaviour of amplitudes in SYM and string theory agree, although they are\nperformed in very different regimes. Corrections are organized in powers of\n$1/(\\mu \\alpha ' p^+)^2$ and $g^2(\\mu \\alpha ' p^+)^4$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Cotton Double Copy for Gravitational Waves: We construct a double copy relation between the Cotton spinor and the dual\nfield strength spinor of topologically massive theories, as the\nthree-dimensional analogue of the Weyl double copy. The relationship holds in\ncurved backgrounds for wave solutions. We give an explicit proof for Type N\nspacetimes and show examples satisfying the Cotton double copy.",
        "positive": "Can an odd number of fermions be created due to chiral anomaly?: We describe a possibility of creation of an odd number of fractionally\ncharged fermions in 1+1 dimensional Abelian Higgs model. We point out that for\n1+1 dimensions this process does not violate any symmetries of the theory, nor\nmakes it mathematically inconsistent. We construct the proper definition of the\nfermionic determinant in this model and underline its non-trivial features that\nare of importance for realistic 3+1 dimensional models with fermion number\nviolation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hydrodynamic gradient expansion in gauge theory plasmas: We utilize the fluid-gravity duality to investigate the large order behavior\nof hydrodynamic gradient expansion of the dynamics of a gauge theory plasma\nsystem. This corresponds to the inclusion of dissipative terms and transport\ncoefficients of very high order. Using the dual gravity description, we\ncalculate numerically the form of the stress tensor for a boost-invariant flow\nin a hydrodynamic expansion up to terms with 240 derivatives. We observe a\nfactorial growth of gradient contributions at large orders, which indicates a\nzero radius of convergence of the hydrodynamic series. Furthermore, we identify\nthe leading singularity in the Borel transform of the hydrodynamic energy\ndensity with the lowest nonhydrodynamic excitation corresponding to a\n`nonhydrodynamic' quasinormal mode on the gravity side.",
        "positive": "Eigenstate Thermalisation in the conformal Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev model: an\n  analytic approach: The Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev (SYK) model provides an uncommon example of a chaotic\ntheory that can be analysed analytically. In the deep infrared limit, the\noriginal model has an emergent conformal (reparametrisation) symmetry that is\nbroken both spontaneously and explicitly. The explicit breaking of this\nsymmetry comes about due to pseudo-Nambu-Goldstone modes that are not exact\nzero-modes of the model. In this paper, we study a version of the model which\npreserves the reparametrisation symmetry at all length scales. We study the\nheavy-light correlation functions of the operators in the conformal spectrum of\nthe theory. The three point functions of such operators allow us to demonstrate\nthat matrix elements of primaries ${\\cal O}_n$ of the CFT$_1$ take the form\npostulated by the Eigenstate Thermalisation Hypothesis. We also discuss the\nimplications of these results for the states in AdS$_2$ gravity dual."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Integrable Symplectic Trilinear Interaction Terms for Matrix Membranes: Cubic interactions are considered in 3 and 7 space dimensions, respectively,\nfor bosonic membranes in Poisson Bracket form. Their symmetries and vacuum\nconfigurations are discussed. Their associated first order equations are\ntransformed to Nahm's equations, and are hence seen to be integrable, for the\n3-dimensional case, by virtue of the explicit Lax pair provided. The\nconstructions introduced also apply to commutator or Moyal Bracket analogues.",
        "positive": "Wilson loop in a $T\\bar{T}$ like deformed $\\rm{CFT}_2$: In this paper we study string theory in the background $\\mathcal{M}_3$ that\ninterpolates between $AdS_3$ in the IR and linear dilaton spacetime\n$\\mathbb{R}^{1,1}\\times\\mathbb{R}_\\phi$ in the UV. Via holographic duality this\nbackground corresponds to $\\rm{CFT}_2$ deformed by a dimension $(2,2)$\noperator. Here we discuss the holographic Wilson loop in such a model and shed\nmore light in support of the non-local structure of the theory (Little String\nTheory (LST)) in the UV. We also discuss quantum and thermal phase transitions\nof the boundary theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Mean-field theory based on the \\mathfrak{Jacobi~hsp} := semi-direct sum\n  \\mathfrak{h}_N \\rtimes \\mathfrak{sp}(2N,\\mathbb{R})_\\mathbb{C} algebra of\n  boson operators: In this paper, we give an expression for canonical transformation group with\nGrassmann variables, basing on the \\mathfrak{Jacobi~hsp} \\!:= semi-direct sum\n\\mathfrak{h}_{N} \\rtimes \\mathfrak{sp}(2N,\\mathbb{R})_\\mathbb{C} algebra of\nboson operators. We assume a mean-field Hamiltonian (MFH) linear in the\n\\mathfrak{Jacobi} generators. We diagonalize the boson MFH. We show a new\naspect of eigenvalues of the MFH. An excitation energy arisen from additional\nself-consistent field (SCF) parameters has never been seen in the traditional\nboson MFT. We derive this excitation energy. We extend the Killing potential in\nthe \\frac{Sp(2N,\\mathbb{R})_\\mathbb{C}}{U(N)} coset space to the one in the\n\\frac{Sp(2N+2,\\mathbb{R})_\\mathbb{C}}{U(N+1)} coset space and make clear the\ngeometrical structure of K\\\"{a}hler manifold, a non-compact symmetric space\n\\frac{Sp(2N+2,\\mathbb{R})_\\mathbb{C}}{U(N+1)}. The \\mathfrak{Jacobi~hsp}\ntransformation group is embedded into an Sp(2N+2,\\mathbb{R})_\\mathbb{C} group\nand an \\frac{Sp(2N+2,\\mathbb{R})_\\mathbb{C}}{U(N+1)} coset variable is\nintroduced. Under such mathematical manipulations, extended bosonization of\nSp(2N+2,\\mathbb{R})_\\mathbb{C} Lie operators, vacuum function and differential\nforms for extended boson are presented by using integral representation of\nboson state on the \\frac{Sp(2N+2,\\mathbb{R})_\\mathbb{C}}{U(N+1)} coset\nvariables.",
        "positive": "Fractional Bosonic Strings: The aim of this paper is to present a simple generalization of bosonic string\ntheory in the framework of the theory of fractional variational problems.\nSpecifically, we present a fractional extension of the Polyakov action, for\nwhich we compute the general form of the equations of motion and discuss the\nconnection between the new fractional action and a generalization the\nNambu-Goto action. Consequently, we analyse the symmetries of the modified\nPolyakov action and try to fix the gauge, following the classical procedures.\nThen we solve the equations of motion in a simplified setting. Finally, we\npresent an Hamiltonian description of the classical fractional bosonic string\nand introduce the fractional light-cone gauge. It is important to remark that,\nthroughout the whole paper, we thoroughly discuss how to recover the known\nresults as an \"integer\" limit of the presented model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Higgs Mechanism in Nonlocal Field Theories: We study spontaneous gauge symmetry breaking and the Higgs mechanism in\nnonlocal field theories. Motivated by the level truncated action of string\nfield theory, we consider a class of nonlocal field theories with an\nexponential factor of the d'Alembertian attached to the kinetic and mass terms.\nModifications of this kind are known to make mild the UV behavior of loop\ndiagrams and thus have been studied not only in the context of string theory\nbut also as an alternative approach to quantum gravity. In this paper we argue\nthat such a nonlocal theory potentially includes a ghost mode near the nonlocal\nscale in the particle spectrum of the symmetry broken phase. This is in sharp\ncontrast to local field theories and would be an obstruction to making a simple\nnonlocal model a UV complete theory. We then discuss a possible way out by\nstudying nonlocal theories with extra symmetries such as gauge symmetries in\nhigher spacetime dimensions.",
        "positive": "Viscosities and shift in a chiral superfluid: a holographic study: We consider a holographic model of chiral superfluidity whose bulk is\nEinstein Yang-Mills and compute viscosity and conductivity responses away from\nthe probe limit. We calculate Hall viscosity and analyze its relationship to\nthe superfluid density and the shift. We find that the relationship between\nthese quantities derived from effective field theory at zero temperature\npersists for all temperatures: for $p\\pm ip$ their ratio is equal to $\\mp1/2$.\nAt low temperatures the system develops a Lifshitz throat, indicating an\nanisotropic scaling symmetry in the infrared dynamics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Conservation Laws and Geometry of Perturbed Coset Models: We present a Lagrangian description of the $SU(2)/U(1)$ coset model perturbed\nby its first thermal operator. This is the simplest perturbation that changes\nsign under Krammers--Wannier duality. The resulting theory, which is a\n2--component generalization of the sine--Gordon model, is then taken in\nMinkowski space. For negative values of the coupling constant $g$, it is\nclassically equivalent to the $O(4)$ non--linear $\\s$--model reduced in a\ncertain frame. For $g > 0$, it describes the relativistic motion of vortices in\na constant external field. Viewing the classical equations of motion as a zero\ncurvature condition, we obtain recursive relations for the infinitely many\nconservation laws by the abelianization method of gauge connections. The higher\nspin currents are constructed entirely using an off--critical generalization of\nthe $W_{\\infty}$ generators. We give a geometric interpretation to the\ncorresponding charges in terms of embeddings. Applications to the chirally\ninvariant $U(2)$ Gross--Neveu model are also discussed.",
        "positive": "Effective hydrodynamics of black D3-branes: The long-wavelength effective field theory of world-volume fluctuations of\nblack D3-branes is shown to be a hydrodynamical system to leading order in a\ngradient expansion. We study the system on a fiducial `cutoff' surface: the\nfluctuating geometry imprints its dynamics on the surface via an induced stress\ntensor whose conservation encapsulates the hydrodynamical description. For a\ngeneric non-extremal D3-brane, as we move our cutoff surface from the\nasymptotically flat near-boundary region to the near-horizon region, this\nhydrodynamical system interpolates between a non-conformal relativistic fluid\nand a non-relativistic incompressible fluid. We also consider the dependence on\nthe deviation from extremality of the D3-branes. In the near-extremal case we\nrecover the description in terms of a conformal relativistic fluid encountered\nin the AdS/CFT context. We argue that this system allows us therefore to\nexplore the various connections that have hitherto been suggested relating the\ndynamics of gravitational systems and fluid dynamics. In particular, we go on\nto show that the blackfold effective field theory approach allows us to capture\nthis hydrodynamical behaviour and moreover subsumes the constructions\nencountered in the fluid/gravity correspondence and the black hole membrane\nparadigm, providing thereby a universal language to explore the effective\ndynamics of black branes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "D-Branes, RR-Fields and Duality on Noncommutative Manifolds: We develop some of the ingredients needed for string theory on noncommutative\nspacetimes, proposing an axiomatic formulation of T-duality as well as\nestablishing a very general formula for D-brane charges. This formula is\nclosely related to a noncommutative Grothendieck-Riemann-Roch theorem that is\nproved here. Our approach relies on a very general form of Poincare duality,\nwhich is studied here in detail. Among the technical tools employed are\ncalculations with iterated products in bivariant K-theory and cyclic theory,\nwhich are simplified using a novel diagram calculus reminiscent of Feynman\ndiagrams.",
        "positive": "Infrared phases of 3d massless CS-QCD and large $N_f$: We compute anomalous dimensions of quartic operators which are singlets under\nthe $\\mathrm{U}(N_f)$ global symmetry in Yang-Mills theories with Chern-Simons\nlevel $k$ in three dimensions coupled to $N_f$ Dirac fermions. In order to have\nanalytic control, we consider the regime $N_f\\gg N_c\\gg 1$, where the problem\nis reduced to the study of a flavor-adjoint and a flavor-singlet bilinears\nwhose square give the quartic operators of interest. We provide evidence that\nthese operators hit marginality, signaling instabilities which, for\n$\\frac{2k}{N_f}<1$ suggest the spontaneous breaking of the global symmetry, and\nno symmetry breaking otherwise. For $k=N_f/2-1$ (the value corresponding to the\ndomain walls of 4d QCD at $\\theta=\\pi$), the critical value $N_f^*$ is\ntantalizingly close to the lower end of the conformal window of QCD$_4$,\nsuggesting a connection between conformal and global symmetry breaking in the\n4d theory and in its domain walls. We also study, at $k=0$, other quartic\noperators containing a singlet when branched under\n$\\mathrm{U}\\left(\\frac{N_f}{2}\\right)\\times\n\\mathrm{U}\\left(\\frac{N_f}{2}\\right)$, finding that they hit marginality\nprecisely at the same point as their flavor-neutral cousins. Using the same\ntechnology we study bosonic CS-QCD$_3$, finding no hint of symmetry breaking\nwhere our analysis is applicable."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Inevitability of Sphalerons in Field Theory: The topological structure of field theory often makes inevitable the\nexistence of stable and unstable localised solutions of the field equations.\nThese are minima and saddle points of the energy. Saddle point solutions\noccurring this way are known as sphalerons, and the most interesting one is in\nthe electroweak theory of coupled W, Z and Higgs bosons. The topological ideas\nunderpinning sphalerons are reviewed here.",
        "positive": "Symmetric calorons of higher charges and their large period limits: Periodic instantons, also called calorons, are the BPS solutions to the pure\nYang-Mills theories on $\\mathbb{R}^3\\times S^1$. It is known that the calorons\ninterconnect with the instantons and the BPS monopoles as the ratio of their\nsize to the period of $S^1$ varies. We give, in this paper, the action density\nconfigurations of the $SU(2)$ calorons of higher instanton charges with several\nplatonic symmetries through the numerical Nahm transform, after the\nconstruction of the analytic Nahm data. The calorons considered are 5-caloron\nwith octahedral symmetry, 7-caloron with icosahedral symmetry, and 4-caloron\ninterconnecting tetrahedral and octahedral symmetries. We also consider the\nlarge period, or the instanton, limits of the Nahm data, i.e., the ADHM limits,\nand observe the similar spatial distributions of the action densities with the\ncalorons."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-relativistic twistor theory and Newton--Cartan geometry: We develop a non-relativistic twistor theory, in which Newton--Cartan\nstructures of Newtonian gravity correspond to complex three-manifolds with a\nfour-parameter family of rational curves with normal bundle ${\\mathcal\nO}\\oplus{\\mathcal O}(2)$. We show that the Newton--Cartan space-times are\nunstable under the general Kodaira deformation of the twistor complex\nstructure. The Newton--Cartan connections can nevertheless be reconstructed\nfrom Merkulov's generalisation of the Kodaira map augmented by a choice of a\nholomorphic line bundle over the twistor space trivial on twistor lines. The\nCoriolis force may be incorporated by holomorphic vector bundles, which in\ngeneral are non--trivial on twistor lines. The resulting geometries agree with\nnon--relativistic limits of anti-self-dual gravitational instantons.",
        "positive": "Universality of DC Electrical Conductivity from Holography: We propose a universal formula of dc electrical conductivity in rotational-\nand translational- symmetries breaking systems via the holographic duality.\nThis formula states that the ratio of the determinant of the dc electrical\nconductivities along any spatial directions to the black hole area density in\nzero-charge limit has a universal value. As explicit illustrations, we give\nseveral examples elucidating the validation of this formula: We construct an\nanisotropic black brane solution, which yields linear in temperature for the\nin-plane resistivity and insulating behavior for the out-of-plane resistivity;\nWe also construct a spatially isotropic black brane solution that both the\nlinear-T and quadratic-T contributions to the resistivity can be realized."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauge theories on hyperbolic spaces and dual wormhole instabilities: We study supergravity duals of strongly coupled four dimensional gauge\ntheories formulated on compact quotients of hyperbolic spaces. The resulting\nbackground geometries are represented by Euclidean wormholes, which complicates\nestablishing the precise gauge theory/string theory correspondence dictionary.\nThese backgrounds suffer from the non-perturbative instabilities arising from\nthe D3 - anti-D3 pair production in the background four-form potential. We\ndiscuss conditions for suppressing this Schwinger-like instability. We find\nthat Euclidean wormholes arising in this construction develop a naked\nsingularity, before they can be stabilized.",
        "positive": "Cosmological Backreaction for a Test Field Observer in a Chaotic\n  Inflationary Model: In an inhomogeneous universe, an observer associated with a particular matter\nfield does not necessarily measure the same cosmological evolution as an\nobserver in a homogeneous and isotropic universe. Here we consider, in the\ncontext of a chaotic inflationary background model, a class of observers\nassociated with a \"clock field\" for which we use a light test field. We compute\nthe effective expansion rate and fluid equation of state in a gauge invariant\nway, taking into account the quantum fluctuations of the long wavelength modes,\nand working up to second order in perturbation theory and in the slow-roll\napproximation. We find that the effective expansion rate is smaller than what\nwould be measured in the absence of fluctuations. Within the stochastic\napproach we study the bounds for which the approximations we make are\nconsistent."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Path Integral for the Dirac Equation: A c-number path integral representation is constructed for the solution of\nthe Dirac equation. The integration is over the real trajectories in the\ncontinuous three-space and other two canonical pairs of compact variables\ncontrolling the spin and the chirality flips.",
        "positive": "Fission, Fusion, and 6D RG Flows: We show that all known 6D SCFTs can be obtained iteratively from an\nunderlying set of UV progenitor theories through the processes of \"fission\" and\n\"fusion.\" Fission consists of a tensor branch deformation followed by a special\nclass of Higgs branch deformations characterized by discrete and continuous\nhomomorphisms into flavor symmetry algebras. Almost all 6D SCFTs can be\nrealized as fission products. The remainder can be constructed via one step of\nfusion involving these fission products, whereby a single common flavor\nsymmetry of decoupled 6D SCFTs is gauged and paired with a new tensor multiplet\nat the origin of moduli space, producing an RG flow \"in reverse\" to the UV.\nThis leads to a streamlined labeling scheme for all known 6D SCFTs in terms of\na few pieces of group theoretic data. The partial ordering of continuous\nhomomorphisms $\\mathfrak{su}(2) \\rightarrow \\mathfrak{g}_{\\text{flav}}$ for\n$\\mathfrak{g}_{\\text{flav}}$ a flavor symmetry also points the way to a\nclassification of 6D RG flows."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic RG flows with nematic IR phases: We construct zero-temperature geometries that interpolate between a Lifshitz\nfixed point in the UV and an IR phase that breaks spatial rotations but\npreserves translations. We work with a simple holographic model describing two\nmassive gauge fields coupled to gravity and a neutral scalar. Our construction\ncan be used to describe RG flows in non-relativistic, strongly coupled quantum\nsystems with nematic order in the IR. In particular, when the dynamical\ncritical exponent of the UV fixed point is z=2 and the IR scaling exponents are\nchosen appropriately, our model realizes holographically the scaling properties\nof the bosonic modes of the quadratic band crossing model.",
        "positive": "From strings in 6d to strings in 5d: We show how recent progress in computing elliptic genera of strings in six\ndimensions can be used to obtain expressions for elliptic genera of strings in\nfive-dimensional field theories which have a six-dimensional parent. We further\nconnect our results to recent mathematical results about sheaf counting on\nruled surfaces."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Topological Effects on Non-Relativistic Eigenvalue Solutions Under\n  AB-Flux Field with Pseudoharmonic- and Mie-type Potentials: In this paper, we investigate the quantum dynamics of a non-relativistic\nparticle confined by the Aharonov-Bohm quantum flux field with\npseudoharmonic-type potential in the background of topological defect produced\nby a point-like global monopole. We solve the radial Schr\\\"{o}dinger equation\nanalytically and determine the exact eigenvalue solution of the quantum system.\nAfterwards, we consider a Mie-type potential in the quantum system and solve\nthe radial equation analytically and obtain the eigenvalue solution. We analyze\nthe effects of the topological defect and the quantum flux with these\npotentials on the energy eigenvalue and wave function of the non-relativistic\nparticles. In fact, it is shown that the energy levels and wave functions are\ninfluenced by the topological defect shifted the result compared to the flat\nspace results. In addition, the quantum flux field also shifted the eigenvalue\nsolutions and an analogue of the Aharonov-Bohm effect for bound-states is\nobserved. Finally, we utilize these eigenvalue solutions to some known diatomic\nmolecular potential models and presented the energy eigenvalue and wave\nfunction",
        "positive": "Instability of D-dimensional extremally charged Reissner-Nordstrom(-de\n  Sitter) black holes: Extrapolation to arbitrary D: In our earlier work (PRL 103 (2009) 161101) it was shown that nonextremal\nhighly charged Reissner-Nordstrom-de Sitter black holes are gravitationally\nunstable in D>6-dimensional space-times. Here, we find accurate threshold\nvalues of the $\\Lambda$-term at which the instability of the extremally charged\nblack holes starts. The larger $D$ is, the smaller is the threshold value of\n$\\Lambda$. We have shown that the ratio $\\rho = r_{h}/r_{cos}$ (where $r_{cos}$\nand $r_{h}$ are the cosmological and event horizons) is proportional to\n$e^{-(D-4)/2}$ at the onset of instability for D=7,8,...11, implying that the\nsame law should fulfill for arbitrary D. This is numerical evidence that\nextremally charged Reissner-Nordstrom-de Sitter black holes are gravitationally\nunstable for D>6, while asymptotically flat extremally charged\nReissner-Nordstrom black holes are stable for all D. The instability is not\nconnected to the horizon instability discussed recently in the literature, and,\nunlike the later one, develops also outside the event horizon, that is, it can\nbe seen by an external observer. In addition, for the nonextremal case through\nfitting of the numerical data we obtained an approximate analytical formula\nwhich relates values of charge and the $\\Lambda$-term at the onset of\ninstability."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-local Symmetries of Nonlinear Field Equations: an Algebraic Approach: An algebraic method is devised to look for non-local symmetries of the\npseudopotential type of nonlinear field equations. The method is based on the\nuse of an infinite-dimensional subalgebra of the prolongation algebra $L$\nassociated with the equations under consideration. Our approach, which is\napplied by way of example to the Dym and the Korteweg-de Vries equations,\nallows us to obtain a general formula for the infinitesimal operator of the\nnon-local symmetries expressed in terms of elements of $L$. The method could be\nexploited to investigate the symmetry properties of other nonlinear field\nequations possessing nontrivial prolongations.",
        "positive": "Matrix model criticality and resonant tunneling: We suggest that the Hermitian matrix models with resonant tunneling may\nexhibit novel criticality. Some features of the proposed criticality are\nexplored. In particular, we argue that the new critical point is connected with\nthe first-order transition."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the dyon partition function in N=2 theories: We study the entropy function of two N =2 string compactifications obtained\nas freely acting orbifolds of N=4 theories : the STU model and the FHSV model.\nThe Gauss-Bonnet term for these compactifications is known precisely. We apply\nthe entropy function formalism including the contribution of this four\nderivative term and evaluate the entropy of dyons to the first subleading order\nin charges for these models. We then propose a partition function involving the\nproduct of three Siegel modular forms of weight zero which reproduces the\ndegeneracy of dyonic black holes in the STU model to the first subleading order\nin charges. The proposal is invariant under all the duality symmetries of the\nSTU model. For the FHSV model we write down an approximate partition function\ninvolving a Siegel modular form of weight four which captures the entropy of\ndyons in the FHSV model in the limit when electric charges are much larger than\nmagnetic charges.",
        "positive": "Properties of noncommutative axionic electrodynamics: Using the gauge-invariant but path-dependent variables formalism, we compute\nthe static quantum potential for noncommutative axionic electrodynamics, and\nfind a radically different result than the corresponding commutative case. We\nexplicitly show that the static potential profile is analogous to that\nencountered in both non-Abelian axionic electrodynamics and in Yang-Mills\ntheory with spontaneous symmetry breaking of scale symmetry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "SYM N=4 in light-cone gauge and the \"bridge\" identities: The light-cone gauge allows to single out a set of ``transverse'' fields\n(TF), whose Green functions are free from UV divergences in SYM N=4. Green\nfunctions with external lines involving the remaining fields do instead exhibit\ndivergences: indeed those fields can be expressed, by solving their equations\nof motion, as composite operators in terms of ``transverse'' fields. A set of\nexact identities (bridge identities) automatically realize their insertions in\na path-integral formulation.",
        "positive": "Holographic Quantum Gravity and Horizon Instability: In this Essay, we will look at the relation between the No Transmission\nprinciple and the Strong cosmic censorship (SCC), which we will highlight in\nthe background of quantum gravity. We show that taking quantum gravity into\naccount, one can provide a complete picture of the instability of the inner\nhorizon and the principle that two independent CFTs, under the gauge-gravity\nduality, imply that the dual bulks must also be independent in that there must\nnot exist a way to transmit a signal between the two spacetimes. We show that\nthis can simply be interpreted as SCC, and that the inner horizon must be\nunstable (at either linear or nonlinear orders) to be in accordance with\nholographic quantum gravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Towards matrix model representation of HOMFLY polynomials: We investigate possibilities of generalizing the TBEM eigenvalue matrix\nmodel, which represents the non-normalized colored HOMFLY polynomials for torus\nknots as averages of the corresponding characters. We look for a model of the\nsame type, which is a usual Chern-Simons mixture of the Gaussian potential,\ntypical for Hermitean models, and the sine Vandermonde factors, typical for the\nunitary ones. We mostly concentrate on the family of twist knots, which\ncontains a single torus knot, the trefoil. It turns out that for the trefoil\nthe TBEM measure is provided by an action of Laplace exponential on the Jones\npolynomial. This procedure can be applied to arbitrary knots and provides a\nTBEM-like integral representation for the N=2 case. However, beyond the torus\nfamily, both the measure and its lifting to larger N contain non-trivial\ncorrections in \\hbar=\\log q. A possibility could be to absorb these corrections\ninto a deformation of the Laplace evolution by higher Casimir and/or\ncut-and-join operators, in the spirit of Hurwitz tau-function approach to knot\ntheory, but this remains a subject for future investigation.",
        "positive": "On fixed points of quantum gravity: We study the short distance behaviour of euclidean quantum gravity in the\nlight of Weinberg's asymptotic safety scenario. Implications of a non-trivial\nultraviolet fixed point are reviewed. Based on an optimised renormalisation\ngroup, we provide analytical flow equations in the Einstein-Hilbert truncation.\nA non-trivial ultraviolet fixed point is found for arbitrary dimension. We\ndiscuss a bifurcation pattern in the spectrum of eigenvalues at criticality,\nand the large dimensional limit of quantum gravity. Implications for quantum\ngravity in higher dimensions are indicated."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Invariants of the heat equation for non-minimal operators: A special class of non-minimal operators which are relevant for quantum field\ntheory is introduced. The general form of the heat kernel coefficients of these\noperators on manifolds without boundary is described. New results are presented\nfor the traces of the first two heat kernel coefficients for vector, Yang-Mills\nand perturbative gravity. It is argued that non-minimal operators can be used\nto define gauge-fixing independent actions and solve the conformal mode problem\nin quantum gravity.",
        "positive": "Orbifolds as Melvin Geometry: In this paper we explicitly show that the various noncompact abelian\norbifolds are realized as special limits of parameters in type II (NSNS) Melvin\nbackground and its higher dimensional generalizations. As a result the\nsupersymmetric ALE spaces (A-type C^2/Z_N) and nonsupersymmetric orbifolds in\ntype II and type 0 theory are all connected with each other by the exactly\nmarginal deformation. Our results provide new examples of the duality between\ntype II and type 0 string theory. We also discuss the decay of unstable\nbackgrounds in this model which include closed string tachyons."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "4th order similarity renormalization of a model hamiltonian: We study the similarity renormalization scheme for hamiltonians to the fourth\norder in perturbation theory using a model hamiltonian for fermions coupled to\nbosons. We demonstrate that the free finite parts of counterterms can be chosen\nin such a way that the T-matrix is covariant up to the fourth order and the\neigenvalue equation for the physical fermion reduces to the Dirac equation.\nThrough this choice, the systematic renormalization scheme reproduces the model\nsolution originally proposed by G{\\l}azek and Perry.",
        "positive": "Bubbling the Newly Grown Black Ring Hair: New families of BPS black ring solutions with four electric and four dipole\nmagnetic charges have recently been explicitly constructed and uplifted to\nM-theory. These solutions were found to belong to a CFT with central charge\ndifferent compared to the one of the STU model. Because of their importance to\nAdS/CFT, here we give the microstate description of these geometries in terms\nof topological bubbles and supertubes. The fourth charge results in an\nadditional flux through the topological cycles that resolve the brane\nsingularities. The analog of these solutions in the IIB frame yield a\ngeneralized regular supertube with three electric charges and one dipole\ncharge. Direct comparison is also made with the previously-known bubbled\ngeometries."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Future of the universe in modified gravitational theories: Approaching\n  to the finite-time future singularity: We investigate the future evolution of the dark energy universe in modified\ngravities including $F(R)$ gravity, string-inspired scalar-Gauss-Bonnet and\nmodified Gauss-Bonnet ones, and ideal fluid with the inhomogeneous equation of\nstate (EoS). Modified Friedmann-Robertson-Walker (FRW) dynamics for all these\ntheories may be presented in universal form by using the effective ideal fluid\nwith an inhomogeneous EoS without specifying its explicit form. We construct\nseveral examples of the modified gravity which produces accelerating\ncosmologies ending at the finite-time future singularity of all four known\ntypes by applying the reconstruction program. Some scenarios to resolve the\nfinite-time future singularity are presented. Among these scenarios, the most\nnatural one is related with additional modification of the gravitational action\nin the early universe. In addition, late-time cosmology in the non-minimal\nMaxwell-Einstein theory is considered. We investigate the forms of the\nnon-minimal gravitational coupling which generates the finite-time future\nsingularities and the general conditions for this coupling in order that the\nfinite-time future singularities cannot emerge. Furthermore, it is shown that\nthe non-minimal gravitational coupling can remove the finite-time future\nsingularities or make the singularity stronger (or weaker) in modified gravity.",
        "positive": "Kinks in two-dimensional Anti-de Sitter Space: Soliton solutions in scalar field theory defined on a two-dimensional Anti-de\nSitter background space-time are investigated. It is shown that the lowest\nsoliton excitation generically has frequency equal to the inverse radius of the\nspace-time. Analytic and numerical soliton solutions are determined in \"phi to\nthe fourth\" scalar field theory with a negative mass-squared. The classical\nsoliton mass is calculated as a function of the ratio of the square of the mass\nscale of the field theory over the curvature of the space-time. For the case\nthat this ratio equals unity, the soliton excitation spectrum is determined\nalgebraically and the one-loop radiative correction to the soliton mass is\ncomputed in the semi-classical approximation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Minimal Stability in Maximal Supergravity: Recently, it has been shown that maximal supergravity allows for\nnon-supersymmetric AdS critical points that are perturbatively stable. We\ninvestigate this phenomenon of stability without supersymmetry from the\nsGoldstino point of view. In particular, we calculate the projection of the\nmass matrix onto the sGoldstino directions, and derive the necessary conditions\nfor stability. Indeed we find a narrow window allowing for stable SUSY breaking\npoints. As a by-product of our analysis, we find that it seems impossible to\nperturb supersymmetric critical points into non-supersymmetric ones: there is a\nminimal amount of SUSY breaking in maximal supergravity.",
        "positive": "The Amplitude for Classical Gravitational Scattering at Third\n  Post-Minkowskian Order: We compute the scattering amplitude for classical black-hole scattering to\nthird order in the Post-Minkowskian expansion, keeping all terms needed to\nderive the scattering angle to that order from the eikonal formalism. Our\nresults confirm a conjectured relation between the real and imaginary parts of\nthe amplitude by Di Vecchia, Heissenberg, Russo, and Veneziano, and are in\nagreement with a recent computation by Damour based on radiation reaction in\ngeneral relativity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Why the Universe Started from a Low Entropy State: We show that the inclusion of backreaction of massive long wavelengths\nimposes dynamical constraints on the allowed phase space of initial conditions\nfor inflation, which results in a superselection rule for the initial\nconditions. Only high energy inflation is stable against collapse due to the\ngravitational instability of massive perturbations. We present arguments to the\neffect that the initial conditions problem {\\it cannot} be meaningfully\naddressed by thermostatistics as far as the gravitational degrees of freedom\nare concerned. Rather, the choice of the initial conditions for the universe in\nthe phase space and the emergence of an arrow of time have to be treated as a\ndynamic selection.",
        "positive": "Canonical supermultiplets and their Koszul duals: The pure spinor superfield formalism reveals that, in any dimension and with\nany amount of supersymmetry, one particular supermultiplet is distinguished\nfrom all others. This \"canonical supermultiplet\" is equipped with an additional\nstructure that is not apparent in any component-field formalism: a (homotopy)\ncommutative algebra structure on the space of fields. The structure is\nphysically relevant in several ways; it is responsible for the interactions in\nten-dimensional super Yang-Mills theory, as well as crucial to any\nfirst-quantised interpretation. We study the $L_\\infty$ algebra structure that\nis Koszul dual to this commutative algebra, both in general and in numerous\nexamples, and prove that it is equivalent to the subalgebra of the Koszul dual\nto functions on the space of generalised pure spinors in internal degree\ngreater than or equal to three. In many examples, the latter is the positive\npart of a Borcherds-Kac-Moody superalgebra. Using this result, we can interpret\nthe canonical multiplet as the homotopy fiber of the map from generalised pure\nspinor space to its derived replacement. This generalises and extends work of\nMovshev-Schwarz and G\\'alvez-Gorbounov-Shaikh-Tonks in the same spirit. We also\ncomment on some issues with physical interpretations of the canonical\nmultiplet, which are illustrated by an example related to the complex Cayley\nplane, and on possible extensions of our construction, which appear relevant in\nan example with symmetry type $G_2 \\times A_1$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A DK Phase Transition in q-Deformed Yang-Mills on S^2 and Topological\n  Strings: We demonstate the existence of a large $N$ phase transition with respect to\nthe 't Hooft coupling in q-deformed Yang-Mills theory on $S^2$. The strong\ncoupling phase is characterized by the formation of a clump of eigenvalues in\nthe associated matrix model of Douglas-Kazakov (DK) type (hep-th/9305047). By\nunderstanding this in terms of instanton contributions to the q-deformed\nYang-Mills theory, we gain some insight into the strong coupling phase as well\nas probe the phase diagram at nonzero values of the $\\theta$ angle. The\nOoguri-Strominger-Vafa relation (hep-th/0405146) of this theory to topological\nstrings on the local Calabi-Yau $\\mathcal{O}(-p) \\oplus \\mathcal{O}(p-2) \\to\n\\mathbb{P}^1$ via a chiral decompostion at large $N$ hep-th/0411280, motivates\nus to investigate the phase structure of the trivial chiral block, which\ncorresponds to the topological string partition function, for $p>2$. We find a\nphase transition at a different value of the coupling than in the full theory,\nindicating the likely presence of a rich phase structure in the sum over chiral\nblocks.",
        "positive": "Topological terms and anomaly matching in effective field theories on\n  $\\mathbb{R}^3\\times S^1$: I. Abelian symmetries and intermediate scales: We explicitly calculate the topological terms that arise in IR effective\nfield theories for $SU(N)$ gauge theories on $\\mathbb{R}^3 \\times S^1$ by\nintegrating out all but the lightest modes. We then show how these terms match\nall global-symmetry 't Hooft anomalies of the UV description. We limit our\ndiscussion to theories with abelian 0-form symmetries, namely those with one\nflavour of adjoint Weyl fermion and one or zero flavours of Dirac fermions.\nWhile anomaly matching holds as required, it takes a different form than\npreviously thought. For example, cubic- and mixed-$U(1)$ anomalies are matched\nby local background-field-dependent topological terms (background TQFTs)\ninstead of chiral-lagrangian Wess-Zumino terms. We also describe the coupling\nof 0-form and 1-form symmetry backgrounds in the magnetic dual of\nsuper-Yang-Mills theory in a novel way, valid throughout the RG flow and\nconsistent with the monopole-instanton 't Hooft vertices. We use it to discuss\nthe matching of the mixed chiral-center anomaly in the magnetic dual."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauge Theory and a Dirac Operator on a Noncommutative Space: As a tool to carry out the quantization of gauge theory on a noncommutative\nspace, we present a Dirac operator that behaves as a line element of the\ncanonical noncommutative space. Utilizing this operator, we construct the\nDixmier trace, which is the regularized trace for infinite-dimensional\nmatrices. We propose the possibility of solving the cosmological constant\nproblem by applying our gauge theory on the noncommutative space.",
        "positive": "An Analytic Description of Semi-Classical Black-Hole Geometry: We study analytically the spacetime geometry of the black-hole formation and\nevaporation. As a simplest model of the collapse, we consider a spherical thin\nshell, and take the back-reaction from the negative energy of the quantum\nvacuum state. For definiteness, we will focus on quantum effects of s-waves. We\nobtain an analytic solution of the semi-classical Einstein equation for this\nmodel, that provides an overall description of the black hole geometry form the\nformation to evaporation. As an application of this result, we find its\ninteresting implication that, after the collapsing shell enters the apparent\nhorizon, the proper distance between the shell and the horizon remains as small\nas the Planck length even when the difference in their areal radii is of the\nsame order as the Schwarzschild radius. The position of the shell would be\nregarded as the same place to the apparent horizon in the semi-classical regime\nof gravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Statistics on the Heterotic Landscape: Gauge Groups and Cosmological\n  Constants of Four-Dimensional Heterotic Strings: Recent developments in string theory have reinforced the notion that the\nspace of stable supersymmetric and non-supersymmetric string vacua fills out a\n``landscape'' whose features are largely unknown. It is then hoped that\nprogress in extracting phenomenological predictions from string theory -- such\nas correlations between gauge groups, matter representations, potential values\nof the cosmological constant, and so forth -- can be achieved through\nstatistical studies of these vacua. To date, most of the efforts in these\ndirections have focused on Type I vacua. In this note, we present the first\nresults of a statistical study of the heterotic landscape, focusing on more\nthan 10^5 explicit non-supersymmetric tachyon-free heterotic string vacua and\ntheir associated gauge groups and one-loop cosmological constants. Although\nthis study has several important limitations, we find a number of intriguing\nfeatures which may be relevant for the heterotic landscape as a whole. These\nfeatures include different probabilities and correlations for different\npossible gauge groups as functions of the number of orbifold twists. We also\nfind a vast degeneracy amongst non-supersymmetric string models, leading to a\nsevere reduction in the number of realizable values of the cosmological\nconstant as compared with naive expectations. Finally, we also find strong\ncorrelations between cosmological constants and gauge groups which suggest that\nheterotic string models with extremely small cosmological constants are\noverwhelmingly more likely to exhibit the Standard-Model gauge group at the\nstring scale than any of its grand-unified extensions. In all cases, heterotic\nworldsheet symmetries such as modular invariance provide important constraints\nthat do not appear in corresponding studies of Type I vacua.",
        "positive": "Elongation of Moving Noncommutative Solitons: We discuss the characteristic properties of noncommutative solitons moving\nwith constant velocity. As noncommutativity breaks the Lorentz symmetry, the\nshape of moving solitons is affected not just by the Lorentz contraction along\nthe velocity direction, but also sometimes by additional `elongation'\ntransverse to the velocity direction. We explore this in two examples:\nnoncommutative solitons in a scalar field theory on two spatial dimension and\n`long stick' shaped noncommutative U(2) magnetic monopoles. However the\nelongation factors of these two cases are different, and so not universal."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A note on instanton counting for N=2 gauge theories with classical gauge\n  groups: We study the prepotential of N=2 gauge theories using the instanton counting\ntechniques introduced by Nekrasov. For the SO theories without matter we find a\nclosed expression for the full prepotential and its string theory gravitational\ncorrections. For the more subtle case of Sp theories without matter we discuss\ngeneral features and compute the prepotential up to instanton number three. We\nalso briefly discuss SU theories with matter in the symmetric and antisymmetric\nrepresentations. We check all our results against the predictions of the\ncorresponding Seiberg-Witten geometries.",
        "positive": "Seiberg-Witten and \"Polyakov-like\" magnetic bion confinements are\n  continuously connected: We study four-dimensional N=2 supersymmetric pure-gauge (Seiberg-Witten)\ntheory and its N=1 mass perturbation by using compactification S**1 x R**3. It\nis well known that on R**4 (or at large S**1) the perturbed theory realizes\nconfinement through monopole or dyon condensation. At small S**1, we\ndemonstrate that confinement is induced by a generalization of Polyakov's\nthree-dimensional instanton mechanism to a locally four-dimensional theory -\nthe magnetic bion mechanism - which also applies to a large class of\nnonsupersymmetric theories. Using a large- vs. small-L Poisson duality, we show\nthat the two mechanisms of confinement, previously thought to be distinct, are\nin fact continuously connected."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Effective superpotentials for compact D5-brane Calabi-Yau geometries: For compact Calabi-Yau geometries with D5-branes we study N=1 effective\nsuperpotentials depending on both open- and closed-string fields. We develop\nmethods to derive the open/closed Picard-Fuchs differential equations, which\ncontrol D5-brane deformations as well as complex structure deformations of the\ncompact Calabi-Yau space. Their solutions encode the flat open/closed\ncoordinates and the effective superpotential. For two explicit examples of\ncompact D5-brane Calabi-Yau hypersurface geometries we apply our techniques and\nexpress the calculated superpotentials in terms of flat open/closed\ncoordinates. By evaluating these superpotentials at their critical points we\nreproduce the domain wall tensions that have recently appeared in the\nliterature. Finally we extract orbifold disk invariants from the\nsuperpotentials, which, up to overall numerical normalizations, correspond to\norbifold disk Gromov-Witten invariants in the mirror geometry.",
        "positive": "E$_{7(7)}$ Exceptional Field Theory in Superspace: We formulate the locally supersymmetric E$_{7(7)}$ exceptional field theory\nin a $(4+56|32)$ dimensional superspace, corresponding to a 4D $N\\!=\\!8$\n\"external\" superspace augmented with an \"internal\" 56-dimensional space. This\nentails the unification of external diffeomorphisms and local supersymmetry\ntransformations into superdiffeomorphisms. The solutions to the superspace\nBianchi identities lead to on-shell duality equations for the $p$-form field\nstrengths for $p\\leq 4$. The reduction to component fields provides a complete\ndescription of the on-shell supersymmetric theory. As an application of our\nresults, we perform a generalized Scherk-Schwarz reduction and obtain the\nsuperspace formulation of maximal gauged supergravity in four dimensions\nparametrized by an embedding tensor."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hyperboloid, instanton, oscillator: We suggest the exactly solvable model of the oscillator on a four-dimensional\nhyperboloid which interacts with a SU(2) instanton. We calculate its\nwavefunctions and spectrum.",
        "positive": "Supersymmetric KP Systems Embedded in Supersymmetric Self-Dual\n  Yang-Mills Theory: We show that $~N=1$~ {\\it supersymmetric} Kadomtsev-Petviashvili (SKP)\nequations can be embedded into recently formulated $~N=1$~ self-dual {\\it\nsupersymmetric} Yang-Mills theories after appropriate dimensional reduction and\ntruncation, which yield three-dimensional supersymmetric Chern-Simons theories.\nBased on this result, we also give conjectural \\hbox{$N=2~$} SKP equations.\nSubsequently some exact solutions of these systems including fermionic fields\nare given."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Classifying Galileon $p$-form theories: We provide a complete classification of all abelian gauge invariant $p$-form\ntheories with equations of motion depending only on the second derivative of\nthe field---the $p$-form analogues of the Galileon scalar field theory. We\nconstruct explicitly the nontrivial actions that exist for spacetime dimension\n$D\\leq11$, but our methods are general enough and can be extended to arbitrary\n$D$. We uncover in particular a new $4$-form Galileon cubic theory in $D\\geq8$\ndimensions. As a by-product we give a simple proof of the fact that the\nequations of motion depend on the $p$-form gauge fields only through their\nfield strengths, and show this explicitly for the recently discovered $3$-form\nGalileon quartic theory.",
        "positive": "A Supersymmetric Solution in N=2 Gauged Supergravity with the Universal\n  Hypermultiplet: We present supersymmetric solutions for the theory of gauged supergravity in\nfive dimensions obtained by gauging the shift symmetry of the axion of the\nuniversal hypermultiplet. This gauged theory can also be obtained by\ndimensionally reducing M-theory on a Calabi-Yau threefold with background flux.\nThe solution found preserves half of the N=2 supersymmetry, carries electric\nfields and has nontrivial scalar field representing the CY-volume. We comment\non the possible solutions of more general hypermultiplet gauging."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "S-brane solutions with acceleration in models with forms and multiple\n  exponential potentials: A family of generalized S-brane solutions with orthogonal intersection rules\nand n Ricci-flat factor spaces in the theory with several scalar fields,\nantisymmetric forms and multiple scalar potential is considered. Two subclasses\nof solutions with power-law and exponential behaviour of scale factors are\nsingled out. These subclasses contain sub-families of solutions with\naccelerated expansion of certain factor spaces. Some examples of solutions with\nexponential dependence of one scale factor and constant scale factors of\n\"internal\" spaces (e.g. Freund-Rubin type solutions) are also considered.",
        "positive": "Linear and Chiral Superfields are Usefully Inequivalent: Chiral superfields have been used, and extensively, almost ever since\nsupersymmetry has been discovered. Complex linear superfields afford an\nalternate representation of matter, but are widely misbelieved to be\n'physically equivalent' to chiral ones. We prove the opposite is true.\nCuriously, this re-enables a previously thwarted interpretation of the\nlow-energy (super)field limit of superstrings."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hamiltonian Quantization of Chern-Simons theory with SL(2,C) Group: We analyze the hamiltonian quantization of Chern-Simons theory associated to\nthe universal covering of the Lorentz group SO(3,1). The algebra of observables\nis generated by finite dimensional spin networks drawn on a punctured\ntopological surface. Our main result is a construction of a unitary\nrepresentation of this algebra. For this purpose, we use the formalism of\ncombinatorial quantization of Chern-Simons theory, i.e we quantize the algebra\nof polynomial functions on the space of flat SL(2,C)-connections on a\ntopological surface with punctures. This algebra admits a unitary\nrepresentation acting on an Hilbert space which consists in wave packets of\nspin-networks associated to principal unitary representations of the quantum\nLorentz group. This representation is constructed using only Clebsch-Gordan\ndecomposition of a tensor product of a finite dimensional representation with a\nprincipal unitary representation. The proof of unitarity of this representation\nis non trivial and is a consequence of properties of intertwiners which are\nstudied in depth. We analyze the relationship between the insertion of a\npuncture colored with a principal representation and the presence of a\nworld-line of a massive spinning particle in de Sitter space.",
        "positive": "Consistency of supersymmetric 't Hooft anomalies: We consider recent claims that supersymmetry is anomalous in the presence of\na R-symmetry anomaly. We revisit arguments that such an anomaly in\nsupersymmetry can be removed and write down an explicit counterterm that\naccomplishes it. Removal of the supersymmetry anomaly requires enlarging the\ncorresponding current multiplet. As a consequence the Ward identities for other\nsymmetries that are already anomalous acquire extra terms. This procedure can\nonly be impeded when the choice of current multiplet is forced. We show how\nWess-Zumino consistency conditions are modified when the anomaly is removed.\nFinally we check that the modified Wess-Zumino consistency conditions are\nsatisfied, and supersymmetry unbroken, in an explicit one loop computation\nusing Pauli-Villars regulators. To this end we comment on how to use\nPauli-Villars to regulate correlators of components of (super)current\nmultiplets in a manifestly supersymmetric way."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum groups and quantum field theory: I. The free scalar field: The quantum field algebra of real scalar fields is shown to be an example of\ninfinite dimensional quantum group. The underlying Hopf algebra is the\nsymmetric algebra S(V) and the product is Wick's normal product. Two\ncoquasitriangular structures can be built from the two-point function and the\nFeynman propagator of scalar fields to reproduce the operator product and the\ntime-ordered product as twist deformations of the normal product. A\ncorrespondence is established between the quantum group and the quantum field\nconcepts. On the mathematical side the underlying structures come out of Hopf\nalgebra cohomology.",
        "positive": "Matrix Model for membrane and dynamics of D-Particles in a curved\n  space-time geometry and presence of form fields: We study dynamics of a membrane and its matrix regularisation. We present the\nmatrix regularisation for a membrane propagating in a curved space-time\ngeometry in the presence of an arbitrary 3-form field. In the matrix\nregularisation, we then study the dynamics of D-particles. We show how the\nRiemann curvature of the target space-time geometry, or any other form fields\ncan polarise the D-Particles, cause entanglement among them and create fuzzy\nsolutions. We review the fuzzy sphere and we present fuzzy hyperbolic and\nellipsoid solutions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Anomaly and Nonplanar Diagrams in Noncommutative Gauge Theories: Anomalies arising from nonplanar triangle diagrams of noncommutative gauge\ntheory are studied. Local chiral gauge anomalies for both noncommutative U(1)\nand U(N) gauge theories with adjoint matter fields are shown to vanish. For\nnoncommutative QED with fundamental matters, due to UV/IR mixing a finite\nanomaly emerges from the nonplanar contributions. It involves a generalized\n$\\star$-product of gauge fields.",
        "positive": "Three Lectures on Complexity and Black Holes: Given at PiTP 2018 summer program entitled \"From Qubits to Spacetime.\" The\nfirst lecture describes the meaning of quantum complexity, the analogy between\nentropy and complexity, and the second law of complexity.\n  Lecture two reviews the connection between the second law of complexity and\nthe interior of black holes. I discuss how firewalls are related to periods of\nnon-increasing complexity which typically only occur after an exponentially\nlong time.\n  The final lecture is about the thermodynamics of complexity, and\n\"uncomplexity\" as a resource for doing computational work. I explain the\nremarkable power of \"one clean qubit,\" in both computational terms and in\nspace-time terms.\n  The lectures can also be found online at\n\\url{https://static.ias.edu/pitp/2018/node/1796.html} ."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Accretion of Ghost Condensate by Black Holes: The intent of this letter is to point out that the accretion of a ghost\ncondensate by black holes could be extremely efficient. We analyze steady-state\nspherically symmetric flows of the ghost fluid in the gravitational field of a\nSchwarzschild black hole and calculate the accretion rate. Unlike minimally\ncoupled scalar field or quintessence, the accretion rate is set not by the\ncosmological energy density of the field, but by the energy scale of the ghost\ncondensate theory. If hydrodynamical flow is established, it could be as high\nas tenth of a solar mass per second for 10MeV-scale ghost condensate accreting\nonto a stellar-sized black hole, which puts serious constraints on the\nparameters of the ghost condensate model.",
        "positive": "An Orientifold of Type-IIB Theory on $K3$: A new orientifold of Type-IIB theory on $K3$ is constructed that has $N=1$\nsupersymmetry in six dimensions. The orientifold symmetry consists of a $Z_2$\ninvolution of $K3$ combined with orientation-reversal on the worldsheet. The\nclosed-string sector in the resulting theory contains nine tensor multiplets\nand twelve neutral hypermultiplets in addition to the gravity multiplet, and is\nanomaly-free by itself. The open-string sector contains only 5-branes and gives\nrise to maximal gauge groups $SO(16)$ or $U(8)\\times U(8)$ at different points\nin the moduli space. Anomalies are canceled by a generalization of the\nGreen-Schwarz mechanism that involves more than one tensor multiplets."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Derivation of Index Theorems by Localization of Path Integrals: We review the derivation of the Atiyah-Singer and Callias index theorems\nusing the recently developed localization method to calculate exactly the\nrelevant supersymmetric path integrals. (Talk given at the III International\nConference on Mathematical Physics, String Theory and Quantum Gravity, Alushta,\nUkraine, June 13-24, 1993)",
        "positive": "Towards an Explicit Model of D-brane Inflation: We present a detailed analysis of an explicit model of warped D-brane\ninflation, incorporating the effects of moduli stabilization. We consider the\npotential for D3-brane motion in a warped conifold background that includes\nfluxes and holomorphically-embedded D7-branes involved in moduli stabilization.\nAlthough the D7-branes significantly modify the inflaton potential, they do not\ncorrect the quadratic term in the potential, and hence do not cause a uniform\nchange in the slow-roll parameter eta. Nevertheless, we present a simple\nexample based on the Kuperstein embedding of D7-branes, z_1=constant, in which\nthe potential can be fine-tuned to be sufficiently flat for inflation. To\nderive this result, it is essential to incorporate the fact that the\ncompactification volume changes slightly as the D3-brane moves. We stress that\nthe compactification geometry dictates certain relationships among the\nparameters in the inflaton Lagrangian, and these microscopic constraints impose\nsevere restrictions on the space of possible models. We note that the shape of\nthe final inflaton potential differs from projections given in earlier studies:\nin configurations where inflation occurs, it does so near an inflection point.\nFinally, we comment on the difficulty of making precise cosmological\npredictions in this scenario. This is the companion paper to arXiv:0705.3837."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Formulae for Line Bundle Cohomology on Calabi-Yau Threefolds: We present closed form expressions for the ranks of all cohomology groups of\nholomorphic line bundles on several Calabi-Yau threefolds realised as complete\nintersections in products of projective spaces. The formulae have been obtained\nby systematising and extrapolating concrete calculations and they have been\nchecked computationally. Although the intermediate calculations often involve\nlaborious computations of ranks of Leray maps in the Koszul spectral sequence,\nthe final results for cohomology follow a simple pattern. The space of line\nbundles can be divided into several different regions, and in each such region\nthe ranks of all cohomology groups can be expressed as polynomials in the line\nbundle integers of degree at most three. The number of regions increases and\ncase distinctions become more complicated for manifolds with a larger Picard\nnumber. We also find explicit cohomology formulae for several non-simply\nconnected Calabi-Yau threefolds realised as quotients by freely acting discrete\nsymmetries. More cases may be systematically handled by machine learning\nalgorithms.",
        "positive": "Holographic Entanglement Entropy from 2d CFT: Heavy States and Local\n  Quenches: We consider the entanglement entropy in 2d conformal field theory in a class\nof excited states produced by the insertion of a heavy local operator. These\ninclude both high-energy eigenstates of the Hamiltonian and time-dependent\nlocal quenches. We compute the universal contribution from the stress tensor to\nthe single interval Renyi entropies and entanglement entropy, and conjecture\nthat this dominates the answer in theories with a large central charge and a\nsparse spectrum of low-dimension operators. The resulting entanglement\nentropies agree precisely with holographic calculations in three-dimensional\ngravity. High-energy eigenstates are dual to microstates of the BTZ black hole,\nso the corresponding holographic calculation is a geodesic length in the black\nhole geometry; agreement between these two answers demonstrates that\nentanglement entropy thermalizes in individual microstates of holographic CFTs.\nFor local quenches, the dual geometry is a highly boosted black hole or conical\ndefect. On the CFT side, the rise in entanglement entropy after a quench is\ndirectly related to the monodromy of a Virasoro conformal block."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Solving String Field Equations: New Uses for Old Tools: It is argued that the (NS-sector) superstring field equations are integrable,\ni.e. their solutions are obtainable from linear equations. We adapt the\n25-year-old solution-generating \"dressing\" method and reduce the construction\nof nonperturbative superstring configurations to a specific cohomology problem.\nThe application to vacuum superstring field theory is outlined.",
        "positive": "Generalized Squeezed States from Generalized Coherent States: Both the coherent states and also the squeezed states of the harmonic\noscillator have long been understood from the three classical points of view:\nthe 1) displacement operator, 2) annihilation- (or ladder-) operator, and\nminimum-uncertainty methods. For general systems, there is the same\nunderstanding except for ladder-operator and displacement-operator squeezed\nstates. After reviewing the known concepts, I propose a method for obtaining\ngeneralized minimum-uncertainty squeezed states, give examples, and relate it\nto known concepts. I comment on the remaining concept, that of general\ndisplacement-operator squeezed states."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Light-cone M5 and multiple M2-branes: We present the light-cone gauge fixed Lagrangian for the M5-brane; it has a\nresidual `exotic' gauge invariance with the group of 5-volume preserving\ndiffeomorphisms, SDiff(5), as gauge group. For an M5-brane of topology R2 x M3,\nfor closed 3-manifold M3, we find an infinite tension limit that yields an\nSO(8)-invariant (1+2)-dimensional field theory with `exotic' SDiff(3) gauge\ninvariance. We show that this field theory is the Carrollian limit of the Nambu\nbracket realization of the `BLG' model for multiple M2-branes.",
        "positive": "Correlators of supersymmetric Wilson loops at weak and strong coupling: We continue our study of the correlators of a recently discovered family of\nBPS Wilson loops in N=4 supersymmetric U(N) Yang-Mills theory. We perform\nexplicit computations at weak coupling by means of analytical and numerical\nmethods finding agreement with the exact formula derived from localization. In\nparticular we check the localization prediction at order g^6 for different BPS\n\"latitude\" configurations, the N=4 perturbative expansion reproducing the\nexpected results within a relative error of 10^(-4). On the strong coupling\nside we present a supergravity evaluation of the 1/8 BPS correlator in the\nlimit of large separation, taking into account the exchange of all relevant\nmodes between the string world-sheets. While reproducing the correct\ngeometrical dependence, we find that the associated coefficient does not match\nthe localization result."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Vector Braids: In this paper we define a new family of groups which generalize the {\\it\nclassical braid groups on} $\\C $. We denote this family by $\\{B_n^m\\}_{n \\ge\nm+1}$ where $n,m \\in \\N$. The family $\\{ B_n^1 \\}_{n \\in \\N}$ is the set of\nclassical braid groups on $n$ strings. The group $B_n^m$ is the set of motions\nof $n$ unordered points in $\\C^m$, so that at any time during the motion, each\n$m+1$ of the points span the whole of $\\C^m$ as an affine space. There is a map\nfrom $B_n^m$ to the symmetric group on $n$ letters. We let $P_n^m$ denote the\nkernel of this map. In this paper we are mainly interested in understanding\n$P_n^2$. We give a presentation of a group $PL_n$ which maps surjectively onto\n$P_n^2$. We also show the surjection $PL_n \\to P_n^2$ induces an isomorphism on\nfirst and second integral homology and conjecture that it is an isomorphism. We\nthen find an infinitesimal presentation of the group $P_n^2$. Finally, we also\nconsider the analagous groups where points lie in $\\P^m$ instead of $\\C^m$.\nThese groups generalize of the classical braid groups on the sphere.",
        "positive": "Topological Terms and Diffeomorphism Anomalies in Fluid Dynamics and\n  Sigma Models: The requirement of diffeomorphism symmetry for the target space can lead to\nanomalous commutators for the energy-momentum tensor for sigma models and for\nfluid dynamics, if certain topological terms are added to the action. We\nanalyze several examples . A particular topological term is shown to lead to\nthe known effective hydrodynamics of a dense collection of vortices, i.e. the\nvortex fluid theory in 2+1 dimensions. The possibility of a similar vortex\nfluid in 3+1 dimensions, as well as a fluid of knots and links, with possible\nextended diffeomorphism algebras is also discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Zero-brane approach to study of particle-like solitons in classical and\n  quantum Liouville field theory: The effective p-brane action approach is generalized for arbitrary scalar\nfield and applied for the Liouville theory near a particle-like solution. It\nwas established that this theory has the remarkable features discriminating it\nfrom the theories studied earlier. Removing zero modes we obtain the effective\naction describing the solution as a point particle with curvature, quantize it\nas the theory with higher derivatives and calculate the quantum corrections to\nmass.",
        "positive": "Cosmology with orthogonal nilpotent superfields: We study the application of a supersymmetric model with two constrained\nsupermultiplets to inflationary cosmology. The first superfield S is a\nstabilizer chiral superfield satisfying a nilpotency condition of degree 2,\nS^2=0. The second superfield Phi is the inflaton chiral superfield, which can\nbe combined into a real superfield B=(Phi-Phi*)/2i. The real superfield B is\northogonal to S, S B=0, and satisfies a nilpotency condition of degree 3,\nB^3=0. We show that these constraints remove from the spectrum the complex\nscalar sgoldstino, the real scalar inflaton partner (i.e. the \"sinflaton\"), and\nthe fermionic inflatino. The corresponding supergravity model with de Sitter\nvacua describes a graviton, a massive gravitino, and one real scalar inflaton,\nwith both the goldstino and inflatino being absent in unitary gauge. We also\ndiscuss relaxed superfield constraints where S^2=0 and S Phi* is chiral, which\nremoves the sgoldstino and inflatino, but leaves the sinflaton in the spectrum.\nThe cosmological model building in both of these inflatino-less models offers\nsome advantages over existing constructions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Solutions of the bosonic master-field equation from a supersymmetric\n  matrix model: It has been argued that the bosonic large-$N$ master field of the IIB matrix\nmodel can give rise to an emergent classical spacetime. In a recent paper, we\nhave obtained solutions of a simplified bosonic master-field equation from a\nrelated matrix model. In this simplified equation, the effects of dynamic\nfermions were removed. We now consider the full bosonic master-field equation\nfrom a related supersymmetric matrix model for dimensionality $D=3$ and matrix\nsize $N=3$. In this last equation, the effects of dynamic fermions are\nincluded. With an explicit realization of the random constants entering this\nalgebraic equation, we establish the existence of nontrivial solutions. The\nsmall matrix size, however, does not allow us to make a definitive statement as\nto the appearance of a diagonal/band-diagonal structure in the obtained\nmatrices.",
        "positive": "Ground state energy of twisted $AdS_{3}\\times S^{3}\\times T^{4}$\n  superstring and the TBA: We use the lightcone $AdS_{3}\\times S^{3}\\times T^{4}$ superstring sigma\nmodel with fermions and bosons subject to twisted boundary conditions to find\nthe ground state energy in the semi-classical approximation where effective\nstring tension $h$ and the light-cone momentum $L$ are sent to infinity in such\na way that ${\\cal J}\\equiv L/h$ is kept fixed. We then analyse the ground state\nenergy of the model by means of the mirror TBA equations for the $AdS_{3}\\times\nS^{3}\\times T^{4}$ superstring in the pure RR background. The calculation is\nperformed for small twist $\\mu$ with $L$ and $h$ fixed, for large $L$ with\n$\\mu$ and $h$ fixed, and for small $h$ with $\\mu$ and $L$ fixed. In these\nlimits the contribution of the gapless worldsheet modes coming from the $T^4$\nbosons and fermions can be computed exactly, and is shown to be proportional to\n$hL/(4L^2-1)$. Comparison with the semi-classical result shows that the TBA\nequations involve only one $Y_0$-function for massless excitations but not two\nas was conjectured before. Some of the results obtained are generalised to the\nmixed-flux $AdS_{3}\\times S^{3}\\times T^{4}$ superstring."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Wilson Renormalization Group and Continuum Effective Field Theories: This is an elementary introduction to Wilson renormalization group and\ncontinuum effective field theories. We first review the idea of Wilsonian\neffective theory and derive the flow equation in a form that allows multiple\ninsertion of operators in Green functions. Then, based on this formalism, we\nprove decoupling and heavy-mass factorization theorems, and discuss how the\ncontinuum effective field theory is formulated in this approach.",
        "positive": "Ghost-Free Superconformal Action for Multiple M2-Branes: The Bagger--Lambert construction of N = 8 superconformal field theories\n(SCFT) in three dimensions is based on 3-algebras. Three groups of researchers\nrecently realized that an arbitrary semisimple Lie algebra can be incorporated\nby using a suitable Lorentzian signature 3-algebra. The SU(N) case is a\ncandidate for the SCFT describing coincident M2-branes. However, these theories\ncontain ghost degrees of freedom, which is unsatisfactory. We modify them by\ngauging certain global symmetries. This eliminates the ghosts from these\ntheories while preserving all of their desirable properties. The resulting\ntheories turn out to be precisely equivalent to N = 8 super Yang--Mills\ntheories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Extremal Kerr black hole/CFT correspondence in the five dimensional\n  G\u00f6del universe: We extend the method of Kerr/CFT correspondence recently proposed in\narXiv:0809.4266 [hep-th] to the extremal (charged) Kerr black hole embedded in\nthe five-dimensional G\\\"{o}del universe. With the aid of the central charges in\nthe Virasoro algebra and the Frolov-Thorne temperatures, together with the use\nof the Cardy formula, we have obtained the microscopic entropies that precisely\nagree with the ones macroscopically calculated by Bekenstein-Hawking area law.",
        "positive": "One-Loop Superconformal and Yangian Symmetries of Scattering Amplitudes\n  in N=4 Super Yang-Mills: Recently it has been argued that tree-level scattering amplitudes in N=4\nYang-Mills theory are uniquely determined by a careful study of their\nsuperconformal and Yangian symmetries. However, at one-loop order these\nsymmetries are known to become anomalous due to infrared divergences. We\ncompute these one-loop anomalies for amplitudes defined through dimensional\nregularisation by studying the tree-level symmetry transformations of the\nunitarity branch cuts, keeping track of the crucial collinear terms arising\nfrom the holomorphic anomaly. We extract the superconformal anomalies and show\nthat they may be cancelled through a universal one-loop deformation of the\ntree-level symmetry generators which involves only tree-level data.\nSpecialising to the planar theory we also obtain the analogous deformation for\nthe level-one Yangian generator of momentum. Explicit checks of our one-loop\ndeformation are performed for MHV and the 6-point NMHV amplitudes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chern-Simons dualities with multiple flavors at large $N$: We study $U(N)_k$ Chern-Simons theory coupled to fundamental fermions and\nscalars in a large $N$ `t Hooft limit. We compute the thermal free energy at\nhigh temperature, as well as two- and three-point functions of simple\ngauge-invariant operators. Our findings support various dualities between\nChern-Simons-matter theories with $\\mathcal{N}=0,1,$ and $2$ supersymmetry.",
        "positive": "Hamiltonian lattice gauge models and the Heisenberg double: Hamiltonian lattice gauge models based on the assignment of the Heisenberg\ndouble of a Lie group to each link of the lattice are constructed in arbitrary\nspace-time dimensions. It is shown that the corresponding generalization of the\ngauge-invariant Wilson line observables requires to attach to each vertex of\nthe line a vertex operator which goes to the unity in the continuum limit."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Kerr-NUT-de Sitter as an Inhomogeneous Non-Singular Bouncing Cosmology: We present exact non-singular bounce solutions of general relativity in the\npresence of a positive cosmological constant and an electromagnetic field,\nwithout any exotic matter. The solutions are distinguished by being spatially\ninhomogeneous in one direction, while they can also contain non-trivial\nelectromagnetic field lines. The inhomogeneity may be substantial, for\ninstance, there can be one bounce in one region of the universe and two bounces\nelsewhere. Since the bounces are followed by a phase of accelerated expansion,\nthe metrics described here also permit the study of (geodesically complete)\nmodels of inflation with inhomogeneous initial conditions. Our solutions admit\ntwo Killing vectors and may be re-interpreted as the pathology-free interior\nregions of Kerr-de Sitter black holes with non-trivial NUT charge. Remarkably\nenough, within this cosmological context, the NUT parameter does not introduce\nany string singularity nor closed timelike curves but renders the geometry\neverywhere regular, eliminating the big bang singularity by means of a bounce.",
        "positive": "Refined large N duality for knots: We formulate large $N$ duality of $\\mathrm{U}(N)$ refined Chern-Simons theory\nwith a torus knot/link in $S^3$. By studying refined BPS states in M-theory, we\nprovide the explicit form of low-energy effective actions of Type IIA string\ntheory with D4-branes on the $\\Omega$-background. This form enables us to\nrelate refined Chern-Simons invariants of a torus knot/link in $S^3$ to refined\nBPS invariants in the resolved conifold. Assuming that the extra\n$\\mathrm{U}(1)$ global symmetry acts on BPS states trivially, the duality\npredicts graded dimensions of cohomology groups of moduli spaces of M2-M5 bound\nstates associated to a torus knot/link in the resolved conifold. Thus, this\nformulation can be interpreted as a positivity conjecture of refined\nChern-Simons invariants of torus knots/links. We also discuss about an\nextension to non-torus knots."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Scattering of zero branes off elementary strings in Matrix Theory: We consider the scattering of zero branes off an elementary string in Matrix\ntheory or equivalently gravitons off a longitudinally wrapped membrane. The\nleading supergravity result is recovered by a one-loop calculation in zero\nbrane quantum mechanics.\n  Simple scaling arguments are used to show that there are no further\ncorrections at higher loops, to the leading term in the large impact parameter,\nlow velocity expansion. The mechanism for this agreement is identified in terms\nof properties of a recently discovered boundary conformal field theory.",
        "positive": "Super Black Hole from Cosmological Supergravity with a Massive\n  Superparticle: We describe in superspace a classical theory of two dimensional $(1,1)$\ncosmological dilaton supergravity coupled to a massive superparticle. We give\nan exact non-trivial superspace solution for the compensator superfield that\ndescribes the supergravity, and then use this solution to construct a model of\na two-dimensional supersymmetric black hole."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "An AAD Model of Point Particle and the Pauli Equation: The classical relativistic linear AAD interaction, introduced by the author,\nleads in the case of weak coupling to a pointlike particle capable to be sub-\nmitted to quantization via Feynman's path integrals along the line adequate to\nthe requirements of the Pauli equation. In the discussed nonrelativistic case\nof the model the concept of spin is considered within early Feynman's ideas.",
        "positive": "Submerging islands through thermalization: We illustrate scenarios in which Hawking radiation collected in finite\nregions of a reservoir provides temporary access to the interior of black holes\nthrough transient entanglement \"islands\". Whether these islands appear and the\namount of time for which they dominate - sometimes giving way to a\nthermalization transition - is controlled by the amount of radiation we probe.\nIn the first scenario, two reservoirs are coupled to an eternal black hole. The\nsecond scenario involves two holographic quantum gravitating systems at\ndifferent temperatures interacting through a Rindler-like reservoir, which acts\nas a heat engine maintaining thermal equilibrium. The latter situation, which\nhas an intricate phase structure, describes two eternal black holes radiating\ninto each other through a shared reservoir."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On broken zero modes of a string world sheet, and a correlation function\n  of a 1/4 BPS Wilson loop and a 1/2 BPS local operator: We reconsider a gravity dual of a 1/4 BPS Wilson loop. In the case of an\nexpectation value of the Wilson loop, it is known that broken zero modes of a\nstring world sheet in the gravity side play important roles in the limit\n$\\lambda \\to \\infty$ with keeping the combination $\\lambda \\cos^2 \\theta_0$\nfinite. Here, $\\lambda$ is the 't Hooft coupling constant and $\\theta_0$ is a\nparameter of the Wilson loop. In this paper, we reconsider a gravity dual of a\ncorrelation function between the Wilson loop and a 1/2 BPS local operator with\nR charge $J$. We take account of contributions coming from the same\nconfigurations of the above-mentioned broken zero modes. We find an agreement\nwith the gauge theory side in the limit $J \\ll \\sqrt{\\lambda \\cos^2 \\theta_0}\n$.",
        "positive": "Mass protection via translational invariance: We propose a way of protecting a Dirac fermion interacting with a scalar\nfield from acquiring a mass from the vacuum. It is obtained through an\nimplementation of translational symmetry when the theory is formulated with a\nmomentum cutoff, which forbids the usual Yukawa term. We consider that this\nmechanism can help to understand the smallness of neutrino masses without a\ntuning of the Yukawa coupling. The prohibition of the Yukawa term for the\nneutrino forbids at the same time a gauge coupling between the right-handed\nelectron and neutrino. We prove that this mechanism can be implemented on the\nlattice."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Local BRST cohomology of the gauged principal non-linear sigma model: The local BRST cohomology of the gauged non-linear sigma model on a group\nmanifold is worked out for any Lie group G. We consider both, the case where\nthe gauge field is dynamical and the case where it has no kinetic term (G/G\ntopological theory). Our results shed a novel light on the problem of gauging\nthe WZW term as well as on the nature of the topological terms introduced a few\nyears ago by De Wit, Hull and Rocek. We also consider the BRST cohomology of\nthe rigid symmetries of the ungauged model and recover the results of D'Hoker\nand Weinberg on the most general effective actions compatible with the\nsymmetries.",
        "positive": "Scattering ripples from branes: A novel probe of D-brane dynamics is via scattering of a high energy ripple\ntraveling along an attached string. The inelastic processes in which the\nD-brane is excited through emission of an additional attached string is\nconsidered. Corresponding amplitudes can be found by factorizing a one-loop\namplitude derived in this paper. This one-loop amplitude is shown to have the\ncorrect structure, but extraction of explicit expressions for the scattering\namplitudes is difficult. It is conjectured that the exponential growth of\navailable string states with energy leads to an inclusive scattering rate that\nbecomes large at the string scale, due to excitation of the ``string halo,''\nand meaning that such probes do not easily see structure at shorter scales."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Correspondence between Noncommutative Soliton and Open String/D-brane\n  System via Gaussian Damping Factor: The gaussian damping factor (g.d.f.) and the new interaction vertex with the\nsymplectic tensor are the characteristic properties of the N-point\nscalar-vector scattering amplitudes of the p-p' (p < p') open string system\nwhich realizes noncommutative geometry. The g.d.f. is here interpreted as a\nform factor of the Dp-brane by noncommutative U(1) current. Observing that the\ng.d.f. is in fact equal to the Fourier transform of the noncommutative\nprojector soliton introduced by Gopakumar, Minwalla and Strominger, we further\nidentify the Dp-brane in the zero slope limit with the noncommutative soliton\nstate. It is shown that the g.d.f. depends only on the total momentum of N-2\nincoming/outgoing photons in the zero slope limit. In the description of the\nlow-energy effective action (LEEA) proposed before, this is shown to follow\nfrom the delta function propagator and the form of the initial/final wave\nfunctions in the soliton sector which resides in x^{m} m= p+1, ...p' dependent\npart of the scalar field \\Phi(x^\\mu, x^m). The three and four point amplitudes\ncomputed from LEEA agree with string calculation. We discuss related issues\nwhich are resummation/lifting of infinite degeneracy and conservation of\nmomentum transverse to the Dp-brane.",
        "positive": "On a Derivation of the Dirac Hamiltonian From a Construction of Quantum\n  Gravity: The structure of the Dirac Hamiltonian in 3+1 dimensions is shown to emerge\nin a semi-classical approximation from a abstract spectral triple construction.\nThe spectral triple is constructed over an algebra of holonomy loops,\ncorresponding to a configuration space of connections, and encodes information\nof the kinematics of General Relativity. The emergence of the Dirac Hamiltonian\nfollows from the observation that the algebra of loops comes with a dependency\non a choice of base-point. The elimination of this dependency entails spinor\nfields and, in the semi-classical approximation, the structure of the Dirac\nHamiltonian."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Superrotation Charge and Supertranslation Hair on Black Holes: It is shown that black hole spacetimes in classical Einstein gravity are\ncharacterized by, in addition to their ADM mass $M$, momentum $\\vec P$, angular\nmomentum $\\vec J$ and boost charge $\\vec K$, an infinite head of\nsupertranslation hair. The distinct black holes are distinguished by classical\nsuperrotation charges measured at infinity. Solutions with supertranslation\nhair are diffeomorphic to the Schwarzschild spacetime, but the diffeomorphisms\nare part of the BMS subgroup and act nontrivially on the physical phase space.\nIt is shown that a black hole can be supertranslated by throwing in an\nasymmetric shock wave. A leading-order Bondi-gauge expression is derived for\nthe linearized horizon supertranslation charge and shown to generate, via the\nDirac bracket, supertranslations on the linearized phase space of gravitational\nexcitations of the horizon. The considerations of this paper are largely\nclassical augmented by comments on their implications for the quantum theory.",
        "positive": "Yangian Bootstrap for Conformal Feynman Integrals: We explore the idea to bootstrap Feynman integrals using integrability. In\nparticular, we put the recently discovered Yangian symmetry of conformal\nFeynman integrals to work. As a prototypical example we demonstrate that the\nD-dimensional box integral with generic propagator powers is completely fixed\nby its symmetries to be a particular linear combination of Appell\nhypergeometric functions. In this context the Bloch-Wigner function arises as a\nspecial Yangian invariant in 4D. The bootstrap procedure for the box integral\nis naturally structured in algorithmic form. We then discuss the Yangian\nconstraints for the six-point double box integral as well as for the related\nhexagon. For the latter we argue that the constraints are solved by a set of\ngeneralized Lauricella functions and we comment on complications in identifying\nthe integral as a certain linear combination of these. Finally, we elaborate on\nthe close relation to the Mellin-Barnes technique and argue that it generates\nYangian invariants as sums of residues."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hidden Quantum Gravity in 4d Feynman diagrams: Emergence of spin foams: We show how Feynman amplitudes of standard QFT on flat and homogeneous space\ncan naturally be recast as the evaluation of observables for a specific spin\nfoam model, which provides dynamics for the background geometry. We identify\nthe symmetries of this Feynman graph spin foam model and give the gauge-fixing\nprescriptions. We also show that the gauge-fixed partition function is\ninvariant under Pachner moves of the triangulation, and thus defines an\ninvariant of four-dimensional manifolds. Finally, we investigate the algebraic\nstructure of the model, and discuss its relation with a quantization of 4d\ngravity in the limit where the Newton constant goes to zero.",
        "positive": "On Three-point Functions in the AdS_4/CFT_3 Correspondence: We calculate planar, tree-level, non-extremal three-point functions of\noperators belonging to the SU(2) x SU(2) sector of ABJM theory. First, we\ngeneralize the determinant representation, found by Foda for the three-point\nfunctions of the SU(2) sector of N=4 SYM, to the present case and find that the\nABJM result up to normalization factors factorizes into a product of two N=4\nSYM correlation functions. Secondly, we treat the case where two operators are\nheavy and one is light and BPS, using a coherent state description of the heavy\nones. We show that when normalized by the three-point function of three BPS\noperators the heavy-heavy-light correlation function agrees, in the\nFrolov-Tseytlin limit, with its string theory counterpart which we calculate\nholographically."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Improving the five-point bootstrap: We present a new algorithm for the numerical evaluation of five-point\nconformal blocks in $d$-dimensions, greatly improving the efficiency of their\ncomputation. To do this we use an appropriate ansatz for the blocks as a series\nexpansion in radial coordinates, derive a set of recursion relations for the\nunknown coefficients in the ansatz, and evaluate the series using a Pad\\'e\napproximant to accelerate its convergence. We then study the\n$\\langle\\sigma\\sigma\\epsilon\\sigma\\sigma\\rangle$ correlator in the 3d critical\nIsing model by truncating the operator product expansion (OPE) and only\nincluding operators with conformal dimension below a cutoff $\\Delta\\leqslant\n\\Delta_{\\rm cutoff}$. We approximate the contributions of the operators above\nthe cutoff by the corresponding contributions in a suitable disconnected\nfive-point correlator. Using this approach, we compute a number of OPE\ncoefficients with greater accuracy than previous methods.",
        "positive": "Manton's five vortex equations from self-duality: We demonstrate that the five vortex equations recently introduced by Manton\nariseas symmetry reductions of the anti-self-dual Yang--Mills equations in four\ndimensions. In particular the Jackiw--Pi vortex and the Ambj\\o rn--Olesen\nvortex correspond to the gauge group $SU(1, 1)$, and respectively the Euclidean\nor the $SU(2)$ symmetry groups acting with two-dimensional orbits. We show how\nto obtain vortices with higher vortex numbers, by superposing vortex equations\nof different types. Finally we use the kinetic energy of the Yang--Mills theory\nin 4+1 dimensions to construct a metric on vortex moduli spaces. This metric is\nnot positive-definite in cases of non-compact gauge groups."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Open string instantons and superpotentials: We study the F-terms in N=1 supersymmetric, d=4 gauge theories arising from\nD(p+3)-branes wrapping supersymmetric p-cycles in a Calabi-Yau threefold. If p\nis even the spectrum and superpotential for a single brane are determined by\npurely classical ($\\alpha^\\prime \\to 0$) considerations. If p=3,\nsuperpotentials for massless modes are forbidden to all orders in\n$\\alpha^\\prime$ and may only be generated by open string instantons. For this\nlatter case we find that such instanton effects are generically present. Mirror\nsymmetry relates even and odd p and thus perturbative and nonperturbative\nsuperpotentials; we provide a preliminary discussion of a class of examples of\nsuch mirror pairs.",
        "positive": "Effects of dark energy on $P-V$ criticality and efficiency of charged\n  Rotational black hole: In this paper, we study $P-V$ criticality of Kerr-Newman $AdS$ black hole\nwith a quintessence field. We calculate critical quantities and show that for\nthe equation state parameter $\\omega= -\\frac{1}{3}$, the obtained universal\nratio ($\\frac{P_{c}\\upsilon_{c}}{T_{c}}$) is quite same as Kerr-Newman $AdS$\nblack hole without dark energy parameter. We investigate the influence of\nquintessence field $\\alpha$, equation state parameter $\\omega$ and angular\nmomentum $J$ on the efficiency $\\eta$. We find that $\\eta$ is increased by\nincreasing $J$ and $\\alpha$ and decreasing charge $Q$ of black hole. We show\nwhen $\\omega$ increases from $-1$ to $-\\frac{1}{3}$ the efficiency decreases.\nAlso we study ratio $\\frac{\\eta}{\\eta_{C}}$ (which $\\eta_{C}$ is the Carnot\nefficiency) and see that the second law of the thermodynamics is satisfied by\nspecial values of $J$ and $\\alpha$ and holds for any value of $Q$. We notice\nthat in this case by increasing $\\omega$ from $-1$ to $-\\frac{1}{3}$ the range\nof $J$ and $\\alpha$ increases."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Toda-like (0,2) mirrors to products of projective spaces: One of the open problems in understanding (0,2) mirror symmetry concerns the\nconstruction of Toda-like Landau-Ginzburg mirrors to (0,2) theories on Fano\nspaces. In this paper, we begin to fill this gap by making an ansatz for (0,2)\nToda-like theories mirror to (0,2) supersymmetric nonlinear sigma models on\nproducts of projective spaces, with deformations of the tangent bundle,\ngeneralizing a special case previously worked out for P1xP1. We check this\nansatz by matching correlation functions of the B/2-twisted Toda-like theories\nto correlation functions of corresponding A/2-twisted nonlinear sigma models,\ncomputed primarily using localization techniques. These (0,2) Landau-Ginzburg\nmodels admit redundancies, which can lend themselves to multiple\ndistinct-looking representatives of the same physics, which we discuss.",
        "positive": "Minimal Length Uncertainty Relation and gravitational quantum well: The dynamics of a particle in a gravitational quantum well is studied in the\ncontext of nonrelativistic quantum mechanics with a particular deformation of a\ntwo-dimensional Heisenberg algebra. This deformation yields a new\nshort-distance structure characterized by a finite minimal uncertainty in\nposition measurements, a feature it shares with noncommutative theories. We\nshow that an analytical solution can be found in perturbation and we compare\nour results to those published recently, where noncommutative geometry at the\nquantum mechanical level was considered. We find that the perturbations of the\ngravitational quantum well spectrum in these two approaches have different\nsignatures. We also compare our modified energy spectrum to the results\nobtained with the GRANIT experiment, where the effects of the Earth's\ngravitational field on quantum states of ultra cold neutrons moving above a\nmirror are studied. This comparison leads to an upper bound on the minimal\nlength scale induced by the deformed algebra we use. This upper bound is weaker\nthan the one obtained in the context of the hydrogen atom but could still be\nuseful if the deformation parameter of the Heisenberg algebra is not a\nuniversal constant but a quantity that depends on the energetic content of the\nsystem."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "N=2 supersymmetry in the twistor description of higher-spin holography: We study the holographic duality between higher-spin (HS) gravity in 4d and\nfree vector models in 3d, with special attention to the role of N=2\nsupersymmetry (SUSY). For the type-A bosonic bulk theory, dual to spin-0 fields\non the boundary, there exists a twistor-space description; this maps both\nsingle-trace boundary operators and linearized bulk fields to\nspacetime-independent twistor functions, whose HS-algebra products compute all\nboundary correlators. Here, we extend this description to the type-B bosonic\ntheory (dual to spin-1/2 fields on the boundary), and to the supersymmetric\ntheory containing both. A key role is played by boundary bilocals, which in\ntype-A are dual to the Didenko-Vasiliev 1/2-BPS \"black hole\". We extend this to\nan infinite family of linearized 1/2-BPS \"black hole\" solutions. Remarkably,\nthe full supersymmetric theory (along with the SUSY generators) fits in the\nsame space of twistor functions as the type-A theory. Instead of two sets of\nbosonic bulk fields, the formalism sees one set of linearized fields, but with\nboth types of boundary data allowed.",
        "positive": "On \u03b1' corrections in N=1 F-theory compactifications: We consider N=1 F-theory and Type IIB orientifold compactifications and\nderive new \\alpha' corrections to the four-dimensional effective action. They\noriginate from higher derivative corrections to eleven-dimensional supergravity\nand survive the M-theory to F-theory limit. We find a correction to the Kahler\nmoduli depending on a non-trivial intersection curve of seven-branes. We also\nanalyze a four-dimensional higher curvature correction."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Instantons versus Monopoles: We review results of the last two years concerning caloron solutions of unit\ncharge with non-trivial holonomy, revealing the constituent monopole nature of\nthese instantons. For SU(n) there are n such BPS constituents. New is the\npresentation of the exact values for the Polyakov loop at the three constituent\nlocations for the SU(3) caloron with arbitrary holonomy. At these points two\neigenvalues coincide, extending earlier results for SU(2) to a situation more\ngeneric for general SU(n).",
        "positive": "Integrable Systems for Particles with Internal Degrees of Freedom: We show that a class of models for particles with internal degrees of freedom\nare integrable. These systems are basically generalizations of the models of\nCalogero and Sutherland. The proofs of integrability are based on a recently\ndeveloped exchange operator formalism. We calculate the wave-functions for the\nCalogero-like models and find the ground-state wave-function for a\nCalogero-like model in a position dependent magnetic field. This last model\nmight have some relevance for matrix models of open strings."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "More on counterterms in the gravitational action and anomalies: The addition of boundary counterterms to the gravitational action of\nasymptotically anti-de Sitter spacetimes permits us to define the partition\nfunction unambiguously without background subtraction. We show that the\ninclusion of p-form fields in the gravitational action requires the addition of\nfurther counterterms which we explicitly identify. We also relate logarithmic\ndivergences in the action dependent on the matter fields to anomalies in the\ndual conformal field theories. In particular we find that the anomaly predicted\nfor the correlator of the stress energy tensor and two vector currents in four\ndimensions agrees with that of the ${\\cal{N}} = 4$ superconformal SU(N) gauge\ntheory.",
        "positive": "Conformal invariant interaction of a scalar field with the higher spin\n  field in AdS_{D}: The explicit form of linearized gauge invariant interactions of scalar and\ngeneral higher even spin fields in the $AdS_{D}$ space is obtained. In the case\nof general spin $\\ell$ a generalized 'Weyl' transformation is proposed and the\ncorresponding 'Weyl' invariant action is constructed. In both cases the\ninvariant actions of the interacting higher even spin gauge field and the\nscalar field include the whole tower of invariant actions for couplings of the\nsame scalar with all gauge fields of smaller even spin. For the particular\nvalue of $\\ell=4$ all results are in exact agreement with hep-th/0403241"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Ghost-free higher-derivative theory: We present an example of the quantum system with higher derivatives in the\nLagrangian, which is ghost-free: the spectrum of the Hamiltonian is bounded\nfrom below and unitarity is preserved.",
        "positive": "Is a truly marginal perturbation of the $G_k\\times G_k$ WZNW model at\n  $k=-2c_V(G)$ an exception to the rule?: It is shown that there exists a truly marginal deformation of the direct sum\nof two $G_k$ WZNW models at $k=-2c_V(G)$ (where $c_V(G)$ is the eigenvalue of\nthe quadratic Casimir operator in the adjoint representation of the group $G$)\nwhich does not seem to fit the Chaudhuri-Schwartz criterion for truly marginal\nperturbations. In addition, a continuous family of WZNW models is constructed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Bi-Hamiltonian Structure of the Supersymmetric Nonlinear Schrodinger\n  Equation: We show that the supersymmetric nonlinear Schr\\\"odinger equation is a\nbi-Hamiltonian integrable system. We obtain the two Hamiltonian structures of\nthe theory from the ones of the supersymmetric two boson hierarchy through a\nfield redefinition. We also show how the two Hamiltonian structures of the\nsupersymmetric KdV equation can be derived from a Hamiltonian reduction of the\nsupersymmetric two boson hierarchy as well.",
        "positive": "The Nuts and Bolts of Brane Resolution: We construct various non-singular p-branes on higher-dimensional\ngeneralizations of Taub-NUT and Taub-BOLT instantons. Among other solutions,\nthese include S^1-wrapped D3-branes and M5-branes, as well as deformed\nM2-branes. The resulting geometries smoothly interpolate between product spaces\nwhich include Minkowski elements of different dimensionality. The new solutions\ndo not preserve any supersymmetry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supertwistor description of the $AdS$ pure spinor string: We describe the pure spinor string in the $AdS_5\\times S^5$ using\nunconstrained matrices first used by Roiban and Siegel for the Green-Schwarz\nsuperstring.",
        "positive": "Two loop mass renormalisation in heterotic string theory: NS states: In this work computation of the renormalised mass at two loop order for the\nNS sector of heterotic string theory is attempted. We first implement the\nvertical integration prescription for choosing a section avoiding the spurious\npoles due to the presence of a required number of picture changing operators.\nAs a result the relevant amplitude on genus 2 Riemann surface can be written as\na boundary term. We then identify the 1PI region of the moduli space having\nchosen a gluing compatible local coordinates around the external punctures. We\nalso identify the relevant integrands and the relevant region of integration\nfor the modular parameters at the boundary."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Symmetries, Microcausality and Physics on Canonical Noncommutative\n  Spacetime: In this paper we describe how to implement symmetries on a canonical\nnoncommutative spacetime. We focus on noncommutative Lorentz transformations.\nWe then discuss the structure of the light cone on a canonical noncommutative\nspacetime and show that field theories formulated on these spaces do not\nviolate mircocausality.",
        "positive": "Gauged supergravities and their symmetry-breaking vacua in F-theory: We first derive a class of six-dimensional (1,0) gauged supergravities\narising from threefold compactifications of F-theory with background fluxes.\nThe derivation proceeds via the M-theory dual reduction on an SU(3)-structure\nmanifold with four-form G_4-flux. We then show that vacuum solutions of these\nsix-dimensional theories describes four-dimensional flat space times a compact\ntwo-dimensional internal space with additional localized sources. This induces\na spontaneous compactification to four space-time dimensions and breaks the\nsupersymmetry from N=2 to N=1, which allows the reduced theory to have a\nfour-dimensional chiral spectrum. We perform the reduction explicitly and\nderive the N=1 characteristic data of the four-dimensional effective theory.\nThe match with fourfold reductions of F-theory is discussed and many of the\ncharacteristic features are compared. We comment, in particular, on warping\neffects and one-loop Chern-Simons terms generically present in four-dimensional\nF-theory reductions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Remarks about Dyson's instability in the large-N limit: There are known examples of perturbative expansions in the 't Hooft coupling\nlt with a finite radius of convergence. This seems to contradict Dyson's\nargument suggesting that the instability at negative coupling implies a zero\nradius of convergence. Using the example of the linear sigma model in three\ndimensions, we discuss to which extent the two points of view are compatible.\nWe show that a saddle point persists for negative values of lt until a critical\nvalue -|lt_c| is reached. A numerical study of the perturbative series for the\nrenormalized mass confirms an expected singularity of the form (lt\n+|lt_c|)^1/2. However, for -|lt_c|< lt <0, the effective potential does not\nexist if phi^2 >phi^2_{max}(lt) and not at all if lt<-|lt_c|. We show that\nphi^2_{max}(lt) propto 1/|lt | for small negative lt. The finite radius of\nconvergence can be justified if the effective theory is defined with a large\nfield cutoff phi^2_{max}(lt) which provides a quantitative measure of the\ndeparture from the original model considered.",
        "positive": "Time Dependent Couplings as Observables in de Sitter Space: We summarize and expand our investigations concerning the soft graviton\neffects on microscopic matter dynamics in de Sitter space. The physical\ncouplings receive IR logarithmic corrections which are sensitive to the IR\ncut-off at the one-loop level. The scale invariant spectrum in the\ngravitational propagator at the super-horizon scale is the source of the de\nSitter symmetry breaking. The quartic scalar, Yukawa and gauge couplings become\ntime dependent and diminish with time. In contrast, the Newton's constant\nincreases with time. We clarify the physical mechanism behind these effects in\nterms of the conformal mode dynamics in analogy with 2d quantum gravity. We\nshow that they are the inevitable consequence of the general covariance and\nlead to gauge invariant predictions. We construct a simple model in which the\ncosmological constant is self-tuned to vanish due to UV-IR mixing effect. We\nalso discuss phenomenological implications such as decaying Dark Energy and\nSUSY breaking at the Inflation era. The quantum effect alters the classical\nslow roll picture in general if the tensor-to-scalar ratio $r$ is as small as\n$0.01$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "From Fixed Points to the Fifth Dimension: 4D Lorentzian conformal field theory (CFT) is mapped into 5D anti-de Sitter\nspacetime (AdS), from the viewpoint of \"geometrizing\" conformal current\nalgebra. A large-N expansion of the CFT is shown to lead to (infinitely many)\nweakly coupled AdS particles, in one-to-one correspondence with\nminimal-color-singlet CFT primary operators. If all but a finite number of\n\"protected\" primary operators have very large scaling dimensions, it is shown\nthat there exists a low-AdS-curvature effective field theory regime for the\ncorresponding finite set of AdS particles. Effective 5D gauge theory and\nGeneral Relativity on AdS are derived in this way from the most robust examples\nof protected CFT primaries, Noether currents of global symmetries and the\nenergy-momentum tensor. Witten's prescription for computing CFT local operator\ncorrelators within the AdS dual is derived. The main new contribution is the\nderivation of 5D locality of AdS couplings. This is accomplished by studying a\nconfining IR-deformation of the CFT in the large-N \"planar\" approximation,\nwhere the discrete spectrum and existence of an S-matrix allow the constraints\nof unitarity and crossing symmetry to be solved (in standard fashion) by a\ntree-level expansion in terms of 4D local \"glueball\" couplings. When the\ndeformation is carefully removed, this 4D locality (with plausible technical\nassumptions specifying its precise nature) combines with the restored conformal\nsymmetry to yield 5D AdS locality. The sense in which AdS/CFT duality\nillustrates the possibility of emergent relativity, and the special role of\nstrong coupling, are briefly discussed. Care is taken to conclude each step\nwith well-defined mathematical expressions and convergent integrals.",
        "positive": "Gaudin Models and Multipoint Conformal Blocks III: Comb channel\n  coordinates and OPE factorisation: We continue the exploration of multipoint scalar comb channel blocks for\nconformal field theories in 3D and 4D. The central goal here is to construct\nnovel comb channel cross ratios that are well adapted to perform projections\nonto all intermediate primary fields. More concretely, our new set of cross\nratios includes three for each intermediate mixed symmetry tensor exchange.\nThese variables are designed such that the associated power series expansion\ncoincides with the sum over descendants. The leading term of this expansion is\nargued to factorise into a product of lower point blocks. We establish this\nremarkable factorisation property by studying the limiting behaviour of the\nGaudin Hamiltonians that are used to characterise multipoint conformal blocks.\nFor six points we can map the eigenvalue equations for the limiting Gaudin\ndifferential operators to Casimir equations of spinning four-point blocks."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hamilton-Jacobi Renormalization for Lifshitz Spacetime: Just like AdS spacetimes, Lifshitz spacetimes require counterterms in order\nto make the on-shell value of the bulk action finite. We study these\ncounterterms using the Hamilton-Jacobi method. Rather than imposing boundary\nconditions from the start, we will derive suitable boundary conditions by\nrequiring that divergences can be canceled using only local counterterms. We\nwill demonstrate in examples that this procedure indeed leads to a finite bulk\naction while at the same time it determines the asymptotic behavior of the\nfields. This puts more substance to the belief that Lifshitz spacetimes are\ndual to well-behaved field theories. As a byproduct, we will find the analogue\nof the conformal anomaly for Lifshitz spacetimes.",
        "positive": "Consistent quantization of massless fields of any spin and the\n  generalized Maxwell's equations: A simplified formalism of first quantized massless fields of any spin is\npresented. The angular momentum basis for particles of zero mass and finite\nspin s of the D^(s-1/2,1/2) representation of the Lorentz group is used to\ndescribe the wavefunctions. The advantage of the formalism is that by equating\nto zero the s-1 components of the wave functions, the 2s-1 subsidiary\nconditions (needed to eliminate the non-forward and non-backward helicities)\nare automatically satisfied. Probability currents and Lagrangians are derived\nallowing a first quantized formalism. A simple procedure is derived for\nconnecting the wave functions with potentials and gauge conditions. The spin 1\ncase is of particular interest and is described with the D^(1/2,1/2) vector\nrepresentation of the well known self-dual representation of the Maxwell's\nequations. This representation allows us to generalize Maxwell's equations by\nadding the E_0 and B_0 components to the electric and magnetic four-vectors.\nRestrictions on their existence are discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Cosmological Particle Production at Strong Coupling: We study the dynamics of a strongly-coupled quantum field theory in a\ncosmological spacetime using the holographic AdS/CFT correspondence.\nSpecifically we consider a confining gauge theory in an expanding FRW universe\nand track the evolution of the stress-energy tensor during a period of\nexpansion, varying the initial temperature as well as the rate and amplitude of\nthe expansion. At strong coupling, particle production is inseparable from\nentropy production. As a result, we find significant qualitative differences\nfrom the weak coupling results: at strong coupling the system rapidly loses\nmemory of its initial state as the amplitude is increased. Furthermore, in the\nregime where the Hubble parameter is parametrically smaller than the initial\ntemperature, the dynamics is well modelled as a plasma evolving\nhydrodynamically towards equilibrium.",
        "positive": "Cluster Convergence Theorem: A power-counting theorem is presented, that is designed to play an analogous\nrole, in the proof of a BPHZ convergence theorem, in Euclidean position space,\nto the role played by Weinberg's power-counting theorem, in Zimmermann's proof\nof the BPHZ convergence theorem, in momentum space. If $x$ denotes a position\nspace configuration, of the vertices, of a Feynman diagram, and $\\sigma$ is a\nreal number, such that $0 < \\sigma < 1$, a $\\sigma$-cluster, of $x$, is a\nnonempty subset, $J$, of the vertices of the diagram, such that the maximum\ndistance, between any two vertices, in $J$, is less than $\\sigma$, times the\nminimum distance, from any vertex, in $J$, to any vertex, not in $J$. The set\nof all the $\\sigma$-clusters, of $x$, has similar combinatoric properties to a\nforest, and the configuration space, of the vertices, is cut up into a finite\nnumber of sectors, classified by the set of all their $\\sigma$-clusters. It is\nproved that if, for each such sector, the integrand can be bounded by an\nexpression, that satisfies a certain power-counting requirement, for each\n$\\sigma$-cluster, then the integral, over the position, of any one vertex, is\nabsolutely convergent, and the result can be bounded by the sum of a finite\nnumber of expressions, of the same type, each of which satisfies the\ncorresponding power-counting requirements."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Dilatation Operator of N=4 Super Yang-Mills Theory and Integrability: The dilatation generator measures the scaling dimensions of local operators\nin a conformal field theory. In this thesis we consider the example of\nmaximally supersymmetric gauge theory in four dimensions and develop and extend\ntechniques to derive, investigate and apply the dilatation operator.\n  We construct the dilatation operator by purely algebraic means: Relying on\nthe symmetry algebra and structural properties of Feynman diagrams we are able\nto bypass involved, higher-loop field theory computations. In this way we\nobtain the complete one-loop dilatation operator and the planar, three-loop\ndeformation in an interesting subsector. These results allow us to address the\nissue of integrability within a planar four-dimensional gauge theory: We prove\nthat the complete dilatation generator is integrable at one-loop and present\nthe corresponding Bethe ansatz. We furthermore argue that integrability extends\nto three-loops and beyond. Assuming that it holds indeed, we finally construct\na novel spin chain model at five-loops and propose a Bethe ansatz which might\nbe valid at arbitrary loop-order!\n  We illustrate the use of our technology in several examples and also present\ntwo key applications for the AdS/CFT correspondence.",
        "positive": "Ans\u00e4tze for Scattering Amplitudes from $p$-adic Numbers and Algebraic\n  Geometry: Rational coefficients of special functions in scattering amplitudes are known\nto simplify on singular surfaces, often diverging less strongly than the\nna\\\"ive expectation. To systematically study these surfaces and rational\nfunctions on them, we employ tools from algebraic geometry. We show how the\ndivergences of a rational function constrain its numerator to belong to\nsymbolic powers of ideals associated to the singular surfaces. To study the\ndivergences of the coefficients, we make use of $p$-adic numbers, closely\nrelated to finite fields. These allow us to perform numerical evaluations close\nto the singular surfaces in a stable manner and thereby characterize the\ndivergences of the coefficients. We then use this information to construct\nlow-dimensional Ans\\\"atze for the rational coefficients. As a proof-of-concept\napplication of our algorithm, we reconstruct the two-loop $0 \\rightarrow q\\bar\nq\\gamma\\gamma\\gamma$ pentagon-function coefficients with fewer than 1000\nnumerical evaluations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Orbifolds of M-Theory and Type II String Theories in Two Dimensions: We consider several orbifold compactifications of M-theory and their\ncorresponding type II duals in two space-time dimensions. In particular, we\nshow that while the orbifold compactification of M-theory on $T^9/J_9$ is dual\nto the orbifold compactification of type IIB string theory on $T^8/I_8$, the\nsame orbifold $T^8/I_8$ of type IIA string theory is dual to M-theory\ncompactified on a smooth product manifold $K3 \\times T^5$. Similarly, while the\norbifold compactification of M-theory on $(K3 \\times T^5)/\\sigma ... J_5$ is\ndual to the orbifold compactification of type IIB string theory on $(K3 \\times\nT^4)/\\sigma ... I_4$, the same orbifold of type IIA string theory is dual to\nthe orbifold $T^4 \\times (K3 \\times S^1)/\\sigma ... J_1$ of M-theory. The\nspectrum of various orbifold compactifications of M-theory and type II string\ntheories on both sides are compared giving evidence in favor of these duality\nconjectures. We also comment on a connection between Dasgupta-Mukhi-Witten\nconjecture and Dabholkar-Park-Sen conjecture for the six-dimensional orbifold\nmodels of type IIB string theory and M-theory.",
        "positive": "First Reduce or First Quantize? A Lagrangian Approach and Application to\n  Coset Spaces: A Lagrangian treatment of the quantization of first class Hamiltonian systems\nwith constraints and Hamiltonian linear and quadratic in the momenta\nrespectively is performed. The ``first reduce and then quantize'' and the\n``first quantize and then reduce'' (Dirac's) methods are compared. A new source\nof ambiguities in this latter approach is revealed and its relevance on issues\nconcerning self-consistency and equivalence with the ``first reduce'' method is\nemphasized. One of our main results is the relation between the propagator\nobtained {\\it \\`a la Dirac} and the propagator in the full space, eq. (5.25).As\nan application of the formalism developed, quantization on coset spaces of\ncompact Lie groups is presented. In this case it is shown that a natural\nselection of a Dirac quantization allows for full self-consistency and\nequivalence. Finally, the specific case of the propagator on a two-dimensional\nsphere $S^2$ viewed as the coset space $SU(2)/U(1)$ is worked out."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "4-string Junction and Its Network: We study a BPS configuration in which four strings (of different type) meet\nat a point in $N = 2, D = 8$ supergravity, i.e., the low energy effective\ntheory of $T^2$-compactified type II string theory. We demonstrate that the\ncharge conservation of the four strings implies the vanishing of the net force\n(due to the tensions of various strings) at the junction and vice versa, using\nthe tension formula for $SL(3, Z)$ strings obtained recently by the present\nauthors. We then show that a general 4-string junction preserves 1/8 of the\nspacetime supersymmetries. Using 4-string junctions as building blocks, we\nconstruct a string network which also preserves 1/8 of the spacetime\nsupersymmetries.",
        "positive": "Tree and $1$-loop fundamental BCJ relations from soft theorems: We provide a new derivation of the fundamental BCJ relation among double\ncolor ordered tree amplitudes of bi-adjoint scalar theory, based on the leading\nsoft theorem for external scalars. Then, we generalize the fundamental BCJ\nrelation to $1$-loop Feynman integrands. We also use the fundamental BCJ\nrelation to understand the Adler's zero for tree amplitudes of non-linear Sigma\nmodel and Born-Infeld theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Seiberg dualities and the 3d/4d connection: We discuss the degeneration limits of d=4 superconformal indices that relate\nSeiberg duality for the d=4 N=1 SQCD theory to Aharony and Giveon-Kutasov\ndualities for d=3 N=2 SQCD theories. On a mathematical level we argue that this\n3d/4d connection entails a new set of non-standard degeneration identities\nbetween hyperbolic hypergeometric integrals. On a physical level we propose\nthat such degeneration formulae provide a new route to the still illusive\nSeiberg dualities for d=3 N=2 SQCD theories with SU(N) gauge group.",
        "positive": "Integrable hierarchy underlying topological Landau-Ginzburg models of\n  D-type: A universal integrable hierarchy underlying topological Landau-Ginzburg\nmodels of D-tye is presented. Like the dispersionless Toda hierarchy, the new\nhierarchy has two distinct (``positive\" and ``negative\") set of flows. Special\nsolutions corresponding to topological Landau-Ginzburg models of D-type are\ncharacterized by a Riemann-Hilbert problem, which can be converted into a\ngeneralized hodograph transformation. This construction gives an embedding of\nthe finite dimensional small phase space of these models into the full space of\nflows of this hierarchy. One of flat coordinates in the small phase space turns\nout to be identical to the first ``negative\" time variable of the hierarchy,\nwhereas the others belong to the ``positive\" flows."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Baryonic symmetries in AdS_4/CFT_3: an overview: Global symmetries play an important role in classifying the spectrum of a\ngauge theory. In the context of the AdS/CFT duality, global baryon-like\nsymmetries are specially interesting. In the gravity side, they correspond to\nvector fields in AdS arising from KK reduction of the SUGRA p-form potentials.\nWe concentrate on the AdS_4/CFT_3 case, which presents very interesting\ncharacteristic features. Following arXiv:1004.2045, we review aspects of such\nsymmetries, clarifying along the way some arguments in that reference. As a\nbyproduct, and in a slightly unrelated context, we also study Z-minimization,\nfocusing in the HVZ theory.",
        "positive": "${\\cal N}=2$ supersymmetric higher spin gauge theories and current\n  multiplets in three dimensions: We describe several families of primary linear supermultiplets coupled to\nthree-dimensional ${\\cal N}=2$ conformal supergravity and use them to construct\ntopological $BF$-type terms. We introduce conformal higher-spin gauge\nsuperfields and associate with them Chern-Simons-type actions that are\nconstructed as an extension of the linearised action for ${\\cal N}=2$ conformal\nsupergravity. These actions possess gauge and super-Weyl invariance in any\nconformally flat superspace and involve a higher-spin generalisation of the\nlinearised ${\\cal N}=2$ super-Cotton tensor. For massless higher-spin\nsupermultiplets in (1,1) anti-de Sitter (AdS) superspace, we propose two\noff-shell Lagrangian gauge formulations, which are related to each other by a\ndually transformation. Making use of these massless theories allows us to\nformulate consistent higher-spin supercurrent multiplets in (1,1) AdS\nsuperspace. Explicit examples of such supercurrent multiplets are provided for\nmodels of massive chiral supermultiplets. Off-shell formulations for massive\nhigher-spin supermultiplets in (1,1) AdS superspace are proposed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Entanglement between two disjoint universes: We use the replica method to compute the entanglement entropy of a universe\nwithout gravity entangled in a thermofield-double-like state with a disjoint\ngravitating universe. Including wormholes between replicas of the latter gives\nan entropy functional which includes an \"island\" on the gravitating universe.\nWe solve the back-reaction equations when the cosmological constant is negative\nto show that this island coincides with a causal shadow region that is created\nby the entanglement in the gravitating geometry. At high entanglement\ntemperatures, the island contribution to the entropy functional leads to a\nbound on entanglement entropy, analogous to the Page behavior of evaporating\nblack holes. We demonstrate that the entanglement wedge of the non-gravitating\nuniverse grows with the entanglement temperature until, eventually, the\ngravitating universe can be entirely reconstructed from the non-gravitating\none.",
        "positive": "On Gauge Equivalence of Tachyon Solutions in Cubic Neveu-Schwarz String\n  Field Theory: Simple analytic solution to cubic Neveu-Schwarz String Field Theory including\nthe $GSO(-)$ sector is presented. This solution is an analog of the\nErler-Schnabl solution for bosonic case and one of the authors solution for the\npure $GSO(+)$ case. Gauge transformations of the new solution to others known\nsolutions for the $NS$ string tachyon condensation are constructed explicitly.\nThis gauge equivalence manifestly supports the early observed fact that these\nsolutions have the same value of the action density."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exact solutions to quantum spectral curves by topological string theory: We generalize the conjectured connection between quantum spectral problems\nand topological strings to many local almost del Pezzo surfaces with arbitrary\nmass parameters. The conjecture uses perturbative information of the\ntopological string in the unrefined and the Nekrasov-Shatashvili limit to solve\nnon-perturbatively the quantum spectral problem. We consider the quantum\nspectral curves for the local almost del Pezzo surfaces of $\\mathbb{F}_2$,\n$\\mathbb{F}_1$, the blowup of $\\mathbb{P}^2$ in two points and a mass\ndeformation of the $E_8$ del Pezzo corresponding to different deformations of\nthe three-term operators $\\mathsf{O}_{1,1}$, $\\mathsf{O}_{1,2}$ and\n$\\mathsf{O}_{2,3}$. To check the conjecture, we compare the predictions for the\nspectrum of these operators with numerical results for the eigenvalues. We also\ncompute the first few fermionic spectral traces from the conjectural spectral\ndeterminant, and we compare them to analytic and numerical results in spectral\ntheory. In all these comparisons, we find that the conjecture is fully\nvalidated with high numerical precision. For local $\\mathbb{F}_2$ we expand the\nspectral determinant around the orbifold point and find intriguing relations\nfor Jacobi theta functions. We also give an explicit map between the geometries\nof $\\mathbb{F}_0$ and $\\mathbb{F}_2$ as well as a systematic way to derive the\noperators $\\mathsf{O}_{m,n}$ from toric geometries.",
        "positive": "Viscous Asymptotically Flat Reissner-Nordstr\u00f6m Black Branes: We study electrically charged asymptotically flat black brane solutions whose\nworld-volume fields are slowly varying with the coordinates. Using familiar\ntechniques, we compute the transport coefficients of the fluid dynamic\nderivative expansion to first order. We show how the shear and bulk viscosities\nare modified in the presence of electric charge and we compute the charge\ndiffusion constant which is not present for the neutral black p-brane. We\ncompute the first order dispersion relations of the effective fluid. For small\nvalues of the charge the speed of sound is found to be imaginary and the brane\nis thus Gregory-Laflamme unstable as expected. For sufficiently large values of\nthe charge, the sound mode becomes stable, however, in this regime the\nhydrodynamic mode associated with charge diffusion is found to be unstable. The\nelectrically charged brane is thus found to be (classically) unstable for all\nvalues of the charge density in agreement with general thermodynamic arguments.\nFinally, we show that the shear viscosity to entropy bound is saturated, as\nexpected, while the proposed bounds for the bulk viscosity to entropy can be\nviolated in certain regimes of the charge of the brane."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Zero Mode Effect Generalization for the Electromagnetic Current in the\n  Light Front: We consider in this work the electromagnetic current for a system composed by\ntwo charged bosons and show that it has a structure of many bodies even in the\nimpulse approximation, when described in the light front time $x^+$. In terms\nof the two-body component for the bound state, the current contains two-body\noperators. We discuss the process of pair creation from the interacting photon\nand interpret it as a zero mode contribution to the current and its\nconsequences for the components of currents in the light-front.",
        "positive": "Scalar-Tensor theories and current Cosmology: Scalar-tensor theories are studied in the context of cosmological evolution,\nwhere the expansion history of the Universe is reconstructed. It is considered\nquintessence/phantom models, where inflation and cosmic acceleration are\nreproduced. Also, the non-minimally coupling regime between the scalar field\nand the Ricci scalar is studied and cosmological solutions are obtained. The\nChamaleon mechanism is shown as a solution of the local gravity tests problems\npresented in this kind of theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Maintaining Gauge Symmetry in Renormalizing Chiral Gauge Theories: It is known that the $\\gamma_{5}$ scheme of Breitenlohner and Maison (BM) in\ndimensional regularization requires finite counter-term renormalization to\nrestore gauge symmetry and implementing this finite renormalization in\npractical calculation is a daunting task even at 1-loop order. In this paper,\nwe show that there is a simple and straightforward method to obtain these\nfinite counter terms by using the rightmost $\\gamma_{5}$ scheme in which we\nmove all the $\\gamma_{5}$ matrices to the rightmost position before\nanalytically continuing the dimension. For any 1-loop Feynman diagram, the\ndifference between the amplitude regularized in the rightmost $\\gamma_{5}$\nscheme and the amplitude regularized in the BM scheme can be easily calculated.\nThe differences for all 1-loop diagrams in the chiral Abelian-Higgs gauge\ntheory and in the chiral non-Abelian gauge theory are shown to be the same as\nthe amplitudes due to the finite counter terms that are required to restore\ngauge symmetry.",
        "positive": "Statefinder Diagnostic for Born-Infeld Type Dark Energy Model: Using a new method--statefinder diagnostic which can differ one dark energy\nmodel from the others, we investigate in this letter the dynamics of\nBorn-Infeld(B-I) type dark energy model. The evolutive trajectory of B-I type\ndark energy with Mexican hat potential model with respect to $e-folding$ time\n$N$ is shown in the $r(s)$ diagram. When the parameter of noncanonical kinetic\nenergy term $\\eta\\to0$ or kinetic energy $\\dot{\\phi}^2\\to0$, B-I type dark\nenergy(K-essence) model reduces to Quintessence model or $\\Lambda$CDM model\ncorresponding to the statefinder pair $\\{r, s\\}$=$\\{1, 0\\}$ respectively. As a\nresult, the the evolutive trajectory of our model in the $r(s)$ diagram in\nMexican hat potential is quite different from those of other dark energy\nmodels."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Note on a Standard Embedding on Half-Flat Manifolds: It is argued that the ten dimensional solution that corresponds to the\ncompactification of $E_8 \\times E_8$ heterotic string theory on a half-flat\nmanifold is the product space-time $R^{1,2} \\times Z_7$ where $Z_7$ is a\ngeneralized cylinder with $G_2$ riemannian holonomy. Standard embedding on\n$Z_7$ then implies an embedding on the half-flat manifold which involves the\ntorsionful connection rather than the Levi-Civita connection. This leads to the\nbreakdown of $E_8 \\times E_8$ to $E_6 \\times E_8$, as in the case of the\nstandard embedding on Calabi-Yau manifolds, which agrees with the result\nderived recently by Gurrieri, Lukas and Micu (arXiv:0709.1932) using a\ndifferent approach. Green-Schwarz anomaly cancellation is then implemented via\nthe torsionful connection on half-flat manifolds.",
        "positive": "Supersymmetry in 5d Gravity: We study a 5d gravity theory with a warped metric and show that two N = 2\nsupersymmetric quantum-mechanical systems are hidden in the 4d spectrum. The\nsupersymmetry can be regarded as a remnant of higher-dimensional general\ncoordinate invariance and turns out to become a powerful tool to determine the\nphysical 4d spectrum and the allowed boundary conditions. Possible extensions\nof the N = 2 supersymmetry are briefly discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Finite-gap systems, tri-supersymmetry and self-isospectrality: We show that an n-gap periodic quantum system with parity-even smooth\npotential admits $2^n-1$ isospectral super-extensions. Each is described by a\ntri-supersymmetry that originates from a higher-order differential operator of\nthe Lax pair and two-term nonsingular decompositions of it; its local part\ncorresponds to a spontaneously partially broken centrally extended nonlinear\nN=4 supersymmetry. We conjecture that any finite-gap system having antiperiodic\nsinglet states admits a self-isospectral tri-supersymmetric extension with the\npartner potential to be the original one translated for a half-period. Applying\nthe theory to a broad class of finite-gap elliptic systems described by a\ntwo-parametric associated Lame equation, our conjecture is supported by the\nexplicit construction of the self-isospectral tri-supersymmetric pairs. We find\nthat the spontaneously broken tri-supersymmetry of the self-isospectral\nperiodic system is recovered in the infinite period limit.",
        "positive": "The Physics of Negative Energy Densities: I review some recent results showing that the physics of negative energy\ndensities, as predicted by relativistic quantum field theories, is more\ncomplicated than has generally been appreciated. On the one hand, in external\npotentials where there is a time--dependence, however slight, the Hamiltonians\nare unbounded below. On the other, there are limitations of quantum measurement\nin detecting or utilizing these negative energies."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Three Dimensional Quantum Chromodynamics: The subject of this talk was the review of our study of three ($2+1$)\ndimensional Quantum Chromodynamics. In our previous works, we showed the\nexistence of a phase where parity is unbroken and the flavor group $U(2n)$ is\nbroken to a subgroup $U(n)\\times U(n)$. We derived the low energy effective\naction for the theory and showed that it has solitonic excitations with Fermi\nstatistic, to be identified with the three dimensional ``baryon''. Finally, we\nstudied the current algebra for this effective action and we found a\nco-homologically non trivial generalization of Kac-Moody algebras to three\ndimensions.",
        "positive": "Spectral Form Factor in Non-Gaussian Random Matrix Theories: We consider Random Matrix Theories with non-Gaussian potentials that have a\nrich phase structure in the large $N$ limit. We calculate the Spectral Form\nFactor (SFF) in such models and present them as interesting examples of\ndynamical models that display multi-criticality at short time-scales and\nuniversality at large time scales. The models with quartic and sextic\npotentials are explicitly worked out. The disconnected part of the Spectral\nForm Factor (SFF) shows a change in its decay behavior exactly at the critical\npoints of each model. The dip-time of the SFF is estimated in each of these\nmodels. The late time behavior of all polynomial potential matrix models is\nshown to display a certain universality. This is related to the universality in\nthe short distance correlations of the mean-level densities. We speculate on\nthe implications of such universality for chaotic quantum systems including the\nSYK model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Joint Statistics of Cosmological Constant and SUSY Breaking in Flux\n  Vacua with Nilpotent Goldstino: We obtain the joint distribution of the gravitino mass and the cosmological\nconstant in KKLT and LVS models with anti-D3 brane uplifting described via the\nnilpotent goldstino formalism. Moduli stabilisation (of both complex structure\nand Kaehler moduli) is incorporated so that we sample only over points\ncorresponding to vacua. Our key inputs are the distributions of the flux\nsuperpotential, the string coupling and the hierarchies of warped throats. In\nthe limit of zero cosmological constant, we find that both in KKLT and LVS the\ndistributions are tilted favourably towards lower scales of supersymmetry\nbreaking.",
        "positive": "Path Integral Discussion for Smorodinsky-Winternitz Potentials: I.\\ Two-\n  and Three Dimensional Euclidean Space: Path integral formulations for the Smorodinsky-Winternitz potentials in two-\nand three-dimen\\-sional Euclidean space are presented. We mention all\ncoordinate systems which separate the Smorodinsky-Winternitz potentials and\nstate the corresponding path integral formulations. Whereas in many coordinate\nsystems an explicit path integral formulation is not possible, we list in all\nsoluble cases the path integral evaluations explicitly in terms of the\npropagators and the spectral expansions into the wave-functions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Symplectic realizations and Lie groupoids in Poisson Electrodynamics: We define the gauge potentials of Poisson electrodynamics as sections of a\nsymplectic realization of the spacetime manifold and infinitesimal gauge\ntransformations as a representation of the associated Lie algebroid acting on\nthe symplectic realization. Finite gauge transformations are obtained by\nintegrating the sections of the Lie algebroid to bisections of a symplectic\ngroupoid, which form a one-parameter group of transformations, whose action on\nthe fields of the theory is realized in terms of an action groupoid. A\ncovariant electromagnetic two-form is obtained, together with a dual two-form,\ninvariant under gauge transformations. The duality appearing in the picture\noriginates from the existence of a pair of orthogonal foliations of the\nsymplectic realization, which produce dual quotient manifolds, one related with\nspace-time, the other with momenta.",
        "positive": "Measuring finite Quantum Geometries via Quasi-Coherent States: We develop a systematic approach to determine and measure numerically the\ngeometry of generic quantum or \"fuzzy\" geometries realized by a set of\nfinite-dimensional hermitian matrices. The method is designed to recover the\nsemi-classical limit of quantized symplectic spaces embedded in $\\mathbb{R}^d$\nincluding the well-known examples of fuzzy spaces, but it applies much more\ngenerally. The central tool is provided by quasi-coherent states, which are\ndefined as ground states of Laplace- or Dirac operators corresponding to\nlocalized point branes in target space. The displacement energy of these\nquasi-coherent states is used to extract the local dimension and tangent space\nof the semi-classical geometry, and provides a measure for the quality and\nself-consistency of the semi-classical approximation. The method is discussed\nand tested with various examples, and implemented in an open-source Mathematica\npackage."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Study of Gribov Copies in the Yang-Mills ensemble: Recently, based on a new procedure to quantize the theory in the continuum,\nit was argued that Singer's theorem points towards the existence of a\nYang-Mills ensemble. In the new approach, the gauge fields are mapped into an\nauxiliary field space used to separately fix the gauge on different sectors\nlabeled by center vortices. In this work, we study this procedure in more\ndetail. We provide examples of configurations belonging to sectors labeled by\ncenter vortices and discuss the existence of nonabelian degrees of freedom.\nThen, we discuss the importance of the mapping injectivity, and show that this\nproperty holds infinitesimally for typical configurations of the vortex-free\nsector and for the simplest example in the one-vortex sector. Finally, we show\nthat these configurations are free from Gribov copies.",
        "positive": "Thermodynamics of Near BPS Black Holes in AdS$_4$ and AdS$_7$: We develop the thermodynamics of black holes in AdS$_4$ and AdS$_7$ near\ntheir BPS limit. In each setting we study the two distinct deformations\northogonal to the BPS surface as well as their nontrivial interplay with each\nother and with BPS properties. Our results illuminate recent microscopic\ncalculations of the BPS entropy. We show that these microscopic computations\ncan be leveraged to also describe the near BPS regime, by generalizing the\nboundary conditions imposed on states."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Low energy effective theory on a regularized brane in six-dimensional\n  flux compactifications: Conical brane singularities in six-dimensional flux compactification models\ncan be resolved by introducing cylindrical codimension-one branes with regular\ncaps instead of 3-branes (a la Kaluza-Klein braneworlds with fluxes). In this\npaper, we consider such a regularized braneworld with axial symmetry in\nsix-dimensional Einstein-Maxwell theory. We derive a low energy effective\ntheory on the regularized brane by employing the gradient expansion approach,\nand show that standard four-dimensional Einstein gravity is recovered at low\nenergies. Our effective equations extend to the nonlinear gravity regime,\nimplying that conventional cosmology can be reproduced in the regularized\nbraneworld.",
        "positive": "Strings on AdS Wormholes and Nonsingular Black Holes: Certain AdS black holes in the STU model can be conformally scaled to\nwormhole and black hole solutions of an f(R) type theory which have two\nasymptotically AdS regions and are completely free of curvature singularities.\nWhile there is a delta-function source for the dilaton, classical string probes\nare not sensitive to this singularity. If the AdS/CFT correspondence can be\napplied in this context, then the wormhole background describes a phase in\nwhich two copies of a conformal field theory interact with each other, whereas\nthe nonsingular black hole describes entangled states. By studying the behavior\nof open strings on these backgrounds, we extract a number of features of the\nquarks and anti-quarks that live in the field theories. In the interacting\nphase, we find that there is a maximum speed with which the quarks can move\nwithout losing energy, beyond which energy is transferred from a quark in one\nfield theory to a quark in the other. We also compute the rate at which moving\nquarks within entangled states lose energy to the two surrounding plasmas.\nWhile a quark-antiquark pair within a single field theory exhibits Coulomb\ninteraction for small separation, a quark in one field theory exhibits\nspring-like confinement with an anti-quark in the other field theory. For the\nentangled states, we study how the quark-antiquark screening length depends on\ntemperature and chemical potential. In the interacting phase of the two field\ntheories, a quadruplet made up of one quark-antiquark pair in each field theory\ncan undergo transitions involving how the quarks and antiquarks are paired in\nterms of the screening."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Doubly Supersymmetric Null Strings and String Tension Generation: We propose a twistor--like formulation of N=1, D=3,4,6 and 10 null\nsuperstrings. The model possesses N=1 target space supersymmetry and n=D-2\nlocal worldsheet supersymmetry, the latter replaces the kappa-symmetry of the\nconventional approach to the strings. Adding a Wess--Zumino term to a null\nsuperstring action we observe a string tension generation mechanism: the\ninduced worldsheet metric becomes non-degenerate and the resulting model turns\nout to be classically equivalent to the heterotic string.",
        "positive": "On the Deformation of Time Harmonic Flows: It is shown that time-harmonic motions of spherical and toroidal surfaces can\nbe deformed non-locally without loosing the existence of infinitely many\nconstants of the motion."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauge Zero-Modes on ALE Manifolds: In this paper we find the general (i.e. valid for arbitrary values of the\nwinding number) form of the gauge zero-modes, in the adjoint representation,\nfor theories living on manifolds of the ALE type.",
        "positive": "Lectures on non-equilibrium effective field theories and fluctuating\n  hydrodynamics: We review recent progress in developing effective field theories (EFTs) for\nnon-equilibrium processes at finite temperature, including a new formulation of\nfluctuating hydrodynamics, and a new proof of the second law of thermodynamics.\nThere are a number of new elements in formulating EFTs for such systems.\nFirstly, the nature of IR variables is very different from those of a system in\nequilibrium or near the vacuum. Secondly, while all static properties of an\nequilibrium system can in principle be extracted from the partition function,\nthere appears no such quantity which can capture all non-equilibrium\nproperties. Thirdly, non-equilibrium processes often involve dissipation, which\nis notoriously difficult to deal with using an action principle. The purpose of\nthe review is to explain how to address these issues in a pedagogic manner,\nwith fluctuating hydrodynamics as a main example."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Transverse spin in the light-ray OPE: We study a product of null-integrated local operators $\\mathcal{O}_1$ and\n$\\mathcal{O}_2$ on the same null plane in a CFT. Such null-integrated operators\ntransform like primaries in a fictitious $d-2$ dimensional CFT in the\ndirections transverse to the null integrals. We give a complete description of\nthe OPE in these transverse directions. The terms with low transverse spin are\nlight-ray operators with spin $J_1+J_2-1$. The terms with higher transverse\nspin are primary descendants of light-ray operators with higher spins\n$J_1+J_2-1+n$, constructed using special conformally-invariant differential\noperators that appear precisely in the kinematics of the light-ray OPE. As an\nexample, the OPE between average null energy operators contains light-ray\noperators with spin $3$ (as described by Hofman and Maldacena), but also novel\nterms with spin $5,7,9,$ etc.. These new terms are important for describing\nenergy two-point correlators in non-rotationally-symmetric states, and for\ncomputing multi-point energy correlators. We check our formulas in a\nnon-rotationally-symmetric energy correlator in $\\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM, finding\nperfect agreement.",
        "positive": "Helical Phase Inflation and Monodromy in Supergravity Theory: We study helical phase inflation in supergravity theory in details. The\ninflation is driven by the phase component of a complex field along helical\ntrajectory. The helicoid structure originates from the monodromy of\nsuperpotential with an singularity at origin.\n  We show that such monodromy can be formed by integrating out heavy fields in\nsupersymmetric field theory. The supergravity corrections to the potential\nprovide strong field stabilizations for the scalars except inflaton, therefore\nthe helical phase inflation accomplishes the \"monodromy inflation\" within\nsupersymmetric field theory.\n  The phase monodromy can be easily generalized for natural inflation, in which\nthe super-Planckian phase decay constant is realized with consistent field\nstabilization. The phase-axion alignment is fulfilled indirectly in the process\nof integrating out the heavy fields.\n  Besides, we show that the helical phase inflation can be naturally realized\nin no-scale supergravity with $SU(2,1)/SU(2)\\times U(1)$ symmetry since the\nno-scale K\\\"ahler potential provides symmetry factors of phase monodromy\ndirectly. We also demonstrate that the helical phase inflation can reduce to\nthe shift symmetry realization of supergravity inflation. The super-Planckian\nfield excursion is accomplished by the phase component, which admits no\ndangerous polynomial higher order corrections. The helical phase inflation\nprocess is free from the UV-sensitivity problem, and it suggests that inflation\ncan be effectively studied in supersymmetric field theory close to the\nunification scale in Grand Unified Theory and a UV-completed frame is not\nprerequisite."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Noninvariant renormalization in the background-field method: We investigate the consistency of the background-field formalism when\napplying various regularizations and renormalization schemes. By an example of\na two-dimensional $\\sigma$ model it is demonstrated that the background-field\nmethod gives incorrect results when the regularization (and/or renormalization)\nis noninvariant. In particular, it is found that the cut-off regularization and\nthe differential renormalization belong to this class and are incompatible with\nthe background-field method in theories with nonlinear symmetries.",
        "positive": "Quantum $\u03c6^4$ Theory in AdS${}_4$ and its CFT Dual: We compute the two- and four-point holographic correlation functions up to\nthe second order in the coupling constant for a scalar $\\phi^4$ theory in\nfour-dimensional Euclidean anti-de Sitter space. Analytic expressions for the\nanomalous dimensions of the leading twist operators are found at one loop, both\nfor Neumann and Dirichlet boundary conditions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dirac Spectra and Real QCD at Nonzero Chemical Potential: We show that QCD Dirac spectra well below Lambda_{QCD}, both at zero and at\nnonzero chemical potential, can be obtained from a chiral Lagrangian. At\nnonzero chemical potential Goldstone bosons with nonzero baryon number condense\nbeyond a critical value. Such superfluid phase transition is likely to occur in\nany system with a chemical potential with the quantum numbers of the Goldstone\nbosons. We discuss the phase diagram for one such system, QCD with two colors,\nand show the existence of a tricritical point in an effective potential\napproach.",
        "positive": "Topological partition function and string-string duality: The evidence for string/string-duality can be extended from the matching of\nthe vector couplings to gravitational couplings. In this note this is shown in\nthe rank three example, the closest stringy analog of the Seiberg/Witten-setup,\nwhich is related to the Calabi-Yau $WP^4_{1,1,2,2,6}(12)$. I provide an exact\nanalytical verification of a relation checked by coefficient comparison to\nfourth order by Kaplunovsky, Louis and Theisen."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Gravity and Phenomenology: Dark Matter, Dark Energy, Vacuum\n  Selection, Emergent Spacetime, and Wormholes: We discuss the relevance of quantum gravity to the frontier questions in high\nenergy phenomenology: the problems of dark matter, dark energy, and vacuum\nselection as well as the problems of emergent spacetime and wormholes. Dark\nmatter and dark energy phenomenology, and the problem of vacuum selection are\ndiscussed within the context of string theory as a model of quantum gravity.\nEmergent spacetime and wormholes are discussed in a more general context of\neffective theories of quantum gravity.",
        "positive": "A note on quantum groups and integrable systems: Free-field formalism for quantum groups provides a special choice of\ncoordinates on a quantum group. In these coordinates the construction of\nassociated integrable system is especially simple. This choice also fits into\ngeneral framework of cluster varieties -- natural changes of coordinates are\ncluster mutations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Five-Dimensional Eguchi-Hanson Solitons in Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet Gravity: Eguchi-Hanson solitons are odd-dimensional generalizations of the\nfour-dimensional Eguchi-Hanson metric and are asymptotic to\nAdS$_5$\\mathbb{Z}_p$ when the cosmological constant is either positive or\nnegative. We find soliton solutions to Lovelock gravity in 5 dimensions that\nare generalizations of these objects.",
        "positive": "One-loop Yukawa Couplings in Local Models: We calculate the one-loop Yukawa couplings and threshold corrections for\nsupersymmetric local models of branes at singularities in type IIB string\ntheory. We compute the corrections coming both from wavefunction and vertex\nrenormalisation. The former comes in the IR from conventional field theory\nrunning and in the UV from threshold corrections that cause it to run from the\nwinding scale associated to the full Calabi-Yau volume. The vertex correction\nis naively absent as it appears to correspond to superpotential\nrenormalisation. However, we find that while the Wilsonian superpotential is\nnot renormalised there is a physical vertex correction in the 1PI action\nassociated to light particle loops."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Heterotic Modular Invariants and Level--Rank Duality: New heterotic modular invariants are found using the level-rank duality of\naffine Kac-Moody algebras. They provide strong evidence for the consistency of\nan infinite list of heterotic Wess-Zumino-Witten (WZW) conformal field\ntheories. We call the basic construction the dual-flip, since it flips\nchirality (exchanges left and right movers) and takes the level-rank dual. We\ncompare the dual-flip to the method of conformal subalgebras, another way of\nconstructing heterotic invariants. To do so, new level-one heterotic invariants\nare first found; the complete list of a specified subclass of these is\nobtained. We also prove (under a mild hypothesis) an old conjecture concerning\nexceptional $A_{r,k}$ invariants and level-rank duality.",
        "positive": "Duality and modular symmetry in the quantum Hall effect from Lifshitz\n  holography: The temperature dependence of quantum Hall conductivities is studied in the\ncontext of the AdS/CMT paradigm using a model with a bulk theory consisting of\n(3+1)-dimensional Einstein-Maxwell action coupled to a dilaton and an axion,\nwith a negative cosmological constant. We consider a solution which has a\nLifshitz like geometry with a dyonic black-brane in the bulk. There is an\n$Sl(2,R)$ action in the bulk corresponding to electromagnetic duality, which\nmaps between classical solutions, and is broken to $Sl(2,Z)$ by Dirac\nquantisation of dyons. This bulk $Sl(2,Z)$ action translates to an action of\nthe modular group on the 2-dimensional transverse conductivities. The\ntemperature dependence of the infra-red conductivities is then linked to\nmodular forms via gradient flow and the resulting flow diagrams show remarkable\nagreement with existing experimental data on the temperature flow of both\nintegral and fractional quantum Hall conductivities."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Notes on reductions of superstring theory to bosonic string theory: It is in general very subtle to integrate over the odd moduli of super\nRiemann surfaces in perturbative superstring computations. We study how these\nsubtleties go away in favorable cases, including the embedding of N=0 string to\nN=1 string by Berkovits and Vafa, and the relation of the graviphoton amplitude\nand the topological string amplitude by Antoniadis, Gava, Narain and Taylor and\nBershadsky, Cecotti, Ooguri and Vafa. The Poincar\\'e dual of the moduli space\nof Riemann surfaces in the moduli space of super Riemann surfaces plays an\nimportant role.",
        "positive": "On the General Structure of the Non-Abelian Born-Infeld Action: We discuss the general structure of the non-abelian Born-Infeld action,\ntogether with all of the alpha-prime derivative corrections, in flat\nD-dimensional space-time. More specifically, we show how the connection between\nopen strings propagating in background magnetic fields and gauge theories on\nnon-commutative spaces can be used to constrain the form of the effective\naction for the massless modes of open strings at week coupling. In particular,\nwe exploit the invariance in form of the effective action under a change of\nnon-commutativity scale of space-time to derive algebraic equations relating\nthe various terms in the alpha- prime expansion. Moreover, we explicitly solve\nthese equations in the simple case D=2, and we show, in particular, how to\nconstruct the minimal invariant derivative extension of the NBI action."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Two more solutions for the parafermionic chiral algebra Z_{3} with the\n  dimension of the principal parafermionic fields, psi(z), psi^{+}(z),\n  Delta_{psi}=8/3: In this paper, which is the second one in a series of two papers, we shall\npresent two more solutions, non-minimal ones, for the Z_{3} parafermionic\nchiral algebra with Delta_{psi}=Delta_{psi^{+}}=8/3, psi(z), psi^{+}(z) being\nthe principal parafermionic fields.",
        "positive": "A quantum group version of quantum gauge theories in two dimensions: For the special case of the quantum group $SL_q (2,{\\bf C})\\ (q= \\exp \\pi\ni/r,\\ r\\ge 3)$ we present an alternative approach to quantum gauge theories in\ntwo dimensions. We exhibit the similarities to Witten's combinatorial approach\nwhich is based on ideas of Migdal. The main ingredient is the Turaev-Viro\ncombinatorial construction of topological invariants of closed, compact\n3-manifolds and its extension to arbitrary compact 3-manifolds as given by the\nauthors in collaboration with W. Mueller."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Tachyon at the End of the Universe: We show that a tachyon condensate phase replaces the spacelike singularity in\ncertain cosmological and black hole spacetimes in string theory. We analyze\nexplicitly a set of examples with flat spatial slices in various dimensions\nwhich have a winding tachyon condensate, using worldsheet path integral methods\nfrom Liouville theory. In a vacuum with no excitations above the tachyon\nbackground in the would-be singular region, we analyze the production of closed\nstrings in the resulting state in the bulk of spacetime. We find a thermal\nresult reminiscent of the Hartle-Hawking state, with tunably small energy\ndensity. The amplitudes exhibit a self-consistent truncation of support to the\nweakly-coupled small-tachyon region of spacetime. We argue that the background\nis accordingly robust against back reaction, and that the resulting string\ntheory amplitudes are perturbatively finite, indicating a resolution of the\nsingularity and a mechanism to start or end time in string theory. Finally, we\ndiscuss the generalization of these methods to examples with positively curved\nspatial slices.",
        "positive": "Gauge Coupling Instability and Dynamical Mass Generation in N=1\n  Supersymmetric QED(3): Using superfield Dyson-Schwinger equations, we compute the infrared dynamics\nof the semi-amputated full vertex, corresponding to the effective running gauge\ncoupling, in N-flavour {\\mathcal N}=1 supersymmetric QED(3). It is shown that\nthe presence of a supersymmetry-preserving mass for the matter multiplet\nstabilizes the infrared gauge coupling against oscillations present in the\nmassless case, and we therefore infer that the massive vacuum is thus selected\nat the level of the (quantum) effective action. We further demonstrate that\nsuch a mass can indeed be generated dynamically in a self-consistent way by\nappealing to the superfield Dyson-Schwinger gap equation for the full matter\npropagator."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Aspects of U-duality in BLG models with Lorentzian metric 3-algebras: In our previous paper, it was shown that BLG model based on a Lorentzian\nmetric 3-algebra gives Dp-brane action whose worldvolume is compactified on\ntorus T^d (d=p-2). Here the 3-algebra was a generalized one with d+1 pairs of\nLorentzian metric generators and expressed in terms of a loop algebra with\ncentral extensions. In this paper, we derive the precise relation between the\ncoupling constant of the super Yang-Mills, the moduli of T^d and some R-R flux\nwith VEV's of ghost fields associated with Lorentzian metric generators. In\nparticular, for d=1, we derive the Yang-Mills action with theta term and show\nthat SL(2,Z) Montonen-Olive duality is realized as the rotation of two VEV's.\nFurthermore, some moduli parameters such as NS-NS 2-form flux are identified as\nthe deformation parameters of the 3-algebras. By combining them, we recover\nmost of the moduli parameters which are required by U-duality symmetry.",
        "positive": "Nearby CFT's in the operator formalism: The role of a connection: There are two methods to study families of conformal theories in the operator\nformalism. In the first method we begin with a theory and a family of deformed\ntheories is defined in the state space of the original theory. In the other\nthere is a distinct state space for each theory in the family, with the\ncollection of spaces forming a vector bundle. This paper establishes the\nequivalence of a deformed theory with that in a nearby state space in the\nbundle via a connection that defines maps between nearby state spaces. We find\nthat an appropriate connection for establishing equivalence is one that arose\nin a recent paper by Kugo and Zwiebach. We discuss the affine geometry induced\non the space of backgrounds by this connection. This geometry is the same as\nthe one obtained from the Zamolodchikov metric."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Peculiarity of a Negative Coordinate Axis in Dyonic Solutions of\n  Noncommutative N=4 Super Yang-Mills: We show that in a certain region of a negative coordinate axis, the\nU(1amaharia) sector of the static dyonic solutions to the noncommutative U(4)\nN=4 Super Yang-Mills (SYM) can be consistently decoupled from the SU(4) to {\\it\nall orders in the noncommutativity parameter}. We show the above decoupling in\ntwo ways. First, we show the noncommutative dyon being the same as the\ncommutative dyon, is a consistent solution to noncommutative equations of\nmotion in that region of noncommutative space. Second, as an example of\ndecoupling of a non-null U(1) sector, we also obtain a family of solutions with\nnontrivial U(1) components for {\\it all} components of the gauge field in the\nsame region of noncommutative space. In both cases, the SU(4) and U(1)\ncomponents separately satisfy the equations of motion.",
        "positive": "Nonreductive WZW models and their CFTs: We study two-dimensional WZW models with target space a nonreductive Lie\ngroup. Such models exist whenever the Lie group possesses a bi-invariant\nmetric. We show that such WZW models provide a lagrangian description of the\nnonreductive (affine) Sugawara construction. We investigate the gauged WZW\nmodels and we prove that gauging a diagonal subgroup results in a conformal\nfield theory which can be identified with a coset construction. A large class\nof exact four-dimensional string backgrounds arise in this fashion. We then\nstudy the topological conformal field theory resulting from the $G/G$ coset. We\nidentify the Kazama algebra extending the BRST algebra, and the BV algebra\nstructure in BRST cohomology which it induces."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Cosmic optical activity from an inhomogeneous Kalb-Ramond field: The effects of introducing a harmonic spatial inhomogeneity into the\nKalb-Ramond field, interacting with the Maxwell field according to a\n`string-inspired' proposal made in earlier work are investigated. We examine in\nparticular the effects on the polarization of synchrotron radiation from\ncosmologically distant (i.e. of redshift greater than 2) galaxies, as well as\nthe relation between the electric and magnetic components of the radiation\nfield. The rotation of the polarization plane of linearly polarized radiation\nis seen to acquire an additional contribution proportional to the square of the\nfrequency of the dual Kalb-Ramond axion wave, assuming that it is far smaller\ncompared to the frequency of the radiation field.",
        "positive": "Multiplicative renormalization and Hopf algebras: We derive the existence of Hopf subalgebras generated by Green's functions in\nthe Hopf algebra of Feynman graphs of a quantum field theory. This means that\nthe coproduct closes on these Green's functions. It allows us for example to\nderive Dyson's formulas in quantum electrodynamics relating the renormalized\nand bare proper functions via the renormalization constants and the analogous\nformulas for non-abelian gauge theories. In the latter case, we observe the\ncrucial role played by Slavnov--Taylor identities."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "New insights in particle dynamics from group cohomology: The dynamics of a particle moving in background electromagnetic and\ngravitational fields is revisited from a Lie group cohomological perspective.\nPhysical constants characterising the particle appear as central extension\nparameters of a group which is obtained from a centrally extended kinematical\ngroup (Poincare or Galilei) by making local some subgroup. The corresponding\ndynamics is generated by a vector field inside the kernel of a presymplectic\nform which is derived from the canonical left-invariant one-form on the\nextended group. A non-relativistic limit is derived from the geodesic motion\nvia an Inonu-Wigner contraction. A deeper analysis of the cohomological\nstructure reveals the possibility of a new force associated with a non-trivial\nmixing of gravity and electromagnetism leading to in principle testable\npredictions.",
        "positive": "Deliberations on 11D Superspace for the M-Theory Effective Action: In relation to the superspace modifications of 11D supergeometry required to\ndescribe the M-theory low-energy effective action, we present an analysis of\ninfinitesimal supergravity fluctuations about the flat superspace limit. Our\ninvestigation confirms Howe's interpretation of our previous Bianchi identity\nanalysis. However, the analysis also shows that should 11D supergravity obey\nthe rules of other off-shell supergravity theories, the complete M-theory\ncorrections will necessarily excite our previously anticipated spin-1/2\nengineering dimension-1/2 spinor auxiliary multiplet superfield. The analysis\nof fluctuations yields more evidence that Howe's 1997 theorem is specious when\napplied to Poincar\\' e supergravity or 11D supergravity/M-theory. We end by\ncommenting upon recent advances in this area."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Real and virtual photons in an external constant electromagnetic field\n  of most general form: The photon behavior in an arbitrary superposition of constant magnetic and\nelectric fields is considered on most general grounds basing on the first\nprinciples like Lorentz- gauge- charge- and parity-invariance. We make model-\nand approximation-independent, but still rather informative, statements about\nthe behavior that the requirement of causal propagation prescribes to massive\nand massless branches of dispersion curves, and describe the way the eigenmodes\nare polarized. We find, as a consequence of Hermiticity in the transparency\ndomain, that adding a smaller electric field to a strong magnetic field in\nparallel to the latter causes enhancement of birefringence. We find the\nmagnetic field produced by a point electric charge far from it (a manifestation\nof magneto-electric phenomenon). We establish degeneracies of the polarization\ntensor that (under special kinematic conditions) occur due to space-time\nsymmetries of the vacuum left after the external field is imposed.",
        "positive": "Wess-Zumino term in the N=4 SYM effective action revisited: The low-energy effective action for the N=4 super Yang-Mills on the Coulomb\nbranch is known to include an SO(6)-invariant Wess-Zumino (WZ) term for the six\nscalar fields. For each maximal, non-anomalous subgroup of the SU(4)\nR-symmetry, we find a four-dimensional form of the WZ term with this subgroup\nbeing manifest. We then show that a recently proposed expression for the\nfour-derivative part of the effective action in N=4 USp(4) harmonic superspace\nyields the WZ term with manifest SO(5) R-symmetry subgroup. The N=2 SU(2)\nharmonic superspace form of the effective action produces the WZ term with\nmanifest SO(4) x SO(2). We argue that there is no four-dimensional form of the\nWZ term with manifest SU(3) R-symmetry, which is relevant for N=1 and N=3\nsuperspace formulations of the effective action."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "An extension of Birkhoff's theorem to a class of 2-d gravity theories\n  containing black holes: A class of 2-dimensional models including 2-d dilaton gravity, spherically\nsymmetric reduction of d-dimensional Einstein gravity and other related\ntheories are classically analyzed. The general analytic solutions in the\nabsence of matter fields other than a U(1) gauge field are obtained under a new\ngauge choice and recast in the conventional conformal gauge. These solutions\nimply that Birkhoff's theorem, originally applied to spherically symmetric 4-d\nEinstein gravity, can be applied to all models we consider. Some issues related\nto the coupling of massless scalar fields and the quantization are briefly\ndiscussed.",
        "positive": "Darboux Coordinates and Liouville-Arnold Integration in Loop Algebras: Darboux coordinates are constructed on rational coadjoint orbits of the\npositive frequency part $\\wt{\\frak{g}}^+$ of loop algebras. These are given by\nthe values of the spectral parameters at the divisors corresponding to\neigenvector line bundles over the associated spectral curves, defined within a\ngiven matrix representation. A Liouville generating function is obtained in\ncompletely separated form and shown, through the Liouville-Arnold integration\nmethod, to lead to the Abel map linearization of all Hamiltonian flows induced\nby the spectral invariants. Serre duality is used to define a natural\nsymplectic structure on the space of line bundles of suitable degree over a\npermissible class of spectral curves, and this is shown to be equivalent to the\nKostant-Kirillov symplectic structure on rational coadjoint orbits. The general\nconstruction is given for $\\frak{g}=\\frak{gl}(r)$ or $\\frak{sl}(r)$, with\nreductions to orbits of subalgebras determined as invariant fixed point sets\nunder involutive automorphisms. The case $\\frak{g=sl}(2)$ is shown to reproduce\nthe classical integration methods for finite dimensional systems defined on\nquadrics, as well as the quasi-periodic solutions of the cubically nonlinear\nSchr\\\"odinger equation. For $\\frak{g=sl}(3)$, the method is applied to the\ncomputation of quasi-periodic solutions of the two component coupled nonlinear\nSchr\\\"odinger equation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Perturbative Relations between Gravity and Gauge Theory: We review the relations that have been found between multi-loop scattering\namplitudes in gauge theory and gravity, and their implications for ultraviolet\ndivergences in supergravity.",
        "positive": "Induced Lorentz-Violating Chern-Simons Term in QED: Uncovering Short\n  Distance Interaction Terms in the Effective Lagrangian without the Shadow of\n  Regularization: We show that the correctly evaluated effective Lagrangian should include\nshort-distance interaction terms which have been avoided under the protection\nof usual regularization and must be properly identified and reinstated if\nregularization is to be removed. They have special physical and mathematical\nsignificance as well as restoring gauge invariance and suppressing divergence\nin the effective Lagrangian. The rich structure of the short-distance\ninteraction terms can open up challenging opportunities where the conventional\nregularization with rigid structure is unavailable and inappropriate. It\nbecomes clear that gauge invariance is preserved with or without regularization\nand therefore there is no Lorentz-Violating Chern-Simons term in QED."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Role of Solvable Groups in Quantization of Lie Algebras: The elements of the wide class of quantum universal enveloping algebras are\nprooved to be Hopf algebras $H$ with spectrum $Q(H)$ in the category of groups.\nSuch quantum algebras are quantum groups for simply connected solvable Lie\ngroups $P(H)$. This provides utilities for a new algorithm of constructing\nquantum algebras especially useful for nonsemisimple ones. The quantization\nprocedure can be carried out over an arbitrary field. The properties of the\nalgorithm are demonstrated on examples.",
        "positive": "Loop Variables and Gauge Invariant Interactions of Massive Modes in\n  String Theory: The loop variable approach used earlier to obtain free equations of motion\nfor the massive modes of the open string, is generalized to include interaction\nterms. These terms, which are polynomial, involve only modes of strictly lower\nmass. Considerations based on operator product expansions suggest that these\nequations are particular truncations of the full string equations. The method\ninvolves broadening the loop to a band of finite thickness that describes all\nthe different interacting strings. Interestingly, in terms of these variables,\nthe theory appears non-interacting."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the anatomy of multi-spin magnon and single spike string solutions: We study rigid string solutions rotating in $AdS_5\\times S^5$ background. For\nparticular values of the parameters of the solutions we find multispin\nsolutions corresponding to giant magnons and single spike strings. We present\nan analysis of the dispersion relations in the case of three spin solutions\ndistributed only in $S^5$ and the case of one spin in $AdS_5$ and two spins in\n$S^5$. The possible relation of these string solutions to gauge theory\noperators and spin chains are briefly discussed.",
        "positive": "Non Pauli-Fierz Massive Gravitons: We study general Lorentz invariant theories of massive gravitons. We show\nthat, contrary to the standard lore, there exist consistent theories where the\ngraviton mass term violates Pauli-Fierz structure. For theories where the\ngraviton is a resonance this does not imply the existence of a scalar ghost if\nthe deviation from Pauli-Fierz becomes sufficiently small at high energies.\nThese types of mass terms are required by any consistent realization of the DGP\nmodel in higher dimension."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "AdS Q-Soliton and Inhomogeneously mass-deformed ABJM Model: We study dual geometries to a deformed ABJM model with spatially dependent\nsource functions at finite temperature. These source functions are proportional\nto the mass function $m(x)= m_0 \\sin k x$ and its derivative $m'(x)$. As dual\ngeometries, we find hairy black branes and AdS solitons corresponding to\ndeconfinement phase and confining phase of the dual field theory, respectively.\nIt turns out that the hairy AdS solitons have lower free energy than the black\nbranes when the Hawking temperature is smaller than the confining scale.\nTherefore the dual system undergoes the first order phase transition. Even\nthough our study is limited to the so-called Q-lattice ansatz, the solution\nspace contains a set of solutions dual to a supersymmetric mass deformation. As\na physical quantity to probe the confining phase, we investigate the\nholographic entanglement entropy and discuss its behavior in terms of\nmodulation effect.",
        "positive": "On the nonclassicality in quantum JT gravity: In this note, we consider the question of classicality for the theory which\nis known to be the effective description of two-dimensional black holes - the\nMorse quantum mechanics. We calculate the Wigner function and the Fisher\ninformation characterizing classicality/quantumness of single-particle systems\nand briefly discuss further directions to study."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Weyl Double Copy for Gravitational Waves: We establish the status of the Weyl double copy relation for radiative\nsolutions of the vacuum Einstein equations. We show that all type N vacuum\nsolutions, which describe the radiation region of isolated gravitational\nsystems with appropriate fall-off for the matter fields, admit a degenerate\nMaxwell field that squares to give the Weyl tensor. The converse statement also\nholds, i.e. if there exists a degenerate Maxwell field on a curved background,\nthen the background is type N. This relation defines a scalar that satisfies\nthe wave equation on the background. We show that for non-twisting radiative\nsolutions, the Maxwell field and the scalar also satisfy the Maxwell equation\nand the wave equation on Minkowski spacetime. Hence, non-twisting solutions\nhave a straightforward double copy interpretation.",
        "positive": "Unwinding the Amplituhedron in Binary: We present new, fundamentally combinatorial and topological characterizations\nof the amplituhedron. Upon projecting external data through the amplituhedron,\nthe resulting configuration of points has a specified (and maximal) generalized\n'winding number'. Equivalently, the amplituhedron can be fully described in\nbinary: canonical projections of the geometry down to one dimension have a\nspecified (and maximal) number of 'sign flips' of the projected data. The\nlocality and unitarity of scattering amplitudes are easily derived as\nelementary consequences of this binary code. Minimal winding defines a natural\n'dual' of the amplituhedron. This picture gives us an avatar of the\namplituhedron purely in the configuration space of points in vector space\n(momentum-twistor space in the physics), a new interpretation of the canonical\namplituhedron form, and a direct bosonic understanding of the scattering\nsuper-amplitude in planar N = 4 SYM as a differential form on the space of\nphysical kinematical data."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Kinetic and Magnetic Mixing with Antisymmetric Gauge Fields: A general procedure to describe the coupling $U_A (1) \\times U_B (1)$ between\nantisymmetric gauge fields is proposed. For vector gauge theories the inclusion\nof magnetic mixing in the hidden sector induces millicharges -- in principle --\nobservable. We extend the analysis to antisymmetric fields and the extension to\nhigher order monopoles is discussed. A modification of the model discussed in\n\\cite{Ibarra} with massless antisymmetric fields as dark matter is also\nconsidered and the total cross section ratio are found and discussed.",
        "positive": "Infrared-safe scattering without photon vacuum transitions and\n  time-dependent decoherence: Scattering in 3+1-dimensional QED is believed to give rise to transitions\nbetween different photon vacua. We show that these transitions can be removed\nby taking into account off-shell modes which correspond to Li\\'enard-Wiechert\nfields of asymptotic states. This makes it possible to formulate scattering in\n3+1-dimensional QED on a Hilbert space which furnishes a single representation\nof the canonical commutation relations (CCR). Different QED selection sectors\ncorrespond to inequivalent representations of the photon CCR and are stable\nunder the action of an IR finite, unitary S-matrix. Infrared divergences are\ncancelled by IR radiation. Using this formalism, we discuss the time-dependence\nof decoherence and phases of out-going density matrix elements in the presence\nof classical currents. The results demonstrate that although no information\nabout a scattering process is stored in strictly zero-energy modes of the\nphoton field, entanglement between charged matter and low energy modes\nincreases over time."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "G-structures and Domain Walls in Heterotic Theories: We consider heterotic string solutions based on a warped product of a\nfour-dimensional domain wall and a six-dimensional internal manifold,\npreserving two supercharges. The constraints on the internal manifolds with\nSU(3) structure are derived. They are found to be generalized half-flat\nmanifolds with a particular pattern of torsion classes and they include\nhalf-flat manifolds and Strominger's complex non-Kahler manifolds as special\ncases. We also verify that previous heterotic compactifications on half-flat\nmirror manifolds are based on this class of solutions.",
        "positive": "Fermionic R-Operator for the Fermion Chain Model: The integrability of the one-dimensional (1D) fermion chain model is\ninvestigated in the framework of the Quantum Inverse Scattering Method (QISM).\nWe introduce a new R-operator for the fermion chain model, which is expressed\nin terms of the fermion operators. The R-operator satisfies a new type of the\nYang-Baxter relation with fermionic L-operator. We derive the fermionic\nSutherland equation from the relation, which is equivalent to the fermionic Lax\nequation. It also provides a mathematical foundation of the boost operator\napproach for the fermion model. In fact, we obtain some higher conserved\nquantities of the fermion model using the boost operator."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "ODE/IM correspondence and modified affine Toda field equations: We study the two-dimensional affine Toda field equations for affine Lie\nalgebra $\\hat{\\mathfrak{g}}$ modified by a conformal transformation and the\nassociated linear equations. In the conformal limit, the associated linear\nproblem reduces to a (pseudo-)differential equation. For classical affine Lie\nalgebra $\\hat{\\mathfrak{g}}$, we obtain a (pseudo-)differential equation\ncorresponding to the Bethe equations for the Langlands dual of the Lie algebra\n$\\mathfrak{g}$, which were found by Dorey et al. in study of the ODE/IM\ncorrespondence.",
        "positive": "The emergence of noncommutative target space in noncritical string\n  theory: We show how a noncommutative phase space appears in a natural way in\nnoncritical string theory, the noncommutative deformation parameter being the\nstring coupling."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Some Issues in Non-commutative Tachyon Condensation: Techniques of non-commutative field theories have proven to be useful in\ndescribing D-branes as tachyonic solitons in open string theory. However, this\nprocedure also leads to unwanted degeneracy of solutions not present in the\nspectrum of D-branes in string theories. In this paper we explore the\npossibility that this apparent multiplicity of solutions is due to the wrong\nchoice of variables in describing the solutions, and that with the correct\nchoice of variables the unwanted degeneracy disappears.",
        "positive": "Hidden Conformal Symmetry of Rotating Black Hole with four Charges: Kerr/CFT correspondence exhibits many remarkable connections between the near\nhorizon Kerr black hole and a CFT. Recently, a hidden conformal symmetry in the\nsolution space of Kerr black hole is shown by Castro, Maloney and Strominger.\nApplying the formula on a rotating black hole with four independent U(1)\ncharges derived in string theory which is known as the 4D Cvetic-Youm solution,\nwe show that the same hidden conformal symmetry is also held. The temperatures\nwe derived match the Cardy formula correctly and we give a clarification about\nold explains on them. The calculation on entropy and absorption cross section\nis also given, which totally agrees with the previous results. This work\ntogether with previous ones in this series, robustly support the validity of\nthe way in which the hidden conformal symmetry is derived, and reflect the\nevidence of Kerr/CFT correspondence."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chen's Iterated Integral represents the Operator Product Expansion: The recently discovered formalism underlying renormalization theory, the Hopf\nalgebra of rooted trees, allows to generalize Chen's lemma. In its generalized\nform it describes the change of a scale in Green functions, and hence relates\nto the operator product expansion. Hand in hand with this generalization goes\nthe generalization of the ordinary factorial $n!$ to the tree factorial $t^!$.\nVarious identities on tree-factorials are derived which clarify the relation\nbetween Connes-Moscovici weights and Quantum Field Theory.",
        "positive": "The complete Kaluza-Klein spectra of $\\mathcal{N} = 1$ and $\\mathcal{N}\n  = 0$ M-theory on $AdS_4 \\times (\\text{squashed } S^7)$: The squashed seven-sphere operator spectrum is completed by deriving the\nspectrum of the spin-3/2 operator. The implications of the results for the\n$AdS_4$ $\\mathcal{N} = 1$ supermultiplets obtained from compactification of\neleven-dimensional supergravity are analysed. The weak $G_2$ holonomy plays an\nimportant role when solving the eigenvalue equations on the squashed sphere.\nHere, a novel and more universal algebraic approach to the whole eigenvalue\nproblem on coset manifolds is provided. Having obtained full control of all the\noperator spectra, we can finally determine the irreps $D(E_0, s)$ for all\nsupermultiplets in the left-squashed vacuum. This includes an analysis of\npossible boundary conditions. By performing an orientation flip on the\nseven-sphere, we also obtain the full spectrum for the non-supersymmetric\nright-squashed compactification which is of interest in the swampland context\nand in particular for the $AdS$ swampland conjecture. Here, a number of\nboundary condition ambiguities arise making the analysis of dual marginal\noperators somewhat involved. This work is a direct continuation of [1] and [2]."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supercharge Operator of Hidden Symmetry in the Dirac Equation: As is known, the so-called Dirac $K$-operator commutes with the Dirac\nHamiltonian for arbitrary central potential $V(r)$. Therefore the spectrum is\ndegenerate with respect to two signs of its eigenvalues. This degeneracy may be\ndescribed by some operator, which anticommutes with $K$. If this operator\ncommutes with the Dirac Hamiltonian at the same time, then it establishes new\nsymmetry, which is Witten's supersymmetry. We construct the general\nanticommuting with $K$ operator, which under the requirement of this symmetry\nunambiguously select the Coulomb potential. In this particular case our\noperator coincides with that, introduced by Johnson and Lippmann many years\nago.",
        "positive": "Charged scalar quasi-normal modes for higher-dimensional Born-Infeld\n  dilatonic black holes with Lifshitz scaling: We study quasi-normal modes for a higher dimensional black hole with Lifshitz\nscaling, as these quasi-normal modes can be used to test Lifshitz models with\nlarge extra dimensions. Furthermore, as the effective Planck scale is brought\ndown in many models with large extra dimensions, we study these quasi-normal\nmodes for a UV completion action. Thus, we analyze quasi-normal modes for\nhigher dimensional dilaton-Lifshitz black hole solutions coupled to a\nnon-linear Born-Infeld action. We will analyze the charged perturbations for\nsuch a black hole solution. We will first analyze the general conditions for\nstability analytically, for a positive potential. Then, we analyze this system\nfor a charged perturbation as well as negative potential, using the asymptotic\niteration method for quasi-normal modes. Thus, we analyze the behavior of these\nmodes numerically."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Berezin Description of Kahler Quotients: We survey geometric quantization of finite dimensional affine Kahler\nmanifolds. Its corresponding prequantization and the Berezin's deformation\nquantization formulation, as proposed by Cahen et al., is used to quantize\ntheir corresponding Kahler quotients. Equivariant formalism greatly facilitates\nthe description.",
        "positive": "The renormalized Hamiltonian truncation method in the large $E_T$\n  expansion: Hamiltonian Truncation Methods are a useful numerical tool to study strongly\ncoupled QFTs. In this work we present a new method to compute the exact\ncorrections, at any order, in the Hamiltonian Truncation approach presented by\nRychkov et al. in Refs. [1-3]. The method is general but as an example we\ncalculate the exact $g^2$ and some of the $g^3$ contributions for the $\\phi^4$\ntheory in two dimensions. The coefficients of the local expansion calculated in\nRef. [1] are shown to be given by phase space integrals. In addition we find\nnew approximations to speed up the numerical calculations and implement them to\ncompute the lowest energy levels at strong coupling. A simple diagrammatic\nrepresentation of the corrections and various tests are also introduced."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A minimal b ghost: The $b$ ghost, or $b$ operator, used for fixing Siegel gauge in the pure\nspinor superfield formalism, is a composite operator of negative ghost number,\nsatisfying $\\{q,b\\}=\\square$, where $q$ is the pure spinor differential (BRST\noperator). It is traditionally constructed using non-minimal variables.\nHowever, since all cohomology has minimal representatives, it seems likely that\nthere should be versions of physically meaningful operators, also with negative\nghost number, using only minimal variables. The purpose of this letter is to\ndemonstrate that this statement holds by providing a concrete construction in\n$D=10$ super-Yang-Mills theory, and to argue that it is a general feature in\nthe pure spinor superfield formalism.",
        "positive": "Democratic Lagrangians for Nonlinear Electrodynamics: We construct a Lagrangian for general nonlinear electrodynamics that features\nelectric and magnetic potentials on equal footing. In the language of this\nLagrangian, discrete and continuous electric-magnetic duality symmetries can be\nstraightforwardly imposed, leading to a simple formulation for theories with\nthe $SO(2)$ duality invariance. When specialized to the conformally invariant\ncase, our construction provides a manifestly duality-symmetric formulation of\nthe recently discovered ModMax theory. We briefly comment on a natural\ngeneralization of this approach to $p$-forms in $2p+2$ dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Alice and Bob in an anisotropic expanding spacetime: We investigate a quantum teleportation process between two comoving observers\nAlice and Bob in an anisotropic expanding spacetime. In this model, we\ncalculate the fidelity of teleportation and we noted an oscillation of its\nspectrum as a function of the azimuthal angle. We found that for the polar\nangle $\\phi = \\frac{\\pi}{2}$ and the azimuthal angle $\\theta \\neq\n\\frac{3\\pi}{4} + n\\pi$ with $n = 0, 1, 2, ...$ the efficiency of the process\ndecreases, i.e., the fidelity is less than one. In addition, it is shown that\nthe anisotropic effects on the fidelity becomes more significative in the\nregime of smooth expansion and the limit of massless particles. On the other\nhand, the influence of curvature coupling becomes noticeable in the regime of\nfast expansion (values of $\\frac{\\rho}{\\omega} \\gg 1$).",
        "positive": "p-adic CFT is a holographic tensor network: The p-adic AdS/CFT correspondence relates a CFT living on the p-adic numbers\nto a system living on the Bruhat-Tits tree. Modifying our earlier proposal for\na tensor network realization of p-adic AdS/CFT, we prove that the path integral\nof a p-adic CFT is equivalent to a tensor network on the Bruhat-Tits tree, in\nthe sense that the tensor network reproduces all correlation functions of the\np-adic CFT. Our rules give an explicit tensor network for any p-adic CFT (as\naxiomatized by Melzer), and can be applied not only to the p-adic plane, but\nalso to compute any correlation functions on higher genus p-adic curves.\nFinally, we apply them to define and study RG flows in p-adic CFTs,\nestablishing in particular that any IR fixed point is itself a p-adic CFT."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A new regularization of loop integral, no divergence, no hierarchy\n  problem: We find a new regularization scheme which is motivated by the Bose-Einstein\ncondensation. The energy of the virtual particle is considered as discrete.\nSumming them and regulating the summation by the Riemann $\\zeta$ function can\ngive the result of loop integral. All the divergences vanish, we can get almost\nthe same results as Dimensional Regularization. The prediction beyond\nDimensional Regularization is also shown in the QED. The hierarchy problem of\nthe radiative correction of scalar mass completely vanish.",
        "positive": "Conductivity bounds in probe brane models: We discuss upper and lower bounds on the electrical conductivity of finite\ntemperature strongly coupled quantum field theories, holographically dual to\nprobe brane models, within linear response. In a probe limit where disorder is\nintroduced entirely through an inhomogeneous background charge density, we find\nsimple lower and upper bounds on the electrical conductivity in arbitrary\ndimensions. In field theories in two spatial dimensions, we show that both\nbounds persist even when disorder is included in the bulk metric. We discuss\nthe challenges with finding sharp lower bounds on conductivity in three or more\nspatial dimensions when the metric is inhomogeneous."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exact bounds on the free energy in QCD: We consider the free energy $W[J] = W_k(H)$ of QCD coupled to an external\nsource $J_\\mu^b(x) = H_\\mu^b \\cos(k \\cdot x)$, where $H_\\mu^b$ is, by analogy\nwith spin models, an external \"magnetic\" field with a color index that is\nmodulated by a plane wave. We report an optimal bound on $W_k(H)$ and an exact\nasymptotic expression for $W_k(H)$ at large $H$. They imply confinement of\ncolor in the sense that the free energy per unit volume $W_k(H)/V$ and the\naverage magnetization $m(k, H) ={1 \\over V} {\\p W_k(H) \\over \\p H}$ vanish in\nthe limit of constant external field $k \\to 0$. Recent lattice data indicate a\ngluon propagator $D(k)$ which is non-zero, $D(0) \\neq 0$, at $k = 0$. This\nwould imply a non-analyticity in $W_k(H)$ at $k = 0$. We also give some general\nproperties of the free energy $W(J)$ for arbitrary $J(x)$. Finally we present a\nmodel that is consistent with the new results and exhibits (non)-analytic\nbehavior. Direct numerical tests of the bounds are proposed.",
        "positive": "Building an explicit de Sitter: We construct an explicit example of a de Sitter vacuum in type IIB string\ntheory that realizes the proposal of K\\\"ahler uplifting. As the large volume\nlimit in this method depends on the rank of the largest condensing gauge group\nwe carry out a scan of gauge group ranks over the Kreuzer-Skarke set of toric\nCalabi-Yau threefolds. We find large numbers of models with the largest gauge\ngroup factor easily exceeding a rank of one hundred. We construct a global\nmodel with K\\\"ahler uplifting on a two-parameter model on\n$\\mathbb{CP}^4_{11169}$, by an explicit analysis from both the type IIB and\nF-theory point of view. The explicitness of the construction lies in the\nrealization of a D7 brane configuration, gauge flux and RR and NS flux choices,\nsuch that all known consistency conditions are met and the geometric moduli are\nstabilized in a metastable de Sitter vacuum with spontaneous GUT scale\nsupersymmetry breaking driven by an F-term of the K\\\"ahler moduli."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "What is Special K\u00e4hler Geometry ?: The scalars in vector multiplets of N=2 supersymmetric theories in 4\ndimensions exhibit `special Kaehler geometry', related to duality symmetries,\ndue to their coupling to the vectors. In the literature there is some confusion\non the definition of special geometry. We show equivalences of some definitions\nand give examples which show that earlier definitions are not equivalent, and\nare not sufficient to restrict the Kaehler metric to one that occurs in N=2\nsupersymmetry. We treat the rigid as well as the local supersymmetry case. The\nconnection is made to moduli spaces of Riemann surfaces and Calabi-Yau 3-folds.\nThe conditions for the existence of a prepotential translate to a condition on\nthe choice of canonical basis of cycles.",
        "positive": "Asymptotic safety in $O(N)$ scalar models coupled to gravity: We extend recent results on scalar-tensor theories to the case of an\nO(N)-invariant multiplet. Some exact fixed point solutions of the RG flow\nequations are discussed. We find that also in the functional context, on\nemploying a standard \"type-I\" cutoff, too many scalars destroy the\ngravitational fixed point. For d=3 we show the existence of the gravitationally\ndressed Wilson-Fisher fixed point also for N>1. We discuss also the results of\nthe analysis for a different, scalar-free, coarse-graining scheme."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Helicity Decomposition of Ghost-free Massive Gravity: We perform a helicity decomposition in the full Lagrangian of the class of\nMassive Gravity theories previously proven to be free of the sixth (ghost)\ndegree of freedom via a Hamiltonian analysis. We demonstrate, both with and\nwithout the use of nonlinear field redefinitions, that the scale at which the\nfirst interactions of the helicity-zero mode come in is $\\Lambda_3=(M_Pl\nm^2)^{1/3}$, and that this is the same scale at which helicity-zero\nperturbation theory breaks down. We show that the number of propagating\nhelicity modes remains five in the full nonlinear theory with sources. We\nclarify recent misconceptions in the literature advocating the existence of\neither a ghost or a breakdown of perturbation theory at the significantly lower\nenergy scales, $\\Lambda_5=(M_Pl m^4)^{1/5}$ or $\\Lambda_4=(M_Pl m^3)^{1/4}$,\nwhich arose because relevant terms in those calculations were overlooked. As an\ninteresting byproduct of our analysis, we show that it is possible to derive\nthe Stueckelberg formalism from the helicity decomposition, without ever\ninvoking diffeomorphism invariance, just from a simple requirement that the\nkinetic terms of the helicity-two, -one and -zero modes are diagonalized.",
        "positive": "The Geometry of 6D, N = (1,0) Superspace and its Matter Couplings: This thesis is dedicated to the study of the geometry of six-dimensional\nsuperspace, endowed with the minimal amount of supersymmetry. In the first part\nof it, we unfold the main geometrical features of such superspace by solving\ncompletely the Bianchi identities for the constrained superspace torsion, which\nallow us to determine the full six-dimensional derivate superalgebra. Next, the\nconformal structure of the supergeometry is considered. Specifically, it is\nshown that the conventional torsion constraints remain invariant under\nsuper-Weyl transformations generated by a real scalar superfield parameter. In\nthe second part of this work, the field content and superconformal matter\ncouplings of the supergeometry are explored. The component field content of the\nWeyl multiplet is presented and the question of how this multiplet emerges in\nsuperspace is addressed. Finally, the constraints that conformal invariance\nimposes on some matter representations are analyzed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-orientable surfaces and electric-magnetic duality: We consider the reduction along two compact directions of a twisted N=4 gauge\ntheory on a 4-dimensional orientable manifold which is not a global product of\ntwo surfaces but contains a non-orientable surface. The low energy theory is a\nsigma-model on a 2-dimensional worldsheet with a boundary which lives on branes\nconstructed from the Hitchin moduli space of the non-orientable surface. We\nmodify 't Hooft's notion of discrete electric and magnetic fluxes in gauge\ntheory due to the breaking of discrete symmetry and we match these fluxes with\nthe homotopy classes of maps in sigma-model. We verify the mirror symmetry of\nbranes as predicted by S-duality in gauge theory.",
        "positive": "Superstring vertex operators in type IIB matrix model: We clarify the relation between the vertex operators in type IIB matrix model\nand superstring. Green-Schwarz light-cone closed superstring theory is obtained\nfrom IIB matrix model on two dimensional noncommutative backgrounds.\nSuperstring vertex operators should be reproduced from those of IIB matrix\nmodel through this connection. Indeed, we confirm that supergravity vertex\noperators in IIB matrix model on the two dimensional backgrounds reduce to\nthose in superstring theory. Noncommutativity plays an important role in our\nidentification. Through this correspondence, we can reproduce superstring\nscattering amplitudes from IIB matrix model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hypermoduli Stabilization, Flux Attractors, and Generating Functions: We study stabilization of hypermoduli with emphasis on the effects of\ngeneralized fluxes. We find a class of no-scale vacua described by ISD\nconditions even in the presence of geometric flux. The associated flux\nattractor equations can be integrated by a generating function with the\nproperty that the hypermoduli are determined by a simple extremization\nprinciple. We work out several orbifold examples where all vector moduli and\nmany hypermoduli are stabilized, with VEVs given explicitly in terms of fluxes.",
        "positive": "Paragrassmann Analysis and Quantum Groups: Paragrassmann algebras with one and many paragrassmann variables are\nconsidered from the algebraic point of view without using the Green ansatz.\nOperators of differentiation with respect to paragrassmann variables and a\ncovariant para-super-derivative are introduced giving a natural generalization\nof the Grassmann calculus to a paragrassmann one. Deep relations between\nparagrassmann algebras and quantum groups with deformation parameters being\nroots of unity are established."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Lovelock theories, holography and the fate of the viscosity bound: We consider Lovelock theories of gravity in the context of AdS/CFT. We show\nthat, for these theories, causality violation on a black hole background can\noccur well in the interior of the geometry, thus posing more stringent\nconstraints than were previously found in the literature. Also, we find that\ninstabilities of the geometry can appear for certain parameter values at any\npoint in the geometry, as well in the bulk as close to the horizon. These new\nsources of causality violation and instability should be related to CFT\nfeatures that do not depend on the UV behavior. They solve a puzzle found\npreviously concerning unphysical negative values for the shear viscosity that\nare not ruled out solely by causality restrictions. We find that, contrary to\nprevious expectations, causality violation is not always related to positivity\nof energy. Furthermore, we compute the bound for the shear viscosity to entropy\ndensity ratio of supersymmetric conformal field theories from d=4 till d=10 -\ni.e., up to quartic Lovelock theory -, and find that it behaves smoothly as a\nfunction of d. We propose an approximate formula that nicely fits these values\nand has a nice asymptotic behavior when d goes to infinity for any Lovelock\ngravity. We discuss in some detail the latter limit. We finally argue that it\nis possible to obtain increasingly lower values for the shear viscosity to\nentropy density ratio by the inclusion of more Lovelock terms.",
        "positive": "Regularization by $\\varepsilon$-metric. II. Limit $\\varepsilon = + 0$: In a wide class of propagators regularized by the $\\varepsilon$-metric [1],\nthe $R$-operation is formulated. It is proved that the limit of renormalized\nFeynman integrals exists and is covariant. Possible applications in gravity are\ndiscussed. (The paper is an English translation of the second of two articles\nin Russian published by the author in 1987-88: V.D. Ivashchuk, Regularization\nby $\\varepsilon$-metric. II. Limit $\\varepsilon = +0$, Izvestiya Akademii Nauk\nMoldavskoy SSR, Ser. fiziko-tekhnicheskih i matematicheskih nauk, No. 1, p.\n10-20 (1988) [in Russian] .)"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chiral Duals of Non-Chiral SUSY Gauge Theories: We study $N=1$ SUSY gauge theories in four dimensions with gauge group\n$Spin(7)$ and $N_f$ flavors of quarks in the spinorial representation. We find\nthat in the range $6< N_f < 15$, this theory has a long distance description in\nterms of an $SU(N_f-4)$ gauge theory with a symmetric tensor and $N_f$\nantifundamentals. As a spin-off, we obtain by deforming along a flat direction\na dual description of the theories based on the exceptional gauge group $G_2$\nwith $N_f$ fundamental flavors of quarks.",
        "positive": "On Entropy Function for Supersymmetric Black Rings: The entropy function for five-dimensional supersymmetric black rings, which\nare solutions of $U(1)^{3}$ minimal supergravity, is calculated via both\non-shell and off-shell formalism. We find that at the tree level, the entropy\nfunction obtained from both perspectives can reproduce the Bekenstein-Hawking\nentropy. We also compute the higher order corrections to the entropy arising\nform five-dimensional Gauss-Bonnet term as well as supersymmetric $R^{2}$\ncompletion respectively and compare the results with previous microscopic\ncalculations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The phase diagram of an Ising model on a polymerized random surface: We construct a random surface model with a string susceptibility exponent one\nquarter by taking an Ising model on a random surface and introducing an\nadditional degree of freedom which amounts to allowing certain outgrowths on\nthe surfaces. Fine tuning the Ising temperature and the weight factor for\noutgrowths we find a triple point where the susceptibility exponent is one\nquarter. At this point magnetized and nonmagnetized gravity phases meet a\nbranched polymer phase.",
        "positive": "Turbulent meson condensation in quark deconfinement: In a QCD-like strongly coupled gauge theory at large N_c, using the AdS/CFT\ncorrespondence, we find that heavy quark deconfinement is accompanied by a\ncoherent condensation of higher meson resonances. This is revealed in\nnon-equilibrium deconfinement transitions triggered by static, as well as,\nquenched electric fields even below the Schwinger limit. There, we observe a\n\"turbulent\" energy flow to higher meson modes, which finally results in the\nquark deconfinement. Our observation is consistent with seeing deconfinement as\na condensation of long QCD strings."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Ten Dimensional Black Hole and the D0-brane Threshold Bound State: We discuss the ten dimensional black holes made of D0-branes in the regime\nwhere the effective coupling is large, and yet the 11D geometry is unimportant.\nWe suggest that these black holes can be interpreted as excitations over the\nthreshold bound state. Thus, the entropy formula for the former is used to\npredict a scaling region of the wave function of the latter. The horizon radius\nand the mass gap predicted in this picture agree with the formulas derived from\nthe classical geometry.",
        "positive": "A New Algorithm for Numerical Calculation of Link Invariants: We propose a new method for numerical calculation of link plynomials for\nknots given in 3 dimensions. We calculate derivatives of the Jones polynomial\nin a computational time proportional to $N^{\\alpha}$ with respect to the system\nsize $N$ . This method gives a new tool for determining topology of knotted\nclosed loops in three dimensions using computers."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Gelaton Scenario: Equilateral non-Gaussianity from multi-field\n  dynamics: The distinctive features of single field inflationary models with non-minimal\nkinetic terms, like Dirac-Born-Infeld and k-inflation, can be captured by more\nfamiliar multiple field inflationary systems of the type that typically arise\nin low energy supergravity models. At least one heavy field, which we call the\ngelaton, has an effective potential which depends on the kinetic energy of the\ninflaton. Integrating out the gelaton gives rise to an effectively single field\nsystem for which the speed of sound for the adiabatic fluctuations is reduced,\ngenerating potentially observable equilateral non-Gaussianity, while causing\nnegligible isocurvature fluctuations. This mechanism is only active if there is\na relatively tight coupling between the gelaton and the inflaton, and this puts\nan upper limit on the mass of the gelaton for which the inflaton-gelaton system\nremains weakly coupled. This approach gives a UV-completable framework for\ndescribing large classes of k-inflationary behavior.",
        "positive": "Singular 7-manifolds with G_2 holonomy and intersecting 6-branes: A 7-manifold with G_2 holonomy can be constructed as a R^3 bundle over a\nquaternionic space. We consider a quaternionic base space which is singular and\nits metric depends on three parameters, where one of them corresponds to an\ninterpolation between S^4 and CP^2 or its non-compact analogs. This 4-d\nEinstein space has four isometries and the fixed point set of a generic Killing\nvector is discussed. When embedded into M-theory the compactification over a\ngiven Killing vector gives intersecting 6-branes as IIA configuration and we\nargue that membrane instantons may resolve the curvature singularity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Dijkgraaf-Witten Type Invariants: We explicitly construct a series of lattice models based upon the gauge group\n$Z_{p}$ which have the property of subdivision invariance, when the coupling\nparameter is quantized and the field configurations are restricted to satisfy a\ntype of mod-$p$ flatness condition. The simplest model of this type yields the\nDijkgraaf-Witten invariant of a $3$-manifold and is based upon a single link,\nor $1$-simplex, field. Depending upon the manifold's dimension, other models\nmay have more than one species of field variable, and these may be based on\nhigher dimensional simplices.",
        "positive": "De Rham Cohomology of $CP^{1}$ model with Hopf term: We investigate the $CP^{1}$ model possessing the Hopf term which respects the\nsecond class constraints and admits the well defined the BRST operator $Q$.\nUsing the operator $Q$, we explicitly construct its de Rham cohomology group by\nderiving the ensuing quotient group via both the collections of all $Q$-closed\nand $Q$-exact ghost number $p$-forms. Moreover, we study the $CP^{1}$ model\nwithout the Hopf term to evaluate the ensuing effect of the Hopf term on the\ncohomology group. We find that the Hopf term effects on the de Rham cohomology\noriginate from the Hilbert space modified by this Hopf term."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Comment on \"Scaling Hypothesis for the Spectral Densities in the\n  Nonlinear Sigma Model\": We comment on the recent paper by Balog and Niedermaier [hep-th/9701156].",
        "positive": "Reformulation of QCD in the language of general relativity: It is shown that there exists such collection of variables that the standard\nQCD Lagrangian can be represented as the sum of usual Palatini Lagrangian for\nEinstein general relativity and the Lagrangian of matter and some other fields\nwhere the tetrad fields and the metric are constructed from initial $SU(3)$\nYang - Mills fields."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Reflections and spinors on manifolds: This paper reviews some recent work on (s)pin structures and the Dirac\noperator on hypersurfaces (in particular, on spheres), on real projective\nspaces and quadrics. Two approaches to spinor fields on manifolds are compared.\nThe action of space and time reflections on spinors is discussed, also for\ntwo-component (chiral) spinors.",
        "positive": "Recursion and worldsheet formulae for 6d superamplitudes: Recently two of the authors presented a spinorial extension of the scattering\nequations, the `polarized scattering equations' that incorporates spinor\npolarization data. These led to new worldsheet amplitude formulae for a variety\nof gauge, gravity and brane theories in six dimensions that naturally\nincorporate fermions and directly extend to maximal supersymmetry. This paper\nprovides a number of improvements to the original formulae, together with\nextended details of the construction, examples and full proofs of some of the\nformulae by BCFW recursion and factorization. We show how our formulae reduce\nto corresponding formulae for maximally supersymmetric gauge, gravity and brane\ntheories in five and four dimensions. In four dimensions our framework\nnaturally gives the twistorial version of the 4d ambitwistor string, giving new\ninsights into the nature of the refined and polarized scattering equations they\ngive rise to, and on the relations between its measure and the CHY measure. Our\nformulae exhibit a natural double-copy structure being built from\n`half-integrands'. We give further discussion of the matrix of theories and\nformulae to which our half-integrands give rise, including controversial\nformulae for amplitudes involving Gerbes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Scale-invariant cosmological perturbations from Horava-Lifshitz gravity\n  without inflation: Based on the renormalizable theory of gravitation recently proposed by\nHorava, we present a simple scenario to generate almost scale-invariant,\nsuper-horizon curvature perturbations. The anisotropic scaling with dynamical\ncritical exponent z=3 implies that the amplitude of quantum fluctuations of a\nfree scalar field generated in the early epoch of the expanding universe is\ninsensitive to the Hubble expansion rate and, thus, scale-invariant. Those\nfluctuations are later converted to curvature perturbations by the curvaton\nmechanism or/and the modulated decay of heavy particles/oscillating fields.\nThis scenario works, for example, for power law expansion a\\propto t^p with\np>1/3 and, thus, does not require inflation. Also, this scenario does not rely\non any additional assumptions such as the detailed balance condition.",
        "positive": "General Solution of the WZNW System and 2D Induced Gravity in Curved\n  Space-time: We find the general solution of the equations of motion for the WZNW system\nin curved space-time for arbitrary external gauge fields. Using the connection\nbetween the WZNW system for $SL(2,R)$ group and 2D induced gravity we obtain\nthe general solution of the equations of motion for 2D induced gravity in\ncurved space-time from that of the WZNW system. We independently presented the\ndirect solution of 2D induced gravity equations of motion and obtain the same\nresult."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On disc-with-hole and disc-with-handle partition functions in bosonic\n  string theory: Higher genus partition functions of string world sheets with boundaries are\nrelevant, e.g. for computation of quantum corrections to Wilson loop\nexpectation values. As a preparation for a possible study of strings in curved\nspace like AdS here we consider examples of genus one partition functions of\nstring world-sheets ending on a circle in the bosonic string theory in flat\nspace. We begin with the partition function for annular topology, writing it as\nan integral over the modulus of the annulus. In the process, we compute the\ndeterminant of the Laplacian on the annulus for Dirichlet-Dirichlet and\nDirichlet-Neumann boundary conditions. We then consider the case of the\ndisc-with-handle topology using the gluing method. We first write the partition\nfunction using a Schottky parameterisation of the moduli space and then as an\nintegral over the period matrix.",
        "positive": "Analytical approaches to 2D CDT coupled to matter: We review some recent results by Ambjorn et al. (1202.4435) and the authors\n(1202.4322,1203.5034) in which multicritical points of the CDT matrix model\nwere found and in a particular example identified with a hard dimer model. This\nidentification requires solving the combinatorial problem of counting\nconfigurations of dimers on CDTs."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum 3D Tensionless String in Light-cone Gauge: We discuss the quantization of a tensionless closed string in light-cone\ngauge. It is known that by using a Hamiltonian BRST scheme the tensionless\np-branes have no Lorentz anomaly in any space-time dimensions and no anomaly of\nspace-time conformal symmetry in two dimensions. In this paper, we show that\ntensionless 3d strings in light-cone gauge also have no anomaly of space-time\nconformal symmetry. We also study the spectrum of a tensionless 3d closed\nstring.",
        "positive": "Decoupling Dark Energy from Matter: We examine the embedding of dark energy in high energy models based upon\nsupergravity and extend the usual phenomenological setting comprising an\nobservable sector and a hidden supersymmetry breaking sector by including a\nthird sector leading to the acceleration of the expansion of the universe. We\nfind that gravitational constraints on the non-existence of a fifth force\nnaturally imply that the dark energy sector must possess an approximate shift\nsymmetry. When exact, the shift symmetry provides an example of a dark energy\nsector with a runaway potential and a nearly massless dark energy field whose\ncoupling to matter is very weak, contrary to the usual lore that dark energy\nfields must couple strongly to matter and lead to gravitational\ninconsistencies. Moreover, the shape of the potential is stable under one-loop\nradiative corrections. When the shift symmetry is slightly broken by higher\norder terms in the Kahler potential, the coupling to matter remains small.\nHowever, the cosmological dynamics are largely affected by the shift symmetry\nbreaking operators leading to the appearance of a minimum of the scalar\npotential such that dark energy behaves like an effective cosmological constant\nfrom very early on in the history of the universe."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exact Half-BPS Black Hole Entropies in CHL Models from Rademacher Series: The microscopic spectrum of half-BPS excitations in toroidally compactified\nheterotic string theory has been computed exactly through the use of results\nfrom analytic number theory. Recently, similar quantities have been understood\nmacroscopically by evaluating the gravitational path integral on the M-theory\nlift of the AdS2 near-horizon geometry of the corresponding black hole. In this\npaper, we generalize these results to a subset of the CHL models, which include\nthe standard compactification of IIA on $K3\\times T^2$ as a special case. We\nbegin by developing a Rademacher-like expansion for the Fourier coefficients of\nthe partition functions for these theories, which are modular forms for\ncongruence subgroups. We then interpret these results in a macroscopic setting\nby evaluating the path integral for the reduced-rank $\\mathcal{N} = 4$\nsupergravities described by these CFTs.",
        "positive": "Berenstein-Zelevinsky triangles, elementary couplings and fusion rules: We present a general scheme for describing su(N)_k fusion rules in terms of\nelementary couplings, using Berenstein-Zelevinsky triangles. A fusion coupling\nis characterized by its corresponding tensor product coupling (i.e. its\nBerenstein-Zelevinsky triangle) and the threshold level at which it first\nappears. We show that a closed expression for this threshold level is encoded\nin the Berenstein-Zelevinsky triangle and an explicit method to calculate it is\npresented. In this way a complete solution of su(4)_k fusion rules is obtained."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Critical gravity in the Chern-Simons modified gravity: We perform the perturbation analysis of the Chern-Simons modified gravity\naround the AdS$_4$ spacetimes (its curvature radius $\\ell$) to obtain the\ncritical gravity. In general, we could not obtain an explicit form of perturbed\nEinstein equation which shows a massive graviton propagation clearly, but for\nthe Kerr-Schild perturbation and Chern-Simons coupling $\\theta=kx/y$, we find\nthe AdS wave as a single massive solution to the perturbed Einstein equation.\nIts mass squared is given by $M^2=[-9+(2\\ell^2/k-1)^2]/4\\ell^2$. At the\ncritical point of $M^2=0(k=\\ell^2/2)$, the solution takes the log-form and the\nlinearized excitation energies vanish.",
        "positive": "Non-relativistic Spinning Particle in a Newton-Cartan Background: We construct the action of a non-relativistic spinning particle moving in a\ngeneral torsionless Newton-Cartan background. The particle does not follow the\ngeodesic equations, instead the motion is governed by the non-relativistic\nanalog of Papapetrou equation. The spinning particle is described in terms of\nGrassmann variables. In the flat case the action is invariant under the\nnon-relativistic analog of space-time vector supersymmetry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-geometric Calabi-Yau Backgrounds and K3 automorphisms: We consider compactifications of type IIA superstring theory on mirror-folds\nobtained as K3 fibrations over two-tori with non-geometric monodromies\ninvolving mirror symmetries. At special points in the moduli space these are\nasymmetric Gepner models. The compactifications are constructed from\nnon-geometric automorphisms that arise from the diagonal action of an\nautomorphism of the K3 surface and of an automorphism of the mirror surface. We\nidentify the corresponding gaugings of N=4 supergravity in four dimensions, and\nshow that the minima of the potential describe the same four-dimensional\nlow-energy physics as the worldsheet formulation in terms of asymmetric Gepner\nmodels. In this way, we obtain a class of Minkowski vacua of type II string\ntheory which preserve N=2 supersymmetry. The massless sector consists of N=2\nsupergravity coupled to 3 vector multiplets, giving the STU model. In some\ncases there are additional massless hypermultiplets.",
        "positive": "Pions as Gluons in Higher Dimensions: We derive the nonlinear sigma model as a peculiar dimensional reduction of\nYang-Mills theory. In this framework, pions are reformulated as\nhigher-dimensional gluons arranged in a kinematic configuration that only\nprobes cubic interactions. This procedure yields a purely cubic action for the\nnonlinear sigma model which exhibits a symmetry enforcing color-kinematics\nduality. Remarkably, the associated kinematic algebra originates directly from\nthe Poincare algebra in higher dimensions. Applying the same construction to\ngravity yields a new quartic action for Born-Infeld theory and, applied once\nmore, a cubic action for the special Galileon theory. Since the nonlinear sigma\nmodel and special Galileon are subtly encoded in the cubic sectors of\nYang-Mills theory and gravity, respectively, their double copy relationship is\nautomatic."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Science in a Very Large Universe: As observers of the universe we are quantum physical systems within it. If\nthe universe is very large in space and/or time, the probability becomes\nsignificant that the data on which we base predictions is replicated at other\nlocations in spacetime. The physical conditions at these locations that are not\nspecified by the data may differ. Predictions of our future observations\ntherefore require an assumed probability distribution (the xerographic\ndistribution) for our location among the possible ones. It is the combination\nof basic theory plus the xerographic distribution that can be predictive and\ntestable by further observations.",
        "positive": "Parafermions, $W$ Strings and their BRST Charges: We show how to relate the parafermions that occur in the $W_3$ string to the\nstandard construction of parafermions. This result is then used to show that\none of the screening charges that occurs in parafermionic theories is precisely\nthe non-trivial part of the $W_3$ string BRST charge. A way of generalizing\nthis pattern for a $W_N$ string is explained. This enables us to construct the\nfull BRST charge for a $W_{2,N}$ string and to prove the relation of such a\nstring to the algebra $W_{N-1}$ for arbitrary $N$, We also show how to\ncalculate part of the BRST charge for a $W_N$ string, and we explain how our\nmethod might be extended to obtain the full BRST charge for such a string."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Accelerating cosmologies from non-local higher-derivative gravity: We study accelerating cosmological solutions of a general class of non-linear\ngravities which depend on Gauss-Bonnet and other higher derivative invariants.\nTo achieve this goal a local formulation with auxiliary scalars for arbitrary\nhigher-derivative non-local gravity is developed. It is demonstrated that\nnon-local Gauss-Bonnet gravity can be reduced, in the local formulation, to a\nmodel of string-inspired scalar-Gauss-Bonnet gravity. A natural unification, in\nthe theory here developed, of the early-time inflation epoch with a late-time\nacceleration stage can also be realized.",
        "positive": "Holomorphic variables in magnetized brane models with continuous Wilson\n  lines: We analyze the action of the target-space modular group in toroidal type IIB\norientifold compactifications with magnetized D-branes and continuous Wilson\nlines. The transformation of matter fields agree with that of twisted fields in\nheterotic compactifications, constituting a check of type I/heterotic duality.\nWe identify the holomorphic N = 1 variables for these compactifications. Matter\nfields and closed string moduli are both redefined by open string moduli. The\nredefinition of matter fields can be read directly from the perturbative Yukawa\ncouplings, whereas closed string moduli redefinitions are obtained from D-brane\ninstanton superpotential couplings. The resulting expressions reproduce and\ngeneralize, in the presence of internal magnetic fields, previous results in\nthe literature."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Introduction to a Non-Commutative Version of the Standard Model: This article provides a basic introduction to some concepts of\nnon-commutative geometry. The importance of quantum groups and quantum spaces\nis stressed. Canonical non-commutativity is understood as an approximation to\nthe quantum group case. Non-commutative gauge theory and the non-commutative\nStandard Model are formulated on a space-time satisfying canonical\nnon-commutativity relations. We use *-formalism and Seiberg-Witten maps.",
        "positive": "New results on integrable structure of conformal field theory: We explain how to incorporate the action of local integrals of motion into\nthe fermionic basis for the sine-Gordon model and its UV CFT. The examples up\nto the level 4 are presented. Numerical computation support the results.\nPossible applications are discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Konishi Form Factor at Three Loop in ${\\cal N}=4$ SYM: We present the first results on the third order corrections to on-shell form\nfactor (FF) of the Konishi operator in ${\\cal N}=4$ supersymmetric Yang-Mills\ntheory using Feynman diagrammatic approach in modified dimensional reduction\n($\\overline {DR}$) scheme. We show that it satisfies KG equation in $\\overline\n{DR}$ scheme while the result obtained in four dimensional helicity (FDH)\nscheme needs to be suitably modified not only to satisfy the KG equation but\nalso to get the correct ultraviolet (UV) anomalous dimensions. We find that the\ncusp, soft and collinear anomalous dimensions obtained to third order are same\nas those of the FF of the half-BPS operator confirming the universality of the\ninfrared (IR) structures of on-shell form factors. In addition, the highest\ntranscendental terms of the FF of Konishi operator are identical to those of\nhalf-BPS operator indicating the probable existence of deeper structure of the\non-shell FF. We also confirm the UV anomalous dimensions of Konishi operator up\nto third order providing a consistency check on the both UV and universal IR\nstructures in ${\\cal N}=4$.",
        "positive": "On the large spin limit of twist operators in N=4 SYM: The long range Bethe Ansatz solution of the mixing problem in N=4 SYM allows\nto compute in a very efficient way multiloop anomalous dimensions of various\ncomposite operators. In the case of sl(2) twist operators it is important to\nobtain closed expressions for the anomalous dimensions in terms of the Lorentz\nspin. Conjectures are available altough analytical proofs are missing beyond\none-loop. In this paper, we will present a method to expand at large spin the\nsolution of the long range Baxter equation in twist 2 and 3. We will also\npropose sum rules for special singlet states at higher twist."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A gauge invariant exact renormalization group I: A manifestly gauge invariant continuous renormalization group flow equation\nis constructed for pure SU(N) gauge theory. The formulation makes sense without\ngauge fixing and manifestly gauge invariant calculations may thus be carried\nout. The flow equation is naturally expressed in terms of fluctuating Wilson\nloops, with the effective action appearing as an integral over a `gas' of\nWilson loops. At infinite N, the effective action collapses to a path integral\nover the trajectory of a single particle describing one Wilson loop. We show\nthat further regularization of these flow equations is needed. (This is\nintroduced in part II.)",
        "positive": "Quarter BPS classified by Brauer algebra: We analyse the one-loop dilatation operator with the help of the Brauer\nalgebra. We find some BPS operators in N=4 SYM, which are labelled by\nirreducible representations of the Brauer algebra. Some of them are quarter BPS\noperators. The result includes full non-planar corrections. Our construction\nand proof are based on simple algebraic arguments and are carried out for any\nnumber of fields."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic Entanglement Entropy for the Most General Higher Derivative\n  Gravity: The holographic entanglement entropy for the most general higher derivative\ngravity is investigated. We find a new type of Wald entropy, which appears on\nentangling surface without the rotational symmetry and reduces to usual Wald\nentropy on Killing horizon. Furthermore, we obtain a formal formula of HEE for\nthe most general higher derivative gravity and work it out exactly for some\nsquashed cones. As an important application, we derive HEE for gravitational\naction with one derivative of the curvature when the extrinsic curvature\nvanishes. We also study some toy models with non-zero extrinsic curvature. We\nprove that our formula yields the correct universal term of entanglement\nentropy for 4d CFTs. Furthermore, we solve the puzzle raised by Hung, Myers and\nSmolkin that the logarithmic term of entanglement entropy derived from Weyl\nanomaly of CFTs does not match the holographic result even if the extrinsic\ncurvature vanishes. We find that such mismatch comes from the `anomaly of\nentropy' of the derivative of curvature. After considering such contributions\ncarefully, we resolve the puzzle successfully. In general, we need to fix the\nsplitting problem for the conical metrics in order to derive the holographic\nentanglement entropy. We find that, at least for Einstein gravity, the\nsplitting problem can be fixed by using equations of motion. How to derive the\nsplittings for higher derivative gravity is a non-trivial and open question.\nFor simplicity, we ignore the splitting problem in this paper and find that it\ndoes not affect our main results.",
        "positive": "Yang-Baxter equation, symmetric functions and Grothendieck polynomials: New development of the theory of Grothendieck polynomials, based on an\nexponential solution of the Yang-Baxter equation in the algebra of projectors\nare given."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spontaneous Conformal Symmetry Breaking and Quantum Quadratic Gravity: We investigate several quantum phenomena related to quadratic gravity after\nrewriting the general fourth-order action in a more convenient form that is\nsecond-order in derivatives and produces only first-class constraints in phase\nspace. We find that a Higgs mechanism may occur in the conformally invariant\nsubset of the general quadratic action if the theory is conformally coupled to\na scalar field that acquires a non-zero vacuum expectation value and\nspontaneously breaks the conformal symmetry. Then, in the broken phase, the\noriginally massless spin-2 ghost may absorb both the scalar and vector fields\nto become massive. We also perform a BRST quantization of second-order\nquadratic gravity in the covariant operator formalism and discuss conditions\nunder which unitarity of the full interacting quantum theory may be\nestablished.",
        "positive": "Point Particle with Extrinsic Curvature as a Boundary of a Nambu-Goto\n  String: Classical and Quantum Model: It is shown how a string living in a higher dimensional space can be\napproximated as a point particle with squared extrinsic curvature. We consider\na generalized Howe-Tucker action for such a \"rigid particle\" and consider its\nclassical equations of motion and constraints. We find that the algebra of the\nDirac brackets between the dynamical variables associated with velocity and\nacceleration contains the spin tensor. After quantization, the corresponding\noperators can be represented by the Dirac matrices, projected onto the\nhypersurface that is orthogonal to the direction of momentum. A condition for\nthe consistency of such a representation is that the states must satisfy the\nDirac equation with a suitable effective mass. The Pauli-Lubanski vector\ncomposed with such projected Dirac matrices is equal to the Pauli-Lubanski\nvector composed with the usual, non projected, Dirac matrices, and its\neigenvalues thus correspond to spin one half states."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The origin of discrete symmetries in F-theory models: While non-abelian groups are undoubtedly the cornerstone of Grand Unified\nTheories (GUTs), phenomenology shows that the role of abelian and discrete\nsymmetries is equally important in model building. The latter are the\nappropriate tool to suppress undesired proton decay operators and various\nflavour violating interactions, to generate a hierarchical fermion mass\nspectrum, etc. In F-theory, GUT symmetries are linked to the singularities of\nthe elliptically fibred K3 manifolds; they are of ADE type and have been\nextensively discussed in recent literature. In this context, abelian and\ndiscrete symmetries usually arise either as a subgroup of the non-abelian\nsymmetry or from a non-trivial Mordell-Weil group associated to rational\nsections of the elliptic fibration. In this note we give a short overview of\nthe current status and focus in models with rank-one Mordell-Weil group.",
        "positive": "Neutral Multi-Instanton as a Bridge from Weak to Strong Coupling phase\n  in Two Dimensional QCD: Using a contour integral representation we analyze the multi-instanton sector\nin two dimensional $U(N)$ Yang-Mills theory on a sphere and argue the role of\nmulti-instanton in the large $N$ phase transition. In the strong coupling\nregion at the large $N$ , we encounter ``singular saddle point''. Because of\nthis situation, ``neutral'' configurations of the multi-instanton are dominant\nin this region. Based on the ``neutral'' multi-instanton approximation we\nnumerically calculate the multi-instanton amplitude , the free energies and the\nWilson loops for finite $N$ . We also compare our results with the large $N$\nexact solution of the free energy and the Wilson loop and argue some problems.\nWe find the ``neutral'' multi-instanton contribution bridges the gap between\nweak and strong coupling phase."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Radiation reaction for spinning black-hole scattering: Starting from the leading soft term of the 5-point amplitude, involving a\ngraviton and two Kerr black holes, that factorises into the product of the\nelastic amplitude without the graviton and the leading soft factor, we compute\nthe infrared divergent contribution to the imaginary part of the two-loop\neikonal. Then, using analyticity and crossing symmetry, we determine the\nradiative contribution to the real part of the two-loop eikonal and from it the\nradiative part of the deflection angle for spins aligned to the orbital angular\nmomentum, the loss of angular momentum and the zero frequency limit of the\nenergy spectrum for any spin and for any spin orientation. For spin one we find\nperfect agreement with recent results obtained with the supersymmetric\nworldline formalism.",
        "positive": "AdS/BCFT correspondence and Horndeski gravity in the presence of gauge\n  fields: holographic paramagnetism/ferromagnetism phase transition: This paper presents a dual gravity model for a (2+1)-dimensional system with\na limit on finite charge density and temperature, which will be used to study\nthe properties of the holographic phase transition to\nparamagnetism-ferromagnetism in the presence of Horndeski gravity terms. In our\nmodel, the non-zero charge density is supported by a magnetic field. As a\nresult, the radius $\\rho/B$ indicates a localized condensate, as we increase\nthe Horndeski gravity parameter, that is represented by $\\gamma$. Furthermore,\nsuch condensate shows quantum Hall-type behavior. This radius is also inversely\nrelated to the total action coefficients of our model. It was observed that\nincreasing the Horndeski parameter decreases the critical temperature of the\nholographic model and leads to the harder formation of the magnetic moment at\nthe bottom of the black hole. However, when removing the magnetic field, the\nferromagnetic material presents a disorder of its magnetic moments, which is\nobserved through the entropy of the system. We also found that at low\ntemperatures, spontaneous magnetization and ferromagnetic phase transition."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "One Loop Gluon Gluon Scattering in Light Cone Gauge: We calculate the one loop amplitudes for the two gluon scattering process in\nlight cone gauge with fermions and scalars circulating in the loop. This\nextends the earlier works, in which only the gluon circulates the loop. By\nputting all fields in the adjoint representation with N_f=2, N_s=6, the\nscattering amplitude of gluon by gluon in the special case of N=4 Super\nYang-Mills can be obtained. The massive fermion and scalar with arbitrary\nrepresentations are also considered.",
        "positive": "Lagrangian formulation of classical fields within Riemann-Liouville\n  fractional derivatives: The classical fields with fractional derivatives are investigated by using\nthe fractional Lagrangian formulation.The fractional Euler-Lagrange equations\nwere obtained and two examples were studied."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "HS Yang-Mills-like models: a review: We review the attempt to construct massless gauge field theories in Minkowski\nspacetime that go under the name of HS-YM. We present their actions and their\nsymmetries. We motivate their gravitational interpretation. In particular we\nshow how to recover the local Lorentz invariance, which is absent in the\noriginal formulation of the theories. Then we propose a perturbative\nquantization in the so-called frozen momentum frame. We discuss physical and\nunphysical modes and show how to deal with them. Finally we uncover the gauge\nsymmetry hidden under such unphysical modes. This requires a nonlocal\nreformulation of the theory, which is, however, characterized by an augmented\ndegree of symmetry.",
        "positive": "Tubular Solutions of Dirac-Born-Infeld Action on Dp-Brane Background: We use the Dirac-Born-Infeld action on Dp-brane background to find the\ntubular bound state of a D2 with $m$ D0-branes and $n$ fundamental strings. The\nfundamental strings may be the circular strings along the cross section of tube\nor the straight strings along the axial of the tube, and tube solutions are\nparallel to the geometry of Dp-brane background. Through the detailed analyses\nwe show that only on the D6-brane background could we find the stable tubular\nsolutions. These tubular configurations are prevented form collapse by the\ngravitational field on the curved Dp-brane background."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "An Exact Operator That Knows Its Location: We use conformal symmetry to define an AdS$_3$ proto-field $\\phi$ as an exact\nlinear combination of Virasoro descendants of a CFT$_2$ primary operator\n$\\mathcal{O}$. We find that both symmetry considerations and a gravitational\nWilson line formalism lead to the same results. The operator $\\phi$ has many\ndesirable properties; in particular it has correlators that agree with\ngravitational perturbation theory when expanded at large $c$, and that\nautomatically take the correct form in all vacuum AdS$_3$ geometries, including\nBTZ black hole backgrounds. In the future it should be possible to use $\\phi$\nto probe bulk locality and black hole horizons at a non-perturbative level.",
        "positive": "The Deformed Matrix Model at Finite Radius and a New Duality Symmetry: The $1/x^{2}$ deformed $c=1$ matrix model is studied at finite radius and\nnon-zero cosmological constant. Calculational techniques are presented and\nillustrated in some examples. Furthermore, a new kind of $R \\rightarrow 1/R$\nduality is discovered which mixes different genus."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Topological Symmetry, Background Independence, and Matrix Models: We illustrate a physical situation in which topological symmetry, its\nbreakdown, space-time uncertainty principle, and background independence may\nplay an important role in constructing and understanding matrix models. First,\nwe show that the space-time uncertainty principle of string may be understood\nas a manifestation of the breakdown of the topological symmetry in the large\n$N$ matrix model. Next, we construct a new type of matrix models which is a\nmatrix model analog of the topological Chern-Simons and BF theories. It is of\ninterest that these topological matrix models are not only completely\nindependent of the background metric but also have nontrivial \"p-brane\"\nsolutions as well as commuting classical space-time as the classical solutions.\nIn this paper, we would like to point out some elementary and unsolved problems\nassociated to the matrix models, whose resolution would lead to the more\nsatisfying matrix model in future.",
        "positive": "Line defects in conformal field theory: from weak to strong coupling: Conformal field theory finds applications across diverse fields, from\nstatistical systems at criticality to quantum gravity through the AdS/CFT\ncorrespondence. These theories are subject to strong constraints, enabling a\nsystematic non-perturbative analysis. Conformal defects provide a controlled\nmeans of breaking the symmetry, introducing new physical phenomena while\npreserving crucial benefits of the underlying conformal symmetry. This thesis\ninvestigates conformal line defects in both the weak- and strong-coupling\nregimes. Two distinct classes of models are studied. First, we focus on the\nsupersymmetric Wilson line in $\\mathcal{N}=4$ Super Yang--Mills, which serves\nas an ideal testing ground for the development of innovative techniques such as\nthe analytic conformal bootstrap. The second class consists of magnetic lines\nin Yukawa models, which have fascinating applications in $3d$ condensed-matter\nsystems. These systems have the potential to emulate phenomena observed in the\nStandard Model in a low-energy setting."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Positronium collapse and the maximum magnetic field in pure QED: A maximum value for the magnetic field is determined, which provides the full\ncompensation of the positronium rest mass by the binding energy in the maximum\nsymmetry state and disappearance of the energy gap separating the\nelectron-positron system from the vacuum. The compensation becomes possible\nowing to the falling to the center phenomenon. The maximum magnetic field may\nbe related to the vacuum and describe its structure.",
        "positive": "Unifying approaches: derivation of Balitsky hierarchy from the Lipatov\n  effective action: We consider a derivation of the hierarchy of correlators of ordered\nexponentials directly from the Lipatov's effective action~\\cite{LipatovEff}\nformulated in terms of interacting ordered exponentials~\\cite{OurZub}. The\nderivation of the Balitsky equation~\\cite{Bal} from the hierarchy is discussed\nas well as the way the sub-leading eikonal corrections to the Balitsky equation\narise from the transverse field contribution and sub-leading eikonal\ncorrections to the quark propagator. We outline other possible applications of\nthe proposed calculation scheme."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Linear $r$-matrix algebra for classical separable systems: We consider a hierarchy of the natural type Hamiltonian systems of $n$\ndegrees of freedom with polynomial potentials separable in general ellipsoidal\nand general paraboloidal coordinates. We give a Lax representation in terms of\n$2\\times 2$ matrices for the whole hierarchy and construct the associated\nlinear $r$-matrix algebra with the $r$-matrix dependent on the dynamical\nvariables. A Yang-Baxter equation of dynamical type is proposed. Using the\nmethod of variable separation we provide the integration of the systems in\nclassical mechanics conctructing the separation equations and, hence, the\nexplicit form of action variables. The quantisation problem is discussed with\nthe help of the separation variables.",
        "positive": "Gauss-Bonnet Inflation: We consider an Einstein-Scalar-Gauss-Bonnet gravitational theory, and argue\nthat at early times the Ricci scalar can be safely ignored. We then demonstrate\nthat the pure scalar-Gauss-Bonnet theory, with a quadratic coupling function,\nnaturally supports inflationary -- de Sitter -- solutions. During inflation,\nthe scalar field decays exponentially and its effective potential remains\nalways bounded. The theory contains also solutions where these de Sitter phases\npossess a natural exit mechanism and are replaced by linearly expanding --\nMilne -- phases."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Counting Calabi-Yau Threefolds: We enumerate topologically-inequivalent compact Calabi-Yau threefold\nhypersurfaces. By computing arithmetic and algebraic invariants and the\nGopakumar-Vafa invariants of curves, we prove that the number of distinct\nsimply connected Calabi-Yau threefold hypersurfaces resulting from\ntriangulations of four-dimensional reflexive polytopes is 4, 27, 183, 1,184 and\n8,036 at $h^{1,1}$ = 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, respectively. We also establish that\nthere are ten equivalence classes of Wall data of non-simply connected\nCalabi-Yau threefolds from the Kreuzer-Skarke list. Finally, we give a\nprovisional count of threefolds obtained by enumerating non-toric flops at\n$h^{1,1} =2$.",
        "positive": "AdS-CFT Correspondence in Noncommutative background, related\n  thermodynamics and Holographic Superconductor in Magnetic Field: In this work, we formulate a Non-Commutative (NC) extension of AdS-CFT\ncorrespondence that is manifested in the modification of behavior of a\nholographic superconductor. The noncommutativity is introduced in the model\nthrough the NC corrected AdS charged black hole metric developed by Nicolini,\nSmailagic and Spallucci. First of all we discuss thermodynamic properties of\nthis black hole in Euclidean formalism. In particular, we compute trace of the\nboundary energy-momentum tensor which, as expected, is non-zero due to the NC\nscale introduced in the model. Our findings indicate that the non-commutative\neffects tend to work against the black hole hair formation. This, in turn, has\nan adverse effect on the holographic superconductor by making the\nsuperconducting phase more fragile. This is reflected in the reduced value of\nthe critical magnetic field and critical temperature. Finally, we comment on a\nqualitative agreement between our (holographic superconductor) result and that\nobtained for a conventional superconductor in NC space in a purely condensed\nmatter scenario. In both cases noncommutativity tends to oppose the\nsuperconducting phase."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "M theory Branes : U duality properties and a class of new Static\n  Solutions: We obtain the most general static intersecting brane solutions by directly\nsolving the relevant equations of motion analytically and in complete\ngenerality. These solutions reduce to the known ones in special cases, and\ncontain further a class of new static solutions which are horizonless. We\ndescribe their properties and discuss their physical relevance. Along the way,\nwe also describe the features of the brane energy momentum tensors, the\nequations of motion, and their solutions which arise as consequences of the\nintersection rules and the U duality symmetries of M theory.",
        "positive": "Effective field theory of fluctuating wall in open systems: from a kink\n  in Josephson junction to general domain wall: We investigate macroscopic behaviors of fluctuating domain walls in\nnonequilibrium open systems with the help of the effective field theory based\non symmetry. Since the domain wall in open systems breaks the translational\nsymmetry, there appears a gapless excitation identified as the Nambu-Goldstone\n(NG) mode, which shows the non-propagating diffusive behavior in contrast to\nthose in closed systems. After demonstrating the presence of the diffusive NG\nmode in the $(2+1)$-dimensional dissipative Josephson junction, we provide a\nsymmetry-based general analysis for open systems breaking the one-dimensional\ntranslational symmetry. A general effective Lagrangian is constructed based on\nthe Schwinger-Keldysh formalism, which supports the presence of the gapless\ndiffusion mode in the fluctuation spectrum in the thin wall regime. Besides, we\nalso identify a term peculiar to the open system, which possibly leads to the\ninstability in the thick-wall regime or the nonlinear Kardar-Parisi-Zhang\ncoupling in the thin-wall regime although it is absent in the Josephson\njunction."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Strings from geometric tachyon in Rindler space and black hole\n  thermodynamics: The dynamics of a probe particle or wrapped brane moving in the\ntwo-dimensional Rindler space can be described by a time-dependent tachyon\nfield theory. Using knowledge of tachyon condensation, we learn that the\ninfalling brane gets thermalised and produces open string pairs at the Hagedorn\ntemperature when entering into the near-horizon Rindler wedge. It is shown that\nthe Hagedorn temperature of the infalling brane is equal to the Hawking\ntemperature of the host black hole detected in the same time coordinate. The\ninfalling brane will decay completely into closed strings, mainly massive\nmodes, when it reaches the horizon in infinitely long time as observed by\nobservers at spatial infinity. Preliminary estimates indicate that the\ndegeneracy of states of the closed strings emitted from the infalling brane\nshould be responsible for the increased entropy in the host black hole due to\nabsorption of the brane.",
        "positive": "Massless fermions and superconductivity of string-wall composites: An axion cosmic string is known to be a chiral superconductor when the axion\ncouples to an electrically charged fermion. After the QCD phase transition, a\nQCD axion string is attached by $N$ domain walls. We would like to elucidate\nthe fate of massless fermions on a global string after domain walls attached\nnot only in the axion model but also in general models having string-wall\ncomposites. We investigate the Dirac equation under various string-wall\ncomposite backgrounds both in the axion(-like) models and in the ${\\cal N}=2$\nsupersymmetry inspired Abelian-Higgs models. We give an answer to the\nelementary question of whether massless fermions exist, and if so, where they\nare localized. The answer depends on fermion/boson masses in the models, and\nthe massless fermion can be localized either on the string, on one of the\ndomain walls, or in one of the vacua. We find analytic solutions for the\nfermion zero mode function by which we prove the existence of the massless\nfermion on the string-wall composites. We also show supercurrents flowing along\nthe string-wall composites and anomalous electric currents flowing in from\noutside."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauge Coupling Field, Currents, Anomalies and N=1 Super-Yang-Mills\n  Effective Actions: Working with a gauge coupling field in a linear superfield, we construct\neffective Lagrangians for N=1 super-Yang-Mills theory fully compatible with the\nexpected all-order behaviour or physical quantities. Using the one-loop\ndependence on its ultraviolet cutoff and anomaly matching or cancellation of R\nand dilatation anomalies, we obtain the Wilsonian effective Lagrangian. With\nsimilar anomaly matching or cancellation methods, we derive the effective\naction for gaugino condensates, as a function of the real coupling field. Both\neffective actions lead to a derivation of the NSVZ beta function from algebraic\narguments only. The extension of results to N=2 theories or to matter systems\nis briefly considered. The main tool for the discussion of anomalies is a\ngeneric supercurrent structure with 16_B+16_F operators (the S multiplet),\nwhich we derive using superspace identities and field equations for a fully\ngeneral gauge theory Lagrangian with the linear gauge coupling superfield, and\nwith various U(1)_R currents. As a byproduct, we show under which conditions\nthe S multiplet can be improved to contain the Callan-Coleman-Jackiw\nenergy-momentum tensor whose trace measures the breaking of scale invariance.",
        "positive": "On the equivalence between topologically and non-topologically massive\n  abelian gauge theories: We analyse the equivalence between topologically massive gauge theory (TMGT)\nand different formulations of non-topologically massive gauge theories (NTMGTs)\nin the canonical approach. The different NTMGTs studied are St\\\"uckelberg\nformulation of (A) a first order formulation involving one and two form fields,\n(B) Proca theory, and (C) massive Kalb-Ramond theory. We first quantise these\nreducible gauge systems by using the phase space extension procedure and using\nit, identify the phase space variables of NTMGTs which are equivalent to the\ncanonical variables of TMGT and show that under this the Hamiltonian also get\nmapped. Interestingly it is found that the different NTMGTs are equivalent to\ndifferent formulations of TMGTs which differ only by a total divergence term.\nWe also provide covariant mappings between the fields in TMGT to NTMGTs at the\nlevel of correlation function."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Comment on Shadow and Non-Shadow Extensions of the Standard Model: The models in the two papers hep-ph/0608068 and hep-ph/0701254 by Chang et\nal. with the so-called shadow gauge and scalar fields are nothing but\nconvenient tailored versions of our model in hep-th/0403039. The same remarks\napplies to the work in hep-th/0612165 by Meissner and Nicolai.",
        "positive": "On polynomial solutions of differential equations: A general method of obtaining linear differential equations having polynomial\nsolutions is proposed. The method is based on an equivalence of the spectral\nproblem for an element of the universal enveloping algebra of some Lie algebra\nin the \"projectivized\" representation possessing an invariant subspace and the\nspectral problem for a certain linear differential operator with variable\ncoefficients. It is shown in general that polynomial solutions of partial\ndifferential equations occur; in the case of Lie superalgebras there are\npolynomial solutions of some matrix differential equations, quantum algebras\ngive rise to polynomial solutions of finite--difference equations.\nParticularly, known classical orthogonal polynomials will appear when\nconsidering $SL(2,{\\bf R})$ acting on ${\\bf RP_1}$. As examples, some\npolynomials connected to projectivized representations of $sl_2 ({\\bf R})$,\n$sl_2 ({\\bf R})_q$, $osp(2,2)$ and $so_3$ are briefly discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gravity from a fermionic condensate of a gauge theory: The most prominent realization of gravity as a gauge theory similar to the\ngauge theories of the standard model comes from enlarging the gauge group from\nthe Lorentz group to the de Sitter group. To regain ordinary Einstein-Cartan\ngravity the symmetry must be broken, which can be accomplished by known\nquasi-dynamic mechanisms. Motivated by symmetry breaking models in particle\nphysics and condensed matter systems, we propose that the symmetry can\nnaturally be broken by a homogenous and isotropic fermionic condensate of\nordinary spinors. We demonstrate that the condensate is compatible with the\nEinstein-Cartan equations and can be imposed in a fully de Sitter invariant\nmanner. This lends support, and provides a physically realistic mechanism for\nunderstanding gravity as a gauge theory with a spontaneously broken local de\nSitter symmetry.",
        "positive": "Noncommutativity vs. Transversality in QED in a strong magnetic field: Quantum electrodynamics (QED) in a strong constant magnetic field is\ninvestigated from the viewpoint of its connection with noncommutative QED. It\nturns out that within the lowest Landau level (LLL) approximation the 1-loop\ncontribution of fermions provides an effective action with the noncommutative\nU(1)_{NC} gauge symmetry. As a result, the Ward-Takahashi identities connected\nwith the initial U(1) gauge symmetry are broken down in the LLL approximation.\nOn the other hand, it is shown that the sum over the infinite number of the\nhigher Landau levels (HLL's) is relevant despite the fact that each\ncontribution of the HLL is suppressed. Owing to this nondecoupling phenomenon\nthe transversality is restored in the whole effective action. The kinematic\nregion where the LLL contribution is dominant is also discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Low-energy Chern-Simons-Proca theory: Some time ago, the infrared limit of the Abelian Chern-Simons-Proca theory\nwas investigated. In this letter, we show how the Chern-Simons-Proca theory can\nemerge as an effective low energy theory. Our result is obtained by means of a\nprocedure that takes into account the proliferation, or dilution, of\ntopological defects presented in the system.",
        "positive": "$T^3$-Invariant Heterotic Hull-Strominger Solutions: We consider the heterotic string on Calabi-Yau manifolds admitting a\nStrominger-Yau-Zaslow fibration. Upon reducing the system in the\n$T^3$-directions, the Hermitian Yang-Mills conditions can then be reinterpreted\nas a complex flat connection on $\\mathbb{R}^3$ satisfying a certain co-closure\ncondition. We give a number of abelian and non-abelian examples, and also\ncompute the back-reaction on the geometry through the non-trivial\n$\\alpha'$-corrected heterotic Bianchi identity, which includes an important\ncorrection to the equations for the complex flat connection. These are all new\nlocal solutions to the Hull-Strominger system on $T^3\\times\\mathbb{R}^3$. We\nalso propose a method for computing the spectrum of certain non-abelian models,\nin close analogy with the Morse-Witten complex of the abelian models."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Chern-Simons approach to self-dual gravity in (2+1)-dimensions and\n  quantisation of Poisson structure: The (2+1)-dimensional analog self-dual gravity which is obtained via\ndimension reduction of the (3+1)-dimensional Holst action without reducing the\ninternal gauge group is studied. A Chern-Simons formulation for this theory is\nconstructed based on the gauge group $SL(2,\\CC)_\\RR\\rcross \\Rsix$ and maps the\n3d complex self-dual dynamical variable and connection to $6d$ real variables\nwhich combines into a $12d$ Cartan connection. Quantization is given by the\napplication of the combinatorial quantisation program of Chern-Simons theory.\nThe Poisson structure for the moduli space of flat connections on\n$(SL(2,\\CC)_\\RR\\rcross \\Rsix)^{n+2g}$ which emerges in the combinatorial\ndescription of the phase space on $\\RR \\times \\Sigma_{g,n},$ where\n$\\Sigma_{g,n}$ is a genus $g$ surface with $n$ punctures is given in terms of\nthe classical $r$-matrix for the quantum double $D(SL(2,\\CC)_\\RR)$ viewed as\nthe double of a double $ D(SU(2)\\dcross AN(2))$. This quantum double provides a\nfeature for quantum symmetries of the quantum theory for the model.",
        "positive": "Supersymmetric, fermionic solutions in three-dimensional supergravity: Building upon known supersymmetric backgrounds, we derive novel half-BPS\nfermionic solutions in three-dimensional supergravity. By virtue of an\nessential dependence on fermionic degrees of freedom, they possess no purely\nbosonic analogue. In the Anti de Sitter case this notably includes nonsingular\nsolutions for which the corresponding Chern-Simons gauge field\n$\\mathcal{A}=\\omega\\pm e/L$ vanishes, providing access to configurations which\nare ordinarily singular in pure gravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The integral representation of solutions of KZ equation and a\n  modification by $\\mathcal{K}$ operator insertion: A root of unity limit of the $q$-deformed Virasoro algebra is considered. The\n$\\widehat{sl}(2)_k$ current algebra and the integral formulas of the solutions\nof the KZ equations can be realized by the $q$-deformed boson at the limit and\nan additional boson. We explicitly construct the integral representation of the\nfour-point blocks with a $\\mathcal{K}$-operator insertion.",
        "positive": "An effective gauge theory of fractons: perturbative and non-local\n  aspects: We construct, from first principles, a covariant local model for scalar\nfractonic matter coupled to a symmetric tensor gauge field. The free gauge\nfield action is just the one of Blasi-Maggiore model. The scalar sector is a\nnon-trivial covariant generalization of Pretko's quartic model. Because the\nmodel has no quadratic term in the scalar field, a direct perturbative\ntreatment fails. Remarkably, we demonstrate that the action can be driven to a\nperturbative effective action. However, with the price of carrying non-local\ninteracting terms. We study the perturbative regime of the model and show that\nthere are at least four distinct phases in the model: One with massive\nfractonic modes; one with massless fractons; a mixed phase with massive and\nmassless fractons; and another one where fractons cannot occur at all in the\nphysical spectrum."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Integrable degenerate $\\mathcal E$-models from 4d Chern-Simons theory: We present a general construction of integrable degenerate $\\mathcal\nE$-models on a 2d manifold $\\Sigma$ using the formalism of Costello and\nYamazaki based on 4d Chern-Simons theory on $\\Sigma \\times \\mathbb{C}P^1$. We\nbegin with a physically motivated review of the mathematical results of\n[arXiv:2008.01829] where a unifying 2d action was obtained from 4d Chern-Simons\ntheory which depends on a pair of 2d fields $h$ and $\\mathcal L$ on $\\Sigma$\nsubject to a constraint and with $\\mathcal L$ depending rationally on the\ncomplex coordinate on $\\mathbb{C}P^1$. When the meromorphic 1-form $\\omega$\nentering the action of 4d Chern-Simons theory is required to have a double pole\nat infinity, the constraint between $h$ and $\\mathcal L$ was solved in\n[arXiv:2011.13809] to obtain integrable non-degenerate $\\mathcal E$-models. We\nextend the latter approach to the most general setting of an arbitrary 1-form\n$\\omega$ and obtain integrable degenerate $\\mathcal E$-models. To illustrate\nthe procedure we reproduce two well known examples of integrable degenerate\n$\\mathcal E$-models: the pseudo dual of the principal chiral model and the\nbi-Yang-Baxter $\\sigma$-model.",
        "positive": "BRST quantization of the pure spinor superstring: We present a derivation of the scattering amplitude prescription for the pure\nspinor superstring from first principles, both in the minimal and non-minimal\nformulations, and show that they are equivalent. This is achieved by first\ncoupling the worldsheet action to topological gravity and then proceeding to\nBRST quantize this system. Our analysis includes the introduction of constant\nghosts and associated auxiliary fields needed to gauge fix symmetries\nassociated with zero modes. All fields introduced in the process of\nquantization can be integrated out explicitly, resulting in the prescriptions\nfor computing scattering amplitudes that have appeared previously in the\nliterature. The zero mode insertions in the path integral follow from the\nintegration over the constant auxiliary fields."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantized bulk scalar fields in the Randall-Sundrum brane-model: We examine the lowest order quantum corrections to the effective action\narising from a quantized real scalar field in the Randall-Sundrum background\nspacetime. The leading term is the familiar vacuum, or Casimir, energy density.\nThe next term represents an induced gravity term that can renormalize the\n4-dimensional Newtonian gravitational constant. The calculations are performed\nfor an arbitrary spacetime dimension. Two inequivalent boundary conditions,\ncorresponding to twisted and untwisted field configurations, are considered. A\ncareful discussion of the regularization and renormalization of the effective\naction is given, with the relevant counterterms found. It is shown that the\nrequirement of self-consistency of the Randall-Sundrum solution is not simply a\nmatter of minimizing the Casimir energy density. The massless, conformally\ncoupled scalar field results are obtained as a special limiting case of our\nresults. We clarify a number of differences with previous work.",
        "positive": "Who changes the string coupling ?: In general bosonic closed string backgrounds the ghost-dilaton is not the\nonly state in the semi-relative BRST cohomology that can change the\ndimensionless string coupling. This fact is used to establish complete dilaton\ntheorems in closed string field theory. The ghost-dilaton, however, is the\ncrucial state: for backgrounds where it becomes BRST trivial we prove that the\nstring coupling becomes an unobservable parameter of the string action. For\nbackgrounds where the matter CFT includes free uncompactified bosons we\nintroduce a refined BRST problem by including the zero-modes \"x\" of the bosons\nas legal operators on the complex. We argue that string field theory can be\ndefined on this enlarged complex and that its BRST cohomology captures\naccurately the notion of a string background. In this complex the ghost-dilaton\nappears to be the only BRST-physical state changing the string coupling."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Modular interpolating functions for N=4 SYM: We construct interpolating functions fully compatible with S-duality. We then\nconsider the problem of resumming perturbative expansions for anomalous\ndimensions of low twist non-protected operators in N=4 super Yang-Mills theory.\nWhen the rank of the gauge group is small, the interpolations suggest that\nanomalous dimensions of leading twist operators take their maximum value at the\npoint $\\tau =\\exp(i\\pi/3)$. For fixed spin and large enough rank, there is a\nlevel-crossing region, where the anomalous dimension of the leading twist\noperator reaches its maximum and then bounces back.",
        "positive": "Late time Wilson lines: In the AdS$_3$/CFT$_2$ correspondence, physical interest attaches to\nunderstanding Virasoro conformal blocks at large central charge and in a\nkinematical regime of large Lorentzian time separation, $t\\sim c$. However,\nalmost no analytical information about this regime is presently available. By\nemploying the Wilson line representation we derive new results on conformal\nblocks at late times, effectively resumming all dependence on $t/c$. This is\nachieved in the context of \"light-light\" blocks, as opposed to the richer, but\nmuch less tractable, \"heavy-light\" blocks. The results exhibit an initial\ndecay, followed by erratic behavior and recurrences. We also connect this\nresult to gravitational contributions to anomalous dimensions of double trace\noperators by using the Lorentzian inversion formula to extract the latter.\nInverting the stress tensor block provides a pedagogical example of inversion\nformula machinery."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Transition Amplitude in 2+1 dimensional Chern-Simons Gravity on a Torus: The discussions on the modular invariance in section 5 are refined.",
        "positive": "Thermofield Double States in Group Field Theory: Group field theories are higher-rank generalizations of matrix/tensor models,\nand encode the simplicial geometries of quantum gravity. In this paper, we\nstudy the thermofield double states in group field theories. The starting point\nis the equilibrium Gibbs states in group field theory recently found by Kotecha\nand Oriti, based on which we construct the thermofield double state as a\n\"thermal\" vacuum respecting the Kubo-Martin-Schwinger condition. We work with\nthe Weyl $C^*$-algebra of group fields, and a particular type of thermofield\ndouble states with single type of symmetry are obtained from the squeezed\nstates on this Weyl algebra. The thermofield double states, when viewed as\nstates on the group field theory Fock vacuum, are condensate states at finite\nflow parameter $\\beta$. We suggest that the equilibrium flow parameters $\\beta$\nof this type of thermofield double states in the group field theory condensate\npictures of black hole horizon and quantum cosmology are related to the inverse\ntemperatures in gravitational thermodynamics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "$R^2\\log R$ quantum corrections and the inflationary observables: We study a model of inflation with terms quadratic and logarithmic in the\nRicci scalar, where the gravitational action is $f(R)=R+\\alpha R^2+\\beta R^2\n\\ln R$. These terms are expected to arise from one loop corrections involving\nmatter fields in curved space-time. The spectral index $n_s$ and the tensor to\nscalar ratio yield $10^{-4}\\lesssim r\\lesssim0.03$ and $0.94\\lesssim n_s\n\\lesssim 0.99$. i.e. $r$ is an order of magnitude bigger or smaller than the\noriginal Starobinsky model which predicted $r\\sim 10^{-3}$. Further enhancement\nof $r$ gives a scale invariant $n_s\\sim 1$ or higher. Other inflationary\nobservables are $d n_s/d\\ln k \\gtrsim -5.2 \\times 10^{-4},\\, \\mu \\lesssim 2.1\n\\times 10^{-8} ,\\, y \\lesssim 2.6 \\times 10^{-9}$. Despite the enhancement in\n$r$, if the recent BICEP2 measurement stands, this model is disfavoured.",
        "positive": "An Action for the Infrared Regime of Gauge Theories and the Problem of\n  Color Transformations: It has been known for a while that there is spontaneous breaking of Lorentz\nsymmetry in the nonzero charged sectors of quantum electrodynamics due to the\ninfrared problem of soft photons. More recently, it has also been suggested\nthat similar results hold for color transformations in a nonabelian gauge\ntheory. Here we show that an action where a diffeomorphism has been carried out\nfor the part describing hard gauge particles and matter fields can be used to\nanalyze these issues. In addition to rederiving old results in this formalism,\nwe also show that color transformations cannot be unitarily implemented on\nperturbative gluon states if gluon fields of arbitrarily low energy are\nallowed. Implications for confinement and mass gap are briefly commented upon."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supereigenvalue Models and Topological Recursion: We show that the Eynard-Orantin topological recursion, in conjunction with\nsimple auxiliary equations, can be used to calculate all correlation functions\nof supereigenvalue models.",
        "positive": "Renormalized Poincar\u00e9 algebra for effective particles in quantum field\n  theory: Using an expansion in powers of an infinitesimally small coupling constant\n$g$, all generators of the Poincar\\'e group in local scalar quantum field\ntheory with interaction term $g \\phi^3$ are expressed in terms of annihilation\nand creation operators $a_\\lambda$ and $a^\\dagger_\\lambda$ that result from a\nboost-invariant renormalization group procedure for effective particles. The\ngroup parameter $\\lambda$ is equal to the momentum-space width of form factors\nthat appear in vertices of the effective-particle Hamiltonians, $H_\\lambda$. It\nis verified for terms order 1, $g$, and $g^2$, that the calculated generators\nsatisfy required commutation relations for arbitrary values of $\\lambda$.\nOne-particle eigenstates of $H_\\lambda$ are shown to properly transform under\nall Poincar\\'e transformations. The transformations are obtained by\nexponentiating the calculated algebra. From a phenomenological point of view,\nthis study is a prerequisite to construction of observables such as spin and\nangular momentum of hadrons in quantum chromodynamics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Magnon Bound-state Scattering in Gauge and String Theory: It has been shown that, in the infinite length limit, the magnons of the\ngauge theory spin chain can form bound states carrying one finite and one\nstrictly infinite R-charge. These bound states have been argued to be\nassociated to simple poles of the multi-particle scattering matrix and to world\nsheet solitons carrying the same charges. Classically, they can be mapped to\nthe solitons of the complex sine-Gordon theory.\n  Under relatively general assumptions we derive the condition that simple\npoles of the two-particle scattering matrix correspond to physical bound states\nand construct higher bound states ``one magnon at a time''. We construct the\nscattering matrix of the bound states of the BDS and the AFS S-matrices. The\nbound state S-matrix exhibits simple and double poles and thus its analytic\nstructure is much richer than that of the elementary magnon S-matrix. We also\ndiscuss the bound states appearing in larger sectors and their S-matrices. The\nlarge 't Hooft coupling limit of the scattering phase of the bound states in\nthe SU(2) sector is found to agree with the semiclassical scattering of world\nsheet solitons. Intriguingly, the contribution of the dressing phase has an\nindependent world sheet interpretation as the soliton-antisoliton scattering\nphase shift. The small momentum limit provides independent tests of these\nidentifications.",
        "positive": "Operator algebra of the SL(2) conformal field theories: Structure constants of Operator Algebras for the SL(2) degenerate conformal\nfield theories are calculated."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The SAGEX Review on Scattering Amplitudes, Chapter 1: Modern\n  Fundamentals of Amplitudes: This chapter introduces the foundational elements of scattering amplitudes.\nIt is meant to be accessible to readers with only a basic understanding of\nquantum field theory. Topics covered include: the four-dimensional\nspinor-helicity formalism and the colour decomposition of Yang-Mills scattering\namplitudes; the study of soft and collinear limits of Yang-Mills and gravity\namplitudes; the BCFW recursion relation and generalised unitarity, also in the\nsuperamplitudes formalism of $\\mathcal{N}{=}4$ supersymmetric Yang-Mills; an\noverview of standard and hidden symmetries of the $S$-matrix of\n$\\mathcal{N}{=}4$ supersymmetric Yang-Mills, such as the conformal, dual\nconformal and Yangian symmetries; and a brief excursus on form factors of\nprotected and non-protected operators in Yang-Mills theory. Several examples\nand explicit calculations are also provided.",
        "positive": "One-parameter family of additive energies and momenta in 1+1 dimensional\n  STR: The velocity dependence of energy and momentum is studied. It is shown that\nin the case of STR in the space-time of only one spatial dimension the standard\nenergy and momentum definition can be naturally modified without lost of local\nLorenz invariance, conservation rules and additivity for multiparticle system.\nOne parameter family of energies and momenta is constructed and it is shown\nthat within natural conditions there is no further freedom. Choosing proper\nfamily parameter one can obtain energy and momentum increasing with velocity\nfaster or slower in comparison with the standard case, but almost coinciding\nwith them in the wide velocity region."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Matrix Model for QCD: Gribov's observation that global gauge fixing is impossible has led to\nsuggestions that there may be a deep connection between gauge-fixing and\nconfinement. We find an unexpected relation between the topological\nnon-triviality of the gauge bundle and coloured states in $SU(N)$ Yang-Mills\ntheory, and show that such states are necessarily impure. We approximate QCD by\na rectangular matrix model that captures the essential topological features of\nthe gauge bundle, and demonstrate the impure nature of coloured states\nexplicitly. Our matrix model also allows the inclusion of the QCD\n$\\theta$-term, as well as to perform explicit computations of low-lying\nglueball masses. This mass spectrum is gapped.\n  Since an impure state cannot evolve to a pure one by a unitary\ntransformation, our result shows that the solution to the confinement problem\nin pure QCD is fundamentally quantum information-theoretic.",
        "positive": "Giant Gravitons from Holomorphic Surfaces: We introduce a class of supersymmetric cycles in spacetimes of the form AdS\ntimes a sphere or $T^{1,1}$ which can be considered as generalizations of the\ngiant gravitons. Branes wrapped on these cycles preserve $1\\over 2$, $1\\over 4$\nor $1\\over 8$ of the supersymmetry. On the CFT side these configurations\ncorrespond to superpositions of the large number of BPS states."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Consistent Equations for Massive Spin-2 Field Coupled to Gravity in\n  String Theory: We investigate the problem of derivation of consistent equations of motion\nfor the massive spin 2 field interacting with gravity within both field theory\nand string theory. In field theory we derive the most general classical action\nwith non-minimal couplings in arbitrary spacetime dimension, find the most\ngeneral gravitational background on which this action describes a consistent\ntheory and generalize the analysis for the coupling with background scalar\ndilaton field. We show also that massive spin 2 field allows in principle\nconsistent description in arbitrary background if one builds its action in the\nform of an infinite series in the inverse mass square. Using sigma-model\ndescription of string theory in background fields we obtain in the lowest order\nin $\\alpha'$ the explicit form of effective equations of motion for the massive\nspin 2 field interacting with gravity from the requirement of quantum Weyl\ninvariance and demonstrate that they coincide with the general form of\nconsistent equations derived in field theory.",
        "positive": "On Decomposing N=2 Line Bundles as Tensor Products of N=1 Line Bundles: We obtain the existence of a cohomological obstruction to expressing N=2 line\nbundles as tensor products of N=1 bundles. The motivation behind this paper is\nan attempt at understanding the N=2 super KP equation via Baker functions,\nwhich are special sections of line bundles on supercurves."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Confining Properties of the Homogeneous Self-Dual Field and the\n  Effective Potential in SU(2) Yang-Mills Theory: We examine in non-Abelian gauge theory the heavy quark limit in the presence\nof the (anti-)self-dual homogeneous background field and see that a confining\npotential emerges, consistent with the Wilson criterion, although the potential\nis quadratic and not linear in the quark separation. This builds upon the\nwell-known feature that propagators in such a background field are entire\nfunctions. The way in which deconfinement can occur at finite temperature is\nthen studied in the static temporal gauge by calculation of the effective\npotential at high temperature. Finally we discuss the problems to be surmounted\nin setting up the calculation of the effective potential nonperturbatively on\nthe lattice.",
        "positive": "Dimensional reduction as a method to obtain dual theories for massive\n  spin two in arbitray dimensions: Using the parent Lagrangian method together with a dimensional reduction from\n$D$ to $(D-1)$ dimensions we construct dual theories for massive spin two\nfields in arbitrary dimensions in terms of a mixed symmetry tensor\n$T_{A[A_{1}A_{2}... A_{D-2}]}$. Our starting point is the well studied massless\nparent action in dimension $D$. The resulting massive Stueckelberg-like parent\nactions in $(D-1)$ dimensions inherits all the gauge symmetries of the original\nmassless action and can be gauge fixed in two alternative ways, yielding the\npossibility of having either a parent action with a symmetric or a\nnon-symmetric Fierz-Pauli field $e_{AB}$. Even though the dual sector in terms\nof the standard spin two field includes only the symmetrical part $e_{\\{AB\\}}$\nin both cases, these two possibilities yield different results in terms of the\nalternative dual field $T_{A[A_{1}A_{2}... A_{D-2}]}$. In particular, the\nnon-symmetric case reproduces the Freund-Curtright action as the dual to the\nmassive spin two field action in four dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "All gaugings and stable de Sitter in D=7 half-maximal supergravity: We study the general formulation of gauged supergravity in seven dimensions\nwith sixteen supercharges keeping duality covariance by means of the embedding\ntensor formalism. We first classify all inequivalent duality orbits of\nconsistent deformations. Secondly, we analyse the complete set of critical\npoints in a systematic way. Interestingly, we find the first examples of stable\nde Sitter solutions within a theory with such a large amount of supersymmetry.",
        "positive": "A Picture of D-branes at Strong Coupling: We use a phase space description to (re)derive a first order form of the\nBorn-Infeld action for D-branes. This derivation also makes it possible to\nconsider the limit where the tension of the D-brane goes to zero. We find that\nin this limit, which can be considered to be the strong coupling limit of the\nfundamental string theory, the world-volume of the D-brane generically splits\ninto a collection of tensile strings."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Real or Imaginary? (On pair creation in de Sitter space): Using properly defined Feynman propagator we obtain non--zero imaginary\ncontribution to the scalar field effective action in even dimensional de Sitter\nspace. Such a propagator follows from the path integral in de Sitter space and\nobeys composition principle proposed in arXiv:0709.2899. The obtained\nexpression for the effective action shows particle production with the\nGibbons--Hawking rate.",
        "positive": "Dual Actions for Born-Infeld and Dp-Brane Theories: Dual actions with respect to U(1) gauge fields for Born-Infeld and $Dp$-brane\ntheories are reexamined. Taking into account an additional condition, i.e. a\ncorollary to the field equation of the auxiliary metric, one obtains an\nalternative dual action that does not involve the infinite power series in the\nauxiliary metric given by ref. \\cite{s14}, but just picks out the first term\nfrom the series formally. New effective interactions of the theories are\nrevealed. That is, the new dual action gives rise to an effective interaction\nin terms of one interaction term rather than infinite terms of different\n(higher) orders of interactions physically. However, the price paid for\neliminating the infinite power series is that the new action is not quadratic\nbut highly nonlinear in the Hodge dual of a $(p-1)$-form field strength. This\nnon-linearity is inevitable to the requirement the two dual actions are\nequivalent."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gravity in the 3+1-Split Formalism II: Self-Duality and the Emergence of\n  the Gravitational Chern-Simons in the Boundary: We study self-duality in the context of the 3+1-split formalism of gravity\nwith non-zero cosmological constant. Lorentzian self-dual configurations are\nconformally flat spacetimes and have boundary data determined by classical\nsolutions of the three-dimensional gravitational Chern-Simons. For Euclidean\nself-dual configurations, the relationship between their boundary initial\npositions and initial velocity is also determined by the three-dimensional\ngravitational Chern-Simons. Our results imply that bulk self-dual\nconfigurations are holographically described by the gravitational Chern-Simons\ntheory which can either viewed as a boundary generating functional or as a\nboundary effective action.",
        "positive": "Integrable sigma models and perturbed coset models: Sigma models arise frequently in particle physics and condensed-matter\nphysics as low-energy effective theories. In this paper I compute the exact\nfree energy at any temperature in two hierarchies of integrable sigma models in\ntwo dimensions. These theories, the SU(N)/SO(N) and O(2P)/O(P) x O(P) models,\nare asymptotically free and exhibit charge fractionalization. When the\ninstanton coupling theta=pi, they flow to the SU(N)_1 and O(2P)_1 conformal\nfield theories, respectively. I also generalize the free energy computation to\nmassive and massless perturbations of the coset conformal field theories\nSU(N)_k/SO(N)_{2k} and O(2P)_k/O(P)_k x O(P)_k."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Layer Phase in the Non-isotropic SU(3) Gauge Model at Finite\n  Temperature: The phase structure of a non-isotropic non-Abelian SU(3) lattice gauge model\nat finite temperature is investigated to the third order in the\nvariational-cumulant expansion (VCE) approach. The layer phase exists in this\nmodel in the cases of dimensions D=4, D=5 (d=D-1).",
        "positive": "Boulware-Deser ghost in extended quasidilaton massive gravity: In the extended quasidilaton massive gravity we perform a nonlinear\ntransformation of the shift vector and then calculate the second derivatives of\nthe Hamiltonian density with respect to the lapse function and the (nonlinearly\ntransformed) shift vector. It is then shown that the $4\\times 4$ Hessian matrix\nis invertible, meaning that the equations of motion for the lapse function and\nthe shift vector simply determine themselves. Therefore, there is no primary\nconstraint that removes the Boulware-Deser ghost."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quasilocalized gravity without asymptotic flatness: We present a toy model of a generic five-dimensional warped geometry in which\nthe 4D graviton is not fully localized on the brane. Studying the tensor sector\nof metric perturbation around this background, we find that its contribution to\nthe effective gravitational potential is of 4D type (1/r) at the intermediate\nscales and that at the large scales it becomes 1/r^{1+alpha}, 0<alpha=< 1 being\na function of the parameters of the model (alpha=1 corresponds to the\nasymptotically flat geometry). Large-distance behavior of the potential is\ntherefore not necessarily five-dimensional. Our analysis applies also to the\ncase of quasilocalized massless particles other than graviton.",
        "positive": "Gauged Floreanini-Jackiw type chiral boson and its BRST quantization: The gauged model of Siegel type chiral boson is considered. It has been shown\nthat the action of gauged model of Floreanini-Jackiw (FJ) type chiral boson is\ncontained in it in an interesting manner. A BRST invariant action corresponding\nto the action of gauged FJ type chiral boson has been formulated using Batalin,\nFradkin and Vilkovisky based improved Fujiwara, Igarishi and Kubo (FIK)\nformalism. An alternative quantization of the gauge symmetric action has been\nmade with a Lorentz gauge and an attempt has been made to establish the\nequivalence between the gauge symmetric version of the extended phase space and\noriginal gauge non-invariant version of the usual phase space."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Wick rotation and the positivity of energy in quantum field theory: We propose a new axiom system for unitary quantum field theories on curved\nspace-time backgrounds, by postulating that the partition function and the\ncorrelators extend analytically to a certain domain of complex-valued metrics.\nOrdinary Riemannian metrics are contained in the allowable domain, while\nLorentzian metrics lie on its boundary.",
        "positive": "Quantum Field Theories Coupled to Supergravity: AdS/CFT and Local\n  Couplings: This article is based on my PhD thesis and covers the following topics:\nHolographic meson spectra in a dilaton flow background, the mixed Coulomb-Higgs\nbranch in terms of instantons on D7 branes, and a dual description of\nheavy-light mesons. Moreover, in a second part the conformal anomaly of four\ndimensional supersymmetric quantum field theories coupled to classical N=1\nsupergravity is explored in a superfield formulation. The complete basis for\nthe anomaly and consistency conditions, which arise from cohomological\nconsiderations, are given. Possible implications for an extension of\nZamolodchikov's c-theorem to four dimensional supersymmetric quantum field\ntheories are discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Renormalization Group Approach to Scalar Theory: Effective potential for scalar $\\lambda\\phi^4$ theory is obtained using the\nexact renormalization group method which includes both the usual one-loop\ncontribution as well as the dominant higher loop effects. Our numerical\ncalculation indicates a breakdown of naive one-loop result for sufficiently\nlarge renormalized coupling constant.",
        "positive": "Nonperturbative calculation of the anomalous magnetic moment in the\n  Yukawa model within truncated Fock space: Within the covariant formulation of light-front dynamics, we calculate the\nstate vector of a physical fermion in the Yukawa model. The state vector is\ndecomposed in Fock sectors and we consider the first three ones: the single\nconstituent fermion, the constituent fermion coupled to one scalar boson, and\nthe constituent fermion coupled to two scalar bosons. This last three-body\nsector generates nontrivial and nonperturbative contributions to the state\nvector, which are calculated numerically. Field-theoretical divergences are\nregularized using Pauli-Villars fermion and boson fields. Physical observables\ncan be unambiguously deduced using a systematic renormalization scheme we have\ndeveloped previously. As a first application, we consider the anomalous\nmagnetic moment of the physical fermion."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "EFT Beyond the Horizon: Stochastic Inflation and How Primordial Quantum\n  Fluctuations Go Classical: We identify the effective theory describing inflationary super-Hubble scales\nand show it to be a special case of effective field theories appropriate to\nopen systems. Open systems allow information to be exchanged between the\ndegrees of freedom of interest and those that are integrated out, such as for\nparticles moving through a fluid. Strictly speaking they cannot in general be\ndescribed by an effective lagrangian; rather the appropriate `low-energy' limit\nis instead a Lindblad equation describing the evolution of the density matrix\nof the slow degrees of freedom. We derive the equation relevant to super-Hubble\nmodes of quantum fields in near-de Sitter spacetimes and derive two\nimplications. We show the evolution of the diagonal density-matrix elements\nquickly approaches the Fokker-Planck equation of Starobinsky's stochastic\ninflationary picture. This provides an alternative first-principles derivation\nof this picture's stochastic noise and drift, as well as its leading\ncorrections. (An application computes the noise for systems with a sub-luminal\nsound speed.) We argue that the presence of interactions drives the\noff-diagonal density-matrix elements to zero in the field basis. This shows why\nthe field basis is the `pointer basis' for the decoherence of primordial\nquantum fluctuations while they are outside the horizon, thus allowing them to\nre-enter as classical fluctuations, as assumed when analyzing CMB data. The\ndecoherence process is efficient, occurring after several Hubble times even for\ninteractions as weak as gravitational-strength. Crucially, the details of the\ninteractions largely control only the decoherence time and not the nature of\nthe final late-time stochastic state, much as interactions can control the\nequilibration time for thermal systems but are largely irrelevant to the\nproperties of the resulting equilibrium state.",
        "positive": "N=2 supersymmetric dynamics for pedestrians: We give a pedagogical introduction to the dynamics of N=2 supersymmetric\nsystems in four dimensions. The topic ranges from the Lagrangian and the\nSeiberg-Witten solutions of SU(2) gauge theories to Argyres-Douglas CFTs and\nGaiotto dualities.\n  This is a write-up of the author's lectures at Tohoku University, Nagoya\nUniversity and Rikkyo University. Comments will be appreciated."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauge dependence of vacuum expectation values of gauge invariant\n  operators from soft breaking of BRST symmetry. Example of Gribov-Zwanziger\n  action: We review the study of influence of the so-called soft BRST symmetry breaking\nwithin the Batalin-Vilkovisky (BV) formalism introduced in our papers [JHEP\n1110 (2011) 043, arXiv:1108.4820 [hep-th], MPLA 27 (2012) 1250067,\narXiv:1201.4720 [hep-th]] on gauge dependence of the effective action and\nvacuum expectation values of gauge invariant operators. We derive the Ward\nidentities for generating functionals of Green's functions for a given theory\nwith soft BRST symmetry breaking term being added to the quantum action and\ninvestigate theirs gauge dependence. It is strongly argued that gauge theories\nwith a soft breaking of BRST symmetry are inconsistent within the BV formalism\nbecause of the gauge-dependence of $S$-matrix. The application to the\nGribov-Zwanziger action (enlarging SU(N) Yang-Mills gauge theory by means of\nnot gauge-invariant horizon function) for the one-parameter family of $R_\\xi$\ngauges with use of the new form of the Hermitian augmented Faddeev-Popov\noperator (being by Faddeev-Popov operator for transverse components of\nYang--Mills fields) is considered.",
        "positive": "The Universality of Penrose Limits near Space-Time Singularities: We prove that Penrose limits of metrics with arbitrary singularities of\npower-law type show a universal leading u^{-2}-behaviour near the singularity\nprovided that the dominant energy condition is satisfied and not saturated. For\ngeneric power-law singularities of this type the oscillator frequencies of the\nresulting homogeneous singular plane wave turn out to lie in a range which is\nknown to allow for an analytic extension of string modes through the\nsingularity. The discussion is phrased in terms of the recently obtained\ncovariant characterisation of the Penrose limit; the relation with null\ngeodesic deviation is explained in detail."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Boundary conditions at spatial infinity for fields in Casimir\n  calculations: The importance of imposing proper boundary conditions for fields at spatial\ninfinity in the Casimir calculations is elucidated.",
        "positive": "Weyl semimetal/insulator transition from holography: We study a holographic model which exhibits a quantum phase transition from\nthe strongly interacting Weyl semimetal phase to an insulating phase. In the\nholographic insulating phase there is a hard gap in the real part of frequency\ndependent diagonal conductivities. However, the anomalous Hall conductivity is\nnonzero at zero frequency, indicting that it is a Chern insulator. This\nholographic quantum phase transition is always of first order, signified by a\ndiscontinuous anomalous Hall conductivity at the phase transition, in contrast\nto the very continuous holographic Weyl semimetal/trivial semimetal phase\ntransition. Our work reveals the novel phase structure of strongly interacting\nWeyl semimetal."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "N=2 Supersymmetric RG Flows and the IIB Dilaton: We show that there is a non-trivial relationship between the dilaton of IIB\nsupergravity, and the coset of scalar fields in five-dimensional, gauged N=8\nsupergravity. This has important consequences for the running of the gauge\ncoupling in massive perturbations of the AdS/CFT correspondence. We conjecture\nan exact analytic expression for the ten-dimensional dilaton in terms of\nfive-dimensional quantities, and we test this conjecture. Specifically, we\nconstruct a family of solutions to IIB supergravity that preserve half of the\nsupersymmetries, and are lifts of supersymmetric flows in five-dimensional,\ngauged N=8 supergravity. Via the AdS/CFT correspondence these flows correspond\nto softly broken N=4, large N Yang-Mills theory on part of the Coulomb branch\nof N=2 supersymmetric Yang-Mills. Our solutions involve non-trivial backgrounds\nfor all the tensor gauge fields as well as for the dilaton and axion.",
        "positive": "Non-BPS Branes of Supersymmetric Brane Worlds: We consider five-dimensional brane worlds with N=2 gauged supergravity in the\nbulk coupled supersymmetrically to two boundary branes at the fixed points of a\nZ_2 symmetry. We analyse two mechanisms that break supersymmetry either by\nchoosing flipped fermionic boundary conditions on the boundary branes or by\nmodifying the gravitino variation to include both Z_2-odd and Z_2-even\noperators. In all cases we find the corresponding background. Including an even\npart in the gravitino variation leads to tilted branes. Choosing the flipped\nboundary conditions leads to AdS_4 branes and stabilized radion in the detuned\ncase, when the expectation value of the even variation is nonzero. Another\nsolution has the interpretation of moving AdS_4 branes separated by a horizon.\nThe solution with moving branes separated by a horizon can be extended to the\ntuned case. In the presence of a horizon, temperature mediation communicates\nsupersymmetry breakdown to the branes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Black Rings in U(1)^3 Supergravity and their dual 2d CFT: We study the near horizon geometry of black ring solutions in\nfive-dimensional U(1)^3 supergravity with three electric dipole charges and one\nangular momentum. We consider the extremal vanishing horizon (EVH) limit of\nthese solutions and show that the near horizon geometries develop locally AdS_3\nthroats which at the near-EVH near horizon limit the AdS_3 factor turns to a\nBTZ black hole. By analysing the first law of thermodynamics for black rings we\nshow that at EVH limit it reduces to the first law of thermodynamics for BTZ\nblack holes. Using the AdS3/CFT2 duality, we propose a dual CFT to describe the\nnear-horizon low energy dynamics of near-EVH black rings. We also discuss the\nconnection between our CFT proposal and the Kerr/CFT correspondence in the\ncases where these two overlap.",
        "positive": "Anomalies and Symmetry Fractionalization: We study ordinary, zero-form symmetry $G$ and its anomalies in a system with\na one-form symmetry $\\Gamma$. In a theory with one-form symmetry, the action of\n$G$ on charged line operators is not completely determined, and additional\ndata, a fractionalization class, needs to be specified. Distinct choices of a\nfractionalization class can result in different values for the anomalies of $G$\nif the theory has an anomaly involving $\\Gamma$. Therefore, the computation of\nthe 't Hooft anomaly for an ordinary symmetry $G$ generally requires first\ndiscovering the one-form symmetry $\\Gamma$ of the physical system. We show that\nthe multiple values of the anomaly for $G$ can be realized by twisted gauge\ntransformations, since twisted gauge transformations shift fractionalization\nclasses. We illustrate these ideas in QCD theories in diverse dimensions. We\nsuccessfully match the anomalies of time-reversal symmetries in $2+1d$ gauge\ntheories, across the different fractionalization classes, with previous\nconjectures for the infrared phases of such strongly coupled theories, and also\nprovide new checks of these proposals. We perform consistency checks of recent\nproposals about two-dimensional adjoint QCD and present new results about the\nanomaly of the axial $\\mathbb{Z}_{2N}$ symmetry in $3+1d$ ${\\cal N}=1$\nsuper-Yang-Mills. Finally, we study fractionalization classes that lead to\n2-group symmetry, both in QCD-like theories, and in $2+1d$ $\\mathbb{Z}_2$ gauge\ntheory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Numerical solution of gravitational dynamics in asymptotically anti-de\n  Sitter spacetimes: A variety of gravitational dynamics problems in asymptotically anti-de Sitter\n(AdS) spacetime are amenable to efficient numerical solution using a common\napproach involving a null slicing of spacetime based on infalling geodesics,\nconvenient exploitation of the residual diffeomorphism freedom, and use of\nspectral methods for discretizing and solving the resulting differential\nequations. Relevant issues and choices leading to this approach are discussed\nin detail. Three examples, motivated by applications to non-equilibrium\ndynamics in strongly coupled gauge theories, are discussed as instructive test\ncases. These are gravitational descriptions of homogeneous isotropization,\ncollisions of planar shocks, and turbulent fluid flows in two spatial\ndimensions.",
        "positive": "Gaudin Model, Bethe Ansatz and Critical Level: We propose a new method of diagonalization of hamiltonians of the Gaudin\nmodel associated to an arbitrary simple Lie algebra, which is based on Wakimoto\nmodules over affine algebras at the critical level. We construct eigenvectors\nof these hamiltonians by restricting certain invariant functionals on tensor\nproducts of Wakimoto modules. In conformal field theory language, the\neigenvectors are given by certain bosonic correlation functions. Analogues of\nBethe ansatz equations naturally appear as Kac-Kazhdan type equations on the\nexistence of certain singular vectors in Wakimoto modules. We use this\nconstruction to expalain a connection between Gaudin's model and correlation\nfunctions of WZNW models."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Perturbations in Bouncing Cosmological Models: I describe the features and general properties of bouncing models and the\nevolution of cosmological perturbations on such backgrounds. I will outline\npossible observational consequences of the existence of a bounce in the\nprimordial Universe and I will make a comparison of these models with standard\nlong inflationary scenarios.",
        "positive": "Cosmological Decoherence from Thermal Gravitons: We study the effects of gravitationally-driven decoherence on tunneling\nprocesses associated with false vacuum decays, such as the Coleman--De~Luccia\ninstanton. We compute the thermal graviton-induced decoherence rate for a wave\nfunction describing a perfect fluid of nonzero energy density in a finite\nregion. When the effective cosmological constant is positive, the thermal\ngraviton background sourced by a de Sitter horizon provides an unavoidable\ndecoherence effect, which may have important consequences for tunneling\nprocesses in cosmological history. We discuss generalizations and consequences\nof this effect and comment on its observability and applications to black hole\nphysics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Continuum Limit of Spin-1 Chain (the only change is added references): We study the continuum limit of the spin-1 chain in the non-Abelian\nbosonization approach of Affleck and show that the Hamiltonian of integrable\nspin-1 chain yields the Lagrangian of supersymmetric sine-Gordon model in the\nzero lattice spacing limit. We also show that the quantum group generators of\nthe spin-1 chain give non-local charges of the supersymmetric sine-Gordon\ntheory.",
        "positive": "AdS (In)stability: Lessons From The Scalar Field: We argued in arXiv:1408.0624 that the quartic scalar field in AdS has\nfeatures that could be instructive for answering the gravitational stability\nquestion of AdS. Indeed, the conserved charges identified there have recently\nbeen observed in the full gravity theory as well. In this paper, we continue\nour investigation of the scalar field in AdS and provide evidence that in the\nTwo-Time Formalism (TTF), even for initial conditions that are far from\nquasi-periodicity, the energy in the higher modes at late times is\nexponentially suppressed in the mode number. Based on this and some related\nobservations, we argue that there is no thermalization in the scalar TTF model\nwithin time-scales that go as $\\sim 1/\\epsilon^2$, where $\\epsilon$ measures\nthe initial amplitude (with only low-lying modes excited). It is tempting to\nspeculate that the result holds also for AdS collapse."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum corrections to the mass and central charge of solitons in 1+1\n  dimensions: We first discuss how the longstanding confusion in the literature concerning\none-loop quantum corrections to 1+1 dimensional solitons has finally been\nresolved. Then we use 't Hooft and Veltman's dimensional regularization to\ncompute the kink mass, and find that chiral domain wall fermions, induced by\nfermionic zero modes, lead to spontaneous parity violation and an anomalous\ncontribution to the central charge such that the BPS bound becomes saturated.\nOn the other hand, Siegel's dimensional reduction shifts this anomaly to the\ncounter terms in the renormalized current multiplet. The superconformal anomaly\nis located in an evanescent counter term, and imposing supersymmetry, this\ncounter term induces the same anomalous contribution to the central charge.\nNext we discuss a new regularization scheme: local mode regularization. The\nlocal energy density computed in this scheme satisfies the BPS equality (it is\nequal to the local central charge density). In an appendix we give a very\ndetailed account of the DHN method to compute soliton masses applied to the\nsupersymmetric kink.",
        "positive": "Scattering on the Moduli Space of N=4 Super Yang-Mills: We calculate one-loop scattering amplitudes in N=4 super Yang-Mills theory\naway from the origin of the moduli space and demonstrate that the results are\nextremely simple, in much the same way as in the conformally invariant theory.\nSpecifically, we consider the model where an SU(2) gauge group is spontaneously\nbroken down to U(1). The complete component Lagrange density of the model is\ngiven in a form useful for perturbative calculations. We argue that the\nscattering amplitudes with massive external states deserve further study.\nFinally, our work shows that loop corrections can be readily computed in a\nmass-regulated N=4 theory, which may be relevant in trying to connect\nweak-coupling results with those at strong coupling, as discussed recently by\nAlday and Maldacena."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Relativistic Hydrodynamics under Rotation: Prospects & Limitations from\n  a Holographic Perspective: The AdS/CFT correspondence, or holography, has provided numerous important\ninsights into the behavior of strongly-coupled many-body systems. Crucially, it\nhas provided a testing ground for the construction of new effective field\ntheories, especially those in the low frequency, long wavelength limit known as\nhydrodynamics. In this article we continue the study of strongly-coupled\nrotating fluids using holography and hydrodynamics. We provide an overview of\nrecent developments arising from the study of simply spinning Myers-Perry black\nholes. We review techniques to obtain hydrodynamic and non-hydrodynamic modes,\ndescribe how branch point singularities in the complex frequency and momentum\nspace limit the radius of convergence of the hydrodynamic gradient expansion,\nand outline the relation of pole-skipping in the linear response functions to\nearly time chaotic behavior.",
        "positive": "Mini-Instantons in SU(2) Gauge Theory: The effects of instantons close to the cut-off is studied in four dimensional\nSU(2) gauge theory with higher order derivative terms in the action. It is\nfound in the framework of the dilute instanton gas approximation that the\nconvergence of the topological observables requires non-universal beta\nfunction."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Entanglement entropy of excited states in conformal perturbation theory\n  and the Einstein equation: For a conformal field theory (CFT) deformed by a relevant operator, the\nentanglement entropy of a ball-shaped region may be computed as a perturbative\nexpansion in the coupling. A similar perturbative expansion exists for excited\nstates near the vacuum. Using these expansions, this work investigates the\nbehavior of excited state entanglement entropies of small, ball-shaped regions.\nThe motivation for these calculations is Jacobson's recent work on the\nequivalence of the Einstein equation and the hypothesis of maximal vacuum\nentropy [arXiv:1505.04753], which relies on a conjecture stating that the\nbehavior of these entropies is sufficiently similar to a CFT. In addition to\nthe expected type of terms which scale with the ball radius as $R^d$, the\nentanglement entropy calculation gives rise to terms scaling as $R^{2\\Delta}$,\nwhere $\\Delta$ is the dimension of the deforming operator. When\n$\\Delta\\leq\\frac{d}{2}$, the latter terms dominate the former, and suggest that\na modification to the conjecture is needed.",
        "positive": "$~N=2$~ Superstring Theory Generates Supersymmetric Chern-Simons\n  Theories: Abstrct: We show that the action of self-dual supersymmetric Yang-Mills\ntheory in four-dimensions, which describes the consistent massless background\nfields for $~N=2$~ superstring, generates the actions for $~N=1$~ and $~N=2$~\nsupersymmetric non-Abelian Chern-Simons theories in three-dimensions after\nappropriate dimensional reductions. Since the latters play important roles for\nsupersymmetric integrable models, this result indicates the fundamental\nsignificance of the $~N=2$~ superstring theory controlling (possibly all)\nsupersymmetric integrable models in lower-dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Two-Sheeted Universe, Analyticity and the Arrow of Time: Our universe seems to be radiation dominated at early times, and vacuum\nenergy dominated at late times. When we consider the maximal analytic extension\nof this spacetime, its symmetries and complex analytic properties suggest a\npicture in which spacetime has two sheets, exchanged by an isometry which, in\nturn, picks a preferred (CPT-symmetric) vacuum state for quantum fields on the\nspacetime. Previously (arXiv:1803.08928, arXiv:1803.08930), we showed how this\nline of thought provides new explanations for dark matter, the\nmatter-antimatter asymmetry, the absence of primordial vector and tensor\nperturbations, and the {\\it phase} of the primordial scalar perturbations; and\nadditional testable predictions. In this paper, we develop this picture in\nseveral respects and, in particular, point out that it also provides a new\nexplanation for why the thermodynamic arrow of time points away from the bang.",
        "positive": "General String Cosmologies at Order $\u03b1'{}^{\\,3}$: We compute the cosmological reduction of general string theories, including\nbosonic, heterotic and type II string theory to order $\\alpha'^{3}$, i.e., with\nup to eight derivatives. To this end we refine recently introduced methods that\nallow one to bring the reduced theory in one dimension to a canonical form with\nonly first-order time derivatives. The resulting theories are compatible with a\ncontinuous $O(d,d,\\mathbb{R})$ invariance, which in turn fixes the B-field\ncouplings."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The decoupling limit of Multi-Gravity: Multi-Galileons, Dualities and\n  More: In this paper we investigate the decoupling limit of a particular class of\nmulti-gravity theories, i.e. of theories of interacting spin-2 fields. We\nexplicitly compute the interactions of helicity-0 modes in this limit, showing\nthat they take on the form of multi-Galileons and dual forms. In the process we\nextend the recently discovered Galileon dualities, deriving a set of new\nmulti-Galileon dualities. These are also intrinsically connected to healthy,\nbut higher-derivative, multi-scalar field theories akin to `beyond Horndeski'\nmodels.",
        "positive": "Thermofield Quantum Electrodynamics in 1 + 1 Dimensions at Finite\n  Chemical Potential: A Bosonization Approach: The recent generalization of the Lowenstein-Swieca operator solution of\nQuantum Electrodynamics in 1+1 dimensions to finite temperature in Thermofield\nDynamics is further generalized to include a non-vanishing chemical potential.\nThe operator solution to the Euler-Lagrange equations respecting the\nKubo-Martin-Schwinger condition is constructed. Two forms of this condition and\ntheir associated solutions are discussed. The correlation functions of an\narbitrary number of chiral densities are computed in the thermal theta-vacuum."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Glueballs in the Klebanov-Strassler Theory: Pseudoscalars vs Scalars: We discuss the $0^{+-}$ singlet sector of glueballs in the Klebanov-Strassler\ntheory. We report the results of a numerical study of the linearized equations\nin the Klebanov-Strasller background and make a comparison with the spectrum of\nthe scalar sector. While for four towers of the total six towers of massive\npseudoscalar states our results match the spectrum of the corresponding towers\nof scalars, the values for the remaining two towers diverge with those of the\nscalars. We discuss possible interpretations of this divergence.",
        "positive": "Chiral Gravitational Waves and Baryon Superfluid Dark Matter: We develop a unified model of darkgenesis and baryogenesis involving strongly\ninteracting dark quarks, utilizing the gravitational anomaly of chiral gauge\ntheories. In these models, both the visible and dark baryon asymmetries are\ngenerated by the gravitational anomaly induced by the presence of chiral\nprimordial gravitational waves. We provide a concrete model of an SU(2) gauge\ntheory with two massless quarks. In this model, the dark quarks condense and\nform a dark baryon charge superfluid (DBS), in which the Higgs-mode acts as\ncold dark matter. We elucidate the essential features of this dark matter\nscenario and discuss its phenomenological prospects."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Expanding and contracting universes in third quantized string cosmology: We discuss the possibility of quantum transitions from the string\nperturbative vacuum to cosmological configurations characterized by isotropic\ncontraction and decreasing dilaton. When the dilaton potential preserves the\nsign of the Hubble factor throughout the evolution, such transitions can be\nrepresented as an anti-tunnelling of the Wheeler--De Witt wave function in\nminisuperspace or, in a third-quantization language, as the production of pairs\nof universes out of the vacuum.",
        "positive": "Boundary Terms in Generalized Geometry and doubled field theory: We propose a boundary action to complement the recently developed duality\nmanifest actions in string and M-theory using generalized geometry. This\nboundary action combines the Gibbons-Hawking term with boundary pieces that\nwere previously neglected in the construction of these actions. The combination\nmay be written in terms of the metric of generalized geometry. The result is to\nproduce an action that is duality invariant including boundary terms."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Comments on Mesonic Correlators in the Worldline Formalism: We elaborate on how to incorporate mesonic correlators into the worldline\nformalism. We consider possible applications to QCD-like theories in various\ndimensions. We focus on large-N_c two dimensional QCD (the 't Hooft model) and\nrelate it to a single harmonic oscillator. We also discuss the dependence of\nthe Peskin S-parameter on the number of massless flavors and their\nrepresentation and compare our expression to the corresponding expression\nobtained at weak coupling. Finally, we use the worldline formalism to discuss\nhow the Veneziano limit of QCD is realized in holography in the limit of small\nN_f/N_c.",
        "positive": "Approaching the BFKL pomeron via integrable classical solutions: We identify classical string solutions which directly give the classical part\nof the strong coupling pomeron intercept. The relevant solution is a close\ncousin of the GKP folded string, which is not surprising given the known\nrelation with twist-2 operators. Our methods are applicable, however, also for\nnonzero conformal spin where we do not have a clear link with anomalous\ndimensions of a concrete class of operators. We analyze the BFKL folded string\nfrom the algebraic curve perspective and investigate its possible particle\ncontent."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Covariant Action for the Super-Five-Brane of M-Theory: We propose a complete, d=6 covariant and kappa-symmetric, action for an\nM-theory five-brane propagating in D=11 supergravity background.",
        "positive": "Correlation function with the insertion of zero modes of modular\n  Hamiltonians: Zero modes of modular Hamiltonian of one interval are found in momentum space\nfor two dimensional massless free scalar theory. Finite correlators are\nextracted from separate region connected correlation functions with the\ninsertion of zero modes. Correlators of $(n,1)$-type are claimed to be\nconformal block up to a set of theory dependent constants. We fix the\ncorrelators of $(2,1)$-type with the coefficients of three point function in 2d\nCFTs."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetry Breaking and Composite Extra Dimensions: We study supergravity models in four dimensions where the hidden sector is\nsuperconformal and strongly-coupled over several decades of energy below the\nPlanck scale, before undergoing spontaneous breakdown of scale invariance and\nsupersymmetry. We show that large anomalous dimensions can suppress Kahler\ncontact terms between the hidden and visible sectors, leading to models in\nwhich the hidden sector is \"sequestered\" and anomaly-mediated supersymmetry\nbreaking can naturally dominate, thus solving the supersymmetric flavor\nproblem. We construct simple, explicit models of the hidden sector based on\nsupersymmetric QCD in the conformal window. The present approach can be\nusefully interpreted as having an extra dimension responsible for sequestering\nreplaced by the many states of a (spontaneously-broken) strongly-coupled\nsuperconformal hidden sector, as dictated by the AdS/CFT correspondence.",
        "positive": "Holographic thermodynamics of rotating black holes: We provide mass/energy formulas for the extended thermodynamics, mixed\nthermodynamics, and holographic conformal field theory (CFT) thermodynamics for\nthe charged and rotating Kerr-Newman Anti-de Sitter black holes. Then for the\nCFT thermal states dual to the black hole, we find the first-order phase\ntransitions and criticality phenomena in the canonical ensemble with fixed\nangular momentum, volume, and central charge. We observe that the CFT states\ncannot be analogous to the Van der Waals fluids, despite the critical exponents\nfalling into the universality class predicted by the mean field theory.\nAdditionally, we examine the (de)confinement phase transitions within the grand\ncanonical ensemble with fixed angular velocity, volume, and central charge of\nthe CFT. Our findings suggest that the near zero temperature (de)confinement\nphase transitions can occur with the angular velocity of the CFT that solely\ndepends on the CFT volume."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Bound on Thermal Relativistic Correlators at Large Spacelike Momenta: We consider thermal Wightman correlators in a relativistic quantum field\ntheory in the limit where the spatial momenta of the insertions become large\nwhile their frequencies stay fixed. We show that, in this limit, the size of\nthese correlators is bounded by $e^{-\\beta R}$, where $R$ is the radius of the\nsmallest sphere that contains the polygon formed by the momenta. We show that\nperturbative quantum field theories can saturate this bound through suitably\nhigh-order loop diagrams. We also consider holographic theories in\n$d$-spacetime dimensions, where we show that the leading two-point function of\ngeneralized free-fields saturates the bound in $d = 2$ and is below the bound\nfor $d > 2$. We briefly discuss interactions in holographic theories and\nconclude with a discussion of several open problems.",
        "positive": "Spin foams, causal links and geometry-induced interactions: Current theories of particle physics, including the standard model, are\ndominated by the paradigm that nature is basically translation invariant.\nDeviations from translation invariance are described by the action of forces.\nGeneral relativity is based on a different paradigm: There is no translation\ninvariance in general. Interaction is a consequence of the geometry of\nspacetime, formed by the presence of matter, rather than of forces.\n  In recent years the formation of spacetime on a quantum mechanical level, has\nbeen intensively studied within the framework of spin foams, following an old\nidea from R. Penrose. In this connection it would be appropriate to reconsider\nthe meaning of those paradigms and attempt to apply the paradigm of general\nrelativity to particle physics.\n  A spin foam model with underlying SO(3,2) symmetry is well-suited for this\npurpose. It represents a purely geometric model in the sense of the second\nparadigm. By applying perturbative methods, starting from a translation\ninvariant first approximation, this model is reformulated in the sense of the\nfirst paradigm. It will be shown that the model then defines a spacetime\nmanifold equipped with a particle theory in the form of locally interacting\nquantized fields. This includes all four types of interaction: electromagnetic,\nweak, chromodynamics and gravitation together with realistic numerical values\nof the corresponding coupling constants."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chern-Simons Gauge Theory on Orbifolds: Open Strings from Three\n  Dimensions: Chern-Simons gauge theory is formulated on three dimensional $Z_2$ orbifolds.\nThe locus of singular points on a given orbifold is equivalent to a link of\nWilson lines. This allows one to reduce any correlation function on orbifolds\nto a sum of more complicated correlation functions in the simpler theory on\nmanifolds. Chern-Simons theory on manifolds is known to be related to 2D CFT on\nclosed string surfaces; here I show that the theory on orbifolds is related to\n2D CFT of unoriented closed and open string models, i.e. to worldsheet orbifold\nmodels. In particular, the boundary components of the worldsheet correspond to\nthe components of the singular locus in the 3D orbifold. This correspondence\nleads to a simple identification of the open string spectra, including their\nChan-Paton degeneration, in terms of fusing Wilson lines in the corresponding\nChern-Simons theory. The correspondence is studied in detail, and some exactly\nsolvable examples are presented. Some of these examples indicate that it is\nnatural to think of the orbifold group $Z_2$ as a part of the gauge group of\nthe Chern-Simons theory, thus generalizing the standard definition of gauge\ntheories.",
        "positive": "Topological Defect Lines in Two Dimensional Fermionic CFTs: We consider topological defect lines (TDLs) in two-dimensional fermionic\nconformal field theories (CFTs). Besides inheriting all the properties of TDLs\nin bosonic CFTs, TDLs in fermionic CFTs could host fermionic defect operators\nat their endpoints and junctions. Furthermore, there is a new type of TDLs,\ncalled q-type TDLs, that have no analog in bosonic CFTs. Their distinguishing\nfeature is an extra one-dimensional Majorana fermion living on the worldline of\nthe TDLs. The properties of TDLs in fermionic CFTs are captured in the\nmathematical language of the super fusion category. We propose a classification\nof the rank-2 super fusion categories generalizing the $\\mathbb Z_8$\nclassification for the anomalies of $\\mathbb Z_2$ symmetry. We explicitly solve\nthe F-moves for all the nontrivial categories, and derive the corresponding\nspin selection rules that constrain the spectrum of the defect operators. We\nfind the full set of TDLs in the standard fermionic minimal models and a\npartial set of TDLs in the two exceptional models, which give CFT realizations\nto the rank-2 super fusion categories. Finally, we discuss a constraint on the\nrenormalization group flow that preserves a q-type TDL."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Probing Five-Dimensional Black Holes with D-Branes: We consider a one-brane probe in the presence of a five-dimensional black\nhole in the classical limit. The velocity-dependent force on a slowly-moving\nprobe is characterized by a metric on the probe moduli space. This metric is\ncomputed for large black holes using low-energy supergravity, and for small\nblack holes using D-brane gauge theory. The results are compared.",
        "positive": "Microscopic wormholes and the geometry of entanglement: It has recently been suggested that Einstein-Rosen (ER) bridges can be\ninterpreted as maximally entangled states of two black holes that form a\ncomplex Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) pair. This relationship has been dubbed\nas the ER = EPR correlation. In this work, we consider the latter conjecture in\nthe context of quadratic Palatini theory. An important result, which stems from\nthe underlying assumptions about the geometry on which the theory is\nconstructed, is the fact that all the charged solutions of the quadratic\nPalatini theory possess a wormhole structure. Our results show that spacetime\nmay have a foam-like microstructure with wormholes generated by fluctuations of\nthe quantum vacuum. This involves the spontaneous creation/annihilation of\nentangled particle-antiparticle pairs, existing in a maximally entangled state\nconnected by a non-traversable wormhole. Since the particles are produced from\nthe vacuum and therefore exist in a singlet state, they are necessarily\nentangled with one another. This gives further support to the ER=EPR claim."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Schr\u00f6dinger Spacetimes with Screen and Reduced Entanglement: We study a particular class of type II string vacua which become\nSchr\\\"odinger like spacetime in the IR region but are conformally AdS in\nasymptotic UV region. These solutions are found to possess some unique\nproperties such as the presence of a spacetime `screen'. This Schr\\\"odinger\n(spacetime) screen is however very different from a black-hole horizon. It\nrequires the presence of finite chemical potential and a negative charge\ndensity in the Schr\\\"odinger CFT. We find that these vacua give rise to reduced\nentanglement entropy as compared to Lifshitz-AdS counterpart, perhaps due to\nthe screening effects.",
        "positive": "New modes from higher curvature corrections in holography: In gravitational theories involving higher curvature corrections the metric\ndescribes additional degrees of freedom beyond the graviton. Holographic\nduality maps these to operators in the dual CFT. We identify infinite families\nof theories for which these new modes cannot be truncated and the usual\nFefferman-Graham expansion needs to be modified. New massive gravity in three\ndimensions and critical gravity in four dimensions are particular\nrepresentatives of these families. We propose modified expansion, study the\nnear-boundary behaviour of the metric and derive fall-off properties of the\nadditional modes in theories involving higher derivative corrections."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "String creation in D6-brane background: The production of string charge during a crossing of certain oriented\nD-branes is studied. We compute the string charge in the system of a probe\nD2-brane and a background D6-brane by use of the equations of motion in the\nten-dimensions. We confirm the creation of string charge as inflow from the\nbackground D6-brane.",
        "positive": "Off-shell Amplitudes in Superstring Theory: Computing the renormalized masses and S-matrix elements in string theory,\ninvolving states whose masses are not protected from quantum corrections,\nrequires defining off-shell amplitude with certain factorization properties.\nWhile in the bosonic string theory one can in principle construct such an\namplitude from string field theory, there is no fully consistent field theory\nfor type II and heterotic string theory. In this paper we give a practical\nconstruction of off-shell amplitudes satisfying the desired factorization\nproperty using the formalism of picture changing operators. We describe a\nsystematic procedure for dealing with the spurious singularities of the\nintegration measure that we encounter in superstring perturbation theory. This\nprocedure is also useful for computing on-shell amplitudes, as we demonstrate\nby computing the effect of Fayet-Iliopoulos D-terms in four dimensional\nheterotic string theory compactifications using this formalism."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Determinantal Calabi-Yau varieties in Grassmannians and the Givental\n  $I$-functions: We examine a class of Calabi-Yau varieties of the determinantal type in\nGrassmannians and clarify what kind of examples can be constructed explicitly.\nWe also demonstrate how to compute their genus-0 Gromov-Witten invariants from\nthe analysis of the Givental $I$-functions. By constructing $I$-functions from\nthe supersymmetric localization formula for the two dimensional gauged linear\nsigma models, we describe an algorithm to evaluate the genus-0 A-model\ncorrelation functions appropriately. We also check that our results for the\nGromov-Witten invariants are consistent with previous results for known\nexamples included in our construction.",
        "positive": "One-loop effective action around de Sitter space: The non-local one-loop contribution to the gravitational effective action\naround de Sitter space is computed using the background field method with pure\ntrace external gravitational fields and it is shown to vanish. The calculation\nis performed in a generic covariant gauge and the result is verified to be\ngauge invariant."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Spacetimes and Finite N Effects in 4D Super Yang-Mills Theories: The truncation in the number of single-trace chiral primary operators of\n$\\N=4$ SYM and its conjectured connection with gravity on quantum spacetimes\nare elaborated. The model of quantum spacetime we use is $AdS^5_q \\times S^5_q$\nfor $q$ a root of unity. The quantum sphere is defined as a homogeneous space\nwith manifest $SU_q(3)$ symmetry, but as anticipated from the field theory\ncorrespondence, we show that there is a hidden $SO_q(6)$ symmetry in the\nconstrution. We also study some properties of quantum space quotients as\ncandidate models for the quantum spacetime relevant for some $Z_n$ quiver\nquotients of the $\\N=4$ theory which break SUSY to $\\N=2$. We find various\nqualitative agreements between the proposed models and the properties of the\ncorresponding finite $N$ gauge theories.",
        "positive": "On N=1 Mirror Symmetry for Open Type II Strings: We study the open string extension of the mirror map for N=1 supersymmetric\ntype II vacua with D-branes on non-compact Calabi-Yau manifolds. Its definition\nis given in terms of a system of differential equations that annihilate certain\nperiod and chain integrals. The solutions describe the flat coordinates on the\nN=1 parameter space, and the exact disc instanton corrected superpotential on\nthe D-brane world-volume. A gauged linear sigma model for the combined\nopen-closed string system is also given. It allows to use methods of toric\ngeometry to describe D-brane phase transitions and the N=1 K\\\"ahler cone.\nApplications to a variety of D-brane geometries are described in some detail."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Conformally Soft Photons and Gravitons: The four-dimensional $S$-matrix is reconsidered as a correlator on the\ncelestial sphere at null infinity. Asymptotic particle states can be\ncharacterized by the point at which they enter or exit the celestial sphere as\nwell as their $SL(2,\\mathbb C)$ Lorentz quantum numbers: namely their conformal\nscaling dimension and spin $h\\pm \\bar h$ instead of the energy and momentum.\nThis characterization precludes the notion of a soft particle whose energy is\ntaken to zero. We propose it should be replaced by the notion of a conformally\nsoft particle with $h=0$ or $\\bar h=0$. For photons we explicitly construct\nconformally soft $SL(2,\\mathbb C)$ currents with dimensions $(1,0)$ and\nidentify them with the generator of a $U(1)$ Kac-Moody symmetry on the\ncelestial sphere. For gravity the generator of celestial conformal symmetry is\nconstructed from a $(2,0)$ $SL(2,\\mathbb C)$ primary wavefunction.\nInterestingly, BMS supertranslations are generated by a spin-one weight\n$(\\frac{3}{2},\\frac{1}{2})$ operator, which nevertheless shares holomorphic\ncharacteristics of a conformally soft operator. This is because the right hand\nside of its OPE with a weight $(h,\\bar h)$ operator ${\\cal O}_{h,\\bar h}$\ninvolves the shifted operator ${\\cal O}_{h+\\frac{1}{2},\\bar h+ \\frac{1}{2}}$.\nThis OPE relation looks quite unusual from the celestial CFT$_2$ perspective\nbut is equivalent to the leading soft graviton theorem and may usefully\nconstrain celestial correlators in quantum gravity.",
        "positive": "Easy bootstrap for the 3D Ising model: As a simple lattice model that exhibits a phase transition, the Ising model\nplays a fundamental role in statistical and condensed matter physics. Its\ncontinuum limit also furnishes a basic example of interacting quantum field\ntheories and universality classes. Motivated by a recent bootstrap study of the\nquantum quartic oscillator, we revisit the conformal bootstrap approach to the\n3D Ising model at criticality. Surprisingly, the low-lying properties are\ndetermined to good accuracy by simple asymptotic formulae and a few\nnonperturbative crossing constraints. For instance, the two relevant scaling\ndimensions $(\\Delta_\\sigma,\\Delta_\\epsilon)\\approx (0.51810,1.4123)$ are close\nto the precise results from the bootstrap bounds."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetric BCS: Effects of an external magnetic field and spatial\n  fluctuations of the gap: Recently an N=1 supersymmetric model of BCS superconductivity was proposed\nrealizing spontaneous symmetry breaking of a U(1)_R symmetry. Due to scalar\ncontributions the superconducting phase transition turned out to be first order\nrather than second order as in standard BCS theory. Here we consider the\neffects of an external magnetic field and spatial fluctuations of the gap in\nthat model. This allows us to compute the magnetic penetration length and the\ncoherence length, and also to distinguish between type I and type II\nsuperconductors. We compare the supersymmetric and standard relativistic BCS\nresults, where the main differences come from the different orders of the phase\ntransition.",
        "positive": "Warped Wilson Line DBI Inflation: We propose a novel inflationary scenario in string theory in which the\ninflaton field is a 'Wilson line' degree of freedom in the worldvolume of a\nprobe Dp-brane, in a warped flux compactification. Kinetic terms for Wilson\nline fields on the world volume of a D-brane take a nonstandard\nDirac-Born-Infeld (DBI) form. Thus, we work in the framework of DBI inflation.\nThis extends the original slow roll Wilson line inflationary scenario, where\nonly the quadratic piece was considered. Warped DBI Wilson line inflation\noffers an attractive alternative to ordinary (position field) DBI inflation,\ninasmuch as observational and theoretical constraints get considerably relaxed.\nBesides the standard large non-Gaussianities in DBI scenarios, it is also\npossible to achieve an observable amount of gravitational waves."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Confinement/deconfinement transition in the D0-brane matrix model -- A\n  signature of M-theory?: We study the confinement/deconfinement transition in the D0-brane matrix\nmodel (often called the BFSS matrix model) and its one-parameter deformation\n(the BMN matrix model) numerically by lattice Monte Carlo simulations. Our\nresults confirm general expectations from the dual string/M-theory picture for\nstrong coupling. In particular, we observe the confined phase in the BFSS\nmatrix model, which is a nontrivial consequence of the M-theory picture. We\nsuggest that these models provide us with an ideal framework to study the\nSchwarzschild black hole, M-theory, and furthermore, the parameter region of\nthe phase transition between type IIA superstring theory and M-theory. A\ndetailed study of M-theory via lattice Monte Carlo simulations of the D0-brane\nmatrix model might be doable with much smaller computational resources than\npreviously expected.",
        "positive": "Closed Strings in Misner Space: Cosmological Production of Winding\n  Strings: Misner space, also known as the Lorentzian orbifold $R^{1,1}/boost$, is one\nof the simplest examples of a cosmological singularity in string theory. In\nthis work, the study of weakly coupled closed strings on this space is pursued\nin several directions: (i) physical states in the twisted sectors are found to\ncome in two kinds: short strings, which wind along the compact space-like\ndirection in the cosmological (Milne) regions, and long strings, which wind\nalong the compact time-like direction in the (Rindler) whiskers. The latter can\nbe viewed as infinitely long static open strings, stretching from Rindler\ninfinity to a finite radius and folding back onto themselves. (ii) As in the\nSchwinger effect, tunneling between these states corresponds to local pair\nproduction of winding strings. The tunneling rate approaches unity as the\nwinding number $w$ gets large, as a consequence of the singular geometry. (iii)\nThe one-loop string amplitude has singularities on the moduli space, associated\nto periodic closed string trajectories in Euclidean time. In the untwisted\nsector, they can be traced to the combined existence of CTCs and Regge\ntrajectories in the spectrum. In the twisted sectors, they indicate pair\nproduction of winding strings. (iv) At a classical level and in sufficiently\nlow dimension, the condensation of winding strings can indeed lead to a bounce,\nalthough the required initial conditions are not compatible with Misner\ngeometry at early times. (v) The semi-classical analysis of winding string pair\ncreation can be generalized to more general (off-shell) geometries. We show\nthat a regular geometry regularizes the divergence at large winding number."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Charged Particles in a 2+1 Curved Background: The coupling to a 2+1 background geometry of a quantized charged test\nparticle in a strong magnetic field is analyzed. Canonical operators adapting\nto the fast and slow freedoms produce a natural expansion in the inverse square\nroot of the magnetic field strength. The fast freedom is solved to the second\norder.\n  At any given time, space is parameterized by a couple of conjugate operators\nand effectively behaves as the `phase space' of the slow freedom. The slow\nHamiltonian depends on the magnetic field norm, its covariant derivatives, the\nscalar curvature and presents a peculiar coupling with the spin-connection.",
        "positive": "Gravity duals of N=2 SCFTs and asymptotic emergence of the electrostatic\n  description: We built the first eleven-dimensional supergravity solutions with\nSO(2,4)xSO(3)xU(1)_R symmetry that exhibit the asymptotic emergence of an extra\nU(1) isometry. This enables us to make the connection with the usual\nelectrostatics-quiver description. The solution is obtained via the Toda frame\nof Kahler surfaces with vanishing scalar curvature and SU(2) action."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "More on Screening and Confinement in 2D QCD: We provide further evidence for the screening behavior of massless SU(N_c)\nbosonized QCD by (i) computing the potential between external quarks, (ii)\nbosonizing also the external sources and analyzing the states of the combined\nsystem and (iii) using an expansion in N_f- the number of flavors. We write\ndown novel \"non-abelian Schwinger like\" solutions of the equations of motion,\ncompute their masses and argue that an exchange of massive modes of this type\nis associated with the screening mechanism. Confinement for massive dynamical\nfermions is shown using (ii) and (iii). We show the screening behavior of the\nN=1 super Yang Mills theory, by applying a point splitting method to the scalar\ncurrent.",
        "positive": "Symmetric energy-momentum tensor in Maxwell, Yang-Mills, and Proca\n  theories obtained using only Noether's theorem: The symmetric and gauge-invariant energy-momentum tensors for source-free\nMaxwell and Yang-Mills theories are obtained by means of translations in\nspacetime via a systematic implementation of Noether's theorem. For the\nsource-free neutral Proca field, the same procedure yields also the symmetric\nenergy-momentum tensor. In all cases, the key point to get the right\nexpressions for the energy-momentum tensors is the appropriate handling of\ntheir equations of motion and the Bianchi identities. It must be stressed that\nthese results are obtained without using Belinfante's symmetrization techniques\nwhich are usually employed to this end."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum dispersion relations for the $AdS_4 \\times CP^3$ GKP string: We compute the one-loop correction to the dispersion relations of the\nexcitations of the $AdS_4 \\times CP^3$ sigma model dual to ABJM theory,\nexpanded around the cusp background. The results parallel those of N = 4 SYM.\nAs in that case, the dispersion relations are compatible with the predictions\nfrom the Bethe ansatz for the GKP string, though showing some known\ndiscrepancies on which we comment.",
        "positive": "On the complex structure of Yang-Mills theory: We consider the coupled set of spectral Dyson-Schwinger equations in\nYang-Mills theory for ghost and gluon propagators, which gives us access to the\nghost and gluon spectral functions. The set-up is used for a systematic\nanalytic evaluation of the constraints on generalised spectral representations\nin Yang-Mills theory that are most relevant for informed spectral\nreconstructions. We also provide numerical results for the coupled set of\nspectral functions for a large range of potential mass gaps of the gluon, and\ndiscuss the limitations and extensions of the present work."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Anharmonic Waves in Field Theory: This work starts from the premise that sinusoidal plane waves cease to be\nsolutions of field theories when turning on an interaction. A nonlinear\ninteraction term generates harmonics analogous to those observed in nonlinear\noptical media. This calls for a generalization to anharmonic waves in both\nclassical and quantum field theory. Three simple requirements make anharmonic\nwaves compatible with relativistic field theory and quantum physics. Some\nnon-essential concepts have to be abandoned, such as orthogonality, the\nsuperposition principle, and the existence of single-particle energy\neigenstates. The most general class of anharmonic waves allows for a zero\nfrequency term in the Fourier series, which corresponds to a quantum field with\na non-zero vacuum expectation value. Anharmonic quantum fields are defined by\ngeneralizing the expansion of a field operator into creation and annihilation\noperators. This method provides a framework for handling exact quantum fields,\nwhich define exact single particle states.",
        "positive": "Exact string solutions and duality: We review known exact classical solutions in (bosonic) string theory. The\nmain classes of solutions are `cosets' (gauged WZW models), `plane wave'-type\nbackgrounds (admitting a covariantly constant null Killing vector) and\n`$F$-models' (backgrounds with two null Killing vectors generalising the\n`fundamental string' solution). The recently constructed $D=4$ solutions with\nMinkowski signature are given explicitly. We consider various relations between\nthese solutions and, in particular, discuss some aspects of the duality\nsymmetry. [To appear in the Proceedings of the 2nd Journe'e Cosmologie,\nObservatoire de Paris, June 2-4, 1994.]"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "BRST Invariant Theory Of A Generalized 1+1 Dimensional Nonlinear Sigma\n  Model With Topological Term: We give a generalized Lagrangian density of 1+1 Dimensional O(3) nonlinear\nsigma model with subsidiary constraints, different Lagrange multiplier fields\nand topological term, find a lost intrinsic constraint condition, convert the\nsubsidiary constraints into inner constraints in the nonlinear sigma model,\ngive the example of not introducing the lost constraint, by comparing the\nexample with the case of introducing the lost constraint, we obtain that when\nnot introducing the lost constraint, one has to obtain a lot of various\nnon-intrinsic constraints. We further deduce the gauge generator, give general\nBRST transformation of the model under the general conditions. It is discovered\nthat there exists a gauge parameter originating from the freedom degree of BRST\ntransformation in a general O(3) nonlinear sigma model, and we gain the general\ncommutation relations of ghost field.",
        "positive": "Comparing models for a unitary black hole S-matrix: This paper compares features, challenges, and puzzles of different models for\na unitary black hole S-matrix, focussing on both recent nonisometric models, as\nwell as \"nonviolent unitarization,\" which is based on new quantum interactions\nof a black hole. As a foundation for comparison, the description of real-time\nHawking evolution is first overviewed, including leading effects of\ngravitational dressing and backreaction. Connection is then made to qubit\nmodels for evolution, and some technology is outlined to facilitate their\ndescription. Important features of both nonisometric models and nonviolent\nunitarization are investigated in qubit models, which illustrate essential\ndifferences between the respective approaches. The nonisometric models present\npuzzles for understanding evolution of internal outgoing excitations, which can\nbe excited by interactions such as particle decay. Qubit models for nonviolent\nunitarization are further developed, and nicely illustrate aspects of that\napproach. Some remaining questions in generalizing to more complete models for\nevolution are discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The QCD theta-parameter in canonical quantization: The role of the QCD theta-parameter is investigated in pure Yang-Mills theory\nin the spacetime given by the four-dimensional Euclidean torus. While in this\nsetting the introduction of possibly unphysical boundary conditions is avoided,\nit must be specified how the sum over the topological sectors is to be carried\nout. To connect with observables in real time, we perceive the partition\nfunction as the trace over the canonical density matrix. The system then\ncorresponds to one of a finite temperature on a spatial three-torus. Carrying\nout the trace operation requires canonical quantization and gauge fixing.\nFixing the gauge and demanding that the Hermiticity of the Hamiltonian is\nmaintained leads to a restriction of the Hilbert space of physical wave\nfunctionals that generalizes the constraints derived from imposing Gauss' law.\nConsequently, we find that the states in the Hilbert space are properly\nnormalizable under an inner product that integrates over each physical\nconfiguration represented by the gauge potential one time and one time only.\nThe observables derived from the constrained Hilbert space do not violate\ncharge-parity symmetry. We note that an exact hidden symmetry of the theory\nthat is present for arbitrary values of theta in the Hamiltonian is effectively\npromoted to parity conservation in this constrained space. These results,\nderived on a torus in order to avoid the introduction of boundary conditions,\nalso carry over to Minkowski spacetime when taking account of all possible\ngauge transformations.",
        "positive": "Ward Identity for Membranes: Ward identities in the case of scattering of antisymmetric three form RR\ngauge fields off a D2-brane target has been studied in type-IIA theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "T-Duality and Time development of a (2+1)-Dimensional String Universe: The time development of a model of (2+1)-dimensional torus universe is\nstudied based on background field equations which follow from a string theory.\nThe metrics in various cases are characterized by a real parameter which\nspecifies a ratio of the lengths of two independent cycles. When the parameter\nis a rational number, the space is asymptotically stretched along a cycle while\nthe other cycle kept finite. When the parameter is an irrational number, the\nlengths of two cycles, as well as the space volume (area), grow in proportion\nto the proper time $t$ for an observer sitting at rest in this universe in the\nasymptotic region.",
        "positive": "Asymptotic structure of Carrollian limits of Einstein-Yang-Mills theory\n  in four spacetime dimensions: In this paper, three things are done. First, we study from an algebraic point\nof view the infinite-dimensional BMS-like extensions of the Carroll algebra\nrelevant to the asymptotic structure of the electric and magnetic Carrollian\nlimits of Einstein gravity. In the course of this study we exhibit by\n\"Carroll-Galileo duality\" a new infinite-dimensional BMS-like extension of the\nGalilean algebra and of its centrally extended Bargmann algebra. Second, we\nconsider the electric Carrollian limit of the pure Einstein theory and indicate\nthat more flexible boundary conditions than the ones that follow from just\ntaking the limit of the Einsteinian boundary conditions are actually\nconsistent. These boundary conditions lead to a bigger asymptotic symmetry\nalgebra that involves spatial supertranslations depending on three functions of\nthe angles (instead of one). Third, we turn to the Carrollian limit of the\ncoupled Einstein-Yang-Mills system. An infinite-dimensional color enhancement\nof the gauge algebra is found in the electric Carrollian limit of the\nYang-Mills field, which allows angle-dependent Yang-Mills transformations at\nspatial infinity, not available in the Einstein-Yang-Mills case prior to taking\nthe Carrollian electric limit. This enhancement does not occur in the magnetic\nlimit."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Type IIA embeddings of $D=5$ minimal gauged supergravity via Non-Abelian\n  T-duality: In this note, we construct explicit Type IIA uplifts of $D=5$ minimal gauged\nsupergravity, by T-dualising known Type IIB uplifts on $N_5 = S^5$, $T^{1,1}$\nand $Y^{p,q}$ along their $SU(2)$ isometries. When the $D=5$ gauge field is set\nto zero, our uplifts recover precisely the known non-Abelian T-duals of the\n$AdS_5\\times N_5$ solutions. As an application, we obtain new supersymmetric\n$AdS_3\\times\\Sigma\\times M_5$ solutions in Type IIA, where $\\Sigma =\n\\mathbb{WCP}^1_{[n_-,n_+]}$ is a weighted projective space. Existing\nholographic results of T-dualised AdS solutions suggest that our solutions\ncapture features of $d = 2$ SCFTs with $\\mathcal{N}=(0, 2)$ supersymmetry.",
        "positive": "Nambu-Sigma model and effective membrane actions: We propose an effective action for a p'-brane with open p-branes ending on\nit. The action has dual descriptions similar to the commutative and\nnon-commutative ones of the DBI action for D-branes and open strings. The\nPoisson structure governing the non-commutativity of the D-brane is replaced by\na Nambu structure and the open-closed string relations are generalized to the\ncase of p'-branes utilizing a novel Nambu sigma model description of p-branes.\nIn the case of an M5-brane our action interpolates between M5-actions already\nproposed in the literature and matrix model like actions involving Nambu\nstructures."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Feynman rules for higher-spin gauge fields on AdS$_{d+1}$: We determine the Feynman rules for the minimal type A higher-spin gauge\ntheory on AdS$_{d+1}$ at cubic order. In particular, we establish the quantum\naction at cubic order in de Donder gauge, including ghosts. We also give the\nfull de Donder gauge propagators of higher-spin gauge fields and their ghosts.\nThis provides all ingredients needed to quantise the theory at cubic order.",
        "positive": "The statistical mechanics of near-extremal black holes: An important open question in black hole thermodynamics is about the\nexistence of a \"mass gap\" between an extremal black hole and the lightest\nnear-extremal state within a sector of fixed charge. In this paper, we reliably\ncompute the partition function of Reissner-Nordstr\\\"{o}m near-extremal black\nholes at temperature scales comparable to the conjectured gap. We find that the\ndensity of states at fixed charge does not exhibit a gap; rather, at the\nexpected gap energy scale, we see a continuum of states. We compute the\npartition function in the canonical and grand canonical ensembles, keeping\ntrack of all the fields appearing through a dimensional reduction on $S^2$ in\nthe near-horizon region. Our calculation shows that the relevant degrees of\nfreedom at low temperatures are those of $2d$ Jackiw-Teitelboim gravity coupled\nto the electromagnetic $U(1)$ gauge field and to an $SO(3)$ gauge field\ngenerated by the dimensional reduction."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Viscosity Bound Violation in Higher Derivative Gravity: Motivated by the vast string landscape, we consider the shear viscosity to\nentropy density ratio in conformal field theories dual to Einstein gravity with\ncurvature square corrections. After field redefinitions these theories reduce\nto Gauss-Bonnet gravity, which has special properties that allow us to compute\nthe shear viscosity nonperturbatively in the Gauss-Bonnet coupling. By tuning\nof the coupling, the value of the shear viscosity to entropy density ratio can\nbe adjusted to any positive value from infinity down to zero, thus violating\nthe conjectured viscosity bound. At linear order in the coupling, we also check\nconsistency of four different methods to calculate the shear viscosity, and we\nfind that all of them agree. We search for possible pathologies associated with\nthis class of theories violating the viscosity bound.",
        "positive": "Generalized Born-Infeld-like models for kinks and branes: In this work we deal with a non-canonical scalar field in the two-dimensional\nspacetime. We search for a generalized model that is twin of the standard\nmodel, supporting the same defect structure with the same energy density. We\nalso study the stability of the defect solution under small fluctuations, which\nis governed by a Sturm-Liouville equation, and show how to make it stable. The\nmodel is then modified and used in the five-dimensional spacetime to construct\na thick brane that engenders the first order framework and preserves the\ntwinlike behavior, under tensorial fluctuations of the metric in its\ngravitational sector."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Novel higher-curvature variations of $R^2$ inflation: We put forward novel extensions of Starobinsky inflation, involving a class\nof 'geometric' higher-curvature corrections that yield second-order\nFriedmann-Lema\\^itre equations and second-order-in-time linearized equations\naround cosmological backgrounds. We determine the range of models within this\nclass that admit an extended phase of slow roll inflation as an attractor. By\nembedding these theories in anti-de Sitter space, we derive holographic\n'unitarity' bounds on the two dominant higher-order curvature corrections.\nFinally we compute the leading corrections to the spectral properties of scalar\nand tensor primordial perturbations, including the modified consistency\nrelation $r=-8n_{T}$. Remarkably, the range of models singled out by holography\nnearly coincides with the current observational bounds on the scalar spectral\ntilt. Our results indicate that future observations have the potential to\ndiscriminate between different higher-curvature corrections considered here.",
        "positive": "On generalized Macdonald polynomials: Generalized Macdonald polynomials (GMP) are eigenfunctions of\nspecifically-deformed Ruijsenaars Hamiltonians and are built as triangular\npolylinear combinations of Macdonald polynomials. They are orthogonal with\nrespect to a modified scalar product, which could be constructed with the help\nof an increasingly important triangular perturbation theory, showing up in a\nvariety of applications. A peculiar feature of GMP is that denominators in this\nexpansion are fully factorized, which is a consequence of a hidden symmetry\nresulting from the special choice of the Hamiltonian deformation. We introduce\nalso a simplified but deformed version of GMP, which we call generalized Schur\nfunctions. Our basic examples are bilinear in Macdonald polynomials."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A microscopic description of absorption in high-energy string-brane\n  collisions: We study the collision of a highly energetic light closed string off a stack\nof Dp-branes at (sub)string-scale impact parameters and in a regime justifying\na perturbative treatment. Unlike at larger impact parameters - where elastic\nscattering and/or tidal excitations dominate - here absorption of the closed\nstring by the brane system, with the associated excitation of open strings\nliving on it, becomes important. As a first step, we study this phenomenon at\nthe disk level, in which the energetic closed string turns into a single heavy\nopen string at rest whose particularly simple properties are described.",
        "positive": "Two-loop Integrability of Planar N=6 Superconformal Chern-Simons Theory: Bethe ansatz equations have been proposed for the asymptotic spectral problem\nof AdS_4/CFT_3. This proposal assumes integrability, but the previous\nverification of weak-coupling integrability covered only the su(4) sector of\nthe ABJM gauge theory. Here we derive the complete planar two-loop dilatation\ngenerator of N=6 superconformal Chern-Simons theory from osp(6|4)\nsuperconformal symmetry. For the osp(4|2) sector, we prove integrability\nthrough a Yangian construction. We argue that integrability extends to the full\nplanar two-loop dilatation generator, confirming the applicability of the Bethe\nequations at weak coupling. Further confirmation follows from an analytic\ncomputation of the two-loop twist-one spectrum."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Conformal a-charge, correlation functions and conical defects: In this note we demonstrate that, as we conjectured earlier in [1], the\na-charge in the conformal anomaly in dimension $d=2n$ manifests in a $n$-point\ncorrelation function of energy momentum tensor of a CFT considered in flat\nspacetime with a conical defect. We consider in detail dimensions $d=2,\\, 4,\\,\n6$ and give a general formula for arbitrary $n$.",
        "positive": "Kink Crystal: We describe a one-dimensional kink crystal, which represents a collection of\nequal and equally localized kinks forming a lattice in the real axis. The\nresults are analytical, original and may motivate other studies on localized\nstructures in high energy physics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Note on Quiver Quantum Toroidal Algebra: Recently, Li and Yamazaki proposed a new class of infinite-dimensional\nalgebras, quiver Yangian, which generalizes the affine Yangian\n$\\mathfrak{gl}_{1}$. The characteristic feature of the algebra is the action on\nBPS states for non-compact toric Calabi-Yau threefolds, which are in one-to-one\ncorrespondence with the crystal melting models. These algebras can be\nbootstrapped from the action on the crystals and have various truncations.\n  In this paper, we propose a $q$-deformed version of the quiver Yangian,\nreferred to as the quiver quantum toroidal algebra (QQTA). We examine some of\nthe consistency conditions of the algebra. In particular, we show that QQTA is\na Hopf superalgebra with a formal super coproduct, like known quantum toroidal\nalgebras. QQTA contains an extra central charge $C$. When it is trivial\n($C=1$), QQTA has a representation acting on the three-dimensional crystals,\nlike Li-Yamazaki's quiver Yangian. While we focus on the toric Calabi-Yau\nthreefolds without compact 4-cycles, our analysis can likely be generalized to\nall toric Calabi-Yau threefolds.",
        "positive": "N=1 supersymmetric sigma model with boundaries, II: We consider the N=1 supersymmetric two-dimensional non-linear sigma model\nwith boundaries and nonzero B-field. By analysing the appropriate currents we\ndescribe the full set of boundary conditions compatible with N=1 superconformal\nsymmetry. Using this result the problem of finding a correct action is\ndiscussed. We interpret the supersymmetric boundary conditions as a maximal\nintegral submanifold of the target space manifold, and speculate about a new\ngeometrical structure, the deformation of an almost product structure."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On generalizations of Verlinde's formula: It is shown that traces of mapping classes of finite order may be expressed\nby Verlinde-like formulae. The 3D topological argument is explained, and the\nresulting trace identities for modular matrix elements are presented.",
        "positive": "No-birefringence conditions for spacetime: Within the axiomatic premetric approach to classical electrodynamics, we\nderive under which covariant conditions the quartic Fresnel surface represents\na unique light cone without birefringence in vacuum."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Tropical Mirror: We describe the tropical curves in toric varieties and define the tropical\nGromov-Witten invariants. We introduce amplitudes for the higher topological\nquantum mechanics (HTQM) on special trees and show that the amplitudes are\nequal to the tropical Gromov-Witten invariants. We show that the sum over the\namplitudes in A-model HTQM equals to the total amplitude in B-model HTQM,\ndefined as a deformation of the A-model HTQM by the mirror superpotential. We\nderive the mirror superpotentials for the toric varieties and showed that they\ncoincide with the superpotentials in the mirror Landau-Ginzburg theory. We\nconstruct the mirror dual states to the evaluation observables in the tropical\nGromov-Witten theory.",
        "positive": "Consistent Anti-de Sitter-Space/Conformal-Field-Theory Dual for a\n  Time-Dependent Finite Temperature System: We propose a consistent setup for the holographic dual of the strongly\ncoupled large-Nc N=4 super Yang-Mills theory plasma which undergoes the Bjorken\nflow relevant to the quark-gluon plasma at BNL Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider\nand CERN LHC. The dual geometry is constructed order by order in a well-defined\nlate-time expansion. The transport coefficients are determined by the\nregularity of the geometry. We prove, for the first time, that the dual\ngeometry has an apparent horizon hence an event horizon, which covers a\nsingularity at the origin. Further we prove that the dual geometry is regular\nto all orders in the late-time expansion under an appropriate choice of the\ntransport coefficients. This choice is also shown to be unique. Our model\nserves as a concrete well-defined example of a time-dependent AdS/CFT dual."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The beat of a fuzzy drum: fuzzy Bessel functions for the disc: The fuzzy disc is a matrix approximation of the functions on a disc which\npreserves rotational symmetry. In this paper we introduce a basis for the\nalgebra of functions on the fuzzy disc in terms of the eigenfunctions of a\nproperly defined fuzzy Laplacian. In the commutative limit they tend to the\neigenfunctions of the ordinary Laplacian on the disc, i.e. Bessel functions of\nthe first kind, thus deserving the name of fuzzy Bessel functions.",
        "positive": "(N,p,q) Harmonic Superspace: A family of harmonic superspaces associated with four-dimensional spacetime\nis described. Some applications to supersymmetric field theories, including\nsupergravity, are given."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A proposal for the non-Abelian tensor multiplet: If one compactifies the Abelian $(1,0)$ tensor multiplet on a circle, one\nfinds 5d SYM for the zero modes. For the Kaluza-Klein modes one can likewise\nfind a Lagrangian description in 5d \\cite{Bonetti:2012st}. Since in 5d we have\nan ordinary YM gauge potential, one may look for a non-Abelian generalization\nand indeed such a non-Abelian generalization was found in\n\\cite{Bonetti:2012st}. In this paper, we study this non-Abelian generalization\nfor the $(1,0)$ tensor multiplet in detail. We obtain the supersymmetry\nvariations that we close on-shell. This way we get the fermionic equation of\nmotion and a modified selfduality constraint.",
        "positive": "Towards a categorification of scattering amplitudes: Categorification of scattering amplitudes for planar Feynman diagrams in\nscalar field theories with a polynomial potential is reported. Amplitudes for\ncubic theories are directly written down in terms of projectives of hearts of\nintermediate $t$-structures restricted to the cluster category of quiver\nrepresentations, without recourse to geometry. It is shown that for theories\nwith $\\phi^{m+2}$ potentials those corresponding to $m$-cluster categories are\nto be used. The case of generic polynomial potentials is treated and our\nresults suggest the existence of a generalization of higher cluster categories\nwhich we call pseudo-periodic categories. An algorithm to obtain the\nprojectives of hearts of intermediate $t$-structures for these types is\npresented."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Infinitely many conservation laws in self-dual Yang--Mills theory: Using a nonlocal field transformation for the gauge field known as\nCho--Faddeev--Niemi--Shabanov decomposition as well as ideas taken from\ngeneralized integrability, we derive a new family of infinitely many conserved\ncurrents in the self-dual sector of SU(2) Yang-Mills theory. These currents may\nbe related to the area preserving diffeomorphisms on the reduced target space.\nThe calculations are performed in a completely covariant manner and, therefore,\ncan be applied to the self-dual equations in any space-time dimension with\narbitrary signature.",
        "positive": "On non-abelian low energy effective action for D-branes: Connection between the partition function for the 2D sigma model with\nboundary pertubations and the low energy effective action for massless fields\nfrom in the open string theory is discussed. In the non-abelian case with a\nstack of $N$ D-branes, the terms up to the order of $\\alpha'^3$ are found"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Subsystem Complexity and Holography: We study circuit complexity for spatial regions in holographic field\ntheories. We study analogues based on the entanglement wedge of the bulk\nquantities appearing in the \"complexity = volume\" and \"complexity = action\"\nconjectures. We calculate these quantities for one exterior region of an\neternal static neutral or charged black hole in general dimensions, dual to a\nthermal state on one boundary with or without chemical potential respectively,\nas well as for a shock wave geometry. We then define several analogues of\ncircuit complexity for mixed states, and use tensor networks to gain intuition\nabout them. We find a promising qualitative match between the holographic\naction and what we call the purification complexity, the minimum number of\ngates required to prepare an arbitrary purification of the given mixed state.\nOn the other hand, the holographic volume does not appear to match any of our\ndefinitions of mixed-state complexity.",
        "positive": "A Note on Cosmic (p,q,r) Strings: The spectrum of $(p,q)$ bound states of F- and D-strings has a distinctive\nsquare-root tension formula that is hoped to be a hallmark of fundamental\ncosmic strings. We point out that the Bogomol'nyi-Prasad-Sommerfield (BPS)\nbound for vortices in ${\\cal N}=2$ supersymmetric Abelian-Higgs models also\ntakes the square-root form. In contrast to string theory, the most general\nsupersymmetric field theoretic model allows for $(p,q,r)$ strings, with three\nclasses of strings rather than two. Unfortunately, we find that there do not\nexist BPS solutions except in the trivial case. The issue of whether there\nexist non-BPS solutions which may closely resemble the square-root form is left\nas an open question."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "D-brane Superpotentials: Geometric and Worldsheet Approaches: From the worldsheet perspective, the superpotential on a D-brane wrapping\ninternal cycles of a Calabi-Yau manifold is given as a generating functional\nfor disk correlation functions. On the other hand, from the geometric point of\nview, D-brane superpotentials are captured by certain chain integrals. In this\nwork, we explicitly show for branes wrapping internal 2-cycles how these two\ndifferent approaches are related. More specifically, from the worldsheet point\nof view, D-branes at the Landau-Ginzburg point have a convenient description in\nterms of matrix factorizations. We use a formula derived by Kapustin and Li to\nexplicitly evaluate disk correlators for families of D2-branes. On the geometry\nside, we then construct a three-chain whose period gives rise to the effective\nsuperpotential and show that the two expressions coincide. Finally, as an\nexplicit example, we choose a particular compact Calabi-Yau hypersurface and\ncompute the effective D2-brane superpotential in different branches of the open\nmoduli space, in both geometric and worldsheet approaches.",
        "positive": "Topological Model for Domain Walls in (Super-)Yang-Mills Theories: We derive a topological action that describes the confining phase of\n(Super-)Yang-Mills theories with gauge group $SU(N)$, similar to the work\nrecently carried out by Seiberg and collaborators. It encodes all the\nAharonov-Bohm phases of the possible non-local operators and phases generated\nby the intersection of flux tubes. Within this topological framework we show\nthat the worldvolume theory of domain walls contains a Chern-Simons term at\nlevel $N$ also seen in string theory constructions. The discussion can also\nilluminate dynamical differences of domain walls in the supersymmetric and\nnon-supersymmetric framework. Two further analogies, to string theory and the\nfractional quantum Hall effect might lead to additional possibilities to\ninvestigate the dynamics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "String Theory of the Regge Intercept: Using the Polchinski-Strominger effective string theory in covariant gauge,\nwe compute the mass of a rotating string in D dimensions with large angular\nmomenta J, in one or two planes, in fixed ratio, up to and including first\nsubleading order in the large J expansion. This constitutes a first-principles\ncalculation of the value for the order $J^0$ contribution to the mass-squared\nof a meson on the leading Regge trajectory in planar QCD with bosonic quarks.\nFor open strings with Neumann boundary conditions, and for closed strings in\n$D\\geq 5$, the order $J^0$ term in the mass-squared is exactly calculated by\nthe semiclassical approximation. This term in the expansion is universal and\nindependent of the details of the theory, assuming only D-dimensional Poincare\ninvariance and the absence of other infinite-range excitations on the string\nworldvolume, beyond the Nambu-Goldstone bosons.",
        "positive": "Static and non-static quantum effects in two-dimensional dilaton gravity: We study backreaction effects in two-dimensional dilaton gravity. The\nbackreaction comes from an $R^2$ term which is a part of the one-loop effective\naction arising from massive scalar field quantization in a certain\napproximation. The peculiarity of this term is that it does not contribute to\nthe Hawking radiation of the classical black hole solution of the field\nequations. In the static case we examine the horizon and the physical\nsingularity of the new black hole solutions. Studying the possibility of time\ndependence we see the generation of a new singularity. The particular solution\nfound still has the structure of a black hole, indicating that non-thermal\neffects cannot lead, at least in this approximation, to black hole evaporation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The black hole final state for the Dirac fields In Schwarzschild\n  spacetime: We show that the internal stationary state of a black hole for massless Dirac\nfields can be represented by an entangled state of collapsing matter and\ninfalling Hawking radiation. This implies that the Horowitz-Maldacena\nconjecture for the black hole final state originally proposed for the massless\nscalar fields is also applicable to fermionic fields as well. For an initially\nmixed state we find that the measure of mixedness is expected to decrease under\nevaporation.",
        "positive": "Block-Structure Method for the Solution of the Matrix System of\n  Equations g{ij}g{jk}=delta{i}{k} in the N-dimensional Case: In this paper a new block-structure method is presented for the solution of\nthe well-known from gravity theory matrix system of equations\ng{ij}g{jk}=delta{i}{k} (with respect to the unknown covariant components g{ij}\nand by known contravariant ones g{jk}) by transforming this matrix system into\na linear algebraic system of equations in the general N-dimensional case.\nAlthough powerful computer methods exist for the solution of this problem for a\ngiven (fixed) dimension of the matrices g{ij} and especially for numerical\nelements of g{ij}, the structure of the obtained linear algebraic system in the\ngeneral N-dimensional case and for arbitrary elements of g{ij} (functions) has\nnot been known.\n  The proposed new analytical block-structure method for the case of\nsymmetrical matrices g{ij} and g{jk} (the standard case in gravity theory) is\nbased on the construction of a block-structure matrix, whose \"elements\" are\nagain matrices. The method allows to obtain the structure of this linear system\nin the general N-dimensional case, after multiplication (to the left) with the\ntransponed matrix.\n  Some arguments are given why the proposed method may be applied, after some\nrefinement and generalization for the case of non-symmetrical matrices g{ij}\nand g{jk}, for finding the graviton modes in the Kaluza-Klein expansion in\ntheories with extra dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "General covariance, and supersymmetry without supersymmetry: An unusual four-dimensional generally covariant and supersymmetric SU(2)\ngauge theory is described. The theory has propagating degrees of freedom, and\nis invariant under a local (left-handed) chiral supersymmetry, which is half\nthe supersymmetry of supergravity. The Hamiltonian 3+1 decomposition of the\ntheory reveals the remarkable feature that the local supersymmetry is a\nconsequence of Yang-Mills symmetry, in a manner reminiscent of how general\ncoordinate invariance in Chern-Simons theory is a consequence of Yang-Mills\nsymmetry. It is possible to write down an infinite number of conserved\ncurrents, which strongly suggests that the theory is classically integrable. A\npossible scheme for non-perturbative quantization is outlined. This utilizes\nideas that have been developed and applied recently to the problem of\nquantizing gravity.",
        "positive": "Inflation in $R^2$ supergravity with non-minimal superpotentials: We investigate the cosmological inflation in a class of supergravity models\nthat are generalizations of non-supersymmetric $R^2$ models. Although such\nmodels have been extensively studied recently, especially after the launch of\nthe PLANCK and BICEP2 data, the class of models that can be constructed has not\nbeen exhausted. In this note, working in a supergravity model that is a\ngeneralization of Cecotti's model, we show that the appearance of new\nsuperpotential terms, which are quadratic in the superfield $\\, \\Lambda$ that\ncouples to the Ricci supermultiplet, alters substantially the form of the\nscalar potential. The arising potential has the form of the Starobinsky\npotential times a factor that is exponential in the inflaton field and\ndominates for large inflaton values. We show that the well-known Starobinsky\ninflation scenario is maintained only for unnaturally small fine-tuned values\nof the coupling describing the $\\Lambda^2$ superpotential terms. A welcome\nfeature is the possible increase of the tensor to scalar ratio $r$, within the\nlimits set by the new Planck and BICEP2 data."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Virasoro blocks and quasimodular forms: We analyse Virasoro conformal blocks in the regime of heavy intermediate\nexchange $(h_p \\rightarrow \\infty)$. For the 1-point block on the torus and the\n4-point block on the sphere, we show that each order in the large-$h_p$\nexpansion can be written in closed form as polynomials in the Eisenstein\nseries. The appearance of this structure is explained using the fusion kernel\nand, more markedly, by invoking the modular anomaly equations via the 2d/4d\ncorrespondence. We observe that the existence of these constraints allows us to\ndevelop a faster algorithm to recursively construct the blocks in this regime.\nWe then apply our results to find corrections to averaged heavy-heavy-light OPE\ncoefficients.",
        "positive": "A Generalization of Gauge Invariance: We consider perturbative quantum field theory in the causal framework. Gauge\ninvariance is, in this framework, an identity involving chronological products\nof the interaction Lagrangian; it express the fact that the scattering matrix\nmust leave invariant the sub-space of physical states. We are interested in\ngeneralizations of such identity involving Wick sub-monomials of the\ninteraction Lagrangian. The analysis can be performed by direct computation in\nthe lower orders of perturbation theory; guided by these computations we\nconjecture a generalization for arbitrary orders."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Coulomb Branch of 3d $\\mathcal{N}=4$ Theories: We propose a construction of the quantum-corrected Coulomb branch of a\ngeneral 3d gauge theory with $\\mathcal{N}=4$ supersymmetry, in terms of local\ncoordinates associated with an abelianized theory. In a fixed complex\nstructure, the holomorphic functions on the Coulomb branch are given by\nexpectation values of chiral monopole operators. We construct the chiral ring\nof such operators, using equivariant integration over BPS moduli spaces. We\nalso quantize the chiral ring, which corresponds to placing the 3d theory in a\n2d Omega background. Then, by unifying all complex structures in a twistor\nspace, we encode the full hyperk\\\"ahler metric on the Coulomb branch. We verify\nour proposals in a multitude of examples, including SQCD and linear quiver\ngauge theories, whose Coulomb branches have alternative descriptions as\nsolutions to the Bogomolnyi and/or Nahm equations.",
        "positive": "Loop quantum gravity and light propagation: Within loop quantum gravity we construct a coarse-grained approximation for\nthe Einstein-Maxwell theory that yields effective Maxwell equations in flat\nspacetime comprising Planck scale corrections.\n  The corresponding Hamiltonian is defined as the expectation value of the\nelectromagnetic term in the Einstein-Maxwell Hamiltonian constraint,\nregularized a la Thiemann, with respect to a would-be semiclassical state. The\nresulting energy dispersion relations entail Planck scale corrections to those\nin flat spacetime. Both the helicity dependent contribution of Gambini and\nPullin [GP] and, for a value of a parameter of our approximation, that of Ellis\net. al. [ELLISETAL] are recovered. The electric/magnetic asymmetry in the\nregularization procedure yields nonlinearities only in the magnetic sector\nwhich are briefly discussed. Observations of cosmological Gamma Ray Bursts\nmight eventually lead to the needed accuracy to study some of these quantum\ngravity effects."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Regge trajectories of the charged string in a magnetic background: The set of Casimir operators associated with the global symmetries of a\ncharged string in a constant magnetic background are found. It is shown that\nthe string rest energy can be expressed as a combination of these invariants.\nUsing this result, the Regge trajectories of the system are derived. The first\nRegge trajectory is given by a family of infinitely many parallel\nstraight-lines, one for each spin projection along the magnetic field.",
        "positive": "Evidence for Non-perturbative String Symmetries: String theory appears to admit a group of discrete field transformations --\ncalled $S$ dualities -- as exact non-perturbative quantum symmetries.\nMathematically, they are rather analogous to the better-known $T$ duality\nsymmetries, which hold perturbatively. In this talk the evidence for $S$\nduality is reviewed and some speculations are presented."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Inhomogeneous Jacobi equation and Holographic subregion complexity: We derive a general expression for obtaining Holographic subregion complexity\nfor asymptotically $AdS$ spacetimes, pertubatively around pure $AdS$ using a\nvariational technique. An essential step in finding subregion complexity is to\nidentify the bulk minimal surface of the entangling subregion. Our method\ntherefore heavily relies on solutions of an inhomogeneous version of Jacobi\nequation, used to study deformations of the entangling surface for\nperturbations of the bulk metric. Using this method we have obtained the change\nin complexity for a strip and a circular disk like subsystem for \\emph{boosted}\nblack brane like perturbations over pure $AdS_4$. As a corollary, we find that\nfor spherical subsytems in $3+1$ dimensional bulk, the linear change of\nsubregion complexity for \\emph{boosted} black brane like perturbations over\npure $AdS_4$ , vanishes.",
        "positive": "D-type Conformal Matter and SU/USp Quivers: We discuss the four dimensional models obtained by compactifying a single M5\nbrane probing $D_{N}$ singularity (minimal D-type $(1,0)$ conformal matter in\nsix dimensions) on a torus with flux for abelian subgroups of the $SO(4N)$\nflavor symmetry. We derive the resulting quiver field theories in four\ndimensions by first compactifying on a circle and relating the flux to duality\ndomain walls in five dimensions. This leads to novel ${\\cal N}=1$ dualities in\n4 dimensions which arise from distinct five dimensional realizations of the\ncircle compactifications of the D-type conformal matter."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Precision Cosmology and the Landscape: After reviewing the cosmological constant problem - why is Lambda not huge? -\nI outline the two basic approaches that had emerged by the late 1980s, and note\nthat each made a clear prediction. Precision cosmological experiments now\nindicate that the cosmological constant is nonzero. This result strongly favors\nthe environmental approach, in which vacuum energy can vary discretely among\nwidely separated regions in the universe. The need to explain this variation\nfrom first principles constitutes an observational constraint on fundamental\ntheory. I review arguments that string theory satisfies this constraint, as it\ncontains a dense discretuum of metastable vacua. The enormous landscape of\nvacua calls for novel, statistical methods of deriving predictions, and it\nprompts us to reexamine our description of spacetime on the largest scales. I\ndiscuss the effects of cosmological dynamics, and I speculate that weighting\nvacua by their entropy production may allow for prior-free predictions that do\nnot resort to explicitly anthropic arguments.",
        "positive": "Anomalous dimensions of spinning operators from conformal symmetry: We compute, to the first non-trivial order in the $\\epsilon$-expansion of a\nperturbed scalar field theory, the anomalous dimensions of an infinite class of\nprimary operators with arbitrary spin $\\ell=0,1,..$, including as a particular\ncase the weakly broken higher-spin currents, using only constraints from\nconformal symmetry. Following the bootstrap philosophy, no reference is made to\nany Lagrangian, equations of motion or coupling constants. Even the space\ndimensions d are left free. The interaction is implicitly turned on through the\nlocal operators by letting them acquire anomalous dimensions. When matching\ncertain four-point and five-point functions with the corresponding quantities\nof the free field theory in the $\\epsilon\\to 0$ limit, no free parameter\nremains. It turns out that only the expected discrete d values are permitted\nand the ensuing anomalous dimensions reproduce known results for the weakly\nbroken higher-spin currents and provide new results for the other spinning\noperators."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "M Theory and P-Branes: Ten dimensional type IIA and IIB theories with p-branes are compactified to\n8-dimensions. It is shown that resulting branes can be classified according to\nthe representations of $\\bf {SL(3,Z) \\times SL(2,Z)}$. These p-branes can also\nbe obtained by compactification of M theory on three torus and various\nwrappings of membrane and five brane of the eleven dimensional theory. It is\nargued that there is evidence for bound states of the branes in eight\ndimensions as is the case in the interpretation of $\\bf {SL(2,Z)}$ family of\nstring solutions obtained by Schwarz.",
        "positive": "Exploring quark-gluon plasma on the loop space: Langevin equation describing soft modes in the quark-gluon plasma is\nreformulated on the loop space. The Cauchy problem for the resulting loop\nequation is solved for the case when the nonvanishing components of the gauge\npotential correspond to the Cartan generators of the SU(N)-group and are\nproportional to a constant unit vector in the Cartan subalgebra. The\nregularized form of the loop equation with an arbitrary gauge potential is\nfound, and perturbation theory in powers of the 't Hooft coupling is discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "$CP^2$ soliton scattering: The collective coordinate approximation: The $CP^2$ model, with and without a generalized Hopf term, is studied using\nthe collective coordinate approximation. In the spirit of this approximation,\nan ansatz is given which in previous numerical studies was seen to give a good\nparameterization of the numerical solution. The equations of motion for the\ncollective coordinates are then solved analytically, for solitons close\ntogether and for solitons far apart. The solutions show how the generalized\nHopf term changes the scattering angle which in its absence is $90^{\\circ}$.",
        "positive": "Quantum Bound States with Zero Binding Energy: After reviewing the general properties of zero-energy quantum states, we give\nthe explicit solutions of the \\seq with $E=0$ for the class of potentials\n$V=-|\\gamma|/r^{\\nu}$, where $-\\infty < \\nu < \\infty$. For $\\nu > 2$, these\nsolutions are normalizable and correspond to bound states, if the angular\nmomentum quantum number $l>0$. [These states are normalizable, even for $l=0$,\nif we increase the space dimension, $D$, beyond 4; i.e. for $D>4$.] For $\\nu\n<-2$ the above solutions, although unbound, are normalizable. This is true even\nthough the corresponding potentials are repulsive for all $r$. We discuss the\nphysics of these unusual effects."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Carrollian and celestial spaces at infinity: We show that the geometry of the asymptotic infinities of Minkowski spacetime\n(in $d+1$ dimensions) is captured by homogeneous spaces of the Poincar\\'e\ngroup: the blow-ups of spatial (Spi) and timelike (Ti) infinities in the sense\nof Ashtekar--Hansen and a novel space Ni fibering over $\\mathscr{I}$. We embed\nthese spaces \\`a la Penrose--Rindler into a pseudo-euclidean space of signature\n$(d+1,2)$ as orbits of the same Poincar\\'e subgroup of O$(d+1,2)$. We describe\nthe corresponding Klein pairs and determine their Poincar\\'e-invariant\nstructures: a carrollian structure on Ti, a pseudo-carrollian structure on Spi\nand a \"doubly-carrollian\" structure on Ni. We give additional geometric\ncharacterisations of these spaces as grassmannians of affine hyperplanes in\nMinkowski spacetime: Spi is the (double cover of the) grassmannian of affine\nlorentzian hyperplanes; Ti is the grassmannian of affine spacelike hyperplanes\nand Ni fibers over the grassmannian of affine null planes, which is\n$\\mathscr{I}$. We exhibit Ni as the fibred product of $\\mathscr{I}$ and the\nlightcone over the celestial sphere. We also show that Ni is the total space of\nthe bundle of scales of the conformal carrollian structure on $\\mathscr{I}$ and\nshow that the symmetry algebra of its doubly-carrollian structure is isomorphic\nto the symmetry algebra of the conformal carrollian structure on $\\mathscr{I}$;\nthat is, the BMS algebra. We show how to reconstruct Minkowski spacetime from\nany of its asymptotic geometries, by establishing that points in Minkowski\nspacetime parametrise certain lightcone cuts in the asymptotic geometries. We\ninclude an appendix comparing with (A)dS and observe that the de Sitter groups\nhave no homogeneous spaces which could play the r\\^ole that the celestial\nsphere plays in flat space holography.",
        "positive": "On Conformally Compactified Phase Space: Conformally compactified phase space is conceived as an automorphism space\nfor the global action of the extended conformal group. Space time and momentum\nspace appear then as conformally dual, that is conjugate with respect to\nconformal reflections. If now the former, as generally agreed, is appropriate\nfor the description of classical mechanics in euclidean geometrical form, then\nthe latter results appropriate for the description of quantum mechanics in\nspinor geometrical form. In such description, fermion multiplets will naturally\nappear as consequence of higher symmetries and furthermore, the euclidean\ngeometry, bilinearly resulting from that of spinors, will a priori guarantee\nthe absence of ultraviolet divergences when dealing with quantum field\ntheories. Some further possible consequences of conformal reflections of\ninterest for physics, are briefly outlined."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hierarchical Axion Inflation: We propose a new field theory mechanism for generating an effective\ntrans-Planckian decay constant from sub-Planckian ones. Using the minimal two\naxions and a hierarchy between two axion decay constants is sufficient for\nrealizing inflation through non-perturbative effects only and with minimal\ntuning. The inflationary motion is kept entirely within a sub-Planckian domain.\nWe outline possible strategies of embedding the model in a string theory setup.",
        "positive": "Scattering of conformal higher spin fields: We develop a formalism for describing the most general notion of tree-level\nscattering amplitudes in 4d conformal higher spin theory. As conformal higher\nspin fields obey higher-derivative equations of motion, there are many distinct\non-shell external states which may contribute to their scattering, some of\nwhich grow polynomially with time, leading to ill-defined amplitudes. We\ncharacterize the set of admissible scattering states which produce finite tree\namplitudes, noting that there are more such states than just standard massless\nhigher spins obeying two-derivative equations of motion. We use conformal\ngravity as a prime example, where the set of scattering states includes the\nusual Einstein graviton and a `ghost' massless spin 1 particle. An extension of\nthe usual spinor helicity formalism allows us to encode these scattering states\nefficiently in terms of `twistor-spinors'. This leads to compact momentum space\nexpressions for all finite tree-level 3-point amplitudes of conformal higher\nspin theory. While some of these 3-point amplitudes vanish (including all those\nwith only standard two-derivative higher spin external states), there are many\nothers which are non-vanishing. We also comment on the generalization to\nscattering of conformal higher spins in AdS$_4$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hidden Beauty in Multiloop Amplitudes: Planar L-loop maximally helicity violating amplitudes in N = 4 supersymmetric\nYang-Mills theory are believed to possess the remarkable property of satisfying\niteration relations in L. We propose a simple new method for studying the\niteration relations for four-particle amplitudes which involves the use of\ncertain linear differential operators and eliminates the need to fully evaluate\nany loop integrals. We carry out this procedure in explicit detail for the\ntwo-loop amplitude and argue that this method can be used to prove the\niteration relations to all loops up to polynomials in logarithms.",
        "positive": "Anti-De Sitter BPS Black Holes in N=2 Gauged Supergravity: Electrically charged solutions breaking half of the supersymmetry in Anti-De\nSitter four dimensional N=2 supergravity coupled to vector supermultiplets are\nconstructed. These static black holes live in an asymptotic $AdS_4$ space-time.\nThe Killing spinor, i. e., the spinor for supersymmetry variation is explicitly\nconstructed for these solutions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "N=4 SYM on S^3 with Near Critical Chemical Potentials: We study the N = 4 theory at weak coupling, on a three sphere in the grand\ncanonical ensemble with R symmetry chemical potentials. We focus attention on\nnear critical values for the chemical potentials, above which the classical\ntheory has no ground state. By computing a one loop effective potential for the\nlight degrees of freedom in this regime, we show the existence of flat\ndirections of complex dimension N, 2N and 3N for one, two and three critical\nchemical potentials respectively; these correspond to one half, one quarter and\none-eighth BPS states becoming light respectively at the critical values. At\nsmall finite temperature we show that the chemical potentials can be continued\nbeyond their classical limiting values to yield a deconfined metastable phase\nwith lifetime diverging in the large N limit. Our low temperaure analysis\ncomplements the high temperature metastability found by Yamada and Yaffe. The\nresulting phase diagram at weak coupling bears a striking resemblance to the\nstrong coupling phase diagram for charged AdS black holes. Our analysis also\nreveals subtle qualitative differences between the two regimes.",
        "positive": "A new approach for computing the geometry of the moduli spaces for a\n  Calabi-Yau manifold: It is known that moduli spaces of Calabi-Yau (CY) manifolds are special\nK\\\"ahler manifolds. This structure determines the corresponding low-energy\neffective theory which arises in superstring compactifications on CY manifolds.\nIn the case, where CY manifold is given as a hypersurface in the weighted\nprojective space, we propose a new procedure for computing the K\\\"ahler\npotential of the moduli space. Our method is based on the fact that the moduli\nspace of CY manifolds is a marginal subspace of the Frobenius manifold which\narises on the deformation space of the corresponding Landau--Ginzburg\nsuperpotential."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The AdS/CFT Correspondence and Logarithmic Corrections to Braneworld\n  Cosmology and the Cardy-Verlinde Formula: The AdS/CFT correspondence is employed to derive logarithmic corrections to\nthe Cardy-Verlinde formula when thermal fluctuations in the Anti-de Sitter\nblack hole are accounted for. The qualitative effect of these corrections on\nthe braneworld cosmology is investigated. The role of such terms in enabling a\ncontracting universe to undergo a bounce is demonstrated. Their influence on\nthe stability of black holes in AdS space and the Hawking-Page-Witten phase\ntransitions is also discussed.",
        "positive": "Remarks on a Lorentz-breaking 4D chiral gauge theory: We investigate a Lorentz-violating chiral model composed by two fermions, a\ncomplex scalar field and a gauge field. We show that by convenientely adjusting\nthe parameters of the model, it is possible to generate an unambiguous\nCarroll-Field-Jackiw term and, at the same time, provide the cancelation of the\nchiral anomaly. The renormalizability of the model is investigated and it is\nshown that the same counterterms needed in the symmetric phase also renormalize\nthe model with broken symmetry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Airy Equation for the Topological String Partition Function in a Scaling\n  Limit: We use the polynomial formulation of the holomorphic anomaly equations\ngoverning perturbative topological string theory to derive the free energies in\na scaling limit to all orders in perturbation theory for any Calabi-Yau\nthreefold. The partition function in this limit satisfies an Airy differential\nequation in a rescaled topological string coupling. One of the two solutions of\nthis equation gives the perturbative expansion and the other solution provides\ngeometric hints of the non-perturbative structure of topological string theory.\nBoth solutions can be expanded naturally around strong coupling.",
        "positive": "Deconstructing Supersymmetry: Two supersymmetric classical mechanical systems are discussed. Concrete\nrealizations are obtained by supposing that the dynamical variables take values\nin a Grassmann algebra with two generators. The equations of motion are\nexplicitly solved."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Determinant representations of scalar products for the open XXZ chain\n  with non-diagonal boundary terms: With the help of the F-basis provided by the Drinfeld twist or factorizing\nF-matrix for the open XXZ spin chain with non-diagonal boundary terms, we\nobtain the determinant representations of the scalar products of Bethe states\nof the model.",
        "positive": "Closed string symmetries in open string field theory: tachyon vacuum as\n  sine-square deformation: We revisit the identity-based solutions for tachyon condensation in open\nbosonic string field theory (SFT) from the viewpoint of the sine-square\ndeformation (SSD). The string Hamiltonian derived from the simplest solution\nincludes the sine-square factor, which is the same as that of an open system\nwith SSD in the context of condensed matter physics. We show that the open\nstring system with SSD or its generalization exhibits decoupling of the left\nand right moving modes and so it behaves like a system with a periodic boundary\ncondition. With a method developed by Ishibashi and Tada, we construct pairs of\nVirasoro generators in this system, which represent symmetries for a closed\nstring system. Moreover, we find that the modified BRST operator in the open\nSFT at the identity-based tachyon vacuum decomposes to holomorphic and\nantiholomorphic parts, and these reflect closed string symmetries in the open\nSFT. On the basis of SSD and these decomposed operators, we construct\nholomorphic and antiholomorphic continuous Virasoro algebras at the tachyon\nvacuum. These results imply that it is possible to formulate a pure closed\nstring theory in terms of the open SFT at the identity-based tachyon vacuum."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dirac Neutrino Masses in NCG: Several models in NCG with mild changes to the standard model(SM)are\nintroduced to discuss the neutrino mass problem. We use two constraints,\nPoincar$\\acute{e}$ duality and gauge anomaly free, to discuss the possibility\nof containing right-handed neutrinos in them. Our work shows that no model in\nthis paper, with each generation containing a right-handed neutrino, can\nsatisfy these two constraints in the same time. So, to consist with neutrino\noscillation experiment results, maybe fundamental changes to the present\nversion of NCG are usually needed to include Dirac massive neutrinos.",
        "positive": "Power Spectrum and Non-Gaussianities in Anisotropic Inflation: We study the planar regime of curvature perturbations for single field\ninflationary models in an axially symmetric Bianchi I background. In a theory\nwith standard scalar field action, the power spectrum for such modes has a pole\nas the planarity parameter goes to zero. We show that constraints from back\nreaction lead to a strong lower bound on the planarity parameter for\nhigh-momentum planar modes and use this bound to calculate the signal-to-noise\nratio of the anisotropic power spectrum in the CMB, which in turn places an\nupper bound on the Hubble scale during inflation allowed in our model. We find\nthat non-Gaussianities for these planar modes are enhanced for the flattened\ntriangle and the squeezed triangle configurations, but show that the estimated\nvalues of the f_NL parameters remain well below the experimental bounds from\nthe CMB for generic planar modes (other, more promising signatures are also\ndiscussed). For a standard action, f_NL from the squeezed configuration turns\nout to be larger compared to that from the flattened triangle configuration in\nthe planar regime. However, in a theory with higher derivative operators,\nnon-Gaussianities from the flattened triangle can become larger than the\nsqueezed configuration in a certain limit of the planarity parameter."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Muti-instanton Amplitudes in Type IIB String Theory: We compute the normalization of the multiple D-instanton amplitudes in type\nIIB string theory and show that the result agrees with the prediction of\nS-duality due to Green and Gutperle.",
        "positive": "Hamiltonian approach to QCD in Coulomb gauge - a survey of recent\n  results: I report on recent results obtained within the Hamiltonian approach to QCD in\nCoulomb gauge. Furthermore this approach is compared to recent lattice data,\nwhich were obtained by an alternative gauge fixing method and which show an\nimproved agreement with the continuum results. By relating the Gribov\nconfinement scenario to the center vortex picture of confinement it is shown\nthat the Coulomb string tension is tied to the spatial string tension. For the\nquark sector a vacuum wave functional is used which explicitly contains the\ncoupling of the quarks to the transverse gluons and which results in\nvariational equations which are free of ultraviolet divergences. The\nvariational approach is extended to finite temperatures by compactifying a\nspatial dimension. The effective potential of the Polyakov loop is evaluated\nfrom the zero-temperature variational solution. For pure Yang--Mills theory,\nthe deconfinement phase transition is found to be second order for SU(2) and\nfirst order for SU(3), in agreement with the lattice results. The corresponding\ncritical temperatures are found to be $275 \\, \\mathrm{MeV}$ and $280 \\,\n\\mathrm{MeV}$, respectively. When quarks are included, the deconfinement\ntransition turns into a cross-over. From the dual and chiral quark condensate\none finds pseudo-critical temperatures of $198 \\, \\mathrm{MeV}$ and $170 \\,\n\\mathrm{MeV}$, respectively, for the deconfinement and chiral transition."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Toward the Universal Theory of Strings: We show that the $N=2$ superstrings may be viewed as a special class of the\n$N=4$ superstrings and demonstrate their equivalence. This allows us to realize\nall known string theories based on linear algebras and with $N<4$\nsupersymmetries as special choices of the vacua in the $N=4$ superstring.",
        "positive": "Charged Dilatonic AdS Black Holes and Magnetic AdS_{D-2} x R^2 Vacua: We consider D-dimensional Einstein gravity coupled to two U(1) fields and a\ndilaton with a scalar potential. We derive the condition that the analytical\nAdS black holes with two independent charges can be constructed. Turning off\nthe cosmological constant, the extremal Reissner-Nordstrom black hole emerges\nas the harmonic superposition of the two U(1) building blocks. With the\nnon-vanishing cosmological constant, our extremal solutions contain the\nnear-horizon geometry of AdS_2 x R^{D-2} with or without a hyperscaling. We\nalso obtain the magnetic AdS_{D-2} x Y^2 vacua where Y^2 can be R^2, S^2 or\nhyperbolic 2-space. These vacua arise as the fix points of some super\npotentials and recover the known supersymmetric vacua when the theory can be\nembedded in gauged supergravities. The AdS_{D-2} x R^2 vacua are of particular\ninterest since they are dual to some quantum field theories at the lowest\nLandau level. By studying the embedding of some of these solutions in the\nstring and M-theory, we find that the M2/M5-system with the equal M2 and M5\ncharges can intersect with another such M2/M5 on to a dyonic black hole.\nAnalogous intersection rule applies also to the D1/D5-system. The intersections\nare non-supersymmetric but in the manner of harmonic superpositions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Classical Velocity in kappa-deformed Poincare Algebra and a Maximum\n  Acceleration: We study the commutators of the kappa-deformed Poincare Algebra (kappaPA) in\nan arbitrary basis. It is known that the two recently studied doubly special\nrelativity theories correspond to different choices of kappaPA bases. We\npresent another such example. We consider the classical limit of kappaPA and\ncalculate particle velocity in an arbitrary basis. It has standard properties\nand its expression takes a simple form in terms of the variables in the Snyder\nbasis. We then study the particle trajectory explicitly for the case of a\nconstant force. Assuming that the spacetime continuum, velocity, acceleration,\netc. can be defined only at length scales greater than x_{min} ne 0, we show\nthat the acceleration has a finite maximum.",
        "positive": "RG analysis of magnetic catalysis in Dynamical symmetry breaking: We perform the renormalization group analysis on the dynamical symmetry\nbreaking under strong external magnetic field, studied recently by Gusynin,\nMiransky and Shovkovy. We find that any attractive four-Fermi interaction\nbecomes strong in the low energy, thus leading to dynamical symmetry breaking.\nWhen the four-Fermi interaction is absent, the $\\beta$-function for the\nelectromagnetic coupling vanishes in the leading order in $1/N$. By solving the\nSchwinger-Dyson equation for the fermion propagator, we show that in $1/N$\nexpansion, for any electromagnetic coupling, dynamical symmetry breaking occurs\ndue to the presence of Landau energy gap by the external magnetic field."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Thermodynamic Bethe ansatz for non-equilibrium steady states: exact\n  energy current and fluctuations in integrable QFT: We evaluate the exact energy current and scaled cumulant generating function\n(related to the large-deviation function) in non-equilibrium steady states with\nenergy flow, in any integrable model of relativistic quantum field theory\n(IQFT) with diagonal scattering. Our derivations are based on various recent\nresults of D. Bernard and B. Doyon. The steady states are built by connecting\nhomogeneously two infinite halves of the system thermalized at different\ntemperatures $T_l$, $T_r$, and waiting for a long time. We evaluate the current\n$J(T_l,T_r)$ using the exact QFT density matrix describing these\nnon-equilibrium steady states and using Al.B. Zamolodchikov's method of the\nthermodynamic Bethe ansatz (TBA). The scaled cumulant generating function is\nobtained from the extended fluctuation relations which hold in integrable\nmodels. We verify our formula in particular by showing that the conformal field\ntheory (CFT) result is obtained in the high-temperature limit. We analyze\nnumerically our non-equilibrium steady-state TBA equations for three models:\nthe sinh-Gordon model, the roaming trajectories model, and the sine-Gordon\nmodel at a particular reflectionless point. Based on the numerics, we\nconjecture that an infinite family of non-equilibrium $c$-functions, associated\nto the scaled cumulants, can be defined, which we interpret physically. We\nstudy the full scaled distribution function and find that it can be described\nby a set of independent Poisson processes. Finally, we show that the\n\"additivity\" property of the current, which is known to hold in CFT and was\nproposed to hold more generally, does not hold in general IQFT, that is\n$J(T_l,T_r)$ is not of the form $f(T_l)-f(T_r)$.",
        "positive": "Instantons on Calabi-Yau and hyper-K\u00e4hler cones: The instanton equations on vector bundles over Calabi-Yau and hyper-K\\\"ahler\ncones can be reduced to matrix equations resembling Nahm's equations. We\ncomplement the discussion of Hermitian Yang-Mills (HYM) equations on Calabi-Yau\ncones, based on regular semi-simple elements, by a new set of (singular)\nboundary conditions which have a known instanton solution in one direction.\nThis approach extends the classic results of Kronheimer by probing a relation\nbetween generalised Nahm's equations and nilpotent pairs/tuples. Moreover, we\nconsider quaternionic instantons on hyper-K\\\"ahler cones over generic\n3-Sasakian manifolds and study the HYM moduli spaces arising in this set-up,\nusing the fact that their analysis can be traced back to the intersection of\nthree Hermitian Yang-Mills conditions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Nonvanishing Finite Scalar Mass in Flux Compactification: We study possibilities to realize a nonvanishing finite Wilson line (WL)\nscalar mass in flux compactification. Generalizing loop integrals in the\nquantum correction to WL mass at one-loop, we derive the conditions for the\nloop integrals and mode sums in one-loop corrections to WL scalar mass to be\nfinite. We further guess and classify the four-point and three-point\ninteraction terms satisfying these conditions. As an illustration, the\nnonvanishing finite WL scalar mass is explicitly shown in a six dimensional\nscalar QED by diagrammatic computation and effective potential analysis. This\nis the first example of finite WL scalar mass in flux compactification.",
        "positive": "From phase space to multivector matrix models: Combining elements of twistor-space, phase space and Clifford algebras, we\npropose a framework for the construction and quantization of certain (quadric)\nvarieties described by Lorentz-covariant multivector coordiantes. The\ncorrespondent multivectors can be parametrized by second order polynomials in\nthe phase space. Thus the multivectors play a double role, as covariant objects\nin $D=2,3,4 \\texttt{ Mod } 8$ space-time dimensions, and as mechanical\nobservables of a non-relativistic system in $2^{[D/2]-1}$ euclidean dimensions.\nThe latter attribute permits a dual interpretation of concepts of\nnon-relativistic mechanics as applying to relativistic space-time geometry.\nIntroducing the Groenewold-Moyal *-product and Wigner distributions in phase\nspace induces Lorentz-covariant non-commutativity and it provides the spectra\nof geometrical observables. We propose also new (multivector) matrix models,\ninterpreted as descending from the interaction term of a Yang-Mills theory with\nminimally coupled massive fermions, in the large-$N$ limit, which serves as a\nphysical model containing the constructed multivector (fuzzy) geometries. We\nalso include a section on speculative aspects on a possible cosmological effect\nand the origin of space-time entropy."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hawking radiation of scalar particles from accelerating and rotating\n  black holes: Hawking radiation of uncharged and charged scalars from accelerating and\nrotating black holes is studied. We calculate the tunneling probabilities of\nthese particles from the rotation and acceleration horizons of these black\nholes. Using the tunneling method we recover the correct Hawking temperature as\nwell.",
        "positive": "Coherent States in M-Theory: A Brane Scan using the Taub-NUT: The Taub-NUT geometry corresponds to the Kaluza-Klein monopole solution of\nM-theory and on dimension reduction along the Taub-NUT circle direction it\nbecomes the D6 brane of type IIA string theory. We show that the Taub-NUT\ngeometry can be realised as a coherent state, or more appropriately as a\nGlauber-Sudarshan state in M-theory, once we take the underlying resurgence\nstructure carefully. Using the duality chain it in turn implies that all\nD-branes as well as NS5-branes can be realised as Glauber-Sudarshan states in\nstring theory. Our analysis also leads to an intriguing possibility of\nrealizing the gravity duals of certain non-conformal minimally-supersymmetric\ngauge theories by deforming a class of Glauber-Sudarshan states."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Remarks on Two-Loop Free Energy in N=4 Supersymmetric Yang-Mills Theory\n  at Finite Temperature: The strong coupling behavior of finite temperature free energy in N=4\nsupersymmetric SU(N) Yang-Mills theory has been recently discussed by Gubser,\nKlebanov and Tseytlin in the context of AdS-SYM correspondence. In this note,\nwe focus on the weak coupling behavior. As a result of a two-loop computation\nwe obtain, in the large N 't Hooft limit, $F(g^2N\\to 0)\\approx\n-\\frac{\\pi^2}{6}N^2V_3T^4(1-\\frac{3}{2\\pi^2}g^2N)$. Comparison with the strong\ncoupling expansion provides further indication that free energy is a smooth\nmonotonic function of the coupling constant.",
        "positive": "An involuted orbifold MSSM: A compactification of the E_8 x E_8 heterotic string on a Z_2 x Z_2 orbifold\nequipped with an additional freely acting involution is presented. This model\nreproduces the exact chiral MSSM spectrum with matter parity and a non-trivial\nYukawa structure. The key ingredient is a freely acting Wilson line associated\nto the involution, breaking SU(5) to SU(3) x SU(2) x U(1)_Y. This work is based\non a talk given at the \"9th Hellenic School and Workshop on Elementary Particle\nPhysics and Gravity\" and reviews the results of a collaboration with M.\nBlaszczyk, S. Groot Nibbelink, M. Ratz, F. Ruehle and M. Trapletti."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Branes and the Kraft-Procesi transition: classical case: Moduli spaces of a large set of $3d$ $\\mathcal{N}=4$ effective gauge theories\nare known to be closures of nilpotent orbits. This set of theories has recently\nacquired a special status, due to Namikawa's theorem. As a consequence of this\ntheorem, closures of nilpotent orbits are the simplest non-trivial moduli\nspaces that can be found in three dimensional theories with eight supercharges.\nIn the early 80's mathematicians Hanspeter Kraft and Claudio Procesi\ncharacterized an inclusion relation between nilpotent orbit closures of the\nsame classical Lie algebra. We recently showed a physical realization of their\nwork in terms of the motion of D3-branes on the Type IIB superstring embedding\nof the effective gauge theories. This analysis is restricted to A-type Lie\nalgebras. The present note expands our previous discussion to the remaining\nclassical cases: orthogonal and symplectic algebras. In order to do so we\nintroduce O3-planes in the superstring description. We also find a brane\nrealization for the mathematical map between two partitions of the same integer\nnumber known as \"collapse\". Another result is that basic Kraft-Procesi\ntransitions turn out to be described by the moduli space of orthosymplectic\nquivers with varying boundary conditions.",
        "positive": "Baxter-Bazhanov Model, Frenkel-Moore Equation and the Braid Group: In this paper the three-dimensional vertex model is given, which is the\nduality of the three-dimensional Baxter-Bazhanov (BB) model. The braid group\ncorresponding to Frenkel-Moore equation is constructed and the transformations\n$R, I$ are found. These maps act on the group and denote the rotations of the\nbraids through the angles $\\pi$ about some special axes. The weight function of\nanother three-dimensional vertex model related the 3D lattice integrable model\nproposed by Boos, Mangazeev, Sergeev and Stroganov is presented also, which can\nbe interpreted as the deformation of the vertex model corresponding to the BB\nmodel."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Torsional Regularization of Self-Energy and Bare Mass of Electron: In the presence of spacetime torsion, the momentum components do not commute;\ntherefore, in quantum field theory, summation over the momentum eigenvalues\nwill replace integration over the momentum. In the Einstein--Cartan theory of\ngravity, in which torsion is coupled to spin, the separation between the\neigenvalues increases with the magnitude of the momentum. Consequently, this\nreplacement regularizes divergent integrals in Feynman diagrams with loops by\nturning them into convergent sums. In this article, we apply torsional\nregularization to the self-energy of a charged lepton in quantum\nelectrodynamics. We show that this procedure eliminates the ultraviolet\ndivergence. We also show that torsion gives a photon a small nonzero mass,\nwhich regularizes the infrared divergence. In the end, we calculate the finite\nbare masses of the electron, muon, and tau lepton: $0.4329\\,\\mbox{MeV}$,\n$90.95\\,\\mbox{MeV}$, and $1543\\,\\mbox{MeV}$, respectively. These values\nconstitute about $85\\%$ of the observed, re-normalized masses.",
        "positive": "Schr\u00f6dinger equations in constrained space with several initial\n  constraints: A general system constrained with {\\it several} initial constraint conditions\nis quantized based on the Dirac formalism and the Schr\\\"{o}dinger equation for\nthis system is obtained. These constraint conditions are now allowed to depend\nnot only on the coordinates but also on the velocities. It is shown that the\nhermiticity for the observables of the system restricts the geometrical\nstructure of our world."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Conformal symmetry and the Balitsky-Kovchegov equation: Solutions to the Balitsky-Kovchegov equation are considered which respect an\nSO(3) subgroup of the conformal group. The symmetry dictates a specific\ndependence of the saturation scale on the impact parameter. Applications to\ndeep inelastic scattering are considered.",
        "positive": "The Fully Quantized Axion and Dark Energy: This letter reviews the exact evolution equation for the axion effective\npotential with the axion scale factor f and phenomenological consequences of\nthe flat effective potential solution are discussed. It is shown that the\ncorresponding vacuum energy can be consistent with Dark Energy, and we compare\nthis result to other studies relating the axion and Dark Energy."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Superalgebras in Many Types of M-Brane Backgrounds and Various\n  Supersymmetric Brane Configurations: We derive superalgebras in many types of supersymmetric M-brane backgrounds.\nThe backgrounds examined here include the cases of the M-wave and the\nM-Kaluza-Klein monopole. On the basis of the obtained algebras, we deduce all\nthe supersymmetric non-orthogonal intersections of the M-Kaluza-Klein monopole\nand the M-5-brane at angles. In addition, we present a 1/4 supersymmetric\nworldvolume 3-brane soliton on the M-5-brane in the M-5-brane background as an\nextended solution of the 3-brane solitons of the M-5-brane by Howe, Lambert and\nWest. This soliton can be interpreted as a certain intersection of three\nM-5-branes.",
        "positive": "Pythagoras' Theorem on a 2D-Lattice from a \"Natural\" Dirac Operator and\n  Connes' Distance Formula: One of the key ingredients of A. Connes' noncommutative geometry is a\ngeneralized Dirac operator which induces a metric(Connes' distance) on the\nstate space. We generalize such a Dirac operator devised by A. Dimakis et al,\nwhose Connes' distance recovers the linear distance on a 1D lattice, into 2D\nlattice. This Dirac operator being \"naturally\" defined has the so-called \"local\neigenvalue property\" and induces Euclidean distance on this 2D lattice. This\nkind of Dirac operator can be generalized into any higher dimensional lattices."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Minimal Supergravity Models of Inflation: We present a superconformal master action for a class of supergravity models\nwith one arbitrary function defining the Jordan frame. It leads to a\ngauge-invariant action for a real vector multiplet, which upon gauge fixing\ndescribes a massive vector multiplet, or to a dual formulation with a linear\nmultiplet and a massive tensor field. In both cases the models have one real\nscalar, the inflaton, naturally suited for single-field inflation. Vectors and\ntensors required by supersymmetry to complement a single real scalar do not\nacquire vev's during inflation, so there is no need to stabilize the extra\nscalars which are always present in the theories with chiral matter multiplets.\nThe new class of models can describe any inflaton potential which vanishes at\nits minimum and grows monotonically away from the minimum. In this class of\nsupergravity models one can fit any desirable choice of inflationary parameters\nn_s and r.",
        "positive": "sQGP as hCFT: We examine the proposal to make quantitative comparisons between the strongly\ncoupled quark-gluon plasma and holographic descriptions of conformal field\ntheory. In this note, we calculate corrections to certain transport\ncoefficients appearing in second-order hydrodynamics from higher curvature\nterms to the dual gravity theory. We also clarify how these results might be\nconsistently applied in comparisons with the sQGP."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic n-partite Information in Hyperscaling Violating Geometry: The $n$-partite information (nI) is formulated as a measure of multi-partite\nentanglement. Field theory computation revealed that the sign of nI is\nindefinite for $n\\geq 3$, while holographic studies conjectured a sign property\nthat holographic nI is non-negative/non-positive for even/odd $n$, with\ntripartite information (TI, $n=3$) proved. We investigate the aspects of nI\nwith holographic duality in hyperscaling violating geometry. We confirm the\nconjectured sign property for strips of equal length with equal separation\ndistance, and disprove this conjecture for $n>3$ with general configurations.\nTherefore, nI in field theories and holography exhibits compatibility except\nfor $n=3$. We also discuss other properties of holographic nI with analytic\ncomputation: the monotonicity, linearity, relation to hyperscaling violating\nparameters, temperature and UV cutoff effects, and the physical implications.\nIt is doubtful that nI is an effective measure of entanglement considering the\nindefinite sign, non-monotonicity, and quasi-linearity of its holographic dual.\nIn this respect, we propose constraints on the multi-partite entanglement\nmeasures.",
        "positive": "Quantum Quivers and Hall/Hole Halos: Two pictures of BPS bound states in Calabi-Yau compactifications of type II\nstring theory exist, one as a set of particles at equilibrium separations from\neach other, the other as a fusion of D-branes at a single point of space. We\nshow how quiver quantum mechanics smoothly interpolates between the two, and\nuse this, together with recent mathematical results on the cohomology of quiver\nvarieties, to solve some nontrivial ground state counting problems in\nmulti-particle quantum mechanics, including one arising in the setup of the\nspherical quantum Hall effect, and to count ground state degeneracies of\ncertain dyons in supersymmetric Yang-Mills theories. A crucial ingredient is a\nnon-renormalization theorem in N=4 quantum mechanics for the first order part\nof the Lagrangian in an expansion in powers of velocity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Atiyah-Hitchin in Five Dimensional Einstein-Maxwell Theory: We construct exact solutions to five-dimensional Einstein-Maxwell theory\nbased on Atiyah-Hitchin space. The solutions cannot be written explicitly in a\nclosed form, so their properties are investigated numerically. The\nfive-dimensional metric is regular everywhere except on the location of\noriginal bolt in four-dimensional Atiyah-Hitchin base space. On each time-fixed\nslices, the metric, asymptotically approaches an Euclidean Taub-NUT space.",
        "positive": "Massless picture, massive picture, and symmetry in the Gaussian\n  renormalization group: We consider renormalization groups of transformations composed of a Gaussian\nconvolution and a field dilatation. As an example, we consider perturbations of\na single component real Euclidean free field $\\phi$ with covariance\n$(-\\bigtriangleup)^{-1+\\frac{\\epsilon}{2}}$. We show that the renormalization\ngroup admits two equivalent formulations called massless picture and massive\npicture respectively. We then show in the massive picture that the\nrenormalization group has a symmetry. The symmetry consists of global scale\ntransformations composed with certain Gaussian convolutions. We translate the\nsymmetry back to the massless picture. The relation between the symmetry and\nthe notion of an anomalous dimension is briefly discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fokker-Type Confinement Models from Effective Lagrangian in Classical\n  Yang-Mills Theory: Abelian potentials of pointlike moving sources are obtained from the\nnonstandard theory of Yang--Mills field. They are used for the construction of\nthe time-symmetric and time-asymmetric Fokker-type action integrals describing\nthe dynamics of two-particle system with confinement interaction. The\ntime-asymmetric model is reformulated in the framework of the Hamiltonian\nformalism. The corresponding two-body problem is reduced to quadratures. The\nbehaviour of Regge trajectories is estimated within the semiclassical\nconsideration.",
        "positive": "Supersymmetric Q-balls and boson stars in (d+1) dimensions: We construct supersymmetric Q-balls and boson stars in (d+1) dimensions.\nThese non-topological solitons are solutions of a scalar field model with\nglobal U(1) symmetry and a scalar field potential that appears in\ngauge-mediated supersymmetry (SUSY) breaking in the minimal supersymmetric\nextension of the Standard Model (MSSM). We are interested in both the\nasymptotically flat as well as in the asymptotically Anti-de Sitter (AdS)\nsolutions. In particular, we show that for our choice of the potential\ngravitating, asymptotically flat boson stars exist in (2+1) dimensions. We\nobserve that the behaviour of the mass and charge of the asymptotically flat\nsolutions at the approach of the maximal frequency depends strongly on the\nnumber of spatial dimensions. For the asymptotically AdS solutions, the model\non the conformal boundary can be interpreted as describing d-dimensional\ncondensates of scalar glueballs."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Robin conditions on the Euclidean ball: Techniques are presented for calculating directly the scalar functional\ndeterminant on the Euclidean d-ball. General formulae are given for Dirichlet\nand Robin boundary conditions. The method involves a large mass asymptotic\nlimit which is carried out in detail for d=2 and d=4 incidentally producing\nsome specific summations and identities. Extensive use is made of the\nWatson-Kober summation formula.",
        "positive": "Holographic zero sound at finite temperature in the Sakai-Sugimoto model: In this paper, we study the fate of the holographic zero sound mode at finite\ntemperature and non-zero baryon density in the deconfined phase of the\nSakai-Sugimoto model of holographic QCD. We establish the existence of such a\nmode for a wide range of temperatures and investigate the dispersion relation,\nquasi-normal modes, and spectral functions of the collective excitations in\nfour different regimes, namely, the collisionless quantum, collisionless\nthermal, and two distinct hydrodynamic regimes. For sufficiently high\ntemperatures, the zero sound completely disappears, and the low energy physics\nis dominated by an emergent diffusive mode. We compare our findings to\nLandau-Fermi liquid theory and to other holographic models."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Kaluza-Klein Model with Spontaneous Symmetry Breaking: Light-Particle\n  Effective Action and its Compactification Scale Dependence: We investigate decoupling of heavy Kaluza-Klein modes in an Abelian Higgs\nmodel with space-time topologies $\\mathbb{R}^{3,1} \\times S^{1}$ and\n$\\mathbb{R}^{3,1} \\times S^{1}/\\mathbb{Z}_{2}$. After integrating out heavy KK\nmodes we find the effective action for the zero mode fields. We find that in\nthe $\\mathbb{R}^{3,1} \\times S^{1}$ topology the heavy modes do not decouple in\nthe effective action, due to the zero mode of the 5-th component of the 5-d\ngauge field $A_{5}$. Because $A_{5}$ is a scalar under 4-d Lorentz\ntransformations, there is no gauge symmetry protecting it from getting mass and\n$A_{5}^{4}$ interaction terms after loop corrections. In addition, after\nsymmetry breaking, we find new divergences in the $A_{5}$ mass that did not\nappear in the symmetric phase. The new divergences are traced back to the\ngauge-goldstone mixing that occurs after symmetry breaking. The relevance of\nthese new divergences to Symanzik's theorem is discussed. In order to get a\nmore sensible theory we investigate the $S^{1}/\\mathbb{Z}_{2}$\ncompactification. With this kind of compact topology, the $A_{5}$ zero mode\ndisappears. With no $A_{5}$, there are no new divergences and the heavy modes\ndecouple. We also discuss the dependence of the couplings and masses on the\ncompactification scale. We derive a set of RG-like equations for the running of\nthe effective couplings with respect to the compactification scale. It is found\nthat magnitudes of both couplings decrease as the scale $M$ increases. The\neffective masses are also shown to decrease with increasing compactification\nscale. All of this opens up the possibility of placing constraints on the size\nof extra dimensions.",
        "positive": "Heavy-Light Mesons from the AdS/CFT Correspondence: We propose a holographic description of heavy-light mesons, i.e. of mesons\ncontaining a light and a heavy quark. In the semi-classical string limit, we\nlook at the dynamics of strings tied between two D7 branes. We consider this\nsetup both in an AdS background and in the non-supersymmetric Constable-Myers\ngeometry which induces chiral symmetry breaking. We compute the meson masses in\neach case. Finally we discuss the relevance of this result for phenomenological\ncomparison to the physical b-quark sector."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Four flavours, triality and bimodular forms: We consider $\\mathcal{N}=2$ supersymmetric $\\text{SU}(2)$ gauge theory with\n$N_f=4$ massive hypermultiplets. The duality group of this theory contains\ntransformations acting on the UV-coupling $\\tau_{\\text{UV}}$ as well as on the\nrunning coupling $\\tau$. We establish that subgroups of the duality group act\nseparately on $\\tau_{\\text{UV}}$ and $\\tau$, while a larger group acts\nsimultaneously on $\\tau_{\\text{UV}}$ and $\\tau$. For special choices of the\nmasses, we find that the duality groups can be identified with congruence\nsubgroups of $\\text{SL}(2,\\mathbb Z)$. We demonstrate that in such cases, the\norder parameters are instances of bimodular forms with arguments $\\tau$ and\n$\\tau_{\\text{UV}}$. Since the UV duality group of the theory contains the\ntriality group of outer automorphisms of the flavour symmetry $\\text{SO}(8)$,\nthe duality action gives rise to an orbit of mass configurations. Consequently,\nthe corresponding order parameters combine to vector-valued bimodular forms\nwith $\\text{SL}(2,\\mathbb Z)$ acting simultaneously on the two couplings.",
        "positive": "The effect of a topological gauge field on Bose-Einstein condensation: We show that Bose-Einstein condensation of charged scalar fields interacting\nwith a topological gauge field at finite temperature is inhibited except for\nspecial values of the topological field. We also show that fermions interacting\nwith this topological gauge field can condense for some values of the gauge\nfield."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Effective Action in a General Chiral Model: Next to Leading Order\n  Derivative Expansion in the Worldline Method: We present a formalism to determine the imaginary part of a general chiral\nmodel in the derivative expansion. Our formalism is based on the worldline path\nintegral for the covariant current that can be given in an explicit chiral and\ngauge covariant form. The effective action is then obtained by integrating the\ncovariant current, taking account of the anomaly.",
        "positive": "Boundary fermion currents and subleading order chiral anomaly in the\n  AdS/CFT correspondence: We construct a wave-functional whose argument couples to boundary fermion\ncurrents in the AdS/CFT correspondence. Using this we calculate the\ncontributions from bulk fermions to the chiral anomaly that give the subleading\norder term in the exact $N$-dependence of the chiral anomaly of ${\\cal N}=4$\nSYM. The result agrees with the calculation of Bilal & Chu."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The thermodynamic quantities of a black hole with an $f(R)$ global\n  monopole: The thermodynamic quantities such as the local temperature, heat capacity,\noff-shell free energy and the stability of a black hole involving a global\nmonopole within or outside the $f(R)$ gravity are examined. We compare the two\nclasses of results to show the influence from the generalization of the general\nrelativity. It is found that the $f(R)$ theory will modify the thermodynamic\nproperties of black holes, but the shapes of curves for thermodynamic\nquantities with respect to the horizon are similar to the results within the\nframe of general relativity. In both cases there will exist a small black hole\nwhich will decay and a large stable black hole in the case that the\ntemperatures are higher than their own critical temperature.",
        "positive": "Soliton Creation with a Twist: We consider soliton creation when there are \"twist\" degrees of freedom\npresent in the model in addition to those that make up the soliton.\nSpecifically we consider a deformed O(3) sigma model in 1+1 dimensions, which\nreduces to the sine-Gordon model in the zero twist sector. We study the\nscattering of two or more breather solutions as a function of twist, and find\nsoliton creation for a range of parameters. We speculate on the application of\nthese ideas, in particular on the possible role of magnetic helicity, to the\nproduction of magnetic monopoles, and the violation of baryon number in nuclear\nscattering experiments."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "OPEs and 3-point correlators of protected operators in N=4 SYM: Two- and three-point correlation functions of arbitrary protected operators\nare constructed in N=4 SYM using analytic superspace methods. The OPEs of two\nchiral primary multiplets are given. It is shown that the $n$-point functions\nof protected operators for $n\\leq4$ are invariant under $U(1)_Y$ and it is\nargued that this implies that the two- and three-point functions are not\nrenormalised. It is shown explicitly how unprotected operators can be\naccommodated in the analytic superspace formalism in a way which is fully\ncompatible with analyticity. Some new extremal correlators are exhibited.",
        "positive": "The Role of M\u00f6bius Constants and Scattering Functions in CHY Scalar\n  Amplitudes: The integrations leading to the Cachazo-He-Yuan (CHY) double-color $n$-point\nmassless scalar amplitude are carried out one integral at a time. M\\\"obius\ninvariance dictates the final amplitude to be independent of the three M\\\"obius\nconstants $\\sigma_r, \\sigma_s, \\sigma_t$, but their choice affects integrations\nand the intermediate results. The effect of the M\\\"obius constants, the two\ncolors, and the scattering functions on each integration is investigated. A\nsystematic way to carry out the $n-3$ integrations is explained, each exposing\none of the $n-3$ propagators of the Feynman diagrams. Two detailed examples are\nshown to illustrate the procedure, one a five-point amplitude, and the other a\nnine-point amplitude."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Bulk Viscosity in Holographic Lifshitz Hydrodynamics: We compute the bulk viscosity in holographic models dual to theories with\nLifshitz scaling and/or hyperscaling violation, using a generalization of the\nbulk viscosity formula derived in arXiv:1103.1657 from the null focusing\nequation. We find that only a class of models with massive vector fields are\ntruly Lifshitz scale invariant, and have a vanishing bulk viscosity. For other\nholographic models with scalars and/or massless vector fields we find a\nuniversal formula in terms of the dynamical exponent and the hyperscaling\nviolation exponent.",
        "positive": "On the Taxonomy of Flux Vacua: We investigate several predictions about the properties of IIB flux vacua on\nCalabi-Yau orientifolds, by constructing and characterizing a very large set of\nvacua in a specific example, an orientifold of the Calabi-Yau hypersurface in\n$WP^{4}_{1,1,1,1,4}$. We find support for the prediction of Ashok and Douglas\nthat the density of vacua on moduli space is governed by ${\\rm det}(-R -\n\\omega)$ where $R$ and $\\omega$ are curvature and K\\\"ahler forms on the moduli\nspace. The conifold point $\\psi=1$ on moduli space therefore serves as an\nattractor, with a significant fraction of the flux vacua contained in a small\nneighborhood surrounding $\\psi=1$. We also study the functional dependence of\nthe number of flux vacua on the D3 charge in the fluxes, finding simple power\nlaw growth."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A domain wall and chiral edge current in holographic chiral phase\n  transitions: We investigate spatially inhomogeneous solutions in a top-down holographic\nmodel: the D3/D7 model which provides a holographic description of the chiral\nphase transition for a finite external magnetic field, chemical potential, and\ntemperature. We numerically find a domain wall (or kink) solution in the three\ndimensional space, which incorporates between the chiral symmetry broken phase\nat the spatial infinity, under the homogeneous sources. Along with the\ninhomogeneity of the chiral condensate, the charge density is also spatially\nmodulated. The modulated charge density and finite magnetic field lead to the\nchiral edge current close to the domain wall. We explore the dependences of\nthose profiles on the chemical potential and temperature near the first and\nsecond order phase transition points. Our results indicate that the\ninhomogeneous solutions we found are in good agreement with those obtained by\nthe Ginzburg--Landau theory in the vicinity of the transition points.",
        "positive": "Dangerous Angular KK/Glueball Relics in String Theory Cosmology: The presence of Kaluza-Klein particles in the universe is a potential\nmanifestation of string theory cosmology. In general, they can be present in\nthe high temperature bath of the early universe. In particular examples, string\ntheory inflation often ends with brane-antibrane annihilation followed by the\nenergy cascading through massive closed string loops to KK modes which then\ndecay into lighter standard model particles. However, massive KK modes in the\nearly universe may become dangerous cosmological relics if the inner manifold\ncontains warped throat(s) with approximate isometries. In the complimentary\npicture, in the AdS/CFT dual gauge theory with extra symmetries, massive\nglueballs of various spins become the dangerous cosmological relics. The decay\nof these angular KK modes/glueballs, located around the tip of the throat, is\ncaused by isometry breaking which results from gluing the throat to the compact\nCY manifold. We address the problem of these angular KK particles/glueballs,\nstudying their interactions and decay channels, from the theory side, and the\nresulting cosmological constraints on the warped compactification parameters,\nfrom the phenomenology side. The abundance and decay time of the long-lived\nnon-relativistic angular KK modes depend strongly on the parameters of the\nwarped geometry, so that observational constraints rule out a significant\nfraction of the parameter space. In particular, the coupling of the angular KK\nparticles can be weaker than gravitational."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The supersymmetric standard model from the Z_6' orientifold?: We construct N=1 supersymmetric fractional branes on the Z_6' orientifold.\nIntersecting stacks of such branes are needed to build a supersymmetric\nstandard model. If a,b are the stacks that generate the SU(3)_c and SU(2)_L\ngauge particles, then, in order to obtain just the chiral spectrum of the\n(supersymmetric) standard model (with non-zero Yukawa couplings to the Higgs\nmultiplets), it is necessary that the number of intersections a \\circ b of the\nstacks a and b, and the number of intersections a \\circ b' of a with the\norientifold image b' of b satisfy (a \\circ b, a \\circ b')=\\pm(2,1) or \\pm(1,2).\nIt is also necessary that there is no matter in symmetric representations of\nthe gauge group, and not too much matter in antisymmetric representations, on\neither stack. We provide a number of examples having these properties.\nDifferent lattices give different solutions and different physics.",
        "positive": "Solitons in an effective theory of CP violation: We study an effective field theory describing CP-violation in a scalar meson\nsector. We write the simplest interaction that we can imagine, $${\\cal L}\\sim\n\\epsilon_{i_1\\cdots\ni_5}\\epsilon^{\\mu_1\\cdots\\mu_4}\\phi_{i_1}\\partial_{\\mu_1}\\phi_{i_2}\\partial_{\\mu_2}\\phi_{i_3}\\partial_{\\mu_3}\\phi_{i_4}\\partial_{\\mu_4}\\phi_{i_5}$$\nwhich involves 5 scalar fields. The theory describes CP-violation only when it\ncontains scalar fields representing mesons such as the $K^*_0$, sigma, $f_0$ or\n$a_0$. If the fields represent pseudo-scalar mesons, such as B, K and $\\pi$\nmesons then the Lagrangian describes anomalous processes such as $KK\\to\n\\pi\\pi\\pi$. We speculate that the field theory contains long lived excitations\ncorresponding to $Q$-ball type domain walls expanding through space-time. In an\n1+1 dimensional, analogous, field theory we find an exact, analytic solution\ncorresponding to such solitons. The solitons have a U(1) charge $Q$, which can\nbe arbitrarily high, but oddly, the energy behaves as $Q^{2/3}$ for large\ncharge, thus the configurations are stable under disintegration into elementary\ncharged particles of mass $m$ with $Q=1$. We also find analytic complex\ninstanton solutions which have finite, positive Euclidean action."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Hagedorn Behaviour of PP-wave Strings and N=4 SYM Theory at\n  Finite R-Charge Density: We discuss the high temperature behaviour of IIB strings in the maximally\nsymmetric plane wave background, and show that there is a Hagedorn temperature.\nWe discuss the map between strings in the pp-wave background and the dual\nsuperconformal field theory in the thermal domain. The Hagedorn bound describes\na curve in the R-charge chemical potential versus temperature phase diagram of\nthe dual Yang-Mills theory and the theory manifestly exists on both sides.\nUsing a recent observation of Brower, Lowe, and Tan, we update our earlier\ncalculation to reflect that the pp-wave string exists on both sides of the\nHagedorn bound as well.",
        "positive": "Supersymmetric Duality in Deformed Superloop Space: In this paper, we will analyse the superloop space formalism for a four\ndimensional supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory in deformed superspace. We will\ndeform the $\\mathcal{N} =1$ superspace by imposing non-anticommutativity. This\nnon-anticommutative deformation of the superspace will break half the\nsupersymmetry of the original theory. So, this theory will have $\\mathcal{N}\n=1/2$ supersymmetry. We will analyse the superloop space duality for this\ndeformed supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory using the $\\mathcal{N} =1/2$\nsuperspace formalism. We will demonstrate that the sources in the original\ntheory will become monopoles in the dual theory, and the monopoles in the\noriginal theory will become sources in the dual theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Microstates and statistical entropy of observed black holes: We propose an ideal building of microscopic configurations for observed black\nholes from the compactification of Einstein gravity plus a positive\ncosmological constant in five dimensions on a circle and then compute their\nstatistical entropy. To compute the statistical entropy in this work is applied\nto general black holes independent of the symmetries of the black hole solution\nsuch as the spherical symmetry and going beyond the class of special black\nholes that are supersymmetric and (near-)extremal as well as have exotic\ncharges. The statistical entropy of black holes includes the Bekenstein-Hawking\narea term at leading order and sub-leading exponential corrections. We find a\nnew exponential correction which is more meaningful than that found previously\nin the literature.",
        "positive": "E$_9$ exceptional field theory I. The potential: We construct the scalar potential for the exceptional field theory based on\nthe affine symmetry group E$_9$. The fields appearing in this potential live\nformally on an infinite-dimensional extended spacetime and transform under\nE$_9$ generalised diffeomorphisms. In addition to the scalar fields expected\nfrom D=2 maximal supergravity, the invariance of the potential requires the\nintroduction of new constrained scalar fields. Other essential ingredients in\nthe construction include the Virasoro algebra and indecomposable\nrepresentations of E$_9$. Upon solving the section constraint, the potential\nreproduces the dynamics of either eleven-dimensional or type IIB supergravity\nin the presence of two isometries."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Loops from Cuts: We derive novel recursion relations for all loop amplitude integrands of\nplanar, maximally supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory in terms of unitarity-like\n`cuts' obtained via sequences of BCFW deformations in momentum-twistor space.",
        "positive": "Typicality and thermality in 2d CFT: We identify typical high energy eigenstates in two-dimensional conformal\nfield theories at finite $c$ and establish that correlation functions of the\nstress tensor in such states are accurately thermal as defined by the standard\ncanonical ensemble. Typical states of dimension $h$ are shown to be typical\nlevel $h/c$ descendants. In the AdS$_3$/CFT$_2$ correspondence, it is such\nstates that should be compared to black holes in the bulk. We also discuss the\ndiscrepancy between thermal correlators and those computed in high energy\nprimary states: the latter are reproduced instead by a generalized Gibbs\nensemble with extreme values chosen for the chemical potentials conjugate to\nthe KdV charges."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quark-antiquark pair production in space-time dependent fields: Fermion-antifermion pair-production in the presence of classical fields is\ndescribed based on the retarded and advanced fermion propagators. They are\nobtained by solving the equation of motion for the Dirac Green's functions with\nthe respective boundary conditions to all orders in the field. Subsequently,\nvarious approximation schemes fit for different field configurations are\nexplained. This includes longitudinally boost-invariant forms. Those occur\nfrequently in the description of ultrarelativistic heavy-ion collisions in the\nsemiclassical limit. As a next step, the gauge invariance of the expression for\nthe expectation value of the number of produced fermion-antifermion pairs as a\nfunctional of said propagators is investigated in detail. Finally, the\ncalculations are carried out for a longitudinally boost-invariant model-field,\ntaking care of the last issue, especially.",
        "positive": "Liouville Field Theory on an Unoriented Surface: Liouville field theory on an unoriented surface is investigated, in\nparticular, the one point function on a RP^2 is calculated. The constraint of\nthe one point function is obtained by using the crossing symmetry of the two\npoint function. There are many solutions of the constraint and we can choose\none of them by considering the modular bootstrap."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Testing the membrane paradigm with holography: One version of the membrane paradigm states that as far as outside observers\nare concerned, black holes can be replaced by a dissipative membrane with\nsimple physical properties located at the stretched horizon. We demonstrate\nthat such a membrane paradigm is incomplete in several aspects. We argue that\nit generically fails to capture the massive quasinormal modes, unless we\nreplace the stretched horizon by the exact event horizon, and illustrate this\nwith a scalar field in a BTZ black hole background. We also consider as a\nconcrete example linearized metric perturbations of a five-dimensional\nAdS-Schwarzschild black brane and show that a spurious excitation appears in\nthe long-wavelength response that is only removed from the spectrum when the\nmembrane paradigm is replaced by ingoing boundary conditions at the event\nhorizon. We interpret this excitation in terms of an additional Goldstone boson\nthat appears due to symmetry breaking by the classical solution ending on the\nstretched horizon rather than the event horizon.",
        "positive": "Massless Lifshitz Field Theory for Arbitrary $z$: By using the notion of fractional derivatives, we introduce a class of\nmassless Lifshitz scalar field theory in (1+1)-dimension with an arbitrary\nanisotropy index $z$. The Lifshitz scale invariant ground state of the theory\nis constructed explicitly and takes the form of Rokhsar-Kivelson (RK). We show\nthat there is a continuous family of ground states with degeneracy\nparameterized by the choice of solution to the equation of motion of an\nauxiliary classical system. The quantum mechanical path integral establishes a\n2d/1d correspondence with the equal time correlation functions of the Lifshitz\nscalar field theory. We study the entanglement properties of the Lifshitz\ntheory for arbitrary $z$ using the path integral representation. We find that\nthe Lifshitz vacuum at $z=1$ is insensitive to any subdivision of the system.\nThe entanglement measures are expressed in terms of certain cross ratio\nfunctions we specify, and satisfy the $c$-function monotonicity theorems. We\nalso consider the holographic description of the Lifshitz theory. In order to\nmatch with the field theory result for the entanglement entropy, we propose a\n$z$-dependent radius scale for the Lifshitz background. This relation is\nconsistent with the $z$-dependent scaling symmetry respected by the Lifshitz\nvacuum. Furthermore, the time-like entanglement entropy is determined using\nholography. Our result suggests that there should exist a fundamental\ndefinition of time-like entanglement other than employing analytic continuation\nas performed in relativistic field theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Cosmic F- and D-strings: Macroscopic fundamental and Dirichlet strings have several potential\ninstabilities: breakage, tachyon decays, and confinement by axion domain walls.\nWe investigate the conditions under which metastable strings can exist, and we\nfind that such strings are present in many models. There are various\npossibilities, the most notable being a network of (p,q) strings. Cosmic\nstrings give a potentially large window into string physics.",
        "positive": "Trace anomaly in the field-antifield formalism: The field-antifield quantization method is used to calculate the trace\nanomaly for a massless scalar field in a curved background, by means of the\nzeta function regularization procedure."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Squeezed Limits in Single-Field Inflation - Part I: The n-point correlation functions in single-field inflation obey a set of\nconsistency conditions in the exact squeezed limit which are not present in\nmulti-field models, and thus are powerful tools to distinguish between the two.\nHowever, these consistency conditions may be violated for a finite range of\nscales in single-field models, for example by departures from the Bunch-Davies\nstate. These it excited states may be the consequence of interactions during\ninflation, or may be a remnant of the era that preceded inflation. In this\npaper we analyze the bispectrum, and show that in the regime of theoretical\ncontrol the resulting signal in the squeezed limit remains undetectably small\nin all known models which continuously excite the state. We also show that the\nsignal remains undetectably small if the initial state is related to the\nBunch-Davies state by a Bogoliubov transformation and the energy density in the\nstate is small enough so that the usual slow-roll conditions are obeyed.\nBogoliubov states that lead to violations of the slow-roll conditions, as well\nas more general excited states, require more careful treatment and will be\ndiscussed in a separate publication.",
        "positive": "BPS Spectrum of Supersymmetric CP(N-1) Theory with Z_N Twisted Masses: We revisit the BPS spectrum of the supersymmetric CP(N-1) two-dimensional\nmodel with Z_N-symmetric twisted masses m_l (l=0,1, ..., N-1). A related issue\nwe address is that of the curves of marginal stability (CMS) in this theory.\nPrevious analyses were incomplete. We close the gap by exploiting a number of\nconsistency conditions. In particular, we amend the Dorey formula for the BPS\nspectrum. Our analysis is based on the exact Veneziano--Yankielowicz-type\nsuperpotential and on the strong-coupling spectrum of the theory found from the\nmirror representation at small masses, |m_l| << \\Lambda . We show that at weak\ncoupling the spectrum, with necessity, must include N-1 BPS towers of states,\ninstead of just one, as was thought before. Only one of the towers is seen in\nthe quasiclassical limit. We find the corresponding CMS for these towers, and\nargue that in the large-N limit they become circles, filling out a band on the\nplane of a single mass parameter of the model at hand. Inside the CMS, N-1\ntowers collapse into N stable states."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gopakumar-Vafa Invariants and the Emergent String Conjecture: The Emergent String Conjecture of Lee, Lerche, and Weigand holds that every\ninfinite-distance limit in the moduli space of a quantum gravity represents\neither a decompactification limit or an emergent string limit in some duality\nframe. Within the context of 5d supergravities coming from M-theory\ncompactifications on Calabi-Yau threefolds, we find evidence for this\nconjecture by studying (a) the gauge couplings and (b) the BPS spectrum, which\nis encoded in the Gopakumar-Vafa invariants of the threefold. In the process,\nwe derive a testable geometric consequence of the Emergent String Conjecture,\nand we verify that it is satisfied in all complete intersection Calabi-Yau\nthreefolds in products of projective spaces (CICYs).",
        "positive": "Racetrack inflation and assisted moduli stabilisation: We present a model of inflation based on a racetrack model without flux\nstabilization. The initial conditions are set automatically through topological\ninflation. This ensures that the dilaton is not swept to weak coupling through\neither thermal effects or fast roll. Including the effect of non-dilaton fields\nwe find that moduli provide natural candidates for the inflaton. The resulting\npotential generates slow-roll inflation without the need to fine tune\nparameters. The energy scale of inflation must be near the GUT scale and the\nscalar density perturbation generated has a spectrum consistent with WMAP data."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Emergent Gravity from Vanishing Energy-Momentum Tensor: A constraint of vanishing energy-momentum tensor is motivated by a variety of\nperspectives on quantum gravity. We demonstrate in a concrete example how this\nconstraint leads to a metric-independent theory in which quantum gravity\nemerges as a nonperturbative artifact of regularization-scale physics. We\nanalyze a scalar theory similar to the Dirac-Born-Infeld (DBI) theory with\nvanishing gauge fields, with the DBI Lagrangian modulated by a scalar\npotential. In the limit of a large number of scalars, we explicitly demonstrate\nthe existence of a composite massless spin-2 graviton in the spectrum that\ncouples to matter as in Einstein gravity. We comment on the cosmological\nconstant problem and the generalization to theories with fermions and gauge\nfields.",
        "positive": "Algebraic Solution of the Supersymmetric Hydrogen Atom in d Dimensions: In this paper the N=2 supersymmetric extension of the Schroedinger\nHamiltonian with 1/r-potential in arbitrary space-dimensions is constructed.\nThe supersymmetric hydrogen atom admits a conserved Laplace-Runge-Lenz vector\nwhich extends the rotational symmetry SO(d) to a hidden SO(d+1) symmetry. This\nsymmetry of the system is used to determine the discrete eigenvalues with their\ndegeneracies and the corresponding bound state wave functions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic Josephson Junction in 3+1 dimensions: In arXiv:1101.3326[hep-th], a (2+1)-dimensional holographic Josephson\njunction was constructed, and it was shown that the DC Josephson current is\nproportional to the sine of the phase difference across the junction. In this\npaper, we extend this study to a holographic description for the\n(3+1)-dimensional holographic DC Josephson junction. By solving numerically the\ncoupled differential equations, we also obtain the familiar characteristics of\nJosephson junctions.",
        "positive": "Quantum Structure of Field Theory and Standard Model Based on\n  Infinity-free Loop Regularization/Renormalization: To understand better the quantum structure of field theory and standard model\nin particle physics, it is necessary to investigate carefully the divergence\nstructure in quantum field theories (QFTs) and work out a consistent framework\nto avoid infinities. The divergence has got us into trouble since developing\nquantum electrodynamics in 1930s, its treatment via the renormalization scheme\nis satisfied not by all physicists, like Dirac and Feynman who have made\nserious criticisms. The renormalization group analysis reveals that QFTs can in\ngeneral be defined fundamentally with the meaningful energy scale that has some\nphysical significance, which motivates us to develop a new symmetry-preserving\nand infinity-free regularization scheme called loop regularization (LORE). A\nsimple regularization prescription in LORE is realized based on a manifest\npostulation that a loop divergence with a power counting dimension larger than\nor equal to the space-time dimension must vanish. The LORE method is achieved\nwithout modifying original theory and leads the divergent Feynman loop\nintegrals well-defined to maintain the divergence structure and meanwhile\npreserve basic symmetries of original theory. The crucial point in LORE is the\npresence of two intrinsic energy scales which play the roles of ultraviolet\ncut-off $M_c$ and infrared cut-off $\\mu_s$ to avoid infinities. The key concept\nin LORE is the introduction of irreducible loop integrals (ILIs) on which the\nregularization prescription acts, which leads to a set of gauge invariance\nconsistency conditions between the regularized tensor-type and scalar-type\nILIs. The evaluation of ILIs with ultraviolet-divergence-preserving (UVDP)\nparametrization naturally leads to Bjorken-Drell's analogy between Feynman\ndiagrams and electric circuits. The LORE method has been shown to be applicable\nto both underlying and effective QFTs."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauge Invariant Variational Approach with Fermions: the Schwinger Model: We extend the gauge invariant variational approach of Phys. Rev. D52 (1995)\n3719, hep-th/9408081, to theories with fermions. As the simplest example we\nconsider the massless Schwinger model in 1+1 dimensions. We show that in this\nsolvable model the simple variational calculation gives exact results.",
        "positive": "Investigation of anomalous axial QED: Although axial QED suffers from a gauge anomaly, gauge invariance may be\nmaintained by the addition of a nonlocal counterterm. Such nonlocal\nconterterms, however, are expected to ruin unitarity of the theory. We\nexplicitly investigate some relevant Feynman diagrams and show that, indeed,\nunitarity is violated, contrary to recent claims."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Chiral WZNW Phase Space, Exchange r-Matrices and Poisson-Lie\n  Groupoids: This is a review of recent work on the chiral extensions of the WZNW phase\nspace describing both the extensions based on fields with generic monodromy as\nwell as those using Bloch waves with diagonal monodromy. The symplectic form on\nthe extended phase space is inverted in both cases and the chiral WZNW fields\nare found to satisfy quadratic Poisson bracket relations characterized by\nmonodromy dependent exchange r-matrices. Explicit expressions for the exchange\nr-matrices in terms of the arbitrary monodromy dependent 2-form appearing in\nthe chiral WZNW symplectic form are given. The exchange r-matrices in the\ngeneral case are shown to satisfy a new dynamical generalization of the\nclassical modified Yang-Baxter (YB) equation and Poisson-Lie (PL) groupoids are\nconstructed that encode this equation analogously as PL groups encode the\nclassical YB equation. For an arbitrary simple Lie group $G$, exchange\nr-matrices are exhibited that are in one-to-one correspondence with the\npossible PL structures on $G$ and admit them as PL symmetries.",
        "positive": "Finiteness of the triple gauge-ghost vertices in ${\\cal N}=1$\n  supersymmetric gauge theories: the two-loop verification: By an explicit calculation we demonstrate that the triple gauge-ghost\nvertices in a general renormalizable ${\\cal N}=1$ supersymmetric gauge theory\nare UV finite in the two-loop approximation. For this purpose we calculate the\ntwo-loop divergent contribution to the $\\bar c^+ V c$-vertex proportional to\n$(C_2)^2$ and use the finiteness of the two-loop contribution proportional to\n$C_2 T(R)$ which has been checked earlier. The theory under consideration is\nregularized by higher covariant derivatives and quantized in a manifestly\n${\\cal N}=1$ supersymmetric way with the help of ${\\cal N}=1$ superspace. The\ntwo-loop finiteness of the vertices with one external line of the quantum gauge\nsuperfield and two external lines of the Faddeev--Popov ghosts has been\nverified for a general $\\xi$-gauge. This result agrees with the\nnonrenormalization theorem proved earlier in all orders, which is an important\nstep for the all-loop derivation of the exact NSVZ $\\beta$-function."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Geometric phase and chiral anomaly; their basic differences: All the geometric phases are shown to be topologically trivial by using the\nsecond quantized formulation. The exact hidden local symmetry in the\nSchr\\\"{o}dinger equation, which was hitherto unrecognized, controls the\nholonomy associated with both of the adiabatic and non-adiabatic geometric\nphases. The second quantized formulation is located in between the first\nquantized formulation and the field theory, and thus it is convenient to\ncompare the geometric phase with the chiral anomaly in field theory. It is\nshown that these two notions are completely different.",
        "positive": "N=4 super Yang-Mills matrix integrals for almost all simple gauge groups: In this paper the partition function of N=4 D=0 super Yang-Mills matrix\ntheory with arbitrary simple gauge group is discussed. We explicitly computed\nits value for all classical groups of rank up to 11 and for the exceptional\ngroups G_2, F_4 and E_6. In the case of classical groups of arbitrary rank we\nconjecture general formulas for the B_r, C_r and D_r series in addition to the\nknown result for the A_r series. Also, the relevant boundary term contributing\nto the Witten index of the corresponding supersymmetric quantum mechanics has\nbeen explicitly computed as a simple function of rank for the orthogonal and\nsymplectic groups SO(2N+1), Sp(2N), SO(2N)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Integrable systems connected with black holes: This work is devoted to the study of some important questions in general\nrelativity. They include topics related to astrophysical shock waves, impulsive\nsignals, gravitational memory effect, black hole geometries and integrable\nsystems connected with them.",
        "positive": "Predictive description of Planck-scale-induced spacetime fuzziness: Several approaches to the quantum-gravity problem predict that spacetime\nshould be \"fuzzy\", but have been so far unable to provide a crisp physical\ncharacterization of this notion. An intuitive picture of spacetime fuzziness\nhas been proposed on the basis of semi-heuristic arguments, and in particular\ninvolves an irreducible Planck-scale contribution to the uncertainty of the\nenergy of a particle. These arguments also inspired a rather active\nphenomenological programme looking for blurring of images of distant\nastrophysical sources that would result from such energy uncertainties. We here\nreport the first ever physical characterization of spacetime fuzziness derived\nconstructively within a quantum picture of spacetime, the one provided by\nspacetime noncommutativity. Our results confirm earlier heuristic arguments\nsuggesting that spacetime fuzziness, while irrelevantly small on terrestrial\nscales, could be observably large for propagation of particles over\ncosmological distances. However, we find no Planck-scale-induced lower bound on\nthe uncertainty of the energy of particles, and we observe that this changes\nhow we should picture a quantum spacetime and also imposes a reanalysis of the\nassociated phenomenology."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Topology and phase transition for EPYM AdS black hole in thermal\n  potential: As we all know the local topological properties of thermodynamical systems\ncan be expressed by the winding numbers as the defects. The topological number\nthat is the sum of all winding numbers can be used to classify the global\ntopological nature of thermodynamical systems. In this paper, we construct a\nkind of thermal potential and then put the Einstein-power-Yang-Mills AdS black\nhole in it. Through the analysis of the geometric characteristics of the\nthermal potential based on the complex analysis we find the topological number\nis an invariant that is same as shown in the way of the Duan's $\\phi$-mapping\ntopological current [Sci. Sin. 9, 1072 (1979)]. Furthermore, we adopt the\nKramer's escape rate method to investigate the intensity of the first-order\nphase transition.",
        "positive": "Diluting Cosmological Constant via Large Distance Modification of\n  Gravity: We review a solution of the cosmological constant problem in a brane-world\nmodel with infinite-volume extra dimensions. The solution is based on a\nnonlinear generally covariant theory of a metastable graviton that leads to a\nlarge-distance modification of gravity.\n  From the extra-dimensional standpoint the problem is solved due to the fact\nthat the four-dimensional vacuum energy curves mostly the extra space. The\nfour-dimensional curvature is small, being inversely proportional to a positive\npower of the vacuum energy. The effects of infinite-volume extra dimensions are\nseen by a brane-world observer as nonlocal operators.\n  From the four-dimensional perspective the problem is solved because the\nzero-mode graviton is extremely weakly coupled to localized four-dimensional\nsources. The observable gravity is mediated not by zero mode but, instead, by a\nmetastable graviton with a lifetime of the order of the present-day Hubble\nscale. Therefore, laws of gravity are modified in the infrared above the Hubble\nscale. Large wave-length sources, such as the vacuum energy, feel only the\nzero-mode interaction and, as a result, curve space very mildly. Shorter\nwave-length sources interact predominantly via exchange of the metastable\ngraviton. Because of this, all standard properties of early cosmology,\nincluding inflation, are intact."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Arrows of Time in the Bouncing Universes of the No-boundary Quantum\n  State: We derive the arrows of time of our universe that follow from the no-boundary\ntheory of its quantum state (NBWF) in a minisuperspace model. Arrows of time\nare viewed four-dimensionally as properties of the four-dimensional Lorentzian\nhistories of the universe. Probabilities for these histories are predicted by\nthe NBWF. For histories with a regular `bounce' at a minimum radius we find\nthat fluctuations are small at the bounce and grow in the direction of\nexpansion on either side. For recollapsing classical histories with big bang\nand big crunch singularities we find that the fluctuations are small near one\nsingularity and grow through the expansion and recontraction to the other\nsingularity. The arrow of time defined by the growth in fluctuations thus\npoints in one direction over the whole of a recollapsing spacetime but is\nbidirectional in a bouncing spacetime. We argue that the electromagnetic,\nthermodynamic, and psychological arrows of time are aligned with the\nfluctuation arrow. The implications of a bidirectional arrow of time for\ncausality are discussed.",
        "positive": "Lessons from conformally reduced quantum gravity: In this work we study a significantly enlarged truncation of conformally\nreduced quantum gravity in the context of Asymptotic Safety, including all\noperators that can be resolved in such a truncation including up to the sixth\norder in derivatives. A fixed point analysis suggests that there is no\nasymptotically safe fixed point in this system once one goes beyond an\nEinstein-Hilbert approximation. We will put these findings into context and\ndiscuss some lessons that can be learned from these results for general\nnon-perturbative renormalisation group flows."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Higher Spin Double Field Theory : A Proposal: We construct a double field theory coupled to the fields present in\nVasiliev's equations. Employing the \"semi-covariant\" differential geometry, we\nspell a functional in which each term is completely covariant with respect to\n$\\mathbf{O}(4,4)$ T-duality, doubled diffeomorphisms, $\\mathbf{Spin}(1,3)$\nlocal Lorentz symmetry and, separately, $\\mathbf{HS}(4)$ higher spin gauge\nsymmetry. We identify a minimal set of BPS-like conditions whose solutions\nautomatically satisfy the full Euler-Lagrange equations. As such a solution, we\nderive a linear dilaton vacuum. With extra algebraic constraints further\nsupplemented, the BPS-like conditions reduce to the bosonic Vasiliev equations.",
        "positive": "Russian Doll Renormalization Group, Kosterlitz-Thouless Flows, and the\n  Cyclic sine-Gordon model: We investigate the previously proposed cyclic regime of the\nKosterlitz-Thouless renormalization group (RG) flows. The period of one cycle\nis computed in terms of the RG invariant. Using bosonization, we show that the\ntheory has $U_q (\\hat{sl(2)})$ quantum affine symmetry, with $q$ {\\it real}.\nBased on this symmetry, we study two possible S-matrices for the theory,\ndiffering only by overall scalar factors. We argue that one S-matrix\ncorresponds to a continuum limit of the XXZ spin chain in the\nanti-ferromagnetic domain $\\Delta < -1$. The latter S-matrix has a periodicity\nin energy consistent with the cyclicity of the RG. We conjecture that this\nS-matrix describes the cyclic regime of the Kosterlitz-Thouless flows.\n  The other S-matrix we investigate is an analytic continuation of the usual\nsine-Gordon one. It has an infinite number of resonances with masses that have\na Russian doll scaling behavior that is also consistent with the period of the\nRG cycles computed from the beta-function. Closure of the bootstrap for this\nS-matrix leads to an infinite number of particles of higher spin with a mass\nformula suggestive of a string theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Asymptotically Safe Standard Model: From quantum gravity to\n  dynamical chiral symmetry breaking: We present a comprehensive non-perturbative study of the phase structure of\nthe asymptotically safe Standard Model. The physics scales included range from\nthe asymptotically safe trans-Planckian regime in the ultraviolet, the\nintermediate high-energy regime with electroweak symmetry breaking to strongly\ncorrelated QCD in the infrared. All flows are computed with a self-consistent\nfunctional renormalisation group approach, using a vertex expansion in the\nfluctuation fields. In particular, this approach takes care of all physical\nthreshold effects and the respective decoupling of ultraviolet degrees of\nfreedom. Standard Model and gravity couplings and masses are fixed by their\nexperimental low energy values. Importantly, we accommodate for the difference\nbetween the top pole mass and its Euclidean analogue. Both, the correct mass\ndetermination and the threshold effects have a significant impact on the\nqualitative properties, and in particular on the stability properties of the\nspecific ultraviolet-infrared trajectory with experimental Standard Model\nphysics in the infrared. We show that in the present rather advanced\napproximation the matter part of the asymptotically safe Standard Model has the\nsame number of relevant parameters as the Standard Model, and is asymptotically\nfree. This result is based on the novel UV fixed point found in the present\nwork: the fixed point Higgs potential is flat but has two relevant directions.\nThese results and their analysis are accompanied by a thorough discussion of\nthe systematic error of the present truncation, also important for systematic\nimprovements.",
        "positive": "The SU(n)_1 WZW Models: Spinon Decomposition and Yangian Structure: We present a `spinon formulation' of the $SU(n)_1$ Wess-Zumino-Witten models.\nCentral to this approach are a set of massless quasi-particles, called\n`spinons', which transform in the representation ${\\bf \\bar{n}}$ of $su(n)$ and\ncarry fractional statistics of angle $\\theta = \\pi/n$. Multi-spinon states are\ngrouped into irreducible representations of the yangian $Y(sl_n)$. We give\nexplicit results for the $su(n)$ content of these yangian representations and\npresent $N$-spinon cuts of the WZW character formulas. As a by-product, we\nobtain closed expressions for characters of the $su(n)$ Haldane-Shastry spin\nchains."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Forward-Backward Squeezing Propagator: I show that a usual propagator cannot be defined for the pseudo-diffusion\nequation of the Q-functions. Instead, a forward-backward propagator is defined,\nwhich motivated a generalization of Cahill-Glauber interpolating operator. Our\ngeneralized operator ${\\bf Q}(p,q;\\sigma_p^{-1},\\sigma_q)$ depends on two\nsqueezing parameters $\\sigma_p$ and $\\sigma_q$, and is shown to obey a\ngeneralized pseudo-diffusion equation or a diffusion equation, depending on the\ncurve $(\\sigma_p(\\mu),\\sigma_q(\\mu))$ along which one moves in the\n$(\\sigma_p,\\sigma_q)$ plane. An algorithm is also given for squeezing Q\nfunctions directly, using one-dimensional diffusion propagators.",
        "positive": "Non-Minimally Coupled Massive Scalar Field in a 2D Black Hole: Exactly\n  Solvable Model: We study a nonminimal massive scalar field in a 2-dimensional black hole\nspacetime. We consider the black hole which is the solution of the 2d dilaton\ngravity derived from string-theoretical models. We found an explicit solution\nin a closed form for all modes and the Green function of the scalar field with\nan arbitrary mass and a nonminimal coupling to the curvature. Greybody factors,\nthe Hawking radiation, and $ < \\phi^2 >^{ren} $ are calculated explicitly for\nthis exactly solvable model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Euclidean scalar Green functions near the black hole and black brane\n  horizons: We discuss approximations of the Riemannian geometry near the horizon. If a\nD+1 dimensional manifold N has a bifurcate Killing horizon then we approximate\nN by a product of the two-dimensional Rindler space and a D-1 dimensional\nRiemannian manifold M. We obtain approximate formulas for scalar Green\nfunctions. We study the behaviour of the Green functions near the horizon and\ntheir dimensional reduction. We show that if M is compact then the Green\nfunction near the horizon can be approximated by the Green function of a\ntwo-dimensional quantum field theory. The correction term is exponentially\nsmall away from the horizon. We extend the results to black brane solutions of\nsupergravity in 10 and 11 dimensions. The near horizon geometry can be\napproximated by N=AdS_p x S_q. We discuss Euclidean Green functions on N and\ntheir behaviour near the horizon.",
        "positive": "Hybrid compactifications and brane gravity in six dimensions: We consider a six-dimensional axisymmetric Einstein-Maxwell model of warped\nbraneworlds. The bulk is bounded by two branes, one of which is a conical\n3-brane and the other is a 4-brane wrapped around the axis of symmetry. The\nlatter brane is assumed to be our universe. If the tension of the 3-brane is\nfine-tuned, it folds the internal two-dimensional space in a narrow cone,\nmaking sufficiently small the Kaluza-Klein circle of the 4-brane. An arbitrary\nenergy-momentum tensor can be accommodated on this ring-like 4-brane. We study\nlinear perturbations sourced by matter on the brane, and show that weak gravity\nis apparently described by a four-dimensional scalar-tensor theory. The extra\nscalar degree of freedom can be interpreted as the fluctuation of the internal\nspace volume (or that of the circumference of the ring), the effect of which\nturns out to be suppressed at long distances. Consequently, four-dimensional\nEinstein gravity is reproduced on the brane. We point out that as in the\nRandall-Sundrum model, the brane bending mode is crucial for recovering the\nfour-dimensional tensor structure in this setup."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Strings on a Cone and Black Hole Entropy: String propagation on a cone with deficit angle $2\\pi (1- \\frac{1}{N} ) $ is\ndescribed by constructing a non-compact orbifold of a plane by a $Z_{N}$\nsubgroup of rotations. It is modular invariant and has tachyons in the twisted\nsectors that are localized to the tip of the cone. A possible connection with\nthe quantum corrections to the black hole entropy is outlined. The entropy\ncomputed by analytically continuing in N would receive contribution only from\nthe twisted sectors and be naturally proportional to the area of the event\nhorizon. Evidence is presented for a new duality for these orbifolds similar to\nthe ${\\scriptstyle R} \\rightarrow {1\\over R} $ duality.",
        "positive": "Isolated States and the Classical Phase Spase of 2-d String Theory: We investigate the classical phase space of 2-d string theory. We derive the\nlinearised covariant equations for the spacetime fields by considering the most\ngeneral deformation of the energy-momentum tensor which describes $c=1$ matter\nsystem coupled to 2-d gravity and by demanding that it respect conformal\ninvariance. We derive the gauge invariances of the theory, and so investigate\nthe classical phase space, defined as the space of all solutions to the\nequations of motion modulo gauge transformations. We thus clarify the origins\nof two classes of isolated states."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hyperfine Splitting and the Zeeman Effect in Holographic Heavy-Light\n  Mesons: We inspect the mass spectrum of heavy-light mesons in deformed N=2 super\nYang-Mills theory using the AdS/CFT correspondence. We demonstrate how some of\nthe degeneracies of the supersymmetric meson spectrum can be removed upon\nbreaking the supersymmetry, thus leading to the emergence of hyperfine\nstructure. The explicit SUSY breaking scenarios we consider involve on one hand\ntilting one of the two fundamental D7 branes inside the internal R^6 space, and\non the other hand applying an external magnetic field on the (untilted) branes.\nThe latter scenario leads to the well-known Zeeman effect, which we inspect for\nboth weak and strong magnetic fields.",
        "positive": "Non-linear charged planar black holes in four-dimensional\n  Scalar-Gauss-Bonnet theories: In this work, we consider the recently proposed well-defined theory that\npermits a healthy $D\\to 4$ limit of the Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet combination,\nwhich requires the addition of a scalar degree of freedom. We continue the\nconstruction of exact, hairy black hole solutions in this theory in the\npresence of matter sources, by considering a nonlinear electrodynamics source,\nconstructed through the Pleba\\'nski tensor and a precise structural function\n$\\mathcal{H}(P)$. Computing the thermodynamic quantities with the Wald\nformalism, we identify a region in parameter space where the hairy black holes\nposses well-defined, non-vanishing, finite thermodynamic quantities, in spite\nof the relaxed asymptotic approach to planar AdS. We test its local stability\nunder thermal and electrical fluctuations and we also show that a Smarr\nrelation is satisfied for these black hole configurations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Infrared divergences, mass shell singularities and gauge dependence of\n  the dynamical fermion mass: We study the behavior of the dynamical fermion mass when infrared divergences\nand mass shell singularities are present in a gauge theory. In particular, in\nthe massive Schwinger model in covariant gauges we find that the pole of the\nfermion propagator is divergent and gauge dependent at one loop, but the\nleading singularities cancel in the quenched rainbow approximation. On the\nother hand, in physical gauges, we find that the dynamical fermion mass is\nfinite and gauge independent at least up to one loop.",
        "positive": "Quantumgroups in the Higgs Phase: In the Higgs phase we may be left with a residual finite symmetry group H of\nthe condensate. The topological interactions between the magnetic- and electric\nexcitations in these so-called discrete H gauge theories are completely\ndescribed by the Hopf algebra or quantumgroup D(H). In 2+1 dimensional space\ntime we may add a Chern-Simons term to such a model. This deforms the\nunderlying Hopf algebra D(H) into a quasi-Hopf algebra by means of a 3-cocycle\nH. Consequently, the finite number of physically inequivalent discrete H gauge\ntheories obtained in this way are labelled by the elements of the cohomology\ngroup H^3(H,U(1)). We briefly review the above results in these notes. Special\nattention is given to the Coulomb screening mechanism operational in the Higgs\nphase. This mechanism screens the Coulomb interactions, but not the\nAharonov-Bohm interactions. (Invited talk given by Mark de Wild Propitius at\n`The III International Conference on Mathematical Physics, String Theory and\nQuantum Gravity', Alushta, Ukraine, June 13-24, 1993. To be published in Theor.\nMath. Phys.)"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Induced gravity and gauge interactions revisited: It has been shown that the primary, old-fashioned idea of Sakharov's induced\ngravity and gauge interactions, in the \"one-loop dominance\" version, works\nastonishingly well yielding phenomenologically reasonable results. As a\nbyproduct, the issue of the role of the UV cutoff in the context of the induced\ngravity has been reexamined (an idea of self-cutoff induced gravity). As an\nadditional check, the black hole entropy has been used in the place of the\naction. Finally, it has been explicitly shown that the induced coupling\nconstants of gauge interactions of the standard model assume qualitatively\nrealistic values.",
        "positive": "Multi-centered AdS$_3$ solutions from Virasoro conformal blocks: We revisit the construction of multi-centered solutions in three-dimensional\nanti-de Sitter gravity in the light of the recently discovered connection\nbetween particle worldlines and classical Virasoro conformal blocks. We focus\non multi-centered solutions which represent the backreaction of point masses\nmoving on helical geodesics in global AdS$_3$, and argue that their\nconstruction reduces to a problem in Liouville theory on the disk with\nZamolodchikov-Zamolodchikov boundary condition. In order to construct the\nsolution one needs to solve a certain monodromy problem which we argue is\nsolved by a vacuum classical conformal block on the sphere in a particular\nchannel. In this way we construct multi-centered gravity solutions by using\nconformal blocks special functions. We show that our solutions represent\nleft-right asymmetric configurations of operator insertions in the dual CFT. We\nalso provide a check of our arguments in an example and comment on other types\nof solutions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Massive Neutrinos and (Heterotic) String Theory: String theories in principle address the origin and values of the quark and\nlepton masses. Perhaps the small values of neutrino masses could be explained\ngenerically in string theory even if it is more difficult to calculate\nindividual values, or perhaps some string constructions could be favored by\ngenerating small neutrino masses. We examine this issue in the context of the\nwell-known three-family standard-like Z_3 heterotic orbifolds, where the theory\nis well enough known to construct the corresponding operators allowed by string\nselection rules, and analyze the D- and F-flatness conditions. Surprisingly, we\nfind that a simple see-saw mechanism does not arise. It is not clear whether\nthis is a property of this construction, or of orbifolds more generally, or of\nstring theory itself. Extended see-saw mechanisms may be allowed; more analysis\nwill be needed to settle that issue. We briefly speculate on their form if\nallowed and on the possibility of alternatives, such as small Dirac masses and\ntriplet see-saws. The smallness of neutrino masses may be a powerful probe of\nstring constructions in general. We also find further evidence that there are\nonly 20 inequivalent models in this class, which affects the counting of string\nvacua.",
        "positive": "Full Lagrangian and Hamiltonian for quantum strings on AdS_4 x CP^3 in a\n  near plane wave limit: We find the full interacting Lagrangian and Hamiltonian for quantum strings\nin a near plane wave limit of AdS_4 x CP^3. The leading curvature corrections\ngive rise to cubic and quartic terms in the Lagrangian and Hamiltonian that we\ncompute in full. The Lagrangian is found as the type IIA Green-Schwarz\nsuperstring in the light-cone gauge employing a superspace construction with 32\ngrassmann-odd coordinates. The light-cone gauge for the fermions is non-trivial\nsince it should commute with the supersymmetry condition. We provide a\nprescription to properly fix the kappa-symmetry gauge condition to make it\nconsistent with light-cone gauge. We use fermionic field redefinitions to find\na simpler Lagrangian. To construct the Hamiltonian a Dirac procedure is needed\nin order to properly keep into account the fermionic second class constraints.\nWe combine the field redefinition with a shift of the fermionic phase space\nvariables that reduces Dirac brackets to Poisson brackets. This results in a\ncompletely well-defined and explicit expression for the full interacting\nHamiltonian up to and including terms quartic in the number of fields."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hawking temperature and the bound on greybody factors in $D = 4$ double\n  field theory: We investigate the basic properties of Hawking radiation for spherical\nsolutions in $D = 4$ double field theory. We give the expression of the Hawking\ntemperature for the solution and then discuss the results of various limits. We\nfind that for all these limits only Schwarzschild solution and F-JNW solution\ncan generate Hawking radiation. Moreover, we obtain the lower bound on greybody\nfactors $\\sigma_l(\\omega)$ for the spherical solutions in $D = 4$ double field\ntheory. In particular, we calculate the bound on greybody factors\n$\\sigma_l(\\omega)$ for F-JNW solution. For F-JNW solution, $\\sigma_l(\\omega)$\nmonotonically increases with the increase of $a(b)$ for fixed $b(a)$.",
        "positive": "Thermalization in backgrounds with hyperscaling violating factor: We present an analytic solution of a Vaidya-charged black hole with a\nhyperscaling violating factor in an Einstein-Maxwell-dilaton model, where the\nscalar potential plays a key role in the existence of the solution. By making\nuse of this result, we study the process of thermalization after a global\nquench in a theory which its gravitational description is provided by the\nresultant solution in the case of zero charge. In particular, we probe the\nsystem by entanglement entropy and show that it exhibits certain scaling\nbehaviors during the process."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Two-dimensional gravity with an invariant energy scale: We investigate the gauging of a two-dimensional deformation of the Poincare\nalgebra, which accounts for the existence of an invariant energy scale. The\nmodel describes 2D dilaton gravity with torsion. We obtain explicit solutions\nof the field equations and discuss their physical properties.",
        "positive": "On Tensorial Spaces and BCFW Recursion Relations for Higher Spin Fields: In this short review we briefly consider two topics in the higher spin gauge\ntheory: the method of \"tensorial (super) spaces\" and application of BCFW\nrecursion relations to higher spin fields."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Polynomial Fermionic Forms for the Branching Functions of the Rational\n  Coset Conformal Field Theories $\\widehat{su}(2)_{M}\\times\n  \\widehat{su}(2)_{N}/\\widehat{su}(2)_{M+N}$}: General fermionic expressions for the branching functions of the rational\ncoset conformal field theories $\\widehat{su}(2)_{M}\\times\n\\widehat{su}(2)_N/\\widehat{su}(2)_{M+N}$ are given. The equality of the bosonic\nand fermionic representations for the branching functions is proven by\nintroducing polynomial truncations of these branching functions which are the\nconfiguration sums of the RSOS models in regime III. The path space\ninterpretation of the RSOS models provides recursion relations for the\nconfiguration sums. The proof of the recursion relations for the fermionic\nexpressions is given by using telescopic expansion techniques. The\nconfiguration sums of the RSOS model in regime II which correspond to the\nbranching functions of the $Z_{M+N}$-parafermion conformal field theory are\nobtained by the duality transformation $q\\rightarrow q^{-1}$.",
        "positive": "Holographic Entanglement negativity in flat space generalized minimal\n  massive gravity: In this paper we study the application of holographic entanglement negativity\nproposal for bipartite states in the 2d Galilean conformal field theory\n($GCFT_2$) dual to bulk asymptotically flat spacetimes in the context of\ngeneralized minimal massive gravity (GMMG) model. $GCFT_2$ is considered on the\nboundary side of the duality and the bulk gravity is described by GMMG that is\nasymptotically symmetric under the Galilean conformal transformations. In this\npaper, the replica technique, based on the two-point and the four-point twist\ncorrelators, is utilized and the entanglement entropy and the entanglement\nnegativity are obtained in the bipartite configurations of the system in the\nboundary."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Classical {\\it vs.}\\ Landau-Ginzburg Geometry of Compactification: We consider superstring compactifications where both the classical\ndescription, in terms of a Calabi-Yau manifold, and also the quantum theory is\nknown in terms of a Landau-Ginzburg orbifold model. In particular, we study\n(smooth) Calabi-Yau examples in which there are obstructions to parametrizing\nall of the complex structure cohomology by polynomial deformations thus\nrequiring the analysis based on exact and spectral sequences. General arguments\nensure that the Landau-Ginzburg chiral ring copes with such a situation by\nhaving a nontrivial contribution from twisted sectors. Beyond the expected\nfinal agreement between the mathematical and physical approaches, we find a\ndirect correspondence between the analysis of each, thus giving a more complete\nmathematical understanding of twisted sectors. Furthermore, this approach shows\nthat physical reasoning based upon spectral flow arguments for determining the\nspectrum of Landau-Ginzburg orbifold models finds direct mathematical\njustification in Koszul complex calculations and also that careful point- field\nanalysis continues to recover suprisingly much of the stringy features.",
        "positive": "Computing the Effective Action with the Functional Renormalization Group: The \"exact\" or \"functional\" renormalization group equation describes the\nrenormalization group flow of the effective average action $\\Gamma_k$. The\nordinary effective action $\\Gamma_0$ can be obtained by integrating the flow\nequation from an ultraviolet scale $k=\\Lambda$ down to $k=0$. We give several\nexamples of such calculations at one-loop, both in renormalizable and in\neffective field theories. We use the results of Barvinsky, Vilkovisky and\nAvramidi on the non-local heat kernel coefficients to reproduce the four point\nscattering amplitude in the case of a real scalar field theory with quartic\npotential and in the case of the pion chiral lagrangian. In the case of gauge\ntheories, we reproduce the vacuum polarization of QED and of Yang-Mills theory.\nWe also compute the two point functions for scalars and gravitons in the\neffective field theory of scalar fields minimally coupled to gravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Black holes in $\u03c9$-defomed gauged $N=8$ supergravity: Motivated by the recently found 4-dimensional omega-deformed gauge\nsupergravity, we investigate the black hole solutions within all the single\nscalar field consistent truncations of this theory. We construct black hole\nsolutions that have spherical, toroidal, and hyperbolic horizon topology. The\nscalar field is regular everywhere outside the curvature singularity and the\nstress-energy tensor satisfies the null energy condition. When the parameter\nomega does not vanish, there is a degeneracy in the spectrum of black hole\nsolutions for boundary conditions that preserve the asymptotic Anti-de Sitter\nsymmetries. These boundary conditions correspond to multi-trace deformations in\nthe dual field theory.",
        "positive": "Inhomogeneous Anisotropic Cosmology: In homogeneous and isotropic Friedmann-Robertson-Walker cosmology, the\ntopology of the universe determines its ultimate fate. If the Weak Energy\nCondition is satisfied, open and flat universes must expand forever, while\nclosed cosmologies can recollapse to a Big Crunch. A similar statement holds\nfor homogeneous but anisotropic (Bianchi) universes. Here, we prove that\n$arbitrarily$ inhomogeneous and anisotropic cosmologies with \"flat\" (including\ntoroidal) and \"open\" (including compact hyperbolic) spatial topology that are\ninitially expanding must continue to expand forever at least in some region at\na rate bounded from below by a positive number, despite the presence of\narbitrarily large density fluctuations and/or the formation of black holes.\nBecause the set of 3-manifold topologies is countable, a single integer\ndetermines the ultimate fate of the universe, and, in a specific sense, most\n3-manifolds are \"flat\" or \"open\". Our result has important implications for\ninflation: if there is a positive cosmological constant (or suitable\ninflationary potential) and initial conditions for the inflaton, cosmologies\nwith \"flat\" or \"open\" topology must expand forever in some region at least as\nfast as de Sitter space, and are therefore very likely to begin inflationary\nexpansion eventually, regardless of the scale of the inflationary energy or the\nspectrum and amplitude of initial inhomogeneities and gravitational waves. Our\nresult is also significant for numerical general relativity, which often makes\nuse of periodic (toroidal) boundary conditions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Cardy states in the (2,2,2,2) Gepner model: We study Cardy states in the (2,2,2,2) Gepner model from the algebraic and\ngeometric sides. We present the full list of primaries of this model together\nwith their characters. The effects of fixed point resolution are analyzed.\nAnnulus partition function between various Cardy states are calculated. Using\nthe equivalent description in terms of $T^4/Z_4$ the corresponding geometrical\nrealization is partially found.",
        "positive": "Analytic and exponentially localized brane-world\n  Reissner-Nordstr\u00f6m-AdS solution: a top-down approach: In this work, we construct a five-dimensional spherically-symmetric, charged\nand asymptotically Anti-de Sitter black hole with its singularity being\npoint-like and strictly localised on our brane. In addition, the induced brane\ngeometry is described by a Reissner-Nordstr\\\"{o}m-(A)dS line-element. We\nperform a careful classification of the horizons, and demonstrate that all of\nthem are exponentially localised close to the brane thus exhibiting a pancake\nshape. The bulk gravitational background is everywhere regular, and reduces to\nan AdS$_5$ spacetime right outside the black-hole event horizon. This geometry\nis supported by an anisotropic fluid with only two independent components, the\nenergy density $\\rho_E$ and tangential pressure $p_2$. All energy conditions\nare respected close to and on our brane, but a local violation takes place\nwithin the event horizon regime in the bulk. A tensor-vector-scalar\nfield-theory model is built in an attempt to realise the necessary bulk matter,\nhowever, in order to do so, both gauge and scalar degrees of freedom need to\nturn phantom-like at the bulk boundary. The study of the junction conditions\nreveals that no additional matter needs to be introduced on the brane for its\nconsistent embedding in the bulk geometry apart from its constant, positive\ntension. We finally compute the effective gravitational equations on the brane,\nand demonstrate that the Reissner-Nordstr\\\"{o}m-(A)dS geometry on our brane is\ncaused by the combined effect of the five-dimensional geometry and bulk matter\nwith its charge being in fact a tidal charge."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Black Hole Horizon Edge Partition Functions: We extend a formula for 1-loop black hole determinants by Denef, Hartnoll,\nand Sachdev (DHS) to spinning fields on any $(d+1)$-dimensional static\nspherically symmetric black hole. By carefully analyzing the regularity\ncondition imposed on the Euclidean eigenfunctions, we reveal an unambiguous\nbulk-edge split in the 1-loop Euclidean partition function for tensor fields of\narbitrary integer spin: the bulk part captures the \"renormalized\" thermal\ncanonical partition function recently discussed in arXiv:2207.07024; the edge\npart is related to quasinormal modes (QNMs) that fail to analytically continue\nto a subset of Euclidean modes with enhanced fall-offs near the origin. Since\nthe edge part takes the form of a path integral on $S^{d-1}$, this suggests\nthat these are associated with degrees of freedom living on the bifurcation\nsurface in the Lorentzian two-sided black hole geometry. For massive higher\nspin on static BTZ and massive vector on Nariai black holes, we find that the\nedge partition function is related to the QNMs with lowest overtone numbers.",
        "positive": "Spontaneous Supersymmetry Breaking in Inhomogeneous Supersymmetric Field\n  Theories and BPS Vacua: We study spontaneous supersymmetry breaking in inhomogeneous extensions of\n${\\cal N}=1$ supersymmetric field theory models in 4-dimensions. The ${\\cal\nN}=1$ Abelian Higgs model with the inhomogeneous mass parameter and the FI\ncoefficient that are dependent on spatial coordinates, as well as the\nO'Raifeartaigh model with all its parameters being dependent on spatial\ncoordinates, are studied in detail. In the presence of inhomogeneous\nparameters, half supersymmetry can be preserved by adding appropriate\ninhomogeneous deformations to the original Lagrangians. The inhomogeneous\ndeformations often break the R-symmetry explicitly. In cases where the\ninhomogeneous deformations do not break the R-symmetry explicitly, we\ndemonstrate that spontaneous breaking of the R-symmetry is infeasible. We argue\nthat those models can not be spontaneous supersymmetry breaking models,\naccording to the Nelson-Seiberg argument. We comment on this issue in the\ncontext of a generic ${\\cal N}=1$ supersymmetric model as well."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Superstring Scattering from D-Branes Bound States: We derive fully covariant expressions for disk scattering amplitudes of any\ntwo massless closed strings in which mixed Neumann and Dirichlet world-sheet\nboundary conditions are included. From the two-point amplitudes, we derive the\nlong range background fields and verify that they correspond to D$p$-brane\nbound state. Also, from the scattering amplitudes, we calculate the linear\ncoupling of closed string fields to D-brane world-volume and show that they are\nconsistent with Born-Infeld and Chern-Simons actions in the presence of a\nbackground field.",
        "positive": "Weyl Anomaly Induced Stress Tensors in General Manifolds: Considering arbitrary conformal field theories in general (non-conformally\nflat) backgrounds, we adopt a dimensional regularization approach to obtain\nstress tensors from Weyl anomalies. The results of type A anomaly-induced\nstress tensors in four and six-dimensions generalize the previous results\ncalculated in a conformally flat background. On the other hand, regulators are\nneeded to have well-defined type B anomaly-induced stress tensors. We also\ndiscuss ambiguities related to type D anomalies, Weyl invariants and order of\nlimit issues."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Interior of a Unitarily Evaporating Black Hole: We study microscopic operators describing the experience of an observer\nfalling into the horizon of a unitarily evaporating black hole. For a young\nblack hole, these operators can be taken to act only on the degrees of freedom\nin the black hole region: the soft---or stretched horizon---modes as well as\nthe semiclassical modes in the zone region. On the other hand, for an old black\nhole, the operators must also involve radiation emitted earlier; the difference\nbetween the two cases comes from statistics associated with the coarse-graining\nperformed to obtain the effective theory of the interior. We find that the\noperators relevant for the interior theory can be defined globally as standard\nlinear operators throughout the microstates, which obey the correct algebra up\nto corrections exponentially suppressed in the ratio of excitation energy to\nthe Hawking temperature. We conjecture that the existence of such global\noperators is required for the emergence of the semiclassical picture. We also\nelucidate relation between the present construction and entanglement wedge\nreconstruction of the interior.",
        "positive": "Anomaly and Cobordism Constraints Beyond the Standard Model: Topological\n  Force: Standard lore uses local anomalies to check the kinematic consistency of\ngauge theories coupled to chiral fermions, e.g. Standard Models (SM). Based on\na systematic cobordism classification, we examine constraints from invertible\nquantum anomalies (including all perturbative local and nonperturbative global\nanomalies) for gauge theories. We also clarify the different uses of these\nanomalies: including (1) anomaly cancellations of dynamical gauge fields, (2)\n't Hooft anomaly matching conditions of background fields of global symmetries,\nand others. We apply several 4d $\\mathbb{Z}_{n}$ anomaly constraints of\n$n=16,4,2$ classes, beyond the familiar Feynman-graph perturbative $\\mathbb{Z}$\nclass local anomalies. As an application, for\n(SU(3)$\\times$SU(2)$\\times$U(1))/$\\mathbb{Z}_q$ SM (with $q=1,2,3,6$) and SU(5)\nGrand Unification with 15n chiral Weyl fermions and with a discrete baryon\nminus lepton number $X=5({\\bf B}- {\\bf L})-4Y$ preserved, we discover a new\nhidden gapped sector previously unknown to the SM and Georgi-Glashow model. The\ngapped sector at low energy contains either (1) 4d non-invertible topological\nquantum field theory (TQFT, above the energy gap with heavy fractionalized\nanyon excitations from 1d particle worldline and 2d string worldsheet,\ninaccessible directly from Dirac or Majorana mass gap of the 16th Weyl fermions\n[i.e., right-handed neutrinos], but accessible via a topological quantum phase\ntransition), or (2) 5d invertible TQFT in extra dimensions. Above a higher\nenergy scale, the discrete $X$ becomes dynamically gauged, the entangled\nUniverse in 4d and 5d is mediated by Topological Force. Our model potentially\nresolves puzzles, surmounting sterile neutrinos and dark matter, in fundamental\nphysics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Cosmological Solutions of Horava-Witten Theory: We discuss simple cosmological solutions of Horava-Witten theory describing\nthe strongly coupled heterotic string. At energies below the grand-unified\nscale, the effective theory is five- not four-dimensional, where the additional\ncoordinate parameterizes a S^1/Z_2 orbifold. Furthermore, it admits no\nhomogeneous solutions. Rather, the vacuum state, appropriate for a reduction to\nfour-dimensional supersymmetric models, is a BPS domain wall. Relevant\ncosmological solutions are those associated with this BPS state. In particular,\nsuch solutions must be inhomogeneous, depending on the orbifold coordinate as\nwell as on time. We present two examples of this new type of cosmological\nsolution, obtained by separation of variables rather that by exchange of time\nand radius coordinate applied to a brane solution, as in previous work. The\nfirst example represents the analog of a rolling radii solution with the radii\nspecifying the geometry of the domain wall. This is generalized in the second\nexample to include a nontrivial ``Ramond-Ramond'' scalar.",
        "positive": "Knots and Preons: It is shown that the four trefoil solitons that are described by the\nirreducible representations D^{3/2}_{mm'} of the quantum algebra SL_q(2) (and\nthat may be identified with the four families of elementary fermions\n(e,\\mu,\\tau;\\nu_e\\nu_\\mu\\nu_\\tau;d,s,b;u,c,t) may be built out of three preons,\nchosen from two charged preons with charges (1/3,-1/3) and two neutral preons.\nThese preons are Lorentz spinors and are described by the D^{1/2}_{mm'}\nrepresentation of SL_q(2). There are also four bosonic preons described by the\nD^1_{mm'} and D^0_{00} representations of SL_q(2). The knotted standard theory\nmay be replicated at the preon level and the conjectured particles are in\nprinciple indirectly observable."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Asymptotic safety goes on shell: It is well known in quantum field theory that the off-shell effective action\ndepends on the gauge choice and field parametrization used in calculating it.\nNevertheless, the typical scheme in which the scenario of asymptotically safe\ngravity is investigated is an off-shell version of the functional\nrenormalization group equation. Working with the Einstein-Hilbert truncation as\na test bed, we develop a new scheme for the analysis of asymptotically safe\ngravity in which the on-shell part of the effective action is singled out and\nwe show that the beta function for the essential coupling has no explicit\ngauge-dependence. In order to reach our goal, we introduce several technical\nnovelties, including a different decomposition of the metric fluctuations, a\nnew implementation of the ghost sector, and a new cut-off scheme. We find a\nnon-trivial fixed point, with a value of the cosmological constant which is\nindependent of the gauge-fixing parameters.",
        "positive": "Hypergeometric functions, their epsilon expansions and Feynman diagrams: We review the hypergeometric function approach to Feynman diagrams. Special\nconsideration is given to the construction of the Laurent expansion. As an\nillustration, we describe a collection of physically important one-loop vertex\ndiagrams for which this approach is useful."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Classical probes for 1/16 SUSY operators: We consider 1/16 SUSY solutions in AdS/CFT. On the gravity side, Gutowski and\nReall showed them to be charged, rotating black holes in AdS. On the CFT side,\nan initial construction for 1/16 SUSY operators in N=4 SYM has been suggested\nby Berkooz et al., with a Fermi-sea operator describing the extremal state. In\nthis work we analyze particle trajectories in the 1/16 SUSY black hole\nbackground, and show the analysis to be sensitive to the Fermi-level of the\noperator in the CFT.",
        "positive": "Exts and the AGT relations: We prove the connection between the Nekrasov partition function of N=2\nsuper-symmetric U(2) gauge theory with adjoint matter and conformal blocks for\nthe Virasoro algebra, as predicted by the Alday-Gaiotto-Tachikawa relations.\nMathematically, this is achieved by relating the Carlsson-Okounkov Ext vector\nbundle on the moduli space of rank 2 sheaves with Liouville vertex\noperators.Our approach is geometric in nature, and uses a new method for\nintersection-theoretic computations of the Ext operator."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Proposal for the Vector State in Vacuum String Field Theory: A previous calculation on the tachyon state arising as fluctuations of a $D$\nbrane in vacuum string field theory is extended to include the vector state. We\nuse the boundary conformal field theory approach of Rastelli, Sen and Zwiebach\nto construct a vector state. It is shown that the vector field satisfies the\nlinearized equations of motion provided the two conditions $k^2=0$ and $k^\\mu\nA_\\mu=0$ are satisfied. Earlier calculations using Fock space techniques by\nHata and Kawano have found massless vector states that are not necessarily\ntransverse.",
        "positive": "The Negative Energy of Gravitation as Stabilizational Factor in Field\n  Theory and Cosmology: This paper has been withdrawn by the author due to inconsistency of the\nconsidered working hypothesis. The consistent treatment is presented in the\nlast publications of the author."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Radiation reaction in various dimensions: We discuss the radiation reaction problem for an electric charge moving in\nflat space-time of arbitrary dimensions. It is shown that four is the unique\ndimension where a local differential equation exists accounting for the\nradiation reaction and admitting a consistent mass-renormalization (the\nDirac-Lorentz equation). In odd dimensions the Huygens principle does not hold;\nas a result, the radiation reaction force depends on the whole past history of\na charge (radiative tail). We show that the divergence in the tail integral can\nbe removed by the mass renormalization only in the 2+1 theory. In even\ndimensions higher than four, divergences can not be removed by a\nrenormalization.",
        "positive": "Arguments for F-theory: After a brief review of string and $M$-Theory we point out some deficiencies.\nPartly to cure them, we present several arguments for ``$F$-Theory'', enlarging\nspacetime to $(2, 10)$ signature, following the original suggestion of C. Vafa.\nWe introduce a suggestive Supersymmetric 27-plet of particles, associated to\nthe exceptional symmetric hermitian space $E_{6}/Spin^{c}(10)$. Several\npossible future directions, including using projective rather than metric\ngeometry, are mentioned. We should emphasize that $F$-Theory is yet just a very\nprovisional attempt, lacking clear dynamical principles."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Conserved Quantities and the Algebra of Braid Excitations in Quantum\n  Gravity: We derive conservation laws from interactions of braid-like excitations of\nembedded framed spin networks in Quantum Gravity. We also demonstrate that the\nset of stable braid-like excitations form a noncommutative algebra under braid\ninteraction, in which the set of actively-interacting braids is a subalgebra.",
        "positive": "Holographic Walking Technicolor and Stability of Techni-Branes: Techni-fermions are added as stacks of D7-anti-D7 techni-branes within the\nframework of a holographic technicolor model that has been proposed as a\nrealization of walking technicolor. The stability of the embedding of these\nbranes is determined. When a sufficiently low bulk cut-off is provided the\nfluctuations remain small. For a longer walking region, as would be required in\nany realistic model of electroweak symmetry breaking, a larger bulk cut-off is\nneeded and in this case the oscillations destabilize."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the ultraviolet finiteness of parity-preserving $U(1) \\times U(1)$\n  massive QED$_3$: The parity-preserving $U_A(1)\\times U_a(1)$ massive QED$_3$ is ultraviolet\nfiniteness -- exhibits vanishing $\\beta$-functions, associated to the gauge\ncoupling constants (electric and pseudochiral charges) and the Chern-Simons\nmass parameter, and all the anomalous dimensions of the fields -- as well as is\nparity and gauge anomaly free at all orders in perturbation theory. The proof\nis independent of any regularization scheme and it is based on the quantum\naction principle in combination with general theorems of perturbative quantum\nfield theory by adopting the Becchi-Rouet-Stora (BRS) algebraic renormalization\nmethod in the framework of Bogoliubov-Parasiuk-Hepp-Zimmermann (BPHZ)\nsubtraction scheme.",
        "positive": "N=2 structures on solvable Lie algebras: the c=9 classification: Let G be a finite-dimensional Lie algebra (not necessarily semisimple). It is\nknown that if G is self-dual (that is, if it possesses an invariant metric)\nthen there is a canonical N=1 superconformal algebra associated to its N=1\naffinization---that is, it admits an N=1 (affine) Sugawara construction. Under\ncertain additional hypotheses, this N=1 structure admits an N=2 extension. If\nthis is the case, G is said to possess an N=2 structure. It is also known that\nan N=2 structure on a self-dual Lie algebra G is equivalent to a vector space\ndecomposition G = G_+ \\oplus G_- where G_\\pm are isotropic Lie subalgebras. In\nother words, N=2 structures on G are in one-to-one correspondence with Manin\ntriples (G,G_+,G_-). In this paper we exploit this correspondence to obtain a\nclassification of the c=9 N=2 structures on self-dual solvable Lie algebras. In\nthe process we also give some simple proofs for a variety of Lie algebraic\nresults concerning self-dual Lie algebras admitting symplectic or K\\\"ahler\nstructures."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chern-Simons term at finite density: The Chern-Simons topological term coefficient is derived at arbitrary finite\ndensity. As it occures that $\\mu^2 = m^2$ is the crucial point for\nChern-Simons. So when $\\mu^2 < m^2 \\mu$--influence disappears and we get the\nusual Chern-Simons term. On the other hand when $\\mu^2 > m^2$ the Chern-Simons\nterm vanishes because of non-zero density of background fermions. In particular\nfor massless case parity anomaly is absent at any finite density. This result\nholds in any odd dimension as in abelian so as in nonabelian cases.",
        "positive": "Dual D-Brane Actions on $AdS^5 \\times S^5$: Utilizing coset superspace approach, dual actions of super D1-and D3-branes\non $AdS_5 \\times S^5$ are constructed by carrying out duality transformation of\nworld-volume U(1) gauge field. Resulting world-volume actions are shown to\npossess expected SL(2,{\\bf Z}) properties. Crucial ingredient for deriving\nSL(2, {\\bf Z}) transformation property of the D-brane actions is covariance of\nSU(2,2|4) coset superspace algebra under SO(2) rotation between two\nten-dimensional Type IIB Majorana-Weyl spinors."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Conformal Bootstrap Approach to O(N) Fixed Points in Five Dimensions: Whether O(N)-invariant conformal field theory exists in five dimensions with\nits implication to higher-spin holography was much debated. We find an\naffirmative result on this question by utilizing conformal bootstrap approach.\nIn solving for the crossing symmetry condition, we propose a new approach based\non specification for the low-lying spectrum distribution. We find the\ntraditional one-gap bootstrapping is not suited since the nontrivial fixed\npoint expected from large-N expansion sits at deep interior (not at boundary or\nkink) of allowed solution region. We propose two-gap bootstrapping that\nspecifies scaling dimension of two lowest scalar operators. The approach carves\nout vast region of lower scaling dimensions and universally features two tips.\nWe find that the sought-for nontrivial fixed point now sits at one of the tips,\nwhile the Gaussian fixed point sits at the other tip. The scaling dimensions of\nscalar operators fit well with expectation based on large-N expansion. We also\nfind indication that the fixed point persist for lower values of N all the way\ndown to N=1. This suggests that interacting unitary conformal field theory\nexists in five dimensions for all nonzero N.",
        "positive": "Hamiltonian Formulation of Jackiw--Pi 3-Dimensional Gauge Theories: A 3-dimensional non-abelian gauge theory was proposed by Jackiw and Pi to\ncreate mass for the gauge fields. However, the quadratic action obtained by\nswitching off the non-abelian interactions possesses more gauge symmetries than\nthe original one, causing some difficulties in quantization. Jackiw and Pi\nproposed another action by introducing new fields, whose gauge symmetries are\nconsistent with the quadratic part. It is shown that all of these theories have\nthe same number of physical degrees of freedom in the hamiltonian framework.\nHence, as far as the physical states are considered there is no inconsistency.\nNevertheless, perturbation expansion is still problematic. To cure this we\npropose to modify one of the constraints of the non-abelian theory without\naltering neither its canonical hamiltonian nor the number of physical states."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Six-Dimensional TQFTs and Twisted Supersymmetry: We describe a generalization of Yang--Mills topological field theory for\nAbelian two-forms in six dimensions. The connection of this theory by a twist\nto Poincar\\'e supersymmetric theories is given. We also briefly consider\ninteractions and the case of self-dual three-forms in eight dimensions.",
        "positive": "Effective Actions for Heterotic M-Theory: We discuss the moduli space approximation for heterotic M-theory, both for\nthe minimal case of two boundary branes only, and when a bulk brane is\nincluded. The resulting effective actions may be used to describe the\ncosmological dynamics in the regime where the branes are moving slowly, away\nfrom singularities. We make use of the recently derived colliding branes\nsolution to determine the global structure of moduli space, finding a boundary\nat which the trajectories undergo a hard wall reflection. This has important\nconsequences for the allowed moduli space trajectories, and for the behaviour\nof cosmological perturbations in the model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A diffeomorphism anomaly in every dimension: Field-theoretic pure gravitational anomalies only exist in $4k+2$ dimensions.\nHowever, canonical quantization of non-field-theoretic systems may give rise to\ndiffeomorphism anomalies in any number of dimensions. I present a simple\nexample, where a higher-dimensional generalization of the Virasoro algebra\narises upon quantization.",
        "positive": "Fano hypersurfaces and Calabi-Yau supermanifolds: In this paper, we study the geometrical interpretations associated with\nSethi's proposed general correspondence between N = 2 Landau-Ginzburg orbifolds\nwith integral \\hat{c} and N = 2 nonlinear sigma models. We focus on the\nsupervarieties associated with \\hat{c} = 3 Gepner models. In the process, we\ntest a conjecture regarding the superdimension of the singular locus of these\nsupervarieties. The supervarieties are defined by a hypersurface \\widetilde{W}\n= 0 in a weighted superprojective space and have vanishing super-first Chern\nclass. Here, \\widetilde{W} is the modified superpotential obtained by adding as\nnecessary to the Gepner superpotential a boson mass term and/or fermion\nbilinears so that the superdimension of the supervariety is equal to \\hat{c}.\nWhen Sethi's proposal calls for adding fermion bilinears, setting the bosonic\npart of \\widetilde{W} (denoted by \\widetilde{W}_{bos}) equal to zero defines a\nFano hypersurface embedded in a weighted projective space. In this case, if the\nNewton polytope of \\widetilde{W}_{bos} admits a nef partition, then the\nLandau-Ginzburg orbifold can be given a geometrical interpretation as a\nnonlinear sigma model on a complete intersection Calabi-Yau manifold. The\ncomplete intersection Calabi-Yau manifold should be equivalent to the\nCalabi-Yau supermanifold prescribed by Sethi's proposal."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Note on $T\\bar{T}$ deformed matrix models and JT supergravity duals: In this work we calculate the partition functions of $\\mathcal{N}=1$ type 0A\nand 0B JT supergravity (SJT) on 2D surfaces of arbitrary genus with multiple\nfinite cut-off boundaries, based on the $T\\bar{T}$ deformed super-Schwarzian\ntheories. In terms of SJT/matrix model duality, we compute the corresponding\ncorrelation functions in the $T\\bar{T}$ deformed matrix model side by using\ntopological recursion relations as well as the transformation properties of\ntopological recursion relations under $T\\bar{T}$ deformation. We check that the\npartition functions finite cut-off 0A and 0B SJT on generic 2D surfaces match\nthe associated correlation functions in $T\\bar{T}$ deformed matrix models\nrespectively.",
        "positive": "Integrability of the AdS_5 x S^5 superstring and its deformations: This article reviews the application of integrability to the spectral problem\nof strings on AdS_5 x S^5 and its deformations. We begin with a pedagogical\nintroduction to integrable field theories culminating in the description of\ntheir finite-volume spectra through the thermodynamic Bethe ansatz. Next, we\napply these ideas to the AdS_5 x S^5 string and in later chapters discuss how\nto account for particular integrable deformations. Through the AdS/CFT\ncorrespondence this gives an exact description of anomalous scaling dimensions\nof single trace operators in planar N=4 supersymmetry Yang-Mills theory, its\n`orbifolds', and beta and gamma-deformed supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory. We\nalso touch upon some subtleties arising in these deformed theories.\nFurthermore, we consider complex excited states (bound states) in the su(2)\nsector and give their thermodynamic Bethe ansatz description. Finally we\ndiscuss the thermodynamic Bethe ansatz for a quantum deformation of the AdS_5 x\nS^5 superstring S-matrix, with close relations to among others Pohlmeyer\nreduced string theory, and briefly indicate more recent developments in this\narea."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Towards Spectral Geometry for Causal Sets: We show that the Feynman propagator (or the d'Alembertian) of a causal set\ncontains the complete information about the causal set. Intuitively, this is\nbecause the Feynman propagator, being a correlator that decays with distance,\nprovides a measure for the invariant distance between pairs of events. Further,\nwe show that even the spectra alone (of the self-adjoint and anti-self-adjoint\nparts) of the propagator(s) and d'Alembertian already carry large amounts of\ngeometric information about their causal set. This geometric information is\nbasis independent and also gauge invariant in the sense that it is relabeling\ninvariant (which is analogue to diffeomorphism invariance). We provide\nnumerical evidence that the associated spectral distance between causal sets\ncan serve as a measure for the geometric similarity between causal sets.",
        "positive": "Entanglement Entropy for 2D Gauge Theories with Matters: We investigate the entanglement entropy in 1+1-dimensional $SU(N)$ gauge\ntheories with various matter fields using the lattice regularization. Here we\nuse extended Hilbert space definition for entanglement entropy, which contains\nthree contributions; (1) classical Shannon entropy associated with\nsuperselection sector distribution, where sectors are labelled by irreducible\nrepresentations of boundary penetrating fluxes, (2) logarithm of the dimensions\nof their representations, which is associated with \"color entanglement\", and\n(3) EPR Bell pairs, which give \"genuine\" entanglement. We explicitly show that\nentanglement entropies (1) and (2) above indeed appear for various multiple\n\"meson\" states in gauge theories with matter fields. Furthermore, we employ\ntransfer matrix formalism for gauge theory with fundamental matter field and\nanalyze its ground state using hopping parameter expansion (HPE), where the\nhopping parameter $K$ is roughly the inverse square of the mass for the matter.\nWe evaluate the entanglement entropy for the ground state and show that all\n(1), (2), (3) above appear in the HPE, though the Bell pair part (3) appears in\nhigher order than (1) and (2) do. With these results, we discuss how the ground\nstate entanglement entropy in the continuum limit can be understood from the\nlattice ground state obtained in the HPE."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Light-Front Dynamics of Chern-Simons Systems: Chern-Simons theory coupled to complex scalars is quantized on the light-\nfront in the local light-cone gauge by constructing the self-consistent\nhamiltonian theory. It is shown that no inconsistency arises on using two local\ngauge-fixing conditions in the Dirac procedure. The light-front Hamiltonian\nturns out to be simple and the framework may be useful to construct\nrenormalized field theory of particles with fractional statistics ({\\it\nanyons}). The theory is shown to be relativistic and the extra term in the\ntransformation of the matter field under space rotations, interpreted in\nprevious works as anomaly, is argued to be gauge artefact.",
        "positive": "Courant bracket as T-dual invariant extension of Lie bracket: We consider the symmetries of a closed bosonic string, starting with the\ngeneral coordinate transformations. Their generator takes vector components\n$\\xi^\\mu$ as its parameter and its Poisson bracket algebra gives rise to the\nLie bracket of its parameters. We are going to extend this generator in order\nfor it to be invariant upon self T-duality, i.e. T-duality realized in the same\nphase space. The new generator is a function of a $2D$ double symmetry\nparameter $\\Lambda$, that is a direct sum of vector components $\\xi^\\mu$, and\n1-form components $\\lambda_\\mu$. The Poisson bracket algebra of a new generator\nproduces the Courant bracket in a same way that the algebra of the general\ncoordinate transformations produces Lie bracket. In that sense, the Courant\nbracket is T-dual invariant extension of the Lie bracket. When the Kalb-Ramond\nfield is introduced to the model, the generator governing both general\ncoordinate and local gauge symmetries is constructed. It is no longer self\nT-dual and its algebra gives rise to the $B$-twisted Courant bracket, while in\nits self T-dual description, the relevant bracket becomes the $\\theta$-twisted\nCourant bracket. Next, we consider the T-duality and the symmetry parameters\nthat depend on both the initial coordinates $x^\\mu$ and T-dual coordinates\n$y_\\mu$. The generator of these transformations is defined as an inner product\nin a double space and its algebra gives rise to the C-bracket."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Causality and Superluminal Fields: The expression of causality depends on an underlying choice of chronology.\nSince a chronology is provided by any Lorentzian metric in relativistic\ntheories, there are as many expressions of causality as there are\nnon-conformally related metrics over spacetime. Although tempting, a definitive\nchoice of a preferred metric to which one may refer to is not satisfying. It\nwould indeed be in great conflict with the spirit of general covariance.\nMoreover, a theory which appear to be non causal with respect to (hereafter,\nw.r.t) this metric, may well be causal w.r.t another metric. In a theory\ninvolving fields that propagate at different speeds (e.g. due to some\nspontaneous breaking of Lorentz invariance), spacetime is endowed with such a\nfinite set of non-conformally related metrics. In that case one must look for a\nnew notion of causality, such that 1. no particular metric is favored and 2.\nthere is an unique answer to the question : ``is the theory causal?''. This new\ncausality is unique and defined w.r.t the metric drawing the wider cone in the\ntangent space of a given point of the manifold. Moreover, which metric defines\nthe wider cone may depend on the location on spacetime. In that sense,\nsuperluminal fields are generically causal, provided that some other basic\nrequirements are met.",
        "positive": "Relevant Deformations in Open String Field Theory: a Simple Solution for\n  Lumps: We propose a remarkably simple solution of cubic open string field theory\nwhich describes inhomogeneous tachyon condensation. The solution is in\none-to-one correspondence with the IR fixed point of the RG-flow generated in\nthe two--dimensional world-sheet theory by integrating a relevant operator with\nmild enough OPE on the boundary. It is shown how the closed string overlap\ncorrectly captures the shift in the closed string one point function between\nthe UV and the IR limits of the flow. Examples of lumps in non-compact and\ncompact transverse directions are given."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Boundary entropy under ambient RG flow in the AdS/BCFT model: We discuss the change of the boundary entropy under an ambient\nrenormalization group flow. We use conformal perturbation theory to calculate\nthe change of the boundary entropy for $d$-dimensional BCFTs between two nearby\nfixed points. We also use the AdS$_{d+1}$/BCFT$_d$ model to calculate the\nboundary entropy. We show that the boundary entropy can increase under the\nambient RG flow both in conformal perturbation theory and the\nAdS$_{d+1}$/BCFT$_d$ model. In a special case, the change of the boundary\nentropy in the AdS$_{d+1}$/BCFT$_d$ model reduces to that of the conformal\nperturbation theory.",
        "positive": "Ectoplasm with an Edge: The construction of supersymmetric invariant actions on a spacetime manifold\nwith a boundary is carried out using the \"ectoplasm\" formalism for the\nconstruction of closed forms in superspace. Non-trivial actions are obtained\nfrom the pull-backs to the bosonic bodies of closed but non-exact forms in\nsuperspace; finding supersymmetric invariants thus becomes a cohomology\nproblem. For a spacetime with a boundary, the appropriate mathematical language\nchanges to relative cohomology, which we use to give a general formulation of\noff-shell supersymmetric invariants in the presence of boundaries. We also\nrelate this construction to the superembedding formalism for the construction\nof brane actions, and we give examples with bulk spacetimes of dimension 3, 4\nand 5. The closed superform in the 5D example needs to be constructed as a\nChern-Simons type of invariant, obtained from a closed 6-form displaying Weil\ntriviality."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Universal w String Theory: It has been shown that there is a sequential embedding structure in a $w_N$\\\nstring theory based on a linearized $W_N$\\ algebra. The $w_N$\\ string theory is\nobtained as a special realization of the $w_{N+1}$\\ string. The $w_{\\infty}$\\\nstring theory is a universal string theory in this sense. We have also shown\nthat there is a similar sequence for $N=1$\\ string theory. The $N=1\\ w_N$\\\nstring can be given as a special case of the $N=1\\ w_{N+1}$\\ string. In\naddition, we show that the $w_3$\\ string theory is obtained as a special\nrealization of the $N=1\\ w_3$\\ string. We conjecture that the $w_N$\\ string can\nbe obtained as a special $N=1\\ w_N$\\ string for general $w_N$. If this is the\ncase, $N=1\\ w_{\\infty}$\\ string theory is more universal since it includes both\n$N=0$\\ and $N=1$\\ $w_N$\\ string theories.",
        "positive": "Deformed oscillators algebra formulation of the Nonlinear Schrodinger\n  hierarchy and of its symmetry: We present a self-contained formulation of the Nonlinear Schrodinger\nhierarchy and its Yangian symmetry in terms of deformed oscilator algebra (Z.F.\nalgebra). The link between Yangian Y(gl(N)) and finite W(gl(pN),N.gl(p))\nalgebras is also illustrated in this framework."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic entanglement and causal information in coherent states: Scalar solitons in global AdS4 are holographically dual to coherent states\ncarrying a non-trivial condensate of a scalar operator. We study the\nholographic information content of these states, focusing on a particular\nspatial region, by examining the entanglement entropy and causal holographic\ninformation. We show generically that whenever the dimension of the condensed\noperator is sufficiently low (characterized by the double-trace operator\nbecoming relevant), such coherent states have lower entanglement and causal\nholographic information than the vacuum state of the system, despite having\ngreater energy. We also use these geometries to illustrate the fact that causal\nwedges associated with a simply-connected boundary region can have non-trivial\ntopology even in causally trivial spacetimes.",
        "positive": "The Casimir effect for fermionic currents in conical rings with\n  applications to graphene ribbons: We investigate the combined effects of boundaries and topology on the vacuum\nexpectation values (VEVs) of the charge and current densities for a massive 2D\nfermionic field confined on a conical ring threaded by a magnetic flux.\nDifferent types of boundary conditions on the ring edges are considered for\nfields realizing two inequivalent irreducible representations of the Clifford\nalgebra. The related bound states and zero energy fermionic modes are\ndiscussed. The edge contributions to the VEVs of the charge and azimuthal\ncurrent densities are explicitly extracted and their behavior in various\nasymptotic limits is considered. On the ring edges the azimuthal current\ndensity is equal to the charge density or has an opposite sign. We show that\nthe absolute values of the charge and current densities increase with\nincreasing planar angle deficit. Depending on the boundary conditions, the VEVs\nare continuous or discontinuous at half-integer values of the ratio of the\neffective magnetic flux to the flux quantum. The discontinuity is related to\nthe presence of the zero energy mode. By combining the results for the fields\nrealizing the irreducible representations of the Clifford algebra, the charge\nand current densities are studied in parity and time-reversal symmetric\nfermionic models. If the boundary conditions and the phases in quasiperiodicity\nconditions for separate fields are the same the total charge density vanishes.\nApplications are given to graphitic cones with edges (conical ribbons)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Scalar and Spinor Field Actions on Fuzzy $S^4$: fuzzy $CP^3$ as a\n  $S^2_F$ bundle over $S^4_F$: We present a manifestly Spin(5) invariant construction of squashed fuzzy\n$CP^3$ as a fuzzy $S^2$ bundle over fuzzy $S^4$. We develop the necessary\nprojectors and exhibit the squashing in terms of the radii of the $S^2$ and\n$S^4$. Our analysis allows us give both scalar and spinor fuzzy action\nfunctionals whose low lying modes are truncated versions of those of a\ncommutative $S^4$.",
        "positive": "4d mirror-like dualities: We construct a family of $4d$ $\\mathcal{N}=1$ theories that we call\n$E^\\sigma_\\rho[USp(2N)]$ which exhibit a novel type of $4d$ IR duality very\nreminiscent of the mirror duality enjoyed by the $3d$ $\\mathcal{N}=4$\n$T^\\sigma_\\rho[SU(N)]$ theories. We obtain the $E^\\sigma_\\rho[USp(2N)]$\ntheories from the recently introduced $E[USp(2N)]$ theory, by following the RG\nflow initiated by vevs labelled by partitions $\\rho$ and $\\sigma$ for two\noperators transforming in the antisymmetric representations of the $USp(2N)\n\\times USp(2N)$ IR symmetries of the $E[USp(2N)]$ theory. These vevs are the\n$4d$ uplift of the ones we turn on for the moment maps of $T[SU(N)]$ to trigger\nthe flow to $T^\\sigma_\\rho[SU(N)]$. Indeed the $E[USp(2N)]$ theory, upon\ndimensional reduction and suitable real mass deformations, reduces to the\n$T[SU(N)]$ theory. In order to study the RG flows triggered by the vevs we\ndevelop a new strategy based on the duality webs of the $T[SU(N)]$ and\n$E[USp(2N)]$ theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Trace anomaly for Weyl fermions using the Breitenlohner-Maison scheme\n  for $\u03b3_*$: We revisit the computation of the trace anomaly for Weyl fermions using\ndimensional regularization. For a consistent treatment of the chiral gamma\nmatrix $\\gamma_*$ in dimensional regularization, we work in $n$ dimensions from\nthe very beginning and use the Breitenlohner-Maison scheme to define\n$\\gamma_*$. We show that the parity-odd contribution to the trace anomaly\nvanishes (for which the use of dimension-dependent identities is crucial), and\nthat the parity-even contribution is half the one of a Dirac fermion. To arrive\nat this result, we compute the full renormalized expectation value of the\nfermion stress tensor to second order in perturbations around Minkowski\nspacetime, and also show that it is conserved.",
        "positive": "Stability of Yang Mills Vacuum State: We examine the phenomena of the chromomagnetic gluon condensation in the\nYang-Mills theory and the problem of stability of the chromomagnetic vacuum\nfields. The apparent instability of the chromomagnetic vacuum fields is a\nresult of quadratic approximation. The stability is restored when the nonlinear\ninteraction of negative/unstable modes is taken into account in the case of\nchromomagnetic vacuum fields and the interaction of the zero modes in the case\nof (anti)self-dual covariantly-constant vacuum fields. All these vacuum fields\nare stable and indicate that the Yang-Mills vacuum is highly degenerate quantum\nstate."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holomorphic reduction of N=2 gauge theories, Wilson-'t Hooft operators,\n  and S-duality: We study twisted N=2 superconformal gauge theory on a product of two Riemann\nsurfaces Sigma and C. The twisted theory is topological along C and holomorphic\nalong Sigma and does not depend on the gauge coupling or theta-angle. Upon\nKaluza-Klein reduction along Sigma, it becomes equivalent to a topological\nB-model on C whose target is the moduli space MV of nonabelian vortex equations\non Sigma. The N=2 S-duality conjecture implies that the duality group acts by\nautoequivalences on the derived category of MV. This statement can be regarded\nas an N=2 counterpart of the geometric Langlands duality. We show that the\ntwisted theory admits Wilson-'t Hooft loop operators labelled by both electric\nand magnetic weights. Correlators of these loop operators depend\nholomorphically on coordinates and are independent of the gauge coupling. Thus\nthe twisted theory provides a convenient framework for studying the Operator\nProduct Expansion of general Wilson-'t Hooft loop operators.",
        "positive": "Wigner Particle Theory and Local Quantum Physics: Wigner's irreducible positive energy representations of the Poincare group\nare often used to give additional justifications for the Lagrangian\nquantization formalism of standard QFT. Here we study another more recent\naspect. We explain in this paper modular concepts by which we are able to\nconstruct the local operator algebras for all standard positive energy\nrepresentations directly i.e. without going through field coordinatizations. In\nthis way the artificial emphasis on Lagrangian field coordinates is avoided\nfrom the very beginning. These new concepts allow to treat also those cases of\n``exceptional'' Wigner representations associated with anyons and the famous\nWigner ``spin tower''which have remained inaccessible to Lagrangian\nquantization. Together with the d=1+1 factorizing models (whose modular\nconstruction has been studied previously), they form an interesting family of\ntheories with a rich vacuum-polarization structure (but no on shell real\nparticle creation) to which the modular methods can be applied for their\nexplicit construction. We explain and illustrate the algebraic strategy of this\nconstruction. We also comment on possibilities of formulating the Wigner theory\nin a setting of a noncommutative spacetime substrate. This is potentially\ninteresting in connection with recent unitarity- and Lorentz invariance-\npreserving results of the special nonlocality caused by this kind of\nnoncommutativity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "PP-wave string interactions from n-point correlators of BMN operators: BMN operators are characterized by the fact that they have infinite R-charge\nand finite anomalous dimension in the BMN double scaling limit. Using this\nfact, we show that the BMN operators close under operator product expansion and\nform a sector in the N=4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory. We then identify\nshort-distance limits of general BMN n-point correlators, and show how they\ncorrespond to the pp-wave string interactions. We also discuss instantons in\nthe light of the pp-wave/SYM correspondence.",
        "positive": "Dynamical Symmetry Breaking in Flat Space with Non-trivial Topology: We consider a four-fermion theory as a simple model of dynamical symmetry\nbreaking in flat space with non-trivial topology, motivated from recent studies\nin similar considerations in curved space. The phase structure is investigated,\nby developing a useful formalism to evaluate the effective potential in\narbitrary compactified flat space in 3- and 4-dimensional spacetime. The phase\nstructure is significantly altered due to the finite volume effect in the\ncompactified space. Interestingly, the effect works in different way depending\non the boundary condition of the fermion fields. The physical interpretation of\nthe results and its implication on the dynamical symmetry breaking phenomenon\nin curved space are discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Celestial superamplitude in $\\mathcal N=4$ SYM theory: Celestial amplitude is a new reformulation of momentum space scattering\namplitude and offers a promising way for flat holography. In this paper, we\nstudy the celestial amplitude in $\\mathcal N=4$ Super-Yang-Mills (SYM) theory\naiming at understanding the role of superconformal symmetry in celestial\nholography. We first construct the superconformal generators acting on the\ncelestial superfield which assembles all the on-shell fields in the multiplet\ntogether in terms of celestial variables and Grassmann parameters. These\ngenerators satisfy the superconformal algebra of $\\mathcal N=4$ SYM theory. We\nalso compute the three-point and four-point celestial super-amplitude\nexplicitly. They can be identified as the correlation functions of the\ncelestial superfields living at the celestial sphere. We further study the soft\nand collinear limits which give rise to the super-Ward identity and super-OPE\non the celestial sphere, respectively. Our results initiate a new perspective\nof understanding the well-studied $\\mathcal N=4$ SYM amplitude via 2D celestial\nconformal field theory.",
        "positive": "Compact and Noncompact Gauged Maximal Supergravities in Three Dimensions: We present the maximally supersymmetric three-dimensional gauged\nsupergravities. Owing to the special properties of three dimensions --\nespecially the on-shell duality between vector and scalar fields, and the\npurely topological character of (super)gravity -- they exhibit an even richer\nstructure than the gauged supergravities in higher dimensions. The allowed\ngauge groups are subgroups of the global E_8 symmetry of ungauged N=16\nsupergravity. They include the regular series SO(p,8-p) x SO(p,8-p) for all\np=0,1,...,4, the group E_8 itself, as well as various noncompact forms of the\nexceptional groups E_7, E_6 and F_4 x G_2. We show that all these theories\nadmit maximally supersymmetric ground states, and determine their background\nisometries, which are superextensions of the anti-de Sitter group SO(2,2). The\nvery existence of these theories is argued to point to a new supergravity\nbeyond the standard D=11 supergravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Time-Like Extra Dimension and Cosmological Constant in Brane Models: We discuss the general models with one time-like extra dimension and parallel\n3-branes on the space-time $M^4 \\times M^1$. We also construct the general\nbrane models or networks with $n$ space-like and $m$ time-like extra dimensions\nand with constant bulk cosmological constant on the space-time $M^4\\times\n(M^1)^{n+m}$, and point out that there exist two kinds of models with zero bulk\ncosmological constant: for static solutions, we have to introduce time-like and\nspace-like extra dimensions, and for non-static solutions, we can obtain the\nmodels with only space-like extra dimension(s). In addition, we give two\nsimplest models explicitly, and comment on the 4-dimensional effective\ncosmological constant.",
        "positive": "The Generalized Uncertainty Principle and Corrections to the\n  Cardy-Verlinde Formula in $SAdS_5$ Black Holes: In this letter, we investigate a possible modification to the temperature and\nentropy of $5-$dimensional Schwarzschild anti de Sitter black holes due to\nincorporating stringy corrections to the modified uncertainty principle. Then\nwe subsequently argue for corrections to the Cardy-Verlinde formula in order to\naccount for the corrected entropy. Then we show, one can taking into account\nthe generalized uncertainty principle corrections of the Cardy-Verlinde entropy\nformula by just redefining the Virasoro operator $L_0$ and the central charge\n$c$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Effects of the generalized uncertainty principle on the thermal\n  properties of Kemmer oscillator: A series of aspects of the quantum gravity predict a modification in the\nHeisenberg uncertainty principle to the generalized uncertainty principle\n(GUP). In the present work, using the momentum space representation, we study\nthe behavior of the Kemmer oscillator in the context of the GUP. The wave\nfunction, the probability densities, and the energy spectrum are obtained\nanalytically. Furthermore, the thermodynamic properties of the system are\ninvestigated via numerical method and the influence of GUP on thermodynamic\nfunctions is also discussed.",
        "positive": "Feasibility of finite renormalization of particle mass in quantum\n  electrodynamics: The paper proposes an algorithm for regularization of the self-energy\nexpressions for a Dirac particle that meets the relativistic and gauge\ninvariance requirements."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Shear Modes, Criticality and Extremal Black Holes: We consider a (2+1)-dimensional field theory, assumed to be holographically\ndual to the extremal Reissner-Nordstrom AdS(4) black hole background, and\ncalculate the retarded correlators of charge (vector) current and\nenergy-momentum (tensor) operators at finite momentum and frequency. We show\nthat, similar to what was observed previously for the correlators of scalar and\nspinor operators, these correlators exhibit emergent scaling behavior at low\nfrequency. We numerically compute the electromagnetic and gravitational\nquasinormal frequencies (in the shear channel) of the extremal\nReissner-Nordstrom AdS(4) black hole corresponding to the spectrum of poles in\nthe retarded correlators. The picture that emerges is quite simple: there is a\nbranch cut along the negative imaginary frequency axis, and a series of\nisolated poles corresponding to damped excitations. All of these poles are\nalways in the lower half complex frequency plane, indicating stability. We show\nthat this analytic structure can be understood as the proper limit of finite\ntemperature results as T is taken to zero holding the chemical potential fixed.",
        "positive": "Zero modes, beta functions and IR/UV interplay in higher-loop QED: We analyze the relation between the short-distance behavior of quantum field\ntheory and the strong-field limit of the background field formalism, for QED\neffective Lagrangians in self-dual backgrounds, at both one and two loop. The\nself-duality of the background leads to zero modes in the case of spinor QED,\nand these zero modes must be taken into account before comparing the\nperturbative beta function coefficients and the coefficients of the\nstrong-field limit of the effective Lagrangian. At one-loop this is familiar\nfrom instanton physics, but we find that at two-loop the role of the zero\nmodes, and the interplay between IR and UV effects in the renormalization, is\nquite different. Our analysis is motivated in part by the remarkable simplicity\nof the two-loop QED effective Lagrangians for a self-dual constant background,\nand we also present here a new independent derivation of these two-loop\nresults."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Flux compactifications in string theory: a comprehensive review: We present a pedagogical overview of flux compactifications in string theory,\nfrom the basic ideas to the most recent developments. We concentrate on closed\nstring fluxes in type II theories. We start by reviewing the supersymmetric\nflux configurations with maximally symmetric four-dimensional spaces. We then\ndiscuss the no-go theorems (and their evasion) for compactifications with\nfluxes. We analyze the resulting four-dimensional effective theories, as well\nas some of its perturbative and non-perturbative corrections, focusing on\nmoduli stabilization. Finally, we briefly review statistical studies of flux\nbackgrounds.",
        "positive": "Homological mirror symmetry on noncommutative two-tori: Homological mirror symmetry is a conjecture that a category constructed in\nthe A-model and a category constructed in the B-model are equivalent in some\nsense. We construct a cyclic differential graded (DG) category of holomorphic\nvector bundles on noncommutative two-tori as a category in the B-model side. We\ndefine the corresponding Fukaya's category in the A-model side, and prove the\nequivalence of the two categories at the level of cyclic categories. We further\nwrite down explicitly Feynman rules for higher Massey products derived from the\ncyclic DG category. As a background of these arguments, a physical explanation\nof the mirror symmetry for noncommutative two-tori is also given."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Perturbative dynamics of fuzzy spheres at large N: We clarify some peculiar aspects of the perturbative expansion around a\nclassical fuzzy-sphere solution in matrix models with a cubic term. While the\neffective action in the large-N limit is saturated at the one-loop level, we\nfind that the ``one-loop dominance'' does not hold for generic observables due\nto one-particle reducible diagrams. However, we may exploit the one-loop\ndominance for the effective action and obtain various observables to all orders\nfrom one-loop calculation by simply shifting the center of expansion to the\n``quantum solution'', which extremizes the effective action. We confirm the\nvalidity of this method by comparison with the direct two-loop calculation and\nwith Monte Carlo results in the 3d Yang-Mills-Chern-Simons matrix model. From\nthe all order result we find that the perturbative expansion has a finite\nradius of convergence.",
        "positive": "Induced fermionic current in toroidally compactified spacetimes with\n  applications to cylindrical and toroidal nanotubes: The vacuum expectation value of the fermionic current is evaluated for a\nmassive spinor field in spacetimes with an arbitrary number of toroidally\ncompactified spatial dimensions in presence of a constant gauge field. By using\nthe Abel-Plana type summation formula and the zeta function technique we\npresent the fermionic current in two different forms. Non-trivial topology of\nthe background spacetime leads to the Aharonov-Bohm effect on the fermionic\ncurrent induced by the gauge field. The current is a periodic function of the\nmagnetic flux with the period equal to the flux quantum. In the absence of the\ngauge field it vanishes for special cases of untwisted and twisted fields.\nApplications of the general formulae to Kaluz-Klein type models and to\ncylindrical and toroidal carbon nanotubes are given. In the absence of magnetic\nflux the total fermionic current in carbon nanotubes vanishes, due to the\ncancellation of contributions from two different sublattices of the graphene\nhexagonal lattice."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Fractional Instanton Numbers in Six Dimensional Heterotic E_8 x E_8\n  Orbifolds: We show how the level matching condition in six dimensional, abelian and\nsupersymmetric orbifolds of the E_8 x E_8 heterotic string can be given\nequivalently in terms of fractional gauge and gravitational instanton numbers.\nThis relation is used to restate the classification of the orbifolds in terms\nof flat bundles away from the orbifold singularities under the constraint of\nthe level matching condition. In an outlook these results are applied to\nKaluza-Klein monopoles of the heterotic string on S^1 in Wilson line\nbackgrounds.",
        "positive": "Supergravity couplings: a geometric formulation: This report provides a pedagogical introduction to the description of the\ngeneral Poincare supergravity/matter/Yang-Mills couplings using methods of\nKahler superspace geometry. At a more advanced level this approach is\ngeneralized to include tensor field and Chern-Simons couplings in supersymmetry\nand supergravity, relevant in the context of weakly and strongly coupled string\ntheories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gravitational Bound Waveforms from Amplitudes: With the aim of computing bound waveforms from scattering amplitudes, we\nexplore gravitational two-body dynamics using the Schwinger-Dyson equations and\nBethe-Salpeter recursion. We show that the tree-level scattering waveform\nadmits a natural analytic continuation, in rapidity, to the bound waveform,\nwhich we confirm from an independent calculation, in the Post-Newtonian\nexpansion, of the time-domain multipoles at large eccentricity. We demonstrate\nconsistency of this scattering-to-bound map with the Damour-Deruelle\nprescription for orbital elements in the quasi-Keplerian parametrization (which\nenters into the evaluation of the multipoles) and with the analytic\ncontinuation, in the binding energy, of radiated energy and angular momentum at\n3PM.",
        "positive": "Fuzzy Scalar Field Theory as a Multitrace Matrix Model: We develop an analytical approach to scalar field theory on the fuzzy sphere\nbased on considering a perturbative expansion of the kinetic term. This\nexpansion allows us to integrate out the angular degrees of freedom in the\nhermitian matrices encoding the scalar field. The remaining model depends only\non the eigenvalues of the matrices and corresponds to a multitrace hermitian\nmatrix model. Such a model can be solved by standard techniques as e.g. the\nsaddle-point approximation. We evaluate the perturbative expansion up to second\norder and present the one-cut solution of the saddle-point approximation in the\nlarge N limit. We apply our approach to a model which has been proposed as an\nappropriate regularization of scalar field theory on the plane within the\nframework of fuzzy geometry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Twelve-Dimensional Aspects of Four-Dimensional N=1 Type I Vacua: Four-dimensional supergravity theories are reinterpreted in a 12-dimensional\nF-theory framework. The O(8) symmetry of N=8 supergravity is related to a\nreduction of F-theory on T_8, with the seventy scalars formally associated, by\nO(8) triality, to a fully compactified four-form A_4. For the N=1 type I model\nrecently obtained from the type IIB string on the Z orbifold, we identify the\nK\\\"ahler manifold of the untwisted scalars in the unoriented closed sector with\nthe generalized Siegel upper-half plane Sp(8,R)/(SU(4) \\times U(1)). The SU(4)\nfactor reflects the holonomy group of Calabi-Yau fourfolds.",
        "positive": "Anomalies in orbifold field theories: We study the constraints on models with extra dimensions arising from local\nanomaly cancellation. We consider a five-dimensional field theory with a U(1)\ngauge field and a charged fermion, compactified on the orbifold S^1/(Z_2 x\nZ_2'). We show that, even if the orbifold projections remove both fermionic\nzero modes, there are gauge anomalies localized at the fixed points. Anomalies\nnaively cancel after integration over the fifth dimension, but gauge invariance\nis broken, spoiling the consistency of the theory. We discuss the implications\nfor realistic supersymmetric models with a single Higgs hypermultiplet in the\nbulk, and possible cancellation mechanisms in non-minimal models."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Topics in vacuum decay (Ph.D Thesis): If a theory has more than one classically stable vacuum, quantum tunneling\nand thermal jumps make the transition between the vacua possible. The\ntransition happens through a first order phase transition started by nucleation\nof a bubble of the new vacuum. The outward pressure of the truer vacuum makes\nthe bubble expand and consequently eat away more of the old phase. In the\npresence of gravity this phenomenon gets more complicated and meanwhile more\ninteresting. It can potentially have important cosmological consequences. Some\naspects of this decay are studied in this thesis. Solutions with different\nsymmetry than the generically used O(4) symmetry are studied and their actions\ncalculated. Vacuum decay in a spatial vector field is studied and novel\nfeatures like kinky domain walls are presented. The question of stability of\nvacua in a landscape of potentials is studied and the possible instability in\nlarge dimension of fields is shown. Finally a compactification of the\nEinstein-Maxwell theory is studied which can be a good lab to understand the\ndecay rates in compactification models of arbitrary dimensions.",
        "positive": "Tinkertoys for the E7 Theory: We classify the class $S$ theories of type $E_7$. These are four-dimensional\n$\\mathcal{N}=2$ superconformal field theories arising from the compactification\nof the $E_7$ $(2,0)$ theory on a punctured Riemann surface, $C$. The\nclassification is given by listing all 3-punctured spheres (\"fixtures\"), and\nconnecting cylinders, which can arise in a pants-decomposition of $C$. We find\nexactly 11,000 fixtures with three regular punctures, and an additional 48 with\none \"irregular puncture\" (in the sense used in our previous works). To organize\nthis large number of theories, we have created a web application at\nhttps://golem.ph.utexas.edu/class-S/E7/ . Among these theories, we find 10 new\nones with a simple exceptional global symmetry group, as well as a new rank-2\nSCFT and several new rank-3 SCFTs. As an application, we study the\nstrong-coupling limit of the $E_7$ gauge theory with 3 hypermultiplets in the\n$56$. Using our results, we also verify recent conjectures that the $T^2$\ncompactification of certain $6d$ $(1,0)$ theories can alternatively be realized\nin class $S$ as fixtures in the $E_7$ or $E_8$ theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Transport properties of a holographic model with novel gauge-axion\n  coupling: We investigate the transport properties within a holographic model\ncharacterized by a novel gauge-axion coupling. A key innovation is the\nintroduction of the direct coupling between axion fields, the antisymmetric\ntensor, and the gauge field in our bulk theory. This novel coupling term leads\nto the emergence of nondiagonal components in the conductivity tensor. An\nimportant characteristic is that the off-diagonal elements manifest\nantisymmetry. Remarkably, the conductivity behavior in this model akin to that\nof Hall conductivity. Additionally, this model can also achieve metal-insulator\ntransition.",
        "positive": "Self-force on an electric dipole in the spacetime of a cosmic string: We calculate the electrostatic self-force on an electric dipole in the\nspacetime generated by a static, thin, infinite and straight cosmic string. The\nelectric dipole is held fixed in different configurations, namely, parallel,\nperpendicular to the cosmic string and oriented along the azimuthal direction\naround this topological defect, which is stretched along the z axis. We show\nthat the self-force is equivalent to an interaction of the electric dipole with\nan effective dipole moment which depends on the linear mass density of the\ncosmic string and on the configuration. The plots of the self-forces as\nfunctions of the parameter which determines the angular deficit of the cosmic\nstring are shown for those different configurations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Borcherds Algebras and N=4 Topological Amplitudes: The perturbative spectrum of BPS-states in the E_8 x E_8 heterotic string\ntheory compactified on T^2 is analysed. We show that the space of BPS-states\nforms a representation of a certain Borcherds algebra G which we construct\nexplicitly using an auxiliary conformal field theory. The denominator formula\nof an extension G_{ext} \\supset G of this algebra is then found to appear in a\ncertain heterotic one-loop N=4 topological string amplitude. Our construction\nthus gives an N=4 realisation of the idea envisioned by Harvey and Moore,\nnamely that the `algebra of BPS-states' controls the threshold corrections in\nthe heterotic string.",
        "positive": "Renormalization constants from string theory: We review some recent results on the calculation of renormalization constants\nin Yang-Mills theory using open bosonic strings. The technology of string\namplitudes, supplemented with an appropriate continuation off the mass shell,\ncan be used to compute the ultraviolet divergences of dimensionally regularized\ngauge theories. The results show that the infinite tension limit of string\namplitudes corresponds to the background field method in field theory.\n(Proceedings of the Workshop ``Strings, Gravity and Physics at the Planck\nscale'', Erice (Italy), September 1995. Preprint DFTT 82/95)"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Elementary Quantum Geometry: These Lecture Notes provide an elementary introduction to the quantization of\ntwo-dimensional quantum gravity. Nothing beyond undergratuate physics and\nmathematic is required. Explicit formulas for the partition functions for\nuniverses with n boundaries are derived, as well as for the so-called two-point\nfunction. The latter shows explicitly that the fractal dimension of a typical\ntwo-dimensional quantum universe is four.",
        "positive": "Non-linear Realizations and Higher Curvature Supergravity: We focus on non-linear realizations of local supersymmetry as obtained by\nusing constrained superfields in supergravity. New constraints, beyond those of\nrigid supersymmetry, are obtained whenever curvature multiplets are affected as\nwell as higher derivative interactions are introduced. In particular, a new\nconstraint, which removes a very massive gravitino is introduced, and in the\nrigid limit it merely reduces to an explicit supersymmetry breaking. Higher\ncurvature supergravities free of ghosts and instabilities are also obtained in\nthis way. Finally, we consider direct coupling of the goldstino multiplet to\nthe super Gauss--Bonnet multiplet and discuss the emergence of a new scalar\ndegree of freedom."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Ground-state isolation and discrete flows in a rationally extended\n  quantum harmonic oscillator: Ladder operators for the simplest version of a rationally extended quantum\nharmonic oscillator (REQHO) are constructed by applying a Darboux\ntransformation to the quantum harmonic oscillator system. It is shown that the\nphysical spectrum of the REQHO carries a direct sum of a trivial and an\ninfinite-dimensional irreducible representation of the polynomially deformed\nbosonized osp(1|2) superalgebra. In correspondence with this the ground state\nof the system is isolated from other physical states but can be reached by\nladder operators via non-physical energy eigenstates, which belong to either an\ninfinite chain of similar eigenstates or to the chains with generalized Jordan\nstates. We show that the discrete chains of the states generated by ladder\noperators and associated with physical energy levels include six basic\ngeneralized Jordan states, in comparison with the two basic Jordan states\nentering in analogous discrete chains for the quantum harmonic oscillator.",
        "positive": "Instanton solution for Schwinger production of 't Hooft-Polyakov\n  monopoles: We present the results of an explicit numerical computation of a novel\ninstanton in Georgi-Glashow SU(2) theory. The instanton is physically relevant\nas a mediator of Schwinger production of 't Hooft-Polyakov magnetic monopoles\nfrom strong magnetic fields. In weak fields, the pair production rate has\npreviously been computed using the worldline approximation, which breaks down\nin strong fields due to the effects of finite monopole size. Using lattice\nfield theory we have overcome this limit, including finite monopole size\neffects to all orders. We demonstrate that a full consideration of the internal\nmonopole structure results in an enhancement to the pair production rate, and\nconfirm earlier results that monopole production becomes classical at the\nAmbjorn-Olesen critical field strength."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Moving Interfaces and two-dimensional Black Holes: Conformal field theories can exchange energy through a boundary interface.\nImposing conformal boundary conditions for static interfaces implies energy\nconservation at the interface. Recently, the reflective and transmitive\nproperties of such static conformal interfaces have been studied in two\ndimensions by scattering matter at the interface impurity. In this note, we\ngeneralize this to the case of dynamic interfaces. Motivated by the connections\nbetween the moving mirror and the black hole, we choose a particular profile\nfor the dynamical interface. We show that a part of the total energy of each\nside will be lost in the interface. In other words, a time-dependent interface\ncan accumulate or absorb energy. While, in general, the interface follows a\ntime-like trajectory, one can take a particular limit of a profile\nparameter($\\beta$), such that the interface approaches a null line\nasymptotically$(\\beta\\rightarrow 0)$. In this limit, we show that for a class\nof boundary conditions, the interface behaves like a `semipermeable membrane'.\nWe also consider another set of conformal boundary conditions for which, in the\nnull line limit, the interface mimics the properties expected of a horizon. In\nthis case, we devise a scattering experiment, where (zero-point subtracted)\nenergy from one CFT is fully transmitted to the other CFT, while from the other\nCFT, energy can neither be transmitted nor reflected, i.e., it gets lost in the\ninterface. This boundary condition is also responsible for the thermal energy\nspectrum which mimics Hawking radiation. This is analogous to the black hole\nwhere the horizon plays the role of a one-sided `membrane', which accumulates\nall the interior degrees of freedom and radiates thermally in the presence of\nquantum fluctuation. Stimulated by this observation, we comment on some\nplausible construction of wormhole analogues.",
        "positive": "An Operator Product Expansion for Form Factors II. Born level: Form factors in planar N=4 Super-Yang-Mills theory admit a type of\nnon-perturbative operator product expansion (OPE), as we have recently shown in\narXiv:2009.11297. This expansion is based on a decomposition of the dual\nperiodic Wilson loop into elementary building blocks: the known pentagon\ntransitions and a new object that we call form factor transition, which encodes\nthe information about the local operator. In this paper, we compute the\ntwo-particle form factor transitions for the chiral part of the stress-tensor\nsupermultiplet at Born level; they yield the leading contribution to the OPE.\nTo achieve this, we explicitly construct the Gubser-Klebanov-Polyakov\ntwo-particle singlet states. The resulting transitions are then used to test\nthe OPE against known perturbative data and to make higher-loop predictions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Massive S-duality in 4 dimensions: We reduce the Type IIA supergravity theory with a generalized Scherk-Schwarz\nansatz that exploits the scaling symmetry of the dilaton, the metric and the NS\n2-form field. The resulting theory is a new massive, gauged supergravity theory\nin four dimensions with a massive 2-form field and a massive 1-form field. We\nshow that this theory is S-dual to a theory with a massive vector field and a\nmassive 2-form field, which are dual to the massive 2-form and 1-form fields in\nthe original theory, respectively. The S-dual theory is shown to arise from a\nScherk-Schwarz reduction of the heterotic theory. Hence we establish a massive,\nS-duality type relation between the IIA theory and the heterotic theory in four\ndimensions. We also show that the Lagrangian for the new four dimensional\ntheory can be put in the most general form of a D=4, N=4 gauged Lagrangian\nfound by Schon and Weidner, in which (part of) the SL(2) group has been gauged.",
        "positive": "Turbulence without pressure in d dimensions: The randomly driven Navier-Stokes equation without pressure in d-dimensional\nspace is considered as a model of strong turbulence in a compressible fluid. We\nderive a closed equation for the velocity-gradient probability density\nfunction. We find the asymptotics of this function for the case of the gradient\nvelocity field (Burgers turbulence), and provide a numerical solution for the\ntwo-dimensional case. Application of these results to the velocity-difference\nprobability density function is discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fermions in G\u00f6del-type background space-times with torsion and the\n  Landau quantization: In this paper, we analyze Dirac fermions in G\\\"odel-type background\nspace-times with torsion. We also consider the G\\\"odel-type spacetimes embedded\nin a topological defect background. We show that relativistic bound states\nsolutions to the Dirac equation can be obtained by dealing with three cases of\nthe G\\\"odel-type solutions with torsion, where a cosmic string passes through\nthese three cases of the space-time. We obtain the relativistic energy levels\nfor all cases of the G\\\"odel-type solutions with torsion with a cosmic string,\nwhere we show that there exists an analogy with the Landau levels for Dirac\nparticles. We also show that the presence of torsion in the space-time yields\nnew contributions to the relativistic spectrum of energies and that the\npresence of the topological defect modifies the degeneracy of the relativistic\nenergy levels.",
        "positive": "The generalised scaling function: a note: A method for determining the generalised scaling function(s) arising in the\nhigh spin behaviour of long operator anomalous dimensions in the planar $sl(2)$\nsector of ${\\cal N}=4$ SYM is proposed. The all-order perturbative expansion\naround the strong coupling is detailed for the prototypical third and fourth\nscaling functions, showing the emergence of the O(6) Non-Linear Sigma Model\nmass-gap from different SYM 'mass' functions. Remarkably, only the fourth one\ngains contribution from the non-BES reducible densities and also shows up, as\nfirst, NLSM interaction and specific model dependence. Finally, the computation\nof the $n$-th generalised function is sketched and might be easily finalised\nfor checks versus the computations in the sigma model or the complete string\ntheory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Analysis of resonance production using relativistic Gamow vectors: The calculation of an amplitude involving resonance production is presented.\nThis calculation employs for the resonance state a relativistic Gamow vector.\nIt is used for investigating the question of compatibility of the relativistic\nGamow vectors kinematics, defined by real 4-velocities and complex mass, with\nthe stable particle kinematics; or in other words, the integration of the Gamow\nvectors with the conventional Dirac bra-ket formalism. The calculation\ndemonstrates a consistent framework comprising stable and Gamow vectors.",
        "positive": "High-temperature asymptotics of the 4d superconformal index: The superconformal index of a typical Lagrangian 4d SCFT is given by a\nspecial function known as an elliptic hypergeometric integral (EHI). The\nhigh-temperature limit of the index corresponds to the hyperbolic limit of the\nEHI. The hyperbolic limit of certain special EHIs has been analyzed by Eric\nRains around 2006; extending Rains's techniques, we discover a surprisingly\nrich structure in the high-temperature limit of a (rather large) class of EHIs\nthat arise as the superconformal index of unitary Lagrangian 4d SCFTs with\nnon-chiral matter content. Our result has implications for $\\mathcal{N}=1$\ndualities, the AdS/CFT correspondence, and supersymmetric gauge dynamics on\n$R^3\\times S^1$.\n  We also investigate the high-temperature asymptotics of the large-N limit of\nthe superconformal index of a class of holographic 4d SCFTs (described by toric\nquiver gauge theories with SU(N) nodes). We show that from this study a rather\ngeneral solution to the problem of holographic Weyl anomaly in AdS$_5$/CFT$_4$\nat the subleading order (in the 1/N expansion) emerges.\n  Most of this dissertation is based on published works by Jim Liu, Phil\nSzepietowski, and the author. We include here a few previously unpublished\nresults as well, one of which is the high-temperature asymptotics of the\nsuperconformal index of puncture-less SU(2) class-$\\mathcal{S}$ theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "F-theory and the Witten Index: We connect the fermionic fields, localized on the intersection curve $\\Sigma$\nof two D7-branes with zero background flux, to a N=2 supersymmetric quantum\nmechanics algebra, within the theoretical framework of F-theory.",
        "positive": "Estimating Calabi-Yau Hypersurface and Triangulation Counts with\n  Equation Learners: We provide the first estimate of the number of fine, regular, star\ntriangulations of the four-dimensional reflexive polytopes, as classified by\nKreuzer and Skarke (KS). This provides an upper bound on the number of\nCalabi-Yau threefold hypersurfaces in toric varieties. The estimate is\nperformed with deep learning, specifically the novel equation learner (EQL)\narchitecture. We demonstrate that EQL networks accurately predict numbers of\ntriangulations far beyond the $h^{1,1}$ training region, allowing for reliable\nextrapolation. We estimate that number of triangulations in the KS dataset is\n$10^{10,505}$, dominated by the polytope with the highest $h^{1,1}$ value."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Parametric Representation of Rank d Tensorial Group Field Theory:\n  Abelian Models with Kinetic Term $\\sum_{s}|p_s| + \u03bc$: We consider the parametric representation of the amplitudes of Abelian models\nin the so-called framework of rank $d$ Tensorial Group Field Theory. These\nmodels are called Abelian because their fields live on $U(1)^D$. We concentrate\non the case when these models are endowed with particular kinetic terms\ninvolving a linear power in momenta. New dimensional regularization and\nrenormalization schemes are introduced for particular models in this class: a\nrank 3 tensor model, an infinite tower of matrix models $\\phi^{2n}$ over\n$U(1)$, and a matrix model over $U(1)^2$. For all divergent amplitudes, we\nidentify a domain of meromorphicity in a strip determined by the real part of\nthe group dimension $D$. From this point, the ordinary subtraction program is\napplied and leads to convergent and analytic renormalized integrals.\nFurthermore, we identify and study in depth the Symanzik polynomials provided\nby the parametric amplitudes of generic rank $d$ Abelian models. We find that\nthese polynomials do not satisfy the ordinary Tutte's rules\n(contraction/deletion). By scrutinizing the \"face\"-structure of these\npolynomials, we find a generalized polynomial which turns out to be stable only\nunder contraction.",
        "positive": "Finite-size effect for four-loop Konishi of the beta-deformed N=4 SYM: We propose that certain twists of the su(2|2) S-matrix elements describe the\nbeta-deformation of N=4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory. We compute the\nperturbative four-loop anomalous dimension of the Konishi operator of the\ndeformed gauge theory from the Luscher formula based on these twisted S-matrix\nelements. The result agrees exactly with the perturbative gauge theory\ncomputations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Remarks on E11 approach: We consider a few topics in $E_{11}$ approach to superstring/M-theory: even\nsubgroups ($Z_2$ orbifolds) of $E_{n}$, n=11,10,9 and their connection to\nKac-Moody algebras; $EE_{11}$ subgroup of $E_{11}$ and coincidence of one of\nits weights with the $l_1$ weight of $E_{11}$, known to contain brane charges;\npossible form of supersymmetry relation in $E_{11}$; decomposition of $l_1$\nw.r.t. the $SO(10,10)$ and its square root at first few levels; particle orbit\nof $l_1 \\ltimes E_{11}$. Possible relevance of coadjoint orbits method is\nnoticed, based on a self-duality form of equations of motion in $E_{11}$.",
        "positive": "Spinor Helicity and Dual Conformal Symmetry in Ten Dimensions: The spinor helicity formalism in four dimensions has become a very useful\ntool both for understanding the structure of amplitudes and also for practical\nnumerical computation of amplitudes. Recently, there has been some discussion\nof an extension of this formalism to higher dimensions. We describe a\nparticular implementation of the spinor-helicity method in ten dimensions.\nUsing this tool, we study the tree-level S-matrix of ten dimensional super\nYang-Mills theory, and prove that the theory enjoys a dual conformal symmetry.\nImplications for four-dimensional computations are discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Color-kinematics duality and Sudakov form factor at five loops for N=4\n  supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory: Using color-kinematics duality, we construct for the first time the full\nintegrand of the five-loop Sudakov form factor in N=4 super-Yang-Mills theory,\nincluding non-planar contributions. This result also provides a first\nmanifestation of the color-kinematics duality at five loops. The integrand is\nexplicitly ultraviolet finite when D<26/5, coincident with the known finiteness\nbound for amplitudes. If the double-copy method could be applied to the form\nfactor, this would indicate an interesting ultraviolet finiteness bound for N=8\nsupergravity at five loops. The result is also expected to provide an essential\ninput for computing the five-loop non-planar cusp anomalous dimension.",
        "positive": "Review of AdS/CFT Integrability, Chapter III.4: Twist states and the\n  cusp anomalous dimension: We review the computation of the anomalous dimension of twist operators in\nthe planar limit of N=4 SYM using the asymptotic Bethe ansatz and demonstrate\nhow this quantity is obtained at weak, strong and intermediate values of the\ncoupling constant. The anomalous dimension of twist operators in the limit of\nlarge Lorentz spin played a major role in the construction as well as in many\ntests of the asymptotic Bethe equations, this aspect of the story is\nemphasised."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Majorana neutrino and the vacuum of Bogoliubov quasiparticle: The Lagrangian of the seesaw mechanism is C violating but the same Lagrangian\nwhen re-written in terms of Majorana neutrinos is manifestly C invariant. To\nresolve this puzzling feature, a relativistic analogue of Bogoliubov\ntransformation, which preserves CP but explicitly breaks C and P separately,\nwas introduced together with the notions of a Bogoliubov quasiparticle and an\nanalogue of the energy gap in BCS theory. The idea of Majorana neutrino as\nBogoliubov quasiparticle was then suggested. In this paper, we study the vacuum\nstructure of the Bogoliubov quasiparticle which becomes heavy by absorbing the\nC-breaking. By treating an infinitesimally small C violating term as an\nanalogue of the chiral symmetry breaking nucleon mass in the model of Nambu and\nJona-Lasinio, we construct an explicit form of the vacuum of the Bogoliubov\nquasiparticle which defines Majorana neutrinos in seesaw mechanism. The vacuum\nof the Bogoliubov quasiparticle thus constructed has an analogous condensate\nstructure as the vacuum of the quasiparticle (nucleon) in the\nNambu--Jona-Lasinio model.",
        "positive": "Non-equilibrium dynamics in Holography: We investigate aspects of non-equilibrium dynamics of strongly coupled field\ntheories within holography. We establish a hydrodynamic description for\nanomalous quantum field theories subject to a strong external field for the\nfirst time in the literature. Within holography, we explicitly demonstrate\nwhich transport coefficients are non-zero due to the chiral anomaly and thus\nimportant for the transport. We show that the standard treatment of the\nhydrodynamics for spontaneously broken translational invariance is more subtle\nand has to be revised since the description is missing a novel thermodynamic\ncoefficient. Within holographic massive gravity, we lay out a road map for\nextensions of hydrodynamics to momentum dissipation. Furthermore, we study the\nimprint of spontaneously broken translations beyond linear response theory in\nterms of periodically driven strongly coupled quantum field theories. Another\nimportant non-equilibrium scenario specially important for the understanding of\nour universe is quantum gravity in de-Sitter. Recently, the bold claim of the\nso-called swampland conjectures has attracted great interest since it banishes\nall stable theories of quantum gravity on de-Sitter with matter into swampland.\nWithin the well-defined framework of the DS/dS correspondence, we set out to\nderive consistency conditions on the matter content in de-Sitter. Surprisingly,\nour proposed bound is violated by any reasonable form of matter. In our\ndiscussion, we find a novel one-parameter family of entangling surfaces. The\nlast chapter is dedicated to solvable irrelevant deformations in quantum field\ntheory -- the $T\\bar T$ deformation. Within holography, we derive the\nentanglement entropies for generic subintervals on a sphere. We also resolve\nthe confusion in the literature about a seeming mismatch between the\nholographic field theory results for the entanglement entropy in general\ndimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Differential Renormalization of a Yukawa Model with $\u03b3_5$: We present a two-loop computation of the beta functions and the anomalous\ndimensions of a $\\gamma_5$-Yukawa model using differential renormalization. The\ncalculation is carried out in coordinate space without modifying the space-time\ndimension and no ad-hoc prescription for $\\gamma_5$ is needed.\n  It is shown that this procedure is specially suited for theories involving\n$\\gamma_5$, and it should be considered in analyzing chiral gauge theories.",
        "positive": "Intersecting branes, Higgs sector, and chirality from $\\mathcal{N}=4$\n  SYM with soft SUSY breaking: We consider $SU(N)$ $\\mathcal{N}=4$ super Yang-Mills with cubic and quadratic\nsoft SUSY breaking potential, such that the global $SU(4)_R$ is broken to\n$SU(3)$ or further. As shown recently, this set-up supports a rich set of\nnon-trivial vacua with the geometry of self-intersecting $SU(3)$ branes in 6\nextra dimensions. The zero modes on these branes can be interpreted as 3\ngenerations of bosonic and chiral fermionic strings connecting the branes at\ntheir intersections. Here, we uncover a large class of exact solutions\nconsisting of branes connected by Higgs condensates, leading to Yukawa\ncouplings between the chiral fermionic zero modes. Under certain decoupling\nconditions, the backreaction of the Higgs on the branes vanishes exactly. The\nresulting physics is that of a spontaneously broken chiral gauge theory on\nbranes with fluxes. In particular, we identify combined brane plus Higgs\nconfigurations which lead to gauge fields that couple to chiral fermions at low\nenergy. This turns out to be quite close to the Standard Model and its\nconstructions via branes in string theory. As a by-product, we construct a\n$G_2$-brane solution corresponding to a squashed fuzzy coadjoint orbit of\n$G_2$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetry Breaking with Zero Vacuum Energy in M-Theory Flux\n  Compactifications: An attractive mechanism to break supersymmetry in vacua with zero vacuum\nenergy arose in E_8 x E_8 heterotic models with hidden sector gaugino\ncondensate. An H-flux balances the exponentially small condensate on shell and\nfixes the complex structure moduli. At quantum level this balancing is,\nhowever, obstructed by the quantization of the H-flux. We show that the warped\nflux compactification background in heterotic M-theory can solve this problem\nthrough a warp-factor suppression of the integer flux relative to the\ncondensate. We discuss the suppression mechanism both in the M-theory and the\n4-dimensional effective theory and provide a derivation of the condensate's\nsuperpotential which is free of delta-function squared ambiguities.",
        "positive": "Charges of Monopole Operators in $\\widehat{ADE}$ Chern-Simons Quiver\n  Gauge Theories: We compute R-charges of the BPS-monopole operators in $\\mathcal{N} = 3$\n$\\widehat{ADE}$ Chern-Simons quiver gauge theories, along the lines of the work\nof Benna, Klebanov and Klose in \\cite{bkk}. These theories have a weakly\ncoupled UV completion in terms of $\\mathcal{N}=3$ supersymmetric Chern-Simons\nYang-Mills theories. In the UV limit the monopole operators are well\napproximated by classical solutions. We construct classical BPS and anti-BPS\nmonopole solutions to these theories which preserve $\\frac{1}{3}$ supersymmetry\nall along the RG flow. We compute the $SU(2)_R$ charges in these backgrounds\nand show that the smallest possible value of quantised $SU(2)_R$ charge is zero\nin each quiver theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic entanglement entropy and complexity in St$\\ddot{u}$ckelberg\n  superconductor: The holographic superconductors, as one of the most important application of\ngauge/gravity duality, promote the study of strongly coupled superconductors\nvia classical general relativity living in one higher dimension. One of the\ninteresting properties in holographic superconductor is the appearance of first\nand second order phase transitions. Recently, another active studies in\nholographic framework is the holographic entanglement entropy and complexity\nevaluated from gravity side. In this note, we study the properties of the\nholographic entanglement entropy and complexity crossing both first and second\norder phase transitions in St$\\ddot{u}$ckelberg superconductor. We find that\nthey behave differently in two types of phase transitions. We argue that\nholographic entanglement entropy and complexity conjectured with the volume can\nalso be a possible probe to the type of superconducting phase transition.",
        "positive": "Instantons on noncommutative R^4, and (2,0) superconformal six\n  dimensional theory: We show that the resolution of moduli space of ideal instantons parameterizes\nthe instantons on non-commutative $\\IR^{4}$. This moduli space appears as a\nHiggs branch of the theory of $k$ $D0$-branes bound to $N$ $D4$-branes by the\nexpectation value of the $B$ field. It also appears as a regularized version of\nthe target space of supersymmetric quantum mechanics arising in the light cone\ndescription of $(2,0)$ superconformal theories in six dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-Commutative (Softly Broken) Supersymmetric Yang-Mills-Chern-Simons: We study d=2+1 non-commutative U(1) YMCS, concentrating on the one-loop\ncorrections to the propagator and to the dispersion relations. Unlike its\ncommutative counterpart, this model presents divergences and hence an IR/UV\nmechanism, which we regularize by adding a Majorana gaugino of mass m_f, that\nprovides (softly broken) supersymmetry. The perturbative vacuum becomes stable\nfor a wide range of coupling and mass values, and tachyonic modes are generated\nonly in two regions of the parameters space. One such region corresponds to\nremoving the supersymmetric regulator (m_f >> m_g), restoring the well-known\nIR/UV mixing phenomenon. The other one (for m_f ~ m_g/2 and large \\theta) is\nnovel and peculiar of this model. The two tachyonic regions turn out to be very\ndifferent in nature. We conclude with some remarks on the theory's off-shell\nunitarity.",
        "positive": "Emergent geometry through quantum entanglement in Matrix theories: In the setting of the Berenstein-Maldacena-Nastase Matrix theory, dual to\nlight-cone M-theory in a PP-wave background, we compute the Von Neumann\nentanglement entropy between a probe giant graviton and a source. We\ndemonstrate that this entanglement entropy is directly and generally related to\nthe local tidal acceleration experienced by the probe. This establishes a new\nmap between local spacetime geometry and quantum entanglement, suggesting a\nmechanism through which geometry emerges from Matrix quantum mechanics. We\nextend this setting to light-cone M-theory in flat space, or the\nBanks-Fischler-Shenker-Susskind Matrix model, and we conjecture a new general\nrelation between a certain measure of entanglement in Matrix theories and local\nspacetime geometry. The relation involves a `c-tensor' that measures the\nevolution of local transverse area and relates to the local energy-momentum\ntensor measured by a probe."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "No resonant tunneling in standard scalar quantum field theory: We investigate the nature of resonant tunneling in Quantum Field Theory.\nFollowing the pioneering work of Banks, Bender and Wu, we describe quantum\nfield theory in terms of infinite dimensional quantum mechanics and utilize the\n``Most probable escape path'' (MPEP) as the class of paths which dominate the\npath integral in the classically forbidden region. Considering a 1+1\ndimensional field theory example we show that there are five conditions that\nany associated bound state in the classically allowed region must satisfy if\nresonant tunnelling is to occur, and we then proceed to show that it is\nimpossible to satisfy all five conditions simultaneously.",
        "positive": "A Skyrme Model with Novel Chiral Symmetry Breaking: An extension of the Skyrme model is presented in which derivative terms are\nadded that break chiral symmetry to isospin symmetry. The theory contains just\none new parameter and it reduces to the standard Skyrme model when this\nsymmetry breaking parameter vanishes. The same Faddeev-Bogomolny energy bound\napplies for all parameter values, but the parameter can be tuned so that the\nenergy of the single Skyrmion is much closer to the bound than in the standard\nSkyrme model. Applying the rational map approximation to multi-Skyrmions\nsuggests that, for a suitable value of the symmetry breaking parameter, binding\nenergies in this theory may be significantly more realistic than in the\nstandard Skyrme model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Excited states in the twisted XXZ spin chain: We compute the finite size spectrum for the spin 1/2 XXZ chain with twisted\nboundary conditions, for anisotropy in the regime $0< \\gamma <\\pi/2$, and\narbitrary twist $\\theta$. The string hypothesis is employed for treating\ncomplex excitations. The Bethe Ansatz equtions are solved within a coupled\nnon-linear integral equation approach, with one equation for each type of\nstring. The root-of-unity quantum group invariant periodic chain reduces to the\nXXZ_1/2 chain with a set of twist boundary conditions ($\\pi/\\gamma\\in Z$,\n$\\theta$ an integer multiple of $\\gamma$). For this model, the restricted\nHilbert space corresponds to an unitary conformal field theory, and we recover\nall primary states in the Kac table in terms of states with specific twist and\nstrings.",
        "positive": "$\\mathcal{A}$-theory: A brane world-volume theory with manifest\n  U-duality: In this paper, the ${\\cal A}$-theory, an extension of F-theory, is described\nas a fully U-duality covariant brane theory. This theory has some\ndistinguishing features not known from world-sheet models. In particular, seen\nas a sigma model, both world-volume and target space coordinates are specific\nrepresentations of the same group (the U-duality group). The U-duality group in\nquestion is an exceptional group (a split form of the $E_d$ series). The\nstructure of this group allows it to encompass both the T-duality group of\nstring theory as well as the general linear symmetry group of ${\\cal\nM}$-theory. ${\\cal A}$-theory is defined by the current algebras in Hamiltonian\nformalism, or by world-volume actions in Lagrangian formalism. The spacetime\ncoordinates are selfdual gauge fields on the world-volume, requiring the Gauss\nlaw constraints tying the world-volume to spacetime. Solving the Gauss law\nconstraints/the Virasoro constraints gives the world-volume/spacetime\nsectioning from ${\\cal A}$-theory to ${\\cal T}$-theory/ ${\\cal M}$-theory\nrespectively. The ${\\cal A}$-theory Lagrangian admits extended symmetry which\nhas not been observed previously in the literature, where the background fields\ninclude both the spacetime and the world-volume gravitational fields. We also\nconstructed the four-point amplitude of ${\\cal A}$-theory in the low energy\nlimit. The amplitude is written in a way that the U-duality symmetry is\nmanifest, but after solving the section condition, it reduces to the usual\nfour-graviton amplitude. In the previous papers, we have referred to this model\nas F-theory, however, F-theory initiated by Vafa is now a big branch of string\ntheory as the study of elliptic fibrations, so we refer to these constructions\nas generalized models of theory for all dimensions with all duality symmetries\nas ${\\cal A}$-theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic thermalization from non relativistic branes: In this paper, based on the fundamental principles of Gauge/gravity duality\nand considering a \\textit{global quench}, we probe the physics of\nthermalization for a special class of strongly coupled non relativistic QFTs by\ncomputing the entanglement entropy of the plasma. The isometry group of such\nQFTs is comprised of the generators of the Schr\\\"odinger algebra which could be\nprecisely realized as an isometry group of the killing generators of an\nasymptotically Schr\\\"odinger $ Dp $ brane space time. In our analysis, we note\nthat during the pre local stages of the thermal equilibrium the entanglement\nentropy has a faster growth in time compared to its relativistic cousin.\nHowever, it shows a linear growth during the post local stages of thermal\nequilibrium where the so called tsunami velocity associated with the linear\ngrowth of the entanglement entropy saturates to that of its value corresponding\nto the relativistic scenario. Finally, we explore the saturation region and it\nturns out that one must constraint certain parameters of the theory in a\nspecific way in order to have a discontinuous transitions at the point of\nsaturation.",
        "positive": "Holomorphic Classical Limit for Spin Effects in Gravitational and\n  Electromagnetic Scattering: We provide universal expressions for the classical piece of the amplitude\ngiven by the graviton/photon exchange between massive particles of arbitrary\nspin, at both tree and one loop level. In the gravitational case this leads to\nhigher order terms in the post-Newtonian expansion, which have been previously\nused in the binary inspiral problem. The expressions are obtained in terms of a\ncontour integral that computes the Leading Singularity, which was recently\nshown to encode the relevant information up to one loop. The classical limit is\nperformed along a holomorphic trajectory in the space of kinematics, such that\nthe leading order is enough to extract arbitrarily high multipole corrections.\nThese multipole interactions are given in terms of a recently proposed\nrepresentation for massive particles of any spin by Arkani-Hamed et al. This\nexplicitly shows universality of the multipole interactions in the effective\npotential with respect to the spin of the scattered particles. We perform the\nexplicit match to standard EFT operators for $S=\\frac{1}{2}$ and $S=1$. As a\nnatural byproduct we obtain the classical pieces up to one loop for the bending\nof light."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Stability and Symmetry Breaking for Closed String with Massive Point: The closed relativistic string carrying a point-like mass in the space with\nnontrivial geometry is considered. For rotational states of this system\n(resulting in non-trivial Regge trajectories) the stability problem is solved.\nIt was shown that rotations of the folded string with the massive point placed\nat the rotational center are stable (with respect to small disturbances) if the\nmass exceeds some critical value: $m>m_{cr}$. But these rotational states are\nunstable in the opposite case $m<m_{cr}$. We can treat this effect as the\nspontaneous symmetry breaking for the string state. Other classes of rotational\nmotions of this system have appeared to be stable. These results were obtained\nboth in numerical experiments and the analytical investigation of small\ndisturbances for the rotational states.",
        "positive": "Non-Cartan Mordell-Weil lattices of rational elliptic surfaces and\n  heterotic/F-theory compactifications: The Mordell-Weil lattices (MW lattices) associated to rational elliptic\nsurfaces are classified into 74 types. Among them, there are cases in which the\nMW lattice is none of the weight lattices of simple Lie algebras or direct sums\nthereof. We study how such \"non-Cartan MW lattices\" are realized in the\nsix-dimensional heterotic/F-theory compactifications. In this paper, we focus\non non-Cartan MW lattices that are torsion free and whose associated\nsingularity lattices are sublattices of $A_7$. For the heterotic string\ncompactification, a non-Cartan MW lattice yields an instanton gauge group $H$\nwith one or more $U(1)$ group(s). We give a method for computing massless\nspectra via the index theorem and show that the $U(1)$ instanton number is\nlimited to be a multiple of some particular non-one integer. On the F-theory\nside, we examine whether we can construct the corresponding threefold\ngeometries, i.e., rational elliptic surface fibrations over $P^1$. Except for\nsome cases, we obtain such geometries for specific distributions of instantons.\nAll the spectrum derived from those geometries completely match with the\nheterotic results."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Primordial Universe Inside the Black Hole and Inflation: We speculate that the early Universe was inside a primordial black hole. The\ninterior of the the black hole is a dS background and the two spacetimes are\nseparated on the surface of black hole's event horizon. We argue that this\npicture provides a natural realization of inflation without invoking the\ninflaton field. The black hole evaporation by Hawking radiation provides a\nnatural mechanism for terminating inflation so reheating and the hot big bang\ncosmology starts from the evaporation of black hole to relativistic particles.\nThe quantum gravitational fluctuations at the boundary of black hole generate\nthe nearly scale invariant scalar and tensor perturbations with the ratio of\ntensor to scalar power spectra at the order of $10^{-3}$. As the black hole\nevaporates, the radius of its event horizon shrinks and the Hubble expansion\nrate during inflation increases slowly so the quantum Hawking radiation\nprovides a novel mechanism for the violation of null energy condition in\ncosmology.",
        "positive": "Circular orbit of a test particle and phase transition of a black hole: The radius of the circular orbit for the time-like or light-like test\nparticle in a background of general spherically symmetric spacetime is viewed\nas a characterized quantity for the thermodynamic phase transition of the\ncorresponding black hole. We generally show that the phase transition\ninformation of a black hole can be reflected by its surrounding particle's\ncircular orbit."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Transformation of second-class into first-class constraints in\n  supersymmetric theories: We use the method due to Batalin, Fradkin, Fradkina, and Tyutin (BFFT) in\norder to convert second-class into first-class constraints for some quantum\nmechanics supersymmetric theories. The main point to be considered is that the\nextended theory, where new auxiliary variables are introduced, has to be\nsupersymmetric too. This leads to some additional restrictions with respect the\nconventional use of the BFFT formalism.",
        "positive": "Charged Dilaton Black Holes with a Cosmological Constant: The properties of static spherically symmetric black holes, which are either\nelectrically or magnetically charged, and which are coupled to the dilaton in\nthe presence of a cosmological constant, are considered. It is shown that such\nsolutions do not exist if the cosmological constant is positive (in arbitrary\nspacetime dimension >= 4). However, asymptotically anti-de Sitter black hole\nsolutions with a single horizon do exist if the cosmological constant is\nnegative. These solutions are studied numerically in four dimensions and the\nthermodynamic properties of the solutions are derived. The extreme solutions\nare found to have zero entropy and infinite temperature for all non-zero values\nof the dilaton coupling constant."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Instanton Effects in ABJM Theory from Fermi Gas Approach: We study the instanton effects of the ABJM partition function using the Fermi\ngas formalism. We compute the exact values of the partition function at the\nChern-Simons levels k=1,2,3,4,6 up to N=44,20,18,16,14 respectively, and\nextract non-perturbative corrections from these exact results. Fitting the\nresulting non-perturbative corrections by their expected forms from the Fermi\ngas, we determine unknown parameters in them. After separating the oscillating\nbehavior of the grand potential, which originates in the periodicity of the\ngrand partition function, and the worldsheet instanton contribution, which is\ncomputed from the topological string theory, we succeed in proposing an\nanalytical expression for the leading D2-instanton correction. Just as the\nperturbative result, the instanton corrections to the partition function are\nexpressed in terms of the Airy function.",
        "positive": "More Pendants for Polya: Two loops in the SU(2) sector: We extend the methods of Spradlin and Volovich to compute the partition\nfunction for a conformally-invariant gauge theory on R x S^3 in which the\ndilatation operator is represented by a spin-chain Hamiltonian acting on pairs\nof states, not necessarily nearest neighbors. A specific application of this is\nthe two-loop dilatation operator of the planar SU(2) subsector of the N=4 SU(N)\nsuper Yang-Mills theory in the large-N limit. We compute the partition function\nand Hagedorn temperature for this sector to second order in the gauge coupling.\nThe Hagedorn temperature is to be interpreted as giving the\nexponentially-rising portion of the density of states of the SU(2) sector,\nwhich may be a signal of stringy behavior in the dual theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Radiative Corrections to the Aharonov-Bohm Scattering: We consider the scattering of relativistic electrons from a thin magnetic\nflux tube and perturbatively calculate the order $\\alpha$, radiative\ncorrection, to the first order Born approximation. We show also that the second\norder Born amplitude vanishes, and obtain a finite inclusive cross section for\nthe one-body scattering which incorporates soft photon bremsstrahlung effects.\nMoreover, we determine the radiatively corrected Aharonov-Bohm potential and,\nin particular, verify that an induced magnetic field is generated outside of\nthe flux tube.",
        "positive": "Rotating Attractors: We prove that, in a general higher derivative theory of gravity coupled to\nabelian gauge fields and neutral scalar fields, the entropy and the near\nhorizon background of a rotating extremal black hole is obtained by extremizing\nan entropy function which depends only on the parameters labeling the near\nhorizon background and the electric and magnetic charges and angular momentum\ncarried by the black hole. If the entropy function has a unique extremum then\nthis extremum must be independent of the asymptotic values of the moduli scalar\nfields and the solution exhibits attractor behaviour. If the entropy function\nhas flat directions then the near horizon background is not uniquely determined\nby the extremization equations and could depend on the asymptotic data on the\nmoduli fields, but the value of the entropy is still independent of this\nasymptotic data. We illustrate these results in the context of two derivative\ntheories of gravity in several examples. These include Kerr black hole,\nKerr-Newman black hole, black holes in Kaluza-Klein theory, and black holes in\ntoroidally compactified heterotic string theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Kinematical Reduction of Spatial Degrees of Freedom and Holographic\n  Relation in Yang's Quantized Space-Time Algebra: We try to find a possible origin of the holographic principle in the\nLorentz-covariant Yang's quantized space-time algebra (YSTA). YSTA, which is\nintrinsically equipped with short- and long-scale parameters, $\\lambda$ and\n$R$, gives a finite number of spatial degrees of freedom for any bounded\nspatial region, providing a basis for divergence-free quantum field theory.\nFurthermore, it gives a definite kinematical reduction of spatial degrees of\nfreedom, compared with the ordinary lattice space. On account of the latter\nfact, we find a certain kind of kinematical holographic relation in YSTA, which\nmay be regarded as a primordial form of the holographic principle suggested so\nfar in the framework of the present quantum theory that appears now in the\ncontraction limit of YSTA, $\\lambda \\to 0$ and $R \\to \\infty.$",
        "positive": "Dirichlet Topological Defects: We propose a class of field theories featuring solitonic solutions in which\ntopological defects can end when they intersect other defects of equal or\nhigher dimensionality. Such configurations may be termed ``Dirichlet\ntopological defects'', in analogy with the D-branes of string theory. Our\ndiscussion focuses on defects in scalar field theories with either gauge or\nglobal symmetries, in (3+1) dimensions; the types of defects considered include\nwalls ending on walls, strings on walls, and strings on strings."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the CFT Operator Spectrum at Large Global Charge: We calculate the anomalous dimensions of operators with large global charge\n$J$ in certain strongly coupled conformal field theories in three dimensions,\nsuch as the O(2) model and the supersymmetric fixed point with a single chiral\nsuperfield and a $W = \\Phi^3$ superpotential. Working in a $1/J$ expansion, we\nfind that the large-$J$ sector of both examples is controlled by a conformally\ninvariant effective Lagrangian for a Goldstone boson of the global symmetry.\nFor both these theories, we find that the lowest state with charge $J$ is\nalways a scalar operator whose dimension $\\Delta_J$ satisfies the sum rule $\nJ^2 \\Delta_J - \\left( \\tfrac{J^2}{2} + \\tfrac{J}{4} + \\tfrac{3}{16} \\right)\n\\Delta_{J-1} - \\left( \\tfrac{J^2}{2} - \\tfrac{J}{4} + \\tfrac{3}{16} \\right)\n\\Delta_{J+1} = 0.035147 $ up to corrections that vanish at large $J$. The\nspectrum of low-lying excited states is also calculable explcitly: For example,\nthe second-lowest primary operator has spin two and dimension $\\Delta\\ll J +\n\\sqrt{3}$. In the supersymmetric case, the dimensions of all half-integer-spin\noperators lie above the dimensions of the integer-spin operators by a gap of\norder $J^{1/2}$. The propagation speeds of the Goldstone waves and heavy\nfermions are $\\frac{1}{\\sqrt{2}}$ and $\\pm \\frac{1}{2}$ times the speed of\nlight, respectively. These values, including the negative one, are necessary\nfor the consistent realization of the superconformal symmetry at large $J$.",
        "positive": "Asymptotic Scalar Field Cosmology in String Theory: Asymptotic (late-time) cosmology depends on the asymptotic\n(infinite-distance) limits of scalar field space in string theory. Such limits\nfeature an exponentially decaying potential $V \\sim \\exp(- c \\phi)$ with\ncorresponding Hubble scale $H \\sim \\sqrt{\\dot \\phi^2 + 2 V} \\sim \\exp(-\n\\lambda_H \\phi)$, and at least one tower of particles whose masses scale as $m\n\\sim \\exp( - \\lambda \\phi)$, as required by the Distance Conjecture. In this\npaper, we provide evidence that these coefficients satisfy the inequalities\n$\\sqrt{(d-1)/(d-2)} \\geq \\lambda_H \\geq \\lambda_{\\text{lightest}} \\geq\n1/\\sqrt{d-2}$ in $d$ spacetime dimensions, where $\\lambda_{\\text{lightest}}$ is\nthe $\\lambda$ coefficient of the lightest tower. This means that at late times,\nas the scalar field rolls to $\\phi \\rightarrow \\infty$, the low-energy theory\nremains a $d$-dimensional FRW cosmology with decelerated expansion, the light\ntowers of particles predicted by the Distance Conjecture remain at or above the\nHubble scale, and both the strong energy condition and the dominant energy\ncondition are satisfied."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Acceleration-Enlarged Symmetries in Nonrelativistic Space-Time with a\n  Cosmological Constant: By considering the nonrelativistic limit of de-Sitter geometry one obtains\nthe nonrelativistic space-time with a cosmological constant and Newton-Hooke\n(NH) symmetries. We show that the NH symmetry algebra can be enlarged by the\naddition of the constant acceleration generators and endowed with central\nextensions (one in any dimension (D) and three in D=(2+1)). We present a\nclassical Lagrangian and Hamiltonian framework for constructing models\nquasi-invariant under enlarged NH symmetries which depend on three parameters\ndescribed by three nonvanishing central charges. The Hamiltonian dynamics then\nsplits into external and internal sectors with new non-commutative structures\nof external and internal phase spaces. We show that in the limit of vanishing\ncosmological constant the system reduces to the one presented in [1] which\npossesses accelaration-enlarged Galilean symmetries.",
        "positive": "Aligned Natural Inflation and Moduli Stabilization from Anomalous $U(1)$\n  Gauge Symmetries: To obtain natural inflation with large tensor-to-scalar ratio in string\nframework, we need a special moduli stabilization mechanism which can separate\nthe masses of real and imaginary components of K\\\"ahler moduli at different\nscales, and achieve a trans-Planckian axion decay constant from sub-Planckian\naxion decay constants. In this work, we stabilize the matter fields by F-terms\nand the real components of K\\\"ahler moduli by D-terms of two anomalous\n$U(1)_X\\times U(1)_A$ symmetries strongly at high scales, while the\ncorresponding axions remain light due to their independence on the\nFayet-Iliopoulos (FI) term in moduli stabilization. The racetrack-type axion\nsuperpotential is obtained from gaugino condensations of the hidden gauge\nsymmetries $SU(n)\\times SU(m)$ with massive matter fields in the bi-fundamental\nrespresentations. The axion alignment via Kim-Nilles-Pelroso (KNP) mechanism\ncorresponds to an approximate $S_2$ exchange symmetry of two K\\\"ahler moduli in\nour model, and a slightly $S_2$ symmetry breaking leads to the natural\ninflation with super-Planckian decay constant."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Inflationary Cosmology: I give a general review of the history of inflationary cosmology and of its\npresent status.",
        "positive": "Probe D-branes in Superconformal Field Theories: We overview the main configurations of D-brane probes in the AdS_5 x X^5\nbackground of type IIB string theory (X^5 being a Sasaki-Einstein manifold),\nand examine their most salient features from the point of view of the dual\nquiver superconformal field theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Coordinate-space singularities of massless gauge theories: The structure of singularities in perturbative massless gauge theories is\ninvestigated in coordinate space. The pinch singularities in coordinate-space\nintegrals occur at configurations of vertices which have a direct\ninterpretation in terms of physical scattering of particles in real space-time\nin the same way as for the loop momenta in the case of momentum-space\nsingularities. In the analysis of vertex functions in coordinate space, the\nwell-known factorization into hard, soft, and jet functions is found. By\npower-counting arguments, it is found that coordinate-space integrals of vertex\nfunctions have logarithmic divergences at worst.",
        "positive": "No interactions for a collection of spin-two fields intermediated by a\n  massive Rarita-Schwinger field: The cross-couplings among several massless spin-two fields (described in the\nfree limit by a sum of Pauli-Fierz actions) in the presence of a massive\nRarita-Schwinger field are investigated in the framework of the deformation\ntheory based on local BRST cohomology. Under the hypotheses of locality,\nsmoothness of the interactions in the coupling constant, Poincare invariance,\nLorentz covariance, and the preservation of the number of derivatives on each\nfield, we prove that there are no consistent cross-interactions among different\ngravitons with a positively defined metric in internal space in the presence of\na massive Rarita-Schwinger field. The basic features of the couplings between a\nsingle Pauli-Fierz field and a massive Rarita-Schwinger field are also\nemphasized."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Strong Coupling Problem with Time-Varying Sound Speed: For a single scalar field with unit sound speed minimally coupled to Einstein\ngravity, there are exactly three distinct cosmological solutions which produce\na scale invariant spectrum of curvature perturbations in a dynamical attractor\nbackground, assuming vacuum initial conditions: slow-roll inflation; a slowly\ncontracting adiabatic ekpyrotic phase, described by a rapidly-varying equation\nof state; and an adiabatic ekpyrotic phase on a slowly expanding background. Of\nthese three, only inflation remains weakly coupled over a wide range of modes,\nthe other scenarios can produce at most 12 e-folds of scale invariant and\ngaussian modes. In this paper, we investigate how allowing the speed of sound\nof fluctuations to evolve in time affects this classification. While in the\npresence of a variable sound speed there are many more scenarios which are\nscale invariant at the level of the two-point function, they generically suffer\nfrom strong coupling problems similar to those in the canonical case. There is,\nhowever, an exceptional case with superluminal sound speed, which suppresses\nnon-gaussianities and somewhat alleviates strong coupling issues. We focus on a\nparticular realization of this limit and show these scenarios are constrained\nand only able to produce at most 28 e-folds of scale invariant and gaussian\nperturbations. A similar bound should hold more generally --- the condition\nresults from the combined requirements of matching the observed amplitude of\ncurvature perturbations, demanding that the Hubble parameter remain\nsub-Planckian and keeping non-gaussianities under control. We therefore\nconclude that inflation remains the unique scenario, assuming a single degree\nof freedom on an attractor background, capable of producing arbitrarily many\nscale invariant modes while remaining weakly coupled. Alternative mechanisms\nmust inevitably be unstable or rely on multiple degrees of freedom.",
        "positive": "Massless Thirring model in canonical quantization scheme: It is shown that the exact solvability of the massless Thirring model in the\ncanonical quantization scheme originates from the intrinsic linearizability of\nits Heisenberg equations in the method of dynamical mappings. The corresponding\nrole of inequivalent representations of free massless Dirac field is\nelucidated."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Field Redefinitions in String Theory as a Solution Generating Technique: The purpose of this work is to show that there exists an additional\ninvariance of the $\\beta$-function equations of string theory on\n$d+1$-dimensional targets with $d$ toroidal isometries. It corresponds to a\nshift of the dilaton field and a scaling of the lapse function, and is\nreminiscent of string field redefinitions. While it preserves the form of the\n$\\beta$-function equations, it changes the effective action and the solutions.\nThus it can be used as a solution generating technique. It is particularly\ninteresting to note that there are field redefinitions which map solutions with\nnon-zero string cosmological constant to those with zero cosmological constant.\nSeveral simple examples involving two- and three-dimensional black holes and\nblack strings are provided to illustrate the role of such field redefinitions.",
        "positive": "Deeper discussion of Schr\u00f6dinger invariant and Logarithmic sectors of\n  higher-curvature gravity: The aim of this paper is to explore D-dimensional theories of pure gravity\nwhose space of solutions contains certain class of AdS-waves, including in\nparticular Schrodinger invariant spacetimes. This amounts to consider higher\norder theories, and the natural case to start with is to analyze generic\nsquare-curvature corrections to Einstein-Hilbert action. In this case, the\nSchrodinger invariant sector in the space of solutions arises for a special\nrelation between the coupling constants appearing in the action. On the other\nhand, besides the Schrodinger invariant configurations, logarithmic branches\nsimilar to those of the so-called Log-gravity are also shown to emerge for\nanother special choice of the coupling constants. These Log solutions can be\ninterpreted as the superposition of the massless mode of General Relativity and\ntwo scalar modes that saturate the Breitenlohner-Freedman bound (BF) of the AdS\nspace on which they propagate. These solutions are higher-dimensional analogues\nof those appearing in three-dimensional massive gravities with relaxed AdS_3\nasymptotic. Other sectors of the space of solutions of higher-curvature\ntheories correspond to oscillatory configurations, which happen to be below the\nBF bound. Also, there is a fully degenerated sector, for which any wave profile\nis admitted. We comment on the relation between this degeneracy and the\nnon-renormalization of the dynamical exponent of the Schrodinger spaces. Our\nanalysis also includes more general gravitational actions with non-polynomial\ncorrections consisting of arbitrary functions of the square-curvature\ninvariants. The same sectors of solutions are shown to exist for this more\ngeneral family of theories. We finally consider the Chern-Simons modified\ngravity in four dimensions, for which we derive both the Schrodinger invariant\nas well as the logarithmic sectors."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Spontaneous Identity of Chiral and Super Symmetry Breaking in\n  Pure Super Yang Mills Theories: We show that in supersymmetric pure Yang Mills theories with arbitrary simple\ngauge group, the spontaneous breaking of chiral fermionic and bosonic charge by\nthe associated gaugino and gauge boson condensates implies the spontaneous\nbreaking of supersymmetry by the condensate of the underlying Lagrangian\ndensity. The explicit breaking of the restricted fermionic charge through the\nchiral anomaly is deferred to a secondary stage in the elimination of infrared\nsingularities or long range forces.",
        "positive": "Holographic Lattices, Dimers, and Glasses: We holographically engineer a periodic lattice of localized fermionic\nimpurities within a plasma medium by putting an array of probe D5-branes in the\nbackground produced by N D3-branes. Thermodynamic quantities are computed in\nthe large N limit via the holographic dictionary. We then dope the lattice by\nreplacing some of the D5-branes by anti-D5-branes. In the large N limit, we\ndetermine the critical temperature below which the system dimerizes with bond\nordering. Finally, we argue that for the special case of a square lattice our\nsystem is glassy at large but finite N, with the low temperature physics\ndominated by a huge collection of metastable dimerized configurations without\nlong-range order, connected only through tunneling events."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chaos in the Mass-Deformed ABJM Model: Chaotic dynamics of the mass deformed ABJM model is explored. To do so, we\nconsider spatially uniform fields and obtain a family of reduced effective\nLagrangians by tracing over ansatz configurations involving fuzzy two-spheres\nwith collective time dependence. We examine how the largest Lyapunov exponent,\n$\\lambda_L$, changes as a function of $E/N^2$, where $N$ is the matrix size. In\nparticular, we inspect the temperature dependence of $\\lambda_L$ and present\nupper bounds on the temperature above which $\\lambda_L$ values comply with the\nMSS bound, $ \\lambda_L \\leq 2 \\pi T $, and below which it will eventually be\nnot obeyed.",
        "positive": "Lectures on String Theory: This is a one semester course on bosonic string theory aimed at beginning\ngraduate students. The lectures assume a working knowledge of quantum field\ntheory and general relativity. Contents:\n  1. The Classical String\n  2. The Quantum String\n  3. Open Strings and D-Branes\n  4. Introducing Conformal Field Theory\n  5. The Polyakov Path Integral and Ghosts\n  6. String Interactions\n  7. The Low-Energy Effective Action\n  8. Compactification and T-Duality"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exact Solutions of Kemmer Equation for Coulomb Potential: This article illustrates the bound states of Kemmer equation for spin-1\nparticles. The asymptotic, exact and Coulomb field solutions are obtained by\nusing action principle. In the conclusion the energy spectrum of spin-1\nparticles moving in a Coulomb potential compared with the energy spectrum of\nspin-0 and spin-1/2 particles.",
        "positive": "Diffusion of Wilson Loops: A phenomenological analysis of the distribution of Wilson loops in SU(2)\nYang-Mills theory is presented in which Wilson loop distributions are described\nas the result of a diffusion process on the group manifold. It is shown that,\nin the absence of forces, diffusion implies Casimir scaling and, conversely,\nexact Casimir scaling implies free diffusion. Screening processes occur if\ndiffusion takes place in a potential. The crucial distinction between screening\nof fundamental and adjoint loops is formulated as a symmetry property related\nto the center symmetry of the underlying gauge theory. The results are\nexpressed in terms of an effective Wilson loop action and compared with various\nlimits of SU(2) Yang-Mills theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Computation of the winding number diffusion rate due to the cosmological\n  sphaleron: A detailed quantitative analysis of the transition process mediated by a\nsphaleron type non-Abelian gauge field configuration in a static Einstein\nuniverse is carried out. By examining spectra of the fluctuation operators and\napplying the zeta function regularization scheme, a closed analytical\nexpression for the transition rate at the one-loop level is derived. This is a\nunique example of an exact solution for a sphaleron model in $3+1$ spacetime\ndimensions.",
        "positive": "Gravitational Corner Conditions in Holography: Contrary to popular belief, asymptotically anti-de Sitter solutions of\ngravitational theories cannot be obtained by taking initial data (satisfying\nthe constraints) on a spacelike surface, and choosing an arbitrary conformal\nmetric on the timelike boundary at infinity. There are an infinite number of\ncorner conditions that also must be satisfied where the initial data surface\nhits the boundary. These are well known to mathematical relativists, but to\nmake them more widely known we give a simple explanation of why these\nconditions exist and discuss some of their consequences. An example is given\nwhich illustrates their power. Some implications for holography are also\nmentioned."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Entanglement entropy of asymptotically flat non-extremal and extremal\n  black holes with an island: The island rule for the entanglement entropy is applied to an eternal\nReissner-Nordstr\\\"om black hole. The key ingredient is that the black hole is\nassumed to be in thermal equilibrium with a heat bath of an arbitrary\ntemperature and so the generalized entropy is treated as being off-shell.\nTaking the on-shell condition to the off-shell generalized entropy, we find the\ngeneralized entropy and then obtain the entanglement entropy following the\nisland rule. For the non-extremal black hole, the entanglement entropy grows\nlinearly in time and can be saturated after the Page time as expected. The\nentanglement entropy also has a well-defined Schwarzschild limit. In the\nextremal black hole, the island prescription provides a logarithmically growing\nentanglement entropy in time and a constant entanglement entropy after the Page\ntime. In the extremal black hole, the boundary of the island hits the curvature\nsingularity where the semi-classical approximations appear invalid. To avoid\nencountering the curvature singularity, we apply this procedure to the Hayward\nblack hole regular at the origin. Consequently, the presence of the island in\nextremal black holes can provide a finite entanglement entropy, which might\nimply non-trivial vacuum configurations of extremal black holes.",
        "positive": "Refinements of the Weyl pure geometrical thick branes from\n  information-entropic measure: This letter aims to analyse the so-called configurational entropy in the Weyl\npure geometrical thick brane model. The Weyl structure plays a prominent role\nin the thickness of this model. We find a set of parameters associated to the\nbrane width where the configurational entropy exhibits critical points.\nFurthermore, we show, by means of this information-theoretical measure, that a\nstricter bound on the parameter of Weyl pure geometrical brane model arises\nfrom the CE."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Monopoles, Dyons and Theta Term in Dirac-Born-Infeld Theory: We present dyon solutions to an SU(2) Dirac-Born-Infeld (DBI) gauge theory\ncoupled to a Higgs triplet. We consider different non-Abelian extensions of the\nDBI action and study the resulting solutions numerically, comparing them with\nthe standard Julia-Zee dyons. We discuss the existence of a critical value of\n$\\beta$, the Born-Infeld absolute field parameter, below which the solution\nceases to exist. We also analyse the effect of modifying the DBI action so as\nto include the analogous of the $\\theta$ term, showing that Witten formula for\nthe dyon charge also holds in DBI theories.",
        "positive": "Complex sine-Gordon Theory for Coherent Optical Pulse Propagation: It is shown that the McCall-Hahn theory of self-induced transparency in\ncoherent optical pulse propagation can be identified with the complex\nsine-Gordon theory in the sharp line limit. We reformulate the theory in terms\nof the deformed gauged Wess-Zumino-Witten sigma model and address various new\naspects of self-induced transparency."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A note on the third way consistent deformation of Yang-Mills theory: Three-dimensional Yang-Mills theory allows for a deformation quadratic in the\nfield strengths which can not be integrated to a local action without auxiliary\nfields. Yet, its covariant divergence consistently vanishes after iterating the\nequation, realizing a spin-1 analogue of `minimal massive gravity', which has\nbeen dubbed `third way consistent'. In this note, we show that after\ndualization of the three-dimensional gauge fields, the model possesses a\nnatural action as a Chern-Simons coupled gauged sigma model. In this dual\nformulation, coupling to matter and to gravity becomes straightforward. As a\ndirect application, we derive the coupling of the model to N=1 supergravity.",
        "positive": "An Update on Brane Supersymmetry Breaking: \"Brane supersymmetry breaking\" is a peculiar phenomenon that can occur in\nperturbative orientifold vacua. It results from the simultaneous presence, in\nthe vacuum, of non-mutually BPS sets of BPS branes and orientifolds, which\nleave behind a net tension and thus a runaway potential, but no tachyons. In\nthe simplest ten-dimensional realization, the low-lying modes combine the\nclosed sector of type-I supergravity with an open sector including USp(32)\ngauge bosons, fermions in the antisymmetric 495 and an additional singlet\nplaying the role of a goldstino. We review some properties of this system and\nof other non-tachyonic models in ten dimensions with broken supersymmetry, and\nwe illustrate some puzzles that their very existence raises, together with some\napplications that they have stimulated."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Utilizing Enumerative Methods in Quantum Electrodynamics: In this paper it is shown that many of the observables in QED-type theories\ncan be realized in terms of a combinatorial structure called chord diagrams.\nOne major advantage of this representation is that the asymptotic behaviour of\nthe corresponding Green functions can be captured completely without appealing\nto the usual approach of singularity analysis. This relation also reveals the\nunexplained correlation between the number of diagrams in Yukawa theory and the\ndiagrams in quenched QED.",
        "positive": "Resonance in Asymmetric Warped Geometry: We study the spectrum of an asymmetric warped braneworld model with different\nAdS curvatures on either side of the brane. In addition to the RS-like modes we\nfind a resonance state. Its mass is proportional to the geometric mean of the\ntwo AdS curvature scales, while the difference between them determines the\nstrength of the resonance peak. There is a complementarity between the RS\nzero-mode and the resonance: making the asymmetry stronger weakens the\nzero-mode but strengthens the resonance, and vice versa. We calculate\nnumerically the braneworld gravitational potential and discuss the holographic\ncorrespondence for the asymmetric model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spinors in non-relativistic Chern-Simons electrodynamics: It is shown that the non-relativistic `Dirac' equation of L\\'evy-Leblond, we\nused recently to describe a spin $1/2$ field interacting non-relativistically\nwith a Chern-Simons gauge field, can be obtained by lightlike reduction from\n$3+1$ dimensions. This allows us to prove that the system is Schr\\\"odinger\nsymmetric. A spinor representation of the Schr\\\"odinger group is presented.\nStatic, self-dual solutions, describing spinor vortices are given and shown to\nbe the non-relativistic limits of the fermionic vortices found by Cho et al.\nThe construction is extended to external harmonic and uniform magnetic fields.",
        "positive": "Existence Theorem for Split Involution Constraint Algebra: Existence theorem is proven for the generating equations of the split\ninvolution constraint algebra. The structure of the general solution is\nestablished, and the characteristic arbitrariness in generating functions is\ndescribed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Symplectic critical models in $6+\u03b5$ dimensions: We consider nontrivial critical models in $d=6+\\epsilon$ spacetime dimensions\nwith anticommuting scalars transforming under the symplectic group\n$\\text{Sp}(N)$. These models are nonunitary, but the couplings are real and all\noperator dimensions are positive. At large $N$ we can take $\\epsilon\\to1$\nconsistently with the loop expansion and thus provide evidence that these\ntheories may be used to define critical models in $d=7$. The relation of these\ntheories to critical $\\text{Sp}(N)$ theories, defined similarly to the\nwell-known critical $\\text{O}(N)$ theories, is examined, and some similarities\nare pointed out.",
        "positive": "Wilson loops in SYM theory: from weak to strong coupling: We review Wilson loops in N=4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory with emphasis\non the exact results. The implications are discussed in the context of the\nAdS/CFT correspondence."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Uncovering Infinite Symmetries on [p,q] 7-branes: Kac-Moody Algebras and\n  Beyond: In a previous paper we explored how conjugacy classes of the modular group\nclassify the symmetry algebras that arise on type IIB [p,q] 7-branes. The\nKodaira list of finite Lie algebras completely fills the elliptic classes as\nwell as some parabolic classes. Loop algebras of E_N fill additional parabolic\nclasses, and exotic finite algebras, hyperbolic extensions of E_N and more\ngeneral indefinite Lie algebras fill the hyperbolic classes. Since they\ncorrespond to brane configurations that cannot be made into strict\nsingularities, these non-Kodaira algebras are spectrum generating and organize\ntowers of massive BPS states into representations. The smallest brane\nconfiguration with unit monodromy gives rise to the loop algebra \\hat{E}_9\nwhich plays a central role in the theory. We elucidate the patterns of\nenhancement relating E_8, E_9, \\hat{E}_9 and E_10. We examine configurations of\n24 7-branes relevant to type IIB compactifications on a two-sphere, or F-theory\non K3. A particularly symmetric configuration separates the 7-branes into two\ngroups of twelve branes and the massive BPS spectrum is organized by E_10 +\nE_10.",
        "positive": "Amplitude Relations in Non-linear Sigma Model: In this paper, we investigate tree-level scattering amplitude relations in\n$U(N)$ non-linear sigma model. We use Cayley parametrization. As was shown in\nthe recent works [23,24] both on-shell amplitudes and off-shell currents with\nodd points have to vanish under Cayley parametrization. We prove the off-shell\n$U(1)$ identity and fundamental BCJ relation for even-point currents. By taking\nthe on-shell limits of the off-shell relations, we show that the color-ordered\ntree amplitudes with even points satisfy $U(1)$-decoupling identity and\nfundamental BCJ relation, which have the same formations within Yang-Mills\ntheory. We further state that all the on-shell general KK, BCJ relations as\nwell as the minimal-basis expansion are also satisfied by color-ordered tree\namplitudes. As a consequence of the relations among color-ordered amplitudes,\nthe total $2m$-point tree amplitudes satisfy DDM form of color decomposition as\nwell as KLT relation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "D-brane States and Disk Amplitudes in OSp Invariant Closed String Field\n  Theory: We construct solitonic states in the OSp invariant string field theory, which\nare BRST invariant in the leading order of regularization parameter $\\epsilon$.\nWe calculate the disk amplitudes using these solitonic states and show that\nthey describe D-branes and ghost D-branes.",
        "positive": "BPS states of D=4 N=1 supersymmetry: We find the combinations of momentum and domain-wall charges corresponding to\nBPS states preserving 1/4, 1/2 or 3/4 of D=4 N=1 supersymmetry, and we show how\nthe supersymmetry algebra implies their stability. These states form the\nboundary of the convex cone associated with the Jordan algebra of $4\\times 4$\nreal symmetric matrices, and we explore some implications of the associated\ngeometry. For the Wess-Zumino model we derive the conditions for preservation\nof 1/4 supersymmetry when one of two parallel domain-walls is rotated and in\naddition show that this model does not admit any classical configurations with\n3/4 supersymmetry. Our analysis also provides information about BPS states of\nN=1 D=4 anti-de Sitter supersymmetry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "S-Duality and Noncommutative Gauge Theory: It is conjectured that strongly coupled, spatially noncommutative\n$\\mathcal{N}=4$ Yang-Mills theory has a dual description as a weakly coupled\nopen string theory in a near critical electric field, and that this dual theory\nis fully decoupled from closed strings. Evidence for this conjecture is given\nby the absence of physical closed string poles in the non-planar one-loop open\nstring diagram. The open string theory can be viewed as living in a geometry in\nwhich space and time coordinates do not commute.",
        "positive": "Hamiltonian formalism for Bose excitations in a plasma with a\n  non-Abelian interaction: We have developed the Hamiltonian theory for collective longitudinally\npolarized colorless excitations (plasmons) in a high-temperature gluon plasma\nusing the general formalism for constructing the wave theory in nonlinear media\nwith dispersion, which was developed by V.E. Zakharov. In this approach, we\nhave explicitly obtained a special canonical transformation that makes it\npossible to simplify the Hamiltonian of interaction of soft gluon excitations\nand, hence, to derive a new effective Hamiltonian. The approach developed here\nis used for constructing a Boltzmann-type kinetic equation describing elastic\nscattering of collective longitudinally polarized excitations in a gluon plasma\nas well as the effect of the so-called nonlinear Landau damping. We have\nperformed detailed comparison of the effective amplitude of the plasmon-plasmon\ninteraction, which is determined using the classical Hamilton theory, with the\ncorresponding matrix element calculated in the framework of high-temperature\nquantum chromodynamics; this has enabled us to determine applicability limits\nfor the purely classical approach described in this study."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Instantons in the U(1) Born-Infeld Theory and Noncommutative Gauge\n  Theory: We derive a BPS-type bound for four-dimensional Born-Infeld action with\nconstant B field background. The supersymmetric configuration saturates this\nbound and is regarded as an analog of instanton in U(1) gauge theory.\nFurthermore, we find the explicit solutions of this BPS condition. These\nsolutions have a finite action proportional to the instanton number and\nrepresent D(p-4)-branes within a Dp-brane although they have a singularity at\nthe origin. Some relations to the noncommutative U(1) instanton are discussed.",
        "positive": "Gauge transformations are not canonical transformations: In classical mechanics, we can describe the dynamics of a given system using\neither the Lagrangian formalism or the Hamiltonian formalism, the choice of\neither one being determined by whether one wants to deal with a second degree\ndifferential equation or a pair of first degree ones. For the former approach,\nwe know that the Euler-Lagrange equation of motion remains invariant under\nadditive total derivative with respect to time of any function of coordinates\nand time in the Lagrangian function, whereas the latter one is invariant under\ncanonical transformations. In this short paper we address the question whether\nthe transformation that leaves the Euler-Lagrange equation of motion invariant\nis also a canonical transformation and show that it is not."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Nonperturbative renormalization of the lattice Sommerfield vector model: The lattice Sommerfield model, describing a massive vector gauge field\ncoupled to a light fermion in 2d, is an ideal candidate to verify perturbative\nconclusions. In contrast with continuum exact solutions, we prove that there is\nno infinite field renormalization, implying the reduction of the degree of the\nultraviolet divergence, and that anomalies are non renormalized. Such features\nare the counterpart of analogue properties at the basis of the Standard model\nperturbative renormalizability. The results are non-perturbative, in the sense\nthat the averages of gauge invariant observables are expressed in terms of\nconvergent expansions uniformly in the lattice and volume.",
        "positive": "Neutral Signature Gauged Supergravity Solutions: We classify all supersymmetric solutions of minimal D=4 gauged supergravity\nwith (2,2) signature and a positive cosmological constant which admit exactly\none Killing spinor. This classification produces a geometric structure which is\nmore general than that found for previous classifications of N=2 supersymmetric\nsolutions of this theory. We illustrate how the N=2 solutions which consist of\na fibration over a 3-dimensional Lorentzian Gauduchon-Tod base space can be\nwritten in terms of this more generic geometric structure."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "N=1 Heterotic/F-Theory Duality: We review aspects of N=1 duality between the heterotic string and F-theory.\nAfter a description of string duality intended for the non-specialist the\nframework and the constraints for heterotic/F-theory compactifications are\npresented. The computations of the necessary Calabi-Yau manifold and vector\nbundle data, involving characteristic classes and bundle moduli, are given in\ndetail. The matching of the spectrum of chiral multiplets and of the number of\nheterotic five-branes respectively F-theory three-branes, needed for anomaly\ncancellation in four-dimensional vacua, is pointed out. Several examples of\nfour-dimensional dual pairs are constructed where on both sides the geometry of\nthe involved manifolds relies on del Pezzo surfaces.",
        "positive": "Polyakov-Loops and Fermionic Zero Modes in QCD2 on the Torus: A simple derivation of the free energy and expectation values of\nPolyakov-loops in $QCD_2$ via path integral methods is given. In the chosen\ngauge (which can be generalized to 4 dimensions) without Gribov-copies the\nFadeev-Popov determinant and the integration over the space component of the\ngauge field cancel exactly and we are left only with an integration over the\nzero components of the gauge field in the Cartan sub-algebra. This way the\nPolyakov-loop operators become Vertex-operators in a simple quantum mechanical\nmodel. The number of fermionic zero modes is related to the winding-numbers of\n$A_0$ in this gauge."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Signs of the time: Melonic theories over diverse number systems: Melonic field theories are defined over the $p$-adic numbers with the help of\na sign character. Our construction works over the reals as well as the\n$p$-adics, and it includes the fermionic and bosonic Klebanov-Tarnopolsky\nmodels as special cases; depending on the sign character, the symmetry group of\nthe field theory can be either orthogonal or symplectic. Analysis of the\nSchwinger-Dyson equation for the two-point function in the leading melonic\nlimit shows that power law scaling behavior in the infrared arises for\nfermionic theories when the sign character is non-trivial, and for bosonic\ntheories when the sign character is trivial. In certain cases, the\nSchwinger-Dyson equation can be solved exactly using a quartic polynomial\nequation, and the solution interpolates between the ultraviolet scaling\ncontrolled by the spectral parameter and the universal infrared scaling. As a\nby-product of our analysis, we see that melonic field theories defined over the\nreal numbers can be modified by replacing the time derivative by a bilocal\nkinetic term with a continuously variable spectral parameter. The infrared\nscaling of the resulting two-point function is universal, independent of the\nspectral parameter of the ultraviolet theory.",
        "positive": "Super-quantum curves from super-eigenvalue models: In modern mathematical and theoretical physics various generalizations, in\nparticular supersymmetric or quantum, of Riemann surfaces and complex algebraic\ncurves play a prominent role. We show that such supersymmetric and quantum\ngeneralizations can be combined together, and construct supersymmetric quantum\ncurves, or super-quantum curves for short. Our analysis is conducted in the\nformalism of super-eigenvalue models: we introduce $\\beta$-deformed version of\nthose models, and derive differential equations for associated\n$\\alpha/\\beta$-deformed super-matrix integrals. We show that for a given model\nthere exists an infinite number of such differential equations, which we\nidentify as super-quantum curves, and which are in one-to-one correspondence\nwith, and have the structure of, super-Virasoro singular vectors. We discuss\npotential applications of super-quantum curves and prospects of other\ngeneralizations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Wrapping in maximally supersymmetric and marginally deformed N=4\n  Yang-Mills: In this note we give evidence for an equality of the spectra, including\nwrapping, of the SU(2)-sector spin chain for real deformations beta and\nbeta+1/L, in marginally beta-deformed N=4 Yang-Mills, which appears after\nrelaxing the cyclicity constraint. Evidence for the equality is given by\nevaluating the first wrapping correction to the energy of the undeformed magnon\nof momentum pi, and the beta=1/2, physical magnon, for several spin chain\nlengths L. We also show that the term of maximal transcendentality coincides\nfor both magnons to all L. As a by-product we provide an expression for the\nfirst wrapping correction to the beta = 1/2 single-magnon operator dimension,\nvalid for all even L. We then apply the symmetry to the magnon dispersion\nrelation of N=4, obtaining its first wrapping correction for a discrete set of\nmagnon momenta.",
        "positive": "Differential geometry with a projection: Application to double field\n  theory: In recent development of double field theory, as for the description of the\nmassless sector of closed strings, the spacetime dimension is formally doubled,\ni.e. from D to D+D, and the T-duality is realized manifestly as a global O(D,D)\nrotation. In this paper, we conceive a differential geometry characterized by a\nO(D,D) symmetric projection, as the underlying mathematical structure of double\nfield theory. We introduce a differential operator compatible with the\nprojection, which, contracted with the projection, can be covariantized and may\nreplace the ordinary derivatives in the generalized Lie derivative that\ngenerates the gauge symmetry of double field theory. We construct various gauge\ncovariant tensors which include a scalar and a tensor carrying two O(D,D)\nvector indices."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Moulting Black Holes: We find a family of novel supersymmetric phases of the D1-D5 CFT, which in\ncertain ranges of charges have more entropy than all known ensembles. We also\nfind bulk BPS configurations that exist in the same range of parameters as\nthese phases, and have more entropy than a BMPV black hole; they can be thought\nof as coming from a BMPV black hole shedding a \"hair\" condensate outside of the\nhorizon. The entropy of the bulk configurations is smaller than that of the CFT\nphases, which indicates that some of the CFT states are lifted at strong\ncoupling. Neither the bulk nor the boundary phases are captured by the elliptic\ngenus, which makes the coincidence of the phase boundaries particularly\nremarkable. Our configurations are supersymmetric, have non-Cardy-like entropy,\nand are the first instance of a black hole entropy enigma with a controlled CFT\ndual. Furthermore, contrary to common lore, these objects exist in a region of\nparameter space (between the \"cosmic censorship bound\" and the \"unitarity\nbound\") where no black holes were thought to exist.",
        "positive": "Superconformal mechanics: We survey the salient features and problems of conformal and superconformal\nmechanics and portray some of its developments over the past decade. Both\nclassical and quantum issues of single- and multiparticle systems are covered."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A note on string solutions in AdS_3: We systematically search for classical open string solutions in AdS_3 within\nthe general class expressed by elliptic functions (i.e., the genus-one\nfinite-gap solutions). By explicitly solving the reality and Virasoro\nconditions, we give a classification of the allowed solutions. When the\nelliptic modulus degenerates, we find a class of solutions with six null\nboundaries, among which two pairs are collinear. By adding the S^1 sector, we\nalso find four-cusp solutions with null boundaries expressed by the elliptic\nfunctions.",
        "positive": "The universality of black hole thermodynamics: The thermodynamic properties of black holes -- temperature, entropy and\nradiation rates -- are usually associated with the presence of a horizon. We\nargue that any Extremely Compact Object (ECO) must have the {\\it same}\nthermodynamic properties. Quantum fields just outside the surface of an ECO\nhave a large negative Casimir energy similar to the Boulware vacuum of black\nholes. If the thermal radiation emanating from the ECO does not fill the\nnear-surface region at the local Unruh temperature, then we find that no\nsolution of gravity equations is possible. In string theory, black holes\nmicrostates are horizonless quantum objects called fuzzballs that are expected\nto have a surface $\\sim l_p$ outside $r=2GM$; thus the information puzzle is\nresolved while preserving the semiclassical thermodynamics of black holes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chiral Symmetry Breaking and Stability of the Magnetized Vacuum: The recent claim [arXiv:hep-th/0603070, arXiv:hep-th/0605020] that there\nexists in QED a maximum magnetic field of 10^{42} G, above which the magnetized\nvacuum becomes unstable with respect to the so-called \"positronium collapse\" is\ncritically examined and unequivocally refuted.",
        "positive": "Covariant Quantization of BFNC Super Yang-Mills Theories and Supergauge\n  Invariance: To construct renormalizable gauge model in Bosonic-Fermionic noncommutative\n(BFNC) superspace, we replace the ordinary products of super Yang-Mills model\nby BFNC star products. To study the renormalization property of the deformed\naction, we obtain the one-loop 1PI effective action by using background field\nmethod at the first order of BFNC parameters. We also verify the BFNC\nsupergauge invariance of the effective action. Because there are new terms in\neffective action, the deformed action is not renormalizable. This imply that\nadditional terms should be added to the deformed action."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Closed Superstring in Noncommutative Compact Spacetime: In this paper we study the effects of noncommutativity on a closed\nsuperstring propagating in the spacetime that is compactified on tori. The\neffects of compactification and noncommutativity appear in the momentum,\nquantization, supercurrent, super-conformal generators and in the boundary\nstate of the closed superstring emitted from a D$_p$-brane with the\nNS$\\otimes$NS background $B$-field.",
        "positive": "k-Mouflage gravity: We introduce a large class of scalar-tensor theories where gravity becomes\nstronger at large distances via the exchange of a scalar that mixes with the\ngraviton. At small distances, i.e. large curvature, the scalar is screened via\nan analog of the Vainshtein mechanism of massive gravity. The crossover\ndistance between the two regimes can be made cosmological by an appropriate\nchoice of the parameters."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Open & Closed vs. Pure Open String One-Loop Amplitudes: We express one-loop string amplitudes involving both open and closed strings\nas sum over pure open string amplitudes. These findings generalize the\nanalogous tree-level result to higher loops and extend the tree-level\nobservation that in gravitational amplitudes a graviton can be traded for two\ngluons. Our results are derived from analytic continuation of closed string\nworld-sheet coordinates on the cylinder resulting in pairs of real open string\ncoordinates located at the two cylinder boundaries subject to a one-loop\nkernel. The latter depends on the loop momentum flowing between the two\ncylinder boundaries and relates to intersection theory for twisted cycles.\nFinally, contact is made with one-loop open string monodromy relations. The\nlatter contain a boundary term, which is related to non-physical contours on\nthe cylinder. A physical interpretation of the latter in terms of a closed\nstring insertion is given.",
        "positive": "One-loop Amplitudes in the Worldline Formalism: We summarize recent progress in applying the worldline formalism to the\nanalytic calculation of one-loop N-point amplitudes. This string-inspired\napproach is well-adapted to avoiding some of the calculational inefficiencies\nof the standard Feynman diagram approach, most notably by providing master\nformulas that sum over diagrams differing only by the position of external legs\nand/or internal propagators. We illustrate the mathematical challenge involved\nwith the low-energy limit of the N-photon amplitudes in scalar and spinor QED,\nand then present an algorithm that, in principle, solves this problem for the\nmuch more difficult case of the N-point amplitudes at full momentum in phi^3\ntheory. The method is based on the algebra of inverse derivatives in the\nHilbert space of periodic functions orthogonal to the constant ones, in which\nthe Bernoulli numbers and polynomials play a central role."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Hagedorn behavior of the superstring propating in a cosmological\n  time dependent background: In this work the LvN quantization of the type IIB superstring is carried on\nin a time dependent plane wave background with a constant self-dual\nRamond-Ramond 5-form and a linear dilaton in the light-like direction. Such an\nendeavour allows us to define an invariant density matrix and study important\nissues in real time string thermodynamics. In particular, the Hagendorn\ntemperature is calculated as function of the thermalization time.",
        "positive": "Classification of constraints using chain by chain method: We introduce \"chain by chain\" method for constructing the constraint\nstructure of a system possessing both first and second class constraints. We\nshow that the whole constraints can be classified into completely irreducible\nfirst or second class chains. We found appropriate redefinition of second class\nconstraints to obtain a symplectic algebra among them."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Low-Energy Behavior of Gluons and Gravitons from Gauge Invariance: We show that at tree level, on-shell gauge invariance can be used to fully\ndetermine the first subleading soft-gluon behavior and the first two subleading\nsoft-graviton behaviors. Our proofs of the behaviors for n-gluon and n-graviton\ntree amplitudes are valid in D dimensions and are similar to Low's proof of\nuniversality of the first subleading behavior of photons. In contrast to\nphotons coupling to massive particles, in four dimensions the soft behaviors of\ngluons and gravitons are corrected by loop effects. We comment on how such\ncorrections arise from this perspective. We also show that loop corrections in\ngraviton amplitudes arising from scalar loops appear only at the second soft\nsubleading order. This case is particularly transparent because it is not\nentangled with graviton infrared singularities. Our result suggests that if we\nset aside the issue of infrared singularities, soft-graviton Ward identities of\nextended BMS symmetry are not anomalous through the first subleading order.",
        "positive": "Gravitational Chern-Simons Lagrangian terms and spherically symmetric\n  spacetimes: We show that for general spherically symmetric configurations, contributions\nof general gravitational and mixed gauge-gravitational Chern-Simons terms to\nthe equations of motion vanish identically in $D>3$ dimensions. This implies\nthat such terms in the action do not affect Birkhoff's theorem or any\npreviously known spherically symmetric solutions. Furthermore, we investigate\nthe thermodynamical properties using the procedure described in an accompanying\npaper. We find that in $D>3$ static spherically symmetric case Chern-Simons\nterms do not contribute to the entropy either. Moreover, if one requires only\nfor the metric tensor to be spherically symmetric, letting other fields\nunrestricted, the results extend almost completely, with only one possible\nexception --- Chern-Simons Lagrangian terms in which the gravitational part is\njust the $n=2$ irreducible gravitational Chern-Simons term."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Off-shell string physics: Recent advances in non-critical string theory allow a unique continuation,\npreserving conformal invariance, of critical Polyakov string amplitudes to\noff-shell momenta. These continuations possess unusual, apparently stringy,\ncharacteristics, which are unlikely to be reproduced in a string field theory.\nThus our results may be an indication that some fundamentally new formulation,\nother than string field theory, will be required to extend our understanding of\ncritical strings beyond the Polyakov path integral. Three-point functions are\nexplicitly calculated. The tree-level effective potential is computed for the\ntachyon. (This preprint includes some computations used to arrive at results\nmentioned in hep-th/9211016.)",
        "positive": "On the virial coefficients of nonabelian anyons: We study a system of nonabelian anyons in the lowest Landau level of a strong\nmagnetic field. Using diagrammatic techniques, we prove that the virial\ncoefficients do not depend on the statistics parameter. This is true for all\nrepresentations of all nonabelian groups for the statistics of the particles\nand relies solely on the fact that the effective statistical interaction is a\ntraceless operator."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "New Approximations to the Fradkin representation for Green's functions: A new variant of the exact Fradkin representation of the Green's function\n$G_c(x,y|gU)$, defined for arbitrary external potential $U$, is presented.\nAlthough this new approach is very similar in spirit to that previously derived\nby Fried and Gabellini, for certain calculations this specific variant, with\nits prescribed approximations, is more readily utilizable. Application of the\nsimplest of these forms is made to the $\\lambda\\Phi^4$ theory in four\ndimensions.\n  As an independent check of these approximate forms, an improved version of\nthe Schwinger-DeWitt asymptotic expansion of parametrix function is derived.",
        "positive": "String field actions from W-infinity: Starting from $W_{\\infty}$ as a fundamental symmetry and using the coadjoint\norbit method, we derive an action for one dimensional strings. It is shown that\non the simplest nontrivial orbit this gives the single scalar collective field\ntheory. On higher orbits one finds generalized KdV type field theories with\nincreasing number of components. Here the tachyon is coupled to higher tensor\nfields."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Observing the fate of the false vacuum with a quantum laboratory: We design and implement a quantum laboratory to experimentally observe and\nstudy dynamical processes of quantum field theories. Our approach encodes the\nfield theory as an Ising model, which is then solved by a quantum annealer. As\na proof-of-concept, we encode a scalar field theory and measure the probability\nfor it to tunnel from the false to the true vacuum for various tunnelling\ntimes, vacuum displacements and potential profiles. The results are in accord\nwith those predicted theoretically, showing that a quantum annealer is a\ngenuine quantum system that can be used as a quantum laboratory. This is the\nfirst time it has been possible to experimentally measure instanton processes\nin a freely chosen quantum field theory. This novel and flexible method to\nstudy the dynamics of quantum systems can be applied to any field theory of\ninterest. Experimental measurements of the dynamical behaviour of field\ntheories are independent of theoretical calculations and can be used to infer\ntheir properties without being limited by the availability of suitable\nperturbative or nonperturbative computational methods. In the near future,\nmeasurements in such a quantum laboratory could therefore be used to improve\ntheoretical and computational methods conceptually and may enable the\nmeasurement and detailed study of previously unobserved quantum phenomena.",
        "positive": "Diffusion coefficient and DC conductivity of anisotropic static black\n  hole: In this study we apply two different methods in the context of $AdS/CFT$\ncorrespondence and calculate the diffusion coefficient and $DC$ conductivity of\na four-dimensional spatially anisotropic static black hole. First, the\n\\emph{modified} transport coefficients is obtained by stretched horizon method\nand Fick's law in the context of the membrane paradigm. In order to do such\ncalculation, we use the Maxwell equations with electromagnetic gauge field\npropagating in two dimensions. Two dimensional propagating gauge field leads to\nthe complex transport coefficients which is proved by present paper. In second\nstep, we explain electro-thermal method and employ an effective vector field\nand extract retarded Green's function on the classical boundary. Then, $DC$\nconductivity and diffusion coefficient are obtained by using Kubo formula. Our\ncalculation can be applied on two well-known examples of anisotropic black\nholes as the Einstein-Maxwell-dilaton-axion model and\nAdS-Einstein-Maxwell-dilaton-axion in massive gravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Holographic Quantum Hall Ferromagnet: A detailed numerical study of a recent proposal for exotic states of the\nD3-probe D5 brane system with charge density and an external magnetic field is\npresented. The state has a large number of coincident D5 branes blowing up to a\nD7 brane in the presence of the worldvolume electric and magnetic fields which\nare necessary to construct the holographic state. Numerical solutions have\nshown that these states can compete with the the previously known chiral\nsymmetry breaking and maximally symmetric phases of the D3-D5 system. Moreover,\nat integer filling fractions, they are incompressible with integer quantized\nHall conductivities. In the dual superconformal defect field theory, these\nsolutions correspond to states which break the chiral and global flavor\nsymmetries spontaneously. The region of the temperature-density plane where the\nD7 brane has lower energy than the other known D5 brane solutions is\nidentified. A hypothesis for the structure of states with filling fraction and\nHall conductivity greater than one is made and tested by numerical computation.\nA parallel with the quantum Hall ferromagnetism or magnetic catalysis\nphenomenon which is observed in graphene is drawn. As well as demonstrating\nthat the phenomenon can exist in a strongly coupled system, this work makes a\nnumber of predictions of symmetry breaking patterns and phase transitions for\nsuch systems.",
        "positive": "Regulator dependence of fixed points in quantum Einstein gravity with\n  $R^2$ truncation: We performed a functional renormalization group analysis for the quantum\nEinstein gravity including a quadratic term in the curvature. The ultraviolet\nnon-gaussian fixed point and its critical exponent for the correlation length\nare identified for different forms of regulators in case of dimension 3. We\nsearched for that optimized regulator where the physical quantities show the\nleast regulator parameter dependence. It is shown that the Litim regulator\nsatisfies this condition. The infrared fixed point has also been investigated,\nit is found that the exponent is insensitive to the third coupling introduced\nby the $R^2$ term."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Reduced Chern-Simons Quiver Theories and Cohomological 3-Algebra Models: We study the BPS spectrum and vacuum moduli spaces in dimensional reductions\nof Chern-Simons-matter theories with N>=2 supersymmetry to zero dimensions. Our\nmain example is a matrix model version of the ABJM theory which we relate\nexplicitly to certain reduced 3-algebra models. We find the explicit maps from\nChern-Simons quiver matrix models to dual IKKT matrix models. We address the\nproblem of topologically twisting the ABJM matrix model, and along the way\nconstruct a new twist of the IKKT model. We construct a cohomological matrix\nmodel whose partition function localizes onto a moduli space specified by\n3-algebra relations which live in the double of the conifold quiver. It\ncomputes an equivariant index enumerating framed BPS states with specified\nR-charges which can be expressed as a combinatorial sum over certain filtered\npyramid partitions.",
        "positive": "Supersymmetric WZW $\u03c3$ Model on Full and Half Plane: We study classical integrability of the supersymmetric U(N) $\\sigma$ model\nwith the Wess-Zumino-Witten term on full and half plane. We demonstrate the\nexistence of nonlocal conserved currents of the model and derive general\nrecursion relations for the infinite number of the corresponding charges in a\nsuperfield framework. The explicit form of the first few supersymmetric charges\nare constructed. We show that the considered model is integrable on full plane\nas a concequence of the conservation of the supersymmetric charges. Also, we\nstudy the model on half plane with free boundary, and examine the conservation\nof the supersymmetric charges on half plane and find that they are conserved as\na result of the equations of motion and the free boundary condition. As a\nresult, the model on half plane with free boundary is integrable. Finally, we\nconclude the paper and some features and comments are presented."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Complex BPS domain walls and phase transition in mass in supersymmetric\n  QCD: We study the domain walls connecting different chirally asymmetric vacua in\nsupersymmetric QCD. We show that BPS - saturated solutions exist only in the\nlimited range of mass. When m exceeds some critical value, the domain wall\neither ceases to be BPS - saturated or disappears altogether. In any case, the\nproperties of the system are qualitatively changed.",
        "positive": "Gravitational Waves in Effective Quantum Gravity: In this short paper we investigate quantum gravitational effects on\nEinstein's equations using effective field theory techniques. We consider the\nleading order quantum gravitational correction to the wave equation. Besides\nthe usual massless mode, we find a pair of modes with complex masses. These\nmassive particles have a width and could thus lead to a damping of\ngravitational waves if excited in violent astrophysical processes producing\ngravitational waves such as e.g. black hole mergers. We discuss the\nconsequences for gravitational wave events such as GW 150914 recently observed\nby the Advanced LIGO collaboration."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "BRST Symmetries for the Tangent Gauge Group: For any principal bundle $P$, one can consider the subspace of the space of\nconnections on its tangent bundle $TP$ given by the tangent bundle $T{\\cal A}$\nof the space of connections ${\\cal A}$ on $P$. The tangent gauge group acts\nfreely on $T{\\cal A}$. Appropriate BRST operators are introduced for quantum\nfield theories that include as fields elements of $T{\\cal A}$, as well as\ntangent vectors to the space of curvatures. As the simplest application, the\nBRST symmetry of the so-called $BF$-Yang-Mills theory is described and the\nrelevant gauge fixing conditions are analyzed. A brief account on the\ntopological $BF$ theories is also included and the relevant Batalin-Vilkovisky\noperator is described.",
        "positive": "Singlet Vector Models on Lens Spaces: We present exact computations of partition functions of singlet vector models\n(infinite level Chern-Simons-matter theories) on lens spaces L(p, 1). We\nidentify light topological configurations and their spectra, and we comment on\nthe relevance of our results in studying both the UV completions of Vasiliev's\nhigher-spin theories and the dS/CFT correspondence in the large N limit."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Thermodynamic Bethe Ansatz for boundary sine-Gordon model: (R-channel) TBA is elaborated to find the effective central charge dependence\non the boundary parameters for the massless boundary sine-Gordon model with the\ncoupling constant $(8\\pi) /\\beta^2 = 1+ \\lambda $ with $\\lambda$ a positive\ninteger. Numerical analysis of the massless boundary TBA demonstrates that at\nan appropriate boundary parameter range (cusp point) there exists a singularity\ncrossing phenomena and this effect should be included in TBA to have the right\nbehavior of the effective central charge.",
        "positive": "Higher Spin Conformal Geometry in Three Dimensions and Prepotentials for\n  Higher Spin Gauge Fields: We study systematically the conformal geometry of higher spin bosonic gauge\nfields in three spacetime dimensions. We recall the definition of the Cotton\ntensor for higher spins and establish a number of its properties that turn out\nto be key in solving in terms of prepotentials the constraint equations of the\nHamiltonian (3 + 1) formulation of four-dimensional higher spin gauge fields.\nThe prepotentials are shown to exhibit higher spin conformal symmetry. Just as\nfor spins 1 and 2, they provide a remarkably simple, manifestly duality\ninvariant formulation of the theory. While the higher spin conformal geometry\nis developed for arbitrary bosonic spin, we explicitly perform the Hamiltonian\nanalysis and derive the solution of the constraints only in the illustrative\ncase of spin 3. In a separate publication, the Hamiltonian analysis in terms of\nprepotentials is extended to all bosonic higher spins using the conformal tools\nof this paper, and the same emergence of higher spin conformal symmetry is\nconfirmed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The AdS^2_\u03b8/CFT_1 Correspondence and Noncommutative Geometry I: A\n  QM/NCG Correspondence: A consistent QM/NCG duality is put forward as a model for the AdS^2/CFT_1\ncorrespondence. This is a duality/correspondence between 1) the dAFF conformal\nquantum mechanics (QM) on the boundary (which is only \"quasi-conformal\" in the\nsense that there is neither an SO(1,2)-invariant vacuum state nor there are\nstrictly speaking primary operators), and between 2) the noncommutative\ngeometry of AdS^2_{\\theta} in the bulk (which is only \"quasi-AdS\" in the sense\nof being only asymptotically AdS^2). The Laplacian operators on noncommutative\nAdS^2_{\\theta} and commutative AdS^2 have the same spectrum and thus their\ncorrelators are conjectured to be identical. These bulk correlation functions\nare found to be correctly reproduced by appropriately defined boundary quantum\nobservables in the dAFF quantum mechanics. Moreover, these quasi-primary\noperators on the boundary form a subalgebra of the operator algebra of\nnoncommutative AdS^2_{\\theta}.",
        "positive": "On the uniqueness of ghost-free special gravity: Special gravity refers to interacting theories of massless gravitons in\nMinkowski space-time which are invariant under the abelian gauge invariance\n$h_{ab}\\rightarrow h_{ab}+\\partial_{(a}\\chi_{b)}$ only. In this article we\ndetermine the most general form of special gravity free of Ostrogradski ghosts,\nmeaning its equation of motion is of at most second order. Together with the\nrecent works, this result could be helpful in formulating proofs of General\nRelativity as the unique physical theory of self-interacting massless\ngravitons. We also study how to construct gauge invariant couplings to matter\nfields."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "DC resistivity of quantum critical, charge density wave states from\n  gauge-gravity duality: In contrast to metals with weak disorder, the resistivity of weakly-pinned\ncharge density waves (CDWs) is not controlled by irrelevant processes relaxing\nmomentum. Instead, the leading contribution is governed by incoherent,\ndiffusive processes which do not drag momentum and can be evaluated in the\nclean limit. We compute analytically the dc resistivity for a family of\nholographic charge density wave quantum critical phases and discuss its\ntemperature scaling. Depending on the critical exponents, the ground state can\nbe conducting or insulating. We connect our results to dc electrical transport\nin underdoped cuprate high $T_c$ superconductors. We conclude by speculating on\nthe possible relevance of unstable, semi-locally critical CDW states to the\nstrange metallic region.",
        "positive": "BRST quantization of matrix models with constraints and two-dimensional\n  Yang-Mills theory on the cylinder: BRST quantization of the one-dimensional constrained matrix model which\ndescribes two-dimensional Yang-Mills theory on the cylinder is performed.\nClassical and quantum BRST generators and BRST-invariant hamiltonians are\nconstructed. Evolution operator is expressed in terms of BRST path integral.\nAdvantages of the BRST quantization over the reduced phase space approach\nleading to the theory of $N$ free fermions are discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Coherent states in noncommutative quantum mechanics: Gazeau-Klauder coherent states in noncommutative quantum mechanics are\nconsidered. We find that these states share similar properties to those of\nordinary canonical coherent states in the sense that they saturate the related\nposition uncertainty relation, obey a Poisson distribution and possess a flat\ngeometry. Using the natural isometry between the quantum Hilbert space of\nHilbert Schmidt operators and the tensor product of the classical configuration\nspace and its dual, we reveal the inherent vector feature of these states.",
        "positive": "Trap Surface Formation in High-Energy Black Holes Collision: We investigate classical formation of a trap surface in $D$-dimensional\nEinstein gravity in the process of a head-on collision of two high-energy\nparticles, which are treated as Aichelburg-Sexl shock waves. From the condition\nof the trap surface volume local maximality we deduce an explicit form of the\ninner trap surface. Imposing the continuity condition on the fronts we obtain a\ntime-dependent solution for the trap surface. We discuss trap surface\nappearance and evolution."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "N=4 supersymmetric 3-particles Calogero model: We constructed the most general N=4 superconformal 3-particles systems with\ntranslation invariance. In the basis with decoupled center of mass the\nsupercharges and Hamiltonian possess one arbitrary function which defines all\npotential terms. We have shown that with the proper choice of this function one\nmay describe the standard, $A_2$ Calogero model as well as $BC_2, B_2,C_2$ and\n$D_2$ Calogero models with N=4 superconformal symmetry. The main property of\nall these systems is that even with the coupling constant equal to zero they\nstill contain nontrivial interactions in the fermionic sector. In other words,\nthere are infinitely many non equivalent N=4 supersymmetric extensions of the\nfree action depending on one arbitrary function. We also considered\nquantization and explicitly showed how the supercharges and Hamiltonian are\nmodified.",
        "positive": "The Compactification of QCD$_4$ to QCD$_2$ in a Flux Tube: We show from the action integral that in the special environment of a flux\ntube, QCD$_4$ in (3+1) dimensional space-time can be approximately compactified\ninto QCD$_2$ in (1+1) dimensional space-time. In such a process, we find out\nhow the coupling constant $g_{2D}$ in QCD$_2$ is related to the coupling\nconstant $g_{4D}$ in QCD$_4$. We show how the quark and the gluon in QCD$_2$\nacquire contributions to their masses arising from their confinement within the\ntube, and how all these quantities depend on the excitation of the partons in\nthe transverse degrees of freedom. The compactification facilitates the\ninvestigation of some dynamical problems in QCD$_4$ in the simpler dynamics of\nQCD$_2$ where the variation of the gluon fields leads to a bound state."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Introduction to Khovanov Homologies. I. Unreduced Jones superpolynomial: An elementary introduction to Khovanov construction of superpolynomials.\nDespite its technical complexity, this method remains the only source of a\ndefinition of superpolynomials from the first principles and therefore is\nimportant for development and testing of alternative approaches. In this first\npart of the review series we concentrate on the most transparent and\nunambiguous part of the story: the unreduced Jones superpolynomials in the\nfundamental representation and consider the 2-strand braids as the main\nexample. Already for the 5_1 knot the unreduced superpolynomial contains more\nitems than the ordinary Jones.",
        "positive": "Canonical Transformations and Path Integral Measures: This paper is a generalization of previous work on the use of classical\ncanonical transformations to evaluate Hamiltonian path integrals for quantum\nmechanical systems. Relevant aspects of the Hamiltonian path integral and its\nmeasure are discussed and used to show that the quantum mechanical version of\nthe classical transformation does not leave the measure of the path integral\ninvariant, instead inducing an anomaly. The relation to operator techniques and\nordering problems is discussed, and special attention is paid to incorporation\nof the initial and final states of the transition element into the boundary\nconditions of the problem. Classical canonical transformations are developed to\nrender an arbitrary power potential cyclic. The resulting Hamiltonian is\nanalyzed as a quantum system to show its relation to known quantum mechanical\nresults. A perturbative argument is used to suppress ordering related terms in\nthe transformed Hamiltonian in the event that the classical canonical\ntransformation leads to a nonquadratic cyclic Hamiltonian. The associated\nanomalies are analyzed to yield general methods to evaluate the path integral's\nprefactor for such systems. The methods are applied to several systems,\nincluding linear and quadratic potentials, the velocity-dependent potential,\nand the time-dependent harmonic oscillator."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Space-time symmetries and the Yang-Mills gradient flow: The recent introduction of the gradient flow has provided a new tool to probe\nthe dynamics of quantum field theories. The latest developments have shown how\nto use the gradient flow for the exploration of symmetries, and the definition\nof the corresponding renormalized Noether currents. In this paper we introduce\ninfinitesimal translations along the gradient flow for gauge theories, and\nstudy the corresponding Ward identities. This approach is readily generalized\nto the case of gauge theories defined on a lattice, where the regulator breaks\ntranslation invariance. The Ward identities in this case lead to a\nnonperturbative renormalization of the energy-momentum tensor. We discuss an\napplication of this method to the study of dilatations and scale invariance on\nthe lattice.",
        "positive": "Two interacting conformal Carroll particles: In this note we analyse two different models of two interacting conformal\nCarroll particles that can be obtained as the Carrollian limit of two\nrelativistic conformal particles. The first model describes particles with zero\nvelocity and exhibits infinite dimensional symmetries which are reminiscent of\nthe BMS symmetries. A second model of interaction of Carrollian particles is\nproposed, where the particles have non zero velocity and therefore, as a\nconsequence of the limit c to 0, are tachyons. Infinite dimensional symmetries\nare present also in this model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Clifford-Hopf Algebras for Even Dimensions: In this paper we study the quantum Clifford-Hopf algebras $\\widehat{CH_q(D)}$\nfor even dimensions $D$ and obtain their intertwiner $R-$matrices, which are\nelliptic solutions to the Yang- Baxter equation. In the trigonometric limit of\nthese new algebras we find the possibility to connect with extended\nsupersymmetry. We also analyze the corresponding spin chain hamiltonian, which\nleads to Suzuki's generalized $XY$ model.",
        "positive": "Highlights in Supergravity: CCJ 47 Years Later: We consider an expression for the supercurrent in the superconformal\nformulation of N=1 supergravity. A chiral compensator provides the\nsupersymmetric formulation of the Callan-Coleman-Jackiw (CCJ) improved stress\nenergy tensor, when the conformal gauge is used. Superconformal and\nnon-superconformal matter give different conservation laws of the supercurrent,\nwhen coupled to the curvature supermultiplets which underlie the local\nsuperspace geometry. This approach can be applied to any set of auxiliary\nfields and it is useful to classify rigid curved superspace geometries.\nExamples with four supersymmetries are briefly described."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Multi-Regge kinematics and the moduli space of Riemann spheres with\n  marked points: We show that scattering amplitudes in planar N = 4 Super Yang-Mills in\nmulti-Regge kinematics can naturally be expressed in terms of single-valued\niterated integrals on the moduli space of Riemann spheres with marked points.\nAs a consequence, scattering amplitudes in this limit can be expressed as\nconvolutions that can easily be computed using Stokes' theorem. We apply this\nframework to MHV amplitudes to leading-logarithmic accuracy (LLA), and we prove\nthat at L loops all MHV amplitudes are determined by amplitudes with up to L +\n4 external legs. We also investigate non-MHV amplitudes, and we show that they\ncan be obtained by convoluting the MHV results with a certain helicity flip\nkernel. We classify all leading singularities that appear at LLA in the Regge\nlimit for arbitrary helicity configurations and any number of external legs.\nFinally, we use our new framework to obtain explicit analytic results at LLA\nfor all MHV amplitudes up to five loops and all non-MHV amplitudes with up to\neight external legs and four loops.",
        "positive": "A leading-order comparison between fluid-gravity and membrane-gravity\n  dualities: In this note, we have compared two different perturbation techniques that are\nused to generate dynamical black-brane solutions to Einstein equation in\npresence of negative cosmological constant. One is the `derivative expansion',\nwhere the gravity solutions are in one-to-one correspondence with the solutions\nof relativistic Navier-Stokes equation. The second is the expansion in terms of\ninverse power of space-time dimensions and here the gravity solutions are dual\nto a co-dimension one dynamical membrane, embedded in AdS space and coupled to\na velocity field. We have shown that in large number of space-time dimensions,\nthere exists an overlap regime between these two perturbation techniques and we\nmatched the two gravity solutions along with their dual systems upto the first\nnon-trivial order in the expansion parameter on both sides. In the process, we\nestablished a one-to-one map between dynamical black-brane geometry and the AdS\nspace, which exists even when the number of dimensions is finite."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Tree-level processes in very special relativity: In this paper we discuss the Bhabha and Compton scattering for the quantum\nelectrodynamics defined in the framework of very special relativity (VSR). The\nmain aspect of the VSR setting is that it admits different types of\ninteractions appearing in a nonlocal form due to the modified gauge invariance.\nWe explore the richness of these new couplings in the evaluation of the\ndifferential cross-section for these tree-level processes. We assess the\nbehavior of the leading VSR Lorentz violation modifications by considering some\nspecial limits for the Bhabha and Compton cross-section expressions.",
        "positive": "Calogero-Moser hierarchy and KP hierarchy: The space of solutions of the rational Calogero-Moser hierarchy, and the\nspace of solutions of the KP hierarchy whose tau functions are monic\npolynomials in $t_1$ with coefficients depending on $t_n$, $n > 1$, are\nidentified, generalizing earlier results of Airault-McKean-Moser and Krichever."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Euler-Heisenberg Lagrangian beyond one loop: We review what is presently known about higher loop corrections to the\nEuler-Heisenberg Lagrangian and its Scalar QED analogue. The use of those\ncorrections as a tool for the study of the properties of the QED perturbation\nseries is outlined. As a further step in a long-term effort to prove or\ndisprove the convergence of the N photon amplitudes in the quenched\napproximation, we present a parameter integral representation of the three-loop\nEuler-Heisenberg Lagrangian in 1+1 dimensional QED, obtained in the worldline\nformalism.",
        "positive": "Nets of Subfactors: A subtheory of a quantum field theory specifies von~Neumann subalgebras\n$\\aa(\\oo)$ (the `observables' in the space-time region $\\oo$) of the\nvon~Neumann algebras $\\bb(\\oo)$ (the `fields' localized in $\\oo$). Every local\nalgebra being a (type $\\III_1$) factor, the inclusion $\\aa(\\oo) \\subset\n\\bb(\\oo)$ is a subfactor. The assignment of these local subfactors to the\nspace-time regions is called a `net of subfactors'. The theory of subfactors is\napplied to such nets. In order to characterize the `relative position' of the\nsubtheory, and in particular to control the restriction and induction of\nsuperselection sectors, the canonical endomorphism is studied. The crucial\nobservation is this: the canonical endomorphism of a local subfactor extends to\nan endomorphism of the field net, which in turn restricts to a localized\nendomorphism of the observable net. The method allows to characterize, and\nreconstruct, local extensions $\\bb$ of a given theory $\\aa$ in terms of the\nobservables. Various non-trivial examples are given."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Refined Chern-Simons Theory and Knot Homology: The refined Chern-Simons theory is a one-parameter deformation of the\nordinary Chern-Simons theory on Seifert manifolds. It is defined via an index\nof the theory on N M5 branes, where the corresponding one-parameter deformation\nis a natural deformation of the geometric background. Analogously with the\nunrefined case, the solution of refined Chern-Simons theory is given in terms\nof S and T matrices, which are the proper Macdonald deformations of the usual\nones. This provides a direct way to compute refined Chern-Simons invariants of\na wide class of three-manifolds and knots. The knot invariants of refined\nChern-Simons theory are conjectured to coincide with the knot superpolynomials\n-- Poincare polynomials of the triply graded knot homology theory. This\nconjecture is checked for a large number of torus knots in S^3, colored by the\nfundamental representation. This is a short, expository version of\narXiv:1105.5117, with some new results included.",
        "positive": "Towards Non-archimedean Superstrings: An action for a prospect of a $p$-adic open superstring on a target Minkowski\nspace is proposed. The action is constructed for `worldsheet' fields taking\nvalues in the $p$-adic field $\\mathbb{Q}_p$, but it is assumed to be obtained\nfrom a discrete action on the Bruhat-Tits tree. This action is proven to have\nan analog of worldsheet supersymmetry and the superspace action is also\nconstructed in terms of superfields. The action does not have conformal\nsymmetry, however it is implemented in the definition of the amplitudes. The\ntree-level amplitudes for this theory are obtained for $N$ vertex operators\ncorresponding to tachyon superfields and a Koba-Nielsen formula is obtained.\nFinally, four-point amplitudes are computed explicitly and they are compared to\nprevious work on $p$-adic superstring amplitudes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Deconstruction of a 5D SYM and its Moduli Space: We deconstruct the fifth dimension of the 5D SYM theory with SU(M) gauge\nsymmetry and Chern-Simons level k=M and show how the 5D moduli space follows\nfrom the non-perturbative analysis of the 4D quiver theory. The 5D coupling\nh=1/(g_5)^2 of the un-broken SU(M) is allowed to take any non-negative values,\nbut it cannot be continued to h<0 and there are no transitions to other phases\nof the theory. The alternative UV completions of the same 5D SYM -- via M\ntheory on the C^3/Z_2M orbifold or via the dual five-brane web in type IIB\nstring theory -- have identical moduli spaces: h >= 0 only, and no flop\ntransitions. We claim these are intrinsic properties of the SU(M) SYM theory\nwith k=M.",
        "positive": "Quantum parity conservation in planar quantum electrodynamics: Quantum parity conservation is verified at all orders in perturbation theory\nfor a massless parity-even $U(1)\\times U(1)$ planar quantum electrodynamics\n(QED$_3$) model. The presence of two massless fermions requires the\nLowenstein-Zimmermann (LZ) subtraction scheme, in the framework of the\nBogoliubov-Parasiuk-Hepp-Zimmermann-Lowenstein (BPHZL) renormalization method,\nin order to subtract the infrared divergences induced by the ultraviolet\nsubtractions at 1- and 2-loops, however thanks to the superrenormalizability of\nthe model the ultraviolet divergences are bounded up to 2-loops. Finally, it is\nproved that the BPHZL renormalization method preserves parity for the model\ntaken into consideration, contrary to what happens to the ordinary massless\nparity-even $U(1)$ QED$_3$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "CFT Duals for Accelerating Black Holes: The near horizon geometry of the rotating C-metric, describing accelerating\nKerr-Newman black holes, is analysed. It is shown that, at extremality, even\nthough not it is isomorphic to the extremal Kerr-Newman, it remains a warped\nand twisted product of $AdS_2 \\times S^2$. Therefore the methods of the\nKerr/CFT correspondence can successfully be applied to build a CFT dual model,\nwhose entropy reproduce, through the Cardy formula, the Beckenstein-Hawking\nentropy of the accelerating black hole. The mass of accelerating Kerr-Newman\nblack hole, which fulfil the first law of thermodynamics, is presented. Further\ngeneralisation in presence of an external Melvin-like magnetic field, used to\nregularise the conical singularity characteristic of the C-metrics, shows that\nthe Kerr/CFT correspondence can be applied also for the accelerating and\nmagnetised extremal black holes.",
        "positive": "Geodesic motion on the group of boundary diffeomorphisms from Einstein's\n  equations: In arXiv:1904.12869 it was shown how in an adiabatic limit the vacuum\nEinstein equations on a compact spatial region can be re-expressed as geodesic\nequations on the group of diffeomorphisms of the boundary. This is reminiscent\nof the program initiated by V. Arnold to reformulate models of continuum\nmechanics in terms of geodesic motion on diffeomorphism groups. We revisit some\nof the results of arXiv:1904.12869 in this light, pointing out parallels and\ndifferences with the typical examples in geometric continuum mechanics. We work\nout the case of 2 spatial dimensions in some detail."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-Abelian Vortices on Riemann Surfaces: an Integrable Case: We consider U(n+1) Yang-Mills instantons on the space \\Sigma\\times S^2, where\n\\Sigma is a compact Riemann surface of genus g. Using an SU(2)-equivariant\ndimensional reduction, we show that the U(n+1) instanton equations on\n\\Sigma\\times S^2 are equivalent to non-Abelian vortex equations on \\Sigma.\nSolutions to these equations are given by pairs (A,\\phi), where A is a gauge\npotential of the group U(n) and \\phi is a Higgs field in the fundamental\nrepresentation of the group U(n). We briefly compare this model with other\nnon-Abelian Higgs models considered recently. Afterwards we show that for g>1,\nwhen \\Sigma\\times S^2 becomes a gravitational instanton, the non-Abelian vortex\nequations are the compatibility conditions of two linear equations (Lax pair)\nand therefore the standard methods of integrable systems can be applied for\nconstructing their solutions.",
        "positive": "On the Chiral Fermions in the Twistor--Like Formulation of D=10\n  Heterotic String: An n=8 worldsheet superfield action is proposed for describing chiral\nfermions in the twistor-like formulation of an N=1, D=10 heterotic superstring."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fermionic contribution to the anomalous dimension of twist-2 operators\n  in N=4 SYM theory, critical indices and integrability: We compute the contribution to the anomalous dimension of the twist-2\noperators in N=4 SYM theory, which is proportional to the number of fermion\nloops inside Feynman diagrams or, formally, to the number of fermions. The\nresult was obtained by the method based on the calculation of critical indices\nat the critical point by analogy with previous similar computations in scalar\ntheories and in QCD. The obtained result is much simpler with compare to\nanalogous results in QCD and almost satisfies the maximal transcedentality\nprinciple. A possible relation between the obtained result and integrability is\ndiscussed.",
        "positive": "Monopole-antimonopole Interaction Potential: We numerically study the interactions of twisted monopole-antimonopole pairs\nin the 't Hooft-Polyakov model for a range of values of the scalar to vector\nmass ratio. We also recover the sphaleron solution at maximum twist discovered\nby Taubes, and map out its energy and size as functions of parameters."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Notes on Connes' Construction of the Standard Model: The mathematical apparatus of non commutative geometry and operator algebras\nwhich Connes has brought to bear to construct a rational scheme for the\ninternal symmetries of the standard model is presented from the physicist's\npoint of view. Gauge symmetry, anomaly freedom, conservation of electric\ncharge, parity violation and charge conjugation all play a vital role. When put\ntogether with a relatively simple set of algebraic algorithms they deliver many\nof the features of the standard model which otherwise seem rather ad hoc.",
        "positive": "Integrable lattice models from four-dimensional field theories: This note gives a general construction of an integrable lattice model (and a\nsolution of the Yang-Baxter equation with spectral parameter) from a\nfour-dimensional field theory which is a mixture of topological and\nholomorphic. Spin-chain models arise in this way from a twisted, deformed\nversion of N=1 gauge theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "De Sitter Space in Supergravity and M Theory: Two ways in which de Sitter space can arise in supergravity theories are\ndiscussed. In the first, it arises as a solution of a conventional\nsupergravity, in which case it necessarily has no Killing spinors. For example,\nde Sitter space can arise as a solution of N=8 gauged supergravities in four or\nfive dimensions. These lift to solutions of 11-dimensional supergravity or D=10\nIIB supergravity which are warped products of de Sitter space and non-compact\nspaces of negative curvature. In the second way, de Sitter space can arise as a\nsupersymmetric solution of an unconventional supergravity theory, which\ntypically has some kinetic terms with the `wrong' sign; such solutions are\ninvariant under a de Sitter supergroup. Such solutions lift to supersymmetric\nsolutions of unconventional supergravities in D=10 or D=11, which nonetheless\narise as field theory limits of theories that can be obtained from M-theory by\ntimelike T-dualities and related dualities. Brane solutions interpolate between\nthese solutions and flat space and lead to a holographic duality between\ntheories in de Sitter vacua and Euclidean conformal field theories. Previous\nresults are reviewed and generalised, and discussion is included of\nKaluza-Klein theory with non-compact internal spaces, brane and cosmological\nsolutions, and holography on de Sitter spaces and product spaces.",
        "positive": "String Scattering Amplitudes in High Energy Limits: A very review of string scattering amplitudes in two important high energy\nlimits: hard scattering and Regge scattering. Recent results of the symmetries\nin string theory by studying high energy string scattering anplitudes are\nshowed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fusion Hierarchy and Finite-Size Corrections of $U_q[sl(2)]$ Invariant\n  Vertex Models with Open Boundaries: The fused six-vertex models with open boundary conditions are studied. The\nBethe ansatz solution given by Sklyanin has been generalized to the transfer\nmatrices of the fused models. We have shown that the eigenvalues of transfer\nmatrices satisfy a group of functional relations, which are the $su$(2) fusion\nrule held by the transfer matrices of the fused models. The fused transfer\nmatrices form a commuting family and also commute with the quantum group\n$U_q[sl(2)]$. In the case of the parameter $q^h=-1$ ($h=4,5,\\cdots$) the\nfunctional relations in the limit of spectral parameter $u\\to \\i\\infty$ are\ntruncated. This shows that the $su$(2) fusion rule with finite level appears\nfor the six vertex model with the open boundary conditions. We have solved the\nfunctional relations to obtain the finite-size corrections of the fused\ntransfer matrices for low-lying excitations. From the corrections the central\ncharges and conformal weights of underlying conformal field theory are\nextracted. To see different boundary conditions we also have studied the\nsix-vertex model with a twisted boundary condition.",
        "positive": "Dualisation of Dualities, II: Twisted self-duality of doubled fields and\n  superdualities: We introduce a doubled formalism for the bosonic sector of the maximal\nsupergravities, in which a Hodge dual potential is introduced for each bosonic\nfield (except for the metric). The equations of motion can then be formulated\nas a twisted self-duality condition on the total field strength \\G, which takes\nits values in a Lie superalgebra. This doubling is invariant under\ndualisations; it allows a unification of the gauge symmetries of all degrees,\nincluding the usual U-dualities that have degree zero. These ``superdualities''\nencompass the dualities for all choices of polarisation (i.e. the choices\nbetween fields and their duals). All gauge symmetries appear as subgroups of\nfinite-dimensional supergroups, with Grassmann coefficients in the differential\nalgebra of the spacetime manifold."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exact Scattering in the SU(n) Supersymmetric Principal Chiral Model: The complete spectrum of states in the supersymmetric principal chiral model\nbased on SU(n) is conjectured, and an exact factorizable S-matrix is proposed\nto describe scattering amongst these states. The SU(n)_L*SU(n)_R symmetry of\nthe lagrangian is manifest in the S-matrix construction. The supersymmetries,\non the other hand, are incorporated in the guise of spin-1/2 charges acting on\na set of RSOS kinks associated with su(n) at level n. To test the proposed\nS-matrix, calculations of the change in the ground-state energy in the presence\nof a coupling to a background charge are carried out. The results derived from\nthe lagrangian using perturbation theory and from the S-matrix using the TBA\nare found to be in complete agreement for a variety of background charges which\npick out, in turn, the highest weight states in each of the fundamental\nrepresentations of SU(n). In particular, these methods rule out the possibility\nof additional CDD factors in the S-matrix. Comparison of the expressions found\nfor the free-energy also yields an exact result for the mass-gap in these\nmodels: m/Lambda_{MS-bar}=(n/pi)sin(pi/n).",
        "positive": "Off-shell symmetry algebra of the AdS_4 x CP^3 superstring: By direct calculation in classical theory we derive the central extension of\nthe off-shell symmetry algebra for the string propagating in AdS_4 x CP^3. It\nturns out to be the same as in the case of the AdS_5 x S^5 string. We also\nelaborate on the kappa-symmetry gauge and explain, how it can be chosen in a\nway which does not break bosonic symmetries."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Surface operators, dual quivers and contours: We study half-BPS surface operators in four dimensional N=2 SU(N) gauge\ntheories, and analyze their low-energy effective action on the four dimensional\nCoulomb branch using equivariant localization. We also study surface operators\nas coupled 2d/4d quiver gauge theories with an SU(N) flavour symmetry. In this\ndescription, the same surface operator can be described by different quivers\nthat are related to each other by two dimensional Seiberg duality. We argue\nthat these dual quivers correspond, on the localization side, to distinct\nintegration contours that can be determined by the Fayet-Iliopoulos parameters\nof the two dimensional gauge nodes. We verify the proposal by mapping the\nsolutions of the twisted chiral ring equations of the 2d/4d quivers onto\nindividual residues of the localization integrand.",
        "positive": "On the energy deposited by a quark moving in an N=4 SYM plasma: We evaluate the energy momentum tensor of a massive quark as it moves through\nan N=4 SYM quark gluon plasma at constant velocity. We find that in the\nnear-quark region, where the dynamics is expected to be dominated by\ndissipative behavior, the energy density may be quantitatively characterized by\na transient at velocities above the speed of sound of the plasma."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauge invariant cosmological perturbations for the nonminimally coupled\n  inflaton field: We construct the gauge invariant free action for cosmological perturbations\nfor the nonminimally coupled inflaton field in the Jordan frame. For this the\nphase space formalism is used, which keeps track of all the dynamical and\nconstraint fields. We perform explicit conformal transformations to demonstrate\nthe physical equivalence between the Jordan and Einstein frames at the level of\nquadratic perturbations. We show how to generalize the formalism to the case of\na more complicated scalar sector with an internal symmetry, such as Higgs\ninflation. This work represents a first step in developing gauge invariant\nperturbation theory for nonminimally coupled inflationary models.",
        "positive": "Supergravities with Minkowski x Sphere Vacua: Recently the authors have introduced a new gauged supergravity theory with a\npositive definite potential in D=6, obtained through a generalised Kaluza-Klein\nreduction from D=7. Of particular interest is the fact that this theory admits\ncertain Minkowski x Sphere vacua. In this paper we extend the previous results\nby constructing gauged supergravities with positive definitive potentials in\ndiverse dimensions, together with their vacuum solutions. In addition, we prove\nthe supersymmetry of the generalised reduction ansatz. We obtain a\nsupersymmetric solution with no form-field fluxes in the new gauged theory in\nD=9. This solution may be lifted to D=10, where it acquires an interpretation\nas a time-dependent supersymmetric cosmological solution supported purely by\nthe dilaton. A further uplift to D=11 yields a solution describing a pp-wave."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Ramanujan's influence on string theory, black holes and moonshine: Ramanujan influenced many areas of mathematics, but his work on q-series, on\nthe growth of coefficients of modular forms, and on mock modular forms stands\nout for its depth and breadth of applications. I will give a brief overview of\nhow this part of Ramanujan's work has influenced physics with an emphasis on\napplications to string theory, counting of black hole states and moonshine.\nThis paper contains the material from my presentation at the meeting\ncelebrating the centenary of Ramanujan's election as FRS and adds some\nadditional material on black hole entropy and the AdS/CFT correspondence.",
        "positive": "Noncommutative Tachyonic Solitons. Interaction with Gauge Field: We show that in the presence of U(1) noncommutative gauge interaction the\nnoncommutative tachyonic system exhibits solitonic solutions for finite value\nof the noncommutativity parameter."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Poisson Structure Induced (Topological) Field Theories: A class of two dimensional field theories, based on (generically degenerate)\nPoisson structures and generalizing gravity-Yang-Mills systems, is presented.\nLocally, the solutions of the classical equations of motion are given. A\ngeneral scheme for the quantization of the models in a Hamiltonian formulation\nis found.",
        "positive": "On the Standard Model Group in F-theory: We analyze the Standard Model gauge group SU(3) x SU(2) x U(1) constructed in\nF-theory. The non-Abelian part SU(3) x SU(2) is described by singularities of\nKodaira type. It is distinguished to naive product of SU(3) and SU(2), revealed\nby blow-up analysis, since the resolution procedures cannot be done separately\nto each group. The Abelian part U(1) is constructed by obtaining a desirable\nglobal two-form harboring it, using `factorization method' similar to the\ndecomposition method of the spectral cover; It makes use of an extra section in\nthe elliptic fiber of the Calabi-Yau manifold, on which F-theory is\ncompactified. Conventional gauge coupling unification of SU(5) is achieved,\nwithout threshold correction from the flux along hypercharge direction."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Monodromy methods for torus conformal blocks and entanglement entropy at\n  large central charge: We compute the entanglement entropy in a two dimensional conformal field\ntheory at finite size and finite temperature in the large central charge limit\nvia the replica trick. We first generalize the known monodromy method for the\ncalculation of conformal blocks on the plane to the torus. Then, we derive a\nmonodromy method for the zero-point conformal blocks of the replica partition\nfunction. We explain the differences between the two monodromy methods before\napplying them to the calculation of the entanglement entropy. We find that the\ncontribution of the vacuum exchange dominates the entanglement entropy for a\nlarge class of CFTs, leading to universal results in agreement with holographic\npredictions from the RT formula. Moreover, we determine in which regime the\nreplica partition function agrees with a correlation function of local twist\noperators on the torus.",
        "positive": "Differential Geometry of the Vortex Filament Equation: Differential calculus on the space of asymptotically linear curves is\ndeveloped. The calculus is applied to the vortex filament equation in its\nHamiltonian description. The recursion operator generating the infinite\nsequence of commuting flows is shown to be hereditary. The system is shown to\nhave a description with a Hamiltonian pair. Master symmetries are found and are\napplied to deriving an expression of the constants of motion in involution. The\nexpression agrees with the inspection of Langer and Perline."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Brane Dynamics and Chiral non-Chiral Transitions: We study brane realizations of chiral matter in N=1 supersymmetric gauge\ntheories in four dimensions. A \"cross\" configuration which leads to \"flavor\ndoubling\" is found to have a superpotential. The main example is realized using\na special \"fork\" configuration. Many of the results are found by studying a SU\ntimes SU product gauge group first. The chiral theory is then an orientifold\nprojection of the product gauge group. An interesting observation in the brane\npicture is that there are transitions between chiral and non chiral models.\nThese transitions are closely related to small instanton transitions in six\ndimensions.",
        "positive": "Solving RG equations with the Lambert W function: It has been known for some time that 2-loop renormalization group (RG)\nequations of a dimensionless parameter can be solved in a closed form in terms\nof the Lambert W function. We apply the method to a generic theory with a\nGaussian fixed point to construct RG invariant physical parameters such as a\ncoupling constant and a physical squared mass. As a further application, we\nspeculate a possible exact effective potential for the O(N) linear sigma model\nin four dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exact Results in N_c=2 IIB Matrix Model: We investigate N_c=2 case of IIB matrix model, which is exactly soluble. We\ncalculate the partition function exactly and obtain a finite result without\nintroducing any cut-off. We also evaluate some correlation functions consisting\nof Wilson loops.",
        "positive": "On Large N Solution of N=3 Chern-Simons-adjoint Theories: The planar resolvent for N=3 U(N)_k Chern-Simons theory coupled to an\narbitrary number of adjoint matters is determined. Analytic continuation of the\n't Hooft coupling t is analyzed. The eigenvalue distribution turns out to be\nconfined in a finite region even for a large t. The vev of a Wilson loop does\nnot exhibit an exponential growth although such a behavior would be expected\nfor theories with classical gravity duals."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "N-dimensional sl(2)-coalgebra spaces with non-constant curvature: An infinite family of ND spaces endowed with sl(2)-coalgebra symmetry is\nintroduced. For all these spaces the geodesic flow is superintegrable, and the\nexplicit form of their common set of integrals is obtained from the underlying\nsl(2)-coalgebra structure. In particular, ND spherically symmetric spaces with\nEuclidean signature are shown to be sl(2)-coalgebra spaces. As a byproduct of\nthis construction we present ND generalizations of the classical Darboux\nsurfaces, thus obtaining remarkable superintegrable ND spaces with non-constant\ncurvature.",
        "positive": "Conservation laws in the teleparallel theory of gravity: We study the conservation laws associated with the asymptotic Poincare\nsymmetry of spacetime in the general teleparallel theory of gravity. Demanding\nthat the canonical Poincare generators have well defined functional derivatives\nin a properly defined phase space, we obtain the improved form of the\ngenerators, containing certain surface terms. These terms are shown to\nrepresent the values of the related conserved charges: energy-momentum and\nangular momentum."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Finite Cutoff CFT's and Composite Operators: Recently a conformally invariant action describing the Wilson-Fischer fixed\npoint in $D=4-\\epsilon$ dimensions in the presence of a {\\em finite} UV cutoff\nwas constructed \\cite{Dutta}. In the present paper we construct two composite\noperator perturbations of this action with definite scaling dimension also in\nthe presence of a finite cutoff. Thus the operator (as well as the fixed point\naction) is well defined at all momenta $0\\leq p\\leq \\infty$ and at low energies\nthey reduce to $\\int_x \\phi^2$ and $\\int _x \\phi^4$ respectively. The\nconstruction includes terms up to $O(\\lamda^2)$. In the presence of a finite\ncutoff they mix with higher order irrelevant operators. The dimensions are also\ncalculated to this order and agree with known results.",
        "positive": "Self-consistency in relativistic theory of infinite statistics fields: Infinite statistics in which all representations of the symmetric group can\noccur is known as a special case of quon theory. Our previous work has built a\nrelativistic quantum field theory which allows interactions involving infinite\nstatistics particles. In this paper, a more detailed analysis of this theory is\navailable. Topics discussed include cluster decomposition, CPT symmetry and\nrenormalization."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Stationary $D=4$ Black Holes in Supergravity: The Issue of Real\n  Nilpotent Orbits: The complete classification of the nilpotent orbits of ${\\rm SO}(2,2)^2$ in\nthe representation ${\\bf (2,2,2,2)}$, achieved in \\cite{Dietrich:2016ojx}, is\napplied to the study of multi-center, asymptotically flat, extremal black hole\nsolutions to the STU model. These real orbits provide an intrinsic\ncharacterization of regular single-center solutions, which is invariant with\nrespect to the action of the global symmetry group ${\\rm SO}(4,4)$, underlying\nthe stationary solutions of the model, and provide stringent regularity\nconstraints on multi-centered solutions. The known \\emph{almost-BPS} and\n\\emph{composite non-BPS} solutions are revisited in this setting. We\nsystematically provide, for the relevant ${\\rm SO}(2,2)^2$-nilpotent orbits of\nthe global Noether charge matrix, regular representatives thereof. This\nanalysis unveils a composition law of the orbits according to which those\ncontaining regular multi-centered solutions can be obtained as combinations of\nspecific single-center orbits defining the constituent black holes. Some of the\n${\\rm SO}(2,2)^2$-orbits of the total Noether charge matrix are characterized\nas \"intrinsically singular\" in that they cannot contain any regular solution.",
        "positive": "Loop Variables and Gauge Invariance in (Open) Bosonic String Theory: We give a simplified and more complete description of the loop variable\napproach for writing down gauge invariant equations of motion for the fields of\nthe open string. A simple proof of gauge invariance to all orders is given. In\nterms of loop variables, the interacting equations look exactly like the free\nequations, but with a loop variable depending on an extra parameter, thus\nmaking it a band of finite width. The arguments for gauge invariance work\nexactly as in the free case. We show that these equations are Wilsonian RG\nequations with a finite world-sheet cutoff and that in the infrared limit,\nequivalence with the Callan-Symanzik $\\beta$-functions should ensure that they\nreproduce the on-shell scattering amplitudes in string theory. It is applied to\nthe tachyon-photon system and the general arguments for gauge invariance can be\neasily checked to the order calculated. One can see that when there is a finite\nworld sheet cutoff in place, even the U(1) invariance of the equations for the\nphoton, involves massive mode contributions. A field redefinition involving the\ntachyon is required to get the gauge transformations of the photon into\nstandard form."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "d-objects kinematics on smooth manifolds: The kinematical part of general theory of deformational structures on smooth\nmanifolds is developed. We introduce general concept of d-objects deformation,\nthen within the set of all such deformations we develop some special algebra\nand investigate group and homotopical properties of the set. In case of proper\ndeformations some propositions, generalizing isometry theory on Riemannian\nmanifolds are formulated.",
        "positive": "Anomaly Freedom and Realisations for Super-$W_3$ Strings: We construct new multi-field realisations of the $N=2$ super-$W_3$ algebra,\nwhich are important for building super-$W_3$ string theories. We derive the\nstructure of the ghost vacuum for such theories, and use the result to\ncalculate the intercepts. These results determine the conditions for physical\nstates in the super-$W_3$ string theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Connection between Pauli-Villars and Higher Derivative\n  Regularizations: It is shown that in some cases higher (covariant) derivative regularization\nfor spinor field is equivalent to the gauge invariant Pauli-Villars one.",
        "positive": "Moduli Space for Conifolds as Intersection of Orthogonal D6 branes: We show that a system of parallel D3 branes near a conifold singularity can\nbe mapped onto an intersecting configuration of orthogonal branes in type IIA\nstring theory. Using this brane configuration, we analyze the Higgs moduli\nspace of the associated field theory. The dimension of the Higgs moduli space\nis computed from a geometrical analysis of the conifold singularity. Our\nresults provide evidence for an extended s-rule. In addition, a discrepancy\nbetween the prediction of the brane configuration and the result obtained from\na geometrical anaysis is noted. This discrepancy is traced back to worldsheet\ninstanton effects."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic RG flows on Squashed $S^3$: Holographic RG flows dual to QFTs on a squashed $S^3$ are considered in the\nframework of Einstein dilaton gravity in four dimensions. A general dilaton\npotential is used and flows are driven by a scalar relevant operator. The\ngeneral properties of such flows are analysed and the UV and IR asymptotics are\ncomputed. Exotic asymptotics are found, that are different from the standard\nFefferman-Graham asymptotics.",
        "positive": "Celestial Amplitudes as AdS-Witten Diagrams: Both celestial and momentum space amplitudes in four dimensions are beset by\ndivergences resulting from spacetime translation and sometimes scale\ninvariance. In this paper we consider a (linearized) marginal deformation of\nthe celestial CFT for Yang-Mills theory which preserves 2D conformal invariance\nbut breaks both spacetime translation and scale invariance and involves a\nchirally coupled massive scalar. The resulting celestial amplitudes are\ncompletely finite (apart from the usual soft and collinear divergences) and\ntake the canonical CFT form. Moreover, we show they can be simply rewritten in\nterms of AdS$_3$-Witten contact diagrams which evaluate to the well-known\n$D$-functions, thereby forging a direct connection between flat and AdS\nholography."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the N=1 beta-function from the conifold: We obtain the correct all-loop beta-function of pure N=1 super Yang-Mills\ntheory from the supergravity solution of the warped deformed conifold,\nincluding also some nonperturbative corrections. The crucial ingredient is the\ngauge-gravity relation that can be inferred by taking into account the\nphenomenon of gaugino condensation.",
        "positive": "Central charges, black-hole entropy and geometrical structure of\n  N-extended supergravities in D=4: The derivation of absolute (moduli-independent) U-invariants for all N>2\nextended supergravities at D=4 in terms of (moduli-dependent) central and\nmatter charges is reported. These invariants give a general definition of the\n``topological'' Bekenstein-Hawking entropy formula for extremal black-holes and\nreduce to the square of the black-hole ADM mass for ``fixed scalars'' which\nextremize the black-hole ``potential'' energy."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Two dimensional black-hole as a topological coset model of c=1 string\n  theory: We show that a special superconformal coset (with $\\hat c =3$) is equivalent\nto $c=1$ matter coupled to two dimensional gravity. This identification allows\na direct computation of the correlation functions of the $c=1$ non-critical\nstring to all genus, and at nonzero cosmological constant, directly from the\ncontinuum approach. The results agree with those of the matrix model. Moreover\nwe connect our coset with a twisted version of a Euclidean two dimensional\nblack hole, in which the ghost and matter systems are mixed.",
        "positive": "Color Confinement in Perturbation Theory from a Topological Model,: Color confinement by the mechanism of Kugo and Ojima can treat confinement of\nany quantized color carrying fields including dynamical quarks. However, the\nnon-perturbative condition for this confinement has been known to be satisfied\nonly in the pure-gauge model (PGM), which is a topological model without\nphysical degrees of freedom. Here we analyze the Yang-Mills theory by adding\nphysical degrees of freedom as perturbation to PGM. We find that quarks and\ngluons are indeed confined in this perturbation theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Parametrised Homotopy Theory and Gauge Enhancement: We review a first-principles derivation of Type IIA D-brane charges from\nM-theory degrees of freedom in the approximation of super rational homotopy\ntheory.",
        "positive": "Pulsating strings from two dimensional CFT on $(T^4)^N/S(N)$: We propose a state from the two-dimensional conformal field theory on the\norbifold $(T^4)^N/S(N)$ as a dual description for a pulsating string moving in\n$AdS_3$. We show that, up to first order in the deforming parameter, the energy\nin both descriptions has the same dependence on the mode number, but with a\nnon-trivial function of the coupling."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Black Hole Levitron: We study the problem of spatially stabilising four dimensional extremal black\nholes in background electric/magnetic fields. Whilst looking for stationary\nstable solutions describing black holes kept in external fields we find that\ntaking a continuum limit of Denef et al's multi-center solutions provides a\nsupergravity description of such backgrounds within which a black hole can be\ntrapped in a given volume. This is realised by levitating a black hole over a\nmagnetic dipole base. We comment on how such a construction resembles a\nmechanical Levitron.",
        "positive": "Extended Dualization: a method for the Bosonization of Anomalous Fermion\n  Systems in Arbitrary Dimension: The technique of extended dualization developed in this paper is used to\nbosonize quantized fermion systems in arbitrary dimension $D$ in the low energy\nregime. In its original (minimal) form, dualization is restricted to models\nwherein it is possible to define a dynamical quantized conserved charge. We\ngeneralize the usual dualization prescription to include systems with dynamical\nnon--conserved quantum currents. Bosonization based on this extended\ndualization requires the introduction of an additional rank $0$ (scalar) field\ntogether with the usual antisymmetric tensor field of rank $(D-2)$. Our\ngeneralized dualization prescription permits one to clearly distinguish the\narbitrariness in the bosonization from the arbitrariness in the quantization of\nthe system. We study the bosonization of four--fermion interactions with large\nmass in arbitrary dimension. First, we observe that dualization permits one to\nformally bosonize these models by invoking the bosonization of the free massive\nDirac fermion and adding some extra model--dependent bosonic terms. Secondly,\nwe explore the potential of extended dualization by considering the particular\ncase of \\underbar{chiral} four--fermion interactions. Here minimal dualization\nis inadequate for calculating the extra bosonic terms. We demonstrate the\nutility of extended dualization by successfully completing the bosonization of\nthis chiral model. Finally, we consider two examples in two dimensions which\nilluminate the utility of using extended dualization by showing how\nquantization ambiguities in a fermionic theory propagate into the bosonized\nversion. An explicit parametrization of the quantization ambiguities of the\nchiral current in the Chiral Schwinger model is obtained. Similarly, for the\nsine--Gordon interaction in the massive Thirring model the quantization"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chiral Symmetry Breaking and Dual Gluon Mass in the Confining Region of\n  QCD: The Dual Meissner Effect description of QCD in the confining region provides\n$\\frac{1}{q^4}$ behaviour for the gluon propagator and involves the dual gluon\nmass $m$ as a parameter. This is used in the Schwinger-Dyson equation for the\nquarks in the infrared region to exhibit chiral symmetry breaking for light\nquarks. Using the light quark condensate as input, the dual gluon mass is\ndetermined and its importance in showing the asymptotic free behaviour of the\nextrinsic curvature coupling in the rigid QCD string is discussed.",
        "positive": "Holographic complexity of the disk subregion in (2+1)-dimensional gapped\n  systems: Using the volume of the space enclosed by the Ryu-Takayanagi (RT) surface, we\nstudy the complexity of the disk-shape subregion (with radius R) in various\n(2+1)-dimensional gapped systems with gravity dual. These systems include a\nclass of toy models with singular IR and the bottom-up models for quantum\nchromodynamics and fractional quantum Hall effects. Two main results are: i) in\nthe large-R expansion of the complexity, the R-linear term is always absent,\nsimilar to the absence of topological entanglement entropy; ii) when the\nentanglement entropy exhibits the classic `swallowtail' phase transition, the\ncomplexity is sensitive but reacts differently."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The symmetry, connecting the processes in 2- and 4-dimensional\n  space-times, and the value $\u03b1_0 = 1/4\u03c0$ for the bare fine structure\n  constant: Defined by Bogoliubov coefficients the spectra of pairs of Bose (Fermi)\nmassless quanta, emitted by point mirror in 1+1-space, coincide up to\nmultiplier $e^2/ \\hbar c$ with the spectra of photons (scalar quanta), emitted\nby point electric (scalar) charge in 3+1-space for any common trajectory of the\nsources. The integral connection of the propagator of a pair in 1+1-space with\nthe propagator of a single particle in 3+1-space leads to equality of the\nvacuum-vacuum amplitudes for charge and mirror if the mean number of created\nparticles is small and the charge $e=\\sqrt{\\hbar c}$. Due to the symmetry the\nmass shifts of electric and scalar charges, the sources of Bose-fields with\nspin 1 and 0 in 3+1-space, for the trajectories with subluminal relative\nvelocity $\\beta_{12}$ of the ends and maximum proper acceleration $w_0$ are\nexpressed in terms of heat capacity (or energy) spectral densities of Bose and\nFermi massless particle gases with temperature $w_0/2\\pi$ in 1+1-space. The\nenergy of one-dimensional proper field oscillations is partly deexcited in the\nform of real quanta and partly remains in the field. As a result, the mass\nshift of accelerated electric charge is nonzero and negative, while that of\nscalar charge is zero. The traces of the Bogoliubov coefficients $\\alpha^{B,F}$\ndescribe the vector and scalar interactions of accelerated mirror with a\nuniformly moving detector and were found in analytical form. The symmetry\npredicts one and the same value $e_0=\\sqrt{\\hbar c}$ for electric and scalar\ncharges in 3+1-space. The arguments are adduced in favour of that this value\nand the corresponding value $\\alpha_0=1/4\\pi$ for fine structure constant are\nthe bare, nonrenormalized values.",
        "positive": "q-deformed superconformal algebra on quantum superspace: A quantum deformation of 4-dimensional superconformal algebra realized on\nquantum superspace is investigated. We study the differential calculus and the\naction of the quantum generators corresponding to $sl_q(1|4)$ which act on the\nquantum superspace. We derive deformed $su(1|2,2)$ algebras from the deformed\n$sl(1|4)$ algebra. Through a contraction procedure we obtain a deformed\nsuper-Poincar{\\'e} algebra."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Open Gromov-Witten Invariants from the Augmentation Polynomial: A conjecture of Aganagic and Vafa relates the open Gromov-Witten theory of\n$X=\\mathcal{O}_{\\mathbb{P}^{1}}(-1,-1)$ to the augmentation polynomial of\nLegendrian contact homology. We describe how to use this conjecture to compute\ngenus zero, one boundary component open Gromov-Witten invariants for Lagrangian\nsubmanifolds $L_{K}\\subset X$ obtained from the conormal bundles of knots\n$K\\subset S^{3}$. This computation is then performed for two non-toric examples\n(the figure-eight and three-twist knots). For $(r,s)$ torus knots, the open\nGromov-Witten invariants can also be computed using Atiyah-Bott localization.\nUsing this result for the unknot and the $(3,2)$ torus knot, we show that the\naugmentation polynomial can be derived from these open Gromov-Witten\ninvariants.",
        "positive": "Marginal deformations and the Higgs phenomenon in higher spin AdS_3\n  holography: Recently, a 2d coset model with N=3 superconformal symmetry was proposed to\nbe holographic dual to a higher spin supergravity on AdS_3 and the relation to\nsuperstring theory was discussed. However, away from the tensionless limit,\nthere is no higher spin symmetry and the higher spin states are massive. In\nthis paper, we examine the deformations of the coset model which preserve N=3\nsuperconformal symmetry, but break generic higher spin symmetry. We focus on\ndouble-trace type deformations which are dual to changes of boundary conditions\nfor the bulk matter fields. In the bulk theory, the symmetry breaking will\ngenerate mass for the higher spin fields. As a concrete example, we compute the\nHiggs mass of a spin 2 field both from the bulk and the boundary theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Induced Rigid String Action From Fermions: From the Dirac action on the world sheet, an effective action is obtained by\nintegrating over the 4-dimensional fermion fields pulled back to the world\nsheet. This action consists of the Nambu-Goto area term with right dimensionful\nconstant in front, extrinsic curvature action and the topological Euler\ncharacteristic term.",
        "positive": "Holographic Description of M-branes via AdS$_2$: We study $\\textrm{AdS}_2\\times S^4 \\times S^2 \\times \\Sigma_2$ solutions in\ntype IIB string theory arising from D1 -- D3 -- NS5 brane intersections. These\nbackgrounds enjoy sixteen supercharges and the corresponding internal geometry\nis non-compact due to the specific form of the warping w.r.t. the Riemann\nsurface $\\Sigma_2$. Even though a direct computation of the holographic free\nenergy of the would-be dual CFT$_1$ yields a divergent behaviour, it reveals\nthe typical $N^3$ scaling of a 6d theory upon introducing a hard cut-off. We\nclaim that such geometries may be interpreted as the gravity duals of M(atrix)\nmodels describing an IR phase of the $(2,0)$ theory of M5 branes, in presence\nof momentum and NUT charges. We discuss parallel $\\textrm{AdS}_2$ geometries\ndescribing longitudinal M2 branes in the UV, where the counting of the number\nof degrees of freedom correctly reproduces the expected $N^{3/2}$ behaviour of\nthe dual field theory. These geometries provide explicit examples where\ndeconstructed extra dimensions yield well-defined UV descriptions in terms of\nhigher-dimensional CFTs."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Z(2) monopoles in SU(n) Yang-Mills-Higgs theories: Z(n) monopoles are important for the understanding of Goddard-Nuyts-Olive\nduality when the scalar field is not in the adjoint representation. We analyze\nthe Z(2) monopole solutions in a SU(n) Yang-Mills-Higgs theory spontaneously\nbroken to Spin(n)/Z(2) by a scalar in the n x n representation. We construct a\nZ(2) monopole asymptotic form for each of the weights of the defining\nrepresentation of the algebra dual to so(n).",
        "positive": "Holography for Heavy Quarks and Mesons at Finite Chemical Potential: We study the properties of heavy quarks as probes of strongly coupled plasmas\nwith and without chemical potential by means of the gauge/gravity (AdS/CFT)\nduality. We compute the screening distance of a heavy quark-antiquark pair, its\nfree energy, and the running coupling in large classes of non-conformal models\narising as deformations of pure AdS space. We further investigate the energy\nloss of a heavy quark moving on a circular orbit as an example of an\naccelerated motion. These observables exhibit universal features independent of\nthe deformation, pointing to strong-coupling universality. Our results should\nbe relevant for processes involving heavy quarks and their bound states in the\nquark-gluon plasma, including the case of finite net baryon density."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Zero point energy on extra dimension: Noncommutative Torus: In this paper we calculate the zero point energy density experienced by\nobservers on M^4 due to a massless scalar field defined throughout M^4 x T^2_F,\nwhere T^2_F are fuzzy extra dimensions. Using the Green's function approach we\ncalculate the energy density for the commutative torus and the fuzzy torus. We\ncalculate then the energy density for the fuzzy torus using the Hamiltonian\napproach. Agreement is shown between Green's function and Hamiltonian\napproaches.",
        "positive": "Instanton corrections to circular Wilson loops in N=4 Supersymmetric\n  Yang-Mills: It is argued that whereas supersymmetry requires the instanton contribution\nto the expectation value of a straight Wilson line in the N=4 supersymmetric\nSU(2) Yang-Mills theory to vanish, it is not required to vanish in the case of\na circular Wilson loop. A non-vanishing value can arise from a subtle interplay\nbetween a divergent integral over bosonic moduli and a vanishing integral over\nfermionic moduli. The one-instanton contribution to such Wilson loops is\nexplicitly evaluated in semi-classical approximation. The method utilizes the\nsymmetries of the problem to perform the integration over the bosonic and\nfermionic collective coordinates of the instanton. The integral is singular for\nsmall instantons touching the loop and is regularized by introducing a cutoff\nat the boundary of the (euclidean) AdS_5 moduli space. In the case of a\ncircular loop a nonzero finite result is obtained when the cutoff is removed\nand a perimeter divergence subtracted. This is contrasted with the case of the\nstraight line where the result is zero after subtraction of an identical\ndivergence per unit length. The linear divergence is an artifact of our non\nsupersymmetric regulator that deserves further consideration. The\ngeneralization to gauge group SU(N) with arbitrary N is straightforward in the\nlimit of small 't Hooft coupling. The extension to strong 't Hooft coupling is\nmore challenging and only a qualitative discussion is given of the AdS/CFT\ncorrespondence"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gluing I: Integrals and Symmetries: We review some aspects of the cutting and gluing law in local quantum field\ntheory. In particular, we emphasize the description of gluing by a path\nintegral over a space of polarized boundary conditions, which are given by\nleaves of some Lagrangian foliation in the phase space. We think of this path\nintegral as a non-local $(d-1)$-dimensional gluing theory associated to the\nparent local $d$-dimensional theory. We describe various properties of this\nprocedure and spell out conditions under which symmetries of the parent theory\nlead to symmetries of the gluing theory. The purpose of this paper is to set up\na playground for the companion paper where these techniques are applied to\nobtain new results in supersymmetric theories.",
        "positive": "On Non-Critical Superstring/Black Hole Transition: An interesting case of string/black hole transition occurs in two-dimensional\nnon-critical string theory dressed with a compact CFT. In these models the high\nenergy densities of states of perturbative strings and black holes have the\nsame leading behavior when the Hawking temperature of the black hole is equal\nto the Hagedorn temperature of perturbative strings. We compare the first\nsubleading terms in the black hole and closed string entropies in this setting\nand argue that the entropy interpolates between these expressions as the energy\nis varied. We compute the subleading correction to the black hole entropy for a\nspecific simple model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Moduli stability in type I string orbifold models: We analyze the stability of the moduli at the quantum level in an open-string\nmodel realizing the $\\mathcal{N}=2\\to \\mathcal{N}=0$ spontaneous breaking of\nsupersymmetry in four-dimensional Minkowski spacetime. In the region of moduli\nspace where the supersymmetry breaking scale is lower than the other scales, we\nidentify vanishing minima of the one-loop effective potential, up to\nexponentially small corrections. In these backgrounds, the spectrum satisfies\nBose-Fermi degeneracy at the massless level.",
        "positive": "Distinquishing 4d N=2 SCFTs: We construct a family of examples of pairs of 4d N=2 SCFTs whose graded\nCoulomb branch dimensions, Weyl-anomaly coefficients and flavour symmetry\nalgebras and levels coincide, but which are nonetheless distinct SCFTs. The\ndifference (detectable by the superconformal index) can occur at arbitrarily\nhigh order. We argue that it is, however, reflected in a difference in the\nglobal form of the flavour symmetry groups."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Probing F-theory With Multiple Branes: We study multiple 3-branes on an F theory orientifold. The world-volume\ntheory of the 3-branes is d=4, N=2 Sp(2k) gauge theory with an antisymmetric\ntensor and four flavors of matter in the fundamental. The solution of this\ngauge theory is found for vanishing bare mass of the antisymmetric tensor\nmatter, and massive fundamental matter. The integrable system underlying this\ntheory is constructed.",
        "positive": "A temperature correction to the tachyon, using the Casimir effect: We find the free energy of the string by applying the known Matsubara\nformalism. Then through the Casimir effect we offer a temperature correction to\nthe tachyon mass of the string. We see that for the fermionic part the\ntemperature correction is precisely the opposite of that of bosonic part, so\nthe quantum ground state of the superstring would remain massless, as expected."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "BRS symmetry versus supersymmetry in Yang-Mills-Chern-Simons theory: We prove that three-dimensional $N=1$ supersymmetric Yang-Mills-Chern-Simons\ntheory is finite to all loop orders. In general this leaves open the\npossibility that different regularization methods lead to different finite\neffective actions. We show that in this model dimensional regularization and\nregularization by dimensional reduction yield the same effective action.\nConsequently, the superfield approach preserves BRS invariance for this model.",
        "positive": "Self-Dual Gravity Revisited: Reconsidering the harmonic space description of the self-dual Einstein\nequations, we streamline the proof that all self-dual pure gravitational fields\nallow a local description in terms of an unconstrained analytic prepotential in\nharmonic space. Our formulation yields a simple recipe for constructing\nself-dual metrics starting from any explicit choice of such prepotential; and\nwe illustrate the procedure by producing a metric related to the Taub-NUT\nsolution from the simplest monomial choice of prepotential."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "R^4 counterterm and E7(7) symmetry in maximal supergravity: The coefficient of a potential R^4 counterterm in N=8 supergravity has been\nshown previously to vanish in an explicit three-loop calculation. The R^4 term\nrespects N=8 supersymmetry; hence this result poses the question of whether\nanother symmetry could be responsible for the cancellation of the three-loop\ndivergence. In this article we investigate possible restrictions from the coset\nsymmetry E7(7)/SU(8), exploring the limits as a single scalar becomes soft, as\nwell as a double-soft scalar limit relation derived recently by Arkani-Hamed et\nal. We implement these relations for the matrix elements of the R^4 term that\noccurs in the low-energy expansion of closed-string tree-level amplitudes. We\nfind that the matrix elements of R^4 that we investigated all obey the\ndouble-soft scalar limit relation, including certain\nnon-maximally-helicity-violating six-point amplitudes. However, the single-soft\nlimit does not vanish for this latter set of amplitudes, which suggests that\nthe E7(7) symmetry is broken by the R^4 term.",
        "positive": "Towards Holographic Spintronics: We study transport phenomena of total angular momentum in holography, as a\nfirst step toward holographic understanding of spin transport phenomena. Spin\ncurrent, which has both the local Lorentz index for spins and the space-time\nvector index for current, couples naturally to the bulk spin connection.\nTherefore the bulk spin connection becomes the source for the boundary spin\ncurrent. This allows us to evaluate the spin current holographically, with a\nrelation to the stress tensor and metric fluctuations in the bulk. We examine\nthe spin transport coefficients and the thermal spin Hall conductivity in a\nsimple holographic setup."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Wu-Yang Ambiguity Revisited: Several examples are given of continuous families of SU(2) vector potentials\n$A_i^a(x)$ in 3 space dimensions which generate the same magnetic field\n$B^{ai}(x)$ (with det $B\\neq 0$). These Wu-Yang families are obtained from the\nEinstein equation $R_{ij}=-2G_{ij}$ derived recently via a local map of the\ngauge field system into a spatial geometry with $2$-tensor $G_{ij}=B^a{}_i\nB^a{}_j\\det B$ and connection $\\Gamma_{jk}^i$ with torsion defined from gauge\ncovariant derivatives of $B$.",
        "positive": "Nonassociativity, Dirac monopoles and Aharonov-Bohm effect: The Aharonov-Bohm (AB) effect for the singular string associated with the\nDirac monopole carrying an arbitrary magnetic charge is studied. It is shown\nthat the emerging difficulties in explanation of the AB effect may be removed\nby introducing nonassociative path-dependent wave functions. This provides the\nabsence of the AB effect for the Dirac string of magnetic monopole with an\narbitrary magnetic charge."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the baryon-color-flavor (BCF) anomaly in vector-like theories: We consider the most general fractional background fluxes in the color,\nflavor, and baryon number directions, compatible with the faithful action of\nthe global symmetry of a given theory. We call the obstruction to gauging\nsymmetries revealed by such backgrounds the baryon-color-flavor (BCF) 't Hooft\nanomaly. We apply the BCF anomaly to vector-like theories, with fermions in\nhigher-dimensional representations of arbitrary N-ality, and derive non-trivial\nconstraints on their IR dynamics. In particular, this class of theories enjoys\nan independent discrete chiral symmetry and one may ask about the fate of this\nsymmetry in the background of BCF fluxes. We show that, under certain\nconditions, an anomaly between the chiral symmetry and the BCF background rules\nout massless composite fermions as the sole player in the IR: either the\ncomposites do not form or additional contributions to the matching of the BCF\nanomaly are required. We can also give a flavor-symmetric mass to the fermions,\nsmaller than or of order the strong scale of the theory, and examine the\n$\\theta$-angle periodicity of the theory in the BCF background. Interestingly,\nwe find that the conditions that rule out the composites are the exact same\nconditions that lead to an anomaly of the $\\theta$ periodicity: the massive\ntheory will experience a phase transition as we vary $\\theta$ from $0$ to\n$2\\pi$.",
        "positive": "Onset of Quantum Chaos in Random Field Theories: We study the quantum Lyapunov exponent $\\lambda_L$ in theories with\nspacetime-independent disorder. We first derive self-consistency equations for\nthe two- and four-point functions for products of $N$ models coupled by\ndisorder at large $N$, generalizing the equations appearing in SYK-like models.\nWe then study families of theories in which the disorder coupling is an exactly\nmarginal deformation, allowing us to follow $\\lambda_L$ from weak to strong\ncoupling. We find interesting behaviors, including a discontinuous transition\ninto chaos, mimicking classical KAM theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Causality Constraints on Black Holes beyond GR: We derive causality constraints on the simplest scalar-tensor theories in\nwhich black holes differ from what General Relativity predicts, a scalar\ncoupled to the Gauss-Bonnet or the Chern-Simons terms. Demanding that time\nadvances are unobservable within the regime of validity of these effective\nfield theories, we find their cutoff must be parametrically of the same size as\nthe inverse Schwarzschild radius of the black holes for which the non-standard\neffects are of order one. For astrophysical black holes within the range of\ncurrent gravitational wave detectors, this means a cutoff length at the km. We\nfurther explore the leading additional higher-dimensional operators potentially\nassociated with the scale of UV completion and discuss their phenomenological\nimplications for gravitational wave science.",
        "positive": "Large Volume Perspective on Branes at Singularities: In this paper we consider a somewhat unconventional approach for deriving\nworldvolume theories for D3 branes probing Calabi-Yau singularities. The\nstrategy consists of extrapolating the calculation of F-terms to the large\nvolume limit. This method circumvents the inherent limitations of more\ntraditional approaches used for orbifold and toric singularities. We illustrate\nits usefulness by deriving quiver theories for D3 branes probing singularities\nwhere a Del Pezzo surface containing four, five or six exceptional curves\ncollapses to zero size. In the latter two cases the superpotential depends\nexplicitly on complex structure parameters. These are examples of probe\ntheories for singularities which can currently not be computed by other means."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "GLSMs for non-Kahler Geometries: We identify a simple mechanism by which H-flux satisfying the modified\nBianchi identity arises in garden-variety (0,2) gauged linear sigma models.\nTaking suitable limits leads to effective gauged linear sigma models with\nGreen-Schwarz anomaly cancellation. We test the quantum-consistency of a class\nof such effective theories by constructing an off-shell superconformal algebra,\nproviding evidence that these models run to good CFTs in the deep IR.",
        "positive": "AdS/CFT for Four-Point Amplitudes involving Gravitino Exchange: In this paper we compute the tree-level four-point scattering amplitude of\ntwo dilatini and two axion-dilaton fields in type IIB supergravity in AdS5 x\nS5. A special feature of this process is that there is an \"exotic\" channel in\nwhich there are no singleparticle poles. Another novelty is that this process\ninvolves the exchange of a bulk gravitino. The amplitude is interpreted in\nterms of N = 4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory at large 't Hooft coupling.\nProperties of the Operator Product Expansion are used to analyze the various\ncontributions from single- and double-trace operators in the weak and strongly\ncoupled regimes, and to determine the anomalous dimensions of semi-short\noperators. The analysis is particularly clear in the exotic channel, given the\nabsence of BPS states."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Membrane solutions in M-theory: Motivated by the recent achievements in the framework of the semiclassical\nlimit of the M-theory/field theory correspondence, we propose an approach for\nobtaining exact membrane solutions in general enough M-theory backgrounds,\nhaving field theory dual description. As an application of the derived general\nresults, we obtain several types of membrane solutions in AdS_4xS^7 M-theory\nbackground.",
        "positive": "Integrable Chain Model with Additional Staggered Model Parameter: The generalization of the Yang-Baxter equations (YBE) in the presence of Z_2\ngrading along both chain and time directions is presented. The XXZ model with\nstaggered disposition along a chain of both, the anisotropy \\pm\\Delta, as well\nas shifts of the spectral parameters are considered and the corresponding\nintegrable model is constructed. The Hamiltonian of the model is computed in\nfermionic and spin formulations. It involves three neighbour site interactions\nand therefore can be considered as a zig-zag ladder model. The Algebraic Bethe\nAnsatz technique is applied and the eigenstates, along with eigenvalues of the\ntransfer matrix of the model are found. The model has a free fermionic limit at\n\\Delta=0 and the integrable boundary terms are found in this case.\n  This construction is quite general and can be applied to other known\nintegrable models."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Oscillons in $\u03c6^6$-theories: Possible occurrence in MHD: In this work, we report on the possibility of occurrence of oscillon\nconfigurations in the fourth state of matter. Oscillons are extremely\nlong-lived, time-periodic, spatially-localised scalar field structures.\nStarting from a scalar field theory in 1+1 space-time dimensions, we find out\nthat small-amplitude oscillons can be obtained in the framework of a $\\phi^6$\nself-interacting potential. A connection between our results and ideal MHD\ntheory is established. Perspectives for a development of the present work are\npointed out.",
        "positive": "A duality web of linear quivers: We show that applying the Bailey lemma to elliptic hypergeometric integrals\non the $A_n$ root system leads to a large web of dualities for $\\mathcal{N} =\n1$ supersymmetric linear quiver theories. The superconformal index of Seiberg's\nSQCD with $SU(N_c)$ gauge group and $SU(N_f)\\times SU(N_f)\\times U(1)$ flavour\nsymmetry is equal to that of $N_f-N_c-1$ distinct linear quivers. Seiberg\nduality further enlarges this web by adding new quivers. In particular, both\ninteracting electric and magnetic theories with arbitrary $N_c$ and $N_f$ can\nbe constructed by quivering an $s$-confining theory with $N_f=N_c+1$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Strong-Weak Coupling Duality in Quantum Mechanics: We present a strong-weak coupling duality for quantum mechanical potentials.\nSimilarly to what happens in quantum field theory, it relates two problems with\ninverse couplings, leading to a mapping of the strong coupling regime into the\nweak one, giving information from the nonperturbative region of the parameters\nspace. It can be used to solve exactly power-type potentials and to extract\ndeep information about the energy spectra of polynomial ones.",
        "positive": "General Rotating Five Dimensional Black Holes of Toroidally Compactified\n  Heterotic String: We present the most general rotating black hole solution of five-dimensional\nN=4 superstring vacua that conforms to the ``no hair theorem''. It is chosen to\nbe parameterized in terms of massless fields of the toroidally compactified\nheterotic string. The solutions are obtained by performing a subset of O(8,24)\ntransformations, i.e., symmetry transformations of the effective\nthree-dimensional action for stationary solutions, on the five-dimensional\n(neutral) rotating solution parameterized by the mass m and two rotational\nparameters $l_1$ and $l_2$. The explicit form of the generating solution is\ndetermined by three $SO(1,1)\\subset O(8,24)$ boosts, which specify two electric\ncharges $Q_1^{(1)}, Q_{2}^{(2)}$ of the Kaluza-Klein and two-form U(1) gauge\nfields associated with the same compactified direction, and the charge Q\n(electric charge of the vector field, whose field strength is dual to the field\nstrength of the five-dimensional two-form field). The general solution,\nparameterized by 27 charges, two rotational parameters and the ADM mass\ncompatible with the Bogomol'nyi bound, is obtained by imposing $[SO(5)\\times\nSO(21)]/[SO(4)\\times SO(20)]\\subset O(5,21)$ transformations, which do not\naffect the five-dimensional space-time. We also analyze the deviations from the\nBPS-saturated limit."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The General Decomposition Theory of SU(2) Gauge Potential, Topological\n  Structure and Bifurcation of SU(2) Chern Density: By means of the geometric algebra the general decomposition of SU(2) gauge\npotential on the sphere bundle of a compact and oriented 4-dimensional manifold\nis given. Using this decomposition theory the SU(2) Chern density has been\nstudied in detail. It shows that the SU(2) Chern density can be expressed in\nterms of the $\\delta -$function $\\delta (\\phi) $. And one can find that the\nzero points of the vector fields $\\phi$ are essential to the topological\nproperties of a manifold. It is shown that there exists the crucial case of\nbranch process at the zero points. Based on the implicit function theorem and\nthe taylor expansion, the bifurcation of the Chern density is detailed in the\nneighborhoods of the bifurcation points of $\\phi$. It is pointed out that,\nsince the Chren density is a topological invariant, the sum topological\nchargers of the branches will remain constant during the bifurcation process.",
        "positive": "Generalized asymptotics for gauge fields: An interesting question is to characterize the general class of allowed\nboundary conditions for gauge theories, including gravity, at spatial and null\ninfinity. This has played a role in discussions of soft charges, where\nantipodal symmetry has typically been assumed. However, the existence of\nelectric and gravitational line operators, arising from gauge-invariant dressed\nobservables, for example associated to axial or Fefferman-Graham like gauges,\nindicates the existence of non-antipodally symmetric initial data. This note\nstudies aspects of the solutions corresponding to such non-symmetric initial\ndata. The explicit evolution can be found, via a Green function, and bounds can\nbe given on the asymptotic behavior of such solutions, evading arguments for\nsingular behavior. Likewise, objections to such solutions based on infinite\nsymplectic form are also avoided, although these solutions may be\nsuperselected. Soft charge conservation laws, and their modification, are\nbriefly examined for such solutions. This discussion strengthens (though is not\nnecessary for) arguments that soft charges characterize gauge field degrees of\nfreedom, but not necessarily the degrees of freedom associated to the matter\nsourcing the field."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Weyl Gravity in Covariant Hamiltonian Formalism: We find covariant canonical formalism for Weyl invariant gravity. We discuss\nconstraint structure of this theory and its gauge fixed form.",
        "positive": "Integrability, spin-chains and the AdS3/CFT2 correspondence: Building on arXiv:0912.1723, in this paper we investigate the AdS3/CFT2\ncorrespondence using integrability techniques. We present an all-loop Bethe\nAnsatz (BA) for strings on AdS_3 x S^3 x S^3 x S^1, with symmetry\nD(2,1;alpha)^2, valid for all values of alpha. This construction relies on a\nnovel, alpha-dependent generalisation of the Zhukovsky map. We investigate the\nweakly-coupled limit of this BA and of the all-loop BA for strings on AdS_3 x\nS^3 x T^4. We construct integrable short-range spin-chains and Hamiltonians\nthat correspond to these weakly-coupled BAs. The spin-chains are alternating\nand homogenous, respectively. The alternating spin-chain can be regarded as\ngiving some of the first hints about the unknown CFT2 dual to string theory on\nAdS_3 x S^3 x S^3 x S^1. We show that, in the alpha to 1 limit, the integrable\nstructure of the D(2,1;alpha) model is non-singular and keeps track of not just\nmassive but also massless modes. This provides a way of incorporating massless\nmodes into the integrability machinery of the AdS3/CFT2 correspondence."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chaotic strings in a near Penrose limit of AdS$_5\\times T^{1,1}$: We study chaotic motions of a classical string in a near Penrose limit of\nAdS$_5\\times T^{1,1}$. It is known that chaotic solutions appear on $R\\times\nT^{1,1}$, depending on initial conditions. It may be interesting to ask whether\nthe chaos persists even in Penrose limits or not. In this paper, we show that\nsub-leading corrections in a Penrose limit provide an unstable separatrix, so\nthat chaotic motions are generated as a consequence of collapsed\nKolmogorov-Arnold-Moser (KAM) tori. Our analysis is based on deriving a reduced\nsystem composed of two degrees of freedom by supposing a winding string ansatz.\nThen, we provide support for the existence of chaos by computing Poincare\nsections. In comparison to the AdS$_5\\times T^{1,1}$ case, we argue that no\nchaos lives in a near Penrose limit of AdS$_5\\times$S$^5$, as expected from the\nclassical integrability of the parent system.",
        "positive": "Yukawas and discrete symmetries in F-theory compactifications without\n  section: In the case of F-theory compactifications on genus-one fibrations without\nsection there are naturally appearing discrete symmetries, which we argue to be\nassociated to geometrically massive U(1) gauge symmetries. These discrete\nsymmetries are shown to induce non-trivial selection rules for the allowed\nYukawa couplings in SU(N) gauge theories. The general discussion is exemplified\nusing a concrete Calabi-Yau fourfold realizing an SU(5) GUT model. We observe\nthat M2 instanton effects appear to play a key role in the generation of new\nsuperpotential terms and in the dynamics close to phase transition loci."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Composition of many spins, random walks and statistics: The multiplicities of the decomposition of the product of an arbitrary number\n$n$ of spin $s$ states into irreducible $SU(2)$ representations are computed.\nTwo complementary methods are presented, one based on random walks in\nrepresentation space and another based on the partition function of the system\nin the presence of a magnetic field. The large-$n$ scaling limit of these\nmultiplicities is derived, including nonperturbative corrections, and related\nto semiclassical features of the system. A physical application of these\nresults to ferromagnetism is explicitly worked out. Generalizations involving\nseveral types of spins, as well as spin distributions, are also presented. The\ncorresponding problem for (anti-)symmetric composition of spins is also\nconsidered and shown to obey remarkable duality and bosonization relations and\nexhibit qualitatively different large-$n$ scaling properties.",
        "positive": "Integrable boundary states in D3-D5 dCFT: beyond scalars: A D3-D5 intersection gives rise to a defect CFT, wherein the rank of the\ngauge group jumps by k units across a domain wall. The one-point functions of\nlocal operators in this set-up map to overlaps between on-shell Bethe states in\nthe underlying spin chain and a boundary state representing the D5 brane.\nFocussing on the k=1 case, we extend the construction to gluonic and fermionic\nsectors, which was prohibitively difficult to achieve for k>1. As a byproduct,\nwe test an all-loop proposal for the one-point functions in the su(2) sector at\nthe half-wrapping order of perturbation theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "No triangles on the moduli space of maximally supersymmetric gauge\n  theory: Maximally supersymmetric gauge theory in four dimensions has a remarkably\nsimple S-matrix at the origin of its moduli space at both tree and loop level.\nThis leads to the question what, if any, of this structure survives at the\ncomplement of this one point. Here this question is studied in detail at one\nloop for the branch of the moduli space parameterized by a vacuum expectation\nvalue for one complex scalar. Motivated by the parallel D-brane picture of\nspontaneous symmetry breaking a simple relation is demonstrated between the\nLagrangian of broken super Yang-Mills theory and that of its higher dimensional\nunbroken cousin. Using this relation it is proven both through an on- as well\nas an off-shell method there are no so-called triangle coefficients in the\nnatural basis of one-loop functions at any finite point of the moduli space for\nthe theory under study. The off-shell method yields in addition absence of\nrational terms in a class of theories on the Coulomb branch which includes the\nspecial case of maximal supersymmetry. The results in this article provide\ndirect field theory evidence for a recently proposed exact dual conformal\nsymmetry motivated by the AdS/CFT correspondence.",
        "positive": "Finite-difference representations of the degenerate affine Hecke algebra: The representations of the degenerate affine Hecke algebra in which the\nanalogues of the Dunkl operators are given by finite-difference operators are\nintroduced. The non-selfadjoint lattice analogues of the spin\nCalogero-Sutherland hamiltonians are analysed by Bethe-Ansatz. The $\nsl(m)$-Yangian representations arising from the finite-difference\nrepresentations of the degenerate affine Hecke algebra are shown to be related\nto the Yangian representation of the 1-d Hubbard Model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Noncompact Gepner Models with Discrete Spectra: We investigate a noncompact Gepner model, which is composed of a number of\nSL(2,R)/U(1) Kazama-Suzuki models and N=2 minimal models. The SL(2,R)/U(1)\nKazama-Suzuki model contains the discrete series among the SL(2,R) unitary\nrepresentations as well as the continuous series. We claim that the discrete\nseries contain the vanishing cohomology and the vanishing cycles of the\nassociated noncompact Calabi-Yau manifold. We calculate the Elliptic genus and\nthe open string Witten indices. In the A_{N-1} ALE models, they actually agree\nwith the vanishing cohomology and the intersection form of the vanishing\ncycles.",
        "positive": "Little Groups of Preon Branes: Little groups for preon branes (i.e. configurations of branes with maximal\n(n-1)/n fraction of survived supersymmetry) for dimensions d=2,3,...,11 are\ncalculated for all massless, and partially for massive orbits. For massless\norbits little groups are semidirect product of d-2 translational group\n$T_{d-2}$ on a subgroup of (SO(d-2) $\\times$ R-invariance) group. E.g. at d=9\nthe subgroup is exceptional $G_2$ group. It is also argued, that 11d Majorana\nspinor invariants, which distinguish orbits, are actually invariant under\nd=2+10 Lorentz group. Possible applications of these results include\nconstruction of field theories in generalized space-times with brane charges\ncoordinates, different problems of group's representations decompositions,\nspin-statistics issues."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Deformed boson-fermion correspondence, Q-bosons, and topological strings\n  on the conifold: We consider two different physical systems for which the basis of the Hilbert\nspace can be parametrized by Young diagrams: free complex fermions and the\nphase model of strongly correlated bosons. Both systems have natural,\nwell-known deformations parametrized by a parameter Q: the former one is\nrelated to the deformed boson-fermion correspondence introduced by N. Jing,\nwhile the latter is the so-called Q-boson, arising also in the context of\nquantum groups. These deformations are equivalent and can be realized in the\nsame way in the algebra of Hall-Littlewood symmetric functions. Without a\ndeformation, these reduce to Schur functions, which can be used to construct a\ngenerating function of plane partitions, reproducing a topological string\npartition function on $C^3$. We show that a deformation of both systems leads\nthen to a deformed generating function, which reproduces topological string\npartition function of the conifold, with the deformation parameter Q identified\nwith the size of $P^1$. Similarly, a deformation of the fermion one-point\nfunction results in the A-brane partition function on the conifold.",
        "positive": "Operadic formulation of topological vertex algebras and Gerstenhaber or\n  Batalin-Vilkovisky algebras: We give the operadic formulation of (weak, strong) topological vertex\nalgebras, which are variants of topological vertex operator algebras studied\nrecently by Lian and Zuckerman. As an application, we obtain a conceptual and\ngeometric construction of the Batalin-Vilkovisky algebraic structure (or the\nGerstenhaber algebra structure) on the cohomology of a topological vertex\nalgebra (or of a weak topological vertex algebra) by combining this operadic\nformulation with a theorem of Getzler (or of Cohen) which formulates\nBatalin-Vilkovisky algebras (or Gerstenhaber algebras) in terms of the homology\nof the framed little disk operad (or of the little disk operad)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fixed scalar greybody factors in five and four dimensions: We perform the classical gravity calculations of the fixed scalar absorption\ncross-sections by D=5 black holes with three charges and by D=4 black holes\nwith four charges. We obtain analytic results for the cases where the energy\nand the left and right moving temperatures are sufficiently low but have\narbitrary ratios. In D=5 the greybody factor is in perfect agreement with the\nrecent calculation performed in the context of the effective string model for\nblack holes. In D=4 the formula for the greybody factor in terms of the energy\nand the temperatures differs from that in D=5 only by the overall\nnormalization. This suggests that the fixed scalar coupling to the effective\nstring in D=4 is identical to that in D=5.",
        "positive": "Supergravity as a constrained BF theory: In this paper we formulate ${\\cal N}=1$ supergravity as a constrained $BF$\ntheory with $OSp(4|1)$ gauge superalgebra. We derive the modified supergravity\nLagrangian that, apart from the standard supergravity with negative\ncosmological constant, contains terms proportional to the (inverse of) Immirzi\nparameter. Although these terms do not change classical field equations, they\nmight be relevant in quantum theory. We briefly discuss the perturbation theory\naround the supersymmetric topological vacuum."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Embeddings of the \"New Massive Gravity\": Using different types of embeddings of equations of motion we investigate the\nexistence of generalizations of the \"New Massive Gravity\" (NMG) model with the\nsame particle content (massive gravitons). By using the Weyl symmetry as a\nguiding principle for the embeddings we show that the Noether gauge embedding\napproach leads us to a sixth order model in derivatives with either a massive\nor a massless ghost. If the Weyl symmetry is implemented by means of a\nStueckelberg field we obtain a new scalar-tensor model for massive gravitons.\nIt is ghost free and Weyl invariant at linearized level. The model can be\nnonlinearly completed into a scalar field coupled to the NMG theory. The\nelimination of the scalar field leads to a nonlocal modification of the NMG.\n  We also prove to all orders in derivatives that there is no local, ghost free\nembedding of the linearized NMG equations of motion around Minkowski space when\nwritten in terms of one symmetric tensor. Regarding that point, NMG differs\nfrom the Fierz-Pauli theory, since in later case we can replace the\nEinstein-Hilbert action by specific $f(R,\\Box\\, R)$ generalizations and still\nkeep the theory ghost free at linearized level.",
        "positive": "Resumming the string perturbation series: We use the AdS/CFT correspondence to study the resummation of a perturbative\ngenus expansion appearing in the type II superstring dual of ABJM theory.\nAlthough the series is Borel summable, its Borel resummation does not agree\nwith the exact non-perturbative answer due to the presence of complex\ninstantons. The same type of behavior appears in the WKB quantization of the\nquartic oscillator in Quantum Mechanics, which we analyze in detail as a toy\nmodel for the string perturbation series. We conclude that, in these examples,\nBorel summability is not enough for extracting non-perturbative information,\ndue to non-perturbative effects associated to complex instantons. We also\nanalyze the resummation of the genus expansion for topological string theory on\nlocal $\\mathbb P^1 \\times \\mathbb P^1$, which is closely related to ABJM\ntheory. In this case, the non-perturbative answer involves membrane instantons\ncomputed by the refined topological string, which are crucial to produce a\nwell-defined result. We give evidence that the Borel resummation of the\nperturbative series requires such a non-perturbative sector."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Multiple D4-D2-D0 on the Conifold and Wall-crossing with the Flop: We study the wall-crossing phenomena of D4-D2-D0 bound states with two units\nof D4-brane charge on the resolved conifold. We identify the walls of marginal\nstability and evaluate the discrete changes of the BPS indices by using the\nKontsevich-Soibelman wall-crossing formula. In particular, we find that the\nfield theories on D4-branes in two large radius limits are properly connected\nby the wall-crossings involving the flop transition of the conifold. We also\nfind that in one of the large radius limits there are stable bound states of\ntwo D4-D2-D0 fragments.",
        "positive": "Bosonization and Current Algebra of Spinning Strings: We write down a general geometric action principle for spinning strings in\n$d$-dimensional Minkowski space, which is formulated without the use of\nGrassmann coordinates. Instead, it is constructed in terms of the pull-back of\na left invariant Maurer-Cartan form on the $d$-dimensional Poincar\\'e group to\nthe world sheet. The system contains some interesting special cases. Among them\nare the Nambu string (as well as, null and tachyionic strings) where the spin\nvanishes, and also the case of a string with a spin current - but no momentum\ncurrent. We find the general form for the Virasoro generators, and show that\nthey are first class constraints in the Hamiltonian formulation of the theory.\nThe current algebra associated with the momentum and angular momentum densities\nare shown, in general, to contain rather complicated anomaly terms which\nobstruct quantization. As expected, the anomalies vanish when one specializes\nto the case of the Nambu string, and there one simply recovers the algebra\nassociated with the Poincar\\'e loop group. We speculate that there exist other\ncases where the anomalies vanish, and that these cases give the bosonization of\nthe known pseudoclassical formulations of spinning strings."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Line discontinuities, local action with both the field and its dual, and\n  spin from no spin in two-dimensional scalar theory: We consider a local action with both the real scalar field and its dual in\ntwo Euclidean dimensions. The role of singular line discontinuities is\nemphasized. Exotic properties of the correlation of the field with its dual,\nthe generation of spin from scalar fields, and quantization of dual charges are\npointed out. Wick's theorem and rotation properties of fermions are recovered\nfor half-integer quantization.",
        "positive": "Dual gravity with $R$ flux from graded Poisson algebra: We suggest a new action for a ``dual'' gravity in a stringy $R$, $Q$ flux\nbackground. The construction is based on degree-$2$ graded symplectic geometry\nwith a homological vector field. The structure we consider is non-canonical and\nfeatures a curvature-free connection. It is known that the data of Poisson\nstructures of degree $2$ with a Hamiltonian correspond to a Courant algebroid\non $TM \\oplus T^{*}M$, the bundle of generalized geometry. With the bracket for\nthe Courant algebroid and a further bracket which resembles the Lie bracket of\nvector fields, we get a connection with non-zero curvature for the bundle of\ngeneralized geometry. The action is the (almost) Hilbert-Einstein action for\nthat connection."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Low-energy electron-electron bound states in planar QED: In this talk, we present a parity-preserving QED3 model with spontaneous\nbreaking of a local U(1)-symmetry. The breaking is accomplished by a potential\nof the phi^6-type. It is shown that a net attractive interaction appears in the\nMoeller scattering (s- and p-wave scatterings between two electrons) as\nmediated by the gauge field and a Higgs scalar. We show, by solving numerically\nthe Schroedinger equation for both the scattering potentials (s- and p-wave),\nthat in the weak-coupling regime only s-wave bound states appear, whereas in\nthe strong-coupling regime s- and p-wave bound states show up. Also, we discuss\npossible applications of the model to the phenomenology of high-Tc\nsuperconductors and to the re-entrant superconductivity effect.",
        "positive": "NDIM achievements: Massive, Arbitrary tensor rank and N-loop insertions\n  in Feynman integrals: One of the main difficulties in studying Quantum Field Theory, in the\nperturbative regime, is the calculation of D-dimensional Feynman integrals. In\ngeneral, one introduces the so-called Feynman parameters and associated with\nthem the cumbersome parametric integrals. Solving these integrals beyond the\none-loop level can be a difficult task. Negative dimensional integration method\n(\\ndim{}) is a technique whereby such problem is dramatically reduced. In this\nwork we present the calculation of two-loop integrals in three diferent cases:\nscalar ones with three diferent masses, massless with arbitrary tensor rank,\nwith N-insertions of a 2-loop diagram."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "(m,n)-Strings In IIB Matrix Model: By adding gauge fields to the D-string classical solution, which have\nnon-zero contribution to commutators in continuum limit (extreme large $N$), we\nintroduced $(m,n)$-strings in IIB matrix model. It is found that the size of\nmatrices depends on the value of the electric field. The tension of these\nstrings appears in $SL(2,Z)$ invariant form. The interaction for parallel and\nangled strings are found in agreement with the string theory for small electric\nfields.",
        "positive": "Anomalies, equivalence and renormalization of cosmological frames: We study the question of whether two frames of a given physical theory are\nequivalent or not in the presence of quantum corrections. By using field theory\narguments we claim that equivalence is broken in the presence of anomalous\nsymmetries in one of the frames. This is particularized to the case of the\nrelation between the Einstein and Jordan frames in scalar-tensor theories used\nto describe early Universe dynamics. Although in this case a regularization\nthat cancels the anomaly exists, the renormalized theory always develop a\nnon-vanishing contribution to the S-matrix that is present only in the Jordan\nframe, promoting the different frames to different physical theories that must\nbe UV completed in a different way."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "High-energy asymptotics of D-brane decay amplitudes from Coulomb gas\n  electrostatics: We study the high-energy limit of tree-level string production amplitudes\nfrom decaying D-branes in bosonic string theory, interpreting the vertex\noperators as external charges interacting with a Coulomb gas corresponding to\nthe rolling tachyon background, and performing an electrostatic analysis. In\nparticular, we consider two open string - one closed string amplitudes and four\nopen string amplitudes, and calculate explicit formulas for the leading\nexponential behavior.",
        "positive": "Codimension-2 Brane-Bulk Matching: Examples from Six and Ten Dimensions: Experience with Randall-Sundrum models teaches the importance of following\nhow branes back-react onto the bulk geometry, since this can dramatically\naffect the system's low-energy properties. Yet the practical use of this\nobservation for model building is so far mostly restricted to branes having\nonly one transverse dimension (codimension-1) in the bulk space, since this is\nwhere tools for following back-reaction are well-developed. This is likely a\nserious limitation since experience also tells us that one dimension is rarely\nrepresentative of what happens in higher dimensions. We here summarize recent\nprogress on developing the matching conditions that describe how codimension-2\nbranes couple to bulk metric, gauge and scalar fields. These matching\nconditions are then applied to three situations: D7-branes in F-theory\ncompactifications of 10D Type IIB string vacua; 3-branes coupled to bulk axions\nin unwarped and non-supersymmetric 6D systems; and 3-branes coupled to chiral,\ngauged 6D supergravity. For each it is shown how the resulting brane-bulk\ndynamics is reproduced by the scalar potential for the low-energy moduli in the\ndimensionally reduced, on-brane effective theory. For 6D supergravity we show\nthat the only 4D-maximally symmetric bulk geometries supported by\npositive-tension branes are flat."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Conformal Gauge-Yukawa Theories away From Four Dimensions: We present the phase diagram and associated fixed points for a wide class of\nGauge-Yukawa theories in $d=4+\\epsilon$ dimensions. The theories we investigate\ninvolve non-abelian gauge fields, fermions and scalars in the Veneziano-Witten\nlimit. The analysis is performed in steps, we start with QCD$_d$ and then we\nadd Yukawa interactions and scalars which we study at next-to- and\nnext-to-next-to-leading order. Interacting infrared fixed points naturally\nemerge in dimensions lower than four while ultraviolet ones appear above four.\nWe also analyse the stability of the scalar potential for the discovered fixed\npoints. We argue for a very rich phase diagram in three dimensions while in\ndimensions higher than four certain Gauge-Yukawa theories are ultraviolet\ncomplete because of the emergence of an asymptotically safe fixed point.",
        "positive": "Abelian Duality at Higher Genus: In three dimensions, a free, periodic scalar field is related by duality to\nan abelian gauge field. Here I explore aspects of this duality when both\ntheories are quantized on a Riemann surface of genus g. At higher genus,\nduality involves an identification of winding with momentum on the Jacobian\nvariety of the Riemann surface. I also consider duality for monopole and loop\noperators on the surface and exhibit the operator algebra, a refinement of the\nWilson-'t Hooft algebra."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Generalized Geometry and M theory: We reformulate the Hamiltonian form of bosonic eleven dimensional\nsupergravity in terms of an object that unifies the three-form and the metric.\nFor the case of four spatial dimensions, the duality group is manifest and the\nmetric and C-field are on an equal footing even though no dimensional reduction\nis required for our results to hold. One may also describe our results using\nthe generalized geometry that emerges from membrane duality. The relationship\nbetween the twisted Courant algebra and the gauge symmetries of eleven\ndimensional supergravity are described in detail.",
        "positive": "Asymptotic Dynamics in Perturbative Quantum Gravity and BMS\n  Supertranslations: Recently it has been shown that infrared divergences in the conventional\nS-matrix elements of gauge and gravitational theories arise from a violation of\nthe conservation laws associated with large gauge symmetries. These infrared\ndivergences can be cured by using the Faddeev-Kulish (FK) asymptotic states as\nthe basis for S-matrix elements. Motivated by this connection, we study the\naction of BMS supertranslations on the FK asymptotic states of perturbative\nquantum gravity. We compute the BMS charge of the FK states and show that it\ncharacterizes the superselection sector to which the state belongs.\nConservation of the BMS charge then implies that there is no transition between\ndifferent superselection sectors, hence showing that the FK graviton clouds\nimplement the necessary vacuum transition induced by the scattering process."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Wilson loop on a sphere: We give the formula for a simple Wilson loop on a sphere which is valid for\nan arbitrary QCD$_2$ saddle-point $\\rho(x)$: \\mbox{$W(A_1,A_2)=\\oint\n\\frac{dx}{2\\pi i} \\exp(\\int dy \\frac{\\rho(y)}{y-x}+A_2x)$}. The\nstrong-coupling-phase solution is investigated.",
        "positive": "Superconformal Vortex Strings: We study the low-energy dynamics of semi-classical vortex strings living\nabove Argyres-Douglas superconformal field theories. The worldsheet theory of\nthe string is shown to be a deformation of the CP^N model which flows in the\ninfra-red to a superconformal minimal model. The scaling dimensions of chiral\nprimary operators are determined and the dimensions of the associated relevant\nperturbations on the worldsheet and in the four dimensional bulk are found to\nagree. The vortex string thereby provides a map between the A-series of N=2\nsuperconformal theories in two and four dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Semiclassical Calculation of Photon-Stimulated Schwinger Pair Creation: We consider the electron-positron pair creation by a photon in an external\nconstant electric field. The presented treatment is based on a purely\nquasiclassical calculation of the imaginary part of the on-shell photon\npolarization operator. By using this approach we find the pair production rate\nfor photons with polarization parallel as well as orthogonal to the external\nelectric field in the leading order in the parameter $eE / m ^ 2$, which has\nbeen recently found by other methods. For the orthogonal polarization we also\nfind a new contribution to the rate, which is leading in the ratio of the\nphoton energy to the electron mass $\\omega/m$. We also reproduce by a purely\ngeometrical calculation the exponential factor in the probability of the\nstimulated pair creation at arbitrary energy of the photon.",
        "positive": "Hamilton-Jacobi treatment of a non-relativistic particle on a curved\n  space: In this paper a non-relativistic particle moving on a hypersurface in a\ncurved space and the multidimensional rotator are investigated using the\nHamilton-Jacobi formalism. The equivalence with the Dirac Hamiltonian formalism\nis demonstrated in both Cartesian and curvilinear coordinates. The energy\nspectrum of the multidimensional rotator is equal to that of a pure\nLaplace-Beltrami operator with no additional constant arising from the\ncurvature of the sphere."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Infrared dynamics in de Sitter space from Schwinger-Dyson equations: We study the two-point correlator of an O(N) scalar field with quartic\nself-coupling in de Sitter space. For light fields in units of the expansion\nrate, perturbation theory is plagued by large logarithmic terms for\nsuperhorizon momenta. We show that a proper treatment of the infinite series of\nself-energy insertions through the Schwinger-Dyson equations resums these\ninfrared logarithms into well defined power laws. We provide an exact\nanalytical solution of the Schwinger-Dyson equations for infrared momenta when\nthe self-energy is computed at two-loop order. The obtained correlator exhibits\na rich structure with a superposition of free-field-like power laws. We extract\nmass and field-strength renormalization factors from the asymptotic infrared\nbehavior. The latter are nonperturbative in the coupling in the case of a\nvanishing tree-level mass.",
        "positive": "CFT driven cosmology and the DGP/CFT correspondence: We present a dual 5D braneworld picture of a recently suggested model for a\nmicrocanonical description of a 4D cosmology driven by a conformal field theory\nwith a large number of quantum fields. The 5D side of the duality relation is\nrepresented by a generalized brane induced gravity model in a Schwarzschild-de\nSitter bulk. The values of the bulk cosmological and the induced 4D\ncosmological constants are determined by requiring the absence of conical\nsingularity at the de Sitter horizon of the Euclidean Schwarzschild-de Sitter\nbulk. Those values belong to the vicinity of the upper bound of a range of\nadmissible values for the cosmological constant. This upper bound is enforced\nby the 4D CFT and coincides with the natural gravitational cutoff in a theory\nwith many quantum species. The resulting DGP/CFT duality suggests the\npossibility of a new type of {\\em background independent} correspondence. A\nmechanism for inverting the sign of the effective cosmological constant is\nfound, which might reconcile a negative value of the primordial cosmological\nconstant compatible with supersymmetry with the one required by inflationary\ncosmology."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On (non-Hermitian) Lagrangeans in (particle) physics and their dynamical\n  generation: On the basis of a new method to derive the effective action the\nnonperturbative concept of \"dynamical generation\" is explained. A non-trivial,\nnon-Hermitian and PT-symmetric solution for Wightman's scalar field theory in\nfour dimensions is dynamically generated, rehabilitating Symanzik's precarious\nphi**4-theory with a negative quartic coupling constant as a candidate for an\nasymptotically free theory of strong interactions. Finally it is shown making\nuse of dynamically generation that a Symanzik-like field theory with scalar\nconfinement for the theory of strong interactions can be even suggested by\nexperiment.",
        "positive": "General bound-state structure of the massive Schwinger model: Within the Euclidean path integral and mass perturbation theory we derive,\nfrom the Dyson-Schwinger equations of the massive Schwinger model, a general\nformula that incorporates, for sufficiently small fermion mass, all the\nbound-state mass poles of the massive Schwinger model. As an illustration we\nperturbatively compute the masses of the three lowest bound states."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Invariance of interaction terms in new representation of self-dual\n  electrodynamics: A new representation of Lagrangians of 4D nonlinear electrodynamics is\nconsidered. In this new formulation, in parallel with the standard Maxwell\nfield strength F, an auxiliary bispinor (tensor) field V is introduced. The\ngauge field strength appears only in bilinear terms of the full Lagrangian,\nwhile the interaction Lagrangian E depends on the auxiliary fields, E = E(V).\nTwo types of self-duality inherent in the nonlinear electrodynamics models\nadmit a simple characterization in terms of the function E. The continuous\nSO(2) duality symmetry between nonlinear equations of motion and Bianchi\nidentities amounts to requiring E to be a function of the SO(2) invariant\nquartic combination |V|^4. The discrete self-duality (or self-duality under\nLegendre transformation) amounts to a weaker condition E(V)= E(iV). This\napproach can be generalized to a system of n Abelian gauge fields exhibiting\nU(n) duality. The corresponding interaction Lagrangian should be U(n) invariant\nfunction of n bispinor auxiliary fields.",
        "positive": "A Class of FRT Quantum Groups and Fun$_q$(G$_2$) as a Special Case: Citations are updated; referred papers are increased. An error right after\nthe eq.~(27) is corrected, and several chages (not serious) are made."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A solution manual for Polchinski's \"String Theory\": We present detailed solutions to 81 of the 202 problems in J. Polchinski's\ntwo-volume textbook \"String Theory\".",
        "positive": "The Perils of `Soft' SUSY Breaking: We consider a two dimensional SU(N) gauge theory coupled to an adjoint\nMajorana fermion, which is known to be supersymmetric for a particular value of\nfermion mass. We investigate the `soft' supersymmetry breaking of the discrete\nlight cone quantization (DLCQ) of this theory. There are several DLCQ\nformulations of this theory currently in the literature and they naively appear\nto behave differently under `soft' supersymmetry breaking at finite resolution.\nWe show that all these formulations nevertheless yield identical bound state\nmasses in the decompactification limit of the light-like circle. Moreover, we\nare able to show that the supersymmetry-inspired version of DLCQ (so called\n`SDLCQ') provides the best rate of convergence of DLCQ bound state masses\ntowards the actual continuum values, except possibly near or at the critical\nfermion mass. In this last case, we discuss improved extrapolation schemes that\nmust supplement the DLCQ algorithm in order to obtain correct continuum bound\nstate masses. Interestingly, when we truncate the Fock space to two particles,\nthe SDLCQ prescription presented here provides a scheme for improving the rate\nof convergence of the massive t'Hooft model. Thus the supersymmetry-inspired\nSDLCQ prescription is applicable to theories without supersymmetry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Tri-Sasaki 7-metrics fibered over the QK limit of the\n  Plebanski-Demianski metrics: We consider a family of conical hyperkahler 8-metrics and we find the\ncorresponding tri-Sasaki 7-metrics. We find in particular, a 7-dimensional\nfibration over the AdS-Kerr-Newmann-Taub-Nut solutions which is tri-Sasaki, and\nwe consider several limits of the parameters of this solution. We also find an\nsquashed version of these metrics, which is of weak $G_2$ holonomy.\nConstruction of supergravity backgrounds is briefly discussed, in particular\nexamples which do not possess $AdS_4$ near horizon limit.",
        "positive": "The energy of the high-temperature quark-gluon plasma: For the quark-gluon plasma, an energy-momentum tensor is found corresponding\nto the high-temperature Braaten-Pisarski effective action. The tensor is found\nby considering the interaction of the plasma with a weak gravitational field\nand the positivity of the energy is studied. In addition, the complete\neffective action in curved spacetime is written down."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On $\u03b1'$-effects from $D$-branes in $4d \\; \\mathcal{N} = 1$: In this work we study type IIB Calabi-Yau orientifold compactifications in\nthe presence of space-time filling D7-branes and O7-planes. In particular, we\nconclude that $\\alpha'^2 g_s$-corrections to their DBI actions lead to a\nmodification of the four-dimensional $\\mathcal{N}=1$ K\\\"ahler potential and\ncoordinates. We focus on the one-modulus case of the geometric background i.e.\n$h^{1,1}=1$ where we find that the $\\alpha'^2 g_s$-correction is of topological\nnature. It depends on the first Chern form of the four-cycle of the Calabi-Yau\norientifold which is wrapped by the D7-branes and O7-plane. This is in\nagreement with our previous F-theory analysis and provides further evidence for\na potential breaking of the no-scale structure at order $\\alpha'^2 g_s$.\nCorrected background solutions for the dilaton, the warp-factor as well as the\ninternal space metric are derived. Additionally, we briefly discuss\n$\\alpha'$-corrections from other D$p$-branes.",
        "positive": "Generalized Indices for $\\mathcal{N}=1$ Theories in Four-Dimensions: We use localization techniques to calculate the Euclidean partition functions\nfor $\\mathcal{N}=1$ theories on four-dimensional manifolds $M$ of the form $S^1\n\\times M_3$, where $M_3$ is a circle bundle over a Riemann surface. These are\ngeneralizations of the $\\mathcal{N}=1$ indices in four-dimensions including the\nlens space index. We show that these generalized indices are holomorphic\nfunctions of the complex structure moduli on $M$. We exhibit the deformation by\nbackground flat connections."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "When cold, dense quarks in 1+1 and 3+1 dimensions are not a Fermi liquid: We analyze the behavior of quarks coupled to a $SU(N_c)$ gauge theory in 1+1\ndimensions. In the limit of strong coupling, the model reduces to a\nWess-Zumino-Novikov-Witten (WZNW) model. At nonzero density, excitations near\nthe Fermi surface form a non-Fermi liquid. With $N_f$ flavors, the finite\ndensity of quarks reduce to a free $U(1)$ field, which governs fluctuations in\nbaryon number, together with a WZNW $SU(N_f)$ nonlinear sigma model at level\n$N_c$, from the pion/kaon modes. We compute the singularity in the charge\nsusceptibility at the Fermi surface and the attendant power law correlations.\nWe suggest that this is relevant to the quarkyonic regime of cold, dense QCD in\n3+1 dimensions, in the limit that the Fermi surface is covered by many small\npatches, and the theory is effectively one dimensional. In this regime the\ndominant excitations near the Fermi surface are not baryons, but gapless\nbosonic modes.",
        "positive": "The black hole behind the cut: We study the analytic structure of the heavy-heavy-light-light holographic\ncorrelators in the supergravity approximation of the AdS$_3 \\times S^3$/CFT$_2$\nduality. As an explicit example, we derive the correlator where the heavy\noperator is a classical microstate of the 5D supersymmetric black hole and its\ndual geometry interpolates as a function of a continuous parameter between\nglobal AdS$_3$ and the extremal BTZ black hole. The simplest perturbation of\nthis interpolating geometry by a light field is described by the Heun equation\nand we exploit the relation of its connection coefficients to the Liouville CFT\nto analytically compute the correlator in the two limits, focusing in\nparticular on the black hole regime. In this limit we find that the real poles\nof the correlator become dense and can be approximated by a cut. We show that,\nwhen the charges of the heavy state are in the black hole regime, the\ndiscontinuity across the cut has complex poles corresponding to the\nquasi-normal modes of BTZ. This behaviour is qualitatively similar to what is\nexpected for the large central charge limit of a typical black hole microstate"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spin Foam Models of Quantum Gravity: We give a short review of the spin foam models of quantum gravity, with an\nemphasis on the Barret-Crane model. After explaining the shortcomings of the\nBarret-Crane model, we briefly discuss two new approaches, one based on the 3d\nspin foam state sum invariants for the embedded spin networks, and the other\nbased on representing the string scattering amplitudes as 2d spin foam state\nsum invariants.",
        "positive": "Current Interactions and Holography from the 0-Form Sector of Nonlinear\n  Higher-Spin Equations: The form of higher-spin current interactions in $AdS_4$ is derived from the\nfull nonlinear higher-spin equations in the sector of Weyl 0-forms. The\ncoupling constant in front of spin-one currents built from scalars and spinors\nas well as Yukawa coupling are determined explicitly. Couplings of all other\nhigher-spin current interactions are determined implicitly. All couplings are\nshown to be independent of the phase parameter of the nonlinear higher-spin\ntheory. The proper holographic dependence of the vertex on the higher-spin\nphase parameter is shown to result from the boundary conditions on the bulk\nfields."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The particle-hole transformation, supersymmetry and achiral boundaries\n  of the open Hubbard model: We show that the particle-hole transformation in the Hubbard model has a\ncrucial role in relating Shastry's R-matrix to the AdS/CFT S-matrix. In\naddition, we construct an achiral boundary for the open Hubbard chain which\npossesses twisted Yangian symmetry.",
        "positive": "Curvature Induced Phase Transition in a Four-Fermion Theory Using the\n  Weak Curvature Expansion: Curvature induced phase transition is thoroughly investigated in a four-\nfermion theory with $N$ components of fermions for arbitrary space-time\ndimensions $(2 \\leq D < 4)$. We adopt the $1/N$ expansion method and calculate\nthe effective potential for a composite operator $\\bar{\\psi}\\psi$. The\nresulting effective potential is expanded asymptotically in terms of the\nspace-time curvature $R$ by using the Riemann normal coordinate. We assume that\nthe space-time curves slowly and keep only terms independent of $R$ and terms\nlinear in $R$. Evaluating the effective potential it is found that the\nfirst-order phase transition is caused and the broken chiral symmetry is\nrestored for a large positive curvature. In the space-time with a negative\ncurvature the chiral symmetry is broken down even if the coupling constant of\nthe four-fermion interaction is sufficiently small. We present the behavior of\nthe dynamically generated fermion mass. The critical curvature, $R_{cr}$, which\ndivides the symmetric and asymmetric phases is obtained analytically as a\nfunction of the space-time dimension $D$. At the four-dimensional limit our\nresult $R_{cr}$ agrees with the exact results known in de Sitter space and\nEinstein universe."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Modified Gravity on the Brane and Dark Energy: We analyze the dynamics of an AdS5 braneworld with matter fields when gravity\nis allowed to deviate from the Einstein form on the brane. We consider exact\n5-dimensional warped solutions which are associated with conformal bulk fields\nof weight -4 and describe on the brane the following three dynamics: those of\ninhomogeneous dust, of generalized dark radiation, and of homogeneous\npolytropic dark energy. We show that, with modified gravity on the brane, the\nexistence of such dynamical geometries requires the presence of non-conformal\nmatter fields confined to the brane.",
        "positive": "State of the Unification Address: After reviewing how M-theory subsumes string theory, I report on some new and\ninteresting developments, focusing on the ``brane-world'': circumventing no-go\ntheorems for supersymmetric brane-worlds, complementarity of the Maldacena and\nRandall-Sundrum pictures; self-tuning of the cosmological constant. I conclude\nwith the top ten unsolved problems."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Four-dimensional greybody factors and the effective string: Recently Maldacena and Strominger found that the calculation of greybody\nfactors for $D=5$ black holes carrying three U(1) charges gives striking new\nevidence for their description as multiply wound effective strings. Here we\nshow that a similar result holds for $D=4$ black holes with four $U(1)$\ncharges. In this case the effective string may be thought of as the triple\nintersection of the 5-branes in M-theory compactified on $T^7$.",
        "positive": "Kink scattering in a hybrid model: In this work we consider a model where the potential has two topological\nsectors connecting three adjacent minima, as occurs with the $\\phi^6$ model. In\neach topological sector, the potential is symmetric around the local maximum.\nFor $\\phi>0$ there is a linear map between the model and the $\\lambda\\phi^4$\nmodel. For $\\phi<0$ the potential is reflected. Linear stability analysis of\nkink and antikink lead to discrete and continuum modes related by a linear\ncoordinate transformation to those known analytically for the $\\lambda\\phi^4$\nmodel. Fixing one topological sector, the structure of antikink-kink scattering\nis related to the observed in the $\\lambda\\phi^4$ model. For kink-antikink\ncollisions a new structure of bounce windows appear. Depending on the initial\nvelocity, one can have oscillations of the scalar field at the center of mass\neven for one bounce, or a change of topological sector. We also found a\nstructure of one-bounce, with secondary windows corresponding to the changing\nof the topological sector accumulating close to each one-bounce windows. The\nkink-kink collisions are characterized by a repulsive interaction and there is\nno possibility of forming a bound state."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Full mass range analysis of the QED effective action for an O(2)xO(3)\n  symmetric field: An interesting class of background field configurations in quantum\nelectrodynamics (QED) are the O(2)xO(3) symmetric fields, originally introduced\nby S.L. Adler in 1972. Those backgrounds have some instanton-like properties\nand yield a one-loop effective action that is highly nontrivial, but amenable\nto numerical calculation. Here, we use the recently developed\n\"partial-wave-cutoff method\" for a full mass range numerical analysis of the\neffective action for the \"standard\" O(2)xO(3) symmetric field, modified by a\nradial suppression factor. At large mass, we are able to match the asymptotics\nof the physically renormalized effective action against the leading two mass\nlevels of the inverse mass expansion. For small masses, with a suitable choice\nof the renormalization scheme we obtain stable numerical results even in the\nmassless limit. We analyze the N - point functions in this background and show\nthat, even in the absence of the radial suppression factor, the two-point\ncontribution to the effective action is the only obstacle to taking its\nmassless limit. The standard O(2)xO(3) background leads to a chiral anomaly\nterm in the effective action, and both our perturbative and nonperturbative\nresults strongly suggest that the small-mass asymptotic behavior of the\neffective action is, after the subtraction of the two-point contribution,\ndominated by this anomaly term as the only source of a logarithmic mass\ndependence. This confirms a conjecture by M. Fry.",
        "positive": "Asymptotic symmetries and thermodynamics of higher spin black holes in\n  AdS3: We study black holes carrying higher spin charge in AdS3 within the framework\nof SL(N, R) x SL(N, R) Chern-Simons theory. Focussing attention on the N=4\ncase, we explicitly analyze the asymptotic symmetry algebra of black hole\nsolutions with a chemical potential for spin-four charge. We demonstrate that\nthe background describes an RG flow between an IR fixed point with W_4 symmetry\nand a UV fixed point with W-symmetry associated to a non-principal embedding of\nsl(2) in sl(4). Matching Chern-Simons equations with Ward identities of the\ndeformed CFT, we show that the UV stress tensor is twisted by a certain U(1)\ncurrent, and the flow is triggered by an operator with dimension 4/3 at the UV\nfixed point. We find independent confirmation of this picture via a consistent\nformulation of thermodynamics with respect to this UV fixed point. We further\nanalyze the thermodynamics of multiple branches of black hole solutions for\nN=4,5 and find that the BTZ-branch, dominant at low temperatures, ceases to\nexist at higher temperatures following a merger with a thermodynamically\nunstable branch. We also point out an interesting connection between the RG\nflows and generalized KdV hierarchies."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum quenches during inflation: We propose a new technique to study fast transitions during inflation, by\nstudying the dynamics of quantum quenches in an $O(N)$ scalar field theory in\nde Sitter spacetime. We compute the time evolution of the system using a\nnon-perturbative large-$N$ limit approach. We derive the self-consistent mass\nequation for several physically relevant transitions of the parameters of the\ntheory, in a slow motion approximation. Our computations reveal that the\neffective mass after the quench evolves in the direction of recovering its\nvalue before the quench, but stopping at a different asymptotic value, in which\nthe mass squared is strictly positive. Furthermore, we tentatively find\nsituations in which the effective mass squared can be temporarily negative,\nthus breaking the $O(N)$ symmetry of the system for a certain time, only to\nthen come back to a positive value, restoring the symmetry. We argue the\nrelevance of our new method in a cosmological scenario.",
        "positive": "Distribution of instanton sizes in a simplified instanton gas model: We investigate the distribution of instanton sizes in the framework of a\nsimplified model for ensembles of instantons. This model takes into account the\nnon-diluteness of instantons. The infrared problem for the integration over\ninstanton sizes is dealt with in a self-consistent manner by approximating\ninstanton interactions by a repulsive hard core potential. This leads to a\ndynamical suppression of large instantons. The characteristic features of the\ninstanton size distribution are studied by means of analytic and Monte Carlo\nmethods. In one dimension exact results can be derived. In any dimension we\nfind a power law behaviour for small sizes, consistent with the semi-classical\nresults. At large instanton sizes the distribution decays exponentially. The\nresults are compared with those from lattice simulations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Double Field Theory for Generalized $\u03bb$-deformation: We embed the geometries of the generalized $\\lambda$-deformations into the\nframework of the Double Field Theory.",
        "positive": "On non-supersymmetric stable marginal deformations in AdS$_3$/CFT$_2$: We discuss a continuous family of non-supersymmetric AdS$_3\\times\nS^3\\times{\\rm T^4}$ vacua in heterotic and type II supergravities whose\ncomplete Kaluza-Klein spectrum is computed and found to be free from\ninstabilities. This family is protected as well against some non-perturbative\ndecay channels, and as such it provides the first candidate for a\nnon-supersymmetric holographic conformal manifold in 2$d$. We also describe the\noperators realising the deformations in the worldsheet and boundary CFT's."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Manifestly T-Duality Symmetric Matrix Models: We present a new class of matrix models which are manifestly symmetric under\nthe T-duality transformation of the target space. The models may serve as a\nnonperturbative regularization for the T-duality symmetry in continuum string\ntheory. In particular, it now becomes possible to extract winding modes\nexplicitly in terms of extended matrix variables.",
        "positive": "Generating Generalized $G_{D-2}$ solutions: We show how one can systematically construct vacuum solutions to Einstein\nfield equations with $D-2$ commuting Killing vectors in $D>4$ dimensions. The\nconstruction uses Einstein-scalar field seed solutions in 4 dimensions and is\nperformed both for the case when all the Killing directions are spacelike, as\nwell as when one of the Killing vectors is timelike. The later case corresponds\nto generalizations of stationary axially symmetric solutions to higher\ndimensions. Some examples representing generalizations of known higher\ndimensional stationary solutions are discussed in terms of their rod structure\nand horizon locations and deformations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Partition Function of $N=2$ Gauge Theories on a Squashed $S^4$ with\n  $SU(2)\\times U(1)$ Isometry: We study $N=2$ supersymmetric gauge theories on a large family of squashed\n4-spheres preserving $SU(2)\\times U(1)\\subset SO(4)$ isometry and determine the\nconditions under which this background is supersymmetric. We then compute the\npartition function of the theories by using localization technique. The results\nindicate that for $N=2$ SUSY, including both vector-multiplets and\nhypermultiplets, the partition function is independent of the arbitrary\nsquashing functions as well as of the other supergravity background fields.",
        "positive": "Supersymmetry and deterministic chaos: We show that the fluctuations of the periodic orbits of deterministically\nchaotic systems can be captured by supersymmetry, in the sense that they are\nrepackaged in the contribution of the absolute value of the determinant of the\nnoise fields, defined by the equations of motion."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Construction of $\u03b8$-Poincar\u00e9 Algebras and their Invariants on\n  $\\mathcal{M}_\u03b8$: In the present paper we construct deformations of the Poincar\\'e algebra as\nrepresentations on a noncommutative spacetime with canonical commutation\nrelations. These deformations are obtained by solving a set of conditions by an\nappropriate ansatz for the deformed Lorentz generator. They turn out to be Hopf\nalgebras of quantum universal enveloping algebra type with nontrivial\nantipodes. In order to present a notion of $\\theta$-deformed Minkowski space\n$\\mathcal{M}_\\theta$, we introduce Casimir operators and spacetime invariants\nfor all deformations obtained.",
        "positive": "Two-loop superstring five-point amplitudes I: Construction via chiral\n  splitting and pure spinors: The full two-loop amplitudes for five massless states in Type~II and\nHeterotic superstrings are constructed in terms of convergent integrals over\nthe genus-two moduli space of compact Riemann surfaces and integrals of Green\nfunctions and Abelian differentials on the surface. The construction combines\nelements from the BRST cohomology of the pure spinor formulation and from\nchiral splitting with the help of loop momenta and homology invariance. The\n$\\alpha' \\to 0$ limit of the resulting superstring amplitude is shown to be in\nperfect agreement with the previously known amplitude computed in Type~II\nsupergravity. Investigations of the $\\alpha'$ expansion of the Type~II\namplitude and comparisons with predictions from S-duality are relegated to a\nfirst companion paper. A construction from first principles in the RNS\nformulation of the genus-two amplitude with five external NS states is\nrelegated to a second companion paper."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "New higher-spin curvatures in flat space: It was shown that the Lie algebra underlying higher-spin holography admits a\ncontraction including a Poincar\\'e subalgebra in any space-time dimensions. The\nassociated curvatures, however, do not reproduce upon linearisation those that\nare usually employed to formulate the equations of motion of free massless\nparticles in Minkowski space. We show that, despite this mismatch, the new\nlinearised curvatures can also be used to describe massless higher-spin fields.\nThis suggests a new way to build interacting higher-spin gauge theories in\nMinkowski space that may admit a holographic description.",
        "positive": "Perturbative decay of anti-branes in flux backgrounds due to space time\n  instabilities: In this paper we suggest a new source of perturbative decay of the KPV-state,\nwhich might have consequences for the viability of the KKLT-construction. The\nresults do not rely on any direct enhancement of the decay due to flux\naccumulating on the anti-brane in transverse space. Instead, we note that the\nsystem can lower its energy through a sequence of NS5-configurations all the\nway to the true vacuum, without encountering a barrier, if we allow for\nclumping of screened charge in space time. The clumping can possibly be a\nparallel to the Gregory-Laflamme instability of black branes. The results are\nobtained at large $p$, but for $p/M$ arbitrarily small. It is furthermore\nargued that the results extend to cases of few or single anti-branes where\nquantization becomes important. We believe that it is important to investigate\nthis possible effect further to judge whether there are any fatal consequences."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "TASI Lectures: Introduction to the AdS/CFT Correspondence: This is an introductory review of the AdS/CFT correspondence and of the ideas\nthat led to its formulation. We show how comparison of stacks of D3-branes with\ncorresponding supergravity solutions leads to dualities between conformal large\n$N$ gauge theories in 4 dimensions and string backgrounds of the form\n$AdS_5\\times X_5$ where $X_5$ is an Einstein manifold. The gauge invariant\nchiral operators of the field theory are in one-to-one correspondence with the\nsupergravity modes, and their correlation functions at strong `t Hooft coupling\nare determined by the dependence of the supergravity action on AdS boundary\nconditions. The simplest case is when $X_5$ is a 5-sphere and the dual gauge\ntheory is the ${\\cal N}=4$ supersymmetric SU(N) Yang-Mills theory. We also\ndiscuss D3-branes on the conifold corresponding to $X_5$ being a coset space\n$T^{1,1}=(SU(2)\\times SU(2))/U(1)$. This background is dual to a certain ${\\cal\nN}=1$ superconformal field theory with gauge group $SU(N)\\times SU(N)$.",
        "positive": "Three-dimensional flux vacua from IIB on co-calibrated G2 orientifolds: We derive the 3D N=1 superpotential for the closed string sector of type IIB\nsupergravity on toroidal O5 orientifolds with co-calibrated G2 structure and RR\nbackground flux. We find that such compactifications can provide full closed\nstring moduli stabilization on supersymmetric AdS$_3$ vacua, and once we\ninclude brane-supersymmetry-breaking we also find indication for the existence\nof classical 3D de Sitter solutions. The latter however are rather difficult to\nreconcile with the shape moduli stabilization and flux quantization. We also\ndiscuss the possibility of achieving scale separation in AdS$_3$ and dS$_3$\nvacua, but such effects seems to be hindered by the geometric flux\nquantization."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-gaussianity from the trispectrum in general single field inflation: We compute the fourth order action in perturbation theory for scalar and\nsecond order tensor perturbations for a minimally coupled single field\ninflationary model, where the inflaton's lagrangian is a general function of\nthe field's value and its kinetic energy. We obtain the fourth order action in\ntwo gauges, the comoving gauge and the uniform curvature gauge. Using the\ncomoving gauge action we calculate the trispectrum at leading order in\nslow-roll, finding agreement with a previously known result in the literature.\nWe point out that in general to obtain the correct leading order trispectrum\none cannot ignore second order tensor perturbations as previously done by\nothers. The next-to-leading order corrections may become detectable depending\non the shape and we provide the necessary formalism to calculate them.",
        "positive": "Wigner's $D$-matrix elements for $SU(3)$ - A Generating Function\n  Approach: A generating function for the Wigner's $D$-matrix elements of $SU(3)$ is\nderived. From this an explicit expression for the individual matrix elements is\nobtained in a closed form."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Topological classes of thermodynamics of the static multi-charge AdS\n  black holes in gauged supergravities: We investigate, in the framework of the topological approach to black hole\nthermodynamics, using the generalized off-shell Helmholtz free energy, the\ntopological numbers of the static multi-charge AdS black holes in the four- and\nfive-dimensional gauged supergravities. We find that the topological number of\nstatic charged AdS black holes in gauged supergravity theories are\nsignificantly affected by the number of the electric charge parameters. We also\nshow that, from the perspective of the thermodynamic topology, the\nsingle-charge AdS black hole in four-dimensional gauged supergravity and the\nfour-dimensional Reissner-Nordstr\\\"om-AdS (RN-AdS) black hole belong to\ndifferent classes, even though they are both four-dimensional static\nsingle-charge AdS black holes. Moreover, for the four-dimensional static\ntwo-charge AdS black hole and the five-dimensional static single-charge AdS\nblack hole in gauged supergravity theory, we find a new property unique to\nthem, namely that different values of the electric charge parameters can\ninfluence their topological number. In addition, we demonstrate that, in gauged\nsupergravity theory, for the four-dimensional two-charge static AdS black hole\nwhen both two electric charge parameters take smaller values and the\nfive-dimensional single-charge static AdS black hole when the electric charge\nparameter takes a smaller value, have two different topological numbers at\ndifferent fixed temperatures, which constitute the first two counterexamples to\nthe conjecture that a black hole can only have one definite topological number.",
        "positive": "Reparametrising the Skyrme Model using the Lithium-6 Nucleus: The minimal energy B=6 solution of the Skyrme model is a static soliton with\n$D_{4d}$ symmetry. The symmetries of the solution imply that the quantum\nnumbers of the ground state are the same as those of the Lithium-6 nucleus.\nThis identification is considered further by obtaining expressions for the mean\ncharge radius and quadrupole moment, dependent only on the Skyrme model\nparameters $e$ (a dimensionless constant) and $F_\\pi$ (the pion decay\nconstant). The optimal values of these parameters have often been deliberated\nupon, and we propose, for $B>2$, changing them from those which are most\ncommonly accepted. We obtain specific values for these parameters for B=6, by\nmatching with properties of the Lithium-6 nucleus. We find further support for\nthe new values by reconsidering the $\\alpha$-particle and deuteron as quantized\nB=4 and B=2 Skyrmions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Higher order contributions to the effective action of N=4 super\n  Yang-Mills: The one-loop low-energy effective action for non-Abelian N=4 supersymmetric\nYang-Mills theory is computed to order $F^6$ by use of heat kernel techniques\nin N=1 superspace. At the component level, the $F^5$ terms are found to be\nconsistent with the form of the non-Abelian Born-Infeld action computed to this\norder by superstring methods. The $F^6$ terms will be of importance for\ncomparison with superstring calculations.",
        "positive": "The $\\mathcal{N}=3$ Weyl Multiplet in Four Dimensions: The main ingredient for local superconformal methods is the multiplet of\ngauge fields: the Weyl multiplet. We construct the transformations of this\nmultiplet for $\\mathcal{N}=3$, $D = 4$. The construction is based on a\nsupersymmetry truncation from the $\\mathcal{N}=4$ Weyl multiplet, on coupling\nwith a current multiplet, and on the implementation of a soft algebra at the\nnonlinear level, extending su$(2, 2|3)$. This is the first step towards a\nsuperconformal calculus for $\\mathcal{N}=3$, $D = 4$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Scalar Electromagnetism in Phase Space: In this paper the interaction of a scalar field and the electromagnetic field\nin phase space is analyzed. The scattering process is calculated up to first\norder in the Planck constant which is obtained by an expansion of the Moyal\nproduct in phase space. The transition amplitude is calculated in the same\ncontext.",
        "positive": "How to Succeed at Witten Diagram Recursions without Really Trying: Witten diagrams are basic objects for studying dynamics in AdS space, and\nalso play key roles in the analytic functional bootstrap. However, these\ndiagrams are notoriously hard to evaluate, making it extremely difficult to\nsearch for recursion relations among them. In this note, we present simple\nmethods to obtain recursion relations for exchange Witten diagrams from\nconformal block recursion relations. We discover a variety of new relations,\nincluding the dimensional reduction formulae for exchange Witten diagrams. In\nparticular, we find a five-term recursion relation relating exchange Witten\ndiagrams in $d$ and $d-2$ dimensions. This gives the holographic analogue of a\nsimilar formula for conformal blocks due to Parisi-Sourlas supersymmetry. We\nalso extend the analysis to two-point functions in CFTs with conformal\nboundaries, and obtain similar results."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "BPS states in (2,0) theory on R x T5: We consider $(2, 0)$ theory on a space-time of the form $R \\times T^5$, where\nthe first factor denotes time, and the second factor is a flat spatial\nfive-torus. In addition to their energy, quantum states are characterized by\ntheir spatial momentum, 't Hooft flux, and $Sp (4)$ $R$-symmetry\nrepresentation. The momentum obeys a shifted quantization law determined by the\n't Hooft flux. By supersymmetry, the energy is bounded from below by the\nmagnitude of the momentum. This bound is saturated by BPS states, that are\nannihilated by half of the supercharges. The spectrum of such states is\ninvariant under smooth deformations of the theory, and can thus be studied by\nexploiting the interpretation of $(2, 0)$ theory as an ultra-violet completion\nof maximally supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory on $R \\times T^4$. Our main\nexample is the $A$-series of $(2,0)$ theories, where such methods allow us to\nstudy the spectrum of BPS states for many values of the momentum and the 't\nHooft flux. In particular, we can describe the $R$-symmetry transformation\nproperties of these states by determining the image of their $Sp (4)$\nrepresentation in a certain quotient of the $Sp (4)$ representation ring.",
        "positive": "Getting superstring amplitudes by degenerating Riemann surfaces: We explicitly show how the chiral superstring amplitudes can be obtained\nthrough factorisation of the higher genus chiral measure induced by suitable\ndegenerations of Riemann surfaces. This powerful tool also allows to derive, at\nany genera, consistency relations involving the amplitudes and the measure. A\nkey point concerns the choice of the local coordinate at the node on degenerate\nRiemann surfaces that greatly simplifies the computations. As a first\napplication, starting from recent ansaetze for the chiral measure up to genus\nfive, we compute the chiral two-point function for massless Neveu-Schwarz\nstates at genus two, three and four. For genus higher than three, these\ncomputations include some new corrections to the conjectural formulae appeared\nso far in the literature. After GSO projection, the two-point function vanishes\nat genus two and three, as expected from space-time supersymmetry arguments,\nbut not at genus four. This suggests that the ansatz for the superstring\nmeasure should be corrected for genus higher than four."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Catalysis of Black Holes/Wormholes Formation in High Energy Collisions: We discuss various mechanisms of catalysis of black holes/wormholes (BH/WH)\nformation in particles collisions. The current paradigm suggests that BH/WH\nformation in particles collisions will happen when center of mass energies of\ncolliding particles is sufficiently above the Planck scale (the transplanckian\nregion). To estimate the BH/WH production we use the classical geometrical\ncross section. We confirm the classical geometrical cross section of the BH\nproduction reconsidering the process of two transplanckian particles collision\nin the rest frame of one of incident particles. This consideration permits to\nuse the standard Thorne's hoop conjecture for a matter compressed into a region\nto prove a variant of the conjecture dealing with a total amount of compressed\nenergy in the case of colliding particles. We calculate geometrical cross\nsections for different processes and for different background, in particular,\nfor (A)dS. We show that results are in agreement with closed trapped surface\n(CTS) estimations though there are no general theorems providing that the BH\nformation follows from CTS's formation. We show that the process of BH\nformation is catalyzed by the negative cosmological constant and by a\nparticular scalar matter, namely dilaton, while it is relaxed by the positive\ncosmological constant and at a critical value just turns off. Also we note that\nthe cross section is sensible to the compactification of extra dimensions and\nto the particular brane model.",
        "positive": "Seiberg-Witten theory as a Fermi gas: We explore a new connection between Seiberg-Witten theory and quantum\nstatistical systems by relating the dual partition function of SU(2) Super\nYang-Mills theory in a self-dual Omega-background to the spectral determinant\nof an ideal Fermi gas. We show that the spectrum of this gas is encoded in the\nzeroes of the Painleve III tau function. In addition we find that the Nekrasov\npartition function on this background can be expressed as an O(2) matrix model.\nOur construction arises as a four-dimensional limit of a recently proposed\nconjecture relating topological strings and spectral theory. In this limit, we\nprovide a mathematical proof of the conjecture for the local P1xP1 geometry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "T-Dual Cosmological Solutions of Double Field Theory II: In this paper we present cosmological solutions of Double Field Theory in the\nsupergravity frame and in the winding frame which are related via T-duality. In\nparticular, we show that the solutions can be viewed without the need of\ncomplexifying the cosmological scale factor.",
        "positive": "From Form Factors to Correlation Functions: The Ising Model: Using exact expressions for the Ising form factors, we give a new very simple\nproof that the spin-spin and disorder-disorder correlation functions are\ngoverned by the Painlev\\'e III non linear differential equation. We also show\nthat the generating function of the correlation functions of the descendents of\nthe spin and disorder operators is a $N$-soliton, $N\\to\\infty$, $\\tau$-function\nof the sinh-Gordon hierarchy. We discuss a relation of our approach to\nisomonodromy deformation problems, as well as further possible generalizations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Thermodynamics and Stability of Hyperbolic Charged Black Holes: In AdS space the black hole horizon can be a hypersurface with a positive,\nzero or negative constant curvature, resulting in different horizon topology.\nThermodynamics and stability of black holes in AdS spaces are quite different\nfor different horizon curvatures. In this paper we study thermodynamics and\nstability of hyperbolic charged black holes with negative constant curvature\nhorizon in the grand canonical ensemble and canonical ensemble, respectively.\nThey include hyperbolic Reissner-Nordstr\\\"om black holes in arbitrary\ndimensions and hyperbolic black holes in the D=5,4,7 gauged supergravities. It\nis found that the associated Gibbs free energies are always negative, which\nimplies that these black hole solutions are globally stable and black hole\nphase is dominant in the grand canonical ensemble, but there is a region in the\nphase space where black hole is not locally thermodynamical stable with a\nnegative heat capacity for a given gauge potential. In the canonical ensemble,\nthe Helmholtz free energies are not always negative and heat capacities with\nfixed electric charge are not always positive, which indicates that the\nHawking-Page phase transition may happen and black holes are not always locally\nthermodynamical stable.",
        "positive": "Upper bound of the charge diffusion constant in holography: We investigate the upper bound of charge diffusion constant in holography.\nFor this purpose, we apply the conjectured upper bound proposal related to the\nequilibration scales ($\\omega_{\\text{eq}}, k_{\\text{eq}}$) to the\nEinstein-Maxwell-Axion model. ($\\omega_{\\text{eq}}, k_{\\text{eq}}$) is defined\nas the collision point between the diffusive hydrodynamic mode and the first\nnon-hydrodynamic mode, giving rise to the upper bound of the diffusion constant\n$D$ at low temperature $T$ as $D = \\omega_{\\text{eq}}/k_{\\text{eq}}^2$. We show\nthat the upper bound proposal also works for the charge diffusion and\n($\\omega_{\\text{eq}}, k_{\\text{eq}}$), at low $T$, is determined by $D$ and the\nscaling dimension $\\Delta(0)$ of an infra-red operator as $(\\omega_{\\text{eq}},\n\\, k_{\\text{eq}}^2) \\,=\\, (2 \\pi T \\Delta(0) \\,, \\omega_{\\text{eq}}/D)$, as for\nother diffusion constants. However, for the charge diffusion, we find that the\ncollision occurs at real $k_{\\text{eq}}$, while it is complex for other\ndiffusions. In order to examine the universality of the conjectured upper\nbound, we also introduce a higher derivative coupling to the\nEinstein-Maxwell-Axion model. This coupling is particularly interesting since\nit leads to the violation of the \\textit{lower} bound of the charge diffusion\nconstant so the correction may also have effects on the \\textit{upper} bound of\nthe charge diffusion. We find that the higher derivative coupling does not\naffect the upper bound so that the conjectured upper bound would not be easily\nviolated."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Scalar mass stability bound in a simple Yukawa-theory from\n  renormalisation group equations: Functional Renormalisation Group (FRG) equations are constructed for a simple\nYukawa-model with discrete chiral symmetry, including also the effect of a\nnonzero composite fermion background beyond the conventional scalar condensate.\nThe evolution of the effective potential of the model, generically depending on\ntwo invariants, is explored with help of power series expansions. Systematic\ninvestigation of the effect of a class of irrelevant operators on the lower\n(stability) bound allows a non-perturbative extension of the maximal cut-off\nvalue consistent with any given mass of the scalar field.",
        "positive": "Kaluza-Klein towers for spinors in warped spaces: All the boundary conditions compatible with the reduction of a five\ndimensional spinor field of bulk mass $M$ in a compactified warped space to a\nfour dimensional brane are derived from the hermiticity conditions of the\nrelevant operator. The possible presence of metric singularities is taken into\naccount. Examples of resulting Kaluza-Klein spinor towers are given for a\nrepresentative set of values for the basic parameters of the model and of the\nparameters describing the allowed boundary conditions, within the hypothesis\nthat there exists one-mass-scale-only, the Planck mass. In many cases, the\nlowest mass in the tower is small and very sensitive to the parameters while\nthe other masses are much higher and become more regularly spaced. In these\ncases, if a basic fermion of the standard model (lepton or quark) happens to be\nthe lowest mass of a Kaluza-Klein tower, the other masses would be much larger\nand weakly dependent on the fermion which defines the tower."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Note on the evolution of cosmic string/superstring networks: In the context of brane world scenario, cosmic superstrings can be formed in\nD-brane annihilation at the end of the brane inflationary era. The cosmic\nsuperstring network has a scaling solution and the characteristic scale of the\nnetwork is proportional to the square root of the reconnection probability.",
        "positive": "Noether Identities, $\u03b2$-functions and symmetries in DFT: Given the $\\beta$ functions of the closed string sigma model up to one loop\nin $\\alpha'$, the effective action implement the condition $\\beta=0$ to\npreserve conformal symmetry at quantum level. One of the more powerful and\nstriking results of string theory is that this effective action contains\nEinstein gravity as an emergent dynamics in space-time. We show from the\n$\\beta$ functions and its relation with the equations of motion of the\neffective action, that the differential identities [1] are the Noether\nidentities associated with the effective action and its gauge symmetries. From\nhere, we reconstruct the gauge and space time symmetries of the effective\naction. In turn, we can show that the differential identities are the\ncontracted Bianchi identities of the the field strength $H$ and Riemann tensor\n$R$. Next, we apply the same ideas to DFT. Taking as starting point that the\ngeneralized $\\beta$ functions in DFT are proportional to the equations of\nmotion, we construct the generalized differential identities in DFT. Relating\nthe Noether identities with the contracted Bianchi identities of DFT, we were\nable to reconstruct the generalized gauge and space time symmetries. Finally,\nwe recover the original $\\beta$ functions, effective action, differential\nidentities, and symmetries when we turn off the $\\tilde x$ space time\ncoordinates from DFT."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Generating asymptotically plane wave spacetimes: In an attempt to study asymptotically plane wave spacetimes which admit an\nevent horizon, we find solutions to vacuum Einstein's equations in arbitrary\ndimension which have a globally null Killing field and rotational symmetry. We\nshow that while such solutions can be deformed to include ones which are\nasymptotically plane wave, they do not posses a regular event horizon. If we\nallow for additional matter, such as in supergravity theories, we show that it\nis possible to have extremal solutions with globally null Killing field, a\nregular horizon, and which, in addition, are asymptotically plane wave. In\nparticular, we deform the extremal M2-brane solution in 11-dimensional\nsupergravity so that it behaves asymptotically as a 10-dimensional vacuum plane\nwave times a real line.",
        "positive": "Non-Supersymmetric Vacua and Self-Adjoint Extensions: Internal intervals spanned by finite ranges of a conformal coordinate $z$ and\nterminating at a pair of singularities are a common feature of many string\ncompactifications with broken supersymmetry. The squared masses emerging in\nlower-dimensional Minkowski spaces are then eigenvalues of Schr\\\"odinger-like\noperators, whose potentials have double poles at the ends of the intervals. For\none-component systems, the possible self-adjoint extensions of Schr\\\"odinger\noperators are described by points in $AdS_3 \\times S^1$, and those\ncorresponding to independent boundary conditions at the ends of the intervals\nby points on the boundary of $AdS_3$. The perturbative stability of\ncompactifications to Minkowski space time depends, in general, on these choices\nof self-adjoint extensions. We apply this setup to the orientifold vacua driven\nby the ``tadpole potential'' $V=T \\ e^{\\,\\frac{3}{2}\\,\\phi}$ and find, in nine\ndimensions, a massive scalar spectrum, a unique choice of boundary conditions\nwith stable tensor modes and a massless graviton, and a wide range of choices\nleading to massless and/or massive vector modes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum theory of three-dimensional de Sitter space: We sketch the construction of a quantum model of 3 dimensional de Sitter\nspace, based on the Covariant Entropy Principle and the observation that\nsemi-classical physics suggests the possibility of a consistent theory of a\nfinite number of unstable massive particles with purely gravitational\ninteractions. Our model is holographic, finite, unitary, causal, plausibly\nexhibits fast scrambling, and qualitatively reproduces features of\nsemi-classical de Sitter physics. In an appendix we outline some calculations\nthat might lead to further tests of the model.",
        "positive": "On General Off-Shell Representations of Worldline (1D) Supersymmetry: Every finite-dimensional unitary representation of the N-extended worldline\nsupersymmetry without central charges may be obtained by a sequence of\ndifferential transformations from a direct sum of minimal Adinkras, simple\nsupermultiplets that are identifiable with representations of the Clifford\nalgebra. The data specifying this procedure is a sequence of subspaces of the\ndirect sum of Adinkras, which then opens an avenue for classification of the\ncontinuum of so constructed off-shell supermultiplets."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Binary Cosmic Strings: The properties of cosmic strings have been investigated in detail for their\nimplications in early-universe cosmology. Although many variations of the basic\nstructure have been discovered, with implications for both the microscopic and\nmacroscopic properties of cosmic strings, the cylindrical symmetry of the\nshort-distance structure of the string is generally unaffected. In this paper\nwe describe some mechanisms leading to an asymmetric structure of the string\ncore, giving the defects a quasi-two-dimensional character. We also begin to\ninvestigate the consequences of this internal structure for the microscopic and\nmacroscopic physics.",
        "positive": "Horndeski genesis: consistency of classical theory: Genesis within the Horndeski theory is one of possible scenarios for the\nstart of the Universe. In this model, the absence of instabilities is obtained\nat the expense of the property that coefficients, serving as effective Planck\nmasses, vanish in the asymptotics $t\\rightarrow -\\infty$, which signalizes the\ndanger of strong coupling and inconsistency of the classical treatment. We\ninvestigate this problem in a specific model and extend the analysis of cubic\naction for perturbations (arXiv:2003.01202) to arbitrary order. Our study is\nbased on power counting and dimensional analysis of the higher order terms. We\nderive the latter, find characteristic strong coupling energy scales and obtain\nthe conditions for the validity of the classical description. Curiously, we\nfind that the strongest condition is the same as that obtained in already\nexamined cubic case."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Indispensability of Ghost Fields and Extended Hamiltonian Formalism in\n  Axial Gauge Quantization of Gauge Fields: It is shown that ghost fields are indispensable in deriving well-defined\nantiderivatives in pure space-like axial gauge quantizations of gauge fields.\nTo avoid inessential complications we confine ourselves to noninteracting\nabelian fields and incorporate their quantizations as a continuous deformation\nof those in light-cone gauge. We attain this by constructing an axial gauge\nformulation in auxiliary coordinates $x^{\\mu}= (x^+,x^-,x^1,x^2)$, where\n$x^+=x^0{\\rm sin}{\\theta}+x^3{\\rm cos}{\\theta}, x^-=x^0{\\rm\ncos}{\\theta}-x^3{\\rm sin}{\\theta}$ and $x^+$ and $A_-=A^0{\\rm cos}\n{\\theta}+A^3{\\rm sin}{\\theta}=0$ are taken as the evolution parameter and the\ngauge fixing condition, respectively. We introduce $x^-$-independent residual\ngauge fields as ghost fields and accomodate them to the Hamiltonian formalism\nby applying McCartor and Robertson's method. As a result, we obtain conserved\ntranslational generators $P_{\\mu}$, which retain ghost degrees of freedom\nintegrated over the hyperplane $x^-=$ constant. They enable us to determine\nquantization conditions for the ghost fields in such a way that commutation\nrelations with $P_{\\mu}$ give rise to the correct Heisenberg equations. We show\nthat regularizing singularities arising from the inversion of a hyperbolic\nLaplace operator as principal values, enables us to cancel linear divergences\nresulting from $({\\partial}_-)^{-2}$ so that the Mandelstam- Leibbrandt form of\ngauge field propagator can be derived. It is also shown that the pure\nspace-like axial gauge formulation in ordinary coordinates can be derived in\nthe limit ${\\theta}\\to\\frac{\\pi}{2}-0$ and that the light-cone axial gauge\nformulation turns out to be the case of ${\\theta}=\\frac{\\pi}{4}$.",
        "positive": "Veneziano Amplitude of Vasiliev Theory: We compute the four-point function of scalar operators in CFTs with weakly\nbroken higher spin symmetry at arbitrary 't Hooft coupling. We use the known\nthree-point functions in these theories, the Lorentzian OPE inversion formula\nand crossing to fix the result up to the addition of three functions of the\ncross ratios. These are given by contact Witten diagrams in AdS and manifest\nnon-analyticity of the OPE data in spin. We use Schwinger-Dyson equations to\nshow that such terms are absent in the large $N$ Chern-Simons matter theories.\nThe result is that the OPE data is analytic in spin up to $J=0$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "From state distinguishability to effective bulk locality: We provide quantitative evidence that the emergence of an effective notion of\nspacetime locality in black hole physics is due to restricting to the subset of\nobservables that are unable to resolve black hole microstates from the maxi-\nmally entangled state. We identify the subset of observables in the full\nquantum theory that can distinguish microstates, and argue that any measurement\nof such observables involves either long times or large energies, both\nsignaling the breaking down of effective field theory where locality is\nmanifest. We discuss some of the implications of our results for black hole\ncomplementarity and the existence of black hole interiors.",
        "positive": "On the zero of the fermion zero mode: We argue that the fermionic zero mode in non-trivial gauge field backgrounds\nmust have a zero. We demonstrate this explicitly for calorons where its\nlocation is related to a constituent monopole. Furthermore a topological\nreasoning for the existence of the zero is given which therefore will be\npresent for any non-trivial configuration. We propose the use of this property\nin particular for lattice simulations in order to uncover the topological\ncontent of a configuration."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Solitons on Branes: We examine the possibility that gauge field configurations on stacks of\nparallel Dp branes support topological solitons. We give an exhaustive list of\npossible soliton charges for p<7. We also discuss how configurations carrying\nthe soliton charges can be constructed from intersecting branes.",
        "positive": "Type II and heterotic one loop string effective actions in four\n  dimensions: We analyze the reduction to four dimensions of the R^4 terms which are part\nof the ten-dimensional string effective actions, both at tree level and one\nloop. We show that there are two independent combinations of R^4 present, at\none loop, in the type IIA four dimensional effective action, which means they\nboth have their origin in M-theory. The d=4 heterotic effective action also has\nsuch terms. This contradicts the common belief thathere is only one R^4 term in\nfour-dimensional supergravity theories, given by the square of the Bel-Robinson\ntensor. In pure N=1 supergravity this new R^4 combination cannot be directly\nsupersymmetrized, but we show that, when coupled to a scalar chiral multiplet\n(violating the U(1) $R$-symmetry), it emerges in the action after elimination\nof the auxiliary fields."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Counter-Example to a Putative Classification of 1-Dimensional,\n  N-extended Supermultiplets: We present a counter-example to the recent claim that supermultiplets of\nN-extended supersymmetry with no central charge and in 1-dimension are\nspecified unambiguously by providing the numbers of component fields in all\navailable engineering dimensions within the supermultiplet.",
        "positive": "The moduli space of hyper-K{\u00e4}hler four-fold compactifications: I discuss some aspects of the moduli space of hyper-K{\\\"a}hler four-fold\ncompactifications of type II and ${\\cal M}$- theories. The dimension of the\nmoduli space of these theories is strictly bounded from above. As an example I\nstudy Hilb$^2(K3)$ and the generalized Kummer variety $K^2(T^4)$. In both cases\nRR-flux (or $G$-flux in ${\\cal M}$-theory) must be turned on, and we show that\nthey give rise to vacua with ${\\cal N}=2$ or ${\\cal N}=3$ supersymmetry upon\nturning on appropriate fluxes. An interesting subtlety involving the symmetric\nproduct limit $S^2(K3)$ is pointed out."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Narain CFTs and error-correcting codes on finite fields: We construct Narain CFTs from self-dual codes on the finite field $F_p$\nthrough even self-dual lattices for any prime $p>2$. Using this correspondence,\nwe can relate the spectral gap and the partition function of the CFT to the\nerror correction capability and the extended enumerator polynomial of the code.\nIn particular, we calculate specific spectral gaps of CFTs constructed from\ncodes and compare them with the largest spectral gap among all Narain CFTs.",
        "positive": "On tree amplitudes with gluons coupled to gravitons: In this paper, we study the tree amplitudes with gluons coupled to gravitons.\nWe first study the relations among the mixed amplitudes. With BCFW on-shell\nrecursion relation, we will show the color-order reversed relation,\n$U(1)$-decoupling relation and KK relation hold for tree amplitudes with gluons\ncoupled to gravitons. We then study the disk relation which expresses mixed\namplitudes by pure gluon amplitudes. More specifically we will prove the disk\nrelation for mixed amplitudes with gluons coupled to one graviton. Using the\ndisk relation and the properties of pure gluon amplitudes, the color-order\nreversed relation, $U(1)$-decoupling relation and KK relation for mixed\namplitudes can also be proved. Finally, we give some brief discussions on\nBCJ-like relation for mixed amplitudes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The deconfinement phase transition as an Aharonov-Bohm effect: A subjective and incomplete list of interesting and unique features of the\ndeconfinement phase transition is presented. Furthermore a formal similarity of\nthe density matrix of the Aharonov-Bohm system and QCD is mentioned, as well.",
        "positive": "Small Schwarzschild de Sitter black holes, quantum extremal surfaces and\n  islands: We study 4-dimensional Schwarzschild de Sitter black holes in the regime\nwhere the black hole mass is small compared with the de Sitter scale. Then the\nde Sitter temperature is very low compared with that of the black hole and we\nstudy the black hole, approximating the ambient de Sitter space as a frozen\nclassical background. We consider distant observers in the static diamond, far\nfrom the black hole but within the cosmological horizon. Using 2-dimensional\ntools, we find that the entanglement entropy of radiation exhibits linear\ngrowth in time, indicative of the information paradox for the black hole.\nSelf-consistently including an appropriate island emerging at late times near\nthe black hole horizon leads to a reasonable Page curve. There are close\nparallels with flat space Schwarzschild black holes in the regime we consider."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Study of Asymptotic Free Scalar Field Theories from Adaptive\n  Perturbation Method: We focus on the behavior of (2+1)d $\\lambda\\phi^4$ and (5+1)d $\\lambda\\phi^3$\nor $\\lambda|\\phi|^3$ theories in different regimes and compare the results\nobtained from the adaptive perturbation method with those obtained from lattice\nsimulation. These theories are simple models that exhibit asymptotic freedom,\nwhich is a property that is also observed in more complex theories such as QCD,\nwhich describes the strong interaction between quarks and gluons. Asymptotic\nfreedom is an important feature of these theories because it allows for a\nperturbative treatment of interactions at high energies. However, the standard\nperturbation scheme breaks down in the presence of strong interactions, and the\nadaptive perturbation method, which involves resuming the Feynman diagrams, is\nmore suitable for studying these interactions. Our research involves comparing\nthe perturbation result to lattice simulation. In the case of the $\\phi^3$\ntheory, there is no stable vacuum, so we explore evidence from the $|\\phi|^3$\ntheory instead. Our results appear to show that resummation improves the strong\ncoupling result for both the $\\lambda\\phi^4$ and $\\lambda|\\phi|^3$ theories.\nAdditionally, we improve the resummation method for the three-point coupling\nvertex and study the RG flow to analyze the resummation contribution and\ntheoretical properties.",
        "positive": "Quantum Gravity with Minimal Assumptions: The purpose is to construct the quantum field theory including gravity, based\non physical assumptions as few as possible. Up to now, the work by Prof. Steven\nWeinberg probably suits this purpose the most. Though the purpose is difficult\nto reach, my recent preprint was interested in an exceptional case caused by\nsingularity. Therefore, I'd like to explain the motivations and possible\napplications of the preprint."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Some Features of Blown-Up Nonlinear $\u03c3$-Models: In terms of the gauged nonlinear $\\sigma$-models, we describe some results\nand implications of solving the following problem: Given a smooth symplectic\nmanifold as target space with a quasi-free Hamiltonian group action, perform\nthe symplectic blowing up of the point singularity and identify the blow-up\nmodes in the corresponding (gauged) $\\sigma$-model. Both classical and quantum\naspects of the construction are explained, along with illustrating examples\nfrom the toric projective space and the K\\\"ahler manifold. We also discuss\nrelated problems such as the origin of Mirror symmetry and the quantum\ncohomologies.(Talk to be given at ICHEP94, Glasgow, July 20-27.)",
        "positive": "Physical states of dyons: It is shown that physical states of a non-abelian Yang-Mills-Higgs dyon are\ninvariant under large gauge transformations that do not commute with its\nmagnetic field. This result is established within an enlarged Hamiltonian\nformalism where surface terms are kept as dynamical variables. These additional\nvariables are parameters of large gauge transformations, and are potential\ncollective coordinates for the quantization of the monopole. Our result implies\nthat there are no physical effects associated to some large gauge\ntransformations and therefore their parameters should not be counted as\ncollective coordinates."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Universal chaotic dynamics from Krylov space: Krylov complexity measures the spread of the wavefunction in the Krylov\nbasis, which is constructed using the Hamiltonian and an initial state. We\ninvestigate the evolution of the maximally entangled state in the Krylov basis\nfor both chaotic and non-chaotic systems. For this purpose, we derive an\nEhrenfest theorem for the Krylov complexity, which reveals its close relation\nto the spectrum. Our findings suggest that neither the linear growth nor the\nsaturation of Krylov complexity is necessarily associated with chaos. However,\nfor chaotic systems, we observe a universal rise-slope-ramp-plateau behavior in\nthe transition probability from the initial state to one of the Krylov basis\nstates. Moreover, a long ramp in the transition probability is a signal for\nspectral rigidity, characterizing quantum chaos. Also, this ramp is directly\nresponsible for the late-time peak of Krylov complexity observed in the\nliterature. On the other hand, for non-chaotic systems, this long ramp is\nabsent. Therefore, our results help to clarify which features of the wave\nfunction time evolution in Krylov space characterize chaos. We exemplify this\nby considering the Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev model with two-body or four-body\ninteractions.",
        "positive": "Building Blocks for Generalized Heterotic/F-theory Duality: In this note we propose a generalization of heterotic/F-theory duality. We\nintroduce a set of non-compact building blocks which we glue together to reach\ncompact examples of generalized duality pairs. The F-theory building blocks\nconsist of non-compact elliptically fibered Calabi-Yau fourfolds which also\nadmit a K3 fibration. The compact elliptic model obtained by gluing need not\nhave a globally defined K3 fibration. By replacing the K3 fiber of each\nF-theory building block with a T^2, we reach building blocks in a heterotic\ndual vacuum which includes a position dependent dilaton and three-form flux.\nThese building blocks are glued together to reach a heterotic flux background.\nWe argue that in these vacua, the gauge fields of the heterotic string become\nlocalized, and remain dynamical even when gravity decouples. This enables a\nheterotic dual for the hyperflux GUT breaking mechanism which has recently\nfigured prominently in F-theory GUT models. We illustrate our general proposal\nwith some explicit examples."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Defects and Quantum Seiberg-Witten Geometry: We study the Nekrasov partition function of the five dimensional U(N) gauge\ntheory with maximal supersymmetry on R^4 x S^1 in the presence of codimension\ntwo defects. The codimension two defects can be described either as monodromy\ndefects, or by coupling to a certain class of three dimensional quiver gauge\ntheories on R^2 x S^1. We explain how these computations are connected with\nboth classical and quantum integrable systems. We check, as an expansion in the\ninstanton number, that the aforementioned partition functions are\neigenfunctions of an elliptic integrable many-body system, which quantizes the\nSeiberg-Witten geometry of the five-dimensional gauge theory.",
        "positive": "Spacetime and Fields, a Quantum Texture: We report on joint work, past and in progress, with K.Fredenhagen and with\nJ.E,Roberts, on the quantum structure of spacetime in the small which is\ndictated by the principles of Quantum Mechanics and of General Relativity; we\ncomment on how these principles point to a deep link between coordinates and\nfields. This is an expanded version of a lecture delivered at the 37th Karpacz\nSchool in Theoretical Physics, February 2001."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Self-Dual Effective Action of N=4 Super-Yang Mills: The full low energy effective action of N=4 SYM is believed to be self-dual.\nStarting with the first two leading terms in a momentum expansion of this\neffective action, we perform a duality transformation and find the conditions\nfor self-duality. These determine some of the higher order terms. We compare\nthe effective action of N=4 SYM with the probe-source description of type II_B\nD3-branes in the AdS_5 \\times S_5 background. We find agreement up to six\nderivative terms if we identify the separation of the 3-branes with a\nredefinition of the gauge scalar that involves the gauge field strength.",
        "positive": "The Cosmological Constant Problem: Why it's hard to get Dark Energy from\n  Micro-physics: These notes present a brief introduction to `naturalness' problems in\ncosmology, and to the Cosmological Constant Problem in particular. The main\nfocus is the `old' cosmological constant problem, though the more recent\nvariants are also briefly discussed. Several notions of naturalness are\ndefined, including the closely related ideas of technical naturalness and `t\nHooft naturalness, and it is shown why these naturally arise when cosmology is\nembedded within a framework --- effective field theories --- that efficiently\ncaptures what is consistent with what is known about the physics of smaller\ndistances. Some care is taken to clarify conceptual issues, such as the\nrelevance or not of quadratic divergences, about which some confusion has\narisen over the years. A set of minimal criteria are formulated against which\nproposed solutions to the problem can be judged, and a brief overview made of\nthe general limitations of most of the approaches. A somewhat more in-depth\ndiscussion is provided of what I view as the most promising approach. These\nnotes are aimed at graduate students with a basic working knowledge of quantum\nfield theory and cosmology, but with no detailed knowledge of particle physics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Mixed (open/closed) N=(2,2) string theory as an integrable deformation\n  of self-duality: The exact effective field equations of motion, corresponding to the\nperturbative mixed theory of open and closed (2,2) world-sheet supersymmetric\nstrings, are investigated. It is shown that they are only integrable in the\ncase of an abelian gauge group. The gravitational equations are then stationary\nwith respect to the Born-Infeld-type effective action.",
        "positive": "Generalized non-unitary Haagerup-Izumi modular data from 3D S-fold SCFTs: By applying the recently proposed (3D rank-0 $\\mathcal{N}$=4\nSCFT)/(non-unitary TQFTs) correspondence to S-fold SCFTs, we construct an\nexotic class of non-unitary TQFTs labelled by an integer $k\\geq 3$. The SCFTs\nare obtained by gauging diagonal $SU(2)$ subgroup of $T[SU(2)]$ theory with\nChern-Simons level $k$. We give the explicit expression for modular data, $S$\nand $T$ matrices, of the TQFTs. When $k=4m^2+4m+3$ with an integer $m\\geq 1$,\nthe modular data (modulo a decoupled semion) is identical to a non-unitary\nHaagerup-Izumi modular data. Thus, we give a physical realization of the exotic\nnon-unitary modular data as well as its generalization using an exotic class of\nSCFTs."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Magnetic Monopoles, Duality, and Supersymmetry: These notes present a pedagogical introduction to magnetic monopoles and\nexact electromagnetic duality in supersymmetric gauge theories. They are based\non lectures given at the 1995 Trieste Summer School in High Energy Physics and\nCosmology and at the 1995 Busstepp Summer School at Cosener's House.",
        "positive": "Invariants and divergences in half-maximal supergravity theories: The invariants in half-maximal supergravity theories in D=4,5 are discussed\nin detail up to dimension eight (e.g. R^4). In D=4, owing to the anomaly in the\nrigid SL(2,R) duality symmetry, the restrictions on divergences need careful\ntreatment. In pure N=4 supergravity, this anomalous symmetry still implies\nduality invariance of candidate counterterms at three loops. Provided one makes\nthe additional assumption that there exists a full 16-supercharge off-shell\nformulation of the theory, counterterms at L>1 loops would also have to be\nwritable as full-superspace integrals. At the three-loop order such a\nduality-invariant full-superspace integral candidate counterterm exists, but\nits duality invariance is marginal in the sense that the full-superspace\ncounter-Lagrangian is not itself duality-invariant. We show that such marginal\ninvariants are not allowable as counterterms in a 16-supercharge off-shell\nformalism. It is not possible to draw the same conclusion when vector\nmultiplets are present because of the appearance of F^4 terms in the SL(2,R)\nanomaly. In D=5 there is no one-loop anomaly in the shift invariance of the\ndilaton, and we argue that this implies finiteness at two loops, again subject\nto the assumption that 16 supercharges can be preserved off-shell."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Black holes with halos: We present new AdS4 black hole solutions in N = 2 gauged supergravity coupled\nto vector and hypermultiplets. We focus on a particular consistent truncation\nof M-theory on the homogeneous Sasaki-Einstein seven-manifold M111,\ncharacterized by the presence of one Betti vector multiplet. We numerically\nconstruct static and spherically symmetric black holes with electric and\nmagnetic charges, corresponding to M2 and M5 branes wrapping non-contractible\ncycles of the internal manifold. These configurations have nonzero temperature\nand are moreover surrounded by a massive vector field halo. For these solutions\nwe verify the first law of black hole mechanics and we analyze the\nthermodynamics and phase transitions in the canonical ensemble, interpreting\nthe process in the corresponding dual field theory.",
        "positive": "Sigma models with off-shell N=(4,4) supersymmetry and noncommuting\n  complex structures: We describe the conditions for extra supersymmetry in N=(2,2) supersymmetric\nnonlinear sigma models written in terms of semichiral superfields. We find that\nsome of these models have additional off-shell supersymmetry. The (4,4)\nsupersymmetry introduces geometrical structures on the target-space which are\nconveniently described in terms of Yano f-structures and Magri-Morosi\nconcomitants. On-shell, we relate the new structures to the known\nbi-hypercomplex structures."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dashen's Phenomenon in Gauge Theories with Spontaneously Broken Chiral\n  Symmetries: We examine Dashen's phenomenon in the Leutwyler--Smilga regime of QCD with\nany number of colors and quarks in either the fundamental or adjoint\nrepresentations of the gauge group. In this limit, the theories only depend on\nsimple combinations of quark masses, volume, chiral condensate and vacuum\nangle. Based upon this observation, we derive simple expressions for the chiral\ncondensate and the topological density and show that they are in fact related.\nBy examining the zeros of the various partition functions, we elucidate the\nmechanism leading to Dashen's phenomena in QCD.",
        "positive": "Toward NS5 Branes on the Resolved Cone over Y^{p,q}: Motivated by recent developments in the understanding of the connection\nbetween five branes on resolved geometries and the corresponding\ngeneralizations of complex deformations in the context of the warped resolved\ndeformed conifold, we consider the construction of five branes solutions on the\nresolved cone over Y^{p,q} spaces. We establish the existence of supersymmetric\nfive branes solutions wrapped on two-cycles of the resolved cone over Y^{p,q}\nin the probe limit. We then use calibration techniques to begin the\nconstruction of fully back-reacted five branes; we present an Ansatz and the\ncorresponding equations of motion. Our results establish a detailed framework\nto study back-reacted five branes wrapped on the resolved cone over Y^{p,q} and\nas a first step we find explicit solutions and construct an asymptotic\nexpansion with the expected properties."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Generalized Schroedinger representation in BRST-quantization: An analysis of the state space in the BRST--quantization in the Schroedinger\nrepresentation is performed on the basis of the results obtained earlier in the\nframework of the Fock space representation. It is shown that to get\nsatisfactory results it is necessary to have from the very beginning a\nmeaningful definition of the total state space.",
        "positive": "Schwarzschild-AdS Black Holes in N=2 Geometric Flux Compactification: We present AdS black hole solutions in four-dimensional N=2 gauged\nsupergravity with the universal hypermultiplet. Here the axion field in this\nmultiplet is dualized to a two-form field. This system is derived from\nten-dimensional massive type IIA theory compactified on nearly-Kahler manifold\nin the presence of geometric fluxes and RR-fluxes. In this work we focus on the\nsimplest coset space G_2/SU(3). Imposing the covariantly constant condition on\nall scalar fields, we obtain AdS black hole solutions with vanishing\nelectromagnetic charges and arbitrary mass parameter."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dynamical supersymmetry analysis of conformal invariance for\n  superstrings in type IIB R-R plane-wave: In a previous work (arXiv:0902.3750 [hep-th]) we studied the world-sheet\nconformal invariance for superstrings in type IIB R-R plane-wave in\nsemi-light-cone gauge. Here we give further justification to the results found\nin that work through alternative arguments using dynamical supersymmetries. We\nshow that by using the susy algebra the same quantum definition of the\nenergy-momentum (EM) tensor can be derived. Furthermore, using certain Jacobi\nidentities we indirectly compute the Virasoro anomaly terms by calculating\nsecond order susy variation of the EM tensor. Certain integrated form of all\nsuch terms are shown to vanish. In order to deal with various divergences that\nappear in such computations we take a point-split definition of the same EM\ntensor. The final results are shown not to suffer from the ordering ambiguity\nas noticed in the previous work provided the coincidence limit is taken before\nsending the regularization parameter to zero at the end of the computation.",
        "positive": "Ricci flow, quantum mechanics and gravity: It has been argued that, underlying any given quantum-mechanical model, there\nexists at least one deterministic system that reproduces, after\nprequantisation, the given quantum dynamics. For a quantum mechanics with a\ncomplex d-dimensional Hilbert space, the Lie group SU(d) represents classical\ncanonical transformations on the projective space CP^{d-1} of quantum states.\nLet R stand for the Ricci flow of the manifold SU(d-1) down to one point, and\nlet P denote the projection from the Hopf bundle onto its base CP^{d-1}. Then\nthe underlying deterministic model we propose here is the Lie group SU(d),\nacted on by the operation PR. Finally we comment on some possible consequences\nthat our model may have on a quantum theory of gravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dirac Operator on a disk with global boundary conditions: We compute the functional determinant for a Dirac operator in the presence of\nan Abelian gauge field on a bidimensional disk, under global boundary\nconditions of the type introduced by Atiyah-Patodi-Singer. We also discuss the\nconnection between our result and the index theorem.",
        "positive": "Spectral action on noncommutative torus: The spectral action on noncommutative torus is obtained, using a\nChamseddine--Connes formula via computations of zeta functions. The importance\nof a Diophantine condition is outlined. Several results on holomorphic\ncontinuation of series of holomorphic functions are obtained in this context."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Comment on ``Anyon in an External Eletromagnetic Field: Hamiltonian and\n  Lagrangian Formulations'': We comment on a recent paper by Chaichian et al. (Phys.Rev.Lett.\n71(1993)3405).",
        "positive": "Exploring Vacuum Structure around Identity-Based Solutions: We explore the vacuum structure in bosonic open string field theory expanded\naround an identity-based solution parameterized by $a(>=-1/2)$. Analyzing the\nexpanded theory using level truncation approximation up to level 20, we find\nthat the theory has the tachyon vacuum solution for $a>-1/2$. We also find\nthat, at $a=-1/2$, there exists an unstable vacuum solution in the expanded\ntheory and the solution is expected to be the perturbative open string vacuum.\nThese results reasonably support the expectation that the identity-based\nsolution is a trivial pure gauge configuration for $a>-1/2$, but it can be\nregarded as the tachyon vacuum solution at $a=-1/2$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Analytic (non)integrability of Arutyunov-Bassi-Lacroix model: We use the notion of the gauge/string duality and discuss the Liouvillian\n(non) integrability criteria for string sigma models in the context of recently\nproposed Arutyunov-Bassi-Lacroix (ABL) model [JHEP \\textbf{03} (2021), 062].\nOur analysis complements those previous results due to numerical analysis as\nwell as Lax pair formulation. We consider a winding string ansatz for the\ndeformed torus $T^{\\qty(\\lambda_{1},\\lambda_{2},\\lambda)}_{k}$ which can be\ninterpreted as a system of coupled pendulums. Our analysis reveals the\nLiouvillian nonintegrablity of the associated sigma model. We also obtain the\n\\emph{generalized} decoupling limit and confirm the analytic integrability for\nthe decoupled sector.",
        "positive": "Quantum Group Schr\u00f6dinger Field Theory: We show that a quantum deformation of quantum mechanics given in a previous\nwork is equivalent to quantum mechanics on a nonlinear lattice with step size\n$\\Delta x=~(1-q)x$. Then, based on this, we develop the basic formalism of\nquantum group Schr\\\"{o}dinger field theory in one spatial quantum dimension,\nand explicitly exhibit the $SU_{q}(2)$ covariant algebras satisfied by the\n$q$-bosonic and $q$-fermionic Schr\\\"{o}dinger fields. We generalize this result\nto an arbitrary number of fields."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Diff-invariant Kinetic Terms in Arbitrary Dimensions: We study the physical content of quadratic diff-invariant Lagrangians in\narbitrary dimensions by using covariant symplectic techniques. This paper\nextends previous results in dimension four. We discuss the difference between\nthe even and odd dimensional cases.",
        "positive": "AdS Bubbles, Entropy and Closed String Tachyons: We study the conjectured connection between AdS bubbles (AdS solitons) and\nclosed string tachyon condensations. We confirm that the entanglement entropy,\nwhich measures the degree of freedom, decreases under the tachyon condensation.\nThe entropies in supergravity and free Yang-Mills agree with each other\nremarkably. Next we consider the tachyon condensation on the AdS twisted circle\nand argue that its endpoint is given by the twisted AdS bubble, defined by the\ndouble Wick rotation of rotating black 3-brane solutions. We calculated the\nCasimir energy and entropy and checked the agreements between the gauge and\ngravity results. Finally we show an infinite boost of a null linear dilaton\ntheory with a tachyon wall (or bubble), leads to a solvable time-dependent\nbackground with a bulk tachyon condensation. This is the simplest example of\nspacetimes with null boundaries in string theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Scalar-Graviton Amplitudes and Celestial Holography: We compute scattering amplitudes involving one massive scalar and two, three,\nor four gravitons. We show that when the conformal dimension of the massive\nscalar is set to zero, the resulting celestial correlators depend {\\it only} on\nthe coordinates of the gravitons. Such correlators of gravitons are\nwell-defined and do not suffer from divergences associated with the Mellin\ntransform of usual graviton amplitudes. Moreover, they are non-distributional\nand take the form of standard CFT correlators. We show that they are consistent\nwith the usual OPEs but the statement of the soft theorem is modified.",
        "positive": "Some Examples of Chiral Moduli Spaces and Dynamical Supersymmetry\n  Breaking: We investigate the low-energy dynamics of $SU(N)$ gauge theories with one\nantisymmetric tensor field, $N - 4 + N_f$ antifundamentals and $N_f$\nfundamentals, for $N_f \\le 3$. For $N_f = 3$ we construct the quantum moduli\nspace, and for $N_f < 3$ we find the exact quantum superpotentials. We find two\nlarge classes of models with dynamical supersymmetry breaking. The odd $N$\ntheories break supersymmetry once appropriate mass terms are added in the\nsuperpotential.\n  The even $N$ theories break supersymmetry after gauging an extra chiral\n$U(1)$ symmetry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quasi-integrability in deformed sine-Gordon models and infinite towers\n  of conserved charges: We have studied the space-reflection symmetries of some soliton solutions of\ndeformed sine-Gordon models in the context of the quasi-integrability concept.\nConsidering a dual pair of anomalous Lax representations of the deformed model\nwe compute analytically and numerically an infinite number of alternating\nconserved and asymptotically conserved charges through a modification of the\nusual techniques of integrable field theories. The charges associated to\ntwo-solitons with a definite parity under space-reflection symmetry, i.e.\nkink-kink (odd parity) and kink-antikink (even parity) scatterings with equal\nand opposite velocities, split into two infinite towers of conserved and\nasymptotically conserved charges. For two-solitons without definite parity\nunder space-reflection symmetry (kink-kink and kink-antikink scatterings with\nunequal and opposite velocities) our numerical results show the existence of\nthe asymptotically conserved charges only. However, we show that in the\ncenter-of-mass reference frame of the two solitons the parity symmetries and\ntheir associated set of exactly conserved charges can be restored. Moreover,\nthe positive parity breather-like (kink-antikink bound state) solution exhibits\na tower of exactly conserved charges and a subset of charges which are periodic\nin time. We back up our results with extensive numerical simulations which also\ndemonstrate the existence of long lived breather-like states in these models.\nThe time evolution has been simulated by the 4th order Runge-Kutta method\nsupplied with non-reflecting boundary conditions.",
        "positive": "From the planar limit to M-theory: The large-N limit of gauge theories has been playing a crucial role in\ntheoretical physics over the decades. Despite its importance, little is known\noutside the planar limit where the 't Hooft coupling $\\lambda=g_{YM}^2N$ is\nfixed. In this Letter we consider more general large-N limit --- $\\lambda$\ngrows with N, e.g., $g_{YM}^2$ is fixed. Such a limit is important particularly\nin recent attempts to find the nonpertubative formulation of M-theory. Based on\nvarious supporting evidence, we propose this limit is essentially identical to\nthe planar limit, in the sense the order of the large-N limit and the strong\ncoupling limit commute. For a wide class of large-N gauge theories, these two\nlimits are smoothly connected, and the analytic continuation from the planar\nlimit is justified. As simple examples, we reproduce a few properties of the\nsix-dimensional N=(2, 0) theory on S^1 from the five-dimensional maximal super\nYang-Mills theory, supporting the recent conjecture by Douglas and Lambert et\nal. that these two theories are identical."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Fast Charged Particles Scattering on a Flat Relativistic Beam of\n  Charged Particles in Approximation of Continuous Potential: The differential scattering cross section for the problem of fast charged\nparticles motion near a flat relativistic beam of charged particles was\nobtained. The problem is considered in the eikonal approximation in the\nrepresentation of the beam by a continuous potential.",
        "positive": "Dipole-Deformed Bound States and Heterotic Kodaira Surfaces: We study a particular N = 1 confining gauge theory with fundamental flavors\nrealised as seven branes in the background of wrapped five branes on a rigid\ntwo-cycle of a non-trivial global geometry. In parts of the moduli space, the\nfive branes form bound states with the seven branes. We show that in this\nregime the local supergravity solution is surprisingly tractable, even though\nthe background topology is non-trivial. New effects such as dipole deformations\nmay be studied in detail, including the full backreactions. Performing the\ndipole deformations in other ways leads to different warped local geometries.\nIn the dual heterotic picture, which is locally given by a C* fibration over a\nKodaira surface, we study details of the geometry and the construction of\nbundles. We also point out the existence of certain exotic bundles in our\nframework."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Q-stars in scalar-tensor gravitational theories in extra dimensions: We present Jordan-Brans-Dicke and general scalar-tensor gravitational theory\nin extra dimensions in an asymptotically flat or anti de Sitter spacetime. We\nconsider a special gravitating, boson field configuration, a $q$-star, in 3, 4,\n5 and 6 dimensions, within the framework of the above gravitational theory and\nfind that the parameters of the stable stars are a few per cent different from\nthe case of General Relativity.",
        "positive": "Emergent Dimensions and Braneworlds from Large-N Confinement: $\\mathcal{N}=1$ $SU(N)$ super-Yang-Mills theory on $\\mathbb{R}^3\\times S^1$\nis believed to have a smooth dependence on the circle size $L$. Making $L$\nsmall leads to calculable non-perturbative color confinement, mass gap, and\nstring tensions. For finite $N$, the small-$L$ low-energy dynamics is described\nby a three-dimensional effective theory. The large-$N$ limit, however, reveals\nsurprises: the infrared dual description is in terms of a theory with an\nemergent fourth dimension, curiously reminiscent of T-duality in string theory.\nHere, however, the emergent dimension is a lattice, with momenta related to the\n$S^1$-winding of the gauge field holonomy, which takes values in\n$\\mathbb{Z}_N$. Furthermore, the low-energy description is given by a\nnon-trivial gapless theory, with a space-like $z=2$ Lifshitz scale invariance\nand operators that pick up anomalous dimensions as $L$ is increased.\nSupersymmetry-breaking deformations leave the long-distance theory\nscale-invariant, but change the Lifshitz scaling exponent to $z=1$, and lead to\nan emergent Lorentz symmetry at small $L$. Adding a small number of fundamental\nfermion fields leads to matter localized on three-dimensional branes in the\nemergent four-dimensional theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauge symmetry breaking in orbifold model building: We review the gauge symmetry breaking mechanism due to orbifold projections\nin orbifold model building. We explicitly show the existence of a scale of\nbreaking if such a symmetry breaking is due to freely-acting orbifold operators\nonly, i.e. in case the breaking is realized non-locally in the internal space.\nWe show that such a scale is related to the compactification moduli only, and\nthat there are no extra continuous parameters, at least in semirealistic models\nwith N=1 SUSY in four dimensions. In this sense, the mechanism is peculiarly\ndifferent from the standard Higgs (or Hosotani) symmetry breaking mechanism. We\nshow that the mechanism also differs from that present in standard orbifold\nmodels where, even in presence of discrete Wilson lines, a scale of breaking is\ngenerically missing, since the breaking is localized in specific points in the\ninternal space.\n  We review a set of background geometries where the described non-local\nbreaking is realized, both in the case of two and six extra dimensions. In the\nlatter case, relevant in string model building, we consider both heterotic and\nopen string compactifications.",
        "positive": "The Starobinsky Model from Superconformal D-Term Inflation: We point out that in the large field regime, the recently proposed\nsuperconformal D-term inflation model coincides with the Starobinsky model. In\nthis regime, the inflaton field dominates over the Planck mass in the\ngravitational kinetic term in the Jordan frame. Slow-roll inflation is realized\nin the large field regime for sufficiently large gauge couplings. The\nStarobinsky model generally emerges as an effective description of slow-roll\ninflation if a Jordan frame exists where, for large inflaton field values, the\naction is scale invariant and the ratio \\hat {\\lambda} of the inflaton\nself-coupling and the nonminimal coupling to gravity is tiny. The\ninterpretation of this effective coupling is different in different models. In\nsuperconformal D-term inflation it is determined by the scale of grand\nunification, \\hat {\\lambda} ~ (\\Lambda_{GUT}/M_P)^4."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Nonlinear symmetries of black hole entropy in gauged supergravity: Freudenthal duality in N=2, D=4 ungauged supergravity is generated by an\nanti-involutive operator that acts on the electromagnetic fluxes, and results\nto be a symmetry of the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy. We show that, with a\nsuitable extension, this duality can be generalized to the abelian gauged case\nas well, even in presence of hypermultiplets. By defining Freudenthal duality\nalong the scalar flow, one can prove that two configurations of charges and\ngaugings linked by the Freudenthal operator share the same set of values of the\nscalar fields at the black hole horizon. Consequently, Freudenthal duality is\npromoted to a nonlinear symmetry of the black hole entropy. We explicitly show\nthis invariance for the model with prepotential $F=-i X^0 X^1$ and\nFayet-Iliopoulos gauging.",
        "positive": "On D3-brane Dynamics at Strong Warping: We study the dynamics of a D3 brane in generic IIB warped compactifications,\nusing the Hamiltonian formulation discussed in arXiv:0805.3700 [hep-th]. Taking\ninto account of both closed and open string fluctuations, we derive the warped\nKahler potential governing the motion of a probe D3 brane. By including the\nbackreaction of D3, we also comment on how the problem of defining a\nholomorphic gauge coupling on wrapped D7 branes in warped background can be\nresolved."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On a Unified Theory of Generalized Branes Coupled to Gauge Fields,\n  Including the Gravitational and Kalb-Ramond Fields: We investigate a theory in which fundamental objects are branes described in\nterms of higher grade coordinates X^{\\mu_1 ... \\mu_n} encoding both the motion\nof a brane as a whole, and its volume evolution. We thus formulate a dynamics\nwhich generalizes the dynamics of the usual branes. Geometrically, coordinates\nX^{\\mu_1 ... \\mu_n} and associated coordinate frame fields {\\gamma_{\\mu_1 ...\n\\mu_n}} extend the notion of geometry from spacetime to that of an enlarged\nspace, called Clifford space or C-space. If we start from 4-dimensional\nspacetime, then the dimension of C-space is 16. The fact that C-space has more\nthan four dimensions suggests that it could serve as a realization of\nKaluza-Klein idea. The \"extra dimensions\" are not just the ordinary extra\ndimensions, they are related to the volume degrees of freedom, therefore they\nare physical, and need not be compactified. Gauge fields are due to the metric\nof Clifford space. It turns out that amongst the latter gauge fields there also\nexist higher grade, antisymmetric fields of the Kalb-Ramond type, and their\nnon-Abelian generalization. All those fields are naturally coupled to the\ngeneralized branes, whose dynamics is given by a generalized Howe-Tucker action\nin curved C-space.",
        "positive": "Instabilities of Thin Black Rings: Closing the Gap: We initiate the study of dynamical instabilities of higher-dimensional black\nholes using the blackfold approach, focusing on asymptotically flat boosted\nblack strings and singly-spinning black rings in $D\\ge5$. We derive novel\nanalytic expressions for the growth rate of the Gregory-Laflamme instability\nfor boosted black strings and its onset for arbitrary boost parameter. In the\ncase of black rings, we study their stability properties in the region of\nparameter space that has so far remained inaccessible to numerical approaches.\nIn particular, we show that very thin (ultraspinning) black rings exhibit a\nGregory-Laflamme instability, giving strong evidence that black rings are\nunstable in the entire range of parameter space. For very thin rings, we show\nthat the growth rate of the instability increases with increasing\nnon-axisymmetric mode $m$ while for thicker rings, there is competition between\nthe different modes. However, up to second order in the blackfold\napproximation, we do not observe an elastic instability, in particular for\nlarge modes $m\\gg1$, where this approximation has higher accuracy. This\nsuggests that the Gregory-Laflamme instability is the dominant instability for\nvery thin black rings. Additionally, we find a long-lived mode that describes a\nwiggly time-dependent deformation of a black ring. We comment on disagreements\nbetween our results and corresponding ones obtained from a large $D$ analysis\nof black ring instabilities."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "D1 and D5-Brane Actions in AdS_m x S^n: The kappa-invariant and supersymmetric actions of D1 and D5-branes in AdS_3 x\nS^3 are investigated, as well as the action of a D5-brane in an AdS_5 x S^5\nbackground. The action of a D5-brane lying totally in an AdS_3 x S^3 background\nis found. Some progress was made towards finding the action for the D5-brane\nfree to move in the whole AdS_3 x S^3 x T^4 space, however the supersymmetric\naction found here is not kappa-invariant and the reasons the method used did\nnot find a kappa-invariant solution are discussed.",
        "positive": "Scenario for Seeding a Singularity in $d = 2$ String Black Hole with\n  Tachyon: The $d = 2$ string admits a black hole solution and also a singular solution\nwhen tachyon back reaction is included. It is of importance to know if the\nformer solution can evolve into a later one. An explicit solution describing\nthis process is difficult to obtain. We present here a scenario in which such\nan evolution is very likely to occur. In essence, it takes place when a\nderivative discontinuity is seeded in the dilaton field by an incident tachyon\npulse. An application of this scenario to $1 + 1$ dimensional toy models\nsuggests that a black hole can evolve into a massive remnant, strengthening its\ncandidacy for the end state of a black hole."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Thermodynamic Geometry of BTZ Black Holes: We investigate the Ruppeiner geometry of the thermodynamic state space of a\ngeneral class of BTZ black holes. It is shown that the thermodynamic geometry\nis flat for both the rotating BTZ and the BTZ Chern Simons black holes in the\ncanonical ensemble. We further investigate the inclusion of thermal\nfluctuations to the canonical entropy of the BTZ Chern Simons black holes and\nshow that the leading logartithmic correction due to Carlip is reproduced. We\nestablish that the inclusion of thermal fluctuations induces a non zero scalar\ncurvature to the thermodynamic geometry.",
        "positive": "Dilatonic Black Holes, Naked Singularities and Strings: We extend a previous calculation which treated Schwarschild black hole\nhorizons as quantum mechanical objects to the case of a charged, dilaton black\nhole. We show that for a unique value of the dilaton parameter `a', which is\ndetermined by the condition of unitarity of the S matrix, black holes transform\nat the extremal limit into strings."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Brill-Noether-general Limit Root Bundles: Absence of vector-like Exotics\n  in F-theory Standard Models: Root bundles appear prominently in studies of vector-like spectra of 4d\nF-theory compactifications. Of particular importance to phenomenology are the\nQuadrillion F-theory Standard Models (F-theory QSMs). In this work, we analyze\na superset of the physical root bundles whose cohomologies encode the\nvector-like spectra for the matter representations $(\\mathbf{3},\n\\mathbf{2})_{1/6}$, $(\\mathbf{\\overline{3}}, \\mathbf{1})_{-2/3}$ and\n$(\\mathbf{1}, \\mathbf{1})_{1}$. For the family $B_3( \\Delta_4^\\circ )$\nconsisting of $\\mathcal{O}(10^{11})$ F-theory QSM geometries, we argue that\nmore than $99.995\\%$ of the roots in this superset have no vector-like exotics.\nThis indicates that absence of vector-like exotics in those representations is\na very likely scenario.\n  The QSM geometries come in families of toric 3-folds $B_3( \\Delta^\\circ )$\nobtained from triangulations of certain 3-dimensional polytopes $\\Delta^\\circ$.\nThe matter curves in $X_\\Sigma \\in B_3( \\Delta^\\circ )$ can be deformed to\nnodal curves which are the same for all spaces in $B_3( \\Delta^\\circ )$.\nTherefore, one can probe the vector-like spectra on the entire family $B_3(\n\\Delta^\\circ )$ from studies of a few nodal curves. We compute the cohomologies\nof all limit roots on these nodal curves.\n  In our applications, for the majority of limit roots the cohomologies are\ndetermined by line bundle cohomology on rational tree-like curves. For this, we\npresent a computer algorithm. The remaining limit roots, corresponding to\ncircuit-like graphs, are handled by hand. The cohomologies are independent of\nthe relative position of the nodes, except for a few circuits. On these\n\\emph{jumping circuits}, line bundle cohomologies can jump if nodes are\nspecially aligned. This mirrors classical Brill-Noether jumps. $B_3(\n\\Delta_4^\\circ )$ admits a jumping circuit, but the root bundle constraints\npick the canonical bundle and no jump happens.",
        "positive": "The complete worldsheet S matrix of superstrings on AdS_3 x S^3 x T^4\n  with mixed three-form flux: We determine the off-shell symmetry algebra and representations of Type IIB\nsuperstring theory on $AdS_3\\times S^3 \\times T^4$ with mixed R-R and NS-NS\nthree-form flux. We use these to derive the non-perturbative worldsheet S\nmatrix of fundamental excitations of the superstring theory. Our analysis\nincludes both massive and massless modes and shows how turning on mixed\nthree-form flux results in an integrable deformation of the S matrix of the\npure R-R theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Covariant Quantization of the Brink-Schwarz Superparticle: The quantization of the Brink-Schwarz-Casalbuoni superparticle is performed\nin an explicitly covariant way using the antibracket formalism. Since an\ninfinite number of ghost fields are required, within a suitable off-shell\ntwistor-like formalism, we are able to fix the gauge of each ghost sector\nwithout modifying the physical content of the theory. The computation reveals\nthat the antibracket cohomology contains only the physical degrees of freedom.",
        "positive": "String Theory and Integrable Systems: This is mainly a brief review of some key achievements in a `hot'' area of\ntheoretical and mathematical physics. The principal aim is to outline the basic\nstructures underlying {\\em integrable} quantum field theory models with {\\em\ninfinite-dimensional} symmetry groups which display a radically new type of\n{\\em quantum group} symmetries. Certain particular aspects are elaborated upon\nwith some detail: integrable systems of Kadomtsev-Petviashvili type and their\nreductions appearing in matrix models of strings; Hamiltonian approach to\nLie-Poisson symmetries; quantum field theory approach to two-dimensional\nrelativistic integrable models with dynamically broken conformal invariance.\nAll field-theoretic models in question are of primary relevance to diverse\nbranches of physics ranging from nonlinear hydrodynamics to string theory of\nfundamental particle interactions at ultra-high energies."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Page Curve for Eternal Schwarzschild Black Hole in Dimensionally-Reduced\n  Model of Dilaton Gravity: As a contribution to the subject of the information loss paradox in\n(1+1)-dimensional gravitational systems, we study a model of (1+1)-dimensional\ndilaton gravity derived from the four-dimensional Einstein-Hilbert action by\ndimensional reduction. The reduced action involves the cosmological constant\nand admits black hole solutions. After including the back-reaction of quantum\nfields to 1-loop order, we solve the semi-classical field equations\nperturbatively and compute the quantum correction to the Hawking temperature.\nWe consider the quantum extremal surface approach and invoke the ``island\nrule'' to compute the fine-grained entropy of the Hawking radiation for an\neternal Schwarzschild black hole and demonstrate that it follows the unitary\nPage curve.",
        "positive": "Central charges and RG flow of strongly-coupled N=2 theory: We calculate the central charges a, c and k_G of a large class of\nfour-dimensional N=2 superconformal field theories arising from compactifying\nthe six-dimensional N=(2,0) theory on a Riemann surface with regular and\nirregular punctures. We also study the renormalization group flows between the\ngeneral Argyres-Douglas theories, which all agree with the a-theorem."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Tale of Two Saddles: We find a new on-shell replica wormhole in a computation of the generating\nfunctional of JT gravity coupled to matter. We show that this saddle has lower\naction than the disconnected one, and that it is stable under restriction to\nreal Lorentzian sections, but can be unstable otherwise. The behavior of the\nclassical generating functional thus may be strongly dependent on the signature\nof allowed perturbations. As part of our analysis, we give an LM-style\nconstruction for computing the on-shell action of replicated manifolds even as\nthe number of boundaries approaches zero, including a type of one-step replica\nsymmetry breaking that is necessary to capture the contribution of the new\nsaddle. Our results are robust against quantum corrections; in fact, we find\nevidence that such corrections may sometimes stabilize this new saddle.",
        "positive": "Holomorphically Covariant Matrix Models: We present a method to construct matrix models on arbitrary simply connected\noriented real two dimensional Riemannian manifolds. The actions and the path\nintegral measure are invariant under holomorphic transformations of matrix\ncoordinates."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the influence of three-point functions on the propagators of Landau\n  gauge Yang-Mills theory: We solve the Dyson-Schwinger equations of the ghost and gluon propagators of\nLandau gauge Yang-Mills theory together with that of the ghost-gluon vertex.\nThe latter plays a central role in many truncation schemes for functional\nequations. By including it dynamically we can determine its influence on the\npropagators. We also suggest a new model for the three-gluon vertex motivated\nby lattice data which plays a crucial role to obtain stable solutions when the\nghost-gluon vertex is included. We find that both vertices have a sizable\nquantitative impact on the mid-momentum regime and contribute to the reduction\nof the gap between lattice and Dyson-Schwinger equation results. Furthermore,\nwe establish that the three-gluon vertex dressing turns negative at low momenta\nas suggested by lattice results in three dimensions.",
        "positive": "The Inflationary Wavefunction and its Initial Conditions: We explore the effect of initial conditions on the inflationary wavefunction\nand their consequences for the observed spectrum of primordial fluctuations. In\na class of models with a sudden transition into inflation we find that, for a\nreasonable set of assumptions about the reheat temperature and the number of\ne-foldings, it is possible for initial conditions set by a pre-inflationary\nepoch to have an observable effect."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Standard Grand Unification from Superstrings: Recent developments about the construction of standard $SO(10)$ and $SU(5)$\ngrand unified theories from 4-dimensional superstrings are presented. Explicit\ntechniques involving higher level affine Lie algebras, for obtaining such\nstringGUTs from symmetric orbifolds are discussed. Special emphasis is put on\nthe different constraints and selection rules for model building in this string\nframework, trying to disentangle those which are generic from those depending\non the orbifold construction proposed. Some phenomenological implications from\nsuch constraints are briefly discussed.",
        "positive": "From massive gravity to dark matter density: Massive gravity previously constructed as the spin-2 quantum gauge theory is\nstudied in the classical limit. The vector-graviton field v which does not\ndecouple in the limit of vanishing graviton mass gives rise to a modification\nof general relativity. The modified Schwarzschild solution contains a\ncontribution which can be interpreted as the dark mass density. We calculate\nthe density profile in the simplest spherically symmetric geometry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the type of the temperature phase transition in O(N) models within a\n  perturbative analysis: We investigate the type of the temperature phase transition in the $N$\ncomponent $\\la \\phi^4$ ($O(N)$) model of scalar fields. Actual calculations are\ncarried out in the beyond-super-daisy approximation (BSDA). The cases $N = 1$\nand larger $N$ are considered separately. Using the solutions of gap equations\nwe show that the character of the phase transition depends on the account for\ngraphs BSDA. The role of different kinds of diagrams (especially the \"sunset\"\none) is clarified. It is shown in a perturbation theory in the effective\nexpansion parameter $N^{- 1/3}$ that the kind of the phase transition depends\non the value of coupling $\\la$. It turns from a weak first-order to the\nsecond-order one for increasing $\\la$. This is in agreement with the\nobservation found recently for the $O(1)$ model in Monte Carlo simulations on a\nlattice. Comparison with results of other authors is given.",
        "positive": "Flow Equations In Arbitrary Signature: We discuss general bosonic configurations of four-dimensional N=2\nsupergravity coupled to vector multiplets in (t,s) space-time. The supergravity\ntheories with Euclidean and neutral signature are described by the so-called\npara-special K\\\"ahler geometry. For extremal solutions, we derive in a unified\nfashion, using the equations of motion, the flow equations for all space-time\nsignatures. Demanding that the solutions with neutral and Euclidean signatures\nadmit unbroken supersymmetry, we derive the constraints, known as the\nstabilisation equations, on the para-covariantly holomorphic sections expressed\nin terms of the adapted coordinates. The stabilisation equations expressed in\nterms of the para-complex sections imply generalised flow equations in terms of\npara-complex central charge. For Euclidean and neutral signature, it is\ndemonstrated that solutions for either signs of gauge kinetic terms are mapped\ninto each other via field redefinitions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fast Scramblers Of Small Size: We investigate various geometrical aspects of the notion of `optical depth'\nin the thermal atmosphere of black hole horizons. Optical depth has been\nproposed as a measure of fast-crambling times in such black hole systems, and\nthe associated optical metric suggests that classical chaos plays a leading\nrole in the actual scrambling mechanism. We study the behavior of the optical\ndepth with the size of the system and find that AdS/CFT phase transitions with\ntopology change occur naturally as the scrambler becomes smaller than its\nthermal length. In the context of detailed AdS/CFT models based on D-branes,\nT-duality implies that small scramblers are described in terms of matrix\nquantum mechanics.",
        "positive": "Toy Model for Tachyon Condensation in Bosonic String Field Theory: We study tachyon condensation in a baby version of Witten's open string field\ntheory. For some special values of one of the parameters of the model, we are\nable to obtain closed form expressions for the stable vacuum state and for the\nvalue of the potential at the minimum. We study the convergence rate of the\nlevel truncation method and compare our exact results with the numerical\nresults found in the full string field theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "New analytic solutions in String Field Theory: towards collective Higher\n  Spin vacuum: We construct analytic solutions in cubic open superstring field theory at\nhigher superconformal ghost numbers.The solutions are the pure ghost ones and\nare given by combinations of Bell polynomials of bosonized superconformal ghost\nfields multiplied by exponents of the bosonized ghosts. Based on the structure\nof the solutions, we conjecture them to describe the ghost part of collective\nvacuum for higher spin modes in open string theory.",
        "positive": "Holographic duality and the resistivity of strange metals: We present a strange metal, described by a holographic duality, which\nreproduces the famous linear resistivity of the normal state of the copper\noxides, in addition to the linear specific heat. This holographic metal reveals\na simple and general mechanism for producing such a resistivity, which requires\nonly quenched disorder and a strongly interacting, locally quantum critical\nstate. The key is the minimal viscosity of the latter: unlike in a\nFermi-liquid, the viscosity is very small and therefore is important for the\nelectrical transport. This mechanism produces a resistivity proportional to the\nelectronic entropy."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "R^4 corrections to conifolds and G_2 holonomy metrics: Motivated by examples that appeared in the context of string theory - gauge\ntheory duality, we consider corrections to supergravity backgrounds induced by\nhigher derivative R^4+... terms in superstring effective action. We argue that\nsupersymmetric solutions that solve BPS conditions at the leading\n(supergravity) order continue to satisfy a 1-st order ``RG-type'' system of\nequations with extra source terms encoding string (or M-theory) corrections. We\nillustrate this explicitly on the examples of R^4 corrections to the\ngeneralized resolved and deformed 6-d conifolds and to a class of non-compact\n7-d spaces with G_2 holonomy. Both types of backgrounds get non-trivial\nmodifications which we study in detail, stressing analogies between the two\ncases.",
        "positive": "Gauge Theory and the Excision of Repulson Singularities: We study brane configurations that give rise to large-N gauge theories with\neight supersymmetries and no hypermultiplets. These configurations include a\nvariety of wrapped, fractional, and stretched branes or strings. The\ncorresponding spacetime geometries which we study have a distinct kind of\nsingularity known as a repulson. We find that this singularity is removed by a\ndistinctive mechanism, leaving a smooth geometry with a core having an enhanced\ngauge symmetry. The spacetime geometry can be related to large-N Seiberg-Witten\ntheory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "ABJM Mirrors and a Duality of Dualities: We clarify how mirror symmetry acts on 3d theories with N=2,3 or 4\nsupersymmetries and non-abelian Chern-Simons terms and then construct many new\nexamples. We identify a new duality, geometric duality, that allows us to\ngenerate large families of gauge theories, with and without Chern-Simons term,\nthat all flow to the same conformal field theory in the infrared. In\nparticular, we find an interesting duality of dualities: a pair of theories\nrelated via mirror symmetry can be mapped, via geometric duality, into a pair\nof gauge theories related by Seiberg duality. This network of dualities can be\nunderstood as the simple result that all of these theories are different\nrealizations of one and the same system in M-theory.",
        "positive": "Bright branes for strongly coupled plasmas: We use holographic techniques to study photon production in a class of finite\ntemperature, strongly coupled, large-Nc SU(Nc) quark-gluon plasmas with Nf <<\nNc quark flavours. Our results are valid to leading order in the\nelectromagnetic coupling constant but non-perturbatively in the SU(Nc)\ninteractions. The spectral function of electromagnetic currents and other\nrelated observables exhibit an interesting structure as a function of the\nphoton frequency and the quark mass. We discuss possible implications for heavy\nion collision experiments."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Horizons, holography and condensed matter: The holographic correspondence creates an interface between classical\ngravitational physics and the dynamics of strongly interacting quantum field\ntheories. This chapter will relate the physics of charged, asymptotically\nAnti-de Sitter spacetimes to the phenomenology of low temperature critical\nphases of condensed matter. Common essential features will characterise both\nthe gravitational and field theoretic systems. Firstly, an emergent scaling\nsymmetry at the lowest energy scales appears as an emergent isometry in the\ninterior, `near horizon' regime of the spacetime. Secondly, the field theoretic\ndistinction between fractionalized and mesonic phases appears as the presence\nor absence of a charge-carrying horizon in the spacetime. A perspective\ngrounded in these two characteristics allows a unified presentation of\n`holographic superconductors', `electron stars' and `charged dilatonic\nspacetimes'.",
        "positive": "Hydrodynamics and beyond in the strongly coupled N=4 plasma: We continue our investigations on the relation between hydrodynamic and\nhigher quasinormal modes in the AdS black hole background started in\narXiv:0710.4458 [hep-th]. As is well known, the quasinormal modes can be\ninterpreted as the poles of the retarded Green functions of the dual N=4 gauge\ntheory at finite temperature. The response to a generic perturbation is\ndetermined by the residues of the poles. We compute these residues numerically\nfor energy-momentum and R-charge correlators. We find that the diffusion modes\nbehave in a similar way: at small wavelengths the residues go over into a form\nof a damped oscillation and therefore these modes decouple at short distances.\nThe sound mode behaves differently: its residue does not decay and at short\nwavelengths this mode behaves as the higher quasinormal modes. Applications of\nour findings include the definition of hydrodynamic length and time scales. We\nalso show that the quasinormal modes, including the hydrodynamic diffusion\nmodes, obey causality."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Unitarity in three-dimensional flat space higher spin theories: We investigate generic flat-space higher spin theories in three dimensions\nand find a no-go result, given certain assumptions that we spell out. Namely,\nit is only possible to have at most two out of the following three properties:\nunitarity, flat space, non-trivial higher spin states. Interestingly, unitarity\nprovides an (algebra-dependent) upper bound on the central charge, like c=42\nfor the Galilean $W_4^{(2-1-1)}$ algebra. We extend this no-go result to rule\nout unitary \"multi-graviton\" theories in flat space. We also provide an example\ncircumventing the no-go result: Vasiliev-type flat space higher spin theory\nbased on hs(1) can be unitary and simultaneously allow for non-trivial\nhigher-spin states in the dual field theory.",
        "positive": "Dynamical Mass Generation for Non-Abelian Gauge Fields without the Higgs: We present an alternative to the Higgs mechanism to generate masses for\nnon-abelian gauge fields in (3+1)-dimensions. The initial Lagrangian is\ncomposed of a fermion with current-current and dipole-dipole type\nself-interactions minimally coupled to non-abelian gauge fields. The mass\ngeneration occurs upon the fermionic functional integration. We show that by\nfine-tuning the coupling constants the effective theory contains massive\nnon-abelian gauge fields without any residual scalars or other degrees of\nfreedom."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "An Invitation to Higher Gauge Theory: In this easy introduction to higher gauge theory, we describe parallel\ntransport for particles and strings in terms of 2-connections on 2-bundles.\nJust as ordinary gauge theory involves a gauge group, this generalization\ninvolves a gauge '2-group'. We focus on 6 examples. First, every abelian Lie\ngroup gives a Lie 2-group; the case of U(1) yields the theory of U(1) gerbes,\nwhich play an important role in string theory and multisymplectic geometry.\nSecond, every group representation gives a Lie 2-group; the representation of\nthe Lorentz group on 4d Minkowski spacetime gives the Poincar\\'e 2-group, which\nleads to a spin foam model for Minkowski spacetime. Third, taking the adjoint\nrepresentation of any Lie group on its own Lie algebra gives a 'tangent\n2-group', which serves as a gauge 2-group in 4d BF theory, which has\ntopological gravity as a special case. Fourth, every Lie group has an 'inner\nautomorphism 2-group', which serves as the gauge group in 4d BF theory with\ncosmological constant term. Fifth, every Lie group has an 'automorphism\n2-group', which plays an important role in the theory of nonabelian gerbes. And\nsixth, every compact simple Lie group gives a 'string 2-group'. We also touch\nupon higher structures such as the 'gravity 3-group' and the Lie 3-superalgebra\nthat governs 11-dimensional supergravity.",
        "positive": "Differential calculus and gauge theory on finite sets: We develop differential calculus and gauge theory on a finite set G. An\nelegant formulation is obtained when G is supplied with a group structure and\nin particular for a cyclic group. Connes' two-point model (which is an\nessential ingredient of his reformulation of the standard model of elementary\nparticle physics) is recovered in our approach. Reductions of the universal\ndifferential calculus to `lower-dimensional' differential calculi are\nconsidered. The `complete reduction' leads to a differential calculus on a\nperiodic lattice which is related to q-calculus."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Proposal for Background Independent Berkovits' Superstring Field Theory: In this paper we would like to propose the background independent formulation\nof Berkovits' superstring field theory. Then we will show that the solution of\nequation of motion of this theory leads to the Berkovits' superstring field\ntheory formulated around particular CFT background.",
        "positive": "Averaging over moduli in deformed WZW models: WZW models live on a moduli space parameterized by current-current\ndeformations. The moduli space defines an ensemble of conformal field theories,\nwhich generically have $N$ abelian conserved currents and central charge $c >\nN$. We calculate the average partition function and show that it can be\ninterpreted as a sum over 3-manifolds. This suggests that the ensemble-averaged\ntheory has a holographic dual, generalizing recent results on Narain CFTs. The\nbulk theory, at the perturbative level, is identified as $U(1)^{2N}$\nChern-Simons theory coupled to additional matter fields. From a mathematical\nperspective, our principal result is a Siegel-Weil formula for the characters\nof an affine Lie algebra."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Imaginary Part of the Static Potential in Strongly Coupled\n  Anisotropic Plasma: Using the gauge/gravity duality we study the imaginary part of the static\npotential associated to the thermal width in finite temperature strongly\ncoupled anisotropic plasma. We firstly derive the potential for a generic\nanisotropic background. Then we apply our formulas to a theory where the\nanisotropy has been generated by a space dependent axion term. We find that\nusing our method there exist a peculiar turning point in the imaginary part of\nthe potential, similar to the one appearing in the real part. The presence of\nanisotropy leads to decrease of the imaginary potential, where larger decrease\nhappens along the anisotropic direction when the temperature is kept fixed.\nWhen the entropy density is fixed, increase happens along the parallel\ndirection while along the transverse plane we observe a decrease. To estimate\nthe thermal width we use an approximate extrapolation beyond the turning point\nand we find a decrease in presence of the anisotropy, independently of the\ncomparison scheme used.",
        "positive": "Relative Entanglement Entropies in 1+1-dimensional conformal field\n  theories: We study the relative entanglement entropies of one interval between excited\nstates of a 1+1 dimensional conformal field theory (CFT). To compute the\nrelative entropy $S(\\rho_1 \\| \\rho_0)$ between two given reduced density\nmatrices $\\rho_1$ and $\\rho_0$ of a quantum field theory, we employ the replica\ntrick which relies on the path integral representation of ${\\rm Tr} ( \\rho_1\n\\rho_0^{n-1} )$ and define a set of R\\'enyi relative entropies $S_n(\\rho_1 \\|\n\\rho_0)$. We compute these quantities for integer values of the parameter $n$\nand derive via the replica limit, the relative entropy between excited states\ngenerated by primary fields of a free massless bosonic field. In particular, we\nprovide the relative entanglement entropy of the state described by the primary\noperator $i \\partial\\phi$, both with respect to the ground state and to the\nstate generated by chiral vertex operators. These predictions are tested\nagainst exact numerical calculations in the XX spin-chain finding perfect\nagreement."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The renormalisation group for the truncated conformal space approach on\n  the cylinder: In this paper we continue the study of the truncated conformal space approach\nto perturbed conformal field theories, this time applied to bulk perturbations\nand focusing on the leading truncation-dependent corrections to the spectrum.\nWe find expressions for the leading terms in the ground state energy\ndivergence, the coupling constant renormalisation and the energy rescaling. We\napply these methods to problems treated in two seminal papers and show how\nthese RG improvements greatly increase the predictive power of the TCSA\napproach. One important outcome is that the TCSA spectrum of excitations is\npredicted not to converge for perturbations of conformal weight greater than\n3/4, but the ratios of excitation energies should converge.",
        "positive": "Scattering of twist fields from D-branes and orientifolds: We compute the two-point function for Z_N orbifold twist fields on the disk\nand RP2. We apply this to a computation of the O(g_s) correction to the Kahler\npotential for (the symmetric combination of) blow-up modes in type I string\ntheory on T^6/Z_3. This is related by supersymmetry to the one-loop field\ndependent correction to the Fayet-Iliopoulos D-term for the anomalous U(1)\nfactor. We find this correction to be non-vanishing away from the orbifold\npoint."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chiral Primordial Gravitational Waves from a Lifshitz Point: We study primordial gravitational waves produced during inflation in quantum\ngravity at a Lifshitz point proposed by Ho${\\rm\\check{r}}$ava. Assuming\npower-counting renormalizability, foliation preserving diffeomorphism\ninvariance, and the condition of detailed balance, we show that primordial\ngravitational waves are circularly polarized due to parity violation. The\nchirality of primordial gravitational waves is a quite robust prediction of\nquantum gravity at a Lifshitz point which can be tested through observations of\ncosmic microwave background radiation and stochastic gravitational waves.",
        "positive": "Comments on the anti-Hawking effect on a BTZ black hole spacetime: We compute the transition rate of an Unruh-DeWitt detector coupled both to a\nground state and to a KMS state of a massless, conformally coupled scalar field\non a static BTZ black hole with Robin boundary conditions. We observe that,\nalthough the anti-Hawking effect is manifest for the ground state, this is not\nthe case for the KMS state. In addition, we show that our analysis applies with\nminor modifications also to the anti-Unruh effect on Rindler-AdS$_3$ spacetime."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-Perturbative Decoupling of Heavy Fermions: We show that heavy fermions decouple from the low energy physics also in\nnon-perturbative instanton effects. Provided the heavy fermions are lighter\nthan the symmetry breaking scale, all the instanton effects should be expressed\nas local operators in the effective Lagrangian. The effective theory itself\ndoesn't admit instantons. We present the mechanism which suppresses instantons\nin the effective theory.",
        "positive": "A Renormalized Supersymmetry in the Topological Yang-Mills Field Theory: We reconsider the algebraic BRS renormalization of Witten's topological\nYang-Mills field theory by making use of a vector supersymmetry Ward identity\nwhich improves the finiteness properties of the model. The vector\nsupersymmetric structure is a common feature of several topological theories.\nThe most general local counterterm is determined and is shown to be a trivial\nBRS-coboundary."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Twisted K-theory and K-theory of bundle gerbes: In this note we introduce the notion of bundle gerbe K-theory and investigate\nthe relation to twisted K-theory. We provide some examples. Possible\napplications of bundle gerbe K-theory to the classification of D-brane charges\nin non-trivial backgrounds are discussed.",
        "positive": "Black strings in AdS_5: We present non-extremal magnetic black string solutions in five-dimensional\ngauged supergravity. The conformal infinity is the product of time and S^1xS_h,\nwhere S_h denotes a compact Riemann surface of genus h. The construction is\nbased on both analytical and numerical techniques. We compute the holographic\nstress tensor, the Euclidean action and the conserved charges of the solutions\nand show that the latter satisfy a Smarr-type formula. The phase structure is\ndetermined in the canonical ensemble, and it is shown that there is a first\norder phase transition from small to large black strings, which disappears\nabove a certain critical magnetic charge that is obtained numerically. For\nanother particular value of the magnetic charge, that corresponds to a twisting\nof the dual super Yang-Mills theory, the conformal anomalies coming from the\nbackground curvature and those arising from the coupling to external gauge\nfields exactly cancel. We also obtain supersymmetric solutions describing waves\npropagating on extremal BPS magnetic black strings, and show that they possess\na Siklos-Virasoro reparametrization invariance."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Jack superpolynomials, superpartition ordering and determinantal\n  formulas: We call superpartitions the indices of the eigenfunctions of the\nsupersymmetric extension of the trigonometric Calogero-Moser-Sutherland model.\nWe obtain an ordering on superpartitions from the explicit action of the\nmodel's Hamiltonian on monomial superfunctions. This allows to define Jack\nsuperpolynomials as the unique eigenfunctions of the model that decompose\ntriangularly, with respect to this ordering, on the basis of monomial\nsuperfunctions. This further leads to a simple and explicit determinantal\nexpression for the Jack superpolynomials.",
        "positive": "Zero Modes in a $c = 2$ Matrix Model: Recently \\REF\\dk{Simon Dalley and Igor Klebanov,'Light Cone Quantization of\nthe $c=2$ Matrix Model', PUPT-1333, hepth@xxx/920705} \\refend Dalley and\nKlebanov proposed a light-cone quantized study of the $c=2$ matrix model, but\nwhich ignores $k^{+}=0$ contributions. Since the non-critical string limit of\nthe matrix model involves taking the parameters $\\lambda$ and $\\mu$ of the\nmatrix model to a critical point, zero modes of the field might be important in\nthis study. The constrained light-cone quantization (CLCQ) approach of Heinzl,\nKrusche and Werner is applied . It is found that there is coupling between the\nzero mode sector and the rest of the theory, hence CLCQ should be implemented."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Nilpotent superfields for broken abelian symmetries: We find new solutions to real cubic constraints on $N=1$ chiral superfields\ntransforming under global abelian symmetries. These solutions describe the\nlow-energy dynamics of a goldstino interacting with an axion (both belonging to\nthe same chiral superfield) with non-linearly realized supersymmetry. We show\nthe relation between our model and the approach of Komargodski and Seiberg for\ndescribing goldstino-axion dynamics which uses orthogonal nilpotent\nsuperfields.",
        "positive": "Operator Identities, Representations of Algebras and the Problem of\n  Normal Ordering: Families of operator identities appeared as a consequence of an existence of\nfinite-dimensional representation of (super) Lie algebras of first-order\ndifferential operators and $q$-deformed (quantum) algebras of first-order\nfinite-difference operators are presented. It is shown that those identities\ncan be rewritten in terms of creation/annihilation operators and it leads to a\nsimplification of the problem of the normal ordering in the second quantization\nmethod."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Canonical Deformation of $N=2$ $AdS_{4}$ SUGRA: It is known that one can define a consistent theory of extended, $N=2$\nanti-de Sitter (AdS) Supergravity (SUGRA) in $D=4$. Besides the standard\ngravitational part, this theory involves a single $U(1)$ gauge field and a pair\nof Majorana vector-spinors that can be mixed into a pair of charged spin-$3/2$\ngravitini. The action for $N=2$ $AdS_{4}$ SUGRA is invariant under\n$SO(1,3)\\times U(1)$ gauge transformations, and under local SUSY. We present a\ngeometric action that involves two \"inhomogeneous\" parts: an orthosymplectic\n$OSp(4\\vert 2)$ gauge-invariant action of the Yang-Mills type, and a\nsupplementary action invariant under purely bosonic $SO(2,3)\\times U(1)\\sim\nSp(4)\\times SO(2)$ sector of $OSp(4\\vert 2)$, that needs to be added for\nconsistency. This action reduces to $N=2$ $AdS_{4}$ SUGRA after gauge fixing,\nfor which we use a constrained auxiliary field in the manner of Stelle and\nWest. Canonical deformation is performed by using the Seiberg-Witten approach\nto noncommutative (NC) gauge field theory with the Moyal product. The\nNC-deformed action is expanded in powers of the deformation parameter\n$\\theta^{\\mu\\nu}$ up to the first order. We show that $N=2$ $AdS_{4}$ SUGRA has\nnon-vanishing linear NC correction in the physical gauge, originating from the\nadditional, purely bosonic action. For comparison, simple $N=1$ Poinacar\\'{e}\nSUGRA can be obtained in the same manner, directly from an $OSp(4\\vert 1)$\ngauge-invariant action. The first non-vanishing NC correction is quadratic in\n$\\theta^{\\mu\\nu}$ and therefore exceedingly difficult to calculate. Under\nWigner-In\\\"{o}n\\\"{u} (WI) contraction, $N=2$ AdS superalgebra reduces to $N=2$\nPoincar\\'{e} superalgebra, and it is not clear whether this relation holds\nafter canonical deformation. We present the linear NC correction to $N=2$\n$AdS_{4}$ SUGRA explicitly, discuss its low-energy limit, and what remains of\nit after WI contraction.",
        "positive": "Solvability of the $F_4$ Integrable System: It is shown that the $F_4$ rational and trigonometric integrable systems are\nexactly-solvable for {\\it arbitrary} values of the coupling constants. Their\nspectra are found explicitly while eigenfunctions by pure algebraic means. For\nboth systems new variables are introduced in which the Hamiltonian has an\nalgebraic form being also (block)-triangular. These variables are invariant\nwith respect to the Weyl group of $F_4$ root system and can be obtained by\naveraging over an orbit of the Weyl group. Alternative way of finding these\nvariables exploiting a property of duality of the $F_4$ model is presented. It\nis demonstrated that in these variables the Hamiltonian of each model can be\nexpressed as a quadratic polynomial in the generators of some\ninfinite-dimensional Lie algebra of differential operators in a\nfinite-dimensional representation. Both Hamiltonians preserve the same flag of\npolynomials and each subspace of the flag coincides with the finite-dimensional\nrepresentation space of this algebra. Quasi-exactly-solvable generalization of\nthe rational $F_4$ model depending on two continuous and one discrete\nparameters is found."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Braided Matrix Structure of the Sklyanin Algebra and of the Quantum\n  Lorentz Group: Braided groups and braided matrices are novel algebraic structures living in\nbraided or quasitensor categories. As such they are a generalization of\nsuper-groups and super-matrices to the case of braid statistics. Here we\nconstruct braided group versions of the standard quantum groups $U_q(g)$. They\nhave the same FRT generators $l^\\pm$ but a matrix braided-coproduct $\\und\\Delta\nL=L\\und\\tens L$ where $L=l^+Sl^-$, and are self-dual. As an application, the\ndegenerate Sklyanin algebra is shown to be isomorphic to the braided matrices\n$BM_q(2)$; it is a braided-commutative bialgebra in a braided category. As a\nsecond application, we show that the quantum double $D(\\usl)$ (also known as\nthe `quantum Lorentz group') is the semidirect product as an algebra of two\ncopies of $\\usl$, and also a semidirect product as a coalgebra if we use braid\nstatistics. We find various results of this type for the doubles of general\nquantum groups and their semi-classical limits as doubles of the Lie algebras\nof Poisson Lie groups.",
        "positive": "Finite dimensional AKSZ-BV theories: We describe a canonical reduction of AKSZ-BV theories to the cohomology of\nthe source manifold. We get a finite dimensional BV theory that describes the\ncontribution of the zero modes to the full QFT. Integration can be defined and\ncorrelators can be computed. As an illustration of the general construction we\nconsider two dimensional Poisson sigma model and three dimensional Courant\nsigma model. When the source manifold is compact, the reduced theory is a\ngeneralization of the AKSZ construction where we take as source the cohomology\nring. We present the possible generalizations of the AKSZ theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-local Thirring model at finite-temperature: We extend a recently proposed non-local and non-covariant version of the\nThirring model to the finite-temperature case. We obtain a completely bosonized\nexpression for the partition function, describing the thermodynamics of the\ncollective modes which are the underlying excitations of this system. From this\nresult we derive closed formulae for the free-energy, specific-heat, two-point\ncorrelation functions and momentum distribution, as functionals of\nelectron-electron coupling potentials.",
        "positive": "\"Peireles Substitution\" and Chern-Simons Quantum Mechanics: An elementary derivation is given for the ``Peierles substitution'' used in\nprojecting dynamics in a strong magnetic field onto the lowest Landau level.\nThe projection of wavefunctions and the ordering prescription for the projected\nHamiltonian is explained."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Discrete-time Calogero-Moser Model and Lattice KP Equations: We introduce an integrable time-discretized version of the classical\nCalogero-Moser model, which goes to the original model in a continuum limit.\nThis discrete model is obtained from pole solutions of a semi-discretized\nversion of the Kadomtsev-Petviashvili equation, leading to a finite-dimensional\nsymplectic mapping. Lax pair, symplectic structure and sufficient set of\ninvariants of the discrete Calogero-Moser model are constructed for both the\nrational and elliptic cases. The classical $r$-matrix is the same as for the\ncontinuum model. An exact solution of the initial value problem is given for\nthe rational discrete-time Calogero-Moser model. The pole-expansion and\nelliptic solutions of the fully discretized Kadomtsev-Petviashvili equation are\nalso discussed.",
        "positive": "Universal low temperature theory of charged black holes with AdS$_2$\n  horizons: We consider the low temperature quantum theory of a charged black hole of\nzero temperature horizon radius $R_h$, in a spacetime which is asymptotically\nAdS$_{D}$ ($D > 3$) far from the horizon. At temperatures $T \\ll 1/R_h$, the\nnear-horizon geometry is AdS$_2$, and the black hole is described by a\nuniversal 0+1 dimensional effective quantum theory of time diffeomorphisms with\na Schwarzian action, and a phase mode conjugate to the U(1) charge. We obtain\nthis universal 0+1 dimensional effective theory starting from the full\n$D$-dimensional Einstein-Maxwell theory, while keeping quantitative track of\nthe couplings. The couplings of the effective theory are found to be in\nagreement with those expected from the thermodynamics of the $D$-dimensional\nblack hole."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Long Lived Large Type II Strings: decay within compactification: Motivated also by recent revival of interest about metastable string states\n(as cosmic strings or in accelerator physics), we study the decay, in presence\nof dimensional compactification, of a particular superstring state, which was\nproven to be remarkably long-lived in the flat uncompactified scenario. We\ncompute the decay rate by an exact numerical evaluation of the imaginary part\nof the one-loop propagator. For large radii of compactification, the result\ntends to the fully uncompactified one (lifetime T = const M^5/g^2), as\nexpected, the string mainly decaying by massless radiation. For small radii,\nthe features of the decay (emitted states, initial mass dependence,....)\nchange, depending on how the string wraps on the compact dimensions.",
        "positive": "Representation-theoretic proof of the inner product and symmetry\n  identities for Macdonald's polynomials: This paper is a continuation of our papers \\cite{EK1, EK2}. In \\cite{EK2} we\nshowed that for the root system $A_{n-1}$ one can obtain Macdonald's\npolynomials as weighted traces of intertwining operators between certain\nfinite-dimensional representations of $U_q(sl_n)$. The main goal of the present\npaper is to use this construction to give a representation-theoretic proof of\nMacdonald's inner product and symmetry identities for the root system\n$A_{n-1}$. The proofs are based on the techniques of ribbon graphs developed by\nReshetikhin and Turaev. We also use the symmetry identities to derive recursive\nrelations for Macdonald's polynomials."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Destruction of a metastable string by particle collisions: We calculate the probability of destruction of a metastable string by\ncollisions of the Goldstone bosons, corresponding to the transverse waves on\nthe string. We find a general formula that allows to determine the probability\nof the string breakup by a collision of arbitrary number of the bosons. We find\nthat the destruction of a metastable string takes place only in collisions of\neven number of the bosons, and we explicitly calculate the energy dependence of\nsuch process in a two-particle collision for an arbitrary relation between the\nenergy and the largest infrared scale in the problem, the length of the\ncritical gap in the string.",
        "positive": "Spherically Symmetric Braneworld Solutions with R_{4} term in the Bulk: An analysis of a spherically symmetric braneworld configuration is performed\nwhen the intrinsic curvature scalar is included in the bulk action; the\nvanishing of the electric part of the Weyl tensor is used as the boundary\ncondition for the embedding of the brane in the bulk. All the solutions outside\na static localized matter distribution are found; some of them are of the\nSchwarzschild-(A)dS_{4} form. Two modified Oppenheimer-Volkoff interior\nsolutions are also found; one is matched to a Schwarzschild-(A)dS_{4} exterior,\nwhile the other does not. A non-universal gravitational constant arises,\ndepending on the density of the considered object; however, the conventional\nlimits of the Newton's constant are recovered. An upper bound of the order of\nTeV for the energy string scale is extracted from the known solar system\nmeasurements (experiments). On the contrary, in usual brane dynamics, this\nstring scale is calculated to be larger than TeV."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Klebanov-Witten theory with massive dynamical flavors: We consider the addition of a large number of massive dynamical flavors to\nthe Klebanov-Witten theory, the quiver gauge theory describing the low energy\ndynamics of Nc D3-branes at the conifold singularity. Massive flavors are\nintroduced by means of Nf D7-branes which are holomorphically embedded and\nsmeared along the transverse directions. After some general comments on the\nvalidity of the smearing procedure, we find the full backreacted supergravity\nsolution corresponding to a particular class of massive embeddings. The\nsolution depends on a running effective number of flavors, whose functional\nform follows from the smeared embedding. The running reflects the integrating\nin/out of massive degrees of freedom in the dual field theory as the energy\nscale is changed. We study how the dynamics of the theory depends on the flavor\nparameters, mainly focusing on the static quark-antiquark potential. As\nexpected, we find that the dynamical flavors tend to screen the static color\ncharges.",
        "positive": "Algebraic Structures Related to Reflection Equations: Quadratic algebras related to the reflection equations are introduced. They\nare quantum group comodule algebras. The quantum group $F_q(GL(2))$ is taken as\nthe example. The properties of the algebras (center, representations,\nrealizations, real forms, fusion procedure etc) as well as the generalizations\nare discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Soft supersymmetry breaking with tiny cosmological constant in flux\n  compactified N=1 Supergravity: Using the flux compactification scenario in a generic supergravity model we\nconstruct a set of conditions which are necessary to generate de-Sitter or anti\nde-Sitter vacua for appropriate choices of the parameters in superpotential. It\nis shown that a mass spectrum consistent with softly broken TeV scale\nsupersymmetry in a minimal supersymmetric standard model at the observable\nsector can be obtained along with a tiny cosmological constant when the Kahler\nand superpotential of the hidden sector satisfy a set of general constraints.\nConstructing a specific model with Kahler and superpotentials which satisfy the\nabove constraints, it is demonstrated that all the hidden sector fields have\nvacuum expectation values close to Planck scale and the resulting low energy\npotential does not have any flat direction.",
        "positive": "Aspects of screening and confinement in a topologically massive\n  $U{\\left( 1 \\right)_{\\cal W}} \\times U{(1)_{\\cal Y}}$ Chern-Simons-Higgs\n  theory: By using the gauge-invariant but path-dependent, variables formalism, we\nconsider a recently proposed topologically massive $U{\\left( 1 \\right)_{\\cal\nW}} \\times U{(1)_{\\cal Y}}$ Chern-Simons-Higgs theory in $2+1$ dimensions. In\nparticular, we inspect the impact of a Chern-Simons mixing term between two\nAbelian gauge fields on physical observables. We pursue our investigation by\nanalysing the model in two different situations. In the first case, where we\nintegrate out the massive excitation and consider an effective model for the\nmassless field, we show that the interaction energy contains a linear term\nleading to the confinement of static charge probes along with a screening\ncontribution. The second situation, where the massless field can be exactly\nintegrated over with its constraint duly taken into account, the interesting\nfeature is that the resulting effective model describes a purely screening\nphase, without any trace of a confining regime."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Integrable Open Spin Chains in Defect Conformal Field Theory: We demonstrate that the one-loop dilatation generator for the scalar sector\nof a certain perturbation of N=4 Super Yang-Mills with fundamentals is the\nHamiltonian of an integrable spin chain with open boundary conditions. The\ntheory is a supersymmetric defect conformal field theory (dCFT) with the\nfundamentals in hypermultiplets confined to a codimension one defect. We obtain\na K-matrix satisfying a suitably generalized form of the boundary Yang-Baxter\nequation, study the Bethe ansatz equations and demonstrate how Dirichlet and\nNeumann boundary conditions arise in field theory, and match to existing\nresults in the plane wave limit.",
        "positive": "Perturbative gauge theory at null infinity: We describe a theory living on the null conformal boundary of\nfour-dimensional Minkowski space, whose states include the radiative modes of\nYang-Mills theory. The action of a Kac-Moody symmetry algebra on the\ncorrelators of these states leads to a Ward identity for asymptotic 'large'\ngauge transformations which is equivalent to the soft gluon theorem. The\nsubleading soft gluon behavior is also obtained from a Ward identity for\ncharges acting as vector fields on the sphere of null generators of the\nboundary. Correlation functions of the Yang-Mills states are shown to produce\nthe full classical S-matrix of Yang-Mills theory. The model contains additional\nstates arising from non-unitary gravitational degrees of freedom, indicating a\nrelationship with the twistor-string of Berkovits & Witten."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exact S-matrices for d_{n+1}^{(2)} affine Toda solitons and their bound\n  states: We conjecture an exact S-matrix for the scattering of solitons in\n$d_{n+1}^{(2)}$ affine Toda field theory in terms of the R-matrix of the\nquantum group $U_q(c_n^{(1)})$. From this we construct the scattering\namplitudes for all scalar bound states (breathers) of the theory. This S-matrix\nconjecture is justified by detailed examination of its pole structure. We show\nthat a breather-particle identification holds by comparing the S-matrix\nelements for the lowest breathers with the S-matrix for the quantum particles\nin real affine Toda field theory, and discuss the implications for various\nforms of duality.",
        "positive": "Finite Group Modular Data: In a remarkable variety of contexts appears the modular data associated to\nfinite groups. And yet, compared to the well-understood affine algebra modular\ndata, the general properties of this finite group modular data has been poorly\nexplored. In this paper we undergo such a study. We identify some senses in\nwhich the finite group data is similar to, and different from, the affine data.\nWe also consider the data arising from a cohomological twist, and write down,\nexplicitly in terms of quantities associated directly with the finite group,\nthe modular S and T matrices for a general twist, for what appears to be the\nfirst time in print."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hairy Black Holes in a Box: We do a systematic study of the phases of gravity coupled to an\nelectromagnetic field and charged scalar in flat space, with box boundary\nconditions. The scalar-less box has previously been investigated by Braden,\nBrown, Whiting and York (and others) before AdS/CFT and we elaborate and extend\ntheir results in a language more familiar from holography. The phase diagram of\nthe system is analogous to that of AdS black holes, but we emphasize the\ndifferences and explain their origin. Once the scalar is added, we show that\nthe system admits both boson stars as well as hairy black holes as solutions,\nproviding yet another way to evade flat space no-hair theorems. Furthermore\nboth these solutions can exist as stable phases in regions of the phase\ndiagram. The final picture of the phases that emerges is strikingly similar to\nthat found recently for holographic superconductors in global AdS, arXiv:\n1602.07211. Our construction lays bare certain previously unnoticed subtleties\nassociated to the definition quasi-local charges for gravitating scalar fields\nin finite regions.",
        "positive": "Y-Systems for Generalised Gibbs Ensembles in Integrable Quantum Field\n  Theory: The thermodynamic Bethe ansatz approach to the study of integrable quantum\nfield theories was introduced in the early 90s. Since then it has been known\nthat the thermodynamic Bethe ansatz equations can be recast in the form of\n$Y$-systems. These $Y$-systems have a number of interesting properties, notably\nin the high-temperature limit their solutions are constants from which the\ncentral charge of the ultraviolet fixed point can be obtained and they are\ntypically periodic functions, with period proportional to the dimension of the\nperturbing field. In this letter we discuss the derivation of $Y$-systems when\nthe standard thermodynamic Bethe ansatz equations are replaced by generalised\nversions, describing generalised Gibbs ensembles. We shown that for many\nintegrable quantum field theories, there is a large class of distinct\ngeneralised Gibbs ensembles which share the same $Y$-system."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Duality Transformations for Generalized WDVV equations in Seiberg-Witten\n  theory: It is known that electric-magnetic duality transformations are symmetries of\nthe generalized Witten-Dijkgraaf-Verlinde-Verlinde (WDVV) equations. In\nSeiberg-Witten theory the solutions to these equations come in certain sets\naccording to the gauge group. We show that the duality transformations\ntransform solutions within a set to another solution within the same set, by\nusing a subset of the Picard-Fuchs equations on the Seiberg-Witten family of\nRiemann surfaces. The electric-magnetic duality transformations can be thought\nof as changes of a canonical homology basis on the surfaces which in our\nderivation is clearly responsible for the covariance of the generalized WDVV\nsystem.",
        "positive": "On the addition of torsion to chiral gravity: Three-dimensional gravity in Anti-de Sitter space is considered, including\ntorsion. The derivation of the central charges of the algebra that generates\nthe asymptotic isometry group of the theory is reviewed, and a special point of\nthe theory, at which one of the central charges vanishes, is compared with the\nchiral point of topologically massive gravity. This special point corresponds\nto a singular point in Chern-Simons theory, where one of the two coupling\nconstants of the SL(2,R) actions vanishes. A prescription to approach this\npoint in the space of parameters is discussed, and the canonical structure of\nthe theory is analyzed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Frame-like Actions for Massless Mixed-Symmetry Fields in Minkowski space: A frame-like action for arbitrary mixed-symmetry bosonic massless fields in\nMinkowski space is constructed. The action is given in a simple form and\nconsists of two terms for a field of any spin. The fields and gauge parameters\nare certain tensor-valued differential forms. The formulation is based on the\nunfolded form of equations for mixed-symmetry fields.",
        "positive": "Manifestly gauge-covariant representation of scalar and fermion\n  propagators: A new way to write the massive scalar and fermion propagators on a background\nof a weak gauge field is presented. They are written in a form that is\nmanifestly gauge-covariant up to several additional terms that can be written\nas boundary terms in momentum space. These additional terms violate\nWard-Takahashi identities and need to be renormalized by appropriate\ncounterterms if the complete theory is to be gauge-covariant. This form makes\nit possible to calculate many amplitudes in a manifestly gauge-covariant way\n(at the same time reducing the number of Feynman diagrams). It also allows to\nexpress some counterterms in a way independent of the regularization scheme and\nprovides an easy way to derive the anomalous term affecting the chiral current\nconservation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Supersymmetry of Higher-Derivative Supergravity in AdS$_4$\n  Holography: An action for the higher-derivative corrections to minimal gauged\nsupergravity in four dimensions has been recently proposed. We demonstrate that\nthe supersymmetric solutions of this model are those of the two-derivative\naction, and investigate some of their properties. In particular, we prove a\nformula for the renormalised on-shell action in terms of contributions from\nfixed points of a $U(1)$ action, and confirm that it is invariant under\ndeformations which preserve the boundary almost contact structure.",
        "positive": "The Sakai-Sugimoto soliton: The Sakai-Sugimoto model is the preeminent example of a string theory\ndescription of holographic QCD, in which baryons correspond to topological\nsolitons in the bulk. Here we investigate the validity of various\napproximations of the Sakai-Sugimoto soliton that are used widely to study the\nproperties of holographic baryons. These approximations include the flat space\nself-dual instanton, a linear expansion in terms of eigenfunctions in the\nholographic direction and an asymptotic power series at large radius. These\ndifferent approaches have produced contradictory results in the literature\nregarding properties of the baryon, such as relations for the electromagnetic\nform factors. Here we determine the regions of validity of these various\napproximations and show how to relate different approximations in contiguous\nregions of applicability. This analysis clarifies the source of the\ncontradictory results in the literature and resolves some outstanding issues,\nincluding the use of the flat space self-dual instanton, the detailed\nproperties of the asymptotic soliton tail, and the role of the UV cutoff\nintroduced in previous investigations. A consequence of our analysis is the\ndiscovery of a new large scale, that grows logarithmically with the 't Hooft\ncoupling, at which the soliton fields enter a nonlinear regime. Finally, we\nprovide the first numerical computation of the Sakai-Sugimoto soliton and\ndemonstrate that the numerical results support our analysis."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Creation of Magnetic Monopoles in Classical Scattering: We consider the creation of 't Hooft-Polyakov magnetic monopoles by\nscattering classical wave packets of gauge fields. An example with eight\nclearly separated magnetic poles created with parity violating helical initial\nconditions is shown. No clear separation of topological charge is observed with\ncorresponding parity symmetric initial conditions.",
        "positive": "Supersymmetry in Lorentzian Curved Spaces and Holography: We consider superconformal and supersymmetric field theories on\nfour-dimensional Lorentzian curved space-times, and their five-dimensional\nholographic duals. As in the Euclidean signature case, preserved supersymmetry\nfor a superconformal theory is equivalent to the existence of a charged\nconformal Killing spinor. Differently from the Euclidean case, we show that the\nexistence of such spinors is equivalent to the existence of a null conformal\nKilling vector. For a supersymmetric field theory with an R-symmetry, this\nvector field is further restricted to be Killing. We demonstrate how these\nresults agree with the existing classification of supersymmetric solutions of\nminimal gauged supergravity in five dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dynamics of Brane-World Cosmological Models: We show that generically the initial singularity is isotropic in spatially\nhomogeneous cosmological models in the brane-world scenario. We then argue that\nit is plausible that the initial singularity is isotropic in typical brane\nworld cosmological models. Therefore, brane cosmology naturally gives rise to a\nset of initial data that provide the conditions for inflation to subsequently\ntake place, thereby solving the initial conditions problem and leading to a\nself--consistent and viable cosmology.",
        "positive": "Bosonization at Finite Temperature and Anyon Condensation: An operator formalism for bosonization at finite temperature and density is\ndeveloped. We treat the general case of anyon statistics. The exact $n$-point\ncorrelation functions, satisfying the Kubo-Martin-Schwinger condition, are\nexplicitly constructed. The invariance under both vector and chiral\ntransformations allows to introduce two chemical potentials. Investigating the\nexact momentum distribution, we discover anyon condensation in certain range of\nthe statistical parameter. Another interesting feature is the occurrence of a\nnon-vanishing persistent current. As an application of the general formalism,\nwe solve the massless Thirring model at finite temperature, deriving the charge\ndensity and the persistent current."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Minimalisation of uncertainty relations in noncommutative quantum\n  mechanics: The explicit constrtuction of states saturating uncertainty relations\nfollowing from basic commutation rules of NCQM is given both in Fock space and\ncoordinate representation",
        "positive": "S-duality and Topological Strings: In this paper we show how S-duality of type IIB superstrings leads to an\nS-duality relating A and B model topological strings on the same Calabi-Yau as\nhad been conjectured recently: D-instantons of the B-model correspond to\nA-model perturbative amplitudes and D-instantons of the A-model capture\nperturbative B-model amplitudes.\n  Moreover this confirms the existence of new branes in the two models.\n  As an application we explain the recent results concerning A-model\ntopological strings on Calabi-Yau and its equivalence to the statistical\nmechanical model of melting crystal."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Pulsating strings on $(AdS_3 \\times S^3)_\\varkappa$: We derive the energy of pulsating strings as a function of adiabatic\ninvariant oscillation number, which oscillates in $S^2_{\\varkappa}$. We find\nsimilar solutions for the strings oscillating in deformed $AdS_3$. Furthermore,\nwe generalize the result to the oscillating strings in anti-de Sitter space in\nthe presence of extra angular momentum in $(AdS_3 \\times S^1)_\\varkappa$.",
        "positive": "Generalized Dualities in 1T-Physics as Holographic Predictions from\n  2T-Physics: In the conventional formalism of physics, with 1-time, systems with different\nHamiltonians or Lagrangians have different physical interpretations and are\nconsidered to be independent systems unrelated to each other. However, in this\npaper we construct explicitly canonical maps in 1T phase space (including\ntimelike components, specifically the Hamiltonian) to show that it is\nappropriate to regard various 1T-physics systems, with different Lagrangians or\nHamiltonians, as being duals of each other. This concept is similar in spirit\nto dualities discovered in more complicated examples in field theory or string\ntheory. Our approach makes it evident that such generalized dualities are\nwidespread. This suggests that, as a general phenomenon, there are hidden\nrelations and hidden symmetries that conventional 1T-physics does not capture,\nimplying the existence of a more unified formulation of physics that naturally\nsupplies the hidden information. In fact, we show that 2T-physics in\n(d+2)-dimensions is the generator of these dualities in 1T-physics in\nd-dimensions by providing a holographic perspective that unifies all the dual\n1T systems into one. The unifying ingredient is a gauge symmetry in phase\nspace. Via such dualities it is then possible to gain new insights toward new\nphysical predictions not suspected before, and suggest new methods of\ncomputation that yield results not obtained before. As an illustration, we will\nprovide concrete examples of 1T-systems in classical mechanics that are solved\nanalytically for the first time via our dualities. These dualities in classical\nmechanics have counterparts in quantum mechanics and field theory, and in some\nsimpler cases they have already been constructed in field theory. We comment on\nthe impact of our approach on the meaning of spacetime and on the development\nof new computational methods based on dualities."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The O(N) vector model in the large N limit revisited: multicritical\n  points and double scaling limit: The multicritical points of the $O(N)$ invariant $N$ vector model in the\nlarge $N$ limit are reexamined. Of particular interest are the subtleties\ninvolved in the stability of the phase structure at critical dimensions. In the\nlimit $N \\to \\infty$ while the coupling $g \\to g_c$ in a correlated manner (the\ndouble scaling limit) a massless bound state $O(N)$ singlet is formed and\npowers of $1/N$ are compensated by IR singularities. The persistence of the $N\n\\to \\infty$ results beyond the leading order is then studied with particular\ninterest in the possible existence of a phase with propagating small mass\nvector fields and a massless singlet bound state. We point out that under\ncertain conditions the double scaled theory of the singlet field is\nnon-interacting in critical dimensions.",
        "positive": "High-dimensional Lifshitz-type spacetimes, universal horizons and black\n  holes in Ho\u0159ava-Lifshitz gravity: In this paper, we present all $[(d+1)+1]$-dimensional static diagonal vacuum\nsolutions of the non-projectable Ho\\v{r}ava-Lifshitz gravity in the IR limit,\nand show that they give rise to very rich Lifshitz-type structures, depending\non the choice of the free parameters of the solutions. These include the\nLifshitz spacetimes with or without hyperscaling violation, Lifshitz solitons,\nand black holes. Remarkably, even the theory breaks explicitly the Lorentz\nsymmetry and allows generically instantaneous propagations, universal horizons\nstill exist, which serve as one-way membranes for signals with any large\nvelocities. In particular, particles even with infinitely large velocities\nwould just move around on these boundaries and cannot escape to infinity.\nAnother remarkable feature appearing in the Lifshitz-type spacetimes is that\nthe dynamical exponent $z$ can take its values only in the ranges $1 \\le z < 2$\nfor $d \\ge 3$ and $1 \\le z <\\infty$ for $d = 2$, due to the stability and\nghost-free conditions of the theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Confinement in N=1 SUSY Gauge Theories and Model Building Tools: We develop a systematic approach to confinement in N=1 supersymmetric\ntheories. We identify simple necessary conditions for theories to confine\nwithout chiral symmetry breaking and to generate a superpotential\nnon-perturbatively (s-confine). Applying these conditions we identify all N=1\ntheories with a single gauge group and no tree-level superpotential which\ns-confine. We give a complete list of the confined spectra and superpotentials.\nSome of these theories are of great interest for model building. We give\nseveral new examples of models which break supersymmetry dynamically.",
        "positive": "On Abelianization of First Class Constraints: The systematic method for the conversion of first class constraints to the\nequivalent set of Abelian one based on the Dirac equivalence transformation is\ndeveloped. The representation for the corresponding matrix performing this\ntransformation is proposed. This representation allows one to lead the problem\nof abelianization to the solution of a certain system of first order {\\it\nlinear } differential equations for matrix elements ."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Three-loop Correction to the Instanton Density. II. The Sine-Gordon\n  potential: In this second paper on quantum fluctuations near the classical instanton\nconfigurations, see {\\em Phys. Rev. D \\bf 92}, 025046 (2015) and\narXiv:1501.03993, we focus on another well studied quantum-mechanical problem,\nthe one-dimensional Sine-Gordon potential (the Mathieu potential). Using only\nthe tools from quantum field theory, the Feynman diagrams in the instanton\nbackground, we calculate the tunneling amplitude (the instanton density) to the\nthree-loop order. The result confirms (to seven significant figures) the one\nrecently recalculated by G. V. Dunne and M. \\\"{U}nsal, {\\it Phys. Rev. \\bf D\n89}, 105009 (2014) from the resurgence perspective. As in the double well\npotential case, we found that the largest contribution is given by the diagrams\noriginating from the Jacobian. We again observe that in the three-loop case\nindividual Feynman diagrams contain irrational contributions, while their sum\ndoes not.",
        "positive": "Variations of Infinite Derivative Modified Gravity: We consider nonlocal modified Einstein gravity without matter, where nonlocal\nterm has the form $P(R) F(\\Box) Q(R)$. For this model, in this paper we give\nthe derivation of the equations of motion in detail. This is not an easy task\nand presented derivation should be useful to a researcher who wants to\ninvestigate nonlocal gravity. Also, we present the second variation of the\nrelated Einstein-Hilbert modified action and basics of gravity perturbations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Bjorken and threshold limit of a space-like structure function in the 2D\n  $U(N)$ Gross-Neveu model: In this note, we investigate a simple coordinate-space structure function\n$f_a(z^2m^2,\\lambda)$ in the 2D $U(N)$ Gross-Neveu model to next-to-leading\norder in the large $N$ expansion. We analytically perform the twist expansion\nin the Bjorken limit through double Mellin-representations. Hard and\nnon-perturbative scaling functions at various powers are naturally generated in\ntheir Borel representations. At leading power (LP), the collinear factorization\nformula is explicitly verified, and the issue of ``scale-dependency'' of\nperturbative and non-perturbative functions is explained naturally. At NLP,\nthere are three series of non-perturbative functions and the related hard\nfunctions. At higher powers, explicit forms for all the contributions are also\nobtained. The renormalon cancellation at $t=n$ between hard functions at powers\n$p$ and the non-perturbative functions at powers $p+n$ are explicitly verified\nto all powers. Simple expressions for the leading power non-perturbative\nfunctions are also provided both in coordinate space and momentum-fraction\nspaces ($0<\\alpha<1$) with ``zero-mode-type'' subtractions at $\\alpha=0$\ndiscussed in detail. We also investigate the threshold expansion of the\nstructure function and its relation to the twist expansion.",
        "positive": "Bosonization and generalized Mandelstam soliton operators: The generalized massive Thirring model (GMT) with three fermion species is\nbosonized in the context of the functional integral and operator formulations\nand shown to be equivalent to a generalized sine-Gordon model (GSG) with three\ninteracting soliton species. The generalized Mandelstam soliton operators are\nconstructed and the fermion-boson mapping is established through a set of\ngeneralized bosonization rules in a quotient positive definite Hilbert space of\nstates. Each fermion species is mapped to its corresponding soliton in the\nspirit of particle/soliton duality of Abelian bosonization. In the\nsemi-classical limit one recovers the so-called SU(3) affine Toda model coupled\nto matter fields (ATM) from which the classical GSG and GMT models were\nrecently derived in the literature. The intermediate ATM like effective action\npossesses some spinors resembling the higher grading fields of the ATM theory\nwhich have non-zero chirality. These fields are shown to disappear from the\nphysical spectrum, thus providing a bag model like confinement mechanism and\nleading to the appearance of the massive fermions (solitons). The ordinary\nMT/SG duality turns out to be related to each SU(2) sub-group. The higher rank\nLie algebra extension is also discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic Studies of The Generic Massless Cubic Gravities: We consider the generic massless cubic gravities coupled to a negative bare\ncosmological constant mainly in $D=5$ and $D=4$ dimensions, which are Einstein\ngravity extended with cubic curvature invariants where the linearized excited\nspectrum around the AdS background contains no massive modes. The generic\nmassless cubic gravities are more general than Myers quasi-topological gravity\nin $D=5$ and Einsteinian cubic gravity in $D=4$. It turns out that the massless\ncubic gravities admit the black holes at least in a perturbative sense with the\ncoupling constants of the cubic terms becoming infinitesimal. The first order\napproximate black hole solutions with arbitrary boundary topology $k$ are\npresented, and in addition, the second order approximate planar black holes are\nexhibited as well. We then establish the holographic dictionary for such\ntheories by presenting $a$-charge, $C_T$-charge and energy flux parameters\n$t_2$ and $t_4$. By perturbatively discussing the holographic R\\'enyi entropy,\nwe find $a$, $C_T$ and $t_4$ can somehow determine the R\\'enyi entropy with the\nlimit $q\\rightarrow 1$, $q\\rightarrow 0$ and $q\\rightarrow \\infty$ up to the\nfirst order, where $q$ is the order of the R\\'enyi entropy. For holographic\nhydrodynamics, we discuss the shear-viscosity-entropy-ratio and find that the\npatterns deviating from the KSS bound $1/(4\\pi)$ can somehow be controlled by\n$((c-a)/c,t_4)$ up to the first order in $D=5$, and\n$((\\mathcal{C}_T-\\tilde{a})/\\mathcal{C}_T,t_4)$ up to the second order in\n$D=4$, where $\\mathcal{C}_T$ and $\\tilde{a}$ differ from $C_T$-charge and\n$a$-charge by inessential overall constants.",
        "positive": "Maximally supersymmetric solutions of ten- and eleven-dimensional\n  supergravities: We classify (up to local isometry) the maximally supersymmetric solutions of\nthe eleven- and ten-dimensional supergravity theories. We find that the AdS\nsolutions, the Hpp-waves and the flat space solutions exhaust them."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Corrugated Multi-Supersheets: We explore the multi-superthreads and supersheets solutions of\nsix-dimensional N=1 supergravity coupled to a tensor multiplet. The solutions\ncarry D1-D5-P charges, but no Kaluza-Klein monopole. We lay down the formalism\nto construct multiple supersheets with arbitrary and independent profiles. The\nsolution is by construction free of Dirac strings in contrast to the\nfive-dimensional construction where one has to separately solve integrability\nconditions. We explore this formalism to construct supersheets that fluctuate\nin both directions allowing a more general choice of profiles. These new\nsolutions are genuinely six-dimensional, singular, fluctuating BPS solutions\nand by analyzing them we expect to learn more about the conjectured\nsuperstrata. We also derive the conditions under which different supersheets\ncan touch, or even intersect through each other.",
        "positive": "Operator mixing, UV asymptotics of nonplanar/planar $2$-point\n  correlators, and nonperturbative large-$N$ expansion of QCD-like theories: We work out the interplay between lowest-order perturbative computations in\nthe 't Hooft coupling, $g^2=g^2_{YM} N$, operator mixing, renormalization-group\n(RG) improved ultraviolet (UV) asymptotics of leading-order (LO)\nnonplanar/planar contributions to $2$-point correlators, and nonperturbative\nlarge-$N$ expansion of perturbatively massless QCD-like theories. As concrete\nexamples, we compute to the lowest perturbative order in $SU(N)$ YM theory the\nratios, $r_i$, of LO-nonplanar to planar contributions to the $2$-point\ncorrelators in the orthogonal basis in the coordinate representation of the\ngauge-invariant dimension-$8$ scalar operators and all the twist-$2$ operators.\nWe demonstrate that -- if $\\frac{\\gamma_0}{\\beta_0}$ has no LO-nonplanar\ncontribution, with $\\gamma_0$ and $\\beta_0$ the one-loop coefficients of the\nanomalous-dimension matrix and beta function respectively -- $r_i$ actually\ncoincides with the corresponding ratio in the large-$N$ expansion of the\nRG-improved UV asymptotics of the $2$-point correlators, provided that a\ncertain canonical nonresonant diagonal renormalization scheme exists for the\ncorresponding operators. Contrary to the aforementioned scalar operators, for\nthe first $10^3$ twist-$2$ operators we actually verify the above conditions,\nand we get the universal value $r_i=-\\frac{1}{N^2}$. Hence, nonperturbatively\nsuch $r_i$ must coincide with the UV asymptotics of the ratio of the glueball\nself-energy loop to the glueball tree contribution to the $2$-point correlators\nabove. As a consequence, the universality of $r_i$ reflects the universality of\nthe effective coupling in the nonperturbative large-$N$ YM theory for the\ntwist-$2$ operators in the coordinate representation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "JuliBootS: a hands-on guide to the conformal bootstrap: We introduce {\\tt JuliBootS}, a package for numerical conformal bootstrap\ncomputations coded in {\\tt Julia}. The centre-piece of {\\tt JuliBootS} is an\nimplementation of Dantzig's simplex method capable of handling arbitrary\nprecision linear programming problems with continuous search spaces. Current\nsupported features include conformal dimension bounds, OPE bounds, and\nbootstrap with or without global symmetries. The code is trivially\nparallelizable on one or multiple machines. We exemplify usage extensively with\nseveral real-world applications. In passing we give a pedagogical introduction\nto the numerical bootstrap methods.",
        "positive": "Holographic superconductivity in Einsteinian Cubic Gravity: We study the condensation of a charged scalar field in a $(3+1)$-dimensional\nasymptotically AdS background in the context of Einsteinian cubic gravity,\nfeaturing a holographic superconductor with higher curvature corrections\ncorresponding to a CFT with a non-vanishing value of the stress tensor\nthree-point function $t_4$. As it was previously noticed for higher dimensional\nGauss-Bonnet theory, we observe that the critical temperature of the\nsuperconducting phase transition is lowered as the higher curvature coupling\ngrows."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic plasma and anyonic fluids: We use alternative quantisation of the $D3/D5$ system to explore properties\nof a strongly coupled charged plasma and strongly coupled anyonic fluids. The\n$S$-transform of the $D3/D5$ system is used as a model for charged matter\ninteracting with a U(1) gauge field in the large coupling regime, and we\ncompute the dispersion relationship of the propagating electromagnetic modes as\nthe density and temperature are changed. A more general $SL(2,\\mathbb{Z})$\ntransformation gives a strongly interacting anyonic fluid, and we study its\ntransport properties as we change the statistics of the anyons and the\nbackground magnetic field.",
        "positive": "Breakdown of emergent Lifshitz symmetry in holographic matter with\n  Harris-marginal disorder: We revisit the theory of strongly correlated quantum matter perturbed by\nHarris-marginal random-field disorder, using the simplest holographic model. We\nargue that for weak disorder, the ground state of the theory is not Lifshitz\ninvariant with a non-trivial disorder-dependent dynamical exponent, as\npreviously found. Instead, below a non-perturbatively small energy scale, we\npredict infrared physics becomes independent of the disorder strength."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Stringy (Galilei) Newton-Hooke Chern-Simons Gravities: We construct Chern-Simons gravities in $(2+1)$-dimensional space-time\nconsidering the Stringy Galilei algebra both with and without non-central\nextensions. In the first case, there is an invariant and non-degenerate\nbilinear form, however, the field equations do not allow to express the spin\nconnections in terms of the dreibeins. In the second case, there is no\ninvariant non-degenerate bilinear form. Therefore, in both cases, we do not\nhave an ordinary gravity theory. Instead, if we consider the stringy\nNewton-Hooke algebra with extensions as gauge group we have an invariant\nnon-degenerate metric and from the field equations, we express the spin\nconnections in terms of the geometric fields.",
        "positive": "Vector-Field Domain Walls: We argue that spontaneous Lorentz violation may generally lead to metastable\ndomain walls related to the simultaneous violation of some accompanying\ndiscrete symmetries. Remarkably, such domain wall solutions exist for\nspace-like Lorentz violation and do not exist for the time-like violation.\nBecause a preferred space direction is spontaneously induced, these domain\nwalls have no planar symmetry and produce a peculiar static gravitational field\nat small distances, while their long-distance gravity appears the same as for\nregular scalar-field walls. Some possible applications of vector-field domain\nwalls are briefly discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Vortices on the Higgs Branch of the Seiberg-Witten Theory: We study the mechanism of confinement via formation of\nAbrikosov-Nielsen-Olesen vortices on the Higgs branch of N=2 supersymmetric\nSU(2) gauge theory with massive fundamental matter. Higgs branch represents a\nlimiting case of superconductor of type I with vanishing Higgs mass. We show\nthat in this limit vortices still exist although they become logarithmically\n\"thick\". Because of this the confining potential is not linear any longer. It\nbehaves as $L/\\log L$ with a distance $L$ between confining heavy charges\n(monopoles). This new confining regime can occur only in supersymmetric\ntheories. We also address the problem of quantum stability of vortices. To this\nend we develop string representation for a vortex and use it to argue that\nvortices remain stable.",
        "positive": "Nonrelativistic Limit of Dirac Theory From Effective Field Theory: In this work we analyze the low energy nonrelativistic limit of Dirac theory\nin the framework of effective field theory. By integrating out the high energy\nmodes of Dirac field, given in terms of a combination of the two-components\nWeyl spinors, we obtain a low energy effective action for the remaining\ncomponents, whose equation of motion can then be compared to the\nPauli-Schr\\\"odinger equation after demanding normalization of the wave\nfunction. We then discuss the relevance of the terms in the effective action in\nthe context of an anisotropic dimensional analysis which is suitable for\nnonrelativistic theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Absorption of scalars by extremal black holes in string theory: We show that the low frequency absorption cross section of minimally coupled\ntest massless scalar fields by extremal spherically symmetric black holes in d\ndimensions is equal to the horizon area, even in the presence of\nstring--theoretical $\\alpha'$ corrections. Classically one has the relation\n$\\sigma = 4 G S$ between that absorption cross section and the black hole\nentropy. By comparing in each case the values of the horizon area and Wald's\nentropy, we discuss the validity of such relation in the presence of higher\nderivative corrections for extremal black holes in many different contexts: in\nthe presence of electric and magnetic charges, for nonsupersymmetric and\nsupersymmetric black holes, in d=4 and d=5 dimensions. The examples we consider\nseem to indicate that this relation is not verified in the presence of\n$\\alpha'$ corrections in general, although being valid in some specific cases\n(electrically charged maximally supersymmetric black holes in d=5). We argue\nthat the relation $\\sigma = 4 G S$ should in general be valid for the\nabsorption cross section of scalar fields which, although being independent\nfrom the black hole solution, have their origin from string theory, and\ntherefore are not minimally coupled.",
        "positive": "Infinite N phase transitions in continuum Wilson loop operators: We define smoothed Wilson loop operators on a four dimensional lattice and\ncheck numerically that they have a finite and nontrivial continuum limit. The\ncontinuum operators maintain their character as unitary matrices and undergo a\nphase transition at infinite N reflected by the eigenvalue distribution closing\na gap in its spectrum when the defining smooth loop is dilated from a small\nsize to a large one. If this large N phase transition belongs to a solvable\nuniversality class one might be able to calculate analytically the string\ntension in terms of the perturbative Lambda-parameter. This would be achieved\nby matching instanton results for small loops to the relevant large-N-universal\nfunction which, in turn, would be matched for large loops to an effective\nstring theory. Similarities between our findings and known analytical results\nin two dimensional space-time indicate that the phase transitions we found only\naffect the eigenvalue distribution, but the traces of finite powers of the\nWilson loop operators stay smooth under scaling."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "An Infinite Set of Tree Amplitudes in Higgs-Yang-Mills: It is pointed out that the Parke-Taylor or maximally helicity violating\namplitudes in the pure Yang-Mills can, after some specifications, be\ninterpreted as amplitudes of scattering of massive vector bosons in the\nHiggs-Yang-Mills system.",
        "positive": "A Comment on Holographic Luttinger Theorem: Robustness of the Luttinger theorem for fermionic liquids is examined in\nholography. The statement of the Luttinger theorem, the equality between the\nfermion charge density and the volume enclosed by the Fermi surface, can be\nmapped to a Gauss's law in the gravity dual, a la Sachdev. We show that various\ndeformations in the gravity dual, such as inclusion of magnetic fields, a\nparity-violating theta-term, dilatonic deformations, and higher-derivative\ncorrections, do not violate the holographic derivation of the Luttinger\ntheorem, as long as the theory is in a confining phase. Therefore a robustness\nof the theorem is found for strongly correlated fermions coupled with strongly\ncoupled sectors which admit gravity duals. On the other hand, in the deconfined\nphase, we also show that the deficit appearing in the Luttinger theorem is\nagain universal. It measures a total deficit which measures the charge of the\ndeconfined (\"fractionalized\") fermions, independent of the deformation\nparameters."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Anyons and Deformed Lie Algebras: We discuss the connection between anyons (particles with fractional\nstatistics) and deformed Lie algebras (quantum groups). After a brief review of\nthe main properties of anyons, we present the details of the anyonic\nrealization of all deformed classical Lie algebras in terms of anyonic\noscillators. The deformation parameter of the quantum groups is directly\nrelated to the statistics parameter of the anyons. Such a realization is a\ndirect generalization of the Schwinger construction in terms of fermions and is\nbased on a sort of bosonization formula which yields the generators of the\ndeformed algebra in terms of the undeformed ones. The entire procedure is well\ndefined on two-dimensional lattices, but it can be consistently reduced also to\none-dimensional chains.",
        "positive": "Correlation functions for some conformal theories on Riemann surfaces: We discuss the geometrical connection between 2D conformal field theories,\nrandom walks on hyperbolic Riemann surfaces and knot theory. For the wide class\nof CFTs with monodromies being the discrete subgroups of SL(2,R), the\ndetermination of four-point correlation functions are related to construction\nof topological invariants for random walks on multipunctured Riemann surfaces"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A new method to solve the Non Perturbative Renormalization Group\n  equations: We propose a method to solve the Non Perturbative Renormalization Group\nequations for the $n$-point functions. In leading order, it consists in solving\nthe equations obtained by closing the infinite hierarchy of equations for the\n$n$-point functions. This is achieved: i) by exploiting the decoupling of modes\nand the analyticity of the $n$-point functions at small momenta: this allows us\nto neglect some momentum dependence of the vertices entering the flow\nequations; ii) by relating vertices at zero momenta to derivatives of lower\norder vertices with respect to a constant background field. Although the\napproximation is not controlled by a small parameter, its accuracy can be\nsystematically improved. When it is applied to the O(N) model, its leading\norder is exact in the large $N$ limit; in this case, one recovers known results\nin a simple and direct way, i.e., without introducing an auxiliary field.",
        "positive": "Magnetic Monopoles with No Strings Attached: A Portal to the Dark Side\n  of Dual Electrodynamics: It has long been known that in the absence of electric charges and currents,\nMaxwell's electromagnetism in 4 dimensional vacuum Minkowski space-time is\ninvariant under SO(2) dual transformations that mix its electric and magnetic\nfields. Extending this symmetry to include the coupling to electrically charged\nmatter, requires a dual coupling to magnetically charged matter as well,\nleading to Maxwell equations for SO(2) dual electrodynamics. Based on a doubled\nensemble of SO(2) dual 4-vector gauge potentials which does away with the need\nof Dirac string singularities for magnetic monopoles, a local Lagrangian action\nprinciple for SO(2) dual electromagnetism is known, which manifestly displays\nall the required space-time and internal symmetries, and reduces to the\nexperimentally well established Maxwell electrodynamics in the absence of\nmagnetic charges and currents. Applying the same considerations for the matter\naction of electrically and magnetically charged point particles, a unique SO(2)\ndual generalised Lorentz force is identified for SO(2) dual electrodynamics,\ntruly different from the usual SO(2) dual invariant choice motivated by\nsimplicity, but yet made arbitrarily and which does not derive from some action\nprinciple. This generalised Lorentz force involves a single real and new\ncoupling constant of unknown value, without the requirement of a\nDirac-Schwinger-Zwanziger quantisation condition for electric and magnetic\ncharges of dyons. A physical consequence for SO(2) dual electrodynamics of this\ncoupling constant if nonvanishing, is to open a channel, or portal between the\notherwise mutually totally ``dark'' sectors of electric and magnetic charges\nfor electromagnetic interactions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spin group and almost commutative geometry: For Connes' spectral triples, the group of automorphisms lifted to the\nHilbert space is defined and used to fluctuate the metric. A few commutative\nexamples are presented including Chamseddine and Connes' spectral unification\nof gravity and electromagnetism. One almost commutative example is treated: the\nfull standard model. Here the lifted automorphisms explain O'Raifeartaigh's\nreduction $SU(2)\\times U(3)/\\zz_2.$",
        "positive": "Photon Masses in the Landscape and the Swampland: In effective quantum field theory, a spin-1 vector boson can have a\ntechnically natural small mass that does not originate from the Higgs\nmechanism. For such theories, which may be written in St\\\"uckelberg form, there\nis no point in field space at which the mass is exactly zero. I argue that\nquantum gravity differs from, and constrains, effective field theory:\narbitrarily small St\\\"uckelberg masses are forbidden. In particular, the limit\nin which the mass goes to zero lies at infinite distance in field space, and\nthis distance is correlated with a tower of modes becoming light according to\nthe Swampland Distance Conjecture. Application of Tower or Sublattice variants\nof the Weak Gravity Conjecture makes this statement more precise: for a spin-1\nvector boson with coupling constant $e$ and St\\\"uckelberg mass $m$, local\nquantum field theory breaks down at energies at or below $\\Lambda_{\\rm UV} =\n\\min((m M_{\\rm Pl}/e)^{1/2}, e^{1/3} M_{\\rm Pl})$. Combined with\nphenomenological constraints, this argument implies that the Standard Model\nphoton must be exactly massless. It also implies that much of the parameter\nspace for light dark photons, which are the target of many experimental\nsearches, is compatible only with Higgs and not St\\\"uckelberg mass terms. This\nsignificantly affects the experimental limits and cosmological histories of\nsuch theories. I explain various caveats and weak points of the arguments,\nincluding loopholes that could be targets for model-building."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Is Bimetric Gravity Really Ghost Free?: We perform the Hamiltonian analysis of the bimetric theory of gravity\nintroduced in [arXiv:1109.3515 [hep-th]]. We carefully analyze the requirement\nof the preservation of all constraints and we find that there is no additional\nconstraint that could eliminate the ghost mode.",
        "positive": "Black hole entropy in string-generated gravity models: The Euclidean action and entropy are computed in string-generated gravity\nmodels with quadratic curvatures, and used to argue that a negative mass\nextremal metric is the background for hyperbolic (k=-1) black hole spacetimes,\nk being the curvature constant of the event horizon. The entropy associated\nwith a black hole is always positive for k=(0,1) family. The positivity of\nenergy condition also ensures that the k=-1 (extremal) entropy is non-negative."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The six-point remainder function to all loop orders in the multi-Regge\n  limit: We present an all-orders formula for the six-point amplitude of planar\nmaximally supersymmetric N=4 Yang-Mills theory in the leading-logarithmic\napproximation of multi-Regge kinematics. In the MHV helicity configuration, our\nresults agree with an integral formula of Lipatov and Prygarin through at least\n14 loops. A differential equation linking the MHV and NMHV helicity\nconfigurations has a natural action in the space of functions relevant to this\nproblem---the single-valued harmonic polylogarithms introduced by Brown. These\nfunctions depend on a single complex variable and its conjugate, w and w*,\nwhich are quadratically related to the original kinematic variables. We\ninvestigate the all-orders formula in the near-collinear limit, which is\napproached as |w|->0. Up to power-suppressed terms, the resulting expansion may\nbe organized by powers of log|w|. The leading term of this expansion agrees\nwith the all-orders double-leading-logarithmic approximation of Bartels,\nLipatov, and Prygarin. The explicit form for the sub-leading powers of log|w|\nis given in terms of modified Bessel functions.",
        "positive": "Heterotic Kink Solitons and their Worldvolume Action: We present a formalism for computing the higher-order corrections to the\nworldvolume action of a co-dimension one kink soliton embedded in\nfive-dimensional heterotic M-theory. The geometry of heterotic M-theory, as\nwell as the effective theory which describes a five-brane wrapping a\nholomorphic curve by a topological kink in a scalar field, is reviewed. Using\nthis formalism, the explicit worldvolume action is computed to second order in\ntwo expansion parameters--one describing the \"warp\" of the heterotic geometry\nand the second the fluctuation length of the soliton hypersurface. The result\nis expressed in terms of the trace of the extrinsic curvature and the intrinsic\ncurvature scalar."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Doubled Field Approach to Yang - Mills Requires Non-Locality: Doubling a Yang-Mills field we apply the pattern which has been found to\nconstruct a \"duality-symmetric\" gravity with matter to the \"duality-symmetric\"\nYang - Mills theory in five space-time dimensions. Constructing the action we\nconclude that dualizing a non-abelian theory requires non-locality. We analyze\nthe symmetries of the theory and equations of motion. Extension to the\nsupersymmetric theory is also demonstrated.",
        "positive": "Hadron physics as Seiberg dual of QCD: We try to identify the light hadron world as the magnetic picture of QCD. We\ntake both phenomenological and theoretical approaches to this hypothesis, and\nfind that the interpretation seems to show interesting consistencies. In\nparticular, one can identify the rho and omega mesons as the magnetic gauge\nbosons, and the Higgs mechanism for them provides a dual picture of the color\nconfinement."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Landau energy spectrum and quantum oscillator model for twisted\n  N-enlarged Newton-Hooke space-time: We derive the energy levels for oscillator model defined on the twisted\nN-enlarged Newton-Hooke space-time, i.e., we find time-dependent eigenvalues\nand corresponding time-dependent eigenstates. We also demonstrate that for a\nparticular choice of deformation parameters of phase space the above spectrum\ncan be identified with the time-dependent Landau one.",
        "positive": "A Covariant Approach to Noncommutative M5-branes: We briefly review how to discuss noncommutative (NC) M5-branes and\nintersecting NC M5-branes from kappa-invariance of an open supermembrane action\nwith constant three-form fluxes. The kappa-invariance gives rise to possible\nDirichlet brane configurations. We shortly summarize a construction of\nprojection operators for NC M5-branes and some intersecting configurations of\nNC M5-branes. A strong flux limit of them is also discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic entanglement entropy and the internal space: We elaborate on the role of extremal surfaces probing the internal space in\nAdS/CFT. Extremal surfaces in AdS quantify the \"geometric\" entanglement between\ndifferent regions in physical space for the dual CFT. This, however, is just\none of many ways to split a given system into subsectors, and extremal surfaces\nin the internal space should similarly quantify entanglement between subsectors\nof the theory. For the case of AdS$_5\\times$S$^5$, their area was interpreted\nas entanglement entropy between U(n) and U(m) subsectors of U(n+m) N=4 SYM.\nMaking this proposal precise is subtle for a number of reasons, the most\nobvious being that from the bulk one usually has access to gauge-invariant\nquantities only, while a split into subgroups is inherently gauge variant. We\nstudy N=4 SYM on the Coulomb branch, where some of the issues can be mitigated\nand the proposal can be sharpened. Continuing back to the original\nAdS$_5\\times$S$^5$ geometry, we obtain a modified proposal, based on the\nrelation of the internal space to the R-symmetry group.",
        "positive": "Massive Vector Chern-Simons Gravity: We present a second order gravity action which consists of ordinary Einstein\naction augmented by a first-order, vector like, Chern-Simons quasi topological\nterm.This theory is ghost-free and propagates a pure spin-2 mode. It is\ndiffeomorphism invariant, although its local Lorentz invariance has been\nspontaneously broken."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Four-qubit entanglement from string theory: We invoke the black hole/qubit correspondence to derive the classification of\nfour-qubit entanglement. The U-duality orbits resulting from timelike reduction\nof string theory from D=4 to D=3 yield 31 entanglement families, which reduce\nto nine up to permutation of the four qubits.",
        "positive": "Cosmic No Hair for Braneworlds with a Bulk Dilaton Field: Braneworld cosmology supported by a bulk scalar field with an exponential\npotential is developed. A general class of separable backgrounds for both\nsingle and two-brane systems is derived, where the bulk metric components are\ngiven by products of world-volume and bulk coordinates and the world-volumes\nrepresent any anisotropic and inhomogeneous solution to an effective\nfour-dimensional Brans-Dicke theory of gravity. We deduce a cosmic no hair\ntheorem for all ever expanding, spatially homogeneous Bianchi world-volumes and\nfind that the spatially flat and isotropic inflationary scaling solution\nrepresents a late-time attractor when the bulk potential is sufficiently flat.\nThe dependence of this result on the separable nature of the bulk metric is\ninvestigated by applying the techniques of Hamilton-Jacobi theory to\nfive-dimensional Einstein gravity. We employ the spatial gradient expansion\nmethod to determine the asymptotic form of the bulk metric up to third-order in\nspatial gradients. It is found that the condition for the separable form of the\nmetric to represent the attractor of the system is precisely the same as that\nfor the four-dimensional world-volume to isotropize. We also derive the\nfourth-order contribution to the Hamilton-Jacobi generating functional.\nFinally, we conclude by placing our results within the context of the\nholographic approach to braneworld cosmology."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Brane gaugino condensate in 10d: We analyze the structure of gaugino interactions on D7-branes from a 10d\nperspective. This is essential if one wants to lift the standard 4d approach to\ntype IIB moduli stabilization to 10d. In particular, a 10d picture has recently\nbeen used to raise concerns about the KKLT proposal for constructing de Sitter\nvacua, and to lend support to swampland conjectures against de Sitter. However,\nthe analyses of brane gaugino condensation so far are plagued by UV divergences\nand do not include local 4-fermion terms. They also fail to reproduce the\n4-fermion terms required by supergravity when compactified to four dimensions.\nMotivated by the structure of heterotic and Horava-Witten theories, we suggest\nan extension of the brane action by a particular 4-fermion operator that\nresolves the above problems. Crucially, the UV divergence is cancelled and the\nexpected structure of the 4d effective action is reproduced. We believe that\nattempts at a 10d description of KKLT have to be reconsidered in this new\nlight.",
        "positive": "Complete integrability of geodesic motion in Sasaki-Einstein toric\n  $Y^{p,q}$ spaces: We construct explicitly the constants of motion for geodesics in the\n$5$-dimensional Sasaki-Einstein spaces $Y^{p,q}$. To carry out this task we use\nthe knowledge of the complete set of Killing vectors and Killing-Yano tensors\non these spaces. In spite of the fact that we generate a multitude of constants\nof motion, only five of them are functionally independent implying the complete\nintegrability of geodesic flow on $Y^{p,q}$ spaces. In the particular case of\nthe homogeneous Sasaki-Einstein manifold $T^{1,1}$ the integrals of motion have\nsimpler forms and the relations between them are described in detail."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Bounds on the local energy density of holographic CFTs from bulk\n  geometry: The stress tensor is a basic local operator in any field theory; in the\ncontext of AdS/CFT, it is the operator which is dual to the bulk geometry\nitself. Here we exploit this feature by using the bulk geometry to place\nconstraints on the local energy density in static states of holographic\n$(2+1)$-dimensional CFTs living on a closed (but otherwise generally curved)\nspatial geometry. We allow for the presence of a marginal scalar deformation,\ndual to a massless scalar field in the bulk. For certain vacuum states in which\nthe bulk geometry is well-behaved at zero temperature, we find that the bulk\nequations of motion imply that the local energy density integrated over\nspecific boundary domains is negative. In the absence of scalar deformations,\nwe use the inverse mean curvature flow to show that if the CFT spatial geometry\nhas spherical topology but non-constant curvature, the local energy density\nmust be positive somewhere. This result extends to other topologies, but only\nfor certain types of vacuum; in particular, for a generic toroidal boundary,\nthe vacuum's bulk dual must be the zero-temperature limit of a toroidal black\nhole.",
        "positive": "Semitransparent pistons: We consider semitransparent pistons in the presence of extra dimensions. It\nis shown that the piston is always attracted to the closest wall irrespective\nof details of the geometry and topology of the extra dimensions and of the\ncross section of the piston. Furthermore, we evaluate the zeta regularized\ndeterminant for this configuration."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spread of entanglement in a Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev chain: We study the spread of R\\'enyi entropy between two halves of a\nSachdev-Ye-Kitaev (SYK) chain of Majorana fermions, prepared in a thermofield\ndouble (TFD) state. The SYK chain model is a model of chaotic many-body\nsystems, which describes a one-dimensional lattice of Majorana fermions, with\nspatially local random quartic interaction. We find that for integer R\\'enyi\nindex $n>1$, the R\\'enyi entanglement entropy saturates at a parametrically\nsmaller value than expected. This implies that the TFD state of the SYK chain\ndoes not rapidly thermalize, despite being maximally chaotic: instead, it\nrapidly approaches a prethermal state. We compare our results to the signatures\nof thermalization observed in other quenches in the SYK model, and to intuition\nfrom nearly-$\\mathrm{AdS}_2$ gravity.",
        "positive": "High temperature dimensional reduction in Snyder space: In this paper, we formulate the statistical mechanics in Snyder space that\nsupports the existence of a minimal length scale. We obtain the corresponding\ninvariant Liouville volume which properly determines the number of microstates\nin the semiclassical regime. The results show that the number of accessible\nmicrostates drastically reduces at the high energy regime such that there is\nonly one degree of freedom for a particle. Using the Liouville volume, we\nobtain the deformed partition function and we then study the thermodynamical\nproperties of the ideal gas in this setup. Invoking the equipartition theorem,\nwe show that $2/3$ of the degrees of freedom freeze at the high temperature\nregime when the thermal de Broglie wavelength becomes of the order of the\nPlanck length. This reduction of the number of degrees of freedom suggests an\neffective dimensional reduction of the space from $3$ to $1$ at the Planck\nscale."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Mean lifetime of a false vacuum in terms of the Krylov-Fock non-escape\n  probability: The Krylov-Fock expression of non-decay (or survival) probability, which\nallows to evaluate the deviations from the exponential decay law (nowadays well\nestablished experimentally), is more informative as it readily provides the\ndistribution function for the lifetime as a random quantity. Guided by the well\nestablished formalism for describing nuclear alpha decay, we use this\ndistribution function to figure out the mean value of lifetime and its\nfluctuation rate. This theoretical framework is of considerable interest\ninasmuch as it allows an experimental verification. Next, we apply the\nKrylov-Fock approach to the decay of a metastable state at a finite temperature\nin the framework of thermo-field dynamics. In contrast to the existing\nformalism, this approach shows the interference effect between the tunnelings\nfrom different metastable states as well as between the tunneling and the\nbarrier hopping. This effect looks quite natural in the framework of consistent\nquantum mechanical description as a manifestation of the \"double-slit\nexperiment\". In the end we discuss the field theory applications of the results\nobtained.",
        "positive": "Variations of the Hidden Sector in a Realistic Intersecting Brane Model: Recently, we discussed the first example of a phenomenologically realistic\nintersecting D6-brane model. In this model, the gauge symmetry in the hidden\nsector is USp(2)_1 x USp(2)_2 x USp(2)_3 x USp(2)_4. However, we find that the\nUSp(2)_1 x USp(2)_2 gauge symmetry can be replaced by an U(2)_{12} gauge\nsymmetry, and/or the USp(2)_3 x USp(2)_4 gauge symmetry can be replaced by an\nU(2)_{34} gauge symmetry since the USp(2)^2 stacks of D6-branes contribute to\nthe same Ramond-Ramond tadpoles as those of the U(2) stacks. Thus, there are\nthree non-equivalent variations of the hidden sector, and the corresponding\ngauge symmetries are U(2)_{12} x USp(2)_3 x USp(2)_4, U(2)_{34} x USp(2)_1 x\nUSp(2)_2, and U(2)_{12} x U(2)_{34}, respectively. Moreover, we study the\nhidden sector gauge symmetry breaking, discuss how to decouple the additional\nexotic particles, and briefly comment on the phenomenological consequences."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Two-Matrix model with ABAB interaction: Using recently developed methods of character expansions we solve exactly in\nthe large N limit a new two-matrix model of hermitean matrices A and B with the\naction S={1\\over 2}(\\tr A^2+\\tr B^2)-{\\alpha\\over 4}(\\tr A^4+\\tr B^4)\n-{\\beta\\over 2} \\tr(AB)^2. This model can be mapped onto a special case of the\n8-vertex model on dynamical planar graphs. The solution is parametrized in\nterms of elliptic functions. A phase transition is found: the critical point is\na conformal field theory with central charge c=1 coupled to 2D quantum gravity.",
        "positive": "Massless Boundary Sine-Gordon at the Free Fermion Point: Correlation and\n  Partition Functions with Applications to Quantum Wires: In this report we compute the boundary states (including the boundary\nentropy) for the boundary sine-Gordon theory. From the boundary states, we\nderive both correlation and partition functions. Through the partition\nfunction, we show that boundary sine-Gordon maps onto a doubled boundary Ising\nmodel. With the current-current correlators, we calculate for finite system\nsize the ac-conductance of tunneling quantum wires with dimensionless free\nconductance 1/2 (or, alternatively interacting quantum Hall edges at filling\nfraction 1/2). In the dc limit, the results of C. Kane and M. Fisher, Phys.\nRev. B46 (1992) 15233, are reproduced."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Explicit de Sitter Flux Vacua for Global String Models with Chiral\n  Matter: We address the open question of performing an explicit stabilisation of all\nclosed string moduli (including dilaton, complex structure and Kaehler moduli)\nin fluxed type IIB Calabi-Yau compactifications with chiral matter. Using toric\ngeometry we construct Calabi-Yau manifolds with del Pezzo singularities.\nD-branes located at such singularities can support the Standard Model gauge\ngroup and matter content. In order to control complex structure moduli\nstabilisation we consider Calabi-Yau manifolds which exhibit a discrete\nsymmetry that reduces the effective number of complex structure moduli. We\ncalculate the corresponding periods in the symplectic basis of invariant\nthree-cycles and find explicit flux vacua for concrete examples. We compute the\nvalues of the flux superpotential and the string coupling at these vacua.\nStarting from these explicit complex structure solutions, we obtain AdS and dS\nminima where the Kaehler moduli are stabilised by a mixture of D-terms,\nnon-perturbative and perturbative alpha'-corrections as in the LARGE Volume\nScenario. In the considered example the visible sector lives at a dP_6\nsingularity which can be higgsed to the phenomenologically interesting class of\nmodels at the dP_3 singularity.",
        "positive": "A Lower Estimate for the Modified Steiner Functional: We prove inequality (1) for the modified Steiner functional A(M), which\nextends the notion of the integral of mean curvature for convex surfaces.We\nalso establish an exression for A(M) in terms of an integral over all\nhyperplanes intersecting the polyhedralral surface M."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Tall tales from de Sitter space I: Renormalization group flows: We study solutions of Einstein gravity coupled to a positive cosmological\nconstant and matter, which are asymptotically de Sitter and homogeneous.\nRegarded as perturbations of de Sitter space, a theorem of Gao and Wald implies\nthat generically these solutions are `tall,' meaning that the perturbed\nuniverse lives through enough conformal time for an entire spherical Cauchy\nsurface to enter any observer's past light cone. Such observers will realize\nthat their universe is spatially compact. An interesting fact, which we\ndemonstrate with an explicit example, is that this Cauchy surface can have\narbitrarily large volume for fixed asymptotically de Sitter behavior. Our main\nfocus is on the implications of tall universes for the proposed dS/CFT\ncorrespondence. Particular attention is given to the associated renormalization\ngroup flows, leading to a more general de Sitter `c-theorem.' We find, as\nexpected, that a contracting phase always represents a flow towards the\ninfrared, while an expanding phase represents a `reverse' flow towards the\nultraviolet. We also discuss the conformal diagrams for various classes of\nhomogeneous flows.",
        "positive": "Non-minimal Kinetic coupling to gravity and accelerated expansion: We study a scalar field with kinetic term coupled to itself and to the\ncurvature, as a source of dark energy, and analyze the role of this new\ncoupling in the accelerated expansion at large times. In the case of scalar\nfield dominance, the scalar field and potential giving rise to power-law\nexpansion are found in some cases, and a dynamical equation of state is\ncalculated for a given solution of the field equations. A behavior very close\nto that of the cosmological constant was found."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Tachyon Condensation and Brane Descent Relations in p-adic String Theory: It has been conjectured that an extremum of the tachyon potential of a\nbosonic D-brane represents the vacuum without any D-brane, and that various\ntachyonic lump solutions represent D-branes of lower dimension. We show that\nthe tree level effective action of p-adic string theory, the expression for\nwhich is known exactly, provides an explicit realisation of these conjectures.",
        "positive": "Nonabelian N=2 Superstrings: The Green-Schwarz covariant N=2 superstring action can be consistently\ndeduced as the action of the Wess-Zumino-Witten (WZW) sigma model defined on\nthe direct product of two N=1, D=10 Poincar\\'e supertranslation groups.\nGeneralizing this result, we construct new WZW sigma models on the supergroups\nwith a nonabelian even part and interpret them as models of superstrings moving\non the supergroup manifolds. We show that these models are completely\nintegrable and in some special cases possess fermionic kappa-symmetry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Viscosity of an ideal relativistic quantum fluid: A perturbative study: We show that a quantized ideal fluid will generally exhibit a small but\nnon-zero viscosity due to the backreaction of quantum soundwaves on the\nbackground. We use an effective field theory expansion to estimate this\nviscosity to first order in perturbation theory. We discuss our results, and\nwhether this estimate can be used to obtain a more model-independent estimate\nof the \"quantum bound\" on the viscosity of physical systems",
        "positive": "Trace and chiral anomalies in string and ordinary field theory from\n  Feynman diagrams for nonlinear sigma models: We write general one-loop anomalies of string field theory as path integrals\non a torus for the corresponding nonlinear sigma model. This extends the work\nof Alvarez-Gaum\\'e and Witten from quantum mechanics to two dimensions. Higher\nworld-volume loops contribute in general to nontopological anomalies and a\nformalism to compute these is developed. We claim that (i) for general\nanomalies one should not use the propagator widely used in string theory but\nrather the one obtained by generalization from quantum mechanics, but (ii) for\nchiral anomalies both propagators give the same result. As a check of this\nclaim in a simpler model we compute trace anomalies in quantum mechanics. The\npropagator with a center-of-mass zero mode indeed does not give the correct\nresult for the trace anomaly while the propagator for fluctuations $q^i (\\tau)$\nsatisfying $q^i (\\tau = -1) = q^i (\\tau = 0) = 0$ yields in $d=2$ and $d=4$\ndimensions the correct results from two- and three-loop graphs.\n  We then return to heterotic string theory and calculate the contributions to\nthe anomaly from the different spin structures for $d=2$. We obtain agreement\nwith the work of Pilch, Schellekens and Warner and that of Li in the sector\nwith spacetime fermions. In the other sectors, where no explicit computations\nhave been performed in the past and for which one needs higher loops, we find a\ngenuine divergence, whose interpretation is unclear to us. We discuss whether\nor not this leads to a new anomaly."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Nonlinear Brownian Motion and Higgs Mechanism: An extension of the stochastic quantization scheme is proposed by adding\nnonlinear terms to the field equations. Our modification is motivated by the\nrecently established theory of active Brownian motion. We discuss a way of\npromoting this theory to the case of infinite degrees of freedom. Equilibrium\ndistributions can be calculated exactly and are interpreted as path integral\ndensities of quantum field theories. By applying our procedure to scalar QED,\nthe symmetry breaking potential of the Higgs mechanism arises as the\nequilibrium solution.",
        "positive": "Beta-ensembles for toric orbifold partition function: We investigate combinatorics of the instanton partition function for the\ngeneric four dimensional toric orbifolds. It is shown that the orbifold\nprojection can be implemented by taking the inhomogeneous root of unity limit\nof the q-deformed partition function. The asymptotics of the combinatorial\npartition function yields the multi-matrix model for a generic $\\beta$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "IIB or not IIB: We consider Type IIB superstring theory with the addition of n 9-branes and n\nanti-9-branes (and no orientifolds). The result is a ten-dimensional chiral\ntheory of open and closed oriented strings with gauge group U(n) \\times U(n).\nThere is, however, a tachyonic instability which can be understood as the\nconsequence of brane-antibrane annihilation. We therefore expect to recover the\nusual IIB theory as the tachyon rolls to infinity.",
        "positive": "Global Aspects of p-Branes: We generalize to dimension $p>1$ the notion of string structure and discuss\nthe related obstruction. We apply our results to a model of bosonic $p$-branes\npropagating on a principal $G$-bundle, coupled to a Yang--Mills field and an\nantisymmetric tensor field and in the presence of a Wess-Zumino term in the\nLagrangian. We construct the quantization line bundle and discuss the action of\nbackground gauge transformations on wave functions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Component Decompositions and Adynkra Libraries for Supermultiplets in\n  Lower Dimensional Superspaces: We present Adynkra Libraries that can be used to explore the embedding of\nmultiplets of component field (whether on-shell or partial on-shell) within\nSalam-Strathdee superfields for theories in dimension nine through four.",
        "positive": "$T^3$ deformations and $\u03b2$-deformed geometries: We discuss $\\beta$-deformed geometries on two types of $T^3$'s where the\ndirection along the third coordinate is not orthogonal to the direction along\nthe second coordinate or the direction along the first coordinate. We show that\nthe intersection angle between the direction along the third coordinate and the\ndirection along the second coordinate corresponds to the parameter of the\nS-duality of the $\\beta$-deformation while the intersection angle between the\ndirection along the third coordinate and the direction along the first\ncoordinate generalizes the $\\beta$-deformed geometry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Nonabelian (2,0) Tensor Multiplets and 3-algebras: Using 3-algebras we obtain a nonabelian system of equations that furnish a\nrepresentation of the (2,0)-supersymmetric tensor multiplet. The on-shell\nconditions are quite restrictive so that the system can be reduced to\nfive-dimensional gauge theory along with six-dimensional abelian (2,0) tensor\nmultiplets. We briefly discuss possible applications to D4-branes using a\nspacelike reduction and M5-branes using a null reduction.",
        "positive": "Shifted Quiver Quantum Toroidal Algebra and Subcrystal Representations: Recently, new classes of infinite-dimensional algebras, quiver Yangian (QY)\nand shifted QY, were introduced, and they act on BPS states for non-compact\ntoric Calabi-Yau threefolds. In particular, shifted QY acts on general\nsubcrystals of the original BPS crystal. A trigonometric deformation called\nquiver quantum toroidal algebra (QQTA) was also proposed and shown to act on\nthe same BPS crystal. Unlike QY, QQTA has a formal Hopf superalgebra structure\nwhich is useful in deriving representations.\n  In this paper, we define the shifted QQTA and study a class of their\nrepresentations. We define 1d and 2d subcrystals of the original 3d crystal by\nremoving a few arrows from the original quiver diagram and show how the shifted\nQQTA acts on them. We construct the 2d crystal representations from the 1d\ncrystal representations by utilizing a generalized coproduct acting on\ndifferent shifted QQTAs. We provide a detailed derivation of subcrystal\nrepresentations of $\\mathbb{C}^{3}$, $\\mathbb{C}^{3}/\\mathbb{Z}_{n}(n\\geq 2)$,\nconifold, suspended pinch point, and\n$\\mathbb{C}^{3}/(\\mathbb{Z}_{2}\\times\\mathbb{Z}_{2})$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauge fixing problem and the constrained quantization: In this work, the quantization of the Yang-Mills theory is worked out by\nmeans of Dirac's canonical quantization method, using the generalized Coulomb\ngauge fixing conditions. Following the construction of the matrix composed of\nall the second class constraints of the theory, its convenience within the\nframework of the canonical approach is discussed. Although this method can be\nused successfully in the quantization of the Abelian theories, it brings along\ndifficulties for the non-Abelian case, which can not be handled easily even for\nthe generalized Coulomb gauge of the Yang-Mills theory.",
        "positive": "Graph Rings and Integrable Perturbations of $N=2$ Superconformal\n  Theories: We show that the connection between certain integrable perturbations of $N=2$\nsuperconformal theories and graphs found by Lerche and Warner extends to a\nbroader class. These perturbations are such that the generators of the\nperturbed chiral ring may be diagonalized in an orthonormal basis. This allows\nto define a dual ring, whose generators are labelled by the ground states of\nthe theory and are encoded in a graph or set of graphs, that reproduce the\npattern of the ground states and interpolating solitons. All known\nperturbations of the $ADE$ potentials and some others are shown to satisfy this\ncriterion. This suggests a test of integrability."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Normalized Fuchsian form on Riemann sphere and differential equations\n  for multiloop integrals: We consider the question of reducibility of the differential system to\nnormalized Fuchsian form on the Riemann sphere. The differential equations for\nthe multiloop integrals in $\\epsilon$-form constitute a particular example of\nthe normalized Fuchsian form. We formulate the algorithmic criterion of\nreducibility. We also consider the question of the proper choice of variable in\nthe differential system suitable for its reduction to $\\epsilon$-form.",
        "positive": "Thermodynamic relations for entropy and temperature of multi-horizons\n  black holes: We present some entropy and temperature relations of multi-horizons, even\nincluding the \"virtual\" horizon. These relations are related to product,\ndivision and sum of entropy and temperature of multi-horizons. We obtain the\nadditional thermodynamic relations of both static and rotating black holes in\nthree and four dimensional (A)dS spacetime. Especially, a new dimensionless,\ncharges-independence and $T_+S_+=T_-S_-$ like relation is presented. This\nrelation does not depend on the mass, electric charge, angular momentum and\ncosmological constant, as it is always a constant. These relations lead us to\nget some interesting thermodynamic bound of entropy and temperature, including\nthe Penrose inequality which is the first geometrical inequality of black\nholes. Besides, based on these new relations, one can obtain the first law of\nthermodynamics and Smarr relation for all horizons of black hole."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Why Boltzmann Brains Are Bad: Some modern cosmological models predict the appearance of Boltzmann Brains:\nobservers who randomly fluctuate out of a thermal bath rather than naturally\nevolving from a low-entropy Big Bang. A theory in which most observers are of\nthe Boltzmann Brain type is generally thought to be unacceptable, although\nopinions differ. I argue that such theories are indeed unacceptable: the real\nproblem is with fluctuations into observers who are locally identical to\nordinary observers, and their existence cannot be swept under the rug by a\nchoice of probability distributions over observers. The issue is not that the\nexistence of such observers is ruled out by data, but that the theories that\npredict them are cognitively unstable: they cannot simultaneously be true and\njustifiably believed.",
        "positive": "Logarithmic behaviour of connected correlation function in CFT: We study $(m)$-type connected correlation functions of OPE blocks with\nrespect to one spatial region in two dimensional conformal field theory. We\nfind logarithmic divergence for these correlation functions. We justify the\nlogarithmic behaviour from three different approaches: massless free scalar\ntheory, Selberg integral and conformal block. Cutoff independent coefficients\nare obtained from analytic continuation of conformal blocks. A UV/IR relation\nhas been found in connected correlation functions. We could derive a formal\n``first law of thermodynamics'' for a subsystem using deformed reduced density\nmatrix. Area law of connected correlation function in higher dimensions is also\ndiscussed briefly."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Regular non-twisting S-branes: We construct a family of time and angular dependent, regular S-brane\nsolutions which corresponds to a simple analytical continuation of the\nZipoy-Voorhees 4-dimensional vacuum spacetime. The solutions are asymptotically\nflat and turn out to be free of singularities without requiring a twist in\nspace. They can be considered as the simplest non-singular generalization of\nthe singular S0-brane solution. We analyze the properties of a representative\nof this family of solutions and show that it resembles to some extent the\nasymptotic properties of the regular Kerr S-brane. The R-symmetry corresponds,\nhowever, to the general Lorentzian symmetry. Several generalizations of this\nregular solution are derived which include a charged S-brane and an additional\ndilatonic field.",
        "positive": "How massless are massless fields in $AdS_d$: Massless fields of generic Young symmetry type in $AdS_d$ space are analyzed.\nIt is demonstrated that in contrast to massless fields in Minkowski space whose\nphysical degrees of freedom transform in irreps of $o(d-2)$ algebra, $AdS$\nmassless mixed symmetry fields reduce to a number of irreps of $o(d-2)$\nalgebra. From the field theory perspective this means that not every massless\nfield in flat space admits a deformation to $AdS_d$ with the same number of\ndegrees of freedom, because it is impossible to keep all of the flat space\ngauge symmetries unbroken in the AdS space. An equivalent statement is that,\ngeneric irreducible AdS massless fields reduce to certain reducible sets of\nmassless fields in the flat limit. A conjecture on the general pattern of the\nflat space limit of a general $AdS_d$ massless field is made. The example of\nthe three-cell ``hook'' Young diagram is discussed in detail. In particular, it\nis shown that only a combination of the three-cell flat-space field with a\ngraviton-like field admits a smooth deformation to $AdS_d$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A $U(1)_{B-L}$-extension of the Standard Model from Noncommutative\n  Geometry: We derive a $U(1)_{B-L}$-extension of the Standard Model from a generalized\nConnes-Lott model with algebra ${\\mathbb C}\\oplus{\\mathbb C}\\oplus {\\mathbb\nH}\\oplus M_3({\\mathbb C})$. This generalization includes the Lorentzian\nsignature, the presence of a real structure, and a weakening of the order $1$\ncondition. In addition to the SM fields, the model contains a $Z_{B-L}'$ boson\nand a complex scalar field $\\sigma$ which spontaneously breaks the new\nsymmetry. This model is the smallest one which contains the SM fields and is\ncompatible with both the Connes-Lott theory and the algebraic background\nframework.",
        "positive": "Dynamical Casimir effect for gravitons in bouncing braneworlds: We consider a two-brane system in a five-dimensional anti-de Sitter\nspacetime. We study particle creation due to the motion of the physical brane\nwhich first approaches the second static brane (contraction) and then recedes\nfrom it(expansion). The spectrum and the energy density of the generated\ngravitons are calculated. We show that the massless gravitons have a blue\nspectrum and that their energy density satisfies the nucleosynthesis bound with\nvery mild constraints on the parameters. We also show that the Kaluza-Klein\nmodes cannot provide the dark matter in an anti-de-Sitter braneworld. However,\nfor natural choices of parameters, backreaction from the Kaluza-Klein gravitons\nmay well become important. The main findings of this work have been published\nin the form of a Letter [R. Durrer and M. Ruser, Phys. Rev. Lett. 99, 071601\n(2007), arXiv:0704.0756]."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "$n$-point functions of $2d$ Yang-Mills theories on Riemann surfaces: Using the simple path integral method we calculate the $n$-point functions of\nfield strength of Yang-Mills theories on arbitrary two-dimensional Riemann\nsurfaces. In $U(1)$ case we show that the correlators consist of two parts , a\nfree and an $x$-independent part. In the case of non-abelian semisimple compact\ngauge groups we find the non-gauge invariant correlators in Schwinger-Fock\ngauge and show that it is also divided to a free and an almost $x$-independent\npart. We also find the gauge-invariant Green functions and show that they\ncorrespond to a free field theory.",
        "positive": "The Euler characteristic correction to the Kaehler potential - revisited: We confirm the leading $\\alpha'^3$ correction to the 4d, $\\mathcal N = 1$\nK\\\"{a}hler potential of type IIB orientifold compactifications, proportional to\nthe Euler characteristic of the Calabi-Yau threefold (BBHL correction). We\npresent the explicit solution for the $\\alpha'^3$-modified internal background\nmetric in terms of the non-harmonic part of the third Chern form of the leading\norder Calabi-Yau manifold. The corrected internal manifold is almost Calabi-Yau\nand admits an $SU(3)$ structure with non-vanishing torsion. We also find that\nthe full ten-dimensional Einstein frame background metric is multiplied by a\nnon-trivial Weyl factor. Performing a Kaluza-Klein reduction on the modified\nbackground we derive the $\\alpha'^3$-corrected kinetic terms for the dilaton\nand the K\\\"{a}hler deformations of the internal Calabi-Yau threefold for\narbitrary $h^{1,1}$. We analyze these kinetic terms in the 4d, $\\mathcal N = 2$\nun-orientifolded theory, confirming the expected correction to the K\\\"ahler\nmoduli space prepotential, as well as in the 4d, $\\mathcal N = 1$ orientifolded\ntheory, thus determining the corrections to the K\\\"ahler potential and K\\\"ahler\ncoordinates."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Modular Groups for Twisted Narain Models: We demonstrate how to find modular discrete symmetry groups for $Z_N$\norbifolds. The $Z_7$ orbifold is treated in detail as a non-trivial example of\na $(2,2)$ orbifold model. We give the generators of the modular group for this\ncase which, surprisingly, does not contain $\\sltz^3$ as had been speculated.\nThe treatment models with discrete Wilson lines is also discussed. We consider\nexamples which demonstrate that discrete Wilson lines affect the modular group\nin a non-trivial manner. In particular, we show that it is possible for a\nWilson line to break $SL(2,{\\bf Z})$.",
        "positive": "Fermions from the gauge models ground state: We investigate the quantization of pure U(1) and U(2) gauge theories in the\nvicinity of non-trivial ground state in four-dimensional Euclidean space-time.\nThe main goal is to make the simultaneous consideration of many vacuums\npossible. It is shown that Fueter (quaternion) analytic and anti analytic\nfunctions can be used as vacuum's collective coordinates. As a result the\nground state describes not a single quasi particle, or finite number of such\nparticles, but a field. This field satisfies the massless Dirac equation. This\nis not a contradiction because it is known that massless spinors can be\nquantized either as fermions or as bosons. We choose to quantize the vacuum\nanomalously (Fermi--Dirac). The anomalous quantization of the gauge fields\nground state allows non-trivial (anti) self-dual configurations to exist. The\npossible connection to the lepton sector of the Standard Model is discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exact Results for 't Hooft Loops in Gauge Theories on S^4: The path integral of a general N=2 supersymmetric gauge theory on S^4 is\nexactly evaluated in the presence of a supersymmetric 't Hooft loop operator.\nThe result we find - obtained using localization techniques - captures all\nperturbative quantum corrections as well as non-perturbative effects due to\ninstantons and monopoles, which are supported at the north pole, south pole and\nequator of S^4. As a by-product, our gauge theory calculations successfully\nconfirm the predictions made for 't Hooft loops obtained from the calculation\nof topological defect correlators in Liouville/Toda conformal field theory.",
        "positive": "In the Woods of M-Theory: We study BPS states which arise in compactifications of M-theory on\nCalabi-Yau manifolds. In particular, we are interested in the spectrum of the\nparticles obtained by wrapping M2-brane on a two-cycle in the CY manifold X. We\ncompute the Euler characteristics of the moduli space of genus zero curves\nwhich land in a holomorphic four-cycle $S \\subset X$. We use M. Kontsevich's\nmethod which reduces the problem to summing over trees and observe the\ndiscrepancy with the predictions of local mirror symmetry. We then turn this\ndiscrepancy into a supporting evidence in favor of existence of extra moduli of\nM2-branes which consists of the choice of a flat U(1) connection recently\nsuggested by C. Vafa and partially confirm this by counting of the arbitrary\ngenus curves of bi-degree (2,n) in $\\IP^1 \\times \\IP^1$ (this part has been\ndone together with Barak Kol). We also make a conjecture concerning the\ncounting of higher genus curves using second quantized Penner model and discuss\npossible applications to the string theory of two-dimensional QCD."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Random walks on combs: We develop techniques to obtain rigorous bounds on the behaviour of random\nwalks on combs. Using these bounds we calculate exactly the spectral dimension\nof random combs with infinite teeth at random positions or teeth with random\nbut finite length. We also calculate exactly the spectral dimension of some\nfixed non-translationally invariant combs. We relate the spectral dimension to\nthe critical exponent of the mass of the two-point function for random walks on\nrandom combs, and compute mean displacements as a function of walk duration. We\nprove that the mean first passage time is generally infinite for combs with\nanomalous spectral dimension.",
        "positive": "Giant Magnons in Symmetric Spaces: Explicit N-soliton solutions for\n  CP^n, SU(n) and S^n: Giant magnons are one of the main manifestations of integrability on the\nstring theory side of the AdS/CFT correspondence. Motivated by the recent\nadvances in their study, especially in the context of the string theory dual of\nABJM theory, we present and prove explicit N-soliton solutions for the relevant\nCP^n, SU(n) and S^n sigma models. The proof is based on solving the dressing\nmethod recursion with the help of determinant operations, and our solutions\nhold for any choice of vacuum and soliton parameters. We further specialize our\nresults for the choices that lead to giant magnons, and as an application, we\ncalculate the classical time delay due to the scattering of an arbitrary number\nof CP^2 elementary dyonic magnons. The determinant expressions for our\nN-soliton solutions could possibly be used for the derivation of an effective\nparticle description of magnon scattering."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A quantum circuit interpretation of evaporating black hole geometry: We give a quantum circuit interpretation of evaporating black hole geometry.\nWe make an analogy between the appearance of island for evaporating black hole\nand the transition from two-sided to one-sided black hole in the familiar\nexample of perturbed thermofield double. If Alice perturbs thermofield double\nand waits for scrambling time, she will have a one-sided black hole with\ninterior of her own. We argue that by similar mechanism the radiation gets\naccess to the interior (island forms) after Page time. The growth of the island\nhappens as a result of the constant transitions from two-sided to one-sided\nblack holes.",
        "positive": "Permutation operators, entanglement entropy, and the XXZ spin chain in\n  the limit \u0394-> -1: In this paper we develop a new approach to the investigation of the\nbi-partite entanglement entropy in integrable quantum spin chains. Our method\nemploys the well-known replica trick, thus taking a replica version of the spin\nchain model as starting point. At each site i of this new model we construct an\noperator T_i which acts as a cyclic permutation among the n replicas of the\nmodel. Infinite products of T_i give rise to local operators, precursors of\nbranch-point twist fields of quantum field theory. The entanglement entropy is\nthen expressed in terms of correlation functions of such operators. Employing\nthis approach we investigate the von Neumann and R\\'enyi entropies of a\nparticularly interesting quantum state occurring as a limit (in a compact\nconvergence topology) of the antiferromagnetic XXZ quantum spin chain. We find\nthat, for large sizes, the entropy scales logarithmically, but not conformally."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum principal commutative subalgebra in the nilpotent part of\n  $U_q\\widehat{s\\ell}_2$ and lattice KdV variables: We propose a quantum lattice version of Feigin and E. Frenkel's\nconstructions, identifying the KdV differential polynomials with functions on a\nhomogeneous space under the nilpotent part of $\\widehat{s\\ell}_2$. We construct\nan action of the nilpotent part $U_q\\widehat n_+$ of $U_q\\widehat{s\\ell}_2$ on\ntheir lattice counterparts, and embed the lattice variables in a $U_q\\widehat\nn_+$-module, coinduced from a quantum version of the principal commutative\nsubalgebra, which is defined using the identification of $U_q\\widehat n_+$ with\nits coordinate algebra.",
        "positive": "On Higher-dimensional Carrollian and Galilean Conformal Field Theories: In this paper, we study the Carrollian and Galilean conformal field theories\n(CCFT and GCFT) in $d>2$ dimensions. We construct the highest weight\nrepresentations (HWR) of Carrollian and Galilean conformal algebra (CCA and\nGCA). Even though the two algebras have different structures, their HWRs share\nsimilar structure, because their rotation subalgebras are isomorphic. In both\ncases, we find that the finite dimensional representations are generally\nreducible but indecomposable, and can be organized into the multiplets.\nMoreover, it turns out that the multiplet representations in $d>2$ CCA and GCA\ncarry not only the simple chain structure appeared in logCFT or $2d$ GCFT, but\nalso more generally the net structures. We manage to classify all the allowed\nchain representations. Furthermore we discuss the two-point and three-point\ncorrelators by using the Ward identities. We mainly focus on the two-point\ncorrelators of the operators in chain representations. Even in this relative\nsimple case, we find some novel features: multiple-level structure, shortage of\nthe selection rule on the representations, undetermined 2-pt coefficients,\netc.. We find that the non-trivial correlators could only appear for the\nrepresentations of certain structure, and the correlators are generally\npolynomials of time coordinates for CCFT (spacial coordinates for GCFT), whose\norders depend on the levels of the correlators."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Super D-branes: We present a manifestly Lorentz invariant, spacetime supersymmetric, and\n`$\\kappa$-invariant' worldvolume action for all type II Dirichlet p-branes,\n$p\\le9$, in a general type II supergravity background, including massive\nbackgrounds in the IIA case. The $p=0,2$ cases are rederived from D=11. The\n$p=9$ case provides a supersymmetrization of the D=10 Born-Infeld action.",
        "positive": "Cosmological Perturbations in Brane Worlds: Brane Bending and\n  Anisotropic Stresses: Using a metric-based formalism to treat cosmological perturbations, we\ndiscuss the connection between anisotropic stress on the brane and brane\nbending. First we discuss gauge-transformations, and draw our attention to\ngauges, in which the brane-positions remain unperturbed. We provide a unique\ngauge, where perturbations both on the brane and in the bulk can be treated\nwith generality. For vanishing anisotropic stresses on the brane, this gauge\nreduces to the generalized longitudinal gauge. We further comment on the\ngravitational interaction between the branes and the bulk."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Thermodynamics of 2d Black Holes in Brane Inflationary Potentials: Inspired from the inflation brane world cosmology, we study the\nthermodynamics of a black hole solution in two dimensional dilaton gravity with\nan arctangent potential background. We first derive the two dimensional black\nhole geometry, then we examine its asymptotic behaviors. More precisely, we\nfind that such behaviors exhibit properties appearing in some known cases\nincluding the Anti de Sitter and the Schwarzchild black holes. Using the\ncomplex path method, we compute the Hawking radiation. The entropy function can\nbe related to the value of the potential at the horizon.",
        "positive": "Lamb Shift for static atoms outside a Schwarzschild black hole: We study, by separately calculating the contributions of vacuum fluctuations\nand radiation reaction to the atomic energy level shift, the Lamb shift of a\nstatic two-level atom interacting with real massless scalar fields in the\nBoulware, Unruh and Hartle-Hawking vacuums outside a Schwarzschild black hole.\nWe find that in the Boulware vacuum, the Lamb shift gets a correction arising\nas a result of the backscattering of vacuum field modes off the space-time\ncurvature, which is reminiscent of the correction to the Lamb shift induced by\nthe presence of cavities. However, when the Unruh and Hartle-Hawking vacua are\nconcerned, our results show that the Lamb shift behaves as if the atom were\nirradiated by a thermal radiation or immersed in a thermal bath at the Hawking\ntemperature, depending on whether the scalar field is in the Unruh or the\nHartle-Hawking vacuum. Remarkably, the thermal radiation is always\nbackscattered by the space-time geometry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "External Fields and the Dynamics of Fundamental Flavours in Holographic\n  Duals of Large N Gauge Theories: Using the gauge-gravity duality we study strongly coupled dynamics of\nfundamental flavours in large N_c gauge theories in a constant external field.\nWe primarily focus on the effects of an external magnetic field. We use two\nholographic models realized in the Type IIB and Type IIA supergravity and\npresent a comparative case study. In both these models, by studying the\ndynamics of probe branes, we explicitly demonstrate and discuss the\nmagnetically induced chiral symmetry breaking effect (\"magnetic catalysis\") in\nthe flavour sector. We also study the associated thermodynamics and the meson\nspectrum and realize e.g. Zeeman splitting, stability enhancement of the mesons\nin the presence of an external magnetic field etc. By studying the quasinormal\nmodes of the probe brane fluctuation in the hydrodynamic limit we also obtain\nan analytic dispersion relation in the presence of a magnetic field in the Type\nIIA model. This dispersion relation consists of a propagating sound mode in the\notherwise diffusive channel and is sourced by the quantum anomaly of the global\nU(1) current. We briefly discuss the effects of an external electric field and\nobserve that the flavour bound states dissociate for sufficiently high electric\nfields and an electric current is induced.",
        "positive": "BRST-BV approach to conformal fields: Using the BRST--BV approach, we consider totally symmetric arbitrary integer\nspin conformal fields propagating in flat space. For such fields, we obtain the\nordinary-derivative BRST--BV Lagrangian that is invariant under gauge\ntransformations. In our approach, the ordinary-derivative Lagrangian and gauge\ntransformations are constructed in terms of the respective traceless gauge\nfields and traceless gauge transformation parameters. We also obtain a\nrealization of conformal algebra symmetries on the space of fields and\nantifields entering the BRST--BV formulation of conformal fields."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Field theory actions for ambitwistor string and superstring: We analyze the free ambitwistor string field theory action for the bosonic\nstring, heterotic string and both GSO sectors of the Type II string. The\nspectrum contains non-unitary states and provides an interesting consistency\ntest for one-loop ambitwistor string computations.",
        "positive": "Anomaly Matching Across Dimensions and Supersymmetric Cardy Formulae: 't Hooft anomalies are known to induce specific contributions to the\neffective action at finite temperature. We present a general method to directly\ncalculate such contributions from the anomaly polynomial of a given theory,\nincluding a term which involves a $U(1)$ connection for the thermal circle\nisometry. Based on this observation, we show that the asymptotic behavior of\nthe superconformal index of $4d$ $\\mathcal{N}=1$ theories on the \"second sheet\"\ncan be calculated by integrating the anomaly polynomial on a particular\nbackground. The integration is then performed by an equivariant method to\nreproduce known results. Our method only depends on the anomaly polynomial and\ntherefore the result is applicable to theories without known Lagrangian\nformulation. We also present a new formula that relates the behavior of $6d$\n$\\mathcal{N}=(1,0)$ SCFTs on the second sheet to the anomaly polynomial."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gaugino Condensates and D-terms from D7-branes: We investigate, at the microscopic level, the compatibility between D-term\npotentials from world-volume fluxes on D7-branes and non-perturbative\nsuperpotentials arising from gaugino condensation on a different stack of\nD7-branes. This is motivated by attempts to construct metastable de Sitter\nvacua in type IIB string theory via D-term uplifts. We find a condition under\nwhich the Kaehler modulus, T, of a Calabi-Yau 4-cycle gets charged under the\nanomalous U(1) on the branes with flux. If in addition this 4-cycle is wrapped\nby a stack of D7-branes on which gaugino condensation takes place, the question\nof U(1)-gauge invariance of the (T-dependent) non-perturbative superpotential\narises. In this case an index theorem guarantees that strings, stretching\nbetween the two stacks, yield additional charged chiral fields which also\nappear in the superpotential from gaugino condensation. We check that the\ncharges work out to make this superpotential gauge invariant, and we argue that\nthe mechanism survives the inclusion of higher curvature corrections to the\nD7-brane action.",
        "positive": "Universality From Very General Nonperturbative Flow Equations in QCD: In the context of very general exact renormalization groups, it will be shown\nthat, given a vertex expansion of the Wilsonian effective action, remarkable\nprogress can be made without making any approximations. Working in QCD we will\nderive, in a manifestly gauge invariant way, an exact diagrammatic expression\nfor the expectation value of an arbitrary gauge invariant operator, in which\nmany of the non-universal details of the setup do not explicitly appear. This\nprovides a new starting point for attacking nonperturbative problems."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Geometry of AdS-Melvin Spacetimes: We study asymptotically AdS generalizations of Melvin spacetimes, describing\ngravitationally bound tubes of magnetic flux. We find that narrow fluxtubes,\ncarrying strong magnetic fields but little total flux, are approximately\nunchanged from the $\\Lambda=0$ case at scales smaller than the AdS scale.\nHowever, fluxtubes with weak fields, which for $\\Lambda=0$ can grow arbitrarily\nlarge in radius and carry unbounded magnetic flux, are limited in radius by the\nAdS scale and like the narrow fluxtubes carry only small total flux. As a\nconsequence, there is a maximum magnetic flux $\\Phi_{max} =\n2\\pi/\\sqrt{-\\Lambda}$ that can be carried by static fluxtubes in AdS. For flux\n$\\Phi_{tot}<\\Phi_{max}$ there are two branches of solutions, with one branch\nalways narrower in radius than the other. We compute the ADM mass and tensions\nfor AdS-Melvin fluxtube, finding that the wider radius branch of solutions\nalways has lower mass. In the limit of vanishing flux, this branch reduces to\nthe AdS soliton.",
        "positive": "Bootstrapping the half-BPS line defect CFT in $\\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM at\n  strong coupling: We consider the 1d CFT defined by the half-BPS Wilson line in planar\n$\\mathcal{N}=4$ super Yang-Mills. Using analytic bootstrap methods we derive\nthe four-point function of the super-displacement operator at fourth order in a\nstrong coupling expansion. Via AdS/CFT, this corresponds to the first\nthree-loop correlator in AdS ever computed. To do so we address the operator\nmixing problem by considering a family of auxiliary correlators. We further\nextract the anomalous dimension of the lightest non-protected operator and find\nagreement with the integrability-based numerical result of Grabner, Gromov and\nJulius."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supergravity on the noncommutative geometry: Two years ago, we found the supersymmetric counterpart of the spectral triple\nwhich specified noncommutative geometry. Based on the triple, we derived gauge\nvector supermultiplets, Higgs supermultiplets of the minimum supersymmetric\nstandard model and its action. However, unlike the famous theories of Connes\nand his co-workers, the action does not couple to gravity. In this paper, we\nobtain the supersymmetric Dirac operator $\\mathcal{D}_M^{(SG)}$ on the\nRiemann-Cartan curved space replacing derivatives which appear in that of the\ntriple with the covariant derivatives of general coordinate transformation. We\napply the supersymmetric version of the spectral action principle and\ninvestigate the heat kernel expansion on the square of the Dirac operator. As a\nresult, we obtain a new supergravity action which does not include the Ricci\ncurvature tensor.",
        "positive": "Bootstrability in Line-Defect CFT with Improved Truncation Methods: We study the conformal bootstrap of 1D CFTs on the straight Maldacena-Wilson\nline in 4D ${\\cal N}=4$ super-Yang-Mills theory. We introduce an improved\ntruncation scheme with an 'OPE tail' approximation and use it to reproduce the\n'bootstrability' results of Cavagli\\`a et al. for the OPE-coefficients squared\nof the first three unprotected operators. For example, for the first\nOPE-coefficient squared at 't Hooft coupling $(4\\pi)^2$, linear-functional\nmethods with two sum rules from integrated correlators give the rigorous result\n$0.294014873 \\pm 4.88 \\cdot 10^{-8}$, whereas our methods give with\nmachine-precision computations $0.294014228 \\pm 6.77 \\cdot 10^{-7}$. For our\nnumerical searches, we benchmark the Reinforcement Learning Soft Actor-Critic\nalgorithm against an Interior Point Method algorithm (IPOPT) and comment on the\nmerits of each algorithm."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Aspects of $\u03c3$ Models: Some aspects and applications of $ \\sigma$-models in particle and condensed\nmatter physics are briefly reviewed.",
        "positive": "Renormalization of an Abelian Tensor Group Field Theory: Solution at\n  Leading Order: We study a just renormalizable tensorial group field theory of rank six with\nquartic melonic interactions and Abelian group U(1). We introduce the formalism\nof the intermediate field, which allows a precise characterization of the\nleading order Feynman graphs. We define the renormalization of the model,\ncompute its (perturbative) renormalization group flow and write its expansion\nin terms of effective couplings. We then establish closed equations for the two\npoint and four point functions at leading (melonic) order. Using the effective\nexpansion and its uniform exponential bounds we prove that these equations\nadmit a unique solution at small renormalized coupling."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dilaton, Antisymmetric Tensor and Gauge Fields in String Effective\n  Theories at the One--loop Level: We investigate the dependence of the gauge couplings on the dilaton field in\nstring effective theories at the one--loop level. First we resolve the\ndiscrepancies between statements based on symmetry considerations and explicit\ncalculations in string effective theories on this subject. A calculation of the\nrelevant one--loop scattering amplitudes in string theory gives us further\ninformation and allows us to derive the exact form of the corresponding\neffective Lagrangian. In particular there is no dilaton dependent one--loop\ncorrection to the holomorphic $f$--function arising from massive string modes\nin the loop. In addition we address the coupling of the antisymmetric tensor\nfield to the gauge bosons at one--loop. While the string S--matrix elements are\nnot reproduced using the usual supersymmetric Lagrangian with the chiral\nsuperfield representation for the dilaton field, the analogue Lagrangian with\nthe dilaton in a linear multiplet naturally gives the correct answer.",
        "positive": "Aharonov-Bohm defects: We discuss what happens when a field receiving an Aharonov-Bohm (AB) phase\ndevelops a vacuum expectation value (VEV), with an example of an Alice string\nin a $U(1) \\times SU(2)$ gauge theory coupled with complex triplet scalar\nfields. We introduce scalar fields belonging to the doublet representation of\n$SU(2)$, charged or chargeless under the $U(1)$ gauge symmetry, that receives\nan AB phase around the Alice string. When the doublet develops a VEV, the Alice\nstring turns to a global string in the absence of the interaction depending on\nthe relative phase between the doublet and triplet, while, in the presence of\nsuch an interaction, the Alice string is confined by a soliton or domain wall\nand therefore the spontaneous breaking of a spatial rotation around the string\nis accompanied. We call such an object induced by an AB phase as an ``AB\ndefect'', and argue that such a phenomenon is ubiquitously appearing in various\nsystems."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Relativistic Beaming in AdS/CFT: We propose a mechanism of 'beaming' the backreaction of a relativistic source\nin the bulk of AdS towards the boundary. Using this beaming mechanism to\nestimate the energy distribution from radiation by a circling quark in strongly\ncoupled field theory, we find remarkable agreement with the previous results of\narXiv:1001.3880. Apart from explaining a puzzling feature of these results and\nelucidating the scale/radius duality in AdS/CFT, our proposal provides a useful\ncomputational technique.",
        "positive": "Coleman-de Luccia instanton in dRGT massive gravity: We study the Coleman-de Luccia (CDL) instanton characterizing the tunneling\nfrom a false vacuum to the true vacuum in a semi-classical way in dRGT\n(deRham-Gabadadze-Tolley) massive gravity theory, and evaluate the dependence\nof the tunneling rate on the model parameters. It is found that provided with\nthe same physical Hubble parameters for the true vacuum $H_{\\rm T}$ and the\nfalse vacuum $H_{\\rm F}$ as in General Relativity (GR), the thin-wall\napproximation method implies the same tunneling rate as GR. However, deviations\nof tunneling rate from GR arise when one goes beyond the thin-wall\napproximation and they change monotonically until the Hawking-Moss (HM) case.\nMoreover, under the thin-wall approximation, the HM process may dominate over\nthe CDL one if the value for the graviton mass is larger than the inverse of\nthe radius of the bubble."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Enhancon and N=2 Gauge Theory/Gravity RG Flows: We study the family of ten dimensional type IIB supergravity solutions\ncorresponding to renormalisation group flows from N=4 to N=2 supersymmetric\nYang-Mills theory. Part of the solution set corresponds to a submanifold of the\nCoulomb branch of the gauge theory, and we use a D3-brane probe to uncover\ndetails of this physics. At generic places where supergravity is singular, the\nsmooth physics of the probe yields the correct one-loop form of the effective\nlow energy gauge coupling. The probe becomes tensionless on a ring at finite\nradius. Supergravity flows which end on this ``enhancon'' ring correspond to\nthe vacua where extra massless degrees of freedom appear in the gauge theory,\nand the gauge coupling diverges there. We identify an SL(2,Z) duality action on\nthe enhancon ring which relates the special vacua, and comment on the massless\ndyons within them. We propose that the supergravity solution inside the\nenhancon ring should be excised, since the probe's tension is unphysical there.",
        "positive": "Fuzzy Torus via q-Parafermion: We note that the recently introduced fuzzy torus can be regarded as a\nq-deformed parafermion. Based on this picture, classification of the Hermitian\nrepresentations of the fuzzy torus is carried out. The result involves\nFock-type representations and new finite dimensional representations for q\nbeing a root of unity as well as already known finite dimensional ones."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Numerical Analyses on Moduli Space of Vacua: We propose a new computational method to understand the vacuum moduli space\nof (supersymmetric) field theories. By combining numerical algebraic geometry\n(NAG) and elimination theory, we develop a powerful, efficient, and\nparallelizable algorithm to extract important information such as the\ndimension, branch structure, Hilbert series and subsequent operator counting,\nas well as variation according to coupling constants and mass parameters. We\nillustrate this method on a host of examples from gauge theory, string theory,\nand algebraic geometry.",
        "positive": "Black hole dynamics from thermodynamics in Anti-de Sitter space: We work on the relation between the local thermodynamic instability and the\ndynamical instability of large black holes in four-dimensional anti-de Sitter\nspace proposed by Gubser and Mitra. We find that all perturbations suppressing\nthe metric fluctuations at linear order become dynamically unstable when black\nholes lose the local thermodynamic stability. We discuss how dynamical\ninstabilities can be explained by the Second Law of Thermodynamics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Strong Connections on Quantum Principal Bundles: A gauge invariant notion of a strong connection is presented and\ncharacterized. It is then used to justify the way in which a global curvature\nform is defined. Strong connections are interpreted as those that are induced\nfrom the base space of a quantum bundle. Examples of both strong and non-strong\nconnections are provided. In particular, such connections are constructed on a\nquantum deformation of the fibration $S^2 -> RP^2$. A certain class of strong\n$U_q(2)$-connections on a trivial quantum principal bundle is shown to be\nequivalent to the class of connections on a free module that are compatible\nwith the q-dependent hermitian metric. A particular form of the Yang-Mills\naction on a trivial $U\\sb q(2)$-bundle is investigated. It is proved to\ncoincide with the Yang-Mills action constructed by A.Connes and M.Rieffel.\nFurthermore, it is shown that the moduli space of critical points of this\naction functional is independent of q.",
        "positive": "Graviton multi-point amplitudes for higher-derivative gravity in anti-de\n  Sitter space: We calculate graviton multi-point amplitudes in an anti-de Sitter black brane\nbackground for higher-derivative gravity of arbitrary order in numbers of\nderivatives. The calculations are performed using tensor graviton modes in a\nparticular regime of comparatively high energies and large scattering angles.\nThe regime simplifies the calculations but, at the same time, is well suited\nfor translating these results into the language of the dually related gauge\ntheory. After considering theories of up to eight derivatives, we generalize to\neven higher-derivative theories by constructing a \"basis\" for the relevant\nscattering amplitudes. This construction enables one to find the basic form of\nthe n-point amplitude for arbitrary n and any number of derivatives.\nAdditionally, using the four-point amplitudes for six and eight-derivative\ngravity, we re-express the scattering properties in terms of the Mandelstam\nvariables."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Semiclassical zero temperature black holes in spherically reduced\n  theories: We numerically integrate the semiclassical equations of motion for\nspherically symmetric Einstein-Maxwell theory with a dilaton coupled scalar\nfield and look for zero temperature configurations. The solution we find is\nstudied in detail close to the horizon and comparison is made with the\ncorresponding one in the minimally coupled case.",
        "positive": "Optimization of the derivative expansion in the nonperturbative\n  renormalization group: We study the optimization of nonperturbative renormalization group equations\ntruncated both in fields and derivatives. On the example of the Ising model in\nthree dimensions, we show that the Principle of Minimal Sensitivity can be\nunambiguously implemented at order $\\partial^2$ of the derivative expansion.\nThis approach allows us to select optimized cut-off functions and to improve\nthe accuracy of the critical exponents $\\nu$ and $\\eta$. The convergence of the\nfield expansion is also analyzed. We show in particular that its optimization\ndoes not coincide with optimization of the accuracy of the critical exponents."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "String Fluid in Local Equilibrium: We study the solutions of string fluid equations under assumption of a local\nequilibrium which was previously obtained in the context of the kinetic theory.\nWe show that the fluid can be foliated into non-interacting submanifolds whose\nequations of motion are exactly that of the wiggly strings considered\npreviously by Vilenkin and Carter. In a special case of negligible statistical\nvariance in either the left or the right-moving directions of microscopic\nstrings, the submanifolds are described by the action of chiral strings\nproposed by Witten. When both variances vanish the submanifolds are described\nby the Nambu-Goto action and the string fluid reduces to the string dust\nintroduced by Stachel.",
        "positive": "The Backreacted K\u00e4hler Geometry of Wrapped Branes: For supersymmetric solutions of D3(M2) branes with AdS3(AdS2) factor, it is\nknown that the internal space is expressible as U(1) fibration over K\\\"ahler\nspace which satisfies a specific partial differential equation involving the\nRicci tensor. In this paper we study the wrapped brane solutions of D3 and\nM2-branes which were originally constructed using gauged supergravity and\nuplifted to D=10 and D=11. We rewrite the solutions in canonical form, identify\nthe backreacted K\\\"ahler geometry, and present a class of solutions which\nsatisfy the Killing spinor equation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Vacuum Sampling in the Landscape during Inflation: We consider the phenomenological consequences of sampling multiple vacua\nduring inflation motivated by an enormous landscape. A generic consequence of\nthis sampling is the formation of domain walls, characterized by the scale\n$\\mu$ of the barriers that partition the accessed vacua. We find that the\nsuccess of Big Bang Nucleosynthesis (BBN) implies $\\mu \\gsim 10$ TeV, as long\nas the sampled vacua have a non-degeneracy larger than $\\cal{O}({{\\rm\nMeV}}^{\\rm 4})$. Otherwise, the walls will dominate and eventually form black\nholes that must reheat the universe sufficiently for BBN to take place; in this\ncase, we obtain $\\mu \\gsim 10^{-5}M_P$. These black holes are not allowed to\nsurvive and contribute to cosmic dark matter density.",
        "positive": "Duality considerations about the Maxwell-Podolsky theory through the\n  symplectic embedding formalism and spectrum analysis: We find the dual equivalent (gauge invariant) version of the Maxwell theory\nin D=4 with a Proca-like mass term by using the symplectic embedding method.\nThe dual theory obtained (Maxwell-Podolsky) includes a higher-order derivative\nterm and preserve the gauge symmetry. We also furnish an investigation of the\npole structure of the vector propagator by the residue matrix which considers\nthe eventual existence of the negative-norm of the theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Black hole entropy function for toric theories via Bethe Ansatz: We evaluate the large-$N$ behavior of the superconformal indices of toric\nquiver gauge theories, and use it to find the entropy functions of the dual\nelectrically charged rotating $\\mathrm{AdS}_5$ black holes. To this end, we\nemploy the recently proposed Bethe Ansatz method, and find a certain set of\nsolutions to the Bethe Ansatz Equations of toric theories. This, in turn,\nallows us to compute the large-$N$ behavior of the index for these theories,\nincluding the infinite families $Y^{pq}$, $X^{pq}$ and $L^{pqr}$ of quiver\ngauge theories. Our results are in perfect agreement with the predictions made\nrecently using the Cardy-like limit of the superconformal index. We also\nexplore the index structure in the space of chemical potentials and describe\nthe pattern of Stokes lines arising in the conifold theory case.",
        "positive": "Symmetry enhancement in 4d Spin(n) gauge theories and compactification\n  from 6d: We consider a known sequence of dualities involving $4d$ ${\\cal N}=1$\ntheories with $Spin(n)$ gauge groups and use it to construct a new sequence of\nmodels exhibiting IR symmetry enhancement. Then, motivated by the observed\npattern of IR symmetries we conjecture six-dimensional theories the\ncompactification of which on a Riemann surface yields the $4d$ sequence of\nmodels along with their symmetry enhancements, and put them to several\nconsistency checks."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Cosmic Rotation Axis, Birefrigence and Axions to detect Primordial\n  torsion fields: Nodland Ralston (PRL,1997) investigated the cosmological anisotropy of\nelectromagnetic fields.In this paper we show that it is possible obtain a\ntorsion correction to Nodland-Ralston action starting from the massive Proca\nelectrodynamics in Riemannian spacetime and performing the minimal coupling\nwith torsion.We end up with an action which contains the Nodland Ralston action\nwithout breaking the gauge invariance.This mechanism however gives a photon a\nmass generated by the nonlinear torsion terms.The torsion vector is along the\ncosmic rotation axis and interacts with the massive photon.This method which\nbreaks conformal invariance allow us to determine a primordial torsion of the\norder $10^{-29}eV$ from the well-known photon mass limits.",
        "positive": "Phase transitions for deformations of JT supergravity and matrix models: We analyze deformations of $\\mathcal{N}=1$ Jackiw-Teitelboim (JT)\nsupergravity by adding a gas of defects, equivalent to changing the dilaton\npotential. We compute the Euclidean partition function in a topological\nexpansion and find that it matches the perturbative expansion of a random\nmatrix model to all orders. The matrix model implements an average over the\nHamiltonian of a dual holographic description and provides a stable\nnon-perturbative completion of these theories of $\\mathcal{N}=1$\ndilaton-supergravity. For some range of deformations, the supergravity spectral\ndensity becomes negative, yielding an ill-defined topological expansion. To\nsolve this problem, we use the matrix model description and show the negative\nspectrum is resolved via a phase transition analogous to the Gross-Witten-Wadia\ntransition. The matrix model contains a rich and novel phase structure that we\nexplore in detail, using both perturbative and non-perturbative techniques."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Lie Algebra Expansion and Integrability in Superstring Sigma-Models: Lie algebra expansion is a technique to generate new Lie algebras from a\ngiven one. In this paper, we apply the method of Lie algebra expansion to\nsuperstring $\\sigma$-models with a $\\mathbb{Z}_4$ coset target space. By\napplying the Lie algebra expansion to the isometry algebra, we obtain different\n$\\sigma$-models, where the number of dynamical fields can change. We reproduce\nand extend in a systematic way actions of some known string regimes (flat\nspace, BMN and non-relativistic in AdS$_5 \\times$S$^5$). We define a criterion\nfor the algebra truncation such that the equations of motion of the expanded\naction of the new $\\sigma$-model are equivalent to the vanishing curvature\ncondition of the Lax connection obtained by expanding the Lax connection of the\ninitial model.",
        "positive": "Convergence of hydrodynamic modes: insights from kinetic theory and\n  holography: We study the mechanisms setting the radius of convergence of hydrodynamic\ndispersion relations in kinetic theory in the relaxation time approximation.\nThis introduces a qualitatively new feature with respect to holography: a\nnonhydrodynamic sector represented by a branch cut in the retarded Green's\nfunction. In contrast with existing holographic examples, we find that the\nradius of convergence in the shear channel is set by a collision of the\nhydrodynamic pole with a branch point. In the sound channel it is set by a\npole-pole collision on a non-principal sheet of the Green's function. More\ngenerally, we examine the consequences of the Implicit Function Theorem in\nhydrodynamics and give a prescription to determine a set of points that\nnecessarily includes all complex singularities of the dispersion relation. This\nmay be used as a practical tool to assist in determining the radius of\nconvergence of hydrodynamic dispersion relations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Kramers-Moyall cumulant expansion for the probability distribution of\n  parallel transporters in quantum gauge fields: A general equation for the probability distribution of parallel transporters\non the gauge group manifold is derived using the cumulant expansion theorem.\nThis equation is shown to have a general form known as the Kramers-Moyall\ncumulant expansion in the theory of random walks, the coefficients of the\nexpansion being directly related to nonperturbative cumulants of the shifted\ncurvature tensor. In the limit of a gaussian-dominated QCD vacuum the obtained\nequation reduces to the well-known heat kernel equation on the group manifold.",
        "positive": "6D SCFTs and Phases of 5D Theories: Starting from 6D superconformal field theories (SCFTs) realized via F-theory,\nwe show how reduction on a circle leads to a uniform perspective on the phase\nstructure of the resulting 5D theories, and their possible conformal fixed\npoints. Using the correspondence between F-theory reduced on a circle and\nM-theory on the corresponding elliptically fibered Calabi--Yau threefold, we\nshow that each 6D SCFT with minimal supersymmetry directly reduces to a\ncollection of between one and four 5D SCFTs. Additionally, we find that in most\ncases, reduction of the tensor branch of a 6D SCFT yields a 5D generalization\nof a quiver gauge theory. These two reductions of the theory often correspond\nto different phases in the 5D theory which are in general connected by a\nsequence of flop transitions in the extended Kahler cone of the Calabi--Yau\nthreefold. We also elaborate on the structure of the resulting conformal fixed\npoints, and emergent flavor symmetries, as realized by M-theory on a canonical\nsingularity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Mutual Interactions of Phonons, Rotons, and Gravity: We introduce an effective point-particle action for generic particles living\nin a zero-temperature superfluid. This action describes the motion of the\nparticles in the medium at equilibrium as well as their couplings to sound\nwaves and generic fluid flows. While we place the emphasis on elementary\nexcitations such as phonons and rotons, our formalism applies also to\nmacroscopic objects such as vortex rings and rigid bodies interacting with\nlong-wavelength fluid modes. Within our approach, we reproduce phonon decay and\nphonon-phonon scattering as predicted using a purely field-theoretic\ndescription of phonons. We also correct classic results by Landau and\nKhalatnikov on roton-phonon scattering. Finally, we discuss how phonons and\nrotons couple to gravity, and show that the former tend to float while the\nlatter tend to sink but with rather peculiar trajectories. Our formalism can be\neasily extended to include (general) relativistic effects and couplings to\nadditional matter fields. As such, it can be relevant in contexts as diverse as\nneutron star physics and light dark matter detection.",
        "positive": "Strongly Coupled String-inspired Infinite Derivative Non-local\n  Yang-Mills: Diluted Mass Gap: We investigate the non-perturbative regimes in the class of non-Abelian\ntheories that have been proposed as an ultraviolet completion 4-D Quantum Field\nTheory (QFT) generalizing the kinetic energy operators to an infinite series of\nhigher-order derivatives inspired by string field theory. We prove that, at the\nnon-perturbative level, the physical spectrum of the theory is actually\ncorrected by the 'infinite number of derivatives' present in the action. We\nderive a set of Dyson-Schwinger equations in differential form, for correlation\nfunctions till two-points, the solution for which are known in the local\ntheory. We obtain that just like in the local theory, the non-local counterpart\ndisplays a mass gap, depending also on the mass scale of non-locality, and show\nthat it is damped in the deep UV reaching asymptotically the conformal limit.\nWe point out some possible implications of our result in particle physics and\ncosmology and discuss aspects of non-local QCD-like scenarios. We end with some\ncomments on the infinite-derivative non-local gravity which is quantum gravity\napproach to ghost-free, re-normalizable theories of gravity valid upto infinte\nebergy scales in the UV."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Some Relations for Quark Confinement and Chiral Symmetry Breaking in QCD: We analytically study the relation between quark confinement and spontaneous\nchiral-symmetry breaking in QCD. In terms of the Dirac eigenmodes, we derive\nsome formulae for the Polyakov loop, its fluctuations, and the string tension\nfrom the Wilson loop. We also investigate the Polyakov loop in terms of the\neigenmodes of the Wilson, the clover and the domain wall fermion kernels,\nrespectively. For the confinement quantities, the low-lying Dirac/fermion\neigenmodes are found to give negligible contribution, while they are essential\nfor chiral symmetry breaking. These relations indicate no direct one-to-one\ncorrespondence between confinement and chiral symmetry breaking in QCD, which\nseems to be natural because confinement is realized independently of the quark\nmass.",
        "positive": "The large N limit of M2-branes on Lens spaces: We study the matrix model for N M2-branes wrapping a Lens space L(p,1) =\nS^3/Z_p. This arises from localization of the partition function of the ABJM\ntheory, and has some novel features compared with the case of a three-sphere,\nincluding a sum over flat connections and a potential that depends\nnon-trivially on p. We study the matrix model both numerically and analytically\nin the large N limit, finding that a certain family of p flat connections give\nan equal dominant contribution. At large N we find the same eigenvalue\ndistribution for all p, and show that the free energy is simply 1/p times the\nfree energy on a three-sphere, in agreement with gravity dual expectations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "T-Duality Transformation and Universal Structure of Non-Critical String\n  Field Theory: We discuss a T-duality transformation for the c=1/2 matrix model for the\npurpose of studying duality transformations in a possible toy example of\nnonperturbative frameworks of string theory. Our approach is to first\ninvestigate the scaling limit of the Schwinger-Dyson equations and the\nstochastic Hamiltonian in terms of the dual variables and then compare the\nresults with those using the original spin variables. It is shown that the\nc=1/2 model in the scaling limit is T-duality symmetric in the sphere\napproximation. The duality symmetry is however violated when the higher-genus\neffects are taken into account, owing to the existence of global Z_2 vector\nfields corresponding to nontrivial homology cycles. Some universal properties\nof the stochastic Hamiltonians which play an important role in discussing the\nscaling limit and have been discussed in a previous work by the last two\nauthors are refined in both the original and dual formulations. We also report\na number of new explicit results for various amplitudes containing macroscopic\nloop operators.",
        "positive": "Holographic Schwinger Effect and the Geometry of Entanglement: In this note we point out that the recently proposed bulk dual of an\nentangled pair of a quark and an anti-quark corresponds to the Lorentzian\ncontinuation of the tunneling instanton describing Schwinger pair creation in\nthe dual field theory. This observation supports and further explains the claim\nby Jensen & Karch that the bulk dual of an EPR pair is a string with a wormhole\non its world sheet. We suggest that this constitutes an AdS/CFT realization of\nthe creation of a Wheeler wormhole."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Self-dual Perturbiner in Yang-Mills theory: The perturbiner approach to the multi-gluonic amplitudes in Yang-Mills theory\nis reviewed.",
        "positive": "Classical Double Copy of Worldline Quantum Field Theory: The recently developed worldline quantum field theory (WQFT) formalism for\nthe classical gravitational scattering of massive bodies is extended to\nmassive, charged point particles coupling to bi-adjoint scalar field theory,\nYang-Mills theory, and dilaton-gravity. We establish a classical double copy\nrelation in these WQFTs for classical observables (deflection, radiation). The\nbi-adjoint scalar field theory fixes the locality structure of the double copy\nfrom Yang-Mills to dilaton-gravity. Using this the eikonal scattering phase (or\nfree energy of the WQFT) is computed to next-to-leading order (NLO) in coupling\nconstants using the double copy as well as directly finding full agreement. We\nclarify the relation of our approach to previous studies in the effective field\ntheory formalism. Finally, the equivalence of the WQFT double copy to the\ndouble copy relation of the classical limit of quantum scattering amplitudes is\nshown explicitly up to NLO."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Anomaly Cancellation in Noncritical String Theory: We construct new two dimensional unoriented superstring theories in two\ndimensions with a chiral closed string spectrum and show that anomalies cancel\nupon supplying the appropriate chiral open string degrees of freedom imposed by\ntadpole cancellation.",
        "positive": "Thermalization and confinement in strongly coupled gauge theories: Quantum field theories of strongly interacting matter sometimes have a useful\nholographic description in terms of the variables of a gravitational theory in\nhigher dimensions. This duality maps time dependent physics in the gauge theory\nto time dependent solutions of the Einstein equations in the gravity theory. In\norder to better understand the process by which \"real world\" theories such as\nQCD behave out of thermodynamic equilibrium, we study time dependent\nperturbations to states in a model of a confining, strongly coupled gauge\ntheory via holography. Operationally, this involves solving a set of non-linear\nEinstein equations supplemented with specific time dependent boundary\nconditions. The resulting solutions allow one to comment on the timescale by\nwhich the perturbed states thermalize, as well as to quantify the properties of\nthe final state as a function of the perturbation parameters. We comment on the\ninfluence of the dual gauge theory's confinement scale on these results, as\nwell as the appearance of a previously anticipated universal scaling regime in\nthe \"abrupt quench\" limit."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Topological Lattice Models in Four Dimensions: We define a lattice statistical model on a triangulated manifold in four\ndimensions associated to a group $G$. When $G=SU(2)$, the statistical weight is\nconstructed from the $15j$-symbol as well as the $6j$-symbol for recombination\nof angular momenta, and the model may be regarded as the four-dimensional\nversion of the Ponzano-Regge model. We show that the partition function of the\nmodel is invariant under the Alexander moves of the simplicial complex, thus it\ndepends only on the piecewise linear topology of the manifold. For an\norientable manifold, the model is related to the so-called $BF$ model. The\n$q$-analogue of the model is also constructed, and it is argued that its\npartition function is invariant under the Alexander moves. It is discussed how\nto realize the 't Hooft operator in these models associated to a closed surface\nin four dimensions as well as the Wilson operator associated to a closed loop.\nCorrelation functions of these operators in the $q$-deformed version of the\nmodel would define a new type of invariants of knots and links in four\ndimensions.",
        "positive": "Landau-Khalatnikov-Fradkin transformation and the mystery of even\n  $\u03b6$-values in Euclidean massless correlators: The Landau-Khalatnikov-Fradkin (LKF) transformation is a powerful and elegant\ntransformation allowing to study the gauge dependence of the propagator of\ncharged particles interacting with gauge fields. With the help of this\ntransformation, we derive a non-perturbative identity between massless\npropagators in two different gauges. From this identity, we find that the\ncorresponding perturbative series can be exactly expressed in terms of a hatted\ntranscendental basis that eliminates all even Euler $\\zeta$-functions. This\nexplains the mystery of even $\\zeta$-values observed in multi-loop calculations\nof Euclidean massless correlators for almost three decades now. Our\nconstruction further allows us to derive an exact formula relating hatted and\nstandard $\\zeta$-functions to all orders of perturbation theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Tachyon Condensation and Black Hole Entropy: String propagation on a cone with deficit angle $2\\pi(1-{1\\over N})$ is\nconsidered for the purpose of computing the entropy of a large mass black hole.\nThe entropy computed using the recent results on condensation of twisted-sector\ntachyons in this theory is found to be in precise agreement with the\nBekenstein-Hawking entropy.",
        "positive": "Space-time dimensionality from brane collisions: Collisions and subsequent decays of higher dimensional branes leave behind\nthree-dimensional branes and anti-branes, one of which could play the role of\nour universe. This process also leads to the production of one-dimensional\nbranes and anti-branes, however their number is expected to be suppressed.\nBrane collisions may also lead to the formation of bound states of branes.\nTheir existence does not alter this result, it just allows for the existence of\none-dimensional branes captured within the three-dimensional ones."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Problems With Complex Actions: We consider Euclidean functional integrals involving actions which are not\nexclusively real. This situation arises, for example, when there are $t$-odd\nterms in the the Minkowski action. Writing the action in terms of only real\nfields (which is always possible), such terms appear as explicitly imaginary\nterms in the Euclidean action. The usual quanization procedure which involves\nfinding the critical points of the action and then quantizing the spectrum of\nfluctuations about these critical points fails. In the case of complex actions,\nthere do not exist, in general, any critical points of the action on the space\nof real fields, the critical points are in general complex. The proper\ndefinition of the function integral then requires the analytic continuation of\nthe functional integration into the space of complex fields so as to pass\nthrough the complex critical points according to the method of steepest\ndescent. We show a simple example where this procedure can be carried out\nexplicitly. The procedure of finding the critical points of the real part of\nthe action and quantizing the corresponding fluctuations, treating the\n(exponential of the) complex part of the action as a bounded integrable\nfunction is shown to fail in our explicit example, at least perturbatively.",
        "positive": "General considerations of the cosmological constant and the\n  stabilization of moduli in the brane-world picture: We argue that the brane-world picture with matter-fields confined to 4-d\ndomain walls and with gravitational interactions across the bulk disallows\nadding an arbitrary constant to the low-energy, 4-d effective theory -- which\nfinesses the usual cosmological constant problem. The analysis also points to\ndifficulties in stabilizing moduli fields; as an alternative, we suggest\nscenarios in which the moduli motion is heavily damped by various cosmological\nmechanisms and varying ultra-slowly with time."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Real-time finite-temperature correlators from AdS/CFT: In this paper we use AdS/CFT ideas in conjunction with insights from finite\ntemperature real-time field theory formalism to compute 3-point correlators of\n${\\cal N}{=}4$ super Yang-Mills operators, in real time and at finite\ntemperature. To this end, we propose that the gravity field action is\nintegrated only over the right and left quadrants of the Penrose diagram of the\nAnti de Sitter-Schwarzschild background, with a relative sign between the two\nterms. For concreteness we consider the case of a scalar field in the black\nhole background. Using the scalar field Schwinger-Keldysh bulk-to-boundary\npropagators, we give the general expression of a 3-point real-time Green's\ncorrelator. We then note that this particular prescription amounts to adapting\nthe finite-temperature analog of Veltman's circling rules to tree-level Witten\ndiagrams, and comment on the retarded and Feynman scalar bulk-to-boundary\npropagators. We subject our prescription to several checks: KMS identities, the\nlargest time equation and the zero-temperature limit. When specializing to a\nparticular retarded (causal) 3-point function, we find a very simple answer:\nthe momentum-space correlator is given by three causal (two retarded and one\nadvanced) bulk-to-boundary propagators, meeting at a vertex point which is\nintegrated from spatial infinity to the horizon only. This result is expected\nbased on analyticity, since the retarded n-point functions are obtained by\nanalytic continuation from the imaginary time Green's function, and based on\ncausality considerations.",
        "positive": "$q$-nonabelianization for line defects: We consider the $q$-nonabelianization map, which maps links $L$ in a\n3-manifold $M$ to links $\\widetilde{L}$ in a branched $N$-fold cover\n$\\widetilde{M}$. In quantum field theory terms, $q$-nonabelianization is the\nUV-IR map relating two different sorts of defect: in the UV we have the\nsix-dimensional $(2,0)$ superconformal field theory of type $\\mathfrak{gl}(N)$\non $M \\times \\mathbb{R}^{2,1}$, and we consider surface defects placed on $L\n\\times \\{x^4 = x^5 = 0\\}$; in the IR we have the $(2,0)$ theory of type\n$\\mathfrak{gl}(1)$ on $\\widetilde{M} \\times \\mathbb{R}^{2,1}$, and put the\ndefects on $\\widetilde{L} \\times \\{x^4 = x^5 = 0\\}$. In the case $M =\n\\mathbb{R}^3$, $q$-nonabelianization computes the Jones polynomial of a link,\nor its analogue associated to the group $U(N)$. In the case $M = C \\times\n\\mathbb{R}$, when the projection of $L$ to $C$ is a simple non-contractible\nloop, $q$-nonabelianization computes the protected spin character for framed\nBPS states in 4d $\\mathcal{N}=2$ theories of class $S$. In the case $N=2$ and\n$M = C \\times \\mathbb{R}$, we give a concrete construction of the\n$q$-nonabelianization map. The construction uses the data of the WKB foliations\nassociated to a holomorphic covering $\\widetilde{C} \\to C$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Renormalization of Hamiltonians: We introduce a novel method for the renormalization of the Hamiltonian\noperator in Quantum Field Theory in the spirit of the Wilson renormalization\ngroup. By a series of unitary transformations that successively decouples the\nhigh-frequency degrees of freedom and partially diagonalizes the high-energy\npart, we obtain the effective Hamiltonian for the low energy degrees of\nfreedom. We successfully apply this technique to compute the 2-loop\nrenormalized Hamiltonian in scalar $\\lambda \\phi^4$ theory.",
        "positive": "Quantum Horizons of the Standard Model Landscape: The long-distance effective field theory of our Universe--the Standard Model\ncoupled to gravity--has a unique 4D vacuum, but we show that it also has a\nlandscape of lower-dimensional vacua, with the potential for moduli arising\nfrom vacuum and Casimir energies. For minimal Majorana neutrino masses, we find\na near-continuous infinity of AdS3xS1 vacua, with circumference ~20 microns and\nAdS3 length 4x10^25 m. By AdS/CFT, there is a CFT2 of central charge c~10^90\nwhich contains the Standard Model (and beyond) coupled to quantum gravity in\nthis vacuum. Physics in these vacua is the same as in ours for energies between\n10^-1 eV and 10^48 GeV, so this CFT2 also describes all the physics of our\nvacuum in this energy range. We show that it is possible to realize\nquantum-stabilized AdS vacua as near-horizon regions of new kinds of quantum\nextremal black objects in the higher-dimensional space--near critical black\nstrings in 4D, near-critical black holes in 3D. The violation of the\nnull-energy condition by the Casimir energy is crucial for these horizons to\nexist, as has already been realized for analogous non-extremal 3D black holes\nby Emparan, Fabbri and Kaloper. The new extremal 3D black holes are\nparticularly interesting--they are (meta)stable with an entropy independent of\nhbar and G_N, so a microscopic counting of the entropy may be possible in the\nG_N->0 limit. Our results suggest that it should be possible to realize the\nlarger landscape of AdS vacua in string theory as near-horizon geometries of\nnew extremal black brane solutions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "New vacua for Yang-Mills theory on a 3-torus: In this thesis we discuss recent new insights in the structure of the moduli\nspace of flat connections of Yang-Mills theory on a 3-torus. Chapter 2\ndiscusses the computation of Witten's index for 4-dimensional gauge theories,\nand the paradox that arises in comparing various computations. This was\nresolved by the discovery that for orthogonal and exceptional gauge groups,\nperiodic flat connections exist that are contained in seperate, disconnected\ncomponents of the moduli space. Chapter 3 and 4 discuss some aspects of the\nconstruction of holonomies parametrising vacua on such disconnected components.\nChapter 5 demonstrates a construction of vacua and holonomies for gauge\ntheories with classical groups, with non-periodic (twisted) boundary\nconditions, using an orientifold description. The new solutions with\nexceptional and orthogonal gauge groups also occur in string theory. Chapter 6,\ncontaining previously unpublished material, shows that they can be realised\nwithin heterotic string theories as asymmetric orbifolds. The presence of\nstring winding states modifies the analysis for the gauge theory in a crucial\nway, eliminating many possibilities. The remaining ones are related by string\ndualities to known and new theories.",
        "positive": "No entropy enigmas for N=4 dyons: We explain why multi-centered black hole configurations where at least one of\nthe centers is a large black hole do not contribute to the indexed degeneracies\nin theories with N=4 supersymmetry. This is a consequence of the fact that such\nconfigurations, although supersymmetric, belong to long supermultiplets. As a\nresult, there is no entropy enigma in N=4 theories, unlike in N=2 theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Towards Field Theory in Spaces with Multivolume Junctions: We consider a spacetime formed by several pieces having common timelike\nboundary which plays the role of a junction between them. We establish junction\nconditions for fields of various spin and derive the resulting laws of wave\npropagation through the junction, which turn out to be quite similar for fields\nof all spins. As an application, we consider the case of multivolume junctions\nin four-dimensional spacetime that may arise in the context of the theory of\nquantum creation of a closed universe on the background of a big mother\nuniverse. The theory developed can also be applied to braneworld models and to\nthe superstring theory.",
        "positive": "A Point's Point of View of Stringy Geometry: The notion of a \"point\" is essential to describe the topology of spacetime.\nDespite this, a point probably does not play a particularly distinguished role\nin any intrinsic formulation of string theory. We discuss one way to try to\ndetermine the notion of a point from a worldsheet point of view. The derived\ncategory description of D-branes is the key tool. The case of a flop is\nanalyzed and Pi-stability in this context is tied in to some ideas of\nBridgeland. Monodromy associated to the flop is also computed via Pi-stability\nand shown to be consistent with previous conjectures."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "IR Inflation from Multiple Branes: In this paper we examine the IR inflation scenario using the DBI action,\nwhere we have $N$ multiple branes located near the tip of a warped geometry. At\nlarge $N$ the solutions are similar in form to the more traditional single\nbrane models, however we find that it is difficult to simultaneously satisfy\nthe WMAP bounds on the scalar amplitude and the scalar spectral index. We go on\nto examine two new solutions where N=2 and N=3 respectively, which both have\nhighly non-linear actions. The sound speed in both cases is dramatically\ndifferent from previous works, and for the N=3 case it can actually be zero. We\nshow that inflation is possible in both frameworks, and find that the scalar\nspectral index is bounded from above by unity. The level of non-gaussian\nfluctuations are smaller in the N=2 case compared to the single brane models,\nwhilst those in the N=3 case are much larger.",
        "positive": "Time-loops in Dirac materials, torsion and unconventional Supersymmetry: We propose a scenario where the effects of dislocations, in bidimensional\nDirac materials at low energies, can be described within a Dirac field theory\nby a vertex proportional to the totally antisymmetric component of the torsion\ngenerated by such dislocations. The well-known geometrical obstruction to have\na nonzero torsion term of that kind in this two-dimensional settings is\novercome through exotic time-loops, obtained from ingeniously manipulated\nparticle-hole dynamics. If such torsion/dislocation is indeed present, a net\nflow of particles-antiparticles (holes) can be inferred and possibly measured.\nFinally, we comment on how these discoveries pave the way to a laboratory\nrealization on Dirac materials of Unconventional Supersymmetry, as a top-down\ndescription of the $\\pi$-electrons in backgrounds with a nonzero torsion."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Inflation as a Probe of Short Distance Physics: We show that a string-inspired Planck scale modification of general\nrelativity can have observable cosmological effects. Specifically, we present a\ncomplete analysis of the inflationary perturbation spectrum produced by a\nphenomenological Lagrangian that has a standard form on large scales but\nincorporates a string-inspired short distance cutoff, and find a deviation from\nthe standard result. We use the de Sitter calculation as the basis of a\nqualitative analysis of other inflationary backgrounds, arguing that in these\ncases the cutoff could have a more pronounced effect, changing the shape of the\nspectrum. Moreover, the computational approach developed here can be used to\nprovide unambiguous calculations of the perturbation spectrum in other\nheuristic models that modify trans-Planckian physics and thereby determine\ntheir impact on the inflationary perturbation spectrum. Finally, we argue that\nthis model may provide an exception to constraints, recently proposed by Tanaka\nand Starobinsky, on the ability of Planck-scale physics to modify the\ncosmological spectrum.",
        "positive": "Black hole bulk-cone singularities: Lorentzian correlators of local operators exhibit surprising singularities in\ntheories with gravity duals. These are associated with null geodesics in an\nemergent bulk geometry. We analyze singularities of the thermal response\nfunction dual to propagation of waves on the AdS Schwarzschild black hole\nbackground. We derive the analytic form of the leading singularity dual to a\nbulk geodesic that winds around the black hole. Remarkably, it exhibits a\nboundary group velocity larger than the speed of light, whose dual is the\nangular velocity of null geodesics at the photon sphere. The strength of this\nsingularity is controlled by the classical Lyapunov exponent associated with\nthe instability of nearly bound photon orbits. In this sense, the bulk-cone\nsingularity can be identified as the universal feature that encodes the\nubiquitous black hole photon sphere in a dual holographic CFT. To perform the\ncomputation analytically, we express the two-point correlator as an infinite\nsum over Regge poles, and then evaluate this sum using WKB methods. We also\ncompute the smeared correlator numerically, which in particular allows us to\ncheck and support our analytic predictions. We comment on the resolution of\nblack hole bulk-cone singularities by stringy and gravitational effects into\nblack hole bulk-cone \"bumps\". We conclude that these bumps are robust, and\ncould serve as a target for simulations of black hole-like geometries in\ntable-top experiments."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dynamics of Domain Wall Networks: Networks or webs of domain walls are admitted in Abelian or non-Abelian gauge\ntheory coupled to fundamental Higgs fields with complex masses. We examine the\ndynamics of the domain wall loops by using the moduli approximation and find a\nphase rotation induces a repulsive force which can be understood as a Noether\ncharge of Q-solitons. Non-Abelian gauge theory allows different types of loops\nwhich can be deformed to each other by changing a modulus. This admits the\nmoduli geometry like a sandglass made by gluing the tips of the two\ncigar-(cone-)like metrics of a single triangle loop. We conclude that the sizes\nof all loops tend to grow for a late time in general models with complex Higgs\nmasses, while the sizes are stabilized at some values once triplet masses are\nintroduced for the Higgs fields. We also show that the stationary motion on the\nmoduli space of the domain wall webs represents 1/4 BPS Q-webs of walls.",
        "positive": "Reconstructing the Vacuum Functional of Yang-Mills from its Large\n  Distance Behaviour: For fields that vary slowly on the scale of the lightest mass the logarithm\nof the vacuum functional can be expanded as a sum of local functionals. For\nYang-Mills theory the leading term in the expansion dominates large distance\neffects and leads to an area law for the Wilson loop. However, this expansion\ncannot be expected to converge for fields that vary more rapidly. By studying\nthe analyticity of the vacuum functional under scale transformations we show\nhow to re-sum this series so as to reconstruct the vacuum functional for\narbitrary fields."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Structural phase transition and its critical dynamics from holography: We introduce a gravitational lattice theory defined in an AdS$_3$ black hole\nbackground that provides a holographic dual description of the linear-to-zigzag\nstructural phase transition, characterized by the spontaneous breaking of\nparity symmetry observed in, e.g., confined Coulomb crystals. The transition\nfrom the high-symmetry linear phase to the broken-symmetry doubly-degenerate\nzigzag phase can be driven by quenching the coupling between adjacent sites\nthrough the critical point. An analysis of the equilibrium correlation length\nand relaxation time reveals mean-field critical exponents. We explore the\nnonequilibrium phase transition dynamics leading to kink formation. The kink\ndensity obeys universal scaling laws in the limit of slow quenches, described\nby the Kibble-Zurek mechanism (KZM), and at fast quenches, characterized by a\nuniversal breakdown of the KZM.",
        "positive": "Quantum Field Theory in a Multi-Metric Background: By means of simple models in a flat spacetime manifold we examine some of the\nissues that arise when quantizing interacting quantum fields in multi-metric\nbackgrounds. In particular we investigate the maintenance of a causal structure\nin the models. In this context we introduce and explain the relevance of an\ninterpolating metric that is a superposition of the individual metrics in the\nmodels. We study the renormalisation of a model with quartic interactions and\nelucidate the structure of the renormalisation group and its implications for\nLorentz symmetry breakdown."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On 3d extensions of AGT relation: An extension of the AGT relation from two to three dimensions begins from\nconnecting the theory on domain wall between some two S-dual SYM models with\nthe 3d Chern-Simons theory. The simplest kind of such a relation would\npresumably connect traces of the modular kernels in 2d conformal theory with\nknot invariants. Indeed, the both quantities are very similar, especially if\nrepresented as integrals of the products of quantum dilogarithm functions.\nHowever, there are also various differences, especially in the \"conservation\nlaws\" for integration variables, which hold for the monodromy traces, but not\nfor the knot invariants. We also discuss another possibility: interpretation of\nknot invariants as solutions to the Baxter equations for the relativistic Toda\nsystem. This implies another AGT like relation: between 3d Chern-Simons theory\nand the Nekrasov-Shatashvili limit of the 5d SYM.",
        "positive": "Renormalization and asymptotic safety in truncated quantum Einstein\n  gravity: A perturbative quantum theory of the 2-Killing vector reduction of general\nrelativity is constructed. Although non-renormalizable in the standard sense,\nwe show that to all orders of the loop expansion strict cut-off independence\ncan be achieved in a space of Lagrangians differing only by a field dependent\nconformal factor. In particular the Noether currents and the quantum\nconstraints can be defined as finite composite operators. The form of the field\ndependence in the conformal factor changes with the renormalization scale and a\nclosed formula is obtained for the beta functional governing its flow. The flow\npossesses a unique fixed point at which the trace anomaly is shown to vanish.\nThe approach to the fixed point adheres to Weinberg's ``asymptotic safety''\nscenario, both in the gravitational wave/cosmological sector and in the\nstationary sector."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Observables of Non-Commutative Gauge Theories: We construct gauge invariant operators in non-commutative gauge theories\nwhich in the IR reduce to the usual operators of ordinary field theories (e.g.\nF^2). We show that in the deep UV the two-point functions of these operators\nadmit a universal exponential behavior which fits neatly with the dual\nsupergravity results. We also consider the ratio between n-point functions and\ntwo-point functions to find exponential suppression in the UV which we compare\nto the high energy fixed angle scattering of string theory.",
        "positive": "Canonical Quantization, Space-Time Noncommutativity and Deformed\n  Symmetries in Field Theory: Within the spirit of Dirac's canonical quantization, noncommutative spacetime\nfield theories are introduced by making use of the reparametrization invariance\nof the action and of an arbitrary non-canonical symplectic structure. This\nconstruction implies that the constraints need to be deformed, resulting in an\nautomatic Drinfeld twisting of the generators of the symmetries associated with\nthe reparametrized theory. We illustrate our procedure for the case of a scalar\nfield in 1+1- spacetime dimensions, but it can be readily generalized to\narbitrary dimensions and arbitrary types of fields."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A boundary stress tensor for higher-derivative gravity in AdS and\n  Lifshitz backgrounds: We investigate the Brown-York stress tensor for curvature-squared theories.\nThis requires a generalized Gibbons-Hawking term in order to establish a\nwell-posed variational principle, which is achieved in a universal way by\nreducing the number of derivatives through the introduction of an auxiliary\ntensor field. We examine the boundary stress tensor thus defined for the\nspecial case of `massive gravity' in three dimensions, which augments the\nEinstein-Hilbert term by a particular curvature-squared term. It is shown that\none obtains finite results for physical parameters on AdS upon adding a\n`boundary cosmological constant' as a counterterm, which vanishes at the\nso-called chiral point. We derive known and new results, like the value of the\ncentral charges or the mass of black hole solutions, thereby confirming our\nprescription for the computation of the stress tensor. Finally, we inspect\nrecently constructed Lifshitz vacua and a new black hole solution that is\nasymptotically Lifshitz, and we propose a novel and covariant counterterm for\nthis case.",
        "positive": "Logarithmic Conformal Field Theory - or - How to Compute a Torus\n  Amplitude on the Sphere: We review some aspects of logarithmic conformal field theories which might\nshed some light on the geometrical meaning of logarithmic operators. We\nconsider an approach, put forward by V. Knizhnik, where computation of\ncorrelation functions on higher genus Riemann surfaces can be replaced by\ncomputations on the sphere under certain circumstances. We show that this\nproposal naturally leads to logarithmic conformal field theories, when the\nadditional vertex operator insertions, which simulate the branch points of a\nramified covering of the sphere, are viewed as dynamical objects in the theory.\n  We study the Seiberg-Witten solution of supersymmetric low energy effective\nfield theory as an example where physically interesting quantities, the periods\nof a meromorphic one-form, can effectively be computed within this conformal\nfield theory setting. We comment on the relation between correlation functions\ncomputed on the plane, but with insertions of twist fields, and torus vacuum\namplitudes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetric Brane-Worlds: We present warped metrics which solve Einstein equations with arbitrary\ncosmological constants in both in upper and lower dimensions. When the\nlower-dimensional metric is the maximally symmetric one compatible with the\nchosen value of the cosmological constant, the upper-dimensional metric is also\nthe maximally symmetric one and there is maximal unbroken supersymmetry as\nwell. We then introduce brane sources and find solutions with analogous\nproperties, except for supersymmetry, which is generically broken in the\norbifolding procedure (one half is preserved in two special cases), and analyze\nmetric perturbations in these backgrounds In analogy with the D8-brane we\npropose an effective $(\\hat{d}-2)$-brane action which acts as a source for the\nRS solution. The action consists of a Nambu-Goto piece and a Wess-Zumino term\ncontaining a $(\\hat{d}-1)$-form field. It has the standard form of the action\nfor a BPS extended object, in correspondence with the supersymmetry preserved\nby the solution.",
        "positive": "Derivation of the two Schwarzians effective action for the\n  Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev spectral form factor: The Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev model spectral form factor exhibits absence of\ninformation loss in the form of a ramp and a plateau, that are typical of\nrandom matrix theory. In a large $N$ collective fields description, the ramp\nwas reproduced by Saad, Shenker and Stanford \\cite{Saad:2018bqo}, by replica\nsymmetry breaking saddles for a connected component of the analytically\ncontinued to real times thermal partition function two point function. We\nderive a two sides Schwarzians effective action for fluctuations around the\nramp critical saddles, by adapting to the two replica system a method by Kitaev\nand Suh \\cite{Kitaev:2017awl} for studying non linear responses to the\nconformal breaking kinetic operator in regular SYK. Our result confirms\n\\cite{Saad:2018bqo}, where the form of the action was obtained by assuming\nlocality."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hopf instantons, Chern-Simons vortices, and Heisenberg ferromagnets: The dimensional reduction of the three-dimensional fermion-Chern-Simons model\n(related to Hopf maps) of Adam et el. is shown to be equivalent to (i) either\nthe static, fixed--chirality sector of our non-relativistic spinor-Chern-Simons\nmodel in 2+1 dimensions, (ii) or a particular Heisenberg ferromagnet in the\nplane.",
        "positive": "Special functions as structure constants for new infinite-dimensional\n  algebras: Novel infinite-dimensional algebras of the Virasoro/Kac-Moody/\nFloratos-Iliopoulos type are introduced, which involve special functions in\ntheir structure constants"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Wrapping interactions and a new source of corrections to the\n  spin-chain/string duality: Assuming that the world-sheet sigma-model in the AdS/CFT correspondence is an\nintegrable {\\em quantum} field theory, we deduce that there might be new\ncorrections to the spin-chain/string Bethe ansatz paradigm. These come from\nvirtual particles propagating around the circumference of the cylinder and\nrender Bethe ansatz quantization conditions only approximate. We determine the\nnature of these corrections both at weak and at strong coupling in the near BMN\nlimit, and find that the first corrections behave qualitatively as wrapping\ninteractions at weak coupling.",
        "positive": "Positive Signs in Massive Gravity: We derive new constraints on massive gravity from unitarity and analyticity\nof scattering amplitudes. Our results apply to a general effective theory\ndefined by Einstein gravity plus the leading soft diffeomorphism-breaking\ncorrections. We calculate scattering amplitudes for all combinations of tensor,\nvector, and scalar polarizations. The high-energy behavior of these amplitudes\nprescribes a specific choice of couplings that ameliorates the ultraviolet\ncutoff, in agreement with existing literature. We then derive consistency\nconditions from analytic dispersion relations, which dictate positivity of\ncertain combinations of parameters appearing in the forward scattering\namplitudes. These constraints exclude all but a small island in the parameter\nspace of ghost-free massive gravity. While the theory of the \"Galileon\" scalar\nmode alone is known to be inconsistent with positivity constraints, this is\nremedied in the full massive gravity theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "D-branes and matrix factorisations in supersymmetric coset models: Matrix factorisations describe B-type boundary conditions in N=2\nsupersymmetric Landau-Ginzburg models. At the infrared fixed point, they\ncorrespond to superconformal boundary states. We investigate the relation\nbetween boundary states and matrix factorisations in the Grassmannian\nKazama-Suzuki coset models. For the first non-minimal series, i.e. for the\nmodels of type SU(3)_k/U(2), we identify matrix factorisations for a subset of\nthe maximally symmetric boundary states. This set provides a basis for the RR\ncharge lattice, and can be used to generate (presumably all) other boundary\nstates by tachyon condensation.",
        "positive": "Heterotic and type I strings from twisted supermembranes: As shown by Ho\\v{r}ava and Witten, there are gravitational anomalies at the\nboundaries of $M^{10}\\times S^1/Z_2$ of 11 dimensional supergravity. They\nshowed that only 10 dimensional vector multiplets belonging to $E_8$ gauge\ngroup can be consistently coupled to this theory. Thus, the dimensional\nreduction of this theory should be the low energy limit of the $E_8\\times E_8$\nheterotic string. Here we assume that M-theory is a theory of supermembranes\nwhich includes twisted supermembranes. We show that for a target space\n$M^{10}\\times S^1/Z_2$, in the limit in which $S^1/Z_2$ is small, the effective\naction is the $E_8\\times E_8$ heterotic string. We also consider supermembranes\non $M^{9}\\times S^1\\times S^1/Z_2$ and find the dualities expected from 11\ndimensional supergravity on this manifold. We show that the requirements for\nworldsheet anomaly cancellations at the boundaries of the worldvolume action\nare the same requirements imposed on the Ho\\v{r}ava-Witten action."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Deformations of spacetime and internal symmetries: Algebraic deformations provide a systematic approach to generalizing the\nsymmetries of a physical theory through the introduction of new fundamental\nconstants. The applications of deformations of Lie algebras and Hopf algebras\nto both spacetime and internal symmetries are discussed. As a specific example\nwe demonstrate how deforming the classical flavor group $SU(3)$ to the quantum\ngroup $SU_q(3)\\equiv U_q(su(3))$ (a Hopf algebra) and taking into account\nelectromagnetic mass splitting within isospin multiplets leads to new and\nexceptionally accurate baryon mass sum rules that agree perfectly with\nexperimental data.",
        "positive": "Bosonization of Three Dimensional Non-Abelian Fermion Field Theories: We discuss bosonization in three dimensions of an $SU(N)$ massive Thirring\nmodel in the low-energy regime. We find that the bosonized theory is related\n(but not equal) to $SU(N)$ Yang-Mills-Chern-Simons gauge theory. For free\nmassive fermions bosonization leads, at low energies, to the pure $SU(N)$\n(level $k=1$) Chern-Simons theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Extended No-Scale Structure and $\u03b1^{'2}$ Corrections to the Type\n  IIB Action: We analyse a new ${\\cal N}=1$ string tree level correction at ${\\cal\nO}(\\alpha'^2)$ to the K\\\"ahler potential of the volume moduli of type IIB\nCalabi-Yau flux compactification found recently by Grimm, Savelli and\nWeissenbacher~\\cite{Grimm:2013gma} and its impact on the moduli potential. We\nfind that it imposes a strong lower bound the Calabi-Yau volume in the Large\nVolume Scenario of moduli stabilisation. For KKLT-like scenarios we find that\nconsistency of the action imposes an upper bound on the flux superpotential\n$|W_0|\\lesssim 10^{-3}$, while parametrically controlled survival of the KKLT\nminimum needs extreme tuning of $W_0$ close to zero. We also analyse the\nK\\\"ahler uplifting mechanism showing that it can operate on Calabi-Yau\nmanifolds where the new correction is present and dominated by the 4-cycle\ncontrolling the overall volume if the volume is stabilised at values\n$\\mathcal{V} \\gtrsim 10^3$. We discuss the phenomenological implication of\nthese bounds on $\\mathcal{V}$ in the various scenarios.",
        "positive": "One-loop vacuum amplitude for D-branes in constant electromagnetic field: Following Polchinski's approach we calculate the one-loop vacuum amplitude\nfor two parallel D-branes connected by open bosonic (neutral or charged)string\nin a constant uniform electromagnetic (EM) field. For neutral string, external\nEM field contribution appears as multiplier (Born-Infeld type action) of vacuum\namplitude without external EM field. Hence,it gives the alternative way to see\nthe inducing of Born-Infeld type action for description of D-branes. For\ncharged string the situation is more complicated, it may indicate the necessity\nto modify the induced D-branes action in this case."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Principal Bundles, Connections and BRST Cohomology: We review the elementary theory of gauge fields and the Becchi-Rouet-Stora-\nTyutin symmetry in the context of differential geometry. We emphasize the\ntopological nature of this symmetry and discuss a double Chevalley-Eilenberg\ncomplex for it.",
        "positive": "$W_\\infty$ coherent states and path-integral derivation of bosonization\n  of non-relativistic fermions in one dimension: We complete the proof of bosonization of noninteracting nonrelativistic\nfermions in one space dimension by deriving the bosonized action using\n$W_\\infty$ coherent states in the fermion path-integral. This action was\nearlier derived by us using the method of coadjoint orbits. We also discuss the\nclassical limit of the bosonized theory and indicate the precise nature of the\ntruncation of the full theory that leads to the collective field theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Celestial Diamonds: Conformal Multiplets in Celestial CFT: We examine the structure of global conformal multiplets in 2D celestial CFT.\nFor a 4D bulk theory containing massless particles of spin\n$s=\\{0,\\frac{1}{2},1,\\frac{3}{2},2\\}$ we classify and construct all\nSL(2,$\\mathbb{C}$) primary descendants which are organized into 'celestial\ndiamonds'. This explicit construction is achieved using a wavefunction-based\napproach that allows us to map 4D scattering amplitudes to celestial CFT\ncorrelators of operators with SL(2,$\\mathbb{C}$) conformal dimension $\\Delta$\nand spin $J$. Radiative conformal primary wavefunctions have $J=\\pm s$ and give\nrise to conformally soft theorems for special values of $\\Delta \\in\n\\frac{1}{2}\\mathbb{Z}$. They are located either at the top of celestial\ndiamonds, where they descend to trivial null primaries, or at the left and\nright corners, where they descend both to and from generalized conformal\nprimary wavefunctions which have $|J|\\leq s$. Celestial diamonds naturally\nincorporate degeneracies of opposite helicity particles via the 2D shadow\ntransform relating radiative primaries and account for the global and\nasymptotic symmetries in gauge theory and gravity.",
        "positive": "Supersymmetry, p-brane duality and hidden space and time dimensions: A global superalgebra with 32 supercharges and all possible central\nextensions is studied in order to extract some general properties of duality\nand hidden dimensions in a theory that treats $p$-branes democratically. The\nmaximal number of dimensions is 12, with signature (10,2), containing one space\nand one time dimensions that are hidden from the point of view of perturbative\n10-dimensional string theory or its compactifications. When the theory is\ncompactified on $R^{d-1,1}\\otimes T^{c+1,1}$ with $d+c+2=12,$ there are\nisometry groups that relate to the hidden dimensions as well as to duality.\nTheir combined classification schemes provide some properties of\nnon-perturbative states and their couplings."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Schwinger Dyson equations and the algebra of constraints of random\n  tensor models at all orders: Random tensor models for a generic complex tensor generalize matrix models in\narbitrary dimensions and yield a theory of random geometries. They support a\n1/N expansion dominated by graphs of spherical topology. Their Schwinger Dyson\nequations, generalizing the loop equations of matrix models, translate into\nconstraints satisfied by the partition function. The constraints have been\nshown, in the large N limit, to close a Lie algebra indexed by colored rooted\nD-ary trees yielding a first generalization of the Virasoro algebra in\narbitrary dimensions. In this paper we complete the Schwinger Dyson equations\nand the associated algebra at all orders in 1/N. The full algebra of\nconstraints is indexed by D-colored graphs, and the leading order D-ary tree\nalgebra is a Lie subalgebra of the full constraints algebra.",
        "positive": "Anomalies and time reversal invariance in relativistic hydrodynamics:\n  the second order and higher dimensional formulations: We present two new results on relativistic hydrodynamics with anomalies and\nexternal electromagnetic fields, \"Chiral MagnetoHydroDynamics\" (CMHD). First,\nwe study CMHD in four dimensions at second order in the derivative expansion\nassuming the conformal/Weyl invariance. We classify all possible independent\nconformal second order viscous corrections to the energy-momentum tensor and to\nthe U(1) current in the presence of external electric and/or magnetic fields,\nand identify eighteen terms that originate from the triangle anomaly. We then\npropose and motivate the following guiding principle to constrain the CMHD: the\nanomaly--induced terms that are even under the time reversal invariance should\nnot contribute to the local entropy production rate. This allows us to fix\nthirteen out of the eighteen transport coefficients that enter the second order\nformulation of CMHD. We also relate one of our second order transport\ncoefficients to the chiral shear waves. Our second subject is hydrodynamics\nwith (N+1)-gon anomaly in an arbitrary 2N dimensions. The effects from the\n(N+1)-gon anomaly appear in hydrodynamics at (N-1)'th order in the derivative\nexpansion, and we identify precisely N such corrections to the U(1) current.\nThe time reversal constraint is powerful enough to allow us to find the\nanalytic expressions for all transport coefficients. We confirm the validity of\nour results (and of the proposed guiding principle) by an explicit\nfluid/gravity computation within the AdS/CFT correspondence."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Propagation speeds of relativistic conformal fluids from a generalized\n  relaxation time approximation: We compute the propagation speeds for a conformal real relativistic fluid. We\nbegin from a kinetic equation in the relaxation time approximation, where the\nrelaxation time is an arbitrary function of the particle energy in the Landau\nframe. We propose a parameterization of the one particle distribution function\ndesigned to contain a second order Chapman-Enskog solution as a particular\ncase. We derive the hydrodynamic equations applying the moments method to this\nparameterized one particle distribution function, and solve for the propagation\nspeeds of linearized scalar, vector and tensor perturbations. For relaxation\ntimes of the form $\\tau=\\tau_0(-\\beta_{\\mu}p^{\\mu})^{-a}$, with $-\\infty< a<2$,\nwhere $\\beta_{\\mu}=u_{\\mu}/T$ is the temperature vector in the Landau frame, we\nshow that the Anderson-Witting prescription $a=1$ yields the fastest speeds.",
        "positive": "Complementary Projection Defects and Decompositions: As put forward in [arXiv:1907.12339] topological quantum field theories can\nbe projected using so-called projection defects. The projected theory and its\ncorrelation functions can be completely realized within the unprojected one. An\ninteresting example is the case of topological quantum field theories\nassociated to IR fixed points of renormalization group flows, which by this\nmethod can be realized inside the theories associated to the UV. In this note\nwe show that projection defects in triangulated defect categories (such as\ndefects in 2d topologically twisted N=(2,2) theories) always come with\ncomplementary projection defects, and that the unprojected theory decomposes\ninto the theories associated to the two projection defects. We demonstrate this\nin the context of Landau-Ginzburg orbifold theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Aspects of Ultra-Relativistic Field Theories via Flat-space Holography: Recently it was proposed that asymptotically flat spacetimes have a\nholographic dual which is an ultra-relativistic conformal field theory. In this\npaper, we obtain the conformal anomaly for such a theory via the flat-space\nholography technique. Furthermore, using flat-space holography we obtain a\nC-function for this theory which is monotonically decreasing from the UV to the\nIR by employing the null energy condition in the bulk.",
        "positive": "Moduli destabilization via gravitational collapse: We examine the interplay between gravitational collapse and moduli stability\nin the context of black hole formation. We perform numerical simulations of the\ncollapse using the double null formalism and show that the very dense regions\none expects to find in the process of black hole formation are able to\ndestabilize the volume modulus. We establish that the effects of the\ndestabilization will be visible to an observer at infinity, opening up a window\nto a region in spacetime where standard model's couplings and masses can differ\nsignificantly from their background values."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The AdS/CFT partition function, AdS as a lift of a CFT, and holographic\n  RG flow from conformal deformations: Conformal deformations manifest in the AdS/CFT correspondence as boundary\nconditions on the AdS field. Heretofore, double-trace deformations have been\nthe primary focus in this context. To better understand multitrace\ndeformations, we revisit the relationship between the generating AdS partition\nfunction for a free bulk theory and the boundary CFT partition function subject\nto arbitrary conformal deformations. The procedure leads us to a formalism that\nconstructs bulk fields from boundary operators. Using this formalism, we\nindependently replicate the holographic RG flow narrative to go on to interpret\nthe brane used to regulate the AdS theory as a renormalization scale. The\nscale-dependence of the dilatation spectrum of a boundary theory in the\npresence of general deformations can be thus understood on the AdS side using\nthis formalism.",
        "positive": "On Supersymmetric Lifshitz Field Theories: We consider field theories that exhibit a supersymmetric Lifshitz scaling\nwith two real supercharges. The theories can be formulated in the language of\nstochastic quantization. We construct the free field supersymmetry algebra with\nrotation singlet fermions for an even dynamical exponent $z=2k$ in an arbitrary\ndimension. We analyze the classical and quantum $z=2$ supersymmetric\ninteractions in $2+1$ and $3+1$ spacetime dimensions and reveal a supersymmetry\npreserving quantum diagrammatic cancellation. Stochastic quantization indicates\nthat Lifshitz scale invariance is broken in the $(3+1)$-dimensional quantum\ntheory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Characteristics of Z(2) multi-kink soliton configurations: In this article, we first briefly review the solution of Z(2) kink solitons.\nThen we construct some multi-kink soliton configurations which are static and\nshow their few features which are actually important to characterize their\nstability conditions. Not only that this show also the particle characteristics\nof these kink configurations in these solitonic configurations. Then we will\ntalk about dynamical kinks and show the affect of dynamics in the expression of\nforce exerted by the neighbouring kink and anti-kink on each other in the\nmulti-kink configurations. We have also defined an algebra through which we can\nwrite down equivalent ways of writing down multi-kink configuration\nmathematically.",
        "positive": "Recent progress in intersection theory for Feynman integrals\n  decomposition: High precision calculations in perturbative QFT often require evaluation of\nbig collection of Feynman integrals. Complexity of this task can be greatly\nreduced via the usage of linear identities among Feynman integrals. Based on\nmathematical theory of intersection numbers, recently a new method for\nderivation of such identities and decomposition of Feynman integrals was\nintroduced and applied to many non-trivial examples. In this note we discuss\nthe latest developments in algorithms for the evaluation of intersection\nnumbers, and their application to the reduction of Feynman integrals."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The effect of three matters on KSS bound: In this paper we introduce the black brane solutions in AdS space in\n4-dimensional (4D) Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet-Yang-Mills theory in the presence of\nstring cloud and quintessence. Shear viscosity to entropy density ratio is\ncomputed via fluid-gravity duality, as a transport coefficient for this model.",
        "positive": "Coupled $\\mathcal{N}$ = 2 supersymmetric quantum systems: symmetries and\n  supervariable approach: We consider specific examples of $\\mathcal{N}$ = 2 supersymmetric quantum\nmechanical models and list out all the novel symmetries. In each case, we show\nthe existence of two sets of discrete symmetries that correspond to the Hodge\nduality operator of differential geometry. Thus, we are able to provide a proof\nof the conjecture which endorses the existence of more than one discrete\nsymmetry transformation as the analogue of Hodge duality operation. Finally, we\nextend our analysis to a more general case and derive on-shell nilpotent\nsymmetries within the framework of supervariable approach."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Separability of a modified Dirac equation in a five-dimensional\n  rotating, charged black hole in string theory: The aim of this paper is to investigate the separability of a spin-1/2 spinor\nfield in a five-dimensional rotating, charged black hole constructed by Cvetic\nand Youm in string theory, in the case when three U(1) charges are set equal.\nThis black hole solution represents a natural generalization of the famous\nfour-dimensional Kerr-Newman solution to five dimensions with the inclusion of\na Chern-Simons term to the Maxwell equation. It is shown that the usual Dirac\nequation can not be separated by variables in this general spacetime with two\nindependent angular momenta. However if one supplements an additional\ncounterterm into the usual Dirac operator, then the modified Dirac equation for\nthe spin-1/2 spinor particles is separable in this rotating, charged\nEinstein-Maxwell-Chern-Simons black hole background geometry. A first-order\nsymmetry operator that commutes with the modified Dirac operator has exactly\nthe same form as that previously found in the uncharged Myers-Perry black hole\ncase. It is expressed in terms of a rank-three totally antisymmetric tensor and\nits covariant derivative. This tensor obeys a generalized Killing-Yano equation\nand its square is a second-order symmetric Stackel-Killing tensor admitted by\nthe five-dimensional rotating, charged black hole spacetime.",
        "positive": "On the Geometric Interpretation of N = 2 Superconformal Theories: We clarify certain important issues relevant for the geometric interpretation\nof a large class of N = 2 superconformal theories. By fully exploiting the\nphase structure of these theories (discovered in earlier works) we are able to\nclearly identify their geometric content. One application is to present a\nsimple and natural resolution to the question of what constitutes the mirror of\na rigid Calabi-Yau manifold. We also discuss some other models with unusual\nphase diagrams that highlight some subtle features regarding the geometric\ncontent of conformal theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Meanders and the Temperley-Lieb algebra: The statistics of meanders is studied in connection with the Temperley-Lieb\nalgebra. Each (multi-component) meander corresponds to a pair of reduced\nelements of the algebra. The assignment of a weight $q$ per connected component\nof meander translates into a bilinear form on the algebra, with a Gram matrix\nencoding the fine structure of meander numbers. Here, we calculate the\nassociated Gram determinant as a function of $q$, and make use of the\northogonalization process to derive alternative expressions for meander numbers\nas sums over correlated random walks.",
        "positive": "dS$_2$ Supergravity: We construct two-dimensional supergravity theories endowed with a positive\ncosmological constant, that admit de Sitter vacua. We consider the cases of\n$\\mathcal{N}=1$ as well as $\\mathcal{N}=2$ supersymmetry, and couple the\nsupergravity to a superconformal field theory with the same amount of\nsupersymmetry. Upon fixing a supersymmetric extension of the Weyl gauge, the\ntheories are captured, at the quantum level, by supersymmetric extensions of\ntimelike Liouville theory with $\\mathcal{N}=1$ and $\\mathcal{N}=2$\nsupersymmetry respectively. The theories exhibit good ultraviolet properties\nand are amenable to a variety of techniques such as systematic loop expansions\nand, in the $\\mathcal{N}=2$ case, supersymmetric localization. Our\nconstructions offer a novel path toward a precise treatment of the Euclidean\ngravitational path integral for de Sitter, and in turn, the Gibbons-Hawking\nentropy of the de Sitter horizon. We argue that the supersymmetric localization\nmethod applied to the $\\mathcal{N}=2$ theory must receive contributions from\nboundary terms in configuration space. We also discuss how these theories\novercome several obstructions that appear upon combining de Sitter space with\nsupersymmetry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Effective Action and Phase Transitions in Thermal Yang-Mills Theory on\n  Spheres: We study the covariantly constant Savvidy-type chromomagnetic vacuum in\nfinite-temperature Yang-Mills theory on the four-dimensional curved spacetime.\nMotivated by the fact that a positive spatial curvature acts as an effective\ngluon mass we consider the compact Euclidean spacetime $S^1\\times S^1\\times\nS^2$, with the radius of the first circle determined by the temperature\n$a_1=(2\\pi T)^{-1}$. We show that covariantly constant Yang-Mills fields on\n$S^2$ cannot be arbitrary but are rather a collection of monopole-antimonopole\npairs. We compute the heat kernels of all relevant operators exactly and show\nthat the gluon operator on such a background has negative modes for any compact\nsemi-simple gauge group. We compute the infrared regularized effective action\nand apply the result for the computation of the entropy and the heat capacity\nof the quark-gluon gas. We compute the heat capacity for the gauge group SU(2N)\nfor a field configuration of $N$ monopole-antimonopole pairs. We show that in\nthe high-temperature limit the heat capacity is well defined in the infrared\nlimit and exhibits a typical behavior of second-order phase transition $\\sim\n(T-T_c)^{-3/2}$ with the critical temperature $T_c=(2\\pi a)^{-1}$, where $a$ is\nthe radius of the 2-sphere $S^2$.",
        "positive": "Minimal Affinizations of Representations of Quantum Groups: the rank 2\n  case: We define the notion of a minimal affinization of an irreducible\nrepresentation of $U_q(g)$. We prove that minimal affinizations exist and\nestablish their uniqueness in the rank 2 case."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Can fusion coefficients be calculated from the depth rule ?: The depth rule is a level truncation of tensor product coefficients expected\nto be sufficient for the evaluation of fusion coefficients. We reformulate the\ndepth rule in a precise way, and show how, in principle, it can be used to\ncalculate fusion coefficients. However, we argue that the computation of the\ndepth itself, in terms of which the constraints on tensor product coefficients\nis formulated, is problematic. Indeed, the elements of the basis of states\nconvenient for calculating tensor product coefficients do not have a\nwell-defined depth! We proceed by showing how one can calculate the depth in an\n`approximate' way and derive accurate lower bounds for the minimum level at\nwhich a coupling appears. It turns out that this method yields exact results\nfor $\\widehat{su}(3)$ and constitutes an efficient and simple algorithm for\ncomputing $\\widehat{su}(3)$ fusion coefficients.",
        "positive": "Gauge symmetries decrease the number of Dp-brane dimensions: It is known that the presence of antisymmetric background field $B_{\\mu\\nu}$\nleads to noncommutativity of Dp-brane manifold. Addition of the linear dilaton\nfield in the form $\\Phi(x)=\\Phi_0+a_\\mu x^\\mu$, causes the appearance of the\ncommutative Dp-brane coordinate $x=a_\\mu x^\\mu$. In the present article we show\nthat for some particular choices of the background fields, $a^2\\equiv\nG^{\\mu\\nu}a_\\mu a_\\nu=0$ and $\\tilde a^2\\equiv [ (G-4BG^{-1}B)^{-1}\\\n]^{\\mu\\nu}a_\\mu a_\\nu=0$, the local gauge symmetries appear in the theory. They\nturn some Neuman boundary conditions into the Dirichlet ones, and consequently\ndecrease the number of the Dp-brane dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Localizing gravity on Maxwell gauged CP1 model in six dimensions: We shall consider about a 3-brane embedded in six-dimensional space-time with\na negative bulk cosmological constant. The 3-brane is constructed by a\ntopological soliton solution living in two-dimensional axially symmetric\ntransverse subspace. Similar to most previous works of six-dimensional soliton\nmodels, our Maxwell gauged CP1 brane model can also achieve to localize gravity\naround the 3-brane. The CP1 field is described by a scalar doublet and derived\nfrom O(3) sigma model by projecting it onto two-dimensional complex space. In\nthat sense, our framework is more effective than other solitonic brane models\nconcerning with gauge theory. We shall also discuss about linear stability\nanalysis for our new model by fluctuating all fields.",
        "positive": "Statistics of the Composite Systems: The commutation relations of the composite fields are studied in the 3, 2 and\n1 space dimensions. It is shown that the field of an atom consisting of a\nnucleus and an electron fields satisfies, in the space-like asymptotic limit,\nthe canonical commutation relations within the sub-Fock-space of the atom. The\ncomposite anyon fields are shown to satisfy the proper anyonic commutation\nrelations with the additive phase exponents. Then, (quasi)particle pictures of\nthe anyons are clarified. The hierarchy of the fractional quantum Hall effect\nis rather simply nderstood by utilizing the (quasi)particle charactors of the\nanyons. The commutation relations of the scalar object in the\nSchwinger(Thirring) model are mentioned briefly."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gravitational Constrained Instantons: We find constrained instantons in Einstein gravity with and without a\ncosmological constant. These configurations are not saddle points of the\nEinstein-Hilbert action, yet they contribute to non-perturbative processes in\nquantum gravity. In some cases we expect that they give the dominant\ncontribution from spacetimes with certain fixed topologies. With negative\ncosmological constant, these metrics describe wormholes connecting two\nasymptotic regions. We find many examples of such wormhole metrics and for\ncertain symmetric configurations establish their perturbative stability. We\nexpect that the Euclidean versions of these wormholes encode the energy level\nstatistics of AdS black hole microstates. In the de Sitter and flat space\nsettings we find new homogeneous and isotropic bounce and big bang/crunch\ncosmologies.",
        "positive": "O(d,d,Z) Transformations as Automorphisms of the Operator Algebra: We implement the O(d,d,Z) transformations of T-duality as automorphisms of\nthe operator algebras of Conformal Field Theories. This extends these\ntransformations to arbitrary field configurations in the deformation class."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "From tree- to loop-simplicity in affine Toda theories I: Landau\n  singularities and their subleading coefficients: Various features of the even order poles appearing in the S-matrices of\nsimply-laced affine Toda field theories are analysed in some detail. In\nparticular, the coefficients of first- and second-order singularities appearing\nin the Laurent expansion of the S-matrix around a general $2N^{\\rm th}$ order\npole are derived in a universal way using perturbation theory at one loop. We\nshow how to cut loop diagrams contributing to the pole into particular products\nof tree-level graphs that depend on the on-shell geometry of the loop; in this\nway, we recover the coefficients of the Laurent expansion around the pole\nexploiting tree-level integrability properties of the theory. The analysis is\nindependent of the particular simply-laced theory considered, and all the\nresults agree with those obtained in the conjectured bootstrapped S-matrices of\nthe ADE series of theories.",
        "positive": "The $\u03b2$-function of supersymmetric theories from vacuum supergraphs:\n  a three-loop example: We verify a method which allows to obtain the $\\beta$-function of\nsupersymmetric theories regularized by higher covariant derivatives by\ncalculating only specially modified vacuum supergraphs. With the help of this\nmethod for a general renormalizable ${\\cal N}=1$ supersymmetric gauge theory a\npart of the three-loop $\\beta$-function depending on the Yukawa couplings is\nconstructed in the general $\\xi$-gauge. The result is written in the form of an\nintegral of double total derivatives with respect to the loop momenta. It is\ndemonstrated that all gauge dependent terms cancel each other in agreement with\nthe general statements. Taking into account that the result in the Feynman\ngauge (found earlier) coincides with the one obtained by the standard\ntechnique, this fact confirms the correctness of the considered method by a\nhighly nontrivial multiloop calculation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Combinatorial Factorization: The simplest integrands in the CHY formulation of scattering amplitudes are\nconstructed using the so-called Parke-Taylor functions. Parke-Taylor functions\nalso turn out to belong to a large class of rational functions known as MHV\nleading singularities. In fact, Parke-Taylor functions correspond to planar MHV\nleading singularities. In this note we study the behavior of CHY integrands\nconstructed using non-planar MHV leading singularities under collinear and\nmulti-particle factorization limits. General $n$-particle MHV leading\nsingularities are completely characterized by a set of $(n-2)$ triples of\nparticle labels. We give a simple operation on this combinatorial data which\n\"factors\" the list into two sets of triples defining two lower point MHV\nleading singularities. The fact that general MHV leading singularities form a\nclosed set under \"multi-particle factorizations\" is surprising from their gauge\ntheoretic origin.",
        "positive": "Nonlinear corrections in basic problems of electro- and magneto-statics\n  in the vacuum: We find third-power nonlinear corrections to the Coulomb and other static\nelectric fields, as well as to the electric and magnetic dipole fields, as we\nwork within QED with no background field. The nonlinear response function we\nbase our consideration on is the fourth-rank polarization tensor, calculated\nwithin the local (infrared) approximation of the effective action. Therefore,\nthe results are applicable to weakly varying fields. It is established that the\nnonlinear correction to magnetic moment of some baryons just matches, in the\norder of magnitude, the existing gap between its experimental and theoretical\nvalues."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Double Scaling Limits, Airy Functions and Multicritical Behaviour in\n  O(N) Vektor Sigma Models: O(N) vector sigma models possessing catastrophes in their action are studied.\nCoupling the limit N --> infinity with an appropriate scaling behaviour of the\ncoupling constants, the partition function develops a singular factor. This is\na generalized Airy function in the case of spacetime dimension zero and the\npartition function of a scalar field theory for positive spacetime dimension.",
        "positive": "Higher charge calorons with non-trivial holonomy: The full ADHM-Nahm formalism is employed to find exact higher charge caloron\nsolutions with non-trivial holonomy, extended beyond the axially symmetric\nsolutions found earlier. Particularly interesting is the case where the\nconstituent monopoles, that make up these solutions, are not necessarily\nwell-separated. This is worked out in detail for charge 2. We resolve the\nstructure of the extended core, which was previously localized only through the\nsingularity structure of the zero-mode density in the far field limit. We also\nshow that this singularity structure agrees exactly with the abelian charge\ndistribution as seen through the abelian component of the gauge field. As a\nby-product zero-mode densities for charge 2 magnetic monopoles are found."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exceptional Chern-Simons-Matter Dualities: We use conformal embeddings involving exceptional affine Kac-Moody algebras\nto derive new dualities of three-dimensional topological field theories. These\ngeneralize the familiar level-rank duality of Chern-Simons theories based on\nclassical gauge groups to the setting of exceptional gauge groups. For\ninstance, one duality sequence we discuss is $(E_{N})_{1}\\leftrightarrow\nSU(9-N)_{-1}$. Others such as $SO(3)_{8}\\leftrightarrow PSU(3)_{-6},$ are\ndualities among theories with classical gauge groups that arise due to their\nembedding into an exceptional chiral algebra. We apply these equivalences\nbetween topological field theories to conjecture new boson-boson Chern-Simons\nmatter dualities. We also use them to determine candidate phase diagrams of\ntime-reversal invariant $G_{2}$ gauge theory coupled to either an adjoint\nfermion, or two fundamental fermions.",
        "positive": "Bootstrapping six-gluon scattering in planar ${\\cal N}=4$\n  super-Yang-Mills theory: We describe the hexagon function bootstrap for solving for six-gluon\nscattering amplitudes in the large $N_c$ limit of ${\\cal N}=4$ super-Yang-Mills\ntheory. In this method, an ansatz for the finite part of these amplitudes is\nconstrained at the level of amplitudes, not integrands, using boundary\ninformation. In the near-collinear limit, the dual picture of the amplitudes as\nWilson loops leads to an operator product expansion which has been solved using\nintegrability by Basso, Sever and Vieira. Factorization of the amplitudes in\nthe multi-Regge limit provides additional boundary data. This bootstrap has\nbeen applied successfully through four loops for the maximally helicity\nviolating (MHV) configuration of gluon helicities, and through three loops for\nthe non-MHV case."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "New Gauge Invariant Formulation of the Chern-Simons Gauge Theory: A new gauge invariant formulation of the relativistic scalar field\ninteracting with Chern-Simons gauge fields is considered. This formulation is\nconsistent with the gauge fixed formulation. Furthermore we find that canonical\n(Noether) Poincar\\'e generators are not gauge invariant even on the constraints\nsurface and do not satisfy the (classical) Poincar\\'e algebra. It is the\nimproved generators, constructed from the symmetric energy-momentum tensor,\nwhich are (manifestly) gauge invariant and obey the classical Poincar\\'e\nalgebra.",
        "positive": "The QED(0+1) model and a possible dynamical solution of the strong CP\n  problem: The QED(0+1) model describing a quantum mechanical particle on a circle with\nminimal electromagnetic interaction and with a potential -M cos(phi - theta_M),\nwhich mimics the massive Schwinger model, is discussed as a prototype of\nmechanisms and infrared structures of gauge quantum field theories in positive\ngauges. The functional integral representation displays a complex measure, with\na crucial role of the boundary conditions, and the decomposition into theta\nsectors takes place already in finite volume. In the infinite volume limit, the\nstandard results are reproduced for M=0 (massless fermions), but one meets\nsubstantial differences for M not = 0: for generic boundary conditions,\nindependently of the lagrangean angle of the topological term, the infinite\nvolume limit selects the sector with theta = theta_M, and provides a natural\n\"dynamical\" solution of the strong CP problem. In comparison with previous\napproaches, the strategy discussed here allows to exploit the consequences of\nthe theta-dependence of the free energy density, with a unique minimum at theta\n= theta_M."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "An Introduction to the Worldline Technique for Quantum Field Theory\n  Calculations: These two lectures give a pedagogical introduction to the ``string-inspired''\nworldline technique for perturbative calculations in quantum field theory. This\nincludes an overview over the present range of its applications. Several\nexamples are calculated in detail, up to the three-loop level. The emphasis is\non photon scattering in quantum electrodynamics.",
        "positive": "A-D hypersurface of $su(n)$ $\\mathcal{N}=2$ supersymmetric gauge theory\n  with $N_f = 2n-2$ flavors: In the previous letter, arXiv:2210.16738[hep-th], we found a set of flavor\nmass relations as constraints that the $\\beta$-deformed $A_{n-1}$ quiver matrix\nmodel restores the maximal symmetry in the massive scaling limit and reported\nthe existence of Argyres-Douglas critical hypersurface. In this letter, we\nderive the concrete conditions on moduli parameters which maximally degenerates\nthe Seiberg-Witten curve while maintaining the flavor mass relations. These\nconditions define the A-D hypersurface."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Compactified Quantum Fields. Is there Life Beyond the Cut-off Scale?: A consistent definition of high dimensional compactified quantum field theory\nwithout breaking the Kaluza-Klein tower is proposed. It is possible in the\nlimit when the size of compact dimensions is of the order of the cut off. This\nlimit is nontrivial and depends on the geometry of compact dimensions. Possible\nconsequences are discussed for the scalar model.",
        "positive": "Partition function of massless scalar field in Schwarzschild background: Using thermal value of zeta function instead of zero temperature, the\npartition function of quantized fields in arbitrary stationary backgrounds was\nfound to be independent of undetermined regularization constant in\neven-dimension and the long drawn problem associated with the trace anomaly\neffect had been removed. Here, we explicitly calculate the expression for the\ncoincidence limit so that the technique may be applied in some specific\nproblems. A particular problem dealt with here is to calculate the partition\nfunction of massless scalar field in Schwarzschild background."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The AdS/CFT Correspondence for the Massive Rarita-Schwinger Field: The complete solution to the massive Rarita-Schwinger field equation in\nanti-de Sitter space is constructed, and used in the AdS/CFT correspondence to\ncalculate the correlators for the boundary conformal field theory. It is found\nthat when no condition is imposed on the field solution, there appear two\ndifferent boundary conformal field operators, one coupling to a\nRarita-Schwinger field and the other to a Dirac field. These two operators are\nseen to have different scaling dimensions, with that of the spinor-coupled\noperator exhibiting non-analytic mass dependence.",
        "positive": "Partition Functions of Reduced Matrix Models with Classical Gauge Groups: We evaluate partition functions of matrix models which are given by\ntopologically twisted and dimensionally reduced actions of d=4 N=1 super\nYang-Mills theories with classical (semi-)simple gauge groups, SO(2N), SO(2N+1)\nand USp(2N). The integrals reduce to those over the maximal tori by\nsemi-classical approximation which is exact in reduced models. We carry out\nresidue calculus by developing a diagrammatic method, in which the action of\nthe Weyl groups and therefore counting of multiplicities are explained\nobviously."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Classical integrability of chiral $QCD_{2}$ and classical curves: In this letter, classical chiral $QCD_{2}$ is studied in the lightcone gauge\n$A_{-}=0$. The once integrated equation of motion for the current is shown to\nbe of the Lax form, which demonstrates an infinite number of conserved\nquantities. Specializing to gauge group SU(2), we show that solutions to the\nclassical equations of motion can be identified with a very large class of\ncurves. We demonstrate this correspondence explicitly for two solutions. The\nclassical fermionic fields associated with these currents are then obtained.",
        "positive": "Non-singular black holes from gravity-matter-brane lagrangians: We consider self-consistent coupling of bulk Einstein-Maxwell-Kalb-Ramond\nsystem to codimension-one charged lightlike p-brane with dynamical (variable)\ntension (LL-brane). The latter is described by a manifestly\nreparametrization-invariant world-volume action significantly different from\nthe ordinary Nambu-Goto one. We show that the LL-brane is the appropriate\ngravitational and charge source in the Einstein-Maxwell-Kalb-Ramond equations\nof motion needed to generate a self-consistent solution describing non-singular\nblack hole. The latter consists of de Sitter interior region and exterior\nReissner-Nordstroem region glued together along their common horizon (it is the\ninner horizon from the Reissner-Nordstroem side). The matching horizon is\nautomatically occupied by the LL-brane as a result of its world-volume\nlagrangian dynamics, which dynamically generates the cosmological constant in\nthe interior region and uniquely determines the mass and charge parameters of\nthe exterior region. Using similar techniques we construct a self-consistent\nwormhole solution of Einstein-Maxwell system coupled to electrically neutral\nLL-brane, which describes two identical copies of a non-singular black hole\nregion being the exterior Reissner-Nordstroem region above the inner horizon,\nglued together along their common horizon (the inner Reissner-Nordstroem one)\noccupied by the LL-brane. The corresponding mass and charge parameters of the\ntwo black hole \"universes\" are explicitly determined by the dynamical LL-brane\ntension. This also provides an explicit example of Misner-Wheeler \"charge\nwithout charge\" phenomenon. Finally, this wormhole solution connecting two\nnon-singular black holes can be transformed into a special case of\nKantowski-Sachs bouncing cosmology solution."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Geometry of dynamics and phase transitions in classical lattice phi^4\n  theories: We perform a microcanonical study of classical lattice phi^4 field models in\n3 dimensions with O(n) symmetries. The Hamiltonian flows associated to these\nsystems that undergo a second order phase transition in the thermodynamic limit\nare here investigated. The microscopic Hamiltonian dynamics neatly reveals the\npresence of a phase transition through the time averages of conventional\nthermodynamical observables. Moreover, peculiar behaviors of the largest\nLyapunov exponents at the transition point are observed. A Riemannian\ngeometrization of Hamiltonian dynamics is then used to introduce other relevant\nobservables, that are measured as functions of both energy density and\ntemperature. On the basis of a simple and abstract geometric model, we suggest\nthat the apparently singular behaviour of these geometric observables might\nprobe a major topological change of the manifolds whose geodesics are the\nnatural motions.",
        "positive": "New relations between analyticity, Regge trajectories, Veneziano\n  amplitude, and Moebius transformations: In this paper we use the analyticity properties of the scattering amplitude\nin the context of the conformal mapping techniques. The Schwarz-Christoffel and\nRiemann-Schwarz functions are used to map the upper half -plane onto a\ntriangle. We use the known asymptotic and threshold behaviors of the scattering\namplitude to establish a connection between the values of the Regge trajectory\nfunctions and the angles of the triangle. This geometrical interpretation\nallows a link between values of the Regge trajectory functions and the\ngenerators of the invariance group of Moebius transformations associated with\nthe underlying automorphic function. The formalism provides useful new\nrelations between analyticity, geometry, Regge trajectory functions, Veneziano\nmodel, groups of Moebius transformations and automorphic functions. It is hoped\nthat they will provide avenues for further work."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A covariant entropy conjecture on cosmological dynamical horizon: We here propose a covariant entropy conjecture on cosmological dynamical\nhorizon. After the formulation of our conjecture, we test its validity in\nadiabatically expanding universes with open, flat and closed spatial geometry,\nwhere our conjecture can also be viewed as a cosmological version of the\ngeneralized second law of thermodynamics in some sense.",
        "positive": "The time-dependent non-Abelian Aharonov-Bohm effect: In this article, we study the time-dependent Aharonov-Bohm effect for\nnon-Abelian gauge fields. We use two well known time-dependent solutions to the\nYang-Mills field equations to investigate the Aharonov-Bohm phase shift. For\nboth of the solutions, we find a cancellation between the phase shift coming\nfrom the non-Abelian \"magnetic\" field and the phase shift coming from the\nnon-Abelian \"electric\" field, which inevitably arises in time-dependent cases.\nWe compare and contrast this cancellation for the time-dependent non-Abelian\ncase to a similar cancellation which occurs in the time-dependent Abelian case.\nWe postulate that this cancellation occurs generally in time-dependent\nsituations for both Abelian and non-Abelian fields."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "An Elliptic Superpotential for Softly Broken N=4 Supersymmetric\n  Yang-Mills Theory: An exact superpotential is derived for the N=1 theories which arise as\nmassive deformations of N=4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills (SYM) theory. The\nsuperpotential of the SU(N) theory formulated on R^{3}\\times S^{1} is shown to\ncoincide with the complexified potential of the N-body elliptic Calogero-Moser\nHamiltonian. This superpotential reproduces the vacuum structure predicted by\nDonagi and Witten for the corresponding four-dimensional theory and also\ntransforms covariantly under the S-duality group of N=4 SYM. The analysis\nyields exact formulae with interesting modular properties for the condensates\nof gauge-invariant chiral operators in the four-dimensional theory.",
        "positive": "Electric-magnetic deformations of D=4 gauged supergravities: We discuss duality orbits and symplectic deformations of D=4 gauged\nsupergravity theories, with focus on N$\\ge$2. We provide a general constructive\nframework for computing symplectic deformations starting from a reference\ngauging, and apply it to many interesting examples. We prove that no continuous\ndeformations are allowed for Fayet-Iliopoulos gaugings of the N=2 STU model and\nin particular that any $\\omega$ deformation is classically trivial. We further\nshow that although in the N=6 truncation of SO(8) maximal supergravity the\n$\\omega$ parameter can be dualized away, in the 'twin' N=2 truncation $\\omega$\nis preserved and a second, new deformation appears. We further provide a full\nclassification and appropriate duality orbits of certain N=4 gauged\nsupergravities, including all inequivalent SO(4)$^2$ gaugings and several\nnon-compact forms."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Objective and subjective time in anthropic reasoning: The original formulation of the (weak) anthropic principle was prompted by a\nquestion about objective time at a macroscopic level, namely the age of the\nuniverse when ``anthropic'' observers such as ourselves would be most likely to\nemerge. Theoretical interpretation of what one observes requires the theory to\nindicate what is expected, which will commonly depend on where, and\nparticularly when, the observation can be expected to occur. In response to the\nquestion of where and when, the original version of the anthropic principle\nproposed an {it a priori} probability weighting proportional to the number of\n``anthropic'' observers present. The present discussion takes up the question\nof the time unit characterising the biological clock controlling our subjective\ninternal time, using a revised alternative to a line of argument due to Press,\nwho postulated that animal size is limited by the brittleness of bone. On the\nbasis of a static support condition depending on the tensile strength of flesh\nrather than bone, it is reasoned here that our size should be subject to a\nlimit inversely proportional to the terrestrial gravitation field g, which is\nitself found to be proportional (with a factor given by the 5/2 power of the\nfine structure constant) to the gravitational coupling constant.This provides\nan animal size limit that will in all cases be of the order of a thousandth of\nthe maximum mountain height, which will itself be of the order of a thousandth\nof the planetary radius. The upshot, via the (strong) anthropic principle, is\nthat the need for brains, and therefore planets, that are large in terms of\nbaryon number may be what explains the weakness of gravity relative to\nelectromagnetism.",
        "positive": "Higgs Mechanism in String Theory: In first-quantized string theory, spacetime symmetries are described by inner\nautomorphisms of the underlying conformal field theory. In this paper we use\nthis approach to illustrate the Higgs effect in string theory. We consider\nstring propagation on M^{24,1} \\times S^1, where the circle has radius R, and\nstudy SU(2) symmetry breaking as R moves away from its critical value. We find\na gauge-covariant equation of motion for the broken-symmetry gauge bosons and\nthe would-be Goldstone bosons. We show that the Goldstone bosons can be\neliminated by an appropriate gauge transformation. In this unitary gauge, the\nGoldstone bosons become the longitudinal components of massive gauge bosons."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Factorization of unitarity and black hole firewalls: Unitary black hole evaporation necessarily involves a late-time superposition\nof decoherent states, including states describing distinct spacetimes (e.g.,\ndifferent center of mass trajectories of the black hole). Typical analyses of\nthe black hole information problem, including the argument for the existence of\nfirewalls, assume approximate unitarity (\"factorization of unitarity\") on each\nof the decoherent spacetimes. This factorization assumption is non-trivial, and\nindeed may be incorrect. We describe an ansatz for the radiation state that\nviolates factorization and which allows unitarity and the equivalence principle\nto coexist (no firewall). Unitarity without factorization provides a natural\nrealization of the idea of black hole complementarity.",
        "positive": "Local Grand Unification in the Heterotic Landscape: We consider the possibility that the unification of the electroweak\ninteractions and the strong force arises from string theory, at energies\nsignificantly lower than the string scale. As a tool, an effective grand\nunified field theory in six dimensions is derived from an anisotropic orbifold\ncompactification of the heterotic string. It is explicitly shown that all\nanomalies cancel in the model, though anomalous Abelian gauge symmetries are\npresent locally at the boundary singularities. In the supersymmetric vacuum\nadditional interactions arise from higher-dimensional operators. We develop\nmethods that relate the couplings of the effective theory to the location of\nthe vacuum, and find that unbroken discrete symmetries play an important role\nfor the phenomenology of orbifold models. An efficient algorithm for the\ncalculation of the superpotential to arbitrary order is developed, based on\nsymmetry arguments. We furthermore present a correspondence between bulk fields\nof the orbifold model in six dimensions, and the moduli fields that arise from\ncompactifying four internal dimensions on a manifold with non-trivial gauge\nbackground."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauged Double Field Theory: We find necessary and sufficient conditions for gauge invariance of the\naction of Double Field Theory (DFT) as well as closure of the algebra of gauge\nsymmetries. The so-called weak and strong constraints are sufficient to satisfy\nthem, but not necessary. We then analyze compactifications of DFT on twisted\ndouble tori satisfying the consistency conditions. The effective theory is a\nGauged DFT where the gaugings come from the duality twists. The action,\nbracket, global symmetries, gauge symmetries and their closure are computed by\ntwisting their analogs in the higher dimensional DFT. The non-Abelian heterotic\nstring and lower dimensional gauged supergravities are particular examples of\nGauged DFT.",
        "positive": "M-Theory: We construct an eleven-dimensional superspace with superspace coordinates and\nformulate a finite M-theory using non-anticommutative geometry. The conjectured\nM-theory has the correct eleven-dimensional supergravity low energy limit. We\nconsider the problem of finding a stable finite M-theory which has de Sitter\nspace as a natural ground state, and the problem of eliminating possible future\nhorizons."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-minimally coupled vector curvaton: It is shown that a massive Abelian vector boson field can generate the\ncurvature perturbation in the Universe, when coupled non-minimally to gravity,\nthrough an RA^2 coupling. The vector boson acts as a curvaton field imposing\nthe curvature perturbation after the end of inflation, without generating a\nlarge-scale anisotropy. The parameter space of the model is fully explored,\nobtaining the relevant bounds on the inflation scale and the decay constant of\nthe vector curvaton.",
        "positive": "Generalization of Faddeev--Popov Rules in Yang--Mills Theories: N=3,4\n  BRST Symmetries: The Faddeev-Popov rules for quantization of theory with gauge group are\ngeneralized for case of nvariance of quantum actions, $S_N$, on N-parametric\nAbelian SUSY transformations with odd parameters $\\lambda_p$, p=1,..,N and\nanticommuting generators $s_p$, for N=3,4 implying substitution of ghost fields\nN-plet, $C^p$ multipled on $\\lambda_p$, instead of the parameter, $\\xi$, of\ngauge transformations. Total configuration spaces for quantum theory of the\nsame classical model coincide for N=3 ,4 cases. For N=3 transformations the\nsuperspace of irrep includes in addition 3 ghost $C^p$, 3 even $B^{pq}$ and odd\n$\\hat{B}$ fields for p,q=1-3. It is shown for quantum action $S_{3}$ the\ngauge-fixing by adding to classical action of N=3-exact term requires 1\nantighost $\\bar{C}$, 3 even $B^{p}$ 3 odd $\\hat{B}{}^p$ and Nakanishi--Lautrup\nfields. Action of N=3 transformations on the latter fields is found. The\ntransformations appear by N=3 BRST ones for the vacuum functional, $Z_3(0) $.\nIt is shown, the configuration space appears by irrep superspace for fields\n$\\Phi_4$ for N=4- transformations containing in addition to $A^\\mu$: (4+6+4+1)\nghost-antighost $C^r$, even $B^{rs}$, odd $\\hat{B}{}^r $ fields and B. Action\n$S_4$ is constructed by adding to classical action of N=4-exact with gauge\nboson $F_4$ as compared to gauge fermion $\\Psi_3$ for N=3 case. Procedure is\nvalid for any admissible gauge. The equivalence with $N=1$ BRST-invariant\nquantization method is explicitly found. Finite N=3,4 BRST transformations are\nderived from algebraic transformations. Respective Jacobians for\nfield-dependent parameters are calculated. They imply the presence of\ncorresponding modified Ward identity to be reduced to new (usual) Ward\nidentities for constant parameters and describe the problem of\ngauge-dependence. Introduction into diagrammatic Feynman techniques for N=3,4\ncases is suggested."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Self-Dual String and Anomalies in the M5-brane: We study the anomalies of a charge $Q_2$ self-dual string solution in the\nCoulomb branch of $Q_5$ M5-branes. Cancellation of these anomalies allows us to\ndetermine the anomaly of the zero-modes on the self-dual string and their\nscaling with $Q_2$ and $Q_5$. The dimensional reduction of the five-brane\nanomalous couplings then lead to certain anomalous couplings for D-branes.",
        "positive": "On the N=1 super Liouville four-point functions: We construct the four-point correlation functions containing the top\ncomponent of the supermultiplet in the Neveu-Schwarz sector of the N=1 SUSY\nLiouville field theory. The construction is based on the recursive\nrepresentation for the NS conformal blocks. We test our results in the case\nwhere one of the fields is degenerate with a singular vector on the level 3/2.\nIn this case, the correlation function satisfies a third-order ordinary\ndifferential equation, which we derive. We numerically verify the crossing\nsymmetry relations for the constructed correlation functions in the\nnondegenerate case."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Finite Quantum Fluctuations About Static Field Configurations: We develop an unambiguous and practical method to calculate one-loop quantum\ncorrections to the energies of classical time-independent field configurations\nin renormalizable field theories. We show that the standard perturbative\nrenormalization procedure suffices here as well. We apply our method to a\nsimplified model where a charged scalar couples to a neutral \"Higgs\" field, and\ncompare our results to the derivative expansion.",
        "positive": "Nonsingular 2-D Black Holes and Classical String Backgrounds: We study a string-inspired classical 2-D effective field theory with {\\it\nnonsingular} black holes as well as Witten's black hole among its static\nsolutions. By a dimensional reduction, the static solutions are related to the\n$(SL(2,R)_{k}\\otimes U(1))/U(1)$ coset model, or more precisely its\n$O\\bigl((\\alpha')^{0}\\bigr)$ approximation known as the 3-D charged black\nstring. The 2-D effective action possesses a propagating degree of freedom, and\nthe dynamics are highly nontrivial. A collapsing shell is shown to bounce into\nanother universe without creating a curvature singularity on its path, and the\npotential instability of the Cauchy horizon is found to be irrelevent in that\nsome of the infalling observers never approach the Cauchy horizon. Finally a\n$SL(2,R)_{k}/U(1)$ nonperturbative coset metric, found and advocated by R.\nDijkgraaf et.al., is shown to be nonsingular and to coincide with one of the\ncharged spacetimes found above. Implications of all these geometries are\ndiscussed in connection with black hole evaporation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Consistence Conditions to Braneworlds Sum Rules in Scalar-Tensor\n  Gravity for Arbitrary Dimensions: We derive an one-parameter family of consistence conditions to braneworlds in\nthe Brans-Dicke gravity. The sum rules are constructed in a completely general\nframe and they reproduce the conditions already obtained in General Relativity\ntheory just by using a right limit of the Brans-Dicke parameter.",
        "positive": "Resonances in the one-dimensional Dirac equation in the presence of a\n  point interaction and a constant electric field: We show that the energy spectrum of the one-dimensional Dirac equation in the\npresence of a spatial confining point interaction exhibits a resonant behavior\nwhen one includes a weak electric field. After solving the Dirac equation in\nterms of parabolic cylinder functions and showing explicitly how the resonant\nbehavior depends on the sign and strength of the electric field, we derive an\napproximate expression for the value of the resonance energy in terms of the\nelectric field and delta interaction strength."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Thermal resonating Hartree-Bogoliubov theory based on the projection\n  method: We propose a rigorous thermal resonating mean-field theory (Res-MFT). A state\nis approximated by superposition of multiple MF wavefunctions (WFs) composed of\nnon-orthogonal Hartree-Bogoliubov (HB) WFs. We adopt a Res-HB subspace spanned\nby Res-HB ground and excited states. A partition function (PF) in a SO(2N)\ncoherent state representation |g> (N:Number of single-particle states) is\nexpressed as Tr(e^{-\\beta H})=2^{N-1} \\int <g|e^{-\\beta H}|g>dg (\\beta=1/k_BT).\nIntroducing a projection operator P to the Res-HB subspace, the PF in the\nRes-HB subspace is given as Tr(Pe^{-\\beta H}), which is calculated within the\nRes-HB subspace by using the Laplace transform of e^{-\\beta H} and the\nprojection method. The variation of the Res-HB free energy is made, which leads\nto a thermal HB density matrix W_{Res}^{thermal} expressed in terms of a\nthermal Res-FB operator F_{Res}^{thermal} as\nW_{Res}^{thermal}={1_{2N}+exp(\\beta F_{Res}^{thermal})}^{-1}. A calculation of\nthe PF by an infinite matrix continued fraction is cumbersome and a procedure\nof tractable optimization is too complicated. Instead, we seek for another\npossible and more practical way of computing the PF and the Res-HB free energy\nwithin the Res-MFT.",
        "positive": "Super-Calogero-Moser-Sutherland systems and free super-oscillators : a\n  mapping: We show that the supersymmetric rational Calogero-Moser-Sutherland (CMS)\nmodel of A_{N+1}-type is equivalent to a set of free super-oscillators, through\na similarity transformation. We prescribe methods to construct the complete\neigen-spectrum and the associated eigen-functions, both in supersymmetry\npreserving as well as supersymmetry breaking phases, from the free\nsuper-oscillator basis. Further we show that a wide class of super-Hamiltonians\nrealizing dynamical OSp(2|2) supersymmetry, which also includes all types of\nrational super-CMS as a small subset, are equivalent to free super-oscillators.\nWe study BC_{N+1}-type super-CMS model in some detail to understand the\nsubtleties involved in this method."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Geometrical interpretation of D-branes in gauged WZW models: We show that one can construct D-branes in parafermionic and WZW theories\n(and their orbifolds) which have very natural geometrical interpretations, and\nyet are not automatically included in the standard Cardy construction of\nD-branes in rational conformal field theory. The relation between these\ntheories and their T-dual description leads to an analogy between these\nD-branes and the familiar A-branes and B-branes of N=2 theories.",
        "positive": "Galilean Geometry in Condensed Matter Systems: We present a systematic means to impose Galilean invariance within field\ntheory. We begin by defining the most general background geometries consistent\nwith Galilean invariance and then turn to applications within effective field\ntheory, fluid dynamics, and the quantum Hall effect."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Configurational Entropy in Brane-world Models: A New Approach to\n  Stability: In this work we investigate the entropic information on thick brane-worlds\nscenarios and its consequences. The brane-world entropic information is studied\nfor the sine-Gordon model is and hence the brane-world entropic information\nmeasure is shown an accurate way for providing the most suitable values for the\nbulk AdS curvature. Besides, the brane-world configurational entropy is\nemployed to demonstrate a high organisational degree in the structure of the\nsystem configuration, for large values of a parameter of the sine-Gordon model\nbut the one related to the AdS curvature. The Gleiser and Stamatopoulos\nprocedure is finally applied in order to achieve a precise correlation between\nthe energy of the system and the brane-world configurational entropy.",
        "positive": "Thermal corrections to the Casimir energy in a Lorentz-breaking scalar\n  field theory: In this paper, we investigate the thermal effect on the Casimir energy\nassociated with a massive scalar quantum field confined between two large\nparallel plates in a CPT-even, aether-like Lorentz-breaking scalar field\ntheory. In order to do that we consider a nonzero chemical potential for the\nscalar field assumed to be in thermal equilibrium at some finite temperature.\nThe calculations of the energies are developed by using the Abel-Plana\nsummation formula, and the corresponding results are analyzed in several\nasymptotic regimes of the parameters of the system, like mass, separations\nbetween the plates and temperature."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Universality and a generalized C-function in CFTs with AdS Duals: We argue that the thermodynamics of conformal field theories with AdS duals\nexhibits a remarkable universality. At strong coupling, a Cardy-Verlinde\nentropy formula holds even when R-charges or bulk supergravity scalars are\nturned on. In such a setting, the Casimir entropy can be identified with a\ngeneralized C-function that changes monotonically with temperature as well as\nwhen non-trivial bulk scalar fields are introduced. We generalize the\nCardy-Verlinde formula to cases where no subextensive part of the energy is\npresent and further observe that such a formula is valid for the N=4 super\nYang-Mills theory in D=4 even at weak coupling. Finally we show that a\ngeneralized Cardy-Verlinde formula holds for asymptotically flat black holes in\nany dimension.",
        "positive": "Finite-sites corrections to the Casimir energy on a periodic lattice: We show that the vacuum ground state energy for massive scalars on a 1-dim\nL-sites periodic lattice can be interpreted as the thermodynamic free energy of\nparticles at temperature 1/L governed by the Arutyunov-Frolov mirror\nHamiltonian. Although the obligatory zero-point sum-over-frequencies is finite\non the lattice, a renormalization prescription is necessary in order to obtain\na physical sensible result for the lattice Casimir energy. The coefficients of\nevery term in the large L expansion of the lattice Casimir energy are provided\nin terms of modified Bessel functions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Counting supersymmetric branes: Maximal supergravity solutions are revisited and classified, with particular\nemphasis on objects of co-dimension at most two. This class of solutions\nincludes branes whose tension scales with g_s^{-\\sigma} for \\sigma>2. We\npresent a group theory derivation of the counting of these objects based on the\ncorresponding tensor hierarchies derived from E11 and discrete T- and U-duality\ntransformations. This provides a rationale for the wrapping rules that were\nrecently discussed for \\sigma<4 in the literature and extends them. Explicit\nsupergravity solutions that give rise to co-dimension two branes are\nconstructed and analysed.",
        "positive": "Nonlinear Operator Superalgebras and BFV-BRST Operators for Lagrangian\n  Description of Mixed-symmetry HS Fields in AdS Spaces: We study the properties of nonlinear superalgebras $\\mathcal{A}$ and algebras\n$\\mathcal{A}_b$ arising from a one-to-one correspondence between the sets of\nrelations that extract AdS-group irreducible representations $D(E_0,s_1,s_2)$\nin AdS$_d$-spaces and the sets of operators that form $\\mathcal{A}$ and\n$\\mathcal{A}_b$, respectively, for fermionic, $s_i=n_i+{1/2}$, and bosonic,\n$s_i=n_i$, $n_i \\in \\mathbb{N}_0$, $i=1,2$, HS fields characterized by a Young\ntableaux with two rows. We consider a method of constructing the Verma modules\n$V_\\mathcal{A}$, $V_{\\mathcal{A}_b}$ for $\\mathcal{A}$, $\\mathcal{A}_b$ and\nestablish a possibility of their Fock-space realizations in terms of formal\npower series in oscillator operators which serve to realize an additive\nconversion of the above (super)algebra ($\\mathcal{A}$) $\\mathcal{A}_b$,\ncontaining a set of 2nd-class constraints, into a converted (super)algebra\n$\\mathcal{A}_{b{}c}$ = $\\mathcal{A}_{b}$ + $\\mathcal{A}'_b$ ($\\mathcal{A}_c$ =\n$\\mathcal{A}$ + $\\mathcal{A}'$), containing a set of 1st-class constraints\nonly. For the algebra $\\mathcal{A}_{b{}c}$, we construct an exact nilpotent\nBFV--BRST operator $Q'$ having nonvanishing terms of 3rd degree in the powers\nof ghost coordinates and use $Q'$ to construct a gauge-invariant Lagrangian\nformulation (LF) for HS fields with a given mass $m$ (energy $E_0(m)$) and\ngeneralized spin $\\mathbf{s}$=$(s_1,s_2)$. LFs with off-shell algebraic\nconstraints are examined as well."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Mechanical Symmetries and Topological Invariants: We give the definition and explore the algebraic structure of a class of\nquantum symmetries, called topological symmetries, which are generalizations of\nsupersymmetry in the sense that they involve topological invariants similar to\nthe Witten index. A topological symmetry (TS) is specified by an integer n>1,\nwhich determines its grading properties, and an n-tuple of positive integers\n(m_1,m_2,...,m_n). We identify the algebras of supersymmetry, p=2\nparasupersymmetry, and fractional supersymmetry of order n with those of the\nZ_2-graded TS of type (1,1), Z_2-graded TS of type (2,1), and Z_n-graded TS of\ntype (1,1,...,1), respectively. We also comment on the mathematical\ninterpretation of the topological invariants associated with the Z_n-graded TS\nof type (1,1,...,1). For n=2, the invariant is the Witten index which can be\nidentified with the analytic index of a Fredholm operator. For n>2, there are n\nindependent integer-valued invariants. These can be related to differences of\nthe dimension of the kernels of various products of n operators satisfying\ncertain conditions.",
        "positive": "Complex saddles of the Veneziano amplitude: Saddle point approximation is a useful method to explore high energy\nasymptotic behaviors of string scattering amplitudes. We show that, even at\ntree-level, there are infinitely many complex saddles contributing to string\nscattering amplitudes, and that the complex saddles reproduce their appropriate\npoles and zeros. Each complex saddle is interpreted as a semi-classical path of\na string in Lorentzian signature. The poles and zeros of the Veneziano\namplitude are understood as constructive or destructive interference of such\nsemi-classical paths."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Symmetry transformations in Batalin-Vilkovisky formalism: This short note is closely related to Sen-Zwiebach paper on gauge\ntransformations in Batalin-Vilkovisky theory (hep-th 9309027). We formulate\nsome conditions of physical equivalence of solutions to the quantum master\nequation and use these conditions to give a very transparent analysis of\nsymmetry transformations in BV-approach. We prove that in some sense every\nquantum observable (i.e. every even function $H$ obeying\n$\\Delta_{\\rho}(He^S)=0$) determines a symmetry of the theory with the action\nfunctional $S$ satisfying quantum master equation $\\Delta_{\\rho}e^S=0$ \\end",
        "positive": "Intersections of Twisted Forms: New Theories and Double Copies: Tree-level scattering amplitudes of particles have a geometrical description\nin terms of intersection numbers of pairs of twisted differential forms on the\nmoduli space of Riemann spheres with punctures. We customize a catalog of\ntwisted differential forms containing both already known and new differential\nforms. By pairing elements from this list intersection numbers of various\ntheories can be furnished to compute their scattering amplitudes. Some of the\nlatter are familiar through their CHY description, but others are unknown.\nLikewise, certain pairings give rise to various known and novel double-copy\nconstructions of spin-two theories. This way we find double copy constructions\nfor many theories, including higher derivative gravity, (partial massless)\nbimetric gravity and some more exotic theories. Furthermore, we present a\nderivation of amplitude relations in intersection theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Duality Twists, Orbifolds, and Fluxes: We investigate compactifications with duality twists and their relation to\norbifolds and compactifications with fluxes. Inequivalent compactifications are\nclassified by conjugacy classes of the U-duality group and result in gauged\nsupergravities in lower dimensions with nontrivial Scherk-Schwarz potentials on\nthe moduli space. For certain twists, this mechanism is equivalent to\nintroducing internal fluxes but is more general and can be used to stabilize\nsome of the moduli. We show that the potential has stable minima with zero\nenergy precisely at the fixed points of the twist group. In string theory, when\nthe twist belongs to the T-duality group, the theory at the minimum has an\nexact CFT description as an orbifold. We also discuss more general twists by\nnonperturbative U-duality transformations.",
        "positive": "The Noncommutative U(N) Kalb-Ramond Theory: We present the noncommutative extention of the U(N)\nCremmer-Scherk-Kalb-Ramond theory, displaying its differential form and gauge\nstructures. The Seiberg-Witten map of the model is also constructed up to\n$0(\\theta^2)$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Observer-independent quanta of mass and length: It has been observed recently by Giovanni Amelino-Camelia \\cite{gac1, gac2}\nthat the hypothesis of existence of a minimal observer-independent (Planck)\nlength scale is hard to reconcile with special relativity. As a remedy he\npostulated to modify special relativity by introducing an observer-independent\nlength scale. In this letter we set forward a proposal how one should modify\nthe principles of special relativity, so as to assure that the values of mass\nand length scales are the same for any inertial observer. It turns out that one\ncan achieve this by taking dispersion relations such that the speed of light\ngoes to infinity for finite momentum (but infinite energy), proposed e.g., in\nthe framework of the quantum $\\kappa$-Poincar\\'e symmetry. It follows that at\nthe Planck scale the world may be non-relativistic.",
        "positive": "Rotating regular solutions in Einstein-Yang-Mills-Higgs theory: We construct new axially symmetric rotating solutions of\nEinstein-Yang-Mills-Higgs theory. These globally regular configurations possess\na nonvanishing electric charge which equals the total angular momentum, and\nzero topological charge, representing a monopole-antimonopole system rotating\naround the symmetry axis through their common center of mass."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Scale without Conformal Invariance: An Example: We give an explicit example of a model in D=4-epsilon space-time dimensions\nthat is scale but not conformally invariant, is unitary, and has finite\ncorrelators. The invariance is associated with a limit cycle renormalization\ngroup (RG) trajectory. We also prove, to second order in the loop expansion, in\nD=4-epsilon, that scale implies conformal invariance for models of any number\nof real scalars. For models with one real scalar and any number of Weyl spinors\nwe show that scale implies conformal invariance to all orders in perturbation\ntheory.",
        "positive": "Integrable light-cone lattice discretizations from the universal\n  R-matrix: Our goal is to develop a more general scheme for constructing integrable\nlattice regularisations of integrable quantum field theories. Considering the\naffine Toda theories as examples, we show how to construct such lattice\nregularisations using the representation theory of quantum affine algebras.\nThis requires us to clarify in particular the relations between the light-cone\napproach to integrable lattice models and the representation theory of quantum\naffine algebras. Both are found to be related in a very natural way, suggesting\na general scheme for the construction of generalised Baxter Q-operators. One of\nthe main difficulties we need to deal with is coming from the\ninfinite-dimensionality of the relevant families of representations. It is\nhandled by means of suitable renormalisation prescriptions defining what may be\ncalled the modular double of quantum affine algebras. This framework allows us\nto give a representation-theoretic proof of finite-difference equations\ngeneralising the Baxter equation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Symmetry-resolved Entanglement Entropy, Spectra & Boundary Conformal\n  Field Theory: We perform a comprehensive analysis of the symmetry-resolved (SR)\nentanglement entropy (EE) for one single interval in the ground state of a\n$1+1$D conformal field theory (CFT), that is invariant under an arbitrary\nfinite or compact Lie group, $G$. We utilize the boundary CFT approach to study\nthe total EE, which enables us to find the universal leading order behavior of\nthe SREE and its first correction, which explicitly depends on the irreducible\nrepresentation under consideration and breaks the equipartition of\nentanglement. We present two distinct schemes to carry out these computations.\nThe first relies on the evaluation of the charged moments of the reduced\ndensity matrix. This involves studying the action of the defect-line, that\ngenerates the symmetry, on the boundary states of the theory. This perspective\nalso paves the way for discussing the infeasibility of studying symmetry\nresolution when an anomalous symmetry is present. The second scheme draws a\nparallel between the SREE and the partition function of an orbifold CFT. This\napproach allows for the direct computation of the SREE without the need to use\ncharged moments. From this standpoint, the infeasibility of defining the\nsymmetry-resolved EE for an anomalous symmetry arises from the obstruction to\ngauging. Finally, we derive the symmetry-resolved entanglement spectra for a\nCFT invariant under a finite symmetry group. We revisit a similar problem for\nCFT with compact Lie group, explicitly deriving an improved formula for $U(1)$\nresolved entanglement spectra. Using the Tauberian formalism, we can estimate\nthe aforementioned EE spectra rigorously by proving an optimal lower and upper\nbound on the same. In the abelian case, we perform numerical checks on the\nbound and find perfect agreement.",
        "positive": "Gaugino Condensation and Nonperturbative Superpotentials in Flux\n  Compactifications: There are two known sources of nonperturbative superpotentials for K\\\"ahler\nmoduli in type IIB orientifolds, or F-theory compactifications on Calabi-Yau\nfourfolds, with flux: Euclidean brane instantons and low-energy dynamics in D7\nbrane gauge theories. The first class of effects, Euclidean D3 branes which\nlift in M-theory to M5 branes wrapping divisors of arithmetic genus 1 in the\nfourfold, is relatively well understood. The second class has been less\nexplored. In this paper, we consider the explicit example of F-theory on $K3\n\\times K3$ with flux. The fluxes lift the D7 brane matter fields, and stabilize\nstacks of D7 branes at loci of enhanced gauge symmetry. The resulting theories\nexhibit gaugino condensation, and generate a nonperturbative superpotential for\nK\\\"ahler moduli. We describe how the relevant geometries in general contain\ncycles of arithmetic genus $\\chi \\geq 1$ (and how $\\chi > 1$ divisors can\ncontribute to the superpotential, in the presence of flux). This second class\nof effects is likely to be important in finding even larger classes of models\nwhere the KKLT mechanism of moduli stabilization can be realized. We also\naddress various claims about the situation for IIB models with a single\nK\\\"ahler modulus."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Moduli Space Tilings and Lie-Theoretic Color Factors: A detailed understanding of the moduli spaces $X(k,n)$ of $n$ points in\nprojective $k-1$ space is essential to the investigation of generalized\nbiadjoint scalar amplitudes, as discovered by Cachazo, Early, Guevara and\nMizera (CEGM) in 2019. But in math, conventional wisdom says that it is\ncompletely hopeless due to the arbitrarily high complexity of realization\nspaces of oriented matroids. In this paper, we nonetheless find a path forward.\n  We present a Lie-theoretic realization of color factors for color-dressed\ngeneralized biadjoint scalar amplitudes, formulated in terms of certain tilings\nof the real moduli space $X(k,n)$ and collections of logarithmic differential\nforms, resolving an important open question from recent work by Cachazo, Early\nand Zhang. The main idea is to replace the realization space decomposition of\n$X(k,n)$ with a large class of overlapping tilings whose topologies are\nindividually relatively simple. So we obtain a collection of color-dressed\namplitudes, each of which satisfies $U(1)$ decoupling separately. The essential\ncomplexity appears when they are all superposed.",
        "positive": "Holographic transports from Born-Infeld electrodynamics with momentum\n  dissipation: We construct the Einstein-axions AdS black hole from Born-Infeld\nelectrodynamics. Various DC transport coefficients of the dual boundary theory\nare computed. The DC electric conductivity depends on the temperature, which is\na novel property comparing to that in RN-AdS black hole. The DC electric\nconductivity are positive at zero temperature while the thermal conductivity\nvanishes, which implies that the dual system is an electrical metal but thermal\ninsulator. The effects of Born-Infeld parameter on the transport coefficients\nare analyzed. Finally, we study the AC electric conductivity from Born-Infeld\nelectrodynamics with momentum dissipation. For weak momentum dissipation, the\nlow frequency behavior satisfies the standard Drude formula and the electric\ntransport is coherent for various correction parameter. While for stronger\nmomentum dissipation, the modified Drude formula is applied and we observe a\ncrossover from coherent to incoherent phase. Moreover, the Born-Infeld\ncorrection amplifies the incoherent behavior. Finally, we study the non-linear\nconductivity in probe limit and compare our results with those observed in\n(i)DBI model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Collective fields, Calogero-Sutherland model and generalized matrix\n  models: On the basis of the collective field method, we analyze the\nCalogero--Sutherland model (CSM) and the Selberg--Aomoto integral, which\ndefines, in particular case, the partition function of the matrix models.\nVertex operator realizations for some of the eigenstates (the Jack polynomials)\nof the CSM Hamiltonian are obtained. We derive Virasoro constraint for the\ngeneralized matrix models and indicate relations with the CSM operators.\nSimilar results are presented for the $q$--deformed case (the Macdonald\noperator and polynomials), which gives the generating functional of infinitely\nmany conserved charges in the CSM.",
        "positive": "N=4 Super Yang-Mills from the Plane Wave Matrix Model: We propose a nonperturbative definition of N=4 super Yang-Mills (SYM). We\nrealize N=4 SYM on RxS^3 as the theory around a vacuum of the plane wave matrix\nmodel. Our regularization preserves sixteen supersymmetries and the gauge\nsymmetry. We perform the 1-loop calculation to give evidences that the\nsuperconformal symmetry is restored in the continuum limit."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "An Exact Solution to the Quantized Electromagnetic Field in\n  D-dimensional de Sitter Spacetimes: In this work we investigate the quantum theory of light propagating in\n$D-$dimensional de Sitter spacetimes. To do so, we use the method of dynamic\ninvariants to obtain the solution of the time-dependent Schr\\\"odinger equation.\nThe quantum behavior of the electromagnetic field in this background is\nanalyzed. As the electromagnetism loses its conformality in $D\\neq4$, we point\nthat there will be particle production and comoving objects will feel a\nBunch-Davies thermal bath. This may become important in extra dimension physics\nand raises the intriguing possibility that precise measurements of the Cosmic\nMicrowave Background could verify the existence of extra dimensions.",
        "positive": "The black hole/string transition in AdS$_3$ and confining backgrounds: String stars, or Horowitz-Polchinski solutions, are Euclidean string theory\nsaddles with a normalizable condensate of thermal winding strings. String stars\nwere suggested as a possible description of stringy (Euclidean) black holes\nclose to the Hagedorn temperature. In this work, we continue the study\ninitiated in arXiv:2202.06966 by investigating the thermodynamic properties of\nstring stars in asymptotically (thermal) anti-de Sitter backgrounds. First, we\ndiscuss the case of AdS$_3$ with mixed RR and NS-NS fluxes (including the pure\nNS-NS system) and comment on a possible BTZ/string transition unique to\nAdS$_3$. Second, we present new ``winding-string gas'' saddles for confining\nholographic backgrounds such as the Witten model, and determine the subleading\ncorrection to their Hagedorn temperature. We speculate a black brane/string\ntransition in these models and argue for a possible relation to the deconfined\nphase of 3+1 dimensional pure Yang-Mills."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Stationary Measure in the Multiverse: We study the recently proposed \"stationary measure\" in the context of the\nstring landscape scenario. We show that it suffers neither from the \"Boltzmann\nbrain\" problem nor from the \"youngness\" paradox that makes some other measures\npredict a high CMB temperature at present. We also demonstrate a satisfactory\nperformance of this measure in predicting the results of local experiments,\nsuch as proton decay.",
        "positive": "D-brane probes on G2 Orbifolds: We consider type IIB string theory on a seven dimensional orbifold with\nholonomy in G2. The motivation is to use D1-branes as probes of the geometry.\nThe low energy theory on the D1-brane is a sigma-model with two real\nsupercharges (N = (1,1) in two dimensional language). We study in detail the\nclosed and open string sectors and propose a coupling of the twisted fields to\nthe brane that modifies the vacuum moduli space so that the singularity at the\norigin is removed. Instead of coming from D-terms, which are not present here,\nthe modification comes from a ``twisted'' mass term for the seven scalar\nmultiplets on the brane. The proposed mechanism involves a generalization of\nthe moment map."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Bridging two quantum quench problems -- local joining quantum quench and\n  M\u00f6bius quench -- and their holographic dual descriptions: We establish an equivalence between two different quantum quench problems,\nthe joining local quantum quench and the M\\\"obius quench, in the context of\n$(1+1)$-dimensional conformal field theory (CFT). Here, in the former, two\ninitially decoupled systems (CFTs) on finite intervals are joined at $t=0$. In\nthe latter, we consider the system that is initially prepared in the ground\nstate of the regular homogeneous Hamiltonian on a finite interval and, after\n$t=0$, let it time-evolve by the so-called M\\\"obius Hamiltonian that is\nspatially inhomogeneous. The equivalence allows us to relate the time-dependent\nphysical observables in one of these problems to those in the other. As an\napplication of the equivalence, we construct a holographic dual of the M\\\"obius\nquench from that of the local quantum quench. The holographic geometry involves\nan end-of-the-world brane whose profile exhibits non-trivial dynamics.",
        "positive": "Vacuum energy and spectral function sum rules: We reformulate the problem of the cancellation of the ultraviolet\ndivergencies of the vacuum energy, particularly important at the cosmological\nlevel, in terms of a saturation of spectral function sum rules which leads to a\nset of conditions on the spectrum of the fundamental theory. We specialize the\napproach to both Minkowski and de Sitter space-times and investigate some\nexamples."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "D-brane Standard Model-Like and Scalar Dark Matter in Type IIA\n  Superstring Theory: In light of the present LHC Run II at $\\sqrt{s}=13$ $TeV$, string y\nstandard-like model is studied. Concretely, a singlet $S $ scalar-extended SM\ngiven in terms four stacks of intersecting D6-branes in a type IIA superstring\ncompactification producing a large gauge symmetry is examined. The involved\nscales are dealt with. According to the dark matter relic density, the mass of\nthe scalar dark matter beyond the SM $m_{S}\\lesssim 10^{3}GeV$ and the\ncorresponding Higgs portal couplings $\\lambda _{SH}\\lesssim 10^{-8}$ are\napproached.",
        "positive": "Universal hypermultiplet metrics: Some instanton corrections to the universal hypermultiplet moduli space\nmetric of the type-IIA string theory compactified on a Calabi-Yau threefold\narise due to multiple wrapping of BPS membranes and fivebranes around certain\ncycles of Calabi-Yau. The classical universal hypermultipet metric is locally\nequivalent to the Bergmann metric of the symmetric quaternionic space\nSU(2,1)/U(2), whereas its generic quaternionic deformations are governed by the\nintegrable SU(infinity) Toda equation. We calculate the exact\n(non-perturbative) UH metrics in the special cases of (i) the D-instantons (the\nwrapped D2-branes) in the absence of fivebranes, and (ii) the fivebrane\ninstantons with vanishing charges, in the absence of D-instantons. The\nsolutions of the first type preserve the U(1)xU(1) classical symmetry, while\nthey can be interpreted as the gravitational dressing of the hyper-K\"ahler\nD-instanton solutions. The second type solution preserves the non-abelian SU(2)\nclassical symmetry, while it can be interpreted as a gradient flow in the\nuniversal hypermultiplet moduli space."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Path-Integral Quantization of the (2,2) String: A complete treatment of the (2,2) NSR string in flat (2+2) dimensional\nspace-time is given, from the formal path integral over N=2 super Riemann\nsurfaces to the computational recipe for amplitudes at any loop or gauge\ninstanton number. We perform in detail the superconformal gauge fixing, discuss\nthe spectral flow, and analyze the supermoduli space with emphasis on the gauge\nmoduli. Background gauge field configurations in all instanton sectors are\nconstructed. We develop chiral bosonization on punctured higher-genus surfaces\nin the presence of gauge moduli and instantons. The BRST cohomology is\nrecapitulated, with a new space-time interpretation for picture-changing. We\npoint out two ways of combining left- and right-movers, which lead to different\nthree-point functions.",
        "positive": "Extension to Imaginary Chemical Potential in a Holographic Model: We extend a bottom up holographic model, which has been used in studying the\ncolor superconductivity in QCD, to the imaginary chemical potential ($\\mu_I$)\nregion, and the phase diagram is studied on the $\\mu_I$-temperature (T) plane.\nThe analysis is performed for the case of the probe approximation and for the\nbackground where the back reaction from the flavor fermions are taken into\naccount. For both cases, we could find the expected Roberge-Weiss (RW)\ntransitions. In the case of the back-reacted solution, a bound of the color\nnumber $N_c$ is found to produce the RW periodicity. It is given as $N_c\\geq\n1.2$. Furthermore, we could assure the validity of this extended model by\ncomparing our result with the one of the lattice QCD near $\\mu_I=0$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "AC Transport at Holographic Quantum Hall Transitions: We compute AC electrical transport at quantum Hall critical points, as\nmodeled by intersecting branes and gauge/gravity duality. We compare our\nresults with a previous field theory computation by Sachdev, and find\nunexpectedly good agreement. We also give general results for DC Hall and\nlongitudinal conductivities valid for a wide class of quantum Hall transitions,\nas well as (semi)analytical results for AC quantities in special limits. Our\nresults exhibit a surprising degree of universality; for example, we find that\nthe high frequency behavior, including subleading behavior, is identical for\nour entire class of theories.",
        "positive": "Induced action for superconformal higher-spin multiplets using SCFT\n  techniques: Recently, the interacting $\\mathcal{N}=1$ superconformal higher-spin theory\nin four dimensions has been proposed within the induced action approach. In\nthis paper we initiate a program of computing perturbative corrections to the\ncorresponding action and explicitly evaluate all quadratic terms. This is\nachieved by employing standard techniques from superconformal field theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Open Descendants of NAHE-based free fermionic and Type I Z2^n models: The NAHE-set, that underlies the realistic free fermionic models, corresponds\nto Z2XZ2 orbifold at an enhanced symmetry point, with (h_{11},h_{21})=(27,3).\nAlternatively, a manifold with the same data is obtained by starting with a\nZ2XZ2 orbifold at a generic point on the lattice and adding a freely acting Z2\ninvolution. In this paper we study type I orientifolds on the manifolds that\nunderly the NAHE-based models by incorporating such freely acting shifts. We\npresent new models in the Type I vacuum which are modulated by Z2^n for n=2,3.\nIn the case of n=2, the Z2XZ2 structure is a composite orbifold Kaluza-Klein\nshift arrangement. The partition function provides a simpler spectrum with\nchiral matter. For n=3, the case discussed is a Z2 modulation of the T6/(Z2 X\nZ2) spectrum. The additional projection shows an enhanced closed and open\nsector with chiral matter. The brane stacks are correspondingly altered from\nthose which are present in the Z2 X Z2 orbifold. In addition, we discuss the\nmodels arising from the open sector with and without discrete torsion.",
        "positive": "Constrained Dynamics of the Coupled Abelian Two-Form: I present the reduction of phase space of the theory of an antisymmetric\ntensor potential coupled to an abelian gauge field, using Dirac's procedure.\nDuality transformations on the reduced phase space are also discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Tadpole diagrams in constant electromagnetic fields: We show how all possible one-particle reducible tadpole diagrams in constant\nelectromagnetic fields can be constructed from one-particle irreducible\nconstant-field diagrams. The construction procedure is essentially algebraic\nand involves differentiations of the latter class of diagrams with respect to\nthe field strength tensor and contractions with derivatives of the one-particle\nirreducible part of the Heisenberg-Euler effective Lagrangian in constant\nfields. Specific examples include the two-loop addendum to the Heisenberg-Euler\neffective action as well as a novel one-loop correction to the charged particle\npropagator in constant electromagnetic fields discovered recently. As an\nadditional example, the approach devised in the present article is adopted to\nderive the tadpole contribution to the two-loop photon polarization tensor in\nconstant fields for the first time.",
        "positive": "Quantum affine algebras and universal R-matrix with spectral parameter,\n  II: This paper is an extended version of our previous short letter \\cite{ZG2} and\nis attempted to give a detailed account for the results presented in that\npaper. Let $U_q({\\cal G}^{(1)})$ be the quantized nontwisted affine Lie algebra\nand $U_q({\\cal G})$ be the corresponding quantum simple Lie algebra. Using the\nprevious obtained universal $R$-matrix for $U_q(A_1^{(1)})$ and\n$U_q(A_2^{(1)})$, we determine the explicitly spectral-dependent universal\n$R$-matrix for $U_q(A_1)$ and $U_q(A_2)$. We apply these spectral-dependent\nuniversal $R$-matrix to some concrete representations. We then reproduce the\nwell-known results for the fundamental representations and we are also able to\nderive for the first time the extreamly explicit and compact formula of the\nspectral-dependent $R$-matrix for the adjoint representation of $U_q(A_2)$, the\nsimplest nontrival case when the tensor product of the representations is {\\em\nnot} multiplicity-free."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Solitonic Strings and BPS Saturated Dyonic Black Holes: We consider a six-dimensional solitonic string solution described by a\nconformal chiral null model with non-trivial $N=4$ superconformal transverse\npart. It can be interpreted as a five-dimensional dyonic solitonic string wound\naround a compact fifth dimension. The conformal model is regular with the\nshort-distance (`throat') region equivalent to a WZW theory. At distances\nlarger than the compactification scale the solitonic string reduces to a dyonic\nstatic spherically-symmetric black hole of toroidally compactified heterotic\nstring. The new four-dimensional solution is parameterised by five charges,\nsaturates the Bogomol'nyi bound and has nontrivial dilaton-axion field and\nmoduli fields of two-torus. When acted by combined T- and S-duality\ntransformations it serves as a generating solution for all the static\nspherically-symmetric BPS-saturated configurations of the low-energy heterotic\nstring theory compactified on six-torus. Solutions with regular horizons have\nthe global space-time structure of extreme Reissner-Nordstrom black holes with\nthe non-zero thermodynamic entropy which depends only on conserved (quantised)\ncharge vectors. The independence of the thermodynamic entropy on moduli and\naxion-dilaton couplings strongly suggests that it should have a microscopic\ninterpretation as counting degeneracy of underlying string configurations. This\ninterpretation is supported by arguments based on the corresponding\nsix-dimensional conformal field theory. The expression for the level of the WZW\ntheory describing the throat region implies a renormalisation of the string\ntension by a product of magnetic charges, thus relating the entropy and the\nnumber of oscillations of the solitonic string in compact directions.",
        "positive": "Instantons in Large Order of the Perturbative Series: Behavior of the Euclidean path integral at large orders of the perturbation\nseries is studied. When the model allows tunneling, the path-integral\nfunctional in the zero instanton sector is known to be dominated by bounce-like\nconfigurations at large order of the perturbative series, which causes\nnon-convergence of the series. We find that in addition to this bounce the\nperturbative functional has a subleading peak at the instanton and\nanti-instanton pair, and its sum reproduces the non-perturbative valley."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Unconstrained Higher Spins of Mixed Symmetry. II. Fermi Fields: This paper is a sequel of arXiv:0810.4350 [hep-th], and is also devoted to\nthe local \"metric-like\" unconstrained Lagrangians and field equations for\nhigher-spin fields of mixed symmetry in flat space. Here we complete the\nprevious constrained on-shell formulation of Labastida for Fermi fields,\nderiving the corresponding constrained Lagrangians both via the Bianchi\nidentities and via the requirement of self-adjointness. We also describe two\ntypes of unconstrained Lagrangian formulations: a \"minimal\" one, containing\nhigher derivatives of the compensator fields, and another non-minimal one,\ncontaining only one-derivative terms. We identify classes of these systems that\nare invariant under Weyl-like symmetry transformations.",
        "positive": "High temperature AdS black holes are low temperature quantum phonon\n  gases: We report a precise match between the high temperature $(D+2)$-dimensional\nTangherlini-AdS black hole and the low temperature quantum phonon gas in\n$D$-dimensional nonmetallic crystals residing in $(D+1)$-dimensional flat\nspacetime. The match is realized by use of the recently proposed restricted\nphase space formalism for black hole thermodynamics, and the result can be\nviewed as a novel contribution to the AdS/CMT correspondence on a quantitative\nlevel."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spinors Fields in Co-dimension One Braneworlds: In this work we analyze the zero mode localization and resonances of\n$1/2-$spin fermions in co-dimension one Randall-Sundrum braneworld scenarios.\nWe consider delta-like, domain walls and deformed domain walls membranes.\nBeyond the influence of the spacetime dimension $D$ we also consider three\ntypes of couplings: (i) the standard Yukawa coupling with the scalar field and\nparameter $\\eta_1$, (ii) a Yukawa-dilaton coupling with two parameters $\\eta_2$\nand $\\lambda$ and (iii) a dilaton derivative coupling with parameter $h$.\nTogether with the deformation parameter $s$, we end up with five free parameter\nto be considered. For the zero mode we find that the localization is dependent\nof $D$, because the spinorial representation changes when the bulk\ndimensionality is odd or even and must be treated separately. For case (i) we\nfind that in odd dimensions only one chirality can be localized and for even\ndimension a massless Dirac spinor is trapped over the brane. In the cases (ii)\nand (iii) we find that for some values of the parameters, both chiralities can\nbe localized in odd dimensions and for even dimensions we obtain that the\nmassless Dirac spinor is trapped over the brane. We also calculated numerically\nresonances for cases (ii) and (iii) by using the transfer matrix method. We\nfind that, for deformed defects, the increasing of $D$ induces a shift in the\npeaks of resonances. For a given $\\lambda$ with domain walls, we find that the\nresonances can show up by changing the spacetime dimensionality. For example,\nthe same case in $D=5$ do not induces resonances but when we consider $D=10$\none peak of resonance is found. Therefore the introduction of more dimensions,\ndiversely from the bosonic case, can change drastically the zero mode and\nresonances in fermion fields.",
        "positive": "On Stabilization of Maxwell-BMS Algebra: In this work we present different infinite dimensional algebras which appear\nas deformations of the asymptotic symmetry of the three-dimensional\nChern-Simons gravity for the Maxwell algebra. We study rigidity and stability\nof the infinite dimensional enhancement of the Maxwell algebra. In particular,\nwe show that three copies of the Witt algebra and the BMS3+Witt algebra are\nobtained by deforming its ideal part. New family of infinite dimensional\nalgebras are obtained by considering deformations of the other commutators\nwhich we have denoted as M(a,b;c,d) and\n\\bar{M}(\\bar{\\alpha},\\bar{\\beta};\\bar{\\nu}). Interestingly, for the specific\nvalues a=c=d=0, b=-\\frac{1}{2} the obtained algebra M(0,-\\frac{1}{2};0,0)\ncorresponds to the twisted Schrodinger-Virasoro algebra. The central extensions\nof our results are also explored. The physical implications and relevance of\nthe deformed algebras introduced here are discussed along the work."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Double Inozemtsev Limits of the Quantum DELL System: In this letter we study various Inozemtsev-type limits of the quantum double\nelliptic (DELL) system when both elliptic parameters are sent to zero at\ndifferent rates, while the coupling constant is sent to infinity, such that a\ncertain combination of the three parameters is kept fixed. We find a regime in\nwhich such double Inozemtsev limit of DELL produces the elliptic\nRuijsenaars-Schneider (eRS) Hamiltonians albeit in an unconventional\nnormalization. We discuss other double scaling limits and anisotropic scaling\nof coordinates and momenta. In addition, we provide a formal expression for the\neigenvalues of the eRS Hamiltonians solely in terms of their eigenfunctions.",
        "positive": "Semiclassical decay of strings with maximum angular momentum: We study the classical breaking of a highly excited (closed or open) string\nstate on the leading Regge trajectory, represented by a rotating soliton\nsolution, and we find the resulting solutions for the outgoing two pieces,\ndescribing two specific excited string states. This classical picture\nreproduces very accurately the precise analytical relation of the masses $M_1$\nand $M_2$ of the decay products found in a previous quantum computation. The\ndecay rate is naturally described in terms of a semiclassical formula. We also\npoint out some interesting features of the evolution after the splitting\nprocess."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Consistent Anomalies in Translation-Invariant Noncommutative Gauge\n  Theories: Translation-invariant noncommutative gauge theories are discussed in the\nsetting of matrix modeled gauge theories. Using the matrix model formulation\nthe explicit form of consistent anomalies and consistent Schwinger terms for\ntranslation-invariant noncommutative gauge theories are derived.",
        "positive": "Classical Space-Times from the S Matrix: We show that classical space-times can be derived directly from the S-matrix\nfor a theory of massive particles coupled to a massless spin two particle. As\nan explicit example we derive the Schwarzchild space-time as a series in $G_N$.\nAt no point of the derivation is any use made of the Einstein-Hilbert action or\nthe Einstein equations. The intermediate steps involve only on-shell S-matrix\nelements which are generated via BCFW recursion relations and unitarity sewing\ntechniques. The notion of a space-time metric is only introduced at the end of\nthe calculation where it is extracted by matching the potential determined by\nthe S-matrix to the geodesic motion of a test particle. Other static\nspace-times such as Kerr follow in a similar manner. Furthermore, given that\nthe procedure is action independent and depends only upon the choice of the\nrepresentation of the little group, solutions to Yang-Mills (YM) theory can be\ngenerated in the same fashion. Moreover, the squaring relation between the YM\nand gravity three point functions shows that the seeds that generate solutions\nin the two theories are algebraically related. From a technical standpoint our\nmethodology can also be utilized to calculate quantities relevant for the\nbinary inspiral problem more efficiently than the more traditional Feynman\ndiagram approach."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chiral anomalies and Poincare invariance: I study variations of the fermionic determinant for a nonabelian Dirac\nfermion with external vector and axial vector sources. I consider different\nregularizations, leading to different chiral anomalies when the variations are\nchiral transformations. For these different regularizations, I then consider\nvariations associated with Poincare transformations. I find that both Lorentz\nand translational invariance are anomalously violated in general, but that they\nare respected when the variations of the determinant are regularized to give a\nWess-Zumino consistent anomaly (the Bardeen anomaly). If the variations are\nregularized to give a covariant anomaly, then Poincare invariance is not\nrespected. Following Manohar in an investigation of Poincare anomalies in a\nchiral gauge theory, this gives an alternative way to understand the need for a\nconsistent regularization of the variations of the fermionic determinant.",
        "positive": "Quantum (In)Stability of a Brane-World AdS$\\bf_5$ Universe at Nonzero\n  Temperature: We consider the quantum effects of bulk matter (scalars, spinors) in the\nRandall-Sundrum AdS$_5$ brane-world at nonzero temperature. The thermodynamic\nenergy (modulus potential) is evaluated at low and high temperatures. This\npotential has an extremum which could be a minimum in some cases (for example,\nfor a single fermion). That suggests a new dynamical mechanism to stabilize the\nthermal AdS$_5$ brane-world. It is shown that the brane separation required to\nsolve the hierarchy scale problem may occur at a quite low temperature. A\nnatural generalization in terms of the AdS/CFT correspondence (through the\nsupergravity thermal contribution) is also possible."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Scrambling in nearly thermalized states at large central charge: We study $2d$ conformal field theory (CFT) at large central charge $c$ and\nfinite temperature $T$ with heavy operators inserted at spatial infinity. The\nheavy operators produce a nearly thermalized steady state at an effective\ntemperature $T_{\\rm eff}\\leq T$. Under some assumptions, we find an effective\nSchwarzian-like description of these states and, when they exist, their gravity\nduals. We use this description to compute the Lyapunov exponents for light\noperators to be $2\\pi T_{\\rm eff}$, so that scrambling is suppressed by the\nheavy insertions.",
        "positive": "The LHC String Hunter's Companion: The mass scale of fundamental strings can be as low as few TeV/c^2 provided\nthat spacetime extends into large extra dimensions. We discuss the\nphenomenological aspects of weakly coupled low mass string theory related to\nexperimental searches for physics beyond the Standard Model at the Large Hadron\nCollider (LHC). We consider the extensions of the Standard Model based on open\nstrings ending on D-branes, with gauge bosons due to strings attached to stacks\nof D-branes and chiral matter due to strings stretching between intersecting\nD-branes. We focus on the model-independent, universal features of low mass\nstring theory. We compute, collect and tabulate the full-fledged string\namplitudes describing all 2->2 parton scattering subprocesses at the leading\norder of string perturbation theory. We cast our results in a form suitable for\nthe implementation of stringy partonic cross sections in the LHC data analysis.\nThe amplitudes involving four gluons as well as those with two gluons plus two\nquarks do not depend on the compactification details and are completely\nmodel-independent. They exhibit resonant behavior at the parton center of mass\nenergies equal to the masses of Regge resonances. The existence of these\nresonances is the primary signal of string physics and should be easy to\ndetect. On the other hand, the four-fermion processes like quark-antiquark\nscattering include also the exchanges of heavy Kaluza-Klein and winding states,\nwhose details depend on the form of internal geometry. They could be used as\n``precision tests'' in order to distinguish between various compactification\nscenarios."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Generalized Quantum Dynamics with Arrow of Time: It is shown, that quantum theory with complex evolutionary time parameter and\nnon-Hermitian Hamiltonian structure can be used for natural unification of\nquantum and thermodynamic principles. The theory is postulated as analytical in\nrespect to the parameter of evolution, which real part is identified with the\n`usual' physical time, whereas the imaginary one is understood as proportional\nto the inverse absolute temperature. Also, the Hermitian part of the\nHamiltonian is put equal to conventional operator of energy. It is shown, that\nthe anti-Hermitian Hamiltonian part, which is taken as commuting with the\nenergy operator, is constructed from parameters of decay of the system. It is\nestablished, that quantum dynamics, predicted by this theory, is integrable in\nthe same sense as the corresponding non-modified one, and that it possesses a\nwell defined arrow of time in isothermal and adiabatic regimes of the\nevolution. It is proved, that average value of the decay operator decreases\nmonotonously (as the function of the physical time) in these important\nthermodynamical regimes for the arbitrary initial data taken. We discuss\npossible application of the general formalism developed to construction of\ntime-irreversible modification of a string theory.",
        "positive": "Supersymmetric 4D Rotating Black Holes from 5D Black Rings: We present supersymmetric solutions describing black holes with non-vanishing\nangular momentum in four dimensional asymptotically flat space. The solutions\nare obtained by Kaluza-Klein reduction of five-dimensional supersymmetric black\nrings wrapped on the fiber of a Taub-NUT space. We show that in the\nfour-dimensional description the singularity of the nut can be hidden behind a\nregular black hole event horizon and thereby obtain an explicit example of a\nnon-static multi-black hole solution in asymptotically flat four dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On-shell Recursion in String Theory: We prove that all open string theory disc amplitudes in a flat background\nobey Britto-Cachazo-Feng-Witten (BCFW) on-shell recursion relations, up to a\npossible reality condition on a kinematic invariant. Arguments that the same\nholds for tree level closed string amplitudes are given as well. Non-adjacent\nBCFW-shifts are related to adjacent shifts through monodromy relations for\nwhich we provide a novel CFT based derivation. All possible recursion relations\nare related by old-fashioned string duality. The field theory limit of the\nanalysis for amplitudes involving gluons is explicitly shown to be smooth for\nboth the bosonic string as well as the superstring. In addition to a proof a\nless rigorous but more powerful argument based on the underlying CFT is\npresented which suggests that the technique may extend to a much more general\nsetting in string theory. This is illustrated by a discussion of the open\nstring in a constant B-field background and the closed string on the level of\nthe sphere.",
        "positive": "On Diff(S^1) Covariantization Of Pseudodifferential Operator: A study of diff($S^1$) covariant properties of pseudodifferential operator of\ninteger degree is presented. First, it is shown that the action of diff($S^1$)\ndefines a hamiltonian flow defined by the second Gelfand-Dickey bracket if and\nonly if the pseudodifferential operator transforms covariantly. Secondly, the\ncovariant form of a pseudodifferential operator of degree n not equal to 0, 1,\n-1 is constructed by exploiting the inverse of covariant derivative. This, in\nparticular, implies the existence of primary basis for W_{KP}^{(n)} (n not\nequal to 0, 1, -1)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "From Spinning Conformal Blocks to Matrix Calogero-Sutherland Models: In this paper we develop further the relation between conformal four-point\nblocks involving external spinning fields and Calogero-Sutherland quantum\nmechanics with matrix-valued potentials. To this end, the analysis of\n\\cite{Schomerus:2016epl} is extended to arbitrary dimensions and to the case of\nboundary two-point functions. In particular, we construct the potential for any\nset of external tensor fields. Some of the resulting Schr\\\"{o}dinger equations\nare mapped explicitly to the known Casimir equations for 4-dimensional seed\nconformal blocks. Our approach furnishes solutions of Casimir equations for\nexternal fields of arbitrary spin and dimension in terms of functions on the\nconformal group. This allows us to reinterpret standard operations on conformal\nblocks in terms of group-theoretic objects. In particular, we shall discuss the\nrelation between the construction of spinning blocks in any dimension through\ndifferential operators acting on seed blocks and the action of left/right\ninvariant vector fields on the conformal group.",
        "positive": "High-speed Contraction of Transverse Rotations to Gauge Transformations: The Inonu-Wigner contraction is applied to special relativity and the little\ngroups of the Lorentz group. If the O(3) symmetry group for massive particle is\nboosted to an infinite-momentum frame, it becomes contracted to a combination\nof the cylindrical group and the two-dimensional Euclidean group. The Euclidean\ncomponent becomes the Lorentz condition applicable to the electromagnetic\nfour-potential, and the cylindrical component leads to the helicity and gauge\ndegrees of freedom. The rotation around the cylindrical axis corresponds to the\nhelicity, while the translation parallel to the axis on the cylindrical surface\nleads to a gauge transformation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Deviations from the Area Law for Supersymmetric Black Holes: We review modifications of the Bekenstein-Hawking area law for black hole\nentropy in the presence of higher-derivative interactions. In four-dimensional\nN=2 compactifications of string theory or M-theory these modifications are\ncrucial for finding agreement between the macroscopic entropy obtained from\nsupergravity and the microscopic entropy obtained by counting states in string\nor M-theory. Our discussion is based on the effective Wilsonian action, which\nin the context of N=2 supersymmetric theories is defined in terms of\nholomorphic quantities. At the end we briefly indicate how to incorporate\nnon-holomorphic corrections.",
        "positive": "Accelerated detectors in Dirac vacuum: the effects of horizon\n  fluctuations: We consider an Unruh-DeWitt detector interacting with a massless Dirac field.\nAssuming that the detector is moving along an hyperbolic trajectory, we modeled\nthe effects of fluctuations in the event horizon using a Dirac equation with\nrandom coefficients. First, we develop the perturbation theory for the\nfermionic field in a random media. Further we evaluate corrections due to the\nrandomness in the response function associated to different model detectors."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hidden Conformal Symmetry of Warped AdS_3 Black Holes: We show that for a certain low frequency limit the wave equation of a generic\nmassive scalar field in the background of the spacelike warped AdS_3 black hole\ncan be written as the Casimir of an SL(2,R) symmetry. Two sets of SL(2,R)\ngenerators are found which uncover the hidden SL(2,R)\\times SL(2,R) symmetry of\nthe solution. This symmetry is only locally defined and is spontaneously broken\nto U(1)\\times U(1) by a periodic identification of the \\phi coordinate. By\nusing the generator of the identification we read the left and right\ntemperatures (T_L,T_R) of the proposed dual conformal field theory which are in\ncomplete agreement with the WAdS/CFT conjecture. Moreover, under the above\ncondition of the scalar wave frequency, absorption cross section of the scalar\nfield is consistent with the two-point function of the dual CFT.",
        "positive": "SU$(2|1)$ supersymmetric spinning models of chiral superfields: We construct SU$(2|1)$, $d=1$ supersymmetric models based on the coupling of\ndynamical and semi-dynamical (spin) multiplets, where the interaction term of\nboth multiplets is defined on the generalized chiral superspace. The dynamical\nmultiplet is defined as a chiral multiplet ${\\bf (2,4,2)}$, while the\nsemi-dynamical multiplet is associated with a multiplet ${\\bf (4,4,0)}$ of the\nmirror type."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "SYM on Quotients of Spheres and Complex Projective Spaces: We introduce a generic procedure to reduce a supersymmetric Yang-Mills (SYM)\ntheory along the Hopf fiber of squashed $S^{2r-1}$ with $U(1)^r$ isometry, down\nto the $\\mathbb{CP}^{r-1}$ base. This amounts to fixing a Killing vector $v$\ngenerating a $U(1)\\subset U(1)^r$ rotation and dimensionally reducing either\nalong $v$ or along another direction contained in $U(1)^r$. To perform such\nreduction we introduce a $\\mathbb{Z}_p$ quotient freely acting along one of the\ntwo fibers. For fixed $p$ the resulting manifolds $S^{2r-1}/\\mathbb{Z}_p\\equiv\nL^{2r-1}(p,\\pm 1)$ are a higher dimensional generalization of lens spaces. In\nthe large $p$ limit the fiber shrinks and effectively we find theories living\non the base manifold. Starting from $\\mathcal{N}=2$ SYM on $S^3$ and\n$\\mathcal{N}=1$ SYM on $S^5$ we compute the perturbative partition functions on\n$L^{2r-1}(p,\\pm 1)$ and, in the large $p$ limit, on $\\mathbb{CP}^{r-1}$,\nrespectively for $r=2$ and $r=3$. We show how the reductions along the two\ninequivalent fibers give rise to two distinct theories on the base. Reducing\nalong $v$ gives an equivariant version of Donaldson-Witten theory while the\nother choice leads to a supersymmetric theory closely related to Pestun's\ntheory on $S^4$. We use our technique to reproduce known results for $r=2$ and\nwe provide new results for $r=3$. In particular we show how, at large $p$, the\nsum over fluxes on $\\mathbb{CP}^2$ arises from a sum over flat connections on\n$L^{5}(p,\\pm 1)$. Finally, for $r=3$, we also comment on the factorization of\nperturbative partition functions on non simply connected manifolds.",
        "positive": "Branches of the Black Hole Wave Function Need Not Contain Firewalls: We discuss the branching structure of the quantum-gravitational wave function\nthat describes the evaporation of a black hole. A global wave function which\ninitially describes a classical Schwarzschild geometry is continually decohered\ninto distinct semiclassical branches by the emission of Hawking radiation. The\nlaws of quantum mechanics dictate that the wave function evolves unitarily, but\nthis unitary evolution is only manifest when considering the global description\nof the wave function; it is not implemented by time evolution on a single\nsemiclassical branch. Conversely, geometric notions like the position or\nsmoothness of a horizon only make sense on the level of individual branches. We\nconsider the implications of this picture for probes of black holes by\nclassical observers in definite geometries, like those involved in the AMPS\nconstruction. We argue that individual branches can describe semiclassical\ngeometries free of firewalls, even as the global wave function evolves\nunitarily. We show that the pointer states of infalling detectors that are\nrobust under Hamiltonian evolution are distinct from, and incompatible with,\nthose of exterior detectors stationary with respect to the black hole horizon,\nin the sense that the pointer bases are related to each other via nontrivial\ntransformations that mix the system, apparatus, and environment. This result\ndescribes a Hilbert-space version of black hole complementarity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "${\\cal N}=4$ supersymmetric Yang-Mills thermodynamics from effective\n  field theory: The free energy density of ${\\cal N}=4$ supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory in\nfour space-time dimensions is derived through second order in the 't Hooft\ncoupling $\\lambda$ at finite temperature using effective-field theory methods.\nThe contributions to the free energy density at this order come from the hard\nscale $T$ and the soft scale $\\sqrt{\\lambda} T$. The effects of the scale $T$\nare encoded in the coefficients of an effective three-dimensional field theory\nthat is obtained by dimensional reduction at finite temperature. The effects of\nthe electric scale $\\sqrt{\\lambda} T$ are taken into account by perturbative\ncalculations in the effective theory.",
        "positive": "Clean Time-Dependent String Backgrounds from Bubble Baths: We consider the set of controlled time-dependent backgrounds of general\nrelativity and string theory describing ``bubbles of nothing'', obtained via\ndouble analytic continuation of black hole solutions. We analyze their quantum\nstability, uncover some novel features of their dynamics, identify their causal\nstructure and observables, and compute their particle production spectrum. We\npresent a general relation between squeezed states, such as those arising in\ncosmological particle creation, and nonlocal theories on the string worldsheet.\nThe bubble backgrounds have various aspects in common with de Sitter space,\nRindler space, and moving mirror systems, but constitute controlled solutions\nof general relativity and string theory with no external forces. They provide a\nuseful theoretical laboratory for studying issues of observables in systems\nwith cosmological horizons, particle creation, and time-dependent string\nperturbation theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dynamics of Antimembranes in the Maximally Supersymmetric\n  Eleven-Dimensional pp Wave: We study a spherical antimembrane in the eleven dimensional pp wave. In this\nbackground, a single antimembrane breaks all the supersymmetries because its\ndipole is misaligned with the background flux. Using the BMN matrix theory we\ncompute the one-loop potential for the antimembrane. Then we put the\nantimembrane in the field produced by a source spherical membrane and compute\nthe velocity-dependent part of the interaction between them on both the\nsupergravity side and the BMN matrix theory side. Despite the aforementioned\nnonsupersymmetry of the antimembrane, it is found that the results on the two\nsides completely agree.",
        "positive": "Anisotropic Power-law Inflation: We study an inflationary scenario in supergravity model with a gauge kinetic\nfunction. We find exact anisotropic power-law inflationary solutions when both\nthe potential function for an inflaton and the gauge kinetic function are\nexponential type. The dynamical system analysis tells us that the anisotropic\npower-law inflation is an attractor for a large parameter region."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Time Dependence of Adiabatic Particle Number: We consider quantum field theoretic systems subject to a time-dependent\nperturbation, and discuss the question of defining a time dependent particle\nnumber not just at asymptotic early and late times, but also during the\nperturbation. Naively, this is not a well-defined notion for such a\nnon-equilibrium process, as the particle number at intermediate times depends\non a basis choice of reference states with respect to which particles and\nanti-particles are defined, even though the final late-time particle number is\nindependent of this basis choice. The basis choice is associated with a\nparticular truncation of the adiabatic expansion. The adiabatic expansion is\ndivergent, and we show that if this divergent expansion is truncated at its\noptimal order, a universal time dependence is obtained, confirming a general\nresult of Dingle and Berry. This optimally truncated particle number provides a\nclear picture of quantum interference effects for perturbations with\nnon-trivial temporal sub-structure. We illustrate these results using several\nequivalent definitions of adiabatic particle number: the Bogoliubov, Riccati,\nSpectral Function and Schrodinger picture approaches. In each approach, the\nparticle number may be expressed in terms of the tiny deviations between the\nexact and adiabatic solutions of the Ermakov-Milne equation for the associated\ntime-dependent oscillators.",
        "positive": "Physical Resurgent Extrapolation: Expansions of physical functions are controlled by their singularities, which\nhave special structure because they themselves are physical, corresponding to\ninstantons, caustics or saddle configurations. Resurgent asymptotics formalizes\nthis idea mathematically, and leads to significantly more powerful\nextrapolation methods to extract physical information from a finite number of\nterms of an expansion, including precise decoding of non-perturbative effects."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The RN/CFT Correspondence: Recently it has been shown in 0901.0931 [hep-th] that the approach to\nextremality for the non-extremal Reissner-Nordstrom black hole is not\ncontinuous. The non-extremal RN black hole splits into two spacetimes at the\nextremality: an extremal black hole and a disconnected $AdS_2\\times S^2$ space\nwhich has been called the \"compactification solution\". As a possible resolution\nfor understanding the entropy of extremal RN black hole, it has been speculated\nthat the entropy of the non-extremal black hole may be carried by the latter\nsolution. By uplifting the four dimensional \"compactification solution\" with\nelectric charge $Q_e$ to a five dimensional solution, we show that this\nsolution is dual to a CFT with central charge $c=6Q_e^3$. The Cardy formula\nthen shows that the microscopic entropy of the CFT is the same as the\nmacroscopic entropy of the \"compactification solution\".",
        "positive": "Goldstone Superfield Actions for Partially Broken AdS5 Supersymmetry: We explicitly construct N=1 worldvolume supersymmetric minimal off-shell\nGoldstone superfield actions for two options of 1/2 partial spontaneous\nbreaking of AdS5 supersymmetry SU(2,2|1) corresponding to its nonlinear\nrealizations in the supercosets with the AdS5 and AdS5 X S1 bosonic parts. The\nrelevant Goldstone supermultiplets are comprised, respectively, by improved\ntensor and chiral N=1 superfields. The second action is obtained from the first\none by duality transformation. In the bosonic sectors they yield static-gauge\nNambu-Goto actions for L3-brane on AdS5 and scalar 3-brane on AdS5 X S1."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Effective electromagnetic actions for Lorentz violating theories\n  exhibiting the axial anomaly: The CPT odd contribution to the effective electromagnetic action deriving\nfrom the vacuum polarization tensor in a large class of fermionic systems\nexhibiting Lorentz invariance violation (LIV) is calculated using thermal field\ntheory methods, focusing upon corrections depending on the chemical potential.\nThe systems considered exhibit the axial anomaly and their effective actions\nare described by axion electrodynamics whereby all the LIV parameters enter in\nthe coupling $\\Theta(x)$ to the unmodified Pontryagin density. A preliminary\napplication to type-I tilted Weyl semimetals is briefly presented.",
        "positive": "Strong Coupling Quantum Gravity and Physics beyond the Planck Scale: We propose a renormalization prescription for the Wheeler-DeWitt equation of\n(3+1)-dimensional Einstein gravity and also propose a strong coupling expansion\nas an approximation scheme to probe quantum geometry at length scales much\nsmaller than the Planck length. We solve the Wheeler-DeWitt equation to the\nsecond order in the expansion in a class of local solutions and discuss\nproblems arising in our approach."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "D-branes, Quivers, and ALE Instantons: Effective field theories in type I and II superstring theories for D-branes\nlocated at points in the orbifold C^2/Z_n are supersymmetric gauge theories\nwhose field content is conveniently summarized by a `quiver diagram,' and whose\nLagrangian includes non-metric couplings to the orbifold moduli: in particular,\ntwisted sector moduli couple as Fayet-Iliopoulos terms in the gauge theory.\nThese theories describe D-branes on resolved ALE spaces. Their spaces of vacua\nare moduli spaces of smooth ALE metrics and Yang-Mills instantons, whose\nmetrics are explicitly computable. For U(N) instantons, the construction\nexactly reproduces results of Kronheimer and Nakajima.",
        "positive": "A Deformation Theory of Self-Dual Einstein Spaces: The self-dual Einstein equations on a compact Riemannian 4-manifold can be\nexpressed as a quadratic condition on the curvature of an $SU(2)$ (spin)\nconnection which is a covariant generalization of the self-dual Yang-Mills\nequations. Local properties of the moduli space of self-dual Einstein\nconnections are described in the context of an elliptic complex which arises in\nthe linearization of the quadratic equations on the $SU(2)$ curvature. In\nparticular, it is shown that the moduli space is discrete when the cosmological\nconstant is positive; when the cosmological constant is negative the moduli\nspace can be a manifold the dimension of which is controlled by the\nAtiyah-Singer index theorem."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "BC_n Ruijsenaars-Schneider models: R-Matrix structure and hamiltonians: This paper is replaced and superseded by nlin.SI/0106015 (Title: Structures\nin BC_N Ruijsenaars-Schneider models)",
        "positive": "U-duality and Network Configurations of Branes: We explicitly write down the invariant supersymmetry conditions for branes\nwith generic values of moduli and U-duality charges in various space-time\ndimensions $D \\leq 10$. We then use these results to obtain new BPS states,\ncorresponding to network type structure of such branes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Unconstrained SU(2) Gluodynamics with Theta Angle: The Hamiltonian reduction of classical SU(2) Yang-Mills field theory to the\nequivalent unconstrained theory of gauge invariant local dynamical variables is\ngeneralized to the case of nonvanishing theta angle. It is shown that for any\ntheta angle the elimination of the pure gauge degrees of freedom leads to a\ncorresponding unconstrained nonlocal theory of self-interacting second rank\nsymmetric tensor fields, and that the obtained classical unconstrained\ngluodynamics with different theta angles are canonically equivalent as on the\noriginal constrained level.",
        "positive": "Neutrinos, Axions and Conformal Symmetry: We demonstrate that radiative breaking of conformal symmetry (and\nsimultaneously electroweak symmetry) in the Standard Model with right-chiral\nneutrinos and a minimally enlarged scalar sector induces spontaneous breaking\nof lepton number symmetry, which naturally gives rise to an axion-like particle\nwith some unusual features. The couplings of this `axion' to Standard Model\nparticles, in particular photons and gluons, are entirely determined (and\ncomputable) via the conformal anomaly, and their smallness turns out to be\ndirectly related to the smallness of the masses of light neutrinos."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "10D Massive Type IIA Supergravities as the uplift of Parabolic M2-brane\n  Torus bundles: We remark that the two 10D massive deformations of the $N=2$ maximal type IIA\nsupergravity (Romans and HLW supergravity) are associated to the low energy\nlimit of the uplift to 10D of M2-brane torus bundles with parabolic monodromy\nlinearly and non-linearly realized respectively. Romans supergravity\ncorresponds to M2-brane compactified on a twice-punctured torus bundle.",
        "positive": "Duality between Noncommutative Yang-Mills-Chern-Simons and Non-Abelian\n  Self-Dual Models: By introducing an appropriate parent action and considering a perturbative\napproach, we establish, up to fourth order terms in the field and for the full\nrange of the coupling constant, the equivalence between the noncommutative\nYang-Mills-Chern-Simons theory and the noncommutative, non-Abelian Self-Dual\nmodel. In doing this, we consider two different approaches by using both the\nMoyal star-product and the Seiberg-Witten map."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "One-loop effective action for Einstein gravity in special background\n  gauge: The one-loop effective action for Einstein gravity in a special one-parameter\nbackground gauge is calculated up to first order in a gauge parameter. It is\nshown that the effective action does not depend upon the gauge parameter on\nshell.",
        "positive": "Embedded Defects: We give a prescription for embedding classical solutions and, in particular,\ntopological defects in field theories which are invariant under symmetry groups\nthat are not necessarily simple. After providing examples of embedded defects\nin field theories based on simple groups, we consider the electroweak model and\nshow that it contains the $Z$ string and a one parameter family of strings\ncalled the $W(\\alpha )$ string. It is argued that, although the members of this\nfamily are gauge equivalent when considered in isolation, each member should be\nconsidered distinct when multi-string solutions are considered. We then turn to\nthe issue of stability of embedded defects and demonstrate the instability of a\nlarge class of such solutions in the absence of bound states or condensates.\nThe $Z$ string is shown to be unstable when the Weinberg angle ($\\theta_w$) is\n$\\pi /4$ for all values of the Higgs mass. The $W$ strings are also shown to be\nunstable for a large range of parameters. Embedded monopoles suffer from the\nBrandt-Neri-Coleman instability. A simple physical understanding of this\ninstability is provided in terms of the phenomenon of W-condensation. Finally,\nwe connect the electroweak string solutions to the sphaleron: ``twisted'' loops\nof W string and finite segments of W and Z strings collapse into the sphaleron\nconfiguration, at least, for small values of $\\theta_w$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "From $r$-Spin Intersection Numbers to Hodge Integrals: Generalized Kontsevich Matrix Model (GKMM) with a certain given potential is\nthe partition function of $r$-spin intersection numbers. We represent this GKMM\nin terms of fermions and expand it in terms of the Schur polynomials by\nboson-fermion correspondence, and link it with a Hurwitz partition function and\na Hodge partition by operators in a $\\widehat{GL}(\\infty)$ group. Then, from a\n$W_{1+\\infty}$ constraint of the partition function of $r$-spin intersection\nnumbers, we get a $W_{1+\\infty}$ constraint for the Hodge partition function.\nThe $W_{1+\\infty}$ constraint completely determines the Schur polynomials\nexpansion of the Hodge partition function.",
        "positive": "A Causal Alternative to Feynman's Propagator: The Feynman propagator used in the conventional in-out formalism in quantum\nfield theory is not a causal propagator as wave packets are propagated\nvirtually instantaneously outside the causal region of the initial state. We\nformulate a causal in-out formalism in quantum field theory by making use of\nthe Wheeler propagator, the time ordered commutator propagator, which is\nmanifestly causal. Only free scalar field theories and their first quantization\nare considered. We identify the real Klein Gordon field itself as the wave\nfunction of a neutral spinless relativistic particle. Furthermore, we derive a\nprobability density for our relativistic wave packet using the inner product\nbetween states that live on a suitably defined Hilbert space of real quantum\nfields. We show that the time evolution of our probability density is governed\nby the Wheeler propagator, such that it behaves causally too."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "BMS Algebra, Double Soft Theorems, and All That: The Lie algebra generated by supertranslation and superrotation vector fields\nat null infinity, known as the extended BMS (eBMS) algebra is expected to be a\nsymmetry algebra of the quantum gravity S matrix. However, the algebra of\ncommutators of the quantized eBMS charges has been a thorny issue in the\nliterature. On the one hand, recent developments in celestial holography point\ntowards a symmetry algebra which is a closed Lie algebra with no central\nextension or anomaly, and on the other hand, work of Distler, Flauger and Horn\nhas shown that when these charges are quantized at null infinity, the\ncommutator of a supertranslation and a superrotation charge does not close into\na supertranslation but gets deformed by a 2 cocycle term, which is consistent\nwith the original proposal of Barnich and Troessaert.\n  In this paper, we revisit this issue in light of recent developments in the\nclassical understanding of superrotation charges. We show that, for extended\nBMS symmetries, a phase space at null infinity is an extension of hitherto\nconsidered phase spaces which also includes a mode associated to the spin\nmemory and its conjugate partner. We also show that for holomorphic vector\nfields on the celestial plane, quantization of the eBMS charges in the new\nphase space leads to an algebra which closes without a 2 cocycle. The\ndegenerate vacua are labelled by the soft news and a Schwarzian mode which\ncorresponds to deformations of the celestial metric by superrotations. The\nclosed eBMS quantum algebra may also lead to a convergence between two\nmanifestations of asymptotic symmetries, one via asymptotic quantization at\nnull infinity and the other through celestial holography.",
        "positive": "Sine-Gordon Theory with Higher Spin $N=2$ Supersymmetry and the Massless\n  Limit: The Sine-Gordon theory at $\\frac{\\beta^{2}}{8\\pi} = \\frac{2}{(2n+3)},\\; n=\n1,2,3 \\cdots $ has a higher spin generalization of the $N=2$ supersymmetry with\nthe central terms which arises from the affine quantum group $U_{q}( \\hat{s\n\\ell} (2))$. Observing that the algebraic determination of $S$ matrices $(\n\\approx {\\rm quantum~ integrability })$ requires the saturation of the\ngeneralized Bogomolny bound, we construct a variant of the Sine-Gordon theory\nat this value of the coupling in the framework of $S$ matrix theory. The\nspectrum consists of a doublet of fractionally charged solitons as well as that\nof anti-solitons in addition to the ordinary breathers. The construction\ndemonstrates the existence of the theory other than the one by the truncation\nto the breathers considered by Smirnov. The allowed values for the fractional\npart of the fermion number is also determined. The central charge in the\nmassless limit is found to be $c= 1$ from the TBA calculation for nondiagonal S\nmatrices. The attendant $c=1$ conformal field theory is the gaussian model with\n${\\bf Z_{2}}$ graded chiral algebra at the radius parameter $r= \\sqrt{2n+3}$.\nIn the course of the calculation, we find $4n+2$ zero modes from the\n(anti-)soliton distributions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Infrared singularities in the null-plane bound-state equation when going\n  to 1+1 dimensions: In this paper we first consider the null-plane bound-state equation for a $q\n\\bar q$ pair in 1+3 dimensions and in the lowest-order Tamm-Dancoff\napproximation. Light-cone gauge is chosen with a causal prescription for the\ngauge pole in the propagator. Then we show that this equation, when\ndimensionally reduced to 1+1 dimensions, becomes 't Hooft's bound-state\nequation, which is characterized by an $x^+$-instantaneous interaction. The\ndeep reasons for this coincidence are carefully discussed.",
        "positive": "Alternative approaches to the Casalbuoni-Brink-Schwarz Superparticle: Wigner's method of induced representations is applied to the N=1\nsuper-Poincare group, and by using a state corresponding to the basic vector of\nthe little group as a Clifford vacuum we show that the spin operator of a\nsupersymmetric point particle obeys Wigner's constraints. As dynamical\nvariables for the particle we use canonical coordinates on the symmetry group\nmanifold. The physical phase space is then constructed using a vielbein\nformalism. We find that the Casalbuoni-Brink-Schwarz superparticle appears as a\nspecial case of our general construction. Finally, the theory is reformulated\nas a gauge theory where the gauge freedom corresponds to the choice of spin\nconstraints or, equivalently, the free choice of relativistic center of mass.\nIn a special case the gauge symmetry reduces to the well known kappa-symmetry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Generalized Randall-Sundrum model with a single thick brane: A generalized version of the Randall-Sundrum model-2 with different\ncosmological constants on each side of a brane has been discussed. A\npossibility of replacing the singular brane by a configuration of a scalar\nfield has been also considered, the Einstein equations for this setup were\nsolved and stability of the solution discussed. It has been shown that under\nmild assumptions the relation between cosmological constants and the brane\ntension obtained in the brane limit does not depend on the particular choice of\nthe regularizing profile of the scalar field.",
        "positive": "Zero-Branes, Quantum Mechanics and the Cosmological Constant: We analyse some dynamical issues in a modified type IIA supergravity,\nrecently proposed as an extension of M-theory that admits de Sitter space. In\nparticular we find that this theory has multiple zero-brane solutions. This\nsuggests a microscopic quantum mechanical matrix description which yields a\nmassive deformation of the usual M(atrix) formulation of M-theory and type IIA\nstring theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Radiation and the classical double copy for color charges: We construct perturbative classical solutions of the Yang-Mills equations\ncoupled to dynamical point particles carrying color charge. By applying a set\nof color to kinematics replacement rules first introduced by Bern, Carrasco and\nJohansson (BCJ), these are shown to generate solutions of d-dimensional dilaton\ngravity, which we also explicitly construct. Agreement between the gravity\nresult and the gauge theory double copy implies a correspondence between\nnon-Abelian particles and gravitating sources with dilaton charge. When the\ncolor sources are highly relativistic, dilaton exchange decouples, and the\nsolutions we obtain match those of pure gravity. We comment on possible\nimplications of our findings to the calculation of gravitational waveforms in\nastrophysical black hole collisions, directly from computationally simpler\ngluon radiation in Yang-Mills theory.",
        "positive": "Quantum Mechanics and the Continuum Limit of an Emergent Geometry: Recent advances in emergent geometry have identified a new class of models\nthat represent spacetime as the graph obtained as the ground state of\ninteracting Ising spins. These models have many desirable features, including\nstable excitations possessing many of the characteristics of a quantum\nparticle. We analyze the dynamics of such excitations, including a detailed\ntreatment of the edge states not previously addressed. Using a minimal\nprescription for the interaction of defects we numerically investigate\napproximate bounds to the speed of propagation of such a `particle'. We\ndiscover, using numerical simulations, that there may be a Lieb-Robinson bound\nto propagation that could point the way to how a causal structure could be\naccommodated in this class of emergent geometry models."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "F-term uplifted racetrack inflation: It is shown that two classes of racetrack inflation models, saddle point and\ninflection point ones, can be constructed in a fully supersymmetric framework\nwith the matter field F-term as a source of supersymmetry (SUSY) breaking and\nuplifting. Two models of F-term SUSY breaking are considered: the Polonyi model\nand the quantum corrected O'Raifeartaigh model. In the former case, both\nclasses of racetrack inflation models differ significantly from the\ncorresponding models with non-SUSY uplifting. The main difference is a quite\nstrong dominance of the inflaton by the matter field. In addition, fine-tuning\nof the parameters is relaxed as compared to the original racetrack models. In\nthe case of the racetrack inflation models coupled to the O'Raifeartaigh model,\nthe matter field is approximately decoupled from the inflationary dynamics.",
        "positive": "The heat kernel for deformed spheres: We derive the asymptotic expansion of the heat kernel for a Laplace operator\nacting on deformed spheres. We calculate the coefficients of the heat kernel\nexpansion on two- and three-dimensional deformed spheres as functions of\ndeformation parameters. We find that under some deformation the conformal\nanomaly for free scalar fields on $R^4\\times \\tilde S^2$ and $R^6\\times \\tilde\nS^2$ is canceled."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Giant Inflaton: We investigate a new mechanism for realizing slow roll inflation in string\ntheory, based on the dynamics of p anti-D3 branes in a class of mildly warped\nflux compactifications. Attracted to the bottom of a warped conifold throat,\nthe anti-branes then cluster due to a novel mechanism wherein the background\nflux polarizes in an attempt to screen them. Once they are sufficiently close,\nthe M units of flux cause the anti-branes to expand into a fuzzy NS5-brane,\nwhich for rather generic choices of p/M will unwrap around the geometry,\ndecaying into D3-branes via a classical process. We find that the effective\npotential governing this evolution possesses several epochs that can\npotentially support slow-roll inflation, provided the process can be arranged\nto take place at a high enough energy scale, of about one or two orders of\nmagnitude below the Planck energy; this scale, however, lies just outside the\nbounds of our approximations.",
        "positive": "Vacuum Polarization of a Charged Massless Scalar Field on Cosmic String\n  Spacetime in the Presence of a Magnetic Field: In this paper we consider a charged massless scalar quantum field operator in\nthe spacetime of an idealized cosmic string, i.e., an infinitely long, straight\nand static cosmic string, which presents a magnetic field confined in a\ncylindrical tube of finite radius. Three distinct situations are taking into\naccount in this analysis: {\\it{i)}} a homogeneous field inside the tube,\n{\\it{ii)}} a magnetic field proportional to $1/r$ and {\\it{iii)}} a cylindrical\nshell with $\\delta$-function. In these three cases the axis of the infinitely\nlong tube of radius $R$ coincides with the cosmic string. In order to study the\nvacuum polarization effects outside the tube, we explicitly calculate the\nEuclidean Green function associated with this system for the three above\nsituations, considering points in the region outside the tube."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Geometrical Structures of M-Theory: N=(2,1) heterotic string theory provides clues about hidden structure in\nM-theory related to string duality; in effect it geometrizes some aspects of\nduality. The program whereby one may deduce this hidden structure is outlined,\ntogether with the results obtained to date. Speculations are made as to the\neventual shape of the theory. Talk presented at Strings '96 (Santa Barbara,\nJuly 20-25, 1996).",
        "positive": "Supersymmetric Generalizations of Matrix Models: In this thesis generalizations of matrix and eigenvalue models involving\nsupersymmetry are discussed. Following a brief review of the Hermitian one\nmatrix model, the c=-2 matrix model is considered. Built from a matrix valued\nsuperfield this model displays supersymmetry on the matrix level. We stress the\nemergence of a Nicolai-map of this model to a free Hermitian matrix model and\nstudy its diagrammatic expansion in detail. Correlation functions for quartic\npotentials on arbitrary genus are computed, reproducing the string\nsusceptibility of c=-2 Liouville theory in the scaling limit. The results may\nbe used to perform a counting of supersymmetric graphs.\n  We then turn to the supereigenvalue model, today's only successful discrete\napproach to 2d quantum supergravity. The model is constructed in a\nsuperconformal field theory formulation by imposing the super-Virasoro\nconstraints. The complete solution of the model is given in the moment\ndescription, allowing the calculation of the free energy and the multi-loop\ncorrelators on arbitrary genus and for general potentials. The solution is\npresented in the discrete case and in the double scaling limit. Explicit\nresults up to genus two are stated.\n  Finally the supersymmetric generalization of the external field problem is\naddressed. We state the discrete super-Miwa transformations of the\nsupereigenvalue model on the eigenvalue and matrix level. Properties of\nexternal supereigenvalue models are discussed, although the model corresponding\nto the ordinary supereigenvalue model could not be identified so far."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Solving Four Dimensional Field Theories with the Dirichlet Fivebrane: The realization of ${\\cal N}=2$ four dimensional super Yang-Mills theories in\nterms of a single Dirichlet fivebrane in type IIB string theory is considered.\nA classical brane computation reproduces the full quantum low energy effective\naction. This result has a simple explanation in terms of mirror symmetry.",
        "positive": "On-Shell Methods for the Two-Loop Dilatation Operator and Finite\n  Remainders: We compute the two-loop minimal form factors of all operators in the SU(2)\nsector of planar N=4 SYM theory via on-shell unitarity methods. From the UV\ndivergence of this result, we obtain the two-loop dilatation operator in this\nsector. Furthermore, we calculate the corresponding finite remainder functions.\nSince the operators break the supersymmetry, the remainder functions do not\nhave the property of uniform transcendentality. However, the leading\ntranscendentality part turns out to be universal and is identical to the\ncorresponding BPS expressions. The remainder functions are shown to satisfy\nlinear relations which can be explained by Ward identities of form factors\nfollowing from R-symmetry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Mass Gap without Confinement: We revisit a one-parameter family of three-dimensional gauge theories with\nknown supergravity duals. We show that three infrared behaviors are possible.\nFor generic values of the parameter, the theories exhibit a mass gap but no\nconfinement, meaning no linear quark-antiquark potential; for one limiting\nvalue of the parameter the theory flows to an infrared fixed point; and for\nanother limiting value it exhibits both a mass gap and confinement. Theories\nclose to these limiting values exhibit quasi-conformal and quasi-confining\ndynamics, respectively. Eleven-dimensional supergravity provides a simple,\ngeometric explanation of these features.",
        "positive": "Exotic instantons in eight dimensions: In this paper, we study the (anti-)self-duality equations $\\ast F\\wedge F=\\pm\nF\\wedge F$ in the eight-dimensional Euclidean space. Using properties of the\nClifford algebra $Cl_{0,8}(\\mathbb{R})$, we find a new solution to these\nequations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauge-invariant fields in the temporal gauge, Coulomb-gauge fields, and\n  the Gribov ambiguity: We examine the relation between Coulomb-gauge fields and the gauge-invariant\nfields constructed in the temporal gauge for two-color QCD by comparing a\nvariety of properties, including their equal-time commutation rules and those\nof their conjugate chromoelectric fields. We also express the temporal-gauge\nHamiltonian in terms of gauge-invariant fields and show that it can be\ninterpreted as a sum of the Coulomb-gauge Hamiltonian and another part that is\nimportant for determining the equations of motion of temporal-gauge fields, but\nthat can never affect the time evolution of ``physical'' state vectors. We also\ndiscuss multiplicities of gauge-invariant temporal-gauge fields that belong to\ndifferent topological sectors and that, in previous work, were shown to be\nbased on the same underlying gauge-dependent temporal-gauge fields. We argue\nthat these multiplicities of gauge-invariant fields are manifestations of the\nGribov ambiguity. We show that the differential equation that bases the\nmultiplicities of gauge-invariant fields on their underlying gauge-dependent\ntemporal-gauge fields has nonlinearities identical to those of the ``Gribov''\nequation, which demonstrates the non-uniqueness of Coulomb-gauge fields. These\nmultiplicities of gauge-invariant fields --- and, hence, Gribov copies ---\nappear in the temporal gauge, but only with the imposition of Gauss's law and\nthe implementation of gauge invariance; they do not arise when the theory is\nrepresented in terms of gauge-dependent fields and Gauss's law is left\nunimplemented.",
        "positive": "Falling D0-Branes in 2D Superstring Theory: In N=1, 2D superstring theory in the linear dilaton background, there exists\nfalling D0-branes that are described by time-dependent boundary states. These\nfalling D0-brane boundary states can be obtained by adapting the FZZT boundary\nstates of N=2 Super Liouville Field Theory (SLFT) to the case of the N=1, 2D\nsuperstring. In particular, we find that there are four stable, falling\nD0-branes (two branes and two anti-branes) in the Type 0A projection and two\nunstable ones in the Type 0B projection, leaving us with a puzzle for the\nmatrix model dual of the theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Twisted Classical Poincar\u00e9 Algebras: We consider the twisting of Hopf structure for classical enveloping algebra\n$U(\\hat{g})$, where $\\hat{g}$ is the inhomogenous rotations algebra, with\nexplicite formulae given for $D=4$ Poincar\\'{e} algebra $(\\hat{g}={\\cal P}_4).$\nThe comultiplications of twisted $U^F({\\cal P}_4)$ are obtained by conjugating\nprimitive classical coproducts by $F\\in U(\\hat{c})\\otimes U(\\hat{c}),$ where\n$\\hat{c}$ denotes any Abelian subalgebra of ${\\cal P}_4$, and the universal\n$R-$matrices for $U^F({\\cal P}_4)$ are triangular. As an example we show that\nthe quantum deformation of Poincar\\'{e} algebra recently proposed by Chaichian\nand Demiczev is a twisted classical Poincar\\'{e} algebra. The interpretation of\ntwisted Poincar\\'{e} algebra as describing relativistic symmetries with\nclustered 2-particle states is proposed.",
        "positive": "Towards Quantum Dielectric Branes: Curvature Corrections in Abelian Beta\n  Function and Nonabelian Born-Infeld Action: We initiate a programme to compute curvature corrections to the nonabelian BI\naction. This is based on the calculation of derivative corrections to the\nabelian BI action, describing a maximal brane, to all orders in F. An exact\ncalculation in F allows us to apply the SW map, reducing the maximal abelian\npoint of view to a minimal nonabelian point of view (replacing 1/F with [X,X]\nat large F), resulting in matrix model equations of motion. We first study\nderivative corrections to the abelian BI action and compute the 2-loop beta\nfunction for an open string in a WZW (parallelizable) background. This beta\nfunction is the first step in the process of computing string equations of\nmotion, which can be later obtained by computing the Weyl anomaly coefficients\nor the partition function. The beta function is exact in F and computed to\norders O(H,H^2,H^3) (H=dB and curvature is R ~ H^2) and O(DF,D^2F,D^3F). In\norder to carry out this calculation we develop a new regularization method for\n2-loop graphs. We then relate perturbative results for abelian and nonabelian\nBI actions, by showing how abelian derivative corrections yield nonabelian\ncommutator corrections, at large F. We begin the construction of a matrix model\ndescribing \\a' corrections to Myers' dielectric effect. This construction is\ncarried out by setting up a perturbative classification of the relevant\nnonabelian tensor structures, which can be considerably narrowed down by the\nconstraint of translation invariance in the action and the possibility for\ngeneric field redefinitions. The final matrix action is not uniquely determined\nand depends upon two free parameters. These parameters could be computed via\nfurther calculations in the abelian theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Classification of Asymptotic Quasinormal Frequencies for\n  d-Dimensional Black Holes and Quantum Gravity: We provide a complete classification of asymptotic quasinormal frequencies\nfor static, spherically symmetric black hole spacetimes in d dimensions. This\nincludes all possible types of gravitational perturbations (tensor, vector and\nscalar type) as described by the Ishibashi-Kodama master equations. The\nfrequencies for Schwarzschild are dimension independent, while for RN are\ndimension dependent (the extremal RN case must be considered separately from\nthe non-extremal case). For Schwarzschild dS, there is a dimension independent\nformula for the frequencies, except in dimension d=5 where the formula is\ndifferent. For RN dS there is a dimension dependent formula for the\nfrequencies, except in dimension d=5 where the formula is different.\nSchwarzschild and RN AdS black hole spacetimes are simpler: the formulae for\nthe frequencies will depend upon a parameter related to the tortoise coordinate\nat spatial infinity, and scalar type perturbations in dimension d=5 lead to a\ncontinuous spectrum for the quasinormal frequencies. We also address non-black\nhole spacetimes, such as pure dS spacetime--where there are quasinormal modes\nonly in odd dimensions--and pure AdS spacetime--where again scalar type\nperturbations in dimension d=5 lead to a continuous spectrum for the normal\nfrequencies. Our results match previous numerical calculations with great\naccuracy. Asymptotic quasinormal frequencies have also been applied in the\nframework of quantum gravity for black holes. Our results show that it is only\nin the simple Schwarzschild case which is possible to obtain sensible results\nconcerning area quantization or loop quantum gravity. In an effort to keep this\npaper self-contained we also review earlier results in the literature.",
        "positive": "Solving the 2D SUSY Gross-Neveu-Yukawa Model with Conformal Truncation: We use Lightcone Conformal Truncation to analyze the RG flow of the\ntwo-dimensional supersymmetric Gross-Neveu-Yukawa theory, i.e. the theory of a\nreal scalar superfield with a $\\mathbb{Z}_2$-symmetric cubic superpotential.\nThe theory depends on a single dimensionless coupling $\\bar{g}$, and is\nexpected to have a critical point at a tuned value $\\bar{g}_*$ where it flows\nin the IR to the Tricritical Ising Model (TIM); the theory spontaneously breaks\nthe $\\mathbb{Z}_2$ symmetry on one side of this phase transition, and breaks\nSUSY on the other side. We calculate the spectrum of energies as a function of\n$\\bar{g}$ and see the gap close as the critical point is approached, and\nnumerically read off the critical exponent $\\nu$ in TIM. Beyond the critical\npoint, the gap remains nearly zero, in agreement with the expectation of a\nmassless Goldstino. We also study spectral functions of local operators on both\nsides of the phase transition and compare to analytic predictions where\npossible. In particular, we use the Zamolodchikov $C$-function to map the\nentire phase diagram of the theory. Crucial to this analysis is the fact that\nour truncation is able to preserve supersymmetry sufficiently to avoid any\nadditional fine tuning."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Instability of charged massive scalar fields in bound states around\n  Kerr-Sen black holes: We show the instability of a charged massive scalar field in bound states\naround Kerr-Sen black holes. By matching the near and far region solutions of\nthe radial part in the corresponding Klein-Gordon equation, one can show that\nthe frequency of bound state scalar fields contains an imaginary component\nwhich gives rise to an amplification factor for the fields. Hence, the unstable\nmodes for a charged and massive scalar perturbation in Kerr-Sen background can\nbe shown.",
        "positive": "Quantum black hole entropy and Newton constant renormalization: We discuss the status of the black hole entropy formula $S_{\\rm BH} = A_H\n/4G$ in low energy effective field theory. The low energy expansion of the\nblack hole entropy is studied in a non-equilibrium situation: the semiclassical\ndecay of hot flat space by black hole nucleation. In this context the entropy\ncan be defined as an enhancement factor in the semiclassical decay rate, which\nis dominated by a sphaleron-like saddle point. We find that all perturbative\ndivergences appearing in Euclidean calculations of the entropy can be\nrenormalized in low energy couplings. We also discuss some formal aspects of\nthe relation between the Euclidean and Hamiltonian approaches to the one loop\ncorrections to black hole entropy and geometric entropy, and we emphasize the\nvirtues of the use of covariant regularization prescriptions. In fact, the\ndefinition of black hole entropy in terms of decay rates {\\it requires} the use\nof covariant measures and accordingly, covariant regularizations in path\nintegrals. Finally, we speculate on the possibility that low energy effective\nfield theory could be sufficient to understand the microscopic degrees of\nfreedom underlying black hole entropy. We propose a qualitative physical\npicture in which black hole entropy refers to a space of quasi-coherent states\nof infalling matter, together with its gravitational field. We stress that this\nscenario might provide a low energy explanation of both the black hole entropy\nand the information puzzle."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Absence of Nonlocal Counter-terms in the Gauge Boson Propagator in Axial\n  -type Gauges: We study the two-point function for the gauge boson in the axial-type gauges.\nWe use the exact treatment of the axial gauges recently proposed that is\nintrinsically compatible with the Lorentz type gauges in the path-integral\nformulation and has been arrived at from this connection and which is a\n``one-vector'' treatment. We find that in this treatment, we can evaluate the\ntwo-point functions without imposing any additional interpretation on the axial\ngauge 1/(n.q)^p-type poles. The calculations are as easy as the other\ntreatments based on other known prescriptions. Unlike the\n``uniform-prescription'' /L-M prescription, we note, here, the absence of any\nnon-local divergences in the 2-point proper vertex. We correlate our\ncalculation with that for the Cauchy Principal Value prescription and find from\nthis comparison that the 2-point proper vertex differs from the CPV calculation\nonly by finite terms. For simplicity of treatment, the divergences have been\ncalculated here with n^2>0 and these have a smooth light cone limit.",
        "positive": "Coherent States and Squeezed States, Supercoherent States and\n  Supersqueezed States: This article reports on a program to obtain and understand coherent states\nfor general systems. Most recently this has included supersymmetric systems. A\nbyproduct of this work has been studies of squeezed and supersqueezed states.\nTo obtain a physical understanding of these systems has always been a primary\ngoal. In particular, in the work on supersymmetry an attempt to understand the\nrole of Grassmann numbers in quantum mechanics has been initiated."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hydrodynamics in black brane with hyperscaling violation metric\n  background: In this paper we consider a metric with hyperscaling violation on black brane\nbackground. In this background we calculate the ratio of shear viscosity to\nentropy density with hydrodynamics information. The calculation of this\nquantity lead us to constraint $\\theta$ as $3\\leq\\theta<4$, and $\\theta\\leq0$.\nIn that case we show that the quantity of $\\frac{\\eta}{s}$ not dependent to\nhyperscaling violation parameter $\\theta.$ Our results about ratio of shear\nviscosity to entropy density in direct of $QCD$ point of view agree with other\nworks in literature as $1/4\\pi$.",
        "positive": "Non-Gaussianities in generalized non-local $R^2$-like inflation: In [1], a most general higher curvature non-local gravity action was derived\nthat admits a particular $R^2$-like inflationary solution predicting the\nspectral index of primordial scalar perturbations $n_s(N)\\approx\n1-\\frac{2}{N}$, where $N$ is the number of e-folds before the end of inflation,\n$N\\gg 1$, any value of the tensor-to-scalar ratio $r(N)<0.036$ and the tensor\ntilt $n_t(N)$ violating the $r= -8n_t$ condition. In this paper, we compute\nscalar primordial non-Gaussianities (PNGs) in this theory and effectively\ndemonstrate that higher curvature non-local terms lead to reduced bispectrum\n$f_{\\rm NL}\\left( k_1,\\,k_2,\\,k_3 \\right)$ mimicking several classes of scalar\nfield models of inflation known in the literature. We obtain $\\vert f_{\\rm\nNL}\\vert \\sim O(1-10)$ in the equilateral, orthogonal, and squeezed limits and\nthe running of these PNGs measured by the quantity $\\vert\\frac{d\\ln f_{\\rm\nNL}}{d\\ln k}\\vert\\lesssim 1$. Such PNGs are sufficiently large to be measurable\nby future CMB and Large Scale Structure observations, thus providing a\npossibility to probe the nature of quantum gravity. Furthermore, we demonstrate\nthat the $R^2$-like inflation in non-local modification of gravity brings\nnon-trivial predictions which go beyond the current status of effective field\ntheories (EFTs) of single field, quasi-single field and multiple field\ninflation. A distinguishable feature of non-local $R^2$-like inflation compared\nto local EFTs is that we can have running of PNGs at least an order of\nmagnitude higher. In summary, through our generalized non-local $R^2$-like\ninflation, we obtain a robust geometric framework of inflation that can explain\nany detection of observable quantities related to scalar PNGs."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "New non-local SUSY KdV conservation laws from a recursive gradient\n  algorithm: A complete proof of the recursive gradient approach is presented. It gives a\nconstruction of all the hierarchy structures of N=1 Super KdV, including the\nnon-local one. A precise definition of the ring of superfields involved in the\nnon-local construction is given. In particular, new non-local conserved\nquantities of N=1 Super KdV are found.",
        "positive": "ZZ branes from a worldsheet perspective: We show how non-compact space-time (ZZ branes) emerges as a limit of compact\nspace-time (FZZT branes) for specific ratios between the square of the boundary\ncosmological constant and the bulk cosmological constant in the (2,2m - 1)\nminimal model coupled to two-dimensional euclidean quantum gravity.\nFurthermore, we show that the principal (r,s) ZZ brane can be viewed as the\nbasic (1,1) ZZ boundary state tensored with a (r,s) Cardy boundary state for a\ngeneral (p,q) minimal model coupled to two-dimensional quantum gravity. In this\nsense there exists only one ZZ boundary state, the basic (1,1) boundary state."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Probability of the Standard Model Appearance from a Matrix Model: The standard model of particle physics lies in an enormous number of string\nvacua. In a nonperturbative formulation of string theory, various string vacua\ncan, in principle, be compared dynamically, and the probability distribution\nover the vacuum space could be calculated. In this paper, we consider\nsituations where the IIB matrix model is compactified on a six-dimensional\ntorus with various gauge groups and various magnetic fluxes, find matrix\nconfigurations that provide the standard model matter content, and estimate\nsemiclassically the probability of their appearance.",
        "positive": "Constructing Gravitational Dimensions: It would be extremely useful to know whether a particular low energy\neffective theory might have come from a compactification of a higher\ndimensional space. Here, this problem is approached from the ground up by\nconsidering theories with multiple interacting massive gravitons. It is\nactually very difficult to construct discrete gravitational dimensions which\nhave a local continuum limit. In fact, any model with only nearest neighbor\ninteractions is doomed. If we could find a non-linear extension for the\nFierz-Pauli Lagrangian for a graviton of mass mg which does not break down\nuntil the scale Lambda_2=(mg Mpl)^(1/2), this could be used to construct a\nlarge class of models whose continuum limit is local in the extra dimension.\nBut this is shown to be impossible: a theory with a single graviton must break\ndown by Lambda_3 = (mg^2 Mpl)^(1/3). Next, we look at how the discretization\nprescribed by the truncation of the KK tower of an honest extra diemsinon\nrasies the scale of strong coupling. It dictates an intricate set of\ninteractions among various fields which conspire to soften the strongest\nscattering amplitudes and allow for a local continuum limit. A number of\ncanditate symmetries associated with locality in the discretized dimension are\nalso discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "New Old Inflation: We propose a new class of inflationary solutions to the standard cosmological\nproblems (horizon, flatness, monopole,...), based on a modification of old\ninflation. These models do not require a potential which satisfies the normal\ninflationary slow-roll conditions. Our universe arises from a single tunneling\nevent as the inflaton leaves the false vacuum. Subsequent dynamics (arising\nfrom either the oscillations of the inflaton field or thermal effects) keep a\nsecond field trapped in a false minimum, resulting in an evanescent period of\ninflation (with roughly 50 e-foldings) inside the bubble. This easily allows\nthe bubble to grow sufficiently large to contain our present horizon volume.\nReheating is accomplished when the inflaton driving the last stage of inflation\nrolls down to the true vacuum, and adiabatic density perturbations arise from\nmoduli-dependent Yukawa couplings of the inflaton to matter fields. Our\nscenario has several robust predictions, including virtual absence of gravity\nwaves, a possible absence of tilt in scalar perturbations, and a higher degree\nof non-Gaussianity than other models. It also naturally incorporates a solution\nto the cosmological moduli problem.",
        "positive": "KdV Charges and the Generalized Torus Partition Sum in $T{\\bar T}$\n  deformation: We consider KdV currents in a quantum field theory obtained by deforming a\ntwo dimensional conformal field theory on a cylinder via the irrelevant\noperator $T{\\bar T}$. In this paper we determine their one-point functions\nmodular properties. We find that the one-point functions factorize into two\ncomponents each with a definite modular weight. We also obtain a general\ndifferential equation that the generalized torus partition sum satisfies."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic Euclidean thermal correlator: In this paper, we compute holographic Euclidean thermal correlators of the\nstress tensor and $U(1)$ current from the AdS planar black hole. To this end,\nwe set up perturbative boundary value problems for Einstein's gravity and\nMaxwell theory in the spirit of Gubser-Klebanov-Polyakov-Witten, with\nappropriate gauge fixing and regularity boundary conditions at the horizon of\nthe black hole. The linearized Einstein equation and Maxwell equation in the\nblack hole background are related to the Heun equation of degenerate local\nmonodromy. Leveraging the connection relation of local solutions of the Heun\nequation, we partly solve the boundary value problem and obtain exact two-point\nthermal correlators for $U(1)$ current and stress tensor in the scalar and\nshear channels.",
        "positive": "Wilson loops in circular quiver SCFTs at strong coupling: We study circular BPS Wilson loops in the $\\mathcal{N}=2$ superconformal\n$n$-node quiver theories at large $N$ and strong 't Hooft coupling by using\nlocalization. We compute the expectation values of Wilson loops in the limit\nwhen the 't Hooft couplings are hierarchically different and when they are\nnearly equal. Based on these results, we make a conjecture for arbitrary strong\ncouplings."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "N=2 supergravity models with stable de Sitter vacua: In the present talk I shall review the construction of N=2 supergravity\nmodels exhibiting stable de Sitter vacua. These solutions represent the first\ninstance of stable backgrounds with positive cosmological constant in the\nframework of extended supergravities (N >=2). After briefly reviewing the role\nof de Sitter space--times in inflationary cosmology, I shall describe the main\ningredients which were necessary for the construction of gauged N=2\nsupergravity models admitting stable solutions of this kind.",
        "positive": "Spacetime Dependent Lagrangians and the Barriola-Vilenkin Monopole Mass: This paper has been withdrawn by the authors in order to replace it with a\nmore correct treatment. The basic results remain the same but the treatment is\nmore rigorously correct."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Application of Tomita-Takesaki theory in algebraic euclidean field\n  theories: The construction of the known interacting quantum field theory models is\nmostly based on euclidean techniques. The expectation values of interesting\nquantities are usually given in terms of euclidean correlation functions from\nwhich one should be able to extract information about the behavior of the\ncorrelation functions of the Minkowskian counterpart.\n  We think that the C*-algebraic approach to euclidean field theory gives an\nappropriate setup in order to study structural aspects model independently. A\nprevious paper deals with a construction scheme which relates to each euclidean\nfield theory a Poincar\\'e covariant quantum field theory model in the sense of\nR. Haag and D. Kastler.\n  Within the framework of R. Haag and D. Kastler, the physical concept of PCT\nsymmetry and spin and statistics is related to the Tomita-Takesaki theory of\nvon Neumann algebras and this important aspects has been studied by several\nauthors.\n  We express the PCT symmetry in terms of euclidean reflexions and we\nexplicitly identify the corresponding modular operator and the modular\nconjugation of the related Tomita-Takesaki theory. Locality, wedge duality, and\na geometric action of the modular group of the von Neumann algebra of\nobservables, localized within a wedge region in Minkowski space, are direct\nconsequences.",
        "positive": "The Light Front Gauge Propagator: The Status Quo: At the classical level, the inverse differential operator for the quadratic\nterm in the gauge field Lagrangian density fixed in the light front through the\nmultiplier (nA)^2 yields the standard two term propagator with single\nunphysical pole of the type (kn)^-1. Upon canonical quantization on the\nlight-front, there emerges a third term of the form (kn^(mu)n^(nu))(kn)^-2.\nThis third term in the propagator has traditionally been dropped on the grounds\nthat is exactly cancelled by the \"instantaneous\" term in the interaction\nHamiltonian in the light-front. Our aim in this work is not to discuss which of\nthe propagators is the correct one, but rather to present at the classical\nlevel, the gauge fixing conditions that can lead to the three-term propagator."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Generalized duality between local vector theories in $D=2+1$: The existence of an interpolating master action does not guarantee the same\nspectrum for the interpolated dual theories. In the specific case of a\ngeneralized self-dual (GSD) model defined as the addition of the Maxwell term\nto the self-dual model in $D=2+1$, previous master actions have furnished a\ndual gauge theory which is either nonlocal or contains a ghost mode. Here we\nshow that by reducing the Maxwell term to first order by means of an auxiliary\nfield we are able to define a master action which interpolates between the GSD\nmodel and a couple of non-interacting Maxwell-Chern-Simons theories of opposite\nhelicities. The presence of an auxiliary field explains the doubling of fields\nin the dual gauge theory. A generalized duality transformation is defined and\nboth models can be interpreted as self-dual models. Furthermore, it is shown\nhow to obtain the gauge invariant correlators of the non-interacting MCS\ntheories from the correlators of the self-dual field in the GSD model and\nvice-versa. The derivation of the non-interacting MCS theories from the GSD\nmodel, as presented here, works in the opposite direction of the soldering\napproach.",
        "positive": "BPS solitons in a Dirac-Born-Infeld action: We present several classes of solitons in ($1+1$)-dimensional models where\nthe standard canonical kinetic term is replaced by a Dirac-Born-Infeld (DBI)\none. These are static solutions with finite energy and different properties,\nnamely, they can have compact support, or be kink or lump-like, according to\nthe type of potential chosen, which depend on the DBI parameter $\\beta$.\nThrough a combination of numerical and analytical arguments, by which the\nequation of motion is seen as that corresponding to \\emph{another} canonical\nmodel with a new $\\beta$-dependent potential and a $\\beta$-deformed energy\ndensity, we construct models in which increasing smoothly the DBI parameter\nboth the compacton radius, the thickness of the kink and the width of the lump\nget modified until each soliton reaches its standard canonical shape as $\\beta\n\\rightarrow \\infty$. In addition we present compacton solutions whose canonical\ncounterparts are not compact."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Topological Matrix Model: Starting from the primal principle based on the noncommutative nature of\n(9+1)-dimensional spacetime, we construct a topologically twisted version of\nthe supersymmetric reduced model with a certain modification. Our formulation\nautomatically provides extra 1+1 dimensions, thereby the dimensions of\nspacetime are promoted to 10+2. With a suitable gauge choice, we can reduce the\nmodel with (10+2)-dimensional spacetime to the one with (9+1)-dimensions and\nthus we regard this gauge as the light-cone gauge. It is suggested that the\nmodel so obtained would describe the light-cone F-theory. From this viewpoint\nwe argue the relation of the reduced model to the matrix model of M-theory and\nthe SL(2,Z) symmetry of type IIB string theory. We also discuss the general\ncovariance of the matrix model in a broken phase, and make some comments on the\nbackground independence.",
        "positive": "Resummation at finite conformal spin: We generalize the computation of anomalous dimension and correction to OPE\ncoefficients at finite conformal spin considered recently in\n\\cite{arXiv:1806.10919, arXiv:1808.00612} to arbitrary space-time dimensions.\nBy using the inversion formula of Caron-Huot and the integral (Mellin)\nrepresentation of conformal blocks, we show that the contribution from\nindividual exchanges to anomalous dimensions and corrections to the OPE\ncoefficients for \"double-twist\" operators\n$[\\mathcal{O}_1\\mathcal{O}_2]_{\\Delta,J}$ in $s-$channel can be written at\nfinite conformal spin in terms of generalized Wilson polynomials. This approach\nis democratic {\\it wrt} space-time dimensions, thus generalizing the earlier\nfindings to cases where closed form expressions of the conformal blocks are not\navailable."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Properties of an Alternate Lax Description of the KdV Hierarchy: We study systematically the Lax description of the KdV hierarchy in terms of\nan operator which is the geometrical recursion operator. We formulate the Lax\nequation for the $n$-th flow, construct the Hamiltonians which lead to\ncommuting flows. In this formulation, the recursion relation between the\nconserved quantities follows naturally. We give a simple and compact definition\nof all the Hamiltonian structures of the theory which are related through a\npower law.",
        "positive": "The Laplace Transform of Quantum Gravity: Following analogies with relativistic point particles, and Schild strings, we\nshow that the Einstein gravity and its strong coupling regime (or the Planck\nmass going to 0) are related to each other through a Laplace transform. The\nFeynman propagator of gravity in the strong coupling regime satisfies a\nfunctional diffusion equation in the three-metric space with the evolution\nparameter being the volume of spacetime. We conjecture that the relationship\nbetween both regimes is consistent with the existence of an evolution operator\nin which time is replaced by the volume of spacetime"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Path Integrals on sl(2,R) Orbits: We quantise orbits of the adjoint group action on elements of the sl(2,R) Lie\nalgebra. The path integration along elliptic slices is akin to the coadjoint\norbit quantization of compact Lie groups, and the calculation of the characters\nof elliptic group elements proceeds along the same lines as in compact groups.\nThe computation of the trace of hyperbolic group elements in a diagonal basis\nas well as the calculation of the full group action on a hyperbolic basis\nrequires considerably more technique. We determine the action of hyperbolic\none-parameter subgroups of PSL(2,R) on the adjoint orbits and discuss global\nsubtleties in choices of adapted coordinate systems. Using the hyperbolic\nslicing of orbits, we describe the quantum mechanics of an irreducible sl(2,R)\nrepresentation in a hyperbolic basis and relate the basis to the mathematics of\nthe Mellin integral transform. We moreover discuss the representation theory of\nthe double cover SL(2,R) of PSL(2,R) as well as that of its universal cover.\nTraces in the representations of these groups for both elliptic and hyperbolic\nelements are computed. Finally, we motivate our treatment of this elementary\nquantisation problem by indicating applications.",
        "positive": "The wake of a quark moving through a strongly-coupled $\\mathcal N=4$\n  supersymmetric Yang-Mills plasma: The energy density wake produced by a heavy quark moving through a strongly\ncoupled N=4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills plasma is computed using gauge/string\nduality."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Correlation Functions of (2k-1, 2) Minimal Matter Coupled to 2D Quantum\n  Gravity: We compute N-point correlation functions of non-unitary (2k-1, 2) minimal\nmatter coupled to 2D quantum gravity on a sphere using the continuum Liouville\nfield approach. A gravitational dressing of the matter primary field with the\nminimum conformal weight is used as the cosmological operator. Our results are\nin agreement with the correlation functions of the one-matrix model at the k-th\ncritical point.",
        "positive": "Four-particle solutions to Baxter equation of SL(2,C) Heisenberg spin\n  magnet for integer conformal Lorentz spin and their normalizability: The four reggeized gluon states for non-vanishing Lorentz conformal spin\n$n_h$ are considered. To calculate their spectrum the Q-Baxter method is used.\nAs a result we describe normalizable trajectory-like states, which form\ncontinuous spectrum, as well as discrete point-like solutions, which turn out\nto be non-normalizable. The point-like solutions exist due to symmetry of the\nCasimir operator where conformal weights $(h,\\bar h) \\to (h,1-\\bar h)$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Higher Spin Fields and Symplectic Geometry: We argue that higher spin fields originate from Hamiltonian mechanics and\nplay a role of gauge fields ensuring covariance of geometric observables such\nas length and volume with respect to canonical transformations in the same way\nas a metric tensor in Riemannian geometry ensures covariance with respect to\ndiffeomorphisms. We consider a reparametrization invariant action of a point\nparticle in Hamiltonian form. Reparametrization invariance is achieved in the\nstandard way by coupling to the auxiliary world-line metric. Identifying\nHamiltonian function with a generating function for higher spin fields this\naction can be viewed as an action for the point particle in a higher spin\nbackground, while canonical transformations act as higher spin symmetries. We\ndefine the gauge invariant length as a proper time of a particle moving along\nthe geodesic. Following the usual geometrical interpretation we introduce the\nvolume form and the scalar curvature for a combined lower spin sector. As for\nthe general case, we show that notions of local volume and scalar curvature are\nnot compatible with symplectic transformations. We propose symplectically\ninvariant counterparts for the total volume of the space and Einstein-Hilbert\naction.",
        "positive": "Radion Stabilization in Compact Hyperbolic Extra Dimensions: We consider radion stabilization in hyperbolic brane-world scenarios. We\ndemonstrate that in the context of Einstein gravity, matter fields which\nstabilize the extra dimensions must violate the null energy condition. This\nresult is shown to hold even allowing for FRW-like expansion on the brane. In\nparticular, we explicitly demonstrate how one putative source of stabilizing\nmatter fails to work, and how others violate the above condition. We speculate\non a number of ways in which we may bypass this result, including the effect of\nCasimir energy in these spaces. A brief discussion of supersymmetry in these\nbackgrounds is also given."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Structure of AdS Black Holes and Chern Simons Theory in 2+1\n  Dimensions: We study anti-de Sitter black holes in 2+1 dimensions in terms of Chern\nSimons gauge theory of anti-de Sitter group coupled to a source. Taking the\nsource to be an anti-de Sitter state specified by its Casimir invariants, we\nshow how all the relevant features of the black hole are accounted for. The\nrequirement that the source be a unitary representation leads to a discrete\ntower of states which provide a microscopic model for the black hole.",
        "positive": "Curved momentum spaces from quantum groups with cosmological constant: We bring the concept that quantum symmetries describe theories with\nnontrivial momentum space properties one step further, looking at quantum\nsymmetries of spacetime in presence of a nonvanishing cosmological constant\n$\\Lambda$. In particular, the momentum space associated to the\n$\\kappa$-deformation of the de Sitter algebra in (1+1) and (2+1) dimensions is\nexplicitly constructed as a dual Poisson-Lie group manifold parametrized by\n$\\Lambda$. Such momentum space includes both the momenta associated to\nspacetime translations and the `hyperbolic' momenta associated to boost\ntransformations, and has the geometry of (half of) a de Sitter manifold. Known\nresults for the momentum space of the $\\kappa$-Poincar\\'e algebra are smoothly\nrecovered in the limit $\\Lambda\\to 0$, where hyperbolic momenta decouple from\ntranslational momenta. The approach here presented is general and can be\napplied to other quantum deformations of kinematical symmetries, including\n(3+1)-dimensional ones."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dualization of non-Abelian BF model: We show that dualization of BF models to Stueckelberg-like massive gauge\ntheories allows a non-Abelian extension. We obtain local Lagrangians which are\nstraightforward extensions of the Abelian results.",
        "positive": "Trapped surfaces and emergent curved space in the Bose-Hubbard model: A Bose-Hubbard model on a dynamical lattice was introduced in previous work\nas a spin system analogue of emergent geometry and gravity. Graphs with regions\nof high connectivity in the lattice were identified as candidate analogues of\nspacetime geometries that contain trapped surfaces. We carry out a detailed\nstudy of these systems and show explicitly that the highly connected subgraphs\ntrap matter. We do this by solving the model in the limit of no back-reaction\nof the matter on the lattice, and for states with certain symmetries that are\nnatural for our problem. We find that in this case the problem reduces to a\none-dimensional Hubbard model on a lattice with variable vertex degree and\nmultiple edges between the same two vertices. In addition, we obtain a\n(discrete) differential equation for the evolution of the probability density\nof particles which is closed in the classical regime. This is a wave equation\nin which the vertex degree is related to the local speed of propagation of\nprobability. This allows an interpretation of the probability density of\nparticles similar to that in analogue gravity systems: matter inside this\nanalogue system sees a curved spacetime. We verify our analytic results by\nnumerical simulations. Finally, we analyze the dependence of localization on a\ngradual, rather than abrupt, fall-off of the vertex degree on the boundary of\nthe highly connected region and find that matter is localized in and around\nthat region."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Cosmological Relevance of the Tachyon: We analyse of the effective action of the tachyon field on a D-brane, of both\nbosonic as well as superstring theory. We find that the non-standard kinetic\nterm of the tachyon field requires a correction to the Born-Infeld type\nLagrangian. The cosmological significance of the resulting dynamics is\nexplored. We also examine if the rolling tachyon can provide an effective\ncosmological constant and contrast its behaviour with quintessence.",
        "positive": "Dictionary on Lie Superalgebras: The main definitions and properties of Lie superalgebras are proposed a la\nfacon de a short dictionary, the different items following the alphabetical\norder. The main topics deal with the structure of simple Lie superalgebras and\ntheir finite dimensional representations; rather naturally, a few pages are\ndevoted to supersymmetry. This modest booklet has two ambitious goals: to be\nelementary and easy to use. The beginner is supposed to find out here the main\nconcepts on superalgebras, while a more experimented theorist should recognize\nthe necessary tools and informations for a specific use."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A remark on the asymptotic form of BPS multi-dyon solutions and their\n  conserved charges: We evaluate the gauge invariant, dynamically conserved charges, recently\nobtained from the integral form of the Yang-Mills equations, for the BPS\nmulti-dyon solutions of a Yang-Mills-Higgs theory associated to any compact\nsemi-simple gauge group G. Those charges are shown to correspond to the\neigenvalues of the next-to-leading term of the asymptotic form of the Higgs\nfield at spatial infinity, and so coinciding with the usual topological charges\nof those solutions. Such results show that many of the topological charges\nconsidered in the literature are in fact dynamical charges, which conservation\nfollows from the global properties of classical Yang-Mills theories encoded\ninto their integral dynamical equations. The conservation of those charges can\nnot be obtained from the differential form of Yang-Mills equations.",
        "positive": "Non-associativity in non-geometric string and M-theory backgrounds, the\n  algebra of octonions, and missing momentum modes: We propose a non-associative phase space algebra for M-theory backgrounds\nwith locally non-geometric fluxes based on the non-associative algebra of\noctonions. Our proposal is based on the observation that the non-associative\nalgebra of the non-geometric R-flux background in string theory can be obtained\nby a proper contraction of the simple Malcev algebra generated by imaginary\noctonions. Furthermore, by studying a toy model of a four-dimensional locally\nnon-geometric M-theory background which is dual to a twisted torus, we show\nthat the non-geometric background is \"missing\" a momentum mode. The resulting\nseven-dimensional phase space can thus be naturally identified with the\nimaginary octonions. This allows us to interpret the full uncontracted algebra\nof imaginary octonions as the uplift of the string theory R-flux algebra to\nM-theory, with the contraction parameter playing the role of the string\ncoupling constant $g_s$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Elimination of IR/UV via Gravity in Noncommutative Field Theory: Models of particle physics with Noncommutative Geometry (NCG) generally\nsuffer from a manifestly non-Wilsonian coupling of infrared and ultraviolet\ndegrees of freedom known as the \"IR/UV Problem\" which would tend to compromise\ntheir phenomenological relevance. In this Letter we explicitly show how one may\nremedy this by coupling NCG to gravity. In the simplest scenario the Lagrangian\ngets multiplied by a nonconstant background metric; in $\\phi-4$ theory the\ntheorem that $\\int d^4 x \\phi \\star \\phi = \\int d^4 x \\phi^2$ is no longer true\nand the field propagator gets modified by a factor which depends on both NCG\nand the variation of the metric. A suitable limit of this factor as the\npropagating momentum gets asymptotically large then eradicates the IR/UV\nproblem. With gravity and NCG coupled to each other, one might expect\nanti-symmetric components to arise in the metric. Cosmological implications of\nsuch are subsequently discussed.",
        "positive": "Non-Gaussianities in the Cosmological Perturbation Spectrum due to\n  Primordial Anisotropy: We investigate possible signatures of a pre-inflationary anisotropic phase in\ntwo-point and three-point correlation functions of the curvature perturbation\nfor high-momentum modes which exit the horizon after isotropization. In this\nmomentum regime, the early time dynamics admits a WKB description and the late\ntime dynamics can be described in terms of a non-Bunch Davies vacuum state\nwhich encodes the information of initial anisotropy in the background\nspacetime. We compute the bi-spectrum for curvature perturbation in a canonical\nsingle-field action with and without higher derivative operators. We show that\nthe bi-spectrum at late times, in either case, is enhanced for a flattened\ntriangle configuration as well as a squeezed triangle configuration and compute\nthe corresponding $f_{NL}$ parameters. The angular dependence and the\nparticular momentum dependence of the $f_{NL}$ parameter appear as distinctive\nfeatures of background anisotropy at early times."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Distribution-theoretic methods in quantum field theory: The evolution of the distribution-theoretic methods in perturbative quantum\nfield theory is reviewed starting from Bogolyubov's pioneering 1952 work with\nemphasis on the theory and calculations of perturbation theory integrals.",
        "positive": "An exact solution of the Dirac equation with CP violation: We consider Yukawa theory in which the fermion mass is induced by a Higgs\nlike scalar. In our model the fermion mass exhibits a temporal dependence,\nwhich naturally occurs in the early Universe setting. Assuming that the complex\nfermion mass changes as a tanh-kink, we construct an exact, helicity\nconserving, CP-violating solution for the positive and negative frequency\nfermionic mode functions, which is valid both in the case of weak and strong CP\nviolation. Using this solution we then study the fermionic currents both in the\ninitial vacuum and finite density/temperature setting. Our result shows that,\ndue to a potentially large state squeezing, fermionic currents can exhibit a\nlarge oscillatory magnification. Having in mind applications to electroweak\nbaryogenesis, we then compare our exact results with those obtained in a\ngradient approximation. Even though the gradient approximation does not capture\nthe oscillatory effects of squeezing, it describes quite well the averaged\ncurrent, obtained by performing a mode sum. Our main conclusion is: while the\nagreement with the semiclassical force is quite good in the thick wall regime,\nthe difference is sufficiently significant to motivate a more detailed\nquantitative study of baryogenesis sources in the thin wall regime in more\nrealistic settings."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "BTZ Black Hole with Gravitational Chern-Simons: Thermodynamics and\n  Statistical Entropy: Recently, the BTZ black hole in the presence of the gravitational\nChern-Simons (GCS) term has been studied and it has been found that the usual\nthermodynamical quantities, like as the black hole mass, angular momentum, and\nblack hole entropy, are modified. But, for large values of the GCS coupling,\nwhere the modification terms dominate the original terms, some exotic behaviors\noccur, like as the roles of the mass and angular momentum are interchanged and\nthe black hole entropy depends more on the $inner$-horizon area than the outer\none. A basic physical problem of this system is that the form of entropy does\nnot guarantee the second law of thermodynamics, in contrast to the\nBekenstein-Hawking (BH) entropy. Moreover, this entropy does $not$ agree with\nthe statistical entropy, in contrast to a good agreement for small values of\nthe GCS coupling. Here I find that there is another entropy formula where the\nusual BH form dominates the inner-horizon term again, as in the small GCS\ncoupling, such as the second law of thermodynamics can be guaranteed. I compare\nthe result of the holographic approach with the classical-\nsymmetry-algebra-based approach and I find exact agreements even with the\nhigher-derivative term of GCS. This provides a non-trivial check of the\nAdS/CFT-correspondence in the presence of higher-derivative terms in the\ngravity action.",
        "positive": "B-type anomaly coefficients for the D3-D5 domain wall: We compute type-B Weyl anomaly coefficients for the domain wall version of N\n= 4 SYM that is holographically dual to the D3-D5 probe-brane system with flux.\nOur starting point is the explicit expression for the improved energy momentum\ntensor of N = 4 SYM. We determine the two-point function of this operator in\nthe presence of the domain wall and extract the anomaly coefficients from the\nresult. In the same process we determine the two-point function of the\ndisplacement operator."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Twisted local systems solve the (holographic) loop equation of large-N\n  QCD_4: We construct a holographic map from the loop equation of large-N QCD in d=2\nand d=4, for planar self-avoiding loops, to the critical equation of an\nequivalent effective action. The holographic map is based on two ingredients:\nan already proposed holographic form of the loop equation, such that the\nquantum contribution is reduced to a regularized residue; a new conformal map\nfrom the region encircled by the based loop to a cuspidal fundamental domain in\nthe upper half-plane, such that the regularized residue vanishes at the cusp.\nAs a check, we study the first coefficient of the beta function and that part\nof the second coefficient which arises from the rescaling anomaly, in passing\nfrom the Wilsonian to the canonically normalised (holographic) effective\naction.",
        "positive": "Weak Scale Supersymmetry Without Weak Scale Supergravity: It is generally believed that weak scale supersymmetry implies weak scale\nsupergravity, in the sense that the masses of the gravitino and gravitationally\ncoupled moduli have masses below 100 TeV. This paper presents a realistic\nframework for supersymmetry breaking in the hidden sector in which the masses\nof the gravitino and gravitational moduli can be much larger. This cleanly\neliminates the cosmological problems of hidden sector models. Supersymmetry\nbreaking is communicated to the visible sector by anomaly-mediated\nsupersymmetry breaking. The framework is compatible with perturbative gauge\ncoupling unification, and can be realized either in models of \"warped\" extra\ndimensions, or in strongly-coupled four-dimensional conformal field theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-relativistic D3-brane in the presence of higher derivative\n  corrections: Using alpha'^3 terms of type IIB supergravity action we study higher order\ncorrections to the non-relativistic non-extremal D3-brane. Utilizing the\ncorrected solution we evaluate corrections to temperature, entropy and shear\nviscosity. We also compute the eta/s ratio which although within the range of\nvalidity of the supergravity approximation and in the lowest order of the\ncorrection the universal bound is respected, there is a possibility for a\nviolation of the bound when higher terms in the expansion are taken into\naccount.",
        "positive": "Towards Field Theory of Turbulence: We revisit the problem of stationary distribution of vorticity in\nthree-dimensional turbulence. Using Clebsch variables we construct an explicit\ninvariant measure on stationary solutions of Euler equations with the extra\ncondition of fixed energy flow/dissipation. The asymptotic solution for large\ncirculation around large loops is studied as a WKB limit (instanton). The\nClebsch fields are discontinuous across minimal surface bounded by the loop,\nwith normal vorticity staying continuous. There is also a singular tangential\nvorticity component proportional to $\\delta(z)$ where $z$ is the normal\ndirection. Resulting flow has nontrivial topology. This singular tangent\nvorticity component drops from the flux but dominates the energy dissipation as\nwell as the Biot-Savart integral for velocity field. This leads us to a\nmodified equation for vorticity distribution along the minimal surface compared\nto that assumed in a loop equations, where the singular terms were not noticed.\nIn addition to describing vorticity distribution over the minimal surface, this\napproach provides formula for the circulation PDF, which was elusive in the\nLoop Equations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the geometry of C^3/D_27 and del Pezzo surfaces: We clarify some aspects of the geometry of a resolution of the orbifold X =\nC3/D_27, the noncompact complex manifold underlying the brane quiver standard\nmodel recently proposed by Verlinde and Wijnholt. We explicitly realize a map\nbetween X and the total space of the canonical bundle over a degree 1 quasi del\nPezzo surface, thus defining a desingularization of X. Our analysis relys\nessentially on the relationship existing between the normalizer group of D_27\nand the Hessian group and on the study of the behaviour of the Hesse pencil of\nplane cubic curves under the quotient.",
        "positive": "Ward Identities for Hall Transport: We derive quantum field theory Ward identities based on linear area\npreserving and conformal transformations in 2+1 dimensions. The identities\nrelate Hall viscosities, Hall conductivities and the angular momentum. They\napply both for relativistic and non relativistic systems, at zero and at finite\ntemperature. We consider systems with or without translation invariance, and\nintroduce an external magnetic field and viscous drag terms. A special case of\nthe identities yields the well known relation between the Hall conductivity and\nhalf the angular momentum density."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Absorption of scalars by nonextremal charged black holes in string\n  theory: We analyze the low frequency absorption cross section of minimally coupled\nmassless scalar fields by different kinds of charged static black holes in\nstring theory, namely the D1-D5 system in d=5 and a four dimensional dyonic\nfour-charged black hole. In each case we show that this cross section always\nhas the form of some parameter of the solution divided by the black hole\nHawking temperature. We also verify in each case that, despite its explicit\ntemperature dependence, such quotient is finite in the extremal limit, giving a\nwell defined cross section. We show that this precise explicit temperature\ndependence also arises in the same cross section for black holes with string\nalpha' corrections: it is actually induced by them.",
        "positive": "More on renormalizable exceptions to Nelson-Seiberg theorem: The Nelson-Seiberg theorem dictates conditions for the spontaneous breaking\nof the supersymmetry in Wess-Zumino models with generic, possibly\nnon-renormalizable, superpotential; the existence of the R-symmetry is\nnecessary while the spontaneous breaking of the R-symmetry is sufficient. If we\nrestrict ourselves to generic but renormalizable theories, however, there exist\nWess-Zumino models whose vacua break the R-symmetry spontaneously while\npreserving the supersymmetry. The classification and conditions of such\nrenormalizable exceptions are under active study. We give some new examples of\nspontaneous breaking of the R-symmetry with preserved supersymmetry that are\nnot covered in the literature."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hydrodynamic Long-Time tails From Anti de Sitter Space: For generic field theories at finite temperature, a power-law falloff of\ncorrelation functions of conserved currents at long times is a prediction of\nnon-linear hydrodynamics. We demonstrate, through a one-loop computation in\nEinstein gravity in Anti de Sitter space, that this effect is reproduced by the\ndynamics of black hole horizons. The result is in agreement with the\ngauge-gravity correspondence.",
        "positive": "Dimensional regularization of nonlinear sigma models on a finite time\n  interval: We extend dimensional regularization to the case of compact spaces. Contrary\nto previous regularization schemes employed for nonlinear sigma models on a\nfinite time interval (``quantum mechanical path integrals in curved space'')\ndimensional regularization requires only a covariant finite two-loop\ncounterterm. This counterterm is nonvanishing and given by R/8."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Strongly Coupled Gauge Theories: High and Low Temperature Behavior of\n  Non-local Observables: We explore the high and low temperature behavior of non-local observables in\nstrongly coupled gauge theories that are dual to AdS. We develop a systematic\nexpansion for equal time two-point correlation, spatial Wilson loops and\nentanglement entropy at finite temperature using the AdS/CFT correspondence,\nleading to analytic expressions for these observables at high and low\ntemperature limits. This approach enables the identification of the\ncontributions of different regions of the bulk geometry to these gauge theory\nobservables.",
        "positive": "Topology Change and the Emergence of Geometry in Two Dimensional Causal\n  Quantum Gravity: In this thesis we analyze a very simple model of two dimensional quantum\ngravity based on causal dynamical triangulations (CDT). We present an exactly\nsolvable model which indicates that it is possible to incorporate spatial\ntopology changes in the nonperturbative path integral. It is shown that if the\nchange in spatial topology is accompanied by a coupling constant it is possible\nto evaluate the path integral to all orders in the coupling and that the result\ncan be viewed as a hybrid between causal and Euclidian dynamical triangulation.\nThe second model we describe shows how a classical geometry with constant\nnegative curvature emerges naturally from a path integral over noncompact\nmanifolds. No initial singularity is present, hence the quantum geometry is\nnaturally compatible with the Hartle Hawking boundary condition. Furthermore,\nwe demonstrate that under certain conditions the quantum fluctuations are\nsmall! To conclude, we treat the problem of spacetime topology change. Although\nwe are not able to completely solve the path integral over all manifolds with\narbitrary topology, we do obtain results that indicate that such a path\nintegral might be consistent, provided suitable causality restrictions are\nimposed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "New N=1 Dualities: We show that the N=1 supersymmetric SU(N) gauge theory with 2N flavors\nwithout superpotential has not only the standard Seiberg dual description but\nalso another dual description involving two copies of the so-called T_N theory.\nThis is a natural generalization to N>2 of a dual description of SU(2) gauge\ntheory with 4 flavors found by Csaki, Schmaltz, Skiba and Terning. We also\nstudy dualities of other N=1 SCFTs involving copies of T_N theories. Our\nduality is the basic operation from which a recently-found web of N=1 dualities\nobtained by compactifying M5-branes on Riemann surfaces can be derived\nfield-theoretically.",
        "positive": "Exact quantization conditions for cluster integrable systems: We propose exact quantization conditions for the quantum integrable systems\nof Goncharov and Kenyon, based on the enumerative geometry of the corresponding\ntoric Calabi-Yau manifolds. Our conjecture builds upon recent results on the\nquantization of mirror curves, and generalizes a previous proposal for the\nquantization of the relativistic Toda lattice. We present explicit tests of our\nconjecture for the integrable systems associated to the resolved C^3/Z_5 and\nC^3/Z_6 orbifolds."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Velocity-Field Theory, Boltzmann's Transport Equation, Geometry and\n  Emergent Time: Boltzmann equation describes the time development of the velocity\ndistribution in the continuum fluid matter. We formulate the equation using the\nfield theory where the {\\it velocity-field} plays the central role. The\nproperties of the fluid matter (fluid particles) appear as the density and the\nviscosity. {\\it Statistical fluctuation} is examined, and is clearly\ndiscriminated from the quantum effect. The time variable is {\\it emergently}\nintroduced through the computational process step. Besides the ordinary\npotential, the general velocity potential is introduced. The collision term,\nfor the Higgs-type velocity potential, is explicitly obtained and the\n(statistical) fluctuation is closely explained. The system is generally {\\it\nnon-equilibrium}. The present field theory model does {\\it not} conserve energy\nand is an open-system model. One dimensional Navier-Stokes equation, i.e.,\nBurgers equation, appears. In the latter part of the text, we present a way to\ndirectly define the distribution function by use of the geometry, appearing in\nthe energy expression, and Feynman's path-integral.",
        "positive": "A new look at the modified Coulomb potential in a strong magnetic field: The static Coulomb potential of Quantum Electrodynamics (QED) is calculated\nin the presence of a strong magnetic field in the lowest Landau level (LLL)\napproximation using two different methods. First, the vacuum expectation value\nof the corresponding Wilson loop is calculated perturbatively in two different\nregimes of dynamical mass $m_{dyn.}$, {\\it i.e.}, $|{\\mathbf{q}}_{\\|}^{2}|\\ll\nm_{dyn.}^{2}\\ll |eB|$ and $m_{dyn.}^{2}\\ll |\\mathbf{q}_{\\|}^{2}|\\ll|eB|$, where\n$\\mathbf{q}_{\\|}$ is the longitudinal components of the momentum relative to\nthe external magnetic field $B$. The result is then compared with the static\npotential arising from Born approximation. Both results coincide. Although the\narising potentials show different behavior in the aforementioned regimes, a\nnovel dependence on the angle $\\theta$ between the particle-antiparticle's axis\nand the direction of the magnetic field is observed. In the regime\n$|{\\mathbf{q}}_{\\|}^{2}|\\ll m_{dyn.}^{2}\\ll |eB|$, for strong enough magnetic\nfield and depending on the angle $\\theta$, a qualitative change occurs in the\nCoulomb-like potential; Whereas for $\\theta=0,\\pi$ the potential is repulsive,\nit exhibits a minimum for angles $\\theta\\in]0,\\pi[$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Krylov complexity and orthogonal polynomials: Krylov complexity measures operator growth with respect to a basis, which is\nadapted to the Heisenberg time evolution. The construction of that basis relies\non the Lanczos algorithm, also known as the recursion method. The mathematics\nof Krylov complexity can be described in terms of orthogonal polynomials. We\nprovide a pedagogical introduction to the subject and work out analytically a\nnumber of examples involving the classical orthogonal polynomials, polynomials\nof the Hahn class, and the Tricomi-Carlitz polynomials.",
        "positive": "Lectures on Scattering Amplitudes in String Theory: In these lecture notes, we take a closer look at the calculation of\nscattering amplitudes for the bosonic string. It is believed that string\ntheories form the UV completions of (super)gravity theories. Support for this\nclaim can be found in the (on-shell) scattering amplitudes of strings. On the\nother hand, studying these string scattering amplitudes opens a window on the\nUV behavior of the string theories themselves. In these short set of lectures,\nwe discuss the two-dimensional Polyakov path integral for the string, and its\ngauge symmetries, the connection to Riemann surfaces and how to obtain some of\nthe simplest string scattering amplitudes. We end with some comments on more\nadvanced topics. For simplicity we limit ourselves to bosonic open string\ntheory in 26 dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "S-Duality of Boundary Conditions In N=4 Super Yang-Mills Theory: By analyzing brane configurations in detail, and extracting general lessons,\nwe develop methods for analyzing S-duality of supersymmetric boundary\nconditions in N=4 super Yang-Mills theory. In the process, we find that\nS-duality of boundary conditions is closely related to mirror symmetry of\nthree-dimensional gauge theories, and we analyze the IR behavior of large\nclasses of quiver gauge theories.",
        "positive": "A Parity Invariant Regularization in 3-D Quantum Electrodynamics: We regularize the 3-D quantum electrodynamics by a parity invariant\nPauli-Villars regularization method. We find that in the perturbation theory\nthe Chern-Simons term is not induced in the massless fermion case and induced\nin the massive fermion case."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dynamics of N=2 Supersymmetric Chern-Simons Theories: We discuss several aspects of three dimensional N=2 supersymmetric gauge\ntheories coupled to chiral multiplets. The generation of Chern-Simons couplings\nat low-energies results in novel behaviour including compact Coulomb branches,\nnon-abelian gauge symmetry enhancement and interesting patterns of dynamically\ngenerated potentials. We further show how, given any pair of mirror theories\nwith N=4 supersymmetry, one may flow to a pair of mirror theories with N=2\nsupersymmetry by gauging a suitable combination of the R-symmetries. The\nresulting theories again have interesting properties due to Chern-Simons\ncouplings.",
        "positive": "(F, D5) Bound State, SL(2, Z) Invariance and The Descendant States in\n  Type IIB/A String Theory: Recently the space-time configurations of a set of non-threshold bound\nstates, called the (F, Dp) bound states, have been constructed explicitly for\nevery $p$ with $2 \\le p \\le 7$ in both type IIA (for $p$ even) and type IIB\n(for $p$ odd) string theories by the present authors. By making use of the\nSL(2, Z) symmetry of type IIB theory we construct a more general SL(2, Z)\ninvariant bound state of the type ((F, D1), (NS5, D5)) in this theory from the\n(F, D5) bound state. There are actually an infinite number of $(m,n)$ strings\nforming bound states with $(m',n')$ 5-branes, where strings lie along one of\nthe spatial directions of the 5-branes. By applying T-duality along one of the\ntransverse directions we also construct the bound state ((F, D2), (KK, D6)) in\ntype IIA string theory. Then we give a list of possible bound states which can\nbe obtained from these newly constructed bound states by applying T-dualities\nalong the longitudinal directions as well as S-dualities to those in type IIB\ntheory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Electromagnetic Interactions of Anyons: Using the appropriate representation of the Poincare group and a definition\nof minimal coupling, we discuss some aspects of the electromagnetic\ninteractions of charged anyons. In a nonrelativistic expansion, we derive a\nSchrodinger-type equation for the anyon wave function which includes\nspin-magnetic field and spin-orbit couplings. In particular, the gyromagnetic\nratio for charged anyons is shown to be 2; this last result is essentially a\nreflection of the fact that the spin is parallel to the momentum in (2+1)\ndimensions.",
        "positive": "Local Fields on the Brane Induced by Nonlocal Fields in the Bulk: We investigate quantum field theory in a bulk space with boundary, which\nrepresents a 3-brane. Both flat and anti-de Sitter backgrounds are considered.\nThe basic idea is to keep local commutativity only on the brane, giving up this\nrequirement in the bulk. We explore the consequences of this proposal,\nconstructing a large family of nonlocal bulk fields, whose brane relatives are\nlocal. We estimate the ultraviolet behavior of these local brane fields,\ncharacterizing a subfamily which generates renormalizable theories on the\nbrane. The issue of brane conformal invariance and the relation between bulk\nand brane conserved currents are also examined in this framework."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Large N Field Theory of N=2 Strings and Self-Dual Gravity: We review some aspects of the construction of self-dual gravity and the\nassociated field theory of ${\\cal N}=2$ strings in terms of two-dimensional\nsigma models at large $N$. The theory is defined through a large $N$\nWess-Zumino-Witten model in a nontrivial background and in a particular double\nscaling limit. We examine the canonical structure of the theory and describe an\ninfinite-dimensional Poisson algebra of currents.",
        "positive": "Triples, Fluxes, and Strings: We study string compactifications with sixteen supersymmetries. The moduli\nspace for these compactifications becomes quite intricate in lower dimensions,\npartly because there are many different irreducible components. We focus\nprimarily, but not exclusively, on compactifications to seven or more\ndimensions. These vacua can be realized in a number ways: the perturbative\nconstructions we study include toroidal compactifications of the heterotic/type\nI strings, asymmetric orbifolds, and orientifolds. In addition, we describe\nless conventional M and F theory compactifications on smooth spaces. The last\nclass of vacua considered are compactifications on singular spaces with\nnon-trivial discrete fluxes.\n  We find a number of new components in the string moduli space. Contained in\nsome of these components are M theory compactifications with novel kinds of\n``frozen'' singularities. We are naturally led to conjecture the existence of\nnew dualities relating spaces with different singular geometries and fluxes. As\nour study of these vacua unfolds, we also learn about additional topics\nincluding: F theory on spaces without section, automorphisms of del Pezzo\nsurfaces, and novel physics (and puzzles) from equivariant K-theory. Lastly, we\ncomment on how the data we gain about the M theory three-form might be\ninterpreted."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Group Gauge Theories and Covariant Quantum Algebras: The algebraic formulation of the quantum group gauge models in the framework\nof the $R$-matrix approach to the theory of quantum groups is given. We\nconsider gauge groups taking values in the quantum groups and noncommutative\ngauge fields transformed as comodules under the coaction of the gauge quantum\ngroup $ G_{q}$. Using this approach we construct the quantum deformations of\nthe topological Chern-Simons models, non-abelian gauge theories and the\nEinstein gravity. The noncommutative fields in these models generate $\nG_{q}$-covariant quantum algebras.",
        "positive": "Correlators of double scaled SYK at one-loop: In this paper, we study one-loop contributions in the double-scaling limit of\nthe SYK model from the chord diagrams and Liouville type effective action. We\ncompute and clarify the meaning of each component consisting of the one-loop\ncorrections for the two- and time-ordered four-point functions of light\noperators. We also reproduce the exact expression of the out-of-time-ordered\nfour-point function at arbitrary temperatures within the one-loop level, which\nwere previously computed from different methods."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Topics in Black Hole Production: We revisit Voloshin's model of multiple black hole production in\ntrans-Planckian elementary particle collisions in D=4. Our revised computation\nshows that the cross section to produce N additional black holes is suppressed\nby 1/s, rather than being enhanced as was originally found. We also review the\nsemiclassical gravity picture of black hole production from hep-th/0409131,\nmaking additional comments about the meaning of wavepacket subdivision.",
        "positive": "Nonlinear perturbations of cosmological scalar fields with non-standard\n  kinetic terms: We adopt a covariant formalism to derive exact evolution equations for\nnonlinear perturbations, in a universe dominated by two scalar fields. These\nscalar fields are characterized by non-canonical kinetic terms and an arbitrary\nfield space metric, a situation typically encountered in inflationary models\ninspired by string theory. We decompose the nonlinear scalar perturbations into\nadiabatic and entropy modes, generalizing the definition adopted in the linear\ntheory, and we derive the corresponding exact evolution equations. We also\nobtain a nonlinear generalization of the curvature perturbation on uniform\ndensity hypersurfaces, showing that on large scales it is sourced only by the\nnonlinear version of the entropy perturbation. We then expand these equations\nto second order in the perturbations, using a coordinate based formalism. Our\nresults are relatively compact and elegant and enable one to identify the new\neffects coming from the non-canonical structure of the scalar fields\nLagrangian. We also explain how to analyze, in our formalism, the interesting\nscenario of multifield Dirac-Born-Infeld inflation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Attractor Flow for AdS$_5$ Black Holes in $\\mathcal{N} = 2$ Gauged\n  Supergravity: We study the flow equations for BPS black holes in $\\mathcal{N} = 2$\nfive-dimensional gauged supergravity coupled to any number of vector multiplets\nvia FI couplings. We develop the Noether-Wald procedure in this context and\nexhibit the conserved charges as explicit integrals of motion, in the sense\nthat they can be computed at any radius on the rotating spacetime. The boundary\nconditions needed to solve the first order differential equations are discussed\nin great detail. We extremize the entropy function that controls the near\nhorizon geometry and give explicit formulae for all geometric variables at\ntheir supersymmetric extrema. We have also considered a complexification of the\nnear-horizon variables that elucidates some features of the theory from the\nnear-horizon perspective.",
        "positive": "Black Hole Monodromy and Conformal Field Theory: The analytic structure of solutions to the Klein-Gordon equation in a black\nhole background, as represented by monodromy data, is intimately related to\nblack hole thermodynamics. It encodes the \"hidden conformal symmetry\" of a\nnon-extremal black hole, and it explains why features of the inner event\nhorizon appear in scattering data such as greybody factors. This indicates that\nhidden conformal symmetry is generic within a universality class of black\nholes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Ostrogradsky in Theories with Multiple Fields: We review how the (absence of) Ostrogradsky instability manifests itself in\ntheories with multiple fields. It has recently been appreciated that when\nmultiple fields are present, the existence of higher derivatives may not\nautomatically imply the existence of ghosts. We discuss the connection with\ngravitational theories like massive gravity and beyond Horndeski which manifest\nhigher derivatives in some formulations and yet are free of Ostrogradsky ghost.\nWe also examine an interesting new class of Extended Scalar-Tensor Theories of\ngravity which has been recently proposed. We show that for a subclass of these\ntheories, the tensor modes are either not dynamical or are infinitely strongly\ncoupled. Among the remaining theories for which the tensor modes are\nwell-defined one counts one new model that is not field-redefinable to\nHorndeski via a conformal and disformal transformation but that does require\nthe vacuum to break Lorentz invariance. We discuss the implications for the\neffective field theory of dark energy and the stability of the theory.",
        "positive": "Palatini Higgs inflation and the refined dS conjecture: The refined de Sitter derivative conjecture provides constraints to\npotentials that are low energy effective theories of quantum gravity. It can\ngive direct bounds on inflationary scenarios and determine whether the theory\nis in the Landscape or the Swampland. Any infationary model can be checked by\nthese conditions and non-minimally coupled scalar field theory is not an\nexception. We consider the Palatini Higgs inflation scenario taking the refined\nde Sitter derivative conjecture into account. According to the latest\ncosmological observations from Planck 2018, BICEP2+Keck and the bound of\nnon-minimal coupling parameter {\\xi}, we suggest that if the refined dS\nconjecture does indeed hold, then the Palatini Higgs inflation model cannot be\nthe low energy effective theory of a consistent quantum gravity theory since\nthe two parameters c1 and c2 are much smaller than order 1, which is\ninconsistent with the refined dS conjecture. Therefore we suggest that it is in\nthe Swampland."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "An exact nilpotent non-perturbative BRST symmetry for the\n  Gribov-Zwanziger action in the linear covariant gauge: We point out the existence of a non-perturbative exact nilpotent BRST\nsymmetry for the Gribov-Zwanziger action in the Landau gauge. We then put\nforward a manifestly BRST invariant resolution of the Gribov gauge fixing\nambiguity in the linear covariant gauge.",
        "positive": "Post-Minkowskian Scattering Angle in Einstein Gravity: Using the implicit function theorem we demonstrate that solutions to the\nclassical part of the relativistic Lippmann-Schwinger equation are in\none-to-one correspondence with those of the energy equation of a relativistic\ntwo-body system. A corollary is that the scattering angle can be computed from\nthe amplitude itself, without having to introduce a potential. All results are\nuniversal and provide for the case of general relativity a very simple formula\nfor the scattering angle in terms of the classical part of the amplitude, to\nany order in the post-Minkowskian expansion."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hidden nonlinear su(2|2) superunitary symmetry of N=2 superextended 1D\n  Dirac delta potential problem: We show that the N=2 superextended 1D quantum Dirac delta potential problem\nis characterized by the hidden nonlinear $su(2|2)$ superunitary symmetry. The\nunexpected feature of this simple supersymmetric system is that it admits three\ndifferent $\\mathbb Z_2$-gradings, which produce a separation of 16 integrals of\nmotion into three different sets of 8 bosonic and 8 fermionic operators. These\nthree different graded sets of integrals generate two different nonlinear,\ndeformed forms of $su(2|2)$, in which the Hamiltonian plays a role of a\nmultiplicative central charge. On the ground state, the nonlinear superalgebra\nis reduced to the two distinct 2D Euclidean analogs of a superextended\nPoincar\\'e algebra used earlier in the literature for investigation of\nspontaneous supersymmetry breaking. We indicate that the observed exotic\nsupersymmetric structure with three different $\\mathbb Z_2$-gradings can be\nuseful for the search of hidden symmetries in some other quantum systems, in\nparticular, related to the Lam\\'e equation.",
        "positive": "Investigations on Effective Electromagnetic and Gravitational Scenarios: The work aims effective and low-dimensional systems. Some different contexts\ninvolving gravitational and electromagnetic interactions are investigated. The\nelectromagnetic one approaches bosonic and fermionic Effective Quantum Field\nTheories non-minimally coupled in three spacetime dimensions submitted to the\nexpansion of Foldy-Wouthuysen Transformation, what generates (non-)relativistic\ncorrections. A study of the effects of an external electromagnetic field\nderived from the Maxwell-Chern-Simons Electrodynamics on the obtained\ninteractions are executed, as well as the impact produced by the dimensional\nreduction on expanded higher dimensional fermionic system in comparison to the\nlow-dimensional one. In the scenario of gravitational effective model, scalar\nand fermionic particle scatterings reveal inter-particles interactions beyond\nmonopole-monopole, leading to velocity and spin contributions, and the results\nare compared to a modified Electrodynamics effective model. A non-perturbative\nmodel resourcing to Casual Dynamics Triangulation data is adopted to serve as\nconsistency check of the potentials resultants. Low-dimensional Maxwell-Higgs\neffective models with modified kinetic terms are studied, submitting them to a\nBogomol'nyi prescription-type for calculation of inferior (non-trivial) bound\nenergy and the self-dual equations. Vortex solutions for gauge field\nnon-specified by an ansatz are achieved and their topological feature detailed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Noncommutative line bundle and Morita equivalence: Global properties of abelian noncommutative gauge theories based on\n$\\star$-products which are deformation quantizations of arbitrary Poisson\nstructures are studied. The consistency condition for finite noncommutative\ngauge transformations and its explicit solution in the abelian case are given.\nIt is shown that the local existence of invertible covariantizing maps (which\nare closely related to the Seiberg-Witten map) leads naturally to the notion of\na noncommutative line bundle with noncommutative transition functions. We\nintroduce the space of sections of such a line bundle and explicitly show that\nit is a projective module. The local covariantizing maps define a new star\nproduct $\\star'$ which is shown to be Morita equivalent to $\\star$.",
        "positive": "On-Shell Diagrams for N = 8 Supergravity Amplitudes: We define recursion relations for N = 8 supergravity amplitudes using a\ngeneralization of the on-shell diagrams developed for planar N = 4\nsuper-Yang-Mills. Although the recursion relations generically give rise to\nnon-planar on-shell diagrams, we show that at tree-level the recursion can be\nchosen to yield only planar diagrams, the same diagrams occurring in the planar\nN = 4 theory. This implies non-trivial identities for non-planar diagrams as\nwell as interesting relations between the N = 4 and N = 8 theories. We show\nthat the on-shell diagrams of N = 8 supergravity obey equivalence relations\nanalogous to those of N = 4 super-Yang-Mills, and we develop a systematic\nalgorithm for reading off Grassmannian integral formulae directly from the\non-shell diagrams. We also show that the 1-loop 4-point amplitude of N = 8\nsupergravity can be obtained from on-shell diagrams."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Effective Field Theories from Soft Limits: We derive scalar effective field theories - Lagrangians, symmetries, and all\n- from on-shell scattering amplitudes constructed purely from Lorentz\ninvariance, factorization, a fixed power counting order in derivatives, and a\nfixed order at which amplitudes vanish in the soft limit. These constraints\nleave free parameters in the amplitude which are the coupling constants of\nwell-known theories: Nambu-Goldstone bosons, Dirac-Born-Infeld scalars, and\nGalileons. Moreover, soft limits imply conditions on the Noether current which\ncan then be inverted to derive Lagrangians for each theory. We propose a\nnatural classification of all scalar effective field theories according to two\nnumbers which encode the derivative power counting and soft behavior of the\ncorresponding amplitudes. In those cases where there is no consistent\namplitude, the corresponding theory does not exist.",
        "positive": "The Second Sound of SU(2): Using the AdS/CFT correspondence, we calculate the transport coefficients of\na strongly interacting system with a non-abelian SU(2) global symmetry near a\nsecond order phase transition. From the behavior of the poles in the Green's\nfunctions near the phase transition, we determine analytically the speed of\nsecond sound, the conductivity, and diffusion constants. We discuss\nsimilarities and differences between this and other systems with vector order\nparameters such as p-wave superconductors and liquid helium-3."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "What is the $i\\varepsilon$ for the S-matrix?: Can the S-matrix be complexified in a way consistent with causality? Since\nthe 1960's, the affirmative answer to this question has been well-understood\nfor $2 \\to 2$ scattering of the lightest particle in theories with a mass gap\nat low momentum transfer, where the S-matrix is analytic everywhere except at\nnormal-threshold branch cuts. We ask whether an analogous picture extends to\nrealistic theories, such as the Standard Model, that include massless fields,\nUV/IR divergences, and unstable particles. Especially in the presence of light\nstates running in the loops, the traditional $i\\varepsilon$ prescription for\napproaching physical regions might break down, because causality requirements\nfor the individual Feynman diagrams can be mutually incompatible. We\ndemonstrate that such analyticity problems are not in contradiction with\nunitarity. Instead, they should be thought of as finite-width effects that\ndisappear in the idealized $2\\to 2$ scattering amplitudes with no unstable\nparticles, but might persist at higher multiplicity. To fix these issues, we\npropose an $i\\varepsilon$-like prescription for deforming branch cuts in the\nspace of Mandelstam invariants without modifying the analytic properties. This\nprocedure results in a complex strip around the real part of the kinematic\nspace, where the S-matrix remains causal. In addition to giving a pedagogical\nintroduction to the analytic properties of the perturbative S-matrix from a\nmodern point of view, we illustrate all the points on explicit examples, both\nsymbolically and numerically. To help with the investigation of related\nquestions, we introduce a number of tools, including holomorphic cutting rules,\nnew approaches to dispersion relations, as well as formulae for local behavior\nof Feynman integrals near branch points.",
        "positive": "Level-rank duality of SU(2)k Chern-Simons theory, and of hypergraph and\n  magic states: The level-rank duality of SU(2)k Chern-Simons theory is discussed, and\napplied to graph, hypergraph, and magic states."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Algebro-geometric Feynman rules: We give a general procedure to construct algebro-geometric Feynman rules,\nthat is, characters of the Connes-Kreimer Hopf algebra of Feynman graphs that\nfactor through a Grothendieck ring of immersed conical varieties, via the class\nof the complement of the affine graph hypersurface. In particular, this maps to\nthe usual Grothendieck ring of varieties, defining motivic Feynman rules. We\nalso construct an algebro-geometric Feynman rule with values in a polynomial\nring, which does not factor through the usual Grothendieck ring, and which is\ndefined in terms of characteristic classes of singular varieties. This\ninvariant recovers, as a special value, the Euler characteristic of the\nprojective graph hypersurface complement. The main result underlying the\nconstruction of this invariant is a formula for the characteristic classes of\nthe join of two projective varieties. We discuss the BPHZ renormalization\nprocedure in this algebro-geometric context and some motivic zeta functions\narising from the partition functions associated to motivic Feynman rules.",
        "positive": "Holomorphic potentials for graded D-branes: We discuss gauge-fixing, propagators and effective potentials for topological\nA-brane composites in Calabi-Yau compactifications. This allows for the\nconstruction of a holomorphic potential describing the low-energy dynamics of\nsuch systems, which generalizes the superpotentials known from the ungraded\ncase. Upon using results of homotopy algebra, we show that the string field and\nlow energy descriptions of the moduli space agree, and that the deformations of\nsuch backgrounds are described by a certain extended version of `off-shell\nMassey products' associated with flat graded superbundles. As examples, we\nconsider a class of graded D-brane pairs of unit relative grade. Upon computing\nthe holomorphic potential, we study their moduli space of composites. In\nparticular, we give a general proof that such pairs can form acyclic\ncondensates, and, for a particular case, show that another branch of their\nmoduli space describes condensation of a two-form."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Backreaction in Closed String Tachyon Condensation: We consider backreaction due to production of massless strings in the\nbackground of a condensing closed string tachyon. Working in the region of weak\ntachyon, we find the modified equations of motion for massless strings with\nconformal perturbation theory. We solve for the positive and negative frequency\nmodes and estimate the backreaction on the background dilaton. In large\n(supercritical) dimensions, we find that the backreaction can be significant in\na large region of spacetime. We work with the bosonic string, but we expect\nthese results to carry over into the heterotic case.",
        "positive": "A trial to find an elliptic quantum algebra for $sl_2$ using the\n  Heisenberg and Clifford algebra: A Heisenberg-Clifford realization of a deformed $U(sl_{2})$ by two parameters\n$p$ and $q$ is discussed. The commutation relations for this deformed algebra\nhave interesting connection with the theta functions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Segmented strings, brane tilings, and the Y-system: I show that the motion of a closed string consisting of $n$ segments in\nAdS$_3$ can be embedded into the mutation dynamics of the $Y^{n,0}$ brane\ntiling. The determinant of the Kasteleyn matrix computes the spectral curve.\nThe dynamics is governed by a Y-system with additional constraints ensuring\nthat the string closes in target space. The constraints can be deformed by\ncoupling the worldsheet to a background two-form whose field strength is\nproportional to the volume form.",
        "positive": "Tunneling between the giant gravitons in AdS5 x S5: I consider the giant gravitons in AdS5 x S5. By numerical simulation, I show\na strong indication that there is no instanton solution describing the direct\ntunneling between the giant graviton in the S5 and its dual counterpart in the\nAdS5. I argue that it supports the supersymmetry breaking scenario suggested in\nhep-th/0008015"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Varational Equations and Symmetries in the Lagrangian Formalism: Symmetries in the Lagrangian formalism of arbitrary order are analysed with\nthe help of the so-called Anderson-Duchamp-Krupka equations. For the case of\nsecond order equations and a scalar field we establish a polynomial structure\nin the second order derivatives. This structure can be used to make more\nprecise the form of a general symmetry. As an illustration we analyse the case\nof Lagrangian equations with Poincar\\'e invariance or with universal\ninvariance.",
        "positive": "Generalization of the Extended Lagrangian Formalism on a Field Theory\n  and Applications: Formalism of extended Lagrangian represent a systematic procedure to look for\nthe local symmetries of a given Lagrangian action. In this work, the formalism\nis discussed and applied to a field theory. We describe it in detail for a\nfield theory with first-class constraints present in the Hamiltonian\nformulation. The method is illustrated on examples of electrodynamics,\nYang-Mills field and non-linear sigma model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Note on Centrally Extended su(2/2) and Serre Relations: We point out that the nontrivial central extension of the superalgebra\n$su(2/2)$ is related to the some not so well-known Serre relations.",
        "positive": "The string tension from smeared Wilson loops at large N: We present the results of a high statistics analysis of smeared Wilson loops\nin 4 dimensional SU(N) Yang-Mills theory for various values of N. The data is\nused to analyze the behaviour of smeared Creutz ratios, extracting from them\nthe value of the string tension and other asymptotic parameters. A scaling\nanalysis allows us to extrapolate to the continuum limit for N=3,5,6 and 8. The\nresults are consistent with a $1/N^2$ approach towards the large N limit. The\nsame analysis is done for the TEK model (one-point lattice) for N=841 and a\nnon-minimal symmetric twist with flux of $k=9$. The results match perfectly\nwith the extrapolated large N values, confirming the validity of the reduction\nidea for this range of parameters."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Effective Gravitational Couplings of Higher-Rank Supersymmetric Gauge\n  Theories: When placed on four-manifolds, $ \\mathcal{N} = 2 $ gauge theories couple to\ntopological invariants of the background via two functions $ A $ and $ B $.\nGeneral considerations allow for these functions to be fixed in terms of the\nCoulomb moduli and other parameters in the theory, but only up to\nmultiplicative factors about which little is known. We extend earlier work on\nthe microscopic study of these functions in the $ \\Omega $-background to $\n\\mathcal{N} = 2 ^{\\star } $ gauge theories with higher-rank $ \\mathrm{U}(N) $\ngauge groups. We complement this analysis by carrying out a perturbative study\nof these functions. This allows us to determine the manner in which these\nmultiplicative factors scale with the rank of the gauge group and the mass of\nthe adjoint hypermultiplet.",
        "positive": "Exact Computations in the Burgers Problem: We complete the program outlined in the paper of the author with A. Migdal\nand sum up exactly all the fluctuations around the instanton solution of the\nrandomly large scale driven Burgers equation. We choose the force correlation\nfunction $\\kappa$ to be exactly quadratic function of the coordinate\ndifference. The resulting probability distribution satisfy the differential\nequation proposed by Polyakov without an anomaly term. The result shows that\nunless the anomaly term is indeed absent it must come from other possible\ninstanton solutions, and not from the fluctuations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Lorentz-Invariant Non-Commutative QED: Lorentz-invariant non-commutative QED (NCQED) is constructed such that it\nshould be a part of Lorentz-invariant non-commutative standard model (NCSM), a\nsubject to be treated in later publications. Our NCSM is based on Connes'\nobservation that the total fermion field in the standard model may be regarded\nas a bi-module over a flavor-color algebra. In this paper, it is shown that\nthere exist two massless gauge fields in NCQED which are interchanged by $C'$\ntransformation. Since $C'$ is reduced to the conventional charge conjugation\n$C$ in the commutative limit, the two gauge fields become identical to the\nphoton field in the same limit, which couples to only four spinors with charges\n$\\pm 2,\\pm 1.$ Following Carlson-Carone-Zobin, our NCQED respects Lorentz\ninvariance employing Doplicher-Fredenhagen-Roberts' algebra instead of the\nusual algebra with constant $\\theta^{\\mu\\nu}$. In the new version\n$\\theta^{\\mu\\nu}$ becomes an integration variable. We show using a simple NC\nscalar model that the $\\theta$ integration gives an {\\it invariant} damping\nfactor instead of the oscillating one to the nonplanar self-energy diagram in\nthe one-loop approximation. Seiberg-Witten map shows that the $\\theta$\nexpansion of NCQED generates exotic but well-motivated derivative interactions\nbeyond QED with allowed charges being only $0, \\pm 1, \\pm 2$.",
        "positive": "Remarks on the geometrical properties of semiclassically quantized\n  strings: We discuss some geometrical aspects of the semiclassical quantization of\nstring solutions in Type IIB Green-Schwarz action on $\\ads_5\\times \\sphere^5$.\nWe concentrate on quadratic fluctuations around classical configurations,\nexpressing the relevant differential operators in terms of (intrinsic and\nextrinsic) invariants of the background geometry. The aim of our exercises is\nto present some compact expressions encoding the spectral properties of bosonic\nand fermionic fluctuations. The appearing of non-trivial structures on the\nrelevant bundles and their role in concrete computations are also considered.\nWe corroborate the presentation of general formulas by working out explicitly a\ncouple of relevant examples, namely the spinning string and the latitude BPS\nWilson loop."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Closed Strings and Weak Gravity from Higher-Spin Causality: We combine old and new quantum field theoretic arguments to show that any\ntheory of stable or metastable higher spin particles can be coupled to gravity\nonly when the gravity sector has a stringy structure. Metastable higher spin\nparticles, free or interacting, cannot couple to gravity while preserving\ncausality unless there exist higher spin states in the gravitational sector\nmuch below the Planck scale $M_{\\rm pl}$. We obtain an upper bound on the mass\n$\\Lambda_{\\rm gr}$ of the lightest higher spin particle in the gravity sector\nin terms of quantities in the non-gravitational sector. We invoke the CKSZ\nuniqueness theorem to argue that any weakly coupled UV completion of such a\ntheory must have a gravity sector containing infinite towers of asymptotically\nparallel, equispaced, and linear Regge trajectories. Consequently,\ngravitational four-point scattering amplitudes must coincide with the closed\nstring four-point amplitude for $s,t\\gg1$, identifying $\\Lambda_{\\rm gr}$ as\nthe string scale. Our bound also implies that all metastable higher spin\nparticles in 4d with masses $m\\ll \\Lambda_{\\rm gr}$ must satisfy a weak gravity\ncondition.",
        "positive": "Supersymmetry and Positive Energy in Classical and Quantum\n  Two-Dimensional Dilaton Gravity: An $N = 1$ supersymmetric version of two dimensional dilaton gravity coupled\nto matter is considered. It is shown that the linear dilaton vacuum\nspontaneously breaks half the supersymmetries, leaving broken a linear\ncombination of left and right supersymmetries which squares to time\ntranslations. Supersymmetry suggests a spinorial expression for the ADM energy\n$M$, as found by Witten in four-dimensional general relativity. Using this\nexpression it is proven that ${M}$ is non-negative for smooth initial data\nasymptotic (in both directions) to the linear dilaton vacuum, provided that the\n(not necessarily supersymmetric) matter stress tensor obeys the dominant energy\ncondition. A {\\it quantum} positive energy theorem is also proven for the\nsemiclassical large-$N$ equations, despite the indefiniteness of the quantum\nstress tensor. For black hole spacetimes, it is shown that $M$ is bounded from\nbelow by $e^{- 2 \\phi_H}$, where $\\phi_H$ is the value of the dilaton at the\napparent horizon, provided only that the stress tensor is positive outside the\napparent horizon. This is the two-dimensional analogue of an unproven\nconjecture due to Penrose. Finally, supersymmetry is used to prove positive\nenergy theorems for a large class of generalizations of dilaton gravity which\narise in consideration of the quantum theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quark mass and condensate in HQCD: We extend the Sakai-Sugimoto holographic model of QCD (HQCD) by including the\nscalar bi-fundamental \"tachyon\" field in the 8-brane-anti-8-brane probe theory.\nWe show that this field is responsible both for the spontaneous breaking of the\nchiral symmetry, and for the generation of (current algebra) quark masses, from\nthe point of view of the bulk theory. As a by-product we show how this leads to\nthe Gell-Mann- Oakes-Renner relation for the pion mass.",
        "positive": "Hyperbolic Black Holes and Open String Production: In this paper we investigate open string pair production effects near\nhyperbolic black holes in AdS$_5$. We study the classical dynamics of D3 probe\nbranes in this background and their quantum tunneling rate across the horizon\nfrom the inside using a method similar to that of Kraus, Parikh and Wilczek.\nThe hyperbolic black holes can decay through these tunneling events and their\nlifetime is estimated. The radiated branes move towards the boundary and do not\nbounce back. Their world-lines do not intersect directly and they do not hit\nthe singularity either, providing a clean scenario for studying the\nnon-adiabatic pair production effects of open strings stretched between them\nnear horizon. We find that there is a well defined parameter regime where there\ncan be significant pair production. This requires the radiated branes to be\nhighly boosted. However, the radiation of such branes still has small\nback-reaction on the black hole background, though the open string pair\nproduction on them can potentially alter the background. We comment on the\npossible relation of our model and the AMPS paradox. Some issues and future\ndirections are discussed in the end."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Induced CP-violation in the Euler-Heisenberg Lagrangian: In this paper, we examine the behaviour of the Euler-Heisenberg effective\naction in the presence of a novel axial coupling among the gauge field and the\nfermionic matter. This axial coupling is responsible to induce a CP-violating\nterm in the extended form of the Euler-Heisenberg effective action, which is\ngenerated naturally through the analysis of the box diagram. However, this\nanomalous model is not a viable extension of QED, and we explicitly show that\nthe induced CP-violating term in the Euler-Heisenberg effective Lagrangian is\nobtained only by adding an axial coupling to the ordinary QED Lagrangian. In\norder to perform our analysis, we use a parametrization of the vector and axial\ncoupling constants, $g_{v}$ and $g_{a}$, in terms of a new coupling $\\beta$.\nInterestingly, this parametrization allows us to explore a hidden symmetry\nunder the change of $g_{v}\\leftrightarrow g_{a}$ in some diagrams. This\nsymmetry is explicitly observed in the analysis of the box diagram, where we\ndetermine the $\\lambda_i$ coefficients of $\\cal{L}_{\\rm ext.}^{\\rm \\small\nEH}=\\lambda_{1}\\cal{F}^{2}+\\lambda_{2}\\cal{G}^{2}+\\lambda_{3}\\cal{F}\\cal{G}$,\nspecially the coefficient $\\lambda_3$ related with the CP-violating term due to\nthe axial coupling. As a phenomenological application of the results, we\ncompute the relevant cross section for the light by light scattering through\nthe extended Euler-Heisenberg effective action.",
        "positive": "On the Decay of Massive Fields in de Sitter: Interacting massive fields with m > d H/2 in d+1 dimensional de Sitter space\nare fundamentally unstable. Scalar fields in this mass range can decay to\nthemselves. This process (which is kinematically forbidden in Minkowski space)\ncan lead to an important change to the propagator and the physics of these\nfields. We compute this decay rate by doing a 1-loop computation for a massive\nscalar field with a cubic interaction. We resum the 1-loop result by\nconsistently solving the Schwinger-Dyson equations. We also perform an explicit\nresummation of all chain graphs in the case of the retarded propagator. The\ndecay rate is exponentially suppressed for large m/H and the flat space answer\n(vanishing decay rate) is reproduced in that limit."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Superconformal Yang-Mills quantum mechanics and Calogero model with\n  OSp(N|2,R) symmetry: In spacetime dimension two, pure Yang-Mills possesses no physical degrees of\nfreedom, and consequently it admits a supersymmetric extension to couple to an\narbitrary number, N say, of Majorana-Weyl gauginos. This results in (N,0) super\nYang-Mills. Further, its dimensional reduction to mechanics doubles the number\nof supersymmetries, from N to N+N, to include conformal supercharges, and leads\nto a superconformal Yang-Mills quantum mechanics with symmetry group\nOSp(N|2,R). We comment on its connection to AdS_2 \\times S^{N-1} and reduction\nto a supersymmetric Calogero model.",
        "positive": "Higher Forms and Membranes in 4D Supergravities: We review the dynamical generation of coupling constants in 4D supergravity\nby means of gauge three-form fields. The latter are introduced as components of\nparticular chiral supermultiplets and can be coupled to membranes preserving\nlocal supersymmetry. Such a set-up naturally arises from type-II string\ncompactifications on Calabi-Yau manifolds with fluxes. We present generic 4D\n$\\mathcal N=1$ supergravity models with three-form multiplets and study domain\nwall solutions supported by membranes, which interpolate between vacua with\ndifferent values of the cosmological constant."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Symmetry Algebras in Chern-Simons Theories with Boundary: Canonical\n  Approach: I consider the classical Kac-Moody algebra and Virasoro algebra in\nChern-Simons theory with boundary within the Dirac's canonical method and\nNoether procedure. It is shown that the usual (bulk) Gauss law constraint\nbecomes a second-class constraint because of the boundary effect. From this\nfact, the Dirac bracket can be constructed explicitly without introducing\nadditional gauge conditions and the classical Kac-Moody and Virasoro algebras\nare obtained within the usual Dirac method. The equivalence to the symplectic\nreduction method is presented and the connection to the Ba\\~nados's work is\nclarified. It is also considered the generalization to the\nYang-Mills-Chern-Simons theory where the diffeomorphism symmetry is broken by\nthe (three-dimensional) Yang-Mills term. In this case, the same Kac-Moody\nalgebras are obtained although the two theories are sharply different in the\ncanonical structures. The both models realize the holography principle\nexplicitly and the pure CS theory reveals the correspondence of the\nChern-Simons theory with boundary/conformal field theory, which is more\nfundamental and generalizes the conjectured anti-de Sitter/conformal field\ntheory correspondence.",
        "positive": "Chiral Transition of N=4 Super Yang-Mills with Flavor on a 3-Sphere: We use the AdS/CFT correspondence to perform a numerical study of a phase\ntransition in strongly-coupled large-Nc N = 4 Super-Yang-Mills theory on a\n3-sphere coupled to a finite number Nf of massive N = 2 hypermultiplets in the\nfundamental representation of the gauge group. The gravity dual system is a\nnumber Nf of probe D7-branes embedded in AdS_5 x S^5. We draw the phase diagram\nfor this theory in the plane of hypermultiplet mass versus temperature and\nidentify for temperatures above the Hawking-Page deconfinement temperature a\nfirst-order phase transition line across which the chiral condensate jumps\ndiscontinuously."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Novel Multi-parameter Family of Quantum Systems with Partially Broken\n  N-fold Supersymmetry: We develop a systematic algorithm for constructing an N-fold supersymmetric\nsystem from a given vector space invariant under one of the supercharges.\nApplying this algorithm to spaces of monomials, we construct a new\nmulti-parameter family of N-fold supersymmetric models, which shall be referred\nto as \"type C\". We investigate various aspects of these type C models in\ndetail. It turns out that in certain cases these systems exhibit a novel\nphenomenon, namely, partial breaking of N-fold supersymmetry.",
        "positive": "Localization of scalar and tensor fields in the standing wave braneworld\n  with increasing warp factor: We investigate scalar and tensor fields in the brane model solution for the\n5D space-time with standing gravitational waves in the bulk and show that even\nin the case of increasing warp factor there exist normalizable zero modes\nlocalized on the brane."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "TeV scale black holes thermodynamics with extra dimensions and quantum\n  gravity effects: TeV scale black hole thermodynamics in the presence of quantum gravity\neffects encoded in the existence of a minimal length and a maximal momentum is\nstudied in a model universe with large extra dimensions.",
        "positive": "Near-flat space limit and Einstein manifolds: We study the near-flat space limit for strings on AdS(5)xM(5), where the\ninternal manifold M(5) is equipped with a generic metric with U(1)xU(1)xU(1)\nisometry. In the bosonic sector, the limiting sigma model is similar to the one\nfound for AdS(5)xS(5), as the global symmetries are reduced in the most general\ncase. When M(5) is a Sasaki-Einstein space like T(1,1), Y(p,q) and L(p,q,r),\nwhose dual CFT's have N=1 supersymmetry, the near-flat space limit gives the\nsame bosonic sector of the sigma model found for AdS(5)xS(5). This indicates\nthe generic presence of integrable subsectors in AdS/CFT."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Superconformal Chern-Simons Theories and the Squashed Seven Sphere: We show that there are two supersymmetric completions of the\nthree-dimensional Chern-Simons theory of level k with gauge group U(N)xU(N)\ncoupled to four sets of massless scalars and spinors in the bi-fundamental\nrepresentation, if we require Sp(2) global symmetry with the matter fields in\nthe fundamental representation of SU(4). One is the N=6 superconformal theory\nrecently studied in arXiv:0806.1218 [hep-th] and another is a new theory with\nN=1 superconformal symmetry. We conjecture that the N=1 theory is dual to M\ntheory on AdS_4 x Squashed S^7/Z_k.",
        "positive": "Two-dimensional quantum Yang-Mills theory with corners: The solution of quantum Yang-Mills theory on arbitrary compact two-manifolds\nis well known. We bring this solution into a TQFT-like form and extend it to\ninclude corners. Our formulation is based on an axiomatic system that we hope\nis flexible enough to capture actual quantum field theories also in higher\ndimensions. We motivate this axiomatic system from a formal\nSchroedinger-Feynman quantization procedure. We also discuss the physical\nmeaning of unitarity, the concept of vacuum, (partial) Wilson loops and\nnon-orientable surfaces."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "From Vertex Operators to Calogero-Sutherland Models: The correlation function of the product of N generalized vertex operators\nsatisfies an infinite set of Ward identities, related to a W_{\\infty} algebra,\nwhose extention out of the mass shell gives rise to equations which can be\nconsidered as a generalization of the compactified Calogero-Sutherland (CS)\nhamiltonians. In particular the wave function of the ground state of the\ncompactified CS model is shown to be given by the value of the product of N\nvertex operators between the vacuum and exitated state. The role of vertex\nalgebra as underlying unifying structure is pointed out.",
        "positive": "TASI Lectures on Emergence of Supersymmetry, Gauge Theory and String in\n  Condensed Matter Systems: The lecture note consists of four parts. In the first part, we review a 2+1\ndimensional lattice model which realizes emergent supersymmetry at a quantum\ncritical point. The second part is devoted to a phenomenon called\nfractionalization where gauge boson and fractionalized particles emerge as low\nenergy excitations as a result of strong interactions between gauge neutral\nparticles. In the third part, we discuss about stability and low energy\neffective theory of a critical spin liquid state where stringy excitations\nemerge in a large N limit. In the last part, we discuss about an attempt to\ncome up with a prescription to derive holographic theory for general quantum\nfield theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Exponential corrections to the 1/N expansion in two-dimensional Yang\n  Mills theory: We compute $e^{-AN}$ corrections to the Gross-Taylor 1/N expansion of the\nparitition function of two-dimensional SU(N) and U(N) Yang Mills theory. We\nfind a very similar structure of mixing between holomorphic and\nanti-holomorphic sectors as that described by Vafa for the 1/N expansion. Some\nof the non-perturbative terms are suggestive of D-strings wrapping the $T^2$ of\nthe 2dYM but blowing up into a fuzzy geometry by the Myers effect in the\ndirections transverse to the $T^2$.",
        "positive": "Chirality Change in String Theory: It is known that string theory compactifications leading to low energy\neffective theories with different chiral matter content ({\\it e.g.} different\nnumbers of standard model generations) are connected through phase transitions,\ndescribed by non-trivial quantum fixed point theories.\n  We point out that such compactifications are also connected on a purely\nclassical level, through transitions that can be described using standard\neffective field theory. We illustrate this with examples, including some in\nwhich the transition proceeds entirely through supersymmetric configurations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Thermodynamic Volume and the Extended Smarr Relation: We continue to explore the scaling transformation in the reduced action\nformalism of gravity models. As an extension of our construction, we consider\nthe extended forms of the Smarr relation for various black holes, adopting the\ncosmological constant as the bulk pressure as in some literatures on black\nholes. Firstly, by using the quasi-local formalism for charges, we show that,\nin a general theory of gravity, the volume in the black hole thermodynamics\ncould be defined as the thermodynamic conjugate variable to the bulk pressure\nin such a way that the first law can be extended consistently. This, so called,\nthermodynamic volume can be expressed explicitly in terms of the metric and\nfield variables. Then, by using the scaling transformation allowed in the\nreduced action formulation, we obtain the extended Smarr relation involving the\nbulk pressure and the thermodynamic volume. In our approach, we do not resort\nto Euler's homogeneous scaling of charges while incorporating the would-be\nhairy contribution without any difficulty.",
        "positive": "Behaviour of Charged Spinning Massless Particles: We revisit the classical theory of a relativistic massless charged point\nparticle with spin and interacting with an external electromagnetic field. In\nparticular, we give a proper definition of its kinetic energy and its total\nenergy, the latter being conserved when the external field is stationary. We\nalso write the conservation laws for the linear and angular momenta. Finally,\nwe find that the particle's velocity may differ from $c$ as a result of the\nspin---electromagnetic field interaction, without jeopardizing Lorentz\ninvariance."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Mellin space approach to the conformal bootstrap: We describe in more detail our approach to the conformal bootstrap which uses\nthe Mellin representation of $CFT_d$ four point functions and expands them in\nterms of crossing symmetric combinations of $AdS_{d+1}$ Witten exchange\nfunctions. We consider arbitrary external scalar operators and set up the\nconditions for consistency with the operator product expansion. Namely, we\ndemand cancellation of spurious powers (of the cross ratios, in position space)\nwhich translate into spurious poles in Mellin space. We discuss two contexts in\nwhich we can immediately apply this method by imposing the simplest set of\nconstraint equations. The first is the epsilon expansion. We mostly focus on\nthe Wilson-Fisher fixed point as studied in an epsilon expansion about $d=4$.\nWe reproduce Feynman diagram results for operator dimensions to $O(\\epsilon^3)$\nrather straightforwardly. This approach also yields new analytic predictions\nfor OPE coefficients to the same order which fit nicely with recent numerical\nestimates for the Ising model (at $\\epsilon =1$). We will also mention some\nleading order results for scalar theories near three and six dimensions. The\nsecond context is a large spin expansion, in any dimension, where we are able\nto reproduce and go a bit beyond some of the results recently obtained using\nthe (double) light cone expansion. We also have a preliminary discussion about\nnumerical implementation of the above bootstrap scheme in the absence of a\nsmall parameter.",
        "positive": "Duality Group for Calabi-Yau 2-Moduli Space: We present an efficient method for computing the duality group $\\Gamma$ of\nthe moduli space \\cM for strings compactified on a Calabi-Yau manifold\ndescribed by a two-moduli deformation of the quintic polynomial immersed in\n$\\CP(4)$, $\\cW={1\\over5}(\\iy_1^5+\\cdots+\\iy_5^5)-a\\,\\iy_4^3 \\iy_5^2 -b\\,\n\\iy_4^2 \\iy_5^3$. We show that $\\Gamma$ is given by a $3$--dimensional\nrepresentation of a central extension of $B_5$, the braid group on five\nstrands."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Asymptotic behavior in a model with Yukawa interaction from\n  Schwinger-Dyson equations: A system of Schwinger-Dyson equations for pseudoscalar four-dimensional\nYukawa model in the two-particle approximation is investigated. The simplest\niterative solution of the system corresponds to the mean-field approximation\n(or, equivalently, to the leading order of 1/N-expansion) and includes a\nnon-physical Landau pole in deep-Euclidean region for the pseudoscalar\npropagator $\\Delta$. It is argued, however, that a full solution may be free\nfrom non-physical singularities and has the self-consistent asymptotic behavior\n$p^2_e\\Delta\\simeq C\\,\\log^{-4/5}\\frac{p^2_e}{M^2}$. An approximate solution\nconfirms the positivity of $C$ and the absence of Landau pole.",
        "positive": "Hairy black holes in scalar extended massive gravity: We construct static, spherically symmetric black hole solutions in scalar\nextended ghost-free massive gravity and show the existence of hairy black holes\nin this class of extension. While the existence seems to be a generic feature,\nwe focus on the simplest models of this extension and find that asymptotically\nflat hairy black holes can exist without fine-tuning the theory parameters,\nunlike the bi-gravity extension, where asymptotical flatness requires\nfine-tuning in the parameter space. Like the bi-gravity extension, we are\nunable to obtain asymptotically dS regular black holes in the simplest models\nconsidered, but it is possible to obtain asymptotically AdS black holes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Scalar field theory in Snyder space-time: alternatives: We construct two types of scalar field theory on Snyder space-time. The first\none is based on the natural momenta addition inherent to the coset momentum\nspace. This construction uncovers a non-associative deformation of the\nPoincar\\'e symmetries. The second one considers Snyder space-time as a subspace\nof a larger non-commutative space. We discuss different possibilities to\nrestrict the extra-dimensional scalar field theory to a theory living only on\nSndyer space-time and present the consequences of these restrictions on the\nPoincar\\'e symmetries. We show moreover how the non-associative approach and\nthe Doplicher-Fredenhagen-Roberts space can be seen as specific approximations\nof the extra-dimensional theory. These results are obtained for the 3d\nEuclidian Snyder space-time constructed from $\\SO(3,1)/\\SO(3)$, but our results\nextend to any dimension and signature.",
        "positive": "Topological Anti-Topological Fusion in Four-Dimensional Superconformal\n  Field Theories: We present some new exact results for general four-dimensional superconformal\nfield theories. We derive differential equations governing the coupling\nconstant dependence of chiral primary correlators. For N=2 theories we show\nthat the Zamolodchikov metric on the moduli space and the operator mixing of\nchiral primaries are quasi-topological quantities and constrained by\nholomorphy. The equations that we find are the four-dimensional analogue of the\ntt* equations in two-dimensions, discovered by the method of \"topological\nanti-topological fusion\" by Cecotti and Vafa. Our analysis relies on conformal\nperturbation theory and the superconformal Ward identities and does not use a\ntopological twist."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the enumeration of irreducible k-fold Euler sums and their roles in\n  knot theory and field theory: A generating function is given for the number, $E(l,k)$, of irreducible\n$k$-fold Euler sums, with all possible alternations of sign, and exponents\nsumming to $l$. Its form is remarkably simple: $\\sum_n E(k+2n,k) x^n =\n\\sum_{d|k}\\mu(d) (1-x^d)^{-k/d}/k$, where $\\mu$ is the M\\\"obius function.\nEquivalently, the size of the search space in which $k$-fold Euler sums of\nlevel $l$ are reducible to rational linear combinations of irreducible basis\nterms is $S(l,k) = \\sum_{n<k}{\\lfloor(l+n-1)/2\\rfloor\\choose n}$. Analytical\nmethods, using Tony Hearn's REDUCE, achieve this reduction for the 3698\nconvergent double Euler sums with $l\\leq44$; numerical methods, using David\nBailey's MPPSLQ, achieve it for the 1457 convergent $k$-fold sums with\n$l\\leq7$; combined methods yield bases for all remaining search spaces with\n$S(l,k)\\leq34$. These findings confirm expectations based on Dirk Kreimer's\nconnection of knot theory with quantum field theory. The occurrence in\nperturbative quantum electrodynamics of all 12 irreducible Euler sums with\n$l\\leq 7$ is demonstrated. It is suggested that no further transcendental\noccurs in the four-loop contributions to the electron's magnetic moment.\nIrreducible Euler sums are found to occur in explicit analytical results, for\ncounterterms with up to 13 loops, yielding transcendental knot-numbers, up to\n23 crossings.",
        "positive": "Aspects of holography for theories with hyperscaling violation: We analyze various aspects of the recently proposed holographic theories with\ngeneral dynamical critical exponent z and hyperscaling violation exponent\n$\\theta$. We first find the basic constraints on $z, \\theta$ from the gravity\nside, and compute the stress-energy tensor expectation values and scalar\ntwo-point functions. Massive correlators exhibit a nontrivial exponential\nbehavior at long distances, controlled by $\\theta$. At short distance, the\ntwo-point functions become power-law, with a universal form for $\\theta > 0$.\nNext, the calculation of the holographic entanglement entropy reveals the\nexistence of novel phases which violate the area law. The entropy in these\nphases has a behavior that interpolates between that of a Fermi surface and\nthat exhibited by systems with extensive entanglement entropy. Finally, we\ndescribe microscopic embeddings of some $\\theta \\neq 0$ metrics into full\nstring theory models -- these metrics characterize large regions of the\nparameter space of Dp-brane metrics for $p\\neq 3$. For instance, the theory of\nN D2-branes in IIA supergravity has z=1 and $\\theta = -1/3$ over a wide range\nof scales, at large $g_s N$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Inflation from Minkowski Space: We propose a class of scalar models that, once coupled to gravity, lead to\ncosmologies that smoothly and stably connect an inflationary quasi-de Sitter\nuniverse to a low, or even zero-curvature, maximally symmetric spacetime in the\nasymptotic past, strongly violating the null energy condition ($\\dot H\\gg H^2$)\nat intermediate times. The models are deformations of the conformal galileon\nlagrangian and are therefore based on symmetries, both exact and approximate,\nthat ensure the quantum robustness of the whole picture. The resulting\ncosmological backgrounds can be viewed as regularized extensions of the\ngalilean genesis scenario, or, equivalently, as `early-time-complete'\nrealizations of inflation. The late-time inflationary dynamics possesses\nphenomenologically interesting properties: it can produce a large\ntensor-to-scalar ratio within the regime of validity of the effective field\ntheory and can lead to sizeable equilateral nongaussianities.",
        "positive": "Unification in Intersecting Brane Models: We propose a unification scenario for supersymmetric intersecting brane\nmodels. The quarks and leptons are embedded into adjoint representations of\nSO(32), which are obtained and break by type I string compactified on\norbifolds. Its single unified gauge coupling can give rise to different gauge\ncouplings below the unification scale, due to effects of magnetic fluxes. The\ncrucial mechanism is brane recombination preserving supersymmetry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetric Bethe Ansatz and Baxter Equations from Discrete Hirota\n  Dynamics: We show that eigenvalues of the family of Baxter Q-operators for\nsupersymmetric integrable spin chains constructed with the gl(K|M)-invariant\n$R$-matrix obey the Hirota bilinear difference equation. The nested Bethe\nansatz for super spin chains, with any choice of simple root system, is then\ntreated as a discrete dynamical system for zeros of polynomial solutions to the\nHirota equation. Our basic tool is a chain of Backlund transformations for the\nHirota equation connecting quantum transfer matrices. This approach also\nprovides a systematic way to derive the complete set of generalized Baxter\nequations for super spin chains.",
        "positive": "Towards NMHV amplitudes at strong coupling: Pentagon Operator Product Expansion provides a non-perturbative framework for\nanalysis of scattering amplitudes in planar maximally supersymmetric gauge\ntheory building up on their duality to null polygonal super Wilson loop and\nintegrability. In this paper, we construct a systematic expansion for the main\ningredients of the formalism, i.e., pentagons, at large 't Hooft coupling as a\npower series in its inverse value. The calculations are tested against\nrelations provided by the so-called Descent Equation which mixes transitions at\ndifferent perturbative orders. We use leading order results to have a first\nglimpse into the structure of scattering amplitude at NMHV level at strong\ncoupling."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Inhomogeneity of a rotating quark-gluon plasma from holography: Rotation affects the transition temperature between confined (hadronic) and\ndeconfined (quark-gluon plasma) phases of the strongly interacting matter\nproduced in non-central heavy ion collisions. A holographic description of this\neffect was presented recently, considering an AdS black hole with cylindrical\nsymmetry in rotation. Here we extend this approach in order to analyse the more\nrealistic case of strongly interacting matter that, rather than living in a\ncylindrical shell, spreads over a region around the rotational axis. In this\ncase, the confined and deconfined phases may coexist. The holographic\ndescription of the plasma behaviour under rotation is shown to be consistent\nwith the concept of local temperature for rotating frames developed by Tolman\nand Ehrenfest.",
        "positive": "White Holes, Black Holes and Cpt in Two Dimensions: It is argued that a unitarity-violating but weakly CPT invariant\nsuperscattering matrix exists for leading-order large-$N$ dilaton gravity, if\nand only if one includes in the Hilbert space planckian ``thunderpop\"\nexcitations which create white holes. CPT apparently cannot be realized in a\nlow-energy effective theory in which such states have been integrated out.\nRules for computing the leading-large-$N$ superscattering are described in\nterms of quantum field theory on a single multiply-connected spacetime obtained\nby sewing the future (past) horizons of the original spacetime with the past\n(future) horizons of its CPT conjugate. Some difficulties which may arise in\ngoing beyond leading order in $1/N$ are briefly discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Inflation induced by Gravitino Condensation in Supergravity: We discuss the emergence of an inflationary phase in supergravity with the\nsuper-Higgs effect due to dynamical spontaneous breaking of supersymmetry, in\nwhich the role of the inflaton is played by the gravitino condensate. Realistic\nmodels compatible with the Planck satellite CMB data are found in conformal\nsupergravity scenarios with dynamical gravitino masses that are small compared\nto the Planck mass, as could be induced by a non-trivial vacuum expectation\nvalue of the dilaton superfield of appropriate magnitude.",
        "positive": "Effects of the CPT-even and Lorentz violation on the Bhabha scattering\n  at finite temperature: In this paper a Lorentz-violating CPT-even non-minimal coupling term is\nconsidered. A new interaction term between fermions and photons emerges. In\nthis context, the differential cross-section for Bhabha scattering at finite\ntemperature is calculated. The temperature effects are introduced using the\nThermo- Field Dynamics (TFD) formalism. It is shown that the differential\ncross-section is changed due to both effects, Lorentz violation and finite\ntemperature."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Semi-infinite cohomology in conformal field theory and 2d gravity: We discuss various techniques for computing the semi-infinite cohomology of\nhighest weight modules which arise in the BRST quantization of two dimensional\nfield theories. In particular, we concentrate on two such theories -- the $G/H$\ncoset models and $2d$ gravity coupled to $c\\leq 1$ conformal matter. (to appear\nin the proceedings of the XXV Karpacz Winter School)",
        "positive": "Feynman graph generation and calculations in the Hopf algebra of Feynman\n  graphs: Two programs for the computation of perturbative expansions of quantum field\ntheory amplitudes are provided. feyngen can be used to generate Feynman graphs\nfor Yang-Mills, QED and $\\varphi^k$ theories. Using dedicated graph theoretic\ntools feyngen can generate graphs of comparatively high loop orders. feyncop\nimplements the Hopf algebra of those Feynman graphs which incorporates the\nrenormalization procedure necessary to calculate finite results in perturbation\ntheory of the underlying quantum field theory. feyngen is validated by\ncomparison to explicit calculations of zero dimensional quantum field theories\nand feyncop is validated using a combinatorial identity on the Hopf algebra of\ngraphs."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Describing Curved Spaces by Matrices: It is shown that a covariant derivative on any d-dimensional manifold M can\nbe mapped to a set of d operators acting on the space of functions on the\nprincipal Spin(d)-bundle over M. In other words, any d-dimensional manifold can\nbe described in terms of d operators acting on an infinite dimensional space.\nTherefore it is natural to introduce a new interpretation of matrix models in\nwhich matrices represent such operators. In this interpretation the\ndiffeomorphism, local Lorentz symmetry and their higher-spin analogues are\nincluded in the unitary symmetry of the matrix model. Furthermore the Einstein\nequation is obtained from the equation of motion, if we take the standard form\nof the action S=-tr([A_{a},A_{b}][A^{a},A^{b}]).",
        "positive": "Gauss' Law and String-Localized Quantum Field Theory: The quantum Gauss Law as an interacting field equation is a prominent feature\nof QED with eminent impact on its algebraic and superselection structure. It\nforces charged particles to be accompanied by \"photon clouds\" that cannot be\nrealized in the Fock space, and prevents them from having a sharp mass. Because\nit entails the possibility of \"measurement of charges at a distance\", it is\nwell-known to be in conflict with locality of charged fields in a Hilbert\nspace. We show how a new approach to QED advocated by the authors, that avoids\nindefinite metric and ghosts, can secure causality and achieve Gauss' Law along\nwith all its nontrivial consequences. We explain why this is not at variance\nwith recent results in a paper by Buchholz et al."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-split singularities and conifold transitions in F-theory: In F-theory, if a fiber type of an elliptic fibration involves a condition\nthat requires an exceptional curve to split into two irreducible components, it\nis called ``split'' or ``non-split'' type depending on whether it is globally\npossible or not. In the latter case, the gauge symmetry is reduced to a\nnon-simply-laced Lie algebra due to monodromy. We show that this\nsplit/non-split transition is, except for a special class of models, a conifold\ntransition from the resolved to the deformed side, associated with the conifold\nsingularities emerging where the codimension-one singularity is enhanced to\n$D_{2k+2}$ $(k \\geq 1)$ or $E_7$. We also examine how the previous proposal for\nthe origin of non-local matter can be actually implemented in our blow-up\nanalysis.",
        "positive": "Particles with distance dependent statistics at low temperatures: We consider a simplified model of particles with effectively distance\ndependent statistics, that is particles coupled to a gauge field the Lagrangian\nof which contains the Chern-Simons term. We analyze the low-lying states of the\ntwo-particle system and show that under certain conditions they can exhibit\nnegative compressibility, hinting on a possible \\`a la van der Vaals picture."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "N=1 super sinh-Gordon model in the half line: Breather solutions: We examine the N=1 super sinh-Gordon (SShG) model restricted into the half\nline through a reduction from the defect SShG model. The B\\\"acklund\ntransformations are employed to generate one-, two- and three-soliton solutions\nas well as a class of breathers solution for this model. The parameters of such\nclassical solutions are shown to satisfy some contraints in order to preserve\nboth integrability and supersymmetry properties of the original bulk theory.\nAdditionally, previous results are recovered when performing the purely bosonic\nlimit.",
        "positive": "Quantum Graphity: a model of emergent locality: Quantum graphity is a background independent model for emergent locality,\nspatial geometry and matter. The states of the system correspond to dynamical\ngraphs on N vertices. At high energy, the graph describing the system is highly\nconnected and the physics is invariant under the full symmetric group acting on\nthe vertices. We present evidence that the model also has a low-energy phase in\nwhich the graph describing the system breaks permutation symmetry and appears\nto be ordered, low-dimensional and local. Consideration of the free energy\nassociated with the dominant terms in the dynamics shows that this low-energy\nstate is thermodynamically stable under local perturbations. The model can also\ngive rise to an emergent U(1) gauge theory in the ground state by the\nstring-net condensation mechanism of Levin and Wen. We also reformulate the\nmodel in graph-theoretic terms and compare its dynamics to some common graph\nprocesses."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Duality between 1+1 dimensional Maxwell-Dilaton gravity and Liouville\n  field theory: We present an interesting reformulation of a collection of dilaton gravity\nmodels in two space-time dimensions into a field theory of two decoupled\nLiouville fields in flat space, in the presence of a Maxwell gauge field. An\neffective action is also obtained, encoding the dynamics of the dilaton field\nand the single gravitational degree of freedom in a decoupled regime. This\neffective action represents an interesting starting point for future work,\nincluding the canonical quantization of these classes of non trivial models of\ngravity coupled matter systems.",
        "positive": "BPS $M2$-branes in $AdS_4\\times Q^{1, 1, 1}$ Dual to Loop Operators: In this paper, we first compute the Killing spinors of $AdS_4\\times Q^{1, 1,\n1}$ and its certain orbifolds. Based on this, two classes of $M2$-brane\nsolutions are found. The first class of solutions includes $M2$-branes dual to\nWilson loops in the fundamental representation as special cases. The second\nclass includes the candidates of the holographic description of vortex loops in\nthe dual field theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Classical/Quantum Duality: String theory requires two kinds of loop expansion: classical $(\\alpha')$\nworldsheet loops with expansion parameter $<T>$ where $T$ is a modulus field,\nand quantum $(\\hbar)$ spacetime loops with expansion parameter $<S>$ where $S$\nis the dilaton field. Four-dimensional string/string duality (a corollary of\nten-dimensional string/fivebrane duality) interchanges the roles of $S$ and $T$\nand hence interchanges classical and quantum.",
        "positive": "LieART 2.0 -- A Mathematica Application for Lie Algebras and\n  Representation Theory: We present LieART 2.0 which contains substantial extensions to the\nMathematica application LieART (Lie Algebras and Representation Theory) for\ncomputations frequently encountered in Lie algebras and representation theory,\nsuch as tensor product decomposition and subalgebra branching of irreducible\nrepresentations. The basic procedure is unchanged: it computes root systems of\nLie algebras, weight systems and several other properties of irreducible\nrepresentations, but new features and procedures have been included to allow\nthe extensions to be seamless. The new version of LieART continues to be user\nfriendly. New extended tables of properties, tensor products and branching\nrules of irreducible representations are included in the supplementary material\nfor use without Mathematica software. LieART 2.0 now includes the branching\nrules to special subalgebras for all classical and exceptional Lie algebras up\nto and including rank 15."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Noncommutative Instantons in 4k Dimensions: We consider Ward's generalized self-duality equations for U(2r) Yang-Mills\ntheory on R^{4k} and their Moyal deformation under self-dual noncommutativity.\nEmploying an extended ADHM construction we find two kinds of explicit\nsolutions, which generalize the 't Hooft and BPST instantons from R^4 to\nnoncommutative R^{4k}. The BPST-type configurations appear to be new even in\nthe commutative case.",
        "positive": "All Or Nothing: On the Small Fluctuations of Two-Dimensional\n  String-Theoretic Black Holes: A comprehensive analysis of small fluctuations about two-dimensional\nstring-theoretic and string-inspired black holes is presented. It is shown with\nspecific examples that two-dimensional black holes behave in a radically\ndifferent way from all known black holes in four dimensions. For both the\n$SL(2,R)/U(1)$ black hole and the two-dimensional black hole coupled to a\nmassive dilaton with constant field strength, it is shown that there are a {\\it\ncontinuous infinity} of solutions to the linearized equations of motion, which\nare such that it is impossible to ascertain the classical linear response. It\nis further shown that the two-dimensional black hole coupled to a massive,\nlinear dilaton admits {\\it no small fluctuations at all}. We discuss possible\nimplications of our results for the Callan-Giddings-Harvey-Strominger black\nhole."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "R matrix and bicovariant calculus for the inhomogeneous quantum groups\n  IGL_q(n): We find the R matrix for the inhomogeneous quantum groups whose homogeneous\npart is $GL_q(n)$, or its restrictions to $SL_q(n)$,$U_q(n)$ and $SU_q(n)$. The\nquantum Yang-Baxter equation for R holds because of the Hecke relation for the\nbraiding matrix of the homogeneous subgroup. A bicovariant differential\ncalculus on $IGL_q(n)$ is constructed, and its application to the $D=4$\nPoincar\\'e group $ISL_q(2,\\Cb)$ is discussed.",
        "positive": "Collective coordinate model of kink-antikink collisions in $\u03c6^4$\n  theory: The fractal velocity pattern in symmetric kink-antikink collisions in\n$\\phi^4$ theory is shown to emerge from a dynamical model with two effective\nmoduli, the kink-antikink separation and the internal shape mode amplitude. The\nshape mode usefully approximates Lorentz contractions of the kink and antikink,\nand the previously problematic null-vector in the shape mode amplitude at zero\nseparation is regularized."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "E11 and exceptional field theory: We demonstrate that exceptional field theory is a truncation of the\nnon-linear realisation of the semi-direct product of E11 and its first\nfundamental as proposed in 2003. Evaluating the simple equations of the E11\napproach, and using the commutators of the E11 algebra, we find the equations\nof exceptional field theory after making a radical truncation. This procedure\ndoes not respect any of the higher level E11 symmetries and so these are lost.\nWe suggest that the need for the section condition in exceptional field theory\ncould be a consequence of the truncation.",
        "positive": "Fine-tuning and the Wilson renormalization group: We use the Wilson renormalization group (RG) formulation to solve the\nfine-tuning procedure needed in renormalization schemes breaking the gauge\nsymmetry. To illustrate this method we systematically compute the non-invariant\ncouplings of the ultraviolet action of the SU(2) pure Yang-Mills theory at\none-loop order."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Domain walls in supersymmetric QCD: We consider domain walls that appear in supersymmetric SU(N) with one massive\nflavour. In particular, for N > 3 we explicitly construct the elementary domain\nwall that interpolates between two contiguous vacua. We show that these\nsolutions are BPS saturated for any value of the mass of the matter fields. We\nalso comment on their large N limit and their relevance for supersymmetric\ngluodynamics.",
        "positive": "On interactions of massless integer high spin and scalar fields: We apply an unconstrained formulation of bosonic higher spin fields to study\ninteractions of these fields with a bosonic field using new method for the\ndeformation procedure. It is proved that local vertices of any order containing\none higher spin $s$ field and arbitrary number of scalar fields and being\ninvariant under original gauge transformations are described with the help of\none local totally symmetric $(s-2)$-rank tensor of scalar fields. This tensor\nis explicitly constructed for particular cases related to cubic vertices for\nspin $s$ and vertices of an arbitrary order for spin $s=4$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Schild Action and Space-Time Uncertainty Principle in String Theory: We show that the path-integral quantization of relativistic strings with the\nSchild action is essentially equivalent to the usual Polyakov quantization at\ncritical space-time dimensions. We then present an interpretation of the Schild\naction which points towards a derivation of superstring theory as a theory of\nquantized space-time where the squared string scale plays the role of the\nminimum quantum for space-time areas. A tentative approach towards such a goal\nis proposed, based on a microcanonical formulation of large N supersymmetric\nmatrix model.",
        "positive": "Generalized Near Horizon Extreme Binary Black Hole Geometry: We present a new vacuum solution of Einstein's equations describing the near\nhorizon region of two neutral, extreme (zero-temperature), co-rotating,\nnon-identical Kerr black holes. The metric is stationary, asymptotically near\nhorizon extremal Kerr (NHEK), and contains a localized massless strut along the\nsymmetry axis between the black holes. In the deep infrared, it flows to two\nseparate throats which we call \"pierced-NHEK\" geometries: each throat is NHEK\npierced by a conical singularity. We find that in spite of the presence of the\nstrut for the pierced-NHEK geometries the isometry group SL(2,R)xU(1) is\nrestored. We find the physical parameters and entropy."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Holographic Fluid on the Sphere Dual to the Schwarzschild Black Hole: We consider deformation of the d+2 dimensional asymptotically flat\nSchwarzschild black hole spacetime with the induced metric on a d-sphere at\n$r=r_c$ held fixed. This is done without taking the near horizon limit. The\ndeformation is determined so that the $\\Lambda=0$ vacuum Einstein equation is\nsatisfied and the metric is regular on the horizon. In this paper the velocity\nof a dual fluid $v^i$ is assumed to be a Killing field and small, and the\ndeformed metric is obtained up to $O(v^2)$. At this order of hydrodynamic\nexpansion the dual fluid is an ideal one. The structure of the metric is fairly\ndifferent from the near horizon result of Bredberg and Strominger in\narXiv:1106.3084.",
        "positive": "Brick wall diagrams as a completely integrable system: We study the free energy of an integrable, planar, chiral and non-unitary\nfour-dimensional Yukawa theory, the bi-fermion fishnet theory discovered by\nPittelli and Preti. The typical Feynman-diagrams of this model are of regular\n\"brick-wall\"-type, replacing the regular square lattices of standard fishnet\ntheory. We adapt A. B. Zamolodchikov's powerful classic computation of the\nthermodynamic free energy of fishnet graphs to the brick-wall case in a\ntransparent fashion, and find the result in closed form. Finally, we briefly\ndiscuss two further candidate integrable models in three and six dimensions\nrelated to the brick wall model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum backreaction for overspinning BTZ geometries: We examine the semiclassical backreaction of a conformally coupled scalar\nfield on an overspinning BTZ geometry. This extends the work done on a similar\nproblem for ($2+1$)- AdS geometries of the BTZ family with $|M|>|J|$. The\noverspinning classical solutions corresponds to $|M|<|J|$ and possess a naked\nsingularity at $r=0$. Using the renormalized quantum stress-energy tensor for a\nconformally coupled scalar field on such a spacetime, we obtain the\nsemiclassical Einstein equations, which we attempt to solve perturbatively. We\nshow that the stress-energy tensor is non-renormalizable in this approach, and\nconsequently the perturbative solution to the semiclassical equations in the\noverspinning case does not exist. This could be an indication of the fact that\nthe naked singularity at the center of an overspinning geometry is of a more\nsevere nature than the conical singularity found in the same family of BTZ\ngeometries.",
        "positive": "Antiparticle Contribution in the Cross Ladder Diagram for Two Boson\n  Propagation in the Light-front: In the light-front milieu, there is an implicit assumption that the vacuum is\ntrivial. By this \" triviality \" is meant that the Fock space of solutions for\nequations of motion is sectorized in two, one of positive energy k- and the\nother of negative one corresponding respectively to positive and negative\nmomentum k+. It is assumed that only one of the Fock space sector is enough to\ngive a complete description of the solutions, but in this work we consider an\nexample where we demonstrate that both sectors are necessary."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Handling Handles: Nonplanar Integrability in $\\mathcal{N}=4$\n  Supersymmetric Yang-Mills Theory: We propose an integrability setup for the computation of correlation\nfunctions of gauge-invariant operators in $\\mathcal{N}=4$ supersymmetric\nYang-Mills theory at higher orders in the large $N_{\\text{c}}$ genus expansion\nand at any order in the 't Hooft coupling $g_{\\text{YM}}^2N_{\\text{c}}$. In\nthis multi-step proposal, one polygonizes the string worldsheet in all possible\nways, hexagonalizes all resulting polygons, and sprinkles mirror particles over\nall hexagon junctions to obtain the full correlator. We test our\nintegrability-based conjecture against a non-planar four-point correlator of\nlarge half-BPS operators at one and two loops.",
        "positive": "Gauge fields - strings duality and the loop equation: We explore gauge fields - strings duality by means of the loop equations and\nthe zigzag symmetry. The results are striking and incomplete. Striking -\nbecause we find that the string ansatz proposed in [A.M. Polyakov,\nhep-th/9711002] satisfies gauge theory Schwinger-Dyson equations precisely at\nthe critical dimension D=4. Incomplete - since we get these results only in the\nWKB approximation and only for a special class of contours. The ways to go\nbeyond these limitations and in particular the OPE for operators defined on the\nloop are also discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Five-point Superluminality Bounds: We investigate how the speed of propagation of physical excitations is\nencoded in the coefficients of five-point interactions. This leads to a\nsuperluminality bound on scalar five-point interactions, which we present here\nfor the first time. To substantiate our result, we also consider the case of\nfour-point interactions for which bounds from S-matrix sum rules exist and show\nthat these are parametrically equivalent to the bounds obtained within our\nanalysis. Finally, we extend the discussion to a class of higher-point\ninteractions.",
        "positive": "A Kaehler Structure of the Triplectic Geometry: We study the geometry of the triplectic quantization of gauge theories. We\nshow that underlying the triplectic geometry is a Kaehler manifold N endowed\nwith a pair of transversal polarizations. The antibrackets can be brought to\nthe canonical form if and only if N admits a flat symmetric connection that is\ncompatible with the complex structure and the polarizations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A class of two-dimensional Yang-Mills vacua and their relation to the\n  non-linear sigma model: Classical vacuum - pure gauge - solutions of Euclidean two-dimensional SU(2)\nYang-Mills theories are studied. Topologically non-trivial vacua are found in a\nclass of gauge group elements isomorphic to $S_2$. These solutions are\nunexpectedly related to the solution of the non-linear O(3) model and to the\nmotion of a particle in a periodic potential.",
        "positive": "General first-order mass ladder operators for Klein-Gordon fields: We study the ladder operator on scalar fields, mapping a solution of the\nKlein-Gordon equation onto another solution with a different mass, when the\noperator is at most first order in derivatives. Imposing the commutation\nrelation between the d'Alembertian, we obtain the general condition for the\nladder operator, which contains a non-trivial case which was not discussed in\nthe previous work [V. Cardoso, T. Houri and M. Kimura, Phys.Rev.D 96, 024044\n(2017), arXiv:1706.07339]. We also discuss the relation with supersymmetric\nquantum mechanics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Entanglement Entropy with a Time-dependent Hamiltonian: The time evolution of entanglement tracks how information propagates in\ninteracting quantum systems. We study entanglement entropy in CFT$_2$ with a\ntime-dependent Hamiltonian. We perturb by operators with time-dependent source\nfunctions and use the replica trick to calculate higher order corrections to\nentanglement entropy. At first order, we compute the correction due to a metric\nperturbation in AdS$_3$/CFT$_2$ and find agreement on both sides of the\nduality. Past first order, we find evidence of a universal structure of\nentanglement propagation to all orders. The central feature is that\ninteractions entangle unentangled excitations. Entanglement propagates\naccording to \"entanglement diagrams,\" proposed structures that are motivated by\naccessory spacetime diagrams for real-time perturbation theory. To illustrate\nthe mechanisms involved, we compute higher-order corrections to free fermion\nentanglement entropy. We identify an unentangled operator, one which does not\nchange the entanglement entropy to any order. Then, we introduce an interaction\nand find it changes entanglement entropy by entangling the unentangled\nexcitations. The entanglement propagates in line with our conjecture. We\ncompute several entanglement diagrams. We provide tools to simplify the\ncomputation of loop entanglement diagrams, which probe UV effects in\nentanglement propagation in CFT and holography.",
        "positive": "Non-geometric heterotic backgrounds and 6D SCFTs/LSTs: We study ${\\mathcal N}=(1,0)$ six-dimensional theories living on defects of\nnon-geometric backgrounds of the $E_8\\times E_8$ and the\n$\\text{Spin}(32)/{\\mathbb Z}_2$ heterotic strings. Such configurations can be\nanalyzed by dualizing to F-theory on elliptic K3-fibered non-compact Calabi-Yau\nthreefolds. The majority of the resulting dual threefolds turn out to contain\nsingularities which do not admit a crepant resolution. When the singularities\ncan be resolved crepantly, the theories living on the defect are explicitly\ndetermined and reveal a form of duality in which distinct defects are described\nby the same IR fixed point. In particular, a subclass of non-geometric defects\ncorresponds to SCFTs/LSTs arising from small heterotic instantons on ADE\nsingularities."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Black hole thermodynamics is extensive with variable Newton constant: Inspired by the recent studies on the thermodynamics of AdS black holes in\nthe restricted phase space formalism, we propose a similar formalism for the\nthermodynamics of non-AdS black holes with variable Newton constant. It is\nshown that, by introducing the new variables $N,\\mu$, where $N$ is proportional\nto the inverse Newton constant and $\\mu$ its conjugate variable, referred to as\nthe chemical potential, the black hole thermodynamics can be formulated in a\nform which is consistent with the standard extensive thermodynamics for open\nmacroscopic systems, with the first law and the Euler relation hold\nsimultaneously. This formalism has profound implications, in particular, the\nmass is a homogeneous function of the first order in the extensive variables\nand the intensive variables are zeroth order homogeneous functions. The\nchemical potential is shown to be closely related to the Euclidean action\nevaluated at the black hole configuration.",
        "positive": "Strict deformations of quantum field theory in de Sitter spacetime: We propose a new deformed Rieffel product for functions in de Sitter\nspacetime, and study the resulting deformation of quantum field theory in de\nSitter using warped convolutions. This deformation is obtained by embedding de\nSitter in a higher-dimensional Minkowski spacetime, deforming there using the\naction of translations and subsequently projecting back to de Sitter. We\ndetermine the two-point function of a deformed free scalar quantum field, which\ndiffers from the undeformed one, in contrast to the results in deformed\nMinkowski spacetime where they coincide. Nevertheless, we show that in the\nlimit where de Sitter spacetime becomes flat, we recover the well-known\nnon-commutative Minkowski spacetime."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Wavelet regularization of Euclidean QED: The regularization of quantum electrodynamics in the space of functions\n$\\psi_a(x)$, which depend on both the position $x$ and the scale $a$, is\npresented. The scale-dependent functions are defined in terms of the continuous\nwavelet transform in $\\mathbb{R}^4$ Euclidean space, with the derivatives of\nGaussian served as basic wavelets. The vacuum polarization and the dependence\nof the effective coupling constant on the scale parameters are calculated in\none-loop approximation in the limit $p^2 \\gg 4m^2$.",
        "positive": "Thermodynamics of Taub-NUT/Bolt-AdS Black Holes in Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet\n  Gravity: We give a review of the existence of Taub-NUT/bolt solutions in Einstein\nGauss-Bonnet gravity with the parameter $\\alpha $ in six dimensions. Although\nthe spacetime with base space $S^{2}\\times S^{2}$ has curvature singularity at\n$r=N$, which does not admit NUT solutions, we may proceed with the same\ncomputations as in the $\\mathbb{CP}^{2}$ case. The investigation of\nthermodynamics of NUT/Bolt solutions in six dimensions is carried out. We\ncompute the finite action, mass, entropy, and temperature of the black hole.\nThen the validity of the first law of thermodynamics is demonstrated. It is\nshown that in NUT solutions all thermodynamic quantities for both base spaces\nare related to each other by substituting\n$\\alpha^{\\mathbb{CP}^{k}}=[(k+1)/k]\\alpha^{S^{2} \\times S^{2}\\times\n>...S_{k}^{2}}$. So no further information is given by investigating NUT\nsolution in the $S^{2}\\times S^{2}$ case. This relation is not true for bolt\nsolutions. A generalization of the thermodynamics of black holes to arbitrary\neven dimensions is made using a new method based on the Gibbs-Duhem relation\nand Gibbs free energy for NUT solutions. According to this method, the finite\naction in Einstein Gauss-Bonnet is obtained by considering the generalized\nfinite action in Einstein gravity with an additional term as a function of\n$\\alpha$. Stability analysis is done by investigating the heat capacity and\nentropy in the allowed range of $\\alpha$, $\\Lambda$ and $N$. For NUT solutions\nin $d$ dimensions, there exist a stable phase at a narrow range of $\\alpha$. In\nsix-dimensional Bolt solutions, metric is completely stable for\n$\\mathcal{B}=S^{2}\\times S^{2}$, and is completely unstable for\n$\\mathcal{B}=\\mathbb{CP}^{2}$ case."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Poisson-Lie T-Duality of WZW Model via Current Algebra Deformation: Poisson-Lie T-duality of the Wess-Zumino-Witten (WZW) model having the group\nmanifold of $SU(2)$ as target space is investigated. The whole construction\nrelies on the deformation of the affine current algebra of the model, the\nsemi-direct sum $\\mathfrak{su}(2)(\\mathbb{R}) \\, \\dot{\\oplus} \\, \\mathfrak{a}$,\nto the fully semisimple Kac-Moody algebra\n$\\mathfrak{sl}(2,\\mathbb{C})(\\mathbb{R})$. A two-parameter family of models\nwith $SL(2,\\mathbb{C})$ as target phase space is obtained so that Poisson-Lie\nT-duality is realised as an $O(3,3)$ rotation in the phase space. The dual\nfamily shares the same phase space but its configuration space is\n$SB(2,\\mathbb{C})$, the Poisson-Lie dual of the group $SU(2)$. A parent action\nwith doubled degrees of freedom on $SL(2,\\mathbb{C})$ is defined, together with\nits Hamiltonian description.",
        "positive": "Non-perturbative BRST quantization of Euclidean Yang-Mills theories in\n  Curci-Ferrari gauges: In this paper we address the issue of the non-perturbative quantization of\nEuclidean Yang-Mills theories in the Curci-Ferrari gauge. In particular, we\nconstruct a Refined Gribov-Zwanziger action for this gauge which takes into\naccount the presence of gauge copies as well as the dynamical formation of\ndimension two condensates. This action enjoys a non-perturbative BRST symmetry\nrecently proposed in \\cite{Capri:2015ixa}. Finally, we give attention to the\ngluon propagator in different space-time dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Classical solutions in the Einstein-Born-Infeld-Abelian-Higgs model: We consider the classical equations of the Born-Infeld-Abelian-Higgs model\n(with and without coupling to gravity) in an axially symmetric ansatz. A\nnumerical analysis of the equations reveals that the (gravitating)\nNielsen-Olesen vortices are smoothly deformed by the Born-Infeld interaction,\ncharacterized by a coupling constant $\\beta^2$, and that these solutions cease\nto exist at a critical value of $\\beta^2$. When the critical value is\napproached, the length of the magnetic field on the symmetry axis becomes\ninfinite.",
        "positive": "Physics of String Flux Compactifications: We provide a qualitative review of flux compactifications of string theory,\nfocusing on broad physical implications and statistical methods of analysis."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Long-lived oscillons from asymmetric bubbles: The possibility that extremely long-lived, time-dependent, and localized\nfield configurations (``oscillons'') arise during the collapse of asymmetrical\nbubbles in 2+1 dimensional phi^4 models is investigated. It is found that\noscillons can develop from a large spectrum of elliptically deformed bubbles.\nMoreover, we provide numerical evidence that such oscillons are: a) circularly\nsymmetric; and b) linearly stable against small arbitrary radial and angular\nperturbations. The latter is based on a dynamical approach designed to\ninvestigate the stability of nonintegrable time-dependent configurations that\nis capable of probing slowly-growing instabilities not seen through the usual\n``spectral'' method.",
        "positive": "High-temperature expansion of the grand thermodynamic potential for\n  scalar particles in crossed electromagnetic fields: The problem of a scalar particle in a constant crossed electromagnetic field\n($\\mathbf{E}\\perp\\mathbf{H}$ and $|\\mathbf{E}|=|\\mathbf{H}|$) is examined. The\nhigh-temperature expansion of the grand thermodynamic potential and vacuum\nenergy with account for non-perturbative corrections are derived. The\ncontribution from particles and antiparticles is considered separately. It is\nshown that the non-perturbative corrections depend on boundary conditions but\ndo not depend on fields."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "String Theory and the Donaldson Polynomial: It is shown that the scattering of spacetime axions with fivebrane solitons\nof heterotic string theory at zero momentum is proportional to the Donaldson\npolynomial.",
        "positive": "Light Cone Bootstrap in General 2D CFTs and Entanglement from Light Cone\n  Singularity: The light cone OPE limit provides a significant amount of information\nregarding the conformal field theory (CFT), like the high-low temperature limit\nof the partition function. We started with the light cone bootstrap in the {\\it\ngeneral} CFT ${}_2$ with $c>1$. For this purpose, we needed an explicit\nasymptotic form of the Virasoro conformal blocks in the limit $z \\to 1$, which\nwas unknown until now. In this study, we computed it in general by studying the\npole structure of the {\\it fusion matrix} (or the crossing kernel). Applying\nthis result to the light cone bootstrap, we obtained the universal total twist\n(or equivalently, the universal binding energy) of two particles at a large\nangular momentum. In particular, we found that the total twist is saturated by\nthe value $\\frac{c-1}{12}$ if the total Liouville momentum exceeds beyond the\n{\\it BTZ threshold}. This might be interpreted as a black hole formation in\nAdS${}_3$. As another application of our light cone singularity, we studied the\ndynamics of entanglement after a global quench and found a Renyi phase\ntransition as the replica number was varied. We also investigated the dynamics\nof the 2nd Renyi entropy after a local quench. We also provide a universal form\nof the Regge limit of the Virasoro conformal blocks from the analysis of the\nlight cone singularity. This Regge limit is related to the general $n$-th Renyi\nentropy after a local quench and out of time ordered correlators."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "BRST symmetry of SU(2) Yang-Mills theory in Cho--Faddeev--Niemi\n  decomposition: We determine the nilpotent BRST and anti-BRST transformations for the\nCho--Faddeev-Niemi variables for the SU(2) Yang-Mills theory based on the new\ninterpretation given in the previous paper of the Cho--Faddeev-Niemi\ndecomposition. This gives a firm ground for performing the BRST quantization of\nthe Yang--Mills theory written in terms of the Cho--Faddeev-Niemi variables. We\npropose also a modified version of the new Maximal Abelian gauge which could\nplay an important role in the reduction to the original Yang-Mills theory.",
        "positive": "The Structure of the Non-SUSY Baryonic Branch of Klebanov-Strassler: We study the two-dimensional space of supergravity solutions corresponding to\nnon-supersymmetric deformations of the baryonic branch of Klebanov-Strassler.\nBy combining analytical methods with a numerical survey of the parameter space,\nwe find that this solution space includes as limits the softly-broken N=1\nsolutions of Gubser et al. and those of Dymarsky and Kuperstein. We also\nidentify a one-dimensional family of solutions corresponding to a natural\nnon-supersymmetric generalisation of Klebanov-Strassler, and one corresponding\nto the limit in which supersymmetry is completely absent, even in the far UV.\nFor almost all of the parameter space we find indications that much of the\nstructure of the supersymmetric baryonic branch survives."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Vacuum energy for a scalar field with self-interaction in (1+1)\n  dimensions: We calculate the vacuum (Casimir) energy for a scalar field with $\\phi^4$\nself-interaction in (1+1) dimensions non perturbatively, i.e., in all orders of\nthe self-interaction. We consider massive and massless fields in a finite box\nwith Dirichlet boundary conditions and on the whole axis as well. For strong\ncoupling, the vacuum energy is negative indicating some instability.",
        "positive": "Level truncation and the tachyon in open bosonic string field theory: The tachyonic instability of the open bosonic string is analyzed using the\nlevel truncation approach to string field theory. We have calculated all terms\nin the cubic action of the string field theory describing zero-momentum\ninteractions of up to level 20 between scalars of level 10 or less. These\nresults are used to study the tachyon effective potential and the\nnonperturbative stable vacuum. We find that the energy gap between the unstable\nand stable vacua converges much more quickly than the coefficients of the\neffective tachyon potential. By including fields up to level 10, 99.91% of the\nenergy from the bosonic D-brane tension is cancelled in the nonperturbative\nstable vacuum. It appears that the perturbative expansion of the effective\ntachyon potential around the unstable vacuum has a small but finite radius of\nconvergence. We find evidence for a critical point in the tachyon effective\npotential at a small negative value of the tachyon field corresponding to this\nradius of convergence. We study the branch structure of the effective potential\nin the vicinity of this point and speculate that the tachyon effective\npotential is globally nonnegative."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "More on effective composite metrics: In this work we study different classes of effective composite metrics\nproposed in the context of one-loop quantum corrections in bimetric gravity.\nFor this purpose we consider contributions of the matter loops in form of\ncosmological constants and potential terms yielding two types of effective\ncomposite metrics. This guarantees a nice behaviour at the quantum level.\nHowever, the theoretical consistency at the classical level needs to be ensured\nadditionally. It turns out that among all these possible couplings only one\nunique effective metric survives this criteria at the classical level.",
        "positive": "Feynman Integrals and Intersection Theory: We introduce the tools of intersection theory to the study of Feynman\nintegrals, which allows for a new way of projecting integrals onto a basis. In\norder to illustrate this technique, we consider the Baikov representation of\nmaximal cuts in arbitrary space-time dimension. We introduce a minimal basis of\ndifferential forms with logarithmic singularities on the boundaries of the\ncorresponding integration cycles. We give an algorithm for computing a basis\ndecomposition of an arbitrary maximal cut using so-called intersection numbers\nand describe two alternative ways of computing them. Furthermore, we show how\nto obtain Pfaffian systems of differential equations for the basis integrals\nusing the same technique. All the steps are illustrated on the example of a\ntwo-loop non-planar triangle diagram with a massive loop."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exact self-gravitating N-body motion in the CGHS model: In the asymptotically flat two-dimensional dilaton gravity, we present an\nN-body particle action which has a dilaton coupled mass term for the exact\nsolubility. This gives nonperturbative exact solutions for the N-body\nself-gravitating system, so the infalling particles form a black hole and their\ntrajectories are exactly described. In our two-dimensional case, the critical\nmass for the formation of black holes does not exist, so even a single particle\nforms a black hole, which means that we can treat many black holes. The\ninfalling particles give additional time-like singularities in addition to the\nspace-like black hole singularity. However, the latter singularities can be\nproperly cloaked by the future horizons within some conditions.",
        "positive": "Proper incorporation of self-adjoint extension method to Green's\n  function formalism : one-dimensional $\u03b4^{'}$-function potential case: One-dimensional $\\delta^{'}$-function potential is discussed in the framework\nof Green's function formalism without invoking perturbation expansion. It is\nshown that the energy-dependent Green's function for this case is crucially\ndependent on the boundary conditions which are provided by self-adjoint\nextension method. The most general Green's function which contains four real\nself-adjoint extension parameters is constructed. Also the relation between the\nbare coupling constant and self-adjoint extension parameter is derived."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Tachyonic Resonance Preheating in Expanding Universe: In this paper the tachyonic resonance preheating generated from the bosonic\ntrilinear $\\phi\\chi^2$ interactions in an expanding Universe is studied. In\n$\\lambda\\phi^4/4$ inflationary model the trilinear interaction, in contrast to\nthe four-legs $\\phi^2\\chi^2$, breaks the conformal symmetry explicitly and the\nresonant source term becomes non-periodic, making the Floquet theorem\ninapplicable. We find that the occupation number of the produced\n$\\chi$-particles has a non-linear exponential growth with exponent $\\sim\nx^{3/2}$, where $x$ is the conformal time. This should be contrasted with\npreheating from a periodic resonant source, arising for example from the\nfour-legs $\\phi^2\\chi^2$ interaction, where the occupation number has a linear\nexponential growth. We present an analytic method to compute the interference\nterm coming from phases accumulated in non-tachyonic scattering regions and\nshow that the effects of the interference term causes ripples on $x^{3/2}$\ncurve, a result which is confirmed by numerical analysis. Studying the effects\nof back-reaction of the $\\chi$-particles, we show that tachyonic resonance\npreheating in our model can last long enough to transfer most of the energy\nfrom the background inflation field $\\phi$, providing an efficient model for\npreheating in the chaotic inflation models.",
        "positive": "Spiky strings in $\\varkappa$-deformed $AdS$: We study rigidly rotating strings in $\\varkappa$-deformed $AdS$ background.\nWe probe this classically integrable background with `spiky' strings and\nanalyze the string profiles in the large charge limit systematically. We also\ndiscuss the dispersion relation among the conserved charges for these solutions\nin long string limit."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Statistical Mechanics of Vortices from D-branes and T-duality: We propose a novel and simple method to compute the partition function of\nstatistical mechanics of local and semi-local BPS vortices in the Abelian-Higgs\nmodel and its non-Abelian extension on a torus. We use a D-brane realization of\nthe vortices and T-duality relation to domain walls. We there use a special\nlimit where domain walls reduce to gas of hard (soft) one-dimensional rods for\nAbelian (non-Abelian) cases. In the simpler cases of the Abelian-Higgs model on\na torus, our results agree with exact results which are geometrically derived\nby an explicit integration over the moduli space of vortices. The equation of\nstate for U(N) gauge theory deviates from van der Waals one, and the second\nvirial coefficient is proportional to 1/sqrt{N}, implying that non-Abelian\nvortices are \"softer\" than Abelian vortices. Vortices on a sphere are also\nbriefly discussed.",
        "positive": "Generally Covariant Actions for Multiple D-branes: We develop a formalism that allows us to write actions for multiple D-branes\nwith manifest general covariance. While the matrix coordinates of the D-branes\nhave a complicated transformation law under coordinate transformations, we find\nthat these may be promoted to (redundant) matrix fields on the transverse space\nwith a simple covariant transformation law. Using these fields, we define a\ncovariant distribution function (a matrix generalization of the delta function\nwhich describes the location of a single brane). The final actions take the\nform of an integral over the curved space of a scalar single-trace action built\nfrom the covariant matrix fields, tensors involving the metric, and the\ncovariant distribution function. For diagonal matrices, the integral localizes\nto the positions of the individual branes, giving N copies of the single-brane\naction."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The holographic map as a conditional expectation: We study the holographic map in AdS/CFT, as modeled by a quantum error\ncorrecting code with exact complementary recovery. We show that the map is\ndetermined by local conditional expectations acting on the operator algebras of\nthe boundary/physical Hilbert space. Several existing results in the literature\nfollow easily from this perspective. The Black Hole area law, and more\ngenerally the Ryu-Takayanagi area operator, arises from a central sum of\nentropies on the relative commutant. These entropies are determined in a state\nindependent way by the conditional expectation. The conditional expectation can\nalso be found via a minimization procedure, similar to the minimization\ninvolved in the RT formula. For a local net of algebras associated to connected\nboundary regions, we show the complementary recovery condition is equivalent to\nthe existence of a standard net of inclusions -- an abstraction of the\nmathematical structure governing QFT superselection sectors given by Longo and\nRehren. For a code consisting of algebras associated to two disjoint regions of\nthe boundary theory we impose an extra condition, dubbed dual-additivity, that\ngives rise to phase transitions between different entanglement wedges.\nDual-additive codes naturally give rise to a new split code subspace, and an\nentropy bound controls which subspace and associated algebra is\nreconstructable. We also discuss known shortcomings of exact complementary\nrecovery as a model of holography. For example, these codes are not able to\naccommodate holographic violations of additive for overlapping regions. We\ncomment on how approximate codes can fix these issues.",
        "positive": "Strings in Yang-Mills-Higgs theory coupled to gravity: Non-Abelian strings for an Einstein-Yang-Mills-Higgs theory are explicitly\nconstructed. We consider N_f Higgs fields in the fundamental representation of\nthe U(1)xSU(N_c) gauge group in order to have a color-flavor SU(N_c) group\nremaining unbroken. Choosing a suitable ansatz for the metric, Bogomol'nyi-like\nfirst order equations are found and rotationally symmetric solutions are\nproposed. In the N_f = N_c case, solutions are local strings and are shown to\nbe truly non-Abelian by parameterizing them in terms of orientational\ncollective coordinates. When N_f > N_c, the solutions correspond to semilocal\nstrings which, beside the orientational degrees of freedom, acquire additional\ncollective coordinates parameterizing their transverse size. The low-energy\neffective theories for the correspondent moduli are found, showing that all\nzero modes are normalizable in presence of gravity, even in the semilocal case."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Towards gravitational QNM spectrum from quantum spacetime: The effective potential for the axial mode of gravitational wave on\nnoncommutative Schwarzschild background is presented.\n  Noncommutativity is introduced via deformed Hopf algebra of diffeomorphisms\nby means of a semi-Killing Drinfeld twist.\n  The analysis is performed up to the first order in perturbation of the metric\nand noncommutativity parameter.\n  This results in a modified Regge-Wheeler potential with the strongest\ndifferences in comparison to the classical Regge-Wheeler potential being near\nthe horizon.",
        "positive": "The mass formula for a fundamental string as a BPS solution of a\n  D-brane's worldvolume: We propose a (generalized) ``mass formula'' for a fundamental string\ndescribed as a BPS solution of a D-brane's worldvolume. The mass formula is\nobtained by using the Hamiltonian density on the worldvolume, based on\ntransformation properties required for it. Its validity is confirmed by\ninvestigating the cases of point charge solutions of D-branes in a D-8-brane\n(i.e. curved) background, where the mass of each of the corresponding strings\nis proportional to the geodesic distance from the D-brane to the point\nparametrized by the (regularized) value of a transverse scalar field. It is\nalso shown that the mass of the string agrees with the energy defined on the\nD-brane's worldvolume only in the flat background limit, but the agreement does\nnot always hold when the background is curved."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "GR uniqueness and deformations: In the metric formulation gravitons are described with the parity symmetric\n$S_+^2\\otimes S_-^2$ representation of Lorentz group. General Relativity is\nthen the unique theory of interacting gravitons with second order field\nequations. We show that if a chiral $S_+^3\\otimes S_-$ representation is used\ninstead, the uniqueness is lost, and there is an infinite-parametric family of\ntheories of interacting gravitons with second order field equations. We use the\nlanguage of graviton scattering amplitudes, and show how the uniqueness of GR\nis avoided using simple dimensional analysis. The resulting distinct from GR\ngravity theories are all parity asymmetric, but share the GR MHV amplitudes.\nThey have new all same helicity graviton scattering amplitudes at every\ngraviton order. The amplitudes with at least one graviton of opposite helicity\ncontinue to be determinable by the BCFW recursion.",
        "positive": "Coupling supergravity to non-supersymmetric matter: By introducing a nonlinearly transforming goldstino field\nnon-super\\-sym\\-metric matter can be coupled to supergravity. This implies the\npossibility of coupling a standard model with one Higgs to supergravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Limits on the integration constant of the dark radiation term in Brane\n  Cosmology: We consider the constraints from primordial Helium abundances on the constant\nof integration of the dark radiation term of the brane-world generalized\nFriedmann equation derived from the Randall-Sundrum Single brane model. We\nfound that -- using simple, approximate and semianalytical Method -- that the\nconstant of integration is limited to be between -8.9 and 2.2 which limits the\npossible contribution from dark radiation term to be approximately between -27%\nto 7% of the background photon energy density.",
        "positive": "Evolution equation for 3-quark Wilson loop operator: The evolution equation for the 3 quark Wilson loop operator has been derived\nin the leading logarithm approximation within Balitsky high energy operator\nexpansion."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "6D Supersymmetry, Projective Superspace and 4D, N=1 Superfields: In this note, we establish the formulation of 6D, N=1 hypermultiplets in\nterms of 4D chiral-nonminimal (CNM) scalar multiplets. The coupling of these to\n6D, N=1 Yang-Mills multiplets is described. A 6D, N=1 projective superspace\nformulation is given in which the above multiplets naturally emerge. The\ncovariant superspace quantization of these multiplets is studied in details.",
        "positive": "Quantum Field Theory on Star Graphs: We discuss some basic aspects of quantum fields on star graphs, focusing on\nboundary conditions, symmetries and scale invariance in particular. We\ninvestigate the four-fermion bulk interaction in detail. Using bosonization and\nvertex operators, we solve the model exactly for scale invariant boundary\nconditions, formulated in terms of the fermion current and without dissipation.\nThe critical points are classified and determined explicitly. These results are\napplied for deriving the charge and spin transport, which have interesting\nphysical features."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Vacuum Structure of Two-Dimensional Gauge Theories on the Light Front: We discuss the problem of vacuum structure in light-front field theory in the\ncontext of (1+1)-dimensional gauge theories. We begin by reviewing the known\nlight-front solution of the Schwinger model, highlighting the issues that are\nrelevant for reproducing the $\\theta$-structure of the vacuum. The most\nimportant of these are the need to introduce degrees of freedom initialized on\ntwo different null planes, the proper incorporation of gauge field zero modes\nwhen periodicity conditions are used to regulate the infrared, and the\nimportance of carefully regulating singular operator products in a\ngauge-invariant way. We then consider SU(2) Yang-Mills theory in 1+1 dimensions\ncoupled to massless adjoint fermions. With all fields in the adjoint\nrepresentation the gauge group is actually SU(2)$/Z_2$, which possesses\nnontrivial topology. In particular, there are two topological sectors and the\nphysical vacuum state has a structure analogous to a $\\theta$ vacuum. We\nformulate the model using periodicity conditions in $x^\\pm$ for infrared\nregulation, and consider a solution in which the gauge field zero mode is\ntreated as a constrained operator. We obtain the expected $Z_2$ vacuum\nstructure, and verify that the discrete vacuum angle which enters has no effect\non the spectrum of the theory. We then calculate the chiral condensate, which\nis sensitive to the vacuum structure. The result is nonzero, but inversely\nproportional to the periodicity length, a situation which is familiar from the\nSchwinger model. The origin of this behavior is discussed.",
        "positive": "Stochastic Analysis of an Accelerated Charged Particle -Transverse\n  Fluctuations-: An accelerated particle sees the Minkowski vacuum as thermally excited, and\nthe particle moves stochastically due to an interaction with the thermal bath.\nThis interaction fluctuates the particle's transverse momenta like the Brownian\nmotion in a heat bath. Because of this fluctuating motion, it has been\ndiscussed that the accelerated charged particle emits extra radiation (the\nUnruh radiation) in addition to the classical Larmor radiation, and experiments\nare under planning to detect such radiation by using ultrahigh intensity lasers\nconstructed in near future. There are, however, counterarguments that the\nradiation is canceled by an interference effect between the vacuum fluctuation\nand the fluctuating motion. In fact, in the case of an internal detector where\nthe Heisenberg equation of motion can be solved exactly, there is no additional\nradiation after the thermalization is completed. In this paper, we revisit the\nissue in the case of an accelerated charged particle in the scalar-field analog\nof QED. We prove the equipartition theorem of transverse momenta by\ninvestigating a stochastic motion of the particle, and show that the Unruh\nradiation is partially canceled by an interference effect."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dualities and loops on squashed $S^3$: We consider $\\mathcal{N}=4$ supersymmetric gauge theories on the squashed\nthree-sphere with six preserved supercharges. We first discuss how Wilson and\nvortex loops preserve up to four of the supercharges and we find squashing\nindependence for the expectation values of these $\\frac{2}{3}$-BPS loops. We\nthen show how the additional supersymmetries facilitate the analytic matching\nof partition functions and loop operator expectation values to those in the\nmirror dual theory, allowing one to lift all the results that were previously\nestablished on the round sphere to the squashed sphere. Additionally, on the\nsquashed sphere with four preserved supercharges, we numerically evaluate the\npartition functions of ABJM and its dual super-Yang-Mills at low ranks of the\ngauge group. We find matching values of their partition functions, prompting us\nto conjecture the general equality on the squashed sphere. From the numerics we\nalso observe the squashing dependence of the Lee-Yang zeros and of the\nnon-perturbative corrections to the all order large $N$ expression for the ABJM\npartition function.",
        "positive": "Electron neutrino mass scale in spectrum of Dirac equation with the\n  5-form flux term on the AdS(5)xS(5) background: Dimensional reduction from 10 to 5 dimensions of the IIB supergravity Dirac\nequation written down on the AdS(5)xS(5) (+ self-dual 5-form) background\nprovides the unambiguous values of bulk masses of Fermions in the effective 5D\nRandall Sundrum theory. The use of \"untwisted\" and \"twisted\" (hep-th/0012378)\nboundary conditions at the UV and IR ends of the warped space-time results in\ntwo towers of spectrum of Dirac equation: the ordinary one which is linear in\nspectral number and the \"twisted\" one exponentially decreasing with growth of\nspectral number. Taking into account of the Fermion-5-form interaction\n(hep-th/9811106) gives the electron neutrino mass scale in the \"twisted\"\nspectrum of Dirac equation. Profiles in extra space of the eigenfunctions of\nleft and right \"neutrinos\" drastically differ which may result in the extremely\nsmall coupling of light right neutrino with ordinary matter thus joining it to\nplethora of candidates for Dark Matter."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Comment on ``A New Symmetry for QED'' and ``Relativistically Covariant\n  Symmetry in QED'': We show that recently found symmetries in QED are just non-local versions of\nstandard BRST symmetry.",
        "positive": "Hydrodynamic manifestations of gravitational chiral anomaly: The conservation of an axial current modified by the gravitational chiral\nanomaly implies the universal transport phenomenon (Kinematical Vortical\nEffect) dependent solely on medium vorticity and acceleration but not dependent\nexplicitly on its temperature and density. This general analysis is verified\nfor the case of massless fermions with spin 1/2."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Integrability and MHV diagrams in N=4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory: We apply MHV diagrams to the derivation of the one-loop dilatation operator\nof N=4 super Yang-Mills in the SO(6) sector. We find that in this approach the\ncalculation reduces to the evaluation of a single MHV diagram in dimensional\nregularisation. This provides the first application of MHV diagrams to an\noff-shell quantity. We also discuss other applications of the method and future\ndirections.",
        "positive": "The Multi-Regge limit of NMHV Amplitudes in N=4 SYM Theory: We consider the multi-Regge limit for N=4 SYM NMHV leading color amplitudes\nin two different formulations: the BFKL formalism for multi-Regge amplitudes in\nleading logarithm approximation, and superconformal N=4 SYM amplitudes. It is\nshown that the two approaches agree to two-loops for the 2->4 and 3->3\nsix-point amplitudes. Predictions are made for the multi-Regge limit of three\nloop 2->4 and 3->3 NMHV amplitudes, as well as a particular sub-set of two loop\n2 ->2 +n N^kMHV amplitudes in the multi-Regge limit in the leading logarithm\napproximation from the BFKL point of view."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "An Introduction to Spontaneous Symmetry Breaking: Perhaps the most important aspect of symmetry in physics is the idea that a\nstate does not need to have the same symmetries as the theory that describes\nit. This phenomenon is known as spontaneous symmetry breaking. In these lecture\nnotes, starting from a careful definition of symmetry in physics, we introduce\nsymmetry breaking and its consequences. Emphasis is placed on the physics of\nsingular limits, showing the reality of symmetry breaking even in small-sized\nsystems. Topics covered include Nambu-Goldstone modes, quantum corrections,\nphase transitions, topological defects and gauge fields. We provide many\nexamples from both high energy and condensed matter physics. These notes are\nsuitable for graduate students.",
        "positive": "Leading low-energy effective action in the 6D hypermultiplet theory on a\n  vector/tensor background: We consider a six dimensional (1,0) hypermultiplet model coupled to an\nexternal field of vector/tensor system and study the structure of the\nlow-energy effective action of this model. Manifestly a (1,0) supersymmetric\nprocedure of computing the effective action is developed in the framework of\nthe superfield proper-time technique. The leading low-energy contribution to\nthe effective action is calculated."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Towards a Big Crunch Dual: We show there exist smooth asymptotically anti-de Sitter initial data which\nevolve to a big crunch singularity in a low energy supergravity limit of string\ntheory. This opens up the possibility of using the dual conformal field theory\nto obtain a fully quantum description of the cosmological singularity. A\npreliminary study of this dual theory suggests that the big crunch is an\nendpoint of evolution even in the full string theory. We also show that any\ntheory with scalar solitons must have negative energy solutions. The results\npresented here clarify our earlier work on cosmic censorship violation in N=8\nsupergravity.",
        "positive": "The boundary state for a class of analytic solutions in open string\n  field theory: We construct a boundary state for a class of analytic solutions in the\nWitten's open string field theory. The result is consistent with the property\nof the zero limit of a propagator's length, which was claimed in [19]. And we\nshow that our boundary state becomes expected one for the perturbative vacuum\nsolution and the tachyon vacuum solution. We also comment on possible presence\nof multi-brane solutions and ghost brane solutions from our boundary state."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Bounded solutions of fermions in the background of mixed vector-scalar\n  inversely linear potentials: The problem of a fermion subject to a general mixing of vector and scalar\npotentials in a two-dimensional world is mapped into a Sturm-Liouville problem.\nIsolated bounded solutions are also searched. For the specific case of an\ninversely linear potential, which gives rise to an effective Kratzer potential\nin the Sturm-Liouville problem, exact bounded solutions are found in closed\nform. The case of a pure scalar potential with their isolated zero-energy\nsolutions, already analyzed in a previous work, is obtained as a particular\ncase. The behaviour of the upper and lower components of the Dirac spinor is\ndiscussed in detail and some unusual results are revealed. The nonrelativistic\nlimit of our results adds a new support to the conclusion that even-parity\nsolutions to the nonrelativistic one-dimensional hydrogen atom do not exist.",
        "positive": "Beyond Triality: Dual Quiver Gauge Theories and Little String Theories: The web of dual gauge theories engineered from a class of toric Calabi-Yau\nthreefolds is explored. In previous work, we have argued for a triality\nstructure by compiling evidence for the fact that every such manifold $X_{N,M}$\n(for given $(N,M)$) engineers three a priori different, weakly coupled quiver\ngauge theories in five dimensions. The strong coupling regime of the latter is\nin general described by Little String Theories. Furthermore, we also\nconjectured that the manifold $X_{N,M}$ is dual to $X_{N',M'}$ if $NM=N'M'$ and\n$\\text{gcd}(N,M)=\\text{gcd}(N',M')$. Combining this result with the triality\nstructure, we currently argue for a large number of dual quiver gauge theories,\nwhose instanton partition functions can be computed explicitly as specific\nexpansions of the topological partition function $\\mathcal{Z}_{N,M}$ of\n$X_{N,M}$. We illustrate this web of dual theories by studying explicit\nexamples in detail. We also undertake first steps in further analysing the\nextended moduli space of $X_{N,M}$ with the goal of finding other dual gauge\ntheories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The relativistic fluid dual to vacuum Einstein gravity: We present a construction of a (d+2)-dimensional Ricci-flat metric\ncorresponding to a (d+1)-dimensional relativistic fluid, representing\nholographically the hydrodynamic regime of a (putative) dual theory. We show\nhow to obtain the metric to arbitrarily high order using a relativistic\ngradient expansion, and explicitly carry out the computation to second order.\nThe fluid has zero energy density in equilibrium, which implies\nincompressibility at first order in gradients, and its stress tensor (both at\nand away from equilibrium) satisfies a quadratic constraint, which determines\nits energy density away from equilibrium. The entire dynamics to second order\nis encoded in one first order and six second order transport coefficients,\nwhich we compute. We classify entropy currents with non-negative divergence at\nsecond order in relativistic gradients. We then verify that the entropy current\nobtained by pulling back to the fluid surface the area form at the null horizon\nindeed has a non-negative divergence. We show that there are distinct\nnear-horizon scaling limits that are equivalent either to the relativistic\ngradient expansion we discuss here, or to the non-relativistic expansion\nassociated with the Navier-Stokes equations discussed in previous works. The\nlatter expansion may be recovered from the present relativistic expansion upon\ntaking a specific non-relativistic limit.",
        "positive": "Further studies on holographic insulator/superconductor phase\n  transitions from Sturm-Liouville eigenvalue problems: We take advantage of the Sturm-Liouville eigenvalue problem to analytically\nstudy the holographic insulator/superconductor phase transition in the probe\nlimit. The interesting point is that this analytical method can not only\nestimate the most stable mode of the phase transition, but also the second\nstable mode. We find that this analytical method perfectly matches with other\nnumerical methods, such as the shooting method. Besides, we argue that only\nDirichlet boundary condition of the trial function is enough under certain\ncircumstances, which will lead to a more precise estimation. This relaxation\nfor the boundary condition of the trial function is first observed in this\npaper as far as we know."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Comments on lump solutions in SFT: We analyze a recently proposed scheme to construct analytic lump solutions in\nopen SFT. We argue that in order for the scheme to be operative and guarantee\nbackground independence it must be implemented in the same 2D conformal field\ntheory in which SFT is formulated. We outline and discuss two different\npossible approaches. Next we reconsider an older proposal for analytic lump\nsolutions and implement a few improvements. In the course of the analysis we\nformulate a distinction between regular and singular gauge transformations and\nadvocate the necessity of defining a topology in the space of string fields.",
        "positive": "Axion decay constants at special points in type II string theory: We propose the mechanism to disentangle the decay constant of closed string\naxion from the string scale in the framework of type II string theory on\nCalabi-Yau manifold. We find that the quantum and geometrical corrections in\nthe prepotential that arise at some special points in the moduli space widen\nthe window of axion decay constant. In particular, around the small complex\nstructure points, the axion decay constant becomes significantly lower than the\nstring scale. We also discuss the moduli stabilization leading to the\nphenomenologically attractive low-scale axion decay constant."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Domain wall junctions in a generalized Wess-Zumino model: We investigate domain wall junctions in a generalized Wess-Zumino model with\na Z(N) symmetry. We present a method to identify the junctions which are\npotentially BPS saturated. We then use a numerical simulation to show that\nthose junctions indeed saturate the BPS bound for N=4. In addition, we study\nthe decay of unstable non-BPS junctions.",
        "positive": "Cuscuton: A Causal Field Theory with an Infinite Speed of Sound: We introduce a model of scalar field dark energy, Cuscuton, which can be\nrealized as the incompressible (or infinite speed of sound) limit of a scalar\nfield theory with a non-canonical kinetic term (or k-essence). Even though\nperturbations of Cuscuton propagate superluminally, we show that they have a\nlocally degenerate phase space volume (or zero entropy), implying that they\ncannot carry any microscopic information, and thus the theory is causal. Even\ncoupling to ordinary scalar fields cannot lead to superluminal signal\npropagation. Furthermore, we show that the family of constant field\nhypersurfaces are the family of Constant Mean Curvature (CMC) hypersurfaces,\nwhich are the analogs of soap films (or soap bubbles) in a Euclidian space.\nThis enables us to find the most general solution in 1+1 dimensions, whose\nproperties motivate conjectures for global degeneracy of the phase space in\nhigher dimensions. Finally, we show that the Cuscuton action can model the\ncontinuum limit of the evolution of a field with discrete degrees of freedom\nand argue why it is protected against quantum corrections at low energies.\nWhile this paper mainly focuses on interesting features of Cuscuton in a\nMinkowski spacetime, a companion paper (astro-ph/0702002) examines cosmology\nwith Cuscuton dark energy."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "QCD strings and the thermodynamics of the metastable phase of QCD at\n  large $N_c$: The thermodyanmics of a metastable hadronic phase of QCD at large $N_C$ are\nrelated to properties of an effective QCD string. In particular, it is shown\nthat in the large $N_c$ limit and near the maximum hadronic temperature, $T_H$,\nthe energy density and pressure of the metastable phase scale as ${\\cal E} \\sim\n(T_H-T)^{-(D_\\perp-6)/2}$ (for $D_\\perp <6$) and $P \\sim\n(T_H-T)^{-(D_\\perp-4)/2}$ (for $D_\\perp <4$) where $D_\\perp$ is the effective\nnumber of transverse dimensions of the string theory. It is shown, however,\nthat for the thermodynamic quantities of interest the limits $T \\to T_H$ and\n$N_c \\to \\infty$ do not commute. The prospect of extracting $D_\\perp$ via\nlattice simulations of the metastable hadronic phase at moderately large $N_c$\nis discussed.",
        "positive": "Quantum Theory in Accelerated Frames of Reference: The observational basis of quantum theory in accelerated systems is studied.\nThe extension of Lorentz invariance to accelerated systems via the hypothesis\nof locality is discussed and the limitations of this hypothesis are pointed\nout. The nonlocal theory of accelerated observers is briefly described.\nMoreover, the main observational aspects of Dirac's equation in noninertial\nframes of reference are presented. The Galilean invariance of nonrelativistic\nquantum mechanics and the mass superselection rule are examined in the light of\nthe invariance of physical laws under inhomogeneous Lorentz transformations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "de Sitter Spacetimes from Warped Compactifications of IIB String Theory: We continue our study of codimension two solutions of warped space-time\nvarying compactifications of string theory. In this letter we discuss a\nnon-supersymmetric solution of the classical type IIB string theory with de\nSitter gravity on a codimension two uncompactified part of spacetime. A\nnon-zero positive value of the cosmological constant is induced by the presence\nof non-trivial stringy moduli, such as the axion-dilaton system for the type\nIIB string theory. Furthermore, the naked singularity of the codimension two\nsolution is resolved by the presence of a small but non-zero cosmological\nconstant.",
        "positive": "Self-duality and vacuum selection: I propose that self-duality in quantum phase-space provides the criteria for\nthe selection of the quantum gravity vacuum. The evidence for this assertion\narises from two independent considerations. The first is the phenomenological\nsuccess of the free fermionic heterotic-string models, which are constructed in\nthe vicinity of the self-dual point under T-duality. The relation between the\nfree fermionic models and the underlying Z2 X Z2 toroidal orbifolds is\ndiscussed. Recent analysis revealed that the Z2 X Z2 free fermionic orbifolds\nutilize an asymmetric shift in the reduction to three generations, which\nindicates that the untwisted geometrical moduli are fixed near the self-dual\npoint. The second consideration arises from the recent formulation of quantum\nmechanics from an equivalence postulate and its relation to phase-space\nduality. In this context it is demonstrated that the trivial state, with\nV(q)=E=0, is identified with the self-dual state under phase-space duality.\nThese observations suggest a more general mathematical principle in operation.\nIn physical systems that exhibit a duality structure, the self-dual states\nunder the given duality transformations correspond to critical points."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Solvable 2D Quantum Gravity Model with $\\GAMMA >0$: We consider a model of discretized 2d gravity interacting with Ising spins\nwhere phase boundaries are restricted to have minimal length and show\nanalytically that the critical exponent $\\gamma= 1/3$ at the spin transition\npoint. The model captures the numerically observed behavior of standard\nmultiple Ising spins coupled to 2d gravity.",
        "positive": "Noncommutativity and the lightfront: We discuss various limits which transform configuration space into phase\nspace, with emphasis on those related to lightfront field theory, and show that\nthey are unified by spectral flow. Examples include quantising in `almost\nlightfront' coordinates and the appearance of lightlike noncommutativity from a\nstrong background laser field. We compare this with the limit of a strong\nmagnetic field, and investigate the role played by lightfront zero modes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Noncommutative Geometry and Matrix Theory: Compactification on Tori: We study toroidal compactification of Matrix theory, using ideas and results\nof non-commutative geometry. We generalize this to compactification on the\nnoncommutative torus, explain the classification of these backgrounds, and\nargue that they correspond in supergravity to tori with constant background\nthree-form tensor field. The paper includes an introduction for mathematicians\nto the IKKT formulation of Matrix theory and its relation to the BFSS Matrix\ntheory.",
        "positive": "2k-dimensional N=8 supersymmetric quantum mechanics: We demonstrate that two-dimensional N=8 supersymmetric quantum mechanics\nwhich inherits the most interesting properties of $N=2, d=4$ SYM can be\nconstructed if the reduction to one dimension is performed in terms of the\nbasic object, i.e. the $N=2, d=4$ vector multiplet. In such a reduction only\ncomplex scalar fields from the $N=2, d=4$ vector multiplet become physical\nbosons in $d=1$, while the rest of the bosonic components are reduced to\nauxiliary fields, thus giving rise to the {\\bf (2, 8, 6)} supermultiplet in\n$d=1$. We construct the most general action for this supermultiplet with all\npossible Fayet-Iliopoulos terms included and explicitly demonstrate that the\naction possesses duality symmetry extended to the fermionic sector of theory.\nIn order to deal with the second--class constraints present in the system, we\nintroduce the Dirac brackets for the canonical variables and find the\nsupercharges and Hamiltonian which form a N=8 super Poincar\\`{e} algebra with\ncentral charges. Finally, we explicitly present the generalization of\ntwo-dimensional N=8 supersymmetric quantum mechanics to the $2k$-dimensional\ncase with a special K\\\"{a}hler geometry in the target space."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hilbert series and mixed branches of $T[SU(N)]$ theory: We consider mixed branches of 3d $\\mathcal{N}=4$ $T[SU(N)]$ theory. We\ncompute the Hilbert series of the Coulomb branch part of the mixed branch from\na restriction rule acting on the Hilbert series of the full Coulomb branch that\nwill truncate the magnetic charge summation only to the subset of BPS dressed\nmonopole operators that arise in the Coulomb branch sublocus where the mixed\nbranch stems. This restriction can be understood directly from the type IIB\nbrane picture by a relation between the magnetic charges of the monopoles and\nbrane position moduli. We also apply the restriction rule to the Higgs branch\npart of a given mixed branch by exploiting 3d mirror symmetry. Both cases show\ncomplete agreement with the results calculated by different methods.",
        "positive": "Matter-coupled de Sitter Supergravity: De Sitter supergravity describes interaction of supergravity with general\nchiral and vector multiplets as well as one nilpotent chiral multiplet. The\nextra universal positive term in the potential due to the nilpotent multiplet,\ncorresponding to the anti-D3 brane in string theory, supports de Sitter vacua\nin these supergravity models. In the flat space limit these supergravity models\ninclude the Volkov-Akulov model with a non-linearly realized supersymmetry. The\nrules for constructing pure de Sitter supergravity action are generalized here\nin presence of other matter multiplets. We present a strategy to derive the\ncomplete closed form general supergravity action with a given Kahler potential\n$K$, superpotential $W$ and vector matrix $f_{AB}$ interacting with a nilpotent\nchiral multiplet. It has the potential $V=e^K(|F^2 |+ |DW|^2 - 3 |W|^2)$, where\n$F$ is a necessarily non-vanishing value of the auxiliary field of the\nnilpotent multiplet. De Sitter vacua are present under simple condition that\n$|F^2|- 3|W|^2>0$. A complete explicit action in the unitary gauge is\npresented."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A generalized photon propagator: A covariant gauge independent derivation of the generalized dispersion\nrelation of electromagnetic waves in a medium with local and linear\nconstitutive law is presented. A generalized photon propagator is derived. For\nMaxwell constitutive tensor, the standard light cone structure and the standard\nFeynman propagator are reinstated.",
        "positive": "On the impact of Majorana masses in gravity-matter systems: We investigate the Higgs-Yukawa system with Majorana masses of a fermion\nwithin asymptotically safe quantum gravity. Using the functional\nrenormalization group method we derive the beta functions of the Majorana\nmasses and the Yukawa coupling constant and discuss the possibility of a\nnon-trivial fixed point for the Yukawa coupling constant. In the gravitational\nsector we take into account higher derivative terms such as $R^2$ and\n$R_{\\mu\\nu}R^{\\mu\\nu}$ in addition to the Einstein-Hilbert term for our\ntruncation. For a certain value of the gravitational coupling constants and the\nMajorana masses, the Yukawa coupling constant has a non-trivial fixed point\nvalue and becomes an irrelevant parameter being thus a prediction of the\ntheory. We also discuss consequences due to the Majorana mass terms to the\nrunning of the quartic coupling constant in the scalar sector."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Classical polymerization of the Schwarzschild metric: We study a spherically symmetric setup consisting of a Schwarzschild metric\nas the background geometry in the framework of classical polymerization. This\nprocess is an extension of the polymeric representation of quantum mechanics in\nsuch a way that a transformation maps classical variables to their polymeric\ncounterpart. We show that the usual Schwarzschild metric can be extracted from\na Hamiltonian function which in turn, gets modifications due to the classical\npolymerization. Then, the polymer corrected Schwarzschild metric may be\nobtained by solving the polymer-Hamiltonian equations of motion. It is shown\nthat while the conventional Schwarzschild space-time is a vacuum solution of\nthe Einstein equations, its polymer-corrected version corresponds to an\nenergy-momentum tensor that exhibits the features of dark energy. We also use\nthe resulting metric to investigate some thermodynamical quantities associated\nto the Schwarzschild black hole, and in comparison with the standard\nSchwarzschild metric the similarities and differences are discussed.",
        "positive": "Quantum Spacetime and Algebraic Quantum Field Theory: We review the investigations on the quantum structure of spactime, to be\nfound at the Planck scale if one takes into account the operational limitations\nto localization of events which result from the concurrence of Quantum\nMechanics and General Relativity. We also discuss the different approaches to\n(perturbative) Quantum Field Theory on Quantum Spacetime, and some of the\npossible cosmological consequences."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Heterotic fluxes and supersymmetry: We show that the formal alpha' expansion for heterotic flux vacua is only\nsensible when flux quantization and the appearance of string scale cycles in\nthe geometry are carefully taken into account. We summarize a number of\nproperties of solutions with N=1 and N=2 space-time supersymmetry.",
        "positive": "Notes on renormalization: We outline the proofs of several principal statements in conventional\nrenormalization theory. This may be of some use in the light of new trends and\nnew techniques (Hopf algebras, etc.) recently introduced in the field."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauged Linear Sigma Model for Exotic Five-brane: We study an N=(4,4) supersymmetric gauged linear sigma model which gives rise\nto the nonlinear sigma model for multi-centered KK-monopoles. We find a new\nT-duality transformation of the model even in the presence of F-terms.\nPerforming T-duality, we find the gauged linear sigma model whose IR limit\ndescribes the exotic 522-brane with B-field.",
        "positive": "Type I vacua with brane supersymmetry breaking: We show how chiral type I models whose tadpole conditions have no\nsupersymmetric solution can be consistently defined introducing antibranes with\nnon-supersymmetric world volumes. At tree level, the resulting stable non-BPS\nconfigurations correspond to tachyon-free spectra, where supersymmetry is\nbroken at the string scale on some (anti)branes but is exact in the bulk, and\ncan be further deformed by the addition of brane-antibrane pairs of the same\ntype. As a result, a scalar potential is generated, that can stabilize some\nradii of the compact space. This setting has the novel virtue of linking\nsupersymmetry breaking to the consistency requirements of an underlying\nfundamental theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Photon Self-Energy and Electric Susceptibility in a Magnetized\n  Three-flavor Color Superconductor: We study the photon self-energy for the in-medium photon in a three-flavor\ncolor superconductor in the presence of a magnetic field. At strong magnetic\nfield, the quark dynamics becomes $(1+1)$-dimensional and the self-energy\ntensor only has longitudinal components. In this approximation there is no\nDebye or Meissner screenings at zero temperature, but the electric\nsusceptibility is nonzero and highly anisotropic. In the direction transverse\nto the applied field, the electric susceptibility is the same as in vacuum,\nwhile in the longitudinal direction it depends on the magnitude of the magnetic\nfield. Such a behavior is a realization in cold-dense QCD of the\nmagnetoelectric effect, which was first discovered in condensed matter physics.\nThe magnetic permeability remains equal to that in vacuum for both transverse\nand longitudinal components. We discuss the importance of the Pauli-Villars\nregularization to get meaningful physical results in the infrared limit of the\npolarization operator. We also find the covariant form of the polarization\noperator in the reduced (1+1)-D space of the lowest Landau level and proves its\ntransversality.",
        "positive": "The Constrained State of Minimum Energy and the Effective Equation of\n  Motion: We define the state of minimum energy while the expectation values of the\nfield operators and their time derivatives in a determined moment in such a\nstate are constrained. As an axiom, we consider such a state as the background\nof the quantum field theory. As an example, we consider the scalar field with\n{\\lambda}/4!{\\Phi}4 interaction. To the third order of perturbation, we obtain\nthe equation of motion of the dynamic expectation value of the scalar field in\nthe defined state."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Maximally supersymmetric G-backgrounds of IIB supergravity: We classify the geometry of all supersymmetric IIB backgrounds which admit\nthe maximal number of $G$-invariant Killing spinors. For compact stability\nsubgroups $G=G_2, SU(3)$ and SU(2), the spacetime is locally isometric to a\nproduct $X_n\\times Y_{10-n}$ with $n=3,4,6$, where $X_n$ is a maximally\nsupersymmetric solution of a $n$-dimensional supergravity theory and $Y_{10-n}$\nis a Riemannian manifold with holonomy $G$. For non-compact stability\nsubgroups, $G=K\\ltimes\\bR^8$, $K=Spin(7)$, SU(4), $Sp(2)$, $SU(2)\\times SU(2)$\nand $\\{1\\}$, the spacetime is a pp-wave propagating in an eight-dimensional\nmanifold with holonomy $K$. We find new supersymmetric pp-wave solutions of IIB\nsupergravity.",
        "positive": "Massive mixed symmetry field dynamics in open bosonic string theory: We consider the sigma-model description of an open string interacting with\nmassive fields of the fourth (third massive) level. Equations of motion for the\nbackground fields are obtained by demanding that the renormalized operator of\nthe energy-momentum tensor trace vanishes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The large N limit of quiver matrix models and Sasaki-Einstein manifolds: We study the matrix models that result from localization of the partition\nfunctions of N=2 Chern-Simons-matter theories on the three-sphere. A large\nclass of such theories are conjectured to be holographically dual to M-theory\non Sasaki-Einstein seven-manifolds. We study the M-theory limit (large N and\nfixed Chern-Simons levels) of these matrix models for various examples, and\nshow that in this limit the free energy reproduces the expected AdS/CFT result\nof N^{3/2}/Vol(Y)^{1/2}, where Vol(Y) is the volume of the corresponding\nSasaki-Einstein metric. More generally we conjecture a relation between the\nlarge N limit of the partition function, interpreted as a function of trial\nR-charges, and the volumes of Sasakian metrics on links of Calabi-Yau four-fold\nsingularities. We verify this conjecture for a family of U(N)^2 Chern-Simons\nquivers based on M2 branes at hypersurface singularities, and for a U(N)^3\ntheory based on M2 branes at a toric singularity.",
        "positive": "New universality classes of the non-Hermitian Dirac operator in QCD-like\n  theories: In non-Hermitian random matrix theory there are three universality classes\nfor local spectral correlations: the Ginibre class and the nonstandard classes\n$\\mathrm{AI}^\\dagger$ and $\\mathrm{AII}^\\dagger$. We show that the continuum\nDirac operator in two-color QCD coupled to a chiral $\\mathrm{U}(1)$ gauge field\nor an imaginary chiral chemical potential falls in class $\\mathrm{AI}^\\dagger$\n($\\mathrm{AII}^\\dagger$) for fermions in pseudoreal (real) representations of\n$\\mathrm{SU}(2)$. We introduce the corresponding chiral random matrix theories\nand verify our predictions in lattice simulations with staggered fermions, for\nwhich the correspondence between representation and universality class is\nreversed. Specifically, we compute the complex eigenvalue spacing ratios\nintroduced recently. We also derive novel spectral sum rules."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Two-dimensional Quantum-Corrected Eternal Black Hole: The one-loop quantum corrections to geometry and thermodynamics of black hole\nare studied for the two-dimensional RST model. We chose boundary conditions\ncorresponding to the eternal black hole being in the thermal equilibrium with\nthe Hawking radiation. The equations of motion are exactly integrated. The one\nof the solutions obtained is the constant curvature space-time with dilaton\nbeing a constant function. Such a solution is absent in the classical theory.\nOn the other hand, we derive the quantum-corrected metric (\\ref{solution})\nwritten in the Schwarzschild like form which is a deformation of the classical\nblack hole solution \\cite{5d}. The space-time singularity occurs to be milder\nthan in classics and the solution admits two asymptotically flat black hole\nspace-times lying at \"different sides\" of the singularity. The thermodynamics\nof the classical black hole and its quantum counterpart is formulated. The\nthermodynamical quantities (energy, temperature, entropy) are calculated and\noccur to be the same for both the classical and quantum-corrected black holes.\nSo, no quantum corrections to thermodynamics are observed. The possible\nrelevance of the results obtained to the four-dimensional case is discussed.",
        "positive": "Graphene properties from curved space Dirac equation: A mathematical formulation for particle states and electronic properties of a\ncurved graphene sheet is provided, exploiting a massless Dirac spectrum\ndescription for charge carriers living in a curved bidimensional background. In\nparticular, we study how the new description affects the characteristics of the\nsample, writing an appropriate conductivity Kubo formula for the modified\nbackground. Finally, we provide a theoretical analysis for the particular case\nof a cylindrical graphene sample."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "B\u00e4cklund transformation for non-relativistic Chern-Simons vortices: A B\\\"acklund transformation yielding the static non-relativistic Chern-Simons\nvortices of Jackiw and Pi is presented.",
        "positive": "Consistency Conditions of the Faddeev-Niemi-Periwal Ansatz for the SU(N)\n  Gauge Field: The consistency condition of the Faddeev-Niemi ansatz for the gauge-fixed\nmassless SU(2) gauge field is discussed. The generality of the ansatz is\ndemonstrated by obtaining a sufficient condition for the existence of the\nthree-component field introduced by Faddeev and Niemi. It is also shown that\nthe consistency conditions determine this three-component field as a functional\nof two arbitrary functions. The consistency conditions corresponding to the\nPeriwal ansatz for the SU(N) gauge field with N larger than 2 are also\nobtained. It is shown that the gauge field obeying the Periwal ansatz must\nsatisfy extra (N-1)(N-2)/2 conditions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Confining complex ghost degrees of freedom: We show a theorem proving that a non-local bosonic field upon a covariant\ninteraction with a confining gauge field undergoes the confinement of its\ndegrees of freedom present in the free theory changing completely the physical\nmass spectrum following Kugo-Ojima criterion. This is applicable to an infinite\nnumber of excitations of the bosonic field including ghosts whereas we pay\nspecial attention to the modes with the complex conjugate masses, states\nappearing in the string field theory motivated infinite-derivative models. The\nsame recipe will obviously work for the Lee-Wick models.",
        "positive": "Duality and higher Buscher rules in p-form gauge theory and linearized\n  gravity: We perform an in-depth analysis of the transformation rules under duality for\ncouplings of theories containing multiple scalars, $p$-form gauge fields,\nlinearized gravitons or $(p,1)$ mixed symmetry tensors. Following a similar\nreasoning to the derivation of the Buscher rules for string background fields\nunder T-duality, we show that the couplings for all classes of aforementioned\nmulti-field theories transform according to one of two sets of duality rules.\nThese sets comprise the ordinary Buscher rules and their higher counterpart;\nthis is a generic feature of multi-field theories in spacetime dimensions where\nthe field strength and its dual are of the same degree. Our analysis takes into\naccount topological theta terms and generalized $B$-fields, whose behavior\nunder duality is carefully tracked. For a 1-form or a graviton in 4D, this\nreduces to the inversion of the complexified coupling or generalized metric\nunder electric/magnetic duality. Moreover, we write down an action for\nlinearized gravity in the presence of $\\theta$-term from which we obtain\npreviously suggested on-shell duality and double duality relations. This also\nprovides an explanation for the origin of theta in the gravitational duality\nrelations as a specific additional sector of the linearized gravity action."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Entanglement Entropy Near Cosmological Singularities: We investigate the behavior of the entanglement entropy of a confining gauge\ntheory near cosmological singularities using gauge/gravity duality. As\nexpected, the coefficients of the UV divergent terms are given by simple\ngeometric properties of the entangling surface in the time-dependent\nbackground. The finite (universal) part of the entanglement entropy either\ngrows without bound or remains bounded depending on the nature of the\nsingularity and entangling region. We also discuss a confinement/deconfinement\nphase transition as signaled by the entanglement entropy.",
        "positive": "Oscillating instanton solutions in curved space: We investigate oscillating instanton solutions of a self-gravitating scalar\nfield between degenerate vacua. We show that there exist O(4)-symmetric\noscillating solutions in a de Sitter background. The geometry of this solution\nis finite and preserves the $Z_{2}$ symmetry. The nontrivial solution\ncorresponding to tunneling is possible only if the effect of gravity is taken\ninto account. We present numerical solutions of this instanton, including the\nphase diagram of solutions in terms of the parameters of the present work and\nthe variation of energy densities. Our solutions can be interpreted as\nsolutions describing an instanton-induced domain wall or braneworld-like object\nrather than a kink-induced domain wall or braneworld. The oscillating instanton\nsolutions have a thick wall and the solutions can be interpreted as a mechanism\nproviding nucleation of the thick wall for topological inflation. We remark\nthat $Z_{2}$ invariant solutions also exist in a flat and anti-de Sitter\nbackground, though the physical significance is not clear."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "From Electromagnetic Duality to Extended Electrodynamics: This paper presents the transition from Classical Electrodynamics (CED) to\nExtended Electrodynamics (EED) from the electromagnetic duality point of view,\nand emphasizes the role of the canonical complex structure in ${\\cal R}^2$ in,\nboth, nonrelativistic and relativistic formulations of CED and EED. We begin\nwith summarizing the motivations for passing to EED, as well as we motivate and\noutline the way to be followed in pursuing the right extension of Maxwell\nequations. Further we give the nonrelativistic and relativistic approaches to\nthe extension and give explicitly the new equations as well as some properties\nof the nonlinear vacuum solutions.",
        "positive": "Black holes in presence of cosmological constant: Second order in 1/D: We have extended the results of arXiv:1704.06076 upto second subleading order\nin an expansion around large dimension D. Unlike the previous case, there are\nnon-trivial metric corrections at this order. Due to our `background-covariant'\nformalism, the dependence on Ricci and the Riemann curvature tensor of the\nbackground is manifest here. The gravity system is dual to a dynamical membrane\ncoupled with a velocity field. The dual membrane is embedded in some smooth\nbackground geometry that also satisfies the Einstein equation in presence of\ncosmological constant. We explicitly computed the corrections to the equation\ngoverning the membrane-dynamics. Our results match with earlier derivations in\nappropriate limits. We calculated the spectrum of QNM from our membrane\nequations and matched them against similar results derived from gravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Generalized N=2 Topological Amplitudes and Holomorphic Anomaly Equation: In arXiv:0905.3629 we described a new class of N=2 topological amplitudes\nthat depends both on vector and hypermultiplet moduli. Here we find that this\nclass is actually a particular case of much more general topological amplitudes\nwhich appear at higher loops in heterotic string theory compactified on K3 x\nT^2. We analyze their effective field theory interpretation and derive\nparticular (first order) differential equations as a consequence of\nsupersymmetry Ward identities and the 1/2-BPS nature of the corresponding\neffective action terms. In string theory the latter get modified due to\nanomalous world-sheet boundary contributions, generalizing in a non-trivial way\nthe familiar holomorphic and harmonicity anomalies studied in the past. We\nprove by direct computation that the subclass of topological amplitudes studied\nin arXiv:0905.3629 forms a closed set under these anomaly equations and that\nthese equations are integrable.",
        "positive": "The Schwarzian Theory - A Wilson Line Perspective: We provide a holographic perspective on correlation functions in Schwarzian\nquantum mechanics, as boundary-anchored Wilson line correlators in\nJackiw-Teitelboim gravity. We first study compact groups and identify the\ndiagrammatic representation of bilocal correlators of the particle-on-a-group\nmodel as Wilson line correlators in its 2d holographic BF description. We\ngeneralize to the Hamiltonian reduction of SL(2,R) and derive the Schwarzian\ncorrelation functions. Out-of-time ordered correlators are determined by\ncrossing Wilson lines, giving a 6j-symbol, in agreement with 2d CFT results."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Ergodic Equilibration of R\u00e9nyi Entropies and Replica Wormholes: We study the behavior of R\\'enyi entropies for pure states from standard\nassumptions about chaos in the high-energy spectrum of the Hamiltonian of a\nmany-body quantum system. We compute the exact long-time averages of R\\'enyi\nentropies and show that the quantum noise around these values is exponentially\nsuppressed in the microcanonical entropy. For delocalized states over the\nmicrocanonical band, the long-time average approximately reproduces the\nequilibration proposal of H. Liu and S. Vardhan, with extra structure arising\nat the order of non-planar permutations. We analyze the equilibrium\napproximation for AdS/CFT systems describing black holes in equilibrium in a\nbox. We extend our analysis to the situation of an evaporating black hole, and\ncomment on the possible gravitational description of the new terms in our\napproximation.",
        "positive": "Topological first-order vortices in a gauged CP(2) model: We study time-independent radially symmetric first-order solitons in a CP(2)\nmodel interacting with an Abelian gauge field whose dynamics is controlled by\nthe usual Maxwell term. In this sense, we develop a consistent first-order\nframework verifying the existence of a well-defined lower bound for the\ncorresponding energy. We saturate such a lower bound by focusing on those\nsolutions satisfying a particular set of coupled first-order differential\nequations. We solve these equations numerically using appropriate boundary\nconditions giving rise to regular structures possessing finite-energy. We also\ncomment the main features these configurations exhibit. Moreover, we highlight\nthat, despite the different solutions we consider for an auxiliary function\n$\\beta \\left( r\\right) $ labeling the model (therefore splitting our\ninvestigation in two a priori distinct branches), all resulting scenarios\nengender the very same phenomenology, being physically equivalent."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Matrix Bases for Star Products: a Review: We review the matrix bases for a family of noncommutative $\\star$ products\nbased on a Weyl map. These products include the Moyal product, as well as the\nWick-Voros products and other translation invariant ones. We also review the\nderivation of Lie algebra type star products, with adapted matrix bases. We\ndiscuss the uses of these matrix bases for field theory, fuzzy spaces and\nemergent gravity.",
        "positive": "Brezin-Gross-Witten model as \"pure gauge\" limit of Selberg integrals: The AGT relation identifies the Nekrasov functions for various N=2 SUSY gauge\ntheories with the 2d conformal blocks, which possess explicit Dotsenko-Fateev\nmatrix model (beta-ensemble) representations the latter being polylinear\ncombinations of Selberg integrals. The \"pure gauge\" limit of these matrix\nmodels is, however, a non-trivial multiscaling large-N limit, which requires a\nseparate investigation. We show that in this pure gauge limit the Selberg\nintegrals turn into averages in a Brezin-Gross-Witten (BGW) model. Thus, the\nNekrasov function for pure SU(2) theory acquires a form very much reminiscent\nof the AMM decomposition formula for some model X into a pair of the BGW\nmodels. At the same time, X, which still has to be found, is the pure gauge\nlimit of the elliptic Selberg integral. Presumably, it is again a BGW model,\nonly in the Dijkgraaf-Vafa double cut phase."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Unquenched QCD Dirac Operator Spectra at Nonzero Baryon Chemical\n  Potential: The microscopic spectral density of the QCD Dirac operator at nonzero baryon\nchemical potential for an arbitrary number of quark flavors was derived\nrecently from a random matrix model with the global symmetries of QCD. In this\npaper we show that these results and extensions thereof can be obtained from\nthe replica limit of a Toda lattice equation. This naturally leads to a\nfactorized form into bosonic and fermionic QCD-like partition functions. In the\nmicroscopic limit these partition functions are given by the static limit of a\nchiral Lagrangian that follows from the symmetry breaking pattern. In\nparticular, we elucidate the role of the singularity of the bosonic partition\nfunction in the orthogonal polynomials approach. A detailed discussion of the\nspectral density for one and two flavors is given.",
        "positive": "3D superconformal theories from Sasakian seven-manifolds: new nontrivial\n  evidences for AdS_4/CFT_3: In this paper we discuss candidate superconformal N=2 gauge theories that\nrealize the AdS/CFT correspondence with M--theory compactified on the\nhomogeneous Sasakian 7-manifolds M^7 that were classified long ago. In\nparticular we focus on the two cases M^7=Q^{1,1,1} and M^7=M^{1,1,1}, for the\nlatter the Kaluza Klein spectrum being completely known. We show how the toric\ndescription of M^7 suggests the gauge group and the supersingleton fields. The\nconformal dimensions of the latter can be independently calculated by\ncomparison with the mass of baryonic operators that correspond to 5-branes\nwrapped on supersymmetric 5-cycles and are charged with respect to the Betti\nmultiplets. The entire Kaluza Klein spectrum of short multiplets agrees with\nthese dimensions. Furthermore, the metric cone over the Sasakian manifold is a\nconifold algebraically embedded in some C^p. The ring of chiral primary fields\nis defined as the coordinate ring of C^p modded by the ideal generated by the\nembedding equations; this ideal has a nice characterization by means of\nrepresentation theory. The entire Kaluza Klein spectrum is explained in terms\nof these vanishing relations. We give the superfield interpretation of all\nshort multiplets and we point out the existence of many long multiplets with\nrational protected dimensions, whose presence and pattern seem to be universal\nin all compactifications."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-Perturbative Two-Dimensional Dilaton Gravity: We present a review of the canonical quantization approach to the problem of\nnon-perturbative 2d dilaton gravity. In the case of chiral matter we describe a\nmethod for solving the constraints by constructing a Kac-Moody current algebra.\nFor the models of interest, the relevant Kac-Moody algebras are based on\nSL(2,R) X U(1) group and on an extended 2d Poincare group. As a consequence,\nthe constraints become free-field Virasoro generators with background charges.\nWe argue that the same happens in the non-chiral case. The problem of the\ncorresponding BRST cohomology is discussed as well as the unitarity of the\ntheory. One can show that the theory is unitary by chosing a physical gauge,\nand hence the problem of transitions from pure into mixed sates is absent.\nImplications for the physics of black holes are discussed. (Based on the talks\npresented at Trieste conference on Gauge Theories, Applied Supersymmetry and\nQuantum Gravity, May 1993 and at Danube '93 Workshop, Belgrade, Yugoslavia,\nJune 1993)",
        "positive": "Gaugeon formalism for the two-form gauge fields: We present a BRST symmetric gaugeon formalism for the two-form gauge fields.\nA set of vector gaugeon fields is introduced as a quantum gauge freedom. One of\nthe gaugeon fields satisfies a higher derivative field equation; this property\nis necessary to change the gauge-fixing parameter of the two-form gauge field.\nA naive Lagrangian for the vector gaugeon fields is itself invariant under a\ngauge transformation for the vector gaugeon field. The Lagrangian of our theory\nincludes the gauge-fixing terms for the gaugeon fields and corresponding\nFaddeev--Popov ghosts terms."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "DDF and Pohlmeyer invariants of (super)string: We show how the Pohlmeyer invariants of the bosonic string are expressible in\nterms of DDF invariants. Quantization of the DDF observables in the usual way\nyields a consistent quantization of the algebra of Pohlmeyer invariants.\nFurthermore it becomes straightforward to generalize the Pohlmeyer invariants\nto the superstring as well as to all backgrounds which allow a free field\nrealization of the worldsheet theory.",
        "positive": "Teleparallelism in the algebraic approach to extended geometry: Extended geometry is based on an underlying tensor hierarchy algebra. We\nextend the previously considered $L_\\infty$ structure of the local symmetries\n(the diffeomorphisms and their reducibility) to incorporate physical fields,\nfield strengths and Bianchi identities, and identify these as elements of the\ntensor hierarchy algebra. The field strengths arise as generalised torsion, so\nthe naturally occurring complex in the $L_\\infty$ algebra is $\\ldots\\leftarrow$\ntorsion BI's $\\leftarrow$ torsion $\\leftarrow$ vielbein $\\leftarrow$\ndiffeomorphism parameters $\\leftarrow\\ldots$ In order to obtain equations of\nmotion, which are not in this complex, (pseudo-)actions, quadratic in torsion,\nare given for a large class of models. This requires considering the dual\ncomplex. We show how local invariance under the compact subgroup locally\ndefined by a generalised metric arises as a \"dual gauge symmetry\" associated\nwith a certain torsion Bianchi identity, generalising Lorentz invariance in the\nteleparallel formulation of gravity. The analysis is performed for a large\nclass of finite-dimensional structure groups, with $E_5$ as a detailed example.\nThe continuation to infinite-dimensional cases is discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the symmetries of BF models and their relation with gravity: The perturbative finiteness of various topological models (e.g. BF models)\nhas its origin in an extra symmetry of the gauge-fixed action, the so-called\nvector supersymmetry. Since an invariance of this type also exists for gravity\nand since gravity is closely related to certain BF models, vector supersymmetry\nshould also be useful for tackling various aspects of quantum gravity. With\nthis motivation and goal in mind, we first extend vector supersymmetry of BF\nmodels to generic manifolds by incorporating it into the BRST symmetry within\nthe Batalin-Vilkovisky framework. Thereafter, we address the relationship\nbetween gravity and BF models, in particular for three-dimensional space-time.",
        "positive": "Self-dual solitons in N=2 supersymmetric semilocal Chern-Simons theory: We embed the semilocal Chern-Simons-Higgs theory into an N=2 supersymmetric\nsystem. We construct the corresponding conserved supercharges and derive the\nBogomol'nyi equations of the model from supersymmetry considerations. We show\nthat these equations hold provided certain conditions on the coupling constants\nas well as on the Higgs potential of the system, which are a consequence of the\nhuge symmetry of the theory, are satisfied. They admit string-like solutions\nwhich break one half of the supersymmetries --BPS Chern-Simons semilocal cosmic\nstrings-- whose magnetic flux is concentrated at the center of the vortex. We\nstudy such solutions and show that their stability is provided by supersymmetry\nthrough the existence of a lower bound for the energy, even though the manifold\nof the Higgs vacuum does not contain non-contractible loops."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fluxes, Brane Charges and Chern Morphisms of Hyperbolic Geometry: The purpose of this paper is to provide the reader with a collection of\nresults which can be found in the mathematical literature and to apply them to\nhyperbolic spaces that may have a role in physical theories. Specifically we\napply K-theory methods for the calculation of brane charges and RR-fields on\nhyperbolic spaces (and orbifolds thereof). It is known that by tensoring\nK-groups with the rationals, K-theory can be mapped to rational cohomology by\nmeans of the Chern character isomorphisms. The Chern character allows one to\nrelate the analytic Dirac index with a topological index, which can be\nexpressed in terms of cohomological characteristic classes. We obtain explicit\nformulas for Chern character, spectral invariants, and the index of a twisted\nDirac operator associated with real hyperbolic spaces. Some notes for a\nbivariant version of topological K-theory (KK-theory) with its connection to\nthe index of the twisted Dirac operator and twisted cohomology of hyperbolic\nspaces are given. Finally we concentrate on lower K-groups useful for\ndescription of torsion charges.",
        "positive": "Conformal symmetry, chiral fermions and semiclassical approximation: The explicit form of conformal generators is found which provides the\nextension of Poincare symmetry for massless particles of arbitrary helicity.\nThe helicity 1/2 particles are considered as the particular example. The\nrealization of conformal symmetry in the semiclassical regime of Weyl equation\nis obtained."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Open String Sigma-Model and Noncommutative Gauge Fields: We consider the ordinary and noncommutative Dirac-Born-Infeld theories within\nthe open string sigma-model. First, we propose a renormalization scheme, hybrid\npoint splitting regularization, that leads directly to the Seiberg-Witten\ndescription including their two-form. We also show how such a form appears\nwithin the standard renormalization scheme just by some freedom in changing\nvariables. Second, we propose a Wilson factor which has the noncommutative\ngauge invariance on the classical level and then compute the sigma-model\npartition function within one of the known renormalization scheme that\npreserves the noncommutative gauge invariance. As a result, we find the\nnoncommutative Yang-Mills action.",
        "positive": "A heterotic sigma model with novel target geometry: We construct a (1,2) heterotic sigma model whose target space geometry\nconsists of a transitive Lie algebroid with complex structure on a Kaehler\nmanifold. We show that, under certain geometrical and topological conditions,\nthere are two distinguished topological half--twists of the heterotic sigma\nmodel leading to A and B type half--topological models. Each of these models is\ncharacterized by the usual topological BRST operator, stemming from the\nheterotic (0,2) supersymmetry, and a second BRST operator anticommuting with\nthe former, originating from the (1,0) supersymmetry. These BRST operators\ncombined in a certain way provide each half--topological model with two\ninequivalent BRST structures and, correspondingly, two distinct perturbative\nchiral algebras and chiral rings. The latter are studied in detail and\ncharacterized geometrically in terms of Lie algebroid cohomology in the\nquasiclassical limit."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Two-Dimensional Dilaton Gravity: I briefly summarize recent results on classical and quantum dilaton gravity\nin 1+1 dimensions.",
        "positive": "Quantum Entropy for the Fuzzy Sphere and its Monopoles: Using generalized bosons, we construct the fuzzy sphere $S_F^2$ and monopoles\non $S_F^2$ in a reducible representation of $SU(2)$. The corresponding quantum\nstates are naturally obtained using the GNS-construction. We show that there is\nan emergent non-abelian unitary gauge symmetry which is in the commutant of the\nalgebra of observables. The quantum states are necessarily mixed and have\nnon-vanishing von Neumann entropy, which increases monotonically under a\nbistochastic Markov map. The maximum value of the entropy has a simple relation\nto the degeneracy of the irreps that constitute the reducible representation\nthat underlies the fuzzy sphere."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Categorical Distributions of Maximum Entropy under Marginal Constraints: The estimation of categorical distributions under marginal constraints\nsummarizing some sample from a population in the most-generalizable way is key\nfor many machine-learning and data-driven approaches. We provide a\nparameter-agnostic theoretical framework that enables this task ensuring (i)\nthat a categorical distribution of Maximum Entropy under marginal constraints\nalways exists and (ii) that it is unique. The procedure of iterative\nproportional fitting (IPF) naturally estimates that distribution from any\nconsistent set of marginal constraints directly in the space of probabilities,\nthus deductively identifying a least-biased characterization of the population.\nThe theoretical framework together with IPF leads to a holistic workflow that\nenables modeling any class of categorical distributions solely using the\nphenomenological information provided.",
        "positive": "Quantum discord and entropic measures of two relativistic fermions: In the present work, we study the interplay between relativistic effects and\nquantumness in the system of two relativistic fermions. In particular, we\nexplore entropic measures of quantum correlations and quantum discord before\nand after application of a boost and subsequent Wigner rotation. We also study\nthe positive operator-valued measurements (POVM) invasiveness before and after\nthe boosts. While the relativistic principle is universal and requires Lorentz\ninvariance of quantum correlations in the entire system, we have found specific\npartitions where quantum correlations stored in particular subsystems are not\ninvariant. We calculate quantum discords corresponding of the states before and\nafter applying a boost, and observe that the state gains extra discord after\nthe boost. When analyzing the invasiveness of the POVMs, we have found that the\nPOVM applied to the initial entangled state reduces the discord to zero.\nHowever, discord of the boosted state survives after the same POVM. Thus we\nconclude that the quantum discord generated by Lorentz boost is robust\nconcerning the protective POVM, while the measurement exerts an invasive effect\non the discord of the initial state. Finally, we discuss potential\nimplementation of the ideas of this work using top quarks as a benchmark\nscenario."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Eleven dimensional supergravity and the E10/KE10 sigma-model at low A9\n  levels: Recently, the concept of a nonlinear sigma-model over a coset space G/H was\ngeneralized to the case where the group G is an infinite-dimensional Kac-Moody\ngroup, and H its (formal) `maximal compact subgroup'. Here, we study in detail\nthe one-dimensional (geodesic) sigma-model with G = E10 and H=KE10. We\nre-examine the construction of this sigma-model and its relation to the bosonic\nsector of eleven-dimensional supergravity, up to height 30, by using a new\nformulation of the equations of motion. Specifically, we make systematic use of\nKE10-orthonormal local frames, in the sense that we decompose the `velocity' on\nE10/KE10 in terms of objects which are representations of the compact subgroup\nKE10. This new perspective may help in extending the correspondence between the\nE10/KE10 sigma-model and supergravity beyond the level currently checked.",
        "positive": "Topological Mass Generation in Three-Dimensional String Theory: The effective action of string theory in three dimensions is investigated,\nincorporating the Lorentz and gauge Chern-Simons terms in the definition of the\nKalb-Ramond axion field strength. Since in three dimensions any three-form is\ntrivial, the action can be reformulated by properly integrating the axion out.\nThe circumstances under which it can be recast in form of topologically massive\ngravity coupled to a topologically massive gauge theory are pointed out.\nFinally, the strong coupling limit of the resulting action is inspected, with\nthe focus on the roles played by the axion and dilaton fields."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Model building with the non-supersymmetric heterotic SO(16)xSO(16)\n  string: In this talk we review recent investigations of the non-supersymmetric\nheterotic SO(16)xSO(16) string on orbifolds and smooth Calabi-Yaus. Using such\nsupersymmetry preserving backgrounds allows one to re-employ commonly known\nmodel building techniques. We will argue that tachyons do not appear on smooth\nCalabi-Yaus to leading order in alpha' and g_s. Twisted tachyons may arise on\nsingular orbifolds, where some of these approximations break down. However,\nthey get lifted in full blow-up. Finally, we show that model searches is viable\nby identifying over 12,000 of SM-like models on various orbifold geometries.",
        "positive": "Tree-level Scattering Amplitudes via Homotopy Transfer: We formalize the computation of tree-level scattering amplitudes in terms of\nthe homotopy transfer of homotopy algebras, illustrating it with scalar\n$\\phi^3$ and Yang-Mills theory. The data of a (gauge) field theory with an\naction is encoded in a cyclic homotopy Lie or $L_{\\infty}$ algebra defined on a\nchain complex including a space of fields. This $L_{\\infty}$ structure can be\ntransported, by means of homotopy transfer, to a smaller space that, in the\nmassless case, consists of harmonic fields. The required homotopy maps are\nwell-defined since we work with the space of finite sums of plane-wave\nsolutions. The resulting $L_{\\infty}$ brackets encode the tree-level scattering\namplitudes and satisfy generalized Jacobi identities that imply the Ward\nidentities. We further present a method to compute color-ordered scattering\namplitudes for Yang-Mills theory, using that its $L_{\\infty}$ algebra is the\ntensor product of the color Lie algebra with a homotopy commutative associative\nor $C_{\\infty}$ algebra. The color-ordered scattering amplitudes are then\nobtained by homotopy transfer of $C_{\\infty}$ algebras."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Canonical Approach to the Einstein-Hilbert Action in Two Spacetime\n  Dimensions: The canonical structure of the Einstein-Hilbert Lagrange density\n$L=\\sqrt{-g}R$ is examined in two spacetime dimensions, using the metric\ndensity $h^{\\mu \\nu}\\equiv \\sqrt{-g}g^{\\mu \\nu}$ and symmetric affine\nconnection $\\Gamma_{\\sigma \\beta}^\\lambda $ as dynamical variables. The\nHamiltonian reduces to a linear combination of three first class constraints\nwith a local SO(2,1) algebra. The first class constraints are used to find a\ngenerator of gauge transformations that has a closed off-shell algebra and\nwhich leaves the Lagrangian and $\\det (h^{\\mu \\nu})$ invariant. These\ntransformations are distinct from diffeomorphism invariance, and are gauge\ntransformations characterized by a symmetric matrix $\\zeta_{\\mu \\nu}$.",
        "positive": "Orbifolds by 2-groups and decomposition: In this paper we study three-dimensional orbifolds by 2-groups with a\ntrivially-acting one-form symmetry group BK. These orbifolds have a global\ntwo-form symmetry, and so one expects that they decompose into (are equivalent\nto) a disjoint union of other three-dimensional theories, which we demonstrate.\nThese theories can be interpreted as sigma models on 2-gerbes, whose formal\nstructures reflect properties of the orbifold construction."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Rotating Black Branes wrapped on Einstein Spaces: We present new rotating black brane solutions which solve Einstein's\nequations with cosmological constant $\\Lambda$ in arbitrary dimension $d$. For\nnegative $\\Lambda$, the branes naturally appear in AdS supergravity\ncompactifications, and should therefore play some role in the AdS/CFT\ncorrespondence. The spacetimes are warped products of a four-dimensional part\nand an Einstein space of dimension $d-4$, which is not necessarily of constant\ncurvature. As a special subcase, the solutions contain the higher dimensional\ngeneralization of the Kerr-AdS metric recently found by Hawking et al.",
        "positive": "Multiloop Amplitudes and Vanishing Theorems using the Pure Spinor\n  Formalism for the Superstring: A ten-dimensional super-Poincare covariant formalism for the superstring was\nrecently developed which involves a BRST operator constructed from superspace\nmatter variables and a pure spinor ghost variable. A super-Poincare covariant\nprescription was defined for computing tree amplitudes and was shown to\ncoincide with the standard RNS prescription.\n  In this paper, picture-changing operators are used to define functional\nintegration over the pure spinor ghosts and to construct a suitable $b$ ghost.\nA super-Poincare covariant prescription is then given for the computation of\nN-point multiloop amplitudes. One can easily prove that massless N-point\nmultiloop amplitudes vanish for N<4, confirming the perturbative finiteness of\nsuperstring theory. One can also prove the Type IIB S-duality conjecture that\n$R^4$ terms in the effective action receive no perturbative contributions above\none loop."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Three-Family Standard-like Orientifold Model: Yukawa Couplings and\n  Hierarchy: We discuss the hierarchy of Yukawa couplings in a supersymmetric three family\nStandard-like string Model. The model is constructed by compactifying Type IIA\nstring theory on a Z_2 x Z_2 orientifold in which the Standard Model matter\nfields arise from intersecting D6-branes. When lifted to M theory, the model\namounts to compactification of M-theory on a G_2 manifold. While the actual\nfermion masses depend on the vacuum expectation values of the multiple Higgs\nfields in the model, we calculate the leading worldsheet instanton\ncontributions to the Yukawa couplings and examine the implications of the\nYukawa hierarchy.",
        "positive": "Conformal sector of Quantum Einstein Gravity in the local potential\n  approximation: non-Gaussian fixed point and a phase of unbroken\n  diffeomorphism invariance: We explore the nonperturbative renormalization group flow of Quantum Einstein\nGravity (QEG) on an infinite dimensional theory space. We consider \"conformally\nreduced\" gravity where only fluctuations of the conformal factor are quantized\nand employ the Local Potential Approximation for its effective average action.\nThe requirement of \"background independence\" in quantum gravity entails a\npartial differential equation governing the scale dependence of the potential\nfor the conformal factor which differs significantly from that of a scalar\nmatter field. In the infinite dimensional space of potential functions we find\na Gaussian as well as a non-Gaussian fixed point which provides further\nevidence for the viability of the asymptotic safety scenario. The analog of the\ninvariant cubic in the curvature which spoils perturbative renormalizability is\nseen to be unproblematic for the asymptotic safety of the conformally reduced\ntheory. The scaling fields and dimensions of both fixed points are obtained\nexplicitly and possible implications for the predictivity of the theory are\ndiscussed. Spacetime manifolds with $R^d$ as well as $S^d$ topology are\nconsidered. Solving the flow equation for the potential numerically we obtain\nexamples of renormalization group trajectories inside the ultraviolet critical\nsurface of the non-Gaussian fixed point. The quantum theories based upon some\nof them show a phase transition from the familiar (low energy) phase of gravity\nwith spontaneously broken diffeomorphism invariance to a new phase of unbroken\ndiffeomorphism invariance; the latter phase is characterized by a vanishing\nexpectation value of the metric."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-commutative resolutions as mirrors of singular Calabi--Yau varieties: It has been conjectured that the hemisphere partition function\narXiv:1308.2217, arXiv:1308.2438 in a gauged linear sigma model (GLSM) computes\nthe central charge arXiv:math/0212237 of an object in the bounded derived\ncategory of coherent sheaves for Calabi--Yau (CY) manifolds. There is also\nevidence in arXiv:alg-geom/ 9511001, arXiv:hep-th/0007071. On the other hand,\nnon-commutative resolutions of singular CY varieties have been studied in the\ncontext of abelian GLSMs arXiv:0709.3855. In this paper, we study an analogous\nconstruction of abelian GLSMs for non-commutative resolutions and propose they\ncan be used to study a class of recently discovered mirror pairs of singular CY\nvarieties. Our main result shows that the hemisphere partition functions\n(a.k.a.~$A$-periods) in the new GLSM are in fact period integrals\n(a.k.a.~$B$-periods) of the singular CY varieties. We conjecture that the two\nare completely equivalent: $B$-periods are the same as $A$-periods. We give\nsome examples to support this conjecture and formulate some expected\nhomological mirror symmetry (HMS) relation between the GLSM theory and the CY.\nAs shown in arXiv:2003.07148, the $B$-periods in this case are precisely given\nby a certain fractional version of the $B$-series of arXiv:alg-geom/9511001.\nSince a hemisphere partition function is defined as a contour integral in a\ncone in the complexified secondary fan (or FI-theta parameter space)\narXiv:1308.2438, it can be reduced to a sum of residues (by theorems of\nPassare-Tsikh-Zhdanov and Tsikh-Zhdanov). Our conjecture shows that this\nresidue sum may now be amenable to computations in terms of the $B$-series.",
        "positive": "Vibrational modes of Q-balls: We study linear perturbations of classically stable Q-balls in theories\nadmitting analytic solutions. Although the corresponding boundary value problem\nis non-Hermitian, the analysis of perturbations can also be performed\nanalytically in certain regimes. We show that in theories with the flat\npotential, large Q-balls possess soft excitations. We also find a specific\nvibrational mode for Q-balls with a near-critical charge, where the\nperturbation theory for excitations can be developed. Comparing with the\nresults on stability of Q-balls provides additional checks of our analysis."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Heat-kernel coefficients for oblique boundary conditions: We calculate the heat-kernel coefficients, up to $a_2$, for a U(1) bundle on\nthe 4-Ball for boundary conditions which are such that the normal derivative of\nthe field at the boundary is related to a first-order operator in boundary\nderivatives acting on the field. The results are used to place restrictions on\nthe general forms of the coefficients. In the specific case considered, there\ncan be a breakdown of ellipticity.",
        "positive": "Sampling in AdS/CFT: Recently, it has been proposed by Kempf a generalization of the Shannon\nsampling theory to the physics of curved spacetimes. With the aim of exploring\nthe possible links between Holography and Information Theory we argue about the\nsimilitude of the reconstruction formula in the sampling theory and\nbulk-to-boundary relations found in the AdS/CFT context."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On universal knot polynomials: We present a universal knot polynomials for 2- and 3-strand torus knots in\nadjoint representation, by universalization of appropriate Rosso-Jones formula.\nAccording to universality, these polynomials coincide with adjoined colored\nHOMFLY and Kauffman polynomials at SL and SO/Sp lines on Vogel's plane, and\ngive their exceptional group's counterparts on exceptional line. We demonstrate\nthat [m,n]=[n,m] topological invariance, when applicable, take place on the\nentire Vogel's plane. We also suggest the universal form of invariant of figure\neight knot in adjoint representation, and suggest existence of such\nuniversalization for any knot in adjoint and its descendant representation.\nProperties of universal polynomials and applications of these results are\ndiscussed.",
        "positive": "Topology, Entropy and Witten Index of Dilaton Black Holes: We have found that for extreme dilaton black holes an inner boundary must be\nintroduced in addition to the outer boundary to give an integer value to the\nEuler number. The resulting manifolds have (if one identifies imaginary time)\ntopology $S^1 \\times R \\times S^2 $ and Euler number $\\chi = 0$ in contrast to\nthe non-extreme case with $\\chi=2$. The entropy of extreme $U(1)$ dilaton black\nholes is already known to be zero. We include a review of some recent ideas due\nto Hawking on the Reissner-Nordstr\\\"om case. By regarding all extreme black\nholes as having an inner boundary, we conclude that the entropy of {\\sl all}\nextreme black holes, including $[U(1)]^2$ black holes, vanishes. We discuss the\nrelevance of this to the vanishing of quantum corrections and the idea that the\nfunctional integral for extreme holes gives a Witten Index. We have studied\nalso the topology of ``moduli space'' of multi black holes. The quantum\nmechanics on black hole moduli spaces is expected to be supersymmetric despite\nthe fact that they are not HyperK\\\"ahler since the corresponding geometry has\ntorsion unlike the BPS monopole case. Finally, we describe the possibility of\nextreme black hole fission for states with an energy gap. The energy released,\nas a proportion of the initial rest mass, during the decay of an\nelectro-magnetic black hole is 300 times greater than that released by the\nfission of an ${}^{235} U$ nucleus."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Counting states in a model of replica wormholes: We study the Hilbert space of a system of $n$ black holes with an inner\nproduct induced by replica wormholes. This takes the form of a sum over\npermutations, which we interpret in terms of a gauge symmetry. The resulting\ninner product is degenerate, with null states lying in representations\ncorresponding to Young diagrams with too many rows. We count the remaining\nstates in a large $n$ limit, which is governed by an emergent collective\nCoulomb gas description describing the shape of typical Young diagrams. This\nexhibits a third-order phase transition when the null states become numerous.\nWe find that the dimension of the black hole Hilbert space accords with a\nmicroscopic interpretation of Bekenstein-Hawking entropy.",
        "positive": "Seiberg-Witten curves and double-elliptic integrable systems: An old conjecture claims that commuting Hamiltonians of the double-elliptic\nintegrable system are constructed from the theta-functions associated with\nRiemann surfaces from the Seiberg-Witten family, with moduli treated as\ndynamical variables and the Seiberg-Witten differential providing the\npre-symplectic structure. We describe a number of theta-constant equations\nneeded to prove this conjecture for the $N$-particle system. These equations\nprovide an alternative method to derive the Seiberg-Witten prepotential and we\nillustrate this by calculating the perturbative contribution. We provide\nevidence that the solutions to the commutativity equations are exhausted by the\ndouble-elliptic system and its degenerations (Calogero and Ruijsenaars\nsystems). Further, the theta-function identities that lie behind the Poisson\ncommutativity of the three-particle Hamiltonians are proven."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A rigorous lower bound on the scattering amplitude at large angle: We prove a lower bound for the modulus of the amplitude for a two-body\nprocess at large scattering angle. This is based on the interplay of the\nanalyticity of the amplitude and the positivity properties of its absorptive\npart. The assumptions are minimal, namely those of local quantum field theory\n(in the case when dispersion relations hold). In Appendix A, lower bounds for\nthe forward particle-particle and particle-antiparticle amplitudes are\nobtained. This is of independent interest.",
        "positive": "Noncommutative Geometry and Spacetime Gauge Symmetries of String Theory: We illustrate the various ways in which the algebraic framework of\nnoncommutative geometry naturally captures the short-distance spacetime\nproperties of string theory. We describe the noncommutative spacetime\nconstructed from a vertex operator algebra and show that its algebraic\nproperties bear a striking resemblence to some structures appearing in M\nTheory, such as the noncommutative torus. We classify the inner automorphisms\nof the space and show how they naturally imply the conventional duality\nsymmetries of the quantum geometry of spacetime. We examine the problem of\nconstructing a universal gauge group which overlies all of the dynamical\nsymmetries of the string spacetime. We also describe some aspects of toroidal\ncompactifications with a light-like coordinate and show how certain generalized\nKac-Moody symmetries, such as the Monster sporadic group, arise as gauge\nsymmetries of the resulting spacetime and of superstring theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "OPE for XXX: We explain a new method for finding the correlation functions for the XXX\nmodel which is based on the concepts of Operator Product Expansion of Quantum\nField Theory on one hand and of fermionic bases for the XXX spin chain on the\nother. With this method we are able to perform computations for up to 11\nlattice sites. We show that these \"experimental\" data allow to guess exact\nformulae for the OPE coefficients.",
        "positive": "Irrational Monodromies of Vacuum Energy: We present a theory with axion flux monodromies coupled to gravity, that\nreduces to the local vacuum energy sequester below the axion mass scales. If\nthe axion potentials include a term generated by nonperturbative couplings to\ngauge sectors, with a decay constant incommensurate with monodromy periods, the\nlow energy potential germinates a landscape of irrational axion vacua, with\narbitrarily small cosmological constants. The sensitivity of the values of\ncosmological constants to unknown UV physics can be greatly reduced. The\nvariation of the cosmological constant in each vacuum, from one order in\nperturbation theory to the next, can be much smaller than the na\\\"ive cutoff.\nThe nonperturbative transitions in the early universe between the vacua\npopulate this landscape, similar to the case of irrational axion. In such a\nlandscape of vacua a small cosmological constant can naturally emerge."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetry and Gravitational Duality: We study how the supersymmetry algebra copes with gravitational duality. As a\nplayground, we consider a charged Taub-NUT solution of D=4, N=2 supergravity.\nWe find explicitly its Killing spinors, and the projection they obey provides\nevidence that the dual magnetic momenta necessarily have to appear in the\nsupersymmetry algebra. The existence of such a modification is further\nsupported using an approach based on the Nester form. In the process, we find\nnew expressions for the dual magnetic momenta, including the NUT charge. The\nsame expressions are then rederived using gravitational duality.",
        "positive": "Principal Tensor Strikes Again: Separability of Vector Equations with\n  Torsion: Many black hole spacetimes with a 3-form field exhibit a hidden symmetry\nencoded in a torsion generalization of the principal Killing--Yano tensor. This\ntensor determines basic properties of such black holes while also underlying\nthe separability of the Hamilton--Jacobi, Klein--Gordon, and (torsion-modified)\nDirac field equations in their background. As a specific example, we consider\nthe Chong--Cveti\\v{c}--L\\\"u--Pope black hole of $D=5$ minimal gauged\nsupergravity and show that the torsion-modified vector field equations can also\nbe separated, with the principal tensor playing a key role in the separability\nansatz. For comparison, separability of the Proca field in higher-dimensional\nKerr--NUT--AdS spacetimes (including new explicit formulae in odd dimensions)\nis also presented."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On T-duality transformations for the three-sphere: We study collective T-duality transformations along one, two and three\ndirections of isometry for the three-sphere with H-flux. Our aim is to obtain\nnew non-geometric backgrounds along lines similar to the example of the\nthree-torus. However, the resulting backgrounds turn out to be geometric in\nnature. To perform the duality transformations, we develop a novel procedure\nfor non-abelian T-duality, which follows a route different compared to the\nknown literature, and which highlights the underlying structure from an\nalternative point of view.",
        "positive": "Wiener Process of Fractals and Path-Integrals II: Emergent\n  Einstein-Hilbert Action in Stochastic Process of Quantum Fields along with\n  the Ricci Flow of the Space Geometry: This is the second paper of a series of researches (that commenced with [66]\nand is followed by [67]) that aims to interpret the gravitational effects of\nnature within some consistent stochastic fractal-based (intrinsically\nconformal) path-integral formulation. In the present work, the Wiener\nstochastic process is employed to study the Brownian motion of fractal\nfunctions on a closed Riemannian manifold with dynamical geometry due to the\nRicci flow. It has been shown that the Wiener measure automatically leads to\nthe Einstein-Hilbert action and the path-integral formulation of scalar quantum\nfield theory at the first local approximation. This would be interpreted as the\nmore fundamental formulation of quantum field theory in presence of gravity.\nHowever, we establish that the emergence of Einstein-Hilbert action is\nindependent of the matter field interactions and is a merely entropic effect\nstemming from the nature of the Ricci flow. We also extract an explicit formula\nfor the cosmological constant in terms of the Ricci flow and Hamilton's theorem\nfor 3-manifold. Then, we discuss the cosmological features of the FLRW solution\nin $\\Lambda$CDM Model via the derived equations of the Ricci flow. We also\nargue the correlation between our formulations and the entropic aspects of\ngravity. Finally, we establish some theoretical evidence that proves that the\nsecond law of thermodynamics is the basic source of and more fundamental than\ngravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Englert-Brout-Higgs Mechanism in Nonrelativistic Systems: We study the general theory of Englert-Brout-Higgs mechanism without assuming\nLorentz invariance. In the presence of a finite expectation value of\nnon-Abelian matter charges, gauging those symmetries always results in\nspontaneous breaking of spatial rotation. If we impose the charge neutrality by\nassuming a background with the opposite charges, the dynamics of the background\ncannot be decoupled and has to be fully taken into account. In either case, the\nspectrum is continuous as the gauge coupling is switched off.",
        "positive": "The Return of the Phoenix Universe: Georges Lemaitre introduced the term \"phoenix universe\" to describe an\noscillatory cosmology with alternating periods of gravitational collapse and\nexpansion. This model is ruled out observationally because it requires a\nsupercritical mass density and cannot accommodate dark energy. However, a new\ncyclic theory of the universe has been proposed that evades these problems. In\na recent elaboration of this picture, almost the entire universe observed today\nis fated to become entrapped inside black holes, but a tiny region will emerge\nfrom these ashes like a phoenix to form an even larger smooth, flat universe\nfilled with galaxies, stars, planets, and, presumably, life. Survival depends\ncrucially on dark energy and suggests a reason why its density is small and\npositive today."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Index theorem in spontaneously symmetry-broken gauge theories on a fuzzy\n  2-sphere: We consider a gauge-Higgs system on a fuzzy 2-sphere and study the\ntopological structure of gauge configurations, when the U(2) gauge symmetry is\nspontaneously broken to U(1) times U(1) by the vev of the Higgs field. The\ntopology is classified by the index of the Dirac operator satisfying the\nGinsparg-Wilson relation, which turns out to be a noncommutative analog of the\ntopological charge introduced by 't Hooft. It can be rewritten as a form whose\ncommutative limit becomes the winding number of the Higgs field. We also study\nconditions which assure the validity of the formulation, and give a\ngeneralization of the admissibility condition. Finally we explicitly calculate\nthe topological charge of a one-parameter family of configurations.",
        "positive": "Gaussian Effective Potential and the Coleman's normal-ordering\n  Prescription : the Functional Integral Formalism: For a class of system, the potential of whose Bosonic Hamiltonian has a\nFourier representation in the sense of tempered distributions, we calculate the\nGaussian effective potential within the framework of functional integral\nformalism. We show that the Coleman's normal-ordering prescription can be\nformally generalized to the functional integral formalism."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Ultraviolet Finiteness or Asymptotic Safety in Higher Derivative\n  Gravitational Theories: We present and discuss well known conditions for ultraviolet finiteness and\nasymptotic safety. The requirements for complete absence of ultraviolet\ndivergences in quantum field theories and existence of a non-trivial fixed\npoint for renormalization group flow in the ultraviolet regime are compared\nbased on the example of a six-derivative quantum gravitational theory in $d=4$\nspacetime dimensions. In this model, it is possible for the first time to have\nfully UV-finite quantum theory without adding matter or special symmetry, but\nby inclusion of additional terms cubic in curvatures. We comment on\nsimilarities and some apparent differences between the two approaches, but we\nshow that they are both compatible to each other. Finally, we motivate the\nclaim that actually asymptotic safety needs UV-finite models for providing\nexplicit form of the ultraviolet limit of Wilsonian effective actions\ndescribing special situations at fixed points.",
        "positive": "On the classical equivalence of monodromy matrices in squashed sigma\n  model: We proceed to study the hybrid integrable structure in two-dimensional\nnon-linear sigma models with target space three-dimensional squashed spheres. A\nquantum affine algebra and a pair of Yangian algebras are realized in the sigma\nmodels and, according to them, there are two descriptions to describe the\nclassical dynamics 1) the trigonometric description and 2) the rational\ndescription, respectively. For every description, a Lax pair is constructed and\nthe associated monodromy matrix is also constructed. In this paper we show the\ngauge-equivalence of the monodromy matrices in the trigonometric and rational\ndescription under a certain relation between spectral parameters and the\nrescalings of sl(2) generators."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Axion-dilaton-modulus gravity theory of Brans-Dicke-type and conformal\n  symmetry: Conformal symmetry is investigated within the context of\naxion-dilaton-modulus theory of gravity of Brans-Dicke-type. A distinction is\nmade between general conformal symmetry and invariance under transformations of\nthe physical units. The conformal degree of symmetry of the theory is studied\nwhen quantum fermion (lepton) modes with electromagnetic interaction are\nconsidered. Based on the requirement of invariance of the physical laws under\ngeneral transformations of the units of measure, arguments are given that point\nat a matter action with non-minimal coupling of the dilaton to the matter\nfields as the most viable description of the world within the context of the\nmodel studied. The geometrical implications of the results obtained are\ndiscussed.",
        "positive": "Component twist method for higher twists in D1D5 CFT: The deformation operator of the D1D5 orbifold CFT, a twist 2 operator, drives\nthe CFT towards the black hole dual and its physics is key to understanding\nthermalization in the D1D5 system. To further study this deformation, we extend\nprevious work on the effect of twist 2 operators to a method that works for\nhigher orders, in the continuum limit. Our component twist method works by\nbuilding higher twist operators out of twist 2 operators together with\nknowledge of Bogoliubov transformations. Consequently, this method sidesteps\nlimitations in Lunin-Mathur technology by avoiding lifts to the covering space.\nWe verify the method by reproducing results obtainable with Lunin-Mathur\ntechnology. Going further, our method upholds a previously conjectured scaling\nlaw in the continuum limit that applies to any generic configuration of twists.\nWe illustrate this with computations for a new configuration of two twist 2\noperators that twists three copies together."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Eluding SUSY at every genus on stable closed string vacua: In closed string vacua, ergodicity of unipotent flows provide a key for\nrelating vacuum stability to the UV behavior of spectra and interactions.\nInfrared finiteness at all genera in perturbation theory can be rephrased in\nterms of cancelations involving only tree-level closed strings scattering\namplitudes. This provides quantitative results on the allowed deviations from\nsupersymmetry on perturbative stable vacua. From a mathematical perspective,\ndiagrammatic relations involving closed string amplitudes suggest a relevance\nof unipotent flows dynamics for the Schottky problem and for the construction\nof the superstring measure.",
        "positive": "Three dimensional noncommutative bosonization: We consider the extension of the 2+1-dimensional bosonization process in\nNon-Commutative (NC) spacetime. We show that the large mass limit of the\neffective action obtained by integrating out the fermionic fields in NC\nspacetime leads to the NC Chern-Simons action. The present result is valid to\nall orders in the noncommutative parameter $\\theta$. We also discuss how the NC\nYang-Mills action is induced in the next to leading order."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On an inconsistency in path integral bosonization: A critically discerning discussion of path integral bosonization is given.\nSuccessively evaluating the conventional path integral bosonization of QCD it\nis shown without any approximations that gluons must be composed of two quarks.\nThis contradicts the fundamentals of QCD, where quarks and gluons are\nindependent fields. Furthermore, bosonizing the Fierz reordered effective four\nquark interaction term yields gluons, too. Colorless ``mesons'' are shown to be\nFierz equivalent to a submanifold of gluons. The results obtained are not\nspecific to QCD, but apply to other models as well.",
        "positive": "Curvature actions on Spin(n) bundles: We compute the number of linearly independent ways in which a tensor of Weyl\ntype may act upon a given irreducible tensor-spinor bundle V over a Riemannian\nmanifold. Together with the analogous but easier problem involving actions of\ntensors of Einstein type, this enumerates the possible curvature actions on V."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On DBI Textures with Generalized Hopf Fibration: In this letter we show numerical existence of O(4) Dirac-Born-Infeld (DBI)\nTextures living in (N +1) dimensional spacetime. These defects are\ncharacterized by $S^N\\rightarrow S^3$ mapping, generalizing the well-known Hopf\nfibration into ?$\\pi_N (S^3)$, for all N > 3. The nonlinear nature of DBI\nkinetic term provides stability against size perturbation and thus renders the\ndefects having natural scale.",
        "positive": "`Desert' in Energy or Transverse Space?: I review the issue of string and compactification scales in the weak-coupling\nregimes of string theory. I explain how in the Brane World scenario a\n(effectively) two-dimensional transverse space that is hierarchically larger\nthan the string length may replace the conventional `energy desert' described\nby renormalizable supersymmetric QFT. I comment on the puzzle of unification in\nthis context."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Aspects of finite electrodynamics in D=3 dimensions: We study the impact of a minimal length on physical observables for a\nthree-dimensional axionic electrodynamics. Our calculation is done within the\nframework of the gauge-invariant, but path-dependent, variables formalism which\nis alternative to the Wilson loop approach. Our result shows that the\ninteraction energy contains a regularised Bessel function and a linear\nconfining potential. This calculation involves no theta expansion at all. Once\nagain, the present analysis displays the key role played by the new quantum of\nlength.",
        "positive": "Emergent non-invertible symmetries in $\\mathcal{N}=4$ Super-Yang-Mills\n  theory: One of the simplest examples of non-invertible symmetries in higher\ndimensions appears in 4d Maxwell theory, where its $SL(2,\\mathbb{Z})$ duality\ngroup can be combined with gauging subgroups of its electric and magnetic\n1-form symmetries to yield such defects at many different values of the\ncoupling. Even though $\\mathcal{N}=4$ Super-Yang-Mills (SYM) theory also has an\n$SL(2,\\mathbb{Z})$ duality group, it only seems to share two types of such\nnon-invertible defects with Maxwell theory (known as duality and triality\ndefects). Motivated by this apparent difference, we begin our investigation of\nthe fate of these symmetries by studying the case of 4d $\\mathcal{N}=4$ $U(1)$\ngauge theory which contains Maxwell theory in its content. Surprisingly, we\nfind that the non-invertible defects of Maxwell theory give rise, when combined\nwith the standard $U(1)$ symmetry acting on the free fermions, to defects which\nact on local operators as elements of the $U(1)$ outer-automorphism of the\n$\\mathcal{N}=4$ superconformal algebra, an operation that was referred to in\nthe past as the \"bonus symmetry\". Turning to the nonabelian case of\n$\\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM, the bonus symmetry is not an exact symmetry of the theory\nbut is known to emerge at the supergravity limit. Based on this observation we\nstudy this limit and show that if it is taken in a certain way, non-invertible\ndefects that realize different elements of the bonus symmetry emerge as\napproximate symmetries, in analogy to the abelian case."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "RG flow between $W_3$ minimal models by perturbation and domain wall\n  approaches: We explore the RG flow between neighboring minimal CFT models with $W_3$\nsymmetry. After computing several classes of OPE structure constants we were\nable to find the matrices of anomalous dimensions for three classes of RG\ninvariant sets of local fields. Each set from the first class consists of a\nsingle primary field, the second one of three primaries, while sets in the\nthird class contain six primary and four secondary fields. We diagonalize their\nmatrices of anomalous dimensions and establish the explicit maps between UV and\nIR fields (mixing coefficients).\n  While investigating the three point functions of secondary fields we have\nencountered an interesting phenomenon, namely violation of holomorphic\nanti-holomorphic factorization property, something that does not happen in\nordinary minimal models with Virasoro symmetry solely.\n  Furthermore, the perturbation under consideration preserves a non-trivial\nsubgroup of $W$ transformations. We have derived the corresponding conserved\ncurrent explicitly. We used this current to define a notion of anomalous\n$W$-weights in perturbed theory: the analog for matrix of anomalous dimensions.\nFor RG invariant sets with primary fields only we have derived a formula for\nthis quantity in terms of structure constants. This allowed us to compute\nanomalous $W$-weights for the first and second classes explicitly.\n  The same RG flow we investigate also with the domain wall approach for the\nsecond RG invariant class and find complete agreement with the perturbative\napproach.",
        "positive": "Supersymmetric Analogs of the Gordon-Andrews Identities, and Related TBA\n  Systems: The Gordon-Andrews identities, which generalize the Rogers-Ramanujan-Schur\nidentities, provide product and fermionic forms for the characters of the\nminimal conformal field theories (CFTs) M(2,2k+1). We discuss/conjecture\nidentities of a similar type, providing two different fermionic forms for the\ncharacters of the models SM(2,4k) in the minimal series of N=1 super-CFTs.\nThese two forms are related to two families of thermodynamic Bethe Ansatz (TBA)\nsystems, which are argued to be associated with the $\\hat{\\phi}_{1,3}^{\\rm\ntop}$- and $\\hat{\\phi}_{1,5}^{\\rm bot}$-perturbations of the models SM(2,4k).\nCertain other q-series identities and TBA systems are also discussed, as well\nas a possible representation-theoretical consequence of our results, based on\nAndrews's generalization of the Gollnitz-Gordon theorem."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetric Warped Conformal Field Theory: In this work, we study the supersymmetric warped conformal field theory in\ntwo dimensions. We show that the Hofman-Strominger theorem on symmetry\nenhancement could be generalized to the supersymmetric case. More precisely, we\nfind that within a chiral superspace $(x^+,\\th)$, a two-dimensional field\ntheory with two translational invariance and a chiral scaling symmetry can have\nenhanced local symmetry, under the assumption that the dilation spectrum is\ndiscrete and non-negative. Similar to the pure bosonic case, there are two\nkinds of minimal models, one being $N=(1,0)$ supersymmetric conformal field\ntheories, while the other being $N=1$ supersymmetric warped conformal field\ntheories (SWCFT). We study the properties of SWCFT, including the\nrepresentations of the algebra, the space of states and the correlation\nfunctions of the superprimaries.",
        "positive": "Unitarity, Locality, and Scale versus Conformal Invariance in Four\n  Dimensions: In four dimensional unitary scale invariant theories, arguments based on the\nproof of the a-theorem suggest that the trace of the energy-momentum tensor T\nvanishes when the momentum is light-like, p^2=0. We show that there exists a\nlocal operator O such that the trace is given as T=\\partial^2 O, which\nestablishes the equivalence of scale and conformal invariance. We define the\noperator as O=\\partial^{-2} T, and explain why this is a well-defined local\noperator. Our argument is based on the assumptions that: (1) A kind of crossing\nsymmetry for vanishing matrix elements holds regardless of the existence of the\nS-matrix. (2) Correlation functions in momentum space are analytic functions\nother than singularities and branch cuts coming from on-shell processes. (3)\nThe Wightman axioms are sufficient criteria of the locality of an operator."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Killing scalar of non-linear sigma models on G/H realizing the classical\n  exchange algebra: The Poisson brackets for non-linear sigma models on G/H are set up on the\nlight-like plane. A quantity which transforms irreducibly by the Killing\nvectors, called Killing scalar, is constructed in an arbitrary representation\nof G. It is shown to satisfy the classical exchange algebra.",
        "positive": "Are Extremal 2D Black Holes Really Frozen ?: In the standard methodology for evaluating the Hawking radiation emanating\nfrom a black hole, the background geometry is fixed. Trying to be more\nrealistic we consider a dynamical geometry for a two-dimensional charged black\nhole and we evaluate the Hawking radiation as tunneling process. This\nmodification to the geometry gives rise to a nonthermal part in the radiation\nspectrum. We explore the consequences of this new term for the extremal case."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "2D Supergravity and Integrable Systems: Integrable hierarchy based on the constrained Osp(2$\\mid%2) connection is\nconsidered. The connection with 2D supergravity and some analogies with the\nW$_3^{(2)}$ case are given. It is shown that super Virasoro transformations are\nsymmetries of tha hierarchy.",
        "positive": "Gluonic evanescent operators: negative-norm states and complex anomalous\n  dimensions: In this paper, we build on our previous work to further investigate the role\nof evanescent operators in gauge theories, with a particular focus on their\ncontribution to violations of unitarity. We develop an efficient method for\ncalculating the norms of gauge-invariant operators in Yang-Mills (YM) theory by\nemploying on-shell form factors. Our analysis, applicable to general spacetime\ndimensions, reveals the existence of negative norm states among evanescent\noperators. We also explore the one-loop anomalous dimensions of these operators\nand find complex anomalous dimensions. We broaden our analysis by considering\nYM theory coupled with scalar fields and we observe similar patterns of\nnon-unitarity. The presence of negative norm states and complex anomalous\ndimensions across these analyses provides compelling evidence that general\ngauge theories are non-unitary in non-integer spacetime dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Recurrent Acceleration in Dilaton-Axion Cosmology: A class of Einstein-dilaton-axion models is found for which almost all flat\nexpanding homogeneous and isotropic universes undergo recurrent periods of\nacceleration. We also extend recent results on eternally accelerating open\nuniverses.",
        "positive": "p-p' System with B-field, Branes at Angles and Noncommutative Geometry: We study the generic $p-p^\\prime$ system in the presence of constant NS\n2-form $B_{ij}$ field. We derive properties concerning with the\nnoncommutativity of D-brane worldvolume, the Green functions and the spectrum\nof this system. In the zero slope limit, a large number of light states appear\nas the lowest excitations in appropriate cases. We are able to relate the\nenergies of the lowest states after the GSO projection with the configurations\nof branes at angles. Through analytic continuation, the system is compared with\nthe branes with relative motion."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauge Field, Parity and Uncertainty Relation of Quantum Mechanics on S^1: We consider the uncertainty relation between position and momentum of a\nparticle on $ S^1 $ (a circle). Since $ S^1 $ is compact, the uncertainty of\nposition must be bounded. Consideration on the uncertainty of position demands\ndelicate treatment. Recently Ohnuki and Kitakado have formulated quantum\nmechanics on $ S^D $ (a $D$-dimensional sphere). Armed with their formulation,\nwe examine this subject. We also consider parity and find a phenomenon similar\nto the spontaneous symmetry breaking. We discuss problems which we encounter\nwhen we attempt to formulate quantum mechanics on a general manifold.",
        "positive": "Nonabelian Faddeev-Niemi Decomposition of the SU(3) Yang-Mills Theory: Faddeev and Niemi (FN) have introduced an abelian gauge theory which\nsimulates dynamical abelianization in Yang-Mills theory (YM). It contains both\nYM instantons and Wu-Yang monopoles and appears to be able to describe the\nconfining phase. Motivated by the meson degeneracy problem in dynamical\nabelianization models, in this note we present a generalization of the FN\ntheory. We first generalize the Cho connection to dynamical symmetry breaking\npattern SU(N+1) -> U(N), and subsequently try to complete the Faddeev-Niemi\ndecomposition by keeping the missing degrees of freedom. While it is not\npossible to write an on-shell complete FN decomposition, in the case of SU(3)\ntheory of physical interest we find an off-shell complete decomposition for\nSU(3) -> U(2) which amounts to partial gauge fixing, generalizing naturally the\nresult found by Faddeev and Niemi for the abelian scenario SU(N+1) -> U(1)^N.\nWe discuss general topological aspects of these breakings, demonstrating for\nexample that the FN knot solitons never exist when the unbroken gauge symmetry\nis nonabelian, and recovering the usual no-go theorems for colored dyons."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Causality Constraints in Conformal Field Theory: Causality places nontrivial constraints on QFT in Lorentzian signature, for\nexample fixing the signs of certain terms in the low energy Lagrangian. In\nd-dimensional conformal field theory, we show how such constraints are encoded\nin crossing symmetry of Euclidean correlators, and derive analogous constraints\ndirectly from the conformal bootstrap (analytically). The bootstrap setup is a\nLorentzian four-point function corresponding to propagation through a\nshockwave. Crossing symmetry fixes the signs of certain log terms that appear\nin the conformal block expansion, which constrains the interactions of\nlow-lying operators. As an application, we use the bootstrap to rederive the\nwell known sign constraint on the $(\\partial\\phi)^4$ coupling in effective\nfield theory, from a dual CFT. We also find constraints on theories with higher\nspin conserved currents. Our analysis is restricted to scalar correlators, but\nwe argue that similar methods should also impose nontrivial constraints on the\ninteractions of spinning operators.",
        "positive": "Trefoil Solitons, Elementary Fermions, and SU_q(2): By utilizing the gauge invariance of the SU_q(2) algebra we sharpen the basis\nof the q-knot phenomenology."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chains of topological oscillators with instantons and calculable\n  topological observables in topological quantum mechanics: We extend to a possibly infinite chain the conformally invariant mechanical\nsystem that was introduced earlier as a toy model for understanding the\ntopological Yang-Mills theory. It gives a topological quantum model that has\ninteresting and computable zero modes and topological invariants. It confirms\nthe recent conjecture by several authors that supersymmetric quantum mechanics\nmay provide useful tools for understanding robotic mechanical systems (Vitelli\net al.) and condensed matter properties (Kane et al.), where trajectories of\neffective models are allowed or not by the conservation of topological indices.\nThe absences of ground state and mass gaps are special features of such\nsystems.",
        "positive": "$T\\bar{T}$ deformed YM$_{2}$ on general backgrounds from an integral\n  transformation: We consider the $T\\bar{T}$ deformation of two dimensional Yang--Mills theory\non general curved backgrounds. We compute the deformed partition function\nthrough an integral transformation over frame fields weighted by a Gaussian\nkernel. We show that this partition function satisfies a flow equation which\nhas been derived previously in the literature, which now holds on general\nbackgrounds. We connect ambiguities associated to first derivative terms in the\nflow equation to the normalization of the functional integral over frame\nfields. We then compute the entanglement entropy for a general state in the\ntheory. The connection to the string theoretic description of the theory is\nalso investigated."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "String Dualities and Toric Geometry: An Introduction: This note is supposed to be an introduction to those concepts of toric\ngeometry that are necessary to understand applications in the context of string\nand F-theory dualities. The presentation is based on the definition of a toric\nvariety in terms of homogeneous coordinates, stressing the analogy with\nweighted projective spaces. We try to give both intuitive pictures and precise\nrules that should enable the reader to work with the concepts presented here.",
        "positive": "Black String Solutions with arbitrary Tension: We consider 1+4 dimensional black string solutions which are invariant under\ntranslation along the fifth direction. The solutions are characterized by the\ntwo parameters, mass and tension, of the source. The Gregory-Laflamme solution\nis shown to be characterized by the tension whose magnitude is one half of the\nmass per unit length of the source. The general black string solution with\narbitrary tension is presented and its properties are discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Critical gravity as van Dam-Veltman-Zakharov discontinuity in anti de\n  Sitter space: We consider critical gravity as van Dam-Vletman-Zakharov (vDVZ) discontinuity\nin anti de Sitter space. For this purpose, we introduce the higher curvature\ngravity. This discontinuity can be confirmed by calculating the residues of\nrelevant poles explicitly. For the non-critical gravity of\n$0<m_2^2<-2\\Lambda/3$, the scalar residue of a massive pole is given by 2/3\nwhen taking the $\\Lambda \\to 0$ limit first and then the $m^2_2 \\to 0$ limit.\nThis indicates that the vDVZ discontinuity occurs in the higher curvature\ntheory, showing that propagating degrees of freedom is decreased from 5 to 3.\nHowever, at the critical point of $m^2_2=-2\\Lambda/3$, the tensor residue of a\nmassive pole blows up and scalar residue is -5/36, showing the unpromising\nfeature of the critical gravity.",
        "positive": "Geometric tool kit for higher spin gravity (part II): An introduction to\n  Lie algebroids and their enveloping algebras: These notes provide a self-contained introduction to Lie algebroids,\nLie-Rinehart algebras and their universal envelopes. This review is motivated\nby the speculation that higher-spin gauge symmetries should admit a natural\nformulation as enveloping algebras of Lie algebroids since rigid higher-spin\nalgebras are enveloping algebras of Lie algebras. Nevertheless, the material\ncovered here may be of general interest to anyone interested in the description\nof gauge symmetries, connections and covariant derivatives, in terms of Lie\nalgebroids. In order to be self-contained, a concise introduction to the\nalgebraic characterisation of vector bundles as projective modules over the\nalgebra of functions on the base manifold is provided."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Momentum-space formulae for AdS correlators for diverse theories in\n  diverse dimensions: In this paper, we explore correlators of a series of theories in anti-de\nSitter space: we present comprehensive results for interactions involving\nscalars, gluons, and gravitons in multiple dimensions. One aspect of our\ninvestigation is the establishment of an intriguing connection between the\nkinematic factors of these theories; indeed, such a connection directly relates\nthese theories among themselves and with other theories of higher spin fields.\nBesides providing several explicit results throughout the paper, we also\nhighlight the interconnections and relationships between these different\ntheories, providing valuable insights into their similarities and distinctions.",
        "positive": "Dressed Dirac Propagator from a Locally Supersymmetric ${\\cal N}=1$\n  Spinning Particle: We study the Dirac propagator dressed by an arbitrary number $N$ of photons\nby means of a worldline approach, which makes use of a supersymmetric ${\\cal N}\n= 1$ spinning particle model on the line, coupled to an external Abelian vector\nfield. We obtain a compact off-shell master formula for the tree level\nscattering amplitudes associated to the dressed Dirac propagator. In\nparticular, unlike in other approaches, we express the particle fermionic\ndegrees of freedom using a coherent state basis, and consider the gauging of\nthe supersymmetry, which ultimately amounts to integrating over a worldline\ngravitino modulus, other than the usual worldline einbein modulus which\ncorresponds to the Schwinger time integral. The path integral over the\ngravitino reproduces the numerator of the dressed Dirac propagator."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Full Unitarity and the Moments of Scattering Amplitudes: We study the impact of full unitarity on the moment structure of forward\nscattering amplitudes. We introduce the semiarcs, calculable quantities in the\nEFT dispersively related to both real and imaginary parts of the UV amplitude\nfor a fixed number of subtractions. It is observed that large hierarchies\nbetween consecutive moments are forbidden by unitarity. Bounds from full\nunitarity compete with the ones stemming from convexity, and become more\nimportant in EFTs where the loop expansion is more important than the\nderivative expansion.",
        "positive": "Coset Space Dimensional Reduction of Einstein--Yang--Mills theory: In the present contribution we extend our previous work by considering the\ncoset space dimensional reduction of higher-dimensional Einstein--Yang--Mills\ntheories including scalar fluctuations as well as Kaluza--Klein excitations of\nthe compactification metric and we describe the gravity-modified rules for the\nreduction of non-abelian gauge theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Emergent Spacetime and Holographic CFTs: We discuss universal properties of conformal field theories with holographic\nduals. A central feature of these theories is the existence of a low-lying\nsector of operators whose correlators factorize. We demonstrate that\nfactorization can only hold in the large central charge limit. Using conformal\ninvariance and factorization we argue that these operators are naturally\nrepresented as fields in AdS as this makes the underlying linearity of the\nsystem manifest. In this class of CFTs the solution of the conformal bootstrap\nconditions can be naturally organized in structures which coincide with Witten\ndiagrams in the bulk. The large value of the central charge suggests that the\ntheory must include a large number of new operators not captured by the\nfactorized sector. Consequently we may think of the AdS hologram as an\neffective representation of a small sector of the CFT, which is embedded inside\na much larger Hilbert space corresponding to the black hole microstates.",
        "positive": "7D Randall-Sundrum cosmology, brane-bulk energy exchange and holography: We discuss the cosmological implications and the holographic dual theory of\nthe 7D Randall-Sundrum (RS) gravitational set-up. Adding generic matter in the\nbulk on the 7D gravity side we study the cosmological evolution inferred by the\nnon vanishing value of the brane-bulk energy exchange parameter. This analysis\nis achieved in detail for specific assumptions on the internal space evolution,\nincluding analytical considerations and numerical results. The dual theory is\nthen constructed, making use of the holographic renormalization procedure. The\nresulting renormalized 6D CFT is anomalous and coupled to 6D gravity plus\nhigher order corrections. The critical point analysis on the brane is\nperformed. Finally, we sketch a comparison between the two dual descriptions.\nWe moreover generalize the AdS/CFT dual theory to the non conformal and\ninteracting case, relating the energy exchange parameter of the bulk gravity\ndescription to the new interactions between hidden and visible sectors."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum K-Theory of Calabi-Yau Manifolds: The disk partition function of certain 3d N=2 supersymmetric gauge theories\ncomputes a quantum K-theoretic ring for Kahler manifolds X. We study the 3d\ngauge theory/quantum K-theory correspondence for global and local Calabi-Yau\nmanifolds with several Kahler moduli. We propose a multi-cover formula that\nrelates the 3d BPS world-volume degeneracies computed by quantum K-theory to\nGopakumar-Vafa invariants.",
        "positive": "Chiral formulation for hyperkaehler sigma-models on cotangent bundles of\n  symmetric spaces: Starting with the projective-superspace off-shell formulation for\nfour-dimensional N = 2 supersymmetric sigma-models on cotangent bundles of\narbitrary Hermitian symmetric spaces, their on-shell description in terms of N\n= 1 chiral superfields is developed. In particular, we derive a universal\nrepresentation for the hyperkaehler potential in terms of the curvature of the\nsymmetric base space. Within the tangent-bundle formulation for such\nsigma-models, completed recently in arXiv:0709.2633 and realized in terms of N\n= 1 chiral and complex linear superfields, we give a new universal formula for\nthe superspace Lagrangian. A closed form expression is also derived for the\nKaehler potential of an arbitrary Hermitian symmetric space in Kaehler normal\ncoordinates."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Four-Point Amplitude from Open Superstring Field Theory: An open superstring field theory action has been proposed which does not\nsuffer from contact term divergences. In this paper, we compute the on-shell\nfour-point tree amplitude from this action using the Giddings map. After\nincluding contributions from the quartic term in the action, the resulting\namplitude agrees with the first-quantized prescription.",
        "positive": "Towards the determination of the dimension of the critical surface in\n  asymptotically safe gravity: We compute the beta functions of Higher Derivative Gravity within the\nFunctional Renormalization Group approach, going beyond previously studied\napproximations. We find that the presence of a nontrivial Newtonian coupling\ninduces, in addition to the free fixed point of the one-loop approximation,\nalso two nontrivial fixed points, of which one has the right signs to be free\nfrom tachyons. Our results are consistent with earlier suggestions that the\ndimension of the critical surface for pure gravity is three."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Anomalies and symmetric mass generation for Kaehler-Dirac fermions: We show that massless Kaehler-Dirac (KD) fermions exhibit a mixed\ngravitational anomaly involving an exact $U(1)$ symmetry which is unique to KD\nfields. Under this $U(1)$ symmetry the partition function transforms by a phase\ndepending only on the Euler character of the background space. Compactifying\nflat space to a sphere we learn that the anomaly vanishes in odd dimensions but\nbreaks the symmetry down to $Z_4$ in even dimensions. This $Z_4$ is sufficient\nto prohibit bilinear terms from arising in the fermionic effective action. Four\nfermion terms are allowed but require multiples of two flavors of KD field. In\nfour dimensional flat space each KD field can be decomposed into four Dirac\nspinors and hence these anomaly constraints ensure that eight Dirac fermions\nor, for real representations, sixteen Majorana fermions are needed for a\nconsistent interacting theory. These constraints on fermion number agree with\nknown results for topological insulators and recent work on discrete anomalies\nrooted in the Dai-Freed theorem. Our work suggests that KD fermions may offer\nan independent path to understanding these constraints. Finally we point out\nthat this anomaly survives intact under discretization and hence is relevant in\nunderstanding recent numerical results on lattice models possessing massive\nsymmetric phases.",
        "positive": "The Standard Model and The Four Dimensional Superstring: Starting from the Nambu-Goto bosonic string, a four dimensional superstring\nmodel is constructed using the equivalence of one boson to two Majorana-Weyl\nfermions. The conditions of anomaly cancellation in a 'heterotic' string theory\nlead to the correct result and is found to be consistent with the requirements\nof the standard model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Effective long distance $q\\bar{q} $ potential in holographic RG flows: We study the $q\\bar{q}$ potential in strongly coupled non-conformal field\ntheories with a non-trivial renormalization group flow via holography. We focus\non the properties of this potential at an inter-quark separation $L$ large\ncompared to the characteristic scale of the field theory. These are determined\nby the leading order IR physics plus a series of corrections, sensitive to the\nproperties of the RG-flow. To determine those corrections, we propose a general\nmethod applying holographic Wilsonian renormalization to a dual string. We\napply this method to examine in detail two sets of examples, $3+1$-dimensional\ntheories with an RG flow ending in an IR fixed point; and theories that are\nconfining in the IR, in particular, the Witten QCD and Klebanov-Strassler\nmodels. In both cases, we find corrections with a universal dependence on the\ninter-quark separation. When there is an IR fixed point, that correction decays\nas a power $\\sim 1/L^4$. We explain that dependence in terms of a double-trace\ndeformation in a one-dimensional defect theory. For a confining theory, the\ndecay is exponential $\\sim e^{-ML}$, with $M$ a scale of the order of the\nglueball mass. We interpret this correction using an effective flux tube\ndescription as produced by a background internal mode excitation induced by\nsources localized at the endpoints of the flux tube. We discuss how these\nresults could be confronted with lattice QCD data to test whether the\ndescription of confinement via the gauge/gravity is qualitatively correct.",
        "positive": "Non-perturbative tests for the Asymptotic Freedom in the $\\mathcal{PT}%\n  $-symmetric $(-\u03c6^{4})_{3+1}$ theory: In the literature, the asymptotic freedom property of the $(-\\phi^{4})$\ntheory is always concluded from real-line calculations while the theory is\nknown to be a non-real-line one. In this article, we test the existence of the\nasymptotic freedom in the $(-\\phi^{4})_{3+1}$ theory using mean field approach.\nIn this approach and contrary to the original Hamiltonian, the obtained\neffective Hamiltonian is rather a real-line one. Accordingly, this work\nresembles the first reasonable analysis for the existence of the asymptotic\nfreedom property in the $\\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric $(-\\phi^{4})$ theory. In this\nrespect, we calculated three different amplitudes of different positive\ndimensions (in mass units) and find that all of them goes to very small values\nat high energy scales (small coupling) in agreement with the spirit of the\nasymptotic freedom property of the theory. To test the validity of our\ncalculations, we obtained the asymptotic behavior of the vacuum condensate in\nterms of the coupling, analytically, and found that the controlling factor\n$\\Lambda$ has the value $\\frac{(4 \\pi)^{2}}{6}= 26. 319$ compared to the result\n$\\Lambda=26.3209$ from the literature which was obtained via numerical\npredictions. We assert that the non-blow up of the massive quantities at high\nenergy scales predicted in this work strongly suggests the possibility of the\nsolution of the famous hierarchy puzzle in a standard model with\n$\\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric Higgs mechanism."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Annihilation into Channels with Strangeness and the OZI Rule Violation: Two-step mechanisms in the $N\\bar{N}$ annihilation and their role in the OZI\nrule violating reactions are discussed. In particular the two meson\nrescattering mechanism for $\\pi\\phi$ channel including all off-shell effects is\ntypically two orders of magnitude bigger than the OZI tree level expectation\nand explains the observed ratio $\\phi \\pi/\\omega \\pi$ in the annihilation at\nrest. The rates for the final states including photons, $\\gamma\\omega$ and\n$\\gamma\\phi$, can be explained in the vector dominance model. The observed rate\nfor $p\\bar{p}\\to\\gamma\\omega$ is suppressed due to destructive interference\nbetween the intermediate $\\rho$ and $\\omega$ states while the interference in\n$p\\bar{p}\\to\\gamma\\phi$ is required to be constructive leading to a large ratio\n$\\gamma\\phi/\\gamma\\omega$.",
        "positive": "GAMMA: A Mathematica package for performing gamma-matrix algebra and\n  Fierz transformations in arbitrary dimensions: We have developed a Mathematica package capable of performing gamma-matrix\nalgebra in arbitrary (integer) dimensions. As an application we can compute\nFierz transformations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "String Model Building, Reinforcement Learning and Genetic Algorithms: We investigate reinforcement learning and genetic algorithms in the context\nof heterotic Calabi-Yau models with monad bundles. Both methods are found to be\nhighly efficient in identifying phenomenologically attractive three-family\nmodels, in cases where systematic scans are not feasible. For monads on the\nbi-cubic Calabi-Yau either method facilitates a complete search of the\nenvironment and leads to similar sets of previously unknown three-family\nmodels.",
        "positive": "Phase Transitions in Higher Derivative Gravity: This paper deals with black holes, bubbles and orbifolds in Gauss-Bonnet\ntheory in five dimensional anti de Sitter space. In particular, we study\nstable, unstable and metastable phases of black holes from thermodynamical\nperspective. By comparing bubble and orbifold geometries, we analyse associated\ninstabilities. Assuming AdS/CFT correspondence, we discuss the effects of this\nhigher derivative bulk coupling on a specific matrix model near the critical\npoints of the boundary gauge theory at finite temperature. Finally, we propose\nanother phenomenological model on the boundary which mimics various phases of\nthe bulk space-time."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Algebraic aspects of when and how a Feynman diagram reduces to simpler\n  ones: The method of Symmetries of Feynman Integrals defines for any Feynman diagram\na set of partial differential equations. On some locus in parameter space the\nequations imply that the diagram can be reduced to a linear combination of\nsimpler diagrams. This paper provides a systematic method to determine this\nlocus and the associated reduction through an algebraic method involving\nfactorization of maximal minors.",
        "positive": "On the fundamental representation of Borcherds algebras with one\n  imaginary simple root: Borcherds algebras represent a new class of Lie algebras which have almost\nall the properties that ordinary Kac-Moody algebras have, and the only major\ndifference is that these generalized Kac-Moody algebras are allowed to have\nimaginary simple roots. The simplest nontrivial examples one can think of are\nthose where one adds ``by hand'' one imaginary simple root to an ordinary\nKac-Moody algebra. We study the fundamental representation of this class of\nexamples and prove that an irreducible module is given by the full tensor\nalgebra over some integrable highest weight module of the underlying Kac-Moody\nalgebra. We also comment on possible realizations of these Lie algebras in\nphysics as symmetry algebras in quantum field theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Sigma model of near-extreme rotating black holes and their microstates: Five-dimensional non-extreme rotating black holes with large NS-NS five-brane\nand fundamental string charge are shown to be described by a conformal sigma\nmodel, which is a marginal integrable deformation of six-dimensional SL(2,R) x\nSU(2) WZW model. The two WZW levels are equal to the five-brane charge, while\nthe parameters of the two marginal deformations generated by the left and right\nchiral SU(2) currents are proportional to the two angular momentum components\nof the black hole. The near-horizon description is effectively in terms of a\nfree fundamental string whose tension is rescaled by the five-brane charge. The\nmicrostates are identified with those of left and right moving superconformal\nstring oscillations in the four directions transverse to the five-brane. Their\nstatistical entropy reproduces precisely the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy of the\nrotating black hole.",
        "positive": "Schnabl's Solution and Boundary States in Open String Field Theory: We discuss that Schnabl's solution is an off-shell extension of the boundary\nstate describing a D-brane in the closed string sector. It gives the physical\nmeaning of the gauge invariant overlaps for the solution in our previous paper\nand supports Ellwood's recent proposal in the operator formalism."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Charged 4D Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet-AdS Black Holes: Shadow, Energy\n  Emission, Deflection Angle and Heat Engine: Recently, there has been a surge of interest in the 4D Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet\n(4D EGB) gravity theory which bypasses the Lovelock theorem and avoids\nOstrogradsky's instability. Such a novel theory has nontrivial dynamics and\npresents several predictions for cosmology and black hole physics. Motivated by\nrecent astrophysical observations and the importance of anti-de Sitter\nspacetime, we investigate shadow geometrical shapes and deflection angle of\nlight from the charged AdS black holes in 4D EGB gravity theory. We explore the\nshadow behaviors and photon sphere around such black holes, and inspect the\neffect of different parameters on them. Then, we present a study regarding the\nenergy emission rate of such black holes and analyze the significant role of\nthe Gauss-Bonnet (GB) coupling constant in the radiation process. Then, we\nperform a discussion of holographic heat engines of charged 4D EGB-AdS black\nholes by obtaining the efficiency of a rectangular engine cycle. Finally, by\ncomparing heat engine efficiency with the Carnot efficiency, we indicate that\nthe ratio $\\frac{\\eta }{\\eta_{c}}$ is always less than one which is consistent\nwith the thermodynamic second law.",
        "positive": "Yang--Mills sphalerons in all even spacetime dimensions $d=2k$, $k>2$ :\n  $k$=3,4: The classical solutions to higher dimensional Yang--Mills (YM) systems, which\nare integral parts of higher dimensional Einstein--YM (EYM) systems, are\nstudied. These are the gravity decoupling limits of the fully gravitating EYM\nsolutions. In odd spacetime dimensions, depending on the choice of gauge group,\nthese are either topologically stable or unstable. Both cases are analysed, the\nlatter numerically only. In even spacetime dimensions they are always unstable,\ndescribing saddle points of the energy, and can be described as {\\it\nsphalerons}. This instability is analysed by constructing the noncontractible\nloops and calculating the Chern--Simons (CS) charges, and also perturbatively\nby numerically constructing the negative modes. This study is restricted to the\nsimplest YM system in spacetime dimensions $d=6,7,8$, which is amply\nillustrative of the generic case."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Entanglement entropy of subtracted geometry black holes: We compute the entanglement entropy of minimally coupled scalar fields on\nsubtracted geometry black hole backgrounds, focusing on the logarithmic\ncorrections. We notice that matching between the entanglement entropy of\noriginal black holes and their subtracted counterparts is only at the order of\nthe area term. The logarithmic correction term is not only different but also,\nin general, changes sign in the subtracted case. We apply Harrison\ntransformations to the original black holes and find out the choice of the\nHarrison parameters for which the logarithmic corrections vanish.",
        "positive": "On the induced gauge invariant mass: We derive a general expression for the gauge invariant mass (m_G) for an\nAbelian gauge field, as induced by vacuum polarization, in 1+1 dimensions. From\nits relation to the chiral anomaly, we show that m_G has to satisfy a certain\nquantization condition. This quantization can be, on the other hand, explicitly\nverified by using the exact general expression for the gauge invariant mass in\nterms of the fermion propagator. This result is applied to some explicit\nexamples, exploring the possibility of having interesting physical situations\nwhere the value of $m_G$ departs from its canonical value. We also study the\npossibility of generalizing the results to the 2+1 dimensional case at finite\ntemperature, showing that there are indeed situations where a finite and\nnon-vanishing gauge invariant mass is induced."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Shuffling quantum field theory: We discuss shuffle identities between Feynman graphs using the Hopf algebra\nstructure of perturbative quantum field theory. For concrete exposition, we\ndiscuss vertex function in massless Yukawa theory.",
        "positive": "N=2 Heterotic-Type II duality and bundle moduli: Heterotic string compactifications on a $K3$ surface $\\mathfrak{S}$ depend on\na choice of hyperk\\\"ahler metric, anti-self-dual gauge connection and\nKalb-Ramond flux, parametrized by hypermultiplet scalars. The metric on\nhypermultiplet moduli space is in principle computable within the $(0,2)$\nsuperconformal field theory on the heterotic string worldsheet, although little\nis known about it in practice. Using duality with type II strings compactified\non a Calabi-Yau threefold, we predict the form of the quaternion-K\\\"ahler\nmetric on hypermultiplet moduli space when $\\mathfrak{S}$ is elliptically\nfibered, in the limit of a large fiber and even larger base. The result is in\ngeneral agreement with expectations from Kaluza-Klein reduction, in particular\nthe metric has a two-stage fibration structure, where the $B$-field moduli are\nfibered over bundle and metric moduli, while bundle moduli are themselves\nfibered over metric moduli. A more precise match must await a detailed analysis\nof $R^2$-corrected ten-dimensional supergravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Scalar and Vector Massive Fields in Lyra's Manifold: The problem of coupling between spin and torsion is analysed from a Lyra's\nmanifold background for scalar and vector massive fields using the\nDuffin-Kemmer-Petiau (DKP) theory. We found the propagation of the torsion is\ndynamical, and the minimal coupling of DKP field corresponds to a non-minimal\ncoupling in the standard Klein-Gordon-Fock and Proca approaches. The origin of\nthis difference in the couplings is discussed in terms of equivalence by\nsurface terms.",
        "positive": "Monopoles in AdS: Applications to holographic theories have led to some recent interest in\nmagnetic monopoles in four-dimensional Anti-de Sitter spacetime. This paper is\nconcerned with a study of these monopoles, using both analytic and numerical\nmethods. An approximation is introduced in which the fields of a charge N\nmonopole are explicitly given in terms of a degree N rational map. Within this\napproximation, it is shown that the minimal energy monopole of charge N has the\nsame symmetry as the minimal energy Skyrmion with baryon number N in Minkowski\nspacetime. Beyond charge two the minimal energy monopole has only a discrete\nsymmetry, which is often Platonic. The rational map approximation provides an\nupper bound on the monopole energy and may be viewed as a smooth non-abelian\nrefinement of the magnetic bag approximation, to which it reverts under some\nadditional approximations. The analytic results are supported by numerical\nsolutions obtained from simulations of the non-abelian field theory. A similar\nanalysis is performed on the monopole wall that emerges in the large N limit,\nto reveal a hexagonal lattice as the minimal energy architecture."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Short-lived modes from hydrodynamic dispersion relations: We consider the dispersion relation of the shear-diffusion mode in\nrelativistic hydrodynamics, which we generate to high order as a series in\nspatial momentum q for a holographic model. We demonstrate that the\nhydrodynamic series can be summed in a way that extends through branch cuts\npresent in the complex q plane, resulting in the accurate description of\nmultiple sheets. Each additional sheet corresponds to the dispersion relation\nof a different non-hydrodynamic mode. As an example we extract the frequencies\nof a pair of oscillatory non-hydrodynamic black hole quasinormal modes from the\nhydrodynamic series. The analytic structure of this model points to the\npossibility that the complete spectrum of gravitational quasinormal modes may\nbe accessible from the hydrodynamic derivative expansion.",
        "positive": "PT-symmetric interpretation of double-scaling: The conventional double-scaling limit of an O(N)-symmetric quartic quantum\nfield theory is inconsistent because the critical coupling constant is\nnegative. Thus, at the critical coupling the Lagrangian defines a quantum\ntheory with an upside-down potential whose energy appears to be unbounded\nbelow. Worse yet, the integral representation of the partition function of the\ntheory does not exist. It is shown that one can avoid these difficulties if one\nreplaces the original theory by its PT-symmetric analog. For a zero-dimensional\nO(N)-symmetric quartic vector model the partition function of the PT-symmetric\nanalog is calculated explicitly in the double-scaling limit."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Bethe Roots of Regge Cuts in Strongly Coupled N=4 SYM Theory: We describe a general algorithm for the computation of the remainder function\nfor n-gluon scattering in multi-Regge kinematics for strongly coupled planar\nN=4 super Yang-Mills theory. This regime is accessible through the infrared\nphysics of an auxiliary quantum integrable system describing strings in\nAdS5xS5. Explicit formulas are presented for n=6 and n=7 external gluons. Our\nresults are consistent with expectations from perturbative gauge theory. This\npaper comprises the technical details for the results announced in\narXiv:1405.3658 .",
        "positive": "Beauty and the Twist: The Bethe Ansatz for Twisted N=4 SYM: It was recently shown that the string theory duals of certain deformations of\nthe N=4 gauge theory can be obtained by a combination of T-duality\ntransformations and coordinate shifts. Here we work out the corresponding\nprocedure of twisting the dual integrable spin chain and its Bethe ansatz. We\nderive the Bethe equations for the complete twisted N=4 gauge theory at one and\nhigher loops. These have a natural generalization which we identify as twists\ninvolving the Cartan generators of the conformal algebra. The underlying model\nappears to be a form of noncommutative deformation of N=4 SYM."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Photon and Axion Splitting in an Inhomogeneous Magnetic Field: The axion photon system in an external magnetic field, when the direction of\npropagation of axions and photons is orthogonal to the direction of the\nexternal magnetic field, displays a continuous axion-photon duality symmetry in\nthe limit the axion mass is neglected. The conservation law that follow in this\neffective 2+1 dimensional theory from this symmetry is obtained. The magnetic\nfield interaction is seen to be equivalent to first order to the interaction of\na complex charged field with an external electric potential, where this\nficticious \"electric potential\" is proportional to the external magnetic field.\nThis allows one to solve for the scattering amplitudes using already known\nscalar QED results. From the scalar QED analog the axion and the photon are\nsymmetric and antisymmetric combinations of particle and antiparticle. If one\nconsiders therefore scattering experiments in which the two spatial dimensions\nof the effective theory are involved non trivially, one observes that both\nparticle and antiparticle components of photons and axions are preferentially\nscattered in different directions, thus producing the splitting or\ndecomposition of the photon and axion into their particle and antiparticle\ncomponents in an inhomogeneous magnetic field. This observable in principle\neffect is of first order in the axion photon coupling, unlike the \"light\nshining through a wall phenomena \", which is second order.",
        "positive": "Charged black rings from inverse scattering: The inverse scattering method of Belinsky and Zakharov is a powerful method\nto construct solutions of vacuum Einstein equations. In particular, in five\ndimensions this method has been successfully applied to construct a large\nvariety of black hole solutions. Recent applications of this method to\nEinstein-Maxwell-dilaton (EMd) theory, for the special case of Kaluza-Klein\ndilaton coupling, has led to the construction of the most general black ring in\nthis theory. In this contribution, we review the inverse scattering method and\nits application to the EMd theory. We illustrate the efficiency of these\nmethods with a detailed construction of an electrically charged black ring."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On First Order Symmetry Operators for the Field Equations of\n  Differential Forms: We consider first order symmetry operators for the equations of motion of\ndifferential $p$-form fields in general $D$-dimensional background geometry of\nany signature for both massless and massive cases. For $p=1$ and $p=2$ we give\nthe general forms of the symmetry operators. Then we find a class of symmetry\noperators for arbitrary $p$ and $D$, which is naturally suggested by the lower\n$p$ results.",
        "positive": "Stringy surprises: There are many conceivable possibilities of embedding the MSSM in string\ntheory. These proceedings describe an approach which is based on grand\nunification in higher dimensions. This allows one to obtain global\nstring-derived models with the exact MSSM spectrum and built-in gauge coupling\nunification. It turns out that these models exhibit various appealing features\nsuch as (i) see-saw suppressed neutrino masses, (ii) an order one top Yukawa\ncoupling and potentially realistic flavor structures, (iii) non-Abelian\ndiscrete flavor symmetries relaxing the supersymmetric flavor problem, (iv) a\nhidden sector whose scale of strong dynamics is consistent with TeV-scale soft\nmasses, and (v) a solution to the mu-problem. The crucial and unexpected\nproperty of these features is that they are not put in by hand nor explicitly\nsearched for but happen to occur automatically, and might thus be viewed as\n\"stringy surprises\"."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "q-Functional Field Theory for particles with exotic statistics: In the paper we give consecutive description of functional methods of quantum\nfield theory for systems of interacting q-particles. These particles obey\nexotic statistics and appear in many problems of condensed matter physics,\nmagnetism and quantum optics. Motivated by the general ideas of standard field\ntheory we derive formulae in q-functional derivatives for the partition\nfunction and Green's functions generating functional for systems of exotic\nparticles. This leads to a corresponding perturbation series and a diagram\ntechnique. Results are illustrated by a consideration of an one-dimensional\nq-particle system and compared with some exact expressions obtained earlier.",
        "positive": "Branes and Calibrated Geometries: The fivebrane worldvolume theory in eleven dimensions is known to contain BPS\nthreebrane solitons which can also be interpreted as a fivebrane whose\nworldvolume is wrapped around a Riemann surface. By considering configurations\nof intersecting fivebranes and hence intersecting threebrane solitons, we\ndetermine the Bogomol'nyi equations for more general BPS configurations. We\nobtain differential equations, generalising Cauchy-Riemann equations, which\nimply that the worldvolume of the fivebrane is wrapped around a calibrated\ngeometry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "NSR superstring measures in genus 5: Currently there are two proposed ansatze for NSR superstring measures: the\nGrushevsky ansatz and the OPSMY ansatz, which for genera g<=4 are known to\ncoincide. However, neither the Grushevsky nor the OPSMY ansatz leads to a\nvanishing two point function in genus four, which can be constructed from the\ngenus five expressions for the respective ansatze. This is inconsistent with\nthe known properties of superstring amplitudes.\n  In the present paper we show that the Grushevsky and OPSMY ansatze do not\ncoincide in genus five. Then, by combining these ansatze, we propose a new\nansatz for genus five, which now leads to a vanishing two-point function in\ngenus four. We also show that one cannot construct an ansatz from the currently\nknown forms in genus 6 that satisfies all known requirements for superstring\nmeasures.",
        "positive": "A Note on the BPS Spectrum of the Matrix Model: We calculate, using noncommutative supersymmetric Yang-Mills gauge theory,\nthe part of the spectrum of the toroidally compactified Matrix theory which\ncorresponds to quantized electric fluxes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Reconstructing the universe history, from inflation to acceleration,\n  with phantom and canonical scalar fields: We consider the reconstruction technique in theories with a single or\nmultiple (phantom and/or canonical) scalar fields. With the help of several\nexamples, it is demonstrated explicitly that the universe expansion history,\nunifying early-time inflation and late-time acceleration, can be realized in\nscalar-tensor gravity. This is generalized to the theory of a scalar field\ncoupled non-minimally to the curvature and to a Brans-Dicke-like theory.\nDifferent examples of unification of inflation with cosmic acceleration, in\nwhich de Sitter, phantom, and quintessence type fields play the fundamental\nrole--in different combinations--are worked out. Specifically, the frame\ndependence and stability properties of de Sitter space scalar field theory are\nstudied. Finally, for two-scalar theories, the late-time acceleration and\nearly-time inflation epochs are successfully reconstructed, in realistic\nsituations in which the more and more stringent observational bounds are\nsatisfied, using the freedom of choice of the scalar field potential, and of\nthe kinetic factor.",
        "positive": "Superresonance effect from a rotating acoustic black hole and Lorentz\n  symmetry breaking: We investigate the possibility of the acoustic superresonance phenomenon\n(analog to the superradiance in black hole physics), i.e., the amplification of\na sound wave by reflection from the ergoregion of a rotating acoustic black\nhole with Lorentz symmetry breaking. For rotating black holes the effect of\nsuperradiance corresponds to the situation where the incident waves has\nreflection coefficient greater than one, and energy is extracted from them. For\nan acoustic Kerr-like black hole its rate of loss of mass is affected by the\nLorentz symmetry breaking. We also have shown that for suitable values of the\nLorentz violating parameter a wider spectrum of particle wave function can be\nscattered with increased amplitude by the acoustic black hole."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Revisiting 3D Flat Holography: Causality Structure and Modular flow: Flat space holography is an open and hard problem existing several different\napproaches, which may finally turn out to be consistent with each other, in the\nliterature to tackle it. Focusing on how bulk emergent spacetime is encoded in\nquantum information of null boundaries, we choose a specific toy model called\nthe flat$_3$/BMSFT model, which conjectures the duality between boundary\nBMS$_3$ invariant field theory and bulk quantum gravity in 3D asymptotic flat\nspacetimes (AFS), to explore. Aiming to find an entanglement wedge like\nquantity for single interval and a connected entanglement wedge for\nmulti-intervals in flat$_3$/BMSFT model, we explore the bulk causality\nstructures related to the holographic swing surface proposal through both\nboundary and bulk local modular flow, make a corresponding decomposition of the\nglobal Minkowski spacetime and look at the entanglement phase transition. As a\nbyproduct, we solve the problem about the existence of partial entanglement\nentropy (PEE) correspondence in this model which is a bit nontrivial due to the\nunusual behavior of boundary modular flow in BMS$_3$ field theory. Among the\nliterature considering quantum information aspects of flat$_3$/BMSFT model,\nthere are several substantial, unusual but overlooked phenomena which need to\nbe emphasized and revisited to gain more deserved attention. Thus another\nmotivation of this paper is to find where these unusual phenomena come from,\nand physically show in a manifest way what they may imply. After reading we\nhope readers can feel sincerely what we present about the above mentioned\nsecond aim is more valuable than the mathematical results in the present paper.",
        "positive": "Non-linear integral equations in {\\cal {N}}=4 SYM: We survey and discuss the applications of the non-linear integral equation in\nthe framework of the Bethe Ansatz type equations which are conjectured to give\nthe eigenvalues of the dilatation operator in ${\\cal {N}}=4$ SYM. Moreover, an\noriginal idea (different from that of \\cite {FMQR}) to derive a non-linear\nintegral equation is briefly depicted in Section 4."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exact solutions of higher dimensional black holes: We review exact solutions of black holes in higher dimensions, focusing on\nasymptotically flat black hole solutions and Kaluza-Klein type black hole\nsolutions. We also summarize some properties which such black hole solutions\nreveal.",
        "positive": "Instanton Counting and Chern-Simons Theory: The instanton partition function of N=2, D=4 SU(2) gauge theory is obtained\nby taking the field theory limit of the topological open string partition\nfunction, given by a Chern-Simons theory, of a CY3-fold. The CY3-fold on the\nopen string side is obtained by geometric transition from local F_0 which is\nused in the geometric engineering of the SU(2) theory. The partition function\nobtained from the Chern-Simons theory agrees with the closed topological string\npartition function of local F_0 proposed recently by Nekrasov. We also obtain\nthe partition functions for local F_1 and F_2 CY3-folds and show that the\ntopological string amplitudes of all local Hirzebruch surfaces give rise to the\nsame field theory limit. It is shown that a generalization of the topological\nclosed string partition function whose field theory limit is the generalization\nof the instanton partition function, proposed by Nekrasov, can be determined\neasily from the Chern-Simons theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Trapped Brane Features in DBI Inflation: We consider DBI inflation with a quadratic potential and the effect of\ntrapped branes on the inflationary fluctuations. When going through a trapped\nbrane the effective potential of the inflaton receives a contribution whose\neffect is to induce a jump in the power spectrum of the inflaton perturbations.\nThis feature appears in the power spectrum at a scale corresponding to the size\nof the sound horizon when the two branes cross each other.",
        "positive": "The Final Model Building for the Supersymmetric Pati-Salam Models from\n  Intersecting D6-Branes: All the possible three-family ${\\cal N}=1$ supersymmetric Pati-Salam models\nconstructed with intersecting D6-branes from Type IIA orientifolds on\n$T^6/(\\mathbb{Z}_2\\times \\mathbb{Z}_2)$ are recently presented in arXiv:\n2112.09632. Taking models with largest wrapping number $5$ and approximate\ngauge coupling unification at GUT scale as examples, we show string scale gauge\ncoupling unification can be realized through two-loop renormalization group\nequation running by introducing seven pairs of vector-like particles from\n${\\cal N}=2$ sector. The number of these introduced vector-like particles are\nfully determined by the brane intersection numbers while there are two D6-brane\nparallel to each other along one two-torus. We expect this will solve the gauge\ncoupling unification problem in the generic intersecting brane worlds by\nintroducing vector-like particles that naturally included in the ${\\cal N}=2$\nsector."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Axion RG flows and the holographic dynamics of instanton densities: Axionic holographic RG flow solutions are studied in the context of general\nEinstein-Axion-Dilaton theories. A non-trivial axion profile is dual to the\n(non-perturbative) running of the $\\theta$-term for the corresponding instanton\ndensity operator. It is shown that a non-trivial axion solution is incompatible\nwith a non-trivial (holographic) IR conformal fixed point. Imposing a suitable\naxion regularity condition allows to select the IR geometry in a unique way.\nThe solutions are found analytically in the asymptotic UV and IR regimes, and\nit is shown that in those regimes the axion backreaction is always negligible.\nThe axion backreaction may become important in the intermediate region of the\nbulk. To make contact with the axion probe limit solutions, a systematic\nexpansion of the solution is developed. Several concrete examples are worked\nout numerically. It is shown that the regularity condition always implies a\nfinite allowed range for the axion source parameter in the UV. This translates\ninto the existence of a finite (but large) number of saddle-points in the large\n$N_c$ limit. This ties in well with axion-swampland conjectures.",
        "positive": "Effective Action and Conformal Phase Transition in Three-Dimensional QED: The effective action for local composite operators in $QED_3$ is considered.\nThe effective potential is calculated in leading order in $1/N_f$ ($N_f$ is the\nnumber of fermion flavors) and used to describe the features of the phase\ntransition at $N_f=N_{\\rm cr}$, $3<N_{\\rm cr}<5$. It is shown that this\ncontinuous phase transition satisfies the criteria of the conformal phase\ntransition, considered recently in the literature. In particular, there is an\nabrupt change of the spectrum of light excitations at the critical point,\nalthough the phase transition is continuous, and the structure of the equation\nfor the divergence of the dilatation current is essentially different in the\nsymmetric and nonsymmetric phases. The connection of this dynamics with the\ndynamics in $QCD_4$ is briefly discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetric Localization in GLSMs for Supermanifolds: In this paper we apply supersymmetric localization to study gauged linear\nsigma models (GLSMs) describing supermanifold target spaces. We use the\nlocalization method to show that A-twisted GLSM correlation functions for\ncertain supermanifolds are equivalent to A-twisted GLSM correlation functions\nfor hypersurfaces in ordinary spaces under certain conditions. We also argue\nthat physical two-sphere partition functions are the same for these two types\nof target spaces. Therefore, we reproduce the claim of arXiv:hep-th/9404186,\narXiv:hep-th/9506070. Furthermore, we explore elliptic genera and (0,2)\ndeformations and find similar phenomena.",
        "positive": "Jet Quenching and Holographic Thermalization: We employ the AdS/CFT correspondence to investigate the thermalization of the\nstrongly-coupled plasma and the jet quenching of a hard probe traversing such a\nthermalizing medium."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Features of ghost-gluon and ghost-quark bound states related to BRST\n  quartets: The BRST quartet mechanism in infrared Landau gauge QCD is investigated.\nBased on the observed positivity violation for transverse gluons $A_{\\mathrm\n{tr}}$ the field content of the non-perturbative BRST quartet generated by\n$A_{\\mathrm {tr}}$ is derived. To identify the gluon's BRST-daughter state as\nwell as the Faddeev-Popov--charge conjugated second parent state, a truncated\nBethe-Salpeter equation for the gluon-ghost bound state in the adjoint colour\nrepresentation is derived and studied. This equation is found to be compatible\nwith the so-called scaling solutions of functional approaches. Repeating the\nsame construction for quarks instead of $A_{\\mathrm {tr}}$ leads in a similar\nway to a truncated Bethe-Salpeter equation for the quark-ghost bound state in\nthe fundamental representation. Within the scaling solution the infrared\ndivergence of the quark-gluon vertex is exactly the right one to make this\nBethe-Salpeter equation infrared consistent.",
        "positive": "Integrability, Einstein spaces and holographic fluids: Using holographic-fluid techniques, we discuss some aspects of the\nintegrability properties of Einstein's equations in asymptotically anti-de\nSitter spacetimes. We review and we amend the results of 1506.04813 on how\nexact four-dimensional Einstein spacetimes, which are algebraically special\nwith respect to Petrov's classification, can be reconstructed from boundary\ndata: this is possible if the boundary metric supports a traceless, symmetric\nand conserved complex rank-two tensor, which is related to the boundary Cotton\nand energy-momentum tensors, and if the hydrodynamic congruence is shearless.\nWe illustrate the method when the hydrodynamic congruence has vorticity and the\nboundary metric has two commuting isometries. This leads to the complete\nPlebanski-Demianski family. The structure of the boundary consistency\nconditions depict a U(1) invariance for the boundary data, which is reminiscent\nof a Geroch-like solution-generating pattern for the bulk."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "$T\\bar{T}$-deformed 2D Yang-Mills at large N: collective field theory\n  and phase transitions: We consider the $T\\bar T$ deformation of 2d large $N$ YM theory on a\ncylinder, sphere and disk. The collective field theory Hamiltonian for the\ndeformed theory is derived and the particular solutions to the equations of\nmotion of the collective theory are found for the sphere. The account of the\nnon-perturbative branch of the solution amounts to the first-order phase\ntransition at the $(A,\\tau)$ plane. We analyze the third-order phase transition\nin the deformed theory on the disk and derive the critical area as a function\nof the boundary holonomy. A kind of Hagedorn behavior in the spectral density\nis discussed.",
        "positive": "Black Hole Final State Conspiracies: The principle that unitarity must be preserved in all processes, no matter\nhow exotic, has led to deep insights into boundary conditions in cosmology and\nblack hole theory. In the case of black hole evaporation, Horowitz and\nMaldacena were led to propose that unitarity preservation can be understood in\nterms of a restriction imposed on the wave function at the singularity.\nGottesman and Preskill showed that this natural idea only works if one\npostulates the presence of \"conspiracies\" between systems just inside the event\nhorizon and states at much later times, near the singularity. We argue that\nsome AdS black holes have unusual internal thermodynamics, and that this may\npermit the required \"conspiracies\" if real black holes are described by some\nkind of sum over all AdS black holes having the same entropy."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Topological Two Dimensional Dilaton Supergravity: We present a topological version of two dimensional dilaton supergravity. It\nis obtained by gauging an extension of the super-Poincar\\'e algebra in two\nspace-time dimensions. This algebra is obtained by an unconventional\ncontraction of the super de Sitter algebra. Besides the generators of the super\nde Sitter algebra it has one more fermionic generator and two more bosonic\ngenerators one of them being a central charge. The gauging of this algebra is\nperformed in the usual way. Unlike some proposals for a dilaton supergravity\ntheory we obtain a model which is non-local in the gravitino field.",
        "positive": "Holographic quantization of linearized higher-spin gravity in the de\n  Sitter causal patch: We study the dS/CFT duality between minimal type-A higher-spin gravity and\nthe free Sp(2N) vector model. We consider the bulk spacetime as \"elliptic\" de\nSitter space dS_4/Z_2, in which antipodal points have been identified. We apply\na technique from arXiv:1509.05890, which extracts the quantum-mechanical\ncommutators (or Poisson brackets) of the linearized bulk theory in an\n*observable patch* of dS_4/Z_2 directly from the boundary 2-point function.\nThus, we construct the Lorentzian commutators of the linearized bulk theory\nfrom the Euclidean CFT. In the present paper, we execute this technique for the\nentire higher-spin multiplet, using a higher-spin-covariant language, which\nprovides a promising framework for the future inclusion of bulk interactions.\nAside from its importance for dS/CFT, our construction of a Hamiltonian\nstructure for a bulk causal region should be of interest within higher-spin\ntheory itself. The price we pay is a partial symmetry breaking, from the full\ndS group (and its higher-spin extension) to the symmetry group of an observable\npatch. While the boundary field theory plays a role in our arguments, the\nresults can be fully expressed within a boundary *particle mechanics*. Bulk\nfields arise from this boundary mechanics via a version of second quantization."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Nonstandard Parafermions and String Compactification: Nonstandard parafermions are built and their central charges and dimensions\nare calculated. We then construct new N=2 superconformal field theories by\ntensoring the parafermions with a free boson. We study the spectrum and modular\ntransformations of these theories. Superstring and heterotic strings in four\ndimensions are then obtained by tensoring the new superconformal field theories\nalong with some minimal models. The generations and antigenerations are\nstudied. We give an example of the $1^2(5,7)$ theory which is shown to have\nthree net generations.",
        "positive": "Reduction of Dual Theories: In view of the presence of a superpotential, the dual of a gauge theory like\nSQCD contains two coupling parameters. The method of the Reduction of Couplings\nis used in order to express the parameter of the superpotential in terms of the\ndual gauge coupling. In the conformal window and above it, a unique, isolated\nsolution is obtained. The coupling parameter of the superpotential is given\nsimply by f times the square of the gauge coupling. Here f is a function of the\nthe number of colors and the number of flavors, and it is known explicitly. The\nsolution is valid to all orders in the asymptotic expansion, and it is the\nappropriate choice for the dual theory. The same solution exists in the free\nmagnetic interval. A `general' solution with non-integer powers is discussed,\nas are some exceptional cases."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Holographic Principle: After a pedagogical overview of the present status of High-Energy Physics,\nsome problems concerning physics at the Planck scale are formulated, and an\nintroduction is given to a notion that became known as ``the holographic\nprinciple\" in Planck scale physics, which is arrived at by studying quantum\nmechanical features of black holes.",
        "positive": "Massive vector particles tunneling from Kerr and Kerr-Newman black holes: In this paper, we investigate the Hawking radiation of massive spin-1\nparticles from 4-dimensional Kerr and Kerr-Newman black holes. By applying the\nHamilton-Jacobi ansatz and the WKB approximation to the field equations of the\nmassive bosons in Kerr and Kerr-Newman space-time, the quantum tunneling method\nis successfully implemented. As a result, we obtain the tunneling rate of the\nemitted vector particles and recover the standard Hawking temperature of both\nthe two black holes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Brane Dynamics and 3D Seiberg Duality on the Domain Walls of 4D N=1 SYM: We study a three-dimensional U(k) Yang-Mills Chern-Simons theory with adjoint\nmatter preserving two supersymmetries. According to Acharya and Vafa, this\ntheory describes the low-energy worldvolume dynamics of BPS domain walls in\nfour-dimensional N=1 SYM theory. We demonstrate how to obtain the same theory\nin a brane configuration of type IIB string theory that contains threebranes\nand fivebranes. A combination of string and field theory techniques allows us\nto re-formulate some of the well-known properties of N=1 SYM domain walls in a\ngeometric language and to postulate a Seiberg-like duality for the Acharya-Vafa\ntheory. In the process, we obtain new information about the dynamics of branes\nin setups that preserve two supersymmetries. Using similar methods we also\nstudy other N=1 CS theories with extra matter in the adjoint and fundamental\nrepresentations of the gauge group.",
        "positive": "Regularisation : many recipes, but a unique principle : Ward identities\n  and Normalisation conditions. The case of CPT violation in QED: We analyse the recent controversy on a possible Chern-Simons like term\ngenerated through radiative corrections in QED with a CPT violating term : we\nprove that, if the theory is correctly defined through Ward identities and\nnormalisation conditions, no Chern-Simons term appears, without any ambiguity.\nThis is related to the fact that such a term is a kind of minor modification of\nthe gauge fixing term, and then no renormalised. The past year literature on\nthat subject is discussed, and we insist on the fact that any absence of an\n{\\sl a priori} divergence should be explained by some symmetry or some\nnon-renormalisation theorem."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Tits-Satake projections of homogeneous special geometries: We organize the homogeneous special geometries, describing as well the\ncouplings of D=6, 5, 4 and 3 supergravities with 8 supercharges, in a small\nnumber of universality classes. This relates manifolds on which similar types\nof dynamical solutions can exist. The mathematical ingredient is the\nTits-Satake projection of real simple Lie algebras, which we extend to all\nsolvable Lie algebras occurring in these homogeneous special geometries. Apart\nfrom some exotic cases all the other, 'very special', homogeneous manifolds can\nbe grouped in seven universality classes. The organization of these classes,\nwhich capture the essential features of their basic dynamics, commutes with the\nr- and c-map. Different members are distinguished by different choices of the\npaint group, a notion discovered in the context of cosmic billiard dynamics of\nnon maximally supersymmetric supergravities. We comment on the usefulness of\nthis organization in universality classes both in relation with cosmic billiard\ndynamics and with configurations of branes and orbifolds defining special\ngeometry backgrounds.",
        "positive": "Hawking Radiation of Extended Objects: We compute the effects on the temperature and precise spectrum of Hawking\nradiation from a Schwarzschild black hole when the emitted object is taken to\nbe spatially extended. We find that in the low-momentum regime, the power\nemitted is exponentially suppressed for sufficiently large radiated objects, or\nsufficiently small black holes, though the temperature of emission is\nunchanged. We numerically determine the magnitude of this suppression as a\nfunction of the size and mass of the object and the black hole, and discuss the\nimplications for various extended objects in nature."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Ghost Free Mimetic Massive Gravity: The mass of the graviton can be generated using a Brout-Englert-Higgs\nmechanism with four scalar fields. We show that when one of these fields is\ncostrained as in mimetic gravity, the massive gravity obtained is ghost free\nand consistent. The mass term is not of the Fierz-Pauli type. There are only\nfive degrees of freedom and the sixth degree of freedom associated with the\nBoulware-Deser ghost is constrained and replaced by mimetic matter to all\norders. The van Dam-Veltman-Zakharov discontinuity is also absent.",
        "positive": "Comments on Penrose Limit of AdS_4 x M^{1,1,1}: We construct a Penrose limit of AdS_4 x M^{1,1,1} where M^{1,1,1}= SU(3) x\nSU(2) x U(1)/(SU(2) x U(1) x U(1)) that provides the pp-wave geometry equal to\nthe one in the Penrose limit of AdS_4 x S^7. There exists a subsector of three\ndimensional N=2 dual gauge theory which has enhanced N=8 maximal supersymmetry.\nWe identify operators in the N=2 gauge theory with supergravity KK excitations\nin the pp-wave geometry and describe how the gauge theory operators made out of\ntwo kinds of chiral fields of conformal dimension 4/9, 1/3 fall into N=8\nsupermultiplets."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "3d mirror for Argyres-Douglas theories: 3d mirrors for all 4d $\\mathcal{N}=2$ Argyres-Douglas (AD) theories\nengineered using 6d $(2,0)$ theory are found. The basic steps are: 1): Find a\npunctured sphere representation for the AD theories (this is achieved in our\nprevious studies of S duality); 2): Attach a 3d theory for each puncture; 3):\nGlue together the 3d theory for each puncture. We found the 3d mirror quiver\ngauge theory for the AD theories engineered using 6d $A$ and $D$ type theories.\nThese 3d mirrors are useful for studying the properties of original 4d theory\nsuch as Higgs branch, S-duality, etc; We also construct many new 3d\n$\\mathcal{N}=4$ SCFTs.",
        "positive": "One-loop Wilson loops and the particle-interface potential in AdS/dCFT: We initiate the calculation of quantum corrections to Wilson loops in a class\nof four-dimensional defect conformal field theories with vacuum expectation\nvalues based on N=4 super Yang-Mills theory. Concretely, we consider an\ninfinite straight Wilson line, obtaining explicit results for the one-loop\ncorrection to its expectation value in the large-N limit. This allows us to\nextract the particle-interface potential of the theory. In a further\ndouble-scaling limit, we compare our results to those of a previous calculation\nin the dual string-theory set-up consisting of a D5-D3 probe-brane system with\nflux, and we find perfect agreement."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Colored knot polynomials for Pretzel knots and links of arbitrary genus: A very simple expression is conjectured for arbitrary colored Jones and\nHOMFLY polynomials of a rich $(g+1)$-parametric family of Pretzel knots and\nlinks. The answer for the Jones and HOMFLY polynomials is fully and explicitly\nexpressed through the Racah matrix of U_q(SU_N), and looks related to a modular\ntransformation of toric conformal block.",
        "positive": "The Bisognano-Wichmann Theorem for Massive Theories: The geometric action of modular groups for wedge regions (Bisognano-Wichmann\nproperty) is derived from the principles of local quantum physics for a large\nclass of Poincare covariant models in d=4. As a consequence, the CPT theorem\nholds for this class. The models must have a complete interpretation in terms\nof massive particles. The corresponding charges need not be localizable in\ncompact regions: The most general case is admitted, namely localization in\nspacelike cones."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Prescriptive Unitarity from Positive Geometries: In this paper, we define the momentum amplituhedron in the four-dimensional\nsplit-signature space of dual momenta. It encodes scattering amplitudes at tree\nlevel and loop integrands for N=4 super Yang-Mills in the planar sector. In\nthis description, every point in the tree-level geometry is specified by a null\npolygon. Using the null structure of this kinematic space, we find a geometry\nwhose canonical differential form produces loop-amplitude integrands.\nRemarkably, at one loop it is a curvy version of a simple polytope, whose\nvertices are specified by maximal cuts of the amplitude. This construction\nallows us to find novel formulae for the one-loop integrands for amplitudes\nwith any multiplicity and helicity. The formulae obtained in this way agree\nwith the ones derived via prescriptive unitarity. It makes prescriptive\nunitarity naturally emerge from this geometric description.",
        "positive": "Global anomalies on Lorentzian space-times: We formulate an algebraic criterion for the presence of global anomalies on\nglobally hyperbolic space-times in the framework of locally covariant field\ntheory. We discuss some consequences and check that it reproduces the\nwell-known global $SU(2)$ anomaly in four space-time dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Copernican Crystallography: Redundancies are pointed out in the widely used extension of the\ncrystallographic concept of Bravais class to quasiperiodic materials. Such\npitfalls can be avoided by abandoning the obsolete paradigm that bases ordinary\ncrystallography on microscopic periodicity. The broadening of crystallography\nto include quasiperiodic materials is accomplished by defining the point group\nin terms of indistinguishable (as opposed to identical) densities.",
        "positive": "Ward Identities in the Derivation of Hawking Radiation from Anomalies: Robinson and Wilczek suggested a new method of deriving Hawking radiation by\nthe consideration of anomalies. The basic idea of their approach is that the\nflux of Hawking radiation is determined by anomaly cancellation conditions in\nthe Schwarzschild black hole (BH) background. Iso et al. extended the method to\na charged Reissner-Nordstroem BH and a rotating Kerr BH, and they showed that\nthe flux of Hawking radiation can also be determined by anomaly cancellation\nconditions and regularity conditions of currents at the horizon. Their\nformulation gives the correct Hawking flux for all the cases at infinity and\nthus provides a new attractive method of understanding Hawking radiation. We\npresent some arguments clarifying for this derivation. We show that the Ward\nidentities and boundary conditions for covariant currents without referring to\nthe Wess-Zumino terms and the effective action are sufficient to derive Hawking\nradiation. Our method, which does not use step functions, thus simplifies some\nof the technical aspects of the original formulation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "New boundary conditions in Einstein-scalar gravity in three dimensions: We analyze the backreaction of a class of scalar field self-interactions with\nthe possibility of evolving from an AdS vacuum to a fixed point where the\nscalar field potential vanishes. Exact solutions which interpolate between\nthese regions, ranging from stationary black hole to dynamical spacetimes are\nconstructed. Their surface charges are finite but non-integrable. We study the\nproperties of these charges on the solutions. In particular, we show that the\nintegrable part of the charges provides a realization of the conformal algebra\nby means of a modification of the Dirac bracket proposed by Barnich and\nTroessaert. The latter construction allows for a field dependent central\nextension, whose value tends to the Brown-Henneaux central charge at late\ntimes.",
        "positive": "Quantization of Even-Dimensional Actions of Chern-Simons Form with\n  Infinite Reducibility: We investigate the quantization of even-dimensional topological actions of\nChern-Simons form which were proposed previously. We quantize the actions by\nLagrangian and Hamiltonian formulations {\\`a} la Batalin, Fradkin and\nVilkovisky. The models turn out to be infinitely reducible and thus we need\ninfinite number of ghosts and antighosts. The minimal actions of Lagrangian\nformulation which satisfy the master equation of Batalin and Vilkovisky have\nthe same Chern-Simons form as the starting classical actions. In the\nHamiltonian formulation we have used the formulation of cohomological\nperturbation and explicitly shown that the gauge-fixed actions of both\nformulations coincide even though the classical action breaks Dirac's\nregularity condition. We find an interesting relation that the BRST charge of\nHamiltonian formulation is the odd-dimensional fermionic counterpart of the\ntopological action of Chern-Simons form. Although the quantization of two\ndimensional models which include both bosonic and fermionic gauge fields are\ninvestigated in detail, it is straightforward to extend the quantization into\narbitrary even dimensions. This completes the quantization of previously\nproposed topological gravities in two and four dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Moduli Corrections to Gauge and Gravitational Couplings in four\n  dimensional Superstrings: We study one-loop, moduli-dependent corrections to gauge and gravitational\ncouplings in supersymmetric vacua of the heterotic string. By exploiting their\nrelation to the integrability condition for the associated CP-odd couplings, we\nderive general expressions for them, both for $(2,2)$ and $(2,0)$ models, in\nterms of tree level four-point functions in the internal $N=2$ superconformal\ntheory. The $(2,2)$ case, in particular symmetric orbifolds, is discussed in\ndetail.",
        "positive": "Central Charges for AdS Black Holes: Nontrivial diffeomorphisms act on the horizon of a generic 4D black holes and\ncreate distinguishing features referred to as soft hair. Amongst these are a\nleft-right pair of Virasoro algebras with associated charges that reproduce the\nBekenstein-Hawking entropy for Kerr black holes. In this paper we show that if\none adds a negative cosmological constant, there is a similar set of\ninfinitesimal diffeomorphisms that act non-trivially on the horizon. The\nalgebra of these diffeomorphisms gives rise to a central charge. Adding a\nboundary counterterm, justified to achieve integrability, leads to well-defined\ncentral charges with cL = cR. The macroscopic area law for Kerr-AdS black holes\nfollows from the assumption of a Cardy formula governing the black hole\nmicrostates."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Elliptic genera and real Jacobi forms: We construct real Jacobi forms with matrix index using path integrals. The\npath integral expressions represent elliptic genera of two-dimensional N=(2,2)\nsupersymmetric theories. They arise in a family labeled by two integers N and k\nwhich determine the central charge of the infrared fixed point through the\nformula c=3N(1+ 2N/k). We decompose the real Jacobi form into a mock modular\nform and a term arising from the continuous spectrum of the conformal field\ntheory. We argue that the Jacobi form represents the elliptic genus of a theory\ndefined on a 2N dimensional background with U(N) isometry, containing a complex\nprojective space section, a circle fiber and a linear dilaton direction. We\nalso present formulas for the elliptic genera of orbifolds of these models.",
        "positive": "Mirror Mediation: I show that the effective action of string compactifications has a structure\nthat can naturally solve the supersymmetric flavour and CP problems. At leading\norder in the g_s and \\alpha' expansions, the hidden sector factorises. The\nmoduli space splits into two mirror parts that depend on Kahler and complex\nstructure moduli. Holomorphy implies the flavour structure of the Yukawa\ncouplings arises in only one part. In type IIA string theory flavour arises\nthrough the Kahler moduli sector and in type IIB flavour arises through the\ncomplex structure moduli sector. This factorisation gives a simple solution to\nthe supersymmetric flavour and CP problems: flavour physics is generated in one\nsector while supersymmetry is broken in the mirror sector. This mechanism does\nnot require the presence of gauge, gaugino or anomaly mediation and is\nexplicitly realised by phenomenological models of IIB flux compactifications."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Tachyon Condensation in Superstring Field Theory: It has been conjectured that at the stationary point of the tachyon potential\nfor the D-brane-anti-D-brane pair or for the non-BPS D-brane of superstring\ntheories, the negative energy density cancels the brane tensions. We study this\nconjecture using a Wess-Zumino-Witten-like open superstring field theory free\nof contact term divergences and recently shown to give 60% of the vacuum energy\nby condensation of the tachyon field alone. While the action is non-polynomial,\nthe multiscalar tachyon potential to any fixed level involves only a finite\nnumber of interactions. We compute this potential to level three, obtaining 85%\nof the expected vacuum energy, a result consistent with convergence that can\nalso be viewed as a successful test of the string field theory. The resulting\neffective tachyon potential is bounded below and has two degenerate global\nminima. We calculate the energy density of the kink solution interpolating\nbetween these minima finding good agreement with the tension of the D-brane of\none lower dimension.",
        "positive": "Chiral Random Two-Matrix Theory and QCD with imaginary chemical\n  potential: We summarise recent results for the chiral Random Two-Matrix Theory\nconstructed to describe QCD in the epsilon-regime with imaginary chemical\npotential. The virtue of this theory is that unquenched Lattice simulations can\nbe used to determine both low energy constants Sigma and F in the leading order\nchiral Lagrangian, due to their respective coupling to quark mass and chemical\npotential. We briefly recall the analytic formulas for all density and\nindividual eigenvalue correlations and then illustrate them in detail in the\nsimplest, quenched case with imaginary isospin chemical potential. Some\npeculiarities are pointed out for this example: i) the factorisation of density\nand individual eigenvalue correlation functions for large chemical potential\nand ii) the factorisation of the non-Gaussian weight function of bi-orthogonal\npolynomials into Gaussian weights with ordinary orthogonal polynomials."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Calculating Extra (Quasi)Moduli on the Abrikosov-Nielsen-Olesen string\n  with Spin-Orbit Interaction: Using a representative set of parameters we numerically calculate the\nlow-energy Lagrangian on the world sheet of the Abrikosov-Nielsen-Olesen string\nin a model in which it acquires rotational (quasi)moduli. The bulk model is\ndeformed by a spin-orbit interaction generating a number of \"entangled\" terms\non the string world sheet.",
        "positive": "New potentials from Scherk-Schwarz reductions: We study compactifications of eleven-dimensional supergravity on Calabi-Yau\nthreefolds times a circle, with a duality twist along the circle a la\nScherk-Schwarz. This leads to four-dimensional N=2 gauged supergravity with a\nsemi-positive definite potential for the scalar fields, which we derive\nexplicitly. Furthermore, inspired by the orientifold projection in string\ntheory, we define a truncation to N=1 supergravity. We determine the D-terms,\nKaehler- and superpotentials for these models and study the properties of the\nvacua. Finally, we point out a relation to M-theory compactifications on\nseven-dimensional manifolds with G2 structure."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The chiral WZNW phase space as a quasi-Poisson space: It is explained that the chiral WZNW phase space is a quasi-Poisson space\nwith respect to the `canonical' Lie quasi-bialgebra which is the classical\nlimit of Drinfeld's quasi-Hopf deformation of the universal enveloping algebra.\nThis exemplifies the notion of quasi-Poisson-Lie symmetry introduced recently\nby Alekseev and Kosmann-Schwarzbach, and also permits us to generalize certain\ndynamical twists considered previously in this example.",
        "positive": "Scalar Boundary Conditions in Hyperscaling Violating Geometry: We study the possible boundary conditions of scalar field modes in a\nhyperscaling violation(HV) geometry with Lifshitz dynamical exponent $z\n(z\\geqslant1)$ and hyperscaling violation exponent $\\theta (\\theta\\neq0)$. For\nthe case with $\\theta>0$, we show that in the parameter range with $1\\leq z\\leq\n2,~-z+d-1<\\theta\\leq (d-1)(z-1)$ or $z>2,~-z+d-1<\\theta\\leq d-1$, the boundary\nconditions have different types, including the Neumann, Dirichlet and Robin\nconditions, while in the range with $\\theta\\leq-z+d-1$, only Dirichlet type\ncondition can be set. In particular, we further confirm that the mass of the\nscalar field does not play any role in determining the possible boundary\nconditions for $\\theta>0$, which has been addressed in Ref. \\cite{1201.1905}.\nMeanwhile, we also do the parallel investigation in the case with $\\theta<0$.\nWe find that for $m^2<0$, three types of boundary conditions are available, but\nfor $m^2>0$, only one type is available."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Channels in Quantum Gravity: The black hole final state proposal implements manifest unitarity in the\nprocess of black hole formation and evaporation in quantum gravity, by\npostulating a unique final state boundary condition at the singularity. We\nargue that this proposal can be embedded in the gauge/gravity context by\ninvoking a path integral formalism inspired by the Schwinger-Keldysh like\nthermo-field double construction in the dual field theory. This allows us to\nrealize the gravitational quantum channels for information retrieval to\nspecific deformations of the field theory path integrals and opens up new\nconnections between geometry and information theory.",
        "positive": "Coulomb and Higgs Phases of $G_2$-manifolds: Ricci flat manifolds of special holonomy are a rich framework as models of\nthe extra dimensions in string/$M$-theory. At special points in vacuum moduli\nspace, special kinds of singularities occur and demand a physical\ninterpretation. In this paper we show that the topologically distinct\n$G_2$-holonomy manifolds arising from desingularisations of codimension four\norbifold singularities due to Joyce and Karigiannis correspond physically to\nCoulomb and Higgs phases of four dimensional gauge theories. The results\nsuggest generalisations of the Joyce-Karigiannis construction to arbitrary\nADE-singularities and higher order twists which we explore in detail in\nexplicitly solvable local models. These models allow us to derive an\nisomorphism between moduli spaces of Ricci flat metrics on these non-compact\n$G_2$-manifolds and flat ADE-connections on compact flat 3-manifolds which we\nestablish explicitly for $\\operatorname{SU}(n)$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "New hyper-Kaehler manifolds by fixing monopoles: The construction of new hyper-Kaehler manifolds by taking the infinite\nmonopole mass limit of certain Bogomol'nyi-Prasad-Sommerfield monopole moduli\nspaces is considered. The one-parameter family of hyperkaehler manifolds due to\nDancer is shown to be an example of such manifolds. A new family of fixed\nmonopole spaces is constructed. They are the moduli spaces of four SU(4)\nmonopoles, in the infinite mass limit of two of the monopoles. These manifolds\nare shown to be nonsingular when the fixed monopole positions are distinct.",
        "positive": "A note on Burgers' turbulence: In this note the Polyakov equation [Phys. Rev. E {\\bf 52} (1995) 6183] for\nthe velocity-difference PDF, with the exciting force correlation function\n$\\kappa (y)\\sim1-y^{\\alpha}$ is analyzed. Several solvable cases are\nconsidered, which are in a good agreement with available numerical results.\nThen it is shown how the method developed by A. Polyakov can be applied to\nturbulence with short-scale-correlated forces, a situation considered in models\nof self-organized criticality."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Three-Dimensional Extremal Black Holes and the Maldacena Duality: We discuss the microscopic states of the extremal BTZ black holes. Degeneracy\nof the primary states corresponding to the extremal BTZ black holes in the\nboundary N=(4,4) SCFT is obtained by utilizing the elliptic genus and the\nunitary representation theory of N=4 SCA. The degeneracy is consistent with the\nBekenstein-Hawking entropy.",
        "positive": "A Proof Of Ghost Freedom In de Rham-Gabadadze-Tolley Massive Gravity: We identify different helicity degrees of freedom of Fierz-Paulian massive\ngravity around generic backgrounds. We show that the two-parameter family\nproposed by de Rham, Gabadadze, and Tolley always propagates five degrees of\nfreedom and therefore is free from the Boulware-Deser ghost. The analysis has a\nnumber of byproducts, among which (a) it shows how the original decoupling\nlimit construction ensures ghost freedom of the full theory, (b) it reveals an\nenhanced symmetry of the theory around linearized backgrounds, and (c) it\nallows us to give an algorithm for finding dispersion relations. The proof\nnaturally extends to generalizations of the theory with a reference metric\ndifferent from Minkowski."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Conifolds From D-branes: In this note we study the resolution of conifold singularity by D-branes by\nconsidering compactification of D-branes on $\\C^3/(\\Z_2\\times\\Z_2)$. The\nresulting vacuum moduli space of D-branes is a toric variety which turns out to\nbe a resolved conifold, that is a nodal variety in $\\C^4$. This has the\nimplication that all the corresponding phases of Type--II string theory are\ngeometrical and are accessible to the D-branes, since they are related by\nflops.",
        "positive": "Yang-Mills fields for Cosets: We consider theories with degenerate kinetic terms such as those that arise\nat strong coupling in $N=2$ super Yang-Mills theory. We compute the components\nof generalized $N=1,2$ supersymmetric sigma model actions in two dimensions.\nThe target space coordinates may be matter and/or Yang-Mills superfield\nstrengths."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "1+1 Gauge Theories in the Light-Cone Representation: We present a representation independent solution to the continuum Schwinger\nmodel in light-cone ($A^+ = 0$) gauge. We then discuss the problem of finding\nthat solution using various quantization schemes. In particular we shall\nconsider equal-time quantization and quantization on either characteristic\nsurface, $x^+ = 0$ or $x^- = 0$.",
        "positive": "The Refined Swampland Distance Conjecture in Calabi-Yau Moduli Spaces: The Swampland Distance Conjecture claims that effective theories derived from\na consistent theory of quantum gravity only have a finite range of validity.\nThis will imply drastic consequences for string theory model building. The\nrefined version of this conjecture says that this range is of the order of the\nnaturally built in scale, namely the Planck scale. It is investigated whether\nthe Refined Swampland Distance Conjecture is consistent with proper field\ndistances arising in the well understood moduli spaces of Calabi-Yau\ncompactification. Investigating in particular the non-geometric phases of\nKahler moduli spaces of dimension $h^{11}\\in\\{1,2,101\\}$, we always found\nproper field distances that are smaller than the Planck-length."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Monopole Operators and Bulk-Boundary Relation in Holomorphic Topological\n  Theories: We study the holomorphic twist of 3d N = 2 supersymmetric field theories,\ndiscuss the perturbative bulk local operators in general, and explicitly\nconstruct non perturbative bulk local operators for abelian gauge theories. Our\nconstruction is verified by matching the character of the algebra with the\nsuperconformal index. We test a conjectural relation between the derived center\nof boundary algebras and bulk algebras in various cases, including\nLandau-Ginzburg models with an arbitrary superpotential and some abelian gauge\ntheories. In the latter cases, monopole operators appear in the derived center\nof a perturbative boundary algebra. We briefly discuss the higher structures in\nboth boundary and bulk algebras.",
        "positive": "A Family of Quasi-solvable Quantum Many-body Systems: We construct a family of quasi-solvable quantum many-body systems by an\nalgebraic method. The models contain up to two-body interactions and have\npermutation symmetry. We classify these models under the consideration of\ninvariance property. It turns out that this family includes the rational,\nhyperbolic (trigonometric) and elliptic Inozemtsev models as the particular\ncases."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Analytic DC thermo-electric conductivities in holography with massive\n  gravitons: We provide an analytical derivation of the thermo-electric transport\ncoefficients of the simplest momentum-dissipating model in gauge/gravity where\nthe lack of momentum conservation is realized by means of explicit graviton\nmass in the bulk. We rely on the procedure recently described by Donos and\nGauntlett in the context of Q-lattices and holographic models where momentum\ndissipation is realized through non-trivial scalars. The analytical approach\nconfirms the results found previously by means of numerical computations.",
        "positive": "Abelian vortices from Sinh--Gordon and Tzitzeica equations: It is shown that both the sinh--Gordon equation and the elliptic Tzitzeica\nequation can be interpreted as the Taubes equation for Abelian vortices on a\nCMC surface embedded in $\\R^{2, 1}$, or on a surface conformally related to a\nhyperbolic affine sphere in $\\R^3$. In both cases the Higgs field and the U(1)\nvortex connection are constructed directly from the Riemannian data of the\nsurface corresponding to the sinh--Gordon or the Tzitzeica equation. Radially\nsymmetric solutions lead to vortices with a topological charge equal to one,\nand the connection formulae for the resulting third Painlev\\'e transcendents\nare used to compute explicit values for the strength of the vortices."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum deformations of D=4 Euclidean, Lorentz, Kleinian and\n  quaternionic o^*(4) symmetries in unified o(4;C) setting: We employ new calculational technique and present complete list of classical\n$r$-matrices for $D=4$ complex homogeneous orthogonal Lie algebra\n$\\mathfrak{o}(4;\\mathbb{C})$, the rotational symmetry of four-dimensional\ncomplex space-time. Further applying reality conditions we obtain the classical\n$r$-matrices for all possible real forms of $\\mathfrak{o}(4;\\mathbb{C})$:\nEuclidean $\\mathfrak{o}(4)$, Lorentz $\\mathfrak{o}(3,1)$, Kleinian\n$\\mathfrak{o}(2,2)$ and quaternionic $\\mathfrak{o}^{\\star}(4)$ Lie algebras.\nFor $\\mathfrak{o}(3,1)$ we get known four classical $D=4$ Lorentz $r$-matrices,\nbut for other real Lie algebras (Euclidean, Kleinian, quaternionic) we provide\nnew results and mention some applications.",
        "positive": "A quantum field theory of simplicial geometry and the emergence of\n  spacetime: We present the case for a fundamentally discrete quantum spacetime and for\nGroup Field Theories as a candidate consistent description of it, briefly\nreviewing the key properties of the GFT formalism. We then argue that the\noutstanding problem of the emergence of a continuum spacetime and of General\nRelativity from fundamentally discrete quantum structures should be tackled\nfrom a condensed matter perspective and using purely QFT methods, adapted to\nthe GFT context. We outline the picture of continuum spacetime as a condensed\nphase of a GFT and a research programme aimed at realizing this picture in\nconcrete terms."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exactly solvable models of supersymmetric quantum mechanics and\n  connection to spectrum generating algebra: For nonrelativistic Hamiltonians which are shape invariant, analytic\nexpressions for the eigenvalues and eigenvectors can be derived using the well\nknown method of supersymmetric quantum mechanics. Most of these Hamiltonians\nalso possess spectrum generating algebras and are hence solvable by an\nindependent group theoretic method. In this paper, we demonstrate the\nequivalence of the two methods of solution by developing an algebraic framework\nfor shape invariant Hamiltonians with a general change of parameters, which\ninvolves nonlinear extensions of Lie algebras.",
        "positive": "Coleman-Weinberg Phase Transition in Two-Scalar Models: We explore the Coleman-Weinberg phase transition in regions outside the\nvalidity of perturbation theory. For this purpose we study a Euclidean field\ntheory with two scalars and discrete symmetry in four dimensions. The phase\ndiagram is established by a numerical solution of a suitable truncation of\nexact non-perturbative flow equations. We find regions in parameter space where\nthe phase transition (in dependence on the mass term) is of the second or the\nfirst order, separated by a triple point. Our quantitative results for the\nfirst order phase transition compare well to the standard perturbative\nColeman-Weinberg calculation of the effective potential."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Accessory parameters for Liouville theory on the torus: We give an implicit equation for the accessory parameter on the torus which\nis the necessary and sufficient condition to obtain the monodromy of the\nconformal factor. It is shown that the perturbative series for the accessory\nparameter in the coupling constant converges in a finite disk and give a\nrigorous lower bound for the radius of convergence. We work out explicitly the\nperturbative result to second order in the coupling for the accessory parameter\nand to third order for the one-point function. Modular invariance is discussed\nand exploited. At the non perturbative level it is shown that the accessory\nparameter is a continuous function of the coupling in the whole physical region\nand that it is analytic except at most a finite number of points. We also prove\nthat the accessory parameter as a function of the modulus of the torus is\ncontinuous and real-analytic except at most for a zero measure set. Three\nsoluble cases in which the solution can be expressed in terms of hypergeometric\nfunctions are explicitly treated.",
        "positive": "Konishi Anomaly and Central Extension in N=1/2 Supersymmetry: We show that the 4-dimensional N=1/2 supersymmetry algebra admits central\nextension. The central charges are supported by domain wall and the central\ncharges are computed. We also determine the Konishi anomaly for N=1/2\nsupersymmetric gauge theory. Due to the new couplings in the Lagrangian, many\nterms appears. We show that these terms sum up to give the expected form for\nthe holomorphic part of the Konishi anomaly. For the anti-holomorphic part, we\ngive a simple argument that the naive generalization has to be modified. We\nsuggest that the anti-holomorphic Konishi anomaly is given by a gauge invariant\ncompletion using open Wilson line."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Effective Schroedinger equations for nonlocal and/or dissipative systems: The projection formalism for calculating effective Hamiltonians and\nresonances is generalized to the nonlocal and/or nonhermitian case, so that it\nis applicable to the reduction of relativistic systems (Bethe-Salpeter\nequations), and to dissipative systems modeled by an optical potential.\n  It is also shown how to recover all solutions of the time-independent\nSchroedinger equation in terms of solutions of the effective Schroedinger\nequation in the reduced state space and a Schroedinger equation in a reference\nstate space.\n  For practical calculations, it is important that the resulting formulas can\nbe used without computing any projection operators. This leads to a modified\ncoupled reaction channel/resonating group method framework for the calculation\nof multichannel scattering information.",
        "positive": "Origin of Matter from Vacuum in Conformal Cosmology: We introduce the hypothesis that the matter content of the universe can be a\nproduct of the decay of primordial vector bosons.\n  The effect of the intensive cosmological creation of these primordial vector\n$W, ~Z $ bosons from the vacuum is studied in the framework of General\nRelativity and the Standard Model where the relative standard of measurement\nidentifying conformal quantities with the measurable ones is accepted.\n  The relative standard leads to the conformal cosmology with the z-history of\nmasses with the constant temperature, instead of the conventional z-history of\nthe temperature with constant masses in inflationary cosmology.\n  In conformal cosmology both the latest supernova data and primordial\nnucleosynthesis are compatible with a stiff equation of state associated with\none of the possible states of the infrared gravitation field.\n  The distribution function of the created bosons in the lowest order of\nperturbation theory exposes a cosmological singularity as a consequence of the\ntheorem about the absence of the massless limit of massive vector fields in\nquantum theory. This singularity can be removed by taking into account the\ncollision processes leading to a thermalization of the created particles. The\ncosmic microwave background (CMB) temperature T=(M_W^2H_0)^{1/3} ~ 2.7 K occurs\nas an integral of motion for the universe in the stiff state. We show that this\ntemperature can be attained by the CMB radiation being the final product of the\ndecay of primordial bosons.\n  The effect of anomalous nonconservation of baryon number due to the\npolarization of the Dirac sea vacuum by these primordial bosons is considered."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Note on Fluxes and Superpotentials in M-theory Compactifications on\n  Manifolds of G_2 Holonomy: We consider the breaking of N=1 supersymmetry by non-zero G-flux when\nM-theory is compactified on a smooth manifold X of G_2 holonomy. Gukov has\nproposed a superpotential W to describe this breaking in the low-energy\neffective theory. We check this proposal by comparing the bosonic potential\nimplied by W with the corresponding potential deduced from the\neleven-dimensional supergravity action. One interesting aspect of this check is\nthat, though W depends explicitly only on G-flux supported on X, W also\ndescribes the breaking of supersymmetry by G-flux transverse to X.",
        "positive": "The target space dependence of the Hagedorn temperature: The effect of certain simple backgrounds on the Hagedorn temperature in\ntheories of closed strings is examined. The background of interest are constant\nNeveu-Schwarz $B$-fields, a constant offset of the space-time metric and a\ncompactified spatial dimension. We find that the Hagedorn temperature of string\ntheory depends on the parameters of the background. We comment on an\ninteresting non-extensive feature of the Hagedorn transition, including a\nsubtlety with decoupling of closed strings in the NCOS limit of open string\ntheory and on the large radius limit of discrete light-cone quantized closed\nstrings."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Some Speculations on the Gauge Coupling in the AdS/CFT Approach: We propose the principle that the scale of the glueball masses in the AdS/CFT\napproach to QCD should be set by the square root of the string tension. It then\nturns out that the strong bare coupling runs logarithmically with the\nultraviolet cutoff T if first order world sheet fluctuations are included. We\nalso point out that in the end, when all corrections are included, one should\nobtain an equation for the coupling running with T which has some similarity\nwith the equation for the strong bare coupling.",
        "positive": "Yang-Mills Gauge Conditions from Witten's Open String Field Theory: We construct the Zinn-Justin-Batalin-Vilkovisky action for tachyons and gauge\nbosons from Witten's 3-string vertex of the bosonic open string without gauge\nfixing. Through canonical transformations, we find the off-shell, local,\ngauge-covariant action up to 3-point terms, satisfying the usual field theory\ngauge transformations. Perturbatively, it can be extended to higher-point\nterms. It also gives a new gauge condition in field theory which corresponds to\nthe Feynman-Siegel gauge on the world-sheet."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Defect in AdS3/CFT2 Duality: $AdS_3$ string theory in the stringy regime $k=(R_{AdS}/\\ell_{str})^2 < 1$\nprovides a laboratory for the study of holography in which both sides of\nAdS/CFT duality are under fairly good control. Worldsheet string theory is\nsolvable, and for closed strings the dual spacetime CFT is a deformation of a\nsymmetric product orbifold. Here we extend this construction to include open\nstrings by adding a probe D-string, described semi-classically by an $AdS_2$\nD-brane in $AdS_3$. The dual defect or boundary conformal field theory (BCFT)\nis again a deformed symmetric product, which now describes the Fock space of\nlong open and closed strings near the AdS boundary, with a boundary deformation\nimplementing the open/closed transition in addition to the symmetric product\n${\\mathbb Z}_2$ twist deformation that implements closed string\njoining/splitting. The construction thus provides an explicit example of an\n$AdS_3/BCFT_2$ duality.",
        "positive": "A companion to \"Knot invariants and M-theory I'' [arXiv:1608.05128]:\n  proofs and derivations: We construct two distinct yet related M-theory models that provide suitable\nframeworks for the study of knot invariants. We then focus on the\nfour-dimensional gauge theory that follows from appropriately compactifying one\nof these M-theory models. We show that this theory has indeed all required\nproperties to host knots. Our analysis provides a unifying picture of the\nvarious recent works that attempt an understanding of knot invariants using\ntechniques of four-dimensional physics.\n  This is a companion paper to arXiv:1608.05128, covering all but section 3.3.\nIt presents a detailed mathematical derivation of the main results there, as\nwell as additional material. Among the new insights, those related to\nsupersymmetry and the topological twist are highlighted. This paper offers an\nalternative, complementary formulation of the contents\nin~\\cite{Dasgupta:2016rhc}, but is self-contained and can be read\nindependently."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "'t Hooft Operators on an Interface and Bubbling D5-Branes: We consider a brane configuration consisting of a D5-brane, D1-branes and\nD3-branes. According to the AdS/CFT correspondence this system realizes a 't\nHooft operator embedded in the interface in the gauge theory side. In the\ngravity side the near-horizon geometry is AdS_5 x S^5. The D5-brane is treated\nas a probe in the AdS_5 x S^5 and the D1-branes become the gauge flux on the\nD5-brane. We examine the condition for preserving appropriate amount of\nsupersymmetry and derive a set of differential equations which is the\nsufficient and necessary condition. This supersymmetric configuration shows\nbubbling behavior. We try to derive the relation between the probe D5-brane and\nthe Young diagram which labels the corresponding 't Hooft operator. We propose\nthe dictionary of the correspondence between the Young diagram and the probe\nD5-brane configuration.",
        "positive": "Finite Heisenberg Groups in Quiver Gauge Theories: We show by direct construction that a large class of quiver gauge theories\nadmits actions of finite Heisenberg groups. We consider various quiver gauge\ntheories that arise as AdS/CFT duals of orbifolds of C^3, the conifold and its\norbifolds and some orbifolds of the cone over Y(p,q). Matching the gauge theory\nanalysis with string theory on the corresponding spaces implies that the\noperators counting wrapped branes do not commute in the presence of flux."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Batalin-Vilkovisky quantization of fuzzy field theories: We apply the modern Batalin-Vilkovisky quantization techniques of Costello\nand Gwilliam to noncommutative field theories in the finite-dimensional case of\nfuzzy spaces. We further develop a generalization of this framework to theories\nthat are equivariant under a triangular Hopf algebra symmetry, which in\nparticular leads to quantizations of finite-dimensional analogs of the field\ntheories proposed recently through the notion of `braided $L_\\infty$-algebras'.\nThe techniques are illustrated by computing perturbative correlation functions\nfor scalar and Chern-Simons theories on the fuzzy $2$-sphere, as well as for\nbraided scalar field theories on the fuzzy $2$-torus.",
        "positive": "Compatibility of symmetric quantization with general covariance in the\n  Dirac equation and spin connections: By requiring unambiguous symmetric quantization leading to the Dirac equation\nin a curved space, we obtain a special representation of the spin connections\nin terms of the Dirac gamma matrices and their space-time derivatives. We also\nrequire that squaring the equation give the Klein-Gordon equation in a curved\nspace in its canonical from (without spinor components coupling and with no\nfirst order derivatives). These requirements result in matrix operator algebra\nfor the Dirac gamma matrices that involves a universal curvature constant. We\nobtain exact solutions of the Dirac and Klein-Gordon equations in 1+1\nspace-time for a given static metric."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exponential potential for an inflaton with nonminimal kinetic coupling\n  and its supergravity embedding: In the light of the new observational results we discuss the status of the\nexponential potentials driving inflation. We depart form the minimal scenario\nand study an inflaton kinetically coupled to the Einstein tensor. We find that\nin this case the exponential potentials are well compatible with observations.\nTheir predictions coincide with those of the chaotic type quadratic potential\nfor an inflaton minimally coupled to gravity. We show that there exists a\nsimple mapping between the two models. Moreover, a novel aspect of our model is\nthat it features a natural exit from the inflationary phase even in the absence\nof a minimum. We also turn to supergravity and motivate these sort of\npotentials and the non-minimal kinetic coupling as possible effective dilaton\ntheories.",
        "positive": "Electrodynamics with Weinberg's Photons: The interaction of the spinor field with the Weinberg's $2(2S+1)$- component\nmassless field is considered. New interpretation of the Weinberg's spinor is\nproposed. The equation analogous to the Dirac oscillator is obtained."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the fate of black string instabilities: An Observation: Gregory and Laflamme (hep-th/9301052) have argued that an instability causes\nthe Schwarzschild black string to break up into disjoint black holes. On the\nother hand, Horowitz and Maeda (arXiv:hep-th/0105111) derived bounds on the\nrate at which the smallest sphere can pinch off, showing that, if it happens at\nall, such a pinch-off can occur only at infinite affine parameter along the\nhorizon. An interesting point is that, if a singularity forms, such an infinite\naffine parameter may correspond to a finite advanced time -- which is in fact a\nmore appropriate notion of time at infinity. We argue below that pinch-off at a\nfinite advanced time is in fact a natural expectation under the bounds derived\nby Horowitz and Maeda.",
        "positive": "Membranes from monopole operators in ABJM theory: large angular momentum\n  and M-theoretic AdS_4/CFT_3: We consider states with large angular momentum to facilitate the study of the\nM-theory regime of the AdS_4/CFT_3 correspondence. We study the duality between\nM-theory in AdS_4xS^7/Z_k and the ABJM N=6 Chern-Simons-matter theory with\ngauge group U(N)xU(N) and level k, taking N large and k of order 1. In this\nregime the lack of an explicit formulation of M-theory in AdS_4xS^7/Z_k makes\nthe gravity side difficult, while the CFT is strongly coupled and the planar\napproximation is not applicable. To overcome these difficulties, we focus on\nstates on the gravity side with large angular momentum J>>1 and identify the\ndual operators in the CFT, thereby establishing the AdS/CFT dictionary in this\nsector. Natural approximation schemes arise on both sides thanks to the\npresence of the small parameter 1/J. On the AdS side, we use the matrix model\nof M-theory on the maximally supersymmetric pp-wave background with matrices of\nsize J/k. A perturbative treatment of this matrix model provides a good\napproximation to M-theory in AdS_4xS^7/Z_k when N^{1/3}<<J<<N^{1/2}. On the CFT\nside, we study the theory on S^2xR with magnetic flux J/k. A Born-Oppenheimer\ntype expansion arises naturally for large J in spite of the theory being\nstrongly coupled. The energy spectra on the two sides agree at leading order.\nThis provides a non-trivial test of the AdS_4/CFT_3 correspondence including\nnear-BPS observables associated with membrane degrees of freedom, thus\nverifying the duality beyond the previously studied sectors corresponding to\neither BPS observables or the type IIA string regime."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "AdS-CFT and the RHIC fireball: In this talk I will review my work on the description of high energy\nscattering in QCD, in particular the fireball observed at RHIC, as well as\npredictions for the LHC. The aim is to see how much we can learn about actual\nQCD (nonsupersymmetric, $N_c=3$), without knowing the details of the gravity\ndual of QCD. Experimental predictions are consistent with data, and important\nconsequences are obtained for the LHC, in particular for the $pp$ collisions.\nThe RHIC and LHC correspond to the regime of Froissart bound saturation, in the\nHeisenberg model. Asymptotically, the RHIC fireball is mapped to a dual black\nhole in the IR of the dual. A simple (and unique) scalar field theory model for\nthe RHIC fireball indeed exhibits the properties of the dual black hole: a\nthermal horizon and aparent information loss.",
        "positive": "Callan-Symanzik method for $m$-axial Lifshitz points: We introduce the Callan-Symanzik method in the description of anisotropic as\nwell as isotropic Lifshitz critical behaviors. Renormalized perturbation\ntheories are defined by normalization conditions with nonvanishing masses and\nat zero external momenta. The orthogonal approximation is employed to obtain\nthe critical indices $\\eta_{L2}$, $\\nu_{L2}$, $\\eta_{L4}$ and $\\nu_{L4}$\ndiagramatically at least up to two-loop order in the anisotropic criticalities.\nThis approximation is also utilized to compute the exponents $\\eta_{L4}$ and\n$\\nu_{L4}$ in the isotropic case. Furthermore, we compute those exponents\nexactly for the isotropic behaviors at the same loop order. The results\nobtained for all exponents are in perfect agreement with those previously\nderived in the massless theories renormalized at nonzero external momenta."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "From Hurwitz numbers to Kontsevich-Witten tau-function: a connection by\n  Virasoro operators: In this letter,we present our conjecture on the connection between the\nKontsevich--Witten and the Hurwitz tau-functions. The conjectural formula\nconnects these two tau-functions by means of the $GL(\\infty)$ group element. An\nimportant feature of this group element is its simplicity: this is a group\nelement of the Virasoro subalgebra of $gl(\\infty)$. If proved, this conjecture\nwould allow to derive the Virasoro constraints for the Hurwitz tau-function,\nwhich remain unknown in spite of existence of several matrix model\nrepresentations, as well as to give an integrable operator description of the\nKontsevich--Witten tau-function.",
        "positive": "Curvature-induced phase transition in three-dimensional Thirring model: The effective potential of composite fermion fields in three-dimensional\nThirring model in curved spacetime is calculated in linear curvature\napproximation. The phase transition accompanied by the creation of non-zero\nchiral invariant bifermionic vector-like condensate is shown to exist. The type\nof this phase transition is discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fractional Klein-Gordon Equation on AdS$_{2+1}$: We propose a covariant definition of the fractional Klein-Gordon equation\nwith long-range interactions independent of the metric of the underlying\nmanifold. As an example we consider the fractional Klein-Gordon equation on\nAdS$_{2+1}$, computing the explicit kernel representation of the fractional\nLaplace-Beltrami operator as well as the two-point propagator of the fractional\nKlein-Gordon equation. Our results suggest that the propagator only exists if\nthe mass is small compared to the inverse AdS radius, presumably because the\nAdS space expands faster with distance as a flat space of the same dimension.\nOur results are expected to be useful in particular for new applications of the\nAdS/CFT correspondence within statistical mechanics and quantum information.",
        "positive": "The Cost of Seven-brane Gauge Symmetry in a Quadrillion F-theory\n  Compactifications: We study seven-branes in $O(10^{15})$ four-dimensional F-theory\ncompactifications where seven-brane moduli must be tuned in order to achieve\nnon-abelian gauge symmetry. The associated compact spaces $B$ are the set of\nall smooth weak Fano toric threefolds. By a study of fine star regular\ntriangulations of three dimensional reflexive polytopes, the number of such\nspaces is estimated to be $5.8\\times 10^{14}\\lesssim N_\\text{bases}\\lesssim\n1.8\\times 10^{17}$. Typically hundreds or thousands of moduli must be tuned to\nachieve symmetry for $h^{11}(B)<10$, but the average number drops sharply into\nthe range $O(25)$-$O(200)$ as $h^{11}(B)$ increases. For some low rank groups,\nsuch as $SU(2)$ and $SU(3)$, there exist examples where only a few moduli must\nbe tuned in order to achieve seven-brane gauge symmetry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "$O(\u03b1)$ Radiative Correction to the Casimir Energy for Penetrable\n  Mirrors: The leading radiative correction to the Casimir energy for two parallel\npenetrable mirrors is calculated within QED perturbation theory. It is found to\nbe of the order $\\alpha$ like the known radiative correction for ideally\nreflecting mirrors from which it differs only by a monotonic, powerlike\nfunction of the frequency at which the mirrors become transparent. This shows\nthat the $O(\\alpha^2)$ radiative correction calculated recently by Kong and\nRavndal for ideally reflecting mirrors on the basis of effective field theory\nmethods remains subleading even for the physical case of penetrable mirrors.",
        "positive": "The cosmic QCD phase transition with dense matter and its gravitational\n  waves from holography: Consistent with cosmological constraints, there are scenarios with the large\nlepton asymmetry which can lead to the finite baryochemical potential at the\ncosmic QCD phase transition scale. In this paper, we investigate this\npossibility in the holographic models. Using the holographic renormalization\nmethod, we find the first order Hawking-Page phase transition, between\nReissner-Nordstr$\\rm\\ddot{o}$m AdS black hole and thermal charged AdS space,\ncorresponding to the de/confinement phase transition. We obtain the\ngravitational wave spectra generated during the evolution of bubbles for a\nrange of the bubble wall velocity and examine the reliability of the scenarios\nand consequent calculations by gravitational wave experiments."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Kac-Moody Symmetries of Ten-dimensional Non-maximal Supergravity\n  Theories: A description of the bosonic sector of ten-dimensional N=1 supergravity as a\nnon-linear realisation is given. We show that if a suitable extension of this\ntheory were invariant under a Kac-Moody algebra, then this algebra would have\nto contain a rank eleven Kac-Moody algebra, that can be identified to be a\nparticular real form of very-extended D_8. We also describe the extension of\nN=1 supergravity coupled to an abelian vector gauge field as a non-linear\nrealisation, and find the Kac-Moody algebra governing the symmetries of this\ntheory to be very-extended B_8. Finally, we discuss the related points for the\nN=1 supergravity coupled to an arbitrary number of abelian vector gauge fields.",
        "positive": "Boundary Operators of BCFW Recursion Relation: We show that boundary contributions of BCFW recursions can be interpreted as\nthe form factors of some composite operators which we call 'boundary\noperators'. The boundary operators can be extracted from the operator product\nexpansion of deformed fields. We also present an algorithm to compute the\nboundary operators using path integral."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gradient flow exact renormalization group: The gradient flow bears a close resemblance to the coarse graining, the\nguiding principle of the renormalization group (RG). In the case of scalar\nfield theory, a precise connection has been made between the gradient flow and\nthe RG flow of the Wilson action in the exact renormalization group (ERG)\nformalism. By imitating the structure of this connection, we propose an ERG\ndifferential equation that preserves manifest gauge invariance in Yang--Mills\ntheory. Our construction in continuum theory can be extended to lattice gauge\ntheory.",
        "positive": "Black Holes and the Holographic Principle: This lecture reviews the black hole information paradox and briefly appraises\nsome proposed resolutions in view of developments in string theory. It goes on\nto give an elementary introduction to the holographic principle."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "String Theory in Magnetic Monopole Backgrounds: We discuss string propagation in the near-horizon geometry generated by\nNeveu-Schwarz fivebranes, Kaluza-Klein monopoles and fundamental strings. When\nthe fivebranes and KK monopoles are wrapped around a compact four-manifold\n$\\MM$, the geometry is $AdS_3\\times S^3/\\ZZ_N\\times \\MM$ and the spacetime\ndynamics is expected to correspond to a local two dimensional conformal field\ntheory. We determine the moduli space of spacetime CFT's, study the spectrum of\nthe theory and compare the chiral primary operators obtained in string theory\nto supergravity expectations.",
        "positive": "Galilei covariance and (4,1) de Sitter space: A vector space G is introduced such that the Galilei transformations are\nconsidered linear mappings in this manifold. The covariant structure of the\nGalilei Group (Y. Takahashi, Fortschr. Phys. 36 (1988) 63; 36 (1988) 83) is\nderived and the tensor analysis is developed. It is shown that the Euclidean\nspace is embedded the (4,1) de Sitter space through in G. This is an\ninteresting and useful aspect, in particular, for the analysis carried out for\nthe Lie algebra of the generators of linear transformations in G."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Ostrogradskian Instability of Lagrangians with Nonlocality of Finite\n  Extent: I reply to the objections recently raised by J. Llosa to my constructive\nproof that Lagrangians with nonlocality of finite extent inherit the full\nOstrogradskian instability.",
        "positive": "Conservation Laws from Asymptotic Symmetry and Subleading Charges in QED: We present several results on memory effects, asymptotic symmetry and soft\ntheorems in massive QED. We first clarify in what sense the memory effects are\ninterpreted as the charge conservation of the large gauge transformations, and\nderive the leading and subleading memory effects in classical electromagnetism.\nWe also show that the sub-subleading charges are not conserved without\nincluding contributions from the spacelike infinity. Next, we study QED in the\nBRST formalism and show that parts of large gauge transformations are physical\nsymmetries by justifying that they are not gauge redundancies. Finally, we\nobtain the expression of charges associated with the subleading soft photon\ntheorem in massive scalar QED."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "$W_{\\infty}$ Algebras and Incompressibility in the Quantum Hall Effect: We discuss how a large class of incompressible quantum Hall states can be\ncharacterized as highest weight states of different representations of the\n\\Winf algebra. Second quantized expressions of the \\Winf generators are\nexplicitly derived in the cases of multilayer Hall states, the states proposed\nby Jain to explain the hierarchical filling fractions and the ones related by\nparticle-hole conjugation.",
        "positive": "On timelike supersymmetric solutions of Abelian gauged 5-dimensional\n  supergravity: We consider 5-dimensional gauged supergravity coupled to Abelian vector\nmultiplets, and we look for supersymmetric solutions for which the\n4-dimensional K\\\"ahler base space admits a holomorphic isometry. Taking\nadvantage of this isometry, we are able to find several supersymmetric\nsolutions for the ST$[2,n_v+1]$ special geometric model with arbitrarily many\nvector multiplets. Among these there are three families of solutions with\n$n_v+2$ independent parameters, which for one of the families can be seen to\ncorrespond to $n_v+1$ electric charges and one angular momentum. These\nsolutions generalize the ones recently found for minimal gauged supergravity in\nJHEP 1704 (2017) 017 and include in particular the general supersymmetric\nasymptotically-AdS$_5$ black holes of Gutowski and Reall, analogous black hole\nsolutions with non-compact horizon, the three near horizon geometries\nthemselves, and the singular static solutions of Behrndt, Chamseddine and\nSabra."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Towards a Field Theory of F-theory: We make a proposal for a bosonic field theory in twelve dimensions that\nadmits the bosonic sector of eleven-dimensional supergravity as a consistent\ntruncation. It can also be consistently truncated to a ten-dimensional\nLagrangian that contains all the BPS p-brane solitons of the type IIB theory.\nThe mechanism allowing the consistent truncation in the latter case is unusual,\nin that additional fields with an off-diagonal kinetic term are non-vanishing\nand yet do not contribute to the dynamics of the ten-dimensional theory. They\ndo, however, influence the oxidation of solutions back to twelve dimensions. We\npresent a discussion of the oxidations of all the basic BPS solitons of\nM-theory and the type IIB string to D=12. In particular, the NS-NS and R-R\nstrings of the type IIB theory arise as the wrappings of membranes in D=12\naround one or other circle of the compactifying 2-torus.",
        "positive": "Algebra of operators in an AdS-Rindler wedge: We discuss the algebra of operators in AdS-Rinlder wedge, particularly in\nAdS$_{5}$/CFT$_{4}$. We explicitly construct the algebra at $N=\\infty$ limit\nand discuss its Type III$_{1}$ nature. We will consider $1/N$ corrections to\nthe theory and using a novel way of renormalizing the area of Ryu-Takayanagi\nsurface, describe how several divergences can be renormalized and the algebra\nbecomes Type II$_{\\infty}$. This will make it possible to associate a density\nmatrix to any state in the Hilbert space and thus a von Neumann entropy."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "BRST Formalism and Zero Locus Reduction: In the BRST quantization of gauge theories, the zero locus $Z_Q$ of the BRST\ndifferential $Q$ carries an (anti)bracket whose parity is opposite to that of\nthe fundamental bracket. We show that the on-shell BFV/BV gauge symmetries are\nin a 1:1 correspondence with Hamiltonian vector fields on $Z_Q$, and\nobservables of the BRST theory are in a 1:1 correspondence with characteristic\nfunctions of the bracket on $Z_Q$. By reduction to the zero locus, we obtain\nrelations between bracket operations and differentials arising in different\ncomplexes (the Gerstenhaber, Schouten, Berezin-Kirillov, and Sklyanin\nbrackets); the equation ensuring the existence of a nilpotent vector field on\nthe reduced manifold can be the classical Yang-Baxter equation. We also\ngeneralize our constructions to the bi-QP-manifolds which from the BRST theory\nviewpoint corresponds to the BRST-anti-BRST-symmetric quantization.",
        "positive": "Haag-Ruelle scattering theory in presence of massless particles: Within the framework of local quantum physics we construct a scattering\ntheory of stable, massive particles without assuming mass gaps. This extension\nof the Haag-Ruelle theory is based on advances in the harmonic analysis of\nlocal operators. Our construction is restricted to theories complying with a\nregularity property introduced by Herbst. The paper concludes with a brief\ndiscussion of the status of this assumption."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The continuation method and the real analyticity of the accessory\n  parameters: the general elliptic case: We apply the Le Roy-Poincar\\'e continuation method to prove the real analytic\ndependence of the accessory parameters on the position of the sources in\nLiouville theory in presence of any number of elliptic sources. The treatment\nis easily extended to the case of the torus with any number of elliptic\nsingularities. A discussion is given of the extension of the method to\nparabolic singularities and higher genus surfaces.",
        "positive": "On Perturbative Gravity and Gauge Theory: We review some applications of tree-level (classical) relations between\ngravity and gauge theory that follow from string theory. Together with\n$D$-dimensional unitarity, these relations can be used to perturbatively\nquantize gravity theories, i.e. they contain the necessary information for\nobtaining loop contributions. We also review recent applications of these ideas\nshowing that N=1 D=11 supergravity diverges, and review arguments that N=8 D=4\nsupergravity is less divergent than previously thought, though it does appear\nto diverge at five loops. Finally, we describe field variables for the\nEinstein-Hilbert Lagrangian that help clarify the perturbative relationship\nbetween gravity and gauge theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Integrable System Constructed out of Two Interacting Superconformal\n  Fields: We describe how it is possible to introduce the interaction between\nsuperconformal fields of the same conformal dimensions. In the classical case\nsuch construction can be used to the construction of the Hirota - Satsuma\nequation. We construct supersymmetric Poisson tensor for such fields, which\ngenerates a new class of Hamiltonin systems. We found Lax representation for\none of equation in this class by supersymmetrization Lax operator responsible\nfor Hirota - Satsuma equation. Interestingly our supersymmetric equation is not\nreducible to classical Hirota - Satsuma equation. We show that our generalized\nsystem is reduced to the one of the supersymmetric KDV equation (a=4) but in\nthis limit integrals of motion are not reduced to integrals of motion of the\nsupersymmetric KdV equation.",
        "positive": "Energy dynamics, information and heat flow in quenched cooling and the\n  crossover from quantum to classical thermodynamics: The dynamics when a hot many-body quantum system is brought into\ninstantaneous contact with a cold many-body quantum system can be understood as\na combination of early time quantum correlation (von Neumann entropy) gain and\nlate time energy relaxation. We show that at the shortest timescales there is\nan energy increase in each system linked to the entropy gain, even though\nequilibrium thermodynamics does not apply. This energy increase is of quantum\norigin and results from the collective binding energy between the two systems.\nCounter-intuitively, this implies that also the hotter of the two systems\ngenerically experiences an initial energy increase when brought into contact\nwith the other colder system. In the limit where the energy relaxation\noverwhelms the (quantum) correlation build-up, classical energy dynamics\nemerges where the energy in the hot system decreases immediately upon contact\nwith a cooler system. We use both strongly correlated SYK systems and weakly\ncorrelated mixed field Ising chains to exhibit these characteristics, and\ncomment on its implications for both black hole evaporation and quantum\nthermodynamics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Boundary-Value Problems for the Squared Laplace Operator: The squared Laplace operator acting on symmetric rank-two tensor fields is\nstudied on a (flat) Riemannian manifold with smooth boundary. Symmetry of this\nfourth-order elliptic operator is obtained provided that such tensor fields and\ntheir first (or second) normal derivatives are set to zero at the boundary.\nStrong ellipticity of the resulting boundary-value problems is also proved.\nMixed boundary conditions are eventually studied which involve complementary\nprojectors and tangential differential operators. In such a case, strong\nellipticity is guaranteed if a pair of matrices are non-degenerate. These\nresults find application to the analysis of quantum field theories on manifolds\nwith boundary.",
        "positive": "Strong Homotopy Lie Algebras, Generalized Nahm Equations and Multiple\n  M2-branes: We review various generalizations of the notion of Lie algebras, in\nparticular those appearing in the recently proposed Bagger-Lambert-Gustavsson\nmodel, and study their interrelations. We find that Filippov's n-Lie algebras\nare a special case of strong homotopy Lie algebras. Furthermore, we define a\nclass of homotopy Maurer-Cartan equations, which contains both the Nahm and the\nBasu-Harvey equations as special cases. Finally, we show how the super\nYang-Mills equations describing a Dp-brane and the Bagger-Lambert-Gustavsson\nequations supposedly describing M2-branes can be rewritten as homotopy\nMaurer-Cartan equations, as well."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "3D String Theory and Umbral Moonshine: The simplest string theory compactifications to 3D with 16 supercharges --\nthe heterotic string on $T^7$, and type II strings on $K3 \\times T^3$ -- are\nrelated by U-duality, and share a moduli space of vacua parametrized by\n$O(8,24; \\mathbb{Z}) \\backslash O(8,24) / (O(8) \\times O(24))$. One can think\nof this as the moduli space of even, self-dual 32-dimensional lattices with\nsignature (8,24). At 24 special points in moduli space, the lattice splits as\n$\\Gamma^{8,0} \\oplus \\Gamma^{0,24}$. $\\Gamma^{0,24}$ can be the Leech lattice\nor any of 23 Niemeier lattices, while $\\Gamma^{8,0}$ is the $E_8$ root lattice.\nWe show that starting from this observation, one can find a precise connection\nbetween the Umbral groups and type IIA string theory on $K3$. This provides a\nnatural physical starting point for understanding Mathieu and Umbral moonshine.\nThe maximal unbroken subgroups of Umbral groups in 6D (or any other limit) are\nthose obtained by starting at the associated Niemeier point and moving in\nmoduli space while preserving the largest possible subgroup of the Umbral\ngroup. To illustrate the action of these symmetries on BPS states, we discuss\nthe computation of certain protected four-derivative terms in the effective\nfield theory, and recover facts about the spectrum and symmetry representations\nof 1/2-BPS states.",
        "positive": "Mathematical structures of non-perturbative topological string theory:\n  from GW to DT invariants: We study the Borel summation of the Gromov-Witten potential for the resolved\nconifold. The Stokes phenomena associated to this Borel summation are shown to\nencode the Donaldson-Thomas invariants of the resolved conifold, having a\ndirect relation to the Riemann-Hilbert problem formulated by T. Bridgeland.\nThere exist distinguished integration contours for which the Borel summation\nreproduces previous proposals for the non-perturbative topological string\npartition functions of the resolved conifold. These partition functions are\nshown to have another asymptotic expansion at strong topological string\ncoupling. We demonstrate that the Stokes phenomena of the strong-coupling\nexpansion encode the DT invariants of the resolved conifold in a second way.\nMathematically, one finds a relation to Riemann-Hilbert problems associated to\nDT invariants which is different from the one found at weak coupling. The\nStokes phenomena of the strong-coupling expansion turn out to be closely\nrelated to the wall-crossing phenomena in the spectrum of BPS states on the\nresolved conifold studied in the context of supergravity by D. Jafferis and G.\nMoore."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Punctures and p-spin curves from matrix models III. Dl type and\n  logarithmic potential: The intersection numbers for p spin curves of the moduli space M(g,n) are\nconsidered for D type by a matrix model. The asymptotic behavior of the large\ngenus g limit and large p limit are derived. The remarkable features of the\ncases of p= 1/2, - 1/2, -2, -3 are examined in the Laurent expansion for\nmultiple correlation functions. The strong coupling expansions for the negative\np cases are considered.",
        "positive": "Renyi entropy, stationarity, and entanglement of the conformal scalar: We extend previous work on the perturbative expansion of the Renyi entropy,\n$S_q$, around $q=1$ for a spherical entangling surface in a general CFT.\nApplied to conformal scalar fields in various spacetime dimensions, the results\nappear to conflict with the known conformal scalar Renyi entropies. On the\nother hand, the perturbative results agree with known Renyi entropies in a\nvariety of other theories, including theories of free fermions and vector\nfields and theories with Einstein gravity duals. We propose a resolution\nstemming from a careful consideration of boundary conditions near the\nentangling surface. This is equivalent to a proper treatment of\ntotal-derivative terms in the definition of the modular Hamiltonian. As a\ncorollary, we are able to resolve an outstanding puzzle in the literature\nregarding the Renyi entropy of ${\\cal N}=4$ super-Yang-Mills near $q=1$. A\nrelated puzzle regards the question of stationarity of the renormalized\nentanglement entropy (REE) across a circle for a (2+1)-dimensional massive\nscalar field. We point out that the boundary contributions to the modular\nHamiltonian shed light on the previously-observed non-stationarity. Moreover,\nIR divergences appear in perturbation theory about the massless fixed point\nthat inhibit our ability to reliably calculate the REE at small non-zero mass."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Free fermionic higher spin fields in AdS(5): Totally symmetric massless fermionic fields of arbitrary spins in AdS(5) are\ndescribed as su(2,2) multispinors. The approach is based on the well-known\nisomorfism o(4,2)=su(2,2). Explicitly gauge invariant higher spin free actions\nare constructed and free field equations are analyzed.",
        "positive": "Holomorphy, Minimal Homotopy and the 4D, N = 1 Supersymmetric\n  Bardeen-Gross-Jackiw Anomaly: By use of a special homotopy operator, we present an explicit, closed-form\nand simple expression for the left-right Bardeen-Gross-Jackiw anomalies\ndescribed as the proper superspace integral of a superfunction."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "String theory in Lorentz-invariant light cone gauge - II: We perform a quantization of 4-dimensional Nambu-Goto theory of open string\nin light cone gauge, related in Lorentz-invariant way with the world sheet.\nThis allows to obtain a quantum theory without anomalies in Lorentz group. We\nconsider a special type of gauge fixing conditions, imposed in oscillator\nsector of the theory, which lead to a relatively simple Hamiltonian mechanics,\nconvenient for canonical quantization. We discuss the algebraic and geometric\nproperties of this mechanics and determine its mass spectrum for the states of\nspin singlet S=0.",
        "positive": "\"Short\" spinning strings and structure of quantum AdS_5 x S^5 spectrum: Using information from the marginality conditions of vertex operators for the\nAdS_5 x S^5 superstring, we determine the structure of the dependence of the\nenergy of quantum string states on their conserved charges and the string\ntension proportional to lambda^(1/2). We consider states on the leading Regge\ntrajectory in the flat space limit which carry one or two (equal) spins in\nAdS_5 or S^5 and an orbital momentum in S^5, with Konishi multiplet states\nbeing particular cases. We argue that the coefficients in the energy may be\nfound by using a semiclassical expansion. By analyzing the examples of folded\nspinning strings in AdS_5 and S^5 as well as three cases of circular two-spin\nstrings we demonstrate the universality of transcendental (zeta-function) parts\nof few leading coefficients. We also show the consistency with target space\nsupersymmetry with different states belonging to the same multiplet having the\nsame non-trivial part of the energy. We suggest, in particular, that a rational\ncoefficient (found by Basso for the folded string using Bethe Ansatz\nconsiderations and which, in general, is yet to be determined by a direct\ntwo-loop string calculation) should, in fact, be universal."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Superstring dualities and p-brane bound states: We show that the M-theory/IIA and IIA/IIB superstring dualities together with\nthe diffeomorphism invariance of the underlying theories require the presence\nof certain p-brane bound states in IIA and IIB superstring theories preserving\n1/2 of the spacetime supersymmetry. We then confirm the existence of IIA and\nIIB supergravity solutions having the appropriate p-brane bound states\ninterpretation.",
        "positive": "String Quantum Symmetries and the SL(2,Z) Group: We prove, using arguments relying only on the \"special K\\\"ahler\" structure of\nthe moduli space of the Calabi-Yau three-fold, that in the case of one single\nmodulus the quantum modular group of the string effective action corresponding\nto Calabi-Yau vacua can not be SL(2,${Z\\kern -4.6pt Z}$)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Emergence of Anticommuting Coordinates and the Dirac-Ramond-Kostant\n  operators: The history of anticommuting coordinates is decribed.",
        "positive": "Tackling tangledness of cosmic strings by knot polynomial topological\n  invariants: Cosmic strings in the early universe have received revived interest in recent\nyears. In this paper we derive these structures as topological defects from\nsingular distributions of the quintessence field of dark energy. Our emphasis\nis placed on the topological charge of tangled cosmic strings, which originates\nfrom the Hopf mapping and is a Chern-Simons action possessing strong inherent\ntie to knot topology. It is shown that the Kauffman bracket knot polynomial can\nbe constructed in terms of this charge for un-oriented knotted strings, serving\nas a topological invariant much stronger than the traditional Gauss linking\nnumbers in characterizing string topology. Especially, we introduce a\nmathematical approach of breaking-reconnection which provides a promising\ncandidate for studying physical reconnection processes within the\ncomplexity-reducing cascades of tangled cosmic strings."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Open AdS/CFT via a Double Trace Deformation: A concrete model of extracting the physics from the bulk of a gravitational\nuniverse is important to the study of quantum gravity and its possible\nrelationship with experiments. Such a model can be constructed in the AdS/CFT\ncorrespondence by gluing a bath on the asymptotic boundary of the bulk anti-de\nSitter (AdS) spacetime. This bath models a laboratory and is described by a\nquantum field theory. In the dual conformal field theory (CFT) description this\ncoupling is achieved by a double-trace deformation that couples the CFT with\nthe bath. This suggests that the physics observed by the laboratory is fully\nunitary. In this paper, we analyze the quantum aspects of this model in detail\nwhich conveys new lessons about the AdS/CFT correspondence, and we discuss the\npotential usefulness of this model in understanding subregion physics in a\ngravitational universe.",
        "positive": "Phase structure of the $O(2)$ ghost model with higher-order gradient\n  term: The phase structure and the infrared behaviour of the Euclidean 3-dimensional\n$O(2)$ symmetric ghost scalar field model with higher-order derivative term has\nbeen investigated in Wegner and Houghton's renormalization group framework. The\nsymmetric phase in which no ghost condensation occurs and the phase with\nrestored symmetry but with a transient presence of a ghost condensate have been\nidentified. Finiteness of the correlation length at the phase boundary hints to\na phase transition of first order. The results are compared with those for the\nordinary $O(2)$ symmetric scalar field model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Problems of the Lagrangian Quantization of W3-gravity: We consider the two-dimensional model of W3-gravity within Lagrangian\nquantization methods for general gauge theories. We use the Batalin-Vilkovisky\nformalism to study the arbitrariness in the realization of the gauge algebra.\nWe obtain a one-parametric non-analytic extension of the gauge algebra, and a\ncorresponding solution of the classical master equation, related via an\nanticanonical transformation to a solution corresponding to an analytic\nrealization. We investigate the possibility of closed solutions of the\nclassical master equation in the Sp(2)-covariant formalism and show that such\nsolutions do not exist in the approximation up to the third order in ghost and\nauxiliary fields.",
        "positive": "Symmetry Reduction in Twisted Noncommutative Gravity with Applications\n  to Cosmology and Black Holes: As a preparation for a mathematically consistent study of the physics of\nsymmetric spacetimes in a noncommutative setting, we study symmetry reductions\nin deformed gravity. We focus on deformations that are given by a twist of a\nLie algebra acting on the spacetime manifold. We derive conditions on those\ntwists that allow a given symmetry reduction. A complete classification of\nadmissible deformations is possible in a class of twists generated by commuting\nvector fields. As examples, we explicitly construct the families of vector\nfields that generate twists which are compatible with\nFriedmann-Robertson-Walker cosmologies and Schwarzschild black holes,\nrespectively. We find nontrivial isotropic twists of FRW cosmologies and\nnontrivial twists that are compatible with all classical symmetries of black\nhole solutions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Heterotic mini-landscape (II): completing the search for MSSM vacua in a\n  Z_6 orbifold: We complete our search for MSSM vacua in the Z_6-II heterotic orbifold by\nincluding models with 3 Wilson lines. We estimate the total number of\ninequivalent models in this orbifold to be 10^7. Out of these, we find almost\n300 models with the exact MSSM spectrum, gauge coupling unification and a heavy\ntop quark. Models with these features originate predominantly from local GUTs.\nThe scale of gaugino condensation in the hidden sector is correlated with\nproperties of the observable sector such that soft masses in the TeV range are\npreferred.",
        "positive": "The partition function of the supersymmetric two-dimensional black hole\n  and little string theory: We compute the partition function of the supersymmetric two-dimensional\nEuclidean black hole geometry described by the SL(2,R)/U(1) superconformal\nfield theory. We decompose the result in terms of characters of the N=2\nsuperconformal symmetry. We point out puzzling sectors of states besides\nfinding expected discrete and continuous contributions to the partition\nfunction. By adding an N=2 minimal model factor of the correct central charge\nand projecting on integral N=2 charges we compute the partition function of the\nbackground dual to little string theory in a double scaling limit. We show the\nprecise correspondence between this theory and the background for NS5-branes on\na circle, due to an exact description of the background as a null gauging of\nSL(2,R) x SU(2). Finally, we discuss the interplay between GSO projection and\ntarget space geometry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Vortex Structure of SU(2) Calorons: We reveal the center vortex content of SU(2) calorons and ensembles of them.\nWe use Laplacian Center Gauge as well as Maximal Center Gauges to show that the\nvortex in a single caloron consists of two parts. The first one connects the\nconstituent dyons of the caloron (which are monopoles in Laplacian Abelian\nGauge) and extends in time. The second part is predominantly spatial, encloses\none of the dyons and can be related to the twist in the caloron gauge field.\nThis part depends strongly on the caloron holonomy and degenerates to a plane\nwhen the holonomy is maximally nontrivial, i.e. when the asymptotic Polyakov\nloop is traceless. Correspondingly, we find the spatial vortices in caloron\nensembles to percolate in this case. This finding fits perfectly in the\nconfinement scenario of vortices and shows that calorons are suitable to\nfacilitate the vortex confinement mechanism.",
        "positive": "Dark Monopoles in Grand Unified Theories: We consider a Yang-Mills-Higgs theory with gauge group $G=SU(n)$ broken to\n$G_{v} = [SU(p)\\times SU(n-p)\\times U(1)]/Z$ by a Higgs field in the adjoint\nrepresentation. We obtain monopole solutions whose magnetic field is not in the\nCartan Subalgebra. Since their magnetic field vanishes in the direction of the\ngenerator of the electromagnetic group $U(1)_{em}$, we call them Dark\nMonopoles. These Dark Monopoles must exist in some Grand Unified Theories\n(GUTs) without the need to introduce a dark sector. We analyze the particular\ncase of $SU(5)$ GUT, where we obtain that their mass is $M = 4\\pi v\n\\widetilde{E}(\\lambda/e^{2})/e$, where $\\widetilde{E}(\\lambda/e^{2})$ is a\nmonotonically increasing function of $\\lambda/e^{2}$ with\n$\\widetilde{E}(0)=1.294$ and $\\widetilde{E}(\\infty)=3.262.$ We also give a\ngeometrical interpretation to their non-abelian magnetic charge."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Metric On Quantum Spaes: We introduce the analogue of the metric tensor in case of $q$-deformed\ndifferential calculus. We analyse the consequences of the existence of such\nmetric, showing that this enforces severe restrictions on the parameters of the\ntheory. We discuss in detail the examples of the Manin plane and the\n$q$-deformation of $SU(2)$. Finally we touch the topic of relations with the\nConnes' approach.",
        "positive": "Semi-naive dimensional renormalization: We propose a treatment of $\\gamma^5$ in dimensional regularization which is\nbased on an algebraically consistent extension of the Breitenlohner-Maison-'t\nHooft-Veltman (BMHV) scheme; we define the corresponding minimal\nrenormalization scheme and show its equivalence with a non-minimal BMHV scheme.\nThe restoration of the chiral Ward identities requires the introduction of\nconsiderably fewer finite counterterms than in the BMHV scheme. This scheme is\nthe same as the minimal naive dimensional renormalization in the case of\ndiagrams not involving fermionic traces with an odd number of $\\gamma^5$, but\nunlike the latter it is a consistent scheme. As a simple example we apply our\nminimal subtraction scheme to the Yukawa model at two loops in presence of\nexternal gauge fields."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "3d Modularity: We find and propose an explanation for a large variety of modularity-related\nsymmetries in problems of 3-manifold topology and physics of 3d $\\mathcal{N}=2$\ntheories where such structures a priori are not manifest. These modular\nstructures include: mock modular forms, $SL(2,\\mathbb{Z})$ Weil\nrepresentations, quantum modular forms, non-semisimple modular tensor\ncategories, and chiral algebras of logarithmic CFTs.",
        "positive": "On the Membrane Paradigm and Spontaneous Breaking of Horizon BMS\n  Symmetries: We consider a BMS-type symmetry action on isolated horizons in asymptotically\nflat spacetimes. From the viewpoint of the non-relativistic field theory on a\nhorizon membrane, supertranslations shift the field theory spatial momentum.\nThe latter is related by a Ward identity to the particle number symmetry\ncurrent and is spontaneously broken. The corresponding Goldstone boson shifts\nthe horizon angular momentum and can be detected quantum mechanically.\nSimilarly, area preserving superrotations are spontaneously broken on the\nhorizon membrane and we identify the corresponding gapless modes. In\nasymptotically AdS spacetimes we study the BMS-type symmetry action on the\nhorizon in a holographic superfluid dual. We identify the horizon\nsupertranslation Goldstone boson as the holographic superfluid Goldstone mode."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Nonlinear Field Space Theory and Quantum Gravity: Phase spaces with nontrivial geometry appear in different approaches to\nquantum gravity and can also play a role in e.g. condensed matter physics.\nHowever, so far such phase spaces have only been considered for particles or\nstrings. We propose an extension of the usual field theories to the framework\nof fields with nonlinear phase space of field values, which generally means\nnontrivial topology or geometry. In order to examine this idea we construct a\nprototype scalar field with the spherical phase space and then study its\nquantized version with the help of perturbative methods. As the result we\nobtain a variety of predictions that are known from the quantum gravity\nresearch, including algebra deformations, generalization of the uncertainty\nrelation and shifting of the vacuum energy.",
        "positive": "Axionic and nonaxionic electrodynamics in plane and circular geometry: Various aspects of axion electrodynamics in the presence of a homogeneous and\nisotropic dielectric medium are discussed. 1. We consider first the\n\"antenna-like\" property of a planar dielectric surface in axion\nelectrodynamics, elaborating on the treatment given earlier on this topic by\nMillar {\\it et al.} (2017). We calculate the electromagnetic energy\ntransmission coefficient for a dielectric plate, and compare with the\nconventional expression in ordinary electrodynamics. 2. We consider the\nsituation where the medium exterior to the plate, assumed elastic, is \"bent\nback\" and glued together, so that we obtain a circular dielectric string in\nwhich the waves can propagate clockwise or counterclockwise. As will be shown,\na stationary wave pattern is permitted by the formalism, and we show how the\namplitudes for the two counterpropagating waves can be found. 3. As a special\ncase, by omitting axions for a moment, we analyze the Casimir effect for the\nstring, showing its similarity as well as its difference with the Casimir\neffect of a scalar field for a piecewise uniform string (Brevik and Nielsen\n1990). 4. Finally, including axions again we analyze the enhancement of the\nsurface-generated electromagnetic radiation near the center of a cylindrical\nhaloscope, where the interior region is a vacuum and the exterior region a\nmetal. This enhancement is caused by the curvature of the boundary, and is\nmathematically a consequence of the behavior of the Hankel function of the\nsecond kind for small arguments. A simple estimate shows that enhancement may\nbe quite significant, and can therefore be of experimental interest. This\nproposal is suggested as an alternative to the reflector arrangement in a\nsimilar arrangement recently discussed by Liu {\\it et al.} (2022)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauge-Invariant Quantum Fields: Gauge-invariant quantum fields are constructed in an Abelian power-counting\nrenormalizable gauge theory with both scalar, vector and fermionic matter\ncontent. This extends previous results already obtained for the gauge-invariant\ndescription of the Higgs mode via a propagating gauge-invariant field. The\nrenormalization of the model is studied in the Algebraic Renormalization\napproach.\n  The decomposition of Slavnov-Taylor identities into separately invariant\nsectors is analyzed.\n  We also comment on some non-renormalizable extensions of the model whose 1-PI\nGreen's functions are the flows of certain differential equations of the\nhomogeneous Euler type, exactly resumming the dependence on a certain set of\ndim. 6 and dim. 8 derivative operators.\n  The latter are identified uniquely by the condition that they span the mass\nand kinetic terms in the gauge-invariant dynamical fields.\n  The construction can be extended to non-Abelian gauge groups.",
        "positive": "Symmetry Breaking for Bosonic Systems on Orbifolds: We discuss a general class of boundary conditions for bosons living in an\nextra spatial dimension compactified on S^1/Z_2. Discontinuities for both\nfields and their first derivatives are allowed at the orbifold fixed points. We\nanalyze examples with free scalar fields and interacting gauge vector bosons,\nderiving the mass spectrum, that depends on a combination of the twist and the\njumps. We discuss how the same physical system can be characterized by\ndifferent boundary conditions, related by local field redefinitions that turn a\ntwist into a jump or vice-versa. When the description is in term of\ndiscontinuous fields, appropriate lagrangian terms should be localized at the\norbifold fixed points."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Emergent Lorentz invariance with chiral fermions: We study renormalization group flows in strongly interacting field theories\nwith fermions that correspond to transitions between a theory without Lorentz\ninvariance at high energies down to a theory with approximate Lorentz symmetry\nin the infrared. Holographic description of the strong coupling is used. The\nemphasis is made on emergence of chiral fermions in the low-energy theory.",
        "positive": "Replica-deformation of the SU(2)-invariant Thirring model via solutions\n  of the qKZ equation: The response of an integrable QFT under variation of the Unruh temperature\nhas recently been shown to be computable from an S-matrix preserving\n(`replica') deformation of the form factor approach. We show that\nreplica-deformed form factors of the SU(2)-invariant Thirring model can be\nfound among the solutions of the rational $sl_2$-type quantum\nKnizhnik-Zamolodchikov equation at generic level. We show that modulo conserved\ncharge solutions the deformed form factors are in one-to-one correspondence to\nthe ones at level zero and use this to conjecture the deformed form factors of\nthe Noether current in our model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetric massive truncations of IIb supergravity on\n  Sasaki-Einstein manifolds: Motivated by recent interest in applications of the AdS/CFT correspondence to\ncondensed matter applications involving fermions, we present the supersymmetric\ncompletion of the recent massive truncations of IIB supergravity on\nSasaki-Einstein manifolds. In particular, we reduce the fermionic sector of IIB\nsupergravity to obtain five dimensional N=2 supergravity coupled to one\nhypermultiplet and one massive vector multiplet. The supersymmetry\ntransformations and equations of motion are presented and analyzed. Finally, a\nparticularly interesting truncation to N=2 supergravity coupled to a single\nhypermultiplet is presented which is the supersymmetric completion of the\nrecently constructed bosonic theory dual to a 3+1 dimensional system exhibiting\na superconducting phase transition.",
        "positive": "A Finite Landscape?: We present evidence that the number of string/$M$ theory vacua consistent\nwith experiments is a finite number. We do this both by explicit analysis of\ninfinite sequences of vacua and by applying various mathematical finiteness\ntheorems."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Modular Average and Weyl Anomaly in Two-Dimensional Schwarzian Theory: The gauge formulation of Einstein gravity in AdS$_3$ background leads to a\nboundary theory that breaks modular symmetry and loses the covariant form. We\nexamine the Weyl anomaly for the cylinder and torus manifolds. The divergent\nterm is the same as the Liouville theory when transforming from the cylinder to\nthe sphere. The general Weyl transformation on the torus also reproduces the\nLiouville theory. The Weyl transformation introduces an additional boundary\nterm for reproducing the Liouville theory, which allows the use of CFT\ntechniques to analyze the theory. The torus partition function in this boundary\ntheory is one-loop exact, and an analytical solution to disjoint two-interval\nR\\'enyi-2 mutual information can be obtained. We also discuss a first-order\nphase transition for the separation length of two intervals, which occurs at\nthe classical level but is smoothed out by non-perturbative effects captured by\naveraging over a modular group in the boundary theory.",
        "positive": "Entanglement entropy of near-extremal black hole: We study how the entanglement entropy of the Hawking radiation derived using\nisland recipe for the Reissner-Nordstr\\\"om black hole behaves as the black hole\nmass decreases. A general answer to the question essentially depends not only\non the character of decreasing of the mass but also on decreasing of the\ncharge. We assume the specific relationship between the charge and mass\n$Q^2=GM^2[1-\\left(\\frac{M}{\\mu}\\right)^{2\\nu} ]$, which we call the constraint\nequation. We discuss whether it is possible to have a constraint so that the\nentanglement entropy does not have an explosion at the end of evaporation, as\nhappens in the case of thermodynamic entropy and the entanglement entropy for\nthe Schwarzschild black hole. We show that for some special scaling parameters,\nthe entanglement entropy of radiation does not explode as long as the mass of\nthe evaporating black hole exceeds the Planck mass."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Kinky Brane Worlds: We present a toy model for five-dimensional heterotic M-theory where bulk\nthree-branes, originating in 11 dimensions from M five-branes, are modelled as\nkink solutions of a bulk scalar field theory. It is shown that the vacua of\nthis defect model correspond to a class of topologically distinct M-theory\ncompactifications. Topology change can then be analysed by studying the time\nevolution of the defect model. In the context of a four-dimensional effective\ntheory, we study in detail the simplest such process, that is the time\nevolution of a kink and its collision with a boundary. We find that the kink is\ngenerically absorbed by the boundary thereby changing the boundary charge. This\nopens up the possibility of exploring the relation between more complicated\ndefect configurations and the topology of brane-world models.",
        "positive": "High-energy properties of the graviton scattering in quadratic gravity: We obtain the matter-graviton scattering amplitude in the gravitational\ntheory of quadratic curvature, which has $R_{\\mu\\nu}^2$ term in the action.\nUnitarity bound is not satisfied because of the existence of negative norm\nstates, while an analog of unitarity bound for $S$-matrix unitarity holds due\nto the cancelation among the positive norm states and negative norm ones in the\nunitarity summation in the optical theorem. The violation of unitarity bound is\na counter example of Llewellyn Smith's conjecture on the relation between\ntree-level unitarity and renormalizability. We have recently proposed a new\nconjecture that an analog of the unitarity bound for $S$-matrix unitarity gives\nthe equivalent conditions to those for renormalizability. We show that the\ngravitational theory of quadratic curvature is a nontrivial example consistent\nwith our conjecture."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Constraints on modular inflation in supergravity and string theory: We perform a general algebraic analysis on the possibility of realising\nslow-roll inflation in the moduli sector of string models. This problem turns\nout to be very closely related to the characterisation of models admitting\nmetastable vacua with non-negative cosmological constant. In fact, we show that\nthe condition for the existence of viable inflationary trajectories is a\ndeformation of the condition for the existence of metastable de Sitter vacua.\nThis condition depends on the ratio between the scale of inflation and the\ngravitino mass and becomes stronger as this parameter grows. After performing a\ngeneral study within arbitrary supergravity models, we analyse the implications\nof our results in several examples. More concretely, in the case of heterotic\nand orientifold string compactifications on a Calabi-Yau in the large volume\nlimit we show that there may exist fully viable models, allowing both for\ninflation and stabilisation. Additionally, we show that subleading corrections\nbreaking the no-scale property shared by these models always allow for\nslow-roll inflation but with an inflationary scale suppressed with respect to\nthe gravitino scale. A scale of inflation larger than the gravitino scale can\nalso be achieved under more restrictive circumstances and only for certain\ntypes of compactifications.",
        "positive": "Wrapped membranes, matrix string theory and an infinite dimensional Lie\n  algebra: We examine the algebraic structure of the matrix regularization for the\nwrapped membrane on $R^{10}\\times S^1$ in the light-cone gauge. We give a\nconcrete representation for the algebra and obtain the matrix string theory\nhaving the boundary conditions for the matrix variables corresponding to the\nwrapped membrane, which is referred to neither Seiberg and Sen's arguments nor\nstring dualities. We also embed the configuration of the multi-wrapped membrane\nin matrix string theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A study of Bosonic and Fermionic Theories at Large Charge: The aim of this thesis is to systematically and consistently study strongly\ncoupled bosonic and fermionic conformal field theories using the large quantum\nnumber expansion. The idea behind it is to study sectors of conformal field\ntheories that are characterised by large quantum numbers under global\nsymmetries. In this limit, the conformal field theories, even if they initially\nwere strongly coupled and interacting, can now be written in terms of an\neffective field theory that is weakly coupled. Some common effective field\ntheories that appear in the literature are the bosonic conformal superfluid and\nthe Fermi sphere, condensed matter systems characterised by a high particle\ndensity, making the study of such systems a cross-disciplinary matter.",
        "positive": "Quantum motion equation and Poincare translation invariance of\n  noncommutative field theory: We study the Moyal commutators and their expectation values between vacuum\nstates and non-vacuum states for noncommutative scalar field theory. For\nnoncommutative $\\phi^{\\star4}$ scalar field theory, we derive its\nenergy-momentum tensor from translation transformation and Lagrange field\nequation. We generalize the Heisenberg and quantum motion equations to the form\nof Moyal star-products for noncommutative $\\phi^{\\star4}$ scalar field theory\nfor the case $\\theta^{0i}=0$ of spacetime noncommutativity. Then we demonstrate\nthe Poincar{\\' e} translation invariance for noncommutative $\\phi^{\\star4}$\nscalar field theory for the case $\\theta^{0i}=0$ of spacetime noncommutativity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Triply Special Relativity: We describe an extension of special relativity characterized by {\\it three}\ninvariant scales, the speed of light, $c$, a mass, $\\kappa$ and a length $R$.\nThis is defined by a non-linear extension of the Poincare algerbra, $\\cal A$,\nwhich we describe here. For $R\\to \\infty$, $\\cal A$ becomes the Snyder\npresentation of the $\\kappa$-Poincare algebra, while for $\\kappa \\to \\infty$ it\nbecomes the phase space algebra of a particle in deSitter spacetime. We\nconjecture that the algebra is relevant for the low energy behavior of quantum\ngravity, with $\\kappa$ taken to be the Planck mass, for the case of a nonzero\ncosmological constant $\\Lambda = R^{-2}$. We study the modifications of\nparticle motion which follow if the algebra is taken to define the Poisson\nstructure of the phase space of a relativistic particle.",
        "positive": "Spectra of BPS Strings in 6d Supergravity and the Swampland: We explore BPS strings in supergravity theories in six-dimensions and related\nSwampland Conjectures. We first propose a general modular ansatz for\nbootstrapping elliptic genera of 2d worldvolume theories on strings in the 6d\ntheories. By employing mirror symmetry on F-theory examples, we explicitly\ncompute the elliptic genera and validate our ansatz. We extend this approach to\ninvestigate BPS strings and their spectrum in non-geometric 6d theories which\nhave no known F-theory constructions, and confirm the Swampland conjectures,\nincluding the Weak Gravity Conjecture, Distance Conjecture, and Emergent String\nConjecture. We also discuss tensionless little strings that emerge near\ninfinite-distance limits of strong gauge coupling in the moduli space of\ncertain special theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauge theory on $Z_2 \\times Z_2 \\ti Z_2 $ Discrete Group and a\n  Spontaneous $CP$ Violation Toy Model: In the spirit of Non-commutative differential calculus on discrete group, we\nconstruct a toy model of spontaneous $CP$ violation (SCPV). Our model is\ndifferent from the well-known Weinberg-Branco model although it involves three\nHiggs doublets and preserve neutral flavor current conservation (NFC) after\nusing the $Z_2 \\ti Z_2 \\ti Z_2$ discrete symmetry and imposing some constraints\non Yukawa couplings.",
        "positive": "Two-loop corrections to the topological mass term in thermal QED_3: We study the radiative corrections to the Chern-Simons mass term at two loops\nin 2+1 dimensional quantum electrodynamics at finite temperature. We show that,\nin contrast to the behavior at zero temperature, thermal effects lead to a non\nvanishing contribution at this order. Using this result, as well as the large\ngauge Ward identity for the leading parity violating terms in the static limit,\nwe determine the leading order parity violating effective action in this limit\nat two loops, which generalizes the one-loop effective action proposed earlier."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Extended Y-system for the $AdS_5/CFT_4$ correspondence: We study the analytic properties of the $AdS_5/CFT_4$ Y functions. It is\nshown that the TBA equations, including the dressing factor, can be obtained\nfrom the Y-system with some additional information on the square-root\ndiscontinuities across semi-infinite segments in the complex plane. The\nY-system extended by the discontinuity relations constitutes a fundamental set\nof local functional constraints that can be easily transformed into integral\nform through Cauchy's theorem.",
        "positive": "N=4 Supersymmetric Quantum Mechanics with Magnetic Monopole: We propose an N=4 supersymmetric quantum mechanics of a charged particle on a\nsphere in the background of Dirac magnetic monopole and study the system using\nthe CP(1) model approach. We explicitly calculate the symmetry algebra taking\nthe operator ordering ambiguity into consideration. We find that it is given by\nthe superalgebra SU(1|2)x SU(2). We show that the Hamiltonian can be written in\nterms of the Casimir invariant of SU(2). Using this relation and the lower\nbound for angular momentm we obtain the energy spectrum. We then examine the\nground energy sector to find that the N=4 supersymmetry is spontaneously broken\nto N=2 for certain values of the monopole charge."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Oscillator Level for Black Holes and Black Rings: Microscopic calculations of the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy of supersymmetric\nblack holes in string theory are typically based on the application to a dual\n2D CFT of Cardy's formula, S=2\\pi \\sqrt{c q /6}, where `c' is the central\ncharge and `q' is the oscillator level. In the CFT, q is non-trivially related\nto the total momentum. We identify a Komar integral that equals q when\nevaluated at the horizon, and the total momentum when evaluated at asymptotic\ninfinity, thus providing a gravitational dual of the CFT result.",
        "positive": "Basic Twist Quantization of osp(1|2) and kappa-- Deformation of D=1\n  Superconformal Mechanics: The twisting function describing a nonstandard (super-Jordanian) quantum\ndeformation of $osp(1|2)$ is given in explicite closed form. The quantum\ncoproducts and universal R-matrix are presented. The non-uniqueness of the\ntwisting function as well as two real forms of the deformed $osp(1|2)$\nsuperalgebras are considered. One real quantum $osp(1|2)$ superalgebra is\ninterpreted as describing the $\\kappa$-deformation of D=1, N=1 superconformal\nalgebra, which can be applied as a symmetry algebra of N=1 superconformal\nmechanics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Formal Higher-Spin Theories and Kontsevich-Shoikhet-Tsygan Formality: The formal algebraic structures that govern higher-spin theories within the\nunfolded approach turn out to be related to an extension of the Kontsevich\nFormality, namely, the Shoikhet-Tsygan Formality. Effectively, this allows one\nto construct the Hochschild cocycles of higher-spin algebras that make the\ninteraction vertices. As an application of these results we construct a family\nof Vasiliev-like equations that generate the Hochschild cocycles with $sp(2n)$\nsymmetry from the corresponding cycles. A particular case of $sp(4)$ may be\nrelevant for the on-shell action of the $4d$ theory. We also give the exact\nequations that describe propagation of higher-spin fields on a background of\ntheir own. The consistency of formal higher-spin theories turns out to have a\npurely geometric interpretation: there exists a certain symplectic invariant\nassociated to cutting a polytope into simplices, namely, the Alexander-Spanier\ncocycle.",
        "positive": "Confining potential in a color dielectric medium with parallel domain\n  walls: We study quark confinement in a system of two parallel domain walls\ninterpolating different color dielectric media. We use the phenomenological\napproach in which the confinement of quarks appears considering the QCD vacuum\nas a color dielectric medium. We explore this phenomenon in QCD_2, where the\nconfinement of the color flux between the domain walls manifests, in a scenario\nwhere two 0-branes (representing external quark and antiquark) are connected by\na QCD string. We obtain solutions of the equations of motion via first-order\ndifferential equations. We find a new color confining potential that increases\nmonotonically with the distance between the domain walls."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spontaneous Symmetry Breaking of Lorentz and (Galilei) Boosts in\n  (Relativistic) Many-Body Systems: We extend a result by Ojima on spontaneous symmetry breaking of Lorentz\nboosts in thermal (KMS) states and show that it is in fact a special case in a\nmore general class of examples of spontaneous symmetry breaking of Lorentz\nsymmetry in relativistic many-body systems. Furthermore we analyse the nature\nof the corresponding Goldstone phenomenon and the type of Goldstone excitations\n(provided they have particle character).",
        "positive": "Consistency in Perturbative Calculations and Radiatively Induced Lorentz\n  and CPT Violations: The origin of the radiatively induced Lorentz and CPT violations, in\nperturbative evaluations, of an extended version of QED, is investigated. Using\na very general calculational method, concerning the manipulations and\ncalculations involving divergent amplitudes, we clearly identify the possible\nsources of contributions for the violating terms. We show that consistency in\nthe perturbative calculations, in a broader sense, leaves no room for the\nexistence of radiatively induced contributions which is in accordance with what\nwas previously conjectured and recently advocated by some authors supported on\ngeneral arguments."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Space-like branes, accelerating cosmologies and the near `horizon' limit: It is known that there exist two different classes of time dependent\nsolutions in the form of space-like (or S)-branes in the low energy M/string\ntheory. Accelerating cosmologies are known to arise from S-branes in one class,\nbut not in the other where the time-like holography in the dS/CFT type\ncorrespondence may be more transparent. We show how the accelerating\ncosmologies arise from S-branes in the other class. Although we do not get the\nde Sitter structure in the lowest order supergravity, the near `horizon' ($t\\to\n0$) limits of these S-branes are the generalized Kasner metric.",
        "positive": "Regular (2+1)-dimensional black holes within non-linear Electrodynamics: (2+1)-regular static black hole solutions with a nonlinear electric field are\nderived. The source to the Einstein equations is an energy momentum tensor of\nnonlinear electrodynamics, which satisfies the weak energy conditions and in\nthe weak field limit becomes the (2+1)-Maxwell field tensor. The derived class\nof solutions is regular; the metric, curvature invariants and electric field\nare regular everywhere. The metric becomes, for a vanishing parameter, the\n(2+1)-static charged BTZ solution. A general procedure to derive solutions for\nthe static BTZ (2+1)-spacetime, for any nonlinear Lagrangian depending on the\nelectric field is formulated; for relevant electric fields one requires the\nfulfillment of the weak energy conditions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauge theories on $\u03ba$-Minkowski spaces: Twist and modular operators: We discuss the construction of $\\kappa$-Poincar\\'e invariant actions for\ngauge theories on $\\kappa$-Minkowski spaces. We consider various classes of\nuntwisted and (bi)twisted differential calculi. Starting from a natural class\nof noncommutative differential calculi based on a particular type of twisted\nderivations belonging to the algebra of deformed translations, combined with a\ntwisted extension of the notion of connection, we prove an algebraic relation\nbetween the various twists and the classical dimension d of the\n$\\kappa$-Minkowski space(-time) ensuring the gauge invariance of the candidate\nactions for gauge theories. We show that within a natural differential calculus\nbased on a distinguished set of twisted derivations, d=5 is the unique value\nfor the classical dimension at which the gauge action supports both the gauge\ninvariance and the $\\kappa$-Poincar\\'e invariance. Within standard (untwisted)\ndifferential calculi, we show that the full gauge invariance cannot be\nachieved, although an invariance under a group of transformations constrained\nby the modular (Tomita) operator stemming from the $\\kappa$-Poincar\\'e\ninvariance still holds.",
        "positive": "Topological Strings with Scaling Violation and Toda Lattice Hierarchy: We show that there is a series of topological string theories whose\nintegrable structure is described by the Toda lattice hierarchy. The monodromy\ngroup of the Frobenius manifold for the matter sector is an extension of the\naffine Weyl group $\\widetilde W (A_N^{(1)})$ introduced by Dubrovin. These\nmodels are generalizations of the topological $CP^1$ string theory with scaling\nviolation. The logarithmic Hamiltonians generate flows for the puncture\noperator and its descendants. We derive the string equation from the\nconstraints on the Lax and the Orlov operators. The constraints are of\ndifferent type from those for the $c=1$ string theory. Higher genus expansion\nis obtained by considering the Lax operator in matrix form."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "T-duality simplifies bulk-boundary correspondence: the noncommutative\n  case: We state and prove a general result establishing that T-duality simplifies\nthe bulk-boundary correspondence, in the sense of converting it to a simple\ngeometric restriction map. This settles in the affirmative several earlier\nconjectures of the authors, and provides a clear geometric picture of the\ncorrespondence. In particular, our result holds in arbitrary spatial dimension,\nin both the real and complex cases, and also in the presence of disorder,\nmagnetic fields, and H-flux. These special cases are relevant both to String\nTheory and to the study of the quantum Hall effect and topological insulators\nwith defects in Condensed Matter Physics.",
        "positive": "On the Compactification of Type IIA String Theory: The ten-dimensional type IIA string effective action with cosmological\nconstant term is dimensionally reduced on a d-dimensional torus to derive lower\ndimensional effective action. The symmetries of the reduced effective action\nare examined. It is shown that the resulting six-dimensional theory does not\nremain invariant under $SO(4,4)$ symmetry whereas the reduced action, in the\nabsence of the cosmological constant respects the symmetry as was shown by Sen\nand Vafa. New class of black hole solutions are obtained in five and four\ndimensions in the presence of cosmological constant. For the six-dimensional\ntheory, a four-brane solution is also presented."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Effect of the quartic gradient terms on the critical exponents of the\n  Wilson-Fisher fixed point in $O(N)$ models: The effect of the $\\ord{\\partial^4}$ terms of the gradient expansion on\nanomalous dimension $\\eta$ and the correlation length's critical exponent $\\nu$\nof the Wilson-Fisher fixed point has been determined for the Euclidean $O(N)$\nmodel for $N=1$ and the number of dimensions $2< d<4$ as well as for $N\\ge 2$\nand $d=3$. Wetterich's effective average action renormalization group method is\nused with field-independent derivative couplings and Litim's optimized\nregulator. It is shown that the critical theory for $N\\ge 2$ is well\napproximated by the effective average action preserving $O(N)$ symmetry with\nthe accuracy of $\\ord{\\eta}$.",
        "positive": "Holographic entanglement in spin network states: a focused review: In the long-standing quest to reconcile gravity with quantum mechanics,\nprofound connections have been unveiled between concepts traditionally\npertaining to quantum information theory, such as entanglement, and\nconstitutive features of gravity, like holography. Developing and promoting\nthese connections from the conceptual to the operational level unlocks access\nto a powerful set of tools, which can be pivotal towards the formulation of a\nconsistent theory of quantum gravity. Here, we review recent progress on the\nrole and applications of quantum informational methods, in particular tensor\nnetworks, for quantum gravity models. We focus on spin network states dual to\nfinite regions of space, represented as entanglement graphs in the group field\ntheory approach to quantum gravity, and illustrate how techniques from random\ntensor networks can be exploited to investigate their holographic properties.\nIn particular, spin network states can be interpreted as maps from bulk to\nboundary, whose holographic behaviour increases with the inhomogeneity of their\ngeometric data (up to becoming proper quantum channels). The entanglement\nentropy of boundary states, which are obtained by feeding such maps with\nsuitable bulk states, is then proved to follow a bulk area law, with\ncorrections due to the entanglement of the bulk state. We further review how\nexceeding a certain threshold of bulk entanglement leads to the emergence of a\nblack hole-like region, revealing intriguing perspectives for quantum\ncosmology."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Model for Topological Fermions: We introduce a model designed to describe charged particles as stable\ntopological solitons of a field with values on the internal space S^3. These\nsolitons behave like particles with relativistic properties like Lorentz\ncontraction and velocity dependence of mass. This mass is defined by the energy\nof the soliton. In this sense this model is a generalisation of the sine-Gordon\nmodel from 1+1 dimensions to 3+1 dimensions, from S^1 to S^3. (We do not chase\nthe aim to give a four-dimensional generalisation of Coleman's isomorphism\nbetween the Sine-Gordon model and the Thirring model which was shown in\n2-dimensional space-time.) For large distances from the center of solitons this\nmodel tends to a dual U(1)-theory with freely propagating electromagnetic\nwaves. Already at the classical level it describes important effects, which\nusually have to be explained by quantum field theory, like\nparticle-antiparticle annihilation and the running of the coupling.",
        "positive": "A Heterotic Multimonopole Solution: An exact multimonopole solution of heterotic string theory is presented. The\nsolution is constructed by a modification of the 't Hooft ansatz for a\nfour-dimensional instanton. An analogous solution in Yang-Mills field theory\nsaturates a Bogomoln'yi bound and possesses the topology and far field limit of\na multimonopole configuration, but has divergent action near each source. In\nthe string solution, however, the divergences from the Yang-Mills sector are\nprecisely cancelled by those from the gravity sector. The resultant action is\nfinite and easily computed. The Manton metric on moduli space for the\nscattering of two string monopoles is found to be flat to leading order in the\nimpact parameter, in agreement with the trivial scattering predicted by a test\nmonopole calculation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Constrained Dynamical Systems: Separation of Constraints into First and\n  Second Classes: In the Dirac approach to the generalized Hamiltonian formalism, dynamical\nsystems with first- and second-class constraints are investigated. The\nclassification and separation of constraints into the first- and second-class\nones are presented with the help of passing to an equivalent canonical set of\nconstraints. The general structure of second-class constraints is clarified.",
        "positive": "Calabi-Yau Three-folds: Poincare Polynomials and Fractals: We study the Poincare polynomials of all known Calabi-Yau three-folds as\nconstrained polynomials of Littlewood type, thus generalising the well-known\ninvestigation into the distribution of the Euler characteristic and Hodge\nnumbers. We find interesting fractal behaviour in the roots of these\npolynomials in relation to the existence of isometries, distribution versus\ntypicality, and mirror symmetry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Attractor horizons in six-dimensional type IIB supergravity: We consider near horizon geometries of extremal black holes in\nsix-dimensional type IIB supergravity. In particular, we use the entropy\nfunction formalism to compute the charges and thermodynamic entropy of these\nsolutions. We also comment on the role of attractor mechanism in understanding\nthe entropy of the Hopf T-dual solutions in type IIA supergravity.",
        "positive": "Correct Treatment of 1/(\u03b7\\cdot k)^p Singularities in the Axial Gauge\n  Propagator: The propagators in axial-type, light-cone and planar gauges contain\n1/(\\eta\\cdot k)^p-type singularities. These singularities have generally been\ntreated by inventing prescriptions for them. In this work, we propose an\nalternative procedure for treating these singularities in the path integral\nformalism using the known way of treating the singularities in Lorentz gauges.\nTo this end, we use a finite field-dependent BRS transformation that\ninterpolates between Lorentz-type and the axial-type gauges. We arrive at the\n$\\epsilon$-dependent tree propagator in the axial-type gauges. We examine the\nsingularity structure of the propagator and find that the axial gauge\npropagator so constructed has {\\it no} spurious poles (for real $k$). It\nhowever has a complicated structure in a small region near $\\eta\\cdot k=0$. We\nshow how this complicated structure can effectively be replaced by a much\nsimpler propagator."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Tunneling of a Massless Field through a 3D Gaussian Barrier: We propose a method for the approximate computation of the Green function of\na scalar massless field Phi subjected to potential barriers of given size and\nshape in spacetime. This technique is applied to the case of a 3D gaussian\nellipsoid-like barrier, placed on the axis between two pointlike sources of the\nfield. Instead of the Green function we compute its temporal integral, that\ngives the static potential energy of the interaction of the two sources. Such\ninteraction takes place in part by tunneling of the quanta of Phi across the\nbarrier. We evaluate numerically the correction to the potential in dependence\non the size of the barrier and on the barrier-sources distance.",
        "positive": "Combinatorial Dyson-Schwinger equations in noncommutative field theory: We give here the Hopf algebra structure describing the noncommutative\nrenormalization of a recently introduced translation-invariant model on Moyal\nspace. We define Hochschild one-cocyles $B_+^\\gamma$ which allows us to write\ndown the combinatorial Dyson-Schwinger equations for noncommutative quantum\nfield theory. One- and two-loops examples are explicitly worked out."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Time-Dependent Dilatonic Domain Walls: Time-dependent domain wall solutions with infinitesimal thickness are\nobtained in the theory of a scalar field coupled to gravity with the dilaton,\ni.e. the Jordan-Brans-Dicke gravity. The value of the dilaton is determined in\nterms of the Brans-Dicke parameter $\\omega$. In particular, the solutions exist\nfor any $\\omega>0$ and as $\\omega\\to\\infty$ we obtain new solutions in general\nrelativity. They have horizons whose sizes depend on $\\omega$.",
        "positive": "Minor Identities for Quasideterminants and Quantum Determinants: We present several identities involving quasi-minors of noncommutative\ngeneric matrices. These identities are specialized to quantum matrices,\nyielding q-analogues of various classical determinantal formulas."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Double Field Theory as the Double Copy of Yang-Mills: We show that double field theory arises from the color-kinematic double copy\nof Yang-Mills theory. A precise double copy prescription for the Yang-Mills\naction at quadratic and cubic order is provided that yields the double field\ntheory action in which the duality invariant dilaton has been integrated out.\nMore precisely, at quadratic order this yields the gauge invariant double field\ntheory, while at cubic order it yields the cubic double field theory action\nsubject to a gauge condition that originates from Siegel gauge in string field\ntheory.",
        "positive": "Neutron stars and phase diagram in a hard-wall AdS/QCD model: We study the phase diagram of (large-$N_c$) QCD using a simplistic\nholographic hard-wall model with a dynamical scalar field and a homogeneous\nAnsatz representing a smeared instanton/baryon density. The resulting phase\ndiagram is qualitatively consistent with expectations, including a mesonic,\nbaryonic, quarkyonic, and quark-gluon plasma phase. As in other holographic\nmodels, we also find a baryonic popcorn transition, which appears at large\nchemical potential as a crossover. We then evaluate the nuclear matter equation\nof state, which turns out to be rather stiff with a large peaked sound velocity\nabove the conformal limit, construct corresponding neutron stars using the TOV\nequations, and finally use a full numerical gravity/hydrodynamics computation\nto extract the gravitational wave signal of neutron star mergers."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Some considerations on the Mac Dowell-Mansouri action: A precise relation is established between the Stelle-West formulation of the\nMac Dowell-Mansouri approach to a gauge theory of gravity and the approach\nbased on a gauged Wess-Zumino-Witten term. In particular, it is shown that a\nconsistent truncation of the latter correspond to the former. A brief review of\nthe Lovelock-Chern-Simons motivation behind the gauged WZW ones is also done.",
        "positive": "AdS interpretation of two-point correlation function of QED: We have considered the two-point correlation of QED in worldline formalism.\nIn position space it has been written in terms of heat kernel. This leads to\nintroducing the $K_1$ function, which is related with the bulk-to-boundary\npropagator of massless scalar field and to reveal bulk-to-boundary propagator\nin the expression of photon polarization operator."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Brane World in a Topological Black Hole Bulk: We consider a static brane in the background of a topological black hole, in\narbitrary dimensions. For hyperbolic horizons, we find a solution only when the\nblack hole mass assumes its minimum negative value. In this case, the tension\nof the brane vanishes, and the brane position coincides with the location of\nthe horizon. For an elliptic horizon, we show that the massless mode of\nRandall-Sundrum is recovered in the limit of large black hole mass.",
        "positive": "The emergence of Strange metal and Topological Liquid near Quantum\n  Critical Point in a solvable model: We discuss quantum phase transition by an exactly solvable model in the dual\ngravity setup. By considering the effect of the scalar condensation on the\nfermion spectrum near the quantum critical point(QCP), we find that there is a\ntopologically protected fermion zero mode associated with the metal to\ninsulator transition. We also show that the strange metal phase with T-linear\nresistivity emerges at high enough temperature as far as the gravity has a\nhorizon. The phase boundaries are calculated according to the density of\nstates, giving insights on structures of the phase diagram near the QCP."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Relation Between Gauge and Non-Gauge Abelian Models: This work studies the relationship between gauge-invariant and non\ngauge-invariant abelian vector models. Following a technique introduced by\nHarada and Tsutsui, we show that the Proca and the Chiral Schwinger models may\nboth be viewed as gauge-fixed versions of genuinely gauge- invariant models.\nThis leads to the proposal that any consistent Abelian vector model with no\ngauge symmetry can be understood as a gauge theory that had its gauge fixed,\nwhich establishes an equivalence between gauge-invariant and non\ngauge-invariant models. Finally, we show that a gauge-invariant version of the\nchiral Schwinger model, after integrating out the fermionic degrees of freedom,\ncan be identified with the two-dimensional Stueckelberg model without the gauge\nfixing term.",
        "positive": "Measurements without Probabilities in the Final State Proposal: The black hole final state proposal reconciles the infalling vacuum with the\nunitarity of the Hawking radiation, but only for some experiments. We study\nexperiments that first verify the exterior, then the interior purification of\nthe same Hawking particle. (This is the same protocol that renders the firewall\nparadox operationally meaningful in standard quantum mechanics.) We show that\nthe decoherence functional fails to be diagonal, even upon inclusion of\nexternal \"pointer\" systems. Hence, probabilities for outcomes of these\nmeasurements are not defined. We conclude that the final state proposal does\nnot offer a consistent alternative to the firewall hypothesis."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fermion localization on branes with generalized dynamics: In this letter we consider a specific model of braneworld with nonstandard\ndynamics diffused in the literature, specifically we focus our attention on the\nmatter energy density, the energy of system, the Ricci scalar and the thin\nbrane limit. As the model is classically stable and capable of localize\ngravity, as a natural extension we address the issue of fermion localization of\nfermions on a thick brane constructed out from one scalar field with\nnonstandard kinetic terms coupled with gravity. The contribution of the\nnonstandard kinetic terms in the problem of fermion localization is analyzed.\nIt is found that the simplest Yukawa coupling $\\eta\\bar{\\Psi}\\phi\\Psi$ support\nthe localization of fermions on the thick brane. It is shown that the zero mode\nfor left-handed can be localized on the thick brane depending on the values for\nthe coupling constant $\\eta$.",
        "positive": "Noncommutative Quantum Mechanics: The Two-Dimensional Central Field: Quantum mechanics in a noncommutative plane is considered. For a general two\ndimensional central field, we find that the theory can be perturbatively solved\nfor large values of the noncommutative parameter ($\\theta$) and explicit\nexpressions for the eigenstates and eigenvalues are given. The Green function\nis explicitly obtained and we show that it can be expressed as an infinite\nseries. For polynomial type potentials, we found a smooth limit for small\nvalues of $\\theta$ and for non-polynomial ones this limit is necessarily\nabrupt. The Landau problem, as a limit case of a noncommutative system, is also\nconsidered."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Emergence of Superstring from Pure Spinor: Starting with a classical action where a pure spinor $\\lambda^\\alpha$ is only\na fundamental and dynamical variable, the pure spinor formalism for\nsuperparticle and superstring is derived by following the BRST formalism. In\nthis formalism, not only the string variable $x^m$ but also the space-time\nspinor $\\theta^\\alpha$ are emerged as the Faddeev-Popov (FP) ghosts of a\ntopological symmetry and its reducible symmetry. This study suggests that the\nfundamental theory behind the pure spinor formalism of the superstring might be\na topological field theory.",
        "positive": "Topological Disorder Operators in Three-Dimensional Conformal Field\n  Theory: Many abelian gauge theories in three dimensions flow to interacting conformal\nfield theories in the infrared. We define a new class of local operators in\nthese conformal field theories which are not polynomial in the fundamental\nfields and create topological disorder. They can be regarded as\nhigher-dimensional analogues of twist and winding-state operators in free 2d\nCFTs. We call them monopole operators for reasons explained in the text. The\nimportance of monopole operators is that in the Higgs phase, they create\nAbrikosov-Nielsen-Olesen vortices. We study properties of these operators in\nthree-dimensional QED using large N_f expansion. In particular, we show that\nmonopole operators belong to representations of the conformal group whose\nprimaries have dimension of order N_f. We also show that monopole operators\ntransform non-trivially under the flavor symmetry group, with the precise\nrepresentation depending on the value of the Chern-Simons coupling."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Cyclic Monopoles: We study charge k SU(2) BPS monopoles which are symmetric under the cyclic\ngroup of order k. Approximate twistor data (spectral curves and Nahm data) is\nconstructed using a new technique based upon a Painleve analysis of Nahm's\nequation around a pole. With this data both analytical and numerical\napproximate ADHMN constructions are performed to study the zeros of the Higgs\nfield and the monopole energy densities. The results describe, via the moduli\nspace approximation, a novel type of low energy k monopole scattering.",
        "positive": "Generalized entanglement entropy and holography: In this work, we first introduce a generalized von Neumann entropy that\ndepends only on the density matrix. This is based on a previous proposal by one\nof us modifying the Shannon entropy by considering non-equilibrium systems on\nstationary states, and an entropy functional depending only on the probability.\nWe propose a generalization of the replica trick and find that the resulting\nmodified von Neumann entropy is precisely the previous mentioned entropy that\nwas obtained by other assumptions. Then, we address the question whether\nalternative entanglement entropies can play a role in the gauge/gravity\nduality. Our focus are 2d CFT and their gravity duals. Our results show\ncorrections to the von Neumann entropy $S_0$ that are larger than the usual\n$UV$ ones and also than the corrections to the length dependent $AdS_3$ entropy\nwhich result comparable to the $UV$ ones. The correction terms due to the new\nentropy would modify the Ryu-Takayanagi identification between the CFT and the\ngravitational $AdS_3$ entropies."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the supersymmetric extension of asymptotic symmetries in three\n  spacetime dimensions: In this work we obtain known and new supersymmetric extensions of diverse\nasymptotic symmetries defined in three spacetime dimensions by considering the\nsemigroup expansion method. The super-$BMS_3$, the superconformal algebra and\nnew infinite-dimensional superalgebras are obtained by expanding the\nsuper-Virasoro algebra. The new superalgebras obtained are supersymmetric\nextensions of the asymptotic algebras of the Maxwell and the\n$\\mathfrak{so}(2,2)\\oplus\\mathfrak{so}(2,1)$ gravity theories. We extend our\nresults to the $\\mathcal{N}=2$ and $\\mathcal{N}=4$ cases and find that\nR-symmetry generators are required. We also show that the new\ninfinite-dimensional structures are related through a flat limit $\\ell\n\\rightarrow \\infty$.",
        "positive": "Super Lie n-algebra extensions, higher WZW models, and super p-branes\n  with tensor multiplet fields: We formalize higher dimensional and higher gauge WZW-type sigma-model local\nprequantum field theory, and discuss its rationalized/perturbative description\nin (super-)Lie n-algebra homotopy theory (the true home of the \"FDA\"-language\nused in the supergravity literature). We show generally how the intersection\nlaws for such higher WZW-type sigma-model branes (open brane ending on\nbackground brane) are encoded precisely in (super-) L-infinity-extension theory\nand how the resulting \"extended (super-)spacetimes\" formalize spacetimes\ncontaining sigma model brane condensates. As an application we prove in Lie\nn-algebra homotopy theory that the complete super p-brane spectrum of\nsuperstring/M-theory is realized this way, including the pure sigma-model\nbranes (the \"old brane scan\") but also the branes with tensor multiplet\nworldvolume fields, notably the D-branes and the M5-brane. For instance the\ndegree-0 piece of the higher symmetry algebra of 11-dimensional spacetime with\nan M2-brane condensate turns out to be the \"M-theory super Lie algebra\". We\nalso observe that in this formulation there is a simple formal proof of the\nfact that type IIA spacetime with a D0-brane condensate is the 11-dimensional\nsugra/M-theory spacetime, and of (prequantum) S-duality for type IIB string\ntheory. Finally we give the non-perturbative description of all this by higher\nWZW-type sigma-models on higher super-orbispaces with higher WZW terms in\nstacky differential cohomology."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Some Applications of Ricci Flow in Physics: I discuss certain applications of the Ricci flow in physics. I first review\nhow it arises in the renormalization group (RG) flow of a nonlinear sigma\nmodel. I then review the concept of a Ricci soliton and recall how a soliton\nwas used to discuss the RG flow of mass in 2-dimensions. I then present recent\nresults obtained with Oliynyk on the flow of mass in higher dimensions. The\nfinal section discusses one way in which Ricci flow may arise in general\nrelativity, particularly for static metrics.",
        "positive": "Localized Tachyons and the g_cl conjecture: We consider C/Z_N and C^2/Z_N orbifolds of heterotic string theories and Z_N\norbifolds of AdS_3. We study theories with N=2 worldsheet superconformal\ninvariance and construct RG flows. Following Harvey, Kutasov, Martinec and\nMoore, we compute g_cl and show that it decreases monotonically along RG flows-\nas conjectured by them. For the heterotic string theories, the gauge degrees of\nfreedom do not contribute to the computation of g_cl."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Information Bound on the Energy: According to the classical Penrose inequality, the mass at spatial infinity\nis bounded from below by a function of the area of certain trapped surfaces. We\nexhibit quantum field theory states that violate this relation at the\nsemiclassical level. We formulate a Quantum Penrose Inequality, by replacing\nthe area with the generalized entropy of the lightsheet of an appropriate\nquantum trapped surface. We perform a number of nontrivial tests of our\nproposal, and we consider and rule out alternative formulations. We also\ndiscuss the relation to weak cosmic censorhip.",
        "positive": "Dynamically generated magnetic moment in the Wigner-function formalism: We study how the mass and magnetic moment of the quarks are dynamically\ngenerated in nonequilibrium quark matter. We derive the equal-time transport\nand constraint equations for the quark Wigner function in a magnetized quark\nmodel and solve them in the semi-classical expansion. The quark mass and\nmagnetic moment are self-consistently coupled to the Wigner function and\ncontrolled by the kinetic equations. While the quark mass is dynamically\ngenerated at the classical level, the quark magnetic moment is a pure quantum\neffect, induced by the quark spin interaction with the external magnetic field."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Physical Interpretation Of Certain Strong Coupling Singularities: We interpret certain strong coupling singularities of the $E_8\\times E_8$\nheterotic string on K3 in terms of exotic six-dimensional theories in which\n$E_8$ is a gauge symmetry. These theories are closely related to theories\nobtained at small instanton singularities, which have $E_8$ as a global\nsymmetry.",
        "positive": "On (multi-)center branes and exact string vacua: Multicenter supergravity solutions corresponding to Higgs phases of\nsupersymmetric Yang-Mills theories are considered. For NS5 branes we identify\nthree cases where there is a description in terms of exact conformal field\ntheories. Other supergravity solutions, such as D3-branes with angular\nmomentum, are understood as special limits of multicenter ones. Within our\ncontext we also consider 4-dim gravitational multi-instantons."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Modular Invariants, Graphs and $\u03b1$-Induction for Nets of\n  Subfactors. III: In this paper we further develop the theory of $\\alpha$-induction for nets of\nsubfactors, in particular in view of the system of sectors obtained by mixing\nthe two kinds of induction arising from the two choices of braiding. We\nconstruct a relative braiding between the irreducible subsectors of the two\n``chiral'' induced systems, providing a proper braiding on their intersection.\nWe also express the principal and dual principal graphs of the local subfactors\nin terms of the induced sector systems. This extended theory is again applied\nto conformal or orbifold embeddings of SU(n) WZW models. A simple formula for\nthe corresponding modular invariant matrix is established in terms of the two\ninductions, and we show that it holds if and only if the sets of irreducible\nsubsectors of the two chiral induced systems intersect minimally on the set of\nmarked vertices i.e. on the ``physical spectrum'' of the embedding theory, or\nif and only if the canonical endomorphism sector of the conformal or orbifold\ninclusion subfactor is in the full induced system. We can prove either\ncondition for all simple current extensions of SU(n) and many conformal\ninclusions, covering in particular all type I modular invariants of SU(2) and\nSU(3), and we conjecture that it holds also for any other conformal inclusion\nof SU(n) as well. As a by-product of our calculations, the dual principal graph\nfor the conformal inclusion $SU(3)_5 \\subset SU(6)_1$ is computed for the first\ntime.",
        "positive": "SU(N) affine Toda solitons and breathers from transparent Dirac\n  potentials: Transparent scalar and pseudoscalar potentials in the one-dimensional Dirac\nequation play an important role as self-consistent mean fields in 1+1\ndimensional four-fermion theories (Gross-Neveu, Nambu-Jona Lasinio models) and\nquasi-one dimensional superconductors (Bogoliubov-De Gennes equation). Here, we\nshow that they also serve as seed to generate a large class of classical\nmulti-soliton and multi-breather solutions of su(N) affine Toda field theories,\nincluding the Lax representation and the corresponding vector. This generalizes\nprevious findings about the relationship between real kinks in the Gross-Neveu\nmodel and classical solitons of the sinh-Gordon equation to complex twisted\nkinks."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Entropy of Quantum States: Ambiguities: The von Neumann entropy of a generic quantum state is not unique unless the\nstate can be uniquely decomposed as a sum of extremal or pure states. As\npointed out to us by Sorkin, this happens if the GNS representation (of the\nalgebra of observables in some quantum state) is reducible, and some\nrepresentations in the decomposition occur with non-trivial degeneracy. This\nnon-unique entropy can occur at zero temperature. We will argue elsewhere in\ndetail that the degeneracies in the GNS representation can be interpreted as an\nemergent broken gauge symmetry, and play an important role in the analysis of\nemergent entropy due to non-Abelian anomalies. Finally, we establish the\nanalogue of an H-theorem for this entropy by showing that its evolution is\nMarkovian, determined by a stochastic matrix.",
        "positive": "Supersymmetric Multi-trace Boundary Conditions in AdS: Boundary conditions for massive fermions are investigated in AdS_d for $d \\ge\n2$. For fermion masses in the range $0 \\le |m| < 1/2\\ell$ with $\\ell$ the AdS\nlength, the standard notion of normalizeability allows a choice of boundary\nconditions. As in the case of scalars at or slightly above the\nBreitenlohner-Freedman (BF) bound, such boundary conditions correspond to\nmulti-trace deformations of any CFT dual. By constructing appropriate boundary\nsuperfields, for d=3,4,5 we identify joint scalar/fermion boundary conditions\nwhich preserve either ${\\cal N}=1$ supersymmetry or ${\\cal N}=1$ superconformal\nsymmetry on the boundary. In particular, we identify boundary conditions\ncorresponding via AdS/CFT (at large N) to a 595-parameter family of\ndouble-trace marginal deformations of the low-energy theory of N M2-branes\nwhich preserve ${\\cal N} =1$ superconformal symmetry. We also establish that\n(at large N and large 't Hooft coupling $\\lambda$) there are no marginal or\nrelevant multi-trace deformations of 3+1 ${\\cal N} =4$ super Yang-Mills which\npreserve even ${\\cal N}=1$ supersymmetry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Plancherel Formula for the Universal Covering Group of SL(2,R)\n  Revisited: The Plancherel formula for the universal covering group of $SL(2, R)$ derived\nearlier by Pukanszky on which Herb and Wolf build their Plancherel theorem for\ngeneral semisimple groups is reconsidered. It is shown that a set of unitarily\nequivalent representations is treated by these authors as distinct.\nIdentification of this equivalence results in a Plancherel measure\n($s\\mathrm{Re}\\tanh\\pi(s+\\frac{i\\tau}{2}), 0\\leq\\tau<1)$ which is different\nfrom the Pukanszky-Herb-Wolf measure ($s\\mathrm{Re}\\tanh\\pi(s+i\\tau),\n0\\leq\\tau<1)$.",
        "positive": "A Note on Four-Point Functions in Logarithmic Conformal Field Theory: The generic structure of 4-point functions of fields residing in\nindecomposable representations of arbitrary rank is given. The presented\nalgorithm is illustrated with some non-trivial examples and permutation\nsymmetries are exploited to reduce the number of free structure-functions,\nwhich cannot be fixed by global conformal invariance alone."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Perturbative search for dead-end CFTs: To explore the possibility of self-organized criticality, we look for CFTs\nwithout any relevant scalar deformations (a.k.a dead-end CFTs) within\npower-counting renormalizable quantum field theories with a weakly coupled\nLagrangian description. In three dimensions, the only candidates are pure\n(Abelian) gauge theories, which may be further deformed by Chern-Simons terms.\nIn four dimensions, we show that there are infinitely many non-trivial\ncandidates based on chiral gauge theories. Using the three-loop beta functions,\nwe compute the gap of scaling dimensions above the marginal value, and it can\nbe as small as $\\mathcal{O}(10^{-5})$ and robust against the perturbative\ncorrections. These classes of candidates are very weakly coupled and our\nperturbative conclusion seems difficult to refute. Thus, the hypothesis that\nnon-trivial dead-end CFTs do not exist is likely to be false in four\ndimensions.",
        "positive": "Trans-Planckian censorship and single-field inflaton potential: It was recently proposed that a field theory cannot be consistent with\nquantum gravity if it allows a mode shorter than the Planck length to exit the\nHubble horizon. This is called the Trans-Planckian Censorship Conjecture (TCC).\nWe discuss the implications of the TCC on the possible shape of the inflaton\npotential in single-field slow-roll inflation. We point out that (1) there is\ngenerically an initial condition in which the total e-folding number\n$N_\\text{total}$ is doubled or more compared to the e-folds necessary for the\ncosmic microwave background fluctuations, and (2) a sizable negative running of\nspectral index is generically expected to make $N_\\text{total}$ small. In\nconcrete setups, we find a stringent constraint on the inflationary energy\nscale, $V_\\text{inf}^{1/4} < \\mathcal{O}(10) \\, \\text{TeV}$ with $r <\n\\mathcal{O}(10^{-50})$, and the running parameter is bounded above as\n$\\alpha_\\text{s} \\lesssim - 4 \\times 10^{-3}$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Electron-pair condensation in parity-preserving QED3: In this paper, we present a parity-preserving QED3 with spontaneous breaking\nof a local U(1)-symmetry. The breaking is accomplished by a potential of the\n\\vf^6-type. It is shown that a net attractive interaction appears in the\nM{\\o}ller scattering (s and p-wave scattering between two electrons) as\nmediated by the gauge field and a Higgs scalar. This might favour a\npair-condensation mechanism.",
        "positive": "Bloch Electron in a Magnetic Field : Diagonalization of Tight-Binding\n  Models: A connection of a variety of tight-binding models of noninteracting electrons\non a rectangular lattice in a magnetic field with theta functions is\nestablished. A new spectrum generating symmetry is discovered which essentialy\nreduces the problem of diagonalization of these models. Provided that one knows\none eigenvector at one point in the parameter space of the corresponding Harper\nequation one knows an eigenfunction of the corresponding model in the whole\nrange of momentum singlet out by the Landau gauge."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Giant Magnons: The giant magnons are classical solitons of the O(N) sigma-model, which play\nan important role in the AdS/CFT correspondence. We study quantum giant magnons\nfirst at large N and then exactly using Bethe Ansatz, where giant magnons can\nbe interpreted as holes in the Fermi sea. We also identify a solvable limit of\nBethe Ansatz in which it describes a weakly-interacting Bose gas at zero\ntemperature. The examples include the O(N) model at large N, weakly interacting\nnon-linear Schrodinger model, and nearly isotropic XXZ spin chain in the\nmagnetic field.",
        "positive": "The S-matrix of the Faddeev-Reshetikhin Model, Diagonalizability and PT\n  Symmetry: We study the question of diagonalizability of the Hamiltonian for the\nFaddeev-Reshetikhin (FR) model in the two particle sector. Although the two\nparticle S-matrix element for the FR model, which may be relevant for the\nquantization of strings on $AdS_{5}\\times S^{5}$, has been calculated recently\nusing field theoretic methods, we find that the Hamiltonian for the system in\nthis sector is not diagonalizable. We trace the difficulty to the fact that the\ninteraction term in the Hamiltonian violating Lorentz invariance leads to\ndiscontinuity conditions (matching conditions) that cannot be satisfied. We\ndetermine the most general quartic interaction Hamiltonian that can be\ndiagonalized. This includes the bosonic Thirring model as well as the bosonic\nchiral Gross-Neveu model which we find share the same S-matrix. We explain this\nby showing, through a Fierz transformation, that these two models are in fact\nequivalent. In addition, we find a general quartic interaction Hamiltonian,\nviolating Lorentz invariance, that can be diagonalized with the same two\nparticle S-matrix element as calculated by Klose and Zarembo for the FR model.\nThis family of generalized interaction Hamiltonians is not Hermitian, but is\n$PT$ symmetric. We show that the wave functions for this system are also $PT$\nsymmetric. Thus, the theory is in a $PT$ unbroken phase which guarantees the\nreality of the energy spectrum as well as the unitarity of the S-matrix."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Two-Dimensional Gauge Theory and Matrix Model: We study a matrix model obtained by dimensionally reducing Chern-Simon theory\non S^3. We find that the matrix integration is decomposed into sectors\nclassified by the representation of SU(2). We show that the N-block sectors\nreproduce SU(N) Yang-Mills theory on S^2 as the matrix size goes to infinity.",
        "positive": "Spinor Field Realizations of the half-integer $W_{2,s}$ Strings: The grading Becchi-Rouet-Stora-Tyutin (BRST) method gives a way to construct\nthe integer $W_{2,s}$ strings, where the BRST charge is written as\n$Q_B=Q_0+Q_1$. Using this method, we reconstruct the nilpotent BRST charges\n$Q_{0}$ for the integer $W_{2,s}$ strings and the half-integer $W_{2,s}$\nstrings. Then we construct the exact grading BRST charge with spinor fields and\ngive the new realizations of the half-integer $W_{2,s}$ strings for the cases\nof $s=3/2$, 5/2, and 7/2."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Abelian duality, walls and boundary conditions in diverse dimensions: We systematically apply the formalism of duality walls to study the action of\nduality transformations on boundary conditions and local and nonlocal operators\nin two, three, and four-dimensional free field theories. In particular, we\nconstruct a large class of D-branes for two-dimensional sigma-models with\ntoroidal targets and determine the action of the T-duality group on it. It is\nmanifest in this formalism that T-duality transformations on D-branes are given\nby a differential-geometric version of the Fourier-Mukai transform.",
        "positive": "Generalised perturbation equations in bouncing cosmologies: We consider linear perturbation equations for long-wavelength scalar metric\nperturbations in generalised gravity, applicable to non-singular cosmological\nmodels including a bounce from collapse to expansion in the very early\nuniverse. We present the general form for the perturbation equations which\nfollows from requiring that the inhomogeneous universe on large scales obeys\nthe same local equations as the homogeneous Friedmann-Robertson-Walker\nbackground cosmology (the separate universes approach). In a\npseudo-longitudinal gauge this becomes a homogeneous second-order differential\nequation for adiabatic perturbations, which reduces to the usual equation for\nthe longitudinal gauge metric perturbation in general relativity with vanishing\nanisotropic stress. As an application we show that the scale-invariant spectrum\nof perturbations in the longitudinal gauge generated during an ekpyrotic\ncollapse are not transferred to the growing mode of adiabatic density\nperturbations in the expanding phase in a simple bounce model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Symplectic Three-Algebra and N=6, Sp(2N) X U(1) Superconformal\n  Chern-Simons-Matter Theory: We introduce an anti-symmetric metric into a 3-algebra and call it a\nsymplectic 3-algebra. The N=6, Sp(2N) X U(1) superconformal Chern-Simons-matter\ntheory with SU(4) R-symmetry in three dimensions is constructed by specifying\nthe 3-brackets in a symplectic 3-algebra. We also demonstrate that the N=6,\nU(M) X U(N) theory can be recast into this symplectic 3-algebraic framework.",
        "positive": "Fractional soft limits: It is a common lore that the amplitude for a scattering process involving one\nsoft Nambu--Goldstone boson should scale like an integer power of the soft\nmomentum. We revisit this expectation by considering the $2 \\to 2$ scattering\nof phonons in solids. We show that, depending on the helicities of the phonons\ninvolved in the scattering process, the scattering amplitude may in fact vanish\nlike a fractional power of the soft momentum. This is a peculiarity of the\n4-point amplitude, which can be traced back to (1) the (spontaneous or\nexplicit) breaking of Lorentz invariance, and (2) the approximately collinear\nkinematics arising when one of the phonons becomes soft. Our results extend to\nthe general class of non-relativistic shift-invariant theories of a vector\nfield."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Towards the Fradkin-Vasiliev formalism in three dimensions: In this paper we show that using frame-like gauge invariant formulation for\nthe massive bosonic and fermionic fields in three dimensions the free\nLagrangians for these fields can be rewritten in the explicitly gauge invariant\nform in terms of the appropriately chosen set of gauge invariant objects. This\nin turn opens the possibility to apply the Fradkin-Vasiliev formalism to the\ninvestigation of possible interactions of such fields.",
        "positive": "On the spectrum of QCD(1+1) with large numbers of flavours N_F and\n  colours N_C near N_F/N_C = 0: QCD(1+1) in the limit of a large number of flavours N_F and a large number of\ncolours N_C is examined in the small N_F/N_C regime. Using perturbation theory\nin N_F/N_C, stringent results for the leading behaviour of the spectrum\ndeparting from N_F/N_C = 0 are obtained. These results provide benchmarks in\nthe light of which previous truncated treatments of QCD(1+1) at large N_F and\nN_C are critically reconsidered."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum and string shape fluctuations in the dual Monopole\n  Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model with dual Dirac strings: The magnetic monopole condensate is calculated in the dual Monopole\nNambu-Jona-Lasinio model with dual Dirac strings suggested in Refs.[1,2] as a\nfunctional of the dual Dirac string shape. The calculation is carried out in\nthe tree approximation in the scalar monopole-antimonopole collective\nexcitation field. The integration over quantum fluctuations of the dual-vector\nmonopole-antimonopole collective excitation field around the Abrikosov flux\nline and string shape fluctuations are performed explicitly. We claim that\nthere are important contributions of quantum and string shape fluctuations to\nthe magnetic monopole condensate.",
        "positive": "Coulomb branch in 3d $\\mathcal{N}=2$ $SU(N)_k$ Chern-Simons gauge\n  theories with chiral matter content: We elaborate on quantum moduli spaces in 3d $\\mathcal{N}=2$ $SU(N)_k$\nChern-Simons gauge theories with $F$ fundamental and $\\bar{F}$ anti-fundamental\nmatter fields. The quantum flat direction on the Coulomb branch differs so much\nfrom the classical one and from the one of the vector-like theories. In many\ncases, the Coulomb branch is parametrized by the dressed monopoles. As is found\nfrom the computation of the superconformal index, these dressed operators at\nfirst sight appear to be dressed by massive elementary fields which don't seem\nto contribute to the low-energy physics. We argue that these dressed fields can\nbe interpreted as a non-abelian monopole dressed (or not dressed) by massless\nmatter fields. Based on this analysis, we will report on the s-confinement\nphases with non-trivial monopole operators, which is consistent with the\nduality proposals \\cite{Aharony:2014uya, Aharony:2013dha}. Along these studies,\nwe find that the duality reported in \\cite{Aharony:2014uya} must be modified\nwhen $k=\\pm \\frac{1}{2}(F-\\bar{F})$ in order to have a correct duality map of\nthe baryonic operators."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Path Integral Approach to Fermionic Vacuum Energy in Non-parallel\n  D1-Branes: The fermionic one loop vacuum energy of the superstring theory in a system of\nnon-parallel D1-branes is derived by applying the path integral formalism.",
        "positive": "Features of planar Lee-Wick electrodynamics: In this letter we study some aspects of the planar Lee-Wick electrodynamics\nnear a perfectly conducting line (unidimensional mirror). Specifically, the\nmodified Lee-wick propagator due to the presence of a conducting line is\ncalculated, and the interaction between the mirror and the point-like charge is\ninvestigated. It is shown that the behavior of this interaction is very\ndifferent from the one already known for the $(3+1)$-dimensional Lee-Wick\nelectrodynamics, where we have a planar mirror. It is also shown that the image\nmethod is not valid in planar Lee-Wick electrodynamics and the dimensional\nreduction yields a stronger taming of divergences."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum complexity and the virial theorem: It is conjectured that in the geometric formulation of quantum computing, one\ncan study quantum complexity through classical entropy of statistical ensembles\nestablished non-relativistically in the group manifold of unitary operators.\nThe kinetic and positional decompositions of statistical entropy are\nconjectured to correspond to the Kolmogorov complexity and computational\ncomplexity, respectively, of corresponding quantum circuits. In this paper, we\nclaim that by applying the virial theorem to the group manifold, one can derive\na generic relation between Kolmogorov complexity and computational complexity\nin the thermal equilibrium.",
        "positive": "SUSY Shape-Invariant Hamiltonians for the Generalized Dirac-Coulomb\n  Problem: A spin $\\frac 12$ relativistic particle described by a general potential in\nterms of the sum of the Coulomb potential with a Lorentz scalar potential is\ninvestigated via supersymmetry in quantum mechanics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Vacuum stability, string density of states and the Riemann zeta function: We study the distribution of graded degrees of freedom in classically stable\noriented closed string vacua and use the Rankin-Selberg transform to link it to\nthe finite one-loop vacuum energy. In particular, we find that the spectrum of\nphysical excitations not only must enjoy asymptotic supersymmetry but actually,\nat very large mass, bosonic and fermionic states must follow a universal\noscillating pattern, whose frequencies are related to the zeros of the Riemann\nzeta-function. Moreover, the convergence rate of the overall number of the\ngraded degrees of freedom to the value of the vacuum energy is determined by\nthe Riemann hypothesis. We discuss also attempts to obtain constraints in the\ncase of tachyon-free open-string theories.",
        "positive": "On the Algebraic Theory of Soliton and Antisoliton Sectors: We consider the properties of massive one particle states on a translation\ncovariant Haag-Kastler net in Minkowski space. In two dimensional theories,\nthese states can be interpreted as soliton states and we are interested in the\nexistence of antisolitons. It is shown that for each soliton state there are\nthree different possibilities for the construction of an antisoliton sector\nwhich are equivalent if the (statistical) dimension of the corresponding\nsoliton sector is finite."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Description of the Heterotic String Solutions in U(N) SQCD: We continue the study of heterotic non-Abelian BPS-saturated flux tubes\n(strings). Previously, such solutions were obtained [1] in a particular U(2)\ngauge theory: N=2 supersymmetric QCD deformed by superpotential terms of a\nspecial type breaking N=2 supersymmetry down to N=1. Here we generalize the\nprevious results to U(N) gauge theories. As was suggested by Edalati and Tong\n[2], the string world sheet theory is a heterotic N=(0,2) sigma model, with the\nCP(N-1) target space for bosonic fields and an extra right-handed fermion which\ncouples to the fermion fields of the N=(2,2) CP(N-1) model. We derive the\nheterotic N=(0,2) world sheet model directly from the U(N) bulk theory.\nParameters of the bulk theory are related to those of the world sheet theory.\nQualitatively this relation turns out to be the same as in the U(2) case.",
        "positive": "Multigluon amplitudes, ${\\cal N}=4$ constraints and the WZW model: Classical ${\\cal N}=4$ Yang-Mills theory is defined by the superspace\nconstraints. We obtain a solution of a subset of these constraints and show\nthat it leads to the maximally helicity violating (MHV) amplitudes. The action\nwhich leads to the solvable part of the constraints is a Wess-Zumino-Witten\n(WZW) action on a suitably extended superspace. The non-MHV tree amplitudes can\nalso be expressed in terms of this action."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Electromagnetic Strings: Complementarity between Time and Temperature: We investigate some of the intricate features in a gravity decoupling limit\nof a open bosonic string theory, in a constant electromagnetic (EM-) field. We\nexplain the subtle nature of space-time at short distances, due to its\nentanglement with the gauge field windings in the theory. Incorporating the\nmass-shell condition in the theory, we show that the time coordinate is small,\nof the order of EM-string scale, and the space coordinates are large. We\nperform a careful analysis in the critical regime to describe the decoupling of\na series of gauge-string windings in successions, just below the Hagedorn\ntemperature. We argue for the condensation of gauge-string at the Hagedorn\ntemperature, which is followed by the decoupling of tachyonic particles. We\ndemonstrate the phenomena by revoking the effective noncommutative dynamics for\nthe D(3)-brane and obtain nonlinear corrections to U(1) gauge theory. We\ndiscuss the spontaneous breaking of noncommutative U(1) symmetry and show that\nthe Hagedorn phase is described by the noninteracting gauge particles. The\nnotion of time reappears in the phase at the expense of temperature. It\nsuggests a complementarity between two distinct notions, time and temperature,\nat short distances.",
        "positive": "Zero-Curvature Formalism of Supersymmetric Principal Chiral Model: We investigate one-parameter family of transformation on superfields of super\nprincipal chiral model and obtain different zero-curvature representations of\nthe model. The parametric transformation is related to the super Riccati\nequations and an infinite set of local and non-local conservation laws is\nderived. A Lax representation of the model is presented which gives rise to a\nsuperspace monodromy operator."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauge Dual and Noncommutative Extension of an N=2 Supergravity Solution: We investigate some properties of a recent supergravity solution of Pilch and\nWarner, which is dual to the N=4 gauge theory softly broken to N=2. We verify\nthat a D3-brane probe has the expected moduli space and its effective action\ncan be brought to N=2 form. The kinetic term for the probe vanishes on an\nenhancon locus, as in earlier work on large-n N=2 theories, though for the\nPilch-Warner solution this locus is a line rather than a ring. On the gauge\ntheory side we find that the probe metric can be obtained from a perturbative\none-loop calculation; this principle may be useful in obtaining the\nsupergravity dual at more general points in the N=2 gauge theory moduli space.\nWe then turn on a B-field, following earlier work on the N=4 theory, to obtain\nthe supergravity dual to the noncommutative N=2 theory.",
        "positive": "Heterotic Z6-II MSSM Orbifolds in Blowup: Heterotic orbifolds provide promising constructions of MSSM-like models in\nstring theory. We investigate the connection of such orbifold models with\nsmooth Calabi-Yau compactifications by examining resolutions of the T^6/Z6-II\norbifold (which are far from unique) with Abelian gauge fluxes. These gauge\nbackgrounds are topologically characterized by weight vectors of twisted\nstates; one per fixed point or fixed line. The VEV's of these states generate\nthe blowup from the orbifold perspective, and they reappear as axions on the\nblowup. We explain methods to solve the 24 resolution dependent Bianchi\nidentities and present an explicit solution. Despite that a solution may\ncontain the MSSM particle spectrum, the hypercharge turns out to be anomalous:\nSince all heterotic MSSM orbifolds analyzed so far have fixed points where only\nSM charged states appear, its gauge group can only be preserved provided that\nthose singularities are not blown up. Going beyond the comparison of purely\ntopological quantities (e.g. anomalous U(1) masses) may be hampered by the fact\nthat in the orbifold limit the supergravity approximation to lowest order in\nalpha prime is breaking down."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Entanglement Entropy across the Lattice-Continuum Correspondence: This paper revisits standard calculations of free field entanglement entropy\nin light of the newly developed lattice-continuum correspondence. This\ncorrespondence prescribes an explicit method to extract an approximately\ncontinuum quantum field theory out of a fully regularized lattice theory. This\nprescription will here be extended to subregion algebras, and it will be shown\nhow entropies of continuum boson and fermion theories can be computed by\nworking purely with lattice quantities. This gives a clear picture of the\norigin of divergences in entanglement entropy while also presenting a concise\nand detailed recipe for calculating this important quantity in continuum\ntheories.",
        "positive": "On Democratic String Field Theories: We reexamine democratic open string field theories, namely, theories in which\nstring fields are not constrained to a single picture number and picture\nchanging is obtained as a gauge transformation. We describe several\npossibilities for regular free theories and attempt to construct the lowest\norder interaction term and identify the lowest order gauge transformation for\nsome of these theories. We also discuss projections over string field spaces\nthat might be needed for a consistent off-shell implementation of picture\nchanging."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the sigma-model of deformed special geometry: We discuss the deformed sigma-model that arises when considering\nfour-dimensional N=2 abelian vector multiplets in the presence of an arbitrary\nchiral background field. In addition, we allow for a class of deformations of\nspecial geometry by non-holomorphic terms. We analyze the geometry of the\nsigma-model in terms of intrinsic torsion classes. We show that, generically,\nthe deformed geometry is non-Kahler. We illustrate our findings with an\nexample. We also express the deformed sigma-model in terms of the Hesse\npotential that underlies the real formulation of special geometry.",
        "positive": "A robust explanation of CMB anomalies with a new formulation of\n  inflationary quantum fluctuations: The presence of CMB Hemispherical Asymmetry (HPA) challenges the current\nunderstanding of inflationary cosmology which does not generically predict the\nparity violation in the primordial correlations. In this paper, we shall review\nthe recently proposed resolution to this based on a new formulation of\nquantizing inflationary fluctuations by focusing on the discrete spacetime\ntransformations in a gravitational context. The predictive power of this\nformulation is that one can generate a scale dependent HPA in the context of\nsingle field inflation for all the primordial modes including scalar and tensor\nfluctuations without introducing any additional parameters. This result can be\nseen as an indication of spontaneous breaking of\n$\\mathcal{C}\\mathcal{P}\\mathcal{T}$ symmetry in an expanding Universe, if\nconfirmed by future observations it would be a great leap in the subject of\nquantum field theory in curved spacetime."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "SUSY properties of warped AdS$_3$: We examine supersymmetric properties of null-warped AdS$_3$, or alternatively\nSchrodinger geometries, dual to putative warped CFTs in two dimensions. We\nclassify super Schrodinger subalgebras of the superalgebra psu(1, 1$|$2)\n$\\oplus$ psu(1, 1$|$2), corresponding to the superconformal algebra of the\nAdS$_3 \\times$ S$^3$ geometry. We comment on geometric realisations and provide\na string theory description with enhanced supersymmetry in terms of\nintersecting D3-branes. For type IIB supergravity solutions based on T$^{1,1}$,\nwe consider the relationship between five-dimensional Schrodinger solutions and\ntheir three-dimensional null-warped counterparts, corresponding to R symmetry\ntwists. Finally, we study a family of null-warped AdS$_3$ solutions in a\nsetting where there is an ambiguity over the R symmetry and confirm that, for\nexamples admitting a Kaluza-Klein (KK) reduction to three dimensions, the\nminimisation of a real superpotential of the three-dimensional gauged\nsupergravity captures the central charge and R symmetry.",
        "positive": "Holographic networks for (1+1)-dimensional de Sitter spacetime: Holographic tensor networks associated to tilings of (1+1)-dimensional de\nSitter spacetime are introduced. Basic features of these networks are\ndiscussed, compared, and contrasted with conjectured properties of quantum\ngravity in de Sitter spacetime. Notably, we highlight a correspondence between\nthe quantum information capacity of the network and the cosmological constant."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "An Infra-Red Finite Electron Propagator: We investigate the properties of a dressed electron which reduces, in a\nparticular class of gauges, to the usual fermion. A one loop calculation of the\npropagator is presented. We show explicitly that an infra-red finite,\nmultiplicative, mass shell renormalisation is possible for this dressed\nelectron, or, equivalently, for the usual fermion in the abovementioned gauges.\nThe results are in complete accord with previous conjectures.",
        "positive": "Dissipative hydrodynamics and heavy ion collisions: Space-time evolution and subsequent particle production from minimally\nviscous ($\\eta/s$=0.08) QGP fluid is studied using the 2nd order\nIsrael-Stewart's theory of dissipative relativistic fluid. Compared to ideal\nfluid, energy density or temperature evolves slowly in viscous dynamics.\nParticle yield at high $p_T$ is increased. Elliptic flow on the other hand\ndecreases in viscous dynamics. Minimally viscous QGP fluid found to be\nconsistent with a large number of experimental data."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "$Q\\bar Q$ potential from AdS-CFT relation at $T\\geq 0$: Dependence on\n  orientation in internal space and higher curvature corrections: Within the classical approximation we calculate the static $Q\\bar Q$\npotential via the AdS/CFT relation for nonzero temperature and arbitrary\ninternal orientation of the quarks. We use a higher order curvature corrected\ntarget space background. For timelike Wilson loops there arises a critical line\nin the orientation-distance plane which is shifted to larger distances relative\nto the calculation with uncorrected background. Beyond that line there is no\n$Q\\bar Q$-force. The overall vanishing of the force for antipodal orientation\nknown from zero tempera ture remains valid. The spacelike Wilson loops yield a\nstring tension for a (2+1)-dimensional gauge theory, independent of the\nrelative internal orientation, but sensitive to the background correction.",
        "positive": "The Club Sandwich: Gapless Phases and Phase Transitions with\n  Non-Invertible Symmetries: We provide a generalization of the Symmetry Topological Field Theory (SymTFT)\nframework to characterize phase transitions and gapless phases with categorical\nsymmetries. The central tool is the club sandwich, which extends the SymTFT\nsetup to include an interface between two topological orders: there is a\nsymmetry boundary, which is gapped, and a physical boundary that may be\ngapless, but in addition, there is also a gapped interface in the middle. The\nclub sandwich generalizes so-called Kennedy-Tasaki (KT) transformations.\nBuilding on the results in [1, 2] on gapped phases with categorical symmetries,\nwe construct gapless theories describing phase transitions with non-invertible\nsymmetries by applying suitable KT transformations on known phase transitions\nprovided by the critical Ising model and the 3-state Potts model. We also\ndescribe in detail the order parameters in these gapless theories\ncharacterizing the phase transitions, which are generally mixtures of\nconventional and string-type order parameters mixed together by the action of\ncategorical symmetries. Additionally, removing the physical boundary from the\nclub sandwiches results in club quiches, which characterize all possible gapped\nboundary phases with (possibly non-invertible) symmetries that can arise on the\nboundary of a bulk gapped phase. We also provide a mathematical\ncharacterization of gapped boundary phases with symmetries as pivotal tensor\nfunctors whose targets are pivotal multi-fusion categories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Time and M-theory: We review our recent proposal for a background independent formulation of a\nholographic theory of quantum gravity. The present review incorporates the\nnecessary background material on geometry of canonical quantum theory,\nholography and spacetime thermodynamics, Matrix theory, as well as our specific\nproposal for a dynamical theory of geometric quantum mechanics, as applied to\nMatrix theory. At the heart of this review is a new analysis of the conceptual\nproblem of time and the closely related and phenomenologically relevant problem\nof vacuum energy in quantum gravity. We also present a discussion of some\nobservational implications of this new viewpoint on the problem of vacuum\nenergy.",
        "positive": "New 4D, N = 1 Superfield Theory: Model of Free Massive Superspin-3/2\n  Multiplet: We present a Lagrangian formulation for the free superspin-3/2 massive 4D,\nN=1 superfield. The model is described by a dynamical real vector superfield\nand an auxiliary real scalar superfield. The corresponding multiplet contains\nspin-1, spin-2 and two spin-3/2 propagating component fields on-shell. The\nauxillary superfield is needed to ensure that the on-shell vector superfield\ncarries only the irreducible representation of the Poincare supergroup with a\ngiven mass and the fixed superspin of 3/2. The bosonic sector of the component\nlevel of the model is also presented."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Constant curvature holomorphic solutions of the supersymmetric\n  grassmannian sigma model: the case of $G(2,4)$: We explore the constant curvature holomorphic solutions of the supersymmetric\ngrassmannian sigma model $G(M,N)$ using in particular the gauge invariance of\nthe model. Supersymmetric invariant solutions are constructed via generalizing\na known result for ${C}P^{N-1}$. We show that some other such solutions also\nexist. Indeed, considering the simplest case of $G(2,N)$ model, we give\nnecessary and sufficient conditions for getting the constant curvature\nholomorphic solutions. Since, all the constant curvature holomorphic solutions\nof the bosonic $G(2,4)$ $\\sigma$-model are known, we treat this example in\ndetail.",
        "positive": "Gauged supergravity algebras from twisted tori compactifications with\n  fluxes: Using the equivalence between Scherk-Schwarz reductions and twisted tori\ncompactifications, we discuss the effective theories obtained by this procedure\nfrom M-theory and N =4 type II orientifold constructions with Neveu-Schwarz and\nRamond-Ramond form fluxes turned on. We derive the gauge algebras of the\neffective theories describing their general features, in particular the\nsymplectic embedding in the duality symmetries of the theory. The generic gauge\ntheory is non-abelian and its gauge group is given by the semidirect product of\nsubgroups of SL(7) or SL(p-3) x SL(9-p) for p=3,...,9, with generators\ndescribing nilpotent subalgebras of e_{7(7)} or so(6,6) (in M and type II\ntheories respectively)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Locality and Nonlinear Quantum Mechanics: Nonlinear modifications of quantum mechanics generically lead to nonlocal\neffects which violate relativistic causality. We study these effects using the\nfunctional Schrodinger equation for quantum fields and identify a type of\nnonlocality which causes nearly instantaneous entanglement of spacelike\nseparated systems. We describe a simple example involving widely separated\nwave-packet (coherent) states, showing that nonlinearity in the Schrodinger\nevolution causes spacelike entanglement, even in free field theory.",
        "positive": "FZZT Brane Relations in the Presence of Boundary Magnetic Fields: We show how a boundary state different from the (1,1) Cardy state may be\nrealised in the (m,m+1) minimal string by the introduction of an auxiliary\nmatrix into the standard two hermitian matrix model. This boundary is a natural\ngeneralisation of the free spin boundary state in the Ising model. The\nresolvent for the auxiliary matrix is computed using an extension of the\nsaddle-point method of Zinn-Justin to the case of non-identical potentials. The\nstructure of the saddle-point equations result in a Seiberg-Shih like relation\nbetween the boundary states which is valid away from the continuum limit, in\naddition to an expression for the spectral curve of the free spin boundary\nstate. We then show how the technique may be used to analyse boundary states\ncorresponding to a boundary magnetic field, thereby allowing us to generalise\nthe work of Carroll et al. on the boundary renormalisation flow of the Ising\nmodel, to any (m,m+1) model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spin and Statistics on the Groenewold-Moyal Plane: Pauli-Forbidden\n  Levels and Transitions: The Groenewold-Moyal plane is the algebra A_\\theta(R^(d+1)) of functions on\nR^(d+1) with the star-product as the multiplication law, and the commutator\n[x_\\mu,x_\\nu] =i \\theta_{\\mu \\nu} between the coordinate functions. Chaichian\net al. and Aschieri et al. have proved that the Poincare group acts as\nautomorphisms on A_\\theta(R^(d+1))$ if the coproduct is deformed. (See also the\nprior work of Majid, Oeckl and Grosse et al). In fact, the diffeomorphism group\nwith a deformed coproduct also does so according to the results of Aschieri et\nal. In this paper we show that for this new action, the Bose and Fermi\ncommutation relations are deformed as well. Their potential applications to the\nquantum Hall effect are pointed out. Very striking consequences of these\ndeformations are the occurrence of Pauli-forbidden energy levels and\ntransitions. Such new effects are discussed in simple cases.",
        "positive": "The $n_{f}$ terms of the three-loop cusp anomalous dimension in QCD: In this talk we present the result for the $n_f$ dependent piece of the\nthree-loop cusp anomalous dimension in QCD. Remarkably, it is parametrized by\nthe same simple functions appearing in analogous anomalous dimensions in\n${\\mathcal N}=4$ SYM at one and two loops. We also compute all required master\nintegrals using a recently proposed refinement of the differential equation\nmethod. The analytic results are expressed in terms of harmonic polylogarithms\nof uniform weight."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Physical realization for Riemann zeros from black hole physics: According to a conjecture attributed to Polya and Hilbert, there is a\nself-adjoint operator whose eigenvalues are the the nontrivial zeros of the\nRiemann zeta function. We show that the near-horizon dynamics of a massive\nscalar field in the Schwarzscild black hole spacetime, under a reasonable\nboundary condition, gives rise to normal mode frequencies that coincide with\nthe nontrivial Riemann zeros. In achieving this result, we exploit the\nBekenstein conjecture of black hole area quantization, and argue that it is\nresponsible for the breaking of the continuous scale symmetry of the near\nhorizon dynamics into a discrete one.",
        "positive": "Magnetic Field and Curvature Effects on Pair Production I: Scalars and\n  Spinors: The pair production rates for spin-zero and spin-$\\frac{1}{2}$ particles are\ncalculated on spaces of the form $M \\times {\\mathbb R}^{1,1}$ with $M$\ncorresponding to ${\\mathbb R}^2$ (flat), $T^2$ (flat, compactified), $S^2$\n(positive curvature) and $H^2$ (negative curvature), with and without a\nbackground magnetic field on $M$. The motivation is to elucidate the effects of\ncurvature and background magnetic field. Contrasting effects for positive and\nnegative curvature on the two cases of spin are obtained. For positive\ncurvature, we find enhancement for spin-zero and suppression for\nspin-$\\frac{1}{2}$, with the opposite effect for negative curvature."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Black Hole Solutions in $R^2$ Gravity: We find static spherically symmetric solutions of scale invariant $R^2$\ngravity. The latter has been shown to be equivalent to General Relativity with\na positive cosmological constant and a scalar mode. Therefore, one expects that\nsolutions of the $R^2$ theory will be identical to that of Einstein theory.\nIndeed, we find that the solutions of $R^2$ gravity are in one-to-one\ncorrespondence with solutions of General Relativity in the case of\nnon-vanishing Ricci scalar. However, scalar-flat $R=0$ solutions are global\nminima of the $R^2$ action and they cannot in general be mapped to solutions of\nthe Einstein theory. As we will discuss, the $R=0$ solutions arise in Einstein\ngravity as solutions in the tensionless, strong coupling limit $M_P\\rightarrow\n0$. As a further result, there is no corresponding Birkhoff theorem and the\nSchwarzschild black hole is by no means unique in this framework. In fact,\n$R^2$ gravity has a rich structure of vacuum static spherically symmetric\nsolutions partially uncovered here. We also find charged static spherically\nsymmetric backgrounds coupled to a $U(1)$ field. Finally, we provide the\nentropy and energy formulas for the $R^2$ theory and we find that entropy and\nenergy vanish for scalar-flat backgrounds.",
        "positive": "String theory and the KLT-relations between gravity and gauge theory\n  including external matter: We consider the Kawai-Lewellen-Tye (KLT) factorizations of gravity scalar-leg\namplitudes into products of scalar-leg Yang-Mills amplitudes. We check and\nexamine the factorizations at O(1) in $\\alpha'$ and extend the analysis by\nconsidering KLT-mapping in the case of generic effective Lagrangians for\nYang-Mills theory and gravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Super P-Brane Scan and S Duality: Taking into account the recent dualities we rederive the super p-brane scan.\nOur main results are the importance of the metric's signature and the existence\nof an S self-dual super 5-brane at D=14 with signature (7,7) or (11,3).",
        "positive": "The spacetime attribute of matter: We propose that spacetime is fundamentally a property of matter, inseparable\nfrom it. This leads us to suggest that all properties of matter must be\nelevated to the same status as that of spacetime in quantum field theories of\nmatter. We suggest a specific method for extending field theories to accomodate\nthis, and point out how this leads to the evolution of fields through channels\nother than the spacetime channel."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Heavy Dirac Monopole: We present a model for the Dirac magnetic monopole, suitable for the strong\ncoupling regime. The magnetic monopole is static, has charge g and mass M,\noccupying a volume of radius R ~ O (g^2/M). It is shown that inside each\nn-monopole there exist infinite multipoles. It is given an analytical proof of\nthe existence of monopole-antimonopole bound state. Theses bound-states might\ngive additional strong light to light scattering in the proton-antiproton\ncollision process at FermiLab TEVATRON.",
        "positive": "Mandelstam cuts and light-like Wilson loops in N=4 SUSY: We perform an analytic continuation of the two-loop remainder function for\nthe six-point planar MHV amplitude in N=4 SUSY, found by Goncharov, Spradlin,\nVergu and Volovich from the light-like Wilson loop representation. The\nremainder function is continued into a physical region, where all but two\nenergy invariants are negative. It turns out to be pure imaginary in the\nmulti-Regge kinematics, which is in an agreement with the predictions based on\nthe Steinmann relations for the Regge poles and Mandelstam cut contributions.\nThe leading term reproduces correctly the expression calculated by one of the\nauthors in the BFKL approach, while the subleading term presents a result, that\nwas not yet found with the use of the unitarity techniques. This supports the\napplicability of the Wilson loop approach to the planar MHV amplitudes in N=4\nSUSY."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gravitational Interactions of integrable models: We couple non-linear $\\sigma$-models to Liouville gravity, showing that\nintegrability properties of symmetric space models still hold for the matter\nsector. Using similar arguments for the fermionic counterpart, namely\nGross--Neveu-type models, we verify that such conclusions must also hold for\nthem, as recently suggested.",
        "positive": "$\u03b2$-deformations, potentials and KK modes: We have studied volumes of the 3-cycle and the compact 5-volumes for the\n$\\beta$ transformed geometry and it comes out to be decreasing except one\nchoice for which the torus do not stay inside the 3-cycle and ``5-cycle.''\nThere are 3 possible ways to construct these cycles. one is as mentioned above\nand the other two are, when the torus stay inside the cycle and when both the\ntorus and the cycle shares a common direction. Also, we have argued that under\n$\\beta$ deformation there arises a non-trivial ``potential'' as the $SL(3,R)$\ntransformation mixes up the fields. If we start with a flat space after the\n$SL(3,R)$ transformation the Ricci-scalar of the transformed geometry do not\nvanishes but the transformed solution is reminiscent of NS5-brane. We have\nexplicitly, checked that $\\beta$-transformation indeed is a marginal\ndeformation in the gravity side."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Vanishing DC holographic conductivity from a magnetic monopole\n  condensate: We show how to obtain a vanishing DC conductivity in 3-dimensional strongly\ncoupled QFT's using a massive 2-form field in the bulk that satisfies a special\nkind of boundary condition. The real and imaginary parts of the AC conductivity\nare evaluated in this holographic setup and we show that the DC conductivity\nidentically vanishes even for an arbitrarily small (though nonzero) value of\nthe 2-form mass in the bulk. We identify the bulk action of the massive 2-form\nwith an effective theory describing a phase in which magnetic monopoles have\ncondensed in the bulk. Our results indicate that a condensate of magnetic\nmonopoles in a 4-dimensional bulk leads to a vanishing DC holographic\nconductivity in 3-dimensional strongly coupled QFT's.",
        "positive": "Polarization Correlations in Pair Production from Charged and Neutral\n  Strings: Polarization correlations of $e^{+}e^{-}$ pair productions from charged and\nneutral Nambu strings are investigated, via photon and graviton emissions,\nrespectively and explicit expressions for their corresponding probabilities are\nderived and found to be \\textit{speed} dependent. The strings are taken to be\ncircularly oscillating closed strings, as perhaps the simplest solution of the\nNambu action. In the extreme relativistic case, these probabilities coincide,\nbut, in general, are different, and such inquiries, in principle, indicate\nwhether the string is charged or uncharged. It is remarkable that these\ndynamical relativistic quantum field theory calculations lead to a clear\nviolation of Local Hidden Variables theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Phase transitions in Bergshoeff-Hohm-Townsend Massive Gravity: We present the Hawking-Page phase diagrams in the Bergshoeff-Hohm-Townsend\n(BHT) massive gravity theory for different solutions, such as the phase\ntransitions between vacuum $\\text{AdS}_3$ and BTZ black hole, warped\n$\\text{AdS}_3$ and warped BTZ black hole in grand canonical and in\nnon-local/quadratic ensembles, Lifshitz black hole and the new hairy black hole\nsolutions. We observe that except for the black holes in quadratic ensemble,\nfor other cases in the non-chiral theory of BHT the phase diagrams are\nsymmetric with respect to the direction of angular momentum, as we expected. We\nconclude that for presenting the phase diagrams of warped $\\text{AdS}_3$ black\nholes, only the grand canonical ensemble should be used.",
        "positive": "Casimir Energy of a Spherical Shell: The Casimir energy for a conducting spherical shell of radius $a$ is computed\nusing a direct mode summation approach. An essential ingredient is the\nimplementation of a recently proposed method based on Cauchy's theorem for an\nevaluation of the eigenfrequencies of the system. It is shown, however, that\nthis earlier calculation uses an improper set of modes to describe the waves\nexterior to the sphere. Upon making the necessary corrections and taking care\nto ensure that no mathematically ill-defined expressions occur, the technique\nis shown to leave numerical results unaltered while avoiding a longstanding\ncriticism raised against earlier calculations of the Casimir energy."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Scattering Amplitudes -- Wilson Loops Duality for the First Non-planar\n  Correction: We study the first non-planar correction to gluon scattering amplitudes in\n${\\cal N}=4$ SYM theory. The correction takes the form of a double trace\npartial amplitude and is suppressed by one power of $1/N$ with respect to the\nleading single trace contribution. We extend the duality between planar\nscattering amplitudes and null polygonal Wilson loops to the double trace\namplitude. The new duality relates the amplitude to the correlation function of\ntwo infinite null polygonal Wilson lines that are subject to a quantum\nperiodicity constraint. We test the duality perturbatively at one-loop order\nand demonstrate it for the dual string in AdS. The duality allows us to extend\nthe notion of the loop integrand beyond the planar limit and to determine it\nusing recursion relations. It also allows one to apply the integrability-based\npentagon operator product expansion approach to the first non-planar order.",
        "positive": "A Remark on the Spontaneous Symmetry Breaking Mechanism in the Standard\n  Model: In this paper we consider the Spontaneous Symmetry Breaking Mechanism (SSBM)\nin the Standard Model of particles in the unitary gauge. We show that the\ncomputation usually presented of this mechanism can be conveniently performed\nin a slightly different manner. As an outcome, the computation we present can\nchange the interpretation of the SSBM in the Standard Model, in that it\ndecouples the SU(2)-gauge symmetry in the final Lagrangian instead of breaking\nit."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On semiclassical analysis of pure spinor superstring in an AdS_5 x S^5\n  background: Relation between semiclassical analyses of Green-Schwarz and pure spinor\nformalisms in an AdS_5 x S^5 background is clarified. It is shown that the two\nformalisms have identical semiclassical partition functions for a simple family\nof classical solutions. It is also shown that, when the classical string is\nfurthermore rigid, this in turn implies that the two formalisms predict the\nsame one-loop corrections to spacetime energies.",
        "positive": "Generalized Boltzmann Equation in a Manifestly Covariant Relativistic\n  Statistical Mechanics: We consider the relativistic statistical mechanics of an ensemble of $N$\nevents with motion in space-time parametrized by an invariant ``historical\ntime'' $\\tau .$ We generalize the approach of Yang and Yao, based on the Wigner\ndistribution functions and the Bogoliubov hypotheses, to find the approximate\ndynamical equation for the kinetic state of any nonequilibrium system to the\nrelativistic case, and obtain a manifestly covariant Boltzmann-type equation\nwhich is a relativistic generalization of the Boltzmann-Uehling-Uhlenbeck (BUU)\nequation for indistinguishable particles. This equation is then used to prove\nthe $H$-theorem for evolution in $\\tau .$ In the equilibrium limit, the\ncovariant forms of the standard statistical mechanical distributions are\nobtained. We introduce two-body interactions by means of the direct action\npotential $V(q),$ where $q$ is an invariant distance in the Minkowski\nspace-time. The two-body correlations are taken to have the support in a\nrelative $O( 2,1)$-invariant subregion of the full spacelike region. The\nexpressions for the energy density and pressure are obtained and shown to have\nthe same forms (in terms of an invariant distance parameter) as those of the\nnonrelativistic theory and to provide the correct nonrelativistic limit."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Matroid Theory and Chern-Simons: It is shown that matroid theory may provide a natural mathematical framework\nfor a duality symmetries not only for quantum Yang-Mills physics, but also for\nM-theory. Our discussion is focused in an action consisting purely of the\nChern-Simons term, but in principle the main ideas can be applied beyond such\nan action. In our treatment the theorem due to Thistlethwaite, which gives a\nrelationship between the Tutte polynomial for graphs and Jones polynomial for\nalternating knots and links, plays a central role. Before addressing this\nquestion we briefly mention some important aspects of matroid theory and we\npoint out a connection between the Fano matroid and D=11 supergravity. Our\napproach also seems to be related to loop solutions of quantum gravity based in\nAshtekar formalism.",
        "positive": "A C-Function For Non-Supersymmetric Attractors: We present a c-function for spherically symmetric, static and asymptotically\nflat solutions in theories of four-dimensional gravity coupled to gauge fields\nand moduli. The c-function is valid for both extremal and non-extremal black\nholes. It monotonically decreases from infinity and in the static region\nacquires its minimum value at the horizon, where it equals the entropy of the\nblack hole. Higher dimensional cases, involving $p$-form gauge fields, and\nother generalisations are also discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Notes on the $L_\\infty$-approach to local gauge field theories: It is well known that a $Q$-manifold gives rise to an $L_\\infty$-algebra\nstructure on the tangent space at a fixed point of the homological vector\nfield. From the field theory perspective this implies that the expansion of a\nclassical Batalin-Vilkovisky (BV) formulation around a vacuum solution can be\nequivalently cast into the form of an $L_\\infty$-algebra. In so doing, the BV\nsymplectic structure determines a compatible cyclic structure on the\n$L_\\infty$-algebra. Moreover, $L_\\infty$ quasi-isomorphisms correspond to\nso-called equivalent reductions (also known as the elimination of generalized\nauxiliary fields) of the respective BV systems. Although at the formal level\nthe relation is straightforward, its implementation in field theory requires\nsome care because the underlying spaces become infinite-dimensional. In the\ncase of local gauge theories, the relevant spaces can be approximated by nearly\nfinite-dimensional ones through employing the jet-bundle technique. In this\nwork we study the $L_\\infty$-counterpart of the jet-bundle BV approach and\ngeneralise it to a more flexible setup of so-called gauge PDEs. It turns out\nthat in the latter case the underlying $L_\\infty$-structure is analogous to\nthat of Chern-Simons theory. In particular, the underlying linear space is a\nmodule over the space-time exterior algebra and the higher $L_\\infty$-maps are\nmultilinear. Furthermore, a counterpart of the cyclic structure turns out to be\ndegenerate and possibly nonlinear, and corresponds to a compatible\npresymplectic structure which is known to encode the BV symplectic structure\nand hence the full-scale Lagrangian BV formulation. Moreover, given a\ndegenerate cyclic structure one can consistently relax the $L_\\infty$-axioms in\nsuch a way that the formalism still describes non-topological models but\ninvolves only finitely-generated modules, as we illustrate in the example of\nYang-Mills theory.",
        "positive": "The sinh-Gordon model beyond the self dual point and the freezing\n  transition in disordered systems: The S-matrix of the well-studied sinh-Gordon model possesses a remarkable\nstrong/weak coupling duality $b \\to 1/b$. Since there is no understanding nor\nevidence for such a duality based on the quantum action of the model, it should\nbe questioned whether the properties of the model for $b>1$ are simply obtained\nby analytic continuation of the weak coupling regime $0<b<1$. In this article\nwe assert that the answer is no, and we develop a concrete and specific\nproposal for the properties when $b>1$. Namely, we propose that in this region\none needs to introduce a background charge $Q_\\infty = b + 1/b -2$ which\ndiffers from the Liouville background charge by the shift of $-2$. We propose\nthat in this regime the model has non-trivial massless renormalization group\nflows between two different conformal field theories. This is in contrast to\nthe weak coupling regime which is a theory of a single massive particle.\nEvidence for our proposal comes from higher order beta functions. We show how\nour proposal correctly reproduces the freezing transitions in the multi-fractal\nexponents of a Dirac fermion in $2+1$ dimensions in a random magnetic field,\nwhich provides a strong check since such transitions have several detailed\nfeatures. We also point out a connection between a semi-classical version of\nthis transition and the so-called Manning condensation phenomena in\npolyelectrolyte physics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Bethe equations of 2d conformal field theory: We study the higher spin algebras of two-dimensional conformal field theory\nfrom the perspective of quantum integrability. Starting from Maulik-Okounkov\ninstanton R-matrix and applying the procedure of algebraic Bethe ansatz, we\nobtain infinite commuting families of Hamiltonians of quantum ILW hierarchy\nparametrized by the shape of the auxiliary torus. We calculate explicitly the\nfirst five of these Hamiltonians. Then, we numerically verify that their joint\nspectrum can be parametrized by solutions of Litvinov's Bethe ansatz equations\nand we conjecture a general formula for the joint spectrum of all ILW\nHamiltonians, based on results of Feigin, Jimbo, Miwa and Mukhin.\n  There are two interesting degeneration limits, the infinitely thick and the\ninfinitely thin auxiliary torus. In one of these limits, the ILW hierarchy\ndegenerates to Yangian or Benjamin-Ono hierarchy and the Bethe equations can be\neasily solved. The other limit is singular but we can nevertheless extract\nlocal Hamiltonians corresponding to quantum KdV or KP hierarchy. Litvinov's\nBethe equations in this local limit provide an alternative to Bethe ansatz\nequations of Bazhanov, Lukyanov and Zamolodchikov, but are more transparent,\nwork at any rank and are manifestly symmetric under triality symmetry of\n$\\mathcal{W}_{1+\\infty}$. Finally, we illustrate analytic properties of the\nsolutions of Bethe equations in minimal models, in particular for Lee-Yang CFT.\nThe analytic structure of Bethe roots is very rich as it captures the\nrepresentation theory of $\\mathcal{W}_N$ minimal models.",
        "positive": "Recent Results in String Duality: This is a talk given at YKIS '95, primarily to non-string theorists. I review\nthe evidence for string duality, the principle that any string theory at strong\ncoupling looks like another string theory at weak coupling. A postscript\nsummarizes developments since the conference."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Ternutator Identities: The ternary commutator or ternutator, defined as the alternating sum of the\nproduct of three operators, has recently drawn much attention as an interesting\nstructure generalising the commutator. The ternutator satisfies cubic\nidentities analogous to the quadratic Jacobi identity for the commutator. We\npresent various forms of these identities and discuss the possibility of using\nthem to define ternary algebras.",
        "positive": "Two Dimensional Stringy Black Holes with One Asymptotically Flat Domain: The exact black hole solution of 2D closed string theory has, as any other\nmaximally extended Schwarzschild-like geometry, two asymptotically flat\nspacetime domains. One can get rid of the second domain by gauging the discrete\nsymmetry on the SL(2,R)/U(1) coset that interchanges the two asymptotic domains\nand preserves the Kruskal time orientation everywhere in the Kruskal plane.\nHere it is shown that upon performing this orbifold procedure, we obtain a\ntheory of unoriented open and closed strings in a black hole background, with\njust one asymptotically flat domain and a time-like orbifold singularity at the\norigin. All of the open string states of the model are confined to the orbifold\nsingularity. We also discuss various physical aspects of the truncated black\nhole, in particular its target duality -- the model is dual to a conventional\nopen string theory in the black hole geometry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Black Hole Formation and Space-Time Fluctuations in Two Dimensional\n  Dilaton Gravity and Complementarity: We study black hole formation in a model of two dimensional dilaton gravity\nand 24 massless scalar fields with a boundary. We find the most general\nboundary condition consistent with perfect reflection of matter and the\nconstraints. We show that in the semiclassical approximation and for the\ngeneric value of the parameter which characterizes the boundary conditions, the\nboundary starts receeding to infinity at the speed of light whenever the total\nenergy of the incoming matter flux exceeds a certain critical value. This is\nalso the critical energy which marks the onset of black hole formation. We then\ncompute the quantum fluctuations of the boundary and of the rescaled scalar\ncurvature and show that as soon as the incoming energy exceeds this critical\nvalue, an asymptotic observer using normal time resolutions will always measure\nlarge fluctuations of space-time near the horizon, even though the freely\nfalling observer does not. This is an aspect of black hole complementarity\nrelating directly the quantum gravity effects.",
        "positive": "On Higher Spatial Derivative Field Theories: In this work, we employ renormalization group methods to study the general\nbehavior of field theories possessing anisotropic scaling in the spacetime\nvariables. The Lorentz breaking symmetry that accompanies these models are\neither soft, if no higher spatial derivative is present, or it may have a more\ncomplex structure if higher spatial derivatives are also included. Both\nsituations are discussed in models with only scalar fields and also in models\nwith fermions as a Yukawa like model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Response to Tarrach's \"Mode Dependent Field Renormalization and\n  Trivialty\": We respond to Tarrach's criticisms (hep-th/9511034) of our work on lambda\nPhi^4 theory. Tarrach does not discuss the same renormalization procedure that\nwe do. He also relies on results from perturbation theory that are not valid.\nThere is no \"infrared divergence\" or unphysical behaviour associated with the\nzero-momentum limit of our effective action.",
        "positive": "The hidden symmetry of the heterotic string: We propose that Borcherds' Fake Monster Lie algebra is a broken symmetry of\nheterotic string theory compactified on $T^7 \\times T^2$. As evidence, we study\nthe fully flavored counting function for BPS instantons contributing to a\ncertain loop amplitude. The result is controlled by $\\Phi_{12}$, an automorphic\nform for $O(2, 26, \\mathbb{Z})$. The degeneracies it encodes in its Fourier\ncoefficients are graded dimensions of a second-quantized Fock space for this\nlarge symmetry algebra. This construction provides a concrete realization of\nHarvey and Moore's proposed relationship between Generalized Kac-Moody\nsymmetries and supersymmetric string vacua."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Large $N$ fractons: We consider theories of fractons with $N$ fields. These theories have exotic\nspacetime symmetries, including a conserved dipole moment. Using collective\nfields we solve these models to leading order in large $N$. The large $N$\nsolution reveals that these models are strongly correlated, and that\ninteractions generate a momentum-dependent self-energy. Dipole symmetry is\nspontaneously broken throughout the phase diagram of these models, leading to a\nlow-energy Goldstone description of what we dub \"dipole superfluids.\"",
        "positive": "Almost the supersymmetric Standard Model from intersecting D6-branes on\n  the Z_6' orientifold: Intersecting stacks of supersymmetric fractional branes on the Z_6'\norientifold may be used to construct the supersymmetric Standard Model. If a,b\nare the stacks that generate the SU(3)_{colour} and SU(2)_L gauge particles,\nthen, in order to obtain {\\em just} the chiral spectrum of the (supersymmetric)\nStandard Model (with non-zero Yukawa couplings to the Higgs mutiplets), it is\nnecessary that the number of intersections a \\cap b of the stacks a and b, and\nthe number of intersections a \\cap b' of a with the orientifold image b' of b\nsatisfy (a \\cap b,a \\cap b')=(2,1) or (1,2). It is also necessary that there is\nno matter in symmetric representations of the gauge group, and not too much\nmatter in antisymmetric representations, on either stack. Fractional branes\nhaving all of these properties may be constructed on the Z_6' orientifold. We\nconstruct a (four-stack) model with two further stacks, each with just a single\nbrane, which has precisely the matter spectrum of the supersymmetric Standard\nModel, including a single pair of Higgs doublets. However, the gauge group is\nSU(3)_{\\rm colour} x SU(2)_L x U(1)_Y x U(1)_H. Only the Higgs doublets are\ncharged with respect to U(1)_H."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Multiloop Euler-Heisenberg Lagrangians, Schwinger pair creation, and the\n  QED N - photon amplitudes: An update is given on our long-term effort to perform a three-loop check on\nthe Affleck-Alvarez-Manton/Lebedev-Ritus exponentiation conjecture for the\nimaginary part of the Euler-Heisenberg Lagrangian, using 1+1 dimensional QED as\na toy model. After reviewing the history and significance of the conjecture, we\npresent trigonometric integral representations for the single electron loop\ncontributions to the three-loop Lagrangian, and develop a symmetry-based method\nfor the calculation of their weak-field expansion coefficients.",
        "positive": "D-brane Bound States from Charged Macroscopic Strings: We construct new D-brane bound states using charged macroscopic type IIB\nstring solutions.A generic bound state solution, when dimensionally reduced,\ncarries multiple gauge charges. Starting with D=9 charged macroscopic strings,\nwe obtain solutions in D=10, which are interpreted as carrying (F, D0, D2)\ncharges as well as nonzero momenta. The masses and charges are also explicitly\nshown to satisfy the non-threshold bound of 1/2 BPS objects. Our solutions\nreduce to the known D-brane bound state solutions with appropriate restrictions\nin the parameter space. We further generalize the results to (Dp- D(p+2)) bound\nstate in IIA/B theories, giving an explicit example with p=1."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Running Newton Coupling, Scale Identification and Black Hole\n  Thermodynamics: We discuss the quantum improvement of black hole solutions in the context of\nasymptotic safety. The Newton coupling in this formulation depends on an energy\nscale, which must be identified with some length scale in order to study\nphysical consequences to black holes. However, no physical principle has so far\nbeen known for the identification. Here we propose that the consistency of the\nfirst law of thermodynamics is the principle that should determine physically\nsensible scale identification, at least close to the horizon. We show that this\nleads to a natural solution that the Newton coupling should be a function of\nthe horizon area and find a universal formula for the quantum entropy, which\nagrees with the standard Bekenstein-Hawking entropy for constant Newton\ncoupling, for Kerr black holes and other higher-dimensional black holes. This\nsuggests that the Newton coupling is a function of the area near the horizon,\nand also away to infinity, where the quantum effects may not be so important.",
        "positive": "Fivebrane Instanton Corrections to the Universal Hypermultiplet: We analyze the Neveu-Schwarz fivebrane instanton in type IIA string theory\ncompactifications on rigid Calabi-Yau threefolds, in the low-energy\nsupergravity approximation. It there appears as a finite action solution to the\nEuclidean equations of motion of a double-tensor multiplet (dual to the\nuniversal hypermultiplet) coupled to N=2, D=4 supergravity. We determine the\nbosonic and fermionic zero modes, and the single-centered instanton measure on\nthe moduli space of collective coordinates. The results are then used to\ncompute, in the semiclassical approximation, correlation functions that\nnonperturbatively correct the universal hypermultiplet moduli space geometry of\nthe low-energy effective action. We find that only the Ramond-Ramond sector\nreceives corrections, and we discuss the breaking of isometries due to\ninstantons."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On topological recursion for Wilson loops in $\\mathcal N=4$ SYM at\n  strong coupling: We consider $U(N)$ $\\mathcal N=4$ super Yang-Mills theory and discuss how to\nextract the strong coupling limit of non-planar corrections to observables\ninvolving the $\\frac{1}{2}$-BPS Wilson loop. Our approach is based on a\nsuitable saddle point treatment of the Eynard-Orantin topological recursion in\nthe Gaussian matrix model. Working directly at strong coupling we avoid the\nusual procedure of first computing observables at finite planar coupling\n$\\lambda$, order by order in $1/N$, and then taking the $\\lambda\\gg 1$ limit.\nIn the proposed approach, matrix model multi-point resolvents take a simplified\nform and some structures of the genus expansion, hardly visible at low order,\nmay be identified and rigorously proved. As a sample application, we consider\nthe expectation value of multiple coincident circular supersymmetric Wilson\nloops as well as their correlator with single trace chiral operators. For these\nquantities we provide novel results about the structure of their genus\nexpansion at large tension, generalising recent results in arXiv:2011.02885.",
        "positive": "Light rings of five-dimensional geometries: We study massless geodesics near the photon-spheres of a large family of\nsolutions of Einstein-Maxwell theory in five dimensions, including BHs, naked\nsingularities and smooth horizon-less JMaRT geometries obtained as\nsix-dimensional uplifts of the five-dimensional solution. We find that a light\nring of unstable photon orbits surrounding the mass center is always present,\nindependently of the existence of a horizon or singularity. We compute the\nLyapunov exponent, characterizing the chaotic behaviour of geodesics near the\n`photon-sphere' and the time decay of ring-down modes dominating the response\nof the geometry to perturbations at late times. We show that, for geometries\nfree of naked singularities, the Lyapunov exponent is always bounded by its\nvalue for a Schwarzschild BH of the same mass."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Mass Renormalization in Lorentz-violating Scalar Field Theory: In this work we evaluate the $\\gamma_{m}$ function corresponding to mass\nrenormalization for O($N$) scalar field theory with Lorentz violation. We\ncalculate this function up to two-loop order for a theory renormalized\nutilizing the counterterm method in the minimal subtraction scheme with Feynman\ndiagrams regularized using dimensional regularization.",
        "positive": "Bonus Symmetry for Super Wilson Loops: The Yangian level-one hypercharge generator for the super Wilson loop in N =\n4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory is constructed. Moreover, evidence for the\npresence of a corresponding symmetry generator at all higher levels is\nprovided. The derivation is restricted to the strong-coupling description of\nthe super Wilson loop and based on the construction of novel conserved charges\nfor type IIB superstrings on AdS_5 x S^5."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Connection between Twistors and Superstring Sigma Models on Coset\n  Superspaces: We consider superstring sigma models that are based on coset superspaces G/H\nin which H arises as the fixed point set of an order-4 automorphism of G. We\nshow by means of twistor theory that the corresponding first-order system,\nconsisting of the Maurer-Cartan equations and the equations of motion, arises\nfrom a dimensional reduction of some generalised self-dual Yang-Mills equations\nin eight dimensions. Such a relationship might help shed light on the explicit\nconstruction of solutions to the superstring equations including their hidden\nsymmetry structures and thus on the properties of their gauge theory duals.",
        "positive": "D7-Brane Moduli vs. F-Theory Cycles in Elliptically Fibred Threefolds: We study the space of geometric and open string moduli of type IIB\ncompactifications from the perspective of complex structure deformations of\nF-theory. In order to find a correspondence, we work in the weak coupling limit\nand for simplicity focus on compactifications to 6 dimensions. Starting from\nthe topology of D7-branes and O7-planes, we construct the 3-cycles of the\nF-theory threefold. We achieve complete agreement between the degrees of\nfreedom of the Weierstrass model and the complex structure deformations of the\nelliptic Calabi-Yau. All relevant quantities are expressed in terms of the\ntopology of the base space, allowing us to formulate our results for general\nbase spaces."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "K(E10), Supergravity and Fermions: We study the fermionic extension of the E10/K(E10) coset model and its\nrelation to eleven-dimensional supergravity. Finite-dimensional spinor\nrepresentations of the compact subgroup K(E10) of E(10,R) are studied and the\nsupergravity equations are rewritten using the resulting algebraic variables.\nThe canonical bosonic and fermionic constraints are also analysed in this way,\nand the compatibility of supersymmetry with local K(E10) is investigated. We\nfind that all structures involving A9 levels 0,1 and 2 nicely agree with\nexpectations, and provide many non-trivial consistency checks of the existence\nof a supersymmetric extension of the E10/K(E10) coset model, as well as a new\nderivation of the `bosonic dictionary' between supergravity and coset\nvariables. However, there are also definite discrepancies in some terms\ninvolving level 3, which suggest the need for an extension of the model to\ninfinite-dimensional faithful representations of the fermionic degrees of\nfreedom.",
        "positive": "Unitarity and positivity constraints for CFT at large central charge: We consider the four-point correlator of the stress tensor multiplet in\n${\\cal N}=4$ SYM in the limit of large central charge $c \\sim N^2$. For finite\nvalues of $g^2N$ single-trace intermediate operators arise at order $1/c$ and\nthis leads to specific poles in the Mellin representation of the correlator.\nThe sign of the residue at these poles is fixed by unitarity. We consider\nsolutions consistent with crossing symmetry and this pole structure. We show\nthat in a certain regime all solutions result in a negative contribution to the\nanomalous dimension of twist four operators. The reason behind this is a\npositivity property of Mack polynomials that leads to a positivity condition\nfor the Mellin amplitude. This positivity condition can also be proven by\nassuming the correct Regge behaviour for the Mellin amplitude. For large $g^2N$\nwe recover a tower of solutions in one to one correspondence with local\ninteractions in a effective field theory in the $AdS$ bulk, with the\nappropriate suppression factors, and with definite overall signs. These signs\nagree with the signs that would follow from causality constraints on the\neffective field theory. The positivity constraints arising from CFT for the\nMellin amplitude take a very similar form to the causality constraint for the\nforward limit of the S-matrix."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "More on La Grande Bouffe: towards higher spin symmetry breaking in AdS: We discuss higher spin gauge symmetry breaking in AdS space from a\nholographic prespective. Indeed, the AdS/CFT correspondence implies that N=4\nSYM theory at vanishing coupling constant is dual to a theory in AdS which\nexhibits higher spin gauge symmetry enhancement. When the SYM coupling is\nnon-zero, the current conservation condition becomes anomalous, and\ncorrespondingly the local higher spin symmetry in the bulk gets spontaneously\nbroken. In agreement with previous results and holographic expectations, we\nfind that the Goldstone mode responsible for the symmetry breaking in AdS has a\nnon-vanishing mass even in the limit in which the gauge symmetry is restored.\nMoreover, we show that the mass of the Goldstone mode is exactly the one\npredicted by the correspondence. Finally, we obtain the precise form of the\nhigher spin supercurrents in the SYM side.",
        "positive": "On the Liouville coupling constants: For the general operator product algebra coefficients derived by Cremmer\nRoussel Schnittger and the present author with (positive integer) screening\nnumbers, the coupling constants determine the factors additional to the quantum\ngroup 6j symbols.\n  They are given by path independent products over a two dimensional lattice in\nthe zero mode space. It is shown that the ansatz for the three point function\nof Dorn-Otto and Zamolodchikov-Zamolodchikov precisely defines the\ncorresponding flat lattice connection, so that it does give a natural\ngeneralization of these coupling constants to continuous screening numbers. The\nconsistency of the restriction to integer screening charges is reviewed, and\nshown to be linked with the orthogonality of the (generalized) 6j symbols. Thus\nextending this last relation is the key to general screening numbers."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Inhomogeneous quantum groups IGL_{q,r}(N): Universal enveloping algebra\n  and differential calculus: A review of the multiparametric linear quantum group GL_qr(N), its real\nforms, its dual algebra U(gl_qr(N)) and its bicovariant differential calculus\nis given in the first part of the paper.\n  We then construct the (multiparametric) linear inhomogeneous quantum group\nIGL_qr(N) as a projection from GL_qr(N+1), or equivalently, as a quotient of\nGL_qr(N+1) with respect to a suitable Hopf algebra ideal.\n  A bicovariant differential calculus on IGL_qr(N) is explicitly obtained as a\nprojection from the one on GL_qr(N+1). Our procedure unifies in a single\nstructure the quantum plane coordinates and the q-group matrix elements T^a_b,\nand allows to deduce without effort the differential calculus on the q-plane\nIGL_qr(N) / GL_qr(N).\n  The general theory is illustrated on the example of IGL_qr(2).",
        "positive": "Gauge covariance and the fermion-photon vertex in three- and four-\n  dimensional, massless quantum electrodynamics: In the quenched approximation, the gauge covariance properties of three\nvertex Ans\\\"{a}tze in the Schwinger-Dyson equation for the fermion self energy\nare analysed in three- and four- dimensional quantum electrodynamics. Based on\nthe Cornwall-Jackiw-Tomboulis effective action, it is inferred that the\nspectral representation used for the vertex in the gauge technique cannot\nsupport dynamical chiral symmetry breaking. A criterion for establishing\nwhether a given Ansatz can confer gauge covariance upon the Schwinger-Dyson\nequation is presented and the Curtis and Pennington Ansatz is shown to satisfy\nthis constraint. We obtain an analytic solution of the Schwinger-Dyson equation\nfor quenched, massless three-dimensional quantum electrodynamics for arbitrary\nvalues of the gauge parameter in the absence of dynamical chiral symmetry\nbreaking."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Glueballs on the Baryonic Branch of Klebanov-Strassler: dimensional\n  deconstruction and a light scalar particle: Within gauge/gravity duality, we compute the scalar and tensor mass spectrum\nin the boundary theory defined by the five-dimensional sigma-model coupled to\ngravity obtained by constraining to eight scalars the truncation on T$^{1,1}$\nthat corresponds to the Papadopoulos-Tseytlin (PT) ansatz. We study\nfluctuations around the 1-parameter family of backgrounds that lift to the\nbaryonic branch of the Klebanov-Strassler (KS) system, and interpolates between\nthe KS background and the Maldacena-Nunez one (CVMN). We adopt a gauge\ninvariant formalism in the treatment of the fluctuations that we interpret as\nstates of the dual theory. The tensor spectrum interpolates between the\ndiscrete spectrum of the KS background and the continuum spectrum of the CVMN\nbackground, in particular showing the emergence of a finite energy range\ncontaining a dense set of states, as expected from dimensional deconstruction.\nThe scalar spectrum shows analogous features, and in addition it contains one\nstate that becomes parametrically light far from the origin along the baryonic\nbranch.",
        "positive": "Thermodynamic Properties of Holographic superfluids: Using the holographic model for spontaneous symmetry breaking, we study some\nproperties of the dual superfluid such as the thermodynamic exponents,\nJoule-Thomson coefficient, compressibility etc. Our focus is on how these\nproperties vary with the scaling dimension and the charge of the operator that\nundergoes condensation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "6d/5d exceptional gauge theories from web diagrams: We construct novel web diagrams with a trivalent or quadrivalent gluing for\nvarious 6d/5d theories from certain Higgsings of 6d conformal matter theories\non a circle. The theories realized on the web diagrams include 5d Kaluza-Klein\ntheories from circle compactifications of the 6d $G_2$ gauge theory with 4\nflavors, the 6d $F_4$ gauge theory with 3 flavors, the 6d $E_6$ gauge theory\nwith 4 flavors and the 6d $E_7$ gauge theory with 3 flavors. The Higgsings also\ngive rise to 5d Kaluza-Klein theories from twisted compactifications of 6d\ntheories including the 5d pure SU(3) gauge theory with the Chern-Simons level 9\nand the 5d pure SU(4) gauge theory with the Chern-Simons level 8. We also\ncompute the Nekrasov partition functions of the theories by applying the\ntopological vertex formalism to the newly obtained web diagrams.",
        "positive": "Generic anisotropic Lifshitz scalar field theory: masslesslike massive\n  minimal subtraction: We formulate the simplest minimal subtraction version for massive $\\lambda\n\\phi^4$ scalar fields with $O(N)$ symmetry for generic anisotropic Lifshitz\nspace-times. An appropriate partial$-p$ operation is applied in the bare\ntwo-point vertex function diagrams, which separates the original diagram into a\nsum of two different integrals which are the coefficients of the corresponding\npolynomials in the mass and external momentum. Within the proposed method, the\ncoefficient of the mass terms can be discarded and we obtain a minimal\nsubtraction method almost identical to the same scheme in the massless theory\nin {\\it every external momentum/mass subspace}. We restrict our demonstration\nof the method up to three-loop order in the two-point vertex part. We verify\nthe consistency of our method by a diagrammatic computation of static critical\nexponents, which validates the universality hypothesis."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Three-dimensional N=2 supergravity theories: From superspace to\n  components: For general off-shell N=2 supergravity-matter systems in three spacetime\ndimensions, a formalism is developed to reduce the corresponding actions from\nsuperspace to components. The component actions are explicitly computed in the\ncases of Type I and Type II minimal supergravity formulations. We describe the\nmodels for topologically massive supergravity which correspond to all the known\noff-shell formulations for three-dimensional N=2 supergravity. We also present\na universal setting to construct supersymmetric backgrounds associated with\nthese off-shell supergravities.",
        "positive": "The tunneling radiation of Kehagias-Sfetsos black hole under generalized\n  uncertainty principle: We further the investigation on the Parikh-Kraus-Wilczeck tunneling radiation\nof Kehagias-Sfetsos black hole under the generalized uncertainty principle. We\nobtain the entropy difference involving the influence from the inequality. The\ntwo terms as generalizations of the Heisenberg's uncertainty promote or retard\nthe emission of this kind of black holes respectively."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Post-radiation evolution of black holes: The expectation-value equations for the collapse of a macroscopic,\nspherically symmetric, and uncharged body are integrated up to the limit of\nvalidity of semiclassical theory. The collapse finishes with a true stable\nblack hole of the mass microscopically exceeding the vacuum-induced charge. The\napparent horizon is almost closed. The most important feature of the solution\nis the presence of an irremovable Cauchy horizon.",
        "positive": "Fractional Strings in (p,q) 5-brane and Quiver Matrix String Theory: We study the (p,q)5-brane dynamics from the viewpoint of Matrix string theory\nin the T-dualized ALE background. The most remarkable feature in the\n(p,q)5-brane is the existence of ``fractional string'', which appears as the\ninstanton of 5-brane gauge theory. We approach to the physical aspects of\nfractional string by means of the two types of Matrix string probes: One of\nwhich is that given in hep-th/9710065. As the second probe we present the\nMatrix string theory describing the fractional string itself. We calculate the\nmoduli space metrics in the respective cases and argue on the specific\nbehaviors of fractional string. Especially, we show that the ``joining''\nprocess of fractional strings can be realized as the transition from the\nCoulomb branch to the Higgs branch of the fractional string probe. In this\nargument, we emphasize the importance of some monodromies related with the\ntheta-angle of the 5-brane gauge theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "F-theory compactifications on manifolds with SU(3) structure: In this paper we derive part of the low energy action corresponding to\nF-theory compactifications on specific eight manifolds with SU(3) structure.\nThe setup we use can actually be reduced to compactification of six-dimensional\nsupergravity coupled to tensor multiplets on a T^2 with duality twists. The\nresulting theory is a N=2 gauged supergravity coupled to vector-tensor\nmultiplets.",
        "positive": "New Vortex-String Worldsheet Theories from Supersymmetric Localization: We use supersymmetric localization techniques to study the low-energy\ndynamics of BPS vortex-strings in four-dimensional N=2 theories. We focus on\ntheories with SU(Nc)xU(1) gauge group and Nf hypermultiplets, all in the\nfundamental representation of SU(Nc) but with general U(1) charges. Recently,\nwe proposed a condition that determines whether the low-energy string dynamics\nis captured by a two-dimensional worldsheet theory that decouples from the\nbulk. For strings for which this decoupling applies, we propose a prescription\nfor extracting the two-sphere partition function of the string worldsheet\ntheory from the four-ellipsoid partition function of the parent theory. We\nobtain a general formula for the worldsheet two-sphere partition function in\nterms of the parameters of the four-dimensional theory and identify N=(2,2)\nGLSMs that possess these partition functions in a large class of examples. In\nthese examples, the weak coupling regime of the four-dimensional theory is\nmapped to the weak coupling regime of the worldsheet theory. In addition, we\nstudy the classical string zero-modes in flat space and obtain predictions for\nthe worldsheet spectra, which agree with the low-energy spectra of the GLSMs\nobtained in the localization analysis. For Nf=2Nc=4, we discuss the map between\nstring worldsheet theories under four-dimensional S-duality and use our\nprescription to study examples in which the weak coupling regime of the\nfour-dimensional theory is mapped to the strong coupling regime of the\nworldsheet theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Singular Monopoles and Gravitational Instantons: We model A_k and D_k asymptotically locally flat gravitational instantons on\nthe moduli spaces of solutions of U(2) Bogomolny equations with prescribed\nsingularities. We study these moduli spaces using Ward correspondence and find\ntheir twistor description. This enables us to write down the K\\\"ahler potential\nfor A_k and D_k gravitational instantons in a relatively explicit form.",
        "positive": "Resummation of local and non-local scalar self energies via the\n  Schwinger-Dyson equation in de Sitter spacetime: We consider a massless and minimally coupled self interacting quantum scalar\nfield in the inflationary de Sitter spacetime. The scalar potential is taken to\nbe a hybrid of cubic and quartic self interactions, $V(\\phi)= \\lambda\n\\phi^4/4!+\\beta \\phi^3/3!$ ($\\lambda >0$). Compared to the earlier well studied\n$\\beta=0$ case, the present potential has a rolling down effect due to the\n$\\phi^3$ term, along with the usual bounding effect due to the $\\phi^4$ term.\n$V(\\phi)$ has shapewise qualitative similarity with the standard slow roll\nsingle field inflationary potentials. We begin by constructing the\nSchwinger-Dyson equation for the scalar Feynman propagator up to two loop, at\n${\\cal O}(\\lambda)$, ${\\cal O}(\\beta^2)$, ${\\cal O}(\\lambda^2)$ and ${\\cal\nO}(\\lambda \\beta^2)$. Using this equation, we consider first the local part of\nthe scalar self energy and compute the mass of the scalar field, dynamically\ngenerated via the late time non-perturbative secular logarithms, by resumming\nthe daisy-like graphs. We also argue that unlike the quartic case, considering\nmerely the one loop results for the purpose of resummation does not give us any\nsensible result here. We next construct the non-perturbative two particle\nirreducible effective action up to three loop and derive from it the\nSchwinger-Dyson equation once again. This equation is satisfied by the\nnon-perturbative Feynman propagator. By series expanding this propagator, the\nresummed local part of the self energy is shown to yield the same dynamical\nmass as that of the above. We next use this equation to resum the effect of the\nnon-local part of the scalar self energy in the Feynman propagator, and show\nthat even though the perturbatively corrected propagator shows secular growth\nat late times, there exists a resummed solution which is vanishing for large\nspacelike separations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Casimir operators of the exceptional group $F_4$: the chain $B_4\\subset\n  F_4\\subset D_{13}$: Expressions are given for the Casimir operators of the exceptional group\n$F_4$ in a concise form similar to that used for the classical groups. The\nchain $B_4\\subset F_4\\subset D_{13}$ is used to label the generators of $F_4$\nin terms of the adjoint and spinor representations of $B_4$ and to express the\n26-dimensional representation of $F_4$ in terms of the defining representation\nof $D_{13}$. Casimir operators of any degree are obtained and it is shown that\na basis consists of the operators of degree 2, 6, 8 and 12.",
        "positive": "Gravitational Dielectric Effect and Myers Effect: In this paper we study the gravitational dielectric phenomena of a D2-brane\nin the background of Kaluza-Klein monopoles and D6-branes. In both cases the\nspherical D2-brane with nonzero radius becomes classical solution of the\nD2-brane action. We also investigate the gravitational Myers effect in the\nbackground of D6-branes. This phenomenon occurs since the tension of the\nD2-brane balances with the repulsive force between D0-branes and D6-branes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Influence of an Electric Field on the Propagation of a Photon in a\n  Magnetic field: In this work, a constant and uniform magnetic field is less than the\nSchwinger critical value. In turn, an additional constant and uniform electric\nfield is taken much smaller than the magnetic field value. The propagation of a\nphoton in this electromagnetic field is investigating. In particular, in the\npresence of a weak electric field, the root divergence is absent in the photon\neffective mass near the thresholds of pair creation. The effective mass of a\nreal photon with a preset polarization is considered in the quantum energy\nregion as well as in the quasiclassical one.",
        "positive": "Quasinormal frequencies using the hidden conformal symmetry of the\n  Schwarzschild black hole: We show that the hidden conformal symmetry of the Schwarzschild black hole is\nrealized from the AdS$_2$ sector of the AdS$_2\\times S^2$, but not from the\nRindler spacetime which is the genuine near-horizon geometry of the\nSchwarzschild black hole. This implies that purely imaginary quasinormal\nfrequencies obtained using the hidden conformal symmetry is not suitable for\ndescribing the largely damped modes around the Schwarzschild black hole."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Coherent states over Grassmann manifolds and the WKB-exactness in path\n  integral: \\(\\Un{N}\\) coherent states over Grassmann manifold,\n\\(\\grsmn{N}{n}\\simeq\\Un{N}/ (\\Un{n}\\times \\Un{N-n})\\), are formulated to be\nable to argue the WKB-exactness, so called the localization of\nDuistermaat-Heckman, in the path integral representation of a character\nformula. The exponent in the path integral formula is proportional to an\ninteger \\(k\\) that labels the \\(\\Un{N}\\) representation. Thus when \\(k\n\\rightarrow\\infty\\) a usual semiclassical approximation, by regarding \\(k \\sim\n1 / \\hbar\\), can be performed yielding to a desired conclusion. The mechanism\nof the localization is uncovered by means of a view from an extended space\nrealized by the Schwinger boson technique.",
        "positive": "Gravitational field of relativistic gyratons: The metric ansatz is used to describe the gravitational field of a beam-pulse\nof spinning radiation (gyraton) in an arbitrary number of spacetime dimensions\nD. First we demonstrate that this metric belongs to the class of metrics for\nwhich all scalar invariants constructed from the curvature and its covariant\nderivatives vanish. Next, it is shown that the vacuum Einstein equations reduce\nto two linear problems in (D-2)-dimensional Euclidean space. The first is to\nfind the static magnetic potential created by a point-like source. The second\nrequires finding the electric potential created by a point-like source\nsurrounded by given distribution of the electric charge. To obtain a generic\ngyraton-type solution of the vacuum Einstein equations it is sufficient to\nallow the coefficients in the corresponding harmonic decompositions of\nsolutions of the linear problems to depend arbitrarily on retarded time and\nsubstitute the obtained expressions in the metric ansatz. We discuss properties\nof the solutions for relativistic gyratons and consider special examples."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauged N=2 Supergravity in Nine-Dimensions and Domain Wall Solutions: We present massive N=2 supergravity with SO(2)-gauging in nine-dimensions by\ndirect construction. A full lagrangian and transformation rules are fixed,\nrespectively up to quartic and quadratic fermion terms. Corresponding to the\ngeneralized Scherk-Schwarz dimensional reduction utilizing SL(2,R) symmetry,\nthis theory allows three arbitrary mass parameters m_0, m_1and m_2 in addition\nto the minimal gauge coupling g, so that our system has the most general form\ncompared with other results in the past. Unlike ordinary gauged maximal\nsupergravity theories in other dimensions, the scalar potential is positive\ndefinite for arbitrary values of the mass parameters. As an application, we\nalso analyze the stability and supersymmetry for 7-brane domain wall solutions\nfor this gauged maximal supergravity, keeping the three mass parameters.",
        "positive": "Inflationary Infrared Divergences: Geometry of the Reheating Surface vs.\n  delta N Formalism: We describe a simple way of incorporating fluctuations of the Hubble scale\nduring the horizon exit of scalar perturbations into the delta N formalism. The\ndominant effect comes from the dependence of the Hubble scale on low-frequency\nmodes of the inflaton. This modifies the coefficient of the log-enhanced term\nappearing in the curvature spectrum at second order in field fluctuations. With\nthis modification, the relevant coefficient turns out to be proportional to the\nsecond derivative of the tree-level spectrum with respect to the inflaton phi\nat horizon exit. A logarithm with precisely the same coefficient appears in a\ncalculation of the log-enhancement of the curvature spectrum based purely on\nthe geometry of the reheating surface. We take this agreement as strong support\nfor the proposed implementation of the delta N formalism. Moreover, our\nanalysis makes it apparent that the log-enhancement of the inflationary\npower-spectrum is indeed physical if this quantity is defined using a global\ncoordinate system on the reheating surface (or any other post-inflationary\nsurface of constant energy density). However, it can be avoided by defining the\nspectrum using invariant distances on this surface."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Invariant Correlations in Simplicial Gravity: Some first results are presented regarding the behavior of invariant\ncorrelations in simplicial gravity, with an action containing both a bare\ncosmological term and a lattice higher derivative term. The determination of\ninvariant correlations as a function of geodesic distance by numerical methods\nis a difficult task, since the geodesic distance between any two points is a\nfunction of the fluctuating background geometry, and correlation effects become\nrather small for large distances. Still, a strikingly different behavior is\nfound for the volume and curvature correlation functions. While the first one\nis found to be negative definite at large geodesic distances, the second one is\nalways positive for large distances. For both correlations the results are\nconsistent in the smooth phase with an exponential decay, turning into a power\nlaw close to the critical point at $G_c$. Such a behavior is not completely\nunexpected, if the model is to reproduce the classical Einstein theory at\ndistances much larger than the ultraviolet cutoff scale.",
        "positive": "Extended corner symmetry, charge bracket and Einstein's equations: We develop the covariant phase space formalism allowing for non-vanishing\nflux, anomalies and field dependence in the vector field generators. We\nconstruct a charge bracket that generalizes the one introduced by Barnich and\nTroessaert and includes contributions from the Lagrangian and its anomaly. This\nbracket is uniquely determined by the choice of Lagrangian representative of\nthe theory. We then extend the notion of corner symmetry algebra to include the\nsurface translation symmetries and prove that the charge bracket provides a\ncanonical representation of the extended corner symmetry algebra. This\nrepresentation property is shown to be equivalent to the projection of the\ngravitational equations of motion on the corner, providing us with an encoding\nof the bulk dynamics in a locally holographic manner."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "4D, N=1 Supergravity Genomics: The off-shell representation theory of 4D, $\\mathcal{N}=1$ supermultiplets\ncan be categorized in terms of distinct irreducible graphical representations\ncalled adinkras as part of a larger effort we call supersymmetry `genomics.'\nRecent evidence has emerged pointing to the existence of three such fundamental\nadinkras associated with distinct equivalence classes of a Coxeter group. A\npartial description of these adinkras is given in terms of two types, termed\ncis-and trans-adinkras (the latter being a degenerate doublet) in analogy to\ncis/trans isomers in chemistry. Through a new and simple procedure that uses\nadinkras, we find the irreducible off-shell adinkra representations of 4D,\n$\\mathcal{N}=1$ supergravity, in the old-minimal, non-minimal, and conformal\nformulations. This procedure uncovers what appears to be a selection rule\nuseful to reverse engineer adinkras to higher dimensions. We categorize the\nsupergravity representations in terms of the number of cis-($n_c$) and\ntrans-($n_t$) adinkras in the representation and synthesize our new results\nwith our previous supersymmetry genomics results into a group theoretic\nframework.",
        "positive": "Conformal field theories on deformed spheres, anomalies, and\n  supersymmetry: We study the free energy of four-dimensional CFTs on deformed spheres. For\ngeneric nonsupersymmetric CFTs only the coefficient of the logarithmic\ndivergence in the free energy is physical, which is an extremum for the round\nsphere. We then specialize to $\\mathcal{N}=2$ SCFTs where one can preserve some\nsupersymmetry on a compact manifold by turning on appropriate background\nfields. For deformations of the round sphere the $c$ anomaly receives\ncorrections proportional to the supersymmetric completion of the (Weyl)$^2$\nterm, which we determine up to one constant by analyzing the scale dependence\nof various correlators in the stress-tensor multiplet. We further show that the\ndouble derivative of the free energy with respect to the marginal couplings is\nproportional to the two-point function of the bottom components of the marginal\nchiral multiplet placed at the two poles of the deformed sphere. We then use\nanomaly considerations and counter-terms to parametrize the finite part of the\nfree energy which makes manifest its dependence on the K\\\"ahler potential. We\ndemonstrate these results for a theory with a vector multiplet and a massless\nadjoint hypermultiplet using results from localization. Finally, by choosing a\nspecial value of the hypermultiplet mass where the free energy is independent\nof the deformation, we derive an infinite number of constraints between various\nintegrated correlators in $\\mathcal{N}=4$ super Yang-Mills with any gauge group\nand at all values of the coupling, extending previous results."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Phase Diagram of Gross-Neveu Model at Finite Temperature, Density and\n  Constant Curvature: We discuss a phase structure of chiral symmetry breaking in the Gross-Neveu\nmodel at finite temperature, density and constant curvature. The effective\npotential is evaluated in the leading order of the $1/N$-expansion and in a\nweak curvature approximation. The third order critical line is found on the\ncritical surface in the parameter space of temperature, chemical potential and\nconstant curvature.",
        "positive": "The Four-Loop $\\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM Sudakov Form Factor: We present the Sudakov form factor in full color $\\mathcal{N}=4$\nsupersymmetric Yang-Mills theory to four loop order and provide uniformly\ntranscendental results for the relevant master integrals through to weight\neight."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Mirror Symmetry and a $G_2$ Flop: By applying mirror symmetry to D-branes in a Calabi-Yau geometry we shed\nlight on a $G_2$ flop in M-theory relevant for large $N$ dualities in ${\\cal\nN}=1$ supersymmetric gauge theories. Furthermore, we derive superpotential for\nM-theory on corresponding $G_2$ manifolds for all A-D-E cases. This provides an\neffective method for geometric engineering of ${\\cal N}=1$ gauge theories for\nwhich mirror symmetry gives exact information about vacuum geometry. We also\nfind a number of interesting dual descriptions.",
        "positive": "Deformed $\u03c3$-models, Ricci flow and Toda field theories: It is shown that the Pohlmeyer map of a $\\sigma$-model with a toric\ntwo-dimensional target space naturally leads to the `sausage' metric. We then\nelaborate the trigonometric deformation of the $\\mathrm{CP}^{n-1}$-model,\nproving that its $T$-dual metric is K\\\"ahler and solves the Ricci flow\nequation. Finally, we discuss a relation between flag manifold $\\sigma$-models\nand Toda field theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Boundary form factors in the Smirnov--Fateev model with a diagonal\n  boundary $S$ matrix: The boundary conditions with diagonal boundary $S$ matrix and the boundary\nform factors for the Smirnov--Fateev model on a half line has been considered\nin the framework of the free field representation. In contrast to the case of\nthe sine-Gordon model, in this case the free field representation is shown to\nimpose severe restrictions on the boundary $S$ matrix, so that a finite number\nof solutions is only consistent with the free field realization.",
        "positive": "Quantum effects of a massive 3-form coupled to a Dirac field: We consider the coupling of A_{\\mu\\nu\\rho} to the generic current of matter\nfield, later identified with the spin density current of a Dirac field. In\nfact, one of the objectives of this paper is to investigate the impact of the\nquantum fluctuations of A_{\\mu\\nu\\rho} on the effective dynamics of the spinor\nfield. The consistency of the field equations, even at the classical level,\nrequires the introduction of a mass term for A_{\\mu\\nu\\rho}. In this case, the\nCasimir vacuum pressure includes a contribution that is explicitly dependent on\nthe mass of A_{\\mu\\nu\\rho} and leads us to conclude that the mass term plays\nthe same role as the infrared cutoff needed to regularize the finite volume\npartition functional previously calculated in the massless case. Remarkably,\neven in the presence of a mass term, A_{\\mu\\nu\\rho} contains a mixture of\nmassless and massive spin-0 fields so that the resulting equation is still\ngauge invariant. This is yet another peculiar, but physically relevant property\nof A_{\\mu\\nu\\rho} since it is reflected in the effective dynamics of the spinor\nfields and confirms the confining property of A_{\\mu\\nu\\rho} already expected\nfrom the earlier calculation of the Wilson loop."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "RSOS Quantum Chains Associated with Off-Critical Minimal Models and\n  $\\mathbb{Z}_n$ Parafermions: We consider the $\\varphi_{1,3}$ off-critical perturbation ${\\cal M}(m,m';t)$\nof the general non-unitary minimal models where $2\\le m\\le m'$ and $m, m'$ are\ncoprime and $t$ measures the departure from criticality corresponding to the\n$\\varphi_{1,3}$ integrable perturbation. We view these models as the continuum\nscaling limit in the ferromagnetic Regime III of the Forrester-Baxter\nRestricted Solid-On-Solid (RSOS) models on the square lattice. We also consider\nthe RSOS models in the antiferromagnetic Regime II related in the continuum\nscaling limit to $\\mathbb{Z}_n$ parfermions with $n=m'-2$. Using an elliptic\nYang-Baxter algebra of planar tiles encoding the allowed face configurations,\nwe obtain the Hamiltonians of the associated quantum chains defined as the\nlogarithmic derivative of the transfer matrices with periodic boundary\nconditions. The transfer matrices and Hamiltonians act on a vector space of\npaths on the $A_{m'-1}$ Dynkin diagram whose dimension is counted by\ngeneralized Fibonacci numbers.",
        "positive": "Logarithmic corrections to black hole entropy and holography: We compute logarithmic corrections to the black hole entropy $S_{\\rm bh}$ in\na holographic set up where the cosmological constant $\\Lambda$ and Newton's\nconstant $G_D$ are taken to be thermodynamic parameters, related to variations\nin bulk pressure \\(P\\) and central charge \\(c\\). In the bulk, the logarithmic\ncorrections are of the form: $\\mathcal{S} = S_{\\rm bh} - k \\ln S_{\\rm bh} +\n\\cdots$ arising due to fluctuations in thermodynamic volume, induced by a\nvariable $\\Lambda$, in addition to energy fluctuations. We explicitly compute\nthis coefficient $k$ for the BTZ black hole and show that the result matches\nwith the one coming from the logarithmic corrections to the Cardy's formula. We\npropose an entropy function in the CFT, which exactly reproduces the\nlogarithmic corrections to black hole entropy in arbitrary dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Four Dimensional Black Holes and Duality in Superstring Theory: Some recent results on the applications of duality (and related)\ntransformations to general four-dimensional, spherically symmetric,\nasymptotically flat and time-independent string configurations are summarized.\nTwo classes of results have been obtained. First, these transformations are\nused to generate the general such solution to the lowest-order field equations\nin the alpha' expansion. Second, the action and implications of duality (based\non time-translation) on the general configuration is determined. It is found to\ninterchange two pairs of the six parameters which label these configurations,\nnamely: (1) the mass with the dilaton charge, and (2) the axion charge with the\nTaub-NUT parameter. For the special case of the Schwarzshild black hole this\nimplies the relation M -> - k/M, where k is a known, positive, quantity. It is\nargued that, in some circumstances, dual theories need not be equivalent in the\nsimplest sense.",
        "positive": "The transformations of non-abelian gauge fields under translations: I consider infinitesimal translations $x'^{\\alpha}=x^{\\alpha}+\\delta\nx^{\\alpha}$ and demand that Noether's approach gives a symmetric\nenergy-momentum tensor as it is required for gravitational sources. This\nargument determines the transformations of non-abelian gauge fields under\ninfinitesimal translations to differ from the usually assumed invariance by the\ngauge transformation, $A'^a_{\\gamma} (x') - A^a_{\\gamma}(x) = \\partial_{\\gamma}\n[ \\delta x_{\\beta} A^{a \\beta}(x)] + C^a_{bc} \\delta x_{\\beta} A^{c \\beta}(x)\nA^{b}_{\\gamma}(x)$ where the $C^a_{bc}$ are the structure constants of the\ngauge group."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Majorana Fermions in a Box: Majorana fermion dynamics may arise at the edge of Kitaev wires or\nsuperconductors. Alternatively, it can be engineered by using trapped ions or\nultracold atoms in an optical lattice as quantum simulators. This motivates the\ntheoretical study of Majorana fermions confined to a finite volume, whose\nboundary conditions are characterized by self-adjoint extension parameters.\nWhile the boundary conditions for Dirac fermions in $(1+1)$-d are characterized\nby a 1-parameter family, $\\lambda = - \\lambda^*$, of self-adjoint extensions,\nfor Majorana fermions $\\lambda$ is restricted to $\\pm i$. Based on this result,\nwe compute the frequency spectrum of Majorana fermions confined to a 1-d\ninterval. The boundary conditions for Dirac fermions confined to a 3-d region\nof space are characterized by a 4-parameter family of self-adjoint extensions,\nwhich is reduced to two distinct 1-parameter families for Majorana fermions. We\nalso consider the problems related to the quantum mechanical interpretation of\nthe Majorana equation as a single-particle equation. Furthermore, the equation\nis related to a relativistic Schr\\\"odinger equation that does not suffer from\nthese problems.",
        "positive": "Dual Pairs of Gauged Linear Sigma Models and Derived Equivalences of\n  Calabi-Yau threefolds: In this work we study the phase structure of skew symplectic sigma models,\nwhich are a certain class of two-dimensional N = (2,2) non-Abelian gauged\nlinear sigma models. At low energies some of them flow to non-linear sigma\nmodels with Calabi-Yau target spaces, which emerge from non-Abelian strong\ncoupling dynamics. The observed phase structure results in a non-trivial\nduality proposal among skew symplectic sigma models and connects non-complete\nintersection Calabi-Yau threefolds, that are non-birational among another, in a\ncommon quantum Kahler moduli space. As a consequence we find non-trivial\nidentifications of spectra of topological B-branes, which from a modern\nalgebraic geometry perspective imply derived equivalences among Calabi-Yau\nvarieties. To further support our proposals, we calculate the two sphere\npartition function of skew symplectic sigma models to determine geometric\ninvariants, which confirm the anticipated Calabi-Yau threefold phases. We show\nthat the two sphere partition functions of a pair of dual skew symplectic sigma\nmodels agree in a non-trivial fashion. To carry out these calculations, we\ndevelop a systematic approach to study higher-dimensional Mellin-Barnes type\nintegrals. In particular, these techniques admit the evaluation of two sphere\npartition functions for gauged linear sigma models with higher rank gauge\ngroups, but are applicable in other contexts as well."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Batalin-Tyutin Quantization of the (2+1) dimensional nonabelian\n  Chern-Simons field theory: The (2+1) dimensional nonabelian Chern-Simons theory coupled to complex\nscalar fields is quantized by using the Batalin-Tyutin canonical Hamiltonian\nmethod which systematically embeds second-class constraint system into\nfirst-class one. We obtain the gauge-invariant nonabelian Wess-Zumino type\naction in the extended phase space.",
        "positive": "AdS_4/CFT_3 Construction from Collective Fields: We pursue the construction of higher-spin theory in AdS_4 from CFT_3 of the\nO(N) vector model in terms of canonical collective fields. In null plane\nquantization an exact map is established between the two spaces. The\ncoordinates of the AdS_4 space-time are generated from the collective\ncoordinates of the bi-local field. This, in the light cone gauge, provides an\nexact one to one reconstruction of bulk AdS_4 space-time and higher-spin\nfields."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Infrared Physics of Bad Theories: We study the complete moduli space of vacua of 3d $\\mathcal{N}=4$ $U(N)$ SQCD\ntheories with $N_f$ fundamentals, building on the algebraic description of the\nCoulomb branch, and deduce the low energy physics in any vacuum from the local\ngeometry of the moduli space. We confirm previous claims for good and ugly SQCD\ntheories, and show that bad theories flow to the same interacting fixed points\nas good theories with additional free twisted hypermultiplets. A Seiberg-like\nduality proposed for bad theories with $N \\le N_f \\le 2N-2$ is ruled out: the\nspaces of vacua of the putative dual theories are different. However such bad\ntheories have a distinguished vacuum, which preserves all the global\nsymmetries, whose infrared physics is that of the proposed dual. We finally\nexplain previous results on sphere partition functions and elucidate the\nrelation between the UV and IR $R$-symmetry in this symmetric vacuum.",
        "positive": "The static potential in QED$_3$ with non-minimal coupling: Here we study the effect of the non-minimal coupling $j^{\\mu}\\eps\n\\partial^{\\nu} A^{\\alpha} $ on the static potential in multiflavor QED$_3$.\nBoth cases of four and two components fermions are studied separately at\nleading order in the $1/N $ expansion. Although a non-local Chern-Simons term\nappears, in the four components case the photon is still massless leading to a\nconfining logarithmic potential similar to the classical one. In the two\ncomponents case, as expected, the parity breaking fermion mass term generates a\ntraditional Chern-Simons term which makes the photon massive and we have a\nscreening potential which vanishes at large inter-charge distance. The extra\nnon-minimal couplings have no important influence on the static potential at\nlarge inter-charge distances. However, interesting effects show up at finite\ndistances. In particular, for strong enough non-minimal coupling we may have a\nnew massive pole in the photon propagator while in the opposite limit there may\nbe no poles at all in the irreducible case. We also found that, in general, the\nnon-minimal couplings lead to a finite range {\\bf repulsive} force between\ncharges of opposite signs."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "D0-D8-F1 in Massive IIA SUGRA: We present some new supersymmetric solutions of massive IIA supergravity\ninvolving D0-branes, a D8-brane and a string. For the bosonic fields we use a\ngeneral ansatz with SO(8) symmetry.",
        "positive": "Non-Equilibrium Thermo Field Dynamics for Relativistic Complex Scalar\n  and Dirac Fields: Relativistic quantum field theories for complex scalar and Dirac fields are\ninvestigated in non-equilibrium thermo field dynamics. The thermal vacuum is\ndefined by the Bogoliubov transformed creation and annihilation operators. Two\nindependent Bogoliubov parameters are introduced for a charged field. Its\ndifference naturally induces the chemical potential. Time-dependent thermal\nBogoliubov transformation generates the thermal counter terms. We fix the terms\nby the self-consistency renormalization condition. Evaluating the thermal\nself-energy under the self-consistency renormalization condition, we derive the\nquantum Boltzmann equations for the relativistic fields."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Bethe Ansatze for 19-vertex Models: The nineteen-vertex models of Zamolodchikov-Fateev, Izergin-Korepin and the\nsupersymmetric osp(1|2) with periodic boundary conditions are studied. We find\nthe spectrum of these quantum spin chains using the Coordinate Bethe Ansatz.\nThe approche is a suitable parametrization of their wavefunctions. We also\napplied the Algebraic Bethe Ansatz in order to obtain the eigenvalues and\neigenvectors of the corresponding transfer matrices.",
        "positive": "Special flow equation and GKP-Witten relation: We develop a framework for the reconstruction of the bulk theory dual to\nconformal field theory (CFT) without any assumption by means of a flow\nequation. To this end we investigate a minimal extension of the free flow\nequation and find that at a special parametrization the conformal\ntransformation for a normalized smeared operator exactly becomes the isometry\nof anti-de Sitter space (AdS). By employing this special flow equation to\nO$(N)$ vector models, we explicitly show that the AdS geometry as well as the\nscalar field satisfying the GKP-Witten relation concurrently emerge in this\nframework."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Surface term, corner term, and action growth in F(Riemann) gravity\n  theory: After reformulating $F($Riemann$)$ gravity theory as a second derivative\ntheory by introducing two auxiliary fields to the bulk action, we derive the\nsurface term as well as the corner term supplemented to the bulk action for a\ngeneric non-smooth boundary such that the variational principle is well posed.\nWe also introduce the counter term to make the boundary term invariant under\nthe reparametrization for the null segment. Then as a demonstration of the\npower of our formalism, not only do we apply our expression for the full action\nto evaluate the corresponding action growth rate of the Wheeler-DeWitt patch in\nthe Schwarzchild anti-de Sitter black hole for the $F(R)$ gravity and critical\ngravity, where the corresponding late time behavior recovers the previous one\nderived by other approaches, but also in the asymptotically Anti-de Sitter\nblack hole for the critical Einsteinian cubic gravity, where the late time\ngrowth rate vanishes but still saturates the Lloyd bound.",
        "positive": "Comparison between holographic deformed AdS and soft wall models for\n  fermions: We compare the holographic dressed soft wall and the exponentially deformed\nAdS models for spin 1/2 fermions. We present the dressed soft wall model and\nits analytical solutions for the left and right modes, and the corresponding\nspectra, also including modifications considering hyperfine spin-spin and meson\ncloud interactions, as well as anomalous dimensions. Then, we discuss the\ndeformed AdS model for spin 1/2 fermions and present their effective\nSchr\\\"odinger equations for the left and right modes, for which only numerical\nsolutions are available. Then, we consider a polynomial expansion of the\neffective potential of the deformed AdS model and show that in the quadratic\napproximation it leads to exact analytical solutions comparable with the\ndressed soft wall model and obtain the corresponding spectra for left and right\nmodes. We show a numerical comparison of the mass spectra of spin 1/2 baryons\nfor the dressed soft wall and the deformed AdS models. We present a detailed\nrelation between the quadratic approximation of the deformed AdS and the\ndressed soft wall models for their spectra, wave functions and comments on the\ndeep inelastic scattering on both models. We find that these two models are\n{\\sl not} equivalent even in the quadratic approximation, but it is possible to\nrelate their left and right modes for particular choices of their parameters."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The SU(N) Wilson Loop Average in 2 Dimensions: We solve explicitly a closed, linear loop equation for the SU(2) Wilson loop\naverage on a two-dimensional plane and generalize the solution to the case of\nthe SU(N) Wilson loop average with an arbitrary closed contour. Furthermore,\nthe flat space solution is generalized to any two-dimensional manifold for the\nSU(2) Wilson loop average and to any two-dimensional manifold of genus 0 for\nthe SU(N) Wilson loop average.",
        "positive": "Graphs and Reflection Groups: It is shown that graphs that generalize the ADE Dynkin diagrams and have\nappeared in various contexts of two-dimensional field theory may be regarded in\na natural way as encoding the geometry of a root system. After recalling what\nare the conditions satisfied by these graphs, we define a bilinear form on a\nroot system in terms of the adjacency matrices of these graphs and undertake\nthe study of the group generated by the reflections in the hyperplanes\northogonal to these roots. Some ``non integrally laced \" graphs are shown to be\nassociated with subgroups of these reflection groups. The empirical relevance\nof these graphs in the classification of conformal field theories or in the\nconstruction of integrable lattice models is recalled, and the connections with\nrecent developments in the context of ${\\cal N}=2$ supersymmetric theories and\ntopological field theories are discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spontaneous Symmetry Breaking from an On-Shell Perspective: We show how the well known patterns of masses and interactions that arise\nfrom spontaneous symmetry breaking can be determined from an entirely on-shell\nperspective, that is, without reference to Lagrangians, gauge symmetries, or\nfields acquiring a vacuum expectation value. To do this, we review how\nconsistent factorization of $2\\rightarrow 2$ tree level scattering can lead to\nthe familiar structures of Yang-Mills theories, and extend this to find\nstructures of Yukawa theories. Considering only spins-$0$, $1/2$ and $1$\nparticles, we construct all the allowed on-shell UV amplitudes under a symmetry\ngroup $G$, and consider all the possible IR amplitudes. By demanding that\non-shell IR amplitudes match onto on-shell UV amplitudes in the high energy\nlimit, we reproduce the Higgs mechanism and generate masses for spins-$1/2$ and\n$1$, find that there is a subgroup $H \\subseteq G$ in the IR, and other\ninteresting relations. To highlight the results, we show the breaking pattern\nof the Standard Model $U(1)_{EM} \\subset SU(2)_L \\times U(1)_Y $, along with\nthe generation of the masses and interactions of the particles.",
        "positive": "On the construction of gauge theories from non critical type 0 strings: We investigate Polyakov's proposal of constructing Yang-Mills theories by\nusing non critical type 0 strings. We break conformal invariance by putting the\nsystem at finite temperature and find that the entropy of the cosmological\nsolutions for these theories matches that of a gas of weakly interacting\nYang-Mills bosons, up to a numerical constant. The computation of the entropy\nusing the effective action approach presents some novelties in that the whole\ncontribution comes from the RR fields. We also find an area law and a mass gap\nin the theory and show that such behavior persists for $p>4$. We comment on the\npossible physical meaning of this result."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Internal structure of hairy rotating black holes in three dimensions: We construct hairy rotating black hole solutions in three dimensional\nEinstein gravity coupled to a complex scalar field. When we turn on a real and\nuniform source on the dual CFT, the black hole is stationary with two Killing\nvectors and we show that there is no inner horizon for the black hole and the\nsystem evolves smoothly into a Kasner universe. When we turn on a complex and\nperiodic driving source on the dual CFT with a phase velocity equal to the\nangular velocity of the black hole, we have a time-dependent black hole with\nonly one Killing vector. We show that inside the black hole, after a rapid\ncollapse of the Einstein-Rosen bridge, oscillations of the scalar field follow.\nThen the system evolves into the Kasner epoch with possible Kasner inversion,\nwhich occurs in most of the parameter regimes. In both cases, one of the metric\nfields obeys a simple relation between its value at the horizon and in the\nKasner epoch.",
        "positive": "On conformal higher spin wave operators: We analyze free conformal higher spin actions and the corresponding wave\noperators in arbitrary even dimensions and backgrounds. We show that the wave\noperators do not factorize in general, and identify the Weyl tensor and its\nderivatives as the obstruction to factorization. We give a manifestly\nfactorized form for them on (A)dS backgrounds for arbitrary spin and on\nEinstein backgrounds for spin 2. We are also able to fix the conformal wave\noperator in d=4 for s=3 up to linear order in the Riemann tensor on generic\nBach-flat backgrounds."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hyperbolic Vacua in Minkowski Space: Families of Lorentz, but not Poincare, invariant vacua are constructed for a\nmassless scalar field in 4D Minkowski space. These are generalizations of the\nRindler vacuum with a larger symmetry group. Explicit expressions are given as\nsqueezed excitations of the Poincare vacuum. The effective reduced vacua on the\n3D hyperbolic de Sitter slices are the well-known de Sitter $\\alpha$-vacua with\nantipodal singularities in the Wightman function. Several special interesting\ncases are discussed.",
        "positive": "Running of the Spectrum of Cosmological Perturbations in String Gas\n  Cosmology: We compute the running of the spectrum of cosmological perturbations in\nString Gas Cosmology, making use of a smooth parametrization of the transition\nbetween the early Hagedorn phase and the later radiation phase. We find that\nthe running has the same sign as in simple models of single scalar field\ninflation. Its magnitude is proportional to $(1 - n_s)$ ($n_s$ being the slope\nindex of the spectrum), and it is thus parametrically larger than for\ninflationary cosmology, where it is proportional to $(1 - n_s)^2$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The ultraviolet Behaviour of Integrable Quantum Field Theories, Affine\n  Toda Field Theory: We investigate the thermodynamic Bethe ansatz (TBA) equations for a system of\nparticles which dynamically interacts via the scattering matrix of affine Toda\nfield theory and whose statistical interaction is of a general Haldane type. Up\nto the first leading order, we provide general approximated analytical\nexpressions for the solutions of these equations from which we derive general\nformulae for the ultraviolet scaling functions for theories in which the\nunderlying Lie algebra is simply laced. For several explicit models we compare\nthe quality of the approximated analytical solutions against the numerical\nsolutions. We address the question of existence and uniqueness of the solutions\nof the TBA-equations, derive precise error estimates and determine the rate of\nconvergence for the applied numerical procedure. A general expression for the\nFourier transformed kernels of the TBA-equations allows to derive the related\nY-systems and a reformulation of the equations into a universal form.",
        "positive": "Exact Solution of the Harmonic Oscillator in Arbitrary Dimensions with\n  Minimal Length Uncertainty Relations: We determine the energy eigenvalues and eigenfunctions of the harmonic\noscillator where the coordinates and momenta are assumed to obey the modified\ncommutation relations [x_i,p_j]=i hbar[(1+ beta p^2) delta_{ij} + beta' p_i\np_j]. These commutation relations are motivated by the fact they lead to the\nminimal length uncertainty relations which appear in perturbative string\ntheory. Our solutions illustrate how certain features of string theory may\nmanifest themselves in simple quantum mechanical systems through the\nmodification of the canonical commutation relations. We discuss whether such\neffects are observable in precision measurements on electrons trapped in strong\nmagnetic fields."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Auxiliary tensor fields for Sp(2,R) self-duality: The coset Sp(2,R)/U(1) is parametrized by two real scalar fields. We\ngeneralize the formalism of auxiliary tensor (bispinor) fields in U(1)\nself-dual nonlinear models of abelian gauge fields to the case of Sp(2,R)\nself-duality. In this new formulation, Sp(2,R) duality of the nonlinear\nscalar-gauge equations of motion is equivalent to an Sp(2,R) invariance of the\nauxiliary interaction. We derive this result in two different ways, aiming at\nits further application to supersymmetric theories. We also consider an\nextension to interactions with higher derivatives.",
        "positive": "Confinement and Deconfinement in Gauge Theories: A Quantum Field Theory: After a brief discussion of small and large gauge transformations and the\nnature of observables, we discuss superselection sectors in gauge theories.\nThere are an infinity of them, classified by large gauge transformations. Gauge\ntheory sectors are labelled by the eigenvalues of a complete commuting set\n(CCS) of these transformations.\n  In QED, the standard chemical potential is one such operator generating\nglobal U(1). There are many more given by the moments of the electric field on\nthe sphere at infinity. In QCD, the CCS are constructed from the two commuting\ngenerators spanning a Cartan subalgebra.\n  We show that any element of a large gauge transformation can be added to the\nstandard Hamiltonian as a chemical potential without changing field equations\nand that in QCD, they lead to confined and deconfined phases . A speculation\nabout the physical meaning of these chemical potentials is also made.\n  Comment: This note is based on seminars by the author. So only a limited\nnumber of references are given, from which further literature can be traced.\n  A paper is under preparation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The physical mechanism of AdS instability and Holographic Thermalization: Gravitational falling in AdS has two characteristic properties \\cite{ohsin}:\ni) A thick shell becomes a thin shell. ii) Any shape become spherical. Such\nfocusing character of AdS, for the collapse of dusts, leads to the rapid\nthermalization mechanism in strongly interacting system. For the collapse of a\nwave, it explains the cascade of energy to UV through repeated bounces, which\nhas been extensively discussed in recent numerical works. Therefore the\nfocusing is the physical mechanism of instability of AdS. Such sharp contrast\nbetween the dust and wave in collapse, together with the experimental\nobservation of rapid thermalization, suggest that the initial condition of\ncreated particles in RHIC is in a state with random character rather than a\ncoherent one. Two time scales, one for thermalization and the other for\nhydro-nization are defined and calculated in terms of the total mass density\nand energy distribution of the initial particles. We find $t_{th}\\sim\n(1-c_1/E^2)^{1/2}/T $ so that softer modes thermalize earlier. However, for\nhydro-nization, $t_{hyd} \\sim 1/E^{2/3}T^{1/3}$ therefore harder modes come\nearlier. We also show that near horizon limit of Dp brane solutions have\nsimilar focusing effect which is enough to guarantee the early thermalization.",
        "positive": "G/H M-branes and AdS_{p+2} Geometries: We prove the existence of a new class of BPS saturated M-branes. They are in\none-to-one correspondence with the Freund--Rubin compactifications of M-theory\non either (AdS_4) x (G/H) or (AdS_7) x (G/H), where G/H is the seven (or four)\ndimensional Einstein coset manifolds classified long ago in the context of\nKaluza Klein supergravity. The G/H M-branes are solitons that interpolate\nbetween flat space at infinity and the old Kaluza-Klein compactifications at\nthe horizon. They preserve N/2 supersymmetries where N is the number of Killing\nspinors of the (AdS) x (G/H) vacuum. A crucial ingredient in our discussion is\nthe identification of a solvable Lie algebra parametrization of the Lorentzian\nnon compact coset SO(2,p+1)/SO(1,p+1) corresponding to anti de Sitter space\nAdS_{p+2} . The solvable coordinates are those naturally emerging from the near\nhorizon limit of the G/H p-brane and correspond to the Bertotti Robinson form\nof the anti-de-Sitter metric. The pull-back of anti-de-Sitter isometries on the\np-brane world-volume contain, in particular, the broken conformal\ntransformations recently found in the literature."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Perturbative Vacua from IIB Matrix Model: It has not been clarified whether a matrix model can describe various vacua\nof string theory. In this paper, we show that the IIB matrix model includes\ntype IIA string theory. In the naive large N limit of the IIB matrix model,\nconfigurations consisting of simultaneously diagonalizable matrices form a\nmoduli space, although the unique vacuum would be determined by complicated\ndynamics. This moduli space should correspond to a part of perturbatively\nstable vacua of string theory. Actually, one point on the moduli space\nrepresents type IIA string theory. Instead of integrating over the moduli space\nin the path-integral, we can consider each of the simultaneously diagonalizable\nconfigurations as a background and set the fluctuations of the diagonal\nelements to zero. Such procedure is known as quenching in the context of the\nlarge N reduced models. By quenching the diagonal elements of the matrices to\nan appropriate configuration, we show that the quenched IIB matrix model is\nequivalent to the two-dimensional large N N=8 super Yang-Mills theory on a\ncylinder. This theory is nothing but matrix string theory and is known to be\nequivalent to type IIA string theory. As a result, we find the manner to take\nthe large N limit in the IIB matrix model.",
        "positive": "Twist Deformations of the Supersymmetric Quantum Mechanics: The N-extended Supersymmetric Quantum Mechanics is deformed via an abelian\ntwist which preserves the super-Hopf algebra structure of its Universal\nEnveloping Superalgebra. Two constructions are possible. For even N one can\nidentify the 1D N-extended superalgebra with the fermionic Heisenberg algebra.\nAlternatively, supersymmetry generators can be realized as operators belonging\nto the Universal Enveloping Superalgebra of one bosonic and several fermionic\noscillators. The deformed system is described in terms of twisted operators\nsatisfying twist-deformed (anti)commutators. The main differences between an\nabelian twist defined in terms of fermionic operators and an abelian twist\ndefined in terms of bosonic operators are discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Entanglement Negativity Transitions in Chaotic Eigenstates: It was recently noted that the entanglement entropy for a subsystem of a\nchaotic eigenstate exhibits an enhanced correction when the subsystem\napproaches a phase transition at half the total system size. This enhanced\ncorrection was derived for general subsystems by Dong and Wang by summing over\nnoncrossing permutations, which can be thought of as ``saddles'' either in a\nsum emerging from averaging over Wick contractions or in an analogous\ngravitational calculation. We extend these results to the case of entanglement\nnegativity, an entanglement measure defined on a bipartite density matrix. We\nfocus on a particular transition previously studied in a toy model of JT\ngravity, one for which the sum over permutations was found to give similar (or\neven stronger) enhanced corrections. We derive and resum the relevant\npermutations to give a form for the averaged negativity spectrum, reproducing\nthe gravitational answer for some quantities and finding tension with other\nquantities, namely the partially transposed entropy. Along the way, we extend\nthe results of Dong and Wang to the case of $n < 1$ R\\'enyi entropy, showing\nthat it always receives volume law corrections.",
        "positive": "Precision test of AdS$_6$/CFT$_5$ in Type IIB: Large classes of warped AdS$_6$ solutions were constructed recently in Type\nIIB supergravity, and identified as holographic duals for five-dimensional\nsuperconformal field theories realized by $(p,q)$ five-brane webs. We confront\nholographic results for the five sphere partition functions obtained from these\nsolutions with computations for the putative dual field theories. We obtain the\nsphere partition functions and conformal central charges in gauge theory\ndeformations of the superconformal field theories numerically using\nsupersymmetric localization, and extrapolate the results to the conformal fixed\npoints. In the appropriate large $N$ limits, the results match precisely to the\nsupergravity computations, providing strong support for the proposed dualities."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the self-consistency of off-shell Slavnov-Taylor identities in QCD: Using Hopf-algebraic structures as well as diagrammatic techniques for\ndetermining the Slavnov-Taylor identities for QCD we construct the relations\nfor the triple and quartic gluon vertices at one loop. By making the\nlongitudinal projection on an external gluon of a Green's function we show that\nthe gluon self-energy of that leg is consistently replaced by a ghost\nself-energy. The resulting identities are then studied by evaluating all the\ngraphs for an off-shell non-exceptional momentum configuration. In the case of\nthe 3-point function this is for the most general momentum case and for the\n4-point function we consider the fully symmetric point.",
        "positive": "Theoretical Aspects of Quintom Models: Quintom models, with its Equation of State being able to cross the\ncosmological constant boundary $w=-1$, turns out to be attractive for\nphenomenological study. It can not only be applicable for dark energy model for\ncurrent universe, but also lead to a bounce scenario in the early universe."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The 3d Ising Model represented as Random Surfaces: We consider a random surface representation of the three-dimensional Ising\nmodel.The model exhibit scaling behaviour and a new critical index $\\k$ which\nrelates $\\g_{string}$ for the bosonic string to the exponent $\\a$ of the\nspecific heat of the 3d Ising model is introduced. We try to determine $\\k$ by\nnumerical simulations.",
        "positive": "Conformal symmetry of gravity and the cosmological constant problem: In absence of matter Einstein gravity with a cosmological constant $\\La$ can\nbe formulated as a scale-free theory depending only on the dimensionless\ncoupling constant G \\Lambda where G is Newton constant. We derive the conformal\nfield theory (CFT) and its improved stress-energy tensor that describe the\ndynamics of conformally flat perturbations of the metric. The CFT has the form\nof a constrained \\lambda \\phi^{4} field theory. In the cosmological framework\nthe model describes the usual Friedmann-Robertson-Walker flat universe. The\nconformal symmetry of the gravity sector is broken by coupling with matter. The\ndimensional coupling constants G and \\Lambda are introduced by different terms\nin this coupling. If the vacuum of quantum matter fields respects the symmetry\nof the gravity sector, the vacuum energy has to be zero and the ``physical''\ncosmological constant is generated by the coupling of gravity with matter. This\ncould explain the tiny value of the observed energy density driving the\naccelerating expansion of the universe."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Fuzzy Analog of Chiral Diffeomorphisms in higher dimensional Quantum\n  Field Theories: The well-known fact that classical automorphisms of (compactified) Minkowski\nspacetime (Poincare or conformal trandsformations) also allow a natural\nderivation/interpretation in the modular setting (in the operator-algebraic\nsense of Tomita and Takesaki) of the algebraic formulation of QFT has an\ninteresting nontrivial chiral generalization to the diffeomorphisms of the\ncircle. Combined with recent ideas on algebraic (d-1)-dimensional lightfront\nholography, these diffeomorphisms turn out to be images of ``fuzzy'' acting\ngroups in the original d-dimensional (massive) QFT. These actions do not\nrequire any spacetime noncommutativity and are in complete harmony with\ncausality and localization principles. Their use tightens the relation with\nkinematic chiral structures on the causal horizon and makes recent attempts to\nexplain the required universal structure of a possible future quantum\nBekenstein law in terms of Virasoro algebra structures more palatable.",
        "positive": "What is dimensional reduction really telling us?: Numerous approaches to quantum gravity report a reduction in the number of\nspacetime dimensions at the Planck scale. However, accepting the reality of\ndimensional reduction also means accepting its consequences, including a\nvariable speed of light. We provide numerical evidence for a variable speed of\nlight in the causal dynamical triangulation (CDT) approach to quantum gravity,\nshowing that it closely matches the superluminality implied by dimensional\nreduction. We argue that reconciling the appearance of dimensional reduction\nwith a constant speed of light may require modifying our understanding of time,\nan idea originally proposed in Ref. 1."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "PQ Axiverse: We show that the strong CP problem is solved in a large class of\ncompactifications of string theory. The Peccei-Quinn mechanism solves the\nstrong CP problem if the CP-breaking effects of the ultraviolet completion of\ngravity and of QCD are small compared to the CP-preserving axion potential\ngenerated by low-energy QCD instantons. We characterize both classes of\neffects. To understand quantum gravitational effects, we consider an ensemble\nof flux compactifications of type IIB string theory on orientifolds of\nCalabi-Yau hypersurfaces in the geometric regime, taking a simple model of QCD\non D7-branes. We show that the D-brane instanton contribution to the neutron\nelectric dipole moment falls exponentially in $N^4$, with $N$ the number of\naxions. In particular, this contribution is negligible in all models in our\nensemble with $N>17$. We interpret this result as a consequence of large $N$\neffects in the geometry that create hierarchies in instanton actions and also\nsuppress the ultraviolet cutoff. We also compute the CP breaking due to\nhigh-energy instantons in QCD. In the absence of vectorlike pairs, we find\ncontributions to the neutron electric dipole moment that are not excluded, but\nthat could be accessible to future experiments if the scale of supersymmetry\nbreaking is sufficiently low. The existence of vectorlike pairs can lead to a\nlarger dipole moment. Finally, we show that a significant fraction of models\nare allowed by standard cosmological and astrophysical constraints.",
        "positive": "A Goldstone Boson Equivalence for Inflation: The effective field theory of single-field inflation characterizes the\ninflationary epoch in terms of a pattern of symmetry breaking. An operator\nacquires a time-dependent vacuum expectation value, defining a preferred\nspatial slicing. In the absence of dynamical gravity, the fluctuations around\nthe time-dependent background are described by the Goldstone boson associated\nwith this symmetry breaking process. With gravity, the Goldstone is eaten by\nthe metric, becoming the scalar metric fluctuation. In this paper, we will show\nthat in general single-field inflation, the statistics of scalar metric\nfluctuations are given by the statistics of this Goldstone boson it decoupled\nfrom gravity up to corrections that are controlled as an expansion in slow-roll\nparameters. This even holds in the presence of additional parameters, like the\nspeed of sound, that naively enhance the impact of the gravitational terms. In\nthe process, we derive expressions for leading and sub-leading gravitational\ncorrections to all-orders in the Goldstone boson."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Impurity-doped scalar fields in arbitrary dimensions: We investigate the presence of localized structures for relativistic scalar\nfields coupled to impurities in arbitrary spatial dimensions. Such systems\npresent spatial inhomogeneity, realized through the inclusion of explicit\ncoordinate dependence in the Lagrangian. It is shown that, in stark contrast to\nthe impurity-free scenario, Derrick's argument does not present a strong\nhindrance to the existence of stable solutions in this case. Bogomol'nyi\nequations giving rise to global minima of the energy are found, and some of the\nensuing BPS configurations are presented.",
        "positive": "Supersymmetry and complexified spectrum on Euclidean AdS$_2$: Quantum study of supersymmetric theories on Euclidean two dimensional anti-de\nSitter space (AdS$_2$) is invalid if we use the standard normalizable\nfunctional basis due to its incompatibility with supersymmetry. We cure this\nproblem by demonstrating that supersymmetry requires complexified spectrum and\nconstructing the supersymmetric basis for scalar and spinor fields. Our new\nbasis is free of fermionic zero modes, delta-function normalizable with respect\nto a newly defined inner product, and compatible with the supersymmetric\nasymptotic boundary condition. We also explore the one-loop evaluation using\nthis basis and show that it agrees with the standard nonsupersymmetric basis up\nto a global contribution arising from the fermion zero mode."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Discrete symmetries as automorphisms of the proper Poincare group: We present the consistent approach to finding the discrete transformations in\nthe representation spaces of the proper Poincar\\'e group. To this end we use\nthe possibility to establish a correspondence between involutory automorphisms\nof the proper Poincar\\'e group and the discrete transformations. As a result,\nwe derive rules of the discrete transformations for arbitrary spin-tensor\nfields without the use of relativistic wave equations. Besides, we construct\nexplicitly fields carrying representations of the extended Poincar\\'e group,\nwhich includes the discrete transformations as well.",
        "positive": "Partition function on spheres: how (not) to use zeta function\n  regularization: It is known that not all summation methods are linear and stable. Zeta\nfunction regularization is in general non-linear. However, in some cases formal\nmanipulations with \"zeta function\" regularization (assuming linearity of sums)\nlead to correct results. We consider several examples and show why this\nhappens."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dilaton Gravity in $2+\u03b5$ Dimensions: Quantum theory of dilaton gravity is studied in $2+\\epsilon$ dimensions.\nDivergences are computed and renormalized at one-loop order. The mixing between\nthe Liouville field and the dilaton field eliminates $1/\\epsilon$ singularity\nin the Liouville-dilaton propagator. This smooth behavior of the dilaton\ngravity theory in the $\\epsilon \\rightarrow 0$ limit solves the oversubtraction\nproblem which afflicted the higher orders of the Einstein gravity in\n$2+\\epsilon$ dimensions. As a nontrivial fixed point, we find a dilaton gravity\naction which can be transformed to a CGHS type action.",
        "positive": "Black Holes and Abelian Symmetry Breaking: Black hole configurations offer insights on the non-linear aspects of\ngravitational theories, and can suggest testable predictions for modifications\nof General Relativity. In this work, we examine exact black hole configurations\nin vector-tensor theories, originally proposed to explain dark energy by\nbreaking the Abelian symmetry with a non-minimal coupling of the vector to\ngravity. We are able to evade the no-go theorems by Bekenstein on the existence\nof regular black holes in vector-tensor theories with Proca mass terms, and\nexhibit regular black hole solutions with a profile for the longitudinal vector\npolarization, characterised by an additional charge. We analytically find the\nmost general static, spherically symmetric black hole solutions with and\nwithout a cosmological constant, and study in some detail their features, such\nas how the geometry depends on the vector charges. We also include angular\nmomentum, and find solutions describing slowly-rotating black holes. Finally,\nwe extend some of these solutions to higher dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Bogolyubov Quasiparticles in Constrained Systems: The paper is devoted to the formulation of quantum field theory for an early\nuniverse in General Relativity considered as the Dirac general constrained\nsystem. The main idea is the Hamiltonian reduction of the constrained system in\nterms of measurable quantities of the observational cosmology: the world proper\ntime, cosmic scale factor, and the density of matter. We define \" particles\" as\nfield variables in the holomorphic representation which diagonalize the\nmeasurable density. The Bogoliubov quasiparticles are determined by\ndiagonalization of the equations of motion (but not only of the initial\nHamiltonian) to get the set of integrals of motion (or conserved quantum\nnumbers, in quantum theory). This approach is applied to describe particle\ncreation in the models of the early universe where the Hubble parameter goes to\ninfinity.",
        "positive": "Flux-induced SUSY-breaking soft terms on D7-D3 brane systems: We study the effect of RR and NSNS 3-form fluxes on the effective action of\nthe worldvolume fields of Type IIB D7/D3-brane configurations. The D7-branes\nwrap 4-cycles on a local Calabi-Yau geometry. This is an extension of previous\nwork on hep-th/0311241, where a similar analysis was applied to the case of\nD3-branes. Our present analysis is based on the D7- and D3-brane\nDirac-Born-Infeld and Chern-Simons actions, and makes full use of the\nR-symmetries of the system, which allow us to compute explicitly results for\nthe fields lying at the D3-D7 intersections. A number of interesting new\nproperties appear as compared to the simpler case of configurations with only\nD3-branes. As a general result one finds that fluxes stabilize some or all of\nthe D7-brane moduli. We argue that this is important for the problem of\nstabilizing Kahler moduli through non-perturbative effects in KKLT-like vacua.\nWe also show that (0,3) imaginary self-dual fluxes, which lead to\ncompactifications with zero vacuum energy, give rise to SUSY-breaking soft\nterms including gaugino and scalar masses, and trilinear terms. Particular\nexamples of chiral MSSM-like models of this class of vacua, based on D3-D7\nbrane systems at orbifold singularities are presented."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Volume modulus inflation and a low scale of SUSY breaking: The relation between the Hubble constant and the scale of supersymmetry\nbreaking is investigated in models of inflation dominated by a string modulus.\nUsually in this kind of models the gravitino mass is of the same order of\nmagnitude as the Hubble constant which is not desirable from the\nphenomenological point of view. It is shown that slow-roll saddle point\ninflation may be compatible with a low scale of supersymmetry breaking only if\nsome corrections to the lowest order Kahler potential are taken into account.\nHowever, choosing an appropriate Kahler potential is not enough. There are also\nconditions for the superpotential, and e.g. the popular racetrack\nsuperpotential turns out to be not suitable. A model is proposed in which\nslow-roll inflation and a light gravitino are compatible. It is based on a\nsuperpotential with a triple gaugino condensation and the Kahler potential with\nthe leading string corrections. The problem of fine tuning and experimental\nconstraints are discussed for that model.",
        "positive": "Excited D-brane decay in Cubic String Field Theory and in Bosonic String\n  Theory: In the cubic string field theory, using the gauge invariant operators\ncorresponding to the on-shell closed string vertex operators, we have\nexplicitly evaluated the decay amplitudes of two open string tachyons or gauge\nfields to one closed string tachyon or graviton up to level two. We then\nevaluated the same amplitudes in the bosonic string theory, and shown that the\namplitudes in both theories have exactly the same pole structure. We have also\nexpanded the decay amplitudes in the bosonic string theory around the\nMandelstam variable s=0, and shown that their leading contact terms are fully\nconsistent with a tachyonic Dirac-Born-Infeld action which includes both open\nstring and closed string tachyon."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Black hole thermodynamics with the cosmological constant as independent\n  variable: Bridge between the enthalpy and the Euclidean path integral\n  approaches: Viewing the cosmological constant $\\Lambda<0$ as an independent variable, we\nconsider the thermodynamics of the Schwarzschild black hole in an anti-de\nSitter (AdS) background. For this system, there is one approach which regards\nthe enthalpy as the master thermodynamic variable and makes sense if one\nconsiders the vacuum pressure due to the cosmological constant acting in the\nvolume inside the horizon and the outer size of the system is not restricted.\nFrom this approach a first law of thermodynamics emerges naturally. There is\nyet another approach based on the Euclidean action principle and its path\nintegral that puts the black hole inside a cavity, defines a quasilocal energy\nat the cavity's boundary, and from which a first law of thermodynamics in a\ndifferent version also emerges naturally. The first approach has affinities\nwith critical phenomena in condensed matter physics and the second approach is\nan ingredient necessary for the construction of quantum gravity. The bridge\nbetween the two approaches is carried out rigorously, putting thus the\nenthalpic thermodynamics with $\\Lambda$ as independent variable on the same\nfooting as the quasilocal energy approach.",
        "positive": "On the construction of renormalized gauge theories using renormalization\n  group techniques: The aim of these lectures is to describe a construction, as self-contained as\npossible, of renormalized gauge theories. Following a suggestion of Polchinski,\nwe base our analysis on the Wilson renormalization group method. After a\ndiscussion of the infinite cut-off limit, we study the short distance\nproperties of the Green functions verifying the validity of Wilson short\ndistance expansion. We also consider the problem of the extension to the\nquantum level of the classical symmetries of the theory. With this purpose we\nanalyze in details the breakings induced by the cut-off in a $SU(2)$ gauge\nsymmetry and we prove the possibility of compensating these breakings by a\nsuitable choice of non-gauge invariant counter terms."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Implicit regularization beyond one loop order: scalar field theories: Implicit regularization (IR) has been shown as an useful momentum space tool\nfor perturbative calculations in dimension specific theories, such as chiral\ngauge, topological and supersymmetric quantum field theoretical models at one\nloop level. In this paper, we aim at generalizing systematically IR to be\napplicable beyond one loop order. We use a scalar field theory as an example\nand pave the way for the extension to quantum field theories which are richer\nfrom the symmetry content viewpoint. Particularly, we show that a natural\n(minimal) renormalization scheme emerges, in which the infinities displayed in\nterms of integrals in one internal momentum are subtracted, whereas infrared\nand ultraviolet modes do not mix and therefore leave no room for ambiguities. A\nsystematic cancelation of the infrared divergences at any loop order takes\nplace between the ultraviolet finite and divergent parts of the amplitude for\nnon-exceptional momenta leaving, as a byproduct, a renormalization group scale.",
        "positive": "Gravity dual D3-braneworld and Open/Closed string duality: A covariantly constant dynamical two-form is exploited on a $D_3$-brane to\nobtain its gravity dual action, governing an $S^3$ deformed $AdS_5$ black hole,\nin a type IIB string theory on $S^1\\times K3$. We invoke the Kaluza-Klein\ncompactification to work out the open/closed string duality. Interestingly, the\nReissner-Nordstrom black hole is obtained on the \"non-Reimannian\" braneworld."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The anisotropic coupling of gravity and electromagnetism in\n  Ho\u0159ava-Lifshitz theory: We analyze the electromagnetic-gravity interaction in a pure\nHo\\v{r}ava-Lifshitz framework. To do so we formulate the Ho\\v{r}ava-Lifshitz\ngravity in $4+1$ dimensions and perform a Kaluza-Klein reduction to $3+1$\ndimensions. We use this reduction as a mathematical procedure to obtain the\n$3+1$ coupled theory, which at the end is considered as a fundamental,\nself-consistent, theory. The critical value of the dimensionless coupling\nconstant in the kinetic term of the action is $\\lambda=1/4$. It is the kinetic\nconformal point for the non-relativistic electromagnetic-gravity interaction.\nIn distinction, the corresponding kinetic conformal value for pure\nHo\\v{r}ava-Lifshitz gravity in $3+1$ dimensions is $\\lambda=1/3$. We analyze\nthe geometrical structure of the critical and noncritical cases, they\ncorrespond to different theories. The physical degrees of freedom propagated by\nthe noncritical theory are the transverse traceless graviton, the transverse\ngauge vector and two scalar fields. In the critical theory one of the scalars\nis absent, only the dilaton scalar field is present. The gravity and vector\nexcitations propagate with the same speed, which at low energy can be taken to\nbe the speed of light. The field equations for the gauge vector in the\nnon-relativistic theory have exactly the same form as the relativistic\nelectromagnetic field equations arising from the Kaluza-Klein reduction of\nGeneral Relativity, and are equal to them for a particular value of one of the\ncoupling constants. The potential in the Hamiltonian is a polynomial of finite\ndegree in the gauge vector and its covariant derivatives.",
        "positive": "Strongly Coupled Quantum and Classical Systems and Zeno's Effect: A model interaction between a two-state quantum system and a classical\nswitching device is analysed and shown to lead to the quantum Zeno effect for\nlarge values of the coupling constant k . A minimal piecewise deterministic\nrandom process compatible with the Liouville equation is described, and it is\nshown that 1/k can be interpreted as the jump frequency of the classical device"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Maximally Helicity Violating Disk Amplitudes, Twistors and\n  Transcendental Integrals: We obtain simple expressions for tree-level maximally helicity violating\namplitudes of N gauge bosons from disk world-sheets of open superstrings. The\namplitudes are written in terms of (N-3)! hypergeometric integrals depending on\nkinematic parameters, weighted by certain kinematic factors. The integrals are\ntranscendental in a strict sense defined in this work. The respective kinematic\nfactors can be succinctly written in terms of \"dual\" momentum twistors. The\namplitudes are computed by using the prescription proposed by Berkovits and\nMaldacena.",
        "positive": "How to go with an RG Flow: We apply the formalism of holographic renormalization to domain wall\nsolutions of 5-dimensional supergravity which are dual to deformed conformal\nfield theories in 4 dimensions. We carefully compute one- and two-point\nfunctions of the energy-momentum tensor and the scalar operator mixing with it\nin two specific holographic flows, resolving previous difficulties with these\ncorrelation functions. As expected, two-point functions have a 0-mass dilaton\npole for the Coulomb branch flow in which conformal symmetry is broken\nspontaneously but not for the flow dual to a mass deformation in which it is\nbroken explicitly. A previous puzzle of the energy scale in the Coulomb branch\nflow is explained."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "D-brane masses at special fibres of hypergeometric families of\n  Calabi-Yau threefolds, modular forms, and periods: We consider the fourteen families $W$ of Calabi-Yau threefolds with one\ncomplex structure parameter and Picard-Fuchs equation of hypergeometric type,\nlike the mirror of the quintic in $\\mathbb{P}^4$. Mirror symmetry identifies\nthe masses of even--dimensional D--branes of the mirror Calabi-Yau $M$ with\nfour periods of the holomorphic $(3,0)$-form over a symplectic basis of\n$H_3(W,\\mathbb{Z})$. It was discovered by Chad Schoen that the singular fiber\nat the conifold of the quintic gives rise to a Hecke eigenform of weight four\nunder $\\Gamma_0(25)$, whose Hecke eigenvalues are determined by the Hasse-Weil\nzeta function which can be obtained by counting points of that fiber over\nfinite fields. Similar features are known for the thirteen other cases. In two\ncases we further find special regular points, so called rank two attractor\npoints, where the Hasse-Weil zeta function gives rise to modular forms of\nweight four and two. We numerically identify entries of the period matrix at\nthese special fibers as periods and quasiperiods of the associated modular\nforms. In one case we prove this by constructing a correspondence between the\nconifold fiber and a Kuga-Sato variety. We also comment on simpler applications\nto local Calabi-Yau threefolds.",
        "positive": "The Microscopic Approach to N=1 Super Yang-Mills Theories: We give a brief account of the recent progresses in super Yang-Mills theories\nbased in particular on the application of Nekrasov's instanton technology to\nthe case of N=1 supersymmetry. We have developed a first-principle formalism\nfrom which any chiral observable in the theory can be computed, including in\nstrongly coupled confining vacua. The correlators are first expressed in terms\nof some external variables as sums over colored partitions. The external\nvariables are then fixed to their physical values by extremizing the\nmicroscopic quantum superpotential. Remarquably, the results can be shown to\ncoincide with the Dijkgraaf-Vafa matrix model approach, which uses a totally\ndifferent mathematical framework. These results clarify many important\nproperties of N=1 theories, related in particular to generalized Konishi\nanomaly equations and to Veneziano-Yankielowicz terms in the glueball\nsuperpotentials. The proof of the equivalence between the formalisms based on\ncolored partitions and on matrices is also a proof of the open/closed string\nduality in the chiral sector of the theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Comments on cosmological RG flows: We study cosmological backgrounds from the point of view of the dS/CFT\ncorrespondence and its renormalization group flow extension. We focus on the\ncase where gravity is coupled to a single scalar with a potential. Depending on\nthe latter, the scalar can drive both inflation and the accelerated expansion\n(dS) phase in the far future. We also comment on quintessence scenarios, and\nflows familiar from the AdS/CFT correspondence. We finally make a tentative\nembedding of this discussion in string theory where the scalar is the dilaton\nand the potential is generated at the perturbative level.",
        "positive": "The Googly Amplitudes in Gauge Theory: The googly amplitudes in gauge theory are computed by using the off shell MHV\nvertices with the newly proposed rules of Cachazo, Svrcek and Witten. The\nresult is in agreement with the previously well-known results. In particular we\nalso obtain a simple result for the all negative but one positive helicity\namplitude when one of the external line is off shell."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fusion for AdS/CFT boundary S-matrices: We propose a fusion formula for AdS/CFT worldsheet boundary S-matrices. We\nshow that, starting from the fundamental Y=0 boundary S-matrix, this formula\ncorrectly reproduces the two-particle bound-state boundary S-matrices.",
        "positive": "Eleven dimensional supergravity in light cone gauge: Light-cone gauge manifestly supersymmetric formulation of eleven dimensional\nsupergravity is developed. The formulation is given entirely in terms of light\ncone scalar superfield, allowing us to treat all component fields on an equal\nfooting. All higher derivative on mass shell manifestly supersymmetric 4-point\nfunctions invariant with respect to linear supersymmetry transformations and\ncorresponding (in gravitational bosonic sector) to terms constructed from four\nRiemann tensors and derivatives are found. Superspace representation for\n4-point scattering amplitudes is also obtained. Superfield representation of\nlinearized interaction vertex of superparticle and supergravity fields is\npresented. All 4-point higher derivative interaction vertices of\nten-dimensional supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory are also determined."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Space-time uncertainty relation and Lorentz invariance: We discuss a Lorentz covariant space-time uncertainty relation, which agrees\nwith that of Karolyhazy-Ng-van Dam when an observational time period delta t is\nlarger than the Planck time lp. At delta t < lp, this uncertainty relation\ntakes roughly the form delta t delta x > lp^2, which can be derived from the\ncondition prohibiting the multi-production of probes to a geometry. We show\nthat there exists a minimal area rather than a minimal length in the\nfour-dimensional case. We study also a three-dimensional free field theory on a\nnon-commutative space-time realizing the uncertainty relation. We derive the\nalgebra among the coordinate and momentum operators and define a\npositive-definite norm of the representation space. In four-dimensional\nspace-time, the Jacobi identity should be violated in the algebraic\nrepresentation of the uncertainty relation.",
        "positive": "On N-spike strings in conformal gauge with NS-NS fluxes: The $AdS_3\\times S^3$ string sigma model supported both by NS-NS and R-R\nfluxes has become a well known integrable model, however a putative dual field\ntheory description remains incomplete. We study the anomalous dimensions of\ntwist operators in this theory via semiclassical string methods. We describe\nthe construction of a multi-cusp closed string in conformal gauge moving in\n$AdS_3$ with fluxes, which supposedly is dual to a general higher twist\noperator. After analyzing the string profiles and conserved charges for the\nstring, we find the exact dispersion relation between the charges in the `long'\nstring limit. This dispersion relation in leading order turns out to be similar\nto the case of pure RR flux, with the coupling being scaled by a factor that\ndepends on the amount of NS-NS flux turned on. We also analyse the case of pure\nNS flux, where the dispersion relation simplifies considerably. Furthermore, we\ndiscuss the implications of these results at length."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Reality, measurement and locality in Quantum Field Theory: It is currently believed that the local causality of Quantum Field Theory\n(QFT) is destroyed by the measurement process. This belief is also based on the\nEinstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) paradox and on the so-called Bell's theorem, that\nare thought to prove the existence of a mysterious, instantaneous action\nbetween distant measurements. However, I have shown recently that the EPR\nargument is removed, in an interpretation-independent way, by taking into\naccount the fact that the Standard Model of Particle Physics prevents the\nproduction of entangled states with a definite number of particles. This result\nis used here to argue in favor of a statistical interpretation of QFT and to\nshow that it allows for a full reconciliation with locality and causality.\nWithin such an interpretation, as Ballentine and Jarret pointed out long ago,\nBell's theorem does not demonstrate any nonlocality.",
        "positive": "Inflation at the TeV scale with a PNGB curvaton: We investigate a particular type of curvaton mechanism, under which inflation\ncan occur at Hubble scale of order 1 TeV. The curvaton is a pseudo\nNambu-Goldstone boson, whose order parameter increases after a phase transition\nduring inflation, triggered by the gradual decrease of the Hubble scale. The\nmechanism is studied in the context of modular inflation, where the inflaton is\na string axion. We show that the mechanism is successful for natural values of\nthe model parameters, provided the phase transition occurs much earlier than\nthe time when the cosmological scales exit the horizon. Also, it turns our that\nthe radial mode for our curvaton must be a flaton field."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Superconformal symmetry and representations: We give an introduction to conformal and superconformal algebras and their\nrepresentations in various dimensions. Special emphasis is put on 4d\n$\\mathcal{N}=2$ superconformal symmetry. This is the writeup of the lectures\ngiven at the Winter School \"YRISW 2020\" to appear in a special issue of JPhysA.",
        "positive": "Gravity in Randall-Sundrum two D-brane model: We analyse Randall-Sundrum two D-brane model by linear perturbation and then\nconsider the linearised gravity on the D-brane. The qualitative contribution\nfrom the Kaluza-Klein modes of gauge fields to the coupling to the gravity on\nthe brane will be addressed. As a consequence, the gauge fields localised on\nthe brane are shown not to contribute to the gravity on the brane at large\ndistances. Although the coupling between gauge fields and gravity appears in\nthe next order, the ordinary coupling cannot be realised."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Slavnov-Taylor Identities in Coulomb Gauge Yang-Mills Theory: Two aspects of the color charge in Coulomb gauge continuum Yang-Mills theory\nare discussed. The first aspect is the existence of a conserved and vanishing\ntotal charge exhibited within the first order functional formalism. The second\naspect is the closure of the set of Slavnov-Taylor identities in the second\norder functional formalism, such that the exact solution for temporal Green's\nfunctions is in principle possible and thereby preserving the color charge.",
        "positive": "Magnetized Baryonic layer and a novel BPS bound in the\n  gauged-Non-Linear-Sigma-Model-Maxwell theory in (3+1)-dimensions through\n  Hamilton-Jacobi equation: It is show that one can derive a novel BPS bound for the gauged\nNon-Linear-Sigma-Model (NLSM) Maxwell theory in (3+1) dimensions which can\nactually be saturated. Such novel bound is constructed using Hamilton-Jacobi\nequation from classical mechanics. The configurations saturating the bound\nrepresent Hadronic layers possessing both Baryonic charge and magnetic flux.\nHowever, unlike what happens in the more common situations, the topological\ncharge which appears naturally in the BPS bound is a non-linear function of the\nBaryonic charge. This BPS bound can be saturated when the surface area of the\nlayer is quantized. The far-reaching implications of these results are\ndiscussed. In particular, we determine the exact relation between the magnetic\nflux and the Baryonic charge as well as the critical value of the Baryonic\nchemical potential beyond which these configurations become thermodynamically\nunstable."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "$1/2$ BPS Structure Constants and Random Matrices: We study three point functions of half BPS operators in $\\mathcal{N}=4$ super\nYang-Mills theory focusing on correltors of two of the operators with dimension\nof order $\\Delta\\sim N^2$ and a light single trace operator. These describe\nvacuum expectation values of type IIB supergravity modes in LLM backgrounds\nthat do not necessarily preserve the same symmetries as the background\nsolution. We propose a class of complex matrix models that fully capture the\ncombinatorics of the problem, and describe their solution in the large $N$\nlimit. In simple regimes when the dual description is in terms of widely\nseparated condensates of giant gravitons we find that the models are solvable\nin the large $N$ and can be approximated by unitary Jacobi ensembles; we\ndescribe how these distributions are reproduced in the dual bubbling geometry\npicture for large droplets. In the case of two eigenvalue droplets the model is\nexactly solvable at finite $N$. As a result we compute all half-BPS structure\nconstants of heavy-heavy-light type, and reproduce the formulas found via\nholographic renormalization in the large $N$ limit. We also comment on\nstructure constants of three heavy operators.",
        "positive": "Pedagogical Introduction to Hamiltonian BRST formalism: Hamiltonian BRST formalism (FV formalism) includes many auxiliary fields\nwithout explanation. Its path-integration has a simple form by using BRST\ncharge, but its construction is quite mechanically and hard to understand\nphysical meaning. In this paper we perform the phase space path-integral with\nrequiring BRST invariance for action and measure, and show that the resultant\nform is equivalent to the Hamiltonian BRST (FV) formalism in gravitational\ntheory. This explains why so many auxiliary fields are necessary to be\nintroduced. We also find the gauge fixing is automatically done by requiring\nthe BRST invariance of the path-integral measure. This is a pedagogical\nintroduction to Hamiltonian BRST formalism."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Analytical solutions for fermions on a thick brane with a piecewise and\n  smooth warp factor: In this paper we study analytical solutions for fermion localization in\nRandall-Sundrum (RS) models. We show that there exist special couplings between\nscalar fields and fermions giving us discrete massive localizable modes.\nBesides this we obtain resonances in some models by analytical methods.",
        "positive": "Gravitational Mediation of Supersymmetry Breaking in Superstring Theory: SUSY breaking and its mediation are among the most important problems of\nsupersymmetric generalizations of the standard model. The idea of\ngravity-mediated SUSY breaking, proposed in 1982 by Arnowitt, Chamseddine and\nNath, and independently by Barbieri, Ferrara and Savoy, fits naturally into\nsuperstring theory, where it can be realized at both classical as well as\nquantum levels. This talk is dedicated to Pran Nath on his 65th birthday."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Comments on Double Scaled Little String Theory: We study little string theory in a weak coupling limit defined in \\gk.",
        "positive": "N=1/2 Supersymmetric gauge theory in noncommutative space: A formulation of (non-anticommutative) N=1/2 supersymmetric U(N) gauge theory\nin noncommutative space is studied. We show that at one loop\n  UV/IR mixing occurs. A generalization of Seiberg-Witten map to noncommutative\nand non-anticommutative superspace is employed to obtain an action in terms of\ncommuting fields at first order in the noncommutativity parameter tetha. This\nleads to abelian and non-abelian gauge theories whose supersymmetry\ntransformations are local and non-local, respectively."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Instantons and Conformal Holography: We study a subsector of the AdS_4/CFT_3 correspondence where a class of\nsolutions in the bulk and on the boundary can be explicitly compared. The bulk\ngravitational theory contains a conformally coupled scalar field with a Phi^4\npotential, and is holographically related to a massless scalar with a Phi^6\ninteraction in three dimensions. We consider the scalar sector of the bulk\ntheory and match bulk and boundary classical solutions of the equations of\nmotion. Of particular interest is the matching of the bulk and the boundary\ninstanton solutions which underlies the relationship between bulk and boundary\nvacua with broken conformal invariance. Using a form of radial quantization we\nshow that quantum states in the bulk correspond to multiply-occupied single\nparticle quantum states in the boundary theory. This allows us to explicitly\nidentify the boundary composite operator which is dual to the bulk scalar, at\nthe free theory level as well as in the instanton vacuum. We conclude with a\ndiscussion of possible implications of our results.",
        "positive": "Rainbow gravity corrections to the entropic force: The entropic force attracts a lot of interest for its multifunctional\nproperties. For instance, Einstein's field equation, Newton's law of\ngravitation and the Friedmann equation can be derived from the entropic force.\nIn this paper, utilizing a new kind of rainbow gravity model that was proposed\nby Magueijo and Smolin, we explore the quantum gravity corrections to the\nentropic force. First, we derive the modified thermodynamics of a rainbow black\nhole via its surface gravity. Then, according to Verlinde's theory, the quantum\ncorrections to the entropic force are obtained. The result shows that the\nmodified entropic force is related not only to the properties of the black hole\nbut also the Planck length $\\ell_p$, and the rainbow parameter $\\gamma$.\nFurthermore, based on the rainbow gravity corrected entropic force, the\nmodified Einstein's field equation and the modified Friedmann equation are also\nderived."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetric Boundary Conditions in N=4 Super Yang-Mills Theory: We study boundary conditions in N=4 super Yang-Mills theory that preserve\none-half the supersymmetry. The obvious Dirichlet boundary conditions can be\nmodified to allow some of the scalar fields to have a ``pole'' at the boundary.\nThe obvious Neumann boundary conditions can be modified by coupling to\nadditional fields supported at the boundary. The obvious boundary conditions\nassociated with orientifolds can also be generalized. In preparation for a\nseparate study of how electric-magnetic duality acts on these boundary\nconditions, we explore moduli spaces of solutions of Nahm's equations that\nappear in the presence of a boundary. Though our main interest is in boundary\nconditions that are Lorentz-invariant (to the extent possible in the presence\nof a boundary), we also explore non-Lorentz-invariant but half-BPS deformations\nof Neumann boundary conditions. We make preliminary comments on the action of\nelectric-magnetic duality, deferring a more serious study to a later paper.",
        "positive": "Quantum integrability in two-dimensional systems with boundary: In this paper we consider affine Toda systems defined on the half-plane and\nstudy the issue of integrability, i.e. the construction of higher-spin\nconserved currents in the presence of a boundary perturbation. First at the\nclassical level we formulate the problem within a Lax pair approach which\nallows to determine the general structure of the boundary perturbation\ncompatible with integrability. Then we analyze the situation at the quantum\nlevel and compute corrections to the classical conservation laws in specific\nexamples. We find that, except for the sinh-Gordon model, the existence of\nquantum conserved currents requires a finite renormalization of the boundary\npotential."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "2d QCD and Integrability, Part I: 't Hooft model: We study analytical properties and integrable structures of the meson\nspectrum in large $N_c$ QCD$_2$. We show that the integral equation that\ndetermines the masses of the mesons, often called the 't Hooft equation, is\nequivalent to finding solutions to a TQ-Baxter equation. Using the Baxter\nequation, we extract systematic expansions of the energy levels as well as\nanalytic asymptotic expressions for wavefunctions. Our analysis extends\nprevious results for a special quark mass by Fateev et al. to arbitrary quark\nmasses. This reformulation, together with its relation to an inhomogeneous\nFredholm equation, is particularly suited for analytical treatments and makes\naccessible the analytic structure of the spectrum in the complex plane of the\nquark masses. We also comment on applications of our techniques to\nnon-perturbative topological string partition functions.",
        "positive": "Topological versus Non--Topological Theories and $p-q$ Duality in $c \\le\n  1$ 2d Gravity Models: We discuss the non--perturbative formulation for $c \\leq 1$ string theory.\nThe field theory like formulation of topological and non--topological models is\npresented. The integral representation for arbitrary $(p,q)$ solutions is\nderived which explicitly obeys $p-q$ duality of these theories. The exact\nsolutions to string equation and various examples are also discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Integrable XYZ Spin Chain with Boundaries: We consider a general class of boundary terms of the open XYZ spin-1/2 chain\ncompatible with integrability. We have obtained the general elliptic solution\nof $K$-matrix obeying the boundary Yang-Baxter equation using the $R$-matrix of\nthe eight vertex model and derived the associated integrable spin-chain\nHamiltonian.",
        "positive": "Study of QED singular properties for variable gyromagnetic ratio\n  $g\\simeq 2$: Using the external field method, {\\it i.e.\\/} evaluating the effective action\n$V_{\\mathrm{eff}}$ for an arbitrarily strong constant and homogeneous field, we\nexplore nonperturbative properties of QED allowing arbitrary gyromagnetic ratio\n$g$. We find a cusp at $g = 2$ in: a) The QED $b_0$-renormalization group\ncoefficient, and in the infinite wavelength limit in b) a subclass containing\nthe pseudoscalar ${\\cal P}^{2n}= (\\vec E\\cdot\\vec B)^{2n} $ of light-light\nscattering coefficients. Properties of $b_0$ imply for certain domains of $g$\nasymptotic freedom in an Abelian theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-static Dimensional Reduction of QED_3 at Finite Temperature: We study an extreme non-static limit of 2+1-dimensional QED obtained by\nmaking a dimensional reduction so that all fields are spatially uniform but\ntime dependent. This dimensional reduction leads to a 0+1-dimensional field\ntheory that inherits many of the features of the 2+1-dimensional model, such as\nChern-Simons terms, time-reversal violation, an analogue of parity violation,\nand global U(2) flavor symmetry. At one-loop level, interactions induce a\nChern-Simons term at finite T with coefficient tanh(beta m_F/2), where m_F is\nthe fermion mass. The finite temperature two loop self-energies are also\ncomputed, and are non-zero for all temperatures.",
        "positive": "Axions and Superfluidity in Weyl Semimetals: An effective field theory (EFT) for dynamical axions in Weyl semimetals\n(WSMs) is presented. A pseudoscalar axion excitation is predicted in WSMs at\nsufficiently low temperatures, independently of the strength of the Weyl\nfermion self-coupling. For strong fermion self-coupling the axion is the\ngapless Goldstone boson of chiral $U(1)^{\\text{ch}}$ spontaneous symmetry\nbreaking. For weak fermion self-coupling an axion is also generated at non-zero\nchiral density for Weyl nodes displaced in energy, as a gapless collective mode\nof correlated fermion pair excitations of the Fermi surface. This is an\nexplicit example of the extension of Goldstone's theorem to symmetry breaking\nby the axial anomaly itself. In both cases the axion is a chiral density wave\nor phason mode of the superfluid state of the WSM, and the Weyl fermions form a\nchiral condensate $\\langle\\bar{\\psi}\\psi\\rangle$ at low temperatures. In the\npresence of an applied magnetic field the axion mode becomes gapped, in analogy\nto the Anderson-Higgs mechanism in a superconductor. 't Hooft anomaly matching\nfrom ultraviolet to infrared scales is directly verified in the EFT approach.\nWSMs thus provide an interesting quantum system in which superfluid, non-Fermi\nliquid behavior, and a dynamical axion are predicted to follow directly from\nthe axial anomaly in a consistent EFT that may be tested experimentally."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Low-energy theorem and OPE in the conformal window of massless QCD: We develop a new technique, based on a low-energy theorem (LET) of NSVZ type\nderived in arXiv:1701.07833, for the nonperturbative investigation of SU(N) QCD\nwith N${}_f$ massless quarks - or, more generally, of massless QCD-like\ntheories - in phases where the beta function, $\\beta(g)$, with $g=g(\\mu)$ the\nrenormalized gauge coupling, admits an isolated zero, $g_*$, in the infrared\n(IR) or ultraviolet (UV). We point out that the LET sets constraints on 3-point\ncorrelators involving the insertion of $Tr\\, F^2$, its anomalous dimension\n$\\gamma_{F^2}$, and the anomalous dimensions of multiplicatively renormalizable\noperators at $g_*$. These constraints intertwine with the exact conformal\nscaling for $g(\\mu)\\rightarrow g_*$ with $\\mu\\neq 0,+\\infty$ fixed and the\nIR/UV asymptotics - which may or may not coincide with the IR/UV limit of the\naforementioned conformal scaling - for $\\Lambda_{\\scriptscriptstyle{IR/UV}}$\nfixed. In the conformal case we also discuss how the LET for bare correlators\nis the rationale for the existence in massless QCD of the mysterious divergent\ncontact term in the OPE of $Tr\\,F^2$ with itself discovered in perturbation\ntheory in arXiv:1209.1516, arXiv:1407.6921 and computed to all orders in\narXiv:1601.08094. Specifically, if $\\gamma_{F^2}$ does not vanish, the\ndivergent contact term in the rhs of the LET for the 2-point correlator of\n$Tr\\,F^2$ has to match - and we verify by direct computation that it actually\ndoes - the divergence in the lhs due to the nontrivial anomalous dimension of\n$Tr\\,F^2$. Hence, remarkably, the additive renormalization due to the divergent\ncontact term in the rhs is related by the LET to the multiplicative\nrenormalization in the lhs, in such a way that a suitably renormalized version\nof the LET has no ambiguity for additive renormalization.",
        "positive": "Inflaton in anisotropic higher derivative gravity: Existence and stability analysis of the Kantowski-Sachs type inflationary\nuniverse in a higher derivative scalar-tensor gravity theory is studied in\ndetails. Isotropic de Sitter background solution is shown to be stable against\nany anisotropic perturbation during the inflationary era. Stability of the de\nSitter space in the post inflationary era can also be realized with proper\nchoice of coupling constants."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Finite Unification and Top Quark Mass: In unified gauge theories there exist renormalization group invariant\nrelations among gauge and Yukawa couplings that are compatible with\nperturbative renormalizability, which could be considered as a Gauge-Yukawa\nUnification. Such relations are even necessary to ensure all-loop finiteness in\nFinite Unified Theories, which have vanishing $\\beta$-functions beyond the\nunification point. We elucidate this alternative way of unification, and then\npresent its phenomenological consequences in $SU(5)$-based models.",
        "positive": "Heterotic-string amplitudes at one loop: modular graph forms and\n  relations to open strings: We investigate one-loop four-point scattering of non-abelian gauge bosons in\nheterotic string theory and identify new connections with the corresponding\nopen-string amplitude. In the low-energy expansion of the heterotic-string\namplitude, the integrals over torus punctures are systematically evaluated in\nterms of modular graph forms, certain non-holomorphic modular forms. For a\nspecific torus integral, the modular graph forms in the low-energy expansion\nare related to the elliptic multiple zeta values from the analogous open-string\nintegrations over cylinder boundaries. The detailed correspondence between\nthese modular graph forms and elliptic multiple zeta values supports a recent\nproposal for an elliptic generalization of the single-valued map at genus zero."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Flat deformations of type IIB S-folds: Type IIB S-folds of the form $\\textrm{AdS}_{4} \\times \\textrm{S}^1 \\times\n\\textrm{S}^5$ have been shown to contain axion-like deformations parameterising\nflat directions in the 4D scalar potential and corresponding to marginal\ndeformations of the dual S-fold CFT's. In this note we present a\ngroup-theoretical characterisation of such flat deformations and provide a 5D\ninterpretation thereof in terms of $\\mathfrak{so}(6)$-valued duality twists\ninducing a class of Cremmer--Scherk--Schwarz flat gaugings in a reduction from\n5D to 4D. In this manner we establish the existence of two flat deformations\nfor the $\\mathcal{N}=4$ and $\\textrm{SO}(4)$ symmetric S-fold causing a\nsymmetry breaking down to its $\\textrm{U}(1)^2$ Cartan subgroup. The result is\na new two-parameter family of non-supersymmetric S-folds which are\nperturbatively stable at the lower-dimensional supergravity level, thus\nproviding the first examples of such type IIB backgrounds.",
        "positive": "Operators with Large Quantum Numbers, Spinning Strings, and Giant\n  Gravitons: We study the behaviour of spinning strings in the background of various\ndistributions of smeared giant gravitons in supergravity. This gives insights\ninto the behaviour of operators of high dimension, spin and R-charge. Using a\nnew coordinate system recently presented in the literature, we find that it is\nparticularly natural to prepare backgrounds in which the probe operators\ndevelop a variety of interesting new behaviours. Among these are the possession\nof orbital angular momentum as well as spin, the breakdown of logarithmic\nscaling of dimension with spin in the high spin regime, and novel\nsplitting/fractionation processes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetric quantum mechanics and the Riemann hypothesis: We construct a supersymmetric quantum mechanical model in which the energy\neigenvalues of the Hamiltonians are the products of Riemann zeta functions. We\nshow that the trivial and nontrivial zeros of the Riemann zeta function\nnaturally correspond to the vanishing ground state energies in this model. The\nmodel provides a natural form of supersymmetry.",
        "positive": "Conservation Laws and Formation of Singularities in Relativistic\n  Theories of Extended Objects: The dynamics of an M-dimensional extended object whose M+1 dimensional world\nvolume in M+2 dimensional space-time has vanishing mean curvature is formulated\nin term of geometrical variables (the first and second fundamental form of the\ntime-dependent surface $\\sum_M$), and simple relations involving the rate of\nchange of the total area of $\\sum_M$, the enclosed volume as well as the\nspatial mean -- and intrinsic scalar curvature, integrated over $\\sum_M$, are\nderived. It is shown that the non-linear equations of motion for $\\sum_M(t)$\ncan be viewed as consistency conditions of an associated linear system that\ngives rise to the existence of non-local conserved quantities (involving the\nChristoffel-symbols of the flat M+1 dimensional euclidean submanifold swept out\nin ${\\Bbb R}^{M+1}$). For M=1 one can show that all motions are necessarily\nsingular (the curvature of a closed string in the plane can not be everywhere\nregular at all times) and for M=2, an explicit solution in terms of elliptic\nfunctions is exhibited, which is neither rotationally nor axially symmetric. As\na by-product, 3-fold-periodic spacelike maximal hypersurfaces in ${\\Bbb\nR}^{1,3}$ are found."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Chrono-Topology of Nuclear and Sub-Nuclear Reactions: A quantum time topological space is developed and applied to solve some\nproblems about quantum theory. It is disconnected and satifies specific\nseparation axioms. The degree of disconnectedness of the time-space is a\ndecreasing function of the number of simultaneous or almost simultaneous\nfundamental interactions. In this topology the U+R Penrose dynamics is\nimplemented by means of a time evolution operator in QFT. This operator is\nunitary or non-unitary, depending on the type of quantization of the field\naction-integral. The time evolution operator allows to find the Boltzmann\nfactor in QFT in the above space-time. From an elementary solution of the\nLiouville equation the quantization of the time follows and the Planck constant\nhas been calculated. Compatibility between time-reversal and irreversibility is\nspontaneously obtained. The renormalization of the field action-integral\nfollows from quantization. The solution of the measurement problem and the wave\nfunction reduction have been deduced in the framework of the Schroedinger\ntheory. The Schroedinger cat's paradoxon and the paradoxon of the wave packet\ndecay have been resolved.",
        "positive": "Pohlmeyer-reduced form of string theory in AdS_5 x S^5: semiclassical\n  expansion: We consider the Pohlmeyer-reduced formulation of the AdS_5 x S^5 superstring.\nIt is constructed by introducing new variables which are algebraically related\nto supercoset current components so that the Virasoro conditions are\nautomatically solved. The reduced theory is a gauged WZW model supplemented\nwith an integrable potential and fermionic terms that ensure its UV finiteness.\nThe original superstring theory and its reduced counterpart are closely related\nat the classical level, and we conjecture that they remain related at the\nquantum level as well, in the sense that their quantum partition functions\nevaluated on respective classical solutions are equal. We provide evidence for\nthe validity of this conjecture at the one-loop level, i.e. at the first\nnon-trivial order of the semiclassical expansion near several classes of\nclassical solutions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Soft wall model for a holographic superconductor: We apply the soft wall holographic model from hadron physics to a description\nof the high-$T_c$ superconductivity. In comparison with the existing bottom-up\nholographic superconductors, the proposed approach is more phenomenological. On\nthe other hand, it is much simpler and has more freedom for fitting the\nconductivity properties of the real high-$T_c$ materials. We demonstrate some\nexamples of emerging models and discuss a possible origin of the approach.",
        "positive": "From matrix models' topological expansion to topological string\n  theories: counting surfaces with algebraic geometry: The 2-matrix model has been introduced to study Ising model on random\nsurfaces. Since then, the link between matrix models and combinatorics of\ndiscrete surfaces has strongly tightened. This manuscript aims to investigate\nthese deep links and extend them beyond the matrix models, following my work's\nevolution. First, I take care to define properly the hermitian 2 matrix model\nwhich gives rise to generating functions of discrete surfaces equipped with a\nspin structure. Then, I show how to compute all the terms in the topological\nexpansion of any observable by using algebraic geometry tools. They are\nobtained as differential forms on an algebraic curve associated to the model:\nthe spectral curve. In a second part, I show how to define such differentials\non any algebraic curve even if it does not come from a matrix model. I then\nstudy their numerous symmetry properties under deformations of the algebraic\ncurve. In particular, I show that these objects coincide with the topological\nexpansion of the observable of a matrix model if the algebraic curve is the\nspectral curve of this model. Finally, I show that fine tuning the parameters\nensure that these objects can be promoted to modular invariants and satisfy the\nholomorphic anomaly equation of the Kodaira-Spencer theory. This gives a new\nhint that the Dijkgraaf-Vafa conjecture is correct."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The dual string sigma-model of the SU_q(3) sector: In four-dimensional N=4 super Yang-Mills (SYM) the SU(3) sub-sector spanned\nby purely holomorphic fields is isomorphic to the corresponding mixed one\nspanned by both holomorphic and antiholomorphic fields. This is no longer the\ncase when one considers the marginally deformed N=4 SYM. The mixed SU(3) sector\nmarginally deformed by a complex parameter beta, i.e. SU_q(3) with q=e^{2\ni\\pi\\beta}, has been shown to be integrable at one-loop hep-th/0703150, while\nit is not the case for the corresponding purely holomorphic one. Moreover, the\nmarginally deformed N=4 SYM also has a gravity dual constructed by Lunin and\nMaldacena in hep-th/0502086. However, the mixed SU_q(3) sector has not been\nstudied from the supergravity point of view. Hence in this note, for the case\nof purely imaginary marginal $\\beta$-deformations, we compute the superstring\nSU_q(3) \\sigma-model in the fast spinning string limit and show that, for\nrational spinning strings, it reproduces the energy computed via Bethe\nequations.",
        "positive": "D-brane Potentials in the Warped Resolved Conifold and Natural Inflation: In this paper we obtain a model of Natural Inflation from string theory with\na Planckian decay constant. We investigate D-brane dynamics in the background\nof the warped resolved conifold (WRC) throat approximation of Type IIB string\ncompactifications on Calabi-Yau manifolds. When we glue the throat to a compact\nbulk Calabi-Yau, we generate a D-brane potential which is a solution to the\nLaplace equation on the resolved conifold. We can exactly solve this equation,\nincluding dependence on the angular coordinates. The solutions are valid down\nto the tip of the resolved conifold, which is not the case for the more\ncommonly used deformed conifold. This allows us to exploit the effect of the\nwarping, which is strongest at the tip. We inflate near the tip using an\nangular coordinate of a D5-brane in the WRC which has a discrete shift\nsymmetry, and feels a cosine potential, giving us a model of Natural Inflation,\nfrom which it is possible to get a Planckian decay constant whilst maintaining\ncontrol over the backreaction. This is because the decay constant for a wrapped\nbrane contains powers of the warp factor, and so can be made large, while the\nwrapping parameter can be kept small enough so that backreaction is under\ncontrol."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Mechanics of Particle on a torus knot: Curvature and Torsion\n  Effects: Constraints play an important role in dynamical systems. However, the subtle\neffect of constraints in quantum mechanics is not very well studied. In the\npresent work we concentrate on the quantum dynamics of a point particle moving\non a non-trivial torus knot. We explicitly take into account the role of\ncurvature and torsion, generated by the constraints that keep the particle on\nthe knot. We exploit the \"Geometry Induced Potential (GIP) approach\" to\nconstruct the Schrodinger equation for the dynamical system, obtaining thereby\nnew results in terms of particle energy eigenvalues and eigenfunctions. We\ncompare our results with existing literature that completely ignored the\ncontributions of curvature and torsion. In particular, we explicitly show how\nthe \"knottedness\" of the path influences the results. In the process we have\nrevealed a (possibly un-noticed) \"topological invariant\".",
        "positive": "Towards a Coulomb gas of instantons in the SO(4)xU(1) Higgs model on R_4: The $SO(4)\\times U(1)$ Higgs model on $\\R_4$ is extended by a $F^3$ term so\nthat the action receives a nonvanishing contribution from the interactions of\n2-instantons and 3-instantons, and can be expressed as the inverse of the\nLaplacian on $\\R_4$ in terms of the mutual distances of the instantons. The\none-instanton solutions of both the basic and the extended models have been\nstudied in detail numerically."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Cutoff Dependence and Complexity of the CFT$_2$ Ground State: We present the vacuum of a two-dimensional conformal field theory (CFT$_2$)\nas a network of Wilson lines in $SL(2,\\mathbb{R}) \\times SL(2,\\mathbb{R})$\nChern-Simons theory, which is conventionally used to study gravity in\nthree-dimensional anti-de Sitter space (AdS$_3$). The position and shape of the\nnetwork encode the cutoff scale at which the ground state density operator is\ndefined. A general argument suggests identifying the `density of complexity' of\nthis network with the extrinsic curvature of the cutoff surface in AdS$_3$,\nwhich by the Gauss-Bonnet theorem agrees with the holographic Complexity =\nVolume proposal.",
        "positive": "N=1 SCFTs from F-theory on Orbifolds: We study four-dimensional superconformal field theories living on the\nworldvolume of $D3$ branes probing minimally-supersymmetric F-theory\nbackgrounds, focusing on the case of orbi-orientifold setups with and without\n7-branes. We observe that these theories are closely related to\ncompactifications of six-dimensional $\\mathcal{N}=(1,0)$ theories on a torus\nwith flux, where the flux quanta is mapped in Type IIB to the defining data of\nthe orbifold group. We analyze the cases of class $\\mathcal{S}_k$ theories as\nwell as of compactifications of the E-string and of orbi-instanton theories. We\nalso classify $\\mathcal{S}$-fold configurations in F-theory preserving minimal\nsupersymmetry in four dimensions and their mass deformations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Modified Gravity via Spontaneous Symmetry Breaking: We construct effective field theories in which gravity is modified via\nspontaneous breaking of local Lorentz invariance. This is a gravitational\nanalogue of the Higgs mechanism. These theories possess additional graviton\nmodes and modified dispersion relations. They are manifestly well-behaved in\nthe UV and free of discontinuities of the van Dam-Veltman-Zakharov type,\nensuring compatibility with standard tests of gravity. They may have important\nphenomenological effects on large distance scales, offering an alternative to\ndark energy. For the case in which the symmetry is broken by a vector field\nwith the wrong sign mass term, we identify four massless graviton modes (all\nwith positive-definite norm for a suitable choice of a parameter) and show the\nabsence of the discontinuity.",
        "positive": "Moyal Quantization on Fuzzy Sphere: We study the quantization of compact space on the basis of the Moyal\nquantization. We first construct the $su(2)$ algebra that are the functions of\ncanonical coordinates $a$ and $a^*$. We make use of them to define the adjoint\noperators, which is used to define the fuzzy sphere and constitute the algebra.\nWe show that the vacuum is constructed as the powers of $a^*$, in contrast to\nthe flat case where the vacuum is defined by the exponential function of $a$\nand $a^*$. We present how the analogy of the creation operator acting on the\nvacuum is obtaied. The construction does not resort to the ordinary creation\nand annihilation operators."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Generalized $Q$-systems: We formulate $Q$-systems for the closed XXZ, open XXX and open\nquantum-group-invariant XXZ quantum spin chains. Polynomial solutions of these\n$Q$-systems can be found efficiently, which in turn lead directly to the\nadmissible solutions of the corresponding Bethe ansatz equations.",
        "positive": "Stability of the aether: The requirements for stability of a Lorentz violating theory are analyzed. In\nparticular we conclude that Einstein-aether theory can be stable when its modes\nhave any phase velocity, rather than only the speed of light as was argued in a\nrecent paper."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Monopoles, Vortices and Strings: Confinement and Deconfinement in 2+1\n  Dimensions at Weak Coupling: We consider, from several complementary perspectives, the physics of\nconfinement and deconfinement in the 2+1 dimensional Georgi-Glashow model.\nPolyakov's monopole plasma and 't Hooft's vortex condensation are discussed\nfirst. We then discuss the physics of confining strings at zero temperature. We\nreview the Hamiltonian variational approach and show how the linear confining\npotential arises in this framework. The second part of this review is devoted\nto study of the deconfining phase transition. We show that the mechanism of the\ntransition is the restoration of 't Hooft's magnetic symmetry in the deconfined\nphase. The heavy charged $W$ bosons play a crucial role in the dynamics of the\ntransition, and we discuss the interplay between the charged $W$ plasma and the\nbinding of monopoles at high temperature. Finally we discuss the phase\ntransition from the point of view of confining strings. We show that from this\npoint of view the transition is not driven by the Hagedorn mechanism\n(proliferation of arbitrarily long strings), but rather by the \"disintegration\"\nof the string due to the proliferation of 0 branes.",
        "positive": "W-extended Kac representations and integrable boundary conditions in the\n  logarithmic minimal models WLM(1,p): We construct new Yang-Baxter integrable boundary conditions in the lattice\napproach to the logarithmic minimal model WLM(1,p) giving rise to reducible yet\nindecomposable representations of rank 1 in the continuum scaling limit. We\ninterpret these W-extended Kac representations as finitely-generated W-extended\nFeigin-Fuchs modules over the triplet W-algebra W(p). The W-extended fusion\nrules of these representations are inferred from the recently conjectured\nVirasoro fusion rules of the Kac representations in the underlying logarithmic\nminimal model LM(1,p). We also introduce the modules contragredient to the\nW-extended Kac modules and work out the correspondingly-extended fusion\nalgebra. Our results are in accordance with the Kazhdan-Lusztig dual of tensor\nproducts of modules over the restricted quantum universal enveloping algebra\n$\\bar{U}_q(sl_2)$ at $q=e^{\\pi i/p}$. Finally, polynomial fusion rings\nisomorphic with the various fusion algebras are determined, and the\ncorresponding Grothendieck ring of characters is identified."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Black Hole Complementary Principle and The Noncommutative Membrane: In the spirit of Black Hole Complementary Principle, we have found the\nnoncommutative membrane of Scharzchild Black Holes. In this paper we extend our\nresults to Kerr Black Hole and see the same story. Also we make a conjecture\nthat spacetimes is noncommutative on the stretched membrane of the more general\nKerr-Newman Black Hole.",
        "positive": "Twist Deformation of Rotationally Invariant Quantum Mechanics: Non-commutative Quantum Mechanics in 3D is investigated in the framework of\nthe abelian Drinfeld twist which deforms a given Hopf algebra while preserving\nits Hopf algebra structure. Composite operators (of coordinates and momenta)\nentering the Hamiltonian have to be reinterpreted as primitive elements of a\ndynamical Lie algebra which could be either finite (for the harmonic\noscillator) or infinite (in the general case). The deformed brackets of the\ndeformed angular momenta close the so(3) algebra. On the other hand, undeformed\nrotationally invariant operators can become, under deformation, anomalous (the\nanomaly vanishes when the deformation parameter goes to zero). The deformed\noperators, Taylor-expanded in the deformation parameter, can be selected to\nminimize the anomaly. We present the deformations (and their anomalies) of\nundeformed rotationally-invariant operators corresponding to the harmonic\noscillator (quadratic potential), the anharmonic oscillator (quartic potential)\nand the Coulomb potential."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Elliptic Blowup Equations for 6d SCFTs. IV: Matters: Given the recent geometrical classification of 6d $(1,0)$ SCFTs, a major\nquestion is how to compute for this large class their elliptic genera. The\nlatter encode the refined BPS spectrum of the SCFTs, which determines geometric\ninvariants of the associated elliptic non-compact Calabi-Yau threefolds. In\nthis paper we establish for all 6d $(1,0)$ SCFTs in the atomic classification\nblowup equations that fix these elliptic genera to large extent. The latter\nfall into two types: the unity- and the vanishing blowup equations. For almost\nall rank one theories, we find unity blowup equations which determine the\nelliptic genera completely. We develop several techniques to compute elliptic\ngenera and BPS invariants from the blowup equations, including a recursion\nformula with respect to the number of strings, a Weyl orbit expansion, a\nrefined BPS expansion and an $\\epsilon_1,\\epsilon_2$ expansion. For higher-rank\ntheories, we propose a gluing rule to obtain all their blowup equations based\non those of rank one theories. For example, we explicitly give the elliptic\nblowup equations for the three higher-rank non-Higgsable clusters, ADE chain of\n$-2$ curves and conformal matter theories. We also give the toric construction\nfor many elliptic non-compact Calabi-Yau threefolds which engineer 6d $(1,0)$\nSCFTs with various matter representations.",
        "positive": "Homogeneous Yang-Baxter deformations as generalized diffeomorphisms: Yang-Baxter (YB) deformations of string sigma model provide deformed target\nspaces. We propose that homogeneous YB deformations always lead to a certain\nclass of $\\beta$-twisted backgrounds and represent the bosonic part of the\nsupergravity fields in terms of the classical r-matrix associated with the YB\ndeformation. We then show that various $\\beta$-twisted backgrounds can be\nrealized by considering generalized diffeomorphisms in the undeformed\nbackground. Our result extends the notable relation between the YB deformations\nand (non-commuting) TsT transformations. We also discuss more general\ndeformations beyond the YB deformations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Scattering amplitudes in affine gravity: Affine gravity is a connection-based formulation of gravity that does not\ninvolve a metric. After a review of basic properties of affine gravity, we\ncompute the tree-level scattering amplitude of scalar particles interacting\ngravitationally via the connection in a curved spacetime. We find that, while\nclassically equivalent to general relativity, affine gravity differs from\nmetric quantum gravity.",
        "positive": "Equivalent Hamiltonian for Lee Model: Using the techniques of quasi-Hermitian quantum mechanics and quantum field\ntheory we use a similarity transformation to construct an equivalent Hermitian\nHamiltonian for the Lee model. In the field theory confined to the $V/N\\theta$\nsector it effectively decouples $V$, replacing the three-point interaction of\nthe original Lee model by an additional mass term for the $V$ particle and a\nfour-point interaction between $N$ and $\\theta$. While the construction is\noriginally motivated by the regime where the bare coupling becomes imaginary,\nleading to a ghost, it applies equally to the standard Hermitian regime where\nthe bare coupling is real. In that case the similarity transformation becomes a\nunitary transformation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Conformal Invariance of Interacting WZNW Models: We consider two level $k$ WZNW models coupled to each other through a\ngeneralized Thirring-like current-current interaction. It is shown that in the\nlarge $k$ limit, this interacting system can be presented as a two-parameter\nperturbation around a nonunitary WZNW model. The perturbation operators are the\nsigma model kinetic terms with metric related to the Thirring coupling\nconstants. The renormalizability of the perturbed model leads to an algebraic\nequation for couplings. This equation coincides with the master Virasoro\nequation. We find that the beta functions of the two-parameter perturbation\nhave nontrivial zeros depending on the Thirring coupling constants. Thus we\nexhibit that solutions to the master equation provide nontrivial conformal\npoints to the system of two interacting WZNW models.",
        "positive": "Commensurate lock-in in holographic non-homogeneous lattices: We consider the spontaneous formation of striped structures in a holographic\nmodel which possesses explicit translational symmetry breaking, dual to an\nionic lattice with spatially modulated chemical potential. We focus on the\nperturbative study of the marginal modes which drive the transition to a phase\nexhibiting spontaneous stripes. We study the wave-vectors of the instabilities\nwith largest critical temperature in a wide range of backgrounds characterized\nby the period and the amplitude of the chemical potential modulation.\n  We report the first holographic observation of the commensurate lock-in\nbetween the spontaneous stripes and the underlying ionic lattice, which takes\nplace when the amplitude of the lattice is large enough. We also observe an\nincommensurate regime in which the amplitude of the lattice is finite, but the\npreferred stripe wave-vector is different from that of the lattice."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Surface Operators and Knot Homologies: Topological gauge theories in four dimensions which admit surface operators\nprovide a natural framework for realizing homological knot invariants. Every\nsuch theory leads to an action of the braid group on branes on the\ncorresponding moduli space. This action plays a key role in the construction of\nhomological knot invariants. We illustrate the general construction with\nexamples based on surface operators in N=2 and N=4 twisted gauge theories which\nlead to a categorification of the Alexander polynomial, the equivariant knot\nsignature, and certain analogs of the Casson invariant.\n  This paper is based on a lecture delivered at the International Congress on\nMathematical Physics 2006, Rio de Janeiro, and at the RTN Workshop 2006,\nNapoli.",
        "positive": "The Indispensability of Ghost Fields in the Light-Cone Gauge\n  Quantization of Gauge Fields: We continue McCartor and Robertson's recent demonstration of the\nindispensability of ghost fields in the light-cone gauge quantization of gauge\nfields. It is shown that the ghost fields are indispensable in deriving\nwell-defined antiderivatives and in regularizing the most singular component of\ngauge field propagator. To this end it is sufficient to confine ourselves to\nnoninteracting abelian fields. Furthermore to circumvent dealing with\nconstrained systems, we construct the temporal gauge canonical formulation of\nthe free electromagnetic field in auxiliary coordinates\n$x^{\\mu}=(x^-,x^+,x^1,x^2)$ where $x^-=x^0 cos{\\theta}-x^3 sin{\\theta}, x^+=x^0\nsin{\\theta}+x^3 cos{\\theta}$ and $x^-$ plays the role of time. In so doing we\ncan quantize the fields canonically without any constraints, unambiguously\nintroduce \"static ghost fields\" as residual gauge degrees of freedom and\nconstruct the light-cone gauge solution in the light-cone representation by\nsimply taking the light-cone limit (${\\theta}\\to \\pi/4$). As a by product we\nfind that, with a suitable choice of vacuum the Mandelstam-Leibbrandt form of\nthe propagator can be derived in the ${\\theta}=0$ case (the temporal gauge\nformulation in the equal-time representation)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Computation of Critical Exponent Eta at O(1/N_f^2) in Quantum\n  Electrodynamics in Arbitrary Dimensions: We present a detailed evaluation of $\\eta$, the critical exponent\ncorresponding to the electron anomalous dimension, at $O(1/N^2_{\\!f})$ in a\nlarge flavour expansion of QED in arbitrary dimensions in the Landau gauge. The\nmethod involves solving the skeleton Dyson equations with dressed propagators\nin the critical region of the theory. Various techniques to compute massless\ntwo loop Feynman diagrams, which are of independent interest, are also given.",
        "positive": "Quantization of charges and fluxes in warped Stenzel geometry: We examine the quantization of fluxes for the warped Stiefel cone and Stenzel\ngeometries and their orbifolds, and distinguish the roles of three related\nnotions of charge: Page, Maxwell, and brane. The orbifolds admit discrete\ntorsion, and we describe the associated quantum numbers which are consistent\nwith the geometry in its large radius and small radius limits from both the\ntype IIA and the M-theory perspectives. The discrete torsion, measured by a\nPage charge, is related to the number of fractional branes. We relate the\nshifts in the Page charges under large gauge transformations to the\nHanany-Witten brane creation effect."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Arbitrariness in the gravitational Chern-Simons-like term induced\n  radiatively: Lorentz violation through a radiatively induced Chern-Simons-like term in a\nfermionic theory embedded in linearized quantum gravity with a Lorentz- and\nCPT-violating axial-vector term in the fermionic sector proportional to a\nconstant field $b_\\mu$ has been recently studied. In a similar fashion as for\nthe extended-QED model of Carroll-Field-Jackiw, we explicitly show that neither\ngauge invariance nor the more stringent momentum routing invariance condition\non underlying Feynman diagrams fix the arbitrariness inherent to such induced\nterm at one loop order. We present the calculation in a nonperturbative\nexpansion in $b_\\mu$ and within a framework which besides operating in the\nphysical dimension (and thus avoiding $\\gamma_5$ matrix Clifford algebra\nambiguities), judiciously parametrizes regularization dependent arbitrary\nparameters usually fixed by symmetries.",
        "positive": "Gauge fields in (A)dS within the unfolded approach: algebraic aspects: It has recently been shown that generalized connections of the (A)dS space\nsymmetry algebra provide an effective geometric and algebraic framework for all\ntypes of gauge fields in (A)dS, both for massless and partially-massless. The\nequations of motion are equipped with a nilpotent operator called $\\sigma_-$\nwhose cohomology groups correspond to the dynamically relevant quantities like\ndifferential gauge parameters, dynamical fields, gauge invariant field\nequations, Bianchi identities etc. In the paper the $\\sigma_-$-cohomology is\ncomputed for all gauge theories of this type and the field-theoretical\ninterpretation is discussed. In the simplest cases the $\\sigma_-$-cohomology is\nequivalent to the ordinary Lie algebra cohomology."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dynamical Generation of Solitons in a 1+1 Dimensional Chiral Field\n  Theory: Non-Perturbative Dirac Operator Resolvent Analysis: We analyze the 1+1 dimensional Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model non-perturbatively.\nWe study non-trivial saddle points of the effective action in which the\ncomposite fields $\\sigx=<\\bar\\psi\\psi>$ and $\\pix=<\\bar\\psii\\gam_5\\psi>$ form\nstatic space dependent configurations. These configurations may be viewed as\none dimensional chiral bags that trap the original fermions (``quarks'') into\nstable extended entities (``hadrons''). We provide explicit expressions for the\nprofiles of some of these objects and calculate their masses. Our analysis of\nthese saddle points, and in particular, the proof that the $\\sigx, \\pix$\ncondensations must give rise to a reflectionless Dirac operator, appear to us\nsimpler and more direct than the calculations previously done by Shei, using\nthe inverse scattering method following Dashen, Hasslacher, and Neveu.",
        "positive": "Higher-loop anomalies in chiral gravities: The one-loop anomalies for chiral $W_{3}$ gravity are derived using the\nFujikawa regularisation method. The expected two-loop anomalies are then\nobtained by imposing the Wess-Zumino consistency conditions on the one-loop\nresults. The anomalies found in this way agree with those already known from\nexplicit Feynman diagram calculations. We then directly verify that the order\n$\\hbar^2$ non-local BRST Ward identity anomalies, arising from the ``dressing''\nof the one-loop results, satisfy Lam's theorem. It is also shown that in a\nrigorous calculation of $Q^2$ anomaly for the BRST charge, one recovers both\nthe non-local as well as the local anomalies. We further verify that, in chiral\ngravities, the non-local anomalies in the BRST Ward identity can be obtained by\nthe application of the anomalous operator $Q^2$, calculated using operator\nproducts, to an appropriately defined gauge fermion. Finally, we give arguments\nto show why this relation should hold generally in reparametrisation-invariant\ntheories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Unitary Networks from the Exact Renormalization of Wave Functionals: The exact renormalization group (ERG) for $O(N)$ vector models (at large $N$)\non flat Euclidean space can be interpreted as the bulk dynamics corresponding\nto a holographically dual higher spin gauge theory on $AdS_{d+1}$. This was\nestablished in the sense that at large $N$ the generating functional of\ncorrelation functions of single trace operators is reproduced by the on-shell\naction of the bulk higher spin theory, which is most simply presented in a\nfirst-order (phase space) formalism. In this paper, we extend the ERG formalism\nto the wave functionals of arbitrary states of the $O(N)$ vector model at the\nfree fixed point. We find that the ERG flow of the ground state and a specific\nclass of excited states is implemented by the action of unitary operators which\ncan be chosen to be local. Consequently, the ERG equations provide a continuum\nnotion of a tensor network. We compare this tensor network with the\nentanglement renormalization networks, MERA, and its continuum version, cMERA,\nwhich have appeared recently in holographic contexts. In particular the ERG\ntensor network appears to share the general structure of cMERA but differs in\nimportant ways. We comment on possible holographic implications.",
        "positive": "On Dimensional Extension of Supersymmetry: From Worldlines to\n  Worldsheets: There exist myriads of off-shell worldline supermultiplets for\n(N{\\leq}32)-extended supersymmetry in which every supercharge maps a component\nfield to precisely one other component field or its derivative. A subset of\nthese extends to off-shell worldsheet (p,q)-supersymmetry and is characterized\nby the twin theorems 2.1 and 2.2 in this note. The evasion of the obstruction\ndefined in these theorems is conjectured to be sufficient for a worldline\nsupermultiplet to extend to worldsheet supersymmetry; it is also a necessary\nfilter for dimensional extension to higher-dimensional spacetime. We show\nexplicitly how to \"re-engineer\" an Adinkra---if permitted by the twin theorems\n2.1 and 2.2---so as to depict an off-shell supermultiplet of worldsheet\n(p,q)-supersymmetry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Infinite Abelian Subalgebras in Quantum W-Algebras: An Elementary Proof: An elementary proof is given for the existence of infinite dimensional\nabelian subalgebras in quantum W-algebras. In suitable realizations these\nsubalgebras define the conserved charges of various quantum integrable systems.\nWe consider all principle W-algebras associated with the simple Lie algebras.\nThe proof is based on the more general result that for a class of vertex\noperators the quantum operators are related to their classical counterparts by\nan equivalence transformation.",
        "positive": "N-Impurity Superstring Spectra Near the pp-Wave Limit: The complicated non-linear sigma model that characterizes the first\nfinite-radius curvature correction to the pp-wave limit of IIB superstring\ntheory on AdS_5 x S^5 has been shown to generate energy spectra that perfectly\nmatch, to two loops in the modified 't Hooft parameter lambda', finite R-charge\ncorrections to anomalous dimension spectra of large-R N=4 super Yang-Mills\ntheory in the planar limit. This test of the AdS/CFT correspondence has been\ncarried out for the specific cases of two and three string excitations, which\nare dual to gauge theory R-charge impurities. We generalize this analysis on\nthe string side by directly computing string energy eigenvalues in certain\nprotected sectors of the theory for an arbitrary number of worldsheet\nexcitations with arbitrary mode-number assignments. While our results match all\nexisting gauge theory predictions to two-loop order in lambda', we again\nobserve a mismatch at three loops between string and gauge theory. We find\nremarkable agreement to all loops in lambda', however, with the near pp-wave\nlimit of a recently proposed Bethe ansatz for the quantized string Hamiltonian\nin the su(2) sector. Based on earlier two- and three-impurity results, we also\ninfer the full multiplet decomposition of the N-impurity superstring theory\nwith distinct mode excitations to two loops in lambda'."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gravity and the stability of the Higgs sector: We pursued the question of the influence of a strong gravitational field on\nthe structure of the Higgs effective potential in the gauge-less top-Higgs\nsector of the Standard Model with an additional scalar singlet. To this end, we\ncalculated the one-loop corrected effective potential in an arbitrary curved\nspacetime. We have found that the gravity induced terms in the effective\npotential may influence its behavior in both small and large field regions.\nThis result indicated the necessity of a more careful investigation of the\neffect of high curvature in the problems concerning the stability of the Higgs\neffective potential in the full Standard Model.",
        "positive": "Diagrams for Symmetric Product Orbifolds: We develop a diagrammatic language for symmetric product orbifolds of\ntwo-dimensional conformal field theories. Correlation functions of twist\noperators are written as sums of diagrams: each diagram corresponds to a\nbranched covering map from a surface where the fields are single-valued to the\nbase sphere where twist operators are inserted. This diagrammatic language\nfacilitates the study of the large N limit and makes more transparent the\nanalogy between symmetric product orbifolds and free non-abelian gauge\ntheories. We give a general algorithm to calculate the leading large N\ncontribution to four-point correlators of twist fields."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Truncated Nambu-Poisson Bracket and Entropy Formula for Multiple\n  Membranes: We show that there exists a cut-off version of Nambu-Poisson bracket which\ndefines a finite dimensional Lie 3-algebra. The algebra still satisfies the\nfundamental identity and thus produces N=8 supersymmetric BLG type equation of\nmotion for multiple M2 branes. By counting the number of the moduli and the\ndegree of freedom, we derive an entropy formula which scales as N^{3/2} as\nexpected for the multiple M2 branes.",
        "positive": "Canonical formulation and conserved charges of double field theory: We provide the canonical formulation of double field theory. It is shown that\nthis dynamics is subject to primary and secondary constraints. The Poisson\nbracket algebra of secondary constraints is shown to close on-shell according\nto the C-bracket. A systematic way of writing boundary integrals in doubled\ngeometry is given. By including appropriate boundary terms in the double field\ntheory Hamiltonian, expressions for conserved energy and momentum of an\nasymptotically flat doubled space-time are obtained and applied to a number of\nsolutions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Concerning a natural compatibility condition between the action and the\n  renormalized operator product: In this article we note that in a number of situations the operator product\nand the classical action satisfy a natural compatibility condition. We consider\nthe interest of this condition to be twofold: First, the naturality\n(functoriality) of the compatibility condition suggests that it be used for\ngeometrical applications of renormalized functional integration. Second, the\ncompatibility can be used as the definition of a category; consideration of\nthis category as the central object of study in quantum field theory seems to\nhave quite some advantages over previously introduced theories of the type\n``S-matrix theory'', ``Vertex operator algebras'', since this seems to be the\nonly category in which both the action and the expectation values enter, the\ntwo being linked roughly speaking by a combination of the Frobenius property\nand the renormalized Schwinger-Dyson equation.",
        "positive": "The Solution of the Relativistic Schrodinger Equation for the\n  $\u03b4'$-Function Potential in 1-dimension Using Cutoff Regularization: We study the relativistic version of Schr\\\"odinger equation for a point\nparticle in 1-d with potential of the first derivative of the delta function.\nThe momentum cutoff regularization is used to study the bound state and\nscattering states. The initial calculations show that the reciprocal of the\nbare coupling constant is ultra-violet divergent, and the resultant expression\ncannot be renormalized in the usual sense. Therefore a general procedure has\nbeen developed to derive different physical properties of the system. The\nprocedure is used first on the non-relativistic case for the purpose of\nclarification and comparisons. The results from the relativistic case show that\nthis system behaves exactly like the delta function potential, which means it\nalso shares the same features with quantum field theories, like being\nasymptotically free, and in the massless limit, it undergoes dimensional\ntransmutation and it possesses an infrared conformal fixed point."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "String-scale Gauge Coupling Relations in the Supersymmetric Pati-Salam\n  Models from Intersecting D6-branes: We have constructed all the three-family ${\\cal N} = 1$ supersymmetric\nPati-Salam models from intersecting D6-branes, and obtained 33 independent\nmodels in total. But how to realize the string-scale gauge coupling relations\nin these models is a big challenge. We first discuss how to decouple the exotic\nparticles in these models. In addition, we consider the adjoint chiral\nmulitplets for $SU(4)_C$ and $SU(2)_L$ gauge symmetries, the Standard Model\n(SM) vector-like particles from D6-brane intersections, as well as the\nvector-like particles from the ${\\cal N}=2$ subsector. We show that the gauge\ncoupling relations at string scale can be achieved via two-loop renormalization\ngroup equation running for all these supersymmetric Pati-Salam models.\nTherefore, we propose a concrete way to obtain the string-scale gauge coupling\nrealtions for the generic intersecting D-brane models.",
        "positive": "Kink-antikink collisions in the phi^6 model: We study kink-antikink collisions in the one-dimensional non-integrable\nscalar phi^6 model. Although the single-kink solutions for this model do not\npossess an internal vibrational mode, our simulations reveal a resonant\nscattering structure, thereby providing a counterexample to the standard belief\nthat existence of such a mode is a necessary condition for multi-bounce\nresonances in general kink-antikink collisions. We investigate the two-bounce\nwindows in detail, and present evidence that this structure is caused by\nexistence of bound states in the spectrum of small oscillations about a\ncombined kink-antikink configuration."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Explicit construction of the finite dimensional indecomposable\n  representations of the simple Lie-Kac $SU(2/1)$ superalgebra and their low\n  level non diagonal super Casimir operators: All finite dimensional irreducible representations of the simple Lie-Kac\nsuper algebra SU(2/1) are explicitly constructed in the Chevalley basis as\ncomplex matrices. For typical representations, the distinguished Dynkin label\nis not quantized. We then construct the generic atypical indecomposable quivers\nclassified by Marcu, Su and Germoni and typical indecomposable N-generations\nblock triangular extensions for any irreducible module and any integer N. In\naddition to the quadratic and cubic super-Casimir operators $C_2$ and $C_3$,\nthe supercenter of the enveloping algebra contains a chiral ghost super-Casimir\noperator T of mixed order (2,4)in the odd generators, proportional to the\nsuperidentity grading operator $\\chi$, and satisfying $T = \\chi\\;C_2$ and we\ndefine a new factorizable chiral-Casimir $T^-=C_2(1-\\chi)/2=(UV+WX)(VU+XW)$\nwhere (U,V,W,X) are the odd generators. In most indecomposable cases, the\nsuper-Casimirs are non diagonal. We compute their pseudo-eigenvalues.",
        "positive": "Logarithmic loop corrections, moduli stabilisation and de Sitter vacua\n  in string theory: We study string loop corrections to the gravity kinetic terms in type IIB\ncompactifications on Calabi-Yau threefolds or their orbifold limits, in the\npresence of $D7$-branes and orientifold planes. We show that they exhibit in\ngeneral a logarithmic behaviour in the large volume limit transverse to the\n$D7$-branes, induced by a localised four-dimensional Einstein-Hilbert action\nthat appears at a lower order in the closed string sector, found in the past.\nHere, we compute the coefficient of the logarithmic corrections and use them to\nprovide an explicit realisation of a mechanism for K\\\"ahler moduli\nstabilisation that we have proposed recently, which does not rely on\nnon-perturbative effects and lead to de Sitter vacua. Our result avoids no-go\ntheorems of perturbative stabilisation due to runaway potentials, in a way\nsimilar to the Coleman-Weinberg mechanism, and provides a counter example to\none of the swampland conjectures concerning de Sitter vacua in quantum gravity,\nonce string loop effects are taken into account; it thus paves the way for\nembedding the Standard Model of particle physics and cosmology in string\ntheory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Perturbation Theory and Critical Exponents for Self-Similar Systems: Gravitational critical collapse in the Einstein-axion-dilaton system is known\nto lead to continuous self-similar solutions characterized by the Choptuik\ncritical exponent $\\gamma$. We complete the existing literature on the subject\nby computing the linear perturbation equations in the case where the\naxion-dilaton system assumes a parabolic form. Next, we solve the perturbation\nequations in a newly discovered self-similar solution in the hyperbolic case,\nwhich allows us to extract the Choptuik exponent. Our main result is that this\nexponent depends not only on the dimensions of spacetime but also the\nparticular ansatz and the critical solutions that one started with.",
        "positive": "Riemann surfaces, separation of variables and classical and quantum\n  integrability: We show that Riemann surfaces, and separated variables immediately provide\nclassical Poisson commuting Hamiltonians. We show that Baxter's equations for\nseparated variables immediately provide quantum commuting Hamiltonians. The\nconstruction is simple, general, and does not rely on the Yang--Baxter\nequation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Confinement in Gauge Theories from the Condensation of World-Sheet\n  Defects in Liouville String: We present a Liouville-string approach to confinement in four-dimensional\ngauge theories, which extends previous approaches to include non-conformal\ntheories. We consider Liouville field theory on world sheets whose boundaries\nare the Wilson loops of gauge theory, which exhibit vortex and spike defects.\nWe show that world-sheet vortex condensation occurs when the Wilson loop is\nembedded in four target space-time dimensions, and show that this corresponds\nto the condensation of gauge magnetic monopoles in target space. We also show\nthat vortex condensation generates a effective string tension corresponding to\nthe confinement of electric degrees of freedom. The tension is independent of\nthe string length in a gauge theory whose electric coupling varies\nlogarithmically with the length scale. The Liouville field is naturally\ninterpreted as an extra target dimension, with an anti-de-Sitter (AdS)\nstructure induced by recoil effects on the gauge monopoles, interpreted as D\nbranes of the effective string theory. Black holes in the bulk AdS space\ncorrespond to world-sheet defects, so that phases of the bulk gravitational\nsystem correspond to the different world-sheet phases, and hence to different\nphases of the four-dimensional gauge theory. Deconfinement is associated with a\nBerezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless transition of vortices on the Wilson-loop world\nsheet, corresponding in turn to a phase transition of the black holes in the\nbulk AdS space.",
        "positive": "Duality Between Dirac Fermions in Curved Spacetime and Optical solitons\n  in Non-Linear Schrodinger Model: Magic of $1+1$-Dimensional Bosonization: Bosonization in curved spacetime maps massive Thirring model\n(self-interacting Dirac fermions) to a generalized sine-Gordon model, both\nliving in $1+1$-dimensional curved spacetime. Applying this duality we have\nshown that the Thirring model fermion, in non-relativistic limit, gets\nidentified with the soliton of non-linear Scrodinger model with Kerr form of\nnon-linearity. We discuss one particular optical soliton in the latter model\nand relate it with the Thirring model fermion."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Hagedorn temperature in a decoupled sector of AdS/CFT: We match the Hagedorn/deconfinement temperature of planar N=4 super\nYang-Mills (SYM) on R x S^3 to the Hagedorn temperature of string theory on\nAdS_5 x S^5. The match is done in a near-critical region where both gauge\ntheory and string theory are weakly coupled. On the gauge theory side we are\ntaking a decoupling limit found in hep-th/0605234 in which the physics of\nplanar N=4 SYM is given exactly by the ferromagnetic XXX_{1/2} Heisenberg spin\nchain. We find moreover a general relation between the Hagedorn/deconfinement\ntemperature and the thermodynamics of the Heisenberg spin chain. On the string\ntheory side, we identify the dual limit which is taken of string theory on a\nmaximally symmetric pp-wave background with a flat direction, obtained from a\nPenrose limit of AdS_5 x S^5. We compute the Hagedorn temperature of the string\ntheory and find agreement with the Hagedorn/deconfinement temperature computed\non the gauge theory side. Finally, we discuss a modified decoupling limit in\nwhich planar N=4 SYM reduces to the XXX_{1/2} Heisenberg spin chain with an\nexternal magnetic field.",
        "positive": "Exceptionally simple integrated correlators in $\\mathcal{N}=4$\n  supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory: Supersymmetric localisation has led to several modern developments in the\nstudy of integrated correlators in $\\mathcal{N}=4$ supersymmetric Yang-Mills\n(SYM) theory. In particular, exact results have been derived for certain\nintegrated four-point functions of superconformal primary operators in the\nstress tensor multiplet valid for all classical gauge groups, $SU(N)$, $SO(N)$,\nand $USp(2N)$, and for all values of the complex coupling,\n$\\tau=\\theta/(2\\pi)+4\\pi i/g^2_{_{YM}}$. In this work we extend this analysis\nand provide a unified two-dimensional lattice sum representation for all simple\ngauge groups, in particular for the exceptional series $E_r$ (with $r=6,7,8$),\n$F_4$ and $G_2$. These expressions are manifestly covariant under\nGoddard-Nuyts-Olive duality which for $F_4$ and $G_2$ is given by particular\nFuchsian groups. We show that the perturbation expansion of these integrated\ncorrelators is universal in the sense that it can be written as a single\nfunction of three parameters, called Vogel parameters, and a suitable 't\nHooft-like coupling. To obtain the perturbative expansion for the integrated\ncorrelator with a given gauge group we simply need substituting in this\nuniversal expression specific values for the Vogel parameters. At the\nnon-perturbative level we conjecture a formula for the one-instanton Nekrasov\npartition function with simple gauge group and general $\\Omega$-deformation\nbackground. We check that our expression reduces in various limits to known\nresults and that it produces, via supersymmetric localisation, the same\none-instanton contribution to the integrated correlator as the one derived from\nthe lattice sum. Finally, we consider the action of the hyperbolic Laplace\noperator in $\\tau$ on the integrated correlators with exceptional gauge groups\nand derive inhomogeneous Laplace equations very similar to the ones previously\nobtained for classical gauge groups."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Frustrating and Diluting Dynamical Lattice Ising Spins: We investigate what happens to the third order ferromagnetic phase transition\ndisplayed by the Ising model on various dynamical planar lattices (ie coupled\nto 2D quantum gravity) when we introduce annealed bond disorder in the form of\neither antiferromagnetic couplings or null couplings. We also look at the\neffect of such disordering for the Ising model on general $\\phi^3$ and $\\phi^4$\nFeynman diagrams.",
        "positive": "Conformal Gravity Redux: Ghost-turned-Tachyon: We analyze conformal gravity in translationally invariant approximation,\nwhere the metric is taken to depend on time but not on spatial coordinates. We\nfind that the field mode which in perturbation theory has a ghostlike kinetic\nterm, turns into a tachyon when nonlinear interaction is accounted for. The\nkinetic term and potential for this mode have opposite signs. Solutions of\nnonlinear classical equations of motion develop a singularity in finite time\ndetermined by the initial conditions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Parikh-Wilczek Tunneling from Noncommutative Higher Dimensional Black\n  Holes: We study tunneling of massless and massive particles through the smeared\nquantum horizon of the extra-dimensional Schwarzschild black holes. The\nemission rate of the particles' tunneling is modified by noncommutativity\neffects in a bulk spacetime of dimension $d$. The issues of information loss\nand possible correlations between emitted particles are discussed. We show that\neven by considering both noncommutativity and braneworld effects, there is no\ncorrelation between different modes of evaporation at least at late-time and\nwithin approximations used in the calculations. However, incorporation of\nquantum gravity effects such as modification of the standard dispersion\nrelation or generalization of the Heisenberg uncertainty principle, leads to\nthe correlation between emitted particles. Although time-evolution of these\ncorrelations is not trivial, a part of information coming out of the black hole\ncan be preserved in these correlations. On the other hand, as a well-known\nresult of spacetime noncommutativity, a part of information may be preserved in\na stable black hole remnant.",
        "positive": "The symmetry structure of the anti-self-dual Einstein hierarchy: An important example of a multi-dimensional integrable system is the\nanti-self-dual Einstein equations. By studying the symmetries of these\nequations, a recursion operator is found and the associated hierarchy\nconstructed. Owing to the properties of the recursion operator one may\nconstruct a hierarchy of symmetries and find the algebra generated by them. In\naddition, the Lax pair for this hierarchy is constructed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gravity from Entanglement and RG Flow in a Top-down Approach: The duality between a $d$-dimensional conformal field theory with relevant\ndeformation and a gravity theory on an asymptotically AdS$_{d+1}$ geometry, has\nbecome a suitable tool in the investigation of the emergence of gravity from\nquantum entanglement in field theory. Recently, we have tested the duality\nbetween the mass-deformed ABJM theory and asymptotically AdS$_4$ gravity\ntheory, which is obtained from the KK reduction of the 11-dimensional\nsupergravity on the LLM geometry. In this paper, we extend the KK reduction\nprocedure beyond the linear order and establish non-trivial KK maps between\n4-dimensional fields and 11-dimensional fluctuations. We rely on this\ngauge/gravity duality to calculate the entanglement entropy by using the\nRyu-Takayanagi holographic formula and the path integral method developed by\nFaulkner. We show that the entanglement entropies obtained using these two\nmethods agree when the asymptotically AdS$_4$ metric satisfies the linearized\nEinstein equation with nonvanishing energy-momentum tensor for two scalar\nfields. These scalar fields encode the information of the relevant deformation\nof the ABJM theory. This confirms that the asymptotic limit of LLM geometry is\nthe emergent gravity of the quantum entanglement in the mass-deformed ABJM\ntheory with a small mass parameter. We also comment on the issue of the\nrelative entropy and the Fisher information in our setup.",
        "positive": "Towards unified theory of $2d$ gravity: We introduce a new 1-matrix model with arbitrary potential and the\nmatrix-valued background field. Its partition function is a $\\tau$-function of\nKP-hierarchy, subjected to a kind of ${\\cal L}_{-1}$-constraint. Moreover,\npartition function behaves smoothly in the limit of infinitely large matrices.\nIf the potential is equal to $X^{K+1}$, this partition function becomes a\n$\\tau$-function of $K$-reduced KP-hierarchy, obeying a set of ${\\cal W}\n_K$-algebra constraints identical to those conjectured in \\cite{FKN91} for\ndouble-scaling continuum limit of $(K-1)$-matrix model. In the case of $K=2$\nthe statement reduces to the early established \\cite{MMM91b} relation between\nKontsevich model and the ordinary $2d$ quantum gravity . Kontsevich model with\ngeneric potential may be considered as interpolation between all the models of\n$2d$ quantum gravity with $c<1$ preserving the property of integrability and\nthe analogue of string equation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Remarks on QCD$_4$ with fundamental and adjoint matter: We study 4-dimensional SU(N) gauge theory with one adjoint Weyl fermion and\nfundamental matter - either bosonic or fermionic. Symmetries, their 't Hooft\nanomalies, and the Vafa-Witten-Weingarten theorems strongly constrain the\npossible bulk phases. The first part of the paper is dedicated to a single\nfundamental fermion or boson. As long as the adjoint Weyl fermion is massless,\nthis theory always possesses a $\\mathbb{Z}_{2N}^\\chi$ chiral symmetry, which\nbreaks spontaneously, supporting $N$ vacua and domain walls between them for a\ngeneric mass of the matter fields. We argue, however, that the domain walls\ngenerically undergo a phase transition, and we establish the corresponding 3d\ngauge theories on the walls. The rest of the paper is dedicated to studying the\nmulti-flavor fundamental matter. Here, the phases crucially depend on the ratio\nof the number of colors and the number of fundamental flavors. We also discuss\nthe limiting scenarios of heavy adjoint and fundamentals, which align neatly\nwith our current understanding of QCD and $\\mathcal{N}=1$ super Yang-Mills\ntheory.",
        "positive": "The Natural TeV Cutoff of the Higgs Field from the Multiplicative\n  Lagrangian: The various types of the non-standard Lagrangian can be added to the standard\nLagrangian with the invariant of the equation of motion in the low energy\nlimit. In this paper, we construct the multiplicative Lagrangian of a complex\nscalar field giving the approximated Klein-Gordon equation from the inverse\nproblem of the calculus of variation. Then, this multiplicative Lagrangian with\narbitrary high cutoff is applied to the toy model of the Higgs mechanism in\nU(1)-gauge symmetry in order to study the simple effects in the Higgs physics.\nWe show that, after spontaneous symmetry breaking happens, the Higgs vev is\nfree from the Fermi-coupling constant and the Higgs field gets the natural\ncutoff in TeV scale. The other relevant coupling constants, the UV-sensitivity\nof Higgs mass due to the loop correction, some applications on the strong CP\nproblem as well as anomalous small fermion mass, and the cosmological constant\nproblem are also discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Lectures on entanglement in quantum field theory: These notes grew from a series of lectures given by the authors during the\nlast decade. They will be published in the proceedings of TASI 2021. After a\nbrief introduction to quantum information theory tools, they are organized in\nfour chapters covering the following subjects: Entanglement in quantum field\ntheory, Irreversibility theorems, Energy-entropy bounds, Entanglement and\nsymmetries.",
        "positive": "Scalar QED $\\hbar$-Corrections to the Coulomb Potential: The leading long-distance 1-loop quantum corrections to the Coulomb potential\nare derived for scalar QED and their gauge-independence is explicitly checked.\nThe potential is obtained from the direct calculation of the 2-particle\nscattering amplitude, taking into account all relevant 1-loop diagrams. Our\ninvestigation should be regarded as a first step towards the same programme for\neffective Quantum Gravity. In particular, with our calculation in the framework\nof scalar QED, we are able to demonstrate the incompleteness of some previous\nstudies concerning the Quantum Gravity counterpart."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Gravity Dual of Localized Tachyon Condensation in Intersecting Branes: The method of probe brane is the powerful one to obtain the effective action\nliving on the probe brane from supergravity. We apply this method to the\nunstable brane systems, and understand the tachyon condensation in the context\nof the open/closed duality. First, we probe the parallel coincident branes by\nthe anti-brane. In this case, the mass squared of the stretched string becomes\nnegative infinite in the decoupling limit. So that the dual open string field\ntheory is difficult to understand. Next, we probe parallel coincident branes by\na brane intersecting with an angle. In this case, the stretched strings have\nthe tachyonic modes localized near the intersecting point, and by taking the\nappropriate limit for the intersection angle, we can leave mass squared of this\nmodes negative finite in the decoupling limit. Then we can obtain the\ninformation about the localized tachyon condensation from the probe brane\naction obtained using supergravity.",
        "positive": "Strong coupling regime in two-dimensional large-N scalar quantum\n  chromodynamics: Two-dimensional large-$N$ quantum chromodynamics with scalar quarks is\nconsidered with particular emphasis on its strong coupling regime which has not\nbeen studied so far. Techniques necessary to deal with the infinitely\noscillatory bound state wave functions in the strong coupling regime are\ndeveloped. I derive an estimate for the ground state mass and show that (1) the\nlightest hadron in the theory is massless and (2) the ground state mass is\ncontinuous across the transition between the weak and the strong coupling."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "An anthology of non-local QFT and QFT on noncommutative spacetime: Ever since the appearance of renormalization theory there have been several\ndifferently motivated attempts at non-localized (in the sense of not generated\nby point-like fields) relativistic particle theories, the most recent one being\nat QFT on non-commutative Minkowski spacetime. The often conceptually\nuncritical and historically forgetful contemporary approach to these problems\ncalls for a critical review the light of previous results on this subject.",
        "positive": "Dynamical Symmetry Breaking and Magnetic Confinement in QCD: We present a gauge independent method to construct the effective action of\nQCD, and calculate the one loop effective action of $SU(2)$ QCD in an arbitrary\nconstant background field. Our result establishes the existence of a dynamical\nsymmetry breaking by demonstrating that the effective potential develops a\nunique and stable vacuum made of the monopole condensation in one loop\napproximation. This provides a strong evidence for the magnetic confinement of\ncolor through the dual Meissner effect in the non-Abelian gauge theory. The\nresult is obtained by separating the topological degrees which describe the\nnon-Abelian monopoles from the dynamical degrees of the gauge potential, and\nintegrating out all the dynamical degrees of QCD. We present three independent\narguments to support our result."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Deformations of Closed Strings and Topological Open Membranes: We study deformations of topological closed strings. A well-known example is\nthe perturbation of a topological closed string by itself, where the\nassociative OPE product is deformed, and which is governed by the WDVV\nequations. Our main interest will be closed strings that arise as the boundary\ntheory for topological open membranes, where the boundary string is deformed by\nthe bulk membrane operators. The main example is the topological open membrane\ntheory with a nonzero 3-form field in the bulk. In this case the Lie bracket of\nthe current algebra is deformed, leading in general to a correction of the\nJacobi identity. We identify these deformations in terms of deformation theory.\nTo this end we describe the deformation of the algebraic structure of the\nclosed string, given by the BRST operator, the associative product and the Lie\nbracket. Quite remarkably, we find that there are three classes of deformations\nfor the closed string, two of which are exemplified by the WDVV theory and the\ntopological open membrane. The third class remains largely mysterious, as we\nhave no explicit example.",
        "positive": "Conceptual issues in combining general relativity and quantum theory: Points of conflict between the principles of general relativity and quantum\ntheory are highlighted. I argue that the current language of QFT is inadequete\nto deal with gravity and review attempts to identify some of the features which\nare likely to present in the correct theory of quantum gravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Fundamental Need for a SM Higgs and the Weak Gravity Conjecture: Compactifying the SM down to 3D or 2D one may obtain AdS vacua depending on\nthe neutrino mass spectrum. It has been recently shown that, by insisting in\nthe absence of these vacua, as suggested by {\\it Weak Gravity Conjecture} (WGC)\narguments, intriguing constraints on the value of the lightest neutrino mass\nand the 4D cosmological constant are obtained. For fixed Yukawa coupling one\nalso obtains an upper bound on the EW scale $\\left\\langle\nH\\right\\rangle\\lesssim {\\Lambda_4^{1/4}} /{Y_{\\nu_{i}}}$,where $\\Lambda_4$ is\nthe 4D cosmological constant and $Y_{\\nu_{i}}$ the Yukawa coupling of the\nlightest (Dirac) neutrino. This bound may lead to a reassessment of the gauge\nhierarchy problem. In this letter, following the same line of arguments, we\npoint out that the SM without a Higgs field would give rise to new AdS lower\ndimensional vacua. Absence of latter would require the very existence of the SM\nHiggs. Furthermore one can derive a lower bound on the Higgs vev $\\left\\langle\nH\\right\\rangle\\gtrsim \\Lambda_{\\text{QCD}}$ which is required by the absence of\nAdS vacua in lower dimensions. The lowest number of quark/lepton generations in\nwhich this need for a Higgs applies is three, giving a justification for family\nreplication. We also reassess the connection between the EW scale, neutrino\nmasses and the c.c. in this approach. The EW fine-tuning is here related to the\nproximity between the c.c. scale $\\Lambda_4^{1/4}$ and the lightest neutrino\nmass $m_{\\nu_i}$ by the expression $ \\frac {\\Delta H}{H} \\lesssim \\frac\n{(a\\Lambda_4^ {1/4} -m_{\\nu_i})} {m_{\\nu_i}}. $ We emphasize that all the above\nresults rely on the assumption of the stability of the AdS SM vacua found.",
        "positive": "Resultants and Gravity Amplitudes: Two very different formulations of the tree-level S-matrix of N=8 Einstein\nsupergravity in terms of rational maps are known to exist. In both\nformulations, the computation of a scattering amplitude of n particles in the k\nR-charge sector involves an integral over the moduli space of certain\nholomorphic maps of degree d=k-1. In this paper we show that both formulations\ncan be simplified when written in a manifestly parity invariant form as\nintegrals over holomorphic maps of bi-degree (d,n-d-2). In one formulation the\nfull integrand becomes directly the product of the resultants of each of the\ntwo maps defining the one of bi-degree (d,n-d-2). In the second formulation, a\nvery different structure appears. The integrand contains the determinant of a\n(n-3)x(n-3) matrix and a 'Jacobian'. We prove that the determinant is a\npolynomial in the coefficients of the maps and contains the two resultants as\nfactors."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "BRST-antifield Quantization: a Short Review: Most of the known models describing the fundamental interactions have a gauge\nfreedom. In the standard path integral, it is necessary to \"fix the gauge\" in\norder to avoid integrating over unphysical degrees of freedom. Gauge\nindependence might then become a tricky issue, especially when the structure of\nthe gauge symmetries is intricate. In the modern approach to this question, it\nis BRST invariance that effectively implements gauge invariance. This set of\nlectures briefly reviews some key ideas underlying the BRST-antifield\nformalism, which yields a systematic procedure to path-integrate any type of\ngauge system, while (usually) manifestly preserving spacetime covariance. The\nquantized theory possesses a global invariance under the so-called BRST\ntransformation, which is nilpotent of order two. The cohomology of the BRST\ndifferential is the central element that controls the physics. Its relationship\nwith the observables is sketched and explained. How anomalies appear in the\n\"quantum master equation\" of the antifield formalism is also discussed. These\nnotes are based on lectures given by MH at the 10th Saalburg Summer School on\nModern Theoretical Methods from the 30th of August to the 10th of September,\n2004 in Wolfersdorf, Germany and were prepared by AF and AM. The exercises\nwhich were discussed at the school are also included.",
        "positive": "Micromanaging de Sitter holography: We develop tools to engineer de Sitter vacua with semi-holographic duals,\nusing elliptic fibrations and orientifolds to uplift Freund-Rubin\ncompactifications with CFT duals. The dual brane construction is compact and\nconstitutes a microscopic realization of the dS/dS correspondence, realizing\nd-dimensional de Sitter space as a warped compactification down to\n(d-1)-dimensional de Sitter gravity coupled to a pair of large-N matter\nsectors. This provides a parametric microscopic interpretation of the\nGibbons-Hawking entropy. We illustrate these ideas with an explicit class of\nexamples in three dimensions, and describe ongoing work on four-dimensional\nconstructions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Entropy of Extremal Black Holes in Two Dimension: In this paper we apply the entropy function formalism to the two-dimensional\nblack hole which come from the compactification of the heterotic string theory\nwith the dilaton coupling function. We find the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy from\nthe value of the entropy function at its saddle point. Also we consider higher\nderivative terms. After that we apply the entropy function formalism to the\nJackiw-Teitelboim (JT) model where we consider the effect of string-loop to\nthis model.",
        "positive": "Localizing Gravity on a String-Like Defect in Six Dimensions: We present a metric solution in six dimensions where gravity is localized on\na four-dimensional singular string-like defect. The corrections to\nfour-dimensional gravity from the bulk continuum modes are suppressed by ${\\cal\nO}(1/r^3)$. No tuning of the bulk cosmological constant to the brane tension is\nrequired in order to cancel the four-dimensional cosmological constant."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Second Quantization of the Stueckelberg Relativistic Quantum Theory and\n  Associated Gauge Fields: The gauge compensation fields induced by the differential operators of the\nStueckelberg-Schr\\\"odinger equation are discussed, as well as the relation\nbetween these fields and the standard Maxwell fields. An action is constructed\nand the second quantization of the fields carried out using a constraint\nprocedure. Some remarks are made on the properties of the second quantized\nmatter fields.",
        "positive": "Range of novel black hole phase transitions via massive gravity: Triple\n  points and N-fold reentrant phase transitions: Massive gravities in anti-de Sitter spacetime can be viewed as effective dual\nfield theories of different phases of condensed matter systems with broken\ntranslational symmetry such as solids, (perfect) fluids, and liquid crystals.\nMotivated by this fact, we explore the black hole chemistry (BHC) of these\ntheories and find a new range of novel phase transitions close to realistic\nones in ordinary physical systems. We find that the equation of state of\ntopological black holes (TBHs) at their inflection point(s) in $d$-dimensional\nspacetime reduces to a polynomial equation of degree $(d-4)$, which yields up\nto $n=(d-4)$ critical points. As a result, for (neutral) TBHs, we observe\ntriple-point phenomena with the associated first-order phase transitions (in $d\n\\ge 7$), and a new phenomenon we call an $N$-fold reentrant phase transition,\nin which several ($N$) regions of thermodynamic phase space exhibit distinct\nreentrant phase transitions, with associated virtual triple points and\nzeroth-order phase transitions (in $d \\ge 8$), as well as Van der Waals\ntransitions (in $d \\ge 5$) and reentrant (in $d \\ge 6$) behavior. We conclude\nthat BHC in higher-dimensional massive gravity is very likely to offer further\nnew surprises."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Looking for event horizons using UV/IR relations: A primary goal in holographic theories of gravity is to study the causal\nstructure of spacetime from the field theory point of view. This is a\nparticularly difficult problem when the spacetime has a non-trivial causal\nstructure, such as a black hole. We attempt to study causality through the\nUV/IR relation between field theory and spacetime quantities, which encodes\ninformation about bulk position. We study the UV/IR relations for charged black\nhole spacetimes in the AdS/CFT correspondence. We find that the UV/IR relations\nhave a number of interesting features, but find little information about the\npresence of a horizon in the bulk. The scale of Wilson loops is simply related\nto radial position, whether there is a horizon or not. For time-dependent\nprobes, the part of the history near the horizon only effects the late-time\nbehaviour of field theory observables. Static supergravity probes have a finite\nscale size related to radial position in generic black holes, but there is an\ninteresting logarithmic divergence as the temperature approaches zero.",
        "positive": "Inviolable energy conditions from entanglement inequalities: Via the AdS/CFT correspondence, fundamental constraints on the entanglement\nstructure of quantum systems translate to constraints on spacetime geometries\nthat must be satisfied in any consistent theory of quantum gravity. In this\npaper, we investigate such constraints arising from strong subadditivity and\nfrom the positivity and monotonicity of relative entropy in examples with\nhighly-symmetric spacetimes. Our results may be interpreted as a set of energy\nconditions restricting the possible form of the stress-energy tensor in\nconsistent theories of Einstein gravity coupled to matter."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Layman's Guide to M-theory: The best candidate for a fundamental unified theory of all physical phenomena\nis no longer ten-dimensional superstring theory but rather eleven-dimensional\n{\\it M-theory}. In the words of Fields medalist Edward Witten, ``M stands for\n`Magical', `Mystery' or `Membrane', according to taste''. New evidence in favor\nof this theory is appearing daily on the internet and represents the most\nexciting development in the subject since 1984 when the superstring revolution\nfirst burst on the scene. (Talk delivered at the Abdus Salam Memorial Meeting,\nICTP, Trieste, November 1997.)",
        "positive": "Mass singularity and confining property in $QED_3$: We discuss the properties of the position space fermion propagator in three\ndimensional QED which has been found previouly based on Ward-Takahashi-identity\nfor soft-photon emission vertex and spectral representation.There is a new type\nof mass singularity which governs the long distance behaviour.It leads the\npropagator vanish at large distance.This term corresponds to dynamical mass in\nposition space.Our model shows confining property and dynamical mass generation\nfor arbitrary coupling constant.Since we used dispersion retation in deriving\nspectral function there is a physical mass which sets a mass scale.For finite\ncut off we obtain the full propagator in the dispersion integral as a\nsuperposition of different massses.Low energy behaviour of the proagator is\nmodified to decrease by position dependent mass.In the limit of zero infrared\ncut-off the propagator vanishes with a new kind of infrared behaviour."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Renormalization-Group Method Applied to Asymptotic Analysis of\n  Vector Fields: The renormalization group method of Goldenfeld, Oono and their collaborators\nis applied to asymptotic analysis of vector fields. The method is formulated on\nthe basis of the theory of envelopes, as was done for scalar fields. This\nformulation actually completes the discussion of the previous work for scalar\nequations. It is shown in a generic way that the method applied to equations\nwith a bifurcation leads to the Landau-Stuart and the (time-dependent)\nGinzburg-Landau equations. It is confirmed that this method is actually a\npowerful theory for the reduction of the dynamics as the reductive perturbation\nmethod is. Some examples for ordinary diferential equations, such as the forced\nDuffing, the Lotka-Volterra and the Lorenz equations, are worked out in this\nmethod: The time evolution of the solution of the Lotka-Volterra equation is\nexplicitly given, while the center manifolds of the Lorenz equation are\nconstructed in a simple way in the RG method.",
        "positive": "Absence of isolated critical points with nonstandard critical exponents\n  in the four-dimensional regularization of Lovelock gravity: Hyperbolic vacuum black holes in Lovelock gravity theories of odd order $N$,\nin which $N$ denotes the order of higher-curvature corrections, are known to\nhave the so-called isolated critical points with nonstandard critical exponents\n(as $\\alpha = 0$, $\\beta = 1$, $\\gamma = N-1$, and $\\delta = N$), different\nfrom those of mean-field critical exponents (with $\\alpha = 0$, $\\beta = 1/2$,\n$\\gamma = 1$, and $\\delta = 3$). Motivated by this important observation, here,\nwe explore the consequences of taking the $D \\to 4$ limit of Lovelock gravity\nand the possibility of finding nonstandard critical exponents associated with\nisolated critical points in four-dimensions by use of the four-dimensional\nregularization technique, proposed recently by Glavan and Lin\n\\cite{Glavan2020}. To do so, we first present $\\text{AdS}_4$ Einstein-Lovelock\nblack holes with fine-tuned Lovelock couplings in the regularized theory, which\nis needed for our purpose. Next, it is shown that the regularized $4D$\nEinstein-Lovelock gravity theories of odd order $N > 3$ do not possess any\nphysical isolated critical point, unlike the conventional Lovelock gravity. In\nfact, the critical (inflection) points of the equation of state always occur\nfor the branch of black holes with negative entropy. The situation is quite\ndifferent for the case of the regularized $4D$ Einstein-Lovelock gravity with\ncubic curvature corrections ($N=3$). In this case ($N=3$), although the entropy\nis non-negative and the equation of state of hyperbolic vacuum black holes has\na nonstandard Taylor expansion about its inflection point, but there is no\ncriticality associated with this special point. At the inflection point, the\nphysical properties of the black hole system change drastically ..."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Admissible states in quantum phase space: We address the question of which phase space functionals might represent a\nquantum state. We derive necessary and sufficient conditions for both pure and\nmixed phase space quantum states. From the pure state quantum condition we\nobtain a formula for the momentum correlations of arbitrary order and derive\nexplicit expressions for the wavefunctions in terms of time dependent and\nindependent Wigner functions. We show that the pure state quantum condition is\npreserved by the Moyal (but not by the classical Liouville) time evolution and\nis consistent with a generic stargenvalue equation. As a by-product Baker's\nconverse construction is generalized both to an arbitrary stargenvalue\nequation, associated to a generic phase space symbol, as well as to the time\ndependent case. These results are properly extended to the mixed state quantum\ncondition, which is proved to imply the Heisenberg uncertainty relations.\nGlobally, this formalism yields the complete characterization of the\nkinematical structure of Wigner quantum mechanics. The previous results are\nthen succinctly generalized for various quasi-distributions. Finally, the\nformalism is illustrated through the simple examples of the harmonic oscillator\nand the free Gaussian wave packet. As a by-product, we obtain in the former\nexample an integral representation of the Hermite polynomials.",
        "positive": "The Effective Potential of the Conformal Factor in Asymptotically Safe\n  Quantum Gravity: The effective potential of the conformal factor in the effective average\naction approach to Quantum Einstein Gravity is discussed. It is shown, without\ninvoking any truncation or other approximations, that if the theory has has a\nnon-Gaussian ultraviolet fixed point and is asymptotically safe the potential\nhas a characteristic behavior near the origin. This behavior might be\nobservable in numerical simulations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauge Independent Phase Structure of Gauged Nambu-Jona-Lasinio and\n  Yukawa Models: We investigate the critical behavior of the gauged NJL model (QED plus\n4-fermion interaction) and the gauged Yukawa model by use of the inversion\nmethod.\n  By calculating the gauge-invariant chiral condensate in the inversion method\nto the lowest order, we derive the critical line which separates the\nspontaneous chiral-symmetry breaking phase from the chiral symmetric one. The\ncritical exponent for the chiral order parameter associated with the second\norder chiral phase transition is shown to take the mean-field value together\nwith possible logarithmic correction to the mean-field prediction.\n  All the above results are gauge-parameter independent and are compared with\nthe previous results obtained from the Schwinger-Dyson equation for the fermion\npropagator.",
        "positive": "Local conformal symmetry in non-Riemannian geometry and the origin of\n  physical scales: We introduce an extension of the Standard Model and General Relativity built\nupon the principle of local conformal invariance, which represents a\ngeneralization of a previous work by Bars, Steinhardt and Turok. This is\nnaturally realized by adopting as a geometric framework a particular class of\nnon-Riemannian geometries, first studied by Weyl. The gravitational sector is\nenriched by a scalar and a vector field. The latter has a geometric origin and\nrepresents the novel feature of our approach. We argue that physical scales\ncould emerge from a theory with no dimensionful parameters, as a result of the\nspontaneous breakdown of conformal and electroweak symmetries. We study the\ndynamics of matter fields in this modified gravity theory and show that test\nparticles follow geodesics of the Levi-Civita connection, thus resolving an old\ncriticism raised by Einstein against Weyl's original proposal."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Consistent description of field theories with non-Hermitian mass terms: We review how to describe a field theory that includes a non-Hermitian mass\nterm in the region of parameter space where the Lagrangian is $PT$-symmetric.\nThe discrete symmetries of the system are essential for understanding the\nconsistency of the model, and the link between conserved current and variation\nof the Lagrangian has to be revisited in the case of continuous symmetries.",
        "positive": "The Space-Time Manifold as a Critical Solid: It is argued that the problems of the cosmological constant, stability and\nrenormalizability of quantum gravity can be solved if the space-time manifold\narises through spontaneous symmetry breaking. A ``pre-manifold\" model is\npresented in which many points are connected by random bonds. A set of $D$ real\nnumbers assigned to each point are coupled between points connected by bonds.\nIt is then found that the dominant configuration of bonds is a flat\n$D$-dimensional manifold, on which there is a massless matter field.\nLong-wavelength fluctuations can describe quantized massless gravity if\n$D=\\;4$, $6$, $8...$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Small Q balls: We develop an adequate description of non-topological solitons with a small\ncharge, for which the thin-wall approximation is not valid. There is no\nclassical lower limit on the charge of a stable Q-ball. We examine the\nparameters of these small-charge solitons and discuss the limits of\napplicability of the semiclassical approximation.",
        "positive": "Fusion algebra and Verlinde's formula: We show that the coefficients of decomposition into an irreducible components\nof the tensor powers of level $r$ symmetric algebra of adjoint representation\ncoincide with the Verlinder numbers. Also we construct (for $sl(2)) the\nrepresentations of a general linear group those dimensions are given by\ncorresponding Verlinde's numbers."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "From confinement to adjoint zero-modes: Starting from our proposed model of the Yang-Mills vacuum based on fractional\ninstantons, we review the intellectual itinerary which has guided part of our\nscientific activity up to our recent work on adjoint zero-modes for calorons.",
        "positive": "Berry Phase, Lorentz Covariance, and Anomalous Velocity for Dirac and\n  Weyl Particles: We consider the relation between spin and the Berry-phase contribution to the\nanomalous velocity of massive and massless Dirac particles. We extend the Berry\nconnection that depends only on the spatial components of the particle momentum\nto one that depends on the the space and time components in a covariant manner.\nWe show that this covariant Berry connection captures the Thomas-precession\npart of the Bargmann-Michel-Telegdi spin evolution, and contrast it with the\ntraditional (unitary, but not naturally covariant) Berry connection that\ndescribes spin-orbit coupling. We then consider how the covariant connection\nenters the classical relativistic dynamics of spinning particles due to\nMathisson, Papapetrou and Dixon. We discuss the problems that arise with\nLorentz covariance in the massless case, and trace them mathematically to a\nfailure of the Wigner-translation part of the massless-particle little group to\nbe an exact gauge symmetry in the presence of interactions, and physically to\nthe fact that the measured position of a massless spinning particle is\nnecessarily observer dependent."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Antisymmetric tensor matter fields in a curved space-time: An analysis about the antisymmetric tensor matter fields Avdeev-Chizhov\ntheory in a curved space-time is performed. We show, in a curved spacetime,\nthat the Avdeev-Chizhov theory can be seen as a kind of a $\\lambda\\phi^{4}$\ntheory for a \"complex self-dual\" field. This relationship between\nAvdeev-Chizhov theory and $\\lambda\\phi^{4}$ theory simplify the study of tensor\nmatter fields in a curved space-time. The energy-momentum tensor for matter\nfields is computed.",
        "positive": "On the holomorphic factorization for superconformal fields: For a generic value of the central charge, we prove the holomorphic\nfactorization of partition functions for free superconformal fields which are\ndefined on a compact Riemann surface without boundary. The partition functions\nare viewed as functionals of the Beltrami coefficients and their fermionic\npartners which variables parametrize superconformal classes of metrics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Oscillators from nonlinear realizations: We construct the systems of the harmonic and Pais-Uhlenbeck oscillators,\nwhich are invariant with respect to arbitrary noncompact Lie algebras. The\nequations of motion of these systems can be obtained with the help of the\nformalism of nonlinear realizations. We prove that it is always possible to\nchoose time and the fields within this formalism in such a way that the\nequations of motion become linear and, therefore, reduce to ones of ordinary\nharmonic and Pais-Uhlenbeck oscillators. The first-order actions, that produce\nthese equations, can also be provided. As particular examples of this\nconstruction, we discuss the $so(2,3)$ and $G_{2(2)}$ algebras.",
        "positive": "Radiative Classical Gravitational Observables at $\\mathcal O(G^3)$ from\n  Scattering Amplitudes: We compute classical gravitational observables for the scattering of two\nspinless black holes in general relativity and $\\mathcal N {=} 8$ supergravity\nin the formalism of Kosower, Maybee, and O'Connell (KMOC). We focus on the\ngravitational impulse with radiation reaction and the radiated momentum in\nblack hole scattering at $\\mathcal O(G^3)$ to all orders in the velocity. These\nclassical observables require the construction and evaluation of certain\nloop-level quantities which are greatly simplified by harnessing recent\nadvances from scattering amplitudes and collider physics. In particular, we\nmake use of generalized unitarity to construct the relevant loop integrands,\nemploy reverse unitarity, the method of regions, integration-by-parts (IBP),\nand (canonical) differential equations to simplify and evaluate all loop and\nphase-space integrals to obtain the classical gravitational observables of\ninterest to two-loop order. The KMOC formalism naturally incorporates radiation\neffects which enables us to explore these classical quantities beyond the\nconservative two-body dynamics. From the impulse and the radiated momentum, we\nextract the scattering angle and the radiated energy. Finally, we discuss\nuniversality of the impulse in the high-energy limit and the relation to the\neikonal phase."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Generating Geodesic Flows and Supergravity Solutions: We consider the geodesic motion on the symmetric moduli spaces that arise\nafter timelike and spacelike reductions of supergravity theories. The geodesics\ncorrespond to timelike respectively spacelike $p$-brane solutions when they are\nlifted over a $p$-dimensional flat space. In particular, we consider the\nproblem of constructing \\emph{the minimal generating solution}: A geodesic with\nthe minimal number of free parameters such that all other geodesics are\ngenerated through isometries. We give an intrinsic characterization of this\nsolution in a wide class of orbits for various supergravities in different\ndimensions. We apply our method to three cases: (i) Einstein vacuum solutions,\n(ii) extreme and non-extreme D=4 black holes in N=8 supergravity and their\nrelation to N=2 STU black holes and (iii) Euclidean wormholes in $D\\geq 3$. In\ncase (iii) we present an easy and general criterium for the existence of\nregular wormholes for a given scalar coset.",
        "positive": "The Analytic Bootstrap in Fermionic CFTs: We apply the method of the large spin bootstrap to analyse fermionic\nconformal field theories with weakly broken higher spin symmetry. Through the\nstudy of correlators of composite operators, we find the anomalous dimensions\nand OPE coefficients in the Gross-Neveu model in $d=2+\\varepsilon$ dimensions\nand the Gross-Neveu-Yukawa model in $d=4-\\varepsilon$ dimensions, based only on\ncrossing symmetry. Furthermore a non-trivial solution in the $d=2+\\varepsilon$\nexpansion is found for a fermionic theory in which the fundamental field is not\npart of the spectrum. The results are perturbative in $\\varepsilon$ and valid\nto all orders in the spin, reproducing known results for operator dimensions\nand providing some new results for operator dimensions and OPE coefficients."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Stringy effects in black hole decay: We compute the low energy decay rates of near-extremal three(four) charge\nblack holes in five(four) dimensional N=4 string theory to sub-leading order in\nthe large charge approximation. This involves studying stringy corrections to\nscattering amplitudes of a scalar field off a black hole. We adapt and use\nrecently developed techniques to compute such amplitudes as near-horizon\nquantities. We then compare this with the corresponding calculation in the\nmicroscopic configuration carrying the same charges as the black hole. We find\nperfect agreement between the microscopic and macroscopic calculations; in the\ncases we study, the zero energy limit of the scattering cross section is equal\nto four times the Wald entropy of the black hole.",
        "positive": "Large-N Collective Field Theory Applied to Anyons in Magnetic Fields: We present a large-$N$ collective field formalism for anyons in external\nmagnetic fields interacting with arbitrary two-body potential. We discuss how\nthe Landau level is reproduced in our framework. We apply it to the soluble\nmodel for anyons proposed by Girvin et al., and obtain the dispersion relation\nof collective modes for arbitrary statistical parameters."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Some Aspects of Scattering in (Non) Commutative Gauge Theories: We study almost-forward scattering in the context of usual and\nnon-commutative QED. We study the semi-classical behaviour of particles\nundergoing this scattering process in the two theories, and show that the shock\nwave picture, effective in QED fails for NCQED. Further, we show that whereas\nin QED, there are no leading logarithmic contributions to the amplitude upto\nsixth order, uncancelled logarithms appear in NCQED.",
        "positive": "Phase transitions in Wilson loop correlator from integrability in global\n  AdS: We directly compute Wilson loop/Wilson loop correlators on ${\\mathbb R}\\times\n$S$^3$ in AdS/CFT by constructing space-like minimal surfaces that connect two\nspace-like circular contours on the boundary of global AdS that are separated\nby a space-like interval. We compare these minimal surfaces to the disconnected\n\"double cap\" solutions both to regulate the area, and show when the\nconnected/disconnected solution is preferred. We find that for sufficiently\nlarge Wilson loops no transition occurs because the Wilson loops cannot be\nsufficiently separated on the sphere. This may be considered an effect similar\nto the Hawking-Page transition: the size of the sphere introduces a new scale\ninto the problem, and so one can expect phase transitions to depend on this\ndata. To construct the minimal area solutions, we employ a reduction a la\nArutyunov-Russo-Tseytlin (used by them for spinning strings), and rely on the\nintegrability of the reduced set of equations to write explicit results."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Analytic structure of the $n = 7$ scattering amplitude in\n  $\\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM theory in multi-Regge kinematics: Conformal Regge cut\n  contribution: In this second part of our investigation of the analytic structure of the\n$2\\to5$ scattering amplitude in the planar limit of $\\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM in\nmulti-Regge kinematics we compute, in all kinematic regions, the Regge cut\ncontributions in leading order. The results are infrared finite and conformally\ninvariant.",
        "positive": "The space-time symmetry group of a spin 1/2 elementary particle: The space-time symmetry group of a model of a relativistic spin 1/2\nelementary particle, which satisfies Dirac's equation when quantized, is\nanalyzed. It is shown that this group, larger than the Poincare group, also\ncontains space-time dilations and local rotations. It has two Casimir\noperators, one is the spin and the other is the spin projection on the body\nframe. Its similarities with the standard model are discussed. If we consider\nthis last spin observable as describing isospin, then, this Dirac particle\nrepresents a massive system of spin 1/2 and isospin 1/2. There are two possible\nirreducible representations of this kind of particles, a colourless or a\ncoloured one, where the colour observable is also another spin contribution\nrelated to the zitterbewegung. It is the spin, with its twofold structure, the\nonly intrinsic property of this Dirac elementary particle."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Klein Bottles and Simple Currents: The standard Klein bottle coefficient in the construction of open descendants\nis shown to equal the Frobenius-Schur indicator of a conformal field theory.\nOther consistent Klein bottle projections are shown to correspond to simple\ncurrents. These observations enable us to generalize the standard open string\nconstruction from C-diagonal parent theories to include non-standard Klein\nbottles. Using (generalizations of) the Frobenius-Schur indicator we prove\npositivity and integrality of the resulting open and closed string state\nmultiplicities for standard as well as non-standard Klein bottles.",
        "positive": "Non-anticommutative chiral singlet deformation of N=(1,1) gauge theory: We study the SO(4)x SU(2) invariant Q-deformation of Euclidean N=(1,1) gauge\ntheories in the harmonic superspace formulation. This deformation preserves\nchirality and Grassmann harmonic analyticity but breaks N=(1,1) to N=(1,0)\nsupersymmetry. The action of the deformed gauge theory is an integral over the\nchiral superspace, and only the purely chiral part of the covariant superfield\nstrength contributes to it. We give the component form of the N=(1,0)\nsupersymmetric action for the gauge groups U(1) and U(n>1). In the U(1) and\nU(2) cases, we find the explicit nonlinear field redefinition (Seiberg-Witten\nmap) relating the deformed N=(1,1) gauge multiplet to the undeformed one. This\nmap exists in the general U(n) case as well, and we use this fact to argue that\nthe deformed U(n) gauge theory can be nonlinearly reduced to a theory with the\ngauge group SU(n)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chiral Topologically Massive Gravity and Extremal B-F Scalars: At a critical ``chiral'' coupling, topologically massive gravity with a\nnegative cosmological constant exhibits several unusual features, including the\nemergence of a new logarithmic branch of solutions and a linearization\ninstability for certain boundary conditions. I show that at this coupling, the\nlinearized theory may be parametrized by a free scalar field at the\nBreitenlohner-Freedman bound, and use this description to investigate these\nfeatures.",
        "positive": "New RG Fixed Points and Duality in Supersymmetric SP(N_c) and SO(N_c)\n  Gauge Theories: We present evidence for new, non-trivial RG fixed points with dual magnetic\ndescriptions in $N=1$ supersymmetric $SP(N_c)$ and $SO(N_c)$ gauge theories.\nThe $SP(N_c)$ case involves matter $X$ in the antisymmetric tensor\nrepresentation and $N_f$ flavors of quarks $Q$ in the fundamental\nrepresentation. The $SO(N_c)$ case involves matter $X$ in the symmetric tensor\nrepresentation and $N_f$ flavors of quarks $Q$ in the vector representation of\n$SO(N_c)$. Perturbing these theories by superpotentials $W(X)$, we find a\nvariety of interesting RG fixed points with dual descriptions. The duality in\nthese theories is similar to that found by Kutasov and by Kutasov and Schwimmer\nin $SU(N_c)$ with adjoint $X$ and $N_f$ quarks in the fundamental."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Complexification of Gauge Theories: For the case of a first-class constrained system with an equivariant momentum\nmap, we study the conditions under which the double process of reducing to the\nconstraint surface and dividing out by the group of gauge transformations $G$\nis equivalent to the single process of dividing out the initial phase space by\nthe complexification $G_C$ of $G$. For the particular case of a phase space\naction that is the lift of a configuration space action, conditions are found\nunder which, in finite dimensions, the physical phase space of a gauge system\nwith first-class constraints is diffeomorphic to a manifold imbedded in the\nphysical configuration space of the complexified gauge system. Similar\nconditions are shown to hold in the infinite-dimensional example of Yang-Mills\ntheories. As a physical application we discuss the adequateness of using\nholomorphic Wilson loop variables as (generalized) global coordinates on the\nphysical phase space of Yang-Mills theory.",
        "positive": "M-Strings: M2 branes suspended between adjacent parallel M5 branes lead to light\nstrings, the `M-strings'. In this paper we compute the elliptic genus of\nM-strings, twisted by maximally allowed symmetries that preserve 2d (2,0)\nsupersymmetry. In a codimension one subspace of parameters this reduces to the\nelliptic genus of the (4,4) supersymmetric A_{n-1} quiver theory in 2d. We\ncontrast the elliptic genus of N M-strings with the (4,4) sigma model on the\nN-fold symmetric product of R^4. For N=1 they are the same, but for N>1 they\nare close, but not identical. Instead the elliptic genus of (4,4) N M-strings\nis the same as the elliptic genus of (4,0) sigma models on the N-fold symmetric\nproduct of R^4, but where the right-moving fermions couple to a modification of\nthe tangent bundle. This construction arises from a dual A_{n-1} quiver 6d\ngauge theory with U(1) gauge groups. Moreover we compute the elliptic genus of\ndomain walls which separate different numbers of M2 branes on the two sides of\nthe wall."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Beyond the String Genus: In an earlier work we used a path integral analysis to propose a higher genus\ngeneralization of the elliptic genus. We found a cobordism invariant\nparametrized by Teichmuller space. Here we simplify the formula and study the\nbehavior of our invariant under the action of the mapping class group of the\nRiemann surface. We find that our invariant is a modular function with\nmultiplier just as in genus one.",
        "positive": "Infinite Dimensional Geometry and Quantum Field Theory of Strings. II.\n  Infinite Dimensional Noncommutative Geometry of a Self-Interacting String\n  Field: A geometric interpretation of quantum self-interacting string field theory is\ngiven. Relations between various approaches to the second quantization of an\ninteracting string are described in terms of the geometric quantization. An\nalgorithm to construct a quantum nonperturbative interacting string field\ntheory in the quantum group formalism is proposed. problems of a metric\nbackground (in)dependence are discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Boosting some type--D metrics: We are presenting a general solution to the classical\nEinstein--Maxwell--dilaton--axion equations starting from a metric of type--D.\nNamely, this stringy solution is the result of a transformation on a general\nvacuum type--D solution to the Einstein's equations which was studied in detail\nsome years ago.",
        "positive": "EFT and the SUSY Index on the 2nd Sheet: The counting of BPS states in four-dimensional ${\\cal N}=1$ theories has\nattracted a lot of attention in recent years. For superconformal theories,\nthese states are in one-to-one correspondence with local operators in various\nshort representations. The generating function for this counting problem has\nbranch cuts and hence several Cardy-like limits, which are analogous to\nhigh-temperature limits. Particularly interesting is the second sheet, which\nhas been shown to capture the microstates and phases of supersymmetric black\nholes in AdS$_5$. Here we present a 3d Effective Field Theory (EFT) approach to\nthe high-temperature limit on the second sheet. We use the EFT to derive the\nbehavior of the index at orders $\\beta^{-2},\\beta^{-1},\\beta^0$. We also make a\nconjecture for $O(\\beta)$, where we argue that the expansion truncates up to\nexponentially small corrections. An important point is the existence of vector\nmultiplet zero modes, unaccompanied by massless matter fields. The runaway of\nAffleck-Harvey-Witten is however avoided by a non-perturbative confinement\nmechanism. This confinement mechanism guarantees that our results are robust."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "N=1/2 gauge theory and its instanton moduli space from open strings in\n  R-R background: We derive the four dimensional N=1/2 super Yang-Mills theory from tree-level\ncomputations in RNS open string theory with insertions of closed string\nRamond-Ramond vertices. We also study instanton configurations in this gauge\ntheory and their ADHM moduli space, using systems of D3 and D(-1) branes in a\nR-R background.",
        "positive": "Residual gauge symmetry in light-cone electromagnetism: We analyze the residual gauge freedom in light-cone electromagnetism in four\ndimensions. The standard boundary conditions involved in the so-called $lc_2$\nformalism, which contains only the two physical degrees of freedom, allow for a\nsubset of residual gauge transformations. We relax the boundary conditions\nimposed on the fields in order to obtain all the residual gauge\ntransformations. We compute the canonical generators for Poincar\\'e and gauge\ntransformations with these relaxed boundary conditions. This enables us to\ndistinguish between the trivial (proper) and large (improper) gauge\ntransformations in light-cone electromagnetism. We then employ the\nNewman-Penrose formalism to identify the incoming and outgoing radiation\nfields. We comment on the quadratic form structure of light-cone Hamiltonians,\noften encountered in $lc_2$ gauge theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Noncommuting Momenta of Topological Solitons: We show that momentum operators of a topological soliton may not commute\namong themselves when the soliton is associated with the second cohomology\n$H^2$ of the target space. The commutation relation is proportional to the\nwinding number, taking a constant value within each topological sector. The\nnoncommutativity makes it impossible to specify the momentum of a topological\nsoliton, and induces a Magnus force.",
        "positive": "Toward a 3d Ising model with a weakly-coupled string theory dual: It has long been expected that the 3d Ising model can be thought of as a\nstring theory, where one interprets the domain walls that separate up spins\nfrom down spins as two-dimensional string worldsheets. The usual Ising\nHamiltonian measures the area of these domain walls. This theory has string\ncoupling of unit magnitude. We add new local terms to the Ising Hamiltonian\nthat further weight each spin configuration by a factor depending on the genus\nof the corresponding domain wall, resulting in a new 3d Ising model that has a\ntunable bare string coupling $g_s$. We use a combination of analytical and\nnumerical methods to analyze the phase structure of this model as $g_s$ is\nvaried. We study statistical properties of the topology of worldsheets and\ndiscuss the prospects of using this new deformation at weak string coupling to\nfind a worldsheet description of the 3d Ising transition."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Positivity of Curvature-Squared Corrections in Gravity: We study the Gauss-Bonnet (GB) term as the leading higher-curvature\ncorrection to pure Einstein gravity. Assuming a tree-level ultraviolet\ncompletion free of ghosts or tachyons, we prove that the GB term has a\nnonnegative coefficient in dimensions greater than four. Our result follows\nfrom unitarity of the spectral representation for a general ultraviolet\ncompletion of the GB term.",
        "positive": "Poincar\u00e9 Covariant k-Minkowski Spacetime: A fully Poincare' covariant model is constructed out of the k-Minkowski\nspacetime. Covariance is implemented by a unitary representation of the\nPoincare' group, and thus complies with the original Wigner approach to quantum\nsymmetries. This provides yet another example (besides the DFR model), where\nPoincare' covariance is realised a` la Wigner in the presence of two\ncharacteristic dimensionful parameters: the light speed and the Planck length.\nIn other words, a Doubly Special Relativity (DSR) framework may well be\nrealised without deforming the meaning of \"Poincare covariance\"."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dynamical Correlation Functions and Finite-size Scaling in\n  Ruijsenaars-Schneider Model: The trigonometric Ruijsenaars-Schneider model is diagonalized by means of the\nMacdonald symmetric functions. We evaluate the dynamical density-density\ncorrelation function and the one-particle retarded Green function as well as\ntheir thermodynamic limit. Based on these results and finite-size scaling\nanalysis, we show that the low-energy behavior of the model is described by the\n$C=1$ Gaussian conformal field theory under a new fractional selection rule for\nthe quantum numbers labeling the critical exponents.",
        "positive": "Star product and interacting fields on $\u03ba$-Minkowski space: In this note we extend the methods developed by Freidel et al.\n[arXiv:hep-th/0612170] to derive the form of $\\phi^4$ interaction term in the\ncase of scalar field theory on $\\kappa$-Minkowski space, defined in terms of\nstar product. We present explicit expressions for the $\\kappa$-Minkowski star\nproduct. Having obtained the the interaction term we use the resulting deformed\nconservation rules to investigate if they lead to any threshold anomaly, and we\nfind that in the leading order they do not, as expected."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Affine Symmetry as Generalized Supersymmetry: The quantum affine $\\CU_q (\\hat{sl(2)}) $ symmetry is studied when $q^2$ is\nan even root of unity. The structure of this algebra allows a natural\ngeneralization of N=2 supersymmetry algebra. In particular it is found that the\nmomentum operators $P ,\\bar{P}$, and thus the Hamiltonian, can be written as\ngeneralized multi-commutators, and can be viewed as new central elements of the\nalgebra $\\CU_q (\\hat{sl(2)})$. We show that massive particles in (deformations\nof) integer spin representions of $sl(2)$ are not allowed in such theories.\nGeneralizations of Witten's index and Bogomolnyi bounds are presented and a\npreliminary attempt in constructing manifestly $\\CU_q (\\hat{sl(2)})$ invariant\nactions as generalized supersymmetric Landau-Ginzburg theories is made.",
        "positive": "Supergravity field equations from the superconnection: Withdrawn due to the existence of the main result in Phys.Rev. D69 (2004)\n105010, hep-th/0312266 (based on earlier results in JHEP 0304 (2003) 039,\nhep-th/0212008)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Parametric phase transition for Gauss-Bonnet AdS black hole: With the help of the parametric solution of the Maxwell equal area law for\nthe Gauss-Bonnet AdS black hole in five dimensions, we find the second\nanalytical solution to the first order phase transition. We analyze the\nasymptotic behaviors of some characteristic thermodynamic properties for the\nsmall and large black holes at the critical and zero temperatures and also\ncalculate the critical exponents and the corresponding critical amplitudes in\ndetail. Moreover, we give the general form of the thermodynamic scalar\ncurvature based on the Ruppeiner geometry and point out that the attractive\ninteraction dominates in both the small and large black hole phases when the\nfirst order phase transition occurs in the five dimensional Gauss-Bonnet AdS\nblack hole.",
        "positive": "Wilson loops in supersymmetric Chern-Simons-matter theories and duality: We study the algebra of BPS Wilson loops in 3d gauge theories with N=2\nsupersymmetry and Chern-Simons terms. We argue that new relations appear on the\nquantum level, and that in many cases this makes the algebra\nfinite-dimensional. We use our results to propose the mapping of Wilson loops\nunder Seiberg-like dualities and verify that the proposed map agrees with the\nexact results for expectation values of circular Wilson loops. In some cases we\nalso relate the algebra of Wilson loops to the equivariant quantum K-ring of\ncertain quasi projective varieties. This generalizes the connection between the\nVerlinde algebra and the quantum cohomology of the Grassmannian found by\nWitten."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the vacuum energy in the Einstein Universe and the conformal anomaly: An oldish question is resurrected concerning the significance of the\nambiguous `b-type' terms encountered in calculations of the vacuum, Casimir\nenergy on the Einstein Universe for conformally coupled scalar fields. Some\nremarks in the literature are hopefully clarified and the relevance of much\nearlier evaluations is pointed out. A consistency principle is suggested.",
        "positive": "Emergent Dark Gravity from (Non)Holographic Screens: In this work, a clear connection is made between E. Verlinde's recent theory\nof emergent gravity in de Sitter space and the earlier work that described\nemergent gravity using holographic screens. A modified (non)holographic screen\nscenario is presented, wherein the screen fails to encode an emergent mass in\nthe bulk \"unemerged\" part of space for sufficiently large length-scales, where\nthe volume-law of the non-holographic bulk degrees of freedom overtakes the\narea-law scaling of the entropy of the screen. Within this framework, we can\ndescribe both an emergent dark gravitational force, which scales like\n$\\frac{1}{r}$, and also a version of the baryonic Tully-Fisher relation. We\ntherefore recast these results within an emergent gravity framework in which\nthere is an explicit violation of holography for sufficiently large\nlength-scales."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Component on shell actions of supersymmetric 3-brane I. 3-brane in D=6: In the present and accompanying papers we explicitly construct the on-shell\nsupersymmetric component actions for 3-branes moving in D=6 and in D=8 within\nthe nonlinear realizations framework.\n  In the first paper we apply our schema to construct the action of\nsupersymmetric 3-brane in D=6. It turns out that all ingredients entering the\ncomponent action can be obtained almost algorithmically by using the nonlinear\nrealizations approach. Within this approach, properly adapted to the\nconstruction of on-shell component actions, we pay much attention to broken\nsupersymmetry. Doing so, we were able to write the action in terms of purely\ngeometric objects (vielbeins and covariant derivatives of the physical bosonic\ncomponents), covariant with respect to broken supersymmetry. It turns out that\nall terms of the higher orders in the fermions, are hidden inside these\ncovariant derivatives and vielbeins. Moreover, the main part of the component\naction just mimics its bosonic cousin in which the ordinary space-time\nderivatives and the bosonic world volume are replaced by their covariant\nsupersymmetric analogs. The Wess-Zumino term in the action, which does not\nexist in the bosonic case, can be also easily constructed in terms of reduced\nCartan forms. Keeping the broken supersymmetry almost explicit, one may write\nthe Ansatz for the component action, fully defined up to two constant\nparameters. The role of the unbroken supersymmetry is just to fix these\nparameters.",
        "positive": "Thermalization in the D1D5 CFT: It is generally agreed that black hole formation in gravity corresponds to\nthermalization in the dual CFT. It is sometimes argued that if the CFT\nevolution shows evidence of large redshift in gravity, then we have seen black\nhole formation in the CFT. We argue that this is not the case: a clock falling\ntowards the horizon increases its redshift but remains intact as a clock; thus\nit is not `thermalized'. Instead, thermalization should correspond to a new\nphase after the phase of large redshift, where the infalling object turns into\nfuzzballs on reaching within planck distance of the horizon. We compute simple\nexamples of the scattering vertex in the D1D5 CFT which, after many iterations,\nwould lead to thermalization. An initial state made of two left-moving and two\nright-moving excitations corresponds, in gravity, to two gravitons heading\ntowards each other. The thermalization vertex in the CFT breaks these\nexcitations into multiple excitations on the left and right sides; we compute\nthe amplitudes for several of these processes. We find secular terms that grow\nas $t^2$ instead of oscillating with $t$; we conjecture that this may be a\nfeature of processes leading to thermalization."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Abelian Vortices on Nodal and Cuspidal Curves: We compute the Euler characteristics of the moduli spaces of abelian vortices\non curves with nodal and cuspidal singularities. This generalizes our previous\nwork where only nodes were taken into account. The result we obtain is again\nconsistent with the expected reconciliation between the vortex picture of D2-D0\nbranes and the proposal by Gopakumar and Vafa.",
        "positive": "Scale and Conformal Invariance on (A)dS: We examine the question of scale versus conformal invariance on maximally\nsymmetric curved backgrounds and study general 2-derivative conformally\ninvariant free theories of vectors and tensors. For spacetime dimension $D>4$,\nthese conformal theories can be diagonalized into standard massive fields in\nwhich unbroken conformal symmetry non-trivially mixes components of different\nspins. In $D=4$, the tensor case becomes a conformal theory mixing a partially\nmassless spin-2 field with a massless spin-1 field. For massless linearized\ngravity in $D = 4$, we confirm through direct calculation that correlation\nfunctions of gauge-invariant operators take the conformally invariant form,\ndespite the absence of standard conformal symmetry at the level of the action."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Note about Yang Mills, QCD and their supersymmetric counterparts: We analyze in an effective Lagrangian framework the connection between Super\nQCD (Super Yang Mills) and QCD (Yang Mills) by highlighting the crucial role\nthat the zero modes play in the process of decoupling gluinos and squarks.",
        "positive": "Exponential mapping for non semisimple quantum groups: The concept of universal T matrix, recently introduced by Fronsdal and\nGalindo in the framework of quantum groups, is here discussed as a\ngeneralization of the exponential mapping. New examples related to\ninhomogeneous quantum groups of physical interest are developed, the duality\ncalculations are explicitly presented and it is found that in some cases the\nuniversal T matrix, like for Lie groups, is expressed in terms of usual\nexponential series."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fusion & Tensoring of Conformal Field Theory and Composite Fermion\n  Picture of Fractional Quantum Hall Effect: We propose a new way for describing the transition between two quantum Hall\neffect states with different filling factors within the framework of rational\nconformal field theory. Using a particular class of non-unitary theories, we\nexplicitly recover Jain's picture of attaching flux quanta by the fusion rules\nof primary fields. Filling higher Landau levels of composite fermions can be\ndescribed by taking tensor products of conformal theories. The usual projection\nto the lowest Landau level corresponds then to a simple coset of these tensor\nproducts with several U(1)-theories divided out. These two operations -- the\nfusion map and the tensor map -- can explain the Jain series and all other\nobserved fractions as exceptional cases. Within our scheme of transitions we\nnaturally find a field with the experimentally observed universal critical\nexponent 7/3.",
        "positive": "Power-law Behavior of High Energy String Scatterings in Compact Spaces: We calculate high energy massive scattering amplitudes of closed bosonic\nstring compactified on the torus. We obtain infinite linear relations among\nhigh energy scattering amplitudes. For some kinematic regimes, we discover that\nsome linear relations break down and, simultaneously, the amplitudes enhance to\npower-law behavior due to the space-time T-duality symmetry in the compact\ndirection. This result is consistent with the coexistence of the linear\nrelations and the softer exponential fall-off behavior of high energy string\nscattering amplitudes as we pointed out prevously. It is also reminiscent of\nhard (power-law) string scatterings in warped spacetime proposed by Polchinski\nand Strassler."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A universal attractor for inflation at strong coupling: We introduce a novel non-minimal coupling between gravity and the inflaton\nsector. Remarkably, for large values of this coupling all models asymptote to a\nuniversal attractor. This behavior is independent of the original scalar\npotential and generalizes the attractor in the phi^4 theory with non-minimal\ncoupling to gravity. The attractor is located in the `sweet spot' of Planck's\nrecent results.",
        "positive": "Temperature of D3-branes off extremality: We discuss non-extremal rotating D3-branes. We solve the wave equation for\nscalars in the supergravity background of certain distributions of branes and\ncompute the absorption coefficients. The form of these coefficients is similar\nto the gray-body factors associated with black-hole scattering. They are given\nin terms of two different temperature parameters, indicating that fields (open\nstring modes) do not remain in thermal equilibrium as we move off extremality.\nThis should shed some light on the origin of the disagreement between the\nsupergravity and conformal field theory results on the free energy of a system\nof non-coincident D-branes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Codimension Two Branes in Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet Gravity: Codimension two branes play an interesting role in attacking the cosmological\nconstant problem. Recently, in order to handle some problems in codimension two\nbranes in Einstein gravity, Bostock {\\it et al.} have proposed using\nsix-dimensional Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet (EGB) gravity instead of six-dimensional\nEinstein gravity. In this paper, we present the solutions of codimension two\nbranes in six-dimensional EGB gravity. We show that Einstein's equations take a\n\"factorizable\" form for a factorized metric tensor ansatz even in the presence\nof the higher-derivative Gauss-Bonnet term. Especially, a new feature of the\nsolution is that the deficit angle depends on the brane geometry. We discuss\nthe implication of the solution to the cosmological constant problem. We also\ncomment on a possible problem of inflation model building on codimension two\nbranes.",
        "positive": "Quantum fluctuations and thermal dissipation in higher derivative\n  gravity: In this paper, based on the $ AdS_{2}/CFT_{1} $ prescription, we explore the\nlow frequency behavior of quantum two point functions for a special class of\nstrongly coupled CFTs in one dimension whose dual gravitational counterpart\nconsists of \\textit{extremal} black hole solutions in higher derivative\ntheories of gravity defined over an asymptotically AdS space time. The quantum\ncritical points thus described are supposed to correspond to a very large value\nof the dynamic exponent ($ z\\rightarrow \\infty $). In our analysis, we find\nthat quantum fluctuations are enhanced due to the higher derivative corrections\nin the bulk which in turn increases the possibility of quantum phase transition\nnear the critical point. On the field theory side, such higher derivative\neffects would stand for the corrections appearing due to the finite coupling in\nthe gauge theory. Finally, we compute the coefficient of thermal diffusion at\nfinite coupling corresponding to Gauss Bonnet corrected charged Lifshitz black\nholes in the bulk. We observe an important crossover corresponding to $ z=5 $\nfixed point."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On cosmic natural selection: The rate of black hole formation can be increased by increasing the value of\nthe cosmological constant. This falsifies Smolin's conjecture that the values\nof all constants of nature are adjusted to maximize black hole production.",
        "positive": "Y-systems and generalized associahedra: We prove, for an arbitrary finite root system, the periodicity conjecture of\nAl.B.Zamolodchikov concerning Y-systems, a particular class of functional\nrelations arising in the theory of thermodynamic Bethe ansatz. Algebraically,\nY-systems can be viewed as families of rational functions defined by certain\nbirational recurrences formulated in terms of the underlying root system. In\nthe course of proving periodicity, we obtain explicit formulas for all these\nrational functions, which turn out to always be Laurent polynomials.\n  In a closely related development, we introduce and study a family of\nsimplicial complexes that can be associated to arbitrary root systems. In type\nA, our construction produces Stasheff's associahedron, whereas in type B, it\ngives the Bott-Taubes polytope, or cyclohedron. We enumerate the faces of these\ncomplexes, prove that their geometric realization is always a sphere, and\ndescribe them in concrete combinatorial terms for the classical types ABCD."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A lattice Poisson algebra for the Pohlmeyer reduction of the AdS_5 x S^5\n  superstring: The Poisson algebra of the Lax matrix associated with the Pohlmeyer reduction\nof the AdS_5 x S^5 superstring is computed from first principles. The resulting\nnon-ultralocality is mild, which enables to write down a corresponding lattice\nPoisson algebra.",
        "positive": "Relativistic fluctuations in stochastic fluid dynamics: The state-of-the-art theoretical formalism for a covariant description of\nnon-Gaussian fluctuation dynamics in relativistic fluids is discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Expansion of All Multitrace Tree Level EYM Amplitudes: In this paper, we investigate the expansion of tree level multitrace\nEinstein-Yang-Mills (EYM) amplitudes. First, we propose two types of recursive\nexpansions of tree level EYM amplitudes with an arbitrary number of gluons,\ngravitons and traces by those amplitudes with fewer traces or/and gravitons.\nThen we give many support evidence, including proofs using the Cachazo-He-Yuan\n(CHY) formula and Britto-Cachazo-Feng-Witten (BCFW) recursive relation. As a\nbyproduct, two types of generalized BCJ relations for multitrace EYM are\nfurther proposed, which will be useful in the BCFW proof. After one applies the\nrecursive expansions repeatedly, any multitrace EYM amplitudes can be given in\nthe Kleiss-Kuijf (KK) basis of tree level color ordered Yang-Mills (YM)\namplitudes. Thus the Bern-Carrasco-Johansson (BCJ) numerators, as the expansion\ncoefficients, for all multitrace EYM amplitudes are naturally constructed.",
        "positive": "A rough end for smooth microstate geometries: Supersymmetric microstate geometries with five non-compact dimensions have\nrecently been shown by Eperon, Reall, and Santos (ERS) to exhibit a non-linear\ninstability featuring the growth of excitations at an \"evanescent ergosurface\"\nof infinite redshift. We argue that this growth may be treated as adiabatic\nevolution along a family of exactly supersymmetric solutions in the limit where\nthe excitations are Aichelburg-Sexl-like shockwaves. In the 2-charge system\nsuch solutions may be constructed explicitly, incorporating full backreaction,\nand are in fact special cases of known microstate geometries. In a near-horizon\nlimit, they reduce to Aichelburg-Sexl shockwaves in $AdS_3 \\times S^3$\npropagating along one of the angular directions of the sphere. Noting that the\nERS analysis is valid in the limit of large microstate angular momentum $j$, we\nuse the above identification to interpret their instability as a transition\nfrom rare smooth microstates with large angular momentum to more typical\nmicrostates with smaller angular momentum. This entropic driving terminates\nwhen the angular momentum decreases to $j \\sim \\sqrt{n_1n_5}$ where the density\nof microstates is maximal. We argue that, at this point, the large stringy\ncorrections to such microstates will render them non-linearly stable. We\nidentify a possible mechanism for this stabilization and detail an illustrative\ntoy model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Euclidean spinors and Wick rotations: We propose a continuous Wick rotation for Dirac, Majorana and Weyl spinors\nfrom Minkowski spacetime to Euclidean space which treats fermions on the same\nfooting as bosons. The result is a recipe to construct a supersymmetric\nEuclidean theory from any supersymmetric Minkowski theory. This Wick rotation\nis identified as a complex Lorentz boost in a five-dimensional space and acts\nuniformly on bosons and fermions. For Majorana and Weyl spinors our approach is\nreminiscent of the traditional Osterwalder Schrader approach in which spinors\nare ``doubled'' but the action is not hermitean. However, for Dirac spinors our\nwork provides a link to the work of Schwinger and Zumino in which hermiticity\nis maintained but spinors are not doubled. Our work differs from recent work by\nMehta since we introduce no external metric and transform only the basic\nfields.",
        "positive": "APS $\u03b7$-invariant, path integrals, and mock modularity: We show that the Atiyah-Patodi-Singer $\\eta$-invariant can be related to the\ntemperature dependent Witten index of a noncompact theory and give a new proof\nof the APS theorem using scattering theory. We relate the $\\eta$-invariant to a\nCallias index and compute it using localization of a supersymmetric path\nintegral. We show that the $\\eta$-invariant for the elliptic genus of a finite\ncigar is related to quantum modular forms obtained from the completion of a\nmock Jacobi form which we compute from the noncompact path integral."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A proper scalar product for tachyon representations in configuration\n  space: We propose a new inner product for scalar fields that are solutions of the\nKlein-Gordon equation with $m^2<0$. This inner product is non-local, bearing an\nintegral kernel including Bessel functions of the second kind, and the\nassociated norm proves to be positive definite in the subspace of oscillatory\nsolutions, as opposed to the conventional one. Poincar\\'e transformations are\nunitarily implemented on this subspace, which is the support of a unitary and\nirreducible representation of the proper orthochronous Poincar\\'e group. We\nalso provide a new Fourier Transform between configuration and momentum spaces\nwhich is unitary, and recover the projection onto the representation space.\nThis new scenario suggests a revision of the corresponding quantum field\ntheory.",
        "positive": "Quantum corrections in Galileon theories: We calculate the one-loop quantum corrections in the cubic Galileon theory,\nusing cutoff regularization. We confirm the expected form of the one-loop\neffective action and that the couplings of the Galileon theory do not get\nrenormalized. However, new terms, not included in the tree-level action, are\ninduced by quantum corrections. We also consider the one-loop corrections in an\neffective brane theory, which belongs to the Horndeski or generalized Galileon\nclass. We find that new terms are generated by quantum corrections, while the\ntree-level couplings are also renormalized. We conclude that the structure of\nthe generalized Galileon theories is altered by quantum corrections more\nradically than that of the Galileon theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Crystallographic T-duality: We introduce the notion of crystallographic T-duality, inspired by the\nappearance of $K$-theory with graded equivariant twists in the study of\ntopological crystalline materials. Besides giving a range of new topological\nT-dualities, it also unifies many previously known dualities, motivates\ngeneralisations of the Baum-Connes conjecture to graded groups, provides a\npowerful tool for computing topological phase classification groups, and\nfacilitates the understanding of crystallographic bulk-boundary correspondences\nin physics.",
        "positive": "Holonomy from wrapped branes: Compactifications of M-theory on manifolds with reduced holonomy arise as the\nlocal eleven-dimensional description of D6-branes wrapped on supersymmetric\ncycles in manifolds of lower dimension with a different holonomy group.\nWhenever the isometry group SU(2) is present, eight-dimensional gauged\nsupergravity is a natural arena for such investigations. In this paper we use\nthis approach and review the eleven dimensional description of D6-branes\nwrapped on coassociative 4-cycles, on deformed 3-cycles inside Calabi-Yau\nthreefolds and on Kahler 4-cycles."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Monstrous Product CFTs in the Grand Canonical Ensemble: We study symmetric products of the chiral 'Monster' conformal field theory\nwith c=24 in the grand canonical ensemble by introducing a complex parameter\n\\rho, whose imaginary part represents the chemical potential \\mu conjugate to\nthe number of copies of the CFT. The grand canonical partition function is\ngiven by the DMVV product formula in terms of the multiplicities of the seed\nCFT. It possesses an O(2,2;\\ZZ) symmetry that enhances the familiar SL(2,\\ZZ)\nmodular invariance of the canonical ensemble and mixes the modular parameter\n\\tau with the parameter \\rho. By exploiting this enhanced modular symmetry and\nthe pole structure of the DMVV product formula we are able to extend the region\nof validity of Cardy's formula, and explain why it matches the semi-classical\nBekenstein-Hawking formula for black holes all the way down to the AdS-scale.\nWe prove that for large c the spectrum contains a universal perturbative sector\nwhose degeneracies obey Hagedorn growth. The transition from Cardy to Hagedorn\ngrowth is found to be due to the formation of a Bose-Einstein condensate of\nground state CFTs at low temperatures. The grand canonical partition function\nhas an interesting phase structure, which in addition to the standard\nHawking-Page transition between low and high temperature, exhibits a\nwall-crossing transition that exchanges the roles of \\tau and \\rho.",
        "positive": "A geometric discretisation scheme applied to the Abelian Chern-Simons\n  theory: We give a detailed general description of a recent geometrical discretisation\nscheme and illustrate, by explicit numerical calculation, the scheme's ability\nto capture topological features. The scheme is applied to the Abelian\nChern-Simons theory and leads, after a necessary field doubling, to an\nexpression for the discrete partition function in terms of untwisted\nReidemeister torsion and of various triangulation dependent factors. The\ndiscrete partition function is evaluated computationally for various\ntriangulations of $S^3$ and of lens spaces. The results confirm that the\ndiscretisation scheme is triangulation independent and coincides with the\ncontinuum partition function"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "$\\mathcal{N} = 1$ superconformal theories with $D_N$ blocks: We study the chiral ring of four-dimensional superconformal field theories\nobtained by wrapping M5-branes on a complex curve inside a Calabi-Yau\nthree-fold. We propose a field theoretic construction of all the theories found\nby Bah, Beem, Bobev and Wecht by introducing new building blocks, and prove\nseveral $\\mathcal{N} = 1$ dualities featuring the latter. We match the central\ncharges with those computed from the M5-brane anomaly polynomial, perform the\ncounting of relevant operators and analyze unitarity bound violations. As a\nbyproduct, we compute the exact dimension of \"heavy operators\" obtained by\nwrapping an M2-brane on the complex curve.",
        "positive": "On Tensionless Strings in $3+1$ Dimensions: We argue for the existence of phase transitions in $3+1$ dimensions\nassociated with the appearance of tensionless strings. The massless spectrum of\nthis theory does not contain a graviton: it consists of one $N=2$ vector\nmultiplet and one linear multiplet, in agreement with the light-cone analysis\nof the Green-Schwarz string in $3+1$ dimensions. In M-theory the string\ndecoupled from gravity arises when two 5-branes intersect over a\nthree-dimensional hyperplane. The two 5-branes may be connected by a 2-brane,\nwhose boundary becomes a tensionless string with $N=2$ supersymmetry in $3+1$\ndimensions. Non-critical strings on the intersection may also come from\ndynamical 5-branes intersecting the two 5-branes over a string and wrapped over\na four-torus. The near-extremal entropy of the intersecting 5-branes is\nexplained by the non-critical strings originating from the wrapped 5-branes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spectral Distance on Lorentzian Moyal Plane: We present here a completely operatorial approach, using Hilbert-Schmidt\noperators, to compute spectral distances between time-like separated \"events \",\nassociated with the pure states of the algebra describing the Lorentzian Moyal\nplane, using the axiomatic framework given by [13, 14]. The result shows no\ndeformations of non-commutative origin, as in the Euclidean case.",
        "positive": "Structural aspects of asymptotically safe black holes: We study the quantum modifications of classical, spherically symmetric\nSchwarzschild (Anti-) de Sitter black holes within Quantum Einstein Gravity.\nThe quantum effects are incorporated through the running coupling constants\n$G_k$ and $\\Lambda_k$, computed within the exact renormalization group\napproach, and a common scale-setting procedure. We find that, in contrast to\ncommon intuition, it is actually the cosmological constant that determines the\nshort-distance structure of the RG-improved black hole: in the asymptotic UV\nthe structure of the quantum solutions is universal and given by the classical\nSchwarzschild-de Sitter solution, entailing a self-similarity between the\nclassical and quantum regime. As a consequence asymptotically safe black holes\nevaporate completely and no Planck-size remnants are formed. Moreover, the\nthermodynamic entropy of the critical Nariai-black hole is shown to agree with\nthe microstate count based on the effective average action, suggesting that the\nentropy originates from quantum fluctuations around the mean-field geometry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Electrons and Photons: Fact not Fiction: The particle Fock space of the matter fields in QED can be constructed using\nthe free creation and annihilation operators. However, these particle operators\nare not, even at asymptotically large times, the modes of the matter fields\nthat enter the QED Lagrangian. In this letter we construct the fields which do\nrecover such particle modes at large times. We are thus able to demonstrate for\nthe first time that, contrary to statements found in the literature, a\nrelativistic description of charged particles in QED exists.",
        "positive": "Feynman Rules for Scalar Conformal Blocks: We complete the proof of \"Feynman rules\" for constructing $M$-point conformal\nblocks with external and internal scalars in any topology for arbitrary $M$ in\nany spacetime dimension by combining the rules for the blocks (based on their\nWitten diagram interpretation) with the rules for the construction of conformal\ncross ratios (based on OPE flow diagrams). The full set of Feynman rules leads\nto blocks as power series of the hypergeometric type in the conformal cross\nratios. We then provide a proof by recursion of the Feynman rules which relies\nheavily on the first Barnes lemma and the decomposition of the topology of\ninterest in comb-like structures. Finally, we provide a nine-point example to\nillustrate the rules."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Cluster Adjacency for m=2 Yangian Invariants: We classify the rational Yangian invariants of the $m=2$ toy model of\n$\\mathcal{N}=4$ Yang-Mills theory in terms of generalised triangles inside the\namplituhedron $\\mathcal{A}_{n,k}^{(2)}$. We enumerate and provide an explicit\nformula for all invariants for any number of particles $n$ and any helicity\ndegree $k$. Each invariant manifestly satisfies cluster adjacency with respect\nto the $Gr(2,n)$ cluster algebra.",
        "positive": "Boundary WZW, G/H, G/G and CS theories: We extend the analysis of the canonical structure of the Wess-Zumino-Witten\ntheory to the bulk and boundary coset G/H models. The phase spaces of the coset\ntheories in the closed and in the open geometry appear to coincide with those\nof a double Chern-Simons theory on two different 3-manifolds. In particular, we\nobtain an explicit description of the canonical structure of the boundary G/G\ncoset theory. The latter may be easily quantized leading to an example of a\ntwo-dimensional topological boundary field theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Superconformal Boundaries in $4-\u03b5$ dimensions: Boundaries in three-dimensional $\\mathcal{N}=2$ superconformal theories may\npreserve one half of the original bulk supersymmetry. There are two\npossibilities which are characterized by the chirality of the leftover\nsupercharges. Depending on the choice, the remaining $2d$ boundary algebra\nexhibits $\\mathcal{N}=(0,2)$ or $\\mathcal{N}=(1,1)$ supersymmetry. In this work\nwe focus on correlation functions of chiral fields for both types of\nsupersymmetric boundaries. We study a host of correlators using superspace\ntechniques and calculate superconformal blocks for two- and three-point\nfunctions. For $\\mathcal{N}=(1,1)$ supersymmetry, some of our results can be\nanalytically continued in the spacetime dimension while keeping the codimension\nfixed. This opens the door for a bootstrap analysis of the $\\epsilon$-expansion\nin supersymmetric BCFTs. Armed with our analytically-continued superblocks, we\nprove that in the free theory limit two-point functions of chiral (and\nantichiral) fields are unique. The first order correction, which already\ndescribes interactions, is universal up to two free parameters. As a check of\nour analysis, we study the Wess-Zumino model with a supersymmetric boundary\nusing Feynman diagrams, and find perfect agreement between the perturbative and\nbootstrap results.",
        "positive": "Fermion zero modes for the mixed-flux AdS$_3$ giant magnon: We explicitly construct the four and two fermion zero modes for the\nmixed-flux generalization of the Hofman-Maldacena giant magnon on two of the\nAdS$_3$ backgrounds with maximal amount of supersymmetry, AdS$_3 \\times$S$^3\n\\times$T$^4$ and AdS$_3 \\times$S$^3 \\times$S$^3 \\times$S$^1$. We also show how\nto get the $\\mathfrak{psu}(1|1)^4$ and $\\mathfrak{su}(1|1)^2$ superalgebras\nfrom the semiclassically quantized fermion zero modes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Deformation, non-commutativity and the cosmological constant problem: In this talk we provide arguments on possible relation between the\ncosmological constant in our space and the non-commutativity parameter of the\ninternal space of compactified string theory. The arguments are valid in the\ncontext of D3/D7 brane cosmological model of inflation/acceleration.",
        "positive": "Phase Structure of Supersymmetric Models at Finite Temperature: We study O(N) symmetric supersymmetric models in three dimensions at finite\ntemperature. These models are known to have an interesting phase structures. In\nparticular, in the limit $N \\to \\infty$ one finds spontaneous breaking of scale\ninvariance with no explicit breaking. Supersymmetry is softly broken at finite\ntemperature and the peculiar phase structure and properties seen at T=0 are\nstudied here at finite temperature."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Harmonic oscillator with minimal length, minimal momentum, and maximal\n  momentum uncertainties in SUSYQM framework: We consider a Generalized Uncertainty Principle (GUP) framework which\npredicts a maximal uncertainty in momentum and minimal uncertainties both in\nposition and momentum. We apply supersymmetric quantum mechanics method and the\nshape invariance condition to obtain the exact harmonic oscillator eigenvalues\nin this GUP context. We find the supersymmetric partner Hamiltonians and show\nthat the harmonic oscillator belongs to a hierarchy of Hamiltonians with a\nshift in momentum representation and different masses and frequencies. We also\nstudy the effect of a uniform electric field on the harmonic oscillator energy\nspectrum in this setup.",
        "positive": "A Note on ODEs from Mirror Symmetry: We give close formulas for the counting functions of rational curves on\ncomplete intersection Calabi-Yau manifolds in terms of special solutions of\ngeneralized hypergeometric differential systems. For the one modulus cases we\nderive a differential equation for the Mirror map, which can be viewed as a\ngeneralization of the Schwarzian equation. We also derive a nonlinear seventh\norder differential equation which directly governs the instanton corrected\nYukawa coupling."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Interaction of higher spin massive fields with gravity in string theory: Derivations of consistent equations of motion for the massive spin two field\ninteracting with gravity is reviewed. From the field theoretical point of view\nthe most general classical action describing consistent causal propagation in\nvacuum Einstein spacetime is given. It is also shown that the massive spin two\nfield can be consistently described in arbitrary background by means of\nlagrangian equations representing an infinite series in curvature. Within\nstring theory equations of motion for the massive spin two field coupled to\ngravity is derived from the requirement of quantum Weyl invariance of the\ncorresponding two dimensional sigma-model. In the lowest order in string length\nthe effective equations of motion are demonstrated to coincide with the general\nform of consistent equations derived in field theory.",
        "positive": "Low energy effective string cosmology: We give the general analytic solutions derived from the low energy string\neffective action for four dimensional Friedmann-Robertson-Walker models with\ndilaton and antisymmetric tensor field, considering both long and short\nwavelength modes of the $H$-field. The presence of a homogeneous $H$-field\nsignificantly modifies the evolution of the scale factor and dilaton. In\nparticular it places a lower bound on the allowed value of the dilaton. The\nscale factor also has a lower bound but our solutions remain singular as they\nall contain regions where the spacetime curvature diverges signalling a\nbreakdown in the validity of the effective action. We extend our results to the\nsimplest Bianchi I metric in higher dimensions with only two scale factors. We\nagain give the general analytic solutions for long and short wavelength modes\nfor the $H$ field restricted to the three dimensional space, which produces an\nanisotropic expansion. In the case of $H$ field radiation (wavelengths within\nthe Hubble length) we obtain the usual four dimensional radiation dominated FRW\nmodel as the unique late time attractor."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Explicit field realizations of W algebras: The fact that certain non-linear $W_{2,s}$ algebras can be linearized by the\ninclusion of a spin-1 current can provide a simple way to realize $W_{2,s}$\nalgebras from linear $W_{1,2,s}$ algebras. In this paper, we first construct\nthe explicit field realizations of linear $W_{1,2,s}$ algebras with\ndouble-scalar and double-spinor, respectively. Then, after a change of basis,\nthe realizations of $W_{2,s}$ algebras are presented. The results show that all\nthese realizations are Romans-type realizations.",
        "positive": "Bubbling the NHEK: We build the first family of smooth bubbling microstate geometries that are\nasymptotic to the near-horizon region of extremal five-dimensional Kerr black\nholes (NHEK). These black holes arise as extremal non-supersymmetric\nhighly-rotating D1-D5-P solutions in type IIB string theory on\nT$^4\\times$S$^1$. Our solutions are asymptotically NHEK in the UV and end in\nthe IR with a smooth cap. In the context of the Kerr/CFT correspondence, these\nbubbling geometries are dual to pure states of the 1+1 dimensional chiral\nconformal field theory dual to NHEK. Since our solutions have a bubbling\nstructure in the IR, they correspond to an IR phase of broken conformal\nsymmetry, and their existence supports the possibility that all the pure states\nwhose counting gives the Kerr black hole entropy correspond to horizonless bulk\nconfigurations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fayet-Iliopoulos terms in supergravity without gauged R-symmetry: We construct a supergravity-Maxwell theory with a novel embedding of the\nFayet-Iliopoulos D-term, leading to spontaneous supersymmetry breaking. The\ngauging of the R-symmetry is not required and a gravitino mass is allowed for a\ngeneric vacuum. When matter couplings are introduced, an uplift through a\npositive definite contribution to the scalar potential is obtained. We observe\na notable similarity to the $\\overline{D3}$ uplift constructions and we give a\nnatural description in terms of constrained multiplets.",
        "positive": "Classical electron model with non static conformal symmetry: Lorentz proposed a classical model of electron in which electron was assumed\nto have only 'electromagnetic mass'. We modeled electron as charged anisotropic\nperfect fluid sphere admitting non static conformal symmetry. It is noticed\nthat the pressure and density fail to be regular at the origin but effective\ngravitational mass is regular everywhere and vanishes at the limit r->0 i.e. it\ndoes not have to tolerate the problem of singularity. Further, we have matched\ninterior metric with exterior (Reissner-Nordstr\\\"om) metric and determine the\nvalues of the parameters k and r_0 (occurring in the solutions) in functions of\nmass, charge and radius of the spherically symmetric charged objects i.e.\nelectron."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Mass Screening in Modified Gravity: Models of modified gravity introduce extra degrees of freedom, which for\nconsistency with the data, should be suppressed at observable scales. In the\nmodels that share properties of massive gravity such a suppression is due to\nnonlinear interactions: An isolated massive astrophysical object creates a halo\nof a nonzero curvature around it, shielding its vicinity from the influence of\nthe extra degrees of freedom. We emphasize that the very same halo leads to a\nscreening of the gravitational mass of the object, as seen by an observer\nbeyond the halo. We discuss the case when the screening could be very\nsignificant and may rule out, or render the models observationally interesting.",
        "positive": "The overarching finite symmetry group of Kummer surfaces in the Mathieu\n  group M_24: In view of a potential interpretation of the role of the Mathieu group M_24\nin the context of strings compactified on K3 surfaces, we develop techniques to\ncombine groups of symmetries from different K3 surfaces to larger 'overarching'\nsymmetry groups.\n  We construct a bijection between the full integral homology lattice of K3 and\nthe Niemeier lattice of type (A_1)^24, which is simultaneously compatible with\nthe finite symplectic automorphism groups of all Kummer surfaces lying on an\nappropriate path in moduli space connecting the square and the tetrahedral\nKummer surfaces. The Niemeier lattice serves to express all these symplectic\nautomorphisms as elements of the Mathieu group M_24, generating the\n'overarching finite symmetry group' (Z_2)^4:A_7 of Kummer surfaces. This group\nhas order 40320, thus surpassing the size of the largest finite symplectic\nautomorphism group of a K3 surface by orders of magnitude. For every Kummer\nsurface this group contains the group of symplectic automorphisms leaving the\nKaehler class invariant which is induced from the underlying torus. Our results\nare in line with the existence proofs of Mukai and Kondo, that finite groups of\nsymplectic automorphisms of K3 are subgroups of one of eleven subgroups of\nM_23, and we extend their techniques of lattice embeddings for all Kummer\nsurfaces with Kaehler class induced from the underlying torus."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chern-Simons 5-form and Holographic Baryons: In the top-down holographic model of QCD based on D4/D8-branes in type IIA\nstring theory and some of the bottom up models, the low energy effective theory\nof mesons is described by a 5 dimensional Yang-Mills-Chern-Simons theory in a\ncertain curved background with two boundaries. The 5 dimensional Chern-Simons\nterm plays a crucial role to reproduce the correct chiral anomaly in 4\ndimensional massless QCD. However, there are some subtle ambiguities in the\ndefinition of the Chern-Simons term for the cases with topologically\nnon-trivial gauge bundles, which include the configurations with baryons. In\nparticular, for the cases with three flavors, it was pointed out by Hata and\nMurata that the naive Chern-Simons term does not lead to an important\nconstraint on the baryon spectrum, which is needed to pick out the correct\nbaryon spectrum observed in nature. In this paper, we propose a formulation of\nwell-defined Chern-Simons term which can be used for the cases with baryons,\nand show that it recovers the correct baryon constraint as well as the chiral\nanomaly in QCD.",
        "positive": "Integrable Gross-Neveu models with fermion-fermion and\n  fermion-antifermion pairing: The massless Gross-Neveu and chiral Gross-Neveu models are well known\nexamples of integrable quantum field theories in 1+1 dimensions. We address the\nquestion whether integrability is preserved if one either replaces the\nfour-fermion interaction in fermion-antifermion channels by a dual interaction\nin fermion-fermion channels, or if one adds such a dual interaction to an\nexisting integrable model. The relativistic Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov approach is\nadequate to deal with the large N limit of such models. In this way, we\nconstruct and solve three integrable models with Cooper pairing. We also\nidentify a candidate for a fourth integrable model with maximal kinematic\nsymmetry, the \"perfect\" Gross-Neveu model. This type of field theories can\nserve as exactly solvable toy models for color superconductivity in quantum\nchromodynamics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Index Theory, Gerbes, and Hamiltonian Quantization: We give an Atiyah-Patodi-Singer index theory construction of the bundle of\nfermionic Fock spaces parametrized by vector potentials in odd space dimensions\nand prove that this leads in a simple manner to the known Schwinger terms\n(Faddeev-Mickelsson cocycle) for the gauge group action. We relate the APS\nconstruction to the bundle gerbe approach discussed recently by Carey and\nMurray, including an explicit computation of the Dixmier-Douady class. An\nadvantage of our method is that it can be applied whenever one has a form of\nthe APS theorem at hand, as in the case of fermions in an external\ngravitational field.",
        "positive": "Singular limits in STU supergravity: We analyse the STU sectors of the four-dimensional maximal gauged\nsupergravities with gauge groups ${\\rm SO(8)}$, ${\\rm\nSO(6)}\\ltimes\\mathbb{R}^{12}$ and $[{\\rm SO(6)}\\times{\\rm\nSO(2)}]\\ltimes\\mathbb{R}^{12}$, and construct new domain-wall black-hole\nsolutions in $D=4$. The consistent Kaluza-Klein embedding of these theories is\nobtained using the techniques of Exceptional Field Theory combined with the\n4$d$ tensor hierarchies, and their respective uplifts into $D=11$ and type IIB\nsupergravities are connected through singular limits that relate the different\ngaugings."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Heisenberg groups and Sklyanin algebras: We define new quantizations of the Heisenberg group by introducing new\nquantizations in the universal enveloping algebra of its Lie algebra. Matrix\ncoefficients of the Stone--von Neumann representation are preserved by these\nnew multiplications on the algebra of functions on the Heisenberg group. Some\nof the new quantizations provide also a new multiplication in the algebra of\ntheta functions; we obtain in this way Sklyanin algebras.",
        "positive": "Temperature effects for $e^-+e^+\\rightarrow \u03bc^-+\u03bc^+$ scattering in\n  very special relativity: The electron-positron scattering process is investigated in the context of\nvery special relativity (VSR). This theory assumes that the true symmetry of\nnature is not the full Lorentz group, but some of its subgroups, such as the\nsubgroups $SIM(2)$ and $HOM(2)$. In this context, the cross-section for\nelectron-positron scattering at finite temperature is calculated. The effects\nof temperature are introduced using the Thermo Field Dynamics (TFD) formalism.\nOur result shows that the cross-section is changed due to both effects, the VSR\ncontributions and temperature effects. An estimated value for the VSR parameter\nusing experimental data available in the literature is discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Planar System and $w_\\infty$ Algebra: We study the exotic particles symmetry in the background of noncommutative\ntwo-dimensional phase-space leading to realize in physicswise the deformed\nversion of $C_{\\lambda}$-extended Heisenberg algebra and $\\om_\\infty$ symmetry.",
        "positive": "Monopole correlation functions and holographic phases of matter in 2+1\n  dimensions: The strong coupling dynamics of a 2+1 dimensional U(1) gauge theory coupled\nto charged matter is holographically modeled via a top-down construction with\nintersecting D3- and D5-branes. We explore the resulting phase diagram at\nfinite temperature and charge density using correlation functions of monopole\noperators, dual to magnetically charged particles in the higher-dimensional\nbulk theory, as a diagnostic."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Influence functionals and black body radiation: The Feynman-Vernon formalism is used to obtain a microscopic, quantum\nmechanical derivation of black body radiation, for a massless scalar field in\n1+1 dimensions, weakly coupled to an environment of finite size. The model\nexhibits the absorption, thermal equilibrium, and emission properties of a\ncanonical black body, but shows that the thermal radiation propagates outwards\nfrom the body, with the Planckian spectrum applying inside a wavefront region\nof finite thickness. The black body environment used in the derivation can be\nconsidered to represent a very fine, granular medium, such as lampblack. In the\ncourse of developing the model for black body radiation, thermalization of a\nsingle harmonic oscillator by a heat bath with slowly varying spectral density\nis demonstrated. Bargmann-Fock coherent state variables, being convenient for\nproblems involving harmonic oscillators and free fields, are reviewed and then\nused throughout the paper. An appendix reviews the justification for using\nbaths of independent harmonic oscillators to model generic quantum\nenvironments.",
        "positive": "Non-supersymmetric Attractor with the Cosmological Constant: As a test for the non-supersymmetric attractor mechanism, we consider\nextremal Reissner-Nordstr\\\"{o}m-(anti-)de Sitter black holes. Based on the\nsimple observation that the near-horizon geometry of a generic extremal black\nhole contains two-dimensional anti-de Sitter factor even in the presence of the\npositive cosmological constant, we apply Ashoke Sen's entropy function method\nto compute the entropy of these black holes. We find the results which exactly\nagree with the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy. We also obtain the constant\nhigher-order correction to the entropy due to the Gauss-Bonnet term."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Smearing orientifolds in flux compactifications can be OK: We present explicit examples of supergravity solutions corresponding to\nbackreacting localised (non-intersecting) O6 planes in flux reductions of\nmassive IIA supergravity and address some criticism towards the very existence\nof such solutions. We verify in detail how the smeared orientifold solution\nbecomes a good approximation to the localised solution in the large volume/weak\ncoupling limit, as expected. We also find an exotic solution where prior to\nbackreaction the internal space has a boundary and when backreaction is\nincluded the boundary disappears and the space closes off. The exotic example\nis however outside of the supergravity approximation everywhere.",
        "positive": "The Rest-Frame Instant Form of Relativistic Perfect Fluids and of\n  Non-Dissipative Elastic Materials: For perfect fluids with equation of state $\\rho = \\rho (n,s)$, Brown gave an\naction principle depending only on their Lagrange coordinates $\\alpha^i(x)$\nwithout Clebsch potentials. After a reformulation on arbitrary spacelike\nhypersurfaces in Minkowski spacetime, the Wigner-covariant rest-frame instant\nform of these perfect fluids is given. Their Hamiltonian invariant mass can be\ngiven in closed form for the dust and the photon gas. The action for the\ncoupling to tetrad gravity is given. Dixon's multipoles for the perfect fluids\nare studied on the rest-frame Wigner hyperplane. It is also shown that the same\nformalism can be applied to non-dissipative relativistic elastic materials\ndescribed in terms of Lagrangian coordinates."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Mass-deformed M2 branes in Stenzel space: We obtain finite-temperature M2 black branes in 11-dimensional supergravity,\nin a $G_4$-flux background whose self-dual part approaches a solution of\nCveti\\v{c}, Gibbons, L\\\"u, and Pope, based upon Stenzel's family of Ricci-flat\nK\\\"ahler deformed cones. Our solutions are asymptotically $AdS_4$ times a\n7-dimensional Stiefel manifold $V_{5,2}$, and the branes are ``smeared'' to\nretain $SO(5)$ symmetry in the internal space. The solutions represent a mass\ndeformation of the corresponding dual $CFT_3$, whose full description is at\nthis time only partially-understood. We investigate the possibility of a\nconfinement/de-confinement phase transition analogous to the $AdS_5 \\times S^5$\ncase, and a possible Gregory-Laflamme type instability which could lead to\npolarised brane solutions which break $SO(5)$. We discuss possible consequences\nfor AdS/CFT and the KKLT cosmological uplift mechanism.",
        "positive": "Wormhole solutions to Horava gravity: We present wormhole solutions to Horava non-relativistic gravity theory in\nvacuum. We show that, if the parameter $\\lambda$ is set to one, transversable\nwormholes connecting two asymptotically de Sitter or anti-de Sitter regions\nexist. In the case of arbitrary $\\lambda$, the asymptotic regions have a more\ncomplicated metric with constant curvature. We also show that, when the\ndetailed balance condition is violated softly, tranversable and asymptotically\nMinkowski, de Sitter or anti-de Sitter wormholes exist."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Review of AdS/CFT Integrability, Chapter VI.2: Yangian Algebra: We review the study of Hopf algebras, classical and quantum R-matrices,\ninfinite-dimensional Yangian symmetries and their representations in the\ncontext of integrability for the N=4 vs AdS5xS5 correspondence.",
        "positive": "The Quantum Symmetry of Rational Field Theories: The quantum symmetry of a rational quantum field theory is a finite-\ndimensional multi-matrix algebra. Its representation category, which determines\nthe fusion rules and braid group representations of superselection sectors, is\na braided monoidal C^*-category. Various properties of such algebraic\nstructures are described, and some ideas concerning the classification\nprogramme are outlined. (Invited talk given at the III. International\nConference on Mathematical Physics, String Theory and Quantum Gravity, Alushta,\nUkraine, June 1993. To appear in Teor.Mat.Fiz.)"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Cyclic monodromy matrices for sl(n) trigonometric R-matrices: The algebra of monodromy matrices for sl(n) trigonometric R-matrices is\nstudied. It is shown that a generic finite-dimensional polynomial irreducible\nrepresentation of this algebra is equivalent to a tensor product of\nL-operators. Cocommutativity of representations is discussed. A special class\nof representations - factorizable representations is introduced and\nintertwiners for cocommuting factorizable representations are written through\nthe Boltzmann weights of the sl(n) chiral Potts model.\n  Let us consider an algebra generated by noncommutative entries of the matrix\n$T(u)$ satisfying the famous bilinear relation originated from the quantum\ninverse scattering method: $R(\\la-\\mu)T(\\la)T(\\mu)=T(\\mu)T(\\la) R(\\la-\\mu)$\nwhere $R(\\la)$ is R-matrix. For historical reasons this algebra is called the\nalgebra of monodromy matrices. If $\\g$ is a simple finite-dimensional Lie\nalgebra and $R(\\la)$ is $\\g$-invariant R-matrix the algebra of monodromy\nmatrices after a proper specialization gives the Yangian $Y(\\g)$ introduced by\nDrinfeld. If $R(\\la)$ is corresponding trigonometric R-matrix this algebra is\nclosely connected with $U_q(\\g)$ and $U_q(\\hat\\g)$ at zero level. If $R(\\la)$\nis $sl(2)$ elliptic R-matrix the algebra of monodromy matrices gives rise to\nSklyanin's algebra.\n  In this paper we shall study algebras of monodromy matrices for $sl(n)$\ntrigonometric R-matrices at roots of 1. Finite-dimensional cyclic irreducible\npolynomial representations and their intertwiners are discussed.",
        "positive": "Synchrotron radiation from a charge moving along a helix around a\n  dielectric cylinder: In this paper we investigate the radiation emitted by a charged particle\nmoving along a helical orbit around a dielectric cylinder immersed into a\nhomogeneous medium. Formulae are derived for the electromagnetic potentials,\nelectric and magnetic fields, and for the spectral-angular distribution of the\nradiation in the exterior medium. It is shown that under the Cherenkov\ncondition for dielectric permittivity of the cylinder and the velocity of the\nparticle image on the cylinder surface, strong narrow peaks appear in the\nangular distribution for the number of quanta radiated on a given harmonic. At\nthese peaks the radiated energy exceeds the corresponding quantity for a\nhomogeneous medium by several dozens of times. Simple analytic estimates are\ngiven for the heights and widths of these peaks. The results of numerical\ncalculations for the angular distribution of the radiated quanta are presented\nand they are compared with the corresponding quantities for the radiation from\na charge moving along a helical trajectory inside a dielectric cylinder."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "(Non-)Anomalous D-brane and O-plane couplings: the normal bundle: The direct string computation of anomalous D-brane and orientifold plane\ncouplings is extended to include the curvature of the normal bundle. The\nnormalization of these terms is fixed unambiguously. New, non-anomalous\ngravitational couplings are found.",
        "positive": "Universal Axion Backreaction in Flux Compactifications: We study the backreaction effect of a large axion field excursion on the\nsaxion partner residing in the same $\\mathcal{N}=1$ multiplet. Such\nconfigurations are relevant in attempts to realize axion monodromy inflation in\nstring compactifications. We work in the complex structure moduli sector of\nCalabi-Yau fourfold compactifications of F-theory with four-form fluxes, which\ncovers many of the known Type II orientifold flux compactifications. Noting\nthat axions can only arise near the boundary of the moduli space, the powerful\nresults of asymptotic Hodge theory provide an ideal set of tools to draw\ngeneral conclusions without the need to focus on specific geometric examples.\nWe find that the boundary structure engraves a remarkable pattern in all\npossible scalar potentials generated by background fluxes. By studying the\nNewton polygons of the extremization conditions of all allowed scalar\npotentials and realizing the backreaction effects as Puiseux expansions, we\nfind that this pattern forces a universal backreaction behavior of the large\naxion field on its saxion partner."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hiding Charge in a Wormhole: Existence of wormholes can lead to a host of new effects like Misner-Wheeler\n\"charge without charge\" effect, where without being generated by any source an\nelectric flux arrives from one \"universe\" and flows into the other \"universe\".\nHere we show the existence of an intriguing opposite possibility. Namely, a\ncharged object (a charged lightlike brane in our case) sitting at the wormhole\n\"throat\" expels all the flux it produces into just one of the \"universes\",\nwhich turns out to be of compactified (\"tube-like\") nature. An outside observer\nin the non-compact \"universe\" detects, therefore, a neutral object. This\ncharge-hiding effect takes place in a gravity/gauge-field system\nself-consistently interacting with a charged lightlike brane as a matter\nsource, where the gauge field subsystem is of a special non-linear form\ncontaining a square-root of the Maxwell term and which previously has been\nshown to produce a QCD-like confining gauge field dynamics in flat space-time.",
        "positive": "A Note on the Relation between Different Forms of Superparticle\n  Dynamics': A formulation of $D\\is 10$ superparticle dynamics is given that contain\nspace-time and twistor variables. The set of constraints is entirely first\nclass, and gauge conditions may be imposed that reduces the system to a\nCasalbuoni-Brink-Schwarz superparticle, a spinning particle or a twistor\nparticle."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Systematics of Moduli Stabilisation in Calabi-Yau Flux Compactifications: We study the large volume limit of the scalar potential in Calabi-Yau flux\ncompactifications of type IIB string theory. Under general circumstances there\nexists a limit in which the potential approaches zero from below, with an\nassociated non-supersymmetric AdS minimum at exponentially large volume. Both\nthis and its de Sitter uplift are tachyon-free, thereby fixing all Kahler and\ncomplex structure moduli, which has been difficult to achieve in the KKLT\nscenario. Also, for the class of vacua described in this paper, the gravitino\nmass is independent of the flux discretuum, whereas the ratio of the string\nscale to the 4d Planck scale is hierarchically small but flux dependent. The\ninclusion of alpha' corrections plays a crucial role in the structure of the\npotential. We illustrate these ideas through explicit computations for a\nparticular Calabi-Yau manifold.",
        "positive": "On Non Commutative Calabi-Yau Hypersurfaces: Using the algebraic geometry method of Berenstein et al (hep-th/0005087), we\nreconsider the derivation of the non commutative quintic algebra\n${\\mathcal{A}}_{nc}(5)$ and derive new representations by choosing different\nsets of Calabi-Yau charges ${C_{i}^{a}}$. Next we extend these results to\nhigher $d$ complex dimension non commutative Calabi-Yau hypersurface algebras\n${\\mathcal{A}}_{nc}(d+2)$. We derive and solve the set of constraint eqs\ncarrying the non commutative structure in terms of Calabi-Yau charges and\ndiscrete torsion. Finally we construct the representations of\n${\\mathcal{A}}_{nc}(d+2) $ preserving manifestly the Calabi-Yau condition $\n\\sum_{i}C_{i}^{a}=0$ and give comments on the non commutative subalgebras."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Canonical Quantization of Massive Symmetric Rank-Two Tensor in String\n  Theory: The canonical quantization of a massive symmetric rank-two tensor in string\ntheory, which contains two Stueckelberg fields, was studied. As a preliminary\nstudy, we performed a canonical quantization of the Proca model to describe a\nmassive vector particle that shares common properties with the massive\nsymmetric rank-two tensor model. By performing a canonical analysis of the\nLagrangian, which describes the symmetric rank-two tensor, obtained by Siegel\nand Zwiebach (SZ) from string field theory, we deduced that the Lagrangian\npossesses only first class constraints that generate local gauge\ntransformation. By explicit calculations, we show that the massive symmetric\nrank-two tensor theory is gauge invariant only in the critical dimension of\nopen bosonic string theory, i.e., $d=26$. This emphasizes that the origin of\nlocal symmetry is the nilpotency of the Becchi-Rouet-Stora-Tyutin (BRST)\noperator, which is valid only in the critical dimension. For a particular gauge\nimposed on the Stueckelberg fields, the gauge-invariant Lagrangian of the SZ\nmodel reduces to the Fierz-Pauli Lagrangian of a massive spin-two particle.\nThus, the Fierz-Pauli Lagrangian is a gauge-fixed version of the\ngauge-invariant Lagrangian for a massive symmetric rank-two tensor. By noting\nthat the Fierz-Pauli Lagrangian is not suitable for studying massive spin-two\nparticles with small masses, we propose the transverse-traceless (TT) gauge to\nquantize the SZ model as an alternative gauge condition. In the TT gauge, the\ntwo Stueckelberg fields can be decoupled from the symmetric rank-two tensor and\nintegrated trivially. The massive spin-two particle can be described by the SZ\nmodel in the TT gauge, where the propagator of the massive spin-two particle\nhas a well-defined massless limit.",
        "positive": "Classical instability in Lovelock gravity: We introduce a simple method for the investigation of the classical stability\nof static solutions with a horizon in Lovelock gravity. The method is\napplicable to the investigation of high angular momentum instabilities, similar\nto those found by Dotti and Gleiser for Gauss-Bonnet black holes. The method\ndoes not require the knowledge of the explicit analytic form of the black hole\nsolution. In this paper we apply our method to a case where the explicit\nsolution is known and show that it identifies correctly the resulting unstable\nmodes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "When Black Holes Meet Kaluza-Klein Bubbles: We explore the physical consequences of a recently discovered class of exact\nsolutions to five dimensional Kaluza-Klein theory. We find a number of\nsurprising features including: (1) In the presence of a Kaluza-Klein bubble,\nthere are arbitrarily large black holes with topology S^3. (2) In the presence\nof a black hole or a black string, there are expanding bubbles (with de Sitter\ngeometry) which never reach null infinity. (3) A bubble can hold two black\nholes of arbitrary size in static equilibrium. In particular, two large black\nholes can be close together without merging to form a single black hole.",
        "positive": "Holomorphic Yukawa Couplings in Heterotic String Theory: We develop techniques, based on differential geometry, to compute holomorphic\nYukawa couplings for heterotic line bundle models on Calabi-Yau manifolds\ndefined as complete intersections in projective spaces. It is shown explicitly\nhow these techniques relate to algebraic methods for computing holomorphic\nYukawa couplings. We apply our methods to various examples and evaluate the\nholomorphic Yukawa couplings explicitly as functions of the complex structure\nmoduli. It is shown that the rank of the Yukawa matrix can decrease at specific\nloci in complex structure moduli space. In particular, we compute the up Yukawa\ncoupling and the singlet-Higgs-lepton trilinear coupling in the heterotic\nstandard model described in arXiv:1404.2767"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Type I integrable defects and finite-gap solutions for KdV and\n  sine-Gordon models: The main purpose of this paper is to extend results, which have been obtained\npreviously to describe the classical scattering of solitons with integrable\ndefects of type I, to include the much larger and intricate collection of\nfinite-gap solutions defined in terms of generalised theta functions. In this\ncontext, it is generally not feasible to adopt a direct approach, via ansatze\nfor the fields to either side of the defect tuned to satisfy the defect sewing\nconditions. Rather, essential use is made of the fact that the defect sewing\nconditions themselves are intimately related to Backlund transformations in\norder to set up a strategy to enable the calculation of the field on one side\nby suitably transforming the field on the other side. The method is implemented\nusing Darboux transformations and illustrated in detail for the sine-Gordon and\nKdV models. An exception, treatable by both methods, indirect and direct, is\nprovided by the genus 1 solutions. These can be expressed in terms of Jacobi\nelliptic functions, which satisfy a number of useful identities of relevance to\nthis problem. There are new features to the solutions obtained in the\nfinite-gap context but, in all cases, if a (multi)soliton limit is taken within\nthe finite-gap solutions previously known results are recovered.",
        "positive": "D-brane Spectra of Nonsupersymmetric, Asymmetric Orbifolds and\n  Nonperturbative Contributions to the Cosmological Constant: We study nonperturbative aspects of asymmetric orbifolds of type IIA,\nfocussing on models that allow a dual perturbative heterotic description. In\nparticular we derive the boundary states that describe the nonsupersymmetric\nD-branes of the untwisted sector and their zero mode spectra. These we use to\ndemonstrate, how some special non BPS multiplets are identified under the\nduality map, and give some indications, how the mismatch of bosons and fermions\nin the perturbative heterotic spectrum is to be interpreted in terms of the\nnonperturbative degrees of freedom on the type IIA side."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Father time. II. A physical basis behind Feynman's idea of antiparticles\n  moving backward in time, and an extension of the CPT theorem to include\n  non-local gauge fields: It has been demonstrated in a recent paper (Mod.Phys.Lett. A13, 1265 (1998);\nhep-th/9902020) that the existence of a non-thermodynamic arrow of time at the\natomic level is a fundamental requirement for conservation of energy in\nmatter-radiation interaction. Since the universe consists of two things only\n--- energy and massive matter --- we argue that as a consequence of this\nearlier result, particles and antiparticles must necessarily move in opposite\ndirections in time. Our result further indicates that the CPT theorem can be\nextended to cover non-local gauge fields.",
        "positive": "Multi-Instantons and Maldacena's Conjecture: We examine certain n-point functions G_n in {\\cal N}=4 supersymmetric SU(N)\ngauge theory at the conformal point. In the large-N limit, we are able to sum\nall leading-order multi-instanton contributions exactly. We find compelling\nevidence for Maldacena's conjecture: (1) The large-N k-instanton collective\ncoordinate space has the geometry of AdS_5 x S^5. (2) In exact agreement with\ntype IIB superstring calculations, at the k-instanton level, $G_n = \\sqrt{N}\ng^8 k^{n-7/2} e^{-8\\pi^2 k/g^2}\\sum_{d|k} d^{-2} \\times F_n(x_1,...,x_n)$,\nwhere F_n is identical to a convolution of n bulk-to-boundary SUGRA\npropagators."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Mass, Normalization and Late Time behavior of the Tachyon Field: We study the dynamics of the tachyon field $T$. We derive the mass of the\ntachyon as the pole of the propagator which does not coincide with the standard\nmass given in the literature in terms of the second derivative of $V(T)$ or\n$Log[V(T)]$. We determine the transformation of the tachyon in order to have a\ncanonical scalar field $\\phi$. This transformation reduces to the one obtained\nfor small $\\dot T$ but it is also valid for large values of $\\dot T$. This is\nspecially interesting for the study of dark energy where $\\dot T\\simeq 1$. We\nalso show that the normalized tachyon field $\\phi$ is constrained to the\ninterval $T_2\\leq T \\leq T_1$ where $T_1,T_2$ are zeros of the original\npotential $V(T)$. This results shows that the field $\\phi$ does not know of the\nunboundedness of $V(T)$, as suggested for bosonic open string tachyons. Finally\nwe study the late time behavior of tachyon field using the L'H\\^{o}pital rule.",
        "positive": "Entropy function and attractors for AdS black holes: We apply Sen's entropy formalism to the study of the near horizon geometry\nand the entropy of asymptotically AdS black holes in gauged supergravities. In\nparticular, we consider non-supersymmetric electrically charged black holes\nwith AdS_2 xS^{d-2} horizons in U(1)^4 and U(1)^3 gauged supergravities in d=4\nand d=5 dimensions, respectively. We study several cases including\nstatic/rotating, BPS and non-BPS black holes in Einstein as well as in\nGauss-Bonnet gravity. In all examples, the near horizon geometry and black hole\nentropy are derived by extremizing the entropy function and are given entirely\nin terms of the gauge coupling, the electric charges and the angular momentum\nof the black hole."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Amplitudes at Infinity: We investigate the asymptotically large loop-momentum behavior of multi-loop\namplitudes in maximally supersymmetric quantum field theories in four\ndimensions. We check residue-theorem identities among color-dressed leading\nsingularities in $\\mathcal{N}=4$ supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory to\ndemonstrate the absence of poles at infinity of all MHV amplitudes through\nthree loops. Considering the same test for $\\mathcal{N}=8$ supergravity leads\nus to discover that this theory does support non-vanishing residues at infinity\nstarting at two loops, and the degree of these poles grow arbitrarily with\nmultiplicity. This causes a tension between simultaneously manifesting\nultraviolet finiteness---which would be automatic in a representation obtained\nby color-kinematic duality---and gauge invariance---which would follow from\nunitarity-based methods.",
        "positive": "On 1D, N = 4 Supersymmetric SYK-Type Models (I): Proposals are made to describe 1D, N = 4 supersymmetrical systems that extend\nSYK models by compactifying from 4D, N = 1 supersymmetric Lagrangians involving\nchiral, vector, and tensor supermultiplets. Quartic fermionic vertices are\ngenerated via integrals over the whole superspace, while 2(q-1)-point fermionic\nvertices are generated via superpotentials. The coupling constants in the\nsuperfield Lagrangians are arbitrary, and can be chosen to be Gaussian random.\nIn that case, these 1D, N = 4 supersymmetric SYK models would exhibit\nWishart-Laguerre randomness, which share the same feature among other 1D\nsupersymmetric SYK models in literature. One difference with 1D, N = 1 and N =\n2 models though, is our models contain dynamical bosons, but this is consistent\nwith other 1D, N = 4 and 2D, N = 2 models in literature. Added conjectures on\nduality and possible mirror symmetry realizations on these models is noted."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Forcing Free Fields: The momentum of a free massive particle, invariant under translation, thereby\nrealizes a trivial representation of the translation group. By allowing\nnontrivial reps of translations, momentum changes with translation, a recipe\nfor force. Here the procedure is applied to the conventional construction of a\nfree quantum field using spacetime symmetries, yielding a more general field\nwith the free field as a special case. It is shown that a particle described by\nthe quantum field follows the classical trajectories of a massive charged\nparticle in electromagnetic and gravitational fields.",
        "positive": "The \u03bc- term in Effective Supergravity Theories: The Higgs mixing term coefficient $\\mu_{eff}$ is calculated in the scalar\npotential in supergravity theories with string origin, in a model independent\napproach. A general low energy effective expression is derived, where new\ncontributions are included which depend on the modular weights $q_{1,2}$ of the\nHiggs superfields, the moduli and derivative terms. We find that in a class of\nmodels obtained in the case of compactifications of the heterotic superstring,\nthe derivative terms are identically zero. Further, the total $\\mu_{eff}$-term\nvanishes identically if the sum of the two modular weights $q_1+q_2$ is equal\nto two. Subleading $\\mu$- corrections, in the presence of intermediate gauge\nsymmetries predicted in viable string scenarios, are also discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Deconstructing Superconductivity: We present a dimensionally deconstructed model of an s-wave holographic\nsuperconductor. The 2+1 dimensional model includes multiple charged Cooper pair\nfields and neutral exciton fields that have interactions governed by hidden\nlocal symmetries. We derive AdS/CFT-like relations for the current and charge\ndensity in the model, and we analyze properties of the Cooper pair condensates\nand the complex conductivity.",
        "positive": "Bubble instability of mIIA on $\\mathrm{AdS}_4\\times S^6$: We consider compactifications of massive IIA supergravity on a six-sphere.\nThis setup is known to give rise to non-supersymmetric AdS$_4$ vacua preserving\nSO$(7)$ as well as G$_2$ residual symmetry. Both solutions have a round $S^6$\nmetric and are supported by the Romans' mass and internal $F_6$ flux. While the\nSO$(7)$ invariant vacuum is known to be perturbatively unstable, the G$_2$\ninvariant one has been found to have a fully stable Kaluza-Klein spectrum.\nMoreover, it has been shown to be protected against brane-jet instabilities.\nMotivated by these results, we study possible bubbling solutions connected to\nthe G$_2$ vacuum, representing non-perturbative instabilities of the latter. We\nindeed find an instability channel represented by the nucleation of a bubble of\nnothing dressed up with a homogeneous D2 brane charge distribution in the\ninternal space. Our solution generalizes to the case where $S^6$ is replaced by\nany six-dimensional nearly-K\\\"ahler manifold."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "An entanglement asymmetry study of black hole radiation: Hawking discovery that black holes can evaporate through radiation emission\nhas posed a number of questions that with time became fundamental hallmarks for\na quantum theory of gravity. The most famous one is likely the information\nparadox, which finds an elegant explanation in the Page argument suggesting\nthat a black hole and its radiation can be effectively represented by a random\nstate of qubits. Leveraging the same assumption, we ponder the extent to which\na black hole may display emergent symmetries, employing the entanglement\nasymmetry as a modern, information-based indicator of symmetry breaking. We\nfind that for a random state devoid of any symmetry, a $U(1)$ symmetry emerges\nand it is exact in the thermodynamic limit before the Page time. At the Page\ntime, the entanglement asymmetry shows a finite jump to a large value. Our\nfindings imply that the emitted radiation is symmetric up to the Page time and\nthen undergoes a sharp transition. Conversely the black hole is symmetric only\nafter the Page time.",
        "positive": "Unconventional conformal invariance of maximal depth partially massless\n  fields on $dS_{4}$ and its relation to complex partially massless SUSY: Deser and Waldron have shown that maximal depth partially massless theories\nof higher (integer) spin on four-dimensional de Sitter spacetime ($dS_{4}$)\npossess infinitesimal symmetries generated by the conformal Killing vectors of\n$dS_{4}$. However, it was later shown by Barnich, Bekaer, and Grigoriev that\nthese theories are not invariant under the conformal algebra $so(4,2)$. To get\nsome insight into these seemingly contradicting results we write down the full\nset of infinitesimal transformations of the fields generated by the fifteen\nconformal Killing vectors of $dS_{4}$. In particular, although the\ntransformations generated by the ten dS Killing vectors are well-known, the\ntransformations generated by the five non-Killing conformal Killing vectors\nwere absent from the literature, and we show that they have an `unconventional'\nform. In the spin-2 case, we show that the field equations and the action are\ninvariant under the unconventional conformal transformations. For spin-$s >2$,\nthe invariance is demonstrated only at the level of the field equations. For\nall spins $s \\geq 2$, we reproduce the result that the symmetry algebra does\nnot close on $so(4,2)$. This is due to the appearance of new higher-derivative\nsymmetry transformations in the commutator of two unconventional\ntransformations. Our results concerning the closure of the full symmetry\nalgebra are inconclusive. Then we shift focus to the question of supersymmetry\non $dS_{4}$ and our objective is twofold. First, we uncover a non-interacting\nsupermultiplet that consists of a complex partially massless spin-2 field and a\ncomplex spin-3/2 field. Second, we showcase the appearance of the\nunconventional conformal symmetries in the bosonic subalgebra of our\nsupermultiplet. The bosonic subalgebra is neither $so(4,1)$ nor $so(4,2)$,\nwhile its closure is currently an open question."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Warping and F-term uplifting: We analyse the effective supergravity model of a warped compactification with\nmatter on D3 and D7-branes. We find that the main effect of the warp factor is\nto modify the F-terms while leaving the D-terms invariant. Hence warped models\nwith moduli stabilisation and a small positive cosmological constant resulting\nfrom a large warping can only be achieved with an almost vanishing D-term and a\nF-term uplifting. By studying string-motivated examples with gaugino\ncondensation on magnetised D7-branes, we find that even with a vanishing\nD-term, it is difficult to achieve a Minkowski minimum for reasonable parameter\nchoices. When coupled to an ISS sector the AdS vacua is uplifted, resulting in\na small gravitino mass for a warp factor of order 10^-5.",
        "positive": "Hamiltonian approach to QCD in Coulomb gauge: From the vacuum to finite\n  temperatures: The variational Hamiltonian approach to QCD in Coulomb gauge is reviewed and\nthe essential results obtained in recent years are summarized. First the\nresults for the vacuum sector are discussed, with a special emphasis on the\nmechansim of confinement and chiral symmetry breaking. Then the deconfinement\nphase transition is described by introducing temperature in the Hamiltonian\napproach via compactification of one spatial dimension. The effective action\nfor the Polyakov loop is calculated and the order of the phase transition as\nwell as the critical temperatures are obtained for the color group SU(2) and\nSU(3). In both cases, our predictions are in good agreement with lattice\ncalculations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Equations of fluid mechanics with N=1 Schrodinger supersymmetry: Equations of fluid mechanics with N=1 Schrodinger supersymmetry are\nformulated within the method of nonlinear realizations of Lie groups.",
        "positive": "Scale Vs. Conformal Invariance in the AdS/CFT Correspondence: We present two examples of non-trivial field theories which are scale\ninvariant, but not conformally invariant. This is done by placing certain field\ntheories, which are conformally invariant in flat space, onto curved\nbackgrounds of a specific type. We define this using the AdS/CFT\ncorrespondence, which relates the physics of gravity in asymptotically Anti-de\nSitter (AdS) spacetimes to that of a conformal field theory (CFT) in one\ndimension fewer. The AdS rotating (Kerr) black holes in five and seven\ndimensions provide us with the examples, since by the correspondence we are\nable to define and compute the action and stress tensor of four and six\ndimensional field theories residing on rotating Einstein universes, using the\n``boundary counterterm'' method. The rotation breaks conformal but not scale\ninvariance. The AdS/CFT framework is therefore a natural arena for generating\nsuch examples of non-trivial scale invariant theories which are not conformally\ninvariant."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Null orbifolds in AdS, Time Dependence and Holography: We study M/D-branes in a null-brane background. By taking a near horizon\nlimit, one is left with cosmological models in the corresponding Poincar\\'e\npatches. To deal with their usual horizons, we either extend these models to\nglobal AdS or remain in the Poincar\\'e patch and apply a T-duality\ntransformation whenever the effective radius of the compact dimension\nassociated with the null-brane probes distances smaller than the string scale.\nThe first scenario gives rise to null orbifolds in AdS spaces, which are\ndescribed in detail. Their conformal boundaries are singular. The second has a\ndual gauge theory description in terms of Super Yang-Mills in the null-brane\nbackground. The latter is a good candidate for a non-perturbative definition of\nstring theory in a time-dependent background.",
        "positive": "Open-Closed String Field Theory in the Background B-Field: In this paper, we study open-closed string field theory in the background\nB-field in the so-called alpha=p^{+} formulation. The string field theory in\nthe infrared gives noncommutative gauge theory in the open string sector. Since\nthis theory includes closed string fields as dynamical variables, we can obtain\nanother string field theory in the same background through the condensation of\nclosed string fields, whose low-energy effective action does not show the\nnoncommutativity of spacetime. Although we have two string field theories in\nthe same background, we show that these theories are equivalent. In fact, we\ngive the unitary transformation from string fields in one of them to string\nfields in the other."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Additional Equations Derived from the Ryder Postulates in the\n  (1/2,0)+(0,1/2) Representation of the Lorentz Group: Developing recently proposed constructions for the description of particles\nin the $(1/2,0)\\oplus (0,1/2)$ representation space, we derive the second-order\nequations. The similar ones were proposed in the sixties and the seventies in\norder to understand the nature of various mass and spin states in the\nrepresentations of the $O(4,2)$ group. We give some additional insights into\nthis problem. The used procedure can be generalized for {\\it arbitrary} number\nof lepton families.",
        "positive": "Causality constraints on corrections to Einstein gravity: We study constraints from causality and unitarity on $2\\to2$ graviton\nscattering in four-dimensional weakly-coupled effective field theories.\nTogether, causality and unitarity imply dispersion relations that connect\nlow-energy observables to high-energy data. Using such dispersion relations, we\nderive two-sided bounds on gravitational Wilson coefficients in terms of the\nmass $M$ of new higher-spin states. Our bounds imply that gravitational\ninteractions must shut off uniformly in the limit $G \\to 0$, and prove the\nscaling with $M$ expected from dimensional analysis (up to an infrared\nlogarithm). We speculate that causality, together with the non-observation of\ngravitationally-coupled higher spin states at colliders, severely restricts\nmodifications to Einstein gravity that could be probed by experiments in the\nnear future."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum mechanical path integrals in the first quantised approach to\n  quantum field theory: Perturbative quantum field theory usually uses second quantisation and\nFeynman diagrams. The worldline formalism provides an alternative approach\nbased on first quantised particle path integrals, similar in spirit to string\nperturbation theory. Here we review the history, main features and present\napplications of the formalism. Our emphasis is on recent developments such as\nthe path integral representation of open fermion lines, the description of\ncolour using auxiliary worldline fields, incorporation of higher spin, and\nextension of the formalism to non-commutative space.",
        "positive": "Boundary Effects in 2+1 Dimensional Maxwell-Chern-Simons Theory: The boundary effects in the screening of an applied magnetic field in a\nfinite temperature 2+1 dimensional model of charged fermions minimally coupled\nto Maxwell and Chern-Simons fields are investigated. It is found that in a\nsample with only one boundary -a half-plane- a total Meissner effect takes\nplace, while in a sample with two boundaries -an infinite strip- the external\nmagnetic field partially penetrates the material."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Characteristic numbers of crepant resolutions of Weierstrass models: We compute characteristic numbers of crepant resolutions of Weierstrass\nmodels corresponding to elliptically fibered fourfolds $Y$ dual in F-theory to\na gauge theory with gauge group $G$. In contrast to the case of fivefolds,\nChern and Pontryagin numbers of fourfolds are invariant under crepant\nbirational maps. It follows that Chern and Pontryagin numbers are independent\non a choice of a crepant resolution. We present the results for the Euler\ncharacteristic, the holomorphic genera, the Todd-genus, the $L$-genus, the\n$\\hat{A}$-genus, and the curvature invariant $X_8$ that appears in M-theory. We\nalso show that certain characteristic classes are independent on the choice of\nthe Kodaria fiber characterizing the group $G$. That is the case of $\\int_Y\nc_1^2 c_2$, the arithmetic genus, and the $\\hat{A}$-genus. Thus, it is enough\nto know $\\int_Y c_2^2$ and the Euler characteristic $\\chi(Y)$ to determine all\nthe Chern numbers of an elliptically fibered fourfold. We consider the cases of\n$G=$ SU($n$) for ($n=2,3,4,5,6,7$), USp($4$), Spin($7$), Spin($8$), Spin($10$),\nG$_2$, F$_4$, E$_6$, E$_7$, or E$_8$.",
        "positive": "Addendum to the paper \"Combinatorics of the modular group II: the\n  Kontsevich integrals\": Addendum to the paper Combinatorics of the Modular Group II The Kontsevich\nintegrals, hep-th/9201001, by C. Itzykson and J.-B. Zuber (3 pages)"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Derivations and noncommutative differential calculus II: We characterize the derivation $d:A\\to \\Omega^1_{\\der}(A)$ by a universal\nproperty introducing a new class of bimodules.",
        "positive": "Massive Ray-Singer Torsion and Path Integrals: Zero modes are an essential part of topological field theories, but they are\nfrequently also an obstacle to the explicit evaluation of the associated path\nintegrals. In order to address this issue in the case of Ray-Singer Torsion,\nwhich appears in various topological gauge theories, we introduce a massive\nvariant of the Ray-Singer Torsion which involves determinants of the twisted\nLaplacian with mass but without zero modes. This has the advantage of allowing\none to explicitly keep track of the zero mode dependence of the theory. We\nestablish a number of general properties of this massive Ray-Singer Torsion.\nFor product manifolds $M=N \\times S^1$ and mapping tori one is able to\ninterpret the mass term as a flat $\\mathbb{R}_{+}$ connection and one can\nrepresent the massive Ray-Singer Torsion as the path integral of a Schwarz type\ntopological gauge theory. Using path integral techniques, with a judicious\nchoice of an algebraic gauge fixing condition and a change of variables which\nleaves one with a free action, we can evaluate the torsion in closed form. We\ndiscuss a number of applications, including an explicit calculation of the\nRay-Singer Torsion on $S^1$ for $G=PSL(2,R)$ and a path integral derivation of\na generalisation of a formula of Fried for the torsion of finite order mapping\ntori."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Static Solution of the General Relativistic Nonlinear $\u03c3$-Model\n  Equation: The nonlinear $\\sigma$-model is considered to be useful in describing hadrons\n(Skyrmions) in low energy hadron physics and the approximate behavior of the\nglobal texture. Here we investigate the properties of the static solution of\nthe nonlinear $\\sigma$-model equation coupled with gravity. As in the case\nwhere gravity is ignored, there is still no scale parameter that determines the\nsize of the static solution and the winding number of the solution is $1/2$.\nThe geometry of the spatial hyperspace in the asymptotic region of large $r$ is\nexplicitly shown to be that of a flat space with some missing solid angle.",
        "positive": "RNS model from a new angle for strings charged under the Maximal Gauge\n  Symmetry of the Standard model: We consider the RNS model from a new angle. The longitudinal and time\ncomponents of the world-sheet fermions add a $U(1)$ charge to a state. Unlike\nthe gauginos, the ground state fermions in the open string sector are complex;\nspinor representations of $SU(3)_C\\otimes SU(2)_L\\otimes U(1)_{Y_W}$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exact Effective action for (1+1)-dimensional fermions in an Abelian\n  background at finite temperature and chemical potential: In this paper we study the effects of a nonzero chemical potential in the\neffective action for massless fermions in (1+1) dimensions in an abelian gauge\nfield background at finite temperature. We calculate the n-point function and\nshow that the structure of the amplitudes corresponds to a generalization of\nthe structure noted earlier in a calculation without a chemical potential (the\nassociated integrals carry the dependence on the chemical potential). Our\ncalculation shows that the chiral anomaly is unaffected by the presence of a\nchemical potential at finite temperature. However, unlike the earlier\ncalculation (in the absence of a chemical potential) odd point functions do not\nvanish. We trace this to the fact that in the presence of a chemical potential\nthe generalized charge conjugation symmetry of the theory allows for such\namplitudes. In fact, we find that all the even point functions are even\nfunctions of the chemical potential while the odd point functions are odd\nfunctions of it which is consistent with this generalized charge conjugation\nsymmetry. We show that the origin of the structure of the amplitudes is best\nseen from a formulation of the theory in terms of left and right handed\nspinors. The calculations are also much simpler in this formulation and it\nclarifies many other aspects of the theory.",
        "positive": "From Navier-Stokes To Einstein: We show by explicit construction that for every solution of the\nincompressible Navier-Stokes equation in $p+1$ dimensions, there is a uniquely\nassociated \"dual\" solution of the vacuum Einstein equations in $p+2$\ndimensions. The dual geometry has an intrinsically flat timelike boundary\nsegment $\\Sigma_c$ whose extrinsic curvature is given by the stress tensor of\nthe Navier-Stokes fluid. We consider a \"near-horizon\" limit in which $\\Sigma_c$\nbecomes highly accelerated. The near-horizon expansion in gravity is shown to\nbe mathematically equivalent to the hydrodynamic expansion in fluid dynamics,\nand the Einstein equation reduces to the incompressible Navier-Stokes equation.\nFor $p=2$, we show that the full dual geometry is algebraically special Petrov\ntype II. The construction is a mathematically precise realization of\nsuggestions of a holographic duality relating fluids and horizons which began\nwith the membrane paradigm in the 70's and resurfaced recently in studies of\nthe AdS/CFT correspondence."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Poincare mass operator in terms of a hyperbolic algebra: The Poincare mass operator can be represented in terms of a Cl(3,0) Clifford\nalgebra. With this representation the quadratic Dirac equation and the Maxwell\nequations can be derived from the same mathematical structure.",
        "positive": "Anti de Sitter Gravity from BF-Chern-Simons-Higgs Theories: It is shown that an action inspired from a BF and Chern-Simons model, based\non the $AdS_4$ isometry group SO(3, 2), with the inclusion of a Higgs potential\nterm, furnishes the MacDowell-Mansouri-Chamseddine-West action for gravity,\nwith a Gauss-Bonnet and cosmological constant term. The $AdS_4$ space is a\nnatural vacuum of the theory. Using Vasiliev's procedure to construct higher\nspin massless fields in AdS spaces and a suitable star product, we discuss the\npreliminary steps to construct the corresponding higher-spin action in $AdS_4$\nspace representing the higher spin extension of this model. Brief remarks on\nNoncommutative Gravity are made."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Central Charges and Hamiltonians for 0-brane dynamics: We consider general properties of central charges of zero branes and\nassociated duality invariants, in view of their double role, on the bulk and on\nthe world volume (quantum-mechanical) theory. A detailed study of the BPS\ncondition for the mass spectrum arising from toroidal compactifications is\ngiven for 1/2, 1/4 and 1/8 BPS states in any dimensions. As a byproduct, we\nretreive the U-duality invariant conditions on the charge (zero mode) spectrum\nand the orbit classification of BPS states preserving different fractions of\nsupersymmetry. The BPS condition for 0-branes in theories with 16\nsupersymmetries in any dimension is also discussed.",
        "positive": "Hermitian analyticity versus Real analyticity in two-dimensional\n  factorised S-matrix theories: The constraints implied by analyticity in two-dimensional factorised S-matrix\ntheories are reviewed. Whenever the theory is not time-reversal invariant, it\nis argued that the familiar condition of `Real analyticity' for the S-matrix\namplitudes has to be superseded by a different one known as `Hermitian\nanalyticity'. Examples are provided of integrable quantum field theories whose\n(diagonal) two-particle S-matrix amplitudes are Hermitian analytic but not Real\nanalytic. It is also shown that Hermitian analyticity is consistent with the\nbootstrap equations and that it ensures the equivalence between the notion of\nunitarity in the quantum group approach to factorised S-matrices and the\ngenuine unitarity of the S-matrix."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "One-loop divergences of effective action in $6D,\\, {\\cal N}=(1,0)$\n  supersymmetric four-derivative gauge theory: We consider $6D, {\\cal N}=(1,0)$ supersymmetric four-derivative model of the\ngauge multiplet interacting with the hypermultiplet. We calculate the off-shell\none-loop divergent contributions to the effective action of the model using the\nbackground field method in harmonic superspace.",
        "positive": "Initial Conditions and the Structure of the Singularity in Pre-Big-Bang\n  Cosmology: We propose a picture, within the pre-big-bang approach, in which the universe\nemerges from a bath of plane gravitational and dilatonic waves. The waves\ninteract gravitationally breaking the exact plane symmetry and lead generically\nto gravitational collapse resulting in a singularity with the Kasner-like\nstructure. The analytic relations between the Kasner exponents and the initial\ndata are explicitly evaluated and it is shown that pre-big-bang inflation may\noccur within a dense set of initial data. Finally, we argue that plane waves\ncarry zero gravitational entropy and thus are, from a thermodynamical point of\nview, good candidates for the universe to emerge from."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Making Non-Associative Algebra Associative: Based on results about open string correlation functions, a nonassociative\nalgebra was proposed in a recent paper for D-branes in a background with\nnonvanishing $H$. We show that our associative algebra obtained by quantizing\nthe endpoints of an open string in an earlier work can also be used to\nreproduce the same correlation functions. The novelty of this algebra is that\nfunctions on the D-brane do not form a closed algebra. This poses a problem to\ndefine gauge transformations on such noncommutative spaces. We propose a\nresolution by generalizing the description of gauge transformations which\nnaturally involves global symmetries. This can be understood in the context of\nmatrix theory.",
        "positive": "S-duality and Strong Coupling Behavior of Large N Gauge Theories with\n  N=4 Supersymmetry: We analyze the strong coupling behavior of the large N gauge theories in\n4-dimensions with N=4 supersymmetry by making use of S-duality. We show that at\nlarge values of the coupling constant $\\lambda=g_{YM}^2N$ the j-th non-planar\namplitude $f_j(\\lambda) (j=0,1,2 ...)$ behaves as $f_j(\\lambda)\\approx\n\\lambda^j$. Implication of this behavior is discussed in connection with the\nsupergravity theory on $AdS_5\\times S^5$ suggested by the CFT/AdS\ncorrespondence. S-duality of the gauge theory corresponds to the duality\nbetween the closed and open string loop expansions in the gravity/string\ntheory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Noncommutative Yang-Mills and Noncommutative Relativity: A Bridge Over\n  Trouble Water: Connes' view at Yang-Mills theories is reviewed with special emphasis on the\ngauge invariant scalar product. This landscape is shown to contain Chamseddine\nand Connes' noncommutative extension of general relativity restricted to flat\nspace-time, if the top mass is between 172 and 204 GeV. Then the Higgs mass is\nbetween 188 and 201 GeV.",
        "positive": "An exact evaluation of the Casimir energy in two planar models: The method of images is used to calculate the Casimir energy in Euclidean\nspace with Dirichlet boundary conditions for two planar models, namely: i. the\nnon-relativistic Landau problem for a charged particle of mass m for which -\nirrespective of the sign of the charge - the energy is negative, and ii. the\nmodel of a real, massive, noninteracting relativistic scalar field theory in 2\n+ 1 dimensions, for which the Casimir energy density is non-negative and is\nexpressed in terms of the Lerch transcendent xxx and the polylogarithm xxx with\n0 < xxx < 1 and n = 2, 3."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Twistfield Perturbations of Vertex Operators in the Z_2-Orbifold Model: We apply Kadanoff's theory of marginal deformations of conformal field\ntheories to twistfield deformations of Z_2 orbifold models in K3 moduli space.\nThese deformations lead away from the Z_2 orbifold sub-moduli-space and hence\nhelp to explore conformal field theories which have not yet been understood. In\nparticular, we calculate the deformation of the conformal dimensions of vertex\noperators for p^2<1 in second order perturbation theory.",
        "positive": "On finiteness of Type IIB compactifications: Magnetized branes on\n  elliptic Calabi-Yau threefolds: The string landscape satisfies interesting finiteness properties imposed by\nsupersymmetry and string-theoretical consistency conditions. We study N=1\nsupersymmetric compactifications of Type IIB string theory on smooth\nelliptically fibered Calabi-Yau threefolds at large volume with magnetized\nD9-branes and D5-branes. We prove that supersymmetry and tadpole cancellation\nconditions imply that there is a finite number of such configurations. In\nparticular, we derive an explicitly computable bound on the number of magnetic\nflux quanta, as well as the number of D5-branes, which is independent of the\ncontinuous moduli of the setup. The proof applies if a number of easy to check\ngeometric conditions of the twofold base are met. We show that these geometric\nconditions are satisfied for the almost Fano twofold bases given by each toric\nvariety associated to a reflexive two-dimensional polytope as well as by the\ngeneric del Pezzo surfaces dP_n with n=0,...,8. Physically, this finiteness\nproof shows that there exist a finite collection of four-dimensional gauge\ngroups and chiral matter spectra in the 4D supergravity theories realized by\nthese compactifications. As a by-product we explicitly construct all generators\nof the Kaehler cones of dP_n and work out their relation to representation\ntheory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-Relativistic AdS Branes and Newton-Hooke Superalgebra: We examine a non-relativistic limit of D-branes in AdS_5xS^5 and M-branes in\nAdS_{4/7}xS^{7/4}. First, Newton-Hooke superalgebras for the AdS branes are\nderived from AdSxS superalgebras as Inonu-Wigner contractions. It is shown that\nthe directions along which the AdS-brane worldvolume extends are restricted by\nrequiring that the isometry on the AdS-brane worldvolume and the Lorentz\nsymmetry in the transverse space naturally extend to the super-isometry. We\nalso derive Newton-Hooke superalgebras for pp-wave branes and show that the\ndirections along which a brane worldvolume extends are restricted. Then the\nWess-Zumino terms of the AdS branes are derived by using the\nChevalley-Eilenberg cohomology on the super-AdSxS algebra, and the\nnon-relativistic limit of the AdS-brane actions is considered. We show that the\nconsistent limit is possible for the following branes: Dp (even,even) for p=1\nmod 4 and Dp (odd,odd) for p=3 mod 4 in AdS_5xS^5, and M2 (0,3), M2 (2,1), M5\n(1,5) and M5 (3,3) in AdS_{4}xS^{7} and S^{4}xAdS_{7}. We furthermore present\nnon-relativistic actions for the AdS branes.",
        "positive": "Momentum Analyticity and Finiteness of the 1-Loop Superstring Amplitude: The Type II Superstring amplitude to 1-loop order is given by an integral of\n$\\vartheta$-functions over the moduli space of tori, which diverges for real\nmomenta. We construct the analytic continuation which renders this amplitude\nwell defined and finite, and we find the expected poles and cuts in the complex\nmomentum plane."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "An Exact Black Hole Entropy Bound: We show that a Rademacher expansion can be used to establish an exact bound\nfor the entropy of black holes within a conformal field theory framework. This\nconvergent expansion includes all subleading corrections to the\nBekenstein-Hawking term.",
        "positive": "On the Ultraviolet Divergence in QED: The well-known physical equivalence drawn from hole theory is applied in this\narticle. The author suggests to replace, in the part of Feynman diagram which\ncannot be fixed by experiments, each fermion field operator, and hence fermion\npropagator, by pairs of equivalent fermion field operators and propagators. The\nformulation of this article thus yields additional terms which reveal\ncharacteristic effects that have not been explored previously; such\ncharacteristic effects lead to the appearence of logarithmic running terms and\nthat finite radiative corrections are directly obtained in calculations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the moduli space curvature at infinity: We analyse the scalar curvature of the vector multiplet moduli space\n$\\mathcal{M}^{\\rm VM}_X$ of type IIA string theory compactified on a\nCalabi--Yau manifold $X$. While the volume of $\\mathcal{M}^{\\rm VM}_X$ is known\nto be finite, cases have been found where the scalar curvature diverges\npositively along trajectories of infinite distance. We classify the asymptotic\nbehaviour of the scalar curvature for all large volume limits within\n$\\mathcal{M}^{\\rm VM}_X$, for any choice of $X$, and provide the source of the\ndivergence both in geometric and physical terms. Geometrically, there are\neffective divisors whose volumes do not vary along the limit. Physically, the\nEFT subsector associated to such divisors is decoupled from gravity along the\nlimit, and defines a rigid $\\mathcal{N}=2$ field theory with a non-vanishing\nmoduli space curvature $R_{\\rm rigid}$. We propose that the relation between\nscalar curvature divergences and field theories that can be decoupled from\ngravity is a common trait of moduli spaces compatible with quantum gravity.",
        "positive": "Hamiltonian analysis for Lifshitz type Fields: Using the Dirac Method, we study the Hamiltonian consistency for three field\ntheories. First we study the electrodynamics a la Ho\\v{r}ava and we show that\nthis system is consistent for an arbitrary dynamical exponent $z.$ Second, we\nstudy a Lifshitz type electrodynamics, which was proposed in [1]. For this last\nsystem we found that the canonical momentum and the electrical field are\nrelated through a Proca type Green function, however this system is consistent.\nIn addition, we show that the anisotropic Yang-Mills theory with dynamical\nexponent $z=2$ is consistent. Finally, we study a generalized anisotropic\nYang-Mills theory and we show that this last system is consistent too."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "N=1 Deformations and RG Flows of N=2 SCFTs, Part II: Non-principal\n  deformations: We continue to investigate the $\\mathcal{N}=1$ deformations of\nfour-dimensional $\\mathcal{N}=2$ superconformal field theories (SCFTs) labeled\nby a nilpotent element of the flavor symmetry. This triggers a renormalization\ngroup (RG) flow to an $\\mathcal{N}=1$ SCFT. We systematically analyze all\npossible deformations of this type for certain classes of $\\mathcal{N}=2$\nSCFTs: conformal SQCDs, generalized Argyres-Douglas theories and the $E_6$\nSCFT. We find a number of examples where the amount of supersymmetry gets\nenhanced to $\\mathcal{N}=2$ at the end point of the RG flow. Most notably, we\nfind that the $SU(N)$ and $Sp(N)$ conformal SQCDs can be deformed to flow to\nthe Argyres-Douglas (AD) theories of type $(A_1, D_{2N-1})$ and $(A_1, D_{2N})$\nrespectively. This RG flow therefore allows us to compute the full\nsuperconformal index of the $(A_1,D_N)$ class of AD theories. Moreover, we find\nan infrared duality between $\\mathcal{N}=1$ theories where the fixed point is\ndescribed by an $\\mathcal{N}=2$ AD theory. We observe that the classes of\nexamples that exhibit supersymmetry enhancement saturate certain bounds for the\ncentral charges implied by the associated two-dimensional chiral algebra.",
        "positive": "Einstein-Cartan gravity, matter, and scale-invariant generalization: We study gravity coupled to scalar and fermion fields in the Einstein-Cartan\nframework. We discuss the most general form of the action that contains terms\nof mass dimension not bigger than four, leaving out only contributions\nquadratic in curvature. By resolving the theory explicitly for torsion, we\narrive at an equivalent metric theory containing additional six-dimensional\noperators. This lays the groundwork for cosmological studies of the theory. We\nalso perform the same analysis for a no-scale scenario in which the Planck mass\nis eliminated at the cost of adding an extra scalar degree of freedom. Finally,\nwe outline phenomenological implications of the resulting theories, in\nparticular to inflation and dark matter production."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Short Distance Behavior of the Critical Ising Model Perturbed by\n  a Magnetic Field: We apply here a recently developed approach to compute the short distance\ncorrections to scaling for the correlators of all primary operators of the\ncritical two dimensional Ising model in a magnetic field. The essence of the\nmethod is the fact that if one deals with O.P.E. Wilson coefficients instead of\ncorrelators, all order I.R. safe formulas can be obtained for the perturbative\nexpansion with respect to magnetic field. This approach yields in a natural way\nthe expected fractional powers of the magnetic field, that are clearly absent\nin the naive perturbative expression for correlators. The technique of the\nMellin transform have been used to compute the I.R. behavior of the regularized\nintegrals. As a corollary of our results, by comparing the existing numerical\ndata for the lattice model we give an estimate of the Vacuum Expectation Value\nof the energy operator, left unfixed by usual nonperturbative approaches\n(Thermodynamic Bethe Ansatz).",
        "positive": "A holographic critical point: We numerically construct a family of five-dimensional black holes exhibiting\na line of first-order phase transitions terminating at a critical point at\nfinite chemical potential and temperature. These black holes are constructed so\nthat the equation of state and baryon susceptibilities approximately match QCD\nlattice data at vanishing chemical potential. The critical endpoint in the\nparticular model we consider has temperature 143 MeV and chemical potential 783\nMeV. Critical exponents are calculated, with results that are consistent with\nmean-field scaling relations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The general form of supersymmetric solutions of N=(1,0) U(1) and SU(2)\n  gauged supergravities in six dimensions: We obtain necessary and sufficient conditions for a supersymmetric field\nconfiguration in the N=(1,0) U(1) or SU(2) gauged supergravities in six\ndimensions, and impose the field equations on this general ansatz. It is found\nthat any supersymmetric solution is associated to an $SU(2)\\ltimes\n\\mathbb{R}^4$ structure. The structure is characterized by a null Killing\nvector which induces a natural 2+4 split of the six dimensional spacetime. A\nsuitable combination of the field equations implies that the scalar curvature\nof the four dimensional Riemannian part, referred to as the base, obeys a\nsecond order differential equation. Bosonic fluxes introduce torsion terms that\ndeform the $SU(2)\\ltimes\\mathbb{R}^4$ structure away from a covariantly\nconstant one. The most general structure can be classified in terms of its\nintrinsic torsion. For a large class of solutions the gauge field strengths\nadmit a simple geometrical interpretation: in the U(1) theory the base is\nK\\\"{a}hler, and the gauge field strength is the Ricci form; in the SU(2)\ntheory, the gauge field strengths are identified with the curvatures of the\nleft hand spin bundle of the base. We employ our general ansatz to construct\nnew supersymmetric solutions; we show that the U(1) theory admits a symmetric\nCahen-Wallach$_4\\times S^2$ solution together with a compactifying pp-wave. The\nSU(2) theory admits a black string, whose near horizon limit is $AdS_3\\times\nS_3$. We also obtain the Yang-Mills analogue of the Salam-Sezgin solution of\nthe U(1) theory, namely $R^{1,2}\\times S^3$, where the $S^3$ is supported by a\nsphaleron. Finally we obtain the additional constraints implied by enhanced\nsupersymmetry, and discuss Penrose limits in the theories.",
        "positive": "S-Duality and Helicity Amplitudes: We examine interacting Abelian theories at low energies and show that\nholomorphically normalized photon helicity amplitudes transform into dual\namplitudes under SL(2,Z) as modular forms with weights that depend on the\nnumber of positive and negative helicity photons and on the number of internal\nphoton lines. Moreover, canonically normalized helicity amplitudes transform by\na phase, so that even though the amplitudes are not duality invariant, their\nsquares are duality invariant. We explicitly verify the duality transformation\nat one loop by comparing the amplitudes in the case of an electron and the dyon\nthat is its SL(2,Z) image, and extend the invariance of squared amplitudes\norder by order in perturbation theory. We demonstrate that S-duality is\nproperty of all low-energy effective Abelian theories with electric and/or\nmagnetic charges and see how the duality generically breaks down at high\nenergies."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Renormalisability of non-homogeneous T-dualised sigma-models: The quantum equivalence between sigma-models and their non-abelian T-dualised\npartners is examined for a large class of four dimensional non-homogeneous and\nquasi-Einstein metrics with an isometry group SU(2) times U(1). We prove that\nthe one-loop renormalisability of the initial torsionless sigma-models is\nequivalent to the one-loop renormalisability of the T-dualised torsionful\nmodel. For a subclass of Kahler original metrics, the dual partners are still\nKahler (with torsion).",
        "positive": "Vortices and domain walls in a Chern-Simons theory with magnetic moment\n  interaction: We study the structure and properties of vortices in a recently proposed\nAbelian Maxwell-Chern-Simons model in $2 +1 $ dimensions. The model which is\ndescribed by gauge field interacting with a complex scalar field, includes two\nparity and time violating terms: the Chern-Simons and the anomalous magnetic\nterms. Self-dual relativistic vortices are discussed in detail. We also find\none dimensional soliton solutions of the domain wall type. The vortices are\ncorrectly described by the domain wall solutions in the large flux limit."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Chebyshev Wells: Periods, Deformations, and Resurgence: We study the geometry and mechanics (both classical and quantum) of potential\nwells described by squares of Chebyshev polynomials. We show that in a small\nneighbourhood of the locus cut out by them in the space of hyperelliptic\ncurves, these systems exhibit low-orders/low-orders resurgence, where\nperturbative fluctuations about the vacuum determine perturbative fluctuations\nabout non-perturbative saddles.",
        "positive": "Electric Chern-Simons term, enlarged exotic Galilei symmetry and\n  noncommutative plane: The extended exotic planar model for a charged particle is constructed. It\nincludes a Chern-Simons-like term for a dynamical electric field, but produces\nusual equations of motion for the particle in background constant uniform\nelectric and magnetic fields. The electric Chern-Simons term is responsible for\nthe non-commutativity of the boost generators in the ten-dimensional enlarged\nexotic Galilei symmetry algebra of the extended system. The model admits two\nreduction schemes by the integrals of motion, one of which reproduces the usual\nformulation for the charged particle in external constant electric and magnetic\nfields with associated field-deformed Galilei symmetry, whose commuting boost\ngenerators are identified with the nonlocal in time Noether charges reduced\non-shell. Another reduction scheme, in which electric field transmutes into the\ncommuting space translation generators, extracts from the model a free particle\non the noncommutative plane described by the two-fold centrally extended\nGalilei group of the non-relativistic anyons."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Bell violation in $2\\rightarrow 2$ scattering in photon, gluon and\n  graviton EFTs: In this paper, we explore Bell inequality violation for $2\\rightarrow2$\nscattering in Effective Field Theories (EFTs) of photons, gluons, and\ngravitons. Using the CGLMP Bell parameter ($I_2$), we show that, starting from\nan appropriate initial non-product state, the Bell inequality can always be\nviolated in the final state (i.e.,$I_2 >2$) at least for some scattering angle.\nFor an initial product state, we demonstrate that abelian gauge theories behave\nqualitatively differently than non-abelian gauge theories (or Gravity) from the\npoint of view of Bell violation in the final state: in the non-abelian case,\nBell violation ($I_2>2$) is never possible within the validity of EFTs for\nweakly coupled UV completions. Interestingly, we also find that, for a\nmaximally entangled initial state, scattering can reduce the degree of\nentanglement only for CP-violating theories. Thus Bell violation in\n$2\\rightarrow2$ scattering can, in principle, be used to classify CP conserving\nvs violating theories.",
        "positive": "Greybody factors for a minimally coupled massless scalar field in\n  Einstein-Born-Infeld dilaton spacetime: We have analyzed in detail the propagation of a minimally coupled massless\nscalar field in the gravitational background of a four-dimensional\nEinstein-Born-Infeld dilaton charged black hole. We have obtained analytical\nexpressions for the absorption cross section as well as for the decay rate for\nthe scalar field in the aforementioned spacetime, and we have shown graphically\nits behavior for different values of the free parameters of the theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Group Symmetries in Conformal Field Theory: Quantum groups play the role of hidden symmetries of some two-dimensional\nfield theories. We discuss how they appear in this role in the\nWess-Zumino-Witten model of conformal field theory.",
        "positive": "More AdS_3 correlators: We compute three-point functions for the $SL(2,\\mathbb R)$-WZNW model. After\nreviewing the case of the two-point correlator, we compute spectral flow\npreserving and nonpreserving correlation functions in the space-time picture\ninvolving three vertex operators carrying an arbitrary amount of spectral flow.\nWhen only one or two insertions have nontrivial spectral flow numbers, the\nmethod we employ allows us to find expressions without any constraint on the\nspin values. Unlike these cases, the same procedure restrains the possible spin\nconfigurations when three vertices belong to nonzero spectral flow sectors. We\nperform several consistency checks on our results. In particular, we verify\nthat they are in complete agreement with previously computed correlators\ninvolving states carrying a single unit of spectral flow."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the effective potential for Horava-Lifshitz-like theories with the\n  arbitrary critical exponent: We calculate the one-loop effective potential for Horava-Lifshitz-like QED\nand Yukawa-like theory for arbitrary values of the critical exponent and the\nspace-time dimension.",
        "positive": "Maxwell Chern Simons Theory in a Geometric Representation: We quantize the Maxwell Chern Simons theory in a geometric representation\nthat generalizes the Abelian Loop Representation of Maxwell theory. We find\nthat in the physical sector, the model can be seen as the theory of a massles\nscalar field with a topological interaction that enforces the wave functional\nto be multivalued. This feature allows to relate the Maxwell Chern Simons\ntheory with the quantum mechanics of particles interacting through a Chern\nSimons field"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "AdS/CFT Correspondence, Critical Strings and Stochastic Quantization: We show that dilaton beta-function equation in the brane-like sigma-model\n(regarded as NSR analogue of string theory on $AdS_5\\times{S^5}$) has the form\nof stochastic Langevin equation with non-Markovian noise. The worldsheet cutoff\nis identified with stochastic time and the $V_5$-operator plays the role of the\nnoise. We derive the Fokker-Planck equation associated with this stochastic\nprocess and show that the Hamiltonian of the $AdS_5$ supergravity defines the\ndistribution satisfying this Fokker-Planck equation. This means that the\ndynamical compactification of flat ten-dimensional space-time on\n$AdS_5\\times{S^5}$ occurs as a result of the non-Markovian stochastic process,\ngenerated by the $V_5$-operator noise. This provides us with an insight into\nrelation between holography principle and the concept of stochastic\nquantization from the point of view of critical string theory.",
        "positive": "Chiral Dynamics in Weak, Intermediate, and Strong Coupling QED in Two\n  Dimensions: N flavor QED in two dimensions is reduced to a quantum mechanics problem with\nN degrees of freedom for which the potential is determined by the ground state\nof the problem itself. The chiral condensate is determined at all values of\ntemperature, fermion masses, and the $\\theta$ parameter. In the single flavor\ncase, the anomalous mass (m) dependence of the chiral condensate at\n$\\theta=\\pi$ at low temperature is found. The critical value is given by $m_c\n\\sim .437 e/\\sqrt{\\pi}$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Nonlinear supersymmetry in the quantum Calogero model: It is long known that the rational Calogero model describing n identical\nparticles on a line with inverse-square mutual interaction potential is quantum\nsuperintegrable. We review the (nonlinear) algebra of the conserved quantum\ncharges and the intertwiners which relate the Liouville charges at couplings g\nand g+1. For integer values of g, these intertwiners give rise to additional\nconserved charges commuting with all Liouville charges and known since the\n1990s. We give a direct construction of such a charge, the unique one being\ntotally antisymmetric under particle permutations. It is of order\nn(n-1)(2g-1)/2 in the momenta and squares to a polynomial in the Liouville\ncharges. With a natural Z_2 grading, this charge extends the algebra of\nconserved charges to a nonlinear supersymmetric one. We provide explicit\nexpressions for intertwiners, charges and their algebra in the cases of two,\nthree and four particles.",
        "positive": "Rolling down to D-brane and tachyon matter: We investigate the spatially inhomogeneous decay of an unstable D-brane and\nconstruct an asymptotic solution which describes a codimension one D-brane and\nthe tachyon matter in boundary string field theory. In this solution, the\ntachyon matter exists around the lower-dimensional D-brane."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "F-term Stabilization of Odd Axions in LARGE Volume Scenario: In the context of the LARGE volume scenario, stabilization of axionic moduli\nis revisited. This includes both even and odd axions with their scalar\npotential being generated by F-term contributions via various tree-level and\nnon-perturbative effects like fluxed E3-brane instantons and fluxed\npoly-instantons. In all the cases, we estimate the decay constants and masses\nof the axions involved.",
        "positive": "Boundary Fixed Points, Enhanced Gauge Symmetry and Singular Bundles on\n  K3: We investigate certain fixed points in the boundary conformal field theory\nrepresentation of type IIA D-branes on Gepner points of K3. They correspond\ngeometrically to degenerate brane configurations, and physically lead to\nenhanced gauge symmetries on the world-volume. Non-abelian gauge groups arise\nif the stabilizer group of the fixed points is realized projectively, which is\nsimilar to D-branes on orbifolds with discrete torsion. Moreover, the fixed\npoint boundary states can be resolved into several irreducible components.\nThese correspond to bound states at threshold and can be viewed as (non-locally\nfree) sub-sheaves of semi-stable sheaves. Thus, the BCFT fixed points appear to\ncarry two-fold geometrical information: on the one hand they probe the boundary\nof the instanton moduli space on K3, on the other hand they probe discrete\ntorsion in D-geometry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Ekpyrotic Reheating and Fate of Inflaton: It is shown that perturbative reheating can reach a sufficiently high\ntemperature with small or negligible inflaton decay rate provided that the\ninflaton potential becomes negative after inflation. In our model, inflaton and\ndark energy field are two independent scalar fields, and, depending on the mass\nof the inflaton and its coupling to matter fields, there is a possibility that\nthe remaining inflaton after reheating can become a dark matter candidate.",
        "positive": "Sfermions and gauginos in a Lorentz-violating theory: In Lorentz-violating supergravity, sfermions have spin 1/2 and other unusual\nproperties. If the dark matter consists of such particles, there is a natural\nexplanation for the apparent absence of cusps and other small scale structure:\nThe Lorentz-violating dark matter is cold because of the large particle mass,\nbut still moves at nearly the speed of light. Although the R-parity of a\nsfermion, gaugino, or gravitino is +1 in the present theory, these particles\nhave an \"S-parity'' which implies that the LSP is stable and that they are\nproduced in pairs. On the other hand, they can be clearly distinguished from\nthe superpartners of standard supersymmetry by their highly unconventional\nproperties."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-local Lagrangian Mechanics: Noether theorem and Hamiltonian\n  formalism: We study Lagrangian systems with a finite number of degrees of freedom that\nare non-local in time. We obtain an extension of Noether theorem and Noether\nidentities to this kind of Lagrangians. A Hamiltonian formalism is then set up\nfor this systems. $n$-order local Lagrangians can be treated as a particular\ncase and the standard results for them are recovered. The method is then\napplied to several other cases, namely two examples of non-local oscillators\nand the p-adic particle.",
        "positive": "Holographic Bubbles with Jecco: Expanding, Collapsing and Critical: Cosmological phase transitions can proceed via the nucleation of bubbles that\nsubsequently expand and collide. The resulting gravitational wave spectrum\ndepends crucially on the properties of these bubbles. We extend our previous\nholographic work on planar bubbles to circular bubbles in a strongly-coupled,\nnon-Abelian, four-dimensional gauge theory. This extension brings about two new\nphysical properties. First, the existence of a critical bubble, which we\ndetermine. Second, the bubble profile at late times exhibits a richer\nself-similar structure, which we verify. These results require a new 3+1\nevolution code called Jecco that solves the Einstein equations in the\ncharacteristic formulation in asymptotically AdS spaces. Jecco is written in\nthe Julia programming language and is freely available. We present an outline\nof the code and the tests performed to assess its robustness and performance."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Open group transformations: Open groups whose generators are in arbitrary involutions may be quantized\nwithin a ghost extended framework in terms of a nilpotent BFV-BRST charge\noperator. Previously we have shown that generalized quantum Maurer-Cartan\nequations for arbitrary open groups may be extracted from the quantum\nconnection operators and that they also follow from a simple quantum master\nequation involving an extended nilpotent BFV-BRST charge and a master charge.\nHere we give further details of these results. In addition we establish the\ngeneral structure of the solutions of the quantum master equation. We also\nconstruct an extended formulation whose properties are determined by the\nextended BRST charge in the master equation.",
        "positive": "Analyticity and Crossing Symmetry of Superstring Loop Amplitudes: Bros, Epstein and Glaser proved crossing symmetry of the S-matrix of a theory\nwithout massless fields by using certain analyticity properties of the\noff-shell momentum space Green's function in the complex momentum plane. The\nlatter properties follow from representing the momentum space Green's function\nas Fourier transform of the position space Green's function, satisfying certain\nproperties implied by the underlying local quantum field theory. We prove the\nsame analyticity properties of the momentum space Green's functions in\nsuperstring field theory by directly working with the momentum space Feynman\nrules even though the corresponding properties of the position space Green's\nfunction are not known. Our result is valid to all orders in perturbation\ntheory, but requires, as usual, explicitly subtracting / regulating the\nnon-analyticities associated with massless particles. These results can also be\nused to prove other general analyticity properties of the S-matrix of\nsuperstring theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fusion rules and macroscopic loops from discretized approach to\n  two-dimensional gravity: We investigate the multi-loop correlators and the multi-point functions for\nall of the scaling operators in unitary minimal conformal models coupled to\ntwo-dimensional gravity from the two-matrix model. We show that simple fusion\nrules for these scaling operators exist, and these are summarized in a compact\nform as fusion rules for loops. We clarify the role of the boundary operators\nand discuss its connection to how loops touch each other. We derive a general\nformula for the n-resolvent correlators, and point out the structure similar to\nthe crossing symmetry of underlying conformal field theory. We discuss the\nconnection of the boundary conditions of the loop correlators to the touching\nof loops for the case of the four-loop correlators.",
        "positive": "Noncommutative relativistic particles: We present a relativistic formulation of noncommutative mechanics were the\nobject of noncommutativity $\\theta^{\\mu\\nu}$ is considered as an independent\nquantity. Its canonical conjugate momentum is also introduced, what permits to\nobtain an explicit form for the generators of the Lorentz group in the\nnoncommutative case. The theory, which is invariant under reparametrization,\ngeneralizes recent nonrelativistic results. Free noncommutative bosonic\nparticles satisfy an extended Klein-Gordon equation depending on two\nparameters."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Minimal models of field theories: SDYM and SDGR: There exists a natural $L_\\infty$-algebra or $Q$-manifold that can be\nassociated to any (gauge) field theory. Perturbatively, it can be obtained by\nreducing the $L_\\infty$-algebra behind the jet space BV-BRST formulation to its\nminimal model. We explicitly construct the minimal models of self-dual\nYang-Mills and self-dual gravity theories, which also represents their\nequations of motion as Free Differential Algebras. The minimal model regains\nall relevant information about the field theory, e.g. actions, charges,\nanomalies, can be understood in terms of the corresponding $Q$-cohomology.",
        "positive": "Time-Dependent Hartree-Fock Solution of Gross-Neveu models: Twisted Kink\n  Constituents of Baryons and Breathers: We find the general solution to the time-dependent Hartree-Fock problem for\nthe Gross-Neveu models, with both discrete (GN2) and continuous (NJL2) chiral\nsymmetry. We find new multi-baryon, multi-breather and twisted breather\nsolutions, and show that all GN2 baryons and breathers are composed of\nconstituent twisted kinks of the NJL2 model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "BMS modular covariance and structure constants: Two-dimensional (2d) field theories invariant under the Bondi-Metzner-Sachs\nalgebra, or 2d BMSFTs in short, are putative holographic duals of Einstein\ngravity in 3d asymptotically flat spacetimes. When defined on a torus, these\nfield theories come equipped with a modified modular structure. We use the\nmodular covariance of the BMS torus two-point function to develop formulae for\ndifferent three-point structure constants of the field theory. These structure\nconstants indicate that BMSFTs follow the eigenstate thermalization hypothesis,\nalbeit with some interesting changes to usual 2d CFTs. The singularity\nstructures of the structure constants contain information on perturbations of\ncosmological horizons in 3d asymptotically flat spacetimes, which we show can\nalso be obtained as a limit of BTZ quasinormal modes.",
        "positive": "Tensor Perturbations from Bounce Inflation Scenario in f(Q) Gravity: In this paper, we construct a bounce inflation cosmological scenario in the\nframework of the modified symmetric teleparallel gravity, namely f(Q) theory,\nand investigate the tensor perturbations therein. As is well-known, the tensor\nperturbations generated in the very early Universe (inflation and pre-inflation\nregions) can account for the primordial gravitational waves (PGWs) that are to\nbe detected by the next generation of GW experiments. We discuss the stability\ncondition of the tensor perturbations in the bounce inflation process and\ninvestigate in detail the evolution of the perturbation variable. The general\nform of the tensor power spectrum is obtained both for large as well as small\nscale modes. As a result, we show for both kinds of modes (short or long\nwavelength modes), and the tensor spectrum may get a positive tilt in the\nparametric range where the tensor perturbation proves to be stable -- this\ninterestingly hints an enhancement of gravitational waves' amplitude in the\nbackground of the f(Q) bounce-inflation scenario. Moreover, we study the\nLQC-like scenario as a specific case of our model, in which, the primordial\ntensor power spectrum turns out to be nearly scale-invariant on both small and\nlarge scales."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gravitons as super-strong interacting particles, and low-energy quantum\n  gravity: It is shown by the author that if gravitons are super-strong interacting\nparticles and the low-temperature graviton background exists, the basic\ncosmological conjecture about the Dopplerian nature of redshifts may be false.\nIn this case, a full magnitude of cosmological redshift would be caused by\ninteractions of photons with gravitons. A new dimensional constant which\ncharacterizes one act of interaction is introduced and estimated. Non-forehead\ncollisions with gravitons will lead to a very specific additional relaxation of\nany photonic flux. It gives a possibility of another interpretation of\nsupernovae 1a data - without any kinematics. Of course, all of these facts may\nimplicate a necessity to change the standard cosmological paradigm. Some\nfeatures of a new paradigm are discussed here, too. A quantum mechanism of\nclassical gravity based on an existence of this sea of gravitons is described\nfor the Newtonian limit. This mechanism needs graviton pairing and \"an atomic\nstructure\" of matter for working it, and leads to the time asymmetry. If the\nconsidered quantum mechanism of classical gravity is realized in the nature,\nthan an existence of black holes contradicts to Einstein's equivalence\nprinciple. It is shown that in this approach the two fundamental constants -\nHubble's and Newton's ones - should be connected between themselves. The\ntheoretical value of the Hubble constant is computed. In this approach, every\nmassive body would be decelerated due to collisions with gravitons that may be\nconnected with the Pioneer 10 anomaly. It is shown that the predicted and\nobserved values of deceleration are in good agreement. Some unsolved problems\nare discussed, so as possibilities to verify some conjectures in laser-based\nexperiments.",
        "positive": "\"Double-trace\" Deformations, Boundary Conditions and Spacetime\n  Singularities: Double-trace deformations of the AdS/CFT duality result in a new perturbation\nexpansion for string theory, based on a non-local worldsheet. We discuss some\naspects of the deformation in the low energy gravity approximation, where it\nappears as a change in the boundary condition of fields. We relate unique\nfeatures of the boundary of AdS to the worldsheet becoming non-local, and\nconjecture that non-local worldsheet actions may be generic in other classes of\nbackgrounds."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Solvable Time-Dependent Model and Rolling Closed String Tachyon: We investigate the SL(2,R)/U(1) WZW model with level 0<k<2 as a solvable\ntime-dependent background in string theory. This model is expected to be dual\nto the one describing a rolling closed string tachyon with a time-like linear\ndilaton. We examine its exact metric and minisuperspace wave functions. Two\npoint functions and the one-loop vacuum amplitude are computed and their\nrelation to the closed string emission is discussed. Comparing with the results\nfrom the minisuperspace approximation, we find a physical interpretation of our\nchoice to continue the Euclidean model into the Lorentzian one. Three point\nfunctions are also examined.",
        "positive": "Gauge Field Improvement,Form-Scalar Duality and Conformal Invariance: The problem of maintaining scale and conformal invariance in Maxwell and\ngeneral N-form gauge theories away from their critical dimension d=2(N+1) is\nanalyzed.We first exhibit the underlying group-theoretical clash between\nlocality,gauge,Lorentz and conformal invariance require- ments. \"Improved\"\ntraceless stress tensors are then constructed;each violates one of the above\ncriteria.However,when d=N+2,there is a duality equivalence between N-form\nmodels and massless scalars.Here we show that conformal invariance is not\nlost,by constructing a quasilocal gauge invariant improved stress tensor.The\ncorrelators of the scalar theory are then reproduced,including the latter's\ntrace anomaly."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Topologically Massive Gauge Theory with O(2) Symmetry: We discuss the structure of the vacua in $O(2)$ topologically massive gauge\ntheory on a torus. Since $O(2)$ has two connected components, there are four\nclassical vacua. The different vacua impose different boundary conditions on\nthe gauge potentials. We also discuss the non-perturbative transitions between\nthe vacua induced by vortices of the theory.",
        "positive": "Smallest Dirac Eigenvalue Distribution from Random Matrix Theory: We derive the hole probability and the distribution of the smallest\neigenvalue of chiral hermitian random matrices corresponding to Dirac operators\ncoupled to massive quarks in QCD. They are expressed in terms of the QCD\npartition function in the mesoscopic regime. Their universality is explicitly\nrelated to that of the microscopic massive Bessel kernel."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Analytical Bethe Ansatz for Quantum-Algebra-Invariant Spin Chains: We have recently constructed a large class of open quantum spin chains which\nhave quantum-algebra symmetry and which are integrable. We show here that these\nmodels can be exactly solved using a generalization of the analytical Bethe\nAnsatz (BA) method. In particular, we determine in this way the spectrum of the\ntransfer matrices of the $U_q [(su(2)]$-invariant spin chains associated with\n$A^{(1)}_1$ and $A^{(2)}_2$ in the fundamental representation. The\nquantum-algebra invariance of these models plays an essential role in obtaining\nthese results. The BA equations for these open chains are ``doubled'' with\nrespect to the BA equations for the corresponding closed chains.",
        "positive": "Self-Duality, Ramond-Ramond Fields, and K-Theory: Just as D-brane charge of Type IIA and Type IIB superstrings is classified,\nrespectively, by K^1(X) and K(X), Ramond-Ramond fields in these theories are\nclassified, respectively, by K(X) and K^1(X). By analyzing a recent proposal\nfor how to interpret quantum self-duality of RR fields, we show that the Dirac\nquantization formula for the RR p-forms, when properly formulated, receives\ncorrections that reflect curvature, lower brane charges, and an anomaly of\nD-brane world-volume fermions. The K-theory framework is important here,\nbecause the term involving the fermion anomaly cannot be naturally expressed in\nterms of cohomology and differential forms."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gukov-Pei-Putrov-Vafa conjecture for $SU(N)/\\mathbb{Z}_m$: In our earlier work, we studied the $\\hat{Z}$-invariant(or homological\nblocks) for $SO(3)$ gauge group and we found it to be same as\n$\\hat{Z}^{SU(2)}$. This motivated us to study the $\\hat{Z}$-invariant for\nquotient groups $SU(N)/\\mathbb{Z}_m$, where $m$ is some divisor of $N$.\nInterestingly, we find that $\\hat{Z}$-invariant is independent of $m$.",
        "positive": "$1/N$ correction in holographic Wilson loop from quantum gravity: We study $1/N$ corrections to a Wilson loop in holographic duality. Extending\nthe AdS/CFT correspondence beyond the large $N$ limit is an important but a\nsubtle issue, as it needs quantum gravity corrections in the gravity side. To\nfind a physical property of the quantum corrected geometry of near-horizon\nblack 0-branes previously obtained by Hyakutake, we evaluate a Euclidean string\nworldsheet hanging down in the geometry, which corresponds to a rectangular\nWilson loop in the $SU(N)$ quantum mechanics with 16 supercharges at a finite\ntemperature with finite $N$. We find that the potential energy defined by the\nWilson loop increases due to the $1/N$ correction, therefore the quantum\ngravity correction weakens the gravitational attraction."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Instanton Contributions to the Masses and Couplings of $E_6$\n  Singlets: We consider the gauge neutral matter in the low--energy effective action for\nstring theory compactification on a \\cym\\ with $(2,2)$ world--sheet\nsupersymmetry. At the classical level these states (the \\sing's of $E_6$)\ncorrespond to the cohomology group $H^1(\\M,{\\rm End}\\>T)$. We examine the first\norder contribution of instantons to the mass matrix of these particles. In\nprinciple, these corrections depend on the \\K\\ parameters $t_i$ through factors\nof the form $e^{2\\p i t_i}$ and also depend on the complex structure\nparameters. For simplicity we consider in greatest detail the quintic threefold\n$\\cp4[5]$. It follows on general grounds that the total mass is often, and\nperhaps always, zero. The contribution of individual instantons is however\nnonzero and the contribution of a given instanton may develop poles associated\nwith instantons coalescing for certain values of the complex structure. This\ncan happen when the underlying \\cym\\ is smooth. Hence these poles must cancel\nbetween the coalescing instantons in order that the superpotential be finite.\nWe examine also the \\Y\\ couplings involving neutral matter \\ysing\\ and neutral\nand charged fields \\ymix, which have been little investigated even though they\nare of phenomenological interest. We study the general conditions under which\nthese couplings vanish classically. We also calculate the first--order\nworld--sheet instanton correction to these couplings and argue that these also\nvanish.",
        "positive": "The Conformal Limit of Inflation in the Era of CMB Polarimetry: We argue that the non-detection of primordial tensor modes has taught us a\ngreat deal about the primordial universe. In single-field slow-roll inflation,\nthe current upper bound on the tensor-to-scalar ratio, $r < 0.07$ $(95 \\%\n~CL)$, implies that the Hubble slow-roll parameters obey $\\varepsilon \\ll\n\\eta$, and therefore establishes the existence of a new hierarchy. We dub this\nregime the conformal limit of (slow-roll) inflation, and show that it includes\nStarobinsky-like inflation as well as all viable single-field models with a\nsub-Planckian field excursion. In this limit, all primordial correlators are\nconstrained by the full conformal group to leading non-trivial order in\nslow-roll. This fixes the power spectrum and the full bispectrum, and leads to\nthe \"conformal\" shape of non-Gaussianity. The size of non-Gaussianity is\nrelated to the running of the spectral index by a consistency condition, and\ntherefore it is expected to be small. In passing, we clarify the role of\nboundary terms in the $\\zeta$ action, the order to which constraint equations\nneed to be solved, and re-derive our results using the Wheeler-deWitt\nformalism."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The role of singular spinor fields in a torsional gravity,\n  Lorentz-violating, framework: In this work, we consider a generalization of quantum electrodynamics\nincluding Lorentz violation and torsional-gravity, in the context of general\nspinor fields as classified in the Lounesto scheme. Singular spinor fields will\nbe shown to be less sensitive to the Lorentz violation, as far as couplings\nbetween the spinor bilinear covariants and torsion are regarded. In addition,\nwe prove that flagpole spinor fields do not admit minimal coupling to the\ntorsion. In general, mass dimension four couplings are deeply affected when\nsingular flagpole spinors are considered, instead of the usual Dirac spinors.\nWe also construct a mapping between spinors in the covariant framework and\nspinors in Lorentz symmetry breaking scenarios, showing how one may\ntransliterate spinors of different classes between the two cases. Specific\nexamples concerning the mapping of Dirac spinor fields in Lorentz violating\nscenarios into flagpole and flag-dipole spinors with full Lorentz invariance\n(including the cases of Weyl and Majorana spinors) are worked out.",
        "positive": "A Small Deformation of a Simple Theory: We study an interesting relevant deformation of the simplest interacting N=2\nSCFT---the original Argyres-Douglas (AD) theory. We argue that, although this\ndeformation is not strictly speaking Banks-Zaks like (certain operator\ndimensions change macroscopically), there are senses in which it constitutes a\nmild deformation of the parent AD theory: the exact change in the \"a\" anomaly\nis small and is essentially saturated at one loop. Moreover, contributions from\nIR operators that have a simple description in the UV theory reproduce a\nparticular limit of the IR index to a remarkably high order. These results lead\nus to conclude that the IR theory is an interacting N=1 SCFT with particularly\nsmall \"a\" and \"c\" central charges and that this theory sheds some interesting\nlight on the spectrum of its AD parent."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hopf algebra of graphs and the RG equations: We study the renormalization group equations following from the Hopf algebra\nof graphs. Vertex functions are treated as vectors in dual to the Hopf algebra\nspace. The RG equations on such vertex functions are equivalent to RG equations\non individual Feynman integrals. The solution to the RG equations may be\nrepresented as an exponent of the beta-function. We explicitly show that the\nexponent of the one-loop beta function enables one to find the coefficients in\nfront of the leading logarithms for individual Feynman integrals. The same\nresults are obtained in parquet approximation.",
        "positive": "BMS in Cosmology: Symmetries play an interesting role in cosmology. They are useful in\ncharacterizing the cosmological perturbations generated during inflation and\nlead to consistency relations involving the soft limit of the statistical\ncorrelators of large-scale structure dark matter and galaxies overdensities. On\nthe other hand, in observational cosmology the carriers of the information\nabout these large-scale statistical distributions are light rays traveling on\nnull geodesics. Motivated by this simple consideration, we study the structure\nof null infinity and the associated BMS symmetry in a cosmological setting. For\ndecelerating Friedmann-Robertson-Walker backgrounds, for which future null\ninfinity exists, we find that the BMS transformations which leaves the\nasymptotic metric invariant to leading order. Contrary to the asymptotic flat\ncase, the BMS transformations in cosmology generate Goldstone modes\ncorresponding to both scalar and tensor degrees of freedom which may exist at\nnull infinity and perturb the asymptotic data. Therefore, BMS transformations\ngenerate physically inequivalent vacua as they populate the universe at null\ninfinity with these physical degrees of freedom. We also discuss the\ngravitational memory effect when cosmological expansion is taken into account.\nIn this case, there are extra contribution to the gravitational memory due to\nthe tail of the retarded Green functions which are supported not only on the\nlight-cone, but also in its interior. The gravitational memory effect can be\nunderstood also from an asymptotic point of view as a transition among\ncosmological BMS-related vacua."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dressed Minimal Surfaces in AdS$_4$: We apply an arbitrary number of dressing transformations to a static minimal\nsurface in AdS(4). Interestingly, a single dressing transformation, with the\nsimplest dressing factor, interrelates the latter to solutions of the Euclidean\nnon linear sigma model in dS(3). We present an expression for the area element\nof the dressed minimal surface in terms of that of the initial one and comment\non the boundary region of the dressed surface. Finally, we apply the above\nformalism to the elliptic minimal surfaces and obtain new ones.",
        "positive": "Families index theorem in supersymmetric WZW model and twisted K-theory:\n  The SU(2) case: The construction of twisted K-theory classes on a compact Lie group is\nreviewed using the supersymmetric Wess-Zumino-Witten model on a cylinder. The\nQuillen superconnection is introduced for a family of supercharges parametrized\nby a compact Lie group and the Chern character is explicitly computed in the\ncase of SU(2). For large euclidean time, the character form is localized on a\nD-brane."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Limit Cycles in Supersymmetric Theories: Contrary to popular belief conformality does not require zero beta functions.\nThis follows from the work of Jack and Osborn, and examples in\nnon-supersymmetric theories were recently found by some of us. In this note we\nshow that such examples are absent in unitary N=1 supersymmetric\nfour-dimensional field theories. More specifically, we show to all orders in\nperturbation theory that the beta-function vector field of such theories does\nnot admit limit cycles. A corollary of our result is that unitary N=1\nsupersymmetric four-dimensional theories cannot be superscale-invariant without\nbeing superconformal.",
        "positive": "Density matrix of a quantum field in a particle-creating background: We consider the time evolution of a quantized field in backgrounds that\nviolate the vacuum stability (particle-creating backgrounds). Our aim is to\nstudy the exact form of the final quantum state (the density operator at a\nfinal instant of time) that has emerged from a given arbitrary initial state\n(from a given arbitrary density operator at the initial time instant) in the\ncourse of the evolution. We find a generating functional that allows us to have\nthe density operators for any initial state. Averaging over states of a\nsubsystem of antiparticles (particles), we obtain explicit forms for reduced\ndensity operators for subsystems of particles (antiparticles). Studying\none-particle correlation functions, we establish a one-to-one correspondence\nbetween these functions and the reduced density operators. It is shown that in\nthe general case a presence of bosons (e.g. gluons) in an initial state\nincreases the creation rate of the same kind of bosons. We discuss the question\n(and its relation to the initial stage of quark-gluon plasma formation) whether\na thermal form of one-particle distribution can appear even if the final state\nof the complete system is not a thermal equilibrium. In this respect, we\ndiscuss some cases when a pair creation by an electric-like field can mimic a\none-particle thermal distribution. We apply our technics to some QFT problems\nin slowly varying electric-like backgrounds: electric, SU(3) chromoelectric,\nand metric. In particular, we study the time and temperature behavior of mean\nnumbers of created particles provided switching on and off effects of the\nexternal field are negligible. It is shown that at high temperatures and in\nslowly varying electric fields the rate of particle creation is essentially\ntime-dependent."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A note on generalized electrodynamics: The generalized Maxwell equations with arbitrary gauge parameter are\nconsidered in the $11\\times 11$-matrix form. The gauge invariance of such a\nmodel is broken due to the presence of a scalar field. The canonical and\nsymmetrical Belinfante energy-momentum tensors are found. The dilatation\ncurrent is obtained and we demonstrate that the theory possesses the dilatation\nsymmetry. The matrix Schr\\\"{o}dinger form of equations is derived. The\nnon-minimal interaction in curved space-time is introduced and equations are\nconsidered in Friedmann - Robertson - Walker background. We obtain some\nsolutions of equations for the vector field.",
        "positive": "Quantum theory, thermal gradients and the curved Euclidean space: The Euclidean space, obtained by the analytical continuation of time, to an\nimaginary time, is used to model thermal systems. In this work, it is taken a\nstep further to systems with spatial thermal variation, by developing an\nequivalence between the spatial variation of temperature in a thermal bath and\nthe curvature of the Euclidean space. The variation in temperature is recast as\na variation in the metric, leading to a curved Euclidean space. The equivalence\nis substantiated by analyzing the Polyakov loop, the partition function and the\nperiodicity of the correlation function. The bulk thermodynamic properties like\nthe energy, entropy and the Helmholtz free energy are calculated from the\npartition function, for small metric perturbations, for a neutral scalar field.\nThe Dirac equation for an external Dirac spinor, traversing in a thermal bath\nwith spatial thermal gradients, is solved in the curved Euclidean space. The\nfundamental behavior exhibited by the Dirac spinor eigenstate, may provide a\npossible mechanism to validate the theory, at a more basal level, than\nexamining only bulk thermodynamic properties. Furthermore, in order to verify\nthe equivalence at the level of classical mechanics, the geodesic equation is\nanalyzed in a classical backdrop. The mathematical apparatus is borrowed from\nthe physics of quantum theory in a gravity-induced space-time curvature. As\nspatial thermal variations are obtainable at QCD or QED energies, it may be\nfeasible for the proposed formulation to be validated experimentally."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauge Theoretic Formulation of Dilatonic Gravity Coupled to Particles: We discuss the formulation of the CGHS model in terms of a topological BF\ntheory coupled to particles carrying non-Abelian charge.",
        "positive": "Toward Bound-State Approach to Strangeness in Holographic QCD: An approach to realize a hyperon as a bound-state of a two-flavor baryon and\na kaon is considered in the context of the Sakai-Sugimoto model of holographic\nQCD, which approach has been known in the Skyrme model as the bound-state\napproach to strangeness. As a simple case of study, pseudo-scalar kaon is\nconsidered as fluctuation around a baryon. In this case, strongly-bound\nhyperon-states are absent, different from the case of the Skyrme model.\nObserved is a weak bound-state which would correspond to \\Lambda(1405)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "What can we learn from Knizhnik--Zamolodchikov Equations?: We discuss structural similarities between Knizhnik--Zamolodchikov equations\n(in fact, their simplest version needed to introduce the Drinfeld associator)\nand Dyson--Schwinger equations. We emphasize that the latter allow for a\nfiltration by co-radical degree using quasi-shuffle products and the lower\ncentral series filtration of the Lie algebra of Feynman graphs. This clarifies\nhow they are a generalization of the KZ equations. This is a starting point for\na algebraic organization of the next-to...-to leading log expansion which has\nbeen worked out in collaboration with Olaf Krueger and which will be given\nelsewhere [1,2].",
        "positive": "Dynamical equivalence, commutation relations and noncommutative geometry: We revisit Wigner's question about the admissible commutation relations for\ncoordinate and velocity operators given their equations of motion (EOM). In\nmore general terms we want to consider the question of how to quantize\ndynamically equivalent Hamiltonian structures. A unique answer can presumably\nbe given in those cases, where we have a dynamical symmetry. In this case\narbitrary deformations of the symmetry algebra should be dynamically\nequivalent. We illustrate this for the linear as well as the singular\n1d-oscillator. In the case of nonlinear EOM quantum corrections have to be\ntaken into account. We present some examples thereof New phenomena arise in\ncase of more then one degree of freedom, where sometimes the interaction can be\ndescribed either by the Hamiltonian or by nonstandard commutation relations.\nThis may induce a noncommutative geometry (for example the 2d-oscillator in a\nconstant magnetic field). Also some related results from nonrelativistic\nquantum field theory applied to solid state physics are briefly discussed\nwithin this framework"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Zero-mode wave functions by localized gauge fluxes: We study chiral zero-mode wave functions on blow-up manifolds of $T^2/Z_N$\norbifolds with both bulk and localized magnetic flux backgrounds. We introduce\na singular gauge transformation in order to remove $Z_N$ phases for $Z_N$\ntwisted boundary condition of matter fields. We compute wave functions of not\nonly bulk zero modes but also localized modes at the orbifold singular points,\nwhich correspond to new zero modes induced by localized flux. By studying their\nYukawa couplings, it turns out that only three patterns of Yukawa couplings are\nallowed. Our theory has a specific coupling selection rule.",
        "positive": "New Vacua of Gauged N=8 Supergravity: We analyze a particular SU(2) invariant sector of the scalar manifold of\ngauged N=8 supergravity in five dimensions, and find all the critical points of\nthe potential within this sector. The critical points give rise to Anti-de\nSitter vacua, and preserve at least an SU(2) gauge symmetry. Consistent\ntruncation implies that these solutions correspond to Anti-de Sitter\ncompactifications of IIB supergravity, and hence to possible near-horizon\ngeometries of 3-branes. Thus we find new conformal phases of softly broken N=4\nYang--Mills theory. One of the critical points preserves N=2 supersymmetry in\nthe bulk and is therefore completely stable, and corresponds to an N=1\nsuperconformal fixed point of the Yang--Mills theory. The corresponding\nrenormalization group flow from the N=4 point has c_{IR}/c_{UV} = 27/32. We\nalso discuss the ten-dimensional geometries corresponding to these critical\npoints."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Renormalisability of the SU(n) Gauge Theory with Massive Gauge Bosons: The problem of renormalisability of the SU(n) theory with massive gauge\nbosons is reinverstigated in the present work. We expound that the quantization\nunder the Lorentz condition caused by the mass term of the gauge fields leads\nto a ghost action which is the same as that of the usual SU(n) Yang-Mills\ntheory in the Landau gauge. Furthermore, we clarify that the mass term of the\ngauge fields cause no additional complexity to the Slavnov-Taylor identity of\nthe generating functional for the regular vertex functions and does not change\nthe equations satisfied by the divergent part of this generating functional.\nFinally, we prove that the renormalisability of the theory can be deduced from\nthe renormalisability of the Yang-Mills theory.",
        "positive": "On Parasupersymmetries in Relativistic Coulomb Problem for the Modified\n  Stueckelberg Equation: This paper presents a first example of parasupersymmetric relativistic\nquantum-mechanical model with non-oscillator-like interaction: the Coulomb\nproblem for the modified Stueckelberg equation, describing a relativistic\nmassive spin-1 particle in the electromagnetic field of a point charge."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Thermodynamic geometry and interacting microstructures of BTZ black\n  holes: In this work, we present a study to probe the nature of interactions between\nblack hole microstructures for the case of the BTZ black holes. Even though BTZ\nblack holes without any angular momentum or electric charge thermodynamically\nbehave as an ideal gas, i.e. with non-interacting microstructures; in the\npresence of electric charge or angular momentum, BTZ black holes are associated\nwith repulsive interactions among the microstructures. We extend the study to\nthe case of exotic BTZ black holes with mass $M = \\alpha m + \\gamma\n\\frac{j}{l}$ and angular momentum $J=\\alpha j + \\gamma l m$, for arbitrary\nvalues of $ (\\alpha, \\gamma)$ ranging from purely exotic $(\\alpha=0,\\gamma=1)$,\nslightly exotic $(\\alpha > \\frac{1}{2},\\gamma < \\frac{1}{2})$ and highly exotic\n$(\\alpha < \\frac{1}{2}, \\gamma > \\frac{1}{2})$. We find that unlike the normal\nBTZ black holes (the case $\\alpha =1,\\gamma =0$), there exist both attraction\nas well as repulsion dominated regions in all the cases of exotic BTZ black\nholes.",
        "positive": "Conserved Killing charges of quadratic curvature gravity theories in\n  arbitrary backgrounds: We extend the Abbott-Deser-Tekin procedure of defining conserved quantities\nof asymptotically constant-curvature spacetimes, and give an analogous\nexpression for the conserved charges of geometries that are solutions of\nquadratic curvature gravity models in generic D-dimensions and that have\narbitrary asymptotes possessing at least one Killing isometry. We show that the\nresulting charge expression correctly reduces to its counterpart when the\nbackground is taken to be a space of constant curvature and, moreover, is\nbackground gauge invariant. As applications, we compute and comment on the\nenergies of two specific examples: the three dimensional Lifshitz black hole\nand a five dimensional companion of the first, whose energy has never been\ncalculated beforehand."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Droplet-Edge Operators in Nonrelativistic Conformal Field Theories: We consider the large-charge expansion of the charged ground state of a\nSchrodinger-invariant, nonrelativistic conformal field theory in a harmonic\ntrap, in general dimension d. In the existing literature, the energy in the\ntrap has been computed to next-to-leading order (NLO) at large charge Q, which\ncomes from the classical contribution of two higher-derivative terms in the\neffective field theory. In this note, we explain the structure of operators\nlocalized at the edge of the droplet, where the density drops to zero. We list\nall operators contributing to the ground-state energy with nonnegative powers\nof Q in the large-Q expansion. As a test, we use dimensional regularization to\nreproduce the calculation of the NLO ground state energy by Kravec and Pal ,\nand we recover the same universal coefficient for the logarithmic term as in\nthat work. We refine the derivation by presenting a systematic operator\nanalysis of the possible edge counterterms, showing that different choices of\ncutoff procedures must yield the same renormalized result up to an enumerable\nlist of Wilson coefficients for conformally invariant local counterterms at the\ndroplet edge. We also demonstrate the existence of a previously unnoticed edge\ncontribution to the ground-state operator dimension of order Q^{{2\\over 3} -\n{1\\over d}} in d spatial dimensions. Finally, we show there is no bulk or edge\ncounterterm scaling as Q^0 in two spatial dimensions, which establishes the\nuniversality of the order Q^0 term in large-Q expansion of the lowest charged\noperator dimension in d=2.",
        "positive": "Branes in the OSP(1|2) WZNW model: The boundary OSP(1|2) WZNW model possesses two types of branes, which are\nlocalized on supersymmetric Euclidean AdS$_2$ and on two-dimensional\nsuperspheres. We compute the coupling of closed strings to these branes with\ntwo different methods. The first one uses factorization constraints and the\nother one a correspondence to boundary N=1 super-Liouville field theory, which\nwe proof with path integral techniques. We check that the results obey the\nCardy condition and reproduce the semi-classical computations. For the check we\nalso compute the spectral density of open strings that are attached to the\nnon-compact branes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Low Energy Vortex Dynamics in Abelian Higgs Systems: The low energy dynamics of the vortices of the Abelian Chern-Simons-Higgs\nsystem is investigated from the adiabatic approach. The difficulties involved\nin treating the field evolution as motion on the moduli space in this system\nare shown. Another two generalized Abelian Higgs systems are discusssed with\nrespect to their vortex dynamics at the adiabatic limit. The method works well\nand we find bound states in the first model and scattering at right angles in\nthe second system.",
        "positive": "Stochastic Behavior of Effective Field Theories Across Threshold: We explore how the existence of a field with a heavy mass influences the low\nenergy dynamics of a quantum field with a light mass by expounding the\nstochastic characters of their interactions which take on the form of\nfluctuations in the number of (heavy field) particles created at the threshold,\nand dissipation in the dynamics of the light fields, arising from the\nbackreaction of produced heavy particles. We claim that the stochastic nature\nof effective field theories is intrinsic, in that dissipation and fluctuations\nare present both above and below the threshold. Stochasticity builds up\nexponentially quickly as the heavy threshold is approached from below, becoming\ndominant once the threshold is crossed. But it also exists below the threshold\nand is in principle detectable, albeit strongly suppressed at low energies. The\nresults derived here can be used to give a quantitative definition of the\n`effectiveness' of a theory in terms of the relative weight of the\ndeterministic versus the stochastic behavior at different energy scales."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spontaneous symmetry breaking in light front field theory: A semiclassical picture of spontaneous symmetry breaking in light front field\ntheory is formulated. It is based on a finite-volume quantization of\nself-interacting scalar fields obeying antiperiodic boundary conditions. This\nchoice avoids a necessity to solve the zero mode constraint and enables one to\ndefine unitary operators which shift scalar field by a constant. The operators\nsimultaneously transform the light-front vacuum to coherent states with lower\nenergy than the Fock vacuum and with non-zero expectation value of the scalar\nfield. The new vacuum states are non-invariant under the discrete or continuous\nsymmetry of the Hamiltonian. Spontaneous symmetry breaking is described in this\nway in the two-dimensional \\lambda\\phi^4 theory and in the three-dimensional\nO(2)-symmetric sigma model. A qualitative treatment of topological kink\nsolutions in the first model and a derivation of the Goldstone theorem in the\nsecond one is given. Symmetry breaking in the case of periodic boundary\nconditions is also briefly discussed.",
        "positive": "Quantum Field Theory at high multiplicity: The Higgsplosion mechanism: This master thesis seeks to understand what happens to a Quantum Field Theory\nwhen we are in the high multiplicity regime. The motivation for this study\ncomes from a newly (2017) proposed mechanism that would happen in scalar\ntheories in this limit, the Higgsplosion. We review what is known so far about\nthe perturbative results in this regime and some other results coming from\ndifferent approaches. We study the consequences of this mechanism for a normal\nscalar theory and if it can happen in the Standard Model. The goal is to\nunderstand if this mechanism can really happen in usual field theory, this\nquestion will be answered in the perturbative regime because a more general\nsolution is still unknown. Additionally, a new possible interpretation for the\nHiggsplosion mechanism is proposed and discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Thermodynamics of Dual CFTs for Kerr-AdS Black Holes: Recently Gibbons {\\it et al.} in hep-th/0408217 defined a set of conserved\nquantities for Kerr-AdS black holes with the maximal number of rotation\nparameters in arbitrary dimension. This set of conserved quantities is defined\nwith respect to a frame which is non-rotating at infinity. On the other hand,\nthere is another set of conserved quantities for Kerr-AdS black holes, defined\nby Hawking {\\it et al.} in hep-th/9811056, which is measured relative to a\nframe rotating at infinity. Gibbons {\\it et al.} explicitly showed that the\nquantities defined by them satisfy the first law of black hole thermodynamics,\nwhile those quantities defined by Hawking {\\it et al.} do not obey the first\nlaw. In this paper we discuss thermodynamics of dual CFTs to the Kerr-AdS black\nholes by mapping the bulk thermodynamic quantities to the boundary of the AdS\nspace. We find that thermodynamic quantities of dual CFTs satisfy the first law\nof thermodynamics and Cardy-Verlinde formula only when these thermodynamic\nquantities result from the set of bulk quantities given by Hawking {\\it et\nal.}. We discuss the implication of our results.",
        "positive": "The Pure Spinor Formulation of Superstrings: In this lectures we outline the construction of pure spinor superstrings. We\nconsider both the open and closed pure spinor superstrings in critical and\nnoncritical dimensions and on flat and curved target spaces with RR flux. We\nexhibit the integrability properties of pure spinor superstrings on curved\nbackgrounds with RR fluxes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "One-shot holography: Following the work of [2008.03319], we define a generally covariant\nmax-entanglement wedge of a boundary region $B$, which we conjecture to be the\nbulk region reconstructible from $B$. We similarly define a covariant\nmin-entanglement wedge, which we conjecture to be the bulk region that can\ninfluence the boundary state on $B$. We prove that the min- and\nmax-entanglement wedges obey various properties necessary for this conjecture,\nsuch as nesting, inclusion of the causal wedge, and a reduction to the usual\nquantum extremal surface prescription in the appropriate special cases. These\nproofs rely on one-shot versions of the (restricted) quantum focusing\nconjecture (QFC) that we conjecture to hold. We argue that this QFC implies a\none-shot generalized second law (GSL) and quantum Bousso bound. Moreover, in a\nparticular semiclassical limit we prove this one-shot GSL directly using\nalgebraic techniques. Finally, in order to derive our results, we extend both\nthe frameworks of one-shot quantum Shannon theory and state-specific\nreconstruction to finite-dimensional von Neumann algebras, allowing nontrivial\ncenters.",
        "positive": "One-Dimensional Sectors From the Squashed Three-Sphere: Three-dimensional $\\mathcal{N} = 4$ superconformal field theories contain 1d\ntopological sectors consisting of twisted linear combinations of half-BPS local\noperators that can be inserted anywhere along a line. After a conformal mapping\nto a round three-sphere, the 1d sectors are now defined on a great circle of\n$S^3$. We show that the 1d topological sectors are preserved under the\nsquashing of the sphere. For gauge theories with matter hypermultiplets, we use\nsupersymmetric localization to derive an explicit description of the\ntopological sector associated with the Higgs branch. Furthermore, we find that\nthe dependence of the 1d correlation functions on the squashing parameter $b$\ncan be removed after appropriate rescalings. One can introduce real mass and\nFayet-Iliopolous parameters that, after appropriate rescalings, modify the 1d\ntheory on the squashed sphere precisely as they do on the round sphere. In\naddition, we also show that when a generic 3d $\\mathcal{N}=4$ theory is\ndeformed by real mass parameters, this deformation translates into a universal\ndeformation of the corresponding 1d theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Notes on generalized global symmetries in QFT: It was recently argued that quantum field theories possess one-form and\nhigher-form symmetries, labelled `generalized global symmetries.' In this\npaper, we describe how those higher-form symmetries can be understood\nmathematically as special cases of more general 2-groups and higher groups, and\ndiscuss examples of quantum field theories admitting actions of more general\nhigher groups than merely one-form and higher-form symmetries. We discuss\nanalogues of topological defects for some of these higher symmetry groups,\nrelating some of them to ordinary topological defects. We also discuss\ntopological defects in cases in which the moduli `space' (technically, a stack)\nadmits an action of a higher symmetry group. Finally, we outline a proposal for\nhow certain anomalies might potentially be understood as describing a\ntransmutation of an ordinary group symmetry of the classical theory into a\n2-group or higher group symmetry of the quantum theory, which we link to WZW\nmodels and bosonization.",
        "positive": "New results in the deformed N=4 SYM theory: We investigate various perturbative properties of the deformed N=4 SYM\ntheory. We carry out a three-loops calculation of the chiral matter superfield\npropagator and derive the condition on the couplings for maintaining finiteness\nat this order. We compute the 2-, 3- and 4-point functions of composite\noperators of dimension 2 at two loops. We identify all the scalar operators\n(chiral and non-chiral) of bare dimension 4 with vanishing one-loop anomalous\ndimension. We compute some 2- and 3-point functions of these operators at two\nloops and argue that the observed finite corrections cannot be absorbed by a\nfinite renormalization of the operators."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Physical States in Matter-Coupled Dilaton Gravity: We revisit the quantization of matter-coupled, two-dimensional dilaton\ngravity. At the classical level and with a cosmological term, a series of field\ntransformations leads to a set of free fields of indefinite signature. Without\nmatter the system is represented by two scalar fields of opposite signature.\nWith a particular quantization for the scalar with negative kinetic energy, the\nsystem has zero central charge and we find some physical states satisfying {\\it\nall} the Virasoro conditions. With matter, the constraints cannot be solved\nbecause of the Virasoro anomaly. We discuss two avenues for consistent\nquantization: modification of the constraints, and BRST quantization. The first\navenue appears to lead to very few physical states. The second, which roughly\ncorresponds to satisfying half of the Virasoro conditions, results in a rich\nspectrum of physical states. This spectrum, however, differs significantly from\nthat of free matter fields propagating on flat two-dimensional space-time.",
        "positive": "The Complexity of Learning (Pseudo)random Dynamics of Black Holes and\n  Other Chaotic Systems: It has been recently proposed that the naive semiclassical prediction of\nnon-unitary black hole evaporation can be understood in the fundamental\ndescription of the black hole as a consequence of ignorance of high-complexity\ninformation. Validity of this conjecture implies that any algorithm which is\npolynomially bounded in computational complexity cannot accurately reconstruct\nthe black hole dynamics. In this work, we prove that such bounded quantum\nalgorithms cannot accurately predict (pseudo)random unitary dynamics, even if\nthey are given access to an arbitrary set of polynomially complex observables\nunder this time evolution; this shows that \"learning\" a (pseudo)random unitary\nis computationally hard. We use the common simplification of modeling black\nholes and more generally chaotic systems via (pseudo)random dynamics. The\nquantum algorithms that we consider are completely general, and their attempted\nguess for the time evolution of black holes is likewise unconstrained: it need\nnot be a linear operator, and may be as general as an arbitrary (e.g.\ndecohering) quantum channel."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "New Einstein-Hilbert type action of space-time and matter\n  -Nonlinear-supersymmetric general relativity theory-: The geometric argument of the general relativity principle can be carried out\non (unstable) Riemann space-time just inspired by nonlinear representation of\nsupersymmetry(NLSUSY), where tangent space is specified by Grassmann degrees of\nfreedom $\\psi$ for SL(2,C) besides the ordinary Minkowski one $x^{a}$ for\nSO(1,3) and gives straightforwardly new Einstein-Hilbert(EH)-type action with\nglobal NLSUSY invariance(NLSUSYGR)) equipped with the cosmological term. Due to\nthe NLSUSY nature of space-time NLSUSYGR would collapse(Big Collapse)\nspontaneously to ordinary E-H action of graviton, NLSUSY action of\nNambu-Goldstone fermion $\\psi$ and their gravitational interaction.\nSimultaneously the universal attractive gravitational force would constitute\nthe NG fermion-composites corresponding to the eigenstates of liner-SUSY(LSUSY)\nsuper-Poincar\\'{e}(sP) symmetry of space-time, which gives a new paradigm for\nthe unification of space-time and matter, which can . bridge naturally the\ncosmology and the low energy particle physics and provides new insights into\nunsolved problems of cosmology, SM and mysterious relations between them, e.g.\nthe space-time dimension {\\it four}, the origin of SUSY breaking, the dark\nenergy and dark matter, the dark energy density$\\sim$( neutrino mass$)^{4}$,\nthe tiny neutrino mass, the three-generations structure of quarks and leptons,\nthe rapid expansion of space-time, the magnitude of bare gauge coupling\nconstant, etc..",
        "positive": "Interactions of Irregular Gaiotto States in Liouville Theory: We compute the correlation functions of irregular Gaiotto states appearing in\nthe colliding limit of the Liouville theory by using \"regularizing\" conformal\ntransformations mapping the irregular (coherent) states to regular vertex\noperators in the Liouville theory. The $N$-point correlation functions of the\nirregular vertex operators of arbitrary ranks are expressed in terms of\n$N$-point correlators of primary fields times the factor that involves\nregularized higher-rank Schwarzians of the above conformal transformation. In\nparticular, in the case of three-point functions the general answer is\nexpressed in terms of DOZZ (Dorn-Otto-Zamolodchikov-Zamolodchikov) structure\nconstants times exponents of regularized higher-derivative Schwarzians. The\nexplicit examples of the regularization are given for the ranks one and two."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Standard Model in the Latticized Bulk: We construct the manifestly gauge invariant effective Lagrangian in 3+1\ndimensions describing the Standard Model in 4+1 dimensions, following the\ntransverse lattice technique. We incorporate split generation fermions and we\nexplore naturalness for two Higgs configurations: a universal Higgs VEV, common\nto each transverse brane, and a local Higgs VEV centered on a single brane with\ndiscrete exponential attenuation to other branes, emulating the\nsplit-generation model. Extra dimensions, with explicit Higgs, do not\nameliorate the naturalness problem.",
        "positive": "Quasi-Local Conserved Charges in Covariant Theory of Gravity: In any generally covariant theory of gravity, we show the relationship\nbetween the linearized asymptotically conserved current and its non-linear\ncompletion through the identically conserved current. Our formulation for\nconserved charges is based on the Lagrangian description, and so completely\ncovariant. By using this result, we give a prescription to define quasi-local\nconserved charges in any higher derivative gravity. As applications of our\napproach, we demonstrate the angular momentum invariance along the radial\ndirection of black holes and reproduce more efficiently the linearized\npotential on the asymptotic AdS space."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Matrix string states in pure 2d Yang Mills theories: We quantize pure 2d Yang-Mills theory on a torus in the gauge where the field\nstrength is diagonal. Because of the topological obstructions to a global\nsmooth diagonalization, we find string-like states in the spectrum similar to\nthe ones introduced by various authors in Matrix string theory. We write\nexplicitly the partition function, which generalizes the one already known in\nthe literature, and we discuss the role of these states in preserving modular\ninvariance. Some speculations are presented about the interpretation of 2d\nYang-Mills theory as a Matrix string theory.",
        "positive": "Collisions of weakly-bound kinks in the Christ-Lee model: We investigate soliton collisions a one-parameter family of scalar field\ntheories in 1+1 dimensions which was first discussed by Christ and Lee. The\nmodels have a sextic potential with three local minima, and for suitably small\nvalues of the parameter its kinks have an internal structure in the form of two\nweakly-bound subkinks. We show that for these values of the parameter kink\ncollisions are best understood as an independent sequence of collisions of\nthese subkinks, and that a static mode analysis is not enough to explain\nresonant structures emerging in this model. We also emphasise the role of\nradiation and oscillon formation in the collision process."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Entropy for General Extremal Black Holes: We use the Kerr/CFT correspondence to calculate the entropy for all known\nextremal stationary and axisymmetric black holes. This is done with the help of\ntwo ansatzs that are general enough to cover all such known solutions.\nConsidering only the contribution from the Einstein-Hilbert action to the\ncentral charge(s), we find that the entropy obtained by using Cardy's formula\nexactly matches with the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy.",
        "positive": "The quantum cosmological tilt and the origin of dark matter: A promising candidate for cold dark matter is primordial black holes (PBH)\nformed from strong primordial quantum fluctuations. A necessary condition for\nthe formation of PBH's is a change of sign in the tilt governing the anomalous\nscale invariance of the power spectrum from red at large scales into blue at\nsmall scales. Non-perturbative information on the dependence of the power\nspectrum tilt on energy scale can be extracted from the quantum Fisher\ninformation measuring the energy dependence of the quantum phases defining the\nde Sitter vacua. We show that this non-perturbative quantum tilt goes from a\nred tilted phase, at large scales, into a blue tilted phase at small scales\nconverging to $n_s=2$ in the UV. This allows the formation of PBH's in the\nrange of masses $\\lesssim 10^{20} gr$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Matrix models from localization of five-dimensional supersymmetric\n  noncommutative U(1) gauge theory: We study localization of five-dimensional supersymmetric $U(1)$ gauge theory\non $\\mathbb{S}^3 \\times \\mathbb{R}_{\\theta}^{2}$ where\n$\\mathbb{R}_{\\theta}^{2}$ is a noncommutative (NC) plane. The theory can be\nisomorphically mapped to three-dimensional supersymmetric $U(N \\to \\infty)$\ngauge theory on $\\mathbb{S}^3$ using the matrix representation on a separable\nHilbert space on which NC fields linearly act. Therefore the NC space\n$\\mathbb{R}_{\\theta}^{2}$ allows for a flexible path to derive matrix models\nvia localization from a higher-dimensional supersymmetric NC $U(1)$ gauge\ntheory. The result shows a rich duality between NC $U(1)$ gauge theories and\nlarge $N$ matrix models in various dimensions.",
        "positive": "q-deformed lattice gauge theory and 3-manifold invariants: The notion of $q$-deformed lattice gauge theory is introduced. If the\ndeformation parameter is a root of unity, the weak coupling limit of a 3-$d$\npartition function gives a topological invariant for a corresponding\n3-manifold. It enables us to define the generalized Turaev-Viro invariant for\ncell complexes. It is shown that this invariant is determined by an action of a\nfundamental group on a universal covering of a complex. A connection with\ninvariants of framed links in a manifold is also explored. A model giving a\ngenerating function of all simplicial complexes weighted with the invariant is\ninvestigated."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Localised anti-branes in non-compact throats at zero and finite T: We investigate the 3-form singularities that are typical to anti-brane\nsolutions in supergravity and check whether they can be cloaked by a finite\ntemperature horizon. For anti-D3-branes in the Klebanov-Strassler background,\nthis was already shown numerically to be impossible when the branes are\npartially smeared. In this paper, we present analytic arguments that also\nlocalised branes remain with singular 3-form fluxes at both zero and finite\ntemperature. These results may have important, possibly fatal, consequences for\nconstructions of meta-stable de Sitter vacua through uplifting.",
        "positive": "A semiclassical analysis of the fluctuation eigenvalues and the one-loop\n  energy of the folded spinning superstring in AdS_5 x S^5: We systematically construct a semiclassical expansion for the eigenvalues of\nthe 2nd order quantum fluctuations of the folded spinning superstring rotating\nin the AdS_3 part of AdS_5 x S^5 with two alternative methods; by using the\nexact expression of the Bloch momentum generated by the curvature induced\nperiodic potentials and by using the large energy expansion of the dispersion\nrelation. We then calculate the one-loop correction to the energy by summing\nover the eigenvalues. Our results are extremely accurate for strings whose ends\nare not too close to the AdS radius. Finally we derive the small spin Regge\nexpansion in the context of zeta function approximation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Constrained quantization and $\u03b8$-angles: We apply a new and mathematically rigorous method for the quantization of\nconstrained systems to two-dimensional gauge theories. In this method, which\nquantizes Marsden-Weinstein symplectic reduction, the inner product on the\nphysical state space is expressed through a certain integral over the gauge\ngroup. The present paper, the first of a series, specializes to the Minkowski\ntheory defined on a cylinder. The integral in question is then constructed in\nterms of the Wiener measure on a loop group. It is shown how $\\th$-angles\nemerge in the new method, and the abstract theory is illustrated in detail in\nan example.",
        "positive": "Triangle (Causal) Distributions in the Causal Approach: The tensor Feynman amplitudes are reduced to scalar integrals by a procedure\nof Passarino and Veltman. We provide an alternative approach based on the\ncausal formalism."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "First-order solitons with internal structures in an extended\n  Maxwell-$CP(2)$ model: We study a Maxwell-$CP(2)$ model coupled to a real scalar field through a\ndielectric function multiplying the Maxwell term. In such a context, we look\nfor first-order rotationally symmetric solitons by means of the Bogomol'nyi\nalgorithm, i.e. by minimizing the total energy of the effective model. We\nperform our investigation by choosing an explicit form of the dielectric\nfunction. The numerical solutions show regular vortices whose shapes\ndramatically differ from their canonical counterparts. We can understood such\ndifferences as characterizing the existence of an internal structure.",
        "positive": "Quantum curves and conformal field theory: To a given algebraic curve we assign an infinite family of quantum curves\n(Schr\\\"odinger equations), which are in one-to-one correspondence with, and\nhave the structure of, Virasoro singular vectors. For a spectral curve of a\nmatrix model we build such quantum curves out of an appropriate representation\nof the Virasoro algebra, encoded in the structure of the\n$\\alpha/\\beta$-deformed matrix integral and its loop equation. We generalize\nthis construction to a large class of algebraic curves by means of a refined\ntopological recursion. We also specialize this construction to various specific\nmatrix models with polynomial and logarithmic potentials, and among other\nresults, show that various ingredients familiar in the study of conformal field\ntheory (Ward identities, correlation functions and a representation of Virasoro\noperators acting thereon, BPZ equations) arise upon specialization of our\nformalism to the multi-Penner matrix model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Matrix Product Ansatz for integrable U(1)^N models in\n  Lunin-Maldacena backgrounds: We obtain through a Matrix Product Ansatz (MPA) the exact solution of the\nmost general $N$-state spin chain with $U(1)^N$ symmetry and nearest neighbour\ninteraction. In the case N=6 this model contain as a special case the\nintegrable SO(6) spin chain related to the one loop mixing matrix for anomalous\ndimensions in ${\\cal N} = 4$ SYM, dual to type $IIB$ string theory in the\ngeneralised Lunin-Maldacena backgrounds. This MPA is construct by a map between\nscalar fields and abstract operators that satisfy an appropriate associative\nalgebra. We analyses the Yang-Baxter equation in the N=3 sector and the\nconsistence of the algebraic relations among the matrices defining the MPA and\nfind a new class of exactly integrable model unknown up to now.",
        "positive": "Branes, Geometry and N=1 Duality with Product Gauge Groups of SO and Sp: We study N=1 dualities in four dimensional supersymmetric gauge theories as\nthe worldvolume theory of D4 branes with one compact direction in type IIA\nstring theory. We generalize the previous work for SO(N_{c1}) x Sp(N_{c2}) with\nthe superpotential W=Tr X^4 to the case of W= Tr X^4(k+1) in terms of brane\nconfiguration. We conjecture that the new dualities for the product gauge\ngroups of SO(N_{c1}) x Sp(N_{c2}) x SO(N_{c3}), SO(N_{c1}) x Sp(N_{c2}) x\nSO(N_{c3}) x Sp(N_{c4}) and higher multiple product gauge groups can be\nobtained by reversing the ordering of NS5 branes and D6 branes while preserving\nthe linking numbers. We also describe the above dualities in terms of wrapping\nD6 branes around 3 cycles of Calabi-Yau threefolds in type IIA string theory.\nThe theory with adjoint matter can be regarded as taking multiple copies of NS5\nbrane in the configuration of brane or geometric approaches."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Higher Spin Conformal Symmetry for Matter Fields in 2+1 Dimensions: A simple realization of the conformal higher spin symmetry on the free $3d$\nmassless matter fields is given in terms of an auxiliary Fock module both in\nthe flat and $AdS_3$ case. The duality between non-unitary field-theoretical\nrepresentations of the conformal algebra and the unitary (singleton--type)\nrepresentations of the $3d$ conformal algebra $sp(4,\\R)$ is formulated\nexplicitly in terms of a certain Bogolyubov transform.",
        "positive": "Dirac Born Infeld (DBI) Cosmic Strings: Motivated by brane physics, we consider the non-linear Dirac-Born-Infeld\n(DBI) extension of the Abelian-Higgs model and study the corresponding cosmic\nstring configurations. The model is defined by a potential term, assumed to be\nof the mexican hat form, and a DBI action for the kinetic terms. We show that\nit is a continuous deformation of the Abelian-Higgs model, with a single\ndeformation parameter depending on a dimensionless combination of the scalar\ncoupling constant, the vacuum expectation value of the scalar field at\ninfinity, and the brane tension. By means of numerical calculations, we\ninvestigate the profiles of the corresponding DBI-cosmic strings and prove that\nthey have a core which is narrower than that of Abelian-Higgs strings. We also\nshow that the corresponding action is smaller than in the standard case\nsuggesting that their formation could be favoured in brane models. Moreover we\nshow that the DBI-cosmic string solutions are non-pathological everywhere in\nparameter space. Finally, in the limit in which the DBI model reduces to the\nBogomolnyi-Prasad-Sommerfield (BPS) Abelian-Higgs model, we find that DBI\ncosmic strings are no longer BPS: rather they have positive binding energy. We\nthus argue that, when they meet, two DBI strings will not bind with the\ncorresponding formation of a junction, and hence that a network of DBI strings\nis likely to behave as a network of standard cosmic strings."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Counterpart of the Weyl tensor for Rarita-Schwinger type fields: In dimensions larger than 3 a modified field strength for Rarita-Schwinger\ntype fields is constructed whose components are not constrained by the field\nequations. In supergravity theories the result provides a modified\n(supercovariant) gravitino field strength related by supersymmetry to the\n(supercovariantized) Weyl tensor. In various cases, such as for free\nRarita-Schwinger type gauge fields and for gravitino fields in several\nsupergravity theories, the modified field strength coincides on-shell with the\nusual field strength. A corresponding result for first order derivatives of\nDirac type spinor fields is also presented.",
        "positive": "A review on radiation of oscillons and oscillatons: Numerical simulations show that a massive real scalar field in a nonlinear\ntheory can form long-lived oscillating localized states. For a self-interacting\nscalar on a fixed background these objects are named oscillons, while for the\nself-gravitating case they are called oscillatons. This extensive review is\nabout the history and various general properties of these solutions, though\nmainly focusing on the small but nonzero classical scalar field radiation\nemitted by them. The radiation for higher amplitude states can be calculated by\na spectral numerical method. For small and moderately large amplitudes an\nanalytical approach based on complex extension, asymptotic matching and Borel\nsummation can be used. This procedure for the calculation of the energy loss\nrate is explained in a detailed way in this review, starting with the simplest\none-dimensional scalar oscillons at first, and reaching to $3+1$ dimensional\nself-gravitating oscillatons based on that experience."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Principle of Maximal Transcendentality and the Four-Loop Collinear\n  Anomalous Dimension: We use the principle of maximal transcendentality and the universal nature of\nsubleading infrared poles to extract the analytic value of the four-loop\ncollinear anomalous dimension in planar ${\\cal N}=4$ super-Yang-Mills theory\nfrom recent QCD results, obtaining $\\hat{\\cal G}_{0}^{(4)} = - 300 \\zeta_7 -\n256 \\zeta_2 \\zeta_5 - 384 \\zeta_3 \\zeta_4$. This value agrees with a previous\nnumerical result to within 0.2 percent. It also provides the Regge trajectory,\nthreshold soft anomalous dimension and rapidity anomalous dimension through\nfour loops.",
        "positive": "g-function flow in perturbed boundary conformal field theories: The g-function was introduced by Affleck and Ludwig as a measure of the\nground state degeneracy of a conformal boundary condition. We consider this\nfunction for perturbations of the conformal Yang-Lee model by bulk and boundary\nfields using conformal perturbation theory, the truncated conformal space\napproach and the thermodynamic Bethe Ansatz (TBA). We find that the TBA\nequations derived by LeClair et al describe the massless boundary flows, up to\nan overall constant, but are incorrect when one considers a simultaneous bulk\nperturbation; however the TBA equations do correctly give the `non-universal'\nlinear term in the massive case, and the ratio of g-functions for different\nboundary conditions is also correctly produced. This ratio is related to the\nY-system of the Yang-Lee model and by comparing the perturbative expansions of\nthe Y-system and of the g-functions we obtain the exact relation between the UV\nand IR parameters of the massless perturbed boundary model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Turing's Landscape: decidability, computability and complexity in string\n  theory: I argue that questions of algorithmic decidability, computability and\ncomplexity should play a larger role in deciding the \"ultimate\" theoretical\ndescription of the Landscape of string vacua. More specifically, I examine the\nnotion of the average rank of the (unification) gauge group in the Landscape,\nthe explicit construction of Ricci-flat metrics on Calabi-Yau manifolds as well\nas the computability of fundamental periods to show that undecidability\nquestions are far more pervasive than that described in the work of Denef and\nDouglas.",
        "positive": "Perturbative Evaluation of the Effective Action for a Self-Interacting\n  Conformal Field on a Manifold with Boundary: In a series of three projects a new technique which allows for higher-loop\nrenormalisation on a manifold with boundary has been developed and used in\norder to assess the effects of the boundary on the dynamical behaviour of the\ntheory. Commencing with a conceptual approach to the theoretical underpinnings\nof the, underlying, spherical formulation of Euclidean Quantum Field Theory\nthis overview presents an outline of the stated technique's conceptual\ndevelopment, mathematical formalism and physical significance."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chiral torsional effect with finite temperature, density and curvature: We scrutinize the novel chiral transport phenomenon driven by spacetime\ntorsion, namely the chiral torsional effect (CTE). We calculate the\ntorsion-induced chiral currents with finite temperature, density and curvature\nin the most general torsional gravity theory. The conclusion complements the\nprevious study on the CTE by including curvature and substantiates the relation\nbetween the CTE and the Nieh-Yan anomaly. We also analyze the response of\nchiral torsional current to an external electromagnetic field. The resulting\ntopological current is analogous to that in the axion electrodynamics.",
        "positive": "Soft theorems in curved spacetime: In this paper, we derive a soft photon theorem in the near horizon region of\nthe Schwarzschild black hole from the Ward identity of the near horizon large\ngauge transformation. The flat spacetime soft photon theorem can be recovered\nas a limiting case of the curved spacetime. The soft photons on the horizon are\nindeed soft electric hairs. This accomplishes the triangle equivalence on the\nblack hole horizon."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Confinement of neutral fermions by a pseudoscalar double-step potential\n  in (1+1) dimensions: The problem of confinement of neutral fermions in two-dimensional space-time\nis approached with a pseudoscalar double-step potential in the Dirac equation.\nBound-state solutions are obtained when the coupling is of sufficient\nintensity. The confinement is made plausible by arguments based on effective\nmass and anomalous magnetic interaction.",
        "positive": "Numerical approach to SUSY quantum mechanics and the gauge/gravity\n  duality: We demonstrate that Monte-Carlo simulation is a practical tool to study\nnonperturbative aspects of supersymmetric quantum mechanics. As an example we\nstudy D0-brane quantum mechanics in the context of superstring theory.\nNumerical data nicely reproduce predictions from gravity side, including the\ncoupling constant dependence of the string alpha' correction. This strongly\nsuggests the duality to hold beyond the supergravity approximation. Although\ndetail of the stringy correction cannot be obtained by state-of-the-art\ntechniques in gravity side, in the matrix quantum mechanics we can obtain\nconcrete values. Therefore the Monte-Carlo simulation combined with the duality\nprovides a powerful tool to study the superstring theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "N=2 gauge theories and quantum phases: The partition function of general N = 2 supersymmetric SU(2) Yang-Mills\ntheories on a four-sphere localizes to a matrix integral. We show that in the\ndecompactification limit, and in a certain regime, the integral is dominated by\na saddle point. When this takes effect, the free energy is exactly given in\nterms of the prepotential, $F=-R^2 Re (4\\pi i {\\cal F}) $, evaluated at the\nsingularity of the Seiberg-Witten curve where the dual magnetic variable $a_D$\nvanishes. We also show that the superconformal fixed point of massive\nsupersymmetric QCD with gauge group SU(2) is associated with the existence of a\nquantum phase transition. Finally, we discuss the case of N=2* SU(2) Yang-Mills\ntheory and show that the theory does not exhibit phase transitions.",
        "positive": "More on correlators and contact terms in {\\cal N}=4 SYM at order g^4: We compute two-point functions of chiral operators Tr(\\Phi^k) for any k, in\n{\\cal N}=4 supersymmetric SU(N) Yang-Mills theory. We find that up to the order\ng^4 the perturbative corrections to the correlators vanish for all N. The\ncancellation occurs in a highly non trivial way, due to a complicated interplay\nbetween planar and non planar diagrams. In complete generality we show that\nthis same result is valid for any simple gauge group. Contact term\ncontributions signal the presence of ultraviolet divergences. They are\narbitrary at the tree level, but the absence of perturbative renormalization in\nthe non singular part of the correlators allows to compute them unambiguously\nat higher orders. In the spirit of the AdS/CFT correspondence we comment on\ntheir relation to infrared singularities in the supergravity sector."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Integrability and Scheme-Independence of Even Dimensional Quantum\n  Geometry Effective Action: We investigate how the integrability conditions for conformal anomalies\nconstrain the form of the effective action in even-dimensional quantum\ngeometry. We show that the effective action of four-dimensional quantum\ngeometry (4DQG) satisfying integrability has a manifestly diffeomorphism\ninvariant and regularization scheme-independent form. We then generalize the\narguments to six dimensions and propose a model of 6DQG. A hypothesized form of\nthe 6DQG effective action is given.",
        "positive": "Deconstruction, Lattice Supersymmetry, Anomalies and Branes: We study the realization of anomalous Ward identities in deconstructed\n(latticized) supersymmetric theories. In a deconstructed four-dimensional\ntheory with N=2 supersymmetry, we show that the chiral symmetries only appear\nin the infrared and that the anomaly is reproduced in the usual framework of\nlattice perturbation theory with Wilson fermions. We then realize the theory on\nthe world-volume of fractional D-branes on an orbifold. In this brane\nrealization, we show how deconstructed theory anomalies can be computed via\nclassical supergravity. Our methods and observations are more generally\napplicable to deconstructed/latticized supersymmetric theories in various\ndimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supertranslation Goldstone and de Sitter Tachyons: Supertranslation Goldstone lies in certain \"exceptional series\"\nrepresentations of $SL(2,\\mathbb{C})$. Interestingly, $m^2=-3$ scalar tachyon\nin three dimensional de Sitter space also lies in the same representation. In\nthis note, we analyze these theories, focusing on representation-theoretical\naspects, and emphasize that \"modulo certain polynomials\", there is a unitary\nrepresentation of the corresponding symmetry group.",
        "positive": "Mirror quintic vacua: hierarchies and inflation: We study the moduli space of type IIB string theory flux compactifications on\nthe mirror of the CY quintic 3-fold in P4. We focus on the dynamics of the four\ndimensional moduli space, defined by the axio-dilaton {\\tau} and the complex\nstructure modulus z. The z-plane has critical points, the conifold, the\norbifold and the large complex structure with non trivial monodromies. We find\nthe solutions to the Picard-Fuchs equations obeyed by the periods of the CY in\nthe full z-plane as a series expansion in z around the critical points to\narbitrary order. This allows us to discard fake vacua, which appear as a result\nof keeping only the leading order term in the series expansions. Due to\nmonodromies vacua are located at a given sheet in the z-plane. A dS vacuum\nappears for a set of fluxes. We revisit vacua with hierarchies among the 4D and\n6D physical scales close to the conifold point and compare them with those\nfound at leading order in [1, 2]. We explore slow-roll inflationary directions\nof the scalar potential by looking at regions where the multi-field slow-roll\nparameters {\\epsilon} and {\\eta} are smaller than one. The value of {\\epsilon}\ndepends strongly on the approximation of the periods and to achieve a stable\nvalue, several orders in the expansion are needed. We do not find realisations\nof single field axion monodromy inflation. Instead, we find that inflationary\nregions appear along linear combinations of the four real field directions and\nfor certain configurations of fluxes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Higher Derivative Fermionic Field Theories: We carry out the extension of the covariant Ostrogradski method to fermionic\nfield theories. Higher-derivative Lagrangians reduce to second order\ndifferential ones with one explicit independent field for each degree of\nfreedom.",
        "positive": "Neumann-Rosochatius system for rotating strings in $AdS_3 \\times\n  S^3\\times S^3\\times S^1$ with flux: Strings on $AdS_3 \\times S^3\\times S^3\\times S^1$ with mixed flux exhibit\nexact integrability. We wish to construct an integrable Neumann-Rosochatius\n(NR) model of strings starting with the type IIB supergravity action in $AdS_3\n\\times S^3\\times S^3\\times S^1$ with pure NSNS flux. We observe that the forms\nof the Lagrangian and the Uhlenbeck integrals of motion of the considered\nsystem are NR-like with some suitable deformations which eventually appear due\nto the presence of flux. We utilize the integrable framework of the deformed NR\nmodel to analyze rigidly rotating spiky strings moving only in $S^3\\times S^1$.\nWe further present some mathematical speculations on the rounding-off nature of\nthe spike in the presence of non-zero angular momentum $J$ in $S^1$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non Abelian Dual Maps in Path Space: We study an extension of the procedure to construct duality transformations\namong abelian gauge theories to the non abelian case using a path space\nformulation. We define a pre-dual functional in path space and introduce a\nparticular non local map among Lie algebra valued 1-form functionals that\nreduces to the ordinary Hodge-* duality map of the abelian theories. Further,\nwe establish a full set of equations on path space representing the ordinary\nYang Mills equations and Bianchi identities of non abelian gauge theories of\n4-dimensional euclidean space.",
        "positive": "Microscopic Origin of the Shear Relaxation Time in Causal Dissipative\n  Fluid Dynamics: In this paper we show how to compute the shear relaxation time from an\nunderlying microscopic theory. We prove that the shear relaxation time in\nIsrael-Stewart-type theories is given by the inverse of the pole of the\ncorresponding retarded Green's function, which is nearest to the origin in the\ncomplex energy plane. Consequently, the relaxation time in such theories is a\nmicroscopic, and not a macroscopic, i.e., fluid-dynamical time scale."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Semiclassical and quantum Liouville theory on the sphere: We solve the Riemann-Hilbert problem on the sphere topology for three\nsingularities of finite strength and a fourth one infinitesimal, by determining\nperturbatively the Poincare' accessory parameters. In this way we compute the\nsemiclassical four point vertex function with three finite charges and a fourth\ninfinitesimal. Some of the results are extended to the case of n finite charges\nand m infinitesimal. With the same technique we compute the exact Green\nfunction on the sphere with three finite singularities. Turning to the full\nquantum problem we address the calculation of the quantum determinant on the\nbackground of three finite charges and the further perturbative corrections.\nThe zeta function technique provides a theory which is not invariant under\nlocal conformal transformations. Instead by employing a regularization\nsuggested in the case of the pseudosphere by Zamolodchikov and Zamolodchikov we\nobtain the correct quantum conformal dimensions from the one loop calculation\nand we show explicitly that the two loop corrections do not change such\ndimensions. We expect such a result to hold to all order perturbation theory.",
        "positive": "Current-current deformations, conformal integrals and correlation\n  functions: Motivated by the recent work on $T\\bar{T}$-type deformations of 2D CFTs, a\nespecial class of single-trace deformations of AdS$_3$/CFT$_2$ correspondence\nhas been investigated. From the worldsheet perspective, this corresponds to a\nmarginal deformation of the $\\sigma $-model on AdS$_3$ that yields a string\nbackground that interpolates between AdS$_3$ and a flat linear dilaton\nsolution. Here, with the intention of studying this worldsheet CFT further, we\nconsider it in the presence of a boundary. In a previous paper, we computed\ndifferent correlation functions of this theory on the disk, including the bulk\n1-point function, the boundary-boundary 2-point function, and the bulk-boundary\n2-point function. This led us to compute the anomalous dimension of both bulk\nand boundary vertex operators, which first required a proper regularization of\nthe ultraviolet divergences of the conformal integrals. Here, we extend the\nanalysis by computing the bulk-bulk 2-point function on the disk and other\nobservables on the sphere. We prove that the renormalization of the vertex\noperators proposed in our previous works is consistent with the form of the\nsphere $N$-point functions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Henon-Heiles potential as a bridge between nontopological solitons of\n  different types: We apply the Hubbard-Stratanovich transformation to the Lagrangian for\nnontopological solitons of the Coleman type in a two-dimensional theory. The\nresulted theory with an extra real scalar field can be supplemented with a\ncubic term to obtain a model with exact analytical solution.",
        "positive": "Open Strings on AdS_2 Branes: We study the spectrum of open strings on AdS_2 branes in AdS_3 in an NS-NS\nbackground, using the SL(2,R) WZW model. When the brane carries no fundamental\nstring charge, the open string spectrum is the holomorphic square root of the\nspectrum of closed strings in AdS_3. It contains short and long strings, and is\ninvariant under spectral flow. When the brane carries fundamental string\ncharge, the open string spectrum again contains short and long strings in all\nwinding sectors. However, branes with fundamental string charge break half the\nspectral flow symmetry. This has different implications for short and long\nstrings. As the fundamental string charge increases, the brane approaches the\nboundary of AdS_3. In this limit, the induced electric field on the worldvolume\nreaches its critical value, producing noncommutative open string theory on\nAdS_2."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Wilson loop via AdS/CFT duality: The Wilson loop in N=4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory admits a dual\ndescription as a macroscopic string configuration in the adS/CFT\ncorrespondence. We discuss the correction to the quark anti-quark potential\narising from the fluctuations of the superstring.",
        "positive": "Boundary form factors in finite volume: We describe the volume dependence of matrix elements of local boundary fields\nto all orders in inverse powers of the volume. Using the scaling boundary\nLee-Yang model as testing ground, we compare the matrix elements extracted from\nboundary truncated conformal space approach to exact form factors obtained\nusing the bootstrap method. We obtain solid confirmation for the boundary form\nfactor bootstrap, which is different from all previously available tests in\nthat it is a non-perturbative and direct comparison of exact form factors to\nmulti-particle matrix elements of local operators, computed from the\nHamiltonian formulation of the quantum field theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Single Particle Excitations in the Lattice E_8 Ising Model: We present analytic expressions for the single particle excitation energies\nof the 8 quasi-particles in the lattice $E_8$ Ising model and demonstrate that\nall excitations have an extended Brillouin zone which, depending on the\nexcitation, ranges from 0<P < 4\\pi to 0< P< 12 \\pi. These are compared with\nexact diagonalizations for systems through size 10 and with the E_8 fermionic\nrepresentations of the characters of the critical system in order to study the\ncounting statistics.",
        "positive": "Supersymmetry and exceptional points: A conceptual bridge is provided between SUSY and the three-Hilbert-space\nupgrade of quantum theory a.k.a. ${\\cal PT}-$symmetric or quasi-Hermitian. In\nparticular, a natural theoretical link is found between SUSY and the presence\nof Kato's exceptional points (EPs), both being related to the phenomenon of\ndegeneracy of energy levels. Regularized spiked harmonic oscillator is recalled\nfor illustration."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A note on the Einstein equation in string theory: We show, using purely classical considerations and logical extrapolation of\nresults belonging to point particle theories, that the metric background field\nin which a string propagates must satisfy an Einstein or an Einstein-like\nequation. Additionally, there emerge restrictions on the worldsheet curvature,\nwhich seems to act as a source for spacetime gravity, even in the absence of\nother matter fields.",
        "positive": "Global torus blocks in the necklace channel: We continue studying of global conformal blocks on the torus in a special\n(necklace) channel. Functions of such multi-point blocks are explicitly found\nunder special conditions on the blocks' conformal dimensions. We have verified\nthat these blocks satisfy the Casimir equations, which were derived in previous\nstudies."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The supergravity dual of 3d supersymmetric gauge theories with\n  unquenched flavors: We obtain the supergravity dual of N=1 supersymmetric gauge theory in 2+1\ndimensions with a large number of unquenched massless flavors. The geometries\nfound are obtained by solving the equations of motion of supergravity coupled\nto a suitable continuous distribution of flavor branes. The background obtained\npreserves two supersymmetries. We find that when N_c\\ge 2N_f the behavior of\nthe solutions is compatible with having an asymptotically free dual gauge\ntheory with dynamical quarks. On the contrary, when N_c<2N_f the theory\ndevelops a Landau pole in the UV. We also find a new family of (unflavored)\nbackgrounds generated by D5-branes that wrap a three-cycle of a cone with G_2\nholonomy.",
        "positive": "Path Integral for Separable Hamiltonians of Liouville-type: A general path integral analysis of the separable Hamiltonian of\nLiouville-type is reviewed. The basic dynamical principle used is the Jacobi's\nprinciple of least action for given energy which is reparametrization\ninvariant, and thus the gauge freedom naturally appears. The choice of gauge in\npath integral corresponds to the separation of variables in operator formalism.\nThe gauge independence and the operator ordering are closely related. The path\nintegral in this formulation sums over orbits in space instead of space-time.\nAn exact path integral of the Green's function for the hydrogen atom in\nparabolic coordinates is ilustrated as an example, which is also interpreted as\none-dimensional quantum gravity with a quantized cosmological constant."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Baby universes in 2d and 4d theories of quantum gravity: The validity of the Coleman mechanism, which automatically tunes the\nfundamental constants, is examined in two-dimensional and four-dimensional\nquantum gravity theories. First, we consider two-dimensional Euclidean quantum\ngravity on orientable closed manifolds coupled to conformal matter of central\ncharge $c \\leq1$. The proper time Hamiltonian of this system is known to be\nwritten as a field theory of noncritical strings, which can also be viewed as a\nthird quantization in two dimensions. By directly counting the number of random\nsurfaces with various topologies, we find that the contribution of the baby\nuniverses is too small to realize the Coleman mechanism. Next, we consider\nfour-dimensional Lorentzian gravity. Based on the difference between the\ncreation of the mother universe from nothing and the annihilation of the mother\nuniverse into nothing, we introduce a non-Hermitian effective Hamiltonian for\nthe multiverse. We show that Coleman's idea is satisfied in this model and that\nthe cosmological constant is tuned to be nearly zero. Potential implications\nfor phenomenology are also discussed.",
        "positive": "On 2d CFTs that interpolate between minimal models: We investigate exactly solvable two-dimensional conformal field theories that\nexist at generic values of the central charge, and that interpolate between\nA-series or D-series minimal models. When the central charge becomes rational,\ncorrelation functions of these CFTs may tend to correlation functions of\nminimal models, or diverge, or have finite limits which can be logarithmic.\nThese results are based on analytic relations between four-point structure\nconstants and residues of conformal blocks."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Gauge/Gravity Correspondence and the Open/Closed String Duality: In this article we review the conditions for the validity of the\ngauge/gravity correspondence in both supersymmetric and non-supersymmetric\nstring models. We start by reminding what happens in type IIB theory on the\norbifolds C^2/Z_2 and C^3/(Z_2 x Z_2), where this correspondence beautifully\nworks. In these cases, by performing a complete stringy calculation of the\ninteraction among D3 branes, it has been shown that the fact that this\ncorrespondence works is a consequence of the open/closed duality and of the\nabsence of threshold corrections. Then we review the construction of type 0\ntheories with their orbifolds and orientifolds having spectra free from both\nopen and closed string tachyons and for such models we study the validity of\nthe gauge/gravity correspondence, concluding that this is not a peculiarity of\nsupersymmetric theories, but it may work also for non-supersymmetric models.\nAlso in these cases, when it works, it is again a consequence of the\nopen/closed string duality and of vanishing threshold corrections.",
        "positive": "Exact solutions of noncommutative vacuum Einstein field equations and\n  plane-fronted gravitational waves: We construct a class of exact solutions of the noncommutative vacuum Einstein\nfield equations, which are noncommutative analogues of the plane-fronted\ngravitational waves in classical gravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Correlation functions in finite temperature CFT and black hole\n  singularities: We compute thermal 2-point correlation functions in the black brane $AdS_5$\nbackground dual to 4d CFT's at finite temperature for operators of large\nscaling dimension. We find a formula that matches the expected structure of the\nOPE. It exhibits an exponentiation property, whose origin we explain. We also\ncompute the first correction to the two-point function due to graviton\nemission, which encodes the proper time from the event horizon to the black\nhole singularity.",
        "positive": "Do all 5d SCFTs descend from 6d SCFTs?: We present examples of 5d SCFTs that serve as counter-examples to a recently\nactively studied conjecture according to which it should be possible to obtain\nall 5d SCFTs by integrating out BPS particles from 6d SCFTs compactified on a\ncircle. We further observe that it is possible to obtain these 5d SCFTs from 6d\nSCFTs if one allows integrating out BPS strings as well. Based on this\nobservation, we propose a revised version of the conjecture according to which\nit should be possible to obtain all 5d SCFTs by integrating out both BPS\nparticles and BPS strings from 6d SCFTs compactified on a circle. We describe a\ngeneral procedure to integrate out BPS strings from a 5d theory once a\ngeometric description of the 5d theory is given. We also discuss the\nconsequences of the revised conjecture for the classification program of 5d\nSCFTs."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Conformal Invariance in noncommutative geometry and mutually interacting\n  Snyder Particles: A system of relativistic Snyder particles with mutual two-body interaction\nthat lives in a Non-Commutative Snyder geometry is studied. The underlying\nnovel symplectic structure is a coupled and extended version of (single\nparticle) Snyder algebra. In a recent work by Casalbuoni and Gomis, Phys.Rev.\nD90, 026001 (2014), a system of interacting conventional particles (in\ncommutative spacetime) was studied with special emphasis on it's Conformal\nInvariance. Proceeding along the same lines we have shown that our interacting\nSnyder particle model is also conformally invariant. Moreover, the conformal\nKilling vectors have been constructed. Our main emphasis is on the Hamiltonian\nanalysis of the conformal symmetry generators. We demonstrate that the Lorentz\nalgebra remains undeformed but validity of the full conformal algebra requires\nfurther restrictions.",
        "positive": "Phases of planar AdS black holes with axionic charge: Planar AdS black holes with axionic charge have finite DC conductivity due to\nmomentum relaxation. We obtain a new family of exact asymptotically AdS$_4$\nblack branes with scalar hair, carrying magnetic and axion charge, and we study\nthe thermodynamics and dynamic stability of these, as well as of a number of\npreviously known electric and dyonic solutions with axion charge and scalar\nhair. The scalar hair for all solutions satisfy mixed boundary conditions,\nwhich lead to modified holographic Ward identities, conserved charges and free\nenergy, relative to those following from the more standard Dirichlet boundary\nconditions. We show that properly accounting for the scalar boundary conditions\nleads to well defined first law and other thermodynamic relations. Finally, we\ncompute the holographic quantum effective potential for the dual scalar\noperator and show that dynamical stability of the hairy black branes is\nequivalent to positivity of the energy density."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Closure of the Operator Product Expansion in the Non-Unitary Bootstrap: We use the numerical conformal bootstrap in two dimensions to search for\nfinite, closed sub-algebras of the operator product expansion (OPE), without\nassuming unitarity. We find the minimal models as special cases, as well as\nadditional lines of solutions that can be understood in the Coulomb gas\nformalism. All the solutions we find that contain the vacuum in the operator\nalgebra are cases where the external operators of the bootstrap equation are\ndegenerate operators, and we argue that this follows analytically from the\nexpressions in arXiv:1202.4698 for the crossing matrices of Virasoro conformal\nblocks. Our numerical analysis is a special case of the \"Gliozzi\" bootstrap\nmethod, and provides a simpler setting in which to study technical challenges\nwith the method.\n  In the supplementary material, we provide a Mathematica notebook that\nautomates the calculation of the crossing matrices and OPE coefficients for\ndegenerate operators using the formulae of Dotsenko and Fateev.",
        "positive": "Spin-Statistics and CPT Theorems in Noncommutative Field Theory: We show that Pauli's spin-statistics relation remains valid in noncommutative\nquantum field theories (NC QFT), with the exception of some peculiar cases of\nnoncommutativity between space and time. We also prove that, while the\nindividual symmetries C and T, and in some cases also P, are broken, the CPT\ntheorem still holds in general for noncommutative field theories, in spite of\nthe inherent nonlocality and violation of Lorentz invariance."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Higgs branch localization in three dimensions: We show that the supersymmetric partition function of three-dimensional N=2\nR-symmetric Chern-Simons-matter theories on the squashed S^3 and on S^2 x S^1\ncan be computed with the so-called Higgs branch localization method,\nalternative to the more standard Coulomb branch localization. For theories that\ncould be completely Higgsed by Fayet-Iliopoulos terms, the path integral is\ndominated by BPS vortex strings sitting at two circles in the geometry. In this\nway, the partition function directly takes the form of a sum, over a finite\nnumber of points on the classical Coulomb branch, of a vortex-string times an\nantivortex-string partition functions.",
        "positive": "Two-field cosmological models and the uniformization theorem: We propose a class of two-field cosmological models derived from gravity\ncoupled to non-linear sigma models whose target space is a non-compact and\ngeometrically-finite hyperbolic surface, which provide a wide generalization of\nso-called $\\alpha$-attractor models and can be studied using uniformization\ntheory. We illustrate cosmological dynamics in such models for the case of the\nhyperbolic triply-punctured sphere."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Finding the Mirror of the Beauville Manifold: We construct the mirror of the Beauville manifold. The Beauville manifold is\na Calabi-Yau manifold with non-abelian fundamental group. We use the conjecture\nof Batyrev and Borisov to find the previously misidentified mirror of its\nuniversal covering space, $\\mathbb{P}^7[2,2,2,2]$. The monomial-divisor mirror\nmap is essential in identifying how the fundamental group of the Beauville\nmanifold acts on the mirror of $\\mathbb{P}^7[2,2,2,2]$. Once we find the mirror\nof the Beauville manifold, we confirm the existence of the threshold bound\nstate around the conifold point, which was originally conjectured in\nhep-th/0106262. We also consider how the quantum symmetry group acts on the\nD-branes that become massless at the conifold point and show the action\nproposed in hep-th/0102018 is compatible with mirror symmetry.",
        "positive": "c < 1 String from Two Dimensional Black Holes: We study a topological string description of the c < 1 non-critical string\nwhose matter part is defined by the time-like linear dilaton CFT. We show that\nthe topologically twisted N=2 SL(2,R)/U(1) model (or supersymmetric 2D black\nhole) is equivalent to the c < 1 non-critical string compactified at a specific\nradius by comparing their physical spectra and correlation functions. We\nexamine another equivalent description in the topological Landau-Ginzburg model\nand check that it reproduces the same scattering amplitudes. We also discuss\nits matrix model dual description."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Boundary conformal invariants and the conformal anomaly in five\n  dimensions: In odd dimensions the integrated conformal anomaly is entirely due to the\nboundary terms \\cite{Solodukhin:2015eca}. In this paper we present a detailed\nanalysis of the anomaly in five dimensions. We give the complete list of the\nboundary conformal invariants that exist in five dimensions. Additionally to 8\ninvariants known before we find a new conformal invariant that contains the\nderivatives of the extrinsic curvature along the boundary. Then, for a\nconformal scalar field satisfying either the Dirichlet or the conformal\ninvariant Robin boundary conditions we use the available general results for\nthe heat kernel coefficient $a_5$, compute the conformal anomaly and identify\nthe corresponding values of all boundary conformal charges.",
        "positive": "Black holes with Lambert W function horizons: We consider Einstein gravity with a negative cosmological constant endowed\nwith distinct matter sources. The different models analyzed here share the\nfollowing two properties: (i) they admit static symmetric solutions with planar\nbase manifold characterized by their mass and some additional Noetherian\ncharges, and (ii) the contribution of these latter in the metric has a slower\nfalloff to zero than the mass term, and this slowness is of logarithmic order.\nUnder these hypothesis, it is shown that, for suitable bounds between the mass\nand the additional Noetherian charges, the solutions can represent black holes\nwith two horizons whose locations are given in term of the real branches of the\nLambert W functions. We present various examples of such black hole solutions\nwith electric, dyonic or axionic charges with AdS and Lifshitz asymptotics. As\nan illustrative example, we construct a purely AdS magnetic black hole in five\ndimensions with a matter source given by three different Maxwell invariants."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Bouncing cosmologies in massive gravity on de Sitter: In the framework of massive gravity with a de Sitter reference metric, we\nstudy homogeneous and isotropic solutions with positive spatial curvature.\nRemarkably, we find that bounces can occur when cosmological matter satisfies\nthe strong energy condition, in contrast to what happens in classical general\nrelativity. This is due to the presence in the Friedmann equations of\nadditional terms, which depend on the scale factor and its derivatives and can\nbe interpreted as an effective fluid. We present a detailed study of the system\nusing a phase space analysis. After having identified the fixed points of the\nsystem and investigated their stability properties, we discuss the cosmological\nevolution in the global physical phase space. We find that bouncing solutions",
        "positive": "Energy Bounds in Designer Gravity: We consider asymptotically anti-de Sitter gravity coupled to tachyonic scalar\nfields with mass at or slightly above the Breitenlohner-Freedman bound in d\ngreater than or equal to 4 spacetime dimensions. The boundary conditions in\nthese ``designer gravity'' theories are defined in terms of an arbitrary\nfunction W. We give a general argument that the Hamiltonian generators of\nasymptotic symmetries for such systems will be finite, and proceed to construct\nthese generators using the covariant phase space method. The direct calculation\nconfirms that the generators are finite and shows that they take the form of\nthe pure gravity result plus additional contributions from the scalar fields.\nBy comparing the generators to the spinor charge, we derive a lower bound on\nthe gravitational energy when i) W has a global minimum, ii) the\nBreitenlohner-Freedman bound is not saturated, and iii) the scalar potential V\nadmits a certain type of \"superpotential.\""
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Educing the volume out of the phase space boundary: We explicitly show that, in a system with T-duality symmetry, the\nconfiguration space volume degrees of freedom may hide on the surface boundary\nof the region of accessible states with energy lower than a fixed value. This\nmeans that, when taking the decompactification limit (big volume limit), a\nnumber of accessible states proportional to the volume is recovered even if no\nvolume dependence appears when energy is high enough. All this behavior is\ncontained in the exact way of computing sums by making integrals. We will also\nshow how the decompactification limit for the gas of strings can be defined in\na microcanonical description at finite volume.",
        "positive": "Condensed matter and AdS/CFT: I review two classes of strong coupling problems in condensed matter physics,\nand describe insights gained by application of the AdS/CFT correspondence. The\nfirst class concerns non-zero temperature dynamics and transport in the\nvicinity of quantum critical points described by relativistic field theories. I\ndescribe how relativistic structures arise in models of physical interest,\npresent results for their quantum critical crossover functions and\nmagneto-thermoelectric hydrodynamics. The second class concerns symmetry\nbreaking transitions of two-dimensional systems in the presence of gapless\nelectronic excitations at isolated points or along lines (i.e. Fermi surfaces)\nin the Brillouin zone. I describe the scaling structure of a recent theory of\nthe Ising-nematic transition in metals, and discuss its possible connection to\ntheories of Fermi surfaces obtained from simple AdS duals."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "String Tensions and Three Dimensional Confining Gauge Theories: In the context of gauge/gravity duality, we try to understand better the\nproposed duality between the fractional D2-brane supergravity solutions of\n(Nucl. Phys. B 606 (2001) 18, hep-th/0101096) and a confining 2+1 dimensional\ngauge theory. Based on the similarities between this fractional D2-brane\nsolution and D3-brane supergravity solutions with more firmly established gauge\ntheory duals, we conjecture that a confining q-string in the 2+1 dimensional\ngauge theory is dual to a wrapped D4-brane. In particular, the D4-brane looks\nlike a string in the gauge theory directions but wraps a S**3 in S**4 in the\ntransverse geometry. For one of the supergravity solutions, we find a near\nquadratic scaling law for the tension: $T \\sim q (N-q)$. Based on the tension,\nwe conjecture that the gauge theory dual is SU(N) far in the infrared. We also\nconjecture that a quadratic or near quadratic scaling is a generic feature of\nconfining 2+1 dimensional SU(N) gauge theories.",
        "positive": "Logarithmic corrections to the entropy of the exact string black hole: Exploiting a recently constructed target space action for the exact string\nblack hole, logarithmic corrections to the leading order entropy are studied.\nThere are contributions from thermal fluctuations and from corrections due to\nalpha'>0 which for the microcanonical entropy appear with different signs and\ntherefore may cancel each other, depending on the overall factor in front of\nthe action. For the canonical entropy no such cancellation occurs. Remarks are\nmade regarding the applicability of the approach and concerning the\nmicrostates. As a byproduct a formula for logarithmic entropy corrections in\ngeneric 2D dilaton gravity is derived."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "D4-branes wrapped on four-dimensional orbifolds through consistent\n  truncation: We construct a consistent truncation of six-dimensional matter coupled $F(4)$\ngauged supergravity on a cornucopia of two-dimensional surfaces including a\nspindle, disc, domain wall and other novel backgrounds to four-dimensional\nminimal gauged supergravity. Using our consistent truncation we uplift known\nAdS$_2\\times {\\Sigma}_1$ solutions giving rise to four-dimensional orbifold\nsolutions, AdS$_2\\times{\\Sigma}_1\\ltimes{\\Sigma}_2$. We further uplift our\nsolutions to massive type IIA supergravity by constructing the full uplift\nformulae for six-dimensional U$(1)^2$-gauged supergravity including all fields\nand arbitrary Romans mass and gauge coupling. The solutions we construct are\nnaturally interpreted as the near-horizon geometries of asymptotically AdS$_6$\nblack holes with a four-dimensional orbifold horizon. Alternatively, one may\nview them as the holographic duals of superconformal quantum mechanical\ntheories constructed by compactifying five-dimensional USp$(2N)$ theory living\non a stack of D4-D8 branes on the four-dimensional orbifolds. As a first step\nto identifying these quantum mechanical theories we compute the\nBekenstein--Hawking entropy holographically.",
        "positive": "Superradiant instability of Kerr-de Sitter black holes in scalar-tensor\n  theory: We investigate in detail the mechanism of superradiance to render the\ninstability of Kerr-de Sitter black holes in scalar-tensor gravity. Our results\nprovide more clues to examine the scalar-tensor gravity in the astrophysical\nblack holes in the universe with cosmological constant. We also discuss the\nspontaneous scalarization in the de Sitter background and find that this\ninstability can also happen in the spherical de Sitter configuration in a\nspecial style."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Brane solutions and integrability: a status report: We review the status of the integrability and solvability of the geodesics\nequations of motion on symmetric coset spaces that appear as sigma models of\nsupergravity theories when reduced over respectively the timelike and spacelike\ndirection. Such geodesic curves describe respectively timelike and spacelike\nbrane solutions. We emphasize the applications to black holes.",
        "positive": "Duality invariance implies Poincare invariance: We consider all possible dynamical theories which evolve two transverse\nvector fields out of a three-dimensional Euclidean hyperplane, subject to only\ntwo assumptions: (i) the evolution is local in space, and (ii) the theory is\ninvariant under \"duality rotations\" of the vector fields into one another. The\ncommutators of the Hamiltonian and momentum densities are shown to be\nnecessarily those of the Poincare group or its zero signature contraction.\nSpace-time structure thus emerges out of the principle of duality."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Towards the two-loop Lcc vertex in Landau gauge: We are interested in the structure of the Lcc vertex in the Yang-Mills\ntheory, where c is the ghost field and L the corresponding BRST auxiliary\nfield. This vertex can give us information on other vertices, and the possible\nconformal structure of the theory should be reflected in the structure of this\nvertex. There are five two-loop contributions to the Lcc vertex in the\nYang-Mills theory. We present here calculation of the first of the five\ncontributions. The calculation has been performed in the position space. One\nmain feature of the result is that it does not depend on any scale, ultraviolet\nor infrared. The result is expressed in terms of logarithms and Davydychev\nintegral J(1,1,1) that are functions of the ratios of the intervals between\npoints of effective fields in the position space. To perform the calculation we\napply Gegenbauer polynomial technique and uniqueness method.",
        "positive": "The Moduli Space of the $N=2$ Supersymmetric $G_{2}$ Yang-Mills Theory: We present the hyper-elliptic curve describing the moduli space of the N=2\nsupersymmetric Yang-Mills theory with the $G_2$ gauge group. The exact\nmonodromies and the dyon spectrum of the theory are determined. It is verified\nthat the recently proposed solitonic equation is also satisfied by our\nsolution."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spin and Electromagnetic Duality: An Outline: An outline is given of recent work concerning the electromagnetic duality\nproperties of Maxwell theory on curved space-times with or without spin\nstructures.",
        "positive": "Solitons in Two--Dimensional Topological Field Theories: We consider a class of $N=2$ supersymmetric non--unitary theories in\ntwo--dimensional Minkowski spacetime which admit classical solitonic solutions.\nWe show how these models can be twisted into a topological sector whose\nenergy--momentum tensor is a BRST commutator. There is an infinite number of\ndegrees of freedom associated to the zero modes of the solitons. As explicit\nrealizations of such models we discuss the BRST quantization of a system of\nfree fields, while in the interacting case we study $N=2$ complexified twisted\nToda theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Properties of Confinement in Holography: We review certain properties of confinement with added focus on the ones we\nstudy with holography. Then we discuss observables whose unique behavior can\nindicate the presence of confinement. Using mainly the Wilson loop in the\ngauge/gravity formalism, we study two main features of the QCD string: the\nstring tension dependence on the temperature while in the confining phase, and\nthe logarithmic broadening of the flux tube between the heavy static charges\nthat turns out to be a generic property of all confining theories. Finally, we\nreview the k-string bound state and we show that for a wide class of generic\ntheories the k-string observables can be expressed in terms of the single meson\nbound state observables.",
        "positive": "Color Confinement and Massive Gluons: Color confinement is one of the central issues in QCD so that there are\nvarious interpretations of this feature. In this paper we have adopted the\ninterpretation that colored particles are not subject to observation just\nbecause colored states are unphysical in the sense of Eq. (2.16). It is shown\nthat there are two phases in QCD distinguished by different choices of the\ngauge parameter. In one phase, called the \"confinement phase\", color\nconfinement is realized and gluons turn out to be massive. In the other phase,\ncalled the \"deconfinement phase\", color confinement is not realized, but the\ngluons remain massless."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Modular Invariant Formulation of Multi-Gaugino and Matter Condensation: Using the linear multiplet formulation for the dilaton superfield, we\nconstruct an effective lagrangian for hidden-sector gaugino condensation in\nstring effective field theories with arbitrary gauge groups and matter.\nNonperturbative string corrections to the K\\\"ahler potential are invoked to\nstabilize the dilaton at a supersymmetry breaking minimum of the potential.\nWhen the cosmological constant is tuned to zero the moduli are stabilized at\ntheir self-dual points, and the vev's of their F-component superpartners\nvanish. Numerical analyses of one- and two-condensate examples with massless\nchiral matter show considerable enhancement of the gauge hierarchy with respect\nto the E_8 case. The nonperturbative string effects required for dilaton\nstabilization may have implications for gauge coupling unification. As a\ncomparison, we also consider a parallel approach based on the commonly used\nchiral formulation.",
        "positive": "Toward an Off - Shell 11D Supergravity Limit of M - Theory: We demonstrate that in addition to the usual fourth-rank superfield $(W_{a b\nc d})$ which describes the on-shell theory, a spinor superfield $(J_\\a )$ can\nbe introduced into the 11D geometrical tensors with engineering dimensions less\nor equal to one in such a way to satisfy the Bianchi identities in superspace.\nThe components arising from $J_\\a$ are identified as some of the auxiliary\nfields required for a full off-shell formulation. Our result indicates that\neleven dimensional supergravity does not have to be completely on-shell. The\n$\\k\\-$symmetry of the supermembrane action in the presence of our partial\noff-shell supergravity background is also confirmed. Our modifications to\neleven-dimensional supergravity theory are thus likely relevant for M-theory.\nWe suggest our proposal as a significant systematic off-shell generalization of\neleven-dimensional supergravity theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exact properties of an integrated correlator in $\\mathcal{N}=4$ $SU(N)$\n  SYM: We present a novel expression for an integrated correlation function of four\nsuperconformal primaries in $SU(N)$ $\\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM. This integrated\ncorrelator, which is based on supersymmetric localisation, has been the subject\nof several recent developments. The correlator is re-expressed as a sum over a\ntwo dimensional lattice that is valid for all $N$ and all values of the complex\nYang-Mills coupling $\\tau$. In this form it is manifestly invariant under\n$SL(2,\\mathbb{Z})$ Montonen-Olive duality. Furthermore, it satisfies a\nremarkable Laplace-difference equation that relates the $SU(N)$ to the\n$SU(N+1)$ and $SU(N-1)$ correlators. For any fixed value of $N$ the correlator\nis an infinite series of non-holomorphic Eisenstein series,\n$E(s;\\tau,\\bar\\tau)$ with $s\\in \\mathbb{Z}$, and rational coefficients. The\nperturbative expansion of the integrated correlator is asymptotic and the\n$n$-loop coefficient is a rational multiple of $\\zeta(2n+1)$. The $n=1$ and\n$n=2$ terms agree precisely with results determined directly by integrating the\nexpressions in one- and two-loop perturbative SYM. Likewise, the charge-$k$\ninstanton contributions have an asymptotic, but Borel summable, series of\nperturbative corrections. The large-$N$ expansion of the correlator with fixed\n$\\tau$ is a series in powers of $N^{1/2-\\ell}$ ($\\ell\\in \\mathbb{Z}$) with\ncoefficients that are rational sums of $E_s$ with $s\\in \\mathbb{Z}+1/2$. This\ngives an all orders derivation of the form of the recently conjectured\nexpansion. We further consider 't Hooft large-$N$ Yang-Mills theory. The\ncoefficient of each order can be expanded as a convergent series in $\\lambda$.\nFor large $\\lambda$ this becomes an asymptotic series with coefficients that\nare again rational multiples of odd zeta values. The large-$\\lambda$ series is\nnot Borel summable, and its resurgent non-perturbative completion is\n$O(\\exp(-2\\sqrt{\\lambda}))$.",
        "positive": "Higgs for Graviton: Simple and Elegant Solution: A Higgs mechanism for gravity is presented, where four scalars with global\nLorentz symmetry are employed. We show that in the broken symmetry phase a\ngraviton absorbs all scalars and become massive spin 2 particle with five\ndegrees of freedom. The resulting theory is unitary and free of ghosts."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Yang-Mills moduli space in the adiabatic limit: We consider the Yang-Mills equations for a matrix gauge group $G$ inside the\nfuture light cone of 4-dimensional Minkowski space, which can be viewed as a\nLorentzian cone $C(H^3)$ over the 3-dimensional hyperbolic space $H^3$. Using\nthe conformal equivalence of $C(H^3)$ and the cylinder $R\\times H^3$, we show\nthat, in the adiabatic limit when the metric on $H^3$ is scaled down, classical\nYang-Mills dynamics is described by geodesic motion in the infinite-dimensional\ngroup manifold $C^\\infty (S^2_\\infty,G)$ of smooth maps from the boundary\n2-sphere $S^2_\\infty=\\partial H^3$ into the gauge group $G$.",
        "positive": "A Note on Temperature and Energy of 4-dimensional Black Holes from\n  Entropic Force: We investigate the temperature and energy on holographic screens for\n4-dimensional black holes with the entropic force idea proposed by Verlinde. We\nfind that the \"Unruh-Verlinde temperature\" is equal to the Hawking temperature\non the horizon and can be considered as a generalized Hawking temperature on\nthe holographic screen outside the horizons. The energy on the holographic\nscreen is not the black hole mass $M$ but the reduced mass $M_0$, which is\nrelated to the black hole parameters. With the replacement of the black hole\nmass $M$ by the reduced mass $M_0$, the entropic force can be written as\n$F=\\frac{GmM_0}{r^2}$, which could be tested by experiments."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauge Invariance and the Goldstone Theorem: This manuscript was originally created for and printed in the \"Proceedings of\nseminar on unified theories of elementary particles\" held in Feldafing Germany\nfrom July 5 to 16 1965 under the auspices of the Max-Planck-Institute for\nPhysics and Astrophysics in Munich. It details and expands upon the Guralnik,\nHagen, and Kibble paper that shows that the Goldstone theorem does not require\nphysical zero mass particles in gauge theories and provides an example through\nthe model which has become the template for the unified electroweak theory and\na main component of the Standard Model.",
        "positive": "Comments on D3-Brane Holography: We revisit the idea that the quantum dynamics of open strings ending on $N$\nD3-branes in the large $N$ limit can be described at large `t Hooft coupling by\nclassical closed string theory in the background created by the D3-branes in\nasymptotically flat spacetime. We study the resulting thermodynamics and\ncompute the Hagedorn temperature and other properties of the D3-brane\nworldvolume theory in this regime. We also consider the theory in which the\nD3-branes are replaced by negative branes and show that its thermodynamics is\nwell behaved. We comment on the idea that this theory can be thought of as an\nirrelevant deformation of $\\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM, and on its relation to $T\\bar T$\ndeformed $CFT_2$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Self-Dual Chern-Simons Solitons in (2+1)-Dimensional Einstein Gravity: We consider here a generalization of the Abelian Higgs model in curved space,\nby adding a Chern--Simons term. The static equations are self-dual provided we\nchoose a suitable potential. The solutions give a self-dual\nMaxwell--Chern--Simons soliton that possesses a mass and a spin.",
        "positive": "Duality Invariant Actions and Generalised Geometry: We construct the non-linear realisation of the semi-direct product of E(11)\nand its first fundamental representation at lowest order and appropriate to\nspacetime dimensions four to seven. This leads to a non-linear realisation of\nthe duality groups and introduces fields that depend on a generalised space\nwhich possess a generalised vielbein. We focus on the part of the generalised\nspace on which the duality groups alone act and construct an invariant action."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Tachyon Effective Dynamics and de Sitter Vacua: We show that the DBI action for the singlet sector of the tachyon in\ntwo-dimensional string theory has a SL(2,R) symmetry, a real-time counterpart\nof the ground ring. The action can be rewritten as that of point particles\nmoving in a de Sitter space, whose coordinates are given by the value of the\neigenvalue and time. The symmetry then manifests as the isometry group of de\nSitter space in two dimensions. We use this fact to write the collective field\ntheory for a large number of branes, which has a natural interpretation as a\nfermion field in this de Sitter space. After spending some time building\ngeometrical insight on facts about the condensation process, the state\ncorresponding to a sD-brane is identified and standard results in quantum field\ntheory in curved space-time are used to compute the backreaction of the thermal\nbackground.",
        "positive": "Validity of Maxwell Equal Area Law for Black Holes Conformally Coupled\n  to Scalar Fields in $\\text{AdS}_5$ Spacetime: We investigate the $P-V$ criticality and the Maxwell equal area law for a\nfive-dimensional spherically symmetric AdS black hole with a scalar hair in the\nabsence of and in the presence of a Maxwell field, respectively. Especially in\nthe charged case, we give the exact $P-V$ critical values. More importantly, we\nanalyze the validity and invalidity of the Maxwell equal area law for the AdS\nhairy black hole in the scenarios without and with charges, respectively.\nWithin the scope of validity of the Maxwell equal area law, we point out that\nthere exists a representative van der Waals-type oscillation in the $P-V$\ndiagram. This oscillating part that indicates the phase transition from a small\nblack hole to a large one can be replaced by an isobar. The small and large\nblack holes share the same Gibbs free energy. We also give the distribution of\nthe critical points in the parameter space both without and with charges, and\nobtain for the uncharged case the fitting formula of the co-existence curve.\nMeanwhile, the latent heat is calculated, which gives the energy released or\nabsorbed between the small and large black hole phases in the\nisothermal-isobaric procedure."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Phases of Generic Toric Singularities: We systematically study the phases of generic toric singularities, using\nmethods initiated in hep-th/0612046. These correspond to Gauged Linear Sigma\nModels with arbitrary charges. We show that complete information about generic\n$U(1)^r$ GLSMs can be obtained by studying the GLSM Lagrangian, appropriately\nmodified in the different phases of the theory. This can be used to study the\ndifferent phases of $L^{a,b,c}$ spaces and their non-supersymmetric\ncounterparts.",
        "positive": "Infinitely many N=1 dualities from $m+1-m=1$: We discuss two infinite classes of 4d supersymmetric theories, ${T}_N^{(m)}$\nand ${\\cal U}_N^{(m)}$, labelled by an arbitrary non-negative integer, $m$. The\n${T}_N^{(m)}$ theory arises from the 6d, $A_{N-1}$ type ${\\cal N}=(2,0)$ theory\nreduced on a 3-punctured sphere, with normal bundle given by line bundles of\ndegree $(m+1, -m)$; the $m=0$ case is the ${\\cal N}=2$ supersymmetric $T_N$\ntheory. The novelty is the negative-degree line bundle. The ${\\cal U}_N^{(m)}$\ntheories likewise arise from the 6d ${\\cal N}=(2,0)$ theory on a 4-punctured\nsphere, and can be regarded as gluing together two (partially Higgsed)\n${T}_N^{(m)}$ theories. The ${T}_N^{(m)}$ and ${\\cal U}_N^{(m)}$ theories can\nbe represented, in various duality frames, as quiver gauge theories, built from\n$T_N$ components via gauging and nilpotent Higgsing. We analyze the RG flow of\nthe ${\\cal U}_N^{(m)}$ theories, and find that, for all integer $m>0$, they end\nup at the same IR SCFT as $SU(N)$ SQCD with $2N$ flavors and quartic\nsuperpotential. The ${\\cal U}_N^{(m)}$ theories can thus be regarded as an\ninfinite set of UV completions, dual to SQCD with $N_f=2N_c$. The ${\\cal\nU}_N^{(m)}$ duals have different duality frame quiver representations, with\n$2m+1$ gauge nodes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-compact Mirror Bundles and (0,2) Liouville Theories: We study (0,2) deformations of N=2 Liouville field theory and its mirror\nduality. A gauged linear sigma model construction of the ultraviolet theory\nconnects (0,2) deformations of Liouville field theory and (0,2) deformations of\nN=2 SL(2,R)/U(1) coset model as a mirror duality. Our duality proposal from the\ngauged linear sigma model completely agrees with the exact CFT analysis. In the\ncontext of heterotic string compactifications, the deformation corresponds to\nthe introduction of a non-trivial gauge bundle. This non-compact\nLandau-Ginzburg construction yields a novel way to study the gauge bundle\nmoduli for non-compact Calabi-Yau manifolds.",
        "positive": "Taming the Tachyon in Cubic String Field Theory: We give evidence based on level-truncation computations that the rolling\ntachyon in cubic open string field theory (CSFT) has a well-defined but wildly\noscillatory time-dependent solution which goes as $e^t$ for $t \\to -\\infty$. We\nshow that a field redefinition taking the CSFT effective tachyon action to the\nanalogous boundary string field theory (BSFT) action takes the oscillatory CSFT\nsolution to the pure exponential solution $e^t$ of the BSFT action."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Reduced Hamiltonian for intersecting shells: The gauge usually adopted for extracting the reduced Hamiltonian of a thin\nspherical shell of matter in general relativity, becomes singular when dealing\nwith two or more intersecting shells. We introduce here a more general class of\ngauges which is apt for dealing with intersecting shells. As an application we\ngive the hamiltonian treatment of two intersecting shells, both massive and\nmassless. Such a formulation is applied to the computation of the semiclassical\ntunneling probability of two shells. The probability for the emission of two\nshells is simply the product of the separate probabilities thus showing no\ncorrelation in the emission probabilities in this model.",
        "positive": "Fermion Zero Modes in the Presence of Fluxes and a Non-perturbative\n  Superpotential: We study the effect of background fluxes of general Hodge type on the\nsupersymmetry conditions and on the fermionic zero modes on the world-volume of\na Euclidean M5/D3-brane in M-theory/type IIB string theory.\n  Using the naive susy variation of the modulino fields to determine the number\nof zero modes in the presence of a flux of general Hodge type, an inconsistency\nappears. This inconsistency is resolved by a modification of the supersymmetry\nvariation of the modulinos, which captures the back-reaction of the\nnon-perturbative effects on the background flux and the geometry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "G-flux and Spectral Divisors: We propose a construction of G-flux in singular elliptic Calabi-Yau fourfold\ncompactifications of F-theory, which in the local limit allow a spectral cover\ndescription. The main tool of construction is the so-called spectral divisor in\nthe resolved Calabi-Yau geometry, which in the local limit reduces to the Higgs\nbundle spectral cover. We exemplify the workings of this in the case of an E_6\nsingularity by constructing the resolved geometry, the spectral divisor and in\nthe local limit, the spectral cover. The G-flux constructed with the spectral\ndivisor is shown to be equivalent to the direct construction from suitably\nquantized linear combinations of holomorphic surfaces in the resolved geometry,\nand in the local limit reduces to the spectral cover flux.",
        "positive": "Some Comments on Lie-Poisson Structure of Conformal Non-Abelian Thirring\n  Models: The interconnection between self-duality, conformal invariance and\nLie-Poisson structure of the two dimensional non-abelian Thirring model is\ninvestigated in the framework of the hamiltonian method."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "One-loop Renormalization of Black Hole Entropy Due to Non-minimally\n  Coupled Matter: The quantum entanglement entropy of an eternal black hole is studied. We\nargue that the relevant Euclidean path integral is taken over fields defined on\n$\\alpha$-fold covering of the black hole instanton. The statement that\ndivergences of the entropy are renormalized by renormalization of gravitational\ncouplings in the effective action is proved for non-minimally coupled scalar\nmatter. The relationship of entanglement and thermodynamical entropies is\ndiscussed.",
        "positive": "Tachyon Condensation and Spectrum of Strings on D-branes: We investigate spectrum of open strings on D-branes after tachyon\ncondensation in bosonic string theory. We calculate 1-loop partition function\nof the string and show that its limiting forms coincide with partition\nfunctions of open strings with different boundary conditions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Scattering on self-dual Taub-NUT: We derive exact solutions of massless free field equations and tree-level\ntwo-point amplitudes up to spin 2 on self-dual Taub-NUT space-time, as well as\non its single copy, the self-dual dyon. We use Killing spinors to build\nanalogues of momentum eigenstates, finding that, in the spirit of\ncolor-kinematics duality, those for the self-dual dyon lift directly to provide\nstates on the self-dual Taub-NUT background if one replaces charge with energy.\nWe discover that they are forced to have faster growth at infinity than in flat\nspace due to the topological non-triviality of these backgrounds. The\namplitudes for massless scalars and spinning particles in the $(+\\,+)$ and\n$(+\\,-)$ helicity configurations vanish for generic kinematics as a consequence\nof the integrability of the self-dual sector. The $(-\\,-)$ amplitudes are\nnon-vanishing and we compute them exactly in the backgrounds, which are treated\nnon-perturbatively. It is explained how spin is easily introduced via a\nNewman-Janis imaginary shift along the spin-vector leading directly to the\nadditional well-known exponential factor in the dot product of the spin with\nthe momenta. We also observe a double copy relation between the gluon amplitude\non a self-dual dyon and graviton amplitude on a self-dual Taub-NUT space-time.",
        "positive": "Electrically-Charged Lifshitz Spacetimes, and Hyperscaling Violations: Electrically-charged Lifshitz spacetimes are hard to come by. In this paper,\nwe construct a class of such solutions in five dimensional Einstein gravity\ncoupled to Maxwell and $SU(2)$ Yang-Mills fields. The solutions are\nelectrically-charged under the Maxwell field, whose equation is sourced by the\nYang-Mills instanton(-like) configuration living in the hyperbolic four-space\nof the Lifshitz spacetime. We then introduce a dilaton and construct charged\nand colored Lifshitz spacetimes with hyperscaling violations. We obtain a class\nof exact Lifshitz black holes. We also perform similar constructions in four\ndimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Amplitudes at strong coupling as hyperk\u00e4hler scalars: Alday & Maldacena conjectured an equivalence between string amplitudes in\nAdS$_5 \\times S^5$ and null polygonal Wilson loops in planar $\\mathcal{N}=4$\nsuper-Yang-Mills (SYM). At strong coupling this identifies SYM amplitudes with\nareas of minimal surfaces in AdS. For minimal surfaces in AdS$_3$, we find that\nthe nontrivial part of these amplitudes, the \\emph{remainder function},\nsatisfies an integrable system of nonlinear differential equations, and we give\nits Lax form. The result follows from a new perspective on `Y-systems', which\ndefines a new psuedo-hyperk\\\"ahler structure \\emph{directly} on the space of\nkinematic data, via a natural twistor space defined by the Y-system equations.\nThe remainder function is the (pseudo-)K\\\"ahler scalar for this geometry. This\nconnection to pseudo-hyperk\\\"ahler geometry and its twistor theory provides a\nnew ingredient for extending recent conjectures for non-perturbative amplitudes\nusing structures arising at strong coupling.",
        "positive": "Two loop effective kaehler potential of (non-)renormalizable\n  supersymmetric models: We perform a supergraph computation of the effective Kaehler potential at one\nand two loops for general four dimensional N=1 supersymmetric theories\ndescribed by arbitrary Kaehler potential, superpotential and gauge kinetic\nfunction. We only insist on gauge invariance of the Kaehler potential and the\nsuperpotential as we heavily rely on its consequences in the quantum theory.\nHowever, we do not require gauge invariance for the gauge kinetic functions, so\nthat our results can also be applied to anomalous theories that involve the\nGreen-Schwarz mechanism. We illustrate our two loop results by considering a\nfew simple models: the (non-)renormalizable Wess-Zumino model and Super Quantum\nElectrodynamics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauge-invariant and infrared-improved variational analysis of the\n  Yang-Mills vacuum wave functional: We study a gauge-invariant variational framework for the Yang-Mills vacuum\nwave functional. Our approach is built on gauge-averaged Gaussian trial\nfunctionals which substantially extend previously used trial bases in the\ninfrared by implementing a general low-momentum expansion for the vacuum-field\ndispersion (which is taken to be analytic at zero momentum). When completed by\nthe perturbative Yang-Mills dispersion at high momenta, this results in a\nsignificantly enlarged trial functional space which incorporates both dynamical\nmass generation and asymptotic freedom. After casting the dynamics associated\nwith these wave functionals into an effective action for collections of soft\nvacuum-field orbits, the leading infrared improvements manifest themselves as\nfour-gradient interactions. Those turn out to significantly lower the minimal\nvacuum energy density, thus indicating a clear overall improvement of the\nvacuum description. The dimensional transmutation mechanism and the dynamically\ngenerated mass scale remain almost quantitatively robust, however, which\nensures that our prediction for the gluon condensate is consistent with\nstandard values. Further results include a finite group velocity for the soft\ngluonic modes due to the higher-gradient corrections and indications for a\nnegative differential color resistance of the Yang-Mills vacuum.",
        "positive": "On Dimensional Reduction of Magical Supergravity Theories: We prove, by a direct dimensional reduction and an explicit construction of\nthe group manifold, that the nonlinear sigma model of the dimensionally reduced\nthree-dimensional A = R magical supergravity is F4(+4)/(USp(6)xSU(2)). This\nserves as a basis for the solution generating technique in this supergravity as\nwell as allows to give the Lie algebraic characterizations to some of the\nparameters and functions in the original D = 5 Lagrangian. Generalizations to\nother magical supergravities are also discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Higher spin black hole entropy in three dimensions: A generic formula for the entropy of three-dimensional black holes endowed\nwith a spin-3 field is found, which depends on the horizon area A and its\nspin-3 analogue, given by the reparametrization invariant integral of the\ninduced spin-3 field at the spacelike section of the horizon. From this result\nit can be shown that the absolute value of the spin-3 analogue of the area has\nto be bounded from above by A/3^(1/2). The entropy formula is constructed by\nrequiring the first law of thermodynamics to be fulfilled in terms of the\nglobal charges obtained through the canonical formalism. For the static case,\nin the weak spin-3 field limit, our expression for the entropy reduces to the\nresult found by Campoleoni, Fredenhagen, Pfenninger and Theisen, which has been\nrecently obtained through a different approach.",
        "positive": "A Twistor Description of Six-Dimensional N=(1,1) Super Yang-Mills Theory: We present a twistor space that describes super null-lines on six-dimensional\nN=(1,1) superspace. We then show that there is a one-to-one correspondence\nbetween holomorphic vector bundles over this twistor space and solutions to the\nfield equations of N=(1,1) super Yang-Mills theory. Our constructions naturally\nreduce to those of the twistorial description of maximally supersymmetric\nYang-Mills theory in four dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Black Hole Thermodynamics from Calculations in Strongly-Coupled Gauge\n  Theory: We develop an approximation scheme for the quantum mechanics of N D0-branes\nat finite temperature in the 't Hooft large-N limit. The entropy of the quantum\nmechanics calculated using this approximation agrees well with the\nBekenstein-Hawking entropy of a ten-dimensional non-extremal black hole with\n0-brane charge. This result is in accord with the duality conjectured by\nItzhaki, Maldacena, Sonnenschein and Yankielowicz. Our approximation scheme\nprovides a model for the density matrix which describes a black hole in the\nstrongly-coupled quantum mechanics.",
        "positive": "Noncommutative Wilson lines in higher-spin theory and correlation\n  functions of conserved currents for free conformal fields: We first prove that, in Vasiliev's theory, the zero-form charges studied in\n1103.2360 and 1208.3880 are twisted open Wilson lines in the noncommutative $Z$\nspace. This is shown by mapping Vasiliev's higher-spin model on noncommutative\nYang--Mills theory. We then prove that, prior to Bose-symmetrising, the\ncyclically-symmetric higher-spin invariants given by the leading order of these\n$n$-point zero-form charges are equal to corresponding cyclically-invariant\nbuilding blocks of $n$-point correlation functions of bilinear operators in\nfree conformal field theories (CFT) in three dimensions. On the higher spin\ngravity side, our computation reproduces the results of 1210.7963 using an\nalternative method amenable to the computation of subleading corrections\nobtained by perturbation theory in normal order. On the free CFT side, our\nproof involves the explicit computation of the separate cyclic building blocks\nof the correlation functions of $n$ conserved currents in arbitrary dimension\n$d>2$, using polarization vectors, which is an original result. It is shown to\nagree, for $d=3$, with the results obtained in 1301.3123 in various dimensions\nand where polarization spinors were used."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gravity-induced instability and gauge field localization: The spectrum of a massless bulk scalar field \\Phi, with a possible\ninteraction term of the form -\\xi R \\Phi^{2}, is investigated in the case of\nRS-geometry [1]. We show that the zero mode for \\xi=0, turns into a tachyon\nmode, in the case of a nonzero negative value of \\xi (\\xi<0). As we see, the\nexistence of the tachyon mode destabilizes the \\Phi=0 vacuum, against a new\nstable vacuum with nonzero \\Phi near the brane, and zero in the bulk. By using\nthis result, we can construct a simple model for the gauge field localization,\naccording to the philosophy of Dvali and Shifman (Higgs phase on the brane,\nconfinement in the bulk).",
        "positive": "Singularities in wavy strings: Extremal six-dimensional black string solutions with some non-trivial\nmomentum distribution along the wave are considered. These solutions were\nrecently shown to contain a singularity at the would-be position of the event\nhorizon. In the black string geometry, all curvature invariants are finite at\nthe horizon. It is shown that if the effects of infalling matter are included,\nthere are curvature invariants which diverge there. This implies that quantum\ncorrections will be important at the would-be horizon. The effect of this\nsingularity on test strings is also considered, and it is shown that it leads\nto a divergent excitation of the string. The quantum corrections will therefore\nbe important for test objects."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Correspondence between Feynman diagrams and operators in quantum field\n  theory that emerges from tensor model: A novel functorial relationship in perturbative quantum field theory is\npointed out that associates Feynman diagrams (FD) having no external line in\none theory ${\\bf Th}_1$ with singlet operators in another one ${\\bf Th}_2$\nhaving an additional $U({\\cal N})$ symmetry and is illustrated by the case\nwhere ${\\bf Th}_1$ and ${\\bf Th}_2$ are respectively the rank $r-1$ and the\nrank $r$ complex tensor model. The values of FD in ${\\bf Th}_1$ agree with the\nlarge ${\\cal N}$ limit of the Gaussian average of those operators in ${\\bf\nTh}_2$. The recursive shift in rank by this FD functor converts numbers into\nvectors, then into matrices, and then into rank $3$ tensors ${\\ldots}$ This FD\nfunctor can straightforwardly act on the $d$ dimensional tensorial quantum\nfield theory counterparts as well. In the case of rank 2-rank 3 correspondence,\nit can be combined with the geometrical pictures of the dual of the original\nFD, namely, equilateral triangulations (Grothendieck's dessins d'enfant) to\nform a triality which may be regarded as a bulk-boundary correspondence.",
        "positive": "Renormalization Group Equations and the Lifshitz Point In Noncommutative\n  Landau-Ginsburg Theory: A one-loop renormalization group (RG) analysis is performed for\nnoncommutative Landau-Ginsburg theory in an arbitrary dimension. We adopt a\nmodern version of the Wilsonian RG approach, in which a shell integration in\nmomentum space bypasses the potential IR singularities due to UV-IR mixing. The\nmomentum-dependent trigonometric factors in interaction vertices,\ncharacteristic of noncommutative geometry, are marginal under RG\ntransformations, and their marginality is preserved at one loop. A negative\n$\\Theta$-dependent anomalous dimension is discovered as a novel effect of the\nUV-IR mixing. We also found a noncommutative Wilson-Fisher (NCWF) fixed point\nin less than four dimensions. At large noncommutativity, a momentum space\ninstability is induced by quantum fluctuations, and a consequential first-order\nphase transition is identified together with a Lifshitz point in the phase\ndiagram. In the vicinity of the Lifshitz point, we introduce two critical\nexponents $\\nu_m$ and $\\beta_k$, whose values are determined to be 1/4 and 1/2,\nrespectively, at mean-field level."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Deep multi-task mining Calabi-Yau four-folds: We continue earlier efforts in computing the dimensions of tangent space\ncohomologies of Calabi-Yau manifolds using deep learning. In this paper, we\nconsider the dataset of all Calabi-Yau four-folds constructed as complete\nintersections in products of projective spaces. Employing neural networks\ninspired by state-of-the-art computer vision architectures, we improve earlier\nbenchmarks and demonstrate that all four non-trivial Hodge numbers can be\nlearned at the same time using a multi-task architecture. With 30% (80%)\ntraining ratio, we reach an accuracy of 100% for $h^{(1,1)}$ and 97% for\n$h^{(2,1)}$ (100% for both), 81% (96%) for $h^{(3,1)}$, and 49% (83%) for\n$h^{(2,2)}$. Assuming that the Euler number is known, as it is easy to compute,\nand taking into account the linear constraint arising from index computations,\nwe get 100% total accuracy.",
        "positive": "Holographic entanglement thermodynamics for higher dimensional charged\n  black hole: In this paper, we have investigated the entanglement thermodynamics for\n$d$-dimensional charged $AdS$ black hole by studying the holographic\nentanglement entropy in different cases. We have first computed the holographic\nentanglement entropy in extremal and non-extremal cases in two different\nregimes, namely, the low temperature and high temperature limits. We then\nobtain the first law of entanglement thermodynamics for boundary field theory\nin the low temperature regime in $d$-dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Black hole perturbations of massive and partially massless spin-2 fields\n  in (anti) de Sitter spacetime: We provide a systematic and comprehensive derivation of the linearized\ndynamics of massive and partially massless spin-2 particles in a Schwarzschild\n(anti) de Sitter black hole background, in four and higher spacetime\ndimensions. In particular, we show how to obtain the quadratic actions for the\npropagating modes and recast the resulting equations of motion in a\nSchr\\\"odinger-like form. In the case of partially massless fields in\nSchwarzschild de Sitter spacetime, we study the isospectrality between modes of\ndifferent parity. In particular, we prove isospectrality analytically for modes\nwith multipole number $L=1$ in four spacetime dimensions, providing the\nexplicit form of the underlying symmetry. We show that isospectrality between\npartially massless modes of different parity is broken in higher-dimensional\nSchwarzschild de Sitter spacetimes.",
        "positive": "On a_2^(1) Reflection Matrices and Affine Toda Theories: We construct new non-diagonal solutions to the boundary Yang-Baxter-Equation\ncorresponding to a two-dimensional field theory with U_q(a_2^(1)) quantum\naffine symmetry on a half-line. The requirements of boundary unitarity and\nboundary crossing symmetry are then used to find overall scalar factors which\nlead to consistent reflection matrices. Using the boundary bootstrap equations\nwe also compute the reflection factors for scalar bound states (breathers).\nThese breathers are expected to be identified with the fundamental quantum\nparticles in a_2^(1) affine Toda field theory and we therefore obtain a\nconjecture for the affine Toda reflection factors. We compare these factors\nwith known classical results and discuss their duality properties and their\nconnections with particular boundary conditions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Hamiltonian in an Aharonov-Bohm gauge field and its self-adjoint\n  extensions: By using the spherical coordinates in 3+1 dimensions we study the\nself-adjointness of the Dirac Hamiltonian in an Aharonov-Bohm gauge field of an\ninfinitely thin magnetic flux tube. It is shown that the angular part of the\nDirac Hamiltonian requires self-adjoint extensions as well as its radial one.\nThe self-adjoint extensions of the angular part are parametrized by 2x2 unitary\nmatrix.",
        "positive": "Non-Gaussian Path Integration in Self-Interacting Scalar Field Theories: In self-interacting scalar field theories kinetic expansion is an alternative\nway of calculating the generating functional for Green's functions where the\nzeroth order non-Gaussian path integral becomes diagonal in x-space and reduces\nto the product of an ordinary integral at each point which can be evaluated\nexactly. We discuss how to deal with such functional integrals and propose a\nnew perturbative expansion scheme which combines the elements of the kinetic\nexpansion with that of usual perturbation theory. It is then shown that, when\nthe cutoff dependent bare parameters in the potential are fixed to have a well\ndefined non-Gaussian path integral without the kinetic term, the theory becomes\ntrivial in the continuum limit."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Evolution of Massive Scalar Fields in the Spacetime of a Tense Brane\n  Black Hole: In the spacetime of a $d$-dimensional static tense brane black hole we\nelaborate the mechanism by which massive scalar fields decay. The metric of a\nsix-dimensional black hole pierced by a topological defect is especially\ninteresting. It corresponds to a black hole residing on a tensional 3-brane\nembedded in a six-dimensional spacetime, and this solution has gained\nimportance due to the planned accelerator experiments. It happened that the\nintermediate asymptotic behaviour of the fields in question was determined by\nan oscillatory inverse power-law. We confirm our investigations by numerical\ncalculations for five- and six-dimensional cases. It turned out that the\ngreater the brane tension is, the faster massive scalar fields decay in the\nconsidered spacetimes.",
        "positive": "Effects of the hyperscaling violation and dynamical exponents on the\n  imaginary potential and entropic force of heavy quarkonium via holography: The imaginary potential and entropic force are two important different\nmechanisms to characterize the dissociation of heavy quarkonia. In this paper,\nwe calculate these two quantities in strongly coupled theories with anisotropic\nLifshitz scaling and hyperscaling violation exponent using holographic methods.\nWe study how the results are affected by the hyperscaling violation parameter\n{\\theta} and the dynamical exponent z at finite temperature and chemical\npotential. Also, we investigate the effect of the chemical potential on these\nquantities. As a result, we find that both mechanisms show the same results:\nthe thermal width and the dissociation length decrease as the dynamical\nexponent and chemical potential increase or as the hyperscaling violating\nparameter decreases."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Higgsing the stringy higher spin symmetry: It has recently been argued that the symmetric orbifold theory of T4 is dual\nto string theory on AdS3 x S3 x T4 at the tensionless point. At this point in\nmoduli space, the theory possesses a very large symmetry algebra that includes,\nin particular, a $W_\\infty$ algebra capturing the gauge fields of a dual higher\nspin theory. Using conformal perturbation theory, we study the behaviour of the\nsymmetry generators of the symmetric orbifold theory under the deformation that\ncorresponds to switching on the string tension. We show that the generators\nfall nicely into Regge trajectories, with the higher spin fields corresponding\nto the leading Regge trajectory. We also estimate the form of the Regge\ntrajectories for large spin, and find evidence for the familiar logarithmic\nbehaviour, thereby suggesting that the symmetric orbifold theory is dual to an\nAdS background with pure RR flux.",
        "positive": "The transfer matrix in four-dimensional CDT: The Causal Dynamical Triangulation model of quantum gravity (CDT) has a\ntransfer matrix, relating spatial geometries at adjacent (discrete lattice)\ntimes. The transfer matrix uniquely determines the theory. We show that the\nmeasurements of the scale factor of the (CDT) universe are well described by an\neffective transfer matrix where the matrix elements are labeled only by the\nscale factor. Using computer simulations we determine the effective transfer\nmatrix elements and show how they relate to an effective minisuperspace action\nat all scales."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Stationary Black Holes in a Generalized Three-Dimensional Theory of\n  Gravity: We consider a generalized three-dimensional theory of gravity which is\nspecified by two fields, the graviton and the dilaton, and one parameter. This\ntheory contains, as particular cases, three-dimensional General Relativity and\nthree-dimensional String Theory. Stationary black hole solutions are generated\nfrom the static ones using a simple coordinate transformation. The stationary\nblack holes solutions thus obtained are locally equivalent to the corresponding\nstatic ones, but globally distinct. The mass and angular momentum of the\nstationary black hole solutions are computed using an extension of the Regge\nand Teitelboim formalism. The causal structure of the black holes is described.",
        "positive": "Two-flux Colliding Plane Waves in String Theory: We construct the two-flux colliding plane wave solutions in higher\ndimensional gravity theory with dilaton, and two complementary fluxes. Two\nkinds of solutions has been obtained: Bell-Szekeres(BS) type and homogeneous\ntype. After imposing the junction condition, we find that only Bell-Szekeres\ntype solution is physically well-defined. Furthermore, we show that the future\ncurvature singularity is always developed for our solutions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Vortices on Orbifolds: The Abelian and non-Abelian vortices on orbifolds are investigated based on\nthe moduli matrix approach, which is a powerful method to deal with the BPS\nequation. The moduli space and the vortex collision are discussed through the\nmoduli matrix as well as the regular space. It is also shown that a quiver\nstructure is found in the Kahler quotient, and a half of ADHM is obtained for\nthe vortex theory on the orbifolds as the case before orbifolding.",
        "positive": "Time-dependent $NAdS_2$ holography with applications: We develop a method for obtaining exact time-dependent solutions in\nJackiw-Teitelboim gravity coupled to non-conformal matter and study\nconsequences for $NAdS_2$ holography. We study holographic quenches in which we\nfind that the black hole mass increases. A semi-holographic model composed of\nan infrared $NAdS_2$ holographic sector representing the mutual strong\ninteractions of trapped impurities confined at a spatial point is proposed. The\nholographic sector couples to the position of a displaced impurity acting as a\nself-consistent boundary source. This effective $0+1-$dimensional description\nhas a total conserved energy. Irrespective of the initial velocity of the\nparticle, the black hole mass initially increases, but after the horizon runs\naway to infinity in the physical patch, the mass vanishes in the long run. The\ntotal energy is completely transferred to the kinetic energy or the\nself-consistent confining potential energy of the impurity. For initial\nvelocities below a critical value determined by the mutual coupling, the black\nhole mass changes sign in finite time. Above this critical velocity, the\ninitial condition of the particle can be retrieved from the $SL(2,R)$ invariant\nexponent that governs the exponential growth of the bulk gravitational\n$SL(2,R)$ charges at late time."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Ordinary-derivative formulation of conformal low-spin fields: Conformal fields in flat space-time of even dimension greater than or equal\nto four are studied. Second-derivative formulation for spin 0,1,2 conformal\nbosonic fields and first-derivative formulation for spin 1/2,3/2 conformal\nfermionic fields are developed. For the spin 1,3/2,2 conformal fields, we\nobtain gauge invariant Lagrangians and the corresponding gauge transformations.\nGauge symmetries are realized by involving Stueckelberg fields and auxiliary\nfields. Realization of global conformal boost symmetries is obtained. Modified\nLorentz and de Donder gauge conditions are introduced. Ordinary-derivative\nLagrangian of interacting Weyl gravity in 4d is obtained. In our approach, the\nfield content of Weyl gravity, in addition to conformal graviton field,\nincludes one auxiliary rank-2 symmetric tensor field and one Stueckelberg\nvector field. With respect to the auxiliary tensor field, the Lagrangian\ncontains, in addition to other terms, the Pauli-Fierz mass term. Using the\nordinary-derivative Lagrangian of Weyl gravity, we discuss interrelation of\nEinstein AdS gravity and Weyl gravity via breaking conformal gauge symmetries.\nAlso, we demonstrate use of the light-cone gauge for counting on-shell degrees\nof freedom in higher-derivative conformal field theories.",
        "positive": "Giant Gravitons and non-conformal vacua in twisted holography: Twisted holography relates the two-dimensional chiral algebra subsector of\n$\\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM to the B-model topological string theory on the deformed\nconifold $SL(2,\\mathbb{C})$. We review the relevant aspects of the duality and\nits two generalizations: the correspondence between determinant operators and\n\"Giant Graviton\" branes and the extension to non-conformal vacua of the chiral\nalgebra."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "GUT theories from Calabi-Yau 4-folds with SO(10) Singularities: We consider an SO(10) GUT model from F-theory compactified on an elliptically\nfibered Calabi-Yau with a D5 singularity. To obtain the matter curves and the\nYukawa couplings, we use a global description to resolve the singularity. We\nidentify the vector and spinor matter representations and their Yukawa\ncouplings and we explicitly build the G-fluxes in the global model and check\nthe agreement with the semi-local results. As our bundle is of type SU(2k),\nsome extra conditions need to be applied to match the fluxes.",
        "positive": "A Coincidence Problem: How to Flow from N=2 SQCD to N=1 SQCD: We discuss, and propose a solution for, a still unresolved problem regarding\nthe breaking from $\\N=2$ super-QCD to $\\N=1$ super-QCD. A mass term $W=\\mu \\Tr\n\\Phi^2 / 2$ for the adjoint field, which classically does the required breaking\nperfectly, quantum mechanically leads to a relevant operator that, in the\ninfrared, makes the theory flow away from pure $\\N=1$ SQCD. To avoid this\nproblem, we first need to extend the theory from $\\SU (n_c)$ to $\\U (n_c)$. We\nthen look for the quantum generalization of the condition $W^{\\prime}(m)=0$,\nthat is, the coincidence between a root of the derivative of the superpotential\n$W(\\phi)$ and the mass $m$ of the quarks. There are $2n_c -n_f$ of such points\nin the moduli space. We suggest that with an opportune choice of\nsuperpotential, that selects one of these coincidence vacua in the moduli\nspace, it is possible to flow from $\\N=2$ SQCD to $\\N=1$ SQCD. Various\narguments support this claim. In particular, we shall determine the exact\nlocation in the moduli space of these coincidence vacua and the precise\nfactorization of the SW curve."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Bound states and the classical double copy: We extend the perturbative classical double copy to the analysis of bound\nsystems. We first obtain the leading order perturbative gluon radiation field\nsourced by a system of interacting color charges in arbitrary time dependent\norbits, and test its validity by taking relativistic bremsstrahlung and\nnon-relativistic bound state limits. By generalizing the color to kinematic\nreplacement rules recently used in the context of classical bremsstrahlung, we\nmap the gluon emission amplitude to the radiation fields of dilaton gravity\nsourced by interacting particles in generic (self-consistent) orbits. As an\napplication, we reproduce the leading post-Newtonian radiation fields and\nenergy flux for point masses in non-relativistic orbits from the double copy of\ngauge theory.",
        "positive": "Supersymmetric Extension of GCA in 2d: We derive the infinite dimensional Supersymmetric Galilean Conformal Algebra\n(SGCA) in the case of two spacetime dimensions by performing group contraction\non 2d superconformal algebra. We also obtain the representations of the\ngenerators in terms of superspace coordinates. Here we find realisations of the\nSGCA by considering scaling limits of certain 2d SCFTs which are non-unitary\nand have their left and right central charges become large in magnitude and\nopposite in sign. We focus on the Neveu-Schwarz sector of the parent SCFTs and\ndevelop, in parallel to the GCA studies recently in (arXiv:0912.1090), the\nrepresentation theory based on SGCA primaries, Ward identities for their\ncorrelation functions and their descendants which are null states."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The scaling supersymmetric Yang-Lee model with boundary: We define the scaling supersymmetric Yang-Lee model with boundary as the\n(1,3) perturbation of the superconformal minimal model SM(2/8) (or\nequivalently, the (1,5) perturbation of the conformal minimal model M(3/8))\nwith a certain conformal boundary condition. We propose the corresponding\nboundary S matrix, which is not diagonal for general values of the boundary\nparameter. We argue that the model has an integral of motion corresponding to\nan unbroken supersymmetry, and that the proposed S matrix commutes with a\nsimilar quantity. We also show by means of a boundary TBA analysis that the\nproposed boundary S matrix is consistent with massless flow away from the\nultraviolet conformal boundary condition.",
        "positive": "Holography, Duality and Higher-Spin Theories: I review recent work on the holographic relation between higher-spin theories\nin Anti-de Sitter spaces and conformal field theories. I present the main\nresults of studies concerning the higher-spin holographic dual of the\nthree-dimensional O(N) vector model. I discuss the special role played by\ncertain double-trace deformations in Conformal Field Theories that have\nhigher-spin holographic duals. Using the canonical formulation I show that\nduality transformations in a U(1) gauge theory on AdS4 induce boundary\ndouble-trace deformations. I argue that a similar effect takes place in the\nholography of linearized higher-spin theories on AdS4."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Symmetries at Null Boundaries: Two and Three Dimensional Gravity Cases: We carry out in full generality and without fixing specific boundary\nconditions, the symmetry and charge analysis near a generic null surface for\ntwo and three dimensional (2d and 3d) gravity theories. In 2d and 3d there are\nrespectively two and three charges which are generic functions over the\ncodimension one null surface. The integrability of charges and their algebra\ndepend on the state-dependence of symmetry generators which is a priori not\nspecified. We establish the existence of infinitely many choices that render\nthe surface charges integrable. We show that there is a choice, the\n\"fundamental basis\", where the null boundary symmetry algebra is the\nHeisenberg+Diff(d-2) algebra. We expect this result to be true for d>3 when\nthere is no Bondi news through the null surface.",
        "positive": "Global anomaly and a family of structures on fold product of complex\n  two-cycles: We propose a new set of IIB type and eleven-dimensional supergravity\nsolutions which consists of the $n$-fold product of two-spaces ${\\bf\nH}^n/\\Gamma$ (where ${\\bf H}^n$ denotes the product of $n$ upper half-planes\n$H^2$ equipped with the co-compact action of $\\Gamma \\subset SL(2, {\\mathbb\nR})^n$) and $({\\bf H}^n)^*/\\Gamma$ (where $(H^2)^* = H^2\\cup \\{{\\rm cusp of}\n\\Gamma\\}$ and $\\Gamma$ is a congruence subgroup of $SL(2, {\\mathbb R})^n$). The\nFreed-Witten global anomaly condition have been analyzed. We argue that the\ntorsion part of the cuspidal cohomology involves in the global anomaly\ncondition. Infinitisimal deformations of generalized complex (and K\\\"ahler)\nstructures also has been analyzed and stability theorem in the case of a\ndiscrete subgroup of $SL(2, {\\mathbb R})^n$ with the compact quotient ${\\bf\nH}^n/\\Gamma$ was verified."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Generalized Quantum Spring: Recently, it was found that after imposing a helix boundary condition on a\nscalar field, the Casimir force coming from the quantum effect is linearly\nproportional to $r$, which is the ratio of the pitch to the circumference of\nthe helix. This linear behavior of the Casimir force is just like that of the\nforce obeying the Hooke's law on a spring. In this paper, inspiring by some\ncomplex structures that lives in the cells of human body like DNA, protein,\ncollagen etc., we generalize the helix boundary condition to a more general\none, in which the helix consists of a tiny helix structure, and makes up a\nhierarchy of helix. After imposing this kind of boundary condition on a\nmassless and a massive scalar, we calculate the Casimir energy and force by\nusing the so-called zeta function regularization method. We find that the\nHooke's law with the generalized helix boundary condition is not exactly the\nsame as usual one. In this case, the force is proportional to the cube of $r$\ninstead. So we regard it as a generalized Hooke's law, which is complied by a\n\\emph{generalized quantum spring}.",
        "positive": "N=2 Quantum Field Theories and Their BPS Quivers: We explore the relationship between four-dimensional N=2 quantum field\ntheories and their associated BPS quivers. For a wide class of theories\nincluding super-Yang-Mills theories, Argyres-Douglas models, and theories\ndefined by M5-branes on punctured Riemann surfaces, there exists a quiver which\nimplicitly characterizes the field theory. We study various aspects of this\ncorrespondence including the quiver interpretation of flavor symmetries,\ngauging, decoupling limits, and field theory dualities. In general a given\nquiver describes only a patch of the moduli space of the field theory, and a\nkey role is played by quantum mechanical dualities, encoded by quiver\nmutations, which relate distinct quivers valid in different patches. Analyzing\nthe consistency conditions imposed on the spectrum by these dualities results\nin a powerful and novel mutation method for determining the BPS states. We\napply our method to determine the BPS spectrum in a wide class of examples,\nincluding the strong coupling spectrum of super-Yang-Mills with an ADE gauge\ngroup and fundamental matter, and trinion theories defined by M5-branes on\nspheres with three punctures."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "QED$_{2+1}$ with Nonzero Fermion Density and Quantum Hall Effect: A general expression for the conductivity in the QED$_{2+1}$ with nonzero\nfermion density in the uniform magnetic field is derived. It is shown that the\nconductivity is entirely determined by the Chern-Simons coefficient:\n$\\sigma_{ij}=\\varepsilon_{ij}~{\\cal C}$ and is a step-function of the chemical\npotential and the magnetic field.",
        "positive": "Superprojectors in D=10: We classify all massive irreducible representations of super Poincar\\'e in\nD=10. New Casimir operators of super Poincar\\'e are presented whose eigenvalues\ncompletely specify the representation. It is shown that a scalar superfield\ncontains three irreducible representations of massive supersymmetry and we find\nthe corresponding superprojectors. We apply these new tools to the quantization\nof the massive superparticle and we show that it must be formulated in terms of\na superfield $B_\\mn$ satisfying an adequate covariant restriction."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Tachyon Tunnelling in D-brane-anti-D-brane: Using the tachyon DBI action proposal for the effective theory of\nnon-coincident D$_p$-brane-anti-D$_p$-brane system, we study the decay of this\nsystem in the tachyon channel. We assume that the branes separation is held\nfixed, i.e. no throat formation, and then find the bounce solution which\ndescribe the decay of the system from false to the true vacuum of the tachyon\npotential. We shall show that due to the non-standard form of the kinetic term\nin the effective action, the thin wall approximation for calculating the bubble\nnucleation rate gives a result which is independent of the branes separation.\nThis unusual result might indicate that the true decay of this metastable\nsystem should be via a solution that represents a throat formation as well as\nthe tachyon tunneling.",
        "positive": "Quantum Aspects of Black Objects in String Theory: One of important directions in superstring theory is to reveal the quantum\nnature of black hole. In this paper we embed Schwarzschild black hole into\nsuperstring theory or M-theory, which we call a smeared black hole, and resolve\nquantum corrections to it. Furthermore we boost the smeared black hole along\nthe 11th direction and construct a smeared quantum black 0-brane in 10\ndimensions. Quantum aspects of the thermodynamic for these black objects are\ninvestigated in detail. We also discuss radiations of a string and a D0-brane\nfrom the smeared quantum black 0-brane."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "General static spherically symmetric solutions in Horava gravity: We derive general static spherically symmetric solutions in the Horava theory\nof gravity with nonzero shift field. These represent \"hedgehog\" versions of\nblack holes with radial \"hair\" arising from the shift field. For the case of\nthe standard de Witt kinetic term (lambda =1) there is an infinity of solutions\nthat exhibit a deformed version of reparametrization invariance away from the\ngeneral relativistic limit. Special solutions also arise in the anisotropic\nconformal point lambda = 1/3.",
        "positive": "Sound waves and vortices in a polarized relativistic fluid: We extend the effective theory approach to the ideal fluid limit where the\npolarization of the fluid is non-zero. After describing and motivating the\nequations of motion, we expand them around the hydrostatic limit, obtaining the\nsound wave and vortex degrees of freedom. We discuss how the presence of\npolarization affects the stability and causality of the ideal fluid limit."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Symmetries of post-Galilean expansions: In this letter we study an infinite extension of the Galilei symmetry group\nin any dimension that can be thought of as a non-relativistic or post-Galilean\nexpansion of the Poincare symmetry. We find an infinite-dimensional vector\nspace on which this generalized Galilei group acts and usual Minkowski space\ncan be modeled by our construction. We also construct particle and string\nactions that are invariant under these transformations.",
        "positive": "The action of the Virasoro algebra in the two-dimensional Potts and loop\n  models at generic $Q$: The spectrum of conformal weights for the CFT describing the two-dimensional\ncritical $Q$-state Potts model (or its close cousin, the dense loop model) has\nbeen known for more than 30 years. However, the exact nature of the\ncorresponding $\\hbox{Vir}\\otimes\\overline{\\hbox{Vir}}$ representations has\nremained unknown up to now. Here, we solve the problem for generic values of\n$Q$. This is achieved by a mixture of different techniques: a careful study of\n\"Koo--Saleur generators\" [arXiv:hep-th/9312156], combined with measurements of\nfour-point amplitudes, on the numerical side, and OPEs and the four-point\namplitudes recently determined using the \"interchiral conformal bootstrap\" in\n[arXiv:2005.07258] on the analytical side. We find that null-descendants of\ndiagonal fields having weights $(h_{r,1},h_{r,1})$ (with $r\\in \\mathbb{N}^*$)\nare truly zero, so these fields come with simple\n$\\hbox{Vir}\\otimes\\overline{\\hbox{Vir}}$ (\"Kac\") modules. Meanwhile, fields\nwith weights $(h_{r,s},h_{r,-s})$ and $(h_{r,-s},h_{r,s})$ (with\n$r,s\\in\\mathbb{N}^*$) come in indecomposable but not fully reducible\nrepresentations mixing four simple $\\hbox{Vir}\\otimes\\overline{\\hbox{Vir}}$\nmodules with a familiar \"diamond\" shape. The \"top\" and \"bottom\" fields in these\ndiamonds have weights $(h_{r,-s},h_{r,-s})$, and form a two-dimensional Jordan\ncell for $L_0$ and $\\bar{L}_0$. This establishes, among other things, that the\nPotts-model CFT is logarithmic for $Q$ generic. Unlike the case of non-generic\n(root of unity) values of $Q$, these indecomposable structures are not present\nin finite size, but we can nevertheless show from the numerical study of the\nlattice model how the rank-two Jordan cells build up in the infinite-size\nlimit."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Cosmological Slavnov-Taylor Identity: We develop a method for treating the consistency relations of inflation that\nincludes the full time-evolution of the state. This approach relies only on the\nsymmetries of the inflationary setting, in particular a residual conformal\nsymmetry in the spatial part of the metric, along with general properties which\nhold for any quantum field theory. As a result, the consistency relations that\nemerge, which are essentially the Slavnov-Taylor identities associated with\nthis residual conformal symmetry, apply very generally: they are true of the\nfull Green's functions, hold largely independently of the particular\ninflationary model, and can be used for arbitrary states. We illustrate these\ntechniques by showing the form assumed by the standard consistency relation\nbetween the two and three-point functions for the primordial scalar\nfluctuations when they are in a Bunch-Davies state. But because we have\nincluded the full evolution of the state, this approach works for a general\ninitial state as well and does not need to have assumed that inflation began in\nthe Bunch-Davies state.",
        "positive": "Higher Yang-Mills Theory: Electromagnetism can be generalized to Yang-Mills theory by replacing the\ngroup U(1)$ by a nonabelian Lie group. This raises the question of whether one\ncan similarly generalize 2-form electromagnetism to a kind of\n\"higher-dimensional Yang-Mills theory\". It turns out that to do this, one\nshould replace the Lie group by a \"Lie 2-group\", which is a category C where\nthe set of objects and the set of morphisms are Lie groups, and the source,\ntarget, identity and composition maps are homomorphisms. We show that this is\nthe same as a \"Lie crossed module\": a pair of Lie groups G,H with a\nhomomorphism t: H -> G and an action of G on H satisfying two compatibility\nconditions. Following Breen and Messing's ideas on the geometry of nonabelian\ngerbes, one can define \"principal 2-bundles\" for any Lie 2-group C and do gauge\ntheory in this new context. Here we only consider trivial 2-bundles, where a\nconnection consists of a Lie(G)-valued 1-form together with an Lie(H)-valued\n2-form, and its curvature consists of a Lie(G)-valued 2-form together with a\nLie(H)-valued 3-form. We generalize the Yang-Mills action for this sort of\nconnection, and use this to derive \"higher Yang-Mills equations\". Finally, we\nshow that in certain cases these equations admit self-dual solutions in five\ndimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hadron structure functions at small $x$ from string theory: Deep inelastic scattering of leptons from hadrons at small values of the\nBjorken parameter $x$ is studied from superstring theory. In particular, we\nfocus on single-flavored scalar and vector mesons in the large $N$ limit. This\nis studied in terms of different holographic dual models with flavor Dp-branes\nin type IIA and type IIB superstring theories, in the strong coupling limit of\nthe corresponding dual gauge theories. We derive the hadronic tensor and the\nstructure functions for scalar and polarized vector mesons. In particular, for\npolarized vector mesons we obtain the eight structure functions at small values\nof the Bjorken parameter. The main result is that we obtain new relations of\nthe Callan-Gross type for several structure functions. These relations have\nsimilarities for all different Dp-brane models that we consider. This would\nsuggest their universal character, and therefore, it is possible that they hold\nfor strongly coupled QCD in the large $N$ limit.",
        "positive": "Nonsingular deformations of singular compactifications, the cosmological\n  constant, and the hierarchy problem: We consider deformations of the singular \"global cosmic string\"\ncompactifications, known to naturally generate exponentially large scales. The\ndeformations are obtained by allowing a constant curvature metric on the brane\nand correspond to a choice of integration constant. We show that there exists a\nunique value of the integration constant that gives rise to a nonsingular\nsolution. The metric on the brane is dS_4 with an exponentially small value of\nexpansion parameter. We derive an upper bound on the brane cosmological\nconstant. We find and investigate more general singular solutions---``dilatonic\nglobal string\" compactifications---and show that they can have nonsingular\ndeformations. We give an embedding of these solutions in type IIB supergravity.\nThere is only one class of supersymmetry-preserving singular dilatonic\nsolutions. We show that they do not have nonsingular deformations of the type\nconsidered here."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Schwinger-Dyson equation in the complex plane -- Two simple models --: Effective mass and energy are investigated using the Schwinger-Dyson equation\n(SDE) in the complex plane. As simple examples, we solve the SDE for the\n(1+1)-dimensional model and the strongly coupled quantum electrodynamics (QED).\nWe also study some properties of the effective mass and energy in the complex\nplane.",
        "positive": "Holographic study of entanglement and complexity for mixed states: In this paper, we holographically quantify the entanglement and complexity\nfor mixed states by following the prescription of purification. The bulk theory\nwe consider in this work is a hyperscaling violating solution, characterized by\ntwo parameters, hyperscaling violating exponent $\\theta$ and dynamical exponent\n$z$. This geometry is dual to a non-relativistic strongly coupled theory with\nhidden Fermi surfaces. We first compute the holographic analogy of entanglement\nof purification (EoP), denoted as the minimal area of the entanglement wedge\ncross section and observe the effects of $z$ and $\\theta$. Then in order to\nprobe the mixed state complexity we compute the mutual complexity for the BTZ\nblack hole and the hyperscaling violating geometry by incorporating the\nholographic subregion complexity conjecture. We carry this out for two disjoint\nsubsystems separated by a distance and also when the subsystems are adjacent\nwith subsystems making up the full system. Furthermore, various aspects of\nholographic entanglement entropy such as entanglement Smarr relation, Fisher\ninformation metric and the butterfly velocity has also been discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A non-torus link from topological vertex: The recently suggested tangle calculus for knot polynomials is intimately\nrelated to topological string considerations and can help to build the\nHOMFLY-PT invariants from the topological vertices. We discuss this interplay\nin the simplest example of the Hopf link and link $L_{8n8}$. It turns out that\nthe resolved conifold with four different representations on the four external\nlegs, on the topological string side, is described by a special projection of\nthe four-component link $L_{8n8}$, which reduces to the Hopf link colored with\ntwo composite representations. Thus, this provides the first explicit example\nof non-torus link description through the topological vertex. It is not a real\nbreakthrough, because $L_{8n8}$ is just a cable of the Hopf link, still, it can\nhelp to intensify the development of the formalism towards more interesting\nexamples.",
        "positive": "Lattice String Field Theory: The linear dilaton in one dimension: We propose the use of lattice field theory for the study of string field\ntheory at the non-perturbative quantum level. We identify many potential\nobstacles and examine possible resolutions thereof. We then experiment with our\napproach in the particularly simple case of a one-dimensional linear dilaton\nand analyse the results."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Triangular Deformation of the two Dimensional Poincare Algebra: Contracting the $h$-deformation of $\\SL(2,\\Real)$, we construct a new\ndeformation of two dimensional Poincar\\'e algebra, the algebra of functions on\nits group and its differential structure. It is also shown that the Hopf\nalgebra is triangular, and its universal R matrix is also constructed\nexplicitly. Then, we find a deformation map for the universal enveloping\nalgebra, and at the end, give the deformed mass shells and Lorentz\ntransformation.",
        "positive": "Analytical Properties of Solutions of the Schrodinger Equation and\n  Quantization of Charge: The Schwinger--DeWitt expansion for the evolution operator kernel is used to\ninvestigate analytical properties of the Schr\\\"odinger equation solution in\ntime variable. It is shown, that this expansion, which is in general\nasymptotic, converges for a number of potentials (widely used, in particular,\nin one-dimensional many-body problems), and besides, the convergence takes\nplace only for definite discrete values of the coupling constant. For other\nvalues of charge the divergent expansion determines the functions having\nessential singularity at origin (beyond usual $\\delta$-function). This does not\npermit one to fulfil the initial condition. So, the function obtained from the\nSchr\\\"odinger equation cannot be the evolution operator kernel. The latter,\nrigorously speaking, does not exist in this case. Thus, the kernel exists only\nfor definite potentials, and moreover, at the considered examples the charge\nmay have only quantized values."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Irregular Singularities in the H3+ WZW Model: We propose a definition of irregular vertex operators in the H3+ WZW model.\nOur definition is compatible with the duality [1] between the H3+ WZW model and\nLiouville theory, and we provide the explicit map between correlation functions\nof irregular vertex operators in the two conformal field theories. Our\ndefinition of irregular vertex operators is motivated by relations to partition\nfunctions of N=2 gauge theory and scattering amplitudes in N=4 gauge theory",
        "positive": "On the Hydrodynamic Description of Holographic Viscoelastic Models: We show that the correct dual hydrodynamic description of homogeneous\nholographic models with spontaneously broken translations must include the\nso-called \"strain pressure\" -- a novel transport coefficient proposed recently.\nTaking this new ingredient into account, we investigate the near-equilibrium\ndynamics of a large class of holographic models and faithfully reproduce all\nthe hydrodynamic modes present in the quasinormal mode spectrum. Moreover,\nwhile strain pressure is characteristic of equilibrium configurations which do\nnot minimise the free energy, we argue and show that it also affects models\nwith no background strain, through its temperature derivatives. In summary, we\nprovide a first complete matching between the holographic models with\nspontaneously broken translations and their effective hydrodynamic description."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Deformed Twistors and Higher Spin Conformal (Super-)Algebras in Six\n  Dimensions: Massless conformal scalar field in six dimensions corresponds to the minimal\nunitary representation (minrep) of the conformal group SO(6,2). This minrep\nadmits a family of deformations labelled by the spin t of an SU(2)_T group,\nwhich is the 6d analog of helicity in four dimensions. These deformations of\nthe minrep of SO(6,2) describe massless conformal fields that are symmetric\ntensors in the spinorial representation of the 6d Lorentz group. The minrep and\nits deformations were obtained by quantization of the nonlinear realization of\nSO(6,2) as a quasiconformal group in arXiv:1005.3580. We give a novel\nreformulation of the generators of SO(6,2) for these representations as\nbilinears of deformed twistorial oscillators which transform nonlinearly under\nthe Lorentz group SO(5,1) and apply them to define higher spin algebras and\nsuperalgebras in AdS_7. The higher spin (HS) algebra of Fradkin-Vasiliev type\nin AdS_7 is simply the enveloping algebra of SO(6,2) quotiented by a two-sided\nideal (Joseph ideal) which annihilates the minrep. We show that the Joseph\nideal vanishes identically for the quasiconformal realization of the minrep and\nits enveloping algebra leads directly to the HS algebra in AdS_7. Furthermore,\nthe enveloping algebras of the deformations of the minrep define a discrete\ninfinite family of HS algebras in AdS_7 for which certain 6d Lorentz covariant\ndeformations of the Joseph ideal vanish identically. These results extend to\nsuperconformal algebras OSp(8*|2N) and we find a discrete infinite family of HS\nsuperalgebras as enveloping algebras of the minimal unitary supermultiplet and\nits deformations. Our results suggest the existence of a discrete family of\n(supersymmetric) HS theories in AdS_7 which are dual to free (super)conformal\nfield theories (CFTs) or to interacting but integrable (supersymmetric) CFTs in\n6d.",
        "positive": "A prediction for bubbling geometries: We study the supersymmetric circular Wilson loops in N=4 Yang-Mills theory.\nTheir vacuum expectation values are computed in the parameter region that\nadmits smooth bubbling geometry duals. The results are a prediction for the\nsupergravity action evaluated on the bubbling geometries for Wilson loops."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "U-folds as K3 fibrations: We study N=2 four-dimensional flux vacua describing intrinsic\nnon-perturbative systems of 3 and 7 branes in type IIB string theory. The\nsolutions are described as compactifications of a G(ravity) theory on a Calabi\nYau threefold which consists of a fibration of an auxiliary K3 surface over an\nS^2 base. In the spirit of F-theory, the complex structure of the K3 surface\nvarying over the base codifies the details of the fluxes, the dilaton and the\nwarp factors in type IIB string theory. We discuss in detail some simple\nexamples of geometric and non-geometric solutions where the precise\nflux/geometry dictionary can be explicitly worked out. In particular, we\ndescribe non-geometric T-fold solutions exhibiting non-trivial T-duality\nmonodromies exchanging 3- and 7-branes.",
        "positive": "Creation of quasiparticles in graphene by a time-dependent electric\n  field: We investigate the creation of massless quasiparticle pairs from the vacuum\nstate in graphene by the space homogeneous time-dependent electric field. For\nthis purpose the formalism of (2+1)-dimensional quantum electrodynamics is\napplied to the case of a nonstationary background with arbitrary time\ndependence allowing the S-matrix formulation of the problem. The number of\ncreated pairs per unit graphene area is expressed via the asymptotic solution\nat $t\\to\\infty$ of the second-order differential equation of an oscillator type\nwith complex frequency satisfying some initial conditions at $t\\to-\\infty$. The\nobtained results are applied to the electric field with specific dependence on\ntime admitting the exact solution of Dirac equation. The number of created\npairs per unit area is calculated analytically in a wide variety of different\nregimes depending on the parameters of electric field. The investigated earlier\ncase of static electric field is reproduced as a particular case of our\nformalism. It is shown that the creation rate in a time-dependent field is\noften larger than in a static field."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A landscape for the cosmological constant and the Higgs mass: The cosmological constant and the Higgs mass seem unnaturally small and\nanthropically selected. We show that both can be efficiently scanned in Quantum\nField Theories with a large enough number of vacua controllable thanks to\napproximated $\\mathbb{Z}_2$ symmetries (even for Coleman-Weinberg potentials).\nWe find that vacuum decay in a landscape implies weaker bounds than previously\nestimated. Special vacua where one light scalar is accidentally light avoid\ncatastrophic vacuum decay if its self-cubic is absent. This is what happens for\nthe Higgs doublet, thanks to gauge invariance. Yukawa couplings can be\nefficiently scanned, as suggested by anthropic boundaries on light quark\nmasses. Finally, we suggest that the lack of predictivity of landscapes can be\nmitigated if their probability distributions are non-Gaussian (possibly even\nfractal).",
        "positive": "Fourth order wave equation in Bhabha-Madhavarao spin-$\\frac{3}{2}$\n  theory: Within the framework of the Bhabha-Madhavarao formalism, a consistent\napproach to the derivation of a system of the fourth order wave equations for\nthe description of a spin-$\\frac{3}{2}$ particle is suggested. For this purpose\nan additional algebraic object, the so-called $q$-commutator ($q$ is a\nprimitive fourth root of unity) and a new set of matrices $\\eta_{\\mu}$, instead\nof the original matrices $\\beta_{\\mu}$ of the Bhabha-Madhavarao algebra, are\nintroduced. It is shown that in terms of the $\\eta_{\\mu}$ matrices we have\nsucceeded in reducing a procedure of the construction of fourth root of the\nfourth order wave operator to a few simple algebraic transformations and to\nsome operation of the passage to the limit $z \\rightarrow q$, where $z$ is some\n(complex) deformation parameter entering into the definition of the\n$\\eta$-matrices. In addition, a set of the matrices ${\\cal P}_{1/2}$ and ${\\cal\nP}_{3/2}^{(\\pm)}(q)$ possessing the properties of projectors is introduced.\nThese operators project the matrices $\\eta_{\\mu}$ onto the spins 1/2- and\n3/2-sectors in the theory under consideration. A corresponding generalization\nof the obtained results to the case of the interaction with an external\nelectromagnetic field introduced through the minimal coupling scheme is carried\nout. The application to the problem of construction of the path integral\nrepresentation in parasuperspace for the propagator of a massive\nspin-$\\frac{3}{2}$ particle in a background gauge field within the\nBhabha-Madhavarao approach is discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the solution of the massless Thirring model with fermion fields\n  quantized in the chiral symmetric phase: Correlation functions of fermionic fields described by the massless Thirring\nmodel are analysed within the operator formalism developed by Klaiber and the\npath-integral approach with massless fermions quantized in the chiral symmetric\nphase. We notice that Klaiber's composite fermion operators possess\nnon-standard properties under parity transformations and construct operators\nwith standard parity properties. We find that Klaiber's parameterization of a\none-parameter family of solutions of the massless Thirring model is not well\ndefined, since it is not consistent with the requirement of chiral symmetry. We\nshow that the dynamical dimensions of correlation functions depend on an\narbitrary parameter induced by ambiguities of the evaluation of the chiral\nJacobian. A non-perturbative renormalization of the massless Thirring model is\ndiscussed. We demonstrate that the infrared divergences of Klaiber's\ncorrelation functions can be transferred into ultra-violet divergences by\nrenormalization of the wave function of fermionic fields. This makes Klaiber's\ncorrelation functions non-singular in the infrared limit. We show that the\nrequirement of non-perturbative renormalizability of the massless Thirring\nmodel fixes a free parameter of the path-integral approach. In turn, the\noperator formalism is inconsistent with non-perturbative renormalizability of\nthe massless Thirring model. We carry out a non-perturbative renormalization of\nthe sine-Gordon model and show that it is not an asymptotically free theory as\nwell as the massless Thirring model. We calculate the fermion condensate by\nusing the Fourier transform of the two-point Green function of massless\nThirring fermion fields quantized in the chiral symmetric phase.",
        "positive": "Gravitational Turbulent Instability of Anti-de Sitter Space: Bizon and Rostworowski have recently suggested that anti-de Sitter spacetime\nmight be nonlinearly unstable to transfering energy to smaller and smaller\nscales and eventually forming a small black hole. We consider pure gravity with\na negative cosmological constant and find strong support for this idea. While\none can start with a single linearized mode and add higher order corrections to\nconstruct a nonlinear geon, this is not possible starting with a linear\ncombination of two or more modes. One is forced to add higher frequency modes\nwith growing amplitude. The implications of this turbulent instability for the\ndual field theory are discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Uncovering a Spinor-Vector Duality on a Resolved Orbifold: Spinor-vector dualities have been established in various exact string\nrealisations like orbifold and free fermionic constructions. This paper aims to\ninvestigate possibility of having spinor-vector dualities on smooth geometries\nin the context of the heterotic string. As a concrete working example the\nresolution of the T4/Z2 orbifold is considered with an additional circle\nsupporting a Wilson line, for which it is known that the underlying orbifold\ntheory exhibits such a duality by switching on/off a generalised discrete\ntorsion phase between the orbifold twist and the Wilson line. Depending on this\nphase complementary parts of the twisted sector orbifold states are projected\nout, so that different blowup modes are available to generate the resolutions.\nAs a consequence, not only the spectra of the dual pairs are different, but\nalso the gauge groups are not identical making this duality less apparent on\nthe blowup and thus presumably on smooth geometries in general.",
        "positive": "On the Eleven-Dimensional Origins of Polarized D0-branes: The worldvolume theory of a D0-brane contains a multiplet of fermions which\ncan couple to background spacetime fields. This coupling implies that a\nD0-brane may possess multipole moments with respect to the various type IIA\nsupergravity fields. Different such polarization states of the D0-brane will\nthus generate different long-range supergravity fields, and the corresponding\nsemi-classical supergravity solutions will have different geometries. In this\npaper, we reconsider such solutions from an eleven-dimensional perspective. We\nthus begin by deriving the ``superpartners'' of the eleven-dimensional\ngraviton. These superpartners are obtained by acting on the purely bosonic\nsolution with broken supersymmetries and, in theory, one can obtain the full\nBPS supermultiplet of states. When we dimensionally reduce a polarized\nsupergraviton along its direction of motion, we recover a metric which\ndescribes a polarized D0-brane. On the other hand, if we compactify along the\nretarded null direction we obtain the short distance, or ``near-horizon'',\ngeometry of a polarized D0-brane, which is related to finite $N$ Matrix theory.\nThe various dipole moments in this case can only be defined once the\neleven-dimensional metric is ``regularized'' and, even then, they are formally\ninfinite. We argue, however, that this is to be expected in such a\nnon-asymptotically flat spacetime. Moreover, we find that the superpartners of\nthe D0-brane, in this $r \\ra 0$ limit, possess neither spin nor D2-brane dipole\nmoments."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Diagrammar of physical and fake particles and spectral optical theorem: We prove spectral optical identities in quantum field theories of physical\nparticles (defined by the Feynman $i\\epsilon $ prescription) and purely virtual\nparticles (defined by the fakeon prescription). The identities are derived by\nmeans of purely algebraic operations and hold for every (multi)threshold\nseparately and for arbitrary frequencies. Their major significance is that they\noffer a deeper understanding on the problem of unitarity in quantum field\ntheory. In particular, they apply to \"skeleton\" diagrams, before integrating on\nthe space components of the loop momenta and the phase spaces. In turn, the\nskeleton diagrams obey a spectral optical theorem, which gives the usual\noptical theorem for amplitudes, once the integrals on the space components of\nthe loop momenta and the phase spaces are restored. The fakeon\nprescription/projection is implemented by dropping the thresholds that involve\nfakeon frequencies. We give examples at one loop (bubble, triangle, box,\npentagon and hexagon), two loops (triangle with \"diagonal\", box with diagonal)\nand arbitrarily many loops. We also derive formulas for the loop integrals with\nfakeons and relate them to the known formulas for the loop integrals with\nphysical particles.",
        "positive": "Bigravity in Kuchar's Hamiltonian formalism. 1. The general case: The Hamiltonian formalism of bigravity and massive gravity is studied here\nfor the general form of the interaction potential of two metrics. In the\ntheories equipped with two spacetime metrics it is natural to use the Kuchar\napproach, because then the role played by the lapse and shift variables becomes\nmore transparent. We find conditions on the potential which are necessary and\nsufficient for the existence of four first class constraints. The algebra of\nconstraints is calculated in Dirac brackets formed on the base of all the\nsecond class constraints. It is the celebrated algebra of hypersurface\ndeformations. By fixing one metric we obtain a massive gravity theory free of\nfirst class constraints. Then we can use symmetries of the background metric to\nderive conserved quantities. These are ultralocal, if expressed in terms of the\nmetric interaction potential. The special case of potential providing less\nnumber of degrees of freedom is treated in the companion paper."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Self-DUal SU(3) Chern-Simons Higgs Systems: We explore self-dual Chern-Simons Higgs systems with the local $SU(3)$ and\nglobal $U(1)$ symmetries where the matter field lies in the adjoint\nrepresentation. We show that there are three degenerate vacua of different\nsymmetries and study the unbroken symmetry and particle spectrum in each\nvacuum. We classify the self-dual configurations into three types and study\ntheir properties.",
        "positive": "Microstate solutions from black hole deconstruction: We present a new family of asymptotic AdS_3 x S^2 solutions to eleven\ndimensional supergravity compactified on a Calabi-Yau threefold. They originate\nfrom the backreaction of S^2-wrapped M2-branes, which play a central role in\nthe deconstruction proposal for the microscopic interpretation of the D4-D0\nblack hole entropy. We show that they are free of possible pathologies such as\nclosed timelike curves and discuss their holographic interpretation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holography in a Radiation-dominated Universe with a Positive\n  Cosmological Constant: We discuss the holographic principle in a radiation-dominated, closed\nFriedmann-Robertson-Walker (FRW) universe with a positive cosmological\nconstant. By introducing a cosmological D-bound on the entropy of matter in the\nuniverse, we can write the Friedmann equation governing the evolution of the\nuniverse in the form of the Cardy formula. When the cosmological D-bound is\nsaturated, the Friedmann equation coincides with the Cardy-Verlinde formula\ndescribing the entropy of radiation in the universe. As a concrete model, we\nconsider a brane universe in the background of Schwarzschild-de Sitter black\nholes. It is found that the cosmological D-bound is saturated when the brane\ncrosses the black hole horizon of the background. At that moment, the Friedmann\nequation coincides with the Cardy-Verlinde formula describing the entropy of\nradiation matter on the brane.",
        "positive": "The bad locus in the moduli of super Riemann surfaces with Ramond\n  punctures: The bad locus in the moduli of super Riemann surfaces with Ramond punctures\nparametrizes those super Riemann surfaces that have more than the expected\nnumber of independent closed holomorphic 1-forms. There is a super period map\nthat depends on certain discrete choices. For each such choice, the period map\nblows up along a divisor that contains the bad locus. Our main result is that\naway from the bad locus, at least one of these period maps remains finite. In\nother words, we identify the bad locus as the intersection of the blowup\ndivisors. The proof abstracts the situation into a question in linear algebra,\nwhich we then solve. We also give some bounds on the dimension of the bad\nlocus."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Equations of Motion for Massive Spin 2 Field Coupled to Gravity: We investigate the problems of consistency and causality for the equations of\nmotion describing massive spin two field in external gravitational and massless\nscalar dilaton fields in arbitrary spacetime dimension. From the field\ntheoretical point of view we consider a general classical action with\nnon-minimal couplings and find gravitational and dilaton background on which\nthis action describes a theory consistent with the flat space limit. In the\ncase of pure gravitational background all field components propagate causally.\nWe show also that the massive spin two field can be consistently described in\narbitrary background by means of the lagrangian representing an infinite series\nin the inverse mass. Within string theory we obtain equations of motion for the\nmassive spin two field coupled to gravity from the requirement of quantum Weyl\ninvariance of the corresponding two dimensional sigma-model. In the lowest\norder in $\\alpha'$ we demonstrate that these effective equations of motion\ncoincide with consistent equations derived in field theory.",
        "positive": "Time development of conformal field theories associated with $L_{1}$ and\n  $L_{-1}$ operators: In this study, we examined consequences of unconventional time development of\ntwo-dimensional conformal field theory induced by the $L_{1}$ and $L_{-1}$\noperators, employing the formalism previously developed in a study of\nsine-square deformation. We discovered that the retainment of the Virasoro\nalgebra requires the presence of a cut-off near the fixed points. The\nintroduction of a scale by the cut-off makes it possible to recapture the\nformula for entanglement entropy in a natural and straightforward manner."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Euclidean 4d exact solitons in a Skyrme type model: We introduce a Skyrme type, four dimensional Euclidean field theory made of a\ntriplet of scalar fields n, taking values on the sphere S^2, and an additional\nreal scalar field phi, which is dynamical only on a three dimensional surface\nembedded in R^4. Using a special ansatz we reduce the 4d non-linear equations\nof motion into linear ordinary differential equations, which lead to the\nconstruction of an infinite number of exact soliton solutions with vanishing\nEuclidean action. The theory possesses a mass scale which fixes the size of the\nsolitons in way which differs from Derrick's scaling arguments. The model may\nbe relevant to the study of the low energy limit of pure SU(2) Yang-Mills\ntheory.",
        "positive": "On nonequilibrium states in QFT model with boundary interaction: We prove that certain nonequilibrium expectation values in the boundary\nsine-Gordon model coincide with associated equilibrium-state expectation values\nin the systems which differ from the boundary sine-Gordon in that certain extra\nboundary degrees of freedom (q-oscillators) are added. Applications of this\nresult to actual calculation of nonequilibrium characteristics of the boundary\nsine-Gordon model are also discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Conformal Models of Magnetohydrodynamic Turbulence: Following the previous work of Ferretti and Yang on the role of magnetic\nfields in the theory of conformal turbulence, we show that non-unitary minimal\nmodel solutions to 2-dimensional magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) obtained by\ndimensional reduction from 3-dimensions exist under different (and more\nrestrictive) conditions. From a 3-dimensional point of view, these conditions\nare equivalent to perpendicular flow, in which the magnetic and velocity fields\nare orthogonal. We also extend the analysis to the finite conductivity case and\npresent some approximate solutions, whose connection to the exact ones of the\ninfinite conductivity case is also discussed.",
        "positive": "AdS2 D-branes in AdS3 spacetime: I review some recent progress in understanding the properties of AdS2 branes\nin AdS3. Different methods - classical string motion, Born-Infeld dynamics,\nboundary states - are evocated and compared."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Algebraic Quantization on the Torus and Modular Invariance: New features of systems with non-trivial topology such as fractional quantum\nnumbers, inequivalent quantizations, good operators, topological anomalies,\netc. are described in the framework of an algebraic quantization procedure on a\ngroup. Modular invariance naturally appears as a subgroup of good operators in\nthe particular case of the torus.",
        "positive": "Ghost-Matter Mixing and Feigenbaum Universality in String Theory: Brane-like vertex operators, defining backgrounds with the ghost-matter\nmixing in NSR superstring theory, play an important role in a world-sheet\nformulation of D-branes and M theory, being creation operators for extended\nobjects in the second quantized formalism. In this paper we show that dilaton's\nbeta function in ghost-matter mixing backgrounds becomes stochastic. The\nrenormalization group (RG) equations in ghost-matter mixing backgrounds lead to\nnon-Markovian Fokker-Planck equations which solutions describe superstrings in\ncurved space-times with brane-like metrics.We show that Feigenbaum universality\nconstant $\\delta=4,669...$ describing transitions from order to chaos in a huge\nvariety of dynamical systems, appears analytically in these RG equations. We\nfind that the appearance of this constant is related to the scaling of relative\nspace-time curvatures at fixed points of the RG flow. In this picture the fixed\npoints correspond to the period doubling of Feigenbaum iterational schemes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Instantons and Matter in N=1/2 Supersymmetric Gauge Theory: We extend the instanton calculus for N=1/2 U(2) supersymmetric gauge theory\nby including one massless flavor. We write the equations of motion at leading\norder in the coupling constant and we solve them exactly in the\nnon(anti)commutativity parameter C. The profile of the matter superfield is\ndeformed through linear and quadratic corrections in C. Higher order\ncorrections are absent because of the fermionic nature of the back-reaction.\nThe instanton effective action, in addition to the usual 't Hooft term,\nincludes a contribution of order C^2 and is N=1/2 invariant. We argue that the\nN=1 result for the gluino condensate is not modified by the presence of the new\nterm in the effective action.",
        "positive": "Release of physical modes from unphysical fields: We present a basic idea and a toy model that physical modes originate from\nunobservable fields. The model is defined on a higher-dimensional space-time\nand has fermionic symmetries that make fields unphysical, and observable modes\ncan appear through a dimensional reduction."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Time evolution of the chiral phase transition during a spherical\n  expansion: We examine the non-equilibrium time evolution of the hadronic plasma produced\nin a relativistic heavy ion collision, assuming a spherical expansion into the\nvacuum. We study the $O(4)$ linear sigma model to leading order in a large-$N$\nexpansion. Starting at a temperature above the phase transition, the system\nexpands and cools, finally settling into the broken symmetry vacuum state. We\nconsider the proper time evolution of the effective pion mass, the order\nparameter $\\langle \\sigma \\rangle$, and the particle number distribution. We\nexamine several different initial conditions and look for instabilities\n(exponentially growing long wavelength modes) which can lead to the formation\nof disoriented chiral condensates (DCCs). We find that instabilities exist for\nproper times which are less than 3 fm/c. We also show that an experimental\nsignature of domain growth is an increase in the low momentum spectrum of\noutgoing pions when compared to an expansion in thermal equilibrium. In\ncomparison to particle production during a longitudinal expansion, we find that\nin a spherical expansion the system reaches the ``out'' regime much faster and\nmore particles get produced. However the size of the unstable region, which is\nrelated to the domain size of DCCs, is not enhanced.",
        "positive": "Holographic measurement and quantum teleportation in the SYK thermofield\n  double: According to holography, entanglement is the building block of spacetime;\ntherefore, drastic changes of entanglement will lead to interesting transitions\nin the dual spacetime. In this paper, we study the effect of projective\nmeasurements on the Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev (SYK) model's thermofield double state,\ndual to an eternal black hole in Jackiw-Teitelboim (JT) gravity. We calculate\nthe (Renyi-2) mutual information between the two copies of the SYK model upon\nprojective measurement of a subset of fermions in one copy. We propose a dual\nJT gravity model that can account for the change of entanglement due to\nmeasurement, and observe an entanglement wedge phase transition in the von\nNeumann entropy. The entanglement wedge for the unmeasured side changes from\nthe region outside the horizon to include the entire time reversal invariant\nslice of the two-sided geometry as the number of measured Majorana fermions\nincreases. Therefore, after the transition, the bulk information stored in the\nmeasured subsystem is not entirely lost upon projection in one copy of the SYK\nmodel, but rather teleported to the other copy. We further propose a decoding\nprotocol to elucidate the teleportation interpretation, and connect our\nanalysis to the physics of traversable wormholes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Generalisation of the Yang-Mills Theory: We suggest an extension of the gauge principle which includes tensor gauge\nfields. In this extension of the Yang-Mills theory the vector gauge boson\nbecomes a member of a bigger family of gauge bosons of arbitrary large integer\nspins. The proposed extension is essentially based on the extension of the\nPoincar\\'e algebra and the existence of an appropriate transversal\nrepresentations. The invariant Lagrangian is expressed in terms of new\nhigher-rank field strength tensors. It does not contain higher derivatives of\ntensor gauge fields and all interactions take place through three- and\nfour-particle exchanges with a dimensionless coupling constant. We calculated\nthe scattering amplitudes of non-Abelian tensor gauge bosons at tree level, as\nwell as their one-loop contribution into the Callan-Symanzik beta function.\nThis contribution is negative and corresponds to the asymptotically free\ntheory. Considering the contribution of tensorgluons of all spins into the beta\nfunction we found that it is leading to the theory which is conformally\ninvariant at very high energies. The proposed extension may lead to a natural\ninclusion of the standard theory of fundamental forces into a larger theory in\nwhich vector gauge bosons, leptons and quarks represent a low-spin subgroup. We\nconsider a possibility that inside the proton and, more generally, inside\nhadrons there are additional partons - tensorgluons, which can carry a part of\nthe proton momentum. The extension of QCD influences the unification scale at\nwhich the coupling constants of the Standard Model merge, shifting its value to\nlower energies.",
        "positive": "Gauge Transformations in String Field Theory and canonical\n  Transformation in String Theory: We study how canonical transfomations in first quantized string theory can be\nunderstood as gauge transformations in string field theory. We establish this\nfact by working out some examples. As a by product, we could identify some of\nthe fields appearing in string field theory with their counterparts in the\n$\\sigma$-model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "E(11)-extended spacetime and gauged supergravities: We formulate all the five dimensional gauged maximal supergravity theories as\nnon-linear realisations of the semi-direct product of E_{11} and a set of\ngenerators which transform according to the first fundamental representation l\nof E_{11}. The latter introduces a generalised space-time which plays a crucial\nrole for these theories. We derive the E_{11} and l transformations of all the\nform fields and their dynamics. We also formulate the five dimensional gauged\nsupergravity theories using the closure of the supersymmetry algebra. We show\nthat this closes on the bosonic field content predicted by E_{11} and we derive\nthe field transformations and the dynamics of this theory. The results are in\nprecise agreement with those found from the E_{11} formulation. This provides a\nvery detailed check of E_{11} and also the first substantial evidence for the\ngeneralised space-time. The results can be generalised to all gauged maximal\nsupergravities, thus providing a unified framework of all these theories as\npart of E_{11}.",
        "positive": "Semigroup Expansion and M-Supergravity in Eleven Dimensions: This thesis deals with the construction of an eleven-dimensional gauge\ntheory, off-shell invariant, for the M Algebra. The theory is built using a\nTransgression Form as a Lagrangian.\n  In order to accomplish this, one must first analyze the general construction\nof Transgression Gauge Field Theories, for an arbitrary symmetry group (Chapter\n3). Some interesting results regarding this point are (1) the calculation of\nNoether Charges which are off-shell conserved, (2) the association of the\ndouble connection structure of the Transgression Form with both orientations of\nthe basis manifold and (3) the Subspace Separation Method, which allows us to\ndivide the action in bulk and boundary terms, and to split them in terms which\nreflect the physics corresponding to a symmetry group choice.\n  To construct the gauge theory explicitly, it is necessary to buid a new\nmathematical tool, called S-Expansion procedure. Analyzing the M Algebra under\nthe light of this method, it is possible to construct an invariant tensor for\nit. This method is developed in a general way and, given a Lie algebra and an\nAbelian, finite semigroup, it allows us to generate new Lie algebras\n(S-Expanded Algebras, Resonant Subalgebras, Resonant Forced Algebras).\n  Applying this tool, an invariant tensor for the M Algebra is constructed,\nwhich serves as the basis upon which a Transgression Gauge Field Theory for the\nM Algebra (Chapter 5) is constructed. The relationship between the\nfour-dimensional dynamics from this theory and the eleven-dimensional torsion\nis also considered. Finally, we close with an analysis of the possible\napplications of the developed tools, in the context of Cosmology, Supergravity\nand String Theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Star product and the general Leigh-Strassler deformation: We extend the definition of the star product introduced by Lunin and\nMaldacena to study marginal deformations of N=4 SYM. The essential difference\nfrom the latter is that instead of considering U(1)xU(1) non-R-symmetry, with\ncharges in a corresponding diagonal matrix, we consider two Z_3-symmetries\nfollowed by an SU(3) transformation, with resulting off-diagonal elements. From\nthis procedure we obtain a more general Leigh-Strassler deformation, including\ncubic terms with the same index, for specific values of the coupling constants.\nWe argue that the conformal property of N=4 SYM is preserved, in both beta-\n(one-parameter) and gamma_{i}-deformed (three-parameters) theories, since the\ndeformation for each amplitude can be extracted in a prefactor. We also\nconclude that the obtained amplitudes should follow the iterative structure of\nMHV amplitudes found by Bern, Dixon and Smirnov.",
        "positive": "Argyres-Douglas Theories in Class S Without Irregularity: We make a preliminary investigation into twisted $A_{2n}$ theories of class\nS. Contrary to a common piece of folklore, we establish that theories of this\ntype realise a variety of models of Argyres-Douglas type while utilising only\nregular punctures. We present an in-depth analysis of all twisted $A_2$ trinion\ntheories, analyse their interrelations via partial Higgsing, and discuss some\nof their generalised S-dualities."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Unitarity, Lorentz invariance and causality in Lee-Wick theories: An\n  asymptotically safe completion of QED: We revisit the previously unsolved problems of ensuring Lorentz invariance\nand non-perturbative unitarity in Lee-Wick theories. We base our discussion on\nan ultraviolet completion of QED by Lee-Wick ghost fields, which is argued to\nbe asymptotically safe. We argue that as long as the state space is based upon\na suitable choice of distributions of a type invented by Gel'fand and Shilov,\nthe Lee-Wick ghosts can be eliminated while preserving Lorentz invariance to\nproduce a unitary theory. The method for eliminating ghosts is in principle\nnon-perturbatively well-defined, in contrast with some previous proposals. We\nalso point out a second, independent mechanism for producing a unitary theory,\nbased on a covariant constraint on the maximum four-momentum, which would imply\nan amusing connection, based on naturalness, between the coupling constant and\nthe hierarchy of scales in the theory. We further emphasize that the resulting\ntheory is causal, and point out some analogies between between the behaviour of\nLee-Wick ghost degrees of freedom and black holes.",
        "positive": "Quantum Moduli Space of the Cascading Sp(p+M) x Sp(p) Gauge Theory: We extend the detailed analysis of the quantum moduli space of the cascading\nSU(p+M) x SU(p) gauge theory in the recent paper of Dymarsky, Klebanov, and\nSeiberg for the Sp(p+M) x Sp(p) cascading gauge theory, which lives on the\nworld volume of p D3-branes and M fractional D3-branes at the tip of the\norientifolded conifold. As in their paper, we also find in this case that the\nratio of the deformation parameters of the quantum constraint on the different\nbranches in the gauge theory can be reproduced by the ratio of the deformation\nparameters of the conifold with different numbers of mobile D3-branes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hamiltonian Formulation of Open WZW Strings: Using a Hamiltonian approach, we construct the classical and quantum theory\nof open WZW strings on a strip. (These are the strings which end on WZW\nbranes.) The development involves non-abelian generalized Dirichlet images in\nan essential way. At the classical level, we find a new non-commutative\ngeometry in which the equal-time coordinate brackets are non-zero at the\nworld-sheet boundary, and the result is an intrinsically non-abelian effect\nwhich vanishes in the abelian limit. Using the classical theory as a guide to\nthe quantum theory, we also find the operator algebra and the analogue of the\nKnizhnik-Zamolodchikov equations for the the conformal field theory of open WZW\nstrings.",
        "positive": "Modular Hamiltonian of Excited States in Conformal Field Theory: We present a novel replica trick that computes the relative entropy of two\narbitrary states in conformal field theory. Our replica trick is based on the\nanalytic continuation of partition functions that break the replica Z_n\nsymmetry. It provides a method for computing arbitrary matrix elements of the\nmodular Hamiltonian corresponding to excited states in terms of correlation\nfunctions. We show that the quantum Fisher information in vacuum can be\nexpressed in terms of two-point functions on the replica geometry. We perform\nsample calculations in two-dimensional conformal field theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Matching branches of non-perturbative conformal block at its singularity\n  divisor: Conformal block is a function of many variables, usually represented as a\nformal series, with coefficients which are certain matrix elements in the\nchiral (e.g. Virasoro) algebra. Non-perturbative conformal block is a\nmulti-valued function, defined globally over the space of dimensions, with many\nbranches and, perhaps, additional free parameters, not seen at the perturbative\nlevel. We discuss additional complications of non-perturbative description,\ncaused by the fact that all the best studied examples of conformal blocks lie\nat the singularity locus in the moduli space (at divisors of the coefficients\nor, simply, at zeroes of the Kac determinant). A typical example is the\nAshkin-Teller point, where at least two naive non-perturbative expressions are\nprovided by elliptic Dotsenko-Fateev integral and by the celebrated\nZamolodchikov formula in terms of theta-constants, and they are different. The\nsituation is somewhat similar at the Ising and other minimal model points.",
        "positive": "Real-time gravitational replicas: Low dimensional examples: We continue the study of real-time replica wormholes initiated in\narXiv:2012.00828. Previously, we had discussed the general principles and had\noutlined a variational principle for obtaining stationary points of the\nreal-time gravitational path integral. In the current work we present several\nexplicit examples in low-dimensional gravitational theories where the dynamics\nis amenable to analytic computation. We demonstrate the computation of R\\'enyi\nentropies in the cases of JT gravity and for holographic two-dimensional CFTs\n(using the dual gravitational dynamics). In particular, we explain how to\nobtain the large central charge result for subregions comprising of disjoint\nintervals directly from the real-time path integral."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "4-Spinors and 5D Spacetime: We revisit the subject exploring maps from the space of 4-spinors to 3+1\nspace-time that commute with the Lorentz transformation. All known mappings\nhave a natural embedding in a higher five dimensional spacetime, and can be\nsuccinctly expressed as products of quaternions, or split-quaternions,\ndepending on the signature of the embedding 5D spacetime. It is in this sense\nthat we may view the geometry of 4-spinors as being related to the `square\nroot' of five dimensional spacetime. In particular, a point in 5D spacetime may\nbe identified with a corresponding 4-spinor that is uniquely determined up to a\nquaternionic - or split-quaternionic - phase.",
        "positive": "N-Complexes and Higher Spin Gauge Fields: $N$-complexes have been argued recently to be algebraic structures relevant\nto the description of higher spin gauge fields. $N$-complexes involve a linear\noperator $d$ that fulfills $d^N = 0$ and that defines a generalized cohomology.\nSome elementary properties of $N$-complexes and the evidence for their\nrelevance to the description of higher spin gauge fields are briefly reviewed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Test Of The Chiral E8 Current Algebra On A 6D Non-Critical String: Compactifying the $E_8$ non-critical string in 6D down to 5D the 6D strings\ngive rise to particles and strings in 5D. Using the dual M-theory description\ncompactified on an elliptically fibered Calabi-Yau we compare some of the 5D\nBPS states to what one expects from non-critical strings with an $E_8$ chiral\ncurrent algebra. The $E_8$ multiplets of particle states comprise of 2-branes\nwrapping on irreducible curves together with bound states of several 2-branes.",
        "positive": "BCFW-type recurrent relations for tree amplitudes of D=11 supergravity: We propose the on-shell superfield description for tree amplitudes of D=11\nsupergravity and the BCFW (Britto-Cachazo-Feng-Witten)-type recurrent relations\nfor these superamplitudes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "General Procedure of Gauge Fixings and Ghosts: We revisit the general procedure of gauge fixings and ghosts based on BRST\ninvariance principle. It is shown that when this is applied to the\nhigher-derivative gauge fixings, it gives the correct structure of gauge\nfixings and ghosts including \"third ghost\", previously derived at one-loop\nlevel. This procedure is solely based on the symmetry principle and is valid at\nfull order.",
        "positive": "On the equivalence of two definitions of conformal primary fields in d >\n  2 dimensions: Conformal primary fields are of central importance in a conformal field\ntheory with d > 2 spacetime dimensions. They can be defined in two ways. A\nfirst definition involves commutators between the field and the generators of\nthe conformal group; a second definition characterizes a primary field\naccording to its behavior under a finite conformal transformation. In the\nexisting literature, the proof of the equivalence of the definitions is either\nomitted or carried out with little details. In this paper we present a clear\nand concise review of the two definitions and provide a simple and detailed\nproof for their equivalence, using some minimal results from quantum field\ntheory and basic properties of conformal transformations. The paper is intended\nas a tutorial for an introductory lecture course in conformal field theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "*-Structures on Braided Spaces: $*$-structures on quantum and braided spaces of the type defined via an\nR-matrix are studied. These include $q$-Minkowski and $q$-Euclidean spaces as\nadditive braided groups. The duality between the $*$-braided groups of vectors\nand covectors is proved and some first applications to braided geometry are\nmade.",
        "positive": "Phase structures of the black D$p$-D$(p+4)$-brane system in various\n  ensembles I: thermal stability: When the D$(p+4)$-brane ($p=0,1,2$) with delocalized D$p$ charges is put into\nequilibrium with a spherical thermal cavity, the two kinds of charges can be\nput into canonical or grand canonical ensemble independently by setting\ndifferent conditions at the boundary. Using the thermal stability condition, we\ndiscuss the phase structures of various ensembles of this system formed in this\nway and find out the situations that the black brane could be the final stable\nphase in these ensembles. In particular, van der Waals-like phase transitions\ncan happen when D0 and D4 charges are in different kinds of ensembles.\nFurthermore, our results indicate that the D$(p+4)$-branes and the delocalized\nD$p$-branes are equipotent."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "QUANTUM DISSIPATION AND QUANTUM GROUPS: We discuss the r\\^ole of quantum deformation of Weyl-Heisenberg algebra in\ndissipative systems and finite temperature systems. We express the time\nevolution generator of the damped harmonic oscillator and the generator of\nthermal Bogolubov transformations in terms of operators of the quantum\nWeyl-Heisenberg algebra. The quantum parameter acts as a label for the\nunitarily inequivalent representations of the canonical commutation relations\nin which the space of the states splits in the infinite volume limit.",
        "positive": "The complex sinh-Gordon model: form factors of descendant operators and\n  current-current perturbations: We study quasilocal operators in the quantum complex sinh-Gordon theory in\nthe form factor approach. The free field procedure for descendant operators is\ndeveloped by introducing the algebra of screening currents and related\nalgebraic objects. We work out null vector equations in the space of operators.\nFurther we apply the proposed algebraic structures to constructing form factors\nof the conserved currents $T_k$ and $\\Theta_k$. We propose also form factors of\ncurrent-current operators of the form $T_kT_{-l}$. Explicit computations of the\nfour-particle form factors allow us to verify the recent conjecture of Smirnov\nand Zamolodchikov about the structure of the exact scattering matrix of an\nintegrable theory perturbed by a combination of irrelevant operators. Our\ncalculations confirm that such perturbations of the complex sinh-Gordon model\nand of the $\\mathbb Z_N$ symmetric Ising models result in extra CDD factors in\nthe $S$ matrix."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Variations on vacuum decay: the scaling Ising and tricritical Ising\n  field theories: We study the decay of the false vacuum in the scaling Ising and tricritical\nIsing field theories using the Truncated Conformal Space Approach and compare\nthe numerical results to theoretical predictions in the thin wall limit. In the\nIsing case, the results are consistent with previous studies on the quantum\nspin chain and the $\\varphi^4$ quantum field theory; in particular we confirm\nthat while the theoretical predictions get the dependence of the bubble\nnucleation rate on the latent heat right, they are off by a model dependent\noverall coefficient. The tricritical Ising model allows us on the other hand to\nexamine more exotic vacuum degeneracy structures, such as three vacua or two\nasymmetric vacua, which leads us to study several novel scenarios of false\nvacuum decay by lifting the vacuum degeneracy using different perturbations.",
        "positive": "Implications of ANEC for SCFTs in four dimensions: We explore consequences of the Averaged Null Energy Condition (ANEC) for\nscaling dimensions $\\Delta$ of operators in four-dimensional $\\mathcal{N}=1$\nsuperconformal field theories. We show that in many cases the ANEC bounds are\nstronger than the corresponding unitarity bounds on $\\Delta$. We analyze in\ndetail chiral operators in the $(\\frac12 j,0)$ Lorentz representation and prove\nthat the ANEC implies the lower bound $\\Delta\\ge\\frac32j$, which is stronger\nthan the corresponding unitarity bound for $j>1$. We also derive ANEC bounds on\n$(\\frac12 j,0)$ operators obeying other possible shortening conditions, as well\nas general $(\\frac12 j,0)$ operators not obeying any shortening condition. In\nboth cases we find that they are typically stronger than the corresponding\nunitarity bounds. Finally, we elucidate operator-dimension constraints that\nfollow from our $\\mathcal{N}=1$ results for multiplets of $\\mathcal{N}=2,4$\nsuperconformal theories in four dimensions. By recasting the ANEC as a convex\noptimization problem and using standard semidefinite programming methods we are\nable to improve on previous analyses in the literature pertaining to the\nnonsupersymmetric case."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Poisson-Lie T-Duality in Double Field Theory: We present a formulation of Double Field Theory with a Drinfeld double as\nextended spacetime. It makes Poisson-Lie T-duality (including abelian and\nnon-abelian T-duality as special cases) manifest. This extends the scope of\npossible applications of the theory, which so far captured abelian T-duality\nonly, considerably. The full massless bosonic subsector (NS/NS and R/R) of type\nII string theories is covered.",
        "positive": "Sum Rule for the ADM Mass and Tensions in Planar AdS Spacetimes: An asymptotically planar AdS spacetimes is characterized by its ADM mass and\ntensions. We define an additional ADM charge Q associated with the scaling\nKilling vector of AdS, show that Q is given by a certain sum over the ADM mass\nand tensions and that Q vanishes on solutions to the Einstein equation with\nnegative cosmological constant. The sum rule for the mass and tensions thus\nestablished corresponds in an AdS/CFT context to the vanishing of the trace of\nthe boundary stress tensor. We also show that an analogous sum rule holds for\nlocal planar sources of stress-energy sources in AdS. In a simple model\nconsisting of a static, plane symmetric source we find that the perturbative\nstress-energy tensor must be tracefree."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Positroid Stratification of Orthogonal Grassmannian and ABJM Amplitudes: A novel understanding of scattering amplitudes in terms of on-shell diagrams\nand positive Grassmannian has been recently established for four dimensional\nYang-Mills theories and three dimensional Chern-Simons theories of ABJM type.\nWe give a detailed construction of the positroid stratification of orthogonal\nGrassmannian relevant for ABJM amplitudes. On-shell diagrams are classified by\npairing of external particles. We introduce a combinatorial aid called `OG\ntableaux' and map each equivalence class of on-shell diagrams to a unique\ntableau. The on-shell diagrams related to each other through BCFW bridging are\nnaturally grouped by the OG tableaux. Introducing suitably ordered BCFW bridges\nand positive coordinates, we construct the complete coordinate charts to cover\nthe entire positive orthogonal Grassmannian for arbitrary number of external\nparticles. The graded counting of OG tableaux suggests that the positive\northogonal Grassmannian constitutes a combinatorial polytope.",
        "positive": "Secondary graviton spectra, second-order correlations and Bose-Einstein\n  enhancement: Primary graviton spectra, produced via stimulated emission from an initial\nBose-Einstein distribution, are enhanced for typical scales larger than the\nredshifted thermal wavelength. A mixed state of phonons induces a secondary\ngraviton spectrum which is hereunder computed in terms of three parameters\n(i.e. the number of phonon species, the tensor-to-scalar ratio and the thermal\nwavelengths of the mixture). The primary and secondary graviton spectra are\nshown to be sensitive, respectively, to the first-order and second-order\ncorrelation properties of the initial quantum mixture so that the semiclassical\ntheory is argued to be generally inadequate in this context. For particular\nvalues of the parameters the secondary contribution may turn out to be\ncomparable with the primary spectrum over large-scales."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the definition of Quantum Free Particle on Curved Manifolds: A selfconsistent definition of quantum free particle on a generic curved\nmanifold emerges naturally by restricting the dynamics to submanifolds of\nco-dimension one.\n  PACS 0365 0240",
        "positive": "Beta deformed sigma model and strong deformation coupling limit: We study the beta deformation of the superstring in $AdS_5\\times S^5$ at all\norders in the deformation parameter, using the pure spinor formalism. This is\nnecessary to study the regime of strong deformation parameter, which in the\nfield side is related to fishnet theories. We compare the pure spinor sigma\nmodel approach to the previously known supergravity description. We find a\ncomplete agreement. Moreover, the BRST structure of the worldsheet model\nprovides a natural explanation of the peculiar features of the worldsheet model\nin the fishnet limit. In particular, we study the degeneracy of the sigma model\nLagrangian. We show that the BRST structure is responsible for a particularly\n\"tame\" degeneration of the fishnet sigma-model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gravitation \\& Cosmology in $(1+1)$-dimensional Dilaton Gravity: The properties of a string-inspired two-dimensional theory of gravity are\nstudied. The post-Newtonian and weak-field approximations, `stellar' structure\nand cosmological solutions of this theory are developed. Some qualitative\nsimilarities to general relativity are found, but there are important\ndifferences.",
        "positive": "N-photon amplitudes in a plane-wave background: We use the worldline formalism to derive master formulas for the one-loop\nN-photon amplitudes in a plane-wave background, for both scalar and spinor QED.\nThis generalises previous work by Ilderton and Torgrimsson for the vacuum\npolarisation case, although with some change in methodology since, instead of\nevaluating the path integral on the semi-classical trajectory, we use the\nspecial kinematics of the plane-wave background to uncover the crypto-gaussian\ncharacter of this type of worldline path integral."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the resurgent structure of quantum periods: Quantum periods appear in many contexts, from quantum mechanics to local\nmirror symmetry. They can be described in terms of topological string free\nenergies and Wilson loops, in the so-called Nekrasov-Shatashvili limit. We\nconsider the trans-series extension of the holomorphic anomaly equations\nsatisfied by these quantities, and we obtain exact multi-instanton solutions\nfor these trans-series. Building on this result, we propose a unified\nperspective on the resurgent structure of quantum periods. We show for example\nthat the Delabaere-Pham formula, which was originally obtained in quantum\nmechanical examples, is a generic feature of quantum periods. We illustrate our\ngeneral results with explicit calculations for the double-well in quantum\nmechanics, and for the quantum mirror curve of local $\\mathbb{P}^2$.",
        "positive": "Black Hole S-matrix for a scalar field: We describe a unitary scattering process, as observed from spatial infinity,\nof massless scalar particles on an asymptotically flat Schwarzschild black hole\nbackground. In order to do so, we split the problem in two different regimes\ngoverning the dynamics of the scattering process. The first describes the\nevolution of the modes in the region away from the horizon and can be analysed\nin terms of the effective Regge-Wheeler potential. In the near horizon region,\nwhere the Regge-Wheeler potential becomes insignificant, the WKB geometric\noptics approximation of Hawking's is replaced by the near-horizon gravitational\nscattering matrix that captures non-perturbative soft graviton exchanges near\nthe horizon. We perform an appropriate matching for the scattering solutions of\nthese two dynamical problems and compute the resulting Bogoliubov relations,\nthat combines both dynamics. This allows us to formulate an S-matrix for the\nscattering process that is manifestly unitary. We discuss the analogue of the\n(quasi)-normal modes in this setup and the emergence of gravitational echoes\nthat follow an original burst of radiation as the excited black hole relaxes to\nequilibrium."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Multi-particle Correlations in Quaternionic Quantum Systems: We investigate the outcomes of measurements on correlated, few-body quantum\nsystems described by a quaternionic quantum mechanics that allows for regions\nof quaternionic curvature. We find that a multi-particle interferometry\nexperiment using a correlated system of four nonrelativistic, spin-half\nparticles has the potential to detect the presence of quaternionic curvature.\nTwo-body systems, however, are shown to give predictions identical to those of\nstandard quantum mechanics when relative angles are used in the construction of\nthe operators corresponding to measurements of particle spin components.",
        "positive": "Brane Decay and Death of Open Strings: We show how open strings cease to propagate when unstable D-branes decay. The\ninformation on the propagation is encoded in BSFT two-point functions for\narbitrary profiles of open string excitations. We evaluate them in tachyon\ncondensation backgrounds corresponding to (i) static spatial tachyon kink (=\nlower dimensional BPS D-brane) and (ii) homogeneous rolling tachyon. For (i)\nthe propagation is restricted to the directions along the tachyon kink, while\nfor (ii) all the open string excitations cease to propagate at late time and\nare subject to a collapsed light cone characterized by Carrollian contraction\nof Lorentz group."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dual Bosonic Thermal Green Function and Fermion Correlators of the\n  Massive Thirring Model at a Finite Temperature: The Euclidian thermal Green function of the two-dimensional (2D) free\nmassless scalar field in coordinate space is written as the real part of a\ncomplex analytic function of a variable that conformally maps the infinite\nstrip $-\\infty<x<\\infty$ ($0<\\tau<\\beta$) of the $z=x+i\\tau$ ($\\tau$: imaginary\ntime) plane into the upper-half-plane. Using this fact and the Cauchy-Riemann\nconditions, we identify the dual thermal Green function as the imaginary part\nof that function. Using both the thermal Green function and its dual, we obtain\nan explicit series expression for the fermionic correlation functions of the\nmassive Thirring model (MTM) at a finite temperature.",
        "positive": "Monopoles, vortices and kinks in the framework of non-commutative\n  geometry: Non-commutative differential geometry allows a scalar field to be regarded as\na gauge connection, albeit on a discrete space. We explain how the underlying\ngauge principle corresponds to the independence of physics on the choice of\nvacuum state, should it be non-unique. A consequence is that Yang-Mills-Higgs\ntheory can be reformulated as a generalised Yang-Mills gauge theory on\nEuclidean space with a $Z_2$ internal structure. By extending the Hodge star\noperation to this non-commutative space, we are able to define the notion of\nself-duality of the gauge curvature form in arbitrary dimensions. It turns out\nthat BPS monopoles, critically coupled vortices, and kinks are all self-dual\nsolutions in their respective dimensions. We then prove, within this unified\nformalism, that static soliton solutions to the Yang-Mills-Higgs system exist\nonly in one, two and three spatial dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Finite temperature properties of the Dirac operator with bag boundary\n  conditions: We study the finite temperature free energy and fermion number for Dirac\nfields in a one-dimensional spatial segment, under local boundary conditions\ncompatible with the presence of a spectral asymmetry. We discuss in detail the\ncontribution of this part of the spectrum to the determinant. We evaluate the\nfinite temperature properties of the theory for arbitrary values of the\nchemical potential.",
        "positive": "Topologically Massive Abelian Gauge Theory From BFT Hamiltonian\n  Embedding of A First-order Theory: We start with a new first order gauge non-invariant formulation of massive\nspin-one theory and map it to a reducible gauge theory viz; abelian\n$B{\\wedge}F$ theory by the Hamiltonian embedding procedure of Batalin, Fradkin\nand Tyutin(BFT). This equivalence is shown from the equations of motion of the\nembedded Hamiltonian. We also demonstrate that the original gauge non-invariant\nmodel and the topologically massive gauge theory can both be obtained by\nsuitable choice of gauges, from the phase space partition function of the\nemebedded Hamiltonian, proving their equivalence. Comparison of the first order\nformulation with the other known massive spin-one theories is also discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Induced cosmological constant in braneworlds with warped internal spaces: We investigate the vacuum energy density induced by quantum fluctuations of a\nbulk scalar field with general curvature coupling parameter on two codimension\none parallel branes in a $(D+1)$-dimensional background spacetime\n${\\mathrm{AdS}}_{D1+1}\\times \\Sigma $ with a warped internal space $\\Sigma $.\nIt is assumed that on the branes the field obeys Robin boundary conditions.\nUsing the generalized zeta function technique in combination with contour\nintegral representations, the surface energies on the branes are presented in\nthe form of the sums of single brane and second brane induced parts. For the\ngeometry of a single brane both regions, on the left (L-region) and on the\nright (R-region), of the brane are considered. The surface densities for\nseparate L- and R-regions contain pole and finite contributions. For an\ninfinitely thin brane taking these regions together, in odd spatial dimensions\nthe pole parts cancel and the total surface energy is finite. The parts in the\nsurface densities generated by the presence of the second brane are finite for\nall nonzero values of the interbrane separation. The contribution of the\nKaluza-Klein modes along $\\Sigma $ is investigated in various limiting cases.\nIt is shown that for large distances between the branes the induced surface\ndensities give rise to an exponentially suppressed cosmological constant on the\nbrane. In the higher dimensional generalization of the Randall-Sundrum\nbraneworld model, for the interbrane distances solving the hierarchy problem,\nthe cosmological constant generated on the visible brane is of the right order\nof magnitude with the value suggested by the cosmological observations.",
        "positive": "Soliton S matrices for the critical A_{N-1}^(1) chain: We compute by Bethe Ansatz both bulk and boundary hole scattering matrices\nfor the critical A_{N-1}^(1) quantum spin chain. The bulk S matrix coincides\nwith the soliton S matrix for the A_{N-1}^(1) Toda field theory with imaginary\ncoupling. We verify our result for the boundary S matrix using a generalization\nof the Ghoshal-Zamolodchikov boundary crossing relation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Classifying Supersymmetric Solutions in 3D Maximal Supergravity: String theory contains various extended objects. Among those, objects of\ncodimension two (such as the D7-brane) are particularly interesting.\nCodimension two objects carry non-Abelian charges which are elements of a\ndiscrete U-duality group and they may not admit a simple space-time\ndescription, in which case they are known as exotic branes. A complete\nclassification of consistent codimension two objects in string theory is\nmissing, even if we demand that they preserve some supersymmetry. As a step\ntoward such a classification, we study the supersymmetric solutions of 3D\nmaximal supergravity, which can be regarded as approximate description of the\ngeometry near codimension two objects. We present a complete classification of\nthe types of supersymmetric solutions that exist in this theory. We found that\nthis problem reduces to that of classifying nilpotent orbits associated with\nthe U-duality group, for which various mathematical results are known. We show\nthat the only allowed supersymmetric configurations are 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, and 1/16\nBPS, and determine the nilpotent orbits that they correspond to. One example of\n1/16 BPS configurations is a generalization of the MSW system, where momentum\nruns along the intersection of seven M5-branes. On the other hand, it turns out\nexceedingly difficult to translate this classification into a simple criterion\nfor supersymmetry in terms of the non-Abelian (monodromy) charges of the\nobjects. For example, it can happen that a supersymmetric solution exists\nlocally but cannot be extended all the way to the location of the object. To\nillustrate the various issues that arise in constructing supersymmetric\nsolutions, we present a number of explicit examples.",
        "positive": "Noncommutative gauge fields coupled to noncommutative gravity: We present a noncommutative (NC) version of the action for vielbein gravity\ncoupled to gauge fields. Noncommutativity is encoded in a twisted star product\nbetween forms, with a set of commuting background vector fields defining the\n(abelian) twist. A first order action for the gauge fields avoids the use of\nthe Hodge dual. The NC action is invariant under diffeomorphisms and twisted\ngauge transformations. The Seiberg-Witten map, adapted to our geometric setting\nand generalized for an arbitrary abelian twist, allows to re-express the NC\naction in terms of classical fields: the result is a deformed action, invariant\nunder diffeomorphisms and usual gauge transformations. This deformed action is\na particular higher derivative extension of the Einstein-Hilbert action coupled\nto Yang-Mills fields, and to the background vector fields defining the twist.\nHere noncommutativity of the original NC action dictates the precise form of\nthis extension. We explicitly compute the first order correction in the NC\nparameter of the deformed action, and find that it is proportional to cubic\nproducts of the gauge field strength and to the symmetric anomaly tensor\nD_{IJK}."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On higher derivative gravity, c-theorems and cosmology: We consider higher derivative gravity lagrangians in 3 and 4 dimensions,\nwhich admit simple c-theorems, including upto six derivative curvature\ninvariants. Following a suggestion by Myers, these lagrangians are restricted\nsuch that the fluctuations around (anti) de Sitter spaces have second order\nlinearized equations of motion. We study c-theorems both in the context of\nAdS/CFT and cosmology. In the context of cosmology, the monotonic function is\nthe entropy defined on the apparent horizon through Wald's formula. Exact black\nhole solutions which are asymptotically (anti) de Sitter are presented. An\ninteresting lower bound for entropy is found in de Sitter space. Some aspects\nof cosmology in both D=3 and D=4 are discussed.",
        "positive": "A Comment on Jones Inclusions with infinite Index: Given an irreducible inclusion of infinite von-Neumann-algebras $\\cn \\subset\n\\cm$ together with a conditional expectation $ E : \\cm \\rightarrow \\cm $ such\nthat the inclusion has depth 2, we show quite explicitely how $\\cn $ can be\nviewed as the fixed point algebra of $\\cm$ w.r.t. an outer action of a compact\nKac-algebra acting on $\\cm$. This gives an alternative proof, under this\nspecial setting of a more general result of M. Enock and R. Nest, [E-N], see\nalso S. Yamagami, [Ya2]."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fermion number non-conservation and gravity: It is shown that in the Einstein-Yang-Mills (EYM) theory, as well as in the\npure flat space Yang-Mills (YM) theory, there always exists an opportunity to\npass over the potential barrier separating homotopically distinct vacuum\nsectors, because the barrier height may be arbitrarily small. However, at low\nenergies all the overbarrier histories are suppressed by the destructive\ninterference. In the pure YM theory the situation remains the same for any\nenergies. In the EYM theory on the other hand, when the energy is large and\nexceeds the ground state EYM sphaleron mass, the constructive interference\noccurs instead. This means that in the extreme high energy limit the\nexponential suppression of the fermion number violation in pure YM theory is\nremoved due to gravitational effects.",
        "positive": "Some Exact Results in QCD-like Theories: I propose a controlled approximation to QCD-like theories with massless\nquarks by employing supersymmetric QCD perturbed by anomaly-mediated\nsupersymmetry breaking. They have identical massless particle contents. Thanks\nto the ultraviolet-insensitivity of anomaly mediation, dynamics can be worked\nout exactly when $m \\ll \\Lambda$, where $m$ is the size of supersymmetry\nbreaking and $\\Lambda$ the dynamical scale of the gauge theory. I demonstrate\nthat chiral symmetry is dynamically broken for $N_{f} \\leq \\frac{3}{2} N_{c}$\nwhile the theories lead to non-trivial infrared fixed points for larger number\nof flavors. While there may be a phase transition as $m$ is increased beyond\n$\\Lambda$, qualitative agreements with expectations in QCD are encouraging and\nsuggest that two limits $m \\ll \\Lambda$ and $m \\gg \\Lambda$ may be in the same\nuniversality class."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Covariant action for M5 brane in nonrelativistic M-theory: We construct the nonrelativistic covariant world-volume action for a single\nM5 brane of $ D=11 $ supergravity in M-theory. The corresponding non-Lorentzian\n(NL) background possesses a codimension three foliation and is identified as\nthe Membrane Newton-Cartan manifold in the presence of background fluxes that\nare suitably expanded in $ 1/c^2 $ expansion. We also expand the associated\nworld-volume fields in $ 1/c^2 $ expansion. The above procedure eventually\nresults into a well defined world-volume action that is coupled to Membrane\nNewton-Cartan background.",
        "positive": "Modified Supergravity and Early Universe: the Meeting Point of Cosmology\n  and High-Energy Physics: We review the new theory of modified supergravity, dubbed F(\\cal R)\nsupergravity, and some of its recent applications to inflation and reheating in\nthe early universe cosmology. The F(\\cal R) supergravity is the N=1 locally\nsupersymmetric extension of the f(R) gravity in four space-time dimensions. A\nmanifestly supersymmetric formulation of the F(\\cal R) supergravity exist in\nterms of N=1 superfields, by using the (old) minimal Poincar'e supergravity in\ncurved superspace. We find the conditions for stability, the absence of ghosts\nand tachyons. Three models of the F(\\cal R) supergravity are studied. The first\nexample is devoted to a recovery of the standard (pure) N=1 supergravity with a\nnegative cosmological constant from the F(\\cal R) supergravity. As the second\nexample, a generic {\\cal R}^2-type supergravity is investigated, and the\nexistence of the AdS bound on the scalar curvature is found. As the third (and\nmost important) example, a simple viable realization of chaotic inflation in\nsupergravity is found. Our approach is {\\it minimalistic} since it does not\nintroduce new exotic fields or new interactions, beyond those already present\nin (super)gravity. The universal reheating mechanism is automatic. We establish\nthe consistency of our approach and also apply it to preheating and reheating\nafter inflation. The Higgs inflation and its correspondence to the Starobinsky\ninflation is established in the context of supergravity. We briefly review\nother relevant issues such as non-Gaussianity, CP-violation, origin of baryonic\nasymmetry, lepto- and baryo-genesis. The F(\\cal R) supergravity has promise for\npossible solutions to those outstanding problems too."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The effective potential of the confinement order parameter in the\n  Hamiltonian approach: The effective potential of the order parameter for confinement is calculated\nfor SU(N) Yang--Mills theory in the Hamiltonian approach. Compactifying one\nspatial dimension and using a background gauge fixing, this potential is\nobtained within a variational approach by minimizing the energy density for\ngiven background field. In this formulation the inverse length of the\ncompactified dimension represents the temperature. Using Gaussian trial wave\nfunctionals we establish an analytic relation between the propagators in the\nbackground gauge at finite temperature and the corresponding zero-temperature\npropagators in Coulomb gauge. In the simplest truncation, neglecting the ghost\nand using the ultraviolet form of the gluon energy, we recover the Weiss\npotential. We explicitly show that the omission of the ghost drastically\nincreases the transition temperature. From the full non-perturbative potential\n(with the ghost included) we extract a critical temperature of the\ndeconfinement phase transition of 269 MeV for the gauge group SU(2) and 283 MeV\nfor SU(3).",
        "positive": "Bicovariant differential calculus on quantum groups from Poisson Lie\n  structures: The aim of this lecture is to give a pedagogical explanation of the notion of\na Poisson Lie structure on the external algebra of a Poisson Lie group which\nwas introduced in our previous papers. Using this notion as a guide we\nconstruct quantum external algebras on $SL_q(N)$ with proper (classical)\ndimension."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dissociation by acceleration: We show that mesons, described using rotating relativistic strings in a\nholographic setup, undergo dissociation when their acceleration 'a' exceeds a\nvalue which scales with the angular momentum 'J' as a_max ~ \\sqrt{T_s/J}, where\n'T_s' is the string tension.",
        "positive": "Sequential deconfinement and self-dualities in $4d$ $\\mathcal{N}\\!=\\!1$\n  gauge theories: We apply the technique of sequential deconfinement to the four dimensional\n$\\mathcal{N}\\!=\\!1$ $Usp(2N)$ gauge theory with an antisymmetric field and $2F$\nfundamentals. The fully deconfined frame is a length-$N$ quiver. We use this\ndeconfined frame to prove the known self-duality of $Usp(2N)$ with an\nantisymmetric field and $8$ fundamentals. Along the way we encounter a\nsubtlety: in certain quivers with degenerate holomorphic operators, a naive\napplication of Seiberg duality rules leads to an incorrect superpotential or\nchiral ring.\n  We also consider the reduction to $3d$ $\\mathcal{N}\\!=\\!2$ theories,\nrecovering known fully deconfined duals of $Usp(2N)$ and $U(N)$ gauge theories,\nand obtaining new ones."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "4d $\\mathcal{N} = 1$/2d Yang-Mills Duality in Holography: We study the supergravity dual of four-dimensional ${\\mathcal{N}=1}$\nsuperconformal field theories arising from wrapping M5-branes on a K\\\"ahler\ntwo-cycle inside a Calabi-Yau threefold. We derive an effective\nthree-dimensional theory living on the cobordism between the infrared and\nultraviolet Riemann surfaces, describing the renormalization group flows\nbetween AdS$_7$ and AdS$_{5}$ as well as between different AdS$_{5}$ fixed\npoints. The realization of this system as an effective theory is convenient to\nmake connections to known theories, and we show that upon imposing (physical)\ninfrared boundary conditions, the effective three-dimensional theory further\nreduces to two-dimensional $SU(2)$ Yang-Mills theory on the Riemann surface,\nthus deriving a correspondence between the gravity duals of a class of\n$\\mathcal{N}=1$ superconformal field theories arising from wrapping M5-branes\non a Riemann surface and two-dimensional Yang-Mills theory on the same Riemann\nsurface.",
        "positive": "Quantum field theory in generalised Snyder spaces: We discuss the generalisation of the Snyder model that includes all possible\ndeformations of the Heisenberg algebra compatible with Lorentz invariance and\ninvestigate its properties. We calculate peturbatively the law of addition of\nmomenta and the star product in the general case. We also undertake the\nconstruction of a scalar field theory on these noncommutative spaces showing\nthat the free theory is equivalent to the commutative one, like in other models\nof noncommutative QFT."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fermionic determinant with a linear domain wall in 2+1 dimensions: We consider a Dirac field in 2+1 Euclidean dimensions, in the presence of a\nlinear domain wall defect in its mass, and a constant electromagnetic field. We\nevaluate the exact fermionic determinant for the situation where the defect is\nassumed to be rectilinear, static, and the gauge field is minimally coupled to\nthe fermions. We discuss the dependence of the result on the (unique)\nindependent geometrical parameter of this system, namely, the relative\norientation of the wall and the direction of the external field. We apply the\nresult for the determinant to the evaluation of the vacuum energy.",
        "positive": "Classical String Solitons: We discuss some recent work in the field of classical solitonic solutions in\nstring theory. In particular, we construct instanton and monopole solutions and\ndiscuss the dynamics of string-like solitons. Some of the motivation behind\nthis work is that instantons may provide a nonperturbative understanding of the\nvacuum structure of string theory, while monopoles may appear in string\npredictions for grand unification. The string-like solitons represent extended\nstates of fundamental strings. The essential role of supersymmetry in both the\nsaturation of the Bogomol'nyi bound and in the cancellation of higher order\ncorrections is emphasized. (Talk given at the International Workshop: ``Recent\nAdvances in the Superworld'', Houston Advanced Research Center, The Woodlands,\nTX, April 14-16, 1993.)"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Finitely Many Dirac-Delta Interactions on Riemannian Manifolds: This work is intended as an attempt to study the non-perturbative\nrenormalization of bound state problem of finitely many Dirac-delta\ninteractions on Riemannian manifolds, S^2, H^2 and H^3. We formulate the\nproblem in terms of a finite dimensional matrix, called the characteristic\nmatrix. The bound state energies can be found from the characteristic equation.\nThe characteristic matrix can be found after a regularization and\nrenormalization by using a sharp cut-off in the eigenvalue spectrum of the\nLaplacian, as it is done in the flat space, or using the heat kernel method.\nThese two approaches are equivalent in the case of compact manifolds. The heat\nkernel method has a general advantage to find lower bounds on the spectrum even\nfor compact manifolds as shown in the case of S^2. The heat kernels for H^2 and\nH^3 are known explicitly, thus we can calculate the characteristic matrix.\nUsing the result, we give lower bound estimates of the discrete spectrum.",
        "positive": "Casimir effect in rugby-ball type flux compactifications: As a continuation of the work in \\cite{mns}, we discuss the Casimir effect\nfor a massless bulk scalar field in a 4D toy model of a 6D warped flux\ncompactification model,to stabilize the volume modulus. The one-loop effective\npotential for the volume modulus has a form similar to the Coleman-Weinberg\npotential. The stability of the volume modulus against quantum corrections is\nrelated to an appropriate heat kernel coefficient. However, to make any\nphysical predictions after volume stabilization, knowledge of the derivative of\nthe zeta function, $\\zeta'(0)$ (in a conformally related spacetime) is also\nrequired. By adding up the exact mass spectrum using zeta function\nregularization, we present a revised analysis of the effective potential.\nFinally, we discuss some physical implications, especially concerning the\ndegree of the hierarchy between the fundamental energy scales on the branes.\nFor a larger degree of warping our new results are very similar to the previous\nones \\cite{mns} and imply a larger hierarchy. In the non-warped (rugby-ball)\nlimit the ratio tends to converge to the same value, independently of the bulk\ndilaton coupling."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Massive spin-2 particles via embedment of the Fierz-Pauli equations of\n  motion: Here we obtain alternative descriptions of massive spin-2 particles by an\nembedding procedure of the Fierz-Pauli equations of motion. All models are free\nof ghosts at quadratic level although most of them are of higher order in\nderivatives. The models that we obtain can be nonlinearly completed in terms of\na dynamic and a fixed metric. They include some $f(R)$ massive gravities\nrecently considered in the literature. In some cases there is an infrared (no\nderivative) modification of the Fierz-Pauli mass term altogether with higher\norder terms in derivatives. The analytic structure of the propagator of the\ncorresponding free theories is not affected by the extra terms in the action as\ncompared to the usual second order Fierz-Pauli theory.",
        "positive": "The string-junction picture of multiquark states: an update: We recall and update, both theoretically and phenomenologically, our (nearly)\nforty-years-old proposal of a string-junction as a necessary complement to the\nconventional classification of hadrons based just on their quark-antiquark\nconstituents. In that proposal single (though in general metastable) hadronic\nstates are associated with \"irreducible\" gauge-invariant operators consisting\nof Wilson lines (visualized as strings of color flux tubes) that may either end\non a quark or an antiquark, or annihilate in triplets at a junction $J$ or an\nanti-junction $\\bar{J}$. For the junction-free sector (ordinary $q\\, \\bar{q}$\nmesons and glueballs) the picture is supported by large-$N$ (number of colors)\nconsiderations as well as by a lattice strong-coupling expansion. Both imply\nthe famous OZI rule suppressing quark-antiquark annihilation diagrams. For\nhadrons with $J$ and/or $\\bar{J}$ constituents the same expansions support our\nproposal, including its generalization of the OZI rule to the suppression of\n$J-\\bar{J}$ annihilation diagrams. Such a rule implies that hadrons with\njunctions are \"mesophobic\" and thus unusually narrow if they are below\nthreshold for decaying into as many baryons as their total number of junctions\n(two for a tetraquark, three for a pentaquark). Experimental support for our\nclaim, based on the observation that narrow multiquark states typically lie\nbelow (well above) the relevant baryonic (mesonic) thresholds, will be\npresented."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Localization of scalar fields on self-gravitating thick branes: The model of a domain wall (\"thick\" brane) in noncompact five-dimensional\nspace-time is considered with geometries of $AdS_5$ type generated by\nself-interacting scalar matter. The scalar matter is composed of two fields\nwith O(2) symmetric self interaction. One of them is mixed with gravity scalar\nmodes and plays role of the brane formation mode (due to a kink background) and\nanother one is of a Higgs-field type. The interplay between soft breaking of\nO(2) symmetry and gravity influence is thoroughly investigated around the\ncritical point of spontaneous $\\tau$ symmetry breaking when the v.e.v. of the\nHiggs-type scalar field occurs. The possibility of (quasi)localization of\nscalar modes on such thick branes is examined.",
        "positive": "Perturbative study of the QCD phase diagram for heavy quarks at nonzero\n  chemical potential: We investigate the phase diagram of QCD with heavy quarks at finite\ntemperature and chemical potential in the context of background field methods.\nIn particular, we use a massive extension of the Landau-DeWitt gauge which is\nmotivated by previous studies of the deconfinement phase transition in pure\nYang-Mills theories. We show that a simple one-loop calculation is able to\ncapture the richness of the phase diagram in the heavy quark region, both at\nreal and imaginary chemical potential. Moreover, dimensionless ratios of\nquantities directly measurable in numerical simulations are in good agreement\nwith lattice results."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gravitational Forces on a Codimension-2 Brane: We compute the gravitational response of six dimensional gauged, chiral\nsupergravity to localized stress energy on one of two space-filling branes,\nincluding the effects of compactifying the extra dimensions and brane\nback-reaction. We find a broad class of exact solutions, including various\nblack-brane solutions. Several approximate solutions are also described, such\nas the near-horizon geometry of a small black hole which is argued to be\napproximately described by a 6D Schwarzschild (or Kerr) black hole, with event\nhorizon appropriately modified to encode the brane back-reaction. The general\nlinearized far-field solutions are found in the 4D regime very far from the\nsource, and all integration constants are related to physical quantities\ndescribing the branes and the localized energy source. The localized source\ndetermines two of these, corresponding to the source mass and the size of the\nstrength of a coupling to a 4D scalar mode whose mass is parametrically smaller\nthan the KK scale. At large distances the solutions agree with those of 4D\ngeneral relativity, but for an intermediate range of distances (larger than the\nKK scale) the solutions better fit a Brans-Dicke theory. For a realistic choice\nof parameters the KK scale could lie at a micron, while the crossover to\nBrans-Dicke behaviour could occur at around 10 microns. While allowed by\npresent data this points to potentially measurable changes to Newton's Law\narising at distances larger than the KK scale.",
        "positive": "Exact solution of the $A^{(1)}_{n-1}$ trigonometric vertex model with\n  non-diagonal open boundaries: The $A^{(1)}_{n-1}$ trigonometric vertex model with {\\it generic\nnon-diagonal} boundaries is studied. The double-row transfer matrix of the\nmodel is diagonalized by algebraic Bethe ansatz method in terms of the\nintertwiner and the corresponding face-vertex relation. The eigenvalues and the\ncorresponding Bethe ansatz equations are obtained."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Black Hole Nilpotent Orbits and Tits Satake Universality Classes: In this paper we consider the problem of classification of nilpotent orbits\nfor the pseudo-quaternionic coset manifolds U/H* obtained in the time-like\ndimensional reduction of N = 2 supergravity models based on homogeneous\nsymmetric special geometries. Within the D=3 approach this classification\namounts to a classification of regular and singular extremal black hole\nsolutions of supergravity. We show that the pattern of such orbits is a\nuniversal property depending only on the Tits-Satake universality class of the\nconsidered model, the number of such classes being five. We present a new\nalgorithm for the classification and construction of the nilpotent orbits for\neach universality class which is based on an essential use of the Weyl group W\nof the Tits Satake subalgebra U_{TS} of U and on a certain subgroup W_H\nthereof. The splitting of orbits of the full group Uinto suborbits with respect\nto the stability subgroup H* is shown to be governed by the structure of the\ndiscrete coset W/W_H. For the case of the universality class SO(4,5) /[SO(2,3)\nx SO(2,2)] we derive the complete list of nilpotent orbits which happens to\ncontain 37 elements. We also show how the universal orbits are regularly\nembedded in all the members of the class that are infinite in number. As a\nmatter of check we apply our new algorithm also to the Tits Satake class\nG_(2,2)/[SL(2)x SL(2)] confirming the previously obtained result encompassing 7\nnilpotent orbits. Perspectives for future developments based on the obtained\nresults are outlined.",
        "positive": "Hypercharge Flux in IIB and F-theory: Anomalies and Gauge Coupling\n  Unification: We analyse hypercharge flux GUT breaking in F-theory/Type IIB GUT models with\nregards to its implications for anomaly cancellation and gauge coupling\nunification. To this aim we exploit the Type IIB limit and consider 7-brane\nconfigurations that for the first time are guaranteed to exhibit net\nhypercharge flux restriction to matter curves. We show that local F-theory\nmodels with anomalies of type U(1)_Y-U(1)^2 in the massless spectrum can be\nconsistent only if such additional U(1)s are globally geometrically massive (in\nthe sense that they arise from non-Kahler deformations of the Calabi-Yau\nfour-fold). Further, in such cases of geometrically massive U(1)s hypercharge\nflux can induce new anomalies of type U(1)_Y^2-U(1) in the massless spectrum,\nviolating constraints in local models forbidding such anomalies. In particular\nthis implies that it is possible to construct models exhibiting a U(1)_{PQ}\nglobal symmetry which have hypercharge flux doublet-triplet splitting and no\nfurther exotics. We also show that the known hypercharge flux induced splitting\nof the gauge couplings in IIB models at tree-level can be reduced by a factor\nof 5 by employing a more F-theoretic twisting of U(1) flux by hypercharge flux\nbringing it to well within MSSM 2-loop results. In the case of net restriction\nof hypercharge flux to matter curves this tree-level splitting becomes more\ninvolved, is tied to the vacuum expectation values of certain closed-string\nfields, and therefore gauge coupling unification becomes tied to the question\nof moduli stabilisation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-minimal derivative couplings and inflation in supergravity: In this article we motivate and review the embedding of the gravitationally\nenhanced friction mechanism in supergravity. The very interesting feature is\nthat inflationary models which utilize this mechanism drive inflation for a\nwider range of parameter values and predict lower values for the\ntensor-to-scalar ratio.",
        "positive": "5d gauge theories on orbifolds and 4d 't Hooft line indices: We study indices for 5d gauge theories on S^1 \\times S^4/Z_n. In the large\norbifold limit, n \\rightarrow \\infty, we find evidence that the indices become\n4d indices in the presence of a 't Hooft line operator. The non-perturbative\npart of the index poses some subtleties when being compared to the 4d monopole\nbubbling which happens in the presence of 't Hooft line operators. We study\nsuch monopole bubbling indices and find an interesting connection to the\nHilbert series of the moduli space of instantons on an auxiliary ALE space."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Annihilation of Anti- de Sitter Universe: We discuss the role of conformal matter quantum effects (using large $N$\nanomaly induced effective action) to creation-annihilation of an Anti-de Sitter\nUniverse. The arbitrary GUT with conformally invariant content of fields is\nconsidered. On a purely gravitational (supersymmetric) AdS background, the\nquantum effects act against an (already existing) AdS Universe. The\nannihilation of such a Universe occurs, what is common for any conformal matter\ntheory. On a dilaton-gravitational background, where there is dilatonic\ncontribution to the induced effective action, the quantum creation of an AdS\nUniverse is possible assuming fine-tuning of the dilaton.",
        "positive": "WZW models as mutual super Poisson-Lie T-dual sigma models: A WZW model on the Lie supergroup (C3+A) is constructed. It is shown that\nthis model contains super Poisson-Lie symmetry with the dual Lie supergroup C3\n+ A1,1|.i. Furthermore, we show that the dual model is also equivalent to the\nWZW model on isomorphic Lie supergroup (C3+A).i. In this manner, because of\nisomorphism of the (C3+A) with a Manin supertriple, it is shown that the\nN=(2,2) structure is preserved under the super Poisson-Lie T-duality\ntransformation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spectra of Coset Sigma Models: We compute the complete 1-loop spectrum of anomalous dimensions for the bulk\nfields of non-linear sigma models on symmetric coset (super)spaces G/H, both\nwith and without world-sheet supersymmetry. In addition, we provide two new\nmethods for the construction of partition functions in the infinite radius\nlimit and demonstrate their efficiency in the case of (super)sphere sigma\nmodels. Our results apply to a large number of target spaces including\nsuperspheres and superprojective spaces such as the N=2 sigma model on CP(3|4).",
        "positive": "Cancellation of divergences up to three loops in exceptional field\n  theory: We consider the tetrahedral three-loop diagram in $E_d$ exceptional field\ntheory evaluated as a scalar diagram for four external gravitons. At lowest\norder in momenta, this diagram contributes to the $\\nabla^6 R^4$ term in the\nlow-energy effective action for M-theory. We evaluate explicitly the sums over\nthe discrete exceptional field theory loop momenta that become sums over\n1/2-BPS states in the compact exceptional space. These sums can be rewritten as\nEisenstein series that solve the homogeneous differential equations that\nsupersymmetry implies for the $\\nabla^6 R^4$ coupling. We also show how our\nresults, even though sums over 1/2-BPS states, are consistent with expected\n1/4-BPS contributions to the couplings."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Algebraic renormalization of N=2 Super Yang-Mills theories coupled to\n  matter: We study the algebraic renormalization of $N=2$ Supersymmetric Yang--Mills\ntheories coupled to matter. A regularization procedure preserving both the BRS\ninvariance and the supersymmetry is not known yet, therefore it is necessary to\nadopt the algebraic method of renormalization, which does not rely on any\nregularization scheme. The whole analysis is reduced to the solution of\ncohomology problems arising from the generalized Slavnov operator which\nsummarizes all the symmetries of the model. Besides to unphysical\nrenormalizations of the quantum fields, we find that the only coupling constant\nof $N=2$ SYMs can get quantum corrections. Moreover we prove that all the\nsymmetries defining the theory are algebraically anomaly--free.",
        "positive": "On Subleading Contributions to the AdS/CFT Trace Anomaly: In the context of the AdS/CFT correspondence, we perform a direct computation\nin AdS_5 supergravity of the trace anomaly of a d=4, N=2 SCFT. We find\nagreement with the field theory result up to next to leading order in the 1/N\nexpansion. In particular, the order N gravitational contribution to the anomaly\nis obtained from a Riemann tensor squared term in the 7-brane effective action\ndeduced from heterotic - type I duality. We also discuss, in the AdS/CFT\ncontext, the order N corrections to the trace anomaly in d=4, N=4 SCFTs\ninvolving SO or Sp gauge groups."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Landau-Khalatnikov-Fradkin transformation in three-dimensional quenched\n  QED: We study the gauge-covariance of the massless fermion propagator in\nthree-dimensional quenched Quantum Electrodynamics in the framework of\ndimensional regularization in d=3-2\\ep. Assuming the finiteness of the quenched\nperturbative expansion, that is the existence of the limit \\ep \\to 0, we state\nthat, exactly in d=3, all odd perturbative coefficients, starting with the\nthird order one, should be zero in any gauge.",
        "positive": "Spinor-Vector Duality in Heterotic String Orbifolds: The three generation heterotic-string models in the free fermionic\nformulation are among the most realistic string vacua constructed to date,\nwhich motivated their detailed investigation. The classification of free\nfermion heterotic string vacua has revealed a duality under the exchange of\nspinor and vector representations of the SO(10) GUT symmetry over the space of\nmodels. We demonstrate the existence of the spinor-vector duality using\norbifold techniques, and elaborate on the relation of these vacua to free\nfermionic models."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Calabi-Yau Landscape: from Geometry, to Physics, to Machine-Learning: We present a pedagogical introduction to the recent advances in the\ncomputational geometry, physical implications, and data science of Calabi-Yau\nmanifolds. Aimed at the beginning research student and using Calabi-Yau spaces\nas an exciting play-ground, we intend to teach some mathematics to the budding\nphysicist, some physics to the budding mathematician, and some machine-learning\nto both. Based on various lecture series, colloquia and seminars given by the\nauthor in the past year, this writing is a very preliminary draft of a book to\nappear with Springer, by whose kind permission we post to ArXiv for comments\nand suggestions.",
        "positive": "Path integral action and Chern-Simons quantum mechanics in\n  noncommutative plane: In this paper, the connection between the path integral representation of\npropagators in the coherent state basis with additional degrees of freedom\n\\cite{rohwer} and the one without any such degrees of freedom \\cite{sgfgs} is\nestablished. We further demonstrate that the path integral formalism developed\nin the noncommutative plane using the coherent state basis leads to a quantum\nmechanics involving a Chern-Simons term in momentum which is of noncommutative\norigin. The origin of this term from the Bopp-shift point of view is also\ninvestigated. A relativistic generalization of the action derived from the path\nintegral framework is then proposed. Finally, we construct a map from the\ncommutative quantum Hall system to a particle in a noncommutative plane moving\nin a magnetic field. The value of the noncommutative parameter from this map is\nthen computed and is found to agree with previous results."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dynamics of Effective Gluons: Renormalized Hamiltonians for gluons are constructed using a perturbative\nboost-invariant renormalization group procedure for effective particles in\nlight-front QCD, including terms up to third order. The effective gluons and\ntheir Hamiltonians depend on the renormalization group parameter lambda, which\ndefines the width of momentum space form factors that appear in the\nrenormalized Hamiltonian vertices. Third-order corrections to the three-gluon\nvertex exhibit asymptotic freedom, but the rate of change of the vertex with\nlambda depends in a finite way on regularization of small-x singularities. This\ndependence is shown in some examples, and a class of regularizations with two\ndistinct scales in x is found to lead to the Hamiltonian running coupling\nconstant whose dependence on lambda matches the known perturbative result from\nLagrangian calculus for the dependence of gluon three-point Green's function on\nthe running momentum scale at large scales. In the Fock space basis of\neffective gluons with small lambda, the vertex form factors suppress\ninteractions with large kinetic energy changes and thus remove direct couplings\nof low energy constituents to high energy components in the effective bound\nstate dynamics. This structure is reminiscent of parton and constituent models\nof hadrons.",
        "positive": "Loop Equations for + and - Loops in c = 1/2 Non-Critical String Theory: New loop equations for all genera in $c = \\frac{1}{2}$ non-critical string\ntheory are constructed. Our loop equations include two types of loops, loops\nwith all Ising spins up (+ loops) and those with all spins down ( $-$ loops).\nThe loop equations generate an algebra which is a certain extension of $W_3$\nalgebra and are equivalent to the $W_3$ constraints derived before in the\nmatrix-model formulation of 2d gravity. Application of these loop equations to\nconstruction of Hamiltonian for $c = \\frac{1}{2}$ string field theory is\nconsidered."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On exact correlation functions in SU(N) ${\\cal N} = 2$ superconformal\n  QCD: We consider the exact coupling constant dependence of extremal correlation\nfunctions of ${\\cal N} = 2$ chiral primary operators in 4d ${\\cal N} = 2$\nsuperconformal gauge theories with gauge group SU(N) and N_f=2N massless\nfundamental hypermultiplets. The 2- and 3-point functions, viewed as functions\nof the exactly marginal coupling constant and theta angle, obey the tt*\nequations. In the case at hand, the tt* equations form a set of complicated\nnon-linear coupled matrix equations. We point out that there is an ad hoc\nself-consistent ansatz that reduces this set of partial differential equations\nto a sequence of decoupled semi-infinite Toda chains, similar to the one\nencountered previously in the special case of SU(2) gauge group. This ansatz\nrequires a surprising new non-renormalization theorem in ${\\cal N} = 2$\nsuperconformal field theories. We derive a general 3-loop perturbative formula\nfor 2- and 3-point functions in the ${\\cal N} = 2$ chiral ring of the SU(N)\ntheory, and in all explicitly computed examples we find agreement with the tt*\nequations, as well as the above-mentioned ansatz. This is suggestive evidence\nfor an interesting non-perturbative conjecture about the structure of the\n${\\cal N} = 2$ chiral ring in this class of theories. We discuss several\nimplications of this conjecture. For example, it implies that the holonomy of\nthe vector bundles of chiral primaries over the superconformal manifold is\nreducible. It also implies that a specific subset of extremal correlation\nfunctions can be computed in the SU(N) theory using information solely from the\nS^4 partition function of the theory obtained by supersymmetric localization.",
        "positive": "Gravitational Wave Constraints on Multi-Brane Inflation: A class of non-canonical inflationary models is identified, where the\nleading-order contribution to the non-Gaussianity of the curvature perturbation\nis determined by the sound speed of the fluctuations in the inflaton field.\nIncluded in this class of models is the effective action for multiple\ncoincident branes in the finite n limit. The action for this configuration is\ndetermined using a powerful iterative technique, based upon the fundamental\nrepresentation of SU(2). In principle the upper bounds on the tensor-scalar\nratio that arise in the standard, single-brane DBI inflationary scenario can be\nrelaxed in such multi-brane configurations if a large and detectable\nnon-Gaussianity is generated. Moreover models with a small number of coincident\nbranes could generate a gravitational wave background that will be observable\nto future experiments."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Gauge Enhancement and Singular Limits in $G_2$ Compactifications of\n  M-theory: We study the physics of singular limits of $G_2$ compactifications of\nM-theory, which are necessary to obtain a compactification with non-abelian\ngauge symmetry or massless charged particles. This is more difficult than for\nCalabi-Yau compactifications, due to the absence of calibrated two-cycles that\nwould have allowed for direct control of W-boson masses as a function of\nmoduli. Instead, we study the relationship between gauge enhancement and\nsingular limits in $G_2$ moduli space where an associative or coassociative\nsubmanifold shrinks to zero size; this involves the physics of topological\ndefects and sometimes gives indirect control over particle masses, even though\nthey are not BPS. We show how a lemma of Joyce associates the class of a\nthree-cycle to any $U(1)$ gauge theory in a smooth $G_2$ compactification. If\nthere is an appropriate associative submanifold in this class then in the limit\nof nonabelian gauge symmetry it may be interpreted as a gauge theory\nworldvolume and provides the location of the singularities associated with\nnon-abelian gauge or matter fields. We identify a number of gauge enhancement\nscenarios related to calibrated submanifolds, including Coulomb branches and\nnon-isolated conifolds, and also study examples that realize them.",
        "positive": "Everything is Entangled: We show that big bang cosmology implies a high degree of entanglement of\nparticles in the universe. In fact, a typical particle is entangled with many\nparticles far outside our horizon. However, the entanglement is spread nearly\nuniformly so that two randomly chosen particles are unlikely to be directly\nentangled with each other -- the reduced density matrix describing any pair is\nlikely to be separable."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Example of quantum systems reduction: To solve the quantum-mechanical problem the procedure of mapping onto linear\nspace $W$ of generators of the (sub)group violated by given classical\ntrajectory is formulated. The formalism is illustrated by the plane H-atom\nmodel. The problem is solved noting conservation of the Runge-Lentz vector $n$\nand reducing the 4-dimensional incident phase space $T$ to the 3-dimensional\nlinear subspace $W=T^* V\\times R^1$, where $T^* V$ is the (angular momentum\n($l$) - angle ($\\vp$)) phase space and $R^1 =n$. It is shown explicitly that\n(i) the motion in $R^1$ is pure classical as the consequence of the reduction,\n(ii) motion in the $\\vp$ direction is classical since the Kepler orbits are\nclosed independently from initial conditions and (iii) motion in the $l$\ndirection is classical since all corresponding quantum corrections are defined\non the bifurcation line ($l=\\infty$) of the problem. In our terms the H-atom\nproblem is exactly quasiclassical and is completely integrable by this reasons.",
        "positive": "Large-N reduction for N=2 quiver Chern-Simons theories on S^3 and\n  localization in matrix models: We study reduced matrix models obtained by the dimensional reduction of N=2\nquiver Chern-Simons theories on S^3 to zero dimension and show that if a\nreduced model is expanded around a particular multiple fuzzy sphere background,\nit becomes equivalent to the original theory on S^3 in the large-N limit. This\nis regarded as a novel large-N reduction on a curved space S^3. We perform the\nlocalization method to the reduced model and compute the free energy and the\nvacuum expectation value of a BPS Wilson loop operator. In the large-N limit,\nwe find an exact agreement between these results and those in the original\ntheory on S^3."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Canonical sectors of five-dimensional Chern-Simons theories: The dynamics of five-dimensional Chern-Simons theories is analyzed. These\ntheories are characterized by intricate self couplings which give rise to\ndynamical features not present in standard theories. As a consequence, Dirac's\ncanonical formalism cannot be directly applied due to the presence of\ndegeneracies of the symplectic form and irregularities of the constraints on\nsome surfaces of phase space, obscuring the dynamical content of these\ntheories. Here we identify conditions that define sectors where the canonical\nformalism can be applied for a class of non-Abelian Chern-Simons theories,\nincluding supergravity. A family of solutions satisfying the canonical\nrequirements is explicitly found. The splitting between first and second class\nconstraints is performed around these backgrounds, allowing the construction of\nthe charge algebra, including its central extension.",
        "positive": "Renormalization in Coulomb gauge QCD: In the Coulomb gauge of QCD, the Hamiltonian contains a non-linear Christ-Lee\nterm, which may alternatively be derived from a careful treatment of ambiguous\nFeynman integrals at 2-loop order. We investigate how and if UV divergences\nfrom higher order graphs can be consistently absorbed by renormalization of the\nChrist-Lee term. We find that they cannot."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the symmetry orbits of black holes in non-linear sigma models: Breitenlohner, Maison and Gibbons claimed some time ago that all bona-fide\nfour dimensional asymptotically flat non-degenerate black holes are in a\nsymmetry orbit of the Schwarzschild/Kerr black hole in a large set of theories\nof gravity and matter. Their argument involved reducing the theory on a\ntime-like Killing vector field and analysing the resulting three dimensional\nsigma model of maps to a symmetric space $G/H$. In the construction of their\nproof, they conjectured the existence of a suitable $H$-transformation that\nalways remove the electromagnetic charges of the four dimensional black hole\nsolution. We show in this short note that such a transformation does not exist\nin general, and discuss a set of boundary conditions on the horizon for the\nscalar fields in the sigma model that yield black holes for which the result by\nBreitenlohner, Maison and Gibbons can be applied.",
        "positive": "Holographic calculation of entanglement entropy in the presence of\n  boundaries: When a spacetime has boundaries, the entangling surface does not have to be\nnecessarily compact and it may have boundaries as well. Then there appear a\nnew, boundary, contribution to the entanglement entropy due to the intersection\nof the entangling surface with the boundary of the spacetime. We study the\nboundary contribution to the logarithmic term in the entanglement entropy in\ndimensions $d=3$ and $d=4$ when the entangling surface is orthogonal to the\nboundary. In particular, we compute a boundary term in the entropy of\n${\\mathcal{N}}=4$ super-gauge multiplet at weak coupling. This result is\ncompared with the holographic calculation of the entropy based on the\nRyu-Takayanagi proposal adapted appropriately to the present situation. We find\na complete agreement between these two calculations provided the boundary\nconditions imposed on the gauge multiplet preserve $1/2$ of the supersymmetry\nand the extension of the boundary into the AdS bulk is a minimal hypersurface."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The dynamics of aloof baby Skyrmions: The aloof baby Skyrme model is a (2+1)-dimensional theory with solitons that\nare lightly bound. It is a low-dimensional analogue of a similar Skyrme model\nin (3+1)-dimensions, where the lightly bound solitons have binding energies\ncomparable to nuclei. A previous study of static solitons in the aloof baby\nSkyrme model revealed that multi-soliton bound states have a cluster structure,\nwith constituents that preserve their individual identities due to the\nshort-range repulsion and long-range attraction between solitons. Furthermore,\nthere are many different local energy minima that are all well-described by a\nsimple binary species particle model. In this paper we present the first\nresults on soliton dynamics in the aloof baby Skyrme model. Numerical field\ntheory simulations reveal that the lightly bound cluster structure results in a\nvariety of exotic soliton scattering events that are novel in comparison to\nstandard Skyrmion scattering. A dynamical version of the binary species point\nparticle model is shown to provide a good qualitative description of the\ndynamics.",
        "positive": "Integrating out the Dirac sea: Effective field theory approach to\n  exactly solvable four-fermion models: We use 1+1 dimensional large N Gross-Neveu models as a laboratory to derive\nmicroscopically effective Lagrangians for positive energy fermions only. When\napplied to baryons, the Euler-Lagrange equation for these effective theories\nassumes the form of a non-linear Dirac equation. Its solution reproduces the\nfull semi-classical results including the Dirac sea to any desired accuracy.\nDynamical effects from the Dirac sea are encoded in higher order derivative\nterms and multi-fermion interactions with perturbatively calculable, finite\ncoefficients. Characteristic differences between models with discrete and\ncontinuous chiral symmetry are observed and clarified."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Resonances of Kalb-Ramond field on symmetric and asymmetric thick branes: In this paper, we investigate the localization of the Kalb-Ramond field on\nsymmetric and asymmetric thick branes, which are generated by a background\nscalar field. In order to localize the Kalb-Ramond field, we introduce a\ncoupling with the background scalar field, and find that there exist some\nKaluza-Klein resonant modes. For the case of symmetric brane, we seek the\nresonances by using the relative probability method and transfer matrix method,\nand obtain the same result for the two methods. For the asymmetric case, we use\nthe transfer matrix method. We find that the number of resonances will decrease\nwith the increase of the asymmetry.",
        "positive": "Elliptic Calogero-Moser system from two dimensional current algebra: We show that elliptic Calogero-Moser system and its Lax operator found by\nKrichever can be obtained by Hamiltonian reduction from the integrable\nHamiltonian system on the cotangent bundle to the central extension of the\nalgebra of SL(N,C) currents.Elliptic deformation of Yang-Mills theory is\npresented."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-Linear Integral Equations for complex Affine Toda associated to\n  simply laced Lie algebras: A set of coupled non-linear integral equations is derived for a class of\nmodels connected with the quantum group $U_q(\\hat g)$ ($g$ simply laced Lie\nalgebra), which are solvable using the Bethe Ansatz; these equations describe\narbitrary excited states of a system with finite spatial length $L$. They\ngeneralize the Destri-De Vega equation for the Sine-Gordon/massive Thirring\nmodel to affine Toda field theory with imaginary coupling constant. As an\napplication, the central charge and all the conformal weights of the UV\nconformal field theory are extracted in a straightforward manner. The quantum\ngroup truncation for $q$ at a root of unity is discussed in detail; in the UV\nlimit we recover through this procedure the RCFTs with extended $W(g)$\nconformal symmetry.",
        "positive": "Analysis of the Entanglement with Centers: We begin from the quantization algebras and constraint for analyzing the\nchoice of centers in the first-order formulation without losing generality.\nThen we calculate the entanglement entropy in the non-interacting $p$-form\ntheory in $2p+2$ dimensional Euclidean flat background with an $S^{2p}$\nentangling surface. The universal term of the entanglement entropy in the\nnon-interacting $p$-form theory is determined in terms of the universal terms\nof the non-interacting zero-form theory. We also prove the strong subadditivity\nin the non-interacting theory with the non-trivial centers. Finally, we\ncalculate the mutual information with centers in two-dimensional conformal\nfield theory. The result shows that the mutual information is independent of\nthe choice of centers."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Symmetries of the N=4 SYM S-matrix: Under the assumption of a CSW generalization to loop amplitudes in N=4 SYM,\n(1) We prove that, formally the S-matrix is superconformal invariant to any\nloop order, and (2) We argue that superconformal symmetry survives\nregularization. More precisely, IR safe quantities constructed from the\nS-matrix are superconformal covariant. The IR divergences are regularized in a\nnew holomorphic anomaly friendly regularization. The CSW prescription is known\nto be valid for all tree level amplitudes and for one loop MHV amplitudes. In\nthese cases, our formal results do not rely on any assumptions.",
        "positive": "Duals for SU(N) SUSY gauge theories with an antisymmetric tensor: five\n  easy flavors: I consider N=1 supersymmetric SU(N_c) gauge theories with matter fields\nconsisting of one antisymmetric representation, five flavors, and enough\nanti-fundamental representations to cancel the gauge anomaly. Previous analyses\nare extended to the case of even N_c with no superpotential. Using holomorphy I\nshow that the theory has an interacting infrared fixed point for sufficiently\nlarge N_c. These theories are interesting due to the fact that in going from\nfive to four flavors the theory goes from a non-trivial infrared fixed point to\nconfinement, in contradistinction to SUSY QCD, but in analogy to the behavior\nexpected in non-SUSY QCD."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Magnetic Skyrmions coupled to fermions: The index theorem implies that there are fermionic states localized on a\nsoliton. Presence of these modes may significantly alter the pattern of\ninteraction between the solitons. As a particular example we investigate the\nchiral magnetic Skyrmions coupled to spin-isospin fermions. It is shown that\nthere are sequences of fermionic modes localized on the Skyrmions. We\ninvestigate the pattern of interaction between the soltions with localized\nmodes and proved the existence of stable system of magnetic Skyrmions bounded\nby the strong attractive dipole interaction mediated by the chargeless\nfermionic modes.",
        "positive": "Homotopy algebra of open-closed strings: This paper is a survey of our previous works on open-closed homotopy\nalgebras, together with geometrical background, especially in terms of\ncompactifications of configuration spaces (one of Fred's specialities) of\nRiemann surfaces, structures on loop spaces, etc. We newly present Merkulov's\ngeometric A_infty-structure [Internat. Math. Res. Notices (1999) 153--164,\narxiv:math/0001007] as a special example of an OCHA. We also recall the\nrelation of open-closed homotopy algebras to various aspects of deformation\ntheory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Type I Superstrings without D-branes: Notwithstanding the central role of D-branes in many recently proposed string\ndualities, several interesting type I vacua have been found without resorting\ndirectly to D-brane technology. In this talk, we analyze a three-generation\nSO(8)xU(12) chiral type I model with N=1 supersymmetry in D=4. It descends from\nthe type IIB compactification on the Z orbifold and requires only Neumann\nboundary conditions, i.e. only the ubiquitous D9-branes (pan-branes). We also\ndiscuss a large class of 6D type I vacua that display rich patterns of\nChan-Paton symmetry breaking/enhancement and various numbers of tensor\nmultiplets. Finally, we briefly address issues raised by the conjectured\nheterotic - type I duality and by the relation between type I vacua and\ncompactifications of the putative F-theory.",
        "positive": "UV Perturbations in Brane Gas Cosmology: We consider the effect of the ultraviolet (UV) or short wavelength modes on\nthe background of Brane Gas Cosmology. We find that the string matter sources\nare negligible in the UV and that the evolution is given primarily by the\ndilaton perturbation. We also find that the linear perturbations are well\nbehaved and the predictions of Brane Gas Cosmology are robust against the\nintroduction of linear perturbations. In particular, we find that the\nstabilization of the extra dimensions (moduli) remains valid in the presence of\ndilaton and string perturbations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Interacting holographic dark energy model and generalized second law of\n  thermodynamics in non-flat universe: In the present paper we consider the interacting holographic model of dark\nenergy to investigate the validity of the generalized second laws of\nthermodynamics in non-flat (closed) universe enclosed by the event horizon\nmeasured from the sphere of the horizon named $L$. We show that for $L$ as the\nsystem's IR cut-off the generalized second law is respected for the special\nrange of the deceleration parameter.",
        "positive": "Fast Lane for Confinement: Within the Electric Schroedinger Representation of the Yang-Mills theory the\nHamiltonian eigenstate and eigenvalue, as well as the Coulomb and confining\npotentials are presented for a special regularization-approximation scheme,\nwhich focuses on the ultra-local behavior of the propagator."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "String Constraints on Discrete Symmetries in MSSM Type II Quivers: We study the presence of discrete gauge symmetries in D-brane semi-realistic\ncompactifications. After establishing the constraints on the transformation\nbehaviour of the chiral matter for the presence of a discrete gauge symmetry we\nperform a systematic search for discrete gauge symmetries within local\nsemi-realistic D-brane realizations, based on four D-brane stacks, of the MSSM\nand the MSSM with three right-handed neutrinos. The systematic search reveals\nthat Proton hexality, a discrete symmetry which ensures the absence of R-parity\nviolating terms as well as the absence of dangerous dimension 5 proton decay\noperators, is only rarely realized. Moreover, none of the semi-realistic local\nD-brane configurations exhibit any family dependent discrete gauge symmetry.",
        "positive": "Relativistic quantum dynamics of a charged particle in cosmic string\n  spacetime in the presence of magnetic field and scalar potential: In this paper we analyze the relativistic quantum motion of charged spin-0\nand spin-1/2 particles in the presence of a uniform magnetic field and scalar\npotentials in the cosmic string spacetime. In order to develop this analysis,\nwe assume that the magnetic field is parallel to the string and the scalar\npotentials present a cylindrical symmetry with their center on the string. Two\ndistinct configurations for the scalar potential, $S(r)$, are considered: $(i)$\nthe potential proportional to the inverse of the polar distance, i.e.,\n$S\\propto1/r$, and $(ii)$ the potential proportional to this distance, i.e.,\n$S\\propto r$. The energy spectra are explicitly computed for different physical\nsituations and presented their dependences on the magnetic field strength and\nscalar coupling constants."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Topological gravity and transgression holography: We show that Poincare-invariant topological gravity in even dimensions can be\nformulated as a transgression field theory in one higher dimension whose gauge\nconnections are associated to linear and nonlinear realizations of the Poincare\ngroup ISO(d-1,1). The resulting theory is a gauged WZW model whereby the\ntransition functions relating gauge fields live in the coset\nISO(d-1,1)/SO(d-1,1). The coordinate parametrizing the coset space is\nidentified with the scalar field in the adjoint representation of the gauge\ngroup of the even-dimensional topological gravity theory. The supersymmetric\nextension leads to topological supergravity in two dimensions starting from a\ntransgression field theory which is invariant under the supersymmetric\nextension of the Poincare group in three dimensions. We also apply this\nconstruction to a three-dimensional Chern-Simons theory of gravity which is\ninvariant under the Maxwell algebra and obtain the corresponding WZW model.",
        "positive": "Action for (Free) Open String Modes in AdS Space Using the Loop Variable\n  Approach: The loop variable technique (for open strings in flat space) is a gauge\ninvariant generalization of the renormalization group method for obtaining\nequations of motion. Unlike the beta functions, which are only proportional to\nthe equations of motion, here it gives the full equation of motion. In an\nearlier paper, a technique was described for adapting this method to open\nstrings in gravitational backgrounds. However unlike the flat space case, these\nequations cannot be derived from an action and are therefore not complete. This\nis because there are ambiguities in the method that involve curvature couplings\nthat cannot be fixed by appealing to gauge invariance alone but need a more\ncomplete treatment of the closed string background. An indirect method to\nresolve these ambiguities is to require symmetricity of the second derivatives\nof the action. In general this will involve modifying the equations by terms\nwith arbitrarily high powers of curvature tensors. This is illustrated for the\nmassive spin 2 field. It is shown that in the special case of an AdS or dS\nbackground, the exact action can easily be determined in this way."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Integrable Field Theories derived from 4D Self-dual Gravity: We reformulate the self-dual Einstein equation as a trio of differential form\nequations for simple two-forms. Using them, we can quickly show the equivalence\nof the theory and 2D sigma models valued in an infinite-dimensional group,\nwhich was shown by Park and Husain earlier. We also derive other field theories\nincluding the 2D Higgs bundle equation. This formulation elucidates the\nrelation among those field theories.",
        "positive": "AdS$_2$ near-horizons, defects and string dualities: We construct a new family of $\\text{AdS}_2\\times S^3\\times S^2$ solutions to\nType IIB supergravity arising as near-horizon geometries of D1-F1-D3-D5-NS5-D7\nbrane intersections preserving 4 supersymmetries. We show that a subclass of\nthese solutions asymptotes locally to the $\\text{AdS}_6\\times S^2\\times\n\\Sigma_2$ solution to Type IIB supergravity holographically dual to the five\ndimensional Sp(N) fixed point theory. This suggests that these solutions can be\ninterpreted as D1-F1-D3 line defects within this CFT. Switching off the\nD7-branes, we act with $\\text{SL}(2, \\mathbb{R})$ to construct a second family\nof solutions that can be related to an $\\text{AdS}_3\\times S^3\\times S^3$ class\nof M-theory backgrounds describing surface defects within the six dimensional\n(1,0) SCFT dual to $\\text{AdS}_7/\\mathbb{Z}_k\\times S^4$. Finally, using\nnon-Abelian T-duality we construct new classes of $\\text{AdS}_2\\times S^2\\times\nS^2$ solutions to Type IIA supergravity with 4 supercharges and elaborate on\ntheir M-theory origin."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Unfolded Dynamics Approach and Quantum Field Theory: We study quantization of a self-interacting scalar field within the unfolded\ndynamics approach. To this end we find and analyze a classical unfolded system\ndescribing 4d off-shell scalar field with a general self-interaction potential.\nThen we systematically construct three different but related unfolded\nformulations of the corresponding quantum field theory, supporting them with\nillustrative calculations: an unfolded functional Schwinger-Dyson system, an\nunfolded system for correlation functions and an unfolded effective system for\nvertex functions. The most curious feature we reveal is that an unfolded\nquantum commutator gets naturally regularized: a standard delta-function is\nreplaced with a heat kernel, parameterized by the unfolded proper time. We also\nidentify an auxiliary 5d system, having this proper time as a physical time,\nwhich generates 4d scalar action as its on-shell action.",
        "positive": "TASI Lectures on Solitons: These lectures cover aspects of solitons with focus on applications to the\nquantum dynamics of supersymmetric gauge theories and string theory. The\nlectures consist of four sections, each dealing with a different soliton. We\nstart with instantons and work down in co-dimension to monopoles, vortices and,\neventually, domain walls. Emphasis is placed on the moduli space of solitons\nand, in particular, on the web of connections that links solitons of different\ntypes. The D-brane realization of the ADHM and Nahm construction for instantons\nand monopoles is reviewed, together with related constructions for vortices and\ndomain walls. Each lecture ends with a series of vignettes detailing the roles\nsolitons play in the quantum dynamics of supersymmetric gauge theories in\nvarious dimensions. This includes applications to the AdS/CFT correspondence,\nlittle string theory, S-duality, cosmic strings, and the quantitative\ncorrespondence between 2d sigma models and 4d gauge theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Scrambling and Entangling Spinning Particles: In this paper we revisit the gravitational eikonal amplitudes of two\nscattering spinning particles and inspect their scrambling power in the spin\nspaces that is quantified through the tripartite information. We found that in\nthe non-relativistic limit and a special high-energy limit the leading\ncontribution is a quantity that is universal and theory independent. The\nminimal coupling is singled out with minimal scrambling in a different high\nmomenta limit. We also inspected the initial state dependence of entanglement\ngeneration and found that the spin coherent state with vanishing spin may not\nnecessarily be the hardest to entangle. Interestingly, among a family of mixed\nstates, the only P-rep state there known to be the best approximation of\nclassical mixed states was singled out as one with minimal entanglement\ngenerated.",
        "positive": "Finite $N$ indices and the giant graviton expansion: The superconformal index of $\\mathcal N=4$ super-Yang Mills theory with\n$U(N)$ gauge group can be written as a matrix integral over the gauge group.\nRecently, Murthy demonstrated that this integral can be reexpressed as a sum of\nterms corresponding to a giant graviton expansion of the index, and provided an\nexplicit formula for the case of a single giant graviton. Here we give similar\nexplicit formulae for an arbitrary number, $m\\ge1$, of giant gravitons. We\nprovide 1/2 and 1/16 BPS index examples up to the order where three giant\ngravitons contribute and demonstrate that the expansion of the matrix integral\ndiffers from the giant graviton expansion computed in the supergravity dual.\nThis shows that the giant graviton expansion is not necessarily unique once two\nor more giant gravitons start appearing."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Geometric Bounds on the 1-Form Gauge Sector: We classify the allowed structures of the discrete 1-form gauge sector in\nsix-dimensional supergravity theories realized as F-theory compactifications.\nThis provides upper bounds on the 1-form gauge factors $\\mathbb{Z}_m$ and in\nparticular demands each cyclic factor to obey $m\\leq 6$. Our bounds correspond\nto the universal geometric constraints on the torsion subgroup of the\nMordell-Weil group of elliptic Calabi-Yau three-folds. For any F-theory vacua\nwith at least one tensor multiplet, we derive the constraints from the\n$\\mathbb{P}^1$ fibration structure of the base two-fold and identify their\nphysical origin in terms of the worldsheet symmetry of the associated effective\nheterotic string. The bounds are also extended to the F-theory vacua with no\ntensor multiplets via a specific deformation of the theory followed by a small\ninstanton transition, along which the 1-form gauge sector is not reduced. We\nenvision that our geometric bounds can be promoted to a swampland constraint on\nany six-dimensional gravitational theories with minimal supersymmetry and also\nextend them to four-dimensional F-theory vacua.",
        "positive": "Topological defects for the free boson CFT: Two different conformal field theories can be joined together along a defect\nline. We study such defects for the case where the conformal field theories on\neither side are single free bosons compactified on a circle. We concentrate on\ntopological defects for which the left- and right-moving Virasoro algebras are\nseparately preserved, but not necessarily any additional symmetries. For the\ncase where both radii are rational multiples of the self-dual radius we\nclassify these topological defects. We also show that the isomorphism between\ntwo T-dual free boson conformal field theories can be described by the action\nof a topological defect, and hence that T-duality can be understood as a\nspecial type of order-disorder duality."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Bootstrapping the long-range Ising model in three dimensions: The 3D Ising model and the generalized free scalar of dimension at least 0.75\nbelong to a continuous line of nonlocal fixed points, each referred to as a\nlong-range Ising model. They can be distinguished by the dimension of the\nlightest spin-2 operator, which interpolates between 3 and 3.5 if we focus on\nthe non-trivial part of the fixed line. A property common to all such theories\nis the presence of three relevant conformal primaries, two of which form a\nshadow pair. This pair is analogous to a superconformal multiplet in that it\nenforces relations between certain conformal blocks. By demanding that crossing\nsymmetry and unitarity hold for a set of correlators involving the relevant\noperators, we compute numerical bounds on their scaling dimensions and OPE\ncoefficients. Specifically, we raise the minimal spin-2 operator dimension to\nfind successively smaller regions which eventually form a kink. Whenever a kink\nappears, its co-ordinates show good agreement with the epsilon expansion\npredictions for the critical exponents in the corresponding statistical model.\nAs a byproduct, our results reveal an infinite tower of protected operators\nwith odd spin.",
        "positive": "Unified Split Octonion Formulation of Dyons: Demonstrating the split octonion formalism for unified fields of dyons\n(electromagnetic fields) and gravito-dyons (gravito-Heavisidian fields of\nlinear gravity), relevant field equations are derived in compact, simpler and\nmanifestly covariant forms. It has been shown that this unified model\nreproduces the dynamics of structure of fields associated with individual\ncharges (masses) in the absence of others."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Geometry of Metastable Supersymmetry Breaking: We give a concise geometric recipe for constructing D-brane gauge theories\nthat exhibit metastable SUSY breaking. We present two simple examples in terms\nof branes at deformed CY singularities.",
        "positive": "Realize Emergent Gravity to Generic Situations: We clarify the problem in which occasions can gravitational force be regarded\nemergent from thermodynamics, by proposing an entropic mechanism that can\nextract the entropic gradient existing in spacetime, due to the variation of\nthe Casini-Bekenstein bound in specific quasi-static processes with the heat\nflux $\\delta Q$ into the whole casual wedge. We explicitly formulate the\nderivation of inertial force as the emergent gravitational attraction from the\nEntanglement First Law. We find the saturation of the bound along with the\nvanishing relative entropy corresponds to the variation of minimal surface. To\ncovariant meaning, it is the Bousso bound. Besides, this understanding is\nconnected to recent Pennington's work on Black Hole Information Paradox,\nsuggesting a Page-Curve function origins from removing attraction by the\nexternal heat bath. Our theory from entanglement now overcomes several\ncriticism towards Verlinde's original entropic force proposal, and is able to\nco-exist with Susskind's Complexity Tendency. This entropic mechanism\nreproduces the Newton's Second Law in Rindler space and the gravitational force\n(together with derivation of the Einstein equation) beyond the near-horizon\nregion, and can be adapted into AdS/CFT and other generic situations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "ABJM Theory with mass and FI deformations and Quantum Phase Transitions: The phase structure of ABJM theory with mass $m$ deformation and\nnon-vanishing Fayet-Iliopoulos (FI) parameter, $\\zeta$, is studied through the\nuse of localisation on ${\\mathbb S}^3$. The partition function of the theory\nthen reduces to a matrix integral, which, in the large $N$ limit and at large\nsphere radius, is exactly computed by a saddle-point approximation. When the\ncouplings are analytically continued to real values, the phase diagram of the\nmodel becomes immensely rich, with an infinite series of third-order phase\ntransitions at vanishing FI-parameter. As the FI term is introduced, new\neffects appear. For any given $0 < \\zeta < m/2$, the number of phases is finite\nand for $\\zeta\\geq m/2$ the theory does not have any phase transitions at all.\n  Finally, we argue that ABJM theory with physical couplings does not undergo\nphase transitions and investigate the case of $U(2)\\times U(2)$ gauge group in\ndetail by an explicit calculation of the partition function.",
        "positive": "String Theory: A Theory of Unification: These notes on string theory are based on a series of talks I gave during my\ngraduate studies. As the talks, this introductory essay is intended for young\nstudents and non-string theory physicists."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Vibrating giant spikes and the large-winding sector: The single spike is a rigidly rotating classical string configuration closely\nrelated to the giant magnon. We calculate bosonic and fermionic modes of this\nsolution, from which we see that it is not supersymmetric. It can be viewed as\nan excitation above a hoop of string wound around the equator, in the same\nsense that the magnon is an excitation above an orbiting point particle. We\nfind the operator which plays the role of the Hamiltonian for this sector,\nwhich compared to the magnon's E-J has the angular momentum replaced by a\nwinding charge. The single spike solution is unstable, and we use the modes to\nattempt a semi-classical computation of its lifetime.",
        "positive": "Three-point Green function of massless QED in position space to lowest\n  order: The transverse part of the three-point Green function of massless QED is\ndetermined to the lowest order in position space. Taken together with the\nevaluation of the longitudinal part in arXiv:0803.2630, this gives a relation\nfor QED which is analogous to the star-triangle relation. We relate our result\nto conformal-invariant three-point functions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Note on Gauss-Bonnet Black Holes at Criticality: With in the extended thermodynamics, we give a comparative study of critical\nheat engines for Gauss-Bonnet and charged black holes in AdS in five\ndimensions, in the limit of large Gauss-Bonnet parameter $\\alpha$ and charge\n$q$, respectively. We show that the approach of efficiency of heat engines to\nCarnot limit in Gauss-Bonnet black holes is higher(lower) than charged black\nholes when corresponding parameters are small(large).",
        "positive": "Finite-cutoff JT gravity and self-avoiding loops: We study quantum JT gravity at finite cutoff using a mapping to the\nstatistical mechanics of a self-avoiding loop in hyperbolic space, with\npositive pressure and fixed length. The semiclassical limit (small $G_N$)\ncorresponds to large pressure, and we solve the problem in that limit in three\noverlapping regimes that apply for different loop sizes. For intermediate loop\nsizes, a semiclassical effective description is valid, but for very large or\nvery small loops, fluctuations dominate. For large loops, this quantum regime\nis controlled by the Schwarzian theory. For small loops, the effective\ndescription fails altogether, but the problem is controlled using a conjecture\nfrom the theory of self-avoiding walks."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-topological solitons in field theories with kinetic self-coupling: We investigate some fundamental features of a class of non-linear\nrelativistic lagrangian field theories with kinetic self-coupling. We focus our\nattention upon theories admitting static, spherically symmetric solutions in\nthree space dimensions which are finite-energy and stable. We determine general\nconditions for the existence and stability of these non-topological soliton\nsolutions. In particular, we perform a linear stability analysis that goes\nbeyond the usual Derrick-like criteria. On the basis of these considerations we\nobtain a complete characterization of the soliton-supporting members of the\naforementioned class of non-linear field theories. We then classify the family\nof soliton-supporting theories according to the central and asymptotic\nbehaviors of the soliton field, and provide illustrative explicit examples of\nmodels belonging to each of the corresponding sub-families. In the present work\nwe restrict most of our considerations to one and many-components scalar\nmodels. We show that in these cases the finite-energy static spherically\nsymmetric solutions are stable against charge-preserving perturbations,\nprovided that the vacuum energy of the model vanishes and the energy density is\npositive definite. We also discuss briefly the extension of the present\napproach to models involving other types of fields, but a detailed study of\nthis more general scenario will be addressed in a separate publication.",
        "positive": "The minimal entanglement wedge cross section in the GMMG/GCFT flat\n  holography: We focus on a proper candidate for the entanglement wedge in asymptotically\nflat bulk geometries that are described by the generalized minimal massive\ngravity (GMMG) in the context of the flat holography. To this end, we describe\nthe boundary by two dimensional Galilean conformal field theory (GCFT) at the\nbipartite mixed state of the two disjoint intervals. We make a conjecture on\nthe minimal entanglement wedge cross section (EWCS) and we find that the\nresults are consistent with the previous computations on the holographic\nentanglement negativity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Higher Derivative Corrections to Shear Viscosity from Graviton's\n  Effective Coupling: The shear viscosity coefficient of strongly coupled boundary gauge theory\nplasma depends on the horizon value of the effective coupling of transverse\ngraviton moving in black hole background. The proof for the above statement is\nbased on the canonical form of graviton's action. But in presence of generic\nhigher derivative terms in the bulk Lagrangian the action is no longer\ncanonical. We give a procedure to find an effective action for graviton (to\nfirst order in coefficient of higher derivative term) in canonical form in\npresence of any arbitrary higher derivative terms in the bulk. From that\neffective action we find the effective coupling constant for transverse\ngraviton which in general depends on the radial coordinate $r$. We also argue\nthat horizon value of this effective coupling is related to the shear viscosity\ncoefficient of the boundary fluid in higher derivative gravity. We explicitly\ncheck this procedure for two specific examples: (1) four derivative action and\n(2) eight derivative action ($Weyl^4$ term). For both cases we show that our\nresults for shear viscosity coefficient (up to first order in coefficient of\nhigher derivative term) completely agree with the existing results in the\nliterature.",
        "positive": "Quantum effects in classical systems having complex energy: On the basis of extensive numerical studies it is argued that there are\nstrong analogies between the probabilistic behavior of quantum systems defined\nby Hermitian Hamiltonians and the deterministic behavior of classical\nmechanical systems extended into the complex domain. Three models are examined:\nthe quartic double-well potential $V(x)=x^4-5x^2$, the cubic potential\n$V(x)=frac{1}{2}x^2-gx^3$, and the periodic potential $V(x)=-\\cos x$. For the\nquartic potential a wave packet that is initially localized in one side of the\ndouble-well can tunnel to the other side. Complex solutions to the classical\nequations of motion exhibit a remarkably analogous behavior. Furthermore,\nclassical solutions come in two varieties, which resemble the even-parity and\nodd-parity quantum-mechanical bound states. For the cubic potential, a quantum\nwave packet that is initially in the quadratic portion of the potential near\nthe origin will tunnel through the barrier and give rise to a probability\ncurrent that flows out to infinity. The complex solutions to the corresponding\nclassical equations of motion exhibit strongly analogous behavior. For the\nperiodic potential a quantum particle whose energy lies between -1 and 1 can\ntunnel repeatedly between adjacent classically allowed regions and thus execute\na localized random walk as it hops from region to region. Furthermore, if the\nenergy of the quantum particle lies in a conduction band, then the particle\ndelocalizes and drifts freely through the periodic potential. A classical\nparticle having complex energy executes a qualitatively analogous local random\nwalk, and there exists a narrow energy band for which the classical particle\nbecomes delocalized and moves freely through the potential."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Remarks on the Aharonov-Bohm Green function: Some elementary algebraic points regarding the Green function for a localised\nflux tube are developed. A calculation of the effective action density is\nincluded.",
        "positive": "Gravitational chiral anomaly for spin 3/2 field interacting with spin\n  1/2 field: The gravitational chiral quantum anomaly is calculated in the framework of\nthe extended Rarita-Schwinger-Adler (RSA) field theory, which includes the\ninteraction with an additional spin 1/2 field. It is shown that the factor in\nthe gravitational chiral anomaly, normalized to the Dirac field anomaly, is\nequal to -19. The resulting value distinguishes the RSA theory from the other\ntheories of spin 3/2. A direct verification of the conformality of the RSA\ntheory in the strong interaction limit at the level of one-loop three-point\ngraphs was made."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Multistring Vertices and Hyperbolic Kac Moody Algebras: Multistring vertices and the overlap identities which they satisfy are\nexploited to understand properties of hyperbolic Kac Moody algebras, and\n$E_{10}$ in particular. Since any such algebra can be embedded in the larger\nLie algebra of physical states of an associated completely compactified\nsubcritical bosonic string, one can in principle determine the root spaces by\nanalyzing which (positive norm) physical states decouple from the $N$-string\nvertex. Consequently, the Lie algebra of physical states decomposes into a\ndirect sum of the hyperbolic algebra and the space of decoupled states. Both\nthese spaces contain transversal and longitudinal states. Longitudinal\ndecoupling holds generally, and may also be valid for uncompactified strings,\nwith possible consequences for Liouville theory; the identification of the\ndecoupled states simply amounts to finding the zeroes of certain ``decoupling\npolynomials''. This is not the case for transversal decoupling, which crucially\ndepends on special properties of the root lattice, as we explicitly demonstrate\nfor a non-trivial root space of $E_{10}$. Because the $N$-vertices of the\ncompactified string contain the complete information about decoupling, all the\nproperties of the hyperbolic algebra are encoded into them. In view of the\ninteger grading of hyperbolic algebras such as $E_{10}$ by the level, these\nalgebras can be interpreted as interacting strings moving on the respective\ngroup manifolds associated with the underlying finite-dimensional Lie algebras.",
        "positive": "On moduli spaces of flat connections with non-simply connected structure\n  group: We consider the moduli space of flat G-bundles over the twodimensional torus,\nwhere G is a real, compact, simple Lie group which is not simply connected. We\nshow that the connected components that describe topologically non-trivial\nbundles are isomorphic as symplectic spaces to moduli spaces of topologically\ntrivial bundles with a different structure group. Some physical applications of\nthis isomorphism which allows to trade topological non-triviality for a change\nof the gauge group are sketched."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Uniqueness of the Jackiw non-Noetherian conformal scalar field: Jackiw was undoubtedly the first to exhibit an example of a scalar field\naction which is not conformally invariant whereas its equation of motion is.\nThis feature has recently been dubbed as a non-Noetherian conformal scalar\nfield. The paradigmatic example of Jackiw was the generalization to curved\nspacetime of the two-dimensional Liouville action. Here, we prove that, up to\nsecond order, this is the unique example of a non-Noetherian conformal scalar\nfield in two dimensions. We establish this result using an old and somewhat\nforgotten theorem which is none other than the solution to the inverse problem\nof the calculus of variations.",
        "positive": "Swampland Variations on a Theme by KKLT: The KKLT scenario in a warped throat, if consistent, provides a concrete\ncounterexample to both the AdS scale separation and the dS swampland\nconjectures. First, we define and analyze the relevant effective field theory\nfor the conifold modulus and the overall Kaehler modulus that both have\nexponentially small masses. The scalar potential still admits KKLT-like AdS and\ndS minima. Second, we critically analyze the reliability of the employed\nWilsonian effective action by evaluating the masses of light modes localized in\nthe warped throat. The resulting mass spectrum is discussed with respect to the\nswampland distance conjecture. We find the recently observed emergent nature of\nthe latter not only at large distance points but also at the conifold point\nmotivating a general extension of it. In this respect, KKLT and trans-Planckian\nfield distance are on equal footing. It is pointed out that the reliability of\nthe KKLT minimum will depend on how this emergent behavior is interpreted."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Sequences of dipole black rings and Kaluza-Klein bubbles: We construct new exact solutions to 5D Einstein-Maxwell equations describing\nsequences of Kaluza-Klein bubbles and dipole black rings. The solutions are\ngenerated by 2-soliton transformations from vacuum black ring - bubble\nsequences. The properties of the solutions are investigated. We also derive the\nSmarr-like relations and the mass and tension first laws in the general case\nfor such configurations of Kaluza-Klein bubbles and dipole black rings. The\nnovel moment is the appearance of the magnetic flux in the Smarr-like relations\nand the first laws.",
        "positive": "Open string pair creation from worldsheet instantons: Worldline instantons provide a particularly elegant way to derive Schwinger's\nwell-known formula for the pair creation rate due to a constant electric field\nin quantum electrodynamics. In this note, we show how to extend this method to\nthe corresponding problem of open string pair creation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Deconstruction of Gauge Symmetry Breaking by Discrete Symmetry and $G^N$\n  Unification: We deconstruct the non-supersymmetric SU(5) breaking by discrete symmetry on\nthe space-time $M^4\\times S^1$ and $M^4\\times S^1/(Z_2\\times Z_2')$ in the\nHiggs mechanism deconstruction scenario. And we explain the subtle point on how\nto exactly match the continuum results with the latticized results on the\nquotient space $S^1/Z_2$ and $S^1/(Z_2\\times Z_2')$. We also propose an\neffective deconstruction scenario and discuss the gauge symmetry breaking by\nthe discrete symmetry on theory space in this approach. As an application, we\nsuggest the $G^N$ unification where $G^N$ is broken down to $SU(3)\\times\nSU(2)\\times U(1)^{n-3}$ by the bifundamental link fields and the\ndoublet-triplet splitting can be achieved.",
        "positive": "The classical dynamics of gauge theories in the deep infrared: Gauge and gravitational theories in asymptotically flat settings possess\ninfinitely many conserved charges associated with large gauge transformations\nor diffeomorphisms that are nontrivial at infinity. To what extent do these\ncharges constrain the scattering in these theories? It has been claimed in the\nliterature that the constraints are trivial, due to a decoupling of hard and\nsoft sectors for which the conserved charges constrain only the dynamics in the\nsoft sector. We show that the argument for this decoupling fails due to the\nfailure in infinite dimensions of a property of symplectic geometry which holds\nin finite dimensions. Specializing to electromagnetism coupled to a massless\ncharged scalar field in four dimensional Minkowski spacetime, we show\nexplicitly that the two sectors are always coupled using a perturbative\nclassical computation of the scattering map. Specifically, while the two\nsectors are uncoupled at low orders, they are coupled at quartic order via the\nelectromagnetic memory effect. This coupling cannot be removed by adjusting the\ndefinitions of the hard and soft sectors (which includes the classical analog\nof dressing the hard degrees of freedom). We conclude that the conserved\ncharges yield nontrivial constraints on the scattering of hard degrees of\nfreedom. This conclusion should also apply to gravitational scattering and to\nblack hole formation and evaporation.\n  In developing the classical scattering theory, we show that generic Lorenz\ngauge solutions fail to satisfy the matching condition on the vector potential\nat spatial infinity proposed by Strominger to define the field configuration\nspace, and we suggest a way to remedy this. We also show that when soft degrees\nof freedom are present, the order at which nonlinearities first arise in the\nscattering map is second order in Lorenz gauge, but can be third order in other\ngauges."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantization of the Relativistic Particle: We revise the problem of the quantization of relativistic particle,\npresenting a modified consistent canonical scheme, which allows one not only to\ninclude arbitrary backgrounds in the consideration but to get in course of the\nquantization a consistent relativistic quantum mechanics, which reproduces\nliterally the behavior of the one-particle sector of the corresponding quantum\nfield. At the same time this construction presents a possible solution of the\nwell-known old problem how to construct a consistent quantum mechanics on the\nbase of a relativistic wave equation.",
        "positive": "Scale Transformations on the Noncommutative Plane and the Seiberg-Witten\n  Map: We write down three kinds of scale transformations {\\tt i-iii)} on the\nnoncommutative plane. {\\tt i)} is the analogue of standard dilations on the\nplane, {\\tt ii)} is a re-scaling of the noncommutative parameter $\\theta$, and\n{\\tt iii)} is a combination of the previous two, whereby the defining relations\nfor the noncommutative plane are preserved. The action of the three\ntransformations is defined on gauge fields evaluated at fixed coordinates and\n$\\theta$.\n  The transformations are obtained only up to terms which transform covariantly\nunder gauge transformations. We give possible constraints on these terms. We\nshow how the transformations {\\tt i)} and {\\tt ii)} depend on the choice of\nstar product, and show the relation of {\\tt ii)} to Seiberg-Witten\ntransformations. Because {\\tt iii)} preserves the fundamental commutation\nrelations it is a symmetry of the algebra. One has the possibility of\nimplementing it as a symmetry of the dynamics, as well, in noncommutative field\ntheories where $\\theta$ is not fixed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauged Supergravities in Three Dimensions: A Panoramic Overview: Maximal and non-maximal supergravities in three spacetime dimensions allow\nfor a large variety of semisimple and non-semisimple gauge groups, as well as\ncomplex gauge groups that have no analog in higher dimensions. In this\ncontribution we review the recent progress in constructing these theories and\ndiscuss some of their possible applications.",
        "positive": "Probing strongly coupled anisotropic plasmas from higher curvature\n  gravity: We consider five-dimensional AdS-axion-dilaton gravity with a Gauss-Bonnet\nterm and use a black brane solution displaying spatial anisotropy as the\ngravity dual of a strongly coupled anisotropic plasma. We compute several\nobservables relevant to the study of the plasma, namely, the drag force, the\njet quenching parameter, the quarkonium potential and the thermal photon\nproduction. The effects of higher derivative corrections and of the anisotropy\nare discussed and compared with previous results."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "New K\u00e4hler invariant Fayet-Iliopoulos terms in supergravity and\n  cosmological applications: Recently, a new type of constant Fayet-Iliopoulos (FI) terms was introduced\nin $\\mathcal{N}=1$ supergravity, which do not require the gauging of the\n$R$-symmetry. We revisit and generalise these constructions, building a new\nclass of K\\\"ahler invariant FI terms parametrised by a function of the\ngravitino mass as functional of the chiral superfields, which is then used to\ndescribe new models of inflation. They are based on a no-scale supergravity\nmodel of the inflaton chiral multiplet, supplemented by an abelian vector\nmultiplet with the new FI-term. We show that the inflaton potential is\ncompatible with the CMB observational data, with a vacuum energy at the minimum\nthat can be tuned to a tiny positive value. Finally, the axionic shift symmetry\ncan be gauged by the $U(1)$ which becomes massive. These models offer a\nmechanism for fixing the gravitino mass in no-scale supergravities, that\ncorresponds to a flat direction of the scalar potential in the absence of the\nnew FI-term; its origin in string theory is an interesting open problem.",
        "positive": "Counting Higher Genus Curves with Crosscaps in Calabi-Yau Orientifolds: We compute all loop topological string amplitudes on orientifolds of local\nCalabi-Yau manifolds, by using geometric transitions involving SO/Sp\nChern-Simons theory, localization on the moduli space of holomorphic maps with\ninvolution, and the topological vertex. In particular we count Klein bottles\nand projective planes with any number of handles in some Calabi-Yau\norientifolds."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "T-duality and $\u03b1'$-corrections: We construct an $O(d,d)$ invariant universal formulation of the first-order\n$\\alpha'$-corrections of the string effective actions involving the dilaton,\nmetric and two-form fields. Two free parameters interpolate between\nfour-derivative terms that are even and odd with respect to a $Z_2$-parity\ntransformation that changes the sign of the two-form field. The $Z_2$-symmetric\nmodel reproduces the closed bosonic string, and the heterotic string effective\naction is obtained through a $Z_2$-parity-breaking choice of parameters. The\ntheory is an extension of the generalized frame formulation of Double Field\nTheory, in which the gauge transformations are deformed by a first-order\ngeneralized Green-Schwarz transformation. This deformation defines a duality\ncovariant gauge principle that requires and fixes the four-derivative terms. We\ndiscuss the $O(d,d)$ structure of the theory and the (non-)covariance of the\nrequired field redefinitions.",
        "positive": "String Threshold corrections in models with spontaneously broken\n  supersymmetry: We analyse a class of four-dimensional heterotic ground states with N=2\nspace-time supersymmetry. From the ten-dimensional perspective, such models can\nbe viewed as compactifications on a six-dimensional manifold with SU(2)\nholonomy, which is locally but not globally K3 x T^2. The maximal N=4\nsupersymmetry is spontaneously broken to N=2. The masses of the two massive\ngravitinos depend on the (T,U) moduli of T^2. We evaluate the one-loop\nthreshold corrections of gauge and R^2 couplings and we show that they fall in\nseveral universality classes, in contrast to what happens in usual K3 x T^2\ncompactifications, where the N=4 supersymmetry is explicitly broken to N=2, and\nwhere a single universality class appears. These universality properties follow\nfrom the structure of the elliptic genus. The behaviour of the threshold\ncorrections as functions of the moduli is analysed in detail: it is singular\nacross several rational lines of the T^2 moduli because of the appearance of\nextra massless states, and suffers only from logarithmic singularities at large\nradii. These features differ substantially from the ordinary K3 x T^2\ncompactifications, thereby reflecting the existence of spontaneously-broken N=4\nsupersymmetry. Although our results are valid in the general framework defined\nabove, we also point out several properties, specific to orbifold\nconstructions, which might be of phenomenological relevance."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Generalized symmetries and 2-groups via electromagnetic duality in\n  AdS/CFT: We discuss how electromagnetically dualizing a 1-form to a 2-form in AdS$_5$\nexchanges regular and alternate boundary conditions, and thus gauges the\noriginally global $U(1)$ symmetry in the dual field theory. The generalized\nsymmetry current dual to the 2-form in the bulk is identified as the dual field\nstrength of the gauged $U(1)$, and the associated double-trace operator with a\nlogarithmically running coupling is just the gauged $U(1)$ Maxwell action.\nApplying this dualization to an AdS Maxwell-Chern-Simons theory dual to a\nglobal $U(1) \\times U(1)$ model with an 't Hooft anomaly results in a theory\nwith a modified field strength that holographically realizes a 2-group\nsymmetry. We explicitly carry out the holographic renormalization to verify\nthis, and discuss the generalization to other rank fields in other dimensions.",
        "positive": "3D gauged supergravity from SU(2) reduction of $N=1$ 6D supergravity: We obtain Yang-Mills $SU(2)\\times G$ gauged supergravity in three dimensions\nfrom $SU(2)$ group manifold reduction of (1,0) six dimensional supergravity\ncoupled to an anti-symmetric tensor multiplet and gauge vector multiplets in\nthe adjoint of $G$. The reduced theory is consistently truncated to $N=4$ 3D\nsupergravity coupled to $4(1+\\textrm{dim}\\, G)$ bosonic and $4(1+\\textrm{dim}\\,\nG)$ fermionic propagating degrees of freedom. This is in contrast to the\nreduction in which there are also massive vector fields. The scalar manifold is\n$\\mathbf{R}\\times \\frac{SO(3,\\, \\textrm{dim}\\, G)}{SO(3)\\times\nSO(\\textrm{dim}\\, G)}$, and there is a $SU(2)\\times G$ gauge group. We then\nconstruct $N=4$ Chern-Simons $(SO(3)\\ltimes \\mathbf{R}^3)\\times (G\\ltimes\n\\mathbf{R}^{\\textrm{dim}G})$ three dimensional gauged supergravity with scalar\nmanifold $\\frac{SO(4,\\,1+\\textrm{dim}G)}{SO(4)\\times SO(1+\\textrm{dim}G)}$ and\nexplicitly show that this theory is on-shell equivalent to the Yang-Mills\n$SO(3)\\times G$ gauged supergravity theory obtained from the $SU(2)$ reduction,\nafter integrating out the scalars and gauge fields corresponding to the\ntranslational symmetries $\\mathbf{R}^3\\times \\mathbf{R}^{\\textrm{dim}\\, G}$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Boundary states in the SU(2)$_k$ WZW model from open string field theory: We analyze boundary states in the SU(2)$_k$ WZW model using open string field\ntheory in the level truncation approximation. We develop algorithms that allow\neffective calculation of action in this model and we search for classical\nsolutions of the equations of motion, which are conjectured to describe\nboundary states. We find three types of solutions. First, there are real\nsolutions that represent maximally symmetric Cardy boundary states and we show\nthat they satisfy certain selection rules regarding their SU(2) parameters.\nNext, we find complex solutions that go beyond the SU(2) model and describe\nmaximally symmetric SL(2,$\\mathbb C$) boundary conditions. Finally, we find\nexotic solutions that correspond to symmetry-breaking boundary states. Most of\nreal exotic solutions describe the so-called B-brane boundary states, but some\nmay represent yet unknown boundary states.",
        "positive": "Integrable Boundary Conditions for the O(N) Nonlinear $\u03c3$ Model: We discuss the new integrable boundary conditions for the O(N) nonlinear\n$\\sigma$ model and related solutions of the boundary Yang-Baxter equation,\nwhich were presented in our previous paper hep-th/0108039."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Diffusion constant of slowly rotating black three-brane: In this paper, we take the slowly rotating black three-brane background and\nperturb it by introducing a vector gauge field. We find the components of the\ngauge field through Maxwell equations and Bianchi identities. Using currents\nand some ansatz we find Fick's first law at long wavelength regime. An\ninteresting result for this non-trivial supergravity background is that the\ndiffusion constant on the stretched horizon which emerges from Fick's first law\nis a complex constant. The pure imaginary part of the diffusion constant\nappears because the black three-brane has angular momentum. By taking the\nstatic limit of the corresponding black brane the well known diffusion constant\nwill be recovered. On the other hand, from the point of view of the Fick's\nsecond law, we have the dispersion relation $\\omega=-iDq^{2}$ and we found a\ndamping of hydrodynamical flow in the holographically dual theory. Existence of\nimaginary term in the diffusion constant introduces an oscillating propagation\nof the gauge field in the dual field theory.",
        "positive": "Geometric aspects of the AdS/CFT correspondence: We discuss classical gravitational aspects of the AdS/CFT correspondence,\nwith the aim of obtaining a rigorous (mathematical) understanding of the\nsemi-classical limit of the gravitational partition function. The paper surveys\nrecent progress in the area, together with a selection of new results and open\nproblems."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Compactifications of F-Theory on Calabi--Yau Threefolds -- I: We study compactifications of F-theory on certain Calabi--Yau threefolds. We\nfind that $N=2$ dualities of type II/heterotic strings in 4 dimensions get\npromoted to $N=1$ dualities between heterotic string and F-theory in 6\ndimensions. The six dimensional heterotic/heterotic duality becomes a classical\ngeometric symmetry of the Calabi--Yau in the F-theory setup. Moreover the\nF-theory compactification sheds light on the nature of the strong coupling\ntransition and what lies beyond the transition at finite values of heterotic\nstring coupling constant.",
        "positive": "M theory as a matrix extension of Chern-Simons theory: We study a new class of matrix models, the simplest of which is based on an\nSp(2) symmetry and has a compactification which is equivalent to Chern-Simons\ntheory on the three-torus. By replacing Sp(2) with the super-algebra Osp(1|32),\nwhich has been conjectured to be the full symmetry group of M theory, we arrive\nat a supercovariant matrix model which appears to contain within it the\npreviously proposed M theory matrix models. There is no background spacetime so\nthat time and dynamics are introduced via compactifications which break the\nfull covariance of the model. Three compactifications are studied corresponding\nto a hamiltonian quantization in D=10+1, a Lorentz invariant quantization in\nD=9+1 and a light cone gauge quantization in D=11=9+1+1. In all cases\nconstraints arise which eliminate certain higher spin fields in terms of lower\nspin dynamical fields. In the SO(9,1) invariant compactification we argue that\nthe one loop effective action reduces to the IKKT covariant matrix model. In\nthe light cone gauge compactification the theory contains the standard M theory\nlight cone gauge matrix model, but there appears an additional transverse five\nform field."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Non-Riemannian Metric on Space-Time Emergent From Scalar Quantum Field\n  Theory: We show that the two-point function\n\\sigma(x,x')=\\sqrt{<[\\phi(x)-\\phi(x')]^{2}>} of a scalar quantum field theory\nis a metric (i.e., a symmetric positive function satisfying the triangle\ninequality) on space-time (with imaginary time). It is very different from the\nEuclidean metric |x-x'| at large distances, yet agrees with it at short\ndistances. For example, space-time has finite diameter which is not universal.\nThe Lipschitz equivalence class of the metric is independent of the cutoff.\n\\sigma(x,x') is not the length of the geodesic in any Riemannian metric.\nNevertheless, it is possible to embed space-time in a higher dimensional space\nso that \\sigma(x,x') is the length of the geodesic in the ambient space.\n\\sigma(x,x') should be useful in constructing the continuum limit of quantum\nfield theory with fundamental scalar particles.",
        "positive": "Exploring soft constraints on effective actions: We study effective actions for simultaneous breaking of space-time and\ninternal symmetries. Novel features arise due to the mixing of Goldstone modes\nunder the broken symmetries which, in contrast to the usual Adler's zero, leads\nto non-vanishing soft limits. Such scenarios are common for spontaneously\nbroken SCFT's. We explicitly test these soft theorems for $\\mathcal{N}=4$ sYM\nin the Coulomb branch both perturbatively and non-perturbatively. We explore\nthe soft constraints systematically utilizing recursion relations. In the pure\ndilaton sector of a general CFT, we show that all amplitudes up to order $s^{n}\n\\sim \\partial^{2n}$ are completely determined in terms of the $k$-point\namplitudes at order $s^k$ with $k \\leq n$. Terms with at most one derivative\nacting on each dilaton insertion are completely fixed and coincide with those\nappearing in the conformal DBI, i.e. DBI in AdS. With maximal supersymmetry,\nthe effective actions are further constrained, leading to new\nnon-renormalization theorems. In particular, the effective action is fixed up\nto eight derivatives in terms of just one unknown four-point coefficient and\none more coefficient for ten-derivative terms. Finally, we also study the\ninterplay between scale and conformal invariance in this context."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Higher Spin Entanglement Entropy: In this paper, we develop a perturbation formulation to calculate the single\ninterval higher spin R$\\acute{e}$nyi and entanglement entropy for two\ndimensional conformal field theory with $\\mathcal{W}_{\\infty}(\\lambda)$\nsymmetry. The system is at finite temperature and is deformed by higher spin\nchemical potential. We manage to compute higher spin R$\\acute{e}$nyi entropy\nwith various spin deformations up to order $\\mathcal{O}(\\mu^2)$. For spin 3\ndeformation, we calculate exact higher spin R$\\acute{e}$nyi entropy up to\n$\\mathcal{O}(\\mu^4)$. When $\\lambda=3$, in the large $c$ limit, we find perfect\nmatch with tree level holographic higher spin entanglement entropy up to order\n$\\mu^4$ obtained by the Wilson line prescription. We also find quantum\ncorrections to higher spin entanglement entropy which is beyond tree level\nholographic results. The quantum correction is universal at order $\\mu^4$ in\nthe sense that it is independent of $\\lambda$. Our computation relies on a\nmulti-valued conformal map from $n$-sheeted Riemann surface $\\mathcal{R}_n$ to\ncomplex plane and correlation functions of primary fields on complex plane. The\nmethod can be applied to general conformal field theories with $\\mathcal{W}$\nsymmetry.",
        "positive": "Gauge-Invariant Double-Copies via Recursion: We prove that all tree-level amplitudes in pure (super-)gravity can be\nexpressed as term-wise, gauge-invariant double-copies of those of pure\n(super-)Yang-Mills obtained via BCFW recursion. These representations are far\nfrom unique: varying the recursive scheme leads to a wide variety of distinct,\nbut equally valid representations of gravitational amplitudes, all realized as\ndouble-copies."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Comments on Noncommutative Sigma Models: We review the derivation of a noncommutative version of the nonlinear sigma\nmodel on $\\CPn$ and it's soliton solutions for finite $\\theta$ emphasizing the\nsimilarities it bears to the GMS scalar field theory. It is also shown that\nunlike the scalar theory, some care needs to be taken in defining the\ntopological charge of BPS solitons of the theory due to nonvanishing surface\nterms in the energy functional. Finally it is shown that, like its commutative\nanalogue, the noncommutative $\\CPn$-model also exhibits a non-BPS sector.\nUnlike the commutative case however, there are some surprises in the\nnoncommutative case that merit further study.",
        "positive": "Symmetry and Observables in Induced QCD: We review some of the basic features of the Kazakov-Migdal model of induced\nQCD. We emphasize the role of $Z_N$ symmetry in determining the observable\nproperties of the model and also argue that it can be broken explicitly without\nruining the solvability of induced QCD in the infinite $N$ limit. We outline\nthe sort of critical behavior which the master field must have in order that\nthe model is still solvable. We also review some aspects of the $D=1$ version\nof the model where the partition function can be obtained analytically. To be\npublished in the Proceedings of \"Mathematical Physics, String Theory and\nQuantum Gravity\", Rhakov, Ukraine. October, 1992"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Topological Study of Induced Representation: From the point of view of topology we study the induced representation\ntechnique which E. Wigner proposed in 1939. We comment on the gauge structure\nin the induced representation technique and construc the explicit form of the\ngauge fields. The topological results ofour study are applied to quantum\nmechanics on a d-dimensional sphere and its path integral is formulated.",
        "positive": "Self-gravitating darkon fluid with anisotropic scaling: The fluid model for the dark sector of the universe (darkon fluid) introduced\npreviously in \\cite{PRD} is reformulated as a modified model involving only\nvariables from physical phase space. The Lagrangian of the model does not\npossess a free particle limit and hence the particles it describes, darkons,\nexist only as a self-gravitating fluid. This darkon fluid presents a dynamical\nrealisation of the zero-mass Galilean algebra extended by anisotropic\ndilational symmetry with dynamical exponent $z=5/3$. The model possesses\ncosmologically relevant solutions which are identical to those of \\cite{PRD}.\nWe derive also the equations for the cosmological perturbations at early times\nand determine their solutions. In addition, we discuss also some implications\nof adding higher spatial-derivative terms."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Single-particle digitization strategy for quantum computation of a\n  $\u03c6^4$ scalar field theory: Motivated by the parton picture of high energy quantum chromodynamics, we\ndevelop a single-particle digitization strategy for the efficient quantum\nsimulation of relativistic scattering processes in a $d+1$ dimensional scalar\n$\\phi^4$ field theory. We work out quantum algorithms for initial state\npreparation, time evolution and final state measurements. We outline a\nnon-perturbative renormalization strategy in this single-particle framework.",
        "positive": "Renormalization of Gauge Theories and Gravity: We study the perturbative quantization of gauge theories and gravity. Our\ninvestigations start with the geometry of spacetimes and particle fields. Then\nwe discuss the various Lagrange densities of (effective) Quantum General\nRelativity coupled to the Standard Model. In addition, we study the\ncorresponding BRST double complex of diffeomorphisms and gauge transformations.\nNext we apply Connes--Kreimer renormalization theory to the perturbative\nFeynman graph expansion: In this framework, subdivergences are organized via\nthe coproduct of a Hopf algebra and the renormalization operation is described\nas an algebraic Birkhoff decomposition. To this end, we generalize and improve\nknown coproduct identities and a theorem of van Suijlekom (2007) that relates\n(generalized) gauge symmetries to Hopf ideals. In particular, our\ngeneralization applies to gravity, as was suggested by Kreimer (2008). In\naddition, our results are applicable to theories with multiple vertex residues,\ncoupling constants and such with a transversal structure. Additionally, we also\nprovide criteria for the compatibility of these Hopf ideals with Feynman rules\nand the chosen renormalization scheme. We proceed by calculating the\ncorresponding gravity-matter Feynman rules for any valence and with a general\ngauge parameter. Then we display all propagator and three-valent vertex Feynman\nrules and calculate the respective cancellation identities. Finally, we propose\nplanned follow-up projects: This includes a generalization of Wigner's\nclassification of elementary particles to linearized gravity, the\nrepresentation of cancellation identities via Feynman graph cohomology and an\ninvestigation on the equivalence of different definitions for the graviton\nfield. In particular, we argue that the appropriate setup to study perturbative\nBRST cohomology is a differential-graded Hopf algebra."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Weyl gauge symmetry and its spontaneous breaking in Standard Model and\n  inflation: We discuss the local (gauged) Weyl symmetry and its spontaneous breaking and\napply it to model building beyond the Standard Model (SM) and inflation. In\nmodels with non-minimal couplings of the scalar fields to the Ricci scalar,\nthat are conformal invariant, the spontaneous generation by a scalar field(s)\nvev of a positive Newton constant demands a negative kinetic term for the\nscalar field, or vice-versa. This is naturally avoided in models with\nadditional Weyl gauge symmetry. The Weyl gauge field $\\omega_\\mu$ couples to\nthe scalar sector but not to the fermionic sector of a SM-like Lagrangian. The\nfield $\\omega_\\mu$ undergoes a Stueckelberg mechanism and becomes massive after\n\"eating\" the (radial mode) would-be-Goldstone field (dilaton $\\rho$) in the\nscalar sector. Before the decoupling of $\\omega_\\mu$, the dilaton can act as UV\nregulator and maintain the Weyl symmetry at the {\\it quantum} level, with\nrelevance for solving the hierarchy problem. After the decoupling of\n$\\omega_\\mu$, the scalar potential depends only on the remaining (angular\nvariables) scalar fields, that can be the Higgs field, inflaton, etc. We show\nthat successful inflation is then possible with one of these scalar fields\nidentified as the inflaton. While our approach is derived in the Riemannian\ngeometry with $\\omega_\\mu$ introduced to avoid ghosts, the natural framework is\nthat of Weyl geometry which for the same matter spectrum is shown to generate\nthe same Lagrangian, up to a total derivative.",
        "positive": "Scalar and Tensor Inhomogeneities from Dimensional Decoupling: We discuss some perturbative techniques suitable for the gauge-invariant\ntreatment of the scalar and tensor inhomogeneities of an anisotropic and\nhomogeneous background geometry whose spatial section naturally decomposes into\nthe direct product of two maximally symmetric Eucledian manifolds, describing a\ngeneral situation of dimensional decoupling in which $d$ external dimensions\nevolve (in conformal time) with scale factor $a(\\eta)$ and $n$ internal\ndimensions evolve with scale factor $b(\\eta)$. We analyze the growing mode\nproblem which typically arises in contracting backgrounds and we focus our\nattention on the situation where the amplitude of the fluctuations not only\ndepends on the external space-time but also on the internal spatial\ncoordinates. In order to illustrate the possible relevance of this analysis we\ncompute the gravity waves spectrum produced in some highly simplified model of\ncosmological evolution and we find that the spectral amplitude, whose magnitude\ncan be constrained by the usual bounds applied to the stochastic gravity waves\nbackgrounds, depends on the curvature scale at which the compactification\noccurs and also on the typical frequency of the internal excitations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "IIB matrix model, bosonic master field, and emergent spacetime: The IIB matrix model has been suggested as a particular formulation of\nnonperturbative superstring theory (M-theory). It has now been realized that an\nemerging classical spacetime may reside in its large-$N$ master field. This\nbosonic master field can, in principle, give rise to Minkowski and\nRobertson-Walker spacetimes. The outstanding task is to solve the bosonic\nmaster-field equation, which is essentially an algebraic equation. In this\narticle, we present new results for the $(D,\\,N)=(10,\\,4)$ bosonic master-field\nequation of the IIB matrix model, where $D$ is the number of bosonic matrices\nand $N$ the matrix size. We also give, in a self-contained appendix, explicit\nresults for critical points of the effective bosonic action. The main physics\napplication of the (dimensionless) IIB matrix model may be in providing a\n(conformal) phase that replaces the Friedmann big bang singularity.",
        "positive": "Generalized Dirichlet Branes and Zero-modes: We investigate the effective dynamics of an arbitrary Dirichlet p-brane, in a\npath-integral formalism, by incorporating the massless excitations of closed\nstring modes in open bosonic string theory. It is shown that the closed string\nbackground fields in the bosonic sector of type II theories induce invariant\nextrinsic curvature on the world-volume. In addition, the curvature can be seen\nto be associated with a divergence at the boundary of string world-sheet. The\nre-normalization of the collective coordinates, next to leading order in its\nderivative expansion, is performed to handle the divergence and the effective\ndynamics is encoded in Dirac-Born-Infeld action. Furthermore, the collective\ndynamics is generalized to include appropriate fermionic partners in type I\nsuper-string theory. The role of string modes is reviewed in terms of the\ncollective coordinates and the gauge theory on the world-volume is argued to be\nnon-local in presence of the U(1) invariant field strength."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On supersymmetric $D6$-$\\bar D 6$ systems with magnetic fields: We study systems of $D6$ and $\\bar D 6$ branes with non zero world-volume\nmagnetic fields in the weak coupling limit. We find two configurations for\nwhich the conditions for absence of tachyons in the spectra coincide exactly\nwith those found in the low energy effective theory approach, for the systems\nto preserve 1/8 of the supersymmetries of the Type $IIA$ string theory vacuum.\nThese conditions give rise to a four-parameter family of solutions in each\ncase. We present further evidence of the stability of these systems by\ncomputing the lowest order interaction amplitude, verifying the no force\ncondition as well as the supersymmetric character of the spectrum.",
        "positive": "Wave Function Evolution of a Dissipative System: For a dissipative system with Ohmic friction, we obtain a simple and exact\nsolution for the wave function of the system plus the bath. It is described by\nthe direct product in two independent Hilbert space. One of them is described\nby an effective Hamiltonian, the other represents the effect of the bath, i.e.,\nthe Brownian motion, thus clarifying the structure of the wave function of the\nsystem whose energy is dissipated by its interaction with the bath. No path\nintegral technology is needed in this treatment. The derivation of the\nWeisskopf-Wigner line width theory follows easily."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Higher categorical symmetries and gauging in two-dimensional spin\n  systems: We present a framework to systematically investigate higher categorical\nsymmetries in two-dimensional spin systems. Though exotic, such generalised\nsymmetries have been shown to naturally arise as dual symmetries upon gauging\ninvertible symmetries. Our framework relies on an approach to dualities whereby\ndual quantum lattice models only differ in a choice of module 2-category over\nsome input fusion 2-category. Given an arbitrary two-dimensional spin system\nwith an ordinary symmetry, we explain how to perform the (twisted) gauging of\nany of its sub-symmetries. We then demonstrate that the resulting model has a\nsymmetry structure encoded into the Morita dual of the input fusion 2-category\nwith respect to the corresponding module 2-category. We exemplify this approach\nby specialising to certain finite group generalisations of the transverse-field\nIsing model, for which we explicitly define lattice symmetry operators\norganised into fusion 2-categories of higher representations of higher groups.",
        "positive": "Static Black Hole and Vacuum Energy: Thin Shell and Incompressible Fluid: With the back reaction of the vacuum energy-momentum tensor consistently\ntaken into account, we study static spherically symmetric black-hole-like\nsolutions to the semi-classical Einstein equation. The vacuum energy is assumed\nto be given by that of 2-dimensional massless scalar fields, as a widely used\nmodel in the literature for black holes. The solutions have no horizon.\nInstead, there is a local minimum in the radius. We consider thin shells as\nwell as incompressible fluid as the matter content of the black-hole-like\ngeometry. The geometry has several interesting features due to the back\nreaction of vacuum energy. In particular, Buchdahl's inequality can be violated\nwithout divergence in pressure, even if the surface is below the Schwarzschild\nradius. At the same time, the surface of the star can not be far below the\nSchwarzschild radius for a density not much higher than the Planck scale, and\nthe proper distance from its surface to the origin can be very short even for\nvery large Schwarzschild radius. The results also imply that, contrary to the\nfolklore, in principle the Boulware vacuum can be physical for black holes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Field Theories With Compact Noncommutative Extra Dimensions: We study field theories on spaces with additional compact noncommutative\ndimensions. As an example, we study \\phi^3 on R^{1,3}\\times T^{2}_\\theta using\nperturbation theory. The infrared divergences in the noncompact theory give\nrise to unusual dynamics for the mode of \\phi which is constant along the\ntorus. Correlation functions involving this mode vanish. Moreover, we show that\nthe spectrum of Kaluza-Klein excitations can be very different from the\nanalogous commuting theory. There is an additional contribution to the\nKaluza-Klein mass formula that resembles the contribution of winding states in\nstring theory. We also consider the effect of noncommutativity on the four\ndimensional Kaluza-Klein excitations of a six dimensional gauge field.",
        "positive": "A Course on Noncommutative Geometry in String Theory: In this pedagogical mini course the basics of the derivation of the\nnoncommutative structures appearing in string theory are reviewed. First we\ndiscuss the well established appearance of the noncommutative Moyal-Weyl\nstar-product in the correlation functions of open string vertex operators on a\nmagnetized D-brane. Second, we will review the most recent attempts to\ngeneralize these concepts to the closed string moving in a nongeometric flux\nbackground."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Conformal inflation with chameleon coupling: We investigate the possibility that the inflaton, in particular in conformal\ninflation models, is also a chameleon, i.e. that it couples to the energy\ndensity of some heavy non-relativistic matter present during inflation. We find\nnew and interesting attractor behaviours, either prolonging inflation, or\nchanging the observables $n_s,r$, depending on the sign of the chameleon\ncoupling exponent. We also check that the chameleon coupling with the heavy\nmatter field strongly suppress entropy modes during inflation.",
        "positive": "Minimal Affinizations of Representations of quantum groups: the\n  U_q(g)--module structure: We describe the underlying U_q(g)--module structure of representations of\nquantum affine algebras."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Vacuum energy and relativistic invariance: It is argued that the zero-point energies of free quantum fields diverge at\nmost quadratically and not quartically, as is generally believed. This is a\nconsequence of the relativistic invariance which requires that the energy\ndensity of the vacuum $\\rho$ and its pressure $p$ satisfy $\\rho=-p$. The\nusually obtained quartic divergence is an artifact of the use of a noninvariant\nregularization which violates this relation. One consequence of our results is\nthat the zero-point energies of free massless fields vanish. Implications for\nthe cosmological constant problem are briefly discussed.",
        "positive": "2-simplexes and superconformal central charges: The superconformal central charge is an important quantity for theories\nemerging from string theory geometrical implementation of Quantum Field Theory\nsince it is linked, for example, to the scaling dimension of fields. Butti and\nZaffaroni construction of the central charge for toric Calabi-Yau threefold\ngeometries is a powerful tool but its implementation could be quite tricky.\nHere we present an equivalent new construction based on a 2-simplexes\ndecomposition of the toric diagram."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exact conserved quantities on the cylinder I: conformal case: The nonlinear integral equations describing the spectra of the left and right\n(continuous) quantum KdV equations on the cylinder are derived from integrable\nlattice field theories, which turn out to allow the Bethe Ansatz equations of a\ntwisted ``spin -1/2'' chain. A very useful mapping to the more common nonlinear\nintegral equation of the twisted continuous spin $+1/2$ chain is found. The\ndiagonalization of the transfer matrix is performed. The vacua sector is\nanalysed in detail detecting the primary states of the minimal conformal models\nand giving integral expressions for the eigenvalues of the transfer matrix.\nContact with the seminal papers \\cite{BLZ, BLZ2} by Bazhanov, Lukyanov and\nZamolodchikov is realised. General expressions for the eigenvalues of the\ninfinite-dimensional abelian algebra of local integrals of motion are given and\nexplicitly calculated at the free fermion point.",
        "positive": "Spin-3/2 and spin-2 charged massive states in a constant electromagnetic\n  background: We develop in components the superspace action obtained in arXiv:2110.07623\ndescribing the first massive level of the open charged superstring in a flat\nfour-dimensional spacetime. In the absence of an electromagnetic background, we\nshow how the Rarita-Schwinger and Fierz-Pauli Lagrangians are retrieved for\nspin-3/2 and 2, respectively. We then write different forms of the action in\nthe presence of the electromagnetic background. The resulting equations of\nmotion describe the propagation of fields of charged spin-3/2 and spin-1/2 on\nthe one hand, and spin-2, 1 and 0 on the other."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "An analytic Lifshitz black hole: A Lifshitz point is described by a quantum field theory with anisotropic\nscale invariance (but not Galilean invariance). In arXiv:0808.1725, gravity\nduals were conjectured for such theories. We construct analytically a black\nhole which asymptotes to a vacuum Lifshitz solution; this black hole solves the\nequations of motion of some simple (but somewhat strange) extensions of the\nmodels of arXiv:0808.1725. We study its thermodynamics and scalar response\nfunctions. The scalar wave equation turns out to be exactly solvable.\nInterestingly, the Green's functions do not exhibit the ultralocal behavior\nseen previously in the free Lifshitz scalar theory.",
        "positive": "Quantum Gravitational Corrections to Particle Creation by Black Holes: We calculate quantum gravitational corrections to the amplitude for the\nemission of a Hawking particle by a black hole. We show explicitly how the\namplitudes depend on quantum corrections to the exterior metric (quantum hair).\nThis reveals the mechanism by which information escapes the black hole. The\nquantum state of the black hole is reflected in the quantum state of the\nexterior metric, which in turn influences the emission of Hawking quanta."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Phases of N=2 Necklace Quivers: We classify the phases of N=2 elliptic models in terms of their global\nproperties i.e. the spectrum of line operators. We show the agreement between\nthe field theory and the M-theory analysis and how the phases form orbits under\nthe action of the S-duality group which corresponds to the mapping class group\nof the Riemann surface in M-theory.",
        "positive": "An \u00e9tude of momentum space scalar amplitudes in AdS: In this paper, we explore momentum space approach to computing scalar\namplitudes in Anti-de Sitter space. We show that the algorithm derived by\nArkani-Hamed, Benincasa, and Postnikov for cosmological wavefunctions can be\nstraightforwardly adopted for AdS transition amplitudes in momentum space,\nallowing one to bypass bulk point integrations. We demonstrate the utility of\nthis approach in AdS by presenting several explicit results both at tree and\nloop level."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "N=1/2 Global SUSY: R-Matrix Approach: R-matrix method is used to construct supersymmetric extensions of theta -\nEuclidean group preserving N = 1/2 supersymmetry and its three- parameter\ngeneralization. These quantum symmetry supergroups can be considered as global\ncounterparts of appropriately twisted Euclidean superalgebras. The\ncorresponding generalized global symmetry transformations act on deformed\nsuperspaces as the usual ones do on undeformed spaces. However, they depend on\nnon(anti)commuting parameters satisfying (anti)commutation relations defined by\nrelevant R matrix.",
        "positive": "Derivation of the Konishi anomaly relation from Dijkgraaf-Vafa with\n  (Bi-)fundamental matters: We explicitly write down the Feynman rules following the work of Dijkfraaf,\nVafa and collaborators for N=1 super Yang-Mills having products of SU groups as\nthe gauge group and matter chiral superfields in adjoint, fundamental, and\nbi-fundamental representations without baryonic perturbations. As an\napplication of this, we show expectation values calculated by these methods\nsatisfy the Konishi anomaly relation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Celestial holography from Chiral strings: In this paper, we studied the relationship between celestial holography and\nchiral strings. Chiral strings differ from the usual string theory by a change\nof boundary conditions on the string propagators. It is shown that chiral\nstrings would reproduce graviton amplitudes and could serve as an alternative\ndescription of Einstein's gravity. Celestial holography is a proposed duality\nbetween gravity in asymptotically flat space-time and a CFT living on its\nconformal boundary. Since both are CFT descriptions of gravity, we investigate\nthe potential connection between these two formalisms. In this paper, we find\nthat both the energetic as well as conformal soft theorems could be derived\nfrom the OPEs of vertex operators of chiral strings. All operators in the CCFT\ncan be described by Mellin transforming the vertex operators in the chiral\nstring theories, and the OPE coefficients of CCFT can also be obtained from the\nworld-sheet description.",
        "positive": "Distinguishing Random and Black Hole Microstates: This is an expanded version of the short report [Phys. Rev. Lett. 126, 171603\n(2021)], where the relative entropy was used to distinguish random states drawn\nfrom the Wishart ensemble as well as black hole microstates. In this work, we\nexpand these ideas by computing many generalizations including the Petz R\\'enyi\nrelative entropy, sandwiched R\\'enyi relative entropy, fidelities, and trace\ndistances. These generalized quantities are able to teach us about new\nstructures in the space of random states and black hole microstates where the\nvon Neumann and relative entropies were insufficient. We further generalize to\ngeneric random tensor networks where new phenomena arise due to the locality in\nthe networks. These phenomena sharpen the relationship between holographic\nstates and random tensor networks. We discuss the implications of our results\non the black hole information problem using replica wormholes, specifically the\nstate dependence (hair) in Hawking radiation. Understanding the differences\nbetween Hawking radiation of distinct evaporating black holes is an important\npiece of the information problem that was not addressed by entropy calculations\nusing the island formula. We interpret our results in the language of quantum\nhypothesis testing and the subsystem eigenstate thermalization hypothesis\n(ETH), deriving that chaotic (including holographic) systems obey subsystem ETH\nfor all subsystems less than half the total system size."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "U(n) Vector Bundles on Calabi-Yau Threefolds for String Theory\n  Compactifications: An explicit description of the spectral data of stable U(n) vector bundles on\nelliptically fibered Calabi-Yau threefolds is given, extending previous work of\nFriedman, Morgan and Witten. The characteristic classes are computed and it is\nshown that part of the bundle cohomology vanishes. The stability and the\ndimension of the moduli space of the U(n) bundles are discussed. As an\napplication, it is shown that the U(n) bundles are capable to solve the basic\ntopological constraints imposed by heterotic string theory. Various explicit\nsolutions of the Donaldson-Uhlenbeck-Yau equation are given. The heterotic\nanomaly cancellation condition is analyzed; as a result an integral change in\nthe number of fiber wrapping five-branes is found. This gives a definite\nprediction for the number of three-branes in a dual F-theory model. The\nnet-generation number is evaluated, showing more flexibility compared with the\nSU(n) case.",
        "positive": "Modelling quantum black hole: Novel bound states are obtained for manifolds with singular potentials. These\nsingular potentials require proper boundary conditions across boundaries. The\nnumber of bound states match nicely with what we would expect for black holes.\nAlso they serve to model membrane mechanism for the black hole horizons in\nsimpler contexts. The singular potentials can also mimic expanding boundaries\nelegantly, there by obtaining appropriately tuned radiation rates."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Canonical quantization of the WZW model with defects and Chern-Simons\n  theory: We perform canonical quantization of the WZW model with defects and\npermutation branes. We establish symplectomorphism between phase space of WZW\nmodel with $N$ defects on cylinder and phase space of Chern-Simons theory on\nannulus times $R$ with $N$ Wilson lines, and between phase space of WZW model\nwith $N$ defects on strip and Chern-Simons theory on disc times $R$ with $N+2$\nWilson lines. We obtained also symplectomorphism between phase space of the\n$N$-fold product of the WZW model with boundary conditions specified by\npermutation branes, and phase space of Chern-Simons theory on sphere with $N$\nholes and two Wilson lines.",
        "positive": "Confinement and Flux Attachment: Flux-attached theories are a novel class of lattice gauge theories whose\ngauge constraints involve both electric and magnetic operators. Like ordinary\ngauge theories, they possess confining phases. Unlike ordinary gauge theories,\ntheir confinement does not imply a trivial gapped vacuum. This paper will offer\nthree lessons about the confining phases of flux-attached $\\mathbb Z_K$\ntheories in two spatial dimensions. First, on an arbitrary orientable lattice,\nflux attachment that satisfies a simple, explicitly derived criterion leads to\na confining theory whose low-energy behavior is captured by an action of a\ngeneral Chern-Simons form. Second, on a square lattice, this criterion can be\nsolved, and all theories that satisfy it can be enumerated. The simplest such\ntheory has an action given by a difference of two Chern-Simons terms, and it\nfeatures a kind of subsystem symmetry that causes its topological entanglement\nentropy to behave pathologically. Third, the simplest flux-attached theory on a\nsquare lattice that does not satisfy the above criterion is exactly solvable\nwhen the gauge group is $\\mathbb Z_2$. On a torus, its confined phase possesses\na twofold topological degeneracy that stems from a sum over spin structures in\na dual fermionic theory. This makes this flux-attached $\\mathbb Z_2$ theory an\nappealing candidate for a microscopic description of a $\\mathrm U(1)_2$\nChern-Simons theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Duality Symmetric Quantization of Superstring: A general covariant quantization of superparticle, Green-Schwarz superstring\nand a supermembrane with manifest supersymmetry and duality symmetry is\nproposed. This quantization provides a natural quantum mechanical description\nof curved BPS-type backgrounds related to the ultra-short supersymmetry\nmultiplets. Half-size commuting and anticommuting Killing spinors admitted by\nsuch backgrounds in quantum theory become truncated $\\kappa$-symmetry ghosts.\nThe symmetry of Killing spinors under dualities transfers to the symmetry of\nthe spectrum of states.\n  GS superstring in the generalized semi-light-cone gauge can be quantized\nconsistently in the background of ten-dimensional supersymmetric gravitational\nwaves. Upon compactification they become supersymmetric electrically charged\nblack holes, either massive or massless. However, the generalized light-cone\ngauge breaks S-duality. We propose a new family of gauges, which we call black\nhole gauges. These gauges are suitable for quantization both in flat Minkowski\nspace and in the black hole background, and they are duality symmetric. As an\nexample, a manifestly S-duality symmetric black hole gauge is constructed in\nterms of the axion-dilaton-electric-magnetic black hole hair. We also suggest\nthe U-duality covariant class of gauges for type II superstrings.",
        "positive": "Finding $G_2$ Higgs branch of 4D rank 1 SCFTs: The Schur index of the Higgs branch of four-dimensional $\\mathcal{N}=2$ SCFTs\nis related to the spectrum of non-unitary two-dimensional CFTs. The rank one\ncase has been shown to lead to the non-unitary CFTs with Deligne-Cvitanovic\n(DC) exceptional sequence of Lie groups. We show that a subsequence $(A_0,\nA_{\\frac{1}{2}}, A_1, A_2, D_4)$ within the non-unitary sequence is related to\na subsequence in the Mathur-Mukhi-Sen (MMS) sequence of unitary theories. We\nshow that 2D non-unitary $G_2$ theory is related to unitary $E_6$ theory, and\nusing this result along with the Galois conjugation, we propose that the $G_2$\nHiggs branch is a sub-branch of the $E_6$ Higgs branch."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exact equilibrium distributions in statistical quantum field theory with\n  rotation and acceleration: scalar field: We derive a general exact form of the phase space distribution function and\nthe thermal expectation values of local operators for the free quantum scalar\nfield at equilibrium with rotation and acceleration in flat space-time without\nsolving field equations in curvilinear coordinates. After factorizing the\ndensity operator with group theoretical methods, we obtain the exact form of\nthe phase space distribution function as a formal series in thermal vorticity\nthrough an iterative method and we calculate thermal expectation values by\nmeans of analytic continuation techniques. We separately discuss the cases of\npure rotation and pure acceleration and derive analytic results for the\nstress-energy tensor of the massless field. The expressions found agree with\nthe exact analytic solutions obtained by solving the field equation in suitable\ncurvilinear coordinates for the two cases at stake and already - or implicitly\n- known in literature. In order to extract finite values for the pure\nacceleration case we introduce the concept of analytic distillation of a\ncomplex function. For the massless field, the obtained expressions of the\ncurrents are polynomials in the acceleration/temperature ratios which vanish at\n$2\\pi$, in full accordance with the Unruh effect.",
        "positive": "Exorcizing Ghosts from the Vacuum Spectra in String-inspired Nonlocal\n  Tachyon Condensation: Tachyon condensation in quantum field theory (QFT) plays a central role in\nmodels of fundamental interactions and cosmology. Inspired by tower truncation\nin string field theory, ultraviolet completions were proposed with\ninfinite-derivative form factors that preclude the appearance of pathological\nghosts in the particle spectrum, contrary to other local higher-derivative\nQFT's. However, if the infinite-derivative QFT exhibits other vacua, each of\nthem has its own spectrum, which is generally not ghost-free: an infinite tower\nof ghost-like resonances pops up above the nonlocal scale at tree-level, whose\nconsistency is unclear. In this article, a new weakly nonlocal deformation of a\ngeneric local QFT is introduced via a Lorentz and gauge covariant star-product\nof fields, which is commutative but nonassociative in general. This framework\nrealizes tachyon condensation without ghosts at the perturbative level, with\napplications for spontaneous symmetry breaking."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Glueballs Mass Spectrum in an Inflationary Braneworld Scenario: We address the issue of glueball masses in a holographic dual field theory on\nthe boundary of an AdS space deformed by a four-dimensional cosmological\nconstant. These glueballs are related to scalar and tensorial fluctuations of\nthe bulk fields on this space. In the Euclidean AdS4 case the allowed masses\nare discretized and are related to distinct inflaton masses on a 3-brane with\nseveral states of inflation. We then obtain the e-folds number in terms of the\nglueball masses. In the last part we focus on the Lorentzian dS4 case to focus\non the QCD equation of state in dual field theory.",
        "positive": "Spinning strings in AdS_5 x S^5: A worldsheet perspective: We examine the leading Regge string states relevant for semi-classical\nspinning string solutions. Using elementary RNS techniques, quadratic terms in\nan effective lagrangian are constructed which describe massive NSNS strings in\na space-time with five-form flux. We then examine the specific case of AdS_5 x\nS^5, finding the dependence of AdS \"energy\" (E_0) on spin in AdS (S), spin on\nthe sphere (J), and orbital angular momentum on the sphere (\\nabla_a \\nabla^a)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Collective coordinate quantization of $CP^1$ model coupled to Hopf term\n  revisited: We show that the system where $CP^1$ model coupled to Hopf term can reveal\nfractional spin in a collective coordinate quantization scheme, provided one\nmakes a transition to physically inequivalent sector within a same solitonic\nsector characterized by a nonvanishing topological number",
        "positive": "Supersymmetry breaking, heterotic strings and fluxes: In this paper we consider compactifications of heterotic strings in the\npresence of background flux. The background metric is a T^2 fibration over a K3\nbase times four-dimensional Minkowski space. Depending on the choice of\nthree-form flux different amounts of supersymmetry are preserved (N=2,1,0). For\nsupersymmetric solutions unbroken space-time supersymmetry determines all\nbackground fields except one scalar function which is related to the dilaton.\nThe heterotic Bianchi identity gives rise to a differential equation for the\ndilaton which we discuss in detail for solutions preserving an N=2\nsupersymmetry. In this case the differential equation is of Laplace type and as\na result the solvability is guaranteed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "T-Branes, String Junctions, and 6D SCFTs: Recent work on 6D superconformal field theories (SCFTs) has established an\nintricate correspondence between certain Higgs branch deformations and\nnilpotent orbits of flavor symmetry algebras associated with T-branes. In this\npaper, we return to the stringy origin of these theories and show that many\naspects of these deformations can be understood in terms of simple\ncombinatorial data associated with multi-pronged strings stretched between\nstacks of intersecting 7-branes in F-theory. This data lets us determine the\nfull structure of the nilpotent cone for each semi-simple flavor symmetry\nalgebra, and it further allows us to characterize symmetry breaking patterns in\nquiver-like theories with classical gauge groups. An especially helpful feature\nof this analysis is that it extends to \"short quivers\" in which the breaking\npatterns from different flavor symmetry factors are correlated.",
        "positive": "On zero modes of the eleven dimensional superstring: It is shown that recently pointed out by Berkovits on-shell degrees of\nfreedom of the D=11 superstring do not make contributions into the quantum\nstates spectrum of the theory. As a consequence, the spectrum coincides with\nthat of the D=10 type IIA superstring."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-commutative mechanics and Exotic Galilean symmetry: In order to derive a large set of Hamiltonian dynamical systems, but with\nonly first order Lagrangian, we resort to the formulation in terms of\nLagrange-Souriau 2-form formalism. A wide class of systems derived in different\nphenomenological contexts are covered. The non-commutativity of the particle\nposition coordinates are a natural consequence. Some explicit examples are\nconsidered.",
        "positive": "Integrated correlators with a Wilson line in $\\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM: In the context of integrated correlators in $\\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM, we study the\n2-point functions of local operators with a superconformal line defect.\nStarting from the mass-deformed $\\mathcal{N}=2^*$ theory in presence of a\n$\\frac{1}{2}$-BPS Wilson line, we exploit the residual superconformal symmetry\nafter the defect insertion, and show that the massive deformation corresponds\nto integrated insertions of the superconformal primaries belonging to the\nstress tensor multiplet with a specific integration measure which is explicitly\nderived after enforcing the superconformal Ward identities. Finally, we show\nhow the Wilson line integrated correlator can be computed by the\n$\\mathcal{N}=2^*$ Wilson loop vacuum expectation value on a 4-sphere in terms\nof a matrix model using supersymmetric localization. In particular, we\nreformulate previous matrix model computations by making use of recursion\nrelations and Bessel kernels, providing a direct link with more general\nlocalization computations in $\\mathcal{N}=2$ theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The transfer matrix method in four-dimensional causal dynamical\n  triangulations: The Causal Dynamical Triangulation model of quantum gravity (CDT) is a\nproposition to evaluate the path integral over space-time geometries using a\nlattice regularization with a discrete proper time and geometries realized as\nsimplicial manifolds. The model admits a Wick rotation to imaginary time for\neach space-time configuration. Using computer simulations we determined the\nphase structure of the model and discovered that it predicts a de Sitter phase\nwith a four-dimensional spherical semi-classical background geometry. The model\nhas a transfer matrix, relating spatial geometries at adjacent (discrete\nlattice) times. The transfer matrix uniquely determines the theory. We show\nthat the measurements of the scale factor of the (CDT) universe are well\ndescribed by an effective transfer matrix where the matrix elements are\nlabelled only by the scale factor. Using computer simulations we determine the\neffective transfer matrix elements and show how they relate to an effective\nminisuperspace action at all scales.",
        "positive": "On Domain Walls of N=1 Supersymmetric Yang-Mills in Four Dimensions: We study the BPS domain walls of supersymmetric Yang-Mills for arbitrary\ngauge group. We describe the degeneracies of domain walls interpolating between\narbitrary pairs of vacua. A recently proposed large N duality sheds light on\nvarious aspects of such domain walls. In particular, for the case of G = SU(N)\nthe domain walls correspond to wrapped D-branes giving rise to a 2+1\ndimensional U(k) gauge theory on the domain wall with a Chern-Simons term of\nlevel N. This leads to a counting of BPS degeneracies of domain walls in\nagreement with expected results."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Strongly Topological Interactions of Tensionless Strings: The tensionless limit of classical string theory may be formulated as a\ntopological theory on the world-sheet. A vector density carries geometrical\ninformation in place of an internal metric. It is found that path-integral\nquantization allows for the definition of several, possibly inequivalent\nquantum theories. String amplitudes are constructed from vector densities with\nzeroes for each in- or out-going string. It is shown that independence of a\nmetric in quantum mechanical amplitudes implies that the dependence on such\nvector density zeroes is purely topological. For example, there is no need for\nintegration over their world-sheet positions.",
        "positive": "A Logarithmic Conformal Field Theory Solution For Two Dimensional\n  Magnetohydrodynamics In Presence of The Alf'ven Effect: When Alf`ven effect is peresent in magnetohydrodynamics one is naturally lead\nto consider conformal field theories, which have logarithmic terms in their\ncorrelation functions. We discuss the implications of such logarithmic terms\nand find a unique conformal field theory with centeral charge\n$c=-\\frac{209}{7}$, within the border of the minimal series, which satisfies\nall the constraints. The energy espectrum is found to be \\newline $E(k)\\sim\nk^{-\\frac{13}{7}} \\log{k}$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Interacci\u00f3n `Oscilador' de Part\u00edculas Relativistas: This is a brief introduction on the graduate level to mechanics of various\nspin relativistic particles with oscillatorlike interaction. This mathematical\nmodel proposed by M. Moshinsky could have considerable physical applications\nfor describing processes mediated by tensor fields and in bound state theory.",
        "positive": "Entanglement Entropy of Topological Orders with Boundaries: In this paper we explore how non trivial boundary conditions could influence\nthe entanglement entropy in a topological order in 2+1 dimensions. Specifically\nwe consider the special class of topological orders describable by the quantum\ndouble. We will find very interesting dependence of the entanglement entropy on\nthe boundary conditions particularly when the system is non-Abelian. Along the\nway, we demonstrate a streamlined procedure to compute the entanglement\nentropy, which is particularly efficient when dealing with systems with\nboundaries. We also show how this method efficiently reproduces all the known\nresults in the presence of anyonic excitations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "VOA[M4]: We take a peek at a general program that associates vertex (or, chiral)\nalgebras to smooth 4-manifolds in such a way that operations on algebras mirror\ngluing operations on 4-manifolds and, furthermore, equivalent constructions of\n4-manifolds give rise to equivalences (dualities) of the corresponding\nalgebras.",
        "positive": "DUALITY SYMMETRY GROUP OF TWO DIMENSIONAL HETEROTIC STRING THEORY: The equations of motion of the massless sector of the two dimensional string\ntheory, obtained by compactifying the heterotic string theory on an eight\ndimensional torus, is known to have an affine o(8,24) symmetry algebra\ngenerating an O(8,24) loop group. In this paper we study how various known\ndiscrete S- and T- duality symmetries of the theory are embedded in this loop\ngroup. This allows us to identify the generators of the discrete duality\nsymmetry group of the two dimensional string theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Large N 't Hooft Limit of Kazama-Suzuki Model: We consider N=2 Kazama-Suzuki model on CP^N=SU(N+1)/SU(N)xU(1). It is known\nthat the N=2 current algebra for the supersymmetric WZW model, at level k, is a\nnonlinear algebra. The N=2 W_3 algebra corresponding to N=2 was recovered from\nthe generalized GKO coset construction previously. For N=4, we construct one of\nthe higher spin currents, in N=2 W_5 algebra, with spins (2, 5/2, 5/2, 3). The\nself-coupling constant in the operator product expansion of this current and\nitself depends on N as well as k explicitly. We also observe a new higher spin\nprimary current of spins (3, 7/2, 7/2, 4). From the behaviors of N=2, 4 cases,\nwe expect the operator product expansion of the lowest higher spin current and\nitself in N=2 W_{N+1} algebra. By taking the large (N, k) limit on the various\noperator product expansions in components, we reproduce, at the linear order,\nthe corresponding operator product expansions in N=2 classical\nW_{\\infty}^{cl}[\\lambda] algebra which is the asymptotic symmetry of the higher\nspin AdS_3 supergravity found recently.",
        "positive": "Multipolar Expansions for Closed and Open Systems of Relativistic\n  Particles: Dixon's multipoles for a system of N relativistic positive-energy scalar\nparticles are evaluated in the rest-frame instant form of dynamics. The Wigner\nhyper-planes (intrinsic rest frame of the isolated system) turn out to be the\nnatural framework for describing multipole kinematics. Classical concepts like\nthe {\\it barycentric tensor of inertia} turn out to be extensible to special\nrelativity only by means of the quadrupole moments of the isolated system. Two\nnew applications of the multipole technique are worked out for systems of\ninteracting particles and fields. In the rest-frame of the isolated system of\neither free or interacting positive energy particles it is possible to define a\nunique world-line which embodies the properties of the most relevant centroids\nintroduced in the literature as candidates for the collective motion of the\nsystem. This is no longer true, however, in the case of open subsystems of the\nisolated system. While effective mass, 3-momentum and angular momentum in the\nrest frame can be calculated from the definition of the {\\it subsystem\nenergy-momentum tensor}, the definitions of effective center of motion and\neffective intrinsic spin of the subsystem are not unique. Actually, each of the\npreviously considered centroids corresponds to a different world-line in the\ncase of open systems. The pole-dipole description of open subsystems is\ncompared to their description as effective extended objects. Hopefully, the\ntechnique developed here could be instrumental for the relativistic treatment\nof binary star systems in metric gravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spontaneous symmetry breaking and optimization of functional\n  renormalization group: The requirement for the absence of spontaneous symmetry breaking in the d=1\ndimension has been used to optimize the regulator dependence of functional\nrenormalization group equations in the framework of the sine-Gordon scalar\nfield theory. Results obtained by the optimization of this kind were compared\nto those of the Litim-Pawlowski and the principle of minimal sensitivity\noptimization scenarios. The optimal parameters of the compactly supported\nsmooth (CSS) regulator, which recovers all major types of regulators in\nappropriate limits, have been determined beyond the local potential\napproximation, and the Litim limit of the CSS was found to be the optimal\nchoice.",
        "positive": "Nonperturbative 2D Gravity, Punctured Spheres and $\u0398$-Vacua in\n  String Theories: We consider a model of 2D gravity with the coefficient of the\nEinstein-Hilbert action having an imaginary part $\\pi/2$. This is equivalent to\nintroduce a $\\Theta$-vacuum structure in the genus expansion whose effect is to\nconvert the expansion into a series of alternating signs, presumably Borel\nsummable. We show that the specific heat of the model has a physical behaviour.\nIt can be represented nonperturbatively as a series in terms of integrals over\nmoduli spaces of punctured spheres and the sum of the series can be rewritten\nas a unique integral over a suitable moduli space of infinitely punctured\nspheres. This is an explicit realization \\`a la Friedan-Shenker of 2D quantum\ngravity. We conjecture that the expansion in terms of punctures and the genus\nexpansion can be derived using the Duistermaat-Heckman theorem. We briefly\nanalyze expansions in terms of punctured spheres also for multicritical models."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "New Forms of BRST Symmetry on a Prototypical First-Class System: We scrutinize the many known forms of BRST symmetries, as well as some new\nones, realized within a prototypical first-class system. Similarities and\ndifferences among ordinary BRST, anti-BRST, dual-BRST and anti-dual-BRST\nsymmetries are highlighted and discussed. We identify a precise\n$\\mathbb{Z}_4\\times\\mathbb{Z}_2$ discrete group of symmetries of the ghost\nsector, responsible for connecting the various forms of BRST transformations.\nConsidering a Hamiltonian approach, those symmetries can be interrelated by\ncanonical transformations among ghost variables. However, the distinguished\ncharacteristic role of the dual BRST symmetries can be fully appreciated within\na gauge-fixed Lagrangian viewpoint. New forms of BRST symmetries are given, a\nset generalizing particular ones previously reported in the literature as well\nas a brand new unprecedented set. The featured gauge invariant prototypical\nfirst-class system encompasses an extensive class of physical models and sheds\nlight on previous controversies in the current quantum field theory literature.",
        "positive": "A note on the holography of Chern-Simons matter theories with flavour: We study a three-dimensional N=3 U(N)_k x U(N)_{-k} Chern-Simons matter\ntheory with flavour, corresponding to the N=6\nAharony-Bergman-Jafferis-Maldacena CSM theory coupled to 2N_f fundamental\nfields. The dual holographic description is given by the near-horizon geometry\nof N M2-branes at a particular hypertoric geometry M_8. We explicitly construct\nthe space M_8 and match its isometries to the global symmetries of the field\ntheory. We also discuss the model in the quenched approximation by embedding\nprobe D6-branes in AdS_4 x CP^3."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Review of AdS/CFT Integrability, Chapter II.1: Classical AdS5xS5 string\n  solutions: We review basic examples of classical string solutions in AdS5xS5. We\nconcentrate on simplest rigid closed string solutions of circular or folded\ntype described by integrable 1-d Neumann system but mention also various\ngeneralizations and related open-string solutions.",
        "positive": "The Majid-Ruegg model and the Planck scales: A novel differential calculus with central inner product is introduced for\nkappa-Minkowski space. The `bad' behaviour of this differential calculus is\ndiscussed with reference to symplectic quantisation and A-infinity algebras.\nUsing this calculus in the Schrodinger equation gives two values which can be\ncompared with the Planck mass and length. This comparison gives an approximate\nnumerical value for the deformation parameter in kappa-Minkowski space. We\npresent numerical evidence that there is a potentially observable variation of\npropagation speed in the Klein-Gordon equation. The modified equations of\nelectrodynamics (without a spinor field) are derived from noncommutative\ncovariant derivatives. We note that these equations suggest that the speed of\nlight is independent of frequency, in contrast to the KG results (with the\ncaveat that zero current is not the same as in vacuum). We end with some\nphilosophical comments on measurement related to quantum theory and gravity\n(not necessarily quantum gravity) and noncommutative geometry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Primordial Gravitational Wave Background in String Cosmology: We find the spectrum P(w)dw of the gravitational wave background produced in\nthe early universe in string theory. We work in the framework of String Driven\nCosmology, whose scale factors are computed with the low-energy effective\nstring equations as well as selfconsistent solutions of General Relativity with\na gas of strings as source. The scale factor evolution is described by an early\nstring driven inflationary stage with an instantaneous transition to a\nradiation dominated stage and successive matter dominated stage. This is an\nexpanding string cosmology always running on positive proper cosmic time. A\ncareful treatment of the scale factor evolution and involved transitions is\nmade. A full prediction on the power spectrum of gravitational waves without\nany free-parameters is given. We study and show explicitly the effect of the\ndilaton field, characteristic to this kind of cosmologies. We compute the\nspectrum for the same evolution description with three differents approachs.\nSome features of gravitational wave spectra, as peaks and asymptotic\nbehaviours, are found direct consequences of the dilaton involved and not only\nof the scale factor evolution. A comparative analysis of different treatments,\nsolutions and compatibility with observational bounds or detection perspectives\nis made.",
        "positive": "Matrix factorisations and permutation branes: The description of B-type D-branes on a tensor product of two N=2 minimal\nmodels in terms of matrix factorisations is related to the boundary state\ndescription in conformal field theory. As an application we show that the D0-\nand D2-brane for a number of Gepner models are described by permutation\nboundary states. In some cases (including the quintic) the images of the\nD2-brane under the Gepner monodromy generate the full charge lattice."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Defect two-point functions in 6d (2,0) theories: We consider correlation functions in 6d $(2,0)$ theories of two\n$\\frac{1}{2}$-BPS operators inserted away from a $\\frac{1}{2}$-BPS surface\ndefect. In the large central charge limit the leading connected contribution\ncorresponds to sums of tree-level Witten diagram in AdS$_7\\times$S$^4$ in the\npresence of an AdS$_3$ defect. We show that these correlators can be uniquely\ndetermined by imposing only superconformal symmetry and consistency conditions,\neschewing the details of the complicated effective Lagrangian. We explicitly\ncompute all such two-point functions. The result exhibits remarkable hidden\nsimplicity.",
        "positive": "Brane-induced Skyrmion on S^3: baryonic matter in holographic QCD: We study baryonic matter in holographic QCD with D4/D8/\\bar{D8} multi-D brane\nsystem in type IIA superstring theory. The baryon is described as the\n\"brane-induced Skyrmion\", which is a topologically non-trivial chiral soliton\nin the four-dimensional meson effective action induced by holographic QCD. We\nemploy the \"truncated-resonance model\" approach for the baryon analysis,\nincluding pion and \\rho meson fields below the ultraviolet cutoff scale M_KK\n\\sim 1GeV, to keep the holographic duality with QCD. We describe the baryonic\nmatter in large N_c as single brane-induced Skyrmion on the three-dimensional\nclosed manifold S^3 with finite radius R. The interactions between baryons are\nsimulated by the curvature of the closed manifold S^3, and the decrease of the\nsize of S^3 represents the increase of the total baryon-number density in the\nmedium in this modeling. We investigate the energy density, the field\nconfiguration, the mass and the root-mean-square radius of single baryon on S^3\nas the function of its radius R. We find a new picture of \"pion dominance\" near\nthe critical density in the baryonic matter, where all the (axial) vector meson\nfields disappear and only the pion field survive. We also find the \"swelling\"\nphenomena of the baryons as the precursor of the deconfinement, and propose the\nmechanism of the swelling in general context of QCD. The properties of the\ndeconfinement and the chiral symmetry restoration in the baryonic matter are\nexamined by taking the proper order parameters. We also compare our\ntruncated-resonance model with another \"instanton\" description of the baryon in\nholographic QCD, considering the role of cutoff scale M_KK."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Duality Invariance of Cosmological Solutions with Torsion: We show that for a string moving in a background consisting of maximally\nsymmetric gravity, dilaton field and second rank antisymmetric tensor field,\nthe $O(d) \\otimes O(d)$ transformation on the vacuum solutions gives\ninequivalent solutions that are not maximally symmetric. We then show that the\nusual physical meaning of maximal symmetry can be made to remain unaltered even\nif torsion is present and illustrate this through two toy models by determining\nthe torsion fields, the metric and Killing vectors. Finally we show that under\nthe $O(d) \\otimes O(d)$ transformation this generalised maximal symmetry can be\npreserved under certain conditions. This is interesting in the context of\nstring related cosmological backgrounds.",
        "positive": "Bosonic Higher Spin Gravity in any Dimension with Dynamical Two-Form: We first propose an alternative to Vasiliev's bosonic higher spin gravities\nin any dimension by factoring out a modified sp(2) gauge algebra. We evidence\nperturbative equivalence of the two models, which have the same spectrum of\nFronsdal fields at the linearized level. We then embed the new model into a\nflat Quillen superconnection containing two extra master fields in form degrees\none and two; more generally, the superconnection contains additional degrees of\nfreedom associated to various deformations of the underlying non-commutative\ngeometry. Finally, we propose that by introducing first-quantized sp(2) ghosts\nand duality extending the field content, the Quillen flatness condition can be\nunified with the sp(2) gauge conditions into a single flatness condition that\nis variational with a Frobenius-Chern-Simons action functional."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Expanding the Black Hole Interior: Partially Entangled Thermal States in\n  SYK: We introduce a family of partially entangled thermal states in the SYK model\nthat interpolates between the thermo-field double state and a pure (product)\nstate. The states are prepared by a euclidean path integral describing the\nevolution over two euclidean time segments separated by a local scaling\noperator $\\mathcal{O}$. We argue that the holographic dual of this class of\nstates consists of two black holes with their interior regions connected via a\ndomain wall, described by the worldline of a massive particle. We compute the\nsize of the interior region and the entanglement entropy as a function of the\nscale dimension of $\\mathcal{O}$ and the temperature of each black hole. We\nargue that the one-sided bulk reconstruction can access the interior region of\nthe black hole.",
        "positive": "Uniqueness of supersymmetric AdS$_5$ black holes with $SU(2)$ symmetry: We prove that any supersymmetric solution to five-dimensional minimal gauged\nsupergravity with $SU(2)$ symmetry, that is timelike outside an analytic\nhorizon, is a Gutowski-Reall black hole or its near-horizon geometry. The proof\ncombines a delicate near-horizon analysis with the general form for a K\\\"ahler\nmetric with cohomogeneity-1 $SU(2)$ symmetry. We also prove that any timelike\nsupersymmetric soliton solution to this theory, with $SU(2)$ symmetry and a nut\nor a complex bolt, has a K\\\"ahler base with enhanced $U(1)\\times SU(2)$\nsymmetry, and we exhibit a family of asymptotically AdS$_5/\\mathbb{Z}_p$\nsolitons for $p \\geq 3$ with a bolt in this class."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-minimal Maxwell-Modified Gauss-Bonnet Cosmologies: Inflation and\n  Dark Energy: In this paper we show that power-law inflation can be realized in non-minimal\ngravitational coupling of electromagnetic field with a general function of\nGauss-Bonnet invariant. Such a non-minimal coupling may appear due to quantum\ncorrections. We also consider modified Maxwell-$F(G)$ gravity in which\nnon-minimal coupling between electromagnetic field and $f(G)$ occur in the\nframework of modified Gauss-Bonnet gravity. It is shown that inflationary\ncosmology and late-time accelerated expansion of the universe are possible in\nsuch a theory.",
        "positive": "Quantum Lattice Solitons: The number state method is used to study soliton bands for three anharmonic\nquantum lattices: i) The discrete nonlinear Schr\\\"{o}dinger equation, ii) The\nAblowitz-Ladik system, and iii) A fermionic polaron model. Each of these\nsystems is assumed to have $f$-fold translational symmetry in one spatial\ndimension, where $f$ is the number of freedoms (lattice points). At the second\nquantum level $(n=2)$ we calculate exact eigenfunctions and energies of pure\nquantum states, from which we determine binding energy $(E_{\\rm b})$, effective\nmass $(m^{*})$ and maximum group velocity $(V_{\\rm m})$ of the soliton bands as\nfunctions of the anharmonicity in the limit $f \\to \\infty$. For arbitrary\nvalues of $n$ we have asymptotic expressions for $E_{\\rm b}$, $m^{*}$, and\n$V_{\\rm m}$ as functions of the anharmonicity in the limits of large and small\nanharmonicity. Using these expressions we discuss and describe wave packets of\npure eigenstates that correspond to classical solitons."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hamiltonian approach to QCD at finite temperature: A novel approach to the Hamiltonian formulation of quantum field theory at\nfinite temperature is presented. The temperature is introduced by\ncompactification of a spatial dimension. The whole finite-temperature theory is\nencoded in the ground state on the spatial manifold $S^1 (L) \\times\n\\mathbb{R}^2$ where $L$ is the length of the compactified dimension which\ndefines the inverse temperature. The approach which is then applied to the\nHamiltonian formulation of QCD in Coulomb gauge to study the chiral phase\ntransition at finite temperatures.",
        "positive": "Note on Shape Moduli Stabilization, String Gas Cosmology and the\n  Swampland Criteria: In String Gas Cosmology, the simplest shape modulus fields are naturally\nstabilized by taking into account the presence of string winding and momentum\nmodes. We determine the resulting effective potential for these fields and show\nthat it obeys the de Sitter conjecture, one of the swampland criteria for\neffective field theories to be consistent with superstring theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauge theory solitons on noncommutative cylinder: We generalize to noncommutative cylinder the solution generation technique,\noriginally suggested for gauge theories on noncommutative plane. For this\npurpose we construct partial isometry operators and complete set of orthogonal\nprojectors in the algebra of the cylinder, and an isomorphism between the free\nmodule and its direct sum with the Fock module on the cylinder. We construct\nexplicitly the gauge theory soliton and evaluate the spectrum of perturbations\nabout this soliton.",
        "positive": "A Cardy Formula for Three-Point Coefficients: How the Black Hole Got its\n  Spots: Modular covariance of torus one-point functions constrains the three point\nfunction coefficients of a two dimensional CFT. This leads to an asymptotic\nformula for the average value of light-heavy-heavy three point coefficients,\ngeneralizing Cardy's formula for the high energy density of states. The\nderivation uses certain asymptotic properties of one-point conformal blocks on\nthe torus. Our asymptotic formula matches a dual AdS_3 computation of one point\nfunctions in a black hole background. This is evidence that the BTZ black hole\ngeometry emerges upon course-graining over a suitable family of heavy\nmicrostates."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Transitions of Orbifold Vacua: We study the global structure of vacua of heterotic strings compactified on\norbifolds $T^4/Z_N$ (N=2,3) in the presence of heterotic 5-branes. Gauge\nsymmetry breaking associated with orbifold is described by instantons in the\nfield theory. Phase transition between small instantons and heterotic 5-branes\nprovides top-down, stringy account to the spectrum and modular invariance\ncondition. Also it takes us from one vacuum to another by emitting and\nabsorbing instantons. This means that many vacua with different gauge theory\nare in fact connected and are inherited from perturbative vacua. It follows\nthat there are also transitions among twisted fields, heterotic 5-branes and\ninstantons.",
        "positive": "Geometrical hierarchies in classical supergravity: We introduce a $N=1$ supergravity model with a very simple hidden sector\ncoupled to the electroweak gauge and Higgs sectors of the MSSM. At the\nclassical level, supersymmetry and $SU(2)\\times U(1)$ are both spontaneously\nbroken, with vanishing vacuum energy. Two real flat directions control the two\nsymmetry-breaking scales $m_{3/2}$ and $m_Z$. The two massless scalars are a\ngauge singlet and the standard Higgs boson. All other unobserved particles have\nmasses of order $m_{3/2}$. This may be a new starting point for studying the\ncompatibility of naturalness with the observed mass hierarchies."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Lectures on on Black Holes, Topological Strings and Quantum Attractors\n  (2.0): In these lecture notes, we review some recent developments on the relation\nbetween the macroscopic entropy of four-dimensional BPS black holes and the\nmicroscopic counting of states, beyond the thermodynamical, large charge limit.\nAfter a brief overview of charged black holes in supergravity and string\ntheory, we give an extensive introduction to special and very special geometry,\nattractor flows and topological string theory, including holomorphic anomalies.\nWe then expose the Ooguri-Strominger-Vafa (OSV) conjecture which relates\nmicroscopic degeneracies to the topological string amplitude, and review\nprecision tests of this formula on ``small'' black holes. Finally, motivated by\na holographic interpretation of the OSV conjecture, we give a systematic\napproach to the radial quantization of BPS black holes (i.e. quantum\nattractors). This suggests the existence of a one-parameter generalization of\nthe topological string amplitude, and provides a general framework for\nconstructing automorphic partition functions for black hole degeneracies in\ntheories with sufficient degree of symmetry.",
        "positive": "Towards the uniqueness of Lifshitz black holes and solitons in New\n  Massive Gravity: We prove that the z=1 and z=3 Lifshitz black hole solutions of New Massive\nGravity in three dimensions are the only static axisymmetric solutions that can\nbe cast in a Kerr-Schild form with a seed metric given by the Lifshitz\nspacetime. Correspondingly, we study the issue of uniqueness of Lifshitz\nsolitons when considering an ansatz involving a single metric function. We show\nthis problem can be mapped to the previous one and that the z=1 and z=1/3\nLifshitz soliton solutions are the only ones within this class. Finally, our\napproach suggests for the first time an explanation as to what is special about\nthose particular values of the dynamical critical exponent z at finite\ntemperature."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum gravity in terms of topological observables: We recast the action principle of four dimensional General Relativity so that\nit becomes amenable for perturbation theory which doesn't break general\ncovariance. The coupling constant becomes dimensionless (G_{Newton} \\Lambda)\nand extremely small 10^{-120}. We give an expression for the generating\nfunctional of perturbation theory. We show that the partition function of\nquantum General Relativity can be expressed as an expectation value of a\ncertain topologically invariant observable. This sets up a framework in which\nquantum gravity can be studied perturbatively using the techniques of\ntopological quantum field theory.",
        "positive": "Thermodynamic implications of some unusual quantum theories: Various deformations of the position-momentum algebras operators have been\nproposed. Their implications for single systems like the hydrogen atom or the\nharmonic oscillator have been addressed. In this paper we investigate the\nconsequences of some of these algebras for macroscopic systems. The key point\nof our analysis lies in the fact that the modification of the Heisenberg\nuncertainty relations present in these theories changes the volume of the\nelementary cell in the hamiltonian phase space and so the measure needed to\ncompute partition functions.\n  The thermodynamics of a non interacting gas are studied for two members of\nthe Kempf-Mangano-Mann (K.M.M.) deformations. It is shown that the theory which\nexhibits a minimal uncertainty in length predicts a new behavior at high\ntemperature while the one with a minimal uncertainty in momentum displays\nunusual features for huge volumes. In the second model negative pressures are\nobtained and mixing two different gases does not necessarily increase the\nentropy . This suggests a possible violation of the second law of\nthermodynamics. Potential consequences of these models in the evolution of the\nearly universe are briefly discussed.\n  Constructing the Einstein model of a solid for the q deformed oscillator, we\nfind that the subset of eigenstates whose energies are bounded from above leads\nto a divergent partition function."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dynamical Flavor Symmetry Breaking by a Magnetic Field in $2+1$\n  Dimensions: It is shown that in $2+1$ dimensions, a constant magnetic field is a strong\ncatalyst of dynamical flavor symmetry breaking, leading to generating a fermion\ndynamical mass even at the weakest attractive interaction between fermions. The\nessence of this effect is that in a magnetic field, in $2+1$ dimensions, the\ndynamics of fermion pairing is essentially one-dimensional. The effect is\nillustrated in the Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model in a magnetic field. The low-energy\neffective action in this model is derived and the thermodynamic properties of\nthe model are considered. The relevance of this effect for planar condensed\nmatter systems and for $3+1$ dimensional theories at high temperature is\npointed out.",
        "positive": "A Consistent Effective Theory of Long-Wavelength Cosmological\n  Perturbations: Effective field theory provides a perturbative framework to study the\nevolution of cosmological large-scale structure. We investigate the\nunderpinnings of this approach, and suggest new ways to compute correlation\nfunctions of cosmological observables. We find that, in contrast with quantum\nfield theory, the appropriate effective theory of classical cosmological\nperturbations involves interactions that are nonlocal in time. We describe an\nalternative to the usual approach of smoothing the perturbations, based on a\npath-integral formulation of the renormalization group equations. This\ntechnique allows for improved handling of short-distance modes that are\nperturbatively generated by long-distance interactions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Poisson Structure and Moyal Quantisation of the Liouville Theory: The symplectic and Poisson structures of the Liouville theory are derived\nfrom the symplectic form of the SL(2,R) WZNW theory by gauge invariant\nHamiltonian reduction. Causal non-equal time Poisson brackets for a Liouville\nfield are presented. Using the symmetries of the Liouville theory, symbols of\nchiral fields are constructed and their *-products calculated. Quantum\ndeformations consistent with the canonical quantisation result, and a non-equal\ntime commutator is given.",
        "positive": "2+1 Dimensional Quantum Gravity as a Gaussian Fermionic System and the\n  3D-Ising Model: We show that 2+1-dimensional Euclidean quantum gravity is equivalent, under\nsome mild topological assumptions, to a Gaussian fermionic system. In\nparticular, for manifolds topologically equivalent to $\\Sigma_g\\times\\RrR$ with\n$\\Sigma_g$ a closed and oriented Riemann surface of genus $g$, the\ncorresponding 2+1-dimensional Euclidean quantum gravity may be related to the\n3D-lattice Ising model before its thermodynamic limit."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "New Couplings of Six-Dimensional Supergravity: We describe the couplings of six-dimensional supergravity, which contain a\nself-dual tensor multiplet, to $n_T$ anti-self-dual tensor matter multiplets,\n$n_V$ vector multiplets and $n_H$ hypermultiplets. The scalar fields of the\ntensor multiplets form a coset $SO(n_T,1)/SO(n_T)$, while the scalars in the\nhypermultiplets form quaternionic K\\\"ahler symmetric spaces, the generic\nexample being $Sp(n_H,1)/Sp(n_H)\\otimes Sp(1)$. The gauging of the compact\nsubgroup $Sp(n_H) \\times Sp(1)$ is also described. These results generalize\nprevious ones in the literature on matter couplings of $N=1$ supergravity in\nsix dimensions.",
        "positive": "Recent mathematical developments in the Skyrme model: In this review we present a pedagogical introduction to recent, more\nmathematical developments in the Skyrme model. Our aim is to render these\nadvances accessible to mainstream nuclear and particle physicists. We start\nwith the static sector and elaborate on geometrical aspects of the definition\nof the model. Then we review the instanton method which yields an analytical\napproximation to the minimum energy configuration in any sector of fixed baryon\nnumber, as well as an approximation to the surfaces which join together all the\nlow energy critical points. We present some explicit results for B=2. We then\ndescribe the work done on the multibaryon minima using rational maps, on the\ntopology of the configuration space and the possible implications of Morse\ntheory. Next we turn to recent work on the dynamics of Skyrmions. We focus\nexclusively on the low energy interaction, specifically the gradient flow\nmethod put forward by Manton. We illustrate the method with some expository toy\nmodels. We end this review with a presentation of our own work on the\nsemi-classical quantization of nucleon states and low energy nucleon-nucleon\nscattering."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Renormalization Group Flow of Four-fermi with Chern-Simons Interaction: We introduce Chern-Simons interaction into the three dimensional four-fermi\ntheory, ad suggest a possible line of non-Gaussian infrared stable fixed points\nof the four-fermi operator, this line is characterized by the Chern-Simons\ncoupling.",
        "positive": "A Field Theory Model With a New Lorentz-Invariant Energy Scale: A framework is proposed that allows to write down field theories with a new\nenergy scale while explicitly preserving Lorentz invariance and without\nspoiling the features of standard quantum field theory which allow quick\ncalculations of scattering amplitudes. If the invariant energy is set to the\nPlanck scale, these deformed field theories could serve to model quantum\ngravity phenomenology. The proposal is based on the idea, appearing for example\nin Deformed Special Relativity, that momentum space could be curved rather than\nflat. This idea is implemented by introducing a fifth dimension and imposing an\nextra constraint on physical field configurations in addition to the mass shell\nconstraint. It is shown that a deformed interacting scalar field theory is\nunitary. Also, a deformed version of QED is argued to give scattering\namplitudes that reproduce the usual ones in the leading order. Possibilities\nfor experimental signatures are discussed, but more work on the framework's\nconsistency and interpretation is necessary to make concrete predictions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Lectures on Generalized Symmetries: These are a set of lecture notes on generalized global symmetries in quantum\nfield theory. The focus is on invertible symmetries with a few comments\nregarding non-invertible symmetries. The main topics covered are the basics of\nhigher-form symmetries and their properties including 't Hooft anomalies,\ngauging and spontaneous symmetry breaking. We also introduce the useful notion\nof symmetry topological field theories (SymTFTs). Furthermore, an introduction\nto higher-group symmetries describing mixings of higher-form symmetries is\nprovided. Some advanced topics covered include the encoding of higher-form\nsymmetries in holography and geometric engineering constructions in string\ntheory. Throughout the text, all concepts are consistently illustrated using\ngauge theories as examples.",
        "positive": "Generalized Jack polynomials and the AGT relations for the $SU(3)$ group: We find generalized Jack polynomials for the group $SU(3)$ and verify that\ntheir Selberg averages for several first levels are given by Nekrasov\nfunctions. To compute the averages we derive recurrence relations for the\n$sl_3$ Selberg integrals."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetric Spectral Form Factor and Euclidean Black Holes: The late-time behavior of spectral form factor (SFF) encodes the inherent\ndiscreteness of a quantum system, which should be generically non-vanishing. We\nstudy an index analog of the microcanonical spectrum form factor in\nfour-dimensional $\\mathcal{N}=4$ super Yang-Mills theory. In the large $N$\nlimit and at large enough energy, the most dominant saddle corresponds to the\nblack hole in the AdS bulk. This gives rise to the slope that decreases\nexponentially for a small imaginary chemical potential, which is a natural\nanalog of an early time. We find that the `late-time' behavior is governed by\nthe multi-cut saddles that arise in the index matrix model, which are\nnon-perturbatively sub-dominant at early times. These saddles become dominant\nat late times, preventing the SFF from decaying. These multi-cut saddles\ncorrespond to the orbifolded Euclidean black holes in the AdS bulk, therefore\ngiving the geometrical interpretation of the `ramp.' Our analysis is done in\nthe standard AdS/CFT setting without ensemble average or wormholes.",
        "positive": "Relaxed super self-duality and effective action: A closed-form expression is obtained for a holomorphic sector of the two-loop\nEuler-Heisenberg type effective action for N = 2 supersymmetric QED derived in\nhep-th/0308136. In the framework of the background-field method, this sector is\nsingled out by computing the effective action for a background N = 2 vector\nmultiplet satisfying a relaxed super self-duality condition. The approach\nadvocated in this letter can be applied, in particular, to the study of the N =\n4 super Yang-Mills theory on its Coulomb branch."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "String Primer: This is the written version of a set of introductory lectures on string\ntheory.",
        "positive": "Inclusive probability of particle creation on classical backgrounds: The quantum theories of boson and fermion fields with quadratic nonstationary\nHamiltoanians are rigorously constructed. The representation of the algebra of\nobservables is given by the Hamiltonian diagonalization procedure. The\nsufficient conditions for the existence of unitary dynamics at finite times are\nformulated and the explicit formula for the matrix elements of the evolution\noperator is derived. In particular, this gives the well-defined expression for\nthe one-loop effective action. The ultraviolet and infrared divergencies are\nregularized by the energy cutoff in the Hamiltonian of the theory. The possible\ninfinite particle production is regulated by the corresponding counterdiabatic\nterms. The explicit formulas for the average number of particles $N_D$ recorded\nby the detector and for the probability $w(D)$ to record a particle by the\ndetector are derived. It is proved that these quantities allow for the\nregularization removal limit and, in this limit, $N_D$ is finite and\n$w(D)\\in[0,1)$. As an example, the theory of a neutral boson field with\nstationary quadratic part of the Hamiltonian and nonstationary source is\nconsidered. The average number of particles produced by this source from the\nvacuum during a finite time evolution and the inclusive probability to record a\ncreated particle are obtained. The infrared and ultraviolet asymptotics of the\naverage density of created particles are derived. As a particular case, quantum\nelectrodynamics with a classical current is considered. The ultraviolet and\ninfrared asymptotics of the average number of photons are derived. The\nasymptotics of the average number of photons produced by the adiabatically\ndriven current is found."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Universal Drinfeld-Sokolov Reduction and Matrices of Complex Size: We construct affinization of the algebra $gl_{\\lambda}$ of ``complex size''\nmatrices, that contains the algebras $\\hat{gl_n}$ for integral values of the\nparameter. The Drinfeld--Sokolov Hamiltonian reduction of the algebra\n$\\hat{gl_{\\lambda}}$ results in the quadratic Gelfand--Dickey structure on the\nPoisson--Lie group of all pseudodifferential operators of fractional order.\nThis construction is extended to the simultaneous deformation of orthogonal and\nsimplectic algebras that produces self-adjoint operators, and it has a\ncounterpart for the Toda lattices with fractional number of particles.",
        "positive": "Observables, gravitational dressing, and obstructions to locality and\n  subsystems: Quantum field theory - our basic framework for describing all\nnon-gravitational physics - conflicts with general relativity: the latter\nprecludes the standard definition of the former's essential principle of\nlocality, in terms of commuting local observables. We examine this conflict\nmore carefully, by investigating implications of gauge (diffeomorphism)\ninvariance for observables in gravity. We prove a dressing theorem, showing\nthat any operator with nonzero Poincare charges, and in particular any\ncompactly-supported operator, in flat-spacetime quantum field theory must be\ngravitationally dressed once coupled to gravity, i.e. it must depend on the\nmetric at arbitrarily long distances, and we put lower bounds on this nonlocal\ndependence. This departure from standard locality occurs in the most severe way\npossible: in perturbation theory about flat spacetime, at leading order in\nNewton's constant. The physical observables in a gravitational theory therefore\ndo not organize themselves into local commuting subalgebras: the principle of\nlocality must apparently be reformulated or abandoned, and in fact we lack a\nclear definition of the coarser and more basic notion of a quantum subsystem of\nthe Universe. We discuss relational approaches to locality based on\ndiffeomorphism-invariant nonlocal operators, and reinforce arguments that any\nsuch locality is state-dependent and approximate. We also find limitations to\nthe utility of bilocal diffeomorphism-invariant operators that are considered\nin cosmological contexts. An appendix provides a concise review of the\ncanonical covariant formalism for gravity, instrumental in the discussion of\nPoincare charges and their associated long-range fields."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Systematic Study on Matrix Models for Chern-Simons-matter Theories: We investigate the planar solution of matrix models derived from various\nChern-Simons-matter theories compatible with the planar limit. The saddle-point\nequations for most of such theories can be solved in a systematic way. A\nrelation to Fuchsian systems play an important role in obtaining the planar\nresolvents. For those theories, the eigenvalue distribution is found to be\nconfined in a bounded region even when the 't Hooft couplings become large. As\na result, the vevs of Wilson loops are bounded in the large 't Hooft coupling\nlimit. This implies that many of Chern-Simons-matter theories have quite\ndifferent properties from ABJM theory. If the gauge group is of the form ${\\rm\nU}(N_1)_{k_1}\\times{\\rm U}(N_2)_{k_2}$, then the resolvents can be obtained in\na more explicit form than in the general cases.",
        "positive": "A mild source for the Wu-Yang magnetic monopole: We establish that the Wu-Yang monopole needs the introduction of a magnetic\npoint source at the origin in order for it to be a solution of the differential\nand integral equations for the Yang-Mills theory. That result is corroborated\nby the analysis through distribution theory, of the two types of magnetic\nfields relevant for the local and global properties of the Wu-Yang solution.\nThe subtlety lies on the fact that with the non-vanishing magnetic point source\nrequired by the Yang-Mills integral equations, the Wu-Yang monopole\nconfiguration does not violate, in the sense of distribution theory, the\ndifferential Bianchi identity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Two Centered Black Holes and N=4 Dyon Spectrum: The exact spectrum of dyons in a class of N=4 supersymmetric string theories\nis known to change discontinuously across walls of marginal stability. We show\nthat the change in the degeneracy across the walls of marginal stability can be\naccounted for precisely by the entropy of two centered small black holes which\ndisappear as we cross the walls of marginal stability.",
        "positive": "The non-retarded dispersive force between an electrically polarizable\n  atom and a magnetically polarizable one: Using perturbative QED we show that, while the retarded dispersive force\nbetween an electrically polarizable atom and a magnetically polarizable one is\nproportional to $1/r^{8}$, where $r$ is the distance between the atoms, the\nnon-retarded force is proportiaonal to $1/r^{5}$. This is a rather surprising\nresult that should be compared with the dispersive van der Waals force between\ntwo electrically polarizable atoms, where the retarded force is also\nproportional to $1/r^{8}$, but the non-retarded force is proportional to\n$1/r^{7}$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Apparently superluminal superfluids: We consider the superfluid phase of a specific renormalizable relativistic\nquantum field theory. We prove that, within the regime of validity of\nperturbation theory and of the superfluid effective theory, there are\nconsistent and regular vortex solutions where the superfluid's velocity field\nas traditionally defined smoothly interpolates between zero and arbitrarily\nlarge superluminal values. We show that this solution is free of instabilities\nand of superluminal excitations. We show that, in contrast, a generic vortex\nsolution for an ordinary fluid does develop an instability if the velocity\nfield becomes superluminal. All this questions the characterization of a\nsuperfluid velocity field as the actual velocity of ``something\".",
        "positive": "Brane-like States in Superstring Theory and the Dynamics of non-Abelian\n  Gauge Theories: We propose a string-theoretic ansatz describing the dynamics of SU(N)\nYang-Mills theories in the limit of large N in D=4. The construction uses in a\ncrucial way open-string vertex operators that describe non-perturbative brane\ndynamics. According to our proposal, various gauge theories are described by\nstring theories with the same action, but with different measures in the\nfunctional integral. The choice of measure defines the gauge group, as well as\nthe effective space-time dimension of the resulting gauge theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Hausdorff dimension in polymerized quantum gravity: We calculate the Hausdorff dimension, $d_H$, and the correlation function\nexponent, $\\eta$, for polymerized two dimensional quantum gravity models. If\nthe non-polymerized model has correlation function exponent $\\eta_0 >3$ then\n$d_H=\\gamma^{-1}$ where $\\gamma$ is the susceptibility exponent. This suggests\nthat these models may be in the same universality class as certain non-generic\nbranched polymer models.",
        "positive": "Species Entropy and Thermodynamics: We analyse particle species and the species scale in quantum gravity from a\nthermodynamic perspective. In close analogy to black hole thermodynamics, we\npropose that particle species own an entropy and a temperature, which is\ndetermined by the species scale. This is identical to the Bekenstein-Hawking\nentropy of a corresponding minimal black hole and agrees with the number of\nspecies in a given tower of states. Through the species entropy, we find that\ncertain entropy bounds are connected to recent swampland constraints. Moreover,\nthe concept of species entropy and temperature allow us to formulate the laws\nof species thermodynamics, which are argued to govern the variations of moduli\nin string theory. They can be viewed as general rules that imply certain\nswampland conjectures, and vice versa."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "From ALE-instanton Moduli to Super Yang-Mills Theories via Branes: A large class of equivalence relations between the moduli spaces of\ninstantons on ALE spaces and the Higgs branches of supersymmetric Yang-Mills\ntheories, are found by means of a certain kind of duality transformation\nbetween brane configurations in superstring theories. 4d, N=2 and 5d, N=1\nsupersymmetric gauge theories with product gauge groups turn out to correspond\nto the ALE-instanton moduli of type II B and type II A superstring theories,\nrespectively.",
        "positive": "On the Complementarity of F-theory, Orientifolds, and Heterotic Strings: We study F-theory duals of six dimensional heterotic vacua in extreme regions\nof moduli space where the heterotic string is very strongly coupled. We\ndemonstrate how to use orientifold limits of these F-theory duals to regain a\nperturbative string description. As an example, we reproduce the spectrum of a\n$T^4/\\ZZ_{4}$ orientifold as an F-theory vacuum with a singular $K3$ fibration.\nWe relate this vacuum to previously studied heterotic $E_8\\times E_8$\ncompactifications on $K3$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Delicacies of the Mass Perturbation in the Schwinger Model on a Circle: The Hilbert bundle for the massless fermions of the Schwinger model on a\ncircle, over the space of gauge field configurations, is topologically\nnon-trivial (twisted). The corresponding bundle for massive fermions is\ntopologically trivial (periodic). Since the structure of the fermionic Hilbert\nbundle changes discontinuously the possibility of perturbing in the mass is\nthrown into doubt. In this article, we show that a direct application of the\nanti-adiabatic theorem of Low, allows the structure of the massless theory to\nbe dynamically preserved in the strong coupling limit, ${e\\over m}>>1$. This\njustifies the use of perturbation theory in the bosonized version of the model,\nin this limit.",
        "positive": "Coulomb scattering for scalar field in Scr\\\" odinger picture: The scattering of a charged scalar field on Coulomb potential on de Sitter\nspace-time is studied using the solution of the free Klein-Gordon equation. We\nfind that the scattering amplitude is independent of the choice of the picture\nand in addition the total energy is conserved in the scattering process."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Notes on holographic Schwinger effect: We use the method of evaluating the decay rate in terms of the imaginary part\nof a probe brane action to study the holographic Schwinger effect. In the\nconfining D3-branes case, we find that the Schwinger effect occurs at energy\nscales higher than the Kaluza-Klein mass, indicating the absence of such effect\nwhen the dual gauge field theory can be regarded as an 2+1 dimensional theory.\nThis property is independent of the configuration of the probe brane. In the\ncase of D3-branes with a B field dual to a noncommutative super Yang-Mills\ntheory, we study how the decay rate is affected by the noncommutative effect.",
        "positive": "Lorentz Invariance Violation and Symmetry in Randers--Finsler Spaces: Lorentz Invariance violation is a common feature of new physics beyond the\nstandard model. We show that the symmetry of Randers spaces deduces a modified\ndispersion relation with characteristics of Lorentz Invariance violation. The\ncounterparts of the Lorentz transformation in the Einstein's Special Relativity\nare presented explicitly. The coordinate transformations are unitary and form a\ngroup. Generators and algebra satisfied by them are different from usual\nLorentz ones. The Randersian line element as well as speed of light is\ninvariant under the transformations. In particular, there is another invariant\nspeed which may be related with Planck scale and the mass of moving particle.\nThus, the Randers spaces is a suitable framework to discuss the Lorentz\nInvariance violation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On some developments in the Nonsymmetric Kaluza-Klein Theory: We consider a condition for a charge confinement and gravito-electromagnetic\nwave solutions in the Nonsymmetric Kaluza-Klein Theory.We consider also an\ninfluence of a cosmological constant on a static,spherically symmetric\nsolution.We remind to the reader some fudamentals of the Nonsymmetric\nKaluza-Klein Theory and a geometrcal background behind the\ntheory.Simultaneously we give some remarks concerning misunderstanding\nconnected to several notions of the Nonsymmetric Kaluza-Klein Theory,Einstein\nUnified Field Theory,geometrization and unification of physical interactions\n.We reconsider Dirac field in the Nonsymmetric Kaluza-Klein Theory.",
        "positive": "Graviton n-point functions for UV-complete theories in Anti-de Sitter\n  space: We calculate graviton n-point functions in an anti-de Sitter black brane\nbackground for effective gravity theories whose linearized equations of motion\nhave at most two time derivatives. We compare the n-point functions in Einstein\ngravity to those in theories whose leading correction is quadratic in the\nRiemann tensor. The comparison is made for any number of gravitons and for all\nphysical graviton modes in a kinematic region for which the leading correction\ncan significantly modify the Einstein result. We find that the n-point\nfunctions of Einstein gravity depend on at most a single angle, whereas those\nof the corrected theories may depend on two angles. For the four-point\nfunctions, Einstein gravity exhibits linear dependence on the Mandelstam\nvariable s versus a quadratic dependence on s for the corrected theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exact O(d,d) Transformations in WZW Models: Using the algebraic Hamiltonian approach, we derive the exact to all orders\nO(d,d) transformations of the metric and the dilaton field in WZW and WZW coset\nmodels for both compact and non-compact groups. It is shown that under the\nexact $O(d)\\times O(d)$ transformation only the leading order of the inverse\nmetric $G^{-1}$ is transformed. The quantity $\\sqrt{G}\\exp(\\Phi)$ is the same\nin all the dual models and in particular is independent of k. We also show that\nthe exact metric and dilaton field that correspond to G/U(1)^d WZW can be\nobtained by applying the exact O(d,d) transformations on the (ungauged) WZW, a\nresult that was known to one loop order only. As an example we give the O(2,2)\ntransformations in the $SL(2,R)$ WZW that transform to its dual exact models.\nThese include also the exact 3D black string and the exact 2D black hole with\nan extra $U(1)$ free field.",
        "positive": "Black Holes as P-Branes: We review briefly the thermodynamical interpretation of black hole physics\nand discuss the problems and inconsistencies in this approach. We provide an\nalternative interpretation of black holes as quantum objects and investigate\nthe statistical mechanics of a gas of such objects in the microcanonical\nensemble. We argue that the theory of black holes has the conformal properties\nof duality and satisfaction of the statistical bootstrap condition. We show in\nthe context of mean field theory that the thermal vacuum is the false vacuum\nfor a black hole and define a microcanonical vacuum which leads to a number\ndensity characteristic of pure states for the Hawking radiation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Space-Time Diffeomorphisms in Noncommutative Gauge Theories: In previous work [Rosenbaum M. et al., J. Phys. A: Math. Theor. 40 (2007),\n10367-10382, hep-th/0611160] we have shown how for canonical parametrized field\ntheories, where space-time is placed on the same footing as the other fields in\nthe theory, the representation of space-time diffeomorphisms provides a very\nconvenient scheme for analyzing the induced twisted deformation of these\ndiffeomorphisms, as a result of the space-time noncommutativity. However, for\ngauge field theories (and of course also for canonical geometrodynamics) where\nthe Poisson brackets of the constraints explicitely depend on the embedding\nvariables, this Poisson algebra cannot be connected directly with a\nrepresentation of the complete Lie algebra of space-time diffeomorphisms,\nbecause not all the field variables turn out to have a dynamical character\n[Isham C.J., Kuchar K.V., Ann. Physics 164 (1985), 288-315, 316-333].\nNonetheless, such an homomorphic mapping can be recuperated by first modifying\nthe original action and then adding additional constraints in the formalism in\norder to retrieve the original theory, as shown by Kuchar and Stone for the\ncase of the parametrized Maxwell field in [Kuchar K.V., Stone S.L., Classical\nQuantum Gravity 4 (1987), 319-328]. Making use of a combination of all of these\nideas, we are therefore able to apply our canonical reparametrization approach\nin order to derive the deformed Lie algebra of the noncommutative space-time\ndiffeomorphisms as well as to consider how gauge transformations act on the\ntwisted algebras of gauge and particle fields. Thus, hopefully, adding\nclarification on some outstanding issues in the literature concerning the\nsymmetries for gauge theories in noncommutative space-times.",
        "positive": "A Hierarchy of Superstrings: We construct a hierarchy of supersymmetric string theories by showing that\nthe general N-extended superstrings may be viewed as a special class of the\n(N+1)-extended superstrings. As a side result, we find a twisted (N+2)\nsuperconformal algebra realized in the N-extended string."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "$Z_N$-balls: Solitons from $Z_N$-symmetric scalar field theory: We discuss the conditions under which static, finite-energy, configurations\nof a complex scalar field $\\phi$ with constant phase and spherically symmetric\nnorm exist in a potential of the form $V(\\phi^*\\phi, \\phi^N+\\phi^{*N})$ with\n$N\\in\\mathbb{N}$ and $N\\geq2$, i.e. a potential with a $Z_N$-symmetry. Such\nconfigurations are called $Z_N$-balls. We build explicit solutions in\n$(3+1)$-dimensions from a model mimicking effective field theories based on the\nPolyakov loop in finite-temperature SU($N$) Yang-Mills theory. We find\n$Z_N$-balls for $N=$3, 4, 6, 8, 10 and show that only static solutions with\nzero radial node exist for $N$ odd, while solutions with radial nodes may exist\nfor $N$ even.",
        "positive": "A $T\\bar T$-like deformation of the Skyrme model and the Heisenberg\n  model of nucleon-nucleon scattering: The Skyrme model, though it admits correctly a wide range of static\nproperties of the nucleon, does not seem to reproduce properly the scattering\nbehavior of nucleons at high energies. In this paper we present a $T\\bar\nT$-like deformation of it, inspired by a 1+1 dimensional model, in which\nboosted nucleons behave like shock waves. The scattering of the latter\nsaturates the Froissart bound. We start by showing that 1+1 dimensional $T\\bar\nT$ deformations of the free abelian pion action are in fact generalizations of\nthe old Heisenberg model for nucleon-nucleon scattering, yielding the same\nsaturation of the Froissart bound. We then deform the strong coupling limit of\nthe bosonized action of multi-flavor QCD in two dimensions using the $T\\bar T$\ndeformation of the WZW action with a mass term. We derive the classical soliton\nsolution that corresponds to the nucleon, determine its mass and discuss its\ntransformation into a shock-wave upon boosting. We uplift this action into a\n3+1 dimensional $T\\bar T$-like deformation of the Skyrme action. We compare\nthis deformed action to that of chiral perturbation theory.\n  A possible holographic gravity dual interpretation is explored."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Continuous Phase Transition of the higher-dimensional topological\n  de-Sitter Spacetime with the Non-linear Source: For the higher-dimensional dS spacetime embedded with black holes with\nnon-linear charges, there are two horizons with different radiation\ntemperatures. By introducing the interplay between two horizons this system can\nbe regarded as an ordinary thermodynamic system in the thermodynamic\nequilibrium described by the thermodynamic quantities\n($T_{eff},~P_{eff},~V,~S,~\\Phi_{eff}$). In this work, our focus is on the\nthermodynamic properties of phase transition for the four-dimensional dS\nspacetime with different values of the charge correction $\\bar\\phi$. We find\nthat with the increasing of the non-linear charge correction the two horizons\nget closer and closer, and the correction entropy is negative which indicates\nthe interaction between the two horizons stronger and stronger. Furthermore,\nthe heat capacity at constant pressure, isobaric expansion coefficient, and the\nisothermal compression coefficient have the schottky peak at the critical\npoint. However, the heat capacity as constant volume for the dS spacetime is\nnonzero. Finally, the dynamical properties of phase transition for this system\nhave investigated based on Gibbs free energy, where exists the different\nbehavior with that for AdS black holes.",
        "positive": "The Euler anomaly and scale factors in Liouville/Toda CFTs: The role played by the Euler anomaly in the dictionary relating sphere\npartition functions of four dimensional theories of class $\\mathcal{S}$ and two\ndimensional nonrational CFTs is clarified. On the two dimensional side, this\ninvolves a careful treatment of scale factors in Liouville/Toda correlators.\nUsing ideas from tinkertoy constructions for Gaiotto duality, a framework is\nproposed for evaluating these scale factors. The representation theory of Weyl\ngroups plays a critical role in this framework."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Metastable supergravity vacua with F and D supersymmetry breaking: We study the conditions under which a generic supergravity model involving\nchiral and vector multiplets can admit viable metastable vacua with\nspontaneously broken supersymmetry and realistic cosmological constant. To do\nso, we impose that on the vacuum the scalar potential and all its first\nderivatives vanish, and derive a necessary condition for the matrix of its\nsecond derivatives to be positive definite. We study then the constraints set\nby the combination of the flatness condition needed for the tuning of the\ncosmological constant and the stability condition that is necessary to avoid\nunstable modes. We find that the existence of such a viable vacuum implies a\ncondition involving the curvature tensor for the scalar geometry and the charge\nand mass matrices for the vector fields. Moreover, for given curvature, charges\nand masses satisfying this constraint, the vector of F and D auxiliary fields\ndefining the Goldstino direction is constrained to lie within a certain domain.\nThe effect of vector multiplets relative to chiral multiplets is maximal when\nthe masses of the vector fields are comparable to the gravitino mass. When the\nmasses are instead much larger or much smaller than the gravitino mass, the\neffect becomes small and translates into a correction to the effective\ncurvature. We finally apply our results to some simple classes of examples, to\nillustrate their relevance.",
        "positive": "$\\widehat{sl(2)}$ decomposition of denominator formulae of some BKM Lie\n  superalgebras -- II: The square-root of Siegel modular forms of CHL Z_N orbifolds of type II\ncompactifications are denominator formulae for some Borcherds-Kac-Moody Lie\nsuperalgebras for N=1,2,3,4. We study the decomposition of these Siegel modular\nforms in terms of characters of two sub-algebras: one is a $\\widehat{sl(2)}$\nand the second is a Borcherds extension of the $\\widehat{sl(2)}$. This is a\ncontinuation of our previous work where we studied the case of Siegel modular\nforms appearing in the context of Umbral moonshine. This situation is more\nintricate and provides us with a new example (for N=5) that did not appear in\nthat case. We restrict our analysis to the first N terms in the expansion as a\nfirst attempt at deconstructing the Siegel modular forms and unravelling the\nstructure of potentially new Lie algebras that occur for N=5,6."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Extended Superconformal Algebras from Classical and Quantum Hamiltonian\n  Reduction: We consider the extended superconformal algebras of the Knizhnik-Bershadsky\ntype with $W$-algebra like composite operators occurring in the commutation\nrelations, but with generators of conformal dimension 1,$\\frac{3}{2}$ and 2,\nonly. These have recently been neatly classified by several groups, and we\nemphasize the classification based on hamiltonian reduction of affine Lie\nsuperalgebras with even subalgebras $G\\oplus sl(2)$. We reveiw the situation\nand improve on previous formulations by presenting generic and very compact\nexpressions valid for all algebras, classical and quantum. Similarly generic\nand compact free field realizations are presented as are corresponding\nscreening charges. Based on these a discussion of singular vectors is\npresented. (Based on talk by J.L. Petersen at the Int. Workshop on \"String\nTheory, Quantum Gravity and the Unification of the Fundamental Interactions\",\nRome Sep. 21-26, 1992)",
        "positive": "Fermion masses in noncommutative geometry: Recent indications of neutrino oscillations raise the question of the\npossibility of incorporating massive neutrinos in the formulation of the\nStandard Model (SM) within noncommutative geometry (NCG). We find that the NCG\nrequirement of Poincare duality constrains the numbers of massless quarks and\nneutrinos to be unequal unless new fermions are introduced. Possible scenarios\nin which this constraint is satisfied are discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Fedosov Deformation Quantization beyond the Regular Poisson\n  Manifolds: A simple iterative procedure is suggested for the deformation quantization of\n(irregular) Poisson brackets associated to the classical Yang-Baxter equation.\nThe construction is shown to admit a pure algebraic reformulation giving the\nUniversal Deformation Formula (UDF) for any triangular Lie bialgebra. A simple\nproof of classification theorem for inequivalent UDF's is given. As an example\nthe explicit quantization formula is presented for the quasi-homogeneous\nPoisson brackets on two-plane.",
        "positive": "SQCD: A Geometric Apercu: We take new algebraic and geometric perspectives on the old subject of SQCD.\nWe count chiral gauge invariant operators using generating functions, or\nHilbert series, derived from the plethystic programme and the Molien-Weyl\nformula. Using the character expansion technique, we also see how the global\nsymmetries are encoded in the generating functions. Equipped with these methods\nand techniques of algorithmic algebraic geometry, we obtain the character\nexpansions for theories with arbitrary numbers of colours and flavours.\nMoreover, computational algebraic geometry allows us to systematically study\nthe classical vacuum moduli space of SQCD and investigate such structures as\nits irreducible components, degree and syzygies. We find the vacuum manifolds\nof SQCD to be affine Calabi-Yau cones over weighted projective varieties."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Null Vectors in Logarithmic Conformal Field Theory: The representation theory of the Virasoro algebra in the case of a\nlogarithmic conformal field theory is considered. Here, indecomposable\nrepresentations have to be taken into account, which has many interesting\nconsequences. We study the generalization of null vectors towards the case of\nindecomposable representation modules and, in particular, how such logarithmic\nnull vectors can be used to derive differential equations for correlation\nfunctions. We show that differential equations for correlation functions with\nlogarithmic fields become inhomogeneous.",
        "positive": "Monopoles, Duality and Chiral Symmetry Breaking in N=2 Supersymmetric\n  QCD: We study four dimensional $N=2$ supersymmetric gauge theories with matter\nmultiplets. For all such models for which the gauge group is $SU(2)$, we derive\nthe exact metric on the moduli space of quantum vacua and the exact spectrum of\nthe stable massive states. A number of new physical phenomena occur, such as\nchiral symmetry breaking that is driven by the condensation of magnetic\nmonopoles that carry global quantum numbers. For those cases in which conformal\ninvariance is broken only by mass terms, the formalism automatically gives\nresults that are invariant under electric-magnetic duality. In one instance,\nthis duality is mixed in an interesting way with $SO(8)$ triality."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Evolution of Gravitational Perturbations in Non-Commutative Inflation: We consider the non-commutative inflation model of [3] in which it is the\nunconventional dispersion relation for regular radiation which drives the\naccelerated expansion of space. In this model, we study the evolution of linear\ncosmological perturbations through the transition between the phase of\naccelerated expansion and the regular radiation-dominated phase of Standard\nCosmology, the transition which is analogous to the reheating period in scalar\nfield-driven models of inflation. If matter consists of only a single\nnon-commutative radiation fluid, then the curvature perturbations are constant\non super-Hubble scales. On the other hand, if we include additional matter\nfields which oscillate during the transition period, e.g. scalar moduli fields,\nthen there can be parametric amplification of the amplitude of the curvature\nperturbations. We demonstrate this explicitly by numerically solving the full\nsystem of perturbation equations in the case where matter consists of both the\nnon-commutative radiation field and a light scalar field which undergoes\noscillations. Our model is an example where the parametric resonance of the\ncurvature fluctuations is driven by the oscillations not of the inflaton field,\nbut of the entropy mode",
        "positive": "Entanglement Entropy in Internal Spaces and Ryu-Takayanagi Surfaces: We study minimum area surfaces associated with a region, $R$, of an internal\nspace. For example, for a warped product involving an asymptotically $AdS$\nspace and an internal space $K$, the region $R$ lies in $K$ and the surface\nends on $\\partial R$. We find that the result of Graham and Karch can be\navoided in the presence of warping, and such surfaces can sometimes exist for a\ngeneral region $R$. When such a warped product geometry arises in the IR from a\nhigher dimensional asymptotic AdS, we argue that the area of the surface can be\nrelated to the entropy arising from entanglement of internal degrees of freedom\nof the boundary theory. We study several examples, including warped or direct\nproducts involving $AdS_2$, or higher dimensional $AdS$ spaces, with the\ninternal space, $K=R^m, S^m$; $Dp$ brane geometries and their near horizon\nlimits; and several geometries with a UV cut-off. We find that such RT surfaces\noften exist and can be useful probes of the system, revealing information about\nfinite length correlations, thermodynamics and entanglement. We also make some\npreliminary observations about the role such surfaces can play in bulk\nreconstruction, and their relation to subalgebras of observables in the\nboundary theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The VECRO hypothesis: We consider three fundamental issues in quantum gravity: (a) the black hole\ninformation paradox (b) the unboundedness of entropy that can be stored inside\na black hole horizon (c) the relation between the black hole horizon and the\ncosmological horizon. With help from the small corrections theorem, we convert\neach of these issues into a sharp conflict. We then argue that all three\nconflicts can be resolved by the following hypothesis: {\\it the vacuum\nwavefunctional of quantum gravity contains a `vecro' component made of virtual\nfluctuations of configurations of the same type that arise in the fuzzball\nstructure of black hole microstates}. Further, if we assume that causality\nholds to leading order in gently curved spacetime, then we {\\it must} have such\na vecro component in order to resolve the above conflicts. The term vecro\nstands for `Virtual Extended Compression-Resistant Objects', and characterizes\nthe nature of the vacuum fluctuations that resolve the puzzles. It is\ninteresting that puzzle (c) may relate the role of quantum gravity in black\nholes to observations in the sky.",
        "positive": "Entanglement entropy in de Sitter: no pure states for conformal matter: In this paper, we consider the entanglement entropy of conformal matter for\nfinite and semi-infinite entangling regions, as well as the formation of\nentanglement islands in four-dimensional de Sitter spacetime partially reduced\nto two dimensions. We analyze complementarity and pure state condition of\nentanglement entropy of pure states as a consistency test of the CFT formulas\nin this geometrical setup, which has been previously used in the literature to\nstudy the information paradox in higher-dimensional de Sitter in the context of\nthe island proposal. We consider two different types of Cauchy surfaces in the\nextended static patch and flat coordinates, correspondingly. For former, we\nfound that entanglement entropy of a pure state is always bounded from below by\na constant and never becomes zero, as required by quantum mechanics. In turn,\nthe difference between the entropies for some region and its complement, which\nshould be zero for a pure state, in direct calculations essentially depends on\nhow the boundaries of these regions evolve with time. Regarding the flat\ncoordinates, it is impossible to regularize spacelike infinity in a way that\nwould be compatible with complementarity and pure state condition, as opposed,\nfor instance, to two-sided Schwarzschild black hole. Finally, we discuss the\ninformation paradox in de Sitter and show that the island formula does not\nresolve it, at least in this setup. Namely, we give examples of a region with a\ntime-limited growth of entanglement entropy, for which there is no island\nsolution, and the region, for which entanglement entropy does not grow, but the\nisland solution exists."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holography as a Gauge Phenomenon in Higher Spin Duality: Employing the world line spinning particle picture we discuss the appearance\nof several different `gauges' which we use to gain a deeper explanation of the\nCollective/Gravity identification. We discuss transformations and algebraic\nequivalences between them. For a bulk identification we develop a `gauge\nindependent' representation where all gauge constraints are eliminated. This\n`gauge reduction' of Higher Spin Gravity demonstrates that the physical content\nof 4D AdS HS theory is represented by the dynamics of an unconstrained scalar\nfield in 6d. It is in this gauge reduced form that HS Theory can be seen to be\nequivalent to a 3+3 dimensional bi-local collective representation of CFT3.",
        "positive": "Non-Abelian Gauge Theory on q-Quantum Spaces: Gauge theories on q-deformed spaces are constructed using covariant\nderivatives. For this purpose a ``vielbein'' is introduced, which transforms\nunder gauge transformations. The non-Abelian case is treated by establishing a\nconnection to gauge theories on commutative spaces, i.e. by a Seiberg-Witten\nmap. As an example we consider the Manin plane. Remarks are made concerning the\nrelation between covariant coordinates and covariant derivatives."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Cosmological evolutions of $F(R)$ nonlinear massive gravity: Recently a new extended nonlinear massive gravity model has been proposed\nwhich includes the $F(R)$ modifications to dRGT model.We follow the $F(R)$\nnonlinear massive gravity and study its implications on cosmological\nevolutions. We derive the critical points of the cosmic system and study the\ncorresponding kinetics by performing the phase-plane analysis.",
        "positive": "A Kaluza-Klein inspired action for chiral p-forms and their anomalies: The dynamics of chiral p-forms can be captured by a lower-dimensional\nparity-violating action motivated by a Kaluza-Klein reduction on a circle. The\nmassless modes are (p-1)-forms with standard kinetic terms and Chern-Simons\ncouplings to the Kaluza-Klein vector of the background metric. The massive\nmodes are p-forms charged under the Kaluza-Klein vector and admit parity-odd\nfirst-order kinetic terms. Gauge invariance is implemented by a\nStueckelberg-like mechanism using (p-1)-forms. A Chern-Simons term for the\nKaluza-Klein vector is generated at one loop by massive p-form modes. These\nfindings are shown to be consistent with anomalies and supersymmetry for\nsix-dimensional supergravity theories with chiral tensor multiplets."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Riemann-Hilbert problem associated with the quantum Nonlinear\n  Schrodinger equation: We consider the dynamical correlation functions of the quantum Nonlinear\nSchrodinger equation. In a previous paper we found that the dynamical\ncorrelation functions can be described by the vacuum expectation value of an\noperator-valued Fredholm determinant. In this paper we show that a\nRiemann-Hilbert problem can be associated with this Fredholm determinant. This\nRiemann-Hilbert problem formulation permits us to write down completely\nintegrable equations for the Fredholm determinant and to perform an asymptotic\nanalysis for the correlation function.",
        "positive": "Viscosity and dissipative hydrodynamics from effective field theory: With the goal of deriving dissipative hydrodynamics from an action, we study\nclassical actions for open systems, which follow from the generic structure of\neffective actions in the Schwinger-Keldysh Closed-Time-Path formalism with two\ntime axes and a doubling of degrees of freedom. The central structural feature\nof such effective actions is the coupling between degrees of freedom on the two\ntime axes. This reflects the fact that from an effective field theory point of\nview, dissipation is the loss of energy of the low-energy hydrodynamical\ndegrees of freedom to the integrated-out, UV degrees of freedom of the\nenvironment. The dynamics of only the hydrodynamical modes may therefore not\nposses a conserved stress-energy tensor. After a general discussion of the CTP\neffective actions, we use the variational principle to derive the\nenergy-momentum balance equation for a dissipative fluid from an effective\nGoldstone action of the long-range hydrodynamical modes. Despite the absence of\nconserved energy and momentum, we show that we can construct the first-order\ndissipative stress-energy tensor and derive the Navier-Stokes equations near\nhydrodynamical equilibrium. The shear viscosity is shown to vanish in the\nclassical theory under consideration, while the bulk viscosity is determined by\nthe form of the effective action. We also discuss the thermodynamics of the\nsystem and analyse the entropy production."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Superconformal Gravity And The Topology Of Diffeomorphism Groups: Twisted four-dimensional supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory famously gives a\nuseful point of view on the Donaldson and Seiberg-Witten invariants of\nfour-manifolds. In this paper we generalize the construction to include a path\nintegral formulation of generalizations of Donaldson invariants for smooth\nfamilies of four-manifolds. Mathematically these are equivariant cohomology\nclasses for the action of the oriented diffeomorphism group on the space of\nmetrics on the manifold. In principle these cohomology classes should contain\nnontrivial information about the topology of the diffeomorphism group of the\nfour-manifold. We show that the invariants may be interpreted as the standard\ntopologically twisted path integral of four-dimensional $\\mathcal{N}=2$\nsupersymmetric Yang-Mills coupled to topologically twisted background fields of\nconformal supergravity.",
        "positive": "Tunneling, Page Curve and Black Hole Information: In a recent paper [1], we proposed that the quantum states of black hole\nresponsible for the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy are given by Bell states of\nFermi quanta in the interior of black hole. In this paper, we include the\neffect of tunneling on these entangled states and show that partial tunneling\nof these Bell states of Fermi quanta give rises to the Page curve of Hawking\nradiation. We also show that the entirety of information initially stored in\nthe black hole is returned to the outside via the Hawking radiation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quasi-instantons in QCD with chiral symmetry restoration: We show, without using semiclassical approximations, that, in\nhigh-temperature QCD with chiral symmetry restoration and U(1) axial symmetry\nbreaking, the partition function for sufficiently light quarks can be expressed\nas an ensemble of noninteracting objects with topological charge that obey the\nPoisson statistics. We argue that the topological objects are\n\"quasi-instantons\" (rather than bare instantons) taking into account quantum\neffects. Our result is valid even close to the (pseudo)critical temperature of\nthe chiral phase transition.",
        "positive": "Moduli Backreaction on Inflationary Attractors: We investigate the interplay between moduli dynamics and inflation, focusing\non the KKLT-scenario and cosmological $\\alpha$-attractors. General couplings\nbetween these sectors can induce a significant backreaction and potentially\ndestroy the inflationary regime; however, we demonstrate that this generically\ndoes not happen for $\\alpha$-attractors. Depending on the details of the\nsuperpotential, the volume modulus can either be stable during the entire\ninflationary trajectory, or become tachyonic at some point and act as a\nwaterfall field, resulting in a sudden end of inflation. In the latter case\nthere is a universal supersymmetric minimum where the scalars end up,\npreventing the decompactification scenario. The gravitino mass is independent\nfrom the inflationary scale with no fine-tuning of the parameters. The\nobservational predictions conform to the universal value of attractors, fully\ncompatible with the Planck data, with possibly a capped number of e-folds due\nto the interplay with moduli."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "MHV Techniques for QED Processes: Significant progress has been made in the past year in developing new `MHV'\ntechniques for calculating multiparticle scattering amplitudes in Yang-Mills\ngauge theories. Most of the work so far has focussed on applications to Quantum\nChromodynamics, both at tree and one-loop level. We show how such techniques\ncan also be applied to abelian theories such as QED, by studying the simplest\ntree-level multiparticle process, e^+e^- to n \\gamma. We compare explicit\nresults for up to n=5 photons using both the Cachazo, Svrcek and Witten `MHV\nrules' and the related Britto-Cachazo-Feng `recursion relation' approaches with\nthose using traditional spinor techniques.",
        "positive": "Multicritical tensor models and hard dimers on spherical random lattices: Random tensor models which display multicritical behaviors in a remarkably\nsimple fashion are presented. They come with entropy exponents \\gamma =\n(m-1)/m, similarly to multicritical random branched polymers. Moreover, they\nare interpreted as models of hard dimers on a set of random lattices for the\nsphere in dimension three and higher. Dimers with their exclusion rules are\ngenerated by the different interactions between tensors, whose coupling\nconstants are dimer activities. As an illustration, we describe one\nmulticritical point, which is interpreted as a transition between the dilute\nphase and a crystallized phase, though with negative activities."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Higgs Field as Weak Boson in five Dimensions: We propose a five-dimensional standard model which regards the Higgs field as\na weak boson associated with the fifth dimension. The kinetic term of the Higgs\nfield is obtained from the fifth components of field strengths defined in five\ndimension. The coupling constant of the fermion fields and the Higgs field is\nonly the weak coupling constant. However, since the vacuum expectation value\ndepends on the fifth coordinate, we can explain the various mass spectrum of\nelementary particles.",
        "positive": "Functional Evolution of Free Quantum Fields: We consider the problem of evolving a quantum field between any two (in\ngeneral, curved) Cauchy surfaces. Classically, this dynamical evolution is\nrepresented by a canonical transformation on the phase space for the field\ntheory. We show that this canonical transformation cannot, in general, be\nunitarily implemented on the Fock space for free quantum fields on flat\nspacetimes of dimension greater than 2. We do this by considering time\nevolution of a free Klein-Gordon field on a flat spacetime (with toroidal\nCauchy surfaces) starting from a flat initial surface and ending on a generic\nfinal surface. The associated Bogolubov transformation is computed; it does not\ncorrespond to a unitary transformation on the Fock space. This means that\nfunctional evolution of the quantum state as originally envisioned by Tomonaga,\nSchwinger, and Dirac is not a viable concept. Nevertheless, we demonstrate that\nfunctional evolution of the quantum state can be satisfactorily described using\nthe formalism of algebraic quantum field theory. We discuss possible\nimplications of our results for canonical quantum gravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Ginzburg-Landau effective action for a fluctuating holographic\n  superconductor: Under holographic prescription for Schwinger-Keldysh closed time contour for\nnon-equilibrium system, we consider fluctuation effect of the order parameter\nin a holographic superconductor model. Near the critical point, we derive the\ntime-dependent Ginzburg-Landau effective action governing dynamics of the\nfluctuating order parameter. In a semi-analytical approach, the time-dependent\nGinzburg-Landau action is computed up to quartic order of the fluctuating order\nparameter, and first order in time derivative.",
        "positive": "Black hole entropy and moduli-dependent species scale: We provide a moduli-dependent definition of species scale in quantum gravity\nbased on black hole arguments. Concretely, it is derived from of a lower bound\non the entropy of extremal black holes with higher curvature corrections, which\nensures that the black hole can be reliably described within the effective\ntheory. By demanding that our definition coincides with a recent proposal for a\nmoduli-dependent species scale motivated from the topological string, we\nconclude that the conjecture $\\mathcal{Z}_{BH} = |\\mathcal{Z}_{\\rm top}|^2$\nrelating the black hole to the topological string partition functions should\nhold, at least within the regime of validity of our analysis."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Perturbative Quantization of Einstein-Hilbert Gravity Embedded in\n  a Higher Derivative Model: In a perturbative approach Einstein-Hilbert gravity is quantized about a flat\nbackground. In order to render the model power counting renormalizable, higher\norder curvature terms are added to the action. They serve as Pauli-Villars type\nregulators and require an expansion in the number of fields in addition to the\nstandard expansion in the number of loops. Renormalization is then performed\nwithin the BPHZL scheme, which provides the action principle to construct the\nSlavnov-Taylor identity and invariant differential operators. The final\nphysical state space of the Einstein-Hilbert theory is realized via the quartet\nmechanism of Kugo and Ojima. Renormalization group and Callan-Symanzik equation\nare derived for the Green functions and, formally, also for the $S$-matrix.",
        "positive": "Structure constants of operators on the Wilson loop from integrability: We study structure constants of local operators inserted on the Wilson loop\nin ${\\cal N}=4$ super Yang-Mills theory. We compute the structure constants in\nthe SU(2) sector at tree level using the correspondence between operators on\nthe Wilson loop and the open spin chain. The results are interpreted as the\nsummation over all possible ways of changing the signs of magnon momenta in the\nhexagon form factors. This is consistent with a holographic description of the\ncorrelator as the cubic open string vertex, which consists of one hexagonal\npatch and three boundaries. We then conjecture that a similar expression should\nhold also at finite coupling."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Bootstrapping 2d $\u03c6^4$ Theory with Hamiltonian Truncation Data: We combine the methods of Hamiltonian Truncation and the recently proposed\ngeneralisation of the S-matrix bootstrap that includes local operators to\ndetermine the two-particle scattering amplitude and the two-particle form\nfactor of the stress tensor at $s>0$ in the 2d $\\phi^4$ theory. We use the form\nfactor of the stress tensor at $s\\le 0$ and its spectral density computed using\nLightcone Conformal Truncation (LCT), and inject them into the generalized\nS-matrix bootstrap set-up. The obtained results for the scattering amplitude\nand the form factor are fully reliable only in the elastic regime. We\nindependently construct the \"pure\" S-matrix bootstrap bounds (bootstrap without\nincluding matrix elements of local operators), and find that the sinh-Gordon\nmodel and its analytic continuation the \"staircase model\" saturate these\nbounds. Surprisingly, the $\\phi^4$ two-particle scattering amplitude also very\nnearly saturates these bounds, and moreover is extremely close to that of the\nsinh-Gordon/staircase model.",
        "positive": "String Theory Versus Black Hole Complementarity: It is argued that string theory on the Euclidean version of the Schwarzschild\nblack hole -- the cigar geometry -- admits a zero mode that is localized at the\ntip of the cigar. The presence of this mode implies that in string theory,\nunlike in general relativity, the tip of the cigar is a special region. This is\nin tension with the Euclidean version of the black hole complementarity\nprinciple. We provide some qualitative arguments that link between this zero\nmode and the origin of the black hole entropy and firewall at the horizon."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Correspondences among CFTs with different W-algebra symmetry: W-algebras are constructed via quantum Hamiltonian reduction associated with\na Lie algebra $\\mathfrak{g}$ and an $\\mathfrak{sl}(2)$-embedding into\n$\\mathfrak{g}$. We derive correspondences among correlation functions of\ntheories having different W-algebras as symmetry algebras. These W-algebras are\nassociated to the same $\\mathfrak{g}$ but distinct\n$\\mathfrak{sl}(2)$-embeddings.\n  For this purpose, we first explore different free field realizations of\nW-algebras and then generalize previous works on the path integral derivation\nof correspondences of correlation functions. For\n$\\mathfrak{g}=\\mathfrak{sl}(3)$, there is only one non-standard (non-regular)\nW-algebra known as the Bershadsky-Polyakov algebra. We examine its free field\nrealizations and derive correlator correspondences involving the WZNW theory of\n$\\mathfrak{sl}(3)$, the Bershadsky-Polyakov algebra and the principal\n$W_3$-algebra. There are three non-regular W-algebras associated to\n$\\mathfrak{g}=\\mathfrak{sl}(4)$. We show that the methods developed for\n$\\mathfrak{g}=\\mathfrak{sl}(3)$ can be applied straightforwardly. We briefly\ncomment on extensions of our techniques to general $\\mathfrak{g}$.",
        "positive": "Surface defects, the superconformal index and q-deformed Yang-Mills: Recently a prescription to compute the four-dimensional N = 2 superconformal\nindex in the presence of certain BPS surface defects has been given. These\nsurface defects are labelled by symmetric representations of SU(N). In the\npresent paper we give a prescription to compute the superconformal index in the\npresence of surface defects labelled by arbitrary representations of SU(N).\nFurthermore, we extend the dictionary between the N = 2 superconformal\nSchur-index and correlators of q-deformed Yang-Mills to incorporate such\nsurface defects."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Elliptic quantum groups: This note for the Proceedings of the International Congress of Mathematical\nPhysics gives an account of a construction of an ``elliptic quantum group''\nassociated with each simple classical Lie algebra. It is closely related to\nelliptic face models of statistical mechanics, and, in its semiclassical limit,\nto the Wess-Zumino-Witten model of conformal field theory on tori.",
        "positive": "Branes from a non-Abelian (2,0) tensor multiplet with 3-algebra: In this paper, we study the equations of motion for non-Abelian N=(2,0)\ntensor multiplets in six dimensions, which were recently proposed by Lambert\nand Papageorgakis. Some equations are regarded as constraint equations. We\nemploy a loop extension of the Lorentzian three-algebra (3-algebra) and examine\nthe equations of motion around various solutions of the constraint equations.\nThe resultant equations take forms that allow Lagrangian descriptions. We find\nvarious (5+d)-dimensional Lagrangians and investigate the relation between them\nfrom the viewpoint of M-theory duality."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fermionic Correlators from Integrability: We study three-point functions of single-trace operators in the su(1|1)\nsector of planar N = 4 SYM borrowing several tools based on Integrability. In\nthe most general configuration of operators in this sector, we have found a\ndeterminant expression for the tree-level structure constants. We then compare\nthe predictions of the recently proposed hexagon program against all available\ndata. We have obtained a match once additional sign factors are included when\nthe two hexagon form-factors are assembled together to form the structure\nconstants. In the particular case of one BPS and two non-BPS operators we\nmanaged to identify the relevant form-factors with a domain wall partition\nfunction of a certain six-vertex model. This partition function can be\nexplicitly evaluated and factorizes at all loops. In addition, we use this\nresult to compute the structure constants and show that at strong coupling in\nthe so-called BMN regime, its leading order contribution has a determinant\nexpression.",
        "positive": "Non-Abelian Brane Worlds: The Heterotic String Story: We discuss chiral supersymmetric compactifications of the SO(32) heterotic\nstring on Calabi-Yau manifolds equipped with direct sums of stable bundles with\nstructure group U(n). In addition we allow for non-perturbative heterotic\nfive-branes. These models are S-dual to Type I compactifications with D9- and\nD5-branes, which by themselves are mirror symmetric to general intersecting\nD6-brane models. For the construction of concrete examples we consider\nelliptically fibered Calabi-Yau manifolds with SU(n) bundles given by the\nspectral cover construction. The U(n) bundles are obtained via twisting by line\nbundles. We present a four-generation Pati-Salam and a three-generation\nStandard-like model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Kaehler Corrections for the Volume Modulus of Flux Compactifications: No-scale models arise in many compactifications of string theory and\nsupergravity, the most prominent recent example being type IIB flux\ncompactifications. Focussing on the case where the no-scale field is a single\nunstabilized volume modulus (radion), we analyse the general form of\nsupergravity loop corrections that affect the no-scale structure of the Kaehler\npotential. These corrections contribute to the 4d scalar potential of the\nradion in a way that is similar to the Casimir effect. We discuss the interplay\nof this loop effect with string-theoretic alpha' corrections and its possible\nrole in the stabilization of the radion.",
        "positive": "PT-Symmetric Quantum Electrodynamics: The Hamiltonian for quantum electrodynamics becomes non-Hermitian if the\nunrenormalized electric charge $e$ is taken to be imaginary. However, if one\nalso specifies that the potential $A^\\mu$ in such a theory transforms as a\npseudovector rather than a vector, then the Hamiltonian becomes PT symmetric.\nThe resulting non-Hermitian theory of electrodynamics is the analog of a\nspinless quantum field theory in which a pseudoscalar field $\\phi$ has a cubic\nself-interaction of the form $i\\phi^3$. The Hamiltonian for this cubic scalar\nfield theory has a positive spectrum, and it has recently been demonstrated\nthat the time evolution of this theory is unitary. The proof of unitarity\nrequires the construction of a new operator called C, which is then used to\ndefine an inner product with respect to which the Hamiltonian is self-adjoint.\nIn this paper the corresponding C operator for non-Hermitian quantum\nelectrodynamics is constructed perturbatively. This construction demonstrates\nthe unitarity of the theory. Non-Hermitian quantum electrodynamics is a\nparticularly interesting quantum field theory model because it is\nasymptotically free."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "About the S^3 Group-manifold Reduction of Einstein Gravity: We exhibit a new consistent group-manifold reduction of pure Einstein gravity\nin the vielbein formulation when the compactification group manifold is S^3.\nThe novel feature in the reduction is to exploit the two 3-dimensional Lie\nalgebras that S^3 admits. The first algebra is introduced into the\ngroup-manifold reduction in the standard way through the Maurer-Cartan 1-forms\nassociated to the symmetry of the general coordinate transformations. The\nsecond algebra is associated to the linear adjoint group and it is introduced\ninto the group-manifold reduction through a local transformation in the\ninternal tangent space. We discuss the characteristics of the resulting\nlower-dimensional theory and we emphasize the novel results generated by the\nnew group-manifold reduction. As an application of the reduction we show that\nthe lower-dimensional theory admits a domain wall solution which upon uplifting\nto the higher-dimension results to be the self-dual (in the non-vanishing\ncomponents of both curvature and spin connection) Kaluza-Klein monopole. This\ndiscussion may be relevant in the dimensional reductions of M-theory, string\ntheory and also in the Bianchi cosmologies in four dimensions.",
        "positive": "An extended standard model and its Higgs geometry from the matrix model: We find a simple brane configuration in the IKKT matrix model which resembles\nthe standard model at low energies, with a second Higgs doublet and\nright-handed neutrinos. The electroweak sector is realized geometrically in\nterms of two minimal fuzzy ellipsoids, which can be interpreted in terms of\nfour point-branes in the extra dimensions. The electroweak Higgs connects these\nbranes and is an indispensable part of the geometry. Fermionic would-be zero\nmodes arise at the intersections with two larger branes, leading precisely to\nthe correct chiral matter fields at low energy, along with right-handed\nneutrinos which can acquire a Majorana mass due to a Higgs singlet. The larger\nbranes give rise to $SU(3)_c$, extended by $U(1)_B$ and another $U(1)$ which\nare anomalous at low energies and expected to disappear. At higher energies,\nmirror fermions and additional fields arise, completing the full ${\\cal N}=4$\nsupersymmetry. The brane configuration is a solution of the model, assuming a\nsuitable effective potential and a non-linear stabilization of the singlet\nHiggs. The basic results can be carried over to ${\\cal N}=4$ $SU(N)$\nsuper-Yang-Mills on ordinary Minkowski space with sufficiently large $N$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-abelian plane waves and stochastic regimes for (2+1)-dimensional\n  gauge field models with Chern-Simons term: An exact time-dependent solution of field equations for the 3-d gauge field\nmodel with a Chern-Simons (CS) topological mass is found. Limiting cases of\nconstant solution and solution with vanishing topological mass are considered.\nAfter Lorentz boost, the found solution describes a massive nonlinear\nnon-abelian plane wave. For the more complicate case of gauge fields with CS\nmass interacting with a Higgs field, the stochastic character of motion is\ndemonstrated.",
        "positive": "Search for new physics in light of interparticle potentials and a very\n  heavy dark matter candidate: It is generally well known that the Standard Model of particle physics is not\nthe ultimate theory of fundamental interactions as it has inumerous unsolved\nproblems, so it must be extended. Deciphering the nature of dark matter remains\none of the great challenges of contemporary physics. Supersymmetry is probably\nthe most attractive extension of the SM. In the first part of this thesis we\nstudy the interparticle potentials generated by the interactions between\nspin-1/2 sources that are mediated by spin-1 particles in the limit of low\nmomentum transfer. We investigate different representations of spin-1 particle\nto see how it modifies the profiles of the interparticle potentials and we also\ninclude in our analysis all types of couplings between fermionic currents and\nthe mediator boson. The spin- and velocity-dependent interparticle potentials\nthat we obtain can be used to explain effects possibly associated to new\nmacroscopic forces such as modifications of the inverse-square law and possible\nspin-gravity coupling effects. The second part of this thesis is based on the\ndark matter phenomenology of well-motivated $U(1)'$ extensions of the Minimal\nSupersymmetric Standard Model. In these models the right-handed sneutrino is a\ngood DM candidate whose dark matter properties are in agreement with the\npresent relic density and current experimental limits on the DM-nucleon\nscattering cross section. In order to see how heavy can the RH sneutrino be as\na viable thermal dark matter candidate we explore its DM properties in the\nparameter region that minimize its relic density via resonance effects and thus\nallows it to be a heavier DM particle. We found that the RH sneutrino can\nbehave as a good DM particle within minimal cosmology even with masses of the\norder of tens of TeV, which is much above the masses that viable thermal DM\ncandidates usually have in most of dark matter particle models."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Coulomb Branch and The Moduli Space of Instantons: The moduli space of instantons on C^2 for any simple gauge group is studied\nusing the Coulomb branch of N=4 gauge theories in three dimensions. For a given\nsimple group G, the Hilbert series of such an instanton moduli space is\ncomputed from the Coulomb branch of the quiver given by the over-extended\nDynkin diagram of G. The computation includes the cases of non-simply-laced\ngauge groups G, complementing the ADHM constructions which are not available\nfor exceptional gauge groups. Even though the Lagrangian description for\nnon-simply laced Dynkin diagrams is not currently known, the prescription for\ncomputing the Coulomb branch Hilbert series of such diagrams is very simple.\nFor instanton numbers one and two, the results are in agreement with previous\nworks. New results and general features for the moduli spaces of three and\nhigher instanton numbers are reported and discussed in detail.",
        "positive": "Projectors, Shadows, and Conformal Blocks: We introduce a method for computing conformal blocks of operators in\narbitrary Lorentz representations in any spacetime dimension, making it\npossible to apply bootstrap techniques to operators with spin. The key idea is\nto implement the \"shadow formalism\" of Ferrara, Gatto, Grillo, and Parisi in a\nsetting where conformal invariance is manifest. Conformal blocks in\n$d$-dimensions can be expressed as integrals over the projective null-cone in\nthe \"embedding space\" $\\mathbb{R}^{d+1,1}$. Taking care with their analytic\nstructure, these integrals can be evaluated in great generality, reducing the\ncomputation of conformal blocks to a bookkeeping exercise. To facilitate\ncalculations in four-dimensional CFTs, we introduce techniques for writing down\nconformally-invariant correlators using auxiliary twistor variables, and\ndemonstrate their use in some simple examples."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Free BMN Correlators With More Stringy Modes: In the type IIB maximally supersymmetric pp-wave background, stringy excited\nmodes are described by BMN (Berenstein-Madalcena-Nastase) operators in the dual\n$\\mathcal{N}=4$ super-Yang-Mills theory. In this paper, we continue the studies\nof higher genus free BMN correlators with more stringy modes, mostly focusing\non the case of genus one and four stringy modes in different transverse\ndirections. Surprisingly, we find that the non negativity of torus two-point\nfunctions, which is a consequence of a previously proposed probability\ninterpretation and has been verified in the cases with two and three stringy\nmodes, is no longer true for the case of four or more stringy modes.\nNevertheless, the factorization formula, which is also a proposed holographic\ndictionary relating the torus two-point function to a string diagram\ncalculation, is still valid. We also check the correspondence of planar\nthree-point functions with Green-Schwarz string vertex with many string modes.\nWe discuss some issues in the case of multiple stringy modes in the same\ntransverse direction. Our calculations provide some new perspectives on pp-wave\nholography.",
        "positive": "A discussion on a possibility to interpret quantum mechanics in terms of\n  general relativity: It is shown that, with some reasonable assumptions, the theory of general\nrelativity can be made compatible with quantum mechanics by using the field\nequations of general relativity to construct a Robertson-Walker metric for a\nquantum particle so that the line element of the particle can be transformed\nentirely to that of the Minkowski spacetime, which is assumed by a quantum\nobserver, and the spacetime dynamics of the particle described by a Minkowski\nobserver takes the form of quantum mechanics. Spacetime structure of a quantum\nparticle may have either positive or negative curvature. However, in order to\nbe describable using the familiar framework of quantum mechanics, the spacetime\nstructure of a quantum particle must be \"quantised\" by an introduction of the\nimaginary number $i$. If a particle has a positive curvature then the\nquantisation is equivalent to turning the pseudo-Riemannian spacetime of the\nparticle into a Riemannian spacetime. This means that it is assumed the\nparticle is capable of measuring its temporal distance like its spatial\ndistances. On the other hand, when a particle has a negative curvature and a\nnegative energy density then quantising the spacetime structure of the particle\nis equivalent to viewing the particle as if it had a positive curvature and a\npositive energy density."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Higher Form Symmetries and M-theory: We discuss the geometric origin of discrete higher form symmetries of quantum\nfield theories in terms of defect groups from geometric engineering in\nM-theory. The flux non-commutativity in M-theory gives rise to (mixed) 't Hooft\nanomalies for the defect group which constrains the corresponding global\nstructures of the associated quantum fields. We analyze the example of 4d\n$\\mathcal{N}=1$ SYM gauge theory in four dimensions, and we reproduce the\nwell-known classification of global structures from reading between its lines.\nWe extend this analysis to the case of 7d $\\mathcal{N}=1$ SYM theory, where we\nrecover it from a mixed 't Hooft anomaly among the electric 1-form center\nsymmetry and the magnetic 4-form center symmetry in the defect group. The case\nof five-dimensional SCFTs from M-theory on toric singularities is discussed in\ndetail. In that context we determine the corresponding 1-form and 2-form defect\ngroups and we explain how to determine the corresponding mixed 't Hooft\nanomalies from flux non-commutativity. Several predictions for non-conventional\n5d SCFTs are obtained. The matching of discrete higher-form symmetries and\ntheir anomalies provides an interesting consistency check for 5d dualities.",
        "positive": "N=2 Supersymmetric Yang-Mills and the Quantum Hall Effect: It is argued that there are strong similarities between the infra-red physics\nof N=2 supersymmetric Yang-Mills and that of the quantum Hall effect, both\nsystems exhibit a hierarchy of vacua with a sub-group of the modular group\nmapping between them. The scaling flow for pure SU(2) N=2 supersymmetric\nYang-Mills in 4-dimensions is re-examined and an earlier suggestion in the\nliterature, that was singular at strong coupling, is modified to a form that is\nwell behaved at both weak and strong coupling and describes the crossover in an\nanalytic fashion. Similarities between the phase diagram and the flow of SUSY\nYang-Mills and that of the quantum Hall effect are then described, with the\nHall conductivity in the latter playing the role of the theta-parameter in the\nformer. Hall plateaux, with odd denominator filling fractions, are analogous to\nfixed points at strong coupling in N=2 SUSY Yang-Mills, where the massless\ndegrees of freedom carry an odd monopole charge."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Casimir effect for a dilute dielectric ball at finite temperature: The Casimir effect at finite temperature is investigated for a dilute\ndielectric ball; i.e., the relevant internal and free energies are calculated.\nThe starting point in this study is a rigorous general expression for the\ninternal energy of a system of noninteracting oscillators in terms of the sum\nover the Matsubara frequencies. Summation over the angular momentum values is\naccomplished in a closed form by making use of the addition theorem for the\nrelevant Bessel functions. For removing the divergences the renormalization\nprocedure is applied that has been developed in the calculation of the\ncorresponding Casimir energy at zero temperature. The behavior of the\nthermodynamic characteristics in the low and high temperature limits is\ninvestigated.",
        "positive": "Running Newton Constant, Improved Gravitational Actions, and Galaxy\n  Rotation Curves: A renormalization group (RG) improvement of the Einstein-Hilbert action is\nperformed which promotes Newton's constant and the cosmological constant to\nscalar functions on spacetime. They arise from solutions of an exact RG\nequation by means of a ``cutoff identification'' which associates RG scales to\nthe points of spacetime. The resulting modified Einstein equations for\nspherically symmetric, static spacetimes are derived and analyzed in detail.\nThe modifications of the Newtonian limit due to the RG evolution are obtained\nfor the general case. As an application, the viability of a scenario is\ninvestigated where strong quantum effects in the infrared cause Newton's\nconstant to grow at large (astrophysical) distances. For two specific RG\ntrajectories exact vacuum spacetimes modifying the Schwarzschild metric are\nobtained by means of a solution-generating Weyl transformation. Their possible\nrelevance to the problem of the observed approximately flat galaxy rotation\ncurves is discussed. It is found that a power law running of Newton's constant\nwith a small exponent of the order $10^{-6}$ would account for their\nnon-Keplerian behavior without having to postulate the presence of any dark\nmatter in the galactic halo."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Generating Quantum Matrix Geometry from Gauged Quantum Mechanics: Quantum matrix geometry is the underlying geometry of M(atrix) theory.\nExpanding upon the idea of level projection, we propose a quantum-oriented\nnon-commutative scheme for generating the matrix geometry of the coset space\n$G/H$. We employ this novel scheme to unveil unexplored matrix geometries by\nutilizing gauged quantum mechanics on higher dimensional spheres. The resultant\nmatrix geometries manifest as $\\it{pure}$ quantum Nambu geometries: Their\nnon-commutative structures elude capture through the conventional commutator\nformalism of Lie algebra, necessitating the introduction of the quantum Nambu\nalgebra. This matrix geometry embodies a one-dimension-lower quantum internal\ngeometry featuring nested fuzzy structures. While the continuum limit of this\nquantum geometry is represented by overlapping classical manifolds, their\nfuzzification cannot reproduce the original quantum geometry. We demonstrate\nhow these quantum Nambu geometries give rise to novel solutions in Yang-Mills\nmatrix models, exhibiting distinct physical properties from the known fuzzy\nsphere solutions.",
        "positive": "A Localization Computation in Confining Phase: In this note we show that the gaugino condensation of 4d N=1 supersymmetric\ngauge theories in the confining phase can be computed by the localization\ntechnique with an appropriate choice of a supersymmetry generator."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "${\\mathscr {M}}$cTEQ (${\\mathscr {M}}$ ${\\bf c}$hiral perturbation\n  theory-compatible deconfinement ${\\bf T}$emperature and ${\\bf E}$ntanglement\n  Entropy up to terms ${\\bf Q}$uartic in curvature) and FM (${\\bf F}$lavor\n  ${\\bf M}$emory): A holographic computation of $T_c$ at ${\\it intermediate\\ coupling}$ from\nM-theory dual of thermal QCD-like theories, has been missing in the literature.\nFilling this gap, we demonstrate a novel UV-IR mixing, (conjecture and provide\nevidence for) a non-renormalization beyond 1 loop of ${\\bf M}-{\\bf c}$hiral\nperturbation theory arXiv:2011.04660[hep-th]-compatible deconfinement ${\\bf\nT}$emperature, and show equivalence with an ${\\bf E}$ntanglement (as well as\nWald) entropy arXiv:0709.2140[hep-th] computation, up to terms ${\\bf Q}$uartic\nin curvature. We demonstrate a ${\\bf F}$lavor-${\\bf M}$emory (FM) effect in the\nM-theory uplifts of the gravity duals, wherein the no-braner M-theory uplift\nretains the \"memory\" of the flavor D7-branes of the parent type IIB dual in the\nsense that a specific combination of the aforementioned quartic corrections to\nthe metric components precisely along the compact part of the non-compact\nfour-cycle \"wrapped\" by the flavor D7-branes, is what determines, e.g., the\nEinstein-Hilbert action at O$(R^4)$. The same linear combination of O$(R^4)$\nmetric corrections, upon matching the phenomenological value of the coupling\nconstant of one of the SU(3) NLO ChPT Lagrangian, is required to have a\ndefinite sign. Interestingly, in the decompactification limit of the spatial\ncircle, we ${\\it derive}$ this, and obtain the values of the relevant O$(R^4)$\nmetric corrections. Further, equivalence with Wald entropy for the black hole\nat ${\\cal O}(R^4)$ imposes a linear constraint on the same linear combination\nof metric corrections. Remarkably, when evaluating $T_c$ from an entanglement\nentropy computation in the thermal gravity dual, due to a delicate cancelation\nbetween the ${\\cal O}(R^4)$ corrections from a subset of the abovementioned\nmetric components, one sees that there are no corrections to $T_c$ at quartic\norder supporting the conjecture referred to above.",
        "positive": "Confinement and the Short Type I' Flux Tube: We show that the recent world-sheet analysis of the quantum fluctuations of a\nshort flux tube in type II string theory leads to a simple and precise\ndescription of a pair of stuck D0branes in an orientifold compactification of\nthe type I' string theory. The existence of a stable type I' flux tube of\nsub-string-scale length is a consequence of the confinement of quantized flux\nassociated with the scalar dualized ten-form background field strength *F_{10},\nevidence for a -2brane in the BPS spectrum of M theory. Using heterotic-type I\nduality, we infer the existence of an M2brane of finite width O(\\sqrt{\\alpha'})\nin M-theory, the strong coupling resolution of a spacetime singularity in the\nD=9 twisted and toroidally compactified E_8 x E_8 heterotic string. This\nphenomenon has a bosonic string analog in the existence of a stable short\nelectric flux tube arising from the confinement of photons due to tachyon field\ndynamics. The appendix clarifies the appearance of nonperturbative states and\nenhanced gauge symmetry in toroidal compactifications of the type I' string. We\naccount for all of the known disconnected components of the moduli space of\ntheories with sixteen supercharges, in striking confirmation of heterotic-type\nI duality."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Reply to the comment by D. Kreimer and E. Mielke: We respond to the comment by Kreimer et. al. about the torsional contribution\nto the chiral anomaly in curved spacetimes. We discuss their claims and refute\nits main conclusion.",
        "positive": "Rotating black holes at future colliders: Greybody factors for brane\n  fields: We study theoretical aspects of the rotating black hole production and\nevaporation in the extra dimension scenarios with TeV scale gravity, within the\nmass range in which the higher dimensional Kerr solution provides good\ndescription. We evaluate the production cross section of black holes taking\ntheir angular momenta into account. We find that it becomes larger than the\nSchwarzschild radius squared, which is conventionally utilized in literature,\nand our result nicely agrees with the recent numerical study by Yoshino and\nNambu within a few percent error for higher dimensional case. In the same\napproximation to obtain the above result, we find that the production cross\nsection becomes larger for the black hole with larger angular momentum. Second,\nwe derive the generalized Teukolsky equation for spin 0, 1/2 and 1 brane fields\nin the higher dimensional Kerr geometry and explicitly show that it is\nseparable in any dimensions. For five-dimensional (Randall-Sundrum) black hole,\nwe obtain analytic formulae for the greybody factors in low frequency expansion\nand we present the power spectra of the Hawking radiation as well as their\nangular dependence. Phenomenological implications of our result are briefly\nsketched."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Blowup Equations for Refined Topological Strings: G\\\"{o}ttsche-Nakajima-Yoshioka K-theoretic blowup equations characterize the\nNekrasov partition function of five dimensional $\\mathcal{N}=1$ supersymmetric\ngauge theories compactified on a circle, which via geometric engineering\ncorrespond to the refined topological string theory on $SU(N)$ geometries. In\nthis paper, we study the K-theoretic blowup equations for general local\nCalabi-Yau threefolds. We find that both vanishing and unity blowup equations\nexist for the partition function of refined topological string, and the crucial\ningredients are the $\\bf r$ fields introduced in our previous paper. These\nblowup equations are in fact the functional equations for the partition\nfunction and each of them results in infinite identities among the refined free\nenergies. Evidences show that they can be used to determine the full refined\nBPS invariants of local Calabi-Yau threefolds. This serves an independent and\nsometimes more powerful way to compute the partition function other than the\nrefined topological vertex in the A-model and the refined holomorphic anomaly\nequations in the B-model. We study the modular properties of the blowup\nequations and provide a procedure to determine all the vanishing and unity $\\bf\nr$ fields from the polynomial part of refined topological string at large\nradius point. We also find that certain form of blowup equations exist at\ngeneric loci of the moduli space.",
        "positive": "The $\\imath \u03b5$ prescription in the SYK model: We introduce an $\\imath \\epsilon$ prescription for the SYK model both at\nfinite and at zero temperature. This prescription regularizes all the naive\nultraviolet divergences of the model. As expected the prescription breaks the\nconformal invariance, but the latter is restored in the $\\epsilon \\to 0$ limit.\nWe prove rigorously that the Schwinger Dyson equation of the resummed two point\nfunction at large $N$ and low momentum is recovered in this limit. Based on\nthis $\\imath \\epsilon$ prescription we introduce an effective field theory\nLagrangian for the infrared SYK model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holonomies of gauge fields in twistor space 2: Hecke algebra,\n  diffeomorphism, and graviton amplitudes: We define a theory of gravity by constructing a gravitational holonomy\noperator in twistor space. The theory is a gauge theory whose Chan-Paton factor\nis given by a trace over elements of Poincar\\'{e} algebra and Iwahori-Hecke\nalgebra. This corresponds to a fact that, in a spinor-momenta formalism,\ngravitational theories are invariant under spacetime translations and\ndiffeomorphism. The former symmetry is embedded in tangent spaces of frame\nfields while the latter is realized by a braid trace. We make a detailed\nanalysis on the gravitational Chan-Paton factor and show that an S-matrix\nfunctional for graviton amplitudes can be expressed in terms of a\nsupersymmetric version of the holonomy operator. This formulation will shed a\nnew light on studies of quantum gravity and cosmology in four dimensions.",
        "positive": "Further discussion of Tomboulis' approach to the confinement problem: We discuss in some detail certain gaps and open problems in the recent paper\nby E. T. Tomboulis, which claims to give a rigorous proof of quark confinement\nin 4D lattice Yang-Mills theory for all values of the bare coupling. We also\ndiscuss what would be needed to fill the gaps in his proof."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Invariance of Residues of Feynman Graphs: We use simple iterated one-loop graphs in massless Yukawa theory and QED to\npose the following question: what are the symmetries of the residues of a graph\nunder a permutation of places to insert subdivergences. The investigation\nconfirms partial invariance of the residue under such permutations: the highest\nweight transcendental is invariant under such a permutation. For QED this\nresult is gauge invariant, ie the permutation invariance holds for any gauge.\nComputations are done making use of the Hopf algebra structure of graphs and\nemploying GiNaC to automate the calculations.",
        "positive": "The DeWitt Equation in Quantum Field Theory: We take a new look at the DeWitt equation, a defining equation for the\neffective action functional in quantum field theory. We present a formal\nsolution to this equation, and discuss the equation in various contexts, and in\nparticular for models where it can be made completely well defined, such as the\nWess-Zumino model in two dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A note on singular D-branes in group manifolds: After reviewing D-branes as conjugacy classes and various charge\nquantizations (modulo $k$) in WZW model, we develop the classification and\nsystematic construction of all possible untwisted D-branes in Lie groups of\nA-D-E series. D-branes are classified according to their positions in the\nmaximal torus. The moduli space of D-branes is naturally identified with a unit\ncell in the weight space which is exponentiated to be the maximal torus.\nHowever, for the D-brane classification, one may consider only the fundamental\nWeyl domain that is surrounded by the hyperplanes defined by Weyl reflections.\nWe construct all the D-branes by the method of iterative deletion in the Dynkin\ndiagram. The dimension of a D-brane always becomes an even number and it\nreduces as we go from a generic point of the fundamental domain to its higher\nco-dimensional boundaries. Quantum mechanical stability requires that only\nD-branes at discrete positions are allowed.",
        "positive": "Cargese lectures on string theory with eight supercharges: These lectures give an introduction to the interrelated topics of Calabi-Yau\ncompactification of the type II string, black hole attractors, the all-orders\nentropy formula, the dual (0,4) CFT, topological strings and the OSV\nconjecture. Based on notes by MG of lectures by AS at the 2006 Cargese summer\nschool."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Backreaction of excitations on a vortex: Excitations of a vortex are usually considered in a linear approximation\nneglecting their backreaction on the vortex. In the present paper we\ninvestigate backreaction of Proca type excitations on a straightlinear vortex\nin the Abelian Higgs model. We propose exact Ansatz for fields of the excited\nvortex. From initial set of six nonlinear field equations we obtain (in a limit\nof weak excitations) two linear wave equations for the backreaction\ncorrections. Their approximate solutions are found in the cases of plane wave\nand wave packet type excitations. We find that the excited vortex radiates\nvector field and that the Higgs field has a very broad oscillating component.",
        "positive": "On the regularization scheme and gauge choice ambiguities in\n  topologically massive gauge theories: It is demonstrated that in the (2+1)-dimensional topologically massive gauge\ntheories an agreement of the Pauli-Villars regularization scheme with the other\nschemes can be achieved by employing pairs of auxiliary fermions with the\nopposite sign masses. This approach does not introduce additional violation of\ndiscrete (P and T) symmetries. Although it breaks the local gauge symmetry only\nin the regulator fields' sector, its trace disappears completely after removing\nthe regularization as a result of superrenormalizability of the model. It is\nshown also that analogous extension of the Pauli-Villars regularization in the\nvector particle sector can be used to agree the arbitrary covariant gauge\nresults with the Landau ones. The source of ambiguities in the covariant gauges\nis studied in detail. It is demonstrated that in gauges that are softer in the\ninfrared region (e.g. Coulomb or axial) nonphysical ambiguities inherent to the\ncovariant gauges do not arise."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Mapping relativistic to ultra/non-relativistic conformal symmetries in\n  2D and finite $\\sqrt{T\\bar{T}}$ deformations: The conformal symmetry algebra in 2D (Diff($S^{1}$)$\\oplus$Diff($S^{1}$)) is\nshown to be related to its ultra/non-relativistic version\n(BMS$_{3}$$\\approx$GCA$_{2}$) through a nonlinear map of the generators,\nwithout any sort of limiting process. For a generic classical CFT$_{2}$, the\nBMS$_{3}$ generators then emerge as composites built out from the chiral\n(holomorphic) components of the stress-energy tensor, $T$ and $\\bar{T}$,\nclosing in the Poisson brackets at equal time slices. Nevertheless,\nsupertranslation generators do not span Noetherian symmetries. BMS$_{3}$\nbecomes a bona fide symmetry once the CFT$_{2}$ is marginally deformed by the\naddition of a $\\sqrt{T\\bar{T}}$ term to the Hamiltonian. The generic deformed\ntheory is manifestly invariant under diffeomorphisms and local scalings, but it\nis no longer a CFT$_{2}$ because its energy and momentum densities fulfill the\nBMS$_{3}$ algebra. The deformation can also be described through the original\nCFT$_{2}$ on a curved metric whose Beltrami differentials are determined by the\nvariation of the deformed Hamiltonian with respect to $T$ and $\\bar{T}$.\nBMS$_{3}$ symmetries then arise from deformed conformal Killing equations,\ncorresponding to diffeomorphisms that preserve the deformed metric and\nstress-energy tensor up to local scalings. As an example, we briefly address\nthe deformation of $\\mathrm{N}$ free bosons, which coincides with\nultra-relativistic limits only for $\\mathrm{N}=1$. Furthermore, Cardy formula\nand the S-modular transformation of the torus become mapped to their\ncorresponding BMS$_{3}$ (or flat) versions.",
        "positive": "More on Non-supersymmetric Asymmetric Orbifolds with Vanishing\n  Cosmological Constant: We explore various non-supersymmetric type II string vacua constructed based\non asymmetric orbifolds of tori with vanishing cosmological constant at the one\nloop. The string vacua we present are modifications of the models studied in\narXiv:1512.05155[hep-th], of which orbifold group is just generated by a single\nelement. We especially focus on two types of modifications: (i) the orbifold\ntwists include different types of chiral reflections not necessarily removing\nmassless Rarita-Schwinger fields in the 4-dimensional space-time, (ii) the\norbifold twists do not include the shift operator. We further discuss the\nunitarity and stability of constructed non-supersymmetric string vacua, with\nemphasizing the common features of them."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Q-lumps on a Domain Wall with a Spin-Orbit Interaction: The nonlinear O(3) sigma-model in (2+1) dimensions with an additional\npotential term admits solutions called Q-lumps, having both topological and\nNoether charges. We consider in 3+1-dimensional spacetime the theory with\nQ-lumps on a domain wall in the presence of spin-orbit interaction in the bulk\nand find interaction effects for a two-particle solution through perturbation\ntheory and adiabatic approximation.",
        "positive": "Long quantum superstrings in AdS_5 x S^5: Following hep-th/0001204 we discuss the computation of quantum corrections\nnear long IIB superstring configurations in AdS_5 x S^5 which are related to\nthe Wilson loop expectation values in the strong coupling expansion of the dual\nn=4 SYM theory with large N. We use the Green-Schwarz description of\nsuperstrings in curved R-R backgrounds and demonstrate that it is well-defined\nand useful for developing perturbation theory near long string backgrounds."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Constraints on Interacting Scalars in 2T Field Theory and No Scale\n  Models in 1T Field Theory: In this paper I determine the general form of the physical and mathematical\nrestrictions that arise on the interactions of gravity and scalar fields in the\n2T field theory setting, in d+2 dimensions, as well as in the emerging shadows\nin d dimensions. These constraints on scalar fields follow from an underlying\nSp(2,R) gauge symmetry in phase space. Determining these general constraints\nprovides a basis for the construction of 2T supergravity, as well as physical\napplications in 1T-field theory, that are discussed briefly here, and more\ndetail elsewhere. In particular, no scale models that lead to a vanishing\ncosmological constant at the classical level emerge naturally in this setting.",
        "positive": "Non-Abelian discrete gauge symmetries in 4d string models: We study the realization of non-Abelian discrete gauge symmetries in 4d field\ntheory and string theory compactifications. The underlying structure\ngeneralizes the Abelian case, and follows from the interplay between gaugings\nof non-Abelian isometries of the scalar manifold and field identifications\nmaking axion-like fields periodic. We present several classes of string\nconstructions realizing non-Abelian discrete gauge symmetries. In particular,\ncompactifications with torsion homology classes, where non-Abelianity arises\nmicroscopically from the Hanany-Witten effect, or compactifications with\nnon-Abelian discrete isometry groups, like twisted tori. We finally focus on\nthe more interesting case of magnetized branes in toroidal compactifications\nand quotients thereof (and their heterotic and intersecting duals), in which\nthe non-Abelian discrete gauge symmetries imply powerful selection rules for\nYukawa couplings of charged matter fields. In particular, in MSSM-like models\nthey correspond to discrete flavour symmetries constraining the quark and\nlepton mass matrices, as we show in specific examples."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On P_T-distribution of gluon production rate in constant chromoelectric\n  field: A complete expression for the p_T-distribution of the gluon production rate\nin the homogeneous chromoelectric field has been obtained. Our result contains\na new additional term proportional to the singular function \\delta(p_T^2). We\ndemonstrate that the presence of this term is consistent with the dual symmetry\nof QCD effective action and allows to reproduce the known result for the total\nimaginary part of the effective action after integration over transverse\nmomentum.",
        "positive": "Localization of Scalar Fluctuations in a Dilatonic Brane-World Scenario: We derive and solve the full set of scalar perturbation equations for a class\nof $Z_2$-symmetric five-dimensional geometries generated by a bulk cosmological\nconstant and by a 3-brane non-minimally coupled to a bulk dilaton field. The\nmassless scalar modes, like their tensor analogues, are localized on the brane,\nand provide long-range four-dimensional dilatonic interactions, which are\ngenerically present even when matter on the brane carries no dilatonic charge.\nThe shorter-range corrections induced by the continuum of massive scalar modes\nare always present: they persist even in the case of a trivial dilaton\nbackground (the standard Randall--Sundrum configuration) and vanishing\ndilatonic charges."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the group generated by $\\mathbf C$, $\\mathbf{P}$ and $\\mathbf T$:\n  $\\mathbf {I^2 = T^2 = P^2 = I T P= -1}$, with applications to pseudo-scalar\n  mesons: We study faithful representations of the discrete Lorentz symmetry operations\nof parity $\\mathbf P$ and time reversal $\\mathbf T$, which involve complex\nphases when acting on fermions. If the phase of $\\mathbf P$ is a rational\nmultiple of $\\pi$ then $\\mathbf P^{2 n}=1$ for some positive integer $n$ and it\nis shown that, when this is the case, $\\mathbf P$ and $\\mathbf T$ generate a\ndiscrete group, a dicyclic group (also known as a generalised quaternion group)\nwhich are generalisations of the dihedral groups familiar from crystallography.\nCharge conjugation $\\mathbf C$ introduces another complex phase and, again\nassuming rational multiples of $\\pi$ for complex phases, $\\mathbf T \\mathbf C$\ngenerates a cyclic group of order $2 m$ for some positive integer $m$.There is\nthus a doubly infinite series of possible finite groups labelled by $n$ and\n$m$. Demanding that $\\mathbf C$ commutes with $\\mathbf P$ and $\\mathbf T$\nforces $n=m=2$ and the group generated by $\\mathbf P$ and $\\mathbf T$ is\nuniquely determined to be the quaternion group.\n  Neutral pseudo-scalar mesons can be simultaneous $\\mathbf C$ and $\\mathbf P$\neigenstates. $\\mathbf T$ commutes with $\\mathbf P$ and $\\mathbf C$ when acting\non fermion bi-linears so neutral pseudo-scalar mesons can also be $\\mathbf T$\neigenstates. The $\\mathbf T$-parity should therefore be experimentally\nobservable and the $\\mathbf{CPT}$ theorem dictates that $T= C P$.",
        "positive": "BMS type symmetries at null-infinity and near horizon of non-extermal\n  black holes: In this paper we consider a generally covariant theory of gravity, and extend\nthe generalized off-shell ADT current such that it becomes conserved for field\ndependent (asymptotically) Killing vector field. Then we define the extended\noff-shell ADT current and the extended off-shell ADT charge. Consequently, we\ndefine the conserved charge perturbation by integrating from the extended\noff-shell ADT charge over a spacelike codimension two surface. Eventually, we\nuse the presented formalism to find the conserved charge perturbation of an\nasymptotically flat spacetime. The conserved charge perturbation we obtain is\nexactly matched with the result of the paper \\cite{6'}. These charges are as\nrepresentations of the $BMS_4$ symmetry algebra. Also, we find that the near\nhorizon conserved charges of a non-extremal black hole with extended symmetries\nare the Noether charges. For this case our result is also exactly matched with\nthat of the paper \\cite{15}."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Cosmology in General Massive Gravity Theories: We study the cosmology of general massive gravity theories with five\npropagating degrees of freedom. This large class of theories includes both the\ncase with a residual Lorentz invariance as the cases with simpler rotational\ninvariance. We find that the existence of a nontrivial homogeneous FRW\nbackground, in addition to selecting the lorentz-breaking case, implies in\ngeneral that perturbations around strict Minkowski or dS space are strongly\ncoupled. The result is that dark energy can be naturally accounted for in\nmassive gravity but its equation of state w_eff has to deviate from -1. We find\nindeed a relation between the strong coupling scale of perturbations and the\ndeviation of w_eff from -1. Taking into account current limits on w_eff and\nsubmillimiter tests of the Newton's law as a limit on the possible strong\ncoupling regime, we find that it is still possible to have a weakly coupled\ntheory in a quasi dS background. Future experimental improvements may be used\nto predict w_eff in a weakly coupled massive gravity theory",
        "positive": "Charged Vector Inflation: We present a model of inflation in which the inflaton field is charged under\na triplet of $U(1)$ gauge fields. The model enjoys an internal $O(3)$ symmetry\nsupporting the isotropic FRW solution. With an appropriate coupling between the\ngauge fields and the inflaton field, the system reaches an attractor regime in\nwhich the gauge fields furnish a small constant fraction of the total energy\ndensity. We decompose the scalar perturbations into the adiabatic and entropy\nmodes and calculate the contributions of the gauge fields into the curvature\nperturbations power spectrum. We also calculate the entropy power spectrum and\nthe adiabatic-entropy cross correlation. In addition to the metric tensor\nperturbations, there are tensor perturbations associated with the gauge field\nperturbations which are coupled to metric tensor perturbations. We show that\nthe correction in primordial gravitational tensor power spectrum induced from\nthe matter tensor perturbation is a sensitive function of the gauge coupling."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Newton's law in supersymmetric braneworld models: We study the propagation of gravitons within 5-D supersymmetric braneworld\nmodels with a bulk scalar field. The setup considered here consists of a 5-D\nbulk spacetime bounded by two 4-D branes localized at the fixed points of an\n$S^1/Z_2$ orbifold. There is a scalar field $\\phi$ in the bulk which, provided\na superpotential $W(\\phi)$, determines the warped geometry of the 5-D\nspacetime. This type of scenario is common in string theory, where the bulk\nscalar field $\\phi$ is related to the volume of small compact extra dimensions.\nWe show that, after the moduli are stabilized by supersymmetry breaking terms\nlocalized on the branes, the only relevant degrees of freedom in the bulk\nconsist of a 5-D massive spectrum of gravitons. Then we analyze the\ngravitational interaction between massive bodies localized at the positive\ntension brane mediated by these bulk gravitons. It is shown that the Newtonian\npotential describing this interaction picks up a non-trivial contribution at\nshort distances that depends on the shape of the superpotential $W(\\phi)$. We\ncompute this contribution for dilatonic braneworld scenarios $W(\\phi) =\ne^{\\alpha \\phi}$ (where $\\alpha$ is a constant) and discuss the particular case\nof 5-D Heterotic M-theory: It is argued that a specific footprint at micron\nscales could be observable in the near future.",
        "positive": "Five-Dimensional Gauged Supergravity Black Holes with Independent\n  Rotation Parameters: We construct new non-extremal rotating black hole solutions in SO(6) gauged\nfive-dimensional supergravity. Our solutions are the first such examples in\nwhich the two rotation parameters are independently specifiable, rather than\nbeing set equal. The black holes carry charges for all three of the gauge\nfields in the U(1)^3 subgroup of SO(6), albeit with only one independent charge\nparameter. We discuss the BPS limits, showing in particular that these include\nthe first examples of regular supersymmetric black holes with independent\nangular momenta in gauged supergravity. We also find non-singular BPS solitons.\nFinally, we obtain another independent class of new rotating non-extremal black\nhole solutions with just one non-vanishing rotation parameter, and one\nnon-vanishing charge."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "$SU(2)$ Yang-Mills solitons in $R^2$ gravity: We construct new family of spherically symmetric regular solutions of $SU(2)$\nYang-Mills theory coupled to pure $R^2$ gravity. The particle-like field\nconfigurations possess non-integer non-Abelian magnetic charge. A discussion of\nthe main properties of the solutions and their differences from the usual\nBartnik-McKinnon solitons in the asymptotically flat case is presented. It is\nshown that there is continuous family of linearly stable non-trivial solutions\nin which the gauge field has no nodes.",
        "positive": "On the Covariant Quantization of Green-Schwarz Superstring and\n  Brink--Schwarz Superparticle: The effective action for the Brink-Schwarz Superparticle is constructed in an\ninfinite dimensional phase space using a gauge invariant formulation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Schwinger's Dynamical Casimir Effect: Bulk Energy Contribution: Schwinger's Dynamical Casimir Effect is one of several candidate explanations\nfor sonoluminescence. Recently, several papers have claimed that Schwinger's\nestimate of the Casimir energy involved is grossly inaccurate. In this letter,\nwe show that these calculations omit the crucial volume term. When the missing\nterm is correctly included one finds full agreement with Schwinger's result for\nthe Dynamical Casimir Effect. We have nothing new to say about sonoluminescence\nitself except to affirm that the Casimir effect is energetically adequate as a\ncandidate explanation.",
        "positive": "Borel resummation of secular divergences in stochastic inflation: We make use of Borel resummation to extract the exact time dependence from\nthe divergent series found in the context of stochastic inflation. Correlation\nfunctions of self-interacting scalar fields in de Sitter spacetime are known to\ndevelop secular IR divergences via loops, and the first terms of the divergent\nseries have been consistently computed both with standard techniques for curved\nspacetime quantum field theory and within the framework of stochastic\ninflation. We show that Borel resummation can be used to interpret the\ndivergent series and to correctly infer the time evolution of the correlation\nfunctions. In practice, we adopt a method called Borel--Pad\\'{e} resummation\nwhere we approximate the Borel transformation by a Pad\\'{e} approximant. We\nalso discuss the singularity structures of Borel transformations and mention\npossible applications to cosmology."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Equations on knot polynomials and 3d/5d duality: We briefly review the current situation with various relations between\nknot/braid polynomials (Chern-Simons correlation functions), ordinary and\nextended, considered as functions of the representation and of the knot\ntopology. These include linear skein relations, quadratic Plucker relations, as\nwell as \"differential\" and (quantum) A-polynomial structures. We pay a special\nattention to identity between the A-polynomial equations for knots and Baxter\nequations for quantum relativistic integrable systems, related through\nSeiberg-Witten theory to 5d super-Yang-Mills models and through the AGT\nrelation to the q-Virasoro algebra. This identity is an important ingredient of\nemerging a 3d-5d generalization of the AGT relation. The shape of the Baxter\nequation (including the values of coefficients) depend on the choice of the\nknot/braid. Thus, like the case of KP integrability, where (some, so far torus)\nknots parameterize particular points of the Universal Grassmannian, in this\nrelation they parameterize particular points in the moduli space of many-body\nintegrable systems of relativistic type.",
        "positive": "Black Hole Thermodynamics with Conical Defects: Recently we have shown [1604.08812] how to formulate a thermodynamic first\nlaw for a single (charged) accelerated black hole in AdS space by fixing the\nconical deficit angles present in the spacetime. Here we show how to generalise\nthis result, formulating thermodynamics for black holes with varying conical\ndeficits. We derive a new potential for the varying tension defects: the\n\"thermodynamic length\", both for accelerating and static black holes. We\ndiscuss possible physical processes in which the tension of a string ending on\na black hole might vary, and also map out the thermodynamic phase space of\naccelerating black holes and explore their critical phenomena."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Whitham Deformations and Tau Functions in N = 2 Supersymmetric Gauge\n  Theories: We review new aspects of integrable systems discovered recently in N=2\nsupersymmetric gauge theories and their topologically twisted versions. The\nmain topics are (i) an explicit construction of Whitham deformations of the\nSeiberg-Witten curves for classical gauge groups, (ii) its application to\ncontact terms in the u-plane integral of topologically twisted theories, and\n(iii) a connection between the tau functions and the blowup formula in\ntopologically twisted theories.",
        "positive": "On the Stability of the Classical Vacua in a Minimal SU(5) 5-D\n  Supergravity Model: We consider a five-dimensional supergravity model with SU(5) gauge symmetry\nand the minimal field content. Studying the arising scalar potential we find\nthat the gauging of the $U(1)_R$ symmetry of the five-dimensional supergravity\ncauses instabilities. Lifting the instabilities the vacua are of Anti-de-Sitter\ntype and SU(5) is broken along with supersymmetry. Keeping the $U(1)_R$\nungauged the potential has flat directions along which supersymmetry is\nunbroken."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Classification of Normal Modes for Multiskyrmions: The normal mode spectra of multiskyrmions play a key role in their\nquantisation. We present a general method capable of predicting all the\nlow-lying vibrational modes of known minimal energy multiskyrmions. In\nparticular, we explain the origin of the higher multipole breathing modes,\npreviously observed but not understood. We show how these modes may be\nclassified according to the symmetry group of the static solution. Our results\nprovide strong hints that the N-skyrmion moduli space, for N>3, may have a\nricher structure than previously thought, incorporating 8N-4 degrees of\nfreedom.",
        "positive": "A nonlocal charge for cylindrical gravitational waves: The classical scattering of cylindrical gravitational waves is exactly\nsolvable. The motivation for this paper is to understand if the quantum\nscattering problem is also exactly solvable. The classical dynamics is governed\nby a two dimensional sigma model. We study this sigma model's $S$-matrix. We\nconstruct a conserved nonlocal charge and derive the associated tree-level\n$S$-matrix conservation law. We check our conservation law directly using\nFeynman diagrams. The existence of this symmetry is a hint that cylindrical\ngravitational waves might have an exactly solvable $S$-matrix."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Interactions of a String Inspired Graviton Field: We continue to explore the possibility that the graviton in two dimensions is\nrelated to a quadratic differential that appears in the anomalous contribution\nof the gravitational effective action for chiral fermions. A higher dimensional\nanalogue of this field might exist as well. We improve the defining action for\nthis diffeomorphism tensor field and establish a principle for how it interacts\nwith other fields and with point particles in any dimension. All interactions\nare related to the action of the diffeomorphism group. We discuss possible\ninterpretations of this field.",
        "positive": "Vacuum polarization by a magnetic flux of special rectangular form: We consider the ground state energy of a spinor field in the background of a\nsquare well shaped magnetic flux tube. We use the zeta- function regularization\nand express the ground state energy as an integral involving the Jost function\nof a two dimensional scattering problem. We perform the renormalization by\nsubtracting the contributions from first several heat kernel coefficients. The\nground state energy is presented as a convergent expression suited for\nnumerical evaluation. We discuss corresponding numerical calculations. Using\nthe uniform asymptotic expansion of the special functions entering the Jost\nfunction we are able to calculate higher order heat kernel coefficients."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Conformal Field Theories in Fractional Dimensions: We study the conformal bootstrap in fractional space-time dimensions,\nobtaining rigorous bounds on operator dimensions. Our results show strong\nevidence that there is a family of unitary CFTs connecting the 2D Ising model,\nthe 3D Ising model, and the free scalar theory in 4D. We give numerical\npredictions for the leading operator dimensions and central charge in this\nfamily at different values of D and compare these to calculations of phi^4\ntheory in the epsilon-expansion.",
        "positive": "AdS_2 D-Branes in Lorentzian AdS_3: The boundary states for AdS_2 D-branes in Lorentzian AdS_3 space-time are\npresented. AdS_2 D-branes are algebraically defined by twisted Dirichlet\nboundary conditions and are located on twisted conjugacy classes of SL(2,R).\nUsing free field representation of symmetry currents in the SL(2,R) WZNW model,\nthe twisted Dirichlet gluing conditions among currents are translated to\nmatching conditions among free fields and then to boundary conditions among the\nmodes of free fields. The Ishibashi states are written as coherent states on\nAdS_3 in the free field formalism and it is shown that twisted Dirichlet\nboundary conditions are satisfied on them. The tree-level amplitude of\npropagation of closed strings between two AdS_2 D-branes is evaluated and by\ncomparing which to the characters of sl(2,R) Kac-Moody algebra it is shown that\nonly states in the principal continuous series representation of sl(2,R)\nKac-Moody algebra contributes to the amplitude and thus they are the only ones\nthat couple to AdS_2 D-branes. The form of the character of sl(2,R) principal\ncontinuous series and the boundary condition among the zero modes are used to\ndetermine the physical boundary states for AdS_2 D-branes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "AdS pp-waves: We obtain the pp-waves of D=5 and D=4 gauged supergravities supported by\n$U(1)^3$ and $U(1)^4$ gauge field strengths respectively. We show that\ngenerically these solutions preserve 1/4 of the supersymmetry, but\nsupernumerary supersymmetry can arise for appropriately constrained harmonic\nfunctions associated with the pp-waves. In particular it implies that the\nsolutions are independent of the light-cone coordinate $x^+$. We also obtain\nthe pp-waves in the Freedman-Schwarz model.",
        "positive": "Boundary divergences in vacuum self-energies and quantum field theory in\n  curved spacetime: It is well known that boundary conditions on quantum fields produce\ndivergences in the renormalized energy-momentum tensor near the boundaries.\nAlthough irrelevant for the computation of Casimir forces between different\nbodies, the self-energy couples to gravity, and the divergences may, in\nprinciple, generate large gravitational effects. We present an analysis of the\nproblem in the context of quantum field theory in curved spaces. Our model\nconsists of a quantum scalar field coupled to a classical field that, in a\ncertain limit, imposes Dirichlet boundary conditions on the quantum field. We\nshow that the model is renormalizable and that the divergences in the\nrenormalized energy-momentum tensor disappear for sufficiently smooth\ninterfaces."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Noncommutative supergeometry, duality and deformations: We introduce a notion of $Q$-algebra that can be considered as a\ngeneralization of the notion of $Q$-manifold (a supermanifold equipped with an\nodd vector field obeying $\\{Q,Q\\} =0$). We develop the theory of connections on\nmodules over $Q$-algebras and prove a general duality theorem for gauge\ntheories on such modules. This theorem containing as a simplest case\n$SO(d,d,{\\bf Z})$-duality of gauge theories on noncommutative tori can be\napplied also in more complicated situations. We show that $Q$-algebras appear\nnaturally in Fedosov construction of formal deformation of commutative algebras\nof functions and that similar $Q$-algebras can be constructed also in the case\nwhen the deformation parameter is not formal.",
        "positive": "First order phase transition and corrections to its parameters in the\n  O(N) - model: The temperature phase transition in the $N$-component scalar field theory\nwith spontaneous symmetry breaking is investigated using the method combining\nthe second Legendre transform and with the consideration of gap equations in\nthe extrema of the free energy. After resummation of all super daisy graphs an\neffective expansion parameter, $(1/2N)^{1/3}$, appears near $T_c$ for large\n$N$. The perturbation theory in this parameter accounting consistently for the\ngraphs beyond the super daisies is developed. A certain class of such diagrams\ndominant in 1/N is calculated perturbatively. Corrections to the\ncharacteristics of the phase transition due to these contributions are obtained\nand turn out to be next-to-leading order as compared to the values derived on\nthe super daisy level and do not alter the type of the phase transition which\nis weakly first-order. In the limit $N$ goes to infinity the phase transition\nbecomes second order. A comparison with other approaches is done."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chirality Changing Phase Transitions in 4d String Vacua: We provide evidence that some four-dimensional N=1 string vacua with\ndifferent numbers of generations are connected through phase transitions. The\ntransitions involve going through a point in moduli space where there is a\nnontrivial fixed point governing the low energy field theory. In an M-theory\ndescription, the examples involve wrapped 5-branes leaving one of the ends of\nthe world.",
        "positive": "Symmetry Enhancements in 7d Heterotic Strings: We use a moduli space exploration algorithm to produce a complete list of\nmaximally enhanced gauge groups that are realized in the heterotic string in\n7d, encompassing the usual Narain component, and five other components with\nrank reduction realized via nontrivial holonomy triples. Using lattice\nembedding techniques we find an explicit match with the mechanism of\nsingularity freezing in M-theory on K3. The complete global data for each gauge\ngroup is explicitly given."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic Glueballs and Infrared Wall Driven by Dilaton: We study glueballs in the holographic gauge theories, supersymmetric and\nnon-super symmetric cases, which are given by the type IIB superstring\nsolutions with non-trivial dilaton. In both cases, the dilaton reflects the\ncondensate of the gauge field strength, $<F^2>$, which is responsible to the\nlinear confining potential between the quark and anti-quark. Then we could see\nthe meson spectra. On the other hand, the glueball spectra are not found in the\nsupersymmetric case. We need a sharp wall, which corresponds to an infrared\ncutoff, in order to obtain the glueballs. In the non-supersymmetric case, the\nquantized glueballs are actually observed due to the existence of such a wall\ndriven by the dilaton. The strings and D-branes introduced as building blocks\nof hadrons are pushed out by this wall, and we could see the Regge behavior of\nthe higher spin meson and glueball states. We find that the slope of the\nglueball trajectory is half of the flavor meson's one. As for the low spin\nglueballs, they are studied by solving the fluctuations of the bulk fields, and\ntheir discrete spectra are shown.",
        "positive": "On Newton-Cartan trace anomalies: We classify the trace anomaly for parity-invariant non-relativistic\nSchr\\\"odinger theories in 2+1 dimensions coupled to background Newton-Cartan\ngravity. The general anomaly structure looks very different from the one in the\nz=2 Lifshitz theories. The type A content of the anomaly is remarkably\nidentical to that of the relativistic 3+1 dimensional case, suggesting the\nconjecture that an a-theorem should exist also in the Newton-Cartan context.\n  Erratum: due to an overcounting of the number of linearly-independent terms\nin the basis, the type A anomaly disappears if Frobenius condition is imposed.\nSee appended erratum for details. This crucial mistake was pointed out to us in\narXiv:1601.06795."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Counting Chiral Operators in Quiver Gauge Theories: We discuss in detail the problem of counting BPS gauge invariant operators in\nthe chiral ring of quiver gauge theories living on D-branes probing generic\ntoric CY singularities. The computation of generating functions that include\ncounting of baryonic operators is based on a relation between the baryonic\ncharges in field theory and the Kaehler moduli of the CY singularities. A study\nof the interplay between gauge theory and geometry shows that given geometrical\nsectors appear more than once in the field theory, leading to a notion of\n\"multiplicities\". We explain in detail how to decompose the generating function\nfor one D-brane into different sectors and how to compute their relevant\nmultiplicities by introducing geometric and anomalous baryonic charges. The\nPlethystic Exponential remains a major tool for passing from one D-brane to\narbitrary number of D-branes. Explicit formulae are given for few examples,\nincluding C^3/Z_3, F_0, and dP_1.",
        "positive": "Lectures on Supergravity p-branes: We review the properties of classical p-brane solutions to supergravity\ntheories, i.e. solutions that may be interpreted as Poincare-invariant\nhyperplanes in spacetime. Topics covered include the distinction between\nelementary/electric and solitonic/magnetic solutions, examples of singularity\nand global structure, relations between mass densities, charge densities and\nthe preservation of unbroken supersymmetry, diagonal and vertical Kaluza-Klein\nreduction families, Scherk-Schwarz reduction and domain walls, and the\nclassification of multiplicities using duality symmetries."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Simple Method for Computing Soliton Statistics: I provide an extremely simple argument that the kink-type solitons in certain\ntheories are fermionic. The argument is based on the Witten index, but can in\nfact be used to determine soliton statistics in non-supersymmetric theories as\nwell.",
        "positive": "On the Covariant Quantization of the 2nd-Ilk Superparticle: This paper is devoted to the quantization of the second-ilk superparticle\nusing the Batalin-Vilkovisky method. We show the full structure of the master\naction. By imposing gauge conditions on the gauge fields rather than on\ncoordinates we find a gauge-fixed quantum action which is free. The structure\nof the BRST charge is exhibited and the BRST cohomology yields the same\nphysical spectrum as the light- cone quantization of the usual superparticle."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Aharonov-Bohm phase for an electromagnetic wave background: The canonical Aharonov-Bohm effect is usually studied with time-independent\npotentials. In this work, we investigate the Aharonov-Bohm phase acquired by a\ncharged particle moving in {\\it time-dependent} potentials . In particular, we\nfocus on the case of a charged particle moving in the time varying field of a\nplane electromagnetic wave. We work out the Aharonov-Bohm phase using both the\npotential ({\\it i.e.} $\\oint A_\\mu dx ^\\mu$) and field ({\\it i.e.}\n$\\frac{1}{2}\\int F_{\\mu \\nu} d \\sigma ^{\\mu \\nu}$) forms of the Aharanov-Bohm\nphase. We give conditions in terms of the parameters of the system (frequency\nof the electromagnetic wave, the size of the space-time loop, amplitude of the\nelectromagnetic wave) under which the time varying Aharonov-Bohm effect could\nbe observed.",
        "positive": "Ordinary-derivative formulation of conformal totally symmetric arbitrary\n  spin bosonic fields: Conformal totally symmetric arbitrary spin bosonic fields in flat space-time\nof even dimension greater than or equal to four are studied. Second-derivative\n(ordinary-derivative) formulation for such fields is developed. We obtain gauge\ninvariant Lagrangian and the corresponding gauge transformations. Gauge\nsymmetries are realized by involving the Stueckelberg and auxiliary fields.\nRealization of global conformal boost symmetries on conformal gauge fields is\nobtained. Modified de Donder gauge condition and de Donder-Stueckelberg gauge\ncondition are introduced. Using the de Donder-Stueckelberg gauge frame,\nequivalence of the ordinary-derivative and higher-derivative approaches is\ndemonstrated. On-shell degrees of freedom of the arbitrary spin conformal field\nare analyzed. Ordinary-derivative light-cone gauge Lagrangian of conformal\nfields is also presented. Interrelations between the ordinary-derivative gauge\ninvariant formulation of conformal fields and the gauge invariant formulation\nof massive fields are discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Higher Order Conformal Invariance of String Backgrounds Obtained by\n  O(d,d) Transformations: Proposals that $O(d,d)$ boosts of trivial backgrounds lead to non-trivial\nconformally invariant backgrounds are checked to two loop order. We find that\nconformal invariance can be achieved by adding simple higher order corrections\nto the metric and dilaton.",
        "positive": "The Noncommutative S-Matrix: As a simple example of how recently developed on-shell techniques apply to\nnonlocal theories, we study the S-matrix of noncommutative gauge theories. In\nthe complex plane, this S-matrix has essential singularities that signal the\nnonlocal behavior of the theory. In spite of this, we show that tree-level\namplitudes may be obtained by BCFW type recursion relations. At one loop we\nfind a complete basis of master integrals (this basis is larger than the\ncorresponding basis in the ordinary theory). Any one-loop noncommutative\namplitude may be written as a linear combination of these integrals with\ncoefficients that we relate to products of tree amplitudes. We show that the\nnoncommutative N=4 SYM theory has a structurally simple S-matrix, just like the\nordinary N=4 SYM theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Canonical quantization of the D=2n dimensional relativistic spinning\n  particle with anomalous magnetic moment in the external electromagnetic field: The pseudoclassical hamiltonian and action of the $D=2n$ dimensional Dirac\nparticle with anomalous magnetic moment interacting with the external\nelectromagnetic field is found. The Bargmann-Michel-Telegdi equation of motion\nfor the Pauli-Lubanski vector is deduced. The canonical quantization of $D=2n$\ndimensional Dirac spinning particle with anomalous magnetic moment in the\nexternal electromagnetic field is carried out in the gauge which allows to\ndescribe simultaneously particles and antiparticles (massive and massless)\nalready at the classical level. Pseudoclassical Foldy-Wouthuysen transformation\nis used to obtain canonical (Newton-Wigner) coordinates and in terms of this\nvariables the theory is quantized. The connection of this quantization with the\ndeGroot and Suttorp's description of Dirac particle with anomalous magnetic\nmoment in the external electromagnetic field is discussed.",
        "positive": "Holographic Bulk Reconstruction And Cosmological Singularities: We study the structure of entanglement wedges in the Kasner-AdS geometry,\nwhich provides an example of AdS/CFT engineered cosmological singularity. We\ninvestigate the specific limitations of causal reconstruction methods, imposed\nby the presence of the cosmological singularities, and we show the supremacy of\nmodular reconstruction. This model provides an example where modular\nreconstruction based on a proper operator subalgebra is more powerful than the\nstrongest possible causal reconstruction, based on the complete operator\nalgebra."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Black hole as fireplace: limited communications across the horizon: An insightful viewpoint was proposed by Susskind about AMPS firewall: the\nregion behind the firewall does not exist and the firewall is an extension of\nthe singularity. In this work, we provided a possible picture of this idea by\ncombining Newman's complex metric and Dvali-Gomez BEC black holes, which are\nBose-Einstein condensates of N gravitons. The inner space behind the horizon is\na realized imaginary space encrusted by the real space outside the horizon. In\nthis way, the singularity extents to the horizon to make a firewall for the\ninfalling observer. Some gravitons escape during the fluctuation of the BEC\nblack hole, resulting in a micro-transparent horizon which makes the firewall\nexposes slightly to an observer outside the horizon. This picture allows\nlimited communications across the horizon.",
        "positive": "Non-conformal supercurrents in six dimensions: Non-conformal supercurrents in six dimensions are described, which contain\nthe trace of the energy-momentum tensor and the gamma-trace of the\nsupersymmetry current amongst their component fields. Within the superconformal\napproach to ${\\cal N} = (1, 0)$ supergravity, we present various distinct\nnon-conformal supercurrents, one of which is associated with an ${\\cal O}(2)$\n(or linear) multiplet compensator, while another with a tensor multiplet\ncompensator. We also derive an infinite class of non-conformal supercurrents\ninvolving ${\\cal O}(n)$ multiplets with $n > 2$. As an illustrative example we\nconstruct the relaxed hypermultiplet in supergravity. Finally, we put forward a\nnon-conformal supercurrent in the ${\\cal N} = (2, 0)$ supersymmetric case."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the BV formulation of boundary superstring field theory: We propose a Batalin-Vilkovisky (BV) formulation of boundary superstring\nfield theory. The superstring field action is defined in terms of a closed\none-form in the space of couplings, and we compute it explicitly for exactly\nsolvable tachyon perturbations. We also argue that the superstring field action\ndefined in this way is the partition function on the disc, in accord with a\nprevious proposal.",
        "positive": "$R^4$ terms in supergravity and M-theory: Higher-order invariants and their role as possible counterterms for\nsupergravity theories are reviewed. It is argued that N=8 supergravity will\ndiverge at 5 loops. The construction of $R^4$ superinvariants in string and\nM-theory is discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "New Kaluza-Klein Instantons and Decay of AdS Vacua: We construct a generalization of Witten's Kaluza-Klein instanton, where a\nhigher-dimensional sphere (rather than a circle as in Witten's instanton)\ncollapses to zero size and the geometry terminates at a bubble of nothing, in a\nlow energy effective theory of M theory. We use the solution to exhibit\ninstability of non-supersymmetric AdS_5 vacua in M Theory compactified on\npositive Kaehler-Einstein spaces, providing a further evidence for the recent\nconjecture that any non-supersymmetric anti-de Sitter vacuum supported by\nfluxes must be unstable.",
        "positive": "BPS Operators in N=4 SYM: Calogero Models and 2D Fermions: A connection between the gauge fixed dynamics of protected operators in\nsuperconformal Yang-Mills theory in four dimensions and Calogero systems is\nestablished. This connection generalizes the free Fermion description of the\nchiral primary operators of the gauge theory formed out of a single complex\nscalar to more general operators. In particular, a detailed analysis of\nprotected operators charged under an su(1|1)contained in psu(2,2|4) is carried\nout and a class of operators is identified, whose dynamics is described by the\nrational super-Calogero model. These results are generalized to arbitrary BPS\noperators charged under an su(2|3) of the superconformal algebra. Analysis of\nthe non-local symmetries of the super-Calogero model is also carried out, and\nit is shown that symmetry for a large class of protected operators is a\ncontraction of the corresponding Yangian algebra to a loop algebra."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Modified Dynamical Supergravity Breaking and Off-Diagonal Super-Higgs\n  Effects: We argue that generic off-diagonal vacuum and nonvacuum solutions for\nEinstein manifolds mimic physical effects in modified gravity theories (MGTs)\nand encode certain models of the $f(R,T,...)$, Ho\\v{r}ava type with dynamical\nLorentz symmetry breaking, induced effective mass for the graviton etc. Our\nmain goal is to investigate the dynamical breaking of local supersymmetry\ndetermined by off-diagonal solutions in MGTs and encoded as effective Einstein\nspaces. This includes the Deser-Zumino super-Higgs effect, for instance, for a\none-loop potential in a (simple but representative) model of $\\mathcal{N}=1,\nD=4$ supergravity. We develop and apply new geometrical techniques which allows\nus to decouple the gravitational field equations and integrate them in a very\ngeneral form with the metric and vielbein fields depending on all the spacetime\ncoordinates via means of various generating and integration functions and\nparameters. We study how solutions in MGTs may be related to the dynamical\ngeneration of a gravitino mass and supersymmetry breaking.",
        "positive": "Effective scalar fields in Yang-Mills theories: Scalar fields play a crucial role in the Standard model. On the other hand,\nin the weak-coupling regime there is an unsolved problem of the quadratic\ndivergence of scalar masses. Thus, it is natural to turn to composite, or\neffective scalar fields in the strong-coupling regime. Lattice simulations\nprovide information on the \"actually existing\" scalar fields in Yang-Mills\ntheories. On the continuum-theory side, dual models predict existence of\nvarious low-dimension vacuum defects, including probably scalar particles. We\nare looking for correspondence between the two frameworks, of lattice\nphenomenology and dual models, and discuss possible applications to the theory\nof the Yang-Mills plasma in the deconfining phase. It is not ruled out that the\neffective scalars play important role in the plasma dynamics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Self-Duality and Self-Similarity of Little String Orbifolds: We study a class of ${\\cal N}=(1,0)$ little string theories obtained from\norbifolds of M-brane configurations. These are realised in two different ways\nthat are dual to each other: either as $M$ parallel M5-branes probing a\ntransverse $A_{N-1}$ singularity or $N$ M5-branes probing an $A_{M-1}$\nsingularity. These backgrounds can further be dualised into toric, non-compact\nCalabi-Yau threefolds $X_{N,M}$ which have double elliptic fibrations and thus\ngive a natural geometric description of T-duality of the little string\ntheories. The little string partition functions are captured by the topological\nstring partition function of $X_{N,M}$. We analyse in detail the free energies\n$\\Sigma_{N,M}$ associated with the latter in a special region in the K\\\"ahler\nmoduli space of $X_{N,M}$ and discover a remarkable property: in the\nNekrasov-Shatashvili-limit, $\\Sigma_{N,M}$ is identical to $NM$ times\n$\\Sigma_{1,1}$. This entails that the BPS degeneracies for any $(N,M)$ can\nuniquely be reconstructed from the $(N,M)=(1,1)$ configuration, a property we\nrefer to as self-similarity. Moreover, as $\\Sigma_{1,1}$ is known to display a\nnumber of recursive structures, BPS degeneracies of little string\nconfigurations for arbitrary $(N,M)$ as well acquire additional symmetries.\nThese symmetries suggest that in this special region the two little string\ntheories described above are self-dual under T-duality.",
        "positive": "Generalized structures of ten-dimensional supersymmetric solutions: Four-dimensional supersymmetric type II string theory vacua can be described\nelegantly in terms of pure spinors on the generalized tangent bundle T+T*. In\nthis paper, we apply the same techniques to any ten-dimensional supersymmetric\nsolution (not necessarily involving a factor with an AdS4 or Minkowski4 metric)\nin type II theories. We find a system of differential equations in terms of a\nform describing a \"generalized ISpin(7) structure\". This system is equivalent\nto unbroken supersymmetry, in both IIA and IIB. One of the equations reproduces\nin one fell swoop all the pure spinors equations for four-dimensional vacua."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chaotic dynamics of string around the conformal black hole: In this paper, we make a systematical and in-depth study on the chaotic\ndynamics of the string around the conformal black hole. Depending on the\ncharacteristic parameter of the conformal black hole and the initial position\nof the string, there are three kinds of dynamical behaviors: ordered, chaotic\nand being captured, chaotic but not being captured. A particular interesting\nobservation is that there is a sharp transition in chaotic dynamics when the\nblack hole horizon disappears, which is indepent of the initial position of the\nstring. It provides a possible way to probe the horizon structure of the\nmassive body. We also examine the generalized MSS (Maldacena, Shenker and\nStanford) inequality, which is proposed in holographic dual field theory, and\nfind that the generalized MSS inequality holds even in the asymptotically flat\nblack hole background. Especially, as the initial position of the string\napproaches the black hole horizon, the Lyapunov exponent also approaches the\nupper bound of the generalized MSS inequality.",
        "positive": "The curvature-induced gauge potential and the geometric momentum for a\n  particle on a hypersphere: A particle that is constrained to freely move on a hyperspherical surface in\nan $N\\left( \\geq 2\\right) $ dimensional flat space experiences a\ncurvature-induced gauge potential, whose form was given long ago (J. Math.\nPhys. \\textbf{34}(1993)2827). We demonstrate that the momentum for the particle\non the hypersphere is the geometric one including the gauge potential and its\ncomponents obey the commutation relations $\\left[ p_{i},p_{j}\\right] =-i\\hbar\nJ_{ij}/r^{2}$, in which $\\hbar $ is the Planck's constant, and $p_{i}$\n($i,j=1,2,3,...N$) denotes the $i-$th component of the geometric momentum, and\n$J_{ij}$ specifies the $ij-$th component of the generalized\\textit{\\ angular\nmomentum} containing both the orbital part and the coupling of the generators\nof continuous rotational symmetry group $% SO(N-1)$ and curvature, and $r$\ndenotes the radius of the $N-1$ dimensional hypersphere."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Global symmetry and conformal bootstrap in the two-dimensional $O(n)$\n  model: We define the two-dimensional $O(n)$ conformal field theory as a theory that\nincludes the critical dilute and dense $O(n)$ models as special cases, and\ndepends analytically on the central charge. For generic values of\n$n\\in\\mathbb{C}$, we write a conjecture for the decomposition of the spectrum\ninto irreducible representations of $O(n)$.\n  We then explain how to numerically bootstrap arbitrary four-point functions\nof primary fields in the presence of the global $O(n)$ symmetry. We determine\nthe needed conformal blocks, including logarithmic blocks, including in\nsingular cases. We argue that $O(n)$ representation theory provides upper\nbounds on the number of solutions of crossing symmetry for any given four-point\nfunction.\n  We study some of the simplest correlation functions in detail, and determine\na few fusion rules. We count the solutions of crossing symmetry for the $30$\nsimplest four-point functions. The number of solutions varies from $2$ to $6$,\nand saturates the bound from $O(n)$ representation theory in $21$ out of $30$\ncases.",
        "positive": "Effective Field Theory for Massive Gravitons and Gravity in Theory Space: We introduce a technique for restoring general coordinate invariance into\ntheories where it is explicitly broken. This is the analog for gravity of the\nCallan-Coleman-Wess-Zumino formalism for gauge theories. We use this to\nelucidate the properties of interacting massless and massive gravitons. For a\nsingle graviton with a Planck scale Mpl and a mass mg, we find that there is a\nsensible effective field theory which is valid up to a high-energy cutoff\nLambda parametrically above mg. Our methods allow for a transparent\nunderstanding of the many peculiarities associated with massive gravitons,\namong them the need for the Fierz-Pauli form of the Lagrangian, the presence or\nabsence of the van Dam-Veltman-Zakharov discontinuity in general backgrounds,\nand the onset of non-linear effects and the breakdown of the effective theory\nat large distances from heavy sources. The natural sizes of all non-linear\ncorrections beyond the Fierz-Pauli term are easily determined. The cutoff\nscales as Lambda ~ (mg^4 Mpl)^(1/5) for the Fierz-Pauli theory, but can be\nraised to Lambda ~ (mg^2 Mpl)^(1/3) in certain non-linear extensions. Having\nestablished that these models make sense as effective theories, there are a\nnumber of new avenues for exploration, including model building with gravity in\ntheory space and constructing gravitational dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Generalised holonomies and K(E$_9$): The involutory subalgebra K(E$_9$) of the affine Kac-Moody algebra E$_9$ was\nrecently shown to admit an infinite sequence of unfaithful representations of\never increasing dimensions arXiv:2102.00870. We revisit these representations\nand describe their associated ideals in more detail, with particular emphasis\non two chiral versions that can be constructed for each such representation.\nFor every such unfaithful representation we show that the action of K(E$_9$)\ndecomposes into a direct sum of two mutually commuting (`chiral' and\n`anti-chiral') parabolic algebras with Levi subalgebra\n$\\mathfrak{so}(16)_+\\,\\oplus\\,\\mathfrak{so}(16)_-$. We also spell out the\nconsistency conditions for uplifting such representations to unfaithful\nrepresentations of K(E$_{10}$). From these results it is evident that the\nholonomy groups so far discussed in the literature are mere shadows (in a\nPlatonic sense) of a much larger structure.",
        "positive": "Supersymmetry and Fermionic Modes in an Oscillon Background: The excitations referred to as oscillons are long-lived time-dependent field\nconfigurations which emerge dynamically from non-linear field theories. Such\nlong-lived solutions are of interest in applications that include systems of\nCondensed Matter Physics, the Standard Model of Particle Physics,\nLorentz-symmetry violating scenarios and Cosmology. In this work, we show how\noscillons may be accommodated in a supersymmetric scenario. We adopt as our\nframework simple ($\\mathcal{N}=1$) supersymmetry in $D=1+1$ dimensions. We\nfocus on the bosonic sector with oscillon configurations and their (classical)\neffects on the corresponding fermionic modes, (supersymmetric) partners of the\noscillons. The particular model we adopt to pursue our investigation displays\ncubic self-interactions in the scalar sector."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "From D3-Branes to Lifshitz Space-Times: We present a simple embedding of a z=2 Lifshitz space-time into type IIB\nsupergravity. This is obtained by considering a stack of D3-branes in type IIB\nsupergravity and deforming the world-volume by a plane wave. The plane wave is\nsourced by the type IIB axion. The superposition of the plane wave and the\nD3-branes is 1/4 BPS. The near horizon geometry of this configuration is a\n5-dimensional z=0 Schroedinger space-time times a 5-sphere. This geometry is\nalso 1/4 BPS. Upon compactification along the direction in which the wave is\ntraveling the 5-dimensional z=0 Schroedinger space-time reduces to a\n4-dimensional z=2 Lifshitz space-time. The compactification is such that the\ncircle is small for weakly coupled type IIB string theory. This reduction\nbreaks the supersymmetries. Further, we propose a general method to construct\nanalytic z=2 Lifshitz black brane solutions. The method is based on deforming\n5-dimensional AdS black strings by an axion wave and reducing to 4-dimensions.\nWe illustrate this method with an example.",
        "positive": "An Algorithmic Approach to Heterotic String Phenomenology: We briefly review the recent programme to construct, systematically and\nalgorithmically, large classes of heterotic vacua, as well as the search for\nthe MSSM therein. Specifically, we outline the monad construction of vector\nbundles over complete intersection Calabi-Yau threefolds, their classification,\nstability, equivariant cohomology and subsequent relevance to string\nphenomenology. It is hoped that this top-down algorithmic approach will isolate\nspecial corners in the heterotic landscape."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "AdS_4/CFT_3 duals from M2-branes at hypersurface singularities and their\n  deformations: We construct three-dimensional N=2 Chern-Simons-quiver theories which are\nholographically dual to the M-theory Freund-Rubin solutions AdS_4 x V_{5,2}/Z_k\n(with or without torsion G-flux), where V_{5,2} is a homogeneous\nSasaki-Einstein seven-manifold. The global symmetry group of these theories is\ngenerically SU(2) x U(1) x U(1)_R, and they are hence non-toric. The field\ntheories may be thought of as the n=2 member of a family of models, labelled by\na positive integer n, arising on multiple M2-branes at certain hypersurface\nsingularities. We describe how these models can be engineered via generalized\nHanany-Witten brane constructions. The AdS_4 x V_{5,2}/Z_k solutions may be\ndeformed to a warped geometry R^{1,2} x T^* S^4/Z_k, with self-dual G-flux\nthrough the four-sphere. We show that this solution is dual to a supersymmetric\nmass deformation, which precisely modifies the classical moduli space of the\nfield theory to the deformed geometry.",
        "positive": "On tensionless string field theory in AdS$_3$: We report on progress in formulating a field theory of tensionless strings in\n$AdS_3$, starting from the dual large-$N$ symmetric orbifold CFT. We propose a\nset of field equations which are gauge invariant under the higher spin algebra\nof the theory, the `Higher Spin Square'. The massless higher spin sector is\ncaptured by a Chern-Simons gauge field, while the matter sector is described by\nunfolded equations similar to those appearing in Vasiliev theory. Our equations\nincorporate the full perturbative spectrum of the theory, including states\ncoming from the twisted sectors, and capture some of the interactions fixed by\ngauge invariance. We also discuss the spectrum of the bulk theory and explain\nhow linearization around $AdS_3$ gives rise to the expected set of decoupled\nwave equations. Our results can be generalized to describe bulk duals of other\nlarge-$N$ symmetric orbifolds."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fermion in the Nonabelian Gauge Field Theory in 2+1 Dimensions: The massive SU(2) gauge field theory coupled with fermions is considered in\n2+1 dimensions. Quark energy spectrum and radiative shift in constant external\nnonabelian field, being exact solution of the gauge field equations with the\nChern-Simons term, are calculated. Under the condition $m = \\theta/4$ the quark\nstate is shown to be supersymmetric.",
        "positive": "Colored HOMFLY-PT polynomials of quasi-alternating $3$-braid knots: Obtaining a closed-form expression for the colored HOMFLY-PT polynomials of\nknots from $3$-strand braids carrying arbitrary $SU(N)$ representation is a\nchallenging problem. In this paper, we confine our interest to twisted\ngeneralized hybrid weaving knots which we denote hereafter by\n$\\hat{Q}_3(m_1,-m_2,n,\\ell)$. This family of knots not only generalizes the\nwell-known class of weaving knots but also contains an infinite family of\nquasi-alternating knots. Interestingly, we obtain a closed-form expression for\nthe HOMFLY-PT polynomial of $\\hat{Q}_3(m_1,-m_2,n,\\ell)$ using a modified\nversion of the Reshitikhin-Turaev method. In addition, we compute the exact\ncoefficients of the Jones polynomials and the Alexander polynomials of\nquasi-alternating knots $\\hat{Q}_3(1,-1,n,\\pm 1)$. For these homologically-thin\nknots, such coefficients are known to be the ranks of their Khovanov and link\nFloer homologies, respectively. We also show that the asymptotic behaviour of\nthe coefficients of the Alexander polynomial is trapezoidal. On the other hand,\nwe compute the $[r]$-colored HOMFLY-PT polynomials of quasi alternating knots\nfor small values of $r$. Remarkably, the study of the determinants of certain\ntwisted weaving knots leads to establish a connection with enumerative geometry\nrelated to $m^{th}$ Lucas numbers, denoted hereafter as $L_{m,2n}$. At the end,\nwe verify that the reformulated invariants satisfy Ooguri-Vafa conjecture and\nwe express certain BPS integers in terms of hyper-geometric functions ${}_2\n{\\bf F}_1\\left[a,b, c;z\\right]$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Bloch electrons on honeycomb lattice and toric Calabi-Yau geometry: We find a new relation between the spectral problem for Bloch electrons on a\ntwo-dimensional honeycomb lattice in a uniform magnetic field and that for\nquantum geometry of a toric Calabi-Yau threefold. We show that a difference\nequation for the Bloch electron is identical to a quantum mirror curve of the\nCalabi-Yau threefold. As an application, we show that bandwidths of the\nelectron spectra in the weak magnetic flux regime are systematically calculated\nby the topological string free energies at conifold singular points in the\nNekrasov-Shatashvili limit.",
        "positive": "Looking for structure in the cobordism conjecture: The cobordism conjecture of the swampland program states that the bordism\ngroup of quantum gravity must be trivial. We investigate this statement in\nseveral directions, on both the mathematical and physical side. We consider the\nWhitehead tower construction as a possible organising principle for the\ntopological structures entering the formulation of the conjecture. We discuss\nwhy and how to include geometric structures in bordism groups, such as higher\nU(1)-bundles with connection. The inclusion of magnetic defects is also\naddressed in some detail. We further elaborate on how the conjecture could\npredict Kaluza--Klein monopoles, and we study the gravity decoupling limit in\nthe cobordism conjecture, with a few observations on NSNS string backgrounds.\nWe end with comments in relation to T-duality, as well as the finiteness\nconjecture."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Open Perturbatively Long-Range Integrable gl(N) Spin Chains: We construct the most general perturbatively long-range integrable spin chain\nwith spins transforming in the fundamental representation of gl(N) and open\nboundary conditions. In addition to the previously determined bulk moduli we\nfind a new set of parameters determining the reflection phase shift. We also\nconsider finite-size contributions and comment on their determination.",
        "positive": "Metric of the multiply wound rotating string: We consider a string wrapped many times around a compact circle in space, and\nlet this string carry a right moving wave which imparts momentum and angular\nmomentum to the string. The angular momentum causes the strands of the\n`multiwound' string to separate and cover the surface of a torus. We compute\nthe supergravity solution for this string configuration. We map this solution\nby dualities to the D1-D5 system with angular momentum that has been recently\nstudied. We discuss how constructing this multiwound string solution may help\nus to relate the microscopic and macroscopic pictures of black hole absorption."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Weak cosmic censorship conjecture in Einstein-Born-Infeld black holes: Recently, Sorce and Wald have suggested a new version of the gedanken\nexperiments to overspin or overcharge the Kerr-Newman black holes in\nEinstein-Maxwell gravity. Following their setup, in this paper, we investigate\nthe weak cosmic censorship conjecture (WCCC) in the static Einstein-Born-Infeld\nblack holes for the Einstein gravity coupled to nonlinear electrodynamics.\nFirst of all, we derive the first two order perturbation inequalities of the\ncharged collision matter in the Einstein-Born-Infeld gravity based on the\nIyer-Wald formalism as well as the null energy conditions of the matter fields\nand show that they share the same form as these in Einstein-Maxwell gravity. As\na result, we find that the static Einstein-Born-Infeld black holes cannot be\novercharged under the second-order approximation after considering these\ninequalities. Our result at some level hints at the validity of the weak cosmic\ncensorship conjecture for string theory.",
        "positive": "GLSM's for partial flag manifolds: In this paper we outline some aspects of nonabelian gauged linear sigma\nmodels. First, we review how partial flag manifolds (generalizing\nGrassmannians) are described physically by nonabelian gauged linear sigma\nmodels, paying attention to realizations of tangent bundles and other aspects\npertinent to (0,2) models. Second, we review constructions of Calabi-Yau\ncomplete intersections within such flag manifolds, and properties of the gauged\nlinear sigma models. We discuss a number of examples of nonabelian GLSM's in\nwhich the Kahler phases are not birational, and in which at least one phase is\nrealized in some fashion other than as a complete intersection, extending\nprevious work of Hori-Tong. We also review an example of an abelian GLSM\nexhibiting the same phenomenon. We tentatively identify the mathematical\nrelationship between such non-birational phases, as examples of Kuznetsov's\nhomological projective duality. Finally, we discuss linear sigma model moduli\nspaces in these gauged linear sigma models. We argue that the moduli spaces\nbeing realized physically by these GLSM's are precisely Quot and hyperquot\nschemes, as one would expect mathematically."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Type IIB flux vacua from G-theory II: We find analytic solutions of type IIB supergravity on geometries that\nlocally take the form $\\text{Mink}\\times M_4\\times \\mathbb{C}$ with $M_4$ a\ngeneralised complex manifold. The solutions involve the metric, the dilaton,\nNSNS and RR flux potentials (oriented along the $M_4$) parametrised by\nfunctions varying only over $\\mathbb{C}$. Under this assumption, the\nsupersymmetry equations are solved using the formalism of pure spinors in terms\nof a finite number of holomorphic functions. Alternatively, the solutions can\nbe viewed as vacua of maximally supersymmetric supergravity in six dimensions\nwith a set of scalar fields varying holomorphically over $\\mathbb{C}$. For a\nclass of solutions characterised by up to five holomorphic functions, we\noutline how the local solutions can be completed to four-dimensional flux vacua\nof type IIB theory. A detailed study of this global completion for solutions\nwith two holomorphic functions has been carried out in the companion paper [1].\nThe fluxes of the global solutions are, as in F-theory, entirely codified in\nthe geometry of an auxiliary $K3$ fibration over $\\mathbb{CP}^1$. The results\nprovide a geometric construction of fluxes in F-theory.",
        "positive": "Dynamical gap from holography in the charged dilaton black hole: We study the holographic non-relativistic fermions in the presence of bulk\ndipole coupling in charged dilatonic black hole background. We explore the\nnontrivial effects of the bulk dipole coupling, the fermion charge as well as\nthe dilaton field on the flat band, the Fermi surface and the emergence of the\ngap by investigating the spectral function of the non-relativistic fermion\nsystem. In particular, we find that the presence of the flat band in the\nnon-relativistic case will suppress the Fermi momentum. Besides, we observe\nthat the effect of the dipole coupling in the dilaton gravity is more explicit.\nFinally, we consider the non-relativistic fermions at nonzero temperature. A\nphase transition from insulator to a conducting state is observed as the\nfermion system becomes hotter."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Background Independent Formulation of Noncritical String Theory: Using the string field theory recently proposed by the authors and\ncollaborators, we give a background independent formulation of rational\nnoncritical string theories with $c\\leq 1$. With a little modification of the\nstring field Hamiltonians previously constructed, we obtain string field\ntheories which include various rational noncritical string theories as\nclassical backgrounds.",
        "positive": "Refined, Motivic, and Quantum: It is well known that in string compactifications on toric Calabi-Yau\nmanifolds one can introduce refined BPS invariants that carry information not\nonly about the charge of the BPS state but also about the spin content. In this\npaper we study how these invariants behave under wall crossing. In particular,\nby applying a refined wall crossing formula, we obtain the refined BPS\ndegeneracies for the conifold in different chambers. The result can be\ninterpreted in terms of a new statistical model that counts `refined' pyramid\npartitions; the model provides a combinatorial realization of wall crossing and\nclarifies the relation between refined pyramid partitions and the refined\ntopological vertex. We also compare the wall crossing behavior of the refined\nBPS invariants with that of the motivic Donaldson-Thomas invariants introduced\nby Kontsevich-Soibelman. In particular, we argue that, in the context of BPS\nstate counting, the three adjectives in the title of this paper are essentially\nsynonymous."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Large-density field theory, viscosity, and \"$2k_F$\" singularities from\n  string duals: We analyze systems where an effective large-N expansion arises naturally in\ngauge theories without a large number of colors: a sufficiently large charge\ndensity alone can produce a perturbative string ('tHooft) expansion. One\nexample is simply the well-known NS5/F1 system dual to $AdS_3\\times T^4\\times\nS^3$, here viewed as a 5+1 dimensional theory at finite density. This model is\ncompletely stable, and we find that the existing string-theoretic solution of\nthis model yields two interesting results. First, it indicates that the shear\nviscosity is not corrected by $\\alpha'$ effects in this system. For flow\nperpendicular to the F1 strings the viscosity to entropy ratio take the usual\nvalue $1/4\\pi$, but for flow parallel to the F1's it vanishes as $T^2$ at low\ntemperature. Secondly, it encodes singularities in correlation functions coming\nfrom low-frequency modes at a finite value of the momentum along the $T^4$\ndirections. This may provide a strong coupling analogue of finite density\ncondensed matter systems for which fermionic constituents of larger operators\ncontribute so-called \"$2k_F$\" singularities. In the NS5/F1 example, stretched\nstrings on the gravity side play the role of these composite operators. We\nexplore the analogue for our system of the Luttinger relation between charge\ndensity and the volume bounded by these singular surfaces. This model provides\na clean example where the string-theoretic UV completion of the gravity dual to\na finite density field theory plays a significant and calculable role.",
        "positive": "Holographic anyonization: A systematic approach: Anyons have garnered substantial interest theoretically as well as\nexperimentally. Due to the intricate nature of their interactions, however,\neven basic notions such as the equation of state for any kind of anyon gas have\neluded a profound understanding so far. Using holography as a guiding\nprinciple, we propose a general method for an alternative quantization of\nelectromagnetic degrees of freedom in the gravitational dual to obtain an\neffective physical description of strongly correlated anyonic systems. We then\ndemonstrate the application of this prescription in a toy model of an anyonic\nfluid at finite charge density and magnetic field, dual to a dyonic black brane\nin AdS_4, and compute the equation of state and various transport coefficients\nexplicitly."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Degenerate Metrics and Electromagnetism: A theory of degenerate metrics is developed and applied to the problem of\nunifying gravitation with electromagnetism. The approach is similar to the\nKaluza-Klein approach with a fifth dimension, however no ad hoc conditions are\nneeded to explain why the extra dimension is not directly observable under\neveryday conditions. Maxwell's theory is recovered with differences only at\nvery small length scales, and a new formula is found for the Coulomb potential\nthat is regular everywhere.",
        "positive": "Baryon Charges in 4d Superconformal Field Theories and Their AdS Duals: We consider general aspects of the realization of R and non-R flavor\nsymmetries in the AdS_5 x H_5 dual of 4d N=1 superconformal field theories. We\nfind a general prescription for computing the charges under these symmetries\nfor baryonic operators, which uses only topological information (intersection\nnumbers) on H_5. We find and discuss a new correspondence between the nodes of\nthe SCFT quiver diagrams and certain divisors in the associated geometry. We\nalso discuss connections between the non-R flavor symmetries and the enhanced\ngauge symmetries in non-conformal theories obtained by adding wrapped branes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Glueball instability and thermalization driven by dark radiation: We study glueballs in the holographic gauge theories living in a curved\nspace-time. The dual bulk is obtained as a solution of the type IIB superstring\ntheory with two parameters, which correspond to four dimensional (4D)\ncosmological constant $\\lambda$ and the dark radiation $C$ respectively. The\ntheory is in the confining phase for $\\lambda <0$ and small $C$, then we\nobserve stable glueball states in this theory. However, the stability of the\nglueball states is lost when the density of the dark radiation ($C$) increases\nand exceeds a critical point. Above this point, the dark radiation works as the\nheat bath of the Yang-Mills theory since the event horizon appears. Thus the\nsystem is thermalized, and the theory is in a finite temperature deconfinement\nphase, namely in the QGP phase. We observe this transition process through the\nglueball spectra which varies dramatically with $C$. We also examined the\nentanglement entropy of the system to find a clue of this phase transition and\nthe role of the dark radiation $C$ in the entanglement entropy.",
        "positive": "Exotic Dark Spinor Fields: Exotic dark spinor fields are introduced and investigated in the context of\ninequivalent spin structures on arbitrary curved spacetimes, which induces an\nadditional term on the associated Dirac operator, related to a Cech cohomology\nclass. For the most kinds of spinor fields, any exotic term in the Dirac\noperator can be absorbed and encoded as a shift of the electromagnetic vector\npotential representing an element of the cohomology group H^1(M, Z_2). The\npossibility of concealing such an exotic term does not exist in case of dark\n(ELKO) spinor fields, as they cannot carry electromagnetic charge, so that the\nfull topological analysis must be evaluated. Since exotic dark spinor fields\nalso satisfy Klein-Gordon propagators, the dynamical constraints related to the\nexotic term in the Dirac equation can be explicitly calculated. It forthwith\nimplies that the non-trivial topology associated to the spacetime can\ndrastically engender --- from the dynamics of dark spinor fields ---\nconstraints in the spacetime metric structure. Meanwhile, such constraints may\nbe alleviated, at the cost of constraining the exotic spacetime topology.\nBesides being prime candidates to the dark matter problem, dark spinor fields\nare shown to be potential candidates to probe non-trivial topologies in\nspacetime, as well as probe the spacetime metric structure."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "$N=2$ Superconformal Field Theories in $4$ Dimensions and A-D-E\n  Classification: Making use of the exact solutions of the $N=2$ supersymmetric gauge theories\nwe construct new classes of superconformal field theories (SCFTs) by\nfine-tuning the moduli parameters and bringing the theories to critical points.\nIn the case of SCFTs constructed from pure gauge theories without matter $N=2$\ncritical points seem to be classified according to the A-D-E classification as\nin the two-dimensional SCFTs.",
        "positive": "Do Our Observations Depend upon the Quantum State of the Universe?: Generically the probabilities of observational results depend upon both the\nquantum state and the rules for extracting the probabilities from it. It is\noften argued that inflation may make our observations independent of the\nquantum state. In a framework in which one considers the state and the rules as\nlogically separate, it is shown how it is possible that the probabilities are\nindeed independent of the state, but the rules for achieving this seem somewhat\nimplausible."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Dimensional-Reduction Anomaly in Spherically Symmetric Spacetimes: In D-dimensional spacetimes which can be foliated by n-dimensional\nhomogeneous subspaces, a quantum field can be decomposed in terms of modes on\nthe subspaces, reducing the system to a collection of (D-n)-dimensional fields.\nThis allows one to write bare D-dimensional field quantities like the Green\nfunction and the effective action as sums of their (D-n)-dimensional\ncounterparts in the dimensionally reduced theory. It has been shown, however,\nthat renormalization breaks this relationship between the original and\ndimensionally reduced theories, an effect called the dimensional-reduction\nanomaly. We examine the dimensional-reduction anomaly for the important case of\nspherically symmetric spaces.",
        "positive": "$SL(2,R)\\times U(1)$ symmetry and quasinormal modes in the self-dual\n  warped AdS black hole: The algebraic approach to the spectrum of quasinormal modes has been made as\nsimple as possible for the BTZ black hole by the strategy developed in\n\\cite{Zhang}. By working with the self-dual warped AdS black hole, we\ndemonstrate in an explicit way that such a strategy can be well adapted to\nthose warped AdS balck holes with the $SL(2,R)\\times U(1)$ isometry. To this\nend, we first introduce two associated tensor fields with the quadratic Casimir\nof $SL(2,R)\\times U(1)$ Lie algebra in the self-dual warped AdS black hole and\nshow that they correspond essentially to the metric and volume element up to a\nconstant prefactor, respectively. Then without appealing to any concrete\ncoordinate system, we can further show that the solutions to the equations of\nmotion for the scalar, vector, spinor fields all fall into the representations\nof the $SL(2,R)\\times U(1)$ Lie algebra by a purely abstract tensor and spinor\nanalysis. Accordingly, the corresponding spectrum of quasinormal modes for each\nfixed azimuthal quantum number can be derived algebraically as the infinite\ntower of descendants of the highest weight mode of the $SL(2,R)$ Lie\nsubalgebra."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Brane-World Inflation and the Transition to Standard Cosmology: In the context of a five-dimensional brane-world model motivated from\nheterotic M-theory, we develop a framework for potential-driven brane-world\ninflation. Specifically this involves a classification of the various\nbackground solutions of (A)dS_5 type, an analysis of five-dimensional slow-roll\nconditions and a study of how a transition to the flat vacuum state can be\nrealized. It is shown that solutions with bulk potential and both bane\npotentials positive exist but are always non-separating and have a non-static\norbifold. It turns out that, for this class of backgrounds, a transition to the\nflat vacuum state during inflation is effectively prevented by the rapidly\nexpanding orbifold. We demonstrate that such a transition can be realized for\nsolutions where one boundary potential is negative. For this case, we present\ntwo concrete inflationary models which exhibit the transition explicitly.",
        "positive": "Correlation functions of local composite operators from generalized\n  unitarity: We describe the use of generalized unitarity for the construction of\ncorrelation functions of local gauge-invariant operators in general quantum\nfield theories and illustrate this method with several calculations in N=4\nsuper-Yang-Mills theory involving BPS and non-BPS operators. Form factors of\ngauge-invariant operators and their multi-operator generalization play an\nimportant role in our construction. We discuss various symmetries of the\nmomentum space presentation of correlation functions, which is natural in this\nframework and give examples involving non-BPS and any number of BPS operators.\nWe also discuss the calculation of correlators describing the energy flow in\nscattering processes as well as the construction of the effective action of a\nbackground gravitational field."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Matrix Cosmology: Some speculative preliminary ideas relating matrix theory and cosmology are\ndiscussed.",
        "positive": "Landau-Khalatnikov-Fradkin transformation of the fermion propagator in\n  massless reduced QED: We study the gauge-covariance of the massless fermion propagator in reduced\nQuantum Electrodynamics (QED). Starting from its value in some gauge, we\nevaluate an all order expression for it in another gauge by means of the\nLandau-Khalatnikov-Fradkin transformation. We find that the weak coupling\nexpansions thus derived are in perfect agreement with the exact calculations.\nWe also prove that the fermion anomalous dimension of reduced QED is gauge\ninvariant to all orders of perturbation theory except for the first one."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Lorentz violation, M\u00f6ller scattering and finite temperature: Lorentz and CPT symmetries may be violated in new physics that emerges at\nvery high energy scale, i.e., at the Planck scale. The differential cross\nsection of the M\\\"oller scattering, due to Lorentz violation at finite\ntemperature is calculated. Lorentz-violating effects emerge from an interaction\nvertex due to a CPT-odd nonminimal coupling in the covariant derivative. The\nfinite temperature effects are determined using the Thermo Field Dynamics (TFD)\nformalism.",
        "positive": "The Cosmological Dynamics of Interacting Holographic Dark Energy Model: Motivated by the recent observations for the cosmic acceleration and the\nsuitable evolution of the Universe provided an interaction (decay of dark\nenergy to matter) is incorporated in a cosmological model, we study the\ncosmological evolution of the Interacting Holographic Dark Energy scenario.\nCritical points are derived and their corresponding cosmological models are\npresented. The dynamical character of these models is revealed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic Butterfly Effect at Quantum Critical Points: When the Lyapunov exponent $\\lambda_L$ in a quantum chaotic system saturates\nthe bound $\\lambda_L\\leqslant 2\\pi k_BT$, it is proposed that this system has a\nholographic dual described by a gravity theory. In particular, the butterfly\neffect as a prominent phenomenon of chaos can ubiquitously exist in a black\nhole system characterized by a shockwave solution near the horizon. In this\npaper we propose that the butterfly velocity can be used to diagnose quantum\nphase transition (QPT) in holographic theories. We provide evidences for this\nproposal with an anisotropic holographic model exhibiting metal-insulator\ntransitions (MIT), in which the derivatives of the butterfly velocity with\nrespect to system parameters characterizes quantum critical points (QCP) with\nlocal extremes in zero temperature limit. We also point out that this proposal\ncan be tested by experiments in the light of recent progress on the measurement\nof out-of-time-order correlation function (OTOC).",
        "positive": "Low-energy $6D$, ${\\cal N}=(1,1)$ SYM effective action beyond the\n  leading approximation: For $6D$, ${\\cal N}=(1,1)$ SYM theory formulated in ${\\cal N}=(1,0)$ harmonic\nsuperspace as a theory of interacting gauge multiplet and hypermultiplet we\nconstruct the ${\\cal N}=(1,1)$ supersymmetric Heisenberg-Euler-type superfield\neffective action. The effective action is computed for the slowly varying\non-shell background fields and involves, in the bosonic sector, all powers of a\nconstant abelian strength."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Bi-Hamiltonian Sturcture of Super KP Hierarchy: We obtain the bi-Hamiltonian structure of the super KP hierarchy based on the\neven super KP operator $\\Lambda = \\theta^{2} + \\sum^{\\infty}_{i=-2}U_{i}\n\\theta^{-i-1}$, as a supersymmetric extension of the ordinary KP bi-Hamiltonian\nstructure. It is expected to give rise to a universal super $W$-algebra\nincorporating all known extended superconformal $W_{N}$ algebras by reduction.\nWe also construct the super BKP hierarchy by imposing a set of anti-self-dual\nconstraints on the super KP hierarchy.",
        "positive": "High frequency quasi-normal modes for black holes with generic\n  singularities II: Asymptotically non-flat spacetimes: The possibility that the asymptotic quasi-normal mode (QNM) frequencies can\nbe used to obtain the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy for the Schwarzschild black\nhole -- commonly referred to as Hod's conjecture -- has received considerable\nattention. To test this conjecture, using monodromy technique, attempts have\nbeen made to analytically compute the asymptotic frequencies for a large class\nof black hole spacetimes. In an earlier work, two of the current authors\ncomputed the high frequency QNMs for scalar perturbations of $(D+2)$\ndimensional spherically symmetric, asymptotically flat, single horizon\nspacetimes with generic power-law singularities. In this work, we extend these\nresults to asymptotically non-flat spacetimes. Unlike the earlier analyses, we\ntreat asymptotically flat and de Sitter spacetimes in a unified manner, while\nthe asymptotic anti-de Sitter spacetimes is considered separately. We obtain\nmaster equations for the asymptotic QNM frequency for all the three cases. We\nshow that for all the three cases, the real part of the asymptotic QNM\nfrequency -- in general -- is not proportional to ln(3) thus indicating that\nthe Hod's conjecture may be restrictive."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-Invertible Duality Interfaces in Field Theories with Exotic\n  Symmetries: In recent years, the concept of global symmetry has generalized considerably.\nTwo dramatic examples of this generalization are the exotic symmetries that\ngovern theories with fractons and non-invertible symmetries, which do not fuse\naccording to a group law. Only recently has the interplay between these two\nbeen examined. In this paper, we provide further examples of the interplay in\nthe XY plaquette model, XY cube model, 1+1 d theory with global dipole\nsymmetry, and the 2+1 d Lifshitz theory. They are analogs of the duality\nsymmetries in 2d CTFs and are constructed by first gauging a finite subgroup of\nthe momentum symmetry on half of spacetime and then performing a duality\ntransformation. We analyze the fusion rules of the symmetries and find that\nthey are condensation defects from an analog of higher gauging exotic\nsymmetries. We also address their dependence on the UV cutoff when relevant.",
        "positive": "At the horizon of a supersymmetric AdS_5 black hole: Isometries and\n  half-BPS giants: The near-horizon geometry of an asymptotically AdS_5 supersymmetric black\nhole discovered by Gutowski and Reall is analysed. After lifting the solution\nto 10 dimensions, we explicitly solve the Killing spinor equations in both\nPoincare and global coordinates. It is found that exactly four supersymmetries\nare preserved which is twice the number for the full black hole. The full set\nof isometries is constructed and the isometry supergroup is shown to be\nSU(1,1|1) X SU(2) X U(3). We further study half-BPS configurations of D3-branes\nin the near-horizon geometry in Poincare and global coordinates. Both giant\ngraviton probes and dual giant graviton probes are found."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetry Breaking and Inflation from Higher Curvature Supergravity: The generic embedding of the $R+R^2$ higher curvature theory into old-minimal\nsupergravity leads to models with rich vacuum structure in addition to its\nwell-known inflationary properties. When the model enjoys an exact R-symmetry,\nthere is an inflationary phase with a single supersymmetric Minkowski vacuum.\nThis appears to be a special case of a more generic set-up, which in principle\nmay include R-symmetry violating terms which are still of pure supergravity\norigin. By including the latter terms, we find new supersymmetry breaking vacua\ncompatible with single-field inflationary trajectories. We discuss explicitly\ntwo such models and we illustrate how the inflaton is driven towards the\nsupersymmetry breaking vacuum after the inflationary phase. In these models the\ngravitino mass is of the same order as the inflaton mass. Therefore, pure\nhigher curvature supergravity may not only accommodate the proper inflaton\nfield, but it may also provide the appropriate hidden sector for supersymmetry\nbreaking after inflation has ended.",
        "positive": "Relativistic Gravity and Parity-Violating Non-Relativistic Effective\n  Field Theories: We show that the relativistic gravity theory can offer a framework to\nformulate the non-relativistic effective field theory in a general coordinate\ninvariant way. We focus on the parity violating case in 2+1 dimensions which is\nparticularly appropriate for the study on quantum Hall effects and chiral\nsuperfluids. We discuss how the non-relativistic spacetime structure emerges\nfrom relativistic gravity. We present covariant maps and constraints that\nrelate the field contents in the two theories, which also serve as the\nholographic dictionary in context of gauge/gravity duality. A low energy\neffective action for fractional quantum Hall states is constructed, which\ncaptures universal geometric properties and generates non-universal corrections\nsystematically. We give another holographic example with dyonic black brane\nbackground to calculate thermodynamic and transport properties of strongly\ncoupled non-relativistic fluids in magnetic field. In particular, by\nidentifying the shift function in the gravity as minus of guiding center\nvelocity, we obtain the Hall viscosity with its relation to Landau orbital\nangular momentum density proportional to Wen-Zee shift. Our formalism has a\ngood projection to lowest Landau level."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Covariant Hamiltonian field theory. Path integral quantization: The Hamiltonian counterpart of classical Lagrangian field theory is covariant\nHamiltonian field theory where momenta correspond to derivatives of fields with\nrespect to all world coordinates. In particular, classical Lagrangian and\ncovariant Hamiltonian field theories are equivalent in the case of a\nhyperregular Lagrangian, and they are quasi-equivalent if a Lagrangian is\nalmost-regular. In order to quantize covariant Hamiltonian field theory, one\nusually attempts to construct and quantize a multisymplectic generalization of\nthe Poisson bracket. In the present work, the path integral quantization of\ncovariant Hamiltonian field theory is suggested. We use the fact that a\ncovariant Hamiltonian field system is equivalent to a certain Lagrangian system\non a phase space which is quantized in the framework of perturbative field\ntheory. We show that, in the case of almost-regular quadratic Lagrangians, path\nintegral quantizations of associated Lagrangian and Hamiltonian field theories\nare equivalent.",
        "positive": "Causality Bounds in Quadratic Inflation from Purely Virtual Particles: The \"$\\phi^2$\" slow roll inflation combined with General Relativity is\nlargely excluded by Planck data. In this paper, we consider the same potential\ncombined with the $R+C^2$ gravity of purely virtual particles (or fakeons),\nwhere the would-be ghost introduced by the Weyl tensor term, $C^2$, is\nquantized with the fakeon prescription. We compute the tensor power spectrum in\nthe full theory by means of the Cosmic Renormalization Group formalism and\ncritically examine its physical meaning. In particular, we show that it is not\npossible to retrieve the power spectrum of the fakeon free-theory by\nconsidering the decoupling limit of the purely virtual particles. We provide a\nphysical explanation in terms of the causal structure of the theory to infer\nthat a model of quadratic inflation from purely virtual particles is also\ndiscarded from a phenomenological point of view."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic Butterfly Velocities in Brane Geometry and\n  Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet Gravity with Matters: In the first part of the paper we generalize the butterfly velocity formula\nto anisotropic spacetime. We apply the formula to evaluate the butterfly\nvelocities in M-branes, D-branes and strings backgrounds. We show that the\nbutterfly velocities in M2-branes, M5-branes and the intersection M2$\\bot$M5\nequal to those in fundamental strings, D4-branes and the intersection\nF1$\\bot$D4 backgrounds, respectively. These observations lead us to conjecture\nthat the butterfly velocity is generally invariant under a double-dimensional\nreduction. In the second part of the paper, we study the butterfly velocity for\nEinstein-Gauss-Bonnet gravity with arbitrary matter fields. A general formula\nis obtained. We use this formula to compute the butterfly velocities in\ndifferent backgrounds and discuss the associated properties.",
        "positive": "SUSY-Extended Field Theory: A field model on fibre bundles can be extended in a standard way to the\nBRS-invariant SUSY field model which possesses the Lie supergroup ISp(2) of\nsymmetries."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Gauge Invariant Wilsonian Flows: We investigate non-Abelian gauge theories within a Wilsonian Renormalisation\nGroup approach. Our main question is: How close can one get to a gauge\ninvariant flow, despite the fact that a Wilsonian coarse-graining seems to be\nincompatible with gauge invariance? We discuss the possible options in the case\nof quantum fluctuations, and argue that for thermal fluctuations a fully gauge\ninvariant implementation can be obtained.",
        "positive": "Complete Solution of SU(2) Chern-Simons Theory: Explicit and complete topological solution of SU(2) Chern-Simons theory on\nS^3 is presented."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Playing with the index of M-theory: Motivated by M-theory, we study rank n K-theoretic Donaldson-Thomas theory on\na toric threefold X. In the presence of compact four-cycles, we discuss how to\ninclude the contribution of D4-branes wrapping them. Combining this with a\nsimple assumption on the (in)dependence on Coulomb moduli in the 7d theory, we\nshow that the partition function factorizes and, when X is Calabi-Yau and it\nadmits an ADE ruling, it reproduces the 5d master formula for the geometrically\nengineered theory on A(n-1) ALE space, thus extending the usual geometric\nengineering dictionary to n>1. We finally speculate about implications for\ninstanton counting on Taub-NUT.",
        "positive": "D2-brane RR-charge on SU(2): We compute RR charges of D2-branes on a background with H-field which belongs\nto a nontrivial cohomology class. We discover that the RR charge depends on the\nconfiguration of the background `electric' RR field. This result explains the\nambiguity in the definition of the RR charge previously observed in the SU(2)\nWZW model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The R-matrix bootstrap for the 2d O(N) bosonic model with a boundary: The S-matrix bootstrap is extended to a 1+1d theory with $O(N)$ symmetry and\na boundary in what we call the R-matrix bootstrap since the quantity of\ninterest is the reflection matrix (R-matrix). Given a bulk S-matrix, the space\nof allowed R-matrices is an infinite dimensional convex space from which we\nplot a two dimensional section given by a convex domain on a 2d plane. In\ncertain cases, at the boundary of the domain, we find vertices corresponding to\nintegrable R-matrices with no free parameters. In other cases, when there is a\none-parameter family of integrable R-matrices, the whole boundary represents\nintegrable theories. We also consider R-matrices which are analytic in an\nextended region beyond the physical cuts, thus forbidding poles (resonances) in\nthat region. In certain models, this drastically reduces the allowed space of\nR-matrices leading to new vertices that again correspond to integrable\ntheories. We also work out the dual problem, in particular in the case of\nextended analyticity, the dual function has cuts on the physical line whenever\nunitarity is saturated. For the periodic Yang-Baxter solution that has zero\ntransmission, we computed the R-matrix initially using the bootstrap and then\nderived its previously unknown analytic form.",
        "positive": "The N=2 cascade revisited and the enhancon bearings: Supergravity backgrounds with varying fluxes generated by fractional branes\nat non-isolated Calabi-Yau singularities had escaped a precise dual field\ntheory interpretation so far. In the present work, considering the prototypical\nexample of such models, the C*C^2/Z_2 orbifold, we propose a solution for this\nproblem, and show that the known cascading solution corresponds to a vacuum on\nthe Coulomb branch of the corresponding quiver gauge theory involving a\nsequence of strong coupling transitions reminiscent of the baryonic root of N=2\nSQCD. We also find a slight modification of this cascading vacuum which upon\nmass deformation is expected to flow to the Klebanov-Strassler cascade.\nFinally, we discuss an infinite class of vacua on the Coulomb branch whose RG\nflows include infinitely coupled conformal regimes, and explain their\ngravitational manifestation in terms of new geometric structures that we dub\nenhancon bearings. Repulson-free backgrounds dual to all the vacua we analyse\nare explicitly provided."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Near-horizon brane-scan revived: In 1987 two versions of the brane-scan of D-dimensional super p-branes were\nput forward. The first pinpointed those (p,D) slots consistent with\nkappa-symmetric Green-Schwarz type actions; the second generalized the\n\"membrane at the end of the universe\" idea to all those superconformal groups\ndescribing p-branes on the boundary of AdS_{p+2} x S^{D-p-2}. Although the\nsecond version predicted D3 and M5 branes in addition to those of the first, it\ncame unstuck because the 1/2 BPS solitonic branes failed to exhibit the\nrequired symmetry enhancement in the near-horizon limit, except in the\nnon-dilatonic cases (p=2,D=11), (p=3,D=10) and (p=5,D=11). Just recently,\nhowever, it has been argued that the fundamental D=10 heterotic string does\nindeed display a near-horizon enhancement to OSp(8|2) as predicted by the\nbrane-scan, provided alpha' corrections are taken into account. If this logic\ncould be extended to the other strings and branes, it would resolve this\n21-year-old paradox and provide new AdS/CFT dualities, which we tabulate.",
        "positive": "Coordinate and K\u00e4hler $\u03c3$-Model Anomalies and Their\n  Cancellation in String Effective Field Theories: We discuss the complete set of one-loop triangle graphs involving the\nYang-Mills gauge connection, the \\Kahler\\ connection and the $\\sigma$-model\ncoordinate connection in the effective field theory of $(2,2)$ symmetric $Z_N$\norbifolds. That is, we discuss pure gauge, pure \\Kahler\\ and pure\n$\\sigma$-model coordinate anomalies as well as the mixed anomalies, such as\n\\Kahler-gauge, some of which have been discussed elsewhere. We propose a\nmechanism for restoring both \\Kahler\\ and $\\sigma$-model coordinate symmetry\nbased upon the introduction of two types of counterterms. Finally, we enlarge\nthe $\\sigma$-model generalization of the Green-Schwarz mechanism to allow the\nremoval of the universal parts of a wider class of anomalies than those\npreviously discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dynamical mass generation of spin-2 fields in de Sitter space for an\n  $O(N)$ symmetric model at large $N$: We consider the strong-coupling phase in a model of $O(N)$ spin-2 field\ntheory in de Sitter spacetime and the effective mass of spin-2 fields therein.\nIn the strong-coupling phase, the Higuchi bound limits the mass parameter in\nthe theory. The analysis using the large $N$ approximation finds the critical\nvalue of the mass parameter with numerical calculation.",
        "positive": "Perturbative region on non-Gaussian parameter space in single-field\n  inflation: We calculate one-loop correction to the two-point functions of curvature\nperturbation in single-field inflation generated by cubic self-interaction.\nIncorporating the observed red-tilted spectrum of curvature perturbation, the\nrelevant one-loop correction takes a finite value and inversely proportional to\nthe spectral tilt. Requiring one-loop correction to be much smaller than the\ntree-level contribution leads to an upper bound on primordial non-Gaussianity.\nWhile observationally allowed region of non-Gaussian parameter space is found\nto be entirely included by the region, where one-loop correction is smaller\nthan the tree-level contribution, an appreciably large region has one-loop\ncorrection larger than 1% or even 10% of the latter. If future observations\nconclude non-Gaussianity falls in such a region, then it would be important to\nincorporate higher-order corrections to the spectrum in order to achieve\nprecise cosmology. In some extreme cases, where one-loop correction has a\ncomparable magnitude to the tree-level contribution, it might indicate\nbreakdown of the cosmological perturbation theory in the context of\nsingle-field inflation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The E(2) Particle: Recently it has been advocated [1] that for describing nature within the\nminimal symmetry requirement, certain subgroups of Lorentz group may play a\nfundamental role. One such group is E(2) which induces a Lie algebraic\nNon-Commutative spacetime [4] where translation invariance is not fully\nmaintained. We have constructed a consistent structure of Non-commutative phase\nspace for this system and furthermore we have studied an appropriate point\nparticle action on it. Interestingly, the Einstein dispersion relation\n$p^2=m^2$ remains intact. The model is constructed by exploiting a dual\ncanonical phase space following the scheme developed by us earlier [8].",
        "positive": "Continuity, Localization, and Cosmology in Warped Geometry: This is the first of two papers studying localization of massive bulk fields\non a bane in 5D anti-de Sitter spacetime, and some of their cosmological\nconsequences. Here we focus on a massive 5D scalar, which is known to lack a\nlocalized mode, and discuss how a seeming discontinuity between this theory and\nthe massless theory - known to support a localized zero mode - is resolved\nthanks to peculiar analytic properties of the massive two-point amplitude.\nFurthermore, we propose a boundary term that leads to the emergence of a\nmassless localized mode in the massive theory. Last but not least, we consider\nthe case when the brane world-volume is de Sitter spacetime, and prove the\nexistence of a localized massive mode. We discuss how these results, taken\ncollectively, can be used to describe the accelerated expansion due to the\nmassive 5D scalar field in an early, or in a late-time universe."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Twisted Poincar\u00e9 Symmetry and Some Implications on Noncommutative\n  Quantum Field Theory: The concept of twisted Poincar\\'e symmetry, as well as some implications, are\nreviewed. The spin-statistics relation and the nonlocality of NC QFT are\ndiscussed in the light of this quantum symmetry. The possibility of a twisted\nsymmetry principle for quantum field and gauge theories formulated on a\nnoncommutative space-time is also explored.",
        "positive": "Exact Operator Solution for Liouville Theory with $q$ A Root of Unity: The exact operator solution for quantum Liouville theory constructed for the\ngeneric quantum deformation parameter $q$ is extended to the case with $q$\nbeing a root of unity. The screening charge operator becomes nilpotent in such\ncases and arbitrary Liouville exponentials can be obtained in finite\npolynomials of the screening charge."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "High temperature asymptotics of thermodynamic functions of\n  electromagnetic field subjected to boundary conditions on a sphere and\n  cylinder: The high temperature asymptotics of thermodynamic functions of\nelectromagnetic field subjected to boundary conditions with spherical and\ncylindrical symmetries are constructed by making use of a general expansion in\nterms of heat kernel coefficients and the related determinant. For this, some\nnew heat kernel coefficients and determinants had to be calculated for the\nboundary conditions under consideration. The obtained results reproduce all the\nasymptotics derived by other methods in the problems at hand and involve a few\nnew terms in the high temperature expansions. An obvious merit of this approach\nis its universality and applicability to any boundary value problem correctly\nformulated.",
        "positive": "Quantum vacuum fluctuations and the principle of virtual work in\n  inhomogeneous backgrounds: We discuss several aspects of the stress-energy tensor for a quantum scalar\nfield in an inhomogeneous background, the latter being modeled by a variable\nmass. Using a perturbative approach, dimensional regularization and adiabatic\nsubtraction, we present all-order formal expressions for the stress-energy\ntensor. Importantly, we provide an explicit proof of the principle of virtual\nwork for Casimir forces, taking advantage of the conservation law for the\nrenormalized stress-energy tensor. We discuss also discontinuity-induced\ndivergences. For the particular case of planar inhomogeneities, we corroborate\nthe perturbative results with a WKB-inspired expansion."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Introduction to Random Matrices: These notes provide an introduction to the theory of random matrices. The\ncentral quantity studied is $\\tau(a)= det(1-K)$ where $K$ is the integral\noperator with kernel $1/\\pi} {\\sin\\pi(x-y)\\over x-y} \\chi_I(y)$. Here\n$I=\\bigcup_j(a_{2j-1},a_{2j})$ and $\\chi_I(y)$ is the characteristic function\nof the set $I$. In the Gaussian Unitary Ensemble (GUE) the probability that no\neigenvalues lie in $I$ is equal to $\\tau(a)$. Also $\\tau(a)$ is a tau-function\nand we present a new simplified derivation of the system of nonlinear\ncompletely integrable equations (the $a_j$'s are the independent variables)\nthat were first derived by Jimbo, Miwa, M{\\^o}ri, and Sato in 1980. In the case\nof a single interval these equations are reducible to a Painlev{\\'e} V\nequation. For large $s$ we give an asymptotic formula for $E_2(n;s)$, which is\nthe probability in the GUE that exactly $n$ eigenvalues lie in an interval of\nlength $s$.",
        "positive": "Topological mass in seven dimensions and dualities in four dimensions: The massive topologically and self dual theories en seven dimensions are\nconsidered. The local duality between these theories is established and the\ndimensional reduction lead to the different dualities for massive antisymmetric\nfields in four dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A numerical algorithm for efficiently obtaining a Feynman parameter\n  representation of one-gluon loop QCD Feynman diagrams for a large number of\n  external gluons: A numerical program is presented which facilitates a computation pertaining\nto the full set of one-gluon loop diagrams (including ghost loop\ncontributions), with M attached external gluon lines in all possible ways. The\nfeasibility of such a task rests on a suitably defined master formula, which is\nexpressed in terms of a set of Grassmann and a set of Feynman parameters. The\nprogram carries out the Grassmann integration and performs the Lorentz trace on\nthe involved functions, expressing the result as a compact sum of parametric\nintegrals. The computation is based on tracing the structure of the final\nresult, thus avoiding all intermediate unnecessary calculations and directly\nwriting the output. Similar terms entering the final result are grouped\ntogether. The running time of the program demonstrates its effectiveness,\nespecially for large M.",
        "positive": "The Nuts and Bolts of Einstein-Maxwell Solutions: We find new non-supersymmetric solutions of five-dimensional ungauged\nsupergravity coupled to two vector multiplets. The solutions are regular,\nhorizonless and have the same asymptotic charges as non-extremal charged black\nholes. An essential ingredient in our construction is a four-dimensional\nEuclidean base which is a solution to Einstein-Maxwell equations. We construct\nstationary solutions based on the Euclidean dyonic Reissner-Nordstrom black\nhole as well as a six-parameter family with a dyonic Kerr-Newman-NUT base.\nThese solutions can be viewed as compactifications of eleven-dimensional\nsupergravity on a six-torus and we discuss their brane interpretation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Twisted Superalgebras and Cohomologies of the N=2 Superconformal Quantum\n  Mechanics: We prove that the invariance of the N=2 superconformal quantum mechanics is\ncontrolled by subalgebras of a given twisted superalgebra made of 6 fermionic\n(nilpotent) generators and 6 bosonic generators (including a central charge).\nThe superconformal quantum mechanics actions are invariant under this quite\nlarge twisted superalgebra. On the other hand, they are fully determined by a\nsubalgebra with only 2 fermionic and 2 bosonic (the central charge and the\nghost number) generators. The invariant actions are Q_i-exact (i=1,2,...,6),\nwith a Q_{i'}-exact (i'\\neq i) antecedent for all 6 fermionic generators. It\nfollows that the superconformal quantum mechanics actions with Calogero\npotentials are uniquely determined even if, in its bosonic sector, the twisted\nsuperalgebra does not contain the one-dimensional conformal algebra sl(2), but\nonly its Borel subalgebra. The general coordinate covariance of the non-linear\nsigma-model for the N=2 supersymmetric quantum mechanics in a curved target\nspace is fully implied only by its worldline invariance under a pair of the 6\ntwisted supersymmetries. The transformation connecting the ordinary and twisted\nformulations of the N=2 superconformal quantum mechanics is explicitly\npresented.",
        "positive": "A new, exact, gauge-invariant RG-flow equation: This paper has been withdrawn by the authors."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Induced self-interactions in the spacetime of a global monopole with\n  finite core: In this paper we analyze induced self-interactions for point-like particles\nwith electric and scalar charges placed at rest in the spacetime of a global\nmonopole admitting a general spherically symmetric inner structure to it. In\norder to develop this analysis we calculate the three-dimensional Green\nfunction associated with the physical system under consideration. As we shall\nsee for the charged particle outside the monopole core, the corresponding Green\nfunctions are composed by two distinct contributions, the firsts ones are\ninduced by the non-trivial topology of the global monopole considered as a\npoint-like defect and the seconds are corrections induced by the non-vanishing\ninner structure attributed to it. For both cases, the self-energies present a\nsimilar structure, having also two distinct contributions as well. For a\nspecific model considered for region inside the monopole, named flower-pot, we\nshall see that the particle with electric charge will be always subject to a\nrepulsive self-force with respect to the monopole core's boundary, on the other\nscalar charged particle exhibits peculiar behavior. Depending on the curvature\ncoupling the self-force can be repulsive or attractive with respect to the\ncore's boundary. Moreover, the contribution due to the point-like global\nmonopole vanishes for massless particle conformally coupled with three\ndimensional space section of the manifold, and the only contribution comes from\nthe core-induced part.",
        "positive": "Monopoles, Polyakov-Loops and Gauge Fixing on the Torus: We consider pure Yang Mills theory on the four torus. A set of non-Abelian\ntransition functions is presented which encompass all instanton sectors. It is\nargued that these transition functions are a convenient starting point for\ngauge fixing. In particular, we give an extended Abelian projection with\nrespect to the Polyakov loop, where $A_0$ is independent of time and in the\nCartan subalgebra. In the non-perturbative sectors such gauge fixings are\nnecessarily singular. These singularities can be restricted to Dirac strings\njoining monopole and anti-monopole like ``defects''."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "High temperature behavior of non-local observables in boosted strongly\n  coupled plasma: A holographic study: In this work, we perform a holographic analysis to study non local\nobservables associated to a uniformly \\textit{boosted} strongly coupled large\n$N$ thermal plasma in $d$-dimensions. In order to accomplish the holographic\nanalysis, the appropriate dual bulk theory turns out to be $d+1$ dimensional\n\\textit{boosted} AdS-Schwarzschild blackhole background. In particular, we\ncompute entanglement entropy of the boosted plasma at high temperature living\ninside a strip geometry with entangling width $l$ in the boundary at a\nparticular instant of time. We also study the two-point correlators in the\nboundary by following geodesic approximation method. For analyzing the effect\nof boosting on the thermal plasma and correspondingly on both non local\nobservables, we keep the alignment of the width of region of interest both\nparallel and perpendicular to the direction of the boost. We find our results\nsignificantly modified compared to those in un-boosted plasma up to the\nquadratic order of the boost velocity $v$. More interestingly, the relative\norientation of the boost and the entangling width plays a crucial role to\nquantify the holographic entanglement entropy in the boundary theory. The\nbreaking of rotational symmetry in the boundary theory due to the boosting of\nthe plasma along a specific flat direction causes this interesting feature.",
        "positive": "Holographic applications of logarithmic conformal field theories: We review the relations between Jordan cells in various branches of physics,\nranging from quantum mechanics to massive gravity theories. Our main focus is\non holographic correspondences between critically tuned gravity theories in\nAnti-de Sitter space and logarithmic conformal field theories in various\ndimensions. We summarize the developments in the past five years, include some\nnovel generalizations and provide an outlook on possible future developments."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "How to get from imaginary to real chemical potential: Using the exactly solvable Gross-Neveu model as theoretical laboratory, we\nanalyse in detail the relationship between a relativistic quantum field theory\nat real and imaginary chemical potential. We find that one can retrieve the\nfull information about the phase diagram of the theory from an imaginary\nchemical potential calculation. The prerequisite is to evaluate and\nanalytically continue the effective potential for the chiral order parameter,\nrather than thermodynamic observables or phase boundaries. In the case of an\ninhomogeneous phase, one needs to compute the full effective action, a\nfunctional of the space-dependent order parameter, at imaginary chemical\npotential.",
        "positive": "Thermal Aspects of ABJM theory: Currents and Condensations: To study thermal aspects of the ABJM theory in the strongly coupled regime,\nwe carry out the CP3 invariant dimensional reduction of the type IIA\nsupergravity down to four dimensions. We then investigate zero and finite\ntemperature responses of the operators which are dual to the AdS scalar and\nvector fields. Two scalar operators are shown to have finite-temperature\ncondensations by coupling of constant source term. The currents dual to the\nmassless and massive gauge fields are not induced by coupling of constant\nboundary vector potential, which implies that the phase described by black\nbrane background is not superconducting. We also discuss a generalization to\ncharged (dyonic) black holes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Two-Point Superstring Tree Amplitudes Using the Pure Spinor Formalism: We provide a prescription for computing two-point tree amplitudes in the pure\nspinor formalism that are finite and agree with the corresponding expression in\nthe field theories. In [arXiv:1906.06051v1-arXiv:1909.03672v3], same results\nwere presented for bosonic strings and it was mentioned they can be generalized\nto superstrings. The pure spinor formalism is a successful super-Poincare\ncovariant approach to quantization of superstrings [arXiv:hep-th/0001035v2].\nBecause the pure spinor formalism is equivalent to other superstring\nformalisms, we explicitly verify the above claim. We introduce a mostly BRST\nexact operator in order to achieve this.",
        "positive": "Fuzzy BIons in Curved Spacetimes: The non-abelian Dirac-Born-Infeld action is used to construct the D2-brane\nfrom multiple D0-branes in the curved spacetimes. After choosing the matrix\nelements as the coordinates of the D0-branes we obtain a simple formula of the\nLagrangian for the system in a class of the curved background. Using the\nformula we first re-examine the system in the flat spacetime and show that, in\naddition to the fuzzy tube and fuzzy spike which were found in the previous\nliterature, there is the fuzzy wormhole solution. Next, we apply the formula to\nthe system in the geometry of the NS5-branes background. A solution describing\nthe fuzzy BIon of spike profile is obtained. Our investigations show that the\nsize of the matrices is finite for the fuzzy spike in the curved spacetimes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Two Point Correlation Function of Sine-Liouville Theory: Exact two point correlation functions of sine-Liouville theory are presented\nfor primary fields with U(1) charge neutral, which may either preserve or break\nwinding number. Our result is checked with perturbative calculation and is also\nconsistent with previous one which can be obtained by restricting the action\nparameters.",
        "positive": "Dynamical completions of generalized O'Raifeartaigh models: We present gauge theory completions of Wess-Zumino models admitting\nsupersymmetry breaking vacua with spontaneously broken R-symmetry. Our models\nare simple deformations of generalized ITIY models, a supersymmetric theory\nwith gauge group Sp(N), N+1 flavors plus singlets, with a modified tree level\nsuperpotential which explicitly breaks (part of) the global symmetry. Depending\non the nature of the deformation, we obtain effective O'Raifeartaigh-like\nmodels whose pseudomoduli space is locally stable in a neighborhood of the\norigin of field space, or in a region not including it. Hence, once embedded in\ndirect gauge mediation scenarios, our models can give low energy spectra with\neither suppressed or unsuppressed gaugino mass."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Singular electromagnetic fields in nonlinear electrodynamics with a\n  constant background field: When exploring equations of nonlinear electrodynamics in effective medium\nformed by mutually parallel external electric and magnetic fields, we come to\nspecial static axial-symmetric solutions of two types. The first are comprised\nof fields referred to as electric and magnetic responses to a point-like\nelectric charge when placed into the medium. In electric case, this is a field\ndetermined by the induced charge density. In magnetic case, this is a field\ncarrying no magnetic charge and determined by an induced current. Fields of\nsecond type require presence of pseudoscalar constants for their existence.\nThese are singular on the axis drawn along the external fields. In electric\ncase this is a field of an inhomogeneously charged infinitely thin thread. In\nmagnetic case this is the magnetic monopole with the Dirac string supported by\nsolenoidal current. In both cases the necessary pseudoscalar constant is\nsupplied by field derivatives of nonlinear Lagrangian taken on external fields.\nThere is also a magnetic thread solution dual to electric thread with null\ntotal magnetic charge.",
        "positive": "Free q-Deformed Relativistic Wave Equations by Representation Theory: In a representation theoretic approach a free q-relativistic wave equation\nmust be such, that the space of solutions is an irreducible representation of\nthe q-Poincare algebra. It is shown how this requirement uniquely determines\nthe q-wave equations. As examples, the q-Dirac equation (including q-gamma\nmatrices which satisfy a q-Clifford algebra), the q-Weyl equations, and the\nq-Maxwell equations are computed explicitly."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On explicit free field realizations of current algebras: We construct the explicit free field representations of the current algebras\n$so(2n)_k$, $so(2n+1)_k$ and $sp(2n)_k$ for a generic positive integer $n$ and\nan arbitrary level $k$. The corresponding energy-momentum tensors and screening\ncurrents of the first kind are also given in terms of free fields.",
        "positive": "Near-Extremal Vanishing Horizon AdS5 Black Holes and Their CFT Duals: We consider families of charged rotating asymptotically AdS5 Extremal black\nholes with Vanishing Horizon (EVH black holes) whose near horizon geometries\ndevelop locally AdS3 throats. Using the AdS3/CFT2 duality, we propose an\nEVH/CFT2 correspondence to describe the near-horizon low energy IR dynamics of\nnear-EVH black holes involving a specific large N limit of the 4d N = 4 SYM. We\ngive a map between the UV and IR near-EVH excitations, showing that the UV\nfirst law of thermodynamics reduces to the IR first law satisfied by the near\nhorizon BTZ black holes in this near-EVH limit. We also discuss the connection\nbetween our EVH/CFT proposal and the Kerr/CFT correspondence in the cases where\nthe two overlap."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "F-maximization along the RG flows: a proposal: We propose an extension of the F-maximization principle to take into account\nthe effects of non-superconformality. Guided by a four-dimensional analog, we\nformulate a modification of the free energy via the Lagrange multiplier\ntechnique. We conjecture that the Lagrange multiplier plays the same role as\nthe coupling constant, at least at weak coupling. We check our proposal in many\nexamples with unitary, symplectic and orthogonal gauge groups.",
        "positive": "Three-point functions in ${\\cal N}=4$ SYM: the hexagon proposal at three\n  loops: Basso, Komatsu and Vieira recently proposed an all-loop framework for the\ncomputation of three-point functions of single-trace operators of ${\\cal N}=4$\nsuper-Yang-Mills, the \"hexagon program\". This proposal results in several\nremarkable predictions, including the three-point function of two protected\noperators with an unprotected one in the $SU(2)$ and $SL(2)$ sectors. Such\npredictions consist of an \"asymptotic\" part---similar in spirit to the\nasymptotic Bethe Ansatz of Beisert and Staudacher for two-point functions---as\nwell as additional finite-size \"wrapping\" L\\\"uscher-like corrections. The focus\nof this paper is on such wrapping corrections, which we compute at three-loops\nin the $SL(2)$ sector. The resulting structure constants perfectly match the\nones obtained in the literature from four-point correlators of protected\noperators."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantization of Nambu Brackets from Operator Formalism in Classical\n  Mechanics: This paper proposes a novel approach to quantizing Nambu brackets in\nclassical mechanics using operator formalism. The approach employs the ``Planck\nderivative'' to represent Nambu brackets, from which we derive a commutation\nrelation for their quantization. Notably, this commutation relation aligns with\nthat emerging from the T-duality of closed strings in a twisted torus with a\nB-field, thereby hinting at a potential connection with Double Field Theory.",
        "positive": "Repulsive Casimir Effects: Like Casimir's original force between conducting plates in vacuum, Casimir\nforces are usually attractive. But repulsive Casimir forces can be achieved in\nspecial circumstances. These might prove useful in nanotechnology. We give\nexamples of when repulsive quantum vacuum forces can arise with conducting\nmaterials."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Semiclassical (Quantum Field Theory) and Quantum (String) de Sitter\n  Regimes: New Results: We compute the quantum string entropy S_s(m, H) from the microscopic string\ndensity of states rho_s (m,H) of mass m in de Sitter space-time. We find for\nhigh m, a {\\bf new} phase transition at the critical string temperature T_s=\n(1/2 pi k_B)L c^2/alpha', higher than the flat space (Hagedorn) temperature\nt_s. (L = c/H, the Hubble constant H acts at the transition as producing a\nsmaller string constant alpha' and thus, a higher tension). T_s is the precise\nquantum dual of the semiclassical (QFT Hawking-Gibbons) de Sitter temperature\nT_sem = hbar c /(2\\pi k_B L). We find a new formula for the full de Sitter\nentropy S_sem (H), as a function of the usual Bekenstein-Hawking entropy\nS_sem^(0)(H). For L << l_{Planck}, ie. for low H << c/l_Planck,\nS_{sem}^{(0)}(H) is the leading term, but for high H near c/l_Planck, a new\nphase transition operates and the whole entropy S_sem (H) is drastically\ndifferent from the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy S_sem^(0)(H). We compute the\nstring quantum emission cross section by a black hole in de Sitter (or\nasymptotically de Sitter) space-time (bhdS). For T_sem ~ bhdS << T_s, (early\nevaporation stage), it shows the QFT Hawking emission with temperature T_sem ~\nbhdS, (semiclassical regime). For T_sem ~ bhdS near T_{s}, it exhibits a phase\ntransition into a string de Sitter state of size L_s = l_s^2/L}, l_s=\n\\sqrt{\\hbar alpha'/c), and string de Sitter temperature T_s. Instead of\nfeaturing a single pole singularity in the temperature (Carlitz transition), it\nfeatures a square root branch point (de Vega-Sanchez transition). New bounds on\nthe black hole radius r_g emerge in the bhdS string regime: it can become r_g =\nL_s/2, or it can reach a more quantum value, r_g = 0.365 l_s.",
        "positive": "Superspace Duality in Low-Energy Superstrings: We extend spacetime duality to superspace, including fermions in the\nlow-energy limits of superstrings. The tangent space is a curved, extended\nsuperspace. The geometry is based on an enlarged coordinate space where the\nvanishing of the d'Alembertian is as fundamental as the vanishing of the curl\nof a gradient."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Relativistic effect of entanglement in fermion-fermion scattering: We study the properties of entanglement entropy among scattering particles as\nobserved from different inertial moving frames, based on an exemplary QED\nprocess $e^+e^-\\rightarrow\\mu^+\\mu^-$. By the explicit calculation of the\nWigner rotation, the entanglement entropy of scattering particles is found to\nbe Lorentz invariant. We also study the behavior of the entanglement between\nspin degrees of freedom for scattering particles in moving frames. This\nquantity, being found to change with different inertial reference frames, does\nnot exhibit as a Lorentz invariant.",
        "positive": "Massive and massless monopoles with nonabelian magnetic charges: We use the multimonopole moduli space as a tool for studying the properties\nof BPS monopoles carrying nonabelian magnetic charges. For configurations whose\ntotal magnetic charge is purely abelian, the moduli space for nonabelian\nbreaking can be obtained as a smooth limit of that for a purely abelian\nbreaking. As the asymptotic Higgs field is varied toward one of the special\nvalues for which the unbroken symmetry is enlarged to a nonabelian group, some\nof the fundamental monopoles of unit topological charge remain massive but\nacquire nonabelian magnetic charges. The BPS mass formula indicates that others\nshould become massless in this limit. We find that these do not correspond to\ndistinct solitons but instead manifest themselves as ``nonabelian clouds''\nsurrounding the massive monopoles. The moduli space coordinates describing the\nposition and $U(1)$ phase of these massless monopoles are transformed into an\nequal number of nonabelian global gauge orientation and gauge-invariant\nstructure parameters characterizing the nonabelian cloud. We illustrate this\nexplicitly in a class of $Sp(2N)$ examples for which the full family of\nmonopole solutions is known. We show in detail how the unbroken symmetries of\nthe theory are manifested as isometries of the moduli space metric. We discuss\nthe connection of these results to the Montonen-Olive duality conjecture,\narguing in particular that the massless monopoles should be understood as the\nduals to the massless gauge bosons that appear as the mediators of the\nnonabelian forces in the perturbative sector."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chiral Gauged WZW Theories and Coset Models in Conformal Field Theory: The Wess-Zumino-Witten (WZW) theory has a global symmetry denoted by\n$G_L\\otimes G_R$. In the standard gauged WZW theory, vector gauge fields (\\ie\\\nwith vector gauge couplings) are in the adjoint representation of the subgroup\n$H \\subset G$. In this paper, we show that, in the conformal limit in two\ndimensions, there is a gauged WZW theory where the gauge fields are chiral and\nbelong to the subgroups $H_L$ and $H_R$ where $H_L$ and $H_R$ can be different\ngroups. In the special case where $H_L=H_R$, the theory is equivalent to vector\ngauged WZW theory. For general groups $H_L$ and $H_R$, an examination of the\ncorrelation functions (or more precisely, conformal blocks) shows that the\nchiral gauged WZW theory is equivalent to $(G/H)_L\\otimes (G/H)_R$ coset models\nin conformal field theory. The equivalence of the vector gauged WZW theory and\nthe corresponding $G/H$ coset theory then follows.",
        "positive": "Quadrality for Supersymmetric Matrix Models: We introduce a new duality for $\\mathcal{N}=1$ supersymmetric gauged matrix\nmodels. This $0d$ duality is an order 4 symmetry, namely an equivalence between\nfour different theories, hence we call it Quadrality. Our proposal is motivated\nby mirror symmetry, but is not restricted to theories with a D-brane\nrealization and holds for general $\\mathcal{N}=1$ matrix models. We present\nvarious checks of the proposal, including the matching of: global symmetries,\nanomalies, deformations and the chiral ring. We also consider quivers and the\ncorresponding quadrality networks. Finally, we initiate the study of matrix\nmodels that arise on the worldvolume of D(-1)-branes probing toric Calabi-Yau\n5-folds."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Semiclassical Quantisation of Finite-Gap Strings: We perform a first principle semiclassical quantisation of the general\nfinite-gap solution to the equations of a string moving on R x S^3. The\nderivation is only formal as we do not regularise divergent sums over stability\nangles. Moreover, with regards to the AdS/CFT correspondence the result is\nincomplete as the fluctuations orthogonal to this subspace in AdS_5 x S^5 are\nnot taken into account. Nevertheless, the calculation serves the purpose of\nunderstanding how the moduli of the algebraic curve gets quantised\nsemiclassically, purely from the point of view of finite-gap integration and\nwith no input from the gauge theory side. Our result is expressed in a very\ncompact and simple formula which encodes the infinite sum over stability angles\nin a succinct way and reproduces exactly what one expects from knowledge of the\ndual gauge theory. Namely, at tree level the filling fractions of the algebraic\ncurve get quantised in large integer multiples of hbar = 1/lambda^{1/2}. At\n1-loop order the filling fractions receive Maslov index corrections of hbar/2\nand all the singular points of the spectral curve become filled with small\nhalf-integer multiples of hbar. For the subsector in question this is in\nagreement with the previously obtained results for the semiclassical energy\nspectrum of the string using the method proposed in hep-th/0703191.\n  Along the way we derive the complete hierarchy of commuting flows for the\nstring in the R x S^3 subsector. Moreover, we also derive a very general and\nsimple formula for the stability angles around a generic finite-gap solution.\nWe also stress the issue of quantum operator orderings since this problem\nalready crops up at 1-loop in the form of the subprincipal symbol.",
        "positive": "Massive symmetric tensor field on AdS: The two-point Green function of a local operator in CFT corresponding to a\nmassive symmetric tensor field on the AdS background is computed in the\nframework of the AdS/CFT correspondence. The obtained two-point function is\nshown to coincide with the two-point function of the graviton in the limit when\nthe mass vanishes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic two-point functions in medium: We study two-point correlation function in a medium composed of two kinds of\nmatter, which is the dual of a three-dimensional generalized $p$-brane gas\ngeometry. Following the holographic prescription, we calculate temporal and\nspatial two-point functions in the medium. In general, the screening effect of\nthe medium makes two-point functions decrease more rapidly than the CFT's\ntwo-point function. In the extremal limit, however, we find that a temporal\ntwo-point function is still conformal. This indicates that a two-dimensional UV\nCFT flows into a one-dimensional quantum mechanics in the IR limit. This is\nconsistent with the fact that the near horizon geometry in the extremal limit\nreduces to AdS$_2$. We also investigate holographic mutual information\nrepresenting the correlation between two subsystems. We show that a critical\ndistance in the IR region, where the mutual information vanishes, leads to a\nsimilar behavior to the correlation length of a two-point function.",
        "positive": "Symanzik's Method Applied To The Fractional Quantum Hall Edge States: In this paper we consider an abelian Chern-Simons theory with plane boundary\nand we show, following Symankiz's quite general approach, how the known results\nfor edge states in the Laughlin series can be derived in a systematic way by\nthe separability condition. Moreover we show that the conserved boundary\ncurrents find a natural and explicit interpretation in terms of the continuity\nequation and the Tomonaga-Luttinger commutation relation for electronic density\nis recovered."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Observable Supertranslations: We show that large gauge transformations in asymptotically flat spacetime can\nbe implemented by sandwiching a shell containing the ingoing hard particles\nbetween two finite-width shells of soft gauge excitations. Integration of the\ngraviton Dirac bracket implies that our observable soft degrees of freedom obey\nthe algebra imposed by Strominger on unobservable boundary degrees of freedom.\nThus, we provide both a derivation and an observable realization of this\nalgebra. The conservation laws associated with asymptotic symmetries are seen\nto arise physically from free propagation of infrared modes. This explains in\nphysical terms our recent result that soft charges fail to constrain the hard\nscattering problem, and so cannot be relevant to the black hole information\nparadox.",
        "positive": "Tunneling decay of false domain walls: the silence of the lambs: We study the decay of \"false\" domain walls, which are metastable states of\nthe quantum theory where the true vacuum is trapped inside the wall, with the\nfalse vacuum outside. We consider a theory with two scalar fields, a shepherd\nfield and a field of sheep. The shepherd field serves to herd the solitons of\nthe sheep field so that they are nicely bunched together. However, quantum\ntunnelling of the shepherd field releases the sheep to spread out\nuncontrollably. We show how to calculate the tunnelling amplitude for such a\ndisintegration."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Renormalizations in softly broken N=1 theories: Slavnov-Taylor\n  identities: Slavnov-Taylor identities have been applied to perform explicitly the\nrenormalization procedure for the softly broken N=1 SYM. The result is in\naccordance with the previous results obtained at the level of supergraph\ntechnique.",
        "positive": "Nearly Critical Superfluids in Keldysh-Schwinger Formalism: We examine the effective theory of critical dynamics near superfluid phase\ntransitions in the framework of the Keldysh-Schwinger formalism. We focus on\nthe sector capturing the dynamics of the complex order parameter and the\nconserved current corresponding to the broken global symmetry. After\nconstructing the theory up to quadratic order in the $a$-fields, we compare the\nresulting stochastic system with Model F as well as with holography. We\nhighlight the role of a time independent gauge symmetry of the effective theory\nalso known as ``chemical shift\". Finally, we consider the limiting behaviour at\nenergies much lower than the gap of the amplitude mode by integrating out the\nhigh energy degrees of freedom to reproduce the effective theory of\nsuperfluids."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "All point correlation functions in SYK: Large $N$ melonic theories are characterized by two-point function Feynman\ndiagrams built exclusively out of melons. This leads to conformal invariance at\nstrong coupling, four-point function diagrams that are exclusively ladders, and\nhigher-point functions that are built out of four-point functions joined\ntogether. We uncover an incredibly useful property of these theories: the\nsix-point function, or equivalently, the three-point function of the primary\n$O(N)$ invariant bilinears, regarded as an analytic function of the operator\ndimensions, fully determines all correlation functions, to leading nontrivial\norder in $1/N$, through simple Feynman-like rules. The result is applicable to\nany theory, not necessarily melonic, in which higher-point correlators are\nbuilt out of four-point functions. We explicitly calculate the bilinear\nthree-point function for $q$-body SYK, at any $q$. This leads to the bilinear\nfour-point function, as well as all higher-point functions, expressed in terms\nof higher-point conformal blocks, which we discuss. We find universality of\ncorrelators of operators of large dimension, which we simplify through a saddle\npoint analysis. We comment on the implications for the AdS dual of SYK.",
        "positive": "Five-Brane BPS States in Heterotic M-Theory: We present explicit methods for computing the discriminant curves and the\nassociated Kodaira type fiber degeneracies of elliptically fibered Calabi-Yau\nthreefolds. These methods are applied to a specific three-family, SU(5) grand\nunified theory of particle physics within the context of Heterotic M-Theory. It\nis demonstrated that there is always a region of moduli space where a bulk\nspace five-brane is wrapped on a pure fiber in the Calabi-Yau threefold.\nRestricting the discussion to the smooth parts of the discriminant curve, we\nexplore the properties of the N=2 BPS supermultiplets that arise on the\nworldvolume of this five-brane due to the degeneration of the elliptic fiber.\nThe associated degenerating M membranes are shown to project to string\njunctions in the base space. We use string junction techniques to explicitly\ncompute the light BPS hyper- and vector multiplet spectrum for each Kodaira\ntype fiber near the smooth part of the discriminant curve in the SU(5) GUT\ntheory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the consistency of a class of R-symmetry gauged 6D N=(1,0)\n  supergravities: R-symmetry gauged 6D (1,0) supergravities free from all local anomalies, with\ngauge groups $G\\times G_R$ where $G_R$ is the R-symmetry group and $G$ is\nsemisimple with rank greater than one, and which have no hypermultiplet\nsinglets, are extremely rare. There are three such models known in which the\ngauge symmetry group is $G_1\\times G_2 \\times U(1)_R$ where the first two\nfactors are $ \\left(E_6/{\\mathbb{Z}_3}\\right) \\times E_7$, $ G_2 \\times E_7 $\nand $F_4 \\times Sp(9)$. These are models with single tensor multiplet, and\nhyperfermions in the $(1,912)$, $(14,56)$ and $(52,18)$ dimensional\nrepresentations of $G_1\\times G_2$, respectively. So far it is not known if\nthese models follow from string theory. We highlight key properties of these\ntheories, and examine constraints which may arise from the consistency of the\nquantization of anomaly coefficients formulated in their strongest form by\nMonnier and Moore. Assuming that the gauged models accommodate dyonic string\nexcitations, we find that these constraints are satisfied only by the model\nwith the $F_4 \\times Sp(9)\\times U(1)_R$ symmetry. We also discuss aspects of\ndyonic strings and potential caveats they may pose in applying the stated\nconsistency conditions to the $R$-symmetry gauged models.",
        "positive": "Quiver Chern-Simons theories and crystals: We consider N=2 quiver Chern-Simons theories described by brane tilings,\nwhose moduli spaces are toric Calabi-Yau 4-folds. Simple prescriptions to\nobtain toric data of the moduli space and a corresponding brane crystal from a\nbrane tiling are proposed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Noncommutative Sugawara Construction: The noncommutative extension of the Sugawara construction for free massless\nfermionic fields in two dimensions is studied. We prove that the equivalence of\nthe noncommutative Sugawara energy-momentum tensor and symmetric\nenergy-momentum tensor persists in the noncommutative extension. Some relevant\nphysical results of this equivalence are also discussed.",
        "positive": "Tidal Stresses and Energy Gaps in Microstate Geometries: We compute energy gaps and study infalling massive geodesic probes in the new\nfamilies of scaling, microstate geometries that have been constructed recently\nand for which the holographic duals are known. We find that in the deepest\ngeometries, which have the lowest energy gaps, the geodesic deviation shows\nthat the stress reaches the Planck scale long before the probe reaches the cap\nof the geometry. Such probes must therefore undergo a stringy transition as\nthey fall into microstate geometry. We discuss the scales associated with this\ntransition and comment on the implications for scrambling in microstate\ngeometries."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Super K\u00e4hler oscillator from SU(2|1) superspace: We construct a new version of the worldline SU(2|1) superspace as a\ndeformation of the standard N =4, d=1 superspace and show that it naturally\nprovides off- and on-shell description of general supersymmetric K\\\"ahler\noscillator model considered earlier at the classical level within the\nHamiltonian approach. The basic object is a generalized chiral SU(2|1), d=1\nsuperfield with the off-shell field content (2, 4, 2). The frequency of the\noscillator and the strength of external magnetic field are defined by two\nparameters: the contraction parameter $m$ and the new parameter $\\lambda$ which\nreflects the freedom in defining the chiral SU(2|1), d=1 superspace. We treat\nboth classical and quantum cases.",
        "positive": "Lectures on (abelian) Chern-Simons vortices: Various aspects including the construction and the symmetries of Abelian\nChern-Simons vortices are reviewed. Extended version of the Lectures delivered\nat NIKHEF (Amsterdam), July 2006. Typos corrected, some refernces added."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Appearance of Boulware-Deser ghost in bigravity with doubly coupled\n  matter: We discuss the ghost freeness in the case when we add matter coupled to two\nmetrics to the ghost-free bigravity. In this paper we show that the\nBoulware-Deser ghost generally revives in the presence of doubly coupled matter\nand that ghost freeness strongly restricts the model of kinetically doubly\ncoupled matter. This result may anticipate difficulties in the attempt to\nderive the ghost-free bigravity as a low-energy effective theory, starting with\na model applicable at high energies.",
        "positive": "On integrability of the one-dimensional Hubbard model: We find a family of solutions to Zamolodchikov's tetrahedral algebra\ncorresponding to the fermionic R-operator for the free fermion model of the\ndifference type in one of the spectral parameters, construct an extension of\nthe R-operator for a system of two spins satisfying the Yang-Baxter equation,\nand find the local charges. We also construct a twisted monodromy operator,\nwhich leads to the one-dimensional Hubbard model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Vector Bosons in the Randall-Sundrum 2 and Lykken-Randall models and\n  unparticles: Unparticle behavior is shown to be realized in the Randall-Sundrum 2 (RS 2)\nand the Lykken-Randall (LR) brane scenarios when brane-localized Standard Model\ncurrents are coupled to a massive vector field living in the five-dimensional\nwarped background of the RS 2 model. By the AdS/CFT dictionary these\nbackgrounds exhibit certain properties of the unparticle CFT at large N_c and\nstrong 't Hooft coupling. Within the RS 2 model we also examine and contrast in\ndetail the scalar and vector position-space correlators at intermediate and\nlarge distances. Unitarity of brane-to-brane scattering amplitudes is seen to\nimply a necessary and sufficient condition on the positivity of the bulk mass,\nwhich leads to the well-known unitarity bound on vector operators in a CFT.",
        "positive": "4d/5d Correspondence for the Black Hole Potential and its Critical\n  Points: We express the d=4, N=2 black hole effective potential for cubic holomorphic\nF functions and generic dyonic charges in terms of d=5 real special geometry\ndata. The 4d critical points are computed from the 5d ones, and their relation\nis elucidated. For symmetric spaces, we identify the BPS and non-BPS classes of\nattractors and the respective entropies. These are related by simple formulae,\ninterpolating between four and five dimensions, depending on the volume modulus\nand on the 4d magnetic (or electric) charges, and holding true also for generic\nfield configurations and for non-symmetric cubic geometries."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Functional Renormalization Group Approach for Tensorial Group Field\n  Theory: A Rank-6 Model with Closure Constraint: We develop the functional renormalization group formalism for a tensorial\ngroup field theory with closure constraint, in the case of an Abelian just\nrenormalizable model with quartic interactions. The method allows us to obtain\na closed but non-autonomous system of differential equations which describe the\nrenormalization group flow of the couplings beyond perturbation theory. The\nexplicit dependence of the beta functions on the running scale is due to the\nexistence of an external scale in the model, the radius of the unit circle. We\nstudy the occurrence of fixed points and their critical properties in two\ndifferent approximate regimes, corresponding to the deep UV and deep IR.\nBesides confirming the asymptotic freedom of the model, we find also a\nnon-trivial fixed point, with one relevant direction. Our results are\nqualitatively similar to those found previously for a rank-3 model without\nclosure constraint, and it is thus tempting to speculate that the presence of a\nWilson-Fisher-like fixed point is a general feature of asymptotically free\ntensorial group field theories.",
        "positive": "Eternal Inflation: The Inside Story: Motivated by the lessons of black hole complementarity, we develop a causal\npatch description of eternal inflation. We argue that an observer cannot\nascribe a semiclassical geometry to regions outside his horizon, because the\nlarge-scale metric is governed by the fluctuations of quantum fields. In order\nto identify what is within the horizon, it is necessary to understand the late\ntime asymptotics. Any given worldline will eventually exit from eternal\ninflation into a terminal vacuum. If the cosmological constant is negative, the\nuniverse crunches. If it is zero, then we find that the observer's fate depends\non the mechanism of eternal inflation. Worldlines emerging from an eternal\ninflation phase driven by thermal fluctuations end in a singularity. By\ncontrast, if eternal inflation ends by bubble nucleation, the observer can\nemerge into an asymptotic, locally flat region. As evidence that bubble\ncollisions preserve this property, we present an exact solution describing the\ncollision of two bubbles."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Particle production in a Robertson-Walker space with a de Sitter phase\n  of finite extension: We investigate the phenomenon of particle production in a\nFriedmann-Robertson-Walker universe which contains a phase of de Sitter\nexpansion for a finite interval, outside which it reduces to the flat Minkowski\nspacetime. We compute the particle number density for a massive scalar and a\nspinorial field and point out differences between the two cases. We find that\nthe resulting particle density approaches a constant value at the scale of the\nHubble time and that for a certain choice of the parameters the spectrum is\nprecisely thermal for the spinorial field, and almost thermal for the scalar\nfield.",
        "positive": "Finiteness and Unitarity of Lorentz-Covariant Green-Schwarz Superstring\n  Amplitudes: In two recent papers, a new method was developed for calculating\nten-dimensional superstring amplitudes with an arbitrary number of loops and\nexternal massless particles, and for expressing them in manifestly\nLorentz-invariant form. By explicitly checking for divergences when the Riemann\nsurface degenerates, these amplitudes are proven to be finite. By choosing\nlight-cone moduli for the surface and comparing with the light-cone\nGreen-Schwarz formalism, these amplitudes are proven to be unitary."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Elliptic fibrations for SU(5) x U(1) x U(1) F-theory vacua: Elliptic Calabi-Yau fibrations with Mordell-Weil group of rank two are\nconstructed. Such geometries are the basis for F-theory compactifications with\ntwo abelian gauge groups in addition to non-abelian gauge symmetry. We present\nthe elliptic fibre both as a Bl^2P^2[3]-fibration and in the birationally\nequivalent Weierstrass form. The spectrum of charged singlets and their Yukawa\ninteractions are worked out in generality. This framework can be combined with\nthe toric construction of tops to implement additional non-abelian gauge\ngroups. We utilise the classification of tops to construct SU(5) x U(1) x U(1)\ngauge symmetries systematically and study the resulting geometries, presenting\nthe defining equations, the matter curves and their charges, the Yukawa\ncouplings and explaining the process in detail for an example. Brane\nrecombination relates these geometries to a Bl^1P^2[3]-fibration with a\ncorresponding class of SU(5) x U(1) models. We also present the SU(5) tops\nbased on the elliptic fibre Bl^1P_[1,1,2][4], corresponding to another class of\nSU(5) x U(1) models.",
        "positive": "Massive type IIA string theory cannot be strongly coupled: Understanding the strong coupling limit of massive type IIA string theory is\na longstanding problem. We argue that perhaps this problem does not exist;\nnamely, there may be no strongly coupled solutions of the massive theory. We\nshow explicitly that massive type IIA string theory can never be strongly\ncoupled in a weakly curved region of space-time. We illustrate our general\nclaim with two classes of massive solutions in AdS4xCP3: one, previously known,\nwith N = 1 supersymmetry, and a new one with N = 2 supersymmetry. Both\nsolutions are dual to d = 3 Chern-Simons-matter theories. In both these massive\nexamples, as the rank N of the gauge group is increased, the dilaton initially\nincreases in the same way as in the corresponding massless case; before it can\nreach the M-theory regime, however, it enters a second regime, in which the\ndilaton decreases even as N increases. In the N = 2 case, we find\nsupersymmetry-preserving gauge-invariant monopole operators whose mass is\nindependent of N. This predicts the existence of branes which stay light even\nwhen the dilaton decreases. We show that, on the gravity side, these states\noriginate from D2-D0 bound states wrapping the vanishing two-cycle of a\nconifold singularity that develops at large N."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Covariance of the selfdual vector model: The Poisson algebra between the fields involved in the vectorial selfdual\naction is obtained by means of the reduced action. The conserved charges\nassociated with the invariance under the inhomogeneous Lorentz group are\nobtained and its action on the fields. The covariance of the theory is proved\nusing the Schwinger-Dirac algebra. The spin of the excitations is discussed.",
        "positive": "Non-planar operator mixing by Brauer representations: We study the action of the dilatation operator on the basis of local\noperators constructed from the elements of the walled Brauer algebra, with\nnon-planar corrections fully taken into account. We will see that the operator\nmixing can be neatly expressed in terms of the irreducible representations of\nthe algebra. In particular we focus on a role of the integer that determines\nthe number of boxes in the representations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Mass Spectrum of N=1 SYM(2+1) at Strong Coupling: We consider supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory on R x S^1 x S^1. In particular,\nwe choose one of the compact directions to be light-like and another to be\nspace-like. Since the SDLCQ regularization explicitly preserves supersymmetry,\nthis theory is totally finite, and thus we can solve for bound state wave\nfunctions and masses numerically without renormalizing. We present the masses\nas functions of the longitudinal and transverse resolutions and show that the\nmasses converge rapidly in both resolutions. We also study the behavior of the\nspectrum as a function of the coupling and find that at strong coupling there\nis a stable, well defined spectrum which we present. We also find several\nunphysical states that decouple at large transverse resolution. There are two\nsets of massless states; one set is massless only at zero coupling and the\nother is massless at all couplings. Together these sets of massless states are\nin one-to-one correspondence with the full spectrum of the dimensionally\nreduced theory.",
        "positive": "On Marginal Deformations in Superstring Field Theory: We use level truncated superstring field theory to obtain the effective\npotential for the Wilson line marginal deformation parameter which corresponds\nto the constant vacuum expectation value of the U(1) gauge field on the D-brane\nin a particular direction. We present results for both the BPS and the non-BPS\nD-brane. In the case of non-BPS D-brane the effective potential has branches\ncorresponding to the extrema of the tachyon potential. In the branch with\nvanishing tachyon vev (M-branch), the effective potential becomes flatter as\nthe level of the approximation is increased. The branch which corresponds to\nthe stable vacuum after the tachyon has condensed (V-branch) exists only for a\nfinite range of values of marginal deformation parameter. We use our results to\nfind the mass of the gauge field in the stable tachyonic vacuum. We find this\nmass to be of a non-zero value which seems to stabilize as the level\napproximation is improved."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Remarks on string solitons: We consider generalized self-duality equations for U(2r) Yang-Mills theory on\nR^8 with quaternionic structure. We employ the extended ADHM method in eight\ndimensions to construct exact soliton solutions of the low-energy effective\ntheory of the heterotic string.",
        "positive": "Phase transition and entropic force of de Sitter black hole in massive\n  gravity: It is well known that de Sitter(dS) black holes generally have a black hole\nhorizon and a cosmological horizon, both of which have Hawking radiation. But\nthe radiation temperature of the two horizons is generally different, so dS\nblack holes do not meet the requirements of thermal equilibrium stability,\nwhich brings certain difficulties to the study of the thermodynamic\ncharacteristics of black holes. In this paper, dS black hole is regarded as a\nthermodynamic system, and the effective thermodynamic quantities of the system\nare obtained. The influence of various state parameters on the effective\nthermodynamic quantities in the massive gravity space-time is discussed. The\ncondition of the phase transition of the de Sitter black hole in massive\ngravity space-time is given. We consider that the total entropy of the dS black\nhole is the sum of the corresponding entropy of the two horizons plus an extra\nterm from the correlation of the two horizons. By comparing the entropic force\nof interaction between black hole horizon and the cosmological horizon with\nLennard-Jones force between two particles, we find that the change rule of\nentropic force between the two system is surprisingly the same. The research\nwill help us to explore the real reason of accelerating expansion of the\nuniverse."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Free strings in non-critical dimensions: The paper containes a classification of consistent free string models in\nphysical dimensions and a brief discussion of recent results concerning\nrelations between various models.",
        "positive": "The symmetry algebra of the N-dimensional anisotropic quantum harmonic\n  oscillator with rational ratios of frequencies and the Nilsson model: The symmetry algebra of the N-dimensional anisotropic quantum harmonic\noscillator with rational ratios of frequencies is constructed by a method of\ngeneral applicability to quantum superintegrable systems. The special case of\nthe 3-dim oscillator is studied in more detail, because of its relevance in the\ndescription of superdeformed nuclei and nuclear and atomic clusters. In this\ncase the symmetry algebra turns out to be a nonlinear extension of the u(3)\nalgebra. A generalized angular momentum operator useful for labeling the\ndegenerate states is constructed, clarifying the connection of the present\nformalism to the Nilsson model in nuclear physics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Split attractor flows and the spectrum of BPS D-branes on the Quintic: We investigate the spectrum of type IIA BPS D-branes on the quintic from a\nfour dimensional supergravity perspective and the associated split attractor\nflow picture. We obtain some very concrete properties of the (quantum\ncorrected) spectrum, mainly based on an extensive numerical analysis, and to a\nlesser extent on exact results in the large radius approximation. We predict\nthe presence and absence of some charges in the BPS spectrum in various regions\nof moduli space, including the precise location of the lines of marginal\nstability and the corresponding decay products. We explain how the generic\nappearance of multiple basins of attraction is due to the presence of conifold\nsingularities and give some specific examples of this phenomenon. Some\ninteresting space-time features of these states are also uncovered, such as a\nnontrivial, moduli independent lower bound on the area of the core of arbitrary\nBPS solutions, whether they are black holes, empty holes, or more complicated\ncomposites.",
        "positive": "Jet fragmentation and gauge/string duality: We consider an analog of e^+e^- annihilation in gauge theories which have a\ndual string description in asymptotically AdS_5 space and discuss the nature of\njet fragmentation. We construct the timelike anomalous dimension which governs\nthe scale dependence of the fragmentation function. In the limit of infinite 't\nHooft coupling, the average multiplicity rises linearly with the energy and the\ninclusive spectrum is peaked at the kinematical boundary."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dolan-Grady Relations and Noncommutative Quasi-Exactly Solvable Systems: We investigate a U(1) gauge invariant quantum mechanical system on a 2D\nnoncommutative space with coordinates generating a generalized deformed\noscillator algebra. The Hamiltonian is taken as a quadratic form in gauge\ncovariant derivatives obeying the nonlinear Dolan-Grady relations. This\nrestricts the structure function of the deformed oscillator algebra to a\nquadratic polynomial. The cases when the coordinates form the su(2) and sl(2,R)\nalgebras are investigated in detail. Reducing the Hamiltonian to 1D\nfinite-difference quasi-exactly solvable operators, we demonstrate partial\nalgebraization of the spectrum of the corresponding systems on the fuzzy sphere\nand noncommutative hyperbolic plane. A completely covariant method based on the\nnotion of intrinsic algebra is proposed to deal with the spectral problem of\nsuch systems.",
        "positive": "On the quantization of folded strings in non-critical dimensions: Classical rotating closed string are folded strings. At the folding points\nthe scalar curvature associated with the induced metric diverges. As a\nconsequence one cannot properly quantize the fluctuations around the classical\nsolution since there is no complete set of normalizable eigenmodes. Furthermore\nin the non-critical effective string action of Polchinski and Strominger, there\nis a divergence associated with the folds. We overcome this obstacle by putting\na massive particle at each folding point which can be used as a regulator.\nUsing this method we compute the spectrum of quantum fluctuations around the\nrotating string and the intercept of the leading Regge trajectory. The results\nwe find are that the intercepts are $a=1$ and $a=2$ for the open and closed\nstring respectively, independent of the target space dimension. We argue that\nin generic theories with an effective string description, one can expect\ncorrections from finite masses associated with either the endpoints of an open\nstring or the folding points on a closed string. We compute explicitly the\ncorrections in the presence of these masses."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Phantom Field from Conformal Invariance: We establish a correspondence between a conformally invariant complex scalar\nfield action (with a conformal self-interaction potential) and the action of a\nphantom scalar field minimally coupled to gravity (with a cosmological\nconstant). In this correspondence, the module of the complex scalar field is\nused to relate conformally the metrics of both systems while its phase is\nidentified with the phantom scalar field. At the level of the equations, the\ncorrespondence allows to map solution of the conformally non-linear\nKlein-Gordon equation with vanishing energy-momentum tensor to solution of a\nphantom scalar field minimally coupled to gravity with cosmological constant\nsatisfying a massless Klein-Gordon equation. The converse is also valid with\nthe advantage that it offers more possibilities owing to the freedom of\nrewriting a metric as the conformal transformation of another metric. Finally,\nwe provide some examples of this correspondence.",
        "positive": "Secondary Fields in D>2 Conformal Theories: We consider the secondary fields in $D$-dimensional space, $D\\ge3$, generated\nby the non-abelian current and energy-momentum tensor. These fields appear in\nthe operator product expansions $j^{a}_\\mu(x)\\phi(0)$ and\n$T_{\\mu\\nu}(x)\\phi(0)$. The secondary fields underlie the construction proposed\nherein (see [1,2] for more details) and aimed at the derivation of exact\nsolutions of conformal models in $D\\ge3$. In the case of D=2 this construction\nleads to the known [5] exactly solvable models based on the\ninfinite-dimensional conformal symmetry. It is shown that for $D\\ge3$ the\nexistence of the secondary fields is governed by the existence of anomalous\noperator contributions (the scalar fields $R_j$ and $R_T$ of dimensions $d_j =\nd_T = D-2$) into the operator product expansions $j^{a}_\\mu j^{b}_\\nu$ and\n$T_{\\mu\\nu} T_{\\rho\\sigma}$. The coupling constant between the field $R_j$ and\nthe fundamental field is found. The fields $R_j$ and $R_T$ are shown to beget\ntwo infinite sets of secondary tensor fields of canonical dimensions $D-2+s$,\nwhere $s$ is the tensor rank. The current and the energy-momentum tensor belong\nto those families, their Green functions being expressed through the Green\nfunctions of the fields $R_j$ and $R_T$ correspondingly. We demonstrate that\nthe Ward identities give rise to the closed set of equations for the Green\nfunctions of the fields $R_j$ and $R_T$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Environment-Induced Decoherence in Noncommutative Quantum Mechanics: We address the question of the appearence of ordinary quantum mechanics in\nthe context of noncommutative quantum mechanics. We obtain the noncommutative\nextension of the Hu-Paz-Zhang master equation for a Brownian particle linearly\ncoupled to a bath of harmonic oscillators. We consider the particular case of\nan Ohmic regime.",
        "positive": "Paths with singularities in functional integrals of quantum field theory: In the toy model ($ \\phi^{4}$-interacting quantum field theory in\none-dimensional \"Euclidean\" space-time) we prove that the functional integrals\nof the free field theory evaluated over the space of continuous functions are\nequal to the functional integrals of the interacting field theory evaluated\nover a set of spaces containing the spaces of discontinuous functions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The KLT relations in unimodular gravity: With this article, we initiate a systematic study of some of the symmetry\nproperties of unimodular gravity, building on much of the known structure of\ngeneral relativity, and utilising the powerful technology developed in that\ncontext. In particular, we show, up to four-points and tree-level, that the KLT\nrelations of perturbative gravity hold for tracefree or unimodular gravity.",
        "positive": "Towards Kaluza-Klein Dark Matter on Nilmanifolds: We present a first study of the field spectrum on a class of\nnegatively-curved compact spaces: nilmanifolds or twisted tori. This is a case\nwhere analytical results can be obtained, allowing to check numerical methods.\nWe focus on the Kaluza-Klein expansion of a scalar field. The results are then\napplied to a toy model where a natural Dark Matter candidate arises as a stable\nmassive state of the bulk scalar."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetric Classical Mechanics: Free Case: We present a review work on Supersymmetric Classical Mechanics in the context\nof a Lagrangian formalism, with $N=1-$supersymmetry. We show that the N=1\nsupersymmetry does not allow the introduction of a potential energy term\ndepending on a single commuting supercoordinate, $\\phi (t;\\Theta)$.",
        "positive": "Classical space from quantum condensates: We review the boson transformation method to deal with spontaneous symmetry\nbreaking in quantum field theory, focussing on how it describes the emergence\nof extended and classical objects in such quantum context. We then apply the\nmethod to the emergence of space itself, as an extended and classical object\nresulting from the evaporation of a quantum black hole. In particular, we show\nhow classical torsion and curvature tensors can emerge as effects of an\ninhomogeneous Nambu-Goldstone boson condensation in vacuum, in E(3) invariant\nspinor models with symmetry breaking."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "New G_2 metric, D6-branes and Lattice Universe: We construct a new (singular) cohomogeneity-three metric of G_2 holonomy. The\nsolution can be viewed as a triple intersection of smeared Taub-NUTs. The\nmetric comprises three non-compact radial-type coordinates, with the principal\norbits being a T^3 bundle over S^1. We consider an M-theory vacuum\n(Minkowski)_4\\times M_7 where M_7 is the G_2 manifold. Upon reduction on a\ncircle in the T^3, we obtain the intersection of a D6-brane, a Taub-NUT and a\n6-brane with R-R 2-form flux. Reducing the solution instead on the base space\nS^1, we obtain three intersecting 6-branes all carrying R-R 2-form flux. These\ntwo configurations can be viewed as a classical flop in the type IIA string\ntheory. After reducing on the full principal orbits and the spatial\nworld-volume, we obtain a four-dimensional metric describing a lattice\nuniverse, in which the three non-compact coordinates of the G_2 manifold are\nidentified with the spatial coordinates of our universe.",
        "positive": "Regular Black Holes and Confinement: Properties of the rotating Kerr-Newman black hole solution allow to relate it\nwith spinning particles. Singularity of black hole (BH) can be regularized by a\nmetric deformation. In this case, as a consequence of the Einstein equations, a\nmaterial source appears in the form of a relativistically rotating\nsuperconducting disk which replaces the former singular region. We show a\nrelation of the BH regularization with confinement formation. By\nregularization, a phase transition occurs near the core of a charged black hole\nsolution: from external electrovacuum to an internal superconducting state of\nmatter. We discuss two models of such a kind, which demonstrate the appearance\nof a baglike structure and a mechanism of confinement based on dual Dirac's\nelectrodynamics. First one is an approximate solution based on a supersymmetric\ncharged domain wall, and second is an exact solution based on nonlinear\nelectrodynamics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic bulk viscosity: GPR vs EO: Recently Eling and Oz (EO) proposed a formula for the holographic bulk\nviscosity, in arXiv:1103.1657, derived from the null horizon focusing equation.\nThis formula seems different from that obtained earlier by Gubser, Pufu and\nRocha (GPR) in arXiv:0806.0407 calculated from the IR limit of the two-point\nfunction of the trace of the stress tensor. The two were shown to agree only\nfor some simple scaling cases. We point out that the two formulae agree in two\nnon-trivial holographic theories describing RG flows. The first is the strongly\ncoupled N=2* gauge theory plasma. The second is the semi-phenomenological model\nof Improved Holographic QCD.",
        "positive": "Next-to-MHV Yang-Mills kinematic algebra: Kinematic numerators of Yang-Mills scattering amplitudes possess a rich Lie\nalgebraic structure that suggest the existence of a hidden infinite-dimensional\nkinematic algebra. Explicitly realizing such a kinematic algebra is a\nlongstanding open problem that only has had partial success for simple helicity\nsectors. In past work, we introduced a framework using tensor currents and\nfusion rules to generate BCJ numerators of a special subsector of NMHV\namplitudes in Yang-Mills theory. Here we enlarge the scope and explicitly\nrealize a kinematic algebra for all NMHV amplitudes. Master numerators are\nobtained directly from the algebraic rules and through commutators and\nkinematic Jacobi identities other numerators can be generated. Inspecting the\noutput of the algebra, we conjecture a closed-form expression for the master\nBCJ numerator up to any multiplicity. We also introduce a new method, based on\ngroup algebra of the permutation group, to solve for the generalized gauge\nfreedom of BCJ numerators. It uses the recently introduced binary BCJ relations\nto provide a complete set of NMHV kinematic numerators that consist of pure\ngauge."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "SUPERTRACES IN STRING THEORY: We demonstrate that the spectrum of any consistent string theory in $D$\ndimensions must satisfy a number of supertrace constraints: $ Str~M^{2n}=0 $\nfor $0 \\leq n < D/2-1$, integer $n$. These results hold for a large class of\nstring theories, including critical heterotic strings. For strings lacking\nspacetime supersymmetry, these supertrace constraints will be satisfied as a\nconsequence of a hidden ``misaligned supersymmetry'' in the string spectrum.\n[Talk given by R.C.M. at Strings '95; to appear in Proceedings]",
        "positive": "Phase structure of matrix quantum mechanics at finite temperature: We study matrix quantum mechanics at finite temperature by Monte Carlo\nsimulation. The model is obtained by dimensionally reducing 10d U(N) pure\nYang-Mills theory to 1d. Following Aharony et al., one can view the same model\nas describing the high temperature regime of (1+1)d U(N) super Yang-Mills\ntheory on a circle. In this interpretation an analog of the deconfinement\ntransition was conjectured to be a continuation of the black-hole/black-string\ntransition in the dual gravity theory. Our detailed analysis in the critical\nregime up to N=32 suggests the existence of the non-uniform phase, in which the\neigenvalue distribution of the holonomy matrix is non-uniform but gapless. The\ntransition to the gapped phase is of second order. The internal energy is\nconstant (giving the ground state energy) in the uniform phase, and rises\nquadratically in the non-uniform phase, which implies that the transition\nbetween these two phases is of third order."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "No Contact Terms for the Magnetic Field in Lorentz- and CPT-Violating\n  Electrodynamics: In a Lorentz- and CPT-violating modification of electrodynamics, the fields\nof a moving charge are known to have unusual singularities. This raises the\nquestion of whether the singular behavior may include $\\delta$-function contact\nterms, similar to those that appear in the fields of idealized dipoles.\nHowever, by calculating the magnetic field of an infinite straight wire in this\ntheory, we demonstrate that there are no such contact terms in the magnetic\nfield of a moving point charge",
        "positive": "Holographic S-fold theories at one loop: A common feature of tree-level holography is that a correlator in one theory\ncan serve as a generating function for correlators in another theory with less\ncontinuous symmetry. This is the case for a family of 4d CFTs with eight\nsupercharges which have protected operators dual to gluons in the bulk. The\nmost recent additions to this family were defined using S-folds which combine a\nspatial identification with an action of the S-duality group in type IIB string\ntheory. Differences between these CFTs which have a dynamical origin first\nbecome manifest at one loop. To explore this phenomenon at the level of\nanomalous dimensions, we use the AdS unitarity method to bootstrap a one-loop\ndouble discontinuity. Compared to previous studies, the subsequent analysis is\nperformed without any assumption about which special functions are allowed.\nInstead, the Casimir singular and Casimir regular terms are extracted\niteratively in order to move from one Regge trajectory to the next. Our results\nshow that anomalous dimensions in the presence of an S-fold are no longer\nrational functions of the spin."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "QCD Vacuum Properties in a Magnetic Field from AdS/CFT: Chiral\n  Condensate and Goldstone Mass: Chiral condensate and $\\eta^\\prime$ meson mass spectrum are studied under the\ninfluence of an external Abelian magnetic field. We work within the D3/D7\nKarch--Katz model of flavoured AdS/CFT with supersymmetry broken by the\nConstable--Myers deformation of the metric. It is shown that this setting\nyields a quadratic dependence of condensate on field, rather than the\nnon-analytic (linear in field) dependence, typical for chiral perturbation\ntheory in the exact chiral limit. We argue that the analytic (quadratic) result\nmust be put into correspondence with the leading-order in the $1/N_c$\ndecomposition for the condensate, whereas the existing chiral perturbation\ntheory result, which is linear in field strength, is $1/N_c$ suppressed.",
        "positive": "Symmetry Resolved Entanglement of Excited States in Quantum Field Theory\n  I: Free Theories, Twist Fields and Qubits: The excess entanglement resulting from exciting a finite number of\nquasiparticles above the ground state of a free integrable quantum field theory\nhas been investigated quite extensively in the literature. It has been found\nthat it takes a very simple form, depending only on the number of excitations\nand their statistics. There is now mounting evidence that such formulae also\napply to interacting and even higher-dimensional quantum theories. In this\npaper we study the entanglement content of such zero-density excited states\nfocusing on the symmetry resolved entanglement, that is on 1+1D quantum field\ntheories that possess an internal symmetry. The ratio of charged moments\nbetween the excited and grounds states, from which the symmetry resolved\nentanglement entropy can be obtained, takes a very simple and universal form,\nwhich in addition to the number and statistics of the excitations, now depends\nalso on the symmetry charge. Using form factor techniques, we obtain both the\nratio of moments and the symmetry resolved entanglement entropies in complex\nfree theories which possess $U(1)$ symmetry. The same formulae are found for\nsimple qubit states."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Exact SL(K+3,C) Symmetry of String Scattering Amplitudes: We discover that the 26D open bosonic string scattering amplitudes (SSA) of\nthree tachyons and one arbitrary string state can be expressed in terms of the\nD-type Lauricella functions with associated SL(K+3,C) symmetry. As a result,\nSSA and symmetries or relations among SSA of different string states at various\nlimits calculated previously can be rederived. These include the linear\nrelations conjectured by Gross [1-3] and proved in [4-9] in the hard scattering\nlimit, the recurrence relations in the Regge scattering limit [14-16] and the\nextended recurrence relations in the nonrelativistic scattering limit [19]\ndiscovered recently. Finally, as an application, we calculate a new recurrence\nrelation of SSA which is valid for all energies.",
        "positive": "Dual approaches for defects condensation: We review two methods used to approach the condensation of defects\nphenomenon. Analyzing in details their structure, we show that in the limit\nwhere the defects proliferate until occupy the whole space these two methods\nare dual equivalent prescriptions to obtain an effective theory for the phase\nwhere the defects (like monopoles or vortices) are completely condensed,\nstarting from the fundamental theory defined in the normal phase where the\ndefects are diluted."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Transfer of Entanglement: The Case for Firewalls: Black hole complementarity requires that the interior of a black hole be\nrepresented by the same degrees of freedom that describe its exterior.\nEntanglement plays a crucial role in the reconstruction of the interior degrees\nof freedom. This connection is manifest in \"two-sided\" eternal black holes. But\nfor real black holes which are formed from collapse there are no second sides.\nThe sense in which horizon entropy is entanglement entropy is much more subtle\nfor one-sided black holes. It involves entanglement between different parts of\nthe near-horizon system. As a one-sided black hole evaporates the entanglement\nthat accounts for its interior degrees of freedom disappears, and is gradually\nreplaced by entanglement with the outgoing Hawking radiation. A principle of\n\"transfer of entanglement\" can be formulated. According to the argument of\nAlmheiri, Marolf, Polchinski and Sully, it is when the transfer of entanglement\nis completed at the Page time, that a firewall replaces the horizon.\nAlternatives to firewalls may suffer contradictions which are similar to those\nof time travel. The firewall hypothesis would be similar to Hawking's\nchronology protection conjecture.",
        "positive": "Cosmology of the Lifshitz universe: We study the ultraviolet complete non-relativistic theory recently proposed\nby Horava. After introducing a Lifshitz scalar for a general background, we\nanalyze the cosmology of the model in Lorentzian and Euclidean signature.\nVacuum solutions are found and it is argued the existence of non-singular\nbouncing profiles. We find a general qualitative agreement with both the\npicture of Causal Dynamical Triangulations and Quantum Einstein Gravity.\nHowever, inflation driven by a Lifshitz scalar field on a classical background\nmight not produce a scale-invariant spectrum when the principle of detailed\nbalance is assumed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Reflections on Parity Breaking: Parity and CP symmetries are broken in the world around us. Nonetheless,\nparity (or CP) may be a gauge symmetry which is higgsed in our universe. This\nis assumed in many scenarios for physics beyond the Standard Model, including\nthe classic Nelson--Barr proposal for the Strong CP problem. Gauged parity can\nonly arise in quantum gravity, where it corresponds to a path integral over\nboth orientable and non-orientable spacetime manifolds. We show that\nspontaneous breaking of gauged parity leads to exactly stable domain walls, and\ndescribe the implications for the cosmology of models with gauged parity. These\ndomain walls carry an unusual sort of charge, which superficially has features\nin common with both gauge charges and global charges. We show that these\nunusual charges are consistent with the expected absence of global symmetries\nin quantum gravity when there exists a complete spectrum of dynamical objects\nrequired by the Swampland Cobordism Conjecture, including end-of-the-world\nbranes.",
        "positive": "Phantom Energy with Variable G and Lambda: We have investigated a cosmological model of a phantom energy with a variable\ncosmological constant ($\\Lambda$) depending on the energy density ($\\rho$) as\n$\\Lambda\\propto \\rho^{-\\alpha}$, $\\alpha=\\rm const.$ and a variable\ngravitational constant ($G$). The model requires $\\alpha<0$ and a negative\ngravitational constant. A negative gravitational constant may forbid\n\\emph{black holes} to form a particle horizon in a background of phantom\nenergy. This implies that black holes are naked, and consequently the\n\\emph{Cosmic Censorship} theorem is violated. The cosmological constant evolves\nwith time as, $\\Lambda\\propto t^{-2}$. For $\\omega>-1$ and $\\alpha<-1$ the\ncosmological constant, $\\Lambda<0$, $G>0$ and $\\rho$ decrease with cosmic\nexpansion. For ordinary matter (or dark matter), i.e., $\\omega>-1$ we have\n$-1<\\alpha<0$ and $\\beta>0$ so that $G>0$ increases with time and $\\rho$\ndecreases with time. Cosmic acceleration with dust particles is granted\nprovided $-{2/3}<\\alpha <0$ and $\\Lambda>0$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exact Electric-Magnetic Duality in N=2 Supersymmetric QCD Theories: We analyze the Coulomb phase of theories of $N=2$ SQCD with $SU(N_c)$ gauge\ngroups which are conjectured to have exact electric-magnetic duality. We\ndiscuss the duality transformation of the particle spectrum, emphasizing the\ndifferences between the general case and the $SU(2)$ case. Some difficulties\nassociated with the definition of the duality transformation for a general\ngauge group are discussed. We compute the classical monopole spectrum of these\ntheories, and when it is possible we use it to check the consistency of the\nduality. Generally these theories may have phase transitions between strong and\nweak coupling, which prevent the semi-classical computation from being useful\nfor checking the duality.",
        "positive": "Spontaneously Broken N=2 Supergravity Without Light Mirror Fermions: We present a spontaneously broken N=2 supergravity model that reduces in the\nflat limit to a globally supersymmetric N=2 system with explicit soft\nsupersymmetry breaking terms. These soft terms generate a mass O(100 GeV) for\nmirror quarks and leptons, while leaving the physical fermions light, thereby\novercoming one of the major obstacles towards the construction of a realistic\nN=2 model of elementary interactions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Efficient Algorithm for Generating Homotopy Inequivalent Calabi-Yaus: We present an algorithm for efficiently exploring inequivalent Calabi-Yau\nthreefold hypersurfaces in toric varieties. A direct enumeration of fine,\nregular, star triangulations (FRSTs) of polytopes in the Kreuzer-Skarke\ndatabase is foreseeably impossible due to the large count of distinct FRSTs.\nMoreover, such an enumeration is needlessly redundant because many such\ntriangulations have the same restrictions to 2-faces and hence, by Wall's\ntheorem, lead to equivalent Calabi-Yau threefolds. We show that this redundancy\ncan be circumvented by finding a height vector in the strict interior of the\nintersection of the secondary cones associated with each 2-face triangulation.\nWe demonstrate that such triangulations are generated with orders of magnitude\nfewer operations than the naive approach of generating all FRSTs and selecting\nonly those differing on 2-faces. Similar methods are also presented to directly\ngenerate (the support of) the secondary subfan of all fine triangulations,\nrelevant for random sampling of FRSTs.",
        "positive": "Expressing entropy globally in terms of (4D) field-correlations: We express the entropy of a scalar field phi directly in terms of its\nspacetime correlation function W(x,y) = <phi(x) phi(y)>, assuming that the\nhigher correlators are of \"Gaussian\" form. The resulting formula associates an\nentropy S(R) to any spacetime region R; and when R is globally hyperbolic with\nCauchy surface Sigma, S(R) can be interpreted as the entropy of the reduced\ndensity-matrix belonging to Sigma. One acquires in particular a new expression\nfor the entropy of entanglement across an event-horizon. Thanks to its\nspacetime character, this expression makes sense in a causal set as well as in\na continuum spacetime."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Variable Fine Structure Constant from Maximal-Acceleration Phase Space\n  Relativity: We presented a new physical model that links the maximum speed of light with\nthe minimal Planck scale into a maximal-acceleration Relativity principle in\nthe spacetime tangent bundle and in phase spaces (cotangent bundle). The\nmaximal proper-acceleration bound is a = c^2/ \\Lambda in full agreement with\nthe old predictions of Caianiello, the Finslerian geometry point of view of\nBrandt and more recent results in the literature. Inspired by the\nmaximal-acceleration corrections to the Lamb shifts of one-electron atoms by\nLambiase, Papini and Scarpetta, we derive the exact integral equation that\ngoverns the Renormalization-Group-like scaling dependence of the fractional\nchange of the fine structure constant as a function of the cosmological\nredshift factor and a cutoff scale L_c, where the maximal acceleration\nrelativistic effects are dominant. A particular physical model exists dominated\nentirely by the vacuum energy, when the cutoff scale is the Planck scale, with\n\\Omega_\\Lambda \\sim 1 . The implications of this extreme case scenario are\nstudied.",
        "positive": "Zero-energy modes, fractional fermion numbers and the index theorem in a\n  vortex-Dirac fermion system: Physics of topological materials have attracted much attention from both\nphysicists and mathematicians recently. The index and the fermion number of\nDirac fermions play an important role in topological insulators and topological\nsuperconductors. A zero-energy mode exists when Dirac fermions couple to\nobjects with soliton-like structure such as kinks, vortices, monopoles, strings\nand branes. We discuss a system of Dirac fermions interacting with a vortex and\na kink. This kind of systems will be realized on the surface of topological\ninsulators where Dirac fermions exist. The fermion number is fractionalized and\nthis is related to the presence of fermion zero-energy excitation modes. A\nzero-energy mode can be regarded as a Majorana fermion mode when the chemical\npotential vanishes. Our discussion includes the case where there is a half-flux\nquantum vortex associated with a kink in a magnetic field in a bilayer\nsuperconductor. A normalizable wave function of fermion zero-energy mode does\nnot exist in the core of the half-flux quantum vortex. The index of Dirac\noperator and the fermion number have additional contributions when a soliton\nscalar field has a singularity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Twisted Poincare Invariance, Noncommutative Gauge Theories and UV-IR\n  Mixing: In the absence of gauge fields, quantum field theories on the\nGroenewold-Moyal (GM) plane are invariant under a twisted action of the\nPoincare group if they are formulated following [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]. In that\nformulation, such theories also have no UV-IR mixing [7]. Here we investigate\nUV-IR mixing in gauge theories with matter following the approach of [3, 4]. We\nprove that there is UV-IR mixing in the one-loop diagram of the S-matrix\ninvolving a coupling between gauge and matter fields on the GM plane, the gauge\nfield being nonabelian. There is no UV-IR mixing if it is abelian.",
        "positive": "Coupled dark energy: Towards a general description of the dynamics: In dark energy models of scalar-field coupled to a barotropic perfect fluid,\nthe existence of cosmological scaling solutions restricts the Lagrangian of the\nfield $\\vp$ to $p=X g(Xe^{\\lambda \\vp})$, where $X=-g^{\\mu\\nu} \\partial_\\mu \\vp\n\\partial_\\nu \\vp /2$, $\\lambda$ is a constant and $g$ is an arbitrary function.\nWe derive general evolution equations in an autonomous form for this Lagrangian\nand investigate the stability of fixed points for several different dark energy\nmodels--(i) ordinary (phantom) field, (ii) dilatonic ghost condensate, and\n(iii) (phantom) tachyon. We find the existence of scalar-field dominant fixed\npoints ($\\Omega_\\vp=1$) with an accelerated expansion in all models\nirrespective of the presence of the coupling $Q$ between dark energy and dark\nmatter. These fixed points are always classically stable for a phantom field,\nimplying that the universe is eventually dominated by the energy density of a\nscalar field if phantom is responsible for dark energy. When the equation of\nstate $w_\\vp$ for the field $\\vp$ is larger than -1, we find that scaling\nsolutions are stable if the scalar-field dominant solution is unstable, and\nvice versa. Therefore in this case the final attractor is either a scaling\nsolution with constant $\\Omega_\\vp$ satisfying $0<\\Omega_\\vp<1$ or a\nscalar-field dominant solution with $\\Omega_\\vp=1$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Indications for Gluon Condensation from Nonperturbative Flow Equations: We employ nonperturbative flow equations for the description of the effective\naction in Yang-Mills theories. We find that the perturbative vacuum with\nvanishing gauge field strength does not correspond to the minimum of the\nEuclidean effective action. The true ground state is characterized by a\nnonvanishing gluon condensate.",
        "positive": "Emergent Strings from Infinite Distance Limits: As a refinement of the Swampland Distance Conjecture, we propose that a\nquantum gravitational theory in an infinite distance limit of its moduli space\neither decompactifies, or reduces to an asymptotically tensionless, weakly\ncoupled string theory. We support our claim by classifying, as special cases,\nthe behaviour of M-Theory and Type IIA string theory compactifications on\nCalabi-Yau three-folds at infinite distances in Kahler moduli space. The\nanalysis comprises three parts: We first classify the possible infinite\ndistance limits in the classical Kahler moduli space of a Calabi-Yau\nthree-fold. Each such limit at finite volume is characterized by a universal\nfibration structure, for which the generic fiber shrinking in the limit is\neither an elliptic curve, a K3 surface, or an Abelian surface. In the second\npart we focus on M-Theory and investigate the nature of the towers of\nasymptotically massless states that arise from branes wrapped on the shrinking\nfibers. Depending on which of the three classes of fibrations are considered,\nwe obtain decompactification to F-Theory, or a theory with a unique\nasymptotically tensionless, weakly coupled heterotic or Type II string,\nrespectively. The latter probes a dual D-manifold which is in general\nnon-geometric. In addition to the intrinsic string excitations, towers of\nstates from M2-branes along non-contractible curves become light and correspond\nto further wrapping and winding modes of the tensionless heterotic or Type II\nstring. In the third part of the analysis, we consider Type IIA string theory\non Calabi-Yau three-folds and show that quantum effects obstruct taking finite\nvolume infinite distance limits in the Kahler moduli space. The only possible\ninfinite distance limit which is not a decompactification limit involves\nK3-fibrations with string scale fiber volume and gives rise to an emergent\ntensionless heterotic string."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Rigid invariance as derived from BRS invariance: The abelian Higgs model: Consequences of a symmetry, e.g.\\ relations amongst Green functions, are\nrenormalization scheme independently expressed in terms of a rigid Ward\nidentity. The corresponding local version yields information on the respective\ncurrent. In the case of spontaneous breakdown one has to define the theory via\nthe BRS invariance and thus to construct rigid and current Ward identity\nnon-trivially in accordance with it. We performed this construction to all\norders of perturbation theory in the abelian Higgs model as a prelude to the\nstandard model. A technical tool of interest in itself is the use of a doublet\nof external scalar ``background'' fields. The Callan-Symanzik equation has an\ninteresting form and follows easily once the rigid invariance is established.",
        "positive": "Semiclassical relativistic strings in S^5 and long coherent operators in\n  N=4 SYM theory: We consider the low energy effective action corresponding to the 1-loop,\nplanar, dilatation operator in the scalar sector of N=4 SU(N) SYM theory. For a\ngeneral class of non-holomorphic ``long'' operators, of bare dimension L>>1, it\nis a sigma model action with 8-dimensional target space and agrees with a limit\nof the phase-space string sigma model action describing generic fast-moving\nstrings in the S^5 part of AdS_5 x S^5. The limit of the string action is taken\nin a way that allows for a systematic expansion to higher orders in the\neffective coupling $\\lambda/L^2$. This extends previous work on rigid rotating\nstrings in S^5 (dual to operators in the SU(3) sector of the dilatation\noperator) to the case when string oscillations or pulsations in S^5 are\nallowed. We establish a map between the profile of the leading order string\nsolution and the structure of the corresponding coherent, ``locally BPS'', SYM\nscalar operator. As an application, we explicitly determine the form of the\nnon-holomorphic operators dual to the pulsating strings. Using action--angle\nvariables, we also directly compute the energy of pulsating solutions,\nsimplifying previous treatments."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Similarity between the kinematic viscosity of quark-gluon plasma and\n  liquids at the viscosity minimum: Recently, it has been found that the kinematic viscosity of liquids at the\nminimum, $\\nu_m$, can be expressed in terms of fundamental physical constants,\ngiving $\\nu_m$ on the order of $10^{-7}~{\\rm m^2/s}$. Here, we show that the\nkinematic viscosity of quark-gluon plasma (QGP) has a similar value and support\nthis finding by experimental data and theoretical estimations. The similarity\nis striking, given that the dynamic viscosity and the density of QGP are about\n16 orders of magnitude larger than in liquids and that the two systems have\ndisparate interactions and fundamental theories. We discuss the implications of\nthis result for understanding the QGP including the similarity of flow and\nparticle dynamics at the viscosity minimum, the associated dynamical crossover\nand universality of shear diffusivity.",
        "positive": "The moduli space of striped black branes: At finite charge density certain holographic models exhibit the spontaneous\nbreaking of translational invariance resulting in an inhomogeneous phase. We\nfollow up on recent numerical work, reporting results for a larger class of\ncohomogeneity two black branes in AdS, dual to a holographic striped phase. We\nconstruct the continuous moduli space of inhomogeneous black branes as a\nfunction of the temperature. Minimising the free energy we determine the\ndominant striped solutions, revealing a growth in the stripe size as the system\nis cooled. We discuss the thermodynamic properties of this line of solutions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Equations of Motion as Covariant Gauss Law: The Maxwell-Chern-Simons\n  Case: Time-independent gauge transformations are implemented in the canonical\nformalism by the Gauss law which is not covariant. The covariant form of Gauss\nlaw is conceptually important for studying asymptotic properties of the gauge\nfields. For QED in $3+1$ dimensions, we have developed a formalism for treating\nthe equations of motion (EOM) themselves as constraints, that is, constraints\non states using Peierls' quantization. They generate spacetime dependent gauge\ntransformations. We extend these results to the Maxwell-Chern-Simons (MCS)\nLagrangian. The surprising result is that the covariant Gauss law commutes with\nall observables: the gauge invariance of the Lagrangian gets trivialized upon\nquantization. The calculations do not fix a gauge. We also consider a novel\ngauge condition on test functions (not on quantum fields) which we name the\n\"quasi-self-dual gauge\" condition. It explicitly shows the mass spectrum of the\ntheory. In this version, no freedom remains for the gauge transformations: EOM\ncommute with all observables and are in the center of the algebra of\nobservables.",
        "positive": "Three-dimensional Dirac oscillator in a thermal bath: The thermal properties of the three-dimensional Dirac oscillator are\nconsidered. The canonical partition function is determined, and the\nhigh-temperature limit is assessed. The degeneracy of energy levels and their\nphysical implications on the main thermodynamic functions are analyzed,\nrevealing that these functions assume values greater than the one-dimensional\ncase. So that at high temperatures, the limit value of the specific heat is\nthree times bigger."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantization of Higher Spin Superfields in the anti-de Sitter Superspace: We describe a Lagrangian quantization of the free massless gauge superfield\ntheories of higher superspins both in the anti-de Sitter and flat global\nsuperspaces.",
        "positive": "A gauge theory for the 3+1 dimensional incompressible Euler equations: We show that the incompressible Euler equations in three spatial dimensions\ncan be expressed in terms of an abelian gauge theory with a topological BF\nterm. A crucial part of the theory is a 3-form field strength, which is dual to\na material invariant local helicity in the fluid. In one version of the theory,\nthere is an additional 2-form field strength, with the magnetic field\ncorresponding to fluid vorticity and the electric field identified with the\ncross-product of the velocity and the vorticity. In the second version, the\n2-form field strength is instead expressed in terms of Clebsch scalars. We\ndiscuss the theory in the presence of the boundary and argue that edge modes\nmay be present in the dual description of fluid flows with a boundary."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Deep inelastic scattering from polarized spin-$1/2$ hadrons at low $x$\n  from string theory: We study polarized deep inelastic scattering of charged leptons from\nspin-$1/2$ hadrons at low values of the Bjorken parameter and large 't Hooft\ncoupling in terms of the gauge/string theory duality. We calculate the\nstructure functions from type IIB superstring theory scattering amplitudes. We\ndiscuss the role of the non-Abelian Chern-Simons term and the Pauli term from\nthe five-dimensional $SU(4)$ gauged supergravity. Furthermore, the\nexponentially small-$x$ regime where Regge physics becomes important is\nanalyzed in detail for the antisymmetric structure functions. In this case the\nholographic dual picture of the Pomeron exchange is realized by a Reggeized\ngauge field. We compare our results with experimental data of the proton\nantisymmetric structure function $g_1$, obtaining a very good level of\nagreement.",
        "positive": "Twisted Covariance as a Non Invariant Restriction of the Fully Covariant\n  DFR Model: We discuss twisted covariance over the noncommutative spacetime algebra\ngenerated by the relations [q_theta^mu,q_theta^nu]=i theta^{mu nu}, where the\nmatrix theta is treated as fixed (not a tensor), and we refrain from using the\nasymptotic Moyal expansion of the twists. We show that the tensor nature of\ntheta is only hidden in the formalism: in particular if theta fulfils the DFR\nconditions, the twisted Lorentz covariant model of the flat quantum spacetime\nmay be equivalently described in terms of the DFR model, if we agree to discard\na huge non invariant set of localisation states; it is only this last step\nwhich, if taken as a basic assumption, severely breaks the relativity\nprinciple. We also will show that the above mentioned, relativity breaking, ad\nhoc rejection of localisation states is an independent, unnecessary assumption,\nas far as some popular approaches to quantum field theory on the quantum\nMinkowski spacetime are concerned. The above should raise some concerns about\nspeculations on possible observable consequences of arbitrary choices of theta\nin arbitrarily selected privileged frames."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Generating string field theory solutions with matter operators from\n  $KBc$ algebra: The $KBc$ algebra is a subalgebra that has been used to construct classical\nsolutions in Witten's open string field theory, such as the tachyon vacuum\nsolution. The main purpose of this paper is to give various operator sets that\nsatisfy the $KBc$ algebra. In addition, since those sets can contain matter\noperators arbitrarily, we can reproduce the KOS and the Erler-Maccaferri\nsolutions. Starting with a single D-brane solution on the tachyon vacuum, we\nreplace the original $KBc$ in it with an appropriate set to generate each of\nthe above solutions. Thus, it is expected that the $KBc$ algebra, combined with\nthe single D-brane solution, leads to a more unified description of classical\nsolutions.",
        "positive": "Nilpotent Networks and 4D RG Flows: Starting from a general $\\mathcal{N} = 2$ SCFT, we study the network of\n$\\mathcal{N} = 1$ SCFTs obtained from relevant deformations by nilpotent mass\nparameters. We also study the case of flipper field deformations where the mass\nparameters are promoted to a chiral superfield, with nilpotent vev. Nilpotent\nelements of semi-simple algebras admit a partial ordering connected by a\ncorresponding directed graph. We find strong evidence that the resulting fixed\npoints are connected by a similar network of 4D RG flows. To illustrate these\ngeneral concepts, we also present a full list of nilpotent deformations in the\ncase of explicit $\\mathcal{N} = 2$ SCFTs, including the case of a single\nD3-brane probing a $D$- or $E$-type F-theory 7-brane, and 6D $(G,G)$ conformal\nmatter compactified on a $T^2$, as described by a single M5-brane probing a\n$D$- or $E$-type singularity. We also observe a number of numerical\ncoincidences of independent interest, including a collection of theories with\nrational values for their conformal anomalies, as well as a surprisingly nearly\nconstant value for the ratio $a_{\\mathrm{IR}} / c_{\\mathrm{IR}}$ for the entire\nnetwork of flows associated with a given UV $\\mathcal{N} = 2$ SCFT. The\n$\\texttt{arXiv}$ submission also includes the full dataset of theories which\ncan be accessed with a companion $\\texttt{Mathematica}$ script."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Solid Inflation: We develop a cosmological model where primordial inflation is driven by a\n'solid', defined as a system of three derivatively coupled scalar fields\nobeying certain symmetries and spontaneously breaking a certain subgroup of\nthese. The symmetry breaking pattern differs drastically from that of standard\ninflationary models: time translations are unbroken. This prevents our model\nfrom fitting into the standard effective field theory description of adiabatic\nperturbations, with crucial consequences for the dynamics of cosmological\nperturbations. Most notably, non-gaussianities in the curvature perturbations\nare unusually large, with f_NL ~ 1/(\\epsilon.c_s^2), and have a novel shape:\npeaked in the squeezed limit, with anisotropic dependence on how the limit is\napproached. Other unusual features include the absence of adiabatic fluctuation\nmodes during inflation---which does not impair their presence and near\nscale-invariance after inflation---and a slightly blue tilt for the tensor\nmodes.",
        "positive": "L-functions for Meromorphic Modular Forms and Sum Rules in Conformal\n  Field Theory: We define L-functions for meromorphic modular forms that are regular at\ncusps, and use them to: (i) find new relationships between Hurwitz class\nnumbers and traces of singular moduli, (ii) establish predictions from the\nphysics of T-reflection, and (iii) express central charges in two-dimensional\nconformal field theories (2d CFT) as a literal sum over the states in the CFTs\nspectrum. When a modular form has an order-$p$ pole away from cusps, its\n$q$-series coefficients grow as $n^{p-1} e^{2 \\pi n t}$ for $t \\geq\n\\sqrt{3}/2$. Its L-function must be regularized. We define such L-functions by\na deformed Mellin transform. We study the L-functions of logarithmic\nderivatives of modular forms.L-functions of logarithmic derivatives of\nBorcherds products reveal a new relationship between Hurwitz class numbers and\ntraces of singular moduli. If we can write 2d CFT path integrals as infinite\nproducts, our L-functions confirm T-reflection predictions and relate central\ncharges to regularized sums over the states in a CFTs spectrum. Equating\ncentral charges, which are a proxy for the number of degrees of freedom in a\ntheory, directly to a sum over states in these CFTs is new and relies on our\nregularization of such sums that generally exhibit exponential (Hagedorn)\ndivergences."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Relaxation in Conformal Field Theory, Hawking-Page Transition, and\n  Quasinormal/Normal Modes: We study the process of relaxation back to thermal equilibrium in\n$(1+1)$-dimensional conformal field theory at finite temperature. When the size\nof the system is much larger than the inverse temperature, perturbations decay\nexponentially with time. On the other hand, when the inverse temperature is\nlarge, the relaxation is oscillatory with characteristic period set by the size\nof the system. We then analyse the intermediate regime in two specific models,\nnamely free fermions, and a strongly coupled large $\\tt k$ conformal field\ntheory which is dual to string theory on $(2+1)$-dimensional anti-de Sitter\nspacetime. In the latter case, there is a sharp transition between the two\nregimes in the ${\\tt k}=\\infty$ limit, which is a manifestation of the\ngravitational Hawking-Page phase transition. In particular, we establish a\ndirect connection between quasinormal and normal modes of the gravity system,\nand the decaying and oscillating behaviour of the conformal field theory.",
        "positive": "Novel all loop actions of interacting CFTs: Construction, integrability\n  and RG flows: We construct the all loop effective action representing, for small couplings,\nsimultaneously self and mutually interacting current algebra CFTs realized by\nWZW models. This non-trivially generalizes our previous works where such\ninteractions were, at the linear level, not simultaneously present. For the two\ncoupling case we prove integrability and calculate the coupled RG flow\nequations. We also consider non-Abelian T-duality type limits. Our models\nprovide concrete realisations of integrable flows between exact CFTs and\nexhibit several new features which we discuss in detail."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Asymmetrical braneworlds and the charged lepton mass spectrum: A braneworld mechanism for explaining the mass spectrum of the charged\nleptons is proposed. Based on the existence of an asymmetric warp factor for a\n$5+1$-dim braneworld scenario, the proper fractions between the masses of the\nelectron, muon and tauon are achieved. As a straightforward consequence, our\nresults coincide with the Koide's mass formula.",
        "positive": "Light-sheets and AdS/CFT: One may ask whether the CFT restricted to a subset b of the AdS boundary has\na well-defined dual restricted to a subset H(b) of the bulk geometry. The\nPoincare patch is an example, but more general choices of b can be considered.\nWe propose a geometric construction of H. We argue that H should contain the\nset C of causal curves with both endpoints on b. Yet H should not reach so far\nfrom the boundary that the CFT has insufficient degrees of freedom to describe\nit. This can be guaranteed by constructing a superset of H from light-sheets\noff boundary slices and invoking the covariant entropy bound in the bulk. The\nsimplest covariant choice is L, the intersection of L^+ and L^-, where L^+\n(L^-) is the union of all future-directed (past-directed) light-sheets. We\nprove that C=L, so the holographic domain is completely determined by our\nassumptions: H=C=L. In situations where local bulk operators can be constructed\non b, H is closely related to the set of bulk points where this construction\nremains unambiguous under modifications of the CFT Hamiltonian outside of b.\nOur construction leads to a covariant geometric RG flow. We comment on the\ndescription of black hole interiors and cosmological regions via AdS/CFT."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Classical Solutions of 4d Supersymmetric Higher Spin Theory: We present a simple construction of solutions to the supersymmetric higher\nspin theory based on solutions to bosonic theories. We illustrate this for the\ncase of the Didenko-Vasiliev solution in arXiv:0906.3898, for which we have\nfound a striking simplification where the higher-spin connection takes the\nvacuum value. Studying these solutions further, we check under which conditions\nthey preserve some supersymmetry in the bulk, and when they are compatible with\nthe boundary conditions conjectured to be dual to certain 3d SUSY\nChern-Simons-matter theories. We perform the analysis for a variety of theories\nwith $\\mathcal{N}$ = 2, $\\mathcal{N}$ = 3, $\\mathcal{N}$ = 4 and $\\mathcal{N}$\n= 6 and find a rich spectrum of $1/4$, $1/3$ and $1/2$-BPS solutions.",
        "positive": "N >= 4 Supergravity Amplitudes from Gauge Theory at One Loop: We expose simple and practical relations between the integrated four- and\nfive-point one-loop amplitudes of N >= 4 supergravity and the corresponding\n(super-)Yang-Mills amplitudes. The link between the amplitudes is simply\nunderstood using the recently uncovered duality between color and kinematics\nthat leads to a double-copy structure for gravity. These examples provide\nadditional direct confirmations of the duality and double-copy properties at\nloop level for a sample of different theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "M(atrix) Theory: Matrix Quantum Mechanics as a Fundamental Theory: A self-contained review is given of the matrix model of M-theory. The\nintroductory part of the review is intended to be accessible to the general\nreader. M-theory is an eleven-dimensional quantum theory of gravity which is\nbelieved to underlie all superstring theories. This is the only candidate at\npresent for a theory of fundamental physics which reconciles gravity and\nquantum field theory in a potentially realistic fashion. Evidence for the\nexistence of M-theory is still only circumstantial---no complete\nbackground-independent formulation of the theory yet exists. Matrix theory was\nfirst developed as a regularized theory of a supersymmetric quantum membrane.\nMore recently, the theory appeared in a different guise as the discrete\nlight-cone quantization of M-theory in flat space. These two approaches to\nmatrix theory are described in detail and compared. It is shown that matrix\ntheory is a well-defined quantum theory which reduces to a supersymmetric\ntheory of gravity at low energies. Although the fundamental degrees of freedom\nof matrix theory are essentially pointlike, it is shown that higher-dimensional\nfluctuating objects (branes) arise through the nonabelian structure of the\nmatrix degrees of freedom. The problem of formulating matrix theory in a\ngeneral space-time background is discussed, and the connections between matrix\ntheory and other related models are reviewed.",
        "positive": "Statistics in the Landscape of Intersecting Brane Models: An approach towards a statistical survey of four dimensional supersymmetric\nvacua in the string theory landscape is described and illustrated with three\nexamples of ensembles of intersecting D-brane models. The question whether it\nis conceivable to make predictions based on statistical distributions is\ndiscussed. Especially interesting in this context are possible correlations\nbetween low energy observables. As an example we look at correlations between\nproperties of the gauge sector of intersecting D-brane models and Gepner model\nconstructions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On wrapping corrections to GKP-like operators: In the recent paper arXiv:1010.5009, Maldacena et al. derive the two loop\nexpressions for polygonal Wilson loops expectation values, or MHV amplitudes,\nby writing them as sums over exchanges of intermediate free particles. The\nspectrum of excitations of the flux tube between two null Wilson lines can be\nviewed as the spectrum of excitations around the infinite spin limit of finite\ntwist operators in the sl(2) sector of N=4 SYM or the Gubser-Klebanov-Polyakov\n(GKP) string. This regime can be captured exploiting integrability and assuming\nthat wrapping corrections are negligible compared to asymptotic Bethe Ansatz\ncontributions. This assumption holds true for the N=4 SYM background GKP\nstring, but deserves further analysis for excited states. Here, we investigate\nGKP cousins by considering various classes of (generalized) twist operators in\nbeta-deformed N=4 SYM and ABJM theory. We show that the Y-system of\nGromov-Kazakov-Vieira easily leads to accurate large spin expansions of the\nwrapping correction at lowest order in weak-coupling perturbation theory. As a\nbyproduct, we confirm that wrapping corrections are subleading in all the\nconsidered cases.",
        "positive": "Brane Tilings and Exceptional Collections: Both brane tilings and exceptional collections are useful tools for\ndescribing the low energy gauge theory on a stack of D3-branes probing a\nCalabi-Yau singularity. We provide a dictionary that translates between these\ntwo heretofore unconnected languages. Given a brane tiling, we compute an\nexceptional collection of line bundles associated to the base of the\nnon-compact Calabi-Yau threefold. Given an exceptional collection, we derive\nthe periodic quiver of the gauge theory which is the graph theoretic dual of\nthe brane tiling. Our results give new insight to the construction of quiver\ntheories and their relation to geometry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Tension Spectrum of Cosmic Superstrings in a Warped Deformed\n  Conifold: This paper has been withdrawn. The interpretation of tension spectrum of\ncosmic superstrings in terms of KK momentum is invalid as presented in section\n2. A new paper based on calculations of the KK spectrum presented here will be\nsubmitted.",
        "positive": "Complete N-Point Superstring Disk Amplitude I. Pure Spinor Computation: In this paper the pure spinor formalism is used to obtain a compact\nexpression for the superstring N-point disk amplitude. The color ordered string\namplitude is given by a sum over (N-3)! super Yang-Mills subamplitudes\nmultiplied by multiple Gaussian hypergeometric functions. In order to obtain\nthis result, the cohomology structure of the pure spinor superspace is\nexploited to generalize the Berends-Giele method of computing super Yang-Mills\namplitudes. The method was briefly presented in [1], and this paper elaborates\non the details and contains higher-rank examples of building blocks and\nassociated cohomology objects. But the main achievement of this work is to\nidentify these field-theory structures in the pure spinor computation of the\nsuperstring amplitude. In particular, the associated set of basis worldsheet\nintegrals is constructively obtained here and thoroughly investigated together\nwith the structure and properties of the amplitude in [2]."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetric localization of (higher-spin) JT gravity: a bulk\n  perspective: We study two-dimensional Jackiw-Teitelboim gravity on the disk topology by\nusing a BF gauge theory in the presence of a boundary term. The system can be\nequivalently written in a supersymmetric way by introducing auxiliary gauginos\nand scalars with suitable boundary conditions on the hemisphere. We compute the\nexact partition function thanks to supersymmetric localization and we recover\nthe result obtained from the Schwarzian theory by accurately identifying the\nphysical scales. The calculation is then easily extended to the higher-spin\ngeneralization of Jackiw-Teitelboim gravity, finding perfect agreement with\nprevious results. We argue that our procedure can also be applied to\nboundary-anchored Wilson line correlators.",
        "positive": "The Mandelstam-Terning Line Integral in Unparticle Physics -- A Reply to\n  Galloway, Martin and Stancato: We show that the path ordered Wilson line integral used in 0802.0313 to make\na nonlocal action gauge invariant is mathematically inconsistent. We also show\nthat it can lead to reasonable gauge field vertexes by the use of a second\nmathematically unjustifiable procedure."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "$DE$-type little strings from glued brane webs: We propose brane web configurations for $D$-type and $E$-type\n$\\mathcal{N}=(1,0)$ little string theories based on a trivalent or quadrivalent\ngluing of 5-brane web diagrams. Tri-/quadri-valent gluing is a powerful way of\ncomputing 5d/6d partition functions for supersymmetric gauge theories based on\nthe topological vertex. We generalize the gluing techniques to little string\ntheories by introducing a new compact direction and compute their\nsupersymmetric partition functions on Omega-deformed $\\mathbb{R}^4\\times T^2$.\nAs concrete examples, we consider little string theories arising from Type IIB\nNS5-branes probing $D_4$ or $D_5$ singularity. Their effective gauge theory\ndescriptions as the affine $D_4$ or $D_5$ quiver gauge theory can be realized\nwith quadrivalent or trivalent gluing, respectively. Based on these gluings of\n5-brane webs, we compute their refined partition functions and compare them\nwith the known results. We extend the computation of the partition function to\nlittle string theory engineered from IIB NS5-branes probing $E_6$ singularity\nbased on a trivalent gluing. We also discuss the generalization to higher rank\ncases and the symmetries of the partition functions.",
        "positive": "\"Massive\" Perturbative QCD, regular in the IR limit: The goal of research is to devise a modification of the perturbative QCD that\nshould be regular in the low-energy region and could serve as a practical means\nfor the analysis of data below 1 \\GeV up to the IR limit. Recent observation of\nthe four-loop pQCD series \"blow-up\" in the region below 1 \\GeV for the Bjorken\nSum Rule gave an impetus to this attempt. The proposed {\\sf \"massive analytic\npQCD\"} is constructed on the two grounds. The first is the pQCD with only one\nparameter added, the effective \"glueball mass\" $m_{gl}\\lesssim 1 \\GeV,$ serving\nas an IR regulator. The second stems out of the ghost-free Analytic\nPerturbation Theory comprising non-power perturbative expansion that makes it\ncompatible with linear integral transformations. In short, the proposed MAPT\ndiffers from the minimal APT by simple ansatz $Q^2 \\to Q^2+m_{gl}^2.$"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Inflaton as an auxiliary topological field in a QCD-like system: We propose a new scenario for early cosmology, where inflationary de Sitter\nphase dynamically occurs. The effect emerges as a result of dynamics of the\ntopologically nontrivial sectors in expanding universe. Technically the effect\ncan be described in terms of the auxiliary fields which effectively describe\nthe dynamics of the topological sectors in a gauge theory. Inflaton in this\nframework is an auxiliary topological non-propagating field with no canonical\nkinetic term, similar to known topologically ordered phases in condensed matter\nsystems. We explain many deep questions in this framework using the so-called\nweakly coupled \"deformed QCD\" toy model.While this theory is weakly coupled\ngauge theory, it preserves all the crucial elements of strongly interacting\ngauge theory, including confinement, nontrivial $\\theta$ dependence, degeneracy\nof the topological sectors, etc. We discuss a specific realization of these\nideas using a scaled up version of QCD, coined as \\qcd, with the scale\nM_{PL}\\gg \\Lbar\\gg \\sqrt[3]{M_{EW}^2M_{PL}}\\sim 10^8 {\\mathrm{GeV}}. If no\nother fields are present in the system de Sitter phase will be the final\ndestination of evolution of the universe. If other interactions are present in\nthe system, the inflationary de Sitter phase lasts for a finite period of time.\nThe inflation starts from the thermal equilibrium state long after the \\qcd\n-confinement phase transition at temperature T_{i}\\sim\n\\Lbar\\sqrt{\\frac{\\Lbar}{M_{PL}}}. The end of inflation is triggered by the\ncoupling with gauge bosons from the Standard Model. The corresponding\ninteraction is unambiguously fixed by the triangle anomaly. Number of e-folds\nin the \\qcd-inflation framework is determined by the gauge coupling constant at\nthe moment of inflation, and estimated as N_{\\rm inf}\\sim \\alpha_s^{-2}\\sim\n10^2.",
        "positive": "The Correlahedron: We introduce a new geometric object, the correlahedron, which we conjecture\nto be equivalent to stress-energy correlators in planar N=4 super Yang-Mills.\nRe-expressing the Grassmann dependence of correlation functions of n chiral\nstress-energy multiplets with Grassmann degree 4k in terms of 4(n+k)-linear\nbosonic variables, the resulting expressions have an interpretation as volume\nforms on a Gr(n+k,4+n+k) Grassmannian, analogous to the expressions for planar\namplitudes via the amplituhedron. The resulting volume forms are to be\nnaturally associated with the correlahedron geometry. We construct such\nexpressions in this bosonised space both directly, in general, from Feynman\ndiagrams in twistor space, and then more invariantly from specific known\ncorrelator expressions in analytic superspace. We give a geometric\ninterpretation of the action of the consecutive lightlike limit and show that\nunder this the correlahedron reduces to the squared amplituhedron both as a\ngeometric object as well as directly on the corresponding volume forms. We give\nan explicit easily implementable algorithm via cylindrical decompositions for\nextracting the squared amplituhedron volume form from the squared amplituhedron\ngeometry with explicit examples and discuss the analogous procedure for the\ncorrelators."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exact solutions and spacetime singularities in nonlocal gravity: We give here a list of exact classical solutions of a large class of weakly\nnonlocal theories of gravity, which are unitary and super-renormalizable (or\nfinite) at quantum level. It is explicitly shown that flat and Ricci-flat\nspacetimes as well as maximally symmetric manifolds are exact solutions of the\nequation of motion. Therefore, well-known physical spacetimes like\nSchwarzschild, Kerr, (Anti-) de Sitter serve as solutions for standard matter\ncontent. In dimension higher than four we can also have Anti-de Sitter\nsolutions in the presence of positive cosmological constant. We pedagogically\nshow how to obtain these exact solutions. Furthermore, for another version of\nthe theory, written in the Weyl basis, Friedmann-Robertson-Walker (FRW)\nspacetimes are also exact solutions, when the matter content is given by\nconformal matter (radiation). We also comment on the presence of singularities\nand possible resolution of them in finite and conformally invariant theories.\n\"Delocalization\" is proposed as a way to solve the black hole singularity\nproblem. In order to solve the problem of cosmological singularities it seems\ncrucial to have a conformally invariant or asymptotically free quantum\ngravitational theory.",
        "positive": "W-Strings 93: We present a review of the status of $W$ string theories, their physical\nspectra, and their interactions. (Based on review talks given at the Trieste\nSpring Workshop, and the Strings 93 meeting at Berkeley, May 1993.)"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Sonoluminescence: Photon production in time dependent analog system: Sonoluminescence is a well known laboratory phenomenon where an oscillating\ngas bubble in the appropriate environment periodically emits a flash of light\nin the visible frequency range. In this submission, we study the system in the\nframework of analog gravity. We model the oscillating bubble in terms of analog\ngeometry and propose a non-minimal coupling prescription of the electromagnetic\nfield with the geometry. The geometry behaves as an analogous oscillating time\ndependent background in which repeated flux of photons are produced in a wide\nfrequency range through parametric resonance from quantum vacuum. Due to our\nnumerical limitation, we could reach the frequency up to $\\sim 10^5\n~\\mbox{m}^{-1}$. However, we numerically fit the spectrum in a polynomial form\nincluding the observed frequency range around $\\sim 10^7 ~\\mbox{m}^{-1}$. Our\ncurrent analysis seems to suggest that parametric resonance in analog\nbackground may play a fundamental role in explaining such phenomena in the\nquantum field theory framework.",
        "positive": "Planck mass and Dilaton field as a function of the noncommutative\n  parameter: A deformed Bianchi type I metric in noncommutative gauge gravity is obtained.\nThe gauge potential (tetrad fields) and scalar curvature are determined up to\nthe second order in the noncommutativity parameters. The noncommutativity\ncorrection to the Einstein-Hilbert action is deduced. We obtain the Planck\nmass, on noncommutative space-time as a function of the noncommutative\nparameter {\\theta}, which implies that noncommutativity has modified the\nstructure and topology of the space-time."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Free energy and entropy in Rindler and de Sitter space-times: We investigate the free energy and entropy of the Gaussian massive scalar\nfield theory in the static de Sitter space-time for arbitrary temperature. For\nthe inverse temperatures of the form $\\beta=2 \\pi 2^k, \\ \\ k\\in \\mathbf{Z}$, in\ncurvature units, we find the explicit form of the free energy and its\nderivatives with respect to the temperature. There are two types of\ncontributions to the free energy: one is of the \"area type\" and can be\nattributed to the horizon, while the other is of the \"volume type\" and is\nassociated with the interior of the space-time. The latter contribution in the\nodd-dimensional case in the limit of the week field (large mass or small Hubble\nconstant) significantly depends on the temperature. Namely, for $ \\beta<2\\pi$,\nthe free energy behaves as $ F^{bulk}_{\\beta} \\sim e^{- \\beta \\, m} $, while\nfor $\\beta>2\\pi$ it behaves as $ F^{bulk}_{\\beta} \\sim e^{- 2 \\, \\pi \\, m}$. We\nalso show that even the leading UV contributions to the free energy\nsignificantly depend on the state of the theory, which is very unusual. We\nexplain the origin and physical meaning of these observations. As the model\nexample we consider the situation in the Rindler wedge of the flat space-time.",
        "positive": "Constraint Dynamics and Gravitons in Three Dimensions: The complete non-linear three-dimensional Einstein gravity with gravitational\nChern-Simons term and cosmological constant are studied in dreibein\nformulation. The constraints and their algebras are computed in an explicit\nform. From counting the number of first and second class constraints, the\nnumber of dynamical degrees of freedom, which equals to the number of\npropagating graviton modes, is found to be 1, \"regardless of\" the value of\ncosmological constant. I note also that the usual equivalence with Chern-Simons\ngauge theory does \"not\" work for general circumstances."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Background field dependence from the Slavnov-Taylor identity in\n  (non-perturbative) Yang-Mills theory: We show that in Yang-Mills theory the Slavnov-Taylor (ST) identity, extended\nin the presence of a background gauge connection, allows to fix in a unique way\nthe dependence of the vertex functional on the background, once the 1-PI\namplitudes at zero background are known. The reconstruction of the background\ndependence is carried out by purely algebraic techniques and therefore can be\napplied in a non-perturbative scheme (e.g. on the lattice or in the\nSchwinger-Dyson approach), provided that the latter preserves the ST identity.\nThe field-antifield redefinition, which replaces the classical\nbackground-quantum splitting when quantum corrections are taken into account,\nis considered on the example of an instanton background in SU(2) Yang-Mills\ntheory.",
        "positive": "Deformations of Lifshitz holography with the Gauss-Bonnet term in\n  ($n+1$) dimensions: We investigate deformations of Gauss-Bonnet-Lifshitz holography in $(n+1)$\ndimensional spacetime. Marginally relevant operators are dynamically generated\nby a momentum scale $\\Lambda \\sim 0$ and correspond to slightly deformed\nGauss-Bonnet-Lifshitz spacetimes via a holographic picture. To admit\n(non-trivial) sub-leading orders of the asymptotic solution for the marginal\nmode, we find that the value of the dynamical critical exponent $z$ is\nrestricted by $z= n-1-2(n-2) \\tilde{\\alpha}$, where $\\tilde{\\alpha}$ is the\n(rescaled) Gauss-Bonnet coupling constant. The generic black hole solution,\nwhich is characterized by the horizon flux of the vector field and\n$\\tilde{\\alpha}$, is obtained in the bulk, and we explore its thermodynamic\nproperties for various values of $n$ and $\\tilde{\\alpha}$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Duality and Self-Duality (Energy Reflection Symmetry) of Quasi-Exactly\n  Solvable Periodic Potentials: A class of spectral problems with a hidden Lie-algebraic structure is\nconsidered. We define a duality transformation which maps the spectrum of one\nquasi-exactly solvable (QES) periodic potential to that of another QES periodic\npotential. The self-dual point of this transformation corresponds to the\nenergy-reflection symmetry found previously for certain QES systems. The\nduality transformation interchanges bands at the bottom (top) of the spectrum\nof one potential with gaps at the top (bottom) of the spectrum of the other,\ndual, potential. Thus, the duality transformation provides an exact mapping\nbetween the weak coupling (perturbative) and semiclassical (nonperturbative)\nsectors.",
        "positive": "A Detailed Study of Bogomol'nyi Equations in Two-Dimensional Generalized\n  Maxwell-Higgs Model Using \\textit{On-Shell} Method: We use a recent {\\it on-shell} Bogomol'nyi method, developed\nin~\\cite{Atmaja:2014fha}, to construct Bogomol'nyi equations of the\ntwo-dimensional generalized Maxwell-Higgs model~\\cite{Bazeia:2012uc}. The\nformalism can generate a large class of Bogomol'nyi equations parametrized by a\nconstant $C_0$. The resulting equations are classified into two types,\ndetermined by $C_0=0$ and $C_0\\neq0$. We identify that the ones obtained by\nBazeia {\\it et al}~\\cite{Bazeia:2012uc} are of the type $C_0=0$. We also\nreveal, as in the case of ordinary vortex, that this theory does not admit\nBogomol'nyi equations in the Bogomol'nyi-Prasad-Sommerfield limit in its\nspectrum. However, when the vacuum energy is lifted up by adding some constant\nto the energy density then the existence of such equation is possible. Another\npossibility whose energy is equal to the vacuum is also discussed in brief. As\na future of the \\textit{on-shell} method, we find another new Bogomol'nyi\nequations, for $C_0\\neq0$, which are related to a non-trivial function defined\nas a difference between energy density of potential term of the scalar field\nand kinetic term of the gauge field."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Information geometry encoded in bulk geometry: We study how information geometry is described by bulk geometry in the\ngauge/gravity correspondence. We consider a quantum information metric that\nmeasures the distance between the ground states of a CFT and a theory obtained\nby perturbing the CFT. We find a universal formula that represents the quantum\ninformation metric in terms of back reaction to the AdS bulk geometry.",
        "positive": "Duality for massive spin two theories in arbitrary dimensions: Using the parent Lagrangian approach we construct a dual formulation, in the\nsense originally proposed by Curtright and Freund, of a massive spin two\nFierz-Pauli theory in arbitrary dimensions $D$. This is achieved in terms of a\nmixed symmetry tensor $T_{A[B_{1}B_{2}... B_{D-2}]}$, without the need of\nauxiliary fields. The relation of this method with an alternative formulation\nbased on a gauge symmetry principle proposed by Zinoviev is elucidated. We show\nthat the latter formulation in four dimensions, with a given gauge fixing\ntogether with a definite sequence of auxiliary fields elimination via their\nequations of motion, leads to the parent Lagrangian already considered by West\ncompleted by a Fierz-Pauli mass term, which in turns yields the\nCurtright-Freund action. This motivates our generalization to arbitrary\ndimensions leading to the corresponding extension of the four dimensional\nresult. We identify the transverse true degrees of freedom of the dual theory\nand verify that their number is in accordance with those of the massive\nFierz-Pauli field."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Causal three-point functions and nonlinear second-order hydrodynamic\n  coefficients in AdS/CFT: In the context of $\\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM, we compute the finite 't Hooft\ncoupling $\\lambda$ correction to the non-linear second-order hydrodynamic\ncoefficient $\\lambda_3$ from a Kubo formula based on fully retarded three-point\nfunctions using AdS/CFT. Although $\\lambda_3$ is known to vanish in the\ninfinite 't Hooft coupling limit, we find that the finite $\\lambda$ correction\nis non-zero. We also present a set of Kubo formulae for the non-linear\ncoefficients $\\lambda_{1,2,3}$, which is more convenient than the one that has\nappeared recently elsewhere.",
        "positive": "Open & Closed vs. Pure Open String Disk Amplitudes: We establish a relation between disk amplitudes involving N_o open and N_c\nclosed strings and disk amplitudes with only N_o+2N_c open strings. This map,\nwhich represents a sort of generalized KLT relation on the disk, reveals\nimportant structures between open & closed and pure open string disk\namplitudes: it relates couplings of brane and bulk string states to pure brane\ncouplings.\n  On the string world-sheet this becomes a non-trivial monodromy problem, which\nreduces the disk amplitude of N_o open and N_c closed strings to a sum of many\ncolor ordered partial subamplitudes of N_o+2N_c open strings. This sum can be\nfurther reduced to a sum over (N_o+2N_c-3)! subamplitudes of N=N_o+2N_c open\nstrings only. Hence, the computation of disk amplitudes involving open and\nclosed strings is reduced to computing these subamplitudes in the open string\nsector.\n  In this sector we find a string theory generalization and proof of the\nKleiss-Kuijf and Bern-Carrasco-Johanson relations: All order alpha' identities\nbetween open string subamplitudes are derived, which reproduce these\nfield-theory relations in the limit alpha'->0. These identities allow to reduce\nthe number of independent subamplitudes of an open string N-point amplitude to\n(N-3)!. This number is identical to the dimension of a minimal basis of\ngeneralized Gaussian hypergeometric functions describing the full N-point open\nstring amplitude."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Energy-dependent topological anti-de Sitter black holes in Gauss-Bonnet\n  Born-Infeld gravity: Employing higher curvature corrections to Einstein--Maxwell gravity has\ngarnered a great deal of attention motivated by the high energy regime in\nquantum nature of black hole physics. In addition, one may employ gravity's\nrainbow to encode quantum gravity effects into the black hole solutions. In\nthis paper, we regard an energy dependent static spacetime with various\ntopologies and study its black hole solutions in the context of Gauss--Bonnet\nBorn--Infeld (GB--BI) gravity. We study thermodynamic properties and examine\nthe first law of thermodynamics. Using suitable local transformation, we endow\nthe Ricci--flat black hole solutions with a global rotation and study the\neffects of rotation on thermodynamic quantities. We also investigate thermal\nstability in canonical ensemble through calculating the heat capacity. We\nobtain the effects of various parameters on the horizon radius of stable black\nholes. Finally, we discuss second order phase transition in the extended phase\nspace thermodynamics and investigate the critical behavior.",
        "positive": "On solvable models of type IIB superstring in NS-NS and R-R plane wave\n  backgrounds: We consider type IIB string in the two plane-wave backgrounds which may be\ninterpreted as special limits of the AdS_3 x S^3 metric supported by either the\nNS-NS or R-R 3-form field. The NS-NS plane-wave string model is equivalent to a\ndirect generalization of the Nappi-Witten model, with its spectrum being\nsimilar to that of strings in constant magnetic field. The R-R model can be\nsolved in the light-cone gauge, where the Green-Schwarz action describes 4\nmassive and 4 massless copies of free bosons and fermions. We find the spectra\nof the two string models and study the asymptotic density of states. We also\ndiscuss a more general class of exactly solvable plane-wave models with reduced\nsupersymmetry which is obtained by adding twists in two spatial 2-planes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "An N=2 gauge theory and its supergravity dual: We study flows on the scalar manifold of N=8 gauged supergravity in five\ndimensions which are dual to certain mass deformations of N=4 super Yang--Mills\ntheory. In particular, we consider a perturbation of the gauge theory by a mass\nterm for the adjoint hyper-multiplet, giving rise to an N=2 theory. The exact\nsolution of the 5-dim gauged supergravity equations of motion is found and the\nmetric is uplifted to a ten-dimensional background of type-IIB supergravity.\nUsing these geometric data and the AdS/CFT correspondence we analyze the\nspectra of certain operators as well as Wilson loops on the dual gauge theory\nside. The physical flows are parametrized by a single non-positive constant and\ndescribe part of the Coulomb branch of the N=2 theory at strong coupling. We\nalso propose a general criterion to distinguish between `physical' and\n`unphysical' curvature singularities. Applying it in many backgrounds arising\nwithin the AdS/CFT correspondence we find results that are in complete\nagreement with field theory expectations.",
        "positive": "Heisenberg versus the Covariant String: A Poincar\\'e multiplet of mass eigenstates $\\bigl(P^2 - m^2\\bigr)\\Psi = 0$\ncannot be a subspace of a space with a $D$-vector position operator\n$X=(X_0,\\dots X_{D-1})$: the Heisenberg algebra $[P^m, X_n] = i \\delta^m{}_n$\nimplies by a simple argument that each Poincar\\'e multiplet of definite mass\nvanishes.\n  The same conclusion follows from the Stone-von Neumann theorem.\n  In a quantum theory the constraint of an absolutely continuous spectrum to a\nlower dimensional submanifold yields zero even if Dirac's treatment of the\ncorresponding classical constraint defines a symplectic submanifold with a\nconsistent corresponding quantum model. Its Hilbert space is not a subspace of\nthe unconstrained theory. Hence the operator relations of the unconstrained\nmodel need not carry over to the constrained model.\n  Our argument excludes quantized worldline models of relativistic particles\nand the physical states of the covariant quantum string.\n  We correct misconceptions about the generators of Lorentz transformations\nacting on particles."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Nonhomogeneous Cooling, Entropic Gravity and MOND Theory: In this paper, by using the holographic principle, a modified equipartition\ntheorem where we assume that below a critical temperature the energy is not\nequally divided on all bits, and the Unruh temperature, we derive MOND theory\nand a modified Friedmann equation compatible with MOND theory. Furthermore, we\nrederive a modified Newton's law of gravitation by employing an adequate\nredefinition of the numbers of bits.",
        "positive": "Emergent spinor fields from exotic spin structures: The classification of emergent spinor fields according to modified bilinear\ncovariants is scrutinized, in spacetimes with nontrivial topology, which induce\ninequivalent spin structures. Extended Clifford algebras, constructed by\nequipping the underlying spacetime with an extended bilinear form with\nadditional terms coming from the nontrivial topology, naturally yield emergent\nextended algebraic spinor fields and their subsequent extended bilinear\ncovariants, which are constructed and contrasted to the classical spinor\nclassification. An unexpected duality between the standard and the exotic\nspinor field classes is therefore established, showing that a complementary\nfusion process among the spinor field classes sets in, when extended Clifford\nbundles are addressed in multiply connected spacetimes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Stochastic Motion of Heavy Quarks in Holography: A Theory-Independent\n  Treatment: Stochastic dynamics play a central role in strongly coupled phenomena. We\npresent and review a theory independent approach in holography to study such\nphenomena. We firstly argue that the heavy quark diffusion occurs in realistic\nstrongly coupled systems. Then we analyze the quantum and thermal fluctuation,\ndissipation and the corresponding Brownian motion of a heavy particle in such\nenvironments for a wide class of theories. The holographic study is based on\nthe properties of the straight string fluctuations. The observables and\ncoefficients associated with the stochastic motion depend on a single parameter\nwhich encodes the properties of the different theories. Moreover, certain\nDp-brane fluctuations can be mapped one-to-one to the string fluctuations and\ntherefore the stochastic brane observables can be read from the string ones.\n  Then we review the Langevin diffusion of a moving heavy quark in generic\nthermal holographic theories. The analysis is based on the properties of the\ntrailing string and its fluctuations. The string world-sheet has a black hole\nhorizon and the quark feels an effective temperature different than the\nenvironmental one. The formulas of the effective temperature, the drag force on\nthe particle and the Langevin coefficients are given in terms of the background\nmetric elements readily applicable to any theory. At the end we comment on the\nbackreaction effects on the medium and present results of the Monte Carlo\nsimulations.",
        "positive": "Local observed time and redshift in curved spacetime: Using the observed time and spatial intervals defined originally by Einstein\nand the observation frame in the vierbein formalism, we propose that in curved\nspacetime, for a wave received in laboratories, the observed frequency is the\nchanging rate of the phase of the wave relative to the local observable time\nscale and the momentum the changing rate of the phase relative to the local\nobservable spatial length scale. The case of Robertson-Walker universe is\nespecially considered."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "D-Brane Boundary States in the Pure Spinor Superstring: We study the construction of D-brane boundary states in the pure spinor\nformalism for the quantisation of the superstring. This is achieved both via a\ndirect analysis of the definition of D-brane boundary states in the pure spinor\nconformal field theory, as well as via comparison between standard RNS and pure\nspinor descriptions of the superstring. Regarding the map between RNS and pure\nspinor formulations of the superstring, we shed new light on the tree level\nzero mode saturation rule. Within the pure spinor formalism we propose an\nexplicit expression for the D-brane boundary state in a flat spacetime\nbackground. While the non-zero mode sector mostly follows from a simple\nunderstanding of the pure spinor conformal field theory, the zero mode sector\nrequires a deeper analysis which is one of the main points in this work. With\nthe construction of the boundary states at hand, we give a prescription for\ncalculating scattering amplitudes in the presence of a D-brane. Finally, we\nalso briefly discuss the coupling to the world-volume gauge field and show that\nthe D-brane low-energy effective action is correctly reproduced.",
        "positive": "Weak Scale in Heterotic String: We investigate the possibility of lowering the string scale in four\ndimensional heterotic models possessing a non-perturbative extension of the\ngauge group. In particular, we consider a class of compactifications in which\nthe perturbative gauge sector is massive, and all the gauge bosons are\nnon-perturbative, with a coupling independent on the Planck and string scales."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Renormalization in Nonrelativistic Quantum Mechanics: The importance and usefulness of renormalization are emphasized in\nnonrelativistic quantum mechanics. The momentum space treatment of both\ntwo-body bound state and scattering problems involving some potentials singular\nat the origin exhibits ultraviolet divergence. The use of renormalization\ntechniques in these problems leads to finite converged results for both the\nexact and perturbative solutions. The renormalization procedure is carried out\nfor the quantum two-body problem in different partial waves for a minimal\npotential possessing only the threshold behavior and no form factors. The\nrenormalized perturbative and exact solutions for this problem are found to be\nconsistent with each other. The useful role of the renormalization group\nequations for this problem is also pointed out.",
        "positive": "Matrix Model and Time-like Linear Dilaton Matter: We consider a matrix model description of the 2d string theory whose matter\npart is given by a time-like linear dilaton CFT. This is equivalent to the c=1\nmatrix model with a deformed, but very simple fermi surface. Indeed, after a\nLorentz transformation, the corresponding 2d spacetime is a conventional linear\ndilaton background with a time-dependent tachyon field. We show that the tree\nlevel scattering amplitudes in the matrix model perfectly agree with those\ncomputed in the world-sheet theory. The classical trajectories of fermions\ncorrespond to the decaying D-branes in the time-like linear dilaton CFT. We\nalso discuss the ground ring structure. Furthermore, we study the properties of\nthe time-like Liouville theory by applying this matrix model description. We\nfind that its ground ring structure is very similar to that of the minimal\nstring."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Permutation branes and linear matrix factorisations: All the known rational boundary states for Gepner models can be regarded as\npermutation branes. On general grounds, one expects that topological branes in\nGepner models can be encoded as matrix factorisations of the corresponding\nLandau-Ginzburg potentials. In this paper we identify the matrix factorisations\nassociated to arbitrary B-type permutation branes.",
        "positive": "The Perturbative Calculation of the Spin-Spin Correlation Function in\n  the Two Dimensional Ising Model: Using the variational formula for operator product coefficients a method for\nperturbative calculation of the short-distance expansion of the Spin-Spin\ncorrelation function in the two dimensional Ising model is presented. Results\nof explicit calculation up to third order agree with known results from the\nscaling limit of the lattice calculation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hydrodynamic Vortices and their Gravity Duals: In this talk we review analytical and numerical studies of hydrodynamic\nvortices in conformal fluids and their gravity duals. We present two\nconclusions. First, (3+1)-dimensional turbulence is within the range of\nvalidity of the AdS/hydrodynamics correspondence. Second, the local equilibrium\nof the fluid is equivalent to the ultralocality of the holographic\ncorrespondence, in the sense that the bulk data at a given point is determined,\nto any given precision, by the boundary data at a single point together with a\nfixed number of derivatives. With this criterion we see that the cores of hot\nand slow (3+1)-dimensional conformal generalizations of Burgers vortices are\neverywhere in local equilibrium and their gravity duals are thus easily found.\nOn the other hand local equilibrium breaks down in the core of singular\n(2+1)-dimensional vortices, but the holographic correspondence with Einstein\ngravity may be used to define the boundary field theory in the region in which\nthe hydrodynamic description fails.",
        "positive": "Operator bases, $S$-matrices, and their partition functions: Relativistic quantum systems that admit scattering experiments are\nquantitatively described by effective field theories, where $S$-matrix\nkinematics and symmetry considerations are encoded in the operator spectrum of\nthe EFT. In this paper we use the $S$-matrix to derive the structure of the EFT\noperator basis, providing complementary descriptions in (i) position space\nutilizing the conformal algebra and cohomology and (ii) momentum space via an\nalgebraic formulation in terms of a ring of momenta with kinematics implemented\nas an ideal. These frameworks systematically handle redundancies associated\nwith equations of motion (on-shell) and integration by parts (momentum\nconservation).\n  We introduce a partition function, termed the Hilbert series, to enumerate\nthe operator basis--correspondingly, the $S$-matrix--and derive a matrix\nintegral expression to compute the Hilbert series. The expression is general,\neasily applied in any spacetime dimension, with arbitrary field content and\n(linearly realized) symmetries.\n  In addition to counting, we discuss construction of the basis. Simple\nalgorithms follow from the algebraic formulation in momentum space. We\nexplicitly compute the basis for operators involving up to $n=5$ scalar fields.\nThis construction universally applies to fields with spin, since the operator\nbasis for scalars encodes the momentum dependence of $n$-point amplitudes.\n  We discuss in detail the operator basis for non-linearly realized symmetries.\nIn the presence of massless particles, there is freedom to impose additional\nstructure on the $S$-matrix in the form of soft limits. The most na\\\"ive\nimplementation for massless scalars leads to the operator basis for pions,\nwhich we confirm using the standard CCWZ formulation for non-linear\nrealizations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exact expressions for $n$-point maximal $U(1)_Y$-violating integrated\n  correlators in $SU(N)$ $\\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM: The exact expressions for integrated maximal $U(1)_Y$ violating (MUV)\n$n$-point correlators in $SU(N)$ ${\\mathcal N}=4$ supersymmetric Yang--Mills\ntheory are determined. The analysis generalises previous results on the\nintegrated correlator of four superconformal primaries and is based on\nsupersymmetric localisation. The integrated correlators are functions of $N$\nand $\\tau=\\theta/(2\\pi)+4\\pi i/g_{_{YM}}^2$, and are expressed as\ntwo-dimensional lattice sums that are modular forms with holomorphic and\nanti-holomorphic weights $(w,-w)$ where $w=n-4$. The correlators satisfy\nLaplace-difference equations that relate the $SU(N+1)$, $SU(N)$ and $SU(N-1)$\nexpressions and generalise the equations previously found in the $w=0$ case.\nThe correlators can be expressed as infinite sums of Eisenstein modular forms\nof weight $(w,-w)$. For any fixed value of $N$ the perturbation expansion of\nthis correlator is found to start at order $( g_{_{YM}}^2 N)^w$. The\ncontributions of Yang--Mills instantons of charge $k>0$ are of the form $q^k\\,\nf(g_{_{YM}})$, where $q=e^{2\\pi i \\tau}$ and $f(g_{_{YM}})= O(g_{_{YM}}^{-2w})$\nwhen $g_{_{YM}}^2 \\ll 1$. Anti-instanton contributions have charge $k<0$ and\nare of the form $\\bar q^{|k|} \\, \\hat f(g_{_{YM}})$, where $\\hat f(g_{_{YM}}) =\nO(g_{_{YM}}^{2w})$ when $g_{_{YM}}^2 \\ll 1$. Properties of the large-$N$\nexpansion are in agreement with expectations based on the low energy expansion\nof flat-space type IIB superstring amplitudes. We also comment on the\nidentification of $n$-point free-field MUV correlators with the integrands of\n$(n-4)$-loop perturbative contributions to the four-point correlator. In\nparticular, we emphasise the important r\\^ole of $SL(2, \\mathbb{Z})$-covariance\nin the construction.",
        "positive": "Non-Perturbative Particle Dynamics: We construct a non-perturbative, single-valued solution for the metric and\nthe motion of two interacting particles in ($2+1$)-Gravity, by using a Coulomb\ngauge of conformal type. The method provides the mapping from multivalued (\nminkowskian ) coordinates to single-valued ones, which solves the non-abelian\nmonodromies due to particles's momenta and can be applied also to the general\nN-body case."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On generalized Melvin solutions for Lie algebras of rank 3: Generalized Melvin solutions for rank-$3$ Lie algebras $A_3$, $B_3$ and $C_3$\nare considered. Any solution contains metric, three Abelian 2-forms and three\nscalar fields. It is governed by three moduli functions $H_1(z),H_2(z),H_3(z)$\n($z = \\rho^2$ and $\\rho$ is a radial variable), obeying three differential\nequations with certain boundary conditions imposed. These functions are\npolynomials with powers $(n_1,n_2, n_3) = (3,4,3), (6,10,6), (5,8,9)$ for Lie\nalgebras $A_3$, $B_3$, $C_3$, respectively. The solutions depend upon\nintegration constants $q_1, q_2, q_3 \\neq 0$.\n  The power-law asymptotic relations for polynomials at large $z$ are governed\nby integer-valued $3 \\times 3$ matrix $\\nu$, which coincides with twice the\ninverse Cartan matrix $2 A^{-1}$ for Lie algebras $B_3$ and $C_3$, while in the\n$A_3$ case $\\nu = A^{-1} (I + P)$, where $I$ is the identity matrix and $P$ is\na permutation matrix, corresponding to a generator of the $\\mathbb{Z}_2$-group\nof symmetry of the Dynkin diagram. The duality identities for polynomials and\nasymptotic relations for solutions at large distances are obtained. 2-form flux\nintegrals over a $2$-dimensional disc of radius $R$ and corresponding Wilson\nloop factors over a circle of radius $R$ are presented.",
        "positive": "Finite Density Effect in the Gross-Neveu Model in a Weakly Curved\n  $R^1\\times S^2$ Spacetime: The three-dimensional Gross-Neveu model in $R^{1} \\times S^{2}$ spacetime is\nconsidered at finite particles number density. We evaluate an effective\npotential of the composite scalar field $\\sigma(x)$, which is expressed in\nterms of a scalar curvature $R$ and nonzero chemical potential $\\mu$. We then\nderive the critical values of $(R,\\mu)$ at which the system undergoes the first\norder phase transition from the phase with broken chiral invariance to the\nsymmetric phase."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A ${\\bf Z_2}$ Structure in the Configuration Space of Yang-Mills\n  Theories: We argue for the presence of a ${\\bf Z}_2$ topological structure in the space\nof static gauge-Higgs field configurations of $SU(2n)$ and $SO(2n)$ Yang-Mills\ntheories. We rigorously prove the existence of a ${\\bf Z}_2$ homotopy group of\nmappings from the 2-dim. projective sphere ${\\bf R}P^2$ into $SU(2n)/{\\bf Z}_2$\nand $SO(2n)/{\\bf Z}_2$ Lie groups respectively. Consequently the symmetric\nphase of these theories admits infinite surfaces of odd-parity static and\nunstable gauge field configurations which divide into two disconnected sectors\nwith integer Chern-Simons numbers $n$ and $n+1/2$ respectively. Such a ${\\bf\nZ}_2$ structure persists in the Higgs phase of the above theories and accounts\nfor the existence of $CS=1/2$ odd-parity saddle point solutions to the field\nequations which correspond to spontaneous symmetry breaking mass scales.",
        "positive": "AdS/CFT and Randall-Sundrum Model Without a Brane: We reformulate the Randall-Sundrum (RS) model on the compactified AdS by\nadding a term proportional to the area of the boundary to the usual gravity\naction with a negative cosmological constant and show that gravity can still be\nlocalized on the boundary without introducing singular brane sources. The\nboundary conditions now follow from the field equations, which are obtained by\nletting the induced metric vary on the boundary. This approach gives similar\nmodes that are obtained in [1] and clarifies the complementarity of the RS and\nthe AdS/CFT pictures. Normalizability of these modes is checked by an\ninner-product in the space of linearized perturbations. The same conclusions\nhold for a massless scalar field in the bulk."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Ring wormholes via duality rotations: We apply duality rotations and complex transformations to the Schwarzschild\nmetric to obtain wormhole geometries with two asymptotically flat regions\nconnected by a throat. In the simplest case these are the well-known wormholes\nsupported by phantom scalar field. Further duality rotations remove the scalar\nfield to yield less well known vacuum metrics of the oblate Zipoy-Voorhees-Weyl\nclass, which describe ring wormholes. The ring encircles the wormhole throat\nand can have any radius, whereas its tension is always negative and should be\nless than $-c^4/4G$. If the tension reaches the maximal value, the geometry\nbecomes exactly flat, but the topology remains non-trivial and corresponds to\ntwo copies of Minkowski space glued together along the disk encircled by the\nring. The geodesics are straight lines, and those which traverse the ring get\nto the other universe. The ring therefore literally produces a hole in space.\nSuch wormholes could perhaps be created by negative energies concentrated in\ntoroidal volumes, for example by vacuum fluctuations.",
        "positive": "Thouless energy in QCD and effects of diffusion modes on level\n  correlations of Dirac operator: The correlations of the QCD Dirac eigenvalues are studied with use of an\nextended chiral random matrix model. The inclusion of spatial dependence which\nthe original model lacks enables us to investigate the effects of diffusion\nmodes. We get analytical expressions of level correlation functions with\nnon-universal behavior caused by diffusion modes which is characterized by\nThouless energy. Pion mode is shown to be responsible for these diffusion\neffects when QCD vacuum is considered a disordered medium."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Partition functions of chiral gauge theories on the two dimensional\n  torus and their duality properties: Two different families of abelian chiral gauge theories on the torus are\ninvestigated: the aim is to test the consistency of two-dimensional anomalous\ngauge theories in the presence of global degrees of freedom for the gauge\nfield. An explicit computation of the partition functions shows that unitarity\nis recovered in particular regions of parameter space and that the effective\ndynamics is described in terms of fermionic interacting models. For the first\nfamily, this connection with fermionic models uncovers an exact duality which\nis conjectured to hold in the nonabelian case as well.",
        "positive": "Cohomology and Decomposition of Tensor Product Representations of\n  SL(2,R): We analyze the decomposition of tensor products between infinite dimensional\n(unitary) and finite-dimensional (non-unitary) representations of SL(2,R).\nUsing classical results on indefinite inner product spaces, we derive explicit\ndecomposition formulae, true modulo a natural cohomological reduction, for the\ntensor products."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Classical dynamical $r$-matrices for the Chern-Simons formulation of\n  generalised 3d gravity: Classical dynamical $r$-matrices arise naturally in the combinatorial\ndescription of the phase space of Chern-Simons theories, either through the\ninclusion of dynamical sources or through a gauge-fixing procedure involving\ntwo punctures. Here we consider classical dynamical $r$-matrices for the family\nof Lie algebras which arise in the Chern-Simons formulation of 3d gravity, for\nany value of the cosmological constant. We derive differential equations for\nclassical dynamical $r$-matrices in this case, and show that they can be viewed\nas generalised complexifications, in a sense which we define, of the equations\ngoverning dynamical $r$-matrices for $\\mathfrak{su}(2)$ and\n$\\mathfrak{sl}(2,\\mathbb{R})$. We obtain explicit families of solutions and\nrelate them, via Weierstrass factorisation, to solutions found by Feher, Gabor,\nMarshall, Palla and Pusztai in the context of chiral WZWN models.",
        "positive": "Low-Energy Kahler Potentials in Supersymmetric Gauge Theories with\n  (ALMOST) Flat Directions: We derive the supersymmetric low-energy effective theory of the D-flat\ndirections of a supersymmetric gauge theory. The Kahler potential of Affleck,\nDine and Seiberg is derived by applying holomorphic constraints which\nmanifestly maintain supersymmetry. We also present a simple procedure for\ncalculating all derivatives of the Kahler potential at points on the flat\ndirection manifold. Together with knowledge of the superpotential, these are\nsufficient for a complete determination of the spectrum and the interactions of\nthe light degrees of freedom. We illustrate the method on the example of a\nchiral abelian model, and comment on its application to more complicated\ncalculable models with dynamical supersymmetry breaking."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Born-Infeld Gravity with a Unique Vacuum and a Massless Graviton: We construct an n-dimensional Born-Infeld type gravity theory that has the\nsame properties as Einstein's gravity in terms of the vacuum and particle\ncontent: Namely, the theory has a unique viable vacuum (maximally symmetric\nsolution) and a single massless unitary spin-2 graviton about this vacuum. The\nBI gravity, in some sense, is the most natural, minimal generalization of\nEinstein's gravity with a better UV behavior, and hence, is a potentially\nviable proposal for low energy quantum gravity. The Gauss-Bonnet combination\nplays a non-trivial role in the construction of the theory. As an extreme\nexample, we consider the infinite dimensional limit where an interesting\nexponential gravity arises.",
        "positive": "Nonlinear Magnetohydrodynamics from Gravity: We apply the recently established connection between nonlinear fluid dynamics\nand AdS gravity to the case of the dyonic black brane in AdS_4. This yields the\nequations of fluid dynamics for a 2+1 dimensional charged fluid in a background\nmagnetic field. We construct the gravity solution to second order in the\nderivative expansion. From this we find the fluid dynamical stress tensor and\ncharge current to second and third order in derivatives respectively, along\nwith values for the associated transport coefficients."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A minimalistic pure spinor sigma-model in AdS: The $b$-ghost of the pure spinor formalism in a general curved background is\nnot holomorphic. For such theories, the construction of the string measure\nrequires the knowledge of the action of diffeomorphisms on the BV phase space.\nWe construct such an action for the pure spinor sigma-model in $AdS_5\\times\nS^5$. From the point of view of the BV formalism, this sigma-model belongs to\nthe class of theories where the expansion of the Master Action in antifields\nterminates at the quadratic order. We show that it can be reduced to a simpler\ndegenerate sigma-model, preserving the AdS symmetries. We construct the action\nof the algebra of worldsheet vector fields on the BV phase space of this\nminimalistic sigma-model, and explain how to lift it to the original model.",
        "positive": "Decompactification near the horizon and non-vanishing entropy: Intersecting D-brane configurations are related to black holes in D=4. Using\nthe standard way of compactification only the Reissner-Nordstr{\\o}m black hole\nis non-singular. In this paper we argue, that also the other black holes are\nnon-singular if i) we compactify over a periodic array and ii) we allow the\nstring metric after reaching a critical curvature to choose the dual geometry.\nEffectively this means that near the horizon the solution completely\ndecompactifies and chooses a non-singular D-brane configuration."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic Entropy Production: The suspicion that gravity is holographic has been supported mainly by a\nvariety of specific examples from string theory. In this paper, we propose that\nsuch a holography can actually be observed in the context of Einstein's gravity\nand at least a class of generalized gravitational theories, based on a definite\nholographic principle where neither is the bulk space-time required to be\nasymptotically AdS nor the boundary to be located at conformal infinity,\nechoing Wilson's formulation of quantum field theory. After showing the general\nequilibrium thermodynamics from the corresponding holographic dictionary, in\nparticular, we provide a rather general proof of the equality between the\nentropy production on the boundary and the increase of black hole entropy in\nthe bulk, which can be regarded as strong support to this holographic\nprinciple. The entropy production in the familiar holographic\nsuperconductors/superfluids is investigated as an important example, where the\nrole played by the holographic renormalization is explained.",
        "positive": "Fluid-gravity and membrane-gravity dualities - Comparison at subleading\n  orders: In this note we have compared two different perturbation techniques that\ncould be used to generate solutions of Einstein's equations in presence of\nnegative cosmological constant. One of these two methods is derivative\nexpansion and the other is an expansion in inverse powers of dimension. Both\nthe techniques generate space-time with a singularity shielded by a dynamical\nevent horizon. We have shown that in the appropriate regime of parameter space\nand with appropriate choice of coordinates, the metrics and corresponding\nhorizon dynamics, generated by these two different techniques, are exactly\nequal to the order the solutions are known both sides. This work is essentially\nextension of \\cite{prevwork} where the authors have shown the equivalence of\nthe two techniques up to the first non-trivial order."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The particle number in Galilean holography: Recently, gravity duals for certain Galilean-invariant conformal field\ntheories have been constructed. In this paper, we point out that the spectrum\nof the particle number operator in the examples found so far is not a necessary\nconsequence of the existence of a gravity dual. We record some progress towards\nmore realistic spectra. In particular, we construct bulk systems with\nasymptotic Schrodinger symmetry and only one extra dimension. In examples, we\nfind solutions which describe these Schrodinger-symmetric systems at finite\ndensity. A lift to M-theory is used to resolve a curvature singularity. As a\nhappy byproduct of this analysis, we realize a state which could be called a\nholographic Mott insulator.",
        "positive": "On the Integrability of the Bukhvostov-Lipatov Model: The integrability of the Bukhvostov-Lipatov four-fermion model is\ninvestigated. It is shown that the classical model possesses a current of\nLorentz spin 3, conserved both in the bulk and on the half-line for specific\ntypes of boundary actions. It is then established that the conservation law is\nspoiled at the quantum level -- a fact that might indicate that the quantum\nBukhvostov-Lipatov model is not integrable, contrary to what was previously\nbelieved."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetry in the Non-Commutative Plane: The supersymmetric extension of a model introduced by Lukierski, Stichel and\nZakrewski in the non-commutative plane is studied. The Noether charges\nassociated to the symmetries are determined. Their Poisson algebra is\ninvestigated in the Ostrogradski--Dirac formalism for constrained Hamiltonian\nsystems. It is shown to provide a supersymmetric generalization of the Galilei\nalgebra with a two-dimensional central extension.",
        "positive": "Supersymmetric theories on squashed five-sphere: We construct supersymmetric theories on the SU(3)xU(1) symmetric squashed\nfive-sphere with 2, 4, 6, and 12 supercharges. We first determine the Killing\nequation by dimensional reduction from 6d, and use Noether procedure to\nconstruct actions. The supersymmetric Yang-Mills action is straightforwardly\nobtained from the supersymmetric Chern-Simons action by using a supersymmetry\npreserving constant vector multiplet."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Black Holes, Dark Wormholes and Solitons in f(T) Gravities: By choosing an appropriate vielbein basis, we obtain a class of\nspherically-symmetric solutions in $f(T)$ gravities. The solutions are\nasymptotic to Minkowski spacetimes with leading falloffs the same as those of\nthe Schwarzschild black hole. In general, these solutions have branch-cut\nsingularities in the middle. For appropriately chosen $f(T)$ functions,\nextremal black holes can also emerge. Furthermore, we obtain wormhole\nconfigurations whose spatial section is analogous to an Ellis wormhole, but\n$-g_{tt}$ runs from 0 to 1 as the proper radial coordinate runs from $-\\infty$\nto $+\\infty$. Thus a signal sent from $-\\infty$ to $+\\infty$ through the\nwormhole will be infinitely red-shifted. We call such a spacetime configuration\na dark wormhole. By introducing a bare cosmological constant $\\Lambda_0$, we\nconstruct smooth solitons that are asymptotic to local AdS with an effective\n$\\Lambda_{\\rm eff}$. In the middle of bulk, the soliton metric behaves like the\nAdS of bare $\\Lambda_0$ in global coordinates. We also embed AdS planar and\nLifshitz black holes in $f(T)$ gravities. Finally we couple the Maxwell field\nto the $f(T)$ theories and construct electrically-charged solutions.",
        "positive": "On Geometric Transitions in String Compactifications: We reconsider the study of the geometric transitions and brane/flux dualities\nin various dimensions. We first give toric interpretations of the topology\nchanging transitions in the Calabi-Yau conifold and the $Spin(7)$ manifold. The\nlatter, for instance, can be viewed as three intersecting Calabi-Yau conifolds\naccording to $\\cp^2$ toric graph. Orbifolds of such geometries are given in\nterms of del Pezzo complex surfaces. Second we propose a four-dimensional\nF-theory interpretation of type IIB geometric transitions on the Calabi-Yau\nconifold. This gives a dual description of the M-theory flop in terms of toric\nmirror symmetry. In two dimensions, we study the geometric transition in a\nsingular $Spin(7)$ manifold constructed as a cone on SU(3)/U(1). In particular,\nwe discuss brane/flux duality in such a compactification in both type IIA and\ntype IIB superstrings. These examples preserve one supercharge and so have\n${\\cal N}= 1/2$ supersymmetry in two dimensions. Then, an interpretation in\nterms of F-theory is given."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Worldline Path Integrals for Fermions with Scalar, Pseudoscalar and\n  Vector Couplings: A systematic derivation is given of the worldline path integrals for the\neffective action of a multiplet of Dirac fermions interacting with general\nmatrix-valued classical background scalar, pseudoscalar, and vector gauge\nfields. The first path integral involves worldline fermions with antiperiodic\nboundary conditions on the worldline loop and generates the real part of the\none loop (Euclidean) effective action. The second path integral involves\nworldline fermions with periodic boundary conditions and generates the\nimaginary part of the (Euclidean) effective action, i.e. the phase of the\nfermion functional determinant. Here we also introduce a new regularization for\nthe phase of functional determinants resembling a heat-kernel regularization.\nCompared to the known special cases, our worldline Lagrangians have a number of\nnew interaction terms; the validity of some of these terms is checked in\nperturbation theory. In particular, we obtain the leading order contribution\n(in the heavy mass expansion) to the Wess-Zumino-Witten term, which generates\nthe chiral anomaly.",
        "positive": "Duality Symmetries for N=2 Supersymmetric QCD with Vanishing\n  beta-Functions: We construct the duality groups for N=2 Supersymmetric QCD with gauge group\nSU(2n+1) and N_f=4n+2 hypermultiplets in the fundamental representation. The\ngroups are generated by two elements $S$ and $T$ that satisfy a relation\n$(STS^{-1}T)^{2n+1}=1$. Thus, the groups are not subgroups of $SL(2,Z)$. We\nalso construct automorphic functions that map the fundamental region of the\ngroup generated by $T$ and $STS$ to the Riemann sphere. These automorphic\nfunctions faithfully represent the duality symmetry in the Seiberg-Witten\ncurve."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Schwinger-Dyson approach to Liouville Field Theory: We discuss Liouville field theory in the framework of Schwinger-Dyson\napproach and derive a functional equation for the three-point structure\nconstant. We argue the existence of a second Schwinger-Dyson equation on the\nbasis of the duality between the screening charge operators and obtain a second\nfunctional equation for the structure constant. We discuss the utility of the\ntwo functional equations to fix the structure constant uniquely.",
        "positive": "Back Reaction to Rotating Detector: It has been a puzzle that rotating detector may respond even in the\nappropriate vacuum defined via canonical quantization. We solve this puzzle by\ntaking back reaction of the detector into account. The influence of the back\nreaction, even in the detector's mass infinite limit, appears in the response\nfunction. It makes the detector possible to respond in the vacuum if the\ndetector is rotating, though the detector in linear uniform motion never\nrespond in the vacuum as expected from Poincare invariance."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Conformal Invariance in the Long-Range Ising Model: We consider the question of conformal invariance of the long-range Ising\nmodel at the critical point. The continuum description is given in terms of a\nnonlocal field theory, and the absence of a stress tensor invalidates all of\nthe standard arguments for the enhancement of scale invariance to conformal\ninvariance. We however show that several correlation functions, computed to\nsecond order in the epsilon expansion, are nontrivially consistent with\nconformal invariance. We proceed to give a proof of conformal invariance to all\norders in the epsilon expansion, based on the description of the long-range\nIsing model as a defect theory in an auxiliary higher-dimensional space. A\ndetailed review of conformal invariance in the d-dimensional short-range Ising\nmodel is also included and may be of independent interest.",
        "positive": "On three-point functions in ABJM and the latitude Wilson loop: I consider three-point functions of twist-one operators in ABJM at weak\ncoupling. I compute the structure constant of correlators involving one\ntwist-one un-protected operator and two protected ones for a few finite values\nof the spin, up to two-loop order. As an application I enforce a limit on the\ngauge group ranks, in which I relate the structure constant for three chiral\nprimary operators to the expectation value of a supersymmetric Wilson loop.\nSuch a relation is then used to perform a successful five-loop test on the\nmatrix model conjectured to describe the supersymmetric Wilson loop."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Perturbations of General Relativity to All Orders and the General\n  $n^{\\rm th}$ Order Terms: We derive all-order expressions for perturbations of the Einstein-Hilbert\naction and the Einstein equation with the general $n$-th order terms. To this\nend, we employ Cheung and Remmen's perturbation conventions both in tensor\ndensity and the usual metric tensor formalisms, including the Einstein-dilaton\ntheory. Remarkably, we find minimal building blocks that generate the entire\nperturbations for each of our formulations. We show that the number of terms of\nperturbations grows linearly as the order of perturbations increases. We regard\nour results as the reference and discuss how to derive perturbations in other\nconventions from the reference. As a consistency check, we compute graviton\nscattering amplitudes using the perturbiner method based on the perturbative\nEinstein equation. Finally we discuss how to generalise the results to curved\nbackgrounds and incorporate additional matter.",
        "positive": "Basic quantizations of $D=4$ Euclidean, Lorentz, Kleinian and\n  quaternionic $\\mathfrak{o}^{\\star}(4)$ symmetries: We construct firstly the complete list of five quantum deformations of $D=4$\ncomplex homogeneous orthogonal Lie algebra $\\mathfrak{o}(4;\\mathbb{C})\\cong\n\\mathfrak{o}(3;\\mathbb{C})\\oplus \\mathfrak{o}(3;\\mathbb{C})$, describing\nquantum rotational symmetry of four-dimensional complex space-time, in\nparticular we provide the corresponding universal quantum $R$-matrices. Further\napplying four possible reality conditions we obtain all sixteen Hopf-algebraic\nquantum deformations for the real forms of $\\mathfrak{o}(4;\\mathbb{C})$:\nEuclidean $\\mathfrak{o}(4)$, Lorentz $\\mathfrak{o}(3,1)$, Kleinian\n$\\mathfrak{o}(2,2)$ and quaternionic $\\mathfrak{o}^{\\star}(4)$. For\n$\\mathfrak{o}(3,1)$ we only recall well-known results obtained previously by\nthe authors, but for other real Lie algebras (Euclidean, Kleinian,\nquaternionic) as well as for the complex Lie algebra\n$\\mathfrak{o}(4;\\mathbb{C})$ we present new results."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Review of Open Superstring Field Theory: I review the construction of an action for open superstring field theory\nwhich does not suffer from the contact term problems of other approaches. This\naction resembles a Wess-Zumino-Witten action and can be constructed in a\nmanifestly D=4 super-Poincar\\'e covariant manner. This review is based on\nlectures given at the ICTP Latin-American String School in Mexico City and the\nKomaba 2000 Workshop in Tokyo.",
        "positive": "Nontrivial realization of the space-time translations in the theory of\n  quantum fields: In standard quantum field theory, the one-particle states are classified by\nunitary representations of the Poincar\\'e group, whereas the causal fields'\nclassification employs the finite dimensional (non-unitary) representations of\nthe (homogeneous) Lorentz group. A natural question arises - why the fields are\nnot allowed to transform nontrivially under translations? We investigate this\nissue by considering the fields that transform under the full representation of\nthe Poincar\\'e group. It follows that such fields can be consistently\nconstructed, although the Lagrangians that describe them necessarily exhibit\nexplicit dependence on the space-time coordinates. The two examples of the\nPoincar\\'e-spinor and the Poincar\\'e-vector fields are considered in details.\nThe inclusion of Yang--Mills type interactions is considered on the simplest\nexample of the U(1) gauge theory. The generalization to the non-abelian case is\nstraightforward so long as the action of the gauge group on fields is\nindependent of the action of the Poincar\\'e group. This is the case for all the\nknown interactions but gravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Interpolation of partial and full supersymmetry breakings in $\\cal{N} =\n  2$ supergravity: We discuss an $\\cal{N}=2$ supergravity model that interpolates the full and\nthe partial supersymmetry breakings. In particular, we find the conditions for\nan $\\cal{N}=0$ Minkowski vacuum, which is continuously connected to the\npartial-breaking ($\\cal{N}=1$ preserving) one. The model contains multiple\n(Abelian) vector multiplets and a single hypermultiplet, and is constructed by\nemploying the embedding tensor technique. We compute the mass spectrum on the\nMinkowski vacuum, and find some non-trivial mass relations among the massive\nfields. Our model allows us to choose the two supersymmetry-breaking scales\nindependently, and to discuss the cascade supersymmetry breaking for the\napplications to particle phenomenology and cosmology.",
        "positive": "Strong/weak duality symmetries for Jacobi--Gordon field theory through\n  elliptic functions: By using the scheme of Jacobi elliptic functions with their duality\nsymmetries we present a formulation of the Jacobi- Gordon field theory that\nwill manifest the strong/weak coupling duality at classical level; for certain\ncontinuous limits for the elliptic modulus the model will reduce to the\nstandard sin/sinh Gordon field theories, for which such a strong/weak duality\nis known only at the level of the S-matrix. It is shown that the so called\nself-dual point for the standard sin/sinh Gordon field theory that divides the\nstrong and the weak coupling regimes, corresponds only to one point of a set of\nfixed points under the duality transformations for the elliptic functions. The\npotentials constructed in terms of elliptic functions have a critical behavior\nnear that self-dual point, showing a change of topology; in the weak coupling\nregime the vacuum topology implies that there exists the possibility of\nformation of topological defects, and in the strong regime coupling there no\nexists the possibility of formation of those defects. Furthermore, the\nequations of motion can be solved in exact form in terms of the inverse\nelliptic functions; in a case the kink-like solitons asso\\-cia\\-ted with the\nmaxima of the potential can decay to cusp-like solitons associated with the\nminima. The polynomial expansions of the generalized models show a critical\nbehavior at certain self-dual points; such points define the regions where the\nspontaneous symmetry breaking scenarios are po\\-ssi\\-ble. By invoking the\nduality symmetries for the elliptic functions, an explicit relation between the\noriginal potentials and their dual versions are constructed; with this\nrelationship,\n  an approaching to a specific self-dual point is considered for our\ngeneralized models."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Higgs phases at non-zero density from holography: We show how Higgs phases at non-zero density can be described using a simple\nanalytic method for gauge theories possessing a holographic dual. We introduce\nco-dimension one branes in a bottom-up gravity dual that are sources of form\nflux, such that the effective curvature radius is changed when the brane is\ncrossed. This mimics the expected flow produced by color branes nucleating in a\ntop-down model.",
        "positive": "Semiclassical short strings in AdS_5 x S^5: We present results for the one-loop correction to the energy of a class of\nstring solutions in AdS_5 x S^5 in the short string limit. The computation is\nbased on the observation that, as for rigid spinning string elliptic solutions,\nthe fluctuation operators can be put into the single-gap Lame' form. Our\ncomputation reveals a remarkable universality of the form of the energy of\nshort semiclassical strings. This may help to understand better the structure\nof the strong coupling expansion of the anomalous dimensions of dual gauge\ntheory operators."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Correction to the Hamiltonian of the QCD String with Quarks due to the\n  Rigidity Term: A correction to the Hamiltonian of the quark-antiquark system, arising due to\nthe rigidity term in the gluodynamics string effective action, is obtained.\nThis correction contains additional contributions to the orbital momentum of\nthe system and several higher derivative operators. With the help of the\nderived Hamiltonian a rigid string-induced term in the Hamiltonian of the\nrelativistic quark model is evaluated for the case of large masses of a quark\nand antiquark.",
        "positive": "Feshbach-Villars oscillator (FVO) in Kaluza-Klein Theory (KKT): This research investigates the relativistic quantum dynamics of spin-0 scalar\nmassive charged particles via the relativistic Feshbach-Villars oscillator in\nthe background of the Kaluza-Klein Theory. We solve the Feshbach-Villars\nequation in the abckground of a cosmic string spec-time in the context of the\nKaluza-Klein and presented the eigenvalue solution. Afterward, we rewrite this\nsystem in the case of the Feshbach-Villars quantum oscillator and obtain the\neigenvalue analytically. Finally, we study the interaction of the\nFeshbach-Villars equation and oscillator in a cosmic dislocation in the\nSom-Raychaudhuri in the context of the Kaluza-Klein Theory and solve the wave\nequation analytically. We analyze the influence of topological defect in the\nquantification of energy and wave function of the Feshbach-Villars oscillator\nand with the external fields in the last one"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Celestial $w_{1+\\infty}$ Symmetries from Twistor Space: We explain how twistor theory represents the self-dual sector of four\ndimensional gravity in terms of the loop group of Poisson diffeomorphisms of\nthe plane via Penrose's non-linear graviton construction. The symmetries of the\nself-dual sector are generated by the corresponding loop algebra\n$Lw_{1+\\infty}$ of the algebra $w_{1+\\infty}$ of these Poisson diffeomorphisms.\nWe show that these coincide with the infinite tower of soft graviton symmetries\nin tree-level perturbative gravity recently discovered in the context of\ncelestial amplitudes. We use a twistor sigma model for the self-dual sector\nwhich describes maps from the Riemann sphere to the asymptotic twistor space\ndefined from characteristic data at null infinity ${\\mathcal I}$. We show that\nthe OPE of the sigma model naturally encodes the Poisson structure on twistor\nspace and gives rise to the celestial realization of $Lw_{1+\\infty}$. The\nvertex operators representing soft gravitons in our model act as currents\ngenerating the wedge algebra of $w_{1+\\infty}$ and produce the expected\ncelestial OPE with hard gravitons of both helicities. We also discuss how the\ntwo copies of $Lw_{1+\\infty}$, one for each of the self-dual and anti-self-dual\nsectors, are represented in the OPEs of vertex operators of the 4d ambitwistor\nstring.",
        "positive": "Towards Classification of $\\mathcal{N}=1$ and $\\mathcal{N}=0$ Flipped\n  $SU(5)$ Asymmetric $\\mathbb{Z}_2 \\times \\mathbb{Z}_2$ Heterotic String\n  Orbifolds: The free fermionic classification method provides a powerful tool to\ninvestigate string vacua, which led to the discovery of spinor--vector duality\nand exophobic string models. We extend the classification methodology to both\n$\\mathcal{N}=1$ and $\\mathcal{N}=0$ Flipped $SU(5)$ $\\mathbb{Z}_2 \\times\n\\mathbb{Z}_2$ heterotic string orbifolds with asymmetric shifts. The impact of\nthe asymmetric assignments on the phenomenological characteristics of these\nmodels is investigated. Of particular interest is the analysis of untwisted\nmoduli fixing for various choices of asymmetric boundary conditions. Two\nclasses of vacua with different characteristics are systematically investigated\nwith help from SAT/SMT algorithms, which are shown to increase search\nefficiency by up to two orders of magnitude, as well as providing useful tools\nto find contradictions between various phenomenological criteria. The general\nform of the partition function for the space of models is explained and given\nfor two specific example models for different choices of asymmetric boundary\nconditions. Additionally, the distribution of one-loop cosmological constant\ncontributions for samples in the two different classes of models are depicted\nand discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Lower-dimensional pure-spinor superstrings: We study to what extent it is possible to generalise Berkovits' pure-spinor\nconstruction in d=10 to lower dimensions. Using a suitable definition of a\n``pure'' spinor in d=4,6, we propose models analogous to the d=10 pure-spinor\nsuperstring in these dimensions. Similar models in d=2,3 are also briefly\ndiscussed.",
        "positive": "Gauged twistor formulation of a massive spinning particle in four\n  dimensions: We present a gauged twistor model of a free massive spinning particle in\nfour-dimensional Minkowski space. This model is governed by an action, referred\nto here as the gauged generalized Shirafuji (GGS) action, that consists of\ntwistor variables, auxiliary variables, and $U(1)$ and $SU(2)$ gauge fields on\nthe one-dimensional parameter space of a particle's worldline. The GGS action\nremains invariant under reparametrization and the local $U(1)$ and $SU(2)$\ntransformations of the relevant variables, although the $SU(2)$ symmetry is\nnonlinearly realized. We consider the canonical Hamiltonian formalism based on\nthe GGS action in the unitary gauge by following Dirac's recipe for constrained\nHamiltonian systems. It is shown that just sufficient constraints for the\ntwistor variables are consistently derived by virtue of the gauge symmetries of\nthe GGS action. In the subsequent quantization procedure, these constraints\nturn into simultaneous differential equations for a twistor function. We\nperform the Penrose transform of this twistor function to define a massive\nspinor field of arbitrary rank, demonstrating that the spinor field satisfies\ngeneralized Dirac-Fierz-Pauli equations with $SU(2)$ indices. We also\ninvestigate the rank-one spinor fields in detail to clarify the physical\nmeanings of the $U(1)$ and $SU(2)$ symmetries."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Transport Coefficients at Zero Temperature from Extremal Black Holes: Using the AdS/CFT correspondence we study transport coefficients of a\nstrongly-coupled (2 +1)-dimensional field theory at {\\it zero} temperature and\nfinite charge density. The field theory under consideration is dual to the\nextremal Reissner-Nordstrom AdS_4 black hole in the bulk. We show that, like\nthe cases of scalar and spinor operators studied in \\cite{Faulkner:2009wj}, the\ncorrelators of charge (vector) current and energy-momentum (tensor) operators\nexhibit scaling behavior at low frequency. The existence of such low frequency\nbehavior is related to the fact that the near-horizon geometry of the extremal\nblack hole background has an AdS_2 factor. We carefully calculate the shear\nviscosity (at zero temperature) and show that the ratio of the shear viscosity\nto the entropy density takes the value of 1/4\\pi. Because of the AdS_2 factor,\nwe argue that this result stays the same for all d-dimensional boundary field\ntheories dual to the extremal Reissner-Nordstrom AdS_{d+1} black holes. Also,\nwe compute the charge conductivity at zero temperature. The limiting behavior\nof the conductivity for small frequencies is also attributed to the near\nhorizon AdS_2 factor and is argued to hold regardless of the dimension of the\nzero-temperature boundary field theory. Finally, using the extremal dyonic\nAdS_4 black hole as the background, we extract the conductivity in the presence\nof a constant magnetic field.",
        "positive": "Note About Integrability and Gauge Fixing for Bosonic String on\n  AdS(5)xS(5): This short note is devoted to the study of the integrability of the bosonic\nstring on AdS(5)xS(5) in the uniform light-cone gauge. We construct Lax\nconnection for gauge fixed theory and we argue that it is flat."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Information Loss in Black Holes: The question of whether information is lost in black holes is investigated\nusing Euclidean path integrals. The formation and evaporation of black holes is\nregarded as a scattering problem with all measurements being made at infinity.\nThis seems to be well formulated only in asymptotically AdS spacetimes. The\npath integral over metrics with trivial topology is unitary and information\npreserving. On the other hand, the path integral over metrics with non-trivial\ntopologies leads to correlation functions that decay to zero. Thus at late\ntimes only the unitary information preserving path integrals over trivial\ntopologies will contribute. Elementary quantum gravity interactions do not lose\ninformation or quantum coherence.",
        "positive": "Super Coherent States, Boson-Fermion Realizations and Representations of\n  Superalgebras: Super coherent states are useful in the explicit construction of\nrepresentations of superalgebras and quantum superalgebras. In this\ncontribution, we describe how they are used to construct (quantum)\nboson-fermion realizations and representations of (quantum) superalgebras. We\nwork through a few examples: $osp(1|2)$ and its quantum version\n$U_t[osp(1|2)]$, $osp(2|2)$ in the non-standard and standard bases and\n$gl(2|2)$ in the non-standard basis. We obtain free boson-fermion realizations\nof these superalgebras. Applying the boson-fermion realizations, we explicitly\nconstruct their finite-dimensional representations. Our results are expected to\nbe useful in the study of current superalgebras and their corresponding\nconformal field theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A defect in holographic interpretations of tensor networks: We initiate the study of how tensor networks reproduce properties of static\nholographic space-times, which are not locally pure anti-de Sitter. We consider\ngeometries that are holographically dual to ground states of defect, interface\nand boundary CFTs and compare them to the structure of the requisite MERA\nnetworks predicted by the theory of minimal updates. When the CFT is deformed,\ncertain tensors require updating. On the other hand, even identical tensors can\ncontribute differently to estimates of entanglement entropies. We interpret\nthese facts holographically by associating tensor updates to turning on\nnon-normalizable modes in the bulk. In passing, we also clarify and complement\nexisting arguments in support of the theory of minimal updates, propose a novel\nansatz called rayed MERA that applies to a class of generalized interface CFTs,\nand analyze the kinematic spaces of the thin wall and AdS3-Janus geometries.",
        "positive": "Fermion Determinants: The current status of bounds on and limits of fermion determinants in two,\nthree and four dimensions in QED and QCD is reviewed. A new lower bound on the\ntwo-dimensional QED determinant is derived. An outline of the demonstration of\nthe continuity of this determinant at zero mass when the background magnetic\nfield flux is zero is also given."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exotic twisted equivariant cohomology of loop spaces, twisted\n  Bismut-Chern character and T-duality: We define exotic twisted $S^1$-equivariant cohomology for the loop space $LZ$\nof a smooth manifold $Z$ via the invariant differential forms on $LZ$ with\ncoefficients in the (typically non-flat) holonomy line bundle of a gerbe, with\ndifferential an equivariantly flat superconnection. We introduce the twisted\nBismut-Chern character form, a loop space refinement of the twisted Chern\ncharacter form, which represent classes in the completed periodic exotic\ntwisted $S^1$-equivariant cohomology of $LZ$. We establish a localisation\ntheorem for the completed periodic exotic twisted $S^1$-equivariant cohomology\nfor loop spaces and apply it to establish T-duality in a background flux in\ntype II String Theory from a loop space perspective.",
        "positive": "Conformal Symmetry and the Three Point Function for the Gravitational\n  Axial Anomaly: This work presents a first study of a radiative calculation for the\ngravitational axial anomaly in the massless Abelian Higgs model. The two loop\ncontribution to the anomalous correlation function of one axial current and two\nenergy-momentum tensors, <A_alpha(z) T_\\mu\\nu(y) T_\\rho\\sigma(x)>, is computed\nat an order that involves only internal matter fields. Conformal properties of\nmassless field theories are used in order to perform the Feynman diagram\ncalculations in the coordinate space representation. The two loop contribution\nis found not to vanish, due to the presence of two independent tensor\nstructures in the anomalous correlator."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Romans-mass-driven flows on the D2-brane: The addition of supersymmetric Chern-Simons terms to ${\\cal N}=8$\nsuper-Yang-Mills theory in three-dimensions is expected to make the latter flow\ninto infrared superconformal phases. We address this problem holographically by\nstudying the effect of the Romans mass on the D2-brane near-horizon geometry.\nWorking in a consistent, effective four-dimensional setting provided by $D=4$\n${\\cal N}=8$ supergravity with a dyonic $\\textrm{ISO(7)}$ gauging, we verify\nthe existence of a rich web of supersymmetric domain walls triggered by the\nRomans mass that interpolate between the (four-dimensional description of the)\nD2-brane and various superconformal phases. We also construct domain walls for\nwhich both endpoints are superconformal. While most of our results are\nnumerical, we provide analytic results for the $\\textrm{SU}(3)\\times\n\\textrm{U}(1)$-invariant flow into an ${\\cal N}=2$ conformal phase recently\ndiscovered.",
        "positive": "Superfield Effective Action in the Noncommutative Wess-Zumino Model: We introduce the concept of superfield effective action in noncommutative N=1\nsupersymmetric field theories containing chiral superfields. One and two loops\nlow-energy contributions to the effective action are found for the\nnoncommutative Wess-Zumino model. The one loop Kahlerian effective potential\ncoincides with its commutative counterpart. We show that the two loops\nnonplanar contributions to the Kahlerian effective potential are leading in the\ncase of small noncommutativity. The structure of the leading chiral corrections\nto the effective action and the behaviour of the chiral effective potential in\nthe limit of large noncommutativity are also investigated."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "NS-NS Sector of Closed Superstring Field Theory: We give a construction for a general class of vertices in superstring field\ntheory which include integration over bosonic moduli as well as the required\npicture changing insertions. We apply this procedure to find a covariant action\nfor the NS-NS sector of Type II closed superstring field theory.",
        "positive": "Stimulated emission of particles by 1+1 dimensional black holes: The stimulated emission of massless bosons by a relativistic and the CGHS\nblack hole are studied for real and complex scalar fields. The radiations\ninduced by one-particle and thermal states are considered and their thermal\nproperties investigated near the horizon. These exhibit both thermal and\nnon-thermal properties for the two black-hole models."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "E-string Quantum Curve: In this work we study the quantisation of the Seiberg-Witten curve for the\nE-string theory compactified on a two-torus. We find that the resulting\noperator expression belongs to the class of elliptic quantum curves. It can be\nrephrased as an eigenvalue equation with eigenvectors corresponding to\nco-dimension 2 defect operators and eigenvalues to co-dimension 4 Wilson\nsurfaces wrapping the elliptic curve, respectively. Moreover, the operator we\nfind is a generalised version of the van Diejen operator arising in the study\nof elliptic integrable systems. Although the microscopic representation of the\nco-dimension 4 defect only furnishes an $\\mathrm{SO}(16)$ flavour symmetry in\nthe UV, we find an enhancement in the IR to representations in terms of affine\n$E_8$ characters. Finally, using the Nekrasov-Shatashvili limit of the E-string\nBPS partition function, we give a path integral derivation of the quantum\ncurve.",
        "positive": "Scale-dependent (2+1) - dimensional electrically charged black holes in\n  Einstein-power-Maxwell theory: In this work we extend and generalize our previous work on the scale\ndependence at the level of the effective action of black holes in the presence\nof non-linear electrodynamics. In particular, we consider the\nEinstein-power-Maxwell theory without a cosmological constant in (2+1)\ndimensions, assuming a scale dependence of both the gravitational and the\nelectromagnetic coupling and we investigate in detail how the scale--dependent\nscenario affects the horizon and thermodynamic properties of the classical\nblack holes for any value of the power parameter. In addition, we solve the\ncorresponding effective field equations imposing the \"null energy condition\" in\norder to obtain analytical solutions. The implications of quantum corrections\nare also briefly discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Effects of quantum deformation on the spin-1/2 Aharonov-Bohm problem: In this letter we study the Aharonov-Bohm problem for a spin-1/2 particle in\nthe quantum deformed framework generated by the $\\kappa$-Poincar\\'{e}-Hopf\nalgebra. We consider the nonrelativistic limit of the $\\kappa$-deformed Dirac\nequation and use the spin-dependent term to impose an upper bound on the\nmagnitude of the deformation parameter $\\varepsilon$. By using the self-adjoint\nextension approach, we examine the scattering and bound state scenarios. After\nobtaining the scattering phase shift and the $S$-matrix, the bound states\nenergies are obtained by analyzing the pole structure of the latter. Using a\nrecently developed general regularization prescription [Phys. Rev. D.\n\\textbf{85}, 041701(R) (2012)], the self-adjoint extension parameter is\ndetermined in terms of the physics of the problem. For last, we analyze the\nproblem of helicity conservation.",
        "positive": "Scale Symmetry and Weinberg's No-go Theorem in the Cosmological Constant\n  Problem: We complete the proof of Weinberg's no-go theorem on the cosmological\nconstant problem in classical gravity when the theory has a (global) scale\nsymmetry. Stimulated with this proof, we explore a solution to the cosmological\nconstant problem by the help of renormalization group equations. We find that\nthe manifestly scale invariant regularization method provides a physically\nplausible solution to the cosmological constant problem, in particular, to the\nissue of radiative instability of the cosmological constant."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "From the Superparticle Path Integral to Superfield Theory: We investigate the hitherto unexplored relation between the superparticle\npath integral and superfield theory. Requiring that the path integral has the\nglobal symmetries of the classical action and obeys the natural composition\nproperty of path integrals, and also that the discretized action has the\ncorrect naive continuum limit, we find a viable discretization of the (D=3,N=2)\nfree superparticle action. The resulting propagator is not the usual superfield\none. We extend the discretization to include the coupling to an external gauge\nsupermultiplet and use this to show the equivalence to superfield theory. This\nis possible since we are able to reformulate the superfield perturbation theory\nin terms of our new propagator.",
        "positive": "On Complexity for Higher Derivative Gravities: Using \"complexity=action\" proposal we study complexity growth of certain\ngravitational theories containing higher derivative terms. These include\ncritical gravity in diverse dimensions. One observes that the complexity growth\nfor neutral black holes saturates the proposed bound when the results are\nwritten in terms of physical quantities of the model. We will also study\neffects of shock wave to the complexity growth where we find that the presence\nof massive spin-2 mode slows down the rate of growth."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Cancellation of Global Anomalies in Spontaneously Broken Gauge Theories: We discuss the generalization to global gauge anomalies of the familiar\nprocedure for the cancellation of local gauge anomalies in effective theories\nof spontaneously broken symmetries. We illustrate this mechanism in a recently\nproposed six-dimensional extension of the standard model.",
        "positive": "star-Cohomology, Connes-Chern Characters, and Anomalies in General\n  Translation-Invariant Noncommutative Yang-Mills: Topological structure of translation-invariant noncommutative Yang-Mills\ntheories are studied by means of a cohomology theory, so called\nstar-cohomology, which plays an intermediate role between de Rham and cyclic\n(co)homology theory for noncommutative algebras and gives rise to a\ncohomological formulation comparable to Seiberg-Witten map."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Abelian solutions of the KP equation: We introduce the notion of abelian solutions of KP equations and show that\nall of them are algebro-geometric.",
        "positive": "Feynman Diagrams and a Combination of the Integration by Parts (IBP) and\n  the Integration by Fractional Expansion (IBFE) Techniques: In this paper we show how to improve and extend the Integration by Fractional\nExpansion technique (IBFE) by applying it to certain families of scalar massive\nFeynman diagrams. The strategy is based on combining this method together with\nthe Integration by Parts technique (IBP). In particular, we want to calculate\ncertain Feynman diagrams which have a triangle loop as a subgraph. The main\nidea is to use IBP in this subgraph in order to simplify the topology of the\noriginal diagram in which it is immersed, using then, in a second step, the\nIBFE technique. The result we have obtained, after the application of both\ntechniques, represents a simplification in the complexity of the solution,\ncompared with having used only the IBFE technique."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Instanton R-matrix and W-symmetry: We study the relation between $\\mathcal{W}_{1+\\infty}$ algebra and\nArbesfeld-Schiffmann-Tsymbaliuk Yangian using the Maulik-Okounkov R-matrix. The\ncentral object linking these two pictures is the Miura transformation. Using\nthe results of Nazarov and Sklyanin we find an explicit formula for the mixed\nR-matrix acting on two Fock spaces associated to two different asymptotic\ndirections of the affine Yangian. Using the free field representation we\npropose an explicit identification of Arbesfeld-Schiffmann-Tsymbaliuk\ngenerators with the generators of Maulik-Okounkov Yangian. In the last part we\nuse the Miura transformation to give a conformal field theoretic construction\nof conserved quantities and ladder operators in the quantum mechanical rational\nand trigonometric Calogero-Sutherland models on which a vector representation\nof the Yangian acts.",
        "positive": "The embedding tensor of Scherk-Schwarz flux compactifications from\n  eleven dimensions: We study the Scherk-Schwarz reduction of D=11 supergravity with background\nfluxes in the context of a recently developed framework pertaining to D=11\nsupergravity. We derive the embedding tensor of the associated four-dimensional\nmaximal gauged theories directly from eleven dimensions by exploiting the\ngeneralised vielbein postulates, and by analysing the couplings of the full set\nof 56 electric and magnetic gauge fields to the generalised vielbeine. The\ntreatment presented here will apply more generally to other reductions of\n$D=11$ supergravity to maximal gauged theories in four dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Swampland, Quintessence and the Vacuum Energy: It has recently been conjectured that string theory does not admit de Sitter\nvacua, and that quintessence explains the current epoch of accelerated cosmic\nexpansion. A proposed, key prediction of this scenario is time-varying\ncouplings in the dark sector, induced by the evolving quintessence field. We\nnote that cosmological models with varying couplings suffer from severe\nproblems with quantum corrections, beyond those shared by all quintessence\nmodels. The vacuum energy depends on all masses and couplings of the theory,\nand even small variations of parameters can lead to overwhelmingly large\ncorrections to the effective potential. We find that quintessence models with\nvarying parameters can be realised in consistent quantum theories by either: 1)\nenforcing exceptional levels of fine-tuning; 2) realising some unknown\nmechanism that cancels all undesirable contributions to the effective potential\nwith unprecedented accuracy; or 3) ensuring that the quintessence field couples\nexclusively to very light states, and does not backreact on heavy fields.",
        "positive": "Brane Condensation and Confinement: We study the static quantum potential for a theory of anti-symmetric tensor\nfields that results from the condensation of topological defects, within the\nframework of the gauge-invariant but path-dependent variables formalism. Our\ncalculations show that the interaction energy is the sum of a Yukawa and a\nlinear potentials, leading to the confinement of static probe charges."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Regular braneworlds with bulk fluids: We review studies on the singularity structure and asymptotic analysis of a\n3-brane (flat or curved) embedded in a five-dimensional bulk filled with a\n`perfect fluid' with an equation of state with the `pressure' and the `density'\nof the fluid depending on the fifth space coordinate. Regular solutions\nsatisfying positive energy conditions in the bulk exist only in the cases of a\nflat brane with an EoS parameter equal to -1, or of AdS branes for EoS\nparameter values in suitable intervals. More cases can be found by gluing two\nregular branches of solutions at the position of the brane. However, only the\ncase of a flat brane with an EoS parameter equal to -1 leads to finite Planck\nmass on the brane and thus localises gravity. In a more recent work, we showed\nthat a way to rectify the previous findings and obtain a solution for a flat\nbrane in a finite range of the EoS parameter, which is both free from\nfinite-distance singularities and compatible with the physical conditions of\nenergy and finiteness of four-dimensional Planck mass, is by introducing a bulk\nfluid component that satisfies a nonlinear equation of state.",
        "positive": "Quantum Field Theory of Fluids: The quantum theory of fields is largely based on studying perturbations\naround non-interacting, or free, field theories, which correspond to a\ncollection of quantum-mechanical harmonic oscillators. The quantum theory of an\nordinary fluid is `freer', in the sense that the non-interacting theory also\ncontains an infinite collection of quantum-mechanical free particles,\ncorresponding to vortex modes. By computing a variety of correlation functions\nat tree- and loop-level, we give evidence that a quantum perfect fluid can be\nconsistently formulated as a low-energy, effective field theory. We speculate\nthat the quantum behaviour is radically different to both classical fluids and\nquantum fields, with interesting physical consequences for fluids in the low\ntemperature regime."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetry and Polytopes: We make an imaginative comparison between the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard\nModel and the 24-cell polytope in four dimensions, the Octacube.",
        "positive": "Effective action of bosonic string theory at order $ \u03b1'^2 $: Recently, it has been shown that the gauge invariance requires the minimum\nnumber of independent couplings for $B$-field, metric and dilaton at order\n$\\alpha'^2$ to be 60. In this paper we fix the corresponding 60 parameters in\nstring theory by requiring the couplings to be invariant under the global\nT-duality transformations. The Riemann cubed terms are exactly the same as the\ncouplings that have been found by the S-matrix calculations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Self-Dual Fields on Self-Dual Backgrounds and the Double Copy: We explore the double copy for self-dual gauge and gravitational fields on\nself-dual background spacetimes. We consider backgrounds associated to\nsolutions of the second Plebanski equation and describe results with different\ngauge-fixing conditions. Finally we discuss the kinematic and $w$-algebras and\nthe double copy, identifying modified Poisson structures and kinematic\nstructure constants in the presence of the self-dual background. The self-dual\nplane wave and Eguchi-Hanson spacetimes are studied as examples and their\nrespective $w$-algebras derived.",
        "positive": "Dynamics of Dirichlet-Neumann Open Strings on D-branes: Method for computing scattering amplitudes of open strings with Dirichlet\nboundary on one end and Neumann boundary condition on the other is described.\nVertex operator for these states are constructed using twist fields which have\nbeen studied previously in the context of Ashkin-Teller model and strings on\norbifolds. Using these vertex operators, we compute the three- and four-point\nscattering amplitudes for (5,9) strings on 5-branes and 9-branes. In the low\nenergy limit, these amplitudes are found to be in exact agreement with the\nfield theory amplitudes for supersymmetric Yang-Mills coupled to\nhypermultiplets in 6-dimensions. We also consider the 1-brane 5-brane system\nand compute the amplitude for a pair of (1,5) strings to collide and to escape\nthe brane as a closed string. (1,5) strings are found to be remarkably\nselective in their coupling to massless closed strings in NS-NS sector; they\nonly couple to the dilaton."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Atiyah Class and Complex Structure Stabilization in Heterotic\n  Calabi-Yau Compactifications: Holomorphic gauge fields in N=1 supersymmetric heterotic compactifications\ncan constrain the complex structure moduli of a Calabi-Yau manifold. In this\npaper, the tools necessary to use holomorphic bundles as a mechanism for moduli\nstabilization are systematically developed. We review the requisite deformation\ntheory -- including the Atiyah class, which determines the deformations of the\ncomplex structure for which the gauge bundle becomes non-holomorphic and,\nhence, non-supersymmetric. In addition, two equivalent approaches to this\nmechanism of moduli stabilization are presented. The first is an efficient\ncomputational algorithm for determining the supersymmetric moduli space, while\nthe second is an F-term potential in the four-dimensional theory associated\nwith vector bundle holomorphy. These three methods are proven to be rigorously\nequivalent. We present explicit examples in which large numbers of complex\nstructure moduli are stabilized. Finally, higher-order corrections to the\nmoduli space are discussed.",
        "positive": "The Angular Tension of Black Holes: Angular tension is an ADM charge that contributes a work term to the first\nlaw of black hole mechanics when the range of an angular coordinate is varied\nand leads to a new Smarr formula for stationary black holes. A phase diagram\nfor singly-spinning D=5 black holes shows that angular tension resolves the\ndegeneracies between spherical black holes and (dipole) black rings and\ncaptures the physics of the black ring balance condition. Angular tension\ndepends on the behavior of the metric at rotational axes and we speculate on\nits relation to rod/domain structure characterizations of higher dimensional\nblack holes and black hole uniqueness theorems."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Resolution of Gauss' law in Yang-Mills theory by Gauge Invariant\n  Projection: Topology and Magnetic Monopoles: An efficient way of resolving Gauss' law in Yang-Mills theory is presented by\nstarting from the projected gauge invariant partition function and integrating\nout one spatial field variable. In this way one obtains immediately the\ndescription in terms of unconstrained gauge invariant variables which was\npreviously obtained by explicitly resolving Gauss' law in a modified axial\ngauge. In this gauge, which is a variant of 't Hooft's Abelian gauges, magnetic\nmonopoles occur. It is shown how the Pontryagin index of the gauge field is\nrelated to the magnetic charges. It turns out that the magnetic monopoles are\nsufficient to account for the non-trivial topological structure of the theory.",
        "positive": "Heat kernel of non-minimal gauge field kinetic operators on Moyal plane: We generalize the Endo formula originally developed for the computation of\nthe heat kernel asymptotic expansion for non-minimal operators in commutative\ngauge theories to the noncommutative case. In this way, the first three\nnon-zero heat trace coefficients of the non-minimal U(N) gauge field kinetic\noperator on the Moyal plane taken in an arbitrary background are calculated. We\nshow that the non-planar part of the heat trace asymptotics is determined by\nU(1) sector of the gauge model. The non-planar or mixed heat kernel\ncoefficients are shown to be gauge-fixing dependent in any dimension of\nspace-time. In the case of the degenerate deformation parameter the lowest\nmixed coefficients in the heat expansion produce non-local gauge-fixing\ndependent singularities of the one-loop effective action that destroy the\nrenormalizability of the U(N) model at one-loop level. The twisted-gauge\ntransformation approach is discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauge Invariance and Noncommutativity: The role of the gauge invariance in noncommutative field theory is discussed.\nA basic introduction to noncommutative geometry and noncommutative field theory\nis given. Background invariant formulation of Wilson lines is proposed. Duality\nsymmetries relating various noncommutative gauge models are being discussed.",
        "positive": "Non-renormalizable Interactions: A Self-Consistency Manifesto: The renormalization procedure is proved to be a rigorous way to get finite\nanswers in a renormalizable class of field theories. We claim, however, that it\nis redundant if one reduces the requirement of finiteness to S-matrix elements\nonly and does not require finiteness of intermediate quantities like the\noff-shell Green functions. We suggest a novel view on the renormalization\nprocedure. It is based on the usual BPHZ R-operation, which is equally\napplicable to any local QFT, renormalizable or not. The key point is the\nreplacement of the multiplicative renormalization, used in renormalizable\ntheories, by an operation when the renormalization constants depend on the\nfields and momenta that have to be integrated inside the subgraphs. This\napproach does not distinguish between renormalizable and non-renormalizable\ninteractions and provides the basis for getting finite scattering amplitudes in\nboth cases. The arbitrariness of the subtraction procedure is fixed by imposing\na normalization condition on the scattering amplitude as a whole rather than on\nan infinite series of new operators appearing in non-renormalizable theories.\n  Using the property of locality of counter-terms, we get recurrence relations\nconnecting leading, subleading, etc., UV divergences in all orders of PT in any\nlocal theory. This allows one to get generalized RG equations that have an\nintegro-differential form and sum up the leading logarithms. This way one can\ncure the problem of violation of unitarity in non-renormalizable theories by\nsumming up the leading asymptotics. We illustrate the basic features of our\napproach by several examples.\n  Our main statement is that non-renormalizable theories are self-consistent,\nthey can be well treated within the usual BPHZ R-operation, and the\narbitrariness can be fixed to a finite number of parameters just as in the\nrenormalizable case."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Challenges for Superstring Cosmology: We consider whether current notions about superstring theory below the Planck\nscale are compatible with cosmology. We find that the anticipated form for the\ndilaton interaction creates a serious roadblock for inflation and makes it\nunlikely that the universe ever reaches a state with zero cosmological constant\nand time-independent gravitational constant.",
        "positive": "Cosmology as Geodesic Motion: For gravity coupled to N scalar fields with arbitrary potential V, it is\nshown that all flat (homogeneous and isotropic) cosmologies correspond to\ngeodesics in an (N+1)-dimensional `augmented' target space of Lorentzian\nsignature (1,N), timelike if V>0, null if V=0 and spacelike if V<0.\nAccelerating cosmologies correspond to timelike geodesics that lie within an\n`acceleration subcone' of the `lightcone'. Non-flat (k=-1,+1) cosmologies are\nshown to evolve as projections of geodesic motion in a space of dimension\n(N+2), of signature (1,N+1) for k=-1 and signature (2,N) for k=+1. This\nformalism is illustrated by cosmological solutions of models with an\nexponential potential, which are comprehensively analysed; the late-time\nbehviour for other potentials of current interest is deduced by comparison."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Eigenbranes in Jackiw-Teitelboim gravity: It was proven recently that JT gravity can be defined as an ensemble of L x L\nHermitian matrices. We point out that the eigenvalues of the matrix correspond\nin JT gravity to FZZT-type boundaries on which spacetimes can end. We then\ninvestigate an ensemble of matrices with 1<<N<<L eigenvalues held fixed. This\ncorresponds to a version of JT gravity which includes N FZZT type boundaries in\nthe path integral contour and which is found to emulate a discrete quantum\nchaotic system. In particular this version of JT gravity can capture the\nbehavior of finite-volume holographic correlators at late times, including\nerratic oscillations.",
        "positive": "Bound states in bottomless potentials: We consider classical and quantum dynamics on potentials that are\nasymptotically unbounded from below. By explicit construction we find that\nquantum bound states can exist in certain bottomless potentials. The classical\ndynamics in these potentials is novel. Only a set of zero measure of classical\ntrajectories can escape to infinity. All other trajectories get trapped as they\nget further out into the asymptotic region."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spacetime Subsystem Symmetries: One characteristic feature of many fractonic lattice models, and a defining\nproperty of the exotic field theories developed to describe them, are subsystem\nsymmetries including a conservation of not just net electric charge but also\nelectric dipole moments or charges living on submanifolds. So far all such\ntheories were based on internal subsystem symmetries. In this work we\ngeneralize the notion of subsystem symmetries to system with subsystem\nspacetime symmetries with locally conserved energies.",
        "positive": "Axionic Festina Lente: The swampland conjecture known as Festina Lente (FL) imposes a lower bound on\nthe mass of all charged particles in a quasi-de Sitter space. In this paper, we\npropose the aFL (axionic Festina Lente) bound, an extension of FL to axion-like\nparticles arising from type II string theory. We find that the product of the\ninstanton action and the axion decay constant is bounded from below by the\nvacuum energy. This is achieved indirectly, using dimensional reduction on\nCalabi-Yau threefolds, and translating the FL result for dipoles into a purely\ngeometric bound. We discuss axionic black holes evolution, and aFL constraints\non Euclidean wormholes, showing that the gravitational arguments leading to the\nFL bound for U$(1)$ charged particles cannot be directly applied to axions.\nMoreover, we discuss phenomenological implications of the aFL bound, including\nconstraints on string inflation models and the axion-photon coupling via\nkinetic mixing."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "New maverick coset theories: We present new examples of maverick coset conformal field theories. They are\nclosely related to conformal embeddings and exceptional modular invariants.",
        "positive": "UV-IR coupling in higher derivative gravity: We discuss the possible existence of new generic vacuum solutions of\nRobertson-Walker form in higher derivative gravity theories in four dimensions.\nThese solutions illustrate how a dynamical coupling between very low and very\nhigh frequency modes can occur when the cosmological constant is small."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fake Supergravity and Domain Wall Stability: We review the generalized Witten-Nester spinor stability argument for flat\ndomain wall solutions of gravitational theories. Neither the field theory nor\nthe solution need be supersymmetric. Nor is the space-time dimension\nrestricted. We develop the non-trivial extension required for AdS-sliced domain\nwalls and apply this to show that the recently proposed \"Janus\" solution of\nType IIB supergravity is stable non-perturbatively for a broad class of\ndeformations. Generalizations of this solution to arbitrary dimension and a\nsimple curious linear dilaton solution of Type IIB supergravity are byproducts\nof this work.",
        "positive": "Geometry of four-dimensional Killing spinors: The supersymmetric solutions of N=2, D=4 minimal ungauged and gauged\nsupergravity are classified according to the fraction of preserved\nsupersymmetry using spinorial geometry techniques. Subject to a reasonable\nassumption in the 1/2-supersymmetric time-like case of the gauged theory, we\nderive the complete form of all supersymmetric solutions. This includes a\nnumber of new 1/4- and 1/2-supersymmetric possibilities, like gravitational\nwaves on bubbles of nothing in AdS_4."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Eikonal model analysis of elastic proton-proton collisions at 52.8 GeV\n  and 8 TeV: Under the influence of standardly used description of Coulomb-hadronic\ninterference proposed by West and Yennie the protons have been interpreted as\ntransparent objects; elastic events have been interpreted as more central than\ninelastic ones. It will be shown that using eikonal model the protons may be\ninterpreted in agreement with usual ontological conception; elastic processes\nbeing more peripheral than inelastic ones. The corresponding results (differing\nfundamentally from the suggested hitherto models) will be presented by\nanalyzing the most ample elastic data set measured at the ISR energy of 52.8\nGeV and the LHC energy of 8 TeV. Detailed analysis of measured differential\ncross section will be performed and possibility of peripheral behavior on the\nbasis of eikonal model will be presented. The impact of recently established\nelectromagnetic form factors on determination of quantities specifying hadron\ninteraction determined from the fits of experimental elastic data will be\nanalyzed. The influence of some other assumptions on proton characteristics\nderived from elastic hadronic amplitude determined on the basis of experimental\ndata will be studied, too.",
        "positive": "A local non-Abelian gauge invariant action stemming from the nonlocal\n  operator F 1/D^2 F: We report on the nonlocal gauge invariant operator of dimension two, F 1/D^2\nF. We are able to localize this operator by introducing a suitable set of\n(anti)commuting antisymmetric tensor fields. Starting from this, we succeed in\nconstructing a local gauge invariant action containing a mass parameter, and we\nprove the renormalizability to all orders of perturbation theory of this action\nin the linear covariant gauges using the algebraic renormalization technique.\nWe point out the existence of a nilpotent BRST symmetry. Despite the additional\n(anti)commuting tensor fields and coupling constants, we prove that our model\nin the limit of vanishing mass is equivalent with ordinary massless Yang-Mills\ntheories by making use of an extra symmetry in the massless case. We also\npresent explicit renormalization group functions at two loop order in the MSbar\nscheme."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Magnetically Charged Calorons with Non-Trivial Holonomy: Instantons in pure Yang-Mills theories on partially periodic space\n$\\mathbb{R}^3\\times S^1$ are usually called calorons. The background\nperiodicity brings on characteristic features of calorons such as non-trivial\nholonomy, which plays an essential role for confinement/deconfinement\ntransition in pure Yang-Mills gauge theory. For the case of gauge group\n$SU(2)$, calorons can be interpreted as composite objects of two constituent\n\"monopoles\" with opposite magnetic charges. There are often the cases that the\ntwo monopole charges are unbalanced so that the calorons possess net magnetic\ncharge in $\\mathbb{R}^3$. In this paper, we consider several mechanism how such\nnet magnetic charges appear for certain types of calorons through the ADHM/Nahm\nconstruction with explicit examples. In particular, we construct analytically\nthe gauge configuration of the $(2,1)$-caloron with $U(1)$-symmetry, which has\nintrinsically magnetic charge.",
        "positive": "Variational Calculation of Effective Classical Potential at $T \\neq 0$\n  to Higher Orders: Using the new variational approach proposed recently for a systematic\nimprovement of the locally harmonic Feynman-Kleinert approximation to path\nintegrals we calculate the partition function of the anharmonic oscillator for\nall temperatures and coupling strength with high accuracy."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Solutions with intersecting p-branes related to Toda chains: Solutions in multidimensional gravity with m p-branes related to Toda-like\nsystems (of general type) are obtained. These solutions are defined on a\nproduct of n+1 Ricci-flat spaces M_0 x M_1 x...x M_n and are governed by one\nharmonic function on M_0. The solutions are defined up to the solutions of\nLaplace and Toda-type equations and correspond to null-geodesics of the\n(sigma-model) target-space metric. Special solutions relating to A_m Toda\nchains (e.g. with m =1,2) are considered.",
        "positive": "BRST Operator for Superconformal Algebras with Quadratic Nonlinearity: We construct the quantum BRST operators for a large class of superconformal\nand quasi--superconformal algebras with quadratic nonlinearity. The only free\nparameter in these algebras is the level of the (super) Kac-Moody sector. The\nnilpotency of the quantum BRST operator imposes a condition on the level. We\nfind this condition for (quasi) superconformal algebras with a Kac-Moody sector\nbased on a simple Lie algebra and for the $Z_2\\times Z_2$--graded\nsuperconformal algebras with a Kac-Mody sector based on the superalgebra\n$osp(N\\vert 2M)$ or $s\\ell(N+2\\vert N)$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Swampland at Large Number of Space-Time Dimensions: We discuss some aspects of swampland constraints - especially the swampland\ndistance conjecture - in a large number of space-time dimensions $D$. We\nanalyze Kaluza-Klein (KK) states at large $D$ and find that some KK spectra\npossess an interesting dependence on $D$. On the basis of these observations we\npropose a new large dimension conjecture. We apply it to KK states of\ncompactifications to anti-de Sitter backgrounds where it predicts an upper\nbound on the dimension of space-time as a function of its characteristic\nradius. We also apply our conjecture to black hole spacetimes, whose entropies\nhave a $D$-dependence very similar to that of the KK spectrum.",
        "positive": "Dynamical Instability of Holographic QCD at Finite Density: In this paper we study the dynamical instability of Sakai-Sugimoto's\nholographic QCD model at finite baryon density. In this model, the baryon\ndensity, represented by the smeared instanton on the worldvolume of the probe\nD8-\\overline{D8} mesonic brane, sources the worldvolume electric field, and\nthrough the Chern-Simons term it will induces the instability to form a chiral\nhelical wave. This is similar to Deryagin-Grigoriev-Rubakov instability to form\nthe chiral density wave for large N_c QCD at finite density. Our results show\nthat this kind of instability occurs for sufficiently high baryon number\ndensities. The phase diagram of holographic QCD will thus be changed from the\none which is based only on thermodynamics. This holographic approach provides\nan effective way to study the phases of QCD at finite density, where the\nconventional perturbative QCD and lattice simulation fail."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Resonance spectrum of a bulk fermion on branes: It is known that there are two mechanisms for localizing a bulk fermion on a\nbrane, one is the well-known Yukawa coupling and the other is the new coupling\nproposed in [Phys. Rev. D 89, 086001 (2014)]. In this paper, we investigate\nlocalization and resonance spectrum of a bulk fermion on the same branes with\nthe two localization mechanisms. It is found that both the two mechanisms can\nresult in a volcano-like effective potential of the fermion Kaluza-Klein modes.\nThe left-chiral fermion zero mode can be localized on the brane and there exist\nsome discrete massive fermion Kaluza-Klein modes that quasilocalized on the\nbrane (also called fermion resonances). The number of the fermion resonances\nincreases linearly with the coupling parameter.",
        "positive": "NSR Open Super-string in the proper-time gauge I: Free Field Theory: We study the Neveu-Schwarz-Ramond (NSR) open super-string theory in the\nproper-time gauge. The string field action is obtained by evaluating the\nPolyakov string path integral. In this study, we focus on the open-string\nfree-field action, which corresponds to the string path integral on a strip.\nDepending on the periodicity of the fermion fields, the open super-string has\ntwo sectors: The Neveu-Schwarz (NS) and Ramond (R) sectors. We can impose the\ngauge conditions to fix the (super-) reparametrization invariance on the\ntwo-dimensional metric and its super-partner on the string world sheet to\nsecure the covariance, in contrast to the light-cone gauge condition.\nAccordingly, the proper-time emerges in the NS sector and both proper-time and\nits super-partner appear in the R-sector. Integration leads to free-string\nfield actions in both sectors."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Macroscopic strings as heavy quarks: Large-N gauge theory and anti-de\n  Sitter supergravity: We study some aspects of Maldacena's large $N$ correspondence between N=4\nsuperconformal gauge theory on D3-brane and maximal supergravity on AdS_5xS_5\nby introducing macroscopic strings as heavy (anti)-quark probes. The\nmacroscopic strings are semi-infinite Type IIB strings ending on D3-brane\nworld-volume. We first study deformation and fluctuation of D3-brane when a\nmacroscopic BPS string is attached. We find that both dynamics and boundary\nconditions agree with those for macroscopic string in anti-de Sitter\nsupergravity. As by-product we clarify how Polchinski's Dirichlet / Neumann\nopen string boundary conditions arise dynamically. We then study non-BPS\nmacroscopic string anti-string pair configuration as physical realization of\nheavy quark Wilson loop. We obtain quark-antiquark static potential from the\nsupergravity side and find that the potential exhibits nonanalyticity of\nsquare-root branch cut in `t Hooft coupling parameter. We put forward the\nnonanalyticity as prediction for large-N gauge theory at strong `t Hooft\ncoupling limit. By turning on Ramond-Ramond zero-form potential, we also study\ntheta-vacuum angle dependence of the static potential. We finally discuss\npossible dynamical realization of heavy N-prong string junction and of large-N\nloop equation via local electric field and string recoil thereof. Throughout\ncomparisons of the AdS-CFT correspondence, we find crucial role played by\n`geometric duality' between UV and IR scales on directions perpendicular to\nD3-brane and parallel ones, explaining how AdS5 spacetime geometry emerges out\nof four-dimensional gauge theory at strong coupling.",
        "positive": "Study of the AdS$_2$/CFT$_1$ Correspondence with the Contribution from\n  the Weyl Anomaly: In this paper we will consider the Almheiri-Polchinski model of the AdS$_2$\nback reaction coupled with Liouville field, which is necessary for quantum\nconsistency. In this model, the Liouville field is determined classically by a\nbulk conformal transformation. The boundary time is also reparametrized by this\ntransformation. It is shown that the on-shell action on the boundary for the\ngravity sector is given by a bulk integral containing the Liouville field. This\nintegral stems from Weyl anomaly and is SL(2,R) invariant. A prescription is\ngiven for computing correlation functions of the operators dual to massless\nscalars. The generating function of the correlation functions of these\noperators is given by a sum of matter action and the bulk integral containing\nthe Liouville field. The latter integral leads to extra contributions to\n$n(\\geq 6)$ point functions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Topological mass generation in gapless systems: Mass generation of gauge fields can be universally described by topological\ncouplings in gapped systems, such as the Abelian Higgs model in $(3+1)$\ndimensions and the Maxwell-Chern-Simons theory in $(2+1)$ dimensions. These\nsystems also exhibit the spontaneous breaking of higher-form $\\mathbb{Z}_k$\nsymmetries and topological orders for level $k \\geq 2$. In this paper, we\nconsider topological mass generation in gapless systems. As a paradigmatic\nexample, we study the axion electrodynamics with level $k$ in $(3+1)$\ndimensions in background fields that hosts both gapped and gapless modes. We\nargue that the gapped mode is related to those in fully gapped systems in lower\ndimensions via dimensional reduction. We show that this system exhibits the\nspontaneous breaking of a higher-form $\\mathbb{Z}_k$ symmetry despite the\nabsence of the conventional topological order. In the case of the background\nmagnetic field, we also derive the low-energy effective theory of the gapless\nmode with the quadratic dispersion relation and show that it satisfies the\nchiral anomaly matching.",
        "positive": "Carroll Expansion of General Relativity: We study the small speed of light expansion of general relativity, utilizing\nthe modern perspective on non-Lorentzian geometry. This is an expansion around\nthe ultra-local Carroll limit, in which light cones close up. To this end, we\nfirst rewrite the Einstein-Hilbert action in pre-ultra-local variables, which\nis closely related to the 3+1 decomposition of general relativity. At leading\norder in the expansion, these pre-ultra-local variables yield Carroll geometry\nand the resulting action describes the electric Carroll limit of general\nrelativity. We also obtain the next-to-leading order action in terms of Carroll\ngeometry and next-to-leading order geometric fields. The leading order theory\nyields constraint and evolution equations, and we can solve the evolution\nanalytically. We furthermore construct a Carroll version of Bowen-York initial\ndata, which has associated conserved boundary linear and angular momentum\ncharges. The notion of mass is not present at leading order and only enters at\nnext-to-leading order. This is illustrated by considering a particular\ntruncation of the next-to-leading order action, corresponding to the magnetic\nCarroll limit, where we find a solution that describes the Carroll limit of a\nSchwarzschild black hole. Finally, we comment on how a cosmological constant\ncan be incorporated in our analysis."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Feynman rules in N=2 projective Superspace II: Massive hypermultiplets: Manifest N=2 supersymmetric hypermultiplet mass terms can be introduced in\nthe projective N=2 superspace formalism. In the case of complex\nhypermultiplets, where the gauge covariantized spinor derivatives have an\nexplicit representation in terms of gauge prepotentials, it is possible to\ninterpret such masses as vacuum expectation values of an Abelian vector\nmultiplet. The duality transformation that relates the N=2 off-shell projective\ndescription of the hypermultiplet to the on-shell description involving two N=1\nchiral superfields allows us to obtain the massive propagators of the N=1\ncomplex linear fields in the projective hypermultiplet. The N=1 massive\npropagators of the component superfields in the projective hypermultiplet\nsuggest a possible ansatz for the N=2 massive propagator, which agrees with an\nexplicit calculation in N=2 superspace.",
        "positive": "The Super Period Matrix with Ramond Punctures in the supergravity\n  formulation: In a very recent preprint, Witten showed how to construct a $g|r \\, \\times \\,\ng|r$ super period matrix for super Riemann surfaces of genus $g$ with $2r$\nRamond punctures, which is symmetric in the ${\\bf Z}_2$ graded sense. He also\nshowed how it can be applied to analyze supersymmetry breaking in string\ncompactifications which are supersymmetric at tree-level. Witten's construction\nis in the purely holomorphic formulation of super Riemann surfaces. In this\npaper, a construction is given in the formulation of two-dimensional\nsupergravity. The variations of the super period matrix with respect to\nsupermoduli deformations are also given, as well as an explicit illustration of\nhow the super period matrix with two Ramond punctures would emerge from a\ndegeneration of the super period matrix without punctures in higher genus."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Integrability of Four Dimensional N=2 Gauge Theories in the Omega\n  Background: We continue to investigate the relationship between the infrared physics of\nN=2 supersymmetric gauge theories in four dimensions and various integrable\nmodels such as Gaudin, Calogero-Moser and quantum spin chains. We prove\ninteresting dualities among some of these integrable systems by performing\ndifferent, albeit equivalent, quantizations of the Seiberg-Witten curve of the\nfour dimensional theory. We also discuss conformal field theories related to\nN=2 4d gauge theories by the Alday-Gaiotto-Tachikawa (AGT) duality and the role\nof conformal blocks of those CFTs in the integrable systems. As a consequence,\nthe equivalence of conformal blocks of rank two Toda and\nNovikov-Wess-Zumino-Witten (WZNW) theories on the torus with punctures is\nfound.",
        "positive": "Semiclassical Corrections to the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy of the BTZ\n  Black Hole via Self-Gravitation: Hawking radiation is viewed as a tunnelling process. In this way the effect\nof self-gravitation gives rise to semiclassical corrections to the entropy of\nthe (2+1) BTZ black hole. The modified entropy, due to specific modelling of\nthe self-gravitation effect, of the (2+1) BTZ black hole is evaluated. To first\norder in $\\omega$ which is a shell of energy radiated outwards the event\nhorizon of the BTZ black hole, modified entropy is proportional to the horizon.\nIn this semiclassical analysis, corrections to the Bekenstein-Hawking formula\n$S_{BH}=\\mathcal{A}_{H} / 4l_{P}^{2}$ are found to be negative and the\nproportionality factor connecting the modified entropy, $S_{bh}$, of the (2+1)\nBTZ black hole to the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy, $S_{BH}$, is evaluated to\nfirst order in $\\omega$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-Perturbative Nekrasov Partition Function from String Theory: We calculate gauge instanton corrections to a class of higher derivative\nstring effective couplings introduced in [1]. We work in Type I string theory\ncompactified on K3xT2 and realise gauge instantons in terms of D5-branes\nwrapping the internal space. In the field theory limit we reproduce the\ndeformed ADHM action on a general {\\Omega}-background from which one can\ncompute the non-perturbative gauge theory partition function using\nlocalisation. This is a non-perturbative extension of [1] and provides further\nevidence for our proposal of a string theory realisation of the\n{\\Omega}-background.",
        "positive": "Stability analysis of non-Abelian electric fields: We study the stability of fluctuations around a homogeneous non-Abelian\nelectric field background that is of a form that is protected from Schwinger\npair production. Our analysis identifies the unstable modes and we find a\nlimiting set of parameters for which there are no instabilities. We discuss\npotential implications of our analysis for confining strings in non-Abelian\ngauge theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Higher-spin massless S-matrices in four-dimensions: On-shell, analytic S-matrix elements in massless theories are constructed\nfrom a finite set of primitive three-point amplitudes, which are fixed by\nPoincare invariance up to an overall numerical constant. We classify \\emph{all}\nsuch three-point amplitudes in four-dimensions. Imposing the simplest\nincarnation of Locality and Unitarity on four-particle amplitudes constructed\nfrom these three-particle amplitudes rules out all but an extremely small\nsubset of interactions among higher-spin massless states. Notably, the\nequivalence principle, and the Weinberg-Witten theorem, are simple corollaries\nof this principle. Further, no massless states with helicity larger than two\nmay consistently interact with massless gravitons. Chromodynamics,\nelectrodynamics, Yukawa and $\\phi^3$-theories are the only marginal and\nrelevant interactions between massless states. Finally, we show that\nsupersymmetry naturally emerges as a consistency condition on four-particle\namplitudes involving spin-3/2 states, which must always interact\ngravitationally.",
        "positive": "Topological charges in 2d N=(2,2) theories and massive BPS states: We study how charges of global symmetries that are manifest in the\nultra-violet definition of a theory are realized as topological charges in its\ninfra-red effective theory for two-dimensional theories with\n$\\mathcal{N}=(2,2)$ supersymmetry. We focus on the charges that the states\nliving on $S^1$ carry. The central charge---or BPS masses---of the\nsupersymmetry algebra play a crucial role in making this correspondence\nprecise. We study two examples: $U(1)$ gauge theories with chiral matter, and\nworld-volume theories of \"dynamical surface operators\" of 4d $\\mathcal{N}=2$\ngauge theories. In the former example, we show that the flavor charges of the\ntheory are realized as topological winding numbers in the effective theory on\nthe Coulomb branch. In the latter, we show that there is a one-to-one\ncorrespondence between topological charges of the effective theory of the\ndynamical surface operator and the electric, magnetic, and flavor charges of\nthe 4d gauge theory. We also examine the topologically charged massive BPS\nstates on $S^1$ and discover that the massive BPS spectrum is sensitive to the\nradius of the circle in the simplest theory---the free theory of a periodic\ntwisted chiral field. We clarify this behavior by showing that the massive BPS\nspectrum on $S^1$, unlike the BPS ground states, cannot be identified as\nelements of a cohomology."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Embeddings for Non-Critical Superstrings: It was previously shown that at critical central charge, $N$-extended\nsuperstrings can be embedded in $(N+1)$-extended superstrings. In other words,\n$(N=0,c=26)\\to (N=1,c=15)\\to (N=2,c=6)\\to (N=3,c=0) \\to (N=4,c=0) $. In this\npaper, we show that similar embeddings are also possible for $N$-extended\nsuperstrings at non-critical central charge. For any $x$, the embedding is\n$(N=0,c=26+x) \\to (N=1,c=15+x) \\to (N=2,c=6+x) \\to (N=3,c=x) \\to (N=4,c=x)$. As\nwas conjectured by Vafa, the $(N=2,c=9) \\to (N=3,c=3)$ embedding can be used to\nprove that $N=0$ topological strings are special vaccua of N=1 topological\nstrings.",
        "positive": "Gravitational Stability and Screening Effect from D Extra Timelike\n  Dimensions: We study (3+1)+D dimensional spacetime, where D extra dimensions are\ntimelike. Compactification of the D timelike dimensions leads to tachyonic\nKaluza-Klein gravitons. We calculate the gravitational self-energies of massive\nspherical bodies due to the tachyonic exchange, discuss their stability, and\nfind that the gravitational force is screened in a certain number of the extra\ndimensions. We also derive the exact relationship between the Newton constants\nin the full 4+D dimensional spacetime with the D extra times and the ordinary\nNewton constant of our 4 dimensional world."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non standard parametrizations and adjoint invariants of classical groups: We obtain local parametrizations of classical non-compact Lie groups where\nadjoint invariants under maximal compact subgroups are manifest. Extension to\nnon compact subgroups is straightforward. As a by-product parametrizations of\nthe same type are obtained for compact groups. They are of physical interest in\nany theory gauge invariant under the adjoint action, typical examples being the\ntwo dimensional gauged Wess-Zumino-Witten-Novikov models where these\ncoordinatizations become of extreme usefulness to get the background fields\nrepresenting the vacuum expectation values of the massless modes of the\nassociated (super) string theory.",
        "positive": "The Relativistic Dirac-Morse Problem via SUSY QM: The Morse problem is investigated in relativistic quantum mechanics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The All-Loop Integrand For Scattering Amplitudes in Planar N=4 SYM: We give an explicit recursive formula for the all L-loop integrand for\nscattering amplitudes in N=4 SYM in the planar limit, manifesting the full\nYangian symmetry of the theory. This generalizes the BCFW recursion relation\nfor tree amplitudes to all loop orders, and extends the Grassmannian duality\nfor leading singularities to the full amplitude. It also provides a new\nphysical picture for the meaning of loops, associated with canonical operations\nfor removing particles in a Yangian-invariant way. Loop amplitudes arise from\nthe \"entangled\" removal of pairs of particles, and are naturally presented as\nan integral over lines in momentum-twistor space. As expected from manifest\nYangian-invariance, the integrand is given as a sum over non-local terms,\nrather than the familiar decomposition in terms of local scalar integrals with\nrational coefficients. Knowing the integrands explicitly, it is straightforward\nto express them in local forms if desired; this turns out to be done most\nnaturally using a novel basis of chiral, tensor integrals written in\nmomentum-twistor space, each of which has unit leading singularities. As simple\nillustrative examples, we present a number of new multi-loop results written in\nlocal form, including the 6- and 7-point 2-loop NMHV amplitudes. Very concise\nexpressions are presented for all 2-loop MHV amplitudes, as well as the 5-point\n3-loop MHV amplitude. The structure of the loop integrand strongly suggests\nthat the integrals yielding the physical amplitudes are \"simple\", and\ndetermined by IR-anomalies. We briefly comment on extending these ideas to more\ngeneral planar theories.",
        "positive": "Revisiting the local potential approximation of the exact\n  renormalization group equation: The conventional absence of field renormalization in the local potential\napproximation (LPA) --implying a zero value of the critical exponent \\eta -- is\nshown to be incompatible with the logic of the derivative expansion of the\nexact renormalization group (RG) equation. We present a LPA with \\eta \\neq 0\nthat strictly does not make reference to any momentum dependence. Emphasis is\nmade on the perfect breaking of the reparametrization invariance in that pure\nLPA (absence of any vestige of invariance) which is compatible with the\nobservation of a progressive smooth restoration of that invariance on\nimplementing the two first orders of the derivative expansion whereas the\nconventional requirement (\\eta =0 in the LPA) precluded that observation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On massive gravitons in 2+1 dimensions: The Fierz-Pauli (FP) free field theory for massive spin 2 particles can be\nextended, in a spacetime of (1+2) dimensions (3D), to a generally covariant\nparity-preserving interacting field theory, in at least two ways. One is \"new\nmassive gravity\" (NMG), with an action that involves curvature-squared terms.\nAnother is 3D \"bigravity\", which involves non-linear couplings of the FP tensor\nfield to 3D Einstein-Hilbert gravity. We review the proof of the linearized\nequivalence of both \"massive 3D gravity\" theories to FP theory, and we comment\non their similarities and differences.",
        "positive": "Seeing behind black hole horizons in SYK: We present an explicit reconstruction of the interior of an AdS$_2$ black\nhole in Jackiw-Teitelboim gravity, that is entirely formulated in the dual SYK\nmodel and makes no direct reference to the gravitational bulk. We do this by\nintroducing a probe \"observer\" in the right wormhole exterior and using the\nprescription of [arXiv:2009.04476] to transport SYK operators along the probe's\ninfalling worldline and into the black hole interior, using an appropriate SYK\nmodular Hamiltonian. Our SYK computation recovers the precise proper time at\nwhich signals sent from the left boundary are registered by our observer's\napparatus inside the wormhole. The success of the computation relies on the\nuniversal properties of SYK and we outline a promising avenue for extending it\nto higher dimensions and applying it to the computation of scattering\namplitudes behind the horizon."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Topological Field Theories induced by twisted R-Poisson structure in any\n  dimension: We construct a class of topological field theories with Wess-Zumino term in\nspacetime dimensions $\\ge 2$ whose target space has a geometrical structure\nthat suitably generalizes Poisson or twisted Poisson manifolds. Assuming a\nfield content comprising a set of scalar fields accompanied by gauge fields of\ndegree $(1,p-1,p)$ we determine a generic Wess-Zumino topological field theory\nin $p+1$ dimensions with background data consisting of a Poisson 2-vector, a\n$(p+1)$-vector $R$ and a $(p+2)$-form $H$ satisfying a specific geometrical\ncondition that defines a $H$-twisted $R$-Poisson structure of order $p+1$. For\nthis class of theories we demonstrate how a target space covariant formulation\ncan be found by means of an auxiliary connection without torsion. Furthermore,\nwe study admissible deformations of the generic class in special spacetime\ndimensions and find that they exist in dimensions 2, 3 and 4. The\ntwo-dimensional deformed field theory includes the twisted Poisson sigma model,\nwhereas in three dimensions we find a more general structure that we call\nbi-twisted $R$-Poisson. This extends the twisted $R$-Poisson structure of order\n3 by a non-closed 3-form and gives rise to a topological field theory whose\ncovariant formulation requires a connection with torsion and includes a twisted\nPoisson sigma model in three dimensions as a special case. The relation of the\ncorresponding structures to differential graded Q-manifolds based on the degree\nshifted cotangent bundle $T^{\\ast}[p]T^{\\ast}[1]M$ is discussed, as well as the\nobstruction to them being QP-manifolds due to the Wess-Zumino term.",
        "positive": "Thermal duality and gravitational collapse in heterotic string theories: The thermal duality of E(8) x E(8) and SO(32) heterotic string theories may\nunderpin a mechanism that would convert the kinetic energy of infalling matter\nduring gravitational collapse to form a region of a hot string phase that would\nexpel gravitational gradients. This phase would be the continuation of a\nGinzburg-Landau like superconductor in the Euclidean regime. In this scenario,\nthere would be no event horizon or singularity produced in gravitational\ncollapse. Solutions are presented for excitations of the string vacuum that may\nform during gravitational collapse and drive the transition to the hot phase.\nThe proposed mechanism is developed here for the case of approximately\nspherical gravitational collapse in 4 uncompactified spacetime dimensions. A\nway to reconcile the large entropy apparently produced in this process with\nquantum mechanics is briefly discussed. In this scenario, astrophysical objects\nsuch as stellar or galactic cores which have undergone extreme gravitational\ncollapse would currently be sites of an on-going conversion process to shells\nof this high temperature phase. The relationship of this proposal to the\n`firewall paradox' is noted."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Field Theory on Noncommutative Space-Time and the Deformed Virasoro\n  Algebra: We consider a field theoretical model on the noncommutative cylinder which\nleads to a discrete-time evolution. Its Euclidean version is shown to be\nequivalent to a model on the complex $q$-plane. We reveal a direct link between\nthe model on a noncommutative cylinder and the deformed Virasoro algebra\nconstructed earlier on an abstract mathematical background. As it was shown,\nthe deformed Virasoro generators necessarily carry a second index (in addition\nto the usual one), whose meaning, however, remained unknown. The present field\ntheoretical approach allows one to ascribe a clear meaning to this second\nindex: its origin is related to the noncommutativity of the underlying\nspace-time. The problems with the supersymmetric extension of the model on a\nnoncommutative super-space are briefly discussed.",
        "positive": "Generalized Invariants and Quantum Evolution of Open Fermionic System: Open systems acquire time-dependent coupling constants through interaction\nwith an external field or environment. We generalize the Lewis-Riesenfeld\ninvariant theorem to open system of quantum fields after second quantization.\nThe generalized invariants and thereby the quantum evolution are found\nexplicitly for time-dependent quadratic fermionic systems. The pair production\nof fermions is computed and other physical implications are discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Alien Calculus and non perturbative effects in Quantum Field Theory: In many domains of physics, methods are needed to deal with non-perturbative\naspects. I want here to argue that a good approach is to work on the Borel\ntransforms of the quantities of interest, the singularities of which give\nnon-perturbative contributions. These singularities in many cases can be\nlargely determined by using the alien calculus developed by Jean \\'Ecalle. My\nmain example will be the two point function of a massless theory given as a\nsolution of a renormalization group equation.",
        "positive": "Nonlinear dynamical Casimir effect at weak nonstationarity: We show that even small nonlinearities significantly affect particle\nproduction in the dynamical Casimir effect at large evolution times. To that\nend, we derive the effective Hamiltonian and resum leading loop corrections to\nthe particle flux in a massless scalar field theory with time-dependent\nDirichlet boundary conditions and quartic self-interaction. To perform the\nresummation, we assume small deviations from the equilibrium and employ a kind\nof rotating wave approximation. Besides that, we consider a quantum circuit\nanalog of the dynamical Casimir effect, which is also essentially nonlinear. In\nboth cases, loop contributions to the number of created particles are\ncomparable to the tree-level values."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Anti-de-Sitter-Maxwell-Yang-Mills black holes thermodynamics from\n  nonlocal observables point of view: In this paper, we analyze the thermodynamic properties of the Anti de Sitter\nblack hole in the Einstein-Maxwell-Yang-Mills-AdS gravity (EMYM) via many\napproaches and in different thermodynamical ensembles (canonical/ grand\ncanonical). First, we give a concise overview of this phase structure in the\nentropy-thermal diagram for fixed charges then we investigate this\nthermodynamical structure in fixed potentials ensemble. The Next relevant step\nis recalling the nonlocal observables such as holographic entanglement entropy\nand two-point correlation function to show that both observables exhibit a Van\nder Waals-like behavior in our numerical accuracy and just near the critical\nline as the case of the thermal entropy for fixed charges by checking Maxwell's\nequal area law and the critical exponent. In the light of the grand canonical\nensemble, we also find a newly phase structure for such a black hole where the\ncritical behavior disappears in the thermal picture as well as in the\nholographic one.",
        "positive": "Seiberg-Witten theory for a non-trivial compactification from five to\n  four dimensions: The prepotential and spectral curve are described for a smooth interpolation\nbetween an enlarged N=4 SUSY and ordinary N=2 SUSY Yang-Mills theory in four\ndimensions, obtained by compactification from five dimensions with non-trivial\n(periodic and antiperiodic) boundary conditions. This system provides a new\nsolution to the generalized WDVV equations. We show that this exhausts all\npossible solutions of a given functional form."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Effective Average Action of Chern-Simons Field Theory: The renormalization of the Chern-Simons parameter is investigated by using an\nexact and manifestly gauge invariant evolution equation for the scale-dependent\neffective average action.",
        "positive": "On the spectrum of a matrix model for the D=11 supermembrane\n  compactified on a torus with non-trivial winding: The spectrum of the Hamiltonian of the double compactified D=11 supermembrane\nwith non-trivial central charge or equivalently the non-commutative symplectic\nsuper Maxwell theory is analyzed. In distinction to what occurs for the D=11\nsupermembrane in Minkowski target space where the bosonic potential presents\nstring-like spikes which render the spectrum of the supersymmetric model\ncontinuous, we prove that the potential of the bosonic compactified membrane\nwith non-trivial central charge is strictly positive definite and becomes\ninfinity in all directions when the norm of the configuration space goes to\ninfinity. This ensures that the resolvent of the bosonic Hamiltonian is\ncompact. We find an upper bound for the asymptotic distribution of the\neigenvalues."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Light-cone form of field dynamics in anti-de Sitter space-time and\n  AdS/CFT correspondence: Light-cone form of field dynamics in anti-de Sitter space-time is developed.\nUsing field theoretic and group theoretic approaches the light-cone\nrepresentation for generators of anti-de Sitter algebra acting as differential\noperators on bulk fields is found. We also present light-cone reformulation of\nthe boundary conformal field theory representations. Making use of these\nexplicit representations of AdS algebra as isometry algebra in the bulk and the\nalgebra of conformal transformations at the boundary a precise correspondence\nbetween the bulk fields and the boundary operators is established.",
        "positive": "Temperature Independent Renormalization of Finite Temperature Field\n  Theory: We analyse 4-dimensional massive $\\vp^4$ theory at finite temperature T in\nthe imaginary-time formalism. We present a rigorous proof that this quantum\nfield theory is renormalizable, to all orders of the loop expansion. Our main\npoint is to show that the counterterms can be chosen temperature independent,\nso that the temperature flow of the relevant parameters as a function of $T$\ncan be followed. Our result confirms the experience from explicit calculations\nto the leading orders. The proof is based on flow equations, i.e. on the\n(perturbative) Wilson renormalization group. In fact we will show that the\ndifference between the theories at T>0 and at T=0 contains no relevant terms.\nContrary to BPHZ type formalisms our approach permits to lay hand on\nrenormalization conditions and counterterms at the same time, since both appear\nas boundary terms of the renormalization group flow. This is crucial for the\nproof."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "String Webs and 1/4 BPS Monopoles: We argue for the existence of many new 1/4 BPS states in N=4 SU(N_c)\nSuper-Yang-Mills theory with N_c>=3, by constructing them from supersymmetric\nstring webs whose external strings terminate on parallel D3-branes. The masses\nof the string webs are shown to agree with the BPS bound for the corresponding\nstates in SYM. We identify the curves of marginal stability, at which these\nstates decay into other BPS states. We find the bosonic and fermionic zero\nmodes of the string webs, and thereby the degeneracy and spin content of some\nof the BPS states. States of arbitrarily high spin are predicted in this\nmanner, all of which become massless at the conformal point. For N_c>=4 we find\nBPS states which transform in long multiplets, and are therefore not protected\nagainst becoming stable non-BPS states as moduli are varied. The mass of these\nextremal non-BPS states is constrained as they are connected to BPS states.\nAnalogous geometric phenomena are anticipated.",
        "positive": "Mathematical Tools for Calculation of the Effective Action in Quantum\n  Gravity: We review the status of covariant methods in quantum field theory and quantum\ngravity, in particular, some recent progress in the calculation of the\neffective action via the heat kernel method. We study the heat kernel\nassociated with an elliptic second-order partial differential operator of\nLaplace type acting on smooth sections of a vector bundle over a Riemannian\nmanifold without boundary. We develop a manifestly covariant method for\ncomputation of the heat kernel asymptotic expansion as well as new algebraic\nmethods for calculation of the heat kernel for covariantly constant background,\nin particular, on homogeneous bundles over symmetric spaces, which enables one\nto compute the low-energy non-perturbative effective action."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Nonperturbative Test of M2-Brane Theory: We discuss non-perturbative effects in the ABJM model due to monopole\ninstantons. We begin by constructing the instanton solutions in the $U(2)\\times\nU(2)$ model, explicitly, and computing the Euclidean action. The Wick-rotated\nLagrangian is complex and its BPS monopole instantons are found to be a\ndelicate version of the usual 't Hooft-Polyakov monopole solutions. They are\ngenerically 1/3 BPS but become 1/2 BPS at special locus in the moduli space of\ntwo M2-branes, yet each instanton carries eight fermionic zero modes,\nregardless of the vacuum choice. The low energy effective action induced by\nmonopole instantons are quartic order in derivatives. The resulting vertices\nare nonperturbative in $1/k$, as expected, but are rational functions of the\nvacuum moduli. We also analyze the system of two M2-branes in the supergravity\nframework and compute the higher order interactions via 11-dimensional\nsupergraviton exchange. The comparison of the two shows that the instanton\nvertices are precisely reproduced by this M2-brane picture, supporting the\nproposal that the ABJM model describes multiple M2-branes.",
        "positive": "N = 2 Supersymmetric QED equivalence of N = 2 Volkov-Akulov model: We show explicitly in two dimensional spacetime (d = 2) that the N = 2\nVolkov-Akulov model is equivalent to the spontaneously broken linear\nsupersymmetry (LSUSY) interacting gauge theory for N = 2 vector and N = 2\nscalar supermultiplets. The local gauge interaction of LSUSY is induced by the\nspecific composite structure of the auxiliary fields and the consequent\ntransformations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Massive Dual Spin 2 Revisited: We reconsider a massive dual spin 2 field theory in four spacetime\ndimensions. We obtain the Lagrangian that describes the lowest order coupling\nof the field to the four-dimensional curl of its own energy-momentum tensor. We\nthen find some static solutions for the dual field produced by other\nenergy-momentum sources and we compare these to similar static solutions for\nnon-dual \"finite range\" gravity. Finally, through use of a nonlinear field\nredefinition, we show the theory is the exact dual of the\nOgievetsky-Polubarinov model for a massive spin 2 field.",
        "positive": "Two interacting scalars system in curved spacetime -- vacuum stability\n  from the curved spacetime Effective Field Theory (cEFT) perspective: In this article we investigated the influence of the gravity induced higher\ndimensional operators on the issue of vacuum stability in a model containing\ntwo interacting scalar fields. As a framework we used the curved spacetime\nEffective Field Theory (cEFT) applied to the aforementioned system in which one\nof the scalars is heavy. After integrating out the heavy scalar we used the\nstandard Euclidean approach to the obtained cEFT. Apart from analyzing the\ninfluence of standard operators like the non-minimal coupling to gravity and\nthe dimension six contribution to the scalar field potential, we also\ninvestigated the rarely discussed dimension six contribution to the kinetic\nterm and the new gravity induced contribution to the scalar quartic\nself-interaction."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Strong magnetic field asymptotic behaviour for the fermion-induced\n  effective energy in the presence of a magnetic flux tube: In Ref. 3, we presented an asymptotic formula for the fermion-induced\neffective energy in 3+1 dimensions in the presence of a cylindrically symmetric\ninhomogeneous strong magnetic field. However, there are some points which were\nnot clearly explained. In fact, the arguments, which led us to the asymptotic\nformula, are based on a numerical study of the integral of Eq. (10), as we will\nsee in the main part of this paper. The aim of this work is to present this\nstudy in detail.",
        "positive": "Searching for Gravity Without a Metric: Recently it has been explicitly shown how a theory with global\n$GL(d,\\mathbb{R})$ coordinate (affine) invariance which is spontaneously broken\ndown to its Lorentz subgroup will have as its Goldstone fields enough degrees\nof freedom to create a metric and a covariant derivative arXiv:1105.5848. Such\na theory would constitute an effective theory of gravity. So far however, no\nexplicit theory has been found which exhibits this symmetry breaking pattern,\nmainly due to the difficulty of even writing down a $GL(d,\\mathbb{R})$\ninvariant actions in the absence of a metric. In this paper we explicitly\nconstruct an affine generalization of the Dirac action employing infinite\ndimensional spinorial representations of the group. This implies that it is\nbuilt from an infinite number of spinor Lorentz multiplets. We introduce a\nsystematic procedure for obtaining $GL(d,\\mathbb{R})$ invariant interaction\nterms to obtain quite general interacting models. Such models have order\noperators whose expectation value can break affine symmetry to Poincar\\'{e}\nsymmetry. We discuss possible interactions and mechanisms for this symmetry\nbreaking to occur, which would provide a dynamical explanation of the\nLorentzian signature of spacetime."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hawking Radiation Spectra for Scalar Fields by a Higher-Dimensional\n  Schwarzschild-de-Sitter Black Hole: In this work, we study the propagation of scalar fields in the gravitational\nbackground of a higher-dimensional Schwarzschild-de-Sitter black hole as well\nas on the projected-on-the-brane 4-dimensional background. The scalar fields\nhave also a non-minimal coupling to the corresponding, bulk or brane, scalar\ncurvature. We perform a comprehensive study by deriving exact numerical results\nfor the greybody factors, and study their profile in terms of particle and\nspacetime properties. We then proceed to derive the Hawking radiation spectra\nfor a higher-dimensional Schwarzschild-de-Sitter black hole, and we study both\nbulk and brane channels. We demonstrate that the non-minimal field coupling,\nthat creates an effective mass term for the fields, suppresses the energy\nemission rates while the cosmological constant assumes a dual role. By\ncomputing the relative energy rates and the total emissivity ratio for bulk and\nbrane emission, we demonstrate that the combined effect of a large number of\nextra dimensions and value of the field coupling gives to the bulk channel the\nclear domination in the bulk-brane energy balance.",
        "positive": "The effect of boundary conditions on dimensionally reduced\n  field-theoretical models at finite temperature: Here we understand \\textit{dimensional reduction} as a procedure to obtain an\neffective model in $D-1$ dimensions that is related to the original model in\n$D$ dimensions. To explore this concept we use both a self-interacting\nfermionic model and self-interacting bosonic model. Furthermore, in both cases,\nwe consider different boundary conditions in space: periodic, antiperiodic,\nDirichlet and Neumann. For bosonic fields, we get the so defined dimensional\nreduction. Taking the simple example of a quartic interaction, we obtain that\nthe boundary condition (periodic, Dirichlet, Neumann) influence the new\ncoupling of the reduced model. For fermionic fields, we get the curious result\nthat the model obtained reducing from $D$ dimensions to $D-1$ dimensions is\ndistinguishable from taking into account a fermionic field originally in $D-1$\ndimensions. Moreover, when one considers antiperiodic boundary condition in\nspace (both for bosons or fermions) it is found that the dimensional reduction\nis not allowed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the structure of composite black p-brane configurations and related\n  black holes: We comment on the structure of intersecting black p-brane solutions in string\ntheory explaining how known solutions can be obtained from Schwarzschild\nsolution simply by sequences of boosts and dualities. This implies, in\nparticular, that dimensional reduction in all internal world-volume directions\nincluding time leads to a metric (related by analytic continuation to a\ncosmological metric) which does not depend on p-brane charges, i.e. is the same\nas the metric following by reduction from a higher-dimensional `neutral'\nSchwarzschild black hole.",
        "positive": "Impact of irrelevant deformations on thermodynamics and transport in\n  holographic quantum critical states: We study thermodynamic and transport observables of quantum critical states\nthat arise in the infra-red limit of holographic renormalisation group flows.\nAlthough these observables are expected to exhibit quantum critical scaling,\nthere are a number of cases in which their frequency and temperature\ndependences are in apparent contradiction with scaling theories. We study two\ndifferent classes of examples, and show in both cases that the apparent\nbreakdown of scaling is a consequence of the dependence of observables on an\nirrelevant deformation of the quantum critical state. By assigning scaling\ndimensions to the near-horizon observables, we formulate improved scaling\ntheories that are completely consistent with all explicit holographic results\nonce the dependence on the dangerously irrelevant coupling is properly\naccounted for. In addition to governing thermodynamic and transport phenomena\nin these states, we show that the dangerously irrelevant coupling also controls\nlate-time equilibration, which occurs at a rate parametrically slower than the\ntemperature $1/\\tau_{eq}\\ll T$. At very late times, transport is\ndiffusion-dominated, with a diffusivity that can be written simply in terms of\n$\\tau_{eq}$ and the butterfly velocity, $D\\sim v_B^2\\tau_{eq}$. We conjecture\nthat in such cases there exists a long-lived, propagating collective mode with\nvelocity $v_s$, and in this case the relation $D=v_s^2\\tau_{eq}$ holds exactly\nin the limit $\\tau_{eq} T\\gg1$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Entanglement entropies of an interval in the free Schr\u00f6dinger field\n  theory on the half line: We study the entanglement entropies of an interval adjacent to the boundary\nof the half line for the free fermionic spinless Schr\\\"odinger field theory at\nfinite density and zero temperature, with either Neumann or Dirichlet boundary\nconditions. They are finite functions of the dimensionless parameter given by\nthe product of the Fermi momentum and the length of the interval. The\nentanglement entropy displays an oscillatory behaviour, differently from the\ncase of the interval on the whole line. This behaviour is related to the\nFriedel oscillations of the mean particle density on the half line at the\nentangling point. We find analytic expressions for the expansions of the\nentanglement entropies in the regimes of small and large values of the\ndimensionless parameter. They display a remarkable agreement with the curves\nobtained numerically. The analysis is extended to a family of free fermionic\nLifshitz models labelled by their integer Lifshitz exponent, whose parity\ndetermines the properties of the entanglement entropies. The cumulants of the\nlocal charge operator and the Schatten norms of the underlying kernels are also\nexplored.",
        "positive": "A note on vortices from Lorentz-violating models: We consider two self-dual abelian Higgs systems obtained from Lorentz\nbreaking symmetry models by dimensional reduction. For the first model, we show\nthat the self-dual equations are identical to those of Nielsen-Olesen vortices.\nAlso, we show that our vortices have electric charge. In the second case we\nshow that self-dual Chern-Simons-Higgs vortices without electric charge are\npossible."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Nonlinear Oscillatory Shear Tests in Viscoelastic Holography: We provide the first characterization of the nonlinear and time dependent\nrheologic response of viscoelastic bottom-up holographic models. More\nprecisely, we perform oscillatory shear tests in holographic massive gravity\ntheories with finite elastic response, focusing on the large amplitude\noscillatory shear (LAOS) regime. The characterization of these systems is done\nusing several techniques: (I) the Lissajous figures, (II) the Fourier analysis\nof the stress signal, (III) the Pipkin diagram and (IV) the dependence of the\nstorage and loss moduli on the amplitude of the applied strain. We find\nsubstantial evidence for a strong strain stiffening mechanism, typical of\nhyper-elastic materials such as rubbers and complex polymers. This indicates\nthat the holographic models considered are not a good description for rigid\nmetals, where strain stiffening is not commonly observed. Additionally, a\ncrossover between a viscoelastic liquid regime at small graviton mass (compared\nto the temperature scale), and a viscoelastic solid regime at large values is\nobserved. Finally, we discuss the relevance of our results for soft matter and\nfor the understanding of the widely used homogeneous holographic models with\nbroken translations.",
        "positive": "Entanglement Entropy of Magnetic Electron Stars: We study the behavior of the entanglement entropy in $(2+1)$--dimensional\nstrongly coupled theories via the AdS/CFT correspondence. We consider theories\nat a finite charge density with a magnetic field, with their holographic dual\nbeing Einstein-Maxwell-Dilaton theory in four dimensional anti--de Sitter\ngravity. Restricting to black hole and electron star solutions at zero\ntemperature in the presence of a background magnetic field, we compute their\nholographic entanglement entropy using the Ryu-Takayanagi prescription for both\nstrip and disk geometries. In the case of the electric or magnetic zero\ntemperature black holes, we are able to confirm that the entanglement entropy\nis invariant under electric-magnetic duality. In the case of the electron star\nwith a finite magnetic field, for the strip geometry, we find a discontinuity\nin the first derivative of the entanglement entropy as the strip width is\nincreased."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Dirac field in Taub-NUT background: We investigate the SO(4,1) gauge-invariant theory of the Dirac fermions in\nthe external field of the Kaluza-Klein monopole, pointing out that the quantum\nmodes can be recovered from a Klein-Gordon equation analogous to the Schr\\\"\nodinger equation in the Taub-NUT background. Moreover, we show that there is a\nlarge collection of observables that can be directly derived from those of the\nscalar theory. These offer many possibilities of choosing complete sets of\ncommuting operators which determine the quantum modes. In addition there are\nsome spin- like and Dirac-type operators involving the covariantly constant\nKilling-Yano tensors of the hyper-K\\\" ahler Taub-NUT space. The energy\neigenspinors of the central modes in spherical coordinates are completely\nevaluated in explicit, closed form.",
        "positive": "A gauge theory for the 2+1 dimensional incompressible Euler equations: We show that in two dimensions the incompressible Euler equations can be\nre-expressed in terms of an abelian gauge theory with a Chern-Simons term. The\nmagnetic field corresponds to fluid vorticity and the electric field is the\nproduct of the vorticity and the gradient of the stream function. This picture\ncan be extended to active scalar models, including the surface\nquasi-geostrophic equation. We examine the theory in the presence of a boundary\nand show that the Noether charge algebra is a Kac-Moody algebra. We argue that\nthis symmetry is associated with the nodal lines of zero magnetic field."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On The Construction of Zero Energy States in Supersymmetric Matrix\n  Models III: For a supersymmetric Hamiltonian appearing in the matrix model related to 11\ndimensional supermembranes, zero energy states are constructed. A useful\nsymmetry, and an energy-equipartition property is pointed out.",
        "positive": "Coalescence of Rotating Black Holes on Eguchi-Hanson Space: We obtain new charged rotating multi-black hole solutions on the\nEguchi-Hanson space in the five-dimensional Einstein-Maxwell system with a\nChern-Simons term and a positive cosmological constant. In the two-black holes\ncase, these solutions describe the coalescence of two rotating black holes with\nthe spatial topologies of S^3 into a single rotating black hole with the\nspatial topology of the lens space S^3/Z_2. We discuss the differences in the\nhorizon areas between our solutions and the two-centered Klemm-Sabra solutions\nwhich describe the coalescence of two rotating black holes with the spatial\ntopologies of S^3 into a single rotating black hole with the spatial topology\nof S^3."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Two-loop corrections to the QCD propagators within the Curci-Ferrari\n  model: We evaluate all two-point correlation functions of the Curci-Ferrari (CF)\nmodel in four dimensions and in the presence of mass-degenerate fundamental\nquark flavors, as a natural extension of an earlier investigation in the\nquenched approximation. In principle, the proper account of chiral symmetry\nbreaking ($\\chi$SB) and the corresponding dynamical generation of a quark mass\nfunction within the CF model requires one to go beyond perturbation theory\n\\cite{Pelaez:2020ups}. However, it is interesting to assess whether a\nperturbative description applies to correlation functions that are not directly\nsensitive to $\\chi$SB, such as the gluon, ghost and quark dressing functions.\nWe compare our two-loop results for these form factors to QCD lattice data in\nthe two flavor case for two different values of the pion mass, one that is\nrelatively far from the chiral limit, and one that is closer to the physical\nvalue. Our results confirm that the QCD gluon and ghost dressing functions are\nwell described by a perturbative approach within the CF model, as already\nobserved at one-loop order in Ref. \\cite{Pelaez:2014mxa}. Our new main result\nis that the quark dressing function is also well captured by the perturbative\napproach, but only starting at two-loop order, as also anticipated in Ref.\n\\cite{Pelaez:2014mxa}. The quark mass function predicted by the CF model at\ntwo-loop order is in good agreement with the data if the quarks are not too\nlight but shows some clear tension with respect to the two-loop CF dressing\nfunctions in the close to physical case, as expected. Interestingly, however,\nwe find that there is much less tension between the non-perturbative quark mass\nfunction, as it can be obtained from lattice simulations or from\n\\cite{Pelaez:2020ups}, and the two-loop CF dressing functions, which confirms\nthe perturbative nature of the latter.",
        "positive": "Quantum criticality and duality in the SYK/AdS$_2$ chain: We show that the quantum critical point (QCP) between a diffusive metal and\nferromagnetic (or antiferromagnetic) phases in the SYK chain has a\ngravitational description corresponding to the double-trace deformation in an\nAdS$_2$ chain. Specifically, by studying a double-trace deformation of a $Z_2$\nscalar in an AdS$_2$ chain where the $Z_2$ scalar is dual to the order\nparameter in the SYK chain, we find that the susceptibility and renormalization\ngroup equation describing the QCP in the SYK chain can be exactly reproduced in\nthe holographic model. Our results suggest that the infrared geometry in the\ngravity theory dual to the diffusive metal of the SYK chain is also an AdS$_2$\nchain. We further show that the transition in SYK model captures universal\ninformation about double-trace deformation in generic black holes with near\nhorizon AdS$_2$ spacetime."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Finite higher spin transformations from exponentiation: We study the exponentiation of elements of the gauge Lie algebras ${\\rm\nhs}(\\lambda)$ of three-dimensional higher spin theories. Exponentiable elements\ngenerate one-parameter groups of finite higher spin symmetries. We show that\nelements of ${\\rm hs}(\\lambda)$ in a dense set are exponentiable, when pictured\nin certain representations of ${\\rm hs}(\\lambda)$, induced from representations\nof $SL(2,\\mathbb{R})$ in the complementary series. We also provide a geometric\npicture of higher spin gauge transformations clarifying the physical origin of\nthese representations. This allows us to construct an infinite-dimensional\ntopological group $HS(\\lambda)$ of finite higher spin symmetries.\nInterestingly, this construction is possible only for $0 \\leq \\lambda \\leq 1$,\nwhich are the values for which the higher spin theory is believed to be unitary\nand for which the Gaberdiel-Gopakumar duality holds. We exponentiate explicitly\nvarious commutative subalgebras of ${\\rm hs}(\\lambda)$. Among those, we\nidentify families of elements of ${\\rm hs}(\\lambda)$ exponentiating to the unit\nof $HS(\\lambda)$, generalizing the logarithms of the holonomies of BTZ black\nhole connections. Our techniques are generalizable to the Lie algebras relevant\nto higher spin theories in dimensions above three.",
        "positive": "Gravitational Positive Energy Theorems from Information Inequalities: In this paper we argue that classical, asymptotically AdS spacetimes that\narise as states in consistent ultraviolet completions of Einstein gravity\ncoupled to matter must satisfy an infinite family of positive energy\nconditions. To each ball-shaped spatial region $B$ of the boundary spacetime,\nwe can associate a bulk spatial region $\\Sigma_B$ between $B$ and the bulk\nextremal surface $\\tilde{B}$ with the same boundary as $B$. We show that there\nexists a natural notion of a gravitational energy for every such region that is\nnon-negative, and non-increasing as one makes the region smaller. The results\nfollow from identifying this gravitational energy with a quantum relative\nentropy in the associated dual CFT state. The positivity and monotonicity\nproperties of the gravitational energy are implied by the positivity and\nmonotonicity of relative entropy, which holds universally in all quantum\nsystems."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic subregion complexity of boosted black brane and Fisher\n  information: In this paper, we have studied the holographic subregion complexity for\nboosted black brane for strip like subsystem. The holographic subregion\ncomplexity has been computed for a subsystem chosen along and perpendicular to\nthe boost direction. We have observed that there is an asymmetry in the result\ndue to the boost parameter which can be attributed to the asymmetry in the\nholographic entanglement entropy. The Fisher information metric and the\nfidelity susceptibility have also been computed using bulk dual prescriptions.\nIt is observed that the two metrics computed holographically are not related\nfor both the pure black brane as well as the boosted black brane. This is one\nof the main findings in this paper and the holographic results have been\ncompared with the results available in the quantum information literature where\nit is known that the two distances are related to each other in general.",
        "positive": "Quantum Mechanical Sectors in Thermal N=4 Super Yang-Mills on RxS^3: We study the thermodynamics of U(N) N=4 Super Yang-Mills (SYM) on RxS^3 with\nnon-zero chemical potentials for the SU(4) R-symmetry. We find that when we are\nnear a point with zero temperature and critical chemical potential, N=4 SYM on\nRxS^3 reduces to a quantum mechanical theory. We identify three such critical\nregions giving rise to three different quantum mechanical theories. Two of them\nhave a Hilbert space given by the SU(2) and SU(2|3) sectors of N=4 SYM of\nrecent interest in the study of integrability, while the third one is the\nhalf-BPS sector dual to bubbling AdS geometries. In the planar limit the three\nquantum mechanical theories can be seen as spin chains. In particular, we\nidentify a near-critical region in which N=4 SYM on RxS^3 essentially reduces\nto the ferromagnetic XXX_{1/2} Heisenberg spin chain. We find furthermore a\nlimit in which this relation becomes exact."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A-Model Correlators from the Coulomb Branch: We compute the contribution of discrete Coulomb vacua to A-Model correlators\nin toric Gauged Linear Sigma Models. For models corresponding to a compact\nvariety, this determines the correlators at arbitrary genus. For non-compact\nexamples, our results imply the surprising conclusion that the quantum\ncohomology relations break down for a subset of the correlators.",
        "positive": "Thermodynamic Bethe Ansatz of the Homogeneous Sine-Gordon models: We apply the thermodynamic Bethe Ansatz to investigate the high energy\nbehaviour of a class of scattering matrices which have recently been proposed\nto describe the Homogeneous sine-Gordon models related to simply laced Lie\nalgebras. A characteristic feature is that some elements of the suggested\nS-matrices are not parity invariant and contain resonance shifts which allow\nfor the formation of unstable bound states. From the Lagrangian point of view\nthese models may be viewed as integrable perturbations of WZNW-coset models and\nin our analysis we recover indeed in the deep ultraviolet regime the effective\ncentral charge related to these cosets, supporting therefore the S-matrix\nproposal. For the $SU(3)_k$-model we present a detailed numerical analysis of\nthe scaling function which exhibits the well known staircase pattern for\ntheories involving resonance parameters, indicating the energy scales of stable\nand unstable particles. We demonstrate that, as a consequence of the interplay\nbetween the mass scale and the resonance parameter, the ultraviolet limit of\nthe HSG-model may be viewed alternatively as a massless\nultraviolet-infrared-flow between different conformal cosets. For $k=2$ we\nrecover as a subsystem the flow between the tricritical Ising and the Ising\nmodel."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Q-balls in Maxwell-Chern-Simons theory: We examine the energetics of Q-balls in Maxwell-Chern-Simons theory in two\nspace dimensions. Whereas gauged Q-balls are unallowed in this dimension in the\nabsence of a Chern-Simons term due to a divergent electromagnetic energy, the\naddition of a Chern-Simons term introduces a gauge field mass and renders\nfinite the otherwise-divergent electromagnetic energy of the Q-ball. Similar to\nthe case of gauged Q-balls, Maxwell-Chern-Simons Q-balls have a maximal charge.\nThe properties of these solitons are studied as a function of the parameters of\nthe model considered, using a numerical technique known as relaxation. The\nresults are compared to expectations based on qualitative arguments.",
        "positive": "Vortex counting and the quantum Hall effect: We provide evidence for conjectural dualities between nonrelativistic\nChern-Simons-matter theories and theories of (fractional, nonAbelian) quantum\nHall fluids in $2+1$ dimensions. At low temperatures, the dynamics of\nnonrelativistic Chern-Simons-matter theories can be described in terms of a\nnonrelativistic quantum mechanics of vortices. At critical coupling, this may\nbe solved by geometric quantisation of the vortex moduli space. Using\nlocalisation techniques, we compute the Euler characteristic\n${\\chi}(\\mathcal{L}^\\lambda)$ of an arbitrary power $\\lambda$ of a quantum line\nbundle $\\mathcal{L}$ on the moduli space of vortices in $U(N_c)$ gauge theory\nwith $N_f$ fundamental scalar flavours on an arbitrary closed Riemann surface.\nWe conjecture that this is equal to the dimension of the Hilbert space of\nvortex states when the area of the metric on the spatial surface is\nsufficiently large. We find that the vortices in theories with $N_c = N_f =\n\\lambda$ behave as fermions in the lowest nonAbelian Landau level, with\nstrikingly simple quantum degeneracy. More generally, we find evidence that the\nquantum vortices may be regarded as composite objects, made of dual anyons. We\ncomment on potential links between the dualities and three-dimensional mirror\nsymmetry. We also compute the expected degeneracy of local Abelian vortices on\nthe $\\Omega$-deformed sphere, finding it to be a $q$-analog of the undeformed\ncase."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Collinearity constraints for on-shell massless particle three-point\n  functions, and implications for allowed-forbidden $n+1$-point functions: A simple collinearity argument implies that the massless particle three-point\nfunction of helicities $h_1, h_2, h_3$ with corresponding real-valued\nfour-momenta $k_1, k_2, k_3$ taken as all incoming or all outgoing (i.e., $k_1\n+k_2 +k_3=0$), vanishes by helicity conservation unless $h_1+h_2+h_3=0$. When\nany one particle with four-momentum $k$ is off mass shell, this constraint no\nlonger applies; a forbidden amplitude with $h_1+h_2+h_3\\neq 0$ on-shell can be\nnonzero off-shell, but vanishes proportionally to $k^2$ as $k$ approaches mass\nshell. When an on-shell forbidden amplitude is coupled to an allowed $n$-point\namplitude to form an $n+1$ point function, this $k^2$ factor in the forbidden\namplitude cancels the $k^2$ in the propagator, leading to a $n+1$-point\nfunction that has no pole at $k^2=0$. We relate our results for real-valued\nfour-momenta to the corresponding selection rules that have been derived in the\non-shell literature for complexified four-momenta.",
        "positive": "The one example of Lorentz group: The aim of this work is to show, on the example of the behaviour of the\nspinless charged particle in the homogeneous electric field, that one can\nquantized the velocity of particle by the special gauge fixation. The work\ngives also the some information about the theory of second quantisation in the\nspace of Hilbert- Fock and the theory of projectors in the Hilbert space. One\nconsider in Appendix the theory of the spinless charged particle in the\nhomogeneous addiabatical changed electrical field."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Standard Model as an extension of the noncommutative algebra of\n  forms: The Standard Model of particle physics can be deduced from a small number of\naxioms within Connes' noncommutative geometry (NCG). Boyle and Farnsworth [New\nJ. Phys. 16 (2014) 123027] proposed to interpret Connes' approach as an algebra\nextension in the sense of Eilenberg. By doing so, they could deduce three\naxioms of the NCG Standard Model (i.e. order zero, order one and massless\nphoton) from the single requirement that the extended algebra be associative.\nHowever, their approach was only applied to the finite algebra and fails the\nfull model. By taking into account the differential graded structure of the\nalgebra of noncommutative differential forms, we obtain a formulation where the\nsame three axioms are deduced from the associativity of the extended\ndifferential graded algebra, but which is now also compatible with the full\nStandard Model. Finally, we present a Lorentzian version of the noncommutative\ngeometry of the Standard Model and we show that the three axioms still hold if\nthe four-dimensional manifold has a Lorentzian metric.",
        "positive": "Stochastic tunneling for strongly non-Gaussian inflationary theories: We reconsider the dynamics of stochastic or thermal tunneling in theories\nlike Dirac-Born-Infeld inflation that have non-minimal kinetic terms and, as a\nresult, strongly non-Gaussian perturbations. We first describe a local\ndescription of the tunneling process which gives results consistent with the\nstandard Hawking-Moss tunneling. This result is under perturbative control as\nlong as the fluctuation determinant is well approximated by a one-loop\nintegral. We then move to a global description, using the methodology of\nstochastic inflation and the in-in path integral formalism. This approach shows\nclearly that the tunneling process becomes strongly coupled whenever the sound\nspeed of the tunneling trajectory departs sufficiently from unity. We argue\nthat these two very different perspectives are nevertheless consistent, and may\nimply the existence of a simple resummation of the strongly coupled\ninteractions of the field."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Moduli Space of the Cascading SU(M+p)xSU(p) Gauge Theory: We carry out a thorough analysis of the moduli space of the cascading gauge\ntheory found on p D3-branes and M wrapped D5-branes at the tip of the conifold.\nWe find various mesonic branches of the moduli space whose string duals involve\nthe warped deformed conifold with different numbers of mobile D3-branes. The\nbranes that are not mobile form a BPS bound state at threshold. In the special\ncase where p is divisible by M there also exists a one-dimensional baryonic\nbranch whose family of supergravity duals, the resolved warped deformed\nconifolds, was constructed recently. The warped deformed conifold is a special\ncase of these backgrounds where the resolution parameter vanishes and a Z_2\nsymmetry is restored. We study various brane probes on the resolved warped\ndeformed conifolds, and successfully match the results with the gauge theory.\nIn particular, we show that the radial potential for a D3-brane on this space\nvaries slowly, suggesting a new model of D-brane inflation.",
        "positive": "Double Horizon Limit, AdS Geometry and Entropy Function: We start from a generic metric which describes four dimensional stationary\nblack holes in an arbitrary theory of gravity and show that the AdS_2 part of\nthe near horizon geometry is a consequence of the double-horizon limit and\nfiniteness . We also show that the field configurations of the near horizon are\ndetermined if the same conditions are applied to the equations of motion. This\nis done by showing that in the double-horizon limit field equations at the\nhorizon decouple from the bulk of the space. Solving these equations gives the\nnear horizon field configurations. It is shown that these decoupled equations\ncan be obtained from an action derived from the original action by applying the\ndouble-horizon condition. Our results agree with the entropy function method."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Scattering Amplitudes and Conservative Binary Dynamics at ${\\cal\n  O}(G^4)$: Using scattering amplitudes, we obtain the potential contributions to\nconservative binary dynamics in general relativity at fourth post-Minkowskian\norder, ${\\cal O}(G^4)$. As in previous lower-order calculations, we harness\npowerful tools from the modern scattering amplitudes program including\ngeneralized unitarity, the double copy, and advanced multiloop integration\nmethods, in combination with effective field theory. The classical amplitude\ninvolves polylogarithms with up to transcendental weight two and elliptic\nintegrals. We derive the radial action directly from the amplitude, and\ndetermine the corresponding Hamiltonian in isotropic gauge. Our results are in\nagreement with known overlapping terms up to sixth post-Newtonian order, and\nwith the probe limit. We also determine the post-Minkowskian energy loss from\nradiation emission at ${\\cal O}(G^3)$ via its relation to the tail effect.",
        "positive": "Twist Symmetry and Gauge Invariance: By applying properly the concept of twist symmetry to the gauge invariant\ntheories, we arrive at the conclusion that previously proposed in the\nliterature noncommutative gauge theories, with the use of $\\star$-product, are\nthe correct ones, which possess the twisted Poincar\\'e symmetry. At the same\ntime, a recent approach to twisted gauge transformations is in contradiction\nwith the very concept of gauge fields arising as a consequence of {\\it local}\ninternal symmetry. Detailed explanations of this fact as well as the origin of\nthe discrepancy between the two approaches are presented."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On New Bulk Singularity Structures, RR Couplings in Asymmetric Picture\n  and Their All Order $\u03b1'$ Corrections: We have analyzed in detail four and five point functions of the string theory\namplitudes, including a closed string Ramond-Ramond (RR) in an asymmetric\npicture and either two or three transverse scalar fields in both IIA and IIB.\nThe complete forms of these S-matrices are derived and these asymmetric\nS-matrices are also compared with their own symmetric results. This leads us to\nexplore two different kinds of bulk singularity structures as well as various\nnew couplings in asymmetric picture of the amplitude in type II string theory.\nAll order $\\alpha'$ higher derivative corrections to these new couplings have\nbeen discovered as well. Several remarks for these two new bulk singularity\nstructures and for contact interactions of the S-Matrix have also been made.",
        "positive": "Winding String Dynamics in a Time-Dependent Beta Deformed Background: We study string theory on the analytically continued $\\beta$ deformed\nbackground proposed in hep-th/0509036. This non-static model provides a\nsolvable conformal field theory which describes time-dependent twisted string\ndynamics. With the mini-superspace approach, we examine disk one-point\ncorrelators of D-branes and compute the winding string pair production rate. We\nfind that these results are consistent with the CFT computation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Brane Junctions in the Randall-Sundrum Scenario: We present static solutions to Einstein's equations corresponding to branes\nat various angles intersecting in a single 3-brane. Such configurations may be\nuseful for building models with localized gravity via the Randall-Sundrum\nmechanism. We find that such solutions may exist only if the mechanical forces\nacting on the junction exactly cancel. In addition to this constraint there are\nfurther conditions that the parameters of the theory have to satisfy. We find\nthat at least one of these involves only the brane tensions and cosmological\nconstants, and thus can not have a dynamical origin. We present these\nconditions in detail for two simple examples. We discuss the nature of the\ncosmological constant problem in the framework of these scenarios, and outline\nthe desired features of the brane configurations which may bring us closer\ntowards the resolution of the cosmological constant problem.",
        "positive": "Self-Dual Chern-Simons Solitons with Non-Compact Groups: It is shown how to couple non-relativistic matter with a Chern--Simons gauge\nfield that belongs to a non-compact group. We treat in some details the\n$SL(2,{\\bf R})$ and the Poincar\\'e $ISO(2,1)$ groups. For suitable\nself-interactions, we are able to exhibit soliton solutions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Notes on Ramond-Ramond spinors and bispinors in double field theory: The Ramond-Ramond sector of double field theory (DFT) can be described either\nas an O(D,D) spinor or an O(D-1,1) x O(1,D-1) bispinor. Both formulations may\nbe related to the standard polyform expansion in terms of even or odd rank\nfield strengths corresponding to IIA or IIB duality frames. The spinor approach\nis natural in a (bosonic) metric formulation of DFT, while the bispinor is\nindispensable for supersymmetric DFT. In these notes, we show how these two\napproaches may be covariantly connected using a spinorial version of the DFT\nvielbein, which flattens an O(D,D) spinor into a bispinor. We also elaborate on\ndetails of the bispinor formulation in both even and odd D and elaborate on the\ndistinction between the IIA/IIB/IIA*/IIB* duality frames.",
        "positive": "Effective Action and Phase Structure of Multi-Layer Sine-Gordon Type\n  Models: We analyze the effective action and the phase structure of N-layer\nsine-Gordon type models, generalizing the results obtained for the two-layer\nsine-Gordon model found in [I. Nandori, S. Nagy, K. Sailer and U. D.\nJentschura, Nucl. Phys. B725, 467-492 (2005)]. Besides the obvious field\ntheoretical interest, the layered sine-Gordon model has been used to describe\nthe vortex properties of high transition temperature superconductors, and the\nextension of the previous analysis to a general N-layer model is necessary for\na description of the critical behaviour of vortices in realistic multi-layer\nsystems. The distinction of the Lagrangians in terms of mass eigenvalues is\nfound to be the decisive parameter with respect to the phase structure of the\nN-layer models, with neighbouring layers being coupled by quadratic terms in\nthe field variables. By a suitable rotation of the field variables, we identify\nthe periodic modes (without explicit mass terms) in the N-layer structure,\ncalculate the effective action and determine their Kosterlitz-Thouless type\nphase transitions to occur at a coupling parameter \\beta^2_{c} = 8 N \\pi, where\nN is the number of layers (or flavours in terms of the multi-flavour Schwinger\nmodel)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Faddeev-Jackiw Quantization of Christ-Lee Model: We analyze the constraints of Christ-Lee model by the means of modified\nFaddeev-Jackiw formalism in Cartesian as well as polar coordinates. Further, we\naccomplish quantization \\`{a} la Faddeev-Jackiw by choosing appropriate gauge\nconditions in both the coordinate systems. Finally, we establish gauge\nsymmetries of Christ-Lee model with the help of zero modes of the symplectic\nmatrix.",
        "positive": "Double scaling limit of N=2 chiral correlators with Maldacena-Wilson\n  loop: We consider $\\mathcal N=2$ conformal QCD in four dimensions and the one-point\ncorrelator of a class of chiral primaries with the circular $\\frac{1}{2}$-BPS\nMaldacena-Wilson loop. We analyze a recently introduced double scaling limit\nwhere the gauge coupling is weak while the R-charge of the chiral primary\n$\\Phi$ is large. In particular, we consider the case\n$\\Phi=(\\text{tr}\\varphi^{2})^{n}$ , where $\\varphi$ is the complex scalar in\nthe vector multiplet. The correlator defines a non-trivial scaling function at\nfixed $\\kappa = n\\,g_{\\rm YM}^{2}$ and large $n$ that may be studied by\nlocalization. For any gauge group $SU(N)$ we provide the analytic expression of\nthe first correction $\\sim \\zeta(3)\\,\\kappa^{2}$ and prove its universality. In\nthe $SU(2)$ and $SU(3)$ theories we compute the scaling functions at order\n$\\mathcal O(\\kappa^{6})$. Remarkably, in the $SU(2)$ case the scaling function\nis equal to an analogous quantity describing the chiral 2-point functions\n$\\langle\\Phi\\overline\\Phi\\rangle$ in the same large R-charge limit. We\nconjecture that this $SU(2)$ scaling function is computed at all-orders by a\n$\\mathcal N=4$ SYM expectation value of a matrix model object characterizing\nthe one-loop contribution to the 4-sphere partition function. The conjecture\nprovides an explicit series expansion for the scaling function and is checked\nat order $\\mathcal O(\\kappa^{10})$ by showing agreement with the available data\nin the sector of chiral 2-point functions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Renormalization of the bilocal sine-Gordon model: The functional renormalization group treatment is presented for the\ntwo-dimensional sine-Gordon model by including a bilocal term in the potential,\nwhich contributes to the flow at tree level. It is shown that the flow of the\nbilocal term can substitute the evolution of the wave function renormalization\nconstant, and then the Kosterlitz-Thouless type phase transition can be\nrecovered.",
        "positive": "On the Limits of Effective Quantum Field Theory: Eternal Inflation,\n  Landscapes, and Other Mythical Beasts: We recapitulate multiple arguments that Eternal Inflation, and the String\nLandscape are actually part of the Swampland: ideas in Effective Quantum Field\nTheory that do not have a counterpart in genuine models of Quantum Gravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Field Theoretical Quantum Effects on the Kerr Geometry: We study quantum aspects of the Einstein gravity with one time-like and one\nspace-like Killing vector commuting with each other. The theory is formulated\nas a $\\coset$ nonlinear $\\sigma$-model coupled to gravity. The quantum analysis\nof the nonlinear $\\sigma$-model part, which includes all the dynamical degrees\nof freedom, can be carried out in a parallel way to ordinary nonlinear\n$\\sigma$-models in spite of the existence of an unusual coupling. This means\nthat we can investigate consistently the quantum properties of the Einstein\ngravity, though we are limited to the fluctuations depending only on two\ncoordinates. We find the forms of the beta functions to all orders up to\nnumerical coefficients. Finally we consider the quantum effects of the\nrenormalization on the Kerr black hole as an example. It turns out that the\nasymptotically flat region remains intact and stable, while, in a certain\napproximation, it is shown that the inner geometry changes considerably however\nsmall the quantum effects may be.",
        "positive": "Quantum aspects of a noncommutative supersymmetric kink: We consider quantum corrections to a kink of noncommutative supersymmetric\nphi^4 theory in 1+1 dimensions. Despite the presence of an infinite number of\ntime derivatives in the action, we are able to define supercharges and a\nHamiltonian by using an unconventional canonical formalism. We calculate the\nquantum energy E of the kink (defined as a half-sum of the eigenfrequencies of\nfluctuations) which coincides with its' value in corresponding commutative\ntheory independently of the noncommutativity parameter. The renormalization\nalso proceeds precisely as in the commutative case. The vacuum expectation\nvalue of the new Hamiltonian is also calculated and appears to be consistent\nwith the value of the quantum energy E of the kink."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Massive fermion between two parallel chiral plates: We study the system of a massive fermion field confined between two parallel\nplates, where the properties of both plates are discussed under chiral MIT\nboundary conditions. We investigate the effects of the chiral angle on the\nCasimir energy for a massive fermion field with the general momentum. We find\nthat the Casimir energy as a function of the chiral angle is generally\nsymmetric, and the attractive Casimir force in the chiral case is stronger than\nthat in the nonchiral case. In addition, we investigate the approximate Casimir\nenergy for light and heavy mass cases. The behavior of the discrete momentum\nand changes of spin orientation are also discussed.",
        "positive": "On Wilson Criterion: U(1) gauge theory with the Villain action on a cubic lattice approximation of\nthree- and four-dimensional torus is considered. The naturally chosen\ncorrelation functions converge to the correlation functions of the R-gauge\nelectrodynamics on three- and four-dimensional torus as the lattice spacing\napproaches zero only for the special scaling. This special scaling depends on a\nchoice of a correlation function system. Another scalings give the degenerate\ncontinuum limits. The Wilson criterion for the confinement is ambiguous. The\nasymptotics of the smeared Wilson loop integral for the large loop perimeters\nis defined by the density of the loop smearing over a torus which is\ntransversal to the loop plane. When the initial torus radius tends to infinity\nthe correlation functions converge to the correlation functions of the R-gauge\nEuclidean electrodynamics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the ambiguity of field correlators represented by asymptotic\n  perturbation expansions: Starting from the divergence pattern of perturbation expansions in Quantum\nField Theory and the (assumed) asymptotic character of the series, we address\nthe problem of ambiguity of a function determined by the perturbation\nexpansion. We consider functions represented by an integral of the\nLaplace-Borel type along a general contour in the Borel complex plane. Proving\na modified form of the Watson lemma, we obtain a large class of functions\nhaving the same asymptotic perturbation expansion. Some remarks on perturbative\nQCD are made, using the particular case of the Adler function.",
        "positive": "Modular invariance and entanglement entropy: We study the Renyi and entanglement entropies for free 2d CFT's at finite\ntemperature and finite size, with emphasis on their properties under modular\ntransformations of the torus. We address the issue of summing over fermion spin\nstructures in the replica trick, and show that the relation between\nentanglement and thermal entropy determines two different ways to perform this\nsum in the limits of small and large interval. Both answers are modular\ncovariant, rather than invariant. Our results are compared with those for a\nfree boson at unit radius in the two limits and complete agreement is found,\nsupporting the view that entanglement respects Bose-Fermi duality. We extend\nour computations to multiple free Dirac fermions having correlated spin\nstructures, dual to free bosons on the Spin(2d) weight lattice."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Conformal Field Theory as Microscopic Dynamics of Incompressible Euler\n  and Navier-Stokes Equations: We consider the hydrodynamics of relativistic conformal field theories at\nfinite temperature. We show that the limit of slow motions of the ideal\nhydrodynamics leads to the non-relativistic incompressible Euler equation. For\nviscous hydrodynamics we show that the limit of slow motions leads to the\nnon-relativistic incompressible Navier-Stokes equation. We explain the physical\nreasons for the reduction and discuss the implications. We propose that\nconformal field theories provide a fundamental microscopic viewpoint of the\nequations and the dynamics governed by them.",
        "positive": "Evolution of the Chern-Simons Vortices: Based on the gauge potential decomposition theory and the $\\phi $-mapping\ntheory, the topological inner structure of the Chern-Simons-Higgs vortex has\nbeen showed in detail. The evolution of CSH vortices is studied from the\ntopological properties of the Higgs scalar field. The vortices are found\ngenerating or annihilating at the limit points and encountering, splitting or\nmerging at the bifurcation points of the scalar field $\\phi .$"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dilaton-Axion hair for slowly rotating Kerr black holes: Campbell et al. demonstrated the existence of axion ``hair'' for Kerr black\nholes due to the non-trivial Lorentz Chern-Simons term and calculated it\nexplicitly for the case of slow rotation. Here we consider the dilaton coupling\nto the axion field strength, consistent with low energy string theory and\ncalculate the dilaton ``hair'' arising from this specific axion source.",
        "positive": "3+1 Approach to the Long Wavelength Iteration Scheme: Large-scale inhomogeneities and anisotropies are modeled using the Long\nWavelength Iteration Scheme. In this scheme solutions are obtained as\nexpansions in spatial gradients, which are taken to be small. It is shown that\nthe choice of foliation for spacetime can make the iteration scheme more\neffective in two respects: (i) the shift vector can be chosen so as to dilute\nthe effect of anisotropy on the late-time value of the extrinsic curvature of\nthe spacelike hypersurfaces of the foliation; and (ii) pure gauge solutions\npresent in a similar calculation using the synchronous gauge vanish when the\nspacelike hypersurfaces have extrinsic curvature with constant trace. We\nfurthermore verify the main conclusion of the synchronous gauge calculation\nwhich is large-scale inhomogeneity decays if the matter--considered to be that\nof a perfect-fluid with a barotropic equation of state--violates the\nstrong-energy condition. Finally, we obtain the solution for the lapse function\nand discuss its late-time behaviour. It is found that the lapse function is\nwell-behaved when the matter violates the strong energy condition."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Causal diamonds in 2+1 dimensional quantum gravity: We develop the reduced phase space quantization of causal diamonds in pure\n2+1 dimensional gravity with a non-positive cosmological constant. The system\nis defined as the domain of dependence of a topological disc with fixed\nboundary metric. By solving the initial value constraints in a\nconstant-mean-curvature time gauge and removing all the spatial gauge\nredundancy, we find that the phase space is the cotangent bundle of\nDiff^+(S^1)/PSL(2,R). To quantize this phase space we apply Isham's\ngroup-theoretic quantization scheme, with respect to a BMS_3 group, and find\nthat the quantum theory can be realized by wavefunctions on some coadjoint\norbit of the Virasoro group, with labels in irreducible unitary representations\nof the corresponding little group. We find that the twist of the diamond\nboundary loop is quantized in integer or half-integer multiples of the ratio of\nthe Planck length to the boundary length.",
        "positive": "The BFV Approach for a Nonlocal Symmetry of QED: In this paper we use the Batalin-Fradkin-Vilkovisky formalism to study a\nrecently proposed nonlocal symmetry of QED. In the BFV extended phase space we\nshow that this symmetry stems from a canonical transformation in the ghost\nsector."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Yang-Mills theories with an arbitrary number of compactified extra\n  dimensions: The well-known Yang-Mills theory with one $ S^{1} / Z_{2}$ universal extra\ndimension (UED) is generalized to an arbitrary number of spatial extra\ndimensions through a novel compactification scheme. In this paper, the\nRiemannian flat based manifold under consideration contains $ n $ spatial extra\ndimensions defined by $ n $ copies of the orbifold $ S^{1} / Z_{2}$. In this\napproach, we present the gauge structure and the mass spectrum of the effective\nfour-dimensional theory. We introduce the concept of standard and nonstandard\ngauge transformations of the effective theory, and explicitly identify the\nemergence of massive vector fields in the same number as massless\n('pseudo-Goldstone') scalars in the compactified theory, verifying that a\nHiggs-like mechanism operates in the compactification process. It is found\nthat, in contrast with the one UED scenario, in cases with two or more UEDs\nthere emerge massive scalar fields. Besides, at phase-space level, the\nHamiltonian analysis yields that the higher-dimensional and compactified\ntheories are classically equivalent using the fundamental concept of canonical\ntransformation. This work lays the ground for a wider study on these theories\nconcerning their quantization and predictive power at the level of quantum\nfluctuations.",
        "positive": "Differential Renormalization-Group Approach to the Layered sine-Gordon\n  Model: New qualitative picture of vortex length-scale dependence has been found in\nrecent electrical transport measurements performed on strongly anisotropic\nBSCCO single crystals in zero magnetic field. This indicates the need for a\nbetter description of the 3D/2D crossover in vortex dimensionality. The\nvortex-dominated properties of high transition temperature superconductors with\nextremely high anisotropy (layered systems) are reasonably well described in\nthe framework of the layered XY model which can be mapped onto the layered\nsine-Gordon model. For the latter we derive an exact renormalization group (RG)\nequation using Wegner's and Houghton's approach in the local potential\napproximation. The agreement of the UV scaling laws find by us by linearizing\nthe RG equations with those obtained previously in the literature in the dilute\ngas approximation makes the improvement appearant which can be achieved by\nsolving our RG equations numerically."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fluid description of gravity on a timelike cut-off surface: beyond\n  Navier-Stokes equation: Over the past few decades, a host of theoretical evidence have surfaced that\nsuggest a connection between theories of gravity and Navier-Stokes (NS)\nequation of fluid dynamics. It emerges out that gravity theory can be treated\nas some kind of fluid on a particular surface. Motivated by the work carried\nout by Bredberg et al (JHEP 1207, 146 (2012)) \\cite{Bredberg:2011jq}, our paper\nfocuses on including certain modes to the metric which are consistent with the\nso called hydrodynamic scaling and discuss the consequences, one of which\nappear in the form of Damour Navier Stokes (DNS) equation with the\nincompressibility condition. We also present an alternative route to the\nresults by considering the metric as a perturbative expansion in the\nhydrodynamic scaling parameter $\\epsilon$ and with a specific gauge choice,\nthus modifying the metric. It is observed that the inclusion of certain modes\nin the metric corresponds to the solution of Einstein's equations in presence\nof a particular type of matter in the spacetime. This analysis reveals that\ngravity has both the NS and DNS description not only on a null surface, but\nalso on a timelike surface. So far we are aware of, this analysis is the first\nattempt to illuminate the possibility of presenting the gravity dual of DNS\nequation on a timelike surface. In addition, an equivalence between the\nhydrodynamic expansion and the near-horizon expansion has also been studied in\nthe present context.",
        "positive": "*-Products on Quantum Spaces: In this paper we present explicit formulas for the *-product on quantum\nspaces which are of particular importance in physics, i.e., the q-deformed\nMinkowski space and the q-deformed Euclidean space in 3 and 4 dimensions,\nrespectively. Our formulas are complete and formulated using the deformation\nparameter q. In addition, we worked out an expansion in powers of h=lnq up to\nsecond order, for all considered cases."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauges in the bulk: We present a general framework for nonparallel brane worlds and use it to\ndiscuss the nonlinear radion problem. By imposing the Einstein frame as a gauge\ncondition we are able to give the effective action for both Minkowski and\n(A)dS$_{4}$ branes. In particular we find the nonlinear radion does not\ndisappear in the second Randall-Sundrum model.",
        "positive": "BPS equations in N=2, D=5 supergravity with hypermultiplets: With the general aim to classify BPS solutions in N=2, D=5 supergravities\ninteracting with an arbitrary number of vector, tensor and hypermultiplets,\nhere we begin considering the most general electrostatic, spherical-symmetric\nBPS solutions in the presence of hypermultiplet couplings. We discuss the\nproperties of the BPS equations and the restrictions imposed by their\nintegrability conditions. We exhibit explicit solutions for the case of static\nBPS black-holes coupled to one (the so called universal) hypermultiplet."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Euclidean Black Hole Vortices: We argue the existence of solutions of the Euclidean Einstein equations that\ncorrespond to a vortex sitting at the horizon of a black hole. We find the\nasymptotic behaviours, at the horizon and at infinity, of vortex solutions for\nthe gauge and scalar fields in an abelian Higgs model on a Euclidean\nSchwarzschild background and interpolate between them by integrating the\nequations numerically. Calculating the backreaction shows that the effect of\nthe vortex is to cut a slice out of the Euclidean Schwarzschild geometry.\nConsequences of these solutions for black hole thermodynamics are discussed.",
        "positive": "Extensions of Conformal Nets and Superselection Structures: Starting with a conformal Quantum Field Theory on the real line, we show that\nthe dual net is still conformal with respect to a new representation of the\nMoebius group. We infer from this that every conformal net is normal and\nconormal, namely the local von Neumann algebra associated with an interval\ncoincides with its double relative commutant inside the local von Neumann\nalgebra associated with any larger interval. The net and the dual net give\ntogether rise to an infinite dimensional symmetry group, of which we study a\nclass of positive energy irreducible representations. We mention how\nsuperselsection sectors extend to the dual net and we illustrate by examples\nhow, in general, this process generates solitonic sectors. We describe the free\ntheories associated with the lowest weight n representations of PSL(2,R),\nshowing that they violate 3-regularity for n>2. When n>1, we obtain examples of\nnon Moebius-covariant sectors of a 3-regular (non 4-regular) net."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On a geometric derivation of Witten's identity for Chern-Simons theory: We present a formal but simple calculational scheme to relate the expectation\nvalue of Wilson loops in Chern-Simons theory to the Jones polynomial. We\nconsider the exponential of the generator of homotopy transformations which\nproduces the finite loop deformations that define the crossing change formulas\nof knot polynomials. Applying this operator to the expectation value of Wilson\nloops for an unspecified measure we find a set of conditions on the measure and\nthe regularization such that the Jones polynomial is obtained.",
        "positive": "Ashtekar's Approach to Quantum Gravity: A review is given of work by Abhay Ashtekar and his colleagues Carlo Rovelli,\nLee Smolin, and others, which is directed at constructing a nonperturbative\nquantum theory of general relativity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Entropy Function for Heterotic Black Holes: We use the entropy function formalism to study the effect of the Gauss-Bonnet\nterm on the entropy of spherically symmetric extremal black holes in heterotic\nstring theory in four dimensions. Surprisingly the resulting entropy and the\nnear horizon metric, gauge field strengths and the axion-dilaton field are\nidentical to those obtained by Cardoso et. al. for a supersymmetric version of\nthe theory that contains Weyl tensor squared term instead of the Gauss-Bonnet\nterm. We also study the effect of holomorphic anomaly on the entropy using our\nformalism. Again the resulting attractor equations for the axion-dilaton field\nand the black hole entropy agree with the corresponding equations for the\nsupersymmetric version of the theory. These results suggest that there might be\na simpler description of supergravity with curvature squared terms in which we\nsupersymmetrize the Gauss-Bonnet term instead of the Weyl tensor squared term.",
        "positive": "D-brane Solitons in Supersymmetric Sigma-Models: Massive D=4 N=2 supersymmetric sigma models typically admit domain wall\n(Q-kink) solutions and string (Q-lump) solutions, both preserving 1/2\nsupersymmetry. We exhibit a new static 1/4 supersymmetric `kink-lump' solution\nin which a string ends on a wall, and show that it has an effective realization\nas a BIon of the D=4 super DBI-action. It is also shown to have a\ntime-dependent Q-kink-lump generalization which reduces to the Q-lump in a\nlimit corresponding to infinite BI magnetic field. All these 1/4 supersymmetric\nsigma-model solitons are shown to be realized in M-theory as calibrated, or\n`Q-calibrated', M5-branes in an M-monopole background."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Operator Krylov complexity in random matrix theory: Krylov complexity, as a novel measure of operator complexity under Heisenberg\nevolution, exhibits many interesting universal behaviors and also bounds many\nother complexity measures. In this work, we study Krylov complexity\n$\\mathcal{K}(t)$ in Random Matrix Theory (RMT). In large $N$ limit: (1) For\ninfinite temperature, we analytically show that the Lanczos coefficient\n$\\{b_n\\}$ saturate to constant plateau $\\lim\\limits_{n\\rightarrow\\infty}b_n=b$,\nrendering a linear growing complexity $\\mathcal{K}(t)\\sim t$, in contrast to\nthe exponential-in-time growth in chaotic local systems in thermodynamic limit.\nAfter numerically comparing this plateau value $b$ to a large class of chaotic\nlocal quantum systems, we find that up to small fluctuations, it actually\nbounds the $\\{b_n\\}$ in chaotic local quantum systems. Therefore we conjecture\nthat in chaotic local quantum systems after scrambling time, the speed of\nlinear growth of Krylov complexity cannot be larger than that in RMT. (2) For\nlow temperature, we analytically show that $b_n$ will first exhibit linear\ngrowth with $n$, whose slope saturates the famous chaos bound. After hitting\nthe same plateau $b$, $b_n$ will then remain constant. This indicates\n$\\mathcal{K}(t)\\sim e^{2\\pi t/\\beta}$ before scrambling time $t_*\\sim\nO(\\beta\\log\\beta)$, and after that it will grow linearly in time, with the same\nspeed as in infinite temperature. We finally remark on the effect of finite $N$\ncorrections.",
        "positive": "Gravitons in a gravitational plane wave: Gravitational plane waves (when Ricci flat) belong to the VSI family. The\nachronym VSI stands for vanishing scalar invariants, meaning that all scalar\ninvariants built out of Riemann tensor and its derivatives vanish, although the\nRiemann tensor itself does not. In the particular case of plane waves many\ninteresting phenomena have been uncovered for strings propagating in this\nbackground. Here we comment on gravitons propagating in such a spacetime, which\nitself presumably consists of an Avogadro number of such gravitons."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The massless supersymmetric ladder with L rungs: We show that in the massless N=1 supersymmetric Wess-Zumino theory it is\npossible to devise a computational strategy by which the x-space calculation of\nthe ladder 4-point correlators can be carried out without introducing any\nregularization. As an application we derive a representation valid at all loop\norders in terms of conformal invariant integrals. We obtain an explicit\nexpression of the 3-loop ladder diagram for collinear external points.",
        "positive": "World Sheet Superstring and Superstring Field Theory: a new solution\n  using Ultradistributions of Exponential Type: In this paper we show that Ultradistributions of Exponential Type (UET) are\nappropriate for the description in a consistent way world sheet superstring and\nsuperstring field theories. A new Lagrangian for the closed world sheet\nsuperstring is obtained. We also show that the superstring field is a linear\nsuperposition of UET of compact support (CUET), and give the notion of\nanti-superstring. We evaluate the propagator for the string field, and\ncalculate the convolution of two of them."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Superconductivity in Anyon Fluid at Finite Temperature and Density: The boundary effects in the screening of an applied magnetic field in a\ncharged anyon fluid at finite temperature and density are investigated. By\nanalytically solving the extremum equations of the sytem and minimizing the\nfree energy density, we find that in a sample with only one boundary (the half\nplane), a total Meissner effect takes place; while the sample with two\nboundaries (the infinite strip) exhibits a partial Meissner effect. The\nshort-ranges modes of propagation of the magnetic field inside the fluid are\ncharacterized by two temp erature dependent penetration lengths.",
        "positive": "Partial D-operators for the generalized IBP reduction: Empirical evidence reveals existence of partial D-operators for the\ngeneralized IBP (BT) reduction algorithms that are, counterintuitively, much\nsimpler and much easier to find than the complete D-operators from the\nfoundational Bernstein theorem, allowing one to construct first true two-loop\nexamples of generalized IBP identities."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non Abelian Toda Theory : A Completely Integrable Model for Strings on a\n  Black Hole Background: The present paper studies a completely integrable conformally invariant model\nin 1+1 dimensions that corresponds to string propagation on the two-dimensional\nblack hole background (semi-ininite cigar). Besides the two space-time string\nfields there is a third (internal) field with a very specific Liouville-type\ninteraction leading to the complete integrability. This system is known as\nnon-abelian Toda theory. I give the general explicit classical solution. It\nrealizes a rather involved transformation expressing the interacting string\nfields in terms of (three) functions $\\varphi_j(u)$ and $\\bar\\varphi_j(v)$ of\none light-cone variable only. The latter are shown to lead to standard harmonic\noscillator (free field) Poisson brackets thus paving the way towards\nquantization. There are three left-moving and three right-moving conserved\nquantities. The right (left)-moving conserved quantities form a new closed\nnon-linear, non-local Poisson bracket algebra. This algebra is a Virasoro\nalgebra extended by two conformal dimension-two primaries.",
        "positive": "Unfolding Mixed-Symmetry Fields in AdS and the BMV Conjecture: II.\n  Oscillator Realization: Following the general formalism presented in arXiv:0812.3615 -- referred to\nas Paper I -- we derive the unfolded equations of motion for tensor fields of\narbitrary shape and mass in constantly curved backgrounds by radial reduction\nof Skvortsov's equations in one higher dimension. The complete unfolded system\nis embedded into a single master field, valued in a tensorial Schur module\nrealized equivalently via either bosonic (symmetric basis) or fermionic\n(anti-symmetric basis) vector oscillators. At critical masses the reduced Weyl\nzero-form modules become indecomposable. We explicitly project the latter onto\nthe submodules carrying Metsaev's massless representations. The remainder of\nthe reduced system contains a set of Stueckelberg fields and dynamical\npotentials that leads to a smooth flat limit in accordance with the\nBrink--Metsaev--Vasiliev (BMV) conjecture. In the unitary massless cases in\nAdS, we identify the Alkalaev--Shaynkman--Vasiliev frame-like potentials and\nexplicitly disentangle their unfolded field equations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quarter-BPS AdS5 solutions in M-theory with a T2 bundle over a Riemann\n  surface: We study and classify quarter-BPS AdS5 systems in M-theory, whose internal\nsix-dimensional geometry is a T2 bundle over a Riemann surface and two interval\ndirections. The general system presented, provides a unified description of all\nknown AdS5 solutions in M-theory. These systems are governed by two functions,\none that corresponds to the conformal factor of the Riemann surface and another\nthat describes the T2 fibration. We find solutions that can be organized into\ntwo classes. In the first one, solutions are specified by the conformal factor\nof the Riemann surface which satisfies a warped generalization of the\nSU(infinity) Toda equation. The system in the second class requires the Riemann\nsurface to be S2, H2 or T2. Class one contains the M-theory AdS5 solutions of\nLin, Lunin and Maldacena; the solutions of Maldacena and Nunez; the solutions\nof Gauntlett, Martelli, Sparks and Waldram; and the eleven-dimensional uplift\nof the Y(p,q) metrics. The second includes the recently found solutions of\nBeem, Bobev, Wecht and the author. Within each class there are new solutions\nthat will be studied in a companion paper.",
        "positive": "Higher Spin Symmetries, Star-Product and Relativistic Equations in AdS\n  Space: We discuss general properties of the theory of higher spin gauge fields in\n$AdS_4$ focusing on the relationship between the star-product origin of the\nhigher spin symmetries, AdS geometry and the concept of space-time locality. A\nfull list of conserved higher spin currents in the flat space of arbitrary\ndimension is presented."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On quasinormal modes of small Schwarzschild-Anti-de-Sitter black hole: We compute the quasinormal modes associated with decay of the massless scalar\nfiled around a small Schwarzschild-Anti-de-Sitter black hole. The computations\nshows that when the horizon radius is much less than the anti-de-Sitter radius,\nthe imaginary part of the frequency goes to zero as $r_+^{d-2}$ while the real\npart of $\\omega$ decreases to its minimum and then goes to $d-1$. Thus the\nquasinormal modes approach the usual AdS modes in the limit $r_+ -> 0$. This\nagrees with suggestions of Horowitz et al (Phys.Rev. D62 024027 (2000)).",
        "positive": "Lorentzian Goldstone modes shared among photons and gravitons: It has long been known that photons and gravitons may appear as vector and\ntensor Goldstone modes caused \\ by spontaneous Lorentz invariance violation\n(SLIV). Usually this approach is considered for photons and gravitons\nseparately. We develop the emergent electrogravity theory consisting of the\nordinary QED and the tensor field gravity model which mimics the linearized\ngeneral relativity in Minkowski spacetime. In this theory, Lorentz symmetry\nappears incorporated into higher global symmetries of the length-fixing\nconstraints put on the vector and tensor fields involved, $A_{\\mu }^{2}=\\pm\nM_{A}^{2}$ and $H_{\\mu \\nu }^{2}=\\pm M_{H}^{2}$ ($M_{A}$ and $M_{H}$ are the\nproposed symmetry breaking scales). We show that such a SLIV pattern being\nrelated to breaking of global symmetries underlying these constraints induces\nthe massless Goldstone and pseudo-Goldstone modes shared among photon and\ngraviton. While for a vector field case the symmetry of the constraint\ncoincides with Lorentz symmetry $SO(1,3)$ of the electrogravity Lagrangian, the\ntensor field constraint itself possesses much higher global symmetry $SO(7,3)$,\nwhose spontaneous violation provides a sufficient number of zero modes\ncollected in a graviton. Accordingly, while photon may only contain true\nGoldstone modes, graviton appears at least partially composed from\npseudo-Goldstone modes rather than from pure Goldstone ones. When expressed in\nterms of these modes, the theory looks essentially nonlinear and contains a\nvariety of Lorentz and $CPT$ violating couplings. However, all SLIV effects\nturn out to be strictly cancelled in the lowest order processes that is\nconsidered in some detail. How this emergent electrogravity theory could be\nobservationally differed from conventional QED and GR theories is also briefly\ndiscussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "RG and logarithmic CFT multicritical properties of randomly diluted\n  Ising models: We discuss how a spin system, which is subject to quenched disorder, might\nexhibit multicritical behaviors at criticality if the distribution of the\nimpurities is arbitrary. In order to provide realistic candidates for such\nmulticritical behaviors, we discuss several generalizations of the standard\nrandomly diluted Ising's universality class adopting the $\\epsilon$-expansion\nclose to several upper critical dimensions. In the presentation, we spend a\nspecial effort in bridging between CFT and RG results and discuss in detail the\ncomputation of quantities, which are of prominent interest in the case of\nlogarithmic CFT.",
        "positive": "The String Measure and Spectral Flow of Critical N=2 Strings: The general structure of N=2 moduli space at arbitrary genus and instanton\nnumber is investigated. The N=2 NSR string measure is calculated, yielding\npicture- and U(1) ghost number-changing operator insertions. An explicit\nformula for the spectral flow operator acting on vertex operators is given, and\nits effect on N=2 string amplitudes is discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fermionic and bosonic pair creation in an external electric field at\n  finite temperature using the functional Schr\u00f6dinger representation: We solve the time evolution of the density matrix both for fermions and\nbosons in the presence of a homogeneous but time dependent external electric\nfield. The number of particles produced by the external field, as well as their\ndistribution in momentum space is found for finite times. Furthermore, we\ncalculate the probability of finding a given number of particles in the\nensemble. In all cases, there is a nonvanishing thermal contribution. The\nbosonic and the fermionic density matrices are expressed in a \"functional field\nbasis\". This constitutes an extension of the \"field basis\" concept to fermions.",
        "positive": "On the stability problem in the O(N) nonlinear sigma model: The stability problem for the O(N) nonlinear sigma model in the 2+\\epsilon\ndimensions is considered. We present the results of the 1/N^{2} order\ncalculations of the critical exponents (in the 2<d<4 dimensions) of the\ncomposite operators relevant for this problem. The arguments in the favor of\nthe scenario with the conventional fixed point are given."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Charged Fields with Group Symmetry and Degeneracies of Verlinde's\n  Matrix S: We consider the complete normal field net with compact symmetry group\nconstructed by Doplicher and Roberts starting from a net of local observables\nin >=2+1 spacetime dimensions and its set of localized (DHR) representations.\nWe prove that the field net does not possess nontrivial DHR sectors, provided\nthe observables have only finitely many sectors. Whereas the superselection\nstructure in 1+1 dimensions typically does not arise from a group, the DR\nconstruction is applicable to `degenerate sectors', the existence of which (in\nthe rational case) is equivalent to non-invertibility of Verlinde's S-matrix.\nWe prove Rehren's conjecture that the enlarged theory is non-degenerate, which\nimplies that every degenerate theory is an `orbifold' theory. Thus, the\nsymmetry of a generic model `factorizes' into a group part and a pure quantum\npart which still must be clarified.",
        "positive": "The R^2 phase-diagram of QEG and its spectral dimension: Within the gravitational asymptotic safety program, the RG flow of the R^2\ntruncation in three and four spacetime dimensions is analyzed in detail. In\nparticular, we construct RG trajectories which emanate from the non-Gaussian UV\nfixed point and possess long classical regimes where the effective average\naction is well approximated by the classical Einstein-Hilbert action. As an\napplication we study the spectral dimension of the effective QEG spacetimes\nresulting from these trajectories, establishing that the picture of a\nmulti-fractal spacetime is robust under the extension of the truncated theory\nspace. We demonstrate that regimes of constant spectral dimensions can either\nbe attributed to universal features of RG fixed points or singular loci in the\n\\beta functions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Absorption cross section and Hawking radiation in two-dimensional AdS\n  black hole: We calculate the absorption coefficient of scalar field on the background of\nthe two-dimensional AdS black hole, which is of relevance to Hawking radiation.\nFor the massless scalar field, we find that there does not exist any massless\nradiation.",
        "positive": "Description of the Heterotic String Solutions in the M Model: We continue the study of heterotic non-Abelian BPS-saturated flux tubes\n(strings). Previously, such solutions were obtained in U(N) gauge theories: N=2\nsupersymmetric QCD deformed by superpotential terms \\mu A^2 breaking N=2\nsupersymmetry down to N=1. In these models one cannot consider the limit\n\\mu\\to\\infty which would eliminate adjoint fields: the bulk theory develops a\nHiggs branch; the emergence of massless particles in the bulk precludes one\nfrom taking the limit \\mu\\to\\infty. This drawback is absent in the M model\n(hep-th/0701040) where the matter sector includes additional \"meson\" fields M\nintroduced in a special way. We generalize our previous results to the M model,\nderive the heterotic string (the string world-sheet theory is a heterotic\nN=(2,0) sigma model, with the CP(N-1) target space for bosonic fields and an\nextra right-handed fermion coupled to the fermion fields of the N=(2,2) CP(N-1)\nmodel), and then explicitly obtain all relevant zero modes. This allows us to\nrelate parameters of the microscopic M model to those of the world-sheet\ntheory. The limit \\mu\\to\\infty is perfectly smooth. Thus, the full-blown and\nfully analyzed heterotic string emerges, for the first time, in the N=1 theory\nwith no adjoint fields. The fate of the confined monopoles is discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Universal results from an alternate random matrix model for QCD with a\n  baryon chemical potential: We introduce a new non-Hermitian random matrix model for QCD with a baryon\nchemical potential. This model is a direct chiral extension of a previously\nstudied model that interpolates between the Wigner-Dyson and Ginibre ensembles.\nWe present exact results for all eigenvalue correlations for any number of\nquark flavors using the orthogonal polynomial method. We also find that the\nparameters of the model can be scaled to remove the effects of the chemical\npotential from all thermodynamic quantities until the finite density phase\ntransition is reached. This makes the model and its extensions well suited for\nstudying the phase diagram of QCD.",
        "positive": "Establishing strongly-coupled 3D AdS quantum gravity with Ising dual\n  using all-genus partition functions: We study 3D pure Einstein quantum gravity with negative cosmological\nconstant, in the regime where the AdS radius $l$ is of the order of the Planck\nscale. Specifically, when the Brown-Henneaux central charge $c=3l/2G_N$ ($G_N$\nis the 3D Newton constant) equals $c=1/2$, we establish duality between 3D\ngravity and 2D Ising conformal field theory by matching gravity and conformal\nfield theory partition functions for AdS spacetimes with general asymptotic\nboundaries. This duality was suggested by a genus-one calculation of Castro et\nal. [Phys. Rev. D {\\bf 85}, 024032 (2012)]. Extension beyond genus-one requires\nnew mathematical results based on 3D Topological Quantum Field Theory; these\nturn out to uniquely select the $c=1/2$ theory among all those with $c<1$,\nextending the previous results of Castro et al..\n  Previous work suggests the reduction of the calculation of the gravity\npartition function to a problem of summation over the orbits of the mapping\nclass group action on a \"vacuum seed\". But whether or not the summation is\nwell-defined for the general case was unknown before this work. Amongst all\ntheories with Brown-Henneaux central charge $c<1$, the sum is finite and unique\n{\\it only} when $c=1/2$, corresponding to a dual Ising conformal field theory\non the asymptotic boundary."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Real analytic solutions for marginal deformations in open superstring\n  field theory: We construct analytic solutions for marginal deformations satisfying the\nreality condition in open superstring field theory formulated by Berkovits when\noperator products made of the marginal operator and the associated\nsuperconformal primary field are regular. Our strategy is based on the recent\nobservation by Erler that the problem of finding solutions for marginal\ndeformations in open superstring field theory can be reduced to a problem in\nthe bosonic theory of finding a finite gauge parameter for a certain pure-gauge\nconfiguration labeled by the parameter of the marginal deformation. We find a\ngauge transformation generated by a real gauge parameter which infinitesimally\nchanges the deformation parameter and construct a finite gauge parameter by its\npath-ordered exponential. The resulting solution satisfies the reality\ncondition by construction.",
        "positive": "Heterotic Standard Model Moduli: In previous papers, we introduced a heterotic standard model and discussed\nits basic properties. The Calabi-Yau threefold has, generically, three Kahler\nand three complex structure moduli. The observable sector of this vacuum has\nthe spectrum of the MSSM with one additional pair of Higgs-Higgs conjugate\nfields. The hidden sector has no charged matter in the strongly coupled string\nand only minimal matter for weak coupling. Additionally, the spectrum of both\nsectors will contain vector bundle moduli. The exact number of such moduli was\nconjectured to be small, but was not explicitly computed. In this paper, we\nrectify this and present a formalism for computing the number of vector bundle\nmoduli. Using this formalism, the number of moduli in both the observable and\nstrongly coupled hidden sectors is explicitly calculated."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dualities in the classical supergravity limits: Duality symmetries of supergravity theories are powerful tools to restrict\nthe number of possible actions, to link different dimensions and number of\nsupersymmetries and might help to control quantisation.\n(Hodge-Dirac-)Dualisation of gauge potentials exchanges Noether and topological\ncharges, equations of motion and Bianchi identities, internal rigid symmetries\nand gauge symmetries, local transformations with nonlocal ones and most\nexciting particles and waves. We compare the actions of maximally dualised\nsupergravities (ie with gauge potential forms of lowest possible degree) to the\nnon-dualised actions coming from 11 (or 10) dimensions by plain dimensional\nreduction as well as to other theories with partial dualisations. The effect on\nthe rigid duality group is a kind of contraction resulting from the elimination\nof the unfaithful generators associated to the (inversely) dualised scalar\nfields. New gauge symmetries are introduced by these (un)dualisations and it is\nclear that a complete picture of duality (F(ull)-duality) should include all\ngauge symmetries at the same time as the rigid symmetries and the spacetime\nsymmetries. We may read off some properties of F-duality on the internal rigid\nDynkin diagram: field content, possible dualisations, increase of the rank\naccording to the decrease of space dimension... Some recent results are\nincluded to suggest the way towards unification via a universal twisted\nself-duality (TS) structure. The analysis of this structure had revealed\nseveral profound differences according to the parity mod 4 of the dimension of\nspacetime (to be contrasted with the (Bott) period 8 of spinor properties).",
        "positive": "Holographic Aspects of Even-Dimensional Topological Gravity: In an odd-dimensional spacetime, gravity can be formulated as a proper gauge\ntheory based on the Chern-Simons action for a suitable gauge group. Performing\ndimensional reduction, one obtains, as an effective theory, Chamseddine's\neven-dimensional topological gravity with the reduced gauge symmetry. This\ntheory involves a multiplet of scalar fields that appear as a result of the\ndimensional reduction, and it is topological in the sense that its action does\nnot depend on the metric. Focusing primarily on the four-dimensional case, we\nuse the holographic dictionary to compute one-point correlation functions of\nthe relevant boundary operators and find that the spin-current can have a\nnonzero expectation value in the dual quantum field theory. We also consider\nthe generalized holographic Weyl anomaly and find that it vanishes. Finally, we\npropose a way of computing two-point correlation functions using the\ngravitational Wilson lines."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Orientifold Calabi-Yau Threefolds with Divisor Involutions and String\n  Landscape: We establish an orientifold Calabi-Yau threefold database for $h^{1,1}(X)\n\\leq 6$ by considering non-trivial $\\mathbb{Z}_{2}$ divisor exchange\ninvolutions, using a toric Calabi-Yau database\n(http://www.rossealtman.com/toriccy/). We first determine the topology for each\nindividual divisor (Hodge diamond), then identify and classify the proper\ninvolutions which are globally consistent across all disjoint phases of the\nK\\\"ahler cone for each unique geometry. Each of the proper involutions will\nresult in an orientifold Calabi-Yau manifold. Then we clarify all possible\nfixed loci under the proper involution, thereby determining the locations of\ndifferent types of $O$-planes. It is shown that under the proper involutions,\none typically ends up with a system of $O3/O7$-planes, and most of these will\nfurther admit naive Type IIB string vacua.The geometries with freely acting\ninvolutions are also determined. We further determine the splitting of the\nHodge numbers into odd/even parity in the orbifold limit. The final result is a\nclass of orientifold Calabi-Yau threefolds with non-trivial odd class\ncohomology $h^{1,1}_{-}(X / \\sigma^*) \\neq 0$.",
        "positive": "Jordan meets Freudenthal. A Black Hole Exceptional Story: Within the extremal black hole attractors arising in ungauged\n$\\mathcal{N}\\geqslant 2$-extended Maxwell Einstein supergravity theories in\n$3+1$ space-time dimensions, we provide an overview of the stratification of\nthe electric-magnetic charge representation space into \"large\" orbits and\nrelated \"moduli spaces\", under the action of the (continuous limit of the)\nnon-compact $U$-duality Lie group. While each \"large\" orbit of the $U$-duality\nsupports a class of attractors, the corresponding \"moduli space\" is the proper\nsubspace of the scalar manifold spanned by those scalar fields on which the\nAttractor Mechanism is inactive. We present the case study concerning\n$\\mathcal{N}=2$ supergravity theories with symmetric vector multiplets' scalar\nmanifold, which in all cases (with the exception of the minimally coupled\nmodels) have the electric-magnetic charge representation of $U$-duality fitting\ninto a reduced Freudenthal triple system over a cubic (simple or semi-simple)\nJordan algebra."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Functional Renormalization of Noncommutative Scalar Field Theory: In this paper we apply the Functional Renormalization Group Equation (FRGE)\nto the non-commutative scalar field theory proposed by Grosse and Wulkenhaar.\nWe derive the flow equation in the matrix representation and discuss the theory\nspace for the self-dual model. The features introduced by the external\ndimensionful scale provided by the non-commutativity parameter, originally\npointed out in \\cite{Gurau:2009ni}, are discussed in the FRGE context. Using a\ntechnical assumption, but without resorting to any truncation, it is then shown\nthat the theory is asymptotically safe for suitably small values of the\n$\\phi^4$ coupling, recovering the result of \\cite{disertori:2007}. Finally, we\nshow how the FRGE can be easily used to compute the one loop beta-functions of\nthe duality covariant model.",
        "positive": "Scaling results for charged sectors of near conformal QCD: We provide the leading near conformal corrections on a cylinder to the\nscaling dimension $\\Delta_Q^\\ast$ of fixed isospin charge $Q$ operators defined\nat the lower boundary of the Quantum Chromodynamics conformal window:\n\\begin{equation}\n  \\Delta_Q = \\Delta_Q^\\ast +\\left(\\frac{m_{\\sigma}}{4 \\pi \\nu}\\right)^2 \\,\nQ^{\\frac{\\Delta}{3}} B_1 + \\left(\\frac{m_\\pi(\\theta)}{4\\pi \\nu} \\right)^4\\\nQ^{\\frac{2}{3}(1-\\gamma)} B_2 + \\mathcal{O}\\left ( m_\\sigma^4 , m_\\pi^8,\nm_\\sigma^2 m_\\pi^4\\right) \\ . \\nonumber\n  \\end{equation} The results are expressed in powers of the dilaton and pion\nmasses in units of the chiral symmetry breaking scale $4\\pi \\nu$ with the\ntheta-angle dependence encoded directly in the pion mass. The characteristic\n$Q$-scaling is dictated by the quark mass operator anomalous dimension $\\gamma$\nand the one characterising the dilaton potential $\\Delta$. The coefficients\n$B_i$ with $i=1,2$ depend on the geometry of the cylinder and properties of the\nnearby conformal field theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Vector-tensor supermultiplets in AdS and supergravity: In N = 2 Poincare supersymmetry in four space-time dimensions, there exist\noff-shell supermultiplets with intrinsic central charge, including the\nimportant examples of the Fayet-Sohnius hypermultiplet, the linear and the\nnonlinear vector-tensor (VT) multiplets. One can also define similar\nsupermultiplets in the context of N = 2 anti-de Sitter (AdS) supersymmetry,\nalthough the origin of the central charge becomes somewhat obscure. In this\npaper we develop a general setting for N = 2 AdS supersymmetric theories with\ncentral charge. We formulate a supersymmetric action principle in N = 2 AdS\nsuperspace and then reformulate it in terms of N = 1 superfields. We prove that\nN = 2 AdS supersymmetry does not allow existence of a linear VT multiplet. For\nthe nonlinear VT multiplet, we derive consistent superfield constraints in the\npresence of any number of N = 2 Yang-Mills vector multiplets, give the\nsupersymmetric action and elaborate on the N = 1 superfield and component\ndescriptions of the theory. Our description of the nonlinear VT multiplet in\nAdS is then lifted to N = 2 supergravity. Moreover, we derive consistent\nsuperfield constraints and Lagrangian that describe the linear VT multiplet in\nN = 2 supergravity in the presence of two vector multiplets, one of which\ngauges the central charge. These supergravity constructions thus provide the\nfirst superspace formulation for the component results derived in\narXiv:hep-th/9710212. We also construct higher-derivative couplings of the VT\nmultiplet to any number of N = 2 tensor multiplets.",
        "positive": "Gravity Induced Chiral Condensate Formation and the Cosmological\n  Constant: It is well known that the covariant coupling of fermionic matter to gravity\ninduces a four-fermion interaction. The presence of this term in a homogenous\nand isotropic space-time results in a BCS-like Hamiltonian and the formation of\na chiral condensate with a mass gap. We calculate the gap ($\\Delta$) via a\nmean-field approximation for minimally coupled fermionic fields in a FRW\nbackground and find that it depends on the scale factor. The calculation also\nyields a correction to the bare cosmological constant ($\\Lambda_0$), and a\nnon-zero vev for $<\\psi^\\dag\\psi>$ which then behaves as a scalar field. Hence\nwe conjecture that the presence of fermionic matter in gravity provides a\nnatural mechanism for relaxation of the $\\Lambda_0$ and explains the existence\nof a scalar field from (almost) first principles."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Cosmological Switchback Effect: The volume behind the black hole horizon was suggested as a holographic dual\nfor the quantum computational complexity of the boundary state in AdS/CFT. This\nidentification is strongly motivated by the switchback effect: a characteristic\ndelay of complexity growth in reaction to an inserted perturbation, modelled as\na shockwave in the bulk. Recent proposals of de Sitter (dS) holography suggest\nthat a dual theory could be living on a stretched horizon near the cosmological\nhorizon. We study how the spacetime volume behind the cosmological horizon in\nSchwarzschild-dS space reacts to the insertion of shockwaves in an attempt to\ncharacterize the properties of this dual theory. We demonstrate that a\nswitchback effect can be observed in dS space. That is, the growth of\ncomplexity is delayed in reaction to a perturbation. This delay is longer for\nearlier shocks and depends on a scrambling time which is logarithmic in the\nstrength of the shockwave and proportional to the inverse temperature of the\ncosmological dS horizon. This behavior is very similar to what happens for AdS\nblack holes, albeit the geometric origin of the effect is different.",
        "positive": "No-scale D=5 supergravity from Scherk-Schwarz reduction of D=6 theories: We perform a generalized dimensional reduction of six dimensional\nsupergravity theories to five dimensions. We consider the minimal $(2,0)$ and\nthe maximal $(4,4)$ theories. In each case the reduction allows us to obtain\ngauged supergravities of no-scale type in dimension five with gauge groups that\nescape previous classifications. In the minimal case, the geometric data of the\nreduced theory correspond to particular cases of the D=5 real special geometry.\nIn the maximal case we find a four parameter solution which allows partial\nbreaking of supersymmetry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A No-Go Theorem for the Consistent Quantization of Spin 3/2 Fields on\n  General Curved Spacetimes: It is well-known that coupling a spin $\\frac32$-field to a gravitational or\nelectromagnetic background leads to potential problems both in the classical\nand in the quantum theory. Various solutions to these problems have been\nproposed so far, which are all restricted to a limited class of backgrounds. On\nthe other hand, negative results for general gravitational backgrounds have\nbeen reported only for a limited set of couplings to the background to date.\nHence, to our knowledge, a comprehensive analysis of all possible couplings to\nthe gravitational field and general gravitational backgrounds including\noff-shell ones has not been performed so far. In this work we analyse whether\nit is possible to couple a spin $\\frac32$-field to a gravitational field in\nsuch a way that the resulting quantum theory is consistent on arbitrary\ngravitational backgrounds. We find that this is impossible as all couplings\nrequire the background to be an Einstein spacetime for consistency. This\nenforces the widespread belief that supergravity theories are the only\nmeaningful models which contain spin $\\frac32$ fields as in these models such\nrestrictions of the gravitational background appear naturally as on-shell\nconditions.",
        "positive": "Little String Origin of Surface Defects: We derive the codimension-two defects of 4d $\\mathcal{N} = 4$ Super\nYang-Mills (SYM) theory from the (2, 0) little string. The origin of the little\nstring is type IIB theory compactified on an ADE singularity. The defects are\nD-branes wrapping the 2-cycles of the singularity. We use this construction to\nmake contact with the description of SYM defects due to Gukov and Witten\n[arXiv:hep-th/0612073]. Furthermore, we derive from a geometric perspective the\ncomplete nilpotent orbit classification of codimension-two defects, and the\nconnection to ADE-type Toda CFT. The only data needed to specify the defects is\na set of weights of the algebra obeying certain constraints, which we give\nexplicitly. We highlight the differences between the defect classification in\nthe little string theory and its (2, 0) CFT limit."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Operator Counting for N=2 Chern-Simons Gauge Theories with Chiral-like\n  Matter Fields: The localization formula of Chern-Simons quiver gauge theory on $S^3$ nicely\nreproduces the geometric data such as volume of Sasaki-Einstein manifolds in\nthe large-$N$ limit, at least for vector-like models. The validity of\nchiral-like models is not established yet, due to technical problems in both\nanalytic and numerical approaches. Recently Gulotta, Herzog and Pufu suggested\nthat the counting of chiral operators can be used to find the eigenvalue\ndistribution of quiver matrix models. In this paper we apply this method to\nsome vector-like or chiral-like quiver theories, including the triangular\nquivers with generic Chern-Simons levels which are dual to in-homogeneous\nSasaki-Einstein manifolds $Y^{p,k}(\\mathbb{CP}^2)$. The result is consistent\nwith AdS/CFT and the volume formula. We discuss the implication of our\nanalysis.",
        "positive": "Hawking Radiation, Covariant Boundary Conditions and Vacuum States: The basic characteristics of the covariant chiral current $<J_{\\mu}>$ and the\ncovariant chiral energy-momentum tensor $<T_{\\mu\\nu}>$ are obtained from a\nchiral effective action. These results are used to justify the covariant\nboundary condition used in recent approaches\n\\cite{Isowilczek,Isoumtwilczek,shailesh,shailesh2,Banerjee} of computing the\nHawking flux from chiral gauge and gravitational anomalies. We also discuss a\nconnection of our results with the conventional calculation of nonchiral\ncurrents and stress tensors in different (Unruh, Hartle-Hawking and Boulware)\nstates."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Moduli Space for Kink Collisions with Moving Center of Mass: We apply the collective coordinate model framework to describe collisions of\na kink and an antikink with nonzero total momentum, i.e., when the solitons\npossess different velocities. The minimal moduli space with only two\ncoordinates (the mutual distance and the position of the center of mass) is of\na wormhole type, whose throat shrinks to a point for symmetric kinks. In this\ncase, a singularity is formed. For non-zero momentum, it prohibits solutions\nwhere the solitons pass through each other. We show that this unphysical\nfeature can be cured by enlarging the dimension of the moduli space, e.g., by\nthe inclusion of internal modes.",
        "positive": "A Comment on Duality in SUSY SU(N) Gauge Theory with a Symmetric Tensor: We suggest an alternative approach to deconfine N =1 SU(N) supersymmetric\ngauge theory with a symmetric tensor, fundamentals, anti-fundamentals, and no\nsuperpotential. It is found that although the dual prescription derived by this\nnew method of deconfinement is different from that by the original method, both\ndual prescriptions are connected by duality transformations. By deforming the\ntheory, it is shown that both dual theories flow properly so that the Seiberg's\nduality is preserved."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Short distance properties of cascading gauge theories: We study the short distance (large momentum) properties of correlation\nfunctions of cascading gauge theories by performing a tree-level computation in\ntheir dual gravitational background. We prove that these theories are\nholographically renormalizable; the correlators have only analytic ultraviolet\ndivergences, which may be removed by appropriate local counterterms. We find\nthat n-point correlation functions of properly normalized operators have the\nexpected scaling in the semi-classical gravity (large N) limit: they scale as\nN_{eff}^{2-n} with N_{eff} proportional to ln(k/Lambda) where k is a typical\nmomentum. Our analysis thus confirms the interpretation of the cascading gauge\ntheories as renormalizable four-dimensional quantum field theories with an\neffective number of degrees of freedom which logarithmically increases with the\nenergy.",
        "positive": "Conformal supergravity in five dimensions: New approach and applications: We develop a new off-shell formulation for five-dimensional (5D) conformal\nsupergravity obtained by gauging the 5D superconformal algebra in superspace.\nAn important property of the conformal superspace introduced is that it reduces\nto the superconformal tensor calculus (formulated in the early 2000's) upon\ngauging away a number of superfluous fields. On the other hand, a different\ngauge fixing reduces our formulation to the SU(2) superspace of\narXiv:0802.3953, which is suitable to describe the most general off-shell\nsupergravity-matter couplings. Using the conformal superspace approach, we show\nhow to reproduce practically all off-shell constructions derived so far,\nincluding the supersymmetric extensions of $R^2$ terms, thus demonstrating the\npower of our formulation. Furthermore, we construct for the first time a\nsupersymmetric completion of the Ricci tensor squared term using the standard\nWeyl multiplet coupled to an off-shell vector multiplet. In addition, we\npresent several procedures to generate higher-order off-shell invariants in\nsupergravity, including higher-derivative ones. The covariant projective\nmultiplets proposed in arXiv:0802.3953 are lifted to conformal superspace, and\na manifestly superconformal action principle is given. We also introduce\nunconstrained prepotentials for the vector multiplet, the ${\\cal{O}}(2)$\nmultiplet (i.e., the linear multiplet without central charge) and\n${\\cal{O}}(4+n)$ multiplets, with $n=0,1,\\dots$ Superform formulations are\ngiven for the BF action and the non-abelian Chern-Simons action. Finally, we\ndescribe locally supersymmetric theories with gauged central charge in\nconformal superspace."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Effective dynamics of an electrically charged string with a current: Equations of motion for an electrically charged string with a current in an\nexternal electromagnetic field with regard to the first correction due to the\nself-action are derived. It is shown that the reparametrization invariance of\nthe free action of the string imposes constraints on the possible form of the\ncurrent. The effective equations of motion are obtained for an absolutely\nelastic charged string in the form of a ring (circle). Equations for the\nexternal electromagnetic fields that admit stationary states of such a ring are\nrevealed. Solutions to the effective equations of motion of an absolutely\nelastic charged ring in the absence of external fields as well as in an\nexternal uniform magnetic field are obtained. In the latter case, the frequency\nat which one can observe radiation emitted by the ring is evaluated. A model of\nan absolutely nonstretchable charged string with a current is proposed. The\neffective equations of motion are derived within this model, and a class of\nsolutions to these equations is found.",
        "positive": "Cayley-Klein Algebras as Graded Contractions of so(N+1): We study $\\Bbb Z_2^{\\otimes N}$ graded contractions of the real compact\nsimple Lie algebra $so(N+1)$, and we identify within them the Cayley-Klein\nalgebras as a naturally distinguished subset."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Graviton and gluon scattering from first principles: Graviton and gluon scattering are studied from minimal physical assumptions\nsuch as Poincare and gauge symmetry as well as unitarity. The assumptions lead\nto an interesting and surprisingly restrictive set of linear equations. This\nshows gluon and graviton scattering to be related in many field and string\ntheories, explaining and extending several known results. By systematic\nanalysis exceptional graviton scattering amplitudes are derived which in\ngeneral dimensions can not be related to gluon amplitudes. The simplicity of\nthe formalism guarantees wide further applicability to gauge and gravity\ntheories.",
        "positive": "Nonlinear vacuum electrodynamics and spontaneous breaking of Lorentz\n  symmetry: We study nonlinear vacuum electrodynamics in a first-order formulation\nproposed by Pleba\\'nski. By applying a Dirac constraint analysis, we derive an\neffective Hamiltonian, together with the equations of motion. We show that\nthere exists a large class of potentials for which the effective Hamiltonian is\nbounded from below, while at the same time possessing stationary points in\nwhich the field strength acquires a nonzero vacuum expectation value. The\nassociated spontaneous breaking of Lorentz symmetry can in principle be\ndetected by coupling the model to a suitable external current, or to gravity.\nWe show that the possible vacua can be classified in four classes. We study\nsome of their properties, using explicit examples for illustration."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Infinite Braided Tensor Products and 2-D quantum Gravity: Braided tensor products have been introduced by the author as a systematic\nway of making two quantum-group-covariant systems interact in a covariant way,\nand used in the theory of braided groups. Here we study infinite braided tensor\nproducts of the quantum plane (or other constant Zamolodchikov algebra). It\nturns out that such a structure precisely describes the exchange algebra in 2D\nquantum gravity in the approach of Gervais. We also consider infinite braided\ntensor products of quantum groups and braided groups.",
        "positive": "All-order consistency of 5d sugra vacua: We show that the maximally supersymmetric vacua of d=5 N=1 sugra remain\nmaximally supersymmetric solutions when taking into account higher order\ncorrections."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A light dilaton in a metastable vacuum: We identify a parametrically light dilaton by studying the perturbations of\nmetastable vacua along a branch of regular supergravity backgrounds that are\ndual to four-dimensional confining field theories. The branch includes also\nstable and unstable solutions. The former encompass, as a special case, the\ngeometry proposed by Witten as a holographic model of confinement. The latter\napproach a supersymmetric solution, by enhancing a condensate in the dual field\ntheory. A phase transition separates the space of stable backgrounds from the\nmetastable ones. In proximity of the phase transition, one of the lightest\nscalar states inherits some of the properties of the dilaton, despite not being\nparticularly light.",
        "positive": "Noncommutative Field Theories and (Super)String Field Theories: In this lecture notes we explain and discuss some ideas concerning\nnoncommutative geometry in general, as well as noncommutative field theories\nand string field theories. We consider noncommutative quantum field theories\nemphasizing an issue of their renormalizability and the UV/IR mixing. Sen's\nconjectures on open string tachyon condensation and their application to the\nD-brane physics have led to wide investigations of the covariant string field\ntheory proposed by Witten about 15 years ago. We review main ingredients of\ncubic (super)string field theories using various formulations: functional,\noperator, conformal and the half string formalisms. The main technical tools\nthat are used to study conjectured D-brane decay into closed string vacuum\nthrough the tachyon condensation are presented. We describe also methods which\nare used to study the cubic open string field theory around the tachyon vacuum:\nconstruction of the sliver state, ``comma'' and matrix representations of\nvertices."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-trivial 2d space-times from matrices: Solutions of matrix quantum mechanics have been shown to describe time\ndependent backgrounds in the holographically dual two dimensional closed string\ntheory. We review some recent work dealing with non-trivial space-times which\narise in this fashion and discuss aspects of physical phenomena in them.",
        "positive": "Relativistic gyratons in asymptotically AdS spacetime: We study the gravitational field of a spinning radiation beam-pulse (a\ngyraton) in a D-dimensional asymptotically AdS spacetime. It is shown that the\nEinstein equations for such a system reduce to a set of two linear equations in\na (D-2)-dimensional space. By solving these equations we obtain a metric which\nis an exact solution of gravitational equations with the (negative)\ncosmological constant. The explicit metrics for 4D and 5D gyratons in\nasymptotically AdS spacetime are given and their properties are discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Nonsingular multidimensional cosmologies without fine tuning: Exact cosmological solutions for effective actions in D dimensions inspired\nby the tree-level superstring action are studied. For a certain range of free\nparameters existing in the model, nonsingular bouncing solutions are found.\nAmong them, of particular interest can be open hyperbolic models, in which,\nwithout any fine tuning, the internal scale factor and the dilaton field\n(connected with string coupling in string theories) tend to constant values at\nlate times. A cosmological singularity is avoided due to nonminimal\ndilaton-gravity coupling and, for D > 11, due to pure imaginary nature of the\ndilaton, which conforms to currently discussed unification models. The\nexistence of such and similar solutions supports the opinion that the Universe\nhad never undergone a stage driven by full-scale quantum gravity.",
        "positive": "Fermionic String from Abelian Higgs Model with monopoles and\n  $\u0398$-term: The four dimensional Abelian Higgs model with monopoles and $\\Theta$-term is\nconsidered in the limit of the large mass of the higgs boson. We show that for\n$\\Theta=2 \\pi$ the theory is equivalent, at large distances, to summation over\nall possible world-sheets of fermionic strings with Dirichlet type boundary\nconditions on string coordinates."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spacetime Superalgebra in AdS_4 \\times S^7 via Supermembrane Probe: The spacetime superalgebra via the supermembrane probe in the background of\nAdS_4 \\times S^7 is discussed to the lowest order in the spinor coordinate\n$\\t$. To obtain the correct spacetime superalgebras, all $\\t^2$ order\ncorrections for supervielbein and super 3-form gauge potential have to be\nincluded. The central extension of the superalgebra OSp(8|4) of the super\nisometries for AdS_4 \\times S^7 is found.",
        "positive": "Thermodynamic Bethe Ansatz for N = 1 Supersymmetric Theories: We study a series of $N\\!=\\!1$ supersymmetric integrable particle theories in\n$d=1+1$ dimensions. These theories are represented as integrable perturbations\nof specific $N\\!=\\!1$ superconformal field theories. Starting from the\nconjectured $S$-matrices for these theories, we develop the Thermodynamic Bethe\nAnsatz (TBA), where we use that the 2-particle $S$-matrices satisfy a free\nfermion condition. Our analysis proves a conjecture by E.~Melzer, who proposed\nthat these $N\\!=\\!1$ supersymmetric TBA systems are ``folded'' versions of\n$N\\!=\\!2$ supersymmetric TBA systems that were first studied by P.~Fendley and\nK.~Intriligator."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Static M-horizons: We determine the geometry of all static black hole horizons of M-theory\npreserving at least one supersymmetry. We demonstrate that all such horizons\nare either warped products R^{1,1} *_w S or AdS_2 *_w S, where S admits an\nappropriate Spin(7) or SU(4) structure respectively; and we derive the\nconditions imposed by supersymmetry on these structures. We show that for\nelectric static horizons with Spin(7) structure, the near horizon geometry is a\nproduct R^{1,1} * S, where S is a compact Spin(7) holonomy manifold. For\nelectric static solutions with SU(4) structure, we show that the horizon\nsection S is a circle fibration over an 8-dimensional Kahler manifold which\nsatisfies an additional condition involving the Ricci scalar and the length of\nthe Ricci tensor. Solutions include AdS_2 * S^3 * CY_6 as well as many others\nconstructed from taking the 8-dimensional Kahler manifold to be a product of\nKahler-Einstein and Calabi-Yau spaces.",
        "positive": "Replication Regulates Volume Weighting in Quantum Cosmology: Probabilities for observations in cosmology are conditioned both on the\nuniverse's quantum state and on local data specifying the observational\nsituation. We show the quantum state defines a measure for prediction through\nsuch conditional probabilities that is well behaved for spatially large or\ninfinite universes when the probabilities that our data is replicated are taken\ninto account. In histories where our data are rare volume weighting connects\ntop-down probabilities conditioned on both the data and the quantum state to\nthe bottom-up probabilities conditioned on the quantum state alone. We apply\nthese principles to a calculation of the number of inflationary e-folds in a\nhomogeneous, isotropic minisuperspace model with a single scalar field moving\nin a quadratic potential. We find that volume weighting is justified and the\ntop-down probabilities favor a large number of e-folds."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Complete Brane Solution in D-dimensional Coupled Gravity System: In this letter we present the complete explicit brane solution in\nD-dimensional coupled gravity system.",
        "positive": "Quantum geometry and quiver gauge theories: We study macroscopically two dimensional $\\mathcal{N}=(2,2)$ supersymmetric\ngauge theories constructed by compactifying the quiver gauge theories with\neight supercharges on a product $\\mathbb{T}^{d} \\times\n\\mathbb{R}^{2}_{\\epsilon}$ of a $d$-dimensional torus and a two dimensional\ncigar with $\\Omega$-deformation. We compute the universal part of the effective\ntwisted superpotential. In doing so we establish the correspondence between the\ngauge theories, quantization of the moduli spaces of instantons on\n$\\mathbb{R}^{2-d} \\times \\mathbb{T}^{2+d}$ and singular monopoles on\n$\\mathbb{R}^{2-d} \\times \\mathbb{T}^{1+d}$, for $d=0,1,2$, and the Yangian\n$\\mathbf{Y}_{\\epsilon}(\\mathfrak{g}_{\\Gamma})$, quantum affine algebra\n$\\mathbf{U}^{\\mathrm{aff}}_q(\\mathfrak{g}_{\\Gamma})$, or the quantum elliptic\nalgebra $\\mathbf{U}^{\\mathrm{ell}}_{q,p}(\\mathfrak{g}_{\\Gamma})$ associated to\nKac-Moody algebra $\\mathfrak{g}_{\\Gamma}$ for quiver $\\Gamma$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Geometric Kac-Moody Modularity: It is shown how the arithmetic structure of algebraic curves encoded in the\nHasse-Weil L-function can be related to affine Kac-Moody algebras. This result\nis useful in relating the arithmetic geometry of Calabi-Yau varieties to the\nunderlying exactly solvable theory. In the case of the genus three Fermat curve\nwe identify the Hasse-Weil L-function with the Mellin transform of the twist of\na number theoretic modular form derived from the string function of a\nnon-twisted affine Lie algebra. The twist character is associated to the number\nfield of quantum dimensions of the conformal field theory.",
        "positive": "Note About Unstable D-Brane with Dynamical Tension: We propose an action for unstable Dp-brane with dynamical tension. We show\nthat the equations of motion are equivalent to the equations of motion derived\nfrom DBI and WZ actions for non-BPS Dp-brane. We also find Hamiltonian\nformulation of this action and analyze properties of the solutions\ncorresponding to the tachyon vacuum and zero tension solution."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Descent Relations Among Bosonic D-branes: We show that the tachyonic kink solution on a pair of D-p-branes in the\nbosonic string theory can be identified with the D-(p-1)-brane of the same\ntheory. We also speculate on the possibility of obtaining the D-(p-1)-brane as\na tachyonic lump on a single D-p-brane. We suggest a possible reinterpretation\nof the first result which unifies these two apparently different descriptions\nof the D-(p-1) brane.",
        "positive": "Modified-gravity theories with nondynamical background fields: We study the dynamics of a modified-gravity theory, which is supplemented by\nan extended Gibbons-Hawking-York boundary term and incorporates diffeomorphism\nviolation through nondynamical background fields denoted as $u$ and\n$s^{\\mu\\nu}$ in the literature. An ADM decomposition allows us to project the\nmodified Einstein equations into purely spacelike hypersurfaces, which implies\nthe field equations for the induced dynamical three-metric. We also obtain the\nHamilton-Jacobi equations of motion for the canonical variables of the theory\nbased on its Hamiltonian, which was derived in a previous work. The\ncomputations show that the dynamical field equations obtained from the\nLagrangian and Hamiltonian approaches are consistent with each other.\nConnections to Brans-Dicke theory and ghost-free massive gravity are\nestablished."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On kappa-deformation and triangular quasibialgebra structure: We show that, up to terms of order 1/kappa^5, the kappa-deformed Poincare\nalgebra can be endowed with a triangular quasibialgebra structure. The\nuniversal R matrix and coassociator are given explicitly to the first few\norders. In the context of kappa-deformed quantum field theory, we argue that\nthis structure, assuming it exists to all orders, ensures that states of any\nnumber of identical particles, in any representation, can be defined in a\nkappa-covariant fashion.",
        "positive": "Lorentzian Vacuum Transitions: Open or Closed Universes?: We consider the generalisation of quantum tunneling transitions in the WKB\napproximation to the time-independent functional Schr\\\"odinger and\nWheeler-DeWitt equations. Following a Lorentzian approach, we compute the\ntransition rates among different scalar field vacua and compare with those\nperformed by Coleman and collaborators using the Euclidean approach. For\ngravity, we develop a general formalism for computing transition rates in\nWheeler's superspace. This is then applied to computing decays in flat space\nand then to transitions in the presence of gravity. In the latter case we point\nout the complexities arising from having non-positive definite kinetic terms\nillustrating them in the simplified context of mini-superspace. This\ncorresponds to a generalisation of the well-known `tunneling from nothing'\nscenarios. While we can obtain the leading term for the transitions obtained by\nEuclidean methods we also point out some differences and ambiguities. We show\nthat there is no obstruction to keeping the spherically ($SO(4)$) symmetric\nclosed slicing for the new vacuum after a de Sitter to de Sitter transition. We\nargue that this is the natural Lorentzian realisation of the Coleman-De Luccia\ninstanton and that a closed universe is also obtained if the mini-superspace\nassumption is relaxed. This is contrary to the open universe predicted by\nColeman-De Luccia which relies on an analytic continuation performed after\nbubble nucleation. Our findings may have important cosmological implications\nrelated to the origin of inflation and to the string landscape. In particular,\nthey question the widespread belief that evidence for a closed universe would\nrule out the string landscape."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Finite temperature fermionic charge and current densities induced by a\n  cosmic string with magnetic flux: We investigate the finite temperature expectation values of the charge and\ncurrent densities for a massive fermionic field with nonzero chemical\npotential, $\\mu$, in the geometry of a straight cosmic string with a magnetic\nflux running along its axis. These densities are decomposed into the vacuum\nexpectation values and contributions coming from the particles and\nantiparticles. The charge density is an even periodic function of the magnetic\nflux with the period equal to the quantum flux and an odd function of the\nchemical potential. The only nonzero component of the current density\ncorresponds to the azimuthal current. The latter is an odd periodic function of\nthe magnetic flux and an even function of the chemical potential. At high\ntemperatures, the parts in the charge density and azimuthal current induced by\nthe planar angle deficit and magnetic flux are exponentially small. The\nasymptotic behavior at low temperatures crucially depends whether the value\n$|\\mu|$ is larger or smaller than the mass of the field quanta, $m$. For\n$|\\mu|<m$ the charge density and the contributions into the azimuthal current\ncoming from the particles and antiparticles are exponentially suppressed at low\ntemperatures. In the case $|\\mu|>m$, the charge and current densities receive\ntwo contributions coming from the vacuum expectation values and from particles\nor antiparticles (depending on the sign of chemical potential). At large\ndistances from the string the latter exhibits a damping oscillatory behavior\nwith the amplitude inversely proportional to the square of the distance.",
        "positive": "CFT's From Calabi-Yau Four-folds: We consider F/M/Type IIA theory compactified to four, three, or two\ndimensions on a Calabi-Yau four-fold, and study the behavior near an isolated\nsingularity in the presence of appropriate fluxes and branes. We analyze the\nvacuum and soliton structure of these models, and show that near an isolated\nsingularity, one often generates massless chiral superfields and a\nsuperpotential, and in many instances in two or three dimensions one obtains\nnontrivial superconformal field theories. In the case of two dimensions, we\nidentify some of these theories with certain Kazama-Suzuki coset models, such\nas the N=2 minimal models."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hermitian Matrix Model with Plaquette Interaction: We study a hermitian $(n+1)$-matrix model with plaquette interaction,\n$\\sum_{i=1}^n MA_iMA_i$. By means of a conformal transformation we rewrite the\nmodel as an $O(n)$ model on a random lattice with a non polynomial potential.\nThis allows us to solve the model exactly. We investigate the critical\nproperties of the plaquette model and find that for $n\\in]-2,2]$ the model\nbelongs to the same universality class as the $O(n)$ model on a random lattice.",
        "positive": "Dirac equation in very special relativity for hydrogen atom: In this work, we study the modified Dirac equation in the framework of very\nspecial relativity (VSR). The low-energy regime is accessed and the\nnonrelativistic Hamiltonian is obtained. It turns out that this Hamiltonian is\nsimilar to that achieved from the Standard Model Extension (SME) via coupling\nof the spinor field to a Lorentz-violating term, but new features arise\ninherited from the non-local character of the VSR. In addition, the\nimplications of the VSR-modified Lorentz symmetry on the spectrum of a hydrogen\natom are determined by calculating the first-order energy corrections in the\ncontext of standard quantum mechanics. Among the results, we highlight that the\nmodified Hamiltonian provides non-vanishing corrections which lift the\ndegeneracy of the energy levels and allow us to find an upper bound upon the\nVSR-parameter."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Comments on Born-Infeld Theory: The low-energy effective action of supersymmetric D-brane systems consists of\ntwo terms, one of which is of the Born-Infeld type and one of which is of the\nChern-Simons type. I briefly review the status of our understanding of these\nterms for both the Abelian and non-Abelian cases.",
        "positive": "On the Six-dimensional Kerr Theorem and Twistor Equation: The Kerr theorem is revisited as part of the twistor program in six\ndimensions. The relationship between pure spinors and integrable 3-planes is\ninvestigated. The real condition for Lorentzian spacetimes is seen to induce a\nprojective property in the space of solutions, reminiscent of the quaternionic\nstructure of the 6-dimensional Lorentz group. The twistor equation (or Killing\nspinor equations generically) also has an interpretation as integrable null\nplanes and a family of Einstein spacetimes with this property are presented in\nthe Kerr-Schild fashion."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Anomalous Chiral Superfluidity: We discuss both the anomalous Cartan currents and the energy-momentum tensor\nin a left chiral theory with flavour anomalies as an effective theory for\nflavored chiral phonons in a chiral superfluid with the gauged\nWess-Zumino-Witten term. In the mean-field (leading tadpole) approximation the\nanomalous Cartan currents and the energy momentum tensor take the form of\nconstitutive currents in the chiral superfluid state. The pertinence of higher\norder corrections and the Adler-Bardeen theorem is briefly noted.",
        "positive": "Conformal Regge Theory at Finite Boost: The Operator Product Expansion is a useful tool to represent correlation\nfunctions. In this note we extend Conformal Regge theory to provide an exact\nOPE representation of Lorenzian four-point correlators in conformal field\ntheory, valid even away from Regge limit. The representation extends\nconvergence of the OPE by rewriting it as a double integral over continuous\nspins and dimensions, and features a novel \"Regge block\". We test the formula\nin the conformal fishnet theory, where exact results involving nontrivial Regge\ntrajectories are available."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Derivation of the Exact Slope Function: In this note we give a simple derivation of the exact slope function\nconjectured by Basso for the anomalous dimensions of Wilson operators in the\nsl2 sector of planar N=4 Super-Yang-Mills theory. We also discuss\ngeneralizations of this result for higher charges and other sectors.",
        "positive": "The volume of a soliton: There exists, in general, no unique definition of the size (volume, area,\netc., depending on dimension) of a soliton. Here we demonstrate that the\ngeometric volume (area etc.) of a soliton is singled out in the sense that it\nexactly coincides with the thermodynamical or continuum-mechanical volume. In\naddition, this volume may be defined uniquely for rather arbitrary solitons in\narbitrary dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Matrix Model for M Theory as an Exemplar of Trace (or Generalized\n  Quantum) Dynamics: We show that the recently proposed matrix model for M theory obeys the cyclic\ntrace assumptions underlying generalized quantum or trace dynamics. This\npermits a verification of supersymmetry as an operator calculation, and a\ncalculation of the supercharge density algebra by using the generalized Poisson\nbracket, in a basis-independent manner that makes no reference to individual\nmatrix elements. Implications for quantization of the model are discussed. Our\nresults are a special case of a general result presented elsewhere, that all\nrigid supersymmetry theories can be extended to give supersymmetric trace\ndynamics theories, in which the supersymmetry algebra is represented by the\ngeneralized Poisson bracket of trace supercharges, constructed from fields that\nform a noncommutative trace class graded operator algebra.",
        "positive": "Boundary three-point function on AdS2 D-branes: Using the H3+-Liouville relation, I explicitly compute the boundary\nthree-point function on AdS2 D-branes in H3+, and check that it exhibits the\nexpected symmetry properties and has the correct geometrical limit. I then find\na simple relation between this boundary three-point function and certain fusing\nmatrix elements, which suggests a formal correspondence between the AdS2\nD-branes and discrete representations of the symmetry group. Concluding\nspeculations deal with the fuzzy geometry of AdS2 D-branes, strings in the\nMinkowskian AdS3, and the hypothetical existence of new D-branes in H3+."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "N=4 SYM to Two Loops: Compact Expressions for the Non-Compact Symmetry\n  Algebra of the su(1,1|2) Sector: We begin a study of higher-loop corrections to the dilatation generator of\nN=4 SYM in non-compact sectors. In these sectors, the dilatation generator\ncontains infinitely many interactions, and therefore one expects very\ncomplicated higher-loop corrections. Remarkably, we find a short and simple\nexpression for the two-loop dilatation generator. Our solution for the\nnon-compact su(1,1|2) sector consists of nested commutators of four O(g)\ngenerators and one simple auxiliary generator. Moreover, the solution does not\nrequire the planar limit; we conjecture that it is valid for any gauge group.\nTo obtain the two-loop dilatation generator, we find the complete O(g^3)\nsymmetry algebra for this sector, which is also given by concise expressions.\nWe check our solution using published results of direct field theory\ncalculations. By applying the expression for the two-loop dilatation generator\nto compute selected anomalous dimensions and the bosonic sl(2) sector internal\nS-matrix, we confirm recent conjectures of the higher-loop Bethe ansatz of\nhep-th/0412188.",
        "positive": "Conformal Invariance of the Pure Spinor Superstring in a Curved\n  Background: It is shown that the pure spinor formulation of the heterotic superstring in\na generic gravitational and super Yang-Mills background has vanishing one-loop\nbeta functions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Sequestering the Standard Model Vacuum Energy: We propose a very simple reformulation of General Relativity, which\ncompletely sequesters from gravity {\\it all} of the vacuum energy from a matter\nsector, including all loop corrections and renders all contributions from phase\ntransitions automatically small. The idea is to make the dimensional parameters\nin the matter sector functionals of the 4-volume element of the universe. For\nthem to be nonzero, the universe should be finite in spacetime. If this matter\nis the Standard Model of particle physics, our mechanism prevents any of its\nvacuum energy, classical or quantum, from sourcing the curvature of the\nuniverse. The mechanism is consistent with the large hierarchy between the\nPlanck scale, electroweak scale and curvature scale, and early universe\ncosmology, including inflation. Consequences of our proposal are that the\nvacuum curvature of an old and large universe is not zero, but very small, that\n$w_{DE} \\simeq -1$ is a transient, and that the universe will collapse in the\nfuture.",
        "positive": "A Quantum Rosetta Stone for the Information Paradox: The black hole information loss paradox epitomizes the contradictions between\ngeneral relativity and quantum field theory. The AdS/CFT correspondence\nprovides an implicit answer for the information loss paradox in black hole\nphysics by equating a gravity theory with an explicitly unitary field theory.\nGravitational collapse in asymptotically AdS spacetimes is generically\nturbulent. Given that the mechanism to read out the information about\ncorrelations functions in the field theory side is plagued by deterministic\nclassical chaos, we argue that quantum chaos might provide the true Rosetta\nStone for answering the information paradox in the context of the AdS/CFT\ncorrespondence."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum phantom cosmology: We apply the formalism of quantum cosmology to models containing a phantom\nfield. Three models are discussed explicitly: a toy model, a model with an\nexponential phantom potential, and a model with phantom field accompanied by a\nnegative cosmological constant. In all these cases we calculate the classical\ntrajectories in configuration space and give solutions to the Wheeler-DeWitt\nequation in quantum cosmology. In the cases of the toy model and the model with\nexponential potential we are able to solve the Wheeler-DeWitt equation exactly.\nFor comparison, we also give the corresponding solutions for an ordinary scalar\nfield. We discuss in particular the behaviour of wave packets in\nminisuperspace. For the phantom field these packets disperse in the region that\ncorresponds to the Big Rip singularity. This thus constitutes a genuine quantum\nregion at large scales, described by a regular solution of the Wheeler-DeWitt\nequation. For the ordinary scalar field, the Big-Bang singularity is avoided.\nSome remarks on the arrow of time in phantom models as well as on the relation\nof phantom models to loop quantum cosmology are given.",
        "positive": "Some aspects of a Chern-Simons-like coupling in an external magnetic\n  field: For a gauge theory which includes a light massive vector field interacting\nwith the familiar photon U(1)_{QED} via a Chern-Simons- like coupling, we study\nthe static quantum potential. Our analysis is based on the gauge-invariant, but\npath-dependent, variables formalism. The result is that the theory describes an\nexactly screening phase. Interestingly enough, this result displays a marked\ndeparture of a qualitative nature from the axionic elctrodynamics result.\nHowever, the present result is analogous to that encountered in the coupling\nbetween the familiar photon U(1)_{QED} and a second massive gauge field living\nin the so-called hidden-sector U(1)_h, inside a superconducting box."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Note on correlation functions in conformal quantum mechanics: We suggest a method to compute the correlation functions in conformal quantum\nmechanics (CFT$_1$) for the fields that transform under a non-local\nrepresentation of $\\mathfrak{sl}(2)$ basing on the invariance properties.\nExplicit calculations of 2- and 3-point correlation functions are presented.",
        "positive": "Nonlinear hidden symmetries in General Relativity and String Theory: a\n  matrix generalization of the Ernst potentials: In this paper we recall a simple formulation of the stationary electrovacuum\ntheory in terms of the famous complex Ernst potentials, a pair of functions\nwhich allows one to generate new exact solutions from known ones by means of\nthe so-called nonlinear hidden symmetries of Lie-Backlund type. This formalism\nturned out to be very useful to perform a complete classification of all 4D\nsolutions which present two spacetime symmetries or possess two Killing\nvectors. Curiously enough, the Ernst formalism can be extended and applied to\nstationary General Relativity as well as the effective heterotic string theory\nreduced down to three spatial dimensions by means of a (real) matrix\ngeneralization of the Ernst potentials. Thus, in this theory one can also make\nuse of nonlinear matrix hidden symmetries in order to generate new exact\nsolutions from seed ones. Due to the explicit independence of the matrix Ernst\npotential formalism of the original theory (prior to dimensional reduction) on\nthe dimension D, in the case when the theory initially has D>=5, one can\ngenerate new solutions like charged black holes, black rings and black Saturns,\namong others, starting from uncharged field configurations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Mass gap for gravity localized on Weyl thick branes: We study the properties of a previously found family of thick brane\nconfigurations in a pure geometric Weyl integrable 5D space time, a\nnon-Riemannian generalization of Kaluza-Klein (KK) theory involving a geometric\nscalar field. Thus the 5D theory describes gravity coupled to a\nself-interacting scalar field which gives rise to the structure of the thick\nbranes. Analyzing the graviton spectrum for this class of models, we find that\na particularly interesting situation arises for a special case in which the 4D\ngraviton is separated from the KK gravitons by a mass gap. The corresponding\neffective Schroedinger equation has a modified Poeschl-Teller potential and can\nbe solved exactly. Apart from the massless 4D graviton, it contains one massive\nKK bound state, and the continuum spectrum of delocalized KK modes. We discuss\nthe mass hierarchy problem, and explicitly compute the corrections to Newton's\nlaw in the thin brane limit.",
        "positive": "An interpolation between Bose, Fermi and Maxwell-Boltzmann statistics\n  based on Jack Polynomials: An interpolation between the canonical partition functions of Bose, Fermi and\nMaxwell-Boltzmann statistics is proposed. This interpolation makes use of the\nproperties of Jack polynomials and leads to a physically appealing\ninterpolation between the statistical weights of the three statistics. This, in\nturn, can be used to define a new exclusion statistics in the spirit of the\nwork of Haldane."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Remarks on the exotic central extension of the planar Galilei group: Some issues in relating the central extensions of the planar Galilei group to\nparameters in the corresponding relativistic theory are discussed.",
        "positive": "On the Null Energy Condition and Causality in Lifshitz Holography: We use a WKB approximation to establish a relation between the wavefront\nvelocity in a strongly coupled theory and the local speed of light in a\nholographic dual, with our main focus put on systems with Lifshitz scaling with\ndynamical exponent z. We then use Einstein equations to relate the behavior of\nthe local speed of light in the bulk with the null energy condition (NEC) for\nbulk matter, and we show that it is violated for Lifshitz backgrounds with z<1.\nWe study signal propagation in the gravity dual and show that violations of the\nNEC are incompatible with causality in the strongly coupled theory, ruling out\nas holographic models Lifshitz backgrounds with z<1. We argue that causality\nviolations in z<1 theories will show up in correlators as superluminal modes\nand confirm this for a particular example with z=1/2. Finally, as an\napplication, we use z<1 solutions to uncover regions of the parameter space of\ncurvature squared corrections to gravity where the NEC can be violated."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Commuting quantities and exceptional W-algebras: Sets of commuting charges constructed from the current of a U(1) Kac-Moody\nalgebra are found. There exists a set S_n of such charges for each positive\ninteger n > 1; the corresponding value of the central charge in the\nFeigin-Fuchs realization of the stress tensor is c = 13-6n-6/n. The charges in\neach series can be written in terms of the generators of an exceptional\nW-algebra.",
        "positive": "Free Boson Representation of $U_{q}(\\hat{sl_{2}})$: A representation of the quantum affine algebra $U_{q}(\\hat{sl_{2}})$ of an\narbitrary level $k$ is realized in terms of three boson fields, whose $q\n\\rightarrow 1$ limit becomes the Wakimoto representation. An analogue of the\nscreening current is also obtained. It commutes with the action of\n$U_{q}(\\hat{sl_{2}})$ modulo total difference of some fields."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Consistency of Orbifolds: Modular invariance is a necessary condition for the consistency of any closed\nstring theory. In particular, it imposes stringent constraints on the spectrum\nof orbifold theories, and in principle determines their spectrum uniquely up to\ndiscrete torsion classes. In practice, however, there are often ambiguities in\nthe construction of orbifolds that are a consequence of the fact that the\naction of the orbifold elements on degenerate ground states is not unambiguous.\nWe explain that there exists an additional consistency condition, related to\nthe spectrum of D-branes in the theory, which eliminates these ambiguities. For\nsupersymmetric orbifolds this condition turns out to be equivalent to the\ncondition that supersymmetry is unbroken in the twisted sectors, but for\nnon-supersymmetric orbifolds it appears to be a genuinely new consistency\ncondition.",
        "positive": "N=2 supersymmetric extension of l-conformal Galilei algebra: N=2 supersymmetric extension of the l-conformal Galilei algebra is\nconstructed. A relation between its representations in flat spacetime and in\nNewton-Hooke spacetime is discussed. An infinite-dimensional generalization of\nthe superalgebra is given."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Operator Product Expansion for Pure Spinor Superstring on AdS(5)*S(5): The tree-level operator product expansion coefficients of the matter currents\nare calculated in the pure spinor formalism for type IIB superstring in the\nAdS(5)*S(5) background.",
        "positive": "Continuous non-perturbative regularization of QED: We regularize in a continuous manner the path integral of QED by construction\nof a non-local version of its action by means of a regularized form of Dirac's\n$\\delta$ functions. Since the action and the measure are both invariant under\nthe gauge group, this regularization scheme is intrinsically non-perturbative.\nDespite the fact that the non-local action converges formally to the local one\nas the cutoff goes to infinity, the regularized theory keeps trace of the\nnon-locality through the appearance of a quadratic divergence in the transverse\npart of the polarization operator. This term which is uniquely defined by the\nchoice of the cutoff functions can be removed by a redefinition of the\nregularized action. We notice that as for chiral fermions on the lattice, there\nis an obstruction to construct a continuous and non ambiguous regularization in\nfour dimensions. With the help of the regularized equations of motion, we\ncalculate the one particle irreducible functions which are known to be\ndivergent by naive power counting at the one loop order."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Rigid Calabi-Yau threefolds, Picard Eisenstein series and instantons: Type IIA string theory compactified on a rigid Calabi-Yau threefold gives\nrise to a classical moduli space that carries an isometric action of U(2,1).\nVarious quantum corrections break this continuous isometry to a discrete\nsubgroup. Focussing on the case where the intermediate Jacobian of the\nCalabi-Yau admits complex multiplication by the ring of quadratic imaginary\nintegers O_d, we argue that the remaining quantum duality group is an\narithmetic Picard modular group PU(2,1;O_d). Based on this proposal we\nconstruct an Eisenstein series invariant under this duality group and study its\nnon-Abelian Fourier expansion. This allows the prediction of non-perturbative\neffects, notably the contribution of D2- and NS5-brane instantons. The present\nwork extends our previous analysis in 0909.4299 which was restricted to the\nspecial case of the Gaussian integers O_1=Z[i].",
        "positive": "Massive Fields of Arbitrary Half-Integer Spin in Constant\n  Electromagnetic Field: We study the interaction of gauge fields of arbitrary half-integer spins with\nthe homogeneous electromagnetic field. We reduce the problem of obtaining the\ngauge-invariant Lagrangian and transformations of the half-integer spin fields\nin the external field to an algebraic problem of search for a set of operators\nwith certain algebraical features using the representation of the higher-spin\nfields as vectors in a pseudo-Hilbert space. We consider such construction at\nlinear order in the external electromagnetic field and also present an explicit\nform of interaction Lagrangians and gauge transformations for the massive\nparticles of spins 3/2 and 5/2 in terms of symmetric spin-tensor fields. The\nobtained result is valid for space-time of arbitrary even dimension."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Composite Fermion Metals from Dyon Black Holes and S-Duality: We propose that string theory in the background of dyon black holes in\nfour-dimensional anti-de Sitter spacetime is holographic dual to conformally\ninvariant composite Dirac fermion metal. By utilizing S-duality map, we show\nthat thermodynamic and transport properties of the black hole match with those\nof composite fermion metal, exhibiting Fermi liquid-like. Built upon\nDirac-Schwinger-Zwanziger quantization condition, we argue that turning on\nmagnetic charges to electric black hole along the orbit of Gamma(2) subgroup of\nSL(2,Z) is equivalent to attaching even unit of statistical flux quanta to\nconstituent fermions. Being at metallic point, the statistical magnetic flux is\ninterlocked to the background magnetic field. We find supporting evidences for\nproposed holographic duality from study of internal energy of black hole and\nprobe bulk fermion motion in black hole background. They show good agreement\nwith ground-state energy of composite fermion metal in Thomas-Fermi\napproximation and cyclotron motion of a constituent or composite fermion\nexcitation near Fermi-point.",
        "positive": "Transport Properties of QCD at Large $N_c$ and the Gauge/String Duality: Below the deconfinement phase transition large $N_c$ QCD is expected to be a\nvery viscous hadronic fluid because both the shear and bulk viscosity to\nentropy density ratio, $\\eta/s,\\zeta/s \\sim N_c^2$. In this letter I show that\n$\\eta/s \\sim N_c^2$ in the confined phase of holographic models of QCD at large\n$N_c$ defined in the supergravity approximation. Our results show that the\ngauge/string duality can be used to describe not only nearly perfect fluids but\nalso extremely viscous systems such as a cold gas of glueballs."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Soliton, breather and shockwave solutions of the Heisenberg and the\n  $T\\bar T$ deformations of scalar field theories in 1+1 dimensions: In this note we study soliton, breather and shockwave solutions in certain\ntwo dimensional field theories. These include: (i) Heisenberg's model suggested\noriginally to describe the scattering of high energy nucleons (ii) $T\\bar T$\ndeformations of certain canonical scalar field theories with a potential. We\nfind explicit soliton solutions of these models with sine-Gordon and Higgs-type\npotentials. We prove that the $T\\bar T$ deformation of a theory of a given\npotential does not correct the mass of the soliton of the undeformed one. We\nfurther conjecture the form of breather solutions of these models. We show that\ncertain $T\\bar T$ deformed actions admit shockwave solutions that generalize\nthose of Heisenberg's Lagrangian.",
        "positive": "Brighter Branes, enhancement of photon production by strong magnetic\n  fields in the gauge/gravity correspondence: We use the gauge/gravity correspondence to calculate the rate of photon\nproduction in a strongly coupled N=4 plasma in the presence of an intense\nmagnetic field. We start by constructing a family of back reacted geometries\nthat include the black D3-brane solution, as a smooth limiting case for B=0,\nand extends to backgrounds with an arbitrarily large constant magnetic field.\nThis family provides the gravitational dual of a field theory in the presence\nof a very strong magnetic field which intensity can be fixed as desired and\nallows us to study its effect on the photon production of a quark-gluon plasma.\nThe inclusion of perturbations in the electromagnetic field on these\nbackgrounds is consistent only if the metric is perturbed as well, so we use\nmethods developed to treat operator mixing to manage these general\nperturbations. Our results show a clear enhancement of photon production with a\nsignificant anisotropy, which, in qualitative agreement with the experiments of\nheavy ion collisions, is particularly noticeable for low P."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "One-loop vacuum energy in 10D super-Yang-Mills theory on magnetized tori\n  with/without 4D N=1 supersymmetric completion: We discuss the behavior of the one-loop vacuum energy of 10 dimensional (10D)\nsuper Yang-Mills theory on magnetized tori $\\mathbb{R}^{1,3}\\times\n(\\mathbb{T}^2)^3$ in the presence of the Abelian magnetic fluxes, including all\nthe contributions from Kaluza-Klein (KK) modes. Higher-dimensional super\nYang-Mills action is known to be repackaged in terms of 4D $\\mathcal{N}=1$\nsuperfield. We, however, find that such a superspace action differs from the\noriginal 10D super Yang-Mills action in the presence of magnetic fluxes. We\nshow that the KK mass spectrum and hence the vacuum energy computed from these\ntwo actions differ from each other. In particular, we find that the UV\ndivergence of the vacuum energy based on the original action precisely cancels\nindependently of flux configuration whereas that based on the superspace\ncompletion does only when flux configuration preserves supersymmetry, which\nimplies spontaneous or explicit breaking of hidden extended supersymmetry.",
        "positive": "Predictions of quantum gravity in inflationary cosmology: effects of the\n  Weyl-squared term: We derive the predictions of quantum gravity with fakeons on the amplitudes\nand spectral indices of the scalar and tensor fluctuations in inflationary\ncosmology. The action is $R+R^{2}$ plus the Weyl-squared term. The ghost is\neliminated by turning it into a fakeon, that is to say a purely virtual\nparticle. We work to the next-to-leading order of the expansion around the de\nSitter background. The consistency of the approach puts a lower bound ($\nm_{\\chi }>m_{\\phi }/4$) on the mass $m_{\\chi }$ of the fakeon with respect to\nthe mass $m_{\\phi }$ of the inflaton. The tensor-to-scalar ratio $r$ is\npredicted within less than an order of magnitude ($4/3<N^{2}r<12$ to the\nleading order in the number of $e$-foldings $N$). Moreover, the relation\n$r\\simeq -8n_{T}$ is not affected by the Weyl-squared term. No vector and no\nother scalar/tensor degree of freedom is present."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Solvable Model of Two-Dimensional Dilaton-Gravity Coupled to a\n  Massless Scalar Field: We present a solvable model of two-dimensional dilaton-gravity coupled to a\nmassless scalar field. We locally integrate the field equations and briefly\ndiscuss the properties of the solutions. For a particular choice of the\ncoupling between the dilaton and the scalar field the model can be interpreted\nas the two-dimensional effective theory of 2+1 cylindrical gravity minimally\ncoupled to a massless scalar field.",
        "positive": "Analytic structure of the $n=7$ scattering amplitude in $\\mathcal{N}=4$\n  SYM theory at multi-Regge kinematics: Conformal Regge pole contribution: We investigate the analytic structure of the $2\\to5$ scattering amplitude in\nthe planar limit of $\\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM in multi-Regge kinematics in all\nphysical regions. We demonstrate the close connection between Regge pole and\nRegge cut contributions: in a selected class of kinematic regions (Mandelstam\nregions) the usual factorizing Regge pole formula develops unphysical\nsingularities which have to be absorbed and compensated by Regge cut\ncontributions. This leads, in the corrections to the BDS formula, to conformal\ninvariant 'renormalized' Regge pole expressions in the remainder function. We\ncompute these renormalized Regge poles for the $2\\to5$ scattering amplitude."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantization of Fayet-Iliopoulos Parameters in Supergravity: In this short note we discuss quantization of the Fayet-Iliopoulos parameter\nin supergravity theories. We argue that in supergravity, the Fayet-Iliopoulos\nparameter determines a lift of the group action to a line bundle, and such\nlifts are quantized. Just as D-terms in rigid N=1 supersymmetry are interpreted\nin terms of moment maps and symplectic reductions, we argue that in\nsupergravity the quantization of the Fayet-Iliopoulos parameter has a natural\nunderstanding in terms of linearizations in geometric invariant theory (GIT)\nquotients, the algebro-geometric version of symplectic quotients.",
        "positive": "Asymptotic Freedom and Confinement from Type 0 String Theory: We argue that there are generic solutions to the type 0 gravity equations of\nmotion that are confining in the infrared and have log scaling in the\nultraviolet. The background curvature generically diverges in the IR.\nNevertheless, there exist solutions where higher order string corrections\nappear to be exponentially suppressed in the IR with respect to the leading\ntype 0 gravity terms. For these solutions the tachyon flows to a fixed value.\n  We show that the generic solutions lead to a long range linear quark\npotential, magnetic screening and a discrete glueball spectrum. We also\nestimate some WKB glueball mass ratios and compare them to ratios found using\nfinite temperature models and lattice computations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Imaginary Part of the N = 4 Super-Yang-Mills Two-Loop Six-Point MHV\n  Amplitude in Multi-Regge Kinematics: The precise form of the multi-Regge asymptotics of the two-loop six-point MHV\namplitude in N = 4 Super-Yang-Mills theory has been a subject of recent\ncontroversy. In this paper we utilize the amplitude/Wilson loop correspondence\nto obtain precise numerical results for the imaginary part of these\nasymptotics. The region of phase-space that we consider is interesting because\nit allowed Bartels, Lipatov, and Sabio Vera to determine that the two-loop\nsix-point MHV amplitude is not fixed by the BDS ansatz. They proceeded by\nworking in the framework of a high energy effective action, thus side-stepping\nthe need for an arduous two-loop calculation. Our numerical results are\nconsistent with the predictions of Bartels, Lipatov, and Sabio Vera for the\nleading-log asymptotics.",
        "positive": "Vortex loop operators and quantum M2-branes: We study M2-branes in $AdS_4\\times S^7/{\\mathbb Z}_k$ dual to 1/2 and 1/3 BPS\nvortex loop operators in ABJM theory and compute their one-loop correction\nbeyond the classical M2-brane action. The correction depends only on the parity\nof $k$ and is independent of all continues parameters in the definition of the\nvortex loops. The result for odd $k$ agrees with the answers for the 1/2 BPS\nWilson loop in the $k=1$ theory and for even $k$ with the one in the $k = 2$\ntheory. Combining with the classical part, we find that the natural expansion\nparameter seems to be $1/\\sqrt{kN}$ rather than $1/\\sqrt{N}$. This provides a\nfurther setting where semiclassical quantisation can be applied to M2-branes\nand produces new results inaccessible by other methods."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "D-branes and Near Extremal Black Holes at Low Energies: It has been observed recently that many properties of some near extremal\nblack holes can be described in terms of bound states of D-branes. Using a\nnon-renormalization theorem we argue that the D-brane description is the\ncorrect quantum gravity description of the black hole at low energies. The low\nenergy theory includes the black hole degrees of freedom that account for the\nentropy and describes also Hawking radiation. The description is unitary and\nthere seems to be no information loss at low energies.",
        "positive": "Generalised matter couplings in massive bigravity: We investigate matter couplings in massive bigravity. We find a new family of\nsuch consistent couplings, including and extending known consistent matter\ncouplings, and we investigate their decoupling limits, ADM decompositions,\nHiguchi bounds and further aspects. We show that differences to previous known\nconsistent couplings only arise beyond the $\\Lambda_3$ decoupling limit and\ndiscuss the uniqueness of consistent matter couplings and how this is related\nto the so-called symmetric vielbein condition. Since we work in a vielbein\nformulation, these results easily generalise to multi-gravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the non-abelian superalgebra spanned by the conserved quantities of\n  N=1 supersymmetric Korteweg-de Vries equation: We obtain an infinite sequence of bosonic non-local conserved quantities for\nthe N=1 supersymmetric Korteweg-de Vries equation. It is generated from a\nbosonic non-local conserved quantity of Super Gardner equation. In distinction\nto the already known one with odd parity and dimension 1/2, it has even parity\nand dimension 1. It fits exactly in the supersymmetric cohomology in the space\nof conserved quantities that we also introduce here. Using results from this\ncohomology we obtain the Poisson bracket of several non-local conserved\nquantities, including the already known odd ones and the new even ones. The\nalgebra closes in terms of polynomials of local and non-local conserved\nquantities. We prove that the bosonic non-local conserved quantities cannot be\nexpressed as functions of the already known local and non-local conserved\nquantities of Super KdV equation.",
        "positive": "Instanton effects in N=1 brane models and the Kahler metric of twisted\n  matter: We consider locally consistent systems of magnetized D9 branes on an\norbifolded six-torus which support N=1 gauge theories. In such realizations,\nthe matter multiplets arise from \"twisted\" strings connecting different stacks\nof branes. The introduction of Euclidean 5 branes (E5) wrapped on the\nsix-dimensional compact space leads to instanton effects. For instance, if the\nsystem is engineered so as to yield SQCD, a single E5 brane may account for the\nADS/TVY superpotential. We discuss the subtle interplay that exists between the\nannuli diagrams with an E5 boundary and the holomorphicity properties of the\neffective low-energy action of the N=1 theory. The consistency of this picture\nallows to obtain information on the Kahler metric of the chiral matter\nmultiplets arising from twisted strings."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fluid Dynamical Profiles and Constants of Motion from D-Branes: Various fluid mechanical systems, governed by nonlinear differential\nequations, enjoy a hidden, higher-dimensional dynamical Poincar\\'e symmetry,\nwhich arises owing to their descent from a Nambu-Goto action. Also, for the\nsame reason, there are equivalence transformations between different models.\nThese interconnections are discussed in this lecture, and are summarized in\nFig. 3.",
        "positive": "From Coxeter Higher-Spin Theories to Strings and Tensor Models: A new class of higher-spin gauge theories associated with various Coxeter\ngroups is proposed. The emphasize is on the $B_p$--models. The cases of $B_1$\nand its infinite graded-symmetric product $sym\\,(\\times B_1)^\\infty$ correspond\nto the usual higher-spin theory and its multi-particle extension, respectively.\nThe multi-particle $B_2$--higher-spin theory is conjectured to be associated\nwith String Theory. $B_p$--higher-spin models with $p>2$ are anticipated to be\ndual to the rank-$p$ boundary tensor sigma-models. $B_p$ higher-spin models\nwith $p\\geq 2$ possess two coupling constants responsible for higher-spin\ninteractions in $AdS$ background and stringy/tensor effects, respectively. The\nbrane-like idempotent extension of the Coxeter higher-spin theory is proposed\nallowing to unify in the same model the fields supported by space-times of\ndifferent dimensions. Consistency of the holographic interpretation of the\nboundary matrix-like model in the $B_2$-higher-spin model is shown to demand\n$N\\geq 4$ SUSY, suggesting duality with the $N=4$ SYM upon spontaneous breaking\nof higher-spin symmetries. The proposed models are shown to admit unitary\ntruncations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Massive and massless higher spinning particles in odd dimensions: We study actions for massive bosonic particles of higher spins by\ndimensionally reducing an action for massless particles. For the latter we take\na model with a SO(N) extended local supersymmetry on the worldline, that is\nknown to describe massless (conformal) particles of higher spins in flat\nspacetimes of even dimensions. Dimensional reduction produces an action for\nmassive spinning particles in odd dimensions. The field equations that emerge\nin a quantization a la Dirac are shown to be equivalent to the Fierz-Pauli\nones. The massless limit generates a multiplet of massless states with higher\nspins, whose first quantized field equations have a geometric form with fields\nbelonging to various types of Young tableaux. These geometric equations can be\npartially integrated to show their equivalence with the standard\nFronsdal-Labastida equations. We covariantize our model to check whether an\nextension to curved spacetimes can be achieved. Restricting to (A)dS spaces, we\nfind that the worldline gauge algebra becomes nonlinear, but remains first\nclass. This guarantees consistency on such backgrounds. A light cone analysis\nconfirms the presence of the expected propagating degrees of freedom. A\ncovariant analysis is worked out explicitly for the massive case, which is seen\nto give rise to the Fierz-Pauli equations extended to (A)dS spaces. It is worth\nnoting that in D=3 the massless limit of our model when N goes to infinity has\nthe same field content of the Vasiliev's theory that accommodates each spin\nexactly once.",
        "positive": "The renormalization group flow of the dilaton potential: We consider a scalar-metric gauge theory of gravity with independent metric,\nconnection and dilaton. The role of the dilaton is to provide the scale of all\nmasses, via its vacuum expectation value. In this theory, we study the\nrenormalization group flow of the dilaton potential, taking into account\nthreshold effects at the Planck scale. Due to the running of the VEV of the\ndilaton all particles that would naively seem to have masses larger than\nPlanck's mass, may actually not propagate. This could solve the problem of\nunitarity in these theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Perturbative expansions of R\u00e9nyi relative divergences and holography: In this paper, we develop a novel way to perturbatively calculate R\\'enyi\nrelative divergences $D_{\\gamma}(\\rho|| \\sigma) ={\\rm tr} \\rho^{\\gamma}\n\\sigma^{1-\\gamma}$ and related quantities without using replica trick as well\nas analytic continuation. We explicitly determine the form of the perturbative\nterm at any order by an integral along the modular flow of the unperturbed\nstate. By applying the prescription to a class of reduced density matrices in\nconformal field theory, we find that the second order term of certain linear\ncombination of the divergences has a holographic expression in terms of bulk\nsymplectic form, which is a one parameter generalization of the statement\n\"Fisher information = Bulk canonical energy\".",
        "positive": "Algebraic Aspects of Interactions of Massive Spinning Particles in Three\n  Dimensions: The most general 2+1 dimensional spinning particle model is considered. The\naction functional may involve all the possible first order Poincare invariants\nof world lines, and the particular class of actions is specified thus the\ncorresponding gauge algebra to be unbroken by inhomogeneous external fields.\nNevertheless, the consistency problem reveals itself as a requirement of the\nglobal compatibility between first and second class constraints. These\ncompatibility conditions, being unnoticed before in realistic second class\ntheories, can be satisfied for a particle iff the gyromagnetic ratio takes the\ncritical value g=2. The quantization procedure is suggested for a particle in\nthe generic background field by making use of a Darboux co-ordinates, being\nfound by a perturbative expansion in the field multipoles and the general\nprocedure is described for constructing of the respective transformation in any\norder."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Squeezing, Chaos and Thermalization in Periodically Driven Quantum\n  Systems: The Case of Bosonic Preheating: The phenomena of Squeezing and chaos have recently been studied in the\ncontext of inflation. We apply this formalism in the post-inflationary\npreheating phase. During this phase, inflaton field undergoes quasi-periodic\noscillation, which acts as a driving force for the resonant growth of quantum\nfluctuation or particle production. Furthermore, the quantum state of the\nfluctuations is known to have evolved into a squeezed state. In this\nsubmission, we explore the underlying connection between the resonant growth,\nsqueezing, and chaos by computing the Out of Time Order Correlator (OTOC) of\nphase space variables and establishing a relation among the Lyapunov, Floquet\nexponents, and squeezing parameters. For our study, we consider observationally\nfavored $\\alpha$-attractor E-model of inflaton which is coupled with the\nbosonic field. After the production, the system of produced bosonic\nfluctuations/particles from the inflaton is supposed to thermalize, and that is\nbelieved to have an intriguing connection to the nature of chaos of the system\nunder perturbation. %By using this we calculated approximate lower bound of\ntemperature ${\\bar T}_{\\rm MSS}$. We conjecture a relation between the\nthermalization temperature $({\\bar T}_{\\rm SS})$ of the system and quantum\nsqueezing, which is further shown to be consistent with the well-known\nRayleigh-Jeans formula for the temperature symbolized as ${\\bar T}_{\\rm RJ}$,\nand that is ${\\bar T}_{\\rm SS} \\simeq {\\bar T}_{\\rm RJ}$. Finally, we show that\nthe system temperature is in accord with the well-known lower bound on the\ntemperature of a chaotic system proposed by Maldacena-Shenker-Stanford (MSS).",
        "positive": "Gauge Independent Reduction of a Solvable Model with Gribov-Like\n  Ambiguity: We present a gauge independent Lagrangian method of abstracting the reduced\nspace of a solvable model with Gribov-like ambiguity, recently proposed by\nFriedberg, Lee, Pang and Ren. The reduced space is found to agree with the\nexplicit solutions obtained by these authors. Complications related to gauge\nfixing are analysed. The Gribov ambiguity manifests by a nonuniqueness in the\ncanonical transformations mapping the hamiltonian in the afflicted gauge with\nthat obtained gauge independently. The operator ordering problem in this gauge\nis investigated and a prescription is suggested so that the results coincide\nwith the usual hamiltonian formalism using the Schr\\\"odinger representation.\nFinally, a Dirac analysis of the model is elaborated. In this treatment it is\nshown how the existence of a nontrivial canonical set in the ambiguity-ridden\ngauge yields the connection with the previous hamiltonian formalism."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "High energy bosons do not propagate: We discuss the propagation of bosons (scalars, gauge fields and gravitons) at\nhigh energy in the context of the spectral action. Using heat kernel\ntechniques, we find that in the high-momentum limit the quadratic part of the\naction does not contain positive powers of the derivatives. We interpret this\nas the fact that the two point Green functions vanish for nearby points, where\nthe proximity scale is given by the inverse of the cutoff.",
        "positive": "No vDVZ Discontinuity in Non-Fierz-Pauli Theories: In theories of massive gravity with Fierz-Pauli mass term at the linearized\nlevel, perturbative radially symmetric asymptotic solutions are singular in the\nzero mass limit, hence van Dam-Veltman-Zakharov (vDVZ) discontinuity. In this\nnote, in the context of gravitational Higgs mechanism, we argue that in\nnon-Fierz-Pauli theories, which non-perturbatively are unitary, perturbative\nradially symmetric asymptotic solutions have a smooth massless limit, hence no\nvDVZ discontinuity. Perturbative vDVZ discontinuity as an artifact of the\nFierz-Pauli mass term becomes evident in the language of constrained gravity,\nwhich is the massless limit of gravitational Higgs mechanism."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Curvature relations in almost product manifolds: New relations involving curvature components for the various connections\nappearing in the theory of almost product manifolds are given and the conformal\nbehaviour of these connections are studied. New identities for the irreducible\nparts of the deformation tensor are derived. Some direct physical applications\nin Kaluza-Klein and gauge theory are discussed.",
        "positive": "Effective action and black hole solutions in asymptotically safe quantum\n  gravity: We derive the quantum effective action and the respective quantum equations\nof motion from multi-graviton correlation functions in asymptotically safe\nquantum gravity. The fully momentum-dependent couplings of three- and\nfour-graviton scatterings are computed within the functional renormalisation\ngroup approach and the effective action is reconstructed from these vertices.\nThe resulting quantum equations of motion are solved numerically for quantum\nblack hole geometries. Importantly, the black hole solutions show signatures of\nquantum gravity outside the classical horizon, which manifest in the behaviour\nof the temporal and radial components of the metric. Three different types of\nsolutions with distinct causal structures are identified and the phase\nstructure of the solution space is investigated."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The dS/dS Correspondence: We present a holographic duality for the de Sitter static patch which\nconsolidates basic features of its geometry and the behavior of gravity and\nbrane probes, valid on timescales short compared to the decay or Poincare\nrecurrence times. Namely de Sitter spacetime $dS_d(R)$ in $d$ dimensions with\ncurvature radius $R$ is holographically dual to two conformal field theories on\n$dS_{d-1}(R)$, cut off at an energy scale 1/R where they couple to each other\nand to $d-1$ dimensional gravity. As part of our analysis, we study brane\nprobes in de Sitter and thermal Anti de Sitter spaces, and interpret the terms\nin the corresponding DBI action via strongly coupled thermal field theory. This\nprovides a dual field theoretic interpretation of the fact that probes take\nforever to reach a horizon in general relativity.",
        "positive": "Five-dimensional vector-coupled supergravity on a manifold with boundary: We consider the bosonic and fermionic symmetries of five-dimensional Maxwell-\nand Yang-Mills-Einstein supergravity theories on a spacetime with boundaries\n(isomorphic to M x S1/Z2). Due to the appearance of the \"Chern-Simons\" term,\nthe classical action is not generally invariant under gauge and\nsupersymmetries. Once bulk vector fields are allowed to propagate on the\nboundaries, there is an \"inflow\" governed by the rank-3 symmetric tensor that\ndefines the five-dimensional theories. We discuss the requirements that\ninvariance of the action imposes on new matter content and boundary conditions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Higgs-free confinement hierarchy in five colour QCD: I consider the monopole condensate of five color QCD. The naive lowest energy\nstate is unobtainable at one-loop for five or more colors due to simple\ngeometric considerations. The consequent adjustment of the vacuum condensate\ngenerates a hierarchy of confinement scales in a natural Higgs-free manner. The\naccompanying symmetry hierarchy contains hints of standard model phenomenology.",
        "positive": "Killing Horizons and Spinors: We study the near horizon geometry of generic Killing horizons constructing\nsuitable coordinates and taking the appropriate scaling limit. We are able to\nshow that the geometry will always show an enhancement of symmetries, and, in\nthe extremal case, will develop a causally disconnected \"throat\" as expected.\nWe analyze the implications of this to the Kerr/CFT conjecture and the\nattractor mechanism. We are also able to construct a set of special (pure)\nspinors associated with the horizon structure using their interpretation as\nmaximally isotropic planes. The structure generalizes the usual reduced\nholonomy manifold in an interesting way and may be fruitful to the search of\nnew types of compactification backgrounds."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Scattering approach for calculating one-loop effective action and vacuum\n  energy: We propose an approach for calculating one-loop effective actions and vacuum\nenergies in quantum field theory. Spectral functions are functions defined by\nthe eigenvalues of an operator. One-loop effective actions and vacuum energies\nin quantum field theory, as well as scattering phase shifts and scattering\namplitudes in quantum mechanics, are all spectral functions. If a\ntransformation between different spectral functions is identified, we can\nobtain a spectral function from another through the transformation. In this\npaper, we convert quantum mechanical methods for calculating scattering phase\nshifts and scattering amplitudes into quantum field theory methods for\ncalculating one-loop effective actions and vacuum energies. As examples, the\nBorn approximation and the WKB approximation in quantum mechanics are converted\ninto quantum field theory methods. We also calculate the one-loop effective\naction and vacuum energy of scalar fields in the Schwarzschild spacetime and\nthe Reissner-Nordstr\\\"{o}m spacetime as examples. Some integral representations\nof the Bessel function are given in appendices.",
        "positive": "A Note on Noncompact and Nonmetricit Quadratic Curvature Gravity\n  Theories: In this note, we evaluate the Weyl-invariant quadratic curvature tensors for\nthe particular Weyl's gauge field constructed in the $3+1$-dimensional\nnoncompact Weyl-Einstein-Yang-Mills model. We subsequently extend the model to\nits higher curvature version. Here, we also compute Weyl-invariant extension of\ntopological Gauss-Bonnet term for this specific choice of vector field."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "BRST Anomaly and Superspace Constraints of the Pure Spinor Heterotic\n  String in a Curved Background: The pure spinor heterotic string in a generic super Yang-Mills and\nsupergravity background is considered. We determine the one-loop BRST anomaly\nat the cohomological level. We prove that it can be absorbed by consistent\ncorrections of the classical constraints due to Berkovits and Howe, in\nagreement with the Green-Schwarz cancelation mechanism.",
        "positive": "Dimensional reduction of the ABJM model: We dimensionally reduce the ABJM model, obtaining a two-dimensional theory\nthat can be thought of as a 'master action'. This encodes information about\nboth T- and S-duality, i.e. describes fundamental (F1) and D-strings (D1) in 9\nand 10 dimensions. The Higgsed theory at large VEV and large k yields D1-brane\nactions in 9d and 10d, depending on which auxiliary fields are integrated out.\nFor N=1 there is a map to a Green-Schwarz string wrapping a nontrivial circle\nin C^4/Z_k."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Bi-scalar integrable CFT at any dimension: We propose a $D$-dimensional generalization of $4D$ bi-scalar conformal\nquantum field theory recently introduced by G\\\"{u}rdogan and one of the authors\nas a strong-twist double scaling limit of $\\gamma$-deformed $\\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM\ntheory. Similarly to the $4D$ case, this D-dimensional CFT is also dominated by\n\"fishnet\" Feynman graphs and is integrable in the planar limit. The dynamics of\nthese graphs is described by the integrable conformal $SO(D+1,1)$ spin chain.\nIn $2D$ it is the analogue of L. Lipatov's $SL(2,\\mathbb{C})$ spin chain for\nthe Regge limit of $QCD$, but with the spins $s=1/4$ instead of $s=0$.\nGeneralizing recent $4D$ results of Grabner, Gromov, Korchemsky and one of the\nauthors to any $D$ we compute exactly, at any coupling, a four point\ncorrelation function, dominated by the simplest fishnet graphs of cylindric\ntopology, and extract from it exact dimensions of R-charge 2 operators with any\nspin and some of their OPE structure constants.",
        "positive": "An action principle for Vasiliev's four-dimensional higher-spin gravity: We provide Vasiliev's fully nonlinear equations of motion for bosonic gauge\nfields in four spacetime dimensions with an action principle. We first extend\nVasiliev's original system with differential forms in degrees higher than one.\nWe then derive the resulting duality-extended equations of motion from a\nvariational principle based on a generalized Hamiltonian sigma-model action.\nThe generalized Hamiltonian contains two types of interaction freedoms: One set\nof functions that appears in the Q-structure of the generalized curvatures of\nthe odd forms in the duality-extended system; and another set depending on the\nLagrange multipliers, encoding a generalized Poisson structure, i.e. a set of\npolyvector fields of ranks two or higher in target space. We find that at least\none of the two sets of interaction-freedom functions must be linear in order to\nensure gauge invariance. We discuss consistent truncations to the minimal Type\nA and B models (with only even spins), spectral flows on-shell and provide\nboundary conditions on fields and gauge parameters that are compatible with the\nvariational principle and that make the duality-extended system equivalent, on\nshell, to Vasiliev's original system."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "No-hair conjectures, primordial shear and protoinflationary initial\n  conditions: Anisotropic inflationary background geometries are analyzed in the context of\nan extended gauge action where the electric and magnetic susceptibilities are\nnot bound to coincide and depend on the inflaton field. After deriving various\nclasses of solutions with electric and magnetic hairs, we discuss the problem\nof the initial boundary conditions of the shear parameter and consider a\nglobally neutral plasma as a possible relic of a preinflationary stage of\nexpansion. While electric hairs are washed out by the finite value of the\nprotoinflationary conductivity, magnetic hairs can persist and introduce a tiny\namount of shear causing a different inflationary rate of expansion along\northogonal spatial directions. The plasma interactions are a necessary\ncriterion to discriminate between physical and unphysical initial conditions\nbut they are not strictly sufficient to warrant the stability of a given\nmagnetic solution.",
        "positive": "How $\\mathcal N=1$, $D=4$ SYM domain walls look like: We review main features of the pure $\\mathcal N=1$, $D=4$ SYM and its\neffective description by the Veneziano-Yankielowicz generalized sigma-model. We\nthen indicate that the construction of BPS domain walls interpolating between\ndifferent SYM vacua requires the presence of a dynamical membrane source. We\nwill show how such a membrane is coupled to the SYM and present the explicit\nform of BPS domain walls which it creates in the Veneziano-Yankielowicz\neffective theory. In particular, we will describe 1/2 BPS domain wall\nconfigurations with $|k|\\leq N/3$, where $k$ is the membrane charge that sets\nthe \"distance\" between two distinct SUSY vacua."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Categorical Symmetry of the Standard Model from Gravitational Anomaly: In the Standard Model, some combination of the baryon $\\bf B$ and lepton $\\bf\nL$ number symmetry is free of mixed anomalies with strong and electroweak\n$su(3) \\times su(2) \\times u(1)_{\\tilde Y}$ gauge forces. However, it can still\nsuffer from a mixed gravitational anomaly, hypothetically pertinent to\nleptogenesis in the very early universe. This happens when the total \"sterile\nright-handed\" neutrino number $n_{\\nu_R}$ is not equal to the family number\n$N_f$. Thus the invertible $\\bf B - L$ symmetry current conservation can be\nviolated quantum mechanically by gravitational backgrounds such as\ngravitational instantons. In specific, we show that a noninvertible categorical\n$\\bf B - L$ generalized symmetry still survives in gravitational backgrounds.\nIn general, we propose a construction of noninvertible symmetry charge\noperators as topological defects derived from invertible anomalous symmetries\nthat suffer from mixed gravitational anomalies. Examples include the\nperturbative local and nonperturbative global anomalies classified by\n$\\mathbb{Z}$ and $\\mathbb{Z}_{16}$ respectively. For this construction, we\nutilize the anomaly inflow bulk-boundary correspondence, the 4d Pontryagin\nclass and the gravitational Chern-Simons 3-form, the 3d\nWitten-Reshetikhin-Turaev-type topological quantum field theory corresponding\nto a 2d rational conformal field theory with an appropriate rational chiral\ncentral charge, and the 4d $\\mathbb{Z}_4^{\\rm TF}$-time-reversal symmetric\ntopological superconductor with 3d boundary topological order.",
        "positive": "Holographic relations for OPE blocks in excited states: We study the holographic duality between boundary OPE blocks and geodesic\nintegrated bulk fields in quotients of AdS$_3$ dual to excited CFT states. The\nquotient geometries exhibit non-minimal geodesics between pairs of spacelike\nseparated boundary points which modify the OPE block duality. We decompose OPE\nblocks into quotient invariant operators and propose a duality with bulk fields\nintegrated over individual geodesics, minimal or non-minimal. We provide\nevidence for this relationship by studying the monodromy of asymptotic maps\nthat implement the quotients."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Classical Limit of Large N Gauge Theories with Conformal Symmetry: In this paper we study classical limit of conformal field theories realized\nby large N gauge theories using the generalized coherent states. For generic\nlarge N gauge theories with conformal symmetry, we show that the classical\nlimit of them is described by the classical Einstein gravity. This may be\nregarded as a kind of derivation of the AdS/CFT correspondence.",
        "positive": "Kinks in the relativistic model with logarithmic nonlinearity: We study the properties of a relativistic model with logarithmic\nnonlinearity. We show that such model allows two types of solutions:\ntopologically trivial (gaussons) and topologically non-trivial (kinks),\ndepending on a sign of the nonlinear coupling. We focus primarily on the kinks'\ncase and study their scattering properties. For the kink-antikink scattering,\nwe have found a critical value of the initial velocity, which separates two\ndifferent scenarios of scattering. For the initial velocities below this\ncritical value, the kinks form a bound state, which then decays slowly. If the\ninitial velocities are above the critical value, the kinks collide, bounce and\neventually escape to infinities. During this process, the higher initial\nvelocity is, the greater is the elasticity of the collision. We also study\nexcitation spectrum of the kink solution."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Mimetic Curvaton: In this paper, we investigate the primordial perturbations of inflation model\ninduced from the multi-field mimetic gravity, where there are two field during\ninflation, and thus both adiabatic and isocurvature perturbation modes are\ngenerated. We show that although it is true that the original adiabatic\nperturbation mode loses the kinetic term due to the constraint equation, by\napplying the curvaton mechanism where one of the field is viewed as curvaton\nfield, the adiabatic perturbation can actually be transferred from the\nisocurvature one at the end of inflation. Detailed calculations are performed\nfor both inflationary and the consequent matter-dominant epochs. Therefore, the\nso-called \"non-propagating problem\" of the adiabatic mode will actually do no\nharm to the multi-field mimetic inflation models.",
        "positive": "Is Eternal Inflation Past-Eternal? And What if It Is?: As a result of discussions with Bousso and Vilenkin I want to return to the\nquestion of whether the multiverse is past-eternal or if there was a beginning.\nNot surprisingly, given three people, there were three answers. However, the\ndiscussions have led to some common ground.\n  The multiverse being past-eternal, or at least extremely old has content and\npotential phenomenological implications. I will discuss how the oldness of the\nmultiverse is connected with recent speculations of Douglas."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Collinear Limit of the Four-Point Energy Correlator in $\\mathcal{N}\n  = 4$ Super Yang-Mills Theory: We present a compact formula, expressed in terms of classical polylogarithms\nup to weight three, for the leading order four-point energy correlator in\nmaximally supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory, in the limit where the four\ndetectors are collinear. This formula is derived by combining a simplified,\nmanifestly dual conformal invariant form of the 1 -> 4 splitting function\nobtained from the square of the tree-level five-particle form factor of\nstress-tensor multiplet operators, with a novel integration-by-parts algorithm\noperating directly on Feynman parameter integrals. Our results provide valuable\ndata for exploring the structure of physical observables in perturbation\ntheory, and for calculations of jet substructure observables in quantum\nchromodynamics.",
        "positive": "One-loop Double Copy Relation from Twisted (Co)homology: We propose a geometric relation between closed and open string amplitudes at\none-loop. After imposing a homological splitting on the world-sheet torus\ntwisted intersection theory is used to establish a one-loop double copy\nrelation. The latter expresses a closed string amplitude by a pair of open\nstring amplitudes and twisted intersection numbers. These inner products on the\nvector space of allowed differential forms are related to the twisted homology\nand cohomology groups associated with the Riemann-Wirtinger integral."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "p-brane Taxonomy: We review an approach to the construction and classification of p-brane\nsolitons in arbitrary dimensions, with an emphasis on those that arise in\ntoroidally-compactified M-theory. Procedures for constructing the low-energy\nsupergravity limits in arbitrary dimensions, and for studying the supersymmetry\nproperties of the solitons are presented. Wide classes of p-brane solutions are\nobtained, and their properties and classification in terms of bound states and\nintersections of M-branes are described. (Based on lectures presented at the\nSummer School in High-Energy Physics and Cosmology, Trieste, Italy, 10 Jun - 26\nJul 1996.)",
        "positive": "Fermions in Geodesic Witten Diagrams: We develop the embedding formalism for odd dimensional Dirac spinors in AdS\nand apply it to the (geodesic) Witten diagrams including fermionic degrees of\nfreedom. We first show that the geodesic Witten diagram (GWD) with fermion\nexchange is equivalent to the conformal partial waves associated with the spin\none-half primary field. Then, we explicitly demonstrate the GWD decomposition\nof the Witten diagram including the fermion exchange with the aid of the split\nrepresentation. The geodesic representation of CPW indeed gives the useful\nbasis for computing the Witten diagrams."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Conformally invariant off-shell string physics: Using recent advances in the understanding of non-critical strings, we\nconstruct a unique, conformally invariant continuation to off-shell momenta of\nPolyakov amplitudes in critical string theory. Three-point amplitudes are\nexplicitly calculated. These off-shell amplitudes possess some unusual,\napparently stringy, characteristics, which are unlikely to be reproduced in a\nstring field theory. Thus our results may be an indication that some\nfundamentally new formulation, other than string field theory, will be required\nto extend our understanding of critical strings beyond the Polyakov path\nintegral.",
        "positive": "Stability of the Travelling Front of a Decaying Brane: The dynamics (in light-cone time) of the tachyon on an unstable brane in the\nbackground of a dilaton linear along a null coordinate is a non-local\nreaction-diffusion type equation, which admits a travelling front solution. We\nanalyze the (in-)stability of this solution using linearized perturbation\ntheory. We find that the front solution obtained in singular perturbation\nmethod is stable. However, these inhomogenous solutions (unlike the homogenous\nsolution) also have Lyapunov exponents corresponding to unstable modes around\nthe (meta-)stable vacuum."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exactly solvable potentials of Calogero type for q-deformed Coxeter\n  groups: We establish that by parameterizing the configuration space of a\none-dimensional quantum system by polynomial invariants of q-deformed Coxeter\ngroups it is possible to construct exactly solvable models of Calogero type. We\nadopt the previously introduced notion of solvability which consists of\nrelating the Hamiltonian to finite dimensional representation spaces of a Lie\nalgebra. We present explicitly the $G_2^q $-case for which we construct the\npotentials by means of suitable gauge transformations.",
        "positive": "Energy loss in a strongly coupled anisotropic plasma: We study the energy loss of a rotating infinitely massive quark moving, at\nconstant velocity, through an anisotropic strongly-coupled N=4 plasma from\nholography. It is shown that, similar to the isotropic plasma, the energy loss\nof the rotating quark is due to either the drag force or radiation with a\ncontinuous crossover from drag-dominated regime to the radiation dominated\nregime. We find that the anisotropy has a significant effect on the energy loss\nof the heavy quark, specially in the crossover regime. We argue that the energy\nloss due to radiation in anisotropic media is less than the isotropic case.\nInterestingly this is similar to analogous calculations for the energy loss in\nweakly coupled anisotropic plasma."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Background field method, Batalin-Vilkovisky formalism and parametric\n  completeness of renormalization: We investigate the background field method with the Batalin-Vilkovisky\nformalism, to generalize known results, study parametric completeness and\nachieve a better understanding of several properties. In particular, we study\nrenormalization and gauge dependence to all orders. Switching between the\nbackground field approach and the usual approach by means of canonical\ntransformations, we prove parametric completeness without making use of\ncohomological theorems, namely show that if the starting classical action is\nsufficiently general all divergences can be subtracted by means of parameter\nredefinitions and canonical transformations. Our approach applies to\nrenormalizable and non-renormalizable theories that are manifestly free of\ngauge anomalies and satisfy the following assumptions: the gauge algebra is\nirreducible and closes off shell, the gauge transformations are linear\nfunctions of the fields, and closure is field-independent. Yang-Mills theories\nand quantum gravity in arbitrary dimensions are included, as well as effective\nand higher-derivative versions of them, but several other theories, such as\nsupergravity, are left out.",
        "positive": "Supergravity background of lambda-deformed model for AdS2 x S2\n  supercoset: Starting with the F/G supercoset model corresponding to the AdS_n x S^n\nsuperstring one can define the lambda-model of arXiv:1409.1538 either as a\ndeformation of the F/F gauged WZW model or as an integrable one-parameter\ngeneralization of the non-abelian T-dual of the AdS_n x S^n superstring sigma\nmodel with respect to the whole supergroup F. Here we consider the case of n=2\nand find the explicit form of the 4d target space background for the\nlambda-model for the PSU(1,1|2)/[SO(1,1) x SO(2)] supercoset. We show that this\nbackground represents a solution of type IIB 10d supergravity compactified on a\n6-torus with only metric, dilaton Phi and the RR 5-form (represented by a\n2-form F in 4d) being non-trivial. This implies that the lambda-model is Weyl\ninvariant at the quantum level and thus defines a consistent superstring sigma\nmodel. The supergravity solution we find is different from the one in\narXiv:1410.1886 which should correspond to a version of the lambda-model where\nonly the bosonic subgroup of F is gauged. Still, the two solutions have\nequivalent scaling limit of arXiv:1504.07213 leading to the isometric\nbackground for the metric and e^Phi F which is related to the eta-deformed\nAdS_2 x S^2 sigma model of arXiv:1309.5850. Similar results are expected in the\nAdS_3 x S^3 and AdS_5 x S^5 cases."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Duality and gauge invariance of noncommutative spacetime Podolsky\n  electromagnetic theory: The interest in higher derivatives field theories has its origin mainly in\ntheir influence concerning the renormalization properties of physical models\nand to remove ultraviolet divergences. In this letter we have introduced the\nnoncommutative (NC) version of the Podolsky theory and we investigated the\neffect of the noncommutativity over its original gauge invariance property. We\nhave demonstrated precisely that the noncommutativity spoiled the gauge\ninvariance of the original action. After that we have used the Noether\ndualization technique to obtain a dual and gauge invariant action. More than to\nobtain the NC Podolsky theory, we have another motivation in this work, which\nis to show that, although the introduction of noncommutativity spoils the gauge\ninvariance, it is possible to recover this property using a standard\ndualization method which did not need any modification due to any NC effect in\nthe original theory, by the way",
        "positive": "BRST quantization of Yang-Mills theory: A purely Hamiltonian approach on\n  Fock space: We develop the basic ideas and equations for the BRST quantization of\nYang-Mills theories in an explicit Hamiltonian approach, without any reference\nto the Lagrangian approach at any stage of the development. We present a new\nrepresentation of ghost fields that combines desirable self-adjointness\nproperties with canonical anticommutation relations for ghost creation and\nannihilation operators, thus enabling us to characterize the physical states on\na well-defined Fock space. The Hamiltonian is constructed by piecing together\nsimple BRST invariant operators to obtain a minimal invariant extension of the\nfree theory. It is verified that the evolution equations implied by the\nresulting minimal Hamiltonian provide a quantum version of the classical\nYang-Mills equations. The modifications and requirements for the inclusion of\nmatter are discussed in detail."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Charge screening and confinement in the massive Schwinger model: Within the framework of Euclidean path integral and mass perturbation theory\nwe compute the Wilson loop of widely separated external charges for the massive\nSchwinger model. From this result we show for arbitrary order mass perturbation\ntheory that integer external charges are completely screened, whereas for\nnoninteger charges a constant long-range force remains.",
        "positive": "Finite N analysis of matrix models for n-Ising spin on a random surface: The saddle point equation described by the eigenvalues of N by N Hermitian\nmatrices is analized for a finite N case and the scaling relation for the large\nN is considered. The critical point and the critical exponents of matrix model\nare obtained by the finite N scaling. One matrix model and two matrix model are\nstudied in detail. Small N behavior for n-Ising model on a random surface is\ninvestigated."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Topological Field Theory for the triple Milnor linking coefficient: The subject of this work is a three-dimensional topological field theory with\na non-semisimple group of gauge symmetry with observables consisting in the\nholonomies of connections around three closed loops. The connections are a\nlinear combination of gauge potentials with coefficients containing a set of\none-dimensional scalar fields. It is checked that these observables are both\nmetric independent and gauge invariant. The gauge invariance is achieved by\nrequiring non-trivial gauge transformations in the scalar field sector. This\ntopological field theory is solvable and has only a relevant amplitude which\nhas been computed exactly. From this amplitude it is possible to isolate a\ntopological invariant which is Milnor's triple linking invariant. The\ntopological invariant obtained in this way is in the form of a sum of multiple\ncontour integrals. The contours coincide with the trajectories of the three\nloops mentioned before. The introduction of the one-dimensional scalar field is\nnecessary in order to reproduce correctly the particular path ordering of the\nintegration over the contours which is present in the triple Milnor linking\ncoefficient. This is the first example of a local topological gauge field\ntheory that is solvable and can be associated to a topological invariant of the\ncomplexity of the triple Milnor linking coefficient.",
        "positive": "3d-3d correspondence for mapping tori: One of the main challenges in 3d-3d correspondence is that no existent\napproach offers a complete description of 3d $N=2$ SCFT $T[M_3]$ --- or,\nrather, a \"collection of SCFTs\" as we refer to it in the paper --- for all\ntypes of 3-manifolds that include, for example, a 3-torus, Brieskorn spheres,\nand hyperbolic surgeries on knots. The goal of this paper is to overcome this\nchallenge by a more systematic study of 3d-3d correspondence that, first of\nall, does not rely heavily on any geometric structure on $M_3$ and, secondly,\nis not limited to a particular supersymmetric partition function of $T[M_3]$.\nIn particular, we propose to describe such \"collection of SCFTs\" in terms of 3d\n$N=2$ gauge theories with \"non-linear matter'' fields valued in complex group\nmanifolds. As a result, we are able to recover familiar 3-manifold invariants,\nsuch as Turaev torsion and WRT invariants, from twisted indices and\nhalf-indices of $T[M_3]$, and propose new tools to compute more recent\n$q$-series invariants $\\hat Z (M_3)$ in the case of manifolds with $b_1 > 0$.\nAlthough we use genus-1 mapping tori as our \"case study,\" many results and\ntechniques readily apply to more general 3-manifolds, as we illustrate\nthroughout the paper."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "$R^4$ corrections to holographic Schwinger effect: We consider $R^4$ corrections to the holographic Schwinger effect in an AdS\nblack hole background and a confining D3-brane background. The potential\nbetween a test particle pair are performed for both backgrounds. We find there\nis no potential barrier in the critical electric field, which means that the\nsystem becomes catastrophically unstable. It is shown that for both backgrounds\nincreasing the inverse 't Hooft coupling parameter $1/\\lambda$ enhances the\nSchwinger effect. We also discuss the possible relation between the Schwinger\neffect and the viscosity-entropy ratio $\\eta/s$ in strong coupling.",
        "positive": "Infrared resummation for derivative interactions in de Sitter space: In de Sitter space, scale invariant fluctuations give rise to infrared\nlogarithmic corrections to physical quantities, which eventually spoil\nperturbation theories. For models without derivative interactions, it has been\nknown that the field equation reduces to a Langevin equation with white noise\nin the leading logarithm approximation. The stochastic equation allows us to\nevaluate the infrared effects nonperturbatively. We extend the resummation\nformula so that it is applicable to models with derivative interactions. We\nfirst consider the nonlinear sigma model and next consider a more general model\nwhich consists of a noncanonical kinetic term and a potential term. The\nstochastic equations derived from the infrared resummation in these models can\nbe understood as generalizations of the standard one to curved target spaces."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Multi-charge accelerating black holes and spinning spindles: We construct a family of multi-dyonically charged and rotating supersymmetric\nAdS$_2\\times \\Sigma$ solutions of $D=4$, $\\mathcal{N}=4$ gauged supergravity,\nwhere $\\Sigma$ is a sphere with two conical singularities known as a spindle.\nWe argue that these arise as near horizon limits of extremal dyonically charged\nrotating and accelerating supersymmetric black holes in AdS$_4$, that we\nconjecture to exist. We demonstrate this in the non-rotating limit,\nconstructing the accelerating black hole solutions and showing that the\nnon-spinning spindle solutions arise as the near horizon limit of the\nsupersymmetric and extremal sub-class of these black holes. From the near\nhorizon solutions we compute the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy of the black holes\nas a function of the conserved charges, and show that this may equivalently be\nobtained by extremizing a simple entropy function. For appropriately quantized\nmagnetic fluxes, the solutions uplift on $S^7$, or its ${\\cal N}=4$ orbifolds\n$S^7/\\Gamma$, to smooth supersymmetric solutions to $D=11$ supergravity, where\nthe entropy is expected to count microstates of the theory on $N$ M2-branes\nwrapped on a spinning spindle, in the large $N$ limit.",
        "positive": "Koebe 1/4-Theorem and Inequalities in N=2 Super-QCD: The critical curve ${\\cal C}$ on which ${\\rm Im}\\,\\hat\\tau =0$,\n$\\hat\\tau=a_D/a$, determines hyperbolic domains whose Poincar\\'e metric is\nconstructed in terms of $a_D$ and $a$. We describe ${\\cal C}$ in a parametric\nform related to a Schwarzian equation and prove new relations for $N=2$ Super\n$SU(2)$ Yang-Mills. In particular, using the Koebe 1/4-theorem and Schwarz's\nlemma, we obtain inequalities involving $u$, $a_D$ and $a$, which seem related\nto the Renormalization Group. Furthermore, we obtain a closed form for the\nprepotential as function of $a$. Finally, we show that $\\partial_{\\hat\\tau}\n\\langle {\\rm tr}\\,\\phi^2\\rangle_{\\hat \\tau}={1\\over 8\\pi i b_1}\\langle\n\\phi\\rangle_{\\hat\\tau}^2$, where $b_1$ is the one-loop coefficient of the beta\nfunction."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless transition in the\n  superconducting phase of (2+1)-dimensional quantum chromodynamics: We study superconductivity in the hadron-quark mixed phase of planar quantum\nchromodynamics (QCD) within the large $N$ limit of a Gross-Neveu model modified\nby a repulsive vector term. At high densities, the combination of scalar\nattraction and repulsive space-like part of the vector interaction squeezes\nquarks into baryonic composite states, i.e., Dirac fermions with even numbers\nof bosonic vortices attached. The time-like vector component induces Cooper\npairing between these Fermi surface modes. Remarkably, at zero temperature,\ncompetition between the quark density and mass destroys superconductivity via a\nBerezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless (BKT) phase transition driven by diverging\nchiral quantum fluctuations near criticality. Dissolution of logarithmically\nbound singlet diquarks is catalyzed by in-plane chiral mixing associated with\n$\\mathbb{Z}_2 \\otimes \\mathbb{Z}_2 \\to \\mathbb{Z}_2$ chiral symmetry breaking\nof the Fermi surface into a transverse spin-polarized triplet ground state. We\ncalculate the QCD phase diagram for quark chemical potential above the baryon\nmass based purely on Fermi surface considerations and find good agreement with\nresults obtained by other methods. We address similarities between our quantum\nBKT transition and those found using holographic techniques.",
        "positive": "Sphaleron solutions of the Skyrme model from Yang-Mills holonomy: We discuss how an approximation to the axially symmetric sphalerons in the\nSkyrme model can be constructed from the holonomy of a non-BPS Yang-Mills\ncalorons. These configurations, both in the Skyrme model and in the Euclidean\nYang-Mills theory, are characterized by two integers n and m, where n are the\nwinding numbers of the constituents and the second integer m defines type of\nthe solution, it has zero topological charge for even m and for odd values of m\nthe corresponding chain has total topological charge n. It is found numerically\nthat the holonomy of the chains of interpolating calorons--anticalorons\nprovides a reasonably good approximation to the corresponding\nSkyrmion--antiSkyrmion chains when the topological charge of the Skyrmion\nconstitutents is two times more than the Chern-Pontryagin index of the caloron."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Field Theory Supertubes: Starting with intersecting M2-branes in M-theory, the IIA supertube can be\nfound by compactification with a boost to the speed of light in the compact\ndimension. A similar procedure applied to Donaldson-Uhlenbeck-Yau instantons on\n$\\bC^3$, viewed as intersecting membranes of 7D supersymmetric Yang-Mills (SYM)\ntheory, yields (for finite boost) a new set of 1/4 BPS equations for 6D\nSYM-Higgs theory, and (for infinite boost) a generalization of the dyonic\ninstanton equations of 5D SYM-Higgs theory, solutions of which are interpreted\nas Yang-Mills supertubes and realized as configurations of IIB string theory.",
        "positive": "Response of a uniformly accelerated Unruh-DeWitt detector in polymer\n  quantization: If an Unruh-DeWitt detector moves with a uniform acceleration in Fock-space\nvacuum, then the transition rate of the detector is proportional to the thermal\nspectrum. It is well known that the transition rate of the detector crucially\ndepends on the two-point function along the detectors trajectory and in order\nto compute it the standard \"$i \\epsilon$\" regularization is used for Fock\nspace. Numerically, we show here that the regulator $\\epsilon$ is generic in\npolymer quantization, the quantization method used in \\emph{loop quantum\ngravity} with a finite value $\\epsilon \\approx 2.16$, which leads to\nnon-thermal spectrum for the uniformly accelerated detector. We also discuss\nthe response of a spatially smeared detector."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Integrable Classical and Quantum Gravity: In these lectures we report recent work on the exact quantization of\ndimensionally reduced gravity, i.e. 2d non-linear (G/H)-coset space\nsigma-models coupled to gravity and a dilaton. Using methods developed in the\ncontext of flat space integrable systems, the Wheeler-DeWitt equations for\nthese models can be reduced to a modified version of the Knizhnik-Zamolodchikov\nequations from conformal field theory, the insertions given by singularities in\nthe spectral parameter plane. This basic result in principle permits the\nexplicit construction of solutions, i.e. physical states of the quantized\ntheory. In this way, we arrive at integrable models of quantum gravity with\ninfinitely many self-interacting propagating degrees of freedom.",
        "positive": "On the Solution of Topological Landau-Ginzburg Models with $c=3$: The solution is given for the $c=3$ topological matter model whose underlying\nconformal theory has Landau-Ginzburg model $W=-\\qa (x^4 +y^4)+\\af x^2y^2$.\nWhile consistency conditions are used to solve it, this model is probably at\nthe limit of such techniques. By using the flatness of the metric of the space\nof coupling constants I rederive the differential equation that relates the\nparameter \\af\\ to the flat coordinate $t$. This simpler method is also applied\nto the $x^3+y^6$-model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum evolution of the Hawking state for black holes: We give a general description of the evolving quantum state of a\nSchwarzschild black hole, in the quantum field theory approximation. Such a\ntime-dependent description is based on introducing a choice of time slices. We\nin particular consider slices that smoothly cross the horizon, and introduction\nof \"stationary\" such slices simplifies the analysis. This analysis goes beyond\nstandard derivations of Hawking radiation that focus on asymptotic excitations,\nand in particular gives an evolving state that is regular at the horizon, with\nno explicit transplanckian dependence, and that can in principle be generalized\nto incorporate interacting fields. It is also expected to be useful in\nconnecting to information-theoretic investigation of black hole evolution. The\ndescription of the evolving state depends on the choice of slices as well as\ncoordinates on the slices and mode bases; these choices give different\n\"pictures\" analogous to that of Schr\\\"odinger. Evolution does have a simpler\nappearance in an energy eigenbasis, but such a basis is also singular at the\nhorizon; evolution of regular modes has a more complicated appearance, whose\nproperties may be inferred by comparing with the energy eigenbasis. In a\nregular description, Hawking quanta are produced in a black hole atmosphere, at\nscales comparable to the horizon size. This approach is also argued to extend\nto more general asymptotics, such as that of anti de Sitter space. In the\nlatter context, this analysis provides a description of the hamiltonian and\nevolution of a black hole that may be compared to the large-$N$ dynamics of the\nproposed dual CFT.",
        "positive": "Hyper-Kahler manifolds and multiply-intersecting branes: Generalized membrane solutions of D=11 supergravity, for which the transverse\nspace is a toric hyper-K{\\\" a}hler manifold, are shown to have IIB duals\nrepresenting the intersection of parallel 3-branes with 5-branes whose\norientations are determined by their $Sl(2;\\bZ)$ charge vectors. These IIB\nsolutions, which generically preserve 3/16 of the supersymmetry, can be further\nmapped to solutions of D=11 supergravity representing the intersection of\nparallel membranes with any number of fivebranes at arbitrary angles.\nAlternatively, a subclass (corresponding to non-singular D=11 solutions) can be\nmapped to solutions representing the intersection on a string of any number of\nD-5-branes at arbitrary angles, again preserving 3/16 supersymmetry, as we\nverify in a special case by a quaternionic extension of the analysis of\nBerkooz, Douglas and Leigh. We also use similar methods to find new 1/8\nsupersymmetric solutions of orthogonally intersecting branes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Dark Energy Model Characterized by the Age of the Universe: Quantum mechanics together with general relativity leads to the\n  K\\'arolyh\\'azy relation and a corresponding energy density of quantum\nfluctuations of space-time. Based on the energy density we propose a dark\nenergy model, in which the age of the universe is introduced as the length\nmeasure. This dark energy is consistent with astronomical data if the unique\nnumerical parameter in the dark energy model is taken to be a number of order\none. The dark energy behaves like a cosmological constant at early time and\ndrives the universe to an eternally accelerated expansion with power-law form\nat late time. In addition, we point out a subtlety in this kind of dark energy\nmodel.",
        "positive": "Chern-Simons theory in 11 dimensions as a non-perturbative phase of M\n  theory: A Chern-Simons theory in 11 dimensions, which is a piece of the 11\ndimensional supergravity action, is considered as a quantum field theory in its\nown right. We conjecture that it defines a non-perturbative phase of M theory\nin which the metric and gravitino vanish. The theory is diffeomorphism\ninvariant but not topological in that there are local degrees of freedom.\nNevertheless, there are a countable number of momentum variables associated\nwith relative cobordism classes of embeddings of seven dimensional manifolds in\nten dimensional space. The canonical theory is developed in terms of an algebra\nof gauge invariant observables. We find a sector of the theory corresponding to\na topological compactification in which the geometry of the compactified\ndirections is coded in an algebra of functions on the base manifold. The\ndiffeomorphism invariant quantum theory associated to this sector is\nconstructed, and is found to describe diffeomorphism classes of excitations of\nthree surfaces wrapping homology classes of the compactified dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A matrix-model approach to integrated correlators in a $\\mathcal{N}=2$\n  SYM theory: In a $\\mathcal{N}=2$ superconformal gauge theory with matter hypermultiplets\ntransforming in the symmetric and anti-symmetric representations of SU($N$), we\nstudy the integrated correlators of two Coulomb-branch operators and two\nmoment-map operators using localization. In the corresponding matrix model we\nidentify the operator associated with the integrated insertions of moment-map\noperators and provide for it an exact expression valid for all values of the\ncoupling constant in the planar limit. This allows us to study the integrated\ncorrelators at strong-coupling where we show that they behave as the 2-point\nfunctions of the Coulomb-branch operators, up to an overall constant dependent\nonly on the conformal dimensions of the latter. The strong-coupling relation\nbetween integrated correlators and 2-point functions turns out to be the same\nas in $\\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM at large $N$, despite the reduced amount of\nsupersymmetry in our theory.",
        "positive": "Domain Walls in Extended Lovelock Gravity: We derive a BPS-like first order system of equations for a family of flat\nstatic domain walls (DWs) of dimensionally extended cubic Lovelock Gravity\ncoupled to massive scalar self-interacting matter. The explicit construction of\nsuch DWs is achieved by introducing of an appropriate matter superpotential. We\nfurther analyse the dependence of the geometric properties of the\nasymptotically AdSd space-times representing distinct DWs on the shape of the\nmatter potential, on the values of the Lovelock couplings and on the scalar\nfield boundary conditions. Few explicit examples of Lovelock DWs interpolating\nbetween AdS-type vacua of different cosmological constants are presented. In\nfive dimensions our method provides interesting solutions of the Myers-Robinson\nQuasi-topological Gravity in the presence of matter important for the\ndescription of the specific renormalization group flows in its holographic dual\nfour-dimensional CFT perturbed by relevant operators."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gravity Waves from Soft Theorem in General Dimensions: Classical limit of multiple soft graviton theorem can be used to compute the\nangular power spectrum of long wavelength gravitational radiation in classical\nscattering provided the total energy carried away by the radiation is small\ncompared to the energies of the scatterers. We could ensure this either by\ntaking the limit in which the impact parameter is large compared to the\nSchwarzschild radii of the scatterers, or by taking the probe limit where one\nobject (the probe) has mass much smaller than the other object (the scatterer).\nWe compute the results to subsubleading order in soft momentum and test them\nusing explicit examples involving classical scattering. Our analysis also\ngeneralizes to the case where there are multiple objects involved in the\nscattering and the objects exchange mass, fragment or fuse into each other\nduring the scattering. A similar analysis can be carried out for soft photons\nto subleading order, reproducing standard textbook results. We also discuss the\nmodification of soft expansion in four dimensions beyond the leading order due\nto infrared divergences.",
        "positive": "Surface Casimir densities on a spherical brane in Rindler-like\n  spacetimes: The vacuum expectation value of the surface energy-momentum tensor is\nevaluated for a scalar field obeying Robin boundary condition on a spherical\nbrane in (D+1)-dimensional spacetime $Ri\\times S^{D-1}$, where $Ri$ is a\ntwo-dimensional Rindler spacetime. The generalized zeta function technique is\nused in combination with the contour integral representation. The surface\nenergies on separate sides of the brane contain pole and finite contributions.\nAnalytic expressions for both these contributions are derived. For an\ninfinitely thin brane in odd spatial dimensions, the pole parts cancel and the\ntotal surface energy, evaluated as the sum of the energies on separate sides,\nis finite. For a minimally coupled scalar field the surface energy-momentum\ntensor corresponds to the source of the cosmological constant type."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Scattering Equations and Matrices: From Einstein To Yang-Mills, DBI and\n  NLSM: The tree-level S-matrix of Einstein's theory is known to have a\nrepresentation as an integral over the moduli space of punctured spheres\nlocalized to the solutions of the scattering equations. In this paper we\nintroduce three operations that can be applied on the integrand in order to\nproduce other theories. Starting in $d+M$ dimensions we use dimensional\nreduction to construct Einstein-Maxwell with gauge group $U(1)^M$. The second\noperation turns gravitons into gluons and we call it \"squeezing\". This gives\nrise to a formula for all multi-trace mixed amplitudes in Einstein-Yang-Mills.\nDimensionally reducing Yang-Mills we find the S-matrix of a special\nYang-Mills-Scalar (YMS) theory, and by the squeezing operation we find that of\na YMS theory with an additional cubic scalar vertex. A corollary of the YMS\nformula gives one for a single massless scalar with a $\\phi^4$ interaction.\nStarting again from Einstein's theory but in $d+d$ dimensions we introduce a\n\"generalized dimensional reduction\" that produces the Born-Infeld theory or a\nspecial Galileon theory in $d$ dimensions depending on how it is applied. An\nextension of Born-Infeld formula leads to one for the Dirac-Born-Infeld (DBI)\ntheory. By applying the same operation to Yang-Mills we obtain the $U(N)$\nnon-linear sigma model (NLSM). Finally, we show how the Kawai-Lewellen-Tye\nrelations naturally follow from our formulation and provide additional\nconnections among these theories. One such relation constructs DBI from YMS and\nNLSM.",
        "positive": "Aspects of Diffeomorphism and Conformal invariance in classical\n  Liouville theory: The interplay between the diffeomorphism and conformal symmetries (a feature\ncommon in quantum field theories) is shown to be exhibited for the case of\nblack holes in two dimensional classical Liouville theory. We show that\nalthough the theory is conformally invariant in the near horizon limit, there\nis a breaking of the diffeomorphism symmetry at the classical level. On the\nother hand, in the region away from the horizon, the conformal symmetry of the\ntheory gets broken with the diffeomorphism symmetry remaining intact."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The M-Theory S-Matrix From ABJM: Beyond 11D Supergravity: We show that by studying the flat spacetime limit of the Mellin amplitude\nassociated with the four-point correlation function of scalar operators in the\nstress tensor multiplet of ABJM theory, one can produce the momentum expansion\nof the M-theory four-graviton S-matrix elements. Using CFT data previously\nobtained from the supersymmetric localization method, we carry out this\nprocedure explicitly to the second nontrivial order in the momentum expansion,\nand recover precisely the known $R^4$ contribution to the scattering amplitude\nof super-gravitons in M-theory in eleven dimensions.",
        "positive": "Euclidean field theory and singular classical field configurations: Euclidean field theory on 4-dimensional sphere is suggested for the study of\nhigh energy multiparticle production. The singular classical field\nconfigurations are found in scalar and SU(2)-gauge theories and the cross\nsection of 2->n processes is calculated. It is shown,that the cross section has\na maximum at the energy compared to the sphaleron mass."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Black holes, information, and locality: Thirty years of a deepening information paradox suggest the need to revise\nour basic physical framework. Multiple indicators point toward reassessment of\nthe principle of locality: lack of a precise definition in quantum gravity,\nbehavior of high-energy scattering, hints from strings and AdS/CFT, conundrums\nof quantum cosmology, and finally lack of good alternative resolutions of the\nparadox. A plausible conjecture states that the non-perturbative dynamics of\ngravity is unitary but nonlocal. String theory may directly address these\nissues but so far important aspects remain elusive. If this viewpoint is\ncorrect, critical questions are to understand the \"correspondence\" limit where\nnonlocal physics reduces to local quantum field theory, and beyond, to unveil\nprinciples of an underlying nonlocal theory.",
        "positive": "The algebraic structure of geometric flows in two dimensions: There is a common description of different intrinsic geometric flows in two\ndimensions using Toda field equations associated to continual Lie algebras that\nincorporate the deformation variable t into their system. The Ricci flow admits\nzero curvature formulation in terms of an infinite dimensional algebra with\nCartan operator d/dt. Likewise, the Calabi flow arises as Toda field equation\nassociated to a supercontinual algebra with odd Cartan operator d/d \\theta -\n\\theta d/dt. Thus, taking the square root of the Cartan operator allows to\nconnect the two distinct classes of geometric deformations of second and fourth\norder, respectively. The algebra is also used to construct formal solutions of\nthe Calabi flow in terms of free fields by Backlund transformations, as for the\nRicci flow. Some applications of the present framework to the general class of\nRobinson-Trautman metrics that describe spherical gravitational radiation in\nvacuum in four space-time dimensions are also discussed. Further iteration of\nthe algorithm allows to construct an infinite hierarchy of higher order\ngeometric flows, which are integrable in two dimensions and they admit\nimmediate generalization to Kahler manifolds in all dimensions. These flows\nprovide examples of more general deformations introduced by Calabi that\npreserve the Kahler class and minimize the quadratic curvature functional for\nextremal metrics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Classical/quantum integrability in non-compact sector of AdS/CFT: We discuss non-compact SL(2,R) sectors in N=4 SYM and in AdS string theory\nand compare their integrable structures. We formulate and solve the\nRiemann-Hilbert problem for the finite gap solutions of the classical sigma\nmodel and show that at one loop it is identical to the classical limit of Bethe\nequations of the spin (-1/2) chain for the dilatation operator of SYM.",
        "positive": "Non-supersymmetric Orientifolds of Gepner Models: Starting from a previously collected set of tachyon-free closed strings, we\nsearch for N=2 minimal model orientifold spectra which contain the standard\nmodel and are free of tachyons and tadpoles at lowest order. For each class of\ntachyon-free closed strings -- bulk supersymmetry, automorphism invariants or\nKlein bottle projection -- we do indeed find non-supersymmetric and tachyon\nfree chiral brane configurations that contain the standard model. However, a\ntadpole-cancelling hidden sector could only be found in the case of bulk\nsupersymmetry. Although about half of the examples we have found make use of\nbranes that break the bulk space-time supersymmetry, the resulting massless\nopen string spectra are nevertheless supersymmetric in all cases. Dropping the\nrequirement that the standard model be contained in the spectrum, we find\nchiral tachyon and tadpole-free solutions in all three cases, although in the\ncase of bulk supersymmetry all massless spectra are supersymmetric. In the\nother two cases we find truly non-supersymmetric spectra, but a large fraction\nof them are nevertheless partly or fully supersymmetric at the massless level."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "String and Fivebrane Solitons: Singular or Non-singular?: We ask whether the recently discovered superstring and superfivebrane\nsolutions of D=10 supergravity admit the interpretation of non-singular\nsolitons even though, in the absence of Yang-Mills fields, they exhibit\ncurvature singularities at the origin. We answer the question using a test\nprobe/source approach, and find that the nature of the singularity is\nprobe-dependent. If the test probe and source are both superstrings or both\nsuperfivebranes, one falls into the other in a finite proper time and the\nsingularity is real, whereas if one is a superstring and the other a\nsuperfivebrane it takes an infinite proper time (the force is repulsive!) and\nthe singularity is harmless. Black strings and fivebranes, on the other hand,\nalways display real singularities.",
        "positive": "Finite-size effects on the phase transition in a four- and six-fermion\n  interaction model: We consider four- and six-fermion interacting models at finite temperature\nand density. We construct the corresponding free energies and investigate the\nappearance of first- and second-order phase transitions. Finite-size effects on\nthe phase structure are investigated using methods of quantum field theory on\ntoroidal topologies"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Note On The Dilaton Effective Action And Entanglement Entropy: In this note we do the analysis of entanglement entropy more carefully when\nthe non-conformal theory flows to a non-trivial IR fixed point. In particular\nwe emphasize the role of the trace of the energy-momentum tensor in these\ncalculations. We also compare the current technique for evaluating the\nentanglement entropy, particularly the Green's function method for gaussian\ntheories, with the dilaton effective action approach and show that they compute\nidentical quantities. As a result of this, the dilaton effective action\napproach can be thought of as an extension of Green's function technique to\ninteracting theories.",
        "positive": "Nonlocal multi-trace sources and bulk entanglement in holographic\n  conformal field theories: We consider CFT states defined by adding nonlocal multi-trace sources to the\nEuclidean path integral defining the vacuum state. For holographic theories, we\nargue that these states correspond to states in the gravitational theory with a\ngood semiclassical description but with a more general structure of bulk\nentanglement than states defined from single-trace sources. We show that at\nleading order in large N, the entanglement entropies for any such state are\nprecisely the same as those of another state defined by appropriate\nsingle-trace effective sources; thus, if the leading order entanglement\nentropies are geometrical for the single-trace states of a CFT, they are\ngeometrical for all the multi-trace states as well. Next, we consider the\nperturbative calculation of 1/N corrections to the CFT entanglement entropies,\ndemonstrating that these show qualitatively different features, including\nnon-analyticity in the sources and/or divergences in the naive perturbative\nexpansion. These features are consistent with the expectation that the 1/N\ncorrections include contributions from bulk entanglement on the gravity side.\nFinally, we investigate the dynamical constraints on the bulk geometry and the\nquantum state of the bulk fields which must be satisfied so that the entropies\ncan be reproduced via the quantum-corrected Ryu-Takayanagi formula."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Trans-Planckian Dark Energy?: It has recently been proposed by Mersini et al. 01, Bastero-Gil and Mersini\n02 that the dark energy could be attributed to the cosmological properties of a\nscalar field with a non-standard dispersion relation that decreases\nexponentially at wave-numbers larger than Planck scale (k_phys > M_Planck). In\nthis scenario, the energy density stored in the modes of trans-Planckian\nwave-numbers but sub-Hubble frequencies produced by amplification of the vacuum\nquantum fluctuations would account naturally for the dark energy. The present\narticle examines this model in detail and shows step by step that it does not\nwork. In particular, we show that this model cannot make definite predictions\nsince there is no well-defined vacuum state in the region of wave-numbers\nconsidered, hence the initial data cannot be specified unambiguously. We also\nshow that for most choices of initial data this scenario implies the production\nof a large amount of energy density (of order M_Planck^4) for modes with\nmomenta of order M_Planck, far in excess of the background energy density. We\nevaluate the amount of fine-tuning in the initial data necessary to avoid this\nback-reaction problem and find it is of order H/M_Planck. We also argue that\nthe equation of state of the trans-Planckian modes is not vacuum-like.\nTherefore this model does not provide a suitable explanation for the dark\nenergy.",
        "positive": "Covariant Quantization of d=4 Brink-Schwarz Superparticle with Lorentz\n  Harmonics: Covariant first and second quantization of the free d=4 massless\nsuperparticle are implemented with the introduction of purely gauge auxiliary\nspinor Lorentz harmonics. It is shown that the general solution of the\ncondition of maslessness is a sum of two independent chiral superfields with\neach of them corresponding to finite superspin. A translationally covariant, in\ngeneral bijective correspondence between harmonic and massless superfields is\nconstructed. By calculation of the commutation function it is shown that in the\nconsidered approach only harmonic fields with correct connection between spin\nand statistics and with integer negative homogeneity index satisfy the\nmicrocausality condition. It is emphasized that harmonic fields that arise are\nreducible at integer points. The index spinor technique is used to describe\ninfinite-component fields of finite spin; the equations of motion of such\nfields are obtained, and for them Weinberg's theorem on the connection between\nmassless helicity particles and the type of nongauge field that describes them\nis generalized."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Theory of Superselection Sectors for Generalized Ising models: We apply the theory of superselection sectors in the same way as done by\nG.Mack and V.Schomerus for the Ising model to generalizations of this model\ndescribed by J.Fr\\\"{o}hlich and T.Kerler.",
        "positive": "Noncommutative geometry and the classical orbits of particles in a\n  central force potential: We investigate the effect of the noncommutative geometry on the classical\norbits of particles in a central force potential. The relation is implemented\nthrough the modified commutation relations $[x_i, x_j]=i \\theta_{ij} $.\nComparison with observation places severe constraints on the value of the\nnoncommutativity parameter."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The effective action of a BPS Alice string: Recently a BPS Alice string has been found in a $U(1)\\times SU(2)$ gauge\ntheory coupled with a charged complex adjoint scalar field arXiv:1703.08971. It\nis a half BPS state preserving a half of supercharges when embedded into a\nsupersymmetric gauge theory. In this paper, we study zero modes of a BPS Alice\nstring. After presenting $U(1)$ and translational zero modes, we construct the\neffective action of these modes. In contrast to previous analysis of the\nconventional Alice string for which only large distance behaviors are known, we\ncan perform calculation exactly in the full space thanks to BPS properties.",
        "positive": "Observations on the Space of Four Dimensional String and $M$ theory\n  Vacua: The space of four dimensional string and $M$ theory vacua with non-Abelian\ngauge symmetry, chiral fermions and unbroken supersymmetry beyond the\nelectroweak scale appears to be a disconnected space whose different components\nrepresent distinct universality classes of vacua. Calculating statistical\ndistributions of physical observables a la Douglas therefore requires that the\ndistinct components are carefully accounted for. We highlight some classes of\nvacua which deserve further study and suggest an argument which may serve to\nrule out vacua which are small perturbations of supersymmetric $AdS_4$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "String Cosmology with a Time-Dependent Antisymmetric Tensor Potential: We present a class of exact solutions for homogeneous, anisotropic\ncosmologies in four dimensions derived from the low-energy string effective\naction including a homogeneous dilaton $\\phi$ and antisymmetric tensor\npotential $B_{\\mu\\nu}$. Making this potential time-dependent produces an\nanisotropic energy-momentum tensor, and leads us to consider a Bianchi I\ncosmology. The solution for the axion field must then only be a linear function\nof one spatial coordinate. This in turn places an upper bound on the product of\nthe two scale factors evolving perpendicular to the gradient of the axion\nfield. The only late-time isotropic solution is then a {\\em contracting}\nuniverse.",
        "positive": "Microcausality of Dirac field on noncommutative spacetime: We study the microcausality of free Dirac field on noncommutative spacetime.\nWe calculate the vacuum and non-vacuum state expectation values for the Moyal\ncommutator $[\\bar{\\psi}_{\\alpha}(x)\\star\\psi_{\\beta}(x),\\bar{\\psi}_\n{\\sigma}(x^{\\prime})\\star\\psi_{\\tau}(x^{\\prime})]_{\\star}$ of Dirac field on\nnoncommutative spacetime. We find that they do not vanish for some cases of the\nindexes for an arbitrary spacelike interval, no matter whether $\\theta^{0i}=0$\nor $\\theta^{0i}\\neq0$. However for the physical observable quantities of Dirac\nfield such as the Lorentz scalar $:\\bar{\\psi}(x)\\star\\psi(x):$ and the current\n$j^{\\mu}(x)=:\\bar{\\psi}(x)\\gamma^{\\mu}\\star\\psi(x):$ etc., we find that they\nstill satisfy the microcausality. Therefore microcausality is satisfied for\nDirac field on noncommutative spacetime."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Defects composed of kinks and Q-balls: analytical solutions and\n  stability: In this paper all the defect-type solutions in a family of scalar field\ntheories with a real and a complex field in (1+1) dimensional Minkowski\nspacetime have been analytically identified. Three types of solutions have been\nfound: (a) topological kinks without the presence of $Q$-balls, (b) defects\nwhich consist of a topological kink coupled with a $Q$-ball and (c) a\none-parameter family of solutions where a $Q$-ball is combined with a\nnon-topological soliton. The properties of these solutions and its linear\nstability are also discussed.",
        "positive": "Mode Interactions of the Tachyon Condensate in p-adic String Theory: We study the fluctuation modes for lump solutions of the tachyon effective\npotential in p-adic open string theory. We find a discrete spectrum with\nequally spaced mass squared levels. We also find that the interactions derived\nfrom this field theory are consistent with p-adic string amplitudes for excited\nstring states."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fermions on one or fewer Kinks: We find the full spectrum of fermion bound states on a Z_2 kink. In addition\nto the zero mode, there are int[2 m_f/m_s] bound states, where m_f is the\nfermion and m_s the scalar mass. We also study fermion modes on the background\nof a well-separated kink-antikink pair. Using a variational argument, we prove\nthat there is at least one bound state in this background, and that the energy\nof this bound state goes to zero with increasing kink-antikink separation, 2L,\nand faster than e^{-a2L} where a = min(m_s, 2 m_f). By numerical evaluation, we\nfind some of the low lying bound states explicitly.",
        "positive": "Anomaly analysis of Hawking radiation from 2+1 dimensional spinning\n  black hole: Considering gravitational and gauge anomalies at the horizon, a new\nsuccessful method that to derive Hawking radiations from black holes has been\ndeveloped recently by Wilczek et al.. By using the dimensional reduction\ntechnique, we apply this method to a non-vacuum solution, the 2+1 dimensional\nspinning black hole. The Hawking temperature and angular velocity on the\nhorizon are obtained. The results may partially imply that this method is\nindependent of the gravity theory, the dimension of spacetime and the\ntopological structure of the event horizon."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Yangian symmetry in deformed WZNW models on squashed spheres: We introduce a deformation of the Wess-Zumino-Novikov-Witten model with\nthree-dimensional squashed sphere target space. We show how with an appropriate\nchoice of Wess--Zumino and boundary terms it is possible to construct an\ninfinite family of conserved charges realizing an SU(2) Yangian. Finally we\ndiscuss the running of the squashing parameter under renormalization group\nflow.",
        "positive": "On the Time Evolution of Holographic n-partite Information: We study various scaling behaviors of n-partite information during a process\nof thermalization after a global quantum quench for n disjoint system\nconsisting of n parallel strips whose widths are much larger than the\nseparation between them. By making use of the holographic description for\nentanglement entropy we explore holographic description of the n-partite\ninformation by which we show that it has a definite sign: it is positive for\neven n and negative for odd n. This might be thought of as an intrinsic\nproperty of a field theory which has gravity dual."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Phase Space Discretization and Moyal Quantization: The Moyal quantization is described as a discretization of the classical\nphase space by using difference analogue of vector fields. Difference analogue\nof Lie brackets plays the role of Heisenberg commutators.",
        "positive": "Slow-walking inflation: We propose a new model of slow-roll inflation in string cosmology, based on\nwarped throat supergravity solutions displaying `walking' dynamics, i.e. the\ncoupling constant of the dual gauge theory slowly varies over a range of energy\nscales. The features of the throat geometry are sourced by a rich field\ncontent, given by the dilaton and RR and NS fluxes. By considering the motion\nof a D3-brane probe in this geometry, we are able to analytically calculate the\nbrane potential in a physically interesting regime. This potential has an\ninflection point: in its proximity we realize a model of inflation lasting\nsixty e-foldings, and whose robust predictions are in agreement with current\nobservations. We are also able to interpret some of the most interesting\naspects of this scenario in terms of the properties of the QFT dual theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Charge Screening and Confinement in Hot 3-D QED: We examine the possibility of a confinement-deconfinement phase transition at\nfinite temperature in both parity invariant and topologically massive\nthree-dimensional quantum electrodynamics. We review an argument showing that\nthe Abelian version of the Polyakov loop operator is an order parameter for\nconfinement, even in the presence of dynamical electrons. We show that, in the\nparity invariant case, where the tree-level Coulomb potential is logarithmic,\nthere is a Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless transition at a critical temperature\n($T_c=e^2/8\\pi+{\\cal O}(e^4/m)$, when the ratio of the electromagnetic coupling\nand the temperature to the electron mass is small). Above $T_c$ the electric\ncharge is not confined and the system is in a Debye plasma phase, whereas below\n$T_c$ the electric charges are confined by a logarithmic Coulomb potential,\nqualitatively described by the tree-level interaction. When there is a\ntopological mass, no matter how small, in a strict sense the theory is not\nconfining at any temperature; the model exhibits a screening phase, analogous\nto that found in the Schwinger model and two-dimensional QCD with massless\nadjoint matter. However, if the topological mass is much smaller than the other\ndimensional parameters, there is a temperature for which the range of the\nCoulomb interaction changes from the inverse topological mass to the inverse\nelectron mass. We speculate that this is a vestige of the BKT transition of the\nparity-invariant system, separating regions with screening and deconfining\nbehavior.",
        "positive": "Krylov complexity in quantum field theory, and beyond: We study Krylov complexity in various models of quantum field theory: free\nmassive bosons and fermions on flat space and on spheres, holographic models,\nand lattice models with the UV-cutoff. In certain cases we find asymptotic\nbehavior of Lanczos coefficients, which goes beyond previously observed\nuniversality. We confirm that in all cases the exponential growth of Krylov\ncomplexity satisfies the conjectural inequality, which generalizes the\nMaldacena-Shenker-Stanford bound on chaos. We discuss temperature dependence of\nLanczos coefficients and note that the relation between the growth of Lanczos\ncoefficients and chaos may only hold for the sufficiently late, truly\nasymptotic regime governed by the physics at the UV cutoff. Contrary to\nprevious suggestions, we show scenarios when Krylov complexity in quantum field\ntheory behaves qualitatively differently from the holographic complexity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauged N=4 supergravities: We present the gauged N=4 (half-maximal) supergravities in four and five\nspacetime dimensions coupled to an arbitrary number of vector multiplets. The\ngaugings are parameterized by a set of appropriately constrained constant\ntensors, which transform covariantly under the global symmetry groups SL(2) x\nSO(6,n) and SO(1,1) x SO(5,n), respectively. In terms of these tensors the\nuniversal Lagrangian and the Killing Spinor equations are given. The known\ngaugings, in particular those originating from flux compactifications, are\nincorporated in the formulation, but also new classes of gaugings are found.\nFinally, we present the embedding chain of the five dimensional into the four\ndimensional into the three dimensional gaugings, thereby showing how the\ndeformation parameters organize under the respectively larger duality groups.",
        "positive": "Inflation coupled to a Gauss-Bonnet term: The newly released Planck CMB data place tight constraints on slow-roll\ninflationary models. Some of commonly discussed inflationary potentials are\ndisfavored due mainly to the large tensor-to-scalar ratio. In this paper we\nshow that these potentials may be in good agreement with the Planck data when\nthe inflaton has a non-minimal coupling to the Gauss-Bonnet term. Moreover,\nsuch a coupling violates the consistency relation between the tensor spectral\nindex and tensor-to-scalar ratio. If the tensor spectral index is allowed to\nvary freely, the Planck constraints on the tensor-to-scalar ratio are slightly\nimproved."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Operator Algebra in Logarithmic Conformal Field Theory: For some time now, conformal field theories in two dimensions have been\nstudied as integrable systems. Much of the success of these studies is related\nto the existence of an operator algebra of the theory. In this paper, some of\nthe extensions of this machinery to the logarithmic case are studied, and used.\nMore precisely, from Mobius symmetry constraints, the generic three and four\npoint functions of logarithmic quasiprimary fields are calculated in closed\nform for arbitrary Jordan rank. As an example, c=0 disordered systems with\nnon-degenerate vacua are studied. With the aid of two, three and four point\nfunctions, the operator algebra is obtained and associativity of the algebra\nstudied.",
        "positive": "Constraints on Sequential Discontinuities from the Geometry of On-shell\n  Spaces: We present several classes of constraints on the discontinuities of Feynman\nintegrals that go beyond the Steinmann relations. These constraints follow from\na geometric formulation of the Landau equations that was advocated by Pham, in\nwhich the singularities of Feynman integrals correspond to critical points of\nmaps between on-shell spaces. To establish our results, we review elements of\nPicard-Lefschetz theory, which connect the homotopy properties of the space of\ncomplexified external momenta to the homology of the combined space of on-shell\ninternal and external momenta. An important concept that emerges from this\nanalysis is the question of whether or not a pair of Landau singularities is\ncompatible-namely, whether or not the Landau equations for the two\nsingularities can be satisfied simultaneously. Under conditions we describe,\nsequential discontinuities with respect to non-compatible Landau singularities\nmust vanish. Although we only rigorously prove results for Feynman integrals\nwith generic masses in this paper, we expect the geometric and algebraic\ninsights that we gain will also assist in the analysis of more general Feynman\nintegrals."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Nucleation at finite temperature beyond the superminispace model: The transition from the quantum to the classical regime of the nucleation of\nthe closed Robertson-Walker Universe with spacially homogeneous matter fields\nis investigated with a perturbation expansion around the sphaleron\nconfiguration. A criterion is derived for the occurrence of a first-order type\ntransition, and the related phase diagram for scalar and vector fields is\nobtained. For scalar fields both the first and second order transitions can\noccur depending on the shape of the potential barrier. For a vector field, here\nthat of an O(3) nonlinear $\\sigma$-model, the transition is seen to be only of\nthe first order.",
        "positive": "N=(4,4), 2D supergravity in SU(2)xSU(2) harmonic superspace: We work out the basics of conformal $N=(4,4)$, 2D supergravity in the\n$N=(4,4)$, 2D analytic harmonic superspace with two independent sets of\nharmonic variables. We define the relevant most general analytic superspace\ndiffeomorphism group and show that in the flat limit it goes over into the\n``large'' $N=(4,4)$, 2D superconformal group. The basic objects of the\nsupergravity considered are analytic vielbeins covariantizing two\nanalyticity-preserving harmonic derivatives. For self-consistency they should\nbe constrained in a certain way. We solve the constraints and show that the\nremaining irreducible field content in a WZ gauge amounts to a new short\n$N=(4,4)$ Weyl supermultiplet. As in the previously known cases, it involves no\nauxiliary fields and the number of remaining components in it coincides with\nthe number of residual gauge invariances. We discuss various truncations of\nthis ``master'' conformal supergravity group and its compensations via\ncouplings to $N=(4,4)$ superconformal matter multiplets. Besides recovering the\nstandard minimal off-shell $N=(4,4)$ conformal and Poincar\\'e supergravity\nmultiplets, we find, at the linearized level, several new off-shell gauge\nrepresentations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Black-Hole Solutions to Einstein's Equations in the Presence of Matter\n  and Modifications of Gravitation in Extra Dimensions: In this thesis, we wish to examine the black-hole solutions of modified\ngravity theories inspired by String Theory or Cosmology. Namely, these\nmodifications will take the guise of additional gauge and scalar fields for the\nso-called Einstein-Maxwell-Dilaton theories with an exponential Liouville\npotential; and of extra spatial dimensions for Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet theories.\nThe black-hole solutions of EMD theories as well as their integrability are\nreviewed. One of the main results is that a master equation is obtained in the\ncase of planar horizon topology, which allows to completely integrate the\nproblem for s special relationship between the couplings. We also classify\nexisting solutions. We move on to the study of Gauss-Bonnet black holes,\nfocusing on the six-dimensional case. It is found that the Gauss-Bonnet\ncoupling exposes the Weyl tensor of the horizon to the dynamics, severely\nrestricting the Einstein spaces admissible and effectively lifting some of the\ndegeneracy on the horizon topology. We then turn to the study of the\nthermodynamic properties of black holes, in General Relativity as well as in\nEMD theories. For the latter, phase transitions may be found in the canonical\nensemble, which resemble the phase transitions for Reissner-Nordstr\\\"om black\nholes. Generically, we find that the thermodynamic properties (stability, order\nof phase transitions) depend crucially on the values of the EMD coupling\nconstants. Finally, we interpret our planar EMD solutions holographically as\nInfra-Red geometries through the AdS/CFT correspondence, taking into account\nvarious validity constraints. We also compute AC and DC conductivities as\napplications to Condensed Matter Systems, and find some properties\ncharacteristic of strange metal behaviour.",
        "positive": "New higher-derivative invariants in N=2 supergravity and the\n  Gauss-Bonnet term: A new class of N=2 locally supersymmetric higher-derivative invariants is\nconstructed based on logarithms of conformal primary chiral superfields. They\ncharacteristically involve a coupling to R_{\\mu\\nu}^2 - 1/3*R^2, which equals\nthe non-conformal part of the Gauss-Bonnet term. Upon combining one such\ninvariant with the known supersymmetric version of the square of the Weyl\ntensor, one obtains the supersymmetric extension of the Gauss-Bonnet term. The\nconstruction is carried out in the context of both conformal superspace and the\nsuperconformal multiplet calculus. The new class of supersymmetric invariants\nresolves two open questions. The first concerns the proper identification of\nthe 4D supersymmetric invariants that arise from dimensional reduction of the\n5D mixed gauge-gravitational Chern-Simons term. The second is why the pure\nGauss-Bonnet term without supersymmetric completion has reproduced the correct\nresult in calculations of the BPS black hole entropy in certain models."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Magnetic Monopoles Near the Black Hole Threshold: We present new analytic and numerical results for self-gravitating\nSU(2)-Higgs magnetic monopoles approaching the black hole threshold. Our\ninvestigation extends to large Higgs self-coupling, lambda, a regime heretofore\nunexplored. When lambda is small, the critical solution where a horizon first\nappears is extremal Reissner-Nordstrom outside the horizon but has a\nnonsingular interior. When lambda is large, the critical solution is an\nextremal black hole with non-Abelian hair and a mass less than the extremal\nReissner-Nordstrom value. The transition between these two regimes is\nreminiscent of a first-order phase transition. We analyze in detail the\napproach to these critical solutions as the Higgs expectation value is varied,\nand compare this analysis with the numerical results.",
        "positive": "Non-perturbative N=1 strings from geometric singularities: The study of curved D-brane geometries in type II strings implies a general\nrelation between local singularities $\\cx W$ of Calabi-Yau manifolds and\ngravity free supersymmetric QFT's. The minimal supersymmetric case is described\nby F-theory compactifications on $\\cx W$ and can be used as a starting point to\ndefine minimal supersymmetric heterotic string compactifications on compact\nCalabi-Yau manifolds with holomorphic, stable gauge backgrounds. The geometric\nconstruction generalizes to non-perturbative vacua with five-branes and\nprovides a framework to study non-perturbative dynamics of the heterotic\ntheory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Left Regular Representation of $sl_q(3)$: Reduction and Intertwiners: Reduction of the left regular representation of quantum algebra $sl_q(3)$ is\nstudied and ~$q$-difference intertwining operators are constructed. The\nirreducible representations correspond to the spaces of local sections of\ncertain line bundles over the q-flag manifold.",
        "positive": "Traversable Casimir Wormholes in D Dimensions: Wormholes (WH) require negative energy, and therefore an exotic matter\nsource. Since Casimir energy is negative, it has been speculated as a good\ncandidate to source that objects a long time ago. However only very recently a\nfull solution for D = 4 has been found by Garattini [1], thus the Casimir\nenergy can be a source of traversable WHs. Soon later Alencar et al [2] have\nshown, that this is not true in D = 3. In this paper, we show that Casimir\nenergy can be a source of the Morris-Thorne WH for all spacetime with D > 3.\nFinally, we add the cosmological constant and find that for D = 3 Casimir WHs\nare possible, however, the space must always being AdS. For D > 3, we show that\nthe cosmological constant invert the signal with increasing throat size."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Constrained superfields from an anti-D3-brane in KKLT: The KKLT construction of dS vacua relies on an uplift term that arises from\nan anti-D3-brane. It was argued by Kachru, Pearson and Verlinde that this\nanti-D3-brane is an excited state in a supersymmetric theory since it can decay\nto a supersymmetric ground state. Hence the anti-D3-brane breaks supersymmetry\nspontaneously and one should be able to package all the world-volume fields on\nthe anti-D3-brane into a four dimensional $\\cal{N}=1$ supersymmetric action.\nHere we extend previous results and identify the constrained superfields that\ncorrespond to all the degrees of freedom on the anti-D3-brane. In particular,\nwe show explicitly that the four 4D worldvolume spinors give rise to\nconstrained chiral multiplets $S$ and $Y^i$, $i=1,2,3$ that satisfy\n$S^2=SY^i=0$. We also conjecture (and provide evidence in a forthcoming\npublication) that the vector field $A_\\mu$ and the three scalars $\\phi^i$ give\nrise to a field strength multiplet $W_\\alpha$ and three chiral multiplets $H^i$\nthat satisfy the constraints $S W_\\alpha= \\bar{D}_{\\dot \\alpha} (S \\bar\nH^i)=0$. This is the first time that such constrained multiplets appear in\nstring theory constructions.",
        "positive": "Newtonian versus black-hole scattering: We discuss non-relativistic scattering by a Newtonian potential. We show that\nthe gray-body factors associated with scattering by a black hole exhibit the\nsame functional dependence as scattering amplitudes in the Newtonian limit,\nwhich should be the weak-field limit of any quantum theory of gravity. This\nbehavior arises independently of the presence of supersymmetry. The connection\nto two-dimensional conformal field theory is also discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Static Axisymmetric Vacuum Solutions and Non-Uniform Black Strings: We describe new numerical methods to solve the static axisymmetric vacuum\nEinstein equations in more than four dimensions. As an illustration, we study\nthe compactified non-uniform black string phase connected to the uniform\nstrings at the Gregory-Laflamme critical point. We compute solutions with a\nratio of maximum to minimum horizon radius up to nine. For a fixed\ncompactification radius, the mass of these solutions is larger than the mass of\nthe classically unstable uniform strings. Thus they cannot be the end state of\nthe instability.",
        "positive": "Fundamental theories in a phantom universe: Starting with the holographic dark energy model of Li it is shown that the\nholographic screen at the future event horizon is sent toward infinity in the\nphantom energy case, so allowing for the existence of unique fundamental\ntheories which are mathematically consistent in phantom cosmologies."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Functional Approach to the Heat Kernel in Curved Space: The heat kernel $M_{xy} = <x\\mid exp [ 1/\\sqrt{g} \\partial_\\mu g^{\\mu\\nu}\n\\sqrt{g} \\partial_\\nu ]t \\mid y>$ is of central importance when studying the\npropagation of a scalar particle in curved space. It is quite convenient to\nanalyze this quantity in terms of classical variables by use of the quantum\nmechanical path integral; regrettably it is not entirely clear how this path\nintegral can be mathematically well defined in curved space. An alternate\napproach to studying the heat kernel in terms of classical variables was\nintroduced by Onofri. This technique is shown to be applicable to problems in\ncurved space; an unambiguous expression for $M_{xy}$ is obtained which involves\nfunctional derivatives of a classical quantity. We illustrate how this can be\nused by computing $M_{xx}$ to lowest order in the curvature scalar R.",
        "positive": "Quantum Gravity and Lorentz invariance violation in the Standard Model: The most important problem of fundamental Physics is the quantization of the\ngravitational field. A main difficulty is the lack of available experimental\ntests that discriminate among the theories proposed to quantize gravity.\nRecently, Lorentz invariance violation by Quantum Gravity(QG) have been the\nsource of a growing interest. However, the predictions depend on ad-hoc\nhypothesis and too many arbitrary parameters. Here we show that the Standard\nModel(SM) itself contains tiny Lorentz invariance violation(LIV) terms coming\nfrom QG. All terms depend on one arbitrary parameter $\\alpha$ that set the\nscale of QG effects. This parameter can be estimated using data from the Ultra\nHigh Energy Cosmic Rays spectrum to be $|\\alpha|<\\sim 10^{-22}-10^{-23}$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Black Hole Entropy Function and the Attractor Mechanism in Higher\n  Derivative Gravity: We study extremal black hole solutions in D dimensions with near horizon\ngeometry AdS_2\\times S^{D-2} in higher derivative gravity coupled to other\nscalar, vector and anti-symmetric tensor fields. We define an entropy function\nby integrating the Lagrangian density over S^{D-2} for a general AdS_2\\times\nS^{D-2} background, taking the Legendre transform of the resulting function\nwith respect to the parameters labelling the electric fields, and multiplying\nthe result by a factor of 2\\pi. We show that the values of the scalar fields at\nthe horizon as well as the sizes of AdS_2 and S^{D-2} are determined by\nextremizing this entropy function with respect to the corresponding parameters,\nand the entropy of the black hole is given by the value of the entropy function\nat this extremum. Our analysis relies on the analysis of the equations of\nmotion and does not directly make use of supersymmetry or specific structure of\nthe higher derivative terms.",
        "positive": "A Cosmological Super-Bounce: We study a model for a non-singular cosmic bounce in N=1 supergravity, based\non supergravity versions of the ghost condensate and cubic Galileon scalar\nfield theories. The bounce is preceded by an ekpyrotic contracting phase which\nprevents the growth of anisotropies in the approach to the bounce, and allows\nfor the generation of scale-invariant density perturbations that carry over\ninto the expanding phase of the universe. We present the conditions required\nfor the bounce to be free of ghost excitations, as well as the tunings that are\nnecessary in order for the model to be in agreement with cosmological\nobservations. All of these conditions can be met. Our model thus provides a\nproof-of-principle that non-singular bounces are viable in supergravity,\ndespite the fact that during the bounce the null energy condition is violated."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "BPS Wilson loops in mass-deformed ABJM theory: Fermi gas expansions and\n  new defect CFT data: We compute the expectation values of BPS Wilson loops in the mass-deformed\nABJM theory using the Fermi gas technique. We obtain explicit results in terms\nof Airy functions, effectively resumming the full 1/N expansion up to\nexponentially small terms. In the maximal supersymmetric case, these\nexpressions enable us to derive multi-point correlation functions for\ntopological operators belonging to the stress tensor multiplet, in the presence\nof a 1/2--BPS Wilson line. From the one-point correlator, we recover the ABJM\nBremsstrahlung function, confirming nicely previous results obtained through\nlatitude Wilson loops. Likewise, higher point correlators can be used to\nextract iteratively new defect CFT data for higher dimensional topological\noperators. We present a detailed example of the dimension-two operator\nappearing in the OPE of two stress tensor multiplets.",
        "positive": "Kinks bounded by fermions: We present and study new mechanism of interaction between the solitons based\non the exchange interaction mediated by the localized fermion states. As\nparticular examples, we consider solutions of simple 1+1 dimensional scalar\nfield theories with self-interaction potentials, including sine-Gordon model\nand the polynomial $\\phi^4$, $\\phi^6$ models, coupled to the Dirac fermions\nwith back-reaction. We discover that there is an additional fermion exchange\ninteraction between the solitons, it leads to the formation of static\nmulti-soliton bound states. Further, we argue that similar mechanisms of\nformation of stable coupled multi-soliton configurations can be observed for a\nwide class of physical systems."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Modular symmetry of massive free fermions: We construct an infinite set of conserved tensor currents of rank $2n$,\n$n=1,2,\\dots$, in the two-dimensional theory of free massive fermions, which\nare bilinear in the fermionic fields. The one-point functions of these currents\non the torus depend on the modular parameter $\\tau$ and spin structure\n$(\\alpha,\\beta)$. We show that, upon scaling the mass $m$ so as to keep the\ncombination $m^2$Im($\\tau$) invariant, the one-point functions are\nnon-holomorphic Jacobi forms of weights $(2n,0)$ or $(0,2n)$ and index 0, with\nrespect to the modular parameter $\\tau$ and elliptic parameter\n$z=\\alpha\\tau+\\beta$. In particular, we express the one-point functions as\nKronecker-Eisenstein-type sums over the lattice $\\mathbb{Z}\\tau+\\mathbb{Z}$,\nwhich makes the modular symmetry manifest. We show that there is an action of\nthree differential operators on these Jacobi forms which form an\n$\\mathfrak{sl}_2(\\mathbb{R})$ Lie algebra. Further we show that these Jacobi\nforms obey three differential equations arising from the representation theory\nof the Jacobi group.",
        "positive": "Spin(11,3), particles and octonions: The fermionic fields of one generation of the Standard Model, including the\nLorentz spinor degrees of freedom, can be identified with components of a\nsingle real 64-dimensional semi-spinor representation S of the group\nSpin(11,3). We describe an octonionic model for Spin(11,3) in which the\nsemi-spinor representation gets identified with S=OxO', where O,O' are the\nusual and split octonions respectively. It is then well-known that choosing a\nunit imaginary octonion u in Im(O) equips O with a complex structure J.\nSimilarly, choosing a unit imaginary split octonion u' in Im(O') equips O' with\na complex structure J', except that there are now two inequivalent complex\nstructures, one parametrised by a choice of a timelike and the other of a\nspacelike unit u'. In either case, the identification S=OxO' implies that there\nare two natural commuting complex structures J, J' on S. Our main new\nobservation is that the subgroup of Spin(11,3) that commutes with both J, J' on\nS is the direct product Spin(6) x Spin(4) x Spin(1,3) of the Pati-Salam and\nLorentz groups, when u' is chosen to be timelike. The splitting of S into\neigenspaces of J corresponds to splitting into particles and anti-particles.\nThe splitting of S into eigenspaces of J' corresponds to splitting of Lorentz\nDirac spinors into two different chiralities. We also study the simplest\npossible symmetry breaking scenario with the \"Higgs\" field taking values in the\nrepresentation that corresponds to 3-forms in R^{11,3}. We show that this Higgs\ncan be designed to transform as the bi-doublet of the left/right symmetric\nextension of the SM, and thus breaks Spin(11,3) down to the product of the SM,\nLorentz and U(1)_{B-L} groups, with the last one remaining unbroken. This\n3-form Higgs field also produces the Dirac mass terms for all the particles."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Warped AdS_3 Black Holes: Three dimensional topologically massive gravity (TMG) with a negative\ncosmological constant -\\ell^{-2} and positive Newton constant G admits an AdS_3\nvacuum solution for any value of the graviton mass \\mu. These are all known to\nbe perturbatively unstable except at the recently explored chiral point\n\\mu\\ell=1. However we show herein that for every value of \\mu\\ell< 3 there are\ntwo other (potentially stable) vacuum solutions given by SL(2,R)x\nU(1)-invariant warped AdS_3 geometries, with a timelike or spacelike U(1)\nisometry.\n  Critical behavior occurs at \\mu\\ell=3, where the warping transitions from a\nstretching to a squashing, and there are a pair of warped solutions with a null\nU(1) isometry. For \\mu\\ell>3, there are known warped black hole solutions which\nare asymptotic to warped AdS_3. We show that these black holes are discrete\nquotients of warped AdS_3 just as BTZ black holes are discrete quotients of\nordinary AdS_3. Moreover new solutions of this type, relevant to any theory\nwith warped AdS_3 solutions, are exhibited. Finally we note that the black hole\nthermodynamics is consistent with the hypothesis that, for \\mu\\ell>3, the\nwarped AdS_3 ground state of TMG is holographically dual to a 2D boundary CFT\nwith central charges c_R={15(\\mu\\ell)^2+81\\over G\\mu((\\mu\\ell)^2+27)} and\nc_L={12 \\mu\\ell^2\\over G((\\mu\\ell)^2+27)}.",
        "positive": "The Born-Infeld Sphaleron: We study the SU(2) electroweak model in which the standard Yang-Mills\ncoupling is supplemented by a Born-Infeld term. The deformation of the\nsphaleron and bisphaleron solutions due to the Born-Infeld term is investigated\nand new branches of solutions are exhibited. Especially, we find a new branch\nof solutions connecting the Born-Infeld sphaleron to the first solution of the\nKerner-Gal'tsov series."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Yukawa Couplings for Bosonic $Z_N$ Orbifolds: Their Moduli and Twisted\n  Sector Dependence: The three point correlation functions with twist fields are determined for\nbosonic $Z_N$ orbifolds. Both the choice of the modular background (compatible\nwith the twist) and of the (higher) twisted sectors involved are fully general.\nWe point out a necessary restriction on the set of instantons contributing to\ntwist field correlation functions not obtained in previous calculations. Our\nresults show that the theory is target space duality invariant.",
        "positive": "Detuning the BSW Effect with Longitudinal String Spreading: Black holes are interesting astrophysical objects that have been studied as\nsystems sensitive to quantum gravitational data. The accelerated geometry in\nthe exterior of extremal black holes can induce large center-of-mass energies\nbetween particles with particular momenta at the horizon. This is known as the\nBa\\~nados-Silk-West (BSW) effect. For point particles, the BSW effect requires\ntuning to have the collision coincide with the horizon. However, this tuning is\nrelaxed for string-theoretic objects. String scattering amplitudes are large in\nthe Regge limit, occurring at large center-of-mass energies and shallow\nscattering angles, parametrically surpassing quantum field theoretic\namplitudes. In this limit, longitudinal string spreading is induced between\nstrings with a large difference in light-cone momenta, and this spread can be\nused to 'detune' the BSW effect. With this in mind, quantum gravitational data,\nas described by string theory, may play an important role in near horizon\ndynamics of extremal Kerr black holes. Further, though it may be hard to\nrealize astrophysically, this system acts as a natural particle accelerator for\nprobing the nature of small-scale physics at Planckian energies."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Courant sigma model and $L_\\infty$-algebras: The Courant sigma model is a 3-dimensional topological sigma model of AKSZ\ntype which has been used for the systematic description of closed strings in\nnon-geometric flux backgrounds. In particular, the expression for the fluxes\nand their Bianchi identities coincide with the local form of the axioms of a\nCourant algebroid. On the other hand, the axioms of a Courant algebroid also\ncoincide with the conditions for gauge invariance of the Courant sigma model.\nIn this paper we embed this interplay between background fluxes of closed\nstrings, gauge (or more precisely BRST) symmetries of the Courant sigma model\nand axioms of a Courant algebroid into an $L_\\infty$-algebra structure. We show\nhow the complete BV-BRST formulation of the Courant sigma model is described in\nterms of $L_\\infty$-algebras. Moreover, the morphism between the\n$L_\\infty$-algebra for a Courant algebroid and the one for the corresponding\nsigma model is constructed.",
        "positive": "Holographic entanglement beyond classical gravity: The Renyi entropies and entanglement entropy of 1+1 CFTs with gravity duals\ncan be computed by explicit construction of the bulk spacetimes dual to\nbranched covers of the boundary geometry. At the classical level in the bulk\nthis has recently been shown to reproduce the conjectured Ryu-Takayanagi\nformula for the holographic entanglement entropy. We study the one-loop bulk\ncorrections to this formula. The functional determinants in the bulk geometries\nare given by a sum over certain words of generators of the Schottky group of\nthe branched cover. For the case of two disjoint intervals on a line we obtain\nanalytic answers for the one-loop entanglement entropy in an expansion in small\ncross-ratio. These reproduce and go beyond anticipated universal terms that are\nnot visible classically in the bulk. We also consider the case of a single\ninterval on a circle at finite temperature. At high temperatures we show that\nthe one-loop contributions introduce expected finite size corrections to the\nentanglement entropy that are not present classically. At low temperatures, the\none-loop corrections capture the mixed nature of the density matrix, also not\nvisible classically below the Hawking-Page temperature."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Nonlinear QED Effects in Strong-Field Magnetohydrodynamics: We examine wave propagation and the formation of shocks in strongly\nmagnetized plasmas by applying a variational technique and the method of\ncharacteristics to the coupled magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) and\nquantum-electrodynamic (QED) equations of motion. In sufficiently strong\nmagnetic fields such as those found near neutron stars, not only is the plasma\nextremely relativistic but the effects of QED must be included to understand\nprocesses in the magnetosphere. As Thompson & Blaes [1] find, the fundamental\nmodes in the extreme relativistic limit of MHD coupled with QED are two\noppositely directed Alfv\\'{e}n modes and the fast mode. QED introduces\nnonlinear couplings which affect the propagation of the fast mode such that\nwaves traveling in the fast mode evolve as vacuum electromagnetic ones do in\nthe presence of an external magnetic field [2] (Heyl & Hernquist 1998). The\npropagation of a single Alfv\\'{e}n mode is unaffected but QED does alter the\ncoupling between the Alfv\\'{e}n modes.",
        "positive": "G2 Hitchin functionals at one loop: We consider the quantization of the effective target space description of\ntopological M-theory in terms of the Hitchin functional whose critical points\ndescribe seven-manifolds with G2 structure. The one-loop partition function for\nthis theory is calculated and an extended version of it, that is related to\ngeneralized G2 geometry, is compared with the topological G2 string. We relate\nthe reduction of the effective action for the extended G2 theory to the Hitchin\nfunctional description of the topological string in six dimensions. The\ndependence of the partition functions on the choice of background G2 metric is\nalso determined."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Seiberg-Witten Differential From M-Theory: The form of the Seiberg-Witten differential is derived from the M-theory\napproach to N=2 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theories by directly imposing the BPS\ncondition for twobranes ending on fivebranes. The BPS condition also implies\nthat the pullback of the Kahler form onto the space part of the twobrane\nworld-volume vanishes.",
        "positive": "Faddeev-Jackiw Quantization of the Gauge Invariant Self-dual Fields\n  Relative to String Theory: We obtain a new symplectic Lagrangian density and deduce Faddeev-Jackiw (FJ)\ngeneralized brackets of the gauge invariant self-dual fields interacting with\ngauge fields. We further give FJ quantization of this system. Furthermore, the\nFJ method is compared with Dirac method, the results show the two methods are\nequivalent in the quantization of this system. And by the practical research in\nthis letter, it can be found that the FJ method is really simpler than the\nDirac method, namely, the FJ method obviates the need to distinguish primary\nand secondary constraints and first- and second-class constraints. Therefore,\nthe FJ method is a more economical and effective method of quantization."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-Supersymmetric F-Theory Compactifications on Spin(7) Manifolds: We propose a novel approach to obtain non-supersymmetric four-dimensional\neffective actions by considering F-theory on manifolds with special holonomy\nSpin(7). To perform such studies we suggest that a duality relating M-theory on\na certain class of Spin(7) manifolds with F-theory on the same manifolds times\nan interval exists. The Spin(7) geometries under consideration are constructed\nas quotients of elliptically fibered Calabi-Yau fourfolds by an\nanti-holomorphic and isometric involution. The three-dimensional minimally\nsupersymmetric effective action of M-theory on a general Spin(7) manifold with\nfluxes is determined and specialized to the aforementioned geometries. This\neffective theory is compared with an interval Kaluza-Klein reduction of a\nnon-supersymmetric four-dimensional theory with definite boundary conditions\nfor all fields. Using this strategy a minimal set of couplings of the\nfour-dimensional low-energy effective actions is obtained in terms of the\nSpin(7) geometric data. We also discuss briefly the string interpretation in\nthe Type IIB weak coupling limit.",
        "positive": "Collaborating with David Gross; Descendants of the Chiral Anomaly: I recall my collaboration with David Gross. A result about descendants of the\nchiral anomaly is presented: Chern-Simons terms can be written as total\nderivatives."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Berry Phase and Monopoles in Non-Abelian Gauge Theories: We consider the quantum mechanical notion of the geometrical (Berry) phase in\nSU(2) gauge theory, both in the continuum and on the lattice. It is shown that\nin the coherent state basis eigenvalues of the Wilson loop operator naturally\ndecompose into the geometrical and dynamical phase factors. Moreover, for each\nWilson loop there is a unique choice of U(1) gauge rotations which do not\nchange the value of the Berry phase. Determining this U(1) locally in terms of\ninfinitesimal Wilson loops we define monopole-like defects and study their\nproperties in numerical simulations on the lattice. The construction is gauge\ndependent, as is common for all known definitions of monopoles. We argue that\nfor physical applications the use of the Lorenz gauge is most appropriate. And,\nindeed, the constructed monopoles have the correct continuum limit in this\ngauge. Physical consequences are briefly discussed.",
        "positive": "The Spinning Particles as a Nonlinear Realizations of the Superworldline\n  Reparametrization Invariance: The superdiffeomorphisms invariant description of $N$ - extended spinning\nparticle is constructed in the framework of nonlinear realizations approach.\nThe action is universal for all values of $N$ and describes the time evolution\nof $D+2$ different group elements of the superdiffeomorphisms group of the\n$(1,N)$ superspace. The form of this action coincides with the one-dimensional\nversion of the gravity action, analogous to Trautman's one."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Pseudomoduli Dark Matter and Quiver Gauge Theories: We investigate supersymmetric models for dark matter which is represented by\npseudomoduli in weakly coupled hidden sectors. We propose a scheme to add a\ndark matter sector to quiver gauge theories with metastable supersymmetry\nbreaking. We discuss the embedding of such scheme in string theory and we\ndescribe the dark matter sector in terms of D7 flavour branes. We explore the\nphenomenology in various regions of the parameters.",
        "positive": "Entropy formula in Einstein-Maxwell-Dilaton theory and its validity for\n  black strings: We consider near horizon fall-off conditions of stationary black holes in\nEinstein-Maxwell-Dilaton theory and find conserved charge conjugate to symmetry\ngenerator that preserves near horizon fall-off conditions. Subsequently, we\nfind supertranslation, superrotation and multiple-charge modes. We apply the\nobtained results on a typical static dilaton black hole and on a charged\nrotating black string, as examples. In this case, supertranslation\ndouble-zero-mode charge $\\mathcal{T}_{(0,0)}$ is not equal to black hole\nentropy times Hawking temperature. This may be seen as a problem but it is not,\nbecause, in Einstein-Maxwell-Dilaton theory, we have a U(1) gauge freedom and\nwe use an appropriate gauge fixing to fix that problem. We show that new\nentropy formula $4 \\pi \\hat{J}^{+}_{0} \\hat{J}^{-}_{0}$, proposed in \\cite{17},\nis valid for black strings as well as black holes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "How does Casimir energy fall? IV. Gravitational interaction of\n  regularized quantum vacuum energy: Several years ago we demonstrated that the Casimir energy for perfectly\nreflecting and imperfectly reflecting parallel plates gravitated normally, that\nis, obeyed the equivalence principle. At that time the divergences in the\ntheory were treated only formally, without proper regularization, and the\ncoupling to gravity was limited to the canonical energy-momentum-stress tensor.\nHere we strengthen the result by removing both of those limitations. We\nconsider, as a toy model, massless scalar fields interacting with\nsemitransparent ($\\delta$-function) potentials defining parallel plates, which\nbecome Dirichlet plates for strong coupling. We insert space and time\npoint-split regulation parameters, and obtain well-defined contributions to the\nself- energy of each plate, and the interaction energy between the plates.\n(This self-energy does not vanish even in the conformally-coupled,\nstrong-coupled limit.) We also compute the local energy density, which requires\nregularization near the plates. In general, the energy density includes a\nsurface energy that resides precisely on the boundaries. This energy is also\nregulated. The gravitational interaction of this well-defined system is then\ninvestigated, and it is verified that the equivalence principle is satisfied.",
        "positive": "Unruh thermal hadronization and the cosmological constant: We use black holes with a negative cosmological constant to investigate\naspects of the freeze-out temperature for hadron production in high energy\nheavy-ion collisions. The two black hole solutions present in the anti-de\nSitter geometry have different mass and are compared to the data showing that\nthe small black hole solution is in good agreement. This is a new feature in\nthe literature since the small black hole in general relativity has different\nthermodynamic behavior from that of the large black hole solution. We find that\nthe inclusion of the cosmological constant (which can be interpreted as the\nplasma pressure) leads to a lowering of the temperature of the freeze-out curve\nas a function of the baryochemical potential, improving the description\npreviously suggested by Castorina, Kharzeev, and Satz."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Eikonal Approximation in AdS/CFT: Conformal Partial Waves and Finite N\n  Four-Point Functions: We introduce the impact-parameter representation for conformal field theory\ncorrelators of the form A ~ < O_1 O_2 O_1 O_2 >. This representation is\nappropriate in the eikonal kinematical regime, and approximates the conformal\npartial-wave decomposition in the limit of large spin and dimension of the\nexchanged primary. Using recent results on the two-point function < O_1 O_1\n>_{shock} in the presence of a shock wave in Anti-de Sitter, and its relation\nto the discontinuity of the four-point amplitude A across a kinematical\nbranch-cut, we find the high spin and dimension conformal partial- wave\ndecomposition of all tree-level Anti-de Sitter Witten diagrams. We show that,\nas in flat space, the eikonal kinematical regime is dominated by the T-channel\nexchange of the massless particle with highest spin (graviton dominance). We\nalso compute the anomalous dimensions of the high-spin O_1 O_2 composites.\nFinally, we conjecture a formula re-summing crossed-ladder Witten diagrams to\nall orders in the gravitational coupling.",
        "positive": "Unitary evolution of perturbations of a two-dimensional black hole: We discuss massive scalar perturbations of a two-dimensional dilaton black\nhole. We employ a Pauli-Villars reqularization scheme to calculate the effect\nof the scalar perturbation on the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy. By concentrating\non the dynamics of the scalar field near the horizon, we argue that quantum\neffects alter the effective potential. We calculate the two-point function\nexplicitly and show that it exhibits Poincare recurrences."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A note on W symmetry of N=2 gauge theory: The AGT correspondence indicates $\\mathcal{N}=2$ gauge theory possesses of W\nalgebra symmetry. We study how the conformal block of Toda CFT gives the\nexpectation value of Casimir operators of gauge theory. The $A_2$ Toda CFT with\n$W_3$ symmetry is taken as the main example.",
        "positive": "The Quantum Affine Origin of the AdS/CFT Secret Symmetry: We find a new quantum affine symmetry of the S-matrix of the one-dimensional\nHubbard chain. We show that this symmetry originates from the quantum affine\nsuperalgebra U_q(gl(2|2)), and in the rational limit exactly reproduces the\nsecret symmetry of the AdS/CFT worldsheet S-matrix."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Explore the Origin of Spontaneous Symmetry Breaking from Adaptive\n  Perturbation Method: Spontaneous symmetry breaking occurs when the underlying laws of a physical\nsystem are symmetric, but the vacuum state chosen by the system is not. The\n(3+1)d $\\phi^4$ theory is relatively simple compared to other more complex\ntheories, making it a good starting point for investigating the origin of\nnon-trivial vacua. The adaptive perturbation method is a technique used to\nhandle strongly coupled systems. The study of strongly correlated systems is\nuseful in testing holography. It has been successful in strongly coupled QM and\nis being generalized to scalar field theory to analyze the system in the\nstrong-coupling regime. The unperturbed Hamiltonian does not commute with the\nusual number operator. However, the quantized scalar field admits a plane-wave\nexpansion when acting on the vacuum. While quantizing the scalar field theory,\nthe field can be expanded into plane-wave modes, making the calculations more\ntractable. However, the Lorentz symmetry, which describes how physical laws\nremain the same under certain spacetime transformations, might not be manifest\nin this approach. The proposed elegant resummation of Feynman diagrams aims to\nrestore the Lorentz symmetry in the calculations. The results obtained using\nthis method are compared with numerical solutions for specific values of the\ncoupling constant $\\lambda = 1, 2, 4, 8, 16$. Finally, we find evidence for\nquantum triviality, where self-consistency of the theory in the UV requires\n$\\lambda = 0$. This result implies that the $\\phi^4$ theory alone does not\nexperience SSB, and the $\\langle \\phi\\rangle = 0$ phase is protected under the\nRG-flow by a boundary of Gaussian fixed-points.",
        "positive": "The action principle and the supersymmetrisation of Chern-Simons terms\n  in eleven-dimensional supergravity: We develop computational tools for calculating supersymmetric higher-order\nderivative corrections to eleven-dimensional supergravity using the action\nprinciple approach. We show that, provided the superspace Bianchi identities\nadmit a perturbative solution in the derivative expansion, there are at least\ntwo independent superinvariants at the eight-derivative order of\neleven-dimensional supergravity. Assuming the twelve-superforms associated to\ncertain anomalous Chern-Simons terms are Weil-trivial, there will be a third\nindependent superinvariant at this order. Under certain conditions, at least\ntwo superinvariants will survive to all orders in the derivative expansion.\nHowever only one of them will be present in the quantum theory: the\nsupersymmetrization of the Chern-Simons terms of eleven dimensional\nsupergravity required for the cancellation of the M5-brane gravitational\nanomaly by inflow. This superinvariant can be shown to be unique at the\neight-derivative order, assuming it is quartic in the fields. On the other\nhand, a necessary condition for the superinvariant to be quartic is the\nexactness, in tau-cohomology, of X0,8 -the purely spinorial component of the\neight-superform related by descent to the M5-brane anomaly polynomial. In that\ncase it can also be shown that the solution of the Weil-triviality condition of\nthe corresponding twelve-form, which is a prerequisite for the explicit\nconstruction of the superinvariant, is guaranteed to exist. We prove that\ncertain highly non-trivial necessary conditions for the tau-exactness of X0,8\nare satisfied. Moreover any potential superinvariant associated to anomalous\nChern-Simons terms at the eight-derivative order must necessarily contain terms\ncubic or lower in the fields."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Distribution of Ground State Energies in JT Gravity: It is shown that the distribution of the lowest energy eigenvalue of the\nquantum completions of Jackiw-Teitelboim gravity is completely described by a\nnon-linear ordinary differential equation (ODE) arising from a non-perturbative\ntreatment of a special random Hermitian matrix model. Its solution matches the\nresult recently obtained by computing a Fredholm determinant using quadrature\nmethods. The new ODE approach allows for analytical expressions for the\nasymptotic behaviour to be extracted. The results are highly analogous to the\nwell-known Tracy-Widom distribution for the lowest eigenvalue of Gaussian\nrandom Hermitian matrices, which appears in a very diverse set of physical and\nmathematical contexts. Similarly, it is expected that the new distribution\ncharacterizes a type of universality that can arise in various gravity\nsettings, including black hole physics in various dimensions, and perhaps\nbeyond. It has an association to a special multicritical generalization of the\nGross-Witten-Wadia phase transition.",
        "positive": "Three Dimensional Black Hole Coupled to the Born-Infeld Electrodynamics: A nonlinear charged version of the (2+1)-anti de Sitter black hole solution\nis derived. The source to the Einstein equations is a Born-Infeld\nelectromagnetic field, which in the weak field limit becomes the (2+1)-Maxwell\nfield. The obtained Einstein-Born-Infeld solution for certain range of the\nparameters (mass, charge, cosmological and Born-Infeld constants) represent a\nstatic circularly symmetric black hole. Although the covariant metric\ncomponents and the electric field do not exhibit a singular behavior at r=0 the\ncurvature invariants are singular at that point."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Rational Logarithmic Conformal Field Theory: We analyse the fusion of representations of the triplet algebra, the\nmaximally extended symmetry algebra of the Virasoro algebra at c=-2. It is\nshown that there exists a finite number of representations which are closed\nunder fusion. These include all irreducible representations, but also some\nreducible representations which appear as indecomposable components in fusion\nproducts.",
        "positive": "On Massive Mixed Symmetry Tensor Fields in Minkowski Space and (A)dS: In this paper we give explicit gauge invariant Lagrangian formulation for\nmassive theories based on mixed symmetry tensors \\Phi_{[\\mu\\nu],\\alpha},\nT_{[\\mu\\nu\\alpha],\\beta} and R_{[\\mu\\nu],[\\alpha\\beta]} both in Minkowski as\nwell as in (Anti) de Sitter spaces. In particular, we study all possible\nmassless and partially massless limits for such theories in (A)dS."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Chern-Simons term in a dual Josephson junction: A dual Josephson junction corresponding to a (2+1)-dimensional\nnon-superconducting layer sandwiched between two (3+1)-dimensional dual\nsuperconducting regions constitutes a model of localization of a U(1) gauge\nfield within the layer. Monopole tunneling currents flow from one dual\nsuperconducting region to another due to a phase difference between the wave\nfunctions of the monopole condensate below and above the non-superconducting\nlayer when there is an electromagnetic field within the layer. These magnetic\ncurrents appear within the (2+1)-dimensional layer as a gas of magnetic\ninstanton events and a weak electric charge confinement is expected to take\nplace at very long distances within the layer. In the present work, we consider\nwhat happens when one introduces fermions in this physical scenario. Due to the\ndual Meissner effect featured in the dual superconducting bulk, it is argued\nthat unconfined fermions would be localized within the (2+1)-dimensional layer,\nwhere their quantum fluctuations radiatively induce a Chern-Simons term, which\nis known to destroy the electric charge confinement and to promote the\nconfinement of the magnetic instantons.",
        "positive": "Gauge Invariances and Phases of Massive Higher Spins in (A)dS: The (m^2,\\Lambda) plane of spin s>1 massive fields in (A)dS backgrounds is\nshown to consist of separate phases, divided by lines of novel ``partially\nmassless'' gauge theories that successively remove helicities, starting from\nthe lowest, 0 or +/-(1/2). The norms of the excluded states flip as the gauge\nlines are crossed and only the region containing the massive Minkowski theory\nis unitary. The partially massless gauge theories are unitary or not, depending\non the ordering of the gauge lines. This ``level splitting'' of massless\nMinkowski gauge theories is specific to non-zero \\Lambda."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Two-dimensional topological field theories as taffy: In this paper we use trivial defects to define global taffy-like operations\non string worldsheets, which preserve the field theory. We fold open and closed\nstrings on a space X into open strings on products of multiple copies of X, and\nperform checks that the \"taffy-folded\" worldsheets have the same massless\nspectra and other properties as the original worldsheets. Such folding tricks\nare a standard method in the defects community; the novelty of this paper lies\nin deriving mathematical identities to check that e.g. massless spectra are\ninvariant in topological field theories. We discuss the case of the B model\nextensively, and also derive the same identities for string topology, where\nthey become statements of homotopy invariance. We outline analogous results in\nthe A model, B-twisted Landau-Ginzburg models, and physical strings. We also\ndiscuss the understanding of the closed string states as the Hochschild\nhomology of the open string algebra, and outline possible applications to\nelliptic genera.",
        "positive": "On the constrained KP hierarchy II, An additional remark: This is an additional remark to the paper (hep-th 9411005) concerning a\nHamiltonian structure of suggested there system of equations. The remark is\ninspired by a letter from L. Feher and I. Marshall."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On unique parametrization of the linear group GL(4.C) and its subgroups\n  by using the Dirac matrix algebra basis: A unifying overview of the ways to parameterize the linear group GL(4.C) and\nits subgroups is given. As parameters for this group there are taken 16\ncoefficients G = G(A,B,A_{k}, B_{k}, F_{kl}) in resolving matrix G in terms of\n16 basic elements of the Dirac matrix algebra. Alternatively to the use of 16\ntensor quantities, the possibility to parameterize the group GL(4.C) with the\nhelp of four 4-dimensional complex vectors (k, m, n, l) is investigated. The\nmultiplication rules G'G are formulated in the form of a bilinear function of\ntwo sets of 16 variables. The detailed investigation is restricted to\n6-parameter case G(A, B, F_{kl}), which provides us with spinor covering for\nthe complex orthogonal group SO(3.1.C). The complex Euler's angles\nparametrization for the last group is also given. Many different\nparametrizations of the group based on the curvilinear coordinates for complex\nextension of the 3-space of constant curvature are discussed. The use of the\nNewmann-Penrose formalism and applying quaternion techniques in the theory of\ncomplex Lorentz group are considered. Connections between\n  Einstein-Mayer study on semi-vectors and Fedorov's treatment of the Lorentz\ngroup theory are stated in detail. Classification of fermions in intrinsic\nparities is given on the base of the theory of representations for spinor\ncovering of the complex Lorentz group.",
        "positive": "Effective Superstrings: We generalize the method of quantizing effective strings proposed by\nPolchinski and Strominger to superstrings. The Ramond-Neveu-Schwarz string is\ndifferent from the Green-Schwarz string in non-critical dimensions. Both are\nanomaly-free and Poincare invariant. Some implications of the results are\ndiscussed. The formal analogy with 4D (super)gravity is pointed out."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Worldsheet computation of heavy-light correlators: We compute a large collection of string worldsheet correlators describing\nlight probes interacting with heavy black hole microstates. The heavy states\nconsist of NS5 branes carrying momentum and/or fundamental string charge. In\nthe fivebrane decoupling limit, worldsheet string theory on a family of such\nbackgrounds is given by exactly solvable null-gauged WZW models. We construct\nphysical vertex operators in these cosets, including all massless fluctuations.\nWe first compute a large class of novel heavy-light-light-heavy correlators in\nthe AdS$_3$ limit, where the light operators include those dual to chiral\nprimaries of the holographically dual CFT. We compare a subset of these\ncorrelators to the holographic CFT at the symmetric product orbifold point, and\nfind precise agreement in all cases, including for light operators in twisted\nsectors of the orbifold CFT. The agreement is highly non-trivial, and includes\namplitudes that describe the analogue of Hawking radiation for these\nmicrostates. We further derive a formula for worldsheet correlators consisting\nof $n$ light insertions on these backgrounds, and discuss which subset of these\ncorrelators are likely to be protected. As a test, we compute a heavy-light\nfive-point function, obtaining precisely the same result both from the\nworldsheet and the symmetric orbifold CFT. This paper is a companion to and\nextension of [arXiv:2203.13828].",
        "positive": "Dressing Symmetries of Holomorphic BF Theories: We consider holomorphic BF theories, their solutions and symmetries. The\nequivalence of Cech and Dolbeault descriptions of holomorphic bundles is used\nto develop a method for calculating hidden (nonlocal) symmetries of holomorphic\nBF theories. A special cohomological symmetry group and its action on the\nsolution space are described."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Dynamics of Strings and Branes: We study Nambu-Goto strings and branes. It is shown that they can be\nconsidered as continuous limits of ordered discrete sets of relativistic\nparticles for which the tangential velocities are excluded from the action. The\nlinear in unphysical momenta constraints are found. It allows to derive the\nevolution operators for the objects under consideration from the \"first\nprinciples\".",
        "positive": "$\\mathcal N=3$ four dimensional field theories: We briefly review a class of four dimensional $\\mathcal N=3$ field theories\nconstructed by taking a quotient of $\\mathcal N=4$ SYM with gauge group $U(N)$.\nThe quotient involves a discrete symmetry that only exists for specific, order\none, values of the coupling constant, so the resulting theories are\nintrinsically strongly coupled. These theories admit a simple realization in\nstring theory as the worldvolume theory of a stack of D3 branes probing a\ngeneralized orientifold plane, or S-fold. Their holographic dual is given by a\nnon-trivial F-theory fibration over $AdS_5 \\times S^5/\\mathbb Z_k$ which is\nweakly curved but with the string coupling frozen at an order one value."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exciting LLM Geometries: We study excitations of LLM geometries. These geometries arise from the\nbackreaction of a condensate of giant gravitons. Excitations of the condensed\nbranes are open strings, which give rise to an emergent Yang-Mills theory at\nlow energy. We study the dynamics of the planar limit of these emergent gauge\ntheories, accumulating evidence that they are planar ${\\cal N}=4$ super\nYang-Mills. There are three observations supporting this conclusion: (i) we\nargue for an isomorphism between the planar Hilbert space of the original\n${\\cal N}=4$ super Yang-Mills and the planar Hilbert space of the emergent\ngauge theory, (ii) we argue that the OPE coefficients of the planar limit of\nthe emergent gauge theory vanish and (iii) we argue that the planar spectrum of\nanomalous dimensions of the emergent gauge theory is that of planar ${\\cal\nN}=4$ super Yang-Mills. Despite the fact that the planar limit of the emergent\ngauge theory is planar ${\\cal N}=4$ super Yang-Mills, we explain why the\nemergent gauge theory is not ${\\cal N}=4$ super Yang-Mills theory.",
        "positive": "Rigid nongeometric orientifolds and the swampland: Nongeometric flux compactifications with frozen complex structure moduli have\nbeen recently studied for several phenomenological purposes. In this context,\nwe analyze the possibility of realizing de-Sitter solutions in the context of\n${\\cal N} =1$ type II nongeometric flux compactifications using the ${\\mathbb\nT}^6/({\\mathbb Z}_3 \\times {\\mathbb Z}_3)$ toroidal orientifolds. For the type\nIIB case, we observe that the Bianchi identities are too strong to\nsimultaneously allow both the NS-NS three-form flux ($H_3$) and the\nnongeometric ($Q$) flux to take non-zero values, which makes this model\nirrelevant for phenomenology due to the no-scale structure. For the type IIA\ncase, we find that all the (nongeometric) flux solutions satisfying the Bianchi\nidentities result in de-Sitter no-go scenarios except for one case in which the\nno-go condition can be evaded. However for this case also, in our (limited)\nnumerical investigation we do not find any de-Sitter vacua using the integer\nfluxes satisfying all the Bianchi identities."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Yang-Mills Instantons from Gravitational Instantons: We show that every gravitational instantons are SU(2) Yang-Mills instantons\non a Ricci-flat four manifold although the reverse is not necessarily true. It\nis shown that gravitational instantons satisfy exactly the same self-duality\nequation of SU(2) Yang-Mills instantons on the Ricci-flat manifold determined\nby the gravitational instantons themselves. We explicitly check the\ncorrespondence with several examples and discuss their topological properties.",
        "positive": "Holographic Subregion Complexity in Einstein-Born-Infeld theory: We numerically investigate the evolution of the holographic subregion\ncomplexity during a quench process in Einstein-Born-Infeld theory. Based on the\nsubregion CV conjecture, we argue that the subregion complexity can be treated\nas a probe to explore the interior of the black hole. The effects of the\nnonlinear parameter and the charge on the evolution of the holographic\nsubregion complexity are also investigated. When the charge is sufficiently\nlarge, it not only changes the evolution pattern of the subregion complexity,\nbut also washes out the second stage featured by linear growth."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The $1/N$ expansion of the symmetric traceless and the antisymmetric\n  tensor models in rank three: We prove rigorously that the symmetric traceless and the antisymmetric tensor\nmodels in rank three with tetrahedral interaction admit a $1/N$ expansion, and\nthat at leading order they are dominated by melon diagrams. This proves the\nrecent conjecture of I. Klebanov and G. Tarnopolsky in JHEP 10 (2017) 037\n[arXiv:1706.00839], which they checked numerically up to 8th order in the\ncoupling constant.",
        "positive": "The continuum limit of the conformal sector at second order in\n  perturbation theory: Recently a novel perturbative continuum limit for quantum gravity has been\nproposed and demonstrated to work at first order. Every interaction monomial\n$\\sigma$ is dressed with a coefficient function $f^\\sigma_\\Lambda(\\varphi)$ of\nthe conformal factor field, $\\varphi$. Each coefficient function is\nparametrised by an infinite number of underlying couplings, and decays at large\n$\\varphi$ with a characteristic amplitude suppression scale which can be chosen\nto be at a common value, $\\Lambda_\\text{p}$. Although the theory is\nperturbative in couplings it is non-perturbative in $\\hbar$. At second order in\nperturbation theory, one must sum over all melonic Feynman diagrams to obtain\nthe particular integral. We show that it leads to a well defined renormalized\ntrajectory and thus continuum limit, provided it is solved by starting at an\narbitrary cutoff scale $\\Lambda=\\mu$ which lies in the range\n$0<\\mu<a\\Lambda_\\text{p}$ ($a$ some non-universal number). If $\\mu$ lies above\nthis range the resulting coefficient functions become singular, and the flow\nceases to exist, before the physical limit is reached. To this one must add a\nwell-behaved complementary solution, containing irrelevant couplings determined\nuniquely by the first-order interactions, and renormalized relevant couplings.\nEven though some irrelevant couplings diverge in the limit\n$\\Lambda_\\text{p}\\to\\infty$, domains for the underlying relevant couplings can\nbe chosen such that diffeomorphism invariance will be recovered in this limit,\nand where the underlying couplings disappear to be replaced by effective\ndiffeomorphism invariant couplings."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Natural Inflation and Quantum Gravity: Cosmic Inflation provides an attractive framework for understanding the early\nuniverse and the cosmic microwave background. It can readily involve energies\nclose to the scale at which Quantum Gravity effects become important. General\nconsiderations of black hole quantum mechanics suggest nontrivial constraints\non any effective field theory model of inflation that emerges as a low-energy\nlimit of quantum gravity, in particular the constraint of the Weak Gravity\nConjecture. We show that higher-dimensional gauge and gravitational dynamics\ncan elegantly satisfy these constraints and lead to a viable,\ntheoretically-controlled and predictive class of Natural Inflation models.",
        "positive": "Bigravity and Lorentz-violating Massive Gravity: Bigravity is a natural arena where a non-linear theory of massive gravity can\nbe formulated. If the interaction between the metrics $f$ and $g$ is\nnon-derivative, spherically symmetric exact solutions can be found. At large\ndistances from the origin, these are generically Lorentz-breaking bi-flat\nsolutions (provided that the corresponding vacuum energies are adjusted\nappropriately). The spectrum of linearized perturbations around such\nbackgrounds contains a massless as well as a massive graviton, with {\\em two}\nphysical polarizations each. There are no propagating vectors or scalars, and\nthe theory is ghost free (as happens with certain massive gravities with\nexplicit breaking of Lorentz invariance). At the linearized level, corrections\nto GR are proportional to the square of the graviton mass, and so there is no\nvDVZ discontinuity. Surprisingly, the solution of linear theory for a static\nspherically symmetric source does {\\em not} agree with the linearization of any\nof the known exact solutions. The latter coincide with the standard\nSchwarzschild-(A)dS solutions of General Relativity, with no corrections at\nall. Another interesting class of solutions is obtained where $f$ and $g$ are\nproportional to each other. The case of bi-de Sitter solutions is analyzed in\nsome detail."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Entropy of Quantum Fields in Black Hole Backgrounds: We show that the partition function for a scalar field in a static spacetime\nbackground can be expressed as a functional integral in the corresponding\noptical space, and point out that the difference between this and the\nfunctional integral in the original metric is a Liouville type action. A\ngeneral formula for the free energy is derived in the high temperature\napproximation and applied to various cases. In particular we find that\nthermodynamics in the extremal Reissner-Nordstr\\\"om space has extra\nsingularities that make it ill-defined.",
        "positive": "The 't Hooft-Polyakov Monopole in the Presence of a 't Hooft Operator: We present explicit BPS field configurations representing one nonabelian\nmonopole with one minimal weight 't Hooft operator insertion. We explore the\nSO(3) and SU(2) gauge groups. In the case of SU(2) gauge group the minimal 't\nHooft operator can be completely screened by the monopole. If the gauge group\nis SO(3), however, such screening is impossible. In the latter case we observe\na different effect of the gauge symmetry enhancement in the vicinity of the 't\nHooft operator."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Five-dimensional topologically twisted maximally supersymmetric\n  Yang-Mills theory: Herein, we consider a topologically twisted version of maximally\nsupersymmetric Yang-Mills theory in five dimensions which was introduced by\nWitten in 2011. We consider this theory on a five manifold of the form M_4 x I\nfor M_4 an oriented Riemannian four manifold. The complete and unique action of\nthe theory in bulk is written down and is shown to be invariant under two\nscalar supersymmetries.",
        "positive": "On D-branes in the Nappi-Witten and GMM gauged WZW models: We construct D-branes in the Nappi-Witten (NW) and\nGuadagnini-Martellini-Mintchev (GMM) gauged WZW models. For the $SL(2,R)\\times\nSU(2)/U(1)\\times U(1)$ NW and $SU(2)\\times SU(2)/U(1)$ GMM models we present\nthe explicit equations describing the D-brane hypersurfaces in their target\nspaces. In the latter case we show that the D-branes are classified according\nto the Cardy theorem. We also present the semiclassical mass computation and\nfind its agreement with the CFT predictions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Linearized Gravity in Brane Backgrounds: A treatment of linearized gravity is given in the Randall-Sundrum background.\nThe graviton propagator is found in terms of the scalar propagator, for which\nan explicit integral expression is provided. This reduces to the\nfour-dimensional propagator at long distances along the brane, and provides\nestimates of subleading corrections. Asymptotics of the propagator off the\nbrane yields exponential falloff of gravitational fields due to matter on the\nbrane. This implies that black holes bound to the brane have a \"pancake\"-like\nshape in the extra dimension, and indicates validity of a perturbative\ntreatment off the brane. Some connections with the AdS/CFT correspondence are\ndescribed.",
        "positive": "Evolution equations beyond one loop from conformal symmetry: We study implications of exact conformal invariance of scalar quantum field\ntheories at the critical point in non-integer dimensions for the evolution\nkernels of the light-ray operators in physical (integer) dimensions. We\ndemonstrate that all constraints due the conformal symmetry are encoded in the\nform of the generators of the collinear sl(2) subgroup. Two of them, S_- and\nS_0, can be fixed at all loops in terms of the evolution kernel, while the\ngenerator of special conformal transformations, S_+, receives nontrivial\ncorrections which can be calculated order by order in perturbation theory.\nProvided that the generator S_+ is known at the k-1 loop order, one can fix the\nevolution kernel in physical dimension to the k-loop accuracy up to terms that\nare invariant with respect to the tree-level generators. The invariant parts\ncan easily be restored from the anomalous dimensions. The method is illustrated\non two examples: The O(n)-symmetric phi^4 theory in d=4 to the three-loop\naccuracy, and the su(n) matrix phi^3 theory in d=6 to the two-loop accuracy. We\nexpect that the same technique can be used in gauge theories e.g. in QCD."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Maximal Massive 3D Supergravity: We construct, at the linearized level, the three-dimensional (3D) N = 4\nsupersymmetric \"general massive supergravity\" and the maximally supersymmetric\nN = 8 \"new massive supergravity\". We also construct the maximally\nsupersymmetric linearized N = 7 topologically massive supergravity, although we\nexpect N = 6 to be maximal at the non-linear level.",
        "positive": "An Itzykson-Zuber-like Integral and Diffusion for Complex Ordinary and\n  Supermatrices: We compute an analogue of the Itzykson-Zuber integral for the case of\narbitrary complex matrices. The calculation is done for both ordinary and\nsupermatrices by transferring the Itzykson-Zuber diffusion equation method to\nthe space of arbitrary complex matrices. The integral is of interest for\napplications in Quantum Chromodynamics and the theory of two-dimensional\nQuantum Gravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Nilpotent Symmetries and Curci-Ferrari Type Restrictions in 2D\n  Non-Abelian Gauge Theory: Superfield Approach: We derive the off-shell nilpotent symmetries of the two (1+1)-dimensional\n(2D) non-Abelian 1-form gauge theory by using the theoretical techniques of the\ngeometrical superfield approach to Becchi-Rouet-Stora-Tyutin (BRST) formalism.\nFor this purpose, we exploit the augmented version of superfield approach\n(AVSA) and derive theoretically useful nilpotent (anti-)BRST, (anti-)co-BRST\nsymmetries and Curci-Ferrari (CF) type restrictions for the self-interacting 2D\nnon-Abelian 1-form gauge theory (where there is no interaction with matter\nfields). The derivation of the (anti-)co-BRST symmetries and all possible\nCF-type restrictions are completely novel results within the framework of AVSA\nto BRST formalism where the ordinary 2D non-Abelian theory is generalized onto\nan appropriately chosen (2, 2)-dimensional supermanifold. The latter is\nparameterized by the superspace coordinates Z^{M} = (x^{\\mu}, \\theta,\n\\bar\\theta) where x^{\\mu } (with \\mu = 0,1) are the bosonic coordinates and a\npair of Grassmannian variables (\\theta, \\bar\\theta) obey the relationships:\n\\theta^{2} = \\bar\\theta^{2} = 0, \\theta\\bar\\theta + \\bar\\theta\\theta = 0.",
        "positive": "Fusion in Fractional Level sl^(2)-Theories with k=-1/2: The fusion rules of conformal field theories admitting an sl^(2)-symmetry at\nlevel k=-1/2 are studied. It is shown that the fusion closes on the set of\nirreducible highest weight modules and their images under spectral flow, but\nnot when \"highest weight\" is replaced with \"relaxed highest weight\". The fusion\nof the relaxed modules, necessary for a well-defined u^(1)-coset, gives two\nfamilies of indecomposable modules on which the Virasoro zero-mode acts\nnon-diagonalisably. This confirms the logarithmic nature of the associated\ntheories. The structures of the indecomposable modules are completely\ndetermined as staggered modules and it is shown that there are no logarithmic\ncouplings (beta-invariants). The relation to the fusion ring of the c=-2\ntriplet model and the implications for the beta gamma ghost system are briefly\ndiscussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "String Effective Actions and Cosmological Stability of Scalar Potentials: The cosmology of the string effective action, including one loop string\nthreshold corrections, is analyzed for static compactifications. The stability\nof the minima of a general supersymmetry breaking potential is studied in the\npresence of radiation. In particular, it is shown that the radiation bath makes\nthe minima with negative cosmological constant unstable.",
        "positive": "Consequences of 't Hooft's Equivalence Class Theory and Symmetry by\n  Large Coarse Graining: According to 't Hooft (Class.Quantum.Grav. 16 (1999), 3263), quantum gravity\ncan be postulated as a dissipative deterministic system, where quantum states\nat the ``atomic scale''can be understood as equivalence classes of primordial\nstates governed by a dissipative deterministic dynamics law at the ``Planck\nscale''. In this paper, it is shown that for a quantum system to have an\nunderlying deterministic dissipative dynamics, the time variable should be\ndiscrete if the continuity of its temporal evolution is required. Besides, the\nunderlying deterministic theory also imposes restrictions on the energy\nspectrum of the quantum system. It is also found that quantum symmetry at the\n``atomic scale'' can be induced from 't Hooft's Coarse Graining classification\nof primordial states at the \"Planck scale\"."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "From Rigid Supersymmetry to Twisted Holomorphic Theories: We study N=1 field theories with a U(1)_R symmetry on compact four-manifolds\nM. Supersymmetry requires M to be a complex manifold. The supersymmetric theory\non M can be described in terms of conventional fields coupled to background\nsupergravity, or in terms of twisted fields adapted to the complex geometry of\nM. Many properties of the theory that are difficult to see in one formulation\nare simpler in the other one. We use the twisted description to study the\ndependence of the partition function Z_M on the geometry of M, as well as\ncoupling constants and background gauge fields, recovering and extending\nprevious results. We also indicate how to generalize our analysis to\nthree-dimensional N=2 theories with a U(1)_R symmetry. In this case\nsupersymmetry requires M to carry a transversely holomorphic foliation, which\nendows it with a near-perfect analogue of complex geometry. Finally, we present\nnew explicit formulas for the dependence of Z_M on the choice of U(1)_R\nsymmetry in four and three dimensions, and illustrate them for complex\nmanifolds diffeomorphic to S^3 x S^1, as well as general squashed\nthree-spheres.",
        "positive": "Rindler Fluid with Weak Momentum Relaxation: We realize the weak momentum relaxation in Rindler fluid, which lives on the\ntime-like cutoff surface in an accelerating frame of flat spacetime. The\ntranslational invariance is broken by massless scalar fields with weak\nstrength. Both of the Ward identity and the momentum relaxation rate of Rindler\nfluid are obtained, with higher order correction in terms of the strength of\nmomentum relaxation. The Rindler fluid with momentum relaxation could also be\napproached through the near horizon limit of cutoff AdS fluid with momentum\nrelaxation, which lives on a finite time-like cutoff surface in Anti-de\nSitter(AdS) spacetime, and further could be connected with the holographic\nconformal fluid living on AdS boundary at infinity. Thus, in the holographic\nWilson renormalization group flow of the fluid/gravity correspondence with\nmomentum relaxation, the Rindler fluid can be considered as the Infrared\nRadiation(IR) fixed point, and the holographic conformal fluid plays the role\nof the ultraviolet(UV) fixed point."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "One-Instanton Tests of the Exact Results in N=2 Supersymmetric QCD: We use the microscopic instanton calculus to determine the one-instanton\ncontribution to the quantum modulus u_3=<Tr(\\phi^3)> in N=2 SU(N_c)\nsupersymmetric QCD with N_f<2N_c fundamental flavors. This is compared with the\ncorresponding prediction of the hyperelliptic curves which are expected to give\nexact solutions in this theory. The results agree up to certain regular terms\nwhich appear when N_f\\geq 2N_c-3. The curve prediction for these terms depends\nupon the curve parameterization which is generically ambiguous when N_f\\geq\nN_c. In SU(3) theory our instanton calculation of the regular terms is found to\ndisagree with the predictions of all of the suggested curves. For this theory\nwe employ our results as input to improve the curve parameterization for\nN_f=3,4,5.",
        "positive": "The S-Matrix of 2D Type 0B String Theory Part 1: Perturbation Theory\n  Revisited: We study the perturbative S-matrix of closed strings in the two-dimensional\ntype 0B string theory from the worldsheet perspective, by directly integrating\ncorrelation functions of ${\\cal N}=1$ Liouville theory. The latter is computed\nnumerically using recurrence relations for super-Virasoro conformal blocks. We\nshow that the tree level 3- and 4-point amplitudes are in agreement with the\nproposed dual matrix quantum mechanics. The non-perturbative aspects of the\nduality will be analyzed in a companion paper."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Binding energy of a holographic deuteron and tritium in anti-de-Sitter\n  space/conformal field theory (AdS/CFT): In the large 't Hooft coupling limit, the hadronic size of baryon is small\nand nucleon-nucleon potential is obtained from massless pseudo-scalar exchanges\nand an infinite tower of spin one mesons exchanges. In this paper we use the\nholographic nucleon-nucleon interaction and obtain the corresponding potential\nand binding energy for deuteron and tritium nuclei. The obtained potentials are\nrepulsive at short distances and clearly become zero by increasing distance as\nwe expected.",
        "positive": "A study of the zero modes of the Faddeev-Popov operator in Euclidean\n  Yang-Mills theories in the Landau gauge in d=2,3,4 dimensions: Examples of normalizable zero modes of the Faddeev-Popov operator in SU(2)\nEuclidean Yang-Mills theories in the Landau gauge are constructed in d=2,3,4\ndimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Classical Gauged Massless Rarita-Schwinger Fields: We show that, in contrast to known results in the massive case, a minimally\ngauged massless Rarita-Schwinger field yields a consistent classical theory,\nwith a generalized fermionic gauge invariance realized as a canonical\ntransformation. To simplify the algebra, we study a two-component left chiral\nreduction of the massless theory. We formulate the classical theory in both\nLagrangian and Hamiltonian form for a general non-Abelian gauging, and analyze\nthe constraints and the Rarita-Schwinger gauge invariance of the action. An\nexplicit wave front calculation for Abelian gauge fields shows that wave-like\nmodes do not propagate with superluminal velocities. An analysis of\nRarita-Schwinger spinor scattering from gauge fields shows that adiabatic\ndecoupling fails in the limit of zero gauge field amplitude, invalidating\nvarious \"no-go\" theorems based on \"on-shell\" methods that claim to show the\nimpossibility of gauging Rarita-Schwinger fields. Quantization of\nRarita-Schwinger fields, using many formulas from this paper, is taken up in\nthe following paper.",
        "positive": "An Integration Formula for the Moment Maps of Circle Actions: The integration of the exponential of the square of the moment map of the\ncircle action is studied by a direct stationary phase computation and by\napplying the Duistermaat-Heckman formula. Both methods yield two distinct\nformulas expressing the integral in terms of contributions from the critical\nset of the square of the moment map. The cohomological pairings on the\nsymplectic quotient, including its volume (which was known to be a piecewise\npolynomial), are computed explicitly using the asymptotic behavior of the two\nformulas."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "New Massive Gravity Holography: We investigate the holographic renormalization group flows and the classical\nphase transitions that occur in two dimensional QFT model dual to the New\nMassive 3D Gravity coupled to scalar matter. Specific matter self-interactions\ngenerated by quadratic superpotential are considered. The off-critical\n$AdS_3/CFT_2$ correspondence determines the exact form of the $ QFT_2$ 's\n$\\beta$ -function and the singular part of the reduced free energy. The\ncorresponding scaling laws and critical exponents characterizing the RG fixed\npoints as well as the values of the mass gaps in the massive phases are\nobtained.",
        "positive": "Stable and Unstable Circular Strings in Inflationary Universes: It was shown by Garriga and Vilenkin that the circular shape of nucleated\ncosmic strings, of zero loop-energy in de Sitter space, is stable in the sense\nthat the ratio of the mean fluctuation amplitude to the loop radius is\nconstant. This result can be generalized to all expanding strings (of non-zero\nloop-energy) in de Sitter space. In other curved spacetimes the situation,\nhowever, may be different.\n  In this paper we develop a general formalism treating fluctuations around\ncircular strings embedded in arbitrary spatially flat FRW spacetimes. As\nexamples we consider Minkowski space, de Sitter space and power law expanding\nuniverses. In the special case of power law inflation we find that in certain\ncases the fluctuations grow much slower that the radius of the underlying\nunperturbed circular string. The inflation of the universe thus tends to wash\nout the fluctuations and to stabilize these strings."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "N=2 Conformal Superspace in Four Dimensions: We develop the geometry of four dimensional N=2 superspace where the entire\nconformal algebra of SU(2,2|2) is realized linearly in the structure group\nrather than just the SL(2,C) x U(2)_R subgroup of Lorentz and R-symmetries,\nextending to N=2 our prior result for N=1 superspace. This formulation\nexplicitly lifts to superspace the existing methods of the N=2 superconformal\ntensor calculus; at the same time the geometry, when degauged to SL(2,C) x\nU(2)_R, reproduces the existing formulation of N=2 conformal supergravity\nconstructed by Howe.",
        "positive": "Debye screening in strongly coupled N=4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills plasma: Using the AdS/CFT correspondence, we examine the behavior of correlators of\nPolyakov loops and other operators in N=4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory at\nnon-zero temperature. The implications for Debye screening in this strongly\ncoupled non-Abelian plasma, and comparisons with available results for thermal\nQCD, are discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauged permutation invariant matrix quantum mechanics: Path Integrals: We give a path integral construction of the quantum mechanical partition\nfunction for gauged finite groups. Our construction gives the quantization of a\nsystem of $d$, $N\\times N$ matrices invariant under the adjoint action of the\nsymmetric group $S_N$. The approach is general to any discrete group. For a\nsystem of harmonic oscillators, i.e. for the non-interacting case, the\npartition function is given by the Molien-Weyl formula times the zero-point\nenergy contribution. We further generalise the result to a system of non-square\nand complex matrices transforming under arbitrary representations of the gauge\ngroup.",
        "positive": "Duality and bosonization in Schwinger-Keldysh formulation: We present a path-integral bosonization approach for systems out of\nequilibrium based on a duality transformation of the original Dirac fermion\ntheory combined with the Schwinger-Keldysh time closed contour technique, to\nhandle the non-equilibrium situation. The duality approach to bosonization that\nwe present is valid for $D \\geq 2$ space-time dimensions leading for $D=2$ to\nexact results. In this last case we present the bosonization rules for fermion\ncurrents, calculate current-current correlation functions and establish the\nconnection between the fermionic and bosonic distribution functions in a\ngeneric, nonequilibrium situation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Revisiting the classifications of 6d SCFTs and LSTs: Gauge-theoretic anomaly cancellation predicts the existence of many 6d SCFTs\nand little string theories (LSTs) that have not been given a string theory\nconstruction so far. In this paper, we provide an explicit construction of all\nsuch \"missing\" 6d SCFTs and LSTs by using the frozen phase of F-theory. We\nconjecture that the full set of 6d SCFTs and LSTs is obtained by combining the\nset of theories constructed in this paper with the set of theories that have\nbeen constructed in earlier literature using the unfrozen phase of F-theory.\nAlong the way, we demonstrate that there exist SCFTs that do not descend from\nLSTs via an RG flow.",
        "positive": "Unitarity, Crossing Symmetry and Duality in the scattering of ${\\cal\n  N}=1$ Susy Matter Chern-Simons theories: We study the most general renormalizable ${\\cal N}=1$ $U(N)$ Chern-Simons\ngauge theory coupled to a single (generically massive) fundamental matter\nmultiplet. At leading order in the 't Hooft large $N$ limit we present\ncomputations and conjectures for the $2 \\times 2$ $S$ matrix in these theories;\nour results apply at all orders in the 't Hooft coupling and the matter self\ninteraction. Our $S$ matrices are in perfect agreement with the recently\nconjectured strong weak coupling self duality of this class of theories. The\nconsistency of our results with unitarity requires a modification of the usual\nrules of crossing symmetry in precisely the manner anticipated in\narXiv:1404.6373, lending substantial support to the conjectures of that paper.\nIn a certain range of coupling constants our $S$ matrices have a pole whose\nmass vanishes on a self dual codimension one surface in the space of couplings."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Analog model for quantum gravity effects: phonons in random fluids: We describe an analog model for quantum gravity effects in condensed matter\nphysics. The situation discussed is that of phonons propagating in a fluid with\na random velocity wave equation. We consider that there are random fluctuations\nin the reciprocal of the bulk modulus of the system and study free phonons in\nthe presence of Gaussian colored noise with zero mean. We show that in this\nmodel, after performing the random averages over the noise function a free\nconventional scalar quantum field theory describing free phonons becomes a\nself-interacting model.",
        "positive": "Anisotropic homogeneous string cosmology with two-loop corrections: The two-loop (order $\\alpha'$) $\\beta$-function equations, which are\nequivalent to the equations of motion of $\\alpha'$-corrected string effective\naction, are considered for anisotropic homogeneous space-times. These equations\nare solved for all Bianchi-type models in two schemes of effective action,\nnamely $R^2$ and Gauss-Bonnet schemes with zero cosmological constant and then\nthe metric, dilaton and $B$-field are found at $\\alpha'$ perturbative\ncorrections."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Behavior of Superconductors of High Critical Temperatures Outside\n  Schwarzchild Black Holes in AdS Space: The physical analysis of condensed matter systems can be difficult due to\nstrong coupling, but the mathematical context of the AdS/CFT correspondence\nenables non-perturbative descriptions in terms of dual weakly coupled systems.\nThis brief review explores the holographic condensed matter applications of\nAdS/CFT, particularly through the lens of a high-$T_c$ superconductor outside a\nSchwarzchild black hole in Anti-de Sitter space. A simple two-dimensional\nelectron condensate Lagrangian is examined first, as employed by G. T.\nHorowitz, later used to calculate a frequency-dependent conductivity and a free\nenergy analysis; the asymptotics of both in this procedure, as examined by P.\nS\\\"aterskog, are also reviewed. An extended Lagrangian with a higher order\nMaxwell term is assessed thereafter, with a conductivity peak obtained at low\nfrequencies described well by the Drude model in certain limits. The behavior\nof Drude model parameters in these limits is also investigated.",
        "positive": "SUSY Enhancements in (0,4) Deformations of AdS_3/CFT_2: We discuss a marginal deformation of the SL(2,R) x SU(2) x U(1)^4 WZW model,\nwhich describes string theory on AdS_3 x S^3 x T^4, that corresponds to warping\nthe S^3 factor. This deformation breaks part of the N=(4,4) supersymmetry of\nthe undeformed dual CFT to N=(0,4) supersymmetry. In the spirit of work by\nGiveon, Kutasov, and Seiberg, we construct the asymptotic spacetime symmetry\nalgebra from worldsheet operators and find a restoration of (4,4) supersymmetry\nat discrete values of the deformation parameter. We explain this result from\nvarious perspectives: the worldsheet, supergravity, and from the singular D1-D5\nCFT. The supergravity analysis includes an asymptotic symmetry computation of\nthe level of the affine SU(2) R-symmetry, which arises purely from B-field\ncontributions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-local Field Theory from Matrix Models: We show that a class of matrix theories can be understood as an extension of\nquantum field theory which has non-local interactions. This reformulation is\nbased on the Wigner-Weyl transformation, and the interactions take the form of\nMoyal product on a doubled geometry. We recover local dynamics on the spacetime\nas a low-energy limit. This framework opens up the possibility for studying\nnovel high-energy phenomena, including the unification of gauge and geometric\nsymmetries in a gauge theory.",
        "positive": "The Two-Dimensional String as a Topological Field Theory: A certain topological field theory is shown to be equivalent to the\ncompactified c=1 string. This theory is described in both Kazama-Suzuki coset\nand Landau-Ginzburg formulations. The genus-g partition function and genus-0\nmulti-tachyon correlators of the c=1 string are shown to be calculable in this\napproach. The KPZ formulation of non-critical string theory has a natural\nrelation to this topological model. (Talk given at the Nato Advanced Research\nWorkshop on `New Developments in String Theory, Conformal Models and\nTopological Field Theory', Cargese, May 12-21 1993.)"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exactly Solvable Vacuum Decays with Gravity: Using a new approach to the analysis of false vacuum decay based on the\nso-called tunneling potential, we develop a general method to find scalar\npotentials with a false vacuum with exactly solvable decay at the\nsemi-classical level, including gravitational corrections. We examine in\nparticular the decays of de Sitter vacua providing concrete examples that allow\nto explore analytically the transition between the Coleman-De Luccia and\nHawking-Moss regimes.",
        "positive": "A Holographic Bound on Cosmic Magnetic Fields: Magnetic fields large enough to be observable are ubiquitous in astrophysics,\neven at extremely large length scales. This has led to the suggestion that such\nfields are seeded at very early (inflationary) times, and subsequently\namplified by various processes involving, for example, dynamo effects. Many\nsuch mechanisms give rise to extremely large magnetic fields at the end of\ninflationary reheating, and therefore also during the quark-gluon plasma epoch\nof the early universe. Such plasmas have a well-known holographic description\nin terms of a thermal asymptotically AdS black hole. We show that holography\nimposes an upper bound on the intensity of magnetic fields ($\\approx \\; 3.6\n\\times 10^{18}\\;\\; \\text{gauss}$ at the hadronization temperature) in these\ncircumstances; this is above, but not far above, the values expected in some\nmodels of cosmic magnetogenesis."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Regularization schemes and the multiplicative anomaly: Elizalde, Vanzo, and Zerbini have shown that the effective action of two free\nEuclidean scalar fields in flat space contains a `multiplicative anomaly' when\nzeta-function regularization is used. This is related to the Wodzicki residue.\nI show that there is no anomaly when using a wide range of other regularization\nschemes and further that this anomaly can be removed by an unusual choice of\nrenormalisation scales. I define new types of anomalies and show that they have\nsimilar properties. Thus multiplicative anomalies encode no novel physics. They\nmerely illustrate some dangerous aspects of zeta-function and Schwinger proper\ntime regularization schemes.",
        "positive": "Renormalization in Wavelet basis: Discrete wavelet-based methods promise to emerge as an excellent framework\nfor the non-perturbative analysis of quantum field theories. In this work, we\ninvestigate aspects of renormalization in theories analyzed using wavelet-based\nmethods. We demonstrate the non-perturbative approach of regularization,\nrenormalization, and the emergence of flowing coupling constant within the\ncontext of these methods. This is tested on a model of the particle in an\nattractive Dirac delta function potential in two spatial dimensions, which is\nknown to demonstrate quintessential features found in a typical relativistic\nquantum field theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Topological Modes in Dual Lattice Models: Lattice gauge theory with gauge group $Z_{P}$ is reconsidered in four\ndimensions on a simplicial complex $K$. One finds that the dual theory,\nformulated on the dual block complex $\\hat{K}$, contains topological modes\nwhich are in correspondence with the cohomology group $H^{2}(\\hat{K},Z_{P})$,\nin addition to the usual dynamical link variables. This is a general phenomenon\nin all models with single plaquette based actions; the action of the dual\ntheory becomes twisted with a field representing the above cohomology class. A\nsimilar observation is made about the dual version of the three dimensional\nIsing model. The importance of distinct topological sectors is confirmed\nnumerically in the two dimensional Ising model where they are parameterized by\n$H^{1}(\\hat{K},Z_{2})$.",
        "positive": "Effective Interactions of Planar Fermions in a Strong Magnetic Field-the\n  Effect of Landau Level Mixing: We obtain expressions for the current operator in the lowest Landau level\n(L.L.L.) field theory, where higher Landau level mixing due to various external\nand interparticle interactions is sytematically taken into account. We consider\nthe current operators in the presence of electromagnetic interactions, both\nCoulomb and time-dependent, as well as local four-fermi interactions. The\nimportance of Landau level mixing for long-range interactions is especially\nemphasized. We also calculate the edge-current for a finite sample."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum-corrected black holes and naked singularities in\n  (2+1)-dimensions: We analytically investigate the pertubative effects of a quantum\nconformally-coupled scalar field on rotating (2+1)-dimensional black holes and\nnaked singularities. In both cases we obtain the quantum-backreacted metric\nanalytically. In the black hole case, we explore the quantum corrections on\ndifferent regions of relevance for a rotating black hole geometry. We find that\nthe quantum effects lead to a growth of both the event horizon and the\nergosphere, as well as to a reduction of the angular velocity compared to their\ncorresponding unperturbed values. Quantum corrections also give rise to the\nformation of a curvature singularity at the Cauchy horizon and show no evidence\nof the appearance of a superradiant instability. In the naked singularity case,\nquantum effects lead to the formation of a horizon that hides the conical\ndefect, thus turning it into a black hole. The fact that these effects occur\nnot only for static but also for spinning geometries makes a strong case for\nthe r\\^ole of quantum mechanics as a cosmic censor in Nature.",
        "positive": "A Note on Mirror Symmetry for Manifolds with Spin(7) Holonomy: Starting from the superconformal algebras associated with $G_2$ manifolds, I\nextend the algebra to the manifolds with spin(7) holonomy. I show how the\nmirror symmetry in manifolds with spin(7) holonomy arises as the automorphism\nin the extended sperconformal algebra. The automorphism is realized as 14 kinds\nof T-dualities on the supersymmetric $T^4$ toroidal fibrations. One class of\nJoyce's orbifolds are pairwise identified under the symmetry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Simplicial quantum dynamics: Present-day quantum field theory can be regularized by a decomposition into\nquantum simplices. This replaces the infinite-dimensional Hilbert space by a\nhigh-dimensional spinor space and singular canonical Lie groups by regular spin\ngroups. It radically changes the uncertainty principle for small distances.\nGaugeons, including the gravitational, are represented as bound fermion-pairs,\nand space-time curvature as a singular organized limit of quantum\nnon-commutativity.\n  Keywords: Quantum logic, quantum set theory, quantum gravity, quantum\ntopology, simplicial quantization.",
        "positive": "Leading Nonlinear Tidal Effects and Scattering Amplitudes: We present the two-body Hamiltonian and associated eikonal phase, to leading\npost-Minkowskian order, for infinitely many tidal deformations described by\noperators with arbitrary powers of the curvature tensor. Scattering amplitudes\nin momentum and position space provide systematic complementary approaches. For\nthe tidal operators quadratic in curvature, which describe the linear response\nto an external gravitational field, we work out the leading post-Minkowskian\ncontributions using a basis of operators with arbitrary numbers of derivatives\nwhich are in one-to-one correspondence with the worldline multipole operators.\nExplicit examples are used to show that the same techniques apply to both\nbodies interacting tidally with a spinning particle, for which we find the\nleading contributions from quadratic in curvature tidal operators with an\narbitrary number of derivatives, and to effective field theory extensions of\ngeneral relativity. We also note that the leading post-Minkowskian order\ncontributions from higher-dimension operators manifest double-copy relations.\nFinally, we comment on the structure of higher-order corrections."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Coarse-Graining the Lin-Maldacena Geometries: The Lin-Maldacena geometries are nonsingular gravity duals to degenerate\nvacuum states of a family of field theories with SU(2|4) supersymmetry. In this\nnote, we show that at large N, where the number of vacuum states is large,\nthere is a natural `macroscopic' description of typical states, giving rise to\na set of coarse-grained geometries. For a given coarse-grained state, we can\nassociate an entropy related to the number of underlying microstates. We find a\nsimple formula for this entropy in terms of the data that specify the geometry.\nWe see that this entropy function is zero for the original microstate\ngeometries and maximized for a certain ``typical state'' geometry, which we\nargue is the gravity dual to the zero-temperature limit of the thermal state of\nthe corresponding field theory. Finally, we note that the coarse-grained\ngeometries are singular if and only if the entropy function is non-zero.",
        "positive": "Aspects of Symmetry in Sine-Gordon Theory: As a prototype of powerful non-abelian symmetry in an Integrable System, I\nwill show the appearance of a Witt algebra of vector fields in the SG theory.\nThis symmetry does not share anything with the well-known Virasoro algebra of\nthe conformal $c=1$ unperturbed limit. Although it is quasi-local in the SG\nfield theory, nevertheless it gives rise to a local action on $N$-soliton\nsolution variables. I will explicitly write the action on special variables,\nwhich possess a beautiful geometrical meaning and enter the Form Factor\nexpressions of quantum theory. At the end, I will also give some preliminary\nhints about the quantisation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Constructing CFTs from AdS flows: We study the renormalization group flow equations for correlation functions\nof weakly coupled quantum field theories in AdS. Taking the limit where the\nexternal points approach the conformal boundary, we obtain a flow of\nconformally invariant correlation functions. We solve the flow for one- and\ntwo-point functions and show that the corrections to the conformal dimensions\ncan be obtained as an integral over the Mellin amplitude of the four-point\nfunction. We also derive the flow of the Mellin amplitude for higher $n$-point\nfunctions. We then consider the flows at tree level and one loop (in AdS), and\nshow that one obtains exactly the recursion relations for the corresponding\nMellin amplitudes derived earlier by Fitzpatrick et al. [arXiv:1107.1499] at\ntree level and Yuan [arXiv:1710.01361,arXiv:1801.07283] at one loop. As an\napplication, we furthermore compute one-loop corrections to the conformal\ndimensions for some operators in the CFT dual to an $\\mathrm{O}(N)$ scalar\nmodel in AdS.",
        "positive": "Worldline Instantons II: The Fluctuation Prefactor: In a previous paper [1], it was shown that the worldline expression for the\nnonperturbative imaginary part of the QED effective action can be approximated\nby the contribution of a special closed classical path in Euclidean spacetime,\nknown as a worldline instanton. Here we extend this formalism to compute also\nthe prefactor arising from quantum fluctuations about this classical closed\npath. We present a direct numerical approach for determining this prefactor,\nand we find a simple explicit formula for the prefactor in the cases where the\ninhomogeneous electric field is a function of just one spacetime coordinate. We\nfind excellent agreement between our semiclassical approximation, conventional\nWKB, and recent numerical results using numerical worldline loops."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The finite size spectrum of the 2-dimensional O(3) nonlinear sigma-model: Nonlinear integral equations are proposed for the description of the full\nfinite size spectrum of the 2-dimensional O(3) nonlinear sigma-model in a\nperiodic box. Numerical results for the energy eigenvalues are compared to the\nrotator spectrum and perturbation theory for small volumes and with the\nrecently proposed generalized Luscher formulas at large volumes.",
        "positive": "Geometric Quantum Discord Signals Non-Factorization: We propose the information-theoretic quantity of geometric quantum discord\n(GQD) as an indicator of the factorization properties of a given quantum\nsystem. In particular, we show how non-vanishing discord implies that the\ncorresponding partition function does not factorize, both for generic pure\nstates and the thermofield double state as a state with a known geometric dual\nin light of the AdS/CFT correspondence. Via this analysis, we give a novel\ninterpretation to the thermomixed double state as the best purely classical\napproximation of the Einstein-Rosen bridge. We connect the non-vanishing of GQD\nwith the existence of wormhole microstates."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Master Equations for Master Amplitudes: The general lines of the derivation and the main properties of the master\nequations for the master amplitudes associated to a given Feynman graph are\nrecalled. Some results for the 2-loop self-mass graph with 4 propagators are\nthen presented.",
        "positive": "Open string with a background B-field as the first order mechanics,\n  noncommutativity and soldering formalism: To study noncommutativity properties of the open string with constant B-field\nwe construct a mechanical action which reproduces classical dynamics of the\nstring sector under consideration. It allows one to apply the Dirac\nquantization procedure for constrained systems in a direct and unambiguous way.\nThe mechanical action turns out to be the first order system without taking the\nstrong field limit $B\\longrightarrow\\infty$. In particular, it is true for zero\nmode of the string coordinate which means that the noncommutativity is\nintrinsic property of this mechanical system. We describe the arbitrariness in\nthe relation existent between the mechanical and the string variables and show\nthat noncommutativity of the string variables on the boundary can be removed.\nIt is in correspondence with the result of Seiberg and Witten on relation among\nnoncommutative and ordinary Yang-Mills theories. The recently developed\nsoldering formalism helps us to establish a connection between the original\nopen string action and the Polyakov action."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-commutative Unification in Brane World: We point out that in (open) string compactifications with non-zero NS-NS\nB-field we can have large Kaluza-Klein thresholds even in the small volume\nlimit. In this limit the corresponding gauge theory description is in terms of\na compactification on a non-commutative space (e.g., a torus or an orbifold\nthereof). Based on this observation we discuss a brane world scenario of\nnon-commutative unification via Kaluza-Klein thresholds. In this scenario, the\nunification scale can be lowered down to the TeV-range, yet the corresponding\ncompactification radii are smaller than the string length. We discuss a\npotential application of this scenario in the context of obtaining mixing\nbetween different chiral generations which is not exponentially suppressed - as\nwe point out, such mixing is expected to be exponentially suppressed in certain\nsetups with large volume compactifications. We also point out that T-duality is\nbroken by certain non-perturbative twisted open string sectors which are\nsupposed to give rise to chiral generations, so that in the case of a small\nvolume compactification with a rational B-field we cannot T-dualize to a large\nvolume description. In this sense, the corresponding field theoretic picture of\nunification via Kaluza-Klein thresholds in this setup is best described in the\nnon-commutative language.",
        "positive": "Comment on \"Spontaneous Inflation and the Origin of the Arrow of Time\": Recently, Carroll and Chen [hep-th/0410270] suggested a promising natural\nexplanation of the thermodynamic arrow of time. However, we criticize their\nassertion that there exists a Cauchy hypersurface with a minimal entropy and\nargue that such a Cauchy hypersurface is not needed for an explanation of the\narrow of time."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Democracy from topology: Chiral form fields in $d$ dimensions can be effectively described as edge\nmodes of topological Chern-Simons theories in $d+1$ dimensions. At the same\ntime, manifestly Lorentz-invariant Lagrangian description of such fields\ndirectly in terms of a $d$-dimensional field theory is challenging and requires\nintroducing nontrivial auxiliary gauge fields eliminated on-shell with extra\ngauge symmetries. A recent work by Arvanitakis et al.\\ demonstrates\n(emphasizing the case of 2d chiral bosons) that the two approaches are related,\nand a peculiar reduction on the $(d+1)$-dimensional topological Lagrangian\nautomatically leads to $d$-dimensional Lagrangians with appropriate sets of\nauxiliary fields. We develop this setup in three distinct directions. First, we\ndemonstrate how arbitrary Abelian self-interactions for chiral forms can be\nincluded using nonlinear boundary terms in the Chern-Simons theory. Second, by\ngeneralizing the Chern-Simons theory to the BF theory, we obtain an analogous\ndemocratic description of non-chiral form fields, where electric and magnetic\npotentials appear as explicit dynamical variables. Third, we discuss the\neffects of introducing topological interactions in the higher-dimensional bulk,\nwhich produce extra interaction terms in the boundary theory. When applied to a\ntopological 4-form field in 12 dimensions, this construction results in a\ndemocratic description of the 3-form gauge field of the 11-dimensional\nsupergravity.",
        "positive": "Intersecting Branes and Anti-de Sitter Spacetimes in $SU(2)\\times SU(2)$\n  Gauged Supergravity: In this note we extend our work in a previous paper hep-th/9801038. We show\nhere that various intersecting brane-like configurations can be found in the\nvacuum of $D=4, N=4$ supergravity with gauged R-symmetry group $SU(2)\\times\nSU(2)$. These include intersections of domain-walls, strings and point-like\nobjects. Some of these intersecting configurations preserve 1/2 and 1/4 of\nsupersymmetry. We observe that the previously obtained $AdS_3\\times R^1$ pure\naxionic vacuum or `axio-vac' is an intersection of domain-wall with extended\nstring with 1/2 supersymmetries. Also the solutions known as `electro-vac' with\ngeometry $AdS_2\\times R^2$ can be simply interpreted as the intersection of\ndomain-wall with point-like object."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum gravity and the measurement problem in quantum mechanics: The measurement problem in quantum mechanics is almost exclusively discussed\nin situations where gravity is ignored. We discuss some recent developments in\nour understanding of quantum gravity and argue that they significantly alter\nthe problem. Quantum gravity may even resolve one of the thorniest questions in\ndiscussions of the measurement problem: who collapses the wavefunction of the\nentire universe?",
        "positive": "Tensor perturbations of $f(R)$-branes: We analyze the tensor perturbations of flat thick domain wall branes in\n$f(R)$ gravity. Our results indicate that under the transverse and traceless\ngauge, the metric perturbations decouple from the perturbation of the scalar\nfield. Besides, the perturbed equation reduces to the familiar Klein-Gordon\nequation for massless spin-2 particles only when the bulk curvature is a\nconstant or when $f(R)=R$. As an application of our results, we consider the\npossibility of localizing gravity on some flat thick branes. The stability of\nthese brane solutions is also shortly discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic Schwinger-Keldysh field theory of SU(2) diffusion: We construct effective field theory for SU(2) isospin charge diffusion, based\non holographic Schwinger-Keldysh contour arXiv:2008.01269. The holographic\nmodel consists of a probe SU(2) gauge field in a doubled Schwarzschild-AdS$_5$\ngeometry. Accurate to first order in derivative expansion, we analytically\ncompute the effective action up to quartic order in hydrodynamical fields. The\neffective theory contains both non-Gaussianity for noises and nonlinear\ninteractions between noises and dynamical variables. Moreover, the effective\ntheory captures both thermal and quantum fluctuations, which perfectly satisfy\ndynamical Kubo-Martin-Schwinger (KMS) symmetry at quantum level. Interestingly,\nthe dynamical KMS symmetry, which is crucial in formulating non-equilibrium\neffective field theory for a quantum many-body system, is found to have a nice\nholographic interpretation.",
        "positive": "Stringy Toda Cosmologies: We discuss a particular stringy modular cosmology with two axion fields in\nseven space-time dimensions, decomposable as a time and two flat three-spaces.\nThe effective equations of motion for the problem are those of the $SU(3)$ Toda\nmolecule, and hence are integrable. We write down the solutions, and show that\nall of them are singular. They can be thought of as a generalization of the\nPre-Big-Bang cosmology with excited internal degrees of freedom, and still\nsuffering from the graceful exit problem. Some of the solutions however show a\nrather unexpected property: some of their spatial sections shrink to a point in\nspite of winding modes wrapped around them. We also comment how more general,\nanisotropic, solutions, with fewer Killing symmetries can be obtained with the\nhelp of STU dualities."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Poincare Series, 3D Gravity and CFT Spectroscopy: Modular invariance strongly constrains the spectrum of states of two\ndimensional conformal field theories. By summing over the images of the modular\ngroup, we construct candidate CFT partition functions that are modular\ninvariant and have positive spectrum. This allows us to efficiently extract the\nconstraints on the CFT spectrum imposed by modular invariance, giving\ninformation on the spectrum that goes beyond the Cardy growth of the asymptotic\ndensity of states. Some of the candidate modular invariant partition functions\nwe construct have gaps of size (c-1)/12, proving that gaps of this size and\nsmaller are consistent with modular invariance. We also revisit the partition\nfunction of pure Einstein gravity in AdS3 obtained by summing over geometries,\nwhich has a spectrum with two unphysical features: it is continuous, and the\ndensity of states is not positive definite. We show that both of these can be\nresolved by adding corrections to the spectrum which are subleading in the\nsemi-classical (large central charge) limit.",
        "positive": "Noncommutative Superspace and Super Heisenberg Group: In this paper, we consider noncommutative superspace in relation with super\nHeisenberg group. We construct a matrix representation of super Heisenberg\ngroup and apply this to the two-dimensional deformed N=(2,2) superspace that\nappeared in string theory. We also construct a toy model for non-centrally\nextended `super Heisenberg group'."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Target space entanglement in quantum mechanics of fermions at finite\n  temperature: We consider the target space entanglement in quantum mechanics of\nnon-interacting fermions at finite temperature. Unlike pure states investigated\nin arXiv:2105.13726, the (R\\'enyi) entanglement entropy for thermal states does\nnot follow a simple bound because all states in the infinite-dimensional\nHilbert space are involved. We investigate a general formula of the target\nspace R\\'enyi entropy for $N$ fermions at finite temperature, and present\nnumerical results of the entropy in a one-dimensional model. We also argue the\nlarge $N$ behaviors with a comparison to the grand canonical ensemble.",
        "positive": "Instability of hairy black holes in spontaneously-broken\n  Einstein-Yang-Mills-Higgs systems: The stability of a new class of hairy black hole solutions in the coupled\nsystem of Einstein-Yang-Mills-Higgs is examined, generalising a method\nsuggested by Brodbeck and Straumann and collaborators, and Volkov and Gal'tsov.\nThe method maps the algebraic system of linearised radial perturbations of the\nvarious field modes around the black hole solution into a coupled system of\nradial equations of Schr\\\"odinger type. No detailed knowledge of the black hole\nsolution is required, except from the fact that the boundary conditions at the\nphysical space-time boundaries (horizons) must be such so as to guarantee the\n{\\it finiteness} of the various expressions involved. In this way, it is\ndemonstrated that the above Schr\\\"odinger equations have bound states, which\nimplies the instability of the associated black hole solution."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "$\u03b7$-weak-pseudo-Hermiticity generators and radially symmetric\n  Hamiltonians: A class of spherically symmetric non-Hermitian Hamiltonians and their\n\\eta-weak-pseudo-Hermiticity generators are presented. An operators-based\nprocedure is introduced so that the results for the 1D Schrodinger Hamiltonian\nmay very well be reproduced. A generalization beyond the nodeless states is\nproposed. Our illustrative examples include \\eta-weak-pseudo-Hermiticity\ngenerators for the non-Hermitian weakly perturbed 1D and radial oscillators,\nthe non-Hermitian perturbed radial Coulomb, and the non-Hermitian radial Morse\nmodels.",
        "positive": "A Generalization of Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev: The SYK model: fermions with a $q$-body, Gaussian-random, all-to-all\ninteraction, is the first of a fascinating new class of solvable large $N$\nmodels. We generalize SYK to include $f$ flavors of fermions, each occupying\n$N_a$ sites and appearing with a $q_a$ order in the interaction. Like SYK, this\nentire class of models generically has an infrared fixed point. We compute the\ninfrared dimensions of the fermions, and the spectrum of singlet bilinear\noperators. We show that there is always a dimension-two operator in the\nspectrum, which implies that, like in SYK, there is breaking of conformal\ninvariance and maximal chaos in the infrared four-point function of the\ngeneralized model. After a disorder average, the generalized model has a global\n$O(N_1) \\times O(N_2) \\times \\ldots\\times O(N_f)$ symmetry: a subgroup of the\n$O(N)$ symmetry of SYK; thereby giving a richer spectrum. We also elucidate\naspects of the large $q$ limit and the OPE, and solve $q=2$ SYK at finite $N$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "More on DBI action in 4D $\\mathcal{N}=1$ supergravity: We construct a Dirac-Born-Infeld (DBI) action coupled to a two-form field in\nfour dimensional $\\mathcal{N}=1$ supergravity. Our superconformal formulation\nof the action shows a universal way to construct it in various Poincar\\'e\nsupergravity formulations. We generalize the DBI action to that coupled to\nmatter sector. We also discuss duality transformations of the DBI action, which\nare useful for phenomenological and cosmological applications.",
        "positive": "D=10 supersymmetric chern-simons gauge theory: The Chern-Simons ten-dimensional manifestly supersymmetric non-Abelian gauge\ntheory is presented by performing the second quantization of the superparticle\ntheory. The equation of motion is $F = (d+A)^2 = 0$, where $d$ is the nilpotent\nfermionic BRST operator of the first quantized theory and $A$ is the anti-\ncommuting connection for the gauge group. This equation can be derived as a\ncondition of the gauge independence of the first quantized theory in a\nbackground field $A$, or from the string field theory Lagrangian of the Chern-\nSimons type. The trivial solutions of the cohomology are the gauge symmetries,\nthe non-trivial solution is given by the D=10 superspace, describing the super\nYang-Mills theory on shell"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Time-independant stochastic quantization, DS equations, and infrared\n  critical exponents in QCD: We derive the equations of time-independent stochastic quantization, without\nreference to an unphysical 5th time, from the principle of gauge equivalence.\nIt asserts that probability distributions $P$ that give the same expectation\nvalues for gauge-invariant observables $<W > = \\int dA W P$ are physically\nindistiguishable. This method escapes the Gribov critique. We derive an exact\nsystem of equations that closely resembles the Dyson-Schwinger equations of\nFaddeev-Popov theory, which we then solve non-perturbatively for the critical\nexponents that characterize the asymptotic form at $k \\approx 0$ of the\ntranverse and longitudinal parts of the gluon propagator in Landau gauge, $D^T\n\\sim (k^2)^{-1-\\a_T}$ and $D^L \\sim a (k^2)^{-1-\\a_L}$, and obtain $\\a_T = -\n2\\a_L \\approx - 1.043$ (short range), and $\\a_L \\approx 0.521$, (long range).\nAlthough the longitudinal part vanishes with the gauge parameter $a$ in the\nLandau gauge limit, $a \\to 0$, there are vertices of order $a^{-1}$, so the\nlongitudinal part of the gluon propagator contributes in internal lines,\nreplacing the ghost that occurs in Faddeev-Popov theory. We compare our results\nwith the corresponding results in Faddeev-Popov theory.",
        "positive": "Superstring Gravitational Wave Backgrounds with Spacetime Supersymmetry: We analyse the stringy gravitational wave background based on the current\nalgebra $E^{c}_{2}$. We determine its exact spectrum and construct the modular\ninvariant vacuum energy. The corresponding N=1 extension is also constructed.\nThe algebra is again mapped to free bosons and fermions and we show that this\nbackground has N=4 (N=2) unbroken spacetime supersymmetry in the type II\n(heterotic case)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Cubic Twistorial String Field Theory: Witten has recently proposed a string theory in twistor space whose\nD-instanton contributions are conjectured to compute N=4 super-Yang-Mills\nscattering amplitudes. An alternative string theory in twistor space was then\nproposed whose open string tree amplitudes reproduce the D-instanton\ncomputations of maximal degree in Witten's model.\n  In this paper, a cubic open string field theory action is constructed for\nthis alternative string in twistor space, and is shown to be invariant under\nparity transformations which exchange MHV and googly amplitudes. Since the\nstring field theory action is gauge-invariant and reproduces the correct cubic\nsuper-Yang-Mills interactions, it provides strong support for the conjecture\nthat the string theory correctly computes N-point super-Yang-Mills tree\namplitudes.",
        "positive": "Probing Quantization Via Branes: We re-examine quantization via branes with the goal of understanding its\nrelation to geometric quantization. If a symplectic manifold $M$ can be\nquantized in geometric quantization using a polarization ${\\mathcal P}$, and in\nbrane quantization using a complexification $Y$, then the two quantizations\nagree if ${\\mathcal P}$ can be analytically continued to a holomorphic\npolarization of $Y$. We also show, roughly, that the automorphism group of $M$\nthat is realized as a group of symmetries in brane quantization of $M$ is the\ngroup of symplectomorphisms of $M$ that can be analytically continued to\nholomorphic symplectomorphisms of $Y$. We describe from the point of view of\nbrane quantization several examples in which geometric quantization with\ndifferent polarizations gives equivalent results."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Scalar fluctuations in dilatonic brane-worlds: We derive and solve the full set of scalar perturbation equations for a class\nof five-dimensional brane--world solutions, with a dilaton scalar field coupled\nto the bulk cosmological constant and to a 3-brane. The spectrum contains one\nlocalized massless scalar mode, to be interpreted as an effective dilaton on\nthe brane, inducing long--range scalar interactions. Two massive scalar modes\nyield corrections to Newton's law at short distances, which persist even in the\nlimit of vanishing dilaton (namely, in the standard Randall--Sundrum\nconfiguration).",
        "positive": "Warped Compactifications and AdS/CFT: In this talk we discuss two classes of examples of warped products of AdS\nspaces in the context of the AdS/CFT correspondence. The first class of\nexamples appears in the construction of dual Type I' string descriptions to\nfive dimensional supersymmetric fixed points with E_{N_f+1} global symmetry.\nThe background is obtained as the near horizon geometry of the D4-D8 brane\nsystem in massive Type IIA supergravity. The second class of examples appears\nwhen considering the N=2 superconformal theories defined on a 3+1 dimensional\nhyperplane intersection of two sets of M5 branes. We use the dual string\nformulations to deduce properties of these field theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Cosmological brane systems in warped spacetime: In this paper, we discuss the time-dependent brane solutions in\nhigher-dimensional supergravity theories. We particularly focus on the\ndynamical extensions of the intersecting brane solutions involving three\nbranes. We also show that in the near-horizon limits, where the time dependence\nis negligible, these branes describe warped anti-de Sitter spacetimes as in the\ncorresponding static solutions. We finally examine the lower-dimensional\ncosmological dynamics obtained after compactifications of the\nhigher-dimensional solutions and show the solutions we have found give the\nfour-dimensional universe with power-law expansion.",
        "positive": "Observations on Integral and Continuous U-duality Orbits in N=8\n  Supergravity: One would often like to know when two a priori distinct extremal black\np-brane solutions are in fact U-duality related. In the classical supergravity\nlimit the answer for a large class of theories has been known for some time.\nHowever, in the full quantum theory the U-duality group is broken to a discrete\nsubgroup and the question of U-duality orbits in this case is a nuanced matter.\nIn the present work we address this issue in the context of N=8 supergravity in\nfour, five and six dimensions. The purpose of this note is to present and\nclarify what is currently known about these discrete orbits while at the same\ntime filling in some of the details not yet appearing in the literature. To\nthis end we exploit the mathematical framework of integral Jordan algebras and\nFreudenthal triple systems. The charge vector of the dyonic black string in D=6\nis SO(5,5;Z) related to a two-charge reduced canonical form uniquely specified\nby a set of two arithmetic U-duality invariants. Similarly, the black hole\n(string) charge vectors in D=5 are E_{6(6)}(Z) equivalent to a three-charge\ncanonical form, again uniquely fixed by a set of three arithmetic U-duality\ninvariants. The situation in four dimensions is less clear: while black holes\npreserving more than 1/8 of the supersymmetries may be fully classified by\nknown arithmetic E_{7(7)}(Z) invariants, 1/8-BPS and non-BPS black holes yield\nincreasingly subtle orbit structures, which remain to be properly understood.\nHowever, for the very special subclass of projective black holes a complete\nclassification is known. All projective black holes are E_{7(7)}(Z) related to\na four or five charge canonical form determined uniquely by the set of known\narithmetic U-duality invariants. Moreover, E_{7(7)}(Z) acts transitively on the\ncharge vectors of black holes with a given leading-order entropy."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Effective Topological Theory for Gravitational Anyon Scatterings at\n  Ultra-High Energies: The idea of the effective topological theory for high-energy scattering\nproposed by H. and E. Verlinde is applied to the $(2+1)$ dimensional gravity\nwith Einstein action plus Chern-Simons terms. The calculational steps in the\ntopological description are compared with the eikonal approximation. It is\nshown that the Lagrangian of the effective topological theory turns out to\nvanish except for boundary terms.",
        "positive": "Unitary Quantum Field Theory on the Noncommutative Minkowski space: This is the written version of a talk I gave at the 35th Symposium Ahrenshoop\nin Berlin, Germany, August 2002. It is an exposition of joint work with S.\nDoplicher, K. Fredenhagen, and Gh. Piacitelli [1]. The violation of unitarity\nfound in quantum field theory on noncommutative spacetimes in the context of\nthe so-called modified Feynman rules is linked to the notion of time ordering\nimplicitely used in the assumption that perturbation theory may be done in\nterms of Feynman propagators. Two alternative approaches which do not entail a\nviolation of unitarity are sketched. An outlook upon our more recent work is\ngiven."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Experimental test of Non-Commutative Quantum Gravity by VIP-2 Lead: Pauli Exclusion Principle (PEP) violations induced by space-time\nnon-commutativity, a class of universality for several models of Quantum\nGravity, are investigated by the VIP-2 Lead experiment at the Gran Sasso\nunderground National Laboratory of INFN. The VIP-2 Lead experimental bound on\nthe non-commutative space-time scale $\\Lambda$ excludes $\\theta$-Poincar\\'e far\nabove the Planck scale for non vanishing ``electric-like\" components of\n$\\theta_{\\mu \\nu}$, and up to $6.9 \\cdot 10^{-2}$ Planck scales if they are\nnull. Therefore, this new bound represents the tightest one so far provided by\natomic transitions tests. This result strongly motivates high sensitivity\nunderground X-ray measurements as critical tests of Quantum Gravity and of the\nvery microscopic space-time structure.",
        "positive": "A Study of Anyon Statistics by Breit Hamiltonian Formalism: We study the anyon statistics of a $2 + 1$ dimensional Maxwell-Chern-Simons\n(MCS) gauge theory by using a systemmetic metheod, the Breit Hamiltonian\nformalism."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "An AdS/dS duality for a scalar particle: The motion of a scalar particle in (d+1)-dimensional AdS space may be\ndescribed in terms of the Cartesian coordinates that span the (d+2)-dimensional\nspace in which the AdS space is embedded. Upon quantization, the mass\nhyperboloid defined in terms of the conjugate momenta turns into the wave\nequation in AdS space. By interchanging the roles of coordinates and conjugate\nmomenta in the (d+2)-dimensional space we arrive at a dual description. For\nmassive modes, the dual description is equivalent to the conventional\nformulation, as required by holography. For tachyonic modes, this interchange\nof coordinates and momenta establishes a duality between Euclidean AdS and dS\nspaces. We discuss its implications on Green functions for the various vacua.",
        "positive": "$E_8$ instantons on type-A ALE spaces and supersymmetric field theories: We consider the 6d superconformal field theory realized on M5-branes probing\nthe $E_8$ end-of-the-world brane on the deformed and resolved\n$\\mathbb{C}^2/\\mathbb{Z}_k$ singularity. We give an explicit algorithm which\ndetermines, for arbitrary holonomy at infinity, the 6d quiver gauge theory on\nthe tensor branch, the type-A class S description of the $T^2$\ncompactification, and the star-shaped quiver obtained as the mirror of the\n$T^3$ compactification."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic Phase Transitions with Fundamental Matter: The holographic dual of a finite-temperature gauge theory with a small number\nof flavours typically contains D-brane probes in a black hole background. At\nlow temperature the branes sit outside the black hole and the meson spectrum is\ndiscrete and possesses a mass gap. As the temperature increases the branes\napproach a critical solution. Eventually they fall into the horizon and a phase\ntransition occurs. In the new phase the meson spectrum is continuous and\ngapless. At large N and large 't Hooft coupling, this phase transition is\nalways of first order, and in confining theories with heavy quarks it occurs at\na temperature higher than the deconfinement temperature for the glue.",
        "positive": "Relation between full traces of Green functions for initial and Darboux\n  transformed Dirac problems: We establish the relation between full traces of the Green functions for some\ninitial and the Darboux transformed one-dimensional two component Dirac\nproblems with the most general form of potential. The result is used to check\nthe completeness of set of wave functions obtained by the Darboux\ntransformation of the eigenfunctions set for the initial Dirac problem with\nsome typical boundary conditions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic Entanglement Entropy in Insulator/Superconductor Transition: We investigate the behaviors of entanglement entropy in the holographical\ninsulator/superconductor phase transition. We calculate the holographic\nentanglement entropy for two kinds of geometry configurations in a completely\nback-reacted gravitational background describing the insulator/superconductor\nphase transition. The non-monotonic behavior of the entanglement entropy is\nfound in this system. In the belt geometry case, there exist four phases\ncharacterized by the chemical potential and belt width.",
        "positive": "Summing up perturbation series around superintegrable point: We work out explicit formulas for correlators in the Gaussian matrix model\nperturbed by a logarithmic potential, i.e. by inserting Miwa variables. In this\npaper, we concentrate on the example of a single Miwa variable. The ordinary\nGaussian model is superintegrable, i.e. the average of the Schur functions\n$S_Q$ is an explicit function of the Young diagram $Q$. The question is what\nhappens to this property after perturbation. We show that the entire\nperturbation series can be nicely summed up into a kind of Borel transform of a\nuniversal exponential function, while the dependence on $R$ enters through a\npolynomial factor in front of this exponential. Moreover, these polynomials can\nbe described explicitly through a single additional structure, which we call\n``truncation'' of the Young diagram $Q$. It is unclear if one can call this an\nextended superintegrability, but at least it is a tremendously simple\ndeformation of it. Moreover, the vanishing Gaussian correlators remain\nvanishing and, hence, are not deformed at all."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Inflationary Universe with Anisotropic Hair: We study an inflationary scenario with a vector field coupled with an\ninflaton field and show that the inflationary universe is endowed with\nanisotropy for a wide range of coupling functions. This anisotropic inflation\nis a tracking solution where the energy density of the vector field follows\nthat of the inflaton field irrespective of initial conditions. We find a\nuniversal relation between the anisotropy and a slow-roll parameter of\ninflation. Our finding has observational implications and gives a counter\nexample to the cosmic no-hair conjecture.",
        "positive": "Gauging Yang-Mills Symmetries In 1+1-Dimensional Spacetime: We present a systematic and 'from the ground up' analysis of the 'minimal\ncoupling' type of gauging of Yang-Mills symmetries in (2,2)-supersymmetric\n1+1-dimensional spacetime. Unlike in the familiar 3+1-dimensional N=1\nsupersymmetric case, we find several distinct types of minimal coupling\nsymmetry gauging, and so several distinct types of gauge (super)fields, some of\nwhich entirely novel. Also, we find that certain (quartoid) constrained\nsuperfields can couple to no gauge superfield at all, others (haploid ones) can\ncouple only very selectively, while still others (non-minimal, i.e., linear\nones) couple universally to all gauge superfields."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Anomalies of 4d $Spin_G$ Theories: We consider 't Hooft anomalies of four-dimensional gauge theories whose\nfermion matter content admits $Spin_G(4)$ generalized spin structure, with $G$\neither gauged or a global symmetry. We discuss methods to directly compute\n$w_2\\cup w_3$ 't Hooft anomalies involving Steifel Whitney classes of gauge and\nflavor symmetry bundles that such theories can have on non-spin manifolds, e.g.\n$M_4=\\mathbb{CP}^2$. Such anomalies have been discussed for $SU(2)$ gauge\ntheory with adjoint fermions, where they were shown to give an effect that was\noriginally found in the Donaldson-Witten topological twist of ${\\cal N}=2$ SYM\ntheory. We directly compute these anomalies for a variety of theories,\nincluding general $G$ gauge theories with adjoint fermions, $SU(2)$ gauge\ntheory with fermions in general representations, and $Spin(N)$ gauge theories\nwith fundamental matter. We discuss aspects of matching these and other 't\nHooft anomalies in the IR phase where global symmetries are spontaneously\nbroken, in particular for general $G_{\\rm gauge}$ theory with $N_f$ adjoint\nWeyl fermions. For example, in the case of $N_f=2$ we discuss anomaly matching\nin the IR phase consisting of $h^\\vee _{G_{\\rm gauge}}$ copies of a\n$\\mathbb{CP}^1$ non-linear sigma model, including for the $w_2w_3$ anomalies\nwhen formulated with $Spin_{SU(2)_{\\rm global}}(4)$ structure.",
        "positive": "N=2 supersymmetric radiation damping problem on a noncommutative plane: It is well known that a direct Lagrangian description of radiation damping is\nstill missing. In this paper a specific approach of this problem was used,\nwhich is the standard way to treat the radiation damping problem. A $N=2$\nsupersymmetric extension for the model describing the radiation damping on the\nnoncommutative plane with electric and magnetic interactions was obtained. The\nentire supercharge algebra and the total Hamiltonian for the system were\nanalyzed. Finally, noncommutativity features were introduced and its\nconsequences were explored.."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Restricted Supergauge invariance, N=2 Coadjoint Orbit and N=2 Quantum\n  Supergravity: It is shown that the N=2 superconformal transformations are restricted N=1\nsupergauge transformations of a supergauge theory with Osp(2,2) as a gauge\ngroup. Based on this result, a canonical derivation of the Osp(2,2) current\nalgebra in the superchiral gauge formulation of N=2 supergravity is presented.",
        "positive": "A simple holographic scenario for gapped quenches: We construct gravitational backgrounds dual to a family of field theories\nparameterized by a relevant coupling. They combine a non-trivial scalar field\nprofile with a naked singularity. The naked singularity is necessary to\npreserve Lorentz invariance along the boundary directions. The singularity is\nhowever excised by introducing an infrared cutoff in the geometry. The\nholographic dictionary associated to the infrared boundary is developed. We\nimplement quenches between two different values of the coupling. This requires\nconsidering time dependent boundary conditions for the scalar field both at the\nAdS boundary and the infrared wall."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Multi-fixed point numerical conformal bootstrap: a case study with\n  structured global symmetry: In large part, the future utility of modern numerical conformal bootstrap\ndepends on its ability to accurately predict the existence of hitherto unknown\nnon-trivial conformal field theories (CFTs). Here we investigate the extent to\nwhich this is possible in the case where the global symmetry group has a\nproduct structure. We do this by testing for signatures of fixed points using a\nmixed-correlator bootstrap calculation with a minimal set of input assumptions.\nThis 'semi-blind' approach contrasts with other approaches for probing more\ncomplicated groups, which 'target' known theories with additional spectral\nassumptions or use the saturation of the single-correlator bootstrap bound as a\nstarting point. As a case study, we select the space of CFTs with product-group\nsymmetry $O(15)\\otimes{O}(3)$ in $d=3$ dimensions. On the assumption that there\nis only one relevant scalar ($\\ell=0$) singlet operator in the theory, we find\na single 'allowed' region in our chosen space of scaling dimensions. The\nscaling dimensions corresponding to two known large-$N$ critical theories, the\nHeisenberg and the chiral ones, lie on or very near the boundary of this\nregion. The large-$N$ antichiral point lies well outside the 'allowed' region,\nwhich is consistent with the expectation that the antichiral theory is\nunstable, and thus has an additional relevant scalar singlet operator. We also\nfind a sharp kink in the boundary of the 'allowed' region at values of the\nscaling dimensions that do not correspond to the $(N,M)=(15,3)$ instance of any\nlarge-$N$-predicted $O(N) \\otimes O(M)$ critical theory.",
        "positive": "Time-reparametrization invariance and Hamilton-Jacobi approach to the\n  cosmological sigma-model: The construction of physical models with local time-reparametrization\ninvariance is reviewed. Negative-energy contributions to the hamiltonian are\nshown to be crucial for the realization of this reparametrization symmetry. The\ncovariant formulation of the dynamics is used to develop a time and gauge\ninvariant Hamilton-Jacobi theory. This formalism is applied to solve for the\ncosmology of a homogeneous universe of the Friedmann-Lemaitre-Robertson-Walker\ntype. After a discussion of empty universes, the FLRW theory is extended with\nhomogeneous scalar fields generically described by a $\\sg$-model on some scalar\nmanifold. An explicit gauge-invariant solution is constructed for the\nnon-linear O(N)-models."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "String Amplitudes from Moyal String Field Theory: We illustrate a basic framework for analytic computations of Feynman graphs\nusing the Moyal star formulation of string field theory. We present efficient\nmethods of computation based on (a) the monoid algebra in noncommutative space\nand (b) the conventional Feynman rules in Fourier space. The methods apply\nequally well to perturbative string states or nonperturbative string states\ninvolving D-branes. The ghost sector is formulated using Moyal products with\nfermionic (b,c) ghosts. We also provide a short account on how the purely cubic\ntheory and/or VSFT proposals may receive some clarification of their midpoint\nstructures in our regularized framework.",
        "positive": "Collective Field Theory of the Fractional Quantum Hall Edge State and\n  the Calogero-Sutherland Model: \\noindent Using hydrodynamic collective field theory approach we show that\none-particle density matrix of the $\\nu=1/m$ fractional quantum Hall edge state\ninterpolates between chiral Luttinger liquid behavior $\\langle\n\\psi^{\\dagger}(r) \\psi(0) \\rangle \\sim r^{-m} $ and Calogero-Sutherland model\nbehavior $\\langle \\psi^{\\dagger}(r) \\psi(0) \\rangle \\sim r^{-(m+1/m)/2} $ as\nthe droplet width is varied continuously. Low-energy excitations are described\nby $c=1$ conformal field theory of a compact boson of radius $\\sqrt m$. The\nresult suggests complementary relation between the two-dimensional quantum Hall\ndroplet and the one-dimensional Calogero-Sutherland model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "New bi-harmonic superspace formulation of $4D, \\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM theory: We develop a novel bi-harmonic $\\mathcal{N}=4$ superspace formulation of the\n$\\mathcal{N}=4$ supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory (SYM) in four dimensions. In\nthis approach, the $\\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM superfield constraints are solved in\nterms of on-shell $\\mathcal {N}=2$ harmonic superfields. Such an approach\nprovides a convenient tool of constructing the manifestly $\\mathcal{N}=4$\nsupersymmetric invariants and further rewriting them in $\\mathcal{N}= 2$\nharmonic superspace. In particular, we present $\\mathcal{N}=4$ superfield form\nof the leading term in the $\\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM effective action which was known\npreviously in $\\mathcal{N}=2$ superspace formulation.",
        "positive": "Inflation in supergravity from field redefinitions: Supergravity (SUGRA) theories are specified by a few functions, most notably\nthe real K\\\"ahler function denoted by $G(T_i, \\bar {T}_i) = K + \\log |W|^2$,\nwhere K is a real K\\\"ahler potential, and W is a holomorphic superpotential. A\nfield redefinition $T_i \\rightarrow f_1(T_i)$ does not change neither the\ntheory, nor the K\\\"ahler geometry. Similarly, the K\\\"ahler transformation, $K\n\\rightarrow K + f_2 + \\bar f_2, W \\rightarrow e^{-f_2} W$ where $f_2$ is\nholomorphic also leaves G and hence the theory and the geometry invariant.\nHowever, if we perform a field redefinition only in $K(T_i,\\bar{T}_i)\n\\rightarrow K(f(T_i),f(\\bar{T}_i))$, while keeping the same superpotential\n$W(T_i)$, we get a different theory, as G is not invariant under such a\ntransformation while maintaining the same K\\\"ahler geometry. This freedom of\nchoosing $f(T_i)$ allows constructing an infinite number of new theories given\na fixed K\\\"ahler geometry and a predetermined superpotential W. Our\nconstruction generalizes previous ones that were limited by the holomorphic\nproperty of $W$. In particular it allows for novel inflationary SUGRA models\nand particle phenomenology model building, where the different models\ncorrespond to different choices of field redefinitions. We demonstrate this\npossibility by constructing several prototypes of inflationary models (hilltop,\nStarobinsky-like, plateau, log-squared and bell-curve) all in flat K\\\"ahler\ngeometry and an originally renormalizable superpotential $W$. The models are in\naccord with current observations and predict $r\\in[10^{-6},0.06]$ spanning\nseveral decades that can be easily obtained. In the bell-curve model, there\nalso exists a built-in gravitational reheating mechanism with $T_R\\sim\n\\mathcal{O}( 10^7 GeV)$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Entanglement entropy and non-local duality: quantum channels and quantum\n  algebras: We investigate the transformation of entanglement entropy under dualities,\nusing the Kramers-Wannier duality present in the transverse field Ising model\nas our example. Entanglement entropy between local spin degrees of freedom is\nnot generically preserved by the duality; instead, entangled states may be\nmapped to states with no local entanglement. To understand the fate of this\nentanglement, we consider two quantitative descriptions of degrees of freedom\nand their transformation under duality. The first involves Kraus operators\nimplementing the partial trace as a quantum channel, while the second utilizes\nthe algebraic approach to quantum mechanics, where degrees of freedom are\nencoded in subalgebras. Using both approaches, we show that entanglement of\nlocal degrees of freedom is not lost; instead it is transferred to non-local\ndegrees of freedom by the duality transformation.",
        "positive": "Imaginary-Scaling versus Indefinite-Metric Quantization of the\n  Pais-Uhlenbeck Oscillator: Using the Pais-Uhlenbeck Oscillator as a toy model, we outline a consistent\nalternative to the indefinite-metric quantization scheme that does not violate\nunitarity. We describe the basic mathematical structure of this method by\ngiving an explicit construction of the Hilbert space of state vectors and the\ncorresponding creation and annihilation operators. The latter satisfy the usual\nbosonic commutation relation and differ from those of the indefinite-metric\ntheories by a sign in the definition of the creation operator. This change of\nsign achieves a definitization of the indefinite-metric that gives life to the\nghost states without changing their contribution to the energy spectrum."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The one-loop form factors in the effective action, and production of\n  coherent gravitons from the vacuum: We present the solution of the problem of the $1/\\Box, \\Box \\to 0,$\nasymptotic terms discovered in the one-loop form factors of the gravitational\neffective action. Owing to certain constraints among their coefficients, which\nwe establish, these terms cancel in the vacuum stress tensor and do not violate\nthe asymptotic flatness of the expectation value of the metric. They reappear,\nhowever, in the Riemann tensor of this metric and stand for a new effect: a\nradiation of gravitational waves induced by the vacuum stress. This coherent\nradiation caused by the backreaction adds to the noncoherent radiation caused\nby the pair creation in the case where the initial state provides the vacuum\nstress tensor with a quadrupole moment.",
        "positive": "Generalized Weierstrass-Enneper inducing, conformal immersions, and\n  gravity: Basic quantities related to 2-D gravity, such as Polyakov extrinsic action,\nNambu-Goto action, geometrical action, and Euler characteristic are studied\nusing generalized Weierstrass-Enneper (GWE) inducing of surfaces. Connection of\nthe GWE inducing with conformal immersion is made and varius aspects of the\ntheory are shown to be invariant under the modified Veselov-Novikov hierarchy\nof flows. The geometry of certain surfaces is shown to be connected with the\ndynamics of infinite and finite dimensional integrable systems. Connections to\nLiouville-Beltrami gravity are indicated."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Nonperturbative aspects of ABJM theory: Using the matrix model which calculates the exact free energy of ABJM theory\non S^3 we study non-perturbative effects in the large N expansion of this\nmodel, i.e., in the genus expansion of type IIA string theory on AdS4xCP^3. We\npropose a general prescription to extract spacetime instanton actions from\ngeneral matrix models, in terms of period integrals of the spectral curve, and\nwe use it to determine them explicitly in the ABJM matrix model, as exact\nfunctions of the 't Hooft coupling. We confirm numerically that these\ninstantons control the asymptotic growth of the genus expansion. Furthermore,\nwe find that the dominant instanton action at strong coupling determined in\nthis way exactly matches the action of an Euclidean D2-brane instanton wrapping\nRP^3.",
        "positive": "Discrete Gravity on Random Tensor Network and Holographic R\u00e9nyi\n  Entropy: In this paper we apply the discrete gravity and Regge calculus to tensor\nnetworks and Anti-de Sitter/conformal field theory (AdS/CFT) correspondence. We\nconstruct the boundary many-body quantum state $|\\Psi\\rangle$ using random\ntensor networks as the holographic mapping, applied to the Wheeler-deWitt wave\nfunction of bulk Euclidean discrete gravity in 3 dimensions. The entanglement\nR\\'enyi entropy of $|\\Psi\\rangle$ is shown to holographically relate to the\non-shell action of Einstein gravity on a branch cover bulk manifold. The\nresulting R\\'enyi entropy $S_n$ of $|\\Psi\\rangle$ approximates with high\nprecision the R\\'enyi entropy of ground state in 2-dimensional conformal field\ntheory (CFT). In particular it reproduces the correct $n$ dependence. Our\nresults develop the framework of realizing the AdS$_3$/CFT$_2$ correspondence\non random tensor networks, and provide a new proposal to approximate CFT ground\nstate."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Geometrical model of massive spinning particle in four-dimensional\n  Minkowski space: We propose the model of massive spinning particle traveling in\nfour-dimensional Minkowski space. The equations of motion of the particle\nfollow from the fact that all the classical paths of the particle lie on a\ncylinder whose position in Minkowski space is determined by the particle's\nlinear momentum and total angular momentum. All the paths on one and the same\ncylinder are gauge equivalent. The equations of motion are found in implicit\nform for general time-like paths, and they are non-Lagrangian. The explicit\nequations of motion are found for trajectories with small curvature and\nhelices. The momentum and total angular momentum are expressed in terms of\ncharacteristics of the path in all the cases. The constructed model of the\nspinning particle has geometrical character, with no additional variables in\nthe space of spin states being introduced.",
        "positive": "Separation of variables for the classical and quantum Neumann model: The method of separation of variables is shown to apply to both the classical\nand quantum Neumann model. In the classical case this nicely yields the\nlinearization of the flow on the Jacobian of the spectral curve. In the quantum\ncase the Schr\\\"odinger equation separates into one--dimensional equations\nbelonging to the class of generalized Lam\\'e differential equations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Perturbative Confinement in a 4-d Lorentzian Complex Structure Dependent\n  YM-like Model: I continue the study of a renormalizable four-dimensional generally covariant\nYang-Mills-like action, which depends on the Lorentzian complex structure of\nspacetime and not its metric. The field equations and their integrability\nconditions are written down explicitly. The model is studied with the presence\nof two static external sources in the trivial cylindrical complex structure.\nThe energy of two static \"colored\" sources is found to increase linearly with\nrespect to their distance, providing an explicit proof of their perturbative\nconfinement. In the present model, confinement is not a concequence of the\nnon-Abelian character of the gauge group, but it is implied by the complex\nstructure dependence of the model.",
        "positive": "Canonical Structure of Noncommutative Quantum Mechanics as Constraint\n  System: Starting with the first-order singular Lagrangian, the canonical structure in\nthe noncommutative quantum mechanics with the noncommutativities both of\ncoordinates and momenta is investgated. Using the projection operator method\n(POM) for the constraint systems and the constraint star-product, the\nnoncommutative quantum system is constructed and the commutator algebra of {\\it\nprojected} canonically conjugate set(CCS) of the system is derived in the form\nincluding all orders of the noncommutativity parameters. We discuss the\nalternative CCS, which obeys the ordinary noncommutative commutator algebra.\nThe {\\it exact} CCS is constructed in the framework of the POM, and which is\nshown to be equivalent to the CCS constructed through the Seiberg-Witten map\nand the Bopp shift. We further discess the alternative Lagrangian to realize\nthe noncommutativities both of coordinates and momenta."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Cosmology With Negative Potentials: We investigate cosmological evolution in models where the effective potential\nV(\\phi) may become negative for some values of the field \\phi. Phase portraits\nof such theories in space of variables (\\phi,\\dot\\phi,H) have several\nqualitatively new features as compared with phase portraits in the theories\nwith V(\\phi) > 0. Cosmological evolution in models with potentials with a\n\"stable\" minimum at V(\\phi)<0 is similar in some respects to the evolution in\nmodels with potentials unbounded from below. Instead of reaching an AdS regime\ndominated by the negative vacuum energy, the universe reaches a turning point\nwhere its energy density vanishes, and then it contracts to a singularity with\nproperties that are practically independent of V(\\phi). We apply our methods to\ninvestigation of the recently proposed cyclic universe scenario. We show that\nin addition to the singularity problem there are other problems that need to be\nresolved in order to realize a cyclic regime in this scenario. We propose\nseveral modifications of this scenario and conclude that the best way to\nimprove it is to add a usual stage of inflation after the singularity and use\nthat inflationary stage to generate perturbations in the standard way.",
        "positive": "Dynamical Origin of Duality between Gauge Theory and Gravity: Dynamical origin of duality between gauge theory and gravity is studied using\nthe dual transformation and the formation of graviton as a collective\nexcitation of dual gauge bosons. In this manner, electric-magnetic duality in\ngauge theory is reduced to the duality between gauge theory and gravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Renormalization in quantum field theory and the Riemann-Hilbert problem\n  II: the $\u03b2$-function, diffeomorphisms and the renormalization group: We showed in part I (hep-th/9912092) that the Hopf algebra ${\\cal H}$ of\nFeynman graphs in a given QFT is the algebra of coordinates on a complex\ninfinite dimensional Lie group $G$ and that the renormalized theory is obtained\nfrom the unrenormalized one by evaluating at $\\ve=0$ the holomorphic part\n$\\gamma_+(\\ve)$ of the Riemann-Hilbert decomposition\n$\\gamma_-(\\ve)^{-1}\\gamma_+(\\ve)$ of the loop $\\gamma(\\ve)\\in G$ provided by\ndimensional regularization. We show in this paper that the group $G$ acts\nnaturally on the complex space $X$ of dimensionless coupling constants of the\ntheory. More precisely, the formula $g_0=gZ_1Z_3^{-3/2}$ for the effective\ncoupling constant, when viewed as a formal power series, does define a Hopf\nalgebra homomorphism between the Hopf algebra of coordinates on the group of\nformal diffeomorphisms to the Hopf algebra ${\\cal H}$. This allows first of all\nto read off directly, without using the group $G$, the bare coupling constant\nand the renormalized one from the Riemann-Hilbert decomposition of the\nunrenormalized effective coupling constant viewed as a loop of formal\ndiffeomorphisms. This shows that renormalization is intimately related with the\ntheory of non-linear complex bundles on the Riemann sphere of the dimensional\nregularization parameter $\\ve$. It also allows to lift both the renormalization\ngroup and the $\\beta$-function as the asymptotic scaling in the group $G$. This\nexploits the full power of the Riemann-Hilbert decomposition together with the\ninvariance of $\\gamma_-(\\ve)$ under a change of unit of mass. This not only\ngives a conceptual proof of the existence of the renormalization group but also\ndelivers a scattering formula in the group $G$ for the full higher pole\nstructure of minimal subtracted counterterms in terms of the residue.",
        "positive": "Magnetoconductivity in chiral Lifshitz hydrodynamics: In this paper, based on the principles of linear response theory, we compute\nthe longitudinal DC conductivity associated with Lifshitz like fixed points in\nthe presence of chiral anomalies in ($ 3+1 $) dimensions. In our analysis,\napart from having the usual anomalous contributions due to chiral anomaly, we\nobserve an additional and pure \\textit{parity odd} effect to the\nmagnetoconductivity which has its origin in the broken Lorentz (boost)\ninvariance at a Lifshitz fixed point. We also device a holographic set up in\norder to compute ($ z=2 $) Lifshitz contributions to the magnetoconductivity\nprecisely at strong coupling and low charge density limit."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Defect Branes: We discuss some general properties of \"defect branes\", i.e. branes of\nco-dimension two, in (toroidally compactified) IIA/IIB string theory. In\nparticular, we give a full classification of the supersymmetric defect branes\nin dimensions 2 < D < 11 as well as their higher-dimensionalstring and M-theory\norigin as branes and a set of \"generalized\" Kaluza-Klein monopoles. We point\nout a relation between the generalized Kaluza-Klein monopole solutions and a\nparticular type of mixed-symmetry tensors. These mixed-symmetry tensors can be\ndefined at the linearized level as duals of the supergravity potentials that\ndescribe propagating degrees of freedom. It is noted that the number of\nsupersymmetric defect branes is always twice the number of corresponding\ncentral charges in the supersymmetry algebra.",
        "positive": "Chiral bosonization for non-commutative fields: A model of chiral bosons on a non-commutative field space is constructed and\nnew generalized bosonization (fermionization) rules for these fields are given.\nThe conformal structure of the theory is characterized by a level of the\nKac-Moody algebra equal to $(1+ \\theta^2)$ where $\\theta$ is the\nnon-commutativity parameter and chiral bosons living in a non-commutative\nfields space are described by a rational conformal field theory with the\ncentral charge of the Virasoro algebra equal to 1. The non-commutative chiral\nbosons are shown to correspond to a free fermion moving with a speed equal to $\nc^{\\prime} = c \\sqrt{1+\\theta^2} $ where $c$ is the speed of light. Lorentz\ninvariance remains intact if $c$ is rescaled by $c \\to c^{\\prime}$. The\ndispersion relation for bosons and fermions, in this case, is given by $\\omega\n= c^{\\prime} | k|$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Is nonsymmetric gravity related to string theory?: In this work we raise the question whether nonsymmetric gravity and string\ntheory are related. We start making the observation, that the gravitational\nfield $ g_{\\mu\\nu}$ and the nonsymmetric gauge field $ A_{\\mu\\nu}$ arising in\nthe low energy limit in the string theory are exactly the same two basic fields\nused in four dimensions in nonsymmetric gravity. We argue, that this connection\nbetween nonsymmetric gravity and string theory at the level of the gauge fields\n$ g_{\\mu\\nu}$ and $ A_{\\mu\\nu}$ is not, however, reflected at the level of the\ncorresponding associated actions. In an effort to find a connection between\nsuch an actions we discover a new gravitational action, which suggests an\nalternative version of the bosonic string in which the target and the\nworld-volume metrics are unified.",
        "positive": "A Note On Boundary Conditions In Euclidean Gravity: We review what is known about boundary conditions in General Relativity on a\nspacetime of Euclidean signature. The obvious Dirichlet boundary condition, in\nwhich one specifies the boundary geometry, is actually not elliptic and in\ngeneral does not lead to a well-defined perturbation theory. It is\nbetter-behaved if the extrinsic curvature of the boundary is suitably\nconstrained, for instance if it is positive- or negative-definite. A different\nboundary condition, in which one specifies the conformal geometry of the\nboundary and the trace of the extrinsic curvature, is elliptic and always leads\nformally to a satisfactory perturbation theory. These facts might have\ninteresting implications for semiclassical approaches to quantum gravity.\n(Submitted to a volume in honor of Roman Jackiw.)"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The enhancon mechanism for fractional branes: We study the enhancon mechanism for fractional D-branes in conifold and\norbifold backgrounds and show how it can resolve the repulson singularity of\nthese geometries. In particular we show that the consistency of the excision\nprocess requires that the interior space be not empty. In the orbifold case, we\nexploit the boundary state formalism to obtain an explicit conformal\ndescription and emphasize the non trivial role of the volume of the internal\nmanifold.",
        "positive": "Stringy Corrections to the Classical Tests of General Relativity: String theory imposes modifications to Einstein's equations of classical\ngeneral relativity. Consequently, we calculate the additional corrections to\nthe classical tests: the perihelion precession of Mercury, the deflection of\nlight rays by the sun, and the gravitational redshift which should be present\nif these modified equations hold. In each case, we determine --- quite\nconsistently with expectations --- that the stringy effects are much too small\nto be measured."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Curvature driven diffusion, Rayleigh-Plateau, and Gregory-Laflamme: It can be expected that the respective endpoints of the Gregory-Laflamme\nblack brane instability and the Rayleigh-Plateau membrane instability are\nrelated because the bifurcation diagrams of the black hole-black string system\nand the liquid drop-liquid bridge system display many similarities. In this\npaper, we investigate the non-linear dynamics of the Rayleigh-Plateau\ninstability in a range of dimensions, including the critical dimension at which\nthe phase structure changes. We show that near the critical dimension and\nabove, depending on a parameter in initial conditions an unstable cylinder will\neither pinch off or converge to an equilibrium state. The equilibrium state is\napparently non-uniform but has a constant mean curvature everywhere. The\nresults suggest that in the gravity side, near the critical dimension and\nabove, the final state of an unstable black string (which is not too long) is a\nnon-uniform black string. The equation of motion adopted to describe the\ndynamics is the surface diffusion equation, which was originally proposed to\ndescribe a grooving process of heated metal surfaces. An interesting\ncorrespondence between the diffusion dynamics and black hole (thermo)dynamics\nis discussed.",
        "positive": "On a gauge-invariant deformation of a classical gauge-invariant theory: We consider a general gauge theory with independent generators and study the\nproblem of gauge-invariant deformation of initial gauge-invariant classical\naction. The problem is formulated in terms of BV-formalism and is reduced to\ndescribing the general solution to the classical master equation. We show that\nsuch general solution is determined by two arbitrary generating functions of\nthe initial fields. As a result, we construct in explicit form the deformed\naction and the deformed gauge generators in terms of above functions. We argue\nthat the deformed theory must in general be non-local. The developed\ndeformation procedure is applied to Abelian vector field theory and we show\nthat it allows to derive non-Abelain Yang-Mills theory. This procedure is also\napplied to free massless integer higher spin field theory and leads to local\ncubic interaction vertex for such fields."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Refined Chern-Simons Theory and Topological String: We show that refined Chern-Simons theory and large N duality can be used to\nstudy the refined topological string with and without branes. We derive the\nrefined topological vertex of hep-th/0701156 and hep-th/0502061 from a link\ninvariant of the refined SU(N) Chern-Simons theory on S^3, at infinite N.\nQuiver-like Chern-Simons theories, arising from Calabi-Yau manifolds with\nbranes wrapped on several minimal S^3's, give a dual description of a large\nclass of toric Calabi-Yau. We use this to derive the refined topological string\namplitudes on a toric Calabi-Yau containing a shrinking P^2 surface. The result\nis suggestive of the refined topological vertex formalism for arbitrary toric\nCalabi-Yau manifolds in terms of a pair of vertices and a choice of a Morse\nflow on the toric graph, determining the vertex decomposition. The dependence\non the flow is reminiscent of the approach to the refined topological string in\nupcoming work of Nekrasov and Okounkov. As a byproduct, we show that large N\nduality of the refined topological string explains the ``mirror symmetry`` of\nthe refined colored HOMFLY invariants of knots.",
        "positive": "On energy extraction from Q-balls and other fundamental solitons: Energy exchange mechanisms have important applications in particle physics,\ngravity, fluid mechanics, and practically every field in physics. In this\nletter we show, both in frequency and time domain, that energy enhancement is\npossible for waves scattering off fundamental solitons (time-periodic localized\nstructures of bosonic fields), without the need for rotation nor translational\nmotion. We use two-dimensional Q-balls as a testbed, providing the correct\ncriteria for energy amplification, as well as the respective amplification\nfactors, and we discuss possible instability mechanisms. Our results lend\nsupport to the qualitative picture drawn in ( arXiv:2212.03269 [gr-qc] );\nhowever we show that this enhancement mechanism is not of superradiant-type,\nbut instead a \"blueshift-like\" energy exchange between scattering states\ninduced by the background Q-ball, which should occur generically for any\ntime-periodic fundamental soliton. This mechanism does not seem to lead to\ninstabilities."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Mirror Fermions in Noncommutative Geometry: In a recent paper we pointed out the presence of extra fermionic degrees of\nfreedom in a chiral gauge theory based on Connes Noncommutative Geometry. Here\nwe propose a mechanism which provides a high mass to these mirror states, so\nthat they decouple from low energy physics.",
        "positive": "Gauging the Wess-Zumino term of a sigma model with boundary: We investigate the gauging of the Wess-Zumino term of a sigma model with\nboundary. We derive a set of obstructions to gauging and we interpret them as\nthe conditions for the Wess-Zumino term to extend to a closed form in a\nsuitable equivariant relative de Rham complex. We illustrate this with the\ntwo-dimensional sigma model and we show that the new obstructions due to the\nboundary can be interpreted in terms of Courant algebroids. We specialise to\nthe case of the Wess-Zumino-Witten model, where it is proved that there always\nexist suitable boundary conditions which allow gauging any subgroup which can\nbe gauged in the absence of a boundary. We illustrate this with two natural\nclasses of gaugings: (twisted) diagonal subgroups with boundary conditions\ngiven by (twisted) conjugacy classes, and chiral isotropic subgroups with\nboundary conditions given by cosets."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Loop Calculations for the Non-Commutative U(1) Gauge Field Model with\n  Oscillator Term: Motivated by the success of the non-commutative scalar Grosse-Wulkenhaar\nmodel, a non-commutative U(1) gauge field theory including an oscillator-like\nterm in the action has been put forward in arXiv:0705.4205. The aim of the\ncurrent work is to analyze whether that action can lead to a fully\nrenormalizable gauge model on non-commutative Euclidean space. In a first step,\nexplicit one-loop graph computations are hence presented, and their results as\nwell as necessary modifications of the action are successively discussed.",
        "positive": "Fast Scramblers, Democratic Walks and Information Fields: We study a family of weighted random walks on complete graphs. These\n`democratic walks' turn out to be explicitly solvable, and we find the\nhierarchy window for which the characteristic time scale saturates the\nso-called fast scrambling conjecture. We show that these democratic walks\ndescribe well the properties of information spreading in systems in which every\ndegree of freedom interacts with every other degree of freedom, such as Matrix\nor infinite range models. The argument is based on the analysis of suitably\ndefined `Information fields' ($\\mathcal{I}$), which are shown to evolve\nstochastically towards stationarity due to unitarity of the microscopic model.\nThe model implies that in democratic systems, stabilization of one subsystem is\nequivalent to global scrambling. We use these results to study scrambling of\ninfalling perturbations in black hole backgrounds, and argue that the near\nhorizon running coupling constants are connected to entanglement evolution of\nsingle particle perturbations in democratic systems."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Higgs Mechanism in Heterotic Orbifolds: We study spontaneous gauge symmetry breaking in the framework of orbifold\ncompactifcations of heterotic string theory. In particular we investigate the\nelectroweak symmetry breakdown via the Higgs mechanism. Such a breakdown can be\nachieved by continuous Wilson lines. Exploiting the geometrical properties of\nthis scheme we develop a new technique which simplifies the analysis used in\nprevious discussions.",
        "positive": "Topological Invariants, Instantons and Chiral Anomaly on Spaces with\n  Torsion: In a spacetime with nonvanishing torsion there can occur topologically stable\nconfigurations associated with the frame bundle which are independent of the\ncurvature. The relevant topological invariants are integrals of local scalar\ndensities first discussed by Nieh and Yan (N-Y). In four dimensions, the N-Y\nform $N= (T^a \\wedge T_a - R_{ab} \\wedge e^a \\wedge e^b)$ is the only closed\n4-form invariant under local Lorentz rotations associated with the torsion of\nthe manifold. The integral of $N$ over a compact D-dimensional (Euclidean)\nmanifold is shown to be a topological invariant related to the Pontryagin\nclasses of SO(D+1) and SO(D). An explicit example of a topologically nontrivial\nconfiguration carrying nonvanishing instanton number proportional to $\\int N$\nis costructed. The chiral anomaly in a four-dimensional spacetime with torsion\nis also shown to contain a contribution proportional to $N$, besides the usual\nPontryagin density related to the spacetime curvature. The violation of chiral\nsymmetry can thus depend on the instanton number of the tangent frame bundle of\nthe manifold. Similar invariants can be constructed in D>4 dimensions and the\nexistence of the corresponding nontrivial excitations is also discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "SO(10) GUT Models and Cosmology: $SO(10)$ grand unified models have an intermediate symmetry group in between\n$SO(10)$ and $SU(3)_{C} \\otimes SU(2)_{L} \\otimes U(1)_{Y}$. Hence they lead to\na prediction for proton lifetime in agreement with the experimental lower\nlimit. This paper reviews the recent work on the tree-level potential and the\none-loop effective potential for such models, with application to inflationary\ncosmology. The open problems are the use of the most general form of tree-level\npotential for $SO(10)$ models in the reheating stage of the early universe, and\nthe analysis of non-local effects in the semiclassical field equations for such\nmodels in Friedmann-Robertson-Walker backgrounds.",
        "positive": "Trace Anomalies and Cocycles of Weyl and Diffeomorphisms Groups: The general structure of trace anomaly, suggested recently by Deser and\nShwimmer, is argued to be the consequence of the Wess-Zumino consistency\ncondition. The response of partition function on a finite Weyl transformation,\nwhich is connected with the cocycles of the Weyl group in $d=2k$ dimensions is\nconsidered, and explicit answers for $d=4,6$ are obtained. Particularly, it is\nshown, that addition of the special combination of the local counterterms leads\nto the simple form of that cocycle, quadratic over Weyl field $\\sigma$, i.e.\nthe form, similar to the two-dimensional Lioville action. This form also\nestablishes the connection of the cocycles with conformal-invariant operators\nof order $d$ and zero weight. Beside that, the general rule for transformation\nof that cocycles into the cocycles of diffeomorphisms group is presented."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Tachyon does Matter: We review the concept of S-branes introduced by Gutperle and Strominger\nhep-th/0202210. Using the effective spacetime description of the rolling\ntachyon worldsheets discussed by Sen, we analyze the possibility that the\ngravitational backreaction of tachyon matter is important in the time-dependent\nprocess. We show that this is indeed the case in the example of the S0-brane in\n4-dimensional Einstein-Maxwell theory. This talk is based on hep-th/0207235.",
        "positive": "Local supersymmetry and the square roots of Bondi-Metzner-Sachs\n  supertranslations: Super-BMS$_4$ algebras -- also called BMS$_4$ superalgebras -- are graded\nextensions of the BMS$_4$ algebra. They can be of two different types: they can\ncontain either a finite number or an infinite number of fermionic generators.\nWe show in this letter that, with suitable boundary conditions on the graviton\nand gravitino fields at spatial infinity, supergravity on asymptotically flat\nspaces possesses as superalgebra of asymptotic symmetries a (nonlinear)\nsuper-BMS$_4$ algebra containing an infinite number of fermionic generators,\nwhich we denote SBMS$_4$. These boundary conditions are not only invariant\nunder SBMS$_4$, but also lead to a fully consistent canonical description of\nthe supersymmetries, which have in particular well-defined Hamiltonian\ngenerators that close according to the nonlinear SBMS$_4$ algebra. One finds in\nparticular that the graded brackets between the fermionic generators yield all\nthe BMS$_4$ supertranslations, of which they provide therefore \"square roots\"."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "2-form gauge theory dual to scalar-tensor theory: We generalize the electromagnetic duality between a massless, canonical\nscalar field and a 2-form gauge field in 4-dimensional spacetime to\nscalar-tensor theories. We derive the action of 2-form gauge field that is dual\nto two kinds of scalar-tensor theories: shift symmetric K-essence theory and\nthe shift symmetric Horndeski theory up to quadratic in scalar field. The\nformer case, the dual 2-form has a nonlinear kinetic term. The latter case, the\ndual 2-form has non-trivial interactions with gravity through Einstein tensor.\nIn both case, the duality relation is modified from usual case, that is, the\ndual 2-form field is not simply given by the Hodge dual of the gradient of the\nscalar field.",
        "positive": "Higher abelian gauge theory associated to gerbes on noncommutative\n  deformed M5-branes and S-duality: We enhance the action of higher abelian gauge theory associated to a gerbe on\nan M5-brane with an action of a torus ${\\mathbb T}^n (n\\ge 2)$, by a\nnoncommutative ${\\mathbb T}^n$-deformation of the M5-brane. The ingredients of\nthe noncommutative action and equations of motion include the deformed Hodge\nduality, deformed wedge product, and the noncommutative integral over the\nnoncommutative space obtained by strict deformation quantization. As an\napplication we then introduce a variant model with an enhanced action in which\nwe show that the corresponding partition function is a modular form, which is a\npurely noncommutative geometry phenomenon since the usual theory only has a\n$\\mathbb Z_2$-symmetry. In particular, S-duality in this 6-dimensional higher\nabelian gauge theory model is shown to be, in this sense, on par with the usual\n4-dimensional case."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the pulsating strings in AdS_5 x T^{1,1}: We study the class of pulsating strings in AdS_5 x T^{1,1}. Using a\ngeneralized ansatz for pulsating string configurations we find new solutions of\nthis class. Further we semiclassically quantize the theory and obtain the first\ncorrection to the energy. The latter, due to AdS/CFT correspondence, is\nsupposed to give the anomalous dimensions of operators in the dual N=1\nsuperconformal gauge field theory.",
        "positive": "Remarks on mod-2 elliptic genus: For physicists: For supersymmetric quantum mechanics, there are cases when a\nmod-2 Witten index can be defined, even when a more ordinary\n$\\mathbb{Z}$-valued Witten index vanishes. Similarly, for 2d supersymmetric\nquantum field theories, there are cases when a mod-2 elliptic genus can be\ndefined, even when a more ordinary elliptic genus vanishes. We study such mod-2\nelliptic genera in the context of $\\mathcal{N}=(0,1)$ supersymmetry, and show\nthat they are characterized by mod-2 reductions of integral modular forms,\nunder some assumptions.\n  For mathematicians: We study the image of the standard homomorphism $\\pi_n\n\\mathrm{TMF}\\to \\pi_n \\mathrm{KO}((q))\\simeq \\mathbb{Z}/2((q))$ for $n=8k+1$ or\n$8k+2$, by relating them to the mod-2 reductions of integral modular forms."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dynamics in nonlocal linear models in the Friedmann-Robertson-Walker\n  metric: A general class of cosmological models driven by a nonlocal scalar field\ninspired by the string field theory is studied. Using the fact that the\nconsidering linear nonlocal model is equivalent to an infinite number of local\nmodels we have found an exact special solution of the nonlocal Friedmann\nequations. This solution describes a monotonically increasing Universe with the\nphantom dark energy.",
        "positive": "$\\mathbb{Z}_2$ boundary twist fields and the moduli space of D-branes: We revisit the boundary conformal field theory of twist fields. Based on the\nequivalence between twisted bosons on a circle and the orbifold theory at the\ncritical radius, we provide a bosonized representation of boundary twist fields\nand thus a free field representation of the latter. One advantage of this\nformulation is that it considerably simplifies the calculation of correlation\nfunctions involving twist fields. At the same time this also gives access to\nhigher order terms in the operator product expansions of the latter which, in\nturn, allows to explore the moduli space of marginal deformation of bound\nstates of D-branes. In the process we also generalize some results on\ncorrelation functions with excited twist fields."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The elliptic Gaudin system with spin: The elliptic Gaudin model was obtained as the Hitchin system on an elliptic\ncurve with two fixed points. In the present paper the algebraic-geometrical\nstructure of the system with two fixed points is clarified. We identify this\nsystem with poles dynamics of the finite gap solutions of Davey-Stewartson\nequation. The solutions of this system in terms of theta-functions and the\naction-angle variables are constructed. We also discuss the geometry of its\ndegenerations.",
        "positive": "Kalb-Ramond scalar QED multiple vacua: We study a model of interacting vector and Kalb-Ramond gauge fields in a\nnon-trivial Higgs vacuum generated by a charged and a neutral scalar field. The\nsystem admits different vacua for different v.e.v. of the two Higgs fields. Our\nprimary interest in this paper regards the \"mixed phase\" where both the photon\nand the Kalb-Ramond acquire a mass. In this phase we compute the interaction\npotential energy between static test charges. It turns out that the limit in\nwhich the photon becomes massless, while the Kalb-Ramond remains massive, leads\nto a Cornell confining potential between test charges."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Erratum to `Instability in cosmological topologically massive gravity at\n  the chiral point', arXiv:0805.2610: We correct a sign in the first variation of the on-shell action of\ncosmological topologically massive gravity at the chiral point and present the\nthree equations affected by that sign. While this does not change any of the\nmain conclusions of arXiv:0805.2610, it modifies the finite part of the\nBrown-York stress tensor. Our corrected Brown-York stress tensor is still\nfinite, conserved and traceless, but no longer coincides with that of global\nAdS_3. It agrees with results found in recent literature.",
        "positive": "Time dependent action in $\u03c6^6$ potential: The false vacuum decay in field theory from a coherently oscillating initial\nstate is studied for $\\phi^6$ potential. An oscillating bubble solution is\nobtained. The instantaneous bubble nucleation rate is calculated."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Cohomology of Line Bundles: Proof of the Algorithm: We present a proof of the algorithm for computing line bundle valued\ncohomology classes over toric varieties conjectured by R.~Blumenhagen, B.~Jurke\nand the authors (arXiv:1003.5217) and suggest a kind of Serre duality for\ncombinatorial Betti numbers that we observed when computing examples.",
        "positive": "Holographic Entanglement Entropy in flat limit of the Generalized\n  Minimal Massive Gravity model: Previously we have studied the Generalized Minimal Massive Gravity (GMMG) in\nasymptotically $AdS_3$ background, and have shown that the theory is free of\nnegative-energy bulk modes. Also we have shown GMMG avoids the aforementioned\nbulk-boundary unitarity clash. Here instead of $AdS_3$ space we consider\nasymptotically flat space, and study this model in the flat limit. The dual\nfield theory of GMMG in the flat limit is a $BMS_3$ invariant field theory,\ndubbed (BMSFT) and we have BMS algebra asymptotically instead of Virasoro\nalgebra. In fact here we present an evidence for this claim. Entanglement\nentropy of GMMG is calculated in the background in the flat null infinity. Our\nevidence for mentioned claim is the result for entanglement entropy in filed\ntheory side and in the bulk (in the gravity side). At first using Cardy formula\nand Rindler transformation, we calculate entanglement entropy of BMSFT in three\ndifferent cases. Zero temperature on the plane and on the cylinder, and\nnon-zero temperature case. Then we obtain the entanglement entropy in the bulk.\nOur results in gravity side are exactly in agreement with field theory\ncalculations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Static Monopoles and Their Anti-Configurations: Recently, we have reported on the existence of some monopoles, multimonopole,\nand antimonopoles configurations. In this paper we would like to present more\nmonopoles, multimonopole, and antimonopoles configurations of the magnetic\nansatz of Ref.\\cite{kn:9} when the parameters $p$ and $b$ of the solutions\ntakes different serial values. These exact solutions are a different kind of\nBPS solution. They satisfy the first order Bogomol'nyi equation but possess\ninfinite energy. They can have radial, axial, or rotational symmetry about the\nz-axis. We classified these serial solutions as (i) the multimonopole at the\norigin; (ii) the finitely separated 1-monopoles; (iii) the screening solutions\nof multimonopole and (iv) the axially symmetric monopole solutions. We also\ngive a construction of their anti-configurations with all the magnetic charges\nof poles in the configurations reversed. Half-integer topological magnetic\ncharge multimonopole also exist in some of these series of solutions.",
        "positive": "Chern-Simons-Higgs Theory with Visible and Hidden Sectors and its ${\\cal\n  N}=2$ SUSY Extension: We study vortex solutions in Abelian Chern-Simons-Higgs theories with visible\nand hidden sectors. We first consider the case in which the two sectors are\nconnected through a BF-like gauge mixing term with no explicit interaction\nbetween the the two scalars. Since first order Bogomolny equations do not exist\nin this case, we derive the second order field equations. We then proceed to an\n${\\cal N}=2$ supersymmetric extension including a Higgs portal mixing among the\nvisible and hidden charged scalars. As expected, Bogomolnyi equations do exist\nin this case and we study their string-like solutions numerically."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the KP Hierarchy, $\\hat{W}_{\\infty}$ Algebra, and Conformal\n  SL(2,R)/U(1) Model: II. The Quantum Case: This paper is devoted to constructing a quantum version of the famous KP\nhierarchy, by deforming its second Hamiltonian structure, namely the nonlinear\n$\\hat{W}_{\\infty}$ algebra. This is achieved by quantizing the conformal\nnoncompact $SL(2,R)_{k}/U(1)$ coset model, in which $\\hat{W}_{\\infty}$ appears\nas a hidden current algebra. For the quantum $\\hat{W}_{\\infty}$ algebra at\nlevel $k=1$, we have succeeded in constructing an infinite set of commuting\nquantum charges in explicit and closed form. Using them a completely integrable\nquantum KP hierarchy is constructed in the Hamiltonian form. A two boson\nrealization of the quantum $\\hat{W}_{\\infty}$ currents has played a crucial\nrole in this exploration.",
        "positive": "T-duality for the sigma model with boundaries: We derive the most general local boundary conditions necessary for T-duality\nto be compatible with superconformal invariance of the two-dimensional N=1\nsupersymmetric nonlinear sigma model with boundaries. To this end, we construct\na consistent gauge invariant parent action by gauging a U(1) isometry, with and\nwithout boundary interactions. We investigate the behaviour of the boundary\nconditions under T-duality, and interpret the results in terms of D-branes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Effect of Self-Interaction on Vacuum Energy for Yang-Mills System in\n  Kaluza-Klein Theory: We calculate the vacuum energy for Yang--Mills (YM) system in the background\nspace-time $M^4 \\times S^3$, taking the effect of self-interaction of the YM\nfields into account. The compactification scale obtained by Candelas--Weinberg\nmechanism becomes large if the YM coupling is large. The case with an extra\nspace $S^3/Z_2$ is also considered, and it is shown that the vacuum associated\nwith broken gauge symmetry is unstable.",
        "positive": "Equivalence of Wilson Loops in ABJM and N = 4 SYM Theory: In previous investigations, it was found that four-sided polygonal light-like\nWilson loops in ABJM theory calculated to two-loop order have the same form as\nthe corresponding Wilson loop in N = 4 SYM at one-loop order. Here we study\nlight-like polygonal Wilson loops with n cusps in planar three-dimensional\nChern-Simons and ABJM theory to two loops. Remarkably, the result in ABJM\ntheory precisely agrees with the corresponding Wilson loop in N = 4 SYM at\none-loop order for arbitrary n. In particular, anomalous conformal Ward\nidentites allow for a so-called remainder function of conformal cross ratios,\nwhich is found to be trivial at two loops in ABJM theory in the same way as it\nis trivial in N = 4 SYM at one-loop order. Furthermore, the result for\narbitrary n obtained here, allows for a further investigation of a Wilson loop\n/ amplitude duality in ABJM theory, for which non-trivial evidence was recently\nfound by a calculation of four-point amplitudes that match the Wilson loop in\nABJM theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Abelian Chern-Simons field theory and anyon equation on a torus: We quantize the abelian Chern-Simons theory coupled to non-relativistic\nmatter field on a torus without invoking the flux quantization. Through a\nseries of canonical transformations which is equivalent to solving the Gauss\nconstraint, we obtain an effective hamiltonian density with periodic matter\nfield. We also obtain the many-anyon Schr\\\"odinger equation with periodic\nAharonov-Bohm potentials and analyze the periodic property of the wavefunction.\nSome comments are given on the different features of our approach from the\nprevious ones.",
        "positive": "Selberg Integral and SU(N) AGT Conjecture: An intriguing coincidence between the partition function of super Yang-Mills\ntheory and correlation functions of 2d Toda system has been heavily studied\nrecently. While the partition function of gauge theory was explored by\nNekrasov, the correlation functions of Toda equation have not been completely\nunderstood. In this paper, we study the latter in the form of Dotsenko-Fateev\nintegral and reduce it in the form of Selberg integral of several Jack\npolynomials. We conjecture a formula for such Selberg average which satisfies\nsome consistency conditions and show that it reproduces the SU(N) version of\nAGT conjecture."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A manifestly N=2 supersymmetric Born-Infeld action: A manifestly N=2 supersymmetric completion of the four-dimensional\nNambu-Goto-Born-Infeld action, which is self-dual with respect to\nelectric-magnetic duality, is constructed in terms of the abelian N=2\nsuperfield strength W in the conventional N=2 superspace. A relation to the\nknown N=1 supersymmetric Born-Infeld action in N=1 superspace is established.\nThe action found can be considered either as the Goldstone action associated\nwith partial breaking of N=4 supersymmetry down to N=2, with the N=2 vector\nsuperfield being a Goldstone field, or, equivalently, as the gauge-fixed\nsuperfield action of a D-3-brane in flat six-dimensional ambient spacetime.",
        "positive": "WMAP5 Observationnal Constraints on Braneworld New Inflation Model: We study a new inflation potential in the framework of the Randall-Sundrum\ntype 2 Braneworld model. Using the technic developped in(Phys. Rev. D75, 123504\n(2007).1), we consider both an monomial and a new inflation potentials and\napply the Slow-Roll approximation in high energy limit, to derive analytical\nexpression of relevant perturabtion spectrum. We show that for some values of\nthe parameter n of the potential, we obtain an perturbation spectrum wich\npresent a good agreement with recent WMAP5 observations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Haldane limits via Lagrangian embeddings: In the present paper we revisit the so-called Haldane limit, i.e. a\nparticular continuum limit, which leads from a spin chain to a sigma model. We\nuse the coherent state formulation of the path integral to reduce the problem\nto a semiclassical one, which leads us to the observation that the Haldane\nlimit is closely related to a Lagrangian embedding into the classical phase\nspace of the spin chain. Using this property, we find a spin chain whose limit\nproduces a relativistic sigma model with target space the manifold of complete\nflags U(N)/U(1)^N. We discuss possible other future applications of\nLagrangian/isotropic embeddings in this context.",
        "positive": "Tachyon Vacuum Solution in Open String Field Theory with Constant B\n  Field: We show that Schnabl's tachyon vacuum solution is an exact solution of the\nequation of motion of Witten's open bosonic string field theory in the\nbackground of constant antisymmetric two-form field. The action computed at the\nvacuum solution is given by the Dirac-Born-Infeld factor multiplied to that\nwithout the antisymmetric tensor field."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Worldvolume Uncertainty Relations for D-Branes: By quantizing an open string ending on a D-brane in a nontrivial supergravity\nbackground, we argue that there is a new kind of uncertainty relation on a\nD-brane worldvolume. Furthermore, we fix the form of the uncertainty relations\nand their dependence on the string coupling constant by requiring them to be\nconsistent with various string theory and M theory dualities. In this way we\nfind a web of uncertainties of spacetime for all kinds of brane probes,\nincluding fundamental strings, D-branes of all dimensions as well as M theory\nmembranes and fivebranes.",
        "positive": "Revisiting Conserved Charges in Higher Curvature Gravitational Theories: Restricting the covariant gravitational phase spaces to the manifold of\nparametrized families of solutions, the mass, angular momenta, entropies, and\nelectric charges can be calculated by a single and simple method. In this\nmethod, which has been called \"solution phase space method,\" conserved charges\nare unambiguous and regular. Moreover, assuming the generators of the charges\nto be exact symmetries, entropies and other conserved charges can be calculated\non almost arbitrary surfaces, not necessarily horizons or asymptotics. Hence,\nthe first law of thermodynamics would be a local identity relating the exact\nsymmetries to which the mass, angular momentum, electric charge, and entropy\nare attributed. In this paper, we apply this powerful method to the $f(R)$\ngravitational theories accompanied by the terms quadratic in the Riemann and\nRicci tensors. Furthermore, conserved charges and the first law of\nthermodynamics for some of their black hole solutions are exemplified. The\nexamples include warped AdS$_3$, charged static BTZ, and 3-dimensional $z=3$\nLifshitz black holes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Conformal spacelike-timelike correspondence in QCD: This paper is a study of a spacelike-timelike conformal correspondence in\nQCD. When the times at vertices are fixed in an A_+ = 0 gauge calculation the\ndistribution of gluons in a highly virtual decay have an exact correspondence\nwith the gluons in the lightcone wavefunction of a high energy dipole with the\nidentification of angles in the timelike case and transverse coordinates in the\nlightcone wavefunction. Divergences show up when the time integrals are done. A\nprocedure for dropping these divergences, analogous to the Gell-Mann Low\nprocedure in QED, allows one to define a conformal QCD, at least through NLO.\nPossible uses of such a conformal QCD are discussed.",
        "positive": "Normal Coordinates and Primitive Elements in the Hopf Algebra of\n  Renormalization: We introduce normal coordinates on the infinite dimensional group $G$\nintroduced by Connes and Kreimer in their analysis of the Hopf algebra of\nrooted trees. We study the primitive elements of the algebra and show that they\nare generated by a simple application of the inverse Poincar\\'e lemma, given a\nclosed left invariant 1-form on $G$. For the special case of the ladder\nprimitives, we find a second description that relates them to the Hopf algebra\nof functionals on power series with the usual product. Either approach shows\nthat the ladder primitives are given by the Schur polynomials. The relevance of\nthe lower central series of the dual Lie algebra in the process of\nrenormalization is also discussed, leading to a natural concept of\n$k$-primitiveness, which is shown to be equivalent to the one already in the\nliterature."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Classification of BPS instantons in N=4 D=4 supergravity: This talk is based on the recent work in collaboration with M.\nAzreg-A\\\"{\\i}nou and G. Cl\\'ement devoted to extremal instantons in the\none-vector truncation of the Euclidean $\\mathcal{N}=4,\\, D=4$ theory. Extremal\nsolutions satisfying the no-force condition can be associated with null\ngeodesic curves in the homogeneous target space of the three-dimensional sigma\nmodel arising in toroidal reduction of the four-dimensional theory. Here we\n(preliminarily) discuss the case of two vector fields sufficient to find all\nrelevant metrics in the full $\\mathcal{N}=4,\\, D=4$ theory. Classification of\ninstanton solutions is given along the following lines. The first is their\npossible asymptotic structure: asymptotically locally flat (ALF),\nasymptotically locally Euclidean (ALE) and ALF or ALE with the dilaton growing\nat infinity. The second is the algebraic characterization of matrix generators\naccording to their rank and the nature of the charge vectors in an associated\nLorentzian space. Finally, solutions are distinguished by the number of\nindependent harmonic functions with unequal charges (up to four).",
        "positive": "Non-Lorentzian RG flows and Supersymmetry: We describe a general process where a non-Lorentzian rescaling of a\nsupersymmetric field theory leads to a scale-invariant fixed point action\nwithout Lorentz invariance but where the supersymmetry is preserved or even\nenhanced. We apply this procedure to five-dimensional maximally supersymmetric\nsuper-Yang-Mills, leading to a field theory with 24 super(conformal)\nsymmetries. We also apply this procedure to the BLG model with 32\nsuper(conformal) symmetries and ABJM models with 24 super(conformal)\nsymmetries."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Influence functionals, decoherence and conformally coupled scalars: Some of the simplest modifications to general relativity involve the coupling\nof additional scalar fields to the scalar curvature. By making a Weyl rescaling\nof the metric, these theories can be mapped to Einstein gravity with the\nadditional scalar fields instead being coupled universally to matter. The\nresulting couplings to matter give rise to scalar fifth forces, which can evade\nthe stringent constraints from local tests of gravity by means of so-called\nscreening mechanisms. In this talk, we derive evolution equations for the\nmatrix elements of the reduced density operator of a toy matter sector by means\nof the Feynman-Vernon influence functional. In particular, we employ a novel\napproach akin to the LSZ reduction more familiar to scattering-matrix theory.\nThe resulting equations allow the analysis, for instance, of decoherence\ninduced in atom-interferometry experiments by these classes of modified\ntheories of gravity.",
        "positive": "An effective field theory of damped ferromagnetic systems: Using the in-in formalism, we generalize the recently constructed\nmagnetoelastic EFT arXiv:2112.13873 [hep-th] to describe the damping dynamics\nof ferromagnetic systems at long wavelengths. We find that the standard Gilbert\ndamping term naturally arises as the simplest leading-order symmetry-consistent\nnon-conservative contribution within the in-in framework. The EFT is easily\ngeneralized to scenarios with anisotropy and inhomogeneity. In particular, we\nfind the classic Landau-Lifshitz damping term emerges when isotropy is broken\nby a constant external background field. This provides a first principle\nexplanation for distinguishing the two types of damping dynamics that were\noriginally constructed phenomenologically. Furthermore, the EFT framework could\nalso incorporate intrinsic anisotropy of the material in a straightforward way\nusing the spurion method. For systems with inhomogeneity such as nontrivial\nspin textures, we find that the leading order derivative correction yields the\ngeneralized Gilbert damping equations that were found in condensed matter\nliterature. This shows that the EFT approach enables us to derive the form of\nhigher-derivative-order corrections in a systematic way. Lastly, using the\nphonon-magnon coupling deduced in the magnetoelastic EFT, we are able to make a\nprediction for the generic form of the phononic contribution to the damping\nequation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Scattering with partial information: We study relativistic scattering when one only has access to a subset of the\nparticles, using the language of quantum measurement theory. We give an exact,\nnon-perturbative formula for the von Neumann entanglement entropy of an\napparatus particle scattered off an arbitrary set of system particles, in\neither the elastic or inelastic regime, and show how to evaluate it\nperturbatively. We give general formulas for the late-time expectation values\nof apparatus observables. Some simple example applications are included: in\nparticular, a protocol to verify preparation of coherent superpositions of\nspatially localized system states using position-space information in the\noutgoing apparatus state, at lowest order in perturbation theory in a weak\napparatus-system coupling.",
        "positive": "Duality Between String Junctions and D-Branes on Del Pezzo Surfaces: We revisit local mirror symmetry associated with del Pezzo surfaces in\nCalabi-Yau threefolds in view of five-dimensional N=1 E_N theories compactified\non a circle. The mirror partner of singular Calabi-Yau with a shrinking del\nPezzo four-cycle is described as the affine 7-brane backgrounds probed by a\nD3-brane. Evaluating the mirror map and the BPS central charge we relate\njunction charges to RR charges of D-branes wrapped on del Pezzo surfaces. This\nenables us to determine how the string junctions are mapped to D-branes on del\nPezzo surfaces."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Emerging Hawking-like Radiation from Gravitational Bremsstrahlung Beyond\n  the Planck Scale: We argue that, as a consequence of the graviton's spin-2, its bremsstrahlung\nin trans-planckian-energy ($E\\gg M_P$) gravitational scattering at small\ndeflection angle can be nicely expressed in terms of helicity-transformation\nphases and their transfer within the scattering process. The resulting spectrum\nexhibits deeply sub-planckian characteristic energies of order $M_P^2/E \\ll\nM_P$ (reminiscent of Hawking radiation), a suppressed fragmentation region, and\na reduced rapidity plateau, in broad agreement with recent classical estimates.",
        "positive": "Twistors and the massive spinning particle: Gauge-invariant twistor variables are found for the massive spinning particle\nwith N-extended local worldline supersymmetry, in spacetime dimensions D=3,4,6.\nThe twistor action is manifestly Lorentz invariant but the anticommuting spin\nvariables appear exactly as in the non-relativistic limit. This allows a simple\nconfirmation that the quantum N=2 spinning particle has either spin one or spin\nzero, and that N>2 is quantum inconsistent for D=4,6."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Comments on twisted indices in 3d supersymmetric gauge theories: We study three-dimensional ${\\mathcal N}=2$ supersymmetric gauge theories on\n${\\Sigma_g \\times S^1}$ with a topological twist along $\\Sigma_g$, a genus-$g$\nRiemann surface. The twisted supersymmetric index at genus $g$ and the\ncorrelation functions of half-BPS loop operators on $S^1$ can be computed\nexactly by supersymmetric localization. For $g=1$, this gives a simple UV\ncomputation of the 3d Witten index. Twisted indices provide us with a clean\nderivation of the quantum algebra of supersymmetric Wilson loops, for any\nYang-Mills-Chern-Simons-matter theory, in terms of the associated Bethe\nequations for the theory on ${\\mathbb R}^2 \\times S^1$. This also provides a\npowerful and simple tool to study 3d ${\\mathcal N}=2$ Seiberg dualities.\nFinally, we study A- and B-twisted indices for ${\\mathcal N}=4$ supersymmetric\ngauge theories, which turns out to be very useful for quantitative studies of\nthree-dimensional mirror symmetry. We also briefly comment on a relation\nbetween the $S^2 \\times S^1$ twisted indices and the Hilbert series of\n${\\mathcal N}=4$ moduli spaces.",
        "positive": "The information paradox and the locality bound: Hawking's argument for information loss in black hole evaporation rests on\nthe assumption of independent Hilbert spaces for the interior and exterior of a\nblack hole. We argue that such independence cannot be established without\nincorporating strong gravitational effects that undermine locality and\ninvalidate the use of quantum field theory in a semiclassical background\ngeometry. These considerations should also play a role in a deeper\nunderstanding of horizon complementarity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Symplectic and Poisson Geometry on Loop Spaces of Manifolds and\n  Nonlinear Equations: We consider some differential geometric classes of local and nonlocal Poisson\nand symplectic structures on loop spaces of smooth manifolds which give natural\nHamiltonian and multihamiltonian representations for some important nonlinear\nequations of mathematical physics and field theory such as nonlinear sigma\nmodels with torsion, degenerate Lagrangian systems of field theory, systems of\nhydrodynamic type, N-component systems of Heisenberg magnet type,\nMonge-Amp\\`ere equations, the Krichever-Novikov equation and others. In\naddition, we shall prove integrability of some class of nonhomogeneous systems\nof hydrodynamic type and give a description of nonlinear partial differential\nequations of associativity in $2D$ topological field theories (for some special\ntype solutions of the Witten-Dijkgraaf-E.Verlinde-H.Verlinde (WDVV) system) as\nintegrable nondiagonalizable weakly nonlinear homogeneous systems of\nhydrodynamic type.",
        "positive": "Electroweak vacuum decay in metric-affine gravity: We investigate the stability of the electroweak vacuum in metric-affine\ngravity in which the Standard Model Higgs boson can be non-minimally coupled to\nboth the Ricci scalar and the Holst invariant. We find that vacuum stability is\nimproved in this framework across a wide range of model parameters."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauging Unbroken Symmetries in F-theory: F-theory attempts to include all U-dualities manifestly. Unlike its T-dual\nmanifest partner, which is based on string current algebra, F-theory is based\non higher dimensional brane current algebra. Like the T-dual manifest theory,\nwhich has $O(D-1,1)^2$ unbroken symmetry, the F-theory vacuum also enjoys\ncertain symmetries (\"$H$\"). One of its important and exotic properties is that\nworldvolume indices are also spacetime indices. This makes the global brane\ncurrent algebra incompatible with $H$ symmetry currents. The solution is to\nintroduce worldvolume covariant derivatives, which depend on the $H$\ncoordinates even in a \"flat\" background. We will also give as an explicit\nexample the 5-brane case.",
        "positive": "Non-local observables at finite temperature in AdS/CFT: Within gauge/gravity duality, we consider the AdS-Schwarzschild metric in\narbitrary dimensions. We obtain analytical closed-form results for the\ntwo-point function, Wilson loop and entanglement entropy for strip geometries\nin the finite-temperature field-theory dual. According to the duality, these\nare given by the area of minimal surfaces of different dimension in the gravity\nbackground. Our analytical results involve generalised hypergeometric\nfunctions. We show that they reproduce known numerical results to great\naccuracy. Our results allow to identify new physical behaviour: For instance,\nwe consider the entanglement density, i.e. the difference of entanglement\nentropies at finite and vanishing temperature divided by the volume of the\nentangling region. For field theories of dimension seven or higher, we find\nthat the entanglement density displays non-monotonic behaviour as function of\nl*T, with l the strip width and T the temperature. This implies that the area\ntheorem, proven for RG flows in general dimensions, does not apply here. This\nmay signal the emergence of new degrees of freedom for AdS Schwarzschild black\nholes in eight or more dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "From relativistic quantum fields to condensed matter and back again:\n  Updating the Gross-Neveu phase diagram: During the last few years, the phase diagram of the large N Gross-Neveu model\nin 1+1 dimensions at finite temperature and chemical potential has undergone a\nmajor revision. Here we present a streamlined account of this development,\ncollecting the most important results. Quasi-one-dimensional condensed matter\nsystems like conducting polymers provide real physical systems which can be\napproximately described by the Gross-Neveu model and have played some role in\nestablishing its phase structure. The kink-antikink phase found at low\ntemperatures is closely related to inhomogeneous superconductors in the\nLarkin-Ovchinnikov-Fulde-Ferrell phase. With the complete phase diagram at\nhand, the Gross-Neveu model can now serve as a firm testing ground for new\nalgorithms and theoretical ideas.",
        "positive": "CPT anomaly in two-dimensional chiral U(1) gauge theories: The CPT anomaly, which was first seen in perturbation theory for certain\nfour-dimensional chiral gauge theories, is also present in the exact result for\na class of two-dimensional chiral U(1) gauge theories on the torus.\nSpecifically, the chiral determinant for periodic fermion fields changes sign\nunder a CPT transformation of the background gauge field. There is, in fact, an\nanomaly of Lorentz invariance, which allows for the CPT theorem to be\ncircumvented."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "String Junctions and Holographic Interfaces: In this paper we study half-BPS type IIB supergravity solutions with multiple\n$AdS_3\\times S^3\\times M_4$ asymptotic regions, where $M_4$ is either $T^4$ or\n$K_3$. These solutions were first constructed in [1] and have geometries given\nby the warped product of $AdS_2 \\times S^2 \\times M_4 $ over $\\Sigma$, where\n$\\Sigma$ is a Riemann surface. We show that the holographic boundary has the\nstructure of a star graph, i.e. $n$ half-lines joined at a point. The attractor\nmechanism and the relation of the solutions to junctions of self-dual strings\nin six-dimensional supergravity are discussed. The solutions of [1] are\nconstructed introducing two meromorphic and two harmonic functions defined on\n$\\Sigma$. We focus our analysis on solutions corresponding to junctions of\nthree different conformal field theories and show that the conditions for\nhaving a solution charged only under Ramond-Ramond three-form fields reduce to\nrelations involving the positions of the poles and the residues of the relevant\nharmonic and meromorphic functions. The degeneration limit in which some of the\npoles collide is analyzed in detail. Finally, we calculate the holographic\nboundary entropy for a junction of three CFTs and obtain a simple expression in\nterms of poles and residues.",
        "positive": "Cosmology at the end of the world: In the last two decades the Anti-de Sitter/Conformal Field Theory\ncorrespondence (AdS/CFT) has emerged as focal point of many research interests.\nIn particular, it functions as a stepping stone to a still missing full quantum\ntheory of gravity. In this context, a pivotal question is if and how\ncosmological physics can be studied using AdS/CFT. Motivated by string theory,\nbraneworld cosmologies propose that our universe is a four-dimensional membrane\nembedded in a bulk five-dimensional AdS spacetime. We show how such a scenario\ncan be microscopically realized in AdS/CFT using special field theory states\ndual to an \"end-of-the-world brane\" moving in a charged black hole spacetime.\nObservers on the brane experience cosmological physics and approximately\nfour-dimensional gravity, at least locally in spacetime. This result opens a\nnew path towards a description of quantum cosmology and the simulation of\ncosmology on quantum machines."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Low Energy Dynamics of Monopoles in Supersymmetric Yang-Mills Theories\n  with Hypermultiplets: We derive the low energy dynamics of monopoles and dyons in N=2\nsupersymmetric Yang-Mills theories with hypermultiplets in arbitrary\nrepresentations by utilizing a collective coordinate expansion. We consider the\nmost general case that Higgs fields both in the vector multiplet and in the\nhypermultiplets have nonzero vacuum expectation values. The resulting theory is\na supersymmetric quantum mechanics which has been obtained by a nontrivial\ndimensional reduction of two-dimensional (4,0) supersymmetric sigma models with\npotentials.",
        "positive": "Viability of f(R) Theories with Additional Powers of Curvature: We consider a modified gravity theory, f(R)=R-a/R^n+bR^m, in the metric\nformulation, which has been suggested to produce late time acceleration in the\nUniverse, whilst satisfying local fifth-force constraints. We investigate the\nparameter range for this theory, considering the regimes of early and late-time\nacceleration, Big Bang Nucleosynthesis and fifth-force constraints. We conclude\nthat it is difficult to find a unique range of parameters for consistency of\nthis theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Consistent truncation of eleven-dimensional supergravity on $S^8\\times\n  S^1$: Eleven-dimensional supergravity on $S^8\\times S^1$ is conjectured to be dual\nto the M-theory matrix model. We prove that the dynamics of a subset of\nfluctuations around this background is consistently described by D=2 SO(9)\ngauged maximal supergravity. We provide the full non-linear uplift formulae for\nall bosonic fields. We also present a further truncation to the\nSO(3)$\\times$SO(6) invariant sector and discuss its relation to the BMN matrix\nmodel at finite temperature. The construction relies on the framework of\ngeneralised Scherk-Schwarz reductions, established for E$_9$ exceptional field\ntheory in a companion paper. As a by-product, we severely constrain the most\ngeneral gauge deformations in D=2 admitting an uplift to higher dimensions.",
        "positive": "Scaling in quantum gravity: The 2-point function is the natural object in quantum gravity for extracting\ncritical behavior: The exponential fall off of the 2-point function with\ngeodesic distance determines the fractal dimension $d_H$ of space-time. The\nintegral of the 2-point function determines the entropy exponent $\\gamma$, i.e.\nthe fractal structure related to baby universes, while the short distance\nbehavior of the 2-point function connects $\\gamma$ and $d_H$ by a quantum\ngravity version of Fisher's scaling relation. We verify this behavior in the\ncase of 2d gravity by explicit calculation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetry and non-Abelian T-duality in type II supergravity: We study the effect of T-duality on supersymmetry in the context of type II\nsupergravity. For both U(1) Abelian and SU(2) non-Abelian T-duality, we\ndemonstrate that the supersymmetry variations after T-duality are related to\nthe variations before T-duality through the Kosmann spinorial Lie derivative,\nwhich vanishes when the Killing spinors are independent of the T-duality\ndirections. As a byproduct of our analysis, we present closed expressions for\nSU(2) T-duality in a class of spacetimes with diagonal Bianchi IX symmetry and\ncomment on specific examples of T-dual geometries, including a novel AdS3\ngeometry with large N = (0,4) superconformal symmetry.",
        "positive": "Noncommutative Solitons on Orbifolds: In the noncommutative field theory of open strings in a B-field, D-branes\narise as solitons described as projection operators or partial isometries in a\n$C^*$ algebra. We discuss how D-branes on orbifolds fit naturally into this\nalgebraic framework, through the examples of $R^n/G$, $T^n=R^n/Z^n$, and\n$T^n/G$. We also propose a framework for formulating D-branes on asymmetric\norbifolds."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Critical Wilson Lines in Toroidal Compactifications of Heteroric Strings: Critical values of Wilson lines and general background fields for toroidal\ncompactifications of heterotic string theories are constructed systematically\nusing Dynkin diagrams.",
        "positive": "Warped Resolved L^{a,b,c} Cones: We construct supergravity solutions describing a stack of D3-branes localized\nat a point on a blown-up cycle of a resolved L^{a,b,c} cone. The geometry flows\nfrom AdS_5 x L^{a,b,c} to AdS_5 x S^5/Z_k. The corresponding quiver gauge\ntheory undergoes an RG flow between two superconformal fixed points, which\nleads to semi-infinite chains of flows between the various L^{a,b,c} fixed\npoints. The general system is described by a triplet of Heun equations which\ncan each be solved by an expansion with a three-term recursion relation, though\nthere are closed-form solutions for certain cases. This enables us to read off\nthe operators which acquire non-zero vacuum expectation values as the quiver\ngauge theory flows away from a fixed point."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "An Implication of \"Gravity as the Weakest Force\": The negative specific heat of a radiating black hole is indicative of a\ncataclysmic endpoint to the evaporation process. In this letter, we suggest a\nsimple mechanism for circumventing such a dramatic outcome. The basis for our\nargument is a conjecture that was recently proposed by Arkani-Hamed and\ncollaborators. To put it another way, we use their notion of ``Gravity as the\nWeakest Force'' as a means of inhibiting the process of black hole evaporation.",
        "positive": "String theory as a diffusing system: Recent results on the effective non-local dynamics of the tachyon mode of\nopen string field theory (OSFT) show that approximate solutions can be\nconstructed which obey the diffusion equation. We argue that this structure is\ninherited from the full theory, where it admits a universal formulation. In\nfact, all known exact OSFT solutions are superpositions of diffusing surface\nstates. In particular, the diffusion equation is a spacetime manifestation of\nOSFT gauge symmetries."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Cosmic censorship in Lovelock theory: In analyzing maximally symmetric Lovelock black holes with non-planar horizon\ntopologies, many novel features have been observed. The existence of finite\nradius singularities, a mass gap in the black hole spectrum and solutions\ndisplaying multiple horizons are noteworthy examples. Naively, in all these\ncases, the appearance of naked singularities seems unavoidable, leading to the\nquestion of whether these theories are consistent gravity theories. We address\nthis question and show that whenever the cosmic censorship conjecture is\nthreaten, an instability generically shows up driving the system to a new\nconfiguration with presumably no naked singularities. Also, the same kind of\ninstability shows up in the process of spherical black holes evaporation in\nthese theories, suggesting a new phase for their decay. We find circumstantial\nevidence indicating that, contrary to many claims in the literature, the cosmic\ncensorship hypothesis holds in Lovelock theory.",
        "positive": "Higgs Mass and Noncommutative Geometry: We show that the description of the electroweak interactions based on\nnoncommutative geometry of a continuous and a discrete space gives no special\nrelations between the Higgs mass and other parameters of the model. We prove\nthat there exists a gauge invariant term, linear in the curvature, which is\ntrivial in the standard differential geometry but nontrivial in the case of the\ndiscrete geometry. The relations could appear only if one neglects this term,\notherwise one gets the Lagrangian of the Standard model with the exact number\nof free parameters."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Q-operators, Yangian invariance and the quantum inverse scattering\n  method: Inspired by the integrable structures appearing in weakly coupled planar N=4\nsuper Yang-Mills theory, we study Q-operators and Yangian invariants of\nrational integrable spin chains. We review the quantum inverse scattering\nmethod along with the Yang-Baxter equation which is the key relation in this\nsystematic approach to study integrable models. Our main interest concerns\nrational integrable spin chains and lattice models. We recall the relation\namong them and how they can be solved using Bethe ansatz methods incorporating\nso-called Q-functions. In order to remind the reader how the Yangian emerges in\nthis context, an overview of its so-called RTT-realization is provided. The\nmain part is based on the author's original publications. Firstly, we construct\nQ-operators whose eigenvalues yield the Q-functions for rational homogeneous\nspin chains. The Q-operators are introduced as traces over certain monodromies\nof R-operators. Our construction allows us to derive the hierarchy of commuting\nQ-operators and the functional relations among them. We study how the\nnearest-neighbor Hamiltonian and in principle also higher local charges can be\nextracted from the Q-operators directly. Secondly, we formulate the Yangian\ninvariance condition, also studied in relation to scattering amplitudes of N=4\nsuper Yang-Mills theory, in the RTT-realization. We find that Yangian\ninvariants can be interpreted as special eigenvectors of certain inhomogeneous\nspin chains. This allows us to apply the algebraic Bethe ansatz and derive the\ncorresponding Bethe equations that are relevant to construct the invariants. We\nexamine the connection between the Yangian invariant spin chain eigenstates\nwhose components can be understood as partition functions of certain 2d lattice\nmodels and tree-level scattering amplitudes of the four-dimensional gauge\ntheory. Finally, we conclude and discuss some future directions.",
        "positive": "An extended model for monopole catalysis of nucleon decay: A new model for monopole catalysis of nucleon decay is proposed. Unlike in\nthe earlier one, the only light fields in this model are the photon and Skyrme\n(pion) field. The model admits the 't Hooft- Polyakov monopole and Skyrmion as\nclassical solutions, while baryon number non-conservation occurs through an\nanomaly involving an intermediate mass axial vector field resembling W- and\nZ-bosons. By considering spherically symmetric monopole-Skyrmion\nconfigurations, we find that the Skyrmion looses essentially all its mass when\ninteracting with the monopole, which is phenomenologically identical to the\nmonopole catalysis of nucleon decay. Short-distance monopole-Skyrmion physics\nin this model is interesting too, as there exist almost degenerate metastable\nmonopole-Skyrmion bound states separated by substantial energy barriers. Yet\nthe heights of the latter are much smaller than the physical nucleon mass, so\nthe complete disappearance of the normal undeformed Skyrmion remains perfectly\npossible in Skyrmion-monopole scattering."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Virtual Color-Kinematics Duality: 6-pt 1-Loop MHV Amplitudes: We study 1-loop MHV amplitudes in N=4 super Yang-Mills theory and in N=8\nsupergravity. For Yang-Mills we find that the simple form for the full\namplitude presented by Del Duca, Dixon and Maltoni naturally leads to one that\nhas physical residues on all compact contours. After expanding the simple form\nin terms of standard scalar integrals, we introduce redundancies under certain\nsymmetry considerations to impose the color-kinematics duality of Bern,\nCarrasco and Johansson (BCJ). For five particles we directly find the results\nof Carrasco and Johansson as well as a new compact form for the supergravity\namplitude. For six particles we find that all kinematic dual Jacobi identities\nare encapsulated in a single functional equation relating the expansion\ncoefficients. By the BCJ double-copy construction we obtain a formula for the\ncorresponding N=8 supergravity amplitude. Quite surprisingly, all physical\ninformation becomes independent of the expansion coefficients modulo the\nfunctional equation. In other words, there is no need to solve the functional\nequation at all. This is quite welcome as the functional equation we find,\nusing our restricted set of redundancies, actually has no solutions. For this\nreason we call these results virtual color-kinematics duality. We end with\nspeculations about the meaning of an interesting global vs. local feature of\nthe functional equation and the situation at higher points.",
        "positive": "Gravitational Lorentz Violation and Superluminality via AdS/CFT Duality: A weak quantum mechanical coupling is constructed permitting superluminal\ncommunication within a preferred region of a gravitating AdS_5 spacetime. This\nis achieved by adding a spatially non-local perturbation of a special kind to\nthe Hamiltonian of a four-dimensional conformal field theory with a\nweakly-coupled AdS dual, such as maximally supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory. In\nparticular, two issues are given careful treatment: (1) the UV-completeness of\nour deformed CFT, guaranteeing the existence of a ``deformed string theory''\nAdS dual, and (2) the demonstration that superluminal effects can take place in\nAdS, both on its boundary as well as in the bulk. Exotic Lorentz-violating\nproperties such as these may have implications for tests of General Relativity,\naddressing the cosmological constant problem, or probing \"behind'' horizons.\nOur construction may give insight into the interpretation of wormhole solutions\nin Euclidean AdS gravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Complex instantons in sigma models with chemical potential: We analyze two-dimensional nonlinear sigma models at nonzero chemical\npotentials, which are governed by a complex action. In the spirit of contour\ndeformations (thimbles) we extend the fields into the complex plane, which\nallows to incorporate the chemical potentials mu as twisted boundary\nconditions. We write down the equations of motion and find exact BPS-like\nsolutions in terms of pairs of (anti)holomorphic functions, in particular\ngeneralizations of unit charge and fractional instantons to generic mu. The\ndecay of these solutions is controled by the imaginary part of mu and a\nvanishing imaginary part causes jumps in the action. We analyze how the total\ncharge is distributed into localized objects and to what extent these are\ncharacterized by topology.",
        "positive": "A universal conformal field theory approach to the chiral persistent\n  currents in the mesoscopic fractional quantum Hall states: We propose a general and compact scheme for the computation of the periods\nand amplitudes of the chiral persistent currents, magnetizations and magnetic\nsusceptibilities in mesoscopic fractional quantum Hall disk samples threaded by\nAharonov--Bohm magnetic field. This universal approach uses the effective\nconformal field theory for the edge states in the quantum Hall effect to derive\nexplicit formulas for the corresponding partition functions in presence of\nflux. We point out the crucial role of a special invariance condition for the\npartition function, following from the Bloch-Byers-Yang theorem, which\nrepresents the Laughlin spectral flow. As an example we apply this procedure to\nthe Z_k parafermion Hall states and show that they have universal non-Fermi\nliquid behavior without anomalous oscillations. For the analysis of the\nhigh-temperature asymptotics of the persistent currents in the parafermion\nstates we derive the modular S-matrices constructed from the S matrices for the\nu(1) sector and that for the neutral parafermion sector which is realized as a\ndiagonal affine coset."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chiral anomaly induces superconducting baryon crystal: It was previously shown within chiral perturbation theory that the ground\nstate of QCD in a sufficiently large magnetic field and at nonvanishing, but\nnot too large, baryon chemical potential is a so-called chiral soliton lattice.\nThe crucial ingredient of this observation was the chiral anomaly in the form\nof a Wess-Zumino-Witten term, which couples the baryon chemical potential to\nthe magnetic field and the gradient of the neutral pion field. It was also\nshown that the chiral soliton lattice becomes unstable towards charged pion\ncondensation at larger magnetic fields. We point out that this instability\nbears a striking resemblance to the second critical magnetic field of a type-II\nsuperconductor, however with the superconducting phase appearing upon\nincreasing the magnetic field. The resulting phase has a periodically varying\ncharged pion condensate that coexists with a neutral pion supercurrent. We\nconstruct this phase analytically in the chiral limit and show that it is\nenergetically preferred. Just like an ordinary type-II superconductor, it\nexhibits a hexagonal array of magnetic flux tubes, and, due to the chiral\nanomaly, a spatially oscillating baryon number of the same crystalline\nstructure.",
        "positive": "The orthogonality relations for the supergroup $U(m|n)$: Starting from the generalization of the Itzykson-Zuber integral for $U(m|n)$\nwe determine the orthogonality relations for this supergroup."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On perturbative instability of Pope-Warner solutions on Sasaki-Einstein\n  manifolds: Given a Sasaki-Einstein manifold, M_7, there is the N=2 supersymmetric AdS_4\nx M_7 Freund-Rubin solution of eleven-dimensional supergravity and the\ncorresponding non-supersymmetric solutions: the perturbatively stable\nskew-whiffed solution, the perturbatively unstable Englert solution, and the\nPope-Warner solution, which is known to be perturbatively unstable when M_7 is\nthe seven-sphere or, more generally, a tri-Sasakian manifold. We show that\nsimilar perturbative instability of the Pope-Warner solution will arise for any\nSasaki-Einstein manifold, M_7, admitting a basic, primitive, transverse\n(1,1)-eigenform of the Hodge-de Rham Laplacian with the eigenvalue in the range\nbetween 2(9-4\\sqrt 3) and 2(9+4\\sqrt 3). Existence of such (1,1)-forms on all\nhomogeneous Sasaki-Einstein manifolds can be shown explicitly using the Kahler\nquotient construction or the standard harmonic expansion. The latter shows that\nthe instability arises from the coupling between the Pope-Warner background and\nKaluza-Klein scalar modes that at the supersymmetric point lie in a long\nZ-vector supermultiplet. We also verify that the instability persists for the\norbifolds of homogeneous Sasaki-Einstein manifolds that have been discussed\nrecently.",
        "positive": "Effective action of three-dimensional extended supersymmetric matter on\n  gauge superfield background: We study the low-energy effective actions for gauge superfields induced by\nquantum N=2 and N=4 supersymmetric matter fields in three-dimensional Minkowski\nspace. Analyzing the superconformal invariants in the N=2 superspace we propose\na general form of the N=2 gauge invariant and superconformal effective action.\nThe leading terms in this action are fixed by the symmetry up to the\ncoefficients while the higher order terms with respect to the Maxwell field\nstrength are found up to one arbitrary function of quasi-primary N=2\nsuperfields constructed from the superfield strength and its covariant spinor\nderivatives. Then we find this function and the coefficients by direct quantum\ncomputations in the N=2 superspace. The effective action of N=4 gauge multiplet\nis obtained by generalizing the N=2 effective action."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Problem of Extended Special Relativity Creation: This paper presents an approach to the creation of a variant of Extended\nSpecial Relativity that takes into consideration the existence of limiting\nrelativistically invariant quantities (Planck parameters). It shows the\npossibility of excluding unphysical predictions of relativity theories thanks\nto the use of the concept of the maximum velocity of the observed motion of\nobjects. It proposes a model of a vacuum-like medium with a kinematical\nproperty of relativistically invariant rest. The Planck quantities are\nconsidered as fundamental physical constants related to the structure of this\nmedium.",
        "positive": "$\\mathcal{N}=3$ conformal superspace in four dimensions: We develop a superspace formulation for ${\\cal N}=3$ conformal supergravity\nin four spacetime dimensions as a gauge theory of the superconformal group\n$\\mathsf{SU}(2,2|3)$. Upon imposing certain covariant constraints, the algebra\nof conformally covariant derivatives $\\nabla_A =\n(\\nabla_a,\\nabla_\\alpha^i,\\bar{\\nabla}_i^{\\dot \\alpha})$ is shown to be\ndetermined in terms of a single primary chiral spinor superfield, the\nsuper-Weyl spinor $W_\\alpha$ of dimension $+1/2$ and its conjugate. Associated\nwith $W_\\alpha$ is its primary descendant $B^i{}_j$ of dimension $+2$, the\nsuper-Bach tensor, which determines the equation of motion for conformal\nsupergravity. As an application of this construction, we present two different\nbut equivalent action principles for ${\\cal N}=3$ conformal supergravity. We\ndescribe the model for linearised $\\mathcal{N}=3$ conformal supergravity in an\narbitrary conformally flat background and demonstrate that it possesses\n$\\mathsf{U}(1)$ duality invariance. Additionally, upon degauging certain local\nsymmetries, our superspace geometry is shown to reduce to the $\\mathsf{U}(3)$\nsuperspace constructed by Howe more than four decades ago. Further degauging\nproves to lead to a new superspace formalism, called $\\mathsf{SU}(3) $\nsuperspace, which can also be used to describe ${\\mathcal N}=3$ conformal\nsupergravity. Our conformal superspace setting opens up the possibility to\nformulate the dynamics of the off-shell ${\\mathcal N}=3$ super Yang-Mills\ntheory coupled to conformal supergravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exponential fall-off Behavior of Regge Scatterings in Compactified Open\n  String Theory: We calculate massive string scattering amplitudes of compactified open string\nin the Regge regime. We extract the complete infinite ratios among high-energy\namplitudes of different string states in the fixed angle regime from these\nRegge string scattering amplitudes. The complete ratios calculated by this\nindirect method include and extend the subset of ratios calculated previously\n(Lee and Yang, 2007, and Lee, Takimi, and Yang, 2008) by the more difficult\ndirect fixed angle calculation. In this calculation of compactified open string\nscattering, we discover a realization of arbitrary real values L in the\nidentity Eq.(4.18), rather than integer value only in all previous high-energy\nstring scattering amplitude calculations. The identity in Eq.(4.18) was\nexplicitly proved recently in Lee, Yan, and Yang to link fixed angle and Regge\nstring scattering amplitudes. In addition, we discover a kinematic regime with\nstringy highly winding modes, which shows the unusual exponential fall-off\nbehavior in the Regge string scattering. This is in complementary with a\nkenematic regime discovered previously (Lee, Takimi, and Yang, 2008), which\nshows the unusual power-law behavior in the high-energy fixed angle\ncompactified string scatterings. Key words: Regge string scatterings;\nHigh-energy String",
        "positive": "The String Worldsheet as the Holographic Dual of SYK State: Recent studies of the fluctuations of an open string in AdS space show some\npieces of evidence that the string with a worldsheet horizon could be a dual\ndescription of SYK model, as they saturate universal chaos bound and share the\nsame symmetry. An open string hangs from the AdS boundary to the horizon of\nblack brane could be dual to a 0+1 dimensional boundary state. To be specific,\nwe find that the fluctuation of the string in charged BTZ black hole has an\nasymptotic scaling symmetry, and its Euclidean IR fixed point is governed by\nthe quadratic order of Schwarzian action, which is just the low energy\neffective theory of the SYK model. Considering the open string worldsheet also\nhas natural reparametrization symmetry, we conjecture that the action of the\nstring worldsheet is a dual description of SYK state."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic Conductivity for Logarithmic Charged Dilaton-Lifshitz\n  Solutions: We disclose the effects of the logarithmic nonlinear electrodynamics on the\nholographic conductivity of Lifshitz dilaton black holes/branes. We analyze\nthermodynamics of these solutions as a necessary requirement for applying\ngauge/gravity duality, by calculating conserved and thermodynamic quantities\nsuch as the temperature, entropy, electric potential and mass of the black\nholes/branes. We calculate the holographic conductivity for a\n$(2+1)$-dimensional brane boundary and study its behavior in terms of the\nfrequency per temperature. Interestingly enough, we find out that, in contrast\nto the Lifshitz-Maxwell-dilaton black branes which has conductivity for all\n$z$, here in the presence of nonlinear gauge field, the holographic\nconductivity do exist provided $z\\leq3$ and vanishes for $z>3$. It is shown\nthat independent of the nonlinear parameter $\\beta$, the real part of the\nconductivity is the same for a specific value of frequency per temperature in\nboth AdS and Lifshitz cases. Besides, the behavior of real part of conductivity\nfor large frequencies has a positive slope with respect to large frequencies\nfor a system with Lifshitz symmetry whereas it tends to a constant for a system\nwith AdS symmetry. This behavior may be interpreted as existence of an\nadditional charge carrier rather than the AdS case, and is due to the presence\nof the scalar dilaton field in model. Similar behavior for optical conductivity\nof single-layer graphene induced by mild oxygen plasma exposure has been\nreported.",
        "positive": "Vacuum polarization in Schwarzschild space-time by anomaly induced\n  effective actions: The characteristic features of $<T_{\\mu\\nu}>$ in the Boulware, Unruh and\nHartle-Hawking states for a conformal massless scalar field propagating in the\nSchwarzschild space-time are obtained by means of effective actions deduced by\nthe trace anomaly. The actions are made local by the introduction of auxiliary\nfields and boundary conditions are carefully imposed on them in order to select\nthe different quantum states."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Black Holes and Attractors in Supergravity: We discuss some of the basic features of extremal black holes in\nfour-dimensional extended supergravities. Firstly, all regular solutions\ndisplay an attractor behavior for the scalar field evolution towards the black\nhole horizon. Secondly, they can be obtained by solving first order flow\nequations even when they are not supersymmetric, provided one identifies a\nsuitable superpotential W which also gives the black hole entropy at the\nhorizon and its ADM mass at spatial infinity. We focus on N=8 supergravity and\nwe review the basic role played by U-duality of the underlying supergravity in\ndetermining the attractors, their entropies, their masses and in classifying\nboth regular and singular extremal black holes.",
        "positive": "Topological Strings, Two-Dimensional Yang-Mills Theory and Chern-Simons\n  Theory on Torus Bundles: We study the relations between two-dimensional Yang-Mills theory on the\ntorus, topological string theory on a Calabi-Yau threefold whose local geometry\nis the sum of two line bundles over the torus, and Chern-Simons theory on torus\nbundles. The chiral partition function of the Yang-Mills gauge theory in the\nlarge N limit is shown to coincide with the topological string amplitude\ncomputed by topological vertex techniques. We use Yang-Mills theory as an\nefficient tool for the computation of Gromov-Witten invariants and derive\nexplicitly their relation with Hurwitz numbers of the torus. We calculate the\nGopakumar-Vafa invariants, whose integrality gives a non-trivial confirmation\nof the conjectured nonperturbative relation between two-dimensional Yang-Mills\ntheory and topological string theory. We also demonstrate how the gauge theory\nleads to a simple combinatorial solution for the Donaldson-Thomas theory of the\nCalabi-Yau background. We match the instanton representation of Yang-Mills\ntheory on the torus with the nonabelian localization of Chern-Simons gauge\ntheory on torus bundles over the circle. We also comment on how these results\ncan be applied to the computation of exact degeneracies of BPS black holes in\nthe local Calabi-Yau background."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Diffeomorphism-invariant observables and their nonlocal algebra: Gauge-invariant observables for quantum gravity are described, with explicit\nconstructions given primarily to leading order in Newton's constant, analogous\nto and extending constructions first given by Dirac in quantum electrodynamics.\nThese can be thought of as operators that create a particle, together with its\ninseparable gravitational field, and reduce to usual field operators of quantum\nfield theory in the weak-gravity limit; they include both Wilson-line\noperators, and those creating a Coulombic field configuration. We also describe\noperators creating the field of a particle in motion; as in the electromagnetic\ncase, these are expected to help address infrared problems. An important\ncharacteristic of the quantum theory of gravity is the algebra of its\nobservables. We show that the commutators of the simple observables of this\npaper are nonlocal, with nonlocality becoming significant in strong field\nregions, as predicted previously on general grounds.",
        "positive": "Electric-Magnetic Duality, Matrices, & Emergent Spacetime: This is a rough transcript of talks given at the Workshop on Groups &\nAlgebras in M Theory at Rutgers University, May 31--Jun 04, 2005. We review the\nbasic motivation for a pre-geometric formulation of nonperturbative String/M\ntheory, and for an underlying eleven-dimensional electric-magnetic duality,\nbased on our current understanding of the String/M Duality Web. We explain the\nconcept of an emerging spacetime geometry in the large N limit of a U(N) flavor\nmatrix Lagrangian, distinguishing our proposal from generic proposals for\nquantum geometry, and explaining why it can incorporate curved spacetime\nbackgrounds. We assess the significance of the extended symmetry algebra of the\nmatrix Lagrangian, raising the question of whether our goal should be a duality\ncovariant, or merely duality invariant, Lagrangian. We explain the conjectured\nisomorphism between the O(1/N) corrections in any given large N scaling limit\nof the matrix Lagrangian, and the corresponding alpha' corrections in a string\neffective Lagrangian describing some weak-coupling limit of the String/M\nDuality Web."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Late-time cosmology in (phantom) scalar-tensor theory: dark energy and\n  the cosmic speed-up: We consider late-time cosmology in a (phantom) scalar-tensor theory with an\nexponential potential, as a dark energy model with equation of state parameter\nclose to -1 (a bit above or below this value). Scalar (and also other kinds of)\nmatter can be easily taken into account. An exact spatially-flat FRW cosmology\nis constructed for such theory, which admits (eternal or transient)\nacceleration phases for the current universe, in correspondence with\nobservational results. Some remarks on the possible origin of the phantom,\nstarting from a more fundamental theory, are also made. It is shown that\nquantum gravity effects may prevent (or, at least, delay or soften) the cosmic\ndoomsday catastrophe associated with the phantom, i.e. the otherwise\nunavoidable finite-time future singularity (Big Rip). A novel dark energy model\n(higher-derivative scalar-tensor theory) is introduced and it is shown to admit\nan effective phantom/quintessence description with a transient acceleration\nphase. In this case, gravity favors that an initially insignificant portion of\ndark energy becomes dominant over the standard matter/radiation components in\nthe evolution process.",
        "positive": "The Relation Between KMOC and Worldline Formalisms for Classical Gravity: We demonstrate the equivalence between KMOC and worldline formalisms for\nclassical general relativity, highlighting how the Keldysh-Schwinger in-in\nformalism is contained in both of them even though the KMOC representation\nconventionally leads to the evaluation of scattering amplitudes with Feynman\npropagators. The relationship between the two approaches is illustrated in\ndetail for the momentum kick at second Post-Minkowskian order."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Instantons, Fermions and Chern-Simons Terms: In five spacetime dimensions, instantons are finite energy, solitonic\nparticles. We describe the dynamics of these objects in the presence of a\nChern-Simons interaction. For U(N) instantons, we show that the 5d Chern-Simons\nterm induces a corresponding Chern-Simons term in the ADHM quantum mechanics.\nFor SU(N) instantons, we provide a description in terms of geodesic motion on\nthe instanton moduli space, modified by the presence of a magnetic field. We\nshow that this magnetic field is equal to the first Chern character of an index\nbundle. All of these results are derived by a simple method which follows the\nfate of zero modes as fermions are introduced, made heavy, and subsequently\nintegrated out.",
        "positive": "Perturbation expansions at large order: Results for scalar field\n  theories revisited: The question of the asymptotic form of the perturbation expansion in scalar\nfield theories is reconsidered. Renewed interest in the computation of terms in\nthe epsilon-expansion, used to calculate critical exponents, has been\nfrustrated by the differing and incompatible results for the high-order\nbehaviour of the perturbation expansion reported in the literature. We identify\nthe sources of the errors made in earlier papers, correct them, and obtain a\nconsistent set of results. We focus on phi^4 theory, since this has been the\nmost studied and is the most widely used, but we also briefly discuss analogous\nresults for phi^N theory, with N>4. This reexamination of the structure of\nperturbation expansions raises issues concerning the renormalisation of\nnon-perturbative effects and the nature of the Feynman diagrams at large order,\nwhich we discuss."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "(Non-)Abelian Gauged Supergravities in Nine Dimensions: We construct five different two-parameter massive deformations of the unique\nnine-dimensional N=2 supergravity. All of these deformations have a\nhigher-dimensional origin via Scherk-Schwarz reduction and correspond to gauged\nsupergravities. The gauge groups we encounter are SO(2), SO(1,1)^+, R, R^+ and\nthe two-dimensional non-Abelian Lie group A(1), which consists of scalings and\ntranslations in one dimension.\n  We make a systematic search for half-supersymmetric domain walls and\nnon-supersymmetric de Sitter space solutions. Furthermore, we discuss in which\nsense the supergravities we have constructed can be considered as low-energy\nlimits of compactified superstring theory.",
        "positive": "Hamilton's equations in a non-associative quantum theory: A new non-associative algebra for the quantization of strongly interacting\nfields is proposed. The full set of quantum $(\\pm)$associators for the product\nof three operators is offered. An algorithm for the calculation of some\n$(\\pm)$associators for the product of some four operators is offered. The\npossible generalization of Hamilton's equations for a non-associative quantum\ntheory is proposed. Some arguments are given that a non-associative quantum\ntheory can be a fundamental unifying theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Problem of Large-N Phase Transition in Kazakov-Migdal Model of\n  Induced QCD: We study the lattice gauge model proposed recently by Kazakov and Migdal for\ninducing QCD. We discuss an extra local Z_N which is a symmetry of the model\nand propose of how to construct observables. We discuss the role of the large-N\nphase transition which should occur before the one associated with the\ncontinuum limit in order that the model describes continuum QCD. We formulate\nthe mean field approach to study the large-N phase transition for an arbitrary\npotential and show that no first order phase transition occurs for the\nquadratic potential.",
        "positive": "The Hamiltonian Approach to Yang-Mills (2+1): An Update and Corrections\n  to String Tension: Yang-Mills theories in 2+1 (or 3) dimensions are interesting as nontrivial\ngauge theories in their own right and as effective theories of QCD at high\ntemperatures. I shall review the basics of our Hamiltonian approach to this\ntheory, emphasizing symmetries with a short update on its status. We will show\nthat the calculation of the vacuum wave function for Yang-Mills theory in 2+1\ndimensions is in the lowest order of a systematic expansion. Expectation values\nof observables can be calculated using an effective interacting chiral boson\ntheory, which also leads to a natural expansion as a double series in the\ncoupling constant (to be interpreted within a resummed perturbation series) and\na particular kinematical factor. The calculation of the first set of\ncorrections in this expansion shows that the string tension is modified by\nabout -0.3% to -2.8% compared to the lowest order value. This is in good\nagreement with lattice estimates."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Koopman-von Neumann Formulation of Classical Yang-Mills Theories: I: In this paper we present the Koopman-von Neumann (KvN) formulation of\nclassical non-Abelian gauge field theories. In particular we shall explore the\nfunctional (or classical path integral) counterpart of the KvN method. In the\nquantum path integral quantization of Yang-Mills theories concepts like\ngauge-fixing and Faddeev-Popov determinant appear in a quite natural way. We\nwill prove that these same objects are needed also in this classical path\nintegral formulation for Yang-Mills theories. We shall also explore the\nclassical path integral counterpart of the BFV formalism and build all the\nassociated universal and gauge charges. These last are quite different from the\nanalog quantum ones and we shall show the relation between the two. This paper\nlays the foundation of this formalism which, due to the many auxiliary fields\npresent, is rather heavy. Applications to specific topics outlined in the paper\nwill appear in later publications.",
        "positive": "Cosmological consequences of a principle of finite amplitudes: Over 30 years ago, Barrow & Tipler proposed the principle according to which\nthe action integrated over the entire 4-manifold describing the universe should\nbe finite. Here we explore the cosmological consequences of a related\ncriterion, namely that semi-classical transition amplitudes from the early\nuniverse up to current field values should be well defined. On a classical\nlevel, our criterion is weaker than the Barrow-Tipler principle, but it has the\nadvantage of being sensitive to quantum effects. We find significant\nconsequences for early universe models, in particular: eternal inflation and\nstrictly cyclic universes are ruled out. Within general relativity, the first\nphase of evolution cannot be inflationary, and it can be ekpyrotic only if the\nscalar field potential is trustworthy over an infinite field range. Quadratic\ngravity eliminates all non-accelerating backgrounds near a putative big bang\n(thus imposing favourable initial conditions for inflation), while the expected\ninfinite series of higher-curvature quantum corrections eliminates Lorentzian\nbig bang spacetimes altogether. The scenarios that work best with the principle\nof finite amplitudes are the no-boundary proposal, which gives finite\namplitudes in all dynamical theories that we have studied, and string-inspired\nloitering phases. We also comment on the relationship of our proposal to the\nswampland conjectures."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Perturbative Quantum Gravity with a Cosmological Constant: We discuss how the incorporation of a cosmological constant affects the\nperturbative quantization of (effective) Quantum General Relativity. To this\nend, we derive the gravitational Slavnov--Taylor identities and appropriate\nrenormalization conditions for the cosmological constant. Additionally, we\ncalculate the corresponding Feynman rules for any vertex valence and with\ngeneral gauge parameter. Furthermore, we provide the BRST setup and generate\nthe Faddeev--Popov ghost and the symmetric ghost via a gauge fixing fermion and\na gauge fixing boson, respectively. Finally, we study the transversality of the\ngraviton propagator and the graviton three-valent vertex.",
        "positive": "Integral representations of thermodynamic 1PI Green functions in the\n  world-line formalism: The issue discussed is a thermodynamic version of the Bern-Kosower master\namplitude formula, which contains all necessary one-loop Feynman diagrams. It\nis demonstrated how the master amplitude at finite values of temperature and\nchemical potential can be formulated within the framework of the world-line\nformalism. In particular we present an elegant method how to introduce a\nchemical potential for a loop in the master formula. Various useful integral\nformulae for the master amplitude are then obtained. The non-analytic property\nof the master formula is also derived in the zero temperature limit with the\nvalue of chemical potential kept finite."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Stochastic trailing string and Langevin dynamics from AdS/CFT: Using the gauge/string duality, we derive a set of Langevin equations\ndescribing the dynamics of a relativistic heavy quark moving with constant\naverage speed through the strongly-coupled N=4 SYM plasma at finite\ntemperature. We show that the stochasticity arises at the string world-sheet\nhorizon, and thus is causally disconnected from the black hole horizon in the\nspace-time metric. This hints at the non-thermal nature of the fluctuations, as\nfurther supported by the fact that the noise term and the drag force in the\nLangevin equations do not obey the Einstein relation. We propose a physical\npicture for the dynamics of the heavy quark in which dissipation and\nfluctuations are interpreted as medium-induced radiation and the associated\nquantum-mechanical fluctuations. This picture provides the right parametric\nestimates for the drag force and the (longitudinal and transverse) momentum\nbroadening coefficients.",
        "positive": "Graviton correlator and metric perturbations in de Sitter brane-world: We consider de Sitter brane-world motivated by dS/CFT correspondence where\nboth bulk and brane are de Sitter spaces. The brane tension is fixed by\nholographic RG. The 4d effective action for metric perturbations and 4d\ngraviton correlator are explicitly found. The induced values of cosmological\nand Newton constants are calculated. The short distance behaviour of the\ngraviton correlator (when no brane matter presents) turns out to be\nsignifically stronger than in the case of General Relativity. It is shown that\nquantum brane CFT gives the dominant contribution to graviton correlator on\nsmall scales like in Brane New World scenario."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Thermal CFTs in momentum space: We study some aspects of conformal field theories at finite temperature in\nmomentum space. We provide a formula for the Fourier transform of a thermal\nconformal block and study its analytic properties. In particular we show that\nthe Fourier transform vanishes when the conformal dimension and spin are those\nof a \"double twist\" operator $\\Delta = 2\\Delta_\\phi + \\ell + 2n$. By\nanalytically continuing to Lorentzian signature we show that the spectral\ndensity at high spatial momenta has support on the spectrum condition $|\\omega|\n> |k|$. This leads to a series of sum rules. Finally, we explicitly match the\nthermal block expansion with the momentum space Green's function at finite\ntemperature in several examples.",
        "positive": "Exceptional complex structures and the hypermultiplet moduli of 5d\n  Minkowski compactifications of M-theory: We present a detailed study of a new mathematical object in\n$\\mathrm{E}_{6(6)}\\times \\mathbb{R}^{+}$ generalised geometry called an\n`exceptional complex structure' (ECS). It is the extension of a conventional\ncomplex structure to one that includes all the degrees of freedom of M-theory\nor type IIB supergravity in six or five dimensions, and as such characterises,\nin part, the geometry of generic supersymmetric compactifications to\nfive-dimensional Minkowkski space. We define an ECS as an integrable\n$\\mathrm{U}^{*}(6)\\times \\mathbb{R}^{+}$ structure and show it is equivalent to\na particular form of involutive subbundle of the complexified generalised\ntangent bundle $L_{1} \\subset E_{\\mathbb{C}}$. We also define a refinement, an\n$\\mathrm{SU}^{*}(6)$ structure, and show that its integrability requires in\naddition a vanishing moment map on the space of structures. We are able to\nclassify all possible ECSs, showing that they are characterised by two numbers\ndenoted `type' and `class'. We then use the deformation theory of ECS to find\nthe moduli of any $\\mathrm{SU}^{*}(6)$ structure. We relate these structures to\nthe geometry of generic minimally supersymmetric flux backgrounds of M-theory\nof the form $\\mathbb{R}^{4,1}\\times M$, where the $\\mathrm{SU}^{*}(6)$ moduli\ncorrespond to the hypermultiplet moduli in the lower-dimensional theory. Such\ngeometries are of class zero or one. The former are equivalent to a choice of\n(non-metric-compatible) conventional $\\mathrm{SL}(3,\\mathbb{C})$ structure and\nstrikingly have the same space of hypermultiplet moduli as the fluxless\nCalabi--Yau case."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Chiral Heat Effect: We consider the thermal response of a (3+1)-dimensional theory with a chiral\nanomaly on a curved space motivated by the chiral magnetic effect. We find a\nnew phenomenon, called the chiral heat effect, such that the thermal current is\ninduced transverse to a gradient of the temperature even on a flat space. This\neffect is expected to be observed in QCD experiment as well as the chiral\nmagnetic effect. We study a similar topological effect on the spacetime with a\ntorsion. A holographic construction is also discussed with the D3/D7 and the\nSakai-Sugimoto models.",
        "positive": "An iterative method for spherical bounces: We develop a new iterative method for finding approximate solutions for\nspherical bounces associated with the decay of the false vacuum in scalar field\ntheories. The method works for any generic potential in any number of\ndimensions, contains Coleman's thin-wall approximation as its first iteration,\nand greatly improves its accuracy by including higher order terms."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Space-time S-matrix and Flux-tube S-matrix III. The two-particle\n  contributions: We consider light-like Wilson loops with hexagonal geometry in the planar\nlimit of N=4 Super-Yang-Mills theory. Within the Operator-Product-Expansion\nframework these loops receive contributions from all states that can propagate\non top of the colour flux tube sourced by any two opposite edges of the loops.\nOf particular interest are the two-particle contributions. They comprise\nvirtual effects like the propagation of a pair of scalars, fermions, and\ngluons, on top of the flux tube. Each one of them is thoroughly discussed in\nthis paper. Our main result is the prediction of all the twist-2 corrections to\nthe expansion of the dual 6-gluons MHV amplitude in the near-collinear limit at\nfinite coupling. At weak coupling, our result was recently used by Dixon,\nDrummond, Duhr and Pennington to predict the full amplitude at four loops. At\nstrong coupling, it allows us to make contact with the classical string\ndescription and to recover the (previously elusive) AdS(3) mode from the\ncontinuum of two-fermion states. More generally, the two-particle contributions\nserve as an exemplar for all the multi-particle corrections.",
        "positive": "Thermodynamics of Fuzzy Spheres in PP-wave Matrix Model: We discuss thermodynamics of fuzzy spheres in a matrix model on a pp-wave\nbackground. The exact free energy in the fuzzy sphere vacuum is computed in the\n\\mu -> \\infty limit for an arbitrary matrix size N. The trivial vacuum\ndominates the fuzzy sphere vacuum at low temperature while the fuzzy sphere\nvacuum is more stable than the trivial vacuum at sufficiently high temperature.\nOur result supports that the fluctuations around the trivial vacuum would\ncondense to form an irreducible fuzzy sphere above a certain temperature."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Phase transitions in a $\u03a6^4$ matrix model on a curved noncommutative\n  space: In this contribution, we summarize our recent studies of the phase structure\nof the Grosse-Wulkenhaar model and its connection to renormalizability. Its\naction contains a special term that couples the field to the curvature of the\nnoncommutative background space. We first analyze the numerically obtained\nphase diagram of the model and its three phases: the ordered, the disordered,\nand the noncommutative stripe phase. Afterward, we discuss the analytical\nderivation of the effective action and the ordered-to-stripe transition line,\nand how the obtained expression successfully explains the curvature-induced\nshift of the triple point compared to the model without curvature. This shift\nalso causes the removal of the stripe phase and makes the model renormalizable.",
        "positive": "Worldsheet Form Factors in AdS/CFT: We formulate a set of consistency conditions appropriate to worldsheet form\nfactors in the massive, integrable but non-relativistic, light-cone gauge fixed\nAdS(5) x S**5 string theory. We then perturbatively verify that these\nconditions hold, at tree level in the near-plane-wave limit and to one loop in\nthe near-flat (Maldacena-Swanson) limit, for a number of specific cases. We\nfurther study the form factors in the weakly coupled dual description,\nverifying that the relevant conditions naturally hold for the one-loop\nHeisenberg spin-chain. Finally, we note that the near-plane-wave expressions\nfor the form factors, when further expanded in small momentum or, equivalently,\nlarge charge density, reproduce the thermodynamic limit of the spin-chain\nresults at leading order."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Particle thermalization entropy and Unruh effect: We propose the method for estimation of entropy generated during the string\nbreaking in high energy collisions. The approach is highly based on the ideas\nproposed by Kharzeev D et al and may be useful in thermalization problem.",
        "positive": "Holographic insulator/superconductor phase transition with Weyl\n  corrections: We analytically investigate the phase transition between the holographic\ninsulator and superconductor with Weyl corrections by using the variational\nmethod for the Sturm-Liouville eigenvalue problem. We find that similar to the\ncurvature corrections, in p-wave model, the higher Weyl couplings make the\ninsulator/superconductor phase transition harder to occur. However, in s-wave\ncase the Weyl corrections do not influence the critical chemical potential,\nwhich is in contrast to the effect caused by the curvature corrections.\nMoreover, we observe that the Weyl corrections will not affect the critical\nphenomena and the critical exponent of the system always takes the mean-field\nvalue in both models. Our analytic results are found to be in good agreement\nwith the numerical findings."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Komar Integrals in Higher (and Lower) Derivative Gravity: The Komar integral relation of Einstein gravity is generalized to Lovelock\ntheories of gravity. This includes, in particular, a new boundary integral for\nthe Komar mass in Einstein gravity with a nonzero cosmological constant, which\nhas a finite result for asymptotically AdS black holes, without the need for an\ninfinite background subtraction. Explicit computations of the Komar mass are\ngiven for black holes in pure Lovelock gravities of all orders and in general\nGauss-Bonnet theories.",
        "positive": "Curved non-relativistic spacetimes, Newtonian gravitation and massive\n  matter: There is significant recent work on coupling matter to Newton-Cartan\nspacetimes with the aim of investigating certain condensed matter phenomena. To\nthis end, one needs to have a completely general spacetime consistent with\nlocal non-relativisitic symmetries which supports massive matter fields. In\nparticular, one can not impose a priori restrictions on the geometric data if\none wants to analyze matter response to a perturbed geometry. In this paper we\nconstruct such a Bargmann spacetime in complete generality without any prior\nrestrictions on the fields specifying the geometry. The resulting spacetime\nstructure includes the familiar Newton-Cartan structure with an additional\ngauge field which couples to mass. We illustrate the matter coupling with a few\nexamples. The general spacetime we construct also includes as a special case\nthe covariant description of Newtonian gravity, which has been thoroughly\ninvestigated in previous works. We also show how our Bargmann spacetimes arise\nfrom a suitable non-relativistic limit of Lorentzian spacetimes. In a companion\npaper [arXiv:1503.02680] we use this Bargmann spacetime structure to\ninvestigate the details of matter couplings, including the Noether-Ward\nidentities, and transport phenomena and thermodynamics of non-relativistic\nfluids."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Thermodynamics of 5D dilaton-gravity: We calculate the free energy, spatial string tension and Polyakov loop of the\ngluon plasma using the dilaton potential of Ref. arXiv:0911.0627[hep-ph] in the\ndilaton-gravity theory of AdS/QCD. The free energy is computed from the Black\nHole solutions of the Einstein equations in two ways: first, from the\nBekenstein-Hawking proportionality of the entropy with the area of the horizon,\nand secondly from the Page-Hawking computation of the free energy. The finite\ntemperature behaviour of the spatial string tension and Polyakov loop follow\nfrom the corresponding string theory in AdS_5. Comparison with lattice data is\nmade.",
        "positive": "Lifshitz and Schrodinger Vacua, Superstar Resolution in Gauged Maximal\n  Supergravities: We consider the subset of gauged maximal supergravities that consists of the\nSO(n+1) gauge fields A^{ij} and the scalar deformation T^{ij} of the S^n in the\nspherical reduction of M-theory or type IIB. We focus on the Abelian Cartan\nsubgroup and the diagonal entries of T^{ij}. The resulting theories can be\nviewed as the STU models with additional hyperscalars. We find that the\ntheories with only one or two such vectors can be generalized naturally to\narbitrary dimensions. The same is true for the D=4 or 5 Einstein-Maxwell theory\nwith such a hyperscalar. The gauge fields become massive, determined by\nstationary points of the hyperscalars a la the analogous Abelian Higgs\nmechanism. We obtain classes of Lifshitz and Schrodinger vacua in these\ntheories. The scaling exponent z turns out to be rather restricted, taking\nfractional or irrational numbers. Tweaking the theories by relaxing the mass\nparameter or making a small change of the superpotential, we find that\nsolutions with z=2 can emerge. In a different application, we find that the\nresolution of superstar singularity in the STU models by using bubbling-AdS\nsolitons can be generalized to arbitrary dimensions in our theories. In\nparticular, we obtain the smooth AdS solitons that can be viewed as the\nresolution of the Reissner-Nordstrom superstars in general dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Monstrous Moonshine and the uniqueness of the Moonshine module: In this talk we consider the relationship between the conjectured uniqueness\nof the Moonshine module of Frenkel, Lepowsky and Meurman and Monstrous\nMoonshine, the genus zero property for Thompson series discovered by Conway and\nNorton. We discuss some evidence to support the uniqueness of the Moonshine\nmodule by considering possible alternative orbifold constructions from a Leech\nlattice compactified string. Within these constructions we find a new\nrelationship between the centralisers of the Monster group and the Conway group\ngeneralising an observation made by Conway and Norton. We also relate the\nuniqueness of the Moonshine module to Monstrous Moonshine and argue that given\nthis uniqueness, then the genus zero properties hold if and only if orbifolding\nthe Moonshine module with respect to a Monster element reproduces the Moonshine\nmodule or the Leech theory. (Talk presented at the Nato Advanced Research\nWorkshop on `Low dimensional topology and quantum field theory`, Cambridge,\n6-13 Sept 1992)",
        "positive": "Correlators of Giant Gravitons from dual ABJ(M) Theory: We generalize the operators of ABJM theory, given by Schur polynomials, in\nABJ theory by computing the two point functions in the free field and at finite\n$(N_1,N_2)$ limits. These polynomials are then identified with the states of\nthe dual gravity theory. Further, we compute correlators among giant gravitons\nas well as between giant gravitons and ordinary gravitons through the\ncorresponding correlators of ABJ(M) theory. Finally, we consider a particular\nnon-trivial background produced by an operator with an $\\cal R$-charge of\n$O(N^2)$ and find, in presence of this background, due to the contribution of\nthe non-planar corrections, the large $(N_1,N_2)$ expansion is replaced by\n$1/(N_1+M)$ and $1/(N_2+M)$ respectively."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Heavy Probes in Strongly Coupled Plasmas With Chemical Potential: We study the properties of heavy probes moving in strongly coupled plasmas at\nfinite chemical potential. Using the gauge/gravity duality we consider large\nclasses of gravity models consisting in deformed AdS5 spacetimes endowed with\nReissner-Nordstr\\\"om-type black holes. We report on our analysis of the\nscreening distance of a quark-antiquark pair, its free energy, and the running\ncoupling. These observables show a certain insensitivity as to which model and\ndeformation is used, pointing to strong-coupling universal behavior. Thus, the\nresults may be relevant for modeling heavy quarkonia traversing a quark-gluon\nplasma at finite net baryon density, and their suppression by melting.",
        "positive": "On the Number of Chiral Generations in Z2 X Z2 Orbifolds: The data from collider experiments and cosmic observatories indicates the\nexistence of three light matter generations. In some classes of string\ncompactifications the number of generations is related to a topological\nquantity, the Euler characteristic. However, these do not explain the existence\nof three generations. In a class of free fermionic string models, related to\nthe Z2 X Z2 orbifold compactification, the existence of three generations is\ncorrelated with the existence of three twisted sectors in this class of\ncompactifications. However, the three generation models are constructed in the\nfree fermionic formulation and their geometrical correspondence is not readily\navailable. In this paper we classify quotients of the Z2 X Z2 orbifold by\nadditional symmetric shifts on the three complex tori. We show that three\ngeneration vacua are not obtained in this manner, indicating that the\ngeometrical structures underlying the free fermionic models are more esoteric."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Statistical nature of Skyrme-Faddeev models in $2+1$ dimensions and\n  normalizable fermions: The Skyrme-Faddeev model has planar soliton solutions with target space\n$\\mathbb{C}P^N$. An Abelian Chern-Simons term (the Hopf term) in the Lagrangian\nof the model plays a crucial role for the statistical properties of the\nsolutions. Because $\\Pi_3(\\mathbb{C}P^1)=\\mathbb{Z}$, the term becomes an\ninteger for $N=1$. On the other hand, for $N>1$, it becomes perturbative\nbecause $\\Pi_3(\\mathbb{C}P^N)$ is trivial. The prefactor $\\Theta$ of the Hopf\nterm is not quantized, and its value depends on the physical system. We study\nthe spectral flow of the normalizable fermions coupled with the baby-Skyrme\nmodel ($\\mathbb{C}P^N$ Skyrme-Faddeev model). We discuss whether the\nstatistical nature of solitons can be explained using their constituents, i.e.,\nthe quarks.",
        "positive": "The ground state of reduced Yang-Mills theory: For the simplest membrane matrix model (corresponding to reduced 3\ndimensional SU(2) Yang Mills theory) the form of the ground state wave function\nis given."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Stochastic growth of quantum fluctuations during inflation: The standard field-theoretical approach to the slow-roll inflation is\nintroduced. We then show as, in order to calculate the mean square of the\ncanonical gauge invariant quantum fluctuations associated to a generic field,\nthe logarithm of the scale factor has to be used as the time variable in the\nFokker-Planck equation in the stochastic approach. Then we compute the growth\nof different test fields with a small effective mass during slow-roll\ninflationary models, comparing the results with the one for the gauge invariant\ncanonical fluctuation associated to the inflaton, the Mukhanov variable. We\nfind that in most of the single fields inflationary models such fluctuation\ngrows faster than any test field with a non-negative effective mass, with the\nexception of hybrid models.",
        "positive": "Gauging Isometries on Hyperkahler Cones and Quaternion-Kahler Manifolds: We extend our previous results on the relation between quaternion-Kahler\nmanifolds and hyperkahler cones and we describe how isometries, moment maps and\nscalar potentials descend from the cone to the quaternion-Kahler space. As an\nexample of the general construction, we discuss the gauging and the\ncorresponding scalar potential of hypermultiplets with the unitary Wolf spaces\nas target spaces. This class includes the universal hypermultiplet."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Landau Background Gauge Fixing and the IR Properties of YM Green\n  Functions: We analyse the complete algebraic structure of the background field method\nfor Yang--Mills theory in the Landau gauge and show several structural\nsimplifications within this approach. In particular we present a new way to\nstudy the IR behavior of Green functions in the Landau gauge and show that\nthere exists a unique Green function whose IR behaviour controls the IR\nproperties of the gluon and the ghost propagators.",
        "positive": "Effective action of gauged WZW model and exact string solutions: We suggest how to derive the exact (all order in $\\a'$) expressions for the\nbackground fields for string solutions corresponding to gauged WZW models\ndirectly at the $2d$ field theory level. One is first to replace the classical\ngauged WZW action by the quantum effective one and then to integrate out the\ngauge field. We find the explicit expression for the gauge invariant non-local\neffective action of the gauged WZW model. The two terms (corresponding to the\ngroup and subgroup) which appear with the same coefficients in the classical\naction get different $k$-dependent coefficients in the effective one. The\nprocedure of integrating out the gauge field is considered in detail for the\n$SL(2,R)/U(1)$ model and the exact expressions for the $D=2$ metric and the\ndilaton (originally found in the conformal field theory approach) are\nreproduced."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Wave function of the quantum black hole: We show that the Wald Noether charge entropy is canonically conjugate to the\nopening angle at the horizon. Using this canonical relation we extend the\nWheeler-DeWitt equation to a Schroedinger equation in the opening angle,\nfollowing Carlip and Teitelboim. We solve the equation in the semiclassical\napproximation by using the correspondence principle and find that the solutions\nare minimal uncertainty wavefunctions with a continuous spectrum for the\nentropy and therefore also of the area of the black hole horizon. The fact that\nthe opening angle fluctuates away from its classical value of 2 pi indicates\nthat the quantum black hole is a superposition of horizonless states. The\nclassical geometry with a horizon serves only to evaluate quantum expectation\nvalues in the strict classical limit.",
        "positive": "Dirac Equation in $\u03ba$-Minkowski space-time: In this paper, we derive the Dirac equation in the $\\kappa$-deformed\nMinkowski space-time. We start with $\\kappa$-deformed Minkowski space-time and\ninvestigate the undeformed $\\kappa$-Lorentz transformation valid to all order\nin the deformation parameter $a$. Using the undeformed $\\kappa$-Lorentz\nalgebra, we obtain the $\\kappa$-deformed Dirac equation, valid to all order in\nthe deformation parameter $a$. In limit $a\\rightarrow$0, we get back the\ncorrect commutative result."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Colour-Twist Operators I: Spectrum and Wave Functions: We introduce a new class of operators in any theory with a 't Hooft large-$N$\nlimit that we call colour-twist operators. They are defined by twisting the\ncolour-trace with a global symmetry transformation and are continuously linked\nto standard, un-twisted single-trace operators. In particular, correlation\nfunctions between operators that are twisted by an R-symmetry of ${\\cal N}=4$\nSYM extend those in the $\\gamma$-deformed theory. The most general deformation\nalso breaks the Lorentz symmetry but preserves integrability in the examples we\nconsider. In this paper, we focus on colour-twist operators in the fishnet\nmodel. We exemplify our approach for the simplest colour-twist operators with\none and two scalar fields, which we study non-perturbatively using\nfield-theoretical as well as integrability methods, finding a perfect match. We\nalso propose the quantisation condition for the Baxter equation appearing in\nthe integrability calculation in the fishnet model. The results of this paper\nconstitute a crucial step towards building the separation of variable\nconstruction for the correlation functions by means of the Quantum Spectral\nCurve approach.",
        "positive": "Universal Mass Scale for Bosonic Fields in Multi-Brane Worlds: In this paper we find an universal mass scale for all $p-$forms in\nmulti-brane worlds model. It is a known fact the this model provides an\nultralight mode for the fields. However, to get this, the Lagrangians\nconsidered in the literature are not covariant. In order to solve this, we\npropose a covariant version to multi-localize $q-$form fields. As a consequence\nof the covariance, we show that all the $q$-form fields have an ultralight mode\nwith the same mass that the gravitational one. That way we show that there is\nan universal mass scale for the ultralight modes of the bosonic fields. This\nsuggests that a new physics must emerge, for all theses fields, at the same\nscale. After that, we revisit the results that consider a crystal manyfold\nbackground in the Randall-Sundrum scenary (RS), and add the discussion related\nto geometrical couplings in such a configuration. The wave functions of fields\ntrapped in the crystal are Bloch-like waves, and their behavior is very similar\nto electrons inside a lattice, just like in the Kronig-Penney model (KP). We\ncompute the mass dispersion relations for those fields with and without a\ndilaton coupling. It leads to new results for the band gap structure of these\nfields. In the case of the Kalb-Ramond field, and with the correct dispersion\nrelation, there is no gap between the mass bands. Also, always that the field\nis coupled with the dilaton, its first mass mode decreases. When the\ngeneralization to the $q-$form is done, we show that it is not possible to\nsuppress or generate mass for the fields by controlling the dilaton coupling,\ndifferently of what was argued previously."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The holographic dark energy in non-flat Brans-Dicke cosmology: In this paper we study cosmological application of holographic dark energy\ndensity in the Brans-Dicke framework. We employ the holographic model of dark\nenergy to obtain the equation of state for the holographic energy density in\nnon-flat (closed) universe enclosed by the event horizon measured from the\nsphere of horizon named $L$. Our calculation show, taking\n$\\Omega_{\\Lambda}=0.73$ for the present time, the lower bound of $w_{\\rm\n\\Lambda}$ is -0.9. Therefore it is impossible to have $w_{\\rm \\Lambda}$\ncrossing -1. This implies that one can not generate phantom-like equation of\nstate from a holographic dark energy model in non-flat universe in the\nBrans-Dicke cosmology framework. In the other hand, we suggest a correspondence\nbetween the holographic dark energy scenario in flat universe and the phantom\ndark energy model in framework of Brans-Dicke theory with potential.",
        "positive": "On the consistent interactions in D=11 among a graviton, a massless\n  gravitino and a three-form: The couplings that can be introduced between a massless Rarita-Schwinger\nfield, a Pauli-Fierz field and an Abelian three-form gauge field in eleven\nspacetime dimensions are analyzed in the context of the deformation of the\nsolution of the master equation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic three-point correlators in the Schrodinger/dipole CFT\n  correspondence: We calculate, for the first time, three-point correlation functions involving\n\"heavy\" operators in the Schrodinger/null-dipole CFT correspondence at strong\ncoupling. In particular, we focus on the three-point functions of the dilaton\nmodes and two \"heavy\" operators. The heavy states are dual to the single spin\nand dyonic magnon, the single spin and dyonic spike solutions or to two novel\nstring solutions which do not have an undeformed counterpart. Our results\nprovide the leading term of the correlators in the large $\\lambda$ expansion\nand are in perfect agreement with the form of the correlator dictated by\nnon-relativistic conformal invariance. We also specify the scaling function\nwhich can not be fixed by using conformal invariance.",
        "positive": "Emergence of Fluctuations from a Tachyonic Big Bang: It has recently been speculated that the end state of a collapsing universe\nis a tachyonic big crunch. The time reversal of this process would be the\nemergence of an expanding universe from a tachyonic big bang. In this\nframework, we study the emergence of cosmological fluctuations. In particular,\nwe compare the amplitude of the perturbations at tne end of the tachyon phase\nwith what would be obtained assuming the usual vacuum initial conditions. We\nfind that cosmological fluctuations emerge in a thermal state. We comment on\nthe relation to the trans-Planckian problem of inflationary cosmology."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Euclidean Supersymmetry, Twisting and Topological Sigma Models: We discuss two dimensional N-extended supersymmetry in Euclidean signature\nand its R-symmetry. For N=2, the R-symmetry is SO(2)\\times SO(1,1), so that\nonly an A-twist is possible. To formulate a B-twist, or to construct Euclidean\nN=2 models with H-flux so that the target geometry is generalised Kahler, it is\nnecessary to work with a complexification of the sigma models. These issues are\nrelated to the obstructions to the existence of non-trivial twisted chiral\nsuperfields in Euclidean superspace.",
        "positive": "Twisted Quantum Fields on Moyal and Wick-Voros Planes are Inequivalent: The Moyal and Wick-Voros planes A^{M,V}_{\\theta} are *-isomorphic. On each of\nthese planes the Poincar\\'e group acts as a Hopf algebra symmetry if its\ncoproducts are deformed by twist factors. We show that the *-isomorphism T:\nA^M_{\\theta} to A^V_{\\theta} does not also map the corresponding twists of the\nPoincar\\'e group algebra. The quantum field theories on these planes with\ntwisted Poincar\\'e-Hopf symmetries are thus inequivalent. We explicitly verify\nthis result by showing that a non-trivial dependence on the non-commutative\nparameter is present for the Wick-Voros plane in a self-energy diagram whereas\nit is known to be absent on the Moyal plane (in the absence of gauge fields).\nOur results differ from these of (arXiv:0810.2095 [hep-th]) because of\ndifferences in the treatments of quantum field theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Superalgebras from D-brane actions: The Noether charge algebras of D-brane actions contain two anomalous terms\nwhich modify the standard supertranslation algebra. We use a cocycle approach\nto derive associated spectra of topological charge algebras. The formalism is\napplied to $(p,q)$-strings and the D-membrane. The resulting spectra contain\nknown algebras which allow the construction of extended superspace actions.",
        "positive": "Brane cosmology: an introduction: These notes give an introductory review on brane cosmology. This subject\ndeals with the cosmological behaviour of a brane-universe, i.e. a\nthree-dimensional space, where ordinary matter is confined, embedded in a\nhigher dimensional spacetime. In the tractable case of a five-dimensional bulk\nspacetime, the brane (modified) Friedmann equation is discussed in detail, and\nvarious other aspects are presented, such as cosmological perturbations, bulk\nscalar fields and systems with several branes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Global Form of Flavor Symmetries and 2-Group Symmetries in 5d SCFTs: 2-group symmetries arise when 1-form symmetries and 0-form symmetries of a\ntheory mix with each other under group multiplication. We discover the\nexistence of 2-group symmetries in 5d N=1 abelian gauge theories arising on the\n(non-extended) Coulomb branch of 5d superconformal field theories (SCFTs),\nleading us to argue that the UV 5d SCFT itself admits a 2-group symmetry.\nFurthermore, our analysis determines the global forms of the 0-form flavor\nsymmetry groups of 5d SCFTs, irrespective of whether or not the 5d SCFT admits\na 1-form symmetry. As a concrete application of our method, we analyze 2-group\nsymmetries of all 5d SCFTs, which reduce in the IR, after performing mass\ndeformations, to 5d N=1 non-abelian gauge theories with simple, simply\nconnected gauge groups. For rank-1 Seiberg theories, we check that our\npredictions for the flavor symmetry groups match with the superconformal and\nray indices available in the literature. We also comment on the mixed 't Hooft\nanomaly between 1-form and 0-form symmetries arising in 5d N=1 non-abelian\ngauge theories and its relation to the 2-groups.",
        "positive": "Singular eigenstates in the even(odd) length Heisenberg spin chain: We study the implications of the regularization for the singular solutions on\nthe even(odd) length spin-1/2 XXX chains in some specific down-spin sectors. In\nparticular, the analytic expressions of the Bethe eigenstates for three\ndown-spin sector have been obtained along with their numerical forms in some\nfixed length chains. For an even-length chain if the singular solutions\n\\{\\lambda_\\alpha\\} are invariant under the sign changes of their rapidities\n{\\lambda_\\alpha\\}=\\{-\\lambda_\\alpha\\} , then the Bethe ansatz equations are\nreduced to a system of (M-2)/2 ((M-3)/2) equations in an even (odd) down-spin\nsector. For an odd N length chain in the three down-spin sector, it has been\nanalytically shown that there exist singular solutions in any finite length of\nthe spin chain of the form N= 3\\left(2k+1\\right) with k=1, 2, 3, \\cdots. It is\nalso shown that there exist no singular solutions in the four down-spin sector\nfor some odd-length spin-1/2 XXX chains."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On rank two theories with eight supercharges part II: Lefschetz pencils: The global Seiberg-Witten (SW) geometries for rank two theories with eight\nsupercharges are studied. The theory is deformed generically so that there are\nonly simplest $I_1$ or $\\tilde{I}_1$ singularities on the Coulomb branch, which\nthen geometrically gives the so-called Lefchetz pencils, The local singularity\nwas shown to be determined by the conjugacy class of mapping class group (MCG);\nThe global study is then reduced to the questions about MCG: a) Find the\nfactorization of the MCG element of the singular fiber into positive products\nof Dehn twists (which gives the $I_1$ singularity or $\\tilde{I}_1$\nsingularity); b) Find the factorization of identity element in terms of Dehn\ntwists. We solved above two MCG problems for most rank two theories.The results\nare very helpful in determining IR physics for all vacua of 4d SCFTs. Our\napproach is combinatorial and many aspects can be straightforwardly generalized\nto the study of higher rank theory.",
        "positive": "Representation theory of the affine Lie superalgebra sl(2|1) at\n  fractional level: N=2 noncritical strings are closely related to the $\\Slr/\\Slr$ Wess-Zumino-\nNovikov-Witten model, and there is much hope to further probe the former by\nusing the algebraic apparatus provided by the latter. An important ingredient\nis the precise knowledge of the $\\hslc$ representation theory at fractional\nlevel. In this paper, the embedding diagrams of singular vectors appearing in\n$\\hslc$ Verma modules for fractional values of the level ($k=p/q-1$, p and q\ncoprime) are derived analytically. The nilpotency of the fermionic generators\nin $\\hslc$ requires the introduction of a nontrivial generalisation of the MFF\nconstruction to relate singular vectors among themselves. The diagrams reveal a\nstriking similarity with the degenerate representations of the $N=2$\nsuperconformal algebra."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On N=1,2,4 Higher Spin Gauge Theories in Four Dimensions: We study N=1,2,4 higher spin superalgebras in four dimensions and higher spin\ngauge theories based on them. We extend the existing minimal N=2,4 theories and\nfind a minimal N=1 theory. Utilizing the basic structure of the minimal N=8\ntheory, we express the full field equations for the N=1,2,4 theories in a\nuniversal form without introducing Kleinian operators. We also use a\nnon-minimal N=4 higher spin algebra tensored with U(3) to describe a higher\nspin extension of N=4 supergravity coupled to the massless vector multiplets\narising in the KK spectrum of 11D supergravity on the N=3 supersymmetric AdS_4\nx N^{010} background. The higher spin theory also contains a triplet of vector\nmultiplets which may play a role in the super-Higgs effect in which N=4 is\nbroken down to N=3.",
        "positive": "Higher Order Perturbations Around Backgrounds with One Non-Homogeneous\n  Dimension: It is shown that perturbations around backgrounds with one non-homogeneous\ndimension, namely of co-homogeneity 1, can be canonically simplified, a\nproperty that is shown to hold to any order in perturbation theory. Recalling\nthat the problem naturally reduces to 1d, a procedure is described whereby for\neach gauge function in 1d two 1d fields are eliminated from the action - one is\ngauge and can be eliminated without a constraint and the other is auxiliary.\nThese results generalize the results of hep-th/0609001 from linear to\nnon-linear perturbations and they unify two cases of physical interest:\ncosmological perturbations and perturbations to static spherically symmetric\nbackgrounds. An application to black strings is discussed in some detail."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Epsilon-expansion in quantum field theory in curved spacetime: We discuss epsilon-expansion in curved spacetime for asymptotically free and\nasymptotically non-free theories. The esistence of stable and unstable fixed\npoints is investigated for $f \\phi^4$ and SU(2) gauge theory. It is shown that\nepsilon-expansion maybe compatible with asymptotic freedom on special solutions\nof the RG equations in a special case (supersymmetric theory). Using\nepsilon-expansion RG technique the effective Lagrangian for covariantly\nconstant gauge SU(2) field and effective potential for gauged NJL-model are\nfound in 4-epsilon- dimensional curved space (in linear curvature\napproximation). The curvature- induced phase transitions from symmetric phase\nto asymmetric phase (chromomagnetic vacuum and chiral symmetry broken phase,\nrespectively) are discussed for the above two models.",
        "positive": "Nonlocal Effective Gravitational Field Equations and the Running of\n  Newton's G: Non-perturbative studies of quantum gravity have recently suggested the\npossibility that the strength of gravitational interactions might slowly\nincrease with distance. Here a set of generally covariant effective field\nequations are proposed, which are intended to incorporate the gravitational,\nvacuum-polarization induced, running of Newton's constant $G$. One attractive\nfeature of this approach is that, from an underlying quantum gravity\nperspective, the resulting long distance (or large time) effective\ngravitational action inherits only one adjustable parameter $\\xi$, having the\nunits of a length, arising from dimensional transmutation in the gravitational\nsector. Assuming the above scenario to be correct, some simple predictions for\nthe long distance corrections to the classical standard model Robertson-Walker\nmetric are worked out in detail, with the results formulated as much as\npossible in a model-independent framework. It is found that the theory, even in\nthe limit of vanishing renormalized cosmological constant, generally predicts\nan accelerated power-law expansion at later times $t \\sim \\xi \\sim 1/H$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Regular and black hole solutions to higher order curvature\n  Einstein--Yang-Mills--Grassmannian systems in 5 dimensions: We construct both regular and black hole spherically symmetric solutions to\nthe original higher curvature EYM model augmented by a Grassmannian sigma model\nfield in $d=5$ spacetime dimensions. Unlike the original model, the new model\nsupports regular solutions in the flat space limit. We find that a peculiar\nsingular behaviour of the solutions in the original model, persists in the case\nof the modified model too. A study of the solutions to the Grassmannian model\nin flat space is also carried out.",
        "positive": "Large N and Bosonization in Three Dimensions: Bosonization is normally thought of as a purely two-dimensional phenomenon,\nand generic field theories with fermions in D>2 are not expected be describable\nby local bosonic actions, except in some special cases. We point out that 3D\nSU(N) gauge theories on R^{1,1} x S^{1}_{L} with adjoint fermions can be\nbosonized in the large N limit. The key feature of such theories is that they\nenjoy large N volume independence for arbitrary circle size L. A consequence of\nthis is a large N equivalence between these 3D gauge theories and certain 2D\ngauge theories, which matches a set of correlation functions in the 3D theories\nto corresponding observables in the 2D theories. As an example, we focus on a\n3D SU(N) gauge theory with one flavor of adjoint Majorana fermions and derive\nthe large-N equivalent 2D gauge theory. The extra dimension is encoded in the\ncolor degrees of freedom of the 2D theory. We then apply the technique of\nnon-Abelian bosonization to the 2D theory to obtain an equivalent local theory\nwritten purely in terms of bosonic variables. Hence the bosonized version of\nthe large N three-dimensional theory turns out to live in two dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Loop quantum gravity and black hole singularity: In this paper we summarize \"loop quantum gravity\" (LQG) and we show how ideas\ndeveloped in LQG can solve the black hole singularity problem when applied to a\nminisuperspace model.",
        "positive": "Kerr-AdS Bubble Spacetimes and Time-Dependent AdS/CFT Correspondence: We compute the boundary stress-energies of time-dependent asymptotically AdS\nspacetimes in 5 and 7 dimensions, and find that their traces are equal to the\nrespective 4 and 6 dimensional field-theoretic trace anomalies. This provides\ngood supporting evidence in favour of the AdS/CFT correspondence in\ntime-dependent backgrounds."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Inertial Spontaneous Symmetry Breaking and Quantum Scale Invariance: Weyl invariant theories of scalars and gravity can generate all mass scales\nspontaneously, initiated by a dynamical process of \"inertial spontaneous\nsymmetry breaking\" that does not involve a potential. This is dictated by the\nstructure of the Weyl current, $K_\\mu$, and a cosmological phase during which\nthe universe expands and the Einstein-Hilbert effective action is formed.\nMaintaining exact Weyl invariance in the renormalised quantum theory is\nstraightforward when renormalisation conditions are referred back to the VEV's\nof fields in the action of the theory, which implies a conserved Weyl current.\nWe do not require scale invariant regulators. We illustrate the computation of\na Weyl invariant Coleman-Weinberg potential.",
        "positive": "(In-)Consistencies in the relativistic description of excited states in\n  the Bethe-Salpeter equation: The Bethe-Salpeter equation provides the most widely used technique to\nextract bound states and resonances in a relativistic Quantum Field Theory.\nNevertheless a thorough discussion how to identify its solutions with physical\nstates is still missing. The occurrence of complex eigenvalues of the\nhomogeneous Bethe-Salpeter equation complicates this issue further. Using a\nperturbative expansion in the mass difference of the constituents we\ndemonstrate for scalar fields bound by a scalar exchange that the underlying\nmechanism which results in complex eigenvalues is the crossing of a normal (or\nabnormal) with an abnormal state. Based on an investigation of the\nrenormalization of one-particle properties we argue that these crossings happen\nbeyond the applicability region of the ladder Bethe-Salpeter equation. The\nimplications for a fermion-antifermion bound state in QED are discussed, and a\nconsistent interpretation of the bound state spectrum of QED is proposed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Theories of Class S and New N=1 SCFTs: We describe an infinite two-parameter subfamily of theories of class S where\ndialing one of the parameters interpolates between Gaiotto's T_N theory and a\ntheory of N^2 free hypermultiplets. After using the reduced superconformal\nindex to study the operator content, we use these theories to construct new N=1\nSCFTs and then examine the flows between them.",
        "positive": "Summing up Non-anti-commutative Kaehler potential: We offer a simple non-perturbative formula for the component action of a\ngeneric N=1/2 supersymmetric chiral model in terms of an arbitrary number of\nchiral superfields in four dimensions, which is obtained by the\nNon-Anti-Commutative (NAC) deformation of a generic four-dimensional N=1\nsupersymmetric non-linear sigma-model described by arbitrary Kaehler\nsuperpotential and scalar superpotential. The auxiliary integrations\nresponsible for fuzziness are eliminated in the case of a single chiral\nsuperfield. The scalar potential in components is derived by eliminating the\nauxiliary fields. The NAC-deformation of the CP(1) Kaehler non-linear\nsigma-model with an arbitrary scalar superpotential is calculated as an\nexample."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Stringy Corrections to Kaluza-Klein Black Holes: We consider string theory corrections to 4D black holes which solve the 5D\nvacuum Einstein equations. We find that the corrections vanish only for the\nextremal electric solution. We also show that for the non-extremal electric\nblack hole the mass corrections are related to the charge corrections. The\nimplications to string states counting and the correspondence principle for\nblack holes and strings are discussed.",
        "positive": "$N=1$ from $N=2$ Superstrings: We give a simple proof that a particular class of $N=2$ superstrings are\nequivalent to the $N=1$ superstrings. This is achieved by constructing a\nsimilarity transformation which transforms the $N=2$ BRST operators into a\ndirect sum of the BRST operators for the $N=1$ string and topological sectors."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The graceful exit in pre-big bang string cosmology: We re-examine the graceful exit problem in the pre-big bang scenario of\nstring cosmology, by considering the most general time-dependent classical\ncorrection to the Lagrangian with up to four derivatives. By including possible\nforms for quantum loop corrections we examine the allowed region of parameter\nspace for the coupling constants which enable our solutions to link smoothly\nthe two asymptotic low-energy branches of the pre-big bang scenario, and\nobserve that these solutions can satisfy recently proposed entropic bounds on\nviable singularity free cosmologies.",
        "positive": "The $T\\overline T$ deformation of quantum field theory as random\n  geometry: We revisit the results of Zamolodchikov and others on the deformation of\ntwo-dimensional quantum field theory by the determinant $\\det T$ of the stress\ntensor, commonly referred to as $T\\overline T$. Infinitesimally this is\nequivalent to a random coordinate transformation, with a local action which is,\nhowever, a total derivative and therefore gives a contribution only from\nboundaries or nontrivial topology. We discuss in detail the examples of a\ntorus, a finite cylinder, a disk and a more general simply connected domain. In\nall cases the partition function evolves according to a linear diffusion-type\nequation, and the deformation may be viewed as a kind of random walk in moduli\nspace. We also discuss possible generalizations to higher dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exact results for topological strings on resolved Y(p,q) singularities: We obtain exact results in \\alpha' for open and closed A-model topological\nstring amplitudes on a large class of toric Calabi-Yau threefolds by using\ntheir correspondence with five dimensional gauge theories. The toric\nCalabi-Yau's that we analyze are obtained as minimal resolution of cones over\nY(p,q) manifolds and give rise via M-theory compactification to SU(p) gauge\ntheories on R^4 x S^1. As an application we present a detailed study of the\nlocal F_2 case and compute open and closed genus zero Gromov-Witten invariants\nof the C^3/Z_4 orbifold. We also display the modular structure of the\ntopological wave function and give predictions for higher genus amplitudes.The\nmirror curve in this case is the spectral curve of the relativistic A_1 Toda\nchain. Our results also indicate the existence of a wider class of relativistic\nintegrable systems associated to generic Y(p,q) geometries.",
        "positive": "Non-Linear Trans-Planckian Corrections of Spectra due to the Non-trivial\n  Initial States: Recent Planck results motivated us to use non-Bunch-Davies vacuum. In this\npaper, we use the excited-de Sitter mode as non-linear initial states during\ninflation to calculate the corrected spectra of the initial fluctuations of the\nscalar field. First, we consider the field in de Sitter space-time as\nbackground field and for the non-Bunch-Davies mode, we use the perturbation\ntheory to the second order approximation. Also, unlike conventional\nrenormalization method, we offer de Sitter space-time as the background instead\nMinkowski space-time. This approach preserve the symmetry of curved space-time\nand stimulate us to use excited mode. By taking into account this alternative\nmode and the effects of trans-Planckian physics, we calculate the power\nspectrum in standard approach and Danielsson argument. The calculated power\nspectrum with this method is finite, corrections of it is non-linear, and in de\nSitter limit corrections reduce to linear form that obtained from several\nprevious conventional methods."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quasinormal modes of magnetic black branes at finite 't Hooft coupling: The aim of this work is to extend the knowledge about Quasinormal Modes\n(QNMs) and the equilibration of strongly coupled systems, specifically of a\nquark gluon plasma (which we consider to be in a strong magnetic background\nfield) by using the duality between $\\mathcal{N}=4$ Super Yang-Mills (SYM)\ntheory and type IIb Super Gravity (SUGRA) and including higher derivative\ncorrections. The behaviour of the equilibrating system can be seen as the\nresponse of the system to tiny excitations. A quark gluon plasma in a strong\nmagnetic background field, as produced for very short times during an actual\nheavy ion collision, is described holographically by certain metric solutions\nto $5\\text{D}$ Einstein-Maxwell-(Chern-Simons) theory, which can be obtained\nfrom type IIb SUGRA. We are going to compute higher derivative corrections to\nthis metric and consider $\\alpha'^3$ corrections to tensor-quasinormal modes in\nthis background geometry. We find indications for a strong influence of the\nmagnetic background field on the equilibration behaviour also and especially\nwhen we include higher derivative corrections.",
        "positive": "A statistical representation of the cosmological constant from finite\n  size effects at the apparent horizon: In this paper we present a statistical description of the cosmological\nconstant in terms of massless bosons (gravitons). To this purpose, we use our\nrecent results implying a non vanishing temperature ${T_{\\Lambda}}$ for the\ncosmological constant. In particular, we found that a non vanishing\n$T_{\\Lambda}$ allows us to depict the cosmological constant $\\Lambda$ as\ncomposed of elementary oscillations of massless bosons of energy $\\hbar\\omega$\nby means of the Bose-Einstein distribution. In this context, as happens for\nphotons in a medium, the effective phase velocity $v_g$ of these massless\nexcitations is not given by the speed of light $c$ but it is suppressed by a\nfactor depending on the number of quanta present in the universe at the\napparent horizon. We found interesting formulas relating the cosmological\nconstant, the number of quanta $N$ and the mean value $\\overline{\\lambda}$ of\nthe wavelength of the gravitons. In this context, we study the possibility to\nlook to the gravitons system so obtained as being very near to be a\nBose-Einstein condensate. Finally, an attempt is done to write down the\nFriedmann flat equations in terms of $N$ and $\\overline{\\lambda}$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic Entanglement Entropy in Anisotropic Background with\n  Confinement-Deconfinement Phase Transition: We discuss a general five-dimensional completely anisotropic holographic\nmodel with three different spatial scale factors, characterized by a Van der\nWaals-like phase transition between small and large black holes. A peculiar\nfeature of the model is the relation between anisotropy of the background and\nanisotropy of the colliding heavy ions geometry. We calculate the holographic\nentanglement entropy (HEE) of the slab-shaped region, the orientation of which\nrelatively to the beams line and the impact parameter is characterized by the\nEuler angles. We study the dependences of the HEE and its density on the\nthermodynamic (temperature, chemical potential) and geometric (parameters of\nanisotropy, thickness, and orientation of entangled regions) parameters. As a\nparticular case the model with two equal transversal scaling factors is\nconsidered. This model is supported by the dilaton and two Maxwell fields. In\nthis case we discuss the HEE and its density in detail: interesting features of\nthis model are jumps of the entanglement entropy and its density near the line\nof the small/large black hole phase transition. These jumps depend on the\nanisotropy parameter, chemical potential, and orientation. We also discuss\ndifferent definitions and behavior of c-functions in this model. The c-function\ncalculated in the Einstein frame decreases while increasing $\\ell$ for all\n$\\ell$ in the isotropic case (in regions of $(\\mu,T)$-plane far away from the\nline of the phase transition). We find the non-monotonicity of the c-functions\nfor several anisotropic configurations, which however does not contradict with\nany of the existing c-theorems since they all base on Lorentz invariance.",
        "positive": "Chiral Rings and Integrable Systems for Models of Topological Gravity: (Talk given at Strings '93, Berkeley, and at XXVII. Internationales Symposium\n\\\"uber Elementarteilchentheorie, Wendisch-Rietz, 1993) We review the\nsuperconformal properties of matter coupled to $2d$ gravity, and $W$-extensions\nthereof. We show in particular how the \\nex2 structure provides a direct link\nbetween certain matter-gravity systems and matrix models. We also show that\nmuch, probably all, of this can be generalized to $W$-gravity, and this leads\nto an infinite class of new exactly solvable systems. These systems are\ngoverned by certain integrable hierarchies, which are generalizations of the\nusual KdV hierarchy and whose algebraic structure is given in terms of quantum\ncohomology rings of grassmannians."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Stable interactions via proper deformations: A new method is proposed for switching on interactions that are compatible\nwith global symmetries and conservation laws of the original free theory. The\nmethod is applied to the control of stability in Lagrangian and non-Lagrangian\ntheories with higher derivatives. By way of illustration, a wide class of\nstable interactions is constructed for the Pais-Uhlenbeck oscillator.",
        "positive": "Jordan Frame Supergravity and Inflation in NMSSM: We present a complete explicit N=1, d=4 supergravity action in an arbitrary\nJordan frame with non-minimal scalar-curvature coupling of the form $\\Phi(z,\n\\bar z)\\, R$. The action is derived by suitably gauge-fixing the superconformal\naction. The theory has a modified Kaehler geometry, and it exhibits a\nsignificant dependence on the frame function $\\Phi (z, \\bar z)$ and its\nderivatives over scalars, in the bosonic as well as in the fermionic part of\nthe action. Under certain simple conditions, the scalar kinetic terms in the\nJordan frame have a canonical form. We consider an embedding of the\nNext-to-Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (NMSSM) gauge theory into\nsupergravity, clarifying the Higgs inflation model recently proposed by Einhorn\nand Jones. We find that the conditions for canonical kinetic terms are\nsatisfied for the NMSSM scalars in the Jordan frame, which leads to a simple\naction. However, we find that the gauge singlet field experiences a strong\ntachyonic instability during inflation in this model. Thus, a modification of\nthe model is required to support the Higgs-type inflation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Tidal resonances for fuzzballs: We study the gravitational tidal response of D1D5, Top Star and (1,0,n)\nstrata horizonless geometries. We find that the tidal interactions in fuzzball\ngeometries, unlike in the case of black holes, exhibits a sequence of resonant\npeaks associated to the existence of metastable bound states. The spectrum of\nresonant frequencies is computed by semi-analytical and numerical methods.",
        "positive": "Holography and the sound of criticality: Using gauge/gravity duality techniques, we discuss the sound-channel retarded\ncorrelators of vector and tensor conserved currents in a class of\n$(2+1)$-dimensional strongly-coupled field theories at zero temperature and\nfinite charge density, assumed to be holographically dual to the extremal\nReissner-Nordstr\\\"{o}m AdS$_4$ black hole. Using a combination of analytical\nand numerical methods, we determine the quasinormal mode spectrum at finite\nmomentum for the coupled gravitational and electromagnetic perturbations, and\ndiscuss the appropriate choice of gauge-invariant variables (master fields) in\norder for the black hole quasinormal frequencies to reproduce the field theory\nspectrum. We discuss the role of the near horizon AdS$_{2}$ geometry in\ndetermining the low-frequency behavior of retarded correlators in the boundary\ntheory, and comment on the emergence of criticality in the IR. In addition, we\nestablish the existence of a sound mode at zero temperature and compute the\nspeed of sound and sound attenuation constant numerically, obtaining a result\nconsistent with the expectations from the zero temperature limit of\nhydrodynamics. The dispersion relation of higher resonances is also\ninvestigated."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Appearance and disappearance of thermal renormalons: We consider a scalar field model with a $g \\phi_4^4$ interaction and compute\nthe mass correction at next-to-leading order in a large-$N$ expansion to study\nthe summability of the perturbative series. It is already known that at zero\ntemperature this model has a singularity in the Borel plane (a \"renormalon\").\nWe find that a small increase in temperature adds two countable sets both with\nan infinite number of renormalons. For one of the sets the position of the\npoles is thermal independent and the residue is thermal dependent. In the other\none both the position of poles and the residues are thermal dependent. If we\nconsider the model at extremely high temperatures, however, one observes that\nall the renormalons disappear and the model becomes Borel summable.",
        "positive": "Trace anomaly and Casimir effect: The Casimir energy for scalar field of two parallel conductor in two\ndimensional domain wall background, with Dirichlet boundary conditions, is\ncalculated by making use of general properties of renormalized stress tensor.We\nshow that vacuum expectation values of stress tensor contain two terms which\ncome from the boundary conditions and the gravitational background. In two\ndimensions the minimal coupling reduces to the conformal coupling and stress\ntensor can be obtained by the local and non-local contribution of the anomalous\ntrace. This work shows that there exists a subtle relation between Casimir\neffect and trace anomaly in curved space time."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetry algebra cohomology I: Definition and general structure: The paper concerns standard supersymmetry algebras in diverse dimensions,\ninvolving bosonic translational generators and fermionic supersymmetry\ngenerators. A cohomology related to these supersymmetry algebras, termed\nsupersymmetry algebra cohomology, and corresponding \"primitive elements\" are\ndefined by means of a BRST-type coboundary operator. A method to systematically\ncompute this cohomology is outlined and illustrated by simple examples.",
        "positive": "Principal Chiral Model without and with WZ term: Symmetries and\n  Poisson-Lie T-Duality: Duality properties of the $SU(2)$ Principal Chiral Model are investigated\nstarting from a one-parameter family of its equivalent Hamiltonian descriptions\ngenerated by a non-Abelian deformation of the cotangent space $T^*SU(2) \\simeq\nSU(2) \\ltimes \\mathbb{R}^3$. The corresponding dual models are obtained through\n$O(3,3)$ duality transformations and result to be defined on the group\n$SB(2,\\mathbb{C})$, which is the Poisson-Lie dual of $SU(2)$ in the Iwasawa\ndecomposition of the Drinfel'd double $SL(2,\\mathbb{C})=SU(2) \\bowtie\nSB(2,\\mathbb{C})$.These dual models provide an explicit realization of\nPoisson-Lie T-duality. A doubled generalized parent action is then built on the\ntangent space $TSL(2,\\mathbb{C})$. Furthermore, a generalization of the $SU(2)$\nPCM with a WZ term is shortly discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Towards Cosmological Black Rings: We classify all pseudo-supersymmetric near horizon geometries of extremal\nblack holes in five dimensional de-Sitter supergravity coupled to vector\nmultiplets. We find that there are three types of solution. The first type\ncorresponds to the near-horizon geometry of extremal de Sitter BMPV black\nholes, and the spatial cross-section of the horizon is topologically S^3. The\nother two solutions cannot be embedded into the minimal de-Sitter supergravity\ntheory, and correspond to near-horizon geometries for which the spatial\ncross-sections of the horizon are T^3 or S^1 * S^2.",
        "positive": "New Worldsheet Formulae for Conformal Supergravity Amplitudes: We use 4d ambitwistor string theory to derive new worldsheet formulae for\ntree-level conformal supergravity amplitudes supported on refined scattering\nequations. Unlike the worldsheet formulae for super-Yang-Mills or supergravity,\nthe scattering equations for conformal supergravity are not in general refined\nby MHV degree. Nevertheless, we obtain a concise worldsheet formula for any\nnumber of scalars and gravitons which we lift to a manifestly supersymmetric\nformula using four types of vertex operators. The theory also contains states\nwith non-plane wave boundary conditions and we show that the corresponding\namplitudes can be obtained from plane-wave amplitudes by applying momentum\nderivatives. Such derivatives are subtle to define since the formulae are\nintrinsically four-dimensional and on-shell, so we develop a method for\ncomputing momentum derivatives of spinor variables."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Probing 7-branes on Orbifolds: D3 branes in the vicinity of an E6, E7, or E8 stack of 7-branes in flat space\nare known to host at low energy a famous class of strongly-coupled N = 2\nsuperconformal field theories featuring exceptional global symmetry. What if,\ninstead, the 7-branes wrap an orbifold? We give a systematic characterization\nof such theories in the case of C2/Zn, and determine their main properties,\nlike global symmetries, spectra of Coulomb-branch operators, and patterns of\nHiggs-branch flows. We put forward a set of rules to construct their magnetic\nquivers, which directly generalize what happens in the perturbative case, and\nlater derive them using the duality with M5 branes probing M9 walls.",
        "positive": "Quantisation of \u03b8-expanded non-commutative QED: We analyse two new versions of \\theta-expanded non-commutative quantum\nelectrodynamics up to first order in \\theta and first loop order. In the first\nversion we expand the bosonic sector using the Seiberg-Witten map, leaving the\nfermions unexpanded. In the second version we leave both bosons and fermions\nunexpanded. The analysis shows that the Seiberg-Witten map is a field\nredefinition at first order in \\theta. However, at higher order in \\theta the\nSeiberg-Witten map cannot be regarded as a field redefinition. We find that the\ninitial action of any \\theta-expanded massless non-commutative QED must include\none extra term proportional to \\theta which we identify by loop calculations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Second Law of Quantum Complexity: We give arguments for the existence of a thermodynamics of quantum complexity\nthat includes a \"Second Law of Complexity\". To guide us, we derive a\ncorrespondence between the computational (circuit) complexity of a quantum\nsystem of $K$ qubits, and the positional entropy of a related classical system\nwith $2^K$ degrees of freedom. We also argue that the kinetic entropy of the\nclassical system is equivalent to the Kolmogorov complexity of the quantum\nHamiltonian. We observe that the expected pattern of growth of the complexity\nof the quantum system parallels the growth of entropy of the classical system.\nWe argue that the property of having less-than-maximal complexity\n(uncomplexity) is a resource that can be expended to perform directed quantum\ncomputation.\n  Although this paper is not primarily about black holes, we find a surprising\ninterpretation of the uncomplexity-resource as the accessible volume of\nspacetime behind a black hole horizon.",
        "positive": "SU(N)-Gauge Theories in Polyakov Gauge on the Torus: We investigate the Abelian projection with respect to the Polyakov loop\noperator for SU(N) gauge theories on the four torus. The gauge fixed $A_0$ is\ntime-independent and diagonal. We construct fundamental domains for $A_0$. In\nsectors with non-vanishing instanton number such gauge fixings are always\nsingular. The singularities define the positions of magnetically charged\nmonopoles, strings or walls. These magnetic defects sit on the Gribov horizon\nand have quantized magnetic charges. We relate their magnetic charges to the\ninstanton number."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spinning constraints on chaotic large $c$ CFTs: We study out-of-time ordered four-point functions in two dimensional\nconformal field theories by suitably analytically continuing the Euclidean\ncorrelator. For large central charge theories with a sparse spectrum, chaotic\ndynamics is revealed in an exponential decay; this is seen directly in the\ncontribution of the vacuum block to the correlation function. However,\ncontributions from individual non-vacuum blocks with large spin and small twist\ndominate over the vacuum block. We argue, based on holographic intuition, that\nsuitable summations over such intermediate states in the block decomposition of\nthe correlator should be sub-dominant, and attempt to use this criterion to\nconstrain the OPE data with partial success. Along the way we also discuss the\nrelation between the spinning Virasoro blocks and the on-shell worldline action\nof spinning particles in an asymptotically AdS spacetime.",
        "positive": "Thermodynamics of Exotic Black Holes, Negative Temperature, and\n  Bekenstein-Hawking Entropy: Recently, exotic black holes whose masses and angular momenta are\ninterchanged have been found, and it is known that their entropies depend only\non the $inner$ horizon areas. But a basic problem of these entropies is that\nthe second law of thermodynamics is not guaranteed, in contrast to the\nBekenstein-Hawking entropy. Here, I find that there is another entropy formula\nwhich recovers the usual Bekenstein-Hawking form, but the characteristic\nangular velocity and temperature are identified with those of the inner\nhorizon, in order to satisfy the first law of black hole thermodynamics. The\ntemperature has a $negative$ value, due to an upper bound of mass as in spin\nsystems, and the angular velocity has a $lower$ bound. I show that one can\nobtain the same entropy formula from a conformal field theory computation,\nbased on classical Virasoro algebras. I also describe several unanswered\nproblems and some proposals for how these might be addressed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetric Integrable Hierarchies and String Theory: This thesis is roughly organized into two parts. The first one (the first\nthree chapters), expository in nature, attempts to place the current work in\ncontext: at first historically, but then focusing on the Lax formalism and the\nAdler--Gel'fand--Dickey scheme for hierarchies of the KdV type. The second part\n(the last four chapters) comprises the main body of this work. It begins by\ndeveloping the supersymmetric Lax formalism, introducing the ring of formal\nsuperpseudodifferential operators and the associated Poisson structures. We\ndiscuss three supersymmetric extensions of the KP hierarchy (MRSKP, \\SKP2, and\nJSKP). We define and compute their additional symmetries and we find that the\nalgebra of additional symmetries are in all three cases isomorphic to the Lie\nalgebra of superdifferential operators. We discuss a new reduction of \\SKP2 and\nthe relation between MRSKP and \\SKP2 is clarified. Finally we consider the (so\nfar) only integrable hierarchy to have played a role in noncritical superstring\ntheory (sKdV-B). We identify it, prove its bihamiltonian integrability, and\nextend it by odd flows. We close with a discussion of new integrable\nsupersymmetrizations of the KdV-like hierarchies suggested by the study of\nsKdV-B. (This is the author's PhD Thesis from the Physics Deparment of the\nUniversity of Bonn, July 1994.)",
        "positive": "Electric/magnetic duality for chiral gauge theories with anomaly\n  cancellation: We show that 4D gauge theories with Green-Schwarz anomaly cancellation and\npossible generalized Chern-Simons terms admit a formulation that is manifestly\ncovariant with respect to electric/magnetic duality transformations. This\ngeneralizes previous work on the symplectically covariant formulation of\nanomaly-free gauge theories as they typically occur in extended supergravity,\nand now also includes general theories with (pseudo-)anomalous gauge\ninteractions as they may occur in global or local N=1 supersymmetry. This\ngeneralization is achieved by relaxing the linear constraint on the embedding\ntensor so as to allow for a symmetric 3-tensor related to electric and/or\nmagnetic quantum anomalies in these theories. Apart from electric and magnetic\ngauge fields, the resulting Lagrangians also feature two-form fields and can\naccommodate various unusual duality frames as they often appear, e.g., in\nstring compactifications with background fluxes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Instanton calculus and chiral one-point functions in supersymmetric\n  gauge theories: We compute topological one-point functions of the chiral operator Tr \\phi^k\nin the maximally confining phase of U(N) supersymmetric gauge theory. These\none-point functions are polynomials in the equivariant parameter \\hbar and the\nparameter of instanton expansion q=\\Lambda^{2N} and are of particular interest\nfrom gauge/string theory correspondence, since they are related to the\nGromov-Witten theory of P^1. Based on a combinatorial identity that gives\nsummation formula over Young diagrams of relevant functions, we find a relation\namong chiral one-point functions, which recursively determines the \\hbar\nexpansion of the generating function of one-point functions. Using a result\nfrom the operator formalism of the Gromov-Witten theory, we also present a\nvacuum expectation value of the loop operator Tr e^{it\\phi}.",
        "positive": "Multisolitons in a Two-dimensional Skyrme Model: The Skyrme model can be generalised to a situation where static fields are\nmaps from one Riemannian manifold to another. Here we study a Skyrme model\nwhere physical space is two-dimensional euclidean space and the target space is\nthe two-sphere with its standard metric. The model has topological soliton\nsolutions which are exponentially localised. We describe a superposition\nprocedure for solitons in our model and derive an expression for the\ninteraction potential of two solitons which only involves the solitons'\nasymptotic fields. If the solitons have topological degree 1 or 2 there are\nsimple formulae for their interaction potentials which we use to prove the\nexistence of solitons of higher degree. We explicitly compute the fields and\nenergy distributions for solitons of degrees between one and six and discuss\ntheir geometrical shapes and binding energies."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Group Theoretical Structure of $N=1$ and $N=2$ Two-Form Supegravity: We clarifies the group theoretical structure of $N=1$ and $N=2$ two-form\nsupergravity, which is classically equivalent to the Einstein supergravity.\n$N=1$ and $N=2$ two-form supergravity theories can be formulated as gauge\ntheories. By introducing two Grassmann variables $\\theta^A$ ($A=1,2$), we\nconstruct the explicit representations of the generators $Q^i$ of the gauge\ngroup, which makes to express any product of the generators as a linear\ncombination of the generators $Q^iQ^j=\\sum_k f^{ij}_k Q^k$. By using the\nexpression and the tensor product representation, we explain how to construct\nfinite-dimensional representations of the gauge groups. Based on these\nrepresentations, we construct the Lagrangeans of $N=1$ and $N=2$ two-form\nsupergravity theories.",
        "positive": "Quantization in a General Light-front Frame: In this paper, we study the question of quantization of quantum field\ntheories in a general light-front frame. We quantize scalar, fermion as well as\ngauge field theories in a systematic manner carrying out the Hamiltonian\nanalysis carefully. The decomposition of the fields into positive and negative\nfrequency terms needs to be done carefully after which we show that the (anti)\ncommutation relations for the quantum operators become frame independent. The\nframe dependence is completely contained in the functions multiplying these\noperators in the field decomposition. We derive the propagators from the vacuum\nexpectation values of the time ordered products of the fields."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "QFT as pilot-wave theory of particle creation and destruction: States in quantum field theory (QFT) are represented by many-particle wave\nfunctions, such that a state describing n particles depends on n spacetime\npositions. Since a general state is a superposition of states with different\nnumbers of particles, the wave function lives in the configuration space\nidentified with a product of an infinite number of 4-dimensional Minkowski\nspacetimes. The squared absolute value of the wave function is interpreted as\nthe probability density in the configuration space, from which the standard\nprobabilistic predictions of QFT can be recovered. Such a formulation and\nprobabilistic interpretation of QFT allows to interpret the wave function as a\npilot wave that describes deterministic particle trajectories, which\nautomatically includes a deterministic and continuous description of particle\ncreation and destruction. In particular, when the conditional wave function\nassociated with a quantum measurement ceases to depend on one of the spacetime\ncoordinates, then the 4-velocity of the corresponding particle vanishes,\ndescribing a trajectory that stops at a particular point in spacetime. In a\nmore general situation a dependence on this spacetime coordinate is negligibly\nsmall but not strictly zero, in which case the trajectory does not stop but the\nmeasuring apparatus still behaves as if this particle has been destroyed.",
        "positive": "On Multibrane Solutions in Open String Field Theory: Existence of open string field theory solutions describing configurations of\nmultiple space-filling D-branes has been a subject of numerous speculations for\nquite some time. In this talk we present some new results giving further\nsupport to these ideas."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Factorized Combinations of Virasoro Characters: We investigate linear combinations of characters for minimal Virasoro models\nwhich are representable as a products of several basic blocks. Our analysis is\nbased on consideration of asymptotic behaviour of the characters in the\nquasi-classical limit. In particular, we introduce a notion of the secondary\neffective central charge. We find all possible cases for which factorization\noccurs on the base of the Gauss-Jacobi or the Watson identities. Exploiting\nthese results, we establish various types of identities between different\ncharacters. In particular, we present several identities generalizing the\nRogers-Ramanujan identities. Applications to quasi-particle representations,\nmodular invariant partition functions, super-conformal theories and conformal\nmodels with boundaries are briefly discussed.",
        "positive": "Isolated Vortex and Vortex Lattice in a Holographic p-wave\n  Superconductor: Using the holographic gauge-gravity duality, we find a solution for an\nisolated vortex and a vortex lattice in a 2+1 dimensional p-wave\nsuperconductor, which is described by the boundary theory dual to an SU(2)\ngauge theory in 3+1 dimensional anti-de Sitter space. Both $p_x+ip_y$ and\n$p_x-ip_y$ components of the superconducting order parameter, as well as the\neffects of a magnetic field on these components, are considered. The isolated\nvortex solution is studied, and it is found that the two order parameter\ncomponents have different amplitudes due to the time reversal symmetry\nbreaking. The vortex lattice for large magnetic fields is also studied, where\nit is argued that only one order parameter component will be nonzero\nsufficiently close to the upper critical field. The upper critical field\nexhibits a characteristic upward curvature, reflecting the effects of\nfield-induced correlations captured by the holographic theory. The free energy\nis calculated perturbatively in this region of the phase diagram, and it is\nshown that the triangular vortex lattice is the thermodynamically preferred\nsolution."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A basis for large operators in N=4 SYM with orthogonal gauge group: We develop techniques to study the correlation functions of \"large operators\"\nwhose bare dimension grows parametrically with N, in SO(N) gauge theory. We\nbuild the operators from a single complex matrix. For these operators, the\nlarge N limit of correlation functions is not captured by summing only the\nplanar diagrams. By employing group representation theory we are able to define\nlocal operators which generalize the Schur polynomials of the theory with gauge\ngroup U(N). We compute the two point function of our operators exactly in the\nfree field limit showing that they diagonalize the two point function. We\nexplain how these results can be used to obtain the exact free field answers\nfor correlators of operators in the trace basis.",
        "positive": "Towards lattice-regularized Quantum Gravity: Using the Cartan formulation of General Relativity, we construct a well\ndefined lattice-regularized theory capable to describe large non-perturbative\nquantum fluctuations of the frame field (or the metric) and of the spin\nconnection. To that end we need to present the tetrad by a composite field\nbuilt as a bilinear combination of fermion fields. The theory is explicitly\ninvariant under local Lorentz transformations and, in the continuum limit,\nunder general covariant transformations, or diffeomorphisms. Being well defined\nfor large and fast varying fields at the ultraviolet cutoff, the theory\nsimultaneously has chances of reproducing standard General Relativity in the\ninfrared continuum limit. The present regularization of quantum gravity opens\nnew possibilities of its unification with the Standard Model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The non-local action for the induced 2d supergravity: The two-dimensional simple supergravity is reexamined from the point of view\nof super-Weyl group cohomologies. The non-local form of the effective action of\n2d supergravity which generalise the famous $R 1/\\Box R$ is obtained.",
        "positive": "1+1 Dimensional NCOS and its U(N) Gauge Theory Dual: We study some aspects of open string theories on D-branes with critical\nelectric fields. We show that the massless open string modes that move in the\ndirection of the electric field decouple. In the 1+1 dimensional case the dual\ntheory is U(N) SYM with electric flux, and the decoupling of massless open\nstrings is dual to the decoupling of the U(1) degrees of freedom. We also show\nthat, if the direction along the electric field is compact, then there are\nfinite energy winding closed string modes. They are dual to Higgs branch\nexcitations of the SYM theory, and their energetics works accordingly. These\nproperties provide new non-trivial evidence for the duality."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Semi-scaling cosmic strings: We develop a model of string dynamics with back-reaction from both scaling\nand non-scaling loops taken into account. The evolution of a string network is\ndescribed by the distribution functions of coherence segments and kinks. We\nderive two non-linear equations which govern the evolution of the two\ndistributions and solve them analytically in the limit of late times. We also\nshow that the correlation function is an exponential, and solve the dynamics\nfor the corresponding spectrum of scaling loops.",
        "positive": "Pseudoclassical Mechanics for the spin 0 and 1 particles: We give an action for the massless spinning particle in pseudoclassical\nmechanics by using grassmann variables. The constructed action is invariant\nunder $\\tau $-reparametrizations, local SUSY and O(N) transformations. After\nquantization, for the special case N=2, we get an action which describes the\nspin 0, 1 particles and topological sectors of the massless DKP theory. A SUSY\nformulation of the given model is also explored."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Constructing and Machine Learning Calabi-Yau Five-folds: We construct all possible complete intersection Calabi-Yau five-folds in a\nproduct of four or less complex projective spaces, with up to four constraints.\nWe obtain $27068$ spaces, which are not related by permutations of rows and\ncolumns of the configuration matrix, and determine the Euler number for all of\nthem. Excluding the $3909$ product manifolds among those, we calculate the\ncohomological data for $12433$ cases, i.e. $53.7 \\%$ of the non-product spaces,\nobtaining $2375$ different Hodge diamonds. The dataset containing all the above\ninformation is available at\nhttps://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/z7ii5idt6qxu36e0b8azq/h?rlkey=0qfhx3tykytduobpld510gsfy&dl=0\n. The distributions of the invariants are presented, and a comparison with the\nlower-dimensional analogues is discussed. Supervised machine learning is\nperformed on the cohomological data, via classifier and regressor (both fully\nconnected and convolutional) neural networks. We find that $h^{1,1}$ can be\nlearnt very efficiently, with very high $R^2$ score and an accuracy of $96\\%$,\ni.e. $96 \\%$ of the predictions exactly match the correct values. For\n$h^{1,4},h^{2,3}, \\eta$, we also find very high $R^2$ scores, but the accuracy\nis lower, due to the large ranges of possible values.",
        "positive": "Renormalization of Tamm-Dancoff Integral Equations: During the last few years, interest has arisen in using light-front\nTamm-Dancoff field theory to describe relativistic bound states for theories\nsuch as QCD. Unfortunately, difficult renormalization problems stand in the\nway. We introduce a general, non-perturbative approach to renormalization that\nis well suited for the ultraviolet and, presumably, the infrared divergences\nfound in these systems. We reexpress the renormalization problem in terms of a\nset of coupled inhomogeneous integral equations, the ``counterterm equation.''\nThe solution of this equation provides a kernel for the Tamm-Dancoff integral\nequations which generates states that are independent of any cutoffs. We also\nintroduce a Rayleigh-Ritz approach to numerical solution of the counterterm\nequation. Using our approach to renormalization, we examine several ultraviolet\ndivergent models. Finally, we use the Rayleigh-Ritz approach to find the\ncounterterms in terms of allowed operators of a theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Carroll/fracton particles and their correspondence: We exploit the close relationship between the Carroll and fracton/dipole\nalgebras, together with the method of coadjoint orbits, to define and classify\nclassical Carroll and fracton particles. This approach establishes a\nCarroll/fracton correspondence and provides an answer to the question \"What is\na fracton?\".\n  Under this correspondence, carrollian energy and center-of-mass correspond to\nthe fracton electric charge and dipole moment, respectively. Then immobile\nmassive Carroll particles correspond to the fracton monopoles, whereas certain\nmobile Carroll particles (\"centrons\") correspond to fracton elementary dipoles.\nWe uncover various new massless carrollian/neutral fractonic particles, provide\nan action in each case and relate them via a $GL(2,\\mathbb{R})$ symmetry.\n  We also comment on the limit from Poincar\\'e particles, the relation to\n(electric and magnetic) Carroll field theories, contrast Carroll boosts with\ndipole transformations and highlight a generalisation to curved space ((A)dS\nCarroll).",
        "positive": "Higher-Derivative Chiral Superfield Actions Coupled to N=1 Supergravity: We construct N=1 supergravity extensions of scalar field theories with\nhigher-derivative kinetic terms. Special attention is paid to the auxiliary\nfields, whose elimination leads not only to corrections to the kinetic terms,\nbut to new expressions for the potential energy as well. For example, a\npotential energy can be generated even in the absence of a superpotential. Our\nformalism allows one to write a supergravity extension of any higher-derivative\nscalar field theory and, therefore, has applications to both particle physics\nand cosmological model building. As an illustration, we couple the\nhigher-derivative DBI action describing a 3-brane in 6-dimensions to N=1\nsupergravity. This displays a number of new features-- including the fact that,\nin the regime where the higher-derivative kinetic terms become important, the\npotential tends to be everywhere negative."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dark energy from modified F(R)-scalar-Gauss-Bonnet gravity: The modified F(R)-scalar-Gauss-Bonnet gravity is proposed as dark energy\nmodel. The reconstruction program for such theory is developed. It is\nexplicitly demonstrated that the known classical universe expansion history\n(deceleration epoch, transition to acceleration and effective quintessence,\nphantom or cosmological constant era) may naturally occur in such unified\ntheory for some (reconstructed) classes of scalar potentials. Gauss-Bonnet\nassisted dark energy is also proposed. The possibility of cosmic acceleration\nis studied there.",
        "positive": "Jet quenching in shock waves: We study the propagation of an ultrarelativistic light quark jet inside a\nshock wave using the holographic principle. The maximum stopping distance and\nits dependency on the energy of the jet is obtained."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "BRST invariant Lagrangian of spontaneously broken gauge theories in\n  noncommutative geometry: The quantization of spontaneously broken gauge theories in noncommutative\ngeometry(NCG) has been sought for some time, because quantization is crucial\nfor making the NCG approach a reliable and physically acceptable theory. Lee,\nHwang and Ne'eman recently succeeded in realizing the BRST quantization of\ngauge theories in NCG in the matrix derivative approach proposed by Coquereaux\net al. The present author has proposed a characteristic formulation to\nreconstruct a gauge theory in NCG on the discrete space $M_4\\times Z_{_N}$.\nSince this formulation is a generalization of the differential geometry on the\nordinary manifold to that on the discrete manifold, it is more familiar than\nother approaches. In this paper, we show that within our formulation we can\nobtain the BRST invariant Lagrangian in the same way as Lee, Hwang and Ne'eman\nand apply it to the SU(2)$\\times$U(1) gauge theory.",
        "positive": "Thermalization in different phases of charged SYK model: We study thermalization of charged SYK model in two different phases. We show\nthat both the highly chaotic liquid phase and the dilute gas phase thermalize.\nSurprisingly the dilute gas state thermalizes instantaneously. We argue that\nthis phenomenon arises because the system in this phase consists of only\nlong-lived quasi-particles at very low density. The liquid state thermalizes\nexponentially fast. We also show that the additional introduction of random\nmass deformation (q=2 SYK term) slows down thermalization but the system\nthermalizes exponentially fast. This is observed despite the fact that the\naddition of large q=2 SYK interaction forces spectral statistics to obey\nPoisson statistics. An interesting new observation is that the effective\ntemperature is non-monotonic during thermalization in the liquid state. It has\na bump at relatively long time before settling down to the final value. With\nnon-zero chemical potential, the effective temperature oscillates noticeably\nbefore settling down to the final value."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-local computation and the black hole interior: In a two sided black hole, systems falling in from opposite asymptotic\nregions can meet inside the black hole and interact. This is the case even\nwhile the two CFTs describing each asymptotic region are non-interacting. Here,\nwe relate these behind the horizon interactions to non-local quantum\ncomputations. This gives a quantum circuit perspective on these interactions,\nwhich applies whenever the interaction occurs in the past of a certain extremal\nsurface that sits inside the black hole and in arbitrary dimension. Whenever\nour perspective applies, we obtain a boundary signature for these interior\ncollisions which is stated in terms of the mutual information. We further\nrevisit the connection discussed earlier between bulk interactions in one sided\nAdS geometries and non-local computation, and recycle some of our techniques to\noffer a new perspective on making that connection precise.",
        "positive": "Field theory amplitudes in a space with SU(2) fuzziness: The structure of transition amplitudes in field theory in a three-dimensional\nspace whose spatial coordinates are noncommutative and satisfy the SU(2) Lie\nalgebra commutation relations is examined. In particular, the basic notions for\nconstructing the observables of the theory as well as subtleties related to the\nproper treatment of $\\delta$ distributions (corresponding to conservation laws)\nare introduced. Explicit examples are given for scalar field theory amplitudes\nin the lowest order of perturbation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Stringy corrections to the entropy of electrically charged\n  supersymmetric black holes with $\\mathrm{AdS}_5\\times S^5$ asymptotics: We study the leading $\\alpha^\\prime$ corrections to the entropy of certain\nblack holes with AdS$_5\\times S^5$ asymptotics. We find that, in the\nsupersymmetric limit, the entropy does not receive $\\alpha^\\prime$ corrections.\nThis result strengthens recent calculations that match the index of\n$\\mathcal{N}=4$ Super-Yang-Mills with the corresponding partition function in\nthe supersymmetric limit. In the small temperature regime, we find that the\nentropy corrections are concordant with the weak gravity conjecture.",
        "positive": "Can the Type-IIB axion prevent Pre-big Bang inflation?: We look at the possibility of superinflationary behavior in a class of\nanisotropic Type-IIB superstring cosmologies in the context of Pre-big Bang\nscenario and find that there exists a rather narrow range of parameters for\nwhich these models inflate. We then show that, although in general this\nbehavior is left untouched by the introduction of a Ramond-Ramond axion field\nthrough a SL(2,R) rotation, there exists a particular class of axions for which\ninflation disappears completely. Asymptotic past initial conditions are briefly\ndiscussed, and some speculations on the possible extension of Pre-big Bang\nideas to gravitational collapse are presented."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Twisted differential K-characters and D-branes: We analyse in detail the language of partially non-abelian Deligne cohomology\nand of twisted differential K-theory, in order to describe the geometry of type\nII superstring backgrounds with D-branes. This description will also provide\nthe opportunity to show some mathematical results of independent interest. In\nparticular, we begin classifying the possible gauge theories on a D-brane or on\na stack of D-branes using the intrinsic tool of long exact sequences.\nAfterwards, we recall how to construct two relevant models of differential\ntwisted K-theory, paying particular attention to the dependence on the twisting\ncocycle within its cohomology class. In this way we will be able to define\ntwisted K-homology and twisted Cheeger-Simons K-characters in the category of\nsimply-connected manifolds, eliminating any unnatural dependence on the\ncocycle. The ambiguity left for non simply-connected manifolds will naturally\ncorrespond to the ambiguity in the gauge theory, following the previous\nclassification. This picture will allow for a complete characterization of\nD-brane world-volumes, the Wess-Zumino action and topological D-brane charges\nwithin the K-theoretical framework, that can be compared step by step to the\nold cohomological classification. This has already been done for backgrounds\nwith vanishing B-field; here we remove this hypothesis.",
        "positive": "A Note on the Supersymmetries of the Self-Dual Supermembrane: In this letter we discuss the supersymmetry issue of the self dual\nsupermembranes in (8+1) and (4+1)-dimensions. We find that all genuine\nsolutions of the (8+1)-dimensional supermembrane, based on the exceptional\ngroup G_2, preserve one of the sixteen supersymmetries while all solutions in\n(4+1)-dimensions preserve eight of them."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exact Multiplicities in the Three-Anyon Spectrum: Using the symmetry properties of the three-anyon spectrum, we obtain exactly\nthe multiplicities of states with given energy and angular momentum. The\nresults are shown to be in agreement with the proper quantum mechanical and\nsemiclassical considerations, and the unexplained points are indicated.",
        "positive": "Fermion localization on a split brane: In this work we analyze the localization of fermions on a brane embedded in\nfive-dimensional, warped and non-warped, space-time. In both cases we use the\nsame nonlinear theoretical model with a non-polynomial potential featuring a\nself-interacting scalar field whose minimum energy solution is a soliton (a\nkink) which can be continuously deformed into a two-kink. Thus a single brane\nsplits into two branes. The behavior of spin 1/2 fermions wavefunctions on the\nsplit brane depends on the coupling of fermions to the scalar field and on the\ngeometry of the space-time."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Twist-field representations of W-algebras, exact conformal blocks and\n  character identities: We study the twist-field representations of W-algebras and generalize\nconstruction of the corresponding vertex operators to D- and B-series. It is\nshown, how the computation of characters of these representations leads to\nnontrivial identities involving lattice theta-functions. We also propose a way\nto calculate their exact conformal blocks, expressing them for D-series in\nterms of geometric data of the corresponding Prym variety for covering curve\nwith involution.",
        "positive": "Instanton effects in ABJM theory with general R-charge assignments: We study the large N expansion of the partition function of the quiver\nsuperconformal Chern-Simons theories deformed by two continuous parameters\nwhich correspond to the general R-charge assignment to the matter fields.\nThough the deformation breaks the conformal symmetry, we find that the\npartition function shares various structures with the superconformal cases,\nsuch as the Airy function expression of the perturbative expansion in 1/N with\nthe overall constant A(k) related to the constant map in the ABJM case through\na simple rescaling of k. We also identify five kinds of the non-perturbative\neffects in 1/N which correspond to the membrane instantons. The instanton\nexponents and the singular structure of the coefficients depend on the\ncontinuous deformation parameters, in contrast to the superconformal case where\nall the parameters are integers associated with the orbifold action on the\nmoduli space. This implies that the singularity of the instanton effects would\nbe observable also in the gravity side."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quenched, Minisuperspace, Bosonic p-brane Propagator: We borrow the minisuperspace approximation from Quantum Cosmology and the\nquenching approximation from QCD in order to derive a new form of the bosonic\np-brane propagator. In this new approximation we obtain an exact description of\nboth the collective mode deformation of the brane and the center of mass\ndynamics in the target spacetime. The collective mode dynamics is a\ngeneralization of string dynamics in terms of area variables. The final result\nis that the evolution of a p-brane in the quenched-minisuperspace approximation\nis formally equivalent to the effective motion of a particle in a spacetime\nwhere points as well as hypersurfaces are considered on the same footing as\nfundamental geometrical objects. This geometric equivalence leads us to define\na new tension-shell condition that is a direct extension of the Klein-Gordon\ncondition for material particles to the case of a physical p-brane.",
        "positive": "Liouville/Toda central charges from M5-branes: We show that the central charge of the Liouville and ADE Toda theories can be\nreproduced by equivariantly integrating the anomaly eight-form of the\ncorresponding six-dimensional N=(0,2) theories, which describe the low-energy\ndynamics of M5-branes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Meson mass and confinement force driven by dilaton: Meson spectra given as fluctuations of a D7 brane are studied under the\nbackground driven by the dilaton. This leads to a dual gauge theory with quark\nconfinement due to the gauge condensate. We find that the effect of the gauge\ncondensate on the meson spectrum is essential in order to make a realistic\nhadron spectrum in the non-supersymmetric case. In the supersymmetric case,\nhowever, only the spectra of the scalars are affected, but they are changed in\nan opposite way compared to the non-supersymmetric case.",
        "positive": "Conformal Behavior at Four Loops and Scheme (In)Dependence: We search for infrared zeros of the beta function and evaluate the anomalous\ndimension of the mass at the associated fixed point for asymptotically free\nvector-like fermionic gauge theories with gauge group SU(N). The fixed points\nof the beta function are studied at the two, three and four loop level in two\ndifferent explicit schemes. These are the modified regularization invariant,\nRI', scheme and the minimal momentum subtraction, mMOM, scheme. The search is\nperformed in Landau gauge where the beta function of the gauge parameter\nvanishes. We then compare our findings to earlier identical investigations\nperformed in the modified minimal subtraction, $\\bar{\\text{MS}}$, scheme.\n  It is found that the value of the anomalous dimension of the mass is smaller\nat three and four loops than at two loops. This seems to be a generic pattern\nthat is observed in all three different schemes. We then estimate the value of\nthe anomalous dimension to be $\\gamma \\sim 0.225-0.375$ for twelve fundamental\nflavors and three colors, $\\gamma \\sim 0.500 - 0.593$ for two adjoint flavors\nand two colors and finally $\\gamma \\sim 1.12-1.70$ for two two-indexed flavors\nand three colors with the lower and upper bound set by the minimum and maximum\nvalue respectively over all three schemes and at three and four loops. Our\nanalysis suggests that the former two theories lie in the conformal window\nwhile the latter belongs to the chirally broken phase."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "ANEC on stress-tensor states in perturbative $\u03bb\u03c6^4$ theory: We evaluate the Average Null Energy Condition (ANEC) on momentum eigenstates\ngenerated by the stress tensor in perturbative $\\lambda \\, \\phi^4$ and general\nspacetime dimension. We first compute the norm of the stress-tensor state at\nsecond order in $\\lambda$; as a by-product of the derivation we obtain the full\nexpression for the stress tensor 2-point function at this order. We then\ncompute the ANEC expectation value to first order in $\\lambda$, which also\ndepends on the coupling of the stress-tensor improvement term $\\xi$. We study\nthe bounds on these couplings that follow from the ANEC and unitarity at first\norder in perturbation theory. These bounds are stronger than unitarity in some\nregions of coupling space.",
        "positive": "Comments on spin-orbit interaction of anyons: The coupling of non-relativistic anyons (called exotic particles) to an\nelectromagnetic field is considered. Anomalous coupling is introduced by adding\na spin-orbit term to the Lagrangian. Alternatively, one has two Hamiltonian\nstructures, obtained by either adding the anomalous term to the Hamiltonian, or\nby redefining the mass and the NC parameter. The model can also be derived from\nits relativistic counterpart."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Rotating Solutions of Non-relativistic String Theory: We construct classical rotating solutions of Non-relativistic String Theory.\nThe relation among the energy and angular momenta for these solutions is of the\ntype E=J^2. Some of the solutions saturate a BPS bound for the energy, they are\n1/4 BPS supersymmetric configurations.",
        "positive": "Spin chains and classical strings in two parameters $q$-deformed\n  AdS$_3\\times$S$^3$: In this paper, we study the spin chain and string excitation in the\ntwo-parameters $q$-deformed AdS$_3\\times$S$^3$ proposed by Hoare. We obtain the\ndeformed spin chain model at the fast spin limit for choices of deformed\nparameters. General ansatz for giant magnons are studied in great detail and\ncomplicated dispersion relation is treated perturbatively. We also study\nseveral types of hanging string solutions and their charges and spins are\nanalyzed numerically. At last, we explore its pp-wave limit and find its\nsolution only depends on the difference of deformed parameters."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On covariant $\u03ba-$symmetry fixing and the relation betwen the NSR\n  string and the Type II GS superstring: By considering the superembedding equation for the Type II superstring we\nderive the classical relation between the NSR string and the Type II GS\nsuperstring Grassmannian variables. The connection between the actions of these\ntwo models is also established. Then introducing the proper twistor-like\nLorentz harmonic variables we fix $\\kappa-$symmetry of the GS formulation in\nthe manifestly SO(1,9) Lorentz covariant manner and establish the relation\nbetween the gauge-fixed variables of the NSR and the Type II GS models.",
        "positive": "Quantum Geometries of $A_{2}$: We solve $\\mathcal{N}=1$ supersymmetric $A_{2}$ type $U(N)\\times U(N)$ matrix\nmodels obtained by deforming $\\mathcal{N}=2$ with symmetric tree level\nsuperpotentials of any degree exactly in the planar limit. These theories can\nbe geometrically engineered from string theories by wrapping D-branes over\nCalabi-Yau threefolds and we construct the corresponding exact quantum\ngeometries."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Entanglement Entropy Renormalization for the NC scalar field coupled to\n  classical BTZ geometry: In this work, we consider a noncommutative (NC) massless scalar field coupled\nto the classical nonrotational BTZ geometry. In a manner of the theories where\nthe gravity emerges from the underlying scalar field theory, we study the\neffective action and the entropy derived from this noncommutative model. In\nparticular, the entropy is calculated by making use of the two different\napproaches, the brick wall method and the heat kernel method designed for\nspaces with conical singularity. We show that the UV divergent structures of\nthe entropy, obtained through these two different methods, agree with each\nother. It is also shown that the same renormalization condition that removes\nthe infinities from the effective action can also be used to renormalize the\nentanglement entropy for the same system. Besides, the interesting feature of\nthe NC model considered here is that it allows an interpretation in terms of an\nequivalent system comprising of a commutative massive scalar field, but in a\nmodified geometry; that of the rotational BTZ black hole, the result that hints\nat a duality between the commutative and noncommutative systems in the\nbackground of a BTZ black hole.",
        "positive": "Loop representation of charged particles interacting with Maxwell and\n  Chern-Simons fields: The loop representation formulation of non-relativistic particles coupled\nwith abelian gauge fields is studied. Both Maxwell and Chern-Simons\ninteractions are separately considered. It is found that the loop-space\nformulations of these models share significant similarities, although in the\nChern-Simons case there exists an unitary transformation that allows to remove\nthe degrees of freedom associated with the paths. The existence of this\ntransformation, which allows to make contact with the anyonic interpretation of\nthe model, is subjected to the fact that the charge of the particles be\nquantized. On the other hand, in the Maxwell case, we find that charge\nquantization is necessary in order to the geometric representation be\nconsistent."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the connection between Hamilton and Lagrange formalism in Quantum\n  Field Theory: The connection between the Hamilton and the standard Lagrange formalism is\nestablished for a generic Quantum Field Theory with vanishing vacuum\nexpectation values of the fundamental fields. The Effective Actions in both\nformalisms are the same if and only if the fundamental fields and the momentum\nfields are related by the stationarity condition. These momentum fields in\ngeneral differ from the canonical fields as defined via the Effective Action.\nBy means of functional methods a systematic procedure is presented to identify\nthe full correlation functions, which depend on the momentum fields, as\nfunctionals of those usually appearing in the standard Lagrange formalism.\nWhereas Lagrange correlation functions can be decomposed into tree diagrams the\ndecomposition of Hamilton correlation functions involves loop corrections\nsimilar to those arising in n-particle effective actions. To demonstrate the\nmethod we derive for theories with linearized interactions the propagators of\ncomposite auxiliary fields and the ones of the fundamental degrees of freedom.\nThe formalism is then utilized in the case of Coulomb gauge Yang-Mills theory\nfor which the relations between the two-point correlation functions of the\ntransversal and longitudinal components of the conjugate momentum to the ones\nof the gauge field are given.",
        "positive": "Energy-Momentum Tensor Improvements in Two Dimensions: We discuss some aspects of the two-dimensional scalar field, considering\nparticularly the action for the conformal anomaly as an ``improved''\ngravitational coupling, and the possibility of introducing a dual coupling,\nwhich provides a ``chiral'' energy-momentum tensor improvement."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Towards harmonic superfield formulation of $N=4$, $USp(4)$ SYM theory\n  with the central charge: We develop a superfield formulation of $\\mathcal{N}=4$ supersymmetric\nYang-Mills theory with gauged central charge in $USp(4)$ harmonic superspace.\nComponent formulation of this theory was given by Sohnius, Stelle and West\n\\cite{SSW80} but its superfield formulation has not been constructed so far. We\nconstruct the superfield action, corresponding to this model, and show that it\nreproduces the component action from \\cite{SSW80}.",
        "positive": "Localized fields on scalar global defects: We investigate the localization of modes on the worldvolume of a p-brane\nembedded in p+d+1-dimensional spacetime. The p-brane here is such that its\nprofile is regarded as a scalar global defect and the localized modes are\nscalar modes that come from the fluctuations around such defect. The effective\naction on the brane is computed and the induced potentials are typically\nphi^4-type potentials that are flatter for lower d-dimensions. We also make a\nconnection of such scalar global defects with black p-branes in certain limits."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Localization at Large N: We review how localization is used to probe holographic duality and, more\ngenerally, non-perturbative dynamics of four-dimensional N=2 supersymmetric\ngauge theories in the planar large-N limit.",
        "positive": "Topology of critical points and Hawking-Page transition: Using the Bragg-Williams construction of an off-shell free energy we compute\nthe topological charge of the Hawking-Page transition point for black holes in\nAdS. A computation following from a related off-shell effective potential in\nthe boundary gauge dual matches the value of topological charge obtained in the\nbulk. We also compute the topological charges of the equilibrium phases of\nthese systems, which follow from the saddle points of the appropriate free\nenergy. The locally stable and unstable phases turn out to have topological\ncharges opposite to each other, with the total being zero, in agreement with\nthe result obtained from a related construction [arXiv:2208.01932]."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Thermodynamics of rotating black holes with scalar hair in three\n  dimensions: Introducing a new form of scalar potential $V(\\phi)$, we derive a proper form\nof the rotating black hole solution in three-dimensional Einstein gravity with\nnonminimally coupled scalar field and find that the first law of thermodynamics\nof this new rotating hairy black hole can be protected, where the scalar field\nparameter $B$ is constrained to relate to the black hole size. We also disclose\nthe Hawking-Page phase transition between this rotating hairy black holes and\nthe pure thermal radiation. Moreover, we study phase transitions between this\nrotating hairy black hole and rotating BTZ black hole. Considering the\nmatchings for the temperature and angular momentum, we find that the rotating\nBTZ black hole always has smaller free energy which is a thermodynamically more\npreferred phase. Additionally, we evaluate the thermodynamics of the rotating\nblack hole with minimally coupled scalar hair in three dimensions, which\nexhibits that the thermodynamical behaviors of this rotating hairy black hole\nare very similar to those of the rotating black hole with nonminimally coupled\nscalar hair.",
        "positive": "Phase structure of the large-N reduced gauge theory and generalized\n  Weingarten model: We study a generalization of Weingarten model reduced to a point, which\nbecomes the large-N reduced U(N) gauge theory in a special limit. We find that\nthe U(1)^d symmetry is broken one by one, and restored simultaneously as U(1)^d\n-> U(1)^{d-1} -> ... -> U(1) -> 1 -> U(1)^d as we change the coupling\nconstants. In this model we can develop an efficient algorithm and we can see\nthe phase structure of large-N reduced model clearly, and therefore this model\nwould be useful for the study of the unitary model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Injecting the UV into the Bootstrap: Ising Field Theory: We merge together recent developments in the S-matrix bootstrap program to\ndevelop a dual setup in 2 space-time dimensions incorporating scattering\namplitudes of massive particles and matrix elements of local operators. In\nparticular, the stress energy tensor allows us to input UV constraints on IR\nobservables in terms of the central charge $c_{UV}$ of the UV Conformal Field\nTheory. We consider two applications: (1) We establish a rigorous lower bound\non $c_{UV}$ of a class of $\\mathbb{Z}_2$ symmetric scalar theories in the IR\n(including $\\phi^4$); (2) We target Ising Field Theory by, first, minimizing\n$c_{UV}$ for different values of the magnetic field and, secondly, by\ndetermining the allowed range of cubic coupling and one-particle form-factor\nfor fixed $c_{UV} = 1/2$ and magnetic field.",
        "positive": "Significance of the spinorial basis in relativistic quantum mechanics: The problems connected with a choice of the spinorial basis in the\n$(j,0)\\oplus (0,j)$ representation space are discussed. It is shown to have\nprofound significance in relativistic quantum theory. From the methodological\nviewpoint this fact is related with the important dynamical role played by\nspace-time symmetries for all kind of interactions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-linear uplift Ans\u00e4tze for the internal metric and the four-form\n  field-strength of maximal supergravity: The uplift of SO(8) gauged N=8 supergravity to 11-dimensional supergravity is\nwell studied in the literature. It is given by consistent relations between the\nrespective vector and scalar fields of both theories. For example, recent work\nprovided non-linear uplift Ans\\\"atze for the scalar degrees of freedom on the\ninternal manifold: the inverse metric and the three-form flux with mixed index\nstructure. However, one always found the metric of the compactified manifold by\ninverting the inverse metric --- a task that was only possible in particular\ncases, e.g. for the G$_2$, SO(3)$\\times$SO(3) or SU(3)$\\times$U(1)$\\times$U(1)\ninvariant solutions of 11-dimensional supergravity.\n  In this paper, I present a direct non-linear uplift Ansatz for the internal\nmetric in terms of the four-dimensional scalars and the Killing forms on the\ncompactified background manifold. Based on this formula, I also find new uplift\nAns\\\"atze for the warp factor and the full three-form flux. Finally, I provide\na direct non-linear uplift Ansatz for the internal four-form field-strength in\nterms of the metric, the flux as well as the four-dimensional scalars and\nbackground Killing forms. This new formula does not require to calculate the\nderivative of the flux.\n  My results may be generalized to other compactifications, e.g. the reduction\nfrom type IIB supergravity to five dimensions.",
        "positive": "Fibre-base duality of 5d KK theories: We study circle compactifications of 6d superconformal field theories giving\nrise to 5d rank 1 and rank 2 Kaluza-Klein theories. We realise the resulting\ntheories as M-theory compactifications on local Calabi-Yau 3-folds and match\nthe prepotentials from geometry and field theory. One novelty in our approach\nis that we include explicit dependence on bare gauge couplings and mass\nparameters in the description which in turn leads to an accurate\nparametrisation of the prepotential including all parameters of the field\ntheory. We find that the resulting geometries admit \"fibre-base\" duality which\nrelates their six-dimensional origin with the purely five-dimensional quantum\nfield theory interpretation. The fibre-base duality is realised simply by\nswapping base and fibre curves of compact surfaces in the local Calabi-Yau\nwhich can be viewed as the total space of the anti-canonical bundle over such\nsurfaces. Our results show that such swappings precisely occur for surfaces\nwith a zero self-intersection of the base curve and result in an exchange of\nthe 6d and 5d pictures."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quasinormal modes of Gauss-Bonnet black holes at large D: Einstein's General Relativity theory simplifies dramatically in the limit\nthat the spacetime dimension D is very large. This could still be true in the\ngravity theory with higher derivative terms. In this paper, as the first step\nto study the gravity with a Gauss-Bonnet(GB) term, we compute the quasi-normal\nmodes of the spherically symmetric GB black hole in the large D limit. When the\nGB parameter is small, we find that the non-decoupling modes are the same as\nthe Schwarzschild case and the decoupled modes are slightly modified by the GB\nterm. However, when the GB parameter is large, we find some novel features. We\nnotice that there are another set of non-decoupling modes due to the appearance\nof a new plateau in the effective radial potential. Moreover, the effective\nradial potential for the decoupled vector-type and scalar-type modes becomes\nmore complicated. Nevertheless we manage to compute the frequencies of the\nthese decoupled modes analytically. When the GB parameter is neither very large\nnor very small, though analytic computation is not possible, the problem is\nmuch simplified in the large D expansion and could be numerically treated. We\nstudy numerically the vector-type quasinormal modes in this case.",
        "positive": "Non Linear Lorentz Transformation and Doubly Special Relativity: We generate non-linear representations of the Lorentz Group by unitary\ntransformation over the Lorentz generators. To do that we use deformed scale\ntransformations by introducing momentum-depending parameters. The momentum\noperator transformation is found to be equivalent to a particle momentum\ntransformation. The configuration space transformation is found to depend on\nthe old momentum operator and we show that this transformation generates models\nwith two scales, one for the velocity ($c$) and another one for the energy. A\nLagrangian formalism is proposed for these models and an effective metric for\nthe deformed Minkowski space is found. We show that the Smolin model is one in\na family of doubly special relativity. Finally we construct an ansatz for the\nquantization of such theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Mediation of Supersymmetry Breaking in a Class of String Theory Models: A consistent theory of supersymmetry breaking must have a hidden sector, an\nobservable sector, and must be embedded in a locally supersymmetric theory\nwhich arises from string theory. For phenomenological reasons it must also\ntransmit supersymmetry from the hidden to the visible sector in a dominantly\nflavor neutral manner. Also any such theory of supersymmetry breaking has to\ntake into account the problem of quadratic divergences which arise once the\ntheory is embedded in supergravity. A class of possible models that arise from\nGKP-KKLT type IIB string compactifications, incorporating all this while being\nconsistent with gauge unification, with just the bare minimum of necessary\nsupergravity/string theory moduli fields coupled to the minimally\nsupersymmetric standard model, is presented. Such models give reasonable values\nfor the soft masses, the $\\mu$ and $B\\mu$ terms and the gaugino masses.\nAssuming that an actual detailed realization exists, it is very likely that\nthey are the simplest such possibility .",
        "positive": "Duality symmetry and the form fields of M-theory: In previous work we derived the topological terms in the M-theory action in\nterms of certain characters that we defined. In this paper, we propose the\nextention of these characters to include the dual fields. The unified treatment\nof the M-theory four-form field strength and its dual leads to several\nobservations. In particular we elaborate on the possibility of a twisted\ncohomology theory with a twist given by degrees greater than three."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "4D Gravity on a Brane in 5D Minkowski Space: We suggest a mechanism by which four-dimensional Newtonian gravity emerges on\na 3-brane in 5D Minkowski space with an infinite size extra dimension. The\nworldvolume theory gives rise to the correct 4D potential at short distances\nwhereas at large distances the potential is that of a 5D theory. We discuss\nsome phenomenological issues in this framework.",
        "positive": "Comments on Higher-Spin Fields in Nontrivial Backgrounds: We consider the free propagation of totally symmetric massive bosonic fields\nin nontrivial backgrounds. The mutual compatibility of the dynamical equations\nand constraints in flat space amounts to the existence of an Abelian algebra\nformed by the d'Alembertian, divergence and trace operators. The latter, along\nwith the symmetrized gradient, symmetrized metric and spin operators, actually\ngenerate a bigger non-Abelian algebra, which we refer to as the \"consistency\"\nalgebra. We argue that in nontrivial backgrounds, it is some deformed version\nof this algebra that governs the consistency of the system. This can be\nmotivated, for example, from the theory of charged open strings in a background\ngauge field, where the Virasoro algebra ensures consistent propagation. For a\ngravitational background, we outline a systematic procedure of deforming the\ngenerators of the consistency algebra in order that their commutators close. We\nfind that equal-radii AdSp X Sq manifolds, for arbitrary p and q, admit\nconsistent propagation of massive and massless fields, with deformations that\ninclude no higher-derivative terms but are non-analytic in the curvature. We\nargue that analyticity of the deformations for a generic manifold may call for\nthe inclusion of mixed-symmetry tensor fields like in String Theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Higher Cluster Categories and QFT Dualities: We present a unified mathematical framework that elegantly describes\nminimally SUSY gauge theories in even dimension, ranging from $6d$ to $0d$, and\ntheir dualities. This approach combines recent developments on graded quiver\nwith potentials, higher Ginzburg algebras and higher cluster categories (also\nknown as $m$-cluster categories). Quiver mutations studied in the context of\nmathematics precisely correspond to the order $(m+1)$ dualities of the gauge\ntheories. Our work suggests that these equivalences of quiver gauge theories\nsit inside an infinite family of such generalized dualities, whose physical\ninterpretation is yet to be understood.",
        "positive": "Unimodular Trees versus Einstein Trees: The maximally helicity violating (MHV) tree level scattering amplitudes\ninvolving three, four or five gravitons are worked out in Unimodular Gravity.\nThey are found to coincide with the corresponding amplitudes in General\nRelativity. This a remarkable result, insofar as both the propagators and the\nvertices are quite different in both theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Brane Tilings, M2-branes and Orbifolds: Brane Tilings represent one of the largest classes of superconformal theories\nwith known gravity duals in 3+1 and also 2+1 dimensions. They provide a useful\nlink between a large class of quiver gauge theories and their moduli spaces,\nwhich are the toric Calabi-Yau (CY) singularities.\n  This thesis includes a discussion of an algorithm that can be used to\ngenerate all brane tilings with any given number of superpotential terms. All\ntilings with at most 8 superpotential terms have been generated using an\nimplementation of this method.\n  Orbifolds are a subject of central importance in string theory. It is widely\nknown that there may be two or more orbifolds of a space by a finite group.\nAbelian Calabi-Yau orbifolds of the form $\\BC^3 / \\Gamma$ can be counted\naccording to the size of the group $|\\Gamma|$. Three methods of counting these\norbifolds will be given.\n  A brane tiling together with a set of Chern Simons levels is sufficient to\ndefine a quiver Chern-Simons theory which describes the worldvolume theory of\nthe M2-brane probe. A forward algorithm exists which allows us to easily\ncompute the toric data associated to the moduli space of the quiver\nChern-Simons theory from knowledge of the tiling and Chern-Simons levels. This\nforward algorithm will be discussed and illustrated with a few examples. It is\npossible that two different Chern-Simons theories have the same moduli-space.\nThis effect, sometimes known as `toric duality' will be described further. We\nwill explore how two Chern--Simons theories (corresponding to brane tilings)\ncan be related to each other by the Higgs mechanism and how brane tilings (with\nCS levels) that correspond to 14 fano 3-folds have been constructed.\n  The idea of `child' and `parent' brane tilings will be introduced and we will\ndiscuss how it has been possible to count `children' using the symmetry of the\n`parent' tiling.",
        "positive": "Identifying the Operator Content, the Homogeneous Sine-Gordon models: We address the general question of how to reconstruct the field content of a\nquantum field theory from a given scattering theory in the context of the form\nfactor program. For the $SU(3)_2$-homogeneous Sine-Gordon model we construct\nsystematically all $n$-particle form factors for a huge class of operators in\nterms of general determinant formulae. We investigate how different operators\nare interrelated by the momentum space cluster property. Finally we compute\nseveral two-point correlation functions and carry out the ultraviolet limit in\norder to identify each operator with its corresponding partner in the\nunderlying conformal field theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Gardner Category and Non-local Conservation Laws for N=1 Super KdV: The non-local conserved quantities of N=1 Super KdV are obtained using a\ncomplete algebraic framework where the Gardner category is introduced. A\nfermionic substitution semigroup and the resulting Gardner category are defined\nand several propositions concerning their algebraic structure are proven. This\nalgebraic framework allows to define general transformations between different\nnonlinear SUSY differential equations. We then introduce a SUSY ring extension\nto deal with the non-local conserved quantities of SKdV. The algebraic version\nof the non-local conserved quantities is solved in terms of the exponential\nfunction applied to the $D^{-1}$ of the local conserved quantities of SKdV.\nFinally the same formulas are shown to work for rapidly decreasing superfields.",
        "positive": "Relativistic partial waves for celestial amplitudes: The formalism of relativistic partial wave expansion is developed for\nfour-point celestial amplitudes of massless external particles. In particular,\nrelativistic partial waves are found as eigenfunctions to the product\nrepresentation of celestial Poincar\\'e Casimir operators with appropriate\neigenvalues. The requirement of hermiticity of Casimir operators is used to fix\nthe corresponding integral inner product, and orthogonality of the obtained\nrelativistic partial waves is verified explicitly. The completeness relation,\nas well as the relativistic partial wave expansion follow. Example celestial\namplitudes of scalars, gluons, gravitons and open superstring gluons are\nexpanded on the basis of relativistic partial waves for demonstration. A\nconnection with the formulation of relativistic partial waves in the bulk of\nMinkowski space is made in appendices."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Study of the Spectrum of Inflaton Perturbations: We examine the spectrum of inflaton fluctuations resulting from any given\nlong period of exponential inflation. Infrared and ultraviolet divergences in\nthe inflaton dispersion summed over all modes do not appear in our approach. We\nshow how the scale-invariance of the perturbation spectrum arises. We also\nexamine the spectrum of scalar perturbations of the metric that are created by\nthe inflaton fluctuations that have left the Hubble sphere during inflation and\nthe spectrum of density perturbations that they produce at reentry after\ninflation has ended. When the inflaton dispersion spectrum is renormalized\nduring the expansion, we show (for the case of the quadratic inflaton\npotential) that the density perturbation spectrum approaches a mass-independent\nlimit as the inflaton mass approaches zero, and remains near that limiting\nvalue for masses less than about 1/4 of the inflationary Hubble constant. We\nshow that this limiting behavior does not occur if one only makes the Minkowski\nspace subtraction, without the further adiabatic subtractions that involve time\nderivatives of the expansion scale factor $a(t)$. We also find a parametrized\nexpression for the energy density produced by the change in $a(t)$ as inflation\nends. If the end of inflation were sufficiently abrupt, then the temperature\ncorresponding to this energy density could be very significant. We also show\nthat fluctuations of the inflaton field that are present before inflation\nstarts are not dissipated during inflation, and could have a significant\nobservational effect today. The mechanism for this is caused by the initial\nfluctuations through stimulated emission from the vacuum.",
        "positive": "Discrete Space Structure of the 3D Wigner Quantum Oscillator: The properties of a noncanonical 3D Wigner quantum oscillator, whose position\nand momentum operators generate the Lie superalgebra sl(1|3), are further\ninvestigated. Within each state space W(p), p=1,2,..., the energy E_q,\nq=0,1,2,3, takes no more than 4 different values. If the oscillator is in a\nstationary state \\psi_q \\in W(p) then measurements of the non-commuting\nCartesian coordinates of the particle are such that their allowed values are\nconsistent with it being found at a finite number of sites, called ``nests''.\nThese lie on a sphere centered on the origin of fixed, finite radius \\varrho_q.\nThe nests themselves are at the vertices of a rectangular parallelepiped. In\nthe typical cases (p>2) the number of nests is 8 for q=0 and 3, and varies from\n8 to 24, depending on the state, for q=1 and 2. The number of nests is less in\nthe atypical cases (p=1,2), but it is never less than two. In certain states in\nW(2) (resp. in W(1)) the oscillator is ``polarized'' so that all the nests lie\non a plane (resp. on a line). The particle cannot be localized in any one of\nthe available nests alone since the coordinates do not commute. The\nprobabilities of measuring particular values of the coordinates are discussed.\nThe mean trajectories and the standard deviations of the coordinates and\nmomenta are computed, and conclusions are drawn about uncertainty relations.\nThe rotational invariance of the system is also discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Higher Structures in M-Theory: The key open problem of string theory remains its non-perturbative completion\nto M-theory. A decisive hint to its inner workings comes from numerous\nappearances of higher structures in the limits of M-theory that are already\nunderstood, such as higher degree flux fields and their dualities, or the\nhigher algebraic structures governing closed string field theory. These are all\ncontrolled by the higher homotopy theory of derived categories, generalised\ncohomology theories, and $L_\\infty$-algebras. This is the introductory chapter\nto the proceedings of the LMS/EPSRC Durham Symposium on Higher Structures in\nM-Theory. We first review higher structures as well as their motivation in\nstring theory and beyond. Then we list the contributions in this volume,\nputting them into context.",
        "positive": "Secularly growing loop corrections in scalar wave background: We consider two--dimensional Yukawa theory in the scalar wave background\n$\\phi(t-x)$. If one takes as initial state in such a background the scalar\nvacuum corresponding to $\\phi=0$, then loop corrections to a certain part of\nthe Keldysh propagator, corresponding to the anomalous expectation value, grow\nwith time. That is a signal to the fact that under the kick of the $\\phi(t-x)$\nwave the scalar field rolls down the effective potential from the $\\phi=0$\nposition to the proper ground state. We show the evidence supporting these\nobservations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Modified Entropic Force: The theory of statistical thermodynamics tells us the equipartition law of\nenergy does not hold in the limit of very low temperatures. It is found the\nDebye model is very successful in explaining the experimental results for most\nof the solid objects. Motivated by this fact, we modify the entropic force\nformula which is proposed very recently. Since the Unruh temperature is\nproportional to the strength of gravitational field, so the modified entropic\nforce formula is an extension of the Newtonian gravity to weak field. On the\ncontrary, General Relativity extends Newtonian gravity to strong field case.\nCorresponding to Debye temperature, there exists a Debye acceleration g_D. It\nis found the Debye acceleration is g_D=10^{-15}N kg^{-1}. This acceleration is\nvery much smaller than the gravitational acceleration 10^{-4}N kg^{-1} which is\nfelt by the Neptune and the gravitational acceleration 10^{-10}N kg^{-1} felt\nby the Sun. Therefore, the modified entropic force can be very well\napproximated by the Newtonian gravity in the solar system and in the Galaxy.\nWith this Debye acceleration, we find the current cosmic speeding up can be\nexplained without invoking any kind of dark energy.",
        "positive": "SU(5)-invariant decomposition of ten-dimensional Yang-Mills\n  supersymmetry: The N=1,d=10 superYang-Mills action is constructed in a twisted form, using\nSU(5)-invariant decomposition of spinors in 10 dimensions. The action and its\noff-shell closed twisted scalar supersymmetry operator Q derive from a\nChern-Simons term. The action can be decomposed as the sum of a term in the\ncohomology of Q and of a term that is Q-exact. The first term is a fermionic\nChern-Simons term for a twisted component of the Majorana-Weyl gluino and it is\nrelated to the second one by a twisted vector supersymmetry with 5 parameters.\nThe cohomology of Q and some topological observables are defined from descent\nequations. In this SU(5)<SO(10)$ invariant decomposition, the N=1, d=10 theory\nis determined by only 6 supersymmetry generators, as in the twisted N=4, d=4\ntheory. There is a superspace with 6 twisted fermionic directions, with\nsolvable constraints."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Green's Function for a Neutron in Interaction with a Straight Current\n  Carrying Wire: We construct an integral representation for the momentum space Green's\nfunction for a Neutron in interaction with a straight current carrying wire.",
        "positive": "Superconformal Fixed Points with E_n Global Symmetry: We obtain the elliptic curve and the Seiberg-Witten differential for an $N=2$\nsuperconformal field theory which has an $E_8$ global symmetry at the strong\ncoupling point $\\tau=e^{\\pi i/3}$. The differential has 120 poles corresponding\nto half the charged states in the fundamental representation of $E_8$, with the\nother half living on the other sheet. Using this theory, we flow down to $E_7$,\n$E_6$ and $D_4$. A new feature is a $\\lambda_{SW}$ for these theories based on\ntheir adjoint representations. We argue that these theories have different\nphysics than those with $\\lambda_{SW}$ built from the fundamental\nrepresentations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Universality, intertwiners and black hole information: The central question in this article is how information does leak out from\nblack holes. Relying on algebraic arguments and the concept of superselection\nsectors, we propose the existence of certain operators whose correlations\nextend across the black hole atmosphere and range into the interior. Contained\nin the full algebra, these black hole intertwiners will not belong to the\nsubalgebra describing semiclassical bulk physics. We study this proposal in the\ncontext of operator reconstructions for code spaces containing a large number\nof microstates. As long as the atmosphere is excluded from a particular\nsubsystem, the global state seen under the action of the associated algebra is\nmaximally mixed and therefore described by a single classical background. Once\nthe relevant correlations are encoded, i.e. if the algebra is sufficiently\nenlarged, perfect state distinguishability becomes possible. We arrive at this\nby computing the von Neumann entropy which may explain the result obtained by\napplying the quantum extremal surface prescription to the mixed state. We then\nexamine these insights in the context of black hole evaporation and argue that\ninformation is transferred to the radiation via black hole intertwiners. We\nderive the Page curve. The mechanism above suggests that black hole information\nis topologically protected. An infalling observer would experience no drama.\nThis may resolve the unitarity problem without running into any firewall or\nstate puzzle, the latter being evident in generalized entropy computations. We\nalso examine the question of how certain wormhole topologies may be understood\ngiven these findings. We argue that their occurrence in gravity replica\ncomputations may be related to the maximal correlation between radiation and\natmosphere surrounding the old black hole. This may suggest a connection\nbetween topology change and near horizon quantum gravitational effects.",
        "positive": "Emergent Quantum Mechanics and Emergent Symmetries: Quantum mechanics is 'emergent' if a statistical treatment of large scale\nphenomena in a locally deterministic theory requires the use of quantum\noperators. These quantum operators may allow for symmetry transformations that\nare not present in the underlying deterministic system. Such theories allow for\na natural explanation of the existence of gauge equivalence classes (gauge\norbits), including the equivalence classes generated by general coordinate\ntransformations. Thus, local gauge symmetries and general coordinate invariance\ncould be emergent symmetries, and this might lead to new alleys towards\nunderstanding the flatness problem of the Universe."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Correlation functions of the Bjorken flow in the holographic\n  Schwinger-Keldysh approach: One of the outstanding problems in the holographic approach to many-body\nphysics is the explicit computation of correlation functions in nonequilibrium\nstates. We provide a new and simple proof that the horizon cap prescription of\nCrossley-Glorioso-Liu for implementing the thermal Schwinger-Keldysh contour in\nthe bulk is consistent with the Kubo-Martin-Schwinger periodicity and the\ningoing boundary condition for the retarded propagator at any arbitrary\nfrequency and momentum. The generalization to the hydrodynamic Bjorken flow is\nachieved by a Weyl rescaling in which the dual black hole's event horizon\nattains a constant surface gravity and area at late time although the\ndirections longitudinal and transverse to the flow expands and contract\nrespectively. The dual state's temperature and entropy density thus become\nconstants (instead of the perfect fluid expansion) although no time-translation\nsymmetry emerges at late time. Undoing the Weyl rescaling, the correlation\nfunctions can be computed systematically in a large proper time expansion in\ninverse powers of the average of the two reparametrized proper time arguments.\nThe horizon cap has to be pinned to the nonequilibrium event horizon so that\nregularity and consistency conditions are satisfied. Consequently, in the limit\nof perfect fluid expansion, the Schwinger-Keldysh correlation functions with\nspace-time reparametrized arguments are simply thermal at an appropriate\ntemperature. A generalized bilocal thermal structure holds to all orders. We\nargue that the Stokes data (which are functions rather than constants) for the\nhydrodynamic correlation functions can decode the quantum fluctuations behind\nthe horizon cap pinned to the evolving event horizon, and thus the initial\ndata.",
        "positive": "Dynamical supersymmetry breaking in large $N_c$ supersymmetric QCD: We study dynamical supersymmetry breaking in supersymmetric QCD theories for\n$N_f<N_c$. We consider a model with a singlet chiral superfield coupled to the\ninfrared meson chiral superfield through a classical superpotential. We examine\nthe vacuum structure of this model and show that in a particular limit of the\nparameter space with the large $N_c$ limit, it has a vacuum that dynamically\nbreaks supersymmetry. The supersymmetric vacuum, in this limit, is being pushed\nto infinity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A theory of tensor products for module categories for a vertex operator\n  algebra, I: This is the first part in a series of papers developing a tensor product\ntheory for modules for a vertex operator algebra. The goal of this theory is to\nconstruct a ``vertex tensor category'' structure on the category of modules for\na suitable vertex operator algebra. The notion of vertex tensor category is\nessentially a ``complex analogue'' of the notion of symmetric tensor category,\nand in fact a vertex tensor category produces a braided tensor category in a\nnatural way. The theory applies in particular to many familiar ``rational''\nvertex operator algebras, including those associated with WZNW models, minimal\nmodels and the moonshine module. In this paper (Part I), we introduce the\nnotions of $P(z)$- and $Q(z)$-tensor product, where $P(z)$ and $Q(z)$ are two\nspecial elements of the moduli space of spheres with punctures and local\ncoordinates, and we present the fundamental properties and constructions of\n$Q(z)$-tensor products.",
        "positive": "Functional approaches to infrared Yang-Mills theory in the Coulomb gauge: We present the current status of ongoing efforts to use functional methods,\nDyson-Schwinger equations and functional renormalization group equations, for\nthe description of the infrared regime of nonabelian (pure) gauge theories in\nthe Coulomb gauge. In particular, we present a new determination of the\ncolor-Coulomb potential with the help of the functional renormalization group\nthat results in an almost linearly rising potential between static color\ncharges at large spatial distances."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Possible Resolution of Black Hole Singularities from Large N Gauge\n  Theory: We point out that the recent conjecture relating large N gauge theories to\nstring theory in anti-de Sitter spaces offers a resolution in principle of many\nproblems in black hole physics. This is because the gauge theory also describes\nspacetimes which are not anti-de Sitter, and include black hole horizons and\ncurvature singularities.",
        "positive": "Beta Functions of Topologically Massive Supergravity: We compute the one-loop beta functions of the cosmological constant, Newton's\nconstant and the topological mass in topologically massive supergravity in\nthree dimensions. We use a variant of the proper time method supplemented by a\nsimple choice of cutoff function. We find that the dimensionless coefficient of\nthe Chern-Simons term, $\\nu$, has vanishing beta function. The flow of the\ncosmological constant and Newton's constant depends on $\\nu$; we study\nanalytically the structure of the flow and its fixed points in the limits of\nsmall and large $\\nu$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Twisted Backgrounds, PP-Waves and Nonlocal Field Theories: We study partially supersymmetric plane-wave like deformations of string\ntheories and M-theory on brane backgrounds. These deformations are dual to\nnonlocal field theories. We calculate various expectation values of\nconfigurations of closed as well as open Wilson loops and Wilson surfaces in\nthose theories. We also discuss the manifestation of the nonlocality structure\nin the supergravity backgrounds. A plane-wave like deformation of little string\ntheory has also been studied.",
        "positive": "Holographic Lifshitz superconductors: Analytic solution: We construct an analytic solution for a one-parameter family of holographic\nsuperconductors in asymptotically Lifshitz spacetimes. We utilize this solution\nto explore various properties of the systems such as (1) the superfluid phase\nbackground and the grand canonical potential, (2) the order parameter response\nfunction or the susceptibility, (3) the London equation, (4) the background\nwith a superfluid flow or a magnetic field. From these results, we identify the\ndual Ginzburg-Landau theory including numerical coefficients. Also, the dynamic\ncritical exponent $z_d$ associated with the critical point is given by $z_d=2$\nirrespective of the value of the Lifshitz exponent $z$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauge-invariant formulation of the d=3 Yang-Mills theory: We write down the Yang-Mills partition function and the average Wilson loop\nin terms of local gauge-invariant variables being the six components of the\nmetric tensor of dual space. The Wilson loop becomes the trace of the parallel\ntransporter in curved space, else called the gravitational holonomy. We show\nthat the external coordinates mapping the 3d curved space into a flat 6d space\nplay the role of glueball fields, and there is a natural mechanism for the mass\ngap generation.",
        "positive": "Higher Spin BRS Cohomology of Supersymmetric Chiral Matter in D=4: We examine the BRS cohomology of chiral matter in $N=1$, $D=4$ supersymmetry\nto determine a general form of composite superfield operators which can suffer\nfrom supersymmetry anomalies. Composite superfield operators $\\Y_{(a,b)}$ are\nproducts of the elementary chiral superfields $S$ and $\\ov S$ and the\nderivative operators $D_\\a$, $\\ov D_{\\dot \\b}$ and $\\pa_{\\a \\dot \\b}$. Such\nsuperfields $\\Y_{(a,b)}$ can be chosen to have `$a$' symmetrized undotted\nindices $\\a_i$ and `$b$' symmetrized dotted indices $\\dot \\b_j$. The result\nderived here is that each composite superfield $\\Y_{(a,b)}$ is subject to\npotential supersymmetry anomalies if $a-b$ is an odd number, which means that\n$\\Y_{(a,b)}$ is a fermionic superfield."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Equilateral non-Gaussianity from heavy fields: The effect of self-interactions of heavy scalar fields during inflation on\nthe primordial non-Gaussianity is studied. We take a specific constant-turn\nquasi-single field inflation as an example. We derive an effective theory with\nemphasis on non-linear self-interactions of heavy fields and calculate the\ncorresponding non-Gaussianity, which is of equilateral type and can be as\nrelevant as those computed previously in the literature. We also derive the\nnon-Gaussianity by directly using the in-in formalism, and verify the\nequivalence of these two approaches.",
        "positive": "On the S-matrix of Liouville theory: The S-matrix for each chiral sector of Liouville theory on a cylinder is\ncomputed from the loop expansion of correlation functions of a one-dimensional\nfield theory on a circle with a non-local kinetic energy and an exponential\npotential. This action is the Legendre transform of the generating function of\nsemiclassical scattering amplitudes. It is derived from the relation between\nasymptotic in- and out-fields. Its relevance for the quantum scattering process\nis demonstrated by comparing explicit loop diagrams computed from this action\nwith other methods of computing the S-matrix, which are also developed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantization of Gravity in the Black Hole Background: We perform a covariant (Lagrangian) quantization of perturbative gravity in\nthe background of a Schwarzschild black hole. The key tool is a decomposition\nof the field into spherical harmonics. We fix Regge-Wheeler gauge for modes\nwith angular momentum quantum number $l \\geq 2$, while for low multipole modes\nwith $l$ $=$ $0$ or $1$ -- for which Regge-Wheeler gauge is inapplicable -- we\npropose a set of gauge fixing conditions which are 2D background covariant and\nperturbatively well-defined. We find that the corresponding Faddeev-Popov\nghosts are non-propagating for the $l\\geq2$ modes, but are in general\nnontrivial for the low multipole modes with $l = 0,1$. However, in\nSchwarzschild coordinates, all time derivatives acting on the ghosts drop from\nthe action and the low multipole ghosts have instantaneous propagators. Up to\npossible subtleties related to quantizing gravity in a space with a horizon,\nFaddeev's theorem suggests the possibility of an underlying canonical\n(Hamiltonian) quantization with a manifestly ghost-free Hilbert space.",
        "positive": "Pure Spinors and D=6 Super-Yang-Mills: Pure spinor cohomology has been used to describe maximally supersymmetric\ntheories, like D=10 super-Yang-Mills and D=11 supergravity. Supersymmetry\ncloses on-shell in such theories, and the fields in the cohomology\nautomatically satisfy the equations of motion. In this paper, we investigate\nthe corresponding structure in a model with off-shell supersymmetry, N=1\nsuper-Yang-Mills theory in D=6. Here, fields and antifields are obtained as\ncohomologies in different complexes with respect to the BRST operator Q. It\nturns out to be natural to enlarge the pure spinor space with additional\nbosonic variables, subject to some constraints generalising the pure spinor\ncondition, in order to accommodate the different supermultiplets in the same\ngeneralised pure spinor wave-function. We construct another BRST operator, s,\nacting in the cohomology of Q, whose cohomology implies the equations of\nmotion. We comment on the possible use of similar approaches in other models."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Bound States in the Mirror TBA: The spectrum of the light-cone AdS_5 \\times S^5 superstring contains states\ncomposed of particles with complex momenta including in particular those which\nturn into bound states in the decompactification limit. We propose the mirror\nTBA description for these states. We focus on a three-particle state which is a\nfinite-size representative of a scattering state of a fundamental particle and\na two-particle bound state and dual to an operator from the su(2) sector of N=4\nSYM. We find that the analytic behavior of Y-functions differs drastically from\nthe case of states with real momenta. Most importantly, Y_Q-functions exhibit\npoles in the analyticity strip which leads to the appearance of new terms in\nthe formula for the energy of this state. In addition, the TBA equations are\nsupplied by quantization conditions which involve Y_2. Considering yet another\nexample of a three-particle state, we find that the corresponding quantization\nconditions do not even involve Y_1. Our treatment can be generalized to a wide\nclass of states with complex momenta.",
        "positive": "Fermionic Path Integrals and Analytic Solutions for Two-Dimensional\n  Ising Models: The notion of the integral over the anticommuting Grassmann variables\n(nonquantum fermionic fields) seems to be the most powerful tool in order to\nextract the exact analytic solutions for the 2D Ising models on simple and more\ncomplicated lattices, which is the subject of a discussion in this report."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Cosmic Superstring Gravitational Lensing Phenomena: Predictions for\n  Networks of (p,q) Strings: The unique, conical spacetime created by cosmic strings brings about\ndistinctive gravitational lensing phenomena. The variety of these distinctive\nphenomena is increased when the strings have non-trivial mutual interactions.\nIn particular, when strings bind and create junctions, rather than\nintercommute, the resulting configurations can lead to novel gravitational\nlensing patterns. In this brief note, we use exact solutions to characterize\nthese phenomena, the detection of which would be strong evidence for the\nexistence of complex cosmic string networks of the kind predicted by string\ntheory-motivated cosmic string models. We also correct some common errors in\nthe lensing phenomenology of straight cosmic strings.",
        "positive": "Actions for particles and strings and Chern-Simons gravity: We consider actions for particles and strings, including twistorial\ndescriptions on 4d Minkowski and AdS$_5$ spacetimes from the point of view of\nco-adjoint orbits for the isometry group. We also consider the collective\ncoordinate dynamics of singular solutions in Chern-Simons (CS) theories and CS\ntheories of gravity. This is a generalization of the work of Einstein, Infeld\nand Hoffmann and also has potential points of contact with fluid-gravity\ncorrespondence."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Generalized Calibrations: We present a generalization of calibrations in which the calibration form is\nnot closed. We use this to examine a class of supersymmetric p-brane\nworldvolume solitons.As an example we consider M5-brane worldvolume solitons in\nan AdS background.",
        "positive": "D-branes as Defects in the Calabi-Yau Crystal: We define the notion of A-model Lagrangian D-branes as introducing defects in\nthe Calabi-Yau crystal. The crystal melting in the presence of these defects\nreproduces all genus string amplitudes as well as leads to additional\nnon-perturbative terms."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic Entanglement Entropy for noncommutative Anti-de Sitter space: A metric is proposed to explore the noncommutative form of the Anti-de Sitter\nspace due to quantum effects. It has been proved that the non commutativity in\nAdS space induces a single component gravitoelectric field. The holographic\nRyu-Takayanagi (RT) algorithm is then applied to compute the entanglement\nentropy in dual $CFT_2$. This calculation can be exploited to compute UV-IR\ncutoff dependent central charge of the certain noncommutative $CFT_2$. This non\ncommutative computation of the entanglement entropy can be interpreted in the\nform of the surface/state correspondence. We have shown that non commutativity\nincreases the dimension of the effective Hilbert space of the dual CFT.",
        "positive": "Using of unitarity equations for the calculation of fermion interaction\n  amplitudes in the superstring theory: The unitarity equations for the boson interaction amplitudes in the\nsuperstring theory are used to calculate the interaction amplitudes including\nthe Ramond states, which are 10-fermion and Ramond bosons. The n-loop, 4-point\namplitude with two massless Neveu-Schwarz bosons and two massless Ramond states\nis obtained explicitly. It is shown that, in addition, the unitarity equations\nrequire some integral relations for local functions determining the amplitude.\nFor the tree amplitude the validness of the above integral relations is\nverified."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauge momentum operators for the Calogero-Sutherland model with\n  anti-periodic boundary condition: The integrability of a classical Calogero systems with anti-periodic boundary\ncondition is studied. This system is equivalent to the periodic model in the\npresence of a magnetic field. Gauge momentum operators for the anti-periodic\nCalogero system are constructed. These operators are hermitian and\nsimultaneously diagonalizable with the Hamiltonian. A general scheme for\nconstructing such momentum operators for trigonometric and hyperbolic\nCalogero-Sutherland model is proposed. The scheme is applicable for both\nperiodic and anti-periodic boundary conditions. The existence of these momentum\noperators ensures the integrability of the system. The interaction parameter\n$\\lambda$ is restricted to a certain subset of real numbers. This restriction\nis in fact essential for the construction of the hermitian gauge momentum\noperators.",
        "positive": "Einsteinian cubic gravity: We drastically simplify the problem of linearizing a general higher-order\ntheory of gravity. We reduce it to the evaluation of its Lagrangian on a\nparticular Riemann tensor depending on two parameters, and the computation of\ntwo derivatives with respect to one of those parameters. We use our method to\nconstruct a D-dimensional cubic theory of gravity which satisfies the following\nproperties: 1) it shares the spectrum of Einstein gravity, i.e., it only\npropagates a transverse and massless graviton on a maximally symmetric\nbackground; 2) the relative coefficients of the different curvature invariants\ninvolved are the same in all dimensions; 3) it is neither trivial nor\ntopological in four dimensions. Up to cubic order in curvature, the only\npreviously known theories satisfying the first two requirements are the\nLovelock ones: Einstein gravity, Gauss-Bonnet and cubic-Lovelock. Of course,\nthe last two theories fail to satisfy requirement 3 as they are, respectively,\ntopological and trivial in four dimensions. We show that, up to cubic order,\nthere exists only one additional theory satisfying requirements 1 and 2.\nInterestingly, this theory is, along with Einstein gravity, the only theory\nwhich also satisfies 3."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "ZZ boundary states and fragmented AdS2 spaces: In this paper we show that Liouville gravity on the strip with\nZamolodchikov-Zamolodchikov (ZZ) boundary conditions has a semi-classical\ninterpretation in terms of fragmented AdS2 spacetime geometries. Further, we\nstudy the three-point functions of the ZZ boundary states, and show that they\nare dominated by multi-AdS2 instantons in the classical limit.",
        "positive": "Exact Thresholds and Instanton Effects in String Theory: In this lecture we summarize some recent work on the understanding of\ninstanton effects in string theories with 16 supersymmetries. In particular, we\nconsider F^4 couplings using the duality between the heterotic string on T^4\nand type IIA on K_3 at an orbifold point, as well as higher and lower\ndimensional versions of this string-string duality. At the perturbative level a\nnon-trivial test of the duality, requiring several miraculous identities, is\npresented by matching a purely one-loop heterotic amplitude to a purely\ntree-level type II result. A wide variety of non-perturbative effects is shown\nto occur in this setting, including D-brane instantons for type IIA on K_3 x\nS^1 and NS5-brane instantons for type IIA on K_3 x T^2. Moreover, the analysis\nof the three-dimensional case, which possesses a non-perturbative SO(8,24,Z)\nU-duality, reveals the presence of Kaluza-Klein 5-brane instanton effects, both\non the heterotic and the type II side."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Global study of the scalar quasi-normal modes of Kerr-AdS${}_5$ black\n  holes: Stability, thermality, and horizon area quantization: We numerically explore the structure of quasi-normal (QN) frequencies of the\nfive-dimensional small and large Kerr-anti de Sitter (Kerr-AdS${}_5$) black\nhole with equal and unequal rotations. Our investigation also covers low and\nhigh Hawking temperatures. We then study the stability of the Kerr-AdS${}_5$\nblack hole and the structure of highly damped QN modes, which would reflect the\nthermodynamic property of the Kerr-AdS${}_5$ black hole. We find that the\nhighly damped complex QN frequencies of a nearly maximally spinning\nKerr-AdS${}_5$ black hole have the periodic separation of the surface gravity\nat the horizon in the imaginary part while the real part converges to the\nsuperradiant frequency, which may be relevant to the pole structure of the\nthermal Green's function in the corresponding conformal field theory on the\nKerr-AdS${}_5$ boundary. Finally, we discuss a relation between the QN modes of\nthe Kerr-AdS${}_5$ black hole and the Hod's conjecture on the horizon area\nquantization along with the analysis of the horizon topology of the\nKerr-AdS${}_5$ black hole. We show that in general, an ultra-spinning\nKerr-AdS${}_5$ black hole, whose spin parameter is infinitesimally close to the\nAdS curvature radius, has its non-compact horizon, and based on the Hod's\nconjecture, we argue that the horizon area may be continuous, that is, the unit\narea of the horizon vanishes in the ultra-spinning regime.",
        "positive": "Arrow of time in generalized quantum theory and its classical limit\n  dynamics: In this paper we have studied a generalized quantum theory and its consistent\nclassical limit, which possess a well-defined arrow of time in their dynamics.\nThe original quantum theory is defined as analytically dependent on complex\ntime and specified by non-Hermitian Hamiltonian structure."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Wightman function and vacuum densities for a Z_2-symmetric thick brane\n  in AdS spacetime: Positive frequency Wightman function, vacuum expectation values of the field\nsquare and the energy-momentum tensor induced by a Z_{2}-symmetric brane with\nfinite thickness located on (D+1)- dimensional AdS background are evaluated for\na massive scalar field with general curvature coupling parameter. For the\ngeneral case of static plane symmetric interior structure the expectation\nvalues in the region outside the brane are presented as the sum of free AdS and\nbrane induced parts. For a conformally coupled massless scalar the brane\ninduced part in the vacuum energy-momentum tensor vanishes. In the limit of\nstrong gravitational fields the brane induced parts are exponentially\nsuppressed for points not too close to the brane boundary. As an application of\ngeneral results a special model is considered in which the geometry inside the\nbrane is a slice of the Minkowski spacetime orbifolded along the direction\nperpendicular to the brane. For this model the Wightman function, vacuum\nexpectation values of the field square and the energy-momentum tensor inside\nthe brane are evaluated as well and their behavior is discussed in various\nasymptotic regions of the parameters. It is shown that for both minimally and\nconformally coupled scalar fields the interior vacuum forces acting on the\nbrane boundaries tend to decrease the brane thickness.",
        "positive": "Quadratic brackets from symplectic forms: We give a physicist oriented survey of Poisson-Lie symmetries of classical\nsystems. We consider finite dimensional geometric actions and the chiral WZNW\nmodel as examples for the general construction. An essential point is that\nquadratic Poisson bracets appear for group--like variables. It is believed that\nafter quantization they lead to quadratic exchange algebras."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Toward Open-Closed String Theoretical Description of Rolling Tachyon: We consider how the time-dependent decay process of an unstable D-brane\nshould be described in the full (quantum) open-closed string theory. It is\nargued that the system, starting from the unstable D-brane configuration, will\nevolve in time into the time-independent open string tachyon vacuum\nconfiguration which we assume to be finite, with the total energy conserved. As\na concrete realization of this idea, we construct a toy model describing the\nopen and closed string tachyons which admits such a time-dependent solution.\nThe structure of our model has some resemblance to that of open-closed string\nfield theory.",
        "positive": "Light-Cone Gauge in Non-Relativistic AdS$_5\\times$S$^5$ String Theory: We discuss the non-relativistic limit of string theory in AdS$_5\\times$S$^5$\nfor different choices of embedding coordinates. We show that, if we consider\nCartesian coordinates, the action of fluctuations around the twisted BMN-like\nstring found in arXiv:2109.13240 in uniform light-cone gauge becomes the one of\nfree fields at large string tension and large AdS$_5$ radius."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Background Field Method as a Canonical Transformation: We construct explicitly the canonical transformation that controls the full\ndependence (local and non-local) of the vertex functional of a Yang-Mills\ntheory on a background field. After showing that the canonical transformation\nfound is nothing but a direct field-theoretic generalization of the Lie\ntransform of classical analytical mechanics, we comment on a number of possible\napplications, and in particular the non perturbative implementation of the\nbackground field method on the lattice, the background field formulation of the\ntwo particle irreducible formalism, and, finally, the formulation of the\nSchwinger-Dyson series in the presence of topologically non-trivial\nconfigurations.",
        "positive": "On the massless tree-level S-matrix in 2d sigma models: Motivated by the search for new integrable string models, we study the\nproperties of massless tree-level S-matrices for 2d sigma models expanded near\nthe trivial vacuum. We find that, in contrast to the standard massive case,\nthere is no apparent link between massless S-matrices and integrability: in\nwell-known integrable models the tree-level massless S-matrix fails to\nfactorize and exhibits particle production. Such tree-level particle production\nis found in several classically integrable models: the principal chiral model,\nits classically equivalent \"pseudo-dual\" model, its non-abelian dual model and\nalso the SO(N+1)/SO(N) coset model. The connection to integrability may, in\nprinciple, be restored if one expands near a non-trivial vacuum with massive\nexcitations. We discuss IR ambiguities in 2d massless tree-level amplitudes and\ntheir resolution using either a small mass parameter or the i\nepsilon-regularization. In general, these ambiguities can lead to anomalies in\nthe equivalence of the S-matrix under field redefinitions, and may be linked to\nthe observed particle production in integrable models. We also comment on the\ntransformation of massless S-matrices under sigma model T-duality, comparing\nthe standard and the \"doubled\" formulations (with T-duality covariance built\ninto the latter)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum chaos and pole-skipping in a semilocally critical IR fixed point: We investigate pole-skipping and its connection with quantum chaos,\nemphasizing the role of the IR fixed point in the established relationship\nbetween pole-skipping and a universal bound of the energy diffusion constant.\nUsing the holographic Gubser-Rocha model, which features a semi-locally\ncritical IR fixed point, we refine the pole-skipping argument to apply to\ngeneric fixed points. Additionally, we explore the reconstruction of the full\nhydrodynamic dispersion relation through pole-skipping. By considering\nconditions in which the dispersion relation exhibits the energy diffusive mode\nat low wave-vector and passes through a pole-skipping point, we propose an\neffective heuristic approximation. This approximation is valid in strong\nmomentum relaxation and relies on three physical quantities: $(D_e, v_B,\n\\lambda_L)$, determined from horizon data. Here, $D_e$ represents the energy\ndiffusion constant, $v_B$ the butterfly velocity, and $\\lambda_L$ the Lyapunov\nexponent. Remarkably, this approximation demonstrates excellent agreement with\nthe quasi-normal mode, even extending its applicability beyond the hydrodynamic\nregime.",
        "positive": "Duality symmetry for star products: A duality property for star products is exhibited. In view of it, known\nstar-product schemes, like the Weyl-Wigner-Moyal formalism, the Husimi and the\nGlauber-Sudarshan maps are revisited and their dual partners elucidated. The\ntomographic map, which has been recently described as yet another star product\nscheme, is considered. It yields a noncommutative algebra of operator symbols\nwhich are positive definite probability distributions. Through the duality\nsymmetry a new noncommutative algebra of operator symbols is found, equipped\nwith a new star product. The kernel of the new star product is established in\nexplicit form and examples are considered."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Induced parity-odd effective action for a Dirac field on $S^2 \\times\n  S^1$: We evaluate the parity-odd part of the effective action due to massive Dirac\nfermions on a $S^2 \\times S^1$ manifold, minimally coupled to an external\nAbelian gauge field. We do that for a special class of gauge-field\nconfigurations, which is specially suitable to the study of the behaviour of\nthe fermionic determinant under large gauge field configurations, which are\nallowed by the space-time geometry.",
        "positive": "Charge Orbits and Moduli Spaces of Black Hole Attractors: We report on the theory of \"large\" U-duality charge orbits and related\n\"moduli spaces\" of extremal black hole attractors in N = 2, d = 4\nMaxwell-Einstein supergravity theories with symmetric scalar manifolds, as well\nas in N > 3-extended, d = 4 supergravities."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Multi-Loop Zeta Function Regularization and Spectral Cutoff in Curved\n  Spacetime: We emphasize the close relationship between zeta function methods and\narbitrary spectral cutoff regularizations in curved spacetime. This yields, on\nthe one hand, a physically sound and mathematically rigorous justification of\nthe standard zeta function regularization at one loop and, on the other hand, a\nnatural generalization of this method to higher loops. In particular, to any\nFeynman diagram is associated a generalized meromorphic zeta function. For the\none-loop vacuum diagram, it is directly related to the usual spectral zeta\nfunction. To any loop order, the renormalized amplitudes can be read off from\nthe pole structure of the generalized zeta functions. We focus on scalar field\ntheories and illustrate the general formalism by explicit calculations at\none-loop and two-loop orders, including a two-loop evaluation of the conformal\nanomaly.",
        "positive": "Bethe-State Counting and the Witten Index: We count the Bethe states of quantum integrable models with twisted boundary\nconditions using the Witten index of 2d supersymmetric gauge theories. For\nmulti-component models solvable by the nested Bethe ansatz, the result is a\nnovel restricted occupancy problem. For the SU(3) spin chain and the t-J model,\nwe propose formulae for the solution count on singular loci in the space of\ntwist parameters."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauge Theories with Tensors from Branes and Orientifolds: We present brane constructions in Type IIA string theory for N=1\nsupersymmetric SO and Sp gauge theories with tensor representations using an\norientifold 6-plane. One limit of these set-ups corresponds to N=2 theories\npreviously constructed by Landsteiner and Lopez, while a different limit yields\nN=1 SO or Sp theories with a massless tensor and no superpotential. For the\nSp-type orientifold projection comparison with the field theory moduli space\nleads us to postulate two new rules governing the stability of configurations\nof D-branes intersecting the orientifold. Lifting one of our configurations to\nM-theory by finding the corresponding curves, we re-derive the N=1 dualities\nfor SO and Sp groups using semi-infinite D4 branes.",
        "positive": "Causality bounds on scalar-tensor EFTs: We compute the causality/positivity bounds on the Wilson coefficients of\nscalar-tensor effective field theories. Two-sided bounds are obtained by\nextracting IR information from UV physics via dispersion relations of\nscattering amplitudes, making use of the full crossing symmetry. The graviton\n$t$-channel pole is carefully treated in the numerical optimization, taking\ninto account the constraints with fixed impact parameters. It is shown that the\ntypical sizes of the Wilson coefficients can be estimated by simply inspecting\nthe dispersion relations. We carve out sharp bounds on the leading\ncoefficients, particularly, the scalar-Gauss-Bonnet couplings, and discuss how\nsome bounds vary with the leading $(\\partial\\phi)^4$ coefficient and as well as\nphenomenological implications of the causality bounds."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Deforming SW curve: A system of Bethe-Ansatz type equations, which specify a unique array of\nYoung tableau responsible for the leading contribution to the Nekrasov\npartition function in the $\\epsilon_2\\rightarrow 0$ limit is derived. It is\nshown that the prepotential with generic $\\epsilon_1$ is directly related to\nthe (rescaled by $\\epsilon_1$) number of total boxes of these Young tableau.\nMoreover, all the expectation values of the chiral fields $\\langle \\tr \\phi^J\n\\rangle $ are simple symmetric functions of their column lengths. An entire\nfunction whose zeros are determined by the column lengths is introduced. It is\nshown that this function satisfies a functional equation, closely resembling\nBaxter's equation in 2d integrable models. This functional relation directly\nleads to a nice generalization of the equation defining Seiberg-Witten curve.",
        "positive": "Confluent conformal blocks and the Teukolsky master equation: Quasinormal modes of usual, four dimensional, Kerr black holes are described\nby certain solutions of a confluent Heun differential equation. In this work,\nwe express these solutions in terms of the connection matrices for a\nRiemann-Hilbert problem, which was recently solved in terms of the Painlev\\'e V\ntranscendent. We use this formulation to generate the small-frequency expansion\nfor the angular spheroidal harmonic eigenvalue, and derive conditions on the\nmonodromy properties for the radial modes. Using exponentiation, we relate the\naccessory parameter to a semi-classical conformal description and discuss the\nproperties of the operators involved. For the radial equation, while the\noperators at the horizons have Liouville momenta proportional to the entropy\nintake, we find that spatial infinity is described by a Whittaker operator."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic description of large N gauge theory: Based on the earlier work [S.-S. Lee, Nucl. Phys. B 832, 567 (2010)], we\nderive a holographic dual for the D-dimensional U(N) lattice gauge theory from\na first principle construction. The resulting theory is a lattice field theory\nof closed loops, dubbed as lattice loop field theory which is defined on a\n(D+1)-dimensional space. The lattice loop field theory is well defined\nnon-perturbatively, and it becomes weakly coupled and local in the large N\nlimit with a large 't Hooft coupling.",
        "positive": "Towards a statistical mechanics of nonabelian vortices: A study is presented of classical field configurations describing nonabelian\nvortices in two spatial dimensions, when a global \\( SO(3) \\) symmetry is\nspontaneously broken to a discrete group \\( \\IK \\) isomorphic to the group of\nintegers mod 4. The vortices in this model are characterized by the nonabelian\nfundamental group \\(\\pi_1 (SO(3)/{\\IK}) \\), which is isomorphic to the group of\nquaternions. We present an ansatz describing isolated vortices and prove that\nit is stable to perturbations. Kinematic constraints are derived which imply\nthat at a finite temperature, only two species of vortices are stable to decay,\ndue to `dissociation'. The latter process is the nonabelian analogue of the\ninstability of charge \\(|q| >1 \\) abelian vortices to dissociation into those\nwith charge \\(|q| = 1\\). The energy of configurations containing at maximum two\nvortex-antivortex pairs, is then computed. When the pairs are all of the same\ntype, we find the usual Coulombic interaction energy as in the abelian case.\nWhen they are different, one finds novel interactions which are a departure\nfrom Coulomb like behavior. Therefore one can compute the grand canonical\npartition function (GCPF) for thermal pair creation of nonabelian vortices, in\nthe approximation where the fugacities for vortices of each type are small. It\nis found that the vortex fugacities depend on a real continuous parameter \\(\na\\) which characterize the degeneracy of the vacuum. Depending on the relative\nsizes of these fugacities, the vortex gas will be dominated by one of either of\nthe two types mentioned above. In these regimes, we expect the standard\nKosterlitz-Thouless phase transitions to occur, as in systems of abelian\nvortices in 2-dimensions. Between these two regimes, the gas contains pairs of\nboth types, so nonabelian effects will be important."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "RG Flow and Thermodynamics of Causal Horizons in AdS: Causal horizons in pure Poincare $AdS$ are Killing horizons generated by\ndilatation vector. Renormalization group (RG) flow breaks the dilatation\nsymmetry and makes the horizons dynamical. We propose that the boundary RG flow\nis dual to the thermodynamics of the causal horizon. As a check of our proposal\nwe show that the gravity dual of the boundary $c$-theorem is the second law of\nthermodynamics obeyed by causal horizons. The holographic $c$-function is the\nBekenstein-Hawking entropy (density) of the dynamical causal horizon. We\nexplicitly construct the $c$-function in a generic class of RG-flow geometries\nand show that it interpolates monotonically between the UV and IR central\ncharges as a result of the second law.",
        "positive": "Ghosts & Matter Couplings in Massive (bi-&multi-)Gravity: Recently, several works have investigated the coupling to matter in\nghost-free massive (bi-&multi-)gravity and a new effective coupling to matter\nhas been proposed. In this note we clarify some confusion on the existence and\nthe implications of a ghost above the strong coupling scale. We confirm that\nthe standard constraint which is otherwise typically present in this type of\ntheories disappears on generic backgrounds as soon as this new coupling is\nconsidered. This implies the re-emergence of the Boulware-Deser ghost.\nNevertheless the absence of ghost in the decoupling limit implies that the\ncut-off scale (if identified with the scale at which the ghost enters) is\nhigher than the strong coupling scale. Therefore there is a valid interesting\nregion of applicability for these couplings at scales below the cut-off."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Noncommutative spaces with twisted symmetries and second quantization: In a minimalistic view, the use of noncommutative coordinates can be seen\njust as a way to better express non-local interactions of a special kind:\n1-particle solutions (wavefunctions) of the equation of motion in the presence\nof an external field may look simpler as functions of noncommutative\ncoordinates. It turns out that also the wave-mechanical description of a system\nof n such bosons/fermions and its second quantization is simplified if we\ntranslate them in terms of their deformed counterparts. The latter are obtained\nby a general twist-induced *-deformation procedure which deforms in a\ncoordinated way not just the spacetime algebra, but the larger algebra\ngenerated by any number n of copies of the spacetime coordinates and by the\nparticle creation and annihilation operators. On the deformed algebra the\naction of the original spacetime transformations looks twisted. In a\nnon-conservative view, we thus obtain a twisted covariant framework for QFT on\nthe corresponding noncommutative spacetime consistent with quantum mechanical\naxioms and Bose-Fermi statistics. One distinguishing feature is that the field\ncommutation relations remain of the type \"field (anti)commutator=a\ndistribution\". We illustrate the results by choosing as examples interacting\nnon-relativistic and free relativistic QFT on Moyal space(time)s.",
        "positive": "Dualities of Type 0 Strings: It is conjectured that the two closed bosonic string theories, Type 0A and\nType 0B, correspond to certain supersymmetry breaking orbifold\ncompactifications of M-theory. Various implications of this conjecture are\ndiscussed, in particular the behaviour of the tachyon at strong coupling and\nthe existence of non-perturbative fermionic states in Type 0A. The latter are\nshown to correspond to bound states of Type 0A D-particles, thus providing\nfurther evidence for the conjecture. We also give a comprehensive description\nof the various Type 0 closed and open string theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-Relativistic D-brane from T-duality Along Null Direction: We construct new type of non-relativistic D-branes which are defined with the\nhelp of T-duality along null direction. We find Lagrangian and Hamiltonian\nformulation of these D-branes and study their properties under T-duality\ntransformations.",
        "positive": "M-theory Calabi-Yau Quantum Mechanics: This thesis explores an exotic class of M-theory compactifications in which\nthe compact manifold is taken to be a Calabi-Yau five-fold. The resulting\neffective theory is a one-dimensional N=2 super-mechanics model that exhibits\npeculiar features of one-dimensional supersymmetry, such as the appearance of\nfermion-only super-multiplets. The latter necessitates reducing also the\nfermionic sector of M-theory, which is not normally included in the\ncompactification literature and is thus presented, together with the required\ntechnology, in detail. The one-dimensional effective theory is most elegantly\ndescribed in superspace and therefore, a detailed account of one-dimensional\nflat and curved N=2 superspace is provided. This includes developing the theory\nof fermionic multiplets and the study of cross-couplings between 2a and 2b\nmultiplets. Another important aspect is the inclusion of flux. We study its\nconsistency conditions, its relation to supersymmetry and the way it gives rise\nto a potential in the one-dimensional effective action. It is also explained\nhow the supersymmetry-preserving part of the potential can be obtained from a\nGukov-type superpotential. The main motivation of this compactification\nscenario is rooted in the realm of cosmology. Its virtue is a democratic\ntreatment of spatial dimensions. As opposed to the artificial 3+7 split in most\nstring compactifications, the early universe starts out with all spatial\ndimensions compact and small in our approach. One then seeks for dynamical ways\nin which three dimensions grow large at late times. Possible realisations of\nthis idea are discussed both at the classical and at the quantum level.\nFinally, preliminary work on Calabi-Yau five-fold compactifications of F-theory\nand the resulting two-dimensional string-like actions is presented."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Excluding Black Hole Firewalls with Extreme Cosmic Censorship: The AMPS argument for black hole firewalls seems to arise not only from the\nassumption of local effective field theory outside the stretched horizon but\nalso from an overcounting of internal black hole states that include states\nthat are singular in the past. Here I propose to exclude such singular states\nby Extreme Cosmic Censorship (the conjectured principle that the universe is\nentirely nonsingular, except for transient singularities inside black and/or\nwhite holes). I argue that the remaining set of nonsingular realistic states do\nnot have firewalls but yet preserve information in Hawking radiation from black\nholes that form from nonsingular initial states.",
        "positive": "Yang-Baxter deformations of Minkowski spacetime: We study Yang-Baxter deformations of 4D Minkowski spacetime. The Yang-Baxter\nsigma model description was originally developed for principal chiral models\nbased on a modified classical Yang-Baxter equation. It has been extended to\ncoset curved spaces and models based on the usual classical Yang-Baxter\nequation. On the other hand, for flat space, there is the obvious problem that\nthe standard bilinear form degenerates if we employ the familiar coset\nPoincar\\'e group/Lorentz group. Instead we consider a slice of AdS$_5$ by\nembedding the 4D Poincar\\'e group into the 4D conformal group $SO(2,4)$. With\nthis procedure we obtain metrics and $B$-fields as Yang-Baxter deformations\nwhich correspond to well-known configurations such as T-duals of Melvin\nbackgrounds, Hashimoto-Sethi and Spradlin-Takayanagi-Volovich backgrounds, the\nT-dual of Grant space, pp-waves, and T-duals of dS$_4$ and AdS$_4$. Finally we\nconsider a deformation with a classical $r$-matrix of Drinfeld-Jimbo type and\nexplicitly derive the associated metric and $B$-field which we conjecture to\ncorrespond to a new integrable system."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Conformal Solutions Of Duality Invariant 2D Magnetohydrodynamic\n  Turbulence: We consider possible conformal field theory (CFT) descriptions of the various\ninertial ranges that exist in $2d$ duality invariant Magnetohydrodynamics. Such\nmodels arise as effective theories of dyonic plasmas in 3 dimensions in which\nall fields are independent of the third coordinate. We find new constraints on\nthe allowed CFT's compared to those that may describe turbulence in $2d$\nplasmas of electric charges only. The predictions from CFT concerning\nequipartition of energy amongst the electric and magnetic fields are discussed,\nand quantities exhibiting universal scaling are derived.",
        "positive": "Revisiting Vacuum decay in Field Theory: We revisit the formalism for tunneling in quantum field theory developed by\nColeman and collaborators. In particular using the generalization of WKB\nmethods for tunneling in quantum mechanics we avoid the problems with negative\neigenvalues and convexity issues associated with Coleman's approach. While the\nexponential factor is the same, we find differences in the pre-factor. Then we\npoint out that to actually discuss the time evolution of the state, we need a\nwave packet formulation which we proceed to discuss. Next we address the\nproblem of justifying the application of semi-classical tunneling calculations\nto the decay of the standard model vacuum, where the classical potential\nsignifies absolute stability, though the effective potential appears to imply\nthe possibility of meta-stability (with more than one local minimum). This is\nin contrast to the usual situation in applications of the formalism for\ntunneling, where the \\textit{classical} potential has more than one local\nminimum."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantization of Infinitely Reducible Generalized Chern-Simons Actions in\n  Two Dimensions: We investigate the quantization of two-dimensional version of the generalized\nChern-Simons actions which were proposed previously. The models turn out to be\ninfinitely reducible and thus we need infinite number of ghosts, antighosts and\nthe corresponding antifields. The quantized minimal actions which satisfy the\nmaster equation of Batalin and Vilkovisky have the same Chern-Simons form. The\ninfinite fields and antifields are successfully controlled by the unified\ntreatment of generalized fields with quaternion algebra. This is a universal\nfeature of generalized Chern-Simons theory and thus the quantization procedure\ncan be naturally extended to arbitrary even dimensions.",
        "positive": "There and back again: A T-brane's tale: T-branes are supersymmetric configurations described by multiple Dp-branes\nwith worldvolume flux and non-commuting vacuum expectation values for two of\nthe worldvolume scalars. When these values are much larger than the string\nscale this description breaks down. We show that in this regime the correct\ndescription of T-branes is in terms of a single Dp-brane, whose worldvolume\ncurvature encodes the T-brane data. We present the tale of the journey to reach\nthis picture, which takes us through T-dualities and rugby-ball-shaped brane\nconfigurations that no eye has gazed upon before."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Free Massless Particles, Two Time Physics and Newtonian Gravitodynamics: We demonstrate how a classical Snyder-like phase space can be constructed in\nthe Hamiltonian formalism for the free massless relativistic particle, for the\ntwo-time physics model and for the relativistic Newtonian gravitodynamic\ntheory. In all these theories the Snyder-like phase space emerges as a\nconsequence of a new local scale invariance of the Hamiltonian. The\nimplications and consequences of this Snyder-like phase space in each of these\ntheories are also considered.",
        "positive": "Higgs field as the gauge field corresponding to parity in the usual\n  space-time: We find that the local character of field theory requires the parity degree\nof freedom of the fields to be considered as an additional dicrete fifth\ndimension which is an artifact emerging due to the local description of\nspace-time. Higgs field arises as the gauge field corresponding to this\ndiscrete dimension. Hence the noncommutative geometric derivation of the\nstandard model follows as a manifestation of the local description of the usual\nspace-time."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Ultraviolet Behavior Of Quantum Gravity: A theory of quantum gravity has been recently proposed by means of a novel\nquantization prescription, which is able to turn the poles of the free\npropagators that are due to the higher derivatives into fakeons. The classical\nLagrangian contains the cosmological term, the Hilbert term, $\\sqrt{-g}R_{\\mu\n\\nu }R^{\\mu \\nu }$ and $\\sqrt{-g}R^{2}$. In this paper, we compute the one-loop\nrenormalization of the theory and the absorptive part of the graviton self\nenergy. The results illustrate the mechanism that makes renormalizability\ncompatible with unitarity. The fakeons disentangle the real part of the self\nenergy from the imaginary part. The former obeys a renormalizable power\ncounting, while the latter obeys the nonrenormalizable power counting of the\nlow energy expansion and is consistent with unitarity in the limit of vanishing\ncosmological constant. The value of the absorptive part is related to the\ncentral charge $c$ of the matter fields coupled to gravity.",
        "positive": "Lorentz-Covariant Green-Schwarz Superstring Amplitudes: In a recent paper, the BRST formalism for the gauge-fixed N=2 twistor-string\nwas used to calculate Green-Schwarz supersring scattering amplitudes with an\narbitrary number of loops and external massless states. Although the\ngauge-fixing procedure preserved the worldsheet N=2 superconformal invariance\nof the twistor-string, it broke the target-space SO(9,1) super-Poincar\\'e\ninvariance down to an SU(4)xU(1) subgroup. In this paper, generators for the\nSO(9,1) super-Poincar\\'e transformations, as well as manifestly covariant\nvertex operators, are explicitly constructed out of the gauge-fixed matter\nfields. The earlier calculated amplitudes are then expressed in manifestly\nLorentz-covariant notation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Lifshitz effects on holographic $p$-wave superfluid: In the probe limit, we numerically build a holographic $p$-wave superfluid\nmodel in the four-dimensional Lifshitz black hole coupled to a Maxwell-complex\nvector field. We observe the rich phase structure and find that the Lifshitz\ndynamical exponent $z$ contributes evidently to the effective mass of the\nmatter field and dimension of the gravitational background. Concretely, we\nobtain the Cave of Winds appeared only in the five-dimensional anti-de\nSitter~(AdS) spacetime, and the increasing $z$ hinders not only the condensate\nbut also the appearance of the first-order phase transition. Furthermore, our\nresults agree with the Ginzburg-Landau results near the critical temperature.\nIn addition, the previous AdS superfluid model is generalized to the Lifshitz\nspacetime.",
        "positive": "Supersymmetric Electroweak Cosmic Strings: We study the connection between $N=2$ supersymmetry and a topological bound\nin a two-Higgs-doublet system with an $SU(2)\\times U(1)_Y\\times\nU(1)_{Y^{\\prime}}$ gauge group. We derive the Bogomol'nyi equations from\nsupersymmetry considerations showing that they hold provided certain conditions\non the coupling constants, which are a consequence of the huge symmetry of the\ntheory, are satisfied. Their solutions, which can be interpreted as electroweak\ncosmic strings breaking one half of the supersymmetries of the theory, are\nstudied. Certain interesting limiting cases of our model which have recently\nbeen considered in the literature are finally analyzed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dynamical Instability of Brane Solutions with a Self-Tuning Cosmological\n  Constant: A five-dimensional solution to Einstein's equations coupled to a scalar field\nhas been proposed as a partial solution to the cosmological constant problem:\nthe effect of arbitrary vacuum energy (tension) of a 3-brane is cancelled;\nhowever, the scalar field becomes singular at some finite proper distance in\nthe extra dimension. We show that in the original model with a vanishing bulk\npotential for the scalar, the solution is a saddle point which is unstable to\nexpansion or contraction of the brane world. We construct exact time-dependent\nsolutions which generalize the static solution, and demonstrate that they do\nnot conserve energy on the brane; thus they do not have an effective 4-D field\ntheoretic description. When a bulk scalar field potential is added, the\nboundary conditions on the brane cannot be trivially satisfied, raising hope\nthat the self-tuning mechanism may still give some insight into the\ncosmological constant problem in this case.",
        "positive": "Self-consistent determination of hard modes in hot QCD: We determine self-consistently the hard-quark and hard-gluon modes in hot\nQCD. The damping-rate part in resummed hard-quark or hard-gluon propagators,\nrather than the thermal-mass part, plays the dominant role."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "An explicit construction of the quantum group in chiral WZW-models: It is shown how a chiral Wess-Zumino-Witten theory with globally defined\nvertex operators and a one-to-one correspondence between fields and states can\nbe constructed. The Hilbert space of this theory is the direct sum of tensor\nproducts of representations of the chiral algebra and finite dimensional\ninternal parameter spaces. On this enlarged space there exists a natural action\nof Drinfeld's quasi quantum group $A_{g,t}$, which commutes with the action of\nthe chiral algebra and plays the r\\^{o}le of an internal symmetry algebra. The\n$R$ matrix describes the braiding of the chiral vertex operators and the\ncoassociator $\\Phi$ gives rise to a modification of the duality property.\n  For generic $q$ the quasi quantum group is isomorphic to the coassociative\nquantum group $U_{q}(g)$ and thus the duality property of the chiral theory can\nbe restored. This construction has to be modified for the physically relevant\ncase of integer level. The quantum group has to be replaced by the\ncorresponding truncated quasi quantum group, which is not coassociative because\nof the truncation. This exhibits the truncated quantum group as the internal\nsymmetry algebra of the chiral WZW model, which therefore has only a modified\nduality property. The case of $g=su(2)$ is worked out in detail.",
        "positive": "Time Evolution after Double Trace Deformation: In this paper, we consider double trace deformation to single CFT${}_2$, and\nstudy time evolution after the deformation. The double trace deformation we\nconsider is nonlocal: composed of two local operators placed at separate\npoints. We study two types of local operators: one is usual local operator in\nCFT, and the other is HKLL bulk local operator, which is still operator in CFT\nbut has properties as bulk local operator. We compute null energy and averaged\nnull energy in the bulk in both types of deformations. We confirmed that, with\nthe suitable choice of couplings, averaged null energies are negative. This\nimplies causal structure is modified in the bulk, from classical background. We\nthen calculate time evolution of entanglement entropy and entanglement Renyi\nentropy after double trace deformation. We find both quantities are found to\nshow peculiar shockwave-like time evolution."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Relation between Hybrid and Pure Spinor String Theory: In this paper we revisit Berkovits' pure spinor formalism in lower\ndimensions. We are particularly interested in relating a six-dimensional pure\nspinor action previously constructed in the literature to other superstring\nformalisms. In order to gain some insight into six-dimensional pure spinors, we\nfirst derive their action by gauge-fixing the classical six-dimensional\nGreen-Schwarz action. We then consider a hybrid pure spinor construction in\nwhich the spacetime symmetries of six of the ten dimensions are described in\npure spinor variables, while the remaining four dimensions are parameterized in\nterms of RNS variables. We relate this pure spinor formalism to the\nBerkovits-Vafa-Witten hybrid formalism of string theory on R^6 x T^4.",
        "positive": "Unitarity and On-Shell Recursion Methods for Scattering Amplitudes: This thesis describes some of the recent (and some less recent) developments\nin calculational techniques for scattering amplitudes in quantum field theory.\nThe focus is on on-shell recursion relations in complex momenta and on the use\nof unitarity methods for loop calculations. In particular, on-shell recursion\nis related to the MHV rules for computing tree-level gauge amplitudes and used\nto extend the MHV rules to graviton scattering. Combinations of unitarity cut\ntechniques and recursion are used to argue for the \"No-Triangle Hypothesis\" in\nN=8 supergravity which is related to its UV behaviour. Finally, combinations of\nunitarity and recursion are used to demonstrate the full calculation of a\none-loop amplitude involving a Higgs particle and four gluons in the limit of\nlarge top mass. The present version is edited to incorporate some of the\ncomments and suggestions of the evaluation committee, but has not been updated\nfor developments in the meantime."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The exact mass-gaps of the principal chiral models: An exact expression for the mass-gap, the ratio of the physical particle mass\nto the $\\Lambda$-parameter, is found for the principal chiral sigma models\nassociated to all the classical Lie algebras. The calculation is based on a\ncomparison of the free-energy in the presence of a source coupling to a\nconserved charge of the theory computed in two ways: via the thermodynamic\nBethe Ansatz from the exact scattering matrix and directly in perturbation\ntheory. The calculation provides a non-trivial test of the form of the exact\nscattering matrix.",
        "positive": "4D and 2D Evaporating Dilatonic Black Holes: The picture of S-wave scatering from a 4D extremal dilatonic black hole is\nexamined. Classically, a small matter shock wave will form a non-extremal black\nhole. In the \"throat region\" the r-t geometry is exactly that of a collapsing\n2D black hole. The 4D Hawking radiation (in this classical background) gives\nthe 2D Hawking radiation exactly in the throat region. Inclusion of the\nback-reaction changes this picture: the 4D solution can then be matched to the\n2D one only if the Hawking radiation is very small and only at the beginning of\nthe radiation. We give that 4D solution. When the total radiating energy\napproaches the energy carried by the shock wave, the 4D picture breaks down.\nThis happens even before an apparent horizon is formed, which suggests that the\n4D semi-classical solution is quite different from the 2D one."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Consistent Compactification of Double Field Theory on Non-geometric Flux\n  Backgrounds: In this paper, we construct non-trivial solutions to the $2D$-dimensional\nfield equations of Double Field Theory (DFT) by using a consistent\nScherk-Schwarz ansatz. The ansatz identifies $2(D-d)$ internal directions with\na twist $U^M{}_N$ which is directly connected to the covariant fluxes\n$\\mathcal{F}_{ABC}$. It exhibits $2(D-d)$ linear independent generalized\nKilling vectors $K_I{}^J$ and gives rise to a gauged supergravity in $d$\ndimensions. We analyze the covariant fluxes and the corresponding gauged\nsupergravity with a Minkowski vacuum. We calculate fluctuations around such\nvacua and show how they gives rise to massive scalars field and vectors field\nwith a non-abelian gauge algebra. Because DFT is a background independent\ntheory, these fields should directly correspond the string excitations in the\ncorresponding background. For $(D-d)=3$ we perform a complete scan of all\nallowed covariant fluxes and find two different kinds of backgrounds: the\nsingle and the double elliptic case. The later is not T-dual to a geometric\nbackground and cannot be transformed to a geometric setting by a field\nredefinition either. While this background fulfills the strong constraint, it\nis still consistent with the Killing vectors depending on the coordinates and\nthe winding coordinates, thereby giving a non-geometric patching. This\nbackground can therefore not be described in Supergravity or Generalized\nGeometry.",
        "positive": "Spectral functions in mathematics and physics: Spectral functions relevant in the context of quantum field theory under the\ninfluence of spherically symmetric external conditions are analysed. Examples\ncomprise heat-kernels, determinants and spectral sums needed for the analysis\nof Casimir energies. First, we summarize that a convenient way of handling them\nis to use the associated zeta function. A way to determine all its needed\nproperties is derived. Using the connection with the mentioned spectral\nfunctions, we provide: i.) a method for the calculation of heat-kernel\ncoefficients of Laplace-like operators on Riemannian manifolds with smooth\nboundaries and ii.) an analysis of vacuum energies in the presence of\nspherically symmetric boundaries and external background potentials."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "High-temperature asymptotics of supersymmetric partition functions: We study the supersymmetric partition function of 4d supersymmetric gauge\ntheories with a U(1) R-symmetry on Euclidean $S^3\\times S_\\beta^1$, with $S^3$\nthe unit-radius squashed three-sphere, and $\\beta$ the circumference of the\ncircle. For superconformal theories, this partition function coincides (up to a\nCasimir energy factor) with the 4d superconformal index.\n  The partition function can be computed exactly using supersymmetric\nlocalization of the gauge theory path-integral. It takes the form of an\nelliptic hypergeometric integral, which may be viewed as a matrix-integral over\nthe moduli space of the holonomies of the gauge fields around $S_\\beta^1$. At\nhigh temperatures ($\\beta\\to 0$, corresponding to the hyperbolic limit of the\nelliptic hypergeometric integral) we obtain from the matrix-integral a quantum\neffective potential for the holonomies. The effective potential is proportional\nto the temperature. Therefore the high-temperature limit further localizes the\nmatrix-integral to the locus of the minima of the potential. If the effective\npotential is positive semi-definite, the leading high-temperature asymptotics\nof the partition function is given by the formula of Di Pietro and Komargodski,\nand the subleading asymptotics is connected to the Coulomb branch dynamics on\n$R^3\\times S^1$. In theories where the effective potential is not positive\nsemi-definite, the Di Pietro-Komargodski formula needs to be modified. In\nparticular, this modification occurs in the SU(2) theory of\nIntriligator-Seiberg-Shenker, and the SO(N) theory of Brodie-Cho-Intriligator,\nboth believed to exhibit \"misleading\" anomaly matchings, and both believed to\nyield interacting superconformal field theories with $c<a$.\n  Two new simple tests for dualities between 4d supersymmetric gauge theories\nemerge as byproducts of our analysis.",
        "positive": "Holomorphic Anomalies, Fourfolds and Fluxes: We investigate holomorphic anomalies of partition functions underlying string\ncompactifications on Calabi-Yau fourfolds with background fluxes. For elliptic\nfourfolds the partition functions have an alternative interpretation as\nelliptic genera of N=1 supersymmetric string theories in four dimensions, or as\ngenerating functions for relative Gromov-Witten invariants of fourfolds with\nfluxes. We derive the holomorphic anomaly equations by starting from the BCOV\nformalism of topological strings, and translating them into geometrical terms.\nThe result can be recast into modular and elliptic anomaly equations. As a new\nfeature, as compared to threefolds, we find an extra contribution which is\ngiven by a gravitational descendant invariant. This leads to linear terms in\nthe anomaly equations, which support an algebra of derivatives mapping between\npartition functions of the various flux sectors. These geometric features are\nmirrored by certain properties of quasi-Jacobi forms. We also offer an\ninterpretation of the physics from the viewpoint of the worldsheet theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A note on spherically symmetric, static spacetimes in Kanno-Soda\n  on-brane gravity: Spherically symmetric, static on-brane geometries in the Kanno-Soda (KS)\neffective scalar-tensor theory of on-brane gravity are discussed. In order to\navoid brane collisions and/or an infinite inter-brane distance, at finite\nvalues of the brane coordinates, it is necessary that the radion scalar be\neverywhere finite and non-zero. This requirement constrains the viability of\nthe standard, well-known solutions in General Relativity (GR), in the context\nof the KS effective theory. The radion for the Schwarzschild solution does not\nsatisfy the above requirement. For the Reissner--Nordstrom (RN) naked\nsingularity and the extremal RN solution, one can obtain everywhere finite,\nnon-zero radion profiles, though the required on-brane matter violates the Weak\nEnergy Condition. In contrast, for the RN black hole, the radion profile yields\na divergent inter-brane distance at the horizon, which makes the solution\nunphysical. Thus, both the Schwarzschild and the RN solutions can be meaningful\nin the KS effective theory, only in the trivial GR limit, i.e. with a constant,\nnon-zero radion.",
        "positive": "The eightfold way to dissipation: We provide a complete characterization of hydrodynamic transport consistent\nwith the second law of thermodynamics at arbitrary orders in the gradient\nexpansion. A key ingredient in facilitating this analysis is the notion of\nadiabatic hydrodynamics, which enables isolation of the genuinely dissipative\nparts of transport. We demonstrate that most transport is adiabatic.\nFurthermore, of the dissipative part, only terms at the leading order in\ngradient expansion are constrained to be sign-definite by the second law (as\nhas been derived before)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Superconformal indices for non-Lagrangian theories in five dimensions: We propose two novel methods for computing the superconformal index of 5d\nsuperconformal field theories that cannot be described by conventional\nLagrangian descriptions under mass deformations. The first approach involves\nthe use of Higgs branch flows from UV Lagrangian theories, guided by\ntransitions in 5-brane webs in Type IIB string theory. The second method\nemploys the relationship between O$7^+$-plane and O$7^-$-plane with eight\nD7-branes, which applies to particular non-Lagrangian theories realized by\nbrane configurations involving an O$7^+$-plane. As a concrete application of\nour method, we compute the superconformal indices for all known rank-1\nnon-Lagrangian theories, which we also use to identify flavor symmetries and\ntheir global forms at the conformal field theory (CFT) fixed points.",
        "positive": "Einstein-scalar field solutions in AdS spacetime: clouds, boundary\n  conditions, and scalar multipoles: We consider an Einstein-scalar field model which is a consistent truncation\nof ${\\cal N}=8$ $D=4$ gauged supergravity, the scalar field possessing a\npotential which is unbounded from below and a tachyonic mass above the\nBreitenlohner-Freedman bound. We investigate the spherically symmetric\nasymptotically anti-de Sitter soliton and black hole solutions, with the aim of\nclarifying the asymptotics and the possible boundary conditions at infinity.\nThe emerging picture is contrasted with that found for an Einstein-scalar field\nmodel with the same scalar mass and a quartic self-interaction term. We also\nprovide arguments for the existence of solitonic solutions which can be viewed\nas non-linear continuation of the (probe) scalar multipolar clouds, with\nemphasis on the dipole case. Apart from numerical results, exact solutions are\nfound for solitons with a monopole and dipole scalar field, as perturbations\naround the AdS background."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Algebraic Bethe ansatz for singular solutions: The Bethe equations for the isotropic periodic spin-1/2 Heisenberg chain with\nN sites have solutions containing i/2, -i/2 that are singular: both the\ncorresponding energy and the algebraic Bethe ansatz vector are divergent. Such\nsolutions must be carefully regularized. We consider a regularization involving\na parameter that can be determined using a generalization of the Bethe\nequations. These generalized Bethe equations provide a practical way of\ndetermining which singular solutions correspond to eigenvectors of the model.",
        "positive": "Baryons with holography: We perform the first study of baryons in holographic QCD with\n$D4/D8/\\bar{D8}$ multi-$D$ brane system in type IIA superstring theory. The\nbaryon is described as a chiral soliton solution in the four-dimensional meson\neffective action derived from holographic QCD. We also present a brief review\nof the holographic model from the viewpoints of recent hadron physics and QCD\nphenomenologies."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "$T \\bar{T}$-Deformed Actions and (1,1) Supersymmetry: We describe an algorithmic method to calculate the $T\\bar{T}$ deformed\nLagrangian of a given seed theory by solving an algebraic system of equations.\nThis method is derived from the topological gravity formulation of the\ndeformation. This algorithm is far simpler than the direct partial differential\nequations needed in most earlier proposals. We present several examples,\nincluding the deformed Lagrangian of (1,1) supersymmetry. We show that this\nLagrangian is off-shell invariant through order $\\lambda^2$ in the deformation\nparameter and verify its SUSY algebra through order $\\lambda$.",
        "positive": "On Nonrelativistic Diffeomorphism Invariance: We study certain aspects of the recently proposed notion of nonrelativistic\ndiffeomorphism invariance. In particular, we consider specific examples of\ninvariant actions, extended gauge symmetry as well as an application to the\ntheory of quantum Hall effect. We also discuss an alternative approach based on\nHorava-Lifshitz gravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Universality of spontaneous chiral symmetry breaking in gauge theories: We investigate one-flavor QCD with an additional chiral scalar field. For a\nlarge domain in the space of coupling constants, this model belongs to the same\nuniversality class as QCD, and the effects of the scalar become unobservable.\nThis is connected to a ``bound-state fixed point'' of the renormalization flow\nfor which all memory of the microscopic scalar interactions is lost. The QCD\ndomain includes a microscopic scalar potential with minima at nonzero field. On\nthe other hand, for a scalar mass term m^2 below a critical value m_c^2, the\nuniversality class is characterized by perturbative spontaneous chiral symmetry\nbreaking which renders the quarks massive. Our renormalization group analysis\nshows how this universality class is continuously connected with the QCD\nuniversality class.",
        "positive": "Safe Hologram: We introduce a holographic model encapsulating the dynamics of safe quantum\nfield theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Double-well instantons in finite volume: Assuming a toroidal space with finite volume, we derive analytically the full\none-loop vacuum energy for a scalar field tunnelling between two degenerate\nvacua, taking into account discrete momentum. The Casimir energy is computed\nfor an arbitrary number of dimensions using the Abel-Plana formula, while the\none-loop instanton functional determinant is evaluated using the Green's\nfunctions for the fluctuation operators. The resulting energetic properties are\nnon-trivial: both the Casimir effect and tunnelling contribute to the Null\nEnergy Condition violation, arising from a non-extensive true vacuum energy. We\ndiscuss the relevance of this mechanism to induce a cosmic bounce, requiring no\nmodified gravity or exotic matter.",
        "positive": "Aspects of the map from Exact RG to Holographic RG in AdS and dS: In earlier work the evolution operator for the exact RG equation was mapped\nto a field theory in Euclidean AdS. This gives a simple way of understanding\nAdS/CFT. We explore aspects of this map by studying a simple example of a\nSchroedinger equation for a free particle with time dependent mass. This is an\nanalytic continuation of an ERG like equation. We show for instance that it can\nbe mapped to a harmonic oscillator. We show that the same techniques can lead\nto an understanding of dS/CFT too."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Comment on Quantum Distribution Functions and the OSV Conjecture: Using the attractor mechanism and the relation between the quantization of\n$H^{3}(M)$ and topological strings on a Calabi Yau threefold $M$ we define a\nmap from BPS black holes into coherent states. This map allows us to represent\nthe Bekenstein-Hawking-Wald entropy as a quantum distribution function on the\nphase space $H^{3}(M)$. This distribution function is a mixed\nHusimi/anti-Husimi distribution corresponding to the different normal ordering\nprescriptions for the string coupling and deviations of the complex structure\nmoduli. From the integral representation of this distribution function in terms\nof the Wigner distribution we recover the Ooguri-Strominger-Vafa (OSV)\nconjecture in the region \"at infinity\" of the complex structure moduli space.\nThe physical meaning of the OSV corrections are briefly discussed in this\nlimit.",
        "positive": "String theory of the Omega deformation: In this article, we construct a supersymmetric real mass deformation for the\nadjoint chiral multiplets in the gauge theory describing the dynamics of a\nstack of D2-branes in type II string theory. We do so by placing the D2-branes\ninto the T-dual of a supersymmetric NS fluxbrane background. We furthermore\nnote that this background is the string theoretic realization of an\nOmega-deformation of flat space in the directions transverse to the branes\nwhere the deformation parameters satisfy \\epsilon_1 = - \\epsilon_2. This\n\\Omega-deformation therefore serves to give supersymmetric real masses to the\nchiral multiplets of the 3D gauge theory. To illustrate the physical effect of\nthe real mass term, we derive BPS-saturated classical solutions for the branes\nrotating in this background. Finally, we reproduce all the same structure in\nthe presence of NS fivebranes and comment on the relationship to the gauge\ntheory/spin-chain correspondence of Nekrasov and Shatashvili."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Green--Schwarz Superstring in Extended Configuration Space and\n  Infinitely Reducible First Class Constraints Problem: The Green--Schwarz superstring action is modified to include some set of\nadditional (on-shell trivial) variables. A complete constraints system of the\ntheory turns out to be reducible both in the original and in additional\nvariable sectors. The initial $8s$ first class constraints and $8c$ second\nclass ones are shown to be unified with $8c$ first and $8s$ second class\nconstraints from the additional variables sector, resulting with\n$SO(1,9)$-covariant and linearly independent constraint sets. Residual\nreducibility proves to fall on second class constraints only.",
        "positive": "Stability of Scalar Fields in Warped Extra Dimensions: This work sets up a general theoretical framework to study stability of\nmodels with a warped extra dimension where N scalar fields couple minimally to\ngravity. Our analysis encompasses Randall-Sundrum models with branes and bulk\nscalars, and general domain-wall models. We derive the Schrodinger equation\ngoverning the spin-0 spectrum of perturbations of such a system. This result is\nspecialized to potentials generated using fake supergravity, and we show that\nmodels without branes are free of tachyonic modes. Turning to the existence of\nzero modes, we prove a criterion which relates the number of normalizable zero\nmodes to the parities of the scalar fields. Constructions with definite parity\nand only odd scalars are shown to be free of zero modes and are hence\nperturbatively stable. We give two explicit examples of domain-wall models with\na soft wall, one which admits a zero mode and one which does not. The latter is\nan example of a model that stabilizes a compact extra dimension using only bulk\nscalars and does not require dynamical branes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Uniqueness theorem for stationary black hole solutions of \u03c3-models\n  in five dimensions: We prove the uniqueness theorem for stationary self-gravitating non-linear\n\\sigma-models in five-dimensional spacetime. We show that the Myers-Perry\nvacuum Kerr spacetime is the only maximally extended, stationary, axisymmetric,\nasymptotically flat solution having the regular rotating event horizon with\nconstant mapping.",
        "positive": "AdS$_5$ Black Hole Entropy near the BPS Limit: We analyze AdS$_5$ black holes that are nearly supersymmetric. They depart\nfrom the BPS limit in two distinct ways: a temperature takes them above\nextremality and a potential violates a certain constraint. We study the\nthermodynamics of these deformations and their interplay in detail. We discuss\nrecent microscopic computations of BPS black hole entropy in $\\mathcal{N}=4$\nSYM and generalize methods to the nearBPS regime by relaxing constraints\nimposed by supersymmetry. The computations recover gravitational results from\nmicroscopics also for nearBPS black holes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Higher Genus Correlators for the Complex Matrix Model: We describe an iterative scheme which allows us to calculate any multi-loop\ncorrelator for the complex matrix model to any genus using only the first in\nthe chain of loop equations. The method works for a completely general\npotential and the results contain no explicit reference to the couplings. The\ngenus $g$ contribution to the $m$--loop correlator depends on a finite number\nof parameters, namely at most $4g-2+m$. We find the generating functional\nexplicitly up to genus three. We show as well that the model is equivalent to\nan external field problem for the complex matrix model with a logarithmic\npotential.",
        "positive": "F-theory and Dark Energy: Motivated by its potential use as a starting point for solving various\ncosmological constant problems, we study F-theory compactified on the warped\nproduct $\\mathbb{R}_{\\text{time}} \\times S^3 \\times Y_{8}$ where $Y_{8}$ is a\n$Spin(7)$ manifold, and the $S^3$ factor is the target space of an $SU(2)$\nWess--Zumino--Witten (WZW) model at level $N$. Reduction to M-theory exploits\nthe abelian duality of this WZW model to an $S^3 / \\mathbb{Z}_N$ orbifold. In\nthe large $N$ limit, the untwisted sector is captured by 11D supergravity. The\nlocal dynamics of intersecting 7-branes in the $Spin(7)$ geometry is controlled\nby a Donaldson--Witten twisted gauge theory coupled to defects. At late times,\nthe system is governed by a 1D quantum mechanics system with a ground state\nannihilated by two real supercharges, which in four dimensions would appear as\n\"$\\mathcal{N} = 1/2$ supersymmetry\" on a curved background. This leads to a\ncancellation of zero point energies in the 4D field theory but a split mass\nspectrum for superpartners of order $\\Delta m_\\text{4D} \\sim \\sqrt{M_\\text{IR}\nM_\\text{UV}}$ specified by the IR and UV cutoffs of the model. This is\nsuggestively close to the TeV scale in some scenarios. The classical 4D\ngeometry has an intrinsic instability which can produce either a collapsing or\nexpanding Universe, the latter providing a promising starting point for a\nnumber of cosmological scenarios. The resulting 1D quantum mechanics in the\ntime direction also provides an appealing starting point for a more detailed\nstudy of quantum cosmology."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Canonical formulation of Pais-Ulhenbeck action and resolving the issue\n  of branched Hamiltonian: Shortcomings of Dirac's constrained analysis in the context of fourth order\nPais-Uhlenbeck oscillator action and the appearance of badly affected\nphase-space Hamiltonian for a generalized fourth order oscillator action,\nfollowing Ostrogradski, Dirac and Horowitz's formalism, require a viable\ncanonical formulation. This is achieved only after fixing appropriate variables\nat the end points and taking care of the counter surface terms obtained from\nvariational principle. In the process a one-to-one correspondence between\ndifferent higher order theories has been established. On the other hand the\nissue of branched Hamiltonian appearing in the presence of velocities with\ndegree higher than two in the Lagrangian, has not been resolved uniquely as\nyet. However, often such terms appear with higher order theory, gravity in\nparticular. Here we show that canonical formulation of higher order theory\ntakes care of the issue elegantly.",
        "positive": "A Field Theory of Knotted Solitons: The conjecture that the elementary fermions are knotted flux tubes permit the\nconstruction of a phenomenology that is not accessible from the standard\nelectroweak theory. In order to carry these ideas further we have attempted to\nformulate the elements of a field theory in which local SU(2) x U(1), the\nsymmetry group of standard electroweak theory, is combined with global SU_q(2),\nthe symmetry group of knotted solitons."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Adler-Bardeen theorem and manifest anomaly cancellation to all orders in\n  gauge theories: We reconsider the Adler-Bardeen theorem for the cancellation of gauge\nanomalies to all orders, when they vanish at one loop. Using the\nBatalin-Vilkovisky formalism and combining the dimensional-regularization\ntechnique with the higher-derivative gauge invariant regularization, we prove\nthe theorem in the most general perturbatively unitary renormalizable gauge\ntheories coupled to matter in four dimensions, and identify the subtraction\nscheme where anomaly cancellation to all orders is manifest, namely no\nsubtractions of finite local counterterms are required from two loops onwards.\nOur approach is based on an order-by-order analysis of renormalization, and,\ndifferently from most derivations existing in the literature, does not make use\nof arguments based on the properties of the renormalization group. As a\nconsequence, the proof we give also applies to conformal field theories and\nfinite theories.",
        "positive": "False Vacuum Decay Catalyzed by Black Holes: False vacuum states are metastable in quantum field theories, and true vacuum\nbubbles can be nucleated due to the quantum tunneling effect. It was recently\nsuggested that an evaporating black hole (BH) can be a catalyst of bubble\nnucleations and dramatically shortens the lifetime of the false vacuum. In\nparticular, in the context of the Standard Model valid up to a certain energy\nscale, even a single evaporating BH may spoil the successful cosmology by\ninducing the decay of our electroweak vacuum. In this paper, we reinterpret\ncatalyzed vacuum decay by BHs, using an effective action for a thin-wall bubble\naround a BH to clarify the meaning of bounce solutions. We calculate bounce\nsolutions in the limit of a flat spacetime and in the limit of negligible\nbackreaction to the metric, where it is much easier to understand the physical\nmeaning, and compare these results with the full calculations done in the\nliterature. As a result, we give a physical interpretation of the enhancement\nfactor: it is nothing but the probability of producing states with a finite\nenergy. This makes it clear that all the other states such as plasma should\nalso be generated through the same mechanism, and calls for finite-density\ncorrections to the tunneling rate which tend to stabilize the false vacuum. We\nalso clarify that the dominant process is always consistent with the\nperiodicity indicated by the BH Hawking temperature after summing over all\npossible remnant BH masses or bubble energies, although the periodicity of each\nbounce solution as a function of a remnant BH can be completely different from\nthe inverse temperature of the system as mentioned in the previous literature."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Topics in gravity SCET: the diff Wilson lines and reparametrization\n  invariance: Two topics in soft collinear effective theory (SCET) for gravitational\ninteractions are explored. First, the collinear Wilson lines---necessary\nbuilding blocks for maintaining multiple copies of diffeomorphism invariance in\ngravity SCET---are extended to all orders in the SCET expansion parameter\n$\\lambda$, where it has only been known to $O(\\lambda)$ in the literature.\nSecond, implications of reparametrization invariance (RPI) for the structure of\ngravity SCET lagrangians are studied. The utility of RPI is illustrated by an\nexplicit example in which $O(\\lambda^2)$ hard interactions of a collinear\ngraviton are completely predicted by RPI from its $O(\\lambda)$ hard\ninteractions. It is also pointed out that the multiple diffeomorphism\ninvariances and RPI together require certain relations among $O(\\lambda)$\nterms, thereby reducing the number of $O(\\lambda)$ terms that need to be fixed\nby matching onto the full theory in the first place.",
        "positive": "Topological mass generation to antisymmetric tensor matter field: We propose a mechanism to give mass to tensor matter field which preserve the\nU(1) symmetry. We introduce a complex vector field that couples with the tensor\nin a topological term. We also analyze the influence of the kinetic terms of\nthe complex vector in our mechanism."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Smearing and Unsmearing KKLT AdS Vacua: Gaugino condensation on D-branes wrapping internal cycles gives a mechanism\nto stabilize the associated moduli. According to the effective field theory,\nthis gives rise, when combined with fluxes, to supersymmetric AdS$_4$\nsolutions. In this paper we provide a ten-dimensional description of these\nvacua. We first find the supersymmetry equations for type II AdS$_4$ vacua with\ngaugino condensates on D-branes, in the framework of generalized complex\ngeometry. We then solve them for type IIB compactifications with gaugino\ncondensates on smeared D7-branes. We show that supersymmetry requires a\n(conformal) Calabi-Yau manifold and imaginary self-dual three-form fluxes with\nan additional (0,3) component. The latter is proportional to the cosmological\nconstant, whose magnitude is determined by the expectation value of the gaugino\ncondensate and the stabilized volume of the cycle wrapped by the branes. This\nconfirms, qualitatively and quantitatively, the results obtained using\neffective field theory. We find that exponential separation between the AdS and\nthe KK scales seems possible as long as the three-form fluxes are such that\ntheir (0,3) component is exponentially suppressed. As for the localized\nsolution, it requires going beyond SU(3)-structure internal manifolds.\nNevertheless, we show that the action can be evaluated on-shell without relying\non the details of such complicated configuration. We find that no \"perfect\nsquare\" structure occurs, and the result is divergent. We compute the\nfour-fermion contributions, including a counterterm, needed to cancel these\ndivergencies.",
        "positive": "Background charges and consistent continuous deformations of $2d$\n  gravity theories: We construct and discuss all background charges and continuous consistent\ndeformations of standard $2d$ gravity theories with scalar matter fields. It\nturns out that the background charges and those deformations which change\nnontrivially both the form of the action and of its gauge symmetries are\nclosely linked and exist only if the target space has at least one special\n(`covariantly constant') Killing vector which must be a null vector in the case\nof the deformations. The deformed actions provide interesting novel $2d$\ngravity models. We argue that some of them lead to non-critical string\ntheories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Probing Clifford Algebras Through Spin Groups: A Standard Model\n  Perspective: Division algebras have demonstrated their utility in studying non-associative\nalgebras and their connection to the Standard Model through complex Clifford\nalgebras. This article focuses on exploring the connection between these\ncomplex Clifford algebras and their corresponding real Clifford algebras\nproviding insight into geometric properties of bivector gauge symmetries. We\nfirst generate gauge symmetries in the complex Clifford algebra through a\ngeneral Witt decomposition. Gauge symmetries act as a constraint on the\nunderlying real Clifford algebra, where they're then translated from their\ncomplex form to their bivector counterpart. Spin group arguments allow the\nidentification of bivector structures which preserve the gauge symmetry\nyielding the corresponding real Clifford algebra. We conclude that Standard\nModel gauge groups emerge from higher-dimensional Clifford algebras carrying\nEuclidean signatures, where particle states are recognized as a combination of\nbasis elements corresponding to complex Euclidean Clifford algebras.",
        "positive": "Magnon like solutions for strings in I-brane background: We study the solutions for fundamental string rotating in a background\ngenerated by a 1+1 dimensional intersection of two orthogonal stacks of\nfivebranes in type IIB string theory. We show the existence of magnon like\nsolutions for the string moving simultaneously in the two spheres in this\nbackground and find the relevant dispersion relation among the various\nconserved charges."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On actions for (entangling) surfaces and DCFTs: The dynamics of surfaces and interfaces describe many physical systems,\nincluding fluid membranes, entanglement entropy and the coupling of defects to\nquantum field theories. Based on the formulation of submanifold calculus\ndeveloped by Carter, we introduce a new variational principle for (entangling)\nsurfaces. This principle captures all diffeomorphism constraints on\nsurface/interface actions and their associated spacetime stress tensor. The\ndifferent couplings to the geometric tensors appearing in the surface action\nare interpreted in terms of response coefficients within elasticity theory. An\nexample of a surface action with edges at the two-derivative level is studied,\nincluding both the parity-even and parity-odd sectors. Its conformally\ninvariant counterpart restricts the type of conformal anomalies that can appear\nin two-dimensional submanifolds with boundaries. Analogously to hydrodynamics,\nit is shown that classification methods can be used to constrain the stress\ntensor of (entangling) surfaces at a given order in derivatives. This analysis\nreveals a purely geometric parity-odd contribution to the Young modulus of a\nthin elastic membrane. Extending this novel variational principle to BCFTs and\nDCFTs in curved spacetimes allows to obtain the Ward identities for\ndiffeomorphism and Weyl transformations. In this context, we provide a formal\nderivation of the contact terms in the stress tensor and of the displacement\noperator for a broad class of actions.",
        "positive": "Algebraic derivation of spectrum of the Dirac Hamiltonian for arbitrary\n  combination of Lorentz-scalar and Lorentz-vector Coulomb potentials: Spectrum of the Dirac Equation is obtained algebraically for arbitrary\ncombination of Lorentz-scalar and Lorentz-vector Coulomb potentials using the\nWitten's Superalgebra approach. The result coincides with that, known from the\nexplicit solution of Dirac equation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Physics Inside Topological Quantum Field Theories: We show that the equations of motion defined over a specific field space are\nrealizable as operator conditions in the physical sector of a generalized Floer\ntheory defined over that field space. The ghosts associated with such a\nconstruction are found not to be dynamical. This construction is applied to\ngravity on a four dimensional manifold, $M$; whereupon, we obtain Einstein's\nequations via surgery, along $M$, in a five-dimensional topological quantum\nfield theory.",
        "positive": "${\\cal N}=(2,2)$ AdS$_3$ from D3-branes wrapped on Riemann surfaces: We construct $\\mathcal{N}=(2,2)$ supersymmetric AdS$_3$ solutions of type IIB\nsupergravity, dual to twisted compactifications of 4d $\\mathcal{N}=4$\nsuper-Yang--Mills on Riemann surfaces. We consider both theories with a regular\ntopological twist, and a twist involving the isometry group of the Riemann\nsurface. These solutions are interpreted as the near-horizon of black strings\nasymptoting to AdS$_5\\times \\text{S}^5$. As evidence for the proposed duality\nwe compute the central charge of the gravity solutions and show that it agrees\nwith the field theory result."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Left-Right Symmetric Model from Geometrical Formulation of Gauge Theory\n  in $M_4 \\times Z_2 \\times Z_2$: The left-right symmetric model (LRSM) with gauge group $SU(2)_{L} \\times\nSU(2)_{R} \\times U(1)_{B-L}$ is reconstructed from the geometric formulation of\ngauge theory in $M_4 \\times Z_2 \\times Z_2$ where $M_4$ is the four-dimensional\nMinkowski space and $Z_2 \\times Z_2$ the discrete space with four points. The\ngeometrical structure of this model becomes clearer compared with other works\nbased on noncommutative geometry. As a result, the Yukawa coupling terms and\nthe Higgs potential are derived in more restricted forms than in the standard\nLRSM.",
        "positive": "Gluon scattering amplitudes from gauge/string duality and integrability: We discuss gluon scattering amplitudes/null-polygonal Wilson loops of N = 4\nsuper Yang-Mills theory at strong coupling based on the gauge/string duality\nand its underlying integrability. We focus on the amplitudes/Wilson loops\ncorresponding to the minimal surfaces in AdS_3, which are described by the\nthermodynamic Bethe ansatz equations of the homogeneous sine-Gordon model.\nUsing conformal perturbation theory and an interesting relation between the\ng-function (boundary entropy) and the T-function, we derive analytic expansions\naround the limit where the Wilson loops become regular-polygonal. We also\ncompare our analytic results with those at two loops, to find that the rescaled\nremainder functions are close to each other for all multi-point amplitudes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gaugino Condensation and the Vacuum Expectation Value of the Dilaton: The mechanism of gaugino condensation has emerged as a prime candidate for\nsupersymmetry breakdown in low energy effective supergravity (string) models.\nOne of the open questions in this approach concerns the size of the gauge\ncoupling constant which is dynamically fixed through the vev of the dilaton. We\nargue that a nontrivial gauge kinetic function $f(S)$ could solve the potential\nproblem of a runaway dilaton. The actual form of $f(S)$ might be constrained by\nsymmetry arguments.",
        "positive": "Scales of String Theory: I review the arguments in favor of/against the traditional hypothesis that\nthe Planck, string and compactification scales are all within a couple of\norders of magnitude from each other. I explain how the extreme brane-world\nscenario, with TeV type I scale and two large (near millimetric) transverse\ndimensions, creates conditions analogous to those of the energy desert and is\nthus naturally singled out. I comment on the puzzle of gauge coupling\nunification in this context."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quintessence with a localized scalar field on the brane: We study issues of the quintessence in the brane cosmology. The initial bulk\nspacetime consists of two 5D topological anti de Sitter black hole joined by\nthe brane (moving domain wall). Here we do not introduce any conventional\nradiation and matter. Instead we include a localized scalar on the brane as a\nstress-energy tensor, and thus we find the quintessence which gives an\naccelerating universe. Importantly, we obtain a $\\rho^2$-term as well as a\nholographic matter term of $\\alpha/a^4$ from the masses of the topological\nblack holes. We discuss a possibility that in the early universe, $\\rho^2$-term\nmakes a large kinetic term which induces a decelerating universe. This may\nprovide a hint of avoiding from the perpetually accelerating universe of the\npresent-day quintessence. If a holographic matter term exists, it will plays\nthe role of a CFT-radiation in the early universe.",
        "positive": "Operator Regularization and Large Noncommutative Chern Simons Theory: We examine noncommutative Chern Simons theory using operator regularization.\nBoth the zeta-function and the eta-function are needed to determine one loop\neffects. The contributions to these functions coming from the two point\nfunction is evaluated. The U(N) noncommutative model smoothly reduces to the\nSU(N) commutative model as the noncommutative parameter theta_{mu nu} vanishes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Notes on AdS-Schwarzschild eikonal phase: We consider the eikonal phase associated with the gravitational scattering of\na highly energetic light particle off a very heavy object in AdS spacetime. A\nsimple expression for this phase follows from the WKB approximation to the\nscattering amplitude and has been computed to all orders in the ratio of the\nimpact parameter to the Schwarzschild radius of the heavy particle. The eikonal\nphase is related to the deflection angle by the usual stationary phase\nrelation. We consider the flat space limit and observe that for sufficiently\nsmall impact parameters (or angular momenta) the eikonal phase develops a large\nimaginary part; the inelastic cross-section is exactly the classical absorption\ncross-section of the black hole. We also consider a double scaling limit where\nthe momentum becomes null simultaneously with the asymptotically AdS black hole\nbecoming very large. In the dual CFT this limit retains contributions from all\nleading twist multi stress tensor operators, which are universal with respect\nto the addition of higher derivative terms to the gravitational lagrangian. We\ncompute the eikonal phase and the associated Lyapunov exponent in the double\nscaling limit.",
        "positive": "Hawking Radiation inside Black Holes in Quantum Gravity: We study black hole radiation inside black holes within the framework of\nquantum gravity. First, we review on our previous work of a canonical\nquantization for a spherically symmetric geometry where one of the spatial\ncoordinates is treated as the time variable, since we think of the interior\nregion of a black hole. Based on this formalism, under physically plausible\nassumptions, we solve the Wheeler-De Witt equation inside the black hole, and\nshow that the mass-loss rate of an evaporating black hole due to thermal\nradiation is equivalent to the result obtained by Hawking in his semi-classical\napproach. A remarkable point is that our assumptions make the momentum\nconstraint coincide with the Hamiltonian constraint up to an irrelevant overall\nfactor. Furthermore, for comparison, we solve the Wheeler-De Witt equation\noutside the black hole as well, and see that the mass-loss rate of an\nevaporating black hole has the same expression. The present analysis suggests\nthat the black hole radiation comes from the black hole singularity. We also\ncomment on the Birkhoff theorem in quantum gravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Chiral Symmetry Breaking in a Constant Magnetic Field in Higher\n  Dimension: Chiral symmetry breaking in the Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model in a constant\nmagnetic field is studied in spacetimes of dimension D > 4. It is shown that a\nconstant magnetic field can be characterized by [(D-1)/2] parameters. For the\nmaximal number of nonzero field parameters, we show that there is an effective\nreduction of the spacetime dimension for fermions in the infrared region D\n$\\to$ 1 + 1 for even-dimensional spacetimes and D $\\to$ 0 + 1 for\nodd-dimensional spacetimes. Explicit solutions of the gap equation confirm our\nconclusions.",
        "positive": "Geometric Resolution of Schwarzschild Horizon: We provide the first example of a geometric transition that resolves the\nSchwarzschild black hole into a smooth microstructure in eleven-dimensional\nsupergravity on a seven-torus. The geometry is indistinguishable from a\nSchwarzschild black hole dressed with a scalar field in four dimensions,\nreferred to as a Schwarzschild scalarwall. In eleven dimensions, the scalar\nfield arises as moduli of the torus. The resolution occurs at an infinitesimal\nscale above the horizon, where it transitions to a smooth bubbling spacetime\nsupported by M2-brane flux."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Generalized lagrangian of the Rarita--Schwinger field: We derive the most general lagrangian of the free massive Rarita--Schwinger\nfield, which generalizes the previously known ones. The special role of the\nreparameterization transformation is discussed.",
        "positive": "Bootstrapping Smooth Conformal Defects in Chern-Simons-Matter Theories: The expectation value of a smooth conformal line defect in a CFT is a\nconformal invariant functional of its path in space-time. For example, in large\n$N$ holographic theories, these fundamental observables are dual to the open\nstring partition function in AdS. In this paper, we develop a bootstrap method\nfor studying them and apply it to conformal line defects in Chern-Simons matter\ntheories. In these cases, the line bootstrap is based on three minimal\nassumptions -- conformal invariance of the line defect, large $N$\nfactorization, and the spectrum of the two lowest-lying operators at the end of\nthe line. On the basis of these assumptions, we solve the one-dimensional CFT\non the line and systematically compute the defect expectation value in an\nexpansion around the straight line. We find that the conformal symmetry of a\nstraight defect is insufficient to fix the answer. Instead, imposing the\nconformal symmetry of the defect along an arbitrary curved line leads to a\nfunctional bootstrap constraint. The solution to this constraint is found to be\nunique."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exotic Universal Solutions in Cubic Superstring Field Theory: We present a class of analytic solutions of cubic superstring field theory in\nthe universal sector on a non-BPS D-brane. Computation of the action and gauge\ninvariant overlap reveal that the solutions carry half the tension of a non-BPS\nD-brane. However, the solutions do not satisfy the reality condition. In fact,\nthey display an intriguing topological structure: We find evidence that\nconjugation of the solutions is equivalent to a gauge transformation that\ncannot be continuously deformed to the identity.",
        "positive": "Novel Complete Non-compact Symmetries for the Wheeler-DeWitt Equation in\n  a Wormhole Scalar Model and Axion-Dilaton String Cosmology: We find the full symmetries of the Wheeler-DeWitt equation for the Hawking\nand Page wormhole model and an axion-dilaton string cosmology. We show that the\nWheeler-DeWitt Hamiltonian admits an U(1,1) hidden symmetry for the Hawking and\nPage model and U(2,1) for the axion-dilaton string cosmology. If we consider\nthe existence of matter-energy renormalization, for each of these models we\nfind that the Wheeler-DeWitt Hamiltonian accept an additional SL(2,R) dynamical\nsymmetry. In this case, we show that the SL(2,R) dynamical symmetry generators\ntransform the states from one energy Hilbert eigensubspace to another. Some new\nwormhole type-solutions for both models are found."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Batalin-Tyutin Quantization of the Chern-Simons-Proca Theory: We quantize the Chern-Simons-Proca theory in three dimensions by using the\nBatalin-Tyutin Hamiltonian method, which systematically embeds second class\nconstraint system into first class by introducing new fields in the extended\nphase space. As results, we obtain simultaneously the St\\\"uckelberg scalar\nterm, which is needed to cancel the gauge anomaly due to the mass term, and the\nnew type of Wess-Zumino action, which is irrelevant to the gauge symmetry. We\nalso investigate the infrared property of the Chern-Simons-Proca theory by\nusing the Batalin-Tyutin formalism comparing with the symplectic formalism. As\na result, we observe that the resulting theory is precisely the gauge invariant\nChern-Simons-Proca quantum mechanical version of this theory.",
        "positive": "A hidden symmetry in quantum gravity: The action integral contains more information than the equations of motion.\nWe have previously shown that there are signs of an extended exceptional\nsymmetry for N=8 supergravity in four dimensions. The symmetry is such that the\nfields used in the Lagrangian are not representations of the symmetry. Instead\none has to add representations to obtain a representation of the extended\nsymmetry group. In this paper we discuss an extended symmetry in\nfour-dimensional gravity which is the Ehlers symmetry in three dimensions. It\ncannot be spanned by the helicity states of four-dimensional gravity but it can\nbe realised once we treat the helicity states just as field variables of the\nfunctional integral, which can be changed like variables in any integral. We\nalso explain how this symmetry is inherent to formulations of N=8 supergravity\nin four dimensions through a truncation in the field space to pure gravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A condition on the chiral symmetry breaking solution of the\n  Dyson-Schwinger equation in three-dimensional QED: In three-dimensional QED, which is analyzed in the 1/$N$ expansion, we obtain\na sufficient and necessary condition for a nontrivial solution of the\nDyson-Schwinger equation to be chiral symmetry breaking solution. In the\nderivation, a normalization condition of the Goldstone bound state is used. It\nis showed that the existent analytical solutions satisfy this condition.",
        "positive": "Inhomogeneous Near-extremal Black Branes: It has recently been shown that there exist stable inhomogeneous neutral\nblack strings in higher dimensional gravity. These solutions were motivated by\nthe fact that the corresponding homogeneous solutions are unstable. We show\nthat there exist new inhomogeneous black string and black p-brane solutions\neven when the corresponding translationally invariant solutions are stable. In\nparticular, we show there exist inhomogeneous near-extremal black strings and\np-branes. Some of these solutions remain inhomogeneous even when the size of\nthe compact direction (at infinity) is very small."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On instantons as Kaluza-Klein modes of M5-branes: Instantons and W-bosons in 5d maximally supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory\narise from a circle compactification of the 6d (2,0) theory as Kaluza-Klein\nmodes and winding self-dual strings, respectively. We study an index which\ncounts BPS instantons with electric charges in Coulomb and symmetric phases. We\nfirst prove the existence of unique threshold bound state of (noncommutative)\nU(1) instantons for any instanton number, and also show that charged instantons\nin the Coulomb phase correctly give the degeneracy of SU(2) self-dual strings.\nBy studying SU(N) self-dual strings in the Coulomb phase, we find novel\nmomentum-carrying degrees on the worldsheet. The total number of these degrees\nequals the anomaly coefficient of SU(N) (2,0) theory. We finally show that our\nindex can be used to study the symmetric phase of this theory, and provide an\ninterpretation as the superconformal index of the sigma model on instanton\nmoduli space.",
        "positive": "A Formulation of Quantum Field Theory Realizing a Sea of Interacting\n  Dirac Particles: In this survey article, we explain a few ideas behind the fermionic projector\napproach and summarize recent results which clarify the connection to quantum\nfield theory. The fermionic projector is introduced, which describes the\nphysical system by a collection of Dirac states, including the states of the\nDirac sea. Formulating the interaction by an action principle for the fermionic\nprojector, we obtain a consistent description of interacting quantum fields\nwhich reproduces the results of perturbative quantum field theory. We find a\nnew mechanism for the generation of boson masses and obtain small corrections\nto the field equations which violate causality."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Generalized Calogero-Sutherland systems from many-matrix models: We construct generalizations of the Calogero-Sutherland-Moser system by\nappropriately reducing a model involving many unitary matrices. The resulting\nsystems consist of particles on the circle with internal degrees of freedom,\ncoupled through modifications of the inverse-square potential. The coupling\ninvolves SU(M) non-invariant (anti)ferromagnetic interactions of the internal\ndegrees of freedom. The systems are shown to be integrable and the spectrum and\nwavefunctions of the quantum version are derived.",
        "positive": "Chaotic Brane Inflation: We illustrate a framework for constructing models of chaotic inflation where\nthe inflaton is the position of a D3 brane along the universal cover of a\nstring compactification. In our scenario, a brane rolls many times around a\nnon-trivial one-cycle, thereby unwinding a Ramond-Ramond flux. These \"flux\nmonodromies\" are similar in spirit to the monodromies of Silverstein, Westphal,\nand McAllister, and their four-dimensional description is that of Kaloper and\nSorbo. Assuming moduli stabilization is rigid enough, the large-field\ninflationary potential is protected from radiative corrections by a discrete\nshift symmetry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Polynomial Formulation of the U(1) Non-Linear Sigma-Model in 2\n  Dimensions: We investigate some properties of a first-order polynomial formulation of the\nU(1) non-linear sigma-model in two Euclidean dimensions. The variables in this\ndescription are a 1-form field plus a 0-form Lagrange multiplier field. The\nusual spin variables are non-local functions of the new fields. As this\nconstruction incorporates O(2) invariance ab initio, only O(2)-invariant\ncorrelation functions (the only non-vanishing ones in the model) can be\nconstructed. We show that the vortices play a dual role to the spin variables\nin the partition function. The equivalent Sine-Gordon description is obtained\nin a natural way, when one integrates out the 1-form field to get an effective\npartition function for the Lagrange multiplier. We also show how to introduce\nstrings of vortices within this formulation.",
        "positive": "Holographic Model of Dual Superconductor for Quark Confinement: We show that a hairy black hole solution can provide a holographically dual\ndescription of quark confinement. There exists a one-parameter sensible metric\nwhich receives the backreaction of matter contents in the holographic action,\nwhere the scalar and gauge field are responsible for the condensation of\nchromomagnetic monopoles. This model features a preconfining phase triggered by\nsecond-order monopole condensation and a first-order confinement/deconfinement\nphase transition. To confirm the confinement, the quark-antiquark potential is\ncalculated by probing a QCD string in both phases. At last, contribution from\nKaluza-Klein monopoles in the confining phase is discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Geometry and Energy of Non-abelian Vortices: We study pure Yang--Mills theory on $\\Sigma\\times S^2$, where $\\Sigma$ is a\ncompact Riemann surface, and invariance is assumed under rotations of $S^2$. It\nis well known that the self-duality equations in this set-up reduce to vortex\nequations on $\\Sigma$. If the Yang--Mills gauge group is $\\SU{2}$, the\nBogomolny vortex equations of the abelian Higgs model are obtained. For larger\ngauge groups one generally finds vortex equations involving several\nmatrix-valued Higgs fields. Here we focus on Yang--Mills theory with gauge\ngroup $\\SU{N}/\\ZZ_N$ and a special reduction which yields only one non-abelian\nHiggs field. One of the new features of this reduction is the fact that while\nthe instanton number of the theory in four dimensions is generally fractional\nwith denominator $N$, we still obtain an integral vortex number in the reduced\ntheory. We clarify the relation between these two topological charges at a\nbundle geometric level. Another striking feature is the emergence of\nnon-trivial lower and upper bounds for the energy of the reduced theory on\n$\\Sigma$. These bounds are proportional to the area of $\\Sigma$. We give\nspecial solutions of the theory on $\\Sigma$ by embedding solutions of the\nabelian Higgs model into the non-abelian theory, and we relate our work to the\nlanguage of quiver bundles, which has recently proved fruitful in the study of\ndimensional reduction of Yang--Mills theory.",
        "positive": "Energy-momentum tensor for a scalar Casimir apparatus in a weak\n  gravitational field: Neumann conditions: We consider a Casimir apparatus consisting of two perfectly conducting\nparallel plates, subject to the weak gravitational field of the Earth. The aim\nof this paper is the calculation of the energy-momentum tensor of this system\nfor a free, real massless scalar field satisfying Neumann boundary conditions\non the plates. The small gravity acceleration (here considered as not varying\nbetween the two plates) allows us to perform all calculations to first order in\nthis parameter. Some interesting results are found: a correction, depending on\nthe gravity acceleration, to the well-known Casimir energy and pressure on the\nplates. Moreover, this scheme predicts a tiny force in the upwards direction\nacting on the apparatus. These results are supported by two consistency checks:\nthe covariant conservation of the energy-momentum tensor and the vanishing of\nits regularized trace, when the scalar field is conformally coupled to gravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-Perturbative JT Gravity: Recently, Saad, Shenker and Stanford showed how to define the genus expansion\nof Jackiw-Teitelboim quantum gravity in terms of a double-scaled Hermitian\nmatrix model. However, the model's non-perturbative sector has fatal\ninstabilities at low energy that they cured by procedures that render the\nphysics non-unique. This might not be a desirable property for a system that is\nsupposed to capture key features of quantum black holes. Presented here is a\nmodel with identical perturbative physics at high energy that instead has a\nstable and unambiguous non-perturbative completion of the physics at low\nenergy. An explicit examination of the full spectral density function shows how\nthis is achieved. The new model, which is based on complex matrix models, also\nallows for the straightforward inclusion of spacetime features analogous to\nRamond-Ramond fluxes. Intriguingly, there is a deformation parameter that\nconnects this non-perturbative formulation of JT gravity to one which, at low\nenergy, has features of a super JT gravity.",
        "positive": "Consistently melting crystals: Recently Ooguri and Yamazaki proposed a statistical model of melting crystals\nto count BPS bound states of certain D-brane configurations on toric\nCalabi--Yau manifolds [arXiv:0811.2801]. This construction relied on a set of\nconsistency conditions on the corresponding brane tiling, and in this note I\nshow that these conditions are satisfied for any physical brane tiling; they\nfollow from the conformality of the low energy field theory on the D-branes. As\na byproduct I also provide a simple direct proof that any physical brane tiling\nhas a perfect matching."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Ultrarelativistic charged and magnetized objects in non-local ghost-free\n  electrodynamics: We study a non-local ghost-free Lorentz invariant modification of the Maxwell\nequations in four- and higher-dimensional flat spacetimes. We construct\nsolutions of these equations for stationary charged and magnetized objects and\nuse them to find the field created by such objects moving with the speed of\nlight.",
        "positive": "Large-N_c meson theory: We derive an effective Lagrangian for meson fields. This is done in the\nlight-cone gauge for two-dimensional large-N_c QCD by using the bilocal\nauxiliary field method. The auxiliary fields are bilocal on light-cone space\nand their Fourier transformation determines the parton momentum distribution.\nAs the first test of our method, the 't Hooft equation is derived from the\neffective Lagrangian."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Uncertainties in the Schmidt Basis Given by Decoherence: A common misconception is that decoherence gives the eigenstates that we\nobserve to be fairly definite about a subsystem (e.g., approximate eigenstates\nof position) as the elements of the Schmidt basis in which the density matrix\nof the subsystem is diagonal. Here I show that in simple examples of linear\nsystems with gaussian states, the Schmidt basis states have as much mean\nuncertainty about position as the full density matrix with its combination of\ndifferent possibilities.",
        "positive": "On the Renormalizability of Horava-Lifshitz-type Gravities: In this note, we discuss the renormalizability of Horava-Lifshitz-type\ngravity theories. Using the fact that Horava-Lifshitz gravity is very closely\nrelated to the stochastic quantization of topologically massive gravity, we\nshow that the renormalizability of HL gravity only depends on the\nrenormalizability of topologically massive gravity. This is a consequence of\nthe BRST and time-reversal symmetries pertinent to theories satisfying the\ndetailed balance condition."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Black holes may not constrain varying constants: New and rather controversial observations hint that the fine structure\nconstant \\alpha may have been smaller in the early universe, suggesting that\nsome of the fundamental ``constants'' of physics may be dynamical. In a recent\npaper, Davies, Davis, and Lineweaver have argued that black hole thermodynamics\nfavors theories in which the speed of light c decreases with time, and\ndisfavors those in which the fundamental electric charge e increases. We show\nthat when one considers the full thermal environment of a black hole, no such\nconclusion can be drawn: thermodynamics is consistent with an increase in\n\\alpha whether it comes from a decrease in c, an increase in e, or a\ncombination of the two.",
        "positive": "Topological Field Theory and Rational Curves: We analyze the superstring propagating on a Calabi-Yau threefold. This theory\nnaturally leads to the consideration of Witten's topological non-linear\nsigma-model and the structure of rational curves on the Calabi-Yau manifold. We\nstudy in detail the case of the world-sheet of the string being mapped to a\nmultiple cover of an isolated rational curve and we show that a natural\ncompactification of the moduli space of such a multiple cover leads to a\nformula in agreement with a conjecture by Candelas, de la Ossa, Green and\nParkes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "D-brane couplings and Generalised Geometry: The goal of this paper is to re-examine D-brane Ramond-Ramond field couplings\nin the presence of a B-field. We will argue that the generalised geometry\ninduced on the world volume by the B-field results in an important but subtle\nchange on the coupling. In order to explain this, we use the language of\ndifferential K-theory. The expression determining the coupling is then seen to\nbe a consequence of the Riemann-Roch theorem. Our key assertion is that the\nappropriate Riemann-Roch theorem changes in the presence of the B-field. In\nparticular, the A-hat forms appearing in the theorem are now constructed using\nthe torsionful Levi-Civita connection associated to the generalised geometry.\nAs we shall see, the resulting expression not only agrees with recently\ndiscovered local couplings on the D-brane worldvolume involving RR fields and\nderivatives of the B-field, but also makes the coupling manifestly T-duality\ninvariant.",
        "positive": "Off-shell M5 Brane, Perturbed Seiberg-Witten Theory, and Metastable\n  Vacua: We demonstrate that, in an appropriate limit, the off-shell M5-brane\nworldvolume action effectively captures the scalar potential of Seiberg-Witten\ntheory perturbed by a small superpotential and, consequently, any\nnonsupersymmetric vacua that it describes. This happens in a similar manner to\nthe emergence from M5's of the scalar potential describing certain type IIB\nflux configurations [arXiv:0705.0983]. We then construct exact nonholomorphic\nM5 configurations in the special case of SU(2) Seiberg-Witten theory deformed\nby a degree six superpotential which correspond to the recently discovered\nmetastable vacua of Ooguri, Ookouchi, Park [arXiv:0704.3613], and Pastras\n[arXiv:0705.0505]. These solutions take the approximate form of a holomorphic\nSeiberg-Witten geometry with harmonic embedding along a transverse direction\nand allow us to obtain geometric intuition for local stability of the gauge\ntheory vacua. As usual, dynamical processes in the gauge theory, such as the\ndecay of nonsupersymmetric vacua, take on a different character in the M5\ndescription which, due to issues of boundary conditions, typically involves\nrunaway behavior in MQCD."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Asymptotic Structure of Higher Dimensional Yang-Mills Theory: Using the covariant phase space formalism, we construct the phase space for\nnon-Abelian gauge theories in $(d+2)$-dimensional Minkowski spacetime for any\n$d \\geq 2$, including the edge modes that symplectically pair to the low energy\ndegrees of freedom of the gauge field. Despite the fact that the symplectic\nform in odd and even-dimensional spacetimes appear ostensibly different, we\ndemonstrate that both cases can be treated in a unified manner by utilizing the\nshadow transform. Upon quantization, we recover the algebra of the vacuum\nsector of the Hilbert space and derive a Ward identity that implies the leading\nsoft gluon theorem in $(d+2)$-dimensional spacetime.",
        "positive": "The octic E8 invariant: We give an explicit expression for the primitive E8-invariant tensor with\neight symmetric indices. The result is presented in a manifestly\nSpin(16)/Z2-covariant notation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum entanglement measures from Hyperscaling violating geometries\n  with finite radial cut off at general d, $\u03b8$ from the emergent global\n  symmetry: The quantum entanglement measures for $T{\\overline{T}}$ deformed field theory\non boundary, deformation coefficient $\\mu$, with dual bulk geometry with finite\nradial cutoff $\\rho_c$, for entangling region is single or disjoint intervals\non the boundary, of length l is expected to give global description of these\nmeasures over the complete parameter-regime of $(l, \\mu)$ or on 2D $(l,\\rho_c)$\nplane, because it is solvable irrelevant deformation. Here, to find\nquantum-measures through RT prescription, from Hyperscaling violating bulk\ngeometry with finite radial cut off, we found mathematically it is impossible,\nto obtain such global form, since the turning point $\\rho_0 (l,\\rho_c)$,\nneither in its exact or in any perturbative form, is solvable globally, can\ndescribe these quantum measures at most locally over some specific regime in 2D\n$(l,\\rho_c)$ plane! However, to find such global form, we found, on application\nof RT formalism, a global symmetry structure, from the considered geometry\nemerges, over 2D parameter-space, irrespective of d, $\\theta$, which alongwith\nglobal b.c and other consistency conditions, fix $\\rho_0(l,\\rho_c)$ globally,\nexactly in $l >> \\rho_c $ and $\\rho_c >> l$ regime and as some interpolating\nexpressions, very close to the exact one in other regime. Some of the quantum\nentanglement measures with this $\\rho_0 (l,\\rho_c)$, with our intuitively\npredicted behaviour for them in the deformed theory, derived and shown,\nbehaving accordingly. The impact of this emergent symmetry on these\nquantum-measures is discussed, the possible space time origin of this symmetry\nis explored, although the later aspect is subjected to a proper and detailed\nstudy.",
        "positive": "Novel vortices and the role of complex chemical potential in a rotating\n  holographic superfluid: In this work, we have analytically devised novel vortex solutions in a\nrotating holographic superfluid. To achieve this result, we have considered a\nstatic disc at the AdS boundary and let the superfluid rotate relative to it.\nThis idea has been numerically exploited in [1] where formation of vortices in\nsuch a setting was reported. We have found that these vortex solutions are\neigenfunctions of angular momentum. We have also shown that vortices with\nhigher winding numbers are associated with higher quantized rotation of the\nsuperfluid. We have, then, analysed the equation of motion along bulk AdS\ndirection using St\\\"urm-Liouville eigenvalue approach. A surprising outcome of\nour study is that the chemical potential must be purely imaginary. We have then\nobserved that the winding number of the vortices decreases with the increase in\nthe imaginary chemical potential. We conclude from this that imaginary chemical\npotential leads to less dissipation in such holographic superfluids."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Heterotic Strings on Generalized Calabi-Yau Manifolds and Kaehler Moduli\n  Stabilization: Compactifications of heterotic string theory on Generalized Calabi-Yau\nmanifolds have been expected to give the same type of flexibility that type IIB\ncompactifications on Calabi-Yau orientifolds have. In this note we generalize\nthe work done on half-flat manifolds by other authors, to show how flux\nquantization occurs in the general case, by starting with a basis of harmonic\nforms and then extending it. However it turns out that only the axions\nassociated with the non-harmonic directions in the space of Kaehler moduli, can\nbe stabilized by the geometric (torsion) terms. Also we argue that there are no\nsupersymmetric extrema of the potential when the second (and fourth) cohomology\ngroups on the manifold are non-trivial. We suggest that threshold corrections\nto the classical gauge coupling function could solve these problems.",
        "positive": "Spinning Skyrmions and the Skyrme Parameters: The traditional approach to fixing the parameters of the Skyrme model\nrequires the energy of a spinning Skyrmion to reproduce the nucleon and delta\nmasses. The standard Skyrme parameters, which are used almost exclusively, fix\nthe pion mass to its experimental value and fit the two remaining Skyrme\nparameters by approximating the spinning Skyrmion as a rigid body. In this\npaper we remove the rigid body approximation and perform numerical calculations\nwhich allow the spinning Skyrmion to deform and break spherical symmetry. The\nresults show that if the pion mass is set to its experimental value then the\nnucleon and delta masses can not be reproduced for any values of the Skyrme\nparameters; the commonly used Skyrme parameters are simply an artifact of the\nrigid body approximation. However, if the pion mass is taken to be\nsubstantially larger than its experimental value then the nucleon and delta\nmasses can be reproduced. This result has a significant effect on the structure\nof multi-Skyrmions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Type IIA Orientifolds on General Supersymmetric Z_N Orbifolds: We construct Type IIA orientifolds for general supersymmetric Z_N orbifolds.\nIn particular, we provide the methods to deal with the non-factorisable\nsix-dimensional tori for the cases Z7, Z8, Z8', Z12 and Z12'. As an application\nof these methods we explicitly construct many new orientifold models.",
        "positive": "Deriving the Simplest Gauge-String Duality -- I: Open-Closed-Open\n  Triality: We lay out an approach to derive the closed string dual to the simplest\npossible gauge theory, a single hermitian matrix integral, in the conventional\n't Hooft large $N$ limit. In this first installment of three papers, we propose\nand verify an explicit correspondence with a (mirror) pair of closed\ntopological string theories. On the A-model side, this is a supersymmetric\n$SL(2, \\mathbb{R})_1/U(1)$ Kazama-Suzuki coset (with background momentum modes\nturned on). The mirror B-model description is in terms of a Landau-Ginzburg\ntheory with superpotential $W(Z)=\\frac{1}{Z}+t_2Z$ and its deformations. We\narrive at these duals through an \"open-closed-open triality\". This is the\nnotion that two open string descriptions ought to exist for the same closed\nstring theory depending on how closed strings manifest themselves from open\nstring modes. Applying this idea to the hermitian matrix model gives an exact\nmapping to the Imbimbo-Mukhi matrix model. The latter model is known to capture\nthe physical correlators of the $c=1$ string theory at self-dual radius, which,\nin turn, has the equivalent topological string descriptions given above. This\nenables us to establish the equality of correlators, to all genus, between\nsingle trace operators in our original matrix model and those of the dual\nclosed strings. Finally, we comment on how this simplest of dualities might be\nfruitfully viewed in terms of an embedding into the full AdS/CFT\ncorrespondence."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hawking Radiation due to Photon and Gravitino Tunneling: Applying the Hamilton--Jacobi method we investigate the tunneling of photon\nacross the event horizon of a static spherically symmetric black hole. The\nnecessity of the gauge condition on the photon field, to derive the\nsemiclassical Hawking temperature, is explicitly shown. Also, the tunneling of\nphoton and gravitino beyond this semiclassical approximation are presented\nseparately. Quantum corrections of the action for both cases are found to be\nproportional to the semiclassical contribution. Modifications to the Hawking\ntemperature and Bekenstein-Hawking area law are thereby obtained. Using this\ncorrected temperature and Hawking's periodicity argument, the modified metric\nfor the Schwarzschild black hole is given. This corrected version of the\nmetric, upto $\\hbar$ order is equivalent to the metric obtained by including\none loop back reaction effect. Finally, the coefficient of the leading order\ncorrection of entropy is shown to be related to the trace anomaly.",
        "positive": "Goldstone Superfield Actions in AdS5 backgrounds: Nonlinear realizations superfield techniques, pertinent to the description of\npartial breaking of global N=2 supersymmetry in a flat d=4 super Minkowski\nbackground, are generalized to the case of partially broken N=1 AdS5\nsupersymmetry SU(2,2|1). We present, in an explicit form, off-shell manifestly\nN=1, d=4 supersymmetric minimal Goldstone superfield actions for two patterns\nof partial breaking of SU(2,2|1) supersymmetry. They correspond to two\ndifferent nonlinear realizations of the latter, in the supercosets with the\nAdS5 and AdS5\\times S1 bosonic parts. The relevant worldvolume Goldstone\nsupermultiplets are accommodated, respectively, by improved tensor and chiral\nN=1, d=4 superfields. The second action is obtained from the first one by\ndualizing the improved tensor Goldstone multiplet into a chiral Goldstone one.\nIn the bosonic sectors, the first and second actions yield static-gauge\nNambu-Goto actions for a L3-brane on AdS5 and a scalar 3-brane on AdS5\\times\nS1."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Geometrically confined thermal field theory: Finite size corrections and\n  phase transitions: Motivated by the recent shocking results from RHIC and LHC that show\nquark-gluon plasma signatures in small systems, we study a simple model of a\nmassless, noninteracting scalar field confined with Dirichlet boundary\nconditions. We use this system to investigate the finite size corrections to\nthermal field theoretically derived quantities compared to the usual\nStefan-Boltzmann limit of an ideal gas not confined in any direction. Two\nequivalent expressions with different numerical convergence properties are\nfound for the free energy in $D$ rectilinear spacetime dimensions with $c\\le\nD-1$ spatial dimensions of finite extent. We find that the First Law of\nThermodynamics generalizes such that the pressure depends on direction but that\nthe Third Law is respected. For systems with finite dimension(s) but infinite\nvolumes, such as a field constrained between two parallel plates or a\nrectangular tube, the relative fluctuations in energy are zero, and hence the\ncanonical and microcanonical ensembles are equivalent. We present precise\nnumerical results for the free energy, total internal energy, pressure,\nentropy, and heat capacity of our field between parallel plates, in a tube, and\nin finite volume boxes of various sizes in 4 spacetime dimensions. For\ntemperatures and system sizes relevant for heavy ion phenomenology, we find\nlarge deviations from the Stefan-Boltzmann limit for these quantities,\nespecially for the pressure. Further investigation of an isolated system of\nfields constrained between parallel plates reveals a divergent isoenergetic\ncompressibility at a critical length $L_c\\sim1/T$. We have thus discovered a\nnew second order phase transition via a first principles calculation, a\ntransition that is driven by the size of the system.",
        "positive": "Gromov-Witten invariants and localization: We give a pedagogical review of the computation of Gromov-Witten invariants\nvia localization in 2D gauged linear sigma models. We explain the relationship\nbetween the two-sphere partition function of the theory and the Kahler\npotential on the conformal manifold. We show how the Kahler potential can be\nassembled from classical, perturbative, and non-perturbative contributions, and\nexplain how the non-perturbative contributions are related to the Gromov-Witten\ninvariants of the corresponding Calabi-Yau manifold. We then explain how\nlocalization enables efficient calculation of the two-sphere partition function\nand, ultimately, the Gromov-Witten invariants themselves."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Two-dimensional conformal field theories with matrix-valued level: We introduce a new class of two dimensional conformal field theories by\nextending Wess-Zumino-Witten (WZW) models to chiral algebras with matrix-valued\nlevels. The new CFTs are based on holomorphic currents with an operator product\nexpansion characterized by a positive integer-valued matrix $K_{AB}$. We use\nthe Sugawara construction to compute the energy-momentum tensor, the central\ncharge, and the spectrum of conformal dimensions of the CFTs based on this\nalgebra. We also construct a set of genus-$1$ characters and show that they\nfulfil a representation of the modular group $\\text{SL}(2,\\mathbb{Z})$ up to a\nmodular anomaly.",
        "positive": "Unifying fractons, gravitons and photons from a gauge theoretical\n  approach: We revisit the first principles gauge theoretical construction of\nrelativistic gapless fracton theory recently developed by A. Blasi and N.\nMaggiore. The difference is that, instead of considering a symmetric tensor\nfield, we consider a vector field with a gauge group index, (i.e.) the usual\nEinstein-Cartan variable used in the first order formalism of gravity. After\ndiscussing the most general quadratic action for this field, we explore the\nphysical sectors contained in the model. Particularly, we show that the model\ncontains not only linear gravity and fractons, but also ordinary Maxwell\nequations, suggesting an apparent electrically charged phase of, for instance,\nspin liquids and glassy dynamical systems. Moreover, by a suitable change of\nfield variables, we recover the Blasi-Maggiore gauge model of fractons and\nlinear gravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exact eigenfunctions and the open topological string: Mirror curves to toric Calabi-Yau threefolds can be quantized and lead to\ntrace class operators on the real line. The eigenvalues of these operators are\nencoded in the BPS invariants of the underlying threefold, but much less is\nknown about their eigenfunctions. In this paper we first develop methods in\nspectral theory to compute these eigenfunctions. We also provide a matrix\nintegral representation which allows to study them in a 't Hooft limit, where\nthey are described by standard topological open string amplitudes. Based on\nthese results, we propose a conjecture for the exact eigenfunctions which\ninvolves both the WKB wavefunction and the standard topological string\nwavefunction. This conjecture can be made completely explicit in the maximally\nsupersymmetric, or self-dual case, which we work out in detail for local P1xP1.\nIn this case, our conjectural eigenfunctions turn out to be closely related to\nBaker-Akhiezer functions on the mirror curve, and they are in full agreement\nwith first-principle calculations in spectral theory.",
        "positive": "On dynamical supergravity interacting with super-p-brane sources: We review recent progress in a fully dynamical Lagrangian description of the\nsupergravity-superbrane interaction. It suggests that the interacting\nsuperfield action, when it exists, is gauge equivalent to the component action\nof dynamical supergravity interacting with the bosonic limit of the superbrane."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Inequivalent Goldstone Hierarchies for Spontaneously Broken Spacetime\n  Symmetries: The coset construction is a powerful tool for building theories that\nnon-linearly realize symmetries. We show that when the symmetry group is not\nsemisimple and includes spacetime symmetries, different parametrizations of the\ncoset space can prefer different Goldstones as essential or inessential, due to\nthe group's Levi decomposition. This leads to inequivalent physics. In\nparticular, we construct a theory of a scalar and vector Goldstones living in\nde Sitter spacetime and non-linearly realizing the Poincar\\'e group. Either\nGoldstone can be seen as inessential and removed in favor of the other, but the\ntheory is only healthy when both are kept dynamical. The corresponding coset\nspace is the same, up to reparametrization, as that of a Minkowski brane\nembedded in a Minkowski bulk, but the two theories are inequivalent.",
        "positive": "Off-shell amplitudes for nonoriented closed strings: In the context of the bosonic closed string theory, by using the operatorial\nformalism, we give a simple expression of the off-shell amplitude with an\narbitrary number of external massless states inserted on the Klein bottle."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gamma matrices, Majorana fermions, and discrete symmetries in Minkowski\n  and Euclidean signature: I describe the interplay between Minkowski and Euclidean signature gamma\nmatrices, Majorana fermions, and discrete and continuous symmetries in all\nspacetime dimensions.",
        "positive": "Dirac-Born-Infeld action, Seiberg-Witten map, and Wilson Lines: We write the recently conjectured action for transformation of the ordinary\nBorn-Infeld action under the Seiberg-Witten map with one open Wilson contour in\na manifestly non-commutative gauge invariant form. This action contains the\nnon-constant closed string fields, higher order derivatives of the\nnon-commutative gauge fields through the $*_N$-product, and a Wilson operator.\nWe extend this non-commutative $D_9$-brane action to the action for $D_p$-brane\nby transforming it under T-duality. Using this non-commutative $D_p$-brane\naction we then evaluate the linear couplings of the graviton and dilaton to the\nbrane for arbitrary non-commutative parameters. By taking the Seiberg-Witten\nlimit we show that they reduce exactly to the known results of the\nenergy-momentum tensor of the non-commutative super Yang-Mills theory. We take\nthis as an evidence that the non-commutative action in the Seiberg-Witten limit\nincludes properly all derivative correction terms."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A self-tuning mechanism in 6d string theory: This paper has been withdrawn by the authors due to an incorrect analysis.",
        "positive": "Holographic Non-local Rotating Observables and their Renormalization: We analyse non-local rotating observables in holography corresponding to\nspinning bound states. To renormalize their energies and momenta we suggest and\ndiscuss different holographic renormalization schemes motivated by the static\nnon-local observables. Namely the holographic renormalization and the rotating\ncolor singlet mass subtraction scheme. In the holographic renormalization we\nidentify the infinite boundary terms and subtract them. In the mass subtraction\nscheme we evaluate the energy of a spinning trailing string corresponding to\nthe color charged singlet which experiences dragging phenomena and we subtract\nit from the energy of the bound state to obtain the renormalized finite energy.\nThen we apply our generic framework to certain strongly coupled thermal\ntheories with broken rotational symmetry. We find numerical solutions\ncorresponding to spinning bound states with a fixed size while varying their\nangular frequency. By applying numerically the renormalization schemes, we find\nthat there is a critical frequency where the bound state ceases to exist or\ndissociates. We also note that bound states require lower angular frequencies\nto dissociate when the theory has less symmetry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Global gravitational anomaly cancellation for five-branes: We show that the global mixed gauge-gravitational anomaly of the worldvolume\ntheory of the M5-brane vanishes, when the anomaly inflow from the bulk is taken\ninto account. This result extends to the type IIA and heterotic $E_8 \\times\nE_8$ five-branes. As a by-product, we provide a definition of the chiral\nfermionic fields for generic non-spin M5-brane worldvolume and determine the\ncoupling between the self-dual field and the M-theory C-field.",
        "positive": "The 2+2-Signature and the 1+1-Matrix-Brane: We discuss different aspects of the 2+2-signature from the point of view of\nthe quatl theory. In particular, we compare two alternative approaches to such\na spacetime signature, namely the 1+1-matrix-brane and the 2+2-target spacetime\nof a string. This analysis also reveals hidden discrete symmetries of the\n2+2-brane action associated with the 2+2-dimensional sector of a\n2+10-dimensional target background."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Calogero Model(s) and Deformed Oscillators: We briefly review some recent results concerning algebraical (oscillator)\naspects of the $N$-body single-species and multispecies Calogero models in one\ndimension. We show how these models emerge from the matrix generalization of\nthe harmonic oscillator Hamiltonian. We make some comments on the solvability\nof these models.",
        "positive": "The KZB equations on Riemann surfaces: In this paper, based on the author's lectures at the 1995 les Houches Summer\nschool, explicit expressions for the Friedan--Shenker connection on the vector\nbundle of WZW conformal blocks on the moduli space of curves with tangent\nvectors at $n$ marked points are given. The covariant derivatives are expressed\nin terms of ``dynamical $r$-matrices'', a notion borrowed from integrable\nsystems. The case of marked points moving on a fixed Riemann surface is studied\nmore closely. We prove a universal form of the (projective) flatness of the\nconnection: the covariant derivatives commute as differential operators with\ncoefficients in the universal enveloping algebra -- not just when acting on\nconformal blocks."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exactly Marginal Operators and Running Coupling Constants in 2D Gravity: The Liouville action for two--dimensional quantum gravity coupled to\ninteracting matter contains terms that have not been considered previously.\nThey are crucial for understanding the renormalization group flow and can be\nobserved in recent matrix model results for the phase diagram of the\nSine--Gordon model coupled to gravity. These terms insure, order by order in\nthe coupling constant, that the dressed interaction is exactly marginal. They\nare discussed up to second order.",
        "positive": "Marginal Deformations of WZNW and Coset Models from O(d,d)\n  Transformation: We show that O(2,2) transformation of SU(2) WZNW model gives rise to marginal\ndeformation of this model by the operator $\\int d^2 z J(z)\\bar J(\\bar z)$ where\n$J$, $\\bar J$ are U(1) currents in the Cartan subalgebra. Generalization of\nthis result to other WZNW theories is discussed. We also consider O(3,3)\ntransformation of the product of an SU(2) WZNW model and a gauged SU(2) WZNW\nmodel. The three parameter set of models obtained after the transformation is\nshown to be the result of first deforming the product of two SU(2) WZNW\ntheories by marginal operators of the form $\\sum_{i,j=1}^2 C_{ij} J_i \\bar\nJ_j$, and then gauging an appropriate U(1) subgroup of the theory. Our analysis\nleads to a general conjecture that O(d,d) transformation of any WZNW model\ncorresponds to marginal deformation of the WZNW theory by combination of\nappropriate left and right moving currents belonging to the Cartan subalgebra;\nand O(d,d) transformation of a gauged WZNW model can be identified to the\ngauged version of such marginally deformed WZNW models."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic Reconstruction of 3D Flat Space-Time: We study asymptotically flat space-times in 3 dimensions for Einstein gravity\nnear future null infinity and show that the boundary is described by Carrollian\ngeometry. This is used to add sources to the BMS gauge corresponding to a\nnon-trivial boundary metric in the sense of Carrollian geometry. We then solve\nthe Einstein equations in a derivative expansion and derive a general set of\nequations that take the form of Ward identities. Next, it is shown that there\nis a well-posed variational problem at future null infinity without the need to\nadd any boundary term. By varying the on-shell action with respect to the\nmetric data of the boundary Carrollian geometry we are able to define a\nboundary energy-momentum tensor at future null infinity. We show that its\ndiffeomorphism Ward identity is compatible with Einstein's equations. There is\nanother Ward identity that states that the energy flux vanishes. It is this\nfact that is responsible for the enhancement of global symmetries to the full\nBMS$_3$ algebra when we are dealing with constant boundary sources. Using a\nnotion of generalized conformal boundary Killing vector we can construct all\nconserved BMS$_3$ currents from the boundary energy-momentum tensor.",
        "positive": "Dynamical supersymmetry breaking from unoriented D-brane instantons: We study the non-perturbative dynamics of an unoriented Z_5-quiver theory of\nGUT kind with gauge group U(5) and chiral matter. At strong coupling the\nnon-perturbative dynamics is described in terms of set of baryon/meson\nvariables satisfying a quantum deformed constraint. We compute the effective\nsuperpotential of the theory and show that it admits a line of supersymmetric\nvacua and a phase where supersymmetry is dynamically broken via gaugino\ncondensation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Friedel oscillations and horizon charge in 1D holographic liquids: In many-body fermionic systems at finite density correlation functions of the\ndensity operator exhibit Friedel oscillations at a wavevector that is twice the\nFermi momentum. We demonstrate the existence of such Friedel oscillations in a\n3d gravity dual to a compressible finite-density state in a (1+1) dimensional\nfield theory. The bulk dynamics is provided by a Maxwell U(1) gauge theory and\nall the charge is behind a bulk horizon. The bulk gauge theory is compact and\nso there exist magnetic monopole tunneling events. We compute the effect of\nthese monopoles on holographic density-density correlation functions and\ndemonstrate that they cause Friedel oscillations at a wavevector that directly\ncounts the charge behind the bulk horizon. If the magnetic monopoles are taken\nto saturate the bulk Dirac quantization condition then the observed Fermi\nmomentum exactly agrees with that predicted by Luttinger's theorem, suggesting\nsome Fermi surface structure associated with the charged horizon. The mechanism\nis generic and will apply to any charged horizon in three dimensions. Along the\nway we clarify some aspects of the holographic interpretation of Maxwell\nelectromagnetism in three bulk dimensions and show that perturbations about the\ncharged BTZ black hole exhibit a hydrodynamic sound mode at low temperature.",
        "positive": "Gravitational Interaction of Higher Spin Massive Fields and String\n  Theory: We discuss the problem of consistent description of higher spin massive\nfields coupled to external gravity. As an example we consider massive field of\nspin 2 in arbitrary gravitational field. Consistency requires the theory to\nhave the same number of degrees of freedom as in flat spacetime and to describe\ncausal propagation. By careful analysis of lagrangian structure of the theory\nand its constraints we show that there exist at least two possibilities of\nachieving consistency. The first possibility is provided by a lagrangian on\nspecific manifolds such as static or Einstein spacetimes. The second\npossibility is realized in arbitrary curved spacetime by a lagrangian\nrepresenting an infinite series in curvature. In the framework of string theory\nwe derive equations of motion for background massive spin 2 field coupled to\ngravity from the requirement of quantum Weyl invariance. These equations appear\nto be a particular case of the general consistent equations obtained from the\nfield theory point of view."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The classical origin of quantum affine algebra in squashed sigma models: We consider a quantum affine algebra realized in two-dimensional non-linear\nsigma models with target space three-dimensional squashed sphere. Its affine\ngenerators are explicitly constructed and the Poisson brackets are computed.\nThe defining relations of quantum affine algebra in the sense of the Drinfeld\nfirst realization are satisfied at classical level. The relation to the\nDrinfeld second realization is also discussed including higher conserved\ncharges. Finally we comment on a semiclassical limit of quantum affine algebra\nat quantum level.",
        "positive": "Exact solution of higher-derivative conformal theory and minimal models: I investigate the two-dimensional four-derivative conformal theory that\nemerges from the Nambu-Goto string after the path-integration over all fields\nbut the metric tensor. Using the method of singular products which accounts for\ntremendous cancellations in perturbation theory, I show the (intelligent)\none-loop approximation to give an exact solution. It is conveniently described\nthrough the minimal models where the central charge $c$ in the Kac spectrum\ndepends on the parameters of the four-derivative action. The relation is\nnonlinear so the domain of physical parameters is mapped onto $c<1$ thus\nbypassing the KPZ barrier of the Liouville action."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetric Wilson loops in two dimensions and duality: We classify bosonic $\\mathcal{N}=(2,2)$ supersymmetric Wilson loops on\narbitrary backgrounds with vector-like R-symmetry. These can be defined on any\nsmooth contour and come in two forms which are universal across all\nbackgrounds. We show that these Wilson loops, thanks to their cohomological\nproperties, are all invariant under smooth deformations of their contour. At\ngenus zero they can always be mapped to local operators and computed exactly\nwith supersymmetric localisation. Finally, we find the precise map, under\ntwo-dimensional Seiberg-like dualities, of correlators of supersymmetric Wilson\nloops.",
        "positive": "Bethe Ansatz solutions for highest states in ${\\cal N}=4$ SYM and\n  AdS/CFT duality: We consider the operators with highest anomalous dimension $\\Delta$ in the\ncompact rank-one sectors $\\mathfrak{su}(1|1)$ and $\\mathfrak{su}(2)$ of ${\\cal\nN}=4$ super Yang-Mills. We study the flow of $\\Delta$ from weak to strong 't\nHooft coupling $\\lambda$ by solving (i) the all-loop gauge Bethe Ansatz, (ii)\nthe quantum string Bethe Ansatz. The two calculations are carefully compared in\nthe strong coupling limit and exhibit different exponents $\\nu$ in the leading\norder expansion $\\Delta\\sim \\lambda^{\\nu}$. We find $\\nu = 1/2$ and $\\nu = 1/4$\nfor the gauge or string solution. This strong coupling discrepancy is not\nunexpected, and it provides an explicit example where the gauge Bethe Ansatz\nsolution cannot be trusted at large $\\lambda$. Instead, the string solution\nperfectly reproduces the Gubser-Klebanov-Polyakov law $\\Delta = 2\\sqrt{n}\n\\lambda^{1/4}$. In particular, we provide an analytic expression for the\ninteger level $n$ as a function of the U(1) charge in both sectors."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum hair and the string-black hole correspondence: We consider a thought experiment in which an energetic massless string probes\na \"stringhole\" (a heavy string lying on the correspondence curve between\nstrings and black holes) at large enough impact parameter for the regime to be\nunder theoretical control. The corresponding, explicitly unitary, $S$-matrix\nturns out to be perturbatively sensitive to the microstate of the stringhole:\nin particular, at leading order in $l_s/b$, it depends on a projection of the\nstringhole's Lorentz-contracted quadrupole moment. The string-black hole\ncorrespondence is therefore violated if one assumes quantum hair to be\nexponentially suppressed as a function of black-hole entropy. Implications for\nthe information paradox are briefly discussed.",
        "positive": "Detecting quantum chaos via pseudo-entropy and negativity: Quantum informatic quantities such as entanglement entropy are useful in\ndetecting quantum phase transitions. Recently, a new entanglement measure\ncalled pseudo-entropy was proposed which is a generalization of the more\nwell-known entanglement entropy. It has many nice properties and is useful in\nthe study of post-selection measurements. In this paper, one of our goals is to\nexplore the properties of pseudo-entropy and study the effectiveness of it as a\nquantum chaos diagnostic, i.e. as a tool to distinguish between chaotic and\nintegrable systems. Using various variants of the SYK model, we study the\nsignal of quantum chaos captured in the pseudo-entropy and relate it to the\nspectral form factor (SFF) and local operator entanglement (LOE). We also\nexplore another quantity called the negativity of entanglement which is a\nuseful entanglement measure for a mixed state. We generalized it to accommodate\nthe transition matrix and called it pseudo-negativity in analogy to\npseudo-entropy. We found that it also nicely captures the spectral properties\nof a chaotic system and hence also plays a role as a tool of quantum chaos\ndiagnostic."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Cubic interactions of massless bosonic fields in three dimensions: Parity-even cubic vertices of massless bosons of arbitrary spins in three\ndimensional Minkowski space are classified in the metric-like formulation. As\nopposed to higher dimensions, there is at most one vertex for any given triple\n$s_1,s_2,s_3$ in three dimensions. All the vertices with more than three\nderivatives are of the type $(s,0,0)$, $(s,1,1)$ and $(s,1,0)$ involving scalar\nand/or Maxwell fields. All other vertices contain two (three) derivatives, when\nthe sum of the spins is even (odd). Minimal coupling to gravity, $(s,s,2)$, has\ntwo derivatives and is universal for all spins (equivalence principle holds).\nMinimal coupling to Maxwell field, $(s,s,1)$, distinguishes spins $s\\leq 1$ and\n$s\\geq 2$ as it involves one derivative in the former case and three\nderivatives in the latter case. Some consequences of this classification are\ndiscussed.",
        "positive": "Quantum field theory on quantum graphs and application to their\n  conductance: We construct a bosonic quantum field on a general quantum graph. Consistency\nof the construction leads to the calculation of the total scattering matrix of\nthe graph. This matrix is equivalent to the one already proposed using\ngeneralized star product approach. We give several examples and show how they\ngeneralize some of the scattering matrices computed in the mathematical or\ncondensed matter physics litterature.\n  Then, we apply the construction for the calculation of the conductance of\ngraphs, within a small distance approximation. The consistency of the\napproximation is proved by direct comparison with the exact calculation for the\n`tadpole' graph."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Entanglement entropy and vacuum states in Schwarzschild geometry: Recently, it was proposed that there must be either large violation of the\nadditivity conjecture or a set of disentangled states of the black hole in the\nAdS/CFT correspondence. In this paper, we study the additivity conjecture for\nquantum states of fields around the Schwarzschild black hole. In the eternal\nSchwarzschild spacetime, the entanglement entropy of the Hawking radiation is\ncalculated assuming that the vacuum state is the Hartle-Hawking vacuum. In the\nadditivity conjecture, we need to consider the state which gives minimal output\nentropy of a quantum channel. The Hartle-Hawking vacuum state does not give the\nminimal output entropy which is consistent with the additivity conjecture. We\nstudy the entanglement entropy in other static vacua and show that it is\nconsistent with the additivity conjecture.",
        "positive": "Hierarchies of RG flows in 6d $(1,0)$ massive E-strings: We extend the analysis of arXiv:2208.11703 to the 6d $(1,0)$ SCFTs known as\nmassive E-string theories, which can be engineered in massive Type IIA with\n$8-n_0<8$ D8-branes close to an O8$^-$ (or O8$^*$ if $n_0=8,9$). For each\nchoice of $n_0=1,\\ldots,9$ the massive $E_{1+(8-n_0)}$-strings (including the\nmore exotic $\\tilde{E}_1$ and $E_0$) are classified by constrained $E_8$ Kac\nlabels, i.e. a subset of $\\text{Hom}(\\mathbb{Z}_k,E_8)$, from which one can\nread off the flavor subalgebra of $E_{1+(8-n_0)}$ of each SCFT. We construct\nhierarchies for two types of Higgs branch RG flows: flows between massive\ntheories defined by the same $n_0$ but different labels; flows between massive\ntheories with different $n_0$. These latter flows are triggered by T-brane\nvev's for the right $\\mathrm{SU}$ factor of the SCFT global symmetry, whose\nrank is a function of both $k$ and $n_0$, a situation which has so far remained\nvastly unexplored."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Semiclassical framed BPS states: We provide a semiclassical description of framed BPS states in\nfour-dimensional N = 2 super Yang-Mills theories probed by 't Hooft defects, in\nterms of a supersymmetric quantum mechanics on the moduli space of singular\nmonopoles. Framed BPS states, like their ordinary counterparts in the theory\nwithout defects, are associated with the L^2 kernel of certain Dirac operators\non moduli space, or equivalently with the L^2 cohomology of related Dolbeault\noperators. The Dirac/Dolbeault operators depend on two Cartan-valued Higgs\nvevs. We conjecture a map between these vevs and the Seiberg-Witten special\ncoordinates, consistent with a one-loop analysis and checked in examples. The\nmap incorporates all perturbative and nonperturbative corrections that are\nrelevant for the semiclassical construction of BPS states, over a suitably\ndefined weak coupling regime of the Coulomb branch. We use this map to\ntranslate wall crossing formulae and the no-exotics theorem to statements about\nthe Dirac/Dolbeault operators. The no-exotics theorem, concerning the absence\nof nontrivial SU(2)_R representations in the BPS spectrum, implies that the\nkernel of the Dirac operator is chiral, and further translates into a statement\nthat all L^2 cohomology of the Dolbeault operator is concentrated in the middle\ndegree. Wall crossing formulae lead to detailed predictions for where the Dirac\noperators fail to be Fredholm and how their kernels jump. We explore these\npredictions in nontrivial examples. This paper explains the background and\narguments behind the results announced in a short accompanying note.",
        "positive": "Charged scalar quasi-normal modes for linearly charged dilaton-Lifshitz\n  solutions: Most available studies of quasi-normal modes for Lifshitz black solutions are\nlimited to the neutral scalar perturbations. In this paper, we investigate the\nwave dynamics of massive charged scalar perturbation in the background of\n$(3+1)$-dimensional charged dilaton Lifshitz black branes/holes. We disclose\nthe dependence of the quasi-normal modes on the model parameters, such as the\nLifshitz exponent $z$, the mass and charge of the scalar perturbation field and\nthe charge of the Lifshitz configuration. In contrast with neutral\nperturbations, we observe the possibility to destroy the original Lifshitz\nbackground near the extreme value of charge where the temperature is low. We\nfind out that when the Lifshitz exponent deviates more from unity, it is more\ndifficult to break the stability of the configuration. We also study the\nbehavior of the real part of the quasi-normal frequencies. Unlike the neutral\nscalar perturbation around uncharged black branes where an overdamping was\nobserved to start at $z=2$ and independent of the value of scalar mass, our\nobservation discloses that the overdamping starting point is no longer at $z=2$\nand depends on the mass of scalar field for charged Lifshitz black branes. For\ncharged scalar perturbations, fixing $m_s$, the asymptotic value of $\\omega_R$\nfor high $z$ is more away from zero when the charge of scalar perturbation\n$q_s$ increases. There does not appear the overdamping."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Modular flow in JT gravity and entanglement wedge reconstruction: It has been shown in recent works that JT gravity with matter with two\nboundaries has a type II$_\\infty$ algebra on each side. As the bulk spacetime\nbetween the two boundaries fluctuates in quantum nature, we can only define the\nentanglement wedge for each side in a pure algebraic sense. As we take the\nsemiclassical limit, we will have a fixed long wormhole spacetime for a generic\npartially entangled thermal state (PETS), which is prepared by inserting heavy\noperators on the Euclidean path integral. Under this limit, with appropriate\nassumptions of the matter theory, geometric notions of the causal wedge and\nentanglement wedge emerge in this background. In particular, the causal wedge\nis manifestly nested in the entanglement wedge. Different PETS are orthogonal\nto each other, and thus the Hilbert space has a direct sum structure over\nsub-Hilbert spaces labeled by different Euclidean geometries. The full algebra\nfor both sides is decomposed accordingly. From the algebra viewpoint, the\ncausal wedge is dual to an emergent type III$_1$ subalgebra, which is generated\nby boundary light operators. To reconstruct the entanglement wedge, we consider\nthe modular flow in a generic PETS for each boundary. We show that the modular\nflow acts locally and is the boost transformation around the global RT surface\nin the semiclassical limit. It follows that we can extend the causal wedge\nalgebra to a larger type III$_1$ algebra corresponding to the entanglement\nwedge. Within each sub-Hilbert space, the original type II$_\\infty$ reduces to\ntype III$_1$.",
        "positive": "Quantum Description of Anyons: Role of Contact Terms: We make an all-order analysis to establish the precise correspondence between\nnonrelativistic Chern-Simons quantum field theory and an appropriate\nfirst-quantized description. Physical role of the field-theoretic contact term\nin the context of renormalized perturbation theory is clarifed through their\nconnection to self-adjoint extension of the Hamiltonian in the first-quantized\napproach. Our analysis provides a firm theoretical foundation on quantum field\ntheories of nonrelativistic anyons."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Family of M-theory Flows with Four Supersymmetries: We use the techniques of \"algebraic Killing spinors\" to obtain a family of\nholographic flow solutions with four supersymmetries in M-theory. The family of\nsupersymmetric backgrounds constructed here includes the non-trivial flow to\nthe (2+1)-dimensional analog of the Leigh-Strassler fixed point as well as\ngeneralizations that involve the M2-branes spreading in a radially symmetric\nfashion on the Coulomb branch of this non-trivial fixed point theory. In\nspreading out, these M2-branes also appear to undergo dielectric polarization\ninto M5-branes. Our results naturally extend the earlier applications of the\n\"algebraic Killing spinor\" method and also generalize the harmonic Ansatz in\nthat our entire family of new supersymmetric backgrounds is characterized by\nthe solutions of a single, second-order, non-linear PDE. We also show that our\nsolution is a natural hybrid of special holonomy and the \"dielectric\ndeformation\" of the canonical supersymmetry projector on the M2-branes.",
        "positive": "Construction Formulae for Singular Vectors of the Topological N=2\n  Superconformal Algebra: The Topological N=2 Superconformal algebra has 29 different types of singular\nvectors (in complete Verma modules) distinguished by the relative U(1) charge\nand the BRST-invariance properties of the vector and of the primary on which it\nis built. Whereas one of these types only exists at level zero, the remaining\n28 types exist for general levels and can be constructed already at level 1. In\nthis paper we write down one-to-one mappings between 16 of these types of\ntopological singular vectors and the singular vectors of the Antiperiodic NS\nalgebra. As a result one obtains construction formulae for these 16 types of\ntopological singular vectors using the construction formulae for the NS\nsingular vectors due to Doerrzapf."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "D3/D7 Branes at Singularities: Constraints from Global Embedding and\n  Moduli Stabilisation: In the framework of type IIB string compactifications on Calabi-Yau\norientifolds we describe how to construct consistent global embeddings of\nmodels with fractional D3-branes and connected `flavour' D7-branes at del Pezzo\nsingularities with moduli stabilisation. Our results are applied to build an\nexplicit compact example with a left-right symmetric model at a dP_0\nsingularity which features three families of chiral matter and gauge coupling\nunification at the intermediate scale. We show how to stabilise the moduli\nobtaining a controlled de Sitter minimum and spontaneous supersymmetry\nbreaking. We find an interesting non-trivial dynamical relation between the\nrequirement of TeV-scale soft terms and the correct phenomenological values of\nthe unified gauge coupling and unification scale.",
        "positive": "Localization of a supersymmetric gauge theory in the presence of a\n  surface defect: We use supersymmetric localization to compute the partition function of N=2\nsuper-Yang-Mills on S^4 in the presence of a gauged linear sigma model surface\ndefect on a S^2 subspace. The result takes the form of a standard partition\nfunction on S^4, with a modified instanton partition function and an additional\ninsertion corresponding to a shifted version of the gauged linear sigma model\npartition function."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Entanglement Degradation in the presence of $(4+n)$-dimensional\n  Schwarzschild Black Hole: In this short paper we compute the various bipartite quantum correlations in\nthe presence of the $(4+n)$-dimensional Schwarzschild black hole. In\nparticular, we focus on the $n$-dependence of various bosonic bipartite\nentanglements. For the case between Alice and Rob, where the former is free\nfalling observer and the latter is at the near-horizon region, the quantum\ncorrelation is degraded compared to the case in the absence of the black hole.\nThe degradation rate increases with decreasing $n$. We also compute the\nphysically inaccessible correlations. It is found that there is no creation of\nquantum correlation between Alice and AntiRob. For the case between Rob and\nAntiRob the quantum entanglement is created although they are separated in the\ncausally disconnected regions. It is found that contrary to the physically\naccessible correlation the entanglement between Rob and AntiRob decreases with\ndecreasing $n$.",
        "positive": "Kappa-deformed Dirac oscillator in an external magnetic field: We study the solutions of the (2+1)-dimensional kappa-deformed Dirac\noscillator in the presence of a constant transverse magnetic field. We\ndemonstrate how the deformation parameter affects the energy eigenvalues of the\nsystem and the corresponding eigenfunctions. Our findings suggest that this\nsystem could be used to detect experimentally the effect of the deformation. We\nalso show that the hidden supersymmetry of the non-deformed system reduces to a\nhidden pseudo-supersymmetry having the same algebraic structure as a result of\nthe k-deformation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the robustness of solitons crystals in the Skyrme model: In this work we analize how the inclusion of extra mesonic degrees of freedom\naffect the finite density solitons crystals of the Skyrme model. In particular,\nthe first analytic examples of hadronic crystals at finite baryon density in\nboth the Skyrme $\\omega$-mesons model as well as for the Skyrme $\\rho$-mesons\ntheory are constructed. These configurations have arbitrary topological charge\nand describe crystals of baryonic tubes surrounded by a cloud of vector-mesons.\nIn the $\\omega$-mesons case, it is possible to reduce consistently the complete\nset of seven coupled non-linear field equations to just two integrable\ndifferential equations; one ODE for the Skyrmion profile and one PDE for the\n$\\omega$-mesons field. This analytical construction allows to show explicitly\nhow the inclusion of $\\omega$-mesons in the Skyrme model reduces the repulsive\ninteraction energy between baryons. In the Skyrme $\\rho$-mesons case, it is\npossible to construct analytical solutions using a meron-type ansatz and fixing\none of the couplings of the $\\rho$-mesons action in terms of the others. We\nshow that, quite remarkably, the values obtained for the coupling constants by\nrequiring the consistency of our ansatz are very close to the values used in\nthe literature to reduce nuclei binding energies of the Skyrme model without\nvector-mesons. Moreover, our analytical results are in qualitative agreement\nwith the available results on the nuclear spaghetti phase.",
        "positive": "On a $\\mathbb{Z}_2^n$-Graded Version of Supersymmetry: We extend the notion of super-Minkowski space-time to include\n$\\mathbb{Z}_2^n$-graded (Majorana) spinor coordinates. Our choice of the\ngrading leads to spinor coordinates that are nilpotent but commute amongst\nthemselves. The mathematical framework we employ is the recently developed\ncategory of $\\mathbb{Z}_2^n$-manifolds understood as locally ringed spaces. The\nformalism we present resembles $\\mathcal{N}$-extended superspace (in the\npresence of central charges), but with some subtle differences due to the\nexotic nature of the grading employed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Breaking GUT Groups in F-Theory: We consider the possibility of breaking the GUT group to the Standard Model\ngauge group in F-theory compactifications by turning on certain U(1) fluxes. We\nshow that the requirement of massless hypercharge is equivalent to a\ntopological constraint on the UV completion of the local model. The possibility\nof this mechanism is intrinsic to F-theory. We address some of the\nphenomenological signatures of this scenario. We show that our models predict\nmonopoles as in conventional GUT models. We discuss in detail the leading\nthreshold corrections to the gauge kinetic terms and their effect on\nunification. They turn out to be related to Ray-Singer torsion. We also discuss\nthe issue of proton decay in F-theory models and explain how to engineer models\nwhich satisfy current experimental bounds.",
        "positive": "Tachyonic Instability and Darboux Transformation: Using Darboux transformation one can construct infinite family of potentials\nwhich lead to the flat spectrum of scalar field fluctuations with arbitrary\nmultiple precision, and, at the same time, with \"essentially blue\" spectrum of\nperturbations of metric. Besides, we describe reconstruction problem: find\nclassical potential V(phi) starting from the known \"one-loop potential\" u(t) =\nd^2V(phi(t))/d phi(t)^2."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Scalar field quasinormal modes on asymptotically locally flat rotating\n  black holes in three dimensions: The pure quadratic term of New Massive Gravity in three dimensions admits\nasymptotically locally flat, rotating black holes. These black holes are\ncharacterized by their mass and angular momentum, as well as by a hair of\ngravitational origin. As in the Myers-Perry solution in dimensions greater than\nfive, there is no upper bound on the angular momentum. We show that,\nremarkably, the equation for a massless scalar field on this background can be\nsolved in an analytic manner and that the quasinormal frequencies can be found\nin a closed form. The spectrum is obtained requiring ingoing boundary\nconditions at the horizon and an asymptotic behavior at spatial infinity that\nprovides a well-defined action principle for the scalar probe. As the angular\nmomentum of the black hole approaches zero, the imaginary part of the\nquasinormal frequencies tends to minus infinity, migrating to the north pole of\nthe Riemann Sphere and providing infinitely damped modes of high frequency. We\nshow that this is consistent with the fact that the static black hole within\nthis family does not admit quasinormal modes for a massless scalar probe.",
        "positive": "Thermodynamics of hairy black holes in Lovelock gravity: We perform a thorough study of the thermodynamic properties of a class of\nLovelock black holes with conformal scalar hair arising from coupling of a real\nscalar field to the dimensionally extended Euler densities. We study the\nlinearized equations of motion of the theory and describe constraints under\nwhich the theory is free from ghosts/tachyons. We then consider, within the\ncontext of black hole chemistry, the thermodynamics of the hairy black holes in\nthe Gauss-Bonnet and cubic Lovelock theories. We clarify the connection between\nisolated critical points and thermodynamic singularities, finding a one\nparameter family of these critical points which occur for well-defined\nthermodynamic parameters. We also report on a number of novel results,\nincluding `virtual triple points' and the first example of a\n`$\\lambda$-line'---a line of second order phase transitions---in black hole\nthermodynamics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "General Form of Dilaton Gravity and Nonlinear Gauge Theory: We construct a gauge theory based on general nonlinear Lie algebras. The\ngeneric form of `dilaton' gravity is derived from nonlinear Poincar{\\' e}\nalgebra, which exhibits a gauge-theoretical origin of the non-geometric scalar\nfield in two-dimensional gravitation theory.",
        "positive": "Fermions from Half-BPS Supergravity: We discuss collective coordinate quantization of the half-BPS geometries of\nLin, Lunin and Maldacena (hep-th/0409174). The LLM geometries are parameterized\nby a single function $u$ on a plane. We treat this function as a collective\ncoordinate. We arrive at the collective coordinate action as well as path\nintegral measure by considering D3 branes in an arbitrary LLM geometry. The\nresulting functional integral is shown, using known methods (hep-th/9309028),\nto be the classical limit of a functional integral for free fermions in a\nharmonic oscillator. The function $u$ gets identified with the classical limit\nof the Wigner phase space distribution of the fermion theory which satisfies u\n* u = u. The calculation shows how configuration space of supergravity becomes\na phase space (hence noncommutative) in the half-BPS sector. Our method sheds\nnew light on counting supersymmetric configurations in supergravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On 6d N=(2,0) theory compactified on a Riemann surface with finite area: We study 6d N=(2,0) theory of type SU(N) compactified on Riemann surfaces\nwith finite area, including spheres with fewer than three punctures. The Higgs\nbranch, whose metric is inversely proportional to the total area of the Riemann\nsurface, is discussed in detail. We show that the zero-area limit, which gives\nus a genuine 4d theory, can involve a Wigner-Inonu contraction of global\nsymmetries of the six-dimensional theory. We show how this explains why\nsubgroups of SU(N) can appear as the gauge group in the 4d limit. As a\nby-product we suggest that half-BPS codimension-two defects in the\nsix-dimensional (2,0) theory have an operator product expansion whose operator\nproduct coefficients are four-dimensional field theories.",
        "positive": "W Symmetry and Integrability of Higher spin black holes: We obtain the asymptotic symmetry algebra of sl(3,R) x sl(3,R) Chern-Simons\ntheory with Dirichlet boundary conditions for fixed chemical potential. These\nboundary conditions are obeyed by higher spin black holes. For each embedding\nof sl(2,R) into sl(3,R), we show that the asymptotic symmetry group is\nindependent of the chemical potential. On the one hand, starting from AdS3 in\nthe principal embedding, we show that the W3 x W3 symmetry is preserved upon\nturning on perturbatively spin 3 chemical potentials. On the other hand,\nstarting from AdS3 in the diagonal embedding, we show that the W3^(2) x W3^(2)\nsymmetry is preserved upon turning on finite spin 3/2 chemical potentials. We\nalso make connections between the canonical Lagrangian formalism and\nintegrability methods based on the third KdV (Boussinesq) hierarchy."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fluctuations, correlations and finite volume effects in heavy ion\n  collision: Finite volume corrections to higher moments are important observable\nquantities. They make possible to differentiate between different statistical\nensembles even in the thermodynamic limit. It is shown that this property is a\nuniversal one. The classical grand canonical distribution is compared to the\ncanonical distribution in the rigorous procedure of approaching the\nthermodynamic limit.",
        "positive": "On the two-loop divergences of the 2-point hypermultiplet supergraphs\n  for $6D$, ${\\cal N} = (1,1)$ SYM theory: We consider $6D$, ${\\cal N}=(1,1)$ supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory\nformulated in ${\\cal N}=(1,0)$ harmonic superspace and analyze the structure of\nthe two-loop divergences in the hypermultiplet sector. Using the ${\\cal\nN}=(1,0)$ superfield background field method we study the two-point supergraphs\nwith the hypermultiplet legs and prove that their total contribution to the\ndivergent part of effective action vanishes off shell."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Yang Baxter and Anisotropic Sigma and Lambda Models, Cyclic RG and Exact\n  S-Matrices: Integrable deformation of SU(2) sigma and lambda models are considered at the\nclassical and quantum levels. These are the Yang-Baxter and XXZ-type\nanisotropic deformations. The XXZ type deformations are UV safe in one regime,\nwhile in another regime, like the Yang-Baxter deformations, they exhibit cyclic\nRG behaviour. The associated affine quantum group symmetry, realized\nclassically at the Poisson bracket level, has q a complex phase in the UV safe\nregime and q real in the cyclic RG regime, where q is an RG invariant. Based on\nthe symmetries and RG flow we propose exact factorizable S-matrices to describe\nthe scattering of states in the lambda models, from which the sigma models\nfollow by taking a limit and non-abelian T-duality. In the cyclic RG regimes,\nthe S-matrices are periodic functions of rapidity, at large rapidity, and in\nthe Yang-Baxter case violate parity.",
        "positive": "Z_2-Graded Cocycles in Higher Dimensions: Current superalgebras and corresponding Schwinger terms in 1 and 3 space\ndimensions are studied. This is done by generalizing the quantization of chiral\nfermions in an external Yang-Mills potential to the case of a Z_2-graded\npotential coupled to bosons and fermions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "E-Strings and N=4 Topological Yang-Mills Theories: We study certain properties of six-dimensional tensionless E-strings (arising\nfrom zero size $E_8$ instantons). In particular we show that $n$ E-strings form\na bound string which carries an $E_8$ level $n$ current algebra as well as a\nleft-over conformal system with $c=12n-4-{248n \\over n+30}$, whose characters\ncan be computed. Moreover we show that the characters of the $n$-string bound\nstate are captured by N=4 U(n) topological Yang-Mills theory on $\\half K3$.\nThis relation not only illuminates certain aspects of E-strings but can also be\nused to shed light on the properties of N=4 topological Yang-Mills theories on\nmanifolds with $b_2^+=1$. In particular the E-string partition functions, which\ncan be computed using local mirror symmetry on a Calabi-Yau three-fold, give\nthe Euler characteristics of the Yang-Mills instanton moduli space on $\\half\nK3$. Moreover, the partition functions are determined by a gap condition\ncombined with a simple recurrence relation which has its origins in a\nholomorphic anomaly that has been conjectured to exist for N=4 topological\nYang-Mills on manifolds with $b_2^+=1$ and is also related to the holomorphic\nanomaly for higher genus topological strings on Calabi-Yau threefolds.",
        "positive": "Amplification of Vacuum Fluctuations in String Cosmology Backgrounds: Inflationary string cosmology backgrounds can amplify perturbations in a more\nefficient way than conventional inflationary backgrounds, because the\nperturbation amplitude may grow - instead of being constant - outside the\nhorizon. If not gauged away, the growing mode can limit the range of validity\nof a linearized description of perturbations. Even in the restricted linear\nrange, however, this enhanced amplification may lead to phenomenological\nconsequences unexpected in the context of the standard inflationary scenario.\nIn particular, the production of a relic graviton background strong enough to\nbe detected in future by LIGO, and/or the generation of a stochastic\nelectromagnetic background strong enough to seed the cosmic magnetic fields and\nto be responsible for the observed large scale anisotropy."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Manifestly Finite Perturbation Theory for the Short-Distance Expansion\n  of Correlation Functions in the Two Dimensional Ising Model: In the spirit of classic works of Wilson on the renormalization group and\noperator product expansion, a new framework for the study of the theory space\nof euclidean quantum field theories has been introduced. This formalism is\nparticularly useful for elucidating the structure of the short-distance\nexpansions of the $n$-point functions of a renormalizable quantum field theory\nnear a non-trivial fixed point. We review and apply this formalism in the study\nof the scaling limit of the two dimensional massive Ising model.\nRenormalization group analysis and operator product expansions determine all\nthe non-analytic mass dependence of the short-distance expansion of the\ncorrelation functions. An extension of the first order variational formula to\nhigher orders provides a manifestly finite scheme for the perturbative\ncalculation of the operator product coefficients to any order in parameters. A\nperturbative expansion of the correlation functions follows. We implement this\nscheme for a systematic study of correlation functions involving two spin\noperators. We show how the necessary non-trivial integrals can be calculated.\nAs two concrete examples we explicitly calculate the short-distance expansion\nof the spin-spin correlation function to third order and the spin-spin-energy\ndensity correlation function to first order in the mass. We also discuss the\napplicability of our results to perturbations near other non-trivial fixed\npoints corresponding to other unitary minimal models.",
        "positive": "The Compatibility between the Higher Dimensions Self Duality and the\n  Yang-Mills Equation of Motion: We study the compatiblity between the higher dimension dualities and the\nYang-Mills equation of motion. Taking a 't Hooft solution as a starting point,\nwe come to the conclusion that for only 4 dimensions the self duality implies\nthe equation of motion for generic instanton size. Whereas in higher\ndimensions, the self duality is compatable with the equation of motion,\napproximately, for small instanton size i.e. the zero curvature condition. At\nthe mathematical level, the self duality is still useful since it transforms a\nsecond order into a first order differential equation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Multibrane Solutions in Open String Field Theory: We study properties of a class of solutions of open string field theory which\ndepend on a single holomorphic function F(z). We show that the energy of these\nsolutions is well defined and is given by integer multiples of a single D-brane\ntension. Potential anomalies are discussed in detail. Some of them can be\navoided by imposing suitable regularity conditions on F(z), while the anomaly\nin the equation of motion seems to require an introduction of the so called\nphantom term.",
        "positive": "A Quantum Framework for AdS/dCFT through Fuzzy Spherical Harmonics on\n  $S^4$: We consider a non-supersymmetric domain-wall version of $\\mathcal{N} = 4$ SYM\ntheory where five out of the six scalar fields have non-zero classical values\non one side of a wall of codimension one. The classical fields have commutators\nwhich constitute an irreducible representation of the Lie algebra\n$\\mathfrak{so}(5)$ leading to a highly non-trivial mixing between color and\nflavor components of the quantum fields. Making use of fuzzy spherical\nharmonics on $S^4$, we explicitly solve the mixing problem and derive not only\nthe spectrum of excitations at the quantum level but also the propagators of\nthe original fields needed for perturbative quantum computations. As an\napplication, we derive the one-loop one-point function of a chiral primary and\nfind complete agreement with a supergravity prediction of the same quantity in\na double-scaling limit which involves a limit of large instanton number in the\ndual D3-D7 probe-brane setup."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Classical self-energy and anomaly: We study the problem of self-energy of pointlike charges in higher\ndimensional static spacetimes. Their energy, as a functional of the spacetime\nmetric, is invariant under a specific continuous transformation of the metric.\nWe show that the procedure of regularization of this formally divergent\nfunctional breaks this symmetry and results in an anomalous contribution to the\nfinite renormalized self-energy. We proposed a method of calculation of this\nanomaly and presented an explicit expressions for it in the case of a scalar\ncharge in four and five-dimensional static spacetimes. This anomalous\ncorrection proves to be zero in even dimensions, but it does not vanish in\nodd-dimensional spacetimes.",
        "positive": "Black Hole Time Scales: Thermalization, Infall and Complexity: We argue that the infall time to the singularity in the interior of a black\nhole, is always related to a classical thermalization time. This indicates that\nsingularities are related to the equilibration of infalling objects with the\nmicrostates of the black hole, but only in the sense of classical\nequilibration. When the singularity is reached, the quantum state of the black\nhole, initially a tensor product of the state of the infalling object and that\nof the black hole, is not yet a \"generic\" state in the enlarged Hilbert space,\nso its complexity is not maximal. We relate these observations to the\nphenomenon of mirages in the membrane paradigm description of the black hole\nhorizon and to the shrinking of the area of causal diamonds inside the black\nhole. The observations are universal and we argue that they give a clue to the\nnature of the underlying quantum theory of black holes in all types of\nasymptotic space-times."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Aspects of Type 0 String Theory: A construction of compact tachyon-free orientifolds of the non-supersymmetric\nType 0B string theory is presented. Moreover, we study effective\nnon-supersymmetric gauge theories arising on self-dual D3-branes in Type 0B\norbifolds and orientifolds.",
        "positive": "Twist deformations of Newtonian Schwarzschild-(Anti-)de Sitter classical\n  system: In this article we provide three new twist-deformed Newtonian\nSchwarzschild-(Anti-)de Sitter models. They are defined on the\nLie-algebraically as well as on the canonically noncommutative space-times\nrespectively. Particularly we find the corresponding Hamiltonian functions and\nthe proper equations of motion. The relations between the models are discussed\nas well."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Higgs mechanism in a light front formulation: We give a simple derivation of the Higgs mechanism in an abelian light front\nfield theory. It is based on a finite volume quantization with antiperiodic\nscalar fields and a periodic gauge field. An infinite set of degenerate vacua\nin the form of coherent states of the scalar field that minimize the light\nfront energy, is constructed. The corresponding effective Hamiltonian descibes\na massive vector field whose third component is generated by the would-be\nGoldstone boson. This mechanism, understood here quantum mechanically in the\nform analogous to the space-like quantization, is derived without gauge fixing\nas well as in the unitary and the light cone gauge.",
        "positive": "The double copy: Bremsstrahlung and accelerating black holes: Advances in our understanding of perturbation theory suggest the existence of\na correspondence between classical general relativity and Yang-Mills theory. A\nconcrete example of this correspondence, which is known as the double copy, was\nrecently introduced for the case of stationary Kerr-Schild spacetimes. Building\non this foundation, we examine the simple time-dependent case of an\naccelerating, radiating point source. The gravitational solution, which\ngeneralises the Schwarzschild solution, includes a non-trivial stress-energy\ntensor. This stress-energy tensor corresponds to a gauge theoretic current in\nthe double copy. We interpret both of these sources as representing the\nradiative part of the field. Furthermore, in the simple example of\nBremsstrahlung, we determine a scattering amplitude describing the radiation,\nmaintaining the double copy throughout. Our results provide the strongest\nevidence yet that the classical double copy is directly related to the BCJ\ndouble copy for scattering amplitudes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Kibble-Zurek Scaling in Holographic Quantum Quench : Backreaction: We study gauge and gravity backreaction in a holographic model of quantum\nquench across a superfluid critical transition. The model involves a complex\nscalar field coupled to a gauge and gravity field in the bulk. In earlier work\n(arXiv:1211.1776) the scalar field had a strong self-coupling, in which case\nthe backreaction on both the metric and the gauge field can be ignored. In this\napproximation, it was shown that when a time dependent source for the order\nparameter drives the system across the critical point at a rate slow compared\nto the initial gap, the dynamics in the critical region is dominated by a zero\nmode of the bulk scalar, leading to a Kibble-Zurek type scaling function. We\nshow that this mechanism for emergence of scaling behavior continues to hold\nwithout any self-coupling in the presence of backreaction of gauge field and\ngravity. Even though there are no zero modes for the metric and the gauge\nfield, the scalar dynamics induces adiabaticity breakdown leading to scaling.\nThis yields scaling behavior for the time dependence of the charge density and\nenergy momentum tensor.",
        "positive": "Open String Creation by S-Branes: An sp-brane can be viewed as the creation and decay of an unstable\nD(p+1)-brane. It is argued that the decaying half of an sp-brane can be\ndescribed by a variant of boundary Liouville theory. The pair creation of open\nstrings by a decaying s-brane is studied in the minisuperspace approximation to\nthe Liouville theory. In this approximation a Hagedorn-like divergence is found\nin the pair creation rate, suggesting the s-brane energy is rapidly transferred\ninto closed string radiation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Recurrent Nightmares?: Measurement Theory in de Sitter Space: The idea that asymptotic de Sitter space can be described by a finite Hilbert\nSpace implies that any quantum measurement has an irreducible innacuracy. We\nargue that this prevents any measurement from verifying the existence of the\nPoincare recurrences that occur in the mathematical formulation of quantum de\nSitter (dS) space. It also implies that the mathematical quantum theory of dS\nspace is not unique. There will be many different Hamiltonians, which give the\nsame results, within the uncertainty in all possible measurements.",
        "positive": "Multi-Superthreads and Supersheets: We obtain new BPS solutions of six-dimensional, N = 1 supergravity coupled to\na tensor multiplet. These solutions are sourced by multiple \"superthreads\"\ncarrying D1-D5-P charges and two magnetic dipole charges. These new solutions\nare sourced by multiple threads with independent and arbitrary shapes and\ninclude new shape-shape interaction terms. Because the individual superthreads\ncan be given independent profiles, the new solutions can be smeared together\ninto continuous \"supersheets,\" described by arbitrary functions of two\nvariables. The supersheet solutions have singularities like those of the\nthree-charge, two dipole-charge generalized supertube in five dimensions and we\nshow how such five-dimensional solutions emerge from a very simple choice of\nprofiles. The new solutions obtained here also represent an important step in\nfinding superstrata, which are expected to play a role in the description of\nblack-hole microstates, due to their ability to store a large amount of entropy\nin their two-dimensional profile."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The finite-temperature chiral transition in QCD with adjoint fermions: We study the nature of the finite-temperature chiral transition in QCD with\nN_f light quarks in the adjoint representation (aQCD). Renormalization-group\narguments show that the transition can be continuous if a stable fixed point\nexists in the renormalization-group flow of the corresponding three-dimensional\nPhi^4 theory with a complex 2N_f x 2N_f symmetric matrix field and\nsymmetry-breaking pattern SU(2N_f)->SO(2N_f). This issue is investigated by\nexploiting two three-dimensional perturbative approaches, the massless\nminimal-subtraction scheme without epsilon expansion and a massive scheme in\nwhich correlation functions are renormalized at zero momentum. We compute the\nrenormalization-group functions in the two schemes to five and six loops\nrespectively, and determine their large-order behavior.\n  The analyses of the series show the presence of a stable three-dimensional\nfixed point characterized by the symmetry-breaking pattern SU(4)->SO(4). This\nfixed point does not appear in an epsilon-expansion analysis and therefore does\nnot exist close to four dimensions. The finite-temperature chiral transition in\ntwo-flavor aQCD can therefore be continuous; in this case its critical behavior\nis determined by this new SU(4)/SO(4) universality class. One-flavor aQCD may\nshow a more complex phase diagram with two phase transitions. One of them, if\ncontinuous, should belong to the O(3) vector universality class.",
        "positive": "Island in Charged Black Holes: We study the information paradox for the eternal black hole with charges on a\ndoubly-holographic model in general dimensions, where the charged black hole on\na Planck brane is coupled to the baths on the conformal boundaries. In the case\nof weak tension, the brane can be treated as a probe such that its backreaction\nto the bulk is negligible. We analytically calculate the entanglement entropy\nof the radiation and obtain the Page curve with the presence of an island on\nthe brane. For the near-extremal black holes, the growth rate is linear in the\ntemperature. Taking both Dvali-Gabadadze-Porrati term and nonzero tension into\naccount, we obtain the numerical solution with backreaction in four-dimensional\nspacetime and find the quantum extremal surface at $t=0$. To guarantee that a\nPage curve can be obtained in general cases, we propose two strategies to\nimpose enough degrees of freedom on the brane such that the black hole\ninformation paradox can be properly described by the doubly-holographic setup."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "No Firewalls in Holographic Space-Time or Matrix Theory: We use the formalisms of Holographic Space-time (HST) and Matrix Theory[11]\nto investigate the claim of [1] that old black holes contain a firewall, i.e.\nan in-falling detector encounters highly excited states at a time much shorter\nthan the light crossing time of the Schwarzschild radius. In both formalisms\nthere is no dramatic change in particle physics inside the horizon until a time\nof order the Schwarzschild radius. The Matrix Theory formalism has been shown\nto give rise to an S-matrix, which coincides with effective supergravity for an\ninfinite number of low energy amplitudes. We conclude that the firewall results\nfrom an inappropriate use of quantum effective field theory to describe fine\ndetails of localized events near a black hole horizon. In both HST and Matrix\nTheory, the real quantum gravity Hilbert space in a localized region contains\nmany low energy degrees of freedom that are not captured in QU(antum)\nE(ffective) F(ield) T(heory) and omits many of the high energy DOF in QUEFT.",
        "positive": "Perturbative quantum gauge fields on the noncommutative torus: Using standard field theoretical techniques, we survey pure Yang-Mills theory\non the noncommutative torus, including Feynman rules and BRS symmetry. Although\nin general free of any infrared singularity, the theory is ultraviolet\ndivergent. Because of an invariant regularization scheme, this theory turns out\nto be renormalizable and the detailed computation of the one loop counterterms\nis given, leading to an asymptoticaly free theory. Besides, it turns out that\nnon planar diagrams are overall convergent when $\\theta$ is irrational."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Kahler quantization of H*(T2,R) and modular forms: Kahler quantization of H1(T2,R) is studied. It is shown that this theory\ncorresponds to a fermionic sigma-model targeting a noncommutative space. By\nsolving the complex-structure moduli independence conditions, the quantum\nbackground independent wave function is obtained. We study the transformation\nof the wave function under modular transformation. It is shown that the\ntransformation rule is characteristic to the operator ordering. Similar results\nare obtained for Kahler quantization of H2(T,R).",
        "positive": "Soliton pair creation in classical wave scattering: We study classical production of soliton-antisoliton pairs from colliding\nwave packets in (1+1)-dimensional scalar field model. Wave packets represent\nmultiparticle states in quantum theory; we characterize them by energy E and\nparticle number N. Sampling stochastically over the forms of wave packets, we\nfind the entire region in (E,N) plane which corresponds to classical creation\nof soliton pairs. Particle number is parametrically large within this region\nmeaning that the probability of soliton-antisoliton pair production in\nfew-particle collisions is exponentially suppressed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Softly Broken N=2 QCD with Massive Quark Hypermultiplets, II: We analyze the vacuum structure of N=2, SU(2) QCD with massive quark\nhypermultiplets, once supersymmetry is softly broken down to N=0 with dilaton\nand mass spurions. We give general expressions for the low energy couplings of\nthe effective potential in terms of elliptic functions to have a complete\nnumerical control of the model. We study in detail the possible phases of the\ntheories with Nf = 1, 2 flavors for different values of the bare quark masses\nand the supersymmetry breaking parameters and we find a rich structure of first\norder phase transitions. The chiral symmetry breaking pattern of the Nf = 2\ntheory is considered, and we obtain the pion Lagrangian for this model up to\ntwo derivatives. Exact expressions are given for the pion masses and the pion\ndecay constant in terms of the magnetic monopole description of chiral symmetry\nbreaking.",
        "positive": "The Large N Limit of ${\\cal N} =2,1 $ Field Theories from Threebranes in\n  F-theory: We consider field theories arising from a large number of D3-branes near\nsingularities in F-theory. We study the theories at various conformal points,\nand compute, using their conjectured string theory duals, their large $N$\nspectrum of chiral primary operators. This includes, as expected, operators of\nfractional conformal dimensions for the theory at Argyres-Douglas points.\nAdditional operators, which are charged under the (sometimes exceptional)\nglobal symmetries of these theories, come from the 7-branes. In the case of a\n$D_4$ singularity we compare our results with field theory and find agreement\nfor large $N$. Finally, we consider deformations away from the conformal\npoints, which involve finding new supergravity solutions for the geometry\nproduced by the 3-branes in the 7-brane background. We also discuss 3-branes in\na general background."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Nonlocal and quasi-local field theories: We investigate nonlocal field theories, a subject that has attracted some\nrenewed interest in connection with nonlocal gravity models. We study, in\nparticular, scalar theories of interacting delocalized fields, the\ndelocalization being specified by nonlocal integral kernels. We distinguish\nbetween strictly nonlocal and quasi-local (compact support) kernels and impose\nconditions on them to insure UV finiteness and unitarity of amplitudes. We\nstudy the classical initial value problem for the partial integro-differential\nequations of motion in detail. We give rigorous proofs of the existence but\naccompanying loss of uniqueness of solutions due to the presence of future, as\nwell as past, \"delays,\" a manifestation of acausality. In the quantum theory we\nderive a generalization of the Bogoliubov causality condition equation for\namplitudes, which explicitly exhibits the corrections due to nonlocality. One\nfinds that, remarkably, for quasi-local kernels all acausal effects are\nconfined within the compact support regions. We briefly discuss the extension\nto other types of fields and prospects of such theories.",
        "positive": "Seiberg-Witten map for the 4D noncommutative BF theory: We describe the Seiberg-Witten map for the 4D noncommutative BF theory\n(NCBF). We establish the existence of a map taking the abelian NCBF into its\ncommutative version, in agreement with the hypothesis that such maps are\navailable for any noncommutative theory with Schwarz type topological sectors."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The massless string spectrum on AdS_3 x S^3 from the supergroup: String theory on AdS_3 x S^3 is studied in the hybrid formulation. We give a\ndetailed description of the PSL(2|2) supergroup WZW model that underlies the\nbackground with pure NS-NS flux, and determine the BRST-cohomology\ncorresponding to the massless string states. The resulting spectrum is shown to\nmatch exactly with the expected supergravity answer, including the sectors with\nsmall KK momentum on the sphere.",
        "positive": "Cosmological perturbations in $F(R)$ gravity: The quasi-static solutions of the matter density perturbation in $F(R)$\ngravity models have been investigated in numerous papers. However, the\noscillating solutions in $F(R)$ gravity models have not been investigated\nenough so far. In this paper, the oscillating solutions are also examined by\nusing appropriate approximations. And the behaviors of the matter density\nperturbation in F(R) gravity models with singular evolutions of the physical\nparameters are shortly investigated as applications of the approximated\ncalculations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Characters and relations among SW(3/2,2) algebras: The SW(3/2,2) current algebras come in two discrete series indexed by central\ncharge, with the chiral algebra of a supersymmetric sigma model on a Spin}(7)\nmanifold as a special case. The unitary representations of these algebras were\nclassified by Gepner and Noyvert, and we use their results to perform an\nanalysis of null descendants and compute the characters for every\nrepresentation. We obtain threshold relations between the characters of\ndiscrete representations and those with continuous conformal weights. Modular\ntransformations are discussed, and we show that the continuous characters can\nbe written as bilinear combinations of characters for consecutive minimal\nmodels.",
        "positive": "The determinant representation for quantum correlation functions of the\n  sinh-Gordon model: We consider the quantum sinh-Gordon model in this paper. Using known formulae\nfor form factors we sum up all their contributions and obtain a closed\nexpression for a correlation function. This expression is a determinant of an\nintegral operator. Similar determinant representations were proven to be useful\nnot only in the theory of correlation functions, but also in the matrix models."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Semi-classical spectrum of the Homogeneous sine-Gordon theories: The semi-classical spectrum of the Homogeneous sine-Gordon theories\nassociated with an arbitrary compact simple Lie group G is obtained and shown\nto be entirely given by solitons. These theories describe quantum integrable\nmassive perturbations of Gepner's G-parafermions whose classical\nequations-of-motion are non-abelian affine Toda equations. One-soliton\nsolutions are constructed by embeddings of the SU(2) complex sine-Gordon\nsoliton in the regular SU(2) subgroups of G. The resulting spectrum exhibits\nboth stable and unstable particles, which is a peculiar feature shared with the\nspectrum of monopoles and dyons in N=2 and N=4 supersymmetric gauge theories.",
        "positive": "Can a wormhole be interpreted as an EPR pair?: Recently, Maldacena and Susskind arXiv:1306.0533 and Jensen and Karch\narXiv:1307.1132 argued that a wormhole can be interpreted as an EPR pair. We\npoint out that a convincing justification of such an interpretation would\nrequire a quantitative evidence that correlations between two ends of the\nwormhole are equal to those between the members of the EPR pair. As long as the\nexisting results do not contain such evidence, the interpretation of wormhole\nas an EPR pair does not seem justified."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Integrability of the Gauged Linear Sigma Model for AdS_5xS^5: Recently, a gauged linear sigma model was proposed by Berkovits and Vafa\nwhich can be used to describe the AdS_5xS^5 superstring at finite and zero\nradius. In this paper we show that the model is classically integrable by\nconstructing its first non-local conserved charge and a superspace Lax\n\"quartet\". Quantum conservation of the non-local charge follows easily from\nsuperspace rules.",
        "positive": "Entanglement Entropy from TFD Entropy Operator: In this work, a canonical method to compute entanglement entropy is proposed.\nWe show that for two-dimensional conformal theories defined in a torus, a\nchoice of moduli space allows the typical entropy operator of the TFD to\nprovide the entanglement entropy of the degrees of freedom defined in a segment\nand their complement. In this procedure, it is not necessary to make an\nanalytic continuation from the R\\'enyi entropy and the von Neumann entanglement\nentropy is calculated directly from the expected value of an entanglement\nentropy operator. We also propose a model for the evolution of the entanglement\nentropy and show that it grows linearly with time."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The geodesic rule for higher codimensional global defects: We generalize the geodesic rule to the case of formation of higher\ncodimensional global defects. Relying on energetic arguments, we argue that,\nfor such defects, the geometric structures of interest are the totally geodesic\nsubmanifolds. On the other hand, stochastic arguments lead to a diffusion\nequation approach, from which the geodesic rule is deduced. It turns out that\nthe most appropriate geometric structure that one should consider is the convex\nhull of the values of the order parameter on the causal volumes whose collision\ngives rise to the defect. We explain why these two approaches lead to similar\nresults when calculating the density of global defects by using a theorem of\nCheeger and Gromoll. We present a computation of the probability of formation\nof strings/vortices in the case of a system, such as nematic liquid crystals,\nwhose vacuum is $\\mathbb{R}P^2$.",
        "positive": "Solutions to the Massive HLW IIA Supergravity: We find new supersymmetric solutions of the massive supergravity theory which\ncan be constructed by generalized Scherk-Schwarz dimensional reduction of\neleven dimensional supergravity, using the scaling symmetry of the equations of\nmotion. Firstly, we construct field configurations which solve the ten\ndimensional equations of motion by reducing on the radial direction of\nRicci-flat cones. Secondly, we will extend this result to the supersymmetric\ncase by performing a dimensional reduction along the flow of a homothetic\nKilling vector which is the Euler vector of the cone plus a boost."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "General classical solutions in the noncommutative CP^(N-1) model: We give an explicit construction of general classical solutions for the\nnoncommutative CP^(N-1) model in two dimensions, showing that they correspond\nto integer values for the action and topological charge. We also give explicit\nsolutions for the Dirac equation in the background of these general solutions\nand show that the index theorem is satisfied.",
        "positive": "Entropy Balance Equation of Spacetime Thermodynamics in f(R) Gravity: We study spacetime thermodynamics for non-equilibrium processes. We first\ngeneralize the formulation of spacetime thermodynamics by using an observer\noutside the horizon. Then we construct the entropy balance equation of\nspacetime thermodynamics for non-equilibrium processes in f(R) gravity. The\ncoefficients of the expansion and shear terms are equal to the viscosities of\nthe black hole membrane paradigm, and a new entropy production term appears."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Half-BPS Solutions locally asymptotic to AdS_3 x S^3 and interface\n  conformal field theories: Type IIB superstring theory has AdS_3 x S^3 x M_4 (where the manifold M_4 is\neither K_3 or T^4) solutions which preserve sixteen supersymmetries. In this\npaper we consider half-BPS solutions which are locally asymptotic to AdS_3 x\nS^3 x M_4 and preserve eight of the sixteen supersymmetries. We reduce the BPS\nequations and the Bianchi identity for the self-dual five-form field to a set\nof four differential equations. The complete local solution can be\nparameterized in terms of two harmonic and two holomorphic functions and all\nbosonic fields have explicit expressions in terms of these functions.\n  We analyze the conditions for global regularity and construct new half-BPS\nJanus-solutions which have two asymptotic AdS_3 regions. In addition, our\nanalysis proves the global regularity of a class of solutions with more than\ntwo asymptotic AdS_3 regions. Finally, we discuss the dual interpretation as a\nsupersymmetric interface theory for the half-BPS Janus solutions carrying only\nRamond-Ramond three-form charge.",
        "positive": "General Solution of the non-abelian Gauss law and non-abelian analogs of\n  the Hodge decomposition: General solution of the non-abelian Gauss law in terms of covariant curls and\ngradients is presented. Also two non-abelian analogs of the Hodge decomposition\nin three dimensions are addressed. i) Decomposition of an isotriplet vector\nfield $V_{i}^{a}(x)$ as sum of covariant curl and gradient with respect to an\narbitrary background Yang-Mills potential is obtained. ii) A decomposition of\nthe form $V_{i}^{a}=B_{i}^{a}(C)+D_{i}(C) \\phi^{a} $ which involves non-abelian\nmagnetic field of a new Yang-Mills potential C is also presented. These results\nare relevant for duality transformation for non-abelian gauge fields."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Donaldson-Witten theory and indefinite theta functions: We consider partition functions with insertions of surface operators of\ntopologically twisted N=2, SU(2) supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory, or\nDonaldson-Witten theory for short, on a four-manifold. If the metric of the\ncompact four-manifold has positive scalar curvature, Moore and Witten have\nshown that the partition function is completely determined by the integral over\nthe Coulomb branch parameter $a$, while more generally the Coulomb branch\nintegral captures the wall-crossing behavior of both Donaldson polynomials and\nSeiberg-Witten invariants. We show that after addition of a Q-exact surface\noperator to the Moore-Witten integrand, the integrand can be written as a total\nderivative to the anti-holomorphic coordinate $\\bar a$ using Zwegers'\nindefinite theta functions. In this way, we reproduce G\\\"ottsche's expressions\nfor Donaldson invariants of rational surfaces in terms of indefinite theta\nfunctions for any choice of metric.",
        "positive": "A note on large gauge transformations in double field theory: We give a detailed proof of the conjecture by Hohm and Zwiebach in double\nfield theory. This result implies that their proposal for large gauge\ntransformations in terms of the Jacobian matrix for coordinate transformations\nis, as required, equivalent to the standard exponential map associated with the\ngeneralized Lie derivative along a suitable parameter."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Casimir and Vacuum Energy of 5D Warped System and Sphere Lattice\n  Regularization: We examine the Casimir energy of 5D electro-magnetism in the recent\nstandpoint. Z$_2$ symmetry is taken into account. After confirming the\nconsistency with the past result, we do new things based on a new\nregularization. The regularization is based on the minimal area principle and\nthe regularized configuration is the {\\it sphere lattice}. We do it not in the\nKaluza-Klein expanded form but in the closed form. The formalism is based on\nthe heat-kernel approach using the position/momentum propagator. A useful\nexpression of the Casimir energy, in terms of the P/M propagator, is obtained.\nRenormalization flow is realized as the change along the extra-axis.",
        "positive": "Non-perturbative corrections in N=2 strings: We investigate the non-perturbative equivalence of some heterotic/type IIA\ndual pairs with N=2 supersymmetry. We compute R2-like corrections, both on the\ntype IIA and on the heterotic side. The coincidence of their perturbative part\nprovides a test of duality. The type IIA result is then used to predict the\nfull, non-perturbative correction to the heterotic effective action. We\ndetermine the instanton numbers and the Olive-Montonen duality groups."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "D=7 selfdual string in the 5-brane: Unlike the Schwarzschild black string in the Randall-Sundrum scenario which\nis known to have the geodesics reaching the AdS-horizon terminating there, the\nD=7 extremal BPS selfdual string of N=2 gauged supergravity potentially differs\nfrom this result. I give a complete proof that timelike radial trajectories of\nthe selfdual string solution that escapes to r=\\infty do not see a curvature\nsingularity on the horizon at z=\\infty.",
        "positive": "Canonical quantisation of thermal gauge theories: Canonical quantisation gives a new and convenient finite-temperature\nperturbation theory in covariant gauges, and solves the problem of the\nzero-frequency mode in the temporal gauge. [Talk at Workshop on Thermal Field\nTheories and their Applications, Banff, August 1993]"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Off-shell hydrodynamics from holography: We outline a program for obtaining an action principle for dissipative fluid\ndynamics by considering the holographic Wilsonian renormalization group applied\nto systems with a gravity dual. As a first step, in this paper we restrict to\nsystems with a non-dissipative horizon. By integrating out gapped degrees of\nfreedom in the bulk gravitational system between an asymptotic boundary and a\nhorizon, we are led to a formulation of hydrodynamics where the dynamical\nvariables are not standard velocity and temperature fields, but the relative\nembedding of the boundary and horizon hypersurfaces. At zeroth order, this\naction reduces to that proposed by Dubovsky et al. as an off-shell formulation\nof ideal fluid dynamics.",
        "positive": "Holographic Stripes: We construct inhomogeneous asymptotically AdS black hole solutions\ncorresponding to the spontaneous breaking of translational invariance and the\nformation of striped order in the boundary field theory. We find that the\nsystem undergoes a second order phase transition in both the fixed density and\nfixed chemical potential ensembles, for sufficiently large values of the axion\ncoupling. We investigate the phase structure as function of the temperature,\naxion coupling and the stripe width. The bulk solutions have striking\ngeometrical features related to a magnetoelectric effect associated with the\nexistence of a near horizon topological insulator. At low temperatures the\nhorizon becomes highly inhomogeneous and tends to pinch off.}"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quaternionic Electroweak Theory and CKM Matrix: We find in our quaternionic version of the electroweak theory an apparently\nhopeless problem: In going from complex to quaternions, the calculation of the\nreal-valued parameters of the CKM matrix drastically changes. We aim to explain\nthis quaternionic puzzle.",
        "positive": "Lorentz Invariant Renormalization in Causal Perturbation Theory: In the framework of causal perturbation theory renormalization consists of\nthe extension of distributions. We give the explicit form of a Lorentz\ninvariant extension of a scalar distribution, depending on one difference of\nspace time coordinates."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Algebraic geometry informs perturbative quantum field theory: Single-scale Feynman diagrams yield integrals that are periods, namely\nprojective integrals of rational functions of Schwinger parameters. Algebraic\ngeometry may therefore inform us of the types of number to which these\nintegrals evaluate. We give examples at 3, 4 and 6 loops of massive Feynman\ndiagrams that evaluate to Dirichlet $L$-series of modular forms and examples at\n6, 7 and 8 loops of counterterms that evaluate to multiple zeta values or\npolylogarithms of the sixth root of unity. At 8 loops and beyond, algebraic\ngeometry informs us that polylogs are insufficient for the evaluation of terms\nin the beta-function of $\\phi^4$ theory. Here, modular forms appear as\nobstructions to polylogarithmic evaluation.",
        "positive": "Higgs-Chern-Simons gravity models in 2n+1 dimensions: We consider a family of new Higgs-Chern-Simons (HCS) gravity models in 2n+1\ndimensions (n=1,2,3). This provides a generalization of the (usual)\ngravitational Chern-Simons (CS) gravitaties resulting from non- Abelian CS\ndensities in all odd dimensions, which feature vector and scalar fields in\naddition to the metric. The derivation of the new HCS gravitational (HCSG)\nactions follows the same method as in the usual-CSG case resulting from the\nusual CS densities. The HCSG result from the HCS densities, which result\nthrough a one-step descent of the Higgs-Chern-Pontryagin (HCP), the latter\nbeing descended from Chern-Pontryagin (CP) densities in some even dimension. A\npreliminary study of the solutions of these models is considered, with exact\nsolutions being reported for spacetime dimensions d = 3, 5."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "3D Gravity, Point Particles and Liouville Theory: This paper elaborates on the bulk/boundary relation between negative\ncosmological constant 3D gravity and Liouville field theory (LFT). We develop\nan interpretation of LFT non-normalizable states in terms of particles moving\nin the bulk. This interpretation is suggested by the fact that ``heavy'' vertex\noperators of LFT create conical singularities and thus should correspond to\npoint particles moving inside AdS. We confirm this expectation by comparing the\n(semi-classical approximation to the) LFT two-point function with the\n(appropriately regularized) gravity action evaluated on the corresponding\nmetric.",
        "positive": "Conifolds and Tunneling in the String Landscape: We investigate flux vacua on a variety of one-parameter Calabi-Yau\ncompactifications, and find many examples that are connected through continuous\nmonodromy transformations. For these, we undertake a detailed analysis of the\ntunneling dynamics and find that tunneling trajectories typically graze the\nconifold point---particular 3-cycles are forced to contract during such vacuum\ntransitions. Physically, these transitions arise from the competing effects of\nminimizing the energy for brane nucleation (facilitating a change in flux),\nversus the energy cost associated with dynamical changes in the periods of\ncertain Calabi-Yau 3-cycles. We find that tunneling only occurs when warping\ndue to back-reaction from the flux through the shrinking cycle is properly\ntaken into account."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A model of persistent breaking of discrete symmetry: We show there exist UV-complete field-theoretic models in general dimension,\nincluding $2+1$, with the spontaneous breaking of a global symmetry, which\npersists to the arbitrarily high temperatures. Our example is a conformal\nvector model with the $O(N)\\times \\mathbb{Z}_2$ symmetry at zero temperature.\nUsing conformal perturbation theory we establish $\\mathbb{Z}_2$ symmetry is\nbroken at finite temperature for $N>10$. Similar to recent constructions, in\nthe infinite $N$ limit our model has a non-trivial conformal manifold, a moduli\nspace of vacua, which gets deformed at finite temperature. Furthermore, in this\nregime the model admits a persistent breaking of $O(N)$ in $2+1$ dimensions,\ntherefore providing another example where the Coleman-Hohenberg-Mermin-Wagner\ntheorem can be bypassed.",
        "positive": "A Classical String in Lifshitz-Vaidya Geometry: We study the time evolution of the expectation value of a rectangular Wilson\nloop in strongly anisotropic time-dependent plasma using gauge-gravity duality.\nThe corresponding gravity theory is given by describing time evolution of a\nclassical string in the Lifshitz-Vaidya background. We show that the\nexpectation value of the Wilson loop oscillates about the value of the static\npotential with the same parameters after the energy injection is over. We\ndiscuss how the amplitude and frequency of the oscillation depend on the\nparameters of the theory. In particular, by raising the anisotropy parameter,\nwe observe that the amplitude and frequency of the oscillation increase."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Black Holes Coupled to a Massive Dilaton: We investigate charged black holes coupled to a massive dilaton. It is shown\nthat black holes which are large compared to the Compton wavelength of the\ndilaton resemble the Reissner-Nordstr\\\"om solution, while those which are\nsmaller than this scale resemble the massless dilaton solutions. Black holes of\norder the Compton wavelength of the dilaton can have wormholes outside the\nevent horizon in the string metric. Unlike all previous black hole solutions,\nnearly extremal and extremal black holes (of any size) repel each other. We\nargue that extremal black holes are quantum mechanically unstable to decay into\nseveral widely separated black holes. We present analytic arguments and\nextensive numerical results to support these conclusions.",
        "positive": "Coupling M2-branes to background fields: We discuss some of the issues arising in trying to extend the ABJM action to\ninclude couplings to background fields. This is analogous to the\nMyers-Chern-Simons terms of the multiple Dp-brane action. We review and extend\nprevious results to include terms which are quadratic in the background fields.\nThese are fixed by requiring that we recover the correct Myers-type terms upon\nusing the novel Higgs mechanism to reduce to the multiple D2-brane action."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Light-Cone Quantisation of Matrix Models at c>1: The technique of (discretised) light-cone quantisation, as applied to matrix\nmodels of relativistic strings, is reviewed. The case of the c=2 non-critical\nbosonic string is discussed in some detail to clarify the nature of the\ncontinuum limit. Futher applications for the technique are then outlined. (To\nappear in proceedings of the NATO Advanced Workshop on Recent Developments in\nStrings, Conformal Models, and Topological Field Theory, Cargese 12-21 May\n1993.)",
        "positive": "Perturbative Couplings and Modular Forms in N=2 String Models with a\n  Wilson Line: We consider a class of four parameter D=4, N=2 string models, namely\nheterotic strings compactified on K3 times T2 together with their dual type II\npartners on Calabi-Yau three-folds. With the help of generalized modular forms\n(such as Siegel and Jacobi forms), we compute the perturbative prepotential and\nthe perturbative Wilsonian gravitational coupling F1 for each of the models in\nthis class. We check heterotic/type II duality for one of the models by\nrelating the modular forms in the heterotic description to the known instanton\nnumbers in the type II description. We comment on the relation of our results\nto recent proposals for closely related models."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On S-duality in (2+1)-Chern-Simons Supergravity: Strong/weak coupling duality in Chern-Simons supergravity is studied. It is\nargued that this duality can be regarded as an example of superduality. The use\nof supergroup techniques for the description of Chern-Simons supergravity\ngreatly facilitates the analysis.",
        "positive": "Renormalization properties of a Galilean Wess-Zumino model: We consider a Galilean N=2 supersymmetric theory in 2+1 dimensions with\nF-term couplings, obtained by null reduction of a relativistic Wess-Zumino\nmodel. We compute quantum corrections and we check that, as for the\nrelativistic parent theory, the F-term does not receive quantum corrections.\nEven more, we find evidence that the causal structure of the non-relativistic\ndynamics together with particle number conservation constrain the theory to be\none-loop exact."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Unravelling T-Duality: Magnetic Quivers in Rank-zero Little String\n  Theories: An intriguing class of 6d supersymmetric theories are known as little strings\ntheories, which exhibit a rich network of T-dualities. A robust feature of\nthese theories are their Higgs branches. Focusing on the little string theories\nthat are realised on a single curve of zero self-intersection, we utilise brane\nsystems to derive the magnetic quivers. Using a variety of techniques\n(including branching rules, brane dynamics, F-theory geometry, quiver\nsubtraction, and the decay and fission algorithm), we detail the Higgs branch\nHasse diagram and determine the transverse slices for every elementary Higgs\nbranch RG-flow. Building on these insights, we pursue two directions: firstly,\nwe used the established connection between the change of the 2-Group structure\nconstants along Higgs branch RG-flows and the transition-type in the Hasse\ndiagram to infer putative T-dual models. Secondly, we conjecture an algorithm\nthat predicts the non-Abelian flavour symmetry of the compactified little\nstring theory by inspecting the magnetic quivers of all T-dual frames.",
        "positive": "The Matrix Chern-Simons One-form as a Universal Chern-Simons Theory: We consider different large ${\\cal N}$ limits of the one-dimensional\nChern-Simons action $i\\int dt~ \\Tr (\\del_0 +A_0)$ where $A_0$ is an ${\\cal\nN}\\times{\\cal N}$ antihermitian matrix. The Hilbert space on which $A_0$ acts\nas a linear transformation is taken as the quantization of a $2k$-dimensional\nphase space ${\\cal M}$ with different gauge field backgrounds. For slowly\nvarying fields, the large ${\\cal N}$ limit of the one-dimensional CS action is\nequal to the $(2k+1)$-dimensional CS theory on ${\\cal M}\\times {\\bf R}$.\nDifferent large ${\\cal N}$ limits are parametrized by the gauge fields and the\ndimension $2k$. The result is related to the bulk action for quantum Hall\ndroplets in higher dimensions. Since the isometries of ${\\cal M}$ are gauged,\nthis has implications for gravity on fuzzy spaces. This is also briefly\ndiscussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Correlators of supersymmetric Wilson-loops, protected operators and\n  matrix models in N=4 SYM: We study the correlators of a recently discovered family of BPS Wilson loops\nin ${\\cal N}=4$ supersymmetric U(N) Yang-Mills theory. When the contours lie on\na two-sphere in the space-time, we propose a closed expression that is valid\nfor all values of the coupling constant $g$ and for any rank $N$, by exploiting\nthe suspected relation with two-dimensional gauge theories. We check this\nformula perturbatively at order ${\\cal O}(g^4)$ for two latitude Wilson loops\nand we show that, in the limit where one of the loops shrinks to a point,\nlogarithmic corrections in the shrinking radius are absent at ${\\cal O}(g^6)$.\nThis last result strongly supports the validity of our general expression and\nsuggests the existence of a peculiar protected local operator arising in the\nOPE of the Wilson loop. At strong coupling we compare our result to the string\ndual of the ${\\cal N}=4$ SYM correlator in the limit of large separation,\npresenting some preliminary evidence for the agreement.",
        "positive": "Two-dimensional SCFTs from D3-branes: We find a large class of two-dimensional $\\mathcal{N}=(0,2)$ SCFTs obtained\nby compactifying four-dimensional $\\mathcal{N}=1$ quiver gauge theories on a\nRiemann surface. We study these theories using anomalies and $c$-extremization.\nThe gravitational duals to these fixed points are new AdS$_3$ solutions of IIB\nsupergravity which we exhibit explicitly. Along the way we uncover a universal\nrelation between the conformal anomaly coefficients of four-dimensional and\ntwo-dimensional SCFTs connected by an RG flow across dimensions. We also\nobserve an interesting novel phenomenon in which the superconformal R-symmetry\nmixes with baryonic symmetries along the RG flow."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Is Alice burning or fuzzing?: Recently, Almheiri, Marolf, Polchinski and Sully (AMPS) have suggested a\nGedankenexperiment to test black hole complementarity. They claim that the\npostulates of black hole complementarity are mutually inconsistent and choose\nto give up the \"absence of drama\" for an infalling observer. According to them\nthe black hole is shielded by a firewall no later than Page time. This has\ngenerated some controversy. We find that an interesting picture emerges when we\ntake into account objections from the advocates of fuzzballs. We reformulate\nAMPS' Gedankenexperiment in the decoherence picture of quantum mechanics and\nfind that low energy wave packets interact with the radiation quanta rather\nviolently while high energy wave packets do not. This is consistent with\nMathur's recent proposal of fuzzball complementarity for high energy quanta\nfalling into fuzzballs.",
        "positive": "Star-triangle type relations from $2d$ $\\mathcal{N}=(0,2)$ $USp(2N)$\n  dualities: Inspired by the gauge/YBE correspondence this paper derives some\nstar-triangle type relations from dualities in $2d$ $\\mathcal{N}=(0,2)$\n$USp(2N)$ supersymmetric quiver gauge theories. To be precise, we study two\ncases. The first case is the Intriligator-Pouliot duality in $2d$\n$\\mathcal{N}=(0,2)$ $USp(2N)$ theories. The description is performed explicitly\nfor $N=1,2,3,4,5$ and also for $N=3k+2$, which generalizes the situation in\n$N=2,5$. For $N=1$ a triangle identity is obtained. For $N=2,5$ it is found\nthat the realization of duality implies slight variations of a star-triangle\nrelation type (STR type). The values $N=3,4$ are associated to a similar\nversion of the asymmetric STR. The second case is a new duality for $2d$\n$\\mathcal{N}=(0,2)$ $USp(2N)$ theories with matter in the antisymmetric tensor\nrepresentation that arises from dimensional reduction of $4d$ $\\mathcal{N}=1$\n$USp(2N)$ Cs\\'aki-Skiba-Schmaltz duality. It is shown that this duality is\nassociated to a triangle type identity for any value of $N$. In all cases\nBoltzmann weights as well as interaction and normalization factors are\ncompletely determined. Finally, our relations are compared with those\npreviously reported in the literature."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-Hermitian Interactions Between Harmonic Oscillators, with\n  Applications to Stable, Lorentz-Violating QED: We examine a new application of the Holstein-Primakoff realization of the\nsimple harmonic oscillator Hamiltonian. This involves the use of\ninfinite-dimensional representations of the Lie algebra $su(2)$. The\nrepresentations contain nonstandard raising and lowering operators, which are\nnonlinearly related to the standard $a^{\\dag}$ and $a$. The new operators also\ngive rise to a natural family of two-oscillator couplings. These nonlinear\ncouplings are not generally self-adjoint, but their low-energy limits are\nself-adjoint, exactly solvable, and stable. We discuss the structure of a\ntheory involving these couplings. Such a theory might have as its\nultra-low-energy limit a Lorentz-violating Abelian gauge theory, and we discuss\nthe extremely strong astrophysical constraints on such a model.",
        "positive": "On Torsion and Nieh-Yan Form: Using the well-known Chern-Weil formula and its generalization, we\nsystematically construct the Chern-Simons forms and their generalization\ninduced by torsion as well as the Nieh-Yan (N-Y) forms. We also give an\nargument on the vanishing of integration of N-Y form on any compact manifold\nwithout boundary. A systematic construction of N-Y forms in D=4n dimension is\nalso given."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The current density in quantum electrodynamics in external potentials: We review different definitions of the current density for quantized fermions\nin the presence of an external electromagnetic field. Several deficiencies in\nthe popular prescription due to Schwinger and the mode sum formula for static\nexternal potentials are pointed out. We argue that Dirac's method, which is the\nanalog of the Hadamard point-splitting employed in quantum field theory in\ncurved space-times, is conceptually the most satisfactory. As a concrete\nexample, we discuss vacuum polarization and the stress-energy tensor for\nmassless fermions in 1+1 dimension. Also a general formula for the vacuum\npolarization in static external potentials in 3+1 dimensions is derived.",
        "positive": "Characterizing the solutions to scattering equations that support\n  tree-level $\\text{N}^{k}\\text{MHV}$ gauge/gravity amplitudes: In this paper we define, independent of theories, two discriminant matrices\ninvolving a solution to the scattering equations in four dimensions, the ranks\nof which are used to divide the solution set into a disjoint union of subsets.\nWe further demonstrate, {entirely within the Cachazo-He-Yuan formalism,} that\neach subset of solutions gives nonzero contribution to tree-level\n$\\text{N}^{k}\\text{MHV}$ gauge/gravity amplitudes only for a specific value of\n$k$. Thus the solutions can be characterized by the rank of their discriminant\nmatrices, which in turn determines the value of $k$ of the $\\text{N}^{k}\n\\text{MHV}$ amplitudes a solution can support. As another application of the\ntechnique developed, we show analytically that in Einstein-Yang-Mills theory,\nif all gluons have the same helicity, the tree-level single-trace amplitudes\nmust vanish."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Picard-Fuchs equations and mirror maps for hypersurfaces: We describe a strategy for computing Yukawa couplings and the mirror map,\nbased on the Picard-Fuchs equation. (Our strategy is a variant of the method\nused by Candelas, de la Ossa, Green, and Parkes in the case of quintic\nhypersurfaces.) We then explain a technique of Griffiths which can be used to\ncompute the Picard-Fuchs equations of hypersurfaces. Finally, we carry out the\ncomputation for four specific examples (including quintic hypersurfaces,\npreviously done by Candelas et al.). This yields predictions for the number of\nrational curves of various degrees on certain hypersurfaces in weighted\nprojective spaces. Some of these predictions have been confirmed by classical\ntechniques in algebraic geometry.",
        "positive": "Hamiltonian truncation in Anti-de Sitter spacetime: Quantum Field Theories (QFTs) in Anti-de Sitter (AdS) spacetime are often\nstrongly coupled when the radius of AdS is large, and few methods are available\nto study them. In this work, we develop a Hamiltonian truncation method to\ncompute the energy spectrum of QFTs in two-dimensional AdS. The infinite volume\nof constant timeslices of AdS leads to divergences in the energy levels. We\npropose a simple prescription to obtain finite physical energies and test it\nwith numerical diagonalization in several models: the free massive scalar\nfield, $\\phi^4$ theory, Lee-Yang and Ising field theory. Along the way, we\ndiscuss spontaneous symmetry breaking in AdS and derive a compact formula for\nperturbation theory in quantum mechanics at arbitrary order. Our results\nsuggest that all conformal boundary conditions for a given theory are connected\nvia bulk renormalization group flows in AdS."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dynamics of a planar domain wall with oscillating thickness in \u03bb\n  \u03a6^{4} model: Domain wall - type solution with oscillating thickness in a real, scalar\nfield model is investigated with the help of a polynomial approximation. We\npropose a simple extension of the polynomial approximation method. In this\napproach we calculate higher order corrections to the planar domain wall\nsolution, find that the domain wall with oscillating thickness radiates, and\ncompute dumping of oscillations of the domain wall.",
        "positive": "Massive spin-2 particle from a rank-2 tensor: Here we obtain all possible second-order theories for a rank-2 tensor which\ndescribe a massive spin-2 particle. We start with a general second-order\nLagrangian with ten real parameters. The absence of lower spin modes and the\nexistence of two local field redefinitions leads us to only one free parameter.\nThe solutions split into three one-parameter classes according to the local\nsymmetries of the massless limit. In the class which contains the usual massive\nFierz-Pauli theory, the subset of spin-1 massless symmetries is maximal. In\nanother class where the subset of spin-0 symmetries is maximal, the massless\ntheory is invariant under Weyl transformations and the mass term does not need\nto fit in the form of the Fierz-Pauli mass term. In the remaining third class\nneither the spin-1 nor the spin-0 symmetry is maximal and we have a new family\nof spin-2 massive theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauge Symmetry of the Chiral Schwinger model from an improved Gauge\n  Unfixing formalism: In this paper, the Hamiltonian structure of the bosonized chiral Schwinger\nmodel (BCSM) is analyzed. From the consistency condition of the constraints\nobtained from the Dirac method, we can observe that this model presents, for\ncertain values of the $\\alpha$ parameter, two second-class constraints, which\nmeans that this system does not possess gauge invariance. However, we know that\nit is possible to disclose gauge symmetries in such a system by converting the\noriginal second-class system into a first-class one. This procedure can be done\nthrough the gauge unfixing (GU) formalism by acting with a projection operator\ndirectly on the original second-class Hamiltonian, without adding any extra\ndegrees of freedom in the phase space. One of the constraints becomes the gauge\nsymmetry generator of the theory and the other one is disregarded. At the end,\nwe have a first-class Hamiltonian satisfying a first-class algebra. Here, our\ngoal is to apply a new scheme of embedding second-class constrained systems\nbased on the GU formalism, named improved GU formalism, in the BCSM. The\noriginal second-class variables are directly converted into gauge invariant\nvariables, called GU variables. We have verified that the Poisson brackets\ninvolving the GU variables are equal to the Dirac brackets between the original\nsecond-class variables. Finally, we have found that our improved GU variables\ncoincide with those obtained from an improved BFT method after a particular\nchoice for the Wess-Zumino terms.",
        "positive": "Fermion zero modes in a chromomagnetic vortex lattice: We prove the existence of zero modes of massless quarks in a background of\nspaghetti vacuum of chromomagnetic vortices in QCD. We find a general solution\nfor the zero modes and show that the modes can be localized at pairs of\nvortices."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Superconductivity at Any Temperature: We construct a 2+1 dimensional model that sustains superconductivity at all\ntemperatures. This is achieved by introducing a Chern Simons mixing term\nbetween two Abelian gauge fields A and Z. The superfluid is described by a\ncomplex scalar charged under Z, whereas a sufficiently strong magnetic field of\nA forces the superconducting condensate to form at all temperatures. In fact,\nat finite temperature, the theory exhibits Berezinsky-Kosterlitz-Thouless phase\ntransition due to proliferation of topological vortices admitted by our\nconstruction. However, the critical temperature is proportional to the magnetic\nfield of A, and thus, the phase transition can be postponed to high\ntemperatures by increasing the strength of the magnetic field. This model can\nbe a step towards realizing the long sought room temperature superconductivity.",
        "positive": "Notes on S-Matrix of Non-critical N=2 String: In this paper we discuss the scattering S-matrix of non-critical N=2 string\nat tree level. First we consider the \\hat{c}<1 string defined by combining the\nN=2 time-like linear dilaton SCFT with the N=2 Liouville theory. We compute\nthree particle scattering amplitudes explicitly and find that they are actually\nvanishing. We also find an evidence that this is true for higher amplitudes.\nNext we analyze another \\hat{c}<1 string obtained from the N=2 time-like\nLiouville theory, which is closely related to the N=2 minimal string. In this\ncase, we find a non-trivial expression for the three point functions. When we\nconsider only chiral primaries, the amplitudes are very similar to those in the\n(1,n) non-critical bosonic string."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "One Ring to Rule Them All ... and in the Darkness Bind Them?: We construct all eleven-dimensional, three-charge BPS solutions that preserve\na fixed, standard set of supersymmetries. Our solutions include all BPS\nthree-charge rotating black holes, black rings, supertubes, as well as\narbitrary superpositions of these objects. We find very large families of black\nrings and supertubes with profiles that follow arbitrary closed curves in the\nspatial R^4 transverse to the branes. The black rings copiously violate black\nhole uniqueness. The supertube solutions are completely regular, and\ngenerically have small curvature. They also have the same asymptotics as the\nthree-charge black hole; and so they might be mapped to microstates of the\nD1-D5-p system and used to explain the entropy of this black hole.",
        "positive": "Exact calculation of the radiatively-induced Lorentz and CPT violation\n  in QED: Radiative corrections arising from the axial coupling of charged fermions to\na constant vector b_\\mu can induce a Lorentz- and CPT-violating Chern-Simons\nterm in the QED action. We calculate the exact one-loop correction to this term\nkeeping the full b_\\mu dependence, and show that in the physically interesting\ncases it coincides with the lowest-order result. The effect of regularization\nand renormalization and the implications of the result are briefly discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Moduli Stabilisation and the Statistics of Axion Physics in the\n  Landscape: String theory realisations of the QCD axion are often said to belong to the\nanthropic window where the decay constant is around the GUT scale and the\ninitial misalignment angle has to be tuned close to zero. In this paper we\nrevisit this statement by studying the statistics of axion physics in the\nstring landscape. We take moduli stabilisation properly into account since the\nstabilisation of the saxions is crucial to determine the physical properties of\nthe corresponding axionic partners. We focus on the model-independent case of\nclosed string axions in type IIB flux compactifications and find that their\ndecay constants and mass spectrum feature a logarithmic, instead of a\npower-law, distribution. In the regime where the effective field theory is\nunder control, most of these closed string axions are ultra-light axion-like\nparticles, while axions associated to blow-up modes can naturally play the role\nof the QCD axion. Hence, the number of type IIB flux vacua with a closed string\nQCD axion with an intermediate scale decay constant and a natural value of the\nmisalignment angle is only logarithmically suppressed. In a recent paper we\nfound that this correlates also with a logarithmic distribution of the\nsupersymmetry breaking scale, providing the intriguing indication that most, if\nnot all, of the phenomenologically interesting quantities in the string\nlandscape might feature a logarithmic distribution.",
        "positive": "Classical Open String Integrability: We present a simple procedure to construct non-local conserved charges for\nclassical open strings on coset spaces. This is done by including suitable\nreflection matrices on the classical transfer matrix. The reflection matrices\nmust obey certain conditions for the charges to be conserved and in involution.\nWe then study bosonic open strings on $AdS_5\\times S^5$. We consider boundary\nconditions corresponding to Giant Gravitons on $S^5$, $AdS_4\\times S^2$\nD5-branes and $AdS_5 \\times S^3$ D7-branes. We find that we can construct the\nconserved charges for the full bosonic string on a Maximal Giant Graviton or a\nD7-brane. For the D5-brane, we find that this is possible only in a SU(2)\nsub-sector of the open string. Moreover, the charges can not be constructed at\nall for non-maximal Giant Gravitons. We discuss the interpretation of these\nresults in terms of the dual gauge theory spin chains."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Bosonic near-CFT$_1$ models from Fock-space fluxes: Near-AdS$_2$ dynamics arise ubiquitously near the horizon of near-extremal\nblack holes. The Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev (SYK) model -- a $p$-local model of fermions\n-- is the first microscopic model that realizes the dual near-CFT$_1$ dynamics.\nHowever, a bosonic near-CFT$_1$ model has remained elusive in the $p$-local\napproach because such constructions generally suffer from unwanted orderings at\nlow temperatures. Recently, it was pointed out that such near-CFT$_1$ dynamics\ncan quite generally arise if we place a large amount of random fluxes in a\nmany-body Fock space and $p$-locality is not essential. We will use this\ninsight to construct a collection of bosonic near-CFT$_1$ models with a\nconserved charge. One class of models we wish to highlight are based on\ncanonical bosons with conserved occupation numbers. We further argue that such\nbosonic models do not suffer from energetic instablities or unwanted\nlow-temperature orderings. Furthermore, canonical bosons allow the number\ndensities to be arbitrarily large, which is impossible in quibt- or\nfermion-based constructions. This creates a larger variety of scaling regimes\nfor the thermodynamics. For comparison we also consider a second class of\ncharge-conserving models which are based on qubits. The thermodynamic scalings\n(with respect to conserved charges) of these models are very similar to those\nof the double-scaled complex SYK model but are free of certain singularities\nthe latter suffers from, even though both are solved by chord diagrams. We also\nshow the level statistics for both models are described by random matrix theory\nuniversality down to very low energy.",
        "positive": "The Sub-Leading Scattering Waveform from Amplitudes: We compute the next-to-leading order term in the scattering waveform of\nuncharged black holes in classical general relativity and of half-BPS black\nholes in $\\mathcal{N}=8$ supergravity. We propose criteria, generalizing\nexplicit calculations at next-to-leading order, for determining the terms in\namplitudes that contribute to local observables. For general relativity, we\nconstruct the relevant classical integrand through generalized unitarity in two\ndistinct ways, (1) in a heavy-particle effective theory and (2) in general\nrelativity minimally-coupled to scalar fields. With a suitable prescription for\nthe matter propagator in the former, we find agreement between the two methods,\nthus demonstrating the absence of interference of quantum and\nclassically-singular contributions. The classical $\\mathcal{N}=8$ integrand for\nmassive scalar fields is constructed through dimensional reduction of the known\nfive-point one-loop integrand. Our calculation exhibits novel features compared\nto conservative calculations and inclusive observables, such as the appearance\nof master integrals with intersecting matter lines and the appearance of a\nclassical infrared divergence whose absence from classical observables requires\na suitable definition of the retarded time."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Theta dependence of the vacuum energy in the SU(3) gauge theory from the\n  lattice: We report on a precise computation of the topological charge distribution in\nthe SU(3) Yang--Mills theory. It is carried out on the lattice with high\nstatistics Monte Carlo simulations by employing the definition of the\ntopological charge suggested by Neuberger's fermions. We observe significant\ndeviations from a Gaussian distribution. Our results disfavour the theta\nbehaviour of the vacuum energy predicted by instanton models, while they are\ncompatible with the expectation from the large Nc expansion.",
        "positive": "Universal properties of thermal and electrical conductivity of gauge\n  theory plasmas from holography: We propose that for conformal field theories admitting gravity duals, the\nthermal conductivity is fixed by the central charges in a universal manner.\nThough we do not have a proof as yet, we have checked our proposal against\nseveral examples. This proposal, if correct, allows us to express electrical\nconductivity in terms of thermodynamical quantities even in the presence of\nchemical potential."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "G3-homogeneous gravitational instantons: We provide an exhaustive classification of self-dual four-dimensional\ngravitational instantons foliated with three-dimensional homogeneous spaces,\ni.e. homogeneous self-dual metrics on four-dimensional Euclidean spaces\nadmitting a Bianchi simply transitive isometry group. The classification\npattern is based on the algebra homomorphisms relating the Bianchi group and\nthe duality group SO(3). New and general solutions are found for Bianchi III.",
        "positive": "Logarithmic enhancements in conformal perturbation theory and their real\n  time interpretation: We study various corrections of correlation functions to leading order in\nconformal perturbation theory, both on the cylinder and on the plane. Many\nproblems on the cylinder are mathematically equivalent to those in the plane if\nwe give the perturbations a position dependent scaling profile. The integrals\nto be done are then similar to the study of correlation functions with one\nadditional insertion at the center of the profile. We will be primarily\ninterested in the divergence structure of these corrections when computed in\ndimensional regularization. In particular, we show that the logarithmic\ndivergences (enhancements) that show up in the plane under these circumstances\ncan be understood in terms of resonant behavior in time dependent perturbation\ntheory, for a transition between states that is induced by an oscillatory\nperturbation on the cylinder."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On supersymmetric E11 exceptional field theory: We construct an infinite system of non-linear duality equations, including\nfermions, that are invariant under global E11 and gauge invariant under\ngeneralised diffeomorphisms upon the imposition of a suitable section\nconstraint. We use finite-dimensional fermionic representations of the\nR-symmetry E11 to describe the fermionic contributions to the duality\nequations. These duality equations reduce to the known equations of E8\nexceptional field theory or eleven-dimensional supergravity for appropriate\n(partial) solutions of the section constraint. Of key importance in the\nconstruction is an indecomposable representation of E11 that entails extra\nnon-dynamical fields beyond those predicted by E11 alone, generalising the\nknown constrained p-forms of exceptional field theories. The construction\nhinges on the tensor hierarchy algebra extension of E11, both for the bosonic\ntheory and its supersymmetric extension.",
        "positive": "Charged black rings in supergravity with a single non-zero gauge field: General charged black ring solution with two angular momenta, a charge and a\ndipole charge is found by the inverse scattering method. The solution is\npresented in a relatively concise form in which its symmetries are manifest.\nThe regularity conditions are found and the physical characteristics of the\nregular solution are expressed via its parameters."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Scattering in Mass-Deformed N>=4 Chern-Simons Models: We investigate the scattering matrix in mass-deformed N>=4 Chern-Simons\nmodels including as special cases the BLG and ABJM theories of multiple M2\nbranes. Curiously the structure of this scattering matrix in three spacetime\ndimensions is equivalent to (a) the two-dimensional worldsheet matrix found in\nthe context of AdS/CFT integrability and (b) the R-matrix of the\none-dimensional Hubbard model. The underlying reason is that all three models\nare based on an extension of the psu(2|2) superalgebra which constrains the\nmatrix completely. We also compute scattering amplitudes in one-loop field\ntheory and find perfect agreement with scattering unitarity.",
        "positive": "The Holographic Ward identity: Examples from 2+1 gravity: In the AdS/CFT correspondence the boundary Ward identities are encoded in the\nbulk constraints. We study the three-dimensional version of this result using\nthe Chern-Simons formulation of gravity. Due the metric boundary conditions the\nconformal identities cannot be derived in a straightforward way from the chiral\nones. We pay special attention to this case and find the necessary\nmodifications to the chiral currents in order to find the two Virasoro\noperators. The supersymmetric Ward identities are studied as well."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Comments on Large N Matrix Model: The large N Matrix model is studied with attention to the quantum\nfluctuations around a given diagonal background. Feynman rules are explicitly\nderived and their relation to those in usual Yang-Mills theory is discussed.\nBackground D-instanton configuration is naturally identified as a\ndiscretization of momentum space of a corresponding QFT. The structure of large\nN divergence is also studied on the analogy of UV divergences in QFT.",
        "positive": "Instantons, Symmetries and Anomalies in Five Dimensions: All five-dimensional non-abelian gauge theories have a $U(1)_I$ global\nsymmetry associated with instantonic particles. We describe an obstruction to\ncoupling $U(1)_I$ to a classical background gauge field that occurs whenever\nthe theory has a one-form center symmetry. This is a finite-order mixed 't\nHooft anomaly between the two symmetries. We also show that a similar\nobstruction takes place in gauge theories with fundamental matter by studying\ntwisted bundles for the ordinary flavor symmetry. We explore some general\ndynamical properties of the candidate phases implied by the anomaly. Finally,\nwe apply our results to supersymmetric gauge theories in five dimensions and\nanalyze the symmetry enhancement patterns occurring at their conjectured RG\nfixed points."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Super-Liouville-Equation on the Half-Line: A recursive formula for an infinity of integrals of motion for the\nsuper-Liouville theory is derived. The integrable boundary interactions for\nthis theory and the super-Toda theory based on the affine superalgebra $B^{(1)}\n(0,1)$ are computed. In the first case the boundary interactions are\nunambiguously determined by supersymmetry, whilst in the latter case there are\nfree parameters.",
        "positive": "Vacuum Energy as the Origin of the Gravitational Constant: We develop a geometro-dynamical approach to the cosmological constant problem\n(CCP) by invoking a geometry induced by the energy-momentum tensor of vacuum,\nmatter and radiation. The construction, which utilizes the dual role of the\nmetric tensor that it structures both the spacetime manifold and\nenergy-momentum tensor of the vacuum, gives rise to a framework in which the\nvacuum energy induced by matter and radiation, instead of gravitating,\nfacilitates the generation of the gravitational constant. The non-vacuum\nsources comprising matter and radiation gravitate normally. At the level of\nclassical gravitation, the mechanism deadens the CCP yet quantum gravitational\neffects, if can be strong in de Sitter space, can keep it existent."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A-D-E Polynomial and Rogers--Ramanujan Identities: We conjecture polynomial identities which imply Rogers--Ramanujan type\nidentities for branching functions associated with the cosets $({\\cal\nG}^{(1)})_{\\ell-1}\\otimes ({\\cal G}^{(1)})_{1} / ({\\cal G}^{(1)})_{\\ell}$, with\n${\\cal G}$=A$_{n-1}$ \\mbox{$(\\ell\\geq 2)$}, D$_{n-1}$ $(\\ell\\geq 2)$,\nE$_{6,7,8}$ $(\\ell=2)$. In support of our conjectures we establish the correct\nbehaviour under level-rank duality for $\\cal G$=A$_{n-1}$ and show that the\nA-D-E Rogers--Ramanujan identities have the expected $q\\to 1^{-}$ asymptotics\nin terms of dilogarithm identities. Possible generalizations to arbitrary\ncosets are also discussed briefly.",
        "positive": "Analytic Scattering Amplitudes for QCD: By analytically continuing QCD scattering amplitudes through specific\ncomplexified momenta, one can study and learn about the nature and the\nconsequences of factorization and unitarity. In some cases, when coupled with\nthe largest time equation and gauge invariance requirement, this approach leads\nto recursion relations, which greatly simplify the construction of multi-gluon\nscattering amplitudes. The setting for this discussion is in the space-cone\ngauge."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fluid-gravity correspondence in the scalar-tensor theory of gravity:\n  (in)equivalence of Einstein and Jordan frames: The duality of gravitational dynamics (projected on a null hypersurface) and\nof fluid dynamics is investigated for the scalar tensor (ST) theory of gravity.\nThe description of ST gravity, in both Einstein and Jordan frames, is analyzed\nfrom fluid-gravity viewpoint. In the Einstein frame the dynamical equation for\nthe metric leads to the Damour-Navier-Stokes (DNS) equation with an external\nforcing term, coming from the scalar field in ST gravity. In the Jordan frame\nthe situation is more subtle. We observe that finding the DNS equation in this\nframe can lead to two pictures. In one picture, the usual DNS equation is\nmodified by a Coriolis-like force term, which originates completely from the\npresence of a non-minimally coupled scalar field ($\\phi$) on the gravity side.\nMoreover, the identified fluid variables are no longer conformally equivalent\nwith those in the Einstein frame. However, this picture is consistent with the\nsaturation of Kovtun-Son-Starinets (KSS) bound. In the other picture, we find\nthe standard DNS equation (i.e. without the Coriolis-like force), with the\nfluid variables conformally equivalent with those in Einstein frame. But, the\nsecond picture, may not agree with the KSS bound for some values of $\\phi$. We\nconclude by rewriting the Raychaudhuri equation and the tidal force equation in\nterms of the relevant parameters to demonstrate how the expansion scalar and\nthe shear-tensor evolve in the spacetime. Although, the area law of entropy is\nbroken in ST gravity, we show that the rewritten form of Raychaudhuri's\nequation correctly results in the generalized second law of black hole\nthermodynamics.",
        "positive": "Lorentz and CPT Violating Chern-Simons Term in the Formulation of\n  Functional Integral: We show that in the functional integral formalism the (finite) coefficient of\nthe induced, Lorentz- and CPT-violating Chern-Simons term, arising from the\nLorentz- and CPT-violating fermion sector, is undetermined."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Real-Time dynamics and phase separation in a holographic first order\n  phase transition: We study the fully nonlinear time evolution of a holographic system\npossessing a first order phase transition. The initial state is chosen in the\nspinodal region of the phase diagram, and includes an inhomogeneous\nperturbation in one of the field theory directions. The final state of the time\nevolution shows a clear phase separation in the form of domain formation. The\nresults indicate the existence of a very rich class of inhomogeneous black hole\nsolutions.",
        "positive": "Aspects of warped braneworld models: We review various key issues in connection with the warped braneworld models\nwhich provide us with new insights and explanations of physical phenomena\nthrough interesting geometrical features of such extra dimensional theories.\nStarting from the original Randall-Sundrum two brane models, we have discussed\nthe stability, hierarchy and other important issues in connection with such\nbraneworld. The role of higher derivative terms in the bulk for modulus\nstabilization has been explained. Implications of the existence of various bulk\nfields have been discussed and it has been shown how a warped braneworld model\ncan explain the invisibility of all antisymmetric bulk tensor fields on our\nbrane. We have also generalised the model for more than one warped dimensions\nin the form of a multiply warped spacetime. It is shown that such model can\noffer an explanation to the mass hierarchy among the standard model fermions\nand the localization of fermions on the standard model brane with a definite\nchirality."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "SU(N) transitions in M-theory on Calabi-Yau fourfolds and background\n  fluxes: We study M-theory on a Calabi-Yau fourfold with a smooth surface $S$ of\n$A_{N-1}$ singularities. The resulting three-dimensional theory has a\n$\\mathcal{N}=2$ $SU(N)$ gauge theory sector, which we obtain from a twisted\ndimensional reduction of a seven-dimensional $\\mathcal{N}=1$ $SU(N)$ gauge\ntheory on the surface $S$. A variant of the Vafa-Witten equations governs the\nmoduli space of the gauge theory, which, for a trivial $SU(N)$ principal bundle\nover $S$, admits a Coulomb and a Higgs branch. In M-theory these two gauge\ntheory branches arise from a resolution and a deformation to smooth Calabi-Yau\nfourfolds, respectively. We find that the deformed Calabi-Yau fourfold\nassociated to the Higgs branch requires for consistency a non-trivial four-form\nbackground flux in M-theory. The flat directions of the flux-induced\nsuperpotential are in agreement with the gauge theory prediction for the moduli\nspace of the Higgs branch. We illustrate our findings with explicit examples\nthat realize the Coulomb and Higgs phase transition in Calabi-Yau fourfolds\nembedded in weighted projective spaces. We generalize and enlarge this class of\nexamples to Calabi-Yau fourfolds embedded in toric varieties with an $A_{N-1}$\nsingularity in codimension two.",
        "positive": "On 2D gauge theories in Jackiw-Teitelboim gravity: The low-energy behavior of near-extremal black holes can be understood from\nthe near-horizon AdS_2 region. In turn, this region is effectively described by\nusing Jackiw-Teitelboim gravity coupled to Yang-Mills theory through the\ntwo-dimensional metric and the dilaton field. We show that such a\ntwo-dimensional model of gravity coupled to gauge fields is soluble for an\narbitrary choice of gauge group and gauge couplings. Specifically, we determine\nthe partition function of the theory on two-dimensional surfaces of arbitrary\ngenus and with an arbitrary number of boundaries. When solely focusing on the\ncontribution from surfaces with disk topology, we show that the gravitational\ngauge theory is described by the Schwarzian theory coupled to a particle moving\non the gauge group manifold. When considering the contribution from all genera,\nwe show that the theory is described by a particular double-scaled matrix\nintegral, where the elements of the matrix are functions that map the gauge\ngroup manifold to complex or real numbers. Finally, we compute the expectation\nvalue of various diffeomorphism invariant observables in the gravitational\ngauge theory and find their exact boundary description."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Canonical and symplectic analysis for three dimensional gravity without\n  dynamics: In this paper a detailed Hamiltonian analysis of three-dimensional gravity\nwithout dynamics proposed by V. Hussain is performed. We report the complete\nstructure of the constraints and the Dirac brackets are explicitly computed. In\naddition, the Faddeev-Jackiw symplectic approach is developed; we report the\ncomplete set of Faddeev-Jackiw constraints and the generalized brackets, then\nwe show that the Dirac and the generalized Faddeev-Jackiw brackets coincide to\neach other. Finally, the similarities and advantages between Faddeev-Jackiw and\nDirac's formalism are briefly discussed.",
        "positive": "Persistent Superconductor Currents in Holographic Lattices: We consider a persistent superconductor current along the direction with no\ntranslational symmetry in a holographic gravity model. Incorporating a lattice\nstructure into the model, we numerically construct novel solutions of hairy\ncharged stationary black brane with momentum/rotation along the latticed\ndirection. The lattice structure prevents the horizon from rotating, and the\ntotal momentum is only carried by matter fields outside the black brane\nhorizon. This is consistent with the black hole rigidity theorem, and suggests\nthat in dual field theory with lattices, superconductor currents are made up by\n\"composite\" fields, rather than \"fractionalized\" degrees of freedom. We also\nshow that our solutions are consistent with the superfluid hydrodynamics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The interface of noncommutative geometry and physics: The progress of noncommutative geometry has been crucially influenced, from\nthe beginning, by quantum physics: we review this development in recent years.\nThe Standard Model, with its central role for the Dirac operator, led to\nseveral formulations culminating in the concept of a real spectral triple.\nString theory then came into contact with NCG, leading to an emphasis on\nMoyal-like algebras and formulations of quantum field theory on noncommutative\nspaces. Hopf algebras have yielded an unexpected link between the\nnoncommutative geometry of foliations and perturbative quantum field theory.\nThe quest for a suitable foundation of quantum gravity continues to promote\nfruitful ideas, among them the spectral action principle and the search for a\nbetter understanding of \"noncommutative spaces\".",
        "positive": "A One Loop Problem of the Matrix Big Bang Model: We compute the one-loop effective action of two D0-branes in the matrix model\nfor a cosmological background, and find vanishing static potential. However,\nthere is a non-vanishing $v^2$ term not predicted in a supergravity\ncalculation. This term is complex and signals an instability of the two\nD0-brane system, it may also indicate that the matrix model is incorrect."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Renormalization group improvement of the effective potential in massive\n  $\u03c6^4$ theory: Using the method of renormalization group, we improve the two-loop effective\npotential of the massive $\\phi^4$ theory to obtain the next-next-to-leading\nlogarithm correction in the $\\bar{MS}$ scheme. Our result well reproduces the\nnext-next-to-leading logarithm parts of the ordinary loop expansion result\nknown up to the four-loop order.",
        "positive": "F-theory Family Unification: We propose a new geometric mechanism for naturally realizing unparallel three\nfamilies of flavors in string theory, using the framework of F-theory. We\nconsider a set of coalesced local 7-branes of a particular Kodaira singularity\ntype and allow some of the branes to bend and separate from the rest, so that\nthey meet only at an intersection point. Such a local configuration can\npreserve supersymmetry. Its matter spectrum is investigated by studying string\njunctions near the intersection, and shown to coincide, after an orbifold\nprojection, with that of a supersymmetric coset sigma model whose target space\nis a homogeneous Kahler manifold associated with a corresponding painted Dynkin\ndiagram. In particular, if one starts from the E7 singularity, one obtains the\nE7/(SU(5)xU(1)^3) model yielding precisely three generations with an unparallel\nfamily structure. Possible applications to string phenomenology are also\ndiscussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Cosmological perturbations in $k$-essence model: Subhorizon approximation is often used in cosmological perturbation theory.\nIn this paper, however, it is shown that the subhorizon approximation is not\nalways a good approximation at least in case of $k$-essence model. We also show\nthat the sound speed given by $k$-essence model exerts a huge influence on the\ntime evolution of the matter density perturbation, and the future observations\ncould clarify the differences between the $\\Lambda$CDM model and $k$-essence\nmodel.",
        "positive": "Observable Quantum Loop Effects in the Sky: Expanding on [1], we analyze in detail the single field chaotic inflationary\nmodels plus a cosine modulation term, augmented by a light scalar field with\ninflaton dependent oscillatory mass term. We work out in detail the Feynman\ndiagrams and compute one, two and in general estimate higher loop two and three\npoint functions in the in-in formulation. We explicitly establish how the\noscillatory mass term can amplify one-loop effects to dominate over the tree as\nwell as the higher loop contributions. The power spectrum of curvature\nperturbations of this model is hence enhanced compared to the simple single\nfield chaotic model. As a consequence, one can suppress the tensor to scalar\nratio r and have a different expression for scalar spectral tilt and the\nrunning of the tilt, opening the way to reconcile chaotic models with convex\npotential and the Planck data. As in monodromy inflation models, we also have a\ncosine modulation in the spectral tilt. We also analyze the bispectrum, which\ncan be dominated by the amplified one-loop effects, yielding a new shape in\nnon-Gassuianty. We discuss the bounds on parameter space from all available CMB\nobservables and possible implications for reheating."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A supersymmetric holographic dual of a fractional topological insulator: We construct a supersymmetric generalization of the holographic dual of a\nfractional topological insulator found in \\cite{HoyosBadajoz:2010ac}. This is\naccomplished by introducing a nontrivial gauge field on the world volume of the\nprobe D7 brane. The BPS equations are derived from the $\\kappa$-symmetry\ntransformation of the probe brane. The BPS equations are shown to reduce to two\nfirst oder nonlinear partial differential equations. Solutions of the BPS\nequations correspond to a probe brane configuration which preserves four of the\nthirty-two supersymmetries of the $AdS_5\\times S^5$ background. Solutions of\nthe BPS equations which correspond to a holographic fractional topological\ninsulator are obtained numerically.",
        "positive": "Late-time correlation functions in dS$_3$/CFT$_2$ correspondence: We compute the late-time correlation functions on three-dimensional de Sitter\nspacetime for a higher-spin gravity theory. For this, we elaborate on the\nformulation to obtain the wave functional of universe from a dual conformal\nfield theory, which is used to compute the late-time correlation functions. We\nargue that the relation to direct bulk Feynman diagram computations in the\nin-in formulation. We furthermore provide a precise prescription to construct a\nhigher-spin dS$_3$ holography as an analytic continuation of\nGaberdiel-Gopakumar duality for AdS$_3$. Part of results here were already\nreported in an earlier letter. We explain the details of their derivations and\nextend the analysis to more generic cases in this paper. Previously, we have\nexamined two- and three-point functions and a simple four-point correlator at\nthe leading order in Newton constant. Here we also evaluate more complicated\nfour-point correlators. Finally, we study late-time correlators in an\nalternative limit of dS$_3$/CFT$_2$ with critical level coset, such as,\ntwo-point correlator on conical defect geometry. We also examine one-loop\ncorrections to two-point correlator on dS$_3$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Superconducting and Spinning Non-Abelian Flux Tubes: We find new non-Abelian flux tube solutions in a model of $N_f$ scalar fields\nin the fundamental representation of SU(N)xU(1) with $N \\leq N_f$ (the\n``extended non-Abelian Higgs model''), and study their main properties. Among\nthe solutions there are spinning strings as well as superconducting ones. The\nsolutions exist only in a non trivial domain of the parameter space defined by\nthe ratio between the SU(N) and U(1) coupling constants, the scalar\nself-interaction coupling constants, the magnetic fluxes (Abelian as well as\nnon-Abelian) and the ``twist parameter'' which is a non-trivial relative phase\nof the Higgs fields.",
        "positive": "Reduction of Toda Lattice Hierarchy to Generalized KdV Hierarchies and\n  Two-Matrix Model: Toda lattice hierarchy and the associated matrix formulation of the\n$2M$-boson KP hierarchies provide a framework for the Drinfeld-Sokolov\nreduction scheme realized through Hamiltonian action within the second KP\nPoisson bracket. By working with free currents, which abelianize the second KP\nHamiltonian structure, we are able to obtain an unified formalism for the\nreduced $SL(M+1,M-k)$-KdV hierarchies interpolating between the ordinary KP and\nKdV hierarchies. The corresponding Lax operators are given as superdeterminants\nof graded $SL (M+1,M-k)$ matrices in the diagonal gauge and we describe their\nbracket structure and field content. In particular, we provide explicit\nfree-field representations of the associated $W(M,M-k)$ Poisson bracket\nalgebras generalizing the familiar nonlinear $W_{M+1}$-algebra. Discrete\nB\\\"{a}cklund transformations for $SL(M+1,M-k)$-KdV are generated naturally from\nlattice translations in the underlying Toda-like hierarchy. As an application\nwe demonstrate the equivalence of the two-matrix string model to the $SL\n(M+1,1)$-KdV hierarchy."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Liouville Theory, AdS$_2$ String, and Three-Point Functions: This is a write-up of the lectures given in Young Researchers Integrability\nSchool 2017. The main goal is to explain the connection between the ODE/IM\ncorrespondence and the classical integrability of strings in AdS. As a warm up,\nwe first discuss the classical three-point function of the Liouville theory.\nThe starting point is the well-known fact that the classical solutions to the\nLiouville equation can be constructed by solving a Schrodinger-like\ndifferential equation. We then convert it into a set of functional equations\nusing a method similar to the ODE/IM correspondence. The classical three-point\nfunctions can be computed directly from these functional equations, and the\nresult matches with the classical limit of the celebrated DOZZ formula. We then\ndiscuss the semi-classical three-point function of strings in AdS2 and show\nthat one can apply a similar idea by making use of the classical integrability\nof the string sigma model on AdS2. The result is given in terms of the\n\"massive\" generalization of Gamma functions, which show up also in string\ntheory on pp-wave backgrounds and the twistorial generalization of topological\nstring.",
        "positive": "Hawking-like radiation as tunneling from the apparent horizon in a FRW\n  Universe: We study Hawking-like radiation in a Friedmann-Robertson-Walker (FRW)\nuniverse using the quasi-classical WKB/tunneling method which pictures this\nprocess as a \"tunneling\" of particles from behind the apparent horizon. The\ncorrect temperature of the Hawking-like radiation from the FRW spacetime is\nobtained using a canonical invariant tunneling amplitude. In contrast to the\nusual quantum mechanical WKB/tunneling problem where the tunneling amplitude\nhas only a spatial contribution, we find that the tunneling amplitude for FRW\nspacetime (i.e. the imaginary part of the action) has both spatial and temporal\ncontributions. In addition we study back reaction and energy conservation of\nthe radiated particles and find that the tunneling probability and change in\nentropy, ${\\cal S}$ are related by the relationship: $\\Gamma\\propto\\exp[-\\Delta\n{\\cal S}]$ which differs from the standard result $\\Gamma\\propto\\exp[\\Delta\n{\\cal S}]$. By regarding the whole FRW universe as an isolated adiabatic system\nthe change in the total entropy is zero. Then splitting the entropy between\ninterior and exterior parts of the horizon ($\\Delta {\\cal S}_{total}=\\Delta\n{\\cal S}_{int} + \\Delta {\\cal S}_{ext}=0$), we can explain the origin of the\nminus sign difference with the usual result: our $\\Delta {\\cal S}$ is for the\ninterior region while the standard result from black hole physics is for the\nexterior region."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Interactions in Intersecting Brane Models: We discuss tree level three and four point scattering amplitudes in type II\nstring models with matter fields localized at the intersections of D-brane\nwrapping cycles. Using conformal field theory techniques we calculate the four\nfermion amplitudes. These give \"contact\" interactions that can lead to flavour\nchanging effects. We show how in the field theory limit the amplitudes can be\ninterpreted as the exchange of Kaluza-Klein excitations, string oscillator\nstates and stretched heavy string modes.",
        "positive": "Dualities from dualities: the sequential deconfinement technique: It is an interesting question whether a given infra-red duality between\nquantum field theories can be explained in terms of other more elementary\ndualities. For example recently it has been shown that mirror dualities can be\nobtained by iterative applications of Seiberg-like dualities. In this paper we\ncontinue this line of investigation focusing on theories with tensor matter. In\nsuch cases one can apply the idea of deconfinement, which consists of trading\nthe tensor matter for extra gauge nodes by means of a suitable elementary\nduality. This gives an auxiliary dual frame which can then be manipulated with\nfurther dualizations, in an iterative procedure eventually yielding an\ninteresting dual description of the original theory. The sequential\ndeconfinement technique has avatars in different areas of mathematical physics,\nsuch as the study of hypergeometric and elliptic hypergeometric integral\nidentities or of $2d$ free field correlators. We discuss various examples in\nthe context $4d$ $\\mathcal{N}=1$ supersymmetric theories, which are related to\nelliptic hypergeometric integrals. These include a new self-duality involving a\nquiver theory which exhibits a non-trivial global symmetry enhancement to\n$E_6$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On 2d TQFTs whose values are holomorphic symplectic varieties: For simple and simply-connected complex algebraic group G, we conjecture the\nexistence of a functor eta_G from the category of 2-bordisms to the category of\nholomorphic symplectic varieties with Hamiltonian action, such that gluing of\nboundaries corresponds to the holomorphic symplectic quotient with respect to\nthe diagonal action of G. We describe various properties of eta_G obtained via\nstring-theoretic analysis. Mathematicians are urged to construct eta_G\nrigorously.",
        "positive": "Crystal Manyfold Universes in AdS Space: We derive crystal braneworld solutions, comprising of intersecting families\nof parallel $n+2$-branes in a $4+n$-dimensional $AdS$ space. Each family\nconsists of alternating positive and negative tension branes. In the simplest\ncase of exactly orthogonal families, there arise different crystals with\nunbroken 4D Poincare invariance on the intersections, where our world can\nreside. A crystal can be finite along some direction, either because that\ndirection is compact, or because it ends on a segment of $AdS$ bulk, or\ninfinite, where the branes continue forever. If the crystal is interlaced by\nconnected 3-branes directed both along the intersections and orthogonal to\nthem, it can be viewed as an example of a Manyfold universe proposed recently\nby Arkani-Hamed, Dimopoulos, Dvali and the author. There are new ways for\ngenerating hierarchies, since the bulk volume of the crystal and the lattice\nspacing affect the 4D Planck mass. The low energy physics is sensitive to the\nboundary conditions in the bulk, and has to satisfy the same constraints\ndiscussed in the Manyfold universe. Phenomenological considerations favor\neither finite crystals, or crystals which are infinite but have broken\ntranslational invariance in the bulk. The most distinctive signature of the\nbulk structure is that the bulk gravitons are Bloch waves, with a band\nspectrum, which we explicitly construct in the case of a 5-dimensional theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetric and Kappa-invariant Coincident D0-Branes: We propose a generic supersymmetric and kappa-invariant action for describing\ncoincident D0-branes with non-abelian matter fields on their worldline. The\naction is shown to be in agreement with the Matrix Theory limit of the\nND0-brane effective action.",
        "positive": "On loop corrections to integrable $2D$ sigma model backgrounds: We study regularization scheme dependence of $\\beta$-function for sigma\nmodels with two-dimensional target space. Working within four-loop\napproximation, we conjecture the scheme in which the $\\beta$-function retains\nonly two tensor structures up to certain terms containing $\\zeta_3$. Using this\nscheme, we provide explicit solutions to RG flow equation corresponding to\nYang-Baxter- and $\\lambda$-deformed $SU(2)/U(1)$ sigma models, for which these\nterms disappear."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Particles with anomalous magnetic moment in external e.m. fields: the\n  proper time formulation: In this paper we evaluate the expression for the Green function of a\npseudo-classical spinning particle interacting with constant electromagnetic\nexternal fields by taking into account the anomalous magnetic and electric\nmoments of the particle. The spin degrees of freedom are described in terms of\nGrassmann variables and the evolution operator is obtained through the\nFock-Schwinger proper time method.",
        "positive": "Grand Unified Brane World Scenario: We present a field theoretical model unifying grand unified theory (GUT) and\nbrane world scenario. As a concrete example, we consider $SU(5)$ GUT in 4+1\ndimensions where our 3+1 dimensional spacetime spontaneously arises on five\ndomain walls. A field-dependent gauge kinetic term is used to localize massless\nnon-Abelian gauge fields on the domain walls and to assure the charge\nuniversality of matter fields. We find the domain walls with the symmetry\nbreaking $SU(5)\\to SU(3)\\times SU(2)\\times U(1)$ as a global minimum and all\nthe undesirable moduli are stabilized with the mass scale of $M_{\\rm GUT}$.\nProfiles of massless Standard Model particles are determined as a consequence\nof wall dynamics. The proton decay can be exponentially suppressed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Geometry of Topological Defects of Two-dimensional Sigma Models: A topological defect separating a pair of two-dimensional CFTs is a\ncodimension one interface along which all components of the stress-energy\ntensor glue continuously. We study topological defects of the bosonic, (0,1)-\nand (0,2)-supersymmetric sigma models in two dimensions. We find a geometric\nclassification of such defects closely analogous to that of A-branes of\nsymplectic manifolds, with the role of symplectic form played instead by a\nneutral signature metric. Alternatively, we find a compact description in terms\nof a generalized metric on the product of the targets. In the (0,1) case, we\ndescribe the target space geometry of a bundle in which the fermions along the\ndefect take values. In the (0,2) case, we describe the defects as being\nsimultaneously A-branes and B-branes.",
        "positive": "Unitary Extension of Exotic Massive 3D Gravity from Bi-gravity: We obtain a new 3D gravity model from two copies of parity-odd\nEinstein-Cartan theories. Using Hamiltonian analysis, we demonstrate that the\nonly local degrees of freedom are two massive spin-2 modes. Unitarity of the\nmodel in anti-de Sitter and Minkowski backgrounds can be satisfied for vast\nchoices of the parameters without fine-tuning. The recent \"exotic massive 3D\ngravity\" model arises as a limiting case of the new model. We also show that\nthere exist trajectories on the parameter space of the new model which cross\nthe boundary between unitary and non-unitary regions. At the crossing point,\none massive graviton decouples resulting in a unitary model with just one bulk\ndegree of freedom but two positive central charges at odds with the usual\nexpectation that the critical model has at least one vanishing central charge.\nGiven the fact that a suitable non-relativistic version of bi-gravity has been\nused as an effective theory for gapped spin-2 fractional quantum Hall states,\nour model may have interesting applications in condensed matter physics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Higher spin wormholes from modular bootstrap: We investigate the connection between spacetime wormholes and ensemble\naveraging in the context of higher spin AdS$_3$/CFT$_2$. Using techniques from\nmodular bootstrap combined with some holographic inputs, we evaluate the\npartition function of a Euclidean wormhole in AdS$_3$ higher spin gravity. The\nfixed spin sectors of the dual CFT$_2$ exhibit features that starkly go beyond\nconventional random matrix ensembles: power-law ramps in the spectral form\nfactor and potentials with a double-well/crest underlying the level statistics.",
        "positive": "Open string fluctuations in AdS_5xS^5 and operators with large R-charge: A semiclassical string description is given for correlators of Wilson loops\nwith local operators in N=4 SYM theory in the regime when operators carry\nparametrically large R-charge. The OPE coefficients of the circular Wilson loop\nin chiral primary operators are computed to all orders in the alpha' expansion\nin AdS_5xS^5 string theory. The results agree with field-theory predictions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Effective string description of confining flux tubes: We review the current knowledge about the theoretical foundations of the\neffective string theory for confining flux tubes and the comparison of the\npredictions to pure gauge lattice data. A concise presentation of the effective\nstring theory is provided, incorporating recent developments. We summarize the\npredictions for the spectrum and the profile/width of the flux tube and their\ncomparison to lattice data. The review closes with a short summary of open\nquestions for future research.",
        "positive": "Nonanalyticity and On-Shell Factorization of Inflation Correlators at\n  All Loop Orders: The dynamics of quantum fields during cosmic inflation can be probed via\ntheir late-time boundary correlators. The analytic structure of these boundary\ncorrelators contains rich physical information of bulk dynamics, and is also\nclosely related to cosmological collider observables. In this work, we study a\nparticular type of nonanalytic behavior, called nonlocal signals, for inflation\ncorrelators with massive exchanges at arbitrary loop orders. We propose a\nsignal-detection algorithm to identify all possible sources of nonlocal signals\nin an arbitrary loop graph, and prove that the algorithm is exhaustive. We then\npresent several versions of the on-shell factorization theorem for the leading\nnonlocal signal in graphs with arbitrary number of loops, and provide the\nexplicit analytical expression for the leading nonlocal signal. We also\ngeneralize the nonlocal-signal cutting rule to arbitrary loop graphs. Finally,\nwe provide many explicit examples to demonstrate the use of our results,\nincluding an n-loop melon graph and a variety of 2-loop graphs."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Addition of Quantum Matrices: We introduce an addition law for the usual quantum matrices $A(R)$ by means\nof a coaddition $\\underline{\\Delta} t=t\\otimes 1+1\\otimes t$. It supplements\nthe usual comultiplication $\\Delta t=t\\otimes t$ and together they obey a\ncodistributivity condition. The coaddition does not form a usual Hopf algebra\nbut a braided one. The same remarks apply for rectangular $m\\times n$ quantum\nmatrices. As an application, we construct left-invariant vector fields on\n$A(R)$ and other quantum spaces. They close in the form of a braided Lie\nalgebra. As another application, the wave-functions in the lattice\napproximation of Kac-Moody algebras and other lattice fields can be added and\nfunctionally differentiated.",
        "positive": "Supersymmetric Black Holes: The effective action of $N=2$, $d=4$ supergravity is shown to acquire no\nquantum corrections in background metrics admitting super-covariantly constant\nspinors. In particular, these metrics include the Robinson-Bertotti metric\n(product of two 2-dimensional spaces of constant curvature) with all 8\nsupersymmetries unbroken. Another example is a set of arbitrary number of\nextreme Reissner-Nordstr\\\"om black holes. These black holes break 4 of 8\nsupersymmetries, leaving the other 4 unbroken.\n  We have found manifestly supersymmetric black holes, which are non-trivial\nsolutions of the flatness condition $\\cd^{2} = 0$ of the corresponding\n(shortened) superspace. Their bosonic part describes a set of extreme\nReissner-Nordstr\\\"om black holes. The super black hole solutions are exact even\nwhen all quantum supergravity corrections are taken into account."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spacetimes for \u03bb-deformations: We examine a recently proposed class of integrable deformations to\ntwo-dimensional conformal field theories. These {\\lambda}-deformations\ninterpolate between a WZW model and the non-Abelian T-dual of a Principal\nChiral Model on a group G or, between a G/H gauged WZW model and the\nnon-Abelian T-dual of the geometric coset G/H.\n  {\\lambda}-deformations have been conjectured to represent quantum group\nq-deformations for the case where the deformation parameter is a root of unity.\nIn this work we show how such deformations can be given an embedding as full\nstring backgrounds whose target spaces satisfy the equations of type-II\nsupergravity. One illustrative example is a deformation of the Sl(2,R)/U(1)\nblack-hole CFT. A further example interpolates between the $\\frac{SU(2)\\times\nSU(2)}{SU(2)}\\times\\frac{SL(2,R)\\times SL(2,R)}{SL(2,R)} \\times U(1)^4$ gauged\nWZW model and the non-Abelian T-dual of $AdS_3\\times S^3\\times T^4$ supported\nwith Ramond flux.",
        "positive": "Newton-Cartan (super)gravity as a non-relativistic limit: We define a procedure that, starting from a relativistic theory of\nsupergravity, leads to a consistent, non-relativistic version thereof. As a\nfirst application we use this limiting procedure to show how the Newton-Cartan\nformulation of non-relativistic gravity can be obtained from general\nrelativity. Then we apply it in a supersymmetric case and derive a novel,\nnon-relativistic, off-shell formulation of three-dimensional Newton-Cartan\nsupergravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Complexity in the presence of a boundary: The effects of a boundary on the circuit complexity are studied in two\ndimensional theories. The analysis is performed in the holographic realization\nof a conformal field theory with a boundary by employing different proposals\nfor the dual of the complexity, including the \"Complexity = Volume\" (CV) and\n\"Complexity = Action\" (CA) prescriptions, and in the harmonic chain with\nDirichlet boundary conditions. In all the cases considered except for CA, the\nboundary introduces a subleading logarithmic divergence in the expansion of the\ncomplexity as the UV cutoff vanishes. Holographic subregion complexity is also\nexplored in the CV case, finding that it can change discontinuously under\ncontinuous variations of the configuration of the subregion.",
        "positive": "The Barton Expansion and the Path Integral Approach in Thermal Field\n  Theory: It has been shown how on-shell forward scattering amplitudes (the ``Barton\nexpansion'') and quantum mechanical path integral (QMPI) can both be used to\ncompute temperature dependent effects in thermal field theory. We demonstrate\nthe equivalence of these two approaches and then apply the QMPI to compute the\nhigh temperature expansion for the four-point function in QED, obtaining\nresults consistent with those previously obtained from the Barton expansion."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Weakly coupled conformal manifolds in 4d: We classify ${\\cal N}=1$ gauge theories with simple gauge groups in four\ndimensions which possess a conformal manifold passing through weak coupling. A\nvery rich variety of models is found once one allows for arbitrary\nrepresentations under the gauge group. For each such model we detail the\ndimension of the conformal manifold, the conformal anomalies, and the global\nsymmetry preserved on a generic locus of the manifold. We also identify, at\nleast some, sub-loci of the conformal manifolds preserving more symmetry than\nthe generic locus. Several examples of applications of the classification are\ndiscussed. In particular we consider a conformal triality such that one of the\ntriality frames is a $USp(6)$ gauge theory with six fields in the two index\ntraceless antisymmetric representation. We discuss an IR dual of a conformal\n$Spin(5)$ gauge theory with two chiral superfields in the vector representation\nand one in the fourteen dimensional representation. Finally, an extension of\nthe conformal manifold of ${\\cal N}=2$ class ${\\cal S}$ theories by conformally\ngauging symmetries corresponding to maximal punctures with the addition of two\nadjoint chiral superfields is commented upon.",
        "positive": "A Note on Large N Thermal Free Energy in Supersymmetric Chern-Simons\n  Vector Models: We compute the exact effective action for \\cN=3 U(N)_k and \\cN=4,6\nU(N)_k\\times U(N')_{-k} Chern-Simons theories with minimal matter content in\nthe 't Hooft vector model limit under which N and k go to infinity holding N/k,\nN' fixed. We also extend this calculation to \\cN=4,6 mass deformed case. We\nshow those large N effective actions except mass-deformed \\cN=6 case precisely\nreduce to that of \\cN=2 U(N)_k Chern-Simons theory with one fundamental chiral\nfield up to overall multiple factor. By using this result we argue the thermal\nfree energy and self-duality of the \\cN=3,4,6 Chern-Simons theories including\nthe \\cN=4 mass term reduce to those of the \\cN=2 case under the limit."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Axial anomaly of QED in a strong magnetic field and noncommutative\n  anomaly: The Adler-Bell-Jackiw (ABJ) anomaly of a 3+1 dimensional QED is calculated in\nthe presence of a strong magnetic field. It is shown that in the regime with\nthe lowest Landau level (LLL) dominance a dimensional reduction from D=4 to D=2\ndimensions occurs in the longitudinal sector of the low energy effective field\ntheory. In the chiral limit, the resulting anomaly is therefore comparable with\nthe axial anomaly of a two dimensional massless Schwinger model. It is further\nshown that the U(1) axial anomaly of QED in a strong magnetic field is closely\nrelated to the ``nonplanar'' axial anomaly of a conventional noncommutative\nQED.",
        "positive": "Some Properties of the Calogero-Sutherland Model with Reflections: We prove that the Calogero-Sutherland Model with reflections (the BC_N model)\npossesses a property of duality relating the eigenfunctions of two Hamiltonians\nwith different coupling constants. We obtain a generating function for their\npolynomial eigenfunctions, the generalized Jacobi polynomials. The symmetry of\nthe wave-functions for certain particular cases (associated to the root systems\nof the classical Lie groups B_N, C_N and D_N) is also discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Superradiance in a ghost-free scalar theory: We study superradiance effect in the ghost-free theory. We consider a\nscattering of a ghost-free scalar massless field on a rotating cylinder. We\nassume that cylinder is thin and empty inside, so that its interaction with the\nfield is described by a delta-like potential. This potential besides the real\nfactor, describing its height, contains also imaginary part, responsible for\nthe absorption of the field. By calculating the scattering amplitude we\nobtained the amplification coefficient both in the local and non-local\n(ghost-free) models and demonstrated that in the both cases it is greater than\n1 when the standard superradiance condition is satisfied. We also demonstrated\nthat dependence of the amplification coefficient on the frequency of the scalar\nfield wave may be essentially modified in the non-local case.",
        "positive": "Microscopic Theory of Black Hole Superradiance: We study how black hole superradiance appears in string microscopic models of\nrotating black holes. In order to disentangle superradiance from\nfinite-temperature effects, we consider an extremal, rotating D1-D5-P black\nhole that has an ergosphere and is not supersymmetric. We explain how the\nmicroscopic dual accounts for the superradiant ergosphere of this black hole.\nThe bound 0< omega < m Omega_H on superradiant mode frequencies is argued to be\na consequence of Fermi-Dirac statistics for the spin-carrying degrees of\nfreedom in the dual CFT. We also compute the superradiant emission rates from\nboth sides of the correspondence, and show their agreement."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Space-Time Foam Effects on Particle Interactions and the GZK Cutoff: Modelling space-time foam using a non-critical Liouville-string model for the\nquantum fluctuations of D branes with recoil, we discuss the issues of momentum\nand energy conservation in particle propagation and interactions. We argue that\nmomentum should be conserved exactly during propagation and on the average\nduring interactions, but that energy is conserved only on the average during\npropagation and is in general not conserved during particle interactions,\nbecause of changes in the background metric. We discuss the possible\nmodification of the GZK cutoff on high-energy cosmic rays, in the light of this\nenergy non-conservation as well as the possible modification of the usual\nrelativistic momentum-energy relation.",
        "positive": "On the modular operator of mutli-component regions in chiral CFT: We introduce a new approach to find the Tomita-Takesaki modular flow for\nmulti-component regions in general chiral conformal field theory. Our method is\nbased on locality and analyticity of primary fields as well as the so-called\nKubo-Martin-Schwinger (KMS) condition. These features can be used to transform\nthe problem to a Riemann-Hilbert problem on a covering of the complex plane cut\nalong the regions, which is equivalent to an integral equation for the matrix\nelements of the modular Hamiltonian. Examples are considered."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Orbital Inflation: inflating along an angular isometry of field space: The simplicity of the CMB data, so well described by single-field inflation,\nraises the question whether there might be an equally simple multi-field\nrealization consistent with the observations. We explore the idea that an\napproximate 'angular' shift symmetry in field space (an isometry) protects the\ndynamics of coupled inflationary perturbations. This idea relates to the recent\nobservation that multi-field inflation mimics the predictions of single-field\ninflation, if the inflaton is efficiently and constantly coupled to a second\nmassless degree of freedom (the isocurvature perturbation). In multi-field\ninflation, the inflationary trajectory is in general not aligned with the\ngradient of the potential. As a corollary the potential does not reflect the\nsymmetries of perturbations. We propose a new method to reconstruct\nsimultaneously a two-field action and an inflationary trajectory which proceeds\nalong an `angular' direction of field space, with a constant radius of\ncurvature, and that has a controlled mass of `radial' isocurvature\nperturbations (entropy mass). We dub this `Orbital Inflation'. In this set-up\nthe Hubble parameter determines the behavior of both the background and the\nperturbations. First, Orbital Inflation provides a playground for quasi-single\nfield inflation. Second, the exquisite analytical control of these models\nallows us to exactly solve the phenomenology of Orbital Inflation with a small\nentropy mass and a small radius of curvature, a regime not previously explored.\nThe predictions are single-field-like, although the consistency relations are\nviolated. Moreover, the value of the entropy mass dictates how the inflationary\npredictions fan out in the ($n_s$, $r$) plane. Depending on the size of the\nself interactions of the isocurvature perturbations, the non-Gaussianity\nparameter $f_{NL}$ can range from slow-roll suppressed to $\\mathcal{O}(\\text{a\nfew})$.",
        "positive": "Deconfinement phase transition in a magnetic field in 2+1 dimensions\n  from holographic models: Using two different models from holographic quantum chromodynamics (QCD) we\nstudy the deconfinement phase transition in $2+1$ dimensions in the presence of\na magnetic field. Working in 2+1 dimensions lead us to {\\sl exact} solutions on\nthe magnetic field, in contrast with the case of 3+1 dimensions where the\nsolutions on the magnetic field are perturbative. As our main result we predict\na critical magnetic field $B_c$ where the deconfinement critical temperature\nvanishes. For weak fields meaning $B<B_c$ we find that the critical temperature\ndecreases with increasing magnetic field indicating an inverse magnetic\ncatalysis (IMC). On the other hand, for strong magnetic fields $B>B_c$ we find\nthat the critical temperature raises with growing field showing a magnetic\ncatalysis (MC). These results for IMC and MC are in agreement with the\nliterature."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Black hole energy extraction via stationary scalar clouds: We study scalar field configurations around Kerr black holes with a\ntime-independent energy-momentum tensor. These stationary `scalar clouds',\nconfined near the black hole (BH) by their own mass or a mirror at fixed\nradius, exist at the threshold for energy extraction via superradiance.\nMotivated by the electromagnetic Blandford-Znajek (BZ) mechanism, we explore\nwhether scalar clouds could serve as a proxy for the force-free magnetosphere\nin the BZ process. We find that a stationary energy-extracting scalar cloud\nsolution exists when the reflecting mirror is replaced by a semi-permeable\nsurface which allows the cloud to radiate some energy to infinity while\nmaintaining self-sustained superradiance. The radial energy flux displays the\nsame behaviour for rapidly rotating holes as magnetohydrodynamic simulations\npredict for the BZ mechanism.",
        "positive": "Hard Thermal Loops, Quark-Gluon Plasma Response, and T=0 Topology: I outline various derivations of the non-Abelian Kubo equation, which governs\nthe response of a quark-gluon plasma to hard thermal perturbations. In the\nstatic case, it is proven that gauge theories do not support hard thermal\nsolitons. Explicit solutions are constructed within an SU(2) Ansatz and they\nare shown to support the general result. The time-dependent problem, i.e.,\nnon-Abelian plasma waves, has not been completely solved. We express and\nmotivate the hope that the intimate relations linking the gauge-invariance\ncondition for hard thermal loops to the equation of motion for T=0, topological\nChern-Simons theory may yield new insight into this field."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "From the Komar Mass and Entropic Force Scenarios to the Einstein Field\n  Equations on the Ads Brane: By bearing the Komar's definition for the mass, together with the entropic\norigin of gravity in mind, we find the Einstein field equations in\n$(n+1$)-dimensional spacetime. Then, by reflecting the ($4+1$)-dimensional\nEinstein equations on the ($3+1$)-hypersurface, we get the Einstein equations\nonto the $3$-brane. The corresponding energy conditions are also addressed.\nSince the higher dimensional considerations modify the Einstein field equations\nin the ($3+1$)-dimensions and thus the energy-momentum tensor, we get a\nrelation for the Komar mass on the brane. In addition, the strongness of this\nrelation compared with existing definition for the Komar mass on the brane is\naddressed.",
        "positive": "Boost modes for a massive fermion field: We have shown that Wightman function of a free quantum field generates any\ncomplete set of solutions of relativistic wave equations. Using this approach\nwe have constructed the complete set of solutions to 2d Dirac equation\nconsisting of eigenfunctions of the generator of Lorentz rotations (boost\noperator). It is shown that at the surface of the light cone the boost modes\nfor a fermion field contain $\\delta$-function of a complex argument. Due to the\npresence of such singularity exclusion even of a single mode with an arbitrary\nvalue of the boost quantum number makes the set of boost modes incomplete."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Interaction and modular invariance of strings on curved manifolds: We review and present new results for a string moving on an $SU(1,1)$ group\nmanifold. We discuss two classes of theories which use discrete\nrepresentations. For these theories the representations forbidden by unitarity\ndecouple and, in addition, one can construct modular invariant partition\nfunctions. The partion functions do, however, contain divergencies due to the\ntime-like direction of the $SU(1,1)$ manifold. The two classes of theories have\nthe corresponding central charges $c=9,6,5,9/2,\\ldots$ and\n$c=9,15,21,27,\\ldots$. Subtracting two from the latter series of central\ncharges we get the Gervais-Neveu series $c-2=7,13,19,25$. This suggests a\nrelationship between the $SU(1,1)$ string and the Liouville theory, similar to\nthe one found in the $c=1$ string. Modular invariance is also demonstrated for\nthe principal continous representations. Furthermore, we present new results\nfor the Euclidean coset $SU(1,1)/U(1)$. The same two classes of theories will\nbe possible here and will have central charges $c=8,5,4,\\dots$ and\n$c=8,14,20,26,\\ldots$, where the latter class includes the critical 2d black\nhole. The partition functions for the coset theory are convergent.(Talk\npresented by S.H. at the 16'th Johns Hopkins' Workshop, G\\\"oteborg, Sweden,\nJune 8-10, 1992)",
        "positive": "Comments on the double cone wormhole: In this paper we revisit the double cone wormhole introduced by Saad, Shenker\nand Stanford (SSS), which was shown to reproduce the ramp in the spectral form\nfactor. As a first approximation we can say that this solution computes\n$\\textrm{Tr}[e^{-iKT}]$, a trace of the \"evolution\" operator that generates\nSchwarzschild time translations on the two sided wormhole geometry. This point\nof view leads to a simple way to compute the normalization factor of the\nwormhole. When we have bulk matter fields, SSS suggested using a modified\nevolution $\\tilde K$ which involves a slightly complex geometry, so that we are\nreally computing $\\textrm{Tr}[e^{-i\\tilde{K}T}]$. We argue that, for general\nblack holes, the spectrum of $\\tilde K$ is given by quasinormal mode\nfrequencies. We explain that this reproduces various features that were\npreviously predicted from the spectral form factor on hydrodynamics grounds. We\nalso give a general algebraic construction of the modified boost in terms of\noperators constructed from half sided modular inclusions. For the special case\nof JT gravity, we work out the backreaction of matter on the geometry of the\ndouble cone and find that it deforms the geometry in an undesirable direction.\nWe finally give some comments on the possible physical interpretation of\n$\\tilde K$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "(2+1) Dimensional Black Hole and (1+1) Dimensional Quantum Gravity: In the Chern-Simons gauge theory formulation of the spinning (2+1)\ndimensional black hole, we may treat the horizon and the spatial infinity as\nboundaries. We obtain the actions induced on both boundaries, applying the\nFaddeev and Shatashvili procedure. The action induced on the boundary of the\nhorizon is precisely the gauged $SL(2,R)/U(1)$ Wess-Zumino-Witten (WZW) model,\nwhich has been studied previously in connection with a Lorentz signature black\nhole in (1+1) dimensions. The action induced on the boundary of spatial\ninfinity is also found to be a gauged $SL(2,R)$ WZW model, which is equivalent\nto the Liouville model, the covariant action for the (1+1) dimensional quantum\ngravity. Thus, the (2+1) dimensional black hole is intimately related to the\nquantum gravity in (1+1) dimensions.",
        "positive": "Holographic duals of 3d S-fold CFTs: We construct non-geometric AdS$_4$ solutions of IIB string theory where the\nfields in overlapping patches are glued by elements of the S-duality group. We\nobtain them by suitable quotients of compact and non-compact geometric\nsolutions. The quotient procedure suggests CFT duals as quiver theories with\nlinks involving the so-called $T[U(N)]$ theory. We test the validity of the\nnon-geometric solutions (and of our proposed holographic duality) by computing\nthe three-sphere partition function $Z$ of the CFTs. A first class of solutions\nis obtained by an S-duality quotient of Janus-type non-compact solutions and is\ndual to 3d $\\mathcal{N}=4$ SCFTs; for these we manage to compute $Z$ of the\ndual CFT at finite $N$, and it agrees perfectly with the supergravity result in\nthe large $N$ limit. A second class has five-branes, it is obtained by a\nM\\\"obius-like S-quotient of ordinary compact solutions and is dual to 3d\n$\\mathcal{N}=3$ SCFTs. For these, $Z$ agrees with the supergravity result if\none chooses the limit carefully so that the effect of the fivebranes does not\nbackreact on the entire geometry. Other limits suggest the existence of IIA\nduals."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Graviton Propagator with a Non-Conserved External Generating Source: A novel general expression is obtained for the graviton propagator from\nLagrangian field theory by taking into account the necessary fact that in the\nfunctional differential approach of quantum field theory, in order to generate\nnon-linearities in gravitation and interactions with matter, the external\nsource $T_{\\mu\\nu}$, coupled to the gravitational field, should \\textit{a\npriori} not be conserved $\\partial^\\mu T_{\\mu\\nu}\\neq 0$, so variations with\nrespect to its ten components may be varied \\textit{independently}. The\nresulting propagator is the one which arises in the functional approach and\ndoes \\textit{not} coincide with the corresponding time-ordered product of two\nfields and it includes so-called Schwinger terms. The quantization is carried\nout in a gauge corresponding to physical states with two polarization states to\nensure positivity in quantum applications.",
        "positive": "Non-Equilibrium Dynamics of Phase Transitions: From the Early Universe\n  to Chiral Condensates: In this brief review we introduce the methods of quantum field theory out of\nequilibrium and study the non-equilibrium aspects of phase transitions.\nSpecifically we critically study the picture of the ``slow-roll'' phase\ntransition in the new inflationary models, we show that the instabilities that\nare the hallmark of the phase transition, that is the formation of correlated\ndomains, dramatically change this picture. We analyze in detail the dynamics of\nphase separation in strongly supercooled phase transitions in Minkowski space.\nWe argue that this is typically the situation in weakly coupled scalar\ntheories. The effective evolution equations for the expectation value and the\nfluctuations of an inflaton field in a FRW cosmology are derived both in the\nloop expansion and in a self-consistent non-perturbative scheme. Finally we use\nthese non-equilibrium techniques and concepts to study the influence of quantum\nand thermal fluctuations on the dynamics of a proposed mechanism for the\nformation of disoriented chiral condensates during a rapid phase transition out\nof equilibrium. This last topic may prove to be experimentally relevant at\npresent accelerator energies. To appear in the Proceedings of the `2nd.\nJourn\\'ee Cosmologie', Observatoire de Paris, 2-4, June 1994. H J de Vega and\nN. S\\'anchez, Editors, World Scientific."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Consistent inflationary cosmology from quadratic gravity with dynamical\n  torsion: The idea of gauge theories of gravity predicts that there should exist not\nonly the massless graviton but also massive particles carrying the\ngravitational force. We study the cosmology in a quadratic gravity with\ndynamical torsion where gravity may be interpreted as a gauge force associated\nwith the Poincar\\'{e} group. In addition to the massless spin-2 graviton, the\nmodel contains four non-ghost massive particle species: a couple of spin-0, a\nspin-1 and a spin-2. Supposing the restoration of the local Weyl invariance in\nthe UV limit and the parity invariance, we find the most general minisuperspace\naction describing a homogeneous and isotropic universe with a flat spatial\ngeometry. We then transform the minisuperspace action to a quasi-Einstein frame\nin which the field space is a hyperboloid and the field potential is a\ncombination of those of a Starobinsky-like inflation and a natural inflation.\nRemarkably, thanks to the multi-field dynamics, the Starobinsky-like\ninflationary trajectory can be realized even if the initial condition is away\nfrom the top of the Starobinsky-like potential. We also study linear tensor\nperturbations and find qualitatively different features than the Starobinsky\ninflation, spontaneous parity violation and mixing of the massless and massive\nspin-2 modes, which might reveal the underlying nature of gravity through\ninflationary observables.",
        "positive": "Managing $\u03b3_5$ in Dimensional Regularization II: the Trace with\n  more $\u03b3_5$: In the present paper we evaluate the anomaly for the abelian axial current in\na non abelian chiral gauge theory, by using dimensional regularization. This\namount to formulate a procedure for managing traces with more than one\n$\\gamma_5$. \\par The suggested procedure obeys Lorentz covariance and\ncyclicity, at variance with previous approaches (e.g. the celebrated 't Hooft\nand Veltman's where Lorentz is violated) \\par The result of the present paper\nis a further step forward in the program initiated by a previous work on the\ntraces involving a single $\\gamma_5$. The final goal is an unconstrained\ndefinition of $\\gamma_5$ in dimensional regularization. Here, in the evaluation\nof the anomaly, we profit of the axial current conservation equation, when\nradiative corrections are neglected. This kind of tool is not always exploited\nin field theories with $\\gamma_5$, e.g. in the use of dimensional\nregularization of infrared and collinear divergences."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-critical superstrings: a comparison between continuum and discrete\n  approaches: We review the relation between the matrix model and Liouville approaches to\ntwo-dimensional gravity as elaborated by Moore, Seiberg and Staudacher. Then,\nbased on the supersymmetric Liouville formulation and the discrete eigenvalue\nmodel proposed by Alvarez-Gaum\\'e, Itoyama, Ma\\~nes and Zadra, we extend the\nprevious relation to the supersymmetric case. The minisuperspace approximation\nfor the supersymmetric case is formulated, and the corresponding wave equation\nis found.",
        "positive": "Polyakov conjecture on the supertorus: We prove the Polyakov conjecture on the supertorus $(ST_2)$: we dermine an\niterative solution at any order of the superconformal Ward identity and we show\nthat this solution is resumed by the Wess-Zumino-Polyakov (WZP) action that\ndescribes the $(1,0)$ 2D-supergravity. The resolution of the superBeltrami\nequation for the Wess-Zumino (WZ) field is done by using on the one hand the\nCauchy kernel defined on $ST_2$ and on the other hand, the formalism developed\nto get the general solution on the supercomplex plane. Hence, we determine the\nn-points Green functions from the (WZP) action expressed in terms of the (WZ)\nfield."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Structure in Supersymmetric Yang-Mills Theory: We show that requiring sixteen supersymmetries in quantum mechanical gauge\ntheory implies the existence of a web of constrained interactions. Contrary to\nconventional wisdom, these constraints extend to arbitrary orders in the\nmomentum expansion.",
        "positive": "The screening Horndeski cosmologies: We present a systematic analysis of homogeneous and isotropic cosmologies in\na particular Horndeski model with Galileon shift symmetry, containing also a\n$\\Lambda$-term and a matter. The model, sometimes called Fab Five, admits a\nrich spectrum of solutions. Some of them describe the standard late time\ncosmological dynamic dominated by the $\\Lambda$-term and matter, while at the\nearly times the universe expands with a constant Hubble rate determined by the\nvalue of the scalar kinetic coupling. For other solutions the $\\Lambda$-term\nand matter are screened at all times but there are nevertheless the early and\nlate accelerating phases. The model also admits bounces, as well as peculiar\nsolutions describing \"the emergence of time\". Most of these solutions contain\nghosts in the scalar and tensor sectors. However, a careful analysis reveals\nthree different branches of ghost-free solutions, all showing a late time\nacceleration phase. We analyze the dynamical stability of these solutions and\nfind that all of them are stable in the future, since all their perturbations\nstay bounded at late times. However, they all turn out to be unstable in the\npast, as their perturbations grow violently when one approaches the initial\nspacetime singularity. We therefore conclude that the model has no viable\nsolutions describing the whole of the cosmological history, although it may\ndescribe the current acceleration phase. We also check that the flat space\nsolution is ghost-free in the model, but it may acquire ghost in more general\nversions of the Horndeski theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic baby universes: an observable story: We formulate the baby universe construction rigorously by giving a primordial\nrole to the algebra of observables of quantum gravity rather than the Hilbert\nspace. Utilizing diffeomorphism invariance, we study baby universe creation and\nannihilation via change in topology. We then construct the algebra of boundary\nobservables for holographic theories and show that it enhances to contain an\n'extra' Abelian tensor factor to describe the bulk in the quantum regime; via\nthe gravitational path integral we realize this extra tensor factor, at the\nlevel of the Hilbert space, in the context of the GNS representation. We\nreformulate the necessary assumptions for the \"baby universe hypothesis\" using\nthe GNS representation. When the baby universe hypothesis is satisfied, we\ndemonstrate that the \"miraculous cancellations\" in the corresponding\ngravitational path integral have a natural explanation in terms of the\ncharacter theory of Abelian $C^\\ast$-algebras. We find the necessary and\nsufficient mathematical condition for the baby universe hypothesis to hold, and\ntranscribe it into sufficient physical conditions. We find that they are\nincompatible with a baby universe formation that is influenced by any bulk\nprocess from the AdS/CFT correspondence. We illustrate our construction by\napplying it to two settings, which leads to a re-interpretion of some\ntopological models of gravity, and to draw an analogy with the topological\nvacua of gauge theory.",
        "positive": "Extra-Natural Inflation (De)constructed: Extra-natural inflation is (de)constructed. Explicit models are compared with\ncosmological observations. The models successfully achieve trans-Planckian\ninflaton field excursions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Tensionless Tales of Compactification: We study circle compactifications of tensionless bosonic string theory, both\nat the classical and the quantum level. The physical state condition for\ndifferent representations of BMS$_3$, the worldsheet residual gauge symmetry\nfor tensionless strings, admits three inequivalent quantum vacua. We obtain the\ncompactified mass spectrum in each of these vacua using canonical quantization\nand explicate their properties.",
        "positive": "Duality and hidden dimensions: Using a global superalgebra with 32 fermionic and 528 bosonic charges, many\nfeatures of p-brane dualities and hidden dimensions are discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Heavy quark potential with dynamical flavors: a first order transition: We study the static potential between external quark-antiquark pairs in a\nstrongly coupled gauge theory with a large number of colors and massive\ndynamical flavors, using a dual string description. When the constituent mass\nof the dynamical quarks is set below a certain critical value, we find a first\norder phase transition between a linear and a Coulomb-like regime. Above the\ncritical mass the two phases are smoothly connected. We also study the\ndependence on the theory parameters of the quark-antiquark separation at which\nthe static configuration decays into specific static-dynamical mesons.",
        "positive": "Holographic Complexity in Vaidya Spacetimes I: We examine holographic complexity in time-dependent Vaidya spacetimes with\nboth the complexity$=$volume (CV) and complexity$=$action (CA) proposals. We\nfocus on the evolution of the holographic complexity for a thin shell of null\nfluid, which collapses into empty AdS space and forms a (one-sided) black hole.\nIn order to apply the CA approach, we introduce an action principle for the\nnull fluid which sources the Vaidya geometries, and we carefully examine the\ncontribution of the null shell to the action. Further, we find that adding a\nparticular counterterm on the null boundaries of the Wheeler-DeWitt patch is\nessential if the gravitational action is to properly describe the complexity of\nthe boundary state. For both the CV proposal and the CA proposal (with the\nextra boundary counterterm), the late time limit of the growth rate of the\nholographic complexity for the one-sided black hole is precisely the same as\nthat found for an eternal black hole."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Schwinger Pair Production in Pulsed Electric Fields: We numerically investigate the temporal behavior and the structure of\nlongitudinal momentum spectrum and the field polarity effect on pair production\nin pulsed electric fields in scalar quantum electrodynamics (QED). Using the\nevolution operator expressed in terms of the particle and antiparticle\noperators, we find the exact quantum states under the influence of electric\npulses and measure the number of pairs of the Minkowski particle and\nantiparticle. The number of pairs, depending on the configuration of electric\npulses, exhibits rich structures in the longitudinal momentum spectrum and\nundergoes diverse dynamical behaviors at the onset of the interaction but\nalways either converges to a momentum-dependent constant or oscillates around a\nmomentum-dependent time average after the completion of fields.",
        "positive": "Generalized K\u00e4hler Geometry and current algebras in $SU(2)\\times U(1)$\n  N=2 superconformal WZW model: We examine the Generalized K$\\ddot{a}$hler Geometry of quantum N=2\nsuperconformal WZW model on $SU(2)\\times U(1)$ and relate the right-moving and\nleft-moving Kac-Moody superalgebra currents to the Generalized K$\\ddot{a}$hler\nGeometry data of the group manifold using Hamiltonian formalism."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Magnetic Monopoles, Bogomol'nyi Bound and SL(2,Z) Invariance in String\n  Theory: We show that in heterotic string theory compactified on a six dimensional\ntorus, the lower bound (Bogomol'nyi bound) on the dyon mass is invariant under\nthe SL(2,Z) transformation that interchanges strong and weak coupling limits of\nthe theory. Elementary string excitations are also shown to satisfy this lower\nbound. Finally, we identify specific monopole solutions that are related via\nthe strong-weak coupling duality transformation to some of the elementary\nparticles saturating the Bogomol'nyi bound, and these monopoles are shown to\nhave the same mass and degeneracy of states as the corresponding elementary\nparticles.",
        "positive": "A Cheap Alternative to the Lattice?: We show how to perform accurate, nonperturbative and controlled calculations\nin quantum field theory in d dimensions. We use the Truncated Conformal Space\nApproach (TCSA), a Hamiltonian method which exploits the conformal structure of\nthe UV fixed point. The theory is regulated in the IR by putting it on a sphere\nof a large finite radius. The QFT Hamiltonian is expressed as a matrix in the\nHilbert space of CFT states. After restricting ourselves to energies below a\ncertain UV cutoff, an approximation to the spectrum is obtained by numerical\ndiagonalization of the resulting finite-dimensional matrix. The cutoff\ndependence of the results can be computed and efficiently reduced via a\nrenormalization procedure. We work out the details of the method for the phi^4\ntheory in d dimensions with d not necessarily integer. A numerical analysis is\nthen performed for the specific case d = 2.5, a value chosen in the range where\nUV divergences are absent. By going from weak to intermediate to strong\ncoupling, we are able to observe the symmetry-preserving, symmetry-breaking,\nand conformal phases of the theory, and perform rough measurements of masses\nand critical exponents. As a byproduct of our investigations we find that both\nthe free and the interacting theories in non integral d are not unitary, which\nhowever does not seem to cause much effect at low energies."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Note on the Stability of Quantum Supermembranes: We re-examine the question of the stability of quantum supermembranes. In the\npast, the instability of supermembranes was established by using a regulator,\ni.e. approximating the membrane by SU(N) super Yang-Mills theory and letting $N\n\\rightarrow \\infty$. In this paper, we (a) show that the instability persists\neven if we directly examine the continuum theory (b) give heuristic arguments\nthat even a theory of unstable membranes at the Planck length may still be\ncompatible with experiment (c) resolve a certain puzzling discrepancy between\nearlier works on the stability of supermembranes. Presented at the 2nd\nInternational Sakharov Conference in Moscow, May 1996.",
        "positive": "Uniqueness theorem for charged rotating black holes in five-dimensional\n  minimal supergravity: We show a uniqueness theorem for charged rotating black holes in the bosonic\nsector of five-dimensional minimal supergravity. More precisely, under the\nassumptions of the existence of two commuting axial isometries and spherical\ntopology of horizon cross-sections, we prove that an asymptotically flat,\nstationary charged rotating black hole with finite temperature in\nfive-dimensional Einstein-Maxwell-Chern-Simons theory is uniquely characterized\nby the mass, charge, and two independent angular momenta and therefore is\ndescribed by the five-dimensional Cvetic-Youm solution with equal charges. We\nalso discuss a generalization of our uniqueness theorem for spherical black\nholes to the case of black rings."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "ADE Little String Theory on a Riemann Surface (and Triality): We initiate the study of (2,0) little string theory of ADE type using its\ndefinition in terms of IIB string compactified on an ADE singularity. As one\napplication, we derive a 5d ADE quiver gauge theory that describes the little\nstring compactified on a sphere with three full punctures, at low energies. As\na second application, we show the partition function of this theory equals the\n3-point conformal block of ADE Toda CFT, q-deformed. To establish this, we\ngeneralize the A_n triality of \\cite{AHS} to all ADE Lie algebras; IIB string\nperspective is crucial for this as well.",
        "positive": "Gravitational instantons and anomalous chiral symmetry breaking: We study anomalous chiral symmetry breaking in two-flavour QCD induced by\ngravitational and QCD-instantons within asymptotically safe gravity within the\nfunctional renormalisation group approach. Similarly to QCD-instantons,\ngravitational ones, associated to a K3-surface connected by a wormhole-like\nthroat in flat spacetime, generate contributions to the 't~Hooft coupling\nproportional to $\\exp(-1/g_N)$ with the dimensionless Newton coupling $g_N$.\nHence, in the asymptotically safe gravity scenario with a non-vanishing fixed\npoint coupling $g_N^*$, the induced 't Hooft coupling is finite at the Planck\nscale, and its size depends on the chosen UV-completion. Within this scenario\nthe gravitational effects on anomalous $U(1)_A$-breaking at the Planck scale\nmay survive at low energy scales. In turn, fermion masses of the order of the\nPlanck scale cannot be present. This constrains the allowed asymptotically safe\nUV-completion of the Gravity-QCD system. We map-out the parameter regime that\nis compatible with the existence of light fermions in the low-energy regime."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Noncommutative Kaluza-Klein Theory: Efforts have been made recently to reformulate traditional Kaluza-Klein\ntheory by using a generalized definition of a higher-dimensional extended\nspace-time. Both electromagnetism and gravity have been studied in this\ncontext. We review some of the models which have been proposed, with a special\neffort to keep the mathematical formalism to a very minimum.",
        "positive": "Cosmological density perturbations from conformal scalar field: infrared\n  properties and statistical anisotropy: We consider a scenario in which primordial scalar perturbations are generated\nwhen complex conformal scalar field rolls down its negative quartic potential.\nInitially, these are the perturbations of the phase of this field; they are\nconverted into the adiabatic perturbations at a later stage. A potentially\ndangerous feature of this scenario is the existence of perturbations in the\nradial field direction, which have red power spectrum. We show, however, that\nto the linear order in the small parameter - the quartic self-coupling - the\ninfrared effects are completely harmless, as they can be absorbed into field\nredefinition. We then evaluate the statistical anisotropy inherent in the model\ndue to the existence of the long-ranged radial perturbations. To the linear\norder in the quartic self-coupling the statistical anisotropy is free of the\ninfrared effects. The latter show up at the quadratic order in the\nself-coupling and result in the mild (logarithmic) enhancement of the\ncorresponding contribution to the statistical anisotropy. The resulting\nstatistical anisotropy is a combination of a larger term which, however, decays\nas momentum increases, and a smaller term which is independent of momentum."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Origin of the Pure Spinor and Green-Schwarz Formalisms: The pure spinor formalism for the superstring was recently obtained by\ngauge-fixing a purely bosonic classical action involving a twistor-like\nconstraint $\\partial x^m (\\gamma_m\\lambda)_\\alpha =0$ where $\\lambda^\\alpha$ is\na d=10 pure spinor. This twistor-like constraint replaces the usual Virasoro\nconstraint $\\partial x^m \\partial x_m =0$, and the Green-Schwarz fermionic\nspacetime spinor variables $\\theta^\\alpha$ arise as Faddeev-Popov ghosts for\nthis constraint.\n  In this paper, the purely bosonic classical action is simplified by replacing\nthe classical d=10 pure spinor $\\lambda^\\alpha$ with a d=10 projective pure\nspinor. The pure spinor and Green-Schwarz formalisms for the superparticle and\nsuperstring are then obtained as different gauge-fixings of this purely bosonic\nclassical action, and the Green-Schwarz kappa symmetry is directly related to\nthe pure spinor BRST symmetry. Since a d=10 projective pure spinor\nparameterizes ${{SO(10)}\\over{U(5)}}$, this action can be interpreted as a\nstandard $\\hat c=5$ topological action where one integrates over the\n${{SO(10)}\\over{U(5)}}$ choice of complex structure. Finally, a purely bosonic\naction for the d=11 supermembrane is proposed which reduces upon\ndouble-dimensional reduction to the purely bosonic action for the d=10 Type IIA\nsuperstring.",
        "positive": "Particle level screening of scalar forces in 1+1 dimensions: We investigate how non-linear scalar field theories respond to point sources.\nTaking the symmetron as a specific example of such a theory, we solve the\nnon-linear equation of motion in one spatial dimension for (i) an isolated\npoint source and (ii) two identical point sources with arbitrary separation. We\nfind that the mass of a single point source can be screened by the symmetron\nfield, provided that its mass is above a critical value. We find that two point\nsources behave as independent, isolated sources when the separation between\nthem is large, but, when their separation is smaller than the symmetron's\nCompton wavelength, they behave much like a single point source with the same\ntotal mass. Finally, we explore closely related behavior in a toy Higgs-Yukawa\nmodel, and find indications that the maximum fermion mass that can be generated\nconsistently via a Yukawa coupling to the Higgs in 1+1 dimensions is roughly\nthe mass of the Higgs itself, with potentially intriguing implications for the\nhierarchy problem."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A note on the two point function on the boundary of AdS spacetime: We calculate by a new way the two point function on the boundary of AdS\nspacetime in 1+2 dimensions for the massless conformal real scalar field. The\nresult agrees with the answer provided by the Boundary-limit Holography and\nWitten recipe. This is done in Poincar\\'{e} coordinates. The basic ingredients\nof this new method are conformal techniques, quantum fields defined on a half\nof Minkowski spacetime and a limit inspired by the Boundary-limit Holography.\nWe also show that a state in AdS, the global vacuum, in three dimensions\ninduces a state on the conformal boundary of AdS spacetime, which in turn\ninduces a state on the BTZ black hole. On the other hand the same state in AdS\ninduces a state on the BTZ black hole which in turn induces a state on its\nconformal boundary. The two ways of getting the state on the conformal boundary\nof the BTZ black hole coincide for the massless conformal real scalar field. We\npoint out that the normalizable modes in the AdS/CFT correspondence for the BTZ\nblack hole give a similar contribution as the non-normalizable modes used in\nthe Witten prescription. We also give some clues on why the Witten and the\nBoundary-limit Holography prescription coincide.",
        "positive": "Construction of a non-standard quantum field theory through a\n  generalized Heisenberg algebra: We construct a Heisenberg-like algebra for the one dimensional quantum free\nKlein-Gordon equation defined on the interval of the real line of length $L$.\nUsing the realization of the ladder operators of this type Heisenberg algebra\nin terms of physical operators we build a 3+1 dimensional free quantum field\ntheory based on this algebra. We introduce fields written in terms of the\nladder operators of this type Heisenberg algebra and a free quantum Hamiltonian\nin terms of these fields. The mass spectrum of the physical excitations of this\nquantum field theory are given by $\\sqrt{n^2 \\pi^2/L^2+m_q^2}$, where $n=\n1,2,...$ denotes the level of the particle with mass $m_q$ in an infinite\nsquare-well potential of width $L$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Universality of the Chern-Simons Diffusion Rate: We prove the universality of the Chern-Simons diffusion rate - a crucial\nobservable for the chiral magnetic effect - in a large class of planar strongly\ncorrelated gauge theories with dual string description. When the effects of\nanomalies are suppressed, the diffusion rate is simply given in terms of\ntemperature, entropy density and gauge coupling, with a universal numerical\ncoefficient. We show that this result holds, in fact, for all the top-down\nholographic models where the calculation has been performed in the past, even\nin presence of magnetic fields and anisotropy. We also extend the check to\nfurther well known models for which the same computation was lacking. Finally\nwe point out some subtleties related to the definition of the Chern-Simons\ndiffusion rate in the presence of anomalies. In this case, the usual definition\nof the rate - a late time limit of the imaginary part of the retarded\ncorrelator of the topological charge density - would give an exactly vanishing\nresult, due to its relation with a non-conserved charge correlator. We confirm\nthis observation by explicit holographic computations on generic isotropic\nblack hole backgrounds. Nevertheless, a non-trivial Chern-Simons relaxation\ntime can in principle be extracted from a quasi-normal mode calculation.",
        "positive": "Wavefunctions for a Class of Branes in Three-space: Wavefunctions are proposed for a class of Lagrangian branes in three\ncomplex-dimensional space. The branes are asymptotic to Legendrian surfaces of\ngenus g. The expansion of these wavefunctions in appropriate coordinates\nconjecturally encodes all-genus open Gromov-Witten invariants, i.e. the free\nenergy of the topological open string.\n  This paper is written in physics language, but tries to welcome\nmathematicians. Most results stem from joint mathematical works with Linhui\nShen and David Treumann."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic superconductors with Weyl corrections: A quick review on the analytical aspects of holographic superconductors (HSC)\nwith Weyl corrections has been presented. Mainly we focus on matching method\nand variations approaches. Different types of such HSC have been investigated,\ns-wave, p-wave and St\\'{u}ckelberg ones. We also review the fundamental\nconstruction of a p-wave type , in which the non-Abelian gauge field is coupled\nto the Weyl tensor. The results are compared from numerics to analytical\nresults.",
        "positive": "Exact analytic expressions of real tensor eigenvalue distributions of\n  Gaussian tensor model for small $N$: We obtain exact analytic expressions of real tensor eigenvalue/vector\ndistributions of real symmetric order-three tensors with Gaussian distributions\nfor $N\\leq 8$. This is achieved by explicitly computing the partition function\nof a zero-dimensional boson-fermion system with four-interactions. The\ndistributions are expressed by combinations of polynomial, exponential and\nerror functions as results of feasible complicated bosonic integrals which\nappear after fermionic integrations. By extrapolating the expressions and also\nusing a previous result, we guess a large-$N$ expression. The expressions are\ncompared with Monte Carlo simulations, and precise and good agreement are\nobtained with the exact and the large-$N$ expressions, respectively.\nUnderstanding the feasibility of the integration is left for future study,\nwhich would provide a general-$N$ analytic formula."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Generalized Uncertainty Principle and Quantum Gravity Phenomenology: In this article we examine a Generalized Uncertainty Principle which differs\nfrom the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle by terms linear and quadratic in\nparticle momenta, as proposed by the authors in an earlier paper. We show that\nthis affects all Hamiltonians, and in particular those which describe low\nenergy experiments. We discuss possible observational consequences. Further, we\nalso show that this indicates that space may be discrete at the fundamental\nlevel.",
        "positive": "Loop Equations in Abelian Gauge Theories: The equations obeyed by the vacuum expectation value of the Wilson loop of\nAbelian gauge theories are considered from the point of view of the loop-space.\nAn approximative scheme for studying these loop-equations for lattice Maxwell\ntheory is presented. The approximation leads to a partial difference equation\nin the area and length variables of the loop, and certain physically motivated\nansatz is seen to reproduce the mean field results from a geometrical\nperspective."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Eigenvalue instantons in the spectral form factor of random matrix model: We study the late time plateau behavior of the spectral form factor in the\nGaussian Unitary Ensemble (GUE) random matrix model. The time derivative of the\nspectral form factor in the plateau regime is not strictly zero, but non-zero\ndue to a non-perturbative correction in the $1/N$ expansion. We argue that such\na non-perturbative correction comes from the eigenvalue instanton of random\nmatrix model and we explicitly compute the instanton correction as a function\nof time.",
        "positive": "Looking At The Cosmological Constant From Infinite--Volume Bulk: I briefly review the arguments why the braneworld models with infinite-volume\nextra dimensions could solve the cosmological constant problem, evading\nWeinberg's no-go theorem. Then I discuss in detail the established properties\nof these models, as well as the features which should be studied further in\norder to conclude whether these models can truly solve the problem. This\narticle is dedicated to the memory of Ian Kogan."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Light-cone gauge Hamiltonian for AdS_4 x CP^3 superstring: It is developed the phase-space formulation for the Type IIA superstring on\nthe AdS_4 x CP^3 background in the kappa-symmetry light-cone gauge for which\nthe light-like directions are taken from the D=3 Minkowski boundary of AdS_4.\nAfter fixing bosonic light-cone gauge the superstring Hamiltonian is expressed\nas a function of the transverse physical variables and in the quadratic\napproximation corresponds to the light-cone gauge-fixed IIA superstring in flat\nspace.",
        "positive": "Quantum Phases of $4d$ $SU(N)$ $\\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM: It is argued that $4d$ $SU(N)$ $\\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM has an accumulation line\nof zero-temperature topologically ordered phases. Each of these phases\ncorresponds to $N$ bound states charged under electromagnetic\n$\\mathbb{Z}^{(1)}_N$ one-form symmetries. Each of the $N$ bound states is made\nof two Dyonic flux components each of them extended over a two dimensional\nsurface. They are localized at the fixed loci of a rotational action, and are\nargued to correspond to conformal blocks (or primaries) of an $SU(N)_1$ WZNW\nmodel on a two-torus."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Order 1/N^2 test of the Maldacena conjecture: Cancellation of the\n  one-loop Weyl anomaly: We test the Maldacena conjecture for type IIB String Theory/ N=4 Yang-Mills\nby calculating the one-loop corrections in the bulk theory to the Weyl anomaly\nof the boundary CFT when the latter is coupled to a Ricci-flat metric. The\ncontributions cancel within each supermultiplet, in agreement with the\nconjecture.",
        "positive": "Schwinger Effect in Near-extremal Charged Black Holes in High Dimensions: We study the Schwinger effect in near-extremal nonrotating black holes in an\narbitrary $D(\\geq 4)$-dimensional asymptotically flat and (A)dS space. Using\nthe near-horizon geometry $\\mathrm{AdS}_2 \\times \\mathrm{S}^{D-2}$ of\nnear-extremal black holes with Myers-Perry metric, we find a universal\nexpression of the emission formula for charges that is a multiplication of the\nSchwinger effects in an $\\mathrm{AdS}_2$ space and in a two-dimensional Rindler\nspace. The effective temperature of an accelerated charge for the Schwinger\neffect is determined by the radii of the effective $\\mathrm{AdS}_2$ space and\n$\\mathrm{S}^{D-2}$ as well as the mass, charge, angular momentum of the charge\nand the radius of the (A)dS space. The Schwinger effect in the asymptotically\nflat space is more efficient and persistent for a wide range of large black\nholes for dimensions higher than four. The AdS (dS) boundary enhances\n(suppresses) the Schwinger effect than the asymptotically flat space. The\nSchwinger effect persists for a wide range of black holes in the AdS space and\nhas an upper bound in the dS space."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exact results for corner contributions to the entanglement entropy and\n  Renyi entropies of free bosons and fermions in 3d: In the presence of a sharp corner in the boundary of the entanglement region,\nthe entanglement entropy (EE) and Renyi entropies for 3d CFTs have a\nlogarithmic term whose coefficient, the corner function, is scheme-independent.\nIn the limit where the corner becomes smooth, the corner function vanishes\nquadratically with coefficient $\\sigma$ for the EE and $\\sigma_n$ for the Renyi\nentropies. For a free real scalar and a free Dirac fermion, we evaluate\nanalytically the integral expressions of Casini, Huerta, and Leitao to derive\nexact results for $\\sigma$ and $\\sigma_n$ for all $n=2,3,\\dots$. The results\nfor $\\sigma$ agree with a recent universality conjecture of Bueno, Myers, and\nWitczak-Krempa that $\\sigma/C_T = \\pi^2/24$ in all 3d CFTs, where $C_T$ is the\ncentral charge. For the Renyi entropies, the ratios $\\sigma_n/C_T$ do not\nindicate similar universality. However, in the limit $n \\to \\infty$, the\nasymptotic values satisfy a simple relationship and equal $1/(4\\pi^2)$ times\nthe asymptotic values of the free energy of free scalars/fermions on the\n$n$-covered 3-sphere.",
        "positive": "Ward identity for loop level soft photon theorem for massless QED\n  coupled to gravity: Strominger and his collaborators pioneered the study of equivalence between\nsoft theorems and asymptotic conservation laws. We study this equivalence in\nthe context of loop level subleading soft photon theorem for massless scalar\nQED in presence of dynamical gravity. Motivated by Campiglia and Laddha\n\\cite{1903.09133}, we show that the Sahoo-Sen soft photon theorem\n\\cite{1808.03288} for loop amplitudes is equivalent to an asymptotic\nconservation law. This asymptotic charge is directly related to the dressing of\nfields due to long range forces exclusively present in four spacetime\ndimensions. In presence of gravity, the new feature is that soft photons also\nacquire a dressing due to long range gravitational force and this dressing\ncontributes to the asymptotic charge."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "State of a particle pair produced by the Schwinger effect is not\n  necessarily a maximally entangled Bell state: We analyze the spins of a Schwinger particle pair in a spatially uniform but\ntime dependent electric field. The particle pair's spins are in the maximally\nentangled Bell state only if the particles' momenta are parallel to the\nelectric field. However if transverse momentum is present, the spins are not in\nthe maximally entangled Bell state. The reason is that the pair is created by\nthe external field, which also carries angular momentum, and the particle pair\ncan take away some of this external angular momentum.",
        "positive": "Celestial Liouville Theory for Yang-Mills Amplitudes: We consider Yang-Mills theory with the coupling constant and theta angle\ndetermined by the vacuum expectation values of a dynamical (complex) dilaton\nfield. We discuss the tree-level N-gluon MHV scattering amplitudes in the\npresence of a nontrivial background dilaton field and construct the\ncorresponding celestial amplitudes by taking Mellin transforms with respect to\nthe lightcone energies. In this way, we obtain two-dimensional CFT correlators\nof primary fields on the celestial sphere. We show that the celestial\nYang-Mills amplitudes evaluated in the presence of a spherical dilaton\nshockwave are given by the correlation functions of primary field operators\nfactorized into the holomorphic current operators times the \"light\" Liouville\noperators. They are evaluated in the semiclassical limit of Liouville theory\n(the limit of infinite central charge) and are determined by the classical\nLiouville field describing metrics on the celestial sphere."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Vafa-Witten theorem and Lee-Yang singularities: We prove the analyticity of the finite volume QCD partition function for\ncomplex values of the theta-vacuum parameter. The absence of singularities\ndifferent from Lee-Yang zeros only permits ^ cusp singularities in the vacuum\nenergy density and never v cusps. This fact together with the Vafa-Witten\ndiamagnetic inequality implies the vanishing of the density of Lee-Yang zeros\nat theta=0 and has an important consequence: the absence of a first order phase\ntransition at theta=0. The result provides a key missing link in the\nVafa-Witten proof of parity symmetry conservation in vector-like gauge theories\nand follows from renormalizability, unitarity, positivity and existence of BPS\nbounds. Generalizations of this theorem to other physical systems are also\ndiscussed, with particular interest focused on the non-linear CPn sigma model.",
        "positive": "Laplacians on discrete and quantum geometries: We extend discrete calculus for arbitrary ($p$-form) fields on embedded\nlattices to abstract discrete geometries based on combinatorial complexes. We\nthen provide a general definition of discrete Laplacian using both the primal\ncellular complex and its combinatorial dual. The precise implementation of\ngeometric volume factors is not unique and, comparing the definition with a\ncircumcentric and a barycentric dual, we argue that the latter is, in general,\nmore appropriate because it induces a Laplacian with more desirable properties.\nWe give the expression of the discrete Laplacian in several different sets of\ngeometric variables, suitable for computations in different quantum gravity\nformalisms. Furthermore, we investigate the possibility of transforming from\nposition to momentum space for scalar fields, thus setting the stage for the\ncalculation of heat kernel and spectral dimension in discrete quantum\ngeometries."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Distillation of Hilbert Spaces, Semi-classics and Anomaly\n  Matching: A symmetry-twisted boundary condition of the path integral provides a\nsuitable framework for the semi-classical analysis of nonperturbative quantum\nfield theories (QFTs), and we reinterpret it from the viewpoint of the Hilbert\nspace. An appropriate twist with the unbroken symmetry can potentially produce\nhuge cancellations among excited states in the state-sum, without affecting the\nground states; we call this effect \"quantum distillation\". Quantum distillation\ncan provide the underlying mechanism for adiabatic continuity, by preventing a\nphase transition under $S^1$ compactification. We revisit this point via the 't\nHooft anomaly matching condition when it constrains the vacuum structure of the\ntheory on $\\mathbb{R}^d$ and upon compactification. We show that there is a\nprecise relation between the persistence of the anomaly upon compactification,\nthe Hilbert space quantum distillation, and the semi-classical analysis of the\ncorresponding symmetry-twisted path integrals. We motivate quantum distillation\nin quantum mechanical examples, and then study its non-trivial action in QFT,\nwith the example of the 2D Grassmannian sigma model $\\mathrm{Gr}(N,M)$. We also\ndiscuss the connection of quantum distillation with large-$N$ volume\nindependence and flavor-momentum transmutation.",
        "positive": "On strong coupling in nonrelativistic general covariant theory of\n  gravity: We study the strong coupling problem in the Horava-Melby-Thompson setup of\nthe Horava-Lifshitz gravity with an arbitrary coupling constant $\\lambda$,\ngeneralized recently by da Silva, where $\\lambda$ describes the deviation of\nthe theory in the infrared from general relativity that has $\\lambda_{GR} = 1$.\nWe find that a scalar field in the Minkowski background becomes strong coupling\nfor processes with energy higher than $\\Lambda_{\\omega} [\\equiv\n(M_{pl}/c_1)^{3/2} M_{pl}|\\lambda - 1|^{5/4}]$, where generically $c_1 \\ll\nM_{pl}$. However, this problem can be cured by introducing a new energy scale\n$M_{*}$, so that $M_{*} < \\Lambda_{\\omega}$, where $M_{*}$ denotes the\nsuppression energy of high order derivative terms of the theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Comments on Holographic Entanglement Entropy and RG Flows: Using holographic entanglement entropy for strip geometry, we construct a\ncandidate for a c-function in arbitrary dimensions. For holographic theories\ndual to Einstein gravity, this c-function is shown to decrease monotonically\nalong RG flows. A sufficient condition required for this monotonic flow is that\nthe stress tensor of the matter fields driving the holographic RG flow must\nsatisfy the null energy condition over the holographic surface used to\ncalculate the entanglement entropy. In the case where the bulk theory is\ndescribed by Gauss-Bonnet gravity, the latter condition alone is not sufficient\nto establish the monotonic flow of the c-function. We also observe that for\ncertain holographic RG flows, the entanglement entropy undergoes a 'phase\ntransition' as the size of the system grows and as a result, evolution of the\nc-function may exhibit a discontinuous drop.",
        "positive": "Trivializing and Orbifolding the Conifold's Base: The conifold is a cone over the space T^11, which is known to be\ntopologically S^2xS^3. The coordinates used in the literature describe a\nsphere-bundle which can be proven to be topologically trivializable. We provide\nan explicit trivialization of this bundle, with simultaneous global coordinates\nfor both spheres. Using this trivialization we are able to describe the\ntopology of the base of several infinite families of chiral and non-chiral\norbifolds of the conifold. We demonstrate that in each case the 2nd Betti\nnumber of the base matches the number of independent ranks in the dual quiver\ngauge theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Pulsating strings with mixed three-form flux: Circular strings pulsating in $AdS_3 \\times S^3 \\times T^4$ with mixed R-R\nand NS-NS three-form fluxes can be described by an integrable deformation of\nthe one-dimensional Neumann-Rosochatius mechanical model. In this article we\nfind a general class of pulsating solutions to this integrable system that can\nbe expressed in terms of elliptic functions. In the limit of strings moving in\n$AdS_{3}$ with pure NS-NS three-form flux, where the action reduces to the\n$SL(2,\\mathbb{R})$ WZW model, we find agreement with the analysis of the\nclassical solutions of the system performed using spectral flow by Maldacena\nand Ooguri. We use our elliptic solutions in $AdS_{3}$ to extend the dispersion\nrelation beyond the limit of pure NS-NS flux.",
        "positive": "General Covariance Constraints on Cosmological Correlators: We study the extent to which diffeomorphism invariance restricts the\nproperties of the primordial perturbations in single scalar field models. We\nderive a set of identities that constrain the connected correlators of the\ncosmological perturbations, as well as the one-particle-irreducible vertices of\nthe theory in any gauge. These identities are the analogues of Slavnov-Taylor\nidentities in gauge theories, and follow essentially from diffeomorphism\ninvariance alone. Yet because quantization requires diffeomorphism invariance\nto be broken, they not only reflect invariance under diffeomorphisms, but also\nhow the latter has been broken by gauge fixing terms. In order to not lose the\nsymmetry altogether, we cannot simply set some fields to zero, as is usually\ndone in cosmological perturbation theory, but need to decouple them smoothly\nand make sure that they do not contribute to cosmological correlators in the\ndecoupling limit. We use these identities to derive a set of consistency\nrelations between bispectra and power spectra of cosmological perturbations in\ndifferent gauges. Without additional assumptions, these consistency relations\njust seem to reflect the redundancy implied by diffeomorphisms. But when\ncombined with analyticity, in a formulation of the theory in which auxiliary\nfields have been integrated out, we recover novel and previously derived\nrelations that follow from invariance under both time and spatial\ndiffeomorphisms."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "An Orientifold from F Theory: The massless spectrum of an orientifold of the IIB string theory is computed\nand shown to be identical to F theory on the Calabi-Yau threefold with\n$h_{11}=51$ and $h_{21}=3$. Target space duality is also considered in this\nmodel.",
        "positive": "Vertex Operators for the Supermembrane and Background Field Matrix\n  Theory: We derive the vertex operators that are expected to govern the emission of\nthe massless d=11 supermultiplet from the supermembrane in the light cone\ngauge. Our results immediately imply the linear coupling of matrix theory to an\narbitrary supergravity background to all orders in anticommuting coordinates.\nFinally we address the definition of n-point tree level and one-loop scattering\namplitudes. The resulting 3-point tree level amplitudes turn out to agree with\nd=11 supergravity and are completely fixed by supersymmetry and the existence\nof a normalizable ground state."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Consistent actions for massive particles interacting with\n  electromagnetism and gravity: Consistent interactions with electromagnetism and gravity for mass $m$\nparticles of any spin are obtained. This is done by finding interactions which\npreserve the covariantized massive gauge symmetry present in recently\nconstructed massive particle actions. This gauge principle is sufficient for\nfinding consistent completions of minimal as well as non-minimal couplings of\nany type. For spins $s\\geq 3/2$, consistency requires infinitely many\ninteraction terms in the action, including arbitrarily high order derivatives\nof electromagnetic and gravitational curvatures, with correspondingly high\npowers of $1/m$. These interactions may be formally resummed and expressed in\nterms of non-local operators. The inherent non-locality is a manifestation of\nthe known causality problems present in interacting massive particles with spin\n$s\\geq 3/2$.",
        "positive": "QFT Entanglement Entropy, 2D Fermion and Gauge Fields: Entanglement and the R\\'enyi entropies for Dirac fermions on 2 dimensional\ntorus in the presence of chemical potential, current source, and topological\nWilson loop are unified in a single framework by exhausting all the ingredients\nof the electromagnetic vertex operators of $\\mathbb{Z}_n$ orbifold conformal\nfield theory. We employ different normalizations for different topological\nsectors to organize various topological phase transitions in the context of\nentanglement entropy. Pictorial representations for the topological transitions\nare given for the $n=2$ R\\'enyi entropy.\n  Our analytic computations reveal numerous novelties and provide resolutions\nfor existing issues. We have settled to provide non-singular entanglement\nentropies that are also continuous across the topological sectors.\nSurprisingly, in infinite space, these entropies become exact and depend only\non the Wilson loop. On a circle, we resolve to find the entropies subtly depend\non the chemical potential at zero temperature, which is useful for probing the\nground state energy levels of quantum systems."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "3d N=1 effective supergravity and F-theory from M-theory on fourfolds: We consider 3d N=1 M-theory compactifications on Calabi-Yau fourfolds, and\nthe effective 3d theory of light modes obtained by reduction from eleven\ndimensions. We study in detail the mass spectrum at the vacuum and, by\ndecoupling the massive multiplets, we derive the effective 3d N=1 theory in the\nlarge-volume limit up to quartic fermion terms. We show that in general it is\nan ungauged N=1 supergravity of the form expected from 3d supersymmetry. In\nparticular the massless bosonic fields consist of the volume modulus and the\naxions originating from the eleven-dimensional three-form, while the\nmoduli-space metric is locally isometric to hyperbolic space. We consider the\nF-theory interpretation of the 3d N=1 M-theory vacua in the light of the\nF-theory effective action approach. We show that these vacua generally have\nF-theory duals with circle fluxes, thus breaking 4d Poincar\\'e invariance.",
        "positive": "Non-uniqueness, Counterrotation, and Negative Horizon Mass of\n  Einstein-Maxwell-Chern-Simons Black Holes: Stationary black holes in 5-dimensional Einstein-Maxwell-Chern-Simons theory\npossess surprising properties. When considering the Chern-Simons coefficient\n$\\lambda$ as a parameter, two critical values of $\\lambda$ appear: the\nsupergravity value $\\lambda_{\\rm SG}=1$, and the value $\\lambda=2$. At\n$\\lambda=1$, supersymmetric black holes with vanishing horizon angular\nvelocity, but finite angular momentum exist. As $\\lambda$ increases beyond\n$\\lambda_{\\rm SG}$ a rotational instability arises, and counterrotating black\nholes appear, whose horizon rotates in the opposite sense to the angular\nmomentum. Thus supersymmetry is associated with the borderline between\nstability and instability. At $\\lambda=2$ rotating black holes with vanishing\nangular momentum emerge. Beyond $\\lambda=2$ black holes may possess a negative\nhorizon mass, while their total mass is positive. Charged rotating black holes\nwith vanishing gyromagnetic ratio appear, and black holes are no longer\nuniquely characterized by their global charges."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Closed universes in two dimensional gravity: We study closed universes in simple models of two dimensional gravity, such\nas Jackiw-Teiteilboim (JT) gravity coupled to matter, and a toy topological\nmodel that captures the key features of the former. We find there is a stark\ncontrast, as well as some connections, between the perturbative and\nnon-perturbative aspects of the theory. We find rich semi-classical physics.\nHowever, when non-perturbative effects are included there is a unique closed\nuniverse state in each theory. We discuss possible meanings and interpretations\nof this observation.",
        "positive": "Electromagnetic Force on a Brane: A fundamental assumption in the theory of brane world is that all matter and\nradiation are confined on the four-dimensional brane and only gravitons can\npropagate in the five-dimensional bulk spacetime. The brane world theory did\nnot provide an explanation for the existence of electromagnetic fields and the\norigin of the electromagnetic field equation. In this paper, we propose a model\nfor explaining the existence of electromagnetic fields on a brane and deriving\nthe electromagnetic field equation. Similar to the case in Kaluza-Klein theory,\nwe find that electromagnetic fields and the electromagnetic field equation can\nbe derived from the five-dimensional Einstein field equation. However, the\nderived electromagnetic field equation differs from the Maxwell equation by\ncontaining a term with the electromagnetic potential vector coupled to the\nspacetime curvature tensor. So it can be considered as generalization of the\nMaxwell equation in a curved spacetime. The gravitational field equation on the\nbrane is also derived with the stress-energy tensor for electromagnetic fields\nexplicitly included and the Weyl tensor term explicitly expressed with matter\nfields and their derivatives in the direction of the extra-dimension. The model\nproposed in the paper can be regarded as unification of electromagnetic and\ngravitational interactions in the framework of brane world theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spin Observables and Path Integrals: We discuss the formulation of spin observables associated to a\nnon-relativistic spinning particles in terms of grassmanian differential\noperators. We use as configuration space variables for the pseudo-classical\ndescription of this system the positions $x$ and a Grassmanian vector\n$\\vec\\epsilon$. We consider an explicit discretization procedure to obtain the\nquantum amplitudes as path integrals in this superspace. We compute the quantum\naction necessary for this description including an explicit expression for the\nboundary terms. Finally we shown how for simple examples, the path integral may\nbe performed in the semi-classical approximation, leading to the correct\nquantum propagator.",
        "positive": "Quantization of the tachyonic field: A consistent quantization scheme for imaginary-mass field is proposed. It is\nrelated to an appriopriate choice of the synchronization procedure (definition\nof time), which guarantee an absolute causality. In that formulation a possible\nexistence of field exctitations (tachyons) distinguish an inertial frame\n(tachyon privileged frame of reference) via spontaneous breaking of the so\ncalled synchronization group."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The joy of factorization at large $N$: five-dimensional indices and AdS\n  black holes: We discuss the large $N$ factorization properties of five-dimensional\nsupersymmetric partition functions for CFT with a holographic dual. We consider\npartition functions on manifolds of the form $\\mathcal{M}= \\mathcal{M}_3 \\times\nS^2_\\epsilon$, where $\\epsilon$ is an equivariant parameter for rotation. We\nshow that, when $\\mathcal{M}_3$ is a squashed three-sphere, the large $N$\npartition functions can be obtained by gluing elementary blocks associated with\nsimple physical quantities. The same is true for various observables of the\ntheories on $\\mathcal{M}_3=\\Sigma_\\mathfrak{g} \\times S^1$, where\n$\\Sigma_\\mathfrak{g}$ is a Riemann surface of genus $\\mathfrak{g}$, and, with a\nnatural assumption on the form of the saddle point, also for the partition\nfunction, corresponding to either the topologically twisted index or a mixed\none. This generalizes results in three and four dimensions and correctly\nreproduces the entropy of known black objects in AdS$_6 \\times_{w} S^4$ and\nAdS$_7\\times S^4$. We also provide the supersymmetric background and explicitly\nperform localization for the mixed index on $\\Sigma_\\mathfrak{g} \\times S^1\n\\times S^2_\\epsilon$, filling a gap in the literature.",
        "positive": "New Supersymmetric String Compactifications: We describe a new class of supersymmetric string compactifications to 4d\nMinkowski space. These solutions involve type II strings propagating on\n(orientifolds of) non Calabi-Yau spaces in the presence of background NS and RR\nfluxes. The simplest examples have descriptions as cosets, generalizing the\nthree-dimensional nilmanifold. They can also be thought of as twisted tori. We\nderive a formula for the (super)potential governing the light fields, which is\ngenerated by the fluxes and certain ``twists'' in the geometry. Detailed\nconsideration of an example also gives strong evidence that in some cases,\nthese exotic geometries are related by smooth transitions to standard\nCalabi-Yau or G2 compactifications of M-theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "3 Dimensional N=8 Supersymmetric Field Theory Revisited: Inspired by ideas regarding Hermitian NxN matrix fields obeying a\nnon-associative algebra, 3-dimensional N=8 SUSic field theories are proposed to\non-shell represent subalgebras of OSp(8|2) and OSp(8|4) groups of SUSY\ntransformations. They are theories of 8 scalar and 8 spinor fields with Yukawa,\nquartic and sextic self-interactions. The actions as their R-symmetry exhibit\nonly SO(7) or SO(4)xSO(4) subgroups of full SO(8) automorphisms. It is argued\nthat the number of degrees of freedom scale like N^{3/2}. There also exists an\nextra S_N permutation symmetry group.",
        "positive": "Exact Tachyon Condensation on Noncommutative Torus: We construct the exact noncommutative solutions on tori. This gives an exact\ndescription of tachyon condensation on bosonic D-branes, non-BPS D-branes and\nbrane-antibrane systems. We obtain various bound states of D-branes after the\ntachyon condensation. Our results show that these solutions can be generated by\napplying the gauge Morita equivalence between the constant curvature projective\nmodules. We argue that there is a general framework of the noncommutative\ngeometry based on the notion of Morita equivalence which underlies this\nspecific example."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Discrete spacetime symmetries and particle mixing in non-Hermitian\n  scalar quantum field theories: We discuss second quantization, discrete symmetry transformations and inner\nproducts in free non-Hermitian scalar quantum field theories with PT symmetry,\nfocusing on a prototype model of two complex scalar fields with anti-Hermitian\nmass mixing. Whereas the definition of the inner product is unique for theories\ndescribed by Hermitian Hamiltonians, its formulation is not unique for\nnon-Hermitian Hamiltonians. Energy eigenstates are not orthogonal with respect\nto the conventional Dirac inner product, so we must consider additional\ndiscrete transformations to define a positive-definite norm. We clarify the\nrelationship between canonical-conjugate operators and introduce the additional\ndiscrete symmetry C', previously introduced for quantum-mechanical systems, and\nshow that the C'PT inner product does yield a positive-definite norm, and hence\nis appropriate for defining the Fock space in non-Hermitian models with PT\nsymmetry in terms of energy eigenstates. We also discuss similarity\ntransformations between PT-symmetric non-Hermitian scalar quantum field\ntheories and Hermitian theories, showing that they would require modification\nin the presence of interactions. As an illustration of our discussion, we\ncompare particle mixing in a Hermitian theory and in the corresponding\nnon-Hermitian model with PT symmetry, showing how the latter maintains\nunitarity and exhibits mixing between scalar and pseudoscalar bosons.",
        "positive": "Using nanokelvin quantum thermometry to detect timelike Unruh effect in\n  a Bose-Einstein condensate: It is found that the Unruh effect can not only arise out of the entanglement\nbetween two sets of modes spanning the left and right Rindler wedges, but also\nbetween modes spanning the future and past light cones. Furthermore, an\ninertial Unruh-DeWitt detector along a spacetime trajectory in one of these\ncones may exhibit the same thermal response to the vacuum as that of an\naccelerated detector confined in the Rindler wedge. This feature thus could be\nan alternative candidate to verify the ``Unruh effect\", termed as the timelike\nUnruh effect correspondingly. In this paper we propose to detect the timelike\nUnruh effect by using an impurity immersed in a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC).\nThe impurity acts as the detector which interacts with the density fluctuations\nin the condensate, working as an effective quantum field. Following the\nparadigm of the emerging field of quantum thermometry, we combine quantum\nparameter estimation theory with the theory of open quantum systems to realize\na nondemolition Unruh temperature measurement in the nanokelvin (nK) regime.\nOur results demonstrate that the timelike Unruh effect can be probed using a\nstationary two-level impurity with time-dependent energy gap immersed in a BEC\nwithin current technologies."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Kac-Moody Extensions of 3-Algebras and M2-branes: We study the 3-algebraic structure involved in the recently shown M2-branes\nworldvolume gauge theories. We first extend an arbitrary finite dimensional\n3-algebra into an infinite dimensional 3-algebra by adding a mode number to\neach generator. A unique central charge in the algebra of gauge transformations\nappears naturally in this extension. We present an infinite dimensional\nextended 3-algebra with a general metric and also a different extension with a\nLorentzian metric. We then study ordinary finite dimensional 3-algebras with\ndifferent signatures of the metric, focusing on the cases with a negative\neigenvalue and the cases with a zero eigenvalue. In the latter cases we present\na new algebra, whose corresponding theory is a decoupled abelian gauge theory\ntogether with a free theory with global gauge symmetry, and there is no\nnegative kinetic term from this algebra.",
        "positive": "Decomposing Instantons in Two Dimensions: We study BPS string-like solutions in the 3+1 dimensional gauged CP(1)\nnon-linear sigma model. The same analysis can be applied to study instantons in\n2 euclidean dimensions. We use the moduli matrix approach to construct\nanalytically the moduli space and and solve numerically the BPS equations. We\nidentify two topologically inequivalent type of magnetic vortices, which we\ncall S and N vortices. Moreover we discuss their relation to \"lump-string\"\nsolutions present in the un-gauged case. In particular, we describe how a lump\nis split into a couple of component S-N vortices after gauging. We extend this\nanalysis to the case of the extended Abelian Higgs model with two flavors,\nwhich is known to admit semi-local vortices. When we gauge the relative phase\nbetween fields, semi-local vortices are also split into component vortices. We\ndiscuss interesting applications of this simple set-up. First, gauging of\nnon-linear sigma models reveals a \"partonic\" nature of instantons in 1+1\ndimensions, an idea long studied also in connection with four dimensional\ninstantons. Second, weak gauging provides for an interesting regularization of\nthe metric of semi-local vortices which preserves supersymmetry and does not\nlift the moduli space of the string."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Expansion of tree amplitudes for EM and other theories: The expansions of tree-level amplitudes for one theory into amplitudes for\nanother theory, which have been studied in various recent literatures, exhibit\nhidden connections between different theories that are invisible in traditional\nLagrangian formulism of quantum field theory. In this paper, the general\nexpansion of tree EM (Einstein-Maxwell) amplitudes into KK basis of tree YM\n(Yang-Mills) amplitudes have been derived by applying the method based on\ndifferential operators. The obtained coefficients are shared by the expansion\nof tree $\\phi^4$ amplitudes into tree BS (bi-adjoint scalar) amplitudes, the\nexpansion of tree sYMS (special Yang-Mills-scalar) amplitudes into tree BS\namplitudes, as well the expansion of tree DBI (Dirac-Born-Infeld) amplitudes\ninto tree special extended DBI amplitudes.",
        "positive": "The Mass Operator in the Light-Cone Representation: I argue that for the case of fermions with nonzero bare mass there is a term\nin the matter density operator in the light-cone representation which has been\nomitted from previous calculations. The new term provides agreement with\nprevious results in the equal-time representation for mass perturbation theory\nin the massive Schwinger model. For the DLCQ case the physics of the new term\ncan be represented by an effective operator which acts in the DLCQ subspace,\nbut the form of the term might be hard to guess and I do not know how to\ndetermine its coefficient from symmetry considerations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Two-field K\u00e4hler moduli inflation on large volume moduli stabilization: In this paper we present a two-field inflation model, which distinguishes\nitself with a non-canonical kinetic lagrangian and comes from the large volume\napproach to the moduli stabilization in flux compactification of type IIB\nsuperstring on a Calabi-Yau orientifold of $h^{(1,2)} > h^{(1,1)}\\geq 4$. The\nK\\\"ahler moduli are classified as volume modulus, heavy moduli and two light\nmoduli. The axion-dilaton, complex structure moduli and all heavy K\\\"ahler\nmoduli including the volume modulus are frozen by nonperturbatively corrected\nflux superpotential and the $\\alpha^\\prime$-corrected K\\\"ahler potential in the\nlarge volume limit. The minimum of the scalar potential at which the heavy\nmoduli are stabilized provides the dominant potential energy for the survived\nlight K\\\"ahler moduli. We consider a simplified case where the axionic\ncomponents in the light K\\\"ahler moduli are further stabilized at the potential\nminimum and only the geometrical components are taken as the scalar fields to\ndrive an assisted-like inflation. For a certain range of moduli stabilization\nparameters and inflation initial conditions, we obtain a nearly flat power\nspectrum of the curvature perturbation, with $n_s\\approx 0.96$ at Hubble-exit,\nand an inflationary energy scale of $3 \\times 10^{14}$ GeV. In our model,\nsignificant correlation exists between the curvature and isocurvature\nperturbations on super-Hubble scales so that at the end of inflation a great\ndeal of the curvature power spectrum originates from this correlation.",
        "positive": "Supersymmetric webs of D3/D5-branes in supergravity: We study webs of D3- and D5-branes in type IIB supergravity. These webs\npreserve at least 8 supercharges. By solving the Killing spinor equations we\ndetermine the form of supergravity solutions for the system. We then turn to\nthe sub-class of the intersecting D3/D5 brane system and elucidate some of its\nfeatures."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Field-Dependent BRST-antiBRST Lagrangian Transformations: We continue our study of finite BRST-antiBRST transformations for general\ngauge theories in Lagrangian formalism, initiated in [arXiv:1405.0790[hep-th]\nand arXiv:1406.0179[hep-th]], with a doublet $\\lambda_{a}$, $a=1,2$, of\nanticommuting Grassmann parameters and prove the correctness of the explicit\nJacobian in the partition function announced in [arXiv:1406.0179[hep-th]],\nwhich corresponds to a change of variables with functionally-dependent\nparameters $\\lambda_{a}=U_{a}\\Lambda$ induced by a finite Bosonic functional\n$\\Lambda(\\phi,\\pi,\\lambda)$ and by the anticommuting generators $U_{a}$ of\nBRST-antiBRST transformations in the space of fields $\\phi$ and auxiliary\nvariables $\\pi^{a},\\lambda$. We obtain a Ward identity depending on the\nfield-dependent parameters $\\lambda_{a}$ and study the problem of gauge\ndependence, including the case of Yang--Mills theories. We examine a\nformulation with BRST-antiBRST symmetry breaking terms, additively introduced\nto the quantum action constructed by the Sp(2)-covariant Lagrangian rules,\nobtain the Ward identity and investigate the gauge-independence of the\ncorresponding generating functional of Green's functions. A formulation with\nBRST symmetry breaking terms is developed. It is argued that the gauge\nindependence of the above generating functionals is fulfilled in the BRST and\nBRST-antiBRST settings. These concepts are applied to the average effective\naction in Yang--Mills theories within the functional renormalization group\napproach.",
        "positive": "Argyres-Douglas matter and S-duality: Part II: We study S-duality of Argyres-Douglas theories obtained by compactification\nof 6d (2,0) theories of ADE type on a sphere with irregular punctures. The\nweakly coupled descriptions are given by the degeneration limit of auxiliary\nRiemann sphere with marked points, among which three punctured sphere\nrepresents isolated superconformal theories. We also discuss twisted irregular\npunctures and their S-duality."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Form Factors of Relevant Operators and their Cluster Property: We compute the Form Factors of the relevant scaling operators in a class of\nintegrable models without internal symmetries by exploiting their cluster\nproperties. Their identification is established by computing the corresponding\nanomalous dimensions by means of Delfino--Simonetti--Cardy sum--rule and\nfurther confirmed by comparing some universal ratios of the nearby\nnon--integrable quantum field theories with their independent numerical\ndetermination.",
        "positive": "M-theory resolution of four-dimensional cosmological singularities via\n  U-duality: We consider cosmological solutions of string and M-theory compactified to\nfour dimensions by giving a general prescription to construct four-dimensional\nmodular cosmologies with two commuting Killing vectors from vacuum solutions.\nBy lifting these solutions to higher dimensions we analyze the existence of\ncosmological singularities and find that, in the case of non-closed\nFriedmann-Robertson-Walker universes, singularities can be removed from the\nhigher-dimensional model when only one of the extra dimensions is time-varying.\nBy studying the moduli space of compactifications of M-theory resulting in\nhomogeneous cosmologies in four dimensions we show that U-duality\ntransformations map singular cosmologies into non-singular ones."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Underlying gauge symmetries of second-class constraints systems: Gauge-invariant systems in unconstrained configuration and phase spaces,\nequivalent to second-class constraints systems upon a gauge-fixing, are\ndiscussed. A mathematical pendulum on an $n-1$-dimensional sphere $S^{n-1}$ as\nan example of a mechanical second-class constraints system and the O(n)\nnon-linear sigma model as an example of a field theory under second-class\nconstraints are discussed in details and quantized using the existence of\nunderlying dilatation gauge symmetry and by solving the constraint equations\nexplicitly. The underlying gauge symmetries involve, in general, velocity\ndependent gauge transformations and new auxiliary variables in extended\nconfiguration space. Systems under second-class holonomic constraints have\ngauge-invariant counterparts within original configuration and phase spaces.\nThe Dirac's supplementary conditions for wave functions of first-class\nconstraints systems are formulated in terms of the Wigner functions which\nadmit, as we show, a broad set of physically equivalent supplementary\nconditions. Their concrete form depends on the manner the Wigner functions are\nextrapolated from the constraint submanifolds into the whole phase space.",
        "positive": "Brane Induced Gravity, its Ghost and the Cosmological Constant Problem: \"Brane Induced Gravity\" is regarded as a promising framework for addressing\nthe cosmological constant problem, but it also suffers from a ghost instability\nfor parameter values that make it phenomenologically viable. We carry out a\ndetailed analysis of codimension > 2 models employing gauge invariant variables\nin a flat background approximation. It is argued that using instead a curved\nbackground sourced by the brane would not resolve the ghost issue, unless a\nvery specific condition is satisfied (if satisfiable at all). As for other\nproperties of the model, from an explicit analysis of the 4-dimensional\ngraviton propagator we extract a mass, a decay width and a momentum dependent\nmodification of the gravitational coupling for the spin 2 mode. In the flat\nspace approximation, the mass of the problematic spin 0 ghost is instrumental\nin filtering out a brane cosmological constant. The mass replaces a background\ncurvature that would have had the same function. The optical theorem is used to\ndemonstrate the suppression of graviton leakage into the uncompactified bulk.\nThen, we derive the 4-dimensional effective action for gravity and show that\ngeneral covariance is spontaneously broken by the bulk-brane setup. This\nprovides a natural realization of the gravitational Higgs mechanism. We also\nshow that the addition of extrinsic curvature dependent terms has no bearing on\nlinearized brane gravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fixing the Dilaton with Asymptotically Expensive Physics?: We propose a general mechanism for stabilizing the dilaton against runaway to\nweak coupling. The method is based on features of the effective superpotential\nwhich arise for supersymmetric gauge theories which are not asymptotically\nfree. Consideration of the 2PI effective action for bilinear operators of\nmatter and gauge superfields allows one to overcome the obstacles to\nconstructing a nonvanishing superpotential.",
        "positive": "Modular bootstrap for D4-D2-D0 indices on compact Calabi-Yau threefolds: We investigate the modularity constraints on the generating series\n$h_r(\\tau)$ of BPS indices counting D4-D2-D0 bound states with fixed D4-brane\ncharge $r$ in type IIA string theory compactified on complete intersection\nCalabi-Yau threefolds with $b_2 = 1$. For unit D4-brane, $h_1$ transforms as a\n(vector-valued) modular form under the action of $SL(2,Z)$ and thus is\ncompletely determined by its polar terms. We propose an Ansatz for these terms\nin terms of rank 1 Donaldson-Thomas invariants, which incorporates\ncontributions from a single D6-anti-D6 pair. Using an explicit overcomplete\nbasis of the relevant space of weakly holomorphic modular forms (valid for any\n$r$), we find that for 10 of the 13 allowed threefolds, the Ansatz leads to a\nsolution for $h_1$ with integer Fourier coefficients, thereby predicting an\ninfinite series of DT invariants.For $r > 1$, $h_r$ is mock modular and\ndetermined by its polar part together with its shadow. Restricting to $r = 2$,\nwe use the generating series of Hurwitz class numbers to construct a series\n$h^{an}_2$ with exactly the same modular anomaly as $h_2$, so that the\ndifference $h_{2}-h^{an}_2$ is an ordinary modular form fixed by its polar\nterms. For lack of a satisfactory Ansatz, we leave the determination of these\npolar terms as an open problem."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "S-matrix for magnons in the D1-D5 system: We show that integrability and symmetries of the near horizon geometry of the\nD1-D5 system determine the S-matrix for the scattering of magnons with\npolarizations in AdS3 $\\times$ S3 completely up to a phase. Using\nsemi-classical methods we evaluate the phase to the leading and to the one-loop\napproximation in the strong coupling expansion. We then show that the phase\nobeys the unitarity constraint implied by the crossing relations to the\none-loop order. We also verify that the dispersion relation obeyed by these\nmagnons is one-loop exact at strong coupling which is consistent with their BPS\nnature.",
        "positive": "Manifest calculation and the finiteness of the superstring Feynman\n  diagrams: The multi-loop amplitudes for the closed, oriented superstring are\nrepresented by finite dimensional integrals of explicit functions calculated\nthrough the super-Schottky group parameters and interaction vertex coordinates\non the supermanifold. The integration region is proposed to be consistent with\nthe group of the local symmetries of the amplitude and with the unitarity\nequations. It is shown that, besides the SL(2) group, super-Schottky group and\nmodular one, the total group of the local symmetries includes an isomorphism\nbetween sets of the forming group transformations, the period matrix to be the\nsame. The singular integration configurations are studied. The calculation of\nthe integrals over the above configurations is developed preserving all the\nlocal symmetries of the amplitude, the amplitudes being free from divergences.\nThe nullification of the 0-, 1-, 2- and 3-point amplitudes of massless states\nis verified. Vanishing the amplitudes for a longitudinal gauge boson is argued."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum corrections to vortex masses and energies: We study the 2+1 dimensional abelian Higgs model defined on a spatial torus\nat critical self-coupling. We propose a method to compute the quantum\ncontribution to the mass of the ANO vortex and to multi-vortex energies. The\none-loop quantum correction to multi-vortex energies is computed analytically\nat the critical value of the torus area (Bradlow limit). For other values of\nthe area one can set up an expansion around this critical area (Bradlow\nparameter expansion). The method is explained and the next-to-leading term\nexplicitly evaluated. To this order, the resulting energies depend on the torus\nperiods, but not on the vortex positions.",
        "positive": "Finite Pseudo-Riemannian Spectral Triples and The Standard Model: Starting from the formulation of pseudo-Riemannian generalisation of real\nspectral triples we develop the data of geometries over finite-dimensional\nalgebras with indefinite metric and their Riemannian parts. We then discuss the\nStandard Model spectral triple in this formalism and interpret the physical\nsymmetry preserving the lepton number as a shadow of a finite pseudo-Riemannian\nstructure."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "To the cusp and back: Resurgent analysis for modular graph functions: Modular graph functions arise in the calculation of the low-energy expansion\nof closed-string scattering amplitudes. For toroidal world-sheets, they are\n${\\rm SL}(2,\\mathbb{Z})$-invariant functions of the torus complex structure\nthat have to be integrated over the moduli space of inequivalent tori. We use\nmethods from resurgent analysis to construct the non-perturbative corrections\narising when the argument of the modular graph function approaches the cusp on\nthis moduli space. ${\\rm SL}(2,\\mathbb{Z})$-invariance will in turn strongly\nconstrain the behaviour of the non-perturbative sector when expanded at the\norigin of the moduli space.",
        "positive": "Flavoured Large N Gauge Theory in an External Magnetic Field: We consider a D7-brane probe of AdS$_{5}\\times S^5$ in the presence of pure\ngauge $B$-field. In the dual gauge theory, the $B$-field couples to the\nfundamental matter introduced by the D7-brane and acts as an external magnetic\nfield. The $B$-field supports a 6-form Ramond-Ramond potential on the D7-branes\nworld volume that breaks the supersymmetry and enables the dual gauge theory to\ndevelop a non-zero fermionic condensate. We explore the dependence of the\nfermionic condensate on the bare quark mass $m_{q}$ and show that at zero bare\nquark mass a chiral symmetry is spontaneously broken. A study of the meson\nspectrum reveals a coupling between the vector and scalar modes, and in the\nlimit of weak magnetic field we observe Zeeman splitting of the states. We also\nobserve the characteristic $\\sqrt{m_{q}}$ dependence of the ground state\ncorresponding to the Goldstone boson of spontaneously broken chiral symmetry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Causal Dynamical Triangulations without Preferred Foliation: We introduce a generalized version of the Causal Dynamical Triangulations\n(CDT) formulation of quantum gravity, in which the regularized, triangulated\npath integral histories retain their causal properties, but do not have a\npreferred proper-time foliation. An extensive numerical study of the associated\nnonperturbative path integral in 2+1 dimensions shows that it can nevertheless\nreproduce the emergence of an extended de Sitter universe on large scales, a\nkey feature of CDT quantum gravity. This suggests that the preferred foliation\nnormally used in CDT is not a crucial (albeit convenient) part of its\nbackground structure.",
        "positive": "Perturbative versus Non-perturbative QFT -- Lessons from the O(3) NLS\n  Model: The two-point functions of the energy-momentum tensor and the Noether current\nare used to probe the O(3) nonlinear sigma model in an energy range below 10^4\nin units of the mass gap $m$. We argue that the form factor approach, with the\nform factor series trunctated at the 6-particle level, provides an almost exact\nsolution of the model in this energy range. The onset of the (2-loop)\nperturbative regime is found to occur only at energies around $100m$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "String Landscape and the Standard Model of Particle Physics: In this paper we describe ideas about the string landscape, and how to relate\nit to the physics of the Standard Model of particle physics. First, we give a\nshort status report about heterotic string compactifications. Then we focus on\nthe statistics of D-brane models, on the problem of moduli stabilization, and\nfinally on some attempts to derive a probability wave function in moduli space,\nwhich goes beyond the purely statistical count of string vacua.",
        "positive": "Hawking Radiation from Kerr-Newman Black Hole and Tunneling Mechanism: We present the derivation of Hawking radiation by using the tunneling\nmechanism in a rotating and charged black hole background. We show that the\n4-dimensional Kerr-Newman metric, which has a spherically nonsymmetric\ngeometry, becomes an effectively 2-dimensional spherically symmetric metric by\nusing the technique of the dimensional reduction near the horizon. We can thus\nreadily apply the tunneling mechanism to the nonspherical Kerr and Kerr-Newman\nmetric."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "BPS jumping loci and special cycles: We study BPS jumping loci, or the subloci in moduli spaces of supersymmetric\nstring vacua where BPS states come into existence discontinuously. This\nphenomenon is distinct from wall-crossing. We argue that these loci should be\nthought of as special cycles in the sense of Noether-Lefschetz loci or special\nShimura subvarieties, which are indeed examples of BPS jumping loci for certain\nstring compactifications. We use the Hodge-elliptic genus as an informative\ntool, suggesting that our work can be extended to understand the jumping\nbehavior of motivic Donaldson-Thomas invariants.",
        "positive": "Quantum Analytic Langlands Correspondence: The analytic Langlands correspondence describes the solution to the spectral\nproblem for the quantised Hitchin Hamiltonians. It is related to the S-duality\nof $\\cal{N}=4$ super Yang-Mills theory. We propose a one-parameter deformation\nof the Analytic Langlands Correspondence, and discuss its relations to quantum\nfield theory. The partition functions of the $H_3^+$ WZNW model are interpreted\nas the wave-functions of a spherical vector in the quantisation of complex\nChern-Simons theory. Verlinde line operators generate a representation of two\ncopies of the quantised skein algebra on generalised partition functions. We\nconjecture that this action generates a basis for the underlying Hilbert space,\nand explain in which sense the resulting quantum theory represents a\ndeformation of the Analytic Langlands Correspondence."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Gravitino Distance Conjecture: We conjecture that in a consistent supergravity theory with non-vanishing\ngravitino mass, the limit $m_{3/2}\\rightarrow 0$ is at infinite distance. In\nparticular one can write $M_{\\mathrm{tower}} \\sim m_{3/2}^\\delta$ so that as\nthe gravitino mass goes to zero, a tower of KK states as well as emergent\nstrings becomes tensionless. This conjecture may be motivated from the Weak\nGravity Conjecture as applied to strings and membranes and implies in turn the\nAdS Distance Conjecture. We test this proposal in classical 4d type IIA\norientifold vacua in which one obtains a range of values $\\tfrac13 \\le \\delta\n\\le 1$. The parameter $\\delta$ is related to the scale decoupling exponent in\nAdS vacua and to the $\\alpha$ exponent in the Swampland Distance Conjecture for\nthe type IIA complex structure. We present a general analysis of the gravitino\nmass in the limits of moduli space in terms of limiting Mixed Hodge Structures\nand study in some detail the case of two-moduli F-theory settings. Moreover, we\nobtain general lower bounds $\\delta\\, \\geq \\, \\frac{1}{3}, \\, \\frac{1}{4}$ for\nCalabi--Yau threefolds and fourfolds, respectively. The conjecture has\nimportant phenomenological implications. In particular we argue that low-energy\nsupersymmetry of order 1 TeV is only obtained if there is a tower of KK states\nat an intermediate scale, of order $10^8$ GeV. One also has an upper bound for\nthe Hubble constant upon inflation $H \\lesssim m_{3/2}^\\delta\nM^{(1-\\delta)}_{\\text{P}}$.",
        "positive": "Marginally Trapped Surfaces and AdS/CFT: It has been proposed that the areas of marginally trapped or anti-trapped\nsurfaces (also known as leaves of holographic screens) may encode some notion\nof entropy. To connect this to AdS/CFT, we study the case of marginally trapped\nsurfaces anchored to an AdS boundary. We establish that such boundary-anchored\nleaves lie between the causal and extremal surfaces defined by the anchor and\nthat they have area bounded below by that of the minimal extremal surface. This\nsuggests that the area of any leaf represents a coarse-grained von Neumann\nentropy for the associated region of the dual CFT. We further demonstrate that\nthe leading area-divergence of a boundary-anchored marginally trapped surface\nagrees with that for the associated extremal surface, though subleading\ndivergences generally differ. Finally, we generalize an argument of Bousso and\nEngelhardt to show that holographic screens with all leaves anchored to the\nsame boundary set have leaf-areas that increase monotonically along the screen,\nand we describe a construction through which this monotonicity can take the\nmore standard form of requiring entropy to increase with boundary time. This\nconstruction is related to what one might call future causal holographic\ninformation, which in such cases also provides an upper bound on the area of\nthe associated leaves."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Constrained Spin Systems and KNdS Black Holes: Kerr-Newman de Sitter (KNdS) spacetimes have a rich thermodynamic structure\nthat involves multiple horizons, and so differs in key respects from\nasymptotically flat or AdS black holes. In this paper, we show that certain\nfeatures of KNdS spacetimes can be reproduced by a constrained system of $N$\nnon-interacting spins in a magnetic field. Both the KNdS and spin systems have\nbounded energy and entropy, a maximum of the entropy in the interior of the\nenergy range, and a symmetry that maps lower energy states to higher energy\nstates with the same entropy. Consequently, both systems have a temperature\nthat can be positive or negative, where the gravitational temperature is\ndefined analogously to that of the spins. We find that the number of spins $N$\ncorresponds to $1/\\Lambda$ for black holes with very small charge $q$ and\nrotation parameter $a$, and scales like $\\sqrt{(a^2+q^2)/\\Lambda}$ for larger\nvalues of $a$ and $q$. By studying constrained spin systems, we provide insight\ninto the thermodynamics of KNdS spacetimes and its quantum mechanical\ndescription.",
        "positive": "Holographic Renormalization of 3D Minimal Massive Gravity: We study holographic renormalization of 3D minimal massive gravity using the\nChern-Simons-like formulation of the model. We explicitly present Gibbons-\nHawking term as well as all counterterms needed to make the action finite in\nterms of dreibein and spin-connection. This can be used to find correlation\nfunctions of stress tensor of holographic dual field theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On gravity dual of a metastable vacuum in Klebanov-Strassler theory: We discuss a supergravity description of the metastable state that is created\nby a stack of anti-D3-branes placed at the tip of the KS background. When the\nnumber p of the anti-D3-branes is large g_s p >> 1 the characteristic curvature\nof the corresponding gravity dual is large in stringy units and one may expect\nthe background to be regular everywhere. Starting from the distances of order R\n~ (g_s p)^{1/4} away from the tip the new background can be well approximated\nby a linear perturbation around KS. By applying the appropriate boundary\nconditions in both IR and UV we found the lowest KK mode of the corresponding\nlinear perturbation. The solution we found contains VEVs of the SU(2)x SU(2)\ninvariant operators at the linear order in p. As a non-trivial check we\ncalculate the ADM mass which exactly matches the probe approximation. As a\nbyproduct we also found a gravity background dual to the KS theory deformed by\nthe operators W^2 and W^2\\bar{W}^2 with small coefficients.",
        "positive": "The structure of maximally supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory:\n  constraining higher-order corrections: We solve the superspace Bianchi identities for ten-dimensional supersymmetric\nYang-Mills theory without imposing any kind of constraints apart from the\nstandard conventional one. In this way we obtain a set of algebraic conditions\non certain fields which in the on-shell theory are constructed as composite\nones out of the physical fields. These conditions must hence be satisfied by\nany kind of theory in ten dimensions invariant under supersymmetry and some,\nabelian or non-abelian, gauge symmetry. Deformations of the ordinary SYM theory\n(as well as the fields) are identified as elements of a certain spinorial\ncohomology, giving control over field redefinitions and the distinction between\nphysically relevant higher-order corrections and those removable by field\nredefinitions. The conditions derived severely constrain theories involving\nF^2-level terms plus higher-order corrections, as for instance those derived\nfrom open strings as effective gauge theories on D-branes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Nernst branes in gauged supergravity: We study static black brane solutions in the context of N = 2 U(1) gauged\nsupergravity in four dimensions. Using the formalism of first-order flow\nequations, we construct novel extremal black brane solutions including examples\nof Nernst branes, i.e. extremal black brane solutions with vanishing entropy\ndensity. We also discuss a class of non-extremal generalizations which is\ncaptured by the first-order formalism.",
        "positive": "Axion electrodynamics: Green's functions, zero-point energy and optical\n  activity: Starting from the theory of Axion Electrodynamics, we work out the axionic\nmodifications to the electromagnetic Casimir energy using the Green's function,\nboth when the axion field is initially assumed purely time-dependent and when\nthe axion field configuration is a static domain wall. For the first case it\nmeans that the oscillating axion background is taken to resemble an axion fluid\nat rest in a conventional Casimir setup with two infinite parallel conducting\nplates, while in the second case we evaluate the radiation pressure acting on\nan axion domain wall. We extend previous theories in order to include finite\ntemperatures. Various applications are discussed. 1. We review the theory of\nAxion Electrodynamics and particularly the energy-momentum conservation in a\nlinear dielectric and magnetic material. We treat this last aspect by extending\nformer results by Brevik and Chaichian (2022) and Patkos (2022). 2. Adopting\nthe model of the oscillating axion background we discuss the axion-induced\nmodifications to the Casimir force between two parallel plates by using a\nGreen's function approach. 3. We calculate the radiation pressure acting on an\naxion domain wall at finite temperature T. Our results for an oscillating axion\nfield and a domain wall are also useful for condensed matter physics, where\n\"axionic topological insulators\" interact with the electromagnetic field with a\nChern-Simons interaction, like the one in Axion Electrodynamics, and there are\nexperimental systems analogous to time-dependent axion fields and domain walls\nas the ones showed by Jiang, Q. D., \\& Wilczek, F. (2019) and Fukushima et al.\n(2019). 4. We compare our results, where we assume time-dependent or\nspace-dependent axion configurations, with the discussion of the optical\nactivity of Axion Electrodynamics by Sikivie (2021) and Carrol et al. (1990)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-Abelian aether-like term in four dimensions: The non-Abelian aether-like Lorentz-breaking term, involving triple and\nquartic self-coupling vertices, is generated from the non-Abelian\ngeneralization of the Lorentz-breaking extended QED including only a minimal\nspinor-vector interaction. This term is shown explicitly to be finite and\nnon-ambiguous.",
        "positive": "Universal shocks in random matrix theory: We link the appearance of universal kernels in random matrix ensembles to the\nphenomenon of shock formation in some fluid dynamical equations. Such equations\nare derived from Dyson's random walks after a proper rescaling of the time. In\nthe case of the Gaussian Unitary Ensemble, on which we focus in this letter, we\nshow that the orthogonal polynomials, and their Cauchy transforms, evolve\naccording to a viscid Burgers equation with an effective \"spectral viscosity\"\n$\\nu_s=1/2N$, where $N$ is the size of the matrices. We relate the edge of the\nspectrum of eigenvalues to the shock that naturally appears in the Burgers\nequation for appropriate initial conditions, thereby obtaining a new\nperspective on universality."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Compact QED3 with theta term and axionic confining strings: We discuss three dimensional compact QED with a theta term due to an axionic\nfield. The variational gauge invariant functional is considered and it is shown\nthat the ground state energy is independent of theta in a leading\napproximation. The mass gap of the axionic field is found to be dependent upon\ntheta, the mass gap of the photon field and the scalar potential. The vacuum\nexpectation of the Wilson loop is shown to be independent of theta in a leading\napproximation, to obey the area law and to lead to confinement. We also briefly\ndiscuss the properties of axionic confining strings.",
        "positive": "Supertranslations and Holographic Stress Tensor: It is well known in the context of four dimensional asymptotically flat\nspacetimes that the leading order boundary metric must be conformal to unit de\nSitter metric when hyperbolic cutoffs are used. This situation is very\ndifferent from asymptotically AdS settings where one is allowed to choose an\narbitrary boundary metric. The closest one can come to changing the boundary\nmetric in the asymptotically flat context, while maintaining the group of\nasymptotic symmetries to be Poincare, is to change the so-called\n`supertranslation frame' \\omega. The most studied choice corresponds to taking\n\\omega = 0. In this paper we study consequences of making alternative choices.\nWe perform this analysis in the covariant phase space approach as well as in\nthe holographic renormalization approach. We show that all choices for \\omega\nare allowed in the sense that the covariant phase space is well defined\nirrespective of how we choose to fix supertranslations. The on-shell action and\nthe leading order boundary stress tensor are insensitive to the\nsupertranslation frame. The next to leading order boundary stress tensor\ndepends on the supertranslation frame but only in a way that the transformation\nof angular momentum under translations continues to hold as in special\nrelativity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantization of U_q[so(2n+1)] with deformed para-Fermi operators: The observation that n pairs of para-Fermi (pF) operators generate the\nuniversal enveloping algebra of the orthogonal Lie algebra so(2n+1) is used in\norder to define deformed pF operators. It is shown that these operators are an\nalternative to the Chevalley generators. On this background Uq[so(2n+1)] and\nits \"Cartan-Weyl\" generators are written down entirely in terms of deformed pB\noperators.",
        "positive": "A gauge invariant formulation for the SU(N) non-linear sigma model in\n  2+1 dimensions: We derive a local, gauge invariant action for the SU(N) non-linear\nsigma-model in 2+1 dimensions. In this setting, the model is defined in terms\nof a self-interacting pseudo vector-field \\theta_\\mu, with values in the Lie\nalgebra of the group SU(N). Thanks to a non-trivially realized gauge\ninvariance, the model has the correct number of degrees of freedom: only one\npolarization of \\theta_\\mu, like in the case of the familiar Yang-Mills theory\nin 2+1 dimensions. Moreover, since \\theta_\\mu is a pseudo-vector, the physical\ncontent corresponds to one massless pseudo-scalar field in the Lie algebra of\nSU(N), as in the standard representation of the model. We show that the\ndynamics of the physical polarization corresponds to that of the SU(N)\nnon-linear sigma model in the standard representation, and also construct the\ncorresponding BRST invariant gauge-fixed action."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Kaluza-Klein Aspects of Noncommutative Geometry: Using some elementary methods from noncommutative geometry a structure is\ngiven to a point of space-time which is different from and simpler than that\nwhich would come from extra dimensions. The structure is described by a\nsupplementary factor in the algebra which in noncommutative geometry replaces\nthe algebra of functions. Using different examples of algebras it is shown that\nthe extra structure can be used to describe spin or isospin.",
        "positive": "On the universal Representation of the Scattering Matrix of Affine Toda\n  Field Theory: By exploiting the properties of q-deformed Coxeter elements, the scattering\nmatrices of affine Toda field theories with real coupling constant related to\nany dual pair of simple Lie algebras may be expressed in a completely generic\nway. We discuss the governing equations for the existence of bound states, i.e.\nthe fusing rules, in terms of q-deformed Coxeter elements, twisted q-deformed\nCoxeter elements and undeformed Coxeter elements. We establish the precise\nrelation between these different formulations and study their solutions. The\ngeneralized S-matrix bootstrap equations are shown to be equivalent to the\nfusing rules. The relation between different versions of fusing rules and\nquantum conserved quantities, which result as nullvectors of a doubly\nq-deformed Cartan like matrix, is presented. The properties of this matrix\ntogether with the so-called combined bootstrap equations are utilised in order\nto derive generic integral representations for the scattering matrix in terms\nof quantities of either of the two dual algebras. We present extensive\ncase-by-case data, in particular on the orbits generated by the various Coxeter\nelements."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetric AdS_3 solutions of type IIB supergravity: For every positively curved Kahler-Einstein manifold in four dimensions we\nconstruct an infinite family of supersymmetric solutions of type IIB\nsupergravity. The solutions are warped products of AdS_3 with a compact\nseven-dimensional manifold and have non-vanishing five-form flux. Via the\nAdS/CFT correspondence, the solutions are dual to two-dimensional conformal\nfield theories with (2,0) supersymmetry. The corresponding central charges are\nrational numbers.",
        "positive": "Excitation basis for (3+1)d topological phases: We consider an exactly solvable model in 3+1 dimensions, based on a finite\ngroup, which is a natural generalization of Kitaev's quantum double model. The\ncorresponding lattice Hamiltonian yields excitations located at\ntorus-boundaries. By cutting open the three-torus, we obtain a manifold bounded\nby two tori which supports states satisfying a higher-dimensional version of\nOcneanu's tube algebra. This defines an algebraic structure extending the\nDrinfel'd double. Its irreducible representations, labeled by two fluxes and\none charge, characterize the torus-excitations. The tensor product of such\nrepresentations is introduced in order to construct a basis for (3+1)d gauge\nmodels which relies upon the fusion of the defect excitations. This basis is\ndefined on manifolds of the form $\\Sigma \\times \\mathbb{S}_1$, with $\\Sigma$ a\ntwo-dimensional Riemann surface. As such, our construction is closely related\nto dimensional reduction from (3+1)d to (2+1)d topological orders."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Three-Charge Supertubes in a Rotating Black Hole Background: The low velocity scattering of a D0-F1 supertube in the background of a BMPV\nblack hole has been investigated in the moduli space approximation by Marolf\nand Virmani. Here we extend the analysis to the case of the D0-D4-F1 supertube\nof Bena and Kraus. We find that, similarly to the two-charge case, there is a\ncritical value of the supertube circumferential angular momentum; above this\nvalue an adiabatic merger with the black hole cannot occur. By reconsidering\nthe calculation of supertube angular momentum in the transverse direction,\ncorrespondence between the worldvolume and supergravity descriptions is\nestablished. We also examine dynamical mergers and discuss their implications.",
        "positive": "Euler top and freedom in supersymmetrization of one-dimensional\n  mechanics: Recently A.Galajinsky has suggested the N=1 supersymmetric extension of Euler\ntop and made a few interesting observations on its properties [arXiv:2111.06083\n[hep-th]]. In this paper we use the formulation of the Euler top as a system on\ncomplex projective plane, playing the role of phase space, i.e. as a\none-dimensional mechanical system.\n  Then we suggest the supersymmetrization scheme of the generic one-dimensional\nsystems with positive Hamiltonian which yields a priori integrable family of\nN=2k supersymmetric Hamiltonians parameterized by N/2 arbitrary real functions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Black hole phase transitions via Bragg-Williams: We argue that a convenient way to analyze instabilities of black holes in AdS\nspace is via Bragg-Williams construction of a free energy function. Starting\nwith a pedagogical review of this construction in condensed matter systems and\nalso its implementation to Hawking-Page transition, we study instabilities\nassociated with hairy black holes and also with the $R$-charged black holes.\nFor the hairy black holes, an analysis of thermal quench is presented.",
        "positive": "Island formula in Planck brane: Double holography offers a profound understanding of the island formula by\ndescribing a gravitational system on AdS$_d$ coupled to a conformal field\ntheory on $\\mathbb{R}^{1,d-1}$, dual to an AdS$_{d+1}$ spacetime with an\nend-of-the-world (EOW) brane. In this work, we extend the proposal in [A.\nAlmheiri et al. JHEP 03 (2020) 149] by considering that the dual bulk spacetime\nhas two EOW branes: one with a gravitational system and the other with a\nthermal bath. We demonstrate an equivalence between this proposal and the wedge\nholographic theory. We examine it in both Anti-de Sitter gravity and de Sitter\ngravity by calculating the entanglement entropy of the Hawking radiation.\nFinally, we employ the doubly holographic model to verify the formula for the\nentanglement entropy in a subregion within conformally flat spacetime."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Anti--de Sitter/ boundary conformal field theory correspondence in the\n  non-relativistic limit: Boundary conformal field theory (BCFT) is the study of conformal field theory\n(CFT) in semi-infinite space-time. In non-relativistic limit\n($x\\rightarrow\\epsilon x, t\\rightarrow t, \\epsilon\\rightarrow 0$), boundary\nconformal algebra changes to boundary Galilean conformal algebra (BGCA). In\nthis work, some aspects of AdS/BCFT in non-relatvistic limit were explored. We\nconstrain correlation functions of Galilean conformal invariant fields with\nBGCA generators. For a situation with a boundary condition at surface $x=0$\n($z=\\bar{z}$), our result is agree with non-relativistic limit of BCFT\ntwo-point function. We also, introduce holographic dual of boundary Galilean\nconformal field theory.",
        "positive": "Spacetime defects and group momentum space: We study massive and massless conical defects in Minkowski and de Sitter\nspaces in various spacetime dimensions. The energy-momentum of a defect,\nconsidered as an (extended) relativistic object, is completely characterized by\nthe holonomy of the connection associated with its spacetime metric. The\npossible holonomies are given by Lorentz group elements, which are rotations\nand null rotations for massive and massless defects respectively. In\nparticular, if we fix the direction of propagation of a massless defect in\nn+1-dimensional Minkowski space, then its space of holonomies is a maximal\nabelian subgroup of the AN(n-1) group, which corresponds to the well known\nmomentum space associated with the n-dimensional $\\kappa$-Minkowski\nnoncommutative spacetime and $\\kappa$-deformed Poincar\\'{e} algebra. We also\nconjecture that massless defects in n-dimensional de Sitter space can be\nanalogously characterized by holonomies belonging to the same subgroup. This\nshows how group-valued momenta related to four-dimensional deformations of\nrelativistic symmetries can arise in the description of motion of spacetime\ndefects."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Brane world effective actions for D-branes with fluxes: We develop systematic string techniques to study brane world effective\nactions for models with magnetized (or equivalently intersecting) D-branes. In\nparticular, we derive the dependence on all NS-NS moduli of the kinetic terms\nof the chiral matter in a generic non-supersymmetric brane configurations with\nnon-commuting open string fluxes. Near a N=1 supersymmetric point the effective\naction is consistent with a Fayet-Iliopoulos supersymmetry breaking and the\nnormalization of the scalar kinetic terms is nothing else than the Kahler\nmetric. We also discuss, from a stringy perspective, D and F term breaking\nmechanisms, and how, in this generic set up, the Kahler metric enters in the\nphysical Yukawa couplings.",
        "positive": "Double Copy for Massive Scalar Field Theories: We explore extensions of the double copy to massive theories and find a new\ncubic theory with a local double copy. We consider the nonlinear sigma model\nand the special galileon theory, massless versions of which are known to be\nrelated through the double copy. We show that by performing a Kaluza-Klein\nreduction of these theories from five dimensions down to four, a double copy\nrelation exists between the resulting massive four-dimensional scalar field\ntheories. This requires the vanishing contribution of new galileon terms\narising in high dimensions. We further explore if other interactions that do\nnot arise from a dimensional reduction of the nonlinear sigma model could be\ndouble copied and find a new cubic interaction which satisfies the BCJ\nrelations up to 5-point amplitudes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Symplectic geometry and Hamiltonian flow of the renormalisation group\n  equation: It is argued that renormalisation group flow can be interpreted as being a\nHamiltonian vector flow on a phase space which consists of the couplings of the\ntheory and their conjugate \\lq\\lq momenta\", which are the vacuum expectation\nvalues of the corresponding composite operators. The Hamiltonian is linear in\nthe conjugate variables and can be identified with the vacuum expectation value\nof the trace of the energy-momentum operator. For theories with massive\ncouplings the identity operator plays a central role and its associated\ncoupling gives rise to a potential in the flow equations. The evolution of any\nquantity , such as $N$-point Green functions, under renormalisation group flow\ncan be obtained from its Poisson bracket with the Hamiltonian. Ward identities\ncan be represented as constants of the motion which act as symmetry generators\non the phase space via the Poisson bracket structure.",
        "positive": "A Toy Model For Single Field Open Inflation: Inflation in an open universe produced by Coleman-De Luccia (CDL) tunneling\ninduces a friction term that is strong enough to allow for successful\nsmall-field inflation in models that would otherwise suffer from a severe\novershoot problem. In this paper, we present a polynomial scalar potential\nwhich allows for a full analysis. This provides a simple model of single-field\nopen inflation on a small-field inflection point after tunneling. We present\nnumerical results and compare them with analytic approximations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Brick Walls on the Brane: The so-called ``brick-wall model'' is a semi-classical approach that has been\nused to explain black hole entropy in terms of thermal matter fields. Here, we\napply the brick-wall formalism to thermal bulk fields in a Randall-Sundrum\nbrane world scenario. In this case, the black hole entity is really a\nstring-like object in the anti-de Sitter bulk, while appearing as a\nSchwarzchild black hole to observers living on the brane. In spite of these\nexotic circumstances, we establish that the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy law is\npreserved. Although a similar calculation was recently considered in the\nliterature, this prior work invoked a simplifying assumption (which we avoid)\nthat can not be adequately justified.",
        "positive": "More on chaos at weak coupling: We discuss aspects of the quantum Lyapunov exponent $\\lambda_L$ in theories\nwith an exactly marginal SYK-like random interaction, where $\\lambda_L$ can be\ncomputed as a continuous function of the interaction strength $\\mathcal{J}$. In\n$1d$, we prove a conjecture from arXiv:2111.06108 which states that at small\n$\\mathcal{J}$, $\\lambda_L$ can be found by considering a specific limit of the\nfour-point function in the decoupled theory. We then provide additional\nevidence for the $2d$ version of this conjecture by discussing new examples of\nLyapunov exponents which can be computed at weak coupling."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Higher derivative effects for 4d AdS gravity: Motivated by holography, we explore higher derivative corrections to\nfour-dimensional Anti-de Sitter (AdS) gravity. We point out that in such a\ntheory the variational problem is generically not well-posed given only a\nboundary condition for the metric. However, when one evaluates the higher\nderivative terms perturbatively on a leading order Einstein solution, the\nequations of motion are always second order and therefore the variational\nproblem indeed requires only a boundary condition for the metric. The equations\nof motion required to compute the spectrum around the corrected background are\nstill generically higher order, with the additional boundary conditions being\nassociated with new operators in the dual conformal field theory. We discuss\nwhich higher derivative curvature invariants are expected to arise in the\nfour-dimensional action from a top-down perspective and compute the corrections\nto planar AdS black holes and to the spectrum around AdS in various cases.\nRequiring that the dual theory is unitary strongly constrains the higher\nderivative terms in the action, as the operators associated with the extra\nboundary conditions generically have complex conformal dimensions and\nnon-positive norms.",
        "positive": "Chromo-Natural Inflation: Natural inflation on a steep potential with\n  classical non-Abelian gauge fields: We propose a model for inflation consisting of an axionic scalar field\ncoupled to a set of three non-Abelian gauge fields. Our model's novel\nrequirement is that the gauge fields begin inflation with a rotationally\ninvariant vacuum expectation value (VEV) that is preserved through\nidentification of SU(2) gauge invariance with rotations in three dimensions.\nThe gauge VEV interacts with the background value of the axion, leading to an\nattractor solution that exhibits slow roll inflation even when the axion decay\nconstant has a natural value ($<M_{\\rm Pl}$). Assuming a sinusoidal potential\nfor the axion, we find that inflation continues until the axionic potential\nvanishes. The speed at which the axion moves along its potential is modulated\nby its interactions with the gauge VEV, rather than being determined by the\nslope of its bare potential. For sub-Plankian axion decay constants vanishingly\nsmall tensor to scalar ratios are predicted, a direct consequence of the Lyth\nbound. The parameter that controls the interaction strength between the axion\nand the gauge fields requires a technically natural tuning of\n$\\mathcal{O}$(100)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Implications of the Weak Gravity Conjecture for Tidal Love Numbers of\n  Black Holes: The Weak Gravity Conjecture indicates that extremal black holes in the low\nenergy effective field theory should be able to decay. This criterion gives\nrise to non-trivial constraints on the coefficients of higher-order derivative\ncorrections to gravity. In this paper, we investigate the tidal deformability\nof neutral black holes due to higher-order derivative corrections. As a proof\nof concept, we consider a correction of cubic order in the Riemann curvature\ntensor. The tidal Love numbers of neutral black holes receive leading-order\ncorrections from higher-order derivative terms, since black holes in pure\nGeneral Relativity have vanishing tidal Love number. We conclude that the\ninterplay between the tidal deformability of black holes and the Weak Gravity\nConjecture provides useful information about the effective field theory.",
        "positive": "Fractional Superstring Tree Scattering Amplitudes: The spin-4/3 fractional superstring is characterized by a chiral algebra\ninvolving a spin-4/3 current on the world-sheet in addition to the\nenergy-momentum tensor. These currents generate physical state conditions on\nthe fractional superstring Fock space. Scattering amplitudes of these physical\nstates are described which satisfy both spurious state decoupling and cyclic\nsymmetry (duality). Examples of such amplitudes are calculated using an\nexplicit $c=5$ realization of the spin-4/3 current algebra. This representation\nhas three flat coordinate boson fields and a global SO(2,1) Lorentz symmetry,\npermitting a particle interpretation of the amplitudes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Geometric Unification of Higgs Bundle Vacua: Higgs bundles are a central tool used to study a range of intersecting brane\nsystems in string compactifications. Solutions to the internal gauge theory\nequations of motion for the corresponding worldvolume theories of branes give\nrise to different low energy effective field theories. This has been heavily\nused in the study of M-theory on local $G_2$ spaces and F-theory on local\nelliptically fibered Calabi-Yau fourfolds. In this paper we show that the 3D\n$\\mathcal{N} = 1$ effective field theory defined by M-theory on a local\n$Spin(7)$ space unifies the Higgs bundle data associated with 4D $\\mathcal{N} =\n1$ M- and F-theory vacua. This 3D system appears as an interface with finite\nthickness between different 4D vacua. We develop the general formalism of\nM-theory on such local $Spin(7)$ spaces, and build explicit interpolating\nsolutions. This provides a complementary local gauge theory analysis of a\nrecently proposed approach to constructing $Spin(7)$ spaces from generalized\nconnected sums.",
        "positive": "Lamm, Valluri, Jentschura and Weniger comment on \"A Convergent Series\n  for the QED Effective Action\" by Cho and Pak [Phys. Rev. Lett. vol. 86, pp.\n  1947-1950 (2001)]: Complete results were obtained by us in [Can. J. Phys. 71, 389 (1993)] for\nconvergent series representations of both the real and the imaginary part of\nthe QED effective action; these derivations were based on correct intermediate\nsteps. In this comment, we argue that the physical significance of the\n\"logarithmic correction term\" found by Cho and Pak in [Phys. Rev. Lett. 86,\n1947 (2001)] in comparison to the usual expression for the QED effective action\nremains to be demonstrated. Further information on related subjects can be\nfound in Appendix A of hep-ph/0308223 and in hep-th/0210240."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Conformal bridge in a cosmic string background: Hidden symmetries of non-relativistic $\\mathfrak{so} (2,1)\\cong\n\\mathfrak{sl}(2, {\\mathbb R})$ invariant systems in a cosmic string background\nare studied using the conformal bridge transformation. Geometric properties of\nthis background are analogous to those of a conical surface with a\ndeficiency/excess angle encoded in the \"geometrical parameter\" $\\alpha$,\ndetermined by the linear positive/negative mass density of the string. The free\nparticle and the harmonic oscillator on this background are shown to be related\nby the conformal bridge transformation. To identify the integrals of the free\nsystem, we employ a local canonical transformation that relates the model with\nits planar version. The conformal bridge transformation is then used to map the\nobtained integrals to those of the harmonic oscillator on the cone.\nWell-defined classical integrals in both models exist only at $\\alpha=q/k$ with\n$q,k=1,2,\\ldots,$ which for $q>1$ are higher-order generators of finite\nnonlinear algebras. The systems are quantized for arbitrary values of $\\alpha$;\nhowever, the well-defined hidden symmetry operators associated with spectral\ndegeneracies only exist when $\\alpha$ is an integer, that reveals a quantum\nanomaly.",
        "positive": "Extended Connection in Yang-Mills Theory: The three fundamental geometric components of Yang-Mills theory -gauge field,\ngauge fixing and ghost field- are unified in a new object: an extended\nconnection in a properly chosen principal fiber bundle. To do this, it is\nnecessary to generalize the notion of gauge fixing by using a gauge fixing\nconnection instead of a section. From the equations for the extended\nconnection's curvature, we derive the relevant BRST transformations without\nimposing the usual horizontality conditions. We show that the gauge field's\nstandard BRST transformation is only valid in a local trivialization and we\nobtain the corresponding global generalization. By using the Faddeev-Popov\nmethod, we apply the generalized gauge fixing to the path integral quantization\nof Yang-Mills theory. We show that the proposed gauge fixing can be used even\nin the presence of a Gribov's obstruction."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Stokes Phenomena and Non-perturbative Completion in the Multi-cut\n  Two-matrix Models: The Stokes multipliers in the matrix models are invariants in the\nstring-theory moduli space and related to the D-instanton chemical potentials.\nThey not only represent non-perturbative information but also play an important\nrole in connecting various perturbative string theories in the moduli space.\nThey are a key concept to the non-perturbative completion of string theory and\nalso expected to imply some remnant of strong coupling dynamics in M theory. In\nthis paper, we investigate the non-perturbative completion problem consisting\nof two constraints on the Stokes multipliers. As the first constraint, Stokes\nphenomena which realize the multi-cut geometry are studied in the Z_k symmetric\ncritical points of the multi-cut two-matrix models. Sequence of solutions to\nthe constraints are obtained in general k-cut critical points. A discrete set\nof solutions and a continuum set of solutions are explicitly shown, and they\ncan be classified by several constrained configurations of the Young diagram.\nAs the second constraint, we discuss non-perturbative stability of backgrounds\nin terms of the Riemann-Hilbert problem. In particular, our procedure in the\n2-cut (1,2) case (pure-supergravity case) completely fixes the D-instanton\nchemical potentials and results in the Hastings-McLeod solution to the\nPainlev\\'e II equation. It is also stressed that the Riemann-Hilbert approach\nrealizes an off-shell background independent formulation of non-critical string\ntheory.",
        "positive": "Dynamical D-Terms in Supergravity: Most phenomenological models of supersymmetry breaking rely on nonzero\nF-terms rather than nonzero D-terms. An important reason why D-terms are often\nneglected is that it turns out to be very challenging to realize D-terms at\nenergies parametrically smaller than the Planck scale in supergravity. As we\ndemonstrate in this paper, all conventional difficulties may, however, be\novercome if the generation of the D-term is based on strong dynamics. To\nillustrate our idea, we focus on a certain class of vector-like SUSY breaking\nmodels that enjoy a minimal particle content and which may be easily embedded\ninto more complete scenarios. We are then able to show that, upon gauging a\nglobal flavor symmetry, an appropriate choice of Yukawa couplings readily\nallows to dynamically generate a D-term at an almost arbitrary energy scale.\nThis includes in particular the natural and consistent realization of D-terms\naround, above and below the scale of grand unification in supergravity, without\nthe need for fine-tuning of any model parameters. Our construction might\ntherefore bear the potential to open up a new direction for model building in\nsupersymmetry and early universe cosmology."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Self-field QED(1+1) with massless matter fields: Two-body problem: We consider two-body problem in the self-field (1+1)-dimensional quantum\nelectrodynamics on the circle. We present two formulations of the problem which\ncorrespond to two different types of variational principles and prove that both\nformulations lead to the same spectrum of the two-body Hamiltonian with\nmassless matter fields. We give the exact and complete solution of the\nrelativistic two-body equation in the massless case.",
        "positive": "Expository Remarks on Three-Dimensional Gravity and Hyperbolic\n  Invariants: We consider complex invariants associated with compact real three-dimensional\nhyperbolic spaces. The contribution of the Chern-Simons invariants of\nirreducible U(n)-flat connections on hyperbolic fibered manifolds to the low\norder expansion of the quantum gravitational path integral is analyzed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Virtue of Defects in 4D Gauge Theories and 2D CFTs: We advance a correspondence between the topological defect operators in\nLiouville and Toda conformal field theories - which we construct - and loop\noperators and domain wall operators in four dimensional N=2 supersymmetric\ngauge theories on S^4. Our computation of the correlation functions in\nLiouville/Toda theory in the presence of topological defect operators, which\nare supported on curves on the Riemann surface, yields the exact answer for the\npartition function of four dimensional gauge theories in the presence of\nvarious walls and loop operators; results which we can quantitatively\nsubstantiate with an independent gauge theory analysis. As an interesting\noutcome of this work for two dimensional conformal field theories, we prove\nthat topological defect operators and the Verlinde loop operators are different\ndescriptions of the same operators.",
        "positive": "D=5 Einstein-Maxwell-Chern-Simons Black Holes: 5-dimensional Einstein-Maxwell-Chern-Simons theory with Chern-Simons\ncoefficient $\\lambda=1$ has supersymmetric black holes with vanishing horizon\nangular velocity, but finite angular momentum. Here supersymmetry is associated\nwith a borderline between stability and instability, since for $\\lambda>1$ a\nrotational instability arises, where counterrotating black holes appear, whose\nhorizon rotates in the opposite sense to the angular momentum. For $\\lambda>2$\nblack holes are no longer uniquely characterized by their global charges, and\nrotating black holes with vanishing angular momentum appear."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Epstein-Glaser causal approach to the Light-Front QED$_{4}$. II:\n  Vacuum Polarization tensor: In this work we show how to construct the one-loop vacuum polarization for\nlight-front QED$_{4}$ in the framework of the perturbative causal theory.\nUsually, in the canonical approach, it is considered for the fermionic\npropagator the so-called instantaneous term, but it is known in literature that\nthis term is controversial because it can be omitted by computational reasons;\nfor instance, by compensation or vanishing by dimensional regularization. In\nthis work we propose a solution to this paradox. First, in the perturbative\ncausal theory, it is shown that the fermionic propagator does not have\ninstantaneous terms, and with this propagator we calculate the one-loop vacuum\npolarization, from the calculation it follows the same result as obtained by\nthe standard approach, but without reclaiming any extra assumptions. Moreover,\nsince the perturbative causal theory is defined in the distributional\nframework, we can also show the reason behind we obtaining the same result\nwhether we consider or not the instantaneous fermionic propagator term.",
        "positive": "Higher derivative corrections to DBI action at $ \u03b1'^2$ order: We use the compatibility of D-brane action with linear off-shell T-duality\nand linear on-shell S-duality as guiding principles to find all world volume\ncouplings of one massless closed and three massless open strings at order\n$\\alpha'^2$ in type II superstring theories in flat space-time."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Two-loop supergravity on AdS$_5\\times$S$^5$ from CFT: We describe a construction of the two-loop amplitude of four graviton\nsupermultiplets in AdS$_5\\times$S$^5$. We start from an ansatz for a\npreamplitude from which we generate the full amplitude under the action of a\nspecific Casimir operator. The ansatz captures a recent ansatz of Huang and\nYuan and we confirm their result through similar constraints. The form of the\nresult suggests that all ambiguities are captured by the preamplitude which\ndetermines the result up to tree-level ambiguities only. We identify a class of\nfour-dimensional `zigzag' integrals which are perfectly adapted to describing\nthe leading logarithmic discontinuity to all orders. We also observe that a\nbonus crossing symmetry of the preamplitude follows from the transformation\nproperties of the Casimir operator. Combined with the zigzag integrals this\nallows us to construct a crossing symmetric function with the correct leading\nlogarithmic discontinuities in all channels.\n  From the two-loop result we extract an explicit expression for the two-loop\ncorrection to the anomalous dimensions of twist-four operators of generic spin\nwhich includes dependence on (alternating) nested harmonic sums up to weight\nthree. We also revisit the prescription of the bulk-point limit of AdS\namplitudes and show how it recovers the full flat-space amplitude, not just its\ndiscontinuity. With this extended notion of the bulk-point limit we reproduce\nthe scale-dependent logarithmic threshold terms of type IIB string theory in\nflat-space.",
        "positive": "On the harmonic superspace geometry of $(4,4)$ supersymmetric sigma\n  models with torsion: Starting from the dual action of $(4,4)$ $2D$ twisted multiplets in the\nharmonic superspace with two independent sets of $SU(2)$ harmonic variables, we\npresent its generalization which hopefully provides an off-shell description of\ngeneral $(4,4)$ supersymmetric sigma models with torsion. Like the action of\nthe torsionless $(4,4)$ hyper-K\\\"ahler sigma models in the standard harmonic\nsuperspace, it is characterized by a number of superfield potentials. They\ndepend on $n$ copies of a triple of analytic harmonic $(4,4)$ superfields. As\ndistinct from the hyper-K\\\"ahler case, the potentials prove to be severely\nconstrained by the self-consistency condition which stems from the\ncommutativity of the left and right harmonic derivatives. We show that for\n$n=1$ these constraints reduce the general action to that of $(4,4)$ twisted\nmultiplet, while for $n\\geq 2$ there exists a wide class of new actions which\ncannot be written only via twisted multiplets. Their most striking feature is\nthe nonabelian and in general nonlinear gauge invariance which substitutes the\nabelian gauge symmetry of the dual action of twisted multiplets and ensures the\ncorrect number of physical degrees of freedom. We show, on a simple example,\nthat these actions describe sigma models with non-commuting left and right\ncomplex structures on the bosonic target."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Canonical Partition Function for Quons: We calculate the canonical partition function $Z_N$ for a system of $N$ free\nparticles obeying so-called `quon' statistics where $q$ is real and satisfies\n$|q|<1$ by using simple counting arguments. We observe that this system is\nafflicted by the Gibbs paradox and that $Z_N$ is independent of $q$. We\ndemonstrate that such a system of particles obeys the ideal gas law and that\nthe internal energy $U$ ( and hence the specific heat capacity $C_V$ ) is\nidentical to that of a system of $N$ free particles obeying Maxwell-Boltzmann\nstatistics.",
        "positive": "Affine Toda Solitons and Automorphisms of Dynkin Diagrams: Using Hirota's method, solitons are constructed for affine Toda field\ntheories based on the simply-laced affine algebras. By considering\nautomorphisms of the simply-laced Dynkin diagrams, solutions to the remaining\nalgebras, twisted as well as untwisted, are deduced."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Universal Charge Diffusion and the Butterfly Effect: We study charge diffusion in holographic scaling theories with a\nparticle-hole symmetry. We show that these theories have a universal regime in\nwhich the diffusion constant is given by $D_c = C v_B^2/ (2 \\pi T)$ where $v_B$\nis the velocity of the butterfly effect. The constant of proportionality, $C$,\ndepends only on the scaling exponents of the infra-red theory. Our results\nsuggest an unexpected connection between transport at strong coupling and\nquantum chaos.",
        "positive": "Beyond the WKB approximation in PT-symmetric quantum mechanics: The mergings of energy levels associated with the breaking of PT symmetry in\nthe model of Bender and Boettcher, and in its generalisation to incorporate a\ncentrifugal term, are analysed in detail. Even though conventional WKB\ntechniques fail, it is shown how the ODE/IM correspondence can be used to\nobtain a systematic approximation scheme which captures all previously-observed\nfeatures. Nonperturbative effects turn out to play a crucial role, governing\nthe behaviour of almost all levels once the symmetry-breaking transition has\nbeen passed. In addition, a novel treatment of the radial Schrodinger equation\nis used to recover the values of local and non-local conserved charges in the\nrelated integrable quantum field theories, without any need for resummation\neven when the angular momentum is nonzero."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Bosonisation of the Complex-boson realisation of $W_\\infty$: We bosonise the complex-boson realisations of the $W_\\infty$ and\n$W_{1+\\infty}$ algebras. We obtain nonlinear realisations of $W_\\infty$ and\n$W_{1+\\infty}$ in terms of a pair of fermions and a real scalar. By further\nbosonising the fermions, we then obtain realisations of $W_\\infty$ in terms of\ntwo scalars. Keeping the most non-linear terms in the scalars only, we arrive\nat two-scalar realisations of classical $w_\\infty$.",
        "positive": "Orbifolds versus smooth heterotic compactifications: Following the recent exploration of smooth heterotic compactifications with\nunitary bundles, orbifold compactifications in six dimensions can be shown to\ncorrespond in the blow-up to compactifications with U(1) gauge backgrounds. A\npowerful tool is the comparison of anomaly polynomials. The presentation here\nfocuses on heterotic SO(32) compactifications in six dimensions including\nfive-branes. Four dimensional and E8 x E8 models are briefly commented on."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Yang-Mills Instanton Sheaves: The SL(2,C) Yang-Mills instanton solutions constructed recently by the\nbiquaternion method were shown to satisfy the complex version of the ADHM\nequations and the Monad construction. Moreover, we discover that, in addition\nto the holomorphic vector bundles on CP^3 similar to the case of SU(2) ADHM\nconstruction, the SL(2,C) instanton solutions can be used to explicitly\nconstruct instanton sheaves on CP^3. Presumably, the existence of these\ninstanton sheaves is related to the singularities of the SL(2,C) instantons on\nS^4 which do not exist for SU(2) instantons.",
        "positive": "Area Potentials and Deformation Quantization: Systems built out of N-body interactions, beyond 2-body interactions, are\nformulated on the plane, and investigated classically and quantum mechanically\n(in phase space). Their Wigner Functions--the density matrices in phase-space\nquantization--are given and analyzed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Semiclassical String Description of Wilson Loop with Local Operators: We discuss a semiclassical string description to circular Wilson loops\nwithout/with local operator insertions. By considering a semiclassical\napproximation of type IIB string theory on AdS_5 X S^5 around the corresponding\nclassical solutions, quadratic actions with respect to fluctuations are\ncomputed. Then the dual corresponding operators describing the fluctuations are\ndiscussed from the point of view of a small deformation of the Wilson loops.\nThe result gives new evidence for AdS/CFT correspondence.",
        "positive": "Thermal duality and non-singular cosmology in d-dimensional superstrings: We are presenting the basic ingredients of a stringy mechanism able to\nresolve both the Hagedorn instabilities of finite temperature superstrings as\nwell as the initial singularity of the induced cosmology in arbitrary\ndimensions. These are shown to be generic in a large class of (4,0) type II\nsuperstring vacua, where non-trivial \"gravito-magnetic\" fluxes lift the\nHagedorn instabilities of the thermal ensemble and the temperature duality\nsymmetry is restored. This symmetry implies a universal maximal critical\ntemperature. In all such models there are three characteristic regimes, each\nwith a distinct effective field theory description: Two dual asymptotically\ncold regimes associated with the light thermal momentum and light thermal\nwinding states, and the intermediate regime where additional massless thermal\nstates appear. The partition function exhibits a conical structure as a\nfunction of the thermal modulus, irrespective of the space-time dimension.\nThanks to asymptotic right-moving supersymmetry, the genus-1 partition function\nis well-approximated by that of massless thermal radiation in all of the three\neffective field theory regimes. The resulting time-evolution describes a\nbouncing cosmology connecting, via spacelike branes, a contracting thermal\n\"winding\" Universe to an expanding thermal \"momentum\" Universe, free of any\nessential curvature singularities. The string coupling remains perturbative\nthroughout the cosmological evolution. Bouncing cosmologies are presented for\nboth zero and negative spatial curvature."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Monopole-Instanton Type Solutions In 3D Gravity: Three dimensional Euclidean gravity in the dreibein-spin connection formalism\nis investigated. We use the monopole-instanton ansatz for the dreibein and the\nspin connection. The equations of motion are solved. We point out a two\ndimensional solution with a vanishing action.",
        "positive": "Multiple Mellin-Barnes integrals and triangulations of point\n  configurations: We present a novel technique for the analytic evaluation of multifold\nMellin-Barnes (MB) integrals, which commonly appear in physics, as for instance\nin the calculations of multi-loop multi-scale Feynman integrals. Our approach\nis based on triangulating a set of points which can be assigned to a given MB\nintegral, and yields the final analytic results in terms of linear combinations\nof multiple series, each triangulation allowing the derivation of one of these\ncombinations. When this technique is applied to the computation of Feynman\nintegrals, the involved series are of the (multivariable) hypergeometric type.\nWe implement our method in the Mathematica package MBConicHulls.wl, an already\nexisting software dedicated to the analytic evaluation of multiple MB\nintegrals, based on a recently developed computational approach using\nintersections of conic hulls. The triangulation method is remarkably faster\nthan the conic hulls approach and can thus be used for the calculation of\nhigher-fold MB integrals as we show here by computing triangulations for highly\ncomplicated objects such as the off-shell massless scalar one-loop 15-point\nFeynman integral whose MB representation has 104 folds. As other applications\nwe show how this technique can provide new results for the off-shell massless\nconformal hexagon and double box Feynman integrals, as well as for the hard\ndiagram of the two loop hexagon Wilson loop."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Causal Poisson Brackets of the SL(2,R) WZNW Model and its Coset Theories: From the basic chiral and anti-chiral Poisson bracket algebra of the SL(2,R)\nWZNW model, non-equal time Poisson brackets are derived. Through Hamiltonian\nreduction we deduce the corresponding brackets for its coset theories.",
        "positive": "Symmetries of N=4 supersymmetric CP(n) mechanics: We explicitly constructed the generators of $SU(n+1)$ group which commute\nwith the supercharges of N=4 supersymmetric $\\mathbb{CP}^n$ mechanics in the\nbackground U(n) gauge fields. The corresponding Hamiltonian can be represented\nas a direct sum of two Casimir operators: one Casimir operator on $SU(n+1)$\ngroup contains our bosonic and fermionic coordinates and momenta, while the\nsecond one, on the SU(1,n) group, is constructed from isospin degrees of\nfreedom only."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "How many surface modes does one see on the boundary of a Dirac material?: We present full expressions for the surface part of polarization tensor of a\nDirac fermion confined in a half-space in $3+1$ dimensions. We compare this\ntensor to the polarization tensor of eventual surface mode (which is a $2+1$\ndimensional Dirac fermion) and find essential differences in the conductivities\nin both Hall and normal sectors. Thus, the interaction with electromagnetic\nfield near the boundary differs significantly in the full model and in the\neffective theory for the surface mode.",
        "positive": "Structure constants of twist-two light-ray operators in the triple Regge\n  limit: The structure constants of twist-two operators with spin $j$ in the BFKL\nlimit $g^2\\rightarrow 0, j\\rightarrow 1$ but ${g^2\\over j-1}\\sim 1$ are\ndetermined from the calculation of the three-point correlator of twist-two\nlight-ray operators in the triple Regge limit. It is well known that the\nanomalous dimensions of twist-two operators in this limit are determined by the\nBFKL intercept. Similarly, the obtained structure constants are determined by\nan analytic function of three BFKL intercepts."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Baryons from instantons in holographic QCD: We consider aspects of dynamical baryons in a holographic dual of QCD that is\nproposed on the basis of a D4/D8-brane configuration. We construct a soliton\nsolution carrying a unit baryon number and show that it is given by an\ninstanton solution of four-dimensional Yang-Mills theory with fixed size. The\nChern-Simons term on the flavor D8-branes plays a crucial role of protecting\nthe instanton from collapsing to zero size. By quantizing the collective\ncoordinates of the soliton, we work out the baryon spectra. Negative-parity\nbaryons as well as baryons with higher spins and isospins can be obtained in a\nsimple manner.",
        "positive": "String-theory Realization of Modular Forms for Elliptic Curves with\n  Complex Multiplication: It is known that the L-function of an elliptic curve defined over Q is given\nby the Mellin transform of a modular form of weight 2. Does that modular form\nhave anything to do with string theory? In this article, we address a question\nalong this line for elliptic curves that have complex multiplication defined\nover number fields. So long as we use diagonal rational N=(2,2) superconformal\nfield theories for the string-theory realizations of the elliptic curves, the\nweight-2 modular form turns out to be the Boltzmann-weighted\n(q^{L_0-c/24}-weighted) sum of U(1) charges with F e^{ \\pi i F} insertion\ncomputed in the Ramond sector."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Matrix Big Bang: The light-like linear dilaton background represents a particularly simple\ntime-dependent 1/2 BPS solution of critical type IIA superstring theory in ten\ndimensions. Its lift to M-theory, as well as its Einstein frame metric, are\nsingular in the sense that the geometry is geodesically incomplete and the\nRiemann tensor diverges along a light-like subspace of codimension one. We\nstudy this background as a model for a big bang type singularity in string\ntheory/M-theory. We construct the dual Matrix theory description in terms of a\n(1+1)-d supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory on a time-dependent world-sheet given\nby the Milne orbifold of (1+1)-d Minkowski space. Our model provides a\nframework in which the physics of the singularity appears to be under control.",
        "positive": "First Law, Counterterms and Kerr-AdS_5 Black Holes: We apply the counterterm subtraction technique to calculate the action and\nother quantities for the Kerr--AdS black hole in five dimensions using two\nboundary metrics; the Einstein universe and rotating Einstein universe with\narbitrary angular velocity. In both cases, the resulting thermodynamic\nquantities satisfy the first law of thermodynamics. We point out that the\nreason for the violation of the first law in previous calculations is that the\nrotating Einstein universe, used as a boundary metric, was rotating with an\nangular velocity that depends on the black hole rotation parameter. Using a new\ncoordinate system with a boundary metric that has an arbitrary angular\nvelocity, one can show that the resulting physical quantities satisfy the first\nlaw."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Relativistic two-fluid hydrodynamics with quantized vorticity from the\n  nonlinear Klein-Gordon equation: We consider a relativistic two-fluid model of superfluidity, in which the\nsuperfluid is described by an order parameter that is a complex scalar field\nsatisfying the nonlinear Klein-Gordon equation (NLKG). The coupling to the\nnormal fluid is introduced via a covariant current-current interaction, which\nresults in the addition of an effective potential, whose imaginary part\ndescribes particle transfer between superfluid and normal fluid. Quantized\nvorticity arises in a class of singular solutions and the related vortex\ndynamics is incorporated in the modified NLKG, facilitating numerical analysis\nwhich is usually very complicated in the phenomenology of vortex filaments. The\ndual transformation to a string theory description (Kalb-Ramond) of quantum\nvorticity, the Magnus force and the mutual friction between quantized vortices\nand normal fluid are also studied.",
        "positive": "Wake Potential in Strong Coupling Plasma from AdS/CFT Correspondence: With the dielectric function computed from AdS/CFT correspondence, we studied\nthe wake potential induced by a fast moving charge in strong coupling plasma,\nand compared it with the weak coupling wake potential for different particle\nvelocities as $v=0.55c$ and $v=0.99c$. The most prominent difference between\nstrong and weak wake potential is that when $v=0.99c$ the remarkable\noscillation due to Cerenkov-like radiation and Mach cone in weak coupling\ndisappears in strong coupling, which implies that the plasmon mode with phase\nvelocity lower than the speed of light dose not exist in strong coupling\nplasma."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gravitational action for a massive Majorana fermion in 2d quantum\n  gravity: We compute the gravitational action of a free massive Majorana fermion\ncoupled to two-dimensional gravity on compact Riemann surfaces of arbitrary\ngenus. The structure is similar to the case of the massive scalar. The\nsmall-mass expansion of the gravitational yields the Liouville action at zeroth\norder, and we can identify the Mabuchi action at first order. While the massive\nMajorana action is a conformal deformation of the massless Majorana CFT, we\nfind an action different from the one given by the David-Distler-Kawai (DDK)\nansatz.",
        "positive": "Optimized post Gaussian approximation in the background field method: We have extended the variational perturbative theory based on the back ground\nfield method to include the optimized expansion of Okopinska and the post\nGaussian effective potential of Stansu and Stevenson. This new method provides\nmuch simpler way to compute the correction terms to the Gausssian effective\naction (or potential). We have also renormalized the effective potential in 3+1\ndimensions by introducing appropriate counter terms in the lagrangian"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Nilpotent Symmetries For A Free Relativistic Particle In Augmented\n  Superfield Formalism: In the framework of the augmented superfield formalism, the local, covariant,\ncontinuous and off-shell (as well as on-shell) nilpotent (anti-)BRST symmetry\ntransformations are derived for a $(0 + 1)$-dimensional free scalar\nrelativistic particle that provides a prototype physical example for the more\ngeneral reparametrization invariant string- and gravitational theories. The\ntrajectory (i.e. the world-line) of the free particle, parametrized by a\nmonotonically increasing evolution parameter $\\tau$, is embedded in a\n$D$-dimensional flat Minkowski target manifold. This one-dimensional system is\nconsidered on a $(1 + 2)$-dimensional supermanifold parametrized by an even\nelement $\\tau$ and a couple of odd elements ($\\theta$ and $\\bar\\theta$) of a\nGrassmannian algebra. The horizontality condition and the invariance of the\nconserved (super)charges on the (super)manifolds play very crucial roles in the\nabove derivations of the nilpotent symmetries. The geometrical interpretations\nfor the nilpotent (anti-)BRST charges are provided in the framework of\naugmented superfield approach.",
        "positive": "Mirror Symmetry of Minimal Calabi-Yau Manifolds: We perform the mirror transformations of Calabi-Yau manifolds with one moduli\nwhose Hodge numbers $(h^{11}, h^{21})$ are minimally small. Since the\ndifference of Hodge numbers is the generation of matter fields in superstring\ntheories made of compactifications, minimal Hodge numbers of the model of\nphenomenological interest are (1,4). Genuine minimal Calabi-Yau manifold which\nhas least degrees of freedom for K\\\"ahler and complex deformation is (1,1)\nmodel. With help of {\\it Mathematica} and {\\it Maple}, we derive Picard-Fuchs\nequations for periods, and determine their monodromy behaviors completely such\nthat all monodromy matrices are consistent in the mirror prescription of the\nmodel (1,4), (1,3) and (1,1). We also discuss to find the description for each\nmirror of (1,3) and (1,1) by combining invariant polynomials of variety on\nwhich (1,5) model is defined. The genus 0 instanton numbers coming from mirror\ntransformations in above models look reasonable. We propose the weighted\ndiscriminant for genus 1 instanton calculus which makes all instanton numbers\nintegral, except (1,1) case."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Casimir Energy for a Spherical Cavity in a Dielectric: Applications to\n  Sonoluminescence: In the final few years of his life, Julian Schwinger proposed that the\n``dynamical Casimir effect'' might provide the driving force behind the\npuzzling phenomenon of sonoluminescence. Motivated by that exciting suggestion,\nwe have computed the static Casimir energy of a spherical cavity in an\notherwise uniform material. As expected the result is divergent; yet a\nplausible finite answer is extracted, in the leading uniform asymptotic\napproximation. This result agrees with that found using zeta-function\nregularization. Numerically, we find far too small an energy to account for the\nlarge burst of photons seen in sonoluminescence. If the divergent result is\nretained, it is of the wrong sign to drive the effect. Dispersion does not\nresolve this contradiction. In the static approximation, the Fresnel drag term\nis zero; on the mother hand, electrostriction could be comparable to the\nCasimir term. It is argued that this adiabatic approximation to the dynamical\nCasimir effect should be quite accurate.",
        "positive": "Microstructure in matrix elements: We investigate the simple model of Pennington, Shenker, Stanford and Yang for\nmodeling the density matrix of Hawking radiation, but further include dynamics\nfor EOW branes behind the horizon. This allows interactions that scatter one\ninterior state to another, and also allows EOW loops. At strong coupling, we\nfind that EOW states are no longer random; the ensemble has collapsed, and\ncoupling constants encode the microscopic matrix elements of Hawking radiation.\nThis suggests strong interior dynamics are important for understanding\nevaporating black holes, without any ensemble average. In this concrete model\nthe density matrix of the radiation deviates from the thermal state, small\noff-diagonal fluctuations encode equivalences between naively orthogonal\nstates, and bound the entropy from above. For almost evaporated black holes the\noff-diagonal terms become as large as the diagonal ones, eventually giving a\npure state. We also find the unique analytic formula for all Renyi entropies."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Graviton scattering in matrix theory and supergravity: I briefly review recent work on the comparison between two and three graviton\nscattering in supergravity and matrix theory",
        "positive": "Hopf Term, Fractional Spin and Soliton Operators in the O(3) Nonlinear\n  Sigma Model: We re-examine three issues, the Hopf term, fractional spin and the soliton\noperators, in the 2+1 dimensional O(3) nonlinear sigma model based on the\nadjoint orbit parameterization (AOP) introduced earlier. It is shown that the\nHopf Term is well-defined for configurations of any soliton charge $Q$ if we\nadopt a time independent boundary condition at spatial infinity. We then\ndevelop the Hamiltonian formulation of the model in the AOP and thereby argue\nthat the well-known $Q^2$-formula for fractional spin holds only for a\nrestricted class of configurations. Operators which create states of given\nclassical configurations of any soliton number in the (physical) Hilbert space\nare constructed. Our results clarify some of the points which are crucial for\nthe above three topological issues and yet have remained obscure in the\nliterature."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Goldstone multiplet for partially broken superconformal symmetry: The bosonic parts of D3-brane actions in AdS(5) backgrounds are known to have\nsymmetries which are field-dependent extensions of conformal transformations of\nthe worldvolume coordinates. Using the coset space SU(2,2|1)/SO(4,1), we apply\nthe method of nonlinear realizations to construct a four-dimensional N = 1\noff-shell supersymmetric action which has a generalized field-dependent\nsuperconformal invariance. The Goldstone fields for broken scale, chiral and\nS-supersymmetry transformations form a chiral supermultiplet.",
        "positive": "Generating the curvature perturbation with instant preheating: A new mechanism for generating the curvature perturbation at the end of\ninflaton has been investigated. The dominant contribution to the primordial\ncurvature perturbation may be generated during the period of instant\npreheating. The mechanism converts isocurvature perturbation related to a light\nfield into curvature perturbation, where the ``light field'' is not the\ninflaton field. This mechanism is important in inflationary models where\nkinetic energy is significant at the end of inflaton. We show how one can apply\nthis mechanism to various brane inflationary models."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Entropic Corrections to Coulomb's Law: Two well-known quantum corrections to the area law have been introduced in\nthe literatures, namely, logarithmic and power-law corrections. Logarithmic\ncorrections, arises from loop quantum gravity due to thermal equilibrium\nfluctuations and quantum fluctuations, while, power-law correction appears in\ndealing with the entanglement of quantum fields in and out the horizon.\nInspired by Verlinde's argument on the entropic force, and assuming the quantum\ncorrected relation for the entropy, we propose the entropic origin for the\nCoulomb's law in this note. Also we investigate the Uehling potential as a\nradiative correction to Coulomb potential in 1-loop order and show that for\nsome value of distance the entropic corrections of the Coulomb's law is\ncompatible with the vacuum-polarization correction in QED. So, we derive\nmodified Coulomb's law as well as the entropy corrected Poisson's equation\nwhich governing the evolution of the scalar potential $\\phi$. Our study further\nsupports the unification of gravity and electromagnetic interactions based on\nthe holographic principle.",
        "positive": "Magnetic Monopole in Noncommutative Space-Time and Wu-Yang\n  Singularity-Free Gauge Transformations: We investigate the validity of the Dirac Quantization Condition (DQC) for\nmagnetic monopoles in noncommutative space-time. We use an approach which is\nbased on an extension of the method introduced by Wu and Yang. To study the\neffects of noncommutativity of space-time, we consider the gauge\ntransformations of $U_\\star(1)$ gauge fields and use the corresponding deformed\nMaxwell's equations. Using a perturbation expansion in the noncommutativity\nparameter $\\theta$, we show that the DQC remains unmodified up to the first\norder in the expansion parameter. The result is obtained for a class of\nnoncommutative source terms, which reduce to the Dirac delta function in the\ncommutative limit."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Holographic dark energy reexamined: We have reexamined the holographic dark energy model by considering the\nspatial curvature. We have refined the model parameter and observed that the\nholographic dark energy model does not behave as phantom model. Comparing the\nholographic dark energy model to the supernova observation alone, we found that\nthe closed universe is favored. Combining with the Wilkinson Microwave\nAnisotropy Probe (WMAP) data, we obtained the reasonable value of the spatial\ncurvature of our universe.",
        "positive": "Scattering and Thermodynamics of Integrable N=2 Theories: We study $N$=2 supersymmetric integrable theories with spontaneously-broken\n\\Zn\\ symmetry. They have exact soliton masses given by the affine $SU(n)$ Toda\nmasses and fractional fermion numbers given by multiples of $1/n$. The basic\nsuch $N$=2 integrable theory is the $A_n$-type $N$=2 minimal model perturbed by\nthe most relevant operator. The soliton content and exact S-matrices are\nobtained using the Landau-Ginzburg description. We study the thermodynamics of\nthese theories and calculate the ground-state energies exactly, verifying that\nthey have the correct conformal limits. We conjecture that the soliton content\nand S-matrices in other integrable \\Zn\\ $N$=2 theories are given by the tensor\nproduct of the above basic $N$=2 \\Zn\\ scattering theory with various $N$=0\ntheories. In particular, we consider integrable perturbations of $N$=2\nKazama-Suzuki models described by generalized Chebyshev potentials, $CP^{n-1}$\nsigma models, and $N$=2 sine-Gordon and its affine Toda generalizations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Finite Factorization equations and Sum Rules for BPS correlators in N=4\n  SYM theory: A class of exact non-renormalized extremal correlators of half-BPS operators\nin N=4 SYM, with U(N) gauge group, is shown to satisfy finite factorization\nequations reminiscent of topological gauge theories. The finite factorization\nequations can be generalized, beyond the extremal case, to a class of\ncorrelators involving observables with a simple pattern of SO(6) charges. The\nsimple group theoretic form of the correlators allows equalities between ratios\nof correlators in N=4 SYM and Wilson loops in Chern-Simons theories at\nk=\\infty, correlators of appropriate observables in topological G/G models and\nWilson loops in two-dimensional Yang-Mills theories. The correlators also obey\nsum rules which can be generalized to off-extremal correlators. The simplest\nsum rules can be viewed as large k limits of the Verlinde formula using the\nChern-Simons correspondence. For special classes of correlators, the saturation\nof the factorization equations by a small subset of the operators in the large\nN theory is related to the emergence of semiclassical objects like KK modes and\ngiant gravitons in the dual ADS \\times S background. We comment on an\nintriguing symmetry between KK modes and giant gravitons.",
        "positive": "Thermodynamical properties of interacting holographic dark energy model\n  with apparent horizon: We have investigated the thermodynamical properties of the universe with dark\nenergy. It is demonstrated that in a universe with spacial curvature the\nnatural choice for IR cutoff could be the apparent horizon radius. We shown\nthat any interaction of pressureless dark matter with holographic dark energy,\nwhose infrared cutoff is set by the apparent horizon radius, implying a\nconstant effective equation of state of dark component in a universe. In\naddition we found that for the static observer in space, the comoving distance\nhas a faster expansion than the apparent horizon radius with any spatial\ncurvature. We also verify that in some conditions the modified first law of\nthermodynamics could return to the classic form at apparent horizon for a\nuniverse filled with dark energy and dark matter. Besides, the generalized\nsecond law of thermodynamics is discussed in a region enclosed by the apparent\nhorizon."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Instantons and Entanglement Entropy: We would like to put the area law -- believed to by obeyed by entanglement\nentropies in the ground state of a local field theory -- to scrutiny in the\npresence of non-perturbative effects. We study instanton corrections to\nentanglement entropy in various models whose instanton effects are well\nunderstood, including $U(1)$ gauge theory in 2+1 dimensions and false vacuum\ndecay in $\\phi^4$ theory, and we demonstrate that the area law is indeed obeyed\nin these models. We also perform numerical computations for toy wavefunctions\nmimicking the theta vacuum of the (1+1)-dimensional Schwinger model. Our\nresults indicate that such superpositions exhibit no more violation of the area\nlaw than the logarithmic behavior of a single Fermi surface.",
        "positive": "A new supersymmetry: We propose a new supersymmetry in field theory that generalizes standard\nsupersymmetry and we construct field theoretic models that provide some of its\nrepresentations. This symmetry combines a finite number of standard 4D\nsupersymmetry multiplets into a single multiplet with a new type of\nKaluza-Klein embedding in higher dimensions. We suggest that this mechanism may\nhave phenomenological applications in understanding family unification. The\nalgebraic structure, which has a flavor of W-algebras, is directly motivated by\nS-theory and its application in black holes. We show connections to previous\nproposals in the literature for 12 dimensional supergravity, Yang-Mills, (2,1)\nheterotic superstrings and Matrix models that attempt to capture part of the\nsecret theory behind string theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "String (In)Stability Issues with Broken Supersymmetry: We review the main results of our investigations motivated by the tadpole\npotentials of ten-dimensional strings with broken supersymmetry. While these\nare at best partial indications, it is hard to resist the feeling that they do\ncapture some lessons of String Theory. For example, these very tadpole\npotentials lead to weak-string-coupling cosmologies that appear to provide\nclues on the onset of the inflation from an initial fast roll. The transition,\nif accessible to us, would offer a natural explanation for the lack of power\nmanifested by the CMB at large angular scales. In addition, the same tadpole\npotentials can drive spontaneous compactifications to lower-dimensional\nMinkowski spaces at corresponding length scales. Furthermore, the cosmological\nsolutions exhibit an intriguing \"instability of isotropy\" that, if taken at\nface value, would point to an accidental origin of compactification. Finally,\nsymmetric static AdS x S solutions driven by the tadpole potentials also exist,\nbut they are unstable due to mixings induced by their internal fluxes. On the\nother hand, the original Dudas-Mourad solution is perturbatively stable, and we\nhave gathered some detailed evidence that instabilities induced by internal\nfluxes can be held under control in a similar class of weak-coupling type-IIB\ncompactifications to Minkowski space.",
        "positive": "Quantum integrability of a massive anisotropic SU(N) fermionic model: We consider a general anisotropic massive SU(N) fermionic model, and\ninvestigate its quantum integrability. In particular, by regularizing singular\noperator products, we derive a system of equations resulting in the S-matrix\nand find some non-trivial solutions. We illustrate our findings on the example\nof a SU(3) model, and show that the Yang-Baxter equation is satisfied in the\nmassless limit for all coupling constants, while in the massive case the\nsolutions are parameterized in terms of the exceptional solutions to the\neight-vertex model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Sailing from Warped AdS_3 to Warped dS_3 in Topologically Massive\n  Gravity: Three-dimensional warped anti-de Sitter space in topologically massive\ngravity with a negative cosmological constant has been proposed to be\nholographically dual to a two-dimensional conformal field theory. We extend\nthis proposal to both positive and vanishing values of the cosmological\nconstant where stretched warped anti-de Sitter space is found to be a solution.\nFor positive cosmological constant, another class of warped solutions is\nobtained by a spacelike (timelike) line fibration over Lorentzian (Euclidean)\ntwo-dimensional de Sitter space. These solutions exhibit a cosmological horizon\nand Hawking temperature much like de Sitter space. Global identifications of\nthis warped de Sitter space may contain a horizon in addition to the\ncosmological one. At a degenerate point, warped de Sitter space becomes a\nfibration over two-dimensional flat space. Finally, we study scalar waves in\nthese backgrounds. Scalars in stretched warped anti-de Sitter space exhibit\nsuperradiance which can be interpreted as Schwinger pair production of charged\nparticles in two-dimensional anti-de Sitter space.",
        "positive": "A Walk Through Superstring Theory With an Application to Yang-Mills\n  Theory: K-strings and D-branes as Gauge/Gravity Dual Objects: Superstring theory is one current, promising attempt at unifying gravity with\nthe other three known forces: the electromagnetic force, and the weak and\nstrong nuclear forces. Though this is still a work in progress, much effort has\nbeen put toward this goal. A set of specific tools which are used in this\neffort are gauge/gravity dualities. This thesis consists of a specific\nimplementation of gauge/gravity dualities to describe k-strings of strongly\ncoupled gauge theories as objects dual to Dp-branes embedded in confining\nsupergravity backgrounds from low energy superstring field theory. Along with\nsuperstring theory, k-strings are also commonly investigated with lattice gauge\ntheory and Hamiltonian methods. A k-string is a colorless combination of\nquark-antiquark source pairs, between which a color flux tube develops. The two\nmost notable terms of the k-string energy are, for large quark anti-quark\nseparation L, the tension term, proportional to L, and the Coulombic 1/L\ncorrection, known as the Luscher term. This thesis provides an overview of\nsuperstring theories and how gauge/gravity dualities emerge from them. It shows\nin detail how these dualities can be used for the specific problem of\ncalculating the k-string energy in 2 + 1 and 3 + 1 space-time dimensions as the\nenergy of Dp-branes in the dual gravitational theory. A detailed review of\nk-string tension calculations is given where good agreement is found with\nlattice gauge theory and Hamiltonian methods. In reviewing the k-string\ntension, we also touch on how different representations of k-strings can be\ndescribed with Dp-branes through gauge/gravity dualities. The main result of\nthis thesis is how the Luscher term is found to emerge as the one loop quantum\ncorrections to the Dp-brane energy. In 2+1 space-time dimensions, we have\nLuscher term data to compare with from lattice gauge theory, where we find good\nagreement."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Extended phase space thermodynamics for hairy black holes: We expand our results in \\cite{Astefanesei:2019ehu} to investigate a general\nclass of exact hairy black hole solutions in Einstein-Maxwell-dilaton gravity.\nThe dilaton is endowed with a potential that originates from an electromagnetic\nFayet-Iliopoulos term in $\\mathcal{N} = 2$ extended supergravity in four\nspacetime dimensions. We present the usual thermodynamics by using the\ncounterterm method supplemented with boundary terms for a scalar field with\nmixed boundary conditions. We then extend our analysis by considering a\ndynamical cosmological constant and verify the isoperimetric inequality. We\nobtain a very rich phase diagram and criticality in both the canonical and\ngrand canonical ensembles. Within string theory, the cosmological constant is\nrelated to the radius of the external sphere (of the compactification) and can\nbe interpreted as a modulus. In this context, the existence of a critical value\nhints to the fact that the thermodynamic properties of black holes in lower\ndimensions depend on the size of the compactification.",
        "positive": "Discrete Hirota's equation in quantum integrable models: The recent progress in revealing classical integrable structures in quantum\nmodels solved by Bethe ansatz is reviewed. Fusion relations for eigenvalues of\nquantum transfer matrices can be written in the form of classical Hirota's\nbilinear difference equation. This equation is also known as the completely\ndiscretized version of the 2D Toda lattice. We explain how one obtains the\nspecific quantum results by solving the classical equation. The auxiliary\nlinear problem for the Hirota equation is shown to generalize Baxter's T-Q\nrelation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Emergent strings at infinite distance with broken supersymmetry: We investigate the infinite-distance properties of families of unstable flux\nvacua in string theory with broken supersymmetry. To this end, we employ a\ngeneralized notion of distance in the moduli space and we build a holographic\ndescription for the non-perturbative regime of the tunneling cascade in terms\nof a renormalization group flow. In one limit we recover an exponentially light\ntower of Kaluza-Klein states, while in the opposite limit we find a tower of\nhigher-spin excitations of D1-branes, realizing the emergent string proposal.\nIn particular, the holographic description includes a free sector, whose\nemergent superconformal symmetry resonates with supersymmetric stability, the\nCFT distance conjecture and S-duality. We compute the anomalous dimensions of\nscalar vertex operators and single-trace higher-spin currents, finding an\nexponential suppression with the distance which is not generic from the\nrenormalization group perspective, but appears specific to our settings.",
        "positive": "An Extension of Distribution Theory Related to Gauge Field Theory: We show that a considerable part of the theory of (ultra)distributions and\nhyperfunctions can be extended to more singular generalized functions, starting\nfrom an angular localizability notion introduced previously. Such an extension\nis needed to treat gauge quantum field theories with indefinite metric in a\ngeneric covariant gauge. Prime attention is paid to the generalized functions\ndefined on the Gelfand-Shilov spaces $S_\\alpha^0$ which gives the widest\nframework for construction of gauge-like models. We associate a similar test\nfunction space with every open and every closed cone, show that these spaces\nare nuclear and obtain the required formulas for their tensor products. The\nmain results include the generalization of the Paley--Wiener--Schwartz theorem\nto the case of arbitrary singularity and the derivation of the relevant theorem\non holomorphic approximation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quasitriangularity of quantum groups at roots of 1: An important property of a Hopf algebra is its quasitriangularity and it is\nuseful various applications. This property is investigated for quantum groups\n$sl_2$ at roots of 1. It is shown that different forms of the quantum group\n$sl_2$ at roots of 1 are either quasitriangular or have similar structure which\nwill be called autoquasitriangularity. In the most interesting cases this\nproperty means that \"braiding automorphism\" is a combination of some Poisson\ntransformation and an adjoint transformation with certain element of the tensor\nsquare of the algebra.",
        "positive": "The one-legged K-theoretic vertex of fourfolds from 3d gauge theory: We present formulas for the K-theoretic Pandharipande-Thomas vertex of\nfourfolds, for the case of one non-trivial leg. They are obtained from\ncomputations in a three-dimensional supersymmetric gauge theory, where we\nidentify the field content and boundary conditions that correspond to the\nvertex with tautological insertions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "PT Symmetry and QCD: Finite Temperature and Density: The relevance of PT symmetry to quantum chromodynamics (QCD), the gauge\ntheory of the strong interactions, is explored in the context of finite\ntemperature and density. Two significant problems in QCD are studied: the sign\nproblem of finite-density QCD, and the problem of confinement. It is proven\nthat the effective action for heavy quarks at finite density is PT-symmetric.\nFor the case of 1+1 dimensions, the PT-symmetric Hamiltonian, although not\nHermitian, has real eigenvalues for a range of values of the chemical potential\n$\\mu$, solving the sign problem for this model. The effective action for heavy\nquarks is part of a potentially large class of generalized sine-Gordon models\nwhich are non-Hermitian but are PT-symmetric. Generalized sine-Gordon models\nalso occur naturally in gauge theories in which magnetic monopoles lead to\nconfinement. We explore gauge theories where monopoles cause confinement at\narbitrarily high temperatures. Several different classes of monopole gases\nexist, with each class leading to different string tension scaling laws. For\none class of monopole gas models, the PT-symmetric affine Toda field theory\nemerges naturally as the effective theory. This in turn leads to sine-law\nscaling for string tensions, a behavior consistent with lattice simulations.",
        "positive": "Electric-magnetic Duality of Abelian Gauge Theory on the Four-torus,\n  from the Fivebrane on T2 x T4, via their Partition Functions: We compute the partition function of four-dimensional abelian gauge theory on\na general four-torus T4 with flat metric using Dirac quantization. In addition\nto an SL(4, Z) symmetry, it possesses SL(2,Z) symmetry that is electromagnetic\nS-duality. We show explicitly how this SL(2, Z) S-duality of the 4d abelian\ngauge theory has its origin in symmetries of the 6d (2,0) tensor theory, by\ncomputing the partition function of a single fivebrane compactified on T2 x T4,\nwhich has SL(2,Z) x SL(4,Z) symmetry. If we identify the couplings of the\nabelian gauge theory \\tau = {\\theta\\over 2\\pi} + i{4\\pi\\over e^2} with the\ncomplex modulus of the T2 torus, \\tau = \\beta^2 + i {R_1\\over R_2}, then in the\nsmall T2 limit, the partition function of the fivebrane tensor field can be\nfactorized, and contains the partition function of the 4d gauge theory. In this\nway the SL(2,Z) symmetry of the 6d tensor partition function is identified with\nthe S-duality symmetry of the 4d gauge partition function. Each partition\nfunction is the product of zero mode and oscillator contributions, where the\nSL(2,Z) acts suitably. For the 4d gauge theory, which has a Lagrangian, this\nproduct redistributes when using path integral quantization."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A discrete history of the Lorentzian path integral: In these lecture notes, I describe the motivation behind a recent formulation\nof a non-perturbative gravitational path integral for Lorentzian (instead of\nthe usual Euclidean) space-times, and give a pedagogical introduction to its\nmain features. At the regularized, discrete level this approach solves the\nproblems of (i) having a well-defined Wick rotation, (ii) possessing a\ncoordinate-invariant cutoff, and (iii) leading to_convergent_ sums over\ngeometries. Although little is known as yet about the existence and nature of\nan underlying continuum theory of quantum gravity in four dimensions, there are\nalready a number of beautiful results in d=2 and d=3 where continuum limits\nhave been found. They include an explicit example of the inequivalence of the\nEuclidean and Lorentzian path integrals, a non-perturbative mechanism for the\ncancellation of the conformal factor, and the discovery that causality can act\nas an effective regulator of quantum geometry.",
        "positive": "Dirac operators on quantum two spheres: We investigate the spin $1/2$ fermions on quantum two spheres. It is shown\nthat the wave functions of fermions and a Dirac Operator on quantum two spheres\ncan be constructed in a manifestly covariant way under the quantum group\n$SU(2)_q$. The concept of total angular momentum and chirality can be expressed\nby using $q$-analog of Pauli-matrices and appropriate commutation relations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dressing the Giant Magnon II: We extend our earlier work by demonstrating how to construct classical string\nsolutions describing arbitrary superpositions of scattering and bound states of\ndyonic giant magnons on S^5 using the dressing method for the SU(4)/Sp(2) coset\nmodel. We present a particular scattering solution which generalizes solutions\nfound in hep-th/0607009 and hep-th/0607044 to the case of arbitrary magnon\nmomenta. We compute the classical time delay for the scattering of two dyonic\nmagnons carrying angular momenta with arbitrary relative orientation on the\nS^5.",
        "positive": "Crossing versus locking: Bit threads and continuum multiflows: Bit threads are curves in holographic spacetimes that manifest boundary\nentanglement, and are represented mathematically by continuum analogues of\nnetwork flows or multiflows. Subject to a density bound, the maximum number of\nthreads connecting a boundary region to its complement computes the\nRyu-Takayanagi entropy. When considering several regions at the same time, for\nexample in proving entropy inequalities, there are various inequivalent density\nbounds that can be imposed. We investigate for which choices of bound a given\nset of boundary regions can be \"locked\", in other words can have their\nentropies computed by a single thread configuration. We show that under the\nmost stringent bound, which requires the threads to be locally parallel,\nnon-crossing regions can in general be locked, but crossing regions cannot,\nwhere two regions are said to cross if they partially overlap and do not cover\nthe entire boundary. We also show that, under a certain less stringent density\nbound, a crossing pair can be locked, and conjecture that any set of regions\nnot containing a pairwise crossing triple can be locked, analogously to the\nsituation for networks."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The decay of massive closed superstrings with maximum angular momentum: We study the decay of a very massive closed superstring (i.e. \\alpha' M^2>>\n1) in the unique state of maximum angular momentum. This is done in flat\nten-dimensional spacetime and in the regime of weak string coupling, where the\ndominant decay channel is into two states of masses M_1, M_2. We find that the\nlifetime surprisingly grows with the first power of the mass M: T =c \\alpha' M.\nWe also compute the decay rate for each values of M_1, M_2. We find that, for\nlarge M, the dynamics selects only special channels of decay: modulo processes\nwhich are exponentially suppressed, for every decay into a state of given mass\nM_1, the mass M_2 of the other state is uniquely determined.",
        "positive": "Sequences of Bubbles and Holes: New Phases of Kaluza-Klein Black Holes: We construct and analyze a large class of exact five- and six-dimensional\nregular and static solutions of the vacuum Einstein equations. These solutions\ndescribe sequences of Kaluza-Klein bubbles and black holes, placed alternately\nso that the black holes are held apart by the bubbles. Asymptotically the\nsolutions are Minkowski-space times a circle, i.e. Kaluza-Klein space, so they\nare part of the (\\mu,n) phase diagram introduced in hep-th/0309116. In\nparticular, they occupy a hitherto unexplored region of the phase diagram,\nsince their relative tension exceeds that of the uniform black string. The\nsolutions contain bubbles and black holes of various topologies, including\nsix-dimensional black holes with ring topology S^3 x S^1 and tuboid topology\nS^2 x S^1 x S^1. The bubbles support the S^1's of the horizons against\ngravitational collapse. We find two maps between solutions, one that relates\nfive- and six-dimensional solutions, and another that relates solutions in the\nsame dimension by interchanging bubbles and black holes. To illustrate the\nrichness of the phase structure and the non-uniqueness in the (\\mu,n) phase\ndiagram, we consider in detail particular examples of the general class of\nsolutions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Completeness and consistency of renormalisation group flows: We study different renormalisation group flows for scale dependent effective\nactions, including exact and proper-time renormalisation group flows. These\nflows have a simple one loop structure. They differ in their dependence on the\nfull field-dependent propagator, which is linear for exact flows. We\ninvestigate the inherent approximations of flows with a non-linear dependence\non the propagator. We check explicitly that standard perturbation theory is not\nreproduced. We explain the origin of the discrepancy by providing links to\nexact flows both in closed expressions and in given approximations. We show\nthat proper-time flows are approximations to Callan-Symanzik flows. Within a\nbackground field formalism, we provide a generalised proper-time flow, which is\nexact. Implications of these findings are discussed.",
        "positive": "Pulse shape dependence in the dynamically assisted Sauter-Schwinger\n  effect: While the Sauter-Schwinger effect describes nonperturbative electron-positron\npair creation from vacuum by a strong and slowly varying electric field\n$E_{\\mathrm{strong}}$ via tunneling, the dynamically assisted Sauter-Schwinger\neffect corresponds to a strong (exponential) enhancement of the pair-creation\nprobability by an additional weak and fast electric or electromagnetic pulse\n$E_{\\mathrm{weak}}$. Using the WKB and worldline instanton method, we find that\nthis enhancement mechanism strongly depends on the shape of the fast pulse. For\nthe Sauter profile $1/\\cosh^2(\\omega t)$ considered previously, the threshold\nfrequency $\\omega_{\\mathrm{crit}}$ (where the enhancement mechanism sets in) is\nbasically independent of the magnitude $E_{\\mathrm{weak}}$ of the weak\npulse---whereas for a Gaussian pulse $\\exp(-\\omega^2t^2)$, an oscillating\nprofile $\\cos(\\omega t)$ or a standing wave $\\cos(\\omega t)\\cos(kx)$, the value\nof $\\omega_{\\mathrm{crit}}$ does depend (logarithmically) on\n$E_{\\mathrm{weak}}/E_{\\mathrm{strong}}$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Matter of N=2 Matter: We introduce a variety of four-dimensional N = 2 matter multiplets which have\nnot previously appeared explicitly in the literature. Using these, we develop a\nclass of supersymmetric actions supplying a context for a systematic\nexploration of N = 2 matter theories, some of which include Hypermultiplet\nsectors in novel ways. We construct an N = 2 supersymmetric field theory in\nwhich the propagating fields are realized off-shell exclusively as Lorentz\nscalars and Weyl spinors and which involves a sector with precisely the\nR-charge assignments characteristic of Hypermultiplets.",
        "positive": "Symmetry Factors of Feynman Diagrams and the Homological Perturbation\n  Lemma: We discuss the symmetry factors of Feynman diagrams of scalar field theories\nwith polynomial potential. After giving a concise general formula for them, we\npresent an elementary and direct proof that when computing scattering\namplitudes using the homological perturbation lemma, each contributing Feynman\ndiagram is indeed included with the correct symmetry factor."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Perturbative classical conformal blocks as Steiner trees on the\n  hyperbolic disk: We consider the Steiner tree problem in hyperbolic geometry in the context of\nthe AdS/CFT duality between large-$c$ conformal blocks on the boundary and\nparticle motions in the bulk. The Steiner trees are weighted graphs on the\nPoincare disk with a number of endpoints and trivalent vertices connected to\neach other by edges in such a way that an overall length is minimum. We specify\na particular class of Steiner trees that we call holographic. Their\ncharacteristic property is that a holographic Steiner tree with $N$ endpoints\ncan be inscribed into an $N$-gon with $N-1$ ideal vertices. The holographic\nSteiner trees are dual to large-$c$ conformal blocks. Particular examples of\n$N=2,3,4$ Steiner trees as well as their dual conformal blocks are explicitly\ncalculated. We discuss geometric properties of the holographic Steiner trees\nand their realization in CFT terms. It is shown that connectivity and cuts of\nthe Steiner trees encode the factorization properties of large-$c$ conformal\nblocks.",
        "positive": "Study of the \"Non-Abelian\" Current Algebra of a Non-linear\n  $\u03c3$-Model: A particular form of non-linear $\\sigma$-model, having a global gauge\ninvariance, is studied. The detailed discussion on current algebra structures\nreveals the non-abelian nature of the invariance, with {\\it{field dependent\nstructure functions}}. Reduction of the field theory to a point particle\nframework yields a non-linear harmonic oscillator, which is a special case of\nsimilar models studied before in \\cite{car}. The connection with noncommutative\ngeometry is also established."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quasinormal Modes of C-metric from SCFTs: We study the quasinormal modes (QNM) of the charged C-metric, which\nphysically stands for a charged accelerating black hole, with the help of\nNekrasov's partition function of 4d $\\mathcal{N}=2$ superconformal field\ntheories (SCFTs). The QNM in the charged C-metric are classified into three\ntypes: the photon-surface modes, the accelerating modes and the near-extremal\nmodes, and it is curious how the single quantization condition proposed in\narXiv:2006.06111 can reproduce all the different families. We show that the\nconnection formula encoded in terms of Nekrasov's partition function captures\nall these families of QNM numerically and recovers the asymptotic behavior of\nthe accelerating and the near-extremal modes analytically. Using the connection\nformulae of different 4d $\\mathcal{N}=2$ SCFTs, one can solve both the radial\nand the angular part of the scalar perturbation equation respectively. The same\nalgorithm can be applied to the de Sitter (dS) black holes to calculate both\nthe dS modes and the photon-sphere modes.",
        "positive": "Smeared BTZ Black Hole from Space Noncommutativity: We study a novel phenomena of smearing of black hole horizons from the effect\nof space noncommutativity. We present an explicit example in $AdS_3$ space,\nusing the Chern-Simons formulation of gravity. This produces a smeared BTZ\nblack hole which goes beyond the classical spacetime unexpectedly and there is\n{\\it no} reality problem in our approach with the gauge group $U(1,1) \\times\nU(1,1)$. The horizons are smeared, due to a splitting of the Killing horizon\nand the apparent horizon, and there is a metric signature change to Euclidean\nin the smeared region. The inner boundary of the smeared region acts as a\ntrapped surface for timelike particles but the outer as a classical barrier for\ningoing particles. The lightlike signals can escape from or reach the smeared\nregion in a {\\it finite} time, which indicates that {\\it the black hole is not\nso dark, even classically.} In addition, it is remarked that the Hawking\ntemperature can {\\it not} be defined by the regularity in the Euclidean\ngeometry except in the non-rotating case, and the origin can be smeared by a\n{\\it new} (apparent) horizon."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Background independence in a background dependent renormalization group: Within the derivative expansion of conformally reduced gravity, the modified\nsplit Ward identities are shown to be compatible with the flow equations if and\nonly if either the anomalous dimension vanishes or the cutoff profile is chosen\nto be power law. No solutions exist if the Ward identities are incompatible. In\nthe compatible case, a clear reason is found for why Ward identities can still\nforbid the existence of fixed points; however, for any cutoff profile, a\nbackground independent (and parametrisation independent) flow equation is\nuncovered. Finally, expanding in vertices, the combined equations are shown\ngenerically to become either over-constrained or highly redundant beyond the\nsix-point level.",
        "positive": "Consequences of Deformation of the Heisenberg Algebra: In this paper we will demonstrate that like the existence of a minimum\nmeasurable length, the existence of a maximum measurable momentum, also\ninfluence all quantum mechanical systems. Beyond the simple one dimensional\ncase, the existence of a maximum momentum will induce non-local corrections to\nthe first quantized Hamiltonian. However, these non-local corrections can be\neffectively treated as local corrections by using the theory of harmonic\nextensions of functions. We will also analyses the second quantization of this\ndeformed first quantized theory. Finally, we will analyses the gauge symmetry\ncorresponding to this deformed theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Extensions of 2D Gravity: After reviewing some aspects of gravity in two dimensions, it is shown that\nnon-trivial embeddings of sl(2) in a semi-simple (super) Lie algebra give rise\nto a very large class of extensions of 2D gravity. The induced action is\nconstructed as a gauged WZW model and an exact expression for the effective\naction is given. (Talk presented at the Journees Relativistes '93, Brussels,\nApril, 1993).",
        "positive": "Clifford Algebras, Spinors and $Cl(8,8)$ Unification: It is shown how the vector space $V_{8,8}$ arises from the Clifford algebra\n$Cl(1,3)$ of spacetime. The latter algebra describes fundamental objects such\nas strings and branes in terms of their $r$-volume degrees of freedom,\n$x^{\\mu_1 \\mu_2 ...\\mu_r}$ $\\equiv x^M$, $r=0,1,2,3$, that generalizethe\nconcept of center of mass. Taking into account that there are sixteen $x^M$,\n$M=1,2,3,...,16$, and in general $16 \\times 15/2 = 120$ rotations of the form\n$x'^M = {R^M}_N x^N$, we can consider $x^M$ as components of a vector $X=x^M\nq_M$, where $q_M$ are generators of the Clifford algebra $Cl(8,8)$. The vector\nspace $V_{8,8}$ has enough room for the unification of the fundamental\nparticles and forces of the standard model. The rotations in $V_{8,8}\\otimes\n\\mathbb{C}$ contain the grand unification group $SO(10)$ as a subgroup, and\nalso the Lorentz group $SO(1,3)$. It is shown how the Coleman-Mandula no go\ntheorem can be avoided. Spinors in $V_{8,8}\\otimes \\mathbb{C}$ are constructed\nin terms of the wedge products of the basis vectors rewritten in the Witt\nbasis. They satisfy the massless Dirac equation in $M_{8,8}$ with the internal\npart of the Dirac operator giving the non vanishing masses in four dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Time-Space Noncommutativity And Symmetries For A Massive Relativistic\n  Particle: We show the existence of a time-space noncommutativity (NC) for the physical\nsystem of a massive relativistic particle by exploiting the underlying symmetry\nproperties of this system. The space-space NC is eliminated by the\nconsideration of the exact symmetry properties and their consistency with the\nequations of motion for the above system. The symmetry corresponding to the\nnoncommutative geometry turns out to be the special case of the gauge symmetry\nsuch that the mass parameter of the above system becomes noncommutative with\nthe space and time variables. The possible deformations of the gauge algebra\nbetween the spacetime variables and the angular momenta are discussed in\ndetail. These modifications owe their origin to the NC of the mass parameter\nwith the space and time variables. The cohomological origin for the above NC is\naddressed in the language of the off-shell nilpotent Becchi-Rouet-Stora-Tyutin\n(BRST) symmetry transformations.",
        "positive": "Peculiarities of String Theory on AdS(4) x CP(3): We review peculiar features of type IIA string theory compactified on AdS(4)\nx CP(3) superspace, in particular, the structure of the Green-Schwarz action,\nissues with fixing its kappa-symmetry, classical integrability and the string\ninstanton on CP(3)"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetry in the Half-Oscillator - Revisited: Following a recent study by Das and Pernice [Nucl. Phys. B561, (1999) 357],\nwe have carefully analyzed the half-harmonic oscillator. In contrast to their\nobservations, our analysis reveals that the spectrum does not allow for a zero\nenergy ground state and hence the supersymmetry is broken when the domain is\nrestricted to the positive half of the real axis.",
        "positive": "A Matrix Model for 2D Quantum Gravity defined by Causal Dynamical\n  Triangulations: A novel continuum theory of two-dimensional quantum gravity, based on a\nversion of Causal Dynamical Triangulations which incorporates topology change,\nhas recently been formulated as a genuine string field theory in\nzero-dimensional target space (arXiv:0802.0719). Here we show that the\nDyson-Schwinger equations of this string field theory are reproduced by a cubic\nmatrix model. This matrix model also appears in the so-called Dijkgraaf-Vafa\ncorrespondence if the superpotential there is required to be renormalizable. In\nthe spirit of this model, as well as the original large-N expansion by 't\nHooft, we need no special double-scaling limit involving a fine tuning of\ncoupling constants to obtain the continuum quantum-gravitational theory. Our\nresult also implies a matrix model representation of the original, strictly\ncausal quantum gravity model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Deforming tachyon kinks and tachyon potentials: In this paper we investigate deformation of tachyon potentials and tachyon\nkink solutions. We consider the deformation of a DBI type action with gauge and\ntachyon fields living on D1-brane and D3-brane world-volume. We deform tachyon\npotentials to get other consistent tachyon potentials by using properly a\ndeformation function depending on the gauge field components. Resolutions of\nsingular tachyon kinks via deformation and applications of deformed tachyon\npotentials to scalar cosmology scenario are discussed.",
        "positive": "Flow-oriented perturbation theory: We introduce a new diagrammatic approach to perturbative quantum field\ntheory, which we call flow-oriented perturbation theory (FOPT). Within it,\nFeynman graphs are replaced by strongly connected directed graphs (digraphs).\nFOPT is a coordinate space analogue of time-ordered perturbation theory and\nloop-tree duality, but it has the advantage of having combinatorial and\ncanonical Feynman rules, combined with a simplified $i\\varepsilon$ dependence\nof the resulting integrals. Moreover, we introduce a novel digraph-based\nrepresentation for the S-matrix. The associated integrals involve the Fourier\ntransform of the flow polytope. Due to this polytope's properties, our S-matrix\nrepresentation exhibits manifest infrared singularity factorization on a\nper-diagram level. Our findings reveal an interesting interplay between\nspurious singularities and Fourier transforms of polytopes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "De Sitter Holography with a Finite Number of States: We investigate the possibility that, in a combined theory of quantum\nmechanics and gravity, de Sitter space is described by finitely many states.\nThe notion of observer complementarity, which states that each observer has\ncomplete but complementary information, implies that, for a single observer,\nthe complete Hilbert space describes one side of the horizon. Observer\ncomplementarity is implemented by identifying antipodal states with outgoing\nstates. The de Sitter group acts on S-matrix elements. Despite the fact that\nthe de Sitter group has no nontrivial finite-dimensional unitary\nrepresentations, we show that it is possible to construct an S-matrix that is\nfinite-dimensional, unitary, and de Sitter-invariant. We present a class of\nexamples that realize this idea holographically in terms of spinor fields on\nthe boundary sphere. The finite dimensionality is due to Fermi statistics and\nan `exclusion principle' that truncates the orthonormal basis in which the\nspinor fields can be expanded.",
        "positive": "Vectorial AdS_5/CFT_4 duality for spin-one boundary theory: We consider an example of vectorial AdS_5/CFT_4 duality when the boundary\ntheory is described by N free complex or real Maxwell fields. It is dual to a\nparticular (\"type C\") higher spin theory in AdS_5 containing fields in special\nmixed-symmetry representations. We extend the study of this theory in\narXiv:1410.3273 by deriving the expression for the large N limit of the\ncorresponding singlet-sector partition function on S^1 x S^3. We find that in\nboth complex U(N) and real O(N) invariant cases the form of the one-particle\npartition function is as required by the AdS/CFT duality. We also demonstrate\nthe matching of the Casimir energy on S^3 by assuming an integer shift in the\nbulk theory coupling."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A New Approach for Bosonization of Massive Thirring Model in Three\n  Dimensions: We develop a new approach for bosonization based on the direct comparison of\ncurrent correlation functions and apply it to the case of the Massive Thirring\nModel in three dimensions in the weak coupling regime, but with an arbitrary\nmass. Explicit bosonized forms for the lagrangian and the current are obtained\nin terms of a vector gauge field. Exact results for the corresponding\nexpressions are also obtained in the case of a free massive fermion. Finally, a\ncomment on the derivation of the current algebra directly from the bosonized\nexpressions is included.",
        "positive": "The metric on field space, functional renormalization, and\n  metric-torsion quantum gravity: Searching for new non-perturbatively renormalizable quantum gravity theories,\nfunctional renormalization group (RG) flows are studied on a theory space of\naction functionals depending on the metric and the torsion tensor, the latter\nparameterized by three irreducible component fields. A detailed comparison with\nQuantum Einstein-Cartan Gravity (QECG), Quantum Einstein Gravity (QEG), and\n\"tetrad-only\" gravity, all based on different theory spaces, is performed. It\nis demonstrated that, over a generic theory space, the construction of a\nfunctional RG equation (FRGE) for the effective average action requires the\nspecification of a metric on the infinite-dimensional field manifold as an\nadditional input. A modified FRGE is obtained if this metric is\nscale-dependent, as it happens in the metric-torsion system considered."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Scattering amplitudes and electromagnetic horizons: We consider the scattering of charged particles on particular electromagnetic\nfields which have properties analogous to gravitational horizons. Classically,\nparticles become causally excluded from regions of spacetime beyond a null\nsurface which we identify as the `electromagnetic horizon'. In the quantum\ntheory there is pair production at the horizon via the Schwinger effect, but\nonly one particle from the pair escapes the field. Furthermore, unitarity\nappears to be violated when crossing the horizon, and there is no well-defined\nS-matrix. Despite this, we show how to use the perturbiner method to construct\n`amplitudes' which contain all the dynamical information required to construct\nobservables related to pair creation, and to radiation from particles\nscattering on the background.",
        "positive": "Casimir Energy of 5D Electromagnetism and New Regularization Based on\n  Minimal Area Principle: We examine the Casimir energy of 5D electromagnetism in the recent\nstandpoint. The bulk geometry is flat. Z$_2$ symmetry and the periodic\nproperty, for the extra coordinate, are taken into account. After confirming\nthe consistency with the past result, we do new things based on a {\\it new\nregularization}. In the treatment of the divergences, we introduce IR and UV\ncut-offs and {\\it restrict} the (4D momentum, extra coordinate)-integral\nregion. The regularized configuration is the {\\it sphere lattice}, in the 4D\ncontinuum space, which changes along the extra coordinate. The change\n(renormalization flow) is specified by the {\\it minimal area principle}, hence\nthis regularization configuration is string-like. We do the analysis not in the\nKaluza-Klein expanded form but in a {\\it closed} form. We do {\\it not} use any\nperturbation. The formalism is based on the heat-kernel approach using the {\\it\nposition/momentum propagator}. Interesting relations between the heat-kernels\nand the P/M propagators are obtained, where we introduce the {\\it generalized}\nP/M propagators. A useful expression of the Casimir energy, in terms of the P/M\npropagator, is obtained. The restricted-region approach is replaced by the\nweight-function approach in the latter-half description. Its meaning, in\nrelation to the {\\it space-time quantization}, is argued. {\\it Finite} Casimir\nenergy is numerically obtained. The compactification-size parameter\n(periodicity) suffers from the renormalization effect. Numerical evaluation is\nexploited. Especially the minimal surface lines in the 5D flat space are\nobtained both numerically using the Runge-Kutta method and analytically using\nthe general solution."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hairy Black holes in General Minimal Massive Gravity: In this work, we investigate the near horizon and asymptotic symmetries of\nstatic and rotating hairy$-$AdS black hole in the framework of general minimal\nmassive gravity. We obtain energy, angular momentum and entropy of the\nsolutions. Then we show that our results for these quantities are consistent\nwith the first law of black hole thermodynamics. By considering the near\nhorizon geometry of black hole, we find near horizon conserved charges and\ntheir algebra. By writing the algebra of conserved charges in terms of Fourier\nmodes we have obtained the conserved charges in terms of zero modes.",
        "positive": "Charged Particles: A Builder's Guide: It is sometimes claimed that one cannot describe charged particles in gauge\ntheories. We identify the root of the problem and present an explicit\nconstruction of charged particles. This is shown to have good perturbative\nproperties and, asymptotically before and after scattering, to recover particle\nmodes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The SU(2) X U(1) Electroweak Model based on the Nonlinearly Realized\n  Gauge Group. II. Functional Equations and the Weak Power-Counting: In the present paper, that is the second part devoted to the construction of\nan electroweak model based on a nonlinear realization of the gauge group SU(2)\nX U(1), we study the tree-level vertex functional with all the sources\nnecessary for the functional formulation of the relevant symmetries (Local\nFunctional Equation, Slavnov-Taylor identity, Landau Gauge Equation) and for\nthe symmetric removal of the divergences. The Weak Power Counting criterion is\nproven in the presence of the novel sources. The local invariant solutions of\nthe functional equations are constructed in order to represent the counterterms\nfor the one-loop subtractions. The bleaching technique is fully extended to the\nfermion sector. The neutral sector of the vector mesons is analyzed in detail\nin order to identify the physical fields for the photon and the Z boson. The\nidentities necessary for the decoupling of the unphysical modes are fully\nanalyzed. These latter results are crucially bound to the Landau gauge used\nthroughout the paper.",
        "positive": "Homolumo Gap from Dynamical Energy Levels: We introduce a dynamical matrix model where the matrix $X$ is interpreted as\na Hamiltonian representing interaction of a bosonic system with a single\nfermion. We show how a system of second-quantized fermions influences the\nground state of the whole system by producing a gap between the highest\noccupied eigenvalue and the lowest unoccupied eigenvalue. We describe the\ndevelopment of the gap in both, strong and weak coupling regime, while for the\nintermediate coupling strength we expect formation of homolumo \"kinks\"."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Massive gravitons as dark matter and gravitational waves: We consider the possibility that the massive graviton is a viable candidate\nof dark matter in the context of bimetric gravity. We first derive the\nenergy-momentum tensor of the massive graviton and show that it indeed behaves\nas that of dark matter fluid. We then discuss a production mechanism and the\npresent abundance of massive gravitons as dark matter. Since the metric to\nwhich ordinary matter fields couple is a linear combination of the two mass\neigenstates of bigravity, production of massive gravitons, i.e. the dark matter\nparticles, is inevitably accompanied by generation of massless gravitons, i.e.\nthe gravitational waves. Therefore, in this scenario some information about\ndark matter in our universe is encoded in gravitational waves. For instance, if\nLIGO detects gravitational waves generated by the preheating after inflation\nthen the massive graviton with the mass of $\\sim 0.01$ GeV is a candidate of\nthe dark matter.",
        "positive": "K-homology in algebraic geometry and D-branes: In this article, we study how the Grothendieck group of coherent sheaves can\nbe used to describe D-branes. We show how global bound state construction in\ntopological $K$-theory can be adapted to our context, showing that D-branes\nwrapping a subvariety are holomorphically classified by a relative $K$-group.\nBy taking the duality between the relative $K$-groups and the $K$-homologies,\nwe show that D-brane charge of type IIB superstrings is properly classified by\nthe $K$-homology."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Metastable Vacua and the Warped Deformed Conifold: Analytic Results: Continuing the programme of constructing the backreacted solution\ncorresponding to smeared anti-D3 branes in the warped deformed conifold, we\nsolve analytically the equations governing the space of first-order\ndeformations around this solution. We express the results in terms of at most\nthree nested integrals. These are the simplest expressions for the space of\n$SU(2) \\times SU(2) \\times \\ZZ_2$-invariant deformations, in which the putative\nsolution for smeared anti-D3 branes must live. We also explain why one cannot\nclaim to identify this solution without fully relating the coefficients of the\ninfrared and ultraviolet expansions of the deformation modes. The analytic\nsolution we find is the first step in this direction.",
        "positive": "The holographic entropy arrangement: We develop a convenient framework for characterizing multipartite\nentanglement in composite systems, based on relations between entropies of\nvarious subsystems. This continues the program initiated in arXiv:1808.07871,\nof using holography to effectively recast the geometric problem into an\nalgebraic one. We prove that, for an arbitrary number of parties, our procedure\nidentifies a finite set of entropic information quantities that we conveniently\nrepresent geometrically in the form of an arrangement of hyperplanes. This\nleads us to define the holographic entropy arrangement, whose algebraic and\ncombinatorial aspects we explore in detail. Using the framework, we derive\nthree new information quantities for four parties, as well as a new infinite\nfamily for any number of parties. A natural construct from the arrangement is\nthe holographic entropy polyhedron which captures holographic entropy\ninequalities describing the physically allowed region of entropy space. We\nillustrate how to obtain the polyhedron by winnowing down the arrangement\nthrough a sieve to pick out candidate sign-definite information quantities.\nComparing the polyhedron with the holographic entropy cone, we find perfect\nagreement for 4 parties and corroborating evidence for the conjectured 5-party\nentropy cone. We work with explicit configurations in arbitrary\n(time-dependent) states leading to both simple derivations and an intuitive\npicture of the entanglement pattern."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Black Hole Bound on the Number of Species and Quantum Gravity at LHC: In theories with a large number N of particle species, black hole physics\nimposes an upper bound on the mass of the species equal to M_{Planck}/\\sqrt{N}.\nThis bound suggests a novel solution to the hierarchy problem in which there\nare N \\approx 10^{32} gravitationally coupled species, for example 10^{32}\ncopies of the Standard Model. The black hole bound forces them to be at the\nweak scale, hence providing a stable hierarchy. We present various arguments,\nthat in such theories the effective gravitational cutoff is reduced to\n\\Lambda_G \\approx M_{Planck}/\\sqrt{N} and a new description is needed around\nthis scale. In particular black-holes smaller than \\Lambda_G^{-1} are already\nno longer semi-classical. The nature of the completion is model dependent. One\nnatural possibility is that \\Lambda_G is the quantum gravity scale. We provide\nevidence that within this type of scenarios, contrary to the standard\nintuition, micro black holes have a (slowly-fading) memory of the species of\norigin. Consequently the black holes produced at LHC, will predominantly decay\ninto the Standard Model particles, and negligibly into the other species.",
        "positive": "Modified Chaplygin Gas as Scalar Field and Holographic Dark Energy Model: We study the correspondence between field theoretic and holographic dark\nenergy density of the universe with the modified Chaplygin gas (MCG)\nrespectively both in a flat and non-flat FRW universe. We present an equivalent\nrepresentation of the MCG with a homogeneous minimally coupled scalar field by\nconstructing the corresponding potential. A new scalar field potential is\nobtained here which is physically realistic and important for cosmological\nmodel building. In addition we also present holographic dark energy model\ndescribed by the MCG. The dynamics of the corresponding holographic dark energy\nfield is determined by reconstructing the potential in a non-flat universe. The\nstability of the holographic dark energy in this case in a non-flat universe is\nalso discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Improved Holographic QCD and the Quark-gluon Plasma: We review construction of the improved holographic models for QCD-like\nconfining gauge theories and their applications to the physics of the\nQuark-gluon plasma. We also review recent progress in this area of research.\nThe lecture notes start from the vacuum structure of these theories, then\ndevelop thermodynamic and hydrodynamic observables and end with more advanced\ntopics such as the holographic QCD in the presence of external magnetic fields.\nThis is a summary of the lectures presented at the 56th Cracow School of\nTheoretical Physics in Spring 2016 at Zakopane, Poland.",
        "positive": "Superconnection in the spin factor approach to particle physics: The notion of superconnection devised by Quillen in 1985 and used in\ngauge-Higgs field theory in the 1990's is applied to the spin factors\n(finite-dimensional euclidean Jordan algebras) recently considered as\nrepresenting the finite quantum geometry of one generation of fermions in the\nStandard Model of particle physics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Page Curve of AdS-Vaidya Model for Evaporating Black Holes: We study an evaporating black hole in the boundary conformal field theory\n(BCFT) model. We show that a new BCFT solution that acts as a time-dependent\nbrane which we call the moving end-of-the-radiation (METR) brane leads to a new\ntype of Hubeny-Rangamani-Takayanagi surface. We further examine the island\nformulation in this particular time-dependent spacetime. The Page curve is\ncalculated by using Holographic Entanglement Entropy (HEE) in the context of\ndouble holography.",
        "positive": "Holographic Order from Modular Chaos: We argue for an exponential bound characterizing the chaotic properties of\nmodular Hamiltonian flow of QFT subsystems. In holographic theories, maximal\nmodular chaos is reflected in the local Poincare symmetry about a\nRyu-Takayanagi surface. Generators of null deformations of the bulk extremal\nsurface map to modular scrambling modes -positive CFT operators saturating the\nbound- and their algebra probes the bulk Riemann curvature, clarifying the\nmodular Berry curvature proposal of arXiv:1903.04493."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Thermodynamics of charged rotating black branes in Brans-Dicke theory\n  with quadratic scalar field potential: We construct a class of charged rotating solutions in $(n+1)$-dimensional\nMaxwell-Brans-Dicke theory with flat horizon in the presence of a quadratic\npotential and investigate their properties. These solutions are neither\nasymptotically flat nor (anti)-de Sitter. We find that these solutions can\npresent black brane, with inner and outer event horizons, an extreme black\nbrane or a naked singularity provided the parameters of the solutions are\nchosen suitably. We compute the finite Euclidean action through the use of\ncounterterm method, and obtain the conserved and thermodynamic quantities by\nusing the relation between the action and free energy in grand-canonical\nensemble. We find that these quantities satisfy the first law of\nthermodynamics, and the entropy does not follow the area law.",
        "positive": "Open M-branes on AdS_{4/7} x S^{7/4} Revisited: We proceed further with a study of open supermembrane on the AdS_{4/7} x\nS^{7/4} backgrounds. Open supermembrane can have M5-brane and 9-brane as\nDirichlet branes. In AdS and pp-wave cases the configurations of Dirichlet\nbranes are restricted. A classification of possible Dirichlet branes, which is\ngiven up to and including the fourth order of fermionic variable \\th in\nhep-th/0310035, is shown to be valid even at full order of \\th. We also discuss\nopen M5-brane on the AdS_{4/7} x S^{7/4}."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Topological and Nontopological Solitons in a Gauged O(3) Sigma Model\n  with Chern-Simons term: The $O(3)$ nonlinear sigma model with its $U(1)$ subgroup gauged, where the\ngauge field dynamics is solely governed by a Chern-Simons term, admits both\ntopological as well as nontopological self-dual soliton solutions for a\nspecific choice of the potential. It turns out that the topological solitons\nare infinitely degenerate in any given sector.",
        "positive": "Resonances in sinh- and sine-Gordon models and higher equations of\n  motion in Liouville theory: The notion of operator resonances was introduced earlier by Al. Zamolodchikov\nwithin the framework of the conformal perturbation theory. The resonances are\nrelated to logarithmic divergences of integrals in the perturbation expansion,\nand manifest themselves in poles of the correlation functions and form factors\nof local operators considered as functions of conformal dimensions. The\nresidues of the poles can be computed by means of some operator identities.\nHere we study the resonances in the Liouville, sinh- and sine-Gordon models,\nconsidered as perturbations of a massless free boson. We show that the\nwell-known higher equations of motion discovered by Al. Zamolodchikov in the\nLiouville field theory are nothing but resonance identities for some descendant\noperators. The resonance expansion in the vicinity of a resonance point\nprovides a regularized version of the corresponding operators. We try to\nconstruct the corresponding resonance identities and resonance expansions in\nthe sinh- and sine-Gordon theories. In some cases it can be done explicitly,\nbut in most cases we are only able to obtain a general form so far. We show\nnevertheless that the resonances are perturbatively exact, which means that\neach of them only appears in a single term of the perturbation theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Balanced metrics and noncommutative Kaehler geometry: In this paper we show how Einstein metrics are naturally described using the\nquantization of the algebra of functions on a Kahler manifold M. In this setup\none interprets M as the phase space itself, equipped with the Poisson brackets\ninherited from the Kahler 2-form. We compare the geometric quantization\nframework with several deformation quantization approaches. We find that the\nbalanced metrics appear naturally as a result of setting the vacuum energy to\nbe the constant function on the moduli space of semiclassical vacua. In the\nclassical limit these metrics become Kahler-Einstein (when M admits such\nmetrics). Finally, we sketch several applications of this formalism, such as\nexplicit constructions of special Lagrangian submanifolds in compact Calabi-Yau\nmanifolds.",
        "positive": "A Superstring Field Theory for Supergravity: A covariant closed superstring field theory, equivalent to classical\nten-dimensional Type II supergravity, is presented. The defining conformal\nfield theory is the ambitwistor string worldsheet theory of Mason and Skinner.\nThis theory is known to reproduce the scattering amplitudes of Cachazo, He and\nYuan in which the scattering equations play an important role and the string\nfield theory naturally incorporates these results. We investigate the operator\nformalism description of the ambitwsitor string and propose an action for the\nstring field theory of the bosonic and supersymmetric theories. The correct\nlinearised gauge symmetries and spacetime actions are explicitly reproduced and\nevidence is given that the action is correct to all orders. The focus is on the\nNeveu-Schwarz sector and the explicit description of tree level perturbation\ntheory about flat spacetime. Application of the string field theory to general\nsupergravity backgrounds and the inclusion of the Ramond sector are briefly\ndiscussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Free Field Dynamics in the Generalized AdS (Super)Space: Pure gauge representation for general vacuum background fields (Cartan forms)\nin the generalized $AdS$ superspace identified with $OSp(L,M)$ is found. This\nallows us to formulate dynamics of free massless fields in the generalized\n$AdS$ space-time and to find their (generalized) conformal and higher spin\nfield transformation laws. Generic solution of the field equations is also\nconstructed explicitly. The results are obtained with the aid of the star\nproduct realization of ortosymplectic superalgebras.",
        "positive": "Integrable deformations of CFTs and the discrete Hirota equations: We solve the discrete Hirota equations (Kirillov-Reshetikhin Q-systems) for\n$A_r$, and their analogue for $D_r$, for the cases where the second variable\nranges over either a finite set or over all integers. Until now only special\nsolutions were known. We find all solutions for which no component vanishes, as\nrequired in the known applications. As an introduction we present the known\nsolution where the second variable ranges over the natural numbers."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Charged Black Rings at large D: We study the charged slowly rotating black holes in the Einstein-Maxwell\ntheory in the large dimensions. By using the 1/D expansion in the near region\nof the black hole we obtain the effective equations for the charged slowly\nrotating black holes. The effective equations describe the charged black ring,\nthe charged slowly rotating Myers-Perry black hole and the charged slowly\nboosted black string as stationary solutions. By embedding the solution of the\neffective equations into the flat spacetime background in the ring coordinate\nwe obtain the charged black ring solution at large D analytically. We find that\nthe charge lowers the angular momentum of the black ring due to the regular\ncondition on the solution. By the perturbation analysis of the effective\nequations, we obtain the quasinormal modes of the charge perturbation and the\ngravitational perturbation analytically. Like the neutral case the charged thin\nblack ring suffers from the Gregory-Laflamme-like instability under\nnon-axisymmetric perturbations, but the charge helps weaken the instability.\nBesides, we find that the large D analysis always respect the cosmic\ncensorship.",
        "positive": "Elliptical and Purely NS Superstrata: We analyze the BPS equations in the ``superstratum sector'' of\nthree-dimensional gauged supergravity. We obtain multi-parameter supersymmetric\nsolutions that include elliptical deformations of the supertubes that underlie\nstandard superstrata. We uplift the three-dimensional solutions to obtain the\ncorresponding six-dimensional geometries. This yields new families of\nelliptically-deformed, ambi-bolar hyper-K\\\"ahler geometries in four dimensions\nwith a non-tri-holomorphic $U(1)$ isometry. We also find a new family of\nscaling superstrata whose S-dual lives entirely within the NS-sector of\nsupergravity, and will thus be more amenable to exact analysis using string\nprobes. In all these new superstrata, including the scaling ones, if the\nmomentum charge is non-zero we find that the ellipse stays away from the\ndegeneration locus in which the ellipse becomes flat."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Vacuum interpolation in supergravity via super p-branes: We show that many of the recently proposed supersymmetric p-brane solutions\nof d=10 and d=11 supergravity have the property that they interpolate between\nMinkowski spacetime and a compactified spacetime, both being supersymmetric\nsupergravity vacua. Our results imply that the effective worldvolume action for\nsmall fluctuations of the super p-brane is a supersingleton field theory for\n$(adS)_{p+2}$, as has been often conjectured in the past.",
        "positive": "Twisted indices, Bethe ideals and 3d $\\mathcal{N}=2$ infrared dualities: We study the topologically twisted index of 3d $\\mathcal{N}=2$ supersymmetric\ngauge theories with unitary gauge groups. We implement a Gr\\\"obner basis\nalgorithm for computing the $\\Sigma_g\\times S^1$ index explicitly and exactly\nin terms of the associated Bethe ideal, which is defined as the algebraic ideal\nassociated with the Bethe equations of the corresponding 3d $A$-model. We then\nrevisit recently discovered infrared dualities for unitary SQCD with gauge\ngroup $U(N_c)_{k, k +l N_c}$ with $l\\neq 0$, namely the Nii duality that\ngeneralises the Giveon-Kutasov duality, the Amariti-Rota duality that\ngeneralises the Aharony duality, and their further generalisations in the case\nof arbitrary numbers of fundamental and antifundamental chiral multiplets. In\nparticular, we determine all the flavour Chern-Simons contact terms needed to\nmake these dualities work. This allows us to check that the twisted indices of\ndual theories match exactly. We also initiate the study of the Witten index of\nunitary SQCD with $l\\neq 0$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the effective lagrangian in spinor electrodynamics with added\n  violation of Lorentz and CPT symmetries: We consider quantum electrodynamics with additional coupling of spinor fields\nto the space-time independent axial vector violating both Lorentz and CPT\nsymmetries. The Fock-Schwinger proper time method is used to calculate the\none-loop effective action up to the second order in the axial vector and to all\norders in the space-time independent electromagnetic field strength. We find\nthat the Chern-Simons term is not radiatively induced and that the effective\naction is CPT invariant in the given approximation.",
        "positive": "Holography and off-center collisions of localized shock waves: Using numerical holography, we study the collision, at non-zero impact\nparameter, of bounded, localized distributions of energy density chosen to\nmimic relativistic heavy ion collisions, in strongly coupled N = 4\nsupersymmetric Yang-Mills theory. Both longitudinal and transverse dynamics in\nthe dual field theory are properly described. Using the gravitational\ndescription we solve 5D Einstein equations, without dimensionality reducing\nsymmetry restrictions, to find the asymptotically anti-de Sitter spacetime\ngeometry. Implications of our results on the understanding of early stages of\nheavy ion collisions, including the development of transverse radial flow, are\ndiscussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chiral Symmetry Breaking in a Uniform External Magnetic Field: Using the nonperturbative Schwinger-Dyson equation, we show that chiral\nsymmetry is dynamically broken in QED at weak couplings when an external\nmagnetic field is present, and that chiral symmetry is restored at temperatures\nabove $T_c \\simeq \\alpha\\pi^2/\\sqrt{2 \\pi |eH|}$, where $\\alpha$ is the fine\nstructure constant and $H$ is the magnetic field strength.",
        "positive": "Asymptotically flat black holes and gravitational waves in\n  three-dimensional massive gravity: Different classes of exact solutions for the BHT massive gravity theory are\nconstructed and analyzed. We focus in the special case of the purely quadratic\nLagrangian, whose field equations are irreducibly of fourth order and are known\nto admit asymptotically locally flat black holes endowed with gravitational\nhair. The first class corresponds to a Kerr-Schild deformation of Minkowski\nspacetime along a covariantly constant null vector. As in the case of General\nRelativity, the field equations linearize so that the solution can be easily\nshown to be described by four arbitrary functions of a single null coordinate.\nThese solutions can be regarded as a new sort of pp-waves. The second class is\nobtained from a deformation of the static asymptotically locally flat black\nhole, that goes along the spacelike (angular) Killing vector. Remarkably,\nalthough the deformation is not of Kerr-Schild type, the field equations also\nlinearize, and hence the generic solution can be readily integrated. It is\nneither static nor spherically symmetric, being described by two integration\nconstants and two arbitrary functions of the angular coordinate. In the static\ncase it describes \"black flowers\" whose event horizons break the spherical\nsymmetry. The generic time-dependent solution appears to describe a graviton\nthat moves away from a black flower. Despite the asymptotic behaviour of these\nsolutions at null infinity is relaxed with respect to the one for General\nRelativity, the asymptotic symmetries coincide. However, the algebra of the\nconserved charges corresponds to BMS$_{3}$, but devoid of central extensions.\nThe \"dynamical black flowers\" are shown to possess a finite energy. The surface\nintegrals that define the global charges also turn out to be useful in the\ndescription of the thermodynamics of solutions with event horizons."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exact N=2 Supergravity Solutions With Polarized Branes: We construct several classes of exact supersymmetric supergravity solutions\ndescribing D4 branes polarized into NS5 branes and F-strings polarized into D2\nbranes. These setups belong to the same universality class as the perturbative\nsolutions used by Polchinski and Strassler to describe the string dual of N=1*\ntheories. The D4-NS5 setup can be interpreted as a string dual to a confining\n4+1 dimensional theory with 8 supercharges, whose properties we discuss. By\nT-duality, our solutions give Type IIB supersymmetric backgrounds with\npolarized branes.",
        "positive": "Sphalerons, Antisphalerons and Vortex Rings: We present new classical solutions of Weinberg-Salam theory in the limit of\nvanishing Weinberg angle. In these static axially symmetric solutions, the\nHiggs field vanishes either on isolated points on the symmetry axis, or on\nrings centered around the symmetry axis. The solutions represent systems of\nsphalerons, antisphalerons, and vortex rings."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Small cosmological constant in seesaw mechanism with breaking down SUSY: The observed small value of cosmological constant can be naturally related\nwith the scale of breaking down supersymmetry in agreement with other\nevaluations in particle physics.",
        "positive": "Gribov horizon and i-particles: about a toy model and the construction\n  of physical operators: Restricting the functional integral to the Gribov region $\\Omega$ leads to a\ndeep modification of the behavior of Euclidean Yang-Mills theories in the\ninfrared region. For example, a gluon propagator of the Gribov type,\n$\\frac{k^2}{k^4+{\\hat \\gamma}^4}$, can be viewed as a propagating pair of\nunphysical modes, called here $i$-particles, with complex masses $\\pm i{\\hat\n\\gamma}^2$. From this viewpoint, gluons are unphysical and one can see them as\nbeing confined. We introduce a simple toy model describing how a suitable set\nof composite operators can be constructed out of $i$-particles whose\ncorrelation functions exhibit only real branch cuts, with associated positive\nspectral density. These composite operators can thus be called physical and are\nthe toy analogy of glueballs in the Gribov-Zwanziger theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spacing of the entropy spectrum for KS Black hole in Horava-Lifshitz\n  gravity: In this paper we present the spectrum of entropy/area for Kehagias-Sfetsos\n(KS) black hole in Ho$\\check{\\textbf{r}}$ava-Lifshitz (HL)gravity via\nquasi-normal modes (QNM) approach. We show that in the massive case the mass\nparameter $\\mu$ disappears in the entropy spectrum and only the quasinormal\nmodes modified by a term which is proportional to the mass square term. Our\ncalculations show that the charge like parameter $\\frac{1}{2\\omega}=Q^{2}$\nappears in the surface gravity and our calculations can be applied to any\nspherically symmetric spacetime which has only one physically acceptable\nhorizon. Our main difference between our calculations and what was done in\n\\cite{1} is that the portion of charge and mass is included explicitly in the\nsurface gravity and consequently in the QNM expression. Since the imaginary\npart of the QNM is related to the adiabatic invariance of the system and also\nto the entropy, surprisingly the mass parameter do not appear in the entropy\nspectrum. Our conclusion supported by some acclaims about that the scalar field\nparameters (charges) can not change the fundamental parameters in the\n4-dimensional black holes.",
        "positive": "A Computer Algorithm For Engineering Off-Shell Multiplets With Four\n  Supercharges On The World Sheet: We present an adinkra-based computer algorithm implemented in a Mathematica\ncode and use it in a limited demonstration of how to engineer off-shell,\narbitrary N-extended world-sheet supermultiplets. Using one of the outputs from\nthis algorithm, we present evidence for the unexpected discovery of a\npreviously unknown 8 - 8 representation of N = 2 world sheet supersymmetry. As\nwell, we uncover a menagerie of (p, q) = (3, 1) world sheet supermultiplets."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The rank-2 classification problem III: curves with additional\n  automorphisms: This is the third in a series of papers which outlines an approach to the\nclassification of $\\mathcal{N}{=}2$ superconformal field theories at rank 2 via\nthe study of their Coulomb branch geometries. Here we use the fact that the\nencoding of a Coulomb branch geometry as a Seiberg-Witten curve and 1-form\nenjoys a large reparametrisation invariance. While there is always a unique way\nto fix this invariance such that the curve and 1-form are single-valued over\nthe Coulomb branch -- the \"canonical frame\" of the curve used in the first two\npapers in this series -- there are other useful frames in which the curve is\nsingle-valued but the 1-form is allowed to be multi-valued. In these frames,\nwhich we call \"automorphism frames\", the 1-form is periodic up to an\nautomorphism twist. We argue that the multi-valuedness of the automorphism\nframe can simplify the computational complexity of finding new consistent scale\ninvariant solutions. We demonstrate this in an example by using the\nautomorphism frame to construct for the first time a genus 2 Seiberg-Witten\ncurve for the $\\mathcal{N}{=}4$ SU(3) superYang-Mills theory, a solution that\nis hard to find by other approaches.",
        "positive": "Scattering and bound states of Dirac Equation in presence of cosmic\n  string for Hulth\u00e9n potential: In this work we study the Dirac equation with vector and scalar potentials in\nthe spacetime generated by a cosmic string. Using an approximation for the\ncentrifugal term, a solution for the radial differential equation is obtained.\nWe consider the scattering states under the Hulth\\'{e}n potential and obtain\nthe phase shifts. From the poles of the scattering $S$-matrix the states\nenergies are determined as well."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "R\u00e9nyi Entropy for a $\\bf 2d$ CFT with a gauge field: $\\bf \\widehat{\\rm\n  SU}(N)_1$ WZW theory on a branched torus: The R\\'enyi entropy for the $\\widehat{\\rm SU}(N)_1$ WZW model as described by\n$N$ free fermions coupled to a $U(1)$ constraint field is computed on an\n$n$-sheeted branched torus. The boundary condition of the harmonic component of\nthe gauge field on the homology cycles of the genus $g$ Riemann surface is\ncentral to the final result. This calculation is complementary to that of\narXiv:$1510.05993$, which presents the bose side of the bose-fermi equivalence.",
        "positive": "Quark Mass Correction to Chiral Separation Effect and Pseudoscalar\n  Condensate: We derived an analytic structure of the quark mass correction to chiral\nseparation effect (CSE) in small mass regime. We confirmed this structure by a\nD3/D7 holographic model study in a finite density, finite magnetic field\nbackground. The quark mass correction to CSE can be related to correlators of\npseudo-scalar condensate, quark number density and quark condensate in static\nlimit. We found scaling relations of these correlators with spatial momentum in\nthe small momentum regime. They characterize medium responses to electric\nfield, inhomogeneous quark mass and chiral shift. Beyond the small momentum\nregime, we found existence of normalizable mode, which possibly leads to\nformation of spiral phase. The normalizable mode exists beyond a critical\nmagnetic field, whose magnitude decreases with quark chemical potential."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Ruijsenaars-Schneider three-body models with N=2 supersymmetry: The Ruijsenaars-Schneider models are conventionally regarded as relativistic\ngeneralizations of the Calogero integrable systems. Surprisingly enough, their\nsupersymmetric generalizations escaped attention. In this work, N=2\nsupersymmetric extensions of the rational and hyperbolic Ruijsenaars-Schneider\nthree-body models are constructed within the framework of the Hamiltonian\nformalism. It is also known that the rational model can be described by the\ngeodesic equations associated with a metric connection. We demonstrate that the\nhyperbolic systems are linked to non-metric connections.",
        "positive": "The imaginary time Path Integral and non-time-reversal-invariant- saddle\n  points of the Euclidean Action: We discuss new bounce-like (but non-time-reversal-invariant-) solutions to\nEuclidean equations of motion, which we dub boomerons. In the Euclidean path\nintegral approach to quantum theories, boomerons make an imaginary contribution\nto the vacuum energy. The fake vacuum instabilty can be removed by cancelling\nboomeron contributions against contributions from time reversed boomerons\n(anti-boomerons). The cancellation rests on a sign choice whose significance is\nnot completely understood in the path integral method."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Restrictions of Pfaffian Systems for Feynman Integrals: This work studies limits of Pfaffian systems, a class of first-order PDEs\nappearing in the Feynman integral calculus. Such limits appear naturally in the\ncontext of scattering amplitudes when there is a separation of scale in a given\nset of kinematic variables. We model these limits, which are often singular,\nvia restrictions of D-modules. We thereby develop two different restriction\nalgorithms: one based on gauge transformations, and another relying on the\nMacaulay matrix. These algorithms output Pfaffian systems containing fewer\nvariables and of smaller rank. We show that it is also possible to retain\nlogarithmic corrections in the limiting variable. The algorithms are showcased\nin many examples involving Feynman integrals and hypergeometric functions\ncoming from GKZ systems.",
        "positive": "Braneworld sum rules and positive tension branes in a massive gravity: By taking advantage of the braneworld sum rules, we explore the feasibility\nof constructing a braneworld scenario consisting solely of positive tension\nbranes in a 5D extension of the Lorentz-violating massive gravity. It is found\nthat the theory supports three distinct brane configurations, one of which is\nexactly what we expected, consisting solely of two positive tension branes. The\ncosmological problem of Randall-Sundrum-1 model and the gauge hierarchy problem\ncan be solved in this model simultaneously. Furthermore, the analysis of linear\nperturbations reveals that the tensor, vector and scalar modes are all massive\nand share the same mass spectrum, except that the ground state of vector mode\nis absent. Moreover, the tensor and vector modes are robust, but the scalar\nmode is ghost-like. Interestingly, even though the Kaluza-Klein gravitons have\nan extremely small mass splitting scale, an estimation of the effective\ngravitational potential and production of these gravitons on the brane\nindicates that the phenomenology of the present model is equivalent to that of\nthe 6D ADD model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Tensionless Strings, WZW Models at Critical Level and Massless Higher\n  Spin Fields: We discuss the notion of tensionless limit in quantum bosonic string theory,\nespecially in flat Minkowski space, noncompact group manifolds (e.g., SL(2,R))\nand coset manifolds (e.g., AdS). We show that in curved space typically there\nexists a critical value of the tension which is related to the critical value\nof the level of the corresponding affine algebra. We argue that at the critical\nlevel the sring theory becomes tensionless and that there exists a huge new\nsymmetry of the theory. We dicuss the appearence of the higher spin massless\nstates at the critical level.",
        "positive": "Gauge fields in (anti)-de Sitter space and Connections of its symmetry\n  algebra: The generalized connections of the (anti)-de Sitter space symmetry algebra,\nwhich are differential forms of arbitrary degree with values in any irreducible\n(spin)-tensor representation of the (anti)-de Sitter algebra, are studied. It\nis shown that arbitrary-spin gauge field in (anti)-de Sitter space, massless or\npartially-massless, can be described by a single connection. A 'one-to-one'\ncorrespondence between the connections of the (anti)-de Sitter algebra and the\ngauge fields is established. The gauge symmetry is manifest and auxiliary\nfields are automatically included in the formalism."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Some three-point correlation functions in the eta-deformed AdS_5 x S^5: We compute some normalized structure constants in the $\\eta$-deformed\n$AdS_5\\times S^5$ in the framework of the semiclassical approach. This is done\nfor the cases when the \"heavy\" string states are finite-size giant magnons\ncarrying one angular momentum and for three different choices of the \"light\"\nstate: primary scalar operators, dilaton operator with nonzero momentum,\nsinglet scalar operators on higher string levels. Since the dual field theory\nis still unknown, the results obtained here must be considered as conjectures\nor as predictions from the string theory side.\n  Keywords: Gauge/string duality, Correlation functions\n  PACS:11.25.-w, 11.25.Tq",
        "positive": "NS Branes in Type I Theory: We consider novel nonperturbative effects of type I theories compactified on\nsingular ALE spaces obtained by adding NS branes. Such effects include a\ndescription of small $E_8$ instantons at singularities."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Mirror symmetry and new approach to constructing orbifolds of Gepner\n  models: Motivated by the principles of the conformal bootstrap, primarily the\nprinciple of Locality, simultaneously with the requirement of space-time\nsupersymmetry, we reconsider constructions of compactified superstring models.\nStarting from requirements of space-time supersymmetry and mutual locality, we\nconstruct a complete set of physical fields of orbifolds of Gepner models. To\ntechnically implement this, we use spectral flow generators to construct all\nphysical fields from the chiral primary fields. The set of these spectral flow\noperators forms a so-called admissible group $G_{adm}$, which defines a given\norbifold. The action of these operators produces a collection of physical\nfields consistent with the action of supersymmetry generators. The selection of\nmutually local fields from this collection is carried out using the mirror\ngroup $G^*_{adm}$. The permutation of $G_{adm}$ and $G^*_{adm}$ replaces the\noriginal orbifold with a mirror one that satisfies the same conditions as the\noriginal one. This also implies that the resulting model is modular invariant.",
        "positive": "String Cosmology and Chaos: We briefly review three aspects of string cosmology: (1) the ``stochastic''\napproach to the pre-big bang scenario, (2) the presence of chaos in the generic\ncosmological solutions of the tree-level low-energy effective actions coming\nout of string theory, and (3) the remarkable link between the latter chaos and\nthe Weyl groups of some hyperbolic Kac-Moody algebras. Talk given at the\nFrancqui Colloquium ``Strings and Gravity: Tying the Forces Together''\n(Brussels, October 2001)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Note on Mutual Information between Two Intervals of Extremal BTZ: In this note we compute mutual information between two intervals in CFTs dual\nto extremal BTZ (UV CFT) and near horizon limit of extremal BTZ (IR CFT) using\nthe replica technique in some limiting regimes, which can be compared with\nholographic description.",
        "positive": "Spectral Covers, Charged Matter and Bundle Cohomology: We consider four dimensional heterotic compactifications on smooth elliptic\nCalabi-Yau threefolds. Using spectral cover techniques, we study bundle\ncohomology groups corresponding to charged matter multiplets. The analysis\nshows that in generic situations, the resulting charged matter spectrum is\nstable under deformations of the vector bundle."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauge Symmetry Breaking through Soft Masses in Supersymmetric Gauge\n  Theories: We analyze the effects of soft supersymmetry breaking terms on N=1\nsupersymmetric QCD with $N_f$ flavors and color gauge group $SU(N_c)$. The mass\nsquared of some squarks may be negative, as long as vacuum stability is ensured\nby a simple mass inequality. For $N_f<N_c$, we include the dynamics of the\nnon-perturbative superpotential and use the original (s)quark and gauge fields,\nwhile for $N_f>N_c+1$, we formulate the dynamics in terms of dual (s)quarks and\na dual gauge group $SU(N_f-N_c)$. The presence of negative squark mass squared\nterms leads to spontaneous breakdown of flavor and color symmetry. We determine\nthis breaking pattern, derive the spectrum, and argue that the masses vary\nsmoothly as one crosses from the Higgs phase into the confining phase.",
        "positive": "Hiding Anomalies: Anomalies can be anticipated at the classical level without changing the\nclassical cohomology, by introducing extra degrees of freedom. In the process,\nthe anomaly does not quite disappear. We show that, in fact, it is shifted to\nnew symmetries that come with the extra fields."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hamiltonian derivation of dual gravitational charges: We provide a Hamiltonian derivation of recently discovered dual BMS charges.\nIn order to do so, we work in the first order formalism and add to the usual\nPalatini action, the Holst term, which does not contribute to the equations of\nmotion. We give a method for finding the leading order integrable dual charges\n\\`a la Wald-Zoupas and construct the corresponding charge algebra. We argue\nthat in the presence of fermions, the relevant term that leads to dual charges\nis the topological Nieh-Yan term.",
        "positive": "An Operator Valued Extension of the Super KdV Equations: An extension of the Super KdV integrable system in terms of operator valued\nfunctions is obtained. Following the ideas of Gardner, a general algebraic\napproach for finding the infinitely many conserved quantities of integrable\nsystems is presented. The approach is applied to the above described system and\ninfinitely many conserved quantities are constructed. In a particular case they\nreduce to the corresponding conserved quantities of Super KdV."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Classical solutions for the Carroll-Field-Jackiw-Proca electrodynamics: In the present work, we investigate classical solutions of the\nMaxwell-Carroll-Field-Jackiw-Proca (MCFJP) electrodynamics for the cases a\npurely timelike and spacelike Lorentz-violating (LV) background. Starting from\nthe MCFJP Lagrangian and the associated wave equations written for the\npotential four-vector, the tensor form of the Green function is achieved. In\nthe timelike case, the components of the stationary Green function are\nexplicitly written. The classical solutions for the electric and magnetic field\nstrengths are then evaluated, being observed that the electric sector is not\nmodified by the LV background, keeping the Maxwell-Proca behavior. The magnetic\nfield associated with a charge in uniform motion presents an oscillating\nbehavior that also provides an oscillating MCFJ solution (in the limit of a\nvanishing Proca mass), but does not recover the Maxwell-Proca solution in the\nlimit of vanishing background. In the spacelike case, the stationary Green\nfunction is written and also explicitly carried out in the regime of a small\nbackground. The electric and magnetic fields reveal to possess an exponentially\ndecaying behavior, that recover the Maxwell-Proca solutions.",
        "positive": "Soft Scalars and the Geometry of the Space of Celestial CFTs: Known examples of the holographic dictionary in asymptotically Anti-de Sitter\nspacetimes equate moduli spaces of bulk vacua with conformal manifolds in the\ndual quantum field theory. We demonstrate that the same identification holds\nfor gravity in asymptotically flat spacetimes in any dimension, in accord with\nexpectations derived from the celestial conformal field theory (CCFT)\nformalism. Soft limits of moduli scalars described by the sigma model are\nuniversal, and relate to parallel transport of $S$-matrix observables over the\nmoduli space of bulk vacua. The leading \"soft moduli operator\" is the shadow\ntransform of a dimension $\\Delta=d$ marginal operator $M(x)$. The universal\nform of the soft limit guarantees that $M(x)$ acts as a marginal deformation in\nthe CCFT$_d$, and coherent states of the soft scalars correspond to finite\ndeformations along the conformal manifold. This manifold typically has\ncurvature, which is captured by the antisymmetric double-soft theorem and which\nreflects the Berry curvature in CCFT$_d$. We also compute the\nMellin-transformed four-point function in the sigma model and compare to a\nformula of Kutasov for the curvature of the conformal manifold."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Searching for gauge theories with the conformal bootstrap: Infrared fixed points of gauge theories provide intriguing targets for the\nmodern conformal bootstrap program. In this work we provide some preliminary\nevidence that a family of gauged fermionic CFTs saturate bootstrap bounds and\ncan potentially be solved with the conformal bootstrap. We start by considering\nthe bootstrap for $SO(N)$ vector 4-point functions in general dimension $D$. In\nthe large $N$ limit, upper bounds on the scaling dimensions of the lowest\n$SO(N)$ singlet and traceless symmetric scalars interpolate between two\nsolutions at $\\Delta =D/2-1$ and $\\Delta =D-1$ via generalized free field\ntheory. In 3D the critical $O(N)$ vector models are known to saturate the\nbootstrap bounds and correspond to the kinks approaching $\\Delta =1/2$ at large\n$N$. We show that the bootstrap bounds also admit another infinite family of\nkinks ${\\cal T}_D$, which at large $N$ approach solutions containing free\nfermion bilinears at $\\Delta=D-1$ from below. The kinks ${\\cal T}_D$ appear in\ngeneral dimensions with a $D$-dependent critical $N^*$ below which the kink\ndisappears. We also study relations between the bounds obtained from the\nbootstrap with $SO(N)$ vectors, $SU(N)$ fundamentals, and $SU(N)\\times SU(N)$\nbi-fundamentals. We provide a proof for the coincidence between bootstrap\nbounds with different global symmetries. We show evidence that the proper\nsymmetries of the underlying theories of ${\\cal T}_D$ are subgroups of $SO(N)$,\nand we speculate that the kinks ${\\cal T}_D$ relate to the fixed points of\ngauge theories coupled to fermions.",
        "positive": "General-relativistic spin system: The models of spin systems defined on Euclidean space provide powerful\nmachinery for studying a broad range of condensed matter phenomena. While the\nnon-relativistic effective description is sufficient for most of the\napplications, it is interesting to consider special and general relativistic\nextensions of such models. Here, we introduce a framework that allows us to\nconstruct theories of continuous spin variables on a curved spacetime. Our\napproach takes advantage of the results of the non-linear field space theory,\nwhich shows how to construct compact phase space models, in particular for the\nspherical phase space of spin. Following the methodology corresponding to a\nbosonization of spin systems into the spin wave representations, we postulate a\nrepresentation having the form of the Klein-Gordon field. This representation\nis equivalent to the semi-classical version of the well-known\nHolstein-Primakoff transformation. The general-relativistic extension of the\nspin wave representation is then performed, leading to the\ngeneral-relativistically motivated modifications of the Ising model coupled to\na transversal magnetic field. The advantage of our approach is its off-shell\nconstruction, while the popular methods of coupling fermions to general\nrelativity usually depend on the form of Einstein field equations with matter.\nFurthermore, we show equivalence between the considered spin system and the\nDirac-Born-Infeld type scalar field theory with a specific potential, which is\nalso an example of k-essence theory. Based on this, the cosmological\nconsequences of the introduced spin field matter content are preliminarily\ninvestigated."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Looking for a Matrix model of ABJM: Encouraged by the recent construction of fuzzy sphere solutions in the ABJM\ntheory, we re-analyze the latter from the perspective of a Matrix-like model.\nIn particular, we argue that a vortex solution exhibits properties of a\nsupergraviton, while a kink represents a 2-brane. Other solutions are also\nconsistent with the Matrix-type interpretation. We study vortex scattering and\ncompare with graviton scattering in the massive ABJM background, however our\nresults are inconclusive. We speculate on how to extend our results to\nconstruct a Matrix theory of ABJM.",
        "positive": "The thermoelectric properties of inhomogeneous holographic lattices: We consider inhomogeneous, periodic, holographic lattices of D=4\nEinstein-Maxwell theory. We show that the DC thermoelectric conductivity matrix\ncan be expressed analytically in terms of the horizon data of the corresponding\nblack hole solution. We numerically construct such black hole solutions for\nlattices consisting of one, two and ten wave-numbers. We numerically determine\nthe AC electric conductivity which reveals Drude physics as well as resonances\nassociated with sound modes. No evidence for an intermediate frequency scaling\nregime is found. All of the monochromatic lattice black holes that we have\nconstructed exhibit scaling behaviour at low temperatures which is consistent\nwith the appearance of $AdS_2\\times\\mathbb{R}^2$ in the far IR at T=0."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Qubit Heating Near a Hotspot: Effective theories describing black hole exteriors contain many open-system\nfeatures due to the large number of gapless degrees of freedom that lie beyond\nreach across the horizon. A simple solvable Caldeira-Leggett type model of a\nquantum field interacting within a small area with many unmeasured thermal\ndegrees of freedom was recently proposed in arXiv:2106.09854 to provide a toy\nmodel of this kind of dynamics against which more complete black hole\ncalculations might be compared. We here compute the response of a simple\nUnruh-DeWitt detector (or qubit) interacting with a massless quantum field\n$\\phi$ coupled to such a hotspot. Our treatment differs from traditional\ntreatments of Unruh-DeWitt detectors by using Open-EFT tools to reliably\ncalculate the qubit's late-time behaviour. We use these tools to determine the\nefficiency with which the qubit thermalizes as a function of its proximity to\nthe hotspot. We identify a Markovian regime in which thermalization does occur,\nthough only for qubits closer to the hotspot than a characteristic distance\nscale set by the $\\phi$-hotspot coupling. We compute the thermalization time,\nand find that it varies inversely with the $\\phi$-qubit coupling strength in\nthe standard way.",
        "positive": "On subdivision invariant actions for random surfaces: We consider a subdivision invariant action for dynamically triangulated\nrandom surfaces that was recently proposed (R.V. Ambartzumian et. al., Phys.\nLett. B 275 (1992) 99) and show that it is unphysical: The grand canonical\npartition function is infinite for all values of the coupling constants. We\nconjecture that adding the area action to the action of Ambartzumian et. al.\nleads to a well-behaved theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "tt* Geometry in 3 and 4 Dimensions: We consider the vacuum geometry of supersymmetric theories with 4\nsupercharges, on a flat toroidal geometry. The 2 dimensional vacuum geometry is\nknown to be captured by the $tt^*$ geometry. In the case of 3 dimensions, the\nparameter space is $(T^{2}\\times {\\mathbb R})^N$ and the vacuum geometry turns\nout to be a solution to a generalization of monopole equations in $3N$\ndimensions where the relevant topological ring is that of line operators. We\ncompute the generalization of the 2d cigar amplitudes, which lead to $S^2\\times\nS^1$ or $S^3$ partition functions which are distinct from the supersymmetric\npartition functions on these spaces, but reduce to them in a certain limit. We\nshow the sense in which these amplitudes generalize the structure of 3d\nChern-Simons theories and 2d RCFT's. In the case of 4 dimensions the parameter\nspace is of the form $(T^3\\times {\\mathbb R})^M\\times T^{3N}$, and the vacuum\ngeometry is a solution to a mixture of generalized monopole equations and\ngeneralized instanton equations (known as hyper-holomorphic connections). In\nthis case the topological rings are associated to surface operators. We discuss\nthe physical meaning of the generalized Nahm transforms which act on all of\nthese geometries.",
        "positive": "Chaos in CFT dual to rotating BTZ: We compute out-of-time-order correlators (OTOCs) in two-dimensional\nholographic conformal field theories (CFTs) with different left- and\nright-moving temperatures. Depending on whether the CFT lives on a spatial line\nor circle, the dual bulk geometry is a boosted BTZ black brane or a rotating\nBTZ black hole. In the case when the spatial direction is non-compact, we\ngeneralise a computation of Roberts and Stanford and show that to reproduce the\ncorrect bulk answer a maximal channel contribution needs to be selected when\nusing the identity block approximation. We use the correspondence between\nglobal conformal blocks and geodesic Witten diagrams to extend our results to\nCFTs on a spatial circle.\n  In arXiv:1908.03574 it was shown that the OTOC for a rotating BTZ black hole\nexhibits a periodic modulation about an average exponential decay with Lyapunov\nexponent $2\\pi/\\beta$. In the extremal limit where the black hole is maximally\nrotating, it was shown in arXiv:2009.08518 that the OTOC exhibits an average\ncubic growth, on which is superposed a sawtooth pattern which has small periods\nof Lyapunov growth due to the non-zero temperature of left-movers in the dual\nCFT. Our computations explain these results from a dual CFT perspective."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Laughlin type wave function for two-dimensional anyon fields in a\n  KMS-state: The correlation functions of two-dimensional anyon fields in a KMS-state are\nstudied. For T=0 the $n$-particle wave functions of noncanonical fermions of\nlevel $\\alpha$, $\\alpha$ odd, are shown to be of Laughlin type of order\n$\\alpha$. For $T>0$ they are given by a simple finite-temperature\ngeneralization of Laughlin's wave function. This relates the first and second\nquantized pictures of the fractional quantum Hall effect.",
        "positive": "Theory of Cosmological Perturbations with Cuscuton: This paper presents the first derivation of the quadratic action for\ncurvature perturbations, $\\zeta$, within the framework of cuscuton gravity. We\nstudy the scalar cosmological perturbations sourced by a canonical single\nscalar field in the presence of cuscuton field. We identify $\\zeta$ as comoving\ncurvature with respect to the source field and we show that it retains its\nconservation characteristic on super horizon scales. The result provides an\nexplicit proof that cuscuton modification of gravity around\nFriedmann-Lemaitre-Robertson-Walker (FLRW) metric is ghost free. We also\ninvestigate the potential development of other instabilities in cuscuton\nmodels. We find that in a large class of these models, there is no generic\ninstability problem. However, depending on the details of slow-roll parameters,\nspecific models may display gradient instabilities."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Amplituhedron from Momentum Twistor Diagrams: We propose a new diagrammatic formulation of the all-loop scattering\namplitudes/Wilson loops in planar N=4 SYM, dubbed the \"momentum-twistor\ndiagrams\". These are on-shell-diagrams obtained by gluing trivalent black and\nwhite vertices defined in momentum twistor space, which, in the reduced diagram\ncase, are known to be related to diagrams in the original twistor space. The\nnew diagrams are manifestly Yangian invariant, and they naturally represent\nfactorization and forward-limit contributions in the all-loop BCFW recursion\nrelations in momentum twistor space, in a fashion that is completely different\nfrom those in momentum space. We show how to construct and evaluate\nmomentum-twistor diagrams, and how to use them to obtain tree-level amplitudes\nand loop-level integrands; in particular for the latter we identify an isolated\nbubble-structure for each loop variable, arising from a forward limit, or\nentangled removal of particles. From a given diagram one can directly read off\nthe C, D matrices via a generalized \"boundary measurement\"; this in turn\ndetermines a cell in the amplituhedron associated with the amplitude, and our\ndiagrammatic representations of the amplitude can provide triangulations of the\namplituhedron with generally very intricate geometries. To demonstrate the\ncomputational power of the formalism, we give explicit results for general\ntwo-loop integrands, and the cells of the complete amplituhedron for two-loop\nMHV amplitudes.",
        "positive": "A Lagrangian Formulation of 2-Dimensional Topological Gravity and\n  \u010cech-De-Rham Cohomology: We present a very simplified analysis of how one can overcome the Gribov\nproblem in a non-abelian gauge theory. Our formulae, albeit quite simplified,\nshow that possible breakdowns of the Slavnov-Taylor identity could in principle\ncome from singularities in space of gauge orbits. To test these ideas we\nexhibit the calculation of a very simple correlation function of 2-dimensional\ntopological gravity and we show how in this model the singularities of the\nmoduli space induce a breakdown of the Slavnov-Taylor identity. We comment on\nthe technical relevance of the possibility of including the singularities into\na finite number of cells of the moduli space."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The planar limit of integrated 4-point functions: We compute the planar limit, as all-order power series in the 't Hooft\ncoupling, of various integrated 4-point functions of chiral primary operators\nof ${\\cal N}=4$ SU(N) super Yang-Mills, and of moment map operators of ${\\cal\nN}=2$ SU(N) SQCD. We do so by computing the planar free energy on $S^4$ of the\nrespective massive deformations of these theories, and then taking advantage of\nthe exact relation between these free energies and the integrated 4-point\nfunctions.",
        "positive": "Stringy Unification of Type IIA and IIB Supergravities under N=2 D=10\n  Supersymmetric Double Field Theory: To the full order in fermions, we construct D=10 type II supersymmetric\ndouble field theory. We spell the precise N=2 supersymmetry transformation\nrules as for 32 supercharges. The constructed action unifies type IIA and IIB\nsupergravities in a manifestly covariant manner with respect to O(10,10)\nT-duality and a pair of local Lorentz groups, or Spin(1,9) \\times Spin(9,1),\nbesides the usual general covariance of supergravities or the generalized\ndiffeomorphism. While the theory is unique, the solutions are twofold. Type IIA\nand IIB supergravities are identified as two different types of solutions\nrather than two different theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Giant Leaps and Minimal Branes in Multi-Dimensional Flux Landscapes: There is a standard story about decay in multi-dimensional flux landscapes:\nthat from any state, the fastest decay is to take a small step, discharging one\nflux unit at a time; that fluxes with the same coupling constant are\ninterchangeable; and that states with N units of a given flux have the same\ndecay rate as those with -N. We show that this standard story is false. The\nfastest decay is a giant leap that discharges many different fluxes in unison;\nthis decay is mediated by a 'minimal' brane that wraps the internal manifold\nand exhibits behavior not visible in the effective theory. We discuss the\nimplications for the cosmological constant.",
        "positive": "4-dimensional dilaton black holes with cosmological constant: Static and spherically symmetric black hole solutions with non-zero\ncosmological constant are investigated. A formal power series solution is\nfound. It is proved that the number of regular horizons is less than or equal\nto 2 for positive cosmological constant and is less than or equal to 1 for\nnegative cosmological constant. This shows a striking contrast to the fact that\nthe Reissner-Nordstr{\\o}m-de Sitter black hole with positive cosmological\nhorizon has 3 regular horizons."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "New Directions in Non-Relativistic and Relativistic Rotational and\n  Multipole Kinematics for N-Body and Continuous Systems: In non-relativistic mechanics the center of mass of an isolated system is\neasily separated out from the relative variables. For a N-body system these\nlatter are usually described by a set of Jacobi normal coordinates, based on\nthe clustering of the centers of mass of sub-clusters. The Jacobi variables are\nthen the starting point for separating {\\it orientational} variables, connected\nwith the angular momentum constants of motion, from {\\it shape} (or {\\it\nvibrational}) variables. Jacobi variables, however, cannot be extended to\nspecial relativity. We show by group-theoretical methods that two new sets of\nrelative variables can be defined in terms of a {\\it clustering of the angular\nmomenta of sub-clusters} and directly related to the so-called {\\it dynamical\nbody frames} and {\\it canonical spin bases}. The underlying group-theoretical\nstructure allows a direct extension of such notions from a non-relativistic to\na special- relativistic context if one exploits the {\\it rest-frame instant\nform of dynamics}. The various known definitions of relativistic center of mass\nare recovered. The separation of suitable relative variables from the so-called\n{\\it canonical internal} center of mass leads to the correct kinematical\nframework for the relativistic theory of the orbits for a N-body system with\naction -at-a-distance interactions. The rest-frame instant form is also shown\nto be the correct kinematical framework for introducing the Dixon multi-poles\nfor closed and open N-body systems, as well as for continuous systems,\nexemplified here by the configurations of the Klein-Gordon field that are\ncompatible with the previous notions of center of mass.",
        "positive": "A 3d-3d appetizer: We test the 3d-3d correspondence for theories that are labelled by Lens\nspaces. We find a full agreement between the index of the 3d ${\\cal N}=2$ \"Lens\nspace theory\" $T[L(p,1)]$ and the partition function of complex Chern-Simons\ntheory on $L(p,1)$. In particular, for $p=1$, we show how the familiar $S^3$\npartition function of Chern-Simons theory arises from the index of a free\ntheory. For large $p$, we find that the index of $T[L(p,1)]$ becomes a constant\nindependent of $p$. In addition, we study $T[L(p,1)]$ on the squashed\nthree-sphere $S^3_b$. This enables us to see clearly, at the level of partition\nfunction, to what extent $G_\\mathbb{C}$ complex Chern-Simons theory can be\nthought of as two copies of Chern-Simons theory with compact gauge group $G$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Unitary Matrix Models with a topological term and discrete time Toda\n  equation: We study the full unitary matrix models. Introducing a new term $l log U$, l\nplays the role of the discrete time. On the other hand, the full unitary matrix\nmodel contains a topological term. In the continuous limit it gives rise to a\nphase transition at $\\theta=\\pi$. The ground state is characterize by the\ndiscrete time l. The discrete time l plays like the instanton number.",
        "positive": "Dynamically flavored description of holographic QCD in the presence of a\n  magnetic field: We construct the gravitational solution of the Witten-Sakai-Sugimoto model by\nintroducing a magnetic field on the flavor brane. With taking into account\ntheir backreaction, we re-solve the type IIA supergravity in the presence of\nthe magnetic field. Our calculation shows the gravitational solutions are\nmagnetic-dependent and analytic both in the bubble (confined) and black brane\n(deconfined) case. We study the dual field theory at the leading order in the\nratio of the number of flavors and colors, also in the Veneziano limit. Some\nphysical properties related to the hadronic physics in an external magnetic\nfield are discussed by using our confined backreaction solution\nholographically. We also investigate the thermodynamics and holographic\nrenormalization of this model in both phases by our solution. Since the\nbackreaction of the magnetic field is considered in our gravitational solution,\nit allows us to study the Hawking-Page transition with flavors and colors of\nthis model in the presence of the magnetic field. Finally we therefore obtain\nthe holographic phase diagram with the contributions from the flavors and the\nmagnetic field. Our holographic phase diagram is in agreement with lattice QCD\nresult qualitatively, which thus can be interpreted as the inhibition of\nconfinement or chirally broken symmetry by the magnetic field."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Why Aren't Black Holes Infinitely Produced?: Unitarity and locality imply a remnant solution to the information problem,\nand also imply that Reissner-Nordstrom black holes have infinite numbers of\ninternal states. Pair production of such black holes is reexamined including\nthe contribution of these states. It is argued that the rate is proportional to\nthe thermodynamic quantity Tr e^{-beta H}, where the trace is over the internal\nstates of a black hole; this is in agreement with estimates from an effective\nfield theory for black holes. This quantity, and the rate, is apparently\ninfinite due to the infinite number of states. One obvious out is if the number\nof internal states of a black hole is finite.",
        "positive": "Skyrmions with massive pions: In the Skyrme model with massless pions, the minimal energy multi-Skyrmions\nare shell-like, with the baryon density localized on the edges of a polyhedron\nthat is approximately spherical and generically of the fullerene-type. In this\npaper we show that in the Skyrme model with massive pions these configurations\nare unstable for sufficiently large baryon number. Using numerical simulations\nof the full nonlinear field theory, we show that these structures collapse to\nform qualitatively different stable Skyrmion solutions. These new Skyrmions\nhave a flat structure and display a clustering phenomenon into lower charge\ncomponents, particularly components of baryon numbers three and four. These new\nqualitative features of Skyrmions with massive pions are encouraging in\ncomparison with the expectations based on real nuclei."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Higher Dimensional Dilaton Black Holes with Cosmological Constant: The metric of a higher-dimensional dilaton black hole in the presence of a\ncosmological constant is constructed. It is found that the cosmological\nconstant is coupled to the dilaton in a non-trivial way. The dilaton potential\nwith respect to the cosmological constant consists of three Liouville-type\npotentials.",
        "positive": "On the renormalization of non-polynomial field theories: A class of scalar models with non-polynomial interaction, which naturally\nadmits an analytical resummation of the series of tadpole diagrams is studied\nin perturbation theory. In particular, we focus on a model containing only one\nrenormalizable coupling that appear as a multiplicative coefficient of the\nsquared field. A renormalization group analysis of the Green functions of the\nmodel shows that these are only approximated solutions of the flow equations,\nwith errors proportional to powers of the coupling, therefore smaller in the\nregion of weak coupling. The final output of the perturbative analysis is that\nthe renormalized model is non-interacting with finite mass and vanishing\nvertices or, in an effective theory limited by an ultraviolet cut-off, the\nvertices are suppressed by powers of the inverse cut-off. The relation with\nsome non-polynomial interactions derived long ago, as solutions of the\nlinearized functional renormalization group flow equations, is also discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Black hole radiance, short distances, and TeV gravity: Using a derivation of black hole radiance in terms of two-point functions one\ncan provide a quantitative estimate of the contribution of short distances to\nthe spectrum. Thermality is preserved for black holes with $\\kappa l_P <<1$.\nHowever, deviations from the Planckian spectrum can be found for mini black\nholes in TeV gravity scenarios, even before reaching the Planck phase.",
        "positive": "Supersymmetric Rotating Black Holes and Attractors: Five-dimensional stringy rotating black holes are embedded into N=2\nsupergravity interacting with one vector multiplet. The existence of an\nunbroken supersymmetry of the rotating solution is proved directly by solving\nthe Killing spinor equations. The asymptotic enhancement of supersymmetry near\nthe horizon in the presence of rotation is established via the calculation of\nthe super-curvature. The area of the horizon of the rotating supersymmetric\nblack holes is found to be $\\sqrt {Z_{fix}^{3 }- J^2}$, where $Z_{fix}$ is the\nextremal value of the central charge in moduli space."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Proof of universality of electrical conductivity at finite chemical\n  potential: It was proposed in arXiv:1008.2944 that, for certain gauge theories with\ngravity duals, electrical conductivity at finite chemical potential is\nuniversal. Here we provide a general proof that, when matter stress tensor\nsatisfies a compact constraint, electrical conductivity is universal. We\nfurther elaborate our result with several conformal as well as non-conformal\ngauge theories. We also discuss how boundary conductivity and universal\nconductivity of stretched horizon are related.",
        "positive": "Astrophysics in relative units as the theory of a conformal brane: The latest astrophysical data on the Supernova luminosity--distance --\nredshift relations, primordial nucleosynthesis, value of Cosmic Microwave\nBackground--temperature, and baryon asymmetry are considered as an evidence of\nrelative measurement standard, field nature of time, and conformal symmetry of\nthe physical world. We show how these principles of description of the universe\nhelp modern quantum field theory to explain the creation of the universe, time,\nand matter from the physical vacuum as a state with the lowest energy."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Open string modes at brane intersections: We study systematically the open string modes of a general class of BPS\nintersections of branes. We work in the approximation in which one of the\nbranes is considered as a probe embedded in the near-horizon geometry generated\nby the other type of branes. We mostly concentrate on the D3-D5 and D3-D3\nintersections, which are dual to defect theories with a massive hypermultiplet\nconfined to the defect. In these cases we are able to obtain analytical\nexpressions for the fluctuation modes of the probe and to compute the\ncorresponding mass spectra of the dual operators in closed form. Other BPS\nintersections are also studied and their fluctuation modes and spectra are\nfound numerically.",
        "positive": "The effective action of warped M-theory reductions with\n  higher-derivative terms - Part II: We study the three-dimensional effective action obtained by reducing\neleven-dimensional supergravity with higher-derivative terms on a background\nsolution including a warp-factor, an eight-dimensional compact manifold, and\nfluxes. The dynamical fields are K\\\"ahler deformations and vectors from the\nM-theory three-form. We show that the potential is only induced by fluxes and\nthe naive contributions obtained from higher-curvature terms on a Calabi-Yau\nbackground vanish once the back-reaction to the full solution is taken into\naccount. For the resulting three-dimensional action we analyse the K\\\"ahler\npotential and complex coordinates and show compatibility with N=2\nsupersymmetry. We argue that the higher-order result is also compatible with a\nno-scale condition. We find that the complex coordinates should be formulated\nas divisor integrals for which a non-trivial interplay between the warp-factor\nterms and the higher-curvature terms allow a derivation of the moduli space\nmetric. This leads us to discuss higher-derivative corrections to the M5-brane\naction."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Deconstructing Noncommutativity with a Giant Fuzzy Moose: We argue that the worldvolume theories of D-branes probing orbifolds with\ndiscrete torsion develop, in the large quiver limit, new non-commutative\ndirections. This provides an explicit `deconstruction' of a wide class of\nnoncommutative theories. This also provides insight into the physical meaning\nof discrete torsion and its relation to the T-dual B field. We demonstrate that\nthe strict large quiver limit reproduces the matrix theory construction of\nhigher-dimensional D-branes, and argue that finite `fuzzy moose' theories\nprovide novel regularizations of non-commutative theories and explicit string\ntheory realizations of gauge theories on fuzzy tori. We also comment briefly on\nthe relation to NCOS, (2,0) and little string theories.",
        "positive": "Generalized geometry and nonlinear realization of generalized\n  diffeomorphism on D-brane effective action: The characterization of the DBI action of a Dp-brane using the generalized\ngeometry is discussed. It is shown that the DBI action is invariant under the\ndiffeomorphism and B-transformation of the generalized tangent bundle of the\ntarget space. The symmetry is realized non-linearly on the fluctuation of the\nD-brane."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chaos in a many-string scattering amplitude: String theory provides a compact integral expression for the tree-level\nscattering amplitude of an arbitrary number of light strings. We focus on\namplitudes involving a few tachyons and many photons, with a special choice of\npolarizations and kinematics. We pick out a particular pole in the amplitude --\none corresponding to successive photon scatterings, which lead to an\nintermediate state with a highly excited string in a definite state. This\nprovides a physical process which creates a highly excited string. The observed\nerratic behavior of the amplitude suggests that this may serve as a simple and\nexplicit illustration of chaos in many-particle scattering.",
        "positive": "Space-filling D3-brane within coset approach: We derive the component on-shell action of the space-filling D3-brane, {\\it\ni.e.} $N=1$ supersymmetric Born-Infeld action, within the nonlinear realization\napproach. The covariant Bianchi identity defining the $N=1$, $d=4$ vector\nsupermultiplet has been constructed by introducing a new bosonic Goldstone\nsuperfield associated with the generator of the $U(1)$ group, which transforms\nto each other the spinor generators of unbroken and spontaneously broken $N=1$,\n$d=4$ supersymmetries. The first component of this Goldstone superfield is the\nauxiliary field of the vector supermultiplet and, therefore, the Bianchi\nidentity can be properly defined. The component action of the D3-brane has a\nvery simple form, being written in terms of derivatives covariant with respect\nto spontaneously broken supersymmetry - it just mimics its bosonic counterpart."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Critical Phenomena, Strings, and Interfaces: Some points concerning the relation of strings to interfaces in statistical\nsystems are discussed.",
        "positive": "Supercurrent in p-wave Holographic Superconductor: The p-wave and $p+ip$-wave holographic superconductors with fixed DC\nsupercurrent are studied by introducing a non-vanishing vector potential. We\nfind that close to the critical temperature $T_c$ of zero current, the\nnumerical results of both the p wave model and the $p+ip$ model are the same as\nthose of Ginzburg-Landau (G-L) theory, for example, the critical current $j_c\n\\sim (T_c-T)^{3/2}$ and the phase transition in the presence of a DC current is\na first order transition. Besides the similar results between both models, the\n$p+ip$ superconductor shows isotropic behavior for the supercurrent, while the\np-wave superconductor shows anisotropic behavior for the supercurrent."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spiky Strings, Giant Magnons and beta-deformations: We study rigid string solutions rotating on the S^3 subspace of the\nbeta-deformed AdS_5xS^5 background found by Lunin and Maldacena. For particular\nvalues of the parameters of the solutions we find the known giant magnon and\nsingle spike strings. We present a single spike string solution on the deformed\nS^3 and find how the deformation affects the dispersion relation. The possible\nrelation of this string solution to spin chains and the connection of the\nsolutions on the undeformed S^3 to the sine-Gordon model are briefly discussed.",
        "positive": "F and M Theories as Gauge Theories of Area Preserving Algebra: F theory and M theory are formulated as gauge theories of area preserving\ndiffeomorphism algebra. Our M theory is shown to be 1-brane formulation rather\nthan 0-brane formulation of M theory of Banks, Fischler, Shenker and Susskind\nand the F theory is shown to be 1-brane formulation rather than -1-brane\nformulation of type IIB matrix theory of Ishibashi, Kawai, Kitazawa and\nTsuchiya."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chiral algebras from \u03a9-deformation: In the presence of an $\\Omega$-deformation, local operators generate a chiral\nalgebra in the topological-holomorphic twist of a four-dimensional $\\mathcal{N}\n= 2$ supersymmetric field theory. We show that for a unitary $\\mathcal{N} = 2$\nsuperconformal field theory, the chiral algebra thus defined is isomorphic to\nthe one introduced by Beem et al. Our definition of the chiral algebra covers\nnonconformal theories with insertions of suitable surface defects.",
        "positive": "The Renormalization Group and the Effective Potential in a Curved\n  Spacetime with Torsion: The renormalization group method is employed to study the effective potential\nin curved spacetime with torsion. The renormalization-group improved effective\npotential corresponding to a massless gauge theory in such a spacetime is found\nand in this way a generalization of Coleman-Weinberg's approach corresponding\nto flat space is obtained. A method which works with the renormalization group\nequation for two-loop effective potential calculations in torsionful spacetime\nis developed. The effective potential for the conformal factor in the conformal\ndynamics of quantum gravity with torsion is thereby calculated explicitly.\nFinally, torsion-induced phase transitions are discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Some Remarks on the Two Parameters Quantum Algebra $SU_{p,k}$}: The two parameters quantum algebra $SU_{p,k}(2)$ can be obtained from a\nsingle parameter algebra $SU_q(2)$. This fact gives some relations between\n$SU_{p,k}(2)$ quantities and the corresponding ones of the $SU_q(2)$ algebra.\nIn this paper are mentioned the relations concerning: Casimir operators,\neigenvectors, matrix elements, Clebsch Gordan coefficients and irreducible\ntensors.",
        "positive": "BPS Electromagnetic Waves on Giant Gravitons: We find new 1/8-BPS giant graviton solutions in $AdS_5 \\times S^5$, carrying\nthree angular momenta along $S^5$, and investigate their properties.\nEspecially, we show that nonzero worldvolume gauge fields are admitted\npreserving supersymmetry. These gauge field modes can be viewed as\nelectromagnetic waves along the compact D3 brane, whose Poynting vector\ncontributes to the BPS angular momenta. We also analyze the (nearly-)spherical\ngiant gravitons with worldvolume gauge fields in detail. Expressing the $S^3$\nin Hopf fibration ($S^1$ fibred over $S^2$), the wave propagates along the\n$S^1$ fiber."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Null Energy Condition and Cosmology: Field theories which violate the null energy condition (NEC) are of interest\nfor the solution of the cosmological singularity problem and for models of\ncosmological dark energy with the equation of state parameter $w<-1$. We\ndiscuss the consistency of two recently proposed models that violate the NEC.\nThe ghost condensate model requires higher-order derivative terms in the\naction. It leads to a heavy ghost field and unbounded energy. We estimate the\nrates of particles decay and discuss possible mass limitations to protect\nstability of matter in the ghost condensate model. The nonlocal stringy model\nthat arises from a cubic string field theory and exhibits a phantom behavior\nalso leads to unbounded energy. In this case the spectrum of energy is\ncontinuous and there are no particle like excitations. This model admits a\nnatural UV completion since it comes from superstring theory.",
        "positive": "SU(2) Poisson-Lie T duality: Poisson-Lie target space duality is a framework where duality transformations\nare properly defined. In this letter we investigate the pair of sigma models\ndefined by the double SO(3,1) in the Iwasawa decomposition."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Super-Geometrodynamics: We present explicit solutions of the time-symmetric initial value\nconstraints, expressed in terms of freely specfiable harmonic functions for\nexamples of supergravity theories, which emerge as effective theories of\ncompactified string theory. These results are a prequisite for the study of the\ntime-evolution of topologically non-trivial initial data for supergravity\ntheories, thus generalising the \"Geometrodynamics\" program of Einstein-Maxwell\ntheory to that of supergravity theories. Specifically, we focus on examples of\nmultiple electric Maxwell and scalar fields, and analyse the initial data\nproblem for the general Einstein-Maxwell-Dilaton theory both with one and two\nMaxwell fields, and the STU model. The solutions are given in terms of up to\neight arbitrary harmonic functions in the STU model. As a by-product, in order\ncompare our results with known static solutions, the metric in isotropic\ncoordinates and all the sources of the non-extremal black holes are expressed\nentirely in terms of harmonic functions. We also comment on generalizations to\ntime-nonsymmetric initial data and their relation to cosmological solutions of\ngauged so-called fake supergravities with positive cosmological constant.",
        "positive": "Dynamics of dark energy: In this paper we review in detail a number of approaches that have been\nadopted to try and explain the remarkable observation of our accelerating\nUniverse. In particular we discuss the arguments for and recent progress made\ntowards understanding the nature of dark energy. We review the observational\nevidence for the current accelerated expansion of the universe and present a\nnumber of dark energy models in addition to the conventional cosmological\nconstant, paying particular attention to scalar field models such as\nquintessence, K-essence, tachyon, phantom and dilatonic models. The importance\nof cosmological scaling solutions is emphasized when studying the dynamical\nsystem of scalar fields including coupled dark energy. We study the evolution\nof cosmological perturbations allowing us to confront them with the observation\nof the Cosmic Microwave Background and Large Scale Structure and demonstrate\nhow it is possible in principle to reconstruct the equation of state of dark\nenergy by also using Supernovae Ia observational data. We also discuss in\ndetail the nature of tracking solutions in cosmology, particle physics and\nbraneworld models of dark energy, the nature of possible future singularities,\nthe effect of higher order curvature terms to avoid a Big Rip singularity, and\napproaches to modifying gravity which leads to a late-time accelerated\nexpansion without recourse to a new form of dark energy."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Infrared behavior of dynamical fermion mass generation in QED$_{3}$: Extensive investigations show that QED$_{3}$ exhibits dynamical fermion mass\ngeneration at zero temperature when the fermion flavor $N$ is sufficiently\nsmall. However, it seems difficult to extend the theoretical analysis to finite\ntemperature. We study this problem by means of Dyson-Schwinger equation\napproach after considering the effect of finite temperature or disorder-induced\nfermion damping. Under the widely used instantaneous approximation, the\ndynamical mass displays an infrared divergence in both cases. We then adopt a\nnew approximation that includes an energy-dependent gauge boson propagator and\nobtain results for dynamical fermion mass that do not contain infrared\ndivergence. The validity of the new approximation is examined by comparing to\nthe well-established results obtained at zero temperature.",
        "positive": "A Lie Algebra for Closed Strings, Spin Chains and Gauge Theories: We consider quantum dynamical systems whose degrees of freedom are described\nby $N \\times N$ matrices, in the planar limit $N \\to \\infty$. Examples are\ngauge theoires and the M(atrix)-theory of strings. States invariant under U(N)\nare `closed strings', modelled by traces of products of matrices. We have\ndiscovered that the U(N)-invariant opertors acting on both open and closed\nstring states form a remarkable new Lie algebra which we will call the heterix\nalgebra. (The simplest special case, with one degree of freedom, is an\nextension of the Virasoro algebra by the infinite-dimensional general linear\nalgebra.) Furthermore, these operators acting on closed string states only form\na quotient algebra of the heterix algebra. We will call this quotient algebra\nthe cyclix algebra. We express the Hamiltonian of some gauge field theories\n(like those with adjoint matter fields and dimensionally reduced pure QCD\nmodels) as elements of this Lie algebra. Finally, we apply this cyclix algebra\nto establish an isomorphism between certain planar matrix models and quantum\nspin chain systems. Thus we obtain some matrix models solvable in the planar\nlimit; e.g., matrix models associated with the Ising model, the XYZ model,\nmodels satisfying the Dolan-Grady condition and the chiral Potts model. Thus\nour cyclix Lie algebra described the dynamical symmetries of quantum spin chain\nsystems, large-N gauge field theories, and the M(atrix)-theory of strings."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Surface defects and elliptic quantum groups: A brane construction of an integrable lattice model is proposed. The model is\ncomposed of Belavin's R-matrix, Felder's dynamical R-matrix, the\nBazhanov-Sergeev-Derkachov-Spiridonov R-operator and some intertwining\noperators. This construction implies that a family of surface defects act on\nsupersymmetric indices of four-dimensional $\\mathcal{N} = 1$ supersymmetric\nfield theories as transfer matrices related to elliptic quantum groups.",
        "positive": "Multifield Dynamics in Higgs-otic Inflation: In Higgs-otic inflation a complex neutral scalar combination of the $h^0$ and\n$H^0$ MSSM Higgs fields plays the role of inflaton in a chaotic fashion. The\npotential is protected from large trans-Planckian corrections at large inflaton\nif the system is embedded in string theory so that the Higgs fields parametrize\na D-brane position. The inflaton potential is then given by a DBI+CS D-brane\naction yielding an approximate linear behaviour at large field. The inflaton\nscalar potential is a 2-field model with specific non-canonical kinetic terms.\nPrevious computations of the cosmological parameters (i.e. scalar and tensor\nperturbations) did not take into account the full 2-field character of the\nmodel, ignoring in particular the presence of isocurvature perturbations and\ntheir coupling to the adiabatic modes. It is well known that for generic\n2-field potentials such effects may significantly alter the observational\nsignatures of a given model. We perform a full analysis of adiabatic and\nisocurvature perturbations in the Higgs-otic 2-field model. We show that the\npredictivity of the model is increased compared to the adiabatic approximation.\nIsocurvature perturbations moderately feed back into adiabatic fluctuations.\nHowever, the isocurvature component is exponentially damped by the end of\ninflation. The tensor to scalar ratio varies in a region $r=0.08-0.12$,\nconsistent with combined Planck/BICEP results."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Stability and Negative Tensions in 6D Brane Worlds: We investigate the dynamical stability of warped, axially symmetric\ncompactifications in anomaly free 6D gauged supergravity. The solutions have\nconical defects, which we source by 3-branes placed on orbifold fixed points,\nand a smooth limit to the classic sphere-monopole compactification. Like for\nthe sphere, the extra fields that are generically required by anomaly freedom\nare especially relevant for stability. With positive tension branes only, there\nis a strict stability criterion (identical to the sphere case) on the charges\npresent under the monopole background. Thus brane world models with positive\ntensions can be embedded into anomaly free theories in only a few ways.\nMeanwhile, surprisingly, in the presence of a negative tension brane the\nstability criteria can be relaxed. We also describe in detail the geometries\ninduced by negative tension codimension two branes.",
        "positive": "Quantization of the Superstring with Manifest U(5) Super-Poincare\n  Invariance: The superstring is quantized in a manner which manifestly preserves a U(5)\nsubgroup of the (Wick-rotated) ten-dimensional super-Poincar\\'e invariance.\nThis description of the superstring contains critical N=2 worldsheet\nsuperconformal invariance and is a natural covariantization of the\nU(4)-invariant light-cone Green-Schwarz description."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Operator Product Expansion of the Lowest Higher Spin Current at\n  Finite N: For the N=2 Kazama-Suzuki(KS) model on CP^3, the lowest higher spin current\nwith spins (2, 5/2, 5/2,3) is obtained from the generalized GKO coset\nconstruction. By computing the operator product expansion of this current and\nitself, the next higher spin current with spins (3, 7/2, 7/2, 4) is also\nderived. This is a realization of the N=2 W_{N+1} algebra with N=3 in the\nsupersymmetric WZW model. By incorporating the self-coupling constant of lowest\nhigher spin current which is known for the general (N,k), we present the\ncomplete nonlinear operator product expansion of the lowest higher spin current\nwith spins (2, 5/2, 5/2, 3) in the N=2 KS model on CP^N space. This should\ncoincide with the asymptotic symmetry of the higher spin AdS_3 supergravity at\nthe quantum level. The large (N,k) 't Hooft limit and the corresponding\nclassical nonlinear algebra are also discussed.",
        "positive": "Minimal Scales from an Extended Hilbert Space: We consider an extension of the conventional quantum Heisenberg algebra,\nassuming that coordinates as well as momenta fulfil nontrivial commutation\nrelations. As a consequence, a minimal length and a minimal mass scale are\nimplemented. Our commutators do not depend on positions and momenta and we\nprovide an extension of the coordinate coherent state approach to\nNoncommutative Geometry. We explore, as toy model, the corresponding quantum\nfield theory in a (2+1)-dimensional spacetime. Then we investigate the more\nrealistic case of a (3+1)-dimensional spacetime, foliated into noncommutative\nplanes. As a result, we obtain propagators, which are finite in the ultraviolet\nas well as the infrared regime."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The 1/2 BPS Wilson loop in ABJM theory at two loops: We compute the expectation value of the 1/2 BPS circular Wilson loop in ABJM\ntheory at two loops in perturbation theory. The result shows perfect agreement\nwith the prediction from localization and the proposed framing factor.",
        "positive": "Electric shocks: bounding Einstein-Maxwell theory with time delays on\n  boosted RN backgrounds: The requirement that particles propagate causally on non-trivial backgrounds\nimplies interesting constraints on higher-derivative operators. This work is\npart of a systematic study of the positivity bounds derivable from time delays\non shockwave backgrounds. First, we discuss shockwaves in field theory, which\nare infinitely boosted Coulomb-like field configurations. We show how a\npositive time delay implies positivity of four-derivative operators in scalar\nfield theory and electromagnetism, consistent with the results derived using\ndispersion relations, and we comment on how additional higher-derivative\noperators could be included.\n  We then turn to gravitational shockwave backgrounds. We compute the infinite\nboost limit of Reissner-Nordstr\\\"om black holes to derive charged shockwave\nbackgrounds. We consider photons traveling on these backgrounds and interacting\nthrough four-derivative corrections to Einstein-Maxwell theory. The inclusion\nof gravity introduces a logarithmic term into the time delay that interferes\nwith the straightforward bounds derivable in pure field theory, a fact\nconsistent with CEMZ and with recent results from dispersion relations. We\ndiscuss two ways to extract a physically meaningful quantity from the\nlogarithmic time delay -- by introducing an IR cutoff, or by considering the\nderivative of the time delay -- and comment on the bounds implied in each case.\nFinally, we review a number of additional shockwave backgrounds which might be\nof use in future applications, including spinning shockwaves, those in higher\ndimensions or with a cosmological constant, and shockwaves from boosted\nextended objects."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Enhanced corrections near holographic entanglement transitions: a\n  chaotic case study: Recent work found an enhanced correction to the entanglement entropy of a\nsubsystem in a chaotic energy eigenstate. The enhanced correction appears near\na phase transition in the entanglement entropy that happens when the subsystem\nsize is half of the entire system size. Here we study the appearance of such\nenhanced corrections holographically. We show explicitly how to find these\ncorrections in the example of chaotic eigenstates by summing over contributions\nof all bulk saddle point solutions, including those that break the replica\nsymmetry. With the help of an emergent rotational symmetry, the sum over all\nsaddle points is written in terms of an effective action for cosmic branes. The\nresulting Renyi and entanglement entropies are then naturally organized in a\nbasis of fixed-area states and can be evaluated directly, showing an enhanced\ncorrection near holographic entanglement transitions. We comment on several\nintriguing features of our tractable example and discuss the implications for\nfinding a convincing derivation of the enhanced corrections in other, more\ngeneral holographic examples.",
        "positive": "On the constraints defining BPS monopoles: We discuss the explicit formulation of the transcendental constraints\ndefining spectral curves of SU(2) BPS monopoles in the twistor approach of\nHitchin, following Ercolani and Sinha. We obtain an improved version of the\nErcolani-Sinha constraints, and show that the Corrigan-Goddard conditions for\nconstructing monopoles of arbitrary charge can be regarded as a special case of\nthese. As an application, we study the spectral curve of the tetrahedrally\nsymmetric 3-monopole, an example where the Corrigan-Goddard conditions need to\nbe modified. A particular 1-cycle on the spectral curve plays an important role\nin our analysis."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Microcausality and quantization of the fermionic Myers-Pospelov model: We study the fermionic sector of the Myers and Pospelov theory with a general\nbackground $n$. The spacelike case without temporal component is well defined\nand no new ingredients came about, apart from the explicit Lorentz invariance\nviolation. The lightlike case is ill defined and physically discarded. However,\nthe other case where a nonvanishing temporal component of the background is\npresent, the theory is physically consistent. We show that new modes appear as\na consequence of higher time derivatives. We quantize the timelike theory and\ncalculate the microcausality violation which turns out to occur near the light\ncone.",
        "positive": "Quasilocal Thermodynamics of Kerr de Sitter Spacetimes and the dS/CFT\n  Correspondence: We consider the quasilocal thermodynamics of rotating black holes in\nasymptotic de Sitter spacetimes. Using the minimal number of intrinsic boundary\ncounterterms, we carry out an analysis of the quasilocal thermodynamics of\nKerr-de Sitter black holes for virtually all possible values of the mass,\nrotation parameter and cosmological constant that leave the quasilocal boundary\ninside the cosmological event horizon. Specifically, we compute the quasilocal\nenergy, the conserved charges, the temperature and the heat capacity for the\n$(3+1)$-dimensional Kerr-dS black holes. We perform a quasilocal stability\nanalysis and find phase behavior that is commensurate with previous analysis\ncarried out through the use of Arnowitt-Deser-Misner (ADM) parameters. Finally,\nwe investigate the non-rotating case analytically."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Pomeron-Odderon Interactions: A Functional RG Flow Analysis: In the quest for an effective field theory which could help to understand\nsome non perturbative feature of the QCD in the Regge limit, we consider a\nReggeon Field Theory (RFT) for both Pomeron and Odderon interactions and\nperform an analysys of the critical theory using functional renormalization\ngroup techniques, unveiling a novel symmetry structure.",
        "positive": "The Newman-Penrose Map and the Classical Double Copy: Gauge-gravity duality is arguably our best hope for understanding quantum\ngravity. Considerable progress has been made in relating scattering amplitudes\nin certain gravity theories to those in gauge theories---a correspondence\ndubbed the \"double copy\". Recently, double copies have also been realized in a\nclassical setting, as maps between exact solutions of gauge theories and\ngravity. We present here a novel map between a certain class of real, exact\nsolutions of Einstein's equations and self-dual solutions of the flat-space\nvacuum Maxwell equations. This map, which we call the \"Newman-Penrose map\", is\nwell-defined even for non-vacuum, non-stationary spacetimes, providing a\nsystematic framework for exploring gravity solutions in the context of the\ndouble copy that have not been previously studied in this setting. To\nillustrate this, we present here the Newman-Penrose map for the Schwarzschild\nand Kerr black holes, and Kinnersley's photon rocket."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "$1/L^2$ corrected soft photon theorem from a CFT$_3$ Ward identity: Classical soft theorems applied to probe scattering processes on AdS$_4$\nspacetimes predict the existence of $1/L^2$ corrections to the soft photon and\nsoft graviton factors of asymptotically flat spacetimes. In this paper, we\nestablish that the $1/L^2$ corrected soft photon theorem can be derived from a\nlarge $N$ CFT$_3$ Ward identity. We derive a perturbed soft photon mode\noperator on a flat spacetime patch in global AdS$_4$ in terms of an integrated\nexpression of the boundary CFT current. Using the same in the CFT$_3$ Ward\nidentity, we recover the $1/L^2$ corrected soft photon theorem derived from\nclassical soft theorems.",
        "positive": "Weyl Connections and their Role in Holography: It is a well-known property of holographic theories that diffeomorphism\ninvariance in the bulk space-time implies Weyl invariance of the dual\nholographic field theory in the sense that the field theory couples to a\nconformal class of background metrics. The usual Fefferman-Graham formalism,\nwhich provides us with a holographic dictionary between the two theories,\nbreaks explicitly this symmetry by choosing a specific boundary metric and a\ncorresponding specific metric ansatz in the bulk. In this paper, we show that a\nsimple extension of the Fefferman-Graham formalism allows us to sidestep this\nexplicit breaking; one finds that the geometry of the boundary includes an\ninduced metric and an induced connection on the tangent bundle of the boundary\nthat is a Weyl connection (rather than the more familiar Levi-Civita connection\nuniquely determined by the induced metric). Properly invoking this boundary\ngeometry has far-reaching consequences: the holographic dictionary extends and\nnaturally encodes Weyl-covariant geometrical data, and, most importantly, the\nWeyl anomaly gains a clearer geometrical interpretation, cohomologically\nrelating two Weyl-transformed volumes. The boundary theory is enhanced due to\nthe presence of the Weyl current, which participates with the stress tensor in\nthe boundary Ward identity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Lorentz symmetry breaking and supersymmetry: We discuss three manners to implement Lorentz symmetry breaking in a\nsuperfield theory formulated within the superfield formalism, that is,\ndeformation of the supersymmetry algebra, introducing of an extra superfield\nwhose components can depend on Lorentz-violating (LV) vectors (tensors), and\nadding of new terms proportional to LV vectors (tensors) to the superfield\naction. We illustrate these methodologies with examples of quantum\ncalculations.",
        "positive": "Geometric Aspects of Holographic Bit Threads: We revisit the recent reformulation of the holographic prescription to\ncompute entanglement entropy in terms of a convex optimization problem,\nintroduced by Freedman and Headrick. According to it, the holographic\nentanglement entropy associated to a boundary region is given by the maximum\nflux of a bounded, divergenceless vector field, through the corresponding\nregion. Our work leads to two main results: (i) We present a general algorithm\nthat allows the construction of explicit thread configurations in cases where\nthe minimal surface is known. We illustrate the method with simple examples:\nspheres and strips in vacuum AdS, and strips in a black brane geometry.\nStudying more generic bulk metrics, we uncover a sufficient set of conditions\non the geometry and matter fields that must hold to be able to use our\nprescription. (ii) Based on the nesting property of holographic entanglement\nentropy, we develop a method to construct bit threads that maximize the flux\nthrough a given bulk region. As a byproduct, we are able to construct more\ngeneral thread configurations by combining (i) and (ii) in multiple patches. We\napply our methods to study bit threads which simultaneously compute the\nentanglement entropy and the entanglement of purification of mixed states and\ncomment on their interpretation in terms of entanglement distillation. We also\nconsider the case of disjoint regions for which we can explicitly construct the\nso-called multi-commodity flows and show that the monogamy property of mutual\ninformation can be easily illustrated from our constructions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Most General Propagator in Quantum Field Theory: One of the most important mathematical tools necessary for Quantum Field\nTheory calculations is the field propagator. Applications are always done in\nterms of plane waves and although this has furnished many magnificent results,\none may still be allowed to wonder what is the form of the most general\npropagator that can be written. In the present paper, by exploiting what is\ncalled polar form, we find the most general propagator in the case of spinors,\nwhether regular or singular, and we give a general discussion in the case of\nvectors.",
        "positive": "Double Ernst Solution in Einstein-Kalb-Ramond Theory: The K\\\"ahler formulation of 5-dimensional Einstein-Kalb-Ramond (EKR) theory\nadmitting two commuting Killing vectors is presented. Three different\nKramer-Neugebauer-like maps are established for the 2-dimensional case. A class\nof solutions constructed on the double Ernst one is obtained. It is shown that\nthe double Kerr solution corresponds to a EKR dipole configuration with\nhorizon."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Bi-partite entanglement entropy in massive two-dimensional quantum field\n  theory: Recently, Cardy, Castro Alvaredo and the author obtained the first\nexponential correction to saturation of the bi-partite entanglement entropy at\nlarge region length, in massive two-dimensional integrable quantum field\ntheory. It only depends on the particle content of the model, and not on the\nway particles scatter. Based on general analyticity arguments for form factors,\nwe propose that this result is universal, and holds for any massive\ntwo-dimensional model (also out of integrability). We suggest a link of this\nresult with counting pair creations far in the past.",
        "positive": "Brief review on higher spin black holes: We review some relevant results in the context of higher spin black holes in\nthree-dimensional spacetimes, focusing on their asymptotic behaviour and\nthermodynamic properties. For simplicity, we mainly discuss the case of gravity\nnonminimally coupled to spin-3 fields, being nonperturbatively described by a\nChern-Simons theory of two independent sl(3,R) gauge fields. Since the analysis\nis particularly transparent in the Hamiltonian formalism, we provide a concise\ndiscussion of their basic aspects in this context; and as a warming up\nexercise, we briefly analyze the asymptotic behaviour of pure gravity, as well\nas the BTZ black hole and its thermodynamics, exclusively in terms of gauge\nfields. The discussion is then extended to the case of black holes endowed with\nhigher spin fields, briefly signaling the agreements and discrepancies found\nthrough different approaches. We conclude explaining how the puzzles become\nresolved once the fall off of the fields is precisely specified and extended to\ninclude chemical potentials, in a way that it is compatible with the asymptotic\nsymmetries. Hence, the global charges become completely identified in an\nunambiguous way, so that different sets of asymptotic conditions turn out to\ncontain inequivalent classes of black hole solutions being characterized by a\ndifferent set of global charges."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Interpolating Gauges,Parameter Differentiability,WT-identities and the\n  epsilon term: Evaluation of variation of a Green's function in a gauge field theory with a\ngauge parameter theta involves field transformations that are (close to)\nsingular. Recently, we had demonstrated {hep-th/0106264}some unusual results\nthat follow from this fact for an interpolating gauge interpolating between the\nFeynman and the Coulomb gauge (formulated by Doust). We carry out further\nstudies of this model. We study properties of simple loop integrals involved in\nan interpolating gauge. We find that the proof of continuation of a Green's\nfunction from the Feynman gauge to the Coulomb gauge via such a gauge in a\ngauge-invariant manner seems obstructed by the lack of differentiability of the\npath-integral with respect to theta (at least at discrete values for a specific\nGreen's function considered) and/or by additional contributions to the\nWT-identities. We show this by the consideration of simple loop diagrams for a\nsimple scattering process. The lack of differentiability, alternately, produces\na large change in the path-integral for a small enough change in theta near\nsome values. We find several applications of these observations in a gauge\nfield theory. We show that the usual procedure followed in the derivation of\nthe WT-identity that leads to the evaluation of a gauge variation of a Green's\nfunction involves steps that are not always valid in the context of such\ninterpolating gauges. We further find new results related to the need for\nkeeping the epsilon-term in the in the derivation of the WT-identity and and a\nnontrivial contribution to gauge variation from it. We also demonstrate how\narguments using Wick rotation cannot rid us of these problems. This work brings\nout the pitfalls in the use of interpolating gauges in a clearer focus.",
        "positive": "Low-energy general relativity with torsion: a systematic derivative\n  expansion: We attempt to build systematically the low-energy effective Lagrangian for\nthe Einstein--Cartan formulation of gravity theory that generally includes the\ntorsion field. We list all invariant action terms in certain given order; some\nof the invariants are new. We show that in the leading order the fermion action\nwith torsion possesses additional U(1)_L x U(1)_R gauge symmetry, with 4+4\ncomponents of the torsion (out of the general 24) playing the role of Abelian\ngauge bosons. The bosonic action quadratic in torsion gives masses to those\ngauge bosons. Integrating out torsion one obtains a point-like 4-fermion action\nof a general form containing vector-vector, axial-vector and axial-axial\ninteractions. We present a quantum field-theoretic method to average the\n4-fermion interaction over the fermion medium, and perform the explicit\naveraging for free fermions with given chemical potential and temperature. The\nresult is different from that following from the \"spin fluid\" approach used\npreviously. On the whole, we arrive to rather pessimistic conclusions on the\npossibility to observe effects of the torsion-induced 4-fermion interaction,\nalthough under certain circumstances it may have cosmological consequences."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-Linear Resonance in Relativistic Preheating: Inflation in the early Universe can be followed by a brief period of\npreheating, resulting in rapid and non-equilibrium particle production through\nthe dynamics of parametric resonance. However, the parametric resonance effect\nis very sensitive to the linearity of the reheating sector. Additional\nself-interactions in the reheating sector, such as non-canonical kinetic terms\nlike the DBI Lagrangian, may enhance or frustrate the parametric resonance\neffect of preheating. In the case of a DBI reheating sector, preheating is\ndescribed by parametric resonance of a damped relativistic harmonic oscillator.\nIn this paper, we illustrate how the non-linear terms in the relativistic\noscillator shut down the parametric resonance effect. This limits the\neffectiveness of preheating when there are non-linear self-interactions.",
        "positive": "(2+1)-dimensional Chern-Simons bi-gravity with AdS Lie bialgebra as an\n  interacting theory of two massless spin-2 fields: We introduce a new Lie bialgebra structure for the anti de Sitter (AdS) Lie\nalgebra in (2+1)-dimensional spacetime. By gauging the resulting \\textit{AdS\nLie bialgebra}, we write a Chern-Simons gauge theory of bi-gravity involving\ntwo dreibeins rather than two metrics, which describes two interacting massless\nspin-2 fields. Our ghost-free bi-gravity model which has no any local degrees\nof freedom, has also a suitable free field limit. By solving its equations of\nmotion, we obtain a \\textit{new black hole} solution which has two curvature\nsingularities and two horizons. We also study cosmological implications of this\nmassless bi-gravity model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Casimir Self-Entropy of a Spherical Electromagnetic $\u03b4$-Function\n  Shell: In this paper we continue our program of computing Casimir self-entropies of\nidealized electrical bodies. Here we consider an electromagnetic\n$\\delta$-function sphere (\"semitransparent sphere\") whose electric\nsusceptibility has a transverse polarization with arbitrary strength.\nDispersion is incorporated by a plasma-like model. In the strong coupling\nlimit, a perfectly conducting spherical shell is realized. We compute the\nentropy for both low and high temperatures. The TE self-entropy is negative as\nexpected, but the TM self-entropy requires ultraviolet and infrared\nsubtractions, and, surprisingly, is only positive for sufficiently strong\ncoupling. Results are robust under different regularization schemes.",
        "positive": "Krylov Complexity in Calabi-Yau Quantum Mechanics: Recently, a novel measure for the complexity of operator growth is proposed\nbased on Lanczos algorithm and Krylov recursion method. We study this Krylov\ncomplexity in quantum mechanical systems derived from some well-known local\ntoric Calabi-Yau geometries, as well as some non-relativistic models. We find\nthat for the Calabi-Yau models, the Lanczos coefficients grow slower than\nlinearly for small $n$'s, consistent with the behavior of integrable models. On\nthe other hand, for the non-relativistic models, the Lanczos coefficients\ninitially grow linearly for small $n$'s, then reach a plateau. Although this\nlooks like the behavior of a chaotic system, it is mostly likely due to\nsaddle-dominated scrambling effects instead, as argued in the literature. In\nour cases, the slopes of linearly growing Lanczos coefficients almost saturate\na bound by the temperature. During our study, we also provide an alternative\ngeneral derivation of the bound for the slope."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Interplay between reflection positivity and crossing symmetry in the\n  bootstrap approach to CFT: Crossing symmetry (CS) is the main tool in the bootstrap program applied to\nCFT models. This consists in an equality which imposes restrictions on the CFT\ndata of a model, i.e, the OPE coefficients and the conformal dimensions.\nReflection positivity (RP) has also played a role, since this condition lead to\nthe unitary bound and reality of the OPE coefficients. In this paper we show\nthat RP can still reveal more information, showing how RP itself can capture an\nimportant part of the restrictions imposed by the full CS equality. In order to\ndo that, we use a connection used by us in a previous work between RP and\npositive definiteness of a function of a single variable. This allows to write\nconstraints on the OPE coefficients in a concise way, encoding in the\nconditions that certain functions of the crossratio will be positive defined\nand in particular completely monotonic. We will consider how the bounding of\nscalar conformal dimensions and OPE coefficients arise in this RP based\napproach. We will illustrate the conceptual and practical value of this view\ntrough examples of general CFT models in $d$-dimensions.",
        "positive": "Horizons and Correlation Functions in 2D Schwarzschild-de Sitter\n  Spacetime: Two-dimensional Schwarzschild-de Sitter is a convenient spacetime in which to\nstudy the effects of horizons on quantum fields since the spacetime contains\ntwo horizons, and the wave equation for a massless minimally coupled scalar\nfield can be solved exactly. The two-point correlation function of a massless\nscalar is computed in the Unruh state. It is found that the field correlations\ngrow linearly in terms of a particular time coordinate that is good in the\nfuture development of the past horizons, and that the rate of growth is equal\nto the sum of the black hole plus cosmological surface gravities. This time\ndependence results from additive contributions of each horizon component of the\npast Cauchy surface that is used to define the state. The state becomes the\nBunch-Davies vacuum in the cosmological far field limit. The two point function\nfor the field velocities is also analyzed and a peak is found when one point is\nbetween the black hole and cosmological horizons and one point is outside the\nfuture cosmological horizon."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Generalized Drinfeld-Sokolov Hierarchies II: The Hamiltonian Structures: In this paper we examine the bi-Hamiltonian structure of the generalized\nKdV-hierarchies. We verify that both Hamiltonian structures take the form of\nKirillov brackets on the Kac-Moody algebra, and that they define a coordinated\nsystem. Classical extended conformal algebras are obtained from the second\nPoisson bracket. In particular, we construct the $W_n^l$ algebras, first\ndiscussed for the case $n=3$ and $l=2$ by A. Polyakov and M. Bershadsky.",
        "positive": "Defects, modular differential equations, and free field realization of N\n  = 4 VOAs: For all 4d $\\mathcal{N} = 4$ SYM theories with simple gauge groups $G$, we\nshow that the residues of the integrands in the $\\mathcal{N} = 4$ Schur\nindices, which are related to Gukov-Witten type surface defects in the\ntheories, equal the vacuum characters of rank$G$ copies of $bc \\beta \\gamma$\nsystems that provide the free field realization of associated $\\mathcal{N} = 4$\nVOAs. This result predicts that these residues, as module characters, are\nadditional solutions to the flavored modular differential equations satisfied\nby the original Schur index. The prediction is verified in the $G = SU(2)$\ncase, where an additional logarithmic solution is constructed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Free Energy of D_n Quiver Chern-Simons Theories: We apply the matrix model of Kapustin, Willett and Yaakov to compute the free\nenergy of N=3 Chern-Simons matter theories with D_n quivers in the large N\nlimit. We conjecture a general expression for the free energy that is\nexplicitly invariant under Seiberg duality and show that it can be interpreted\nas a sum over certain graphs known as signed graphs. Through the AdS/CFT\ncorrespondence, this leads to a prediction for the volume of certain tri-Sasaki\nEinstein manifolds. We also study the unfolding procedure, which relates these\nD_n quivers to A_{2n-5} quivers. Furthermore, we consider the addition of\nmassive fundamental flavor fields, verifying that integrating these out\ndecreases the free energy in accordance with the F-theorem.",
        "positive": "States and Observables in Semiclassical Field Theory: a Manifestly\n  Covariant Approach: A manifestly covariant formulation of quantum field Maslov complex-WKB theory\n(semiclassical field theory) is investigated for the case of scalar field. The\nmain object of the theory is \"semiclassical bundle\". Its base is the set of all\nclassical states, fibers are Hilbert spaces of quantum states in the external\nfield. Semiclassical Maslov states may be viewed as points or surfaces on the\nsemiclassical bundle. Semiclassical analogs of QFT axioms are formulated. A\nrelationship between covariant semiclassical field theory and Hamiltonian\nformulation is discussed. The constructions of axiomatic field theory\n(Schwinger sources, Bogoliubov $S$-matrix, Lehmann-Symanzik-Zimmermann\n$R$-functions) are used in constructing the covariant semiclassical theory. A\nnew covariant formulation of classical field theory and semiclassical\nquantization proposal are discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Action-angle variables for dihedral systems on the circle: A nonrelativistic particle on a circle and subject to a cos^{-2}(k phi)\npotential is related to the two-dimensional (dihedral) Coxeter system I_2(k),\nfor k in N. For such `dihedral systems' we construct the action-angle variables\nand establish a local equivalence with a free particle on the circle. We\nperform the quantization of these systems in the action-angle variables and\ndiscuss the supersymmetric extension of this procedure. By allowing radial\nmotion one obtains related two-dimensional systems, including A_2, BC_2 and G_2\nthree-particle rational Calogero models on R, which we also analyze.",
        "positive": "K-field kinks in two-dimensional dilaton gravity: In this work, kinks with non-canonical kinetic energy terms are studied in a\ntype of two-dimensional dilaton gravity model. The linear stability issue is\ngenerally discussed for arbitrary static solutions, and the stability criteria\nare obtained. As an explicit example, a model with cuscuton term is studied.\nAfter rewriting the equations of motion into simpler first-order formalism and\nchoosing a polynomial superpotential, an exact self-gravitating kink solution\nis obtained. The impacts of the cuscuton term are discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "To Half--Be or Not To Be?: It has recently been argued that half degrees of freedom could emerge in\nLorentz and parity invariant field theories, using a non-linear Proca field\ntheory dubbed Proca-Nuevo as a specific example. We provide two proofs, using\nthe Lagrangian and Hamiltonian pictures, that the theory possesses a pair of\nsecond class constraints, leaving $D-1$ degrees of freedom in $D$ spacetime\ndimensions, as befits a consistent Proca model. Our proofs are explicit and\nstraightforward in two dimensions and we discuss how they generalize to an\narbitrary number of dimensions. We also clarify why local Lorentz and parity\ninvariant field theories cannot hold half degrees of freedom.",
        "positive": "Higher-Derivative Gravitation in Bosonic and Superstring Theories and a\n  New Mechanism for Supersymmetry Breaking: A discussion of the number of degrees of freedom, and their dynamical\nproperties, in higher derivative gravitational theories is presented. The\ncomplete non-linear sigma model for these degrees of freedom is exhibited using\nthe method of auxiliary fields. As a by-product we present a consistent\nnon-linear coupling of a spin-2 tensor to gravitation. It is shown that\nnon-vanishing $(C_{\\mu\\nu\\alpha\\beta})^{2}$ terms arise in $N=1$, $D=4$\nsuperstring Lagrangians due to one-loop radiative corrections with light field\ninternal lines. We discuss the general form of quadratic $(1,1)$ supergravity\nin two dimensions, and show that this theory is equivalent to two scalar\nsupermultiplets coupled to the usual Einstein supergravity. It is demonstrated\nthat the theory possesses stable vacua with vanishing cosmological constant\nwhich spontaneously break supersymmetry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dilaton tadpoles and D-brane interactions in compact spaces: We analyse some physical consequences when supersymmetry is broken by a set\nof D-branes and/or orientifold planes in Type II string theories. Generically,\nthere are global dilaton tadpoles at the disk level when the transverse space\nis compact. By taking the toy model of a set of electric charges in a compact\nspace, we discuss two different effects appearing when global tadpoles are not\ncancelled. On the compact directions a constant term appears that allows to\nsolve the equations of motion. On the non-compact directions Poincar\\'e\ninvariance is broken. We analyse some examples where the Poincar\\'e invariance\nis broken along the time direction (cosmological models).After that, we discuss\nhow to obtain a finite interaction between D-branes and orientifold planes in\nthe compact space at the supergravity level.",
        "positive": "Effective Matter Cosmologies of Massive Gravity I: Non-Physical Fluids: For the massive gravity, after decoupling from the metric equation we find a\nbroad class of solutions of the Stuckelberg sector by solving the background\nmetric in the presence of a diagonal physical metric. We then construct the\ndynamics of the corresponding FLRW cosmologies which inherit effective matter\ncontribution through the decoupling solution mechanism of the scalar sector."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum field theory on a discrete space and noncommutative geometry: We analyse in detail the quantization of a simple noncommutative model of\nspontaneous symmetry breaking in zero dimensions taking into account the\nnoncommutative setting seriously. The connection to the counting argument of\nFeyman diagrams of the corresponding theory in four dimensions is worked out\nexplicitly. Special emphasis is put on the motivation as well as the\npresentation of some well-known basic notions of quantum field theory which in\nthe zero-dimensional theory can be studied without being spoiled by technical\ncomplications due to the absence of divergencies.",
        "positive": "Constrained Dynamics in the Hamiltonian formalism: These are pedagogical notes on the Hamiltonian formulation of constrained\ndynamical systems. All the examples are finite dimensional, field theories are\nnot covered, and the notes could be used by students for a preliminary study\nbefore the infinite dimensional phase space of field theory is tackled.\n  Holonomic constraints in configuration space are considered first and Dirac\nbrackets introduced for such systems. It is shown that Dirac brackets are a\nprojection of Poisson brackets onto the constrained phase space and the\nprojection operator is constructed explicitly. More general constraints on\nphase space are then considered and exemplified by a particle in a strong\nmagnetic field. First class constraints on phases are introduced using the\nexample of motion on the complex projective space ${\\mathbf{C P}}^{n-1}$.\nMotion of a relativistic particle in Minkowski space with a reparameterisation\ninvariant world-line is also discussed.\n  These notes are based on a short lecture course given at Bhubaneswar Indian\nInstitute of Technology in November 2021."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Functional RG flow of the effective Hamiltonian action: After a brief review of the definition and properties of the quantum\neffective Hamiltonian action we describe its renormalization flow by a\nfunctional RG equation. This equation can be used for a non-perturbative\nquantization and study also of theories with bare Hamiltonians which are not\nquadratic in the momenta. As an example the vacuum energy and gap of quantum\nmechanical models are computed. Extensions of this framework to quantum field\ntheories are discussed. In particular one possible Lorentz covariant approach\nfor simple scalar field theories is developed. Fermionic degrees of freedom,\nbeing naturally described by a first order formulation, can be easily\naccommodated in this approach.",
        "positive": "Holographic anatomy of fuzzballs: We present a comprehensive analysis of 2-charge fuzzball solutions, that is,\nhorizon-free non-singular solutions of IIB supergravity characterized by a\ncurve on R^4. We propose a precise map that relates any given curve to a\nspecific superposition of R ground states of the D1-D5 system. To test this\nproposal we compute the holographic 1-point functions associated with these\nsolutions, namely the conserved charges and the vacuum expectation values of\nchiral primary operators of the boundary theory, and find perfect agreement\nwithin the approximations used. In particular, all kinematical constraints are\nsatisfied and the proposal is compatible with dynamical constraints although\ndetailed quantitative tests would require going beyond the leading supergravity\napproximation. We also discuss which geometries may be dual to a given R ground\nstate. We present the general asymptotic form that such solutions must have and\npresent exact solutions which have such asymptotics and therefore pass all\nkinematical constraints. Dynamical constraints would again require going beyond\nthe leading supergravity approximation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the phase structure of extra-dimensional gauge theories with fermions: We study the phase structure of five-dimensional Yang-Mills theories coupled\nto Dirac fermions. In order to tackle their non-perturbative character, we\nderive the flow equations for the gauge coupling and the effective potential\nfor the Aharonov-Bohm phases employing the Functional Renormalisation Group. We\nanalyse the infrared and ultraviolet fixed-point solutions in the flow of the\ngauge coupling as a function of the compactification radius of the fifth\ndimension. We discuss various types of trajectories which smoothly connect both\ndimensional limits. Last, we investigate the phase diagram and vacuum structure\nof the gauge potential for different fermion content.",
        "positive": "The timbre of Hawking gravitons: an effective description of energy\n  transport from holography: Planar black holes in AdS, which are holographically dual to compressible\nrelativistic fluids, have a long-lived phonon mode that captures the physics of\nattenuated sound propagation and transports energy in the plasma. We describe\nthe open effective field theory of this fluctuating phonon degree of freedom.\nThe dynamics of the phonon is encoded in a single scalar field whose\ngravitational coupling has non-trivial spatial momentum dependence. This\ndescription fits neatly into the paradigm of classifying gravitational modes by\ntheir Markovianity index, depending on whether they are long-lived. The sound\nscalar is a non-Markovian field with index (3-d) for a d-dimensional fluid. We\nreproduce (and extend) the dispersion relation of the holographic sound mode to\nquartic order in derivatives, constructing in the process the effective field\ntheory governing its attenuated dynamics and associated stochastic\nfluctuations. We also remark on the presence of additional spatially\nhomogeneous zero modes in the gravitational problem, which remain disconnected\nfrom the phonon Goldstone mode."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Integrable deformations of AdS/CFT: In this paper we study in detail the deformations introduced in [1] of the\nintegrable structures of the AdS$_{2,3}$ integrable models. We do this by\nembedding the corresponding scattering matrices into the most general solutions\nof the Yang-Baxter equation. We show that there are several non-trivial\nembeddings and corresponding deformations. We work out crossing symmetry for\nthese models and study their symmetry algebras and representations. In\nparticular, we identify a new elliptic deformation of the $\\rm AdS_3 \\times S^3\n\\times M^4$ string sigma model.",
        "positive": "Non-Supersymmetric Seiberg Duality, Orientifold QCD and Non-Critical\n  Strings: We propose an electric-magnetic duality and conjecture an exact conformal\nwindow for a class of non-supersymmetric U(N_c) gauge theories with fermions in\nthe (anti)symmetric representation of the gauge group and N_f additional scalar\nand fermion flavors. The duality exchanges N_c with N_f -N_c \\mp 4 leaving N_f\ninvariant, and has common features with Seiberg duality in N=1 SQCD with SU or\nSO/Sp gauge group. At large N the duality holds due to planar equivalence with\nN=1 SQCD. At finite N we embed these gauge theories in a setup with D-branes\nand orientifolds in a non-supersymmetric, but tachyon-free, non-critical type\n0B string theory and argue in favor of the duality in terms of boundary and\ncrosscap state monodromies as in analogous supersymmetric situations. One can\nverify explicitly that the resulting duals have matching global anomalies.\nFinally, we comment on the moduli space of these gauge theories and discuss\nother potential non-supersymmetric examples that could exhibit similar\ndualities."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Unitary Representations of Some Infinite Dimensional Lie Algebras\n  Motivated by String Theory on AdS_3: We consider some unitary representations of infinite dimensional Lie algebras\nmotivated by string theory on AdS_3. These include examples of two kinds: the\nA,D,E type affine Lie algebras and the N=4 superconformal algebra. The first\npresents a new construction for free field representations of affine Lie\nalgebras. The second is of a particular physical interest because it provides\nsome hints that a hybrid of the NSR and GS formulations for string theory on\nAdS_3 exists.",
        "positive": "Six-loop divergences in the supersymmetric Kahler sigma model: The two-dimensional supersymmetric $\\s$-model on a K\\\"ahler manifold has a\nnon-vanishing $\\b$-function at four loops, but the $\\b$-function at five loops\ncan be made to vanish by a specific choice of renormalisation scheme. We\ninvestigate whether this phenomenon persists at six loops, and conclude that it\ndoes not; there is a non-vanishing six-loop $\\b$-function irrespective of\nrenormalisation scheme ambiguities."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "w(1+infinity) Algebra with a Cosmological Constant and the Celestial\n  Sphere: It is shown that in the presence of a nonvanishing cosmological constant,\nStrominger's infinite-dimensional $\\mathrm{w_{1+\\infty}}$ algebra of soft\ngraviton symmetries is modified in a simple way. The deformed algebra contains\na subalgebra generating $ SO(1,4)$ or $SO(2,3)$ symmetry groups of\n$\\text{dS}_4$ or $\\text{AdS}_4$, depending on the sign of the cosmological\nconstant. The transformation properties of soft gauge symmetry currents under\nthe deformed $\\mathrm{w_{1+\\infty}}$ are also discussed.",
        "positive": "Transmission matrices in gl(N) & U_q(gl(N)) quantum spin chains: The gl(N) and U_q(gl(N)) quantum spin chains in the presence of integrable\nspin impurities are considered. Within the Bethe ansatz formulation, we derive\nthe associated transmission amplitudes, and the corresponding transmission\nmatrices -representations of the underlying quadratic algebra- that physically\ndescribe the interaction between the various particle-like excitations\ndisplayed by these models and the spin impurity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Casimir effect, loop corrections and topological mass generation for\n  interacting real and complex scalar fields in Minkowski spacetime with\n  different conditions: In this paper the Casimir energy density, loop corrections, and generation of\ntopological mass are investigated for a system consisting of two interacting\nreal and complex scalar fields. The interaction considered is the quartic\ninteraction in the form of a product of the modulus square of the complex field\nand the square of the real field. In addition, it is also considered the\nself-interaction associated with each field. In this theory, the scalar field\nis constrained to always obey periodic condition while the complex field obeys\nin one case a quasiperiodic condition and in other case mixed boundary\nconditions. The Casimir energy density, loop corrections, and topological mass\nare evaluated analytically for the massive and massless scalar fields\nconsidered. An analysis of possible different stable vacuum states and the\ncorresponding stability condition is also provided. In order to better\nunderstand our investigation, some graphs are also presented. The formalism we\nuse here to perform such investigation is the effective potential, which is\nwritten as loop expansions via path integral in quantum field theory.",
        "positive": "Nonlocal charges from marginal deformations of 2D CFTs: Holographic $T\n  \\bar T$, $T \\bar J$ and Yang-Baxter deformations: In this paper we study generic features of nonlocal charges obtained from\nmarginal deformations of WZNW models. Using free-fields representations of CFTs\nbased on simply laced Lie algebras, one can use simple arguments to build the\nnonlocal charges; but for more general Lie algebras these methods are not\nstrong enough to be generally used. We propose a brute force calculation where\nthe nonlocality is associated to a new Lie algebra valued field, and from this\nprescription we impose several constraints on the algebra of nonlocal charges.\nPossible applications for Yang-Baxter and holographic \\(T\\bar{T}\\) and\n\\(T\\bar{J}\\) deformations are also discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hamiltonian reduction of the $U_{EM}(1)$ gauged three flavour WZW model: The three-flavour Wess-Zumino model coupled to electromagnetism is treated as\na constraint system using the Faddeev-Jackiw method. Expanding into series of\npowers of the Goldstone boson fields and keeping terms up to second and third\norder we obtain Coulomb-gauge hamiltonian densities.",
        "positive": "Proper time method in de Sitter space: We use the proper time formalism to study a (non-self-interacting) massive\nKlein-Gordon theory in the two dimensional de Sitter space. We determine the\nexact Green's function of the theory by solving the DeWitt-Schwinger equation\nas well as by calculating the operator matrix element. We point out how the one\nparameter family of arbitrariness in the Green's function arises in this\nmethod."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Double Metric, Generalized Metric and $\u03b1'$-Geometry: We relate the unconstrained `double metric' of the `$\\alpha'$-geometry'\nformulation of double field theory to the constrained generalized metric\nencoding the spacetime metric and b-field. This is achieved by integrating out\nauxiliary field components of the double metric in an iterative procedure that\ninduces an infinite number of higher-derivative corrections. As an application\nwe prove that, to first order in $\\alpha'$ and to all orders in fields, the\ndeformed gauge transformations are Green-Schwarz-deformed diffeomorphisms. We\nalso prove that to first order in $\\alpha'$ the spacetime action encodes\nprecisely the Green-Schwarz deformation with Chern-Simons forms based on the\ntorsionless gravitational connection. This seems to be in tension with\nsuggestions in the literature that T-duality requires a torsionful connection,\nbut we explain that these assertions are ambiguous since actions that use\ndifferent connections are related by field redefinitions.",
        "positive": "Prescriptive Unitarity for Non-Planar Six-Particle Amplitudes at Two\n  Loops: We extend the applications of prescriptive unitarity beyond the planar limit\nto provide local, polylogarithmic, integrand-level representations of\nsix-particle MHV scattering amplitudes in both maximally supersymmetric\nYang-Mills theory and gravity. The integrand basis we construct is diagonalized\non a spanning set of non-vanishing leading singularities that ensures the\nmanifest matching of all soft-collinear singularities in both theories. As a\nconsequence, this integrand basis naturally splits into infrared-finite and\ninfrared-divergent parts, with hints toward an integrand-level exponentiation\nof infrared divergences. Importantly, we use the same basis of integrands for\nboth theories, so that the presence or absence of residues at infinite loop\nmomentum becomes a feature detectable by inspecting the cuts of the theory.\nComplete details of our results are provided as ancillary files.\n  This work has been updated to take into account the results of\n[arXiv:1911.09106], which leads to a simpler and more uniform representation of\nthese amplitudes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Motion of a Particle with Isospin in the Presence of a Monopole: From a consistent expression for the quadriforce describing the interaction\nbetween a coloured particle and gauge fields, we investigate the relativistic\nmotion of a particle with isospin interacting with a BPS monopole and with a\nJulia-Zee dyon. The analysis of such systems reveals the existence of\nunidimensional unbounded motion and asymptotic trajectories restricted to\nconical surfaces, which resembles the equivalent case of Electromagnetism.",
        "positive": "A Note on the Swampland Distance Conjecture: We discuss the Swampland Distance Conjecture in the framework of black hole\nthermodynamics. In particular, we consider black holes in de Sitter space and\nwe show that the Swampland Distance Conjecture is a consequence of the fact\nthat apparent horizons are always inside cosmic event horizons whenever they\nexist in the case of fast-roll inflation. In addition, we show that the\nBekenstein and the Hubble entropy bounds for the entropy in a region of\nspacetime lead similarly to the same conjecture."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hawking Radiation from Elko Particles Tunnelling across Black Strings\n  Horizon: We apply the tunnelling method for the emission and absorption of Elko\nparticles in the event horizon of a black string solution. We show that Elko\nparticles are emitted at the expected Hawking temperature from black strings,\nbut with a quite different signature with respect to the Dirac particles. We\nemploy the Hamilton-Jacobi technique to black hole tunnelling, by applying the\nWKB approximation to the coupled system of Dirac-like equations governing the\nElko particle dynamics. As a typical signature, different Elko particles are\nshown to produce the same standard Hawking temperature for black strings.\nHowever we prove that they present the same probability irrespective of\noutgoing or ingoing the black hole horizon. It provides a typical signature for\nmass dimension one fermions, that is different from the mass dimension three\nhalves fermions inherent to Dirac particles, as different Dirac spinor fields\nhave distinct inward and outward probability of tunnelling.",
        "positive": "Yang-Baxter $\u03c3$-models and dS/AdS T-duality: We point out the existence of nonlinear $\\sigma$-models on group manifolds\nwhich are left symmetric and right Poisson-Lie symmetric. We discuss the\ncorresponding rich T-duality story with particular emphasis on two examples:\nthe anisotropic principal chiral model and the $SL(2,C)/SU(2)$ WZW model. The\nlatter has the de Sitter space as its (conformal) non-Abelian dual."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Pure Spinor Twistor Description of Ambitwistor Strings: We present a novel ten-dimensional description of ambitwistor strings. This\nformulation is based on a set of supertwistor variables involving pure spinors\nand a set of constraints previously introduced in the context of the $D=10$\nsuperparticle following a ten-dimensional twistor-like construction introduced\nby Berkovits. We perform a detailed quantum-mechanical analysis of the\nconstraint algebra, we show that the corresponding central charges vanish, and\nafter considering a convenient gauge fixing procedure, physical states are\nfound. Vertex operators are explicitly constructed and, by noticing a relation\nwith the standard pure spinor formalism, scattering amplitudes are shown to\ncorrectly describe $D=10$ super-Yang-Mills interactions. As in other\nambitwistor string models, amplitudes are found to be localized on the support\nof the scattering equations, and thus this work provides a bridge between\nBerkovits' construction and the Cachazo-He-Yuan formulae. After extending the\npure spinor twistor transform to include an additional supersymmetry, our\nresults are immediately generalized to Type IIB supergravity.",
        "positive": "Operator lifetime and the force-free electrodynamic limit of magnetised\n  holographic plasma: Using the framework of higher-form global symmetries, we examine the regime\nof validity of force-free electrodynamics by evaluating the lifetime of the\nelectric field operator, which is non-conserved due to screening effects. We\nfocus on a holographic model which has the same global symmetry as that of low\nenergy plasma and obtain the lifetime of (non-conserved) electric flux in a\nstrong magnetic field regime. The lifetime is inversely correlated to the\nmagnetic field strength and thus suppressed in the strong field regime."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Phase Transition of Charged-AdS Black Holes and Quasinormal Modes : a\n  Time Domain Analysis: In this work we use the quasinormal mode of a massless scalar perturbation to\nprobe the phase transition of the charged-AdS black hole in time profile. The\nsignature of the critical behavior of this black hole solution is detected in\nthe isobaric process. This paper is a natural extension of [1, 2] to the time\ndomain analysis. More precisely, our study shows a clear signal in term of the\ndamping rate and the oscillation frequencies of the scalar field perturbation.\nWe conclude that the quasinormal modes can be an efficient tool to detect the\nsignature of thermodynamic phase transition in the isobaric process far from\nthe critical temperature, but fail to disclose this signature at the critical\ntemperature",
        "positive": "On the renormalization of a generalized supersymmetric version of the\n  maximal Abelian gauge: In this work we present an algebraic proof of the renormazibility of the\nsuper-Yang-Mills action quantized in a generalized supersymmetric version of\nthe maximal Abelian gauge. The main point stated here is that the generalized\ngauge depends on a set of infinity gauge parameters in order to take into\naccount all possible composite operators emerging from the dimensionless\ncharacter of the vector superfield. At the end, after the removal of all\nultraviolet divergences, it is possible to specify values to the gauge\nparameters in order to return to the original supersymmetric maximal Abelian\ngauge, first presented in Phys. Rev. D91, no. 12, 125017 (2015), Ref. [1]."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spinor-vector supersymmetry algebra in three dimensions: We focus on a spin-3/2 supersymmetry (SUSY) algebra of Baaklini in D = 3 and\nexplicitly show a nonlinear realization of the SUSY algebra. The unitary\nrepresentation of the spin-3/2 SUSY algebra is discussed and compared with the\nordinary (spin-1/2) SUSY algebra.",
        "positive": "Prescriptive Unitarity: We introduce a prescriptive approach to generalized unitarity, resulting in a\nstrictly-diagonal basis of loop integrands with coefficients given by\nspecifically-tailored residues in field theory. We illustrate the power of this\nstrategy in the case of planar, maximally supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory,\nwhere we construct closed-form representations of all ($n$-point N$^k$MHV)\nscattering amplitudes through three loops. The prescriptive approach contrasts\nwith the ordinary description of unitarity-based methods by avoiding any need\nfor linear algebra to determine integrand coefficients. We describe this\napproach in general terms as it should have applications to many quantum field\ntheories, including those without planarity, supersymmetry, or massless spectra\ndefined in any number of dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum fluctuations of topological ${\\mathbb S}^3$-kinks: The kink Casimir effect in the massive non-linear $S^3$-sigma model is\nanalyzed.",
        "positive": "Brane-worlds and theta-vacua: Reductions from odd to even dimensionalities ($5\\to 4$ or $3\\to 2$), for\nwhich the effective low-energy theory contains chiral fermions, present us with\na mismatch between ultraviolet and infrared anomalies. This applies to both\nlocal (gauge) and global currents; here we consider the latter case. We show\nthat the mismatch can be explained by taking into account a change in the\nspectral asymmetry of the massive modes--an odd-dimensional analog of the\nphenomenon described by the Atiyah-Patodi-Singer theorem in even\ndimensionalities. The result has phenomenological implications: we present a\nscenario in which a QCD-like $\\theta$-angle relaxes to zero on a certain\n(possibly, cosmological) timescale, despite the absence of any light axion-like\nparticle."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Seeking the Ground State of String Theory: Recently, a number of authors have challenged the conventional assumption\nthat the string scale, Planck mass, and unification scale are roughly\ncomparable. It has been suggested that the string scale could be as low as a\nTeV. The greatest obstacle to developing a string phenomenology is our lack of\nunderstanding of the ground state. We explain why the dynamics which determines\nthis state is not likely to be accessible to any systematic approximation. We\nnote that the racetrack scheme, often cited as a counterexample, suffers from\nsimilar difficulties. We stress that the weakness of the gauge couplings, the\ngauge hierarchy, and coupling unification suggest that it may be possible to\nextract some information in a systematic approximation. We review the ideas of\nKahler stabilization, an attempt to reconcile these facts. We consider whether\nthe system is likely to sit at extremes of the moduli space, as in recent\nproposals for a low string scale. Finally we discuss the idea of Maximally\nEnhanced Symmetry, a hypothesis which is technically natural, compatible with\nbasic facts about cosmology, and potentially predictive.",
        "positive": "Topics on the geometry of D-brane charges and Ramond-Ramond fields: In this paper we discuss some topics on the geometry of type II superstring\nbackgrounds with D-branes, in particular on the geometrical meaning of the\nD-brane charge, the Ramond-Ramond fields and the Wess-Zumino action. We see\nthat, depending on the behaviour of the D-brane on the four non-compact\nspace-time directions, we need different notions of homology and cohomology to\ndiscuss the associated fields and charge: we give a mathematical definition of\nsuch notions and show their physical applications. We then discuss the problem\nof corretly defining Wess-Zumino action using the theory of p-gerbes. Finally,\nwe recall the so-called *-problem and make some brief remarks about it."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Degenerations of K3, Orientifolds and Exotic Branes: A recently constructed limit of K3 has a long neck consisting of segments,\neach of which is a nilfold fibred over a line, that are joined together with\nKaluza-Klein monopoles. The neck is capped at either end by a Tian-Yau space,\nwhich is non-compact, hyperkahler and asymptotic to a nilfold fibred over a\nline. We show that the type IIA string on this degeneration of K3 is dual to\nthe type I$'$ string, with the Kaluza-Klein monopoles dual to the D8-branes and\nthe Tian-Yau spaces providing a geometric dual to the O8 orientifold planes. At\nstrong coupling, each O8-plane can emit a D8-brane to give an O8$^*$ plane, so\nthat there can be up to 18 D8-branes in the type I$'$ string. In the IIA dual,\nthis phenomenon occurs at weak coupling and there can be up to 18 Kaluza-Klein\nmonopoles in the dual geometry. We consider further duals in which the\nKaluza-Klein monopoles are dualised to NS5-branes or exotic branes. A 3-torus\nwith $H$-flux can be realised in string theory as an NS5-brane wrapped on\n$T^3$, with the 3-torus fibred over a line. T-dualising gives a 4-dimensional\nhyperkahler manifold which is a nilfold fibred over a line, which can be viewed\nas a Kaluza-Klein monopole wrapped on $T^2$. Further T-dualities then give\nnon-geometric spaces fibred over a line and can be regarded as wrapped exotic\nbranes. These are all domain wall configurations, dual to the D8-brane. Type\nI$'$ string theory is the natural home for D8-branes, and we dualise this to\nfind string theory homes for each of these branes. The Kaluza-Klein monopoles\narise in the IIA string on the degenerate K3. T-duals of this give exotic\nbranes on non-geometric spaces.",
        "positive": "Energy radiated from a fluctuating selfdual string: We compute the energy that is radiated from a fluctuating selfdual string in\nthe large $N$ limit of $A_{N-1}$ theory using the AdS-CFT correspondence. We\nfind that the radiated energy is given by a non-local expression integrated\nover the string world-sheet. We also make the corresponding computation for a\ncharged string in six-dimensional classical electrodynamics, thereby\ngeneralizing the Larmor formula for the radiated energy from an accelerated\npoint particle."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gravity-Matter Couplings from Liouville Theory: The three-point functions for minimal models coupled to gravity are derived\nin the operator approach to Liouville theory which is based on its $U_q(sl(2))$\nquantum group structure. The result is shown to agree with matrix-model\ncalculations on the sphere. The precise definition of the corresponding\ncosmological constant is given in the operator solution of the quantum\nLiouville theory. It is shown that the symmetry between quantum-group spins $J$\nand $-J-1$ previously put forward by the author is the explanation of the\ncontinuation in the number of screening operators discovered by Goulian and Li.\nContrary to the previous discussions of this problem, the present approach\nclearly separates the emission operators for each leg. This clarifies the\nstructure of the dressing by gravity. It is shown, in particular that the end\npoints are not treated on the same footing as the mid point. Since the outcome\nis completely symmetric this suggests the existence of a picture-changing\nmechanism in two dimensional gravity.",
        "positive": "Axion-Dilaton Black Holes: In this talk some essential features of stringy black holes are described. We\nconsider charged four-dimensional axion-dilaton black holes. The Hawking\ntemperature and the entropy of all solutions are shown to be simple functions\nof the squares of supercharges, defining the positivity bounds. Spherically\nsymmetric and multi black hole solutions are presented. The extreme solutions\nhave some unbroken supersymmetries. Axion-dilaton black holes with zero entropy\nand zero area of the horizon form a family of stable particle-like objects,\nwhich we call holons. We discuss the possibility of splitting of nearly extreme\nblack holes into holons."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The correspondence between rotating black holes and fundamental strings: The correspondence principle between strings and black holes is a general\nframework for matching black holes and massive states of fundamental strings at\na point where their physical properties (such as mass, entropy and temperature)\nsmoothly agree with each other. This correspondence becomes puzzling when\nattempting to include rotation: At large enough spins, there exist degenerate\nstring states that seemingly cannot be matched to any black hole. Conversely,\nthere exist black holes with arbitrarily large spins that cannot correspond to\nany single-string state. We discuss in detail the properties of both types of\nobjects and find that a correspondence that resolves the puzzles is possible by\nadding dynamical features and non-stationary configurations to the picture. Our\nscheme incorporates all black hole and string phases as part of the\ncorrespondence, save for one outlier which remains enigmatic: the near-extremal\nKerr black hole. Along the way, we elaborate on general aspects of the\ncorrespondence that have not been emphasized before.",
        "positive": "On the duality of massive Kalb-Ramond and Proca fields: We compare the massive Kalb-Ramond and Proca fields with a quartic\nself-interaction and show that the same strong coupling scale is present in\nboth theories. In the Proca theory, the longitudinal mode enters the strongly\ncoupled regime beyond this scale, while the two transverse modes propagate\nfurther and survive in the massless limit. In contrast, in case of the massive\nKalb-Ramond field, the two transverse modes become strongly coupled beyond the\nVainshtein scale, while the pseudo-scalar mode remains in the weak coupling\nregime and survives in the massless limit. This indicates a contradiction with\nthe numerous claims in the literature that these theories are dual to each\nother."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Noncompact Symmetries in String Theory: Noncompact groups, similar to those that appeared in various supergravity\ntheories in the 1970's, have been turning up in recent studies of string\ntheory. First it was discovered that moduli spaces of toroidal compactification\nare given by noncompact groups modded out by their maximal compact subgroups\nand discrete duality groups. Then it was found that many other moduli spaces\nhave analogous descriptions. More recently, noncompact group symmetries have\nturned up in effective actions used to study string cosmology and other\nclassical configurations. This paper explores these noncompact groups in the\ncase of toroidal compactification both from the viewpoint of low-energy\neffective field theory, using the method of dimensional reduction, and from the\nviewpoint of the string theory world sheet. The conclusion is that all these\nsymmetries are intimately related. In particular, we find that Chern--Simons\nterms in the three-form field strength $H_{\\mu\\nu\\rho}$ play a crucial role.",
        "positive": "Fractional Effective Quark-Antiquark Interaction in Symplectic Quantum\n  Mechanics: We investigate within the formalism of Symplectic Quantum Mechanics a\ntwo-dimensional non-relativistic strong interacting system that represents the\nbound heavy quark-antiquark state, where it was considered a linear potential\nin the context of generalized fractional derivatives. For this purpose, it was\nsolved the Schr\\\"odinger equation in phase space with the linear potential. The\nsolution (ground state) is obtained, analyzed through the Wigner function\ncomparing with the original solution, the Airy function for the meson\n$c\\overline{c}$. The identified eigenfunctions are connected to the Wigner\nfunction via the Weyl product and the Galilei group representation theory in\nphase space. In some ways, compared to the wave function, the Wigner function\nmakes it simpler to see how the meson system is non-classical."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Correlator correspondences for subregular $\\mathcal{W}$-algebras and\n  principal $\\mathcal{W}$-superalgebras: We examine a strong/weak duality between a Heisenberg coset of a theory with\n$\\mathfrak{sl}_n$ subregular $\\mathcal{W}$-algebra symmetry and a theory with a\n$\\mathfrak{sl}_{n|1}$-structure. In a previous work, two of the current authors\nprovided a path integral derivation of correlator correspondences for a series\nof generalized Fateev-Zamolodchikov-Zamolodchikov (FZZ-)duality. In this paper,\nwe derive correlator correspondences in a similar way but for a different\nseries of generalized duality. This work is a part of the project to realize\nthe duality of corner vertex operator algebras proposed by Gaiotto and\nRap\\v{c}\\'ak and partly proven by Linshaw and one of us in terms of two\ndimensional conformal field theory. We also examine another type of duality\ninvolving an additional pair of fermions, which is a natural generalization of\nthe fermionic FZZ-duality. The generalization should be important since a\nprincipal $\\mathcal{W}$-superalgebra appears as its symmetry and the properties\nof the superalgebra are less understood than bosonic counterparts.",
        "positive": "Physicists' $d=3+1$, $N=1$ superspace-time and supersymmetric QFTs from\n  a tower construction in complexified ${\\Bbb Z}/2$-graded $C^\\infty$-Algebraic\n  Geometry and a purge-evaluation/index-contracting map: The complexified ${\\Bbb Z}/2$-graded $C^\\infty$-Algebraic Geometry aspect of\na superspace(-time) $\\widehat{X}$ in Sec.\\,1 of D(14.1) (arXiv:1808.05011\n[math.DG]) together with the Spin-Statistics Theorem in Quantum Field Theory,\nwhich requires fermionic components of a superfield be anticommuting, lead us\nto the notion of towered superspace(-time) $\\widehat{X}^{\\widehat{\\boxplus}}$\nand the built-in purely even physics sector $X^{\\mbox{physics}}$ from\n$\\widehat{X}^{\\widehat{\\boxplus}}$. We use this to reproduce the $d=3+1$, $N=1$\nWess-Zumino model and the $d=3+1$, $N=1$ supersymmetric $U(1)$ gauge theory\nwith matter --- as in, e.g., Chap.\\,V and Chap.\\,VI \\& part of Chap.\\,VII of\nthe classical Supersymmetry \\& Supergravity textbook by Julius Wess and\nJonathan Bagger --- and, hence, recast physicists' two most basic\nsupersymmetric quantum field theories solidly into the realm of (complexified\n${\\Bbb Z}/2$-graded) $C^\\infty$-Algebraic Geometry. Some traditional\ndifferential geometers' ways of understanding supersymmetric quantum field\ntheories are incorporated into the notion of a\npurge-evaluation/index-contracting map ${\\cal\nP}:C^\\infty(X^{\\mbox{physics}})\\rightarrow C^\\infty(\\widehat{X})$ in the\nsetting. This completes for the current case a $C^\\infty$-Algebraic Geometry\nlanguage we sought for in D(14.1), footnote 2, that can directly link to the\nstudy of supersymmetry in particle physics. Once generalized to the nonabelian\ncase in all dimensions and extended $N\\ge 2$, this prepares us for a\nfundamental (as opposed to solitonic) description of super D-branes parallel to\nRamond-Neveu-Schwarz fundamental superstrings"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Super-Zeeman Embedding Models on N-Supersymmetric World-Lines: We construct a model of an electrically charged magnetic dipole with\narbitrary N-extended world-line supersymmetry, which exhibits a supersymmetric\nZeeman effect. By including supersymmetric constraint terms, the ambient space\nof the dipole may be tailored into an algebraic variety, and the supersymmetry\nbroken for almost all parameter values. The so exhibited obstruction to\nsupersymmetry breaking refines the standard one, based on the Witten index\nalone.",
        "positive": "Fractional Branes and N=1 Gauge Theories: We discuss fractional D3-branes on the orbifold C^3/Z_2*Z_2. We study the\nopen and the closed string spectrum on this orbifold. The corresponding N=1\ntheory on the brane has, generically, a U(N_1)*U(N_2)*U(N_3)*U(N_4) gauge group\nwith matter in the bifundamental. In particular, when only one type of brane is\npresent, one obtains pure N=1 Yang-Mills. We study the coupling of the branes\nto the bulk fields and present the corresponding supergravity solution, valid\nat large distances. By using a probe analysis, we are able to obtain the\nWilsonian beta-function for those gauge theories that possess some chiral\nmultiplet. Although, due to the lack of moduli, the probe technique is not\ndirectly applicable to the case of pure N=1 Yang-Mills, we point out that the\nsame formula gives the correct result also for this case."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Back-door fine-tuning in supersymmetric low scale inflation: Low scale inflation has many virtues and it has been claimed that its natural\nrealisation in supersymmetric standard model can be achieved rather easily. In\nthis letter we have demonstrated that also in this case the dynamics of the\nhidden sector responsible for supersymmetry breakdown and the structure of the\nsoft terms affects significantly, and in fact often spoils, the would-be\ninflationary dynamics. Also, we point out that the issue if the cosmological\nconstant cancellation in the post-inflationary vacuum strongly affects\nsupersymmetric inflation. It is important to note the crucial difference\nbetween freezing of the modulus and actually stabilising it - the first\napproach misses parts of the scalar potential which turn out to be relevant for\ninflation. We argue, that it is more likely that the low scale supersymmetric\ninflation occurs at a critical point at the origin in the field space than at\nan inflection point away from the origin, as the necessary fine-tuning in the\nsecond case is typically larger.",
        "positive": "Linear Models for Flux Vacua: We construct worldsheet descriptions of heterotic flux vacua as the IR limits\nof N=2 gauge theories. Spacetime torsion is incorporated via a 2d Green-Schwarz\nmechanism in which a doublet of axions cancels a one-loop gauge anomaly.\nManifest (0,2) supersymmetry and the compactness of the gauge theory instanton\nmoduli space suggest that these models, which include Fu-Yau models, are stable\nagainst worldsheet instanton effects, implying that they, like Calabi-Yaus, may\nbe smoothly extended to solutions of the exact beta functions. Since Fu-Yau\ncompactifications are dual to KST-type flux compactifications, this provides a\nmicroscopic description of these IIB RR-flux vacua."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Weak cosmic censorship conjecture with pressure and volume in the\n  Gauss-Bonnet AdS black hole: With the Hamilton-Jacobi equation, we obtain the energy-momentum relation of\na charged particle as it is absorbed by the Gauss-Bonnet AdS black hole. On the\nbasis of the energy-momentum relation at the event horizon, we investigate the\nfirst law, second law, and weak cosmic censorship conjecture in both the normal\nphase space and extended phase space. Our results show that the first law,\nsecond law as well as the weak cosmic censorship conjecture are valid in the\nnormal phase space for all the initial states are black holes. However, in the\nextended phase space, the second law is violated for the extremal and\nnear-extremal black holes, and the weak cosmic censorship conjecture is\nviolable for the near-extremal black hole, though the first law is still valid.\nIn addition, in both the the normal and extended phase spaces, we find the\nabsorbed particle changes the configuration of the near-extremal black hole,\nwhile don't change that of the extremal black hole.",
        "positive": "Smooth tensionful higher-codimensional brane worlds with bulk and brane\n  form fields: Completely regular tensionful codimension-n brane world solutions are\ndiscussed, where the core of the brane is chosen to be a thin codimension-(n-1)\nshell in an infinite volume flat bulk, and an Einstein-Hilbert term localized\non the brane is included (Dvali-Gabadadze-Porrati models). In order to support\nsuch localized sources we enrich the vacuum structure of the brane by the\ninclusion of localized form fields. We find that phenomenological constraints\non the size of the internal core seem to impose an upper bound to the brane\ntension. Finite transverse-volume smooth solutions are also discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Two-dimensional gauge anomalies and $p$-adic numbers: We show how methods of number theory can be used to study anomalies in gauge\nquantum field theories in spacetime dimension two. To wit, the anomaly\ncancellation conditions for the abelian part of the local anomaly admit\nsolutions if and only if they admit solutions in the reals and in the $p$-adics\nfor every prime $p$ and we use this to build an algorithm to find all\nsolutions.",
        "positive": "Vector-Tensor multiplet in N=2 superspace with central charge: We use the four-dimensional N=2 central charge superspace to give a\ngeometrical construction of the Abelian vector-tensor multiplet consisting,\nunder N=1 supersymmetry, of one vector and one linear multiplet. We derive the\ncomponent field supersymmetry and central charge transformations, and show that\nthere is a super-Lagrangian, the higher components of which are all total\nderivatives, allowing us to construct superfield and component actions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetry of IIA warped flux AdS and flat backgrounds: We identify the fractions of supersymmetry preserved by the most general\nwarped flux AdS and flat backgrounds in both massive and standard IIA\nsupergravities. We find that $AdS_n\\times_w M^{10-n}$ preserve $2^{[{n\\over2}]}\nk$ for $n\\leq 4$ and $2^{[{n\\over2}]+1} k$ for $4<n\\leq 7$ supersymmetries,\n$k\\in \\bN_{>0}$. In addition we show that, for suitably restricted fields and\n$M^{10-n}$, the killing spinors of AdS backgrounds are given in terms of the\nzero modes of Dirac like operators on $M^{10-n}$. This generalizes the\nLichnerowicz theorem for connections whose holonomy is included in a general\nlinear group. We also adapt our results to $\\bR^{1,n-1}\\times_w M^{10-n}$\nbackgrounds which underpin flux compactifications to $\\bR^{1,n-1}$ and show\nthat these preserve $2^{[{n\\over2}]} k$ for $2<n\\leq 4$, $2^{[{n+1\\over2}]} k$\nfor $4<n\\leq 8$, and $2^{[{n\\over2}]} k$ for $n=9, 10$ supersymmetries.",
        "positive": "Low Energy Gauge Unification Theory: Because of the problems arising from the fermion unification in the\ntraditional Grand Unified Theory and the mass hierarchy between the\n4-dimensional Planck scale and weak scale, we suggest the low energy gauge\nunification theory with low high-dimensional Planck scale. We discuss the\nnon-supersymmetric SU(5) model on $M^4\\times S^1/Z_2 \\times S^1/Z_2$ and the\nsupersymmetric SU(5) model on $M^4\\times S^1/(Z_2\\times Z_2') \\times\nS^1/(Z_2\\times Z_2')$. The SU(5) gauge symmetry is broken by the orbifold\nprojection for the zero modes, and the gauge unification is accelerated due to\nthe SU(5) asymmetric light KK states. In our models, we forbid the proton\ndecay, still keep the charge quantization, and automatically solve the fermion\nmass problem. We also comment on the anomaly cancellation and other possible\nscenarios for low energy gauge unification."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Spectral Action Principle: We propose a new action principle to be associated with a noncommutative\nspace $(\\Ac ,\\Hc ,D)$. The universal formula for the spectral action is $(\\psi\n,D\\psi) + \\Trace (\\chi (D /$ $\\Lb))$ where $\\psi$ is a spinor on the Hilbert\nspace, $\\Lb$ is a scale and $\\chi$ a positive function. When this principle is\napplied to the noncommutative space defined by the spectrum of the standard\nmodel one obtains the standard model action coupled to Einstein plus Weyl\ngravity. There are relations between the gauge coupling constants identical to\nthose of $SU(5)$ as well as the Higgs self-coupling, to be taken at a fixed\nhigh energy scale.",
        "positive": "Dielectric-Branes: We extend the usual world-volume action for a Dp-brane to the case of N\ncoincident Dp-branes where the world-volume theory involves a U(N) gauge\ntheory. The guiding principle in our construction is that the action should be\nconsistent with the familiar rules of T-duality. The resulting action involves\na variety of potential terms, i.e., nonderivative interactions, for the\nnonabelian scalar fields. This action also shows that Dp-branes naturally\ncouple to RR potentials of all form degrees, including both larger and smaller\nthan p+1. We consider the dynamics resulting from this action for Dp-branes\nmoving in nontrivial background fields, and illustrate how the Dp-branes are\n``polarized'' by external fields. In a simple example, we show that a system of\nD0-branes in an external RR four-form field expands into a noncommutative\ntwo-sphere, which is interpreted as the formation of a spherical D2-D0 bound\nstate."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Schr\u00f6dinger Fields on the Plane with $[U(1)]^N$ Chern-Simons\n  Interactions and Generalized Self-dual Solitons: A general non-relativistic field theory on the plane with couplings to an\narbitrary number of abelian Chern-Simons gauge fields is considered. Elementary\nexcitations of the system are shown to exhibit fractional and mutual\nstatistics. We identify the self-dual systems for which certain classical and\nquantal aspects of the theory can be studied in a much simplified mathematical\nsetting. Then, specializing to the general self-dual system with two\nChern-Simons gauge fields (and non-vanishing mutual statistics parameter), we\npresent a systematic analysis for the static vortexlike classical solutions,\nwith or without uniform background magnetic field. Relativistic generalizations\nare also discussed briefly.",
        "positive": "BRST, Ward identities, gauge dependence, and a functional\n  renormalization group: Basic properties of gauge theories in the framework of Faddeev-Popov (FP)\nmethod, Batalin-Vilkovisky (BV) formalism, functional renormalization group\n(FRG) approach are considered. The FP and BV quantizations are characterized by\nthe Becchi-Rouet-Stora-Tyutin (BRST) symmetry while the BRST symmetry is broken\nin the FRG approach. It is shown that the FP method, the BV formalism and the\nFRG approach can be provided with the Slavnov-Taylor identity, the Ward\nidentity and the modified Slavnov-Taylor identity, respectively. It is proven\nthat using the background field method the background gauge invariance of\neffective action within the FP and FRG quantization procedures can be achieved\nin nonlinear gauges. The gauge-dependence problem within the FP, BV and FRG\nquantizations is studied. Arguments allowing us to state the existence of\nprincipal problems of the FRG in the case of gauge theories are given."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chiral Symmetry Breaking in the Nambu-Jona-Lasinio Model in Curved\n  Spacetime with Non-Trivial Topology: We discuss the phase structure (in the $1/N$-expansion) of the\nNambu-Jona-Lasinio model in curved spacetime with non-trivial topology ${\\cal\nM}^3 \\times {\\rm S}^1$. The evaluation of the effective potential of the\ncomposite field $\\bar{\\psi} \\psi$ is presented in the linear curvature\napproximation (topology is treated exactly) and in the leading order of the\n$1/N$-expansion. The combined influence of topology and curvature to the phase\ntransitions is investigated. It is shown, in particular, that at zero curvature\nand for small radius of the torus there is a second order phase transition from\nthe chiral symmetric to the chiral non-symmetric phase. When the curvature\ngrows and (or) the radius of ${\\rm S}^1$ decreases, then the phase transition\nis in general of first order. The dynamical fermionic mass is also calculated\nin a number of different situations.",
        "positive": "Bose and Fermi Statistics and the Regularization of the Nonrelativistic\n  Jacobian for the Scale Anomaly: We regulate in Euclidean space the Jacobian under scale transformations for\ntwo-dimensional nonrelativistic fermions and bosons interacting via contact\ninteractions and compare the resulting scaling anomalies. For fermions,\nGrassmannian integration inverts the Jacobian: however, this effect is\ncancelled by the regularization procedure and a result similar to that of\nbosons is attained. We show the independence of the result with respect to the\nregulating function, and show the robustness of our methods by comparing the\nprocedure with an effective potential method using both cutoff and\n$\\zeta$-function regularization."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Complexity Geometry and Schwarzian Dynamics: A celebrated feature of SYK-like models is that at low energies, their\ndynamics reduces to that of a single variable. In many setups, this\n\"Schwarzian\" variable can be interpreted as the extremal volume of the dual\nblack hole, and the resulting dynamics is simply that of a 1D Newtonian\nparticle in an exponential potential. On the complexity side, geodesics on a\nsimplified version of Nielsen's complexity geometry also behave like a 1D\nparticle in a potential given by the angular momentum barrier. The agreement\nbetween the effective actions of volume and complexity succinctly summarizes\nvarious strands of evidence that complexity is closely related to the dynamics\nof black holes.",
        "positive": "Perturbations on a moving D3-brane and mirage cosmology: We study the evolution of perturbations on a moving probe D3-brane coupled to\na 4-form field in an AdS$_5$-Schwarzschild bulk. The unperturbed dynamics are\nparametrised by a conserved energy $E$ and lead to Friedmann-Robertson-Walker\n`mirage' cosmology on the brane with scale factor $a(\\tau)$. The fluctuations\nabout the unperturbed worldsheet are then described by a scalar field\n$\\phi(\\tau,\\vec{x})$. We derive an equation of motion for $\\phi$, and find that\nin certain regimes of $a$ the effective mass squared is negative. On an\nexpanding BPS brane with E=0 superhorizon modes grow as $a^4$ whilst subhorizon\nmodes are stable. When the brane contracts, all modes grow. We also briefly\ndiscuss the case when $E>0$, BPS anti-branes as well as non-BPS branes.\nFinally, the perturbed brane embedding gives rise to scalar perturbations in\nthe FRW universe. We show that $\\phi$ is proportional to the gauge invariant\nBardeen potentials on the brane."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "First Order Description of Black Holes in Moduli Space: We show that the second order field equations characterizing extremal\nsolutions for spherically symmetric, stationary black holes are in fact implied\nby a system of first order equations given in terms of a prepotential W. This\nconfirms and generalizes the results in [14]. Moreover we prove that the\nsquared prepotential function shares the same properties of a c-function and\nthat it interpolates between M^2_{ADM} and M^2_{BR}, the parameter of the\nnear-horizon Bertotti-Robinson geometry. When the black holes are solutions of\nextended supergravities we are able to find an explicit expression for the\nprepotentials, valid at any radial distance from the horizon, which reproduces\nall the attractors of the four dimensional N>2 theories. Far from the horizon,\nhowever, for N-even our ansatz poses a constraint on one of the U-duality\ninvariants for the non-BPS solutions with Z \\neq 0. We discuss a possible\nextension of our considerations to the non extremal case.",
        "positive": "Bosonization of Nonrelativistic Fermions and W-infinity Algebra: We discuss the bosonization of non-relativistic fermions in one space\ndimension in terms of bilocal operators which are naturally related to the\ngenerators of $W$-infinity algebra. The resulting system is analogous to the\nproblem of a spin in a magnetic field for the group $W$-infinity. The new\ndynamical variables turn out to be $W$-infinity group elements valued in the\ncoset $W$-infinity/$H$ where $H$ is a Cartan subalgebra. A classical action\nwith an $H$ gauge invariance is presented. This action is three-dimensional. It\nturns out to be similiar to the action that describes the colour degrees of\nfreedom of a Yang-Mills particle in a fixed external field. We also discuss the\nrelation of this action with the one we recently arrived at in the Euclidean\ncontinuation of the theory using different coordinates."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Remodeling the Effective One-Body Formalism in Post-Minkowskian Gravity: The Effective One-Body formalism of the gravitational two-body problem in\ngeneral relativity is reconsidered in the light of recent scattering amplitude\ncalculations. Based on the kinematic relationship between momenta and the\neffective potential, we consider an energy-dependent effective metric\ndescribing the scattering in terms of an Effective One-Body problem for the\nreduced mass. The identification of the effective metric simplifies\nconsiderably in isotropic coordinates when combined with a redefined angular\nmomentum map. While the effective energy-dependent metric as expected is not\nunique, solutions can be chosen perturbatively in the Post-Minkowskian\nexpansion without the need to introduce non-metric corrections. By a canonical\ntransformation, our condition maps to the one based on the standard angular\nmomentum map. Expanding our metric around the Schwarzschild solution we recover\nthe solution based on additional non-metric contributions.",
        "positive": "Holographic reconstruction of asymptotically flat spacetimes: We present a \"holographic\" reconstruction of bulk spacetime geometry using\ncorrelation functions of a massless field living at the \"future boundary\" of\nthe spacetime, namely future null infinity $\\mathscr{I}^+$. It is holographic\nin the sense that there exists a one-to-one correspondence between correlation\nfunctions of a massless field in four-dimensional spacetime $\\mathcal{M}$ and\nthose of another massless field living in three-dimensional null boundary\n$\\mathscr{I}^+$. The idea is to first reconstruct the bulk metric $g_{\\mu\\nu}$\nby \"inverting\" the bulk correlation functions and re-express the latter in\nterms of boundary correlators via the correspondence. This effectively allows\nasymptotic observers close to $\\mathscr{I}^+$ to reconstruct the deep interior\nof the spacetime using only correlation functions localized near\n$\\mathscr{I}^+$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Multidimensional Residues for Feynman Integrals with Generic Power of\n  Propagators: We propose that the concept of multidimensional residues can be used to\ndirectly extracting the coefficients of scalar master integrals (with single\npropagators only) from one-loop Feynman integrals with generic power of\npropagators. Unlike the usual integration-by-parts (IBP) technique, where one\nhas to solve iteratively a complicated set of equations to carry out the\nreduction and determine the coefficients of scalar master integrals, using\nmultidimensional residues provides the possibility of directly extracting the\ncoefficients of the master integrals. As the first application of this idea, we\nshow how to directly extract the scalar box integral coefficients.",
        "positive": "Action, entropy and pair creation rate of charged black holes in de\n  Sitter space: We compute and clarify the interpretation of the on-shell Euclidean action\nfor Reissner-Nordstr\\\"{o}m black holes in de Sitter space. We show the on-shell\naction is minus the sum of the black hole and cosmological horizon entropy for\narbitrary mass and charge in any number of dimensions. This unifying expression\nhelps to clear up a confusion about the Euclidean actions of extremal and\nultracold black holes in de Sitter, as they can be understood as special cases\nof the general expression. We then use this result to estimate the probability\nfor the pair creation of black holes with arbitrary mass and charge in an empty\nde Sitter background, by employing the formalism of constrained instantons.\nFinally, we suggest that the decay of charged de Sitter black holes is governed\nby the gradient flow of the entropy function and that, as a consequence, the\nregime of light, superradiant, rapid charge emission should describe the\npotential decay of extreme charged Nariai black holes to singular geometries."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gribov horizon and BRST symmetry: a few remarks: The issue of the BRST symmetry in presence of the Gribov horizon is addressed\nin Euclidean Yang-Mills theories in the Landau gauge. The positivity of the\nFaddeev-Popov operator within the Gribov region enables us to convert the soft\nbreaking of the BRST invariance exhibited by the Gribov-Zwanziger action into a\nnon-local exact symmetry, displaying explicit dependence from the\nnon-perturbative Gribov parameter. Despite its non-locality, this symmetry\nturns out to be useful in order to establish non-perturbative Ward identities,\nallowing us to evaluate the vacuum expectation value of quantities which are\nBRST exact. These results are generalized to the refined Gribov-Zwanziger\naction introduced in [1], which yields a gluon propagator which is\nnon-vanishing at the origin in momentum space, and a ghost propagator which is\nnot enhanced in the infrared.",
        "positive": "Three-BMN Correlation Functions: Integrability vs. String Field Theory\n  One-Loop Mismatch: We compare calculations of the three-point correlation functions of BMN\noperators at the one-loop (next-to-leading) order in the scalar SU(2) sector\nfrom the integrability expression recently suggested by Gromov and Vieira, and\nfrom the string field theory expression based on the effective interaction\nvertex by Dobashi and Yoneya. A disagreement is found between the form-factors\nof the correlation functions in the one-loop contributions. The order-of-limits\nproblem is suggested as a possible explanation of this discrepancy."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Thermodynamics of noncommutative high-dimensional AdS black holes with\n  non-Gaussian smeared matter distributions: Considering non-Gaussian smeared matter distributions, we investigate\nthermodynamic behaviors of the noncommutative high-dimensional\nSchwarzschild-Tangherlini anti-de Sitter black hole, and obtain the condition\nfor the existence of extreme black holes. We indicate that the Gaussian smeared\nmatter distribution, which is a special case of non-Gaussian smeared matter\ndistributions, is not applicable for the 6- and higher-dimensional black holes\ndue to the hoop conjecture. In particular, the phase transition is analyzed in\ndetail. Moreover, we point out that the Maxwell equal area law maintains for\nthe noncommutative black hole whose Hawking temperature is within a specific\nrange, but fails for that whose the Hawking temperature is beyond this range.",
        "positive": "Supersymmetry and Attractors: We find a general principle which allows one to compute the area of the\nhorizon of N=2 extremal black holes as an extremum of the central charge. One\nconsiders the ADM mass equal to the central charge as a function of electric\nand magnetic charges and moduli and extremizes this function in the moduli\nspace (a minimum corresponds to a fixed point of attraction). The extremal\nvalue of the square of the central charge provides the area of the horizon,\nwhich depends only on electric and magnetic charges. The doubling of unbroken\nsupersymmetry at the fixed point of attraction for N=2 black holes near the\nhorizon is derived via conformal flatness of the Bertotti-Robinson-type\ngeometry. These results provide an explicit model independent expression for\nthe macroscopic Bekenstein-Hawking entropy of N=2 black holes which is\nmanifestly duality invariant. The presence of hypermultiplets in the solution\ndoes not affect the area formula. Various examples of the general formula are\ndisplayed. We outline the attractor mechanism in N=4,8 supersymmetries and the\nrelation to the N=2 case. The entropy-area formula in five dimensions, recently\ndiscussed in the literature, is also seen to be obtained by extremizing the 5d\ncentral charge."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quaternionic Formulation of the Exact Parity Model: The exact parity model (EPM) is a simple extension of the Standard Model\nwhich reinstates parity invariance as an unbroken symmetry of nature. The\nmirror matter sector of the model can interact with ordinary matter through\ngauge boson mixing, Higgs boson mixing and, if neutrinos are massive, through\nneutrino mixing. The last effect has experimental support through the observed\nsolar and atmospheric neutrino anomalies. In this paper we show that the exact\nparity model can be formulated in a quaternionic framework. This suggests that\nthe idea of mirror matter and exact parity may have profound implications for\nthe mathematical formulation of quantum theory.",
        "positive": "Massless scalar particle on AdS spacetime: Hamiltonian reduction and\n  quantization: We investigate the massless scalar particle dynamics on $AdS_{N+1} ~ (N>1)$\nby the method of Hamiltonian reduction. Using the dynamical integrals of the\nconformal symmetry we construct the physical phase space of the system as a\n$SO(2,N+1)$ orbit in the space of symmetry generators. The symmetry generators\nthemselves are represented in terms of $(N+1)$-dimensional oscillator\nvariables. The physical phase space establishes a correspondence between the\n$AdS_{N+1}$ null-geodesics and the dynamics at the boundary of $AdS_{N+2}$. The\nquantum theory is described by a UIR of $SO(2,N+1)$ obtained at the unitarity\nbound. This representation contains a pair of UIR's of the isometry subgroup\nSO(2,N) with the Casimir number corresponding to the Weyl invariant mass value.\nThe whole discussion includes the globally well-defined realization of the\nconformal group via the conformal embedding of $AdS_{N+1}$ in the ESU\n$\\rr\\times S^N$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "From U(1) Maxwell Chern-Simons to Azbel-Hofstadter: Testing Magnetic\n  Monopoles and Gravity to $\\sim 10^{-15}$\\textit{m}?: It is built a map between an Abelian Topological Quantum Field Theory, $2+1D$\ncompact U(1) gauge Maxwell Chern-Simons Theory and the nonrelativistic quantum\nmechanics Azbel-Hofstadter model of Bloch electrons. The $U_q(sl_2)$ quantum\ngroup and the magnetic translations group of the Azbel-Hofstadter model\ncorrespond to discretized subgroups of U(1) with linear gauge parameters. The\nmagnetic monopole confining and condensate phases in the Topological Quantum\nField Theory are identified with the extended (energy bands) and localized\n(gaps) phases of the Bloch electron. The magnetic monopole condensate is\nassociated, at the nonrelativistic level, with gravitational white holes due to\ndeformed classical gauge fields. These gravitational solutions render the\nexistence of finite energy pure magnetic monopoles possible. This mechanism\nconstitutes a dynamical symmetry breaking which regularizes the solutions on\nthose localized phases allowing physical solutions of the Shr\\\"odinger equation\nwhich are chains of electron filaments connecting several monopole-white\nholes.To test these results would be necessary a strong external magnetic field\n$B\\sim 5 T$ at low temperature $T<1 K$. To be accomplished, it would test the\nexistence of magnetic monopoles and classical gravity to a scale of $\\sim\n10^{-15}$ \\textit{meters}, the dimension of the monopole-white hole. A proper\ndiscussion of such experiment is out of the scope of this theoretical work.",
        "positive": "Casimir Energy of the Universe and the Dark Energy Problem: We regard the Casimir energy of the universe as the main contribution to the\ncosmological constant. Using 5 dimensional models of the universe, the flat\nmodel and the warped one, we calculate Casimir energy. Introducing the new\nregularization, called {\\it sphere lattice regularization}, we solve the\ndivergence problem. The regularization utilizes the closed-string\nconfiguration. We consider 4 different approaches: 1) restriction of the\nintegral region (Randall-Schwartz), 2) method of 1) using the minimal area\nsurfaces, 3) introducing the weight function, 4) {\\it generalized\npath-integral}. We claim the 5 dimensional field theories are quantized\nproperly and all divergences are renormalized. At present, it is explicitly\ndemonstrated in the numerical way, not in the analytical way. The\nrenormalization-group function ($\\be$-function) is explicitly obtained. The\nrenormalization-group flow of the cosmological constant is concretely obtained."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Monodromy of an Inhomogeneous Picard-Fuchs Equation: The global behaviour of the normal function associated with van Geemen's\nfamily of lines on the mirror quintic is studied. Based on the associated\ninhomogeneous Picard-Fuchs equation, the series expansions around large complex\nstructure, conifold, and around the open string discriminant are obtained. The\nmonodromies are explicitly calculated from this data and checked to be\nintegral. The limiting value of the normal function at large complex structure\nis an irrational number expressible in terms of the di-logarithm.",
        "positive": "UV cancelations in gravity loop integrands: In this work we explore the properties of four-dimensional gravity integrands\nat large loop momenta. This analysis can not be done directly for the full\noff-shell integrand but only becomes well-defined on cuts that allow us to\nunambiguously specify labels for the loop variables. The ultraviolet region of\nscattering amplitudes originates from poles at infinity of the loop integrands\nand we show that in gravity these integcrands conceal a number of surprising\nfeatures. In particular, certain poles at infinity are absent which requires a\nconspiracy between individual Feynman integrals contributing to the amplitude.\nWe suspect that this non-trivial behavior is a consequence of yet-to-be found\nsymmetry or hidden property of gravity amplitudes. We discuss mainly amplitudes\nin $\\mathcal{N}=8$ supergravity but most of the statements are valid for pure\ngravity as well."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holography of Wrapped M5-branes and Chern-Simons theory: We study three-dimensional superconformal field theories on wrapped\nM5-branes. Applying the gauge/gravity duality and the recently proposed 3d-3d\nrelation, we deduce quantitative predictions for the perturbative free energy\nof a Chern-Simons theory on hyperbolic 3-space. Remarkably, the perturbative\nexpansion is expected to terminate at two-loops in the large N limit. We check\nthe correspondence numerically in a number of examples, and confirm the N^3\nscaling with precise coefficients.",
        "positive": "Two-dimensional SUSY-pseudo-Hermiticity without separation of variables: We study SUSY-intertwining for non-Hermitian Hamiltonians with special\nemphasis to the two-dimensional generalized Morse potential, which does not\nallow for separation of variables. The complexified methods of SUSY-separation\nof variables and two-dimensional shape invariance are used to construct\nparticular solutions - both for complex conjugated energy pairs and for\nnon-paired complex energies."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Magnetic monopole - domain wall collisions: Interactions of different types of topological defects can play an important\nrole in the aftermath of a phase transition. We study interactions of\nfundamental magnetic monopoles and stable domain walls in a Grand Unified\ntheory in which $SU(5) \\times Z_2$ symmetry is spontaneously broken to\n$SU(3)\\times SU(2)\\times U(1)/Z_6$. We find that there are only two distinct\noutcomes depending on the relative orientation of the monopole and the wall in\ninternal space. In one case, the monopole passes through the wall, while in the\nother it unwinds on hitting the wall.",
        "positive": "Quantum Theory, Noncommutativity and Heuristics: Noncommutative field theories are a class of theories beyond the standard\nmodel of elementary particle physics. Their importance may be summarized in two\nfacts. Firstly as field theories on noncommutative spacetimes they come with\nnatural regularization parameters. Secondly they are related in a natural way\nto theories of quantum gravity which typically give rise to noncommutative\nspacetimes. Therefore noncommutative field theories can shed light on the\nproblem of quantizing gravity. An attractive aspect of noncommutative field\ntheories is that they can be formulated so as to preserve spacetime symmetries\nand to avoid the introduction of irrelevant degrees freedom and so they provide\nmodels of consistent fundamental theories. In these notes we review the\nformulation of symmetry aspects of noncommutative field theories on the\nsimplest type of noncommutative spacetime, the Moyal plane. We discuss\nviolations of Lorentz, P, CP, PT and CPT symmetries as well as causality. Some\nexperimentally detectable signatures of these violations involving Planck scale\nphysics of the early universe and linear response finite temperature field\ntheory are also presented."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "De Sitter Uplift with Dynamical Susy Breaking: We propose the use of D-brane realizations of Dynamical Supersymmetry\nBreaking (DSB) gauge sectors as sources of uplift in compactifications with\nmoduli stabilization onto de Sitter vacua. This construction is fairly\ndifferent from the introduction of anti D-branes, yet allows for tunably small\ncontributions to the vacuum energy via their embedding into warped throats. The\nidea is explicitly exemplified by the embedding of the 1-family $SU(5)$ DSB\nmodel in a local warped throat with fluxes, which we discuss in detail in terms\nof orientifolds of dimer diagrams.",
        "positive": "Massless Charged Particles Tunneling Radiation from a RN-dS Horizon and\n  the Linear and Quadratic GUP: In this paper, we investigate the massless Reissner-Nordstrom de Sitter\nmetric in the context of minimal length scenarios. We prove not only the\nconfinement of the energy density of massless charged particles, both fermions\nand bosons, but also their ability to tunnel through the cosmological horizon.\nThese massless particles might be interacting with Dirac sea and in this case\nthey will appear outside the cosmological horizon in the context of dS/CFT\nholography. This result may formulate a fundamental reason for the expansion of\nthe Dirac sea. Therefore, a spacetime Big Crunch may occur."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Superselection Sectors of $\\son$ Wess-Zumino-Witten Models: The superselection structure of $\\son$ WZW models is investigated from the\npoint of view of algebraic quantum field theory. At level $1$ it turns out that\nthe observable algebras of the WZW theory can be constructed in terms of even\nCAR algebras. This fact allows to give a formulation of these models close to\nthe DHR framework. Localized endomorphisms are constructed explicitly in terms\nof Bogoliubov transformations, and the WZW fusion rules are proven using the\nDHR sector product.\n  At level $2$ it is shown that most of the sectors are realized in\n$\\HNSh=\\HNS\\otimes\\HNS$ where $\\HNS$ is the Neveu-Schwarz sector of the level\n$1$ theory. The level $2$ characters are derived and $\\HNSh$ is decomposed\ncompletely into tensor products of the sectors of the WZW chiral algebra and\nirreducible representation spaces of the coset Virasoro algebra. Crucial for\nthis analysis is the DHR decomposition of $\\HNSh$ into sectors of a gauge\ninvariant fermion algebra since the WZW chiral algebra as well as the coset\nVirasoro algebra are invariant under the gauge group $\\Oz$.",
        "positive": "Flowing from relativistic to non-relativistic string vacua in AdS$_5\n  \\times$S$^5$: We find the connection between relativistic and non-relativistic string vacua\nin AdS$_5 \\times$S$^5$ in terms of a free parameter $c$ flow. First, we show\nthat the famous relativistic BMN vacuum flows in the large $c$ parameter to an\nunphysical solution of the non-relativistic theory. Then, we consider the\nsimplest non-relativistic vacuum, found in arXiv:2109.13240 (called BMN-like),\nand we identify its relativistic origin, namely a non-compact version of the\nfolded string with zero spin, ignored in the past due to its infinite energy.\nWe show that, once the critical closed B-field required by the non-relativistic\nlimit is included, the total energy of such relativistic solution is finite,\nand in the large $c$ parameter it precisely matches the one of the BMN-like\nstring. We also analyse the case with spin in the transverse AdS directions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Three-dimensional BF Theories and the Alexander-Conway Invariant of\n  Knots: We study 3-dimensional BF theories and define observables related to knots\nand links. The quantum expectation values of these observables give the\ncoefficients of the Alexander-Conway polynomial.",
        "positive": "Dimensional continuation without perturbation theory: A formula is proposed for continuing physical correlation functions to\nnon-integer numbers of dimensions, expressing them as infinite weighted sums\nover the same correlation functions in arbitrary integer dimensions. The\nformula is motivated by studying the strong coupling expansion, but the end\nresult makes no reference to any perturbation theory. It is shown that the\nformula leads to the correct dimension dependence in weak coupling perturbation\ntheory at one loop."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "M5-branes in ABJM theory and Nahm equation: We construct BPS solutions representing M2-M5 bound state in the ABJM action\nexplicitly. They include the funnel type solutions and 't Hooft Polyakov\nmonopole solutions. Furthermore, we give a one to one correspondence between\nthe solutions of the BPS equation and the ones of an extended Nahm equation\nwhich includes the Nahm equation. This enables us to construct infinitely many\nconserved quantities from the Lax form of the Nahm equation.",
        "positive": "\u03b8-angle monodromy in two dimensions: \"\\theta-angle monodromy\" occurs when a theory possesses a landscape of\nmetastable vacua which reshuffle as one shifts a periodic coupling \\theta by a\nsingle period. \"Axion monodromy\" models arise when this parameter is promoted\nto a dynamical pseudoscalar field. This paper studies the phenomenon in\ntwo-dimensional gauge theories which possess a U(1) factor at low energies: the\nmassive Schwinger and gauged massive Thirring models, the U(N) 't Hooft model,\nand the {\\mathbb CP}^N model. In all of these models, the energy dependence of\na given metastable false vacuum deviates significantly from quadratic\ndependence on \\theta just as the branch becomes completely unstable (distinct\nfrom some four-dimensional axion monodromy models). In the Schwinger, Thirring,\nand 't Hooft models, the meson masses decrease as a function of \\theta. In the\nU(N) models, the landscape is enriched by sectors with nonabelian \\theta terms.\nIn the {\\mathbb CP}^N model, we compute the effective action and the size of\nthe mass gap is computed along a metastable branch."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Toward getting finite results from N=4 SYM with alpha'-corrections: We take our first step toward getting finite results from the\nalpha'-corrected D=4 N=4 SYM theory with emphasis on the field theory\ntechniques. Starting with the classical action of N=4 SYM with the leading\nalpha'-corrections, we examine new divergence at one loop due to the presence\nof the alpha'-terms. The new vertices do not introduce additional divergence to\nthe propagators or to the three-point correlators. However they do introduce\nnew divergence, e.g., to the scalar four-point function which should be\ncanceled by extra counter-terms. We expect that the counter-terms will appear\nin the 1PI effective action that is obtained by considering the string annulus\ndiagram. We work out the structure of the divergence and comment on an\napplication to the anomalous dimension of the SYM operators in the context of\nAdS/CFT.",
        "positive": "Lagrangian Formulation for Free Mixed-Symmetry Bosonic Gauge Fields in\n  (A)dS(d): Covariant Lagrangian formulation for free bosonic massless fields of\narbitrary mixed-symmetry type in (A)dS(d) space-time is presented. The analysis\nis based on the frame-like formulation of higher-spin field dynamics [1] with\nhigher-spin fields described as p-forms taking values in appropriate modules of\nthe (A)dS(d). The problem of finding free field action is reduced to the\nanalysis of an appropriate differential complex, with the derivation Q\nassociated with the variation of the action. The constructed action exhibits\nadditional gauge symmetries in the flat limit in agreement with the general\nstructure of gauge symmetries for mixed-symmetry fields in Minkowski and\n(A)dS(d) spaces."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Biharmonic Superspace for N=4 Mechanics: We develop a new superfield approach to N=4 supersymmetric mechanics based on\nthe concept of biharmonic superspace (bi-HSS). It is an extension of the\nN=4,d=1 superspace by two sets of harmonic variables associated with the two\nSU(2) factors of the R-symmetry group SO(4) of the N=4, d=1 super Poincar\\'e\nalgebra. There are three analytic subspaces in it: two of the Grassmann\ndimension 2 and one of the dimension 3. They are closed under the\ninfinite-dimensional \"large\" N=4 superconformal group, as well as under the\nfinite-dimensional superconformal group D(2,1;\\alpha). The main advantage of\nthe bi-HSS approach is that it gives an opportunity to treat N=4\nsupermultiplets with finite numbers of off-shell components on equal footing\nwith their ``mirror'' counterparts. We show how such multiplets and their\nsuperconformal properties are described in this approach. We also define\nnonpropagating gauge multiplets which can be used to gauge various isometries\nof the bi-HSS actions. We present an example of nontrivial N=4 mechanics model\nwith a seven-dimensional target manifold obtained by gauging an U(1) isometry\nin a sum of the free actions of the multiplet (4,4,0) and its mirror\ncounterpart.",
        "positive": "Neutrino mixing and mass hierarchy in Gaussian landscapes: The flavor structure of the Standard Model may arise from random selection on\na landscape. In a class of simple models, called \"Gaussian landscapes,\" Yukawa\ncouplings derive from overlap integrals of Gaussian zero-mode wavefunctions on\nan extra-dimensional space. Statistics of vacua are generated by scanning the\npeak positions of these wavefunctions, giving probability distributions for all\nflavor observables. Gaussian landscapes can account for all of the major\nfeatures of flavor, including both the small electroweak mixing in the quark\nsector and the large mixing observed in the lepton sector. We find that large\nlepton mixing stems directly from lepton doublets having broad wavefunctions on\nthe internal manifold. Assuming the seesaw mechanism, we find the mass\nhierarchy among neutrinos is sensitive to the number of right-handed neutrinos,\nand can provide a good fit to neutrino oscillation measurements."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Horava-Lifshitz Gravity And Ghost Condensation: In this paper we formulate RFDiff invariant f(R) Horava-Lifshitz gravity and\nwe show that it is related to the ghost condensation in the projectable version\nof Horava-Lifshitz gravity.",
        "positive": "Quotient Stacks and String Orbifolds: In this short review we outline some recent developments in understanding\nstring orbifolds. In particular, we outline the recent observation that string\norbifolds do not precisely describe string propagation on quotient spaces, but\nrather are literally sigma models on objects called quotient stacks, which are\nclosely related to (but not quite the same as) quotient spaces. We show how\nthis is an immediate consequence of definitions, and also how this explains a\nnumber of features of string orbifolds, from the fact that the CFT is\nwell-behaved to orbifold Euler characteristics. Put another way, many features\nof string orbifolds previously considered ``stringy'' are now understood as\ncoming from the target-space geometry; one merely needs to identify the correct\ntarget-space geometry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Renormalizability of the Dynamical Two-Form: A proof of renormalizability of the theory of the dynamical non-Abelian\ntwo-form is given using the Zinn-Justin equation. Two previously unknown\nsymmetries of the quantum action, different from the BRST symmetry, are needed\nfor the proof. One of these is a gauge fermion dependent nilpotent symmetry,\nwhile the other mixes different fields with the same transformation properties.\nThe BRST symmetry itself is extended to include a shift transformation by use\nof an anticommuting constant. These three symmetries restrict the form of the\nquantum action up to arbitrary order in perturbation theory. The results show\nthat it is possible to have a renormalizable theory of massive vector bosons in\nfour dimensions without a residual Higgs boson.",
        "positive": "Arithmetic Spacetime Geometry from String Theory: An arithmetic framework to string compactification is described. The approach\nis exemplified by formulating a strategy that allows to construct geometric\ncompactifications from exactly solvable theories at $c=3$. It is shown that the\nconformal field theoretic characters can be derived from the geometry of\nspacetime, and that the geometry is uniquely determined by the two-dimensional\nfield theory on the world sheet. The modular forms that appear in these\nconstructions admit complex multiplication, and allow an interpretation as\ngeneralized McKay-Thompson series associated to the Mathieu and Conway groups.\nThis leads to a string motivated notion of arithmetic moonshine."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Ultra-violet Behavior of Bosonic Quantum Membranes: We treat the action for a bosonic membrane as a sigma model, and then compute\nquantum corrections by integrating out higher membrane modes. As in string\ntheory, where the equations of motion of Einstein's theory emerges by setting\n$\\beta = 0$, we find that, with certain assumptions, we can recover the\nequations of motion for the background fields. Although the membrane theory is\nnon-renormalizable on the world volume by power counting, the investigation of\nthe ultra-violet behavior of membranes may give us insight into the\nsupersymmetric case, where we hope to obtain higher order M-theory corrections\nto 11 dimensional supergravity.",
        "positive": "Perturbative Expansion around the Gaussian Effective Action: The\n  Background Field Method: We develop a systematic method of the perturbative expansion around the\nGaussian effective action based on the background field method. We show, by\napplying the method to the quantum mechanical anharmonic oscillator problem,\nthat even the first non-trivial correction terms greatly improve the Gaussian\napproximation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Three-quark clusters at finite temperatures and densities: We present a relativistic three-body equation to study correlations in a\nmedium of finite temperatures and densities. This equation is derived within a\nsystematic Dyson equation approach and includes the dominant medium effects due\nto Pauli blocking and self energy corrections. Relativity is implemented\nutilizing the light front form. The equation is solved for a zero-range force\nfor parameters close to the confinement-deconfinement transition of QCD. We\npresent correlations between two- and three-particle binding energies and\ncalculate the three-body Mott transition.",
        "positive": "Exact renormalization flow and domain walls from holography: The holographic correspondence between 2d, N=2 quantum field theories and\nclassical 4d, N=2 supergravity coupled to hypermultiplet matter is proposed.\nThe geometrical constraints on the target space of the 4d, N=2 non-linear\nsigma-models in N=2 supergravity background are interpreted as the exact\nrenormalization group flow equations in two dimensions. Our geometrical\ndescription of the renormalization flow is manifestly covariant under general\nreparametrization of the 2d coupling constants. An explicit exact solution to\nthe 2d renormalization flow, based on its dual holographic description in terms\nof the Zamolodchikov metric, is considered in the particular case of the\nfour-dimensional NLSM target space described by the SU(2)-invariant (Weyl)\nanti-self-dual Einstein metrics. The exact regular (Tod-Hitchin) solutions to\nthese metrics are governed by the Painlev'e VI equation, and describe domain\nwalls."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Closed universes can satisfy the holographic principle in three\n  dimensions: We examine in details Friedmann-Robertson-Walker models in 2+1 dimensions in\norder to investigate the cosmic holographic principle suggested by Fischler and\nSusskind. Our results are rigorously derived differing from the previous one\nfound by Wang and Abdalla. We discuss the erroneous assumptions done in this\nwork. The matter content of the models is composed of a perfect fluid, with a\n$\\gamma$-law equation of state. We found that closed universes satisfy the\nholographic principle only for exotic matter with a negative pressure. We also\nanalyze the case of a collapsing flat universe.",
        "positive": "Superfluid properties of BPS monopoles: This paper is devoted to demonstrating manifest superfluid properties of the\nMinkowskian Higgs model with vacuum BPS monopole solutions at assuming the\n\"continuous\" $\\sim S^2$ vacuum geometry in that model. It will be also argued\nthat point hedgehog topological defects are present in the Minkowskian Higgs\nmodel with BPS monopoles. It turns out, and we show this, that the enumerated\nphenomena are compatible with the Faddeev-Popov \"heuristic\" quantization of the\nMinkowskian Higgs model with vacuum BPS monopoles, coming to fixing the Weyl\n(temporal) gauge $A_0=0$ for gauge fields $A$ in the Faddeev-Popov path\nintegral."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "S-confinements from deconfinements: We consider four dimensional $\\mathcal{N}=1$ gauge theories that are\nS-confining, that is they are dual to a Wess-Zumino model. S-confining theories\nwith a simple gauge group have been classified. We prove all the S-confining\ndualities in the list, when the matter fields transform in rank-$1$ and/or\nrank-$2$ representations. Our only assumptions are the S-confining dualities\nfor $SU(N)$ with $N+1$ flavors and for $Usp(2N)$ with $2N+4$ fundamentals. The\nstrategy consists in a sequence of deconfinements and re-confinements. We pay\nspecial attention to the explicit superpotential at each step.",
        "positive": "Twisted holography without conformal symmetry: We discuss the notion of translation-invariant vacua for 2d chiral algebras\nand relate it to the notion of the associated variety. The two-dimensional\nchiral algebra associated to four-dimensional ${\\cal N}=4$ $U(N)$ SYM has a\nconjectural holographic dual involving the B-model topological string theory.\nWe study the effect of non-zero vacuum expectation values on the chiral algebra\ncorrelation functions and derive a holographic dual Calabi-Yau geometry. We\ntest our proposal by a large $N$ analysis of correlation functions of\ndeterminant operators, whose saddles can be matched with semi-classical\nconfigurations of \"Giant Graviton\" D-branes in the bulk"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Killing-Yano equations with torsion, worldline actions and G-structures: We determine the geometry of the target spaces of supersymmetric\nnon-relativistic particles with torsion and magnetic couplings, and with\nsymmetries generated by the fundamental forms of G-structures for $G= U(n),\nSU(n), Sp(n), Sp(n)\\cdot Sp(1), G_2$ and $Spin(7)$. We find that the\nKilling-Yano equation, which arises as a condition for the invariance of the\nworldline action, does not always determine the torsion coupling uniquely in\nterms of the metric and fundamental forms. We show that there are several\nconnections with skew-symmetric torsion for $G=U(n), SU(n)$ and $G_2$ that\nsolve the invariance conditions. We describe all these compatible connections\nfor each of the $G$-structures and explain the geometric nature of the\ncouplings.",
        "positive": "Quantum Corrections in Collective Field Theory: We review and extend the computation of scattering amplitudes of tachyons in\nthe $c=1$ matrix model using a manifestly finite prescription for the\ncollective field hamiltonian. We give further arguments for the exactness of\nthe cubic hamiltonian by demonstrating the equality of the loop corrections in\nthe collective field theory with those calculated in the fermionic picture."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Instanton Effects in Matrix Models and String Effective Lagrangians: We perform an explicit calculation of the lowest order effects of single\neigenvalue instantons on the continuous sector of the collective field theory\nderived from a $d=1$ bosonic matrix model. These effects consist of certain\ninduced operators whose exact form we exhibit.",
        "positive": "About Symmetries in Physics: The goal of this introduction to symmetries is to present some general ideas,\nto outline the fundamental concepts and results of the subject and to situate a\nbit the following lectures of this school. [These notes represent the write-up\nof a lecture presented at the fifth ``Seminaire Rhodanien de Physique: Sur les\nSymetries en Physique\" held at Dolomieu (France), 17-21 March 1997. Up to the\nappendix and the graphics, it is to be published in \"Symmetries in Physics\",\nF.Gieres, M.Kibler,C.Lucchesi and O.Piguet, eds. (Editions Frontieres, 1998).]"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "BPS Quantization of the Five-Brane: We give a unified description of all BPS states of M-theory compactified on\n$T^5$ in terms of the five-brane. We compute the mass spectrum and degeneracies\nand find that the $SO(5,5,Z)$ U-duality symmetry naturally arises as a\nT-duality by assuming that the world-volume theory of the five-brane itself is\ndescribed by a string theory. We also consider the compactification on $S^1/Z_2\n\\times T^4$, and give a new explanation for its correspondence with heterotic\nstring theory by exhibiting its dual equivalence to M-theory on $K3\\times S^1$.",
        "positive": "Tunnelling Effects in a Brane System and Quantum Hall Physics: We argue that a system of interacting D-branes, generalizing a recent\nproposal, can be modelled as a Quantum Hall fluid. We show that tachyon\ncondensation in such a system is equivalent to one particle tunnelling. In a\nconformal field theory effective description, that induces a transition from a\ntheory with central charge c=2 to a theory with c=3/2, with a corresponding\nsymmetry enhancement."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Tensor and Vector Multiplets in Six-Dimensional Supergravity: We construct the complete coupling of $(1,0)$ supergravity in six dimensions\nto $n$ tensor multiplets, extending previous results to all orders in the fermi\nfields. We then add couplings to vector multiplets, as dictated by the\ngeneralized Green-Schwarz mechanism. The resulting theory embodies factorized\ngauge and supersymmetry anomalies, to be disposed of by fermion loops, and is\ndetermined by corresponding Wess-Zumino consistency conditions, aside from a\nquartic coupling for the gaugini. The supersymmetry algebra contains a\ncorresponding extension that plays a crucial role for the consistency of the\nconstruction. We leave aside gravitational and mixed anomalies, that would only\ncontribute to higher-derivative couplings.",
        "positive": "Integrable Models and Confinement in (2+1)-Dimensional Weakly-Coupled\n  Yang-Mills Theory: We generalize the (2+1)-dimensional Yang-Mills theory to an anisotropic form\nwith two gauge coupling constants $e$ and $e^{\\prime}$. In an axial gauge, a\nregularized version of the Hamiltonian of this gauge theory is\n$H_{0}+{e^{\\prime}}^{2}H_{1}$, where $H_{0}$ is the Hamiltonian of a set of\n(1+1)-dimensional principal chiral nonlinear sigma models. We treat $H_{1}$ as\nthe interaction Hamiltonian. For gauge group SU(2), we use form factors of the\ncurrents of the principal chiral sigma models to compute the string tension for\nsmall $e^{\\prime}$, after reviewing exact S-matrix and form-factor methods. In\nthe anisotropic regime, the dependence of the string tension on the coupling\nconstant is not in accord with generally-accepted dimensional arguments."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Matrix Gravity and Massive Colored Gravitons: We formulate a theory of gravity with a matrix-valued complex vierbein based\non the SL(2N,C)xSL(2N,C) gauge symmetry. The theory is metric independent, and\nbefore symmetry breaking all fields are massless. The symmetry is broken\nspontaneously and all gravitons corresponding to the broken generators acquire\nmasses. If the symmetry is broken to SL(2,C) then the spectrum would correspond\nto one massless graviton coupled to $2N^2 -1$ massive gravitons. A novel\nfeature is the way the fields corresponding to non-compact generators acquire\nkinetic energies with correct signs. Equally surprising is the way Yang-Mills\ngauge fields acquire their correct kinetic energies through the coupling to the\nnon-dynamical antisymmetric components of the vierbeins.",
        "positive": "Algebro-geometric approach to a fermion self-consistent field theory on\n  coset space SU(m+n)/S(U(m) x U(n)): The integrability-condition method is regarded as a mathematical tool to\ndescribe the symmetry of collective sub-manifold. We here adopt the\nparticle-hole representation. In the conventional time-dependent (TD)\nself-consistent field (SCF) theory, we take the one-form linearly composed of\nthe TD SCF Hamiltonian and the infinitesimal generator induced by the\ncollective-variable differential of canonical transformation on a group.\nStanding on the differential geometrical viewpoint, we introduce a\nLagrange-like manner familiar to fluid dynamics to describe collective\ncoordinate systems. We construct a geometric equation, noticing the structure\nof coset space SU(m+n)/S(U(m) x U(n)). To develop a perturbative method with\nthe use of the collective variables, we aim at constructing a new fermion SCF\ntheory, i.e., renewal of TD Hartree-Fock (TDHF) theory by using the canonicity\ncondition under the existence of invariant subspace in the whole HF space. This\nis due to a natural consequence of the maximally decoupled theory because there\nexists an invariant subspace, if the invariance principle of Schredinger\nequation is realized. The integrability condition of the TDHF equation\ndetermining a collective sub-manifold is studied, standing again on the\ndifferential geometric viewpoint. A geometric equation works well over a wide\nrange of physics beyond the random phase approximation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauge invariance induced relations and the equivalence between distinct\n  approaches to NLSM amplitudes: In this paper, we derive generalized Bern-Carrasco-Johansson relations for\ncolor-ordered Yang-Mills amplitudes by imposing gauge invariance conditions and\ndimensional reduction appropriately on the new discovered graphic expansion of\nEinstein-Yang-Mills amplitudes. These relations are also satisfied by\ncolor-ordered amplitudes in other theories such as color-scalar theory,\nbi-scalar theory and nonlinear sigma model (NLSM). As an application of the\ngauge invariance induced relations, we further prove that the three types of\nBCJ numerators in NLSM , which are derived from Feynman rules, Abelian Z-theory\nand Cachazo-He- Yuan formula respectively, produce the same total amplitudes.\nIn other words, the three distinct approaches to NLSM amplitudes are equivalent\nto each other.",
        "positive": "On the Unlikeliness of Multi-Field Inflation: Bounded Random Potentials\n  and our Vacuum: Based on random matrix theory, we compute the likelihood of saddles and\nminima in a class of random potentials that are softly bounded from above and\nbelow, as required for the validity of low energy effective theories. Imposing\nthis bound leads to a random mass matrix with non-zero mean of its entries. If\nthe dimensionality of field-space is large, inflation is rare, taking place\nnear a saddle point (if at all), since saddles are more likely than minima or\nmaxima for common values of the potential. Due to the boundedness of the\npotential, the latter become more ubiquitous for rare low/large values\nrespectively. Based on the observation of a positive cosmological constant, we\nconclude that the dimensionality of field-space after (and most likely during)\ninflation has to be low if no anthropic arguments are invoked, since the\nalternative, encountering a metastable deSitter vacuum by chance, is extremely\nunlikely."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Is There Scale Invariance in N=1 Supersymmetric Field Theories ?: In two dimensions, it is well known that the scale invariance can be\nconsidered as conformal invariance. However, there is no solid proof of this\nequivalence in four or higher dimensions. We address this issue in the context\nof 4d $\\mathcal{N}=1$ SUSY theories. The SUSY version of dilatation current for\ntheories without conserved $R$ symmetry is constructed through the\nFZ-multiplet. We discover that the scale-invariant SUSY theory is also\nconformal when the real superfield in the dilatation current multiplet is\nconserved. Otherwise, it is only scale-invariant, despite of the transformation\nof improvement.",
        "positive": "Proving the Absence of the Perturbative Corrections to the N=2 U(1)\n  K\u00e4hler Potential Using the N=1 Supergraph Techniques: Perturbative N=2 non-renormalization theorem states that there is no\nperturbative correction to the Kahler potential \\int d^4\\theta\nK(\\Phi,\\bar{\\Phi}). We prove this statement by using the N=1 supergraph\ntechniques. We consider the N=2 supersymmetric U(1) gauge theory which\npossesses general prepotential F(\\Psi)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Noncommutative Quantum Hall Effect and Aharonov-Bohm Effect: We study a system of electrons moving on a noncommutative plane in the\npresence of an external magnetic field which is perpendicular to this plane.\nFor generality we assume that the coordinates and the momenta are both\nnoncommutative. We make a transformation from the noncommutative coordinates to\na set of commuting coordinates and then we write the Hamiltonian for this\nsystem. The energy spectrum and the expectation value of the current can then\nbe calculated and the Hall conductivity can be extracted. We use the same\nmethod to calculate the phase shift for the Aharonov-Bohm effect. Precession\nmeasurements could allow strong upper limits to be imposed on the\nnoncommutativity coordinate and momentum parameters $\\Theta$ and $\\Xi$.",
        "positive": "Magnetic Mass in 4D AdS Gravity: We provide a fully-covariant expression for the diffeomorphic charge in 4D\nanti-de Sitter gravity, when the Gauss-Bonnet and Pontryagin terms are added to\nthe action. The couplings of these topological invariants are such that the\nWeyl tensor and its dual appear in the on-shell variation of the action, and\nsuch that the action is stationary for asymptotic (anti) self-dual solutions in\nthe Weyl tensor. In analogy with Euclidean electromagnetism, whenever the\nself-duality condition is global, both the action and the total charge are\nidentically vanishing. Therefore, for such configurations the magnetic mass\nequals the Ashtekhar-Magnon-Das definition."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Graph duality as an instrument of Gauge-String correspondence: We explore an identity between two branching graphs and propose a physical\nmeaning in the context of the gauge-gravity correspondence. From the\nmathematical point of view, the identity equates probabilities associated with\n$\\mathbb{GT}$, the branching graph of the unitary groups, with probabilities\nassociated with $\\mathbb{Y}$, the branching graph of the symmetric groups. In\norder to furnish the identity with physical meaning, we exactly reproduce these\nprobabilities as the square of three point functions involving certain\nhook-shaped backgrounds. We study these backgrounds in the context of LLM\ngeometries and discover that they are domain walls interpolating two AdS spaces\nwith different radii. We also find that, in certain cases, the probabilities\nmatch the eigenvalues of some observables, the embedding chain charges. We\nfinally discuss a holographic interpretation of the mathematical identity\nthrough our results.",
        "positive": "Shifting Spin on the Celestial Sphere: We explore conformal primary wavefunctions for all half integer spins up to\nthe graviton. Half steps are related by supersymmetry, integer steps by the\nclassical double copy. The main results are as follows: we 1) introduce a\nconvenient spin frame and null tetrad to organize all radiative modes of\nvarying spin; 2) identify the massless spin-3/2 conformal primary wavefunction\nas well as the conformally soft Goldstone mode corresponding to large\nsupersymmetry transformations; 3) indicate how to express a conformal primary\nof arbitrary spin in terms of differential operators acting on a scalar\nprimary; 4) demonstrate that conformal primary metrics satisfy the double copy\nin a variety of forms -- operator, Weyl, and Kerr-Schild -- and are exact,\nalbeit complex, solutions to the fully non-linear Einstein equations of Petrov\ntype N; 5) propose a novel generalization of conformal primary wavefunctions;\nand 6) show that this generalization includes a large class of physically\ninteresting metrics corresponding to ultra-boosted black holes, shockwaves and\nmore."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Casimir force between Chern-Simons surfaces: We calculate the Casimir force between two parallel plates if the boundary\nconditions for the photons are modified due to presence of the Chern-Simons\nterm. We show that this effect should be measurable within the present\nexperimental technique.",
        "positive": "Compact T-branes: We analyse global aspects of 7-brane backgrounds with a non-commuting profile\nfor their worldvolume scalars, also known as T-branes. In particular, we\nconsider configurations with no poles and globally well-defined over a compact\nK\\\"ahler surface. We find that such T-branes cannot be constructed on surfaces\nof positive or vanishing Ricci curvature. For the existing T-branes, we discuss\ntheir stability as we move in K\\\"ahler moduli space at large volume and provide\nexamples of T-branes splitting into non-mutually-supersymmetric constituents as\nthey cross a stability wall."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Polarized Dirac fermions in de Sitter spacetime: The tetrad gauge invariant theory of the free Dirac field in two special\nmoving charts of the de Sitter spacetime is investigated pointing out the\noperators that commute with the Dirac one. These are the generators of the\nsymmetry transformations corresponding to isometries that give rise to\nconserved quantities according to the Noether theorem. With their help the\nplane wave spinor solutions of the Dirac equation with given momentum and\nhelicity are derived and the final form of the quantum Dirac field is\nestablished. It is shown that the canonical quantization leads to a correct\nphysical interpretation of the massive or massless fermion quantum fields.",
        "positive": "The 1/2 BPS 't Hooft loops in N=4 SYM as instantons in 2d Yang-Mills: We extend the recent conjecture on the relation between a certain 1/8 BPS\nsubsector of 4d N=4 SYM on S^2 and 2d Yang-Mills theory by turning on circular\n1/2 BPS 't Hooft operators linked with S^2. We show that localization predicts\nthat these 't Hooft operators and their correlation functions with Wilson\noperators on S^2 are captured by instanton contributions to the partition\nfunction of the 2d Yang-Mills theory. Based on this prediction, we compute\nexplicitly correlation functions involving the 't Hooft operator, and observe\nprecise agreement with S-duality predictions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic entanglement entropy and thermodynamic instability of planar\n  R-charged black holes: The holographic entanglement entropy of an infinite strip subsystem on the\nasymptotic AdS boundary is used as a probe to study the thermodynamic\ninstabilities of planar R-charged black holes (or their dual field theories).\nWe focus on the single-charge AdS black holes in $D=5$, which correspond to\nspinning D3-branes with one non-vanishing angular momentum. Our results show\nthat the holographic entanglement entropy indeed exhibits the thermodynamic\ninstability associated with the divergence of the specific heat. When the width\nof the strip is large enough, the finite part of the holographic entanglement\nentropy as a function of the temperature resembles the thermal entropy, as is\nexpected. As the width becomes smaller, however, the two entropies behave\ndifferently. In particular, there exists a critical value for the width of the\nstrip, below which the finite part of the holographic entanglement entropy as a\nfunction of the temperature develops a self-intersection. We also find similar\nbehavior in the single-charge black holes in $D=4$ and $7$.",
        "positive": "Gauge-Invariant Operators for Singular Knots in Chern-Simons Gauge\n  Theory: We construct gauge invariant operators for singular knots in the context of\nChern-Simons gauge theory. These new operators provide polynomial invariants\nand Vassiliev invariants for singular knots. As an application we present the\nform of the Kontsevich integral for the case of singular knots."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spinning strings and correlation functions in the AdS/CFT correspondence: In this thesis we present some computations made in both sides of the AdS/CFT\nholographic correspondence using the integrability of both theories.\n  Regarding the string theory side, this thesis is focused in the computation\nof the dispersion relation of closed spinning strings in some deformed $AdS_3\n\\times S^3$ backgrounds. In particular we are going to focus in the deformation\nprovided by the mixing of R-R and NS-NS fluxes and the so-called\n$\\eta$-deformation. These computations are made using the classical\nintegrability of these two deformed string theories, which is provided by the\npresence of a set of conserved quantities called \"Uhlenbeck constants\". The\nexistence of the Uhlenbeck constants is central for the method used to derive\nthe dispersion relations.\n  Regarding the gauge theory side, we are interested in the computation of two\nand three-point correlation functions. Concerning the two-point function a\ncomputation of correlation functions involving different operators and\ndifferent number of excitations is performed using the Algebraic Bethe Ansatz\nand the Quantum Inverse Scattering Method. These results are compared with\ncomputations done with the Coordinate Bethe Ansatz and with\nZamolodchikov-Faddeev operators. Concerning the three-point functions, we will\nexplore the novel construction given by the hexagon framework. In particular we\nare going to start from the already proposed hexagon form factor and rewrite it\nin a language more resembling of the Algebraic Bethe Ansatz. For this intent we\nconstruct an invariant vertex using Zamolodchikov-Faddeev operators, which is\nchecked for some simple cases.",
        "positive": "Rigid open membrane and non-abelian non-commutative Chern-Simons theory: In the Berkooz-Douglas matrix model of M theory in the presence of\nlongitudinal $M5$-brane, we investigate the effective dynamics of the system by\nconsidering the longitudinal $M5$-brane as the background and the spherical\n$M5$-brane related with the other space dimensions as the probe brane. Due to\nthere exists the background field strength provided by the source of the\nlongitudinal $M5$-brane, an open membrane should be ended on the spherical\n$M5$-brane based on the topological reason. The formation of the bound brane\nconfiguration for the open membrane ending on the 5-branes in the background of\nlongitudinal 5-brane can be used to model the 4-dimensional quantum Hall system\nproposed recently by Zhang and Hu. The description of the excitations of the\nquantum Hall soliton brane configuration is established by investigating the\nfluctuations of $D0$-branes living on the bound brane around their classical\nsolution derived by the transformations of area preserving diffeomorphisms of\nthe open membrane. We find that this effective field theory for the\nfluctuations is an SO(4) non-commutative Chern-Simons field theory. The matrix\nregularized version of this effective field theory is given in order to allow\nthe finite $D0$-branes to live on the bound brane. We also discuss some\npossible applications of our results to the related topics in M-theory and to\nthe 4-dimensional quantum Hall system."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A note on C-Parity Conservation and the Validity of Orientifold Planar\n  Equivalence: We analyze the possibility of a spontaneous breaking of C-invariance in gauge\ntheories with fermions in vector-like - but otherwise generic - representations\nof the gauge group. QCD, supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory, and orientifold\nfield theories, all belong to this class. We argue that charge conjugation is\nnot spontaneously broken as long as Lorentz invariance is maintained.\nUniqueness of the vacuum state in pure Yang-Mills theory (without fermions) and\nconvergence of the expansion in fermion loops are key ingredients. The fact\nthat C-invariance is conserved has an interesting application to our proof of\nplanar equivalence between supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory and orientifold\nfield theory on R4, since it allows the use of charge conjugation to connect\nthe large-N limit of Wilson loops in different representations.",
        "positive": "Operator Mixing and the AdS/CFT correspondence: We provide a direct prescription for computing the mixing among gauge\ninvariant operators in N=4 SYM. Our approach is based on the action of the\nsuperalgebra on the states of the theory and thus it can be also applied to\nresolve the mixing in the dual string description. As an example, we focus on\nthe supermultiplet containing the BMN operators with two impurities. On the\nfield theory side, we derive the leading planar quantum corrections to the\nnaive expression of the highest weight state. Then we use the same prescription\nin the BMN limit of the AdS5xS5 string theory and derive the form of the\n2-impurity highest weight state. The string expression matches nicely the SYM\nresult and provides a prediction for the mixing due to higher order quantum\ncorrections in field theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Classification and a toolbox for orientifold models: We provide the general tadpole conditions for a class of supersymmetric\norientifold models by studing the general properties of the elements included\nin the orientifold group. In this talk, we concentrate on orientifold models of\nthe type $T^6/Z_M\\times Z_N$.",
        "positive": "Higher-order field theories: $\u03c6^6$, $\u03c6^8$ and beyond: The $\\phi^4$ model has been the \"workhorse\" of the classical Ginzburg--Landau\nphenomenological theory of phase transitions and, furthermore, the foundation\nfor a large amount of the now-classical developments in nonlinear science.\nHowever, the $\\phi^4$ model, in its usual variant (symmetric double-well\npotential), can only possess two equilibria. Many complex physical systems\npossess more than two equilibria and, furthermore, the number of equilibria can\nchange as a system parameter (e.g., the temperature in condensed matter\nphysics) is varied. Thus, \"higher-order field theories\" come into play. This\nchapter discusses recent developments of higher-order field theories,\nspecifically the $\\phi^6$, $\\phi^8$ models and beyond. We first establish their\ncontext in the Ginzburg--Landau theory of successive phase transitions,\nincluding a detailed discussion of the symmetric triple well $\\phi^6$ potential\nand its properties. We also note connections between field theories in\nhigh-energy physics (e.g., \"bag models\" of quarks within hadrons) and\nparametric (deformed) $\\phi^6$ models. We briefly mention a few salient points\nabout even-higher-order field theories of the $\\phi^8$, $\\phi^{10}$, etc.\\\nvarieties, including the existence of kinks with power-law tail asymptotics\nthat give rise to long-range interactions. Finally, we conclude with a set of\nopen problems in the context of higher-order scalar fields theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hidden symmetries and Large N factorisation for permutation invariant\n  matrix observables: Permutation invariant polynomial functions of matrices have previously been\nstudied as the observables in matrix models invariant under $S_N$, the\nsymmetric group of all permutations of $N$ objects. In this paper, the\npermutation invariant matrix observables (PIMOs) of degree $k$ are shown to be\nin one-to-one correspondence with equivalence classes of elements in the\ndiagrammatic partition algebra $P_k(N)$. On a 4-dimensional subspace of the\n13-parameter space of $S_N$ invariant Gaussian models, there is an enhanced\n$O(N)$ symmetry. At a special point in this subspace, is the simplest $O(N)$\ninvariant action. This is used to define an inner product on the PIMOs which is\nexpressible as a trace of a product of elements in the partition algebra. The\ndiagram algebra $P_k(N)$ is used to prove the large $N$ factorisation property\nof this inner product, which generalizes a familiar large $N$ factorisation for\ninner products of matrix traces invariant under continuous symmetries.",
        "positive": "A Solution of the Randall-Sundrum Model and the Mass Hierarchy Problem: A solution of the Randall-Sundrum model for a simplified case (one wall) is\nobtained. It is given by the $1/k^2$-expansion (thin wall expansion) where\n$1/k$ is the {\\it thickness} of the domain wall. The vacuum setting is done by\nthe 5D Higgs potential and the solution is for a {\\it family} of the Higgs\nparameters. The mass hierarchy problem is examined. Some physical quantities in\n4D world such as the Planck mass, the cosmological constant, and fermion masses\nare focussed. Similarity to the domain wall regularization used in the chiral\nfermion problem is explained. We examine the possibility that the 4D massless\nchiral fermion bound to the domain wall in the 5D world can be regarded as the\nreal 4D fermions such as neutrinos, quarks and other leptons."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum causal histories: Quantum causal histories are defined to be causal sets with Hilbert spaces\nattached to each event and local unitary evolution operators. The reflexivity,\nantisymmetry, and transitivity properties of a causal set are preserved in the\nquantum history as conditions on the evolution operators. A quantum causal\nhistory in which transitivity holds can be treated as ``directed'' topological\nquantum field theory. Two examples of such histories are described.",
        "positive": "Finite temperature Casimir pistons for electromagnetic field with mixed\n  boundary conditions and its classical limit: In this paper, the finite temperature Casimir force acting on a\ntwo-dimensional Casimir piston due to electromagnetic field is computed. It was\nfound that if mixed boundary conditions are assumed on the piston and its\nopposite wall, then the Casimir force always tends to restore the piston\ntowards the equilibrium position, regardless of the boundary conditions assumed\non the walls transverse to the piston. In contrary, if pure boundary conditions\nare assumed on the piston and the opposite wall, then the Casimir force always\ntend to pull the piston towards the closer wall and away from the equilibrium\nposition. The nature of the force is not affected by temperature. However, in\nthe high temperature regime, the magnitude of the Casimir force grows linearly\nwith respect to temperature. This shows that the Casimir effect has a classical\nlimit as has been observed in other literatures."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Deconstructing Scalar QED at Zero and Finite Temperature: We calculate the effective potential for the WLPNGB in a world with a\ncircular latticized extra dimension. The mass of the WLPNGB is calculated from\nthe one-loop quantum effect of scalar fields at zero and finite temperature. We\nshow that a series expansion by the modified Bessel functions is useful to\ncalculate the one-loop effective potentials.",
        "positive": "Gauge/Gravity Duals with Holomorphic Dilaton: We consider configurations of D7-branes and whole and fractional D3-branes\nwith N=2 supersymmetry. On the supergravity side these have a warp factor,\nthree-form flux and a nonconstant dilaton. We discuss general IIB solutions of\nthis type and then obtain the specific solutions for the D7/D3 system. On the\ngauge side the D7-branes add matter in the fundamental representation of the\nD3-brane gauge theory. We find that the gauge and supergravity metrics on\nmoduli space agree. However, in many cases the supergravity curvature is large\neven when the gauge theory is strongly coupled. In these cases we argue that\nthe useful supergravity dual must be a IIA configuration."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Duality, Monodromy and Integrability of Two Dimensional String Effective\n  Action: The monodromy matrix, ${\\hat{\\cal M}}$, is constructed for two dimensional\ntree level string effective action. The pole structure of ${\\hat{\\cal M}}$ is\nderived using its factorizability property. It is found that the monodromy\nmatrix transforms non-trivially under the non-compact T-duality group, which\nleaves the effective action invariant and this can be used to construct the\nmonodromy matrix for more complicated backgrounds starting from simpler ones.\nWe construct, explicitly, ${\\hat{\\cal M}}$ for the exactly solvable\nNappi-Witten model, both when B=0 and $B\\neq 0$, where these ideas can be\ndirectly checked. We consider well known charged black hole solutions in the\nheterotic string theory which can be generated by T-duality transformations\nfrom a spherically symmetric `seed' Schwarzschild solution. We construct the\nmonodromy matrix for the Schwarzschild black hole background of the heterotic\nstring theory.",
        "positive": "Isoperimetric Inequalities and Magnetic Fields at CERN: We discuss the generalization of the classical isoperimetric inequality to\nasymptotically hyperbolic Riemannian manifolds. It has been discovered that the\nAdS/CFT correspondence in string theory requires that such an inequality hold\nin order to be internally consistent. In a particular application, to the\nsystems formed in collisions of heavy ions in particle colliders, we show how\nto formulate this inequality in terms of measurable physical quantities, the\nmagnetic field and the temperature. Experiments under way at CERN in Geneva can\nthus be said to be testing an isoperimetric inequality."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Scattering Phase for AdS_5 x S^5 Strings: We propose a phase factor of the worldsheet S-matrix for strings on AdS_5 x\nS^5 apparently solving Janik's crossing relation.",
        "positive": "All 4-dimensional static, spherically symmetric, 2-charge abelian\n  Kaluza-Klein black holes and their CFT duals: We derive the dual CFT Virasoro algebras from the algebra of conserved\ndiffeomorphism charges, for a large class of abelian Kaluza-Klein black holes.\nUnder certain conditions, such as non-vanishing electric and magnetic monopole\ncharges, the Kaluza-Klein black holes have a Reissner-Nordstrom space-time\nstructure. For the non-extremal charged Kaluza-Klein black holes, we use the\nuplifted 6d pure gravity solutions to construct a set of Killing horizon\npreserving diffeomorphisms. For the (non-supersymmetric) extremal black holes,\nwe take the NENH limit, and construct a one-parameter family of diffeomorphisms\nwhich preserve the Hamiltonian constraints at spatial infinity. In each case we\nevaluate the algebra of conserved diffeomorphism charges following Barnich,\nBrandt and Compere, who used a cohomological approach, and Silva, who employed\na covariant-Lagrangian formalism.\n  At the Killing horizon, it is only Silva's algebra which acquires a central\ncharge extension, and which enables us to recover the Bekenstein-Hawking black\nhole entropy from the Cardy formula. For the NENH geometry, the extremal black\nhole entropy is obtained only when the free parameter of the diffeomorphism\ngenerating vector fields is chosen such that the central terms of the two\nalgebras are in agreement."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Groups on Fibre Bundles: It is shown that the principle of locality and noncommutative geometry can be\nconnnected by a sheaf theoretical method. In this framework quantum spaces are\nintroduced and examples in mathematical physics are given. With the language of\nquantum spaces noncommutative principal and vector bundles are defined and\ntheir properties are studied. Important constructions in the classical theory\nof principal fibre bundles like associated bundles and differential calculi are\ncarried over to the quantum case. At the end $q$-deformed instanton models are\nintroduced for every integral index.",
        "positive": "Revisiting Schwarzschild black hole singularity through string theory: The resolution of black hole singularities represents an essential problem in\nthe realm of quantum gravity. Due to the Belinskii, Khalatnikov and Lifshitz\n(BKL) proposal, the structure of the black hole interior in vacuum Einstein's\nequations can be described by the Kasner universe, which possesses the\n$O\\left(d,d\\right)$ symmetry. It motivates us to use the anisotropic\nHohm-Zwiebach action, known as the string effective action with all orders\n$\\alpha^{\\prime}$ corrections for the $O\\left(d,d\\right)$ symmetric background,\nto study the singularity problem of black hole. In this letter, we obtain the\nsingular condition for black holes and demonstrate that it is possible to\nresolve the Schwarzschild black hole singularity through the non-perturbative\n$\\alpha^{\\prime}$ corrections of string theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Superconformal duality-invariant models and $\\mathcal{N} = 4$ SYM\n  effective action: We present $\\mathcal{N}=2$ superconformal $\\mathsf{U}(1)$ duality-invariant\nmodels for an Abelian vector multiplet coupled to conformal supergravity. In a\nMinkowski background, such a nonlinear theory is expected to describe (the\nplanar part of) the low-energy effective action for the $\\mathcal{N}=4$\n$\\mathsf{SU}(N)$ super-Yang-Mills (SYM) theory on its Coulomb branch where (i)\nthe gauge group $\\mathsf{SU}(N)$ is spontaneously broken to $\\mathsf{SU}(N-1)\n\\times \\mathsf{U}(1)$; and (ii) the dynamics is captured by a single\n$\\mathcal{N}=2$ vector multiplet associated with the $\\mathsf{U}(1)$ factor of\nthe unbroken group. Additionally, a local $\\mathsf{U}(1)$ duality-invariant\naction generating the $\\mathcal{N}=2$ super-Weyl anomaly is proposed. By\nproviding a new derivation of the recently constructed $\\mathsf{U}(1)$\nduality-invariant $\\mathcal{N}=1$ superconformal electrodynamics, we introduce\nits $\\mathsf{SL}(2,{\\mathbb R})$ duality-invariant coupling to the\ndilaton-axion multiplet.",
        "positive": "On K3-Thurston 7-manifolds and their deformation space: A case study\n  with remarks on general K3T and M-theory compactification: M-theory suggests the study of 11-dimensional space-times compactified on\nsome 7-manifolds. From its intimate relation to superstrings, one possible\nclass of such 7-manifolds are those that have Calabi-Yau threefolds as\nboundary. In this article, we construct a special class of such 7-manifolds,\nnamed as {\\it K3-Thurston} (K3T) 7-manifolds. The factor from the K3 part of\nthe deformation space of these K3T 7-manifolds admits a K\\\"{a}hler structure,\nwhile the factor of the deformation space from the Thurston part admits a\nspecial K\\\"{a}hler structure. The latter rings with the nature of the scalar\nmanifold of a vector multiplet in an N=2 $d=4$ supersymmetric gauge theory.\nRemarks and examples on more general K3T 7-manifolds and issues to possible\ninterfaces of K3T to M-theory are also discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "TASI Lectures on Matrix Theory: This is a summary of key issues in Matrix Theory and its compactifications.\nIt is emphasized that Matrix Theory is a valid Discrete Light Cone Quantization\nof M Theory with at least 6 noncompact asymptotically flat dimensions and 16 or\n32 Supersymmetry Charges. The background dependence of the quantum mechanics of\nM Theory, and the necessity of working in light cone frame in asymptotically\nflat spacetimes are explained in terms of the asymptotic density of states of\nthe theory, which follows from the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy formula. In four\nnoncompact dimensions one is led to expect a Hagedorn spectrum in light cone\nenergy. This suggests the possible relevance of ``little string theories''\n(LSTs) to the quantum description of four dimensional compactifications,\nbecause one can argue that their exact high energy spectrum has the Hagedorn\nform. Some space is therefore devoted to a discussion of the properties of\nLSTs, which were first discovered as the proper formulation of Matrix Theory on\nthe five torus.",
        "positive": "Nonperturbative approach to Yang-Mills thermodynamics: An analytical and nonperturbative approach to SU(2) and SU(3) Yang-Mills\nthermodynamics is developed and applied. Each theory comes in three phases: A\ndeconfining, a preconfining, and a confining one. We show how macroscopic and\ninert scalar fields form in each phase and how they determine the ground-state\nphysics and the properties of the excitations. While the excitations in the\ndeconfining and preconfining phase are massless or massive gauge modes the\nexcitations in the confining phase are massless or massive spin-1/2 fermions.\nThe nature of the two phase transitions is investigated for each theory. We\ncompute the temperature evolution of thermodynamical quantities in the\ndeconfining and preconfining phase and estimate the density of states in the\nconfining phase. Some implications for particle physics and cosmology are\ndiscussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "New Symmetries of Massless QED: An infinite number of physically nontrivial symmetries are found for abelian\ngauge theories with massless charged particles. They are generated by large\n$U(1)$ gauge transformations that asymptotically approach an arbitrary function\n$\\varepsilon(z,\\bar{z})$ on the conformal sphere at future null infinity\n($\\mathscr I^+$) but are independent of the retarded time. The value of\n$\\varepsilon$ at past null infinity ($\\mathscr I^-$) is determined from that on\n$\\mathscr I^+$ by the condition that it take the same value at either end of\nany light ray crossing Minkowski space. The $\\varepsilon\\neq$ constant\nsymmetries are spontaneously broken in the usual vacuum. The associated\nGoldstone modes are zero-momentum photons and comprise a $U(1)$ boson living on\nthe conformal sphere. The Ward identity associated with this asymptotic\nsymmetry is shown to be the abelian soft photon theorem.",
        "positive": "Spherical Symmetric Solutions in Ho\u0159ava-Lifshitz Gravity and their\n  Properties: Non-projectable Ho\\v{r}ava gravity for a spherically symmetric configuration\nwith $\\lambda=1$ exhibits an infinite set of solutions parametrized by a\ngeneric function $g^{2}(r)$ for the radial component of the shift vector. In\nthe IR limit the infinite set of solutions corresponds to the invariance of\nGeneral Relativity under a spacetime reparametrization. In general, not being a\ncoordinate transformation, the symmetry in the action responsible for the\ninfinite set of solutions does not have a clear physical interpretation. Indeed\nit is broken by the matter term in the action. We study the behavior of the\nsolutions for generic values of the parameter $g^{2}(r)$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "String theory duals of Lifshitz-Chern-Simons gauge theories: We propose candidate gravity duals for a class of non-Abelian z=2 Lifshitz\nChern-Simons (LCS) gauge theories studied by Mulligan, Kachru and Nayak. These\nare nonrelativistic gauge theories in 2+1 dimensions in which parity and\ntime-reversal symmetries are explicitly broken by the presence of a\nChern-Simons term. We show that these field theories can be realized as\ndeformations of DLCQ N=4 super Yang-Mills theory. Using the holographic\ndictionary, we identify the bulk fields that are dual to these deformations.\nThe geometries describing the groundstates of the non-Abelian LCS gauge\ntheories realized here exhibit a mass gap.",
        "positive": "RG flows from WZW models: We constrain renormalization group flows from $ABCDE$ type Wess-Zumino-Witten\nmodels triggered by adjoint primaries. We propose positive Lagrangian coupling\nleads to massless flow and negative to massive. In the conformal phase, we\nprove an interface with the half-integral condition obeys the double braiding\nrelations. Distinguishing simple and non-simple flows, we conjecture the former\nsatisfies the half-integral condition. If the conjecture is true, some\npreviously allowed massless flows are ruled out. For $A$ type, known mixed\nanomalies fix the ambiguity in identifications of Verlinde lines; an object is\nidentified with its charge conjugate. In the massive phase, we compute ground\nstate degeneracies."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Asymptotic solvability of an imaginary cubic oscillator with spikes: For the PT symmetric potential of Dorey, Dunning and Tateo we show that in\nthe large angular momentum (i.e., strongly spiked) limit the low-lying\neigenstates of this popular non-Hermitian problem coincide with the shifted\nHermitian harmonic oscillators calculated at the zero angular momentum. This\ntype of an approximate Hermitization is valid in all the domain where the\nspectrum of energies remains real. It proves very efficient numerically. The\nconstruction is asymmetric with respect to the sign of the subdominant\nsquare-root spike, and exhibits a discontinuity at the point where the PT\nsymmetric regularization vanishes.",
        "positive": "The Shape of Gravity: In a nontrivial background geometry with extra dimensions, gravitational\neffects will depend on the shape of the Kaluza-Klein excitations of the\ngraviton. We investigate a consistent scenario of this type with two positive\ntension three-branes separated in a five-dimensional Anti-de Sitter geometry.\nThe graviton is localized on the ``Planck'' brane, while a gapless continuum of\nadditional gravity eigenmodes probe the {\\it infinitely} large fifth dimension.\nDespite the background five-dimensional geometry, an observer confined to\neither brane sees gravity as essentially four-dimensional up to a\nposition-dependent strong coupling scale, no matter where the brane is located.\nWe apply this scenario to generate the TeV scale as a hierarchically suppressed\nmass scale. Arbitrarily light gravitational modes appear in this scenario, but\nwith suppressed couplings. Real emission of these modes is observable at future\ncolliders; the effects are similar to those produced by {\\it six} large\ntoroidal dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Disordered vector models: from higher spins to incipient strings: We present a one-parameter family of large $N$ disordered models, with and\nwithout supersymmetry, in three spacetime dimensions. They interpolate from the\ncritical large $N$ vector model dual to a classical higher spin theory, towards\na theory with a classical string dual. We analyze the spectrum and OPE data of\nthe theories. While the supersymmetric model is always well-behaved the\nnon-supersymmetric model is unitary only over a small parameter range. We offer\nsome speculations on the origin of strings from the higher spins.",
        "positive": "Rejuvenating the hope of a swampland consistent inflated multiverse with\n  tachyonic inflation in the high energy RS-II Braneworld: The swampland conjectures from string theory have had some really interesting\nimplications on cosmology, in particular on inflationary models. Some models of\ninflation have been shown to be incompatible with these criterion while some\nhave been shown to be severely fine tuned, with most of these problems arising\nin single field inflationary models in a General relativistic cosmology. Recent\nworks have although optimistically shown that single field models in more\ngeneral cosmologies can be consistent with these conjectures and hence there is\nan optimism that not all such models lie in the swampland. However a paradigm\nof inflation which has been shown to not be perfectly okay with the conjectures\nis eternal inflation. So in this work, we discuss Tachyonic inflation in the\nhigh energy RS-II Braneworld scenario in the context of the swampland\nconjectures while also considering the possibility of swampland consistent\neternal inflation. We show that our concerned regime evades all the prominent\nswampland issues for single field inflation being virtually unscathed. After\nthis, we show that the main conflicts of eternal inflation with the swampland\ncan easily be resolved in the considered tachyonic scenario and in particular,\nwe also discuss the exciting prospect of a Generalized Uncertainty Principle\nfacilitating the notion of Swampland consistent eternal inflation. Our work as\na whole reignites the possibility that there can be a swampland (and possibly,\nquantum gravitationally) consistent picture of a \"Multiverse\"."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Pseudo-Goldstini in Field Theory: We consider two SUSY-breaking hidden sectors which decouple when their\nrespective couplings to the visible particles are switched off. In such a\nscenario one expects to find two light fermions: the Goldstino and the\npseudo-Goldstino. While the former remains massless in the rigid limit, the\nlatter becomes massive due to radiative effects which we analyze from several\ndifferent points of view. This analysis is greatly facilitated by a version of\nthe Goldberger-Treiman relation, which allows us to write a universal\nnon-perturbative formula for the mass. We carry out the analysis in detail in\nthe context of gauge mediation, where we find that the pseudo-Goldstino mass is\nat least around the GeV scale and can be easily at the electroweak range, even\nin low scale models. This leads to interesting and unconventional possibilities\nin collider physics and it also has potential applications in cosmology.",
        "positive": "Counterterms, critical gravity and holography: We consider counterterms for odd dimensional holographic CFTs. These\ncounterterms are derived by demanding cut-off independence of the CFT partition\nfunction on $S^d$ and $S^1 \\times S^{d-1}$. The same choice of counterterms\nleads to a cut-off independent Schwarzschild black hole entropy. When treated\nas independent actions, these counterterm actions resemble critical theories of\ngravity, i.e., higher curvature gravity theories where the additional massive\nspin-2 modes become massless. Equivalently, in the context of AdS/CFT, these\nare theories where at least one of the central charges associated with the\ntrace anomaly vanishes. Connections between these theories and logarithmic CFTs\nare discussed. For a specific choice of parameters, the theories arising from\ncounterterms are non-dynamical and resemble a DBI generalization of gravity.\nFor even dimensional CFTs, analogous counterterms cancel log-independent\ncut-off dependence."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Far Beyond the Planar Limit in Strongly-Coupled $\\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM: When the $SU(N)$ ${\\cal N} = 4$ super-Yang-Mills (SYM) theory with\ncomplexified gauge coupling $\\tau$ is placed on a round four-sphere and\ndeformed by an ${\\cal N} = 2$-preserving mass parameter $m$, its free energy\n$F(m, \\tau, \\bar \\tau)$ can be computed exactly using supersymmetric\nlocalization. In this work, we derive a new exact relation between the fourth\nderivative $\\partial_m^4 F(m, \\tau, \\bar \\tau) \\big|_{m=0}$ of the sphere free\nenergy and the integrated stress-tensor multiplet four-point function in the\n$\\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM theory. We then apply this exact relation, along with\nvarious other constraints derived in previous work (coming from analytic\nbootstrap, the mixed derivative $\\partial_\\tau \\partial_{\\bar \\tau}\n\\partial_m^2 F(m, \\tau, \\bar \\tau) \\big|_{m=0}$, and type IIB superstring\ntheory scattering amplitudes) to determine various perturbative terms in the\nlarge $N$ and large 't Hooft coupling $\\lambda$ expansion of the ${\\cal N} = 4$\nSYM correlator at separated points. In particular, we determine the leading\nlarge-$\\lambda$ term in the ${\\cal N} = 4$ SYM correlation function at order\n$1/N^8$. This is three orders beyond the planar limit.",
        "positive": "3-Leibniz bialgebra in $N=6$ Chern-Simons gauge theories, multiple M2 to\n  D2 branes and vice versa: Constructing M2-brane and its boundary conditions from D2-brane and the\nrelated boundary conditions and vice versa has been possible in our recent work\nby using 3-Lie bialgebra for BLG model with N = 8 supersymmetry. This could be\ngeneralized for BL model with N = 6 by the concept of the 3-Leibniz bialgebra.\nThe 3-Lie bialgebra is an especial case of 3-Leibniz bialgebra, then more\ncomprehensive information will be obtained in this work. Consequently,\naccording to the correspondence of these 3-Leibniz bialgebras with Lie\nbialgebras, we reduce to D2-brane such that with some restrictions on the gauge\nfield this D2-brane is related to the bosonic sector of an N = (4,4) WZW model\nequipped with one 2-cocycle in its Lie bialgebra structure. Moreover, the\nBasu-Harvey equation which is found by considering boundary conditions for BL\nmodel containing Leibniz bialgebra structure is reduced to Nahm equation and\nvice versa using this correspondence."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-relativistic Conformal Field Theory in Momentum Space: Non-relativistic conformal field theory describes many-body physics at\nunitarity. The correlation functions of the system are fixed by the requirement\nof conformal invariance. In this article, we discuss the correlation functions\nof scalar operators in non-relativistic conformal field theories in momentum\nspace. We discuss the solution of conformal Ward identities and express 2,3,\nand 4-point functions as a function of energy and momentum. We also express the\n3- and 4-point functions in the momentum space as the one-loop and three-loop\nFeynman diagram computations, respectively.",
        "positive": "Charged Fermions Tunnelling from Kerr-Newman Black Holes: We consider the tunnelling of charged spin-(1/2) fermions from a Kerr-Newman\nblack hole and demonstrate that the expected Hawking temperature is recovered.\nWe discuss certain technical subtleties related to the obtention of this\nresult."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Dual Formulation of Gravity: In this paper we consider a possibility to construct dual formulation of\ngravity where the main dynamical field is the Lorentz connection\n\\omega_\\mu^{ab} and not that of tetrad e_\\mu^a or metric g_\\mu\\nu. Our approach\nis based on the usual dualization procedure which uses first order parent\nLagrangians but in (Anti) de Sitter space and not in the flat Minkowski one. It\nturns out that in d=3 dimensions such dual formulation is related with the so\ncalled exotic parity-violating interactions for massless spin-2 particles.",
        "positive": "Radiation of scalar modes and the classical double copy: The double copy procedure relates gauge and gravity theories through\ncolor-kinematics replacements and holds for both scattering amplitudes and in\nclassical contexts. Moreover, it has been shown that there is a web of theories\nwhose scattering amplitudes are related through operations that exchange color\nand kinematic factors. In this paper, we generalize and extend this procedure\nby showing that the classical perturbative double copy of pions corresponds to\nspecial Galileons. We consider point-particles coupled to the relevant scalar\nfields, and find the leading and next to leading order radiation amplitudes. By\nconsidering couplings motivated by those that would arise from extracting the\nlongitudinal modes of the gauge and gravity theories, we are able to map the\nnon-linear sigma model radiation to that of the special Galileon. We also\nconstruct the single copy by mapping the bi-adjoint scalar radiation to the\nnon-linear sigma model radiation through generalized color-kinematics\nreplacements."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Scalar Field Theories On The World Sheet: Cutoff Independent Treatment: Following earlier work on the same topic, we consider once more scalar field\ntheories on the world sheet parametrized by the light cone coordinates. For\nmost of the way, we use the same approach as in the previous work, but there is\nan important new development. To avoid the light cone singularity at p^{+}=0,\none world sheet coordinate had to be discretized, introducing a cutoff into the\nmodel.In the earlier work, this cutoff could not be removed, making the model\nunreliable. In the present article, we show that, by a careful choice of the\nmass counter term, both the infrared singularity at p^{+}=0 and the ultraviolet\nmass divergences can be simultaneously eliminated. We therefore finally have a\ncutoff independent model on a continuously parametrized world sheet. We study\nthis model in the mean field approximation, and as before, we find solitonic\nsolutions. Quantizing the solitonic collective coordinates gives rise to a\nstring like model. However, in contrast to the standard string model, the\ntrajectories here are not in general linear but curved.",
        "positive": "New rigid string instantons in $R^4$: New rigid string instanton equations are derived. Contrary to standard case,\nthe equations split into three families. Their solutions in $R^4$ are discussed\nand explicitly presented in some cases."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Renormalization group analysis of reggeon field theory: flow equations: Can large distance high energy QCD be described by Reggeon Field Theory as an\neffective emergent theory? We start to investigate the issue employing\nfunctional renormalisation group techniques.",
        "positive": "First order flow equations for nonextremal black holes in AdS\n  (super)gravity: We consider electrically charged static nonextremal black holes in\n$d$-dimensional Einstein-Maxwell-(A)dS gravity, whose horizon is a generic\nEinstein space in $d-2$ dimensions. It is shown that for this system the\nHamilton-Jacobi equation is exactly solvable and admits two branches of\nsolutions. One of them exhibits a non-simply connected domain of integration\nconstants and does not reduce to the well-known solution for the $d=4$ BPS\ncase. The principal functions generate two first order flows that are\nanalytically different, but support the same general solution. One of the two\nsets of flow equations corresponds to those found by L\\\"u, Pope and\nV\\'azquez-Poritz in hep-th/0307001 and (for $d=4$ and $\\Lambda=0$) by Miller,\nSchalm and Weinberg in hep-th/0612308. This clarifies also the reason for the\nvery existence of first order equations for nonextremal black holes, namely,\nthey are just the expressions for the conjugate momenta in terms of derivatives\nof the principal function in a Hamilton-Jacobi formalism. In the last part of\nour paper we analyze how much of these integrability properties generalizes to\nmatter-coupled $N=2$, $d=4$ gauged supergravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Causality in Dense Matter: The possibility of non-causal signal propagation is examined for various\ntheories of dense matter. This investigation requires a discussion of\ndefinitions of causality, together with interpretations of spacetime position.\nSpecific examples are used to illustrate the satisfaction or violation of\ncausality in realistic calculations.",
        "positive": "The group theory of oxidation II: Cosets of non-split groups: The oxidation program of hep-th/0210178 is extended to cover oxidation of 3-d\nsigma model theories on a coset G/H, with G non-compact (but not necessarily\nsplit), and H the maximal compact subgroup. We recover the matter content, the\nequations of motion and Bianchi identities from group lattice and Cartan\ninvolution. Satake diagrams provide an elegant tool for the computations, the\nmaximal oxidation dimension, and group disintegration chains can be directly\nread off. We give a complete list of theories that can be recovered from\noxidation of a 3 dimensional coset sigma model on G/H, where G is a simple\nnon-compact group."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Alternative conformal quantum mechanics: We investigate a one dimensional quantum mechanical model, which is invariant\nunder translations and dilations but does not respect the conventional\nconformal invariance. We describe the possibility of modifying the conventional\nconformal transformation such that a scale invariant theory is also invariant\nunder this new conformal transformation.",
        "positive": "On the nullification of threshold amplitudes: The nullification of threshold amplitudes is considered within the\nconventional framework of quantum field theory. The relevant Ward identities\nfor the reduced theory are derived both on path-integral and diagrammatic\nlevels. They are then used to prove the vanishing of tree-graph threshold\namplitudes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A brane in five-dimensional Minkowski space: We discuss the propagation of gravity in five-dimensional Minkowski space in\nthe presence of a four-dimensional brane. We show that there exists a solution\nto the wave equation that leads to a propagator exhibiting four-dimensional\nbehavior at low energies (long distances) with five-dimensional effects showing\nup as corrections at high energies (short distances). We compare our results\nwith propagators derived in previous analyses exhibiting five-dimensional\nbehavior at low energies. We show that different solutions correspond to\ndifferent physical systems.",
        "positive": "Spontaneous Symmetry Breaking as the Mechanism of Quantum Measurement: It is proposed that an event that constitutes a quantum measurement\ncorresponds to the spontaneous breaking of a symmetry in the measuring device\nover time."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A New Solution to the Callan Rubakov Effect: In this paper we study the scattering of massive fermions off of smooth,\nspherically symmetric monopoles in $4d$ $SU(2)$ gauge theory. We propose a\ncomplete physical picture of the monopole-fermion interaction which encompasses\nall angular momentum modes. We show that as an in-going fermion scatters off a\nmonopole, it excites trapped $W$-bosons in the monopole core by a version of\nthe Witten effect so that the monopole can accrue charge and transform into a\ndyon at parametrically low energies. The imparted electric charge is then\nprotected from decay by an emergent $\\mathbb{Z}_N$ generalized global symmetry,\ncreating a stable dyon. At sufficiently low energies, the scattered fermion can\nbe trapped by the dyon's electrostatic potential, forming a bound state, which\ncan decay into spherically symmetric fermion modes subject to the preserved\n$\\mathbb{Z}_N$ global symmetry. We propose that monopole-fermion scattering can\nbe described in this way without needing to add ``new'' states to the Hilbert\nspace, thereby eliminating a long standing confusion in the Callan Rubakov\neffect.",
        "positive": "Rotating Black Holes in Cubic Gravity: Using on-shell amplitude methods, we derive a rotating black hole solution in\na generic theory of Einstein gravity with additional terms cubic in the Riemann\ntensor. We give an explicit expression for the metric in Einsteinian Cubic\nGravity (ECG) and low energy effective string theory, which correctly\nreproduces the previously discovered solutions in the zero angular-momentum\nlimit. We show that at first order in the coupling, the classical potential can\nbe written to all orders in spin as a differential operator acting on the\nnon-rotating potential, and we comment on the relation to the Janis-Newman\nalgorithm. Furthermore, we derive the classical impulse and scattering angle\nfor such a black hole and comment on the phenomenological interest of such\nquantities."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Thermalization and entanglement following a non-relativistic holographic\n  quench: We develop a holographic model for thermalization following a quench near a\nquantum critical point with non-trivial dynamical critical exponent. The\nanti-de Sitter Vaidya null collapse geometry is generalized to asymptotically\nLifshitz spacetime. Non-local observables such as two-point functions and\nentanglement entropy in this background then provide information about the\nlength and time scales relevant to thermalization. The propagation of\nthermalization exhibits similar \"horizon\" behavior as has been seen previously\nin the conformal case and we give a heuristic argument for why it also appears\nhere. Finally, analytic upper bounds are obtained for the thermalization rates\nof the non-local observables.",
        "positive": "Inflationary Constraints on Type IIA String Theory: We prove that inflation is forbidden in the most well understood class of\nsemi-realistic type IIA string compactifications: Calabi-Yau compactifications\nwith only standard NS-NS 3-form flux, R-R fluxes, D6-branes and O6-planes at\nlarge volume and small string coupling. With these ingredients, the first\nslow-roll parameter satisfies epsilon >= 27/13 whenever V > 0, ruling out both\ninflation (including brane/anti-brane inflation) and de Sitter vacua in this\nlimit. Our proof is based on the dependence of the 4-dimensional potential on\nthe volume and dilaton moduli in the presence of fluxes and branes. We also\ndescribe broader classes of IIA models which may include cosmologies with\ninflation and/or de Sitter vacua. The inclusion of extra ingredients, such as\nNS 5-branes and geometric or non-geometric NS-NS fluxes, evades the assumptions\nused in deriving the no-go theorem. We focus on NS 5-branes and outline how\nsuch ingredients may prove fruitful for cosmology, but we do not provide an\nexplicit model. We contrast the results of our IIA analysis with the rather\ndifferent situation in IIB."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spin Connections and Classification of Inequivalent Quantizations: We discuss an extension of the quantization method based on the induced\nrepresentation of the canonical group.",
        "positive": "Perturbative BF-Yang-Mills theory on noncommutative R^4: A U(1) BF-Yang-Mills theory on noncommutative ${\\mathbb{R}}^4$ is presented\nand in this formulation the U(1) Yang-Mills theory on noncommutative\n${\\mathbb{R}}^4$ is seen as a deformation of the pure BF theory. Quantization\nusing BRST symmetry formalism is discussed and Feynman rules are given.\nComputations at one-loop order have been performed and their renormalization\nstudied. It is shown that the U(1) BFYM on noncommutative ${\\mathbb{R}}^4$ is\nasymptotically free and its UV-behaviour in the computation of the\n$\\beta$-function is like the usual SU(N) commutative BFYM and Yang Mills\ntheories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "More stable dS vacua from S-dual non-geometric fluxes: Stable vacua obtained from isotropic tori compactification might not be fully\nstable provided the existence of runaway directions in the Kaehler directions\nof anisotropy. By implementing a genetic algorithm we report the existence of\nexplicit flux configurations leading to stable de Sitter and Anti- de Sitter\nvacua, consisting on Type IIB compactifications on a 6-dimensional anisotropic\ntorus threaded with standard and S-dual invariant non-geometric fluxes in the\npresence of orientifold 3-planes. In all dS vacua the masses of the complex\nstructure moduli are heavier than the Hubble scale suggesting that the\naxio-dilaton and Kaeahler moduli are natural candidates for small-field\ninflation. In the way, we also report new solutions on isotropic and\nsemi-isotropic tori compactifications. Finally, we observe that, since all our\nsolutions are obtained in the absence of solitonic objects, they are good\ncandidates to be lifted to stable solutions in extended supersymmetric\ntheories.",
        "positive": "On covariant quantization of M0-brane. Spinor moving frame, pure spinor\n  formalism and hidden symmetries of D=11 supergravity: The covariant quantization of massless D=11 superparticle (M0-brane) in its\ntwistor-like Lorentz harmonic formulation is used to clarify the origin and\nsome properties of the Berkovits pure spinor approach to quantum superstring\nand to search for hidden symmetries of D=11 supergravity. In the twistor like\nLorentz harmonic formulation, the SO(16) symmetry is seen already at the\nclassical level. The quantization produces the linearized supergravity\nmultiplet as 128+128=256 component Majorana spinor of SO(16) and also shows an\nindirect argument in favor of the possible E8 symmetry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Numerical evaluation of spherical GJMS determinants for even dimensions: The functional determinants of the GJMS scalar operators, P_{2k}, on\neven-dimensional spheres are computed via Barnes multiple gamma functions\nrelying on the numerical availability of the digamma function. For the critical\nk=d/2 case, it is necessary to calculate the Stirling moduli. The\nmultiplicative anomalies are given as odd polynomials in $k$ and it is\nemphasised that that the Dirichlet--to--Robin factorisation, P_{2l+1}, gives\nthe same results as P_{2k} if k=l+1/2.The results are presented as graphs and\nshow a series of extrema in the effective action as k is varied in the reals.\nFor odd dimensions these extrema occur at integer k.",
        "positive": "Higher Spin Currents with Arbitrary N in the N=1 Stringy Coset Minimal\n  Model: In the N=1 supersymmetric coset model based on (A_{N-1}^{(1)} \\oplus\nA_{N-1}^{(1)}, A_{N-1}^{(1)}) at level (k, N), the lowest N=1 higher spin\nsupercurrent with spins-(5/2, 3), in terms of two independent numerator WZW\ncurrents, is reviewed. By calculating the operator product expansions (OPE)\nbetween this N=1 higher spin supercurrent and itself, the next two N=1 higher\nspin supercurrents can be generated with spins-(7/2, 4) and (4, 9/2). These\nfour currents are polynomials of degree 3, 4, 4, 4 in the first numerator WZW\ncurrents with level k. The complete nonlinear OPE of the lowest N=1 higher spin\nsupercurrent for general N is obtained. The three-point functions involving two\nscalar primaries with one spin-2 current or spin-3 current are calculated in\nthe large N limit for all values of the 't Hooft coupling. In particular, the\nlight states that appeared in the case when the second level was fixed by 1 are\nno longer light ones because the eigenvalues are finite in the large N limit."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Mean Field Method Applied To The New World Sheet Field Theory: String\n  Formation: The present article is based on a previous one, where a second quantized\nfield theory on the world sheet for summing the planar graphs of phi^3 theory\nwas developed. In this earlier work, the ground state of the model was\ndetermined using a variational approximation. Here, starting with the same\nworld sheet theory, we instead use the mean field method to compute the ground\nstate, and find results in agreement with the variational calculation. Apart\nfrom serving as a check on the variational calculation, the mean field method\nenables us to go beyond the ground state to compute the excited states of the\nmodel. The spectrum of these states is that of a string with linear\ntrajectories, plus a continuum that starts at higher energy. We show that, by\nappropriately tuning the parameters of the model, the string spectrum can be\ncleanly seperated from the continuum.",
        "positive": "Exact solutions in $\\mathcal{R}^{2}$ SUGRA: This letter is devoted to show that the bosonic sector of the\n$\\mathcal{R}^{2}$-SUGRA in four dimensions, constructed with the F-term, admits\na variety of exact and analytic solutions which include, pp- and AdS waves,\nasymptotically flat and AdS black holes and wormholes, as well as product\nspacetimes. The existence of static black holes and wormholes implies that a\ncombination involving the Ricci scalar plus the norm of the field strength of\nthe auxiliary two-form $B_{\\mu\\nu}$, must be a constant. We focus on this\nsector of the theory which has two subsectors depending on whether such a\ncombination vanishes or not."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-invertible symmetries along 4d RG flows: We explore novel examples of RG flows preserving a non-invertible\nself-duality symmetry. Our main focus is on $\\mathcal{N}=1$ quadratic\nsuperpotential deformations of 4d $\\mathcal{N}=4$ super-Yang-Mills theory with\ngauge algebra $\\mathfrak{su}(N)$. A theory that can be obtained in this way is\nthe so-called $\\mathcal{N}=1^*$ SYM where all adjoint chiral multiplets have a\nmass. Such IR theory exhibits a rich structure of vacua which we thoroughly\nexamine. Our analysis elucidates the physics of spontaneous breaking of\nself-duality symmetry occurring in the degenerate gapped vacua. The\nconstruction can be generalized, taking as UV starting point a theory of class\n$\\mathcal{S}$, to demonstrate how non-invertible self-duality symmetries exist\nin a variety of $\\mathcal{N}=1$ SCFTs. We finally apply this understanding to\nprove that the conifold theory has a non-invertible self-duality symmetry.",
        "positive": "An admissible level $\\widehat{\\mathfrak{osp}} \\left( 1 \\middle\\vert 2\n  \\right)$-model: modular transformations and the Verlinde formula: The modular properties of the simple vertex operator superalgebra associated\nto the affine Kac-Moody superalgebra $\\widehat{\\mathfrak{osp}} \\left( 1\n\\middle\\vert 2 \\right)$ at level $-\\frac{5}{4}$ are investigated. After\nclassifying the relaxed highest-weight modules over this vertex operator\nsuperalgebra, the characters and supercharacters of the simple weight modules\nare computed and their modular transforms are determined. This leads to a\ncomplete list of the Grothendieck fusion rules by way of a continuous\nsuperalgebraic analogue of the Verlinde formula. All Grothendieck fusion\ncoefficients are observed to be non-negative integers. These results indicate\nthat the extension to general admissible levels will follow using the same\nmethodology once the classification of relaxed highest-weight modules is\ncompleted."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gravitational Memory in Higher Dimensions: It is shown that there is a universal gravitational memory effect measurable\nby inertial detectors in even spacetime dimensions $d\\geq 4$. The effect falls\noff at large radius $r$ as $r^{3-d}$. Moreover this memory effect sits at one\ncorner of an infrared triangle with the other two corners occupied by\nWeinberg's soft graviton theorem and infinite-dimensional asymptotic\nsymmetries.",
        "positive": "Computation of Yukawa Couplings for Calabi-Yau Hypersurfaces in Weighted\n  Projective Spaces: Greene, Morrison and Plesser \\cite{GMP} have recently suggested a general\nmethod for constructing a mirror map between a $d$-dimensional Calabi-Yau\nhypersurface and its mirror partner for $d > 3$. We apply their method to\nsmooth hypersurfaces in weighted projective spaces and compute the Chern\nnumbers of holomorphic curves on these hypersurfaces. As anticipated, the\nresults satisfy nontrivial integrality constraints. These examples differ from\nthose studied previously in that standard methods of algebraic geometry which\nwork in the ordinary projective space case for low degree curves are not\ngenerally applicable. In the limited special cases in which they do work we can\nget independent predictions, and we find agreement with our results."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Cosmic Strings Stabilized by Fermion Fluctuations: We provide a thorough exposition of recent results on the quantum\nstabilization of cosmic strings. Stabilization occurs through the coupling to a\nheavy fermion doublet in a reduced version of the standard model. The study\ncombines the vacuum polarization energy of fermion zero-point fluctuations and\nthe binding energy of occupied energy levels, which are of the same order in a\nsemi-classical expansion. Populating these bound states assigns a charge to the\nstring. Strings carrying fermion charge become stable if the Higgs and gauge\nfields are coupled to a fermion that is less than twice as heavy as the top\nquark. The vacuum remains stable in the model, because neutral strings are not\nenergetically favored. These findings suggest that extraordinarily large\nfermion masses or unrealistic couplings are not required to bind a cosmic\nstring in the standard model.",
        "positive": "Semi-classical Approach to Charged Dilatonic Black Hole in Two\n  Dimensions: We consider exactly solvable semi-classical theory of two dimensional\ndilatonic gravity with electromagnetic interactions. As was done in the paper\nby Russo, Susskind and Thorlacius, the term which changes the kinetic term is\nadded to the action. The theory contains massless fermions as matter fields and\nthere appear the quantum corrections including chiral anomaly. The screening\neffect due to the chiral anomaly has a tendency to cloak the singularity. In a\nregion of the parameter space, the essential behavior of the theory is similar\nto that of Callan, Giddings, Harvey and Strominger's dilatonic black hole\ntheory modified in the paper by Russo, Susskind and Thorlacius and the\nsingularity formed by the collapsing matter emerges naked. We find, however,\nanother region of the parameter space where the singularity disappears in a\nfinite proper time. Furthermore, in the region of the parameter space, there\nappears a discontinuity in the metric on the trajectory of the collapsing\nmatter, which would be a signal of topology change"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Heat kernel expansion for higher order minimal and nonminimal operators: We build a systematic calculational method for the covariant expansion of the\ntwo-point heat kernel $\\hat K(\\tau|x,x')$ for generic minimal and non-minimal\ndifferential operators of any order. This is the expansion in powers of\ndimensional background field objects -- the coefficients of the operator and\nthe corresponding spacetime and vector bundle curvatures, suitable in\nrenormalization and effective field theory applications. For minimal operators\nwhose principal symbol is given by an arbitrary power of the covariant\nLaplacian $(-\\Box)^M$, $M>1$, this result generalizes the well-known\nSchwinger--DeWitt (or Seeley--Gilkey) expansion to the infinite series of\npositive and negative fractional powers of the proper time $\\tau^{1/M}$,\nweighted by the generalized exponential functions of the dimensionless argument\n$-\\sigma(x,x')/2\\tau^{1/M}$ depending on the Synge world function\n$\\sigma(x,x')$. The coefficients of this series are determined by the chain of\nauxiliary differential operators acting on the two-point parallel transport\ntensor, which in their turn follow from the solution of special recursive\nequations. The derivation of these operators and their recursive equations are\nbased on the covariant Fourier transform in curved spacetime. The series of\nnegative fractional powers of $\\tau$ vanishes in the coincidence limit $x'=x$,\nwhich makes the proposed method consistent with the heat kernel theory of\nSeeley--Gilkey and generalizes it beyond the heat kernel diagonal in the form\nof the asymptotic expansion in the domain $\\sigma(x,x')\\ll\\tau^{1/M}$, $\\tau\\to\n0$.$\\nabla^a\\sigma(x,x')\\ll\\tau^{1/2M}$, $\\tau\\to 0$.",
        "positive": "Towards a 2d QFT Analog of the SYK Model: We propose a 2D QFT generalization of the Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev model, which we\nargue preserves most of its features. The UV limit of the model is described by\n$N$ copies of a topological Ising CFT. The full interacting model exhibits\nconformal symmetry in the IR and an emergent pseudo-Goldstone mode that arises\nfrom broken reparametrization symmetry. We find that the effective action of\nthe Goldstone mode matches with the 3D AdS gravity action, viewed as a\nfunctional of the boundary metric. We compute the spectral density and show\nthat the leading deviation from conformal invariance looks like a $T \\bar{T}$\ndeformation. We comment on the relation between the IR effective action and\nLiouville CFT."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Deformed supergravity with local R-symmetry: Using deformation theory based on BRST cohomology, a supergravity model is\nconstructed which interpolates through a continuous deformation parameter\nbetween new minimal supergravity with an extra U(1) gauge multiplet and\nstandard supergravity with local R-symmetry in a formulation with a nonstandard\nset of auxiliary fields. The deformation implements an electromagnetic duality\nrelating the extra U(1) to the R-symmetry. A consistent representative of the\nR-anomaly in the model is proposed too.",
        "positive": "The equivalence between the operator approach and the path integral\n  approach for quantum mechanical non-linear sigma models: We give background material and some details of calculations for two recent\npapers [1,2] where we derived a path integral representation of the transition\nelement for supersymmetric and nonsupersymmetric nonlinear sigma models in one\ndimension (quantum mechanics). Our approach starts from a Hamiltonian\n$H(\\hat{x}, \\hat{p}, \\hat{\\psi}, \\hat{\\psi}^\\dagger)$ with a priori operator\nordering. By inserting a finite number of complete sets of $x$ eigenstates, $p$\neigenstates and fermionic coherent states, we obtain the discretized path\nintegral and the discretized propagators and vertices in closed form. Taking\nthe continuum limit we read off the Feynman rules and measure of the continuum\ntheory which differ from those often assumed. In particular, mode\nregularization of the continuum theory is shown in an example to give incorrect\nresults. As a consequence of time-slicing, the action and Feynman rules,\nalthough without any ambiguities, are necessarily noncovariant, but the final\nresults are covariant if $\\hat{H}$ is covariant. All our derivations are exact.\nTwo loop calculations confirm our results."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holomorphic Bundles and the Moduli Space of N=1 Supersymmetric Heterotic\n  Compactifications: We describe the first order moduli space of heterotic string theory\ncompactifications which preserve $N=1$ supersymmetry in four dimensions, that\nis, the infinitesimal parameter space of the Strominger system. We establish\nthat if we promote a connection on $TX$ to a field, the moduli space\ncorresponds to deformations of a holomorphic structure $\\bar D$ on a bundle\n$\\cal Q$. The bundle $\\cal Q$ is constructed as an extension by the cotangent\nbundle $T^*X$ of the bundle $E= {\\rm End}(V) \\oplus {\\rm End}(TX) \\oplus TX$\nwith an extension class $\\cal H$ which precisely enforces the anomaly\ncancelation condition. The deformations corresponding to the bundle $E$ are\nsimultaneous deformations of the holomorphic structures on the poly-stable\nbundles $V$ and $TX$ together with those of the complex structure of $X$. We\ndiscuss the fact that the \"moduli\" corresponding to ${\\rm End}(TX)$ cannot be\nphysical, but are however needed in our mathematical structure to be able to\nenforce the anomaly cancelation condition. In the Appendix we comment on the\nchoice of connection on $TX$ which has caused some confusion in the community\nbefore. It has been shown by Ivanov and others that this connection should also\nsatisfy the instanton equations, and we give another proof of this fact.",
        "positive": "Limits on extra dimensions in orbifold compactifications of superstrings: Perturbative breaking of supersymmetry in four-dimensional string theories\npredict in general the existence of new large dimensions at the TeV scale. Such\ndimensions can be consistent with perturbative unification up to the Planck\nscale in a class of string models and open the exciting possibility of lowering\na part of the massive string spectrum at energies accessible to future\naccelerators. The main signature is the production of Kaluza-Klein excitations\nwhich have a very particular structure, strongly correlated with the\nsupersymmetry breaking mechanism. We present a model independent analysis of\nthe physics of these states in the context of orbifold compactifications of the\nheterotic superstring. In particular, we compute the limits on the size of\nlarge dimensions used to break supersymmetry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Black holes in asymptotically Lifshitz spacetimes with arbitrary\n  critical exponent: Recently, a class of gravitational backgrounds in 3+1 dimensions have been\nproposed as holographic duals to a Lifshitz theory describing critical\nphenomena in 2+1 dimensions with critical exponent $z\\geq 1$. We numerically\nexplore black holes in these backgrounds for a range of values of $z$. We find\ndrastically different behavior for $z>2$ and $z<2$. We find that for $z>2$\n($z<2$) the Lifshitz fixed point is repulsive (attractive) when going to larger\nradial parameter $r$. For the repulsive $z>2$ backgrounds, we find a continuous\nfamily of black holes satisfying a finite energy condition. However, for $z<2$\nwe find that the finite energy condition is more restrictive, and we expect\nonly a discrete set of black hole solutions, unless some unexpected\ncancellations occur. For all black holes, we plot temperature $T$ as a function\nof horizon radius $r_0$. For $z\\lessapprox 1.761$ we find that this curve\ndevelops a negative slope for certain values of $r_0$ possibly indicating a\nthermodynamic instability.",
        "positive": "Dynamics of Multiple Kaluza-Klein Monopoles in M- and String Theory: We analyse the world-volume theory of multiple Kaluza-Klein monopoles in\nstring and M-theory by identifying the appropriate zero modes of various\nfields. The results are consistent with supersymmetry, and all conjectured\nduality symmetries. In particular for M-theory and type IIA string theory, the\nlow energy dynamics of N Kaluza-Klein monopoles is described by supersymmetric\nU(N) gauge theory, and for type IIB string theory, the low energy dynamics is\ndescribed by a (2,0) supersymmetric field theory in (5+1) dimensions with N\ntensor multiplets and tensionless self-dual strings. It is also argued that for\nthe Kaluza-Klein monopoles in heterotic string theory, the apparently flat\nmoduli space gets converted to the moduli space of BPS monopoles in SU(2) gauge\ntheory when higher derivative corrections to the supergravity equations of\nmotion are taken into account."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "An Introduction to On-shell Recursion Relations: This article provides an introduction to on-shell recursion relations for\ncalculations of tree-level amplitudes. Starting with the basics, such as spinor\nnotations and color decompositions, we expose analytic properties of\ngauge-boson amplitudes, BCFW-deformations, the large $z$-behavior of\namplitudes, and on-shell recursion relations of gluons. We discuss further\ndevelopments of on-shell recursion relations, including generalization to other\nquantum field theories, supersymmetric theories in particular, recursion\nrelations for off-shell currents, recursion relation with nonzero boundary\ncontributions, bonus relations, relations for rational parts of one-loop\namplitudes, recursion relations in 3D and a proof of CSW rules. Finally, we\npresent samples of applications, including solutions of split helicity\namplitudes and of N= 4 SYM theories, consequences of consistent conditions\nunder recursion relation, Kleiss-Kuijf (KK) and Bern-Carrasco-Johansson (BCJ)\nrelations for color-ordered gluon tree amplitudes, Kawai-Lewellen-Tye (KLT)\nrelations.",
        "positive": "Aspects of Causality and Unitarity and Comments on Vortex-like\n  Configurations in an Abelian Model with a Lorentz-Breaking Term: The gauge-invariant Chern-Simons-type Lorentz- and CPT-breaking term is here\nreassessed and a spin-projector method is adopted to account for the breaking\n(vector) parameter. Issues like causality, unitarity, spontaneous\ngauge-symmetry breaking and vortex formation are investigated, and consistency\nconditions on the external vector are identified."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chiral matter and transitions in heterotic string models: In the framework of N=1 supersymmetric string models given by the heterotic\nstring on an elliptic Calabi-Yau $\\pi :Z\\ra B$ together with a SU(n) bundle we\ncompute the chiral matter content of the massless spectrum. For this purpose\nthe net generation number, i.e. half the third Chern class, is computed from\ndata related to the heterotic vector bundle in the spectral cover description;\na non-technical introduction to that method is supplied. This invariant is, in\nthe class of bundles considered, shown to be related to a discrete modulus\nwhich is the heterotic analogue of the $F$-theory four-flux. We consider also\nthe relevant matter which is supported along certain curves in the base $B$ and\nderive the net generation number again from the independent matter-related\ncomputation. We then illustrate these considerations with two applications.\nFirst we show that the construction leads to numerous 3 generation models of\nunbroken gauge group $SU(5), SO(10)$ or $E_6$. Secondly we discuss the closely\nrelated issue of the heterotic 5-brane/instanton transition resp. the\nF-theoretic 3-brane/instanton transition. The extra chiral matter in these\ntransitions is related to the Hecke transform of the direct sum of the original\nbundle and the dissolved 5-brane along the intersection of their spectral\ncovers. Finally we point to the corresponding $F$-theory interpretation of\nchiral matter from the intersection of 7-branes where the influence of\nfour-flux on the twisting along the intersection curve plays a crucial role.",
        "positive": "Massive minimal subtraction scheme and \"partial-$p$\" in anisotropic\n  Lifshitz space(time)s: We introduce the \"partial-$p$\" operation in a massive Euclidean\n$\\lambda\\phi^{4}$ scalar field theory describing anisotropic Lifshitz critical\nbehavior. We then develop a minimal subtraction a la\n$Bogoliubov-Parasyuk-Hepp-Zimmermann$ renormalization scheme. As an application\nwe compute critical exponents diagrammatically using the orthogonal\napproximation at least up to two-loop order and show their equivalence with\nother renormalization techniques. We discuss possible applications of the\nmethod in other field-theoretic contexts."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "D-strings and F-strings from string loops: Since the background fields of the string low energy action are supposed to\nbe the long range manifestation of a condensate of strings, the addition of\nworld sheet actions to the low energy effective action needs some string\ntheoretic explanation. In this paper we suggest that this may be understood, as\nbeing due to string loop effects. We first present arguments using an equation\ndue to Tseytlin and then more rigorously in the particular case of type IIB\ntheory by invoking the Fischler-Susskind effect. The argument provides further\njustification for ${\\rm SL}(2,Z)$ duality between D-strings and\nF(fundamental)-strings. In an appendix we comment on recent attempts to relate\nthe type IIA membrane to the 11-dimensional membrane.",
        "positive": "Finite Size Giant Magnon: The quantization of the giant magnon away from the infinite size limit is\ndiscussed. We argue that this quantization inevitably leads to string theory on\na Z_M-orbifold of S^5. This is shown explicitly and examined in detail in the\nnear plane-wave limit."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Orientifolds, RR Torsion, and K-theory: We analyze the role of RR fluxes in orientifold backgrounds from the point of\nview of K-theory, and demonstrate some physical implications of describing\nthese fluxes in K-theory rather than cohomology. In particular, we show that\ncertain fractional shifts in RR charge quantization due to discrete RR fluxes\nare naturally explained in K-theory. We also show that some orientifold\nbackgrounds, which are considered distinct in the cohomology classification,\nbecome equivalent in the K-theory description, while others become unphysical.",
        "positive": "Heat-kernel coefficients of the Laplace operator on the D-dimensional\n  ball: We present a very quick and powerful method for the calculation of\nheat-kernel coefficients. It makes use of rather common ideas, as integral\nrepresentations of the spectral sum, Mellin transforms, non-trivial commutation\nof series and integrals and skilful analytic continuation of zeta functions on\nthe complex plane. We apply our method to the case of the heat-kernel expansion\nof the Laplace operator on a $D$-dimensional ball with either Dirichlet,\nNeumann or, in general, Robin boundary conditions. The final formulas are quite\nsimple. Using this case as an example, we illustrate in detail our scheme\n---which serves for the calculation of an (in principle) arbitrary number of\nheat-kernel coefficients in any situation when the basis functions are known.\nWe provide a complete list of new results for the coefficients\n$B_3,...,B_{10}$, corresponding to the $D$-dimensional ball with all the\nmentioned boundary conditions and $D=3,4,5$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "New numerical results and novel effective string predictions for Wilson\n  loops: We compute the prediction of the Nambu-Goto effective string model for a\nrectangular Wilson loop up to three loops. This is done through the use of an\noperatorial, first order formulation and of the open string analogues of\nboundary states. This result is interesting since there are universality\ntheorems stating that the predictions up to three loops are common to all\neffective string models. To test the effective string prediction, we set up the\nMontecarlo evaluation, in the 3d Ising gauge model, of an observable (the ratio\nof two Wilson loops with the same perimeter) for which boundary effects are\nrelatively small. Our simulation attains a level of precision which is\nsufficient to test the two-loop correction. The three-loop correction seems to\ngo in the right direction, but is actually yet beyond the reach of our\nsimulation, since its effect is comparable with the statistical errors of the\nlatter.",
        "positive": "Supersymmetric Pair Correlation Function of Wilson Loops: We give a path integral derivation of the annulus diagram in a supersymmetric\ntheory of open and closed strings with Dbranes. We compute the pair correlation\nfunction of Wilson loops in the generic weakly coupled supersymmetric flat\nspacetime background with Dbranes. We obtain a -u^4/r^9 potential between heavy\nnonrelativistic sources in a supersymmetric gauge theory at short distances."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Intersecting domain walls in MQCD: We argue that MQCD admits intersecting domain walls that are realized as\nCayley calibrations of the MQCD M5-brane. We discuss various dual realizations\nand comment on how branes can realise domain walls in N=1 supersymmetric\ntheories in D=3.",
        "positive": "Moduli Stabilisation versus Chirality for MSSM like Type IIB\n  Orientifolds: We investigate the general question of implementing a chiral MSSM like\nD-brane sector in Type IIB orientifold models with complete moduli\nstabilisation via F-terms induced by fluxes and space-time instantons,\nrespectively gaugino condensates. The prototype examples are the KKLT and the\nso-called large volume compactifications. We show that the ansatz of first\nstabilising all moduli via F-terms and then introducing the Standard Model\nmodule is misleading, as a chiral sector notoriously influences the structure\nof non-perturbative effects and induces a D-term potential. Focusing for\nconcreteness on the large volume scenario, we work out the geometry of the\nswiss-cheese type Calabi-Yau manifold P_[1,3,3,3,5][15]_(3,75) and analyse\nwhether controllable and phenomenologically acceptable Kaehler moduli\nstabilisation can occur by the combination of F- and D-terms."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Representation of the Virasoro Algebra via Wigner-Heisenberg Algebraic\n  Technique to Bosonic Systems: Using the Wigner-Heisenberg algebra for bosonic systems in connection with\noscillators we find a new representation for the Virasoro algebra.",
        "positive": "A note on the KP hierarchy: Given the two boson representation of the conformal algebra \\hat W_\\infty,\nthe second Hamiltonian structure of the KP hierarchy, I construct a\nbi-Hamiltonian hierarchy for the two associated currents. The KP hierarchy\nappears as a composite of this new and simpler system. The bi-Hamiltonian\nstructure of the new hierarchy gives naturally all the Hamiltonian structures\nof the KP system."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hydrodynamics Beyond the Gradient Expansion: Resurgence and Resummation: Consistent formulations of relativistic viscous hydrodynamics involve short\nlived modes, leading to asymptotic rather than convergent gradient expansions.\nIn this Letter we consider the Mueller-Israel-Stewart theory applied to a\nlongitudinally expanding quark-gluon plasma system and identify hydrodynamics\nas a universal attractor without invoking the gradient expansion. We give\nstrong evidence for the existence of this attractor and then show that it can\nbe recovered from the divergent gradient expansion by Borel summation. This\nrequires careful accounting for the short-lived modes which leads to an\nintricate mathematical structure known from the theory of resurgence.",
        "positive": "Scale-separated AdS$_4$ vacua of IIA orientifolds and M-theory: We revisit various aspects of AdS$_4$ flux vacua with scale separation in\ntype II supergravity and M-theory. We show that massless IIA allows both weakly\nand strongly coupled solutions for which the classical orientifold backreaction\ncan be tuned small. This is explicitly verified by computing the backreaction\nat leading order in perturbation theory. We give evidence that the strongly\ncoupled solutions can be lifted to scale-separated and sourceless (but\nclassically singular) geometries in 11D supergravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Self-dual $CP(2)$ vortex-like solitons in the presence of magnetic\n  impurities: We investigate the existence of vortex configurations in two gauged-$CP(2)$\nmodels extended via the inclusion of magnetic impurities. In particular, we\nconsider both the Maxwell-$CP(2)$ and the Chern-Simons-$CP(2)$ enlarged\nscenarios, separately. We choose a $CP(2)$-field configuration with a null\ntopological charge not only in the simplest (free) case, but also when coupled\nto an Abelian gauge field. The implementation of the\nBogomol'nyi-Prasad-Sommerfield (BPS) formalism shows that the effective models\nfor such a configuration possess a self-dual structure which looks like those\ninherent to the gauged sigma models. Therefore, when the $CP(2)$ field is\ncoupled to the Maxwell term, the corresponding total energy possesses both a\nwell-defined Bogomol'nyi bound and a quantized magnetic flux. Further, when the\n$CP(2)$ scenario is gauged with the Chern-Simons action, the total electric\ncharge is verified to be proportional to the quantized magnetic flux. In\naddition, the analysis verifies that the magnetic impurity contributes to the\nBPS potentials and appears in both the models' BPS equations. Next, we\nintroduce a Gaussian type impurity and solve the self-dual equations via a\nfinite-difference scheme. The resulting solutions present a nonmonotonic\nbehavior that flips both the magnetic and electric fields. Finally, we discuss\nthe topologically trivial solutions in the limit for which the impurity becomes\na Dirac $\\delta $-function.",
        "positive": "Restoration and Dynamical Breakdown of the \u03c6\\to -\u03c6Symmetry in\n  the (1+1)-dimensional Massive sine-Gordon Field Theory: Within the framework of the Gaussian wave-functional approach, we investigate\nthe influences of quantum and finite-temperature effects on the\nZ_2-symmetry(\\phi \\to -\\phi) of the (1+1)-dimensional massive sine-Gordon field\ntheory. It is explicitly demonstrated that by quantum effects the Z_2-symmetry\ncan be restored in one region of the parameter space and dynamically\nspontaneously broken in another region. Moreover, a finite-temperature effect\ncan further restore the Z_2-symmetry only."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "AdS$_4$/CFT$_3$ from Weak to Strong String Coupling: We consider the four-point function of operators in the stress tensor\nmultiplet of the $U(N)_k\\times U(N)_{-k}$ ABJM theory, in the limit where $N$\nis taken to infinity while $N/k^{5}$ is held fixed. In this limit, ABJM theory\nis holographically dual to type IIA string theory on $AdS_4\\times\n\\mathbb{CP}^3$ at finite string coupling $g_s \\sim (N/k^5)^{1/4}$. While at\nleading order in $1/N$, the stress tensor multiplet four-point function can be\ncomputed from type IIA supergravity, in this work we focus on the first\nsubleading correction, which comes from tree level Witten diagrams with an\n$R^4$ interaction vertex. Using superconformal Ward identities, bulk locality,\nand the mass deformed sphere free energy previously computed to all orders in\n$1/N$ from supersymmetric localization, we determine this $R^4$ correction as a\nfunction of $N/k^5$. Taking its flat space limit, we recover the known $R^4$\ncontribution to the type IIA S-matrix and reproduce the fact that it only\nreceives perturbative contributions in $g_s$ from genus zero and genus one\nstring worldsheets. This is the first check of AdS/CFT at finite $g_s$ for\nlocal operators. Our result for the four-point correlator interpolates between\nthe large $N$, large 't Hooft coupling limit and the large $N$ finite $k$\nlimit. From the bulk perspective, this is an interpolation between type IIA\nstring theory on $AdS_4\\times \\mathbb{CP}^3$ at small string coupling and\nM-theory on $AdS_4\\times S^7/\\mathbb{Z}_k$.",
        "positive": "Divergences in the rate of complexification: It is conjectured that the average energy provides an upper bound on the rate\nat which the complexity of a holographic boundary state grows. In this paper,\nwe perturb a holographic CFT by a relevant operator with a time-dependent\ncoupling, and study the complexity of the time-dependent state using the\n\\textit{complexity equals action} and the \\textit{complexity equals volume}\nconjectures. We find that the rate of complexification according to both of\nthese conjectures has UV divergences, whereas the instantaneous energy is UV\nfinite. This implies that neither the \\textit{complexity equals action} nor\n\\textit{complexity equals volume} conjecture is consistent with the conjectured\nbound on the rate of complexification."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The two-loop six-point amplitude in ABJM theory: In this paper we present the first analytic computation of the six-point\ntwo-loop amplitude of ABJM theory. We show that the two-loop amplitude consist\nof corrections proportional to two distinct local Yangian invariants which can\nbe identified as the tree- and the one-loop amplitude respectively. The\ntwo-loop correction proportional to the tree-amplitude is identical to the\none-loop BDS result of N=4 SYM plus an additional remainder function, while the\ncorrection proportional to the one-loop amplitude is finite. Both the remainder\nand the finite correction are dual conformal invariant, which implies that the\ntwo-loop dual conformal anomaly equation for ABJM is again identical to that of\none-loop N=4 SYM, as was first observed at four-point. We discuss the theory on\nthe Higgs branch, showing that its amplitudes are infrared finite, but equal,\nin the small mass limit, to those obtained in dimensional regularization.",
        "positive": "Conformally Exact Results for SL(2,R)\\times SO(1,1)^{d-2}/SO(1,1) Coset\n  Models: Using the conformal invariance of the $SL(2,R)\\otimes SO(1,1)^{d-2}/SO(1,1)$\ncoset models we calculate the conformally exact metric and dilaton, to all\norders in the $1/k$ expansion. We consider both vector and axial gauging. We\nfind that these cosets represent two different space--time geometries: ($2d$\nblack hole)$\\otimes \\IR^{d-2}$ for the vector gauging and ($3d$ black\nstring)$\\otimes \\IR^{d-3}$ for the axial one. In particular for $d=3$ and for\nthe axial gauging one obtains the exact metric and dilaton of the charged black\nstring model introduced by Horne and Horowitz. If the value of $k$ is finite we\nfind two curvature singularities which degenerate to one in the semi--classical\n$k\\to \\infty$ limit. We also calculate the reflection and transmission\ncoefficients for the scattering of a tachyon wave and using the Bogoliubov\ntransformation we find the Hawking temperature."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Conformal Field Theory of a Rotating Dyon: A conformal field theory representing a four-dimensional classical solution\nof heterotic string theory is presented. The low-energy limit of this solution\nhas U(1) electric and magnetic charges, and also nontrivial axion and dilaton\nfields. The low-energy metric contains mass, NUT and rotation parameters. We\ndemonstrate that this solution corresponds to part of an extremal limit of the\nKerr-Taub-NUT dyon solution. This limit displays interesting `remnant'\nbehaviour, in that asymptotically far away from the dyon the angular momentum\nvanishes, but far down the infinite throat in the neighbourhood of the horizon\n(described by our CFT) there is a non-zero angular velocity. A further natural\ngeneralization of the CFT to include an additional parameter is presented, but\nthe full physical interpretation of its role in the resulting low energy\nsolution is unclear.",
        "positive": "Wall-Crossing Invariants from Spectral Networks: A new construction of BPS monodromies for 4d ${\\mathcal N}=2$ theories of\nclass S is introduced. A novel feature of this construction is its manifest\ninvariance under Kontsevich-Soibelman wall crossing, in the sense that no\ninformation on the 4d BPS spectrum is employed. The BPS monodromy is encoded by\ntopological data of a finite graph, embedded into the UV curve $C$ of the\ntheory. The graph arises from a degenerate limit of spectral networks,\nconstructed at maximal intersections of walls of marginal stability in the\nCoulomb branch of the gauge theory. The topology of the graph, together with a\nnotion of framing, encode equations that determine the monodromy. We develop an\nalgorithmic technique for solving the equations, and compute the monodromy in\nseveral examples. The graph manifestly encodes the symmetries of the monodromy,\nproviding some support for conjectural relations to specializations of the\nsuperconformal index. For $A_1$-type theories, the graphs encoding the\nmonodromy are \"dessins d'enfants\" on $C$, the corresponding Strebel\ndifferentials coincide with the quadratic differentials that characterize the\nSeiberg-Witten curve."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Comment on \"Dirac fermions in Som-Raychaudhuri space-time with scalar\n  and vector potential and the energy momentum distributions\": We point out a misleading treatment and incorrect expressions in a recent\npaper published in this Journal [Eur. Phys. J. C (2019) 79: 541] regarding\nsolutions for the Dirac equation in presence of scalar and vector potentials in\na class of flat G\\\"odel-type space-time called Som-Raychaudhuri space-time.\nFollowing the appropriate procedure we obtain the solution for this system.",
        "positive": "Supersymmetric Wilson loops in N=4 SYM and pure spinors: We study supersymmetric Wilson loop operators in four-dimensional N=4 super\nYang-Mills theory. We show that the contour of a supersymmetric Wilson loop is\neither an orbit of some conformal transformation of the space-time (case I), or\nan arbitrary contour in the subspace where local superalgebra generator is a\npure spinor (case II). In the more interesting case II we find and classify all\npairs (Q,W) of the supercharges and the corresponding operators modulo the\naction of the global symmetry group."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "One-instanton test of the exact prepotential for N=2 SQCD coupled to a\n  symmetric tensor hypermultiplet: Using the ADHM instanton calculus, we evaluate the one-instanton contribution\nto the low-energy effective prepotential of N=2 supersymmetric SU(N) Yang-Mills\ntheory with N_F flavors of hypermultiplets in the fundamental representation\nand a hypermultiplet in the symmetric rank two tensor representation. For\nN_F<N-2, when the theory is asymptotically free, our result is compared with\nthe exact solution that was obtained using M-theory and we find complete\nagreement.",
        "positive": "Anomaly Cancellation and gauge group of the standard model in NCG: It is well known that anomaly cancellation {\\it almost} determines the\nhypercharges in the standard model. A related (and somewhat more stronger)\nphenomenon takes place in Connes' NCG framework: unimodularity (a technical\ncondition on elements of the algebra) is {\\it strictly} equivalent to anomaly\ncancellation (in the absence of right-handed neutrinos); and this in turn\nreduces the symmetry group of the theory to the standard $SU(3)\\times SU(2)\n\\times U(1)$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Field Theory on Noncommutative Space-Times and the Persistence\n  of Ultraviolet Divergences: We study properties of a scalar quantum field theory on two-dimensional\nnoncommutative space-times. Contrary to the common belief that noncommutativity\nof space-time would be a key to remove the ultraviolet divergences, we show\nthat field theories on a noncommutative plane with the most natural\nHeisenberg-like commutation relations among coordinates or even on a\nnoncommutative quantum plane with $E_q(2)$-symmetry have ultraviolet\ndivergences, while the theory on a noncommutative cylinder is ultraviolet\nfinite. Thus, ultraviolet behaviour of a field theory on noncommutative spaces\nis sensitive to the topology of the space-time, namely to its compactness. We\npresent general arguments for the case of higher space-time dimensions and as\nwell discuss the symmetry transformations of physical states on noncommutative\nspace-times.",
        "positive": "Coherent States Expectation Values as Semiclassical Trajectories: We study the time evolution of the expectation value of the anharmonic\noscillator coordinate in a coherent state as a toy model for understanding the\nsemiclassical solutions in quantum field theory. By using the deformation\nquantization techniques, we show that the coherent state expectation value can\nbe expanded in powers of $\\hbar$ such that the zeroth-order term is a classical\nsolution while the first-order correction is given as a phase-space Laplacian\nacting on the classical solution. This is then compared to the effective action\nsolution for the one-dimensional $\\f^4$ perturbative quantum field theory. We\nfind an agreement up to the order $\\l\\hbar$, where $\\l$ is the coupling\nconstant, while at the order $\\l^2 \\hbar$ there is a disagreement. Hence the\ncoherent state expectation values define an alternative semiclassical dynamics\nto that of the effective action. The coherent state semiclassical trajectories\nare exactly computable and they can coincide with the effective action\ntrajectories in the case of two-dimensional integrable field theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Recursion Relations from Space-time Supersymmetry: We describe a method for obtaining relations between higher derivative\ninteractions in supersymmetric effective actions. The method extends to all\norders in the momentum expansion. As an application, we consider the string\ncoupling dependence of the \\hat{G}^{2k} \\lambda^{16} interaction in type IIB\nstring theory. Using supersymmetry, we show that each of these interactions\nsatisfies a Poisson equation on the moduli space with sources determined by\nlower momentum interactions. We argue that these protected couplings are only\nrenormalized by a finite number of string loops together with non-perturbative\nterms. Finally, we explore some consequences of the Poisson equation for low\nvalues of k.",
        "positive": "The Einstein equations for generalized theories of gravity and the\n  thermodynamic relation $\u03b4Q = T \u03b4S$ are equivalent: We show that the equations of motion of generalized theories of gravity are\nequivalent to the thermodynamic relation $\\delta Q = T \\delta S$. Our proof\nrelies on extending previous arguments by using a more general definition of\nthe Noether charge entropy. We have thus completed the implementation of\nJacobson's proposal to express Einstein's equations as a thermodynamic equation\nof state. Additionally, we find that the Noether charge entropy obeys the\nsecond law of thermodynamics if the matter energy momentum tensor obeys the\nnull energy condition. Our results support the idea that gravitation on a\nmacroscopic scale is a manifestation of the thermodynamics of the vacuum."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gravitational Anomalies, Hawking Radiation, and Spherically Symmetric\n  Black Holes: Motivated by the recent work of Robinson and Wilczek, we evaluate the\ngravitational anomaly of a chiral scalar field in a Vaidya spacetime of\narbitrary mass function, and thus the outgoing flux from the time-dependent\nhorizon in that spacetime. We show that this flux differs from that of a\nperfect blackbody at a fixed temperature. When this flux is taken into account,\ngeneral covariance in that spacetime is restored. We also generalize their\nresults to the most general static, and spherically symmetric spacetime.",
        "positive": "Bulk and Brane Decay of a (4+n)-Dimensional Schwarzschild-De-Sitter\n  Black Hole: Scalar Radiation: In this paper, we extend the idea that the spectrum of Hawking radiation can\nreveal valuable information on a number of parameters that characterize a\nparticular black hole background - such as the dimensionality of spacetime and\nthe value of coupling constants - to gain information on another important\naspect: the curvature of spacetime. We investigate the emission of Hawking\nradiation from a D-dimensional Schwarzschild-de-Sitter black hole emitted in\nthe form of scalar fields, and employ both analytical and numerical techniques\nto calculate greybody factors and differential energy emission rates on the\nbrane and in the bulk. The energy emission rate of the black hole is\nsignificantly enhanced in the high-energy regime with the number of spacelike\ndimensions. On the other hand, in the low-energy part of the spectrum, it is\nthe cosmological constant that leaves a clear footprint, through a\ncharacteristic, constant emission rate of ultrasoft quanta determined by the\nvalues of black hole and cosmological horizons. Our results are applicable to\n\"small\" black holes arising in theories with an arbitrary number and size of\nextra dimensions, as well as to pure 4-dimensional primordial black holes,\nembedded in a de Sitter spacetime."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fusion rules for N=2 superconformal modules: In this note we calculate the fusion coefficients for minimal series\nrepresentations of the N=2 superconformal algebra by using a modified\nVerlinde's formula, and obtain associative and commutative fusion algebras with\nnon-negative integral fusion coefficients at each level. Some references are\nadded.",
        "positive": "Conformally Soft Theorem In Gravity: A central feature of scattering amplitudes in gravity or gauge theory is the\nexistence of a variety of energetically soft theorems which put constraints on\nthe amplitudes. Celestial amplitudes which are obtained from momentum-space\namplitudes by a Mellin transform over the external particle energies cannot\nobey the usual energetically soft theorems. Instead, the symmetries of the\ncelestial sphere imply that the scattering of conformally soft particles whose\nconformal weights under the 4D Lorentz group SL(2,C) are taken to zero obey\nspecial relations. Such conformally soft theorems have recently been found for\ngauge theory. Here, I show conformally soft factorization of celestial\namplitudes for gravity and identify it as the celestial analogue of Weinberg's\nsoft graviton theorem."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Kaluza-Klein towers in warped spaces with metric singularities: The version of the warp model that we proposed to explain the mass scale\nhierarchy has been extended by the introduction of one or more singularities in\nthe metric. We restricted ourselves to a real massless scalar field supposed to\npropagate in a five dimensional bulk with the extradimension being compactified\non a strip or on a circle. With the same emphasis on the hermiticity and\ncommutativity properties of the Kakuza Klein operators, we have established all\nthe allowed boundary conditions to be imposed on the fields. From them, for\ngiven positions of the singularities, one can deduce either mass eigenvalues\nbuilding up a Kaluza Klein tower, or a tachyon, or a zero mass state. Assuming\nthe Planck mass to be the high mass scale and by a choice, unique for all\nboundary conditions, of the major warp parameters, the low lying mass\neigenvalues are of the order of the TeV, in this way explaining the mass scale\nhierarchy. In our model, the physical masses are related to the Kaluza Klein\neigenvalues, depending on the location of the physical brane which is an\narbitrary parameter of the model. Illustrative numerical calculations are given\nto visualize the structure of Kaluza Klein mass eigenvalue towers. Observation\nat high energy colliders like LHC of a mass tower with its characteristic\nstructure would be the fingerprint of the model.",
        "positive": "Planar field theories with space-dependent noncommutativity: We study planar noncommutative theories such that the spatial coordinates\n${\\hat x}_1$, ${\\hat x}_2$ verify a commutation relation of the form: $[{\\hat\nx}_1, {\\hat x}_2] = i \\theta ({\\hat x}_1,{\\hat x}_2)$. Starting from the\noperatorial representation for dynamical variables in the algebra generated by\n${\\hat x}_1$ and ${\\hat x}_2$, we introduce a noncommutative product of\nfunctions corresponding to a specific operator-ordering prescription. We define\nderivatives and traces, and use them to construct scalar-field actions. The\nresulting expressions allow one to consider situations where an expansion in\npowers of $\\theta$ and its derivatives is not necessarily valid. In particular,\nwe study in detail the case when $\\theta$ vanishes along a linear region. We\nshow that, in that case, a scalar field action generates a boundary term,\nlocalized around the line where $\\theta$ vanishes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Standard Model Fermions and N=8 supergravity: In a scheme originally proposed by M. Gell-Mann, and subsequently shown to be\nrealized at the SU(3)xU(1) stationary point of maximal gauged SO(8)\nsupergravity by N. Warner and one of the present authors, the 48 spin 1/2\nfermions of the theory remaining after the removal of eight Goldstinos can be\nidentified with the 48 quarks and leptons (including right-chiral neutrinos) of\nthe Standard Model, provided one identifies the residual SU(3) with the\ndiagonal subgroup of the color group SU(3)_c and a family symmetry SU(3)_f.\nHowever, there remained a systematic mismatch in the electric charges by a\nspurion charge of $\\pm$1/6. We here identify the `missing' U(1) that rectifies\nthis mismatch, and that takes a surprisingly simple, though unexpected form.",
        "positive": "On the Scalar Spectrum of the Y^{p,q} Manifolds: The spectra of supergravity modes in anti de Sitter (AdS) space on a\nfive-sphere endowed with the round metric (which is the simplest 5d\nSasaki-Einstein space) has been studied in detail in the past. However for the\nmore general class of cohomogeneity one Sasaki-Einstein metrics on S^2 x S^3,\ngiven by the Y^{p, q} class, a complete study of the spectra has not been\nattempted. Earlier studies on scalar spectrum were restricted to only the first\nfew eigenstates. In this paper we take a step in this direction by analysing\nthe full scalar spectrum on these spaces. However it turns out that finding the\nexact solution of the corresponding eigenvalue problem in closed form is not\nfeasible since the computation of the eigenvalues of the Laplacian boils down\nto the analysis of a one-dimensional operator of Heun type, whose spectrum\ncannot be computed in closed form. However, despite this analytical obstacle,\nwe manage to get both lower and upper bounds on the eigenvalues of the scalar\nspectrum by comparing the eigenvalue problem with a simpler, solvable system.\nWe also briefly touch upon various other new avenues such as non-commutative\nand dipole deformations as well as possible non-conformal extensions of these\nmodels."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Complete factorization of equations of motion in Wess-Zumino theory: We prove that the equations of motion describing domain walls in a\nWess-Zumino theory involving only one chiral matter multiplet can be factorized\ninto first order Bogomol'nyi equations, so that all the topological defects are\nof the Bogomol'nyi-Prasad-Sommerfield type.",
        "positive": "Dynamical Realizability for Quantum Measurement and Factorization of\n  Evolution Operator: By building a general dynamical model for quantum measurement process,it is\nshown that the factorization of reduced evolution operator sufficiently results\nin the quantum mechanical realization of the wave packet collapse and the state\ncorrelation between the measured system and the measuring\ninstrument-detector.This realizability is largely independent of the details of\nboth the interaction and Hamiltonian of detector. The Coleman-Hepp model and\nall its generalizations are only the special cases of the more universal model\ngiven in this letter.An explicit example of this model is finally given in\nconnection with coherent state."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Klein-Gordon particles in mixed vector-scalar inversely linear\n  potentials: The problem of a spinless particle subject to a general mixing of vector and\nscalar inversely linear potentials in a two-dimensional world is analyzed.\nExact bounded solutions are found in closed form by imposing boundary\nconditions on the eigenfunctions which ensure that the effective Hamiltonian is\nHermitian for all the points of the space. The nonrelativistic limit of our\nresults adds a new support to the conclusion that even-parity solutions to the\nnonrelativistic one-dimensional hydrogen atom do not exist.",
        "positive": "Order-chaos transitions in field theories with topological terms: a\n  dynamical systems approach: We present a comparative study of the dynamical behaviour of topological\nsystems of recent interest, namely the non-Abelian Chern-Simons Higgs system\nand the Yang-Mills Chern-Simons Higgs system. By reducing the full field\ntheories to temporal differential systems using the assumption of spatially\nhomogeneous fields , we study the Lyapunov exponents for two types of initial\nconditions. We also examine in minute detail the behaviour of the Lyapunov\nspectra as a function of the various coupling parameters in the system. We\ncompare and contrast our results with those for Abelian Higgs, Yang-Mills Higgs\nand Yang-Mills Chern-Simons systems which have been discussed by other authors\nrecently. The role of the various terms in the Hamiltonians for such systems in\ndetermining the order-disorder transitions is emphasized and shown to be\ncounter-intuitive in the Yang-Mills Chern-Simons Higgs systems."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Properties of Asymptotically Flat Two-Dimensional Black Holes: We investigate properties of two-dimensional asymptotically flat black holes\nwhich arise in both string theory and in scale invariant theories of gravity.\nBy introducing matter sources in the field equations we show how such objects\ncan arise as the endpoint of gravitational collapse. We examine the motion of\ntest particles outside the horizons, and show that they fall through in a\nfinite amount of proper time and an infinite amount of coordinate time. We also\ninvestigate the thermodynamic and quantum properties, which give rise to a\nfundamental length scale. The 't Hooft prescription for cutting off eigenmodes\nof particle wave functions is shown to be source dependent, unlike the\nfour-dimensional case. The relationship between these black holes and those\nconsidered previously in $(1+1)$ dimensions is discussed.",
        "positive": "On the Renormalization of a Bosonized Version of the Chiral\n  Fermion-Meson Model at Finite Temperature: Feynman's functional formulation of statistical mechanics is used to study\nthe renormalizability of the well known Linear Chiral Sigma Model in the\npresence of fermionic fields at finite temperature in an alternative way. It is\nshown that the renormalization conditions coincide with those of the zero\ntemperature model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Resolution of the strong CP and U(1) problems: Definition of the determinant of Euclidean Dirac operator in the nontrivial\nsector of gauge fields suffers from an inherent ambiguity. The popular\nOsterwalder-Schrader (OS) recipe for the conjugate Dirac field leads to the\noption of a vanishing determinant. We propose a novel representation for the\nconjugate field which depends linearly on the Dirac field and yields a\nnonvanishing determinant in the nontrivial sector. Physics, it appears, chooses\nthis second option becuase the novel representation leads to a satisfactory\nresolution of two outstanding problems, the strong CP and U(1) problems,\nattributed to instanton effects.",
        "positive": "From dlogs to dilogs; the super Yang-Mills MHV amplitude revisited: Recently, loop integrands for certain Yang-Mills scattering amplitudes and\ncorrelation functions have been shown to be systematically expressible in dlog\nform, raising the possibility that these loop integrals can be performed\ndirectly without Feynman parameters. We do so here to give a new description of\nthe planar 1-loop MHV amplitude in N = 4 super Yang-Mills theory. We explicitly\nincorporate the standard Feynman i epsilon prescription into the integrands. We\nfind that the generic MHV diagram contributing to the 1-loop MHV amplitude,\nknown as Kermit, is dual conformal invariant up to the choice of reference\ntwistor explicit in our axial gauge (the generic MHV diagram was already known\nto be finite). The new formulae for the amplitude are nontrivially related to\nprevious ones in the literature. The divergent diagrams are evaluated using\nmass regularization. Our techniques extend directly to higher loop diagrams,\nand we illustrate this by sketching the evaluation of a non-trivial 2-loop\nexample. We expect this to lead to a simple and efficient method for computing\namplitudes and correlation functions with less supersymmetry and without the\nassumption of planarity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Graviton Trispectrum from Gluons: The tree-level wavefunction coefficient for four gravitons in de Sitter space\nwas recently bootstrapped using the Cosmological Optical Theorem, flat space\nlimit, and Manifestly Local Test \\cite{Bonifacio:2022vwa}. Inspired by the\ndouble copy for scattering amplitudes, we derive a compact new expression for\nthis quantity starting from the wavefunction coefficient for gluons.",
        "positive": "Gauge Symmmetry and Supersymmetry Breaking by Discrete Symmetry: We study the principles of the gauge symmetry and supersymmetry breaking due\nto the local or global discrete symmetries on the extra space manifold. We show\nthat the gauge symmetry breaking by Wilson line is the special case of the\ndiscrete symmetry approach where all the discrete symmetries are global and act\nfreely on the extra space manifold. As applications, we discuss the N=2\nsupersymmetric SO(10) and $E_8$ breaking on the space-time $M^4\\times A^2$ and\n$M^4\\times D^2$, and point out that similarly one can study any N=2\nsupersymmetric $SO(M)$ breaking. We also comment on the one-loop effective\npotential, the possible questions and generalization."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Redundant operators in the exact renormalisation group and in the f(R)\n  approximation to asymptotic safety: In this paper we review the definition and properties of redundant operators\nin the exact renormalisation group. We explain why it is important to require\nthem to be eigenoperators and why generically they appear only as a consequence\nof symmetries of the particular choice of renormalisation group equations. This\nclarifies when Newton's constant and or the cosmological constant can be\nconsidered inessential. We then apply these ideas to the Local Potential\nApproximation and approximations of a similar spirit such as the f(R)\napproximation in the asymptotic safety programme in quantum gravity. We show\nthat these approximations can break down if the fixed point does not support a\n`vacuum' solution in the appropriate domain: all eigenoperators become\nredundant and the physical space of perturbations collapses to a point. We show\nthat this is the case for the recently discovered lines of fixed points in the\nf(R) flow equations.",
        "positive": "N=4 Supersymmetric Yang-Mills Multiplet in Non-Adjoint Representations: We formulate a theory for N=4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills multiplet in a\nnon-adjoint representation R of SO(N) as an important application of our\nrecently-proposed model for N=1 supersymmetry. This system is obtained by\ndimensional reduction from an N=1 supersymmetric Yang-Mills multiplet in\nnon-adjoint representation in ten dimensions. The consistency with\nsupersymmetry requires that the non-adjoint representation R with the indices\ni, j, ... satisfy the three conditions \\eta^{i j} = \\delta^{i j}, (T^I)^{i j} =\n- (T^I)^{j i} and (T^I)^{[ i j |} (T^I)^{| k ] l} = 0 for the metric \\eta^{i j}\nand the generators T^I, which are the same as the N=1 case."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantization of the Closed Mini-Superspace Models as Bound States: Wheeler-DeWitt equation is applied to $k > 0$ Friedmann Robertson Walker\nmetric with various types of matter. It is shown that if the Universe ends in\nthe matter dominated era (e.g., radiation or pressureless gas) with zero\ncosmological constant, then the resulting Wheeler-DeWitt equation describes a\nbound state problem. As solutions of a non-degenerate bound state system, the\neigen-wave functions are real (Hartle-Hawking) and the usual issue associated\nwith the ambiguity in the boundary conditions for the wave functions is\nresolved. Furthermore, as a bound state problem, there exists a quantization\ncondition that relates the curvature of the three space with the energy density\nof the Universe. Incorporating a cosmological constant in the early Universe\n(inflation) is given as a natural explanation for the large quantum number\nassociated with our Universe, which resulted from the quantization condition.\n  It is also shown that if there is a cosmological constant $\\Lambda > 0$ in\nour Universe that persists for all time, then the resulting Wheeler-DeWitt\nequation describes a non-bound state system, regardless of the magnitude of the\ncosmological constant. As a consequence, the wave functions are in general\ncomplex (Vilenkin) and the initial conditions for wave functions are a free\nparameters not determined by the formalism.",
        "positive": "The noncovariant gauges in 3-form theories: We study the 3-form gauge theory in the context of generalized BRST\nformulation. We construct the finite field-dependent BRST (FFBRST) symmetry for\nsuch a theory. The generating functional for 3-form gauge theory in\nnoncovariant gauge is obtained from that of in covariant gauge. We further\nextend the results by considering 3-form gauge theory in the context of\nBatalin-Vilkovisky (BV) formulation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Phase Information in Cosmological Collider Signals: Massive particles produced during the cosmic inflation can imprint in the\nprimordial non-Gaussianities as characteristic oscillating functions of various\nmomentum ratios, known as cosmological collider signals. We initiate a study of\nthe phase of the oscillating signals which can be unambiguously defined and\nmeasured. The phase can provide useful new information about the spin and the\ncouplings of the intermediate heavy particles that cannot be obtained from the\nsignal frequency and angular dependences alone. We also present new analytical\nresults for full nonlocal signals from two typical 1-loop processes, enabling\nprecise determination of the signal phase away from the squeezed limit.",
        "positive": "The Proper Time Equation and the Zamolodchikov Metric: The connection between the proper time equation and the Zamolodchikov metric\nis discussed. The connection is two-fold: First, as already known, the proper\ntime equation is the product of the Zamolodchikov metric and the\nrenormalization group beta function. Second, the condition that the two-point\nfunction is the Zamolodchikov metric, implies the proper time equation. We\nstudy the massless vector of the open string in detail. In the exactly\ncalculable case of a uniform electromgnetic field strength we recover the\nBorn-Infeld equation. We describe the systematics of the perturbative\nevaluation of the gauge invariant proper time equation for the massless vector\nfield. The method is valid for non-uniform fields and gives results that are\nexact to all orders in derivatives. As a non trivial check, we show that in the\nlimit of uniform fields it reproduces the lowest order Born-Infeld equation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Nonpropagation of scalar in the deformed Ho\u0159ava-Lifshitz gravity: We study the propagation of a scalar, the trace of $h_{ij}$ in the deformed\nHo\\v{r}ava-Lifshitz gravity with coupling constant $\\lambda$. It turns out that\nthis scalar is not a propagating mode in the Minkowski spacetime background. In\nthis work, we do not choose a gauge-fixing to identify the physical degrees of\nfreedom and instead, make it possible by substituting the constraints into the\nquadratic Lagrangian.",
        "positive": "Black Holes in the Dilatonic Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet Theory in Various\n  Dimensions IV - Topological Black Holes with and without Cosmological Term: We study black hole solutions in the Einstein gravity with Gauss-Bonnet term,\nthe dilaton and a positive \"cosmological constant\" in various dimensions.\nPhysically meaningful black holes with a positive cosmological term are\nobtained only for those in static spacetime with $(D-2)$-dimensional hyperbolic\nspace of negative curvature and $D>4$. We construct such black hole solutions\nof various masses numerically in $D=5,6$ and 10 dimensional spacetime and\ndiscuss their properties. In spite of the positive cosmological constant the\nspacetime approach anti-de Sitter spacetime asymptotically. The black hole\nsolutions exist for a certain range of the horizon radius, i.e., there are\nlower and upper bounds for the size of black holes. We also argue that it is\nquite plausible that there is no black hole solution for hyperbolic space in\nthe case of no cosmological constant."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fermionic greybody factors in Schwarzschild acoustic black holes: In Schwarzschild's acoustic black hole (SABH) spacetime, we investigate the\nwave dynamics for the fermions. To this end, we first take into account the\nDirac equation in the SABH by employing a null tetrad in the Newman-Penrose\n(NP) formalism. Then, we consider the Dirac and Rarita Schwinger equations,\nrespectively. The field equations are reduced to sets of radial and angular\nequations. By using the analytical solution of the angular equation set, we\ndecouple the radial wave equations and obtain the one-dimensional\nSchr\\\"{o}dinger like wave equations with their effective potentials. The\nobtained effective potentials are graphically depicted and analyzed. Finally,\nwe investigate the fermionic greybody factors (GFs) radiated by the SABH\nspacetime. A thorough investigation is conducted into how the acoustic tuning\nparameter affects the GFs of the SABH spacetime. Both the semi-analytic WKB\nmethod and bounds for the GFs are used to produce the results, which are shown\ngraphically and discussed.",
        "positive": "Limits to the observation of the Unruh radiation via first-quantized\n  hydrogen-like atoms: We consider ionized hydrogen-like atoms accelerated by an external electric\nfield to detect Unruh radiation. By applying quantum field theory in the\nRindler spacetime, we show that the first-quantized description for\nhydrogen-like atoms cannot always be adopted. This is due to the\nframe-dependent definition of particles as positive and negative frequency\nfield modes. We show how to suppress such a frame-dependent effect by\nconstraining the atomic ionization and the electric field. We identify the\nphysical regimes with nonvanishing atomic excitation probability due to the\nUnruh electromagnetic background. We recognize the observational limits for the\nUnruh effect via first-quantized atomic detectors, which appear to be\ncompatible with current technology. Notably, the non-relativistic energy\nspectrum of the atom cannot induce coupling with the thermal radiation, even\nwhen special relativistic and general relativistic corrections are considered.\nOn the contrary, the coupling with the Unruh radiation arises because of\nrelativistic hyperfine splitting."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Anharmonic Oscillators, Spectral Determinant and Short Exact Sequence of\n  affine U_q(sl_2): We prove one of conjectures, raised by Dorey and Tateo in the connection\namong the spectral determinant of anharmonic oscillator and vacuum eigenvalues\nof transfer matrices in field theory and statistical mechanics. The exact\nsequence of $U_q(\\hat{sl}_2)$ plays a fundamental role in the proof.",
        "positive": "Fusion Rules for Affine sl(2|1;C) at Fractional Level k=-1/2: We calculate fusion rules for the admissible representations of the affine\nsuperalgebra sl(2|1;C) at fractional level k=-1/2 in the Ramond sector. By\nrepresenting 3-point correlation functions involving a singular vector as the\naction of differential operators on the sl(2|1;C) invariant 3-point function,\nwe obtain conditions on permitted quantum numbers involved. We find that in\nthis case the primary fields close under fusion."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Heterotic N=2 String with Space-Time Supersymmetry: We reconsider the issue of embedding space-time fermions into the\nfour-dimensional N=2 world-sheet supersymmetric string. A new heterotic theory\nis constructed, taking the right-movers from the N=4 topological extension of\nthe conventional N=2 string but a c=0 conformal field theory supporting\ntarget-space supersymmetry for the left-moving sector. The global bosonic\nsymmetry of the full formalism proves to be U(1,1), just as in the usual N=2\nstring. Quantization reveals a spectrum of only two physical states, one boson\nand one fermion, which fall in a multiplet of (1,0) supersymmetry.",
        "positive": "Probing Gravitational Interactions of Elementary Particles: The gravitational interactions of elementary particles are suppressed by the\nPlanck scale M_P ~ 10^18 GeV and are typically expected to be far too weak to\nbe probed by experiments. We show that, contrary to conventional wisdom, such\ninteractions may be studied by particle physics experiments in the next few\nyears. As an example, we consider conventional supergravity with a stable\ngravitino as the lightest supersymmetric particle. The next-lightest\nsupersymmetric particle (NLSP) decays to the gravitino through gravitational\ninteractions after about a year. This lifetime can be measured by stopping\nNLSPs at colliders and observing their decays. Such studies will yield a\nmeasurement of Newton's gravitational constant on unprecedentedly small scales,\nshed light on dark matter, and provide a window on the early universe."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Finite volume partition functions and Itzykson-Zuber integrals: We find the finite volume QCD partition function for arbitrary quark masses.\nThis is a generalization of a result obtained by Leutwyler and Smilga for equal\nquark masses. Our result is derived in the sector of zero topological charge\nusing a generalization of the Itzykson-Zuber integral appropriate for arbitrary\ncomplex matrices. We present a conjecture regarding the result for arbitrary\ntopological charge which reproduces the Leutwyler-Smilga result in the limit of\nequal quark masses. We derive a formula of the Itzykson-Zuber type for\narbitrary {\\em rectangular} complex matrices, extending the result of Guhr and\nWettig obtained for {\\em square} matrices.",
        "positive": "$T\\bar{T}$ deformation of chiral bosons and Chern-Simons AdS$_3$ gravity: We study the $T\\bar{T}$ deformation of the chiral bosons and show the\nequivalence between the chiral bosons of opposite chiralities and the scalar\nfields at the Hamiltonian level under the deformation. We also derive the\ndeformed Lagrangian of more generic theories which contain an arbitrary number\nof chiral bosons to all orders. By using these results, we derive the\n$T\\bar{T}$ deformed boundary action of the AdS$_3$ gravity theory in the\nChern-Simons formulation. We compute the deformed one-loop torus partition\nfunction, which satisfies the $T\\bar{T}$ flow equation up to the one-loop\norder. Finally, we calculate the deformed stress tensor of a solution\ndescribing a BTZ black hole in the boundary theory, which coincides with the\nboundary stress tensor derived from the BTZ black hole with a finite cutoff."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exact $\u03b2$-functions for ${\\cal N}=1$ supersymmetric theories finite\n  in the lowest loops: We consider a one-loop finite ${\\cal N}=1$ supersymmetric theory in such a\nrenormalization scheme that the first $L$ contributions to the gauge\n$\\beta$-function and the first $(L-1)$ contributions to the anomalous dimension\nof the matter superfields and to the Yukawa $\\beta$-function vanish. It is\ndemonstrated that in this case the NSVZ equation and the exact equation for the\nYukawa $\\beta$-function in the first nontrivial order are valid for an\narbitrary renormalization prescription respecting the above assumption. This\nimplies that under this assumption the $(L+1)$-loop contribution to the gauge\n$\\beta$-function and the $L$-loop contribution to the Yukawa $\\beta$-function\nare always expressed in terms of the $L$-loop contribution to the anomalous\ndimension of the matter superfields. This statement generalizes the result of\nGrisaru, Milewski, and Zanon that for a theory finite in $L$ loops the\n$(L+1)$-loop contribution to the $\\beta$-function also vanishes. In particular,\nit gives a simple explanation why their result is valid although the NSVZ\nequation does not hold in an arbitrary subtraction scheme.",
        "positive": "New Rotating Non-Extremal Black Holes in D=5 Maximal Gauged Supergravity: We obtain new non-extremal rotating black hole solutions in maximal\nfive-dimensional gauged supergravity. They are characterised by five\nparameters, associated with the mass, the two angular momenta, and two\nindependently-specifiable charge parameters. Two of the three charges\nassociated with the U(1)^3 Cartan subgroup of the SO(6) gauge group are equal,\nwhilst the third can be independently specified. These new solutions generalise\nall the previously-known rotating solutions in five-dimensional gauged\nsupergravity with independent angular momenta. They describe regular black\nholes, provided the parameters lie in appropriate ranges so that naked\nsingularities and closed-timelike curves (CTCs) are avoided. We also construct\nthe BPS limit, and show that regular supersymmetric black holes or topological\nsolitons arise if the parameters are further restricted in an appropriate\nmanner."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Integrable aspects of the scaling q-state Potts models II: finite-size\n  effects: We continue our discussion of the q-state Potts models for q <= 4, in the\nscaling regimes close to their critical and tricritical points. In a previous\npaper, the spectrum and full S-matrix of the models on an infinite line were\nelucidated; here, we consider finite-size behaviour. TBA equations are proposed\nfor all cases related to phi(21) and phi(12) perturbations of unitary minimal\nmodels. These are subjected to a variety of checks in the ultraviolet and\ninfrared limits, and compared with results from a recently-proposed nonlinear\nintegral equation. A nonlinear integral equation is also used to study the\nflows from tricritical to critical models, over the full range of q. Our\nresults should also be of relevance to the study of the off-critical dilute A\nmodels in regimes 1 and 2.",
        "positive": "Abelian Higgs Model Effective Potential in the Presence of Vortices: We determine the contribution of nontrivial vacuum (topological) excitations,\nmore specifically vortex--strings of the Abelian Higgs model in 3+1 dimensions,\nto the functional partition function. By expressing the original action in\nterms of dual transformed fields we make explicit in the equivalent action the\ncontribution of the vortex--strings excitations of the model. The effective\npotential of an appropriately defined local vacuum expectation value of the\nvortex--string field in the dual transformed action is then evaluated both at\nzero and finite temperatures and its properties discussed in the context of the\nfinite temperature phase transition."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Three functions in dilaton gravity: The good, the bad and the muggy: Dilaton gravity in two dimensions is briefly reviewed from the perspective of\nthree dilaton potentials: One determines classical physics (\"the good\", denoted\nby w), the second is relevant for semi-classical (and quantum) effects (\"the\nmuggy\", denoted by I) and the third could be responsible for nonperturbative\nquantum effects (\"the bad\", denoted by Z).\n  This paper is based upon lectures given in Cernowitz in October/November 2002\nat The XIV International Hutsulian Workshop Mathematical Theories and their\nPhysical and Technical Applications.",
        "positive": "Folded Strings: Recent progress on the complete set of solutions of two dimensional classical\nstring theory in any curved spacetime is reviewed. When the curvature is smooth\nthe string solutions are deformed folded string solutions as compared to flat\nspacetime folded strings that were known for 19 years. However, surprizing new\nstringy behavior becomes evident at singularities such as black holes. The\nglobal properties of these solutions require that the ``bare singularity\nregion\"of the black hole be included along with the usual black hole spacetime.\nThe mathematical structure needed to describe the solutions include a recursion\nrelation that is analogous to the transfer matrix of lattice theories. This\nencodes lattice properties on the worldsheet on the one hand and the geometry\nof spacetime on the other hand. A case is made for the presence of folded\nstrings in the quantum theory of non-critical strings for $d\\geq 2$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Anomaly Enforced Gaplessness for Background Flux Anomalies and Symmetry\n  Fractionalization: Anomalous symmetries are known to strongly constrain the possible IR behavior\nalong any renormalization group (RG) flow. Recently, the extension of the\nnotion of symmetry in QFT has provided new types of anomalies with a\ncorresponding new class of constraints on RG flows. In this paper, we derive\nthe constraints imposed on RG flows from anomalies that can only be activated\nin the presence of specific background fluxes even though they do not\nnecessarily correspond to a symmetry. We show that such anomalies can only be\nmatched by gapped theories that exhibit either spontaneous symmetry breaking or\nsymmetry fractionalization. In addition, we exhibit previously unstudied\nexamples of these flux background anomalies that arise in $4d$ QCD and $4d$\nSUSY QCD.",
        "positive": "Hyperscaling violating Lifshitz holography: We present an overview of the construction of the general holographic\ndictionary for asymptotically locally Lifshitz and hyperscaling violating\nLifshitz backgrounds with arbitrary dynamical exponents $z$ and $\\theta$,\ncompatible with the null energy condition, which was recently developed in\n[1,2]. A concrete definition of asymptotically locally Lifshitz and\nhyperscaling violating Lifshitz backgrounds is provided in the context of a\ngeneric bottom-up Einstein-Proca-Dilaton theory, and a systematic procedure for\nsolving the radial Hamilton-Jacobi equation via a covariant expansion in\neigenfunctions of two commuting operators is presented. The resulting\nasymptotic solution of the Hamilton-Jacobi equation is subsequently used to\nderive the full holographic dictionary, including the Fefferman-Graham\nasymptotic expansions and the non-relativistic holographic Ward identities."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Soliton Dynamics in a 2D Lattice Model with Nonlinear Interactions: This paper is concerned with a lattice model which is suited to\nsquare-rectangle transformations characterized by two strain components. The\nmicroscopic model involves nonlinear and competing interactions, which play a\nkey role in the stability of soliton solutions and emerge from interactions as\na function of particle pairs and noncentral type or bending forces. Special\nattention is devoted to the continuum approximation of the two-dimensional\ndiscrete system with the view of including the leading discreteness effects at\nthe continuum description. The long time evolution of the localized structures\nis governed by an asymptotic integrable equation of the Kadomtsev-Petviashvili\nI type which allows the explicit construction of moving multi-solitons on the\nlattice. Numerical simulation performed at the discrete system investigate the\nstability and dynamics of multi-soliton in the lattice space.",
        "positive": "Baryon Binding Energy in Sakai-Sugimoto Model: The binding energy of baryon has been studied in the dual $AdS_5\\times S^5$\nstring theory with a black hole interior. In this picture baryon is constructed\nof a $D_5$ brane vertex wrapping on $S^5$ and $N_c$ fundamental strings\nconnected to it. Here, we calculate the baryon binding energy in Sakai-Sugimoto\nmodel with a $D_4/D_8/\\bar{D_8}$ in which the supersymmetry is completely\nbroken. Also we check the $T$ dependence of the baryon binding energy. We\nbelieve that this model represents an accurate description of baryons due to\nthe existence of Chern-Simones coupling with the gauge field on the brane. We\nobtain an analytical expression for the baryon binding energy . In that case we\nplot the baryon binding energy in terms of radial coordinate. Then by using the\nbinding energy diagram, we determine the stability range for baryon\nconfiguration. And also the position and energy of the stable equilibrium point\nis obtained by the corresponding diagram. Also we plot the baryon binding\nenergy in terms of temperature and estimate a critical temperature in which the\nbaryon would be dissociated."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Thermal ensemble of string gas in a magnetic field: We study the thermal ensemble of a gas of free strings in presence of a\nmagnetic field. We find that the thermodynamical partition function diverges\nwhen the magnetic field exceeds some critical value $B_{\\rm cr}$, which depends\non the temperature. We argue that there is a first-order phase transition with\na large latent heat. At the critical value an infinite number of states -all\nstates in a Regge trajectory- seem to become massless, which may be an\nindication of recuperation of spontaneously broken symmetries.",
        "positive": "Expanding plasmas from Anti de Sitter black holes: We introduce a new foliation of AdS$_5$ black holes such that the conformal\nboundary takes the form of a $4$-dimensional FLRW spacetime with scale factor\n$a(t)$. The foliation employs Eddington-Finkelstein-like coordinates and is\napplicable to a large class of AdS black holes, supported by matter fields or\nnot, considerably extending previous efforts in the literature. We argue that\nthe holographic dual picture of a CFT plasma on a FLRW background provides an\ninteresting prototype to study the nonequilibrium dynamics of expanding plasmas\nand use holographic renormalization to extract the renormalized energy-momentum\ntensor of the dual plasma. We illustrate the procedure for three black holes of\ninterest, namely AdS-Schwarzschild, AdS-Gauss-Bonnet, and\nAdS-Reissner-Nordstr\\\"om. For the latter, as a by-product, we show that the\nnonequilibrium dynamics of a CFT plasma subject to a quench in the chemical\npotential (i.e., a time-dependent chemical potential) resembles a cosmological\nevolution with the scale factor $a(t)$ being inversely related to the quench\nprofile."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Iterative structure of finite loop integrals: In this paper we develop further and refine the method of differential\nequations for computing Feynman integrals. In particular, we show that an\nadditional iterative structure emerges for finite loop integrals. As a concrete\nnon-trivial example we study planar master integrals of light-by-light\nscattering to three loops, and derive analytic results for all values of the\nMandelstam variables $s$ and $t$ and the mass $m$. We start with a recent\nproposal for defining a basis of loop integrals having uniform transcendental\nweight properties and use this approach to compute all planar two-loop master\nintegrals in dimensional regularization. We then show how this approach can be\nfurther simplified when computing finite loop integrals. This allows us to\ndiscuss precisely the subset of integrals that are relevant to the problem. We\nfind that this leads to a block triangular structure of the differential\nequations, where the blocks correspond to integrals of different weight. We\nexplain how this block triangular form is found in an algorithmic way. Another\nadvantage of working in four dimensions is that integrals of different loop\norders are interconnected and can be seamlessly discussed within the same\nformalism. We use this method to compute all finite master integrals needed up\nto three loops. Finally, we remark that all integrals have simple Mandelstam\nrepresentations.",
        "positive": "Quantum Mass corrections for C_2^(1) Affine Toda theory solitons: We calculate the quantum mass corrections to the solitons in the C_2^(1)\nAffine Toda field theory. We find that the ratio of the masses of the two\nsolitons is not constant."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The WKB approximation and tunneling in theories with non-canonical\n  kinetic terms: Tunneling is a fascinating aspect of quantum mechanics that renders the local\nminima of a potential meta-stable, with important consequences for particle\nphysics, for the early hot stage of the universe, and more speculatively, for\nthe behavior of the putative multiverse. While this phenomenon has been studied\nextensively for systems which have canonical kinetic terms, many theories of\nfundamental physics contain fields with non-canonical kinetic structures. It is\ntherefore desirable to have a detailed framework for calculating tunneling\nrates and initial states after tunneling for these theories. In this work, we\npresent such a rigorous formulation and illustrate its use by applying it to a\nnumber of examples.",
        "positive": "The local Callan-Symanzik equation: structure and applications: The local Callan-Symanzik equation describes the response of a quantum field\ntheory to local scale transformations in the presence of background sources.\nThe consistency conditions associated with this anomalous equation imply\nnon-trivial relations among the $\\beta$-function, the anomalous dimensions of\ncomposite operators and the short distance singularities of correlators. In\nthis paper we discuss various aspects of the local Callan-Symanzik equation and\npresent new results regarding the structure of its anomaly. We then use the\nequation to systematically write the n-point correlators involving the trace of\nthe energy-momentum tensor. We use the latter result to give a fully detailed\nproof that the UV and IR asymptotics in a neighbourhood of a 4D CFT must also\ncorrespond to CFTs. We also clarify the relation between the matrix entering\nthe gradient flow formula for the $\\beta$-function and a manifestly positive\nmetric in coupling space associated with matrix elements of the trace of the\nenergy momentum tensor."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Initial state propagators: It is possible to define a general initial state for a quantum field by\nintroducing a contribution to the action defined at an initial-time boundary.\nThe propagator for this theory is composed of two parts, one associated with\nthe free propagation of fields and another produced by the operators of this\ninitial action. The derivation of this propagator is shown for the case of a\ntranslationally and rotationally invariant initial state. In addition to being\nable to treat more general states, these techniques can also be applied to\neffective field theories that start from an initial time. The eigenstates of a\ntheory with interacting heavy and light fields are different from the\neigenstates of the theory in the limit where the interactions vanish.\nTherefore, a product of states of the noninteracting heavy and light theories\nwill usually contain excitations of the heavier state once the interactions are\nincluded. Such excitations appear as nonlocal effects in the effective theory,\nwhich are suppressed by powers of the mass of the heavy field. By appropriately\nchoosing the initial action, these excitations can be excised from the state\nleaving just effects that would be produced by a local action of the lighter\nfields.",
        "positive": "On the full quantum trispectrum in multi-field DBI inflation: We compute the leading order connected four-point function of the primordial\ncurvature perturbation coming from the four-point function of the fields in\nmulti-field DBI inflation models. We confirm that the consistency relations in\nthe squeezed limit and in the counter-collinear limit hold as in single field\nmodels thanks to special properties of the DBI action. We also study the\nmomentum dependence of the trispectra coming from the adiabatic, mixed and\npurely entropic contributions separately and we find that they have different\nmomentum dependence. This means that if the amount of the transfer from the\nentropy perturbations to the curvature perturbation is significantly large, the\ntrispectrum can distinguish multi-field DBI inflation models from single field\nDBI inflation models. A large amount of transfer $T_{\\mathcal{RS}} \\gg 1 $\nsuppresses the tensor to scalar ratio $r \\propto T_{\\mathcal{RS}}^{-2}$ and the\namplitude of the bispectrum $f_{NL}^{equi} \\propto T_{\\mathcal{RS}}^{-2}$ and\nso it can ease the severe observational constraints on the DBI inflation model\nbased on string theory. On the other hand, it enhances the amplitude of the\ntrispectrum $\\tau_{NL}^{equi} \\propto T_{\\mathcal{RS}}^2 f_{NL}^{equi 2}$ for a\ngiven amplitude of the bispectrum."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Radiation of inertial scalar particles in the de Sitter universe: We investigate the radiation from an inertial scalar particle evolving in a\nde Sitter expanding Universe. In the context of scalar QED the process is\ngenerated by the first order term in the perturbation theory expansion of the\nS-matrix. The partial transition probability is obtained and analysed, and\nsoft-photon emission is found to dominate overall. It has been argued that an\ninertial particle evolving in dS spacetime loses physical momentum just as a\ndecelerated particle in Minkowski space does. It is thus expected that an\ninertial charge will radiate in a similar way. We investigate the radiated\nenergy and make a qualitative comparison of the angular distribution of the\nenergy with the radiation pattern in the latter case.",
        "positive": "Finite Temperature and Density Effects in Planar Q.E.D: The behavior of finite temperature planar electrodynamics is investigated. We\ncalculate the static as well as dynamic characteristic functions using real\ntime formalism. The temperature and density dependence of dielectric and\npermeability functions, plasmon frequencies and their relation to the screening\nlength is determined. The radiative correction to the fermion mass is also\ncalculated. We also calculate the temperature dependence of the electron\n(anyon) magnetic moment. Our results for the gyromagnetic ratio go smoothly to\nthe known result at zero temperature, $g=2$, in accordance with the general\nexpectation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spectral Action and Gravitational effects at the Planck scale: We discuss the possibility to extend the spectral action up to energy close\nto the Planck scale, taking also into account the gravitational effects given\nby graviton exchange. Including this contribution in the theory, the coupling\nconstant unification is not compromised, but is shifted to the Planck scale\nrendering all gauge couplings asymptotically free. In the scheme of\nnoncommutative geometry, the gravitational effects change the main standard\nmodel coupling constants, leading to a restriction of the free parameters of\nthe theory compatible with the Higgs and top mass prediction. We also discuss\nconsequences for the neutrino mass and the see-saw mechanism.",
        "positive": "Examples of 4D, N = 2 Holoraumy: We provide an introduction to the concepts of holoraumy tensors, Lorentz\ncovariant four-dimensional \"Gadgets\", and Gadget angles within the context of\n4D N = 2 supermultiplets. This is followed by the calculation of the holoraumy\ntensors, Gadgets, and Gadget angles for minimal off-shell supermultiplets. Four\ntetrahedrons in four 3D subspaces of the Holoraumy lattice space are found."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dimensional regularization, Wilsonian RG, and the Naturalness/Hierarchy\n  problem: While it is usually stated that dimensional regularization (DR) has no direct\nphysical interpretation, consensus has recently grown on the idea that it might\nbe endowed with special physical properties that would provide the mechanism\nthat solves the naturalness/hierarchy problem. Comparing direct Wilsonian\ncalculations with the corresponding DR ones, we find that DR indeed has a\nwell-defined physical meaning, and we point out its limitations. In particular,\nour results show that DR cannot provide the solution to the\nnaturalness/hierarchy problem. The absence of too large corrections to the\nHiggs boson mass is due to a secretly realized fine-tuning, rather than special\nphysical properties of DR. We also investigate these issues within the\nWilsonian RG framework and, by comparison with the usual perturbative RG\nanalysis, we show that several popular proposals for the resolution of the\nproblem, commonly considered as physical mechanisms free of fine-tuning, again\nsecretly implement the tuning.",
        "positive": "A Note on Orientifolds and Dualities of Type 0B String Theory: We generalize the construction of four dimensional non-tachyonic orientifolds\nof type 0B string theory to non-supersymmetric backgrounds. We construct a four\ndimensional model containing self-dual D3 and D9-branes and leading to a chiral\nanomaly-free massless spectrum. Moreover, we discuss a further tachyon-free six\ndimensional model with only D5 branes. Eventually, we speculate about strong\ncoupling dual models of the ten-dimensional orientifolds of type 0B."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Thermodynamics of third order Lovelock adS black holes in the presence\n  of Born-Infeld type nonlinear electrodynamics: In this paper, we obtain topological black hole solutions of third order\nLovelock gravity couple with two classes of Born-Infeld type nonlinear\nelectrodynamics with anti-de Sitter asymptotic structure. We investigate\ngeometric and thermodynamics properties of the solutions and obtain conserved\nquantities of the black holes. We examine the first law of thermodynamics and\nfind that the conserved and thermodynamic quantities of the black hole\nsolutions satisfy the first law of thermodynamics. Finally, we calculate the\nheat capacity and determinant of Hessian matrix to evaluate thermal stability\nin both canonical and grand canonical ensembles. Moreover, we consider extended\nphase space thermodynamics to obtain generalized first law of thermodynamics as\nwell as extended Smarr formula.",
        "positive": "Odd Scalar Curvature in Anti-Poisson Geometry: Recent works have revealed that the recipe for field-antifield quantization\nof Lagrangian gauge theories can be considerably relaxed when it comes to\nchoosing a path integral measure \\rho if a zero-order term \\nu_{\\rho} is added\nto the \\Delta operator. The effects of this odd scalar term \\nu_{\\rho} become\nrelevant at two-loop order. We prove that \\nu_{\\rho} is essentially the odd\nscalar curvature of an arbitrary torsion-free connection that is compatible\nwith both the anti-Poisson structure E and the density \\rho. This extends a\nprevious result for non-degenerate antisymplectic manifolds to degenerate\nanti-Poisson manifolds that admit a compatible two-form."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-Relativistic BMS algebra: We construct two possible candidates for the non-relativistic\n$\\mathfrak{bms}_4$ algebra in 4 space-time dimensions by contracting the\noriginal relativistic $\\mathfrak{bms}_4$ algebra. The $\\mathfrak{bms}_4$\nalgebra is infinite-dimensional, and it contains the generators of the\nPoincar\\'e algebra, together with the so-called super-translations. Similarly,\nthe proposed $\\mathfrak{nrbms}_4$ algebras can be regarded as two\ninfinite-dimensional extensions of the Bargmann algebra. We also study a\ncanonical realisation of one these algebras in terms of the Fourier modes of a\nfree Schr\\\"odinger field, mimicking the canonical realisation of the\nrelativistic $\\mathfrak{bms}_4$ algebra using a free Klein-Gordon field.",
        "positive": "Octonionic Gravitational Instantons: We construct eight-dimensional gravitational instantons by solving\nappropriate self-duality equations for the spin-connection. The particular\ngravitational instanton we present has $Spin(7)$ holonomy and, in a sense, it\nis the eight-dimensional analog of the Eguchi-Hanson 4D space. It has a\nremovable bolt singularity which is topologically S^4 and its boundary at\ninfinity is the squashed S^7. We also lift our solutions to ten and eleven\ndimensions and construct fundamental string and membrane configurations that\npreserve 1/16 of the original supersymmetries."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Black Holes as Brains: Neural Networks with Area Law Entropy: Motivated by the potential similarities between the underlying mechanisms of\nthe enhanced memory storage capacity in black holes and in brain networks, we\nconstruct an artificial quantum neural network based on gravity-like synaptic\nconnections and a symmetry structure that allows to describe the network in\nterms of geometry of a d-dimensional space. We show that the network possesses\na critical state in which the gapless neurons emerge that appear to inhabit a\n(d-1)-dimensional surface, with their number given by the surface area. In the\nexcitations of these neurons, the network can store and retrieve an\nexponentially large number of patterns within an arbitrarily narrow energy gap.\nThe corresponding micro-state entropy of the brain network exhibits an area\nlaw. The neural network can be described in terms of a quantum field, via\nidentifying the different neurons with the different momentum modes of the\nfield, while identifying the synaptic connections among the neurons with the\ninteractions among the corresponding momentum modes. Such a mapping allows to\nattribute a well-defined sense of geometry to an intrinsically non-local\nsystem, such as the neural network, and vice versa, it allows to represent the\nquantum field model as a neural network.",
        "positive": "Stable Solitons in Field Theory Models for Tachyon Condensation: We study soliton solutions in scalar field theory with a variety of unbounded\npotentials. A subset of these potentials have Gaussian lump solutions and their\nfluctuation spectrum is governed by the harmonic oscillator problem. These\nlumps are unstable with one tachyonic mode. Soliton solutions in several other\nclasses of potentials are stable and are of kink type. The problem of the\nstability of these solutions is related to a supersymmetric quantum mechanics\nproblem. The fluctuation spectrum is not equispaced and does not contain any\ntachyonic mode. The lowest energy mode is the massless Goldstone mode which\nrestores broken translation invariance."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Phenomenology of Tachyon Radiation: We present a brief overview of the different kinds of electromagnetic\nradiations expected to come from (or to be induced by) space-like sources\n(tachyons). New domains of radiation are here considered; and the possibility\nof experimental observation of tachyons via electromagnetic radiation is\ndiscussed.",
        "positive": "Cubic interactions of massless higher spins in (A)dS: metric-like\n  approach: Cubic interactions of higher-spin gauge fields in (A)dS are studied in the\nmetric-like approach. Making use of the traceless and transverse constraints\ntogether with the ambient-space formalism, all consistent parity-invariant\ncubic vertices are obtained for d>3 in closed form pointing out the key role of\ntheir flat-space counterparts."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The relativistic virial theorem and scale invariance: The virial theorem is related to the dilatation properties of bound states.\nThis is realized, in particular, by the Landau-Lifshitz formulation of the\nrelativistic virial theorem, in terms of the trace of the energy-momentum\ntensor. We construct a Hamiltonian formulation of dilatations in which the\nrelativistic virial theorem naturally arises as the condition of stability\nagainst dilatations. A bound state becomes scale invariant in the\nultrarelativistic limit, in which its energy vanishes. However, for very\nrelativistic bound states, scale invariance is broken by quantum effects and\nthe virial theorem must include the energy-momentum tensor trace anomaly. This\nquantum field theory virial theorem is directly related to the Callan-Symanzik\nequations. The virial theorem is applied to QED and then to QCD, focusing on\nthe bag model of hadrons. In massless QCD, according to the virial theorem, 3/4\nof a hadron mass corresponds to quarks and gluons and 1/4 to the trace anomaly.",
        "positive": "Inflationary implications of the Covariant Entropy Bound and the\n  Swampland de Sitter Conjectures: We present a proposal to relate the de Sitter Conjecture (dSC) to the\nCovariant Entropy Bound (CEB). By assuming an early phase of accelerated\nexpansion where the CEB is satisfied, we take into account a contribution from\nextra-dimensions to the four-dimensional entropy which restricts the values of\nthe usual slow-roll parameters. We show in this context that the dSC\ninequalities follow from the CEB -- including their mutual exclusion -- in both\nsingle and multi-field inflationary scenarios. We also observe that the order\none constants, c and c' in the conjecture are given in terms of physical\nquantities such as the change in entropy over time, the Hubble constant and the\ndynamics of the effective scalar fields. Finally, we give a simple example to\nillustrate a possible contribution to the four-dimensional entropy from a flux\nstring scenario."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "At the End of the World: Local Dynamical Cobordism: The Cobordism Conjecture states that any Quantum Gravity configuration\nadmits, at topological level, a boundary ending spacetime. We study the\ndynamical realization of cobordism, as spacetime dependent solutions of\nEinstein gravity coupled to scalars containing such end-of-the-world \"branes\".\nThe latter appear in effective theory as a singularity at finite spacetime\ndistance at which scalars go off to infinite field space distance. We provide a\nlocal description near the end-of-the-world branes, in which the solutions\nsimplify dramatically and are characterized in terms of a critical exponent,\nwhich controls the asymptotic profiles of fields and the universal scaling\nrelations among the spacetime distance to the singularity, the field space\ndistance, and the spacetime curvature. The analysis does not rely on\nsupersymmetry. We study many explicit examples of such Local Dynamical\nCobordisms in string theory, including 10d massive IIA, the 10d\nnon-supersymmetric $USp(32)$ theory, Bubbles of Nothing, 4d $ \\mathcal{N}=1 $\ncosmic string solutions, the Klebanov-Strassler throat, D$p$-brane solutions,\nbrane configurations related to the D1/D5 systems, and small black holes. Our\nframework encompasses diverse recent setups in which scalars diverge at the\ncore of defects, by regarding them as suitable end-of-the-world branes. We\nexplore the interplay of Local Dynamical Cobordisms with the Distance\nConjecture and other swampland constraints.",
        "positive": "Is Renormalized Entanglement Entropy Stationary at RG Fixed Points?: The renormalized entanglement entropy (REE) across a circle of radius R has\nbeen proposed as a c-function in Poincar\\'e invariant (2+1)-dimensional field\ntheory. A proof has been presented of its monotonic behavior as a function of\nR, based on the strong subadditivity of entanglement entropy. However, this\nproof does not directly establish stationarity of REE at conformal fixed points\nof the renormalization group. In this note we study the REE for the free\nmassive scalar field theory near the UV fixed point described by a massless\nscalar. Our numerical calculation indicates that the REE is not stationary at\nthe UV fixed point."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Symmetric Ghost Lagrange Densities for the Coupling of Gravity to Gauge\n  Theories: We derive and present symmetric ghost Lagrange densities for the coupling of\nGeneral Relativity to Yang--Mills theories. The graviton-ghost is constructed\nwith respect to the linearized de Donder gauge fixing and the gauge ghost is\nconstructed with respect to the covariant Lorenz gauge fixing. Both ghost\nLagrange densities together with their accompanying gauge fixing Lagrange\ndensities are obtained from the action of the diffeomorphism and gauge BRST and\nanti-BRST operators on suitable gauge fixing bosons. In addition, we introduce\na total gauge fixing boson and show that the complete ghost and gauge fixing\nLagrange density can be generated thereof using the total BRST operator and the\ntotal anti-BRST operator, introduced by the author in a previous article\n(2022). This generalizes results from Baulieu and Thierry-Mieg (1982) to\nGeneral Relativity and covariant Yang--Mills theories.",
        "positive": "Strong versus Weak Coupling Confinement in N=2 Supersymmetric QCD: We consider N=2 supersymmetric QCD with the gauge group SU(N_c)=SU(N+1) and\nN_f number of quark matter multiplets, being perturbed by a small mass term for\nthe adjoint matter, so that its Coulomb branch shrinks to a number of isolated\nvacua. We discuss the vacuum where r=N quarks develop VEV's for N_f\\geq\n2N=2N_c-2 (in particular, we focus on the N_f= 2N and N_f= 2N+1 cases). In the\nequal quark mass limit at large masses this vacuum stays at weak coupling, the\nlow-energy theory has U(N) gauge symmetry and one observes the non-Abelian\nconfinement of monopoles. As we reduce the average quark mass and enter the\nstrong coupling regime the quark condensate transforms into the condensate of\ndyons. We show that the low energy description in the strongly-coupled domain\nfor the original theory is given by U(N) dual gauge theory of N_f\\geq 2N light\nnon-Abelian dyons, where the condensed dyons still cause the confinement of\nmonopoles, and not of the quarks, as can be thought by naive duality."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Characters of the W3 algebra: Traces of powers of the zero mode in the W3 Algebra have recently been found\nto be of interest, for example in relation to Black Hole thermodynamics, and\narise as the terms in an expansion of the full characters of the algebra. We\ncalculate the first few such powers in two cases. Firstly, we find the traces\nin the 3-state Potts model by using null vectors to derive modular differential\nequations for the traces. Secondly, we calculate the exact results for Verma\nmodule representations. We compare our two methods with each other and the\nresult of brute-force diagonalisation for low levels and find complete\nagreement.",
        "positive": "$T \\bar T$ and EE, with implications for (A)dS subregion encodings: We initiate a study of subregion dualities, entropy, and redundant encoding\nof bulk points in holographic theories deformed by $T \\bar T$ and its\ngeneralizations. This includes both cut off versions of Anti de Sitter\nspacetime, as well as the generalization to bulk de Sitter spacetime, for which\nwe introduce two additional examples capturing different patches of the bulk\nand incorporating the second branch of the square root dressed energy formula.\nWe provide new calculations of entanglement entropy (EE) for more general\ndivisions of the system than the symmetric ones previously available. We find\nprecise agreement between the gravity side and deformed-CFT side results to all\norders in the deformation parameter at large central charge. An analysis of the\nfate of strong subadditivity for relatively boosted regions indicates\nnonlocality reminiscent of string theory. We introduce the structure of\noperator algebras in these systems. The causal and entanglement wedges\ngeneralize to appropriate deformed theories but exhibit qualitatively new\nbehaviors, e.g. the causal wedge may exceed the entanglement wedge. This leads\nto subtleties which we express in terms of the Hamiltonian and modular\nHamiltonian evolution. Finally, we exhibit redundant encoding of bulk points,\nincluding the cosmological case."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Duality-Symmetric Three-Brane and its Coupling to Type IIB Supergravity: Starting from the bosonic sector of the M-theory super-five-brane we obtain\nthe action for duality-symmetric three-brane and construct the consistent\ncoupling of the proposed action with the bosonic sector of type IIB\nsupergravity.",
        "positive": "Reconstruction of an AdS Radiation/Boson Star Bulk Geometry Using\n  Light-cone Cuts: Light-cone cuts have recently been proposed as a method to reconstruct the\nconformal metric of a holographic spacetime. We explore how additional\ninformation about the bulk geometry gets encoded in the structure of these\nlight-cone cuts. In particular, we study how the hyperbolic angle related to a\ncusp in the light-cone cut encodes information about the matter content of the\nspacetime. We provide an explicit numerical example reconstructing the metric\nfor a 4- dimensional spacetime composed by the superposition of a boson star\nand a gas of radiation in AdS."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Wodzicki residue and anomalies of current algebras: The commutator anomalies (Schwinger terms) of current algebras in $3+1$\ndimensions are computed in terms of the Wodzicki residue of pseudodifferential\noperators; the result can be written as a (twisted) Radul 2-cocycle for the Lie\nalgebra of PSDO's. The construction of the (second quantized) current algebra\nis closely related to a geometric renormalization of the interaction\nHamiltonian $H_I=j_{\\mu} A^{\\mu}$ in gauge theory.",
        "positive": "Smooth Bosonization as a Quantum Canonical Transformation: We consider a 1+1 dimensional field theory which contains both a complex\nfermion field and a real scalar field. We then construct a unitary operator\nthat, by a similarity transformation, gives a continuum of equivalent theories\nwhich smoothly interpolate between the massive Thirring model and the\nsine-Gordon model. This provides an implementation of smooth bosonization\nproposed by Damgaard et al. as well as an example of a quantum canonical\ntransformation for a quantum field theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exceptional Field Theory II: E$_{7(7)}$: We introduce exceptional field theory for the group E_{7(7)}, based on a\n(4+56)-dimensional spacetime subject to a covariant section condition. The\n`internal' generalized diffeomorphisms of the coordinates in the fundamental\nrepresentation of E_{7(7)} are governed by a covariant `E-bracket', which is\ngauged by 56 vector fields. We construct the complete and unique set of field\nequations that is gauge invariant under generalized diffeomorphisms in the\ninternal and external coordinates. Among them feature the non-abelian twisted\nself-duality equations for the 56 gauge vectors. We discuss the explicit\nsolutions of the section condition describing the embedding of the full,\nuntruncated 11-dimensional and type IIB supergravity, respectively. As a new\nfeature compared to the previously constructed E_{6(6)} formulation, some\ncomponents among the 56 gauge vectors descend from the 11-dimensional dual\ngraviton but nevertheless allow for a consistent coupling by virtue of a\ncovariantly constrained compensating 2-form gauge field.",
        "positive": "Planckian Axions and the Weak Gravity Conjecture: Several recent works have claimed that the Weak Gravity Conjecture (WGC)\nexcludes super-Planckian displacements of axion fields, and hence large-field\naxion inflation, in the absence of monodromy. We argue that in theories with\n$N\\gg1$ axions, super-Planckian axion diameters $\\cal{D}$ are readily allowed\nby the WGC. We clarify the nontrivial relationship between the kinetic matrix\n$K$ --- unambiguously defined by its form in a Minkowski-reduced basis --- and\nthe diameter of the axion fundamental domain, emphasizing that in general the\ndiameter is not solely determined by the eigenvalues $f_1^2 \\le ... \\le f_N^2$\nof $K$: the orientations of the eigenvectors with respect to the\nidentifications imposed by instantons must be incorporated. In particular, even\nif one were to impose the condition $f_N<M_{pl}$, this would imply neither\n${\\cal D}<M_{pl}$ nor ${\\cal D}<\\sqrt{N}M_{pl}$. We then estimate the actions\nof instantons that fulfill the WGC. The leading instanton action is bounded\nfrom below by $S \\ge {\\cal S} M_{pl}/f_N$, with ${\\cal S}$ a fixed constant,\nbut in the universal limit $S\\gtrsim {\\cal S} \\sqrt{N}M_{pl}/f_N$. Thus, having\n$f_N>M_{pl}$ does not immediately imply the existence of unsuppressed higher\nharmonic contributions to the potential. Finally, we argue that in effective\naxion-gravity theories, the zero-form version of the WGC can be satisfied by\ngravitational instantons that make negligible contributions to the potential."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Generalised cosmology of codimension-two braneworlds: It has recently been argued that codimension-two braneworlds offer a\npromising line of attack on the cosmological constant problem, since in such\nmodels the Hubble rate is not directly related to the brane tension. We point\nout challenges to building more general models where the brane content is not\nrestricted to pure tension. In order to address these challenges, we construct\na thick brane model which we linearize around a well known static solution. We\nshow that the model's cosmology does reduce to standard FRW behaviour, but find\nno hint of a self-tuning mechanism which might help solve the cosmological\nconstant problem whithin the context of non-supersymmetric Einstein gravity.",
        "positive": "Conformal Correlators on the Lorentzian Torus: The general form of a 2D conformal field theory (CFT) correlator on a\nEuclidean Riemann surface, Lorentzian plane or Lorentzian cylinder is\nwell-known. This paper describes the general form of 2- and 3-point CFT\ncorrelators on the Lorentzian torus $\\mathcal{LT}^2$ which arises as the\nconformal boundary of the group manifold $\\mathrm{SL}(2,\\mathbb{R})$ $\\simeq\n\\text{AdS}_3/\\mathbb{Z}$. We consider only generic points, thereby omitting an\nanalysis of contact terms, which already exhibits a surprisingly rich\nstructure. The results are relevant to celestial holography, for which the\n$\\mathcal{LT}^2$ at the boundary of Klein space is the home of the putative\ncelestial CFT."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Algorithmic derivation of functional renormalization group equations and\n  Dyson-Schwinger equations: We present the Mathematica application DoFun which allows to derive\nDyson-Schwinger equations and renormalization group flow equations for n-point\nfunctions in a simple manner. DoFun offers several tools which considerably\nsimplify the derivation of these equations from a given physical action. We\ndiscuss the application of DoFun by means of two different types of quantum\nfield theories, namely a bosonic O(N) theory and the Gross-Neveu model.",
        "positive": "T-duality in the weakly curved background: We consider the closed string propagating in the weakly curved background\nwhich consists of constant metric and Kalb-Ramond field with infinitesimally\nsmall coordinate dependent part. We propose the procedure for constructing the\nT-dual theory, performing T-duality transformations along coordinates on which\nthe Kalb-Ramond field depends. The obtained theory is defined in the\nnon-geometric double space, described by the Lagrange multiplier $y_\\mu$ and\nits $T$-dual $\\tilde{y}_\\mu$. We apply the proposed T-duality procedure to the\nT-dual theory and obtain the initial one. We discuss the standard relations\nbetween T-dual theories that the equations of motion and momenta modes of one\ntheory are the Bianchi identities and the winding modes of the other."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Massive Degeneracy and Goldstone Bosons: A Challenge for the Light Cone: Wherein it is argued that the light front formalism has problems dealing with\nGoldstone symmetries. It is further argued that the notion that in hadron\ncondensates can explain Goldstone phenomena is false.",
        "positive": "Subleading Microstate Counting in the Dual to Massive Type IIA: We study the topologically twisted index of a certain Chern-Simons matter\ntheory with $SU(N)$ level $k$ gauge group on a genus $g$ Riemann surface times\na circle. For this theory it is known that the logarithm of the topologically\ntwisted index grows as $N^{5/3}$ and that it matches the Bekenstein-Hawking\nentropy of certain magnetically charged asymptotically $AdS_4\\times S^6$ black\nholes in massive type IIA supergravity. Through a combination of numerical and\nanalytical techniques we study the subleading in $N$ structure. We demonstrate\nprecise analytic cancellation of terms of orders $N\\log\\,N$ and $N^{1/3}\\log N$\nand show numerical cancellation for terms of order $N$. As a result, the first\nsubleading correction is of order $N^{2/3}$. Furthermore, we provide evidence\nfor the presence of a term of the form $(g-1)(7/18) \\log \\,N$ which constitutes\na microscopic prediction for the one-loop contribution coming from the massless\ngravitational degrees of freedom in the massive IIA black hole."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Weyl's Gauge Invariance: Conformal Geometry, Spinors, Supersymmetry, and\n  Interactions: We extend our program, of coupling theories to scale in order to make their\nWeyl invariance manifest, to include interacting theories, fermions and\nsupersymmetric theories. The results produce mass terms coinciding with the\nstandard ones for universes that are Einstein, but are novel in general\nbackgrounds. They are generalizations of the gravitational couplings of a\nconformally improved scalar to fields with general scaling and tensor\nproperties. The couplings we find are more general than just trivial ones\nfollowing from the conformal compensating mechanisms. In particular, in the\nsetting where a scale gauge field (or dilaton) is included, masses correspond\nto Weyl weights of fields organized in ``tractor'' multiplets.\nBreitenlohner--Freedman bounds follow directly from reality of these weights.\nMoreover, massive, massless and partially massless theories are handled in a\nuniform framework. Also, bona fide Weyl invariant theories (invariant without\ncoupling to scale) can be directly derived in this approach. The results are\nbased on the tractor calculus approach to conformal geometry, in particular we\nshow how to handle fermi fields, supersymmetry and Killing spinors using\ntractor techniques. Another useful consequence of the construction is that it\nautomatically produces the (anti) de Sitter theories obtained by log-radial\nreduction of Minkowski theories in one higher dimension. Theories presented in\ndetail include interacting scalars, spinors, Rarita--Schwinger fields, and the\ninteracting Wess--Zumino model.",
        "positive": "Conformally covariant operators of mixed-symmetry tensors and MAGs: We compute conformally covariant actions and operators for tensors with mixed\nsymmetries in arbitrary dimension $d$. Our results complete the classification\nof conformal actions that are quadratic on arbitrary tensors with three\nindices, which allows to write corresponding conformal actions for all tensor\nspecies that appear in the decomposition of the distorsion tensor of an\narbitrary metric-affine theory of gravity including both torsion and\nnonmetricity. We also discuss the degrees of freedom that such theories are\npropagating, as well as interacting metric-affine theories that enjoy the\nconformal actions in the Gaussian limit."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "S-fold magnetic quivers: Magnetic quivers and Hasse diagrams for Higgs branches of rank $r$ 4d\n$\\mathcal{N}=2$ SCFTs arising from $\\mathbb{Z}_{\\ell}$ $\\mathcal{S}$-fold\nconstructions are discussed. The magnetic quivers are derived using three\ndifferent methods: 1) Using clues like dimension, global symmetry, and the\nfolding parameter $\\ell$ to guess the magnetic quiver. 2) From 6d\n$\\mathcal{N}=(1,0)$ SCFTs as UV completions of 5d marginal theories, and\nspecific FI deformations on their magnetic quiver, which is further folded by\n$\\mathbb{Z}_{\\ell}$. 3) From T-duality of Type IIA brane systems of 6d\n$\\mathcal{N}=(1,0)$ SCFTs and explicit mass deformation of the resulting brane\nweb followed by $\\mathbb{Z}_{\\ell}$ folding. A choice of the ungauging scheme,\neither on a long node or on a short node, yields two different moduli spaces\nrelated by an orbifold action, thus suggesting a larger set of SCFTs in four\ndimensions than previously expected.",
        "positive": "Conformal internal symmetry of $2d$ $\u03c3$-models coupled to gravity\n  and a dilaton: General Relativity reduced to two dimensions possesses a large group of\nsymmetries that exchange classical solutions. The associated Lie algebra is\nknown to contain the affine Kac-Moody algebra $A_1^{(1)}$ and half of a real\nWitt algebra. In this paper we exhibit the full symmetry under the semi-direct\nproduct of $\\Lie{A_1^{(1)}}$ by the Witt algebra $\\Lie{\\Wir}$. Furthermore we\nexhibit the corresponding hidden gauge symmetries. We show that the theory can\nbe understood in terms of an infinite dimensional potential space involving all\ndegrees of freedom: the dilaton as well as matter and gravitation. In the\ndilaton sector the linear system that extends the previously known Lax pair has\nthe form of a twisted self-duality constraint that is the analog of the\nself-duality constraint arising in extended supergravities in higher spacetime\ndimensions. Our results furnish a group theoretical explanation for the\nsimultaneous occurrence of two spectral parameters, a constant one ($=y$) and a\nvariable one ($=t$). They hold for all $2d$ non-linear $\\sigma$-models that are\nobtained by dimensional reduction of $G/H$ models in three dimensions coupled\nto pure gravity. In that case the Lie algebra is $\\Lie{\\Wir \\semi G^{(1)}}$;\nthis symmetry acts on a set of off shell fields (in a fixed gauge) and\npreserves the equations of motion."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fundamental Strings as Noncommutative Solitons: The interpretation of closed fundamental strings as solitons in open string\nfield theory is reviewed. Noncommutativity is introduced to facilitate an\nexplicit construction. The tension is computed exactly and the correct spectrum\nis recovered at long wave length.",
        "positive": "String Field Theory -- A Modern Introduction: This book provides an introduction to string field theory (SFT). String\ntheory is usually formulated in the worldsheet formalism, which describes a\nsingle string (first-quantization). While this approach is intuitive and could\nbe pushed far due to the exceptional properties of two-dimensional theories, it\nbecomes cumbersome for some questions or even fails at a more fundamental\nlevel. These motivations have led to the development of SFT, a description of\nstring theory using the field theory formalism (second-quantization). As a\nfield theory, SFT provides a rigorous and constructive formulation of string\ntheory.\n  The main objective is to construct the closed bosonic SFT and to explain how\nto assess the consistency of string theory with it. The accent is put on\nproviding the reader with the foundations, conceptual understanding and\nintuition of what SFT is. After reading this book, they should be able to study\nthe applications from the literature.\n  The book is organized in two parts. The first part reviews the topics of the\nworldsheet theory that are necessary to build SFT (worldsheet path integral,\nCFT and BRST quantization). The second part starts by introducing general\nconcepts of SFT from the BRST quantization. Then, it introduces off-shell\nstring amplitudes before providing a Feynman diagrams interpretation from which\nthe building blocks of SFT are extracted. After constructing the closed SFT, it\nis used to outline the proofs of several important consistency properties, such\nas background independence, unitarity and crossing symmetry. Finally, the\ngeneralization to the superstring is also discussed.\n  This book grew up from lecture notes for a course given at the\nLudwig-Maximilians-Universit\\\"at LMU (winter semesters 2017-2018 and\n2018-2019). The current document is the draft of the manuscript published by\nSpringer."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Computer Test of Holographic Flavour Dynamics: We perform computer simulations of the Berkooz-Douglas (BD) matrix model,\nholographically dual to the D0/D4-brane intersection. We generate the\nfundamental condensate versus bare mass curve of the theory both\nholographically and from simulations of the BD model. Our studies show\nexcellent agreement of the two approaches in the deconfined phase of the theory\nand significant deviations in the confined phase. We argue the discrepancy in\nthe confined phase is explained by the embedding of the D4-brane which yields\nstronger $\\alpha'$ corrections to the condensate in this phase.",
        "positive": "Light-by-Light Scattering Effect in Light-Cone Supergraphs: We give a relatively simple explanation of the light-cone supergraph\nprediction for the UV properties of the maximally supersymmetric theories. It\nis based on the existence of a dynamical supersymmetry which is not manifest in\nthe light-cone supergraphs. It suggests that N=4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills\ntheory is UV finite and N=8 supergravity is UV finite at least until 7 loops\nwhereas the $n$-point amplitudes have no UV divergences at least until $L=n+3$.\nHere we show that this prediction can be deduced from the properties of\nlight-cone supergraphs analogous to the light-by-light scattering effect in\nQED. A technical aspect of the argument relies on the observation that the\ndynamical supersymmetry action is, in fact, a compensating field-dependent\ngauge transformation required for the retaining the light-cone gauge condition\n$A_+=0$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Mass Spectrum in SQCD. Unequal quark masses: N=1 SQCD with N_c colors and two types of light quarks: N_l flavors with\nsmaller masses m_l and N_h=N_F-N_l flavors with larger masses m_h,\nN_c<N_F<3N_c, 0<m_l \\leq m_h \\ll \\Lambda, is considered within the dynamical\nscenario in which quarks can form the coherent colorless diquark-condensate.\nThere are several phase states at different values of parameters r=m_l/m_h,\nN_l, and N_F. Properties of these phases and the mass spectra therein are\ndescribed.",
        "positive": "Color structures and permutations: Color structures for tree level scattering amplitudes in gauge theory are\nstudied in order to determine the symmetry properties of the color-ordered\nsub-amplitudes. We mathematically formulate the space of color structures\ntogether with the action of permuting external legs. The character generating\nfunctions are presented from the mathematical literature and we determine the\ndecomposition into irreducible representations. Mathematically, free Lie\nalgebras and the Lie operad are central. A study of the implications for\nsub-amplitudes is initiated and we prove directly that both the Parke-Taylor\namplitudes and Cachazo-He-Yuan amplitudes satisfy the Kleiss-Kuijf relations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Semiclassical corrections to black hole entropy and the generalized\n  uncertainty principle: In this paper, employing the path integral method in the framework of a\ncanonical description of a Schwarzschild black hole, we obtain the corrected\ninverse temperature and entropy of the black hole. The corrections are those\ncoming from the quantum effects as well as from the Generalized Uncertainty\nPrinciple effects. Furthermore, an equivalence between the polymer quantization\nand the Generalized Uncertainty Principle description is shown provided the\nparameters characterizing these two descriptions are proportional.",
        "positive": "Polynomial Form Factors in the O(3) Nonlinear sigma-Model: We study the general structure of Smirnov's axioms on form factors of local\noperators in integrable models. We find various consistency conditions that the\nform factor functions have to satisfy. For the special case of the $O(3)$\n$\\sigma$-model we construct simple polynomial solutions for the operators of\nthe spin-field, current, energy-momentum tensor and topological charge density."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A New Derivation of the Picard-Fuchs Equations for Effective $N = 2$\n  Super Yang-Mills Theories: A new method to obtain the Picard-Fuchs equations of effective $N = 2$\nsupersymmetric gauge theories in 4 dimensions is developed. It includes both\npure super Yang-Mills and supersymmetric gauge theories with massless matter\nhypermultiplets. It applies to all classical gauge groups, and directly\nproduces a decoupled set of second-order, partial differential equations\nsatisfied by the period integrals of the Seiberg-Witten differential along the\n1-cycles of the algebraic curves describing the vacuum structure of the\ncorresponding $N = 2$ theory.",
        "positive": "Superstrings on AdS_5 x S^5 supertwistor space: We derive the Green-Schwarz action on AdS_5 x S^5 using an alternate version\nof the coset superspace construction. By Wick rotations and Lie algebra\nidentifications we bring the coset to GL(4|4)/(Sp(4) x GL(1))^2, which allows\nus to represent the conformal transformations on unconstrained matrices. The\nderivation is more streamlined even for the bosonic sector, and conformal\nsymmetry is manifest at every step. Kappa-symmetry gauge fixing is more\ntransparent."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Deformation Quantization and Wigner Functions: We review the Weyl-Wigner formulation of quantum mechanics in phase space. We\ndiscuss the concept of Narcowich-Wigner spectrum and use it to state necessary\nand sufficient conditions for a phase space function to be a Wigner\ndistribution. Based on this formalism we analize the modifications introduced\nby the presence of boundaries. Finally, we discuss the concept of\nenvironment-induced decoherence in the context of the Weyl-Wigner approach.",
        "positive": "Solitons in Brane Worlds II: We study the solution describing a non-extreme dilatonic (p+1)-brane\nintersecting a D-dimensional extreme dilatonic domain wall, where one of its\nlongitudinal directions is along the direction transverse to the domain wall,\nin relation to the Randall-Sundrum type model. The dynamics of the probe\n(p+1)-brane in such source background reproduces that of the probe p-brane in\nthe background of the (D-1)-dimensional source p-brane. However, as for a probe\ntest particle, the dynamics in one lower dimensions is reproduced, only when\nthe source (p+1)-brane is uncharged."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Topics in Two-Loop Superstring Perturbation Theory: In this contribution to the Proceedings of the Conference on Analysis,\nComplex Geometry, and Mathematical Physics, an expository overview of\nsuperstring perturbation theory to two loop order is presented to an audience\nof mathematicians and physicists. Recent results on perturbative supersymmetry\nbreaking effects in Heterotic string theory compactified on Z_2 \\times Z_2\nCalabi-Yau orbifolds, and the calculation of the two-loop vacuum energy in\nthese theories are discussed in detail, and the appearance of a new modular\nidentity with respect to Sp(4,Z)/Z_4 is reviewed.",
        "positive": "Classification of Quantum Hall Universality Classes by $\\ W_{1+\\infty}\\\n  $ symmetry: We show how two-dimensional incompressible quantum fluids and their\nexcitations can be viewed as $\\ W_{1+\\infty}\\ $ edge conformal field theories,\nthereby providing an algebraic characterization of incompressibility. The\nKac-Radul representation theory of the $\\ W_{1+\\infty}\\ $ algebra leads then to\na purely algebraic complete classification of hierarchical quantum Hall states,\nwhich encompasses all measured fractions. Spin-polarized electrons in\nsingle-layer devices can only have Abelian anyon excitations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quark Masses from Gaugino Condensation in String Theories: We present a mechanism able to generate the perturbatively absent up/down\n$<{\\bf 10} \\cdot {\\bf 10} \\cdot {\\bf 5}^H>$ quark Yukawa couplings of\nSU(5)/flipped SU(5) GUTS in Type II orientifold compactifications with\nD-branes. The mechanism works when there are Sp(N) gauge groups involved. The\n${\\bf {\\bar 5}}$'s get charged under the Sp(N) gauge groups and the generation\nof quark masses proceeds via the generation of the fermionic Sp(N) singlet\ncondensate $<{\\bf {\\bar 5} \\cdot {\\bar 5} \\cdot {\\bar 5} \\cdot {\\bar 5}}>$ in\nthe term $(1/{M_s^5}) {\\bf 10} \\cdot {\\bf 10} \\cdot < {\\bf {\\bar 5} \\cdot {\\bar\n5} \\cdot {\\bar 5} \\cdot {\\bar 5}}>$. Also non-chiral states charged under Sp\ngauge groups may become constrained by the requirement of Sp's becoming\nstrongly coupled.",
        "positive": "The Proof of the Dijkgraaf-Vafa Conjecture and application to the mass\n  gap and confinement problems: Using generalized Konishi anomaly equations, it is known that one can\nexpress, in a large class of supersymmetric gauge theories, all the chiral\noperators expectation values in terms of a finite number of a priori arbitrary\nconstants. We show that these constants are fully determined by the requirement\nof gauge invariance and an additional anomaly equation. The constraints so\nobtained turn out to be equivalent to the extremization of the Dijkgraaf-Vafa\nquantum glueball superpotential, with all terms (including the\nVeneziano-Yankielowicz part) unambiguously fixed. As an application, we fill\nnon-trivial gaps in existing derivations of the mass gap and confinement\nproperties in super Yang-Mills theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Diagrammatics of a colored SYK model and of an SYK-like tensor model,\n  leading and next-to-leading orders: The Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev (SYK) model is a model of $q$ interacting fermions.\nGross and Rosenhaus have proposed a generalization of the SYK model which\ninvolves fermions with different flavors. In terms of Feynman graphs, those\nflavors are reminiscent of the colors used in random tensor theory. This gives\nus the opportunity to apply some modern, yet elementary, tools developed in the\ncontext of random tensors to one particular instance of such colored SYK\nmodels. We illustrate our method by identifying all diagrams which contribute\nto the leading and next-to-leading orders of the 2-point and 4-point functions\nin the large $N$ expansion, and argue that our method can be further applied if\nnecessary. In a second part we focus on the recently introduced Gurau-Witten\ntensor model and also extract the leading and next-to-leading orders of the\n2-point and 4-point functions. This analysis turns out to be remarkably more\ninvolved than in the colored SYK model.",
        "positive": "Gravitational Dressing of Aharonov-Bohm Amplitudes: We investigate Aharonov-Bohm scattering in a theory in which charged bosonic\nmatter fields are coupled to topologically massive electrodynamics and\ntopologically massive gravity. We demonstrate that, at one-loop order, the\ntransmuted spins in this theory are related to the ones of ordinary\nChern-Simons gauge theory in the same way that the\nKnizhnik-Polyakov-Zamolodchikov formula relates the Liouville-dressed conformal\nweights of primary operators to the bare weights in two-dimensional conformal\nfield theories. We remark on the implications of this connection between\ntwo-dimensional conformal field theories and three-dimensional gauge and\ngravity theories for a topological membrane reformulation of strings. We also\ndiscuss some features of the gravitational analog of the Aharonov-Bohm effect."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Information Retrieval from a Charge `Trap': We study the model of massless $1+1$ electrodynamics with nonconstant\ncoupling, introduced by Peet, Susskind and Thorlacius as the `charge hole'. But\nwe take the boundary of the strong coupling region to be first timelike, then\nspacelike for a distance $X$, and then timelike again (to mimic the structure\nof a black hole). For an incident charge pulse entering this `charge trap' the\ncharge and information get separated. The charge comes out near the endpoint of\nthe singularity. The `information' travels a well localised path through the\nstrong coupling region and comes out later.",
        "positive": "Machine Learning CICY Threefolds: The latest techniques from Neural Networks and Support Vector Machines (SVM)\nare used to investigate geometric properties of Complete Intersection\nCalabi-Yau (CICY) threefolds, a class of manifolds that facilitate string model\nbuilding. An advanced neural network classifier and SVM are employed to (1)\nlearn Hodge numbers and report a remarkable improvement over previous efforts,\n(2) query for favourability, and (3) predict discrete symmetries, a highly\nimbalanced problem to which both Synthetic Minority Oversampling Technique\n(SMOTE) and permutations of the CICY matrix are used to decrease the class\nimbalance and improve performance. In each case study, we employ a genetic\nalgorithm to optimise the hyperparameters of the neural network. We demonstrate\nthat our approach provides quick diagnostic tools capable of shortlisting\nquasi-realistic string models based on compactification over smooth CICYs and\nfurther supports the paradigm that classes of problems in algebraic geometry\ncan be machine learned."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Field Theory: Spin Zero: This is a draft version of Part I of a three-part textbook on quantum field\ntheory.",
        "positive": "On type 0 string theory in solvable RR backgrounds: Motivated by a possibility of solving non-supersymmetric type 0 string theory\nin $AdS_5 \\times S^5$ background using integrability, we revisit the\nconstruction of type 0 string spectrum in some solvable examples of backgrounds\nwith RR fluxes that are common to type IIB and type 0B theories. The presence\nof RR fluxes requires the use of a Green-Schwarz description for type 0 string\ntheory. Like in flat space, the spectrum of type 0 theory can be derived from\nthe type II theory spectrum by a $(-1)^F$ orbifolding, i.e. combining the\nuntwisted sector where GS fermions are periodic with the twisted sector where\nGS fermions are antiperiodic (and projecting out all spacetime fermionic\nstates). This construction of the type 0 spectrum may also be implemented using\na Melvin background that allows to continuously interpolate between the type II\nand type 0 theories. As an illustration, we discuss the type 0B spectrum in the\npp-wave background which is the Penrose limit of $AdS_5 \\times S^5$ with RR\n5-form flux and also in the pp-wave background which is the Penrose limit of\n$AdS_3 \\times S^3 \\times T^4$ supported by mixed RR and NSNS 3-form fluxes. We\nshow that increasing the strength of the RR flux increases the value of the\neffective normal ordering constant (which determines the mass of the type 0\ntachyon) and thus effectively decreases the momentum-space domain of\ninstability of the ground state. We also comment on the semiclassical sector of\nstates of type 0B theory in $AdS_5 \\times S^5$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The double cone geometry is stable to brane nucleation: In gauge/gravity duality, the bulk double cone geometry has been argued to\naccount for a key feature of the spectral form factor known as the ramp. This\nfeature is deeply associated with quantum chaos in the dual field theory. The\nconnection with the ramp has been demonstrated in detail for two-dimensional\ntheories of bulk gravity, but it appears natural in higher dimensions as well.\nIn a general bulk theory the double cone might thus be expected to dominate the\nsemiclassical bulk path integral for the boundary spectral form factor in the\nramp regime. While other known spacetime wormholes have been shown to be\nunstable to brane nucleation when they dominate over known disconnected\n(factorizing) solutions, we argue that the double cone is stable to\nsemiclassical brane nucleation at the probe-brane level in a variety of string-\nand M-theory settings. Possible implications for the AdS/CFT factorization\nproblem are briefly discussed.",
        "positive": "IIA Ten-forms and the Gauge Algebras of Maximal Supergravity Theories: We show that IIA supergravity can be extended with two independent 10-form\npotentials. These give rise to a single BPS IIA 9-brane. We investigate the\nbosonic gauge algebra of both IIA and IIB supergravity in the presence of\n10-form potentials and point out an intriguing relation with the symmetry\nalgebra $E_{11}$, which has been conjectured to be the underlying symmetry of\nstring theory/M-theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Probing magnetic line defects with two-point functions: This paper studies magnetic line defects in the Wilson-Fisher $O(N)$ model. A\npowerful method to probe the system is to consider mixed two-point functions of\nthe order parameter and the energy operator in the presence of the defect. A\nrecently developed dispersion relation allows us to bootstrap these mixed\ncorrelators to leading order in the $\\epsilon$-expansion. We also carry out\nexplicit diagrammatic calculations, finding perfect agreement with the\nbootstrap, and we conclude extracting the new CFT data predicted by the\ntwo-point functions.",
        "positive": "On extremal transitions of Calabi-Yau threefolds and the singularity of\n  the associated 7-space from rolling: M-theory compactification leads one to consider 7-manifolds obtained by\nrolling Calabi-Yau threefolds in the web of Calabi-Yau moduli spaces. The\nresulting 7-space in general has singularities governed by the extremal\ntransition undergone. After providing some background in Sec. 1, the simplest\ncase of conifold transitions is studied in Sec. 2. In Sec. 3 we employ\ntopological methods, Smale's classification theorem of smooth simply-connected\nspin closed 5-manifolds, and a computer code in the Appendix to understand the\n5-manifolds that appear as the link of the singularity of a singuler Calabi-Yau\nthreefolds from a Type II primitive contraction of a smooth one.\n  From this we obtain many locally admissible extremal transition pairs of\nCalabi-Yau threefolds, listed in Sec. 4. Their global realization will require\nfurther study. As a mathematical byproduct in the pursuit of the subject, we\nobtain a formula to compute the topology of the boundary of the tubular\nneighborhood of a Gorenstein rational singular del Pezzo surface embedded in a\nsmooth Calabi-Yau threefold as a divisor."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Neutrino spin oscillations in gravitational fields in noncommutative\n  higher dimensions: Investigation of neutrino spin oscillation in the gravitational fields of\nblack holes(BH) is one of the interesting topics in neutrino physics. On the\nother hand, in recent years, many studies have been devoted to the exploration\nof different physical phenomena in higher dimensions. Noncommutative geometry\nhas also been in the focus of researchers in the past years to explore deeper\nand more accurate the structure of space time. In this work, the neutrino spin\noscillation in the noncommutative higher dimensions gravitational fields of\nSchwarzschild and Reissner-Nordstrom metrics are studied. The effects of\nnoncommutativity of space are calculated and its role in different dimensions\nare discussed. Finally upper bounds on noncommutativity parameter are obtained.",
        "positive": "Spinning Black Hole Binary Dynamics, Scattering Amplitudes and Effective\n  Field Theory: We describe a systematic framework for finding the conservative potential of\ncompact binary systems with spin based on scattering amplitudes of particles of\narbitrary spin and effective field theory. An arbitrary-spin formalism is\ngenerally required in the classical limit. By matching the tree and one-loop\namplitudes of four spinning particles with those of a suitably-chosen effective\nfield theory, we obtain the spin1-spin2 terms of a two-body effective\nHamiltonian through O(G^2) and valid to all orders in velocity. Solving\nHamilton's equations yields the impulse and spin changes of the individual\nbodies. We write them in a surprisingly compact form as appropriate derivatives\nof the eikonal phase obtained from the amplitude. It seems likely this\nstructure persists to higher orders. We also point out various double-copy\nrelations for general spin."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-Trivial Vacua in Higher-Derivative Gravitation: A discussion of an extended class of higher-derivative classical theories of\ngravity is presented. A procedure is given for exhibiting the new propagating\ndegrees of freedom, at the full non-linear level, by transforming the\nhigher-derivative action to a canonical second-order form. For general\nfourth-order theories, described by actions which are general functions of the\nscalar curvature, the Ricci tensor and the full Riemann tensor, it is shown\nthat the higher-derivative theories may have multiple stable vacua. The vacua\nare shown to be, in general, non-trivial, corresponding to deSitter or\nanti-deSitter solutions of the original theory. It is also shown that around\nany vacuum the elementary excitations remain the massless graviton, a massive\nscalar field and a massive ghost-like spin-two field. The analysis is extended\nto actions which are arbitrary functions of terms of the form $\\nabla^{2k}R$,\nand it is shown that such theories also have a non-trivial vacuum structure.",
        "positive": "From conformal to confining field theories using holography: We construct a new family of Type IIB backgrounds that are dual to five\ndimensional conformal field theories compactified and deformed by VEVs of\ncertain operators. This generates an RG flow into a smooth background dual to\nnon-SUSY gapped field theories in four dimensions. We study various holographic\nobservables: a monotonic quantity associated with the number of degrees of\nfreedom, Wilson loops that interpolate between conformal and confining\nbehaviour with the possibility of screening, Entanglement Entropy, etc. We also\ngive a prescription to compute the Holographic Complexity in this type of\nbackgrounds and calculate the spectrum of spin-two glueballs of the field\ntheories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Bouncing cosmology in modified Gauss-Bonnet gravity: We explore bounce cosmology in $F(\\mathcal{G})$ gravity with the Gauss-Bonnet\ninvariant $\\mathcal{G}$. We reconstruct $F(\\mathcal{G})$ gravity theory to\nrealize the bouncing behavior in the early universe and examine the stability\nconditions for its cosmological solutions. It is demonstrated that the bouncing\nbehavior with an exponential as well as a power-law scale factor naturally\noccurs in modified Gauss-Bonnet gravity. We also derive the $F(\\mathcal{G})$\ngravity model to produce the ekpyrotic scenario. Furthermore, we construct the\nbounce with the scale factor composed of a sum of two exponential functions and\nshow that not only the early-time bounce but also the late-time cosmic\nacceleration can occur in the corresponding modified Gauss-Bonnet gravity.\nAlso, the bounce and late-time solutions in this unified model is explicitly\nanalyzed.",
        "positive": "Analytic solutions of neutral hyperbolic black holes with scalar hair: We find analytic solutions of hyperbolic black holes with scalar hair in\nanti-de Sitter (AdS) space, and they do not have spherical or planar\ncounterparts. The system is obtained by taking a neutral limit of an\nEinstein-Maxwell-dilaton system whose special cases are maximal gauged\nsupergravities, while the dilaton is kept nontrivial. There are phase\ntransitions between these black holes and the hyperbolic Schwarzschild-AdS\nblack hole. We discuss two AdS/CFT applications of these hyperbolic black\nholes. One is phase transitions of holographic Renyi entropies, and the other\nis phase transitions of quantum field theories in de Sitter space. In addition,\nwe give a C-metric solution as a generalization of the hyperbolic black holes\nwith scalar hair."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Vortex and droplet in holographic D-wave superconductors: We investigate non-trivial localized solutions of the condensate in a\n(2+1)-dimensional D-wave holographic superconductor model in the presence of a\nbackground magnetic field. The calculation is done in the context of the\n(3+1)-dimensional dual gravity theory of a charged massive spin-2 field in an\nAdS black hole background. By using numeric techniques, we find both vortex and\ndroplet solutions. These solutions are important for studying the full phase\ndiagram of D-wave superconductors.",
        "positive": "On relation between Nekrasov functions and BS periods in pure SU(N) case: We investigate the duality between the Nekrasov function and the quantized\nSeiberg-Witten prepotential, first guessed in [1] and further elaborated in [2]\nand [3]. We concentrate on providing more thorough checks than the ones\npresented in [3] and do not discuss the motivation and historical context of\nthis duality. The check of the conjecture up to $o (\\hbar^6, \\ln (\\Lambda))$ is\ndone by hands for arbitrary $N$ (explicit formulas are presented). Moreover,\ndetails of the calculation that are essential for the computerization of the\ncheck are worked out. This allows us to test the conjecture up to $\\hbar^6$ and\nup to higher powers of $\\Lambda$ for $N = 2,3,4$. Only the case of pure SU(N)\ngauge theory is considered."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Deconfinement transition in three-dimensional compact U(1) gauge\n  theories coupled to matter fields: It is shown that permanent confinement in three-dimensional compact U(1)\ngauge theory can be destroyed by matter fields in a deconfinement transition.\nThis is a consequence of a non-trivial infrared fixed point caused by matter,\nand an anomalous scaling dimension of the gauge field. This leads to a\nlogarithmic interaction between the defects of the gauge-fields, which form a\ngas of magnetic monopoles. In the presence of logarithmic interactions, the\noriginal electric charges are unconfined. The confined phase which is permanent\nin the absence of matter fields is reached at a critical electric charge, where\nthe interaction between magnetic charges is screened by a pair unbinding\ntransition in a Kosterlitz-Thouless type of phase-transition.",
        "positive": "Modulated Ground State of Gravity Theories with Stabilized Conformal\n  Factor: We discuss the stabilization of the conformal factor by higher derivative\nterms in a conformally reduced $R+R^2$ Euclidean gravity theory. The flat\nspacetime is unstable towards the condensation of modes with nonzero momentum,\nand they \"condense\" in a modulated phase above a critical value of the coupling\n$\\beta$ of the $R^2$ term. By employing a combination of variational, numerical\nand lattice methods we show that in the semiclassical limit the corresponding\nfunctional integral is dominated by a single nonlinear plane wave of frequency\n$\\approx 1/\\sqrt{\\beta} \\lp$. We argue that the ground state of the theory is\ncharacterized by a spontaneous breaking of translational invariance at\nPlanckian scales."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Black Holes and Higher Composition Laws: We describe various relations between Bhargava's higher composition laws,\nwhich generalise Gauss's original composition law on integral binary quadratic\nforms, and extremal black hole solutions appearing in string/M-theory and\nrelated models. The cornerstone of these correspondences is the identification\nof the charge cube of the STU black hole with Bhargava's cube of integers,\nwhich underpins the related higher composition laws.",
        "positive": "AdS/CFT Casimir Energy for Rotating Black Holes: We show that if one chooses the Einstein Static Universe as the metric on the\nconformal boundary of Kerr-AdS spacetime, then the Casimir energy of the\nboundary conformal field theory can easily be determined. The result is\nindependent of the rotation parameters, and the total boundary energy then\nstraightforwardly obeys the first law of thermodynamics. Other choices for the\nmetric on the conformal boundary will give different, more complicated,\nresults. As an application, we calculate the Casimir energy for free self-dual\ntensor multiplets in six dimensions, and compare it with that of the\nseven-dimensional supergravity dual. They differ by a factor of 5/4."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Curvature Singularity as the Vertex Operator: The submitted paper regards the example of the Conformal Field Theory on a 2d\nmanifold which metric has a point-like singularity.Since this manifold is not\nconformally equivalent to that with the flat space-time metric,it's naturally\nto expect that the theory cannot be trivially reduced to the well-known\nconsideration of the CFT on a plane,and some modifications are\nneeded.Particularly,this paper shows how the vacuum of the theory on a singular\nsurface differs from the vacuum of the BPZ theory.Namely,this vacuum would not\nbe SL(2,C)-invariant and the expressions for the correlation functions should\nbe modified. As a consequence of that,some \"effective mass\" is brought to the\ntheory.",
        "positive": "An Analysis of Anomaly Cancellation for Theories in D=10: We prove that the swampland for D=10 N=1 SUGRA coupled to D=10 N=1 SYM is\nonly populated by U(1)^496 and E_8 x U(1)^248. With this goal in mind, we\nreview the anomalies for classical and exceptional groups, retrieving trace\nidentities up to the sixth power of the curvature for each class of groups. We\nexpand this idea for low-dimensional groups, for which the trace of the sixth\npower is known to factorize, and we retrieve such factorization. We obtain the\ntotal anomaly polynomials for individual low dimensional groups and\ncombinations of them and finally we investigate their non-factorization, in\nsuch a way that U(1)^496and E_8 xU(1)^248 are non-trivially shown to be the\nonly anomaly-free theories allowed in D=10. Using the method developed for\nchecking the factorization of gauge theories, we retrieve the Green-Schwarz\nterms for the two theories populating the swampland."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetric solitons in gauged $\\mathcal{N}=8$ supergravity: We consider soliton solutions in AdS$_{4}$ with a flat slicing and Wilson\nloops around one cycle. We study the phase structure and find the ground state\nand identify supersymmetric solutions as a function of the Wilson loops. We\nwork in the context of a scalar field truncation of gauged $\\mathcal{N}=8$\nsupergravity, where all the dilatons are equal and all the axions vanish in the\nSTU model. In this theory, we construct new soliton solutions parameterized by\ntwo Wilson lines. We find that there is a degeneracy of supersymmetric\nsolutions. We also show that, for alternate boundary conditions, there exists a\nnon-supersymmetric soliton solution with energy lower than the supersymmetric\none.",
        "positive": "Crystals, instantons and quantum toric geometry: We describe the statistical mechanics of a melting crystal in three\ndimensions and its relation to a diverse range of models arising in\ncombinatorics, algebraic geometry, integrable systems, low-dimensional gauge\ntheories, topological string theory and quantum gravity. Its partition function\ncan be computed by enumerating the contributions from noncommutative instantons\nto a six-dimensional cohomological gauge theory, which yields a dynamical\nrealization of the crystal as a discretization of spacetime at the Planck\nscale. We describe analogous relations between a melting crystal model in two\ndimensions and N=4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory in four dimensions. We\nelaborate on some mathematical details of the construction of the quantum\ngeometry which combines methods from toric geometry, isospectral deformation\ntheory and noncommutative geometry in braided monoidal categories. In\nparticular, we relate the construction of noncommutative instantons to deformed\nADHM data, torsion-free modules and a noncommutative twistor correspondence."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "String Creation, D-branes and Effective Field Theory: This paper addresses several unsettled issues associated with string creation\nin systems of orthogonal Dp-D(8-p) branes. The interaction between the branes\ncan be understood either from the closed string or open string picture. In the\nclosed string picture it has been noted that the DBI action fails to capture an\nextra RR exchange between the branes. We demonstrate how this problem persists\nupon lifting to M-theory. These D-brane systems are analysed in the closed\nstring picture by using gauge-fixed boundary states in a non-standard lightcone\ngauge, in which RR exchange can be analysed precisely. The missing piece in the\nDBI action also manifests itself in the open string picture as a mismatch\nbetween the Coleman-Weinberg potential obtained from the effective field theory\nand the corresponding open string calculation. We show that this difference can\nbe reconciled by taking into account the superghosts in the (0+1)effective\ntheory of the chiral fermion, that arises from gauge fixing the spontaneously\nbroken world-line local supersymmetries.",
        "positive": "Discrete symmetry breaking and restoration at finite temperature in 3D\n  Gross-Neveu model: Dynamical spontaneous breaking of some discrete symmetries including special\nparities and time reversal and their restoration at finite temperature T are\nresearched in 3D Gross-Neveu model by means of Schwinger-Dyson equation in the\nreal-time thermal field theory in the fermion bubble diagram approximation.\nWhen the momentum cut-off $\\Lambda$ is large enough, the equation of critical\nchemical potential $\\mu_c$ and critical temperature $T_c$ will be\n$\\Lambda$-independent and identical to the one obtained by auxialiary scalar\nfield approach. The dynamical fermion mass m, as the order parameter of\nsymmetry breaking, has the same $(T_c-T)^{1/2}$ behavior as one in 4D NJL-model\nwhen T is less than and near $T_c$ and this shows the second-order phase\ntransition feature of the symmetry restoration at $T>T_c$. It is also proven\nthat no scalar bound state could exist in this model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Determination of Boundary Contributions in Recursion Relation: In this paper, we propose a new algorithm to systematically determine the\nmissing boundary contributions, when one uses the BCFW on-shell recursion\nrelation to calculate tree amplitudes for general quantum field theories. After\nan instruction of the algorithm, we will use several examples to demonstrate\nits application, including amplitudes of color-ordered phi-4 theory, Yang-Mills\ntheory, Einstein-Maxwell theory and color-ordered Yukawa theory with phi-4\ninteraction.",
        "positive": "Homotopy Lie Superalgebra in Yang-Mills Theory: The Yang-Mills equations are formulated in the form of generalized\nMaurer-Cartan equations, such that the corresponding algebraic operations are\nshown to satisfy the defining relations of homotopy Lie superalgebra."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "3 Definitions of BF Theory on Homology 3-Spheres: 3-dimensional BF theory with gauge group $G$ (= Chern-Simons theory with\nnon-compact gauge group $TG$) is a deceptively simple yet subtle topological\ngauge theory. Formally, its partition function is a sum/integral over the\nmoduli space $\\mathcal{M}$ of flat connections, weighted by the Ray-Singer\ntorsion. In practice, however, this formal expression is almost invariably\nsingular and ill-defined.\n  In order to improve upon this, we perform a direct evaluation of the path\nintegral for certain classes of 3-manifolds (namely integral and rational\nSeifert homology spheres). By a suitable choice of gauge, we sidestep the issue\nof having to integrate over $\\mathcal{M}$ and reduce the partition function to\na finite-dimensional Abelian matrix integral which, however, itself requires a\ndefinition. We offer 3 definitions of this integral, firstly via residues, and\nthen via a large $k$ limit of the corresponding $G\\times G$ or $G_C$\nChern-Simons matrix integrals (obtained previously). We then check and discuss\nto which extent the results capture the expected sum/integral over all flat\nconnections.",
        "positive": "Quantum Loops in Non-Local Gravity: In this proceedings, I will consider quantum aspects of a non-local,\ninfinite-derivative scalar field theory - a ${\\it toy \\, model}$ depiction of a\ncovariant infinite-derivative, non-local extension of Einstein's general\nrelativity which has previously been shown to be free from ghosts around the\nMinkowski background. The graviton propagator in this theory gets an\nexponential suppression making it ${\\it asymptotically \\, free}$, thus\nproviding strong prospects of resolving various classical and quantum\ndivergences. In particular, I will find that at $1$-loop, the $2$-point\nfunction is still divergent, but once this amplitude is renormalized by adding\nappropriate counter terms, the ultraviolet (UV) behavior of all other $1$-loop\ndiagrams as well as the $2$-loop, $2$-point function remains well under\ncontrol. I will go on to discuss how one may be able to generalize our\ncomputations and arguments to arbitrary loops."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Three-Dimensional Gauge Theories and ADE Monopoles: We study three-dimensional N=4 gauge theories with product gauge groups\nconstructed from ADE Dynkin diagrams. One-loop corrections to the metric on the\nCoulomb branch are shown to coincide with the metric on the moduli space of\nwell-seperated ADE monopoles. We propose that this correspondence is exact.",
        "positive": "On massive spin-2 in the Fradkin-Vasiliev formalism. II. General massive\n  case: In this work we apply the Fradkin-Vasiliev formalism based on the frame-like\ngauge invariant description of the massive and massless spin 2 to the\nconstruction of the cubic interactions vertices for massive spin 2\nself-interaction as well as its gravitational interaction. In the first case we\nshow that the vertex can be reduced (by field redefinitions) to the set of the\ntrivially gauge invariant terms. There are four such terms which are not\nequivalent om-shell and do not contain more than four derivatives. Moreover,\none their particular combination reproduces the minimal (with no more than two\nderivatives) vertex. As for the gravitational vertex, we show that due to the\npresence of the massless spin 2 there exist two abelian vertices (besides the\nthree trivially gauge invariant ones) which are not equivalent to any trivially\ngauge invariant terms and can not be removed by field redefinitions. Moreover,\ntheir existence appears to be crucial for the possibility to reproduce the\nminimal two derivatives vertex."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "D branes in string theory, II: In these lectures we review the properties of a boosted and rotated boundary\nstate and of a boundary state with an abelian gauge field deriving from it the\nDirac-Born-Infeld action and a newly constructed class of classical solutions.\nWe also review the construction of the boundary state for the stable non-BPS\nstate of type I theory corresponding to the perturbative state present at the\nfirst excited level of the SO(32) heterotic string and transforming according\nto the spinor representation of SO(32) (Lectures presented at the YITP Workshop\non ``Developments in Superstring and M-theory'', Kyoto, Japan, October 1999).",
        "positive": "S-Dual Gravity in the Axial Gauge: We investigate an action that includes simultaneously original and dual\ngravitational fields (in the first order formalism), where the dual fields are\ncompletely determined in terms of the original fields through axial gauge\nconditions and partial (non-covariant) duality constraints. We introduce two\nkinds of matter, one that couples to the original metric, and dual matter that\ncouples to the dual metric. The linear response of both metrics to the\ncorresponding stress energy tensors coincides with Einstein's equations. In the\npresence of nonvanishing standard and dual cosmological constants a stable\nsolution with a time independent dual scale factor exists that could possibly\nsolve the cosmological constant problem, provided our world is identified with\nthe dual sector of the model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Stationary Strings and Principal Killing Triads in 2+1 Gravity: A new tool for the investigation of 2+1 dimensional gravity is proposed. It\nis shown that in a stationary 2+1 dimensional spacetime, the eigenvectors of\nthe covariant derivative of the timelike Killing vector form a rigid structure,\nthe {\\it principal Killing triad}. Two of the triad vectors are null, and in\nmany respects they play the role similar to the principal null directions in\nthe algebraically special 4-D spacetimes. It is demonstrated that the principal\nKilling triad can be efficiently used for classification and study of\nstationary 2+1 spacetimes.\n  One of the most interesting applications is a study of minimal surfaces in a\nstationary spacetime. A {\\it principal Killing surface} is defined as a surface\nformed by Killing trajectories passing through a null ray, which is tangent to\none of the null vectors of the principal Killing triad. We prove that a\nprincipal Killing surface is minimal if and only if the corresponding null\nvector is geodesic. Furthermore, we prove that if the 2+1 dimensional spacetime\ncontains a static limit, then the only regular stationary timelike minimal\n2-surfaces that cross the static limit, are the minimal principal Killing\nsurfaces.\n  A timelike minimal surface is a solution to the Nambu-Goto equations of\nmotion and hence it describes a cosmic string configuration. A stationary\nstring interacting with a 2+1 dimensional rotating black hole is discussed in\ndetail.",
        "positive": "Resumming perturbative series in the presence of monopole bubbling\n  effects: Monopole bubbling effect is screening of magnetic charges of singular Dirac\nmonopoles by regular 't Hooft-Polyakov monopoles. We study properties of weak\ncoupling perturbative series in the presence of monopole bubbling effects as\nwell as instantons. For this purpose, we analyze supersymmetric 't Hooft loop\nin four dimensional $\\mathcal{N}=2$ supersymmetric gauge theories with\nLagrangians and non-positive beta functions. We show that the perturbative\nseries of the 't Hooft loop is Borel summable along positive real axis for\nfixed instanton numbers and screened magnetic charges. It turns out that the\nexact result of the 't Hooft loop is the same as the sum of the Borel\nresummations over instanton numbers and effective magnetic charges. We also\nobtain the same result for supersymmetric dyonic loops."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Entanglement entropy of singular surfaces under relevant deformations in\n  holography: In the vacuum state of a CFT, the entanglement entropy of singular surfaces\ncontains a logarithmic universal term which is only due to the singularity of\nthe entangling surface. We consider the relevant perturbation of a three\ndimensional CFT for singular entangling surface. We observe that in addition to\nthe universal term due to the entangling surface, there is a new logarithmic\nterm which corresponds to a relevant perturbation of the conformal field theory\nwith a coefficient depending on the scaling dimension of the relevant operator.\nWe also find a new power law divergence in the holographic entanglement\nentropy. In addition, we study the effect of a relevant perturbation in the\nGauss-Bonnet gravity for a singular entangling surface. Again a logarithmic\nterm shows up. This new term is proportional to both the dimension of the\nrelevant operator and the Gauss-Bonnet coupling. We also introduce the\nrenormalized entanglement entropy for a kink region which in the UV limit\nreduces to a universal positive finite term.",
        "positive": "The Scattering Variety: The so-called Scattering Equations which govern the kinematics of the\nscattering of massless particles in arbitrary dimensions have recently been\ncast into a system of homogeneous polynomials. We study these as affine and\nprojective geometries which we call Scattering Varieties by analyzing such\nproperties as Hilbert series, Euler characteristic and singularities.\nInterestingly, we find structures such as affine Calabi-Yau threefolds as well\nas singular K3 and Fano varieties."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The spectrum of BPS branes on a noncompact Calabi-Yau: We begin the study of the spectrum of BPS branes and its variation on lines\nof marginal stability on O_P^2(-3), a Calabi-Yau ALE space asymptotic to\nC^3/Z_3. We show how to get the complete spectrum near the large volume limit\nand near the orbifold point, and find a striking similarity between the\ndescriptions of holomorphic bundles and BPS branes in these two limits. We use\nthese results to develop a general picture of the spectrum. We also suggest a\ngeneralization of some of the ideas to the quintic Calabi-Yau.",
        "positive": "Towards an Entanglement Measure for Mixed States in CFTs Based on\n  Relative Entropy: Relative entropy of entanglement (REE) is an entanglement measure of\nbipartite mixed states, defined by the minimum of the relative entropy\n$S(\\rho_{AB}|| \\sigma_{AB})$ between a given mixed state $\\rho_{AB}$ and an\narbitrary separable state $\\sigma_{AB}$. The REE is always bounded by the\nmutual information $I_{AB}=S(\\rho_{AB} || \\rho_{A}\\otimes \\rho_{B})$ because\nthe latter measures not only quantum entanglement but also classical\ncorrelations. In this paper we address the question of to what extent REE can\nbe small compared to the mutual information in conformal field theories (CFTs).\nFor this purpose, we perturbatively compute the relative entropy between the\nvacuum reduced density matrix $\\rho^{0}_{AB}$ on disjoint subsystems $A \\cup B$\nand arbitrarily separable state $\\sigma_{AB}$ in the limit where two subsystems\nA and B are well separated, then minimize the relative entropy with respect to\nthe separable states. We argue that the result highly depends on the spectrum\nof CFT on the subsystems. When we have a few low energy spectrum of operators\nas in the case where the subsystems consist of a finite number of spins in spin\nchain models, the REE is considerably smaller than the mutual information.\nHowever in general our perturbative scheme breaks down, and the REE can be as\nlarge as the mutual information."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Strong Coupling Qed Breaks Chiral Symmetry: We show that the strong coupling limit of d-dimensional quantum\nelectrodynamics with $2^{d}/2^{[d/2]}$ flavors of fermions can be mapped onto\nthe s=1/2 quantum Heisenberg antiferromagnet in d-1 space dimensions. The\nstaggered N\\'eel order parameter is the expectation value of a mass operator in\nQED and the spin-waves are pions. We speculate that the chiral symmetry\nbreaking phase transition corresponds to a transition between the flux phase\nand the conventional N\\'eel ordered phase of an antiferromagnetic t-J model.",
        "positive": "Complex Burgers' equation in 2D SU(N) YM: An integro-differential equation satisfied by an eigenvalue density defined\nas the logarithmic derivative of the average inverse characteristic polynomial\nof a Wilson loop in two dimensional pure Yang Mills theory with gauge group\nSU(N) is derived from two associated complex Burgers' equations, with viscosity\ngiven by 1/(2N). The Wilson loop does not intersect itself and Euclidean\nspace-time is assumed flat and infinite. This result provides an extension of\nthe infinite N solution of Durhuus and Olesen to finite N, but this extension\nis not unique."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the R\u00e9nyi entropy of Lifshitz and hyperscaling violating black\n  holes: We study R\\'enyi entropies for geometries with Lifshitz scaling and\nhyperscaling violation. We calculate them for specific values of the Lifshitz\nparameter, and analyze the dual spectrum of the ground state. In the large\n$d-\\theta$ limit they show that the ground state is unique in specific\nparameter ranges. We also calculate the R\\'enyi entropies perturbatively around\n$n=1$, and derive constraints using the R\\'enyi entropy inequalities, which\ncorrespond to the thermodynamic stability of the black holes.",
        "positive": "Matter From Geometry: We provide a local geometric description of how charged matter arises in type\nIIA, M-theory, or F-theory compactifications on Calabi-Yau manifolds. The basic\nidea is to deform a higher singularity into a lower one through Cartan\ndeformations which vary over space. The results agree with expectations based\non string dualities."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-Linear Massive Gravity with Additional Primary Constraint and\n  Absence of Ghosts: We complete the Hamiltonian analysis of specific model of non-linear massive\ngravity that was started in arXiv:1112.5267. We identify the primary constraint\nand corresponding secondary constraint. We show that they are the second class\nconstraints and hence they lead to the elimination of the additional scalar\nmode. We also find that the remaining constraints are the first class\nconstraints with the structure that corresponds to the manifestly\ndiffeomorphism invariant theory. Finally we determine the number of physical\ndegrees of freedom and we show that it corresponds to the number of physical\nmodes of massive gravity.",
        "positive": "An M-theory solution from null roots in E11: We find a purely gravitational classical solution of\nM-theory/eleven-dimensional supergravity which corresponds to a solution of the\nE10 brane sigma-model involving a null root. This solution is not\nsupersymmetric and is regularly embedded into E11."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-Relativistic Strings and Limits of the AdS/CFT Correspondence: Using target space null reduction of the Polyakov action we find a novel\ncovariant action for strings moving in a torsional Newton-Cartan geometry.\nSending the string tension to zero while rescaling the Newton-Cartan clock\n1-form, so as to keep the string action finite, we obtain a non-relativistic\nstring moving in a new type of non-Lorentzian geometry that we call\n$U(1)$-Galilean geometry. We apply this to strings on $AdS_5 \\times S^5$ for\nwhich we show that the zero tension limit is realized by the Spin Matrix theory\nlimits of the AdS/CFT correspondence. This is closely related to limits of spin\nchains studied in connection to integrability in AdS/CFT. The simplest example\ngives a covariant version of the Landau-Lifshitz sigma-model.",
        "positive": "Hamilton-Jacobi formulation for singular systems with second order\n  Lagrangians: Recently the Hamilton-Jacobi formulation for first order constrained systems\nhas been developed. In such formalism the equations of motion are written as\ntotal differential equations in many variables. We generalize the\nHamilton-Jacobi formulation for singular systems with second order Lagrangians\nand apply this new formulation to Podolsky electrodynamics, comparing with the\nresults obtained through Dirac's method."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Possible Higher Order Correction to the chiral Vortical Conductivity\n  in a Gauge Field Plasma: The two loop contributions to the chiral vortical conductivity are\nconsidered. The Kubo formula together with the anomalous Ward identity of the\naxial vector current suggest that there may be a nonzero correction to the\ncoefficient of the $T^2$ term of the conductivity.",
        "positive": "Trispectrum from Co-dimension 2(n) Galileons: A generalized theory of multi-field galileons has been recently put forward.\nThis model stems from the ongoing effort to embed generic galileon theories\nwithin brane constructions. Such an approach has proved very useful in\nconnecting interesting and essential features of these theories with geometric\nproperties of the branes embedding. We investigate the cosmological\nimplications of a very restrictive multi-field galileon theory whose leading\ninteraction is solely quartic in the scalar field and lends itself nicely to an\ninteresting cosmology. The trispectrum of curvature fluctuations has features\nwhich are quite distinctive with respect to their P(X,\\phi) counterpart. We\nalso show that, despite an absent cubic Lagrangian in the full theory,\nnon-Gaussianities in this model cannot produce the combination a of small\nbispectrum alongside with a large trispectrum. We further expand on this point\nto draw a lesson on what having a symmetry in the full background independent\ntheory entails at the level of fluctuations and vice-versa."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Treating 'thooft-Polyakov Monopole as Constrained System: The 'tHooft-Polyakov monopole is treated as constrained system using the\nHamilton-Jacobi method. The set of the Hamilton-Jacobi partial differential\nequations and the equations of motion are obtained. The quantization of the\nsystem is also discussed.",
        "positive": "Sphere partition functions and cut-off AdS: We consider sphere partition functions of TT deformed large N conformal field\ntheories in d=2,3,4,5 and 6 dimensions, computed using the flow equation. These\nare shown to non-perturbatively match with bulk computations of $AdS_{d+1}$\nwith a finite radial cut-off. We then demonstrate how the flow equation can be\nindependently derived from a regularization procedure in defining TT operators\nthrough a local Callan-Symanzik equation. Finally, we show that the sphere\npartition functions, modulo bulk-counterterm contributions, can be reproduced\nfrom Wheeler-DeWitt wave functions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Higher-spin dynamics and Chern-Simons theories: We review the construction of consistent higher-spin theories based on\nChern-Simons actions. To this end we first introduce the required higher-spin\nalgebras and discuss curvature and torsion tensors in an unconstrained way.\nFinally we perform a perturbative analysis of the Chern-Simons theory in D=5\nfor a non-maximally symmetric AdS(4) background and obtain the required\nfour-dimensional Fronsdal equations in the compensator formulation.",
        "positive": "Non singular bounce in modified gravity: We investigate bouncing solutions in the framework of the non-singular\ngravity model of Brandenberger, Mukhanov and Sornborger. We show that a\nspatially flat universe filled with ordinary matter undergoing a phase of\ncontraction reaches a stage of minimal expansion factor before bouncing in a\nregular way to reach the expanding phase. The expansion can be connected to the\nusual radiation- and matter-dominated epochs before reaching a final expanding\nde Sitter phase. In general relativity (GR), a bounce can only take place\nprovided that the spatial sections are positively curved, a fact that has been\nshown to translate into a constraint on the characteristic duration of the\nbounce. In our model, on the other hand, a bounce can occur also in the absence\nof spatial curvature, which means that the timescale for the bounce can be made\narbitrarily short or long. The implication is that constraints on the bounce\ncharacteristic time obtained in GR rely heavily on the assumed theory of\ngravity. Although the model we investigate is fourth order in the derivatives\nof the metric (and therefore unstable vis-a-vis the perturbations), this\ngeneric bounce dynamics should extend to string-motivated non singular models\nwhich can accommodate a spatially flat bounce."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spinning solutions for the bosonic M2-brane with $C_{\\pm}$ fluxes: In this work we obtain classical solutions of the bosonic sector of the\nsupermembrane theory with two-form fluxes associated to a quantized constant\n$C_{\\pm}$ background. This theory satisfies a flux condition on the worldvolume\nthat induces monopoles over it. Classically it is stable as it does not contain\nstring-like spikes with zero energy in distinction with the general case. At\nquantum level the bosonic membrane has a purely discrete spectrum but the\nrelevance is that the same property holds for its supersymmetric spectrum. We\nfind for this theory spinning membrane solutions, some of them including the\npresence of a non-vanishing symplectic gauge connection defined on its\nworldvolume in different approximations. By using the duality found between\nthis theory and the so-called supermembrane with central charges, rotating\nmembrane solutions found in that case, are also solutions of the M2-brane with\n$C_{\\pm}$ fluxes. We generalize this result to other embeddings. We find new\ndistinctive rotating membrane solutions, some of them including the presence of\na non-vanishing symplectic gauge connection defined on its worldvolume. We\nobtain numerical and analytical solutions in different approximations\ncharacterizing the dynamics of the membrane with fluxes $C_{\\pm}$ for different\nans\\\"atze of the dynamical degrees of freedom. Finally we discuss the physical\nadmissibility of some of these ans\\\"atze to model the components of the\nsymplectic gauge field.",
        "positive": "String from Large N Gauge Fields via Graph Summation on a P+ - x+\n  Lattice: I describe renewed efforts to establish a string description of large N_c QCD\nby summing large ``fishnet'' diagrams. Earlier work on fishnets indicated that\nthe usual relativistic (zero thickness) string theory can arise at strong 't\nHooft coupling, at best yielding a highly idealized description, which fails to\nincorporate such salient features of continuum QCD as asymptotic freedom and\npoint-like constituents. The recently conjectured AdS/CFT correspondence is\ncompatible with such limitations because it also gives a simple picture of\nlarge N_c gauge theory only at strong coupling. In order to better understand\nhow string theory could emerge from large N_c QCD at strong coupling, Klaus\nBering, Joel Rozowsky, and I have developed an improved implementation of my\neffort of the late seventies to digitize the planar diagrams of large N_c\nlight-cone quantized QCD by discretizing both P+ and x+. This discretization\nallows a strong coupling limit of the sum of planar diagrams to be defined and\nstudied. It also provides a natural framework to explore the possible dual\nrelationship between QCD in light-cone gauge and string theory quantized on the\nlight-cone."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Boundary states in the open string channel and CFT near a corner: We generalize the idea of boundary states to the open string channel. They\ndescribe emission and absorption of open strings in the presence of\nintersecting D-branes. We construct the explicit oscillator representation for\nthe free boson and fermionic ghost. The inner product of such states describes\na disk amplitude of rectangular shape and possesses modular covariance with a\nnontrivial conformal weight. We compare the result obtained here with those\nobtained using two different methods, one employing the path integral formalism\nand one employing the conformal anomaly. We find that all these methods give\nconsistent results. In our method, we must be careful in our treatment of the\nsingularity of the CFT near the corners. Specifically, we derive the correction\nto the conformal weight of the primary field inserted at the corner, and it\ngives the modular weight of the rectangle amplitude. We also carry out explicit\ncomputations of the correlation functions.",
        "positive": "Off-Shell N=2 Linear Multiplets in Five Dimensions: We present a superconformal tensor calculus for an arbitrary number of five\ndimensional N=2 linear multiplets. We also demonstrate how to construct higher\nderivative invariants and higher order supersymmetric off-diagonal models.\nFinally, we show the procedure required for the derivation of the\nsupersymmetric completion of the non-Abelian $F^4$ action."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The finiteness of the four dimensional antisymmetric tensor field model\n  in a curved background: A renormalizable rigid supersymmetry for the four dimensional antisymmetric\ntensor field model in a curved space-time background is constructed. A closed\nalgebra between the BRS and the supersymmetry operators is only realizable if\nthe vector parameter of the supersymmetry is a covariantly constant vector\nfield. This also guarantees that the corresponding transformations lead to a\ngenuine symmetry of the model. The proof of the ultraviolet finiteness to all\norders of perturbation theory is performed in a pure algebraic manner by using\nthe rigid supersymmetry.",
        "positive": "Temperature dependence of the anomalous effective action of fermions in\n  two and four dimensions: The temperature dependence of the anomalous sector of the effective action of\nfermions coupled to external gauge and pseudo-scalar fields is computed at\nleading order in an expansion in the number of Lorentz indices in two and four\ndimensions. The calculation preserves chiral symmetry and confirms that a\ntemperature dependence is compatible with axial anomaly saturation. The result\nchecks soft-pions theorems at zero temperature as well as recent results in the\nliterature for the pionic decay amplitude into static photons in the chirally\nsymmetric phase. The case of chiral fermions is also considered."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Noncommutative Scalar Quasinormal Modes of the Reissner Nordstr\u00f6m\n  Black Hole: Aiming to search for a signal of space-time noncommutativity, we study a\nquasinormal mode spectrum of the Reissner Nordstr\\\"om black hole in the\npresence of a deformed space-time structure. In this context we study a\nnoncommutative (NC) deformation of a scalar field, minimally coupled to a\nclassical Reissner Nordstr\\\"om background. Our model is thus semiclassical from\nthe beginning and scalar field is in addition minimally coupled to U(1) gauge\nfield. The deformation is performed via particularly chosen Killing twist to\nyield a geometrical form of the action, which maintains the diffeomorphism\ninvariance manifest, as well as the invariance under a deformed gauge symmetry\ngroup. We find the quasinormal mode solutions of the equations of motion\ngoverning the matter content of the model in some particular range of system\nparameters which corresponds to a near extremal limit. In addition, we obtain a\nwell defined analytical condition which allows for a detailed numerical\nanalysis. Moreover, there exists a parameter range, rather restrictive though,\nwhich allows for obtaining a QNM spectrum in a closed analytic form. We also\nargue within a semiclassical approach that NC deformation does not affect the\nHawking temperature of thermal radiation.",
        "positive": "Scalar Quantum Field Theory in Disordered Media: A free massive scalar field in inhomogeneous random media is investigated.\nThe coefficients of the Klein-Gordon equation are taken to be random functions\nof the spatial coordinates. The case of an annealed-like disordered medium,\nmodeled by centered stationary and Gaussian processes, is analyzed. After\nperforming the averages over the random functions, we obtain the two-point\ncausal Green's function of the model up to one-loop. The disordered scalar\nquantum field theory becomes qualitatively similar to a $\\lambda\\phi^{4}$\nself-interacting theory with a frequency-dependent coupling."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Toward Construction of Exact Operator Solution of $A_N$-Toda Field\n  Theory: Quantum $A_N$-Toda field theory in two dimensions is investigated based on\nthe method of quantizing canonical free field. Toda exponential operator\nassociated with the fundamental weight $\\lambda^1$ is constructed.",
        "positive": "Conformal Scalar Propagation on the Schwarzschild Black-Hole Geometry: The vacuum activity generated by the curvature of the Schwarzschild\nblack-hole geometry close to the event horizon is studied for the case of a\nmassless, conformal scalar field. The associated approximation to the unknown,\nexact propagator in the Hartle-Hawking vacuum state for small values of the\nradial coordinate above $ r = 2M$ results in an analytic expression which\nmanifestly features its dependence on the background space-time geometry. This\napproximation to the Hartle-Hawking scalar propagator on the Schwarzschild\nblack-hole geometry is, for that matter, distinct from all other. It is shown\nthat the stated approximation is valid for physical distances which range from\nthe event horizon to values which are orders of magnitude above the scale\nwithin which quantum and backreaction effects are comparatively pronounced. An\nexpression is obtained for the renormalised $ <\\phi^2(x)>$ in the\nHartle-Hawking vacuum state which reproduces the established results on the\nevent horizon and in that segment of the exterior geometry within which the\napproximation is valid. In contrast to previous results the stated expression\nhas the superior feature of being entirely analytic. The effect of the\nmanifold's causal structure to scalar propagation is also studied."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Poisson-Lie T-duality of String Effective Actions: A New Approach to the\n  Dilaton Puzzle: For a particular class of backgrounds, equations of motion for string sigma\nmodels targeted in mutually dual Poisson-Lie groups are equivalent. This\nphenomenon is called the Poisson-Lie T-duality. On the level of the\ncorresponding string effective actions, the situation becomes more complicated\ndue to the presence of the dilaton field.\n  A novel approach to this problem using Levi-Civita connections on Courant\nalgebroids is presented. After the introduction of necessary geometrical tools,\nformulas for the Poisson-Lie T-dual dilaton fields are derived. This provides a\nversion of Poisson-Lie T-duality for string effective actions.",
        "positive": "A note on the existence of soliton solutions in the Chern-Simons-CP(1)\n  model: We study a gauged Chern-Simons-CP(1) system. We show that contrary to\nprevious claims the model in the absences of a potential term cannot support\nfinite size soliton solution in $R^2$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The unequal mass sunrise integral expressed through iterated integrals\n  on $\\overline{\\mathcal M}_{1,3}$: We solve the two-loop sunrise integral with unequal masses systematically to\nall orders in the dimensional regularisation parameter $\\varepsilon$. In order\nto do so, we transform the system of differential equations for the master\nintegrals to an $\\varepsilon$-form. The sunrise integral with unequal masses\ndepends on three kinematical variables. We perform a change of variables to\nstandard coordinates on the moduli space ${\\mathcal M}_{1,3}$ of a genus one\nRiemann surface with three marked points. This gives us the solution as\niterated integrals on $\\overline{\\mathcal M}_{1,3}$. On the hypersurface\n$\\tau=\\mbox{const}$ our result reduces to elliptic polylogarithms. In the equal\nmass case our result reduces to iterated integrals of modular forms.",
        "positive": "On massive higher spin supermultiplets in d=3: In this paper, using a frame-like gauge invariant formulation of the massive\nhigher spin bosons and fermions, we develop a direct construction of the\ncompletely off-shell cubic vertices describing an interaction of the massless\ngravitino with the massive higher spin supermultiplets. To achieve the\ninvariance under the local supersymmetry we introduce all necessary\nsupertransformations (both for the physical as well as for the auxiliary\nfields) and thus all the supercurrents constructed are conserved on-shell. As\nan illustration of the technique used we present some lower superspin examples\nand then we consider the arbitrary superspin. We also check that the whole\nconstruction is completely consistent with all bosonic and fermionic gauge\nsymmetries of the fields entering the supermultiplets."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Geometrically Constrained Localized Configurations: First-Order\n  Framework and Analytical Solutions: This work deals with the presence of topological structures in models of two\nreal scalar fields in the two-dimensional spacetime. The subject concerns the\npresence of a geometric constriction, which appears with a modification of the\nkinetic term of one of the two fields. We elaborate on the construction of a\nfirst-order framework, which directly contributes to find analytical solutions.\nWe describe several distinct possibilities, in particular, the case where the\nfirst-order equations do not separate. This is much harder, but we use the\nintegrating factor to deal with analytical configurations. The proposed\nmethodology help us deal with localized structures of both the N\\'eel and Bloch\ntype very naturally, and we end the work suggesting some possibilities of\napplications in distinct areas of nonlinear science.",
        "positive": "Antibracket as the Hamiltonian Structure of a classical integrable\n  system: The time evolution in a supersymmetric extension of the\nKodomtsev-Petviashvilli hierarchy, a classical integrable system, is shown to\nbe Hamiltonian. The canonical bracket associated to the Hamiltonian evolution\nis the classical analog of the antibracket encountered in the quantization of\ngauge theories. This provides a new understanding of supersymmetric Hamiltonian\nsystems."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Twistor Space Structure of the Box Coefficients of N=1 One-loop\n  Amplitudes: We examine the coefficients of the box functions in N=1 supersymmetric\none-loop amplitudes. We present the box coefficients for all six point N=1\namplitudes and certain all $n$ example coefficients. We find for ``next-to\nMHV'' amplitudes that these box coefficients have coplanar support in twistor\nspace.",
        "positive": "Planes, branes and automorphisms: I. Static branes: This is the first of a series of papers devoted to the group-theoretical\nanalysis of the conditions which must be satisfied for a configuration of\nintersecting M5-branes to be supersymmetric. In this paper we treat the case of\nstatic branes. We start by associating (a maximal torus of) a different\nsubgroup of Spin(10) with each of the equivalence classes of supersymmetric\nconfigurations of two M5-branes at angles found by Ohta & Townsend. We then\nconsider configurations of more than two intersecting branes. Such a\nconfiguration will be supersymmetric if and only if the branes are G-related,\nwhere G is a subgroup of Spin(10) contained in the isotropy of a spinor. For\neach such group we determine (a lower bound for) the fraction of the\nsupersymmetry which is preserved. We give examples of configurations consisting\nof an arbitrary number of non-coincident intersecting fivebranes with\nfractions: 1/32, 1/16, 3/32, 1/8, 5/32, 3/16 and 1/4, and we determine the\nresulting (calibrated) geometry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Trans-Planckian censorship constraints on properties and cosmological\n  applications of axion-like fields: We use the Trans-Planckian Censorship Conjecture (TCC) to constrain the decay\nconstants $f$ characterizing a set of N identical axion-like fields with cosine\npotentials, improving upon the precision of other Swampland conjectures and\nexisting string-theoretic arguments. We find that consistency with the TCC\nrequires any such set of axion-like fields to satisfy $f\\sqrt{N} \\lesssim\n0.6M_{pl}$, where $M_{pl}$ is the reduced Planck mass. We show that this bound\nmakes models of axion-driven inflation incapable of simultaneously producing\nthe required number of e-foldings and the observed scalar spectral tilt. In\ncontrast, we find that models of axion quintessence can be simultaneously\ncompatible with the TCC and observational data, provided that the axions'\ninitial field values are set near the maxima of their potentials to within\nroughly $\\pm \\frac{\\pi}{5}f$.",
        "positive": "One-loop Amplitudes in Six-Dimensional (1,1) Theories from Generalised\n  Unitarity: Recently, the spinor helicity formalism and on-shell superspace were\ndeveloped for six-dimensional gauge theories with (1,1) supersymmetry. We\ncombine these two techniques with (generalised) unitarity, which is a powerful\ntechnique to calculate scattering amplitudes in any massless theory. As an\napplication we calculate one-loop superamplitudes with four and five external\nparticles in the (1,1) theory and perform several consistency checks on our\nresults."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Lagrangian Formulation of an Infinite Derivative Real Scalar Field\n  Theory in the Framework of the Covariant Kempf-Mangano Algebra in a\n  $(D+1)$-dimensional Minkowski Space-time: In 2017, G. P. de Brito and co-workers suggested a covariant generalization\nof the Kempf-Mangano algebra in a $(D+1)$-dimensional Minkowski space-time [A.\nKempf and G. Mangano, Phys. Rev. D \\textbf{55}, 7909 (1997); G. P. de Brito, P.\nI. C. Caneda, Y. M. P. Gomes, J. T. Guaitolini Junior, and V. Nikoofard, Adv.\nHigh Energy Phys. \\textbf{2017}, 4768341 (2017)]. It is shown that\nreformulation of a real scalar field theory from the viewpoint of the covariant\nKempf-Mangano algebra leads to an infinite derivative Klein-Gordon wave\nequation which describes two bosonic particles in the free space (a usual\nparticle and a ghostlike particle). We show that in the low-energy\n(large-distance) limit our infinite derivative scalar field theory behaves like\na Pais-Uhlenbeck oscillator for a spatially homogeneous field configuration\n$\\phi(t,\\vec{\\textbf{x}})=\\phi(t)$. Our calculations show that there is a\ncharacteristic length scale $\\delta$ in our model whose upper limit in a\nfour-dimensional Minkowski space-time is close to the nuclear scalar, i.e.,\n$\\delta_{max}\\sim \\delta_{nuclear\\ scale}\\sim 10^{-15}\\, m$. Finally, we show\nthat there is an equivalence between a non-local real scalar field theory with\na non-local form factor ${\\cal K}(x-y)=\n-\\frac{\\square_x}{(1-\\frac{\\delta^2}{2}\\square_x)^2} \\ \\delta^{(D+1)}(x-y)$ and\nan infinite derivative real scalar field theory from the viewpoint of the\ncovariant Kempf-Mangano algebra.",
        "positive": "The Ising model with a boundary magnetic field on a random surface: The bulk and boundary magnetizations are calculated for the critical Ising\nmodel on a randomly triangulated disk in the presence of a boundary magnetic\nfield h. In the continuum limit this model corresponds to a c = 1/2 conformal\nfield theory coupled to 2D quantum gravity, with a boundary term breaking\nconformal invariance. It is found that as h increases, the average\nmagnetization of a bulk spin decreases, an effect that is explained in terms of\nfluctuations of the geometry. By introducing an $h$-dependent rescaling factor,\nthe disk partition function and bulk magnetization can be expressed as\nfunctions of an effective boundary length and bulk area with no further\ndependence on h, except that the bulk magnetization is discontinuous and\nvanishes at h = 0. These results suggest that just as in flat space, the\nboundary field generates a renormalization group flow towards h = \\infty. An\nexact analytic expression for the boundary magnetization as a function of $h$\nis linear near h = 0, leading to a finite nonzero magnetic susceptibility at\nthe critical temperature."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "E_{7(7)} Duality, BPS Black-Hole Evolution and Fixed Scalars: We study the general equations determining BPS Black Holes by using a\nSolvable Lie Algebra representation for the homogenous scalar manifold U/H of\nextended supergravity. In particular we focus on the N=8 case and we perform a\ngeneral group theoretical analysis of the Killing spinor equation enforcing the\nBPS condition. Its solutions parametrize the U-duality orbits of BPS solutions\nthat are characterized by having 40 of the 70 scalars fixed to constant values.\nThese scalars belong to hypermultiplets in the N=2 decomposition of the N=8\ntheory. Indeed it is shown that those decompositions of the Solvable Lie\nalgebra into appropriate subalgebras which are enforced by the existence of BPS\nblack holes are the same that single out consistent truncations of the N=8\ntheory to intereacting theories with lower supersymmetry. As an exemplification\nof the method we consider the simplified case where the only non-zero fields\nare in the Cartan subalgebra H of Solv(U/H) and correspond to the radii of\nstring toroidal compactification. Here we derive and solve the mixed system of\nfirst and second order non linear differential equations obeyed by the metric\nand by the scalar fields. So doing we retrieve the generating solutions of\nheterotic black holes with two charges. Finally, we show that the general N=8\ngenerating solution is based on the 6 dimensional solvable subalgebra Solv\n[(SL(2,\\IR) /U(1))^3].",
        "positive": "Dilaton field induces commutative Dp-brane coordinate: It is well known that space-time coordinates and corresponding Dp-brane\nworld-volume become non-commutative, if open string ends on Dp-brane with\nNeveu-Schwarz background field $B_{\\mu \\nu}$. In this paper we extend these\nconsiderations including the dilaton field $\\Phi$, linear in coordinates\n$x^\\mu$. In that case the conformal part of the world-sheet metric appears as\nnew non-commutative variable and the coordinate in direction orthogonal to the\nhyper plane $\\Phi = const$, becomes commutative."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Null Brane Intersections: We study pairs of planar D-branes intersecting on null hypersurfaces, and\nother related configurations. These are supersymmetric and have finite energy\ndensity. They provide open-string analogues of the parabolic orbifold and\nnull-fluxbrane backgrounds for closed superstrings. We derive the spectrum of\nopen strings, showing in particular that if the D-branes are shifted in a\nspectator dimension so that they do not intersect, the open strings joining\nthem have no asymptotic states. As a result, a single non-BPS excitation can in\nthis case catalyze a condensation of massless modes, changing significantly the\nunderlying supersymmetric vacuum state. We argue that a similar phenomenon can\nmodify the null cosmological singularity of the time-dependent orbifolds. This\nis a stringy mechanism, distinct from black-hole formation and other strong\ngravitational instabilities, and one that should dominate at weak string\ncoupling. A by-product of our analysis is a new understanding of the appearance\nof 1/4 BPS threshold bound states, at special points in the moduli space of\ntoroidally-compactified type-II string theory.",
        "positive": "Spontaneous symmetry breaking and gravity: Gravity is usually considered to be irrelevant as far as the physics of\nelementary particles is concerned and, in particular, in the context of the\nspontaneous symmetry breaking (SSB) mechanism. We describe a version of the SSB\nmechanism in which gravity plays a direct role. We work in the context of\ndiffeomorphism invariant gauge theories, which exist for any non-abelian gauge\ngroup G, and which have second order in derivatives field equations. We show\nthat any (non-trivial) vacuum solution of such a theory gives rise to an\nembedding of the group SU(2) into G, and thus breaks G down to SU(2) times its\ncentralizer in G. The components of the connection charged under SU(2) can then\nbe seen to describe gravitons, with the SU(2) itself playing the role of the\nchiral half of the Lorentz group. Components charged under the centralizer\ndescribe the usual Yang-Mills gauge bosons. The remaining components describe\nmassive particles. This breaking of symmetry explains (in the context of models\nconsidered) how gravity and Yang-Mills can come from a single underlying theory\nwhile being so different in the physics they describe. Further, varying the\nvacuum solution, and thus the embedding of SU(2) into G, one can break the\nYang-Mills gauge group as desired, with massless gauge bosons of one vacuum\nacquiring mass in another. There is no Higgs field in our version of the SSB\nmechanism, the only variable is a connection field. Instead of the symmetry\nbreaking by a dedicated Higgs field pointing in some direction in the field\nspace, our theories break the symmetry by choosing how the group of \"internal\"\ngauge rotations of gravity (the chiral half of the Lorentz group) sits inside\nthe full gauge group."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Top-Down Holographic $G$-Structure Glueball Spectroscopy at (N)LO in $N$\n  and Finite Gauge Coupling: The top-down type IIB holographic dual of large-$N$ thermal QCD as\nconstructed in arXiv:0902.1540 involving a fluxed resolved warped deformed\nconifold, its delocalized type IIA SYZ mirror as well as its M-theory uplift\nconstructed in arXiv:1306.4339 - both in the finite gauge coupling\n($g_s\\stackrel{<}{\\sim}1$)/`MQGP' limit of arXiv:1306.4339 - were shown\nexplicitly to possess a local $SU(3)/G_2$-structure in arXiv:1507.02692\nGlueball spectroscopy at finite gauge coupling has thus far been missing in the\nliterature. In this paper, we fill this gap by calculating the masses of the\n$0^{++}, 0^{-+},0^{--}, 1^{++}, 2^{++}$ (`glueball') states (which correspond\nto fluctuations in the dilaton or complexified two-forms or appropriate metric\ncomponents) in the aforementioned backgrounds of $G$-structure in the `MQGP'\nlimit of arXiv:1306.4339, using WKB quantization conditions on one hand and\nimposing Neumann/Dirichlet boundary conditions at an IR cut-off/horizon radius\n$r_h$ on the solutions to the equations of motion on the other. We also discuss\n$r_h=0$-limits of all calculations; in this context we also calculate the\n$0^{++}, 0^{--},1^{++}, 2^{++}$ glueball masses up to NLO in $N$ and find a\n$\\frac{g_sM^2}{N}(g_sN_f)$-suppression similar to and further validating a\nsimilar semi-universality of NLO corrections to transport coefficients,\nobserved in arXiv:1606.04949.",
        "positive": "Relativistic Green functions in a plane wave gravitational background: We consider a massive relativistic particle in the background of a\ngravitational plane wave. The corresponding Green functions for both spinless\nand spin 1/2 cases, previously computed by A. Barducci and R. Giachetti\n\\cite{Barducci3}, are reobtained here by alternative methods, as for example,\nthe Fock-Schwinger proper-time method and the algebraic method. In analogy to\nthe electromagnetic case, we show that for a gravitational plane wave\nbackground a semiclassical approach is also sufficient to provide the exact\nresult, though the lagrangian involved is far from being a quadratic one."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Repulsive Black Holes and Higher-Derivatives: In two-derivative theories of gravity coupled to matter, charged black holes\nare self-attractive at large distances, with the force vanishing at zero\ntemperature. However, in the presence of massless scalar fields and\nfour-derivative corrections, zero-temperature black holes no longer need to\nobey the no-force condition. In this paper, we show how to calculate the\nlong-range force between such black holes. We develop an efficient method for\ncomputing the higher-derivative corrections to the scalar charges when the\ntwo-derivative theory has a shift symmetry, and compute the resulting force in\na variety of examples. We find that higher-derivative corrected black holes may\nbe self-attractive or self-repulsive, depending on the value of the Wilson\ncoefficients and the VEVs of scalar moduli. Indeed, we find black hole\nsolutions which are both superextremal and self-attractive. Furthermore, we\npresent examples where no choice of higher-derivative coefficients allows for\nself-repulsive black hole states in all directions in charge space. This\nsuggests that, unlike the Weak Gravity Conjecture, which may be satisfied by\nthe black hole spectrum alone, the Repulsive Force Conjecture requires\nadditional constraints on the spectrum of charged particles.",
        "positive": "Singleton deformation of higher-spin theory and the phase structure of\n  the three-dimensional O(N) vector model: We consider a singleton deformation of the AdS4 higher-spin theory dual to\nthe three-dimensional O(N) vector model. The singleton couples to the\nhigher-spin multiplet only through a marginal boundary interaction. We argue\nthat the effect of such a deformation is to shift N to N+1 in both sides of the\nholographic correspondance and we show how the gap equations of the\nthree-dimensional O(N) vector model arise from the higher-spin theory. The\nsingleton deformation breaks higher-spin symmetry and gives rise to the\nwell-known 1/N anomalous dimensions of the boundary theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Causal perturbation theory in terms of retarded products, and a proof of\n  the Action Ward Identity: In the framework of perturbative algebraic quantum field theory a local\nconstruction of interacting fields in terms of retarded products is performed,\nbased on earlier work of Steinmann. In our formalism the entries of the\nretarded products are local functionals of the off shell classical fields, and\nwe prove that the interacting fields depend only on the action and not on terms\nin the Lagrangian which are total derivatives, thus providing a proof of\nStora's 'Action Ward Identity'. The theory depends on free parameters which\nflow under the renormalization group. This flow can be derived in our local\nframework independently of the infrared behavior, as was first established by\nHollands and Wald. We explicitly compute non-trivial examples for the\nrenormalization of the interaction and the field.",
        "positive": "On the Global Structure of Some Natural Fibrations of Joyce Manifolds: The study of fibrations of the target manifolds of string/M/F-theories has\nprovided many insights to the dualities among these theories or even as a tool\nto build up dualities since the work of Strominger, Yau, and Zaslow on the\nCalabi-Yau case. For M-theory compactified on a Joyce manifold $M^7$, the fact\nthat $M^7$ is constructed via a generalized Kummer construction on a 7-torus\n${\\smallBbb T}^7$ with a torsion-free $G_2$-structure $\\phi$ suggests that\nthere are natural fibrations of $M^7$ by ${\\smallBbb T}^3$, ${\\smallBbb T}^4$,\nand K3 surfaces in a way governed by $\\phi$. The local picture of some of these\nfibrations and their roles in dualities between string/M-theory have been\nstudied intensively in the work of Acharya. In this present work, we explain\nhow one can understand their global and topological details in terms of bundles\nover orbifolds. After the essential background is provided in Sec. 1, we give\ngeneral discussions in Sec. 2 about these fibrations, their generic and\nexceptional fibers, their monodromy, and the base orbifolds. Based on these,\none obtains a 5-step-routine to understand the fibrations, which we illustrate\nby examples in Sec. 3. In Sec. 4, we turn to another kind of fibrations for\nJoyce manifolds, namely the fibrations by the Calabi-Yau threefolds constructed\nby Borcea and Voisin. All these fibrations arise freely and naturally from the\nwork of Joyce. Understanding how the global structure of these fibrations may\nplay roles in string/M-theory duality is one of the major issues for further\npursuit."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Converting a series in \u03bbto a series in \u03bb^{-1}: We introduce a transformation for converting a series in a parameter,\n\\lambda, to a series in the inverse of the parameter \\lambda^{-1}. By applying\nthe transform on simple examples, it becomes apparent that there exist\nrelations between convergent and divergent series, and also between large- and\nsmall-coupling expansions. The method is also applied to the divergent series\nexpansion of Euler-Heisenberg-Schwinger result for the one-loop effective\naction for constant background magnetic (or electric) field. The transform may\nhelp us gain some insight about the nature of both divergent (Borel or\nnon-Borel summable series) and convergent series and their relationship, and\nhow both could be used for analytical and numerical calculations.",
        "positive": "Coset Construction of Noncompact Spin(7) and G_2 CFTs: We provide a new class of exactly solvable superconformal field theories that\ncorresponds to type II compactification on manifolds with exceptional\nholonomies. We combine N=1 Liouville field and N=1 coset models and construct\nmodular invariant partition functions of strings moving on these manifolds. The\nresulting theories preserve spacetime supersymmetry. Also we explicitly\nconstruct chiral currents in these models to realize consistent string\ntheories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Strings and branes with a modified measure: In string theory, the consequences of replacing the measure of integration\n$\\sqrt{-\\gamma}d^2 x$ in the Polyakov's action by $\\Phi d^2 x$ where $\\Phi$ is\na density built out of degrees of freedom independent of the metric\n$\\gamma_{ab}$ defined in the string are studied. The string tension appears as\nan integration constant of the equations of motion. The string tension can\nchange in different parts of the string due to the coupling of gauge fields and\npoint particles living in the string. The generalization to higher dimensional\nextended objects is also studied. In this case there is no need of a fine tuned\ncosmological term, in sharp contrast to the standard formulation of the\ngeneralized Polyakov action for higher dimensional branes.",
        "positive": "Probing crunching AdS cosmologies: Holographic gravity duals of deformations of CFTs formulated on de Sitter\nspacetime contain FRW geometries behind a horizon, with cosmological big crunch\nsingularities. Using a specific analytically tractable solution within a\nparticular single scalar truncation of N=8 supergravity on AdS_4, we first\nprobe such crunching cosmologies with spacelike radial geodesics that compute\nspatially antipodal correlators of large dimension boundary operators. At late\ntimes, the geodesics lie on the FRW slice of maximal expansion behind the\nhorizon. The late time two-point functions factorise, and when transformed to\nthe Einstein static universe, they exhibit a temporal non-analyticity\ndetermined by the maximal value of the scale factor a_{max} . Radial geodesics\nconnecting antipodal points necessarily have de Sitter energy E \\leq a_{max},\nwhile geodesics with E > a_{max} terminate at the crunch, the two categories of\ngeodesics being separated by the maximal expansion slice. The spacelike crunch\nsingularity is curved \"outward\" in the Penrose diagram for the deformed AdS\nbackgrounds, and thus geodesic limits of the antipodal correlators do not\ndirectly probe the crunch. Beyond the geodesic limit, we point out that the\nscalar wave equation, analytically continued into the FRW patch, has a\npotential which is singular at the crunch along with complex WKB turning points\nin the vicinity of the FRW crunch. We then argue that the frequency space\nGreen's function has a branch point determined by a_{max} which corresponds to\nthe lowest quasinormal frequency."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Asymptotically spacelike warped anti-de Sitter spacetimes in generalized\n  minimal massive gravity: In this paper we show that warped AdS$_{3}$ black hole spacetime is a\nsolution of the generalized minimal massive gravity (GMMG) and introduce\nsuitable boundary conditions for asymptotically warped AdS$_{3}$ spacetimes.\nThen we find the Killing vector fields such that transformations generated by\nthem preserve the considered boundary conditions. We calculate the conserved\ncharges which correspond to the obtained Killing vector fields and show that\nthe algebra of the asymptotic conserved charges is given as the semi direct\nproduct of the Virasoro algebra with $U(1)$ current algebra. We use a\nparticular Sugawara construction to reconstruct the conformal algebra. Thus, we\nare allowed to use the Cardy formula to calculate the entropy of the warped\nblack hole. We demonstrate that the gravitational entropy of the warped black\nhole exactly coincide with what we obtain via Cardy's formula. As we expect the\nwarped Cardy formula also give us exactly the same result which we obtain from\nusual Cardy's formula. We calculate mass and angular momentum of the warped\nblack and then check that obtained mass, angular momentum and entropy satisfy\nfirst law of the black hole mechanics. According to the results of this paper\nwe belief that the dual theory of the warped AdS$_{3}$ black hole solution of\nGMMG is a Warped CFT.",
        "positive": "Crosstalk between DGP branes: If two DGP branes carry U(1) gauge theories and overlap, particles of one\nbrane can interact with the photons from the other brane. This coupling\nmodifies in particular the Coulomb potentials between charges from the same\nbrane in the overlapping regions. The coupling also introduces Coulomb\ninteractions between charges from the different branes which can generate\nexotic bound states.\n  The effective modification of the fine structure constant in the overlap\nregion generates a trough in signals at the redshift of the overlap region and\nan increase at smaller or larger redshift, depending on the value of the\ncrosstalk parameter. This implies potentially observable perturbations in the\nLyman-alpha forest if our 3-brane overlapped with another 3-brane in a region\nwith redshift z<6. Crosstalk can also affect structure formation by enhancing\nor suppressing radiative cooling."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Pre-Big-Bang Requires the Universe to be Exponentially Large From the\n  Very Beginning: We show that in a generic case of the pre-big-bang scenario, inflation will\nsolve cosmological problems only if the universe at the onset of inflation is\nextremely large and homogeneous from the very beginning. The size of a\nhomogeneous part of the universe at the beginning of the stage of pre-big-bang\n(PBB) inflation must be greater than $10^{19}$ $l_s$, where $l_s$ is the\nstringy length. The total mass of an inflationary domain must be greater than\n$10^{72} M_{s}$, where $M_{s} \\sim l_s^{-1}$. If the universe is initially\nradiation dominated, then its total entropy at that time must be greater than\n$10^{68}$. If the universe is closed, then at the moment of its formation it\nmust be uniform over $10^{24}$ causally disconnected domains. The natural\nduration of the PBB stage in this scenario is $M_p^{-1}$. We argue that the\ninitial state of the open PBB universe could not be homogeneous because of\nquantum fluctuations. Independently of the issue of homogeneity, one must\nintroduce two large dimensionless parameters, $g_0^{-2} > 10^{53}$, and $B >\n10^{91}$, in order to solve the flatness problem in the PBB cosmology. A regime\nof eternal inflation does not occur in the PBB scenario. This should be\ncompared with the simplest versions of the chaotic inflation scenario, where\nthe regime of eternal inflation may begin in a universe of size $O(M_{p}^{-1})$\nwith vanishing initial radiation entropy, mass $O(M_p)$, and geometric entropy\nO(1). We conclude that the current version of the PBB scenario cannot replace\nusual inflation even if one solves the graceful exit problem in this scenario.",
        "positive": "Supersymmetries and Hopf-duality in the Penrose Limit of AdS_3 times S^3\n  times T^4: We investigate various aspects of the plane wave geometries obtained from\nD1/D5-brane system. We study the effect of Hopf-duality on the supersymmetries\npreserved by the Penrose limit of $AdS_3\\times S^3\\times T^4$ geometry. In\ntype-IIB case, we first show that the Penrose limit makes the size of the\n`would-be' internal torus comparable to that of the other directions. Based on\nthis observation, we consider, in taking the Penrose limit, the generalization\nof the null geodesic to incorporate the tilted direction between the equator of\n$S^3$ and one of the torus directions. For generic values of the tilting angle,\nsupersymmetries are not preserved. When the limit is taken along the torus\ndirection, 16 supersymmetries are preserved. For the ordinary Penrose limit, 16\ngeneric and 8 `supernumerary' supersymmetries are observed. In the Penrose\nlimit of Hopf-dualized type-IIA geometry, only 4 supersymmetries are preserved.\nWe classify all the Killing spinors according to their periodic properties\nalong some relevant coordinates."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Irreducible Freedman-Townsend vertex and Hamiltonian BRST cohomology: The irreducible Freedman-Townsend vertex is derived by means of the\nHamiltonian deformation procedure based on local BRST cohomology.",
        "positive": "Comments on F-maximization and R-symmetry in 3D SCFTs: We report preliminary results on the recently proposed F-maximization\nprinciple in 3D SCFTs. We compute numerically in the large-N limit the free\nenergy on the three-sphere of an N=2 Chern-Simons-Matter theory with a single\nadjoint chiral superfield which is known to exhibit a pattern of accidental\nsymmetries associated to chiral superfields that hit the unitarity bound and\nbecome free. We observe that the F-maximization principle produces a U(1)\nR-symmetry consistent with previously obtained bounds but inconsistent with a\npostulated Seiberg-like duality. Potential modifications of the principle\nassociated to the decoupling fields do not appear to be sufficient to account\nfor the observed violations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Conservation and Integrability in TMG: In this work, following the paper by Romain Ruzziconi and C\\'eline Zwikel\n\\cite{Ruzziconi:2020wrb} we extend the questions of conservation, integrability\nand renormalization in Bondi gauge and in GR to the theory of Topological\nMassive Gravity (TMG). We construct the phase space and renormalize the\ndivergences arising within the symplectic structure through a holographic\nrenormalization procedure. We show that the charge expressions are generically\nfinite, conserved and can be made integrable by a field$-$dependent\nredefinition of the asymptotic symmetry parameters.",
        "positive": "Affine Algebras, $N{=}2$ Superconformal Algebras, and Gauged WZNW Models: We find a canonical $N{=}2$ superconformal algebra (SCA) in the BRST complex\nassociated to any affine Lie algebra $\\hat{\\mathbf{h}}$ with $\\mathbf{h}$\nsemisimple. In contrast with the similar known results for the Virasoro,\n$N{=}1$ supervirasoro, and $W_3$ algebras, this SCA does not depend on the\nparticular \"matter\" representation chosen. Therefore it follows that every\ngauged WZNW model with data $(\\mathbf{g}\\supset\\mathbf{h}, k)$ has an $N{=}2$\nSCA with central charge $c=3\\dim\\mathbf{g}$ independent of the level $k$. In\nparticular, this associates to every embedding $sl(2) \\subset \\mathbf{g}$ a\none-parameter family of $c{=}9$ $N{=}2$ supervirasoro algebras. As a by-product\nof the construction, one can deduce a new set of \"master equations\" for\ngeneralized $N{=}2$ supervirasoro constructions which is simpler than the one\nconsidered thus far."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Structures on the Conformal Manifold in Six Dimensional Theories: The tensors which may be defined on the conformal manifold for six\ndimensional CFTs with exactly marginal operators are analysed by considering\nthe response to a Weyl rescaling of the metric in the presence of local\ncouplings. It is shown that there are three symmetric two index tensors only\none of which satisfies any positivity conditions. The general results are\nspecialised to the six dimensional conformal theory defined by free two-forms\nand also to the interacting scalar $\\phi^3$ theory at two loops which preserves\nconformal invariance to this order. All three two index tensor contributions\nare present.",
        "positive": "The Casimir energy for two-dimensional deformed sphere: We compute the Casimir energy for a free scalar field on the spaces\n$\\,R^{m+1}\\,\\times\\,\\tilde S^2\\,$ where $,\\tilde S^2\\,$ is two-dimensional\ndeformed two-sphere."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Strings in Ramond-Ramond Backgrounds from the Neveu-Schwarz-Ramond\n  Formalism: We treat RR flux backgrounds of type II string theory in the framework of\nclosed superstring field theory based on the NSR formalism, focusing on two\nexamples: (1) the pp-wave background supported by 5-form flux, and (2)\n$AdS_3\\times S^3\\times M_4$ supported by mixed 3-form fluxes. In both cases, we\nanalyze the classical string field solution perturbatively, and compute the\ncorrection to the dispersion relation of string states to quadratic order in\nthe RR flux. In the first example, our result is in a delicate way consistent\nwith that obtained from lightcone quantization of the Green-Schwarz string. In\nthe second example, we will obtain numerically the mass corrections to\npulsating type IIB strings in $AdS_3\\times S^3\\times M_4$. Our results, valid\nat finite $AdS$ radius, agree with previously known answers in the\nsemiclassical limit and in the BMN limit respectively.",
        "positive": "The W_N minimal model classification: We first rigourously establish, for any N, that the toroidal modular\ninvariant partition functions for the (not necessarily unitary) W_N(p,q)\nminimal models biject onto a well-defined subset of those of the SU(N)xSU(N)\nWess-Zumino-Witten theories at level (p-N,q-N). This permits considerable\nsimplifications to the proof of the Cappelli-Itzykson-Zuber classification of\nVirasoro minimal models. More important, we obtain from this the complete\nclassification of all modular invariants for the W_3(p,q) minimal models. All\nshould be realised by rational conformal field theories. Previously, only those\nfor the unitary models, i.e. W_3(p,p+1), were classified. For all N our\ncorrespondence yields for free an extensive list of W_N(p,q) modular\ninvariants. The W_3 modular invariants, like the Virasoro minimal models, all\nfactorise into SU(3) modular invariants, but this fails in general for larger\nN. We also classify the SU(3)xSU(3) modular invariants, and find there a new\ninfinite series of exceptionals."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Cohomology and Quantum Hydrodynamics from Supersymmetric Quiver\n  Gauge Theories: We study the connection between N = 2 supersymmetric gauge theories, quantum\ncohomology and quantum integrable systems of hydrodynamic type. We consider\ngauge theories on ALE spaces of A and D-type and discuss how they describe the\nquantum cohomology of the corresponding Nakajima's quiver varieties. We also\ndiscuss how the exact evaluation of local BPS observables in the gauge theory\ncan be used to calculate the spectrum of quantum Hamiltonians of spin Calogero\nintegrable systems and spin Intermediate Long Wave hydrodynamics. This is\nexplicitly obtained by a Bethe Ansatz Equation provided by the quiver gauge\ntheory in terms of its adjacency matrix.",
        "positive": "Micrometer Gravitinos and the Cosmological Constant: We compute the 4--dimensional cosmological constant in string\ncompactifications in which the Standard Model fields live on a\nnon-supersymmetric brane inside a supersymmetric bulk. The cosmological\nconstant receives contributions only from the vacuum energy of the bulk\nsupergravity fields, but not from the vacuum energy of the brane fields. The\nlatter is absorbed in a warp factor. Supersymmetry breaking on the brane at the\nTeV scale implies supersymmetry breaking in the bulk at the micrometer scale.\nThis produces a tiny cosmological constant that agrees with experiment within a\nfew orders of magnitude. Our argument predicts superpartners of the graviton\nwith mass of order $10^{-3}$ eV. They should be observable in short-distance\ntests of Einstein Gravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Superstring Theory in Four Curved Space-Time Dimensions: Neveu-Schwarz-Ramond type heterotic and type-II superstrings in four\ndimensional curved space-time are constructed as exact $N=1$ superconformal\ntheories. The tachyon is eliminated with a GSO projection. The theory is based\non the N=1 superconformal gauged WZW model for the anti-de Sitter coset\n$SO(3,2)/SO(3,1)$ with integer central extension $k=5$. The model has dynamical\nduality properties in its space-time metric that are similar to the large-small\n($R\\rightarrow 1/R$) duality of tori. To first order in a $1/k$ expansion we\ngive expressions for the metric, the dilaton, the Ricci tensor and their dual\ngeneralizations. The curvature scalar has several singularities at various\nlocations in the 4-dimensional manifold. This provides a new singular solution\nto Einstein's equations in the presence of matter in four dimensions. A\nnon-trivial path integral measure which we conjectured in previous work for\ngauged WZW models is verified.",
        "positive": "Composite M-branes: We present new supersymmetric solutions of D=11 supergravity obtained by\nintersecting the brane configuration interpreted as a 2-brane lying within a\n5-brane. Some of these solutions can be boosted along a common string and/or\nsuperposed with a Kaluza-Klein monopole. We also present a new embedding of the\nextreme four dimensional dyonic black hole with finite horizon area. These\nsolutions are a consequence of a rather simple set of rules that allow us to\nconstruct the composite M-branes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the time-dependent description for the decay of unstable D-branes: We discuss how to describe time-dependent phenomena in string theory like the\ndecay of unstable D-branes with the help of the world-sheet formulation. It is\nshown in a nontrivial well-controlled example that the coupling of the tachyons\nto propagating on-shell modes which escape to infinity can lead to\ntime-dependent relaxation into a stationary final state. The final state\ncorresponds to a fixed point of the RG flow generated by the relevant field\nfrom which the tachyon vertex operator is constructed. On the way we set up a\nfairly general formalism for the description of slow time-dependent phenomena\nwith the help of conformal perturbation theory on the world-sheet.",
        "positive": "Vertex Operators, $\\mathbb{C}^3$ Curve and Topological Vertex: In this article, we prove the conjecture that Kodaira-Spencer theory for the\ntopological vertex is a free fermion theory. By dividing the $\\mathbb{C}^3$\ncurve into core and asymptotic regions and using Boson-Fermion correspondence,\nwe construct a generic three-leg correlation function which reformulates the\ntopological vertex in a vertex operator approach. We propose a conjecture of\nthe correlation function identity which in a degenerate case becomes Zhou\\rq{}s\nidentity for a Hopf link."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Multifield Cosmological Perturbations at Third Order and the Ekpyrotic\n  Trispectrum: Using the covariant formalism, we derive the equations of motion for\nadiabatic and entropy perturbations at third order in perturbation theory for\ncosmological models involving two scalar fields. We use these equations to\ncalculate the trispectrum of ekpyrotic and cyclic models in which the density\nperturbations are generated via the entropic mechanism. In these models, the\nconversion of entropy into curvature perturbations occurs just before the big\nbang, either during the ekpyrotic phase or during the subsequent kinetic energy\ndominated phase. In both cases, we find that the non-linearity parameters\nf_{NL} and g_{NL} combine to leave a very distinct observational imprint.",
        "positive": "de Sitter space, extremal surfaces and \"time-entanglement\": We refine previous investigations on de Sitter space and extremal surfaces\nanchored at the future boundary $I^+$. Since such surfaces do not return, they\nrequire extra data or boundary conditions in the past (interior). In entirely\nLorentzian de Sitter spacetime, this leads to future-past timelike surfaces\nstretching between $I^\\pm$. Apart from an overall $-i$ factor (relative to\nspacelike surfaces in $AdS$) their areas are real and positive. With a\nno-boundary type boundary condition, the top half of these timelike surfaces\njoins with a spacelike part on the hemisphere giving a complex-valued area.\nMotivated by these, we describe two aspects of \"time-entanglement\" in simple\ntoy models in quantum mechanics. One is based on a future-past thermofield\ndouble type state entangling timelike separated states, which leads to entirely\npositive structures. Another is based on the time evolution operator and\nreduced transition amplitudes, which leads to complex-valued entropy."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Deep learning black hole metrics from shear viscosity: Based on AdS/CFT correspondence, we build a deep neural network to learn\nblack hole metrics from the complex frequency-dependent shear viscosity. The\nnetwork architecture provides a discretized representation of the holographic\nrenormalization group flow of the shear viscosity and can be applied to a large\nclass of strongly coupled field theories. Given the existence of the horizon\nand guided by the smoothness of spacetime, we show that Schwarzschild and\nReissner-Nordstr\\\"{o}m metrics can be learned accurately. Moreover, we\nillustrate that the generalization ability of the deep neural network can be\nexcellent, which indicates that by using the black hole spacetime as a hidden\ndata structure, a wide spectrum of the shear viscosity can be generated from a\nnarrow frequency range. These results are further generalized to an\nEinstein-Maxwell-dilaton black hole. Our work might not only suggest a\ndata-driven way to study holographic transports but also shed some light on\nholographic duality and deep learning.",
        "positive": "AdS and pp-wave D-particle superalgebras: We derive anticommutators of supercharges with a brane charge for a\nD-particle in AdS(2) x S(2) and pp-wave backgrounds. A coset GL(2|2)/(GL(1))^4\nand its Penrose limit are used with the supermatrix-valued coordinates for the\nAdS and the pp-wave spaces respectively. The brane charges have position\ndependence, and can be absorbed into bosonic generators by shift of momenta\nwhich results in closure of the superalgebras."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Defining relations for W-algebras from singular vectors: It is shown that the commutation relations of W-algebras can be recovered\nfrom the singular vectors of their simplest nontrivial, completely degenerate\nhighest weight representation.",
        "positive": "Heterotic Complex Structure Moduli Stabilization for Elliptically\n  Fibered Calabi-Yau Manifolds: Complex structure moduli of a Calabi-Yau threefold in $N=1$ supersymmetric\nheterotic compactifications can be stabilized by holomorphic vector bundles.\nThe stabilized moduli are determined by a computation of Atiyah class. In this\npaper, we study how this mechanism work in the context of elliptically fibered\nCalabi-Yau manifolds where complex structure moduli space contains two kinds of\nmoduli, ones from base and ones from fibration. With spectral cover bundles, we\nfind three types of situations when holomorphicity of bundles is determined by\nalgebraic cycles supported on special choice of complex structure, which allows\nus to stabilize both of these two moduli. We present concrete examples for each\ntype and develop practical tools to analyze the stabilized moduli. Finally, by\nchecking the holomorphicity of the four-flux and/or local Higgs bundle data in\nF-theory, we briefly study the dual complex structure moduli stabilization\nscenarios."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Demonstration of the Hayden-Preskill protocol via mutual information: We construct the Hayden-Preskill protocol by using a system of spin-1/2\nparticles and demonstrate information flows of this system which can mimic\nblack holes. We first define an analogous black hole $A$ as a collection of\nsuch particles. Second, we take the particles from inside to outside the black\nhole to define an analogous system of Hawking radiation $B$ as outside\nparticles. When the black hole and the radiation have the maximum entanglement\nat the Page time, we take an entangled pair system $C$ and $D$. The particles\nof $C$ fall into the black hole while their counterparts of $D$ remain outside.\nIf we assume rapid mixing of the particle states in the black hole $A \\cup C$,\ncan the information of $C$ rapidly escape from the black hole like a mirror? We\nnumerically show that if we turn on the rapid mixing in the black hole, the\noriginal information of $C$ rapidly escapes from the black hole to outside in\nthe form of the mutual information between $B$ and $D$. On the other hand, if\nthe mixing between $A$ and $C$ is not enough, the information escapes slowly.\nHence, we explicitly demonstrate the original conjecture of Hayden and\nPreskill. We emphasize that enough mixing is an essential condition to make the\nHayden-Preskill protocol functionally work.",
        "positive": "Quantum gravitational effects on boundary: Quantum gravitational effects may hold the key to some of the outstanding\nproblems in theoretical physics. In this work we analyze the perturbative\nquantum effects on the boundary of a gravitational system and Dirichlet\nboundary condtion imposed at the classical level. Our analysis reveals that for\na black hole solution there exists a clash between the quantum effects and\nDirichlet boundary condition: the solution of the one-particle-irreducible\n(1PI) action no longer obeys the Dirichlet boundary condition. The analysis\nalso suggests that the violation of the Dirichlet boundary condition should be\ntied with a certain mechanism of information storage on the boundary."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dynamical breakdown of time reversal invariance and causality: Irreversibility and acausality of a sub-system are established in exactly\nsoluble harmonic models with reversible and causal dynamics. It is shown that\ninitial conditions, imposed on some dynamical degrees of freedom may break time\nreversal invariance for other degrees of freedom. This happens if observations\ncarried out in any large but finite amount of time can not resolve the spectrum\nof the eliminated degrees of freedom, namely when the spectrum has a\ncondensation point at the ground state. Acausality follows due to the dominance\nof the dynamics by almost time-independent modes.",
        "positive": "Casimir effect in Very Special Relativity at finite temperature: Recently a great deal of interest in field theories formulated in a Lorentz\nviolating framework has been developed. Here the Very Special Relativity (VSR)\nis considered. The main aspect in the VSR proposal is that laws of physics are\ninvariant under the subgroups of the Poincar\\'e group preserving the basic\nelements of special relativity. An important point is that the photon acquires\na mass. In this context, the energy-momentum tensor for the electromagnetic\nfield is calculated. From this, the Stefan-Boltzmann law and Casimir effect at\nfinite temperature in VSR are obtained. The effects of temperature are\nintroduced using the Thermo Field Dynamics (TFD) formalism. A comparative\nanalysis with the Casimir effect for the standard electromagnetic case is\ndeveloped."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Vacuum polarization in a cosmic string spacetime induced by flat\n  boundary: In this paper we analyze the vacuum expectation values of the field squared\nand the energy-momentum tensor associated to a massive scalar field in a higher\ndimensional cosmic string spacetime, obeying Dirichlet or Neumann boundary\nconditions on the surface orthogonal to the string.",
        "positive": "Field spectrum and degrees of freedom in AdS/CFT correspondence and\n  Randall Sundrum model: Compactified AdS space can not be mapped into just one Poincare coordinate\nchart. This implies that the bulk field spectrum is discrete despite the\ninfinite range of the coordinates. We discuss here why this discretization of\nthe field spectrum seems to be a necessary ingredient for the holographic\nmapping. For the Randall Sundrum model we show that this discretization appears\neven without the second brane."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "11D Supergravity on $AdS_4 \\times S^7$ versus $AdS_7 \\times S^4$: The maximally supersymmetric Freund-Rubin vacua for eleven dimensional\nsupergravity, namely $AdS_4 \\times S^7$ and $AdS_7 \\times S^4$, admit an\nanalytic continuation to $S^4 \\times S^7$. From the full harmonic expansions on\n$S^4 \\times S^7$, it is shown that by analytical continuation to either\n$AdS_4$, or to $AdS_7$, the detailed structure of the Kaluza-Klein spectrum can\nbe obtained for both vacua in a unified manner. The results are shown to be\nrelated by a simple rule which interchanges the spacetime and internal space\nrepresentations. We also obtain the linearized field equations for the\nsingletons and doubletons but they can be gauged away by fixing certain\nStuckelberg shift symmetries inherited from the Kaluza-Klein reduction.",
        "positive": "Two-Time Physics with gravitational and gauge field backgrounds: It is shown that all possible gravitational, gauge and other interactions\nexperienced by particles in ordinary d-dimensions (one-time) can be described\nin the language of two-time physics in a spacetime with d+2 dimensions. This is\nobtained by generalizing the worldline formulation of two-time physics by\nincluding background fields. A given two-time model, with a fixed set of\nbackground fields, can be gauged fixed from d+2 dimensions to (d-1) +1\ndimensions to produce diverse one-time dynamical models, all of which are\ndually related to each other under the underlying gauge symmetry of the unified\ntwo-time theory. To satisfy the gauge symmetry of the two-time theory the\nbackground fields must obey certain coupled differential equations that are\ngenerally covariant and gauge invariant in the target d+2 dimensional\nspacetime. The gravitational background obeys a null homothety condition while\nthe gauge field obeys a differential equation that generalizes a similar\nequation derived by Dirac in 1936. Explicit solutions to these coupled\nequations show that the usual gravitational, gauge, and other interactions in d\ndimensions may be viewed as embedded in the higher d+2 dimensional space, thus\ndisplaying higher spacetime symmetries that otherwise remain hidden."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Classical-mechanical models without observable trajectories and the\n  Dirac electron: We construct a non-Grassmann spinning-particle model which, by analogy with\nquantum mechanics, does not admit the notion of a trajectory within the\nposition space. The pseudo-classical character of the model allows us to avoid\nthe inconsistencies arising in the quantum-mechanical interpretation of a\none-particle sector of the Dirac equation.",
        "positive": "Phantom Black Holes and Sigma Models: We construct static multicenter solutions of phantom Einstein-Maxwell-dilaton\ntheory from null geodesics of the target space, leading to regular black holes\nwithout spatial symmetry for certain discrete values of the dilaton coupling\nconstant. We also discuss the three-dimensional gravitating sigma models\nobtained by reduction of phantom Einstein-Maxwell, phantom Kaluza-Klein and\nphantom Einstein-Maxwell-dilaton-axion theories. In each case, we generate by\ngroup transformations phantom charged black hole solutions from a neutral seed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic complexity of rotating black holes: Within the framework of the \"complexity equals action\" and \"complexity equals\nvolume\" conjectures, we study the properties of holographic complexity for\nrotating black holes. We focus on a class of odd-dimensional equal-spinning\nblack holes for which considerable simplification occurs. We study the\ncomplexity of formation, uncovering a direct connection between complexity of\nformation and thermodynamic volume for large black holes. We consider also the\ngrowth-rate of complexity, finding that at late-times the rate of growth\napproaches a constant, but that Lloyd's bound is generically violated.",
        "positive": "Spin(9) Average of SU(N) Matrix Models I. Hamiltonian: We apply a method of group averaging to states and operators appearing in\n(truncations of) the Spin(9) x SU(N) invariant matrix models. We find that\nthere is an exact correspondence between the standard supersymmetric\nHamiltonian and the Spin(9) average of a relatively simple lower-dimensional\nmodel."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Optimal estimation of parameters for scalar fields in expanding universe\n  exhibiting Lorentz invariance violation: We address the optimal estimation of quantum parameters, in the framework of\nlocal quantum estimation theory, for a massive scalar quantum field in the\nexpanding Robertson-Walker universe exhibiting Lorentz invariance violation\n(LIV). The information about the history of the expanding spacetime in the\npresence of LIV can be extracted by taking measurements on the entangled state\nof particle modes. We find that, in the estimation of cosmological parameters,\nthe ultimate bounds to the precision of the Lorentz-invariant massive scalar\nfield can be improved due to the effects of LIV under some appropriate\nconditions. We also show that, in the Lorentz-invariant massive scalar field\nand massless scalar field due to LIV backgrounds, the optimal precision can be\nachieved by choosing the particles with some suitable LIV, cosmological and\nfield parameters. Moreover, in the estimation of LIV parameter during the\nspacetime expansion, we prove that the appropriate momentum mode of field\nparticles and larger cosmological parameters can provide us a better precision.\nParticularly, the optimal precision of the parameters estimation can be\nobtained by performing projective measurements implemented by the projectors\nonto the eigenvectors of specific probe states.",
        "positive": "One-loop polarization operator of the quantum gauge superfield for\n  ${\\cal N}=1$ SYM regularized by higher derivatives: We consider the general ${\\cal N}=1$ supersymmetric gauge theory with matter,\nregularized by higher covariant derivatives without breaking the BRST\ninvariance, in the massless limit. In the $\\xi$-gauge we obtain the\n(unrenormalized) expression for the two-point Green function of the quantum\ngauge superfield in the one-loop approximation as a sum of integrals over the\nloop momentum. The result is presented as a sum of three parts: the first one\ncorresponds to the pure supersymmetric Yang--Mills theory in the Feynman gauge,\nthe second one contains all gauge dependent terms, and the third one is the\ncontribution of diagrams with a matter loop. For the Feynman gauge and a\nspecial choice of the higher derivative regulator in the gauge fixing term we\nanalytically calculate these integrals in the limit $k\\to 0$. In particular, in\naddition to the leading logarithmically divergent terms, which are determined\nby integrals of double total derivatives, we also find the finite constants."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Kac-Moody algebras and the cosmological constant: We show that the theory of gravity constructed from the non-linear\nrealisation of the semi-direct product of the Kac-Moody algebra A1+++ with its\nvector representation does not allow a cosmological constant. The existence of\na cosmological constant in this theory is related to the breaking of the\ngravitational duality symmetry.",
        "positive": "A panoply of Schwinger-Keldysh transport: We classify all possible allowed constitutive relations of relativistic\nfluids in a statistical mechanical limit using the Schwinger-Keldysh effective\naction for hydrodynamics. We find that microscopic unitarity enforces genuinely\nnew constraints on the allowed transport coefficients that are invisible in the\nclassical hydrodynamic description; they are not implied by the second law or\nthe Onsager relations. We term these conditions Schwinger-Keldysh positivity\nand provide explicit examples of the various allowed terms."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-tachyonic Scherk-Schwarz compactifications, cosmology and moduli\n  stabilization: It is well-known that Scherk-Schwarz compactifications in string theory have\na tachyon in the closed string spectrum appearing for a critical value of a\ncompact radius. The tachyon can be removed by an appropriate orientifold\nprojection in type II strings, giving rise to tachyon-free compactifications.\nWe present explicit examples of this type in various dimensions, including six\nand four-dimensional chiral examples, with softly broken supersymmetry in the\nclosed sector and non-BPS configurations in the open sector. These vacua are\ninteresting frameworks for studying various cosmological issues. We discuss\nfour-dimensional cosmological solutions and moduli stabilization triggered by\nnonperturbative effects like gaugino condensation on D-branes and fluxes.",
        "positive": "Spin Hall effect of gravitational waves: Gravitons possess a Berry curvature due to their helicity. We derive the\nsemiclassical equations of motion for gravitons taking into account the Berry\ncurvature. We show that this quantum correction leads to the splitting of the\ntrajectories of right- and left-handed gravitational waves in curved space, and\nthat this correction can be understood as a topological phenomenon. This is the\nspin Hall effect (SHE) of gravitational waves. We find that the SHE of\ngravitational waves is twice as large as that of light. Possible future\nobservations of the SHE of gravitational waves can potentially test the quantum\nnature of gravitons beyond the classical general relativity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Relativistic Wave Equations and Compton Scattering: The recently proposed eight-component relativistic wave equation is applied\nto the scattering of a photon from a free electron (Compton scattering). It is\nfound that in spite of the considerable difference in the structure of this\nequation and that of Dirac the cross section is given by the Klein-Nishina\nformula.",
        "positive": "Dilatation operator and Cayley graphs: We use the algebraic definition of the Dilatation operator provided by\nMinahan, Zarembo, Beisert, Kristijansen, Staudacher, proper for single trace\nproducts of scalar fields, at leading order in the large-N 't Hooft limit to\ndevelop a new approach to the evaluation of the spectrum of the Dilatation\noperator. We discover a vast number of exact sequences of eigenstates."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Open Strings and Electric Fields in Compact Spaces: We analyse open strings with background electric fields in the internal\nspace, T-dual to branes moving with constant velocities in the internal space.\nWe find that the direction of the electric fields inside a two torus, dual to\nthe D brane velocities, has to be quantised such that the corresponding\ndirection is compact. This implies that D-brane motion in the internal torus is\nperiodic, with a periodicity that can be parametrically large in terms of the\ninternal radii. By S-duality, this is mapped into an internal magnetic field in\na three torus, a quantum mechanical analysis of which yields a similar result,\ni.e. the parallel direction to the magnetic field has to be compact.\nFurthermore, for the magnetic case, we find the Landau level degeneracy as\nbeing given by the greatest common divisor of the flux numbers. We carry on the\nstring quantisation and derive the relevant partition functions for these\nmodels. Our analysis includes also the case of oblique electric fields which\ncan arise when several stacks of branes are present. Compact dimensions and/or\noblique sectors influence the energy loss of the system through pair-creation\nand thus can be relevant for inflationary scenarios with branes. Finally, we\nshow that the compact energy loss is always larger than the non-compact one.",
        "positive": "$S$-matrix representation of the finite temperature propagator in\n  $\u03bb\u03c6^4$-QFT: The two-point Green function of the massive scalar $(3+1)$-quantum field\ntheory with $\\lambda\\phi^4$ interaction at finite temperature is evaluated up\nto the 2nd order of perturbation theory. The averaging on the vacuum\nfluctuations is separated from the averaging on the thermal fluctuations\nexplicitly. As a result, the temperature dependent part of the propagator is\nexpressed through the scattering amplitudes. The obtained expression is\ngeneralized for higher orders of perturbation theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "D0-Branes As Light-Front Confined Quarks: We argue that different aspects of Light-Front QCD at confined phase can be\nrecovered by the Matrix Quantum Mechanics of D0-branes. The concerning Matrix\nQuantum Mechanics is obtained from dimensional reduction of pure Yang-Mills\ntheory to 0+1 dimension. The aspects of QCD dynamics which are studied in\ncorrespondence with D0-branes are: 1) phenomenological inter-quark potentials,\n2) whiteness of hadrons and 3) scattering amplitudes. In addition, some other\nissues such as the large-N behavior, the gravity--gauge theory relation and\nalso a possible justification for involving ``non-commutative coordinates'' in\na study of QCD bound-states are discussed.",
        "positive": "Exact inhomogeneous Einstein-Maxwell-Dilaton cosmologies: We present solution generating techniques which permit to construct exact\ninhomogeneous and anisotropic cosmological solutions to a four-dimensional low\nenergy limit of string theory containing non-minimally interacting\nelectromagnetic and dilaton fields. Some explicit homogeneous and inhomogeneous\ncosmological solutions are constructed. For example, inhomogeneous exact\nsolutions presenting Gowdy - type EMD universe are obtained. The asymptotic\nbehaviour of the solutions is investigated. The asymptotic form of the metric\nnear the initial singularity has a spatially varying Kasner form. The character\nof the space-time singularities is discussed. The late evolution of the\nsolutions is described by a background homogeneous and anisotropic universe\nfilled with weakly interacting gravitational, dilatonic and electromagnetic\nwaves."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Bulk Dynamics in Confining Gauge Theories: We consider gauge/string duality (in the supergravity approximation) for\nconfining gauge theories. The system under scrutiny is a 5-dimensional\nconsistent truncation of type IIB supergravity obtained using the\nPapadopoulos-Tseytlin ansatz with boundary momentum added. We develop a\ngauge-invariant and sigma-model-covariant approach to the dynamics of\n5-dimensional bulk fluctuations. For the Maldacena-Nunez subsystem, we study\nglueball mass spectra. For the Klebanov-Strassler subsystem, we compute the\nlinearized equations of motion for the 7-scalar system, and show that a\n3-scalar sector containing the scalar dual to the gluino bilinear decouples in\nthe UV. We solve the fluctuation equations exactly in the \"moderate UV\"\napproximation and check this approximation numerically. Our results demonstrate\nthe feasibility of analyzing the generally coupled equations for scalar bulk\nfluctuations, and constitute a step on the way towards computing correlators in\nconfining gauge theories.",
        "positive": "An Alternative to Collective Coordinates: Collective coordinates provide a powerful tool for separating collective and\nelementary excitations, allowing both to be treated in the full quantum theory.\nThe price is a canonical transformation which leads to a complicated starting\npoint for subsequent calculations. Sometimes the collective behavior of a\nsoliton is simple but nontrivial, and one is interested in the elementary\nexcitations. We show that in this case an alternative prescription suffices, in\nwhich the canonical transformation is not necessary. The use of a\nnonperturbative operator which creates a soliton state allows the theory to be\nconstructed perturbatively in terms of the soliton normal modes. We show how\ntranslation invariance may be perturbatively imposed. We apply this to\nconstruct the two-loop ground state of an arbitrary scalar kink."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Comparison of renormalization group schemes for sine-Gordon type models: The scheme-dependence of the renormalization group (RG) flow has been\ninvestigated in the local potential approximation for two-dimensional periodic,\nsine-Gordon type field-theoric models discussing the applicability of various\nfunctional RG methods in detail. It was shown that scheme-independent\ndetermination of such physical parameters is possible as the critical frequency\n(temperature) at which Kosterlitz-Thouless-Berezinskii type phase transition\ntakes place in the sine-Gordon and the layered sine-Gordon models, and the\ncritical ratio characterizing the Ising type phase transition of the massive\nsine-Gordon model. For the latter case the Maxwell construction represents a\nstrong constraint on the RG flow which results in a scheme-independent infrared\nvalue for the critical ratio. For the massive sine-Gordon model also the\nshrinking of the domain of the phase with spontaneously broken periodicity is\nshown to take place due to the quantum fluctuations.",
        "positive": "Explorations in Scalar Fermion Theories: $\u03b2$-functions,\n  Supersymmetry and Fixed Points: Results for $\\beta$-functions and anomalous dimensions in general scalar\nfermion theories are presented to three loops. Various constraints on the\nindividual coefficients for each diagram following from supersymmetry are\nanalysed. The results are used to discuss potential fixed points in the\n$\\varepsilon$-expansion for scalar fermion theories, with arbitrary numbers of\nscalar fields, and where there are just two scalar couplings and one Yukawa\ncoupling. For different examples the fixed points follow a similar pattern as\nthe numbers of fermions is varied. For diagrams with subdivergences there are\nextensive consistency constraints arising from the existence of a perturbative\n$a$-function and these are analysed in detail. Further arbitrary scheme\nvariations which preserve the form of $\\beta$ functions and anomalous\ndimensions in terms of 1PI diagrams are also discussed. The existence of linear\nand quadratic scheme invariants is demonstrated and the consistency condition\nare shown to be expressible in terms of these invariants."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Discussion on Massive Gravitons and Propagating Torsion in Arbitrary\n  Dimensions: In this paper, we reassess a particular $R^{2}$-type gravity action in D\ndimensions, recently studied by Nakasone and Oda, taking now torsion effects\ninto account. Considering that the vielbein and the spin connection carry\nindependent propagating degrees of freedom, we conclude that ghosts and\ntachyons are absent only if torsion is non-propagating, and we also conclude\nthat there is no room for massive gravitons. To include these excitations, we\nunderstand how to enlarge Nakasone-Oda's model by means of explicit torsion\nterms in the action and we discuss the unitarity of the enlarged model for\narbitrary dimensions.",
        "positive": "Brane bending and monopole moduli: We study intersecting brane systems that realize a class of singular monopole\nconfigurations in four-dimensional Yang-Mills-Higgs theory. Singular monopoles\nare solutions to the Bogomolny equation on R^3 with a prescribed number of\nsingularities corresponding to the insertion of 't Hooft defects. We use the\nbrane construction to motivate a recent conjecture on the conditions for which\nthe moduli space of solutions is non-empty. We also show how branes provide\nphysical intuition for various aspects of the dimension formula derived in\n{arXiv:1404.5616}, including the contribution to the dimension from the defects\nand its invariance under Weyl reflections of the 't Hooft charges. Along the\nway we uncover and illustrate new dynamical phenomena for the brane systems,\nincluding a description of smooth monopole extraction and bubbling from 't\nHooft defects."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Effective field theory for hydrodynamics without boosts: We formulate the Schwinger-Keldysh effective field theory of hydrodynamics\nwithout boost symmetry. This includes a spacetime covariant formulation of\nclassical hydrodynamics without boosts with an additional conserved\nparticle/charge current coupled to Aristotelian background sources. We find\nthat, up to first order in derivatives, the theory is characterised by the\nthermodynamic equation of state and a total of 29 independent transport\ncoefficients, in particular, 3 hydrostatic, 9 non-hydrostatic non-dissipative,\nand 17 dissipative. Furthermore, we study the spectrum of linearised\nfluctuations around anisotropic equilibrium states with non-vanishing fluid\nvelocity. This analysis reveals a pair of sound modes that propagate at\ndifferent speeds along and opposite to the fluid flow, one charge diffusion\nmode, and two distinct shear modes along and perpendicular to the fluid\nvelocity. We present these results in a new hydrodynamic frame that is linearly\nstable irrespective of the boost symmetry in place. This provides a unified\ncovariant stable approach for simultaneously treating Lorentzian, Galilean, and\nLifshitz fluids within an effective field theory framework and sets the stage\nfor future studies of non-relativistic intertwined patterns of symmetry\nbreaking.",
        "positive": "Probabilities in the landscape: I review recent progress in defining probability distributions in the\ninflationary multiverse."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum chaos in the sparse SYK model: The Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev (SYK) model is a system of $N$ Majorana fermions with\nrandom interactions and strongly chaotic dynamics, which at low energy admits a\nholographically dual description as two-dimensional Jackiw-Teitelboim gravity.\nHence the SYK model provides a toy model of quantum gravity that might be\nfeasible to simulate with near-term quantum hardware. Motivated by the goal of\nreducing the resources needed for such a simulation, we study a sparsified\nversion of the SYK model, in which interaction terms are deleted with\nprobability $1{-p}$. Specifically, we compute numerically the spectral form\nfactor (SFF, the Fourier transform of the Hamiltonian's eigenvalue pair\ncorrelation function) and the nearest-neighbor eigenvalue gap ratio $r$\n(characterizing the distribution of gaps between consecutive eigenvalues). We\nfind that when $p$ is greater than a transition value $p_1$, which scales as\n$1/N^3$, both the SFF and $r$ match the values attained by the full\nunsparsified model and with expectations from random matrix theory (RMT). But\nfor $p<p_1$, deviations from unsparsified SYK and RMT occur, indicating a\nbreakdown of holography in the highly sparsified regime. Below an even smaller\nvalue $p_2$, which also scales as $1/N^3$, even the spacing of consecutive\neigenvalues differs from RMT values, signaling a complete breakdown of spectral\nrigidity. Our results cast doubt on the holographic interpretation of very\nhighly sparsified SYK models obtained via machine learning using teleportation\ninfidelity as a loss function.",
        "positive": "Generalised vielbeins and non-linear realisations: We briefly review why the non-linear realisation of the semi-direct product\nof a group with one of its representations leads to a field theory defined on a\ngeneralised space-time equipped with a generalised vielbein. We give formulae,\nwhich only involve matrix multiplication, for the generalised vielbein, the\nCartan forms and their transformations. We consider the generalised space-time\nintroduced in 2003 in the context of the non-linear realisation of the\nsemi-direct product of E(11) and its first fundamental representation. For this\nlatter theory we give explicit expressions for the generalised vielbein up to\nand including the levels associated with the dual graviton in four, five and\neleven dimensions and for the IIB theory in ten dimensions. We also compute the\ngeneralised vielbein, up to the analogous level, for the non-linear realisation\nof the semi-direct product of very extended SL(2) with its first fundamental\nrepresentation, which is a theory associated with gravity in four dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Landau-Ginzburg description of $(A_1^{(1)})^{\\oplus N}$\n  invariants: We search for a \\Lg\\ interpretation of non-diagonal modular invariants of\ntensor products of minimal $n=2$ superconformal models, looking in particular\nat automorphism invariants and at some exceptional cases. For the former we\nfind a simple description as \\lgo s, which reproduce the correct chiral rings\nas well as the spectra of various Gepner--type models and orbifolds thereof. On\nthe other hand, we are able to prove for one of the exceptional cases that this\nconformal field theory cannot be described by an orbifold of a \\Lg\\ model with\nrespect to a manifest linear symmetry of its potential.",
        "positive": "Massive Gravity with Anisotropic Scaling: We study a massive gravity theory which is Lorentz violating all the way from\nultraviolet to infrared energy scales. At short distances the theory breaks\ndiffeomorphism invariance and time and space scale differently. Dynamical\nmetric fields are introduced which upon linearization over a Minkowski\nbackground correspond to Lorentz violating mass terms at large distances. We\nperform a scalar perturbation analysis and we show that with an appropriate\nchoice of parameters the theory is healthy without ghosts, tachyons, strong\ncoupling problems and instabilities"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hall Viscosity in a Strongly Coupled Magnetized Plasma: We show how a Hall viscosity induced by a magnetic field can be generated in\nstrongly coupled theories with a holographic dual. This is achieved by\nconsidering parity-breaking higher derivative terms in the gravity dual. These\nterms couple the Riemann curvature tensor to the field strength of a gauge\nfield dual to the charge current, and have an analog in the field theory side\nas a coupling between the \"Euler current\" and the electromagnetic field. As a\nconcrete example, we study the effect of the new terms in the thermodynamic and\ntransport properties of a strongly coupled magnetized plasma dual to a dyonic\nblack hole in $AdS_4$. As a new property of the holographic model, we find that\nfor a state that is initially neutral at zero magnetic field, a charge density\nand non-dissipative Hall transport are present when the magnetic field is\nturned on. Remarkably, we also observe that the results from the holographic\nmodel are consistent with hydrodynamics even at magnetic fields much larger\nthan temperature.",
        "positive": "Colliding localized, lumpy holographic shocks with a granular nuclear\n  structure: We apply a recent and simple technique which speeds up the calculation of\nlocalized collisions in holography to study more realistic models of heavy ion\ncollisions via the gauge/gravity duality. The initial data takes into account\nthe lumpy nuclear structure of real heavy ions and the projectiles' aspect\nratio mimics the Lorentz contraction of nuclei during RHIC collisions. At the\nhydrodynamization time of the central region of the quark gluon plasma\ndeveloped during the collision, we find that most of the vorticity three\nvector's absolute value is deposited far away from the hydrodynamized part of\nthe plasma. Only the relativistic corrections to the thermal vorticity in the\nhydrodynamized region are non-negligible. We compare the transverse flow after\nthe collision determined in this work with previous results, without granular\ninitial conditions and determine the proper energy density and fluid velocity\nin a hydrodynamized subregion of the plasma."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chern-Simons Terms on Noncommutative Branes: We write down couplings of the fields on a single BPS Dp-brane with\nnoncommutative world-volume coordinates to the RR-forms in type II theories, in\na manifestly background independent way. This generalises the usual\nChern-Simons action for a commutative Dp-brane. We show that the noncommutative\nChern-Simons terms can be mapped to Myers terms on a collection of infinitely\nmany D-instantons. We also propose Chern-Simons couplings for unstable non-BPS\nbranes, and show that condensation of noncommutative tachyons on these branes\nleads to the correct Myers terms on the decay products.",
        "positive": "Mirror Symmetry, D-Branes and Counting Holomorphic Discs: We consider a class of special Lagrangian subspaces of Calabi-Yau manifolds\nand identify their mirrors, using the recent derivation of mirror symmetry, as\ncertain holomorphic varieties of the mirror geometry. This transforms the\ncounting of holomorphic disc instantons ending on the Lagrangian submanifold to\nthe classical Abel-Jacobi map on the mirror. We recover some results already\nanticipated as well as obtain some highly non-trivial new predictions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Realization of Slow Roll Inflation and the MSSM in Supergravity\n  Theories with New Fayet-Iliopoulos Terms: A new supergravity D-term, not associated to gauged R-symmetry, was recently\ndiscovered and used to construct new supergravity models. In this paper we use\na generalization of the new D-term that we used in previous works, to construct\na supergravity model of slow-roll inflation with the observable sector of the\nminimal supersymmetric standard model. Supersymmetry is broken at a high scale\nin the hidden sector and communicated to the observable sector by gravity\nmediation. The new D-term contains free parameters that can give large masses\nto scalar superpartners of quarks and leptons and to the higgsinos while\nholding the masses of observed particles fixed. Gauginos receive a mass from a\nnon-canonical kinetic term for the vector supermultiplets. We also present a\nsimple argument proving in full generality that the cutoff $\\Lambda$ of\neffective theories containing new D-terms can never exceed the supersymmetry\nbreaking scale. In our theory, the relation between D-term and the Hubble\nconstant during inflation also implies the universal relation $\\Lambda \\lesssim\n\\sqrt{H M_{Pl}}$.",
        "positive": "Black holes in braneworld models: In this review, we summarize current understandings of black hole solutions\nin various braneworld models, including the Arkani-Hamed-Dimopoulos-Dvali\nmodel, the Randall-Sundrum (RS) models, the Karch-Randall (KR) model and the\nDvali-Gabadadze-Porrati model. After illustrating basic properties of each\nbraneworld model, we introduce the bulk/brane correspondence in the RS and KR\nbraneworld models, adding supporting evidence for it. We then summarize the\nstudies on braneworld black hole solutions, which consist of constructing exact\nor approximate solutions and investigating the phase diagram of solutions. In\nthe study of phase diagram, we will also expound the implications of the\nbulk/brane correspondence to the braneworld black holes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Parity-Odd 3-Point Functions from CFT in Momentum Space and the Chiral\n  Anomaly: We illustrate how the Conformal Ward Identities (CWI) in momentum space for\nparity-odd correlators determine the structure of a chiral anomaly interaction,\ntaking the example of the VVA (vector/vector/axial-vector) and AAA correlators\nin momentum space. Only the conservation and the anomalous WIs, together with\nthe Bose symmetry, are imposed from the outset for the determination of the\ncorrelators. We use a longitudinal/transverse decomposition of tensor\nstructures and form factors. The longitudinal (L) component is fixed by the\nanomaly content and the anomaly pole, while in the transverse (T) sector we\ndefine a new parameterization. We relate the latter both to the Rosenberg\noriginal representation of the VVA and to the longitudinal/transverse (L/T)\none, first introduced in the analysis of $g-2$ of the muon in the investigation\nof the diagram in the chiral limit of QCD. The correlators are completely\nidentified by the conformal constraints whose solutions are fixed only by the\nanomaly coefficient, the residue of the anomaly pole. In both cases, our CFT\nresult matches the one-loop perturbative expression, as expected. The CWIs for\ncorrelators of mixed chirality $J_L J J_R$ generate solutions in agreement with\nthe all-orders nonrenormalization theorems of perturbative QCD and in the\nchiral limit.",
        "positive": "Universal behaviour, transients and attractors in supersymmetric\n  Yang-Mills plasma: Numerical simulations of expanding plasma based on the AdS/CFT correspondence\nas well as kinetic theory and hydrodynamic models strongly suggest that some\nobservables exhibit universal behaviour even when the system is not close to\nlocal equilibrium. This leading behaviour is expected to be corrected by\ntransient, exponentially decaying contributions which carry information about\nthe initial state. Focusing on late times, when the system is already in the\nhydrodynamic regime, we analyse numerical solutions describing expanding plasma\nof strongly coupled N=4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory and identify these\ntransient effects, matching them in a quantitative way to leading trans-series\ncorrections corresponding to least-damped quasinormal modes of AdS black\nbranes. In the process we offer additional evidence supporting the recent\nidentification of the Borel sum of the hydrodynamic gradient expansion with the\nfar-from-equilibrium attractor in this system."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Canonical Quantization of The Dissipative Hofstadter Model: We perform canonical quantization of the dissipative Hofstadter model, which\nhas a wide range of applications in condensed matter physics and string theory.\nThe target space duality and the non-commutative algebra developed in string\ntheory are discussed for the model. We show that the target space duality\ntransformation of closed string theory, $O(2,2;R)$, removes the interaction\nwith a uniform magnetic field. The $O(2,2;R)$ dual transformation changes the\nbasis of oscillator operators so that the algebra of the string coordinate\noperators at the boundary become non-commutative. In the zero temperature\nlimit, the non-commutative algebra of open string theory emerges. We also\ndeveloped the boundary state formulation for the dissipative Hofstadter model.",
        "positive": "Six-loop $\\varepsilon$ expansion of three-dimensional $\\text{U}(n)\\times\n  \\text{U}(m)$ models: We analyze the Landau-Wilson field theory with $\\text{U}(n)\\times\\text{U}(m)$\nsymmetry which describes the finite-temperature phase transition in QCD in the\nlimit of vanishing quark masses with $n=m=N_f$ flavors and unbroken anomaly at\nthe critical temperature. The six-loop expansions of the renormalization group\nfunctions are calculated within the Minimal Subtraction scheme in $4 -\n\\varepsilon$ dimensions. The $\\varepsilon$ series for the upper marginal\ndimensionality $n^{+}(m,4-\\varepsilon)$ -- the key quantity of the theory --\nare obtained and resummed by means of different approaches. The numbers found\nare compared with their counterparts obtained earlier within lower perturbative\norders and the pseudo-$\\varepsilon$ analysis of massive six-loop\nthree-dimensional expansions. In particular, using an increase in the accuracy\nof numerical results for $n^{+}(m,3)$ by one order of magnitude, we strengthen\nthe conclusions obtained within previous order in perturbation theory about\nfairness of the inequality $n^{+}(m,3)>m$. This, in turn, indicates the absence\nof a stable three-dimensional fixed point for $n=m$, and as a consequence a\nfirst-order kind of finite-temperature phase transition in light QCD."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Decoupling and Reduction in Chern-Simons Modified Gravity: We show that for four-dimensional spacetimes with a non-null hypersurface\northogonal Killing vector and for a Chern-Simons (CS) background\n(non-dynamical) scalar field, which is constant along the Killing vector, the\nsource-free equations of CS modified gravity decouple into their Einstein and\nCotton constituents. Thus, the model supports only general relativity\nsolutions. We also show that, when the cosmological constant vanishes and the\ngradient of the CS scalar field is parallel to the non-null hypersurface\northogonal Killing vector of constant length, CS modified gravity reduces to\ntopologically massive gravity in three dimensions. Meanwhile, with the\ncosmological constant such a reduction requires an appropriate source term for\nCS modified gravity.",
        "positive": "Faddeev-Popov determinant in 2-dimensional Regge gravity.: By regularizing the singularities appearing in the two dimensional Regge\ncalculus by means of a segment of a sphere or pseudo-sphere and then taking the\nregulator to zero, we obtain a simple formula for the gauge volume which\nappears in the functional integral. Such a formula is an analytic function of\nthe opening of the conic singularity in the interval from $\\pi$ to $4\\pi$ and\nin the continuum limit it goes over to the correct result."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Alternativity and reciprocity in the Cayley-Dickson algebra: We calculate the eigenvalue \\rho of the multiplication mapping R on the\nCayley-Dickson algebra A_n. If the element in A_n is composed of a pair of\nalternative elements in A_{n-1}, half the eigenvectors of R in A_n are still\neigenvectors in the subspace which is isomorphic to A_{n-1}.\n  The invariant under the reciprocal transformation A_n \\times A_{n} \\ni (x,y)\n-> (-y,x) plays a fundamental role in simplifying the functional form of \\rho.\n  If some physical field can be identified with the eigenspace of R, with an\ninjective map from the field to a scalar quantity (such as a mass) m, then\nthere is a one-to-one map \\pi: m \\mapsto \\rho. As an example, the electro-weak\ngauge field can be regarded as the eigenspace of R, where \\pi implies that the\nW-boson mass is less than the Z-boson mass, as in the standard model.",
        "positive": "Chiral vortical effect in pionic superfluid vs spin alignment of baryons: We consider chiral fluids, with (nearly) massless fermionic constituents, in\nthe confining phase. Chiral vortical effect (CVE) is the flow of axial current\nalong the axis of rotation of the fluid while the spin alignment is a\nnon-vanishing correlation of polarizations of baryons with the axis of\nrotation. As the theoretical framework we use the model of pionic superfluidity\ninduced by a non-vanishing isotopic chemical potential. We note that the\naverage value of spin of virtual baryons reproduces the CVE. The role of\ndefects, or vortices is crucial. The model does not apply directly to the\nquark-gluon plasma but might indicate existence of a mechanism to produce\nbaryons with relatively large polarization in heavy-ion collisions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Nonlinear field theory with topological solitons: Skyrme models: In this talk, we give new insight into one of the best-known nonlinear field\ntheories, the Skyrme model. We present some exact relevant solutions coming\nfrom different new versions (gauged BPS baby as well as vector BPS Skyrme\nmodels) giving rise to topological solitons, and highlighting the BPS character\nof the theory.",
        "positive": "Refining G-structure classifications: Using G-structure language, a systematic, iterative formalism for computing\nneccessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of N arbitrary linearly\nindependent Killing spinors is presented. The key organisational tool is the\ncommon isotropy group of the Killing spinors. The formalism is illustrated for\nconfigurations in gauged SU(2) supergravity in seven dimensions admitting at\nleast one null Killing spinor, and the possible isotropy groups are shown to be\n$(SU(2)\\ltimes\\mathbb{R}^4)\\times\\mathbb{R}$, SU(2), $\\mathbb{R}^5$, or the\nidentity. The constraints associated with the existence of certain additional\nKilling spinors are computed, and used to derive numerous solutions. A\ndiscussion of the relevance of the formalism to the complete classification of\nall supersymmetric configurations in d=11 is given."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Spectrum in the Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev Model: The SYK model consists of $N\\gg 1$ fermions in $0+1$ dimensions with a\nrandom, all-to-all quartic interaction. Recently, Kitaev has found that the SYK\nmodel is maximally chaotic and has proposed it as a model of holography. We\nsolve the Schwinger-Dyson equation and compute the spectrum of two-particle\nstates in SYK, finding both a continuous and discrete tower. The four-point\nfunction is expressed as a sum over the spectrum. The sum over the discrete\ntower is evaluated.",
        "positive": "Physical Combinatorics and Quasiparticles: We consider the physical combinatorics of critical lattice models and their\nassociated conformal field theories arising in the continuum scaling limit. As\nexamples, we consider A-type unitary minimal models and the level-1 sl(2)\nWess-Zumino-Witten (WZW) model. The Hamiltonian of the WZW model is the\n$U_q(sl(2))$ invariant XXX spin chain. For simplicity, we consider these\ntheories only in their vacuum sectors on the strip. Combinatorially, fermionic\nparticles are introduced as certain features of RSOS paths. They are composites\nof dual-particles and exhibit the properties of quasiparticles. The particles\nand dual-particles are identified, through an energy preserving bijection, with\npatterns of zeros of the eigenvalues of the fused transfer matrices in their\nanalyticity strips. The associated (m,n) systems arise as geometric packing\nconstraints on the particles. The analyticity encoded in the patterns of zeros\nis the key to the analytic calculation of the excitation energies through the\nThermodynamic Bethe Ansatz (TBA). As a by-product of our study, in the case of\nthe WZW or XXX model, we find a relation between the location of the Bethe root\nstrings and the location of the transfer matrix 2-strings."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exploring the ground state spectrum of gamma-deformed N=4 SYM: We study the gamma-deformation of the planar N=4 super Yang-Mills theory\nwhich breaks all supersymmetries but is expected to preserve integrability of\nthe model. We focus on the operator Tr$(\\phi_1\\phi_1)$ built from two scalars,\nwhose integrability description has been questioned before due to contributions\nfrom double-trace counterterms. We show that despite these subtle effects, the\nintegrability-based Quantum Spectral Curve (QSC) framework works perfectly for\nthis state and in particular reproduces the known 1-loop prediction. This\nresolves an earlier controversy concerning this operator and provides further\nevidence that the gamma-deformed model is an integrable CFT at least in the\nplanar limit. We use the QSC to compute the first 5 weak coupling orders of the\nanomalous dimension analytically, matching known results in the fishnet limit,\nand also compute it numerically all the way from weak to strong coupling. We\nalso utilize this data to extract a new coefficient of the beta function of the\ndouble-trace operator couplings.",
        "positive": "Massive Three-Dimensional Supergravity From R+R^2 Action in Six\n  Dimensions: We obtain a three-parameter family of massive N=1 supergravities in three\ndimensions from the 3-sphere reduction of an off-shell N=(1,0) six-dimensional\nPoincare supergravity that includes a curvature squared invariant. The\nthree-dimensional theory contains an off-shell supergravity multiplet and an\non-shell scalar matter multiplet. We then generalise this in three dimensions\nto an eight-parameter family of supergravities. We also find a duality\nrelationship between the six-dimensional theory and the N=(1,0) six-dimensional\ntheory obtained through a T^4 reduction of the heterotic string effective\naction that includes the higher-order terms associated with the\nsupersymmetrisation of the anomaly-cancelling \\tr(R\\wedge R) term."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "N=4 SYM on R x S^3 and Theories with 16 Supercharges: We study N=4 SYM on R x S^3 and theories with 16 supercharges arising as its\nconsistent truncations. These theories include the plane wave matrix model, N=4\nSYM on R x S^2 and N=4 SYM on R x S^3/Z_k, and their gravity duals were studied\nby Lin and Maldacena. We make a harmonic expansion of the original N=4 SYM on R\nx S^3 and obtain each of the truncated theories by keeping a part of the\nKaluza-Klein modes. This enables us to analyze all the theories in a unified\nway. We explicitly construct some nontrivial vacua of N=4 SYM on R x S^2. We\nperform 1-loop analysis of the original and truncated theories. In particular,\nwe examine states regarded as the integrable SO(6) spin chain and a\ntime-dependent BPS solution, which is considered to correspond to the AdS giant\ngraviton in the original theory.",
        "positive": "S-matrix Unitarity and Renormalizability in Higher Derivative Theories: We investigate the relation between the $S$-matrix unitarity\n($SS^{\\dagger}=1$) and the renormalizability, in theories with negative norm\nstates. The relation has been confirmed in many theories, such as gauge\ntheories, Einstein gravity and Lifshitz-type non-relativistic theories by\nanalyzing the unitarity bound, which follows from the $S$-matrix unitarity and\nthe norm positivity. On the other hand, renormalizable theories with a higher\nderivative kinetic term do not necessarily satisfy the unitarity bound\nessentially because the unitarity bound does not hold due to the negative norm\nstates. In these theories, it is not clear if the $S$-matrix unitarity provides\na nontrivial constraint related to the renormalizability. In this paper we\nintroduce scalar field models with a higher derivative kinetic term and analyze\nthe $S$-matrix unitarity. We have positive results of the relation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gravitational orbits, double-twist mirage, and many-body scars: We explore the implications of stable gravitational orbits around an AdS\nblack hole for the boundary conformal field theory. The orbits are long-lived\nstates that eventually decay due to gravitational radiation and tunneling. They\nappear as narrow resonances in the heavy-light OPE when the spectrum becomes\neffectively continuous due to the presence of the black hole horizon.\nAlternatively, they can be identified with quasi-normal modes with small\nimaginary part in the thermal two-point function. The two pictures are related\nvia the eigenstate thermalisation hypothesis. When the decay effects can be\nneglected the orbits appear as a discrete family of double-twist operators. We\ninvestigate the connection between orbits, quasi-normal modes, and double-twist\noperators in detail. Using the corrected Bohr-Sommerfeld formula for\nquasi-normal modes, we compute the anomalous dimension of double-twist\noperators. We compare our results to the prediction of the light-cone\nbootstrap, finding perfect agreement where the results overlap. We also compute\nthe orbit decay time due to scalar radiation and compare it to the tunneling\nrate. Perturbatively in spin, in the light-cone bootstrap framework\ndouble-twist operators appear as a small fraction of the Hilbert space which\nviolate the eigenstate thermalization hypothesis, a phenomenon known as\nmany-body scars. Nonperturbatively in spin, the double-twist operators become\nlong-lived states that eventually thermalize. We briefly discuss the connection\nbetween perturbative scars in holographic theories and known examples of scars\nin the condensed matter literature.",
        "positive": "Inflation from D-\\bar{D} brane annihilation: We demonstrate that the initial conditions for inflation are met when D5 and\n\\bar{D}5 branes annihilate. This scenario uses Sen's conjecture that a\nco-dimension two vortex forms on the worldvolume of the annihilated 5-brane\nsystem. Analogous to a \"Big Bang\", when the five branes annihilate, a vortex\nlocalized on a 3-brane forms and its false vacuum energy generates an\ninflationy space-time. We also provide a natural mechanism for ending inflation\nvia the motion of the vortex in the bulk due to its extrinsic curvature. We\nalso suggest a consistent way to end inflation and localize matter on our\nspace-time."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Relativistic Particles on Quantum Space-time: We discuss alternatives to the usual quantization of relativistic particles\nwhich result in discrete spectra for position and time operators.",
        "positive": "Dualities and the SL(2,Z) Anomaly: The SL(2,Z) anomaly recently derived for type IIB supergravity in 10\ndimensions is shown to be a consequence of T-duality with the type IIA string,\nafter compactification to 2 dimensions on an 8-fold. This explains the identity\nof the gravitational 8-forms appearing in different contexts in the effective\nactions of type IIA and IIB string theories. In this framework, constraints on\nthe compactification manifold arise from modular invariance of the 2d theory.\nRelated issues in 6 dimensions are examined, and it is argued that similar\nanomalies are present on the worldvolumes of M-theory 5-branes and orientifold\n5-planes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wormhole: Ensemble averaging the symmetric\n  product orbifold: We consider the ensemble average of two dimensional symmetric product\norbifold CFTs $\\text{Sym}^N(\\mathbb{T}^D)$ over the Narain moduli space. We\nargue for a bulk dual given by $N$ copies of an abelian Chern-Simons theory\ncoupled to topological gravity, endowed with a discrete gauge symmetry\nexchanging the $N$ copies. As a check of this proposal, we calculate the\nensemble average of various partition and correlation functions of the\nsymmetric product orbifold theory and compare the resulting expressions to\ngauge theory quantities in the bulk. We comment on the ensemble average of the\ntensionless string partition function on $\\text{AdS}_3 \\times \\text{S}^3 \\times\n\\mathbb T^4$ by considering the specific case of $D=4$ with the addition of\nsupersymmetry.",
        "positive": "SL(2,Z) duality of Born-Infeld theory from self-dual electrodynamics in\n  6 dimensions: We reformulate the Born-Infeld action, coupled to an axion and a dilaton in a\nduality manifest way. This action is the generalization of the Schwarz-Sen\naction for non-linear electrodynamics. We show that this action may be obtained\nby dimensional reduction on a torus of a self-dual theory in 6 dimensions. The\ndilaton-axion being identified with the complex structure of the torus.\nApplications to M-theory and the self-dual IIB three brane are investigated."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fermionic vacuum polarization by a magnetic tube in the cosmic string\n  spacetime: In this paper, we consider a charged massive fermionic quantum field in the\nidealized cosmic string spacetime and in the presence of a magnetic field\nconfined in a cylindrical tube of finite radius. Three distinct configurations\nfor the magnetic fields are taken into account: (i) a cylindrical shell of\nradius $a$, (ii) a magnetic field proportional to $1/r$ and (iii) a constant\nmagnetic field. In these three cases, the axis of the infinitely long tube of\nradius $a$ coincides with the cosmic string. Our main objectives in this paper\nare to analyze the fermionic condensat (FC) e and the vacuum expectation value\n(VEV) of the fermionic energy-momentum tensor. In order to do that, we\nexplicitly construct the complete set of normalized wave-functions for each\nconfiguration of magnetic field. We show that in the region outside the tube,\nthe FC and the VEV of the energy-momentum tensor are decomposed into two parts:\nthe first ones correspond to the zero-thickness magnetic flux contributions,\nand the seconds are induced by the non-trivial structure of the magnetic field,\nnamed core-induced contributions. The latter present specific forms depending\non the magnetic field configuration considered. We also show that the VEV of\nthe energy-momentum tensor is diagonal, obeys the conservation condition and\nits trace is expressed in terms of the fermionic condensate. The zero-thickness\ncontributions to the FC and VEV of the energy-momentum tensor, depend only on\nthe fractional part of the ration of the magnetic flux inside the tube by the\nquantum one. As to the core-induced contributions they depend on the total\nmagnetic flux inside the tube, and consequently, in general, are not a periodic\nfunction of the magnetic flux.",
        "positive": "Black Hole Motion in Entropic Reformulation of General Relativity: We consider a system of black holes -- a simplest substitute of a system of\npoint particles in the mechanics of general relativity -- and try to describe\ntheir motion with the help of entropic action: a sum of the areas of black hole\nhorizons. We demonstrate that such description is indeed consistent with the\nNewton's laws of motion and gravity, modulo numerical coefficients, which\ncoincide but seem different from unity. Since a large part of the modern\ndiscussion of entropic reformulation of general relativity is actually based on\ndimensional considerations, for making a next step it is crucially important to\nmodify the argument, so that these dimensionless parameters acquire correct\nvalues."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Kerr/CFT Correspondence: Quantum gravity in the region very near the horizon of an extreme Kerr black\nhole (whose angular momentum and mass are related by J=GM^2) is considered. It\nis shown that consistent boundary conditions exist, for which the asymptotic\nsymmetry generators form one copy of the Virasoro algebra with central charge\nc_L=12J / \\hbar. This implies that the near-horizon quantum states can be\nidentified with those of (a chiral half of) a two-dimensional conformal field\ntheory (CFT). Moreover, in the extreme limit, the Frolov-Thorne vacuum state\nreduces to a thermal density matrix with dimensionless temperature T_L=1/2\\pi\nand conjugate energy given by the zero mode generator, L_0, of the Virasoro\nalgebra. Assuming unitarity, the Cardy formula then gives a microscopic entropy\nS_{micro}=2\\pi J / \\hbar for the CFT, which reproduces the macroscopic\nBekenstein-Hawking entropy S_{macro}=Area / 4\\hbar G. The results apply to any\nconsistent unitary quantum theory of gravity with a Kerr solution. We\naccordingly conjecture that extreme Kerr black holes are holographically dual\nto a chiral two-dimensional conformal field theory with central charge c_L=12J\n/ \\hbar, and in particular that the near-extreme black hole GRS 1915+105 is\napproximately dual to a CFT with c_L \\sim 2 \\times 10^{79}.",
        "positive": "Symmetry breaking and RG flows with higher dimensional operators: We discuss the role of higher dimensional operators in the spontaneous\nbreaking of internal symmetry and scale invariance, in the context of the\nLorentz invariant scalar field theory. Using the $\\varepsilon$-expansion we\ndetermine phase diagrams and demonstrate that (un)stable RG flows computed with\na certain basis of dimension 6 operators in the Lagrangian, map to (un)stable\nRG flows of another basis related to the first by field redefinitions. Crucial\nis the presence of reparametrization ghosts if Ostrogradsky ghosts appear."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Relativistic Models in the Equilibrium Statistical Mechanics: Relativistic effects in the thermodynamical properties of interacting\nparticle systems are investigated within the framework of the relativistic\ndirect interaction theory in various forms of dynamics. In the front form of\nrelativistic dynamics an exactly solvable model of a one-dimensional hard\nspheres gas is formulated and an equation of state and thermodynamical\npotentials for such a gas are found. Weakly-relativistic corrections to the\nthermodynamical functions of the dilute gas with short-range interactions are\ndiscussed on the basis of the approximately relativistic Hamiltonian function\nin the instant form of dynamics.",
        "positive": "Algebra of chiral currents on the physical surface: Using a particular structure for the Lagrangian action in a one-dimensional\nThirring model and performing the Dirac's procedure, we are able to obtain the\nalgebra for chiral currents which is entirely defied on the constraint surface\nin the corresponding hamiltonian description of the theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Entropic Accelerating Universe: To accommodate the observed accelerated expansion of the universe, one\npopular idea is to invoke a driving term in the Friedmann-Lemaitre equation of\ndark energy which must then comprise 70% of the present cosmological energy\ndensity. We propose an alternative interpretation which takes into account the\nentropy and temperature intrinsic to the horizon of the universe due to the\ninformation holographically stored there. Dark energy is thereby obviated and\nthe acceleration is due to an entropic force naturally arising from the\ninformation storage on the horizon surface screen. We consider an additional\nquantitative approach inspired by surface terms in general relativity and show\nthat this leads to the entropic accelerating universe.",
        "positive": "Quantizing non-Lagrangian gauge theories: an augmentation method: We discuss a recently proposed method of quantizing general non-Lagrangian\ngauge theories. The method can be implemented in many different ways, in\nparticular, it can employ a conversion procedure that turns an original\nnon-Lagrangian field theory in $d$ dimensions into an equivalent Lagrangian\ntopological field theory in $d+1$ dimensions. The method involves, besides the\nclassical equations of motion, one more geometric ingredient called the\nLagrange anchor. Different Lagrange anchors result in different quantizations\nof one and the same classical theory. Given the classical equations of motion\nand Lagrange anchor as input data, a new procedure, called the augmentation, is\nproposed to quantize non-Lagrangian dynamics. Within the augmentation\nprocedure, the originally non-Lagrangian theory is absorbed by a wider\nLagrangian theory on the same space-time manifold. The augmented theory is not\ngenerally equivalent to the original one as it has more physical degrees of\nfreedom than the original theory. However, the extra degrees of freedom are\nfactorized out in a certain regular way both at classical and quantum levels.\nThe general techniques are exemplified by quantizing two non-Lagrangian models\nof physical interest."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Branes at angles and calibrated geometry: In a recent paper, Ohta and Townsend studied the conditions which must be\nsatisfied for a configuration of two intersecting M5-branes at angles to be\nsupersymmetric. In this paper we extend this result to any number of M5-branes\nor any number of M2-branes. This is accomplished by interpreting their results\nin terms of calibrated geometry, which is of independent interest.",
        "positive": "Generalized Rogers Ramanujan Expressions for Some Non--Singlet Twisted\n  Affine Algebras: Hatayama et al. described generalized Rogers--Ramanujan (GRR) expressions for\nthe string functions of the singlet representation of twisted affine algebras.\nWe give here such GRR expressions for some non-singlet string functions. In the\ncase of the algebra $A_2^{(2)}$ this gives all the string functions. We verify\nthese expressions using Freudenthal--Kac formula."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Understanding Something About Nothing: Radiation Zeros: Radiation symmetry is briefly reviewed, along with its historical,\nexperimental, computational, and theoretical relevance. A sketch of the proof\nof a theorem for radiation zeros is used to highlight the connection between\ngauge-boson couplings and Poincare transformations. It is emphasized that while\nmostly bad things happen to good zeros, the weak-boson self-couplings continue\nto be intimately tied to the best examples of exact or approximate zeros.",
        "positive": "A natural cosmological constant from chameleons: We present a simple model where the effective cosmological constant appears\nfrom chameleon scalar fields. For a Kachru-Kallosh-Linde-Trivedi\n(KKLT)-inspired form of the potential and a particular chameleon coupling to\nthe local density, patches of approximately constant scalar field potential\ncluster around regions of matter with density above a certain value, generating\nthe effect of a cosmological constant on large scales. This construction\naddresses both the cosmological constant problem (why $\\Lambda$ is so small,\nyet nonzero) and the coincidence problem (why $\\Lambda$ is comparable to the\nmatter density now)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Self-dual Continuous Series of Representations for U_q(sl(2)) and\n  U_q(osp(1|2)): We determine the Clebsch-Gordan and Racah-Wigner coefficients for continuous\nseries of representations of the quantum deformed algebras U_q(sl(2)) and\nU_q(osp(1|2)). While our results for the former algebra reproduce formulas by\nPonsot and Teschner, the expressions for the orthosymplectic algebra are new.\nUp to some normalization factors, the associated Racah-Wigner coefficients are\nshown to agree with the fusing matrix in the Neveu-Schwarz sector of N=1\nsupersymmetric Liouville field theory.",
        "positive": "Integrability of Supergravity Black Holes and New Tensor Classifiers of\n  Regular and Nilpotent Orbits: In this paper we apply in a systematic way a previously developed integration\nalgorithm of the relevant Lax equation to the construction of spherical\nsymmetric, asymptotically flat black hole solutions of N=2 supergravities with\nsymmetric Special Geometry. Our main goal is the classification of these\nblack-holes according to the H*-orbits in which the space of possible Lax\noperators decomposes, H* being the isotropy group of scalar manifold\noriginating from time-like dimensional reduction of supergravity from D=4 to\nD=3 dimensions. The main result of our investigation is the construction of\nthree universal tensors, extracted from quadratic and quartic powers of the Lax\noperator, that are capable of classifying both regular and nilpotent H* orbits\nof Lax operators. Our tensor based classification is compared, in the case of\nthe simple one-field model S^3, to the algebraic classification of nilpotent\norbits and it is shown to provide a simple and practical discriminating method.\nWe present a detailed analysis of the S^3 model and its black hole solutions,\ndiscussing the Liouville integrability of the corresponding dynamical system.\nBy means of the Kostant-representation of a generic Lie algebra element, we\nwere able to develop an algorithm which produces the necessary number of\nhamiltonians in involution required by Liouville integrability of generic\norbits. The degenerate orbits correspond to extremal black-holes and are\nnilpotent. We analyze these orbits in some detail working out different\nrepresentatives thereof and showing that the relation between H* orbits and\ncritical points of the geodesic potential is not one-to-one. Finally we present\nthe conjecture that our newly identified tensor classifiers are universal and\nable to label all regular and nilpotent orbits in all homogeneous symmetric\nSpecial Geometries."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Low-Energy Effective Action of Noncommutative Hypermultiplet Model: We consider the noncommutative hypermultiplet model within harmonic\nsuperspace approach. The 1-loop four-point contributions to the effective\naction of selfinteracting q-hypermultiplet are computed. This model has two\ncoupling constants instead of a single one in commutative case. It is shown\nthat both these coupling constants are generated by 1-loop quantum corrections\nin the model of q-hypermultiplet interacting with vector multiplet. The\nholomorphic effective action of q-hypermultiplet in external gauge superfield\nis calculated. For the fundamental representation there is no UV/IR-mixing and\nthe holomorphic potential is a star-product generalization of a standard\ncommutative one. For the adjoint representation of U(N) gauge group the leading\ncontributions to the holomorphic effective action are given by the terms\nrespecting for the UV/IR-mixing which are related to U(1) phase of U(N) group.",
        "positive": "Asymptotic critical behavior of holographic phase transition at finite\n  topological charge -- the spectrum of excited states becomes continuous at\n  $T=0$: Within the framework of AdS/CFT duality, excited states of the conformal\nfield living at the global AdS boundary of a four-dimensional spacetime\nEinstein gravity are investigated analytically in the probe limit where the\nfield equations are linearized. At asymptotically large values, the threshold\nchemical potential for the appearance of excited condensate states are\ndiscrete, equal spacing, with the gap approaches zero logarithmically in the\nlimit $T\\rightarrow 0$. Remarkably, numerical results show that, this behavior\napplies even for states as low as for the first or the second excited state of\nthe condensate. This is especially significant on the liquid side of the black\nhole van der Waals - like phase transition (small or zero topological charge)\nwhere there seems to be no gap between the ground state and the first excited\nstate at zero temperature. We postulate that, at the exact limit $T = 0$ where\nthe gap is zero, the spectrum of threshold chemical potentials becomes\ncontinuous, all excited states of the condensate are activated above a finite\nchemical potential, suggesting a new quantum phase transition as a function of\nthe chemical potential. Previous studies have largely missed this continuous\nspectrum of excited states in the $T\\rightarrow 0$ limit. This fact should be\ntaken into account carefully in AdS/CFT duality studies."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spontaneous Lorentz Violation, Nambu-Goldstone Modes, and Massive Modes: In any theory with spontaneous symmetry breaking, it is important to account\nfor the massless Nambu-Goldstone and massive Higgs modes. In this short review,\nthe fate of these modes is examined for the case of a bumblebee model, in which\nLorentz symmetry is spontaneously broken.",
        "positive": "Embedding Feynman Integral (Calabi-Yau) Geometries in Weighted\n  Projective Space: It has recently been demonstrated that Feynman integrals relevant to a wide\nrange of perturbative quantum field theories involve periods of Calabi-Yaus of\narbitrarily large dimension. While the number of Calabi-Yau manifolds of\ndimension three or higher is considerable (if not infinite), those relevant to\nmost known examples come from a very simple class: degree-$2k$ hypersurfaces in\n$k$-dimensional weighted projective space $\\mathbb{WP}^{1,\\ldots,1,k}$. In this\nwork, we describe some of the basic properties of these spaces and identify\nadditional examples of Feynman integrals that give rise to hypersurfaces of\nthis type. Details of these examples at three and four loops are included as\nancillary files to this work."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Geometric twist decomposition off the light--cone for nonlocal QCD\n  operators: A general procedure is introduced allowing for the infinite decomposition of\nnonlocal operators off the light--cone into operators of definite geometric\ntwist.",
        "positive": "Large $N$ analytical functional bootstrap I: 1D CFTs and total\n  positivity: We initiate the analytical functional bootstrap study of conformal field\ntheories with large $N$ limits. In this first paper we particularly focus on\nthe 1D $O(N)$ vector bootstrap. We obtain a remarkably simple bootstrap\nequation from the $O(N)$ vector crossing equations in the large $N$ limit. The\nbootstrap bound is saturated by the generalized free field theory. We study the\nanalytical extremal functionals of this crossing equation, for which the total\npositivity of the $SL(2,\\mathbb{R})$ conformal block plays a critical role. We\nprove the $SL(2,\\mathbb{R})$ conformal block is totally positive for large\nscaling dimension $\\Delta$ and show that the total positivity is violated below\na critical value $\\Delta_{\\textrm{TP}}^*\\approx 0.32315626$. The conformal\nblock forms a surprisingly sophisticated mathematical structure, which for\ninstance can violate total positivity at the order $10^{-5654}$ for a normal\nvalue $\\Delta=0.1627$! We construct a series of analytical functionals\n$\\{\\alpha_M\\}$ which satisfy the bootstrap positive conditions up to a range\n$\\Delta\\leqslant \\Lambda_M$. The functionals $\\{\\alpha_M\\}$ have a trivial\nlarge $M$ limit. Surprisingly, due to total positivity, they can approach the\nlarge $M$ limit in a way consistent with the bootstrap positive conditions for\narbitrarily high $\\Lambda_M$, therefore proving the bootstrap bound\nanalytically. Our result provides a concrete example to illustrate how the\nanalytical properties of the conformal block lead to nontrivial bootstrap\nbounds. We expect this work paves the way for large $N$ analytical functional\nbootstrap in higher dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "4D Effective Theory and Geometrical Approach: We consider the 4D effective theory for the light Kaluza-Klein (KK) modes.\nThe heavy KK mode contribution is generally needed to reproduce the correct\nphysical predictions: an equivalence, between the effective theory and the\nD-dimensional (or geometrical) approach to spontaneous symmetry breaking (SSB),\nemerges only if the heavy mode contribution is taken into account. This happens\neven if the heavy mode masses are at the Planck scale. In particular, we\nanalyze a 6D Einstein-Maxwell model coupled to a charged scalar and fermions.\nMoreover, we briefly review non-Abelian and supersymmetric extensions of this\ntheory.",
        "positive": "The Holographic Dual of the $\u03a9$-background: We find an explicit supergravity background dual to the $\\Omega$-deformation\nof a four-dimensional $\\mathcal{N}=2$ SCFT on $\\mathbb{R}^4$. The solution can\nbe constructed in the five-dimensional ${\\cal N}=4^+$ gauged supergravity and\nhas a nontrivial self-dual 2-form. When uplifted to type IIB supergravity the\nbackground is a deformation of AdS$_5\\times S^5$ which preserves 16\nsupercharges. We also discuss generalizations of this solution corresponding to\nturning on a vacuum expectation value for a scalar operator in the dual SCFT."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Triangle Anomalies from Einstein Manifolds: The triangle anomalies in conformal field theory, which can be used to\ndetermine the central charge a, correspond to the Chern-Simons couplings of\ngauge fields in AdS under the gauge/gravity correspondence. We present a simple\ngeometrical formula for the Chern-Simons couplings in the case of type IIB\nsupergravity compactified on a five-dimensional Einstein manifold X. When X is\na circle bundle over del Pezzo surfaces or a toric Sasaki-Einstein manifold, we\nshow that the gravity result is in perfect agreement with the corresponding\nquiver gauge theory. Our analysis reveals an interesting connection with the\ncondensation of giant gravitons or dibaryon operators which effectively induces\na rolling among Sasaki-Einstein vacua.",
        "positive": "Strings, Branes and Two-Time Physics: We generalize the ideas and formalism of Two-Time Physics from particle\ndynamics to some specific examples of string and p-brane (p >= 1) dynamics. The\ntwo-time string or p-brane action can be gauge fixed to produce various\none-time string or p-brane actions that are dual to each other under gauge\ntransformations. We discuss the particular gauges that correspond to\ntensionless strings and p-branes in flat (d-1)+1 spacetime, rigid strings and\np-branes in flat (d-1)+1 spacetime, and tensionless strings and p-branes\npropagating in the AdS_{d-n} x S^n backgrounds."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Galileon accretion: We study steady-state spherically symmetric accretion of a galileon field\nonto a Schwarzschild black hole in the test fluid approximation. The galileon\nis assumed to undergo a stage of cosmological evolution, thus setting a\nnon-trivial boundary condition at spatial infinity. The critical flow is found\nfor some parameters of the theory. There is a range of parameters when the\ncritical flow exists, but the solution is unstable. It is also shown that for a\ncertain range of parameters the critical flow solution does not exist.\nDepending on the model the sound horizon of the flow can be either outside or\ninside of the Schwarzschild horizon. The latter property may make it\nproblematic to embed the galileon theory in the standard black hole\nthermodynamics.",
        "positive": "Anomaly candidates and invariants of D=4, N=1 supergravity theories: All anomaly candidates and the form of the most general invariant local\naction are given for old and new minimal supergravity, including the cases\nwhere additional Yang--Mills and chiral matter multiplets are present.\nFurthermore nonminimal supergravity is discussed. In this case local\nsupersymmetry itself may be anomalous and some of the corresponding anomaly\ncandidates are given explicitly. The results are obtained by solving the\ndescent equations which contain the consistency equation satisfied by\nintegrands of anomalies and invariant actions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gaussian null coordinates, near-horizon geometry and conserved charges\n  on the horizon of extremal non-dilatonic black $p$-branes: In this paper, we examine the emergence of conserved charges on the horizon\nof a particular class of extremal non-dilatonic black $p$-branes (which reduce\nto extremal dilatonic black holes in $D=4$ dimensions upon toroidal\ncompactification) in the presence of a probe massless scalar field in the bulk.\nThis result is achieved by writing the black $p$-brane geometry in a Gaussian\nnull coordinate system which allows us to get a non-singular near-horizon\ngeometry description. We find that the near-horizon geometry is\n$AdS_{p+2}\\times S^2$ and that the $AdS_{p+2}$ section has an internal\nstructure which can be seen as a warped product of $AdS_{2}\\times S^{p}$ in\nGaussian null coordinates. We show that the bulk scalar field satisfying the\nfield equations is expanded in terms of non-normalizable and normalizable\nmodes, which for certain suitable quantization conditions are well-behaved at\nthe boundary of $AdS_{p+2}$ space. Furthermore, we show that picking the\nnormalizable modes results in the existence of conserved quantities on the\nhorizon. We discuss the impact of these conserved quantities in the late time\nregime.",
        "positive": "Background magnetic field and quantum correlations in the Schwinger\n  effect: In this work we consider two complex scalar fields distinguished by their\nmasses coupled to constant background electric and magnetic fields in the\n$(3+1)$-dimensional Minkowski spacetime and subsequently investigate a few\nmeasures quantifying the quantum correlations between the created\nparticle-antiparticle Schwinger pairs. Since the background magnetic field\nitself cannot cause the decay of the Minkowski vacuum, our chief motivation\nhere is to investigate the interplay between the effects due to the electric\nand magnetic fields. We start by computing the entanglement entropy for the\nvacuum state of a single scalar field. Second, we consider some maximally\nentangled states for the two-scalar field system and compute the logarithmic\nnegativity and the mutual information. Qualitative differences of these results\npertaining to the charge content of the states are emphasised. Based upon these\nresults, we suggest some possible effects of a background magnetic field on the\ndegradation of entanglement between states in an accelerated frame, for charged\nquantum fields."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Renormalization Group Approach to Matrix Models and Vector Models: The renormalization group approach is studied for large $N$ models. The\napproach of Br\\'ezin and Zinn-Justin is explained and examined for matrix\nmodels. The validity of the approach is clarified by using the vector model as\na similar and simpler example. An exact difference equation is obtained which\nrelates free energies for neighboring values of $N$. The reparametrization\nfreedom in field space provides infinitely many identities which reduce the\ninfinite dimensional coupling constant space to that of finite dimensions. The\neffective beta functions give exact values for the fixed points and the\nsusceptibility exponents. A detailed study of the effective renormalization\ngroup flow is presented for cases with up to two coupling constants. We draw\nthe two-dimensional flow diagram.",
        "positive": "Euclidean quantum M5 brane theory on $S^1 \\times S^5$: We consider Euclidean quantum M5 brane theory on $S^1\\times S^5$. Dimensional\nreduction along $S^1$ gives a 5d SYM on $S^5$. We derive this 5d SYM theory\nfrom a classical Lorentzian M5 brane Lagrangian on $S^1 \\times S^5$, where\n$S^1$ is a timelike circle of radius $T$, by performing a Scherk-Schwarz\nreduction along $S^1$ followed by Wick rotation of $T$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quasi-hole solutions in finite noncommutative Maxwell-Chern-Simons\n  theory: We study Maxwell-Chern-Simons theory in 2 noncommutative spatial dimensions\nand 1 temporal dimension. We consider a finite matrix model obtained by adding\na linear boundary field which takes into account boundary fluctuations. The\npure Chern-Simons has been previously shown to be equivalent to the Laughlin\ndescription of the quantum Hall effect. With the addition of the Maxwell term,\nwe find that there exists a rich spectrum of excitations including solitons\nwith nontrivial \"magnetic flux\" and quasi-holes with nontrivial \"charges\",\nwhich we describe in this article. The magnetic flux corresponds to vorticity\nin the fluid fluctuations while the charges correspond to sources of fluid\nfluctuations. We find that the quasi-hole solutions exhibit a gap in the\nspectrum of allowed charge.",
        "positive": "On the solution of the Calogero model and its generalization to the case\n  of distinguishable particles: The 3-body Calogero problem is solved by separation of variables for\narbitrary exchange statistics. A numerical computation of the 4-body spectrum\nis also presented. The results display new features in comparison with the\nstandard case of bosons and fermions, for instance the energies are not linear\nwith the interaction parameter $\\nu$ and Bethe ansatz as well as Haldane's\nstatistics are not verified."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Production of Spin-Two Gauge Bosons: We considered spin-two gauge boson production in the fermion pair\nannihilation process and calculated the polarized cross sections for each set\nof helicity orientations of initial and final particles. The angular dependence\nof these cross sections is compared with the similar annihilation cross\nsections in QED with two photons in the final state, with two gluons in QCD and\nW-pair in Electroweak theory.",
        "positive": "Three-loop color-kinematics duality: A 24-dimensional solution space\n  induced by new generalized gauge transformations: We obtain full-color three-loop three-point form factors of the stress-tensor\nsupermultiplet and also of a length-3 half-BPS operator in N=4 SYM based on the\ncolor-kinematics duality and on-shell unitarity. The integrand results are\nverified by all planar and non-planar unitarity cuts, and they satisfy the\nminimal power-counting of loop momenta and diagrammatic symmetries.\nInterestingly, these three-loop solutions, while manifesting all dual Jacobi\nrelations, contain a large number of free parameters; in particular, there are\n24 free parameters for the form factor of stress-tensor supermultiplet. Such\ndegrees of freedom are due to a new type of generalized gauge transformation\nassociated with the operator insertion for form factors. We also perform\nnumerical integration and obtain consistent full-color infrared divergences and\nthe known planar remainder. The form factors we obtain can be understood as the\nN=4 SYM counterparts of three-loop Higgs plus three-gluon amplitudes in QCD and\nare expected to provide the maximally transcendental parts of the latter."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Equations of motion from Cederwall's pure spinor superspace actions: Using non-minimal pure spinor superspace, Cederwall has constructed\nBRST-invariant actions for $D=10$ super-Born-Infeld and $D=11$ supergravity\nwhich are quartic in the superfields. But since the superfields have explicit\ndependence on the non-minimal pure spinor variables, it is non-trivial to show\nthese actions correctly describe super-Born-Infeld and supergravity. In this\npaper, we expand solutions to the equations of motion from Cederwall's actions\nto leading order around the linearized solutions and show that they correctly\ndescribe the interactions of $D=10$ super-Born-Infeld and $D=11$ supergravity.",
        "positive": "Explaining enhanced UV divergence cancellations: We study supergravities with \"enhanced UV divergence cancellations\". We show\nthat all these cancellations are explained by a simple dimensional analysis of\nnonlinear local supersymmetry (NLS). We also show that in all cases where\nE7-type duality was used in the past via vanishing single scalar limit (SSL) to\nexplain/predict UV cancellations one could have used dimensional analysis of\nNLS. The SSL constraints predict in d=4 loop order L less or equal (N-2) for UV\nfiniteness, dimensional analysis of NLS predicts L less or equal (N-1) for UV\nfiniteness, including enhanced cases like N=5, L=4."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Thermodynamics of non-abelian exclusion statistics: The thermodynamic potential of ideal gases described by the simplest\nnon-abelian statistics is investigated. I show that the potential is the linear\nfunction of the element of the abelian-part statistics matrix. Thus, the\nfactorizable property in the Haldane (abelian) fractional exclusion shown by\nthe author [W. H. Huang, Phys. Rev. Lett. 81, 2392 (1998)] is now extended to\nthe non-abelian case. The complete expansion of the thermodynamic potential is\nalso given.",
        "positive": "Stability of D1-Strings Inside a D3-Brane: Within the tachyon condensation approach, we find that a D(p-2)-brane is\nstable inside Dp-branes when the bulk is compactified. It is a codimension-2\nsoliton of the Dp-brane action with coupling to the bulk (p-1)-form RR field.\nWe discuss the properties of such solitons. They may appear as detectable\ncosmic strings in our universe."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The ${\\cal N}=4$ Coset Model and the Higher Spin Algebra: By computing the operator product expansions between the first two ${\\cal\nN}=4$ higher spin multiplets in the unitary coset model, the (anti)commutators\nof higher spin currents are obtained under the large $(N,k)$ 't Hooft-like\nlimit. The free field realization with complex bosons and fermions is\npresented. The (anti)commutators for generic spins $s_1$ and $s_2$ with\nmanifest $SO(4)$ symmetry at vanishing 't Hooft-like coupling constant are\ncompletely determined. The structure constants can be written in terms of the\nones in the ${\\cal N}=2$ ${\\cal W}_{\\infty}$ algebra found by Bergshoeff, Pope,\nRomans, Sezgin and Shen previously, in addition to the spin-dependent\nfractional coefficients and two $SO(4)$ invariant tensors. We also describe the\n${\\cal N}=4$ higher spin generators, by using the above coset construction\nresults, for general super spin $s$ in terms of oscillators in the matrix\ngeneralization of $AdS_3$ Vasiliev higher spin theory at nonzero 't Hooft-like\ncoupling constant. We obtain the ${\\cal N}=4$ higher spin algebra for low spins\nand present how to determine the structure constants, which depend on the\nhigher spin algebra parameter, in general, for fixed spins $s_1$ and $s_2$.",
        "positive": "Five loop renormalization of $\u03c6^3$ theory with applications to the\n  Lee-Yang edge singularity and percolation theory: We apply the method of graphical functions that was recently extended to six\ndimensions for scalar theories, to $\\phi^3$ theory and compute the $\\beta$\nfunction, the wave function anomalous dimension as well as the mass anomalous\ndimension in the $\\overline{\\mbox{MS}}$ scheme to five loops. From the results\nwe derive the corresponding renormalization group functions for the Lee-Yang\nedge singularity problem and percolation theory. After determining the\n$\\varepsilon$ expansions of the respective critical exponents to\n$\\mathcal{O}(\\varepsilon^5)$ we apply recent resummation technology to obtain\nimproved exponent estimates in 3, 4 and 5 dimensions. These compare favourably\nwith estimates from fixed dimension numerical techniques and refine the four\nloop results. To assist with this comparison we collated a substantial amount\nof data from numerical techniques which are included in tables for each\nexponent."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Systematic Implementation of Implicit Regularization for Multi-Loop\n  Feynman Diagrams: Implicit Regularization (IReg) is a candidate to become an invariant\nframework in momentum space to perform Feynman diagram calculations to\narbitrary loop order. In this work we present a systematic implementation of\nour method that automatically displays the terms to be subtracted by\nBogoliubov's recursion formula. Therefore, we achieve a twofold objective: we\nshow that the IReg program respects unitarity, locality and Lorentz invariance\nand we show that our method is consistent since we are able to display the\ndivergent content of a multi-loop amplitude in a well defined set of basic\ndivergent integrals in one loop momentum only which is the essence of IReg.\nMoreover, we conjecture that momentum routing invariance in the loops, which\nhas been shown to be connected with gauge symmetry, is a fundamental symmetry\nof any Feynman diagram in a renormalizable quantum field theory.",
        "positive": "A Worldsheet Description of Flux Compactifications: We demonstrate how recent developments in string field theory provide a\nframework to systematically study type II flux compactifications with\nnon-trivial Ramond-Ramond profiles. We present an explicit example where\nphysical observables can be computed order by order in a small parameter which\ncan be effectively viewed as string coupling constant. We obtain the\ncorresponding background solution of the string field equations of motions up\nto the second order in the expansion. Along the way, we show how the tadpole\ncancellations of the string field equations lead to the minimization of the\nF-term potential of the low energy supergravity description. String field\naction expanded around the obtained background solution furnishes a worldsheet\ndescription of the flux compactifications."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Induced moduli oscillation by radiation and space expansion in a\n  higher-dimensional model: We investigate the cosmological expansion of the 3D space in a 6D model\ncompactified on a sphere, beyond the 4D effective theory analysis. We focus on\na case that the initial temperature is higher than the compactification scale.\nIn such a case, the pressure for the compact space affects the moduli dynamics\nand induces the moduli oscillation even if they are stabilized at the initial\ntime. Under some plausible assumptions, we derive the explicit expressions for\nthe 3D scale factor and the moduli background in terms of analytic functions.\nUsing them, we evaluate the transition times between different cosmological\neras as functions of the model parameters and the initial temperature.",
        "positive": "Completely Integrable Equation for the Quantum Correlation Function of\n  Nonlinear Schr\u00f6dinger Eqaution: Correlation functions of exactly solvable models can be described by\ndifferential equation [Barough, McCoy, Wu]. In this paper we show that for non\nfree fermionic case differential equations should be replaced by\nintegro-differential equations.\n  We derive an integro-differential equation, which describes time and\ntemperature dependent correlation function $<\\psi(0,0)\\psi^\\dagger(x,t)>_T$ of\npenetrable Bose gas. The integro-differential equation turns out be the\ncontinuum generalization of classical nonlinear Schr\\\"odinger equation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Localization vs holography in $4d$ $\\mathcal{N}=2$ quiver theories: We study 4-dimensional $\\mathcal{N}=2$ superconformal quiver gauge theories\nobtained with an orbifold projection from $\\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM, and compute the\n2- and 3-point correlation functions among chiral/anti-chiral single-trace\nscalar operators and the corresponding structure constants. Exploiting\nlocalization, we map the computation to an interacting matrix model and obtain\nexpressions for the correlators and the structure constants that are valid for\nany value of the 't Hooft coupling in the planar limit of the theory. At strong\ncoupling, these expressions simplify and allow us to extract the leading\nbehavior in an analytic way. Finally, using the AdS/CFT correspondence, we\ncompute the structure constants from the dual supergravity theory and obtain\nresults that perfectly match the strong-coupling predictions from localization.",
        "positive": "Emergence of the Circle in a Statistical Model of Random Cubic Graphs: We consider a formal discretisation of Euclidean quantum gravity defined by a\nstatistical model of random $3$-regular graphs and making using of the Ollivier\ncurvature, a coarse analogue of the Ricci curvature. Numerical analysis shows\nthat the Hausdorff and spectral dimensions of the model approach $1$ in the\njoint classical-thermodynamic limit and we argue that the scaling limit of the\nmodel is the circle of radius $r$, $S^1_r$. Given mild kinematic constraints,\nthese claims can be proven with full mathematical rigour: speaking precisely,\nit may be shown that for $3$-regular graphs of girth at least $4$, any sequence\nof action minimising configurations converges in the sense of Gromov-Hausdorff\nto $S^1_r$. We also present strong evidence for the existence of a second-order\nphase transition through an analysis of finite size effects. This --\nessentially solvable -- toy model of emergent one-dimensional geometry is meant\nas a controllable paradigm for the nonperturbative definition of random flat\nsurfaces."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Manifolds of G_2 Holonomy from N=4 Sigma Model: Using two dimensional (2D) N=4 sigma model, with $U(1)^r$ gauge symmetry, and\nintroducing the ADE Cartan matrices as gauge matrix charges, we build \" toric\"\nhyper-Kahler eight real dimensional manifolds X_8. Dividing by one toric\ngeometry circle action of X_8 manifolds, we present examples describing\nquotients $X_7={X_8\\over U(1)}$ of G_2 holonomy. In particular, for the A_r\nCartan matrix, the quotient space is a cone on a $ {S^2}$ bundle over r\nintersecting $\\bf WCP^2_{(1,2,1)}$ projective spaces according to the A_r\nDynkin diagram.",
        "positive": "On the Origin of Gravity and the Laws of Newton: Starting from first principles and general assumptions Newton's law of\ngravitation is shown to arise naturally and unavoidably in a theory in which\nspace is emergent through a holographic scenario. Gravity is explained as an\nentropic force caused by changes in the information associated with the\npositions of material bodies. A relativistic generalization of the presented\narguments directly leads to the Einstein equations. When space is emergent even\nNewton's law of inertia needs to be explained. The equivalence principle leads\nus to conclude that it is actually this law of inertia whose origin is\nentropic."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Semi-classical unitarity in 3-dimensional higher-spin gravity for\n  non-principal embeddings: Higher-spin gravity in three dimensions is efficiently formulated as a\nChern-Simons gauge-theory, typically with gauge algebra sl(N)+sl(N). The\nclassical and quantum properties of the higher-spin theory depend crucially on\nthe embedding into the full gauge algebra of the sl(2)+sl(2) factor associated\nwith gravity. It has been argued previously that non-principal embeddings do\nnot allow for a semi-classical limit (large values of the central charge)\nconsistent with unitarity. In this work we show that it is possible to\ncircumvent these conclusions. Based upon the Feigin-Semikhatov generalization\nof the Polyakov-Bershadsky algebra, we construct infinite families of unitary\nhigher-spin gravity theories at certain rational values of the Chern-Simons\nlevel that allow arbitrarily large values of the central charge up to c = N/4 -\n1/8 - O(1/N), thereby confirming a recent speculation by us 1209.2860.",
        "positive": "A Multitrace Approach to Noncommutative \u03a6_2^4: In this article we provide a multitrace analysis of the theory of\nnoncommutative $\\Phi^4$ in two dimensions on the fuzzy sphere ${\\bf\nS}^2_{N,\\Omega}$, and on the Moyal-Weyl plane ${\\bf R}^{2}_{\\theta, \\Omega}$,\nwith a non-zero harmonic oscillator term added. The doubletrace matrix model\nsymmetric under $M\\longrightarrow -M$ is solved in closed form. An analytical\nprediction for the disordered-to-non-uniform-ordered phase transition and an\nestimation of the triple point, from the termination point of the critical\nboundary, are derived and compared with previous Monte Carlo measurement."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Note On Intrinsic Regularization Method: There exist certain intrinsic relations between the ultraviolet divergent\ngraphs and the convergent ones at the same loop order in renormalizable quantum\nfield theories. Whereupon we may establish a new method, the intrinsic\nregularization method, to regulate those divergent graphs. In this note, we\npresent a proposal, the inserter proposal, to the method. The $\\phi^4$ theory\nand QED at the one loop order are dealt with in some detail. Inserters in the\nstandard model are given. Some applications to SUSY-models are also made at the\none loop order.",
        "positive": "Notes about equivalence between Sine-Gordon theory (free fermion point)\n  and the free fermion theory: The space of local integrals of motion for the Sine-Gordon theory (the free\nfermion point) and the theory of free fermions in the light cone coordinates is\ninvestigated. Some important differences between the spaces of local integrals\nof motion of these theories are obtained. The equivalence is broken on the\nlevel of the integrals of motion between bosonic and fermionic theories (in the\nfree fermion point). The integrals of motion are constracted without Quantum\nInverse Scattering Method (QISM)and the additional quantum integrals of motion\nare obtaned. So the QISM is not absolutely complete."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Matrix Factorizations for Local F-Theory Models: I use matrix factorizations to describe branes at simple singularities as\nthey appear in elliptic fibrations of local F-theory models. Each node of the\ncorresponding Dynkin diagrams of the ADE-type singularities is associated with\none indecomposable matrix factorization which can be deformed into one or more\nfactorizations of lower rank. Branes with internal fluxes arise naturally as\nbound states of the indecomposable factorizations. Describing branes in such a\nway avoids the need to resolve singularities and encodes information which is\nneglected in conventional F-theory treatments. This paper aims to show how\nbranes arising in local F-theory models around simple singularities can be\ndescribed in this framework.",
        "positive": "Analytic derivation of dual gluons and monopoles from SU(2) lattice\n  Yang-Mills theory. II. Spin foam representation: In this series of three papers, we generalize the derivation of dual photons\nand monopoles by Polyakov, and Banks, Myerson and Kogut, to obtain\napproximative models of SU(2) lattice gauge theory. Our approach is based on\nstationary phase approximations.\n  In this second article, we start from the spin foam representation of\n3-dimensional SU(2) lattice gauge theory. By extending an earlier work of\nDiakonov and Petrov, we approximate the expectation value of a Wilson loop by a\npath integral over a dual gluon field and monopole-like degrees of freedom. The\naction contains the tree-level Coulomb interaction and a nonlinear coupling\nbetween dual gluons, monopoles and current."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Perturbative Prepotential and Monodromies in N=2 Heterotic Superstring: We discuss the prepotential describing the effective field theory of N=2\nheterotic superstring models. At the one loop-level the prepotential develops\nlogarithmic singularities due to the appearance of charged massless states at\nparticular surfaces in the moduli space of vector multiplets. These\nsingularities modify the classical duality symmetry group which now becomes a\nrepresentation of the fundamental group of the moduli space minus the singular\nsurfaces. For the simplest two-moduli case, this fundamental group turns out to\nbe a certain braid group and we determine the resulting full duality\ntransformations of the prepotential, which are exact in perturbation theory.",
        "positive": "A comment on bosonization in $d \\geq 2$ dimensions: We discuss recent results on bosonization in $d \\geq 2$ space-time dimensions\nby giving a very simple derivation for the bosonic representation of the\noriginal free fermionic model both in the abelian and non-abelian cases. We\ncarefully analyse the issue of symmetries in the resulting bosonic model as\nwell as the recipes for bosonization of fermion currents"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Representations of a quantum-deformed Lorentz algebra, Clebsch-Gordan\n  map, and Fenchel-Nielsen representation of quantum complex flat connections\n  at level-$k$: A family of infinite-dimensional irreducible $\\star$-representations on\n$\\mathcal{H}\\simeq L^2(\\mathbb{R})\\otimes\\mathbb{C}^k$ is defined for a\nquantum-deformed Lorentz algebra $U_\\mathbf{q}(sl_2)\\otimes\nU_{\\tilde{\\mathbf{q}}}(sl_2)$, where $\\mathbf{q}=\\exp[\\frac{2\\pi i}{k}(1+b^2)]$\nand $\\tilde{\\mathbf{q}}=\\exp[\\frac{2\\pi i}{k}(1+b^{-2})]$ with\n$k\\in\\mathbb{Z}_+$ and $|b|=1$. The representations are constructed with the\nirreducible representation of quantum torus algebra at level-$k$, which is\ndeveloped from the quantization of $\\mathrm{SL}(2,\\mathbb{C})$ Chern-Simons\ntheory. We study the Clebsch-Gordan decomposition of the tensor product\nrepresentation, and we show that it reduces to the same problem as\ndiagonalizing the complex Fenchel-Nielson length operators in quantizing\n$\\mathrm{SL}(2,\\mathbb{C})$ flat connections on 4-holed sphere. Finally, the\nspectral decomposition of the complex Fenchel-Nielson length operators results\nin the direct-integral representation of the Hilbert space $\\mathcal{H}$, which\nwe call the Fenchel-Nielson representation.",
        "positive": "Internal symmetry in Poincare gauge gravity: We find a large internal symmetry within 4-dimensional Poincare gauge theory.\nIn the Riemann-Cartan geometry of Poincare gauge theory the field equation and\ngeodesics are invariant under projective transformation, just as in affine\ngeometry. However, in the Riemann-Cartan case the torsion and nonmetricity\ntensors change. By generalizing the Riemann-Cartan geometry to allow both\ntorsion and nonmetricity while maintaining local Lorentz symmetry the\ndifference of the antisymmetric part of the nonmetricity Q and the torsion T is\na projectively invariant linear combination $S = T - Q$ with the same symmetry\nas torsion. The structure equations may be written entirely in terms of S and\nthe corresponding Riemann-Cartan curvature. The new description of the geometry\nhas manifest projective and Lorentz symmetries, and vanishing nonmetricity.\nTorsion, S and Q lie in the vector space of vector-valued 2-forms. Within the\nextended geometry we define rotations with axis in the direction of S. These\nrotate both torsion and nonmetricity while leaving S invariant. In n dimensions\nand (p, q) signature this gives a large internal symmetry. The four dimensional\ncase acquires SO(11,9) or Spin(11,9) internal symmetry, sufficient for the\nStandard Model. The most general action up to linearity in second derivatives\nof the solder form now includes combinations quadratic in torsion and\nnonmetricity, torsion-nonmetricity couplings, and the Einstein-Hilbert action.\nImposing projective invariance reduces this to dependence on S and curvature\nalone. The new internal symmetry decouples from gravity in agreement with the\nColeman-Mandula theorem."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Angular Momentum Operator in the Dirac Equation: The Dirac equation in spherically symmetric fields is separated in two\ndifferent tetrad frames. One is the standard cartesian (fixed) frame and the\nsecond one is the diagonal (rotating) frame. After separating variables in the\nDirac equation in spherical coordinates, and solving the corresponding\neingenvalues equations associated with the angular operators, we obtain that\nthe spinor solution in the rotating frame can be expressed in terms of Jacobi\npolynomials, and it is related to the standard spherical harmonics, which are\nthe basis solution of the angular momentum in the Cartesian tetrad, by a\nsimilarity transformation.",
        "positive": "Inequivalent Quantizations of Gauge Theories: It is known that the quantization of a system defined on a topologically\nnon-trivial configuration space is ambiguous in that many inequivalent quantum\nsystems are possible. This is the case for multiply connected spaces as well as\nfor coset spaces. Recently, a new framework for these inequivalent\nquantizations approach has been proposed by McMullan and Tsutsui, which is\nbased on a generalized Dirac approach. We employ this framework for the\nquantization of the Yang-Mills theory in the simplest fashion. The resulting\ninequivalent quantum sectors are labelled by quantized non-dynamical\ntopological charges."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Deformation of Schild String: We attempt to construct new superstring actions with a $D$-plet of Majorana\nfermions $\\psi^{\\cal B}_A$, where ${\\cal B}$ is the $D$ dimensional space-time\nindex and $A$ is the two dimensional spinor index, by deforming the Schild\naction. As a result, we propose three kinds of actions: the first is invariant\nunder N=1 (the world-sheet) supersymmetry transformation and the\narea-preserving diffeomorphism. The second contains the Yukawa type\ninteraction. The last possesses some non-locality because of bilinear terms of\n$\\psi^{\\cal B}_A$. The reasons why completing a Schild type superstring action\nwith $\\psi^{\\cal B}_A$ is difficult are finally discussed.",
        "positive": "Stability Issues for w < -1 Dark Energy: Precision cosmological data hint that a dark energy with equation of state $w\n= P/\\rho < -1$ and hence dubious stability is viable. Here we discuss for any\n$w$ nucleation from $\\Lambda > 0$ to $\\Lambda = 0$ in a first-order phase\ntransition. The critical radius is argued to be at least of galactic size and\nthe corresponding nucleation rate is glacial, thus underwriting the dark\nenergy's stability and rendering remote any microscopic effect."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Electric-Magnetic Duality in Supersymmetric Non-Abelian Gauge Theories: We demonstrate electric-magnetic duality in N=1 supersymmetric non-Abelian\ngauge theories in four dimensions by presenting two different gauge theories\n(different gauge groups and quark representations) leading to the same\nnon-trivial long distance physics. The quarks and gluons of one theory can be\ninterpreted as solitons (non-Abelian magnetic monopoles) of the elementary\nfields of the other theory. The weak coupling region of one theory is mapped to\na strong coupling region of the other. When one of the theories is Higgsed by\nan expectation value of a squark, the other theory is confined. Massless\nglueballs, baryons and Abelian magnetic monopoles in the confining description\nare the weakly coupled elementary quarks (i.e.\\ solitons of the confined\nquarks) in the dual Higgs description.",
        "positive": "The General 3-Graviton Vertex ($TTT$) of Conformal Field Theories in\n  Momentum Space in $d=4$: We present a study of the correlation function of three stress-energy tensors\nin $d$ dimensions using free field theory realizations, and compare them to the\nexact solutions of their conformal Ward identities (CWI's) obtained by a\ngeneral approach in momentum space. The identification of the corresponding\nform factors is performed within a reconstruction method, based on the\nidentification of the transverse traceless components $(A_i)$ of the same\ncorrelator. The solutions of the primary CWI' s are found by exploiting the\nuniversality of the Fuchsian indices of the conformal operators and a\nre-arrangement of the corresponding inhomogenous hypergeometric systems. We\nconfirm the number of constants in the solution of the primary CWI's of\nprevious analysis. In our comparison with perturbation theory, we discuss\nscalar, fermion and spin 1 exchanges at 1-loop in dimensional regularization.\nExplicit checks in $d=3$ and $d=5$ prove the consistency of this\ncorrespondence. By matching the 3 constants of the CFT solution with the 3 free\nfield theory sectors available in d=4, the general solutions of the conformal\nconstraints is expressed just in terms of ordinary scalar 2- and 3-point\nfunctions $(B_0,C_0)$. We show how the renormalized $d=4$ TTT vertex separates\nnaturally into the sum of a traceless and an anomaly part, the latter\ndetermined by the anomaly functional and generated by the renormalization of\nthe correlator in dimensional regularization. The result confirms the emergence\nof anomaly poles and effective massless exchanges as a specific signature of\nconformal anomalies in momentum space, directly connected to the\nrenormalization of the corresponding gravitational vertices, generalizing the\nbehaviour found for the $TJJ$ vertex in previous works."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Sign of BPS index for ${\\cal N}=4$ dyons: In this paper we argue how the sign changes on an average for the positive\nweight mock modular forms associated with the ${\\cal N}=4$ type II string black\nholes compactified on orbifolds of $K3\\times T^2$. The orbifolds of order $N$\nact with $g'\\in[M_{23}]$ an order $N$ symplectic orbifold on $K3$ and a $1/N$\nshift in one of the circles of the torus $T^2$. We expand the inverse Siegel\nmodular forms of subgroups of $Sp_2(\\mathbb{Z})$ for the magnetic charge\n$P^2=2$ in terms of mock Jacobi forms and Appell Lerch sums. We analyze the\naverage growth of the coefficients of these mock modular forms after theta\ndecomposition and removing inverse eta products. In particular we remove the\ncontribution of the fundamental string which rightfully dominates the growth of\nthe positive weight modular forms after the first few coefficients and ensures\nthe positivity of the helicity trace index $-B_6$. Using numerics and limits of\ndivisor sum function we predict the sign of these mock modular forms. We also\nobserve that the cusp forms associated with the non-geometric orbifolds of $K3$\ncan only contribute for sign changes up to the first few terms hence their\ncontribution can be neglected for large electric charges.",
        "positive": "Are Textures Natural?: We make the simple observation that, because of global symmetry violating\nhigher-dimension operators expected to be induced by Planck-scale physics,\ntextures are generically much too short-lived to be of use for large-scale\nstructure formation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Representations of Super Yangian: We present in detail the classification of the finite dimensional irreducible\nrepresentations of the super Yangian associated with the Lie superalgebra\n$gl(1|1)$.",
        "positive": "Fibers add Flavor, Part I: Classification of 5d SCFTs, Flavor Symmetries\n  and BPS States: We propose a graph-based approach to 5d superconformal field theories (SCFTs)\nbased on their realization as M-theory compactifications on singular elliptic\nCalabi--Yau threefolds. Field-theoretically, these 5d SCFTs descend from 6d\n$\\mathcal{N}=(1,0)$ SCFTs by circle compactification and mass deformations. We\nderive a description of these theories in terms of graphs, so-called Combined\nFiber Diagrams, which encode salient features of the partially resolved\nCalabi--Yau geometry, and provides a combinatorial way of characterizing all 5d\nSCFTs that descend from a given 6d theory. Remarkably, these graphs manifestly\ncapture strongly coupled data of the 5d SCFTs, such as the superconformal\nflavor symmetry, BPS states, and mass deformations. The capabilities of this\napproach are demonstrated by deriving all rank one and rank two 5d SCFTs. The\nfull potential, however, becomes apparent when applied to theories with higher\nrank. Starting with the higher rank conformal matter theories in 6d, we are led\nto the discovery of previously unknown flavor symmetry enhancements and new 5d\nSCFTs."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Emergence of AdS geometry in the simulated tempering algorithm: In our previous work [1], we introduced to an arbitrary Markov chain Monte\nCarlo algorithm a distance between configurations. This measures the difficulty\nof transition from one configuration to the other, and enables us to\ninvestigate the relaxation of probability distribution from a geometrical point\nof view. In this paper, we investigate the geometry of stochastic systems whose\nequilibrium distributions are highly multimodal with a large number of\ndegenerate vacua. Implementing the simulated tempering algorithm to such a\nsystem, we show that an asymptotically Euclidean anti-de Sitter geometry\nemerges with a horizon in the extended configuration space when the tempering\nparameter is optimized such that distances get minimized.",
        "positive": "Rational Lax operators and their quantization: We investigate the construction of the quantum commuting hamiltonians for the\nGaudin integrable model. We prove that [Tr L^k(z), Tr L^m(u) ]=0, for k,m < 4 .\nHowever this naive receipt of quantization of classically commuting\nhamiltonians fails in general, for example we prove that [Tr L^4(z), Tr L^2(u)\n] \\ne 0. We investigate in details the case of the one spin Gaudin model with\nthe magnetic field also known as the model obtained by the \"argument shift\nmethod\". Mathematically speaking this method gives maximal Poisson commutative\nsubalgebras in the symmetric algebra S(gl(N)). We show that such subalgebras\ncan be lifted to U(gl(N)), simply considering Tr L(z)^k, k\\le N for N<5. For\nN=6 this method fails: [Tr L_{MF}(z)^6, L_{MF}(u)^3]\\ne 0 . All the proofs are\nbased on the explicit calculations using r-matrix technique. We also propose\nthe general receipt to find the commutation formula for powers of Lax operator.\nFor small power exponents we find the complete commutation relations between\npowers of Lax operators."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Maruyoshi-Song Flows and Defect Groups of $D_p^b(G)$ Theories: We study the defect groups of $D_p^b(G)$ theories using geometric engineering\nand BPS quivers. In the simple case when $b=h^\\vee (G)$, we use the BPS quivers\nof the theory to see that the defect group is compatible with a known\nMaruyoshi-Song flow. To extend to the case where $b\\neq h^\\vee (G)$, we use a\nsimilar Maruyoshi-Song flow to conjecture that the defect groups of $D_p^b(G)$\ntheories are given by those of $G^{(b)}[k]$ theories. In the cases of $G=A_n,\n\\;E_6, \\;E_8$ we cross check our result by calculating the BPS quivers of the\n$G^{(b)}[k]$ theories and looking at the cokernel of their intersection matrix.",
        "positive": "Skyrme-Faddeev model from 5d super-Yang-Mills: We consider 5d Yang-Mills-Higgs theory with a compact ADE-type gauge group\n$G$ and one adjoint scalar field on $\\mathbb{R}^{3,1}\\times\\mathbb{R}_+$, where\n$\\mathbb{R}_+=[0,\\infty)$ is the half-line. The maximally supersymmetric\nextension of this model, with five adjoint scalars, appears after a reduction\nof 6d ${\\cal N}{=}\\,(2,0)$ superconformal field theory on\n$\\mathbb{R}^{3,1}\\times\\mathbb{R}_+\\times S^1$ along the circle $S^1$. We show\nthat in the low-energy limit, when momenta along $\\mathbb{R}^{3,1}$ are much\nsmaller than along $\\mathbb{R}_+$, the 5d Yang-Mills-Higgs theory reduces to a\nnonlinear sigma model on $\\mathbb{R}^{3,1}$ with a coset $G/H$ as its target\nspace. Here $H$ is a closed subgroup of $G$ determined by the Higgs-field\nasymptotics at infinity. The 4d sigma model describes an infinite tower of\ninteracting fields, and in the infrared it is dominated by the standard\ntwo-derivative kinetic term and the four-derivative Skyrme-Faddeev term."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Principal Realization for the extended affine Lie algebra of type $sl_2$\n  with coordinates in a simple quantum torus with two generators: We construct an irreducible representation for the extended affine algebra of\ntype $sl_2$ with coordinates in a quantum torus. We explicitly give formulas\nusing vertex operators similar to those found in the theory of the infinite\nrank affine algebra $A_{\\infty}$.",
        "positive": "Circuit Complexity From Cosmological Islands: Recently in various theoretical works, path-breaking progress has been made\nin recovering the well-known Page Curve of an evaporating black hole with\nQuantum Extremal Islands, proposed to solve the long-standing black hole\ninformation loss problem related to the unitarity issue. Motivated by this\nconcept, in this paper, we study cosmological circuit complexity in the\npresence (or absence) of Quantum Extremal Islands in the negative (or positive)\nCosmological Constant with radiation in the background of\nFriedmann-Lema$\\hat{i}$tre-Robertson-Walker (FLRW) space-time i.e the presence\nand absence of islands in anti-de Sitter and the de Sitter spacetime having\nSO(2, 3) and SO(1, 4) isometries respectively. Without using any explicit\ndetails of any gravity model, we study the behaviour of the circuit complexity\nfunction with respect to the dynamical cosmological solution for the scale\nfactors for the above-mentioned two situations in FLRW space-time using\nsqueezed state formalism. By studying the cosmological circuit complexity,\nOut-of-Time Ordered Correlators, and entanglement entropy of the modes of the\nsqueezed state, in different parameter spaces, we conclude the non-universality\nof these measures. Their remarkably different features in the different\nparameter spaces suggest their dependence on the parameters of the model under\nconsideration."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Three-Family $SO(10)$ Grand Unification in String Theory: The construction of a supersymmetric $SO(10)$ grand unification with 5\nleft-handed and 2 right-handed families in the four-dimensional heterotic\nstring theory is presented. The model has one $SO(10)$ adjoint Higgs field. The\n$SO(10)$ current algebra is realized at level 3.",
        "positive": "Non-local conservation laws and flow equations for supersymmetric\n  integrable hierarchies: An infinite series of Grassmann-odd and Grassmann-even flow equations is\ndefined for a class of supersymmetric integrable hierarchies associated with\nloop superalgebras. All these flows commute with the mutually commuting bosonic\nones originally considered to define these hierarchies and, hence, provide\nextra fermionic and bosonic symmetries that include the built-in N=1\nsupersymmetry transformation. The corresponding non-local conserved quantities\nare also constructed. As an example, the particular case of the principal\nsupersymmetric hierarchies associated with the affine superalgebras with a\nfermionic simple root system is discussed in detail."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Self-interaction effects on screening in three-dimensional QED: We have shown that self interaction effects in massive quantum\nelectrodynamics can lead to the formation of bound states of quark antiquark\npairs. A current-current fermion coupling term is introduced, which induces a\nwell in the potential energy profile. Explicit expressions of the effective\npotential and renormalized parameters are provided.",
        "positive": "Euclidean Twistor Unification: Taking Euclidean signature space-time with its local Spin(4)=SU(2)xSU(2)\ngroup of space-time symmetries as fundamental, one can consistently gauge one\nSU(2) factor to get a chiral spin connection formulation of general relativity,\nthe other to get part of the Standard Model gauge fields. Reconstructing a\nLorentz signature theory requires introducing a degree of freedom specifying\nthe imaginary time direction, which will play the role of the Higgs field.\n  To make sense of this one needs to work with twistor geometry, which provides\ntautological spinor degrees of freedom and a framework for relating by analytic\ncontinuation spinors in Minkowski and Euclidean space-time. It also provides\ninternal U(1) and SU(3) symmetries as well as a simple construction of the\ndegrees of freedom of a Standard Model generation of matter fields. In this\nproposal the theory is naturally defined on projective twistor space rather\nthan the usual space-time, so will require further development of a gauge\ntheory and spinor field quantization formalism in that context."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Picard-Fuchs Equations for Massive N=2 Seiberg-Witten Theories: A new method to obtain the Picard-Fuchs equations of effective, N=2\nsupersymmetric gauge theories with massive matter hypermultiplets in the\nfundamental representation is presented. It generalises a previously described\nmethod to derive the Picard-Fuchs equations of both pure super Yang-Mills and\nsupersymmetric gauge theories with massless matter hypermultiplets. The\ntechniques developed are well suited to symbolic computer calculations.",
        "positive": "Conformality and Gauge Coupling Unification: It has been recently proposed to embed the standard model in a conformal\ngauge theory to resolve the hierarchy problem, and to avoid assuming either\ngrand unification or low-energy supersymmetry. By model building based on\nstring-field duality we show how to maintain the successful prediction of an\nelectroweak mixing angle with $sin^2\\theta \\simeq 0.231$ in conformal gauge\ntheories with three chiral families."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Comments on $SO/Sp$ Gauge Theories from Brane Configurations with an O6\n  Plane: We use the M theory approach in the presence of an orientifold O6 plane to\nunderstand some aspects of the moduli space of vacua for N=1 supersymmetric\n$SO(N_c)/Sp(N_c)$ gauge theories in four dimensions. By exploiting some general\nproperties of the O6 orientifold, we reproduce some results obtained previously\nwith an orientifold O4 plane when the flavor group arises from the worldvolume\ndynamics of D6 branes. By using semi-infinite D4 branes instead of D6 branes,\nwe derive the most general form of the rotated curve describing the moduli\nspace of vacua for N=1 supersymmetric gauge theory with massive matter.",
        "positive": "Symmetry decomposition of relative entropies in conformal field theory: We consider the symmetry resolution of relative entropies in the 1+1\ndimensional free massless compact boson conformal field theory (CFT) which\npresents an internal $U(1)$ symmetry. We calculate various symmetry resolved\nR\\'enyi relative entropies between one interval reduced density matrices of CFT\nprimary states using the replica method. By taking the replica limit, the\nsymmetry resolved relative entropy can be obtained. We also take the XX spin\nchain model as a concrete lattice realization of this CFT to perform numerical\ncomputation. The CFT predictions are tested against exact numerical\ncalculations finding perfect agreement."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "M-theory Superstrata and the MSW String: The low-energy description of wrapped M5 branes in compactifications of\nM-theory on a Calabi-Yau threefold times a circle is given by a conformal field\ntheory studied by Maldacena, Strominger and Witten and known as the MSW CFT.\nTaking the threefold to be T$^6$ or K3xT$^2$, we construct a map between a\nsub-sector of this CFT and a sub-sector of the D1-D5 CFT. We demonstrate this\nmap by considering a set of D1-D5 CFT states that have smooth horizonless bulk\nduals, and explicitly constructing the supergravity solutions dual to the\ncorresponding states of the MSW CFT. We thus obtain the largest known class of\nsolutions dual to MSW CFT microstates, and demonstrate that five-dimensional\nungauged supergravity admits much larger families of smooth horizonless\nsolutions than previously known.",
        "positive": "The Casimir effect in string theory: We discuss the Casimir effect in heterotic string theory. This is done by\nconsidering a Z_2 twist acting on one external compact direction and three\ninternal coordinates. The hyperplanes fixed by the orbifold generator G realize\nthe two infinite parallel plates. For the latter to behave as \"conducting\nmaterial\", we implement in a modular invariant way the projection (1-G)/2 on\nthe spectrum running in the vacuum-to-vacuum amplitude at one-loop. Hence, the\nrelevant projector to account for the Casimir effect is orthogonal to that\ncommonly used in string orbifold models, which is (1+G)/2. We find that this\nsetup yields the same net force acting on the plates in the context of quantum\nfield theory and string theory. However, when supersymmetry is not present from\nthe onset, finiteness of the resultant force in field theory is reached by\nadding formally infinite forces acting on either side of each plate, while in\nstring theory both contributions are finite. On the contrary, when\nsupersymmetry is spontaneously broken a la Scherk-Schwarz, finiteness of each\ncontribution is fulfilled in field and string theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Charting Class ${\\cal S}_k$ Territory: We extend the investigation of the recently introduced class ${\\cal S}_k$ of\n4d $\\mathcal{N}=1$ SCFTs, by considering a large family of quiver gauge\ntheories within it, which we denote $\\mathcal{S}^1_k$. These theories admit a\nrealization in terms of $\\mathbb{Z}_k$ orbifolds of Type IIA configurations of\nD4-branes stretched among relatively rotated sets of NS-branes. This fact\npermits a systematic investigation of the full family, which exhibits new\nfeatures such as non-trivial anomalous dimensions differing from free field\nvalues and novel ways of gluing theories. We relate these ingredients to\nproperties of compactification of the 6d (1,0) superconformal ${\\cal T}_N^k$\ntheories on spheres with different kinds of punctures. We describe the\nstructure of dualities in this class of theories upon exchange of punctures,\nincluding transformations that correspond to Seiberg dualities, and exploit the\ncomputation of the superconformal index to check the invariance of the theories\nunder them.",
        "positive": "Open Wilson Lines and Chiral Condensates in Thermal Holographic QCD: We investigate various aspects of a proposal by Aharony and Kutasov\narXiv:0803.3547 [hep-th] for the gravity dual of an open Wilson line in the\nSakai-Sugimoto model or its non-compact version. In particular, we use their\nproposal to determine the effect of finite temperature, as well as background\nelectric and magnetic fields, on the chiral symmetry breaking order parameter.\nWe also generalize their prescription to more complicated worldsheets and\nidentify the operators dual to such worldsheets."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Noncommutativity of the Moving D2-brane Worldvolume: In this paper we study the noncommutativity of a moving membrane with\nbackground fields. The open string variables are analyzed. Some scaling limits\nare studied. The equivalence of the magnetic and electric noncommutativities is\ninvestigated. The conditions for equivalence of noncommutativity of the T-dual\ntheory in the rest frame and noncommutativity of the original theory in the\nmoving frame are obtained.",
        "positive": "Mirror Symmetry of Calabi-Yau Supermanifolds: We study super Landau-Ginzburg mirrors of the weighted projective superspace\nWCP^{3|2} which is a Calabi-Yau supermanifold and appeared in\nhep-th/0312171(Witten) in the topological B-model. One of them is an elliptic\nfibration over the complex plane whose coordinate is given in terms of two\nbosonic and two fermionic variables as well as Kahler parameter of WCP^{3|2}.\nThe other is some patch of a degree 3 Calabi-Yau hypersurface in CP^2 fibered\nby the complex plane whose coordinate depends on both above four variables and\nKahler parameter but its dependence behaves quite differently."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Higher codimension braneworlds from intersecting branes: We study the matching conditions of intersecting brane worlds in Lovelock\ngravity in arbitrary dimension. We show that intersecting various codimension 1\nand/or codimension 2 branes one can find solutions that represent\nenergy-momentum densities localized in the intersection, providing thus the\nfirst examples of infinitesimally thin higher codimension braneworlds that are\nfree of singularities and where the backreaction of the brane in the background\nis fully taken into account.",
        "positive": "Fermions with a bounded and discrete mass spectrum: A mechanism for determining fermion masses in four spacetime dimensions is\npresented, which uses a scalar-field domain wall extending in a fifth spacelike\ndimension and a special choice of Yukawa coupling constants. A bounded and\ndiscrete fermion mass spectrum is obtained analytically for spinors localized\nin the fifth dimension. These particular mass values depend on a combination of\nthe absolute value of the Yukawa coupling constant and the parameters of the\nscalar potential. A similar mechanism for a finite mass spectrum may apply to\n$(1+1)$--dimensional fermions relevant to condensed matter physics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The $N=2$ super $W_4$ algebra and its associated generalized KdV\n  hierarchies: We construct the $N=2$ super $W_4$ algebra as a certain reduction of the\nsecond Gel'fand-Dikii bracket on the dual of the Lie superalgebra of $N=1$\nsuper pseudo-differential operators. The algebra is put in manifestly $N=2$\nsupersymmetric form in terms of three $N=2$ superfields $\\Phi_i(X)$, with\n$\\Phi_1$ being the $N=2$ energy momentum tensor and $\\Phi_2$ and $\\Phi_3$ being\nconformal spin $2$ and $3$ superfields respectively. A search for integrable\nhierarchies of the generalized KdV variety with this algebra as Hamiltonian\nstructure gives three solutions, exactly the same number as for the $W_2$\n(super KdV) and $W_3$ (super Boussinesq) cases.",
        "positive": "New Regulators for Quantum Field Theories with Compactified Extra\n  Dimensions. I: Fundamentals: In this paper, we propose two new regulators for quantum field theories in\nspacetimes with compactified extra dimensions. We refer to these regulators as\nthe ``extended hard cutoff'' (EHC) and ``extended dimensional regularization''\n(EDR). Although based on traditional four-dimensional regulators, the key new\nfeature of these higher-dimensional regulators is that they are specifically\ndesigned to handle mixed spacetimes in which some dimensions are infinitely\nlarge and others are compactified. Moreover, unlike most other regulators which\nhave been used in the extra-dimension literature, these regulators are designed\nto respect the original higher-dimensional Lorentz and gauge symmetries that\nexist prior to compactification, and not merely the four-dimensional symmetries\nwhich remain afterward. This distinction is particularly relevant for\ncalculations of the physics of the excited Kaluza-Klein modes themselves, and\nnot merely their radiative effects on zero modes. By respecting the full\nhigher-dimensional symmetries, our regulators avoid the introduction of\nspurious terms which would not have been easy to disentangle from the physical\neffects of compactification. As part of our work, we also derive a number of\nancillary results. For example, we demonstrate that in a gauge-invariant\ntheory, analogues of the Ward-Takahashi identity hold not only for the usual\nzero-mode (four-dimensional) photons, but for all excited Kaluza-Klein photons\nas well."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Black Holes in Magnetic Monopoles with a Dark Halo: We study a spontaneously broken Einstein-Yang-Mills-Higgs model coupled via a\nHiggs portal to an uncharged scalar $\\chi$. We present a phase diagram of\nself-gravitating solutions showing that, depending on the choice of parameters\nof the $\\chi$ scalar potential and the Higgs portal coupling constant $\n\\gamma$, one can identify different regions: If $\\gamma$ is sufficiently small\na $\\chi$ halo is created around the monopole core which in turn surrounds a\nblack-hole. For larger values of $\\gamma$ no halo exists and the solution is\njust a black hole-monopole one. When the horizon radius grows and becomes\nlarger than the monopole radius solely a black hole solution exists. Because of\nthe presence of the $\\chi$ scalar a bound for the Higgs potential coupling\nconstant exists and when it is not satisfied, the vacuum is unstable and no\nnon-trivial solution exists. We briefly comment on a possible connection of our\nresults with those found in recent dark matter axion models.",
        "positive": "Screening and confinement in large N_f QCD_2 and in N=1 SYM_2: The screening nature of the potential between external quarks in massless\n$SU(N_c)$ $QCD_2$ is derived using an expansion in $N_f$- the number of\nflavors. Applying the same method to the massive model, we find a confining\npotential. We consider the N=1 super Yang Mills theory, reveal certain\nproblematic aspects of its bosonized version and show the associated screening\nbehavior by applying a point splitting method to the scalar current."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Three-dimensional Noncommutative Gravity: We formulate noncommutative three-dimensional (3d) gravity by making use of\nits connection with 3d Chern-Simons theory. In the Euclidean sector, we\nconsider the particular example of topology $T^2 \\times R$ and show that the 3d\nblack hole solves the noncommutative equations. We then consider the black hole\non a constant U(1) background and show that the black hole charges (mass and\nangular momentum) are modified by the presence of this background.",
        "positive": "Quantum Riemann surfaces, 2D gravity and the geometrical origin of\n  minimal models: Based on a recent paper by Takhtajan, we propose a formulation of 2D quantum\ngravity whose basic object is the Liouville action on the Riemann sphere\n$\\Sigma_{0,m+n}$ with both parabolic and elliptic points. The identification of\nthe classical limit of the conformal Ward identity with the Fuchsian projective\nconnection on $\\Sigma_{0,m+n}$ implies a relation between conformal weights and\nramification indices. This formulation works for arbitrary $d$ and admits a\nstandard representation only for $d\\le 1$. Furthermore, it turns out that the\nintegerness of the ramification number constrains $d=1-24/(n^2-1)$ that for\n$n=2m+1$ coincides with the unitary minimal series of CFT."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Asymmetric CFTs arising at the IR fixed points of RG flows: We construct a generalization of the cyclic $\\lambda$-deformed models of\n\\cite{Georgiou:2017oly} by relaxing the requirement that all the WZW models\nshould have the same level $k$. Our theories are integrable and flow from a\nsingle UV point to different IR fixed points depending on the different\norderings of the WZW levels $k_i$. First we calculate the Zamolodchikov's\nC-function for these models as exact functions of the deformation parameters.\nSubsequently, we fully characterize each of the IR conformal field theories.\nAlthough the corresponding left and right sectors have different symmetries,\nrealized as products of current and coset-type symmetries, the associated\ncentral charges are precisely equal, in agreement with the valuesobtained from\nthe C-function.",
        "positive": "An N=2 Superconformal Fixed Point with E_6 Global Symmetry: We obtain the elliptic curve corresponding to an $N=2$ superconformal field\ntheory which has an $E_6$ global symmetry at the strong coupling point\n$\\tau=e^{\\pi i/3}$. We also find the Seiberg-Witten differential $\\lambda_{SW}$\nfor this theory. This differential has 27 poles corresponding to the\nfundamental representation of $E_6$. The complex conjugate representation has\nits poles on the other sheet. We also show that the $E_6$ curve reduces to the\n$D_4$ curve of Seiberg and Witten. Finally, we compute the monodromies and use\nthese to compute BPS masses in an $F$-Theory compactification."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "N=4 Supersymmetric Gauge Theory in the Derivative Expansion: Maximally supersymmetric gauge theories have experienced renewed interest due\nto the AdS/CFT correspondence and its conjectured S-duality. These gauge\ntheories possess a large amount of symmetry and have quasi-integrable\nproperties. We derive the amplitudes in the derivative expansion of the\nspontaneously broken examples and perform all loop integrations. The S-matrix\nis found via an algebraic recursion and at each order is SL(2,Z) invariant.",
        "positive": "Remark About T-duality of Dp-Branes: This note is devoted to the analysis of T-duality of Dp-brane when we perform\nT-duality along directions that are transverse to world-volume of Dp-brane."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetry and Bosonization in Three Dimensions: We discuss on the possible existence of a supersymmetric invariance in purely\nfermionic planar systems and its relation to the fermion-boson mapping in\nthree-dimensional quantum field theory. We consider, as a very simple example,\nthe bosonization of free massive fermions and show that, under certain\nconditions on the masses, this model displays a supersymmetric-like invariance\nin the low energy regime. We construct the purely fermionic expression for the\nsupercurrent and the non-linear supersymmetry transformation laws. We argue\nthat the supersymmetry is absent in the limit of massless fermions where the\nbosonized theory is non-local.",
        "positive": "Krylov complexity of density matrix operators: Quantifying complexity in quantum systems has witnessed a surge of interest\nin recent years, with Krylov-based measures such as Krylov complexity ($C_K$)\nand Spread complexity ($C_S$) gaining prominence. In this study, we investigate\ntheir interplay by considering the complexity of states represented by density\nmatrix operators. After setting up the problem, we analyze a handful of\nanalytical and numerical examples spanning generic two-dimensional Hilbert\nspaces, qubit states, quantum harmonic oscillators, and random matrix theories,\nuncovering insightful relationships. For generic pure states, our analysis\nreveals two key findings: (I) a correspondence between moment-generating\nfunctions (of Lanczos coefficients) and survival amplitudes, and (II) an\nearly-time equivalence between $C_K$ and $2C_S$. Furthermore, for maximally\nentangled pure states, we find that the moment-generating function of $C_K$\nbecomes the Spectral Form Factor and, at late-times, $C_K$ is simply related to\n$NC_S$ for $N\\geq2$ within the $N$-dimensional Hilbert space. Notably, we\nconfirm that $C_K = 2C_S$ holds across all times when $N=2$. Through the lens\nof random matrix theories, we also discuss deviations between complexities at\nintermediate times and highlight subtleties in the averaging approach at the\nlevel of the survival amplitude."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Schwinger-Dyson Equation for Supersymmetric Yang-Mills Theory: We study our Schwinger-Dyson equation as well as the large $N_{c}$ loop\nequation for supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory in four dimensions by the N=1\nsuperspace Wilson-loop variable. We are successful in deriving a new manifestly\nsupersymmetric form in which a loop splitting and joining are represented by a\nmanifestly supersymmetric as well as supergauge invariant operation in\nsuperspace. This is found to be a natural extension from the abelian case. We\nsolve the equation to leading order in perturbation theory or equivalently in\nthe linearized approximation, obtaining a desirable nontrivial answer. The\nsuper Wilson-loop variable can be represented as the system of one-dimensional\nfermion along the loop coupled minimally to the original theory. One-loop\nrenormalization of the one-point Wilson-loop average is explicitly carried out,\nexploiting this property. The picture of string dynamics obtained is briefly\ndiscussed.",
        "positive": "Quantum soliton scattering manifolds: We consider the quantum multisoliton scattering problem. For BPS theories one\ntruncates the full field theory to the moduli space, a finite dimensional\nmanifold of energy minimising field configurations, and studies the quantum\nmechanical problem on this. Non-BPS theories -- the generic case -- have no\nsuch obvious truncation. We define a quantum soliton scattering manifold as a\nconfiguration space which satisfies asymptotic completeness and respects the\nunderlying classical dynamics of slow moving solitons. Having done this, we\npresent a new method to construct such manifolds. In the BPS case the dimension\nof the $n$-soliton moduli space $\\mathcal{M}_n$ is $n$ multiplied by the\ndimension of $\\mathcal{M}_1$. We show that this scaling is not necessarily\nvalid for scattering manifolds in non-BPS theories, and argue that it is false\nfor the Skyrme and baby-Skyrme models. In these models, we show that a relative\nphase difference can generate a relative size difference during a soliton\ncollision. Asymptotically, these are zero and non-zero modes respectively and\nthis new mechanism softens the dichotomy between such modes. Using this\ndiscovery, we then show that all previous truncations of the 2-Skyrmion\nconfiguration space are unsuitable for the quantum scattering problem as they\nhave the wrong dimension. This gives credence to recent numerical work which\nsuggests that the low-energy configuration space is 14-dimensional (rather than\n12-dimensional, as previously thought). We suggest some ways to construct a\nsuitable manifold for the 2-Skyrmion problem, and discuss applications of our\nnew definition and construction for general soliton theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "What We Don't Know about BTZ Black Hole Entropy: With the recent discovery that many aspects of black hole thermodynamics can\nbe effectively reduced to problems in three spacetime dimensions, it has become\nincreasingly important to understand the ``statistical mechanics'' of the\n(2+1)-dimensional black hole of Banados, Teitelboim, and Zanelli (BTZ). Several\nconformal field theoretic derivations of the BTZ entropy exist, but none is\ncompletely satisfactory, and many questions remain open: there is no consensus\nas to what fields provide the relevant degrees of freedom or where these\nexcitations live. In this paper, I review some of the unresolved problems and\nsuggest avenues for their solution.",
        "positive": "Generalised Scherk-Schwarz reductions from gauged supergravity: A procedure is described to construct generalised Scherk-Schwarz uplifts of\ngauged supergravities. The internal manifold, fluxes, and consistent truncation\nAnsatz are all derived from the embedding tensor of the lower-dimensional\ntheory. We first describe the procedure to construct generalised Leibniz\nparallelisable spaces where the vector components of the frame are embedded in\nthe adjoint representation of the gauge group, as specified by the embedding\ntensor. This allows us to recover the generalised Scherk-Schwarz reductions\nknown in the literature and to prove a no-go result for the uplift of\n$\\omega$-deformed SO(p,q) gauged maximal supergravities. We then extend the\nconstruction to arbitrary generalised Leibniz parallelisable spaces, which turn\nout to be torus fibrations over manifolds in the class above."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Discrete torsion orbifolds and D-branes II: The consistency of the orbifold action on open strings between D-branes in\norbifold theories with and without discrete torsion is analysed carefully. For\nthe example of the C^3/Z_2 x Z_2 theory, it is found that the consistency of\nthe orbifold action requires that the D-brane spectrum contains branes that\ngive rise to a conventional representation of the orbifold group as well as\nbranes for which the representation is projective. It is also shown how the\nresults generalise to the orbifolds C^3/Z_N x Z_N for which a number of novel\nfeatures arise. In particular, the N>2 theories with minimal discrete torsion\nhave non-BPS branes charged under twisted R-R potentials that couple to none of\nthe (known) BPS branes.",
        "positive": "Lie 3-Algebra Non-Abelian (2,0) Theory in Loop Space: It is believed that the multiple M5-branes are described by the non-abelian\n(2,0) theory and have the non-local structure. In this note we investigate the\nnon-abelian (2,0) theory in loop space which incorporates the non-local\nproperty. All fields will be formulated as loop fields and the two-form\npotential becomes a part of connection. We make an ansatz for field\nsupersymmetry transformation with a help of Lie 3-algebra and examine the\nclosure condition of the transformation to find the field equations. However,\nthe closure conditions lead to several complex terms and we have not yet found\na simple form for some constrain field equations. In particular, we present the\nclear scheme and several detailed calculations in each step. Many useful\n$\\Gamma$ matrix algebras are derived in the appendix."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Brane structure and metastable graviton in five-dimensional model with\n  (non)canonical scalar field: The appearance of inner brane structure is an interesting issue in domain\nwall {brane model}. Because such structure usually leads to quasilocalized\nmodes of various kinds of bulk fields. In this paper, we construct a domain\nwall brane model by using a scalar field $\\phi$, which couples to its kinetic\nterm. The inner brane structure emerges as the scalar-kinetic coupling\nincreases. With such brane structure, we show that it is possible to obtain\ngravity resonant modes in both tensor and scalar sectors. The number of the\nresonant modes depends on the vacuum expectation value of $\\phi$ and the form\nof scalar-kinetic coupling. The correspondence between our model and the\ncanonical one is also discussed. The noncanonical and canonical background\nscalar fields are connected by an integral equation, while the warp factor\nremains the same. Via this correspondence, the canonical and noncanonical\nmodels share the same linear perturbation spectrum. So the gravity resonances\n{obtained} in the noncanonical frame can also be obtained in the standard\nmodel. However, due to the inequivalence between the corresponding background\nscalar solutions, the localization condition for the left-chiral fermion zero\nmode can be largely different in different frames. Our estimate shows that the\nmagnitude of the Yukawa coupling in the noncanonical frame might be hundreds\ntimes larger than the one in the canonical frame, if one demands the\nlocalization of the left-chiral fermion zero mode as well as the appearance of\na few gravity resonance modes.",
        "positive": "U(N) Gauged N=2 Supergravity and Partial Breaking of Local N=2\n  Supersymmetry: We study a minimal model of U(N) gauged N=2 supergravity with one\nhypermultiplet parametrizing SO(4,1)/SO(4) quaternionic manifold. Local N=2\nsupersymmetry is known to be spontaneously broken to N=1 in the Higgs phase of\nU(1)_{graviphoton} \\times U(1). Several properties are obtained of this model\nin the vacuum of unbroken SU(N) gauge group. In particular, we derive mass\nspectrum analogous to the rigid counterpart and put the entire effective\npotential on this vacuum in the standard superpotential form of N=1\nsupergravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Reduced tensor network formulation for non-Abelian gauge theories in\n  arbitrary dimensions: Formulating non-Abelian gauge theories as a tensor network is known to be\nchallenging due to the internal degrees of freedom that result in the\ndegeneracy in the singular value spectrum. In two dimensions, it is\nstraightforward to 'trace out' these degrees of freedom with the use of\ncharacter expansion, giving a reduced tensor network where the degeneracy\nassociated with the internal symmetry is eliminated. In this work, we show that\nsuch an index loop also exists in higher dimensions in the form of a closed\ntensor network we call the 'armillary sphere'. This allows us to completely\neliminate the matrix indices and reduce the overall size of the tensors in the\nsame way as is possible in two dimensions. This formulation allows us to\ninclude significantly more representations with the same tensor size, thus\nmaking it possible to reach a greater level of numerical accuracy in the tensor\nrenormalization group computations.",
        "positive": "Open string models with Scherk-Schwarz SUSY breaking and localized\n  anomalies: We study examples of chiral four-dimensional IIB orientifolds with\nScherk--Schwarz supersymmetry breaking, based on freely acting orbifolds. We\nconstruct a new Z3xZ3' model, containing only D9-branes, and rederive from a\nmore geometric perspective the known Z6'xZ2' model, containing D9, D5 and \\bar\nD 5 branes. The cancellation of anomalies in these models is then studied\nlocally in the internal space. These are found to cancel through an interesting\ngeneralization of the Green--Schwarz mechanism involving twisted Ramond--Ramond\naxions and 4-forms. The effect of the latter amounts to local counterterms from\na low-energy effective field theory point of view. We also point out that the\nnumber of spontaneously broken U(1) gauge fields is in general greater than\nwhat expected from a four-dimensional analysis of anomalies."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Four Dimensional $\\mathbf{\\mathcal{N}=4}$ SYM and the Swampland: We consider supergravity theories with 16 supercharges in Minkowski space\nwith dimensions $d>3$. We argue that there is an upper bound on the number of\nmassless modes in such theories depending on $d$. In particular we show that\nthe rank of the gauge symmetry group $G$ in $d$ dimensions is bounded by\n$r_G\\leq 26-d$. This in particular demonstrates that 4 dimensional ${\\cal N}=4$\nSYM theories with rank bigger than 22, despite being consistent and indeed\nfinite before coupling to gravity, cannot be consistently coupled to ${\\cal\nN}=4$ supergravity in Minkowski space and belong to the swampland. Our argument\nis based on the swampland conditions of completeness of spectrum of defects as\nwell as a strong form of the distance conjecture and relies on unitarity as\nwell as supersymmetry of the worldsheet theory of BPS strings. The results are\ncompatible with known string constructions and provide further evidence for the\nstring lamppost principle (SLP): that string theory lamppost seems to capture\n${\\it all}$ consistent quantum gravitational theories.",
        "positive": "An Action for F-theory: $\\mathrm{SL}(2) \\times \\mathbb{R}^+$ Exceptional\n  Field Theory: We construct the 12-dimensional exceptional field theory associated to the\ngroup $\\mathrm{SL}(2) \\times \\mathbb{R}^+$ . Demanding the closure of the\nalgebra of local symmetries leads to a constraint, known as the section\ncondition, that must be imposed on all fields. This constraint has two\ninequivalent solutions, one giving rise to 11-dimensional supergravity and the\nother leading to F-theory. Thus $\\mathrm{SL}(2) \\times \\mathbb{R}^+$\nexceptional field theory contains both F-theory and M-theory in a single\n12-dimensional formalism."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Bosonic Partition Functions at Nonzero (Imaginary) Chemical Potential: We consider bosonic random matrix partition functions at nonzero chemical\npotential and compare the chiral condensate, the baryon number density and the\nbaryon number susceptibility to the result of the corresponding fermionic\npartition function. We find that as long as results are finite, the phase\ntransition of the fermionic theory persists in the bosonic theory. However, in\ncase that bosonic partition function diverges and has to be regularized, the\nphase transition of the fermionic theory does not occur in the bosonic theory,\nand the bosonic theory is always in the broken phase.",
        "positive": "Non-commutative Holographic QCD and Jet Quenching Parameter: Using gauge/gravity duality, we compute jet quenching parameter in confined\nand deconfined phases of noncommutative Sakai-Sugimoto model. In the confined\nphase jet quenching parameter is zero and noncommutativity does not affect it.\nIn deconfined phase we find that the leading correction is negative i.e. it\nreduces the magnitude of the jet quenching parameter as compared to its value\nin commutative background. Moreover it is seen that the effect of leading\ncorrection is more pronounced at high temperatures"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Four Kahler Moduli Stabilisation in type IIB Orientifolds with K3-fibred\n  Calabi-Yau threefold compactification: We present a concrete and consistent procedure to generate one kind of\nnon-perturbative superpotential, including the gaugino condensation corrections\nand poly-instanton corrections, in type IIB orientifold compactification with\nfour Kahler Moduli. Then we use this kind of superpotential as well as the\nalphaprime-corrections to Kahler potential to fix all of the four Kahler moduli\non a general Calabi-Yau manifold with typical K3-fibred volume form. In our\nconstruction, the considered Calabi-Yau threefolds are K3-fibred and admit at\nleast one del Pezzo surface and one W-surface. Searching through all existing\nfour dimensional reflexive lattice polytopes, we find 23 of them fulfilling all\nthe requirements.",
        "positive": "Tensor amplitudes for partial wave analysis of $\u03c8\n  \\to\u0394\\bar\u0394$ within helicity frame: We have derived the tensor amplitudes for partial wave analysis of\n$\\psi\\to\\Delta\\bar{\\Delta}$, $\\Delta \\to p \\pi$ within the helicity frame, as\nwell as the amplitudes for the other decay sequences with same final states.\nThese formulae are practical for the experiments measuring $\\psi$ decaying into\n$p \\bar{p}\\pi^+ \\pi^-$ final states, such as BESIII with its recently collected\nhuge $J/\\psi$ and $\\psi(2S)$ data samples."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "An excursion into the string spectrum: We propose a covariant technique to excavate physical bosonic string states\nby entire trajectories rather than individually. The approach is based on Howe\nduality: the string's spacetime Lorentz algebra commutes with a certain\ninductive limit of $sp(\\bullet)$, with the Virasoro constraints forming a\nsubalgebra of the Howe dual algebra $sp(\\bullet)$. There are then infinitely\nmany simple trajectories of states, which are lowest-weight representations of\n$sp(\\bullet)$ and hence of the Virasoro algebra. Deeper trajectories are\nrecurrences of the simple ones and can be probed by suitable\ntrajectory-shifting operators built out of the Howe dual algebra generators. We\nillustrate the formalism with a number of subleading trajectories and compute a\nsample of tree-level amplitudes.",
        "positive": "Tunneling from a Minkowski vacuum to an AdS vacuum: A new thin-wall\n  regime: Using numerical and analytic methods, we study quantum tunneling from a\nMinkowski false vacuum to an anti-de Sitter true vacuum. Scanning the parameter\nspace of theories with quartic and non-polynomial potentials, we find that for\nany given potential tunneling is completely quenched if gravitational effects\nare made sufficiently strong. For potentials where $\\epsilon$, the energy\ndensity difference between the vacua, is small compared to the barrier height,\nthis occurs in the thin-wall regime studied by Coleman and De Luccia. However,\nwe find that other potentials, possibly with $\\epsilon$ much greater than the\nbarrier height, produce a new type of thin-wall bounce when gravitational\neffects become strong. We show that the critical curve that bounds the region\nin parameter space where the false vacuum is stable can be found by a\ncomputationally simple overshoot/undershoot argument. We discuss the treatment\nof boundary terms in the bounce calculation and show that, with proper\nregularization, one obtains an identical finite result for the tunneling\nexponent regardless of whether or not these are included. Finally, we briefly\ndiscuss the extension of our results to transitions between anti-de Sitter\nvacua."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-Kaehler String Backgrounds and their Five Torsion Classes: We discuss the mathematical properties of six--dimensional non--K\\\"ahler\nmanifolds which occur in the context of ${\\cal N}=1$ supersymmetric heterotic\nand type IIA string compactifications with non--vanishing background H--field.\nThe intrinsic torsion of the associated SU(3) structures falls into five\ndifferent classes. For heterotic compactifications we present an explicit\ndictionary between the supersymmetry conditions and these five torsion classes.\nWe show that the non--Ricci flat Iwasawa manifold solves the supersymmetry\nconditions with non--zero H--field, so that it is a consistent heterotic\nsupersymmetric groundstate.",
        "positive": "Superspace Formulation of 4D Higher Spin Gauge Theory: Interacting AdS_4 higher spin gauge theories with N \\geq 1 supersymmetry so\nfar have been formulated as constrained systems of differential forms living in\na twistor extension of 4D spacetime. Here we formulate the minimal N=1 theory\nin superspace, leaving the internal twistor space intact. Remarkably, the\nsuperspace constraints have the same form as those defining the theory in\nordinary spacetime. This construction generalizes straightforwardly to higher\nspin gauge theories N>1 supersymmetry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Complete construction of magical, symmetric and homogeneous N=2\n  supergravities as double copies of gauge theories: We show that scattering amplitudes in magical, symmetric or homogeneous N=2\nMaxwell-Einstein supergravities can be obtained as double copies of two gauge\ntheories, using the framework of color/kinematics duality. The left-hand-copy\nis N=2 super-Yang-Mills theory coupled to a hypermultiplet, whereas the\nright-hand-copy is a non-supersymmetric theory that can be identified as the\ndimensional reduction of a D-dimensional Yang-Mills theory coupled to P\nfermions. For generic D and P, the double copy gives homogeneous\nsupergravities. For P=1 and D=7,8,10,14, it gives the magical supergravities.\nWe compute explicit amplitudes, discuss their soft limit and study the\nUV-behavior at one loop.",
        "positive": "Unitary S Matrices With Long-Range Correlations and the Quantum Black\n  Hole: We propose an S matrix approach to the quantum black hole in which causality,\nunitarity and their interrelation play a prominent role. Assuming the 't Hooft\nS matrix ansatz for a gravitating region surrounded by an asymptotically flat\nspace-time we find a non-local transformation which changes the standard\ncausality requirement but is a symmetry of the unitarity condition of the S\nmatrix. This new S matrix then implies correlations between the in and out\nstates of the theory with the involvement of a third entity which in the case\nof a quantum black hole, we argue is the horizon S matrix. Such correlations\nare thus linked to preserving the unitarity of the S matrix and to the fact\nthat entangling unitary operators are nonlocal. The analysis is performed\nwithin the Bogoliubov S matrix framework by considering a spacetime consisting\nof causal complements with a boundary in between. No particular metric or\nlagrangian dynamics need be invoked even to obtain an evolution equation for\nthe full S matrix. Constraints imposed by the new causality requirement and\nimplications for the effectiveness of field theoretical descriptions and for\ncomplementarity are also discussed. We find that the tension between\ninformation preservation and complementarity may be resolved provided the full\nquantum gravity theory either through symmetries or fine tuning forbids the\noccurrence of closed time like curves of information flow. Then, even if\ncausality is violated near the horizon at any intermediate stage, a standard\ncausal ordering may be preserved for the observer away from the horizon. In the\ncontext of the black hole, the novelty of our formulation is that it appears\nwell suited to understand unitarity at any intermediate stage of black hole\nevaporation. Moreover, it is applicable generally to all theories with long\nrange correlations including the final state projection models."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Stability, Causality, and Lorentz and CPT Violation: Stability and causality are investigated for quantum field theories\nincorporating Lorentz and CPT violation. Explicit calculations in the quadratic\nsector of a general renormalizable lagrangian for a massive fermion reveal that\nno difficulty arises for low energies if the parameters controlling the\nbreaking are small, but for high energies either energy positivity or\nmicrocausality is violated in some observer frame. However, this can be avoided\nif the lagrangian is the sub-Planck limit of a nonlocal theory with spontaneous\nLorentz and CPT violation. Our analysis supports the stability and causality of\nthe Lorentz- and CPT-violating standard-model extension that would emerge at\nlow energies from spontaneous breaking in a realistic string theory.",
        "positive": "Canonical Description of T-duality for Fundamental String and D1-Brane\n  and Double Wick Rotation: We study T-duality transformations in canonical formalism for Nambu-Gotto\naction. Then we investigate the relation between world-sheet double Wick\nrotation and sequence of target space T-dualities and Wick rotation in case of\nfundamental string and D1-brane."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Noncommutative Coordinates Invariant under Rotations and Lorentz\n  Transformations: Dynamics with noncommutative coordinates invariant under three dimensional\nrotations or, if time is included, under Lorentz transformations is developed.\nThese coordinates turn out to be the boost operators in SO(1,3) or in SO(2,3)\nrespectively. The noncommutativity is governed by a mass parameter $M$. The\nprincipal results are: (i) a modification of the Heisenberg algebra for\ndistances smaller than 1/M, (ii) a lower limit, 1/M, on the localizability of\nwave packets, (iii) discrete eigenvalues of coordinate operator in timelike\ndirections, and (iv) an upper limit, $M$, on the mass for which free field\nequations have solutions. Possible restrictions on small black holes is\ndiscussed.",
        "positive": "QCD_3 Vacum Wave Function: We investigate quantum chromodynamics in 2+1 dimensions ($\\rm{QCD}_3$) using\nthe Hamiltonian lattice field theory approach. The long wavelength structure of\nthe ground state, which is closely related to the confinement phenomenon, is\nanalyzed and its vacuum wave function is evaluated by means of the recently\ndeveloped truncated eigenvalue equation method. The third order estimations\nshow nice scaling for the physical quantities."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Topological Terms and the Misner String Entropy: The method of topological renormalization in anti-de Sitter (AdS) gravity\nconsists in adding to the action a topological term which renders it finite,\ndefining at the same time a well-posed variational problem. Here, we use this\nprescription to work out the thermodynamics of asymptotically locally anti-de\nSitter (AlAdS) spacetimes, focusing on the physical properties of the Misner\nstrings of both the Taub-NUT-AdS and Taub-Bolt-AdS solutions. We compute the\ncontribution of the Misner string to the entropy by treating on the same\nfooting the AdS and AlAdS sectors. As topological renormalization is found to\ncorrectly account for the physical quantities in the parity preserving sector\nof the theory, we then investigate the holographic consequences of adding also\nthe Chern-Pontryagin topological invariant to the bulk action; in particular,\nwe discuss the emergence of the parity-odd contribution in the boundary stress\ntensor.",
        "positive": "Dirac fermions in strong electric field and quantum transport in\n  graphene: Our previous results on the nonperturbative calculations of the mean current\nand of the energy-momentum tensor in QED with the T-constant electric field are\ngeneralized to arbitrary dimensions. The renormalized mean values are found;\nthe vacuum polarization and particle creation contributions to these mean\nvalues are isolated in the large T-limit, the vacuum polarization contributions\nbeing related to the one-loop effective Euler-Heisenberg Lagrangian.\nPeculiarities in odd dimensions are considered in detail. We adapt general\nresults obtained in 2+1 dimensions to the conditions which are realized in the\nDirac model for graphene. We study the quantum electronic and energy transport\nin the graphene at low carrier density and low temperatures when quantum\ninterference effects are important. Our description of the quantum transport in\nthe graphene is based on the so-called generalized Furry picture in QED where\nthe strong external field is taken into account nonperturbatively; this\napproach is not restricted to a semiclassical approximation for carriers and\ndoes not use any statistical assumtions inherent in the Boltzmann transport\ntheory. In addition, we consider the evolution of the mean electromagnetic\nfield in the graphene, taking into account the backreaction of the matter field\nto the applied external field. We find solutions of the corresponding\nDirac-Maxwell set of equations and with their help we calculate the effective\nmean electromagnetic field and effective mean values of the current and the\nenergy-momentum tensor. The nonlinear and linear I-V characteristics\nexperimentally observed in both low and high mobility graphene samples is quite\nwell explained in the framework of the proposed approach, their peculiarities\nbeing essentially due to the carrier creation from the vacuum by the applied\nelectric field."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Teichm\u00fcller parameters for multiple BTZ black hole spacetime: We investigate the Teichm\\\"{u}ller parameters for a Euclidean multiple BTZ\nblack hole spacetime. To induce a complex structure in the asymptotic boundary\nof such a spacetime, we consider the limit in which two black holes are at a\nlarge distance from each other. In this limit, we can approximately determine\nthe period matrix (i.e., the Teichm\\\"{u}ller parameters) for the spacetime\nboundary by using a pinching parameter. The Teichm\\\"{u}ller parameters are\nessential in describing the partition function for the boundary conformal field\ntheory (CFT). We provide an interpretation of the partition function for the\ngenus two extremal boundary CFT proposed by Gaiotto and Yin that it is relevant\nto double BTZ black hole spacetime.",
        "positive": "A gauged baby Skyrme model and a novel BPS bound: The baby Skyrme model is a well-known nonlinear field theory supporting\ntopological solitons in two space dimensions. Its action functional consists of\na potential term, a kinetic term quadratic in derivatives (the \"nonlinear sigma\nmodel term\") and the Skyrme term quartic in first derivatives. The limiting\ncase of vanishing sigma model term (the so-called BPS baby Skyrme model) is\nknown to support exact soliton solutions saturating a BPS bound which exists\nfor this model. Further, the BPS model has infinitely many symmetries and\nconservation laws. Recently it was found that the gauged version of the BPS\nbaby Skyrme model with gauge group U(1) and the usual Maxwell term, too, has a\nBPS bound and BPS solutions saturating this bound. This BPS bound is determined\nby a superpotential which has to obey a superpotential equation, in close\nanalogy to the situation in supergravity. Further, the BPS bound and the\ncorresponding BPS solitons only may exist for potentials such that the\nsuperpotential equation has a global solution. We also briefly describe some\nproperties of soliton solutions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Decay of massive scalar hair in the background of a dilaton gravity\n  black hole: We invesigate analytically both the intermediate and late-time behaviour of\nthe massive scalar field in the background of static spherically symmetric\nblack hole solution in dilaton gravity with arbitrary coupling constant. The\nintermediate asymptotic behaviour of scalar field depends on the field's\nparameter mass as well as the multiple number l. On its turn, the late-time\nbehaviour has the power law decay rate independent on coupling constant in the\ntheory under consideration.",
        "positive": "A proposal for the Yang-Mills vacuum and mass gap: I examine a set of Feynman rules, and the resulting effective action, that\nwere proposed in order to incorporate the constraint of Gauss's law in the\nperturbation expansion of gauge field theories. A set of solutions for the\nLagrangian and Hamiltonian equations of motion in Minkowski space-time, as well\nas their stability, are investigated. A discussion of the Euclidean action,\nconfinement, and the strong-CP problem is also included. The properties and\nsymmetries of the perturbative and the confining vacuum are explored, as well\nas the possible transitions between them, and the relations with\nphenomenological models of the strong interactions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Near Horizon Geometry of Warped Black Holes in Generalized Minimal\n  Massive Gravity: We consider spacelike warped AdS$_{3}$ black hole metric in Boyer-Lindquist\ncoordinate system. We present a coordinates transformation so that it maps\nmetric in Boyer-Lindquist coordinates to the one in Gaussian null coordinates.\nThen we introduce new fall-off conditions near the horizon of non-extremal\nwarped black holes. We study the near horizon symmetry algebra of such\nsolutions in the context of Generalized minimal massive gravity. Similar to the\nblack flower solutions, also we obtain the Heisenberg algebra as the near\nhorizon symmetry algebra of the warped black flower solutions. We show that the\nvacuum state and all descendants of the vacuum have the same energy. Thus these\nzero energy excitations on the horizon appear as soft hairs on the warped black\nhole.",
        "positive": "On the covariance of the Dirac-Born-Infeld-Myers action: A covariant version of the non-abelian Dirac-Born-Infeld-Myers action is\npresented. The non-abelian degrees of freedom are incorporated by adjoining to\nthe (bosonic) worldvolume of the brane a number of anticommuting fermionic\ndirections corresponding to boundary fermions in the string picture. The\nproposed action treats these variables as classical but can be given a matrix\ninterpretation if a suitable quantisation prescription is adopted. After\ngauge-fixing and quantisation of the fermions, the action is shown to be in\nagreement with the Myers action derived from T-duality. It is also shown that\nthe requirement of covariance in the above sense leads to a modified WZ term\nwhich also agrees with the one proposed by Myers."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Superstratum Symbiosis: Superstrata are smooth horizonless microstate geometries for the\nsupersymmetric D1-D5-P black hole in type IIB supergravity. In the CFT,\n'superstratum states' are defined to be the component of the supergraviton gas\nthat is obtained by breaking the CFT into '$|00\\rangle$-strands' and acting on\neach strand with the 'small,' anomaly-free superconformal generators. We show\nthat the recently-constructed supercharged superstrata represent a final and\ncrucial component for the construction of the supergravity dual of a generic\nsuperstratum state and how the supergravity solution faithfully represents all\nthe coherent superstratum states of the CFT. For the supergravity alone, this\nshows that generic superstrata do indeed fluctuate as functions of three\nindependent variables. Smoothness of the complete supergravity solution also\ninvolves 'coiffuring constraints' at second-order in the fluctuations and we\ndescribe how these lead to new predictions for three-point functions in the\ndual CFT. We use a hybrid of the original and supercharged superstrata to\nconstruct families of single-mode superstrata that still have free moduli after\none has fixed the asymptotic charges of the system. We also study scalar wave\nperturbations in a particular family of such solutions and show that the mass\ngap depends on the free moduli. This can have interesting implications for\nsuperstrata at non-zero temperature.",
        "positive": "Knots and Matrix Models: We consider a matrix model with d matrices NxN and show that in the limit of\nlarge N and d=0 the model describes the knot diagrams. The same limit in matrix\nstring theory is also discussed. We speculate that a prototypical M(atrix)\nwithout matrix theory exists in void."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Finite mass gravitating Yang monopoles: We show that gravity cures the infra-red divergence of the Yang monopole when\na proper definition of conserved quantities in curved backgrounds is used, i.e.\nthe gravitating Yang monopole in cosmological Einstein theory has a finite mass\nin generic even dimensions (including time). In addition, we find exact\nYang-monopole type solutions in the cosmological\nEinstein-Gauss-Bonnet-Yang-Mills theory and briefly discuss their properties.",
        "positive": "Nonuniqueness of the C operator in PT-symmetric quantum mechanics: The C operator in PT-symmetric quantum mechanics satisfies a system of three\nsimultaneous algebraic operator equations, $C^2=1$, $[C,PT]=0$, and $[C,H]=0$.\nThese equations are difficult to solve exactly, so perturbative methods have\nbeen used in the past to calculate C. The usual approach has been to express\nthe Hamiltonian as $H=H_0+\\epsilon H_1$, and to seek a solution for C in the\nform $C=e^Q P$, where $Q=Q(q,p)$ is odd in the momentum p, even in the\ncoordinate q, and has a perturbation expansion of the form $Q=\\epsilon\nQ_1+\\epsilon^3 Q_3+\\epsilon^5 Q_5+\\ldots$. [In previous work it has always been\nassumed that the coefficients of even powers of $\\epsilon$ in this expansion\nwould be absent because their presence would violate the condition that\n$Q(p,q)$ is odd in p.] In an earlier paper it was argued that the C operator is\nnot unique because the perturbation coefficient $Q_1$ is nonunique. Here, the\nnonuniqueness of C is demonstrated at a more fundamental level: It is shown\nthat the perturbation expansion for Q actually has the more general form\n$Q=Q_0+\\epsilon Q_1+\\epsilon^2 Q_2+\\ldots$ in which {\\it all} powers and not\njust odd powers of $\\epsilon$ appear. For the case in which $H_0$ is the\nharmonic-oscillator Hamiltonian, $Q_0$ is calculated exactly and in closed form\nand it is shown explicitly to be nonunique. The results are verified by using\npowerful summation procedures based on analytic continuation. It is also shown\nhow to calculate the higher coefficients in the perturbation series for Q."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hydrodynamic and Non-hydrodynamic Excitations in Kinetic Theory -- A\n  Numerical Analysis in Scalar Field Theory: Viscous hydrodynamics serves as a successful mesoscopic description of the\nQuark-Gluon Plasma produced in relativistic heavy-ion collisions. In order to\ninvestigate, how such an effective description emerges from the underlying\nmicroscopic dynamics we calculate the hydrodynamic and non-hydrodynamic modes\nof linear response in the sound channel from a first-principle calculation in\nkinetic theory. We do this with a new approach wherein we discretize the\ncollision kernel to directly calculate eigenvalues and eigenmodes of the\nevolution operator. This allows us to study the Green's functions at any point\nin the complex frequency space. Our study focuses on scalar theory with quartic\ninteraction and we find that the analytic structure of Green's functions in the\ncomplex plane is far more complicated than just poles or cuts which is a first\nstep towards an equivalent study in QCD kinetic theory.",
        "positive": "Hilbert Spaces for Nonrelativistic and Relativistic \"Free\" Plektons\n  (Particles with Braid Group Statistics): Using the theory of fibre bundles, we provide several equivalent intrinsic\ndescriptions for the Hilbert spaces of $n$ ``free'' nonrelativistic and\nrelativistic plektons in two space dimensions. These spaces carry a ray\nrepresentation of the Galilei group and a unitary representation of the\nPoincar\\'{e} group respectively. In the relativistic case we also discuss the\nsituation where the braid group is replaced by the ribbon braid group."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the BFFT quantization of first order systems: By using the field-antifield formalism, we show that the method of Batalin,\nFradkin, Fradkina and Tyutin to convert Hamiltonian systems submitted to second\nclass constraints introduces compensating fields which do not belong to the\nBRST cohomology at ghost number one. This assures that the gauge symmetries\nwhich arise from the BFFT procedure are not obstructed at quantum level. An\nexample where massive electrodynamics is coupled to chiral fermions is\nconsidered. We solve the quantum master equation for the model and show that\nthe respective counterterm has a decisive role in extracting anomalous\nexpectation values associated with the divergence of the Noether chiral\ncurrent.",
        "positive": "Virasoro constraints for Kontsevich-Hurwitz partition function: M.Kazarian and S.Lando found a 1-parametric interpolation between Kontsevich\nand Hurwitz partition functions, which entirely lies within the space of KP\ntau-functions. V.Bouchard and M.Marino suggested that this interpolation\nsatisfies some deformed Virasoro constraints. However, they described the\nconstraints in a somewhat sophisticated form of AMM-Eynard equations for the\nrather involved Lambert spectral curve. Here we present the relevant family of\nVirasoro constraints explicitly. They differ from the conventional continuous\nVirasoro constraints in the simplest possible way: by a constant shift u^2/24\nof the L_{-1} operator, where u is an interpolation parameter between\nKontsevich and Hurwitz models. This trivial modification of the string equation\ngives rise to the entire deformation which is a conjugation of the Virasoro\nconstraints L_m -> U L_m U^{-1} and \"twists\" the partition function, Z_{KH}= U\nZ_K. The conjugation U is expressed through the previously unnoticed operators\nwhich annihilate the quasiclassical (planar) free energy of the Kontsevich\nmodel, but do not belong to the symmetry group GL(\\infty) of the universal\nGrassmannian."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Boltzmann Equation for Relativistic Neutral Scalar Field in\n  Non-equilibrium Thermo Field Dynamics: A relativistic neutral scalar field is investigated on the basis of the\nSchwinger-Dyson equation in the non-equilibrium thermo field dynamics. A time\nevolution equation for a distribution function is obtained from a\ndiagonalization condition for the Schwinger-Dyson equation. An explicit\nexpression of the time evolution equation is calculated in the $\\lambda\\phi^4$\ninteraction model at the 2-loop level. The Boltzmann equation is derived for\nthe relativistic scalar field. We set a simple initial condition and\nnumerically solve the Boltzmann equation and show the time evolution of the\ndistribution function and the relaxation time.",
        "positive": "Three-dimensional de Sitter holography and bulk correlators at late time: We propose an explicitly calculable example of holography on 3-dimensional de\nSitter space by providing a prescription to analytic continue a higher-spin\nholography on 3-dimensional anti-de Sitter space. Applying the de Sitter\nholography, we explicitly compute bulk correlation functions on 3-dimensional\nde Sitter space at late time in a higher-spin gravity. These expressions are\nconsistent with recent analysis based on bulk Feynman diagrams. Our explicit\ncomputations reveal how holographic computations could provide fruitful\ninformation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The vacuum polarization around an axionic stringy black hole: We consider the effect of vacuum polarization around the horizon of a 4\ndimensional axionic stringy black hole. In the extreme degenerate limit\n($Q_a=M$), the lower limit on the black hole mass for avoiding the polarization\nof the surrounding medium is $M\\gg (10^{-15}\\div 10^{-11})m_p$ ($m_p$ is the\nproton mass), according to the assumed value of the axion mass ($m_a\\simeq\n(10^{-3}\\div 10^{-6})~eV$). In this case, there are no upper bounds on the mass\ndue to the absence of the thermal radiation by the black hole. In the\nnondegenerate (classically unstable) limit ($Q_a<M$), the black hole always\npolarizes the surrounding vacuum, unless the effective cosmological constant of\nthe effective stringy action diverges.",
        "positive": "Dual PT-Symmetric Quantum Field Theories: Some quantum field theories described by non-Hermitian Hamiltonians are\ninvestigated. It is shown that for the case of a free fermion field theory with\na $\\gamma_5$ mass term the Hamiltonian is $\\cal PT$-symmetric. Depending on the\nmass parameter this symmetry may be either broken or unbroken. When the $\\cal\nPT$ symmetry is unbroken, the spectrum of the quantum field theory is real. For\nthe $\\cal PT$-symmetric version of the massive Thirring model in\ntwo-dimensional space-time, which is dual to the $\\cal PT$-symmetric scalar\nSine-Gordon model, an exact construction of the $\\cal C$ operator is given. It\nis shown that the $\\cal PT$-symmetric massive Thirring and Sine-Gordon models\nare equivalent to the conventional Hermitian massive Thirring and Sine-Gordon\nmodels with appropriately shifted masses."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Mutual information between thermo-field doubles and disconnected\n  holographic boundaries: We use mutual information as a measure of the entanglement between 'physical'\nand thermo-field double degrees of freedom in field theories at finite\ntemperature. We compute this \"thermo-mutual information\" in simple toy models:\na quantum mechanics two-site spin chain, a two dimensional massless fermion,\nand a two dimensional holographic system. In holographic systems, the\nthermo-mutual information is related to minimal surfaces connecting the two\ndisconnected boundaries of an eternal black hole. We derive a number of salient\nfeatures of this thermo-mutual information, including that it is UV finite,\npositive definite and bounded from above by the standard mutual information for\nthe thermal ensemble. We relate the construction of the reduced density\nmatrices used to define the thermo-mutual information to the Schwinger-Keldysh\nformalism, ensuring that all our objects are well defined in Euclidean and\nLorentzian signature.",
        "positive": "Renormalization of Hamiltonians: A matrix model of an asymptotically free theory with a bound state is solved\nusing a perturbative similarity renormalization group for hamiltonians. An\neffective hamiltonian with a small width, calculated including the first three\nterms in the perturbative expansion, is projected on a small set of effective\nbasis states. The resulting small hamiltonian matrix is diagonalized and the\nexact bound state energy is obtained with accuracy of order 10%. Then, a brief\ndescription and an elementary illustration are given for a related light-front\nFock space operator method which aims at carrying out analogous steps for\nhamiltonians of QCD and other theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-confinement in Three Dimensional Supersymmetric Yang-Mills Theory: The role of instantons in three dimensional N=2 supersymmetric SU(2)\nYang-Mills theory is studied, especially in relation to the issue of\nconfinement. The instanton-induced low energy effective action is derived by\nextending the dilute gas approximation to the super-moduli space of instantons.\nFollowing Polyakov's description of confinement in compact U(1) gauge theory,\nit is argued that there is no confinement in N=2 supersymmetric Yang-Mills\ntheory.",
        "positive": "M-branes on U-folds: We give a preliminary discussion of how the addition of extra coordinates in\nM-theory, which together with the original ones parametrise a U-fold, can serve\nas a tool for formulating brane dynamics with manifest U-duality. The redundant\ndegrees of freedom are removed by generalised self-duality constraints or\ncalibration conditions made possible by the algebraic structure of U-duality.\nThis is the written version of an invited talk at the 7th International\nWorkshop \"Supersymmetries and Quantum Symmetries\", Dubna, July 30-August 4,\n2007."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantizing Strings in de Sitter Space: We quantize a string in the de Sitter background, and we find that the mass\nspectrum is modified by a term which is quadratic in oscillating numbers, and\nalso proportional to the square of the Hubble constant.",
        "positive": "Superstring 'ending' on super-D9-brane: a supersymmetric action\n  functional for the coupled brane system: A supersymmetric action functional describing the interaction of the\nfundamental superstring with the D=10, type IIB Dirichlet super-9-brane is\npresented. A set of supersymmetric equations for the coupled system is obtained\nfrom the action principle. It is found that the interaction of the string\nendpoints with the super-D9-brane gauge field requires some restrictions for\nthe image of the gauge field strength. When those restrictions are not imposed,\nthe equations imply the absence of the endpoints, and the equations coincide\neither with the ones of the free super-D9-brane or with the ones for the free\nclosed type IIB superstring. Different phases of the coupled system are\ndescribed. A generalization to an arbitrary system of intersecting branes is\ndiscussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Simple Stringy Dynamical SUSY Breaking: We present simple string models which dynamically break supersymmetry without\nnon-Abelian gauge dynamics. The Fayet model, the Polonyi model, and the\nO'Raifeartaigh model each arise from D-branes at a specific type of\nsingularity. D-brane instanton effects generate the requisite exponentially\nsmall scale of supersymmetry breaking.",
        "positive": "Swampland Constraints on the SymTFT of Supergravity: We consider string/M-theory reductions on a compact space $X=X^\\text{loc}\n\\cup X^\\circ$, where $X^\\text{loc}$ contains the singular locus, and $X^\\circ$\nits complement. For the resulting supergravity theories, we construct a\nsuitable Symmetry Topological Field Theory (SymTFT) associated with the\nboundary $\\partial X^\\text{loc} \\coprod \\partial X^\\circ$. We propose that\nboundary conditions for different BPS branes wrapping the same boundary cycles\nmust be correlated for the SymTFT to yield an absolute theory consistent with\nquantum gravity. Using heterotic/M-theory duality, this constraint can be\ntranslated into a field theoretic statement, which restricts the global\nstructure of $d\\geq 7$, $\\mathcal{N}=1$ supergravity theories to reproduce\nprecisely the landscape of untwisted toroidal heterotic compactifications.\nFurthermore, for 6d $(2,0)$ theories, we utilize a subtle interplay between\ngauged 0-, 2-, and 4-form symmetries to provide a bottom-up explanation of the\ncorrelated boundary conditions in K3 compactifications of type IIB."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-Gaussian disorder average in the Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev model: We study the effect of non-Gaussian average over the random couplings in a\ncomplex version of the celebrated Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev (SYK) model. Using a\nPolchinski-like equation and random tensor Gaussian universality, we show that\nthe effect of this non-Gaussian averaging leads to a modification of the\nvariance of the Gaussian distribution of couplings at leading order in N. We\nthen derive the form of the effective action to all orders. An explicit\ncomputation of the modification of the variance in the case of a quartic\nperturbation is performed for both the complex SYK model mentioned above and\nthe SYK generalization proposed in D. Gross and V. Rosenhaus, JHEP 1702 (2017)\n093.",
        "positive": "Superspace conformal field theory: Conformal sigma models and WZW models on coset superspaces provide important\nexamples of logarithmic conformal field theories. They possess many\napplications to problems in string and condensed matter theory. We review\nrecent results and developments, including the general construction of WZW\nmodels on type I supergroups, the classification of conformal sigma models and\ntheir embedding into string theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Euclidean wormholes, baby universes, and their impact on particle\n  physics and cosmology: The euclidean path integral remains, in spite of its familiar problems, an\nimportant approach to quantum gravity. One of its most striking and obscure\nfeatures is the appearance of gravitational instantons or wormholes. These\nrenormalize all terms in the Lagrangian and cause a number of puzzles or even\ndeep inconsistencies, related to the possibility of nucleation of \"baby\nuniverses\". In this review, we revisit the early controversies surrounding\nthese issues as well as some of the more recent discussions of the\nphenomenological relevance of gravitational instantons. In particular,\nwormholes are expected to break the shift symmetries of axions or Goldstone\nbosons non-perturbatively. This can be relevant to large-field inflation and\nconnects to arguments made on the basis of the Weak Gravity or Swampland\nconjectures. It can also affect Goldstone bosons which are of physical interest\nin the context of the strong CP problem or as dark matter.",
        "positive": "Supersymmetric 3-branes on smooth ALE manifolds with flux: We construct a new family of classical BPS solutions of type IIB supergravity\ndescribing 3-branes transverse to a 6-dimensional space with topology R^2*ALE.\nThey are characterized by a non-trivial flux of the supergravity 2-forms\nthrough the homology 2-cycles of a generic smooth ALE manifold. Our solutions\nhave two Killing spinors and thus preserve N=2 supersymmetry. They are\nexpressed in terms of a quasi harmonic function H (the ``warp factor''), whose\nproperties we study in the case of the simplest ALE, namely the Eguchi-Hanson\nmanifold. The equation for H is identified as an instance of the confluent Heun\nequation. We write explicit power series solutions and solve the recurrence\nrelation for the coefficients, discussing also the relevant asymptotic\nexpansions. While, as in all such N=2 solutions, supergravity breaks down near\nthe brane, the smoothing out of the vacuum geometry has the effect that the\nwarp factor is regular in a region near the cycle. We interpret the behavior of\nthe warp factor as describing a three-brane charge ``smeared'' over the cycle\nand consider the asymptotic form of the geometry in that region, showing that\nconformal invariance is broken even when the complex type IIB 3-form field\nstrength is assumed to vanish. We conclude with a discussion of the basic\nfeatures of the gauge theory dual."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Universal Pattern in Quantum Gravity at Infinite Distance: Quantum gravitational effects become significant at a cut-off species scale\nthat can be much lower than the Planck scale whenever we get a parametrically\nlarge number of fields becoming light. This is expected to occur at any\nperturbative limit of an effective field theory coupled to gravity, or\nequivalently, at any infinite distance limit in the field space of the quantum\ngravity completion. In this note, we present a universal pattern that links the\nasymptotic variation rates in field space of the quantum gravity cut-off\n$\\Lambda_{\\text{sp}}$ and the characteristic mass of the lightest tower of\nstates $m$: $\\frac{\\vec\\nabla m}{m} \\cdot\\frac{\\vec\\nabla \\Lambda_{\\rm sp}}{\n\\Lambda_{\\rm sp}}=\\frac1{d-2}$, where $d$ is the spacetime dimension. This\nrestriction can be used to make more precise several Swampland criteria that\nconstrain the effective field theories that can be consistently coupled to\nquantum gravity.",
        "positive": "Scalar tachyons in the de Sitter universe: We provide a construction of a class of local and de Sitter covariant\ntachyonic quantum fields which exist for discrete negative values of the\nsquared mass parameter and which have no Minkowskian counterpart. These quantum\nfields satisfy an anomalous non-homogeneous Klein-Gordon equation. The anomaly\nis a covariant field which can be used to select the physical subspace (of\nfinite codimension) where the homogeneous tachyonic field equation holds in the\nusual form. We show that the model is local and de Sitter invariant on the\nphysical space. Our construction also sheds new light on the massless minimally\ncoupled field, which is a special instance of it."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Constraining ${\\cal N}=1$ supergravity inflationary framework with\n  non-minimal K\u00e4hler operators: In this paper we will illustrate how to constrain unavoidable K\\\"ahler\ncorrections for ${\\cal N}=1$ supergravity (SUGRA) inflation from the recent\nPlanck data. We will show that the non-renormalizable K\\\"ahler operators will\ninduce in general non-minimal kinetic term for the inflaton field, and two\ntypes of SUGRA corrections in the potential - the Hubble-induced mass\n($c_{H}$), and the Hubble-induced A-term ($a_{H}$) correction. The entire SUGRA\ninflationary framework can now be constrained from (i) the speed of sound,\n$c_s$, and (ii) from the upper bound on the tensor to scalar ratio,\n$r_{\\star}$. We will illustrate this by considering a heavy scalar degree of\nfreedom at a scale, $M_s$, and a light inflationary field which is responsible\nfor a slow-roll inflation. We will compute the corrections to the kinetic term\nand the potential for the light field explicitly. As an example, we will\nconsider a visible sector inflationary model of inflation where inflation\noccurs at the point of inflection, which can match the density perturbations\nfor the cosmic microwave background radiation, and also explain why the\nuniverse is filled with the Standard Model degrees of freedom. We will scan the\nparameter space of the non-renormalizable K\\\"ahler operators, which we find\nthem to be order ${\\cal O}(1)$, consistent with physical arguments. While the\nscale of heavy physics is found to be bounded by the tensor-to scalar ratio,\nand the speed of sound, $ {\\cal O}(10^{11}\\leq M_s\\leq 10^{16}) $GeV, for\n$0.02\\leq c_s\\leq 1$ and $10^{-22}\\leq r_\\star \\leq 0.12$.",
        "positive": "A BRST Analysis of $W$-symmetries: We perform a classical BRST analysis of the symmetries corresponding to a\ngeneric $w_N$-algebra. An essential feature of our method is that we write the\n$w_N$-algebra in a special basis such that the algebra manifestly has a\n``nested'' set of subalgebras $v_N^N \\subset v_N^{N-1} \\subset \\dots \\subset\nv_N^2 \\equiv w_N$ where the subalgebra $v_N^i\\ (i=2, \\dots ,N)$ consists of\ngenerators of spin $s=\\{i,i+1,\\dots ,N\\}$, respectively. In the new basis the\nBRST charge can be written as a ``nested'' sum of $N-1$ nilpotent BRST charges.\nIn view of potential applications to (critical and/or non-critical) $W$-string\ntheories we discuss the quantum extension of our results. In particular, we\npresent the quantum BRST-operator for the $W_4$-algebra in the new basis. For\nboth critical and non-critical $W$-strings we apply our results to discuss the\nrelation with minimal models."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Characterizing 4-string contact interaction using machine learning: The geometry of 4-string contact interaction of closed string field theory is\ncharacterized using machine learning. We obtain Strebel quadratic differentials\non 4-punctured spheres as a neural network by performing unsupervised learning\nwith a custom-built loss function. This allows us to solve for local\ncoordinates and compute their associated mapping radii numerically. We also\ntrain a neural network distinguishing vertex from Feynman region. As a check,\n4-tachyon contact term in the tachyon potential is computed and a good\nagreement with the results in the literature is observed. We argue that our\nalgorithm is manifestly independent of number of punctures and scaling it to\ncharacterize the geometry of $n$-string contact interaction is feasible.",
        "positive": "Effective action for the order parameter of the deconfinement transition\n  of Yang-Mills theories: The effective action for the Polyakov loop serving as an order parameter for\ndeconfinement is obtained in one-loop approximation to second order in a\nderivative expansion. The calculation is performed in $d\\geq 4$ dimensions,\nmostly referring to the gauge group SU(2). The resulting effective action is\nonly capable of describing a deconfinement phase transition for\n$d>d_{\\text{cr}}\\simeq 7.42$. Since, particularly in $d=4$, the system is\nstrongly governed by infrared effects, it is demonstrated that an additional\ninfrared scale such as an effective gluon mass can change the physical\nproperties of the system drastically, leading to a model with a deconfinement\nphase transition."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Rigid Surface Operators: Surface operators in gauge theory are analogous to Wilson and 't Hooft line\noperators except that they are supported on a two-dimensional surface rather\nthan a one-dimensional curve. In a previous paper, we constructed a certain\nclass of half-BPS surface operators in N=4 super Yang-Mills theory, and\ndetermined how they transform under S-duality. Those surface operators depend\non a relatively large number of freely adjustable parameters. In the present\npaper, we consider the opposite case of half-BPS surface operators that are\n``rigid'' in the sense that they do not depend on any parameters at all. We\npresent some simple constructions of rigid half-BPS surface operators and\nattempt to determine how they transform under duality. This attempt is only\npartially successful, suggesting that our constructions are not the whole\nstory. The partial match suggests interesting connections with quantization. We\ndiscuss some possible refinements and some string theory constructions which\nmight lead to a more complete picture.",
        "positive": "General Relativity from Causality: We study large families of theories of interacting spin 2 particles from the\npoint of view of causality. Although it is often stated that there is a unique\nLorentz invariant effective theory of massless spin 2, namely general\nrelativity, other theories that utilize higher derivative interactions do in\nfact exist. These theories are distinct from general relativity, as they permit\nany number of species of spin 2 particles, are described by a much larger set\nof parameters, and are not constrained to satisfy the equivalence principle. We\nconsider the leading spin 2 couplings to scalars, fermions, and vectors, and\nsystematically study signal propagation in all these other families of\ntheories. We find that most interactions directly lead to superluminal\npropagation of either a spin 2 particle or a matter particle, and interactions\nthat are subluminal generate other interactions that are superluminal. Hence,\nsuch theories of interacting multiple spin 2 species have superluminality, and\nby extension, acausality. This is radically different to the special case of\ngeneral relativity with a single species of minimally coupled spin 2, which\nleads to subluminal propagation from sources satisfying the null energy\ncondition. This pathology persists even if the spin 2 field is massive. We\ncompare these findings to the analogous case of spin 1 theories, where higher\nderivative interactions can be causal. This makes the spin 2 case very special,\nand suggests that multiple species of spin 2 is forbidden, leading us to\ngeneral relativity as essentially the unique internally consistent effective\ntheory of spin 2."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Generalized Dirac monopoles in non-Abelian Kaluza-Klein theories: A method is proposed for generalizing the Euclidean Taub-NUT space, regarded\nas the appropriate background of the Dirac magnetic monopole, to non-Abelian\nKaluza-Klein theories involving potentials of generalized monopoles. Usual\ngeometrical methods combined with a recent theory of the induced\nrepresentations governing the Taub-NUT isometries lead to a general conjecture\nwhere the potentials of the generalized monopoles of any dimensions can be\ndefined in the base manifolds of suitable principal fiber bundles. Moreover, in\nthis way one finds that apart from the monopole models which are of a\nspace-like type, there exists a new type of time-like models that can not be\ninterpreted as monopoles. The space-like models are studied pointing out that\nthe monopole fields strength are particular solutions the Yang-Mills equations\nwith central symmetry producing the standard flux of $4\\pi$ through the\ntwo-dimensional spheres surrounding the monopole. Examples are given of\nmanifolds with Einstein metrics carrying SU(2) monopoles.",
        "positive": "Categorical Tinkertoys for N=2 Gauge Theories: In view of classification of the quiver 4d N=2 supersymmetric gauge theories,\nwe discuss the characterization of the quivers with superpotential (Q,W)\nassociated to a N=2 QFT which, in some corner of its parameter space, looks\nlike a gauge theory with gauge group G. The basic idea is that the Abelian\ncategory rep(Q,W) of (finite-dimensional) representations of the Jacobian\nalgebra $\\mathbb{C} Q/(\\partial W)$ should enjoy what we call the Ringel\nproperty of type G; in particular, rep(Q,W) should contain a universal\n`generic' subcategory, which depends only on the gauge group G, capturing the\nuniversality of the gauge sector. There is a family of 'light' subcategories\n$\\mathscr{L}_\\lambda\\subset rep(Q,W)$, indexed by points $\\lambda\\in N$, where\n$N$ is a projective variety whose irreducible components are copies of\n$\\mathbb{P}^1$ in one--to--one correspondence with the simple factors of G.\n  In particular, for a Gaiotto theory there is one such family of\nsubcategories, $\\mathscr{L}_{\\lambda\\in N}$, for each maximal degeneration of\nthe corresponding surface $\\Sigma$, and the index variety $N$ may be identified\nwith the degenerate Gaiotto surface itself: generic light subcategories\ncorrespond to cylinders, while closed-point subcategories to `fixtures'\n(spheres with three punctures of various kinds) and higher-order\ngeneralizations. The rules for `gluing' categories are more general that the\ngeometric gluing of surfaces, allowing for a few additional exceptional N=2\ntheories which are not of the Gaiotto class."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hamiltonian formalism of Minimal Massive Gravity: We study the three-dimensional Minimal Massive Gravity (MMG) in the\nHamiltonian formalism. Canonical expressions for the asymptotic conserved\ncharges are derived by defining the canonical gauge generators. Specifically,\nthe construction of asymptotic structure of MMG requires to introduce suitable\nboundary conditions. For instance, the application of this procedure is done\nfor the BTZ black hole as a solution to the MMG field equations. The related\nconserved charges give the energy and angular momentum of the BTZ black hole.\nWe also show that the Poisson bracket algebra of the improved canonical gauge\ngenerators produces an asymptotic gauge group which includes two separable\nversions of Virasoro algebras. Finally, we calculate the entropy of black hole\nfrom Cardy formula using the parameters of the boundary conformal field theory\nand show the result is consistent with the value obtained from Smarr one.",
        "positive": "Quantum BRST operators in the extended BRST-anti-BRST formalism: The quantum BRST-anti-BRST operators are explicitely derived and the\nconsequences related to correlation functions are investigated. The connection\nwith the standard formalism and the loopwise expansions for quantum operators\nand anomalies in Sp(2) approach are analyzed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spectral action with zeta function regularization: In this paper we propose a novel definition of the bosonic spectral action\nusing zeta function regularization, in order to address the issues of\nrenormalizability and spectral dimensions. We compare the zeta spectral action\nwith the usual (cutoff based) spectral action and discuss its origin,\npredictive power, stressing the importance of the issue of the three\ndimensionful fundamental constants, namely the cosmological constant, the Higgs\nvacuum expectation value, and the gravitational constant. We emphasize the\nfundamental role of the neutrino Majorana mass term for the structure of the\nbosonic action.",
        "positive": "Multi-flavor massless QED$_2$ at finite densities via Lefschetz thimbles: We consider multi-flavor massless $(1+1)$-dimensional QED with chemical\npotentials at finite spatial length and the zero-temperature limit. Its sign\nproblem is solved using the mean-field calculation with complex saddle points."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Entanglement Entropy of Nontrivial States: We study the entanglement entropy arising from coherent states and\none--particle states. We show that it is possible to define a finite\nentanglement entropy by subtracting the vacuum entropy from that of the\nconsidered states, when the unobserved region is the same.",
        "positive": "Shock Waves and the Vacuum Structure of Gauge Theories: In Yang-Mills theory massless point sources lead naturally to shock-wave\nconfigurations. Their magnetic counterparts endow the vacuum of the\nfour-dimensional compact abelian model with a Coulomb-gas behaviour whose\nphysical implications are briefly discussed. (Contribution to ``Quark\nConfinement and the Hadron Spectrum'', Como 20-24 June 1994. Revised version.)"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Boundary Conformal Field Theory Approach to Symmetry-Resolved\n  Entanglement: We study the symmetry resolution of the entanglement entropy of an interval\nin two-dimensional conformal field theories (CFTs), by relating the bipartition\nto the geometry of an annulus with conformal boundary conditions. In the\npresence of extended symmetries such as Kac-Moody type current algebrae,\nsymmetry resolution is possible only if the boundary conditions on the annulus\npreserve part of the symmetry group, i.e. if the factorization map associated\nwith the spatial bipartition is compatible with the symmetry in question. The\npartition function of the boundary CFT (BCFT) is then decomposed in terms of\nthe characters of the irreducible representations of the symmetry group\npreserved by the boundary conditions. We demonstrate that this decomposition\nalready provides the symmetry resolution of the entanglement spectrum of the\ncorresponding bipartition. Considering the various terms of the partition\nfunction associated with the same representation, or charge sector, the\nsymmetry-resolved R\\'enyi entropies can be derived to all orders in the UV\ncutoff expansion without the need to compute the charged moments. We apply this\nidea to the theory of a free massless boson with $U(1)$, $\\mathbb{R}$ and\n$\\mathbb{Z}_2$ symmetry.",
        "positive": "Type IIB Supergravity Solutions with AdS${}_5$ From Abelian and\n  Non-Abelian T Dualities: We present a large class of new backgrounds that are solutions of type IIB\nsupergravity with a warped AdS${}_5$ factor, non-trivial axion-dilaton,\n$B$-field and three-form Ramond-Ramond flux but yet have no five-form flux. We\nobtain these solutions and many of their variations by judiciously applying\nnon-Abelian and Abelian T-dualities, as well as coordinate shifts to\nAdS${}_5\\times X_5$ IIB supergravity solutions with $X_5=S^5, T^{1,1},\nY^{p,q}$. We address a number of issues pertaining to charge quantization in\nthe context of non-Abelian T-duality. We comment on some properties of the\nexpected dual super conformal field theories by studying their CFT central\ncharge holographically. We also use the structure of the supergravity Page\ncharges, central charges and some probe branes to infer aspects of the dual\nsuper conformal field theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Finiteness of 2- and 3-point Functions and the Renormalisation Group: Two and three point functions of composite operators are analysed with regard\nto (logarithmically) divergent contact terms. Using the renormalisation group\nof dimensional regularisation it is established that the divergences are\ngoverned by the anomalous dimensions of the operators and the leading\nUV-behaviour of the $1/\\epsilon$-coefficient. Explicit examples are given by\nthe $<G^2G^2>$-, $<\\Theta \\Theta>$-trace of the energy momentum tensor) and\n$<\\bar q q \\bar q q>$- correlators in QCD-like theories. The former two are\nconvergent when all orders are taken into account but divergent at each order\nin perturbation theory implying that the latter and the the $\\epsilon \\to 0$\nlimit do not generally commute. Finite correlation functions obey unsubtracted\ndispersion relations which is of importance when they are directly related to\nphysical observables. As a byproduct the $R^2$-anomaly is extended to NNLO\n($O(\\alpha^5)$) using a recent $<G^2G^2>$-computation.",
        "positive": "Anomalies of non-invertible self-duality symmetries: fractionalization\n  and gauging: We study anomalies of non-invertible duality symmetries in both 2d and 4d,\nemploying the tool of the Symmetry TFT. In the 2d case we rephrase the known\nobstruction theory for the Tambara-Yamagami fusion category in a way easily\ngeneralizable to higher dimensions. In both cases we find two obstructions to\ngauging duality defects. The first obstruction requires the existence of a\nduality-invariant Lagrangian algebra in a certain Dijkgraaf-Witten theory in\none dimension more. In particular, intrinsically non-invertible (a.k.a. group\ntheoretical) duality symmetries are necessarily anomalous. The second\nobstruction requires the vanishing of a pure anomaly for the invertible duality\nsymmetry. This however depends on further data. In 2d this is specified by a\nchoice of equivariantization for the duality-invariant Lagrangian algebra. We\npropose and verify that this is equivalent to a choice of symmetry\nfractionalization for the invertible duality symmetry. The latter formulation\nhas a natural generalization to 4d and allows us to give a compact\ncharacterization of the anomaly. We comment on various possible applications of\nour results to self-dual theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Thermodynamics of accelerating AdS$_4$ black holes from the covariant\n  phase space: We study the charges and first law of thermodynamics for accelerating,\nnon-rotating black holes with dyonic charges in AdS$_4$ using the covariant\nphase space formalism. In order to apply the formalism to these solutions\n(which are asymptotically locally AdS and admit a non-smooth conformal boundary\n$\\mathscr{I}$) we make two key improvements: 1) We relax the requirement to\nimpose Dirichlet boundary conditions and demand merely a well-posed variational\nproblem. 2) We keep careful track of the codimension-2 corner term induced by\nthe holographic counterterms, a necessary requirement due to the presence of\n\"cosmic strings\" piercing $\\mathscr{I}$. Using these improvements we are able\nto match the holographic Noether charges to the Wald Hamiltonians of the\ncovariant phase space and derive the first law of black hole thermodynamics\nwith the correct \"thermodynamic length\" terms arising from the strings. We\ninvestigate the relationship between the charges imposed by supersymmetry and\nshow that our first law can be consistently applied to various classes of\nnon-supersymmetric solutions for which the cross-sections of the horizon are\nspindles.",
        "positive": "Singularities in massive conformal gravity: We study the quantum effects of big bang and black hole singularities on\nmassive conformal gravity. We do this by analyzing the behavior of the on-shell\neffective action of the theory at these singularities. The result is that such\nsingularities are harmless in MCG because the on-shell effective action of the\ntheory does not diverge at them."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The volume of the black hole interior at late times: Understanding the fate of semi-classical black hole solutions at very late\ntimes is one of the most important open questions in quantum gravity. In this\npaper, we provide a path integral definition of the volume of the black hole\ninterior and study it at arbitrarily late times for black holes in various\nmodels of two-dimensional gravity. Because of a novel universal cancellation\nbetween the contributions of the semi-classical black hole spectrum and some of\nits non-perturbative corrections, we find that, after a linear growth at early\ntimes, the length of the interior saturates at a time, and towards a value,\nthat is exponentially large in the entropy of the black hole. This provides a\nnon-perturbative confirmation of the complexity equals volume proposal since\ncomplexity is also expected to plateau at the same value and at the same time.",
        "positive": "Non-compact Calabi--Yau Manifolds and Localized Gravity: We study localization of gravity in flat space in superstring theory. We find\nthat an induced Einstein-Hilbert term can be generated only in four dimensions,\nwhen the bulk is a non-compact Calabi-Yau threefold with non-vanishing Euler\nnumber. The origin of this term is traced to R^4 couplings in ten dimensions.\nMoreover, its size can be made much larger than the ten-dimensional\ngravitational Planck scale by tuning the string coupling to be very small or\nthe Euler number to be very large. We also study the width of the localization\nand discuss the problems for constructing realistic string models with no\ncompact extra dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Recent Developments in Line Bundle Cohomology and Applications to String\n  Phenomenology: Vector bundle cohomology represents a key ingredient for string\nphenomenology, being associated with the massless spectrum arising in string\ncompactifications on smooth compact manifolds. Although standard algorithmic\ntechniques exist for performing cohomology calculations, they are laborious and\nill-suited for scanning over large sets of string compactifications to find\nthose most relevant to particle physics. In this article we review some recent\nprogress in deriving closed-form expressions for line bundle cohomology and\ndiscuss some applications to string phenomenology.",
        "positive": "MGD-decoupled black holes, anisotropic fluids and holographic\n  entanglement entropy: The holographic entanglement entropy (HEE) is investigated for a black hole\nunder the minimal geometric deformation (MGD) procedure, created by\ngravitational decoupling via an anisotropic fluid, in an AdS/CFT on the brane\nsetup. The respective HEE corrections are computed and confronted to the\ncorresponding corrections for both the standard MGD black holes and the\nSchwarzschild ones."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Trace anomaly for non-relativistic fermions: We study the coupling of a 2+1 dimensional non-relativistic spin 1/2 fermion\nto a curved Newton-Cartan geometry, using null reduction from an\nextra-dimensional relativistic Dirac action in curved spacetime. We analyze\nWeyl invariance in detail: we show that at the classical level it is preserved\nin an arbitrary curved background, whereas at the quantum level it is broken by\nanomalies. We compute the trace anomaly using the Heat Kernel method and we\nshow that the anomaly coefficients a, c are proportional to the relativistic\nones for a Dirac fermion in 3+1 dimensions. As for the previously studied\nscalar case, these coefficents are proportional to 1/m, where m is the\nnon-relativistic mass of the particle.",
        "positive": "The Toric SO(10) F-Theory Landscape: Supergravity theories in more than four dimensions with grand unified gauge\nsymmetries are an important intermediate step towards the ultraviolet\ncompletion of the Standard Model in string theory. Using toric geometry, we\nclassify and analyze six-dimensional F-theory vacua with gauge group SO(10)\ntaking into account Mordell-Weil U(1) and discrete gauge factors. We determine\nthe full matter spectrum of these models, including charged and neutral SO(10)\nsinglets. Based solely on the geometry, we compute all matter multiplicities\nand confirm the cancellation of gauge and gravitational anomalies independent\nof the base space. Particular emphasis is put on symmetry enhancements at the\nloci of matter fields and to the frequent appearance of superconformal points.\nThey are linked to non-toric K\\\"ahler deformations which contribute to the\ncounting of degrees of freedom. We compute the anomaly coefficients for these\ntheories as well by using a base-independent blow-up procedure and\nsuperconformal matter transitions. Finally, we identify six-dimensional\nsupergravity models which can yield the Standard Model with high-scale\nsupersymmetry by further compactification to four dimensions in an Abelian flux\nbackground."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "No Scalar-Haired Cauchy Horizon Theorem in Einstein-Maxwell-Horndeski\n  Theories: Recently, a no inner (Cauchy) horizon theorem for static black holes with\nnon-trivial scalar hairs has been proved in Einstein-Maxwell-scalar theories.\nIn this paper, we extend the theorem to the static black holes in\nEinstein-Maxwell-Horndeski theories. We study the black hole interior geometry\nfor some exact solutions and find that the spacetime has a (space-like)\ncurvature singularity where the black hole mass gets an extremum and the\nHawking temperature vanishes. We discuss further extensions of the theorem,\nincluding general Horndeski theories from disformal transformations.",
        "positive": "Simulated Annealing for Topological Solitons: The search for solutions of field theories allowing for topological solitons\nrequires that we find the field configuration with the lowest energy in a given\nsector of topological charge. The standard approach is based on the numerical\nsolution of the static Euler-Lagrange differential equation following from the\nfield energy. As an alternative, we propose to use a simulated annealing\nalgorithm to minimize the energy functional directly. We have applied simulated\nannealing to several nonlinear classical field theories: the sine-Gordon model\nin one dimension, the baby Skyrme model in two dimensions and the nuclear\nSkyrme model in three dimensions. We describe in detail the implementation of\nthe simulated annealing algorithm, present our results and get independent\nconfirmation of the studies which have used standard minimization techniques."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "$T\\bar{T}$ deformation of random matrices: We define and study the $T\\bar{T}$ deformation of a random matrix model,\nshowing a consistent definition requires the inclusion of both the perturbative\nand non-perturbative solutions to the flow equation. The deformed model is well\ndefined for arbitrary values of the coupling, exhibiting a phase transition for\nthe critical value in which the spectrum complexifies. The transition is\nbetween a single and a double-cut phase, typically third order and in the same\nuniversality class as the Gross-Witten transition in lattice gauge theory. The\n$T\\bar{T}$ deformation of a double scaled model is more subtle and complicated,\nand we are not able to give a compelling definition, although we discuss\nobstacles and possible alternatives. Preliminary comparisons with finite\ncut-off Jackiw-Teitelboim gravity are presented.",
        "positive": "Negative modes of Coleman-de Luccia and black hole bubbles: We study the negative modes of gravitational instantons representing vacuum\ndecay in asymptotically flat space-time. We consider two different vacuum decay\nscenarios: the Coleman-de Luccia $\\mathrm{O}(4)$-symmetric bubble, and\n$\\mathrm{O}(3) \\times \\mathbb{R}$ instantons with a static black hole. In spite\nof the similarities between the models, we find qualitatively different\nbehaviours. In the $\\mathrm{O}(4)$-symmetric case, the number of negative modes\nis known to be either one or infinite, depending on the sign of the kinetic\nterm in the quadratic action. In contrast, solving the mode equation\nnumerically for the static black hole instanton, we find only one negative mode\nwith the kinetic term always positive outside the event horizon. The absence of\nadditional negative modes supports the interpretation of these solutions as\ngiving the tunnelling rate for false vacuum decay seeded by microscopic black\nholes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Field Theories Without a Holographic Dual: In applying the gauge-gravity duality to the quark-gluon plasma, one models\nthe plasma using a particular kind of field theory with specified values of the\ntemperature, magnetic field, and so forth. One then assumes that the bulk, an\nasymptotically AdS black hole spacetime with properties chosen to match those\nof the boundary field theory, can be embedded in string theory. But this is not\nalways the case: there are field theories with no bulk dual. The question is\nwhether these theories might include those used to study the actual plasmas\nproduced at such facilities as the RHIC experiment or the relevant experiments\nat the LHC. We argue that, \\emph{provided} that due care is taken to include\nthe effects of the angular momentum associated with the magnetic fields\nexperienced by the plasmas produced by peripheral collisions, the existence of\nthe dual can be established for the RHIC plasmas. In the case of the LHC\nplasmas, the situation is much more doubtful.",
        "positive": "SU3 isoscalar factors: A summary of the properties of the Wigner Clebsch-Gordan coefficients and\nisoscalar factors for the group SU3 in the SU2$\\otimes$U1 decomposition is\npresented. The outer degeneracy problem is discussed in detail with a proof of\na conjecture (Braunschweig's) which has been the basis of previous work on the\nSU3 coupling coefficients. Recursion relations obeyed by the SU3 isoscalar\nfactors are produced, along with an algorithm which allows numerical\ndetermination of the factors from the recursion relations. The algorithm\nproduces isoscalar factors which share all the symmetry properties under\npermutation of states and conjugation which are familiar from the SU2 case. The\nfull set of symmetry properties for the SU3 Wigner-Clebsch-Gordan coefficients\nand isoscalar factors are displayed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Scalar Casimir effect in a high-dimensional cosmic dispiration spacetime: In this paper we present a complete and detailed analysis of the calculation\nof both the Wightman function and the vacuum expectation value of the\nenergy-momentum tensor that arise from quantum vacuum fluctuations of massive\nand massless scalar fields in the cosmic dispiration spacetime, which is formed\nby the combination of two topological defects: a cosmic string and a screw\ndislocation. This spacetime is obtained in the framework of the Einstein-Cartan\ntheory of gravity and is considered to be a chiral space-like cosmic string.\nFor completeness we perform the calculation in a high-dimensional spacetime,\nwith flat extra dimensions. We found closed expressions for the the\nenergy-momentum tensor and, in particular, in (3+1)-dimensions, we compare our\nresults with existing previous ones in the literature for the massless scalar\nfield case.",
        "positive": "On the Road Towards the Quantum Geometer's Universe: An Introduction to\n  Four-Dimensional Supersymmetric Quantum Field Theories: This brief set of notes presents a modest introduction to the basic features\nentering the construction of supersymmetric quantum field theories in\nfour-dimensional Minkowski spacetime, building a bridge from similar lectures\npresented at a previous Workshop of this series, and reaching only at the\ndoorstep of the full edifice of such theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Divergences of the scalar sector of quadratic gravity: The divergences coming from a particular sector of gravitational fluctuations\naround a generic background in general theories of quadratic gravity are\nanalyzed. They can be summarized in a particular type of scalar model, whose\nproperties are analyzed.",
        "positive": "Note About Canonical Description of T-duality Along Light-Like Isometry: In this short note we analyze canonical description of T-duality along\nlight-like isometry. We show that T-duality of relativistic string theory on\nthis background leads to non-relativistic string theory action on T-dual\nbackground."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "An $\u03b1'$-complete theory of cosmology and its tensionless limit: We explore the exactly duality invariant higher-derivative extension of\ndouble field theory due to Hohm, Siegel and Zwiebach (HSZ) specialized to\ncosmological backgrounds. Despite featuring a finite number of derivatives in\nits original formulation, this theory encodes infinitely many $\\alpha'$\ncorrections for metric, B-field and dilaton, which are obtained upon\nintegrating out certain extra fields. We perform a cosmological reduction with\nfields depending only on time and show consistency of this truncation. We\ncompute the $\\alpha'^4$ coefficients of the general cosmological\nclassification. As a possible model for how to deal with all $\\alpha'$\ncorrections in string theory we give a two-derivative reformulation in which\nthe extra fields are kept. The corresponding Friedmann equations are then\nordinary second order differential equations that capture all $\\alpha'$\ncorrections. We explore the tensionless limit $\\alpha'\\rightarrow \\infty$,\nwhich features string frame de Sitter vacua, and we set up perturbation theory\nin $\\frac{1}{\\alpha'}$.",
        "positive": "Four Dimensional Gravitational Backgrounds Based on N=4 c=4\n  Superconformal Systems: We propose two new realizations of the N=4, $\\hat{c}=4$ superconformal system\nbased on the compact and non-compact versions of parafermionic algebras. The\ntarget space interpretation of these systems is given in terms of\nfour-dimensional target spaces with non-trivial metric and topology different\nfrom the previously known four-dimensional semi-wormhole realization. The\nproposed $\\hat{c}=4$ systems can be used as a building block to construct\nperturbatively stable superstring solutions with covariantized target space\nsupersymmetry around non-trivial gravitational and dilaton backgrounds."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic principle in spacetimes with extra spatial dimensions: F. Scardigli and R. Casadio have considered uncertainty principles which take\ninto account the role of gravity and possible existence of extra spatial\ndimensions. They have argued that the predicted number of degrees of freedom\nenclosed in a given spatial volume matches the holographic counting only for\none of the available generalization and without extra dimensions. Taking into\naccount the additional inevitable source of uncertainty in distance\nmeasurement, which is missed in their approach, we show that the holographic\nproperties of the proposed uncertainty principle is recovered in the models\nwith extra spatial dimensions.",
        "positive": "Causality in 3D Massive Gravity Theories: We study the constraints coming from local causality requirement in various\n$2+1$ dimensional dynamical theories of gravity. In topologically massive\ngravity, with a single parity non-invariant massive degree of freedom, and in\nnew massive gravity, with two massive spin-$2$ degrees of freedom, causality\nand unitarity are compatible with each other and both require the Newton's\nconstant to be negative. In their extensions, such as the Born-Infeld gravity\nand the minimal massive gravity the situation is similar and quite different\nfrom their higher dimensional counterparts, such as quadratic (e.g.,\nEinstein-Gauss-Bonnet) or cubic theories, where causality and unitarity are in\nconflict. We study the problem both in asymptotically flat and asymptotically\nanti-de Sitter spaces."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Stable Hierarchical Quantum Hall Fluids as W-(1 + infinity) Minimal\n  Models: In this paper, we pursue our analysis of the W-infinity symmetry of the\nlow-energy edge excitations of incompressible quantum Hall fluids. These\nexcitations are described by (1+1)-dimensional effective field theories, which\nare built by representations of the W-infinity algebra. Generic W-infinity\ntheories predict many more fluids than the few, stable ones found in\nexperiments. Here we identify a particular class of W-infinity theories, the\nminimal models, which are made of degenerate representations only - a familiar\nconstruction in conformal field theory. The W-infinity minimal models exist for\nspecific values of the fractional conductivity, which nicely fit the\nexperimental data and match the results of the Jain hierarchy of quantum Hall\nfluids. We thus obtain a new hierarchical construction, which is based uniquely\non the concept of quantum incompressible fluid and is independent of Jain's\napproach and hypotheses. Furthermore, a surprising non-Abelian structure is\nfound in the W-infinity minimal models: they possess neutral quark-like\nexcitations with SU(m) quantum numbers and non-Abelian fractional statistics.\nThe physical electron is made of anyon and quark excitations. We discuss some\nproperties of these neutral excitations which could be seen in experiments and\nnumerical simulations.",
        "positive": "Quasitriangular WZW model: A dynamical system is canonically associated to every Drinfeld double of any\naffine Kac-Moody group. The choice of the affine Lu-Weinstein-Soibelman double\ngives a smooth one-parameter deformation of the standard WZW model. In\nparticular, the worldsheet and the target of the classical version of the\ndeformed theory are the ordinary smooth manifolds. The quasitriangular WZW\nmodel is exactly solvable and it admits the chiral decomposition.Its classical\naction is not invariant with respect to the left and right action of the loop\ngroup, however it satisfies the weaker condition of the Poisson-Lie symmetry.\nThe structure of the deformed WZW model is characterized by several ordinary\nand dynamical r-matrices with spectral parameter. They describe the q-deformed\ncurrent algebras, they enter the definition of q-primary fields and they\ncharacterize the quasitriangular exchange (braiding) relations. Remarkably, the\nsymplectic structure of the deformed chiral WZW theory is cocharacterized by\nthe same elliptic dynamical r-matrix that appears in the Bernard generalization\nof the Knizhnik-Zamolodchikov equation, with q entering the modular parameter\nof the Jacobi theta functions. This reveals a tantalizing connection between\nthe classical q-deformed WZW model and the quantum standard WZW theory on\nelliptic curves and opens the way for the systematic use of the dynamical Hopf\nalgebroids in the rational q-conformal field theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Generalised Scale Invariant Theories: We present the most general actions of a single scalar field and two scalar\nfields coupled to gravity, consistent with second order field equations in four\ndimensions, possessing local scale invariance. We apply two different methods\nto arrive at our results. One method, Ricci gauging, was known to the\nliterature and we find this to produce the same result for the case of one\nscalar field as a more efficient method presented here. However, we also find\nour more efficient method to be much more general when we consider two scalar\nfields. Locally scale invariant actions are also presented for theories with\nmore than two scalar fields coupled to gravity and we explain how one could\nconstruct the most general actions for any number of scalar fields. Our\ngeneralised scale invariant actions have obvious applications to early universe\ncosmology, and include, for example, the Bezrukov-Shaposhnikov action as a\nsubset.",
        "positive": "Effective Action Approach for Preheating: We present a semiclassical non-perturbative approach for calculating the\npreheating process at the end of inflation. Our method involves integrating out\nthe decayed particles within the path integral framework and subsequently\ndetermining world-line instanton solutions in the effective action. This\nenables us to obtain the effective action of the inflaton, with its imaginary\npart linked to the phenomenon of particle creation driven by coherent inflaton\nfield oscillations. Additionally, we utilize the Bogoliubov transformation to\ninvestigate the evolution of particle density within the medium after multiple\ninflaton oscillations. We apply our approach to various final state particles,\nincluding scalar fields, tachyonic fields, and gauge fields. The\nnon-perturbative approach provides analytical results for preheating that are\nin accord with previous methods."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "TBA-like equations and Casimir effect in (non-)perturbative AdS/CFT: We consider high spin, $s$, long twist, $L$, planar operators (asymptotic\nBethe Ansatz) of strong ${\\cal N}=4$ SYM. Precisely, we compute the minimal\nanomalous dimensions for large 't Hooft coupling $\\lambda$ to the lowest order\nof the (string) scaling variable $\\ell \\sim L/ (\\ln \\mathcal{S}\n\\sqrt{\\lambda})$ with GKP string size $\\sim\\ln \\mathcal{S}\\equiv 2 \\ln\n(s/\\sqrt{\\lambda})$. At the leading order $(\\ln \\mathcal{S}) \\cdot \\ell ^2 $,\nwe can confirm the O(6) non-linear sigma model description for this bulk term,\nwithout boundary term $(\\ln \\mathcal{S})^0$. Going further, we derive,\nextending the O(6) regime, the exact effect of the size finiteness. In\nparticular, we compute, at all loops, the first Casimir correction $\\ell ^0/\\ln\n\\mathcal{S}$ (in terms of the infinite size O(6) NLSM), which reveals only one\nmassless mode (out of five), as predictable once the O(6) description has been\nextended. Consequently, upon comparing with string theory expansion, at one\nloop our findings agree for large twist, while reveal for negligible twist,\nalready at this order, the appearance of wrapping. At two loops, as well as for\nnext loops and orders, we can produce predictions, which may guide future\nstring computations.",
        "positive": "Type IIA Moduli Stabilization: We demonstrate that flux compactifications of type IIA string theory can\nclassically stabilize all geometric moduli. For a particular orientifold\nbackground, we explicitly construct an infinite family of supersymmetric vacua\nwith all moduli stabilized at arbitrarily large volume, weak coupling, and\nsmall negative cosmological constant. We obtain these solutions from both\nten-dimensional and four-dimensional perspectives. For more general\nbackgrounds, we study the equations for supersymmetric vacua coming from the\neffective superpotential and show that all geometric moduli can be stabilized\nby fluxes. We comment on the resulting picture of statistics on the landscape\nof vacua."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dynamical analysis of the cosmology of mass-varying massive gravity: We study cosmological evolutions of the generalized model of nonlinear\nmassive gravity in which the graviton mass is given by a rolling scalar field\nand is varying along time. By performing dynamical analysis, we derive the\ncritical points of this system and study their stabilities. These critical\npoints can be classified into two categories depending on whether they are\nidentical with the traditional ones obtained in General Relativity. We discuss\nthe cosmological implication of relevant critical points.",
        "positive": "The Scale of Inflation in the Landscape: We determine the frequency of regions of small-field inflation in the Wigner\nlandscape as an approximation to random supergravities/type IIB flux\ncompactifications. We show that small-field inflation occurs exponentially more\noften than large-field inflation The power of primordial gravitational waves\nfrom inflation is generically tied to the scale of inflation. For small-field\nmodels this is below observational reach. However, we find small-field\ninflation to be dominated by the highest inflationary energy scales compatible\nwith a sub-Planckian field range. Hence, we expect a typical tensor-to-scalar\nratio $r\\sim {\\cal O}(10^{-3})$ currently undetectable in upcoming CMB\nmeasurements."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The four-loop six-gluon NMHV ratio function: We use the hexagon function bootstrap to compute the ratio function which\ncharacterizes the next-to-maximally-helicity-violating (NMHV) six-point\namplitude in planar $\\mathcal{N} = 4$ super-Yang-Mills theory at four loops. A\npowerful constraint comes from dual superconformal invariance, in the form of a\n$\\bar{Q}$ differential equation, which heavily constrains the first derivatives\nof the transcendental functions entering the ratio function. At four loops, it\nleaves only a 34-parameter space of functions. Constraints from the collinear\nlimits, and from the multi-Regge limit at the leading-logarithmic (LL) and\nnext-to-leading-logarithmic (NLL) order, suffice to fix these parameters and\nobtain a unique result. We test the result against multi-Regge predictions at\nNNLL and N$^3$LL, and against predictions from the operator product expansion\ninvolving one and two flux-tube excitations; all cross-checks are satisfied. We\nstudy the analytical and numerical behavior of the parity-even and parity-odd\nparts on various lines and surfaces traversing the three-dimensional space of\ncross ratios. As part of this program, we characterize all irreducible hexagon\nfunctions through weight eight in terms of their coproduct. We also provide\nrepresentations of the ratio function in particular kinematic regions in terms\nof multiple polylogarithms.",
        "positive": "Deformation of BF theories, Topological Open Membrane and A\n  Generalization of The Star Deformation: We consider a deformation of the BF theory in any dimension by means of the\nantifield BRST formalism. Possible consistent interaction terms for the action\nand the gauge symmetries are analyzed and we find a new class of topological\ngauge theories. Deformations of the world volume BF theory are considered as\npossible deformations of the topological open membrane. Therefore if we\nconsider these theories on open membranes, we obtain noncommutative structures\nof the boundaries of open membranes, and we propose a generalization of the\npath integral representation of the star deformation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Four dimensional supersymmetric Yang-Mills quantum mechanics with three\n  colors: The $D=4$ supersymmetric Yang-Mills quantum mechanics with $SU(2)$ and\n$SU(3)$ gauge symmetry groups is studied. A numerical method to find finite\nmatrix representation of the Hamiltonian is presented in detail. It is used to\nfind spectrum of the theory. In the $SU(2)$ case there are bound states in all\nchannels with definite total number of fermions and angular momentum. For 2,3,4\nfermions continuous and discrete spectra coexist in the same range of energies.\nThese results are confirmation of earlier studies. With $SU(3)$ gauge group,\nthe continuous spectrum is moved to sectors with more fermions. Supersymmetry\ngenerators are used to identify supermultiplets and determine the level of\nrestoration of supersymmetry for a finite cutoff. For both theories, with\n$SU(2)$ and $SU(3)$ symmetry, wavefunctions are studied and different behavior\nof bound and scattering states is observed.",
        "positive": "Where does Cosmological Perturbation Theory Break Down?: We apply the effective field theory approach to the coupled metric-inflaton\nsystem, in order to investigate the impact of higher dimension operators on the\nspectrum of scalar and tensor perturbations in the short-wavelength regime. In\nboth cases, effective corrections at tree-level become important when the\nHubble parameter is of the order of the Planck mass, or when the physical wave\nnumber of a cosmological perturbation mode approaches the square of the Planck\nmass divided by the Hubble constant. Thus, the cut-off length below which\nconventional cosmological perturbation theory does not apply is likely to be\nmuch smaller than the Planck length. This has implications for the\nobservability of \"trans-Planckian\" effects in the spectrum of primordial\nperturbations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic Scattering Amplitudes: Inspired by ancient astronomy, we propose a holographic description of\nperturbative scattering amplitudes, as integrals over a `celestial sphere'.\nSince Lorentz invariance, local interactions, and particle propagations all\ntake place in a four-dimensional space-time, it is not trivial to accommodate\nthem in a lower-dimensional `celestial sphere'. The details of this task will\nbe discussed step by step, resulting in the Cachazo-He-Yuan (CHY) and similar\nscattering amplitudes, thereby providing them with a holographic non-string\ninterpretation.",
        "positive": "New dimer integrable systems and defects in five dimensional gauge\n  theory: We study the relation between the quantum integrable systems derived from the\ndimer graphs and five dimensional $\\mathcal{N}=1$ supersymmetric gauge theories\non $S^1 \\times \\mathbb{R}^4$. We construct integrable systems based on new\ndimer graphs obtained from modification of hexagon dimer diagram. We study the\ngauge theories in correspondence to the newly proposed integrable systems. By\nexamining three types of defects -- a line defect, a canonical co-dimensional\ntwo defect and a monodromy defect -- in five-dimensional gauge theory with\n$\\mathcal{N}=1$ supersymmetry and\n$\\Omega_{\\varepsilon_1,\\varepsilon_2}$-background. We identify, in the\n$\\varepsilon_2 \\to 0$ limit, the canonical co-dimensional two defect satisfying\nthe Baxter T-Q equation of the generalized $A$-type dimer integrable system,\nand the monodromy defect as its common eigenstate of the commuting\nHamiltonians, with the eigenvalues being the expectation value of the BPS\nWilson loop in the anti-symmetric representation of the bulk gauge group."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Topological structure of the vortex solution in Jackiw-Pi model: By using $\\phi$ -mapping method, we discuss the topological structure of the\nself-duality solution in Jackiw-Pi model in terms of gauge potential\ndecomposition. We set up relationship between Chern-Simons vortices solution\nand topological number which is determined by Hopf index and and Brouwer\ndegree. We also give the quantization of flux in the case. Then, we study the\nangular momentum of the vortex, it can be expressed in terms of the flux.",
        "positive": "Non-Lorentzian IIB Supergravity from a Polynomial Realization of SL(2,R): We derive the action and symmetries of the bosonic sector of non-Lorentzian\nIIB supergravity by taking the non-relativistic string limit. We find that the\nbosonic field content is extended by a Lagrange multiplier that implements a\nrestriction on the Ramond-Ramond fluxes. We show that the SL(2,R)\ntransformation rules of non-Lorentzian IIB supergravity form a novel, nonlinear\npolynomial realization. Using classical invariant theory of polynomial\nequations and binary forms, we will develop a general formalism describing the\npolynomial realization of SL(2,R) and apply it to the special case of\nnon-Lorentzian IIB supergravity. Using the same formalism, we classify all the\nrelevant SL(2,R) invariants. Invoking other bosonic symmetries, such as the\nlocal boost and dilatation symmetry, we show how the bosonic part of the\nnon-Lorentzian IIB supergravity action is formed uniquely from these SL(2,R)\ninvariants. This work also points towards the concept of a non-Lorentzian\nbootstrap, where bosonic symmetries in non-Lorentzian supergravity are used to\nbootstrap the bosonic dynamics in Lorentzian supergravity, without considering\nthe fermions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Discrete analogs of the Darboux-Egoroff metrics: Discrete analogs of the Darboux-Egoroff metrics are considered. It is shown\nthat the corresponding lattices in the Euclidean space are described by\ndiscrete analogs of the Lame equations. It is proved that up to a gauge\ntransformation these equations are necessary and sufficient for discrete\nanalogs of rotation coefficients to exist. Explicit examples of the\nDarboux-Egoroff lattices are constructed by means of algebro-geometric methods.",
        "positive": "Gauge fixing and metric independence in topological quantum theories: We consider topological gauge theories in three dimensions which are defined\nby metric independent lagrangians. It has been claimed that the functional\nintegration necessarily depends nontrivially on the gauge-fixing metric. We\ndemonstrate that the partition function and the mean values of the gauge\ninvariant observables do not really depend on the gauge-fixing metric."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Brief History of the Stringy Instanton: The arcane ADHM construction of Yang-Mills instantons can be very naturally\nunderstood in the framework of D-brane dynamics in string theory. In this\npoint-of-view, the mysterious auxiliary symmetry of the ADHM construction\narises as a gauge symmetry and the instantons are modified at short distances\nwhere string effects become important. By decoupling the stringy effects, one\ncan recover all the instanton formalism, including the all-important volume\nform on the instanton moduli space. We describe applications of the instanton\ncalculus to the AdS/CFT correspondence and higher derivative terms in the\nD3-brane effective action. In these applications, there is an interesting\nrelation between instanton partition functions, the Euler characteristic of\ninstanton moduli space and modular symmetry. We also describe how it is now\npossible to do multi-instanton calculations in gauge theory and we resolve an\nold puzzle involving the gluino condensate in supersymmetric QCD.",
        "positive": "Classical and Thermodynamic Stability of Black Branes: It is argued that many non-extremal black branes exhibit a classical\nGregory-Laflamme instability if, and only if, they are locally\nthermodynamically unstable. For some black branes, the Gregory-Laflamme\ninstability must therefore disappear near extremality. For the black $p$-branes\nof the type II supergravity theories, the Gregory-Laflamme instability\ndisappears near extremality for $p=1,2,4$ but persists all the way down to\nextremality for $p=5,6$ (the black D3-brane is not covered by the analysis of\nthis paper). This implies that the instability also vanishes for the\nnear-extremal black M2 and M5-brane solutions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Casimir operators induced by Maurer-Cartan equations: It is shown that for inhomogeneous Lie algebras\n$\\frak{g}=\\frak{s}\\overrightarrow{\\oplus}_{\\Lambda}(\\dim \\Lambda)L_{1}$\nsatisfying the condition $\\mathcal{N}(\\frak{g})=1$, the only Casimir operator\ncan be explicitly constructed from the Maurer-Cartan equations by means of\nwedge products. It is shown that this constraint imposes sharp bounds for the\ndimension of the representation $R$. The procedure is generalized to compute\nalso the rational invariant of some Lie algebras.",
        "positive": "Crosscap States in Integrable Field Theories and Spin Chains: We study crosscap states in integrable field theories and spin chains in 1+1\ndimensions. We derive an exact formula for overlaps between the crosscap state\nand any excited state in integrable field theories with diagonal scattering. We\nthen compute the crosscap entropy, i.e. the overlap for the ground state, in\nsome examples. In the examples we analyzed, the result turns out to decrease\nmonotonically along the renormalization group flow except in cases where the\ndiscrete symmetry is spontaneously broken in the infrared. We next introduce\ncrosscap states in integrable spin chains, and obtain determinant expressions\nfor the overlaps with energy eigenstates. These states are long-range entangled\nand their entanglement entropy grows linearly until the size of the subregion\nreaches half the system size. This property is reminiscent of pure-state black\nholes in holography and makes them interesting for use as initial conditions of\nquantum quench. As side results, we propose a generalization of Zamolodchikov's\nstaircase model to flows between D-series minimal models, and discuss the\nrelation to fermionic minimal models and the GSO projection."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Factorization of colored knot polynomials at roots of unity: From analysis of a big variety of different knots we conclude that at q which\nis an root of unity, q^{2m}=1, HOMFLY polynomials in symmetric representations\n[r] satisfy recursion identity: H_{r+m} = H_r H_m for any A, which is a\ngeneralization of the property H_r = (H_1)^r for special polynomials at q=1. We\nconjecture a natural generalization to arbitrary representation R, which,\nhowever, is checked only for torus knots. Next, Kashaev polynomial, which\narises from H_R at q=exp(i\\pi/|R|), turns equal to the special polynomial with\nA substituted by A^|R|, provided R is a single-hook representations (e.g.\narbitrary symmetric) -- what provides a q-A dual to the similar property of\nAlexander polynomial. All this implies non-trivial relations for the\ncoefficients of the differential expansions, which are believed to provide\nreasonable coordinates in the space of knots -- existence of such universal\nrelations means that these variables are still not unconstrained.",
        "positive": "$G_2$ Holonomy, Taubes' Construction of Seiberg-Witten Invariants and\n  Superconducting Vortices: Using a reformulation of topological ${\\cal N}=2$ QFT's in M-theory setup,\nwhere QFT is realized via M5 branes wrapping co-associative cycles in a $G_2$\nmanifold constructed from the space of self-dual 2-forms over $X^4$, we show\nthat superconducting vortices are mapped to M2 branes stretched between M5\nbranes. This setup provides a physical explanation of Taubes' construction of\nthe Seiberg-Witten invariants when $X^4$ is symplectic and the superconducting\nvortices are realized as pseudo-holomorphic curves. This setup is general\nenough to realize topological QFT's arising from ${\\cal N}=2$ QFT's from all\nGaiotto theories on arbitrary 4-manifolds."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Composite fields approach to Gribov copies elimination in Yang-Mills\n  theories: We suggest a method of introducing the Gribov--Zwanziger horizon functional,\n$H$, for Yang--Mills theories by using the composite fields technique: $\\sigma\n(\\phi )=H$. A different form of the same horizon functional in gauges $\\chi $\nand $\\chi ^{\\prime }$ is taken into account via (gauged) field-dependent BRST\ntransformations connecting quantum Yang--Mills actions in these gauges. We\nintroduce generating functionals of Green's functions with composite fields and\nderive the corresponding Ward identities. A study of gauge dependence shows\nthat the effective action in Yang--Mills theories with the composite field $H$\ndoes not depend on the gauge on the extremals determined by the Yang--Mills\nfields $\\phi $ alone.",
        "positive": "Thermal one-point functions and single-valued polylogarithms: I point out that the thermal one-point functions of a pair of relevant\noperators in massive free QFTs, in odd dimensions and in the presence of an\nimaginary chemical potential for a U(1) global charge, are given by certain\nclasses of single-valued polylogarithms. This result is verified by a direct\ncalculation using the thermal OPE. The complex argument of the polylogarithms\nparametrize a two-dimensional subspace of relevant deformations of generalised\nfree CFTs, while the rank of the polylogarithms is related to the dimension d.\nThis may be compared with the well-known representation of single-valued\npolylogarithms as multiloop Feynman amplitudes. As an example, the thermal\none-point function of the U(1) charge in d-dimensions generalises the thermal\naverage of the twist operator in a pair of harmonic oscillators and is given by\nthe well-known conformal ladder graphs in four dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "T-duality of D-brane versus O-plane actions: It is known that, in the static gauge, the world-volume and the transverse\nKaluza-Klein (KK) reductions of the O-plane effective actions on a circle\nsatisfy the T-duality constraint for arbitrary base space background. In this\npaper we show that due to the presence of the second fundamental form in the\nD-brane couplings at order $\\alpha'$ and higher, the T-duality is satisfied\nonly for a subclass of couplings for arbitrary base space background. They are\n$m=0$ couplings where $m$ is the number of $\\tilde{B}$-field (without\nderivative on it). For $m>0$ couplings, the base space metric must be\nblock-diagonal and the momentum $U(1)$ vector field must be zero. However, the\nderivatives of the metric and the vector field are arbitrary.\n  Using the assumption that the effective actions at the critical dimension are\nbackground independent, we then show that the T-duality constraint for the\ncouplings at order $\\alpha'$ and for $m=0$, fixes completely both bulk and\nboundary actions. These couplings indicate that the propagators of the massless\nopen string fields receive $\\alpha'$-correction.\n  We have also imposed the T-duality constraint on $m=1,2,3,4$ couplings.\nBecause of the above restriction on the base space background in these cases,\nhowever, the T-duality can only partially fix the couplings for $m>0$. This\nstudy shows that the Dirac-Born-Infeld (DBI) factor appears in both bulk and\nboundary actions at order $\\alpha'$.",
        "positive": "Gravitons and Loops: The recently proposed loop representation, used previously to find exact\nsolutions to the quantum constraints of general relativity, is here used to\nquantize linearized general relativity. The Fock space of graviton states and\nits associated algebra of observables are represented in terms of functionals\nof loops. The ``reality conditions'' are realized by an inner product that is\nchiral asymmetric, resulting in a chiral asymmetric ordering for the\nHamiltonian and in an asymmetric description of the left and right handed\ngravitons. This chirally asymmetric formulation depends on a splitting of the\nlinearized field into self-dual and anti-self dual parts rather than into\npositive and negative frequency parts; as the former, but not the latter, is\nmeaningful away from flat backgrounds this is expected to be useful in\nconnecting the nonperturbative theory to the linearized theory. The formalism\ndepends on an arbitrary ``averaging'' function that controls certain\ndivergences, but does not appear in the final physical quantities. Inspite of\nthese somewhat unusual features, the loop quntization presented here is\ncompletely equivalent to the standard quantization of linearized gravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exact solutions in quantum field theory under rotation: We discuss the construction and properties of rigidly-rotating states for\nfree scalar and fermion fields in quantum field theory. On unbounded Minkowski\nspace-time, we explain why such states do not exist for scalars. For the Dirac\nfield, we are able to construct rotating vacuum and thermal states, for which\nexpectation values can be computed exactly in the massless case. We compare\nthese quantum expectation values with the corresponding quantities derived in\nrelativistic kinetic theory.",
        "positive": "Toroidal Black Holes and T-duality: We consider the toroidal black holes that arise as a generalization of the\nAdS_5 times S^5 solution of type IIB supergravity. The symmetries of the\nhorizon space allow T-duality transformations that can be exploited to generate\nnew inequivalent black hole solutions of both type IIB and type IIA\nsupergravity, with non-trivial dilaton, B-field, and RR forms. We examine the\nasymptotic structure and thermodynamical properties of these solutions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Testing the Uniqueness of the Open Bosonic String Field Theory Vacuum: The operators K_n are generators of reparameterization symmetries of Witten's\ncubic open string field theory. One pertinent question is whether they can be\nutilised to generate deformations of the tachyon vacuum and thereby violate its\nuniqueness. We use level truncation to show that these transformations on the\nvacuum are in fact pure gauge transformations to a very high accuracy, thus\ngiving new evidence for the uniqueness of the perturbatively stable vacuum.\nEquivalently, this result implies the vanishing of some discrete cohomology\nclasses of the BRST operator in the stable vacuum.",
        "positive": "Causality in String Field Theory: In this letter, we will investigate causality in string field theory using\npp-wave light-cone gauge string field theory. We will generalize the Ramsey\nscheme to string field theory, and use it to analyze string field theoretical\nprocesses. An explicit characteristic function for interactive string field\ntheory will be built using this string field theoretical Ramsey scheme. The\naverage of the difference between the initial and final values of any operator\ndescribed in string field theory will be obtained using this characteristic\nfunction. We will use the quantum information theoretical technique based on\nquantum fisher information to extract information about such string field\ntheoretical processes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Proof of the Impossibility of Non-Contextual Hidden Variables in All\n  Hilbert Space Dimensions: It is shown that the algebraic structure of finite Heisenberg groups\nassociated with the tensor product of two Hilbert spaces leads to a simple\ndemonstration valid in all Hilbert space dimensions of the impossibility of\nnon-contextual hidden variables.",
        "positive": "Black Holes with Intrinsic Spin: We analyze the general black hole solutions to the four dimensional STU model\nrecently constructed by Chow and Compere. We define a dilute gas limit where\nthe black holes can be interpreted as excited states of an extremal ground\nstate. In this limit we express the black hole entropy and the excitation\nenergy in terms of physical quantities with no need for parametric charges. We\ndiscuss a dual microscopic CFT description that incorporates all electric and\nmagnetic charges. This description is recovered geometrically by identification\nof a near horizon BTZ region. We construct the subtracted geometry with no\nrestrictions on charges by analyzing the scalar wave equation in the full\ngeometry. We determine the matter sources that support the subtracted geometry\nby studying a scaling limit and show that the general geometry permits a dilute\ngas description with parameters that we specify."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Can scalars have asymptotic symmetries?: Recently it has been understood that certain soft factorization theorems for\nscattering amplitudes can be written as Ward identities of new asymptotic\nsymmetries. This relationship has been established for soft particles with\nspins $s > 0$, most notably for soft gravitons and photons. Here we study the\nremaining case of soft scalars. We show that a class of Yukawa-type theories,\nwhere a massless scalar couples to massive particles, have an infinite number\nof conserved charges. This raises the question as to whether one can associate\nasymptotic symmetries to scalars.",
        "positive": "String Theory Realizations of the Nilpotent Goldstino: We describe in detail how the spectrum of a single anti-D3-brane in\nfour-dimensional orientifolded IIB string models reproduces precisely the field\ncontent of a nilpotent chiral superfield with the only physical component\ncorresponding to the fermionic goldstino. In particular we explicitly consider\na single anti-D3-brane on top of an O3-plane in warped throats, induced by\n$(2,1)$ fluxes. More general systems including several anti-branes and other\norientifold planes are also discussed. This provides further evidence to the\nclaim that non-linearly realized supersymmetry due to the presence of\nantibranes in string theory can be described by supersymmetric theories\nincluding nilpotent superfields. Implications to the KKLT and related scenarios\nof de Sitter moduli stabilization, to cosmology and to the structure of soft\nSUSY-breaking terms are briefly discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Generalized Maxwell-Higgs vortices in models with enhanced symmetry: Topological vortices in relativistic gauge theories in flat three-dimensional\nspacetime are investigated. We consider the symmetry $\\rm{U(1)}\\times...\\times\n\\rm{U(1)}$, and for each $\\rm{U(1)}$ subgroup, a complex scalar field\ntransforming under its action is introduced, as well as generalized\npermeabilities through which the subsystems are coupled. We investigate in\ndetail the features of static, finite energy solutions within this class of\ngeneralized Maxwell-Higgs models, and study the effect of the winding numbers\nin the magnetic properties of each subsystem. A BPS bound and the related first\norder equations are introduced for a large class of models. Finally, we present\nsome specific models and solve their equations of motion to find solutions\nengendering many distinct features in relation to each other and to the\nstandard Nielsen-Olesen vortex.",
        "positive": "Charged test-particle scattering and effective one-body metrics with\n  spin: Using recently developed techniques, we consider weak-field test-particle\nscattering angle calculations in two distinct settings: Charged test-particles\nin spacetimes of charged sources and Effective One-Body theory with spin. We\npresent scattering angle calculations up to $\\mathcal O(G^4)$ of charged\nparticles in the Kerr-Newman metric, including electromagnetic interactions up\nto second order in charge. Coulomb scattering is also discussed, and the\nwell-known Darwin scattering formula is rederived by resummation. An Effective\nOne-Body metric for a Kerr-Schwarzschild binary is constructed in a\npost-Minkowskian framework up to $\\mathcal O(G^2)$ and first order in spin.\nFacilitated by explicit scattering calculations, our approach is equivalent\nwith existing literature through gauge-like transformations. Finally, we\ninvestigate if the Newman Janis Algorithm applied to an Effective One-Body\nmetric of non-spinning binaries represents a binary system with spin."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Patching DFT, T-duality and Gerbes: We clarify the role of the dual coordinates as described from the\nperspectives of the Buscher T-duality rules and Double Field Theory. We show\nthat the T-duality angular dual coordinates cannot be identified with Double\nField Theory dual coordinates in any of the proposals that have been made in\nthe literature for patching the doubled spaces. In particular, we show with\nexplicit examples that the T-duality angular dual coordinates can have\nnon-trivial transition functions over a spacetime and that their identification\nwith the Double Field Theory dual coordinates is in conflict with proposals in\nwhich the latter remain inert under the patching of the B-field. We then\ndemonstrate that the Double Field Theory coordinates can be identified with\nsome C-space coordinates and that the T-dual spaces of a spacetime are\nsubspaces of the gerbe in C-space. The construction provides a description of\nboth the local $O(d,d)$ symmetry and the T-dual spaces of spacetime.",
        "positive": "Affine sl(2|1) and D(2|1;alpha) as Vertex Operator Extensions of Dual\n  Affine sl(2) Algebras: We discover a realisation of the affine Lie superalgebra sl(2|1) and of the\nexceptional affine superalgebra D(2|1;alpha) as vertex operator extensions of\ntwo affine sl(2) algebras with dual levels (and an auxiliary level 1 sl(2)\nalgebra). The duality relation between the levels is (k+1)(k'+1)=1. We\nconstruct the representation of sl(2|1) at level k' on a sum of tensor products\nof sl(2) at level k, sl(2) at level k' and sl(2) at level 1 modules and\ndecompose it into a direct sum over the sl(2|1) spectral flow orbit. This\ndecomposition gives rise to character identities, which we also derive. The\nextension of the construction to the affine D(2|1;k') at level k is traced to\nproperties of sl(2)+sl(2)+sl(2) embeddings into D(2|1;alpha) and their relation\nwith the dual sl(2) pairs. Conversely, we show how the level k' sl(2)\nrepresentations are constructed from level k sl(2|1) representations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum mechanical path integrals in curved spaces and the type-A trace\n  anomaly: Path integrals for particles in curved spaces can be used to compute trace\nanomalies in quantum field theories, and more generally to study properties of\nquantum fields coupled to gravity in first quantization. While their\nconstruction in arbitrary coordinates is well understood, and known to require\nthe use of a regularization scheme, in this article we take up an old proposal\nof constructing the path integral by using Riemann normal coordinates. The\nmethod assumes that curvature effects are taken care of by a scalar effective\npotential, so that the particle lagrangian is reduced to that of a linear sigma\nmodel interacting with the effective potential. After fixing the correct\neffective potential, we test the construction on spaces of maximal symmetry and\nuse it to compute heat kernel coefficients and type-A trace anomalies for a\nscalar field in arbitrary dimensions up to d=12. The results agree with\nexpected ones, which are reproduced with great efficiency and extended to\nhigher orders. We prove explicitly the validity of the simplified path integral\non maximally symmetric spaces. This simplified path integral might be of\nfurther use in worldline applications, though its application on spaces of\narbitrary geometry remains unclear.",
        "positive": "Target space entanglement in Matrix Models: We study target space entanglement in gauged multi-matrix models as models of\nentanglement between groups of D-branes separated by a planar entangling\nsurface, paying close attention to the implementation of gauge invariance. We\nopen with a review of target space entanglement between identical particles,\nwhich shares some important features (specifically a gauged permutation\nsymmetry) with our main problem. For our matrix models, we implement a gauge\nfixing well-adapted to the entangling surface. In this gauge, we map the matrix\nmodel problem to that of entanglement of a $U(1)$ gauge theory on a complete or\nall-to-all lattice. Matrix elements corresponding to open strings stretching\nacross the entangling surface in the target space lead to interesting\ncontributions to the entanglement entropy."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "World-Volume Description of M2-branes Ending on an M5-brane and\n  Holography: We consider world-volume description of M2-branes ending on an M5-brane. The\nsystem can be described either as a solitonic solution of the M5-brane field\nequations or in terms of an effective string propagating in 6-dimensions. We\nshow that the zeroth order scalar scattering amplitudes behave similarly in\nboth pictures. The soliton solution appears to have a horizon-like throat\nregion. Due to the underlying geometric structure of the M5-brane theory, modes\npropagating near the horizon are subject to a large red-shift. This allows one\nto define a decoupling limit and implies a holographic duality between two\ntheories which do not contain dynamical gravity.",
        "positive": "Can the string scale be related to the cosmic baryon asymmetry?: In a previous work, a mechanism was presented by which baryon asymmetry can\nbe generated during inflation from elliptically polarized gravitons.\nNonetheless, the mechanism only generated a realistic baryon asymmetry under\nspecial circumstances which requires an enhancement of the lepton number from\nan unspecified GUT. In this note we provide a stringy embedding of this\nmechanism through the Green-Schwarz mechanism, demonstrating that if the\nmodel-independent axion is the source of the gravitational waves responsible\nfor the lepton asymmetry, one can observationally constrain the string scale\nand coupling."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Racah - Wigner quantum 6j Symbols, Ocneanu Cells for AN diagrams, and\n  quantum groupoids: We relate quantum 6J symbols of various types (quantum versions of Wigner and\nRacah symbols) to Ocneanu cells associated with AN Dynkin diagrams. We check\nexplicitly the algebraic structure of the associated quantum groupoids and\nanalyze several examples (A3, A4). Some features relative to cells associated\nwith more general ADE diagrams are also discussed.",
        "positive": "A novel approach to perturbative calculations for a large class of\n  interacting boson theories: We present a method of calculating the interacting S-matrix to an arbitrary\nperturbative order for a large class of boson interaction Lagrangians. The\nmethod takes advantage of a previously unexplored link between the $n$-point\nGreen's function and a certain system of linear Diophantine equations. By\nfinding all nonnegative solutions of the system, the task of perturbatively\nexpanding an interacting $S$-matrix becomes elementary for any number of\ninteracting fields, to an arbitrary perturbative order (irrespective of whether\nit makes physical sense) and for a large class of scalar boson theories. The\nmethod does not rely on the position-based Feynman diagrams and promises to be\nextended to many perturbative models typically studied in quantum field theory.\nAside from interaction field calculations we showcase our approach by expanding\na pair of Unruh-DeWitt detectors coupled to Minkowski vacuum to an arbitrary\nperturbative order in the coupling constant. We also link our result to Hafnian\nas introduced by Caianiello and present a method to list all (2n-1)!! perfect\nmatchings of a complete graph on 2n vertices."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-Invertible Symmetries from Discrete Gauging and Completeness of the\n  Spectrum: We study global 1- and $(d-2)$-form symmetries for gauge theories based on\ndisconnected gauge groups which include charge conjugation. For pure gauge\ntheories, the 1-form symmetries are shown to be non-invertible. In addition,\nbeing the gauge groups disconnected, the theories automatically have a\n$\\mathbb{Z}_2$ global $(d-2)$-form symmetry. We propose String Theory\nembeddings for gauge theories based on these groups. Remarkably, they all\nautomatically come with twist vortices which break the $(d-2)$-form global\nsymmetry. This is consistent with the conjectured absence of global symmetries\nin Quantum Gravity.",
        "positive": "Quantum Topology Change and Large N Gauge Theories: We study a model for dynamical localization of topology using ideas from\nnon-commutative geometry and topology in quantum mechanics. We consider a\ncollection $X$ of $N$ one-dimensional manifolds and the corresponding set of\nboundary conditions (self-adjoint extensions) of the Dirac operator $D$. The\nset of boundary conditions encodes the topology and is parameterized by unitary\nmatrices $g_N$. A particular geometry is described by a spectral triple\n$x(g_N)=(A_X,{\\cal H}_X, D(g_N))$. We define a partition function for the sum\nover all $g_N$. In this model topology fluctuates but the dimension is kept\nfixed. We use the spectral principle to obtain an action for the set of\nboundary conditions. Together with invariance principles the procedure fixes\nthe partition function for fluctuating topologies. In the simplest case the\nmodel has one free-parameter $\\beta $ and it is equivalent to a one plaquette\ngauge theory. We argue that topology becomes localized at $\\beta=\\infty$ for\nany value of $N$. Moreover, the system undergoes a third-order phase transition\nat $\\beta=1$ for large $N$. We give a topological interpretation of the phase\ntransition by looking how it affects the topology."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Ultra Unification: Strong, electromagnetic, and weak forces were unified in the Standard Model\n(SM) with spontaneous gauge symmetry breaking. These forces were further\nconjectured to be unified in a simple Lie group gauge interaction in the Grand\nUnification (GUT). In this work, we propose a theory beyond the SM and GUT by\nadding new gapped Topological Phase Sectors consistent with the nonperturbative\nglobal anomaly cancellation and cobordism constraints (especially from the\nbaryon minus lepton number ${\\bf B}-{\\bf L}$, the electroweak hypercharge $Y$,\nand the mixed gauge-gravitational anomaly). Gapped Topological Phase Sectors\nare constructed via symmetry extension, whose low energy contains unitary\nLorentz invariant topological quantum field theories (TQFTs): either 3+1d\nnon-invertible TQFT, or 4+1d invertible or non-invertible TQFT (short-range or\nlong-range entangled gapped phase). Alternatively, there could also be\nright-handed \"sterile\" neutrinos, gapless unparticle physics, more general\ninteracting conformal field theories, or gravity with topological cobordism\nconstraints, or their combinations to altogether cancel the mixed\ngauge-gravitational anomaly. We propose that a new high-energy physics frontier\nbeyond the conventional 0d particle physics relies on the new Topological Force\nand Topological Matter including gapped extended objects (gapped 1d line and 2d\nsurface operators or defects, etc., whose open ends carry deconfined\nfractionalized particle or anyonic string excitations) or gapless conformal\nmatter. Physical characterizations of these gapped extended objects require the\nmathematical theories of cohomology, cobordism, or category. Although weaker\nthan the weak force, Topological Force is infinite-range or long-range which\ndoes not decay in the distance, and mediates between the linked worldvolume\ntrajectories via fractional or categorical statistical interactions.",
        "positive": "Asymptotic Form of Zero Energy Wave Functions in Supersymmetric Matrix\n  Models: We derive the power law decay, and asymptotic form, of SU(2) x Spin(d)\ninvariant wave-functions which are zero-modes of all s_d=2(d-1) supercharges of\nreduced (d+1)-dimensional supersymmetric SU(2) Yang Mills theory, resp. of the\nSU(2)-matrix model related to supermembranes in d+2 dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Background field and time dependence effects in holographic models: This thesis deals with applications of holographic dualities to the study of\nbackground field and time dependence effects in strongly coupled field\ntheories.\n  The first chapters (2-5) aim to provide a self-contained review of the\nSakai-Sugimoto model (SSM) as a top-down approach to holographic QCD,\nintroducing first the necessary background on QCD, string theory and AdS/CFT.\nChapter 7 reviews finite temperature holography, to be used in the subsequent\nchapters.\n  We use the non-Abelian ($N_f = 2$) SSM to study a possible magnetically\ninduced instability of the QCD vacuum towards a superconducting phase, as\npreviously discussed in phenomenological QCD models and there referred to as\n\"rho meson condensation\". We find that this instability can indeed be\nholographically described by the SSM, and obtain increasingly higher\npredictions for the necessary critical magnetic field in increasingly\ncomplicated (i.e. less simplified) set-ups. The obtained results are presented\nin chapter 6 and are based on arXiv:1105.2217 and arXiv:1309.5042. In chapter 8\nwe discuss the splitting of chiral transition temperatures per flavour in the\nfinite temperature regime of the $N_f = 2$ SSM, indicating an intermediate\nphase where chiral symmetry is only partially restored. This was previously\npresented in arXiv:1303.5674.\n  In chapter 9, instead of a top-down approach, bottom-up models known as\n\"AdS-Vaidya\" models are used in the context of condensed matter applications to\nstudy far-from-equilibrium behaviour of strongly coupled electron systems. A\nnotion of a time-dependent spectral function is defined and calculated in\nReissner-Nordstr\\\"om-AdS$_4$-Vaidya as a very first step towards extracting in\nprinciple measurable quantities in time-resolved ARPES experiments\n[arXiv:1407.5975]. Focus is put on explaining the used numerical method\n(pseudospectral method).",
        "positive": "Exact superpotentials in N=1 theories with flavor and their matrix model\n  formulation: In this note we investigate the effective superpotential of an N=1 SU(N_c)\ngauge theory with one adjoint chiral multiplet and N_f fundamental chiral\nmultiplets. We propose a matrix model prescription in which only matrix model\ndiagrams with less than two boundaries contribute to the gauge theory effective\nsuperpotential. This prescription reproduces exactly the known gauge theory\nphysics for all N_f and $N_c$. For N_f < N_c this is given by the\nAffleck-Dine-Seiberg superpotential. For N_f > N_c we present arguments leading\nto the conclusion that the dynamics of these theories is also reproduced by the\nmatrix model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetric Cubic Interactions For Lower Spins From \"Higher Spin\"\n  Approach: We demonstrate how to reconstruct standard cubic vertices for N=1\nsupersymmetric Yang-Mills and Supergravities using various techniques adopted\nfor the description of cubic interactions between higher spin fields.",
        "positive": "Quantum field theories with boundaries and novel instabilities: Quantum physics on manifolds with boundary brings novel aspects due to\nboundary conditions. One important feature is the appearance of localised\nnegative eigenmodes for the Laplacian on the boundary. These can potentially\nlead to instabilities. We consider quantum field theories on such manifolds and\ninterpret these as leading to the onset of phase transitions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Modified N=2 supersymmetry and Fayet-Iliopoulos terms: We study peculiarities of realization of N=2 supersymmetry in N=2 abelian\ngauge theory with two sorts of FI terms, electric and magnetic ones, within\nmanifestly supersymmetric formulations via the Mezincescu and harmonic-analytic\nprepotentials. We obtain a `magnetic', duality- transformed superfield form of\nthe N=2 Maxwell effective holomorphic action with standard electric $FI$ term\nand demonstrate that in such a system off-shell N=2 supersymmetry is inevitably\nrealized in an unusual Goldstone mode corresponding to the {\\it partial}\nspontaneous breaking down to N=1. On shell, the standard total breaking occurs.\nIn a system with the two sorts of FI terms, off-shell N=2 supersymmetry is\nrealized in the partial breaking mode both in the electric and magnetic\nrepresentations. This regime is retained on shell due to the Antoniadis-\nPartouche-Taylor mechanism. We show that the off-shell algebra of N=2\nsupersymmetry in the partial breaking realization is modified on gauge-variant\nobjects like potentials and prepotentials. The closure of spinor charges\ninvolves some special gauge transformations before any gauge-fixing.",
        "positive": "Reducing heterotic M-theory to five dimensional supergravity on a\n  manifold with boundary: This paper constructs the reduction of heterotic $M$-theory in eleven\ndimensions to a supergravity model on a manifold with boundary in five\ndimensions using a Calabi-Yau three-fold. New results are presented for the\nboundary terms in the action and for the boundary conditions on the bulk\nfields. Some general features of dualisation on a manifold with boundary are\nused to explain the origin of some topological terms in the action. The effect\nof gaugino condensation on the fermion boundary conditions leads to a `twist'\nin the chirality of the gravitino which can provide an uplifting mechanism in\nthe vacuum energy to cancel the cosmological constant after moduli\nstabilisation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "ABJM on ellipsoid and topological strings: It is known that the large N expansion of the partition function in ABJM\ntheory on a three-sphere is completely determined by the topological string on\nlocal Hirzebruch surface F_0. In this note, we investigate the ABJM partition\nfunction on an ellipsoid, which has a conventional deformation parameter b.\nUsing 3d mirror symmetry, we find a remarkable relation between the ellipsoid\npartition function for b^2=3 (or b^2=1/3) in ABJM theory at k=1 and a matrix\nmodel for the topological string on another Calabi-Yau threefold, known as\nlocal P^2. As in the case of b=1, we can compute the full large N expansion of\nthe partition function in this case. This is the first example of the complete\nlarge N solution in ABJM theory on the squashed sphere. Using the obtained\nresults, we also analyze the supersymmetric Renyi entropy.",
        "positive": "Nonlinear differential equations for the correlation functions of the 2D\n  Ising model on the cylinder: We derive determinant representations and nonlinear differential equations\nfor the scaled 2-point functions of the 2D Ising model on the cylinder. These\nequations generalize well-known results for the infinite lattice (Painlev\\'e\nIII equation and the equation for the $\\tau$-function of Painlev\\'e V)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Black rings with fourth dipole cause less hair loss: An example of entropy enigma with a controlled CFT dual was recently studied\nin arXiv:1108.0411. The enigmatic bulk configurations, considered within the\nSTU model, can be mapped under spectral flow into black rings with three\nmonopole and dipole charges. Even though the bulk and CFT configurations\nexisted in the same region of parameter space, the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy\nof the bulk configurations was found to be lower than the microscopic entropy\nfrom the CFT. While it is possible that the difference in entropy is due to the\nbulk and boundary configurations being at different points in the moduli space,\nit is also possible that the bulk configurations embeddable within the STU\nmodel are not the most entropic. New families of BPS black ring solutions with\nfour electric and four dipole magnetic charges have recently been explicitly\nconstructed in arXiv:1201.2585. These black rings are not embeddable within the\nSTU model. In this paper we investigate if these black rings can be\nentropically dominant over the STU model black rings. We find that the new\nblack rings are always entropically subdominant to the STU-model black rings.\nHowever, for small fourth dipole charge these black rings continue to be\ndominant over the BMPV in a small region of parameters and are thus enigmatic.",
        "positive": "BMS Modular Diaries: Torus one-point function: Two dimensional field theories invariant under the Bondi-Metzner-Sachs (BMS)\ngroup are conjectured to be dual to asymptotically flat spacetimes in three\ndimensions. In this paper, we continue our investigations of the modular\nproperties of these field theories. In particular, we focus on the BMS torus\none-point function. We use two different methods to arrive at expressions for\nasymptotic structure constants for general states in the theory utilising\nmodular properties of the torus one-point function. We then concentrate on the\nBMS highest weight representation, and derive a host of new results, the most\nimportant of which is the BMS torus block. In a particular limit of large\nweights, we derive the leading and sub-leading pieces of the BMS torus block,\nwhich we then use to rederive an expression for the asymptotic structure\nconstants for BMS primaries. Finally, we perform a bulk computation of a probe\nscalar in the background of a flatspace cosmological solution based on the\ngeodesic approximation to reproduce our field theoretic results."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Wilson Loops in Open String Theory: Wilson loop elements on torus are introduced into the partition function of\nopen strings as Polyakov's path integral at one-loop level. Mass spectra from\ncompactification and expected symmetry breaking are illustrated by choosing the\ncorrect weight for the contributions from annulus and M\\\"obius strip. We show\nthat Jacobi's imaginary transformation connects the mass spectra with the\nWilson loops. The application to thermopartition function and cosmological\nimplications are briefly discussed.",
        "positive": "Almost-BPS solutions in multi-center Taub-NUT: Microstates of colinear black holes embedded in a multi-center Taub-NUT\nspacetime are sought in 4 dimensions. A set of coupled ordinary partial\ndifferential equations are obtained and solved for almost-BPS states, where\nsome supersymmetry is preserved in the context of N=2 supergravity in 4\ndimensions. The regularity of solutions is being carefully considered and we\nensure that no CTC (closed time-like curves) are present. The larger framework\nis that of 11-dimensional N=2 supergravity and the current theory is obtained\nby compactifying down to 4 dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Thermal one- and two-graviton Green's functions in the temporal gauge: The thermal one- and two-graviton Green's function are computed using a\ntemporal gauge. In order to handle the extra poles which are present in the\npropagator, we employ an ambiguity-free technique in the imaginary-time\nformalism. For temperatures T high compared with the external momentum, we\nobtain the leading T^4 as well as the subleading T^2 and log(T) contributions\nto the graviton self-energy. The gauge fixing independence of the leading T^4\nterms as well as the Ward identity relating the self-energy with the one-point\nfunction are explicitly verified. We also verify the 't Hooft identities for\nthe subleading T^2 terms and show that the logarithmic part has the same\nstructure as the residue of the ultraviolet pole of the zero temperature\ngraviton self-energy. We explicitly compute the extra terms generated by the\nprescription poles and verify that they do not change the behavior of the\nleading and sub-leading contributions from the hard thermal loop region. We\ndiscuss the modification of the solutions of the dispersion relations in the\ngraviton plasma induced by the subleading T^2 contributions.",
        "positive": "Duality invariant self-interactions of abelian p-forms in arbitrary\n  dimensions: We analyze non-linear interactions of 2N-form Maxwell fields in a space-time\nof dimension D=4N. Based on the Pasti-Sorokin-Tonin (PST) method, we derive the\ngeneral consistency condition for the dynamics to respect both manifest\nSO(2)-duality invariance and manifest Lorentz invariance. For a generic\ndimension D=4N, we determine a canonical class of exact solutions of this\ncondition, which represent a generalization of the known non-linear duality\ninvariant Maxwell theories in D=4. The resulting theories are shown to be\nequivalent to a corresponding class of canonical theories formulated a la\nGaillard-Zumino-Gibbons-Rasheed (GZGR), where duality is a symmetry only of the\nequations of motion. In dimension D=8, via a complete solution of the PST\nconsistency condition, we derive new non-canonical manifestly duality invariant\nquartic interactions. Correspondingly, we construct new non-trivial quartic\ninteractions also in the GZGR approach, and establish their equivalence with\nthe former. In the presence of charged dyonic p-brane sources, we reveal a\nbasic physical inequivalence of the two approaches. The power of our method\nresides in its universal character, reducing the construction of non-linear\nduality invariant Maxwell theories to a purely algebraic problem."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Path-integral formula for local thermal equilibrium: We develop a complete path-integral formulation of relativistic quantum\nfields in local thermal equilibrium, which brings about the emergence of\nthermally induced curved spacetime. The resulting action is shown to have full\ndiffeomorphism invariance and gauge invariance in thermal spacetime with\nimaginary-time independent backgrounds. This leads to the notable symmetry\nproperties of emergent thermal spacetime: Kaluza-Klein gauge symmetry, spatial\ndiffeomorphism symmetry, and gauge symmetry. A thermodynamic potential in local\nthermal equilibrium, or the so-called Masseiu-Planck functional, is identified\nas a generating functional for conserved currents such as the energy-momentum\ntensor and the electric current.",
        "positive": "Density response and collective modes of semi-holographic non-Fermi\n  liquids: Semi-holographic models of non-Fermi liquids have been shown to have\ngenerically stable generalised quasi-particles on the Fermi surface. Although\nthese excitations are broad and exhibit particle-hole asymmetry, they were\nargued to be stable from interactions at the Fermi surface. In this work, we\nuse this observation to compute the density response and collective behaviour\nin these systems.\n  Compared to the Fermi liquid case, we find that the boundaries of the\nparticle-hole continuum are blurred by incoherent contributions. However, there\nis a region inside this continuum, that we call inner core, within which\nsalient features of the Fermi liquid case are preserved. A particularly\nstriking prediction of our work is that these systems support a plasmonic\ncollective excitation which is well-defined at large momenta, has an\napproximately linear dispersion relation and is located in the low-energy tail\nof the particle-hole continuum.\n  Furthermore, the dynamic screening potential shows deep attractive regions as\na function of the distance at higher frequencies which might lead to long-lived\npair formation depending on the behaviour of the pair susceptibility. We also\nfind that Friedel oscillations are present in these systems but are highly\nsuppressed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "One-loop tunnelling-induced energetics: Tunnelling between degenerate vacuua is allowed in finite-volume Quantum\nField Theory, and features remarkable energetic properties, which result from\nthe competition of different dominant configurations in the partition function.\nWe derive the one-loop effective potential based on two homogeneous vacuua of\nthe bare theory, and we discuss the resulting Null Energy Condition violation\nin O(4)-symmetric Euclidean spacetime, as a result of a non-extensive effective\naction.",
        "positive": "The Yang Monopole in IIA Superstring: Multi-charge Disease and Enhancon\n  Cure: A brane picture in Type IIA superstring for the Yang Monopole is\nreconsidered. It makes use of D2 and D4-branes wrapped on cycles in the K3\nsurface. When the model was first presented some problems concerning the\ncharges of the monopoles arised. In this paper, they are shown to be cured by\nthe model itself. Surprisingly, the incompatibility between the multi-charge\nconfiguration and the spherical symmetry of the Yang Monopole is seen in the\nbrane description as the emergence of the enhancon shell and the fuzzy\ngeometry. This consistency is deep and surprising, and is the point that\ntriggered this work. It nontrivially relates a purely geometrical problem in\nordinary spacetime with the emergence of noncommutative geometries. Besides,\nthis paper includes an extended model for SO(4)-monopoles, a T-dual model in\nType IIB superstring and an analysis on the possible duality between our model\nand another setup in M-Theory/Heterotics for the Yang monopole found before."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Localization of Fields on a Brane in Six Dimensions: Universe is considered as a brane in infinite (2+4)-space.It is shown that\nzero modes of all kinds of matter fields and 4-gravity are localized on the\nbrane by increasing transversal gravitational potential.",
        "positive": "Faces of matrix models: Partition functions of eigenvalue matrix models possess a number of very\ndifferent descriptions: as matrix integrals, as solutions to linear and\nnon-linear equations, as tau-functions of integrable hierarchies and as\nspecial-geometry prepotentials, as result of the action of W-operators and of\nvarious recursions on elementary input data, as gluing of certain elementary\nbuilding blocks. All this explains the central role of such matrix models in\nmodern mathematical physics: they provide the basic \"special functions\" to\nexpress the answers and relations between them, and they serve as a dream model\nof what one should try to achieve in any other field."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Generalized Hirota Equations in Models of 2D Quantum Gravity: We derive a set of bilinear functional equations of Hirota type for the\npartition functions of the $sl(2)$ related integrable statistical models\ndefined on a random lattice. These equations are obtained as deformations of\nthe Hirota equations for the KP integrable hierarchy, which are satisfied by\nthe partition function of the ensemble of planar graphs.",
        "positive": "Symmetries of the Self-Dual Sector of N=4 Super Yang-Mills on the Light\n  Cone: A recent paper proposes a way of constructing infinite dimensional symmetries\nof the non-supersymmetric self-dual Yang-Mills action using isometries of the\nspace-time. We review the Lagrangian formulation of N = 4 super Yang-Mills MHV\nrules and extend the approach taken for the non-supersymmetric case to\nconstruct infinite dimensional symmetries of self-dual N = 4 super Yang-Mills."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic models with anisotropic scaling: We consider gravity duals to d+1 dimensional quantum critical points with\nanisotropic scaling. The primary motivation comes from strongly correlated\nelectron systems in condensed matter theory but the main focus of the present\npaper is on the gravity models in their own right. Physics at finite\ntemperature and fixed charge density is described in terms of charged black\nbranes. Some exact solutions are known and can be used to obtain a maximally\nextended spacetime geometry, which has a null curvature singularity inside a\nsingle non-degenerate horizon, but generic black brane solutions in the model\ncan only be obtained numerically. Charged matter gives rise to black branes\nwith hair that are dual to the superconducting phase of a holographic\nsuperconductor. Our numerical results indicate that holographic superconductors\nwith anisotropic scaling have vanishing zero temperature entropy when the back\nreaction of the hair on the brane geometry is taken into account.",
        "positive": "(3+1) Massive Dirac Fermions with Ultracold Atoms in Optical Lattices: We propose the experimental realization of (3+1) relativistic Dirac fermions\nusing ultracold atoms in a rotating optical lattice or, alternatively, in a\nsynthetic magnetic field. This approach has the advantage to give mass to the\nDirac fermions by coupling the ultracold atoms to a Bragg pulse. A dimensional\ncrossover from (3+1) to (2+1) Dirac fermions can be obtained by varying the\nanisotropy of the lattice. We also discuss under which conditions the\ninteratomic potentials give rise to relativistically invariant interactions\namong the Dirac fermions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Five dimensional $O(N)$-symmetric CFTs from conformal bootstrap: We investigate the conformal bootstrap approach to $O(N)$ symmetric CFTs in\nfive dimension with particular emphasis on the lower bound on the current\ncentral charge. The bound has a local minimum for all $N>1$, and in the large\n$N$ limit we propose that the minimum is saturated by the critical $O(N)$\nvector model at the UV fixed point, the existence of which has been recently\nargued by Fei, Giombi, and Klebanov. The location of the minimum is generically\ndifferent from the minimum of the lower bound of the energy-momentum tensor\ncentral charge when it exists for smaller $N$.\n  To better understand the situation, we examine the lower bounds of the\ncurrent central charge of $O(N)$ symmetric CFTs in three dimension to compare.\nWe find the similar agreement in the large $N$ limit but the discrepancy for\nsmaller $N$ with the other sectors of the conformal bootstrap.",
        "positive": "Perturbations of spiky strings in flat spacetimes: Perturbations of a class of semiclassical strings known today as spiky\nstrings, are studied using the well-known Jacobi equations for small normal\ndeformations of an embedded timelike surface. It is shown that there exists\nfinite normal perturbations of the spiky string worldsheets embedded in a $2+1$\ndimensional flat spacetime. Such perturbations lead to a rounding off of the\nspikes, which, in a way, demonstrates the stable nature of the unperturbed\nworldsheet. The same features appear for the dual spiky string solution and in\nthe spiky as well as their dual solutions in $3+1$ dimensional flat spacetime.\nOur results are based on exact solutions of the corresponding Jacobi equations\nwhich we obtain and use while constructing the profiles of the perturbed\nconfigurations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Complexified boost invariance and holographic heavy ion collisions: At strong coupling holographic studies have shown that heavy ion collisions\ndo not obey normal boost invariance. Here we study a modified boost invariance\nthrough a complex shift in time, and show that this leads to surprisingly good\nagreement with numerical holographic computations. When including perturbations\nthe agreement becomes even better, both in the hydrodynamic and the\nfar-from-equilibrium regime. One of the main advantages is an analytic\nformulation of the stress-energy tensor of the longitudinal dynamics of\nholographic heavy ion collisions.",
        "positive": "A rotating black ring in five dimensions: The vacuum Einstein equations in five dimensions are shown to admit a\nsolution describing an asymptotically flat spacetime regular on and outside an\nevent horizon of topology S^1 x S^2. It describes a rotating ``black ring''.\nThis is the first example of an asymptotically flat vacuum solution with an\nevent horizon of non-spherical topology. There is a range of values for the\nmass and angular momentum for which there exist two black ring solutions as\nwell as a black hole solution. Therefore the uniqueness theorems valid in four\ndimensions do not have simple higher dimensional generalizations. It is\nsuggested that increasing the spin of a five dimensional black hole beyond a\ncritical value results in a transition to a black ring, which can have an\narbitrarily large angular momentum for a given mass."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On auxiliary fields and Lagrangians for relativistic wave equations: We address the problem of the existence of a Lagrangian for a given system of\nlinear PDEs with constant coefficients. As a subtask, this involves bringing\nthe system into a pre-Lagrangian form, wherein the number of equations matches\nthe number of unknowns. We introduce a class of overdetermined systems, called\nco-flat, and show that they always admit a pre-Lagrangian form, which can be\nexplicitly constructed using auxiliary variables. Moreover, we argue that such\nsystems enjoy pre-Lagrangian formulations without auxiliary variables at all.\nAs an application of our method, we construct new pre-Lagrangian and Lagrangian\nformulations for free massive fields of arbitrary integer spin. In contrast to\nthe well-known models of Singh and Hagen, our Lagrangians involve much fewer\nauxiliary fields.",
        "positive": "Universal flow equations and chaos bound saturation in 2d dilaton\n  gravity: We show that several features of the Jackiw-Teitelboim model are in fact\nuniversal properties of two-dimensional Maxwell-dilaton gravity theories with a\nbroad class of asymptotics. These theories satisfy a flow equation with the\nstructure of a dimensionally reduced TTbar deformation, and exhibit chaotic\nbehavior signaled by a maximal Lyapunov exponent. One consequence of our\nresults is a no-go theorem for smooth flows from an asymptotically AdS2 region\nto a de Sitter fixed point."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dear Qubitzers, GR=QM: These are some thoughts contained in a letter to colleagues, about the close\nrelation between gravity and quantum mechanics, and also about the possibility\nof seeing quantum gravity in a lab equipped with quantum computers. I expect\nthis will become feasible sometime in the next decade or two.",
        "positive": "Driven black holes: from Kolmogorov scaling to turbulent wakes: General relativity governs the nonlinear dynamics of spacetime, including\nblack holes and their event horizons. We demonstrate that forced black hole\nhorizons exhibit statistically steady turbulent spacetime dynamics consistent\nwith Kolmogorov's theory of 1941. As a proof of principle we focus on black\nholes in asymptotically anti-de Sitter spacetimes in a large number of\ndimensions, where greater analytic control is gained. We also demonstrate that\ntidal deformations of the horizon induce turbulent dynamics. When set in motion\nrelative to the horizon a deformation develops a turbulent spacetime wake,\nindicating that turbulent spacetime dynamics may play a role in binary mergers\nand other strong-field phenomena."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Bootstrapping Conformal Field Theories with the Extremal Functional\n  Method: The existence of a positive linear functional acting on the space of\n(differences between) conformal blocks has been shown to rule out regions in\nthe parameter space of conformal field theories (CFTs). We argue that at the\nboundary of the allowed region the extremal functional contains, in principle,\nenough information to determine the dimensions and OPE coefficients of an\ninfinite number of operators appearing in the correlator under analysis. Based\non this idea we develop the Extremal Functional Method (EFM), a numerical\nprocedure for deriving the spectrum and OPE coefficients of CFTs lying on the\nboundary (of solution space). We test the EFM by using it to rederive the low\nlying spectrum and OPE coefficients of the 2d Ising model based solely on the\ndimension of a single scalar quasi-primary -- no Virasoro algebra required. Our\nwork serves as a benchmark for applications to more interesting, less known\nCFTs in the near future.",
        "positive": "Strong coupling from the Hubbard model: It was recently observed that the one dimensional half-filled Hubbard model\nreproduces the known part of the perturbative spectrum of planar N=4 super\nYang-Mills in the SU(2) sector. Assuming that this identification is valid\nbeyond perturbation theory, we investigate the behavior of this spectrum as the\n't Hooft parameter \\lambda becomes large. We show that the full dimension\n\\Delta of the Konishi superpartner is the solution of a sixth order polynomial\nwhile \\Delta for a bare dimension 5 operator is the solution of a cubic. In\nboth cases the equations can be solved easily as a series expansion for both\nsmall and large \\lambda and the equations can be inverted to express \\lambda as\nan explicit function of \\Delta. We then consider more general operators and\nshow how \\Delta depends on \\lambda in the strong coupling limit. We are also\nable to distinguish those states in the Hubbard model which correspond to the\ngauge invariant operators for all values of \\lambda. Finally, we compare our\nresults with known results for strings on AdS_5\\times S^5, where we find\nagreement for a range of R-charges."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "I. Calculation of the observed value of large mass hierarchy in modified\n  RS model: In generalized Randall-Sundrum (RS) model with dilaton where bulk potential\nis generated by the antisymmetric tensor field the mass term of this field is\nintroduced into the brane's Action. This permits to stabilize brane's position\nand hence to calculate the Planck/electroweek scales ratio which proves to\ndepend non-analytically on the dilaton-antisymmetric tensor field coupling\nconstant. The large observed number of mass hierarchy is achieved for the\nmoderate value of this coupling constant of order 0,3. In the subsequent Paper\nII it is shown that the same approach in a higher dimensional theory without\ndilaton permits to express mass hierarchy only through number of extra\ndimensions.",
        "positive": "Superstring Vacua of 4-dimensional PP-Waves with Enhanced Supersymmetry: We study the superstring vacua constructed from the conformal field theories\nof the type H_4 x M, where H_4 denotes the super Nappi-Witten model (super WZW\nmodel on the 4-dimensional Heisenberg group H_4) and M denotes an arbitrary N=2\nrational superconformal field theory with c=9. We define (type II) superstring\nvacua with 8 supercharges, which are twice as many as those on the backgrounds\nof H_4 x CY_3. We explicitly construct as physical vertices the space-time SUSY\nalgebra that is a natural extension of H_4 Lie algebra. The spectrum of\nphysical states is classified into two sectors: (1) strings freely propagating\nalong the transverse plane of pp-wave geometry and possessing the integral\nU(1)_R-charges in M sector, and (2) strings that do not freely propagate along\nthe transverse plane and possess the fractional U(1)_R-charges in M. The former\nbehaves like the string excitations in the usual Calabi-Yau compactification,\nbut the latter defines new sectors without changing the physics in ``bulk''\nspace. We also analyze the thermal partition functions of these systems,\nemphasizing the similarity to the DLCQ string theory. As a byproduct we prove\nthe supersymmetric cancellation of conformal blocks in an arbitrary unitary N=2\nSCFT of c=12 with the suitable GSO projection."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Newton-Cartan local renormalization group and anomalies: Weyl consistency conditions are a powerful tool to study the irreversibility\nproperties of the renormalization group. We apply this formalism to\nnon-relativistic theories in 2 spatial dimensions with boost invariance and\ndynamical exponent z=2. Different possibilities are explored, depending on the\nstructure of the gravitational background used as a source for the\nenergy-momentum tensor.",
        "positive": "Vacua scan of $5d$, $N=2$ consistent truncations: In this letter we present a scan for new vacua within consistent truncations\nof eleven/ten-dimensional supergravity down to five dimensions that preserve $N\n= 2$ supersymmetry, after their complete classification in arXiv:2112.03931. We\nfirst make explicit the link between the equations of exceptional\nSasaki-Einstein backgrounds in arXiv:1602.02158 and the standard BPS equations\nfor $5d$ $N = 2$ of arXiv:1601.00482. This derivation allows us to expedite a\nscan for vacua preserving $N = 2$ supersymmetry within the framework used for\nthe classification presented in arXiv:2112.03931."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Generalized Second Law of Thermodynamics in Quintom Dominated Universe: In this paper we will investigate the validity of the Generalized Second Law\nof thermodynamics for the Quintom model of dark energy. Reviewing briefly the\nquintom scenario of dark energy, we will study the conditions of validity of\nthe generalized second law of thermodynamics in three cases: quintessence\ndominated, phantom dominated and transition from quintessence to phantom will\nbe discussed.",
        "positive": "Quantized Coulomb Branches, Monopole Bubbling and Wall-Crossing\n  Phenomena in 3d $\\mathcal{N}=4$ Theories: To study the quantized Coulomb branch of 3d $\\mathcal{N}=4$ unitary SQCD\ntheories, we propose a new method to compute correlators of monopole and\nCasimir operators that are inserted in the\n$\\mathbb{R}\\times\\mathbb{R}^2_\\epsilon$ Omega background. This method combines\nresults from supersymmetric localization with inputs from the brane realisation\nof the correlators in type IIB string theory. The main challenge is the\ncomputation of the partition functions of certain Super-Matrix-Models (SMMs),\nwhich appear in the contribution of monopole bubbling sectors and are realised\nas the theory living on the D1 strings in the brane construction. We find that\nthe non-commutativity arising in the monopole operator insertions is related to\na wall-crossing phenomenon in the FI parameter space of the SMM. We illustrate\nour method in various examples and we provide explicit results for arbitrary\ncorrelators of non-bubbling bare monopole operators. We also discuss the\nrealisation of the non-commutative product as a Moyal (star) product and use it\nto successfully test our results."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Lovelock black p-branes with fluxes: In this paper we construct compactifications of generic, higher curvature\nLovelock theories of gravity over direct product spaces of the type\n$\\mathcal{M}_D=\\mathcal{M}_d \\times \\mathcal{S}^p $, with $D=d+p$ and $d\\ge5$,\nwhere $\\mathcal{S}^p$ represents an internal, Euclidean manifold of positive\nconstant curvature. We show that this can be accomplished by including suitable\nnon-minimally coupled $p-1$-form fields with a field strength proportional to\nthe volume form of the internal space. We provide explicit details of this\nconstructions for the Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet theory in $d+2$ and $d+3$\ndimensions by using one and two-form fundamental fields, and provide as well\nthe formulae that allows to construct the same family of compactification in\nany Lovelock theory from dimension $d+p$ to dimension $d$. These fluxed\ncompactifications lead to an effective Lovelock theory on the compactfied\nmanifold, allowing therefore to find, in the Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet case, black\nholes in the Boulware-Deser family.",
        "positive": "On factorising twists in AdS_3 and AdS_2: In this paper we study factorising twists of the massless AdS_3 and AdS_2\nintegrable R-matrices, and explore the programme of analysis of form factors\nwhich Maillet et al developed for ordinary spin-chains. We derive the\nfactorising twists from the universal R-matrix of the gl(1|1) Yangian double,\nand discuss the RTT relations for the two- and three-site monodromy matrix. We\nshow how the twist can be used to compute a simple scalar product. We then\nimplement our construction in the language of free fermions. Finally, we show\nhow to obtain the massless AdS_2 quantum R-matrix from the Yangian universal\nR-matrix, and compute a peculiar factorising twist for this case as well."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Scale-invariant alternatives to general relativity: We study the general class of gravitational field theories constructed on the\nbasis of scale invariance (and therefore absence of any mass parameters) and\ninvariance under transverse diffeomorphisms (TDiff), which are the 4-volume\nconserving coordinate transformations. We show that these theories are\nequivalent to a specific type of scalar-tensor theories of gravity (invariant\nunder all diffeomorphisms) with a number of properties, making them\nphenomenologically interesting. They contain, in addition to the dimensionless\ncoupling constants of the original theory, an arbitrary dimensionful parameter\n$\\Lambda_0$. This parameter is associated with an integration constant of the\nequations of motion, similar to the arbitrary cosmological constant appearing\nin unimodular gravity. We focus on the theories where Newton's constant and the\nelectroweak scale emerge from the spontaneous breaking of scale invariance and\nare unrelated to $\\Lambda_0$. The massless particle spectrum of these theories\ncontains the graviton and a new particle -- dilaton. For $\\Lambda_0=0$, the\nmassless dilaton has only derivative couplings to matter fields and the bounds\non the existence of a 5th force are easily satisfied. As for the matter fields,\nwe determine the conditions leading to a renormalizable low-energy theory. If\n$\\Lambda_0\\neq 0$, scale invariance is broken. The arbitrary constant\n$\\Lambda_0$ produces a \"run-away\" potential for the dilaton. As a consequence,\nthe dilaton can act as a dynamical dark energy component. We elucidate the\norigin of the cosmological constant in the class of theories under\nconsideration and formulate the condition leading to its absence. If this\ncondition is satisfied, dark energy is purely dynamical and associated to the\ndilaton.",
        "positive": "OPE for all Helicity Amplitudes: We extend the Operator Product Expansion (OPE) for scattering amplitudes in\nplanar N=4 SYM to account for all possible helicities of the external states.\nThis is done by constructing a simple map between helicity configurations and\nso-called charged pentagon transitions. These OPE building blocks are\ngeneralizations of the bosonic pentagons entering MHV amplitudes and they can\nbe bootstrapped at finite coupling from the integrable dynamics of the color\nflux tube. A byproduct of our map is a simple realization of parity in the\nsuper Wilson loop picture."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Matter near a Cosmological Singularity: General Relativity predicts that the spacetime near a cosmological\nsingularity undergoes an infinite number of chaotic oscillations between\ndifferent Kasner epochs with rapid transitions between them. This so-called BKL\nbehaviour persists in the presence of several types of classical matter. Little\nis known in the presence of quantum effects. A major obstacle is the fact that\nthe fast metric oscillations inevitably drive the matter far from equilibrium.\nWe use holography to determine the evolution of the quantum stress tensor of a\nnon-conformal, strongly-coupled, four-dimensional gauge theory in a Kasner\nspacetime. The stress tensor near the singularity is solely controlled by the\nultraviolet fixed point of the gauge theory, and it diverges in a universal way\ncommon to all theories with a gravity dual. We then compute the backreaction of\nthe stress tensor on the Kasner metric to leading order in the gravitational\ncoupling. The modification of the Kasner exponents that we find suggests that\nthe BKL behaviour may be avoided in the presence of quantum matter.",
        "positive": "3D Flat Holography: Entropy and Logarithmic Corrections: We compute the leading corrections to the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy of the\nFlat Space Cosmological (FSC) solutions in 3D flat spacetimes, which are the\nflat analogues of the BTZ black holes in AdS3. The analysis is done by a\ncomputation of density of states in the dual 2D Galilean Conformal Field Theory\nand the answer obtained by this matches with the limiting value of the expected\nresult for the BTZ inner horizon entropy as well as what is expected for a\ngeneric thermodynamic system. Along the way, we also develop other aspects of\nholography of 3D flat spacetimes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Potentials for (p,0) and (1,1) supersymmetric sigma models with torsion: Using (1,0) superfield methods, we determine the general scalar potential\nconsistent with off-shell (p,0) supersymmetry and (1,1) supersymmetry in\ntwo-dimensional non-linear sigma models with torsion. We also present an\nextended superfield formulation of the (p,0) models and show how the (1,1)\nmodels can be obtained from the (1,1)-superspace formulation of the gauged, but\nmassless, (1,1) sigma model.",
        "positive": "BRST superspace and auxiliary fields for N=1 supersymmetric Yang-Mills\n  theory: We use a Becchi-Rouet-Stora-Tyutin (BRST) superspace approach to formulate\noff-shell nilpotent BRST and anti-BRST transformations in four dimensional N=1\nsupersymmetric Yang-Mills theory. The method is based on the possibility of\nintroducing auxiliary fields through the supersymmetric transformations of the\nsuperpartener of the gauge potential associated to a supersymmetric Yang-Mills\nconnection. These fields are required to achieve the off-shell nilpotency of\nthe BRST and anti-BRST operators. We also show how this off-shell structure is\nused to build the BRST and anti-BRST invariant gauge-fixing quantum action."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-Abelian Born-Infeld Action and Type I - Heterotic Duality (II):\n  Nonrenormalization Theorems: Type I - heterotic duality in D=10 predicts various relations and constraints\non higher order F^n couplings at different string loop levels on both sides. We\nprove the vanishing of two-loop corrections to the heterotic F^4 terms, which\nis one of the basic predictions from this duality. Furthermore, we show that\nthe heterotic F^5 and (CP even) F^6 couplings are not renormalized at one loop.\nThese results strengthen the conjecture that in D=10 any Tr F^(2n) coupling\nappears only at the disc tree-level on type I side and at (n-1)-loop level on\nthe heterotic side. Our non-renormalization theorems are valid in any heterotic\nstring vacuum with sixteen supercharges.",
        "positive": "A comment concerning cohomology and invariants of Lie algebras with\n  respect to contractions and deformations: Contrary to the expected behavior, we show the existence of non-invertible\ndeformations of Lie algebras which can generate invariants for the coadjoint\nrepresentation, as well as delete cohomology with values in the trivial or\nadjoint module. A criterion to decide whether a given deformation is invertible\nor not is given in dependence of the Poincar\\'e polynomial."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Conformal Transformation in Gravity: The conformal transformation in the Einstein - Hilbert action leads to a new\nframe where an extra scalar degree of freedom is compensated by the local\nconformal-like symmetry. We write down a most general action resulting from\nsuch transformation and show that it covers both general relativity and\nconformally coupled to gravity scalar field as the particular cases. On quantum\nlevel the equivalence between the different frames is disturbed by the loop\ncorrections. New conformal-like symmetry in anomalous and, as a result, the\ntheory is not finite on shell at the one-loop order.",
        "positive": "Dualities of 3D $\\mathcal{N}=1$ SQCD from Branes and non-SUSY\n  deformations: We study the dynamics of an 'electric' $\\mathcal{N}=1$ 3D\n$U(N_c)_{k,k+\\frac{N_c}{2}}$ SQCD theory. By embedding the theory in string\ntheory, we propose that the theory admits a 'magnetic' dual and analyse the low\nenergy dynamics of the theory using its dual. When $\\frac{N_f}{2}\n\\ge\\frac{N_c}{2}-k$ the IR dynamics is described by either a TQFT for large\nquark masses, or a Grassmanian and a Wess-Zumino (WZ) term for small masses. We\nalso consider non-supersymmetric mass deformations and RG flows in the vicinity\nof the SUSY point and find agreement between the IR of the electric and its\nmagnetic dual. When $\\frac{N_f}{2} < \\frac{N_c}{2}-k$ supersymmetry is broken\nand the IR dynamics is a described by a TQFT accompanied by a Goldstino. We\nalso discuss SQCD theories based on $SO$/$USp$ gauge groups."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum field theory: Finiteness and Effectiveness: A new attempt is demonstrated that QFTs can be UV finite if they are viewed\nas the low energy effective theories of a fundamental underlying theory (that\nis complete and well-defined in all respects) according to the modern standard\npoint of view. This approach works for any interaction model and space-time\ndimension. It is much simpler in principle and in technology comparing to any\nknown renormalization program.Unlike the known renormalization methods, the\nimportance of the procedure for defining the ambiguities (corresponding to the\nchoice of the renormalization conditions in the conventional program) is fully\nappreciated in the new approach. It is shown that the high energy theory(s) or\nthe underlying theory(s) in fact 'stipulates (stipulate)' the low energy and\neffective ones through these definitions within our approach while all the\nconventional methods miss this important point. Some simple but important\nnonperturbative examples are discussed to show the power and plausibility of\nthe new approach. Other related issues (especially the IR problem and the\nimplication of our new approach for the canonical quantization procedure) are\nbriefly touched.",
        "positive": "Vortex solutions in the Abelian Higgs Model with a neutral scalar: We construct an extension of the Abelian Higgs model, which consists of a\ncomplex scalar field by including an additional real, electromagnetically\nneutral scalar field. We couple this real scalar field to the complex scalar\nfield via a quartic coupling and investigate $U(1)$ vortex solutions in this\n\"extended Abelian Higgs Model\". Since this model has two additional homogeneous\nground states, the $U(1)$ vortices that can form in this model have a richer\nstructure than in the Abelian Higgs Model. We also find the \"phase diagram\" of\nthe model showing the parameter space in which the real scalar particle\ncondenses in the vortex state while having a zero vacuum expectation value in\nthe homogeneous ground state."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Remarks on BMS${}_3$ invariant field theories: correlation functions and\n  nonunitary CFTs: We use the isomorphism between the BMS${}_3$ and the $W(2,2)$ algebras to\nreconsider some generic aspects of CFTs with the BMS${}_3$ algebra defined as a\nchiral symmetry. For unitarity theories, it is known that the extended symmetry\ngenerator acts trivially, and the resulting theory is equivalent to a CFT with\na Virasoro symmetry only. For nonunitary CFTs, we define an operator depending\non a nilpotent variable, and we organize the Verma module through the action of\nthis new operator. Finally, we find the conditions imposed by the modified Ward\nidentity.",
        "positive": "Asymptotic dynamics of three-dimensional gravity: These are the lectures notes of the course given at the Eleventh Modave\nSummer School in Mathematical Physics, 2015, aimed at PhD candidates and junior\nresearchers in theoretical physics. We review in details the result of\nCoussaert-Henneaux-van Driel showing that the asymptotic dynamics of $(2+1)$-\ndimensional gravity with negative cosmological constant is described at the\nclassical level by Liouville theory. Boundary conditions implement the\nasymptotic reduction in two steps: the first set reduces the $SL(2,\\mathbb\nR)\\times SL(2,\\mathbb R)$ Chern-Simons action, equivalent to the Einstein\naction, to a non-chiral $SL(2,\\mathbb R)$ Wess-Zumino-Witten model, while the\nsecond set imposes constraints on the WZW currents that reduce further the\naction to Liouville theory. We discuss the issues of considering the latter as\nan effective description of the dual conformal field theory describing AdS$_3$\ngravity beyond the semi-classical regime."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Boundary contributions to three loop superstring amplitudes: In type II superstring theory, the vacuum amplitude at a given loop order $g$\ncan receive contributions from the boundary of the compactified, genus $g$\nsupermoduli space of curves $\\overline{\\mathfrak M}_g$. These contributions\ncapture the long distance or infrared behaviour of the amplitude. The boundary\nparametrises degenerations of genus $g$ super Riemann surfaces. A holomorphic\nprojection of the supermoduli space onto its reduced space would then provide a\nway to integrate the holomorphic, superstring measure and thereby give the\nsuperstring vacuum amplitude at $g$-loop order. However, such a projection does\nnot generally exist over the bulk of the supermoduli spaces in higher genera.\nNevertheless, certain boundary divisors in $\\partial\\overline{\\mathfrak M}_g$\nmay holomorphically map onto a bosonic space upon composition with universal\nmorphisms, thereby enabling an integration of the holomorphic, superstring\nmeasure here. Making use of ansatz factorisations of the superstring measure\nnear the boundary, our analysis shows that the boundary contributions to the\nthree loop vacuum amplitude will vanish in closed oriented type II superstring\ntheory with unbroken spacetime supersymmetry.",
        "positive": "Photon-Graviton Amplitudes from the Effective Action: We report on the status of an ongoing effort to calculate the complete\none-loop low-energy effective actions in Einstein-Maxwell theory with a massive\nscalar or spinor loop, and to use them for obtaining the explicit form of the\ncorresponding M-graviton/N-photon amplitudes. We present explicit results for\nthe effective actions at the one-graviton four-photon level, and for the\namplitudes at the one-graviton two-photon level. As expected on general\ngrounds, these amplitudes relate in a simple way to the corresponding\nfour-photon amplitudes. We also derive the gravitational Ward identity for the\n1PI one-graviton -- N photon amplitude."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Black hole formation, holographic thermalization and the AdS/CFT\n  correspondence: The AdS/CFT correspondence is one of the most important discoveries in\ntheoretical physics in recent years. It states that certain quantum mechanical\ntheories can actually be described by classical gravity in one higher\ndimension, in a spacetime called anti-de Sitter (AdS) space. What makes this\nduality so useful is that it relates theories with weak coupling to theories\nwith strong coupling and thus provides a new tool for tackling strongly coupled\nquantum field theories, which are notoriously difficult to handle using\nconventional methods. During the course of my PhD I have mostly studied time\ndependent processes, in particular thermalization processes, in quantum field\ntheories using the AdS/CFT correspondence. On the gravity side, this is dual to\ndynamical formation of black holes from the collapse of matter fields. By\nstudying the gravitational collapse process in detail, we can then draw\nconclusions about the dynamical formation of a thermal state in the dual\nquantum field theory. Using mostly numerical methods, I have studied how\nconfinement affects thermalization in quantum field theories, where the system\nmay never thermalize and field theory observables undergo interesting\nquasiperiodic behaviour. I have also studied formation of black holes in three\ndimensions which due to the simplified nature of three-dimensional gravity can\nbe done using analytical methods. This has led to the discovery of new\nsolutions of three-dimensional gravity corresponding to the formation of black\nholes without spherical symmetry, which can provide a deeper understanding of\nthermalization in two-dimensional quantum field theories. In a third line of\nresearch, I have studied higher spin gravity in three dimensions, an exotic\nextension of three-dimensional gravity which includes fields with spin higher\nthan two, and we outline a new method to construct black hole solutions\ncarrying higher spin charge.",
        "positive": "A holographic model for black hole complementarity: We explore a version of black hole complementarity, where an approximate\nsemiclassical effective field theory for interior infalling degrees of freedom\nemerges holographically from an exact evolution of exterior degrees of freedom.\nThe infalling degrees of freedom have a complementary description in terms of\noutgoing Hawking radiation and must eventually decohere with respect to the\nexterior Hamiltonian, leading to a breakdown of the semiclassical description\nfor an infaller. Trace distance is used to quantify the difference between the\ncomplementary time evolutions, and to define a decoherence time. We propose a\ndictionary where the evolution with respect to the bulk effective Hamiltonian\ncorresponds to mean field evolution in the holographic theory. In a particular\nmodel for the holographic theory, which exhibits fast scrambling, the\ndecoherence time coincides with the scrambling time. The results support the\nhypothesis that decoherence of the infalling holographic state and disruptive\nbulk effects near the curvature singularity are complementary descriptions of\nthe same physics, which is an important step toward resolving the black hole\ninformation paradox."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Large-N limit of the generalized 2D Yang-Mills theory on cylinder: Using the collective field theory approach of large-N generalized\ntwo-dimensional Yang-Mills theory on cylinder, it is shown that the classical\nequation of motion of collective field is a generalized Hopf equation. Then,\nusing the Itzykson-Zuber integral at the large-N limit, it is found that the\nclassical Young tableau density, which satisfies the saddle-point equation and\ndetermines the large-N limit of free energy, is the inverse of the solution of\nthis generalized Hopf equation, at a certain point.",
        "positive": "Distinguishing Elliptic Fibrations with AI: We use the latest techniques in machine-learning to study whether from the\nlandscape of Calabi-Yau manifolds one can distinguish elliptically fibred ones.\nUsing the dataset of complete intersections in products of projective spaces\n(CICY3 and CICY4, totalling about a million manifolds) as a concrete\nplayground, we find that a relatively simple neural network with\nforward-feeding multi-layers can very efficiently distinguish the elliptic\nfibrations, much more so than using the traditional methods of manipulating the\ndefining equations. We cross-check with control cases to ensure that the AI is\nnot randomly guessing and is indeed identifying an inherent structure. Our\nresult should prove useful in F-theory and string model building as well as in\npure algebraic geometry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spectral Dimension of kappa-deformed space-time: We investigate the spectral dimension of $\\kappa$-space-time using the\n$\\kappa$-deformed diffusion equation. The deformed equation is constructed for\ntwo different choices of Laplacians in $n$-dimensional, $\\kappa$-deformed\nEuclidean space-time. We use an approach where the deformed Laplacians are\nexpressed in the commutative space-time itself. Using the perturbative\nsolutions to diffusion equations, we calculate the spectral dimension of\n$\\kappa$-deformed space-time and show that it decreases as the probe length\ndecreases. By introducing a bound on the deformation parameter, spectral\ndimension is guaranteed to be positive definite. We find that, for one of the\nchoices of the Laplacian, the non-commutative correction to the spectral\ndimension depends on the topological dimension of the space-time whereas for\nthe other, it is independent of the topological dimension. We have also\nanalysed the dimensional flow for the case where the probe particle has a\nfinite extension, unlike a point particle.",
        "positive": "Zilch Vortical Effect for Fermions: We consider the notion of zilch current that was recently discussed in the\nliterature as an alternative helicity measure for photons. Developing this\nidea, we suggest the generalization of the zilch for the systems of fermions.\nWe start with the definition of the photonic zilch current in chiral kinetic\ntheory framework and work out field-theoretical definition of the fermionic\nzilch using the Wigner function formalism. This object has similar properties\nto the photonic zilch and is conserved in the non-interacting theory. We also\nshow that, in full analogy with a case of photons, the fermionic zilch acquires\na non-trivial contribution due to the medium rotation - zilch vortical effect\n(ZVE) for fermions. Combined with a previously studied ZVE for photons, these\nresults form a wider set of chiral effects parameterized by the spin of the\nparticles and the spin of the current. We briefly discuss the origin of the\nZVE, its possible relation to the anomalies in the underlying microscopic\ntheory and possible application for studying the spin polarization in chiral\nmedia."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exploring the Tensor Networks/AdS Correspondence: In this paper we study the recently proposed tensor networks/AdS\ncorrespondence. We found that the Coxeter group is a useful tool to describe\ntensor networks in a negatively curved space. Studying generic tensor network\npopulated by perfect tensors, we find that the physical wave function\ngenerically do not admit any connected correlation functions of local\noperators. To remedy the problem, we assume that wavefunctions admitting such\nsemi-classical gravitational interpretation are composed of tensors close to,\nbut not exactly perfect tensors. Computing corrections to the connected two\npoint correlation functions, we find that the leading contribution is given by\nstructures related to geodesics connecting the operators inserted at the\nboundary physical dofs. Such considerations admit generalizations at least to\nthree point functions. This is highly suggestive of the emergence of the\nanalogues of Witten diagrams in the tensor network. The perturbations alone\nhowever do not give the right entanglement spectrum. Using the Coxeter\nconstruction, we also constructed the tensor network counterpart of the BTZ\nblack hole, by orbifolding the discrete lattice on which the network resides.\nWe found that the construction naturally reproduces some of the salient\nfeatures of the BTZ black hole, such as the appearance of RT surfaces that\ncould wrap the horizon, depending on the size of the entanglement region A.",
        "positive": "Higher-Spin Self-Dual Yang-Mills and Gravity from the twistor space: We lift the recently proposed theories of higher-spin self-dual Yang-Mills\n(SDYM) and gravity (SDGR) to the twistor space. We find that the most natural\nroom for the twistor formulation of these theories is not in the projective,\nbut in the full twistor space, which is the total space of the spinor bundle\nover the 4-dimensional manifold. In the case of higher-spin extension of the\nSDYM we prove an analogue of the Ward theorem, and show that there is a\none-to-one correspondence between the solutions of the field equations and\nholomorphic vector bundles over the twistor space. In the case of the\nhigher-spin extension of SDGR we show show that there is a one-to-one\ncorrespondence between solutions of the field equations and Ehresmann\nconnections on the twistor space whose horizontal distributions are Poisson,\nand whose curvature is decomposable. These data then define an almost complex\nstructure on the twistor space that is integrable."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Renormalization Group Circuits for Weakly Interacting Continuum Field\n  Theories: We develop techniques to systematically construct local unitaries which map\nscale-invariant, product state wavefunctionals to the ground states of weakly\ninteracting, continuum quantum field theories. More broadly, we devise a\n\"quantum circuit perturbation theory\" to construct local unitaries which map\nbetween any pair of wavefunctionals which are each Gaussian with arbitrary\nperturbative corrections. Further, we generalize cMERA to interacting continuum\nfield theories, which requires reworking the existing formalism which is\ntailored to non-interacting examples. Our methods enable the systematic\nperturbative calculation of cMERA circuits for weakly interacting theories, and\nas a demonstration we compute the 1-loop cMERA circuit for scalar $\\varphi^4$\ntheory and analyze its properties. In this case, we show that Wilsonian\nrenormalization of the spatial momentum modes is equivalent to a local position\nspace cMERA circuit. This example provides new insights into the connection\nbetween position space and momentum space renormalization group methods in\nquantum field theory. The form of cMERA circuits derived from perturbation\ntheory suggests useful ansatzes for numerical variational calculations.",
        "positive": "The AdS^2_\u03b8/CFT_1 Correspondence and Noncommutative Geometry II:\n  Noncommutative Quantum Black Holes: In this article we present the construction of noncommutative AdS^2_{\\theta}\nblack hole and its four-dimensional Yang-Mills IKKT-type matrix model which\nincludes two competing Myers term one responsible for the condensation of pure\nAdS^2_{\\theta} and the other one responsible for the condensation of the\ndilaton field. It is argued that the phase diagram of this matrix model\nfeatures three phases: 1) A gravitational phase (AdS^2_{\\theta} black hole), 2)\nA geometric phase (AdS^2_{\\theta} background) and 3) A Yang-Mills phase. The\nHawking process is therefore seen as an exotic line of discontinuous\ntransitions between the gravitational and geometrical phases. Alternatively, a\nnoncommutative non-linear sigma model describing the transition of the dilaton\nfield between the gravitational and geometrical phases is also constructed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On The Entanglement Entropy For Gauge Theories: We propose a definition for the entanglement entropy of a gauge theory on a\nspatial lattice. Our definition applies to any subset of links in the lattice,\nand is valid for both Abelian and Non-Abelian gauge theories. For\n$\\mathbb{Z}_N$ and $U(1)$ theories, without matter, our definition agrees with\na particular case of the definition given by Casini, Huerta and Rosabal. We\nalso argue that in general, both for Abelian and Non-Abelian theories, our\ndefinition agrees with the entanglement entropy calculated using a definition\nof the replica trick. Our definition, however, does not agree with some\nstandard ways to measure entanglement, like the number of Bell pairs which can\nbe produced by entanglement distillation.",
        "positive": "Effective Field Theory of Black Hole Perturbations in Vector-Tensor\n  Gravity: We formulate the effective field theory (EFT) of vector-tensor gravity for\nperturbations around an arbitrary background with a ${\\it timelike}$ vector\nprofile, which can be applied to study black hole perturbations. The vector\nprofile spontaneously breaks both the time diffeomorphism and the $U(1)$\nsymmetry, leaving their combination and the spatial diffeomorphism as the\nresidual symmetries in the unitary gauge. We derive two sets of consistency\nrelations which guarantee the residual symmetries of the EFT. Also, we provide\nthe dictionary between our EFT coefficients and those of generalized Proca (GP)\ntheories, which enables us to identify a simple subclass of the EFT that\nincludes the GP theories as a special case. For this subclass, we consider the\nstealth Schwarzschild(-de Sitter) background solution with a constant temporal\ncomponent of the vector field and study the decoupling limit of the\nlongitudinal mode of the vector field, explicitly showing that the strong\ncoupling problem arises due to vanishing sound speeds. This is in sharp\ncontrast to the case of gauged ghost condensate, in which perturbations are\nweakly coupled thanks to certain higher-derivative terms, i.e., the scordatura\nterms. This implies that, in order to consistently describe this type of\nstealth solutions within the EFT, the scordatura terms must necessarily be\ntaken into account in addition to those already included in the simple\nsubclass."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "BRST Lagrangian construction for spin-2 field in Einstein space: We explore a new possibility of BRST construction in higher spin field theory\nto obtain a consistent Lagrangian for massive spin-2 field in Einstein space.\nSuch approach automatically leads to gauge invariant Lagrangian with suitable\nauxiliary and Stuckelberg fields. It is proved that in this case a propagation\nof spin-2 field is hyperbolic and causal. Also we extend notion of partial\nmasslessness for spin-2 field in the background under consideration.",
        "positive": "Higher Spins in D=2+1: We give a brief overview of some three-dimensional toy models for higher-spin\ninteractions. We first review the construction of pure higher-spin gauge\ntheories in terms of Chern-Simons theories. We then discuss how this setup\ncould be modified along the lines of the known topologically massive theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Umbral Moonshine and String Duality: By studying 2d string compactifications with half-maximal supersymmetry in a\nvariety of duality frames, we find a natural physical setting for understanding\nUmbral moonshine. Near points in moduli space with enhanced gauge symmetry, we\nfind that the Umbral symmetry groups arise as symmetries of the theory. In one\nduality frame -- a flux compactification on $T^4/Z_2\\times T^4$ -- the\n24-dimensional permutation representations of the Umbral groups act on\nD1-branes strung between a set of NS5-branes. The presence of these NS5-branes\nis used to explain the Umbral moonshine decompositions of the K3 twining\ngenera, and in particular of the K3 elliptic genus. The fundamental string in\nthis frame is dual to the type IIA string on K3$\\times T^4$ and to a\ncompactified heterotic little string theory. The latter provides an interesting\nexample of a little string theory, as the string-scale geometry transverse to\nthe 5-brane plays an important role in its construction.",
        "positive": "Superfield Formulation of Nonlinear N=4 Supermultiplets: We propose a unified superfield formulation of N=4 off-shell supermultiplets\nin one spacetime dimension using the standard N=4 superspace. The main idea of\nour approach is a \"gluing\" together of two linear supermultiplets along their\nfermions. The functions defining such a gluing obey a system of equations. Each\nsolution of this system provides a new supermultiplet, linear or nonlinear,\nmodulo equivalence transformations. In such a way we reproduce all known linear\nand nonlinear N=4, d=1 supermultiplets and propose some new ones. Particularly\ninteresting is an explicit construction of nonlinear N=4 hypermultiplets."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dense and Hot Holographic QCD: Finite Baryonic E Field: We investigate the response of dense and hot holographic QCD (hQCD) to a\nstatic and baryonic electric field E using the chiral model of Sakai and\nSugimoto. Strong fields with E>(\\sqrt\\lambda M_{KK})^2 free quark pairs,\ncausing the confined vacuum and matter state to decay. We generalize\nSchwinger's QED persistence function to dense hQCD. At high temperature and\ndensity, Ohm's law is derived generalizing a recent result by Karch and\nO'Bannon to the chiral case.",
        "positive": "F-term Moduli Stabilization and Uplifting: We study K\\\"ahler moduli stabilization in IIB superstring theory. We propose\na new moduli stabilization mechanism by the supersymmetry-braking chiral\nsuperfield which is coupled to K\\\"ahler moduli in K\\\"ahler potential. We also\nstudy uplifting of the Large Volume Scenario (LVS) by it. In both cases, the\nform of superpotential is crucial for moduli stabilization. We confirm that our\nuplifting mechanism does not destabilize the vacuum of the LVS drastically."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Modular invariance and uniqueness of $T\\bar{T}$ deformed CFT: Any two dimensional quantum field theory that can be consistently defined on\na torus is invariant under modular transformations. In this paper we study\nfamilies of quantum field theories labeled by a dimensionful parameter $t$,\nthat have the additional property that the energy of a state at finite $t$ is a\nfunction only of $t$ and of the energy and momentum of the corresponding state\nat $t=0$, where the theory becomes conformal. We show that under this\nrequirement, the partition sum of the theory at $t=0$ uniquely determines the\npartition sum (and thus the spectrum) of the perturbed theory, to all orders in\n$t$, to be that of a $T\\bar T$ deformed CFT. Non-perturbatively, we find that\nfor one sign of $t$ (for which the energies are real) the partition sum is\nuniquely determined, while for the other sign we find non-perturbative\nambiguities. We characterize these ambiguities and comment on their possible\nrelations to holography.",
        "positive": "Exact holography and black hole entropy in N=8 and N=4 string theory: We compute the exact entropy of one-eighth and one-quarter BPS black holes in\nN=8 and N=4 string theory respectively. This includes all the N=4 CHL models in\nboth K3 and T^4 compactifications. The main result is a measure for the finite\ndimensional integral that one obtains after localization of supergravity on\nAdS_2xS^2. This measure is determined entirely by an anomaly in supersymmetric\nChern-Simons theory on local AdS_3 and takes into account the contribution from\nall the supergravity multiplets. In Chern-Simons theory on compact manifolds\nthis is the anomaly that computes a certain one-loop dependence on the volume\nof the manifold. For one-eighth BPS black holes our results are a first\nprinciples derivation of a measure proposed in arXiv:1111.1161, while in the\ncase of one-quarter BPS black holes our result computes exactly all the\nperturbative or area corrections. Moreover, we argue that instantonic\ncontributions can be incorporated and give evidence by computing the measure\nwhich matches precisely the microscopics. Along with this, we find an unitary\ncondition that truncates the answer to a finite sum of instantons in perfect\nagreement with a microscopic formula. Our results solve a number of puzzles\nrelated to localization in supergravity and constitute a larger number of\nexamples where holography can be shown to hold exactly."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Novel Application of Quantum Speed Limit to String Theory: In this work, we investigate the implications of the concept of quantum speed\nlimit in string field theory. We adopt a novel approach to the problem of time\non world-sheet based on Fisher information, and arrive at a minimum time for a\nparticle state to evolve into another particle state. This is done using both\nthe Mandelstam-Tamm bound and the Margolus-Levitin bound. This implies that any\ninteraction has to be smeared over such an interval, and any interaction in the\neffective quantum field theory has to be non-local. As non-local quantum field\ntheories are known to be finite, it is expected that divergences should be\nremoved from effective quantum field theories due to the quantum speed limit of\nstring theory.",
        "positive": "Orthosymplectic Implosions: We propose quivers for Coulomb branch constructions of universal implosions\nfor orthogonal and symplectic groups, extending the work on special unitary\ngroups in arXiv:2004.09620. The quivers are unitary-orthosymplectic as opposed\nto the purely unitary quivers in the A-type case. Where possible we check our\nproposals using Hilbert series techniques."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Witten Index and Superconducting Strings: The Yukawa interaction sector of superstring inspired models that give\nsuperconducting strings, can be described in terms of a supersymmetric quantum\nmechanics algebra. We relate the Witten index of susy quantum mechanics with an\nindex characteristic to superconducting string models.",
        "positive": "Remarks on the Atick-Witten behavior and strings near black hole\n  horizons: We present arguments pointing to a behavior of the string free energy in the\npresence of a black hole horizon similar to the Atick-Witten dependence on\ntemperature beyond the Hagedorn transition. We give some evidence based on\norbifold techniques applied to Rindler space and further support is found\nwithin a Hamiltonian approach. However, we argue that the interpretation in\nterms of a reduction of degrees of freedom is confronted by serious problems.\nFinally, we point out the problems concerning heuristic red-shift arguments and\nthe local interpretation of thermodynamical quantities."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Renormalizable quantum field theory as a limit of a quantum field model\n  on the loop space: A nonlocal generalization of quantum field theory in which momentum space is\nthe space of continuous maps of a circle into $\\mathbf{R}^4$ is proposed.\nFunctional integrals in this theory are proved to exist. Renormalized quantum\nfield model is obtained as a local limit of the proposed theory.",
        "positive": "The Shear Viscosity in Anisotropic Phases: We construct anisotropic black brane solutions and analyse the behaviour of\nsome of their metric perturbations. These solutions correspond to field theory\nduals in which rotational symmetry is broken due an externally applied,\nspatially constant, force. We find, in several examples, that when the\nanisotropy is sufficiently big compared to the temperature, some components of\nthe viscosity tensor can become very small in units of the entropy density,\nparametrically violating the KSS bound. We obtain an expression relating these\ncomponents of the viscosity, in units of the entropy density, to a ratio of\nmetric components at the horizon of the black brane. This relation is generally\nvalid, as long as the forcing function is translationally invariant, and it\ndirectly connects the parametric violation of the bound to the anisotropy in\nthe metric at the horizon. Our results suggest the possibility that such small\ncomponents of the viscosity tensor might also arise in anisotropic strongly\ncoupled fluids found in nature."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "String cosmology coupled to Weyl-integrable geometry: The requirement that the laws of physics must be invariant under\npoint-dependent transformations of the units of length, time, and mass is used\nas a selection principle while studying different generic effective theories of\ngravity. Thereof theories with non-minimal coupling of the dilaton both to the\ncurvature and to the Lagrangian of the matter fields seem to represent the most\nviable low-energy [and low-curvature] description of gravity. Consequently, the\ncosmological singularity problem is treated within the context of string\ncosmology with non-minimal coupling of the dilaton to a barotropic gas of\nsolitonic p-brane. The results obtained are to be interpreted on the grounds of\nWeyl-integrable geometry. The implications of these results for the Mach's\nprinciple are briefly discussed.",
        "positive": "Self-dual gravity and self-dual Yang-Mills in the context of\n  Macdowell-Mansouri formalism: In this work we propose an action which unifies self-dual gravity and\nself-dual Yang-Mills in the context of the Macdowell-Mansouri formalism. We\nclaim that such an action may be used to find the S-dual action for both\nself-dual gravity and self-dual Yang-Mills."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Multibrane solutions in cubic superstring field theory: Using the elements of the so-called $KBc\\gamma$ subalgebra, we study a class\nof analytic solutions depending on a single function $F(K)$ in the modified\ncubic superstring field theory. We compute the energy associated to these\nsolutions and show that the result can be expressed in terms of a contour\nintegral. For a particular choice of the function $F(K)$, we show that the\nenergy is given by integer multiples of a single D-brane tension.",
        "positive": "Comment on: \"The Casimir force on a piston in the spacetime with extra\n  compactified dimensions\" [Phys. Lett. B 668 (2008) 72]: We offer a clarification of the significance of the indicated paper of H.\nCheng. Cheng's conclusions about the attractive nature of Casimir forces\nbetween parallel plates are valid beyond the particular model in which he\nderived them; they are likely to be relevant to other recent literature on the\neffects of hidden dimensions on Casimir forces."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Covariant Action for the Eleven Dimensional Superstring: We suggest a super Poincar\\'e invariant action for closed eleven dimensional\nsuperstring. The sector of physical variables $x^i$, $\\theta_a$,\n$\\bar\\theta_{\\dot a}$, with $a,\\dot a=1...8$ and $x^i$ the transverse part of\nthe D=11 $x^\\mu$ coordinate is shown to possess free dynamics.",
        "positive": "Ising Field Theory on a Pseudosphere: We show how the symmetries of the Ising field theory on a pseudosphere can be\nexploited to derive the form factors of the spin fields as well as the\nnon-linear differential equations satisfied by the corresponding two-point\ncorrelation functions. The latter are studied in detail and, in particular, we\npresent a solution to the so-called connection problem relating two of the\nsingular points of the associated Painleve VI equation. A brief discussion of\nthe thermodynamic properties is also presented."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Twisted Elliptic Genera of N=2 SCFTs in Two Dimensions: The elliptic genera of two-dimensional N=2 superconformal field theories can\nbe twisted by the action of the integral Heisenberg group if their U(1) charges\nare fractional. The basic properties of the resulting twisted elliptic genera\nand the associated twisted Witten indices are investigated with due attention\nto their behaviors in orbifoldization. Our findings are illustrated by and\napplied to several concrete examples. We give a better understanding of the\nduality phenomenon observed long before for certain Landau-Ginzburg models. We\nrevisit and prove an old conjecture of Witten which states that every ADE\nLandau-Ginzburg model and the corresponding minimal model share the same\nelliptic genus. Mathematically, we establish ADE generalizations of the\nquintuple product identity.",
        "positive": "AdS$_2$ geometries and non-Abelian T-duality in non-compact spaces: We obtain an AdS$_{2}$ solution to Type IIA supergravity with 4 Poincare\nsupersymmetries, via non-Abelian T-duality with respect to a freely acting\nSL(2,$\\mathbf{R}$) isometry group, operating on the\nAdS$_3\\times$S$^3\\times$CY$_2$ solution to Type IIB. That is, non-Abelian\nT-duality on AdS$_3$. The dual background obtained fits in the class of\nAdS$_2\\times$S$^3\\times$CY$_2$ solutions to massive Type IIA constructed in\n[1]. We propose and study a quiver quantum mechanics dual to this solution that\nwe interpret as describing the backreaction of the baryon vertex of a D4-D8\nbrane intersection."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Poisson-Lie plurals of Bianchi cosmologies and Generalized Supergravity\n  Equations: Poisson-Lie T-duality and plurality are important solution generating\ntechniques in string theory and (generalized) supergravity. Since\nduality/plurality does not preserve conformal invariance, the usual beta\nfunction equations are replaced by Generalized Supergravity Equations\ncontaining vector $\\mathcal{J}$. In this paper we apply Poisson-Lie T-plurality\non Bianchi cosmologies. We present a formula for the vector $\\mathcal{J}$ as\nwell as transformation rule for dilaton, and show that plural backgrounds\ntogether with this dilaton and $\\mathcal{J}$ satisfy the Generalized\nSupergravity Equations. The procedure is valid also for non-local dilaton and\nnon-constant $\\mathcal{J}$. We also show that $Div\\,\\Theta$ of the\nnon-commutative structure $\\Theta$ used for non-Abelian T-duality or integrable\ndeformations does not give correct $\\mathcal{J}$ for Poisson-Lie T-plurality.",
        "positive": "An introduction to non-commutative differential geometry on quantum\n  groups: We give a pedagogical introduction to the differential calculus on quantum\ngroups by stressing at all stages the connection with the classical case ($q\n\\rightarrow 1$ limit). The Lie derivative and the contraction operator on forms\nand tensor fields are found. A new, explicit form of the Cartan--Maurer\nequations is presented. The example of a bicovariant differential calculus on\nthe quantum group $GL_q(2)$ is given in detail. The softening of a quantum\ngroup is considered, and we introduce $q$-curvatures satisfying q-Bianchi\nidentities, a basic ingredient for the construction of $q$-gravity and\n$q$-gauge theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Free energy of topologically massive gravity and flat space holography: We calculate the free energy from the on-shell action for topologically\nmassive gravity with negative and vanishing cosmological constant, thereby\nproviding a first principles derivation of the free energy of\nBanados-Teitelboim-Zanelli (BTZ) black holes and flat space cosmologies. We\nsummarize related recent checks of flat space holography.",
        "positive": "Phenomenology of the CAH+ measure: The CAH+ measure regulates the infinite spacetime volume of the multiverse by\nconstructing a surface of constant comoving apparent horizon (CAH) and then\nremoving the future lightcones of all points on that surface (the latter\nprescription is referred to by the \"+\" in the name of the measure). This\nmeasure was motivated by the conjectured duality between the bulk of the\nmultiverse and its future infinity and by the causality condition, requiring\nthat the cutoff surfaces of the measure should be spacelike or null. Here we\ninvestigate the phenomenology of the CAH+ measure and find that it does not\nsuffer from any known pathologies. The distribution for the cosmological\nconstant Lambda derived from this measure is in a good agreement with the\nobserved value, and the distribution for the number of inflationary e-foldings\nsatisfies the observational constraint. The CAH+ measure does not exhibit any\n\"runaway\" behaviors at zero or negative values of Lambda, which have been\nrecently shown to afflict a number of other measures."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chiral Four-Dimensional Heterotic Covariant Lattices: In the covariant lattice formalism, chiral four-dimensional heterotic string\nvacua are obtained from certain even self-dual lattices which completely\ndecompose into a left-mover and a right-mover lattice. The main purpose of this\nwork is to classify all right-mover lattices that can appear in such a chiral\nmodel, and to study the corresponding left-mover lattices using the theory of\nlattice genera. In particular, the Smith-Minkowski-Siegel mass formula is\nemployed to calculate a lower bound on the number of left-mover lattices. Also,\nthe known relationship between asymmetric orbifolds and covariant lattices is\nconsidered in the context of our classification.",
        "positive": "The Lax pair for the fermionic Bazhanov-Stroganov $R$-operator: We derive the Lax connection of the free fermion model on a lattice starting\nfrom the fermionic formulation of Bazhanov-Stroganov's three-parameter elliptic\nparametrization for the R-operator. It results in the Yang-Baxter and decorated\nYang-Baxter equations of difference type in one of the spectral parameters,\nwhich is the most suitable form to obtain any relativistic model of free\nfermions in the continuous limit."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Analytic Treatment of Positronium Spin Splittings in Light-Front QED: We study the QED bound-state problem in a light-front hamiltonian approach.\nStarting with a bare cutoff QED Hamiltonian, $H_{_{B}}$, with matrix elements\nbetween free states of drastically different energies removed, we perform a\nsimilarity transformation that removes the matrix elements between free states\nwith energy differences between the bare cutoff, $\\Lambda$, and effective\ncutoff, $\\lam$ ($\\lam < \\Lam$). This generates effective interactions in the\nrenormalized Hamiltonian, $H_{_{R}}$. These effective interactions are derived\nto order $\\alpha$ in this work, with $\\alpha \\ll 1$. $H_{_{R}}$ is renormalized\nby requiring it to satisfy coupling coherence. A nonrelativistic limit of the\ntheory is taken, and the resulting Hamiltonian is studied using bound-state\nperturbation theory (BSPT). The effective cutoff, $\\lam^2$, is fixed, and the\nlimit, $0 \\longleftarrow m^2 \\alpha^2\\ll \\lam^2 \\ll m^2 \\alpha \\longrightarrow\n\\infty$, is taken. This upper bound on $\\lam^2$ places the effects of\nlow-energy (energy transfer below $\\lam$) emission in the effective\ninteractions in the $| e {\\overline e} > $ sector. This lower bound on $\\lam^2$\ninsures that the nonperturbative scale of interest is not removed by the\nsimilarity transformation. As an explicit example of the general formalism\nintroduced, we show that the Hamiltonian renormalized to $O(\\alpha)$ reproduces\nthe exact spectrum of spin splittings, with degeneracies dictated by rotational\nsymmetry, for the ground state through $O(\\alpha^4)$. The entire calculation is\nperformed analytically, and gives the well known singlet-triplet ground state\nspin splitting of positronium, $7/6 \\alpha^2 Ryd$. We discuss remaining\ncorrections other than the spin splittings and how they can be treated in\ncalculating the spectrum with higher precision.",
        "positive": "Extremal surfaces as bulk probes in AdS/CFT: Motivated by the need for further insight into the emergence of AdS bulk\nspacetime from CFT degrees of freedom, we explore the behaviour of probes\nrepresented by specific geometric quantities in the bulk. We focus on geodesics\nand n-dimensional extremal surfaces in a general static asymptotically AdS\nspacetime with spherical and planar symmetry, respectively. While our arguments\ndo not rely on the details of the metric, we illustrate some of our findings\nexplicitly in spacetimes of particular interest (specifically AdS,\nSchwarzschild-AdS and extreme Reissner-Nordstrom-AdS). In case of geodesics, we\nfind that for a fixed spatial distance between the geodesic endpoints,\nspacelike geodesics at constant time can reach deepest into the bulk. We also\npresent a simple argument for why, in the presence of a black hole, geodesics\ncannot probe past the horizon whilst anchored on the AdS boundary at both ends.\nThe reach of an extremal n-dimensional surface anchored on a given region\ndepends on its dimensionality, the shape and size of the bounding region, as\nwell as the bulk metric. We argue that for a fixed extent or volume of the\nboundary region, spherical regions give rise to the deepest reach of the\ncorresponding extremal surface. Moreover, for physically sensible spacetimes,\nat fixed extent of the boundary region, higher-dimensional surfaces reach\ndeeper into the bulk. Finally, we show that in a static black hole spacetime,\nno extremal surface (of any dimensionality, anchored on any region in the\nboundary) can ever penetrate the horizon."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Cosmological Entropy Bounds: I review some basic facts about entropy bounds in general and about\ncosmological entropy bounds. Then I review the Causal Entropy Bound, the\nconditions for its validity and its application to the study of cosmological\nsingularities. This article is based on joint work with Gabriele Veneziano and\nsubsequent related research.",
        "positive": "Direct photons emission rate and electric conductivity in twice\n  anisotropic QGP holographic model with first-order phase transition: The electric conductivity and direct photons emission rate are considered in\nthe holographic theory with two types of anisotropy. The electric conductivity\nis derived in two different ways, and their equivalence for the twice\nanisotropic theory is shown. Numerical calculations of the electric\nconductivity were done for Einstein-dilaton-three-Maxwell holographic model\n[29]. The dependence of the conductivity on the temperature, the chemical\npotential, the external magnetic field, and the spatial anisotropy of the\nheavy-ions collision (HIC) is studied. The electric conductivity jumps near the\nfirst-order phase transition are observed. This effect is similar to the jumps\nof holographic entanglement that were studied previously."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Knot theory and a physical state of quantum gravity: We discuss the theory of knots, and describe how knot invariants arise\nnaturally in gravitational physics. The focus of this review is to delineate\nthe relationship between knot theory and the loop representation of\nnon-perturbative canonical quantum general relativity (loop quantum gravity).\nThis leads naturally to a discussion of the Kodama wavefunction, a state which\nis conjectured to be the ground state of the gravitational field with positive\ncosmological constant. This review can serve as a self-contained introduction\nto loop quantum gravity and related areas. Our intent is to make the paper\naccessible to a wider audience that may include topologists, knot-theorists,\nand other persons innocent of the physical background to this approach to\nquantum gravity.",
        "positive": "On integrability of massless AdS_4 x CP^3 superparticle equations: Lax representation is elaborated for the equations of motion of massless\nsuperparticle on the AdS_4 x CP^3 superbackground that proves their classical\nintegrability."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "D6-brane Splitting on Type IIA Orientifolds: We study the open-string moduli of supersymmetric D6-branes, addressing both\nthe string and field theory aspects of D6-brane splitting on Type IIA\norientifolds induced by open-string moduli Higgsing (i.e., their obtaining\nVEVs). Specifically, we focus on the Z_2 x Z_2 orientifolds and address the\nsymmetry breaking pattern for D6-branes parallel with the orientifold 6-planes\nas well as those positioned at angles. We demonstrate that the string theory\nresults, i.e., D6-brane splitting and relocating in internal space, are in one\nto one correspondence with the field theory results associated with the\nHiggsing of moduli in the antisymmetric representation of Sp(2N) gauge symmetry\n(for branes parallel with orientifold planes) or adjoint representation of U(N)\n(for branes at general angles). In particular, the moduli Higgsing in the\nopen-string sector results in the change of the gauge structure of D6-branes\nand thus changes the chiral spectrum and family number as well. As a\nby-product, we provide the new examples of the supersymmetric Standard-like\nmodels with the electroweak sector arising from Sp(2N)_L x Sp(2N)_R gauge\nsymmetry; and one four-family example is free of chiral Standard Model exotics.",
        "positive": "Theoretical and Phenomenological Aspects of Superstring Theories: We discuss aspects of the heterotic string effective field theories in\norbifold constructions of the heterotic string. We calculate the moduli\ndependence of threshold corrections to gauge couplings in (2,2) symmetric\norbifold compactifications. We perform the calculation of the threshold\ncorrections for a particular class of abelian (2,2) symmetric non-decomposable\norbifold models... internal twist is realized as generalized Coxeter\nautomorphism. We define the limits for the existence of states causing\nsingularities in the moduli space in the perturbative regime for a generic\nvacuum of the heterotic string. The 'proof' provides evidence for the\nexplanation of the stringy 'Higgs effect'. Furthermore, we calculate the moduli\ndependence of threshold corrections as target space invariant free energies for\nnon-decomposable orbifolds, identifying the Hauptmodul' functions for the\nrelevant congruence subgroups. The required solutions provide for the \\mu mass\nterm generation in the effective low energy theory and affect the induced\nsypersymmetry breaking by gaugino condensation. In addition, we discuss the one\nloop gauge and gravitational couplings in (0,2) non-decomposable orbifold\ncompactifications. In the second part of the Thesis the one loop correction to\nthe Kahler metric for a generic N=2 orbifold compactification of the heterotic\nstring is calculated... In this way, with the use of the one loop string\namplitudes, the prepotential of the vector multiplets of the N=2 effective\nlow-energy heterotic string is calculated in decomposable toroidal\ncompactifications of the heterotic string ... This method provides the solution\nfor the one loop correction to the prepotential of the vector multiplets of the\nheterotic string compactified on the K_3 \\times T^2..."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Solitonic photons and intermediate vector bosons: A four-dimensional topological field theory is introduced which generalises\n$B\\wedge F$ theory to give a Bogomol'nyi structure. A class of non-singular,\nfinite-Action, stable solutions to the variational field equations is\nidentified. The solitonic solutions are analogous to the instanton in\nYang-Mills theory. The solutions to the Bogomol'nyi equations in the\ntopologically least complicated $U(1)$ theory have a well-behaved (covariant)\nphase space of dimension four---the same as that for photons. The dimensional\nreduction of the four-dimensional Lagrangian is also examined. Bogomol'nyi\n$U(2)$ solitons resembling the intermediate vector bosons $Z_o$, $W^\\pm$ are\nidentified.",
        "positive": "Constant Curvature and Non-Perturbative W3 Gravity: We show that the new classical action for two dimensional gravity (the\nJackiw-Teitelboim model) possesses a $W_3$ algebra. We quantise the resulting\n$W_3$ gravity in the presence of matter fields with arbitrary central charges\nand obtain the critical exponents. The auxiliary field of the model, expressing\nthe constancy of the scalar curvature, can be interpreted as one of the\nphysical degrees of freedom of the $W_3$ gravity. Our expressions are\ncorrections to some previously published results for this model where the $W_3$\nsymmetry was not accounted for."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Rotating black holes with equal-magnitude angular momenta in d=5\n  Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet theory: We construct rotating black hole solutions in Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet theory in\nfive spacetime dimensions. These black holes are asymptotically flat, and\npossess a regular horizon of spherical topology and two equal-magnitude angular\nmomenta associated with two distinct planes of rotation. The action and global\ncharges of the solutions are obtained by using the quasilocal formalism with\nboundary counterterms generalized for the case of Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet theory.\nWe discuss the general properties of these black holes and study their\ndependence on the Gauss-Bonnet coupling constant $\\alpha$. We argue that most\nof the properties of the configurations are not affected by the higher\nderivative terms. For fixed $\\alpha$ the set of black hole solutions terminates\nat an extremal black hole with a regular horizon, where the Hawking temperature\nvanishes and the angular momenta attain their extremal values. The domain of\nexistence of regular black hole solutions is studied. The near horizon geometry\nof the extremal solutions is determined by employing the entropy function\nformalism.",
        "positive": "Holographic DC Conductivity for Backreacted NLED in Massive Gravity: In this work a holographic model with the charge current dual to a general\nnonlinear electrodynamics (NLED) is discussed in the framework of massive\ngravity. Massive graviton can breaks the diffeomorphism invariance in the bulk\nand generates momentum dissipation in the dual boundary theory. The expression\nof DC conductivities in a finite magnetic field are obtained, with the\nbackreaction of NLED field on the background geometry. General transport\nproperties in various limits are presented, and then we turn to the three of\nspecific NLED models: the conventional Maxwell electrodynamics, the\nMaxwell-Chern-Simons electrodynamics, and the Born-Infeld electrodynamics, to\nstudy the parameter-dependence of in-plane resistivity. Two mechanisms leading\nto the Mott-insulating behaviors and negative magneto-resistivity are revealed\nat zero temperature, and the role played by the massive gravity coupling\nparameters are discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Cosmological perturbations in the 5D Big Bang: Bucher [Bucher2001] has recently proposed an interesting brane-world\ncosmological scenario where the ``Big Bang'' hypersurface is the locus of\ncollision of two vacuum bubbles which nucleate in a five dimensional flat\nspace. This gives rise to an open universe, where the curvature can be very\nsmall provided that $d/R_0$ is sufficiently large. Here, d is the distance\nbetween bubbles and $R_0$ is their size at the time of nucleation. Quantum\nfluctuations develop on the bubbles as they expand towards each other, and\nthese in turn imprint cosmological perturbations on the initial hypersurface.\nWe present a simple formalism for calculating the spectrum of such\nperturbations and their subsequent evolution. We conclude that, unfortunately,\nthe spectrum is very tilted, with spectral index $n_s=3$. The amplitude of\nfluctuations at horizon crossing is given by $<(\\delta \\rho/\\rho)^2> \\sim\n(R_0/d)^2 S_E^{-1} k^2$, where $S_E\\gg 1$ is the Euclidean action of the\ninstanton describing the nucleation of a bubble and k is the wavenumber in\nunits of the curvature scale. The spectrum peaks on the smallest possible\nrelevant scale, whose wave-number is given by $k\\sim d/R_0$. We comment on the\npossible extension of our formalism to more general situations where a Big Bang\nis ignited through the collision of 4D extended objects.",
        "positive": "Supersymmetry Restoration in Superstring Perturbation Theory: Superstring perturbation theory based on the 1PI effective theory approach\nhas been useful for addressing the problem of mass renormalization and vacuum\nshift. We derive Ward identities associated with space-time supersymmetry\ntransformation in this approach. This leads to a proof of the equality of\nrenormalized masses of bosons and fermions and identities relating fermionic\namplitudes to bosonic amplitudes after taking into account the effect of mass\nrenormalization. This also relates unbroken supersymmetry to a given order in\nperturbation theory to absence of tadpoles of massless scalars to higher order.\nThe results are valid at the perturbative vacuum as well as in the shifted\nvacuum when the latter describes the correct ground state of the theory. We\napply this to SO(32) heterotic string theory on Calabi-Yau 3-folds where a one\nloop Fayet-Iliopoulos term apparently breaks supersymmetry at one loop, but\nanalysis of the low energy effective field theory indicates that there is a\nnearby vacuum where supersymmetry is restored. We explicitly prove that the\nperturbative amplitudes of this theory around the shifted vacuum indeed satisfy\nthe Ward identities associated with unbroken supersymmetry. We also test the\ngeneral arguments by explicitly verifying the equality of bosonic and fermionic\nmasses at one loop order in the shifted vacuum, and the appearance of two loop\ndilaton tadpole in the perturbative vacuum where supersymmetry is expected to\nbe broken."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The universal thermodynamic properties of Extremely Compact Objects: An extremely compact object (ECO) is defined as a quantum object without\nhorizon, whose radius is just a small distance $s$ outside its Schwarzschild\nradius. We show that any ECO of mass $M$ in $d+1$ dimensions with $s\\ll\n(M/m_p)^{2/(d-2)(d+1)}l_p$ must have (at leading order) the same thermodynamic\nproperties -- temperature, entropy and radiation rates -- as the corresponding\nsemiclassical black hole of mass $M$. An essential aspect of the argument\ninvolves showing that the Tolman-Oppenheimer-Volkoff equation has no consistent\nsolution in the region just outside the ECO surface, unless this region is\nfilled with radiation at the (appropriately blueshifted) Hawking temperature.\nIn string theory it has been found that black hole microstates are fuzzballs --\nobjects with no horizon -- which are expected to have a radius that is only a\nlittle larger than the horizon radius. Thus the arguments of this paper provide\na nice closure to the fuzzball paradigm: the absence of a horizon removes the\ninformation paradox, and the thermodynamic properties of the semiclassical hole\nare nonetheless recovered to an excellent approximation.",
        "positive": "Quarks in an External Electric Field in Finite Temperature Large N Gauge\n  Theory: We use a ten dimensional dual string background to aspects of the physics\nlarge N four dimensional SU(N) gauge theory, where its fundamental quarks are\ncharged under a background electric field. The theory is N=2 supersymmetric for\nvanishing temperature and electric field. At zero temperature, we observe that\nthe electric field induces a phase transition associated with the dissociation\nof the mesons into their constituent quarks. This is an analogue of an\ninsulator-metal transition, since the system goes from being an insulator with\nzero current (in the applied field) to a conductor with free charge carriers\n(the quarks). At finite temperature this phenomenon persists, with the\ndissociation transition become subsumed into the more familiar meson melting\ntransition. Here, the dissociation phenomenon reduces the critical melting\ntemperature."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Pole inflation in Jordan frame supergravity: We investigate inflation models in Jordan frame supergravity, in which an\ninflaton non-minimally couples to the scalar curvature. By imposing the\ncondition that an inflaton would have the canonical kinetic term in the Jordan\nframe, we construct inflation models with asymptotically flat potential through\npole inflation technique and discuss their relation to the models based on\nEinstein frame supergravity. We also show that the model proposed by Ferrara et\nal. has special position and the relation between the K\\\"ahler potential and\nthe frame function is uniquely determined by requiring that scalars take the\ncanonical kinetic terms in the Jordan frame and that a frame function consists\nonly of a holomorphic term (and its anti-holomorphic counterpart) for symmetry\nbreaking terms. Our case corresponds to relaxing the latter condition.",
        "positive": "On Two-Current Realization of KP Hierarchy: A simple description of the KP hierarchy and its multi-hamiltonian structure\nis given in terms of two Bose currents. A deformation scheme connecting various\nW-infinity algebras and relation between two fundamental nonlinear structures\nare discussed. Properties of Fa\\'a di Bruno polynomials are extensively\nexplored in this construction. Applications of our method are given for the\nConformal Affine Toda model, WZNW models and discrete KP approach to Toda\nlattice chain."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Massive Gravity: Exorcising the Ghost: We consider Higgs massive gravity [1,2] and investigate whether a nonlinear\nghost in this theory can be avoided. We show that although the theory\nconsidered in [10,11] is ghost free in the decoupling limit, the ghost\nnevertheless reappears in the fourth order away from the decoupling limit. We\nalso demonstrate that there is no direct relation between the value of the\nVainshtein scale and the existence of nonlinear ghost. We discuss how massive\ngravity should be modified to avoid the appearance of the ghost.",
        "positive": "On correlation functions in $J\\bar T$-deformed CFTs: The $J\\bar T$ deformation, built from the components of the stress tensor and\nof a $U(1)$ current, is a universal irrelevant deformation of two-dimensional\nCFTs that preserves the left-moving conformal symmetry, while breaking locality\non the right-moving side. Operators in the $J\\bar T$-deformed CFT are naturally\nlabeled by the left-moving position and right-moving momentum and transform in\nrepresentations of the one-dimensional extended conformal group. We derive an\nall-orders formula for the spectrum of conformal dimensions and charges of the\ndeformed CFT, which we cross-check at leading order using conformal\nperturbation theory. We also compute the linear corrections to the\none-dimensional OPE coefficients and comment on the extent to which the\ncorrelation functions in $J\\bar T$-deformed CFTs can be obtained from\nfield-dependent coordinate transformations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Large Dimensions and Small Curvatures from Supersymmetric Brane\n  Back-reaction: We compute the back-reaction of pairs of codimension-two branes within an\nexplicit flux-stabilized compactification, to trace how its properties depend\non the parameters that define the brane-bulk couplings. Both brane tension and\nmagnetic couplings to the stabilizing flux play an important role in the\nresulting dynamics, with the magnetic coupling allowing some of the flux to be\nlocalized on the branes (thus changing the flux-quantization conditions). We\nfind that back-reaction lifts the classical flat directions of the bulk\nsupergravity, and we calculate both the scalar potential and changes to the\nextra-dimensional and on-brane geometries that result, as functions of the\nassumed brane couplings. When linearized about simple rugby-ball geometries the\nresulting solutions allow a systematic exploration of the system's response.\nSeveral of the systems we explore have remarkable properties. Among these are a\npropensity for the extra dimensions to stabilize at exponentially large sizes,\nproviding a mechanism for generating extremely large volumes. In some\ncircumstances the brane-dilaton coupling allows the bulk dilaton to adjust to\nsuppress the on-brane curvature parametrically below the change in brane\ntension, potentially providing a mechanism for reducing the vacuum energy. We\nexplore the stability of this suppression to quantum effects in the case where\ntheir strength is controlled by the value of the field along the classical flat\ndirection, and find it can (but need not) be stable.",
        "positive": "Gauge theories and non-commutative geometry: It is shown that a $d$-dimensional classical SU(N) Yang-Mills theory can be\nformulated in a $d+2$-dimensional space, with the extra two dimensions forming\na surface with non-commutative geometry. In this paper we present an explicit\nproof for the case of the torus and the sphere."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Large N Gauge Theory -- Expansions and Transitions: We use solvable two-dimensional gauge theories to illustrate the issues in\nrelating large N gauge theory to string theory. We also give an introduction to\nrecent mathematical work which allows constructing master fields for higher\ndimensional large N theories. We illustrate this with a new derivation of the\nHopf equation governing the evolution of the spectral density in matrix quantum\nmechanics. Based on lectures given at the 1994 Trieste Spring School on String\nTheory, Gauge Theory and Quantum Gravity.",
        "positive": "Translation-Invariant Renormalizable Noncommutative Chern-Simons Theory: In this paper we show the renormalizability of the translation invariant\nnoncommutative Chern-Simons theory, motivated by the work done on\nnoncommutative scalar field theory [06]. We add a new term to the bilinear part\nof the action. In addition, we prove, the finiteness of the theory at one- and\ntwo-loop level despite this modification. Finally we perform the one-loop two\npoint functions of the gluon contribution."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dark Energy: the equation of state description versus scalar-tensor or\n  modified gravity: Dark energy dynamics of the universe can be achieved by equivalent\nmathematical descriptions taking into account generalized fluid equations of\nstate in General Relativity, scalar-tensor theories or modified F(R) gravity in\nEinstein or Jordan frames. The corresponding technique transforming equation of\nstate description to scalar-tensor or modified gravity is explicitly presented.\nWe show that such equivalent pictures can be discriminated by matching\nsolutions with data capable of selecting the true physical frame.",
        "positive": "On differential operators and unifying relations for $1$-loop Feynman\n  integrands: We generalize the unifying relations for tree amplitudes to the $1$-loop\nFeynman integrands. By employing the $1$-loop CHY formula, we construct\ndifferential operators which transmute the $1$-loop gravitational Feynman\nintegrand to Feynman integrands for a wide range of theories, include\nEinstein-Yang-Mills theory, Einstein-Maxwell theory, pure Yang-Mills theory,\nYang-Mills-scalar theory, Born-Infeld theory, Dirac-Born-Infeld theory,\nbi-adjoint scalar theory, non-linear sigma model, as well as special Galileon\ntheory. The unified web at $1$-loop level is established. Under the well known\nunitarity cut, the $1$-loop level operators will factorize into two tree level\noperators. Such factorization is also discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Generalized Calogero model in arbitrary dimensions: We define a new multispecies model of Calogero type in D dimensions with\nharmonic, two-body and three-body interactions. Using the underlying conformal\nSU(1,1) algebra, we indicate how to find the complete set of the states in\nBargmann-Fock space. There are towers of states, with equidistant energy\nspectra in each tower. We explicitely construct all polynomial eigenstates,\nnamely the center-of-mass states and global dilatation modes, and find their\ncorresponding eigenenergies. We also construct ladder operators for these\nglobal collective states. Analysing corresponding Fock space, we detect the\nuniversal critical point at which the model exhibits singular behavior. The\nabove results are universal for all systems with underlying conformal SU(1,1)\nsymmetry.",
        "positive": "Minimal Unitary Models and The Closed SU(2)-q Invariant Spin Chain: We consider the Hamiltonian of the closed $SU(2)_{q}$ invariant chain. We\nproject a particular class of statistical models belonging to the unitary\nminimal series. A particular model corresponds to a particular value of the\ncoupling constant. The operator content is derived. This class of models has\ncharge-dependent boundary conditions. In simple cases (Ising, 3-state Potts)\ncorresponding Hamiltonians are constructed. These are non-local as the original\nspin chain."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A lattice approach to the conformal $\\OSp(2S+2|2S)$ supercoset sigma\n  model. Part II: The boundary spectrum: We consider the partition function of the boundary $OSp(2S+2|2S)$ coset sigma\nmodel on an annulus, based on the lattice regularization introduced in the\ncompanion paper. Using results for the action of $OSp(2S+2|2S)$ and $B_L(2)$ on\nthe corresponding spin chain, as well as mini-superspace and small $g_\\sigma^2$\ncalculations, we conjecture the full spectrum and set of degeneracies on the\nentire critical line. Potential relationship with the $OSp(2S+2|2S)$\nGross-Neveu model is also discussed.",
        "positive": "New Constraints on Chiral Gauge Theories: Recently, a new constraint on the structure of a wide class of strongly\ncoupled field theories has been proposed. It takes the form of an inequality\nlimiting the number of degrees of freedom in the infrared description of a\ntheory to be no larger than the number of underlying, ultraviolet degrees of\nfreedom. Here we apply this inequality to chiral gauge theories. For some\nmodels we find that it is always satisfied, while for others we find that the\nassumption of the validity of the inequality implies a strong additional\nrestriction on the spectrum of massless composite particles."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The AdS(4) x CP(3) string and its Bethe equations in the near plane wave\n  limit: We perform a detailed study of bosonic type IIA string theory in a large\nlight-cone momentum / near plane wave limit of $AdS_4 \\times CP_3$. In order to\nattain this we derive the Hamiltonian up to cubic and quartic order in number\nof fields and calculate the energies for string excitations in a $R\\times S^2\n\\times S^2$ subspace. The computation for the string energies is performed for\narbitrary length excitations utilizing an unitary transformation which allows\nus to remove the cubic terms in the Hamiltonian. We then rewrite a recent set\nof proposed all loop Bethe equations in a light-cone language and compare their\npredictions with the obtained string energies. We find perfect agreement.",
        "positive": "A scattering theory of ultrarelativistic solitons: We construct a perturbative framework for understanding the collision of\nsolitons (more precisely, solitary waves) in relativistic scalar field\ntheories. Our perturbative framework is based on the suppression of the\nspace-time interaction area proportional to $1/(\\gamma v)$, where $v$ is the\nrelative velocity of an incoming solitary wave and $\\gamma = 1/\\sqrt{1-v^2} \\gg\n1$. We calculate the leading order results for collisions of (1+1) dimensional\nkinks in periodic potentials, and provide explicit, closed form expressions for\nthe phase shift and the velocity change after the collisions. We find excellent\nagreement between our results and detailed numerical simulations. Crucially,\nour perturbation series is controlled by a kinematic parameter, and hence not\nrestricted to small deviations around integrable cases such as the Sine-Gordon\nmodel."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Wilson Loops in Noncommutative Yang Mills: We study the correlation functions of the Wilson loops in noncommutative\nYang-Mills theory based upon its equivalence to twisted reduced models. We\npoint out that there is a crossover at the noncommutativity scale. At large\nmomentum scale, the Wilson loops in noncommmutative Yang-Mills represent\nextended objects. They coincide with those in ordinary Yang-Mills theory in low\nenergy limit. The correlation functions on D-branes in IIB matrix model exhibit\nthe identical crossover behavior. It is observed to be consistent with the\nsupergravity description with running string coupling. We also explain that the\nresults of Seiberg and Witten can be simply understood in our formalism.",
        "positive": "Steady-state Physics, Effective Temperature Dynamics in Holography: Using the gauge-gravity duality, we argue that for a certain class of\nout-of-equilibrium steady-state systems in contact with a thermal background at\na given temperature, the macroscopic physics can be captured by an effective\nthermodynamic description. The steady-state is obtained by applying a constant\nelectric field that results in a stationary current flow. Within holography, we\nconsider generic probe systems where an open string equivalence principle and\nan open string metric govern the effective thermodynamics. This description\ncomes equipped with an effective temperature, which is larger than the\nbackground temperature, and a corresponding effective entropy. For conformal or\nscale-invariant theories, certain scaling behaviours follow immediately. In\ngeneral, in the large electric field limit, this effective temperature is also\nobserved to obey generic relations with various physical parameters in the\nsystem."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "N=1 Non-Abelian Tensor Multiplet in Four Dimensions: We carry out the N=1 supersymmetrization of a physical non-Abelian tensor\nwith non-trivial consistent couplings in four dimensions. Our system has three\nmultiplets: (i) The usual non-Abelian vector multiplet (VM) (A_\\mu{}^I,\n\\lambda^I), (ii) A non-Abelian tensor multiplet (TM) (B_{\\mu\\nu}{}^I, \\chi^I,\n\\varphi^I), and (iii) A compensator vector multiplet (CVM) (C_\\mu{}^I, \\rho^I).\nAll of these multiplets are in the adjoint representation of a non-Abelian\ngroup G. Unlike topological theory, all of our fields are propagating with\nkinetic terms. The C_\\mu{}^I-field plays the role of a Stueckelberg compensator\nabsorbed into the longitudinal component of B_{\\mu\\nu}{}^I. We give not only\nthe component lagrangian, but also a corresponding superspace reformulation,\nreconfirming the total consistency of the system. The adjoint representation of\nthe TM and CVM is further generalized to an arbitrary real representation of\ngeneral SO(N) gauge group. We also couple the globally N=1 supersymmetric\nsystem to supergravity, as an additional non-trivial confirmation.",
        "positive": "Trapped States and bound states of a soliton in a well: The nature of the interaction of a soliton with an attractive well is\nelucidated using a model of two interacting point particles. The model explains\nthe existence of trapped states at positive kinetic energy, as well as\nreflection by an attractive impurity. The transition from a trapped soliton\nstate to a bound state is studied. Bound states of the soliton in a well are\nalso found."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the semiclassical 3-point function in AdS_3: We reconsider the problem of determining the semiclassical 3-point function\nin the Euclidean AdS_3 model. Exploiting the affine symmetry of the model we\nuse solutions of the classical Knizhnik-Zamolodchikov (KZ) equation to compute\nthe saddle point of the action in the presence of three vertex operators. This\nalternative derivation reproduces the \"heavy charge\" classical limit of the\nquantum 3-point correlator. It is different from the recently proposed\nexpression obtained by generalised Pohlmeyer reduction in AdS_2",
        "positive": "Matrix Theory, U-Duality and Toroidal Compactifications of M-Theory: Using U-duality, the properties of the matrix theories corresponding to the\ncompactification of M-theory on $T^d$ are investigated. The couplings of the\n$d+1$ dimensional effective Super-Yang-Mills theory to all the M-theory moduli\nis deduced and the spectrum of BPS branes in the SYM gives the corresponding\nspectrum of the matrix theory.Known results are recovered for $d\\le 5$ and\npredictions for $d>5$ are proposed. For $d>3$, the spectrum includes $d-4$\nbranes arising from YM instantons, and U-duality interchanges momentum modes\nwith brane wrapping modes.For $d=6$, there is a generalised $\\th $-angle which\ncouples to instantonic 3-branes and which combines with the SYM coupling\nconstant to take values in $SL(2,\\R)/U(1)$, acted on by an $SL(2,\\Z)$ subgroup\nof the U-duality group $E_6(\\Z)$. For $d=4,7,8$, there is an $SL(d+1)$\nsymmetry, suggesting that the matrix theory could be a scale-invariant $d+2$\ndimensional theory on $T^{d+1} \\times \\R$ in these cases, as is already known\nto be the case for $d=4$; evidence is found suggesting this happens for $d=8$\nbut not $d=7$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dynamics of warped flux compactifications with backreacting anti-branes: We revisit the effective low-energy dynamics of the volume modulus in warped\nflux compactifications with anti-D3-branes in order to analyze the prospects\nfor meta-stable de Sitter vacua and brane inflation along the lines of\nKKLT/KKLMMT. At the level of the 10d supergravity solution, anti-branes in flux\nbackgrounds with opposite charge are known to source singular terms in the\nenergy densities of the bulk fluxes, which led to a debate on the consistency\nof such constructions in string theory. A straightforward yet non-trivial check\nof the singular solution is to verify that its dimensional reduction in the\nlarge-volume limit reproduces the 4d low-energy dynamics expected from known\nresults where the anti-branes are treated as a probe. Taking into account the\nanti-brane backreaction in the effective scalar potential, we find that both\nthe volume scaling and the coefficient of the anti-brane uplift term are in\nexact agreement with the probe potential if the singular fluxes satisfy a\ncertain near-brane boundary condition. This condition can be tested explicitly\nand may thus help to decide whether flux singularities should be interpreted as\npathological or benign features of flux compactifications with anti-branes.\nThroughout the paper, we also comment on a number of subtleties related to the\nproper definition of warped effective field theory with anti-branes.",
        "positive": "Fermion Conformal Bootstrap in 4d: We apply numerical conformal bootstrap techniques to the four-point function\nof a Weyl spinor in 4d non-supersymmetric CFTs. We find universal bounds on\noperator dimensions and OPE coefficients, including bounds on operators in\nmixed symmetry representations of the Lorentz group, which were inaccessible in\nprevious bootstrap studies. We find discontinuities in some of the bounds on\noperator dimensions, and we show that they arise due to a generic yet\npreviously unobserved fake primary effect, which is related to the existence of\npoles in conformal blocks. We show that this effect is also responsible for\nsimilar discontinuities found in four-fermion bootstrap in 3d, as well as in\nthe mixed-correlator analysis of the 3d Ising CFT. As an important byproduct of\nour work, we develop a practical technology for numerical approximation of\ngeneral 4d conformal blocks."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Corners in M-theory: M-theory can be defined on closed manifolds as well as on manifolds with\nboundary. As an extension, we show that manifolds with corners appear naturally\nin M-theory. We illustrate this with four situations: The lift to bounding\ntwelve dimensions of M-theory on Anti de Sitter spaces, ten-dimensional\nheterotic string theory in relation to twelve dimensions, and the two M-branes\nwithin M-theory in the presence of a boundary. The M2-brane is taken with (or\nas) a boundary and the worldvolume of the M5-brane is viewed as a tubular\nneighborhood. We then concentrate on (variant) of the heterotic theory as a\ncorner and explore analytical and geometric consequences. In particular, we\nformulate and study the phase of the partition function in this setting and\nidentify the corrections due to the corner(s). The analysis involves\nconsidering M-theory on disconnected manifolds, and makes use of the extension\nof the Atiyah-Patodi-Singer index theorem to manifolds with corners and the\nb-calculus of Melrose.",
        "positive": "Sugawara-type constraints in hyperbolic coset models: In the conjectured correspondence between supergravity and geodesic models on\ninfinite-dimensional hyperbolic coset spaces, and E10/K(E10) in particular, the\nconstraints play a central role. We present a Sugawara-type construction in\nterms of the E10 Noether charges that extends these constraints infinitely into\nthe hyperbolic algebra, in contrast to the truncated expressions obtained in\narXiv:0709.2691 that involved only finitely many generators. Our extended\nconstraints are associated to an infinite set of roots which are all imaginary,\nand in fact fill the closed past light-cone of the Lorentzian root lattice. The\nconstruction makes crucial use of the E10 Weyl group and of the fact that the\nE10 model contains both D=11 supergravity and D=10 IIB supergravity. Our\nextended constraints appear to unite in a remarkable manner the different\ncanonical constraints of these two theories. This construction may also shed\nnew light on the issue of `open constraint algebras' in traditional canonical\napproaches to gravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Multi-Trace Operators and the Generalized AdS/CFT Prescription: We show that multi-trace interactions can be consistently incorporated into\nan extended AdS/CFT prescription involving the inclusion of generalized\nboundary conditions and a modified Legendre transform prescription. We find new\nand consistent results by considering a self-contained formulation which\nrelates the quantization of the bulk theory to the AdS/CFT correspondence and\nthe perturbation at the boundary by double-trace interactions. We show that\nthere exist particular double-trace perturbations for which irregular modes are\nallowed to propagate as well as the regular ones. We perform a detailed\nanalysis of many different possible situations, for both minimally and\nnon-minimally coupled cases. In all situations, we make use of a new constraint\nwhich is found by requiring consistence. In the particular non-minimally\ncoupled case, the natural extension of the Gibbons-Hawking surface term is\ngenerated.",
        "positive": "Exact renormalization of a noncommutative \u03c6^3 model in 6 dimensions: The noncommutative selfdual \\phi^3 model in 6 dimensions is quantized and\nessentially solved, by mapping it to the Kontsevich model. The model is shown\nto be renormalizable and asymptotically free, and solvable genus by genus. It\nrequires both wavefunction and coupling constant renormalization. The exact\n(all-order) renormalization of the bare parameters is determined explicitly,\nwhich turns out to depend on the genus 0 sector only. The running coupling\nconstant is also computed exactly, which decreases more rapidly than predicted\nby the one-loop beta function. A phase transition to an unstable phase is\nfound."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Mother Moose: Generating Extra Dimensions from Simple Groups at Large N: We show that there exists a correspondence between four dimensional gauge\ntheories with simple groups and higher dimensional gauge theories at large N.\nAs an example, we show that a four dimensional {N}=2 supersymmetric SU(N) gauge\ntheory, on the Higgs branch, has the same correlators as a five dimensional\nSU(N) gauge theory in the limit of large N provided the couplings are\nappropriately rescaled. We show that our results can be applied to the AdS/CFT\ncorrespondence to derive correlators of five or more dimensional gauge theories\nfrom solutions of five dimensional supergravity in the large t'Hooft coupling\nlimit.",
        "positive": "Chiral strings, the sectorized description and their integrated vertex\n  operators: A chiral string can be seen as an ordinary string in a singular gauge for the\nworldsheet metric and has the ambitwistor string as its tensionless limit. As\nproposed by Siegel, there is a one-parameter ($\\beta$) gauge family\ninterpolating between the chiral limit and the usual conformal gauge in string\ntheory. This idea was used to compute scattering amplitudes of tensile chiral\nstrings, which are given by standard string amplitudes with modified\n($\\beta$-dependent) antiholomorphic propagators.\n  Due to the absence of a sensible definition of the integrated vertex\noperator, there is still no ordinary prescription for higher than $3$-point\namplitude computations directly from the chiral model. The exception is the\ntensionless limit.\n  In this work this gap will be filled. Starting with a chiral string action,\nthe integrated vertex operator is defined, relying on the so-called sectorized\ninterpretation. As it turns out, this construction effectively emulates a\nleft/right factorization of the scattering amplitude and introduces a relative\nsign flip in the propagator for the sector-split target space coordinates.\n$N$-point tree-level amplitudes can be easily shown to coincide with the\nresults of Siegel et al."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Virtues of a symmetric-structure double copy: We demonstrate a physical motivation for extending color-dual or BCJ\ndouble-copy construction to include theories with kinematic numerators that\nobey the same algebraic relations as symmetric structure constants,\n$d^{abc}=\\text{Tr}[\\{T^{a},T^{b}\\}T^c]$. We verify that $U(N_c)$ nonlinear\nsigma model (NLSM) pions, long known to be color-dual in terms of antisymmetric\nadjoint factors, $f^{abc}$, are also color-dual in the sense of symmetric color\nstructures, $d^{abc}$, explicitly through six-point scattering. This reframing\nof NLSM pion amplitudes complements our compositional construction of $d^{abc}$\ncolor-dual higher derivative gauge operators. With adjoint and symmetric\ncolor-dual kinematics, we can span all four-point effective photon operators\nvia a double-copy construction using amplitudes from physical theories. We\nfurther comment on a tension between locality and adjoint effective numerators,\nand the implications for spanning gravitational effective operators with\nnon-adjoint kinematics.",
        "positive": "Bianchi-type string cosmology: Bianchi-type string cosmology involves generalizations of the FRW backgrounds\nwith three transitive spacelike Killing symmetries, but without any a priori\nassumption of isotropy in the 3D sections of homogeneity. With emphasis on\nthose cases with diagonal metrics and vanishing cosmological constant which\nwhich have not been previously examined in the literature, the present findings\nallow an overview and the classification of all Bianchi-type backgrounds. These\nstring solutions (at least to lowest order in alpha prime) offer prototypes for\nthe study of spatial anisotropy and its impact on the dynamics of the early\nuniverse."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Brane Webs and Random Processes: We study $(p,q)$ 5-brane webs dual to certain $N$ M5-brane configurations and\nshow that the partition function of these brane webs gives rise to cylindric\nSchur process with period $N$. This generalizes the previously studied case of\nperiod $1$. We also show that open string amplitudes corresponding to these\nbrane webs are captured by the generating function of cylindric plane\npartitions with profile determined by the boundary conditions imposed on the\nopen string amplitudes.",
        "positive": "Anomaly cancellation with an extra gauge boson: Many extensions of the Standard Model include an extra gauge boson, whose\ncouplings to fermions are constrained by the requirement that anomalies cancel.\nWe find a general solution to the resulting diophantine equations in the\nplausible case where the chiral fermion content is that of the Standard Model\nplus 3 right-handed neutrinos."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "No-force condition and BPS combinations of p-branes in 11 and 10\n  dimensions: The condition of vanishing of static force on a q-brane probe in the\ngravitational background produced by another p-brane is used to give a simple\nderivation of the pair-wise intersection rules which govern the construction of\nBPS combinations of branes. These rules, while implied also by supersymmetry\nconsiderations, thus have purely bosonic origin. Imposing the no-force\nrequirement makes possible to add branes `one by one' to construct composite\nBPS configurations (with zero binding energy) of 2-branes and 5-branes in D=11\nand of various p-branes in D=10. The advantage of this elementary approach is\nits universality, i.e. the cases of different dimensions and different types of\nbranes (e.g., NS-NS, R-R and `mixed' combinations of NS-NS and R-R branes in\nD=10) are all treated in the same way.",
        "positive": "Open Branes and Little Strings: This is a short review of the newly discovered ODp-theories that are\nnon-gravitational six-dimensional theories defined as the decoupling limit of\nNS5-branes in the presence of a near-critical (p+1)-form RR fields. We discuss\nthe motivation for these new theories, their definitions and properties, and\ntheir relation to NCOS theory, OM theory and Little String Theory, focusing on\nthe cases p=1,2."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Decay of K-theory: Closed string tachyon condensation resolves the singularities of\nnonsupersymmetric orbifolds, however the resolved space typically has fewer\nD-brane charges than that of the orbifold. The description of the tachyon\ncondensation process via a gauged linear sigma model enables one to track the\ntopology as one passes from the sigma model's ``orbifold phase'' to its\nresolved, ``geometric phase,'' and thus to follow how the D-brane charges\ndisappear from the effective spacetime dynamics. As a mathematical consequence,\nour results point the way to a formulation of a ``quantum McKay\ncorrespondence'' for the resolution of toric orbifold singularities.",
        "positive": "Classification of the N=1 Seiberg-Witten Theories: We present a systematic study of N=1 supersymmetric gauge theories which are\nin the Coulomb phase. We show how to find all such theories based on a simple\ngauge group and no tree-level superpotential. We find the low-energy solution\nfor the new theories in terms of a hyperelliptic Seiberg-Witten curve. This\nwork completes the study of all N=1 supersymmetric gauge theories where the\nDynkin index of the matter fields equals the index of the adjoint (mu=G), and\nconsequently all theories for which mu<G."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Faddeev-Popov ghosts in quantum gravity beyond perturbation theory: We study the Faddeev-Popov ghost sector of asymptotically safe quantum\ngravity, which becomes non-perturbative in the ultraviolet. We point out that\nnonzero matter-ghost couplings and higher-order ghost self-interactions exist\nat a non-Gaussian fixed point for the gravitational couplings, i.e., in the\nultraviolet. Thus the ghost sector in this non-perturbative ultraviolet\ncompletion does not keep the structure of a simple Faddeev-Popov determinant.\nWe discuss implications of the new ghost couplings for the Renormalization\nGroup flow in gravity, the form of the ultraviolet completion, and the relevant\ncouplings, i.e., free parameters, of the theory.",
        "positive": "Fluxes and Branes in Type II Vacua and M-theory Geometry with G(2) and\n  Spin(7) Holonomy: We discuss fluxes of RR and NSNS background fields in type II string\ncompactifications on non-compact Calabi-Yau threefolds together with their dual\nbrane description which involves bound states of branes. Simultaneously turning\non RR and NSNS 2-form fluxes in an 1/2 supersymmetric way can be geometrically\ndescribed in M-theory by a SL(2,Z) family of metrics of G(2) holonomy. On the\nother hand, if the flux configuration only preserves 1/4 of supersymmetries, we\npostulate the existence of a new eight-dimensional manifold with spin(7)\nholonomy, which does not seem to fit into the classes of known examples. The\nlatter situation is dual to a 1/4 supersymmetric web of branes on the deformed\nconifold. In addition to the 2-form fluxes, we also present some considerations\non type IIA NSNS 4-form and 6-form fluxes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Constraints and Period Relations in Bosonic Strings at Genus-g: We examine some of the implications of implementing the usual boundary\nconditions on the closed bosonic string in the hamiltonian framework. Using the\nKN formalism, it is shown that at the quantum level, the resulting constraints\nlead to relations among the periods of the basis 1-forms. These are compared\nwith those of Riemanns' which arise from a different consideration.",
        "positive": "Domain walls and flow equations in supergravity: Domain wall solutions have attracted much attention due to their relevance\nfor brane world scenarios and the holographic RG flow. In this talk I discuss\nthe following aspects for these applications: (i) derivation of the first order\nflow equations as Bogomol'nyi bound; (ii) different types of critical points of\nthe superpotential; (iii) the superpotential needed to localize gravity; (iv)\nthe constraints imposed by supersymmetry including an example for an $N$=1 flow\nand finally (v) sources and exponential trapping of gravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Zero modes, gauge fixing, monodromies, $\u03b6$-functions and all that: We discuss various issues associated with the calculation of the reduced\nfunctional determinant of a special second order differential operator\n$\\boldmath${F}$ =-d^2/d\\tau^2+\\ddot g/g$, $\\ddot g\\equiv d^2g/d\\tau^2$, with a\ngeneric function $g(\\tau)$, subject to periodic and Dirichlet boundary\nconditions. These issues include the gauge-fixed path integral representation\nof this determinant, the monodromy method of its calculation and the\ncombination of the heat kernel and zeta-function technique for the derivation\nof its period dependence. Motivations for this particular problem, coming from\napplications in quantum cosmology, are also briefly discussed. They include the\nproblem of microcanonical initial conditions in cosmology driven by a conformal\nfield theory, cosmological constant and cosmic microwave background problems.",
        "positive": "A note on Gribov copies in 3D Chern-Simons theory: Using powerful tools of harmonic maps and integrable systems, all the Gribov\ncopies in the Coulomb gauge in 3D Chern-Simons theory are constructed. Some\nissues about the Gribov and the modular re- gions are shortly discussed. The\nGribov copies of the vacuum in 3D QCD in the Coulomb gauge are described. An\ninteresting implication of the presence of Gribov copies is briefy pointed out."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Neutrino-Antineutrino Asymmetry From The Space-time Noncommutativity: A new mechanism having as an origin the space-time noncommutativity has been\nshown to generate anisotropy and axial-like interaction giving rise to a\nleptonic asymmetry for fermionic particles propagating in a curved\nnoncommutative $FRW$ universe. As a by-product, for ultra-relativistic\nparticles like neutrinos, an analytical expression of this asymmetry is derived\nexplicitly. Constraints and bounds from the cosmological parameters are also\ndiscussed.",
        "positive": "Mirror effect induced by the dilaton field on the Hawking radiation: We discuss the string creation in the near-extremal NS1 black string\nsolution. The string creation is described by an effective field equation\nderived from a fundamental string action coupled to the dilaton field in a\nconformally invariant manner. In the non-critical string model the dilaton\nfield causes a timelike mirror surface outside the horizon when the size of the\nblack string is comparable to the Planck scale. Since the fundamental strings\nare reflected by the mirror surface, the negative energy flux does not\npropagate across the surface. This means that the evaporation stops just before\nthe naked singularity of the extremal black string appears even though the\nsurface gravity is non-zero in the extremal limit."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Bosonisation Excercise in Three Dimensions: Gauged Massive Thirring\n  Model: Bosonisation of the massive Thirring model, with a non-minimal and\nnon-abelian gauging is studied in 2+1-dimensions. The static abelian model is\nsolved completely in the large fermion mass limit and the spectrum is obtained.\nThe non-abelian model is solved for a restricted class of gauge fields. In both\ncases explicit expressions for bosonic currents corresponding to the fermion\ncurrents are given.",
        "positive": "$I$ in generalized supergravity: We showed in previous work that for homogeneous Yang-Baxter (YB) deformations\nof AdS$_5\\times$S$^5$, the open string metric and coupling, and as a result the\nclosed string density $e^{-2 \\Phi} \\sqrt{g}$, remain undeformed. In this work,\nin addition to extending these results to the deformation associated with the\nmodified CYBE, or $\\eta$-deformation, we identify the Page forms as the open\nstring counterpart for RR fields and demonstrate case by case that the non-zero\nPage forms remain invariant under YB deformations. We give a physical meaning\nto the Killing vector $I$ of generalized supergravity and show for all YB\ndeformations: 1) $I$ appears as a current for center of mass motion on the\nworldvolume of a D-branes probing the background, 2) $I$ is equal to the\ndivergence of the noncommutativity parameter, 3) $I$ exhibits \"holographic\"\nbehavior, where the radial component of $I$ vanishes at the AdS boundary, and\n4) in pure spinor formalism $I$ is related to a certain state in the BRST\ncohomology."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Asymptotically Safe $f(R)$-Gravity Coupled to Matter II: Global\n  Solutions: Ultraviolet fixed point functions of the functional renormalisation group\nequation for $f(R)$-gravity coupled to matter fields are discussed. The metric\nis split via the exponential parameterisation into a background and a\nfluctuating metric, the former is chosen to be the one of a four-sphere. Also\nwhen scalar, fermion and vector fields are included global quadratic solutions\nexist as in the pure gravity case for discrete sets of values for some\nendomorphism parameters defining the coarse-graining scheme. The asymptotic,\nlarge-curvature behaviour of the fixed point functions is analysed for generic\nvalues of these parameters. Examples for global numerical solutions are\nprovided. A special focus is given to the question whether matter fields might\ndestabilise the ultraviolet fixed point function. Similar to a previous\nanalysis of a polynomial, small-curvature approximation to the fixed point\nfunctions different classes for such functions are found.",
        "positive": "CFT Correlators and CP-Violating Trace Anomalies: We analyze the parity-odd correlators $\\langle JJO\\rangle_{odd}$, $\\langle\nJJT\\rangle_{odd}$, $\\langle TTO\\rangle_{odd}$ and $\\langle TTT\\rangle_{odd}$ in\nmomentum space, constrained by conformal Ward identities, extending our former\ninvestigation of the parity-odd chiral anomaly vertex. We investigate how the\npresence of parity-odd trace anomalies affect such correlators. Motivations for\nthis study come from holography, early universe cosmology and from a recent\ndebate on the chiral trace anomaly of a Weyl fermion. In the current CFT\nanalysis, $O$ can be either a scalar or a pseudoscalar operator and it can be\nidentified with the trace of the stress energy tensor. We find that the\n$\\langle JJO\\rangle_{odd}$ and $\\langle TTO\\rangle_{odd}$ can be different from\nzero in a CFT. This occurs when the conformal dimension of the scalar operator\nis $\\Delta_3=4$, as in the case of $O=T^\\mu_\\mu$. Moreover, if we assume the\nexistence of parity-odd trace anomalies, the conformal $\\langle\nJJT\\rangle_{odd}$ and $\\langle TTT\\rangle_{odd}$ are nonzero. In particular, in\nthe case of $\\langle JJT\\rangle_{odd}$ the transverse-traceless component is\nconstrained to vanish, and the correlator is determined only by the trace part\nwith the anomaly pole."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Free Field Representation For Massive Integrable Models: A new approach to massive integrable models is considered. It allows one to\nfind symmetry algebras which define spaces of local operators and to get\ngeneral integral representations for form-factors in the\\ $ SU(2)$\\ Thirring\nand Sine-Gordon models.",
        "positive": "All-loop Mondrian Reduction of 4-particle Amplituhedron at Positive\n  Infinity: This article introduces a systematic framework to understand (not to derive\nyet) the all-loop 4-particle amplituhedron in planar N=4 SYM, utilizing both\npositivity and the Mondrian diagrammatics. Its key idea is the simplest one so\nfar: we can decouple one or more sets of loop variables (x,y,z,w) from the rest\nby just setting these variables to either zero or infinity so that their\nrelevant positivity conditions are trivialized, then the all-loop consistency\nrequires that we get lower loop amplituhedra as \"residues\". These decoupling\nrelations connect higher loop DCI integrals with the lower ones, enabling us to\nidentify their coefficients starting from the 3-loop case. And surprisingly,\nthe delicate mechanism of this process is the simple Mondrian rule D=X+Y, which\nforces those visually non-Mondrian DCI integrals to have the correct\ncoefficients such that the amplituhedron can exactly reduce to the lower loop\none. Examples cover all DCI integrals at L=3,4,5,6, especially, the subtle\n6-loop coefficients +2 and 0 are neatly explained in this way."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Finitized Conformal Spectra of the Ising Model on the Klein Bottle and\n  Moebius Strip: We study the conformal spectra of the critical square lattice Ising model on\nthe Klein bottle and M\\\"obius strip using Yang-Baxter techniques and the\nsolution of functional equations. In particular, we obtain expressions for the\nfinitized conformal partition functions in terms of finitized Virasoro\ncharacters. This demonstrates that Yang-Baxter techniques and functional\nequations can be used to study the conformal spectra of more general exactly\nsolvable lattice models in these topologies. The results rely on certain\nproperties of the eigenvalues which are confirmed numerically.",
        "positive": "Trace Anomaly and Quantization of Maxwell's Theory on Non-Commutative\n  Spaces: The canonical and symmetrical energy-momentum tensors and their non-zero\ntraces in Maxwell's theory on non-commutative spaces have been found. Dirac's\nquantization of the theory under consideration has been performed. I have found\nthe extended Hamiltonian and equations of motion in the general gauge covariant\nform."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "N = (2, 2) Non-Linear sigma-Models: A Synopsis: We review N=(2,2) supersymmetric non-linear sigma-models in two dimensions\nand their relation to generalized Kahler and Calabi-Yau geometry. We illustrate\nthis with an explicit non-trivial example.",
        "positive": "Semiclassical strings and AdS/CFT: We discuss AdS/CFT duality in the sector of ``semiclassical'' string states\nwith large quantum numbers. We review the coherent-state effective action\napproach, in which similar 2d sigma model actions appear from the AdS_5 x S^5\nstring action and from the integrable spin chain Hamiltonian representing the\nN=4 super Yang-Mills dilatation operator. We consider mostly the leading-order\nterms in the energies/anomalous dimensions which match but comment also on\nhigher-order corrections."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chiral Decomposition For Non-Abelian Bosons: We study the non-abelian extension for the splitting of a scalar field into\nchiral components. Using this procedure we find a non ambiguous way of coupling\na non abelian chiral scalar field to gravity. We start with a (non-chiral) WZW\nmodel covariantly coupled to a background metric and, after the splitting,\narrive at two chiral Wess-Zumino-Witten (WZW) models coupled to gravity.",
        "positive": "Strings in Time-Dependent Orbifolds: We continue and extend our earlier investigation ``Strings in a\nTime-Dependent Orbifold'' (hep-th/0204168). We formulate conditions for an\norbifold to be amenable to perturbative string analysis and classify the low\ndimensional orbifolds satisfying these conditions. We analyze the tree and\ntorus amplitudes of some of these orbifolds. The tree amplitudes exhibit a new\nkind of infrared divergences which are a result of some ultraviolet effects.\nThese UV enhanced IR divergences can be interpreted as due to back reaction of\nthe geometry. We argue that for this reason the three dimensional parabolic\norbifold is not amenable to perturbation theory. Similarly, the smooth four\ndimensional null-brane tensored with sufficiently few noncompact dimensions\nalso appears problematic. However, when the number of noncompact dimensions is\nsufficiently large perturbation theory in these time dependent backgrounds\nseems consistent."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Wall crossing in local Calabi Yau manifolds: We study the BPS states of a D6-brane wrapping the conifold and bound to\ncollections of D2 and D0 branes. We find that in addition to the complexified\nKahler parameter of the rigid sphere it is necessary to introduce an extra real\nparameter to describe BPS partition functions and marginal stability walls. The\nsupergravity approach to BPS state-counting gives a simple derivation of\nresults of Szendroi concerning Donaldson-Thomas theory on the noncommutative\nconifold. This example also illustrates some interesting limitations on the\nsupergravity approach to BPS state-counting and wall-crossing.",
        "positive": "Quantum Vacua of 2d Maximally Supersymmetric Yang-Mills Theory: We analyze the classical and quantum vacua of 2d $\\mathcal{N}=(8,8)$\nsupersymmetric Yang-Mills theory with $SU(N)$ and $U(N)$ gauge group,\ndescribing the worldvolume interactions of $N$ parallel D1-branes with flat\ntransverse directions $\\mathbb{R}^8$. We claim that the IR limit of the $SU(N)$\ntheory in the superselection sector labeled $M \\pmod{N}$ --- identified with\nthe internal dynamics of $(M,N)$-string bound states of Type IIB string theory\n--- is described by the symmetric orbifold $\\mathcal{N}=(8,8)$ sigma model into\n$(\\mathbb{R}^8)^{D-1}/\\mathbb{S}_D$ when $D=\\gcd(M,N)>1$, and by a single\nmassive vacuum when $D=1$, generalizing the conjectures of E. Witten and\nothers. The full worldvolume theory of the D1-branes is the $U(N)$ theory with\nan additional $U(1)$ 2-form gauge field $B$ coming from the string theory\nKalb-Ramond field. This $U(N)+B$ theory has generalized field configurations,\nlabeled by the $\\mathbb{Z}$-valued generalized electric flux and an independent\n$\\mathbb{Z}_N$-valued 't Hooft flux. We argue that in the quantum mechanical\ntheory, the $(M,N)$-string sector with $M$ units of electric flux has a\n$\\mathbb{Z}_N$-valued discrete $\\theta$ angle specified by $M \\pmod{N}$ dual to\nthe 't Hooft flux. Adding the brane center-of-mass degrees of freedom to the\n$SU(N)$ theory, we claim that the IR limit of the $U(N) + B$ theory in the\nsector with $M$ bound F-strings is described by the $\\mathcal{N}=(8,8)$ sigma\nmodel into ${\\rm Sym}^{D} ( \\mathbb{R}^8)$. We provide strong evidence for\nthese claims by computing an $\\mathcal{N}=(8,8)$ analog of the elliptic genus\nof the UV gauge theories and of their conjectured IR limit sigma models, and\nshowing they agree. Agreement is established by noting that the elliptic genera\nare modular-invariant Abelian (multi-periodic and meromorphic) functions, which\nturns out to be very restrictive."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum gravitational corrections to the propagator in spacetimes with\n  constant curvature: The existence of a minimal and fundamental length scale, say, the Planck\nlength, is a characteristic feature of almost all the models of quantum\ngravity. The presence of the fundamental length is expected to lead to an\nimproved ultra-violet behavior of the semi-classical propagators. The\nhypothesis of path integral duality provides a prescription to evaluate the\nmodified propagator of a free, quantum scalar field in a given spacetime,\ntaking into account the existence of the fundamental length in a locally\nLorentz invariant manner. We use this prescription to compute the quantum\ngravitational modifications to the propagators in spacetimes with constant\ncurvature, and show that: (i) the modified propagators are ultra-violet finite,\nand (ii) the modifications are non-perturbative in the Planck length. We\ndiscuss the implications of our results.",
        "positive": "Recursion Relations for Tree-level Amplitudes in the SU(N) Non-linear\n  Sigma Model: It is well-known that the standard BCFW construction cannot be used for\non-shell amplitudes in effective field theories due to bad behavior for large\nshifts. We show how to solve this problem in the case of the SU(N) non-linear\nsigma model, i.e. non-renormalizable model with infinite number of interaction\nvertices, using scaling properties of the semi-on-shell currents, and we\npresent new on-shell recursion relations for all on-shell tree-level amplitudes\nin this theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Feynman integral via higher normal functions: We study the Feynman integral for the three-banana graph defined as the\nscalar two-point self-energy at three-loop order. The Feynman integral is\nevaluated for all identical internal masses in two space-time dimensions. Two\ncalculations are given for the Feynman integral; one based on an interpretation\nof the integral as an inhomogeneous solution of a classical Picard-Fuchs\ndifferential equation, and the other using arithmetic algebraic geometry,\nmotivic cohomology, and Eisenstein series. Both methods use the rather special\nfact that the Feynman integral is a family of regulator periods associated to a\nfamily of K3 surfaces. We show that the integral is given by a sum of elliptic\ntrilogarithms evaluated at sixth roots of unity. This elliptic trilogarithm\nvalue is related to the regulator of a class in the motivic cohomology of the\nK3 family. We prove a conjecture by David Broadhurst that at a special\nkinematical point the Feynman integral is given by a critical value of the\nHasse-Weil L-function of the K3 surface. This result is shown to be a\nparticular case of Deligne's conjectures relating values of L-functions inside\nthe critical strip to periods.",
        "positive": "Single Extra Dimension from $\u03ba$-Poincar\u00e9 and Gauge Invariance: We show that $\\kappa$-Poincar\\'e invariant gauge theories on\n$\\kappa$-Minkowski space with physically acceptable commutative (low energy)\nlimit must be 5-d. The gauge invariance requirement of the action fixes the\ndimension of the $\\kappa$-Minkowski space to $d=5$ and selects the unique\ntwisted differential calculus with which the construction can be achieved. We\ncharacterize a BRST symmetry related to the 5-d noncommutative gauge invariance\nthough the definition of a nilpotent operation, which is used to construct a\ngauge-fixed action. We also consider standard scenarios assuming\n(compactification of) flat extra dimension, for which the 5-d deformation\nparameter $\\kappa$ can be viewed as the bulk 5-d Planck mass. We study physical\nproperties of the resulting 4-d effective theories. Recent data from collider\nexperiments require $\\kappa\\gtrsim\\mathcal{O}(10^{13})\\ \\text{GeV}$. The use of\nstandard test of in-vacuo dispersion relations of Gamma Ray Burst photons\nincreases this lower bound by 4 orders of magnitude. The robustness of this\nbound is discussed in the light of possible new features of noncommutative\ncausal structures."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Symmetries of Holographic Minimal Models: It was recently proposed that a large N limit of a family of minimal model\nCFTs is dual to a certain higher spin gravity theory in AdS_3, where the 't\nHooft coupling constant of the CFT is related to a deformation parameter of the\nhigher spin algebra. We identify the asymptotic symmetry algebra of the higher\nspin theory for generic 't Hooft parameter, and show that it coincides with a\nfamily of W-algebras previously discovered in the context of the KP hierarchy.\nWe furthermore demonstrate that this family of W-algebras controls the\nrepresentation theory of the minimal model CFTs in the 't Hooft limit. This\nprovides a non-trivial consistency check of the proposal and explains part of\nthe underlying mechanism.",
        "positive": "Inflation and Large Internal Dimensions: We consider some aspects of inflation in models with large internal\ndimensions. If inflation occurs on a 3D wall after the stabilization of\ninternal dimensions in the models with low unification scale (M ~ 1 TeV), the\ninflaton field must be extremely light. This problem may disappear In models\nwith intermediate (M ~10^{11} GeV) to high (M ~ 10^{16} GeV) unification scale.\nHowever, in all of these cases the wall inflation does not provide a complete\nsolution to the horizon and flatness problems. To solve them, there must be a\nstage of inflation in the bulk before the compactification of internal\ndimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Universal properties of cold holographic matter: We study the collective excitations of holographic quantum liquids formed in\nthe low energy theory living at the intersection of two sets of D-branes. The\ncorresponding field theory dual is a supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory with\nmassless matter hypermultiplets in the fundamental representation of the gauge\ngroup which generically live on a defect of the unflavored theory. Working in\nthe quenched (probe) approximation, we focus on determining the universal\nproperties of these systems. We analyze their thermodynamics, the speed of\nfirst sound, the diffusion constant, and the speed of zero sound. We study the\ninfluence of temperature, chemical potential, and magnetic field on these\nquantities, as well as on the corresponding collisionless/hydrodynamic\ncrossover. We also generalize the alternative quantization for all conformally\n$AdS_4$ cases and study the anyonic correlators.",
        "positive": "$SU(n)$ symmetry breaking by rank three and rank two antisymmetric\n  tensor scalars: We study $SU(n)$ symmetry breaking by rank three and rank two antisymmetric\ntensor fields. Using tensor analysis, we derive branching rules for the adjoint\nand antisymmetric tensor representations, and explain why for general $SU(n)$\none finds the same $U(1)$ generator mismatch that we noted earlier in special\ncases. We then compute the masses of the various scalar fields in the branching\nexpansion, in terms of parameters of the general renormalizable potential for\nthe antisymmetric tensor fields."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dynamical Breakdown of Symmetry in a (2+1) Dimensional Model Containing\n  the Chern-Simons Field: We study the vacuum stability of a model of massless scalar and fermionic\nfields minimally coupled to a Chern-Simons field. The classical Lagrangian only\ninvolves dimensionless parameters, and the model can be thought as a (2+1)\ndimensional analog of the Coleman-Weinberg model. By calculating the effective\npotential, we show that dynamical symmetry breakdown occurs in the two-loop\napproximation. The vacuum becomes asymmetric and mass generation, for the boson\nand fermion fields takes place. Renormalization group arguments are used to\nclarify some aspects of the solution.",
        "positive": "D-instanton induced interactions on a D3-brane: Non-perturbative features of the derivative expansion of the effective action\nof a single D3-brane are obtained by considering scattering amplitudes of open\nand closed strings. This motivates expressions for the coupling constant\ndependence of world-volume interactions of the form $(\\partial F)^4$ (where F\nis the Born-Infeld field strength), $(\\partial^2\\phi)^4$ (where $\\phi$ are the\nnormal coordinates of the D3-brane) and other interactions related by $\\calN=4$\nsupersymmetry. These include terms that transform with non-trivial modular\nweight under Montonen-Olive duality. The leading D-instanton contributions that\nenter into these effective interactions are also shown to follow from an\nexplicit stringy construction of the moduli space action for the\nD-instanton/D3-brane system in the presence of D3-brane open-string sources\n(but in the absence of a background antisymmetric tensor potential). Extending\nthis action to include closed-string sources leads to a unified description of\nnon-perturbative terms in the effective action of the form (embedding\ncurvature)$^2$ together with open-string interactions that describe\ncontributions of the second fundamental form."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Global Flows of Foliated Gravity-Matter Systems: Asymptotic safety is a promising mechanism for obtaining a consistent and\npredictive quantum theory for gravity. The ADM formalism allows to introduce a\n(Euclidean) time-direction in this framework. It equips spacetime with a\nfoliation structure by encoding the gravitational degrees of freedom in a lapse\nfunction, shift vector, and a metric measuring distances on the spatial slices.\nWe use the Wetterich equation to study the renormalization group flow of the\ngraviton 2-point function extracted from the spatial metric. The flow is driven\nby the 3- and 4-point vertices generated by the foliated Einstein-Hilbert\naction supplemented by minimally coupled scalar and vector fields. We derive\nbounds on the number of matter fields cast by asymptotic safety. Moreover, we\nshow that the phase diagram obtained in the pure gravity case is qualitatively\nstable within these bounds. An intriguing feature is the presence of an\nIR-fixed point for the graviton mass which prevents the squared mass taking\nnegative values. This feature persists for any number of matter fields and, in\nparticular, also in situations where there is no suitable interacting fixed\npoint rendering the theory asymptotically safe. Our work complements earlier\nstudies of the subject by taking contributions from the matter fields into\naccount.",
        "positive": "Entanglement Entropy in Lifshitz Theories: We discuss and compute entanglement entropy (EE) in (1+1)-dimensional free\nLifshitz scalar field theories with arbitrary dynamical exponents. We consider\nboth the subinterval and periodic sublattices in the discretized theory as\nsubsystems. In both cases, we are able to analytically demonstrate that the EE\ngrows linearly as a function of the dynamical exponent. Furthermore, for the\nsubinterval case, we determine that as the dynamical exponent increases, there\nis a crossover from an area law to a volume law. Lastly, we deform Lifshitz\nfield theories with certain relevant operators and show that the EE decreases\nfrom the ultraviolet to the infrared fixed point, giving evidence for a\npossible c-theorem for deformed Lifshitz theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Cauchy formula and the character ring: Cauchy summation formula plays a central role in application of character\ncalculus to many problems, from AGT-implied Nekrasov decomposition of conformal\nblocks to topological-vertex decompositions of link invariants. We briefly\nreview the equivalence between Cauchy formula and expressibility of skew\ncharacters through the Littlewood-Richardson coefficients. As\nnot-quite-a-trivial illustration we consider how this equivalence works in the\ncase of plane partitions -- at the simplest truly interesting level of just\nfour boxes.",
        "positive": "Solution of quantum Dirac constraints via path integral: The semiclassical solution of quantum Dirac constraints in generic\nconstrained system is obtained by directly calculating in the one-loop\napproximation the gauge field path integral with relativistic gauge fixing\nprocedure. The gauge independence property of this path integral is analyzed by\nthe method of Ward identities with a special emphasis on boundary conditions\nfor gauge fields. The calculations are based on the known reduction algorithms\nfor functional determinants extended to gauge theories. The mechanism of\ntransition from relativistic gauge conditions to unitary gauges, participating\nin the construction of this solution, is explicitly revealed. Implications of\nthis result in problems with spacetime boundaries, quantum gravity and\ncosmology are briefly discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Translation-Invariant Noncommutative Gauge Theories, Matrix Modeling and\n  Noncommutative Geometry: A matrix modeling formulation for translation-invariant noncommutative gauge\ntheories is given in the setting of differential graded algebras and quantum\ngroups. Translation-invariant products are discussed in the setting of\n{\\alpha}-cohomology and it is shown that loop calculations are entirely\ndetermined by {\\alpha}-cohomology class of star product in all orders.\nNoncommutative version of geometric quantization and (anti-) BRST\ntransformations is worked out which leads to a noncommutative description of\nconsistent anomalies and Schwinger terms.",
        "positive": "The Dark Dimension, the Swampland, and the Dark Matter Fraction Composed\n  of Primordial Black Holes: Very recently, it was suggested that combining the Swampland program with the\nsmallness of the dark energy and confronting these ideas to experiment lead to\nthe prediction of the existence of a single extra-dimension (dubbed the dark\ndimension) with characteristic length-scale in the micron range. We show that\nthe rate of Hawking radiation slows down for black holes perceiving the dark\ndimension and discuss the impact of our findings in assessing the dark matter\nfraction that could be composed of primordial black holes. We demonstrate that\nfor a species scale of ${\\cal O}(10^{10}~{\\rm GeV})$, an all-dark-matter\ninterpretation in terms of primordial black holes should be feasible for masses\nin the range $10^{14} \\leq M_{BH}/{\\rm g}\\leq 10^{21}$. This range is extended\ncompared to that in the 4D theory by 3 orders of magnitude in the low mass\nregion. We also show that PBHs with $M_{\\rm BH} \\sim 10^{12}~{\\rm g}$ could\npotentially explain the well-known Galactic 511 keV gamma-ray line if they make\nup a tiny fraction of the total dark matter density."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Seiberg Duality, Quiver Gauge Theories, and Ihara Zeta Function: We study Ihara zeta function for graphs in the context of quivers arising\nfrom gauge theories, especially under Seiberg duality transformations. The\ndistribution of poles is studied as we proceed along the duality tree, in light\nof the weak and strong graph versions of the Riemann Hypothesis. As a\nby-product, we find a refined version of Ihara zeta function to be the\ngenerating function for the generic superpotential of the gauge theory.",
        "positive": "BRST symmetry and fictitious parameters: Our goal in this work is to present the variational method of fictitious\nparameters and its connection with the BRST symmetry. Firstly we implement the\nmethod in QED at zero temperature and then we extend the analysis to GQED at\nfinite temperature. As we will see the core of the study is the general\nstatement in gauge theories at finite temperature, assigned by Tyutin work,\nthat the physics does not depend on the gauge choices, covariant or not, due to\nBRST symmetry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Note on massless and partially massless spin-2 particles in a curved\n  background via a nonsymmetric tensor: In the last few years we have seen an increase interest on gravitational\nwaves due to recent and striking experimental results confirming Einstein's\ngeneral relativity once more. From the field theory point of view, gravity\ndescribes the propagation of self-interacting massless spin-2 particles. They\ncan be identified with metric perturbations about a given background metric.\nSince the metric is a symmetric tensor, the massless spin-2 particles present\nin the Einstein-Hilbert (massless Fierz-Pauli) theory are naturally described\nby a symmetric rank-2 tensor. However, this is not the only possible consistent\nmassless spin-2 theory at linearized level. In particular, if we add a mass\nterm, a new one parameter $(a_1)$ family of models ${\\cal L}(a_1)$ shows up.\nThey consistently describe massive spin-2 particles about Einstein spaces in\nterms of a non-symmetric rank-2 tensor. Here we investigate the massless\nversion of ${\\cal L}(a_1)$ in a curved background. In the case $a_1=-1/12$ we\nshow that the massless spin-2 particles consistently propagate, at linearized\nlevel, in maximally symmetric spaces. A similar result is obtained otherwise\n$(a_1 \\ne -1/12)$ where we have a non-symmetric scalar-tensor massless model.\nThe case of partially massless non-symmetric models is also investigated.",
        "positive": "Monodromy Relations in Higher-Loop String Amplitudes: New monodromy relations of loop amplitudes are derived in open string theory.\nWe particularly study N-point one-loop amplitudes described by a world-sheet\ncylinder (planar and non-planar) and derive a set of relations between\nsubamplitudes of different color orderings. Various consistency checks are\nperformed by matching alpha'-expansions of planar and non-planar amplitudes\ninvolving elliptic iterated integrals with the resulting periods giving rise to\ntwo sets of multiple elliptic zeta values. The latter refer to the two homology\ncycles on the once-punctured complex elliptic curve and the monodromy equations\nprovide relations between these two sets of multiple elliptic zeta values.\nFurthermore, our monodromy relations involve new objects for which we present a\ntentative interpretation in terms of open string scattering amplitudes in the\npresence of a non-trivial gauge field flux. Finally, we provide an outlook on\nhow to generalize the new monodromy relations to the non-oriented case and\nbeyond the one-loop level. Comparing a subset of our results with recent\nfindings in the literature we find therein several serious issues related to\nthe structure and significance of monodromy phases and the relevance of missed\ncontributions from contour integrations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetric gauge theory, (2,0) theory and twisted 5d\n  Super-Yang-Mills: Twisted compactification of the 6d N=(2,0) theories on a punctured Riemann\nsurface give a large class of 4d N=1 and N=2 gauge theories, called class S. We\nargue that nonperturbative dynamics of class S theories are described by 5d\nmaximal Super-Yang-Mills (SYM) twisted on the Riemann surface. In a sense,\ntwisted 5d SYM might be regarded as a \"Lagrangian\" for class S theories on\nR^{1,2} times S^1. First, we show that twisted 5d SYM gives generalized\nHitchin's equations which was proposed recently. Then, we discuss how to\nidentify chiral operators with quantities in twisted 5d SYM. Mesons, or\nholomorphic moment maps, are identified with operators at punctures which are\nrealized as 3d superconformal theories T_rho[G] coupled to twisted 5d SYM.\n\"Baryons\" are identified qualitatively through a study of 4d N=2 Higgs\nbranches. We also derive a simple formula for dynamical superpotential vev\nwhich is relevant for BPS domain wall tensions. With these tools, we examine\nmany examples of 4d N=1 theories with several phases such as confining, Higgs,\nand Coulomb phases, and show perfect agreements between field theories and\ntwisted 5d SYM. Spectral curve is an essential tool to solve generalized\nHitchin's equations, and our results clarify the physical information encoded\nin the curve.",
        "positive": "On the Various Types of D-Branes in the Boundary H3+ Model: We comment on the D-brane solutions for the boundary H3+ model that have been\nproposed so far and point out that many more types of D-branes should be\nconsidered possible. We start a systematic derivation of the 1/2- and\nb^{-2}/2-shift equations corresponding to each type. These equations serve as\nconsistency conditions and we discuss their possible solutions. On this basis,\nwe show for the known AdS_2^(d) branes, that only strings transforming in\nfinite dimensional SL(2) representations can couple to them. Moreover, we also\ndemonstrate that strings in the infinite dimensional continuous SL(2)\nrepresentations do not couple consistently to the known AdS_2 branes. For some\nother types, we show that no consistent solutions seem to exist at all."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Four dimensional cubic supersymmetry: A four dimensional non-trivial extension of the Poincar\\'e algebra different\nfrom supersymmetry is explicitly studied. Representation theory is investigated\nand an invariant Lagrangian is exhibited. Some discussion on the Noether\ntheorem is also given.",
        "positive": "Curvatures and potential of M-theory in D=4 with fluxes and twist: We give the curvatures of the free differential algebra (FDA) of M--theory\ncompactified to D=4 on a twisted seven--torus with the 4--form flux switched\non. Two formulations are given, depending on whether the 1--form field\nstrengths of the scalar fields (originating from the 3--form gauge field\n$\\hat{A}^{(3)}$) are included or not in the FDA. We also give the bosonic\nequations of motion and discuss at length the scalar potential which emerges in\nthis type of compactifications. For flat groups we show the equivalence of this\npotential with a dual formulation of the theory which has the full $\\rE_{7(7)}$\nsymmetry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Heat kernel for higher-order differential operators and generalized\n  exponential functions: We consider the heat kernel for higher-derivative and nonlocal operators in\n$d$-dimensional Euclidean space-time and its asymptotic behavior. As a building\nblock for operators of such type, we consider the heat kernel of the minimal\noperator - generic power of the Laplacian - and show that it is given by the\nexpression essentially different from the conventional exponential\nWentzel-Kramers-Brillouin (WKB) ansatz. Rather it is represented by the\ngeneralized exponential function (GEF) directly related to what is known in\nmathematics as the Fox-Wright $\\varPsi$-functions and Fox $H$-functions. The\nstructure of its essential singularity in the proper time parameter is\ndifferent from that of the usual exponential ansatz, which invalidated previous\nattempts to directly generalize the Schwinger-DeWitt heat kernel technique to\nhigher-derivative operators. In particular, contrary to the conventional\nexponential decay of the heat kernel in space, we show the oscillatory behavior\nof GEF for higher-derivative operators. We give several integral\nrepresentations for the generalized exponential function, find its asymptotics\nand semiclassical expansion, which turns out to be essentially different for\nlocal operators and nonlocal operators of noninteger order. Finally, we briefly\ndiscuss further applications of the GEF technique to generic higher-derivative\nand pseudodifferential operators in curved space-time, which might be\ncritically important for applications of Horava-Lifshitz and other UV\nrenormalizable quantum gravity models.",
        "positive": "Pure Spinor Formalism for Conformal Fermion and Conserved Currents: Pure spinor formalism and non-integrable exponential factors are used for\nconstructing the conformal-invariant wave equation and Lagrangian density for\nmassive fermion. It is proved that canonical Dirac Lagrangian for massive\nfermion is invariant under induced projective conformal transformations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Black holes from large N singlet models: The emergent nature of spacetime geometry and black holes can be directly\nprobed in simple holographic duals of higher spin gravity and tensionless\nstring theory. To this end, we study time dependent thermal correlation\nfunctions of gauge invariant observables in suitably chosen free large N gauge\ntheories. At low temperature and on short time scales the correlation functions\nencode propagation through an approximate AdS spacetime while interesting\ndepartures emerge at high temperature and on longer time scales. This includes\nthe existence of evanescent modes and the exponential decay of time dependent\nboundary correlations, both of which are well known indicators of bulk black\nholes in AdS/CFT. In addition, a new time scale emerges after which the\ncorrelation functions return to a bulk thermal AdS form up to an overall\ntemperature dependent normalization. A corresponding length scale was seen in\nequal time correlation functions in the same models in our earlier work.",
        "positive": "Burgers' equation in non-commutative space-time: The Moyal *-deformed noncommutative version of Burgers' equation is\nconsidered. Using the *-analog of the Cole-Hopf transformation, the\nlinearization of the model in terms of the linear heat equation is found.\nNoncommutative q-deformations of shock soliton solutions and their interaction\nare described"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Effective Field Theory of Quantum Black Holes: We review and extend recent progress on the quantum description of\nnear-extremal black holes in the language of effective quantum field theory.\nWith black holes in Einstein-Maxwell theory as the main example, we derive the\nSchwarzian low energy description of the AdS$_2$ region from a spacetime point\nof view. We also give a concise formula for the symmetry breaking scale, we\nrelate rotation to supersymmetry, and we discuss quantum corrections to black\nhole entropy.",
        "positive": "Supersymmetric Heterotic Action out of M5 Brane: Generalizing the work by Cherkis and Schwarz [1], we carry out the double\ndimensional reduction of supersymmetric M5 brane on K3 to obtain the\nsupersymmetric action of heterotic string in 7-dimensional flat space-time.\nMotivated by this result, we propose the supersymmetric heterotic action in\n10-dimensional flat space-time where the current algebra is realized in a novel\nway. We explicitly verify the kappa-symmetry of the proposed action."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The connected wedge theorem and its consequences: In the AdS/CFT correspondence, bulk causal structure has consequences for\nboundary entanglement. In quantum information science, causal structures can be\nreplaced by distributed entanglement for the purposes of information\nprocessing. In this work, we deepen the understanding of both of these\nstatements, and their relationship, with a number of new results. Centrally, we\npresent and prove a new theorem, the $n$-to-$n$ connected wedge theorem, which\nconsiders $n$ input and $n$ output locations at the boundary of an\nasymptotically AdS$_{2+1}$ spacetime described by AdS/CFT. When a sufficiently\nstrong set of causal connections exists among these points in the bulk, a set\nof $n$ associated regions in the boundary will have extensive-in-N mutual\ninformation across any bipartition of the regions. The proof holds in three\nbulk dimensions for classical spacetimes satisfying the null curvature\ncondition and for semiclassical spacetimes satisfying standard conjectures. The\n$n$-to-$n$ connected wedge theorem gives a precise example of how causal\nconnections in a bulk state can emerge from large-N entanglement features of\nits boundary dual. It also has consequences for quantum information theory: it\nreveals one pattern of entanglement which is sufficient for information\nprocessing in a particular class of causal networks. We argue this pattern is\nalso necessary, and give an AdS/CFT inspired protocol for information\nprocessing in this setting.\n  Our theorem generalizes the $2$-to-$2$ connected wedge theorem proven in\narXiv:1912.05649. We also correct some errors in the proof presented there, in\nparticular a false claim that existing proof techniques work above three bulk\ndimensions.",
        "positive": "Resonances and PT symmetry in quantum curves: In the correspondence between spectral problems and topological strings, it\nis natural to consider complex values for the string theory moduli. In the\nspectral theory side, this corresponds to non-Hermitian quantum curves with\ncomplex spectra and resonances, and in some cases, to PT-symmetric spectral\nproblems. The correspondence leads to precise predictions about the spectral\nproperties of these non-Hermitian operators. In this paper we develop\ntechniques to compute the complex spectra of these quantum curves, providing in\nthis way precision tests of these predictions. In addition, we analyze quantum\nSeiberg-Witten curves with PT symmetry, which provide interesting and exactly\nsolvable examples of spontaneous PT-symmetry breaking."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Instanton Calculus, Topological Field Theories and N=2 Super Yang-Mills\n  Theories: The results obtained by Seiberg and Witten for the low-energy Wilsonian\neffective actions of N=2 supersymmetric theories with gauge group SU(2) are in\nagreement with instanton computations carried out for winding numbers one and\ntwo. This suggests that the instanton saddle point saturates the\nnon-perturbative contribution to the functional integral. A natural framework\nin which corrections to this approximation are absent is given by the\ntopological field theory built out of the N=2 Super Yang-Mills theory. After\nextending the standard construction of the Topological Yang-Mills theory to\nencompass the case of a non-vanishing vacuum expectation value for the scalar\nfield, a BRST transformation is defined (as a supersymmetry plus a gauge\nvariation), which on the instanton moduli space is the exterior derivative. The\ntopological field theory approach makes the so-called \"constrained instanton\"\nconfigurations and the instanton measure arise in a natural way. As a\nconsequence, instanton-dominated Green's functions in N=2 Super Yang-Mills can\nbe equivalently computed either using the constrained instanton method or\nmaking reference to the topological twisted version of the theory. We\nexplicitly compute the instanton measure and the contribution to $u=<\\Tr\n\\phi^2>$ for winding numbers one and two. We then show that each\nnon-perturbative contribution to the N=2 low-energy effective action can be\nwritten as the integral of a total derivative of a function of the instanton\nmoduli. Only instanton configurations of zero conformal size contribute to this\nresult. Finally, the 8k-dimensional instanton moduli space is built using the\nhyperkahler quotient procedure, which clarifies the geometrical meaning of our\napproach.",
        "positive": "Thermodynamical properties of a noncommutative anti-de\n  Sitter-Einstein-Born-Infeld spacetime from gauge theory of gravity: We construct a deformed adS-Einstein-Born-Infeld black hole from\nnoncommutative gauge theory of gravity and determine the metric coefficients up\nto second order on the noncommutative parameter. We analyse the modifications\non the thermodynamical properties of the black hole due to the noncommutative\ncontributions, and we show that noncommutativity has as a direct consequence,\nthe removal of critical points."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Covariant Quantum Fields on Noncommutative Spacetimes: A spinless covariant field $\\phi$ on Minkowski spacetime $\\M^{d+1}$ obeys the\nrelation $U(a,\\Lambda)\\phi(x)U(a,\\Lambda)^{-1}=\\phi(\\Lambda x+a)$ where\n$(a,\\Lambda)$ is an element of the Poincar\\'e group $\\Pg$ and $U:(a,\\Lambda)\\to\nU(a,\\Lambda)$ is its unitary representation on quantum vector states. It\nexpresses the fact that Poincar\\'e transformations are being unitary\nimplemented. It has a classical analogy where field covariance shows that\nPoincar\\'e transformations are canonically implemented. Covariance is\nself-reproducing: products of covariant fields are covariant. We recall these\nproperties and use them to formulate the notion of covariant quantum fields on\nnoncommutative spacetimes. In this way all our earlier results on dressing,\nstatistics, etc. for Moyal spacetimes are derived transparently. For the Voros\nalgebra, covariance and the *-operation are in conflict so that there are no\ncovariant Voros fields compatible with *, a result we found earlier. The notion\nof Drinfel'd twist underlying much of the preceding discussion is extended to\ndiscrete abelian and nonabelian groups such as the mapping class groups of\ntopological geons. For twists involving nonabelian groups the emergent\nspacetimes are nonassociative.",
        "positive": "On Covariant Actions for Chiral $p-$Forms: We construct a Lorentz and generally covariant, polynomial action for free\nchiral $p-$forms, classically equivalent to the Pasti-Sorokin-Tonin (PST)\nformulation. The minimal set up requires introducing an auxiliary $p-$form on\ntop of the physical gauge $p-$form and the PST scalar. The action enjoys\nmultiple duality symmetries, including those that exchange the roles of\nphysical and auxiliary $p-$form fields. Actions of the same type are available\nfor duality-symmetric formulations, which is demonstrated on the example of the\nelectromagnetic field in four dimensions. There, the degrees of freedom of a\nsingle Maxwell field are described employing four distinct vector gauge fields\nand a scalar field."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Small Amplitude Forced Fluid Dynamics from Gravity at T = 0: The usual derivative expansion of gravity duals of charged fluid dynamics is\nknown to break down in the zero temperature limit. In this case, the\nfluid-gravity duality is not understood precisely. We explore this problem for\na zero temperature charged fluid driven by a low frequency, small amplitude and\nspatially homogeneous external force. In the gravity dual, this corresponds to\ntime dependent boundary value of the dilaton. We calculate the bulk solution\nfor the dilaton and the leading backreaction to the metric and the gauge fields\nusing the modified low frequency expansion of [11]. The resulting solutions are\nregular everywhere, establishing fluid-gravity duality to this order.",
        "positive": "Effective field theory of slowly-moving \"extreme black holes\": We consider the non-relativistic effective field theory of ``extreme black\nholes'' in the Einstein-Maxwell-dilaton theory with an arbitrary dilaton\ncoupling. We investigate finite-temperature behavior of gas of ``extreme black\nholes'' using the effective theory. The total energy of the classical many-body\nsystem is also derived."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the supersymmetric limit of Kerr-NUT-AdS metrics: Generalizing the scaling limit of Martelli and Sparks [hep-th/0505027] into\nan arbitrary number of spacetime dimensions we re-obtain the (most general\nexplicitly known) Einstein-Sasaki spaces constructed by Chen, Lu, and Pope\n[hep-th/0604125]. We demonstrate that this limit has a well-defined geometrical\nmeaning which links together the principal conformal Killing-Yano tensor of the\noriginal Kerr-NUT-(A)dS spacetime, the Kahler 2-form of the resulting\nEinstein-Kahler base, and the Sasakian 1-form of the final Einstein-Sasaki\nspace. The obtained Einstein-Sasaki space possesses the tower of Killing-Yano\ntensors of increasing rank, underlined by the existence of Killing spinors. A\nsimilar tower of hidden symmetries is observed in the original\n(odd-dimensional) Kerr-NUT-(A)dS spacetime. This rises an interesting question\nwhether also these symmetries can be related to the existence of some\n\"generalized\" Killing spinor.",
        "positive": "The Casimir Energy in a Separable Potential: The Casimir energy is the first-order-in-\\hbar correction to the energy of a\ntime-independent field configuration in a quantum field theory. We study the\nCasimir energy in a toy model, where the classical field is replaced by a\nseparable potential. In this model the exact answer is trivial to compute,\nmaking it a good place to examine subtleties of the problem. We construct two\ntraditional representations of the Casimir energy, one from the Greens\nfunction, the other from the phase shifts, and apply them to this case. We show\nthat the two representations are correct and equivalent in this model. We study\nthe convergence of the Born approximation to the Casimir energy and relate our\nfindings to computational issues that arise in more realistic models."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Casimir energy through transfer operators for weak curved backgrounds: The quantum vacuum interaction energy between a pair of semitransparent\ntwo-dimensional plates represented by Dirac delta potentials and its first\nderivative, embedded in the topological background of a sine-Gordon kink is\nstudied through an extension of the TGTG-formula (firstly discovered by O.\nKenneth and I. Klich) to weak curved backgrounds. Quantum vacuum oscillations\naround the sine-Gordon kink solutions are interpreted as a quantum scalar field\ntheory in the spacetime of a domain wall. Moreover, the relation between the\nphase shift and the density of states (the well-known Dashen-Hasslacher-Neveu\nformula) is also exploited to characterize the quantum vacuum energy.",
        "positive": "Branes at Quantum Criticality: In this paper we propose new non-relativistic p+1 dimensional theory. This\ntheory is defined in such a way that the potential term obeys the principle of\ndetailed balance where the generating action corresponds to p-brane action.\nThis condition ensures that the norm of the vacuum wave functional of p+1\ndimensional theory is equal to the partition function of p-brane theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Partial Supergravity Breaking and the Effective Action of Consistent\n  Truncations: We study vacua of N = 4 half-maximal gauged supergravity in five dimensions\nand determine crucial properties of the effective theory around the vacuum. The\nmain focus is on configurations with exactly two broken supersymmetries, since\nthey frequently appear in consistent truncations of string theory and\nsupergravity. Evaluating one-loop corrections to the Chern-Simons terms we find\nnecessary conditions to ensure that a consistent truncation also gives rise to\na proper effective action of an underlying more fundamental theory. To obtain\nconcrete examples, we determine the N=4 action of M-theory on six-dimensional\nSU(2)-structure manifolds with background fluxes. Calabi-Yau threefolds with\nvanishing Euler number are examples of SU(2)-structure manifolds that yield N=2\nMinkowski vacua. We find that that one-loop corrections to the Chern-Simons\nterms vanish trivially and thus do not impose constraints on identifying\neffective theories. This result is traced back to the absence of isometries on\nthese geometries. Examples with isometries arise from type IIB supergravity on\nsquashed Sasaki-Einstein manifolds. In this case the one-loop gauge\nChern-Simons terms vanish due to non-trivial cancellations, while the one-loop\ngravitational Chern-Simons terms are non-zero.",
        "positive": "Maximal D=2 supergravities from higher dimensions: We develop in detail the general framework of consistent Kaluza-Klein\ntruncations from D=11 and type II supergravities to gauged maximal\nsupergravities in two dimensions. In particular, we unveil the complete bosonic\ndynamics of all gauged maximal supergravities that admit a geometric uplift.\nOur construction relies on generalised Scherk-Schwarz reductions of E$_9$\nexceptional field theory. The application to the reduction of D=11 supergravity\non $S^8\\times S^1$ to SO(9) gauged supergravity is presented in a companion\npaper."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Model Building with F-Theory: Despite much recent progress in model building with D-branes, it has been\nproblematic to find a completely convincing explanation of gauge coupling\nunification. We extend the class of models by considering F-theory\ncompactifications, which may incorporate unification more naturally. We explain\nhow to derive the charged chiral spectrum and Yukawa couplings in N=1\ncompactifications of F-theory with G-flux. In a class of models which admit\nperturbative heterotic duals, we show that the F-theory and heterotic\ncomputations match.",
        "positive": "Quantum mirror curve of periodic chain geometry: The mirror curves enable us to study B-model topological strings on\nnon-compact toric Calabi--Yau threefolds. One of the method to obtain the\nmirror curves is to calculate the partition function of the topological string\nwith single brane. In this paper, we discuss two types of geometries; one is\nthe chain of $N$ $\\mathbb{P}^1$'s which we call `$N$-chain geometry,' the other\nis the chain of $N$ $\\mathbb{P}^1$'s with a compactification which we call\n`periodic $N$-chain geometry.' We calculate the partition functions of the open\ntopological strings on these geometries, and obtain the mirror curves and their\nquantization. Through the computation, we find some difference equations of\n(elliptic) hypergeometric functions. We also find a relation between the\nperiodic chain and $\\infty$-chain geometries, which implies a possible\nconnection between 5d and 6d gauge theories in the large $N$ limit."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Projected Proca Field Theory: a One-Loop Study: The recent discovery of two-dimensional Dirac materials, such as graphene and\ntransition-metaldichalcogenides, has raised questions about the treatment of\nhybrid systems, in which electrons moving in a two-dimensional plane interact\nvia virtual photons from the three-dimensional space. In this case, a projected\nnon-local theory, known as Pseudo-QED, or reduced QED, has shown to provide a\ncorrect framework for describing the interactions displayed by these systems.\nIn a related situation, in planar materials exhibiting a superconducting phase,\nthe electromagnetic field has a typical exponential decay that is interpreted\nas the photons having an effective mass, as a consequence of the Anderson-Higgs\nmechanism. Here, we use an analogous projection to that used to obtain the\npseudo-QED to derive a Pseudo-Proca equivalent model. In terms of this model,\nwe unveil the main effects of attributing a mass to the photons and to the\nquasi-relativistic electrons. The one-loop radiative corrections to the\nelectron mass, to the photon and to the electron-photon vertex are computed. We\ncalculate the quantum corrections to the electron g-factor and show that it\nsmoothly goes to zero in the limit when the photon mass is much larger than the\nelectron mass. In addition, we correct the results obtained for graphene within\nPseudo-QED in the limit when the photon mass vanishes.",
        "positive": "Extended superconformal symmetry and Calogero-Marchioro model: We show that the two dimensional Calogero-Marchioro Model (CMM) without the\nharmonic confinement can naturally be embedded into an extended SU(1,1|2)\nsuperconformal Hamiltonian. We study the quantum evolution of the\nsuperconformal Hamiltonian in terms of suitable compact operators of the N=2\nextended de Sitter superalgebra with central charge and discuss the pattern of\nsupersymmetry breaking. We also study the arbitrary D dimensional CMM having\ndynamical OSp(2|2) supersymmetry and point out the relevance of this model in\nthe context of the low energy effective action of the dimensionally reduced\nYang-Mills theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Explicit Modular Invariant Two-Loop Superstring Amplitude Relevant for\n  R^4: In this note we derive an explicit modular invariant formula for the two loop\n4-point amplitude in superstring theory in terms of a multiple integral (7\ncomplex integration variables) over the complex plane which is shown to be\nconvergent. We consider in particular the case of the leading term for\nvanishing momenta of the four graviton amplitude, which would correspond to the\ntwo-loop correction of the R^4 term in the effective Action. The resulting\nexpression is not positive definite and could be zero, although we cannot see\nthat it vanishes.",
        "positive": "Brane Induced Gravity: Codimension-2: We review the results of arXiv:hep-th/0703190, on brane induced gravity (BIG)\nin 6D. Among a large diversity of regulated codimension-2 branes, we find that\nfor near-critical tensions branes live inside very deep throats which\nefficiently compactify the angular dimension. In there, 4D gravity first\nchanges to 5D, and only later to 6D. The crossover from 4D to 5D is independent\nof the tension, but the crossover from 5D to 6D is not. This shows how the\nvacuum energy problem manifests in BIG: instead of tuning vacuum energy to\nadjust the 4D curvature, generically one must tune it to get the desired\ncrossover scales and the hierarchy between the scales governing the 4D \\to 5D\n\\to 6D transitions. In the near-critical limit, linearized perturbation theory\nremains under control below the crossover scale, and we find that linearized\ngravity around the vacuum looks like a scalar-tensor theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Deformation of BRST Algebra: We investigate the $q$-deformation of the BRST algebra, the algebra of the\nghost, matter and gauge fields on one spacetime point using the result of the\nbicovariant differential calculus. There are two nilpotent operations in the\nalgebra, the BRST transformation $\\brs$ and the derivative $d$. We show that\none can define the covariant commutation relations among the fields and their\nderivatives consistently with these two operation as well as the $*$-operation,\nthe antimultiplicative inner involution.",
        "positive": "Observables and Microscopic Entropy of Higher Spin Black Holes: In the context of recently proposed holographic dualities between higher spin\ntheories in AdS3 and 1+1-dimensional CFTs with W-symmetry algebras, we revisit\nthe definition of higher spin black hole thermodynamics and the dictionary\nbetween bulk fields and dual CFT operators. We build a canonical formalism\nbased on three ingredients: a gauge-invariant definition of conserved charges\nand chemical potentials in the presence of higher spin black holes, a canonical\ndefinition of entropy in the bulk, and a bulk-to-boundary dictionary aligned\nwith the asymptotic symmetry algebra. We show that our canonical formalism\nshares the same formal structure as the so-called holomorphic formalism, but\ndiffers in the definition of charges and chemical potentials and in the\nbulk-to-boundary dictionary. Most importantly, we show that it admits a\nconsistent CFT interpretation. We discuss the spin-2 and spin-3 cases in detail\nand generalize our construction to theories based on the hs[\\lambda] algebra,\nand on the sl(N,R) algebra for any choice of sl(2,R) embedding."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Modular Constructions of Quantum Field Theories with Interactions: We extend the previously introduced constructive modular method to\nnonperturbative QFT. In particular the relevance of the concept of ``quantum\nlocalization'' (via intersection of algebras) versus classical locality (via\nsupport properties of test functions) is explained in detail, the wedge\nalgebras are constructed rigorously and the formal aspects of double cone\nalgebras for d=1+1 factorizing theories are determined. The well-known on-shell\ncrossing symmetry of the S-Matrix and of formfactors (cyclicity relation) in\nsuch theories is intimately related to the KMS properties of new quantum-local\nPFG (one-particle polarization-free generators) of these wedge algebras. These\ngenerators are ``on-shell'' and their Fourier transforms turn out to fulfill\nthe Zamolodchikov-Faddeev algebra. As the wedge algebras contain the crossing\nsymmetry informations, the double cone algebras reveal the particle content of\nfields. Modular theory associates with this double cone algebra two very useful\nchiral conformal quantum field theories which are the algebraic versions of the\nlight ray algebras.",
        "positive": "Ideals generated by traces in the symplectic reflection algebra\n  $H_{1,\u03bd_1, \u03bd_2}(I_2(2m))$. II: The associative algebra of symplectic reflections $\\mathcal H:= H_{1,\\nu_1,\n\\nu_2}(I_2(2m))$ based on the group generated by the root system $I_2(2m)$ has\ntwo parameters, $\\nu_1$ and $\\nu_2$. For every value of these parameters, the\nalgebra $\\mathcal H$ has an $m$-dimensional space of traces. A given trace\n${\\rm tr}$ is called degenerate if the associated bilinear form $B_{\\rm\ntr}(x,y)={\\rm tr}(xy)$ is degenerate. Previously, there were found all values\nof $\\nu_1$ and $\\nu_2$ for which there are degenerate traces in the space of\ntraces, and consequently the algebra $\\mathcal H$ has a two-sided ideal. We\nproved earlier that any linear combination of degenerate traces is a degenerate\ntrace. It turns out that for certain values of parameters $\\nu_1$ and $\\nu_2$,\ndegenerate traces span a 2-dimensional space. We prove that non-zero traces in\nthis $2d$ space generate three proper ideals of $\\mathcal H$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Complexity and Negative Curvature: As time passes, once simple quantum states tend to become more complex. For\nstrongly coupled k-local Hamiltonians, this growth of computational complexity\nhas been conjectured to follow a distinctive and universal pattern. In this\npaper we show that the same pattern is exhibited by a much simpler system:\nclassical geodesics on a compact two-dimensional geometry of uniform negative\ncurvature. This striking parallel persists whether the system is allowed to\nevolve naturally or is perturbed from the outside.",
        "positive": "Higher-Order Theories of Gravitation: We study higher-order theories of gravitation; in particular, we will focus\nour attention on the second-order theory, in which conformal symmetry can be\nimplemented."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "New Supersymmetric String Theories from Discrete Theta Angles: We describe three previously unnoticed components of the moduli space of\nminimally supersymmetric string theories in $d\\geq 7$, describing in some\ndetail their spectrum and duality properties. We find a new component in nine\nand eight dimensions, and two additional ones in seven dimensions. These\ntheories were originally discovered in a bottom-up classification of possible\nF/M-theory singularity freezing patterns in the K3 lattice, described in a\ncompanion paper. The 9d/8d component can be understood as F/M-theory on a\ntwisted fibration of the Klein bottle over a circle, while the new\nseven-dimensional components are described as IIB on Bieberbach manifolds with\na duality bundle and RR-NSNS backgrounds turned on. All the new components can\nbe obtained from previously known theories by turning on certain discrete theta\nangles; however, the spectrum of massive objects is very different, and most\nstrikingly, they feature an incomplete lattice of BPS strings, showing that\nstring BPS completeness is not true in general even with sixteen supercharges.\nIn all cases we find non-BPS representatives for each value of the charge, so\nthe Completeness Principle is satisfied. We also analyze analogous theta angles\nin nonsupersymmetric string theories, and provide a detailed explanation of why\nthe Type I discrete $\\theta$ angle proposed in 1304.1551 is unphysical, using\nthis to clarify certain non-perturbative phenomena in $O8$ planes.",
        "positive": "Thermodynamics of the quantum $su(1,1)$ Landau-Lifshitz model: We present thermodynamics of the quantum su(1,1) Landau-Lifshitz model,\nfollowing our earlier exposition [J. Math. Phys. 50, 103518 (2009)] of the\nquantum integrability of the theory, which is based on construction of\nself-adjoint extensions, leading to a regularized quantum Hamiltonian for an\narbitrary n-particle sector. Starting from general discontinuity properties of\nthe functions used to construct the self-adjoint extensions, we derive the\nthermodynamic Bethe Ansatz equations. We show that due to non-symmetric and\nsingular kernel, the self-consistency implies that only negative chemical\npotential values are allowed, which leads to the conclusion that, unlike its\nsu(2) counterpart, the su(1,1) LL theory at T=0 has no instabilities."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Construction of Killing Spinors on S^n: We derive simple general expressions for the explicit Killing spinors on the\nn-sphere, for arbitrary n. Using these results we also construct the Killing\nspinors on various AdS x Sphere supergravity backgrounds, including AdS_5 x\nS^5$, AdS_4 x S^7 and AdS_7 x S^4. In addition, we extend previous results to\nobtain the Killing spinors on the hyperbolic spaces H^n.",
        "positive": "Elevating the Free-Fermion $Z_2\\times Z_2$ Orbifold Model to a\n  Compactification of F-Theory: We study the elliptic fibrations of some Calabi-Yau three-folds, including\nthe $Z_2\\times Z_2$ orbifold with $(h_{1,1},h_{2,1})=(27,3)$, which is\nequivalent to the common framework of realistic free-fermion models, as well as\nrelated orbifold models with $(h_{1,1},h_{2,1})=(51,3)$ and (31,7). However,\ntwo related puzzles arise when one considers the $(h_{1,1},h_{2,1})=(27,3)$\nmodel as an F-theory compactification to six dimensions. The condition for the\nvanishing of the gravitational anomaly is not satisfied, suggesting that the\nF-theory compactification does not make sense, and the elliptic fibration is\nwell defined everywhere except at four singular points in the base. We\nspeculate on the possible existence of N=1 tensor and hypermultiplets at these\npoints which would cancel the gravitational anomaly in this case."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Introduction to Spin Networks and Towards a Generalization of the\n  Decomposition Theorem: The objective of this work is twofold. On one hand, it is intended as a short\nintroduction to spin networks and invariants of 3-manifolds. It covers the main\nareas needed to have a first understanding of the topics involved in the\ndevelopment of spin networks, which are described in a detailed but not\nexhaustive manner and in order of their conceptual development such that the\nreader is able to use this work as a first reading. A motivation due to R.\nPenrose for considering spin networks as a way of constructing a 3-D Euclidean\nspace is presented, as well as their relation to Ponzano-Regge theory.\nFurthermore, the basic mathematical framework for the algebraic description of\nspin networks via quantum groups is described and the notion of a spherical\ncategory and its correspondence to the diagrammatic representation given by the\nTemperley-Lieb recoupling theory are presented. In order to give an example of\ntopological invariants and their relation to TQFT the construction of the\nTuraev-Viro invariant is depicted and related to the Kauffman-Lins invariant.\nOn the other hand, some results aiming at a decomposition theorem for\nnon-planar spin networks are presented. For this, Moussouris' algorithm and\nsome basic concepts of topological graph theory are explained and used,\nespecially Kuratowski's theorem and the Rotation Scheme theorem.",
        "positive": "Revisiting modular symmetry in magnetized torus and orbifold\n  compactifications: We study the modular symmetry in $T^2$ and orbifold comfactifications with\nmagnetic fluxes. There are $|M|$ zero-modes on $T^2$ with the magnetic flux\n$M$. Their wavefunctions as well as massive modes behave as modular forms of\nweight $1/2$ and represent the double covering group of $\\Gamma \\equiv\nSL(2,\\mathbb{Z})$, $\\widetilde{\\Gamma} \\equiv \\widetilde{SL}(2,\\mathbb{Z})$.\nEach wavefunction on $T^2$ with the magnetic flux $M$ transforms under\n$\\widetilde{\\Gamma}(2|M|)$, which is the normal subgroup of\n$\\widetilde{SL}(2,\\mathbb{Z})$. Then, $|M|$ zero-modes are representations of\nthe quotient group $\\widetilde{\\Gamma}'_{2|M|} \\equiv\n\\widetilde{\\Gamma}/\\widetilde{\\Gamma}(2|M|)$. We also study the modular\nsymmetry on twisted and shifted orbifolds $T^2/\\mathbb{Z}_N$. Wavefunctions are\ndecomposed into smaller representations by eigenvalues of twist and shift. They\nprovide us with reduction of reducible representations on $T^2$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "More about Path Integral for Spin: Path integral for the $SU(2)$ spin system is reconsidered. We show that the\nNielsen-Rohrlich(NR) formula is equivalent to the spin coherent state\nexpression so that the phase space in the NR formalism is not topologically\nnontrivial. We also perform the WKB approximation in the NR formula and find\nthat it gives the exact result.",
        "positive": "Correlation Functions in Two-Dimensional Dilaton Gravity: The Liouville approach is applied to the quantum treatment of the dilaton\ngravity in two dimensions. The physical states are obtained from the BRST\ncohomology and correlation functions are computed up to three-point functions.\nFor the $N=0$ case (i.e., without matter), the cosmological term operator is\nfound to have the discrete momentum that plays a special role in the $c=1$\nLiouville gravity. The correlation functions for arbitrary numbers of operators\nare found in the $N=0$ case, and are nonvanishing only for specific\n``chirality'' configurations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fermionic One-Loop Corrections to Soliton Energies in 1+1 Dimensions: We demonstrate an unambiguous and robust method for computing fermionic\ncorrections to the energies of classical background field configurations. We\nconsider the particular case of a sequence of background field configurations\nthat interpolates continuously between the trivial vacuum and a widely\nseparated soliton/antisoliton pair in 1+1 dimensions. Working in the continuum,\nwe use phase shifts, the Born approximation, and Levinson's theorem to avoid\nambiguities of renormalization procedure and boundary conditions. We carry out\nthe calculation analytically at both ends of the interpolation and numerically\nin between, and show how the relevant physical quantities vary continuously. In\nthe process, we elucidate properties of the fermionic phase shifts and zero\nmodes.",
        "positive": "Integrable quantum field theories with OSP(m/2n) symmetries: We conjecture the factorized scattering description for OSP(m/2n)/OSP(m-1/2n)\nsupersphere sigma models and OSP(m/2n) Gross Neveu models. The non-unitarity of\nthese field theories translates into a lack of `physical unitarity' of the S\nmatrices, which are instead unitary with respect to the non-positive scalar\nproduct inherited from the orthosymplectic structure. Nevertheless, we find\nthat formal thermodynamic Bethe ansatz calculations appear meaningful,\nreproduce the correct central charges, and agree with perturbative\ncalculations. This paves the way to a more thorough study of these and other\nmodels with supergroup symmetries using the S matrix approach."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Deriving Veneziano Model in a Novel String Field Theory Solving String\n  Theory by Liberating Right and Left Movers: Bosonic string theory with the possibility for an arbitrary number of strings\n- i.e. a string field theory - is formulated by a Hilbert space (a Fock space),\nwhich is just that for massless noninteracting scalars. We earlier presented\nthis novel type of string field theory, but now we show that it leads to\nscattering just given by the Veneziano model amplitude. Generalization to\nstrings with fermion modes would presumably be rather easy. It is\ncharacteristic for our formulation /model that: 1) We have thrown away some\nnull set of information compared to usual string field theory, 2)Formulated in\nterms of our \\objects\" (= the non-interacting scalars) there is no interaction\nand essentially no time development(Heisenberg picture), 3) so that the\nS-matrix is in our Hilbert space given as the unit matrix, S=1, and 4) the\nVeneziano scattering amplitude appear as the overlap between the initial and\nthe final state described in terms of the \\objects\". 5) The integration in the\nEuler beta function making up the Veneziano model appear from the summation\nover the number of \\objects\" from one of the incoming strings which goes into a\ncertain one of the two outgoing strings. A correction from Weyl anomaly is\nneeded to get the correct form of the Veneziano amplitude and it only fits for\n26 dimensions.",
        "positive": "M-Fivebranes Wrapped on Supersymmetric Cycles: We construct supergravity solutions dual to the twisted field theories\narising when M-theory fivebranes wrap general supersymmetric cycles. The\nsolutions are constructed in maximal D=7 gauged supergravity and then uplifted\nto D=11. Our analysis covers Kahler, special Lagrangian and exceptional\ncalibrated cycles. The metric on the cycles are Einstein, but do not\nnecessarily have constant curvature. We find many new examples of AdS/CFT\nduality, corresponding to the IR superconformal fixed points of the twisted\nfield theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Instantons from Low Energy String Actions: We look for instanton solutions in a class of two scalar field gravity\nmodels, which includes the low energy string action in four dimensions. In\nmodels where the matter field has a potential with a false vacuum, we find that\nnon-singular instantons exist as long as the Dilaton field found in string\ntheory has a potential with a minimum, and provide an example of such an\ninstanton. The class of singular instanton solutions are also examined, and we\nfind that depending on the parameter values, the volume factor of the Euclidean\nregion does not always vanish fast enough at the singularity to make the action\nfinite.",
        "positive": "Electromagnetic Fields in a Thermal Background: The one--loop effective action for a slowly varying electromagnetic field is\ncomputed at finite temperature and density using a real-time formalism. We\ndiscuss the gauge invariance of the result. Corrections to the Debye mass from\nan electric field are computed at high temperature and high density. The\neffective coupling constant, defined from a purely electric weak--field\nexpansion, behaves at high temperature very differently from the case of a\nmagnetic field, and does not satisfy the renormalization group equation. The\nissue of pair production in the real--time formalism is discussed and also its\nrelevance for heavy--ion collisions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dressing Technique for Intermediate Hierarchies: A generalized AKNS systems introduced and discussed recently in \\cite{dGHM}\nare considered. It was shown that the dressing technique both in matrix\npseudo-differential operators and formal series with respect to the spectral\nparameter can be developed for these hierarchies.",
        "positive": "D-branes in Little String Theory: We analyze in detail the D-branes in the near-horizon limit of NS5-branes on\na circle, the holographic dual of little string theory in a double scaling\nlimit. We emphasize their geometry in the background of the NS5-branes and show\nthe relation with D-branes in coset models. The exact one-point function giving\nthe coupling of the closed string states with the D-branes and the spectrum of\nopen strings is computed. Using these results, we analyze several aspects of\nHanany-Witten setups, using exact CFT analysis. In particular we identify the\nopen string spectrum on the D-branes stretched between NS5-branes which\nconfirms the low-energy analysis in brane constructions, and that allows to go\nto higher energy scales. As an application we show the emergence of the\nbeta-function of the N=2 gauge theory on D4-branes stretching between\nNS5-branes from the boundary states describing the D4-branes. We also speculate\non the possibility of getting a matrix model description of little string\ntheory from the effective theory on the D1-branes. By considering D3-branes\northogonal to the NS5-branes we find a CFT incarnation of the Hanany-Witten\neffect of anomalous creation of D-branes. Finally we give an brief description\nof some non-BPS D-branes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "An Introduction to the Quantum Supermembrane: We review aspects of quantisation of the 11-dimensional supermembrane world\nvolume theory. We explicitly construct vertex operators for the massless states\nand study interactions of supermembranes. The open supermembrane and its vertex\noperators are discussed. We show how our results have direct applications to\nMatrix theory by appropriate regularisation of the supermembrane.",
        "positive": "Gauge and parametrization dependence in higher derivative quantum\n  gravity: The structure of counterterms in higher derivative quantum gravity is\nreexamined. Nontrivial dependence of charges on the gauge and parametrization\nis established. Explicit calculations of two-loop contributions are carried out\nwith the help of the generalized renormgroup method demonstrating consistency\nof the results obtained."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Electromagnetic and Gravitational Scattering at Planckian Energies: The scattering of pointlike particles at very large center of mass energies\nand fixed low momentum transfers, occurring due to both their electromagnetic\nand gravitational interactions is re-examined in the particular case when one\nof the particles carries magnetic charge. At Planckian center-of-mass energies,\nwhen gravitational dominance is normally expected, the presence of magnetic\ncharge is shown to produce dramatic modifications to the scattering cross\nsection as well as to the holomorphic structure of the scattering amplitude.",
        "positive": "Holographic Calculations of Euclidean Wilson Loop Correlator in\n  Euclidean anti-de Sitter Space: The correlation functions of two or more Euclidean Wilson loops of various\nshapes in Euclidean anti-de Sitter space are computed by considering the\nminimal area surfaces connecting the loops. The surfaces are parametrized by\nRiemann theta functions associated with genus three hyperelliptic Riemann\nsurfaces. In the case of two loops, the distance $L$ by which they are\nseparated can be adjusted by continuously varying a specific branch point of\nthe auxiliary Riemann surface. When $L$ is much larger than the characteristic\nsize of the loops, then the loops are approximately regarded as local operators\nand their correlator as the correlator of two local operators. Similarly, when\na loop is very small compared to the size of another loop, the small loop is\nconsidered as a local operator corresponding to a light supergravity mode."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Termodin\u00e1mica de agujeros negros y campos escalares: Since the descovery by Stephen Hawking that black holes emit radiation in the\ncontext of the semiclassical approach to gravity, the black hole thermodynamics\nhas become an active field of research in theoretical physics. In this thesis,\nthe influence of scalar fields on the black hole thermodynamics in $D=4$\ndimensions is studied. On one hand, the role played by scalar fields in the\nfirst law of black hole thermodynamics is elucidated, by using the quasilocal\nformalism of Brown and York, which is based on a correct variational principle,\nand some concrete examples are provided. On the other, the thermodynamic\nstability of asymptotically flat charged hairy black hole exact solutions is\nanalysed. The solutions considered have a non-trivial scalar field potential\nand they can be embebbed in supergravity theories. It is explicitly shown that\nthese solutions contain thermodynamically stable black holes.",
        "positive": "Hawking radiation conference, book of proceedings: Proceedings of the 'Hawking Radiation' conference in Stockholm, Sweden 2015.\nIt includes a link to the video recording of the conference and all the talks,\ndiscussions, and communications, that took place during the week of the\nconference . We hope the recorded discussions will be helpful, especially to\nthe current and future young researchers and students."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Effective actions, relative cohomology and Chern Simons forms: The explicit expression of all the WZW effective actions for a simple group G\nbroken down to a subgroup H is established in a simple and direct way, and the\nformal similarity of these actions to the Chern-Simons forms is explained.\nApplications are also discussed.",
        "positive": "Type IIB Orientifolds without Untwisted Tadpoles, and non-BPS D-branes: We discuss the construction of six- and four-dimensional Type IIB\norientifolds with vanishing untwisted RR tadpoles, but generically non-zero\ntwisted RR tadpoles. Tadpole cancellation requires the introduction of D-brane\nsystems with zero untwisted RR charge, but non-zero twisted RR charges. We\nconstruct explicit models containing branes and antibranes at fixed points of\nthe internal space, or non-BPS branes partially wrapped on it. The models are\nnon-supersymmetric, but are absolutely stable against decay to supersymmetric\nvacua. For particular values of the compactification radii tachyonic modes may\ndevelop, triggering phase transitions between the different types of non-BPS\nconfigurations of branes, which we study in detail in a particular example. As\nan interesting spin-off, we show that the $\\IT^6/\\IZ_4$ orientifold without\nvector structure, previously considered inconsistent due to uncancellable\ntwisted tadpoles, can actually be made consistent by introducing a set of\nbrane-antibrane pairs whose twisted charge cancels the problematic tadpole."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Nonabelian solutions in N=4, D=5 gauged supergravity: We consider static, nonabelian solutions in N=4, D=5 Romans' gauged\nsupergravity model. Numerical arguments are presented for the existence of\nasymptotically anti-de Sitter configurations in the $N=4^+$ version of the\ntheory, with a dilaton potential presenting a stationary point. Considering the\nversion of the theory with a Liouville dilaton potential, we look for\nconfigurations with unusual topology. A new exact solution is presented, and a\ncounterterm method is proposed to compute the mass and action.",
        "positive": "String Kaluza-Klein cosmologies with RR-fields: We construct 4-dimensional cosmological FRW--models by compactifying a black\n5-brane solution of type IIB supergravity, which carries both magnetic\nNS-NS-charge and RR-charge. The influence of nontrivial RR-fields on the\ndynamics of the cosmological models is investigated."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Duality Symmetric Actions with Manifest Space-Time Symmetries: We consider a space-time invariant duality symmetric action for a free\nMaxwell field and an $SL(2,{\\bf R})\\times SO(6,22)$ invariant effective action\ndescribing a low-energy bosonic sector of the heterotic string compactified on\na six-dimensional torus. The manifest Lorentz and general coordinate invariant\nformulation of the models is achieved by coupling dual gauge fields to an\nauxiliary vector field from an axionic sector of the theory.",
        "positive": "Duality Phase Transition in Type I String Theory: We show that the duality phase transition in the unoriented type I theory of\nopen and closed strings is_first order_. The order parameter is the\nsemiclassical approximation to the heavy quark-antiquark potential at finite\ntemperature, extracted from the covariant off-shell string amplitude with\nWilson loop boundaries wrapped around the Euclidean time direction. Remarkably,\nprecise calculations can be carried out on either side of the phase boundary at\nthe string scale T_C = 1/2\\pi \\alpha^{'1/2} by utilizing the T-dual, type IB\nand type I', descriptions of the short string gas of massless gluon radiation.\nWe will calculate the change in the duality transition temperature in the\npresence of an electromagnetic background field."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Lagrangian description of N=2 minimal models as critical points of\n  Landau-Ginzburg theories.: We discuss a two-dimensional lagrangian model with $N=2$ supersymmetry\ndescribed by a K\\\"{a}hler potential $K(X,\\bar{X})$ and superpotential $gX^k$\nwhich explicitly exhibits renormalization group flows to infrared fixed points\nwhere the central charge has a value equal that of the $N=2$, $A_{k-1}$ minimal\nmodel. We consider the dressing of such models by N=2 supergravity: in\ncontradistinction to bosonic or $N=1$ models, no modification of the\n$\\b$-function takes place.",
        "positive": "The Gauge-Fixing Fermion in BRST Quantisation: Conditions which must be satisfied by the gauge-fixing fermion $\\chi$ used in\nthe BRST quantisation of constrained systems are established. These ensure that\nthe extension of the Hamiltonian by the gauge-fixing term $[\\Omega, \\chi]$\n(where $\\Omega$ is the BRST charge) gives the correct path integral. (Lecture\ngiven at the conference Constrained Dynamics and Quantum Gravity II, Santa\nMargherita, Italy, September 1996)"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Stationary bubbles and their tunneling channels toward trivial geometry: In the path integral approach, one has to sum over all histories that start\nfrom the same initial condition in order to obtain the final condition as a\nsuperposition of histories. Applying this into black hole dynamics, we consider\nstable and unstable stationary bubbles as a reasonable and regular initial\ncondition. We find examples where the bubble can either form a black hole or\ntunnel toward a trivial geometry, i.e., with no singularity nor event horizon.\nWe investigate the dynamics and tunneling channels of true vacuum bubbles for\nvarious tensions. In particular, in line with the idea of superposition of\ngeometries, we build a classically stable stationary thin-shell solution in a\nMinkowski background where its fate is probabilistically given by\nnon-perturbative effects. Since there exists a tunneling channel toward a\ntrivial geometry in the entire path integral, the entire information is encoded\nin the wave function. This demonstrates that the unitarity is preserved and\nthere is no loss of information when viewed from the entire wave function of\nthe universe, whereas a semi-classical observer, who can see only a definitive\ngeometry, would find an effective loss of information. This may provide a\nresolution to the information loss dilemma.",
        "positive": "Update of D3/D7-Brane Inflation on K3 x T^2/Z_2: We update the D3/D7-brane inflation model on K3 x T^2/Z_2 with branes and\nfluxes. For this purpose, we study the low energy theory including g_s\ncorrections to the gaugino condensate superpotential that stabilizes the K3\nvolume modulus. The gauge kinetic function is verified to become holomorphic\nwhen the original N=2 supersymmetry is spontaneously broken to N=1 by bulk\nfluxes. From the underlying classical N=2 supergravity, the theory inherits a\nshift symmetry which provides the inflaton with a naturally flat potential. We\nanalyze the fate of this shift symmetry after the inclusion of quantum\ncorrections. The field range of the inflaton is found to depend significantly\non the complex structure of the torus but is independent of its volume. This\nallows for a large kinematical field range for the inflaton. Furthermore, we\nshow that the D3/D7 model may lead to a realization of the recent CMB fit by\nHindmarsh et al. with an 11% contribution from cosmic strings and a spectral\nindex close to n_s=1. On the other hand, by a slight change of the parameters\nof the model one can strongly suppress the cosmic string contribution and\nreduce the spectral index n_s to fit the WMAP5 data in the absence of cosmic\nstrings. We also demonstrate that the inclusion of quantum corrections allows\nfor a regime of eternal D3/D7 inflation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Topological Ward Identity and Anti-de Sitter Space/CFT Correspondence: The dual relationship between the supergravity in the anti-de Sitter(AdS)\nspace and the superconformal field theory is discussed in the simplest form. We\nshow that a topological Ward identity holds in the three dimensional\nChern-Simons gravity. In this simple case the proposed dual relationship can be\nunderstood as the topological Ward identity. Extensions to the supersymmetric\ntheories and higher dimensional ones are also briefly discussed.",
        "positive": "Relativistic dynamics, Green function and pseudodifferential operators: The central role played by pseudodifferential operators in relativistic\ndynamics is very well know. In this work, operators as the Schrodinger one\n(e.g: square root) are treated from the point of view of the non-local\npseudodifferential Green functions. Starting from the explicit construction of\nthe Green (semigroup) theoretical kernel, a theorem linking the integrability\nconditions and their dependence on the spacetime dimensions is given.\nRelativistic wave equations with arbitrary spin and the causality problem are\ndiscussed with the algebraic interpretation of the radical operator and their\nrelation with coherent and squeezed states. Also we perform by mean of pure\ntheoretical procedures (based in physical concepts and symmetry) the\nrelativistic position operator which satisfies the conditions of integrability\n: it is non-local, Lorentz invariant and does not have the same problems as the\n\"local\"position operator proposed by Newton and Wigner. Physical examples, as\nZitterbewegung and rogue waves, are presented and deeply analysed in this\ntheoretical framework."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Lorentz Violation and the Higgs Mechanism: We consider scalar quantum electrodynamics in the Higgs phase and in the\npresence of Lorentz violation. Spontaneous breaking of the gauge symmetry gives\nrise to Lorentz-violating gauge field mass terms. These may cause the\nlongitudinal mode of the gauge field to propagate superluminally. The theory\nmay be quantized by the Faddeev-Popov procedure, although the Lagrangian for\nthe ghost fields also needs to be Lorentz violating.",
        "positive": "S-parameter, Technimesons, and Phase Transitions in Holographic Tachyon\n  DBI Models: We investigate some phenomenological aspects of the holographic models based\non the tachyon Dirac-Born-Infeld action in the AdS space-time. These\nholographic theories model strongly interacting fermions and feature dynamical\nmass generation and symmetry breaking. We show that they can be viewed as\nmodels of holographic walking technicolor and compute the Peskin-Takeuchi\nS-parameter and masses of lightest technimesons for a variety of the tachyon\npotentials. We also investigate the phase structure at finite temperature and\ncharge density. Finally, we comment on the holographic Wilsonian RG in the\ncontext of holographic tachyon DBI models."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Large-$N$ nonlinear $\u03c3$ models on $R^2\\times S^1$: The large-$N$ nonlinear $O(N)$, $CP^{N-1}$ $\\sigma$ models are studied on\n$R^2 \\times S^1$. The $N$-components scalar fields of the models are supposed\nto acquire a phase $e^{i2\\pi\\delta}$ $(0\\leq \\delta <1)$, along the circulation\nof the circle, $S^1$. We evaluate the effective potentials to the leading order\nof the $1/N$ expansion. It is shown that, on $R^2\\times S^1$ the $O(N)$ model\nhas rich phase structure while the phase of $CP^{N-1}$ model is just that of\nthe model at finite temperature.",
        "positive": "TASI lectures on AdS/CFT: We introduce the AdS/CFT correspondence as a natural extension of QFT in a\nfixed AdS background. We start by reviewing some general concepts of CFT,\nincluding the embedding space formalism. We then consider QFT in a fixed AdS\nbackground and show that one can define boundary operators that enjoy very\nsimilar properties as in a CFT, except for the lack of a stress tensor.\nIncluding a dynamical metric in AdS generates a boundary stress tensor and\ncompletes the CFT axioms. We also discuss some applications of the bulk\ngeometric intuition to strongly coupled QFT. Finally, we end with a review of\nthe main properties of Mellin amplitudes for CFT correlation functions and\ntheir uses in the context of AdS/CFT."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Why some stars seem to be older than the Universe?: There is some experimental evidence that some stars are older than the\nUniverse in General Relativity based cosmology. In TGD based cosmology the\nparadox has explanation. Photons can be either topologically condensed on\nbackground spacetime surface or in 'vapour phase' that is progate in\n$M^4_+\\times CP_2$ as small surfaces. The time for propagation from A to B is\nin general larger in condensate than in vapour phase. In principle observer\ndetects from a given astrophysical object both vapour phase and condensate\nphotons, vapour phase photons being emitted later than condensate photons.\nTherefore the erraneous identification of vapour phase photons as condensate\nphotons leads to an over estimate for the age of the star and star can look\nolder than the Universe. The Hubble constant for vapour phase photons is that\nassociated with $M^4_+$ and smaller than the Hubble constant of matter\ndominated cosmology. This could explain the measured two widely different\nvalues of Hubble constant if smaller Hubble constant corresponds to the Hubble\nconstant of the future light cone $M^4_+$. The ratio of propagation velocities\nof vapour phase and condensate photons equals to ratio of the two Hubble\nconstants, which in turn is depends on the ratio of mass density and critical\nmass density, only. Anomalously large redshifts are possible since vapour phase\nphotons can come also from region outside the horizon.",
        "positive": "Quasi-normal modes for doubly rotating black holes: Based on the work of Chen, L\\\"u and Pope, we derive expressions for the\n$D\\geq 6$ dimensional metric for Kerr-(A)dS black holes with two independent\nrotation parameters and all others set equal to zero: $a_1\\neq 0, a_2\\neq0,\na_3=a_4=...=0$. The Klein-Gordon equation is then explicitly separated on this\nbackground. For $D\\geq 6$ this separation results in a radial equation coupled\nto two generalized spheroidal angular equations. We then develop a full\nnumerical approach that utilizes the Asymptotic Iteration Method (AIM) to find\nradial Quasi-Normal Modes (QNMs) of doubly rotating flat Myers-Perry black\nholes for slow rotations. We also develop perturbative expansions for the\nangular quantum numbers in powers of the rotation parameters up to second\norder."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Bose-Einstein Condensation in Compactified Spaces: We discuss the thermodynamic potential of a charged Bose gas with the\nchemical potential in arbitrary dimensions. The critical temperature for\nBose-Einstein condensation is investigated. In the case of the compactified\nbackground metric, it is shown that the critical temperature depends on the\nsize of the extra spaces. The asymmetry of the \"Kaluza-Klein charge\" is also\ndiscussed.",
        "positive": "Spectral Networks and Snakes: We apply and illustrate the techniques of spectral networks in a large\ncollection of A_{K-1} theories of class S, which we call \"lifted A_1 theories.\"\nOur construction makes contact with Fock and Goncharov's work on higher\nTeichmuller theory. In particular we show that the Darboux coordinates on\nmoduli spaces of flat connections which come from certain special spectral\nnetworks coincide with the Fock-Goncharov coordinates. We show, moreover, how\nthese techniques can be used to study the BPS spectra of lifted A_1 theories.\nIn particular, we determine the spectrum generators for all the lifts of a\nsimple superconformal field theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Aspects of moduli stabilization in type IIB string theory: We review moduli stabilization in type IIB string theory compactification\nwith fluxes. We focus on the KKLT and Large Volume Scenario (LVS). We show that\nthe predicted soft SUSY breaking terms in KKLT model are not phenomenological\nviable. In LVS, the following result for scalar mass, gaugino mass, and\ntrilinear term is obtained: $m_0 =m_{1/2}= - A_0=m_{3/2}$, which may account\nfor Higgs mass limit if $m_{3/2} \\sim {\\cal O}(1.5)$ TeV. However, in this case\nthe relic abundance of the lightest neutralino can not be consistent with the\nmeasured limits. We also study the cosmological consequences of moduli\nstabilization in both models. In particular, the associated inflation models\nsuch as racetrack inflation and K\\\"ahler inflation are analyzed. Finally the\nproblem of moduli destabilization and the effect of string moduli backreaction\non the inflation models are discussed.",
        "positive": "3d Expansions of 5d Instanton Partition Functions: We propose a set of novel expansions of Nekrasov's instanton partition\nfunctions. Focusing on 5d supersymmetric pure Yang-Mills theory with unitary\ngauge group on $\\mathbb{C}^2_{q,t^{-1}} \\times \\mathbb{S}^1$, we show that the\ninstanton partition function admits expansions in terms of partition functions\nof unitary gauge theories living on the 3d subspaces $\\mathbb{C}_{q} \\times\n\\mathbb{S}^1$, $\\mathbb{C}_{t^{-1}} \\times \\mathbb{S}^1$ and their intersection\nalong $\\mathbb{S}^1$. These new expansions are natural from the BPS/CFT\nviewpoint, as they can be matched with $W_{q,t}$ correlators involving an\narbitrary number of screening charges of two kinds. Our constructions\ngeneralize and interpolate existing results in the literature."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Equivariant Localization of Path Integrals: We review equivariant localization techniques for the evaluation of Feynman\npath integrals. We develop systematic geometric methods for studying the\nsemi-classical properties of phase space path integrals for dynamical systems,\nemphasizing the relations with integrable and topological quantum field\ntheories. Beginning with a detailed review of the relevant mathematical\nbackground -- equivariant cohomology and the Duistermaat-Heckman theorem, we\ndemonstrate how the localization ideas are related to classical integrability\nand how they can be formally extended to derive explicit localization formulas\nfor path integrals in special instances using BRST quantization techniques.\nVarious loop space localizations are presented and related to notions in\nquantum integrability and topological field theory. We emphasize the common\nsymmetries that such localizable models always possess and use these symmetries\nto discuss the range of applicability of the localization formulas. A number of\nphysical and mathematical applications are presented in connection with\nelementary quantum mechanics, Morse theory, index theorems, character formulas\nfor semi-simple Lie groups, quantization of spin systems, unitary integrations\nin matrix models, modular invariants of Riemann surfaces, supersymmetric\nquantum field theories, two-dimensional Yang-Mills theory, conformal field\ntheory, cohomological field theories and the loop expansion in quantum field\ntheory. Some modern techniques of path integral quantization, such as coherent\nstate methods, are also discussed. The relations between equivariant\nlocalization and other ideas in topological field theory, such as the\nBatalin-Fradkin-Vilkovisky and Mathai-Quillen formalisms, are presented.",
        "positive": "A note on transition in discrete gauge groups in F-theory: We observe a new puzzling physical phenomenon in F-theory on the multisection\ngeometry, wherein a model without a gauge group transitions to another model\nwith a discrete $\\mathbb{Z}_n$ gauge group via Higgsing. This phenomenon may\nsuggest an unknown aspect of F-theory compactification on multisection geometry\nlacking a global section. A possible interpretation of this puzzling physical\nphenomenon is proposed in this note. We also propose a possible interpretation\nof another unnatural physical phenomenon observed for F-theory on four-section\ngeometry, wherein a discrete $\\mathbb{Z}_2$ gauge group transitions to a\ndiscrete $\\mathbb{Z}_4$ gauge group via Higgsing as described in the previous\nliterature."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Critical and Tricritical Points for the Massless 2d Gross-Neveu Model\n  Beyond Large N: Using optimized perturbation theory, we evaluate the effective potential for\nthe massless two dimensional Gross-Neveu model at finite temperature and\ndensity containing corrections beyond the leading large-N contribution. For\nlarge-N, our results exactly reproduce the well known 1/N leading order results\nfor the critical temperature, chemical potential and tricritical points. For\nfinite N, our critical values are smaller than the ones predicted by the\nlarge-N approximation and seem to observe Landau's theorem for phase\ntransitions in one space dimension. New analytical results are presented for\nthe tricritical points that include 1/N corrections. The easiness with which\nthe calculations and renormalization are carried out allied to the seemingly\nconvergent optimized results displayed, in this particular application, show\nthe robustness of this method and allows us to obtain neat analytical\nexpressions for the critical as well as tricritical values beyond the results\ncurrently known.",
        "positive": "Schr\u00f6dinger Functional and Quantization of Gauge Theories in the\n  Temporal Gauge: In the language of Feynman path integrals the quantization of gauge theories\nis most easily carried out with the help of the Schr\\\"odinger Functional (SF).\nWithin this formalism the essentially unique gauge fixing condition is\n$A_{\\circ} = 0$ (temporal gauge), as any other rotationally invariant gauge\nchoice can be shown to be functionally equivalent to the former. In the\ntemporal gauge Gauss' law is automatically implemented as a constraint on the\nstates. States not annihilated by the Gauss operator describe the situation in\nwhich external (infinitely heavy) colour sources interact with the gauge field.\nThe SF in the presence of an arbitrary distribution of external colour sources\ncan be expressed in an elegant and concise way."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "High energy QCD from Planckian scattering in AdS and the Froissart bound: We reanalyze high energy QCD scattering regimes from scattering in cut-off\nAdS via gravity-gauge dualities (a la Polchinski-Strassler). We look at 't\nHooft scattering, Regge behaviour and black hole creation in AdS. Black hole\ncreation in the gravity dual is analyzed via gravitational shockwave\ncollisions. We prove the saturation of the QCD Froissart unitarity bound,\ncorresponding to the creation of black holes of AdS size, as suggested by\nGiddings.",
        "positive": "On the Entanglement of Multiple CFTs via Rotating Black Hole Interior: We study the minimal surfaces between two of the multiple boundaries of 3d\nmaximally extended rotating eternal black hole. Via AdS/CFT, this corresponds\nto investigating the behavior of entanglements of the boundary CFT with\nmultiple sectors. Non-trivial time evolutions of such entanglements detect the\ngeometry inside the horizon, and behave differently depending on the choice of\nthe two boundaries."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Conjectures for Large N Superconformal N=4 Chiral Primary Four Point\n  Functions: An expression for the four point function for half-BPS operators belonging to\nthe [0,p,0] SU(4) representation in N=4 superconformal theories at strong\ncoupling in the large N limit is suggested for any p. It is expressed in terms\nof the four point integrals defined by integration over AdS_5 and agrees with,\nand was motivated by, results for p=2,3,4 obtained via the AdS/CFT\ncorrespondence. Using crossing symmetry and unitarity, the detailed form is\ndictated by the requirement that at large N the contribution of long multiplets\nwith twist less than 2p, which do not have anomalous dimensions, should cancel\ncorresponding free field contributions.",
        "positive": "Near BPS Skyrmions and Restricted Harmonic Maps: Motivated by a class of near BPS Skyrme models introduced by Adam,\nS\\'anchez-Guill\\'en and Wereszczy\\'nski, the following variant of the harmonic\nmap problem is introduced: a map $\\phi:(M,g)\\rightarrow (N,h)$ between\nRiemannian manifolds is restricted harmonic (RH) if it locally extremizes $E_2$\non its $SDiff(M)$ orbit, where $SDiff(M)$ denotes the group of volume\npreserving diffeomorphisms of $(M,g)$, and $E_2$ denotes the Dirichlet energy.\nIt is conjectured that near BPS skyrmions tend to RH maps in the BPS limit. It\nis shown that $\\phi$ is RH if and only if $\\phi^*h$ has exact divergence, and a\nlinear stability theory of RH maps is developed, whence it follows that all\nweakly conformal maps, for example, are stable RH. Examples of RH maps in every\ndegree class $R^3\\to SU(2)$ and $R^2\\to S^2$ are constructed. It is shown that\nthe axially symmetric BPS skyrmions on which all previous analytic studies of\nnear BPS Skyrme models have been based, are not RH, so each such field can be\ndeformed along $SDiff(R^3)$ to yield BPS skyrmions with lower $E_2$, casting\ndoubt on the predictions of such studies. The problem of minimizing $E_2$ for\n$\\phi:R^k\\to N$ over all linear volume preserving diffeomorphisms is solved\nexplicitly, and a deformed axially symmetric family of Skyrme fields\nconstructed which are candidates for approximate near BPS skyrmions at low\nbaryon number. The notion of restricted harmonicity is generalized to\nrestricted $F$-criticality where $F$ is any functional on maps $(M,g)\\to (N,h)$\nwhich is, in a precise sense, geometrically natural. The case where $F$ is a\nlinear combination of $E_2$ and $E_4$, the usual Skyrme term, is studied in\ndetail, and it is shown that inverse stereographic projection $R^3\\to S^3\\equiv\nSU(2)$ is stable restricted $F$-critical for every such $F$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On $p$-adic string amplitudes in the limit $p$ approaches to one: In this article we discuss the limit $p$ approaches to one of tree-level\n$p$-adic open string amplitudes and its connections with the topological zeta\nfunctions. There is empirical evidence that $p$-adic strings are related to the\nordinary strings in the $p \\to 1$ limit. Previously, we established that\n$p$-adic Koba-Nielsen string amplitudes are finite sums of multivariate Igusa's\nlocal zeta functions, consequently, they are convergent integrals that admit\nmeromorphic continuations as rational functions. The meromorphic continuation\nof local zeta functions has been used for several authors to regularize\nparametric Feynman amplitudes in field and string theories. Denef and Loeser\nestablished that the limit $p \\to 1$ of a Igusa's local zeta function gives\nrise to an object called topological zeta function. By using Denef-Loeser's\ntheory of topological zeta functions, we show that limit $p \\to 1$ of\ntree-level $p$-adic string amplitudes give rise to certain amplitudes, that we\nhave named Denef-Loeser string amplitudes. Gerasimov and Shatashvili showed\nthat in limit $p \\to 1$ the well-known non-local effective Lagrangian\n(reproducing the tree-level $p$-adic string amplitudes) gives rise to a simple\nLagrangian with a logarithmic potential. We show that the Feynman amplitudes of\nthis last Lagrangian are precisely the amplitudes introduced here. Finally, the\namplitudes for four and five points are computed explicitly.",
        "positive": "The Nonperturbative Gauge Coupling of N=2 Supersymmetric Theories: We argue that the topology of the quantum coupling space and the low energy\neffective action on the Coulomb branch of scale invariant N=2 SU(n) gauge\ntheories pick out a preferred nonperturbative definition of the gauge coupling\nup to non-singular holomorphic reparametrizations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Evaluation of the Free Energy of Two-Dimensional Yang-Mills Theory: The free energy in the weak-coupling phase of two-dimensional Yang-Mills\ntheory on a sphere for SO(N) and Sp(N) is evaluated in the 1/N expansion using\nthe techniques of Gross and Matytsin. Many features of Yang-Mills theory are\nuniversal among different gauge groups in the large N limit, but significant\ndifferences arise in subleading order in 1/N.",
        "positive": "Statistical mechanics of strings with Y-junctions: We investigate the Hagedorn transitions of string networks with Y-junctions\nas may occur, for example, with (p,q) cosmic superstrings. In a simplified\nmodel with three different types of string, the partition function reduces to\nthree generalised coupled XY models. We calculate the phase diagram and show\nthat, as the system is heated, the lightest strings first undergo the Hagedorn\ntransition despite the junctions. There is then a second, higher, critical\ntemperature above which infinite strings of all tensions, and junctions, exist.\nConversely, on cooling to low temperatures, only the lightest strings remain,\nbut they collapse into small loops."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-perturbative 2d quantum gravity and hamiltonians unbounded from\n  below: We show how the stochastic stabilization provides both the weak coupling\ngenus expansion and a strong coupling expansion of 2d quantum gravity. The\ndouble scaling limit is described by a hamiltonian which is unbounded from\nbelow, but which has a discrete spectrum.",
        "positive": "Black Hole Superpartners and Fixed Scalars: Some bosonic solutions of supergravities admit Killing spinors of unbroken\nsupersymmetry. The anti-Killing spinors of broken supersymmetry can be used to\ngenerate the superpartners of stringy black holes. This has a consequent\nfeedback on the metric and the graviphoton. We have found however that the\nfixed scalars for the black hole superpartners remain the same as for the\noriginal black holes. Possible phenomenological implications of this result are\ndiscussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Conformal Field Theory and Geometry of Strings: What is quantum geometry? This question is becoming a popular leitmotiv in\ntheoretical physics and in mathematics. Conformal field theory may catch a\nglimpse of the right answer. We review global aspects of the geometry of\nconformal fields, such as duality and mirror symmetry, and interpret them\nwithin Connes' non-commutative geometry. Extended version of lectures given by\nthe 2nd author at the Mathematical Quantum Theory Conference, Vancouver,\nCanada, August 4 to 8, 1993",
        "positive": "Supergravity and M-Theory: Supergravity provides the effective field theories for string\ncompactifications. The deformation of the maximal supergravities by non-abelian\ngauge interactions is only possible for a restricted class of charges.\nGenerically these `gaugings' involve a hierarchy of p-form fields which belong\nto specific representations of the duality group. The group-theoretical\nstructure of this p-form hierarchy exhibits many interesting features. In the\ncase of maximal supergravity the class of allowed deformations has intriguing\nconnections with M/string theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Three-generation Asymmetric Orbifold Models from Heterotic String Theory: Using Z3 asymmetric orbifolds in heterotic string theory, we construct N=1\nSUSY three-generation models with the standard model gauge group SU(3)_C \\times\nSU(2)_L \\times U(1)_Y and the left-right symmetric group SU(3)_C \\times SU(2)_L\n\\times SU(2)_R \\times U(1)_{B-L}. One of the models possesses a gauge flavor\nsymmetry for the Z3 twisted matter.",
        "positive": "Degenerate Rotating Black Holes, Chiral CFTs and Fermi Surfaces I -\n  Analytic Results for Quasinormal Modes: In this work we discuss charged rotating black holes in $AdS_5 \\times S^5$\nthat degenerate to extremal black holes with zero entropy. These black holes\nhave scaling properties between charge and angular momentum similar to those of\nFermi surface operators in a subsector of $\\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM. We add a\nmassless uncharged scalar to the five dimensional supergravity theory, such\nthat it still forms a consistent truncation of the type IIB ten dimensional\nsupergravity and analyze its quasinormal modes. Separating the equation of\nmotion to a radial and angular part, we proceed to solve the radial equation\nusing the asymptotic matching expansion method applied to a Heun equation with\ntwo nearby singularities. We use the continued fraction method for the angular\nHeun equation and obtain numerical results for the quasinormal modes. In the\ncase of the supersymmetric black hole we present some analytic results for the\ndecay rates of the scalar perturbations. The spectrum of quasinormal modes\nobtained is similar to that of a chiral 1+1 CFT, which is consistent with the\nconjectured field-theoretic dual. In addition, some of the modes can be found\nanalytically."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Yang-Mills condensates in cosmology: We discuss homogeneous and isotropic cosmological models driven by SU(2)\ngauge fields in the framework of Einstein gravity. There exists a Yang-Mills\nfield configuration, parametrized by a single scalar function, which consists\nof parallel electric and magnetic fields and has the stress tensor mimicking an\nhomogeneous and isotropic fluid. The unique SU(2) gauge theory with spontaneous\nsymmetry breaking sharing the same property is the Yang-Mills coupled to the\ncomplex doublet Higgs, this exists only in the case of the closed universe.\nThis model contains an intrinsic mechanism for inflation due to the Higgs\npotential. Our second goal is to show that a successful inflation can be\nachieved also within the pure Yang-Mills theory adding an appropriate\ntheta-term.",
        "positive": "Compensating Fields and Anomalies in Supergravity: We discuss the quantization of theories which are formulated using\ncompensating fields. In particular, we discuss the relation between the\ncomponents formulation and the superspace formulation of supergravity theories.\nThe requirement that the compensating field can be eliminated at the quantum\nlevel gives rise to on-shell constraints on the operators of the theory. In\nsome cases, the constraints turn out to be physically unacceptable. Using these\nconsiderations we show that new minimal supergravity is in general anomalous."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The crossing multiplier for solvable lattice models: We study the large class of solvable lattice models, based on the data of\nconformal field theory.\n  These models are constructed from any conformal field theory.\n  We consider the lattice models based on affine algebras described by Jimbo et\nal., for the algebras $ABCD$ and by Kuniba et al. for $G_2$. We find a general\nformula for the crossing multipliers of these models. It is shown that these\ncrossing multipliers are also given by the principally specialized characters\nof the model in question. Therefore we conjecture that the crossing multipliers\nin this large class of solvable interaction round the face lattice models are\ngiven by the characters of the conformal field theory on which they are based.\nWe use this result to study the local state probabilities of these models and\nshow that they are given by the branching rule, in regime III.",
        "positive": "On the Symmetry Foundation of Double Soft Theorems: Double-soft theorems, like its single-soft counterparts, arises from the\nunderlying symmetry principles that constrain the interactions of massless\nparticles. While single soft theorems can be derived in a non-perturbative\nfashion by employing current algebras, recent attempts of extending such an\napproach to known double soft theorems has been met with difficulties. In this\nwork, we have traced the difficulty to two inequivalent expansion schemes,\ndepending on whether the soft limit is taken asymmetrically or symmetrically,\nwhich we denote as type A and B respectively. We show that soft-behaviour for\ntype A scheme can simply be derived from single soft theorems, and are thus\nnon-preturbatively protected. For type B, the information of the four-point\nvertex is required to determine the corresponding soft theorems, and thus are\nin general not protected. This argument can be readily extended to general\nmulti-soft theorems. We also ask whether unitarity can be emergent from\nlocality together with the two kinds of soft theorems, which has not been fully\ninvestigated before."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Lorentz-invariant CPT violation: A Lorentz-invariant CPT violation, which may be termed as long-distance CPT\nviolation in contrast to the familiar short-distance CPT violation, has been\nrecently proposed. This scheme is based on a non-local interaction vertex and\ncharacterized by an infrared divergent form factor. We show that the Lorentz\ncovariant $T^{\\star}$-product is consistently defined and the energy-momentum\nconservation is preserved in perturbation theory if the path integral is\nsuitably defined for this non-local theory, although unitarity is generally\nlost. It is illustrated that T violation is realized in the decay and formation\nprocesses. It is also argued that the equality of masses and decay widths of\nthe particle and anti-particle is preserved if the non-local CPT violation is\nincorporated either directly or as perturbation by starting with the\nconventional CPT-even local Lagrangian. However, we also explicitly show that\nthe present non-local scheme can induce the splitting of particle and\nanti-particle mass eigenvalues if one considers a more general class of\nLagrangians.",
        "positive": "Rotational Invariance in the M(atrix) Formulation of Type IIB Theory: The matrix model formulation of M-theory can be generalized by\ncompactification to ten-dimensional type II string theory, formulated in the\ninfinite momentum frame. Both the type IIA and IIB string theories can be\nformulated in this way. In the M-theory and type IIA cases, the transverse\nrotational invariance is manifest, but in the IIB case, one of the transverse\ndimensions materializes in a completely different way from the other seven. The\nfull O(8) rotational symmetry then follows in a surprising way from the\nelectric-magnetic duality of supersymmetric Yang-Mills field theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Topological Defects and the Trial Orbit Method: We deal with the presence of topological defects in models for two real\nscalar fields. We comment on defects hosting topological defects, and we search\nfor explicit defect solutions using the trial orbit method. As we know, under\ncertain circumstances the second order equations of motion can be solved by\nfirst order differential equations. In this case we show that the trial orbit\nmethod can be used very efficiently to obtain explicit solutions.",
        "positive": "Chiral approach to partially-massless fields: We propose a new (chiral) description of partially-massless fields in $4d$,\nincluding the partially-massless graviton, that is similar to the pure\nconnection formulation for gravity and massless higher spin fields, the latter\nhaving a clear twistor origin. The new approach allows us to construct complete\nexamples of higher spin gravities with (partially-)massless fields that feature\nYang--Mills and current interactions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "AdS$_3$/AdS$_2$ degression of massless particles: We study a 3d/2d dimensional degression which is a Kaluza-Klein type\nmechanism in AdS$_3$ space foliated into AdS$_2$ hypersurfaces. It is shown\nthat an AdS$_3$ massless particle of spin $s=1,2,...,\\infty$ degresses into a\ncouple of AdS$_2$ particles of equal energies $E=s$. Note that the Kaluza-Klein\nspectra in higher dimensions are always infinite. To formulate the\nAdS$_3$/AdS$_2$ degression we consider branching rules for AdS$_3$ isometry\nalgebra o$(2,2)$ representations decomposed with respect to AdS$_2$ isometry\nalgebra o$(1,2)$. We find that a given o$(2,2)$ higher-spin representation\nlying on the unitary bound (i.e. massless) decomposes into two equal o$(1,2)$\nmodules. In the field-theoretical terms, this phenomenon is demonstrated for\nspin-2 and spin-3 free massless fields. The truncation to a finite spectrum can\nbe seen by using particular mode expansions, (partial) diagonalizations, and\nidentities specific to two dimensions.",
        "positive": "Incoherent conductivity of holographic charge density waves: The DC resistivity of charge density waves weakly-pinned by disorder is\ncontrolled by diffusive, incoherent processes rather than slow momentum\nrelaxation. The corresponding incoherent conductivity can be computed in the\nlimit of zero disorder. We compute this transport coefficient in holographic\nspatially modulated breaking translations spontaneously. As a by-product of our\nanalysis, we clarify how the boundary heat current is obtained from a conserved\nbulk current, defined as a suitable generalization of the Iyer-Wald Noether\ncurrent of the appropriate Killing vector."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Superconformal Indices for ${\\cal N}=6$ Chern Simons Theories: Aharony, Bergman, Jafferis and Maldacena have recently proposed a dual\ngravitational description for a family of superconformal Chern Simons theories\nin three spacetime dimensions. In this note we perform the one loop computation\nthat determines the field theory superconformal index of this theory and\ncompare with the index computed over the Fock space of dual supersymmetric\ngravitons. In the appropriate limit (large $N$ and large $k$) we find a perfect\nmatch.",
        "positive": "Holographic OPE Coefficients from AdS Black Holes with Matters: We study the OPE coefficients $c_{\\Delta, J}$ for heavy-light scalar\nfour-point functions, which can be obtained holographically from the two-point\nfunction of a light scalar of some non-integer conformal dimension $\\Delta_L$\nin an AdS black hole. We verify that the OPE coefficient $c_{d,0}=0$ for pure\ngravity black holes, consistent with the tracelessness of the holographic\nenergy-momentum tensor. We then study the OPE coefficients from black holes\ninvolving matter fields. We first consider general charged AdS black holes and\nwe give some explicit low-lying examples of the OPE coefficients. We also\nobtain the recursion formula for the lowest-twist OPE coefficients with at most\ntwo current operators. For integer $\\Delta_L$, although the OPE coefficients\nare not fully determined, we set up a framework to read off the coefficients\n$\\gamma_{\\Delta,J}$ of the $\\log(z\\bar{z})$ terms that are associated with the\nanomalous dimensions of the exchange operators and obtain a general formula for\n$\\gamma_{\\Delta,J}$. We then consider charged AdS black holes in gauged\nsupergravity STU models in $D=5$ and $D=7$, and their higher-dimensional\ngeneralizations. The scalar fields in the STU models are conformally massless,\ndual to light operators with $\\Delta_L=d-2$. We derive the linear perturbation\nof such a scalar in the STU charged AdS black holes and obtain the explicit OPE\ncoefficient $c_{d-2,0}$. Finally, we analyse the asymptotic properties of\nscalar hairy AdS black holes and show how $c_{d,0}$ can be nonzero with\nexchanging scalar operators in these backgrounds."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hamiltonian cosmology in bigravity and massive gravity: In the Hamiltonian language we provide a study of flat-space cosmology in\nbigravity and massive gravity constructed mostly with de Rham, Gabadadze,\nTolley (dRGT) potential. It is demonstrated that the Hamiltonian methods are\npowerful not only in proving the absence of the Boulware-Deser ghost, but also\nin solving other problems. The purpose of this work is to give an introduction\nboth to the Hamiltonian formalism and to the cosmology of bigravity. We sketch\nthree roads to the Hamiltonian of bigravity with the dRGT potential: the\nmetric, the tetrad and the minisuperspace approaches.",
        "positive": "Perturbative unitarity of Lee-Wick quantum field theory: We study the perturbative unitarity of the Lee-Wick models, formulated as\nnonanalytically Wick rotated Euclidean theories. The complex energy plane is\ndivided into disconnected regions and the values of a loop integral in the\nvarious regions are related to one another by a nonanalytic procedure. We show\nthat the one-loop diagrams satisfy the expected, unitary cutting equations in\neach region: only the physical degrees of freedom propagate through the cuts.\nThe goal can be achieved by working in suitable subsets of each region and\nproving that the cutting equations can be analytically continued as a whole. We\nmake explicit calculations in the cases of the bubble and triangle diagrams and\naddress the generality of our approach. We also show that the same\nhigher-derivative models violate unitarity if they are formulated directly in\nMinkowski spacetime."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On unitarity of the Coon amplitude: The Coon amplitude is a one-parameter deformation of the Veneziano amplitude.\nWe explore the unitarity of the Coon amplitude through its partial wave\nexpansion using tools from $q$-calculus. Our analysis establishes manifest\npositivity on the leading and sub-leading Regge trajectories in arbitrary\nspacetime dimensions $D$, while revealing a violation of unitarity in a certain\nregion of $(q,D)$ parameter space starting at the sub-sub-leading Regge order.\nA combination of numerical studies and analytic arguments allows us to argue\nfor the manifest positivity of the partial wave coefficients in fixed spin and\nRegge asymptotics.",
        "positive": "M Theory Extensions of T Duality: T duality expresses the equivalence of a superstring theory compactified on a\nmanifold K to another (possibly the same) superstring theory compactified on a\ndual manifold K'. The volumes of K and K' are inversely proportional. In this\ntalk we consider two M theory generalizations of T duality: (i) M theory\ncompactified on a torus is equivalent to type IIB superstring theory\ncompactified on a circle and (ii) M theory compactified on a cylinder is\nequivalent to SO(32) superstring theory compactified on a circle. In both cases\nthe size of the circle is proportional to the -3/4 power of the area of the\ndual manifold."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Stringy effect of the holographic correspondence for Dp-brane\n  backgrounds: Based on the holographic conjecture for superstrings on Dp-brane backgrounds\nand the dual (p+1)-dimensional gauge theory ($0\\le p\\le 4$) given in\nhep-th/0308024 and hep-th/0405203, we continue the study of superstring\namplitudes including string higher modes ($n\\ne 0$). We give a prediction to\nthe two-point functions of operators with large R-charge J. The effect of\nstringy modes do not appear as the form of anomalous dimensions except for p=3.\nInstead, it gives non-trivial correction to the two-point functions for\nsupergravity modes. For p=4, the scalar two-point functions for any n behave\nlike free fields of the effective dimension d_{eff}=6 in the infra-red limit.",
        "positive": "Five-dimensional SCFTs and gauge theory phases: an M-theory/type IIA\n  perspective: We revisit the correspondence between Calabi-Yau (CY) threefold isolated\nsingularities $\\mathbf{X}$ and five-dimensional superconformal field theories\n(SCFTs), which arise at low energy in M-theory on the space-time transverse to\n$\\mathbf{X}$. Focussing on the case of toric CY singularities, we analyze the\n\"gauge-theory phases\" of the SCFT by exploiting fiberwise M-theory/type IIA\nduality. In this setup, the low-energy gauge group simply arises on stacks of\ncoincident D6-branes wrapping 2-cycles in some ALE space of type $A_{M-1}$\nfibered over a real line, and the map between the K\\\"ahler parameters of\n$\\mathbf{X}$ and the Coulomb branch parameters of the field theory (masses and\nVEVs) can be read off systematically. Different type IIA \"reductions\" give rise\nto different gauge theory phases, whose existence depends on the particular\n(partial) resolutions of the isolated singularity $\\mathbf{X}$. We also comment\non the case of non-isolated toric singularities. Incidentally, we propose a\nslightly modified expression for the Coulomb-branch prepotential of 5d\n$\\mathcal{N}=1$ gauge theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Weak Separation, Positivity and Extremal Yangian Invariants: We classify all positive n-particle N^kMHV Yangian invariants in N=4\nYang-Mills theory with n=5k, which we call extremal because none exist for\nn>5k. We show that this problem is equivalent to that of enumerating plane\ncactus graphs with k pentagons. We use the known solution of that problem to\nprovide an exact expression for the number of cyclic classes of such invariants\nfor any k, and a simple rule for writing them down explicitly. As a byproduct,\nwe provide an alternative (but equivalent) classification by showing that a\nproduct of k five-brackets with disjoint sets of indices is a positive Yangian\ninvariant if and only if the sets are all weakly separated.",
        "positive": "Excited state R\u00e9nyi entropy and subsystem distance in two-dimensional\n  non-compact bosonic theory. Part II. Multi-particle states: We study the excited state R\\'enyi entropy and subsystem Schatten distance in\nthe two-dimensional free massless non-compact bosonic field theory, which is a\nconformal field theory. The discretization of the free non-compact bosonic\ntheory gives the harmonic chain with local couplings. We consider the field\ntheory excited states that correspond to the harmonic chain states with\nexcitations of more than one quasiparticle, which we call multi-particle\nstates. This extends the previous work by the same authors to more general\nexcited states. In the field theory we obtain the exact R\\'enyi entropy and\nsubsystem Schatten distance for several low-lying states. We also obtain the\nshort interval expansion of the R\\'enyi entropy and subsystem Schatten distance\nfor general excited states. In the locally coupled harmonic chain we calculate\nnumerically the excited state R\\'enyi entropy and subsystem Schatten distance\nusing the wave function method. We find excellent matches of the analytical\nresults in the field theory and numerical results in the gapless limit of the\nharmonic chain. We also make some preliminary investigations of the R\\'enyi\nentropy and the subsystem Schatten distance in the extremely gapped limit of\nthe harmonic chain."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Challenges for D-brane large-field inflation with stabilizer fields: We study possible string theory compactifications which, in the low-energy\nlimit, describe chaotic inflation with a stabilizer field. We first analyze\ntype IIA setups where the inflationary potential arises from a D6-brane\nwrapping an internal three-cycle, and where the stabilizer field is either an\nopen-string or bulk K\\\"ahler modulus. We find that after integrating out the\nrelevant closed-string moduli consistently, tachyonic directions arise during\ninflation which cannot be lifted. This is ultimately due to the shift\nsymmetries of the type IIA K\\\"ahler potential at large compactification volume.\nThis motivates us to search for stabilizer candidates in the complex structure\nsector of type IIB orientifolds, since these fields couple to D7-brane Wilson\nlines and their shift symmetries are generically broken away from the large\ncomplex structure limit. However, we find that in these setups the challenge is\nto obtain the necessary hierarchy between the inflationary and Kaluza-Klein\nscales.",
        "positive": "Schwarzschild-Tangherlini Metric from Scattering Amplitudes: We present a general framework with which the Schwarzschild-Tangherlini\nmetric of a point particle in arbitrary dimensions can be derived from a\nscattering amplitude to all orders in the gravitational constant, $G_N$, in\ncovariant gauge (i.e. $R_\\xi$-gauge) with a generalized de Donder-type gauge\nfunction, $G_\\sigma$. The metric is independent of the covariant gauge\nparameter $\\xi$ and obeys the classical gauge condition $G_\\sigma=0$. We\ncompute the metric with the generalized gauge choice explicitly to second order\nin $G_N$ where gravitational self-interactions become important and these\nresults verify the general framework to one-loop order. Interestingly, after\ngeneralizing to arbitrary dimension, a logarithmic dependence on the radial\ncoordinate appears in space-time dimension $D=5$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Collective Coordinates in String Theory: The emergence of violations of conformal invariance in the form of non-local\noperators in the two-dimensional action describing solitons inevitably leads to\nthe introduction of collective coordinates as two dimensional ``wormhole\nparameters''.",
        "positive": "A new approach to the complex-action problem and its application to a\n  nonperturbative study of superstring theory: Monte Carlo simulations of a system whose action has an imaginary part are\nconsidered to be extremely difficult. We propose a new approach to this\n`complex-action problem', which utilizes a factorization property of\ndistribution functions. The basic idea is quite general, and it removes the\nso-called overlap problem completely. Here we apply the method to a\nnonperturbative study of superstring theory using its matrix formulation. In\nthis particular example, the distribution function turns out to be positive\ndefinite, which allows us to reduce the problem even further. Our numerical\nresults suggest an intuitive explanation for the dynamical generation of 4d\nspace-time."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Virasoro Representations on (Diff S1)/S1 Coadjoint Orbits: A new set of realizations of the Virasoro algebra on a bosonic Fock space are\nfound by explicitly computing the Virasoro representations associated with\ncoadjoint orbits of the form (Diff S1) / S1. Some progress is made in\nunderstanding the unitary structure of these representations. The characters of\nthese representations are exactly the bosonic partition functions calculated\npreviously by Witten using perturbative and fixed-point methods. The\nrepresentations corresponding to the discrete series of unitary Virasoro\nrepresentations with c <= 1 are found to be reducible in this formulation,\nconfirming a conjecture by Aldaya and Navarro-Salas.",
        "positive": "Higher Derivative Corrections, Dimensional Reduction and Ehlers Duality: Motivated by applications to black hole physics and duality, we study the\neffect of higher derivative corrections on the dimensional reduction of\nfour-dimensional Einstein, Einstein Liouville and Einstein-Maxwell gravity to\none direction, as appropriate for stationary, spherically symmetric solutions.\nWe construct a field redefinition scheme such that the one-dimensional\nLagrangian is corrected only by powers of first derivatives of the fields,\neliminating spurious modes and providing a suitable starting point for\nquantization. We show that the Ehlers symmetry, broken by the leading $R^2$\ncorrections in Einstein-Liouville gravity, can be restored by including\ncontributions of Taub-NUT instantons. Finally, we give a preliminary discussion\nof the duality between higher-derivative F-term corrections on the vector and\nhypermultiplet branches in N=2 supergravity in four dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Weight Systems from Feynman Diagrams: We find that the overall UV divergences of a renormalizable field theory with\ntrivalent vertices fulfil a four-term relation. They thus come close to\nestablish a weight system. This provides a first explanation of the recent\nsuccessful association of renormalization theory with knot theory.",
        "positive": "On the Evaluation of the Ray-Singer Torsion Path Integral: There are very few explicit evaluations of path integrals for topological\ngauge theories in more than 3 dimensions. Here we provide such a calculation\nfor the path integral representation of the Ray-Singer Torsion of a flat\nconnection on a vector bundle on base manifolds that are themselves $S^{1}$\nbundles of any dimension. The calculation relies on a suitable algebraic choice\nof gauge which leads to a convenient factorisation of the path integral into\nhorizontal and vertical parts."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Is there a breakdown of effective field theory at the horizon of an\n  extremal black hole?: Linear perturbations of extremal black holes exhibit the Aretakis\ninstability, in which higher derivatives of a scalar field grow polynomially\nwith time along the event horizon. This suggests that higher derivative\ncorrections to the classical equations of motion may become large, indicating a\nbreakdown of effective field theory at late time on the event horizon. We\ninvestigate whether or not this happens. For extremal Reissner-Nordstrom we\nargue that, for a large class of theories, general covariance ensures that the\nhigher derivative corrections to the equations of motion appear only in\ncombinations that remain small compared to two derivative terms so effective\nfield theory remains valid. For extremal Kerr, the situation is more\ncomplicated since backreaction of the scalar field is not understood even in\nthe two derivative theory. Nevertheless we argue that the effects of the higher\nderivative terms will be small compared to the two derivative terms as long as\nthe spacetime remains close to extremal Kerr.",
        "positive": "Three-point correlators for giant magnons: Three-point correlation functions in the strong-coupling regime of the\nAdS/CFT correspondence can be analyzed within a semiclassical approximation\nwhen two of the vertex operators correspond to heavy string states having large\nquantum numbers while the third vertex corresponds to a light state with fixed\ncharges. We consider the case where the heavy string states are chosen to be\ngiant magnon solitons with either a single or two different angular momenta,\nfor various different choices of light string states."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quiver gauge theories and integrable lattice models: We discuss connections between certain classes of supersymmetric quiver gauge\ntheories and integrable lattice models from the point of view of topological\nquantum field theories (TQFTs). The relevant classes include 4d $\\mathcal{N} =\n1$ theories known as brane box and brane tilling models, 3d $\\mathcal{N} = 2$\nand 2d $\\mathcal{N} = (2,2)$ theories obtained from them by compactification,\nand 2d $\\mathcal{N} = (0,2)$ theories closely related to these theories. We\nargue that their supersymmetric indices carry structures of TQFTs equipped with\nline operators, and as a consequence, are equal to the partition functions of\nlattice models. The integrability of these models follows from the existence of\nextra dimension in the TQFTs, which emerges after the theories are embedded in\nM-theory. The Yang-Baxter equation expresses the invariance of supersymmetric\nindices under Seiberg duality and its lower-dimensional analogs.",
        "positive": "Towards a holographic realization of the quarkyonic phase: Large-N_c QCD matter at intermediate baryon density and low temperatures has\nbeen conjectured to be in the so-called quarkyonic phase, i.e., to have a quark\nFermi surface and on top of it a confined spectrum of excitations. It has been\nsuggested that the presence of the quark Fermi surface leads to a homogeneous\nphase with restored chiral symmetry, which is unstable towards creating\ncondensates breaking both the chiral and translational symmetry. Motivated by\nthese exotic features, we investigate properties of cold baryonic matter in the\nsingle flavor Sakai-Sugimoto model searching for a holographic realization of\nthe quarkyonic phase. We use a simplified mean-field description and focus on\nthe regime of parametrically large baryon densities, of the order of the square\nof the 't Hooft coupling, as they turn out to lead to new physical effects\nsimilar to the ones occurring in the quarkyonic phase. One effect, the\nappearance of a particular marginally stable mode breaking translational\ninvariance and linked with the presence of the Chern-Simons term in the flavor\nbrane Lagrangian, is known to occur in the deconfined phase of the\nSakai-Sugimoto model, but turns out to be absent here. The other, completely\nnew phenomenon that we, preliminarily, study using strong simplifying\nassumptions are density-enhanced interactions of the flavor brane gauge field\nwith holographically represented baryons. These seem to significantly affect\nthe spectrum of vector and axial mesons and might lead to approximate chiral\nsymmetry restoration in the lowest part of the spectrum, where the mesons start\nto qualitatively behave like collective excitations of the dense baryonic\nmedium. We discuss the relevance of these effects for holographic searches of\nthe quarkyonic phase and conclude with a discussion of various subtleties\ninvolved in constructing a mean-field holographic description of a dense\nbaryonic medium."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On a new type of orbifold equivalence and M-theoretic AdS4/CFT3 duality: We consider the large-N limit of \\mathcal{N}=6 U(N) \\times U(N)\nsuperconformal Chern-Simons (ABJM) theory with fixed level k, which is\nconjectured to be dual to M-theory on AdS4\\times (S^7/Z_k) background. We point\nout that the so-called orbifold equivalence on the gravity side, combined with\nthe AdS4/CFT3 duality, predicts a hitherto unknown type of duality on the gauge\ntheory side. It establishes the equivalence between a class of observables,\nwhich are not necessarily protected by supersymmetry, in strongly coupled ABJM\ntheories away from the planar approximation, with different values of k and N\nbut sharing common kN. This limit is vastly different from the planar limit,\nand hence from the gauge theory point of view the duality is more difficult to\nexplain compared to the previously known analogous equivalence between planar\ngauge theories, where one can explicitly prove the equivalence diagrammatically\nusing the dominance of the planar diagrams.",
        "positive": "Universality of the universal R-matrix and applications to quantum\n  integrable systems: Results obtained by us are overviewed from a general set up. The universal\n$R$-matrix is exploited to obtain various important relations and structures\ninvolved in quantum group algebra, which are used subsequently for generating\ndifferent classes of quantum integrable systems through a systematic scheme.\nThis recovers known models as well as discovers a series of new ones."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Scattering Amplitudes and the Navier-Stokes Equation: We explore the scattering amplitudes of fluid quanta described by the\nNavier-Stokes equation and its non-Abelian generalization. These amplitudes\nexhibit universal infrared structures analogous to the Weinberg soft theorem\nand the Adler zero. Furthermore, they satisfy on-shell recursion relations\nwhich together with the three-point scattering amplitude furnish a pure\nS-matrix formulation of incompressible fluid mechanics. Remarkably, the\namplitudes of the non-Abelian Navier-Stokes equation also exhibit\ncolor-kinematics duality as an off-shell symmetry, for which the associated\nkinematic algebra is literally the algebra of spatial diffeomorphisms. Applying\nthe double copy prescription, we then arrive at a new theory of a tensor\nbi-fluid. Finally, we present monopole solutions of the non-Abelian and tensor\nNavier-Stokes equations and observe a classical double copy structure.",
        "positive": "Supersymmetry and Lorentzian holonomy in various dimensions: We present a systematic method for constructing manifolds with Lorentzian\nholonomy group that are non-static supersymmetric vacua admitting covariantly\nconstant light-like spinors. It is based on the metric of their Riemannian\ncounterparts and the realization that, when certain conditions are satisfied,\nit is possible to promote constant moduli parameters into arbitrary functions\nof the light-cone time. Besides the general formalism, we present in detail\nseveral examples in various dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Analytic Solution for Tachyon Condensation in Berkovits' Open\n  Superstring Field Theory: We present an analytic solution for tachyon condensation on a non-BPS D-brane\nin Berkovits' open superstring field theory. The solution is presented as a\nproduct of $2\\times 2$ matrices in two distinct $GL_2$ subgroups of the open\nstring star algebra. All string fields needed for computation of the\nnonpolynomial action can be derived in closed form, and the action produces the\nexpected non-BPS D-brane tension in accordance with Sen's conjecture. We also\ncomment on how D-brane charges may be encoded in the topology of the tachyon\nvacuum gauge orbit.",
        "positive": "On aspects of 2-dim dilaton gravity, dimensional reduction and\n  holography: We discuss aspects of generic 2-dimensional dilaton gravity theories. The\n2-dim geometry is in general conformal to $AdS_2$ and has IR curvature\nsingularities at zero temperature: this can be regulated by a black hole. The\non-shell action is divergent: we discuss the holographic energy-momentum tensor\nby adding appropriate counterterms. For theories obtained by dimensional\nreduction of the gravitational sector of higher dimensional theories, for\ninstance higher dimensional $AdS$ gravity as a concrete example, the\n2-dimensional description dovetails with the higher dimensional one. We also\ndiscuss more general theories containing an extra scalar field which now drives\nnontrivial dynamics. Finally we discuss aspects of the 2-dimensional\ncosmological singularities discussed in earlier work. These studies suggest\nthat generic 2-dim dilaton gravity theories are somewhat distinct from JT\ngravity and theories \"near JT\"."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Microstate Renormalization in Deformed D1-D5 SCFT: We derive the corrections to the conformal dimensions of twisted Ramond\nground states in the deformed two-dimensional $\\mathcal N = (4,4)$\nsuperconformal $(\\mathbb T^4)^N/S_N$ orbifold theory describing bound states of\nthe D1-D5 brane system in type IIB superstring theory. Our result holds to\nsecond order in the deformation parameter, and at the large $N$ planar limit.\nThe method of calculation involves the analytic evaluation of integrals of\nfour-point functions of two R-charged twisted Ramond fields and two marginal\ndeformation operators. We also calculate the deviation from zero, at first\norder in the considered marginal perturbation, of the structure constant of the\nthree-point function of two Ramond fields and one deformation operator.",
        "positive": "Spinning Kerr black holes with stationary massive scalar clouds: The\n  large-coupling regime: We study analytically the Klein-Gordon wave equation for stationary massive\nscalar fields linearly coupled to spinning Kerr black holes. In particular,\nusing the WKB approximation, we derive a compact formula for the discrete\nspectrum of scalar field masses which characterize the stationary composed\nKerr-black-hole-massive-scalar-field configurations in the large-coupling\nregime $M\\mu\\gg1$ (here $M$ and $\\mu$ are respectively the mass of the central\nblack hole and the proper mass of the scalar field). We confirm our\nanalytically derived formula for the Kerr-scalar-field mass spectrum with\nnumerical data that recently appeared in the literature."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "BPS Skyrme Submodels of The Five Dimensional Skyrme Model: In this paper, we search for the BPS skyrmions in some BPS submodels of the\ngeneralized Skyrme model in five-dimensional spacetime using the BPS Lagrangian\nmethod. We focus on the static solutions of the Bogomolny's equations and their\ncorresponding energies with topological charge $B>0$ is an integer. We consider\ntwo main cases based on the symmetry of the effective Lagrangian of the BPS\nsubmodels, i.e. the spherically symmetric and non-spherically symmetric cases.\nFor the spherically symmetric case, we find two BPS submodels. The first BPS\nsubmodels consist of a potential term and a term proportional to the square of\nthe topological current. The second BPS submodels consist of only the Skyrme\nterm. The second BPS submodel has BPS skyrmions with the same topological\ncharge $B>1$, but with different energies, that we shall call \"topological\ndegenerate\" BPS skyrmions. It also has the usual BPS skyrmions with equal\nenergies, if the topological charge is a prime number. Another interesting\nfeature of the BPS skyrmions, with $B>1$, in this BPS submodel, is that these\nBPS skyrmions have non-zero pressures in the angular direction. For the\nnon-spherically symmetric case, there is only one BPS submodel, which is\nsimilar to the first BPS submodel in the spherically symmetric case. We find\nthat the BPS skyrmions depend on a constant $k$ and for a particular value of\n$k$ we obtain the BPS skyrmions of the first BPS submodel in the spherically\nsymmetric case. The total static energy and the topological charge of these BPS\nskyrmions also depend on this constant. We also show that all the results found\nin this paper satisfy the full field equations of motions of the corresponding\nBPS submodels.",
        "positive": "Hierarchical structure of physical Yukawa couplings from matter field\n  K\u00e4hler metric: We study the impacts of matter field K\\\"ahler metric on physical Yukawa\ncouplings in string compactifications. Since the K\\\"ahler metric is non-trivial\nin general, the kinetic mixing of matter fields opens a new avenue for\nrealizing a hierarchical structure of physical Yukawa couplings, even when\nholomorphic Yukawa couplings have the trivial structure. The hierarchical\nYukawa couplings are demonstrated by couplings of pure untwisted modes on\ntoroidal orbifolds and their resolutions in the context of heterotic string\ntheory with standard embedding. Also, we study the hierarchical couplings among\nuntwisted and twisted modes on resolved orbifolds."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dualities from higher-spin supergravity: We study the vacuum structure of spin-3 higher-spin supergravity in AdS_3\nspacetime. The theory can be written as a Chern-Simons theory based on the Lie\nsuperalgebra sl(3|2). We find three distinct AdS_3 vacua, AdS^(1), AdS^(2) and\nAdS^(p), each corresponding to one embedding of the osp(1|2) subalgebra into\nthe sl(3|2) algebra. We explicitly construct the RG flows from AdS^(1) to\nAdS^(p) and from AdS^(2) to AdS^(p), which identifies AdS^(p) as an IR vacuum\nand AdS^(1), AdS^(2) as two different UV vacua. Thus a duality is found between\nthe two UV theories in the sense that the two theories, each with a chemical\npotential turned on, flow to the same IR theory. Moreover, we identify a\nsimilar structure in the Hamiltonian reductions of the 2d Wess-Zumino-Witten\n(WZW) model with sl(3|2)-valued currents by matching the chiral symmetries\nthere with the asymptotic symmetries of the three different embeddings. Our\ncomputation gives an RG interpretation of (certain types of) the Hamiltonian\nreductions. In addition, it gives a hint of a duality between the 3d\nhigher-spin supergravity and some conformally extended super-Toda theory as\nsuggested by Mansfield and Spence for the bosonic case.",
        "positive": "Interferometric evidence for brane world cosmologies: The hypothesis of brane-embedded matter appears to gain increasing\ncredibility in astrophysics. However, it can only be truly successful if its\nimplications on particle interaction are consistent with existing knowledge.\nThis letter focuses on the issue of optical interference, and shows that at\nleast one brane-world model can offer plausible interpretations for both\nYoung's double-slit experiment, and the experiments that fit less neatly with\nit. The basic assumption is that particles can interact at a distance through\nthe vibrations induced by their motion on the brane. The qualitative analysis\nof this mechanism suggests that fringe visibility in single photon interference\ndepends on the energy levels and the interval between interacting particles. A\ndouble-slit experiment, performed with coherent single red photons should\nreveal the disappearance of interference when the time delay between individual\nparticles is increased over 2.18 seconds. In the case of infrared photons with\nthe frequency of $9\\cdot 10^{13}$ Hz, interference must vanish already at the\ninterval of one second."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gaussian Wavefunctional Approach in Thermofield Dynamics: The Gaussian wavefunctional approach is developed in thermofield dynamics. We\nmanufacture thermal vacuum wavefunctional, its creation as well as annihilation\noperators,and accordingly thermo-particle excited states. For a\n(D+1)-dimensional scalar field system with an arbitrary potential whose Fourier\nrepresentation exists in a sense of tempered distributions, we calculate the\nfinite temperature Gaussian effective potential (FTGEP), one- and\ntwo-thermo-particle-state energies. The zero-temperature limit of each of them\nis just the corresponding result in quantum field theory, and the FTGEP can\nlead to the same one of each of some concrete models as calculated by the\nimaginary time Green function.",
        "positive": "Open Inflation With Scalar-tensor Gravity: The open inflation model recently proposed by Hawking and Turok is\ninvestigated in scalar-tensor gravity context. If the dilaton-like field has no\npotential, the instanton of our model is singular but has a finite action. The\nGibbons-Hawking surface term vanishes and hence, can not be used to make\n$\\Omega_0$ nonzero. To obtain a successful open inflation one should introduce\nother matter fields or a potential for the dilaton-like fields."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Duffin-Kemmer-Petiau equation on the quaternion field: We show that the Klein-Gordon equation on the quaternion field is equivalent\nto a pair of DKP equations. We shall also prove that this pair of DKP equations\ncan be taken back to a pair of new KG equations. We shall emphasize the\nimportant difference between the standard and the new KG equations. We also\npresent some qualitative arguments, concerning the possibility of interpreting\nanomalous solution, within a quaternion quantum field theory.",
        "positive": "On the Stratified Classical Configuration Space of Lattice QCD: The stratified structure of the configuration space $\\mb G^N = G \\times ...\n\\times G$ reduced with respect to the action of $G$ by inner automorphisms is\ninvestigated for $G = SU(3) .$ This is a finite dimensional model coming from\nlattice QCD. First, the stratification is characterized algebraically, for\narbitrary $N$. Next, the full algebra of invariants is discussed for the cases\n$N = 1$ and $N =2 .$ Finally, for $N = 1$ and $N =2 ,$ the stratified structure\nis investigated in some detail, both in terms of invariants and relations and\nin more geometric terms. Moreover, the strata are characterized explicitly\nusing local cross sections."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Normalized Observational Probabilities from Unnormalizable Quantum\n  States or Phase-Space Distributions: Often it is assumed that a quantum state or a phase-space distribution must\nbe normalizable. Here it is shown that even if it is not normalizable, one may\nbe able to extract normalized observational probabilities from it.",
        "positive": "New Example of Infinite Family of Quiver Gauge Theories: We construct a new infinite family of quiver gauge theories which blow down\nto the X^{p,q} quiver gauge theories found by Hanany, Kazakopoulos and Wecht.\nThis family includes a quiver gauge theory for the third del Pezzo surface. We\nshow, using Z-minimaization, that these theories generically have irrational\nR-charges. The AdS/CFT correspondence implies that the dual geometries are\nirregular toric Sasaki-Einstein manifolds, although we do not know the explicit\nmetrics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauge/string duality and hadronic physics: We review some recent results on phenomenological approaches to strong\ninteractions inspired in gauge/string duality. In particular, we discuss how\nsuch models lead to very good estimates for hadronic masses.",
        "positive": "Geometric Quantization of the Phase Space of a Particle in a Yang-Mills\n  Field: The method of geometric quantization is applied to a particle moving on an\narbitrary Riemannian manifold $Q$ in an external gauge field, that is a\nconnection on a principal $H$-bundle $N$ over $Q$. The phase space of the\nparticle is a Marsden-Weinstein reduction of $T^*N$, hence this space can also\nbe considered to be the reduced phase space of a particular type of constrained\nmechanical system. An explicit map is found from a subalgebra of the classical\nobservables to the corresponding quantum operators. These operators are found\nto be the generators of a representation of the semi-direct product group,\nAut~$N\\lx C^\\infty_c(Q)$. A generalised Aharanov-Bohm effect is shown to be a\nnatural consequence of the quantization procedure. In particular the r\\^ole of\nthe connection in the quantum mechanical system is made clear. The quantization\nof the Hamiltonian is also considered. Additionally, our approach allows the\nrelated quantization procedures proposed by Mackey and by Isham to be fully\nunderstood.\\\\"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Bridging the Chiral symmetry and Confinement with Singularity: We consider a holographic quark model where the confinement is a consequence\nof the quark condensate. Surprisingly, the equation of motion of our\nholographic model can be mapped to the old spin-less bag model. Both models\ncorrectly reproduce the linear Regge trajectory of hadrons for zero quark mass.\nFor the case of non-zero quark mass, the model lead us to Heun's equation. The\nmass term is precisely the origin of the higher singularity, which changes the\nsystem behavior drastically. Our result can shed some light on why the chiral\ntransition is so close to the confinement transition. In the massive case, the\nSchroedinger equation is exactly solvable, but only if a surprising new\nquantization condition, additional to the energy quantization, is applied.",
        "positive": "Perturbation Theory for Antisymmetric Tensor Fields in Four Dimensions: Perturbation theory for a class of topological field theories containing\nantisymmetric tensor fields is considered. These models are characterized by a\nsupersymmetric structure which allows to establish their perturbative\nfiniteness."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fast Scramblers and Non-Commutative Gauge Theories: Fast scramblers are quantum systems which thermalize in a time scale\nlogarithmic in the number of degrees of freedom of the system. Non-locality has\nbeen argued to be an essential feature of fast scramblers. We provide evidence\nin support of the crucial role of non-locality in such systems by considering\nthe approach to thermalization in a (strongly-coupled) high temperature\nnon-commutative gauge theory. We show that non-locality inherent to\nnon-commutative gauge theories does indeed accelerate the rate of dissipation\nin the heat bath in stark contrast to the slow random walk diffusive behavior\nprevalent in local field theories.",
        "positive": "Quantum dress for a naked singularity: We investigate semiclassical backreaction on a conical naked singularity\nspace-time with a negative cosmological constant in (2+1)-dimensions. In\nparticular, we calculate the renormalized quantum stress-energy tensor for a\nconformally coupled scalar field on such naked singularity space-time. We then\nobtain the backreacted metric via the semiclassical Einstein equations. We show\nthat, in the regime where the semiclassical approximation can be trusted,\nbackreaction dresses the naked singularity with an event horizon, thus\nenforcing cosmic censorship."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Generalized Vanishing Theorems for Yukawa Couplings in Heterotic\n  Compactifications: Heterotic compactifications on Calabi-Yau threefolds frequently exhibit\ntextures of vanishing Yukawa couplings in their low energy description. The\nvanishing of these couplings is often not enforced by any obvious symmetry and\nappears to be topological in nature. Recent results in the literature used\ndifferential geometric methods to explain the origin of some of this structure.\nA vanishing theorem was given which showed that the effect could be attributed,\nin part, to the embedding of the Calabi-Yau manifolds of interest inside higher\ndimensional ambient spaces, if the gauge bundles involved descended from vector\nbundles on those larger manifolds. In this paper, we utilize an\nalgebro-geometric approach to provide an alternative derivation of some of\nthese results, and are thus able to generalize them to a much wider arena than\nhas been considered before. For example, we consider cases where the vector\nbundles of interest do not descend from bundles on the ambient space. In such a\nmanner we are able to highlight the ubiquity with which textures of vanishing\nYukawa couplings can be expected to arise in heterotic compactifications, with\nmultiple different constraints arising from a plethora of different geometric\nfeatures associated to the gauge bundle.",
        "positive": "Nonlinear Realization of Supersymmetry and Superconformal Symmetry: Nonlinear realizations describing the spontaneous breakown of supersymmetry\nand R symmetry are constructed using the Goldstino and R axion fields. The\nassociated R current, supersymmetry current and energy-momentum tensor are\nshown to be related under the nonlinear supersymmetry transformations.\nNonlinear realizations of the superconformal algebra carried by these degrees\nof freedom are also displayed. The divergences of the R and dilatation currents\nare related to the divergence of the superconformal currents through nonlinear\nsupersymmetry transformations which in turn relates the explicit breakings of\nthese symmetries."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "ADE Double Scaled Little String Theories, Mock Modular Forms and Umbral\n  Moonshine: We consider double scaled little string theory on $K3$. These theories are\nlabelled by a positive integer $k \\ge 2$ and an $ADE$ root lattice with Coxeter\nnumber $k$. We count BPS fundamental string states in the holographic dual of\nthis theory using the superconformal field theory $K3 \\times \\left(\n\\frac{SL(2,\\mathbb{R})_k}{U(1)} \\times \\frac{SU(2)_k}{U(1)} \\right) \\big/\n\\mathbb{Z}_k$. We show that the BPS fundamental string states that are counted\nby the second helicity supertrace of this theory give rise to weight two mixed\nmock modular forms. We compute the helicity supertraces using two separate\ntechniques: a path integral analysis that leads to a modular invariant but\nnon-holomorphic answer, and a Hamiltonian analysis of the contribution from\ndiscrete states which leads to a holomorphic but not modular invariant answer.\nFrom a mathematical point of view the Hamiltonian analysis leads to a mixed\nmock modular form while the path integral gives the completion of this mixed\nmock modular form. We also compare these weight two mixed mock modular forms to\nthose that appear in instances of Umbral Moonshine labelled by Niemeier root\nlattices $X$ that are powers of $ADE$ root lattices and find that they are\nequal up to a constant factor that we determine. In the course of the analysis\nwe encounter an interesting generalization of Appell-Lerch sums and\ngeneralizations of the Riemann relations of Jacobi theta functions that they\nobey.",
        "positive": "Electric Dipole Moments of Dyon and `Electron': The electric and magnetic dipole moments of dyon fermions are calculated\nwithin N=2 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory including the theta-term. It is\nfound, in particular, that the gyroelectric ratio deviates from the canonical\nvalue of 2 for the monopole fermion (n_m=1,n_e=0) in the case theta\\not=0.\nThen, applying the S-duality transformation to the result for the dyon\nfermions, we obtain an explicit prediction for the electric dipole moment (EDM)\nof the charged fermion (`electron'). It is thus seen that the approach\npresented here provides a novel method for computing the EDM induced by the\ntheta-term."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Berkovits Method for Conformally Invariant Non-linear Sigma-models\n  on G/H: We discuss 2-dimmensional non-linear sigma-models on the Kaehler manifold G/H\nin the first order formalisim. Using the Berkovits method we explicitly\nconstruct the G-symmetry currents and primaries, when G/H are irreducible. It\nis a variant of the Wakimoto realization of the affine Lie algebra using a\nparticular reducible Kaehler manifold G/U(1)^r with r the rank of G.",
        "positive": "On the scattering of gluons in the GKP string: We compute the one-loop S-matrix for the light bosonic excitations of the GKP\nstring at strong coupling. These correspond, on the gauge theory side, to gluon\ninsertions in the GKP vacuum. We perform the calculation by Feynman diagrams in\nthe worldsheet theory and we compare the result to the integrability\nprediction, finding perfect agreement for the scheme independent part. For\nscheme dependent rational terms we test different schemes and find that a\nrecent proposal reproduces exactly the integrability prediction."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic s-wave condensate with non-linear electrodynamics: A\n  nontrivial boundary value problem: In this paper, considering the probe limit, we analytically study the onset\nof holographic s-wave condensate in the planar Schwarzschild-AdS background.\nInspired by various low energy features of string theory, in the present work\nwe replace the conventional Maxwell action by a (non-linear) Born-Infeld (BI)\naction which essentially corresponds to the higher derivative corrections of\nthe gauge fields. Based on a variational method, which is commonly known as the\nSturm-Liouville (SL) eigenvalue problem and considering a non-trivial\nasymptotic solution for the scalar field, we compute the critical temperature\nfor the s-wave condensation. The results thus obtained analytically agree well\nwith the numerical findings\\cite{hs19}. As a next step, we extend our\nperturbative technique to compute the order parameter for the condensation.\nInterestingly our analytic results are found to be of the same order as the\nnumerical values obtained earlier.",
        "positive": "Symmetries of generalized soliton models and submodels on target space\n  $S^2$: Some physically relevant non-linear models with solitons, which have target\nspace $S^2$, are known to have submodels with infinitly many conservation laws\ndefined by the eikonal equation. Here we calculate all the symmetries of these\nmodels and their submodels by the prolongation method. We find that for some\nmodels, like the Baby Skyrme model, the submodels have additional symmetries,\nwhereas for others, like the Faddeev--Niemi model, they do not."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "W_{1+\\infty} and W(gl_N) with central charge N: We study representations of the central extension of the Lie algebra of\ndifferential operators on the circle, the W-infinity algebra. We obtain\ncomplete and specialized character formulas for a large class of\nrepresentations, which we call primitive; these include all quasi-finite\nirreducible unitary representations. We show that any primitive representation\nwith central charge N has a canonical structure of an irreducible\nrepresentation of the W-algebra W(gl_N) with the same central charge and that\nall irreducible representations of W(gl_N) with central charge N arise in this\nway. We also establish a duality between \"integral\" modules of W(gl_N) and\nfinite-dimensional irreducible modules of gl_N, and conjecture their fusion\nrules.",
        "positive": "The Rational Higher Structure of M-theory: We review how core structures of string/M-theory emerge as higher structures\nin super homotopy theory; namely from systematic analysis of the brane bouquet\nof universal invariant higher central extensions growing out of the superpoint.\nSince super homotopy theory is immensely rich, to start with we consider this\nin the rational/infinitesimal approximation which ignores torsion-subgroups in\nbrane charges and focuses on tangent spaces of super space-time. Already at\nthis level, super homotopy theory discovers all super $p$-brane species, their\nintersection laws, their M/IIA-, T- and S-duality relations, their black brane\navatars at ADE-singularities, including their instanton contributions, and,\nlast not least, Dirac charge quantization: for the D-branes it recovers twisted\nK-theory, rationally, but for the M-branes it gives cohomotopy cohomology\ntheory. We close with an outlook on the lift of these results beyond the\nrational/infinitesimal approximation to a candidate formalization of\nmicroscopic M-theory in super homotopy theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Finite-Size D-Branes in Superstring Theory: We test exact marginality of the deformation describing the blow-up of a\nzero-size D(-1) brane bound to a background of D3-branes by analyzing the\nequations of motion of superstring field theory to third order in the size. In\nthe process we review the derivation of the instanton profile from string\ntheory, extending it to include $\\alpha'$- corrections.",
        "positive": "Leading all-loop quantum contribution to the effective potential in the\n  inflationary cosmology: In this paper, we have constructed quantum effective potentials and used them\nto study slow-roll inflationary cosmology. We derived the generalised RG\nequation for the effective potential in the leading logarithmic approximation\nand applied it to evaluate the potentials of the $T^2$ and $T^4$-models, which\nare often used in modern models of slow-roll inflation. We found that while the\none-loop correction strongly affects the potential, breaking its original\nsymmetry, the contribution of higher loops smoothes the behaviour of the\npotential. However, unlike the $\\phi^4$-case, we found that the effective\npotentials preserve spontaneous symmetry breaking when summing all the leading\ncorrections. We calculated the spectral indices $n_s$ and $r$ for the effective\npotentials of both models and found that they are consistent with the\nobservational data for a wide range of parameters of the models."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Massless hook field in AdS(d+1) from the holographic perspective: We systematically consider the AdS/CFT correspondence for a simplest\nmixed-symmetry massless gauge field described by hook Young diagram. We\nintroduce the radial gauge fixing and explicitly solve the Dirichlet problem\nfor the hook field equations. Solution finding conveniently splits in two\nsteps. We first define an incomplete solution characterized by a functional\nfreedom and then impose the boundary conditions. The resulting complete\nsolution is fixed unambiguously up to boundary values. Two-point correlation\nfunction of hook primary operators is found via the corresponding boundary\neffective action computed separately in even and odd boundary dimensions. In\nparticular, the higher-derivative action for boundary conformal hook fields is\nidentified with a singular part of the effective action in even dimensions. The\nbulk/boundary symmetry transmutation within the Dirichlet boundary problem is\nexplicitly studied. It is shown that traces of boundary fields are\nStueckelberg-like modes that can be algebraically gauged away so that boundary\nfields are traceless.",
        "positive": "The ${\\cal N} = 8$ Superconformal Bootstrap in Three Dimensions: We analyze the constraints imposed by unitarity and crossing symmetry on the\nfour-point function of the stress-tensor multiplet of ${\\cal N}=8$\nsuperconformal field theories in three dimensions. We first derive the\nsuperconformal blocks by analyzing the superconformal Ward identity. Our\nresults imply that the OPE of the primary operator of the stress-tensor\nmultiplet with itself must have parity symmetry. We then analyze the relations\nbetween the crossing equations, and we find that these equations are mostly\nredundant. We implement the independent crossing constraints numerically and\nfind bounds on OPE coefficients and operator dimensions as a function of the\nstress-tensor central charge. To make contact with known ${\\cal N}=8$\nsuperconformal field theories, we compute this central charge in a few\nparticular cases using supersymmetric localization. For limiting values of the\ncentral charge, our numerical bounds are nearly saturated by the large $N$\nlimit of ABJM theory and also by the free $U(1)\\times U(1)$ ABJM theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Unitary Rules for Black Hole Evaporation: Hawking has proposed non-unitary rules for computing the probabilistic\noutcome of black hole formation. It is shown that the usual interpretation of\nthese rules violates the superposition principle and energy conservation.\nRefinements of Hawking's rules are found which restore both the superposition\nprinciple and energy conservation, but leave completely unaltered Hawking's\nprediction of a thermal emission spectrum prior to the endpoint of black hole\nevaporation. These new rules violate clustering. They further imply the\nexistence of superselection sectors, within each of which clustering is\nrestored and a unitary $S$-matrix is shown to exist. -- This is an expanded\nversion of a talk given at the Seventh Marcel Grossman Meeting on General\nRelativity, Stanford CA.",
        "positive": "Higher Spin Black Holes in Three Dimensions: Comments on Asymptotics and\n  Regularity: In the context of (2+1)--dimensional SL(N,R)\\times SL(N,R) Chern-Simons\ntheory we explore issues related to regularity and asymptotics on the solid\ntorus, for stationary and circularly symmetric solutions. We display and solve\nall necessary conditions to ensure a regular metric and metric-like higher spin\nfields. We prove that holonomy conditions are necessary but not sufficient\nconditions to ensure regularity, and that Hawking conditions do not necessarily\nfollow from them. Finally we give a general proof that once the chemical\npotentials are turn on -- as demanded by regularity -- the asymptotics cannot\nbe that of Brown-Henneaux."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic Flavor Transport in Schroedinger Spacetime: We use gauge-gravity duality to study the transport properties of a finite\ndensity of charge carriers in a strongly-coupled theory with non-relativistic\nsymmetry. The field theory is N=4 supersymmetric SU(Nc) Yang-Mills theory in\nthe limit of large Nc and with large 't Hooft coupling, deformed by an\nirrelevant operator, coupled to a number Nf of massive N=2 supersymmetric\nhypermultiplets in the fundamental representation of the gauge group, i.e.\nflavor fields. The irrelevant deformation breaks the relativistic conformal\ngroup down to the Schroedinger group, which has non-relativistic scale\ninvariance with dynamical exponent z=2. Introducing a finite baryon number\ndensity of the flavor fields provides us with charge carriers. We compute the\nassociated DC and AC conductivities using the dual gravitational description of\nprobe D7-branes in an asymptotically Schroedinger spacetime. We generically\nfind that in the infrared the conductivity exhibits scaling with temperature or\nfrequency that is relativistic, while in the ultraviolet the scalings appear to\nbe non-relativistic with dynamical exponent z=2, as expected in the presence of\nthe irrelevant deformation.",
        "positive": "Generalised Virasoro Constructions from Affine Inonu-Wigner Contractions: We present a new method to find solutions of the Virasoro master equations\nfor any affine Lie algebra $\\widehat{g}$. The basic idea is to consider first\nthe simplified case of an In\\\"on\\\"u-Wigner contraction $\\widehat{g}_c$ of\n$\\widehat{g}$ and to extend the Virasoro constructions of $\\widehat{g}_c$ to\n$\\widehat{g}$ by a perturbative expansion in the contraction parameter. The\nmethod is then applied to the orthogonal algebras, leading to fixed-level\nmulti-parameter Virasoro constructions, which are the generalisations of the\none-parameter Virasoro construction of $\\widehat{su}(2)$ at level four."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fractional and noncommutative spacetimes: We establish a mapping between fractional and noncommutative spacetimes in\nconfiguration space. Depending on the scale at which the relation is\nconsidered, there arise two possibilities. For a fractional spacetime with\nlog-oscillatory measure, the effective measure near the fundamental scale\ndetermining the log-period coincides with the non-rotation-invariant but\ncyclicity-preserving measure of \\kappa-Minkowski. At scales larger than the\nlog-period, the fractional measure is averaged and becomes a power-law with\nreal exponent. This can be also regarded as the cyclicity-inducing measure in a\nnoncommutative spacetime defined by a certain nonlinear algebra of the\ncoordinates, which interpolates between \\kappa-Minkowski and canonical\nspacetime. These results are based upon a braiding formula valid for any\nnonlinear algebra which can be mapped onto the Heisenberg algebra.",
        "positive": "One-Loop Divergences in Simple Supergravity: Boundary Effects: This paper studies the semiclassical approximation of simple supergravity in\nRiemannian four-manifolds with boundary, within the framework of\n$\\zeta$-function regularization. The massless nature of gravitinos, jointly\nwith the presence of a boundary and a local description in terms of potentials\nfor spin ${3\\over 2}$, force the background to be totally flat. First, nonlocal\nboundary conditions of the spectral type are imposed on spin-${3\\over 2}$\npotentials, jointly with boundary conditions on metric perturbations which are\ncompletely invariant under infinitesimal diffeomorphisms. The axial\ngauge-averaging functional is used, which is then sufficient to ensure\nself-adjointness. One thus finds that the contributions of ghost and gauge\nmodes vanish separately. Hence the contributions to the one-loop wave function\nof the universe reduce to those $\\zeta(0)$ values resulting from physical modes\nonly. Another set of mixed boundary conditions, motivated instead by local\nsupersymmetry and first proposed by Luckock, Moss and Poletti, is also\nanalyzed. In this case the contributions of gauge and ghost modes do not cancel\neach other. Both sets of boundary conditions lead to a nonvanishing $\\zeta(0)$\nvalue, and spectral boundary conditions are also studied when two concentric\nthree-sphere boundaries occur. These results seem to point out that simple\nsupergravity is not even one-loop finite in the presence of boundaries."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A note on the Hamiltonian structure of transgression forms: By incorporating two gauge connections, transgression forms provide a\ngeneralization of Chern-Simons actions that are genuinely gauge-invariant on\nbounded manifolds. In this work, we show that, when defined on a manifold with\na boundary, the Hamiltonian formulation of a transgression field theory can be\nconsistently carried out without the need to implement regularizing boundary\nterms at the level of first-class constraints. By considering boundary\nvariations of the relevant functionals in the Poisson brackets, the surface\nintegral in the very definition of a transgression action can be translated\ninto boundary contributions in the generators of gauge transformations and\ndiffeomorphisms. This prescription systematically leads to the corresponding\nsurface charges of the theory, reducing to the general expression for conserved\ncharges in (higher-dimensional) Chern-Simons theories when one of the gauge\nconnections in the transgression form is set to zero.",
        "positive": "Bosonic (p - 1)-forms in Einstein-Cartan theory of gravity: We introduce bosonic (p - 1)-form fields that couple to the spin connection\nof the Einstein-Cartan theory of gravity thus becoming a non-trivial source of\nspace-time torsion. We analyze all the general features of both the matter and\nthe gravitational sectors of the theory. Finally we briefly consider the\nimplications of the existence of such fields in different physical settings."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Noncommutative deformation of four dimensional Einstein gravity: We construct a model for noncommutative gravity in four dimensions, which\nreduces to the Einstein-Hilbert action in the commutative limit. Our proposal\nis based on a gauge formulation of gravity with constraints. While the action\nis metric independent, the constraints insure that it is not topological. We\nfind that the choice of the gauge group and of the constraints are crucial to\nrecover a correct deformation of standard gravity. Using the Seiberg-Witten map\nthe whole theory is described in terms of the vierbeins and of the Lorentz\ntransformations of its commutative counterpart. We solve explicitly the\nconstraints and exhibit the first order noncommutative corrections to the\nEinstein-Hilbert action.",
        "positive": "Quantising Higher-spin String Theories: In this paper, we examine the conditions under which a higher-spin string\ntheory can be quantised. The quantisability is crucially dependent on the way\nin which the matter currents are realised at the classical level. In\nparticular, we construct classical realisations for the $W_{2,s}$ algebra,\nwhich is generated by a primary spin-$s$ current in addition to the\nenergy-momentum tensor, and discuss the quantisation for $s\\le8$. From these\nexamples we see that quantum BRST operators can exist even when there is no\nquantum generalisation of the classical $W_{2,s}$ algebra. Moreover, we find\nthat there can be several inequivalent ways of quantising a given classical\ntheory, leading to different BRST operators with inequivalent cohomologies. We\ndiscuss their relation to certain minimal models. We also consider the\nhierarchical embeddings of string theories proposed recently by Berkovits and\nVafa, and show how the already-known $W$ strings provide examples of this\nphenomenon. Attempts to find higher-spin fermionic generalisations lead us to\nexamine the whether classical BRST operators for $W_{2,{n\\over 2}}$ ($n$ odd)\nalgebras can exist. We find that even though such fermionic algebras close up\nto null fields, one cannot build nilpotent BRST operators, at least of the\nstandard form."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spectral functions in the $\u03c6^4$-theory from the spectral DSE: We develop a non-perturbative functional framework for computing real-time\ncorrelation functions in strongly correlated systems. The framework is based on\nthe spectral representation of correlation functions and dimensional\nregularisation. Therefore, the non-perturbative spectral renormalisation setup\nhere respects all symmetries of the theories at hand. In particular this\nincludes space-time symmetries as well as internal symmetries such as chiral\nsymmetry, and gauge symmetries. Spectral renormalisation can be applied within\ngeneral functional approaches such as the functional renormalisation group,\nDyson-Schwinger equations, and two- or $n$-particle irreducible approaches. As\nan application we compute the full, non-perturbative, spectral function of the\nscalar field in the $\\phi^4$-theory in $2+1$ dimensions from spectral\nDyson-Schwinger equations. We also compute the $s$-channel spectral function of\nthe full $\\phi^4$-vertex in this theory.",
        "positive": "Structural aspects of FRG in quantum tunnelling computations: We probe both the unidimensional quartic harmonic oscillator and the double\nwell potential through a numerical analysis of the Functional Renormalization\nGroup flow equations truncated at first order in the derivative expansion. The\ntwo partial differential equations for the potential V_k(varphi) and the wave\nfunction renormalization Z_k(varphi), as obtained in different schemes and with\ndistinct regulators, are studied down to k=0, and the energy gap between lowest\nand first excited state is computed, in order to test the reliability of the\napproach in a strongly non-perturbative regime. Our findings point out at least\nthree ranges of the quartic coupling lambda, one with higher lambda where the\nlowest order approximation is already accurate, the intermediate one where the\ninclusion of the first correction produces a good agreement with the exact\nresults and, finally, the one with smallest lambda where presumably the higher\norder correction of the flow is needed. Some details of the specifics of the\ninfrared regulator are also discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Self-dual vortex-like configurations in SU(2) Yang-Mills Theory: We show that there are solutions of the SU(2) Yang-Mills classical equations\nof motion in R^4, which are self-dual and vortex-like(fluxons). The action\ndensity is concentrated along a thick two-dimensional wall (the world sheet of\na straight infinite vortex line). The configurations are constructed from\nself-dual R^2 x T^2 configurations.",
        "positive": "Avoiding Haag's theorem with parameterized quantum field theory: Under the normal assumptions of quantum field theory, Haag's theorem states\nthat any field unitarily equivalent to a free field must itself be a free\nfield. Unfortunately, the derivation of the Dyson series perturbation expansion\nrelies on the use of the interaction picture, in which the interacting field is\nunitarily equivalent to the free field but must still account for interactions.\nThus, the traditional perturbative derivation of the scattering matrix in\nquantum field theory is mathematically ill defined. Nevertheless, perturbative\nquantum field theory is currently the only practical approach for addressing\nscattering for realistic interactions, and it has been spectacularly successful\nin making empirical predictions. This paper explains this success by showing\nHaag's Theorem can be avoided when quantum field theory is formulated using an\ninvariant, fifth path parameter in addition to the usual four position\nparameters, such that the Dyson perturbation expansion for the scattering\nmatrix can still be reproduced. As a result, the parameterized formalism\nprovides a consistent foundation for the interpretation of quantum field theory\nas used in practice and, perhaps, for better dealing with other mathematical\nissues."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Structure constants for the D-series Virasoro minimal models: In this paper expressions are given for the bulk and boundary structure\nconstants of D-series Virasoro minimal models on the upper half plane. It is\nthe continuation of an earlier work on the A-series. The solution for the\nboundary theory is found first and then extended to the bulk. The modular\ninvariant bulk field content is recovered as the maximal set of bulk fields\nconsistent with the boundary theory. It is found that the structure constants\nare unique up to redefinition of the fields and in the chosen normalisation\nexhibit a manifest Z_2-symmetry associated to the D-diagram. The solution has\nbeen subjected to random numerical tests against the constraints it has to\nfulfill.",
        "positive": "Brane-Antibrane Dynamics From the Tachyon DBI Action: The Tachyon-Dirac-Born-Infeld (TDBI) action captures some aspects of the\ndynamics of non-BPS D-branes in type II string theory. We show that it can also\nbe used to study the classical interactions of BPS branes and antibranes. Our\nanalysis sheds light on real time D-Dbar tachyon condensation, on the proposal\nthat the tachyon field can be thought of as an extra spatial dimension whose\nrole is similar to the radial direction in holography, and on A. Sen's open\nstring completeness conjecture."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Braneworld solutions from scalar field in bimetric theory: We investigate the presence of braneworld solutions in a bimetric theory,\nwith gravity and the scalar field coupling differently. We consider a\nnon-standard model, with a Cuscuton-like scalar field, and we show how to\ngenerate braneworld solutions in this new scenario. In particular, we found no\ngravitational instabilities for the braneworld solutions.",
        "positive": "Eternal Chaotic Inflation is Prohibited by Weak Gravity Conjecture: We investigate whether the eternal chaotic inflation can be achieved when the\nweak gravity conjecture is taken into account. We show that even the assisted\nchaotic inflation with potential $\\lambda\\phi^4$ or $m^2\\phi^2$ can not be\neternal. The effective field theory description for the inflaton field breaks\ndown before inflation reaches the eternal regime. We also find that the total\nnumber of e-folds is still bounded by the inflationary entropy for the assisted\ninflation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Group Theoretical Approach to the Construction of Conformal Field\n  Theories: A conformal field theory (CFT) is a quantum field theory which is invariant\nunder conformal transformations; a group action that preserve angles but not\nnecessarily lengths. There are two traditional approaches to the construction\nof CFTs: analyzing a statistical system near a critical point as a euclidean\nfield theory, and in holographic duality within the context of string theory.\nThis pedagogical paper presents a construction of CFTs using purely group\ntheoretic techniques. Starting with the basic definition of a Lie algebra and\nquantum field theory, we generalize to affine Lie algebras and form a energy\nmomentum tensor via the Sugawara construction.",
        "positive": "Conformal Blocks of Coset Construction: Zero Ghost Number: It is shown that zero ghost conformal blocks of coset theory G/H are\ndetermined uniquely by those of G and H theories. G/G theories are considered\nas an example, their structure constants and correlation functions on sphere\nare calculated."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "New local symmetry for QED in two dimensions: A new local, covariant and nilpotent symmetry is shown to exist for the\ninteracting BRST invariant U(1) gauge theory in two dimensions of space-time.\nUnder this new symmetry, it is the gauge-fixing term that remains invariant and\nthe corresponding transformations on the Dirac fields turn out to be the\nanalogue of chiral transformations. The extended BRST algebra is derived for\nthe generators of all the underlying symmetries, present in the theory. This\nalgebra turns out to be the analogue of the algebra obeyed by the de Rham\ncohomology operators of differential geometry. Possible interpretations and\nimplications of this symmetry are pointed out in the context of BRST cohomology\nand Hodge decomposition theorem.",
        "positive": "Long Multiplet Bootstrap: Applications of the bootstrap program to superconformal field theories\npromise unique new insights into their landscape and could even lead to the\ndiscovery of new models. Most existing results of the superconformal bootstrap\nwere obtained form correlation functions of very special fields in short (BPS)\nrepresentations of the superconformal algebra. Our main goal is to initiate a\nsuperconformal bootstrap for long multiplets, one that exploits all constraints\nfrom superprimaries and their descendants. To this end, we work out the Casimir\nequations for four-point correlators of long multiplets of the two-dimensional\nglobal $\\mathcal{N}=2$ superconformal algebra. After constructing the full set\nof conformal blocks we discuss two different applications. The first one\nconcerns two-dimensional (2,0) theories. The numerical bootstrap analysis we\nperform serves a twofold purpose, as a feasibility study of our long multiplet\nbootstrap and also as an exploration of (2,0) theories. A second line of\napplications is directed towards four-dimensional $\\mathcal{N}=3$ SCFTs. In\nthis context, our results imply a new bound $c \\geqslant \\tfrac{13}{24}$ for\nthe central charge of such models, which we argue cannot be saturated by an\ninteracting SCFT."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A $\\hbar$-deformation of the $W_{N}$ algebra and its vertex operators: In this paper,we derive a $\\hbar$-deformation of the $W_{N}$ algebra and its\nquantum Miura tranformation. The vertex operators for this $\\hbar$-deformed\n$W_{N}$ algebra and its commutation relations are also obtained.",
        "positive": "Integral expression for a topological charge in the Faddeev-Niemi\n  non-linear sigma model: We have introduced Faddeev-Niemi type variables for static SU(3) Yang-Mills\ntheory. The variables suggest that a non-linear sigma model whose sigma fields\ntake values in SU(3)/(U(1)xU(1)) and SU(3)/(SU(2)xU(1)) may be relevant to\ninfrared limit of the theory. Shabanov showed that the energy functional of the\nnon-linear sigma model is bounded from below by certain functional. However,\nthe Shabanov's functional is not homotopy invariant, and its value can be an\narbitrary real number -- therefore it is not a topological charge. Since the\nthird homotopy group of SU(3)/(U(1)xU(1)) is isomorphic to the group of integer\nnumbers, there is a non-trivial topological charge (given by the isomorphism).\nWe apply Novikov's procedure to obtain integral expression for this charge. The\nresulting formula is analogous to the Whitehead's realization of the Hopf\ninvariant."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Double Copy in Higher Derivative Operators of Nambu-Goldstone Bosons: We investigate the existence of double copy structure, or the lack thereof,\nin higher derivative operators for Nambu-Goldstone bosons. At the leading\n${\\cal O}(p^2)$, tree amplitudes of Nambu-Goldstone bosons in the adjoint\nrepresentation can be (trivially) expressed as the double copy of itself and\nthe cubic bi-adjoint scalar theory, through the Kawai-Lewellen-Tye bilinear\nkernel. At the next-to-leading ${\\cal O}(p^4)$ there exist four operators in\ngeneral, among which we identify one operator whose amplitudes exhibit the\nflavor-kinematics duality and can be written as the double copy of ${\\cal\nO}(p^2)$ Nambu-Goldstone amplitudes and the Yang-Mills+$\\phi^3$ theory,\ninvolving both gluons and gauged cubic bi-adjoint scalars. The specific\noperator turns out to coincide with the scalar ${\\cal O}(p^4)$ operator in the\nso-called extended Dirac-Born-Infeld theory, for which the aforementioned\ndouble copy relation holds more generally.",
        "positive": "Drinfel'd algebra deformations, homotopy comodules and the associahedra: The aim of this work is to construct a cohomology theory controlling the\ndeformations of a general Drinfel'd algebra. The task is accomplished in three\nsteps. The first step is the construction of a modified cobar complex adapted\nto a non-coassociative comultiplication. The following two steps each involve a\nnew, highly non-trivial, construction. The first construction, essentially\ncombinatorial, defines a differential graded Lie algebra structure on the\nsimplicial chain complex of the associahedra. The second construction, of a\nmore algebraic nature, is the definition of map of differential graded Lie\nalgebras from the complex defined above to the algebra of derivations on the\nbar resolution. Using the existence of this map and the acyclicity of the\nassociahedra we can define a so-called homotopy comodule structure on the bar\nresolution of a general Drinfeld algebra. This in turn allows us to define the\ndesired cohomology theory in terms of a complex which consists, roughly\nspeaking, of the bimodule and bicomodule maps from the bar resolution to the\nmodified cobar resolution. The complex is bigraded but not a bicomplex as in\nthe Gerstenhaber-Schack theory for bialgebra deformations. The new components\nof the coboundary operator are defined via the constructions mentioned above.\nAs an application we show that the Drinfel'd deformation of the universal\nenveloping algebra of a simple Lie algebra is not a jump deformation. The\nresults of the paper were announced in the paper \"Drinfel'd algebra\ndeformations and the associahedra\" (IMRN, Duke Math. Journal, 4(1994), 169-176,\nappeared also as preprint hep-th/9312196)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dynamics of a Dirac Fermion in the presence of spin noncommutativity: Recently, it has been proposed a spacetime noncommutativity that involves\nspin degrees of freedom, here called \"spin noncommutativity\". One of the\nmotivations for such a construction is that it preserves Lorentz invariance,\nwhich is deformed or simply broken in other approaches to spacetime\nnoncommutativity. In this work, we gain further insight in the physical aspects\nof the spin noncommutativity. The noncommutative Dirac equation is derived from\nan action principle, and it is found to lead to the conservation of a modified\ncurrent, which involves the background electromagnetic field. Finally, we study\nthe Landau problem in the presence of spin noncommutativity. For this scenario\nof a constant magnetic field, we are able to derive a simple Hermitean\nnon-commutative correction to the Hamiltonian operator, and show that the\ndegeneracy of the excited states is lifted by the noncommutativity at the\nsecond order or perturbation theory.",
        "positive": "The semiclassical limit of W_N CFTs and Vasiliev theory: We propose a refinement of the Gaberdiel-Gopakumar duality conjecture between\nW_N conformal field theories and 2+1-dimensional higher spin gravity. We make\nan identification of generic representations of the W_N CFT in the\nsemiclassical limit with bulk configurations. By studying the spectrum of the\nsemiclassical limit of the W_N theories and mapping to solutions of Euclidean\nVasiliev gravity at \\lambda=-N, we propose that the `light states' of the W_N\nminimal models in the 't Hooft limit map not to the conical defects of the\nVasiliev theory, but rather to bound states of perturbative scalar fields with\nthese defects. Evidence for this identification comes from comparing charges\nand from holographic relations between CFT null states and bulk symmetries. We\nalso make progress in understanding the coupling of scalar matter to sl(N)\ngauge fields."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Beyond $N=\\infty$ in Large $N$ Conformal Vector Models at Finite\n  Temperature: We investigate finite-temperature observables in three-dimensional large $N$\ncritical vector models taking into account the effects suppressed by $1\\over\nN$. Such subleading contributions are captured by the fluctuations of the\nHubbard-Stratonovich auxiliary field which need to be handled with care due to\na subtle divergence structure which we clarify. The examples we consider\ninclude the scalar $O(N)$ model, the Gross-Neveu model, the Nambu-Jona-Lasinio\nmodel and the massless Chern-Simons Quantum Electrodynamics. We present\nexplicit results for the free energy density to the subleading order, which\nalso captures the one-point function of the stress-energy tensor, and include\nthe dependence on a chemical potential. We further provide a formula from\ndiagrammatics for the one-point functions of general single-trace higher-spin\ncurrents. We observe that in most cases considered, these subleading effects\nlift the apparent degeneracies between observables in different models at\ninfinite $N$, while in special cases the discrepancies only start to appear at\nthe next-to-subleading order.",
        "positive": "Integrable Structure of Conformal Field Theory, Quantum KdV Theory and\n  Thermodynamic Bethe Ansatz: We construct the quantum versions of the monodromy matrices of KdV theory.\nThe traces of these quantum monodromy matrices, which will be called as ``${\\bf\nT}$-operators'', act in highest weight Virasoro modules. The ${\\bf\nT}$-operators depend on the spectral parameter $\\lambda$ and their expansion\naround $\\lambda = \\infty$ generates an infinite set of commuting Hamiltonians\nof the quantum KdV system. The ${\\bf T}$-operators can be viewed as the\ncontinuous field theory versions of the commuting transfer-matrices of\nintegrable lattice theory. In particular, we show that for the values\n$c=1-3{{(2n+1)^2}\\over {2n+3}} , n=1,2,3,... $of the Virasoro central charge\nthe eigenvalues of the ${\\bf T}$-operators satisfy a closed system of\nfunctional equations sufficient for determining the spectrum. For the\nground-state eigenvalue these functional equations are equivalent to those of\nmassless Thermodynamic Bethe Ansatz for the minimal conformal field theory\n${\\cal M}_{2,2n+3}$; in general they provide a way to generalize the technique\nof Thermodynamic Bethe Ansatz to the excited states. We discuss a\ngeneralization of our approach to the cases of massive field theories obtained\nby perturbing these Conformal Field Theories with the operator $\\Phi_{1,3}$.\nThe relation of these ${\\bf T}$-operators to the boundary states is also\nbriefly described."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Comment on \"The relativistic particle with curvature and torsion of\n  world trajectory\": Gogilidze and Surovtsev have claimed recently (hep-th/9809191) that the\ntachyonic sector can be removed from the spectrum of the relativistic particle\nwith curvature and torsion by a proper gauge choice. We show that the mass-spin\ndependence obtained by them is incorrect and point out that their gauge surface\ndoes not cross all the gauge orbits. We discuss the nature of the tachyonic\nsector of the model and argue why it cannot be removed by any gauge fixing\nprocedure.",
        "positive": "Kaluza-Klein Black Holes in String Theory: Non-supersymmetric black holes carrying both electric and magnetic charge\nwith respect to a single Kaluza-Klein gauge field have much in common with\nsupersymmetric black holes. Angular momentum conservation and other general\nphysics principles underlies some of their basic features. Kaluza-Klein black\nholes are interpreted in string theory as bound states of D6-branes and\nD0-branes. The microscopic theory reproduces the full nonlinear mass formula of\nthe extremal black holes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Yang-Mills solutions on Minkowski space via non-compact coset spaces: We find a two-parameter family of solutions of the Yang-Mills equations for\ngauge group SO(1,3) on Minkowski space by foliating different parts of it with\nnon-compact coset spaces with SO(1,3) isometry. The interior of the lightcone\nis foliated with hyperbolic space $H^3\\cong \\text{SO}(1,3)/\\text{SO}(3)$, while\nthe exterior of the lightcone employs de Sitter space dS$_3\\cong\n\\text{SO}(1,3)/\\text{SO}(1,2)$. The lightcone itself is parametrized by\nSO(1,3)/ISO(2) in a nilpotent fashion. Equivariant reduction of the SO(1,3)\nYang-Mills system on the first two coset spaces yields a mechanical system with\ninverted double-well potential and the foliation parameter serving as an\nevolution parameter. Its known analytic solutions are periodic or runaway\nexcept for the kink. On the lightcone, only the vacuum solution remains. The\nconstructed Yang-Mills field strength is singular across the lightcone and of\ninfinite action due to the noncompact cosets. Its energy-momentum tensor takes\na very simple form, with energy density of opposite signs inside and outside\nthe lightcone.",
        "positive": "Emergent geometry, thermal CFT and surface/state correspondence: We study a conjectured correspondence between any codimension two convex\nsurface and a quantum state (SS-duality for short). By generalizing thermofield\ndouble formalism to continuum version of the multi-scale entanglement\nrenormalization ansatz (cMERA) and using the SS-duality, we show that thermal\ngeometries naturally emerge as a result of hidden quantum entanglement between\nboundary CFTs. We therefore propose a general framework to emerge the thermal\ngeometry from CFT at finite temperature. As an example, the case of $2d$ CFT is\nconsidered. We calculate its information metric and show that it is either BTZ\nblack hole or thermal AdS as expected."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-Invertible Symmetry in Calabi-Yau Conformal Field Theories: We construct examples of non-invertible global symmetries in two-dimensional\nsuperconformal field theories described by sigma models into Calabi-Yau target\nspaces. Our construction provides some of the first examples of non-invertible\nsymmetry in irrational conformal field theories. Our approach begins at a\nGepner point in the conformal manifold where the sigma model specializes to a\nrational conformal field theory and we can identify all supersymmetric\ntopological Verlinde lines. By deforming away from this special locus using\nexactly marginal operators, we then identify submanifolds in moduli space where\nsome non-invertible symmetry persists. For instance, along ten-dimensional loci\nin the complex structure moduli space of quintic Calabi-Yau threefolds there is\na symmetry characterized by a Fibonacci fusion category. The symmetries we\nidentify provide new constraints on spectra and correlation functions. As an\napplication we show how they constrain conformal perturbation theory,\nconsistent with recent results about scaling dimensions in the K3 sigma model\nnear its Gepner point.",
        "positive": "String in Horava-Lifshitz Gravity: We generalize recent analysis of the dynamics of point particle in\nHorava-Lifshitz background to the case of string probe when we replace the\nHamiltonian constraint of the Polyakov string with the constraint that breaks\nLorentz invariance of target space-time. Then we find corresponding Lagrangian\nand argue that the world-sheet theory is invariant under foliation preserving\ndiffeomorphism. Finally we discuss the Hamiltonian dynamics and show that this\nis well defined on condition that the world-sheet lapse function obeys the\nprojectability condition."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-extremal Localised Branes and Vacuum Solutions in M-Theory: Non-extremal overlapping p-brane supergravity solutions localised in their\nrelative transverse coordinates are constructed. The construction uses an\nalgebraic method of solving the bosonic equations of motion. It is shown that\nthese non-extremal solutions can be obtained from the extremal solutions by\nmeans of the superposition of two deformation functions defined by vacuum\nsolutions of M-theory. Vacuum solutions of M-theory including irrational powers\nof harmonic functions are discussed.",
        "positive": "Supergroup BF action for supergravity: General relativity can be formulated as a SU(2) BF-theory with constraints,\nas has been shown, by Pleba\\'nski. The cosmological constant term can be\nobtained from the constraint term, following from the consistency of the\nequations of motion, as recently shown by Krasnov. We consider an $OSp(2|1)$\ninvariant, supergravity extension of this theory, for which the consistency of\nthe equations of motion and the constraints contribute as well to the\ncosmological constant terms of Townsend's supergravity. The Kalb-Ramond\ninvariance is shortly discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Energy returns in global AdS_4: Recent studies of the weakly nonlinear dynamics of probe fields in global\nAdS$_4$ (and of the nonrelativistic limit of AdS resulting in the\nGross-Pitaevskii equation) have revealed a number of cases with exact dynamical\nreturns for two-mode initial data. In this paper, we address the question\nwhether similar exact returns are present in the weakly nonlinear dynamics of\ngravitationally backreacting perturbations in global AdS$_4$. In the\nliterature, approximate returns were first pointed out numerically and with\nlimited precision. We first provide a thorough numerical analysis and discover\nreturns that are so accurate that it would be tantalizing to sign off the small\nimperfections as an artifact of numerics. To clarify the situation, we\nintroduce a systematic analytic approach by focusing on solutions with spectra\nlocalized around one of the two lowest modes. This allows us to demonstrate\nthat in the gravitational case the returns are not exact. Furthermore, our\nanalysis predicts and explains specific integer numbers of direct-reverse\ncascade sequences that result in particularly accurate energy returns\n(elaborate hierarchies of more and less precise returns arise if one waits for\nappropriate longer multiple periods in this manner). In addition, we explain,\nat least in this regime, the ubiquitous appearance of direct-reverse cascades\nin the weakly nonlinear dynamics of AdS-like systems.",
        "positive": "Unimodular cosmology and the weight of energy: Some models are presented in which the strength of the gravitational coupling\nof the potential energy relative to the same coupling for the kinetic energy\nis, in a precise sense, adjustable. The gauge symmetry of these models consists\nof those coordinate changes with unit jacobian."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "BRST quantization of Matrix Chern-Simons Theory: The BRST quantization of matrix Chern-Simons theory is carried out, the\nsymmetries of the theory are analysed and used to constrain the form of the\neffective action.",
        "positive": "On the validity of the 'New ansatz for metric operator calculation in\n  pseudo-Hermitian field theory'\": This paper has been withdrawn by the author(s), due a mistake of factor 1/2."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The One-Loop H^2R^3 and H^2(DH)^2R Terms in the Effective Action: We consider the one-loop B^2h^3 and B^4h amplitudes in type II string theory,\nwhere B is the NS-NS two-form and h the graviton, and expand to lowest order in\nalpha'. After subtracting diagrams due to quartic terms in the effective\naction, we determine the presence and structure of both an H^2R^3 and\nH^2(DH)^2R term. We show that both terms are multiplied by the usual\n(t_8t_8\\pm{1/8}\\epsilon_{10}\\epsilon_{10}) factor.",
        "positive": "S-Duality, SL(2,Z) Multiplets and Killing Spinors: The S-duality transformations in type IIB string theory can be seen as local\nU(1) transformations in type IIB supergravity. We use this approach to\nconstruct the $SL(2,Z)$ multiplets associated to supersymmetric backgrounds of\ntype IIB string theory and the transformation laws of their corresponding\nKilling spinors."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Four-point Amplitudes in N=8 Supergravity and Wilson Loops: Prompted by recent progress in the study of N=4 super Yang-Mills amplitudes,\nand evidence that similar approaches might be relevant to N=8 supergravity, we\ninvestigate possible iterative structures and applications of Wilson loop\ntechniques in maximal supergravity. We first consider the two-loop, four-point\nMHV scattering amplitude in N=8 supergravity, confirming that the infrared\ndivergent parts exponentiate, and we give the explicit expression which\nrepresents the failure for this to occur for the finite part. We observe that\neach term in the expansion of the one- and two-loop amplitudes in the\ndimensional regularisation parameter epsilon has a uniform degree of\ntranscendentality. We then turn to consider Wilson loops in supergravity,\nshowing that a natural definition of the loop, involving the Christoffel\nconnection, fails to reproduce the one-loop amplitude. An alternative\nexpression, which involves the metric explicitly, is shown to have a close\nrelationship with the physical amplitude. We find that in a gauge in which the\ncusp diagrams vanish, the remaining diagrams for this Wilson loop correctly\ngenerate the full one-loop, four-point N=8 supergravity amplitude.",
        "positive": "Noncommutative Black Hole Thermodynamics: We give a general derivation, for any static spherically symmetric metric, of\nthe relation $T_h=\\frac{\\cal K}{2\\pi}$ connecting the black hole temperature\n($T_h$) with the surface gravity ($\\cal K$), following the tunneling\ninterpretation of Hawking radiation. This derivation is valid even beyond the\nsemi classical regime i. e. when quantum effects are not negligible. The\nformalism is then applied to a spherically symmetric, stationary noncommutative\nSchwarzschild space time. The effects of back reaction are also included. For\nsuch a black hole the Hawking temperature is computed in a closed form. A\ngraphical analysis reveals interesting features regarding the variation of the\nHawking temperature (including corrections due to noncommutativity and back\nreaction) with the small radius of the black hole. The entropy and tunneling\nrate valid for the leading order in the noncommutative parameter are\ncalculated. We also show that the noncommutative Bekenstein-Hawking area law\nhas the same functional form as the usual one."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Comments on the Casimir energy in supersymmetric field theories: We study the Casimir energy of four-dimensional supersymmetric gauge theories\nin the context of the rigid limit of new minimal supergravity. Firstly,\nrevisiting the computation of the localized partition function on $S^1\\times\nS^3$, we recover the supersymmetric Casimir energy. Secondly, we consider the\nsame theories in the Hamiltonian formalism on $\\mathbb{R}\\times S^3$, focussing\non the free limit and including a one-parameter family of background gauge\nfields along $\\mathbb{R}$. We compute the vacuum expectation value of the\ncanonical Hamiltonian using zeta function regularization, and show that this\ninterpolates between the supersymmetric Casimir energy and the ordinary Casimir\nenergy of a supersymmetric free field theory.",
        "positive": "Notes on D-branes in 2D Type 0 String Theory: In this paper we construct complete macroscopic operators in two dimensional\ntype 0 string theory. They represent D-branes localized in the time direction.\nWe give another equivalent description of them as deformed Fermi surfaces. We\nalso discuss a continuous array of such D-branes and show that it can be\ndescribed by a matrix model with a deformed potential. For appropriate values\nof parameters, we find that it has an additional new sector hidden inside its\nstrongly coupled region."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "More on the scalar-tensor B-F theory: This work is based on an earlier proposal \\cite{hs} that the membrane B-F\ntheory consists of matter fields alongwith Chern-Simons fields as well as the\nauxiliary pairs of scalar and tensor fields. We especially discuss the\nsupersymmetry aspects of such a membrane theory. It is concluded that the\ntheory possesses maximal supersymmetry and it is related to the L-BLG theory\nvia a field map. We obtain fuzzy-sphere solution and corresponding tensor field\nconfiguration is given.",
        "positive": "Open-closed homotopy algebra in mathematical physics: In this paper we discuss various aspects of open-closed homotopy algebras\n(OCHAs) presented in our previous paper, inspired by Zwiebach's open-closed\nstring field theory, but that first paper concentrated on the mathematical\naspects. Here we show how an OCHA is obtained by extracting the tree part of\nZwiebach's quantum open-closed string field theory. We clarify the explicit\nrelation of an OCHA with Kontsevich's deformation quantization and with the\nB-models of homological mirror symmetry. An explicit form of the minimal model\nfor an OCHA is given as well as its relation to the perturbative expansion of\nopen-closed string field theory. We show that our open-closed homotopy algebra\ngives us a general scheme for deformation of open string structures\n($A_\\infty$-algebras) by closed strings ($L_\\infty$-algebras)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Discrete D-branes in AdS3 and in the 2d black hole: I show how the AdS2 D-branes in the Euclidean AdS3 string theory are related\nto the continuous D-branes in Liouville theory. I then propose new discrete\nD-branes in the Euclidean AdS3 which correspond to the discrete D-branes in\nLiouville theory. These new D-branes satisfy the appropriate shift equations.\nThey give rise to two families of discrete D-branes in the 2d black hole, which\npreserve different symmetries.",
        "positive": "KALUZA-KLEIN BLACK HOLES WITHIN HETEROTIC STRING THEORY ON A TORUS: We point out that in heterotic string theory compactified on a 6-torus, after\na consistent truncation of the 10-d gauge fields and the antisymmetric tensor\nfields, 4-dimensional black holes of Kaluza-Klein theory on a 6-torus\nconstitute a subset of solutions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "One loop divergences and anomalies from chiral superfields in\n  supergravity: We apply the heat kernel method (using Avramidi's non-recursive technique) to\nthe study of the effective action of chiral matter in a complex representation\nof an arbitrary gauge sector coupled to background U(1) supergravity. This\ngeneralizes previous methods, which restricted to 1) real representations of\nthe gauge sector in traditional Poincar\\'e supergravity or 2) vanishing\nsupergravity background. In this new scheme, we identify a classical ambiguity\nin these theories which mixes the supergravity U(1) with the gauge U(1). At the\nquantum level, this ambiguity is maintained since the effective action changes\nonly by a local counterterm as one shifts a U(1) factor between the\nsupergravity and gauge sectors.\n  An immediate application of our formalism is the calculation of the one-loop\ngauge, Kahler, and reparametrization anomalies of chiral matter coupled to\nminimal supergravity from purely chiral loops. Our approach gives an anomaly\nwhose covariant part is both manifestly supersymmetric and non-perturbative in\nthe Kahler potential.",
        "positive": "LINEAR CONNECTIONS ON EXTENDED SPACE-TIME: A modification of Kaluza-Klein theory is proposed which is general enough to\nadmit an arbitrary finite noncommutative internal geometry. It is shown that\nthe existence of a non-trival extension to the total geometry of a linear\nconnection on space-time places severe restrictions on the structure of the\nnoncommutative factor. A counter-example is given."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "High-Order Corrections to the Entropy and Area of Quantum Black Holes: The celebrated area-entropy formula for black holes has provided the most\nimportant clue in the search for the elusive theory of quantum gravity. We\nexplore the possibility that the (linear) area-entropy relation acquires some\nsmaller corrections. Using the Boltzmann-Einstein formula, we rule out the\npossibility for a power-law correction, and provide severe constraints on the\ncoefficient of a possible log-area correction. We argue that a non-zero\nlogarithmic correction to the area-entropy relation, would also imply a\nmodification of the area-mass relation for quantum black holes.",
        "positive": "Generalized BIons in M-theory: In string theory, stacks of D1-branes can expand into intersecting D3-branes.\nThese configurations are called (generalized) BIons. We show how the analogous\nconstructions in M-theory, where M2-branes blow up into calibrated\nintersections of M5-branes, arise from some of the membrane theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On a $\\mathbb{Z}_3$-valued discrete topological term in 10d heterotic\n  string theories: We show that the low-energy effective actions of two ten-dimensional\nsupersymmetric heterotic strings are different by a $\\mathbb{Z}_3$-valued\ndiscrete topological term even after we turn off the $E_8\\times E_8$ and\n$Spin(32)/\\mathbb{Z}_2$ gauge fields. This will be demonstrated by considering\nthe inflow of normal bundle anomaly to the respective NS5-branes from the bulk.\nWe also find that the $Spin(16)\\times Spin(16)$ non-tachyonic\nnon-supersymmetric heterotic string has the same non-zero $\\mathbb{Z}_3$-valued\ndiscrete topological term. We will also explain the relation of our findings to\nthe theory of topological modular forms.\n  The paper is written as a string theory paper, except for an appendix\ntranslating the content in mathematical terms. We will explain there that our\nfinding identifies a representative of the $\\mathbb{Z}/3$-torsion element of\n$\\pi_{-32}\\mathrm{TMF}$ as a particular self-dual vertex operator superalgebra\nof $c=16$ and how we utilize string duality to arrive at this statement.",
        "positive": "Momentum-carrying waves on D1-D5 microstate geometries: If one attempts to add momentum-carrying waves to a black string then the\nsolution develops a singularity at the horizon; this is a manifestation of the\n'no hair theorem' for black objects. However individual microstates of a black\nstring do not have a horizon, and so the above theorem does not apply. We\nconstruct a perturbation that adds momentum to a family of microstates of the\nextremal D1-D5 string. This perturbation is analogous to the 'singleton' mode\nlocalized at the boundary of AdS; to leading order it is pure gauge in the AdS\ninterior of the geometry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Matter Coupled AdS_3 Supergravities and Their Black Strings: We couple n copies of N=(2,0) scalar multiplets to a gauged N=(2,0)\nsupergravity in 2+1 dimensions which admits AdS_3 as a vacuum. The scalar\nfields are charged under the gauged R-symmetry group U(1) and parametrize\ncertain Kahler manifolds with compact or non-compact isometries. The radii of\nthese manifolds are quantized in the compact case, but arbitrary otherwise. In\nthe compact case, we find half-supersymmetry preserving and asymptotically\nMinkowskian black string solutions. For a particular value of the scalar\nmanifold radius, the solution coincides with that of Horne and Horowitz found\nin the context of a string theory in 2+1 dimensions. In the non-compact case,\nwe find half-supersymmetry preserving and asymptotically AdS_3 string solutions\nwhich have naked singularities. We also obtain two distinct AdS_3\nsupergravities coupled to n copies of N=(1,0) scalar multiplets either by the\ntruncation of the (2,0) model or by a direct construction.",
        "positive": "Gaugino Condensates and Fluxes in N = 1 Effective Superpotentials: In the framework of orbifold compactifications of heterotic and type II\norientifolds, we study effective N = 1 supergravity potentials arising from\nfluxes and gaugino condensates. These string solutions display a broad\nphenomenology which we analyze using the method of N = 4 supergravity gaugings.\nWe give examples in type II and heterotic compactifications of combined fluxes\nand condensates leading to vacua with naturally small supersymmetry breaking\nscale controlled by the condensate, cases where the supersymmetry breaking\nscale is specified by the fluxes even in the presence of a condensate and also\nexamples where fluxes and condensates conspire to preserve supersymmetry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Induced Action for Conformal Higher Spins from Worldline Path Integrals: Conformal higher spin (CHS) fields, despite being non unitary, provide a\nremarkable example of a consistent interacting higher spin theory in flat space\nbackground, that is local to all orders. The non-linear action is defined as\nthe logarithmically UV divergent part of a one-loop scalar effective action. In\nthis paper we take a particle model, that describes the interaction of a scalar\nparticle to the CHS background, and compute its path integral on the circle. We\nthus provide a worldline representation for the CHS action, and rederive its\nquadratic part. We plan to come back to the subject, to compute cubic and\nhigher vertices, in a future work.",
        "positive": "Rigid supersymmetric theories in 4d Riemannian space: We consider rigid supersymmetric theories in four-dimensional Riemannian spin\nmanifolds. We build the Lagrangian directly in Euclidean signature from the\noutset, keeping track of potential boundary terms. We reformulate the\nconditions for supersymmetry as a set of conditions on the torsion classes of a\nsuitable SU(2) or trivial G-structure. We illustrate the formalism with a\nnumber of examples including supersymmetric backgrounds with non-vanishing Weyl\ntensor."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fold bifurcation entangled surfaces for one-dimensional Kitaev lattice\n  model: We investigate feasible holography with the Kitaev model using dilatonic\ngravity in AdS$_2$. We propose a generic dual theory of gravity in the AdS$_2$\nand suggest that this bulk action is a suitable toy model in studying quantum\nmechanics in the Kitaev model using gauge/gravity duality. This gives a\npossible equivalent description for the Kitaev model in the dual gravity bulk.\nScalar and tensor perturbations are investigated in detail. In the case of near\nAdS perturbation, we show that the geometry still \"freezes\" as is AdS, while\nthe dilation perturbation decays at the AdS boundary safely. The time-dependent\npart of the perturbation is an oscillatory model. We discover that the dual\ngravity induces an effective and renormalizable quantum action. The\nentanglement entropy for bulk theory is computed using extremal surfaces. We\nprove that these surfaces have a fold bifurcation regime of criticality. Our\napproach shows directly that chaos in AdS$_2$ can be understood via fold\nbifurcation minimal surfaces.",
        "positive": "Recombination of Intersecting D-Branes and Cosmological Inflation: We consider the interactions between Dp-branes intersecting at an arbitrary\nnumber of angles in the context of type II string theory. For cosmology\npurposes we concentrate in the theory on R^{3,1} x T^6. Interpreting the\ndistance between the branes as the inflaton field, the branes can intersect at\nmost at two angles on the compact space. If the configuration is\nnon-supersymmetric we will have an interbrane potential that provides an\neffective cosmological inflationary epoch at the four dimensional intersection\nbetween the branes. The end of inflation occurs when the interbrane distance\nbecomes small compared with the string scale, where a tachyon develops\ntriggering the recombination of the branes. We study this recombination due to\ntachyon instabilities and we find the possibility for the final configuration\nto be again branes intersecting at two angles. This preserves the interesting\nfeatures that are present in the intersecting brane models from the string\nmodel building point of view also after the end of inflation. This fact was not\npresent in the models of branes intersecting at just one angle. This kind of\nrecombination can be also important in other string contexts."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dilatations Revisited: Dilatation, i.e. scale, symmetry in the presence of the dilaton in Minkowski\nspace is derived from diffeomorphism symmetry in curved spacetime,\nincorporating the volume-preserving diffeomorphisms. The conditions for scale\ninvariance are derived and their relation to conformal invariance is examined.\nIn the presence of the dilaton scale invariance automatically guarantees\nconformal invariance due to diffeomorphism symmetry. Low energy scale-invariant\nphenomenological Lagrangians are derived in terms of dilaton-dressed fields,\nwhich are identified as the fields satisfying the usual scaling properties. The\nnotion of spontaneous scale symmetry breaking is defined in the presence of the\ndilaton. In this context, possible phenomenological implications are advocated\nand by computing the dilaton mass the idea of PCDC (partially conserved\ndilatation current) is further explored.",
        "positive": "Bulk-brane supergravity: We point out a limitation of the existing supergravity tensor calculus on the\n$S^1/Z_2$ orbifold that prevents its use for constructing general\nsupersymmetric bulk-plus-brane actions. We report on the progress achieved in\nremoving this limitation via the development of ``supersymmetry without\nboundary conditions.''"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fermion Self-energy and Pseudovector Condensate in NJL Model with\n  External Magnetic Field: In this paper, we aim to study the complete self-energy in the fermion\npropagator within two-flavor NJL model in the case of finite temperature,\nchemical potential and external magnetic field. Through Fierz transformation we\nprove that the self-energy is not simply proportional to dynamical mass in the\npresence of chemical potential, moreover, it contains four kinds of condensates\nafter introducing external magnetic field. We find out the appropriate and\ncomplete form of self-energy and establish new gap equations. We take two of\nthe four condensates (scalar and pseudovector condensates) to make an\napproximation and simplify the gap equations. The numerical results show that\nnot only the dynamical mass get quantitative modification, but also the\nproperties of Nambu phase and Wigner phase are significantly different with\nclassic results. Instead of classic Wigner phase with zero dynamic mass in the\nmassless NJL model, we propose a new phase - quasi-Wigner phase in this\narticle, it has small but nonzero dynamic mass, with increasing chemical\npotential, eventually Nambu phase will turn into quasi-Wigner phase with\nfirst-order phase transition, therefore the chiral symmetry can never be fully\nrestored but be partially restored. Furthermore, we prove that pseudovector\ncondensate in self-energy can generate energy splitting in dispersion relation,\nit will cause minor differences of particle numbers with the split energy\nlevels.",
        "positive": "Quantum oscillator and a bound system of two dyons: It is shown that $U(1)$--Hamiltonian reduction of a four--dimensional\nisotropic quantum oscillator results in a bound system of two spinless\nSchwinger's dyons. Its wavefunctions and spectrum are constructed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Two-Dimensional Dilaton Gravity and Toda - Liouville Integrable Models: General properties of a class of two-dimensional dilaton gravity (DG)\ntheories with multi-exponential potentials are studied and a subclass of these\ntheories, in which the equations of motion reduce to Toda and Liouville\nequations, is treated in detail. A combination of parameters of the equations\nshould satisfy a certain constraint that is identified and solved for the\ngeneral multi-exponential model. From the constraint it follows that in DG\ntheories the integrable Toda equations, generally, cannot appear without\naccompanying Liouville equations.\n  We also show how the wave-like solutions of the general Toda-Liouville\nsystems can be simply derived. In the dilaton gravity theory, these solutions\ndescribe nonlinear waves coupled to gravity as well as static states and\ncosmologies. A special attention is paid to making the analytic structure of\nthe solutions of the Toda equations as simple and transparent as possible, with\nthe aim to gain a better understanding of realistic theories reduced to\ndimensions 1+1 and 1+0 or 0+1.",
        "positive": "Lectures on Spectrum Generating Symmetries and U-duality in\n  Supergravity, Extremal Black Holes, Quantum Attractors and Harmonic\n  Superspace: We review the underlying algebraic structures of supergravity theories with\nsymmetric scalar manifolds in five and four dimensions, orbits of their\nextremal black hole solutions and the spectrum generating extensions of their\nU-duality groups. For 5D, N=2 Maxwell-Einstein supergravity theories (MESGT)\ndefined by Euclidean Jordan algebras, J, the spectrum generating symmetry\ngroups are the conformal groups Conf(J) of J which are isomorphic to their\nU-duality groups in four dimensions. Similarly, the spectrum generating\nsymmetry groups of 4D, N=2 MESGTs are the quasiconformal groups QConf(J)\nassociated with J that are isomorphic to their U-duality groups in three\ndimensions. We then review the work on spectrum generating symmetries of\nspherically symmetric stationary 4D BPS black holes, based on the equivalence\nof their attractor equations and the equations for geodesic motion of a\nfiducial particle on the target spaces of corresponding 3D supergravity\ntheories obtained by timelike reduction. We also discuss the connection between\nharmonic superspace formulation of 4D, N=2 sigma models coupled to supergravity\nand the minimal unitary representations of their isometry groups obtained by\nquantizing their quasiconformal realizations. We discuss the relevance of this\nconnection to spectrum generating symmetries and conclude with a brief summary\nof more recent results."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Towards a stringy extension of self-dual super Yang-Mills: Motivated by the search for a space-time supersymmetric extension of the N=2\nstring, we construct a particle model which, upon quantization, describes\n(abelian) self-dual super Yang-Mills in 2+2 dimensions. The local symmetries of\nthe theory are shown to involve both world-line supersymmetry and kappa\nsymmetry.",
        "positive": "Small Fluctuations in $\u03bb\u03c6^{n+1}$ Theory in a Finite Domain: An\n  Hirota's Method Approach: We present a method to calculate small stationary fluctuations around static\nsolutions describing bound states in a $(1+1)$-dimensional $\\lambda \\phi^{n+1}$\ntheory in a finite domain. We also calculate explicitly fluctuations for the\n$\\lambda \\phi^4$. These solutions are written in terms of Jacobi Elliptic\nfunctions and are obtained from both linear and nonlinear equations. For the\nlinear case we get eingenvalues of a Lam\\'e type Equation and the nonlinear one\nrelies on Hirota's Method."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Primordial perturbations from inflation with a hyperbolic field-space: We study primordial perturbations from hyperinflation, proposed recently and\nbased on a hyperbolic field-space. In the previous work, it was shown that the\nfield-space angular momentum supported by the negative curvature modifies the\nbackground dynamics and enhances fluctuations of the scalar fields\nqualitatively, assuming that the inflationary background is almost de Sitter.\nIn this work, we confirm and extend the analysis based on the standard approach\nof cosmological perturbation in multi-field inflation. At the background level,\nto quantify the deviation from de Sitter, we introduce the slow-varying\nparameters and show that steep potentials, which usually can not drive\ninflation, can drive inflation. At the linear perturbation level, we obtain the\npower spectrum of primordial curvature perturbation and express the spectral\ntilt and running in terms of the slow-varying parameters. We show that\nhyperinflation with power-law type potentials has already been excluded by the\nrecent Planck observations, while exponential-type potential with the exponent\nof order unity can be made consistent with observations as far as the power\nspectrum is concerned. We also argue that, in the context of a simple $D$-brane\ninflation, the hyperinflation requires exponentially large hyperbolic extra\ndimensions but that masses of Kaluza-Klein gravitons can be kept relatively\nheavy.",
        "positive": "ADHM Construction of Noncommutative Instantons: We discuss the Atiyah-Drinfeld-Hitchin-Manin (ADHM) construction of U(N)\ninstantons in noncommutative (NC) space and prove the one-to-one correspondence\nbetween moduli spaces of the noncommutative instantons and the ADHM data,\ntogether with an origin of the instanton number for U(1). We also give a\nderivation of the ADHM construction from the viewpoint of the Nahm\ntransformation of instantons on four-tori. This article is a composite version\nof [23] and [24]."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On $W$-representations of $\u03b2$- and $q,t$-deformed matrix models: $W$-representation realizes partition functions by an action of a\ncut-and-join-like operator on the vacuum state with a zero-mode background. We\nprovide explicit formulas of this kind for $\\beta$- and $q,t$-deformations of\nthe simplest rectangular complex matrix model. In the latter case, instead of\nthe complicated definition in terms of multiple Jackson integrals, we define\npartition functions as the weight-two series, made from Macdonald polynomials,\nwhich are evaluated at different loci in the space of time variables. Resulting\nexpression for the $\\hat W$ operator appears related to the problem of simple\nHurwitz numbers (contributing are also the Young diagrams with all but one\nlines of length two and one). This problem is known to exhibit nice\nintegrability properties. Still the answer for $\\hat W$ can seem unexpectedly\nsophisticated and calls for improvements. Since matrix models lie at the very\nbasis of all gauge- and string-theory constructions, our exercise provides a\ngood illustration of the jump in complexity between $\\beta$- and\n$q,t$-deformations -- which is not always seen at the accidently simple level\nof Calogero-Ruijsenaars Hamiltonians (where both deformations are equally\nstraightforward). This complexity is, however, quite familiar in the theories\nof network models, topological vertices and knots.",
        "positive": "The box integrals in momentum-twistor geometry: An account is given of how the 'box integrals', as used for one-loop\ncalculations in massless field theory, appear in momentum-twistor geometry.\nParticular attention is paid to the role of compact contour integration in\nrepresenting the Feynman propagator in twistor space. An explicit calculation\nof all the box integrals, using only elementary methods, is included."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Heterotic-Type II duality in the hypermultiplet sector: We revisit the duality between heterotic string theory compactified on K3 x\nT^2 and type IIA compactified on a Calabi-Yau threefold X in the hypermultiplet\nsector. We derive an explicit map between the field variables of the respective\nmoduli spaces at the level of the classical effective actions. We determine the\nparametrization of the K3 moduli space consistent with the Ferrara-Sabharwal\nform. From the expression of the holomorphic prepotential we are led to\nconjecture that both X and its mirror must be K3 fibrations in order for the\ntype IIA theory to have an heterotic dual. We then focus on the region of the\nmoduli space where the metric is expressed in terms of a prepotential on both\nsides of the duality. Applying the duality we derive the heterotic\nhypermultiplet metric for a gauge bundle which is reduced to 24 point-like\ninstantons. This result is confirmed by using the duality between the heterotic\ntheory on T^3 and M-theory on K3. We finally study the hyper-Kaehler metric on\nthe moduli space of an SU(2) bundle on K3.",
        "positive": "High-energy String Scatterings of Compactified Open String: We calculate high-energy massive string scattering amplitudes of compactified\nopen string. We derive infinite linear relations, or stringy symmetries, among\nsoft high-energy string scattering amplitudes of different string states in the\nGross kinematic regime (GR). In addition, we systematically analyze all hard\npower-law and soft exponential fall-off regimes of high-energy compactified\nopen string scatterings by comparing the scatterings with their 26D\nnoncompactified counterparts. In particular, we discover the existence of a\npower-law regime at fixed angle and an exponential fall-off regime at small\nangle for high-energy compactified open string scatterings. The linear\nrelations break down as expected in all power-law regimes. The analysis can be\nextended to the high-energy scatterings of the compactified closed string,\nwhich corrects and extends the previous results in [28] ."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Coset Spin-4 Casimir Operator and Its Three-Point Functions with\n  Scalars: We find the GKO coset construction of the dimension 4 Casimir operator that\ncontains the quartic WZW currents contracted with completely symmetric SU(N)\ninvariant tensors of ranks 4, 3, and 2. The requirements, that the operator\nproduct expansion with the diagonal current is regular and it should be primary\nunder the coset Virasoro generator of dimension 2, fix all the coefficients in\nspin-4 current, up to two unknown coefficients. The operator product expansion\nof coset primary spin-3 field with itself fixes them completely. We compute the\nthree-point functions with scalars for all values of the 't Hooft coupling in\nthe large N limit. At fixed 't Hooft coupling, these three-point functions are\ndual to that found by Chang and Yin recently in the undeformed AdS_3 bulk\ntheory (higher spin gravity with matter).",
        "positive": "A fifth order perturbative solution to the Gribov - Lipatov equation: Fifth order exact corrections to the non-singlet electron structure function\nin QED are the leading logarithmic approximation using the ad hoc\nexponentiation prescription proposed by Jadach and Ward and a recurence formula\nfor the elements of the Jadach-Ward series. A comparison with existing third\norder solutions is also presented. The three next elements of the Jadac Ward\nseries were calculated numerically and parametrized with an accuracy better\nthan 5x10^-6 in the range of x between 0.01 and 1."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Unruh effect without Rindler horizon: We investigate the Unruh effect for a massless scalar field in the two\ndimensional Minkowski space in the presence of a uniformly accelerated perfect\nmirror, with the trajectory of the mirror chosen in such a way that the mirror\ncompletely masks the Rindler horizon from the space-time region of interest. We\nfind that the characteristic thermodynamical properties of the effect remain\nunchanged, i.e. the response of a uniformly co-accelerated Unruh detector and\nthe distribution of the Rindler particles retain their thermal form. However,\nsince in this setup there are no unobserved degrees of freedom of the field the\nthermal statistics of the Rindler particles is inconsistent with an initial\npure vacuum, which leads us to reconsider the problem for the more physical\ncase when the mirror is inertial in the past. In these conditions we find that\nthe distribution of the Rindler particles is non-thermal even in the limit of\ninfinite acceleration times, but an effective thermal statistics can be\nrecovered provided that one restricts to the expectation values of smeared\noperators associated to finite norm Rindler states. We explain how the thermal\nstatistics in our problem can be understood in analogy with that in the\nconventional version of the effect.",
        "positive": "Topologically twisted index of $T[SU(N)]$ at large $N$: We compute, in the large $N$ limit, the topologically twisted index of the 3d\n$T[SU(N)]$ theory, namely the partition function on $\\Sigma_{\\mathfrak{g}}\n\\times S^1$, with a topological twist on the Riemann surface\n$\\Sigma_{\\mathfrak{g}}$. To provide an expression for this quantity, we take\nadvantage of some recent results obtained for five dimensional quiver gauge\ntheories. In case of a universal twist, we correctly reproduce the entropy of\nthe universal black hole that can be embedded in the holographically dual\nsolution."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "PSU(2,2|4) transformations of IIB superstring in AdS_5 x S^5: The PSU(2,2|4) transformation laws of the IIB superstring theory in the AdS_5\nx S^5 background are explicitly obtained for the light-cone gauge in the\nGreen-Schwarz formalism.",
        "positive": "Comment on \"Cosmological Topological Massive Gravitons and Photons\": In a recent paper (arXiv: 0801.4566) it was shown that all global energy\neigenstates of asymptotically $AdS_3$ chiral gravity have non-negative energy\nat the linearized level. This result was questioned (arXiv: 0803.3998) by\nCarlip, Deser, Waldron and Wise (CDWW), who work on the Poincare patch. They\nexhibit a linearized solution of chiral gravity and claim that it has negative\nenergy and is smooth at the boundary. We show that the solution of CDWW is\nsmooth only on that part of the boundary of $AdS_3$ included in the Poincare\npatch. Extended to global $AdS_3$, it is divergent at the boundary point not\nincluded in the Poincare patch. Hence it is consistent with the results of\n(arXiv: 0801.4566)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Factorization of Mellin amplitudes: We introduce Mellin amplitudes for correlation functions of $k$ scalar\noperators and one operator with spin in conformal field theories (CFT) in\ngeneral dimension. We show that Mellin amplitudes for scalar operators have\nsimple poles with residues that factorize in terms of lower point Mellin\namplitudes, similarly to what happens for scattering amplitudes in flat space.\nFinally, we study the flat space limit of Anti-de Sitter (AdS) space, in the\ncontext of the AdS/CFT correspondence, and generalize a formula relating CFT\nMellin amplitudes to scattering amplitudes of the bulk theory, including\nparticles with spin.",
        "positive": "Lattice realizations of unitary minimal modular invariant partition\n  functions: The conformal spectra of the critical dilute A-D-E lattice models are studied\nnumerically. The results strongly indicate that, in branches 1 and 2, these\nmodels provide realizations of the complete A-D-E classification of unitary\nminimal modular invariant partition functions given by Cappelli, Itzykson and\nZuber. In branches 3 and 4 the results indicate that the modular invariant\npartition functions factorize. Similar factorization results are also obtained\nfor two-colour lattice models."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The role of mathematics in contemporary theoretical physics: Talk given at the 6th Philosophy-and-Physics-Workshop ``Epistemological\nAspects of the Role of Mathematics in Physical Science'', FEST, Heidelberg,\nFeb. 1993",
        "positive": "Anomalous Casimir effect in axion electrodynamics: We study the Casimir effect in axion electrodynamics. A finite $\\theta$-term\naffects the energy dispersion relation of photon if $\\theta$ is time and/or\nspace dependent. We focus on a special case with linearly inhomogeneous\n$\\theta$ along the $z$-axis. Then we demonstrate that the Casimir force between\ntwo parallel plates perpendicular to the $z$-axis can be either attractive or\nrepulsive, dependent on the gradient of $\\theta$. We call this repulsive\ncomponent in the Casimir force induced by inhomogeneous $\\theta$ the anomalous\nCasimir effect."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Konishi operator at intermediate coupling: TBA equations for two-particle states from the sl(2) sector proposed by\nArutyunov, Suzuki and the author are solved numerically for the Konishi\noperator descendent up to 't Hooft's coupling lambda ~ 2046. The data obtained\nis used to analyze the properties of Y-functions and address the issue of the\nexistence of the critical values of the coupling. In addition we find a new\nintegral representation for the BES dressing phase which substantially reduces\nthe computational time.",
        "positive": "A Note on Supersymmetries in AdS_5/CFT_4: The N=4 superconformal algebra is derived from the symmetry transformations\nof fields in the N=4 SYM action in D=4. We use a Majorana-Weyl spinor in D=10\ninstead of four Weyl spinors in D=4. This makes it transparent to relate\ngenerators of the N=4 superconformal algebra to those of the super-AdS_5XS^5\nalgebra. Especially, we obtain the concrete map from the supersymmetries Q and\nconformal supersymmetries S in N=4 SYM to the supersymmetries (Q_1, Q_2) in the\nAdS_5XS^5 background."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Higher Derivative Quantum Gravity with Gauss-Bonnet Term: Higher derivative theory is one of the important models of quantum gravity,\nrenormalizable and asymptotically free within the standard perturbative\napproach. We consider the $4-\\epsilon$ renormalization group for this theory,\nan approach which proved fruitful in $2-\\epsilon$ models. A consistent\nformulation in dimension $n=4-\\epsilon$ requires taking quantum effects of the\ntopological term into account, hence we perform calculation which is more\ngeneral than the ones done before. In the special $n=4$ case we confirm a known\nresult by Fradkin-Tseytlin and Avramidi-Barvinsky, while contributions from\ntopological term do cancel. In the more general case of $4-\\epsilon$\nrenormalization group equations there is an extensive ambiguity related to\ngauge-fixing dependence. As a result, physical interpretation of these\nequations is not universal unlike we treat $\\epsilon$ as a small parameter. In\nthe sector of essential couplings one can find a number of new fixed points,\nsome of them have no analogs in the $n=4$ case.",
        "positive": "Fermionic Quasi-Particle Representations for Characters of ${(G^{(1)})_1\n  \\times (G^{(1)})_1 \u00f8(G^{(1)})_2}$: We present fermionic quasi-particle sum representations for some of the\ncharacters (or branching functions) of ~${(G^{(1)})_1 \\times (G^{(1)})_1 \\o\n(G^{(1)})_2}$ ~for all simply-laced Lie algebras $G$. For given $G$ the\ncharacters are written as the partition function of a set of rank~$G$ types of\nmassless quasi-particles in certain charge sectors, with nontrivial lower\nbounds on the one-particle momenta. We discuss the non-uniqueness of the\nrepresentations for the identity character of the critical Ising model, which\narises in both the $A_1$ and $E_8$ cases."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Higher-Spin Gauge Interactions for Matter Fields in Two Dimensions: We formulate a new model which describes higher-spin gauge interactions for\nmatter fields in two dimensions. This model is a higher-spin generalization of\nd2 gravity and turns out to be integrable. No vanishing higher-spin current\nconditions are imposed on the matter fields.",
        "positive": "A Geometric Interpretation of the Open String Tachyon: Unstable, non-BPS D-branes in weakly coupled ten dimensional string theory\nhave many mysterious properties. Among other things, it is not clear what sets\ntheir tension, what is their relation to the better understood BPS D-branes,\nand why the open string tachyon on them is described by an effective Lagrangian\nwhich suggests that the tachyon corresponds to an extra spatial dimension\ntransverse to the branes. We point out that the dynamics of D-branes in the\npresence of Neveu-Schwarz fivebranes on a transverse R^3 times S^1 provides a\nuseful toy model for studying these issues. From the point of view of a 5+1\ndimensional observer living on the fivebranes, BPS D-branes in ten dimensions\ngive rise to two kinds of D-branes, which are BPS or non-BPS depending on\nwhether they do or do not wrap the S^1. Their tensions are related, since from\na higher dimensional perspective, they are the same objects. D-branes localized\non the S^1 have a tachyon corresponding to their position on the circle. This\nfield is described by the same Lagrangian as that of a tachyon on a non-BPS\nD-brane in ten dimensions. Its geometrical interpretation is useful for\nclarifying the properties of non-BPS branes in six dimensions. If the lessons\nfrom the six dimensional system can be applied in ten dimensions, the existence\nof non-BPS D-branes seems to suggest the presence of at least one extra\ndimension in critical type II string theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "S-Wave Scattering of Fermion Revisited: A model where a Dirac fermion is coupled to background dilaton field is\nconsidered to study s-wave scattering of fermion by a back ground dilaton black\nhole. It is found that an uncomfortable situation towards information loss\nscenario arises when one loop correction gets involved during bosonization.",
        "positive": "Chiral perturbation theory for GR: We describe a new perturbation theory for General Relativity, with the chiral\nfirst-order Einstein-Cartan action as the starting point. Our main result is a\nnew gauge-fixing procedure that eliminates the connection-to-connection\npropagator. All other known first-order formalisms have this propagator\nnon-zero, which significantly increases the combinatorial complexity of any\nperturbative calculation. In contrast, in the absence of the\nconnection-to-connection propagator, our formalism leads to an effective\ndescription in which only the metric (or tetrad) propagates, there are only\ncubic and quartic vertices, but some vertex legs are special in that they\ncannot be connected by the propagator. The new formalism is the gravity analog\nof the well-known and powerful chiral description of Yang-Mills theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Gravity induced Lorentz invariance violation in the Standard\n  Model:hadrons: The most important problem of fundamental Physics is the quantization of the\ngravitational field. A main difficulty is the lack of available experimental\ntests that discriminate among the theories proposed to quantize gravity.\nRecently we showed that the Standard Model(SM) itself contains tiny Lorentz\ninvariance violation(LIV) terms coming from QG. All terms depend on one\narbitrary parameter $\\alpha$ that set the scale of QG effects. In this paper we\nobtain the LIV for mesons and nucleons and apply it to study several effects,\nincluding the GZK anomaly.",
        "positive": "Non-linear stability of $\u03b1'$-corrected Friedmann equations: We study the non-linear stability of fixed-point solutions to the\n$\\alpha'$-exact equations from O$(d,d)$ invariant cosmology, with and without\nmatter perturbations. Previous non-linear analysis in the literature is\nrevisited, and its compatibility with known linear perturbation results is\nshown. Some formal aspects of cosmological perturbations in duality invariant\ncosmology are discussed, and we show the existence of time-reparameterization\ninvariant variables for perturbations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Inflation on an Open Racetrack: We present a variant of warped D-brane inflation by incorporating multiple\nsets of holomorphically-embedded D7-branes involved in moduli stabilization\nwith extent into a warped throat. The resultant D3-brane motion depends on the\nD7-brane configuration and the relative position of the D3-brane in these\nbackgrounds. The non-perturbative moduli stabilization superpotential takes the\nracetrack form, but the additional D3-brane open string moduli dependence\nprovides more flexibilities in model building. For concreteness, we consider\nD3-brane motion in the warped deformed conifold with the presence of multiple\nD7-branes, and derive the scalar potential valid for the entire throat. By\nexplicit tuning of the microphysical parameters, we obtain inflationary\ntrajectories near an inflection point for various D7-brane configurations.\nMoreover, the open racetrack potential admits approximate Minkowski vacua\nbefore uplifting. We demonstrate with a concrete D-brane inflation model where\nthe Hubble scale during inflation can exceed the gravitino mass. Finally, the\nmultiple sets of D7-branes present in this open racetrack setup also provides a\nmechanism to stabilize the D3-brane to metastable vacua in the intermediate\nregion of the warped throat.",
        "positive": "Induced gravity with complex metric field: The possible existence of a complex metric tensor field is studied. We show\nthat an effective scalar field is induced by an overall phase component of the\ncomplex metric tensor. The corresponding gauge field is shown to be a tachyon.\nPossible implications of this scalar field to the no hair theorem in a\nspherically symmetric space is also analyzed. We also study its impact on the\nevolution of the early universe."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spacelike localization of long-range fields in a model of asymptotic\n  electrodynamics: A previously proposed algebra of asymptotic fields in quantum electrodynamics\nis formulated as a net of algebras localized in regions which in general have\nunbounded spacelike extension. Electromagnetic fields may be localized in\n`symmetrical spacelike cones', but there are strong indications this is not\npossible in the present model for charged fields, which have tails extending in\nall space directions. Nevertheless, products of appropriately `dressed' fermion\nfields (with compensating charges) yield bi-localized observables.",
        "positive": "Inverse magnetic catalysis in holographic models of QCD: We study the effect of magnetic field $B$ on the critical temperature $T_{c}$\nof the confinement-deconfinement phase transition in hard-wall AdS/QCD, and\nholographic duals of flavored and unflavored $\\mathcal{N}=4$ super-Yang Mills\ntheories on $\\mathbb{R}^3\\times \\rm S^1$. For all of the holographic models, we\nfind that $T_{c}(B)$ decreases with increasing magnetic field $B\\ll T^2$,\nconsistent with the inverse magnetic catalysis recently observed in lattice QCD\nfor $B\\lesssim 1~GeV^2$. We also predict that, for large magnetic field $B\\gg\nT^2$, the critical temperature $T_{c}(B)$, eventually, starts to increase with\nincreasing magnetic field $B\\gg T^2$ and asymptotes to a constant value."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Three-point functions at strong coupling in the BMN limit: We consider structure constants of single-trace operators at strong coupling\nin planar $\\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM theory using the hexagon formalism. We\nconcentrate on heavy-heavy-light correlators where the heavy operators are BMN\noperators, with large R-charges and finite anomalous dimensions, and the light\none is a finite-charge chiral primary operator. They describe the couplings\nbetween two highly boosted strings and a supergravity mode in the bulk dual. In\nthe hexagon framework, two sums over virtual magnons are needed to bind the\nhexagons together around the light operator. We evaluate these sums explicitly\nat strong coupling, for a certain choice of BMN operators, and show that they\nfactorise into a ratio of Gamma functions and a simple stringy prefactor. The\nformer originates from giant mirror magnons scanning the AdS geometry while the\nlatter stems from small fluctuations around the BMN vacuum. The resulting\nstructure constants have poles at positions where an enhanced mixing with\ndouble-trace operators is expected and zeros whenever the process is forbidden\nby supersymmetry. We also discuss the transition to the classical regime, when\nthe length of the light operator scales like the string tension, where we\nobserve similitudes with the Neumann coefficients of the pp-wave String Field\nTheory vertex.",
        "positive": "Hamiltonian Formulation of the W-Infinity Minimal Models: The W-infinity minimal models are conformal field theories which can describe\nthe edge excitations of the hierarchical plateaus in the quantum Hall effect.\nIn this paper, these models are described in very explicit terms by using a\nbosonic Fock space with constraints, or, equivalently, with a non-trivial\nHamiltonian. The Fock space is that of the multi-component Abelian conformal\ntheories, which provide another possible description of the hierarchical\nplateaus; in this space, the minimal models are shown to correspond to the\nsub-set of states which satisfy the constraints. This reduction of degrees of\nfreedom can also be implemented by adding a relevant interaction to the\nHamiltonian, leading to a renormalization-group flow between the two theories.\nNext, a physical interpretation of the constraints is obtained by representing\nthe quantum incompressible Hall fluids as generalized Fermi seas. Finally, the\nnon-Abelian statistics of the quasi-particles in the W-infinity minimal models\nis described by computing their correlation functions in the Coulomb Gas\napproach."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A note on the Hamiltonian of the real scalar field: We address the question of ambiguity in defining a Hamiltonian for a scalar\nfield. We point out that the Hamiltonian for a real Klein-Gordon scalar field\nmust be consistent with the energy density obtained from the Schrodinger\nequation in the non-relativistic regime. To achieve this we had to add some\nsurface terms (total divergencies) to the standard Hamiltonian, which in\ngeneral will not change the equations of motion, but will redefine energy. As\nan additional requirement, a Hamiltonian must be able to reproduce the\nequations of motion directly from Hamilton's equations defined by the principle\nof the least action. We find that the standard Hamiltonian does not always do\nso and that the proposed Hamiltonian provides a good non-relativistic limit.\nThis is a hint that something as simple as the Hamiltonian of the real\nKlein-Gordon scalar field has to be treated carefully. We had illustrated our\ndiscussion with an explicit example of the kink solution.",
        "positive": "Rigidity and stability of cold dark solid universe model: Observational evidence suggests that the large scale dynamics of the universe\nis presently dominated by dark energy, meaning a non-luminous cosmological\nconstituent with a negative value of the pressure to density ratio $w=P/\\rho$,\nwhich would be unstable if purely fluid, but could be stable if effectively\nsolid with sufficient rigidity. It was suggested by Bucher and Spergel that\nsuch a solid constituent might be constituted by an effectively cold (meaning\napproximately static) distribution of cosmic strings with $w=-1/3$, or\nmembranes with the observationally more favoured value $w=-2/3$, but it was not\nestablished whether the rigidity in such models actually would be sufficient\nfor stabilisation. The present article provides an explicit evaluation of the\nrigidity to density ratio, which is shown to be given in both string and\nmembrane cases by $\\mu/\\rho=4/15$, and it is confirmed that this is indeed\nsufficient for stabilisation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Zero-point energy of massless scalar fields in the presence of soft and\n  semihard boundaries in D dimensions: The renormalized energy density of a massless scalar field defined in a\nD-dimensional flat spacetime is computed in the presence of \"soft\" and\n\"semihard\" boundaries, modeled by some smoothly increasing potential functions.\nThe sign of the renormalized energy densities for these different confining\nsituations is investigated. The dependence of this energy on $D$ for the cases\nof \"hard\" and \"soft/semihard\" boundaries are compared.",
        "positive": "Stability in Einstein-Scalar Gravity with a Logarithmic Branch: We investigate the non-perturbative stability of asymptotically anti-de\nSitter gravity coupled to tachyonic scalar fields with mass saturating the\nBreitenlohner-Freedman bound. Such \"designer gravity\" theories admit a large\nclass of boundary conditions at asymptotic infinity. At this mass, the\nasymptotic behavior of the scalar field develops a logarithmic branch, and\nprevious attempts at proving a minimum energy theorem failed due to a large\nradius divergence in the spinor charge. In this paper, we finally resolve this\nissue and derive a lower bound on the conserved energy. Just as for masses\nslightly above the BF bound, a given scalar potential can admit two possible\nbranches of the corresponding superpotential, one analytic and one\nnon-analytic. The key point again is that existence of the non-analytic branch\nis necessary for the energy bound to hold. We discuss several AdS/CFT\napplications of this result, including the use of double-trace deformations to\ninduce spontaneous symmetry breaking."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Matrix Models and 2D Critical String Theory --2D Black Hole by c=1\n  Matrix Model--: (Lecture at the workshop \"Basic Problems in String Theory\", Yukawa Institute\nfor Theoretical Physics, Kyoto, October 19-21) In this talk, we first review\nthe possibility of matrix models toward a nonperturbative (critical) string\ntheory. We then discuss whether the $c=1$ matrix model can describe the black\nhole solution of 2D critical string theory. We show that there exists a class\nof integral transformations which send the Virasoro condition for the tachyon\nfield around the 2D black hole to that around the linear dilaton vacuum. In\nparticular, we construct an explicit integral formula wihich describes a\ncontinuous deformation of the linear dilaton vacuum to the black hole\nbackground.",
        "positive": "Butterfly Velocities for Holographic Theories of General Spacetimes: The butterfly velocity characterizes the spread of correlations in a quantum\nsystem. Recent work has provided a method of calculating the butterfly velocity\nof a class of boundary operators using holographic duality. Utilizing this and\na presumed extension of the canonical holographic correspondence of AdS/CFT, we\ninvestigate the butterfly velocities of operators with bulk duals living in\ngeneral spacetimes. We analyze some ubiquitous issues in calculating butterfly\nvelocities using the bulk effective theory, and then extend the previously\nproposed method to include operators in entanglement shadows. We explicitly\ncompute butterfly velocities for bulk local operators in the holographic theory\nof flat Friedmann-Robertson-Walker spacetimes and find a universal scaling\nbehavior for the spread of operators in the boundary theory, independent of\ndimension and fluid components. This result may suggest that a Lifshitz field\ntheory with z = 4 is the appropriate holographic dual for these spacetimes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A note on backreacting flavors from calibrated geometry: One of the main problems in the search for string duals with backreacting,\nsmeared flavors is the construction of a suitable source density. We review how\nthis issue may be addressed using generalized calibrated geometry.",
        "positive": "Mirror Symmetry, Mirror Map and Applications to Complete Intersection\n  Calabi-Yau Spaces: We extend the discussion of mirror symmetry, Picard-Fuchs equations,\ninstanton-corrected Yukawa couplings, and the topological one-loop partition\nfunction to the case of complete intersections with higher-dimensional moduli\nspaces. We will develop a new method of obtaining the instanton-corrected\nYukawa couplings through a close study of the solutions of the Picard-Fuchs\nequations. This leads to closed formulas for the prepotential for the K\\\"ahler\nmoduli fields induced from the ambient space for all complete intersections in\nnon singular weighted projective spaces. As examples we treat part of the\nmoduli space of the phenomenologically interesting three-generation models that\nare found in this class. We also apply our method to solve the simplest model\nin which a topology change was observed and discuss examples of complete\nintersections in singular ambient spaces."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Prepotentials of N=2 SU(2) Yang-Mills theories coupled with massive\n  matter multiplets: We discuss N=2 SU(2) Yang-Mills gauge theories coupled with N_f (=2,3)\nmassive hypermultiplets in the weak coupling limit. We determine the exact\nmassive prepotentials and the monodromy matrices around the weak coupling\nlimit. We also study that the double scaling limit of these massive theories\nand find that the massive N_f -1 theory can be obtained from the massive N_f\ntheory. New formulae for the massive prepotentials and the monodromy matrices\nare proposed. In these formulae, N_f dependences are clarified.",
        "positive": "Asymmetric Orbifold Models of Non-supersymmetric Heterotic Strings: We investigate asymmetric orbifold models constructed from non-supersymmetric\nheterotic strings. We systematically classify the asymmetric orbifold models\nwith standard embeddings and present a list of asymmetric orbifolds which are\ngeometrically interpreted as toroidal compactifications of non-supersymmetric\nheterotic strings. By studying non-standard embedding models, we also construct\nexamples of the {\\em supersymmetric} asymmetric orbifold models based on\nnon-supersymmetric heterotic strings."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the boundary conditions in deformed quantum mechanics with minimal\n  length uncertainty: We find the coordinate space wave functions, maximal localization states, and\nquasiposition wave functions in a GUP framework that implies a minimal length\nuncertainty using a formally self-adjoint representation. We show that how the\nboundary conditions in quasiposition space can be exactly determined from the\nboundary conditions in coordinate space.",
        "positive": "Planck Scale from Broken Local Conformal Invariance in Weyl Geometry: It is shown that in the quadratic gravity based on Weyl's conformal geometry,\nthe Planck mass scale can be generated from quantum effects of the\ngravitational field and the Weyl gauge field via the Coleman-Weinberg mechanism\nwhere a local scale symmetry, that is, conformal symmetry, is broken. At the\nsame time, the Weyl gauge field acquires mass less than the Planck mass by\nabsorbing the dilaton. The shape of the effective potential is almost flat\nowing to a gravitational character and high symmetries, so our model would\nprovide an attractive model for the inflationary universe. We also present a\ntoy model showing spontaneous symmetry breakdown of a scale symmetry by moving\nfrom the Jordan frame to the Einstein one, and point out its problem."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Localised and nonuniform thermal states of super-Yang-Mills on a circle: At low energies or temperatures, maximally supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory\non $\\mathbb R^{(t)}\\times S^1$ with large $N$ gauge group $SU(N)$ and strong\nt'Hooft coupling is conjectured to be dual to the low energy dynamics of a\ncollection of D0-branes on a circle. We construct thermal states in the\ngravitational side of the correspondence where we find a first-order phase\ntransition between states that are uniform on the $S^1$ and states that are\nlocalised on it. When compared with lattice computations that are now\navailable, these critical values provide the first instance where a first-order\nphase transition is tested on both sides of gauge/gravity duality.",
        "positive": "Exact solutions for some N=2 supersymmetric SO(N) gauge theories with\n  vectors and spinors: We find exact solutions for N=2 supersymmetric SO(N), N=7,9,10,11,12 gauge\ntheories with matter in the fundamental and spinor representation. These\ntheories, with specific numbers of vectors and spinors, arise naturally in the\ncompactification of type IIA string theory on suitably chosen Calabi-Yau\nthreefolds. Exact solutions are obtained by using mirror symmetry to find the\ncorresponding type IIB compactification. We propose generalizations of these\nresults to cases with arbitrary numbers of massive vectors and spinors."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spontaneous breaking of conformal invariance, solitons and gravitational\n  waves in theories of conformally invariant gravitation: We study conformal gravity as an alternative theory of gravitation. For\nconformal gravity to be phenomenologically viable requires that the conformal\nsymmetry is not manifest at the energy scales of the other known physical\nforces. Hence we require a mechanism for the spontaneous breaking of conformal\ninvariance. In this paper we study the possibility that conformal invariance is\nspontaneously broken due to interactions with conformally coupled matter\nfields. The vacuum of the theory admits conformally non-invariant solutions\ncorresponding to maximally symmetric space-times and variants thereof. These\nare either de Sitter space-time or anti-de Sitter space-time in the full four\nspace-time dimensions or in a lower dimensional sub-space. We consider in\nparticular normalizable, linearized gravitational perturbations around the\nanti-de Sitter background. Exploiting the conformal flatness of this\nspace-time, we show to second order, that these gravitational fluctuations,\nthat are taken to be fourier decomposable, carry zero energy-momentum. This\nsquares well with the theorem that asymptotically flat space-times conformal\ngravity contain zero energy and momentum \\cite{bhs}. We also show the\npossibility of domain wall solitons interpolating between the ground states of\nspontaneously broken conformal symmetry that we have found. These solitons\nnecessarily require the vanishing of the scalar field, repudiating the recent\nsuggestion \\cite{f} that the conformal symmetry could be quarantined to a\nsterile sector of the theory by choosing an appropriate field redefinition.",
        "positive": "Comparing strings in AdS(5)xS(5) to planar diagrams: an example: The correlator of a Wilson loop with a local operator in N=4 SYM theory can\nbe represented by a string amplitude in AdS(5)xS(5). This amplitude describes\nan overlap of the boundary state, which is associated with the loop, with the\nstring mode, which is dual to the local operator. For chiral primary operators\nwith a large R charge, the amplitude can be calculated by semiclassical\ntechniques. We compare the semiclassical string amplitude to the SYM\nperturbation theory and find an exact agrement to the first two non-vanishing\norders."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "D=11 SUGRA as the Low Energy Effective Action of Matrix Theory: Three\n  Form Scattering: We employ the LSZ reduction formula for Matrix Theory introduced in our\nearlier work to compute the t-pole S-matrix for three form-three form\nscattering. The result agrees completely with tree level D=11 SUGRA. Taken\ntogether with previous results on graviton-graviton scattering this shows that\nMatrix Theory indeed reproduces the bosonic sector of the D=11 SUGRA action\nincluding the Chern-Simons term. Furthermore we provide a detailed account of\nour framework along with the technology to compute any Matrix Theory one-loop\nt-pole scattering amplitude at vanishing p^- exchange.",
        "positive": "The structure of invariants in conformal mechanics: We investigate the integrals of motion of general conformal mechanical\nsystems with and without confining harmonic potential as well as of the related\nangular subsystems, by employing the SL(2,R) algebra and its representations.\nIn particular, via the tensor product of two representations we construct new\nintegrals of motion from old ones. Furthermore, the temporally periodic\nobservables (including the integrals) of the angular subsystem are explicitly\nrelated to those of the full system in a confining harmonic potential. The\ntechniques are illustrated for the rational Calogero models and their angular\nsubsystems, where they generalize known methods for obtaining conserved charges\nbeyond the Liouville ones."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Classical A_n--W-Geometry: This is a detailed development for the $A_n$ case, of our previous article\nentitled \"W-Geometries\" to be published in Phys. Lett. It is shown that the\n$A_n$--W-geometry corresponds to chiral surfaces in $CP^n$. This is comes out\nby discussing 1) the extrinsic geometries of chiral surfaces (Frenet-Serret and\nGauss-Codazzi equations) 2) the KP coordinates (W-parametrizations) of the\ntarget-manifold, and their fermionic (tau-function) description, 3) the\nintrinsic geometries of the associated chiral surfaces in the Grassmannians,\nand the associated higher instanton- numbers of W-surfaces. For regular points,\nthe Frenet-Serret equations for $CP^n$--W-surfaces are shown to give the\ngeometrical meaning of the $A_n$-Toda Lax pair, and of the conformally-reduced\nWZNW models, and Drinfeld-Sokolov equations. KP coordinates are used to show\nthat W-transformations may be extended as particular diffeomorphisms of the\ntarget-space. This leads to higher-dimensional generalizations of the WZNW and\nDS equations. These are related with the Zakharov- Shabat equations. For\nsingular points, global Pl\\\"ucker formulae are derived by combining the\n$A_n$-Toda equations with the Gauss-Bonnet theorem written for each of the\nassociated surfaces.",
        "positive": "An operator approach to BRST invariant transition amplitudes: The transition amplitudes for the free spinless and spinning relativistic\nparticles are obtained by applying an operator method developed long ago by\nDirac and Schwinger to the BFV form of the BRST theory for constrained systems."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "From Linear SUSY to Constrained Superfields: We present a new formalism for finding the low-energy effective Lagrangian of\nGoldstinos and other fields. This Lagrangian is written using standard\nsuperspace and the superfields are constrained to include only the light\ndegrees of freedom. The Goldstino resides in a (constrained) chiral superfield\nX which is naturally identified at short distances. This allows us to exactly\ncompute the IR behavior of some correlation functions even in strongly coupled\ntheories with SUSY breaking. The Goldstino couplings above the scale of the\nmatter superpartners are determined by identifying X with the standard spurion.\nAt energies below the superpartners' scale, fermions, scalars (including\nGoldstone bosons) and gauge fields are also described by constrained\nsuperfields. Our framework makes it easy to find the leading order terms in the\nLagrangian and to control their corrections. It simplifies the derivation of\nmany known results and leads to new ones.",
        "positive": "4-Manifold Topology, Donaldson-Witten Theory, Floer Homology and Higher\n  Gauge Theory Methods in the BV-BFV Formalism: We study the behavior of Donaldson's invariants of 4-manifolds based on the\nmoduli space of anti self-dual connections (instantons) in the perturbative\nfield theory setting where the underlying source manifold has boundary. It is\nwell-known that these invariants take values in the instanton Floer homology\ngroups of the boundary 3-manifold. Gluing formulae for these constructions lead\nto a functorial topological field theory description according to a system of\naxioms developed by Atiyah, which can be also regarded in the setting of\nperturbative quantum field theory, as it was shown by Witten, using a version\nof supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory, known today as Donaldson-Witten theory.\nOne can actually formulate an AKSZ model which recovers this theory for a\ncertain gauge-fixing. We consider these constructions in a perturbative quantum\ngauge formalism for manifolds with boundary that is compatible with cutting and\ngluing, called the BV-BFV formalism, which was recently developed by Cattaneo,\nMnev and Reshetikhin. We prove that this theory satisfies a modified Quantum\nMaster Equation and extend the result to a global picture when perturbing\naround constant background fields. Additionally, we relate these constructions\nto Nekrasov's partition function by treating an equivariant version of\nDonaldson-Witten theory in the BV formalism. Moreover, we discuss the\nextension, as well as the relation, to higher gauge theory and enumerative\ngeometry methods, such as Gromov-Witten and Donaldson-Thomas theory and recall\ntheir correspondence conjecture for general Calabi-Yau 3-folds. In particular,\nwe discuss the corresponding (relative) partition functions, defined as the\ngenerating function for the given invariants, and gluing phenomena."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Page Curve for Reflected Entropy: We study the reflected entropy $S_R$ in the West Coast Model, a toy model of\nblack hole evaporation consisting of JT gravity coupled to end-of-the-world\nbranes. We demonstrate the validity of the holographic duality relating it to\nthe entanglement wedge cross section away from phase transitions. Further, we\nanalyze the important non-perturbative effects that smooth out the\ndiscontinuity in the $S_R$ phase transition. By performing the gravitational\npath integral, we obtain the reflected entanglement spectrum analytically. The\nspectrum takes a simple form consisting of superselection sectors, which we\ninterpret as a direct sum of geometries, a disconnected one and a connected one\ninvolving a closed universe. We find that area fluctuations of $O(\\sqrt{G_N})$\nspread out the $S_R$ phase transition in the canonical ensemble, analogous to\nthe entanglement entropy phase transition. We also consider a Renyi\ngeneralization of the reflected entropy and show that the location of the phase\ntransition varies as a function of the Renyi parameter.",
        "positive": "Mirage Torsion: Z_NxZ_M orbifold models admit the introduction of a discrete torsion phase.\nWe find that models with discrete torsion have an alternative description in\nterms of torsionless models. More specifically, discrete torsion can be 'gauged\naway' by changing the shifts by lattice vectors. Similarly, a large class of\nthe so-called generalized discrete torsion phases can be traded for changing\nthe background fields (Wilson lines) by lattice vectors. We further observe\nthat certain models with generalized discrete torsion are equivalent to\ntorsionless models with the same gauge embedding but based on different\ncompactification lattices. We also present a method of classifying heterotic\nZ_NxZ_M orbifolds."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Off-shell $N=2\\to N=1$ reduction in 4D conformal supergravity: We discuss $N=2\\to N=1$ reduction in four dimensional conformal supergravity.\nIn particular, we keep the off-shell structure of supermultiplets (except\nhypermultiplets). As we will show, starting with (almost) off-shell conformal\nsupergravity makes the procedure simpler than that from $N=2$ Poincar\\'e\nsupergravity, which makes it easier to show the correspondence to the standard\n$N=1$ conformal supergravity. We find that the $N=1$ superconformal symmetry is\nsimply realized by truncating the gravitino multiplet. We also discuss the\nconsistency with the original $N=2$ system and show the reduced $N=1$ conformal\nsupergravity action.",
        "positive": "The emergence of flagpole and flag-dipole fermions in fluid/gravity\n  correspondence: The emergence of flagpole and flag-dipole singular spinor fields is explored,\nin the context of fermionic sectors of fluid/gravity correspondence, arising\nfrom the duality between the gravitino, in supergravity, and the phonino, in\nsupersymmetric hydrodynamics. Generalized black branes, whose particular case\nconsists of the AdS--Schwarzschild black brane, are regarded. The\ncorrespondence between hydrodynamic transport coefficients, and the universal\nabsorption cross sections of the generalized black branes, is extended to\nfermionic sectors, including supersound diffusion constants. A free parameter,\nin the generalized black brane solution, is shown to control the flipping\nbetween regular and singular fermionic solutions of the equations of motion for\nthe gravitino."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Nonrelativistic Chern-Simons Vortices on the Torus: A classification of all periodic self-dual static vortex solutions of the\nJackiw-Pi model is given. Physically acceptable solutions of the Liouville\nequation are related to a class of functions which we term\nOmega-quasi-elliptic. This class includes, in particular, the elliptic\nfunctions and also contains a function previously investigated by Olesen. Some\nexamples of solutions are studied numerically and we point out a peculiar\nphenomenon of lost vortex charge in the limit where the period lengths tend to\ninfinity, that is, in the planar limit.",
        "positive": "The giant graviton on AdS_{4} x CP^{3} - another step towards the\n  emergence of geometry: We construct the giant graviton on AdS_{4} x CP^{3} out of a four-brane\nembedded in and moving on the complex projective space. This configuration is\ndual to the totally anti-symmetric Schur polynomial operator\n\\chi_{R}(A_{1}B_{1}) in the 2+1-dimensional, N = 6 super Chern-Simons ABJM\ntheory. We demonstrate that this BPS solution of the D4-brane action is\nenergetically degenerate with the point graviton solution and initiate a study\nof its spectrum of small fluctuations. Although the full computation of this\nspectrum proves to be analytically intractable, by perturbing around a \"small'\"\ngiant graviton, we find good evidence for a dependence of the spectrum on the\nsize, \\alpha_{0}, of the giant. This is a direct result of the changing shape\nof the worldvolume as it grows in size."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A new symmetry of the colored Alexander polynomial: We present a new conjectural symmetry of the colored Alexander polynomial,\nthat is the specialization of the quantum $\\mathfrak{sl}_N$ invariant widely\nknown as the colored HOMFLY-PT polynomial. We provide arguments in support of\nthe existence of the symmetry by studying the loop expansion and the character\nexpansion of the colored HOMFLY-PT polynomial. We study the constraints this\nsymmetry imposes on the group theoretic structure of the loop expansion and\nprovide solutions to those constraints. The symmetry is a powerful tool for\nresearch on polynomial knot invariants and in the end we suggest several\npossible applications of the symmetry.",
        "positive": "String Bits and Gluing of Metastring Strips: In this essay, we review the meta-string formulation proposed by Freidel,\nLeigh, Minic in a recent paper. Our work focuses on the construction of a\nclosed-string world-sheet from gluing of Nakamura strips. We review the\nsymplectic current formulation for determining the gluing condition for a\nsingle strip. We then study the two-strip scenario in a new notation to\nrigorously derive the boundary equations of motion and finally generalize our\nresult to N -strips. We find the conjugate momenta to the strip separation\nvariable and relate it to the midpoint velocity of a strip. We see the natural\nevolution of meta-D-branes in meta- string theory from the strip picture.\nFinally, we motivate and show the connection of the strip picture to the\nstring-bit picture put forward by Klebanov and Susskind and conjecture the\nrelation to the Chan-Paton factors."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exact Equation for Wilson Loops in 2-Dimentional Euclidean Space: We derive an exact equation for simple self non-intersecting Wilson loops in\nnon-abelian gauge theories with gauge fields interacting with fermions in\n2-dimensional Euclidean space.",
        "positive": "The limits of the strong $CP$ problem: While $CP$ violation has never been observed in the strong interactions, the\nQCD Lagrangian admits a $CP$-odd topological interaction proportional to the so\ncalled $\\theta$ angle, which weighs the contributions to the partition function\nfrom different topological sectors. The observational bounds are usually\ninterpreted as demanding a severe tuning of $\\theta$ against the phases of the\nquark masses, which constitutes the strong $CP$ problem. Here we report on\nrecent challenges to this view based on a careful treatment of boundary\nconditions in the path integral and of the limit of infinite spacetime volume,\nwhich leads to $\\theta$ dropping out of fermion correlation functions and\nbecoming unobservable, implying that $CP$ is preserved in QCD."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chern-Simons action for zero-mode supporting gauge fields in three\n  dimensions: Recent results on zero modes of the Abelian Dirac operator in three\ndimensions support to some degree the conjecture that the Chern-Simons action\nadmits only certain quantized values for gauge fields that lead to zero modes\nof the corresponding Dirac operator. Here we show that this conjecture is wrong\nby constructing an explicit counter-example.",
        "positive": "Convergent WKB Series: A set of simple exactly solvable potentials are shown to have convergent WKB\nseries. The resulting all-orders quantisation conditions provide a unified\ndescription of all known cases where an exact WKB quantisation condition has\nbeen obtained by modifying the potential with Langer-style terms, together with\nseveral new examples."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dark Energy, $H_0$ and Weak Gravity Conjecture: We point out that the physics at the extreme IR---cosmology---might provide\ntests of the physics of the extreme UV---the Weak Gravity Conjecture. The\ncurrent discrepancies in the determination of $H_0$ may hint at a modification\nof $\\Lambda$CDM. An extension which may fit better comprises of an early\ncontribution to dark energy which `decays' into relativistic matter. On the\nother hand the discourse on WGC to date suggests that fields which support\ncosmic acceleration may produce relativistic matter after they traverse a\n$\\sim$ Planckian distance in field space. We explain how this offers a simple\nrealization of the requisite cosmic phenomenology. Thus if the resolution of\n$H_0$ discrepancies is really early dark energy that ends with a shower of\nrelativistic matter and the current ideas on WGC are indicative, this may be a\nrare opportunity to link the two extreme limits of quantum field theory.",
        "positive": "Towards a four-loop form factor: The four-loop, two-point form factor contains the first non-planar correction\nto the lightlike cusp anomalous dimension. This anomalous dimension is a\nuniversal function which appears in many applications. Its planar part in N = 4\nSYM is known, in principle, exactly from AdS/CFT and integrability while its\nnon-planar part has been conjectured to vanish. The integrand of the form\nfactor of the stress-tensor multiplet in N = 4 SYM including the non-planar\npart was obtained in previous work. We parametrise the difficulty of\nintegrating this integrand. We have obtained a basis of master integrals for\nall integrals in the four-loop, two-point class in two ways. First, we computed\nan IBP reduction of the integrand of the N = 4 form factor using massive\ncomputer algebra (Reduze). Second, we computed a list of master integrals based\non methods of the Mint package, suitably extended using Macaulay2 / Singular.\nThe master integrals obtained in both ways are consistent with some minor\nexceptions. The second method indicates that the master integrals apply beyond\nN = 4 SYM, in particular to QCD. The numerical integration of several of the\nmaster integrals will be reported and remaining obstacles will be outlined"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "N=2 SUSY gauge theories on S^4: We review exact results in N=2 supersymmetric gauge theories defined on S^4\nand its deformation. We first summarize the construction of rigid SUSY theories\non curved backgrounds based on off-shell supergravity, then explain how to\napply localization principle to supersymmetric path integrals. Closed formulae\nfor partition function as well as expectation values of non-local BPS\nobservables are presented.",
        "positive": "Mass gap for a monopole interacting with a nonlinear spinor field: Within SU(2) Yang-Mills theory with a source of the non-Abelian gauge field\nin the form of a classical spinor field, we study the dependence of the mass\ngap on the coupling constant between the gauge and nonlinear spinor fields. It\nis shown that the total dimensionless energy of the monopole interacting with\nthe nonlinear spinor fields depends only on the dimensionless coupling\nconstant."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Center Vortices, Nexuses, and the Georgi-Glashow Model: In a gauge theory with no Higgs fields the mechanism for confinement is by\ncenter vortices, but in theories with adjoint Higgs fields and generic symmetry\nbreaking, such as the Georgi-Glashow model, Polyakov showed that in d=3\nconfinement arises via a condensate of 't Hooft-Polyakov monopoles. We study\nthe connection in d=3 between pure-gauge theory and the theory with adjoint\nHiggs by varying the Higgs VEV v. As one lowers v from the Polyakov semi-\nclassical regime v>>g (g is the gauge coupling) toward zero, where the unbroken\ntheory lies, one encounters effects associated with the unbroken theory at a\nfinite value v\\sim g, where dynamical mass generation of a gauge-symmetric\ngauge- boson mass m\\sim g^2 takes place, in addition to the Higgs-generated\nnon-symmetric mass M\\sim vg. This dynamical mass generation is forced by the\ninfrared instability (in both 3 and 4 dimensions) of the pure-gauge theory. We\nconstruct solitonic configurations of the theory with both m,M non-zero which\nare generically closed loops consisting of nexuses (a class of soliton recently\nstudied for the pure-gauge theory), each paired with an antinexus, sitting like\nbeads on a string of center vortices with vortex fields always pointing into\n(out of) a nexus (antinexus); the vortex magnetic fields extend a transverse\ndistance 1/m. An isolated nexus with vortices is continuously deformable from\nthe 't Hooft-Polyakov (m=0) monopole to the pure-gauge nexus-vortex complex\n(M=0). In the pure-gauge M=0 limit the homotopy $\\Pi_2(SU(2)/U(1))=Z_2$ (or its\nanalog for SU(N)) of the 't Hooft monopoles is no longer applicable, and is\nreplaced by the center-vortex homotopy $\\Pi_1(SU)N)/Z_N)=Z_N$.",
        "positive": "Chiral Algebra, Localization, Modularity, Surface defects, And All That: We study the 2D vertex operator algebra (VOA) construction in 4D\n$\\mathcal{N}=2$ superconformal field theories (SCFT) on $S^3 \\times S^1$,\nfocusing both on old puzzles as well as new observations. The VOA lives on a\ntwo-torus $\\mathbb{T}^2\\subset S^3\\times S^1$, it is\n$\\frac12\\mathbb{Z}$-graded, and this torus is equipped with the natural choice\nof spin structure (1,0) for the $\\mathbb{Z} +\\frac12$-graded operators,\ncorresponding to the NS sector vacuum character. By analyzing the possible\nrefinements of the Schur index that preserve the VOA, we find that it admits\ndiscrete deformations, which allow access to the remaining spin structures\n(1,1), (0,1) and (0,0), of which the latter two involve the inclusion of a\nparticular surface defect. For Lagrangian theories, we perform the detailed\nanalysis: we describe the natural supersymmetric background, perform\nlocalization, and derive the gauged symplectic boson action on a torus in any\nspin structure. In the absence of flavor fugacities, the 2D and 4D path\nintegrals precisely match, including the Casimir factors. We further analyze\nthe 2D theory: we identify its integration cycle, the two-point functions, and\ninterpret flavor holonomies as screening charges in the VOA. Next, we make some\nobservations about modularity; the $T$-transformation acts on our four\npartition functions and lifts to a large diffeomorphism on $S^3\\times S^1$.\nMore interestingly, we generalize the four partition functions on the torus to\nan infinite family labeled both by the spin structure and the integration cycle\ninside the complexified maximal torus of the gauge group. Members of this\nfamily transform into one another under the full modular group, and we confirm\nthe recent observation that the $S$-transform of the Schur index in Lagrangian\ntheories exhibits logarithmic behavior. Finally, we comment on how locally our\nbackground reproduces the $\\Omega$-background."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Use of Physical Variables in the Chern-Simons Theories: The use of the physical variables in the fashion of Dirac in the\nthree-dimensional Chern-Simons theories is presented. Our previous results are\nreinterpreted in a new aspect.",
        "positive": "Ladder Operators in Repulsive Harmonic Oscillator with Application to\n  the Schwinger Effect: The ladder operators in harmonic oscillator are a well-known strong tool for\nvarious problems in physics. In the same sense, it is sometimes expected to\nhandle the problems of repulsive harmonic oscillator in a similar way to the\nladder operators in harmonic oscillators, though their analytic solutions are\nwell known. In this paper, we discuss a simple algebraic way to introduce the\nladder operators of the repulsive harmonic oscillators, which can reproduce\nwell-known analytic solutions. Applying this formalism, we discuss the charged\nparticles in a constant electric field in relation to the Schwinger effect; the\ndiscussion is also made on a supersymmetric extension of this formalism."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Vacuum Energy of Self-Similar Configurations: We offer in this review a description of the vacuum energy of self-similar\nsystems. We describe two views of setting self-similar structures and point out\nthe main differences. A review of the authors' work on the subject is\npresented, where they treat the self-similar system as a many-object problem\nembedded in a regular smooth manifold. Focused on Dirichlet boundary\nconditions, we report a systematic way of calculating the Casimir energy of\nself-similar bodies where the knowledge of the quantum vacuum energy of the\nsingle building block element is assumed and in fact already known. A\nfundamental property that allows us to proceed with our method is the\ndependence of the energy on a geometrical parameter that makes it possible to\nestablish the scaling property of self-similar systems. Several examples are\ngiven. We also describe the situation, shown by other authors, where the\nembedded space is a fractal space itself, having fractal dimension. A fractal\nspace does not hold properties that are rather common in regular spaces like\nthe tangent space. We refer to other authors who explain how some self-similar\nconfigurations \"do not have any smooth structures and one cannot define\ndifferential operators on them directly\". This gives rise to important\ndifferences in the behavior of the vacuum.",
        "positive": "Duality and asymptotic geometries: We consider a series of duality transformations that leads to a constant\nshift in the harmonic functions appearing in the description of a configuration\nof branes. This way, for several intersections of branes, we can relate the\noriginal brane configuration which is asymptotically flat to a geometry of the\ntype $adS_k \\xx E^l \\xx S^m$. The implications of our results for supersymmetry\nenhancement, M(atrix) theory at finite N, and for supergravity theories in\ndiverse dimensions are discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A minimal BV action for Vasiliev's four-dimensional higher spin gravity: The action principle for Vasiliev's four-dimensional higher-spin gravity\nproposed recently by two of the authors, is converted into a minimal BV master\naction using the AKSZ procedure, which amounts to replacing the classical\ndifferential forms by vectorial superfields of fixed total degree given by the\nsum of form degree and ghost number. The nilpotency of the BRST operator is\nachieved by imposing boundary conditions and choosing appropriate gauge\ntransitions between charts leading to a globally-defined formulation based on a\nprincipal bundle.",
        "positive": "Nonperturbative Field Correlators in the Abelian Higgs Model: By making use of the duality transformation, gauge field correlators of the\nAbelian Higgs Model are studied in the London limit. The obtained results are\nin a good agreement with the dual Meissner scenario of confinement and with the\nStochastic Model of QCD vacuum. The nontrivial contribution to the quartic\ncorrelator arising due to accounting for the finiteness of the coupling\nconstant is discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Boundary stress tensors for spherically symmetric conformal Rindler\n  observers: The boundary energy - momentum tensors for a static observer in the\nconformally flat Rindler geometry are considered. We found the surface energy\nis positive far form the Planck world but the transversal pressures are\nnegative. The kinematical parameters associated to a nongeodesic congruence of\nstatic observers are computed. The entropy $S$ corresponding to the degrees of\nfreedom on the two surface of constant $\\rho$ and $t$ equals the horizon\nentropy of a black hole with a time dependent mass and the Padmanabhan\nexpression $E = 2 S T$ is obeyed. The two surface shear tensor is vanishing but\nthe coefficient of the bulk viscosity $\\zeta$ is $1/16 \\pi$ and therefore the\nnegative pressure due to it acts as a surface tension.",
        "positive": "Critical Super F-theories: We present F-theories that reduce to 10D Type II Green-Schwarz superstrings.\nThey vary in manifest U-duality according to division between spacetime and\n\"internal\" coordinates. They are defined by selfdual current superalgebras in\nhigher worldvolume dimensions with manifest $\\mathrm G\\times \\mathrm G'$\nsymmetry where the spacetime symmetry $\\mathrm G=\\mathrm E_{n(n)}$ ranges over\nthe (split form of the) exceptional groups with ranks $n=\\mathrm D+1 \\leq 7$\nand the internal symmetry $\\mathrm {G'= GL(10-D)}$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Defects in conformal field theory: We discuss consequences of the breaking of conformal symmetry by a flat or\nspherical extended operator. We adapt the embedding formalism to the study of\ncorrelation functions of symmetric traceless tensors in the presence of the\ndefect. Two-point functions of a bulk and a defect primary are fixed by\nconformal invariance up to a set of OPE coefficients, and we identify the\nallowed tensor structures. A correlator of two bulk primaries depends on two\ncross-ratios, and we study its conformal block decomposition in the case of\nexternal scalars. The Casimir equation in the defect channel reduces to a\nhypergeometric equation, while the bulk channel blocks are recursively\ndetermined in the light-cone limit. In the special case of a defect of\ncodimension two, we map the Casimir equation in the bulk channel to the one of\na four-point function without defect. Finally, we analyze the contact terms of\nthe stress-tensor with the extended operator, and we deduce constraints on the\nCFT data. In two dimensions, we relate the displacement operator, which appears\namong the contact terms, to the reflection coefficient of a conformal\ninterface, and we find unitarity bounds for the latter.",
        "positive": "On the Stress Tensor of Kerr/CFT: The recently-conjectured Kerr/CFT correspondence posits a field theory dual\nto dynamics in the near-horizon region of an extreme Kerr black hole with\ncertain boundary conditions. We construct a boundary stress tensor for this\ntheory via covariant phase space techniques. The structure of the stress tensor\nindicates that any dual theory is a discrete light cone quantum theory, in\nagreement with recent arguments by Balasubramanian et al. The key technical\nstep in our construction is the addition of an appropriate counter-term to the\nsymplectic structure, which is necessary to make the theory fully covariant and\nto resolve a subtle problem involving the integrability of charges."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauge field localization on Abelian vortices in six dimensions: The vector and tensor fluctuations of vortices localizing gravity in the\ncontext of the six-dimensional Abelian Higgs model are studied. These\nstring-like solutions break spontaneously six-dimensional Poincar\\'e invariance\nleading to a finite four-dimensional Planck mass and to a regular geometry both\nin the bulk and on the core of the vortex. While the tensor modes of the metric\nare decoupled and exhibit a normalizable zero mode, the vector fluctuations,\npresent in the gauge sector of the theory, are naturally coupled to the\ngraviphoton fields associated with the vector perturbations of the warped\ngeometry. Using the invariance under infinitesimal diffeomorphisms, it is found\nthat the zero modes of the graviphoton fields are never localized. On the\ncontrary,the fluctuations of the Abelian gauge field itself admit a\nnormalizable zero mode.",
        "positive": "Supergravity and a Bogomol'nyi Bound in Three Dimensions: We discuss the $2+1$ dimensional Abelian Higgs model coupled to $N=2$\nsupergravity. We construct the supercharge algebra and, from it, we show that\nthe mass of classical static solutions is bounded from below by the topological\ncharge. As it happens in the global case, half of the supersymmetry is broken\nwhen the bound is attained and Bogomol'nyi equations, resulting from the\nunbroken supersymmetry, hold. These equations, which correspond to gravitating\nvortices, include a first order self-duality equation whose integrability\ncondition reproduces the Einstein equation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The spectrum of anomalous magnetohydrodynamics: The equations of anomalous magnetohydrodynamics describe an Abelian plasma\nwhere conduction and chiral currents are simultaneously present and constrained\nby the second law of thermodynamics. At high frequencies the magnetic currents\nplay the leading role and the spectrum is dominated by two-fluid effects. The\nsystem behaves instead as a single fluid in the low-frequency regime where the\nvortical currents induce potentially large hypermagnetic fields. After deriving\nthe physical solutions of the generalized Appleton-Hartree equation, the\ncorresponding dispersion relations are scrutinized and compared with the\nresults valid for cold plasmas. Hypermagnetic knots and fluid vortices can be\nconcurrently present at very low frequencies and suggest a qualitatively\ndifferent dynamics of the hydromagnetic nonlinearities.",
        "positive": "Axial current in QED and semi-naive dimensional renormalization: We renormalize at two loops the axial current and $F \\tilde{F}$ in massless\nQED, using the recently proposed semi-naive dimensional renormalization scheme.\nWe show that the results are in agreement with those in the\nBreitenlohner-Maison-'t Hooft-Veltman scheme, previously obtained indirectly by\nmaking a three-loop computation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The virial relation for the Q-balls in the thermal logarithmic potential\n  revisited analytically: We study the properties of Q-balls dominated by the thermal logarithmic\npotential analytically instead of estimating the characters with only some\nspecific values of model variables numerically. In particular the analytical\nexpressions for radius and energy of this kind of Q-ball are obtained.\nAccording to these explicit expressions we demonstrate strictly that the large\nQ-balls enlarge and the small ones become smaller in the background with lower\ntemperature. The energy per unit charge will not be divergent if the charge is\nenormous. We find that the lower temperature will lead the energy per unit\ncharge of Q-ball smaller. We also prove rigorously the necessary conditions\nthat the model parameters should satisfy to keep the stability of the Q-balls.\nWhen one of model parameters of Q-balls $K$ is positive, the Q-balls will not\nform or survive unless the temperature is high enough. In the case of negative\n$K$, the Q-balls are stable no matter the temperature is high or low.",
        "positive": "Integrability in Fluid Dynamics: 3+1-dimensional free inviscid fluid dynamics is shown to satisfy the criteria\nfor exact integrability, i.e. having an infinite set of independent, conserved\nquantities in involution, with the Hamiltonian being one of them. With (density\ndependent) interaction present, distinct infinite serieses of conserved\nquantities in involution are discovered. Clebsch parametrization of the\nvelocity field is used in the the latter analysis. Relativistic generalization\nof the free system is also shown to be integrable."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hyperbolic three-string vertex: We begin developing tools to compute off-shell string amplitudes with the\nrecently proposed hyperbolic string vertices of Costello and Zwiebach.\nExploiting the relation between a boundary value problem for Liouville's\nequation and a monodromy problem for a Fuchsian equation, we construct the\nlocal coordinates around the punctures for the generalized hyperbolic\nthree-string vertex and investigate their various limits. This vertex\ncorresponds to the general pants diagram with three boundary geodesics of\nunequal lengths. We derive the conservation laws associated with such vertex\nand perform sample computations. We note the relevance of our construction to\nthe calculations of the higher-order string vertices using the pants\ndecomposition of hyperbolic Riemann surfaces.",
        "positive": "BRST Invariance and Renormalisability of the SU(2)$\\times$U(1)\n  Electroweak Theory with Massive W Z Bosons: Since the SU(n) gauge theory with massive gauge bosons has been proven to be\nrenormalisable we reinvestigate the renormalisability of the\n  SU$_L$(2) $\\times$ U$_Y$(1) electroweak theory with massive W Z bosons. We\nexpound that with the constraint conditions caused by the W Z mass term and the\nadditional condition chosen by us we can performed the quantization and\nconstruct the ghost action in a way similar to that used for the massive SU(n)\ntheory. We also show that when the $\\delta-$ functions appearing in the path\nintegral of the Green functions and representing the constraint conditions are\nrewritten as Fourier integrals with Lagrange multipliers $\\lambda_a$ and\n$\\lambda_y$, the BRST invariance is kept in the total effective action\nconsisting of the Lagrange multipliers, ghost fields and the original fields.\nFurthermore, by comparing with the massless theory and with the massive SU(n)\ntheory we find the general form of the divergent part of the generating\nfunctional for the regular vertex functions and prove the renormalisability of\nthe theory. It is also clarified that the renormalisability of the theory with\nthe W Z mass term is ensured by that of the massless theory and the massive\nSU(n) theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "BRS Cohomology in Topological String Theory and Integrable Systems: In cohomological field theory we can obtain topological invariants as\ncorrelation functions of BRS cohomology classes. A proper understanding of BRS\ncohomology which gives non-trivial results requires the equivariant cohomology\ntheory. Both topological Yang-Mills theory and topological string theory are\ntypical examples of this fact. After reviewing the role of the equivariant\ncohomology in topological Yang-Mills theory, we show in purely algebraic\nframework how the $U(1)$ equivariant cohomology in topological string theory\ngives the gravitational descendants. The free energy gives a generating\nfunction of topological correlation functions and leads us to consider a\ndeformation family of cohomological field theories. In topological strings such\na family is controlled by the theory of integrable system. This is most easily\nseen in the Landau-Ginzburg approach by looking at the contact term\ninteractions between topological observables.",
        "positive": "On the renormalization of periodic potentials: The renormalization of the periodic potential is investigated in the\nframework of the Euclidean one-component scalar field theory by means of the\ndifferential RG approach. Some known results about the sine-Gordon model are\nrecovered in an extremely simple manner. There are two phases, an ordered one\nwith asymptotical freedom and a disordered one where the model is\nnon-renormalizable and trivial. The order parameter of the periodicity, the\nwinding number, indicates spontaneous symmetry breaking in the ordered phase\nwhere the fundamental group symmetry is broken and the solitons acquire\ndynamical stability. It is argued that the periodicity and the convexity are so\nstrong constraints on the effective potential that it always becomes flat. This\nflattening is reproduced by integrating out the RG equation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Reaction-Diffusion Processes as Physical Realizations of Hecke Algebras: We show that the master equation governing the dynamics of simple diffusion\nand certain chemical reaction processes in one dimension give time evolution\noperators (Hamiltonians) which are realizations of Hecke algebras. In the case\nof simple diffusion one obtains, after similarity transformations, reducible\nhermitian representations while in the other cases they are non-hermitian and\ncorrespond to supersymmetric quotients of Hecke algebras.",
        "positive": "Second Law of Black Hole Mechanics for all 2d Dilaton Theories: It is shown that all generalized two--dimensional dilaton theories with\narbitrary matter content (with a curvature independent coupling to gravity) do\nnot only obey a first law of black hole mechanics (which follows from Wald's\ngeneral considerations, if the entropy S is defined appropriately), but also a\nsecond law: \\delta S \\ge 0 provided only that the null energy condition holds\nand that, loosely speaking, for late times a stationary state is assumed. Also\nany two-dimensional f(R)--theory is covered. This generalizes a previous proof\nof Frolov [1] to a much wider class of theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fermion transfer in the $\u03c6^4$ model with a half-BPS preserving\n  impurity: We study a fermion field coupled to a scalar via a Yukawa term. The scalar\nfield is the $\\phi^4$ model with an impurity that preserves half of the BPS\nproperty. We analyze the spectrum of the defects of the model and collisions\nbetween them both close to the BPS regime and not. As the fermion binds to\nthese defects, it may be transferred from one to the other, which we quantify\nvia overlaps, known as Bogoliubov coefficients. BPS collisions are less likely\nto transfer the fermion between defects and can be adiabatic for\nnon-relativistic velocities, especially for small coupling constants. Moreover,\ncloser to the BPS limit only a small fraction of the fermion number is radiated\naway. In contrast, non-BPS collisions lead to more radiation in the fermion\nfield and excitation of the fermion to higher bound states, and the result is\nmore sensitive to the parameters.",
        "positive": "Entanglement entropy in FRW backgrounds: We use holography in order to study the entanglement entropy for a spherical\nentangling surface in a FRW background with an arbitrary time dependence of the\nscale factor. The calculation is done in various dimensions, allowing for\nnonzero spatial curvature. The entanglement entropy of a CFT at nonzero\ntemperature in this background is also considered. Our approach is based on\ncoordinate transformations that relate the extremization problem to the one for\na static background, with a careful determination of the UV cutoff. We\ndemonstrate the agreement with the expected form of the entanglement entropy\nand with various known results in specific cases. In four dimensions, apart\nfrom the cutoff-dependent terms, we compute and discuss the finite term related\nto the expansion rate."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Pfaffian Diagrams for Gluon Tree Amplitudes: Pfaffian diagrams are formulated to represent gluon amplitudes computed from\nthe Cachazo-He-Yuan (CHY) formula. They may be regarded as a systematic\nregrouping of Feynman diagrams after internal momenta are expanded and products\nof vertex factors are evaluated. This reprocessing enables gluon amplitudes\nexpressed in Pfaffian diagrams to contain less terms. For example, there are 19\nterms for the four-point amplitude in Pfaffian diagrams, and 35 terms in\nFeynman diagrams. Gauge invariance is simpler and more explicit in Pfaffian\ndiagrams, in that subset of diagrams with the same root configuration are\nalready gauge invariant in all lines but two. In getting to these results,\nseveral technical difficulties must be overcome. Double poles must be converted\nto simple poles, integrations must be carried out directly and formulated into\nsimple rules, and the three \\M constant lines must be suitably chosen to\nminimize the number of terms present.",
        "positive": "Heisenberg-Euler Effective Lagrangians : Basics and Extensions: I present a pedagogical review of Heisenberg-Euler effective Lagrangians,\nbeginning with the original work of Heisenberg and Euler, and Weisskopf, for\nthe one loop effective action of quantum electrodynamics in a constant\nelectromagnetic background field, and then summarizing some of the important\napplications and generalizations to inhomogeneous background fields, nonabelian\nbackgrounds, and higher loop effective Lagrangians."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A pedagogical review on solvable irrelevant deformations of 2d quantum\n  field theory: This is a pedagogical review on $\\mathrm{T}\\overline{\\mathrm{T}}$ deformation\nof two dimensional quantum field theories. It is based on three lectures which\nthe author gave at ITP-CAS in December 2018. This review consists of four\nparts. The first part is a general introduction to\n$\\mathrm{T}\\overline{\\mathrm{T}}$ deformation. Special emphasises are put on\nthe deformed classical Lagrangian and the exact solvability of the spectrum.\nThe second part focuses on the torus partition sum of the\n$\\mathrm{T}\\overline{{\\mathrm{T}}}$/$\\mathrm{J}\\overline{\\mathrm{T}}$ deformed\nconformal field theories and modular invariance/covariance. In the third part,\ndifferent perspectives of $\\mathrm{T}\\overline{\\mathrm{T}}$ deformation are\npresented, including its relation to random geometry, 2d topological gravity\nand holography. We summarize more recent developments until January 2021 in the\nlast part.",
        "positive": "String Backgrounds of the Yang-Baxter Deformed\n  $AdS_4\\times\\mathbb{CP}^3$ Superstring: We build string backgrounds for Yang-Baxter deformations of the\n$AdS_4\\times\\mathbb{CP}^3$ superstring generated by $r$-matrices satisfying the\nclassical Yang-Baxter equation. We obtain the metric and the NS-NS two-form of\nthe gravity dual corresponding to noncommutative and dipole deformations of\nABJM theory, as well as a deformed background with Schr\\\"odinger symmetry. The\nfirst two backgrounds may also be found by TsT transformations while for the\nlast background we get a new family of non-relativistic ABJM theories with\nSchr\\\"odinger symmetry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "More on vacua of exotic massive 3D gravity: In a recent paper [arXiv:1806.06254], we explored the space of solutions of\nthe exotic massive 3D gravity theory proposed in [arXiv:1806.04179]. We showed\nthat the theory admits a rich space of vacua, including asymptotically Anti\nde-Sitter (AdS) geometries obeying different types of boundary conditions. The\nexamples include black holes dressed with low decaying gravitons. Based on what\nhappens in other theories of massive gravity, we conjectured that such\ngeometries appear on a curve of the parameter space (chiral curve) where the\nexotic massive gravity on AdS with sufficiently strong boundary conditions\nresults dual to a 2D chiral conformal field theory. Here, we show that this\nexpectation is consistent with the conserved charges and thermodynamical\nproperties of the black holes of the theory, which have recently been computed\n[arXiv:1812.09525]. When the boundary conditions are relaxed relative to the\nstandard Brown-Henneaux boundary conditions, the theory exhibits solutions\nconsistent with the definition of the so-called Log-gravity. The asymptotic\nbehavior of these solutions presents a logarithmic term in the Fefferman-Graham\nexpansion that, nonetheless, is compatible with the AdS asymptotic symmetries.\nThis long range interaction is due to a mode of the massive gravity that\nbecomes massless precisely on the chiral curve. We construct exact solutions\nexhibiting this behavior, which admit to be interpreted as fully backreacting\ngravitational waves propagating on an extremal black hole, and carrying\nnon-vanishing gravitational energy. We also discuss other vacua of the theory,\nsuch as Warped-AdS$_3$ black holes, gravitational waves on such backgrounds,\nAdS$_2\\times S^1$ spaces, and black holes in dS$_3$ space.",
        "positive": "Bose-Fermi Degeneracy and Duality in Non-Supersymmetric Strings: Following Kachru, Kumar and Silverstein, we construct a set of\nnon-supersymmetric Type II string models which have equal numbers of bosons and\nfermions at each mass level. The models are asymmetric {\\bf Z}_2 \\otimes {\\bf\nZ}_2^{\\prime} orbifolds. We demonstrate that this bose-fermi degeneracy feature\nimplies that both the one-loop and the two-loop contributions to the\ncosmological constant vanish. We conjecture that the cosmological constant\nactually vanishes to all loops. We construct a strong-weak dual pair of models,\nboth of which have bose-fermi degeneracy. This implies that at least some of\nthe non-perturbative corrections to the cosmological constant are absent."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Stable Monopole-Antimonopole String Background in SU(2) QCD: Motivated by the instability of the Savvidy-Nielsen-Olesen vacuum we make a\nsystematic search for a stable magnetic background in pure SU(2) QCD. It is\nshown that a pair of axially symmetric monopole and antimonopole strings is\nstable, provided that the distance between the two strings is less than a\ncritical value. The existence of a stable monopole-antimonopole string\nbackground strongly supports that a magnetic condensation of\nmonopole-antimonopole pairs can generate a dynamical symmetry breaking, and\nthus the magnetic confinement of color in QCD.",
        "positive": "Running with the Radius in RS1: We derive a renormalization group formalism for the Randall-Sundrum scenario,\nwhere the renormalization scale is set by a floating compactification radius.\nWhile inspired by the AdS/CFT conjecture, our results are derived concretely\nwithin higher-dimensional effective field theory. Matching theories with\ndifferent radii leads to running hidden brane couplings. The hidden brane\nLagrangian consists of four-dimensional local operators constructed from the\ninduced value of the bulk fields on the brane. We find hidden Lagrangians which\nare non-trivial fixed points of the RG flow. Calculations in RS1 can be greatly\nsimplified by ``running down'' the effective theory to a small radius. We\ndemonstrate these simplifications by studying the Goldberger-Wise stabilization\nmechanism. In this paper, we focus on the classical and tree-level quantum\nfield theory of bulk scalar fields, which demonstrates the essential features\nof the RG in the simplest context."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Static skyrmions in (2+1)-dimensions: In the spirit of previous papers, but using more general field\nconfigurations, the non-linear O(3) model in (2+1)-D, modified by the addition\nof both a potential-like term and a Skyrme-like term, is considered. The\ninstanton solutions are numerically evolved in time and some of their stability\nproperties studied. They are found to be stable, and a repulsive force is seen\nto exist among them. These results, which are restricted to the case of zero\nspeed systems, confirm those obtained in previous investigations, in which a\nsimilar problem was studied for a different choice of the potential-like term.",
        "positive": "Lorentz violation and higher-derivative gravity: In this work, we analyze a gravity model with higher derivatives including a\nCPT-even Lorentz-violating term. In principle, the model could be a low-energy\nlimit of a Lorentz-invariant theory presenting the violation of Lorentz\nsymmetry as a consequence of a spontaneous symmetry-breaking mechanism if a\ndecoupling between the metric and the Nambu-Goldstone modes is assumed. We have\nset up a convenient operator basis for the expansion of wave operators for\nsymmetric second-rank tensors in the presence of a background vector. By using\nthis set of operators, the particle content is obtained, and its consistency,\nregarding the conditions for stability and unitarity, is discussed. We conclude\nthat this extra Lorentz noninvariant contribution is unable to address the\nproblems of stability and unitarity of higher-derivative gravity models."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Corrections to Scattering Amplitude in Conical Space-time: It is known that the vacuum polarization of zero-point field arises around a\nconical singularity generated by an infinite, straight cosmic string. In this\npaper we study quantum electromagnetic corrections to the gravitational\nAharonov-Bohm effect around a cosmic string. We find the scattering amplitude\nfrom a conical defect for charged Klein-Gordon field.",
        "positive": "Fock Space Representation of Differential Calculus on the Noncommutative\n  Quantum Space: A complete Fock space representation of the covariant differential calculus\non quantum space is constructed. The consistency criteria for the ensuing\nalgebraic structure, mapping to the canonical fermions and bosons and the\nconsequences of the new algebra for the statistics of quanta are analyzed and\ndiscussed. The concept of statistical transmutation between bosons and fermions\nis introduced."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "3-point functions of universal scalars in maximal SCFTs at large N: We compute all 3-point functions of the ``universal'' scalar operators\ncontained in the interacting, maximally supersymmetric CFTs at large N by using\nthe AdS/CFT correspondence. These SCFTs are related to the low energy\ndescription of M5, M2 and D3 branes, and the common set of universal scalars\ncorresponds through the AdS/CFT relation to the fluctuations of the metric and\nthe magnetic potential along the internal manifold. For the interacting (0,2)\nSCFT_6 at large N, which is related to M5 branes, this set of scalars is\ncomplete, while additional non-universal scalar operators are present in the\nd=4, N=4 super Yang-Mills theory and in the N=8 SCFT_3, related to D3 and M2\nbranes, respectively.",
        "positive": "Wilson Lines and a Canonical Basis of SU(4) Heterotic Standard Models: The spontaneous breaking of SU(4) heterotic standard models by Z_3 x Z_3\nWilson lines to the MSSM with three right-handed neutrino supermultiplets and\ngauge group SU(3)_C x SU(2)_L x U(1) x U(1) is explored. The two-dimensional\nsubspace of the Spin(10) Lie algebra that commutes with su(3)_C + su(2)_L is\nanalyzed. It is shown that there is a unique basis for which the initial soft\nsupersymmetry breaking parameters are uncorrelated and for which the U(1) x\nU(1) field strengths have no kinetic mixing at any scale. If the Wilson lines\n\"turn on\" at different scales, there is an intermediate regime with either a\nleft-right or a Pati-Salam type model. We compute their spectra directly from\nstring theory, and adjust the associated mass parameter so that all gauge\nparameters exactly unify. A detailed analysis of the running gauge couplings\nand soft gaugino masses is presented."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Noncommutative Perturbative Dynamics: We study the perturbative dynamics of noncommutative field theories on R^d,\nand find an intriguing mixing of the UV and the IR. High energies of virtual\nparticles in loops produce non-analyticity at low momentum. Consequently, the\nlow energy effective action is singular at zero momentum even when the original\nnoncommutative field theory is massive. Some of the nonplanar diagrams of these\ntheories are divergent, but we interpret these divergences as IR divergences\nand deal with them accordingly. We explain how this UV/IR mixing arises from\nthe underlying noncommutativity. This phenomenon is reminiscent of the channel\nduality of the double twist diagram in open string theory.",
        "positive": "Coadjoint orbits of the Virasoro algebra and the global Liouville\n  equation: The classification of the coadjoint orbits of the Virasoro algebra is\nreviewed and is then applied to analyze the so-called global Liouville\nequation. The review is self-contained, elementary and is tailor-made for the\napplication. It is well-known that the Liouville equation for a smooth, real\nfield $\\phi$ under periodic boundary condition is a reduction of the SL(2,R)\nWZNW model on the cylinder, where the WZNW field g in SL(2,R) is restricted to\nbe Gauss decomposable. If one drops this restriction, the Hamiltonian reduction\nyields, for the field $Q=\\kappa g_{22}$ where $\\kappa\\neq 0$ is a constant,\nwhat we call the global Liouville equation. Corresponding to the winding number\nof the SL(2,R) WZNW model there is a topological invariant in the reduced\ntheory, given by the number of zeros of Q over a period. By the substitution\n$Q=\\pm\\exp(- \\phi/2)$, the Liouville theory for a smooth $\\phi$ is recovered in\nthe trivial topological sector. The nontrivial topological sectors can be\nviewed as singular sectors of the Liouville theory that contain blowing-up\nsolutions in terms of $\\phi$. Since the global Liouville equation is\nconformally invariant, its solutions can be described by explicitly listing\nthose solutions for which the stress-energy tensor belongs to a set of\nrepresentatives of the Virasoro coadjoint orbits chosen by convention. This\ndirect method permits to study the `coadjoint orbit content' of the topological\nsectors as well as the behaviour of the energy in the sectors. The analysis\nconfirms that the trivial topological sector contains special orbits with\nhyperbolic monodromy and shows that the energy is bounded from below in this\nsector only."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Ground-state wave-functional in (2+1)-dimensional Yang-Mills theory:\n  Abelian limit, spectrum and robustness: We compute the glueball spectrum in (2+1)-dimensional Yang-Mills theory by\nanalyzing correlators of the Leigh-Minic-Yelnikov ground-state wave-functional\nin the Abelian limit. The contribution of the WZW measure is treated by a\ncontrolled approximation and the resulting spectrum is shown to reduce to that\nobtained by Leigh et al., at large momentum.",
        "positive": "Emergent electrodynamics from the Nambu model for spontaneous Lorentz\n  symmetry breaking: After imposing the Gauss law constraint as an initial condition upon the\nHilbert space of the Nambu model, in all its generic realizations, we recover\nQED in the corresponding non-linear gauge A_{\\mu}A^{\\mu}=n^{2}M^{2}. Our result\nis non-perturbative in the parameter M for n^{2}\\neq 0 and can be extended to\nthe n^{2}=0 case. This shows that in the Nambu model, spontaneous Lorentz\nsymmetry breaking dynamically generates gauge invariance, provided the Gauss\nlaw is imposed as an initial condition. In this way electrodynamics is\nrecovered, with the photon being realized as the Nambu-Goldstone modes of the\nspontaneously broken symmetry, which finally turns out to be non-observable"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Single-step de Sitter vacua from non-perturbative effects with matter: A scenario of moduli stabilisation based on the interplay between closed and\nopen string sectors is explored in a bottom-up approach. We study N=1 effective\nsupergravities inspired by type IIB orientifold constructions that include\nbackground fluxes and non-perturbative effects. The former generate the\nstandard flux superpotential for the axiodilaton and complex structure moduli.\nThe latter can be induced by gaugino condensation in a non-Abelian sector of\nD7-branes and involve the overall Kaehler modulus of the compactification as\nwell as matter fields. We analyse the dynamics of this coupled system and show\nthat it is compatible with single-step moduli stabilisation in a metastable de\nSitter vacuum. A novelty of the scenario is that the F-term potential suffices\nto generate a positive cosmological constant and to stabilise all moduli,\nexcept for a flat direction that can be either lifted by a mass term or eaten\nup by an anomalous U(1).",
        "positive": "The N=4 Quantum Conformal Algebra: We determine the spectrum of currents generated by the operator product\nexpansion of the energy-momentum tensor in N=4 super-symmetric Yang-Mills\ntheory. Up to the regular terms and in addition to the multiplet of the stress\ntensor, three current multiplets appear, Sigma, Xi and Upsilon, starting with\nspin 0, 2 and 4, respectively. The OPE's of these new currents generate an\ninfinite tower of current multiplets, one for each even spin, which exhibit a\nuniversal structure, of length 4 in spin units, identified by a two-parameter\nrational family. Using higher spin techniques developed recently for conformal\nfield theories, we compute the critical exponents of Sigma, Xi and Upsilon in\nthe TT OPE and prove that the essential structure of the algebra holds at\narbitrary coupling. We argue that the algebra closes in the strongly coupled\nlarge-$N_c$ limit. Our results determine the quantum conformal algebra of the\ntheory and answer several questions that previously remained open."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Identification of perturbation modes and controversies in ekpyrotic\n  perturbations: If the linear perturbation theory is valid through the bounce, the surviving\nfluctuations from the ekpyrotic scenario (cyclic one as well) should have very\nblue spectra with suppressed amplitude for the scalar-type structure. We derive\nthe same (and consistent) result using the curvature perturbation in the\nuniform-field (comoving) gauge and in the zero-shear gauge. Previously, Khoury\net al. interpreted results from the latter gauge condition incorrectly and\nclaimed the scale-invariant spectrum, thus generating controversy in the\nliterature. We also correct similar errors in the literature based on wrong\nmode identification and joining condition. No joining condition is needed for\nthe derivation.",
        "positive": "Holographic Complexity Bounds: We study the action growth rate in the Wheeler-DeWitt (WDW) patch for a\nvariety of $D\\ge 4$ black holes in Einstein gravity that are asymptotic to the\nanti-de Sitter spacetime, with spherical, toric and hyperbolic horizons,\ncorresponding to the topological parameter $k=1,0,-1$ respectively. We find a\nlower bound inequality $\\frac{1}{T} \\frac{\\partial \\dot I_{\\rm WDW}}{\\partial\nS}|_{Q,P_{\\rm th}}> C$ for $k=0,1$, where $C$ is some order-one numerical\nconstant. The lowest number in our examples is $C=(D-3)/(D-2)$. We also find\nthat the quantity $(\\dot I_{\\rm WDW}-2P_{\\rm th}\\, \\Delta V_{\\rm th})$ is\ngreater than, equal to, or less than zero, for $k=1,0,-1$ respectively. For\nblack holes with two horizons, $\\Delta V_{\\rm th}=V_{\\rm th}^+-V_{\\rm th}^-$,\ni.e. the difference between the thermodynamical volumes of the outer and inner\nhorizons. For black holes with only one horizon, we introduce a new concept of\nthe volume $V_{\\rm th}^0$ of the black hole singularity, and define $\\Delta\nV_{\\rm th}=V_{\\rm th}^+-V_{\\rm th}^0$. The volume $V_{\\rm th}^0$ vanishes for\nthe Schwarzschild black hole, but in general it can be positive, negative or\neven divergent. For black holes with single horizon, we find a relation between\n$\\dot I_{\\rm WDW}$ and $V_{\\rm th}^0$, which implies that the holographic\ncomplexity preserves the Lloyd's bound for positive or vanishing $V_{\\rm\nth}^0$, but the bound is violated when $V_{\\rm th}^0$ becomes negative. We also\nfind explicit black hole examples where $V_{\\rm th}^0$ and hence $\\dot I_{\\rm\nWDW}$ are divergent."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Localization in Quantum Field Theory for inertial and accelerated\n  observers: We study the problem of localization in Quantum Field Theory (QFT) from the\npoint of view of inertial and accelerated experimenters. We consider the\nNewton-Wigner, the Algebraic Quantum Field Theory (AQFT) and the modal\nlocalization schemes, which are, respectively, based on the orthogonality\ncondition for states localized in disjoint regions of space, on the algebraic\napproach to QFT and on the representation of single particles as positive\nfrequency solution of the field equation. We show that only the AQFT scheme\nobeys causality and physical invariance under diffeomorphisms.\n  Then, we consider the nonrelativistic limit of quantum fields in the Rindler\nframe. We demonstrate the convergence between the AQFT and the modal scheme and\nwe show the emergence of the Born notion of localization of states and\nobservables. Also, we study the scenario in which an experimenter prepares\nstates over a background vacuum by means of nonrelativistic local operators and\nanother experimenter carries out nonrelativistic local measurements in a\ndifferent region. We find that the independence between preparation of states\nand measurements is not guaranteed when both experimenters are accelerated and\nthe background state is different from Rindler vacuum, or when one of the two\nexperimenters is inertial.",
        "positive": "Higher Symmetries of Toda Equations: The symmetries of the simplest non-abelian Toda equations are discussed. The\nset of characteristic integrals whose Hamiltonian counterparts form a\nW-algebra, is presented."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Kinetic Field Theory: Higher-Order Perturbation Theory: We give a detailed exposition of the formalism of Kinetic Field Theory (KFT)\nwith emphasis on the perturbative determination of observables. KFT is a\nstatistical non-equilibrium classical field theory based on the path integral\nformulation of classical mechanics, employing the powerful techniques developed\nin the context of quantum field theory to describe classical systems. Unlike\nprevious work on KFT, we perform the integration over the probability\ndistribution of initial conditions in the very last step. This significantly\nimproves the clarity of the perturbative treatment and allows for physical\ninterpretation of intermediate results. We give an introduction to the general\nframework, but focus on the application to interacting $N$-body systems.\nSpecializing the results to cosmic structure formation, we reproduce the linear\ngrowth of the cosmic density fluctuation power spectrum on all scales from\nmicroscopic, Newtonian particle dynamics alone.",
        "positive": "Effective Action and Schwinger Pair Production in Strong QED: Some field theoretical aspects, such as the effective action and Schwinger\npair production, are critically reviewed in strong QED. The difference of the\nboundary conditions on the solutions of the field equation is discussed to\nresult in the effective action both in the Coulomb and time-dependent gauge.\nFinally, the apparent spin-statistics inversion is also discussed, where the\nWKB action for bosons (fermions) works well for fermion (boson) pair-production\nrate."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Generalized metric formulation of double field theory: The generalized metric is a T-duality covariant symmetric matrix constructed\nfrom the metric and two-form gauge field and arises in generalized geometry. We\nview it here as a metric on the doubled spacetime and use it to give a simple\nformulation with manifest T-duality of the double field theory that describes\nthe massless sector of closed strings. The gauge transformations are written in\nterms of a generalized Lie derivative whose commutator algebra is defined by a\ndouble field theory extension of the Courant bracket.",
        "positive": "The exceptional story of massive IIA supergravity: The framework of exceptional field theory is extended by introducing\nconsistent deformations of its generalised Lie derivative. For the first time,\nmassive type IIA supergravity is reproduced geometrically as a solution of the\nsection constraint. This provides a unified description of all ten- and\neleven-dimensional maximal supergravities. The action of the E7 deformed theory\nis constructed, and reduces to those of exceptional field theory and gauged\nmaximal supergravity in respective limits. The relation of this new framework\nto other approaches for generating the Romans mass non-geometrically is\ndiscussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dynamical Supersymmetry Breaking versus Run-away behavior in\n  Supersymmetric Gauge Theories: We consider Dynamical Supersymmetry Breaking (DSB) in models with classical\nflat directions. We analyze a number of examples, and develop a systematic\napproach to determine if classical flat directions are stabilized in the full\nquantum theory, or lead to run-away behavior. In some cases pseudo-flat\ndirections remain even at the quantum level before taking into account\ncorrections to the K\\\"ahler potential. We show that in certain limits these\ncorrections are calculable. In particular, we find that in the\nIntriligator-Thomas $SU(2)$ and its generalizations, a potential for moduli is\ngenerated. Moreover, there is a region of the parameter space where K\\\"ahler\npotential corrections lead to calculable (local) minima at large but finite\ndistance from the origin.",
        "positive": "Comments on Good's Proposal for New Rules of Quantization: In a recent paper \\cite{[Good1]} Good postulated new rules of quantization,\none of the major features of which is that the quantum evolution of the wave\nfunction is always given by ordinary differential equations. In this paper we\nanalyse the proposal in some detail and discuss its viability and its\nrelationship with the standard quantum theory. As a byproduct, a simple\nderivation of the `mass spectrum' for the Klein-Gordon field is presented, but\nit is also shown that there is a complete additional spectrum of negative\n`masses'. Finally, two major reasons are presented against the viability of\nthis alternative proposal: a) It does not lead to the correct energy spectrum\nfor the hydrogen atom. b) For field models, the standard quantum theory cannot\nbe recovered from this alternative description."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "BRST extension of the Faddeev model: The Faddeev model is a second class constrained system. Here we construct its\nnilpotent BRST operator and derive the ensuing manifestly BRST invariant\nLagrangian. Our construction employs the structure of Stuckelberg fields in a\nnontrivial fashion.",
        "positive": "Conformal Yang-Mills field in arbitrary dimensions: Lagrangian of a classical conformal Yang-Mills field in the flat space of\neven dimension greater than or equal to six involves higher derivatives. We\nstudy Lagrangian formulation of the classical conformal Yang-Mills field by\nusing ordinary-derivative (second-derivative) approach. In the framework of the\nordinary-derivative approach, a field content, in addition to generic\nYang-Mills field, consists of auxiliary vector fields and Stueckelberg scalar\nfields. For such field content, we obtain a gauge invariant Lagrangian with the\nconventional second-derivative kinetic terms and the corresponding gauge\ntransformations. The Lagrangian is built in terms of non-abelian field\nstrengths. Structure of a gauge algebra entering gauge symmetries of the\nconformal Yang-Mills field is described. FFF-vertex of the conformal Yang-Mills\nfield which involves three derivatives is also obtained. For six, eight, and\nten dimensions, eliminating the auxiliary vector fields and gauging away the\nStueckelberg scalar fields, we obtain a higher-derivative Lagrangian of the\nconformal Yang-Mills field. For arbitrary dimensions, we demonstrate that all\nauxiliary fields can be integrated out at non-linear level leading just to a\nlocal higher-derivative action which is expressed only in terms of the generic\nYang-Mills field."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chiral limit of the two-dimensional fermionic determinant in a general\n  magnetic field: We consider the effective action for massive two-dimensional QED in flat\nEuclidean space-time in the background of a general square-integrable magnetic\nfield with finite range. It is shown that its small mass limit is controlled by\nthe chiral anomaly. New results for the low-energy scattering of electrons in\n2+1 dimensions in static, inhomogenous magnetic fields are also presented.",
        "positive": "Brane polarization is no cure for tachyons: Anti-M2 and anti-D3 branes placed in regions with charges dissolved in fluxes\nhave a tachyon in their near-horizon region, which causes these branes to repel\neach other. If the branes are on the Coulomb branch this tachyon gives rise to\na runaway behavior, but when the branes are polarized into five-branes this\ntachyon only appears to lower the energy of the polarized branes, without\naffecting its stability. We analyze brane polarization in the presence of a\nbrane-brane-repelling tachyon and show that when the branes are polarized along\nthe direction of the tachyon the polarized shell is unstable. This implies that\ntachyons cannot be cured by brane polarization and indicates that, at least in\na certain regime of parameters, anti-D3 branes polarized into NS5 branes at the\nbottom of the Klebanov-Strassler solution have an instability."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Rotating and Oscillating strings in $(AdS_3\\times\n  S^3)_{\\varkappa}$: We study rigidly rotating strings in the $\\varkappa$-deformed $AdS_3 \\times\nS^3$ background. We find out two classes of solutions corresponding to the\ngiant magnon and single spike solutions of the string rotating in two\n$S^2_{\\varkappa}$ subspace of rotations reduced along two different isometries.\nWe verify that the dispersion relations reduce to the well known relation in\nthe $\\varkappa\\rightarrow 0$ limit. We further study some oscillating string\nsolutions in the $S^3_{\\varkappa}$ subspace.",
        "positive": "Quantization of Chern-Simons Coefficient: The relation between the Dirac quantization condition of magnetic charge and\nthe quantization of the Chern-Simons coefficient is obtained. It implies that\nin a (2+1)-dimensional QED with the Chern-Simons topological mass term and the\nexistence of a magnetic monopole with magnetic charge $g$, the Chern-Simons\ncoefficient must be also quantized, just as in the non-Abelian case."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Thermodynamic Bethe Ansatz for Fishnet CFT: We present the TBA equations and the Y-system for the exact spectrum of\ngeneral multi-magnon local operators in the $D$-dimensional anisotropic version\nof the bi-scalar fishnet CFT. The mixing matrix of such operators is given in\nterms of fishnet planar graphs of multi-wheel and multi-spiral type. These\ngraphs probe the two main building blocks of the TBA approach that are the\nmagnon dispersion relation and the magnon scattering matrix and which we both\nobtain by diagonalising suitable graph-building operators. We also obtain the\ndual version of the TBA equations, which relates, in the continuum limit,\n$D$-dimensional graphs to two dimensional sigma models in $AdS_{D+1}$. It\nallows us to verify a general formula obtained by A.~Zamolodchikov for the\ncritical coupling.",
        "positive": "General relativistic analog solutions for Yang-Mills theory: Finding solutions to non-linear field theories, such as Yang-Mills theories\nor general relativity, is usually difficult. The field equations of Yang-Mills\ntheories and general relativity are known to share some mathematical\nsimilarities, and this connection can be used to find solutions to one theory\nusing known solutions of the other theory. For example, the Schwarzschild\nsolutions of general relativity can be shown to have a mathematically similar\ncounterpart in Yang-Mills theory. In this article we will discuss several\nsolutions to the Yang-Mills equations which can be found using this connection\nbetween general relativity and Yang-Mills theory. Some comments about the\npossible physical meaning of these solutions will be discussed. In particular\nit will be argued that some of these analog solutions of Yang-Mills theory may\nhave some connection with the confinement phenomenon. To this end we will\nbriefly look at the motion of test particles moving in the background potential\nof the Schwarzschild analog solution."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spontaneous Lorentz Violation, Nambu-Goldstone Modes, and Gravity: The fate of the Nambu-Goldstone modes arising from spontaneous Lorentz\nviolation is investigated. Using the vierbein formalism, it is shown that up to\n10 Lorentz and diffeomorphism Nambu-Goldstone modes can appear and that they\nare contained within the 10 modes of the vierbein associated with gauge degrees\nof freedom in a Lorentz-invariant theory. A general treatment of spontaneous\nlocal Lorentz and diffeomorphism violation is given for various spacetimes, and\nthe fate of the Nambu-Goldstone modes is shown to depend on both the spacetime\ngeometry and the dynamics of the tensor field triggering the spontaneous\nLorentz violation. The results are illustrated within the general class of\nbumblebee models involving vacuum values for a vector field. In Minkowski and\nRiemann spacetimes, the bumblebee model provides a dynamical theory generating\na photon as a Nambu-Goldstone boson for spontaneous Lorentz violation. The\nMaxwell and Einstein-Maxwell actions are automatically recovered in axial\ngauge. Associated effects of potential experimental relevance include\nLorentz-violating couplings in the matter and gravitational sectors of the\nStandard-Model Extension and unconventional Lorentz-invariant couplings. In\nRiemann-Cartan spacetime, the possibility also exists of a Higgs mechanism for\nthe spin connection, leading to the absorption of the propagating\nNambu-Goldstone modes into the torsion component of the gravitational field.",
        "positive": "Velocity of signal in attractive potential and propagation of light in\n  gravitational field: The propagation of a massless field in attractive and repulsive potentials is\nconsidered. It is shown that though the group velocity in such potentials can\nbe larger than one, the wave front propagates with the speed of light. A\nlarger-than-one group velocity leads only to a strong deformation of the wave\npacket. The results obtained are applied to the light propagation in a\ngravitational field. An erroneous assertion concerning the last problem,\nrecently made in the literature, is refuted."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Canonical Coherent States for the Relativistic Harmonic Oscillator: In this paper we construct manifestly covariant relativistic coherent states\non the entire complex plane which reproduce others previously introduced on a\ngiven $SL(2,R)$ representation, once a change of variables $z\\in C\\rightarrow\nz_D \\in $ unit disk is performed. We also introduce higher-order, relativistic\ncreation and annihilation operators, $\\C,\\Cc$, with canonical commutation\nrelation $[\\C,\\Cc]=1$ rather than the covariant one $[\\Z,\\Zc]\\approx$ Energy\nand naturally associated with the $SL(2,R)$ group. The canonical (relativistic)\ncoherent states are then defined as eigenstates of $\\C$. Finally, we construct\na canonical, minimal representation in configuration space by mean of\neigenstates of a canonical position operator.",
        "positive": "A study of spacetime distortion around a scattered recoiling D-particle\n  and possible astrophysical consequences: We study a four-dimensional spacetime induced by the recoil of a\nD(irichlet)-particle, embeded in it, due to scattering by a moving string. The\ninduced spacetime has curvature only up to a radius that depends on the energy\nof the incident string. Outside that region (`bubble') the spacetime is matched\nwith the Minkowski spacetime. The interior of the bubble is consistent with the\neffective field theory obtained from strings, with non-trivial tachyon-like and\nantisymmetric tensor fields (in four dimensions the latter gives rise to an\naxion pseudoscalar field). The tachyonic mode, however, does not represent the\nstandard flat-spacetime string tachyon, but merely expresses the instability of\nthe distorted spacetime. Due to the non-trivial matter content of the interior\nof the bubble, there is entropy production, which expresses the fact that\ninformation is carried away by the recoil degrees of freedom. We also\ndemonstrate that a particle can be captured by the bubble, depending on the\nparticle's impact parameter. This will result in information loss for an\nexternal asymptotic observer, corresponding to production of entropy\npropotional to the area of the bubble. For the validity of our approach it is\nessential that the string length is a few orders of magnitude larger than the\nPlanck length, which is a typical situation encountered in many D-brane-world\nmodels. A very interesting feature of our model is the emission of high-energy\nphotons from the unstable bubble, which might be related to the observed\napparent ``violations'' of the GZK cutoff."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "First-order phase boundaries of the massive 1+1 dimensional\n  Nambu--Jona-Lasinio model with isospin: The massive two-dimensional Nambu--Jona-Lasinio model with isospin (isoNJL)\nis reconsidered in the large $N_c$ limit. We continue the exploration of its\nphase diagram by constructing missing first-order phase boundaries. At zero\ntemperature, a phase boundary in the plane of baryon and isospin chemical\npotentials separates the vacuum from a crystal phase. We derive it from the\nbaryon spectrum of the isoNJL model which, in turn, is obtained via a numerical\nHartree-Fock (HF) calculation. At finite temperature, a first-order phase\nboundary sheet is found using a thermal HF calculation. It interpolates\nsmoothly between the zero temperature phase boundary and the perturbative\nsheet. The calculations remain tractable owing to the assumption that the\ncharged pion condensate vanishes. In that case, most of the calculations can be\ndone with methods developed in the past for solving the massive one-flavor NJL\nmodel.",
        "positive": "Regge Behaviour from an Environmentally Friendly Renormalization Group: The asymptotic behaviour of cubic field theories is investigated in the Regge\nlimit using the techniques of environmentally friendly renormalization,\nenvironmentally friendly in the present context meaning asymmetric in its\nmomentum dependence. In particular we consider the crossover between large and\nsmall energies at fixed momentum transfer for a model scalar theory of the type\nphi^2 psi. The asymptotic forms of the crossover scaling functions are\nexhibited for all two particle scattering processes in this channel to one loop\nin a renormalization group improved perturbation theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dirac-Born-Infeld actions and Tachyon Monopoles: We investigate magnetic monopole solutions of the non-abelian DBI action\ndescribing 2 coincident non-BPS D9-branes in flat space. Just as in the case of\nkink and vortex solitonic tachyon solutions of the full DBI non-BPS actions, as\npreviously analyzed by Sen, these monopole configurations are singular in the\nfirst instance and require regularization. We discuss a suitable non-abelian\nansatz and show it solves the equations of motion to leading order in the\nregularization parameter. Fluctuations are studied and shown to describe a\ncodimension 3 BPS D6-brane. A formula is derived for its tension. We comment on\nthe implication to our results from both the trace (Tr) and symmetrized trace\n(Str) prescriptions of the non-abelian DBI action of coincident non-BPS\nD9-branes.",
        "positive": "From Big Crunch To Big Bang - Is It Possible?: We discuss the possibility of a transition from a contracting flat space -\nbig crunch - to an expanding flat space - big bang."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the complete classification of the unitary N=2 minimal superconformal\n  field theories: Aiming at a complete classification of unitary N=2 minimal models (where the\nassumption of space-time supersymmetry has been dropped), it is shown that each\nmodular invariant candidate of a partition function for such a theory is indeed\nthe partition function of a minimal model. A family of models constructed via\norbifoldings of either the diagonal model or of the space-time supersymmetric\nexceptional models demonstrates that there exists a unitary N=2 minimal model\nfor every one of the allowed partition functions in the list obtained from\nGannon's work.\n  Kreuzer and Schellekens' conjecture that all simple current invariants can be\nobtained as orbifolds of the diagonal model, even when the extra assumption of\nhigher-genus modular invariance is dropped, is confirmed in the case of the\nunitary N=2 minimal models by simple counting arguments.",
        "positive": "Solving all 4-point correlation functions for bosonic open string theory\n  in the high energy limit: We study the implication of decoupling zero-norm states in the high-energy\nlimit, for the 26 dimensional bosonic open string theory. Infinitely many\nlinear relations among 4-point functions are derived algebraically, and their\nunique solution is found. Equivalent results are also obtained by taking the\nhigh-energy limit of Virasoro constraints, and as an independent check, we\ncompute all 4-point functions of 3 tachyons and an arbitrary massive state by\nsaddle-point approximation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Island on codimension-two branes in AdS/dCFT: The previous studies of the island and double holography mainly focus on\ncodimension-one branes. This paper explores the island on the codimension-two\nbrane in AdS/dCFT. The codimension-two brane is closely related to conical\nsingularity, which is very different from the codimension-one brane. We analyze\nthe mass spectrum of gravitons on the codimension-two brane and find that the\nlarger the brane tension is, the smaller the gravitational mass is. The\nmassless mode is forbidden by either the boundary or normalization conditions.\nWe prove that the first massive gravitational mode is located on the\ncodimension-two brane; the larger the tension, the better the localization. It\nis similar to the case of codimension-one brane and builds an excellent\nphysical foundation for the study of black hole evolution on codimension-two\nbranes. We find that the Page curve of eternal black holes can be recovered due\nto the island ending on the codimension-two brane. The new feature is that the\nextremal surface passing the horizon cannot be defined after some finite time\nin the no-island phase. Fortunately, this unusual situation does not affect the\nPage curve since it happens after Page time.",
        "positive": "Asymptotically Universal Crossover in Perturbation Theory with a Field\n  Cutoff: We discuss the crossover between the small and large field cutoff (denoted\nx_{max}) limits of the perturbative coefficients for a simple integral and the\nanharmonic oscillator. We show that in the limit where the order k of the\nperturbative coefficient a_k(x_{max}) becomes large and for x_{max} in the\ncrossover region, a_k(x_{max}) is proportional to the integral from -infinity\nto x_{max} of e^{-A(x-x_0(k))^2}dx. The constant A and the function x_0(k) are\ndetermined empirically and compared with exact (for the integral) and\napproximate (for the anharmonic oscillator) calculations. We discuss how this\napproach could be relevant for the question of interpolation between\nrenormalization group fixed points."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A simple strategy for renormalization: QED at one-loop level: We demonstrate our simple strategy for renormalization with QED at one-loop\nlevel, basing on an elaboration of the effective field theory philosophy. No\nartificial regularization or deformation of the original theory is introduced\nhere and hence no manipulation of infinities, ambiguities arise instead of\ninfinities. Ward identities first come to reduce the number of ambiguities, the\nresidual ones could in principle be removed by imposing physical boundary\nconditions. Renormalization group equations arise as \"decoupling theorems\" in\nthe underlying theory perspective. In addition, a technical theorem concerning\nrouting of external momenta is also presented and illustrated with the\nself-energy and vertex function as examples.",
        "positive": "Energy trapped Ising model: In this paper we have considered the 3D Ising model perturbed with the energy\noperator coupled with a non uniform harmonic potential acting as a trap,\nshowing that this system satisfies the trap-size scaling behavior. Eventually,\nwe have computed the correlators $\\langle \\sigma (z) \\sigma (0)\\rangle$, $\n\\langle \\epsilon (z) \\epsilon (0)\\rangle$ and $\\langle \\sigma (z) \\epsilon\n(0)\\rangle$ near the critical point by means of conformal perturbation theory.\nCombining this result with Monte Carlo simulations, we have been able to\nestimate the OPE coefficients $C^{\\sigma}_{\\sigma\\epsilon}$,\n$C^{\\epsilon}_{\\sigma\\sigma}$ and $C^{\\epsilon}_{\\epsilon\\epsilon}$, finding a\ngood agreement with the values obtained in [1,2]."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "ADHM Polytopes: We discuss the construction of ADHM data for Yang-Mills instantons with the\nsymmetries of the regular polytopes in four dimensions. We show that the case\nof the pentatope can be studied using a simple modification of the approach\npreviously developed for platonic data. For the remaining polytopes, we\ndescribe a framework in which the building blocks of the ADHM data correspond\nto the edges in the extended Dynkin diagram that arises via the McKay\ncorrespondence. These building blocks are then assembled into ADHM data through\nthe identification of pairs of commuting representations of the associated\nbinary polyhedral group. We illustrate our procedure by the construction of\nADHM data associated with the pentatope, the hyperoctahedron and the 24-cell,\nwith instanton charges 4, 7 and 23, respectively. Furthermore, we show that\nwithin our framework these are the lowest possible charges with these\nsymmetries. Plots of topological charge densities are presented that confirm\nthe polytope structure and the relation to JNR instanton data is clarified.",
        "positive": "Universality of low-energy scattering in (2+1) dimensions: We prove that, in (2+1) dimensions, the S-wave phase shift, $ \\delta_0(k)$, k\nbeing the c.m. momentum, vanishes as either $\\delta_0 \\to {c\\over \\ln (k/m)} or\n\\delta_0 \\to O(k^2)$ as $k\\to 0$. The constant $c$ is universal and $c=\\pi/2$.\nThis result is established first in the framework of the Schr\\\"odinger equation\nfor a large class of potentials, second for a massive field theory from proved\nanalyticity and unitarity, and, finally, we look at perturbation theory in\n$\\phi_3^4$ and study its relation to our non-perturbative result. The\nremarkable fact here is that in n-th order the perturbative amplitude diverges\nlike $(\\ln k)^n$ as $k\\to 0$, while the full amplitude vanishes as $(\\ln\nk)^{-1}$. We show how these two facts can be reconciled."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Unifying Relations for Scattering Amplitudes: We derive new amplitudes relations revealing a hidden unity among\nwide-ranging theories in arbitrary spacetime dimensions. Our results rely on a\nset of Lorentz invariant differential operators which transmute physical\ntree-level scattering amplitudes into new ones. By transmuting the amplitudes\nof gravity coupled to a dilaton and two-form, we generate all the amplitudes of\nEinstein-Yang-Mills theory, Dirac-Born-Infield theory, special Galileon,\nnonlinear sigma model, and biadjoint scalar theory. Transmutation also relates\namplitudes in string theory and its variants. As a corollary, celebrated\naspects of gluon and graviton scattering like color-kinematics duality, the KLT\nrelations, and the CHY construction are inherited traits of the transmuted\namplitudes. Transmutation recasts the Adler zero as a trivial consequence of\nthe Weinberg soft theorem and implies new subleading soft theorems for certain\nscalar theories.",
        "positive": "One-vortex moduli space and Ricci flow: The metric on the moduli space of one abelian Higgs vortex on a surface has a\nnatural geometrical evolution as the Bradlow parameter, which determines the\nvortex size, varies. It is shown by various arguments, and by calculations in\nspecial cases, that this geometrical flow has many similarities to Ricci flow."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Near Extremal Black Hole Entropy as Entanglement Entropy via AdS2/CFT1: We point out that the entropy of (near) extremal black holes can be\ninterpreted as the entanglement entropy of dual conformal quantum mechanics via\nAdS2/CFT1. As an explicit example, we study near extremal BTZ black holes and\nderive this claim from AdS3/CFT2. We also analytically compute the entanglement\nentropy in the two dimensional CFT of a free Dirac fermion compactified on a\ncircle at finite temperature. From this result, we clarify the relation between\nthe thermal entropy and entanglement entropy, which is essential for the\nentanglement interpretation of black hole entropy.",
        "positive": "Hamiltonian formulation of SL(3) Ur-KdV equation: We give a unified view of the relation between the $SL(2)$ KdV, the mKdV, and\nthe Ur-KdV equations through the Fr\\'{e}chet derivatives and their inverses.\nFor this we introduce a new procedure of obtaining the Ur-KdV equation, where\nwe require that it has no non-local operators. We extend this method to the\n$SL(3)$ KdV equation, i.e., Boussinesq(Bsq) equation and obtain the hamiltonian\nstructure of Ur-Bsq equationin a simple form. In particular, we explicitly\nconstruct the hamiltonian operator of the Ur-Bsq system which defines the\npoisson structure of the system, through the Fr\\'{e}chet derivative and its\ninverse."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Physics-to-gauge conversion at black hole horizons: Requiring the presence of a horizon imposes constraints on the physical phase\nspace. After a careful analysis of dilaton gravity in 2D with boundaries\n(including the Schwarzschild and Witten black holes as prominent examples), it\nis shown that the classical physical phase space is smaller as compared to the\ngeneric case if horizon constraints are imposed. Conversely, the number of\ngauge symmetries is larger for the horizon scenario. In agreement with a recent\nconjecture by 't Hooft, we thus find that physical degrees of freedom are\nconverted into gauge degrees of freedom at a horizon.",
        "positive": "Abelian matrix models in two loops: We perform a two-loop calculation of the effective Lagrangian for the\nlow--energy modes of the quantum mechanical system obtained by dimensional\nreduction from 4D, N = 1 supersymmetric QED. The bosonic part of the Lagrangian\ndescribes the motion over moduli space of vector potentials A_i endowed with a\nnontrivial conformally flat metric. We determined the coefficient of the\ntwo-loop correction to the metric, which is proportional to 1/A^6. For the\nmatrix model obtained from Abelian 4D, N = 2 theory, this correction vanishes,\nas it should."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Time evolution of a toy semiholographic glasma: We extend our previous study of a toy model for coupling classical Yang-Mills\nequations for describing overoccupied gluons at the saturation scale with a\nstrongly coupled infrared sector modeled by AdS/CFT. Including propagating\nmodes in the bulk we find that the Yang-Mills sector loses its initial energy\nto a growing black hole in the gravity dual such that there is a conserved\nenergy-momentum tensor for the total system while entropy grows monotonically.\nThis involves a numerical AdS simulation with a backreacted boundary source far\nfrom equilibrium.",
        "positive": "Entropy Current and Fluid-Gravity Duality in Gauss-Bonnet theory: Working within the approximation of small amplitude expansion, recently an\nentropy current has been constructed on the horizons of dynamical black hole\nsolution in any higher derivative theory of gravity. In this note, we have\ndualized this horizon entropy current to a boundary entropy current in an\nasymptotically AdS black hole metric with a dual description in terms of\ndynamical fluids living on the AdS boundary. This boundary entropy current is\nconstructed using a set of mapping functions relating each point on the horizon\nto a point on the boundary. We have applied our construction to black holes in\nEinstein-Gauss-Bonnet theory. We have seen that up to the first order in\nderivative expansion, Gauss-Bonnet terms do not add any extra corrections to\nfluid entropy as expected. However, at the second order in derivative\nexpansion, the boundary current will non-trivially depend on how we choose our\nhorizon to boundary map, which need not be expressible entirely in terms of\nfluid variables. So generically, the boundary entropy current generated by\ndualizing the horizon current will not admit a fluid dynamical description."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exact Consequences of the Trace Anomaly in Four Dimensions: The general form of the stress-tensor three-point function in four dimensions\nis obtained by solving the Ward identities for the diffeomorphism and Weyl\nsymmetries. Several properties of this correlator are discussed, such as the\nrenormalization and scheme independence and the analogies with the anomalous\nchiral triangle. At the critical point, the coefficients a and c of the\nfour-dimensional trace anomaly are related to two finite, scheme-independent\namplitudes of the three-point function. Off-criticality, the imaginary parts of\nthese amplitudes satisfy sum rules which express the total\nrenormalization-group flow of a and c between pairs of critical points.\nAlthough these sum rules are similar to that satisfied by the two-dimensional\ncentral charge, the monotonicity of the flow, i.e. the four-dimensional\nanalogue of the c-theorem, remains to be proven.",
        "positive": "On scrambling, tomperature and superdiffusion in de Sitter space: This paper investigates basic properties of the de Sitter static patch using\nsimple two-point functions in the probe approximation. We find that de Sitter\nequilibrates in a superdiffusive manner, unlike most physical systems which\nequilibrate diffusively. We also examine the scrambling time. In de Sitter, the\ntwo-point functions of free fields do not decay for sometime because quanta can\nreflect off the pole of the static patch. This suggests a minimum scrambling\ntime of the order $\\log(1/G_N)$, even for perturbations introduced on the\nstretched horizon, indicating fast scrambling inside de Sitter static patch. We\nalso discuss the interplay between thermodynamic temperature and inverse\ncorrelation time, sometimes called \"tomperature\"."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gravitational electron-positron scattering: A scattering process with gravitons as an intermediate state is investigated.\nTo study such a scattering, the Gravitoelectromagnetism theory is considered.\nIt is a gravitational theory built on the analogy between gravity and\nelectromagnetism. The complete Lagrangian formulation of the\ngravitoelectromagnetic theory includes interactions of gravitons with fermions\nand photons that leads us to calculate their scattering amplitudes and\ncross-sections. In this context, the gravitational cross-section of the\n$e^{-}+e^{+}\\longrightarrow\\mu^{-}+\\mu^{+}$ scattering process is obtained. A\ncomparison between the electromagnetic and gravitational cross-sections is\nmade.",
        "positive": "Matrix Orientifolding and Models with Four or Eight Supercharges: The conditions under which matrix orientifolding and supersymmetry\ntransformations commute are known to be stringent. Here we present the cases\npossessing four or eight supercharges upon ${\\bf Z}_3$ orbifolding followed by\nmatrix orientifolding. These cases descend from the matrix models with eight\nplus eight supercharges. There are fifty in total, which we enumerate."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Question on the Existence of Gravitational Anomalies: The existence of gravitational anomalies claimed by Alvarez-Gaume and Witten\nis examined critically. It is pointed out that they were unaware of the\nessential difference between T-product quantities and T*-product quantities.\nField equations and, therefore, the Noether theorem are, in general, violated\nin the case of T*-product quantities, that is, those directly calculable from\nFeynman integrals. In the 2-dimensional case, it is explicitly confirmed that\nthe energy-momentum tensor is strictly conserved if the above stated property\nof the T*-product quantities is correctly taken into account. The non-existence\nof gravitational anomalies is explicitly demonstrated for the BRS-formulated\n2-dimensional quantum gravity in the Heisenberg picture.",
        "positive": "Blowup formulae in Donaldson-Witten theory and integrable hierarchies: We investigate blowup formulae in Donaldson-Witten theory with gauge group\nSU(N), using the theory of hyperelliptic Kleinian functions. We find that the\nblowup function is a hyperelliptic sigma-function and we describe an explicit\nprocedure to expand it in terms of the Casimirs of the gauge group up to\narbitrary order. As a corollary, we obtain a new expression for the contact\nterms and we show that the correlation functions involving the exceptional\ndivisor are governed by the KdV hierarchy. We also show that, for manifolds of\nsimple type, the blowup function becomes a tau-function for a multisoliton\nsolution."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Uniqueness of charged static asymptotically flat black holes in\n  dynamical Chern-Simons gravity: Making use of the conformal positive energy theorem we prove the uniqueness\nof four-dimensional static electrically charged black holes being the solution\nof Chern-Simons dynamical gravity equations of motion. We assume that black\nhole spacetime contains an asymptotically flat spacelike hypersurface with\ncompact interior and non-degenerate components of the event horizon.",
        "positive": "Increasing Potentials in Non-Abelian and Abelian Gauge Theories: An exact solution for an SU(2) Yang-Mills field coupled to a scalar field is\ngiven. This solution has potentials with a linear and Coulomb part. This may\nhave some physical importance since many phenomenological QCD studies assume a\nlinear plus Coulomb potential. Usually the linear potential is motivated with\nlattice gauge theory arguments. Here the linear potential is an exact result of\nthe field equations. We also show that in the Nielsen-Olesen Abelian model\nthere is an exact solution in the BPS limit which has a Coulomb-like\nelectromagnetic field and a logarithmically rising scalar field. Both of these\nsolutions must be cut off from above to avoid infinite field energy."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Equilibration rates in a strongly coupled nonconformal quark-gluon\n  plasma: We initiate the study of equilibration rates of strongly coupled quark-gluon\nplasmas in the absence of conformal symmetry. We primarily consider a\nsupersymmetric mass deformation within ${\\cal N}=2^{*}$ gauge theory and use\nholography to compute quasinormal modes of a variety of scalar operators, as\nwell as the energy-momentum tensor. In each case, the lowest quasinormal\nfrequency, which provides an approximate upper bound on the thermalization\ntime, is proportional to temperature, up to a pre-factor with only a mild\ntemperature dependence. We find similar behaviour in other holographic plasmas,\nwhere the model contains an additional scale beyond the temperature. Hence, our\nstudy suggests that the thermalization time is generically set by the\ntemperature, irrespective of any other scales, in strongly coupled gauge\ntheories.",
        "positive": "Hard thermal loops in long wave-length and static external gravitational\n  fields: We study, in the long wave-length and static limits, the structure of the\nn-point graviton functions at high temperature. Using the gauge and Weyl\ninvariance of the theory, we derive a simple expression for the hard thermal\namplitudes in these two limits."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Superpotentials for D-Branes in Gepner Models: A large class of D-branes in Calabi-Yau spaces can be constructed at the\nGepner points using the techniques of boundary conformal field theory. In this\nnote we develop methods that allow to compute open string amplitudes for such\nD-branes. In particular, we present explicit formulas for the products of open\nstring vertex operators of untwisted A-type branes. As an application we show\nthat the boundary theories of the quintic associated with the special\nLagrangian submanifolds Im \\omega_i z_i = 0 where \\omega_i^5=1 possess no\ncontinuous moduli.",
        "positive": "BFT Method for Mixed Constrained Systems and Chern-Simons Theory: We show that the BFT embedding method is problematic for mixed systems\n(systems possessing both first and second class constraints). The Chern-Simons\ntheory as an example is worked out in detail. We give two methods to solve the\nproblem leading to two different types of finite order BFT embedding for\nChern-Simons theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Universal consistent truncation for 6d/7d gauge/gravity duals: Recently, AdS_7 solutions of IIA supergravity have been classified; there are\ninfinitely many of them, whose expression is known analytically, and with\ninternal space of S^3 topology. Their field theory duals are six-dimensional\n(1,0) SCFT's. In this paper we show that for each of these AdS_7 solutions\nthere exists a consistent truncation from massive IIA supergravity to minimal\ngauged supergravity in seven dimensions. This theory has an SU(2) gauge group,\nand a single scalar, whose value is related to a certain distortion of the\ninternal S^3. This explains the universality observed in recent work on AdS_5\nand AdS_4 solutions dual to compactifications of the (1,0) SCFT_6's. Thanks to\nprevious work on the minimal gauged supergravity, the truncation also implies\nthe existence of holographic RG-flows connecting those solutions to the AdS_7\nvacuum, as well as new classes of IIA AdS_3 solutions.",
        "positive": "Some phenomenological aspects of Type IIB/F-theory string\n  compactifications: This article is the PhD thesis of the author. It is focused on Type II\ncompactifications because of the potential for the construction of realistic\nMSSM-like compactifications. In particular we concentrate in Type IIB\nCalabi-Yau orientifolds and its non-perturbative realization: F-theory. These\nsort of models, have attracted a lot of attention during recent years due to\ntheir phenomenological interest. The first part is devoted to an introductory\nsurvey of some concepts and aspects of Type II vacua like e.g. the low energy\neffective action or soft terms. It is also included a brief presentation of\nF-theory stressing the phenomenological interest of local models. In the second\npart we present an analysis of the theoretical and phenomenological issues of\nmodulus dominated SUSY breaking. In addition it is examined its status in\ncomparison with recent LHC data. Finally, the third part is devoted to the\nanalysis of flux and instanton effects on local F-theory models. Yukawas and\nmatter fields wave functions corresponding to these models are calculated. The\nresults may allow for an understanding of the problem of fermion hierarchies in\nthe Standard Model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Modular Differential Equations with Movable Poles and Admissible RCFT\n  Characters: Studies of modular linear differential equations (MLDE) for the\nclassification of rational CFT characters have been limited to the case where\nthe coefficient functions (in monic form) have no poles, or poles at special\npoints of moduli space. Here we initiate an exploration of the vast territory\nof MLDEs with two characters and any number of poles at arbitrary points of\nmoduli space. We show how to parametrise the most general equation precisely\nand count its parameters. Eliminating logarithmic singularities at all the\npoles provides constraint equations for the accessory parameters. By taking\nsuitable limits, we find recursion relations between solutions for different\nnumbers of poles. The cases of one and two movable poles are examined in detail\nand compared with predictions based on quasi-characters to find complete\nagreement. We also comment on the limit of coincident poles. Finally we show\nthat there exist genuine CFT corresponding to many of the newly-studied cases.\nWe emphasise that the modular data is an output, rather than an input, of our\napproach.",
        "positive": "Non-threshold D-brane bound states and black holes with non-zero entropy: We start with BPS-saturated configurations of two (orthogonally) intersecting\nM-branes and use the electro-magnetic duality or dimensional reduction along a\nboost, in order to obtain new p-brane bound states. In the first case the\nresulting configurations are interpreted as BPS-saturated non-threshold bound\nstates of intersecting p-branes, and in the second case as p-branes\nintersecting at angles and their duals. As a by-product we deduce the\nenhancement of supersymmetry as the angle approaches zero. We also comment on\nthe D-brane theory describing these new bound states, and a connection between\nthe angle and the world-volume gauge fields of the D-brane system. We use these\nconfigurations to find new embeddings of the four and five dimensional black\nholes with non-zero entropy, whose entropy now also depends on the angle and\nworld-volume gauge fields. The corresponding D-brane configuration sheds light\non the microscopic entropy of such black holes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "N=1 super-Chern-Simons coupled to parity-preserving matter from\n  Atiyah-Ward space-time: In this letter, we present the Parkes-Siegel formulation for the massive\nAbelian $N$$=$$1$ super-{\\QED} coupled to a self-dual supermultiplet, by\nintroducing a chiral multiplier superfield. We show that after carrying out a\nsuitable dimensional reduction from ($2$$+$$2$) to ($1$$+$$2$) dimensions, and\nperforming some necessary truncations, the simple supersymmetric extension of\nthe ${\\tau}_{3}$QED$_{1+2}$ coupled to a Chern-Simons term naturally comes out.",
        "positive": "Notes On Holomorphic String And Superstring Theory Measures Of Low Genus: It has long been known that in principle, the genus g vacuum amplitude for\nbosonic strings or superstrings in 26 or 10 dimensions can be entirely\ndetermined from conditions of holomorphy. Moreover, this has been done in\npractice for bosonic strings of low genus. Here we describe in a unified way\nhow to determine the bosonic string and superstring vacuum amplitude in genus 1\nand 2 via holomorphy. The main novelty is the superstring analysis in genus 2,\nwhere we use holomorphy to get a new understanding of some of the results that\npreviously have been obtained by more explicit calculations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Berry phase in the phase space worldline representation: the axial\n  anomaly and classical kinetic theory: The Berry phase is analyzed for Weyl and Dirac fermions in a phase space\nrepresentation of the worldline formalism. Kinetic theories are constructed for\nboth at a classical level. Whereas the Weyl fermion case reduces in dimension,\nresembling a theory in quantum mechanics, the Dirac fermion case takes on a\nmanifestly Lorentz covariant form. To achieve a classical kinetic theory for\nthe non-Abelian Dirac fermion Berry phase a spinor construction of Barut and\nZanghi is utilized. The axial anomaly is also studied at a quantum level. It is\nfound that under an adiabatic approximation, which is necessary for\nfacilitating a classical kinetic theory, the index of the Dirac operator for\nmassless fermions vanishes. Even so, similarities of an axial rotation to an\nexact non-covariant Berry phase transform are drawn by application of the\nFujikawa method to the Barut and Zanghi spinors on the worldline.",
        "positive": "AdS_{d+1} --> AdS_d: Coset methods are used to construct the action describing the dynamics of the\n(massive) Nambu-Goldstone scalar degree of freedom associated with the\nspontaneous breaking of the isometry group of AdS_{d+1} space to that of an\nAdS_d subspace. The resulting action is an SO(2,d) invariant AdS generalization\nof the Nambu-Goto action. The vector field theory equivalent action is also\ndetermined."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Casimir effect between moving branes: We consider a supersymmetric model with a single matter supermultiplet in a\nfive-dimensional space-time with orbifold compactification along the fifth\ndimension. The boundary conditions on the two orbifold planes are chosen in\nsuch a way that supersymmetry remains unbroken on the boundaries. We calculate\nthe vacuum energy-momentum tensor in a configuration in which the boundary\nbranes are moving with constant velocity. The results show that the\ncontribution from fermions cancels that of bosons only in the static limit, but\nin general a velocity-dependent Casimir energy arises between the branes. We\nrelate this effect to the particle production due to the branes motion and\nfinally we discuss some cosmological consequences.",
        "positive": "$\\mathcal{N}=2^*$ gauge theory, free fermions on the torus and\n  Painlev\u00e9 VI: In this paper we study the extension of Painlev\\'e/gauge theory\ncorrespondence to circular quivers by focusing on the special case of $SU(2)$\n$\\mathcal{N}=2^*$ theory. We show that the Nekrasov-Okounkov partition function\nof this gauge theory provides an explicit combinatorial expression and a\nFredholm determinant formula for the tau-function describing isomonodromic\ndeformations of $SL_2$ flat connections on the one-punctured torus. This is\nachieved by reformulating the Riemann-Hilbert problem associated to the latter\nin terms of chiral conformal blocks of a free-fermionic algebra. This viewpoint\nprovides the exact solution of the renormalization group flow of the $SU(2)$\n$\\mathcal{N}=2^*$ theory on self-dual $\\Omega$-background and, in the\nSeiberg-Witten limit, an elegant relation between the IR and UV gauge\ncouplings."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dualities for 3d Theories with Tensor Matter: We study dualities for ${\\cal N}=2$ 3d Chern-Simons matter theories with\ngauge groups U/Sp/O, matter in the two-index tensor representations\n(adjoint/symmetric/antisymmetric) in addition to the fundamental\nrepresentation, and a superpotential. These dualities are analogous to\nKutasov-Schwimmer-Seiberg dualities in 4d. We test them by computing the\nsuperconformal index and the partition function on $S^3$ for many dual pairs\nand find perfect agreement. In some cases we find a simple dual description for\ntheories with tensor matter and no superpotential, thereby generalizing the\n\"Duality Appetizer\" of Jafferis and Yin to an infinite class of theories. We\nalso investigate nonperturbative truncation of the chiral ring proposed in the\ncontext of 4d dualities.",
        "positive": "Thermodynamic Origin of the Null Energy Condition: We derive the classical null energy condition, understood as a constraint on\nthe Ricci tensor, from the second law of thermodynamics applied locally to\nBekenstein-Hawking entropy associated with patches of null congruences. The\nderivation provides evidence that the null energy condition, which has usually\nbeen regarded as a condition on matter, is fundamentally a property of gravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Weak quasitriangular Quasi-Hopf algebra structure of minimal models: The chiral vertex operators for the minimal models are constructed and used\nto define a fusion product of representations. The existence of commutativity\nand associativity operations is proved. The matrix elements of the\nassociativity operations are shown to be given in terms of the 6-j symbols of\nthe weak quasitriangular quasi-Hopf algebra obtained by truncating $\\usl$ at\nroots of unity.",
        "positive": "N=1 Supersymmetric Quantum Mechanics on a Curved Space: The quantum mechanics of an N=1 supersymmetric dynamical system constrained\nto a hypersurface embedded in the higher dimensional Euclidean space is\ninvestigated by using the projection-operator method (POM) of constrained\nsystems. It is shown that the Hamiltonian obtained by the successive operations\nof projection operators contains the additional terms, which are completely\nmissed when imposing constraints before the quantization. We derive the\nconditions the additional terms should satisfy when the N=1 supersymmetry holds\nin the resulting system, and present the geometrical interpretations of these\nadditional terms."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Schur Expansion of Characteristic Polynomials and Random Matrices: We develop a new framework to compute the exact correlators of characteristic\npolynomials, and their inverses, in random matrix theory. Our results hold for\ngeneral potentials and incorporate the effects of an external source. In matrix\nmodel realizations of string theory, these correspond to correlation functions\nof exponentiated \"(anti-)branes\" in a given background of \"momentum branes\".\nOur method relies on expanding the (inverse) determinants in terms of Schur\npolynomials, then re-summing their expectation values over the allowed\nrepresentations of the symmetric group. Beyond unifying previous, seemingly\ndisparate calculations, this powerful technique immediately delivers two new\nresults: 1) the full finite $N$ answer for the correlator of inverse\ndeterminant insertions in the presence of a matrix source, and 2) access to an\ninteresting, novel regime $M>N$, where the number of inverse determinant\ninsertions $M$ exceeds the size of the matrix $N$.",
        "positive": "Simulating a numerical UV Completion of Quartic Galileons: The Galileon theory is a prototypical effective field theory that\nincorporates the Vainshtein screening mechanism--a feature that arises in some\nextensions of General Relativity, such as massive gravity. The Vainshtein\neffect requires that the theory contain higher order derivative interactions,\nwhich results in Galileons, and theories like them, failing to be technically\nwell-posed. While this is not a fundamental issue when the theory is correctly\ntreated as an effective field theory, it nevertheless poses significant\npractical problems when numerically simulating this model. These problems can\nbe tamed using a number of different approaches: introducing an active low-pass\nfilter and/or constructing a UV completion at the level of the equations of\nmotion, which controls the high momentum modes. These methods have been tested\non cubic Galileon interactions, and have been shown to reproduce the correct\nlow-energy behavior. Here we show how the numerical UV-completion method can be\napplied to quartic Galileon interactions, and present the first simulations of\nthe quartic Galileon model using this technique. We demonstrate that our\napproach can probe physics in the regime of the effective field theory in which\nthe quartic term dominates, while successfully reproducing the known results\nfor cubic interactions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On black hole thermodynamics from super Yang-Mills: We consider maximally supersymmetric U(N) Yang-Mills in (1+p)-dimensions for\np < 3. In the 't Hooft large N limit this is conjectured to be dual to N\nDp-branes in the decoupling limit. At low temperatures T << \\lambda^{1/(3-p)}\ngoverned by the dimensionful 't Hooft coupling \\lambda, supergravity black\nholes predict the free energy density goes as ~ N^2 T^{2(7-p)/(5-p)} and the\nexpectation value of the scalars goes as ~ T^{2/(5-p)}, with dimensions made up\nby \\lambda. The purpose of this work is to explain the origin of these peculiar\npowers of temperature. We argue that these powers naturally arise by requiring\nthat the low energy moduli of the theory become strongly coupled at low\ntemperature. As an application, we consider the BMN quantum mechanics that\nresults from a supersymmetric deformation of the p=0 theory. The black holes\ndual to this deformed theory have not yet been constructed, and our analysis\ncan be used to make an explicit prediction for their thermodynamic behaviour.",
        "positive": "A black hole hologram in de Sitter space: In this paper we show that the entropy of de Sitter space with a black hole\nin arbitrary dimension can be understood using a modified Cardy-Verlinde\nentropy formula. We also comment on the observer dependence of the de Sitter\nentropy."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Orientifold limits of singular $F$-theory vacua: We construct global orientifold limits of singular $F$-theory vacua whose\nassociated gauge groups are SO(3), SO(5), SO(6), $F_4$, SU(4), and Spin(7). For\neach limit we show a universal tadpole relation is satisfied, which is a\nhomological identity whose dimension-zero component encodes the matching of the\nD3 charge between each $F$-theory compactification and its orientifold limit.\nWhile for smooth $F$-theory compactifications which admit global orientifold\nlimits the contribution to the associated universal tadpole relation comes from\nits Chern class, we show that for all singular $F$-theory compactifications\nunder consideration, the contribution to the universal tadpole relation comes\nfrom its \\emph{stringy} Chern class.",
        "positive": "Self-dual solutions of 2+1 Einstein gravity with a negative cosmological\n  constant: All the causally regular geometries obtained from (2+1)-anti-de Sitter space\nby identifications by isometries of the form $P \\rightarrow (\\exp \\pi\\xi) P$,\nwhere $\\xi$ is a self-dual Killing vector of $so(2,2)$, are explicitely\nconstructed. Their remarkable properties (Killing vectors, Killing spinors) are\nlisted. These solutions of Einstein gravity with negative cosmological constant\nare also invariant under the string duality transformation applied to the\nangular translational symmetry $\\phi \\rightarrow \\phi+a$ The analysis is made\nparticularly convenient through the construction of {\\em global} coordinates\nadapted to the identifications.}"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "$SU(3)_C\\times SU(2)_L\\times U(1)_Y\\left( \\times U(1)_X \\right)$ as a\n  symmetry of division algebraic ladder operators: We demonstrate a model which captures certain attractive features of $SU(5)$\ntheory, while providing a possible escape from proton decay. In this paper we\nshow how ladder operators arise from the division algebras $\\mathbb{R}$,\n$\\mathbb{C}$, $\\mathbb{H}$, and $\\mathbb{O}$. From the $SU(n)$ symmetry of\nthese ladder operators, we then demonstrate a model which has much structural\nsimilarity to Georgi and Glashow's $SU(5)$ grand unified theory. However, in\nthis case, the transitions leading to proton decay are expected to be blocked,\ngiven that they coincide with presumably forbidden transformations which would\nincorrectly mix distinct algebraic actions. As a result, we find that we are\nleft with $G_{sm} = SU(3)_C\\times SU(2)_L\\times U(1)_Y / \\mathbb{Z}_6$.\nFinally, we point out that if $U(n)$ ladder symmetries are used in place of\n$SU(n)$, it may then be possible to find this same $G_{sm}=SU(3)_C\\times\nSU(2)_L\\times U(1)_Y / \\mathbb{Z}_6$, together with an extra $U(1)_X$ symmetry,\nrelated to $B-L$.",
        "positive": "Soft photon radiation and entanglement: We study the entanglement between soft and hard particles produced in generic\nscattering processes in QED. The reduced density matrix for the hard particles,\nobtained via tracing over the entire spectrum of soft photons, is shown to have\na large eigenvalue, which governs the behavior of the Renyi entropies and of\nthe non-analytic part of the entanglement entropy at low orders in perturbation\ntheory. The leading perturbative entanglement entropy is logarithmically IR\ndivergent. The coefficient of the IR divergence exhibits certain universality\nproperties, irrespectively of the dressing of the asymptotic charged particles\nand the detailed properties of the initial state. In a certain kinematical\nlimit, the coefficient is proportional to the cusp anomalous dimension in QED.\nFor Fock basis computations associated with two-electron scattering, we derive\nan exact expression for the large eigenvalue of the density matrix in terms of\nhard scattering amplitudes, which is valid at any finite order in perturbation\ntheory. As a result, the IR logarithmic divergences appearing in the\nexpressions for the Renyi and entanglement entropies persist at any finite\norder of the perturbative expansion. To all orders, however, the IR logarithmic\ndivergences exponentiate, rendering the large eigenvalue of the density matrix\nIR finite. The all-orders Renyi entropies (per unit time, per particle flux),\nwhich are shown to be proportional to the total inclusive cross-section in the\ninitial state, are also free of IR divergences. The entanglement entropy, on\nthe other hand, retains non-analytic, logarithmic behavior with respect to the\nsize of the box (which provides the IR cutoff) even to all orders in\nperturbation theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "AdS$_3$ T-duality and evidence for ${\\cal N}=5,6$ superconformal quantum\n  mechanics: We construct two families of AdS$_2$ vacua in Type IIB Supergravity\nperforming U(1) and SL(2) T-dualities on the $\\text{AdS}_3 \\times \\text{$\n\\widehat{\\mathbb{CP}}\\!\\!~^3$} \\times $ I solutions to Type IIA recently\nreported in arXiv:2304.12207. Depending on the T-duality we operate, we find\ntwo different classes of solutions of the type $\\text{AdS}_2 \\times \\text{$\n\\widehat{\\mathbb{CP}}\\!\\!~^3$} \\times $ I $\\times$ I and $\\text{AdS}_3 \\times\n\\text{$ \\widehat{\\mathbb{CP}}\\!\\!~^3$} \\times $ I $\\times$ S$^1$. This provides\nevidence for more general classes of solutions $\\text{AdS}_2 \\times \\text{$\n\\widehat{\\mathbb{CP}}\\!\\!~^3$} \\times \\Sigma $, dual to superconformal quantum\nmechanics with ${\\cal N}=5,6$ supersymmetry.",
        "positive": "The 1.5 Order Formalism does not Generate a Valid BRS Transformation for\n  Supergravity: The 1.5 order formalism (sometimes called a `trick') is the cornerstone of\nmodern supergravity. In this paper, the free massive Wess--Zumino theory is\nused as a simple toy model to look at the BRS symmetry of the first, second and\n1.5 order formalisms. This easily shows that the 1.5 order formalism is flawed\nfor all theories. The 1.5 algebra naively appears to close. However, when it is\nanalyzed in detail, in a simple model, where easy calculations are available,\nthe 1.5 formalism always generates an invalid BRS operator, which is not even\nnilpotent. This clearly is also the case for supergravity. It follows that a\nrevised and completed set of nilpotent first order supergravity transformations\nis needed to properly understand 3+1 dimensional supergravity. Such a set seems\neasy to write down, by simply adding two more auxiliary fields so that the spin\nconnection becomes part of a super--YM multiplet."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Role of switching-on and -off effects in the vacuum instability: We find exact differential mean numbers of fermions and bosons created from\nthe vacuum due to a composite electric field of special configuration. This\nconfiguration imitates a finite switching-on and -off regime and consists of\nfields that switch-on exponentially from the infinitely remote past, remains\nconstant during a certain interval $T$ and switch-off exponentially to the\ninfinitely remote future. We show that calculations in the slowly varying field\napproximation are completely predictable in the framework of a locally constant\nfield approximation. Beyond the slowly varying field approximation, we study\neffects of fast switching-on and -off in a number of cases when the size of the\ndimensionless parameter $\\sqrt{eE}T$ is either close or exceeds the threshold\nvalue that determines the transition from a regime sensitive to on-off\nparameters to the slowly varying regime for which these effects are secondary.",
        "positive": "Dilaton Black Hole Entropy from Entropy Function Formalism: It has been shown that the entropy function formalism is an efficient way to\ncalculate the entropy of black holes in string theory. We check this formalism\nfor the extremal charged dilaton black hole. We find the general\nfour-derivative correction on the black hole entropy from the value of the\nentropy function at its extremum point."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Brane-Antibrane Action from Boundary String Field Theory: In this paper we give the boundary string field theory description of\nbrane-antibrane systems. From the world-sheet action of brane-antibrane systems\nwe obtain the tachyon potential and discuss the tachyon condensation exactly.\nWe also find the world-volume action including the gauge fields. Moreover we\ndetermine RR-couplings exactly for non-BPS branes and brane-antibranes. These\ncouplings are written by superconnections and correspond to K^1(M) and K^0(M)\nfor the non-BPS branes and brane-antibranes, respectively. We also show that\nMyers terms appear if we include the transverse scalars in the boundary sigma\nmodel action.",
        "positive": "Note on Twisted Elliptic Genus of K3 Surface: We discuss the possibility of Mathieu group M24 acting as symmetry group on\nthe K3 elliptic genus as proposed recently by Ooguri, Tachikawa and one of the\npresent authors. One way of testing this proposal is to derive the twisted\nelliptic genera for all conjugacy classes of M24 so that we can determine the\nunique decomposition of expansion coefficients of K3 elliptic genus into\nirreducible representations of M24. In this paper we obtain all the hitherto\nunknown twisted elliptic genera and find a strong evidence of Mathieu\nmoonshine."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dissipative Axial Inflation: We analyze in detail the background cosmological evolution of a scalar field\ncoupled to a massless abelian gauge field through an axial term\n$\\frac{\\phi}{f_\\gamma} F \\tilde{F}$, such as in the case of an axion. Gauge\nfields in this case are known to experience tachyonic growth and therefore can\nbackreact on the background as an effective dissipation into radiation energy\ndensity $\\rho_R$, which which can lead to inflation without the need of a flat\npotential. We analyze the system, for momenta $k$ smaller than the cutoff\n$f_\\gamma$, including numerically the backreaction. We consider the evolution\nfrom a given static initial condition and explicitly show that, if $f_\\gamma$\nis smaller than the field excursion $\\phi_0$ by about a factor of at least\n${\\cal O} (20)$, there is a friction effect which turns on before that the\nfield can fall down and which can then lead to a very long stage of inflation\nwith a generic potential. In addition we find superimposed oscillations, which\nwould get imprinted on any kind of perturbations, scalars and tensors. Such\noscillations have a period of 4-5 efolds and an amplitude which is typically\nless than a few percent and decreases linearly with $f_\\gamma$. We also stress\nthat the comoving curvature perturbation on uniform density should be sensitive\nto slow-roll parameters related to $\\rho_R$ rather than $\\dot{\\phi}^2/2$,\nalthough we postpone a calculation of the power spectrum and of non-gaussianity\nto future work and we simply define and compute suitable slow roll parameters.\nFinally we stress that this scenario may be realized in the axion case, if the\ncoupling $1/f_\\gamma$ to U(1) (photons) is much larger than the coupling\n$1/f_G$ to non-abelian gauge fields (gluons), since the latter sets the range\nof the potential and therefore the maximal allowed $\\phi_0\\sim f_G$.",
        "positive": "Twisted chiral algebras of class $\\mathcal{S}$ and mixed Feigin-Frenkel\n  gluing: The correspondence between four-dimensional $\\mathcal{N}=2$ superconformal\nfield theories and vertex operator algebras, when applied to theories of class\n$\\mathcal{S}$, leads to a rich family of VOAs that have been given the monicker\nchiral algebras of class $\\mathcal{S}$. A remarkably uniform construction of\nthese vertex operator algebras has been put forward by Tomoyuki Arakawa in\narXiv:1811.01577. The construction of arXiv:1811.01577 takes as input a choice\nof simple Lie algebra $\\mathfrak{g}$, and applies equally well regardless of\nwhether $\\mathfrak{g}$ is simply laced or not. In the non-simply laced case,\nhowever, the resulting VOAs do not correspond in any clear way to known\nfour-dimensional theories. On the other hand, the standard realisation of class\n$\\mathcal S$ theories involving non-simply laced symmetry algebras requires the\ninclusion of outer automorphism twist lines, and this requires a further\ndevelopment of the approach of arXiv:1811.01577. In this paper, we give an\naccount of those further developments and propose definitions of most chiral\nalgebras of class $\\mathcal S$ with outer automorphism twist lines. We show\nthat our definition passes some consistency checks and point out some important\nopen problems."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Christ-Lee Model: Augmented Supervariable Approach: We derive the complete set of off-shell nilpotent and absolutely\nanticommuting (anti-)BRST as well as (anti-)co-BRST symmetry transformations\nfor the gauge-invariant Christ-Lee model by exploiting the celebrated\n(dual-)horizontality conditions together with the gauge-invariant and\n(anti-)co-BRST invariant restrictions within the framework of geometrical\n\"augmented\" supervariable approach to BRST formalism. We show the (anti-) BRST\nand (anti-)co-BRST invariances of the Lagrangian in the context of\nsupervariable approach. We also provide the geometrical origin and capture the\nkey properties associated with the (anti-)BRST and (anti-)co-BRST symmetry\ntransformations (and corresponding conserved charges) in terms of the\nsupervariables and Grassmannian translational generators.",
        "positive": "Supersymmetric Spin Glass: The evidently supersymmetric four-dimensional Wess-Zumino model with quenched\ndisorder is considered at the one-loop level. The infrared fixed points of a\nbeta-function form the moduli space $M = RP^2$ where two types of phases were\nfound: with and without replica symmetry. While the former phase possesses only\na trivial fixed point, this point become unstable in the latter phase which may\nbe interpreted as a spin glass phase."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exact results in N=2 gauge theories: We derive exact formulae for the partition function and the expectation\nvalues of Wilson/'t Hooft loops, thus directly checking their S-duality\ntransformations. We focus on a special class of N=2 gauge theories on S^4 with\nfundamental matter. In particular we show that, for a specific choice of the\nmasses, the matrix model integral defining the gauge theory partition function\nlocalizes around a finite set of critical points where it can be explicitly\nevaluated and written in terms of generalized hypergeometric functions. From\nthe AGT perspective the gauge theory partition function, evaluated with this\nchoice of masses, is viewed as a four point correlator involving the insertion\nof a degenerated field. The well known simplicity of the degenerated correlator\nreflects the fact that for these choices of masses only a very restrictive type\nof instanton configurations contributes to the gauge theory partition function.",
        "positive": "Energy's and amplitudes' positivity: In QFT, the null energy condition (NEC) for a classical field configuration\nis usually associated with that configuration's stability against small\nperturbations, and with the sub-luminality of these. Here, we exhibit an\neffective field theory that allows for stable NEC-violating solutions with\nexactly luminal excitations only. The model is the recently introduced\n`galileon', or more precisely its conformally invariant version. We show that\nthe theory's low-energy S-matrix obeys standard positivity as implied by\ndispersion relations. However we also show that if the relevant NEC-violating\nsolution is inside the effective theory, then other (generic) solutions allow\nfor superluminal signal propagation. While the usual association between\nsub-luminality and positivity is not obeyed by our example, that between NEC\nand sub-luminality is, albeit in a less direct way than usual."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The first-order deviation of superpolynomial in an arbitrary\n  representation from the special polynomial: Like all other knot polynomials, the superpolynomials should be defined in\narbitrary representation R of the gauge group in (refined) Chern-Simons theory.\nHowever, not a single example is yet known of a superpolynomial beyond\nsymmetric or antisymmetric representations. We consider the expansion of the\nsuperpolynomial around the special polynomial in powers of (q-1) and (t-1) and\nsuggest a simple formula for the first-order deviation, which is presumably\nvalid for arbitrary representation. This formula can serve as a crucial lacking\ntest of various formulas for non-trivial superpolynomials, which will appear in\nthe literature in the near future.",
        "positive": "Property values: By ascribing a complex anticommuting variable $\\zeta$ to each basic {\\em\nproperty} of a field, it is possible to describe all the fundamental particles\nas combinations of only five $\\zeta$ and understand the occurrence of particle\ngenerations. An extension of space-time $x$ to include property then specifies\nthe `where-when and what' of an event and it allows for a generalized\nrelativity wherein the gauge fields lie in the $x - \\zeta$ sector and the Higgs\nfields in the $\\zeta - \\zeta$ sector."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Self-dual compact gauged baby skyrmions in a continuous medium: We investigate the existence of self-dual configurations in the restricted\ngauged baby Skyrme model enlarged with a $Z_2$--symmetry, which introduces a\nreal scalar field. For such a purpose, we implement the Bogomol'nyi procedure\nthat provides a lower bound for the energy and the respective self-dual\nequations whose solutions saturate such a bound. Aiming to solve the self-dual\nequations, we specifically focused on a class of topological structures called\ncompacton. We obtain the corresponding numerical solutions within two distinct\nscenarios, each defined by a scalar field, allowing us to describe different\nmagnetic media. Finally, we analyze how the compacton profiles change when\nimmersed in each medium.",
        "positive": "SU(2)_0 and OSp(2|2)_{-2} WZNW models : Two current algebras, one\n  Logarithmic CFT: We show that the SU(2)_0 WZNW model has a hidden OSp(2|2)_{-2} symmetry. Both\nthese theories are known to have logarithms in their correlation functions. We\nalso show that, like OSp(2|2)_{-2}, the logarithmic structure present in the\nSU(2)_0 model is due to the underlying c=-2 sector. We also demonstrate that\nthe quantum Hamiltonian reduction of SU(2)_0 leads very directly to the\ncorrelation functions of the c=-2 model. We also discuss some of the novel\nboundary effects which can take place in this model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Field Theory in Large N Wonderland: Three Lectures: In these lecture notes, I review how to use large N techniques to solve\nquantum field theories in various dimensions. In particular, the case of\nN-dimensional quantum mechanics, non-relativistic cold and dense neutron\nmatter, and scalar field theory in four dimensions are covered. A recurring\ntheme is that large N solutions are fully non-perturbative, and can be used to\nreliably access quantum field theory for parameter regions where weak-coupling\nexpansions simply fail.",
        "positive": "TTbar deformation and the light-cone gauge: The homogeneous inviscid Burgers equation which determines the spectrum of a\nTTbar deformed model has a natural interpretation as the condition of the gauge\ninvariance of the target space-time energy and momentum of a (non-critical)\nstring theory quantised in a generalised uniform light-cone gauge which depends\non the deformation parameter. As a simple application of the light-cone gauge\ninterpretation we derive the TTbar deformed Lagrangian for a system of any\nnumber of scalars, fermions and chiral bosons with an arbitrary potential. We\nfind that the TTbar deformation is driven by the canonical Noether\nstress-energy tensor but not the covariant one."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Observables from the Spinning Eikonal: We study the classical dynamics of spinning particles using scattering\namplitudes and eikonal exponentiation. We show that observables are determined\nby a simple algorithm. A wealth of complexity arises in perturbation theory as\npositions, momenta and spins must be iteratively corrected at each order. Even\nthough we restrict ourselves to one-loop computations at quadratic order in\nspin, nevertheless we encounter and resolve a number of subtle effects.\nFinally, we clarify the links between our work and various other eikonal\napproaches to spinning observables.",
        "positive": "Classification of kinematical Lie algebras: We summarise the classification of kinematical Lie algebras in arbitrary\ndimension and indicate which of the kinematical Lie algebras admit an invariant\ninner product."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Space of Integrable Systems from Generalised $T\\bar{T}$-Deformations: We introduce an extension of the generalised $T\\bar{T}$-deformation described\nby Smirnov-Zamolodchikov, to include the complete set of extensive charges. We\nshow that this gives deformations of S-matrices beyond CDD factors, generating\narbitrary functional dependence on momenta. We further derive from basic\nprinciples of statistical mechanics the flow equations for the free energy and\nall free energy fluxes. From this follows, without invoking the microscopic\nBethe ansatz or other methods from integrability, that the thermodynamics of\nthe deformed models are described by the integral equations of the\nthermodynamic Bethe-Ansatz, and that the exact average currents take the form\nexpected from generalised hydrodynamics, both in the classical and quantum\nrealms.",
        "positive": "Holographic incoherent transport in Einstein-Maxwell-dilaton Gravity: Recent progress in the holographic approach makes it more transparent that\neach conductivity can be decomposed into the coherent contribution due to\nmomentum relaxation and the incoherent contribution due to intrinsic current\nrelaxation. In this paper we investigate this decomposition in the framework of\nEinstein-Maxwell-dilaton theory. We derive the perturbation equations, which\nare decoupled for a large class of background solutions, and then obtain the\nanalytic results of conductivity with the slow momentum relaxation in low\nfrequency approximation, which is consistent with the known results from memory\nmatrix techniques."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Overlaps of Partial Neel States and Bethe States: Partial Neel states are generalizations of the ordinary Neel (classical\nanti-ferromagnet) state that can have arbitrary integer spin. We study overlaps\nof these states with Bethe states. We first identify this overlap with a\npartial version of reflecting-boundary domain-wall partition function, and then\nderive various determinant representations for off-shell and on-shell Bethe\nstates.",
        "positive": "Bit threads on hypergraphs: Recent work has characterized the various inequalities that entanglement\nentropies represented by min-cuts on hypergraphs will satisfy. This collection,\nthe hypergraph entropy cone, can be seen as a generalization of the holographic\nentropy cone which describes the entropies given by both min-cuts on 2-graphs\nand those of holographic states in AdS/CFT. In this article we describe a\ngeneralization of bit threads which allows us to describe max multiflows on\nhypergraphs. We further comment on its properties and interpretation in\nholography."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exploring the gravity sector of emergent higher-spin gravity: effective\n  action and a solution: We elaborate the description of the semi-classical gravity sector of\nYang-Mills matrix models on a covariant quantum FLRW background. The basic\ngeometric structure is a frame, which arises from the Poisson structure on an\nunderlying $S^2$ bundle over space-time. The equations of motion for the\nassociated Weitzenb\\\"ock torsion obtained in arXiv:2002.02742 are rewritten in\nthe form of Yang-Mills-type equations for the frame. An effective action is\nfound which reproduces these equations of motion, which contains an\nEinstein-Hilbert term coupled to a dilaton, an axion and a Maxwell-type term\nfor the dynamical frame. An explicit rotationally invariant solution is found,\nwhich describes a gravitational field coupled to the dilaton.",
        "positive": "Indices for 6 dimensional superconformal field theories: We review some recent developments in the 6 dimensional (2, 0) superconformal\nfield theories, focusing on their BPS spectra in the Coulomb and symmetric\nphases computed by various Witten indices. We shall discuss the instanton\npartition function of 5d maximal super-Yang-Mills theory, and the 6d\nsuperconformal index."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Microscopic origin of the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy of supersymmetric\n  AdS$_{\\bf 5}$ black holes: We present a holographic derivation of the entropy of supersymmetric\nasymptotically AdS$_5$ black holes. We define a BPS limit of black hole\nthermodynamics by first focussing on a supersymmetric family of complexified\nsolutions and then reaching extremality. We show that in this limit the black\nhole entropy is the Legendre transform of the on-shell gravitational action\nwith respect to three chemical potentials subject to a constraint. This\nconstraint follows from supersymmetry and regularity in the Euclidean bulk\ngeometry. Further, we calculate, using localization, the exact partition\nfunction of the dual $\\mathcal{N}=1$ SCFT on a twisted $S^1\\times S^3$ with\ncomplexified chemical potentials obeying this constraint. This defines a\ngeneralization of the supersymmetric Casimir energy, whose Legendre transform\nat large $N$ exactly reproduces the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy of the black\nhole.",
        "positive": "Complexity for link complement States in Chern Simons Theory: We study notions of complexity for link complement states in Chern Simons\ntheory with compact gauge group $G$. Such states are obtained by the Euclidean\npath integral on the complement of $n$-component links inside a 3-manifold\n$M_3$. For the Abelian theory at level $k$ we find that a natural set of\nfundamental gates exists and one can identify the complexity as differences of\nlinking numbers modulo $k$. Such linking numbers can be viewed as coordinates\nwhich embeds all link complement states into $\\mathbb{Z}_k ^{\\otimes n(n-1)/2}$\nand the complexity is identified as the distance with respect to a particular\nnorm. For non-Abelian Chern Simons theories, the situation is much more\ncomplicated. We focus here on torus link states and show that the problem can\nbe reduced to defining complexity for a single knot complement state. We\nsuggest a systematic way to choose a set of minimal universal generators for\nsingle knot complement states and then evaluate the complexity using such\ngenerators. A detailed illustration is shown for $SU(2)_k$ Chern Simons theory\nand the results can be extended to general compact gauge group."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Coulomb branches for rank 2 gauge groups in 3d N=4 gauge theories: The Coulomb branch of 3-dimensional N=4 gauge theories is the space of bare\nand dressed BPS monopole operators. We utilise the conformal dimension to\ndefine a fan which, upon intersection with the weight lattice of a GNO-dual\ngroup, gives rise to a collection of semi-groups. It turns out that the unique\nHilbert bases of these semi-groups are a sufficient, finite set of monopole\noperators which generate the entire chiral ring. Moreover, the knowledge of the\nproperties of the minimal generators is enough to compute the Hilbert series\nexplicitly. The techniques of this paper allow an efficient evaluation of the\nHilbert series for general rank gauge groups. As an application, we provide\nvarious examples for all rank two gauge groups to demonstrate the novel\ninterpretation.",
        "positive": "Deconfinement and Thermodynamics in 5D Holographic Models of QCD: We review 5D holographic approaches to finite temperature QCD. Thermodynamic\nproperties of the \"hard-wall\" and the \"soft-wall\" models are derived. Various\nnon-realistic features in these models are cured by the set-up of improved\nholographic QCD, that we review here."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Mass Deformations of Unoriented Quiver Theories: We study the interplay between mass deformations and unoriented projections\nof super-conformal quiver gauge theories resulting from D3-branes at (toric)\nCalabi-Yau singularities. We focus on simple orbifold cases\n($\\mathbb{C}^3/\\mathbb{Z}_3$ and $\\mathbb{C}^3/\\mathbb{Z}_4$) and their\nnon-orbifold descendants. This allows us to generalize the construction rules\nand clarify points that have been previously overlooked. In particular we spell\nout the conditions of anomaly cancellations as well as super-conformal\ninvariance that typically require the introduction of flavour branes, which in\nturn may spoil toric symmetry. Finally, we discuss duality cascades in this\ncontext and the interplay between Seiberg/toric duality and unoriented\nprojection with (or without) mass deformations.",
        "positive": "Background independent exact renormalisation: A geometric formulation of Wilson's exact renormalisation group is presented\nbased on a gauge invariant ultraviolet regularisation scheme without the\nintroduction of a background field. This allows for a manifestly background\nindependent approach to quantum gravity and gauge theories in the continuum.\nThe regularisation is a geometric variant of Slavnov's scheme consisting of a\nmodified action, which suppresses high momentum modes, supplemented by\nPauli-Villars determinants in the path integral measure. An exact\nrenormalisation group flow equation for the Wilsonian effective action is\nderived by requiring that the path integral is invariant under a change in the\ncutoff scale while preserving quasi-locality. The renormalisation group flow is\ndefined directly on the space of gauge invariant actions without the need to\nfix the gauge. We show that the one-loop beta function in Yang-Mills and the\none-loop divergencies of General Relativity can be calculated without fixing\nthe gauge. As a first non-perturbative application we find the form of the\nYang-Mills beta function within a simple truncation of the Wilsonian effective\naction."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Color Superconductivity in Holographic SYM Theory: A holographic bottom-up model used in studying the superconducting system is\napplied to search for the color superconducting phase of supersymmetric\nYang-Mills theory. We apply the probe analysis of this model to the\nsupersymmetric Yang-Mills theory in both the confinement and deconfinement\nphases. In this analysis, we find the color superconductivity in both phases\nwhen the baryon chemical potential exceeds a certain critical value. This\nresult implies that, above the critical chemical potential, a color non-singlet\ndiquark operator, namely the Cooper pair, has its vacuum expectation value even\nin the confinement phase. In order to improve this peculiar situation, we\nproceed the analysis by taking account of the full back-reaction from the\nprobe. As a result, the color superconducting phase, which is observed in the\nprobe approximation, disappears in both the confinement and deconfinement\nphases when parameters of the theory are set within their reasonable values.",
        "positive": "Marginal Deformations of 3d N=4 Linear Quiver Theories: We study superconformal deformations of the $T_\\rho^{\\hat\\rho}[SU(N)]$\ntheories of Gaiotto-Hanany-Witten, paying special attention to mixed-branch\noperators with both electrically- and magnetically-charged fields. We explain\nwhy all marginal ${\\cal N}=2$ operators of an ${\\cal N}=4$ CFT$_3$ can be\nextracted unambiguously from the superconformal index. Computing the index at\nthe appropriate order we show that the mixed moduli in\n$T_\\rho^{\\hat\\rho}[SU(N)]$ theories are double-string operators transforming in\nthe (Adjoint, Adjoint) representation of the electric and magnetic flavour\ngroups, up to some overcounting for quivers with abelian gauge nodes. We\ncomment on the holographic interpretation of the results, arguing in particular\nthat gauged supergravities can capture the entire moduli space if, in addition\nto the (classical) parameters of the background solution, one takes also into\naccount the (quantization) moduli of boundary conditions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hidden Simplicity of Gauge Theory Amplitudes: These notes were given as lectures at the CERN Winter School on Supergravity,\nStrings and Gauge Theory 2010. We describe the structure of scattering\namplitudes in gauge theories, focussing on the maximally supersymmetric theory\nto highlight the hidden symmetries which appear. Using the BCFW recursion\nrelations we solve for the tree-level S-matrix in N=4 super Yang-Mills theory,\nand describe how it produces a sum of invariants of a large symmetry algebra.\nWe review amplitudes in the planar theory beyond tree-level, describing the\nconnection between amplitudes and Wilson loops, and discuss the implications of\nthe hidden symmetries.",
        "positive": "Holographic complexity is nonlocal: We study the \"complexity equals volume\" (CV) and \"complexity equals action\"\n(CA) conjectures by examining moments of of time symmetry for $\\rm AdS_3$\nwormholes having $n$ asymptotic regions and arbitrary (orientable) internal\ntopology. For either prescription, the complexity relative to $n$ copies of the\n$M=0$ BTZ black hole takes the form $\\Delta C = \\alpha c \\chi $, where $c$ is\nthe central charge and $\\chi$ is the Euler character of the bulk time-symmetric\nsurface. The coefficients $\\alpha_V = -4\\pi/3$, $\\alpha_A = 1/6 $ defined by CV\nand CA are independent of both temperature and any moduli controlling the\ngeometry inside the black hole. Comparing with the known structure of dual CFT\nstates in the hot wormhole limit, the temperature and moduli independence of\n$\\alpha_V$, $\\alpha_A$ implies that any CFT gate set defining either complexity\ncannot be local. In particular, the complexity of an efficient quantum circuit\nbuilding local thermofield-double-like entanglement of thermal-sized patches\ndoes not depend on the separation of the patches so entangled. We also comment\non implications of the (positive) sign found for $\\alpha_A$, which requires the\nassociated complexity to decrease when handles are added to our wormhole."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Scaling Exponents for Lattice Quantum Gravity in Four Dimensions: In this work nonperturbative aspects of quantum gravity are investigated\nusing the lattice formulation, and some new results are presented for critical\nexponents, amplitudes and invariant correlation functions. Values for the\nuniversal scaling dimensions are compared with other nonperturbative approaches\nto gravity in four dimensions, and specifically to the conjectured value for\nthe universal critical exponent $\\nu =1 /3$. It is found that the lattice\nresults are generally consistent with gravitational anti-screening, which would\nimply a slow increase in the strength of the gravitational coupling with\ndistance, and here detailed estimates for exponents and amplitudes\ncharacterizing this slow rise are presented. Furthermore, it is shown that in\nthe lattice approach (as for gauge theories) the quantum theory is highly\nconstrained, and eventually by virtue of scaling depends on a rather small set\nof physical parameters. Arguments are given in support of the statement that\nthe fundamental reference scale for the growth of the gravitational coupling\n$G$ with distance is represented by the observed scaled cosmological constant\n$\\lambda$, which in gravity acts as an effective nonperturbative infrared\ncutoff. In the vacuum condensate picture a fundamental relationship emerges\nbetween the scale characterizing the running of $G$ at large distances, the\nmacroscopic scale for the curvature as described by the observed cosmological\nconstant, and the behavior of invariant gravitational correlation functions at\nlarge distances. Overall, the lattice results suggest that the infrared slow\ngrowth of $G$ with distance should become observable only on very large\ndistance scales, comparable to $\\lambda$. It is hoped that future high\nprecision satellite experiments will possibly come within reach of this small\nquantum correction, as suggested by a vacuum condensate picture of quantum\ngravity.",
        "positive": "Thermodynamics of a charged hairy black hole in (2+1) dimensions: In this paper we study thermodynamics, statistics and spectroscopic aspects\nof a charged black hole with a scalar hair coupled to the gravity in (2+1)\ndimensions. We obtained effects of the black hole charge and scalar field on\nthe thermodynamical and statistical quantities. We find that scalar charge may\nincrease entropy, temperature and probability, while may decrease black hole\nmass, free and internal energy. Also electric charge increases probability and\ndecreases temperature and internal energy. Also we investigate stability of the\nsystem and find that the thermodynamical stability exists."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Born-Infeld-AdS black hole phase structure: Landau theory and free\n  energy landscape approaches: We start with a brief overview of the basic thermodynamic properties of the\nBorn-Infeld metric in AdS spacetime. Using the concept of the enthalpy\ncharacterizing the total mass of the black hole, in our present paper, we probe\nthe thermal phase transition structure, the dynamic and kinetic behavior of the\nBorn-Infeld-AdS black hole. The emergence of the triple point behavior and the\npossible ruling out the reentrant phase transition, for a certain parametric\nvalue of the charge on the free energy landscape, we scrutinize the stochastic\ndynamics and the kinetic processes. We describe such processes during the black\nhole phase transitions in terms of the Landau functional and equivalently by\nthe Fokker-Planck equation in the context of black hole chemistry.\n  Our analysis establishes a pertinent bridge between the thermal behavior\namong the different states of the Van-der-Waals-like fluids and the\nBorn-Infeld-AdS black holes phases. To visualize the direct implications of the\nLandau functional of the usual Van-der-Waals-like fluids, we consistently\nemployed the generic Landau formalism for the analysis of the black hole phase\ntransitions of the Born-Infeld-AdS black holes. We find that such\ninvestigations are worthy of study in implementing the continuous phase\ntransition behavior during the Hawking radiation. For more details, and in\naddition to the exploitation of the Landau functional, we introduce ...",
        "positive": "Correspondence Principle in a PP-wave Background: We discuss the correspondence point between a string state and a black hole,\nin a pp-wave background, and find that the answer is considerably different\nfrom that in a flat spacetime background."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Phase Transitions of Correlations in Black Hole Geometries: We study the holographic realization of optimized correlation measures --\nmeasures of quantum correlation that generalize elementary entropic formulas --\nin two-dimensional thermal states dual to spacetimes with a black hole horizon.\nWe consider the symmetric bipartite optimized correlation measures: the\nentanglement of purification, Q-correlation, R-correlation, and squashed\nentanglement, as well as the mutual information, a non-optimized correlation\nmeasure, and identify the bulk surface configurations realizing their geometric\nduals over the parameter space of boundary region sizes and the black hole\nradius. This parameter space is divided into phases associated with given\ntopologies for these bulk surface configurations, and first-order phase\ntransitions occur as a new topology of bulk surfaces becomes preferred. The\ndistinct phases can be associated with different degrees of correlation between\nthe boundary regions and the thermal environment. The Q-correlation has the\nrichest behavior, with a structure of nested optimizations leading to two\ntopologically distinct bulk surface configurations being equally valid as\ngeometric duals at generic points in the phase diagram.",
        "positive": "The fate of non-diagonalizable interactions in quasidilaton theory: It has been shown that the spherically symmetric solutions in a subclass of\nquasidilaton theory are stable against all degrees of freedom and does not even\nexhibit superluminal propagation. These solutions can be found by switching off\nscalar-tensor interactions, which can not be removed by a local transformation.\nIn this paper, we extend the analysis to quasidilaton theory, including\nnon-diagonalizable scalar-tensor interactions. We show that all solutions\ninside the Vainshtein radius are problematic : the scalar mode in massive\ngraviton suffers from gradient instabilities, the vector mode are infinitely\nstrongly coupled vector perturbations, or the Vainshtein mechanism is absent."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Heterotic/$F$-theory Duality and Narasimhan-Seshadri Equivalence: Finding the $F$-theory dual of a Heterotic model with Wilson-line symmetry\nbreaking presents the challenge of achieving the dual $\\mathbb{Z}_{2}$-action\non the $F$-theory model in such a way that the $\\mathbb{Z}_{2}$-quotient is\nCalabi-Yau with an Enriques $\\mathrm{GUT}$ surface over which\n$SU\\left(5\\right)_{gauge}$ symmetry is maintained. We propose a new way to\napproach this problem by taking advantage of a little-noticed choice in the\napplication of Narasimhan-Seshadri equivalence between real $E_{8}$-bundles\nwith Yang-Mills connection and their associated complex holomorphic\n$E_{8}^{\\mathbb{C}}$-bundles, namely the one given by the real outer\nautomorphism of $E_{8}^{\\mathbb{C}}$ by complex conjugation. The triviality of\nthe restriction on the compact real form $E_{8}$ allows one to introduce it\ninto the $\\mathbb{Z}_{2}$-action, thereby restoring $E_{8}$- and hence\n$SU\\left(5\\right)_{gauge}$- symmetry on which the Wilson line can be wrapped.",
        "positive": "Cohomological gauge theory, quiver matrix models and Donaldson-Thomas\n  theory: We study the relation between Donaldson-Thomas theory of Calabi-Yau\nthreefolds and a six-dimensional topological Yang-Mills theory. Our main\nexample is the topological U(N) gauge theory on flat space in its Coulomb\nbranch. To evaluate its partition function we use equivariant localization\ntechniques on its noncommutative deformation. As a result the gauge theory\nlocalizes on noncommutative instantons which can be classified in terms of\nN-coloured three-dimensional Young diagrams. We give to these noncommutative\ninstantons a geometrical description in terms of certain stable framed coherent\nsheaves on projective space by using a higher-dimensional generalization of the\nADHM formalism. From this formalism we construct a topological matrix quantum\nmechanics which computes an index of BPS states and provides an alternative\napproach to the six-dimensional gauge theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "G-Structures and Wrapped NS5-Branes: We analyse the geometrical structure of supersymmetric solutions of type II\nsupergravity of the form R^{1,9-n} x M_n with non-trivial NS flux and dilaton.\nSolutions of this type arise naturally as the near-horizon limits of wrapped NS\nfivebrane geometries. We concentrate on the case d=7, preserving two or four\nsupersymmetries, corresponding to branes wrapped on associative or SLAG\nthree-cycles. Given the existence of Killing spinors, we show that M_7 admits a\nG_2-structure or an SU(3)-structure, respectively, of specific type. We also\nprove the converse result. We use the existence of these geometric structures\nas a new technique to derive some known and new explicit solutions, as well as\na simple theorem implying that we have vanishing NS three-form and constant\ndilaton whenever M_7 is compact with no boundary. The analysis extends simply\nto other type II examples and also to type I supergravity.",
        "positive": "Multiplicity-free $U_q(sl_N)$ 6-j symbols: relations, asymptotics,\n  symmetries: A closed form expression for multiplicity-free quantum 6-j symbols (MFS) was\nproposed in arXiv:1302.5143 for symmetric representations of $U_q(sl_N)$, which\nare the simplest class of multiplicity-free representations. In this paper we\nrewrite this expression in terms of q-hypergeometric series ${}_4\\Phi_3$. We\nclaim that it is possible to express any MFS through the 6-j symbol for\n$U_q(sl_2)$ with a certain factor. It gives us a universal tool for the\nextension of various properties of the quantum 6-j symbols for $U_q(sl_2)$ to\nthe MFS. We demonstrate this idea by deriving the asymptotics of the MFS in\nterms of associated tetrahedron for classical algebra $U(sl_N)$.\n  Next we study MFS symmetries using known hypergeometric identities such as\nargument permutations and Sears' transformation. We describe symmetry groups of\nMFS. As a result we get new symmetries, which are a generalization of the\ntetrahedral symmetries and the Regge symmetries for N = 2."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Induced Parity Breaking Term in Arbitrary Odd Dimensions at Finite\n  Temperature: We calculate the exact parity odd part of the effective action\n($\\Gamma_{odd}^{2d+1}$) for massive Dirac fermions in 2d+1 dimensions at finite\ntemperature, for a certain class of gauge field configurations. We consider\nfirst Abelian external gauge fields, and then we deal with the case of a\nnon-Abelian gauge group containing an Abelian U(1) subgroup. For both cases, it\nis possible to show that the result depends on topological invariants of the\ngauge field configurations, and that the gauge transformation properties of\n$\\Gamma_{odd}^{2d+1}$ depend only on those invariants and on the winding number\nof the gauge transformation.",
        "positive": "Hamiltonian Flow in Coulomb Gauge Yang-Mills Theory: We derive a new functional renormalization group equation for Hamiltonian\nYang-Mills theory in Coulomb gauge. The flow equations for the static gluon and\nghost propagators are solved under the assumption of ghost dominance within\ndifferent diagrammatic approximations. The results are compared to those\nobtained in the variational approach and the reliability of the approximations\nis discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A refinement of entanglement entropy and the number of degrees of\n  freedom: We introduce a \"renormalized entanglement entropy\" which is intrinsically UV\nfinite and is most sensitive to the degrees of freedom at the scale of the size\nR of the entangled region. We illustrated the power of this construction by\nshowing that the qualitative behavior of the entanglement entropy for a\nnon-Fermi liquid can be obtained by simple dimensional analysis. We argue that\nthe functional dependence of the \"renormalized entanglement entropy\" on R can\nbe interpreted as describing the renormalization group flow of the entanglement\nentropy with distance scale. The corresponding quantity for a spherical region\nin the vacuum, has some particularly interesting properties. For a conformal\nfield theory, it reduces to the previously proposed central charge in all\ndimensions, and for a general quantum field theory, it interpolates between the\ncentral charges of the UV and IR fixed points as R is varied from zero to\ninfinity. We conjecture that in three (spacetime) dimensions, it is always\nnon-negative and monotonic, and provides a measure of the number of degrees of\nfreedom of a system at scale R. In four dimensions, however, we find examples\nin which it is neither monotonic nor non-negative.",
        "positive": "A fermion-soliton system: self-consistent solutions, vacuum polarization\n  and charge quantization: An integrable two-dimensional system related to certain fermion-soliton\nsystems is studied. The self-consistent solutions of a static version of the\nsystem are obtained by using the tau function approach. The self-consistent\nsolutions appear as an infinite number of topological sectors labeled by $n \\in\n\\IZ_{+}$, such that in each sector the scalar field would evolve continuously\nfrom a trivial configuration to the one with half integer topological charge.\nThe spinor bound states are found analytically for each topological\nconfiguration of the background scalar field. The bound state energy satisfies\nan algebraic equation of degree $2n$, so the study of the energy spectrum finds\na connection to the realm of algebraic geometry. We provide explicit\ncomputations for the topological sectors $n=1,2$. Then, by monitoring the\nenergy spectrum, including the energy flow of any level across $E_n=0$, we\ndiscuss the vacuum polarization induced by the soliton. It is shown that the\nequivalence between the Noether and topological currents and the fact that the\ncoupling constant is related to the one of the Wess-Zumino-Novikov-Witten\n(WZNW) model imply the quantization of the spinor and topological charges.\nMoreover, we show that the soliton mass as a function of the boson mass agrees\nwith the Skyrmes's phenomenological conjecture. Our analytical developments\nimprove and generalize the recent numerical results in the literature performed\nfor a closely related model by Shahkarami and Gousheh, JHEP06(2011)116. The\nconstruction of the bound states corresponding to the topological sectors $n\n\\geq 3$ is briefly outlined."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Longitudinal Rescaling of Quantum Electrodynamics: We investigate quantum longitudinal rescaling of electrodynamics,\ntransforming coordinates as $x^{0,3}\\to\\lambda x^{0,3}$ and $x^{1,2}\\to\nx^{1,2}$, to one loop. We do this by an aspherical Wilsonian renormalization,\nwhich was applied earlier to pure Yang-Mills theory. We find the anomalous\npowers of $\\lambda$ in the renormalized couplings. Our result is only valid for\n$\\lambda \\lesssim 1$, because perturbation theory breaks down for $\\lambda \\ll\n1$.",
        "positive": "Segmented strings coupled to a B-field: In this paper we study segmented strings in AdS$_3$ coupled to a background\ntwo-form whose field strength is proportional to the volume form. By changing\nthe coupling, the theory interpolates between the Nambu-Goto string and the\n$SL(2)$ Wess-Zumino-Witten model. In terms of the kink momentum vectors, the\naction is independent of the coupling and the classical theory reduces to a\nsingle discrete-time Toda-type theory. The WZW model is a singular point in\ncoupling space where the map into Toda variables degenerates."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Finite-size correction and bulk hole-excitations for special case of an\n  open XXZ chain with nondiagonal boundary terms at roots of unity: Using our solution for the open spin-1/2 XXZ quantum spin chain with N spins\nand two arbitrary boundary parameters at roots of unity, the central charge and\nthe conformal dimensions for bulk hole excitations are derived from the 1/N\ncorrection to the energy (Casimir energy).",
        "positive": "Hydrodynamics with gauge anomaly: Variational principle and Hamiltonian\n  formulation: We present a variational principle for relativistic hydrodynamics with\ngauge-anomaly terms for a fluid coupled to an Abelian background gauge field.\nFor this we utilize the Clebsch parametrization of the velocity field. We also\nset up the Hamiltonian formulation and the canonical framework for the theory.\nWhile the equations of motion only involve the density and velocity fields,\ni.e., the Clebsch potentials only appear in the combination which is the\nvelocity field, the generators of symmetry transformations (including the\nHamiltonian) depend explicitly on one of the Clebsch potentials, if the\nbackground field is time-dependent. For the special case of time-independent\nbackground fields, this feature is absent."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Unitarity of Singh-Hagen model in $D$ dimensions: The particle content of the Singh-Hagen model ($SH$) in $D$ dimensions is\nrevisited. We suggest a complete set of spin-projection operators acting on\ntotally symmetric rank-3 fields. We give a general expression for the\npropagator and determine the coefficients of the $SH$ model confirming previous\nresults of the literature. Adding totally symmetric source terms we provide an\nunitarity analysis in $D$ dimensions.",
        "positive": "Cornering Quantum Gravity: After introducing the covariant phase space calculus, Noether's theorems are\ndiscussed, with particular emphasis on Noether's second theorem and the role of\ngauge symmetries. This is followed by the enunciation of the theory of\nasymptotic symmetries, and later its application to gravity. Specifically, we\nreview how the BMS group arises as the asymptotic symmetry group of gravity at\nnull infinity. Symmetries are so powerful and constraining that memory effects\nand soft theorems can be derived from them. The lectures end with more recent\ndevelopments in the field: the corner proposal as a unified paradigm for\nsymmetries in gravity, the extended phase space as a resolution to the problem\nof charge integrability, and eventually the implications of the corner proposal\non quantum gravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Equilateral Non-Gaussianity and New Physics on the Horizon: We examine the effective theory of single-field inflation in the limit where\nthe scalar perturbations propagate with a small speed of sound. In this case\nthe non-linearly realized time-translation symmetry of the Lagrangian implies\nlarge interactions, giving rise to primordial non-Gaussianities. When the\nnon-Gaussianities are measurable, these interactions will become strongly\ncoupled unless new physics appears close to the Hubble scale. Due to its\nproximity to the Hubble scale, the new physics is not necessarily decoupled\nfrom inflationary observables and can potentially affect the predictions of the\nmodel. To understand the types of corrections that may arise, we construct\nweakly-coupled completions of the theory and study their observational\nsignatures.",
        "positive": "On spin 3 interacting with gravity: Recently Boulanger and Leclercq have constructed cubic four derivative\n$3-3-2$ vertex for interaction of spin 3 and spin 2 particles. This vertex is\ntrivially invariant under the gauge transformations of spin 2 field, so it\nseemed that it could be expressed in terms of (linearized) Riemann tensor. And\nindeed in this paper we managed to reproduce this vertex in the form $R\n\\partial \\Phi \\partial \\Phi$, where $R$ -- linearized Riemann tensor and $\\Phi$\n-- completely symmetric third rank tensor. Then we consider deformation of this\nvertex to $(A)dS$ space and show that such deformation produce \"standard\"\ngravitational interaction for spin 3 particles (in linear approximation) in\nagreement with general construction of Fradkin and Vasiliev. Then we turn to\nthe massive case and show that the same higher derivative terms allows one to\nextend gauge invariant description of massive spin 3 particle from constant\ncurvature spaces to arbitrary gravitational backgrounds satisfying $R_{\\mu\\nu}\n= 0$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Instabilities of Solitons: We compute the vacuum polarization energies for a couple of soliton models in\none space and one time dimensions. These solitons are mappings that connect\ndifferent degenerate vacua. From the considered sample solitons we conjecture\nthat the vacuum polarization contribution to the total energy leads to\ninstabilities whenever degenerate vacua with different curvatures in field\nspace are accessible to the soliton.",
        "positive": "Hierarchy problem and the cosmological constant in a five-dimensional\n  Brans-Dicke brane world model: We discuss a new solution, admitting the existence of dS_{4} branes, in\nfive-dimensional Brans-Dicke theory. It is shown that, due to a special form of\na bulk scalar field potential, for certain values of the model parameters the\neffective cosmological constant can be made small on the brane, where the\nhierarchy problem of gravitational interaction is solved. We also discuss new\nstabilization mechanism which is based on the use of auxiliary fields."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "New $\\text{AdS}_2/\\text{CFT}_1$ pairs from $\\text{AdS}_3$ and monopole\n  bubbling: We present general results on generating $\\text{AdS}_2$ solutions to Type II\nsupergravity from $\\text{AdS}_3$ solutions via U(1) and SL(2) T-dualities. We\nfocus on a class of Type IIB solutions with small $\\mathcal{N}=4$\nsupersymmetry, that we show can be embedded into a more general class of\nsolutions obtained by double analytical continuation from $\\text{AdS}_3$\ngeometries with small $\\mathcal{N}=(0,4)$ supersymmetry constructed in the\nliterature. We then start the analysis of the superconformal quantum mechanics\ndual to the $\\mathcal{N}=4$ backgrounds focusing on a subclass of\n$\\text{AdS}_2\\times\\text{S}^3\\times\\mathbb{T}^3$ solutions foliated over a\nRiemann surface. We show that the associated supersymmetric quantum mechanics\ndescribes monopole bubbling in 4d $\\mathcal{N}=2$ supersymmetric gauge theories\nliving in D3-D7 branes, as previously discussed in the literature. Therefore,\nwe propose that our solutions provide a geometrical description via holography\nof monopole bubbling in 4d $\\mathcal{N}=2$ SCFTs. We check our proposal with\nthe computation of the central charge.",
        "positive": "Fermionic pole-skipping in holography: We examine thermal Green's functions of fermionic operators in quantum field\ntheories with gravity duals. The calculations are performed on the gravity side\nusing ingoing Eddington-Finkelstein coordinates. We find that at negative\nimaginary Matsubara frequencies and special values of the wavenumber, there are\nmultiple solutions to the bulk equations of motion that are ingoing at the\nhorizon and thus the boundary Green's function is not uniquely defined. At\nthese points in Fourier space a line of poles and a line of zeros of the\ncorrelator intersect. We analyze these `pole-skipping' points in\nthree-dimensional asymptotically anti-de Sitter spacetimes where exact Green's\nfunctions are known. We then generalize the procedure to higher-dimensional\nspacetimes. We also discuss the special case of a fermion with half-integer\nmass in the BTZ background. We discuss the implications and possible\ngeneralizations of the results."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Space-Cone Gauge, Lorentz Invariance and On-Shell Recursion for\n  One-Loop Yang-Mills amplitudes: Recursion relations are succinctly obtained for $(++... +)$ and $(-++... +)$\namplitudes in the context of the space-cone gauge in QCD. We rely on the\nhelicity symmetry of the problems to dictate our choices of reference twistors\nand the momentum shifts to complexify the amplitudes. Of great importance is\nthe power of gauge Lorentz invariance, which is enough to determine the soft\nfactors in the latter cases.",
        "positive": "Relativistic Rigid Particles: Classical Tachyons and Quantum Anomalies: Causal rigid particles whose action includes an {\\it arbitrary} dependence on\nthe world-line extrinsic curvature are considered. General classes of solutions\nare constructed, including {\\it causal tachyonic} ones. The Hamiltonian\nformulation is developed in detail except for one degenerate situation for\nwhich only partial results are given and requiring a separate analysis.\nHowever, for otherwise generic rigid particles, the precise specification of\nHamiltonian gauge symmetries is obtained with in particular the identification\nof the Teichm$\\ddot{\\rm u}$ller and modular spaces for these systems. Finally,\ncanonical quantisation of the generic case is performed paying special\nattention to the phase space restriction due to causal propagation. A mixed\nLorentz-gravitational anomaly is found in the commutator of Lorentz boosts with\nworld-line reparametrisations. The subspace of gauge invariant physical states\nis therefore not invariant under Lorentz transformations. Consequences for\nrigid strings and membranes are also discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Scattering amplitudes from a deconstruction of Feynman diagrams: We show how to apply the BCFW recursion relation to Feynman loop integrals\nwith the help of the Feynman-tree theorem. We deconstruct in this way all\nFeynman diagrams in terms of on-shell subamplitudes. Every cut originating from\nthe Feynman-tree theorem corresponds to an integration over the phase space of\nan unobserved particle pair. We argue that we can calculate scattering\namplitudes alternatively by the construction of on-shell and gauge-invariant\nsubamplitudes.",
        "positive": "6d $\\mathcal N=(1,0)$ anomalies on $S^1$ and F-theory implications: We show that the pure gauge anomalies of 6d $\\mathcal N=(1,0)$ theories\ncompactified on a circle are captured by field-dependent Chern-Simons terms\nappearing at one-loop in the 5d effective theories. These terms vanish if and\nonly if anomalies are canceled. In order to obtain this result, it is crucial\nto integrate out the massive Kaluza-Klein modes in a way that preserves 6d\nLorentz invariance; the often-used zeta-function regularization is not\nsufficient. Since such field-dependent Chern-Simons terms do not arise in the\nreduction of M-theory on a threefold, six-dimensional F-theory\ncompactifications are automatically anomaly free, whenever the M/F-duality can\nbe used. A perfect match is then found between the 5d $\\mathcal N=1$\nprepotentials of the classical M-theory reduction and one-loop circle\ncompactification of an anomaly free theory. Finally, from this potential, we\nread off the quantum corrections to the gauge coupling functions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Anti-Instability of Complex Ghost: We argue that Lee-Wick's complex ghost appearing in any higher derivative\ntheory is stable and its asymptotic field exists. It may be more appropriate to\ncall it ``anti-unstable\" in the sense that, the more the ghost `decays' into\nlighter ordinary particles, the larger the probability the ghost remains as\nitself becomes. This is explicitly shown by analyzing the two-point functions\nof the ghost Heisenberg field which is obtained as an exact result in the\n$N\\rightarrow\\infty$ limit in a massive scalar ghost theory with light\n$O(N)$-vector scalar matter. The anti-instability is a consequence of the fact\nthat the poles of the complex ghost propagator are located on the physical\nsheet in the complex plane of four-momentum squared. This should be contrasted\nto the case of the ordinary unstable particle, whose propagator has no pole on\nthe physical sheet.",
        "positive": "Super-GCA from $\\mathcal{N} = (2,2)$ Super-Virasoro: We derive the extended Supersymmetric Galilean Conformal Algebra (SGCA) in\ntwo spacetime dimensions by the method of group contraction on $2d$\n$\\mathcal{N}=(2,2)$ superconformal algebra. Both the parent and daughter\nalgebras are infinite-dimensional. We provide the representation theory of the\nalgebra. We adopt a superspace formalism for the SGCA fields, allowing us to\nwrite them down in a compact notation as components of superfields. We also\ndiscuss correlation functions, short supermultiplets and null states."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Star Spectroscopy in the Constant B field Background: In this paper we calculate the spectrum of Neumann matrix with zero modes in\nthe presence of the constant B field in Witten's cubic string field theory. We\nfind both the continuous spectrum inside $[{-1\\over3}, 0)$ and the constraint\non the existence of the discrete spectrum. For generic $\\theta$, -1/3 is not in\nthe discrete spectrum but in the continuous spectrum. For each eigenvalue in\nthe continuous spectrum there are four twist-definite degenerate eigenvector\nexcept for -1/3 at which the degeneracy is two. However, for each\ntwist-definite eigenvector the twist parity is opposite among the two spacetime\ncomponents. Based upon the result at -1/3 we prove that the ratio of brane\ntension to be one as expected. Furthermore, we discuss the factorization of\nstar algebra in the presence of B field under zero-slope limit and comment on\nthe implications of our results to the recent proposed map of Witten's star to\nMoyal's star.",
        "positive": "A Note on Chiral Symmetry Breaking from Intersecting Branes: In this paper, we will consider the chiral symmetry breaking in the\nholographic model constructed from the intersecting brane configuration, and\ninvestigate the Nambu-Goldstone bosons associated with this symmetry breaking."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spectral sum rules and finite volume partition function in gauge\n  theories with real and pseudoreal fermions: Based on the chiral symmetry breaking pattern and the corresponding\nlow-energy effective lagrangian, we determine the fermion mass dependence of\nthe partition function and derive sum rules for eigenvalues of the QCD Dirac\noperator in finite Euclidean volume. Results are given for $N_c = 2$ and for\nYang-Mills theory coupled to several light adjoint Majorana fermions. They\ncoincide with those derived earlier in the framework of random matrix theory.",
        "positive": "Special functions, transcendentals and their numerics: Cyclotomic polylogarithms are reviewed and new results concerning the special\nconstants that occur are presented. This also allows some comments on previous\nliterature results using PSLQ."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the 6d Origin of Non-invertible Symmetries in 4d: It is well-known that six-dimensional superconformal field theories can be\nexploited to unravel interesting features of lower-dimensional theories\nobtained via compactifications. In this short note we discuss a new application\nof 6d (2,0) theories in constructing 4d theories with Kramers-Wannier-like\nnon-invertible symmetries. Our methods allow to recover previously known\nresults, as well as to exhibit infinitely many new examples of four dimensional\ntheories with \"M-ality\" defects (arising from operations of order $M$\ngeneralizing dualities). In particular, we obtain examples of order $M=p^k$,\nwhere $p>1$ is a prime number and $k$ is a positive integer.",
        "positive": "Conical singularities regularized in warped six-dimensional flux\n  compactification and their induced brane cosmology: We discuss the regularization of codimension-2 singularities in warped\nsix-dimensional Einstein-Maxwell axisymmetric models by replacing them by\ncodimension-1 branes of a ring form, situated around the axis of symmetry.\nFurther we consider the case of one capped regularized conical brane of\ncodimension one and study the cosmological evolution which is induced on it as\nit moves in between the known {\\it static} bulk and cap solutions. We present\nthe resulting brane Friedmann equation which gives a dominant five-dimensional\n$\\rho^2$ energy density term at high energies and a term linear to the energy\ndensity at low energies with, however, negative coefficient in the small\nfour-brane radius limit (i.e. with negative effective Newton's constant)"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Newton versus Coulomb for Kaluza-Klein modes: We consider a set of elementary compactifications of $D+1$ to $D$ spacetime\ndimensions on a circle: first for pure general relativity, then in the presence\nof a scalar field, first free then with a non minimal coupling to the Ricci\nscalar, and finally in the presence of gauge bosons. We compute the tree-level\namplitudes in order to compare some gravitational and non-gravitational\namplitudes. This allows us to recover the known constraints of the $U(1)$,\ndilatonic and scalar Weak Gravity Conjectures in some cases, and to show the\ninterplay of the different interactions. We study the KK modes pair-production\nin different dimensions. We also discuss the contribution to some of these\namplitudes of the non-minimal coupling in higher dimensions for scalar fields\nto the Ricci scalar.",
        "positive": "Commutator Anomaly in Noncommutative Quantum Mechanics: In this letter, firstly, the Schr$\\ddot{o}$dinger equation on noncommutative\nphase space is given by using a generalized Bopp's shift. Then the anomaly term\nof commutator of arbitrary physical observable operators on noncommutative\nphase space is obtained. Finally, the basic uncertainty relations for\nspace-space and space-momentum as well as momentum-momentum operators in\nnoncommutative quantum mechanics (NCQM), and uncertainty relation for arbitrary\nphysical observable operators in NCQM are discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "IIA string instanton corrections to the four-fermion correlator in the\n  intersection of Del Pezzo surfaces: The Becker-Becker-Strominger formula, describing the string world-sheet\ninstanton corrections to the four-fermion correlator in the Calabi-Yau\ncompactified type-IIA superstrings, is calculated in the special case of the\nCalabi-Yau threefold realized in the intersection of two Del Pezzo surfaces. We\nalso derive the selection rules in the supersymmetric GUT of the Pati-Salam\ntype associated with our construction.",
        "positive": "Aspects of Localized Gravity Around the Soft Minima: n-Dimensional pure gravity theory can be obtained as the effective theory of\nan n+1 model (with non-compact extra dimension) where general n+1\nreparametrization invariance is explicitly broken in the extra dimension. As\nwas pointed out in the literature, a necessary consistency condition for having\na non-vanishing four dimensional Newton constant is the normalizability in the\nextra dimension of the zero mass graviton. This, in turn, implies that gravity\nlocalization is produced around the local minima of a potential in the extra\ndimension. We study gravity in the neighborhood of the soft (\"thick\") local\nminima."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Carroll covariant scalar fields in two dimensions: Conformal Carroll symmetry generically arises on null manifolds and is\nimportant for holography of asymptotically flat spacetimes, generic black hole\nhorizons and tensionless strings. In this paper, we focus on two dimensional\n(2d) null manifolds and hence on the 2d Conformal Carroll or equivalently the\n3d Bondi-Metzner-Sachs (BMS) algebra. Using Carroll covariance, we write the\nmost general free massless Carroll scalar field theory and discover three\ninequivalent actions. Of these, two viz. the time-like and space-like actions,\nhave made their appearance in literature before. We uncover a third that we\ncall the mixed-derivative theory. As expected, all three theories enjoy\noff-shell BMS invariance. Interestingly, we find that the on-shell symmetry of\nmixed derivative theory is a single Virasoro algebra instead of the full BMS.\nWe discuss potential applications to tensionless strings and flat holography.",
        "positive": "Extended Hamiltonian Formalism of the Pure Space-Like Axial Gauge\n  Schwinger Model II: Canonical methods are not sufficient to properly quantize space-like axial\ngauges. In this paper, we obtain guiding principles which allow the\nconstruction of an extended Hamiltonian formalism for pure space-like axial\ngauge fields. To do so, we clarify the general role residual gauge fields play\nin the space-like axial gauge Schwinger model. In all the calculations we fix\nthe gauge using a rule, $n{\\cdot}A=0$, where $n$ is a space-like constant\nvector and we refer to its direction as $x_-$. Then, to begin with, we\nconstruct a formulation in which the quantization surface is space-like but not\nparallel to the direction of $n$. The quantization surface has a parameter\nwhich allows us to rotate it, but when we do so we keep the direction of the\ngauge field fixed. In that formulation we can use canonical methods. We\nbosonize the model to simplify the investigation. We find that the\nantiderivative, $({\\partial}_-)^{-1}$, is ill-defined whatever quantization\ncoordinates we use as long as the direction of $n$ is space-like. We find that\nthe physical part of the dipole ghost field includes infrared divergences.\nHowever, we also find that if we introduce residual gauge fields in such a way\nthat the dipole ghost field satisfies the canonical commutation relations, then\nthe residual gauge fields are determined so as to regularize the infrared\ndivergences contained in the physical part. The propagators then take the form\nprescribed by Mandelstam and Leibbrandt. We make use of these properties to\ndevelop guiding principles which allow us to construct consistent operator\nsolutions in the pure space-like case where the quantization surface is\nparallel to the direction of $n$ and canonical methods do not suffice."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "``Non chiral'' primary superfields in the AdS_{d+1}/CFT_d correspondence: We consider some long multiplets describing bulk massive excitations of\nM-theory two-branes and IIB string three-branes which correspond to ``non\nchiral'' primary operators of the boundary OSp(8/4) and SU(2,2/4)\nsuperconformal field theories. Examples of such multiplets are the ``radial''\nmodes on the branes, including up to spin 4 excitations, which may be then\nconsidered as prototypes of states which are not described by the K-K spectrum\nof the corresponding supergravity theories on AdS_4 x S_7 and AdS_5 x S_5\nrespectively.",
        "positive": "A Nonabelian $(1,0)$ Tensor Multiplet Theory in 6D: We construct a general nonabelian (1,0) tensor multiplet theory in six\ndimensions. The gauge field of this (1,0) theory is non-dynamical, and the\ntheory contains a continuous parameter $b$. When $b=1/2$, the (1,0) theory\npossesses an extra discrete symmetry enhancing the supersymmetry to (2,0), and\nthe theory turns out to be identical to the (2,0) theory of Lambert and\nPapageorgakis (LP). Upon dimension reduction, we obtain a general ${\\cal N}=1$\nsupersymmetric Yang-Mills theory in five dimensions. The applications of the\ntheories to D4 and M5-branes are briefly discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "One-Loop Radiative Corrections to the QED Casimir Energy: In this paper, we investigate one-loop radiative corrections to the Casimir\nenergy in the presence of two perfectly conducting parallel plates for QED\ntheory within the renormalized perturbation theory. In fact, there are three\ncontributions for radiative corrections to the Casimir energy, up to order\n$\\alpha$. Only the two-loop diagram, which is of order $\\alpha$, has been\ncomputed by Bordag et. al (1985), approximately. Here, up to this order, we\nconsider corrections due to two one-loop terms, i.e., photonic and fermionic\nloop corrections resulting from renormalized QED Lagrangian, more precisely.\nOur results show that only the fermionic loop has a very minor correction and\nthe correction of photonic loop vanishes.",
        "positive": "Role of matter in extended quasidilaton massive gravity: The extended quasidilaton theory is one of the simplest Lorentz-invariant\nmassive gravity theories which can accommodate a stable self-accelerating\nvacuum solution. In this paper we revisit this theory and study the effect of\nmatter fields. For a matter sector that couples minimally to the physical\nmetric, we find hints of a Jeans type instability in the IR. In the analogue\nk-essence field set-up, this instability manifests itself as an IR ghost for\nthe scalar field perturbation, but this can be interpreted as a classical\ninstability that becomes relevant below some momentum scale in terms of matter\ndensity perturbations. We also consider the effect of the background evolution\ninfluenced by matter on the stability of the gravity sector perturbations. In\nparticular, we address the previous claims of ghost instability in the IR\naround the late time attractor. We show that, although the matter-induced\nmodification of the evolution potentially brings tension to the stability\nconditions, one goes beyond the regime of validity of the effective theory well\nbefore the solutions become unstable. We also draw attention to the fact that\nthe IR stability conditions are also enforced by the existence requirements of\nconsistent background solutions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Perturbative unitarity in quasi-single field inflation: We study implications of perturbative unitarity for quasi-single field\ninflation with the inflaton and one massive scalar. Analyzing high energy\nscattering, we show that non-Gaussianities with $|f_{\\rm NL}|\\gtrsim1$ cannot\nbe realized without turning on interactions which violate unitarity at a high\nenergy scale. Then, we provide a relation between $f_{\\rm NL}$ and the scale of\nnew physics that is required for UV completion. In particular we find that for\nthe Hubble scale $H\\gtrsim 6\\times 10^{9}$ GeV, Planck suppressed operators can\neasily generate too large non-Gaussanities and so it is hard to realize\nsuccessful quasi-single field inflation without introducing a mechanism to\nsuppress quantum gravity corrections. Also we generalize the analysis to the\nregime where the isocurvature mode is heavy and the inflationary dynamics is\ncaptured by the inflaton effective theory. Requiring perturbative unitarity of\nthe two-scalar UV models with the inflaton and one heavy scalar, we clarify the\nparameter space of the $P(X,\\phi)$ model which is UV completable by a single\nheavy scalar.",
        "positive": "Thermodynamic schemes of charged BTZ-like black holes in arbitrary\n  dimensions: We investigate thermodynamic schemes of charged BTZ-like black holes in\narbitrary dimensions, namely higher-dimensional charged black holes in which\nthe electromagnetic sector exhibits the same properties with that of the usual\nthree-dimensional BTZ solution. We first present the Euclidean on-shell action\nin arbitrary dimensions, inserting a radial cutoff. We then extract the\ncorresponding thermodynamic quantities from the semi-classical partition\nfunction in different ensembles and find that there exist two possible\nthermodynamic schemes, with different outcomes. Regarding the traditional\nscheme (scheme I), where the length cutoff is identified with the AdS radius,\nwe show that charged BTZ-like black holes are super-entropic, namely they\nviolate the reverse isoperimetric inequality conjecture, and their\nsuper-entropicity is strongly connected to a fundamental thermodynamic\ninstability. This class of solutions is the first demonstration of\nsuper-entropic black holes which possess second-order critical points and,\nsince thermodynamic instabilities always arise, it is not possible to\nphysically interpret the corresponding van der Waals critical phenomenon in\nthis scheme. In the second scheme (II) where the length cutoff is considered as\nan independent variable, namely the system respects the conjectured reverse\nisoperimetric inequality, we show that the solutions are thermodynamically\nstable in an ensemble where the length cutoff is kept fixed, and hence one can\nprovide an explanation for the van der Waals critical phenomenon. Furthermore,\nin order to verify the consistency of the second scheme, we study the\nJoule-Thomson expansion and we extract the Joule-Thomson coefficient, the\ninversion temperature, the inversion curves, and the isenthalpic curves. The\nresults indicate that this class of AdS black holes can be considered as\ninteracting statistical systems. Additionally, ..."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Towards Gravity from the Quantum: We review quantum causal histories starting with their interpretations as a\nquantum field theory on a causal set and a quantum geometry. We discuss the\ndifficulties that background independent theories based on quantum geometry\nencounter in deriving general relativity as the low energy limit. We then\nsuggest that general relativity should be viewed as a strictly effective theory\ncoming from a fundamental theory with no geometric degrees of freedom. The\nbasic idea is that an effective theory is characterized by effective coherent\ndegrees of freedom and their interactions. Having formulated the pre-geometric\nbackground independent theory as a quantum information theoretic processor, we\nare able to use the method of noiseless subsystems to extract such coherent\n(protected) excitations. We follow the consequences, in particular, the\nimplications of effective locality and time.",
        "positive": "Black Holes, Wormholes, and the Disappearance of Global Charge: One of the paradoxes associated with the theory of the formation and\nsubsequent Hawking evaporation of a black hole is the disappearance of\nconserved global charges. It has long been known that metric fluctuations at\nshort distances (wormholes) violate global-charge conservation; if global\ncharges are apparently conserved at ordinary energies, it is only because\nwormhole-induced global-charge-violating terms in the low-energy effective\nLagrangian are suppressed by large mass denominators. However, such suppressed\ninteractions can become important at the high energy densities inside a\ncollapsing star. We analyze this effect for a simple model of the black-hole\nsingularity. (Our analysis is totally independent of any detailed theory of\nwormhole dynamics; in particular it does not depend on the wormhole theory of\nthe vanishing of the cosmological constant.) We find that in general all charge\nis extinguished before the infalling matter crosses the singularity. No global\ncharge appears in the outgoing Hawking radiation because it has all gone down\nthe wormholes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Anti-Evaporation of Schwarzschild-de Sitter Black Holes in $F(R)$\n  gravity: We studied the anti-evaporation of degenerate Schwarzschild-de Sitter black\nhole (so-called Nariai space-time) in modified $F(R)$ gravity. The analysis of\nperturbations of the Nariai black hole is done with the conclusion that\nanti-evaporation may occur in such a theory already on classical level. For\nseveral power-law $F(R)$ gravities which may describe the inflation and/or dark\nenergy eras we presented the theory parameters bounds for occurrence of\nanti-evaporation and conjectured creation of infinite number of horizons.",
        "positive": "The Force and Gravity of Events: Local events are characterized by \"where\", \"when\" and \"what\". Just as\n(bosonic) spacetime forms the backdrop for location and time, (fermionic)\nproperty space can serve as the backdrop for the attributes of a system. With\nsuch a scenario I shall describe a scheme that is capable of unifying\ngravitation and the other forces of nature. The generalized metric contains the\ncurvature of spacetime and property separately, with the gauge fields linking\nthe bosonic and fermionic arenas. The super-Ricci scalar can then automatically\nyield the spacetime Lagrangian of gravitation and the standard model (plus a\ncosmological constant) upon integration over property coordinates."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Evidence for Negative Stiffness of QCD Strings: QCD strings are color-electric flux tubes between quarks with a finite\nthickness and thus a finite curvature stiffness. Contrary to an earlier\nrigid-string by Polyakov and Kleinert, and motivated by the properties of a\nmagnetic flux tubes in type-II superconductors we put forward the hypothesis\nthat QCD strings have a {\\em negative\\/ stiffness. We set up a new string model\nwith this property and show that it is free of the three principal problems of\nrigid-strings --- particle states with negative norm, nonexistence of a\nlowest-energy state, and wrong high-temperature behavior of string tension ---\nthus making it a better candidate for a string description of quark forces than\nprevious models.",
        "positive": "Hypermultiplet effective action: N = 2 superspace approach: In an earlier paper (hep-th/0101127), we developed heat kernel techniques in\nN = 2 harmonic superspace for the calculation of the low-energy effective\naction of N = 4 SYM theory, which can be considered as the most symmetric N = 2\nSYM theory. Here, the results are extended to generic N = 2 SYM theories. This\ninvolves a prescription for computing the variation of the hypermultiplet\neffective action. Integrability of this variation allows the hypermultiplet\neffective action to be deduced. This prescription permits a very simple\nsuperfield derivation of the perturbative holomorphic prepotential. Explicit\ncalculations of the prepotential and the leading non-holomorphic correction are\npresented."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Projective Coordinates and Projective Space Limit: The \"projective lightcone limit\" has been proposed as an alternative\nholographic dual of an AdS space. It is a new type of group contraction for a\ncoset G/H preserving the isometry group G but changing H. In contrast to the\nusual group contraction, which changes G preserving the spacetime dimension, it\nreduces the dimensions of the spacetime on which G is realized. The obtained\nspace is a projective space on which the isometry is realized as a linear\nfractional transformation. We generalize and apply this limiting procedure to\nthe \"Hopf reduction\" and obtain (n-1)-dimensional complex projective space from\n(2n-1)-dimensional sphere preserving SU(n) symmetry.",
        "positive": "The Cosmology of Massless String Modes: We consider the spacetime dynamics of a gas of closed strings in the context\nof General Relativity in a background of arbitrary spatial dimensions. Our\nmotivation is primarily late time String Gas Cosmology, where such a spacetime\npicture has to emerge after the dilaton has stabilized. We find that after\naccounting for the thermodynamics of a gas of strings, only string modes which\nare massless at the self-dual radius are relevant, and that they lead to a\ndynamics which is qualitatively different from that induced by the modes\nusually considered in the literature. In the context of an ansatz with three\nlarge spatial dimensions and an arbitrary number of small extra dimensions, we\nobtain isotropic stabilization of these extra dimensions at the self-dual\nradius. This stabilization occurs for fixed dilaton, and is induced by the\nspecial string states we focus on. The three large dimensions undergo a regular\nFriedmann-Robertson-Walker expansion. We also show that this framework for\nlate-time cosmology is consistent with observational bounds."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum gravity effects at a black hole horizon: Quantum fluctuations in the background geometry of a black hole are shown to\naffect the propagation of matter states falling into the black hole in a\nfoliation that corresponds to observations purely outside the horizon. A state\nthat starts as a Minkowski vacuum at past null infinity gets entangled with the\ngravity sector, so that close to the horizon it can be represented by a\nstatistical ensemble of orthogonal states. We construct an operator connecting\nthe different states and comment on the possible physical meaning of the above\nconstruction. The induced energy-momentum tensor of these states is computed in\nthe neighbourhood of the horizon, and it is found that energy-momentum\nfluctuations become large in the region where the bulk of the Hawking radiation\nis produced. The background spacetime as seen by an outside observer may be\ndrastically altered in this region, and an outside observer should see\nsignificant interactions between the infalling matter and the outgoing Hawking\nradiation. The boundary of the region of strong quantum gravitational effects\nis given by a time-like hypersurface of constant Schwarzschild radius $r$ one\nPlanck unit away from the horizon. This boundary hypersurface is an example of\na stretched horizon.",
        "positive": "Unity of Superstring Dualities: The effective action for type II string theory compactified on a six torus is\n$N=8$ supergravity, which is known to have an $E_{7}$ duality symmetry. We show\nthat this is broken by quantum effects to a discrete subgroup, $E_7(\\Z)$, which\ncontains both the T-duality group $SO(6,6;\\Z)$ and the S-duality group\n$SL(2;\\Z)$. We present evidence for the conjecture that $E_7(\\Z)$ is an exact\n\\lq U-duality' symmetry of type II string theory. This conjecture requires\ncertain extreme black hole states to be identified with massive modes of the\nfundamental string. The gauge bosons from the Ramond-Ramond sector couple not\nto string excitations but to solitons. We discuss similar issues in the context\nof toroidal string compactifications to other dimensions, compactifications of\nthe type II string on $K_3\\times T^2$ and compactifications of\neleven-dimensional supermembrane theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Comments on M Theory Dynamics on G2 Holonomy Manifolds: We study the dynamics of M-theory on G2 holonomy manifolds, and consider in\ndetail the manifolds realized as the quotient of the spin bundle over S^3 by\ndiscrete groups. We analyse, in particular, the class of quotients where the\ntriality symmetry is broken. We study the structure of the moduli space,\nconstruct its defining equations and show that three different types of\nclassical geometries are interpolated smoothly. We derive the N=1\nsuperpotentials of M-theory on the quotients and comment on the membrane\ninstanton physics. Finally, we turn on Wilson lines that break gauge symmetry\nand discuss some of the implications.",
        "positive": "Exact Description of D-branes via Tachyon Condensation: We examine the fluctuations around a Dp-brane solution in an unstable D-brane\nsystem using boundary states and also boundary string field theory. We show\nthat the fluctuations correctly reproduce the fields on the Dp-brane. Plugging\nthese into the action of the unstable D-brane system, we recover not only the\ntension and RR charge, but also full effective action of the Dp-brane exactly.\nOur method works for general unstable D-brane systems and provides a simple\nproof of D-brane descent/ascent relations under the tachyon condensation. In\nthe lowest dimensional unstable D-brane system, called K-matrix theory,\nD-branes are described in terms of operator algebra. We show the equivalence of\nthe geometric and algebraic descriptions of a D-brane world-volume manifold\nusing the equivalence between path integral and operator formulation of the\nboundary quantum mechanics. As a corollary, the Atiyah-Singer index theorem is\nnaturally obtained by looking at the coupling to RR-fields. We also generalize\nthe argument to type I string theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Light-front field theories at finite temperature: We study the question of generalizing light-front field theories to finite\ntemperature. We show that the naive generalization has serious problems and we\nidentify the source of the difficulty. We provide a proper generalization of\nthese theories to finite temperature based on a relativistic description of\nthermal field theories, both in the real and the imaginary time formalisms.\nVarious issues associated with scalar and fermion theories, such as\nnon-analyticity of self-energy, tensor decomposition are discussed in detail.",
        "positive": "On Non-linear Action for Gauged M2-brane: We propose a non-linear extension of U(1) \\times U(1) (abelian) ABJM model\nincluding T_{M2} (higher derivative) corrections. The action proposed here is\nexpected to describe a single M2-brane proving C^4/Z_k target space. The model\nincludes couplings with the 3-form background in the eleven-dimensional\nsupergravity which is consistent with the orbifold projection. We show that the\nnovel higgs mechanism proposed by Mukhi and Papageorgakis does work even in the\npresence of higher derivative corrections and couplings with the background\nfield, giving the correct structure of the Dirac-Born-Infeld action with\nWess-Zumino term for a D2-brane. We also find half BPS solutions in the full\nnon-linear theory which is interpreted as an another M2-brane intersecting with\nthe original M2-brane. A possible generalization to U(N) \\times U(N) gauge\ngroup is briefly discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Line Operators in 4d Chern-Simons Theory and Cherkis Bows: We show that the phase spaces of a large family of line operators in 4d\nChern-Simons theory with $\\text{GL}_n$ gauge group are given by Cherkis bow\nvarieties with $n$ crosses. These line operators are characterized by\nHanany-Witten type brane constructions involving D3, D5, and NS5 branes in an\n$\\Omega$-background. Linking numbers of the five-branes and mass parameters for\nthe D3 brane theories determine the phase spaces and in special cases they\ncorrespond to vacuum moduli spaces of 3d $\\mathcal{N}=4$ quiver theories.\nExamples include line operators that conjecturally create T, Q, and L-operators\nin integrable spin chains.",
        "positive": "Ward Identity and Scattering Amplitudes for Nonlinear Sigma Models: We present a Ward identity for nonlinear sigma models using generalized\nnonlinear shift symmetries, without introducing current algebra or coset space.\nThe Ward identity constrains correlation functions of the sigma model such that\nthe Adler's zero is guaranteed for $S$-matrix elements, and gives rise to a\nsubleading single soft theorem that is valid at the quantum level and to all\norders in the Goldstone decay constant. For tree amplitudes, the Ward identity\nleads to a novel Berends-Giele recursion relation as well as an explicit form\nof the subleading single soft factor. Furthermore, interactions of the cubic\nbiadjoint scalar theory associated with the single soft limit, which was\npreviously discovered using the Cachazo-He-Yuan representation of tree\namplitudes, can be seen to emerge from matrix elements of conserved currents\ncorresponding to the generalized shift symmetry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fermions via spinor-valued one-forms: Spinor-valued one-forms (Rarita-Schwinger fields) are normally used in the\ncontext of supergravity, where they describe spin 3/2 particles (gravitinos).\nIndeed, when decomposed into irreducible representations of the Lorentz group\nsuch a field contains both a spin 1/2 and a spin 3/2 component, and the\nRarita-Schwinger Lagrangian is designed to make only the spin 3/2 propagate. We\npoint out that the opposite construction is also possible, and give a\nspinor-valued one-form field Lagrangian that describes a propagating spin 1/2\nparticle.",
        "positive": "Integrable models with twist function and affine Gaudin models: This thesis deals with a class of integrable field theories called models\nwith twist function. The main examples of such models are integrable non-linear\nsigma models, such as the Principal Chiral Model, and their deformations. A\nfirst obtained result is the proof that the so-called Bi-Yang-Baxter model,\nwhich is a two-parameter deformation of the Principal Chiral Model, is also a\nmodel with twist function. It is then shown that inhomogeneous Yang-Baxter type\ndeformations modify certain global symmetries of the undeformed model into\nPoisson-Lie symmetries. Another chapter concerns the construction of an\ninfinite number of local charges in involution for all integrable sigma models\nand their deformations : this result is based on the general formalism shared\nby all these models as field theories with twist function.\n  The second part of the thesis concerns Gaudin models. These are integrable\nmodels associated with Lie algebras. In particular, field theories with twist\nfunction are related to Gaudin models associated with affine Lie algebras. A\nstandard approach for studying the spectrum of quantum Gaudin models over\nfinite algebras is the one of Feigin-Frenkel-Reshetikhin. In this thesis,\ngeneralisations of this approach are conjectured, motivated and tested. One of\nthem deals with the so-called cyclotomic finite Gaudin models. The second one\nconcerns the Gaudin models associated with affine Lie algebras."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Computing One-Loop Amplitudes From The Holomorphic Anomaly Of Unitarity\n  Cuts: We propose a systematic way to carry out the method introduced in\nhep-th/0410077 for computing certain unitarity cuts of one-loop N=4 amplitudes\nof gluons. We observe that the class of cuts for which the method works\ninvolves all next-to-MHV n-gluon one-loop amplitudes of any helicity\nconfigurations. As an application of our systematic procedure, we obtain the\ncomplete seven-gluon one-loop leading-color amplitude\nA_{7;1}(1-,2-,3-,4+,5+,6+,7+).",
        "positive": "Localized massive excitation of quantum gravity as a dark particle: We construct a static and spherical excited state without singularities in\nrenormalizable quantum gravity with background-free nature asymptotically. Its\ndiameter is given by a correlation length of the quantum gravity, longer than\nthe Planck length by 2 orders of magnitude, and it has a Schwarzschild tail\noutside. The quantum gravity dynamics inside is described by employing a\nnonperturbative expression of higher-order corrections assumed from a physical\nrequirement that the dynamics disappear at the edge where it is in strong\ncoupling. A running coupling constant that is a manifestation of nonlinearity\nand nonlocality is managed by approximating it as a mean field that depends on\nthe radial coordinate. If the mass is several times the Planck mass, we can set\nup a system of linearized equations of motion for the gravitational potentials\nincorporating the running effect and obtain the excited state as its solution.\nIt may be a candidate for dark matter, and will give a new perspective on black\nhole physics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauging Cosets: We show how to gauge the set of raising and lowering generators of an\narbitrary Lie algebra. We consider SU(N) as an example. The nilpotency of the\nBRST charge requires constraints on the ghosts associated to the raising and\nlowering generators. To remove these constraints we add further ghosts and we\nneed a second BRST charge to obtain nontrivial cohomology. The second BRST\noperator yields a group theoretical explanation of the grading encountered in\nthe covariant quantization of superstrings.",
        "positive": "Entanglement entropy in holographic moving mirror and Page curve: We calculate the time evolution of entanglement entropy in two dimensional\nconformal field theory with a moving mirror. For a setup modeling Hawking\nradiation, we obtain a linear growth of entanglement entropy and show that this\ncan be interpreted as the production of entangled pairs. For a setup, which\nmimics black hole formation and evaporation, we find that the evolution follows\nthe ideal Page curve. We perform these computations by constructing the gravity\ndual of the moving mirror model via holography. We also argue that our\nholographic setup provides a concrete model to derive the Page curve for black\nhole radiation in the strong coupling regime of gravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Topological Born-Infeld Actions and D-Branes: We propose that the effective field theories of certain wrapped D-branes are\ngiven by topological actions based on Born-Infeld theory. In particular, we\npresent a Born-Infeld version of the Abelian Donaldson-Witten theory. We then\nconsider wrapping D3 branes on calibrated submanifolds and for the Calabi-Yau\nfour-fold case, discuss how the resulting theory could give rise to a\nBorn-Infeld version of the ampicheiral twisted N=4 super Yang-Mills topological\nfield theory.",
        "positive": "Evidence for a bound on the lifetime of de Sitter space: Recent work has suggested a surprising new upper bound on the lifetime of de\nSitter vacua in string theory. The bound is parametrically longer than the\nHubble time but parametrically shorter than the recurrence time. We investigate\nwhether the bound is satisfied in a particular class of de Sitter solutions,\nthe KKLT vacua. Despite the freedom to make the supersymmetry breaking scale\nexponentially small, which naively would lead to extremely stable vacua, we\nfind that the lifetime is always less than about exp(10^(22)) Hubble times, in\nagreement with the proposed bound."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "New Spinor Field Realizations of the Non-Critical $W_{3}$ String: We investigate the new spinor field realizations of the $W_{3}$ algebra,\nmaking use of the fact that the $W_{3}$ algebra can be linearized by the\naddition of a spin-1 current. We then use these new realizations to build the\nnilpotent Becchi-Rouet-Stora--Tyutin (BRST) charges of the spinor non-critical\n$W_{3}$ string.",
        "positive": "Characters, Coadjoint Orbits and Duistermaat-Heckman Integrals: The asymptotics of characters $\\chi_{k\\lambda}(\\exp(h/k))$ of irreducible\nrepresentations of a compact Lie group $G$ for large values of the scaling\nfactor $k$ are given by Duistermaat-Heckman (DH) integrals over coadjoint\norbits of $G$. This phenomenon generalises to coadjoint orbits of central\nextensions of loop groups $\\widehat{LG}$ and of diffeomorphisms of the circle\n$\\widehat{\\rm Diff}(S^1)$. We show that the asymptotics of characters of\nintegrable modules of affine Kac-Moody algebras and of the Virasoro algebra\nfactorize into a divergent contribution of the standard form and a convergent\ncontribution which can be interpreted as a formal DH orbital integral.\n  For some Virasoro modules, our results match the formal DH integrals recently\ncomputed by Stanford and Witten. In this case, the $k$-scaling has the same\norigin as the one which gives rise to classical conformal blocks. Furthermore,\nwe consider reduced spaces of Virasoro coadjoint orbits and we suggest a new\ninvariant which replaces symplectic volume in the infinite dimensional\nsituation. We also consider other modules of the Virasoro algebra (in\nparticular, the modules corresponding to minimal models) and we obtain DH-type\nexpressions which do not correspond to any Virasoro coadjoint orbits.\n  We study volume functions $V(x)$ corresponding to formal DH integrals over\ncoadjoint orbits of the Virasoro algebra. We show that they are related by the\nHankel transform to spectral densities $\\rho(E)$ recently studied by Saad,\nShenker and Stanford."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-existence of a dilaton gravity action for the exact string black\n  hole: We prove that no local diffeomorphism invariant two-dimensional theory of the\nmetric and the dilaton without higher derivatives can describe the exact string\nblack hole solution found a decade ago by Dijkgraaf, Verlinde and Verlinde. One\nof the key points in this proof is the concept of dilaton-shift invariance. We\npresent and solve (classically) all dilaton-shift invariant theories of\ntwo-dimensional dilaton gravity. Two such models, resembling the exact string\nblack hole and generalizing the CGHS model, are discussed explicitly.",
        "positive": "Non Abelian Tachyon Kinks: Starting from the action of two coincident non-BPS D9-branes, we investigate\nkink configurations of the U(2) matrix tachyon field. We consider both Str and\nTr prescriptions for the trace over gauge indices of the non-BPS action.\nNon-abelian tachyon condensation in the theory with Tr prescription, and the\nresulting fluctuations about the kink profile, are shown to give rise to a\ntheory of two coincident BPS D8-branes. This is a natural non-abelian\ngeneralization of Sen's mechanism of tachyon condensation on a single non-BPS\nDp-brane yielding a single BPS brane of codimesion one. By contrast, starting\nwith the Str gauge trace prescription of the coincident non-BPS D9-brane\naction, such a generalization of Sen's mechanism appears problematic."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Qubits of Qunivac: We formulate a theory of quantum processes, extend it to a generic quantum\ncosmology, formulate a reversible quantum logic for the Quantum Universe As\nComputer, or Qunivac. Qunivac has an orthogonal group of cosmic dimensionality.\nIt has a Clifford algebra of ``cosmonions,'' extending the quaternions to a\ncosmological number of anticommuting units. Its qubits obey Clifford-Wilczek\nstatistics and are associated with unit cosmonions. This makes it relatively\neasy to program the Dirac equation on Qunivac in a Lorentz-invariant way.\nQunivac accommodates a field theory and a gauge theory. Its gauge group is\nnecessarily a quantum group.",
        "positive": "Comments on the NSVZ $\u03b2$ Functions in Two-dimensional $\\mathcal\n  N=(0,2)$ Supersymmetric Models: The NSVZ $\\beta$ functions in two-dimensional $\\mathcal N=(0,2)$\nsupersymmetric models are revisited. We construct and discuss a broad class of\nsuch models using the gauge formulation. All of them represent direct analogs\nof four-dimensional ${\\mathcal N} =1$ Yang-Mills theories and are free of\nanomalies. Following the same line of reasoning as in four dimensions we\ndistinguish between the holomorphic and canonical coupling constants. This\nallows us to derive the exact two-dimensional $\\beta$ functions in all models\nfrom the above class. We then compare our results with a few examples which\nhave been studied previously."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Frobenius manifolds, Integrable Hierarchies and Minimal Liouville\n  Gravity: We use the connection between the Frobrenius manifold and the Douglas string\nequation to further investigate Minimal Liouville gravity. We search a solution\nof the Douglas string equation and simultaneously a proper transformation from\nthe KdV to the Liouville frame which ensure the fulfilment of the conformal and\nfusion selection rules. We find that the desired solution of the string\nequation has explicit and simple form in the flat coordinates on the Frobenious\nmanifold in the general case of (p,q) Minimal Liouville gravity.",
        "positive": "Homogeneous Yang-Baxter deformations as undeformed yet twisted models: The homogeneous Yang-Baxter deformation is part of a larger web of integrable\ndeformations and dualities that recently have been studied with motivations in\nintegrable $\\sigma$-models, solution-generating techniques in supergravity and\nDouble Field Theory, and possible generalisations of the AdS/CFT\ncorrespondence. The $\\sigma$-models obtained by the homogeneous Yang-Baxter\ndeformation with periodic boundary conditions on the worldsheet are on-shell\nequivalent to undeformed models, yet with twisted boundary conditions. While\nthis has been known for some time, the expression provided so far for the twist\nfeatures non-localities (in terms of the degrees of freedom of the deformed\nmodel) that prevent practical calculations, and in particular the construction\nof the classical spectral curve. We solve this problem by rewriting the\nequation defining the twist in terms of the degrees of freedom of the\nundeformed yet twisted model, and we show that we are able to solve it in full\ngenerality. Remarkably, this solution is a local expression. We discuss the\nconsequences of the twist at the level of the monodromy matrix and of the\nclassical spectral curve, analysing in particular the concrete examples of\nabelian, almost abelian and Jordanian deformations of the Yang-Baxter class."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Conformal Gravity: We present the manifestly covariant canonical operator formalism of a Weyl\ninvariant (or equivalently, a locally scale invariant) gravity whose classical\naction consists of the well-known conformal gravity and Weyl invariant\nscalar-tensor gravity, on the basis of the Becchi-Rouet-Stora-Tyupin (BRST)\nformalism. It is shown that there exists a Poincar${\\rm{\\acute{e}}}$-like\n$\\mathit{IOSp}(8|8)$ global symmetry as in Einstein's general relativity, which\nshould be contrasted to the case of only the Weyl invariant scalar-tensor\ngravity where we have a more extended Poincar${\\rm{\\acute{e}}}$-like\n$\\mathit{IOSp}(10|10)$ global symmetry. This reduction of the global symmetry\nis attributed to the presence of the St\\\"{u}ckelberg symmetry.",
        "positive": "A new insight into BRST anomalies in string theory: Using the generalized hamiltonian method of Batalin, Fradkin and Vilkovisky,\nwe investigate the algebraic structure of anomalies in the Polyakov string\ntheory that appear as the Schwinger terms in super-commutation relations\nbetween BRST charge and total hamiltonian. We obtain the most general form of\nthe anomalies in the extended phase space, without any reference to a two\ndimensional metric. This pregeometri- cal result, refered to as the genelarized\nVirasoro anomaly, independent of the gauge and the regularization under a minor\nassumption, is a non-perturbative result, and valid for any space-time\ndimension. In a configuration space, in which the two dimensional metric can be\nidentified, we can geometrize the result without assuming the weak\ngravitational field, showing that the most general anomaly exactly exhibits the\nWeyl anomaly."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "$D5$-brane type I superstring background fields in terms of type IIB\n  ones by canonical method and T-duality approach: We consider type IIB superstring theory with embedded $D5$-brane and choose\nboundary conditions which preserve half of the initial supersymmetry. In the\ncanonical approach that we use, boundary conditions are treated as canonical\nconstraints. The effective theory, obtained from the initial one on the\nsolution of boundary conditions, has the form of the type I superstring theory\nwith embedded $D5$-brane. We obtain the expressions for $D5$-brane background\nfields of type I theory in terms of the $D5$-brane background fields of type\nIIB theory. We show that beside known $\\Omega$ even fields, they contain\nsquares of $\\Omega$ odd ones, where $\\Omega$ is world-sheet parity\ntransformation, $\\Omega:\\sigma\\to -\\sigma$. We relate result of this paper and\nthe results of [1] using T-dualities along four directions orthogonal to\n$D5$-brane.",
        "positive": "Entropy of Contracting Universe in Cyclic Cosmology: Following up a recent proposal \\cite{BF} for a cyclic model based on phantom\ndark energy, we examine the content of the contracting universe (cu) and its\nentropy $S_{cu}$. We find that beyond dark energy the universe contains on\naverage zero or at most a single photon which if present immediately after\nturnaround has infinitesimally energy which subsequently blue shifts to produce\n$e^+e^-$ pairs. These statements are independent of the equation of state\n$\\omega = p/\\rho$ of dark energy provided $\\omega < -1$. Thus $S_{cu} = 0$ and\nif observations confirm $\\omega < -1$ the entropy problem is solved. We discuss\nthe absence of a theoretical lower bound on $\\phi = |\\omega + 1|$, then\ndescribe an anthropic fine tuning argument that renders unlikely extremely\nsmall $\\phi$. The present bound $\\phi \\lesssim 0.1$ already implies a time\nuntil turnaround of $(t_T - t_0) \\gtrsim 100$ Gy."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The effective two-loop Euler-Heisenberg action for scalar and spinor QED\n  in a general constant background field: Using the Worldline formalism of QED we compute the two-loop effective action\ninduced by a charged scalar, respectively spinor particle in a general constant\nelectromagnetic field.",
        "positive": "N=1 Super-$\u03c4_{3}$QED from Atiyah-Ward Space-Time: In this letter, we present the action for the massive super-{\\QED}. A pair of\nchiral and a pair of anti-chiral superfields with opposite U(1)-charges are\nrequired. We also carry out a dimensional reduction {\\it{\\`a la}} Scherk from\n(2+2) to (1+2) dimensions, and we show that, after suitable truncations are\nperformed, the supersymmetric extension of the ${\\tau}_{3}$QED$_{1+2}$\nnaturally comes out."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Angular profile of emission of non-zero spin fields from a\n  higher-dimensional black hole: Recent works have included the effect of rotation on simulations of black\nhole events at the LHC, showing that the angular momentum of the black hole\ncannot be ignored and it makes a non-trivial contribution for most of the\nlifetime of the black hole. A key consequence of the rotation of the black hole\nis that the Hawking radiation is no longer isotropic, making it more difficult\nto infer space-time parameters from measurements of the emitted particles. In\nthis letter we study the angular distribution of the Hawking emission of\nnon-zero spin particles with specific helicity on the brane. We argue that the\nshape of the distribution could be used as a measure of the angular momentum of\nthe black hole.",
        "positive": "Holographic Weyl Anomalies for 4d Defects in 6d SCFTs: In this note, we study $1/4$- and $1/2$-BPS co-dimension two superconformal\ndefects in the $6d$ $\\mathcal{N}=(2,0)$ $A_{N-1}$ SCFT at large $N$ using their\nholographic descriptions as solutions of $11d$ supergravity. In this regime, we\nare able to compute the defect contribution to the sphere entanglement entropy\nand the change in the stress-energy tensor one-point function due to the\npresence of the defect using holography. From these quantities, we are then\nable to unambiguously compute the values for two of the twenty-nine total Weyl\nanomaly coefficients that characterize $4d$ conformal defects in six and higher\ndimensions. We are able to demonstrate the consistency of the supergravity\ndescription of the defect theories with the average null energy condition on\nthe field theory side. For each class of defects that we consider, we also show\nthat the A-type Weyl anomaly coefficient is non-negative. Lastly, we uncover\nand resolve a discrepancy between the on-shell action of the $7d$ $1/4$-BPS\ndomain wall solutions and that of their $11d$ uplift."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Testing Closed String Field Theory with Marginal Fields: We study the feasibility of level expansion and test the quartic vertex of\nclosed string field theory by checking the flatness of the potential in\nmarginal directions. The tests, which work out correctly, require the\ncancellation of two contributions: one from an infinite-level computation with\nthe cubic vertex and the other from a finite-level computation with the quartic\nvertex. The numerical results suggest that the quartic vertex contributions are\ncomparable or smaller than those of level four fields.",
        "positive": "Non-Abelian Magnetic Field and Curvature Effects on Pair Production: We calculate the Schwinger pair production rates in $\\mathbb{R}^{3,1}$ as\nwell as in the positively curved space $S^2 \\times \\mathbb{R}^{1,1}$ for both\nspin-$0$ and spin-$\\frac{1}{2}$ particles under the influence of an external\n$SU(2) \\times U(1)$ gauge field producing an additional uniform non-abelian\nmagnetic field besides the usual uniform abelian electric field. To this end,\nwe determine and subsequently make use of the spectrum of the gauged Laplace\nand Dirac operators on both the flat and the curved geometries. We find that\nthere are regimes in which the purely non-abelian and the abelian parts of the\ngauge field strength have either a counterplaying or reinforcing role, whose\noverall effect may be to enhance or suppress the pair production rates.\nPositive curvature tends to enhance the latter for spin-$0$ and suppress it for\nspin-$\\frac{1}{2}$ fields, while the details of the couplings to the purely\nabelian and the non-abelian parts of the magnetic field, which are extracted\nfrom the spectrum of the Laplace and Dirac operators on $S^2$, determine the\ncumulative effect on the pair production rates. These features are elaborated\nin detail."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Page Curves for Accelerating Black Holes: The island paradigm for the fine-grained entropy of Hawking radiation is\napplied to eternal charged accelerating black holes. In the absence of the\nisland, the entanglement entropy grows linearly and divergent at late times,\nwhile once the island outside the event horizon is taken into account, the\nunitary Page curve is reproduced naturally. The impact of the charge and the\nacceleration is investigated at late times. For the Page time and the\nscrambling time, they both increase as the acceleration increases, while\ndecreasing as the charge increases. In particular, neutral black holes have the\nlargest Page time and scrambling time. It is worth noting that the Page time\nand the scrambling time are divergent in the extremal limit, which implies that\nislands may be related to the causal structure of spacetime.",
        "positive": "M-Theory on S^1/Z_2 : New Facts from a Careful Analysis: We carefully re-examine the issues of solving the modified Bianchi identity,\nanomaly cancellations and flux quantization in the S^1/Z_2 orbifold of M-theory\nusing the boundary-free \"upstairs\" formalism, avoiding several misconceptions\npresent in earlier literature. While the solution for the four-form G to the\nmodified Bianchi identity appears to depend on an arbitrary parameter b, we\nshow that requiring G to be globally well-defined, i.e. invariant under small\nand large gauge and local Lorentz transformations, fixes b=1. This value also\nis necessary for a consistent reduction to the heterotic string in the\nsmall-radius limit. Insisting on properly defining all fields on the circle, we\nfind that there is a previously unnoticed additional contribution to the\nanomaly inflow from the eleven-dimensional topological term. Anomaly\ncancellation then requires a quadratic relation between b and the combination\nlambda^6/kappa^4 of the gauge and gravitational coupling constants lambda and\nkappa. This contrasts with previous beliefs that anomaly cancellation would\ngive a cubic equation for b. We observe that our solution for G automatically\nsatisfies integer or half-integer flux quantization for the appropriate cycles.\nWe explicitly write out the anomaly cancelling terms of the heterotic string as\ninherited from the M-theory approach. They differ from the usual ones by the\naddition of a well-defined local counterterm. We also show how five-branes\nenter our analysis."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Magnetic catalysis in QED_3 at finite temperature: beyond the constant\n  mass approximation: We solve the Schwinger-Dyson equations for (2+1)-dimensional QED in the\npresence of a strong external magnetic field. The calculation is done at finite\ntemperature and the fermionic self energy is not supposed to be\nmomentum-independent, which is the usual simplification in such calculations.\nThe phase diagram in the temperature-magnetic field plane is determined. For\nintermediate magnetic fields the critical temperature turns out to have a\nsquare root dependence on the magnetic field, but for very strong magnetic\nfields it approaches a B-independent limiting value.",
        "positive": "Scattering in Anti-de Sitter Space and Operator Product Expansion: We develop a formalism to evaluate generic scalar exchange diagrams in\nAdS_{d+1} relevant for the calculation of four-point functions in AdS/CFT\ncorrespondence. The result may be written as an infinite power series of\nfunctions of cross-ratios. Logarithmic singularities appear in all orders\nwhenever the dimensions of involved operators satisfy certain relations. We\nshow that the AdS_{d+1} amplitude can be written in a form recognisable as the\nconformal partial wave expansion of a four-point function in CFT_{d} and\nidentify the spectrum of intermediate operators. We find that, in addition to\nthe contribution of the scalar operator associated with the exchanged field in\nthe AdS diagram, there are also contributions of some other operators which may\npossibly be identified with two-particle bound states in AdS. The CFT\ninterpretation also provides a useful way to ``regularize'' the logarithms\nappearing in AdS amplitude."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Aspects of self-dual Yang-Mills and self-dual gravity: In this thesis, we study the all same helicity loop amplitudes in self-dual\nYang-Mills and self-dual gravity. These amplitudes have long been conjectured\nto be interpreted as an anomaly and are recently linked to the UV divergence of\ntwo-loop quantum gravity. In the first part of the thesis, we study the loop\namplitudes in self-dual Yang-Mills. We show that the four point one-loop\namplitude can be reduced to a computation of shifts, which strongly suggests a\ncase for an anomaly interpretation. We next propose a new formula for the\none-loop amplitudes at all multiplicity, in terms of the Berends-Giele currents\nconnected by an effective propagator. We prove the formula by observing that it\nreadily implies the correct collinear properties. To demonstrate the validity\nof our formula, we do an explicit computation at 3, 4 and 5 points and\nreproduce the known results. The region momenta variables play an important\nrole in our formula and thus it points to both the worldsheet and the momentum\ntwistor interpretations. In the second part of the thesis, we study the one\nloop behaviour of chiral Einstein-Cartan gravity and the one-loop amplitudes in\nself-dual gravity.",
        "positive": "Ultraviolet properties of Maximal Supergravity: We argue that recent results in string perturbation theory indicate that the\nfour-graviton amplitude of four-dimensional N=8 supergravity might be\nultraviolet finite up to eight loops. We similarly argue that the h-loop\nM-graviton amplitude might be finite for h<7+M/2."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Effective actions for dual massive (super) p-forms: In $d$ dimensions, the model for a massless $p$-form in curved space is known\nto be a reducible gauge theory for $p>1$, and therefore its covariant\nquantisation cannot be carried out using the standard Faddeev-Popov scheme.\nHowever, adding a mass term and also introducing a Stueckelberg reformulation\nof the resulting $p$-form model, one ends up with an irreducible gauge theory\nwhich can be quantised \\`a la Faddeev and Popov. We derive a compact expression\nfor the massive $p$-form effective action, $\\Gamma^{(m)}_p$, in terms of the\nfunctional determinants of Hodge-de Rham operators. We then show that the\neffective actions $\\Gamma^{(m)}_p$ and $\\Gamma^{(m)}_{d-p-1}$ differ by a\ntopological invariant. This is a generalisation of the known result in the\nmassless case that the effective actions $\\Gamma_p$ and $\\Gamma_{d-p-2}$\ncoincide modulo a topological term. Finally, our analysis is extended to the\ncase of massive super $p$-forms coupled to background ${\\cal N}=1$ supergravity\nin four dimensions. Specifically, we study the quantum dynamics of the\nfollowing massive super $p$-forms: (i) vector multiplet; (ii) tensor multiplet;\nand (iii) three-form multiplet. It is demonstrated that the effective actions\nof the massive vector and tensor multiplets coincide. The effective action of\nthe massive three-form is shown to be a sum of those corresponding to two\nmassive scalar multiplets, modulo a topological term.",
        "positive": "Real Time Propagator in the First Quantised Formalism: We argue that a basic modification must be made to the first quantised\nformalism of string theory if the physics of `particle creation' is to be\ncorrectly described. The analogous quantisation of the relativistic particle is\nperformed, and it is shown that the proper time along the world line must go\nboth forwards and backwards (in the usual quantisation it only goes forwards).\nThe matrix propagator of the real time formalism is obtained from the two\ndirections of proper time. (Talk given at the Thermal Fields Workshop held at\nBanff, Canada (August 1993).)"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauge Transformation of Double Field Theory for Open String: We combine symmetry structures of ordinary (parallel directions) and dual\n(transversal directions) coordinates to construct the Dirac-Born-Infeld (DBI)\ntheory. The ordinary coordinates are associated with the Neumann boundary\nconditions and the dual coordinates are associated with the Dirichlet boundary\nconditions. Gauge fields become scalar fields by exchanging the ordinary and\ndual coordinates. A gauge transformation of a generalized metric is governed by\nthe generalized Lie derivative. The gauge transformation of the massless closed\nstring theory gives the $C$-bracket, but the gauge transformation of the open\nstring theory gives the $F$-bracket. The $F$-bracket with the strong\nconstraints is different from the Courant bracket by an exact one-form. This\nexact one-form should come from the one-form gauge field. Based on symmetry\npoint of view, we deduce a suitable action with a non-zero $H$-flux at the\nlow-energy level. From an equation of motion of the scalar dilaton, it defines\na generalized scalar curvature. Finally, we construct a double sigma model with\na boundary term and show that this model with constraints is classically\nequivalent to the ordinary sigma model.",
        "positive": "On Production of Excited Kaluza-Klein States in Large Radius\n  Compactification Scenario: Production of exotic states at LHC is considered in the large radius\ncompactification scenario. We envisage a five dimensional theory for a scalar\nfield in five dimensional flat spacetime. It is compactified on a circle,\n$S^1$, with radius, $R$. The radius is assumed to be in TeV scale appealing to\nLRC hypothesis. The production of Kaluza-Klein states whose masses lie in the\nvicinity of TeV range is considered. Instead of appealing to any specific\nmodel, bounds on inelastic cross sections and near forward differental cross\nsection are derived from the Lehmann-Symanzik-Zimmermann (LSZ) formulation. We\nconsider decompactified theory should compactification radius be large enough\nto unravel the fifth spacial dimension in LHC energy scale. Bounds on cross\nsections are also derived for this scenario. We present bounds on inclusive\ncross sections for reactions like $a+b\\rightarrow c+X$, X being unobserved\nstates. We plot the bounds as a function of energy and propose that these\nbounds might be useful for search of exotic states in LHC experiments like\nATLAS and CMS."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Borel Summation and Analytic Continuation of the Heat Kernel on\n  Hyperbolic Space: The heat kernel expansion on even-dimensional hyperbolic spaces is asymptotic\nat both short and long times, with interestingly different Borel properties for\nthese short and long time expansions. Resummations in terms of incomplete gamma\nfunctions provide accurate extrapolations and analytic continuations, relating\nthe heat kernel to the Schrodinger kernel, and the heat kernel on hyperbolic\nspace to the heat kernel on spheres. For the diagonal heat kernel there is also\na duality between short and long times which mixes the scalar and spinor heat\nkernels.",
        "positive": "Traversable wormholes in AdS and bounds on information transfer: We analyze the amount of information that can be sent through the traversable\nwormholes of Gao, Jafferis, and Wall. Although we find that the wormhole is\nopen for a proper time shorter than the Planck time, the transmission of a\nsignal through the wormhole can sometimes remain within the semiclassical\nregime. For black holes with horizons of order the AdS radius, information\ncannot be reliably sent through the wormhole. However, black holes with horizon\nradius much larger than the AdS radius do allow for the transmission of a\nnumber of quanta of order the horizon area in AdS units. More information can\nbe sent through the wormhole by increasing the number of light fields\ncontributing to the negative energy. Our bulk computations agree with a\nboundary analysis based on quantum teleportation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Celestial Supersymmetry: We discuss supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory coupled to dilatons in the\nframework of celestial holography. We show that in the presence of point-like\ndilaton sources, the CCFT operators associated with the gauge supermultiplet\nacquire a simple, factorized form. They factorize into the holomorphic\n(super)current part and the exponential \"light\" operators of Liouville theory,\nin the infinite central charge limit. The current sector exhibits (1,0)\nsupersymmetry, thus implementing spacetime supersymmetry in CCFT.",
        "positive": "Comparative analysis of finite field-dependent BRST transformations: We present a review of our recent study (A. Reshetnyak, IJMPA 29 (2014)\n1450128; P. Moshin, A. Reshetnyak, Nucl. Phys. B 888 (2014) 92; Phys. Lett B\n739 (2014) 110; IJMPA 29 (2014) 1450159; IJMPA 30 (2015) 1550021; IJMPA 31\n(2016) 1650111), in which the concept of finite field-dependent BRST and\nBRST-antiBRST transformations for gauge theories was introduced, and their\nproperties investigated. An algorithm of exact calculation for the Jacobian of\na respective change of variables in the path integral is presented.\nApplications to the Yang--Mills theory and Standard Model, in view of infra-red\n(Gribov) peculiarities, are discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "W-symmetries on the Homogeneous Space G/U(1)^r: A construction of $W$-symmetries is given only in terms of the nonlocal\nfields (parafermions ${\\ps}_{\\al}$), which take values on the homogeneous space\n$G/U(1)^r$, where $G$ is a simply connected compact Lie group manifold (its\naccompanying Lie algebra ${\\cal G}$ is a simple one of rank $r$). Only certain\nrestriction of the root set of Lie algebra on which the parafermionic fields\ntake values are satisfied, then a consistent and non-trivial extension of the\nstress momentum tensor may exist. For arbitrary simple-laced algebras, i.e. the\n$A-D-E$ cases, a more detailed discussion is given. The OPE of spin three\nprimary field are calculated, in which a primary field with spin four is\nemerging.",
        "positive": "Quantum Newtonian Dynamics on a Light Front: We recall the special features of quantum dynamics on a light-front (in an\ninfinite momentum frame) in string and field theory. The reason this approach\nis more effective for string than for fields is stressed: the light-front\ndynamics for string is that of a true Newtonian many particle system, since a\nstring bit has a fixed Newtonian mass. In contrast, each particle of a field\ntheory has a variable Newtonian mass P^+, so the Newtonian analogy actually\nrequires an infinite number of species of elementary Newtonian particles. This\ncomplication substantially weakens the value of the Newtonian analogy in\napplying light-front dynamics to nonperturbative problems. Motivated by the\nfact that conventional field theories can be obtained as infinite tension\nlimits of string theories, we propose a way to recast field theory as a\nstandard Newtonian system. We devise and analyze some simple quantum mechanical\nsystems that display the essence of the proposal, and we discuss prospects for\napplying these ideas to large N_c QCD."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Nonspontaneous Supersymmetry Breaking: A new way of supersymmetry breaking involving a dynamical parameter is\nintroduced. It is independent of particle phenomenology and gauge groups. The\nonly requirement is that Lorentz invariance be valid strictly infinitesimally\n(i. e. Spin(1,3) be for some values of the parameter replaced by a compact\ngroup G locally isomorphic to Spin(1,3).",
        "positive": "Toward Realistic Intersecting D-Brane Models: We provide a pedagogical introduction to a recently studied class of\nphenomenologically interesting string models, known as Intersecting D-Brane\nModels. The gauge fields of the Standard-Model are localized on D-branes\nwrapping certain compact cycles on an underlying geometry, whose intersections\ncan give rise to chiral fermions. We address the basic issues and also provide\nan overview of the recent activity in this field. This article is intended to\nserve non-experts with explanations of the fundamental aspects, and also to\nprovide some orientation for both experts and non-experts in this active field\nof string phenomenology."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Connecting topological strings and spectral theory via non-autonomous\n  Toda equations: We consider the Topological String/Spectral theory duality on toric\nCalabi-Yau threefolds obtained from the resolution of the cone over the\n$Y^{N,0}$ singularity. Assuming Kyiv formula, we demonstrate this duality in a\nspecial regime thanks to an underlying connection between spectral determinants\nof quantum mirror curves and the non-autonomous (q)-Toda system. We further\nexploit this link to connect small and large time expansions in Toda equations.\nIn particular we provide an explicit expression for their tau functions at\nlarge time in terms of a strong coupling version of irregular $W_N$ conformal\nblocks at $c=N-1$. These are related to a special class of multi-cut matrix\nmodels which describe the strong coupling regime of four dimensional,\n$\\mathcal{N}=2$ $SU(N)$ super Yang-Mills.",
        "positive": "Escaping the Interiors of Pure Boundary-State Black Holes: We consider a class of pure black hole microstates and demonstrate that they\ncan be made escapable by turning on certain double trace deformations in the\nCFT. These microstates are dual to BCFT states prepared via a Euclidean path\nintegral starting from a boundary in Euclidean time. These states are dual to\nblack holes in the bulk with an End-of-the-World brane; a codimension one\ntimelike boundary of the spacetime behind the horizon. We show that by tuning\nthe sign of the coupling of the double trace operator to the boundary\nconditions on the brane the deformation injects negative energy into the black\nhole causing a time advance for signals behind the horizon. We demonstrate how\nthe property of escapability in the considered microstates follows immediately\nfrom the traversability of deformed wormholes. We briefly comment on\nreconstruction of the black hole interior and state dependence."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A new class of N=1 no-scale supergravity models: We introduce a new N=1 no-scale supergravity model with F- and D-term\nbreaking. It contains a single chiral supermultiplet T and a single U(1) vector\nmultiplet U, gauging an axionic shift symmetry. Both supersymmetry and the\ngauge symmetry are spontaneously broken, with the spin-3/2, spin-1 and spin-1/2\nmasses sliding along a classical flat direction, with a single real massless\nscalar in the spectrum. The other degrees of freedom are absorbed by the\nmassive gravitino and vector. We extend our model, under very mild conditions,\nto general gauge groups and matter content.",
        "positive": "Supersymmetry and gauge symmetry breaking with naturally vanishing\n  vacuum energy: We review the construction of $N=1$ supergravity models where the Higgs and\nsuper-Higgs effects are simultaneously realized, with naturally vanishing\nclassical vacuum energy and goldstino components along gauge-non-singlet\ndirections: this situation is likely to occur in the effective theories of\nrealistic string models. (Invited talk presented at SUSY--95, Palaiseau,\nFrance, 15--19 May 1995)"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Confinement at Weak Coupling: The free energy of U(N) and SU(N) gauge theory was recently found to be of\norder N^0 to all orders of a perturbative expansion about a center-symmetric\norbit of vanishing curvature. Here I consider extended models for which this\nexpansion is perturbatively stable. The extreme case of an SU(2) gauge theory\nwhose configuration space is restricted to center-symmetric orbits has recently\nbeen investigated on the lattice hep-lat/0509156. In extension of my talk, a\ndiscussion and possible interpretation of the observed finite temperature phase\ntransition is given. The transfer matrix of constrained SU(N) lattice gauge\ntheory is constructed for any finite temperature.",
        "positive": "Weak Hopf symmetry and tube algebra of the generalized multifusion\n  string-net model: We investigate the multifusion generalization of string-net ground states and\nlattice Hamiltonians, delving into its associated weak Hopf symmetry. For the\nmultifusion string-net, the gauge symmetry manifests as a general weak Hopf\nalgebra, leading to a reducible vacuum string label; the charge symmetry,\nserving as a quantum double of gauge symmetry, constitutes a connected weak\nHopf algebra. This implies that the associated topological phase retains its\ncharacterization by a unitary modular tensor category (UMTC). The bulk charge\nsymmetry can also be captured by a weak Hopf tube algebra. We offer an explicit\nconstruction of the weak Hopf tube algebra structure and thoroughly discuss its\nproperties. The gapped boundary and domain wall models are extensively\ndiscussed, with these $1d$ phases characterized by unitary multifusion\ncategories (UMFCs). We delve into the gauge and charge symmetries of these $1d$\nphases, as well as the construction of the boundary and domain wall tube\nalgebras. Additionally, we illustrate that the domain wall tube algebra can be\nregarded as a cross product of two boundary tube algebras. We establish the\nanyon condensation theory to elucidate the bulk-to-boundary and bulk-to-wall\ncondensation phenomena from UMTCs to a UMFCs. As an application of our model,\nwe elucidate how to interpret the defective string-net as a restricted\nmultifusion string-net."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Moduli Space of Global Symmetry in N=1 Supersymmetric Theories and the\n  Quasi-Nambu-Goldstone Bosons: We derive the moduli space for the global symmetry in N=1 supersymmetric\ntheories. We show, at the generic points, it coincides with the space of\nquasi-Nambu-Goldstone (QNG) bosons, which appear besides the ordinary\nNambu-Goldstone (NG) bosons when global symmetry G breaks down spontaneously to\nits subgroup H with preserving N=1 supersymmetry. At the singular points, most\nof the NG bosons change to the QNG bosons and the unbroken global symmetry is\nenhanced. The G-orbits parametrized by the NG bosons are the fibre at the\nmoduli space and the singular points correspond to the point where H-orbit (in\nG-orbit) shrinks. We also show the low-energy effective Lagrangian is the\narbitrary function of the orbit map.",
        "positive": "Noncommutative Integrable Field Theories in 2d: We study the noncommutative generalization of (euclidean) integrable models\nin two-dimensions, specifically the sine- and sinh-Gordon and the U(N)\nprincipal chiral models. By looking at tree-level amplitudes for the\nsinh-Gordon model we show that its na\\\"\\i ve noncommutative generalization is\n{\\em not} integrable. On the other hand, the addition of extra constraints,\nobtained through the generalization of the zero-curvature method, renders the\nmodel integrable. We construct explicit non-local non-trivial conserved charges\nfor the U(N) principal chiral model using the Brezin-Itzykson-Zinn-Justin-Zuber\nmethod."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dynamical Black Hole Entropy in Effective Field Theory: In recent work, Hollands, Kov\\'acs and Reall have built on previous work of\nWall to provide a definition of dynamical black hole entropy for gravitational\neffective field theories (EFTs). This entropy satisfies a second law of black\nhole mechanics to quadratic order in perturbations around a stationary black\nhole. We determine the explicit form of this entropy for the EFT of 4d vacuum\ngravity including terms in the action with up to 6 derivatives. An open\nquestion concerns the gauge invariance of this definition of black hole\nentropy. We show that gauge invariance holds for the EFT of vacuum gravity with\nup to 6 derivatives but demonstrate that it can fail when 8 derivative terms\nare included. We determine an entropy for Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet theory by\ntreating it as an EFT with vanishing 6 derivative terms.",
        "positive": "Trace anomalies for Weyl fermions: too odd to be true?: We review recent discussions regarding the parity-odd contribution to the\ntrace anomaly of a chiral fermion. We pay special attention to the perturbative\napproach in terms of Feynman diagrams, comparing in detail the results obtained\nusing dimensional regularization and the Breitenlohner--Maison prescription\nwith other approaches."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Rollercoaster Cosmology: (Abridged) Does inflation have to happen all in one go? The answer is a\nresounding no! All cosmological problems can be solved by a sequence of short\nbursts of cosmic acceleration, interrupted by short epochs of decelerated\nexpansion. The spectrum of perturbations will still match the CMB and LSS if\nthe earliest stage of the last ${\\cal O}(50)-{\\cal O}(60)$ efolds is at least\n${\\cal O}(15)$ efolds long. Other stages can be considerably shorter. But as\nlong as they add up to ${\\cal O}(50)-{\\cal O}(60)$ efolds and the stages of\ndecelerated expansion in between them are shorter and also overall last less,\nthe ensuing cosmology will pass muster. The presence of the interruptions\nresets the efold clock of each accelerating stage, and changes its value at the\nCMB pivot point. This change opens up the theory space, loosening the bounds.\nIn particular some models that seem excluded at ${\\cal N}=60$ fit very well as\nshorter stages with ${\\cal N}=30$. Interesting predictions are that both the\nscalar and tensor spectra of perturbations are rapidly modified at short\nwavelengths. These features could be tested with future CMB spectroscopy\nsearches and with short wavelength primordial gravity probes. The spatial\ncurvature in these models can be larger than the largest wavelength scalar\nperturbations, because $\\Omega_{\\tt k}$ evolves differently than the scalar\nperturbations $\\frac{\\delta \\rho}{\\rho}|_{\\tt S}$. Finally, with many short\nstages of accelerated expansion, the abundance of reheating products from\nprevious accelerated stages does not get completely wiped out. This implies\nthat the universe may contain additional populations of particles, more rare\nthan the visible ones, or even primordial black holes, created during a late\ndecelerated epoch before last reheating, which may be dark matter.",
        "positive": "The Geometry of Electric Charge: The Charge Characteristic Class: It is well known that magnetic monopoles are related to the first Chern\nclass. In this note electric charge is used to construct an analogous\ncharacteristic class: the charge class."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Lie algebra cohomology and group structure of gauge theories: We explicitly construct the adjoint operator of coboundary operator and\nobtain the Hodge decomposition theorem and the Poincar\\'e duality for the Lie\nalgebra cohomology of the infinite-dimensional gauge transformation group. We\nshow that the adjoint of the coboundary operator can be identified with the\nBRST adjoint generator $Q^{\\dagger}$ for the Lie algebra cohomology induced by\nBRST generator $Q$. We also point out an interesting duality relation -\nPoincar\\'e duality - with respect to gauge anomalies and Wess-Zumino-Witten\ntopological terms. We consider the consistent embedding of the BRST adjoint\ngenerator $Q^{\\dagger}$ into the relativistic phase space and identify the\nnoncovariant symmetry recently discovered in QED with the BRST adjoint N\\\"other\ncharge $Q^{\\dagger}$.",
        "positive": "Hidden supersymmetry of domain walls and cosmologies: We show that all domain-wall solutions of gravity coupled to scalar fields\nfor which the worldvolume geometry is Minkowski or anti-de Sitter admit Killing\nspinors, and satisfy corresponding first-order equations involving a\nsuperpotential determined by the solution. By analytic continuation, all flat\nor closed FLRW cosmologies are shown to satisfy similar first-order equations\narising from the existence of ``pseudo-Killing'' spinors."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Classical $W_{4}^{(2)}$ Algebra: We consider the classical \\w42 algebra from the integrable system viewpoint.\nThe integrable evolution equations associated with the \\w42 algebra are\nconstructed and the Miura maps , consequently modifications, are presented.\nModifying the Miura maps, we give a free field realization the classical \\w42\nalgebra. We also construct the Toda type integrable systems for it.",
        "positive": "Factorization identities and algebraic Bethe ansatz for $D^{(2)}_{2}$\n  models: We express $D^{(2)}_{2}$ transfer matrices as products of $A^{(1)}_{1}$\ntransfer matrices, for both closed and open spin chains. We use these\nrelations, which we call factorization identities, to solve the models by\nalgebraic Bethe ansatz. We also formulate and solve a new integrable XXZ-like\nopen spin chain with an even number of sites that depends on a continuous\nparameter, which we interpret as the rapidity of the boundary."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum $\\mathcal{R}$-matrices as universal qubit gates: We study the Chern-Simons approach to the topological quantum computing. We\nuse quantum $\\mathcal{R}$-matrices as universal quantum gates and study the\napproximations of some one-qubit operations. We make some modifications to the\nknown Solovay-Kitaev algorithm suitable for our particular problem.",
        "positive": "On the cusp anomalous dimension in the ladder limit of $\\mathcal N=4$\n  SYM: We analyze the cusp anomalous dimension in the (leading) ladder limit of\n$\\mathcal N=4$ SYM and present new results for its higher-order perturbative\nexpansion. We study two different limits with respect to the cusp angle $\\phi$.\nThe first is the light-like regime where $x = e^{i\\,\\phi}\\to 0$. This limit is\ncharacterised by a non-trivial expansion of the cusp anomaly as a sum of powers\nof $\\log x$, where the maximum exponent increases with the loop order. The\ncoefficients of this expansion have remarkable transcendentality features and\ncan be expressed by products of single zeta values. We show that the whole\nlogarithmic expansion is fully captured by a solvable Woods-Saxon like\none-dimensional potential. From the exact solution, we extract generating\nfunctions for the cusp anomaly as well as for the various specific\ntranscendental structures appearing therein. The second limit that we discuss\nis the regime of small cusp angle. In this somewhat simpler case, we show how\nto organise the quantum mechanical perturbation theory in a novel efficient way\nby means of a suitable all-order Ansatz for the ground state of the associated\nSchr\\\"odinger problem. Our perturbative setup allows to systematically derive\nhigher-order perturbative corrections in powers of the cusp angle as explicit\nnon-perturbative functions of the effective coupling. This series approximation\nis compared with the numerical solution of the Schr\\\"odinger equation to show\nthat we can achieve very good accuracy over the whole range of coupling and\ncusp angle. Our results have been obtained by relatively simple techniques.\nNevertheless, they provide several non-trivial tests useful to check the\napplication of Quantum Spectral Curve methods to the ladder approximation at\nnon zero $\\phi$, in the two limits we studied."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fixing All Moduli for M-Theory on K3xK3: We analyze M-theory compactified on K3xK3 with fluxes preserving half the\nsupersymmetry and its F-theory limit, which is dual to an orientifold of the\ntype IIB string on $K3\\times T^2/Z_2$. The geometry of attractive K3 surfaces\nplays a significant role in the analysis. We prove that the number of choices\nfor the K3 surfaces is finite and we show how they can be completely\nclassified. We list the possibilities in one case. We then study the instanton\neffects and see that they will generically fix all of the moduli. We also\ndiscuss situations where the instanton effects might not fix all the moduli.",
        "positive": "Topological violation of global symmetries in quantum gravity: We discuss a topological reason why global symmetries are not conserved in\nquantum gravity, at least when the symmetry comes from compactification of a\nhigher form symmetry. The mechanism is purely topological and does not require\nany explicit breaking term in the UV Lagrangian. Local current conservation\ndoes not imply global charge conservation in a sum over geometries in the path\nintegral. We explicitly consider the shift symmetry of an axion-like field\nwhich originates from the compactification of a $p$-form gauge field. Our\ntopological construction is motivated by the brane/black-brane correspondence,\nbrane instantons, and an idea that virtual black branes of a simple kind may be\nrealized by surgery on spacetime manifolds."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Sharp Boundaries for the Swampland: We reconsider the problem of bounding higher derivative couplings in\nconsistent weakly coupled gravitational theories, starting from general\nassumptions about analyticity and Regge growth of the S-matrix. Higher\nderivative couplings are expected to be of order one in the units of the UV\ncutoff. Our approach justifies this expectation and allows to prove precise\nbounds on the order one coefficients. Our main tool are dispersive sum rules\nfor the S-matrix. We overcome the difficulties presented by the graviton pole\nby measuring couplings at small impact parameter, rather than in the forward\nlimit. We illustrate the method in theories containing a massless scalar\ncoupled to gravity, and in theories with maximal supersymmetry.",
        "positive": "Random Matrix Theory for Complexity Growth and Black Hole Interiors: We study a precise and computationally tractable notion of operator\ncomplexity in holographic quantum theories, including the ensemble dual of\nJackiw-Teitelboim gravity and two-dimensional holographic conformal field\ntheories. This is a refined, \"microcanonical\" version of K-complexity that\napplies to theories with infinite or continuous spectra (including quantum\nfield theories), and in the holographic theories we study exhibits exponential\ngrowth for a scrambling time, followed by linear growth until saturation at a\ntime exponential in the entropy $\\unicode{x2014}$a behavior that is\ncharacteristic of chaos. We show that the linear growth regime implies a\nuniversal random matrix description of the operator dynamics after scrambling.\nOur main tool for establishing this connection is a \"complexity renormalization\ngroup\" framework we develop that allows us to study the effective operator\ndynamics for different timescales by \"integrating out\" large K-complexities. In\nthe dual gravity setting, we comment on the empirical match between our version\nof K-complexity and the maximal volume proposal, and speculate on a connection\nbetween the universal random matrix theory dynamics of operator growth after\nscrambling and the spatial translation symmetry of smooth black hole interiors."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Entropy Linear Response Theory with Non-Markovian Bath: We developed a perturbative calculation for entropy dynamics considering a\nsudden coupling between a system and a bath. The theory we developed can work\nin general environment without Markovian approximation. A perturbative formula\nis given for bosonic environment and fermionic environment, respectively. We\nfind the Renyi entropy response is only related to the spectral functions of\nthe system and the environment, together with a specific statistical kernel\ndistribution function. We find a t^2 growth/decay in the short time limit and a\nt linear growth/decay in longer time scale for second Renyi entropy. A\nnon-monotonic behavior of Renyi entropy for fermionic systems is found to be\nquite general when the environment's temperature is lower. A Fourier's law in\nheat transport is obtained when two systems' temperature are close to each\nother. A consistency check is made for Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev model coupling to free\nfermions, a Page curve alike dynamics is found in a process dual to black hole\nevaporation. An oscillation of entanglement entropy is found for a gapped\nspectrum of environment.",
        "positive": "Towards a Non-Supersymmetric String Phenomenology: Over the past three decades, considerable effort has been devoted to studying\nthe rich and diverse phenomenologies of heterotic strings exhibiting spacetime\nsupersymmetry. Unfortunately, during this same period, there has been\nrelatively little work studying the phenomenologies associated with their\nnon-supersymmetric counterparts. The primary reason for this relative lack of\nattention is the fact that strings without spacetime supersymmetry are\ngenerally unstable, exhibiting large one-loop dilaton tadpoles. In this paper,\nwe demonstrate that this hurdle can be overcome in a class of tachyon-free\nfour-dimensional string models realized through coordinate-dependent\ncompactifications. Moreover, as we shall see, it is possible to construct\nmodels in this class whose low-lying states resemble the Standard Model (or\neven potential unified extensions thereof) --- all without any light\nsuperpartners, and indeed without supersymmetry at any energy scale. The\nexistence of such models thus opens the door to general studies of\nnon-supersymmetric string phenomenology, and in this paper we proceed to\ndiscuss a variety of theoretical and phenomenological issues associated with\nsuch non-supersymmetric strings. On the theoretical side, we discuss the\nfiniteness properties of such strings, the general characteristics of their\nmass spectra, the magnitude and behavior of their one-loop cosmological\nconstants, and their interpolation properties. By contrast, on the\nphenomenological side, the properties we discuss are more model-specific and\ninclude their construction techniques, their natural energy scales, their\nparticle and charge assignments, and the magnitudes of their associated Yukawa\ncouplings and scalar masses."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Yukawa couplings from magnetized D-brane models on non-factorisable tori: We compute Yukawa couplings in type IIB string theory compactified on a non\nfactorisable six-torus in the presence of D9 branes and fluxes. The setting\nstudied in detail, is obtained by T-dualising an intersecting brane\nconfiguration of type IIA theory compactified on a torus generated by the\nSO(12) root lattice. Particular deformations of such torus are taken into\naccount and provide moduli dependent couplings. Agreement with the type IIA\nresult is found in a non trivial way. The classical type IIB calculation gives\nalso information on a factor accessible only by quantum computations on the\ntype IIA side.",
        "positive": "Cosmological equations and Thermodynamics on Apparent Horizon in Thick\n  Braneworld: We derive the generalized Friedmann equation governing the cosmological\nevolution inside the thick brane model in the presence of two curvature\ncorrection terms: a four-dimensional scalar curvature from induced gravity on\nthe brane, and a five-dimensional Gauss-Bonnet curvature term. We find two\neffective four-dimensional reductions of the Friedmann equation in some limits\nand demonstrate that they can be rewritten as the first law of thermodynamics\non the apparent horizon of thick braneworld."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Recent developments in heterotic compactifications: In this short review, we outline three sets of developments in understanding\nheterotic string compactifications. First, we outline recent progress in\nheterotic analogues of quantum cohomology computations. Second, we discuss a\npotential swampland issue in heterotic strings, and new heterotic string\nconstructions that can be used to fill in the naively missing theories. Third,\nwe discuss recent developments in string compactifications on stacks and their\napplications, concluding with an outline of work-in-progress on heterotic\nstring compactifications on gerbes.",
        "positive": "Spectral Curves for Super-Yang-Mills with Adjoint Hypermultiplet for\n  General Lie Algebras: The Seiberg-Witten curves and differentials for $\\N=2$ supersymmetric\nYang-Mills theories with one hypermultiplet of mass $m$ in the adjoint\nrepresentation of the gauge algebra $\\G$, are constructed for arbitrary\nclassical or exceptional $\\G$ (except $G_2$). The curves are obtained from the\nrecently established Lax pairs with spectral parameter for the (twisted)\nelliptic Calogero-Moser integrable systems associated with the algebra $\\G$.\nCurves and differentials are shown to have the proper group theoretic and\ncomplex analytic structure, and to behave as expected when $m$ tends either to\n0 or to $\\infty$. By way of example, the prepotential for $\\G = D_n$, evaluated\nwith these techniques, is shown to agree with standard perturbative results. A\nrenormalization group type equation relating the prepotential to the\nCalogero-Moser Hamiltonian is obtained for arbitrary $\\G$, generalizing a\nprevious result for $\\G = SU(N)$. Duality properties and decoupling to theories\nwith other representations are briefly discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spectrum of Dyons and Black Holes in CHL orbifolds using Borcherds Lift: The degeneracies of supersymmetric quarter BPS dyons in four dimensions and\nof spinning black holes in five dimensions in a CHL compactification are\ncomputed exactly using Borcherds lift. The Hodge anomaly in the construction\nhas a physical interpretation as the contribution of a single M-theory\nKaluza-Klein 6-brane in the 4d-5d lift. Using factorization, it is shown that\nthe resulting formula has a natural interpretation as a two-loop partition\nfunction of left-moving heterotic string, consistent with the heuristic picture\nof dyons in the M-theory lift of string webs.",
        "positive": "B-field in AdS(3)/CFT(2) Correspondence and Integrability: We construct topological Wess-Zumino term for supercoset sigma-models on\nvarious AdS(3) backgrounds. For appropriately chosen set of parameters, the\nsigma-model remains integrable when the Wess-Zumino term is added to the\naction. Moreover, the conditions for integrability, kappa-symmetry and\nconformal invariance are equivalent to each other."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quintessential Maldacena-Maoz Cosmologies: Maldacena and Maoz have proposed a new approach to holographic cosmology\nbased on Euclidean manifolds with disconnected boundaries. This approach\nappears, however, to be in conflict with the known geometric results [the\nWitten-Yau theorem and its extensions] on spaces with boundaries of\nnon-negative scalar curvature. We show precisely how the Maldacena-Maoz\napproach evades these theorems. We also exhibit Maldacena-Maoz cosmologies with\n[cosmologically] more natural matter content, namely quintessence instead of\nYang-Mills fields, thereby demonstrating that these cosmologies do not depend\non a special choice of matter to split the Euclidean boundary. We conclude that\nif our Universe is fundamentally anti-de Sitter-like [with the current\nacceleration being only temporary], then this may force us to confront the\nholography of spaces with a connected bulk but a disconnected boundary.",
        "positive": "Functional determinants and Casimir energy in higher dimensional\n  spherically symmetric background potentials: In this paper we analyze the spectral zeta function associated with a Laplace\noperator acting on scalar functions on an N-dimensional Euclidean space in the\npresence of a spherically symmetric background potential. The obtained analytic\ncontinuation of the spectral zeta function is then used to derive very simple\nresults for the functional determinant of the operator and the Casimir energy\nof the scalar field."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Note on the deformation of chiral algebra: We introduce a new type of deformation of the chiral symmetry based on the\ndeformation of the Laurent expansion of the conformal energy momentum tensor.\nTwo kinds of solutions of the deformed equations of continuity are worked out.\nKnown results are recovered, others features are also discussed.",
        "positive": "An Exact Solution to O(26) Sigma Model coupled to 2-D Gravity: By a mapping to the bosonic string theory, we present an exact solution to\nthe O(26) sigma model coupled to 2-D quantum gravity. In particular, we obtain\nthe exact gravitational dressing to the various matter operators classified by\nthe irreducible representations of O(26). We also derive the exact form of the\ngravitationally modified beta function for the original coupling constant\n$e^2$. The relation between our exact solution and the asymptotic solution\ngiven in ref[3] is discussed in various aspects."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Higher-spin gauge models with (1,1) supersymmetry in AdS${}_3$:\n  Reduction to (1,0) superspace: In three dimensions, there are two types of ${\\cal N}=2$ anti-de Sitter (AdS)\nsupersymmetry, which are denoted (1,1) and (2,0). They are characterised by\ndifferent supercurrents and support different families of higher-spin gauge\nmodels (massless and massive) which were constructed in arXiv:1807.09098 and\narXiv:1809.00802 for the (1,1) and (2,0) cases, respectively, using superspace\ntechniques. It turns out that the precise difference between the (1,1) and\n(2,0) higher-spin supermultiplets can be pinned down by reducing these gauge\ntheories to (1,0) AdS superspace. The present paper is devoted to the $(1,1)\n\\to (1,0)$ AdS superspace reduction. In conjunction with the outcomes of the\n$(2,0) \\to (1,0)$ AdS superspace reduction carried out in arXiv:1905.05050, we\ndemonstrate that every known higher-spin theory with (1,1) or (2,0) AdS\nsupersymmetry decomposes into a sum of two off-shell (1,0) supermultiplets\nwhich belong to four series of inequivalent higher-spin gauge models. The\nlatter are reduced to components.",
        "positive": "Reply to \"A note on the innocuous implications of a minimum length in\n  quantum gravity\" by P.H. Frampton: We reply to the comment \"A note on the innocuous implications of a minimum\nlength in quantum gravity\" by P.H. Frampton [Class. Quantum Grav. 26 (2009)\n018001, arXiv:arXiv:0808.0283] on our paper \"Dangerous implications of a\nminimum length in quantum gravity\" [Class. Quantum Grav. 25 (2008) 195013,\narXiv:0803.0749]."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Cones, Tri-Sasakian Structures and Superconformal Invariance: In this note we show that rigid N=2 superconformal hypermultiplets must have\ntarget manifolds which are cones over tri-Sasakian metrics. We comment on the\nrelation of this work to cone-branes and the AdS/CFT correspondence.",
        "positive": "Open-string integrals with multiple unintegrated punctures at genus one: We study integrals appearing in intermediate steps of one-loop open-string\namplitudes, with multiple unintegrated punctures on the $A$-cycle of a torus.\nWe construct a vector of such integrals which closes after taking a total\ndifferential with respect to the $N$ unintegrated punctures and the modular\nparameter $\\tau$. These integrals are found to satisfy the elliptic\nKnizhnik-Zamolodchikov-Bernard (KZB) equations, and can be written as a power\nseries in $\\alpha$' -- the string length squared -- in terms of elliptic\nmultiple polylogarithms (eMPLs). In the $N$-puncture case, the KZB equation\nreveals a representation of $B_{1,N}$, the braid group of $N$ strands on a\ntorus, acting on its solutions. We write the simplest of these braid group\nelements -- the braiding one puncture around another -- and obtain generating\nfunctions of analytic continuations of eMPLs. The KZB equations in the\nso-called universal case is written in terms of the genus-one Drinfeld-Kohno\nalgebra $\\mathfrak{t}_{1,N} \\rtimes \\mathfrak{d}$, a graded algebra. Our\nconstruction determines matrix representations of various dimensions for\nseveral generators of this algebra which respect its grading up to commuting\nterms."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Tunneling Without Bounce: The false vacua of some potentials do not decay via Euclidean bounces. This\ntypically happens for tunneling actions with a flat direction (in field\nconfiguration space) that is lifted by a perturbation into a sloping valley,\npushing the bounce off to infinity. Using three different approaches we find a\nconsistent picture for such decays. In the Euclidean approach the bottom of the\naction valley consists of a family of pseudo-bounces (field configurations with\nsome key good properties of bounces except extremizing the action). The\npseudo-bounce result is validated by minimizing a WKB action in Minkowski space\nalong appropriate paths in configuration space. Finally, the simplest approach\nuses the tunneling action method proposed recently with a simple modification\nof boundary conditions.",
        "positive": "The TCFHs of D=11 AdS backgrounds and hidden symmetries: We present the TCFHs of all AdS backgrounds of 11-dimensional supergravity\nand explore some of the properties of the associated connections. Therefore we\ndemonstrate that all Killing spinor bilinears satisfy a generalisation of the\nconformal Killing-Yano equations with respect to the TCFH connection. In\naddition we explore the hidden symmetries of spinning particle probes\npropagating on these backgrounds. We give several examples of hidden symmetries\nfor probes on the maximal supersymmetric AdS backgrounds as well as on some AdS\nbackgrounds that arise as near horizon geometries of intersecting M-branes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the noncommutative eikonal: We study the eikonal approximation to quantum mechanics on the Moyal plane.\nInstead of using a star product, the analysis is carried out in terms of\noperator-valued wavefunctions depending on noncommuting, operator-valued\ncoordinates.",
        "positive": "Topological Entanglement of Polymers and Chern-Simons Field Theory: In recent times some interesting field theoretical descriptions of the\nstatistical mechanics of entangling polymers have been proposed by various\nauthors. In these approaches, a single test polymer fluctuating in a background\nof static polymers or in a lattice of obstacles is considered. The extension to\nthe case in which the configurations of two or more polymers become non-static\nis not straightforward unless their trajectories are severely constrained. In\nthis paper we present another approach, based on Chern--Simons field theory,\nwhich is able to describe the topological entanglements of two fluctuating\npolymers in terms of gauge fields and second quantized replica fields."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Two gravitational shock waves on the AdS_3 brane: A gravitational shock wave is a solution to Einstein equations describing the\ngravitational field of a massless particle. We obtain such a geometry for a\nparticle moving on a AdS_3 brane embedded in a AdS_4 bulk (the lower\ndimensional version of the \"locally localized gravity\" model of Karch and\nRandall). In order to do this, we use two different techniques. First, we solve\ndirectly Einstein equations sourced by a massless particle. Then we boost to\nthe speed of light the AdS_3 brane black hole solution of Emparan et al while\nsending its mass parameter to zero. Surprisingly, we obtain two different\nresults. We discuss the origin of these two different solutions both in the\nbulk and in the CFT picture. As a by-product, we derive the expression for the\nshock wave associated to a transversally accelerating particle in AdS_4.",
        "positive": "On the Breaking of Conformal Symmetry in the AdS/CFT Correspondence: The renormalization of the boundary action in the AdS/CFT correspondence is\nconsidered and the breaking of conformal symmetry is discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Flavored extended instanton in QCD: In this paper we discuss new flavored space-like defects in confined QCD\nwhich can be considered as the Euclidean extended instantons carrying the\ntopologically quantized currents. We focus on the simplest 1d space-like defect\n- the S-Skyrmion solution extended in one space coordinate and localized in\nEuclidean time. It can be identified both in the holographic QCD and in the\nChiral Perturbation Theory(ChPT). The Skyrmion charges get transformed into the\ncorresponding currents for S-Skyrmion. The analogy with the Thouless pump and\nthe quantum phase slip phenomena is mentioned.",
        "positive": "A Resummable beta-Function for Massless QED: Within the set of schemes defined by generalized, manifestly gauge invariant\nexact renormalization groups for QED, it is argued that the beta-function in\nthe four dimensional massless theory cannot possess any nonperturbative power\ncorrections. Consequently, the perturbative expression for the beta-function\nmust be resummable. This argument cannot be extended to flows of the other\ncouplings or to the anomalous dimension of the fermions and so perturbation\ntheory does not define a unique trajectory in the critical surface of the\nGaussian fixed point. Thus, resummability of the beta-function is not\ninconsistent with the expectation that a non-trivial fixed point does not\nexist."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "BPS Skyrme neutron stars in generalized gravity: We study the coupling of nuclear matter described by the BPS Skyrme model to\ngeneralized gravity. Concretely, we consider the Starobinsky model which\nprovides the leading-order correction to the Einstein-Hilbert action. Static\nsolutions describing neutron stars are found both for the full field theory and\nfor the mean-field approximation. We always consider the full Starobinsky model\nin the nonperturbative approach, using appropriately generalized shooting\nmethods for the numerical neutron star calculations. Many of our results are\nsimilar to previous investigations of neutron stars for the Starobinsky model\nusing other models of nuclear matter, but there are some surprizing\ndiscrepancies. The \"Newtonian mass\" relevant for the surface redshift, e.g.,\nresults larger than the ADM mass in our model, in contrast to other\ninvestigations. This difference is related to the particularly high stiffness\nof nuclear matter described by the BPS Skyrme model and offers an interesting\npossibility to distinguish different models of nuclear matter within\ngeneralized gravity.",
        "positive": "Some Algebraic Geometry Aspects of Gravitational Theories with Covariant\n  and Contravariant Connections and Metrics (GTCCCM) and Possible Applications\n  to Theories with Extra Dimensions: On the base of the distinction between covariant and contravariant metric\ntensor components, an approach from algebraic geometry will be proposed, aimed\nat finding new solutions of the Einstein's equations both in GTCCCM and in\nstandard gravity theory, if these equations are treated as algebraic equations.\nAs a partial case, some physical applications of the approach have been\nconsidered in reference to theories with extra dimensions. The s.c. \"length\nfunction\" l(x) has been introduced and has been found as a solution of\nquasilinear differential equations in partial derivatives for two different\ncases, corresponding to \"compactification + rescaling\" and \"rescaling +\ncompactification\" of the type I low-energy string theory action. New (although\ncomplicated) relations between the parameters in the action have been found,\nvalid also for the standard approach in theories with extra dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Black hole microstates from branes at angle: We derive the leading g_s perturbation of the SUGRA fields generated by a\nsupersymmetric configuration of respectively 1, 2 or 4 D3-branes intersecting\nat an arbitrary angle via the computation of the string theory disk scattering\namplitude of one massless NSNS field interacting with open strings stretched\nbetween the branes. The configuration with four branes is expected to be\nrelevant for black hole microstate counting in four dimensions.",
        "positive": "Bimetric QED: We study, as a model of Lorentz symmetry breaking, the quantisation and\nrenormalisation of an extension of QED in a flat spacetime where the photons\nand electrons propagate differently and do not share the same lightcone. We\nwill refer to this model as Bimetric QED (BIMQED). As a preliminary we discuss\nthe formulation of electrodynamics in a pre-metric formalism showing\nnevertheless that there is, on the basis of a simple criteron, a preferred\nmetric. Arising from this choice of metric is a Weyl-like tensor (WLT). The\nPetrov classification of the WLT gives rise to a corresponding classification\nof Lorentz symmetry breaking. We do not impose any constraint on the strength\nof the symmetry breaking and are able to obtain explicit dispersion relations\nfor photon propagation in each of the Petrov classes. The associated\nbirefringence appears in some cases as two distinct polarisation dependent\nlightcones and in other cases as a a more complicated structure that cannot be\ndisentangled in a simple way.\n  We show how in BIMQED the renormalisation procedure can, in addition to its\neffect on standard parameters such as charge and mass, force the\nrenormalisation of the metrics and the WLT. Two particularly tractable cases\nare studied in detail for which we can obtain renormalisation group flows for\nthe parameters of the model together with an analysis of fixed point structure.\nOf course these results are consistent with previous studies but we are not\nconstrained to treat Lorentz symmetry breaking as necessarily weak. As we found\nin a previous study of a scalar field theory model an acceptable causal\nstructure for the model imposes constraints on relationship between the various\nlightcones in BIMQED."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exact, E=0, Solutions for General Power-Law Potentials. I. Classical\n  Orbits: For zero energy, $E=0$, we derive exact, classical solutions for {\\em all}\npower-law potentials, $V(r)=-\\gamma/r^\\nu$, with $\\gamma>0$ and $-\\infty\n<\\nu<\\infty$. When the angular momentum is non-zero, these solutions lead to\nthe orbits $\\r(t)= [\\cos \\mu (\\th(t)-\\th_0(t))]^{1/\\mu}$, for all $\\mu \\equiv\n\\nu/2-1 \\ne 0$. When $\\nu>2$, the orbits are bound and go through the origin.\nThis leads to discrete discontinuities in the functional dependence of $\\th(t)$\nand $\\th_0(t)$, as functions of $t$, as the orbits pass through the origin. We\ndescribe a procedure to connect different analytic solutions for successive\norbits at the origin. We calculate the periods and precessions of these bound\norbits, and graph a number of specific examples. Also, we explain why they all\nmust violate the virial theorem. The unbound orbits are also discussed in\ndetail. This includes the unusual orbits which have finite travel times to\ninfinity and also the special $\\nu = 2$ case.",
        "positive": "Nonextremal black holes in gauged supergravity and the real formulation\n  of special geometry: We give a rather general recipe for constructing nonextremal black hole\nsolutions to N=2, D=4 gauged supergravity coupled to abelian vector multiplets.\nThis problem simplifies considerably if one uses the formalism developed in\narXiv:1112.2876, based on dimensional reduction and the real formulation of\nspecial geometry. We use this to find new nonextremal black holes for several\nchoices of the prepotential, that generalize the BPS solutions found in\narXiv:0911.4926. Some physical properties of these black holes are also\ndiscussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Towards M2-brane Theories for Generic Toric Singularities: We construct several examples of (2+1) dimensional N=2 supersymmetric\nChern-Simons theories, whose moduli space is given by non-compact toric\nCalabi-Yau four-folds, which are not derivable from any (3+1) dimensional CFT.\nOne such example is the gauge theory associated with the cone over Q^{111}. For\nseveral examples, we explicitly confirm the matter content, superpotential\ninteractions and RG flows suggested by crystal models. Our results provide\nadditional support to the idea that crystal models are relevant for describing\nthe structure of these CFTs.",
        "positive": "Phase Transition of charged Rotational Black Hole and Quintessence: In this paper, we calculate thermodynamical quantity of Kerr-Newman-AdS black\nhole solution in quintessence matter. Then, we show that how the rotation and\ncosmological parameters effect to the thermodynamics properties of black hole.\nAlso, we investigate both types of phase transition for different values of\n$\\omega$ parameter in extended phase space. We notice that type one of phase\ntransition occurs for $P<0.42$ and $a<0.5$. And also we see that the phase\ntransition point shifts to higher entropy when pressure $P$, rotation parameter\n$a$ and $\\alpha$ increase. Also, we find that by changing parameter $\\omega$\nfrom -1 to $-\\frac{1}{3}$, the critical point shifts to higher entropy. Then we\nstudy type two of phase transition and show critical points increase by\nincreasing parameter $\\alpha$. Also, we show that the critical point shifts to\nhigher entropy when $\\alpha$, $\\omega$ and rotation parameter $a$ decrease.\nFinally, we find that by decreasing pressure the first critical point shifts to\nlower entropy and second critical point shifts to higher entropy."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Cosmic Decoherence: Massive Fields: We study the decoherence of massive fields during inflation based on the\nZurek's density matrix approach. With the cubic interaction between inflaton\nand massive fields, the reduced density matrix for the massive fields can be\ncalculated in the Schr\\\"odinger picture which is related to the variance of the\nnon-Gaussian exponent in the wave functional. The decoherence rate is computed\nin the one-loop form from functional integration. For heavy fields with\n$m\\gtrsim \\mathcal{O}(H)$, quantum fluctuations will easily stay in the quantum\nstate and decoherence is unlikely. While for light fields with mass smaller\nthan $\\mathcal{O}(H)$, quantum fluctuations are easily decohered within\n$5\\sim10$ e-folds after Hubble crossing. Thus heavy fields can play a key role\nin studying problems involving inflationary quantum information.",
        "positive": "Geodesic Flow on the n-Dimensional Ellipsoid as a Liouville Integrable\n  System: We show that the motion on the n-dimensional ellipsoid is complete integrable\nby exhibiting n integrals in involution. The system is separable at classical\nand quantum level, the separation of classical variables being realized by the\ninverse of the momentum map. This system is a generic one in a new class of\nn-dimensional complete integrable Hamiltonians defined by an arbitrary function\nf(q,p) invertible with respect to momentum p and rational in the coordinate q."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Induced Chern-Simons term by dimensional reduction: We derive an induced Abelian Chern-Simons (CS) term in 2+1 dimensions, by\ndimensional reduction from the finite-temperature theory of a Dirac field with\nboth vector and axial-vector couplings to two Abelian gauge fields, in 3+1\ndimensions. In our construction, the CS term emerges for the lowest Matsubara\nmode of the vector Abelian field, by integrating the fermionic field, under the\nassumption that the axial vector field is in a \"vacuum\" configuration. This\nconfiguration is characterized by a single number, which in turn determines the\ncoefficient of the induced CS term for the Abelian vector field.",
        "positive": "Supersymmetric dyonic black holes of IIA string on Six Torus: A class of four-dimensional static supersymmetric black hole solutions of\neffective supergravity Lagrangian of IIA superstring compactified on $T^6$ is\nconstructed by explicitly solving Killing spinor equations (KSEs). These\nsolutions are dyonic black holes parametrized by four charges, with dilaton and\ndiagonal internal metric components as the only non-zero scalar fields, and\npreserve $1 \\over 8$ of $N=8$ supersymmetry. The KSEs with only\nNeveu-Schwarz-Neveu-Schwarz charges relate spinors with opposite chirality from\nten-dimensional view point, and have identical structures with KSEs of\ntoroidally compactified heterotic string. We also find a solution with four\nRamond-Ramond charges which is U-dual to the solution with four\nNeveu-Schwarz-Neveu-Schwarz charges, and corresponds to the intersecting\nD-brane configuration with two 2-branes and two 4-branes. A configuration with\nboth Neveu-Schwarz-Neveu-Schwarz charges and Ramond-Ramond charges is also\nfound. We show that the configurations T-dual to the above solutions are also\nsolutions of the KSEs. The patterns of supersymmetry breaking are studied in\ndetail."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exact solution of the Dirac equation for a Coulomb and a scalar\n  Potential in the presence of of an Aharonov-Bohm and magnetic monopole fields: In the present article we analyze the problem of a relativistic Dirac\nelectron in the presence of a combination of a Coulomb field, a $1/r$ scalar\npotential as well as a Dirac magnetic monopole and an Aharonov-Bohm potential.\nUsing the algebraic method of separation of variables, the Dirac equation\nexpressed in the local rotating diagonal gauge is completely separated in\nspherical coordinates, and exact solutions are obtained. We compute the energy\nspectrum and analyze how it depends on the intensity of the Aharonov-Bohm and\nthe magnetic monopole strengths.",
        "positive": "Large angular momentum closed strings colliding with D-branes: We investigate colliding processes of closed strings with large angular\nmomenta with D-branes. We give explicit CFT calculations for closed string\nstates with an arbitrary number of bosonic excitations and no or one fermion\nexcitation. The results reproduce the correspondence between closed string\nstates and single trace operators in the boundary gauge theory recently\nsuggested by Berenstein, Maldacena and Nastase."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Primordial Black Holes and Gravitational Waves in\n  Multi-Axion-Chern-Simons Inflation: We study aspects of inflation and the possibility of enhanced production of\nprimordial black holes (PBHs) and gravitational waves (GWs) in a\nstring-inspired model of two axion fields coupled to Chern-Simons gravity,\nwhich results in a running-vacuum-model inflation. Fluctuations of the scale\ninvariant spectrum, consistent with the cosmological data, are provided in this\nmodel by world-sheet (non-perturbative) instanton terms of the axion field\narising from string compactification. As a result of such modulations, there is\nan enhanced production of PBHs and GWs in such cosmologies, which may lead to\nobservable in principle patterns in the profile of GWs during the radiation\nera. Moreover, we demonstrate that the PBHs may provide a significant amount of\nDark Matter in this Universe. For comparison, we also discuss a two-stage\ninflation cosmological model of conventional string-inspired axion monodromy,\ninvolving again two axion fields. The resulting modifications imprinted on the\nGWs spectra between these two classes of models are distinct, and can, in\nprinciple, be distinguished by future interferometers. We consider models with\nmore or less instantaneous reheating. We also make some remarks on the effects\nof a prolonged reheating period in leading to further enhancement of the power\nspectrum and thus fractions of PBHs that play the role of Dark matter.",
        "positive": "D0 Matrix Mechanics: New Fuzzy Solutions at Large N: We wish to consider in this report the large N limit of a particular matrix\nmodel introduced by Myers describing D-brane physics in the presence of an RR\nflux background. At finite N, fuzzy spheres appear naturally as non-trivial\nsolutions to this matrix model and have been extensively studied. In this\nreport, we wish to demonstrate several new classes of solutions which appear in\nthe large N limit, corresponding to the fuzzy cylinder,the fuzzy plane and a\nwarped fuzzy plane. The latter two solutions arise from a possible \"central\nextension\" to our model that arises after we account for non-trivial issues\ninvolved in the large N limit. As is the case for finite N, these new solutions\nare to be interpreted as constituent D0-branes forming D2 bound states\ndescribing new fuzzy geometries."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Scaling of variables and the relation between noncommutative parameters\n  in Noncommutative Quantum Mechanics: We consider Noncommutative Quantum Mechanics with phase space\nnoncommutativity. In particular, we show that a scaling of variables leaves the\nnoncommutative algebra invariant, so that only the self-consistent effective\nparameters of the model are physically relevant. We also discuss the recently\nproposed relation of direct proportionality between the noncommutative\nparameters, showing that it has a limited applicability.",
        "positive": "Whitham-Toda hierarchy and N = 2 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory: The exact solution of $N=2$ supersymmetric $SU(N)$ Yang-Mills theory is\nstudied in the framework of the Whitham hierarchies. The solution is identified\nwith a homogeneous solution of a Whitham hierarchy. This integrable hierarchy\n(Whitham-Toda hierarchy) describes modulation of a quasi-periodic solution of\nthe (generalized) Toda lattice hierarchy associated with the hyperelliptic\ncurves over the quantum moduli space. The relation between the holomorphic\npre-potential of the low energy effective action and the $\\tau$ function of the\n(generalized) Toda lattice hierarchy is also clarified."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Ring Structure of Chiral Operators for Minimal Models Coupled to 2D\n  Gravity: (Talk presented at the 1992 ICTP summer workshop in high energy physics and\ncosmology) The BRST cohomology ring for $(p,q)$ models coupled to gravity is\ndiscussed. In addition to the generators of the ghost number zero ring, the\nexistence of a generator of ghost number $-1$ and its inverse is proven and\nused to construct the entire ring. Some comments are made regarding the algebra\nof the vector fields on the ring and the supersymmetric extension.",
        "positive": "Finite-Volume Spectra of the Lee-Yang Model: We consider the non-unitary Lee-Yang minimal model ${\\cal M}(2,5)$ in three\ndifferent finite geometries: (i) on the interval with integrable boundary\nconditions labelled by the Kac labels $(r,s)=(1,1),(1,2)$, (ii) on the circle\nwith periodic boundary conditions and (iii) on the periodic circle including an\nintegrable purely transmitting defect. We apply $\\varphi_{1,3}$ integrable\nperturbations on the boundary and on the defect and describe the flow of the\nspectrum. Adding a $\\Phi_{1,3}$ integrable perturbation to move off-criticality\nin the bulk, we determine the finite size spectrum of the massive scattering\ntheory in the three geometries via Thermodynamic Bethe Ansatz (TBA) equations.\nWe derive these integral equations for all excitations by solving, in the\ncontinuum scaling limit, the TBA functional equations satisfied by the transfer\nmatrices of the associated $A_{4}$ RSOS lattice model of Forrester and Baxter\nin Regime III. The excitations are classified in terms of $(m,n)$ systems. The\nexcited state TBA equations agree with the previously conjectured equations in\nthe boundary and periodic cases. In the defect case, new TBA equations confirm\npreviously conjectured transmission factors."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Novel Formula for Bulk Viscosity from the Null Horizon Focusing\n  Equation: The null horizon focusing equation is equivalent via the fluid/gravity\ncorrespondence to the entropy balance law of the fluid. Using this equation we\nderive a simple novel formula for the bulk viscosity of the fluid. The formula\nis expressed in terms of the dependence of scalar fields at the horizon on\nthermodynamic variables such as the entropy and charge densities. We apply the\nformula to three classes of gauge theory plasmas: non-conformal branes,\nperturbations of the N=4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory and holographic\nmodels of QCD, and discuss its range of applicability.",
        "positive": "Decagon at Two Loops: We have computed the simplest five point function in $\\mathcal{N} = 4$ SYM at\ntwo loops using the hexagonalization approach to correlation functions. Along\nthe way we have determined all two-particle mirror contributions at two loops\nand we have computed all the integrals involved in the final result. As a test\nof our results we computed a few four-point functions and they agree with the\nperturbative results computed previously. We have also obtained $l$ loop\nresults for some parts of the two-particle contributions with $l$ arbitrary. We\nalso derive differential equations for a class of integrals that should appear\nat higher loops in the five point function."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Geometry of AdS black hole thermodynamics in extended phase space: We consider the geometry of anti-de-Sitter (AdS) black hole thermodynamics in\nfour dimensions, where the equation of state in the extended phase space\nformalism allows explicit comparison with normal fluid systems. We show that\nfor the two-dimensional parameter manifolds considered here, the scalar\ncurvature is proportional to the thermodynamic volume. This allows us to\ncritically examine the applicability of geometric methods in black hole\nthermodynamics in extended phase space. We show how several standard features\nthat are expected to hold in normal fluid systems impose severe restrictions on\nthe black hole parameters, leading to the fact that several results in the\ncurrent literature on the geometry of thermodynamics in extended phase space\nmay be physically invalid. These are true for both charged and rotating AdS\nblack holes. As a by-product of our analysis, we examine a conjecture regarding\nthe equality of the correlation lengths of co-existing phases near criticality,\nin charged AdS black hole backgrounds, and find reasonable validity.",
        "positive": "Low-scale SUSY breaking and the (s)goldstino physics: For a 4D N=1 supersymmetric model with a low SUSY breaking scale (f) and\ngeneral Kahler potential K(Phi^i,Phi_j^*) and superpotential W(Phi^i) we study,\nin an effective theory approach, the relation of the goldstino superfield to\nthe (Ferrara-Zumino) superconformal symmetry breaking chiral superfield X. In\nthe presence of more sources of supersymmetry breaking, we verify the\nconjecture that the goldstino superfield is the (infrared) limit of X for\nzero-momentum and Lambda->\\infty. (Lambda is the effective cut-off scale). We\nthen study the constraint X^2=0, which in the one-field case is known to\ndecouple a massive sgoldstino and thus provide an effective superfield\ndescription of the Akulov-Volkov action for the goldstino. In the presence of\nadditional fields that contribute to SUSY breaking we identify conditions for\nwhich X^2=0 remains valid, in the effective theory below a large but finite\nsgoldstino mass. The conditions ensure that the effective expansion (in\n1/Lambda) of the initial Lagrangian is not in conflict with the decoupling\nlimit of the sgoldstino (1/m_sgoldstino\\sim Lambda/f, f<Lambda^2)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Any compact group is a gauge group: The assignment of local observables in the vacuum sector, fulfilling the\nstandard axioms of local quantum theory, is known to determine uniquely a\ncompact group G of gauge transformations of the first kind together with a\ncentral involutive element k of G, and a complete normal algebra of fields\ncarrying the localizable charges, on which k defines the Bose/Fermi grading.\n  We show here that any such pair {G,k}, where G is compact metrizable, does\nactually appear. The corresponding model can be chosen to fulfill also the\nsplit property.\n  This is not a dynamical phenomenon: a given {G,k} arises as the gauge group\nof a model where the local algebras of observables are a suitable subnet of\nlocal algebras of a possibly infinite product of free field theories.",
        "positive": "An easy way to solve two-loop vertex integrals: Negative dimensional integration is a step further dimensional regularization\nideas. In this approach, based on the principle of analytic continuation,\nFeynman integrals are polynomial ones and for this reason very simple to\nhandle, contrary to the usual parametric ones. The result of the integral\nworked out in $D<0$ must be analytically continued again --- of course --- to\nreal physical world, $D>0$, and this step presents no difficulties. We consider\nfour two-loop three-point vertex diagrams with arbitrary exponents of\npropagators and dimension. These original results give the correct well-known\nparticular cases where the exponents of propagators are equal to unity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Uniqueness of Black Hole Attractors: We examine the attractor mechanism for extremal black holes in the context of\nfive dimensional N = 2 supergravity and show that attractor points are unique\nin the extended vector multiplet moduli space. Implications for black hole\nentropy are discussed.",
        "positive": "Classification of Simple Current Invariants: We summarize recent work on the classification of modular invariant partition\nfunctions that can be obtained with simple currents in theories with a center\n(Z_p)^k with p prime. New empirical results for other centers are also\npresented. Our observation that the total number of invariants is\nmonodromy-independent for (Z_p)^k appears to be true in general as well. (Talk\npresented in the parallel session on string theory of the Lepton-Photon/EPS\nConference, Geneva, 1991.)"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A unified representation-theoretic approach to special functions: A representation-theoretic approach to special functions was developed in the\n40-s and 50-s in the works of I.M.Gelfand, M.A.Naimark, N.Ya.Vilenkin, and\ntheir collaborators. The essence of this approach is the fact that most\nclassical special functions can be obtained as suitable specializations of\nmatrix elements or characters of representations of groups. Another rich source\nof special functions is the theory of Clebsch-Gordan coefficients which\ndescribes the geometric juxtaposition of irreducible components inside the\ntensor product of two representations. Finally, in recent works on\nrepresentations of (quantum) affine Lie algebras it was shown that matrix\nelements of intertwining operators between certain representations of these\nalgebras are interesting special functions -- (q-)hypergeometric functions and\ntheir generalizations.\n  In this paper we suggest a general method of getting special functions from\nrepresentation theory which unifies the three methods mentioned above and\nallows one to define and study many new special functions. We illustrate this\nmethod by a number of examples -- Macdonald's polynomials, eigenfunctions of\nthe Sutherland operator, Lame functions.",
        "positive": "Classifying and constraining local four photon and four graviton\n  S-matrices: We study the space of all kinematically allowed four photon and four graviton\nS-matrices, polynomial in scattering momenta. We demonstrate that this space is\nthe permutation invariant sector of a module over the ring of polynomials of\nthe Mandelstam invariants $s$, $t$ and $u$. We construct these modules for\nevery value of the spacetime dimension $D$, and so explicitly count and\nparameterize the most general four photon and four graviton S-matrix at any\ngiven derivative order. We also explicitly list the local Lagrangians that give\nrise to these S-matrices. We then conjecture that the Regge growth of\nS-matrices in all physically acceptable classical theories is bounded by $s^2$\nat fixed $t$. A four parameter subset of the polynomial photon S-matrices\nconstructed above satisfies this Regge criterion. For gravitons, on the other\nhand, no polynomial addition to the Einstein S-matrix obeys this bound for $D\n\\leq 6$. For $D \\geq 7$ there is a single six derivative polynomial Lagrangian\nconsistent with our conjectured Regge growth bound. Our conjecture thus implies\nthat the Einstein four graviton S-matrix does not admit any physically\nacceptable polynomial modifications for $D\\leq 6$. A preliminary analysis also\nsuggests that every finite sum of pole exchange contributions to four graviton\nscattering also such violates our conjectured Regge growth bound, at least when\n$D\\leq 6$, even when the exchanged particles have low spin."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetric Localization in AdS$_5$ and the Protected Chiral Algebra: ${\\cal N} =4$ super Yang-Mills theory admits \\cite{Beem:2013sza} a protected\nsubsector isomorphic to a two-dimensional chiral algebra, obtained by passing\nto the cohomology of a certain supercharge. In the large $N$ limit, we expect\nthis chiral algebra to have a dual description as a subsector of IIB\nsupergravity on $AdS_5 \\times S^5$. This subsector can be carved out by a\nversion of supersymmetric localization, using the bulk analog of the boundary\nsupercharge. We illustrate this procedure in a simple model, the theory of an\n${\\cal N}=4$ vector multiplet in $AdS_5$, for which a convenient off-shell\ndescription is available. This model can be viewed as the simplest truncation\nof the full $AdS_5 \\times S^5$ supergravity, in which case the vector multiplet\nshould be taken in the adjoint representation of ${\\mathfrak g}_F = \\mathfrak\n{su}(2)_F$. Localization yields Chern-Simons theory on $AdS_3$ with gauge\nalgebra ${\\mathfrak g}_F$, whose boundary dual is the affine Lie algebra\n$\\widehat {\\mathfrak g}_F$. We comment on the generalization to the full bulk\ntheory. We propose that the large $N$ limit of the chiral algebra of ${\\cal\nN}=4$ SYM is again dual to Chern-Simons theory, with gauge algebra a suitable\nhigher-spin superalgebra.",
        "positive": "Causal faster than light travel from travel-localized second time\n  coordinate: I present a {\\em general relativistic} model with a compactified second time\ncoordinate that {\\em a priori} allows for causal, yet faster than light travel\nin the background of a FLRW geometry, by local modification of a higher\ndimensional background geometry, specifically with respect to the radius of the\ncompactified time coordinate. The modification can be induced via the fields of\nthe model.\n  I show that one cannot convert (as possible in special relativistic models,\nor simple general relativistic models) the super-luminality into closed\ntime-like loops violating causality, due to a novel combination of factors, at\nleast for $v_{\\rm max}\\leq \\sqrt{2}$. The physics of the second time is\nconstrained by postulates derived from reasonable physical assumptions.\n  I comment on the possibility of experimental implications of the model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Universe from a Single Particle: We explore the emergence of many-body physics from quantum mechanics via\nspontaneous symmetry breaking. To this end, we study potentials which are\nfunctionals on the space of Hamiltonians enjoying an unstable critical point\ncorresponding to a random quantum mechanical system (the Gaussian unitary\nensemble), but also less symmetrical local minima corresponding to interacting\nsystems at the level of operators.",
        "positive": "d=3 Bosonic Vector Models Coupled to Chern-Simons Gauge Theories: We study three dimensional O(N)_k and U(N)_k Chern-Simons theories coupled to\na scalar field in the fundamental representation, in the large N limit. For\ninfinite k this is just the singlet sector of the O(N) (U(N)) vector model,\nwhich is conjectured to be dual to Vasiliev's higher spin gravity theory on\nAdS_4. For large k and N we obtain a parity-breaking deformation of this\ntheory, controlled by the 't Hooft coupling lambda = 4 \\pi N / k. For infinite\nN we argue (and show explicitly at two-loop order) that the theories with\nfinite lambda are conformally invariant, and also have an exactly marginal\n(\\phi^2)^3 deformation.\n  For large but finite N and small 't Hooft coupling lambda, we show that there\nis still a line of fixed points parameterized by the 't Hooft coupling lambda.\nWe show that, at infinite N, the interacting non-parity-invariant theory with\nfinite lambda has the same spectrum of primary operators as the free theory,\nconsisting of an infinite tower of conserved higher-spin currents and a scalar\noperator with scaling dimension \\Delta=1; however, the correlation functions of\nthese operators do depend on lambda. Our results suggest that there should\nexist a family of higher spin gravity theories, parameterized by lambda, and\ncontinuously connected to Vasiliev's theory. For finite N the higher spin\ncurrents are not conserved."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Light cone formalism in AdS spacetime: Light cone form of field dynamics in anti-de Sitter spacetime is described.\nWe also present light cone reformulation of the boundary conformal field theory\nrepresentations. AdS/CFT correspondence between the bulk fields and the\nboundary operators is discussed.",
        "positive": "Einstein-Proca theory from the Einstein-Cartan formulation: We construct a theory of gravity in which a propagating massive vector field\narises from a quadratic curvature invariant. The Einstein-Cartan formulation\nand a partial suppression of torsion ensure the absence of ghost and\nstrong-coupling problems, as we prove with nonlinear Lagrangian and Hamiltonian\nanalysis. Augmenting General Relativity with a propagating torsion vector, our\ntheory provides a purely gravitational origin of Einstein-Proca models and\nconstrains their parameter space. As an outlook to phenomenology, we discuss\nthe gravitational production of fermionic dark matter."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fundamental String and D1-brane in I-brane Background: This paper is devoted to the study of dynamics of fundamental string and\nD1-brane in I-brane background. We consider configurations where string and\nD1-brane uniformly wrap transverse spheres. We explicitly determine\ncorresponding conserved charges and find relations between them.",
        "positive": "Spiraling String in Gauss-Bonnet Geometry: In this paper, we consider a spiraling string falling in the bulk with\nGauss$-$Bonnet geometry that is holographically dual to a heavy particle\nrotating through a hot plasma at finite coupling. One finds such interesting\nsimple problem provides a novel perspective on different channels of the energy\nloss in the corresponding strongly coupled theory. Depends on the sign of the\ncoupling, one observes that the influence of finite coupling on total energy\nloss and contribution of drag force and radiation channels appears as a shift\non curves with respect to the plasma with infinite coupling. Also we found that\ncrossover between regime in which drag force contribution is predominant to\nregime in which energy loss is due to radiation, does not depend on the\nGauss$-$Bonnet coupling."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Symmetry breaking boundaries II. More structures; examples: Various structural properties of the space of symmetry breaking boundary\nconditions that preserve an orbifold subalgebra are established. To each such\nboundary condition we associate its automorphism type. It is shown that\ncorrelation functions in the presence of such boundary conditions are\nexpressible in terms of twisted boundary blocks which obey twisted Ward\nidentities. The subset of boundary conditions that share the same automorphism\ntype is controlled by a classifying algebra, whose structure constants are\nshown to be traces on spaces of chiral blocks. T-duality on boundary conditions\nis not a one-to-one map in general. These structures are illustrated in a\nnumber of examples. Several applications, including the construction of non-BPS\nboundary conditions in string theory, are exhibited.",
        "positive": "Vassiliev invariants for pretzel knots: We compute Vassiliev invariants up to order six for arbitrary pretzel knots,\nwhich depend on $g+1$ parameters $n_1,\\ldots,n_{g+1}$. These invariants are\nsymmetric polynomials in $n_1,\\ldots,n_{g+1}$ whose degree coincide with their\norder. We also discuss their topological and integer-valued properties."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Statistical sum in the CFT driven cosmology: The path integration technique recently developed for the statistical sum of\nthe microcanonical ensemble in cosmology is applied to the calculation of the\none-loop preexponential factor in the cosmological model generated by a\nconformal field theory with a large number of quantum species -- the model of\ninitial conditions possibly related to the resolution of the cosmological\nconstant and landscape problems. The result is obtained for the family of\nbackground cosmological instantons with one oscillation of the FRW scale\nfactor. The magnitude of the prefactor is analytically and numerically\nestimated for fields of various spins conformally coupled to gravity, which\njustifies the validity of semiclassical expansion for this family of\ncosmological instantons.",
        "positive": "Fermionic Casimir densities in toroidally compactified spacetimes with\n  applications to nanotubes: Fermionic condensate and the vacuum expectation values of the energy-momentum\ntensor are investigated for a massive spinor fields in higher-dimensional\nspacetimes with an arbitrary number of toroidally compactified spatial\ndimensions. By using the Abel-Plana summation formula and the zeta function\ntechnique we present the vacuum expectation values in two different forms.\nApplications of the general formulae to cylindrical and toroidal carbon\nnanotubes are given. We show that the topological Casimir energy is positive\nfor metallic cylindrical nanotubes and is negative for semiconducting ones. The\ntoroidal compactification of a cylindrical nanotube along its axis increases\nthe Casimir energy for metallic-type (periodic) boundary conditions along its\naxis and decreases the Casimir energy for the semiconducting-type\ncompactifications."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Compactified D=11 Supermembranes and Symplectic Non-Commutative Gauge\n  Theories: It is shown that a double compactified D=11 supermembrane with non trivial\nwrapping may be formulated as a symplectic non-commutative gauge theory on the\nworld volume. The symplectic non commutative structure is intrinsically\nobtained from the symplectic 2-form on the world volume defined by the minimal\nconfiguration of its hamiltonian. The gauge transformations on the symplectic\nfibration are generated by the area preserving diffeomorphisms on the world\nvolume. Geometrically, this gauge theory corresponds to a symplectic fibration\nover a compact Riemman surface with a symplectic connection.",
        "positive": "Nilpotent (Anti-)BRST and (Anti-)co-BRST Symmetries in 2D non-Abelian\n  Gauge Theory: Some Novel Observations: We discuss the nilpotent Becchi-Rouet-Stora-Tyutin (BRST), anti-BRST and\n(anti-)co-BRST symmetry transformations and derive their corresponding\nconserved charges in the case of a two (1+1)-dimensional (2D) self-interacting\nnon-Abelian gauge theory (without any interaction with matter fields). We point\nout a set of novel features that emerge out in the BRST and co-BRST analysis of\nthe above 2D gauge theory. The algebraic structures of the symmetry operators\n(and corresponding conserved charges) and their relationship with the\ncohomological operators of differential geometry are established, too. To be\nmore precise, we demonstrate the existence of a single Lagrangian density that\nrespects the continuous symmetries which obey proper algebraic structure of the\ncohomological operators of differential geometry. In literature, such\nobservations have been made for the coupled (but equivalent) Lagrangian\ndensities of the 4D non-Abelian gauge theory. We lay emphasis on the existence\nand properties of the Curci-Ferrari (CF) type restrictions in the context of\n(anti-)BRST and (anti-)co-BRST symmetry transformations and pinpoint their key\ndifferences and similarities. All the observations, connected with the\n(anti-)co-BRST symmetries, are completely novel."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Separation of Variables in the Classical Integrable SL(3) Magnetic Chain: There are two fundamental problems studied by the theory of hamiltonian\nintegrable systems: integration of equations of motion, and construction of\naction-angle variables. The third problem, however, should be added to the\nlist: separation of variables. Though much simpler than two others, it has\nimportant relations to the quantum integrability. Separation of variables is\nconstructed for the $SL(3)$ magnetic chain --- an example of integrable model\nassociated to a nonhyperelliptic algebraic curve.",
        "positive": "Transport in holographic superfluids: We construct a slowly varying space-time dependent holographic superfluid and\ncompute its transport coefficients. Our solution is presented as a series\nexpansion in inverse powers of the charge of the order parameter. We find that\nthe shear viscosity associated with the motion of the condensate vanishes. The\ndiffusion coefficient of the superfluid is continuous across the phase\ntransition while its third bulk viscosity is found to diverge at the critical\ntemperature. As was previously shown, the ratio of the shear viscosity of the\nnormal component to the entropy density is 1/(4 pi). As a consequence of our\nanalysis we obtain an analytic expression for the backreacted metric near the\nphase transition for a particular type of holographic superfluid."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "M theory and the Coulomb phase of higher rank DT invariants: In this paper, we advance an M theory model corresponding to the Coulomb\nphase of higher rank Donaldson-Thomas(DT) invariants.",
        "positive": "Supersymmetric Wilson loops in N=4 super Chern-Simons-matter theory: We investigate the supersymmetric Wilson loops in $d=3$ $\\mathcal{N}=4$ super\nChern-Simons-matter theory obtained from non-chiral orbifold of ABJM theory. We\nwork in both Minkowski spacetime and Euclidean space, and we construct 1/4 and\n1/2 BPS Wilson loops. We also provide a complete proof that the difference\nbetween 1/4 and 1/2 Wilson loops is $Q$-exact with $Q$ being some supercharge\nthat is preserved by both the 1/4 and 1/2 Wilson loops. This plays an important\nrole in applying the localization techniques to compute the vacuum expectation\nvalues of Wilson loops. We also study the M-theory dual of the 1/2 BPS circular\nWilson loop."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Charging Up the Functional Bootstrap: We revisit the problem of bootstrapping CFT correlators of charged fields.\nAfter discussing in detail how bounds for uncharged fields can be recycled to\nthe charged case, we introduce two sets of analytic functional bases for\ncorrelators on the line. The first, which we call \"simple\", is essentially a\ndirect sum of analytic functionals for the uncharged case. We use it to\nestablish very general bounds on the OPE density appearing in charged\ncorrelators. The second basis is dual to generalized free fields and we explain\nhow it is related to a charged version of the Polyakov bootstrap. We apply\nthese functionals to map out the space of correlators and obtain new improved\nbounds on the 3d Ising twist defect.",
        "positive": "Effective models of inflation from a non-local framework: The dilaton is a possible inflaton candidate following recent CMB data\nallowing a non-minimal coupling to the Ricci curvature scalar in the early\nUniverse. In this paper, we introduce an approach that has seldom been used in\nthe literature, namely dilaton inflation with non-local features. More\nconcretely, employing non-local features expressed in J. High Energy Phys. 04\n(2007) 029, we study quadratic variations around a de Sitter geometry of an\neffective action with a non-local dilaton. The non-locality refers to an\ninfinite derivative kinetic term involving the operator\n$\\mathcal{F}\\left(\\Box\\right)$. Algebraic roots of the characteristic equation\n$\\mathcal{F}(z)=0$ play a crucial role in determining the properties of the\ntheory. We subsequently study the cases when $\\mathcal{F}\\left(\\Box\\right)$ has\none real root and one complex root, from which we retrieve two concrete\neffective models of inflation. In the first case we retrieve a class of single\nfield inflations with universal prediction of $n_{s}\\sim0.967$ with any value\nof the tensor to scalar ratio $r<0.1$ intrinsically controlled by the root of\nthe characteristic equation. The second case involves a new class of two field\nconformally invariant models with a peculiar quadratic cross-product of scalar\nfields. In this latter case, we obtain Starobinsky like inflation through a\nspontaneously broken conformal invariance. Furthermore, an uplifted minimum of\nthe potential, which accounts for the vacuum energy after inflation is produced\nnaturally through this mechanism intrinsically within our approach."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Unification of Non-Abelian SU(N) Gauge Theory and Gravitational Gauge\n  Theory: In this paper, a general theory on unification of non-Abelian SU(N) gauge\ninteractions and gravitational gauge interactions is discussed. SU(N) gauge\ninteractions and gravitational gauge interactions are formulated on the similar\nbasis and are unified in a semi-direct product group GSU(N). Based on this\nmodel, we can discuss unification of fundamental interactions of Nature.",
        "positive": "Geometric Engineering of Quantum Field Theories: Using the recent advances in our understanding of non-perturbative aspects of\ntype II strings we show how non-trivial exact results for $N=2$ quantum field\ntheories can be reduced to T-dualities of string theory. This is done by\nconstructing a local geometric realization of quantum field theories together\nwith a local application of mirror symmetry. This construction is not based on\nany duality conjecture and thus reduces non-trivial quantum field theory\nresults to much better understood T-dualities of type II strings. Moreover it\ncan be used in principle to construct in a systematic way the vacuum structure\nfor arbitrary $N=2$ gauge theories with matter representations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "MHV Lagrangian for N=4 Super Yang-Mills: Here we formulate two field redefinitions for N=4 Super Yang-Mills in light\ncone superspace that generates only MHV vertices in the new Lagrangian. After\ncareful consideration of the S-matrix equivalence theorem, we see that only the\ncanonical transformation gives the MHV Lagrangian that would correspond to the\nCSW expansion. Being in superspace, it is easier to analyse the equivalence\ntheorem at loop level. We calculate the on shell amplitude for 4pt\n$(\\bar{\\Lambda}\\bar{{\\rm A}}\\Lambda {\\rm A})$ MHV in the new lagrangian and\nshow that it reproduces the previously known form. We also briefly discuss the\nrelationship with the off-shell continuation prescription of CSW.",
        "positive": "Majorana mass, time reversal symmetry, and the dimension of space: The Weyl fermions with a well defined chirality are known to demand that the\ndimension of space which they inhabit must be odd. It is shown here, however,\nthat not all odd dimensional spaces are equally good hosts: in particular, an\narbitrary number of chiral Weyl fermions can acquire a Majorana mass only in\nthree (modulo eight) dimensions. The argument utilizes a) the precise analogy\nthat exists between the Majorana mass term and the Cooper pairing of\ntime-reversed Weyl fermions, and b) the conditions on the requisite\ntime-reversal operator, which are implied by the Clifford algebra. The theorem\nconnects the observed odd number of neutrino flavors, the time reversal\nsymmetry, and the dimension of our space, and strengthens the argument for the\npossible violation of the lepton number conservation law."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Generalised proofs of the first law of entanglement entropy: In this paper we develop generalised proofs of the holographic first law of\nentanglement entropy using holographic renormalisation. These proofs establish\nthe holographic first law for non-normalizable variations of the bulk metric,\nhence relaxing the boundary conditions imposed on variations in earlier works.\nBoundary and counterterm contributions to conserved charges computed via\ncovariant phase space analysis have been explored previously. Here we discuss\nin detail how counterterm contributions are treated in the covariant phase\napproach to proving the first law. Our methodology would be applicable to\ngeneralizing other holographic information analyses to wider classes of\ngravitational backgrounds.",
        "positive": "Refined topological vertex for a 5D $Sp(N)$ gauge theory with\n  antisymmetric matter: We consider Type IIB 5-brane web diagrams for a 5D $Sp(N)$ gauge theory with\nan antisymmetric hypermultiplet and $N_f$ fundamental hypermultiplets. The\ncorresponding 5-branes can be obtained by Higgsing a 5-brane web for quiver\ngauge theory. We use the refined topological vertex formalism to compute\nNekrasov partition functions of 5D $Sp(2)$ theories with one antisymmetric\nhypermultiplet and flavors. Our results agree with the known results obtained\nfrom the ADHM method. We also discuss a particular tuning of K\\\"ahler\nparameters associated with this Higgsing."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Towards a world-sheet description of doubled geometry in string theory: Starting from a sigma-model for a doubled target-space geometry, we show that\nthe number of target-space dimensions can be reduced by half through a gauging\nprocedure. We apply this formalism to a class of backgrounds relevant for\ndouble field theory, and illustrate how choosing different gaugings leads to\nstring-theory configurations T-dual to each other. We furthermore discuss that\ngiven a conformal doubled theory, the reduced theories are conformal as well.\n  As an example we consider the three-dimensional SU(2) WZW model and show that\nthe only possible reduced backgrounds are the cigar and trumpet CFTs in two\ndimensions, which are indeed T-dual to each other.",
        "positive": "Matter matters in Einstein-Cartan gravity: We study scalar, fermionic and gauge fields coupled nonminimally to gravity\nin the Einstein-Cartan formulation. We construct a wide class of models with\nnondynamical torsion whose gravitational spectra comprise only the massless\ngraviton. Eliminating non-propagating degrees of freedom, we derive an\nequivalent theory in the metric formulation of gravity. It features contact\ninteractions of a certain form between and among the matter and gauge currents.\nWe also discuss briefly the inclusion of curvature-squared terms."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Novel Extension of MSSM and ``TeV Scale'' Coupling Unification: Motivated by the coupling unification problem, we propose a novel extension\nof the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model. One of the predictions of this\nextension is existence of new states neutral under SU(3)_c X SU(2)_w but\ncharged under U(1)_Y. The mass scale for these new states can be around the\nmass scale of the electroweak Higgs doublets. This suggests a possibility of\ntheir detection in the present or near future collider experiments. Unification\nof gauge couplings in this extension is as precise (at one loop) as in the\nMSSM, and can occur in the TeV range.",
        "positive": "Magnetic catalysis of parity breaking in a massive Gross-Neveu model and\n  high-temperature superconductivity: In the framework of a (2+1)-dimensional P-even massive Gross-Neveu model, an\nexternal magnetic field is shown to induce a parity breaking first order phase\ntransition. Possibility of applying the results obtained to description of\nmagnetic phase transitions in high-temperature superconductors is discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supergravity and \"New\" Six-Dimensional Gauge Theories: In the first part of this letter, we analyse the supergravity dual\ndescriptions of six-dimensional field theories realized on the worldvolume of\n(p,q) five-branes (OD5 theory). We show that in order for the low-energy gauge\ntheory description to be valid the theta parameter must be rational. Irrational\nvalues of theta require a strongly coupled string description of the system at\nlow-energy. We discuss the phase structure and deduce some properties of these\ntheories. In the second part we construct and study the supergravity\ndescription of NS5-branes with two electric RR field, which provides a dual\ndescription of six-dimensional theories with several light open D-brane\nexcitations.",
        "positive": "Generalised Permutation Branes on a product of cosets $G_{k_1}/H\\times\n  G_{k_2}/H$: We study the modifications of the generalized permutation branes defined in\nhep-th/0509153, which are required to give rise to the non-factorizable branes\non a product of cosets $G_{k_1}/H\\times G_{k_2}/H$. We find that for $k_1\\neq\nk_2$ there exists big variety of branes, which reduce to the usual permutation\nbranes, when $k_1=k_2$ and the permutation symmetry is restored."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Accelerating Universes in String Theory via Field Redefinition: We study cosmological solutions in the effective heterotic string theory with\n$\\alpha'$-correction terms in string frame. It is pointed out that the\neffective theory has an ambiguity via field redefinition and we analyze\ngeneralized effective theories due to this ambiguity. We restrict our analysis\nto the effective theories which give equations of motion of second order in the\nderivatives, just as \"Galileon\" field theory. This class of effective actions\ncontains two free coupling constants. We find de Sitter solutions as well as\nthe power-law expanding universes in our four-dimensional Einstein frame. The\naccelerated expanding universes are always the attractors in the present\ndynamical system.",
        "positive": "Non-BPS D-branes on a Calabi-Yau Orbifold: A system containing a pair of non-BPS D-strings of type IIA string theory on\nan orbifold, representing a single D2-brane wrapped on a nonsupersymmetric\n2-cycle of a Calabi-Yau 3-fold with $(h^{(1,1)},h^{(1,2)})$ = (11,11), is\nanalyzed. In certain region of the moduli space the configuration is stable. We\nshow that beyond the region of stability the system can decay into a pair of\nnon-BPS D3-branes. At one point on the boundary of the region of stability,\nthere exists a marginal deformation which connects the system of non-BPS\nD-strings to the system of non-BPS D3-branes. Across any other point on the\nboundary of the region of stability, the transition from the system of non-BPS\nD-strings to the system of non-BPS D3-branes is first order. We discuss the\nphase diagram in the moduli space for these configurations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Notes on a SQCD-like plasma dual and holographic renormalization: We study the thermodynamics and the jet quenching parameter of a black hole\nsolution dual to a SQCD-like plasma which includes the backreaction of\nfundamental flavors. The free energy is calculated in several ways, including\nsome recently proposed holographic renormalization prescriptions. The validity\nof the latter is confirmed by the consistency with the other methods. The\nresulting thermodynamic properties are similar to the Little String Theory\nones: the temperature is fixed at the Hagedorn value and the free energy is\nvanishing. Finally, an accurate analysis of the relevant string configurations\nshows that the jet quenching parameter is zero in this model, in agreement with\nprevious findings.",
        "positive": "Heat kernel, effective action and anomalies in noncommutative theories: Being motivated by physical applications (as the phi^4 model) we calculate\nthe heat kernel coefficients for generalised Laplacians on the Moyal plane\ncontaining both left and right multiplications. We found both star-local and\nstar-nonlocal terms. By using these results we calculate the large mass and\nstrong noncommutativity expansion of the effective action and of the vacuum\nenergy. We also study the axial anomaly in the models with gauge fields acting\non fermions from the left and from the right."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "U(1) symmetric $\u03b1$-attractors: We present a class of supergravity $\\alpha$-attractors with an approximate\nglobal U(1) symmetry corresponding to the axion direction. We also develop a\nmulti-field generalization of these models and show that the $\\alpha$-attractor\nmodels with U(1) symmetries have a dual description in terms of a two-form\nsuperfield coupled to a three-form superfield.",
        "positive": "The Black Hole Interior and a Curious Sum Rule: We analyze the Euclidean geometry near non-extremal NS5-branes in string\ntheory, including regions beyond the horizon and beyond the singularity of the\nblack brane. The various regions have an exact description in string theory, in\nterms of cigar, trumpet and negative level minimal model conformal field\ntheories. We study the worldsheet elliptic genera of these three superconformal\ntheories, and show that their sum vanishes. We speculate on the significance of\nthis curious sum rule for black hole physics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Equivariant Cohomology and Gauged Bosonic sigma-Models: We re-examine the problem of gauging the Wess-Zumino term of a d-dimensional\nbosonic sigma-model. We phrase this problem in terms of the equivariant\ncohomology of the target space and this allows for the homological analysis of\nthe obstruction. As a check, we recover the obstructions of Hull and Spence and\nalso a generalization of the topological terms found by Hull, Rocek and de Wit.\nWhen the symmetry group is compact, we use topological tools to derive\nvanishing theorems which guarantee the absence of obstructions for low\ndimension (d<=4) but for a variety of target manifolds. For example, any\ncompact semisimple Lie group can be gauged in a three-dimensional sigma-model\nwith simply connected target space. When the symmetry group is semisimple but\nnot necessarily compact, we argue in favor of the persistence of these\nvanishing theorems by making use of (conjectural) equivariant minimal models\n(in the sense of Sullivan). By way of persuasion, we construct by hand a few\nsuch equivariant minimal models, which may be of independent interest. We\nillustrate our results with two examples: d=1 with a symplectic target space,\nand d=2 with target space a Lie group admitting a bi-invariant metric. An\nalternative homological interpretation of the obstruction is obtained by a\ncloser study of the Noether method. This method displays the obstruction as a\nclass in BRST cohomology at ghost number 1. We comment on the relationship with\nconsistent anomalies.",
        "positive": "Canonical Analysis of Scalar Fields in Two Dimensional Curved Space: Scalar fields on a two dimensional curved surface are considered and the\ncanonical structure of this theory analyzed. Both the first and second order\nforms of the Einstein-Hilbert (EH) action for the metric are used (these being\ninequivalent in two dimensions). The Dirac constraint formalism is used to find\nthe generator of the gauge transformation, using the formalisms of Henneaux,\nTeitelboim and Zanelli (HTZ) and of Castellani (C). The HTZ formalism is\nslightly modified in the case of the first order EH action to accommodate the\ngauge transformation of the metric; this gauge transformation is unusual as it\nmixes the affine connection with the scalar field."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Casimir effect for parallel plates involving massless Majorana\n  fermions at finite temperature: We study the Casimir effect for parallel plates with massless Majorana\nfermions obeying the bag boundary conditions at finite temperature. The thermal\ninfluence will modify the effect. It is found that the sign of the Casimir\nenergy keeps negative if the product of plate distance and the temperature is\nlarger than a special value or the energy will change to be positive. The\nCasimir energy rises with the stronger thermal influence. We show that the\nattractive Casimir force between two parallel plates becomes greater with the\nincreasing temperature. In the case of piston system involving the same\nMajorana fermions with the same boundary conditions, the attractive force on\nthe piston will weaker in the hotter surrounding.",
        "positive": "Refined geometric transition and $qq$-characters: We show the refinement of the prescription for the geometric transition in\nthe refined topological string theory and, as its application, discuss a\npossibility to describe $qq$-characters from the string theory point of view.\nThough the suggested way to operate the refined geometric transition has passed\nthrough several checks, it is additionally found in this paper that the\npresence of the preferred direction brings a nontrivial effect. We provide the\nmodified formula involving this point. We then apply our prescription of the\nrefined geometric transition to proposing the stringy description of doubly\nquantized Seiberg--Witten curves called $qq$-characters in certain cases."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Scalar Fields Nonminimally Coupled to pp Waves: Here, we report pp waves configurations of three-dimensional gravity for\nwhich a scalar field nonminimally coupled to them acts as a source. In absence\nof self-interaction the solutions are gravitational plane waves with a profile\nfixed in terms of the scalar wave. In the self-interacting case, only power-law\npotentials parameterized by the nonminimal coupling constant are allowed by the\nfield equations. In contrast with the free case the self-interacting scalar\nfield does not behave like a wave since it depends only on the wave-front\ncoordinate. We address the same problem when gravitation is governed by\ntopologically massive gravity and the source is a free scalar field. From the\npp waves derived in this case, we obtain at the zero topological mass limit,\nnew pp wave solutions of conformal gravity for any arbitrary value of the\nnonminimal coupling parameter. Finally, we extend these solutions to the\nself-interacting case of conformal gravity.",
        "positive": "Large N, Z_N Strings and Bag Models: We study Z_N strings in nonabelian gauge theories, when they can be\nconsidered as domain walls compactified on a cylinder and stabilized by the\nflux inside. To make the wall vortex approximation reliable, we must take the\n't Hooft large N limit. Our construction has many points in common with the\nphenomenological bag models of hadrons."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Canonical Approach to Self-Duality of Dirichlet $3$-Brane: The self-duality of Dirichlet $3$-brane action under the $SL(2,R)$ duality\ntransformation of type IIB superstring theory is shown in the Hamiltonian form\nof the path integral for the partition function by performing the direct\nintegration with respect to the boundary gauge field. Through the integration\nin the phase space the canonical momentum conjugate to the boundary gauge field\ncan be effectively replaced by the dual gauge field.",
        "positive": "Deformations of surface defect moduli spaces: Given a 4d ${\\mathcal N}=2$ supersymmetric theory with an ${\\mathcal\nN}=(2,2)$ supersymmetric surface defect, a marginal perturbation of the bulk\ntheory induces a complex structure deformation of the defect moduli space. We\ndescribe a concrete way of computing this deformation using the bulk-defect\nOPE."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Electrodynamics Mediated by a Photon with Generalized\n  (Continuous) Spin: We present rules for computing scattering amplitudes of charged scalar matter\nand photons, where the photon has non-zero spin Casimir $\\rho$, and is\ntherefore a continuous spin particle (CSP). The amplitudes reduce to familiar\nscalar QED when $\\rho\\rightarrow 0$. As a concrete example, we compute the pair\nannihilation and Compton scattering amplitudes in this theory and comment on\ntheir physical properties, including unitarity and scaling behavior at small\nand large $\\rho$.",
        "positive": "Writing CFT correlation functions as AdS scattering amplitudes: We explore the Mellin representation of conformal correlation functions\nrecently proposed by Mack. Examples in the AdS/CFT context reinforce the\nanalogy between Mellin amplitudes and scattering amplitudes. We conjecture a\nsimple formula relating the bulk scattering amplitudes to the asymptotic\nbehavior of Mellin amplitudes and show that previous results on the flat space\nlimit of AdS follow from our new formula. We find that the Mellin amplitudes\nare particularly useful in the case of conformal gauge theories in the planar\nlimit. In this case, the four point Mellin amplitudes are meromorphic functions\nwhose poles and their residues are entirely determined by two and three point\nfunctions of single-trace operators. This makes the Mellin amplitudes the ideal\nobjects to attempt the conformal bootstrap program in higher dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Haunted Kaluza Universe with Four-dimensional Lorentzian Flat, Kerr, and\n  Taub-NUT Slices: The duality between the original Kaluza's theory and Klein's subsequent\nmodification is duality between slicing and threading decomposition of the\nfive-dimensional spacetime. The field equations of the original Kaluza's theory\nlead to the interpretation of the four-dimensional Lorentzian Kerr and\nTaub--NUT solutions as resulting from static electric and magnetic charges and\ndipoles in the presence of ghost matter and constant dilaton, which models\nNewton's constant.",
        "positive": "Classification of p-branes, NUTs, Waves and Intersections: We give a full classification of the multi-charge supersymmetric $p$-brane\nsolutions in the massless and massive maximal supergravities in dimensions\n$D\\ge2$ obtained from the toroidal reduction of eleven-dimensional\nsupergravity. We derive simple universal rules for determining the fractions of\nsupersymmetry that they preserve. By reversing the steps of dimensional\nreduction, the $p$-brane solutions become intersections of $p$-branes, NUTs and\nwaves in D=10 or D=11. Having classified the lower-dimensional $p$-branes, this\nprovides a classification of all the intersections in D=10 and D=11 where the\nharmonic functions depend on the space transverse to all the individual\nobjects. We also discuss the structure of U-duality multiplets of $p$-brane\nsolutions, and show how these translate into multiplets of harmonic and\nnon-harmonic intersections."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Finite temperature Casimir interaction between spheres in\n  $(D+1)$-dimensional spacetime: Exact computations and asymptotic expansions: We consider the finite temperature Casimir interaction between two Dirichlet\nspheres in $(D+1)$-dimensional Minkowski spacetime. The Casimir interaction\nfree energy is derived from the zero temperature Casimir interaction energy via\nthe Matsubara formalism. In the high temperature region, the Casimir\ninteraction is dominated by the term with zero Matsubara frequency, and it is\nknown as the classical term since this term is independent of the Planck\nconstant $\\hbar$. Explicit expression of the classical term is derived and it\nis computed exactly using appropriate similarity transforms of matrices. We\nthen compute the small separation asymptotic expansion of this classical term\nup to the next-to-leading order term. For the remaining part of the finite\ntemperature Casimir interaction with nonzero Matsubara frequencies, we obtain\nits small separation asymptotic behavior by applying certain prescriptions to\nthe corresponding asymptotic expansion at zero temperature. This gives us a\nleading term that is shown to agree precisely with the proximity force\napproximation at any temperature. The next-to-leading order term at any\ntemperature is also derived and it is expressed as an infinite sum over\nintegrals. To obtain the asymptotic expansion at the low and medium temperature\nregions, we apply the inverse Mellin transform techniques. In the low\ntemperature region, we obtain results that agree with our previous work on the\nzero temperature Casimir interaction.",
        "positive": "Kinky D-Strings: We study two-dimensional SQED viewed as the world-volume theory of a D-string\nin the presence of D5-branes with non-zero background fields that induce\nattractive forces between the branes. In various approximations, the low-energy\ndynamics is given by a hyperKahler, or hyperKahler with torsion, massive\nsigma-model. We demonstrate the existence of kink solutions corresponding to\nthe string interpolating between different D5-branes. Bound states of the\nD-string with fundamental strings are identified with Q-kinks which, in turn,\nare identified with dyonic instanton strings on the D5-brane world-volume."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Unquenched Flavors in the Klebanov-Witten Model: Using AdS/CFT, we study the addition of an arbitrary number of backreacting\nflavors to the Klebanov-Witten theory, making many checks of consistency\nbetween our new Type IIB plus branes solution and expectations from field\ntheory. We study generalizations of our method for adding flavors to all N=1\nSCFTs that can be realized on D3-branes at the tip of a Calabi-Yau cone. Also,\ngeneral guidelines suitable for the addition of massive flavor branes are\ndeveloped.",
        "positive": "Softly Broken N=1 Supersymmetric QCD: We study softly broken N=1 supersymmetric QCD with the gauge group $SU(N_c)$\nand $N_f$ flavours of quarks for $N_f > N_c+1$. We investigate the phase\nstructure of its dual theory adding generic soft supersymmetry breking terms,\ni.e. soft scalar masses, trilinear coupling terms of scalar fields and gaugino\nmasses. It is found that the trilinear coupling terms play an improtant role in\ndetermining the potential minima. Also we compare softly broken original and\ndual theories in the broken phase."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A finite temperature generalization of Zamolodchikov's C-theorem: We prove a C-theorem within the framework of two dimensional quantum field\ntheories at finite temperature. There exists a function C(g) of coupling\nconstants which is non-increasing along renormalization group trajectories and\nnon-decreasing along temperature trajectory and stationary only at the fixed\npoints. The connection between the C-theorem at zero temperature and the\nC-theorem at finite temperature is discussed. We also consider the\nthermodynamical aspects of the C-theorem. If we define the C-function in an\narbitrary number of dimensions in anology to the two dimensional case, we can\nshow that its behavior is not universal. The phase transitions destroy the\nmonotonic properties of the C-function. The proof of the C-theorem is also\npresented within the framework of the Kallen-Lehmann spectral representation at\nfinite temperature.",
        "positive": "Some exact infrared properties of gluon and ghost propagators and\n  long-range force in QCD: We derive some exact relations in Landau gauge that follow from a cut-off at\nthe Gribov horizon which is then implemented by a local, renormalizable action\ninvolving auxiliary bose and fermi ghosts. The fermi ghost propagator is more\nsingular than $1/k^2$ at $k = 0$, and the relation $\\alpha_D + 2 \\alpha_G = (D\n- 4)/2$ holds between the infrared critical exponents of the gluon and ghost\npropagators $D(k)$ and $G(k)$ in $D$ Euclidean dimensions. Finally, in $D$\nEuclidean dimensions, there is a long-range force, transmitted by the\npropagator of the auxiliary bose ghost that corresponds to a linearly rising\npotential with tensor coupling to colored quarks that is proportional to the\nrenormalization-group invariant $g^2 D(k) G^2(k)$. A comparison with numerical\nresults is discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Characters of the Positive Energy UIRs of D=4 Conformal Supersymmetry: We give character formulae for the positive energy unitary irreducible\nrepresentations of the N-extended D=4 conformal superalgebras su(2,2/N). Using\nthese we also derive decompositions of long superfields as they descend to the\nunitarity threshold. These results are also applicable to irreps of the complex\nLie superalgebras sl(4/N). Our derivations use results from the representation\ntheory of su(2,2/N) developed already in the 80s.",
        "positive": "Charged Black Holes in a Five-dimensional Kaluza-Klein Universe: We examine an exact solution which represents a charged black hole in a\nKaluza-Klein universe in the five-dimensional Einstein-Maxwell theory. The\nspacetime approaches to the five-dimensional Kasner solution that describes\nexpanding three dimensions and shrinking an extra dimension in the far region.\nThe metric is continuous but not smooth at the black hole horizon. There\nappears a mild curvature singularity that a free-fall observer can traverse the\nhorizon. The horizon is a squashed three-sphere with a constant size, and the\nmetric is approximately static near the horizon."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Formula for Fixed Point Resolution Matrix of Permutation Orbifolds: We find a formula for the resolution of fixed points in extensions of\npermutation orbifold conformal field theories by its (half-)integer spin simple\ncurrents. We show that the formula gives a unitary and modular invariant S\nmatrix.",
        "positive": "Witten indices of abelian M5 brane on $\\mathbb{R}\\times S^5$: Witten indices and partition functions are computed for abelian 6d tensor and\nhypermultiplets on $\\mathbb{R}\\times S^5$ in Lorentzian signature in an R gauge\nfield background which preserves some supersymmetry. We consider a generic\nsupersymmetric squashing that also admits squashing of the Hopf fiber. Wick\nrotation to Euclidean M5 brane amounts to Wick rotation of squashing parameters\nand the hypermultiplet mass parameter. We compute Casimir energies for tensor\nand hypermultiplets separately for general squashing, and match these with the\ncorresponding gravitational anomaly polynomials. We extract Witten indices on\n$\\mathbb{R}\\times \\mathbb{CP}^2$ and find that this is zero, again matching\nwith the vanishing anomaly polynomial on an odd dimensional space."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Background Independence and the Open Topological String Wavefunction: The open topological string partition function in the background of a D-brane\non a Calabi-Yau threefold specifies a state in the Hilbert space associated\nwith the quantization of the underlying special geometry. This statement is a\nconsequence of the extended holomorphic anomaly equation after an appropriate\nshift of the closed string variables, and can be viewed as the expression of\nbackground independence for the open-closed topological string. We also clarify\nvarious other aspects of the structure of the extended holomorphic anomaly\nequation. We conjecture that the collection of all D-branes furnishes a basis\nof the Hilbert space, and revisit the BPS interpretation of the open\ntopological string wavefunction in this light.",
        "positive": "On new exact conformal blocks and Nekrasov functions: Recently, an intriguing family of the one-point toric conformal blocks AGT\nrelated to the $\\mathcal{N}=2^*\\,\\, SU(2)$ Nekrasov functions was discovered by\nM. Beccaria and G. Macorini. Members of the family are distinguished by having\nonly finite amount of poles as functions of the intermediate dimension/v.e.v.\nin gauge theory. Another remarkable property is that these conformal\nblocks/Nekrasov functions can be found in closed form to all orders in the\ncoupling expansion. In the present paper we use Zamolodchikov's recurrence\nequation to systematically account for these exceptional conformal blocks. We\nconjecture that the family is infinite-dimensional and describe the\ncorresponding parameter set. We further apply the developed technique to\ndemonstrate that the four-point spheric conformal blocks feature analogous\nexact expressions. We also study the modular transformations of the finite-pole\nblocks."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Branes and Black holes in Collision: We study the collision of a brane with a black hole. Our aim is to explore\nthe topology changing process of perforation of a brane. The brane is described\nas a field theoretical domain wall in the context of an axion-like model\nconsisting of a complex scalar effective field theory with approximate U(1)\nsymmetry. We simulate numerically the dynamics of the collision and illustrate\nthe transition from the configuration without a hole to the pierced one with\nthe aid of a phase diagram. The process of perforation is found to depend on\nthe collisional velocity, and, contrary to our expectation, we observe that\nabove a critical value of the velocity, the black hole has no chance to\nperforate the wall. That is: high energy collisions do not assist piercing. We\nalso show that, only when the model parameters are fine-tuned so that the\nenergy scale of the string is very close to that of the domain wall, the\ncollision of the wall with the black hole has a possibility to provide a\nmechanism to erase domain walls, if the hole expands. However, in such cases,\ndomain walls will form with many holes edged by a string and therefore\ndisappear eventually. Therefore this mechanism is unlikely to be a solution to\nthe cosmological domain wall problem, although it may cause some minor effects\non the evolution of a domain wall network.",
        "positive": "A Note on Noncommutative and False Noncommutative spaces: We show that the algebra of functions on noncommutative space allows two\ndifferent representations. One is describing the genuine noncommutative space,\nwhile another one can be rewritten in commutative form by a redefinition of\ngenerators."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "World-volume Effective Action of Exotic Five-brane in M-theory: We study the world-volume effective action of an exotic five-brane, known as\nthe M-theory 5${}^3$-brane (M5${}^3$-brane) in eleven dimensions. The\nsupermultiplet of the world-volume theory is the $\\mathcal{N} = (2, 0)$ tensor\nmultiplet in six dimensions. The world-volume action contains three Killing\nvectors $\\hat{k}_{\\hat{I}} {}^M \\ (\\hat{I} =1,2,3)$ associated with the\n$U(1)^3$ isometry. We find the effective T-duality rule for the\neleven-dimensional backgrounds that transforms the M5-brane effective action to\nthat of the M5${}^3$-brane. We also show that our action provides the source\nterm for the M5${}^3$-brane geometry in eleven-dimensional supergravity",
        "positive": "Casimir effect in axion electrodynamics with lattice regularizations: The Casimir effect is induced by the interplay between photon fields and\nboundary conditions, and in particular, photon fields modified in axion\nelectrodynamics may lead to the sign-flipping of the Casimir energy. We propose\na theoretical approach to derive the Casimir effect in axion electrodynamics.\nThis approach is based on a lattice regularization and enables us to discuss\nthe dependence on the lattice spacing for the Casimir energy. With this\napproach, the sign-flipping behavior of the Casimir energy is correctly\nreproduced. By taking the continuum limit of physical quantity calculated on\nthe lattice, we can obtain the results consistent with the continuum theory.\nThis approach can also be applied to the Casimir effect at nonzero temperature."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hamiltonian Truncation with Larger Dimensions: Hamiltonian Truncation (HT) is a numerical approach for calculating\nobservables in a Quantum Field Theory non-perturbatively. This approach can be\napplied to theories constructed by deforming a conformal field theory with a\nrelevant operator of scaling dimension $\\Delta$. UV divergences arise when\n$\\Delta$ is larger than half of the spacetime dimension $d$. These divergences\ncan be regulated by HT or by using a more conventional local regulator. In this\nwork we show that extra UV divergences appear when using HT rather than a local\nregulator for $\\Delta \\geq d/2+1/4$, revealing a striking breakdown of\nlocality. Our claim is based on the analysis of conformal perturbation theory\nup to fourth order. As an example we compute the Casimir energy of $d=2$\nMinimal Models perturbed by operators whose dimensions take values on either\nside of the threshold $d/2+1/4$.",
        "positive": "Leading and Subleading UV Divergences in Scattering Amplitudes for D=8\n  N=1 SYM Theory in All Loops: We consider the leading and subleading UV divergences for the four-point\non-shell scattering amplitudes in D=8 N=1 sypersymmetric Yang-Mills theory\nwithin the spinor-helicity and superfield formalism. This theory belongs to the\nclass of maximally supersymmetric gauge theories and presumably possesses\ndistinguished properties beyond perturbation theory. We obtain the recursive\nrelations that allow one to get the leading and subleading divergences in all\nloops in a pure algebraic way staring from the one loop (for the leading poles)\nand two loop (for the subleading ones) diagrams. As a particular example where\nthe recursive relations have a simple form we consider the ladder type\ndiagrams. The all loop summation of the leading and subleading divergences is\nperformed with the help of the differential equations which are the\ngeneralization of the RG equations for non-renormalizable theories. They have\nexplicit solutions for the ladder type diagrams. We discuss the properties of\nthe obtained solutions and interpretation of the results."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Stable non-BPS D-branes and their classical description: We review how to describe the stable non-BPS D-branes of type II string\ntheory from a classical perspective, and discuss the properties of the\nspace-time geometry associated to these configurations. This is relevant in\norder to see whether and how the gauge/gravity correspondence can be formulated\nin non-conformal and non-supersymmetric settings.",
        "positive": "Low-temperature behavior of the Abelian Higgs model in anti-de Sitter\n  space: We explore the low-temperature behavior of the Abelian Higgs model in AdS_4,\naway from the probe limit in which back-reaction of matter fields on the metric\ncan be neglected. Over a significant range of charges for the complex scalar,\nwe observe a second order phase transition at finite temperature. The\nsymmetry-breaking states are superconducting black holes. At least when the\ncharge of the scalar is not too small, we observe at low temperatures the\nemergence of a domain wall structure characterized by a definite index of\nrefraction. We also compute the conductivity as a function of frequency."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Decay of Vacuum Energy: This paper studies interacting massive particles on the de Sitter background.\nIt is found that the vacuum acts as an inversely populated medium which is able\nto generate stimulated radiation. Without back reaction (not considered in this\npaper) this effect leads to the explosion. It is expected that the proposed\n\"cosmic laser\" mechanism depletes the curvature and may help to solve the\ncosmological constant problem.",
        "positive": "Non-abelian $Z$-theory: Berends-Giele recursion for the\n  $\u03b1'$-expansion of disk integrals: We present a recursive method to calculate the $\\alpha'$-expansion of disk\nintegrals arising in tree-level scattering of open strings which resembles the\napproach of Berends and Giele to gluon amplitudes. Following an earlier\ninterpretation of disk integrals as doubly partial amplitudes of an effective\ntheory of scalars dubbed as $Z$-theory, we pinpoint the equation of motion of\n$Z$-theory from the Berends-Giele recursion for its tree amplitudes. A computer\nimplementation of this method including explicit results for the recursion up\nto order $\\alpha'^7$ is made available on the website\nhttp://repo.or.cz/BGap.git"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Dynamical Yang-Baxter Relation and the Minimal Representation of the\n  Elliptic Quantum Group: In this paper, we give the general forms of the minimal $L$ matrix (the\nelements of the $L$-matrix are $c$ numbers) associated with the Boltzmann\nweights of the $A_{n-1}^1$ interaction-round-a-face (IRF) model and the minimal\nrepresentation of the $A_{n-1}$ series elliptic quantum group given by Felder\nand Varchenko. The explicit dependence of elements of $L$-matrices on spectral\nparameter $z$ are given. They are of five different forms (A(1-4) and B). The\nalgebra for the coefficients (which do not depend on $z$) are given. The\nalgebra of form A is proved to be trivial, while that of form B obey\nYang-Baxter equation (YBE). We also give the PBW base and the centers for the\nalgebra of form B.",
        "positive": "Generalized Deformed su(2) Algebras, Deformed Parafermionic Oscillators\n  and Finite W Algebras: Several physical systems (two identical particles in two dimensions,\nisotropic oscillator and Kepler system in a 2-dim curved space) and\nmathematical structures (quadratic algebra QH(3), finite W algebra $\\bar {\\rm\nW}_0$) are shown to posses the structure of a generalized deformed su(2)\nalgebra, the representation theory of which is known. Furthermore, the\ngeneralized deformed parafermionic oscillator is identified with the algebra of\nseveral physical systems (isotropic oscillator and Kepler system in 2-dim\ncurved space, Fokas--Lagerstrom, Smorodinsky--Winternitz and Holt potentials)\nand mathematical constructions (generalized deformed su(2) algebra, finite W\nalgebras $\\bar {\\rm W}_0$ and W$_3^{(2)}$). The fact that the Holt potential is\ncharacterized by the W$_3^{(2)}$ symmetry is obtained as a by-product."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "F-theory and All Things Rational: Surveying U(1) Symmetries with\n  Rational Sections: We study elliptic fibrations for F-theory compactifications realizing 4d and\n6d supersymmetric gauge theories with abelian gauge factors. In the fibration\nthese U(1) symmetries are realized in terms of additional rational sections. We\nobtain a universal characterization of all the possible U(1) charges of matter\nfields by determining the corresponding codimension two fibers with rational\nsections. In view of modelling supersymmetric Grand Unified Theories, one of\nthe main examples that we analyze are U(1) symmetries for SU(5) gauge theories\nwith \\bar{5} and 10 matter. We use a combination of constraints on the normal\nbundle of rational curves in Calabi-Yau three- and four-folds, as well as the\nsplitting of rational curves in the fibers in codimension two, to determine the\npossible configurations of smooth rational sections. This analysis\nstraightforwardly generalizes to multiple U(1)s. We study the flops of such\nfibers, as well as some of the Yukawa couplings in codimension three.\nFurthermore, we carry out a universal study of the U(1)-charged GUT singlets,\nincluding their KK-charges, and determine all realizations of singlet fibers.\nBy giving vacuum expectation values to these singlets, we propose a systematic\nway to analyze the Higgsing of U(1)s to discrete gauge symmetries in F-theory.",
        "positive": "On three dimensions as the preferred dimensionality of space via the\n  Brandenberger-Vafa mechanism: In previous work it was shown that, in accord with the Brandenberger-Vafa\nmechanism, three is the maximum number of spatial dimensions that can grow\nlarge cosmologically from an initial thermal fluctuation. Here we complement\nthat work by considering the possibility of successive fluctuations. Suppose an\ninitial fluctuation causes at least one dimension to grow, and suppose\nsuccessive fluctuations occur on timescales of order alpha'^{1/2}. If the\nstring coupling is sufficiently large, we show that such fluctuations are\nlikely to push a three-dimensional subspace to large volume where winding modes\nannihilate. In this setting three is the preferred number of large dimensions.\nAlthough encouraging, a more careful study of the dynamics and statistics of\nfluctuations is needed to assess the likelihood of our assumptions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Five-dimensional Super-Yang-Mills and its Kaluza-Klein tower: We compactify the abelian 6d (1,0) tensor multiplet on a circle bundle, thus\nreducing the theory down to 5d SYM while keeping all the KK modes. This abelian\nclassical field theory, when interpreted suitably, has a nonlocal\nsuperconformal symmetry. Furthermore, a nonabelian generalization, where all\nthe KK modes are kept, is possible for the nonlocal superconformal symmetry,\nwhereas for the local superconformal symmetry we can only realize a subgroup.",
        "positive": "Local momentum space: Scalar field and gravity: We use the local momentum space technique to obtain an expansion of the\nFeynman propagators for scalar field and graviton up to first order in the\nbackground curvature. The expressions for the propagators are cross-checked\nwith the past literature as well as with the expressions for the traced heat\nkernel coefficients. The propagators so obtained are used to compute one-loop\ndivergences in the Vilkovisky-Dewitt's effective action for a scalar field\nnon-minimally coupled with gravity for an arbitrary spacetime metric\nbackground. The Vilkovisky-DeWitt effective action is then compared with the\nstandard effective action in the limit $\\kappa =0$, where $\\kappa = 2/M_P$ in\nterms of the Planck mass. The comparison yields the important result that\ntaking the limit $\\kappa=0$ after computing the Vikovisky-DeWitt effective\naction is not equivalent to computing the Vikovisky-DeWitt effective action for\nthe same theory in the absence of gravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Heterotic free fermionic and symmetric toroidal orbifold models: Free fermionic models and symmetric heterotic toroidal orbifolds both\nconstitute exact backgrounds that can be used effectively for phenomenological\nexplorations within string theory. Even though it is widely believed that for\nZ2xZ2 orbifolds the two descriptions should be equivalent, a detailed\ndictionary between both formulations is still lacking. This paper aims to fill\nthis gap: We give a detailed account of how the input data of both descriptions\ncan be related to each other. In particular, we show that the generalized GSO\nphases of the free fermionic model correspond to generalized torsion phases\nused in orbifold model building. We illustrate our translation methods by\nproviding free fermionic realizations for all Z2xZ2 orbifold geometries in six\ndimensions.",
        "positive": "Semiclassical calculation of an induced decay of false vacuum: We consider a model where a scalar field develops a metastable vacuum state\nand weakly interacts with another scalar field. In this situation we find the\nprobability of decay of the false vacuum stimulated by the presence and\ncollisions of particles of the second field. The discussed calculation is an\nillustration of the recently suggested thermal approach to treatment of induced\nsemiclassical processes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Constrained Dynamics of an Anomalous $(g/neq 2)$ Relativistic Spinning\n  Particle in Electromagnetic Background: In this paper we have considered the dynamics of an anomalous ($g\\neq 2$)\ncharged relativistic spinning particle in the presence of an external\nelectromagnetic field. The constraint analysis is done and the complete set of\nDirac brackets are provided that generate the canonical Lorentz algebra and\ndynamics through Hamiltonian equations of motion. The spin-induced effective\ncurvature of spacetime and its possible connection with Analogue Gravity models\nare commented upon.",
        "positive": "A model for gauge theories with Higgs fields: We discuss in details a simple, purely bosonic, quantum field theory\nbelonging to larger class of models with the following properties: a) They are\nasymptotically free, with a dynamically generated mass scale. b) They have a\nspace of parameters which gets quantum corrections drastically modifying the\nclassical singularity structure. The quantum theory can have massless solitons,\nArgyres-Douglas-like CFTs, exhibit confinement, etc... c) The physics can, to a\nlarge extent, be worked out in models with a large number of supersymmetries as\nwell as in purely bosonic ones. In the former case, exact BPS mass formulas can\nbe derived, brane constructions and embedding in M theory do exist. d) The\nmodels have an interesting 1/N expansion, and it is possible to define a double\nscaling limit in the sense of the ``old'' matrix models when approaching the\nsingularities in parameter space. These properties make these theories very\ngood toy models for four dimensional gauge theories with Higgs fields, and\nprovide a framework where the effects of breaking supersymmetry can be\nexplicitly studied. In our model, we work out in details the quantum space of\nparameters. We obtain the non-local lagrangian description of the\nArgyres-Douglas-like CFT, and show that it admits a strongly coupled fixed\npoint. We also explicitly demonstrate property d). The possibility of defining\nsuch double scaling limits was not anticipated on the gauge theory side, and\ncould be of interest to understand the gauge theory/string theory\ncorrespondence."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dessins d'Enfants, Seiberg-Witten Curves and Conformal Blocks: We show how to map Grothendieck's dessins d'enfants to algebraic curves as\nSeiberg-Witten curves, then use the mirror map and the AGT map to obtain the\ncorresponding 4d $\\mathcal{N}=2$ supersymmetric instanton partition functions\nand 2d Virasoro conformal blocks. We explicitly demonstrate the 6 trivalent\ndessins with 4 punctures on the sphere. We find that the parametrizations\nobtained from a dessin should be related by certain duality for gauge theories.\nThen we will discuss that some dessins could correspond to conformal blocks\nsatisfying certain rules in different minimal models.",
        "positive": "Non-local Geometry inside Lifshitz Horizon: Based on the quantum renormalization group, we derive the bulk geometry that\nemerges in the holographic dual of the fermionic U(N) vector model at a nonzero\ncharge density. The obstruction that prohibits the metallic state from being\nsmoothly deformable to the direct product state under the renormalization group\nflow gives rise to a horizon at a finite radial coordinate in the bulk. The\nregion outside the horizon is described by the Lifshitz geometry with a\nhigher-spin hair determined by microscopic details of the boundary theory. On\nthe other hand, the interior of the horizon is not described by any Riemannian\nmanifold, as it exhibits an algebraic non-locality. The non-local structure\ninside the horizon carries the information on the shape of the filled Fermi\nsea."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Generalised Born Oscillator and the Berry-Keating Hamiltonian: In this study, we introduce and investigate a family of quantum mechanical\nmodels in 0+1 dimensions, known as generalized Born quantum oscillators. These\nmodels represent a one-parameter deformation of a specific system obtained by\nreducing the Nambu-Goto theory to 0+1 dimensions. Despite these systems showing\nsignificant similarities with $\\mathrm{T}\\overline{\\mathrm{T}}$-type\nperturbations of two-dimensional relativistic models, our analysis reveals\ntheir potential as interesting regularizations of the Berry-Keating theory. We\nquantize these models using the Weyl quantization scheme up to very high orders\nin $\\hbar$. By examining a specific scaling limit, we observe an intriguing\nconnection between the generalized Born quantum oscillators and the\nRiemann-Siegel $\\theta$ function.",
        "positive": "Collective Excitations of Holographic Quantum Liquids in a Magnetic\n  Field: We use holography to study N=4 supersymmetric SU(Nc) Yang-Mills theory in the\nlarge-Nc and large-coupling limits coupled to a number Nf << Nc of\n(n+1)-dimensional massless supersymmetric hypermultiplets in the Nc\nrepresentation of SU(Nc), with n=2,3. We introduce a temperature T, a baryon\nnumber chemical potential mu, and a baryon number magnetic field B, and work in\na regime with mu >> T,\\sqrt{B}. We study the collective excitations of these\nholographic quantum liquids by computing the poles in the retarded Green's\nfunction of the baryon number charge density operator and the associated peaks\nin the spectral function. We focus on the evolution of the collective\nexcitations as we increase the frequency relative to T, i.e. the\nhydrodynamic/collisionless crossover. We find that for all B, at low\nfrequencies the tallest peak in the spectral function is associated with\nhydrodynamic charge diffusion. At high frequencies the tallest peak is\nassociated with a sound mode similar to the zero sound mode in the\ncollisionless regime of a Landau Fermi liquid. The sound mode has a gap\nproportional to B, and as a result for intermediate frequencies and for B\nsufficiently large compared to T the spectral function is strongly suppressed.\nWe find that the hydrodynamic/collisionless crossover occurs at a frequency\nthat is approximately B-independent."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Inconsistency of Fayet-Iliopoulos Terms in Supergravity Theories: Motivated by recent discussions, we revisit the issue of whether globally\nsupersymmetric theories with non-zero Fayet-Iliopoulos terms may be\nconsistently coupled to supergravity. In particular, we examine claims that a\nfundamental inconsistency arises due to the conflicting requirements which are\nimposed on the $R$-symmetry properties of the theory by the supergravity\nframework. We also prove that certain kinds of Fayet-Iliopoulos contributions\nto the supercurrent supermultiplets of theories with non-zero Fayet-Iliopoulos\nterms fail to exist. A key feature of our discussion is an explicit comparison\nbetween results from the chiral (or ``old minimal'') and linear (or ``new\nminimal'') formulations of supergravity, and the effects within each of these\nformalisms that are induced by the presence of non-zero Fayet-Iliopoulos terms.",
        "positive": "Supersymmetric N=1 Spin(10) Gauge Theory with Two Spinors via\n  a-Maximization: We give a detailed analysis of the superconformal fixed points of\nfour-dimensional N=1 supersymmetric Spin(10) gauge theory with two spinors and\nvectors by using a-maximization procedure."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Matrix Model Description of Laughlin Hall States: We analyze Susskind's proposal of applying the non-commutative Chern-Simons\ntheory to the quantum Hall effect. We study the corresponding regularized\nmatrix Chern-Simons theory introduced by Polychronakos. We use holomorphic\nquantization and perform a change of matrix variables that solves the Gauss law\nconstraint. The remaining physical degrees of freedom are the complex\neigenvalues that can be interpreted as the coordinates of electrons in the\nlowest Landau level with Laughlin's wave function. At the same time, a\nstatistical interaction is generated among the electrons that is necessary to\nstabilize the ground state. The stability conditions can be expressed as the\nhighest-weight conditions for the representations of the W-infinity algebra in\nthe matrix theory. This symmetry provides a coordinate-independent\ncharacterization of the incompressible quantum Hall states.",
        "positive": "On Gauge Couplings in String Theory: We investigate the field dependence of the gauge couplings of $N=1$ string\nvacua from the point of view of the low energy effective quantum field theory.\nWe find that field-theoretical considerations severely constrain the form of\nthe string loop corrections; in particular, the dilaton dependence of the gauge\ncouplings is completely universal at the one-loop level. The moduli dependence\nof the string threshold corrections is also constrained, and we illustrate the\npower of such constraints with a detailed discussion of the orbifold vacua and\nthe $(2,2)$ (Calabi-Yau) vacua of the heterotic string."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the vacuum energy of a spherical plasma shell: We consider the vacuum energy of the electromagnetic field interacting with a\nspherical plasma shell together with a model for the classical motion of the\nshell. We calculate the heat kernel coefficients, especially that for the TM\nmode, and carry out the renormalization by redefining the parameters of the\nclassical model. It turns out that this is possible and results in a model,\nwhich in the limit of the plasma shell becoming an ideal conductor reproduces\nthe vacuum energy found by Boyer in 1968.",
        "positive": "An Asymptotic Method for Selection of Inflationary Modes: We present some features of early universe cosmology in terms of Hankel\nfunctions index ($\\nu$). Actually, the recent data from observational cosmology\nindicate that our universe was nearly de Sitter space-time in the early times\nwhich results in an approximate scale-invariant spectrum. This imposes some\nconstrains on index $\\nu$ [1]. These constrains stimulate us to use general\nsolution of inflaton field equation for $\\nu\\neq{\\frac{3}{2}}$. To obtain the\ngeneral solution for the inflationary background, we use asymptotic expansion\nof Hankel functions up to non-linear order of $\\frac{1}{k\\eta}$. We consider\nthe non-linear modes as the fundamental modes for early universe during the\ninflation. In this paper, we obtain the general form of the inflationary modes,\nscale factor expansion, equation of state and some non-linear corrections of\npower spectrum in terms of index \\nu. These results are general and in the\nquasi-de Sitter and de Sitter limit confirm the conventional results."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Asymptotic States in Two Black Hole Moduli Space: We discuss the quantum states in the moduli space, which constructed with\nmaximally charged dilaton black holes. Considering the quantum mechanics in the\nmoduli space, we obtain the asymptotic states for the near-coincident black\nholes and the widely separated black holes. We study the scattering process of\nthe dilaton black holes with the asymptotic states. In the scattering process,\nthe quantum effects in the black hole moduli space are investigated.",
        "positive": "Gravitating monopole and black holes at intermediate Higgs masses: Self-gravitating SU(2) Higgs magnetic monopoles exist up to a critical value\nof the ratio of the vector meson mass to the Planck mass, which depends on the\nHiggs boson mass. At the critical value a critical solution with a degenerate\nhorizon is reached. As pointed out by Lue and Weinberg, there are two types of\ncritical solutions, with a transition at an intermediate Higgs boson mass. Here\nwe investigate this transition for black holes, and reconsider it for the case\nof gravitating monopoles."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fivebrane Gravitational Anomalies: Freed, Harvey, Minasian and Moore have proposed a mechanism to cancel the\ngravitational anomaly of the M-theory fivebrane coming from diffeomorphisms\nacting on the normal bundle. This procedure is based on a modification of the\nconventional M-theory Chern-Simons term. We compactify this space-time\ninteraction to the ten-dimensional type IIA theory. We then analyze the\nrelation to the anomaly cancellation mechanism for the type IIA fivebrane\nproposed by Witten.",
        "positive": "Renormalization footprints in the phase diagram of the Grosse-Wulkenhaar\n  model: We construct and analyze the phase diagram of a self-interacting matrix field\nin two dimensions coupled to the curvature of the non-commutative truncated\nHeisenberg space. In the infinite size limit, the model reduces to the\nrenormalizable Grosse-Wulkenhaar's. The curvature term proves crucial for the\ndiagram's structure: when turned off, the triple point collapses into the\norigin as matrices grow larger; when turned on, the triple point recedes from\nthe origin proportionally to the coupling strength and the matrix size. The\ncoupling attenuation that turns the Grosse-Wulkenhaar model into a\nrenormalizable version of the $\\phi^4_\\star$-model cannot stop the triple point\nrecession. As a result, the stripe phase escapes to infinity, removing the\nproblems with UV/IR mixing."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Pressure corrections in decoupling SU(2) Yang-Mills Theory: The case of\n  dihedral diagrams involving both massive and massless modes: In this work we show the step by step calculations needed to quantify the\ncontribution of a three-loop order diagram with dihedral symmetry to the\nradiative corrections of the pressure in SU(2) thermal Yang-Mills theory in\ndeconfining phase. We surveyed past developments, and performed computations\nfor separate channel combinations, defined by Mandelstam variables which are\nconstrained by two 4-vertices. An analytically integrable approximation for\nhigh-temperature conditions was found, to verify the relevance of the\ncorrections for this diagram. A numerical analysis with Monte Carlo methods was\ncarried out to check the validity of such approximation, to compare it with the\nfull integral. A Dyson-Schwinger resummation had to be performed to all\ndihedral loop orders in order to control the temperature dependency found.",
        "positive": "Symplectic, Multisymplectic Structures and Euler-Lagrange Cohomology: We study the Euler-Lagrange cohomology and explore the symplectic or\nmultisymplectic geometry and their preserving properties in classical mechanism\nand classical field theory in Lagrangian and Hamiltonian formalism in each case\nrespectively. By virtue of the Euler-Lagrange cohomology that is nontrivial in\nthe configuration space, we show that the symplectic or multisymplectic\ngeometry and related preserving property can be established not only in the\nsolution space but also in the function space if and only if the relevant\nclosed Euler-Lagrange cohomological condition is satisfied in each case. We\nalso apply the cohomological approach directly to Hamiltonian-like ODEs and\nHamiltonian-like PDEs no matter whether there exist known Lagrangian and/or\nHamiltonian associated with them."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Massive Nambu-Goldstone Bosons: Nicolis and Piazza have recently pointed out the existence of\nNambu-Goldstone-like excitations in relativistic systems at finite density,\nwhose gap is exactly determined by the chemical potential and the symmetry\nalgebra. We show that the phenomenon is much more general than anticipated and\ndemonstrate the presence of such modes in a number of systems from\n(anti)ferromagnets in magnetic field to superfluid phases of quantum\nchromodynamics. Furthermore, we prove a counting rule for these massive\nNambu-Goldstone bosons and construct a low-energy effective Lagrangian that\ncaptures their dynamics.",
        "positive": "Interactions of strings on a T-fold: We consider the interactions of strings on T-folds from the world-sheet point\nof view which are exact in $\\alpha'$. As a concrete example, we take a model\nwhere the internal torus at the so(8) enhancement point is twisted by T-duality\n(T-folded), and compute the scattering amplitudes of a class of massless\nstrings. The four-point amplitudes involving both twisted and untwisted strings\nare obtained in a closed form in terms of the hypergeometric function. By their\nfactorization, the three-point coupling of the twisted and untwisted strings is\nfound to be suppressed by the chiral momenta along the internal torus, and\nquantized in integer powers of 1/4. The asymptotic forms of the four-point\namplitudes in high-energy limits are also obtained. Our results rely only on\ngeneral properties of the asymmetric orbifold by the T-duality twist and of the\nLie algebra lattice from the symmetry enhancement, and thus may be extended\nqualitatively to more general T-folds."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fermions Coupled to a Conformal Boundary: A Generalization of the\n  Monopole-Fermion System: We study a class of models in which $N$ flavors of massless fermions on the\nhalf line are coupled by an arbitrary orthogonal matrix to $N$ rotors living on\nthe boundary. Integrating out the rotors, we find the exact partition function\nand Green's functions. We demonstrate that the coupling matrix must satisfy a\ncertain rationality constraint, so there is an infinite, discrete set of\npossible coupling matrices. For one particular choice of the coupling matrix,\nthis model reproduces the low-energy dynamics of fermions scattering from a\nmagnetic monopole. A quick survey of the Green's functions shows that the\nS-matrix is nonunitary. This nonunitarity is present in previous results for\nthe monopole-fermion system, although it appears not to have been noted. We\nindicate how unitarity may be restored by expanding the Fock space to include\nnew states that are unavoidably introduced by the boundary interaction.",
        "positive": "Gravitational anomalies, entanglement entropy, and flat-space holography: We introduce a prescription to compute the entanglement entropy of Galilean\nconformal field theories by combining gravitational anomalies and an\n\\.{I}n\\\"{o}n\\\"{u}-Wigner contraction. We find that our expression for the\nentanglement entropy in the thermal limit reproduces the Cardy formula for\nGalilean conformal field theories. Using this proposal, we calculate the\nentanglement entropy for a class of Galilean conformal field theories, which\nare believed to be dual to three-dimensional flat-space cosmological solutions.\nThese geometries describe expanding (contracting) universes and can be viewed\nas the flat-space limit of rotating Ba\\~nados-Teitelboim-Zanelli black holes.\nWe show that our finding reduces, in the appropriate limits, to the results\ndiscussed in the literature and provide interpretations for the previously\nunexplored regimes, such as flat-space chiral gravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Kaluza-Klein Pistons with non-Commutative Extra Dimensions: We calculate the scalar Casimir energy and Casimir force for a $R^3\\times N$\nKaluza-Klein piston setup in which the extra dimensional space $N$ contains a\nnon-commutative 2-sphere, $S_{FZ}$. The cases to be studied are $T^d\\times\nS_{FZ}$ and $S_{FZ}$ respectively as extra dimensional spaces, with $T^d$ the\n$d$ dimensional commutative torus. The validity of the results and the\nregularization that the piston setup offers are examined in both cases. Finally\nwe examine the 1-loop corrected Casimir energy for one piston chamber, due to\nthe self interacting scalar field in the non-commutative geometry. The\ncomputation is done within some approximations. We compare this case for the\nsame calculation done in Minkowski spacetime $M^D$. A discussion on the\nstabilization of the extra dimensional space within the piston setup follows at\nthe end of the article.",
        "positive": "Compactification in the Lightlike Limit: We study field theories in the limit that a compactified dimension becomes\nlightlike. In almost all cases the amplitudes at each order of perturbation\ntheory diverge in the limit, due to strong interactions among the longitudinal\nzero modes. The lightlike limit generally exists nonperturbatively, but is more\ncomplicated than might have been assumed. Some implications for the matrix\ntheory conjecture are discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chaos by Magic: There is a property of a quantum state called magic. It measures how\ndifficult for a classical computer to simulate the state. In this paper, we\nstudy magic of states in the integrable and chaotic regimes of the higher-spin\ngeneralization of the Ising model through two quantities called \"Mana\" and\n\"Robustness of Magic\" (RoM). We find that in the chaotic regime, Mana increases\nmonotonically in time in the early-time region, and at late times these\nquantities oscillate around some non-zero value that increases linearly with\nrespect to the system size. Our result also suggests that under chaotic\ndynamics, any state evolves to a state whose Mana almost saturates the optimal\nupper bound, i.e., the state becomes \"maximally magical.\" We find that RoM also\nshows similar behaviors. On the other hand, in the integrable regime, Mana and\nRoM behave periodically in time in contrast to the chaotic case. In the anti-de\nSitter/conformal field theory correspondence (AdS/CFT correspondence),\nclassical spacetime emerges from the chaotic nature of the dual quantum system.\nOur result suggests that magic of quantum states is strongly involved behind\nthe emergence of spacetime geometry.",
        "positive": "Complexity and Time: For any quantum algorithm given by a path in the space of unitary operators\nwe define the computational complexity as the typical computational time\nassociated with the path. This time is defined using a quantum time estimator\nassociated with the path. This quantum time estimator is fully characterized by\nthe Lyapunov generator of the path and the corresponding quantum Fisher\ninformation. The computational metric associated with this definition of\ncomputational complexity leads to a natural characterization of cost factors on\nthe Lie algebra generators. Operator complexity growth in time is analyzed from\nthis perspective leading to a simple characterization of Lyapunov exponent in\ncase of chaotic Hamiltonians. The connection between complexity and entropy is\nexpressed using the relation between quantum Fisher information about quantum\ntime estimation and von Neumann entropy. This relation suggest a natural bound\non computational complexity that generalizes the standard time energy quantum\nuncertainty. The connection between Lyapunov and modular Hamiltonian is briefly\ndiscussed. In the case of theories with holographic duals and for those reduced\ndensity matrix defined by tracing over a bounded region of the bulk, quantum\nestimation theory is crucial to estimate quantum mechanically the geometry of\nthe tracing region. It is suggested that the corresponding quantum Fisher\ninformation associated with this estimation problem is at the root of the\nholographic bulk geometry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "M-Theory Dynamics On A Manifold Of G_2 Holonomy: We analyze the dynamics of M-theory on a manifold of G_2 holonomy that is\ndeveloping a conical singularity. The known cases involve a cone on CP^3, where\nwe argue that the dynamics involves restoration of a global symmetry,\nSU(3)/U(1)^2, where we argue that there are phase transitions among three\npossible branches corresponding to three classical spacetimes, and S^3 x S^3\nand its quotients, where we recover and extend previous results about smooth\ncontinuations between different spacetimes and relations to four-dimensional\ngauge theory.",
        "positive": "Maximal $U(1)_Y$-violating $n$-point correlators in $\\mathcal{N}=4$\n  super-Yang-Mills theory: This paper concerns a special class of $n$-point correlation functions of\noperators in the stress tensor supermultiplet of $\\mathcal{N}=4$ supersymmetric\n$SU(N)$ Yang-Mills theory. These are \"maximal $U(1)_Y$-violating\" correlators\nthat violate the bonus $U(1)_Y$ charge by a maximum of $2(n-4)$ units. We will\ndemonstrate that such correlators satisfy $SL(2,\\mathbb{Z})$-covariant\nrecursion relations that relate $n$-point correlators to $(n-1)$-point\ncorrelators in a manner analogous to the soft dilaton relations that relate the\ncorresponding amplitudes in flat-space type IIB superstring theory. These\nrecursion relations are used to determine terms in the large-$N$ expansion of\n$n$-point maximal $U(1)_Y$-violating correlators in the chiral sector,\nincluding correlators with four superconformal stress tensor primaries and\n$(n-4)$ chiral Lagrangian operators, starting from known properties of the\n$n=4$ case. We concentrate on the first three orders in $1/N$ beyond the\nsupergravity limit. The Mellin representations of the correlators are\npolynomials in Mellin variables, which correspond to higher derivative contact\nterms in the low-energy expansion of type IIB superstring theory in $AdS_5\n\\times S^5$ at the same orders as $R^4, d^4R^4$ and $d^6R^4$. The coupling\nconstant dependence of these terms is found to be described by non-holomorphic\nmodular forms with holomorphic and anti-holomorphic weights $(n-4,4-n)$ that\nare $SL(2, \\mathbb{Z})$-covariant derivatives of Eisenstein series and certain\ngeneralisations. This determines a number of non-leading contributions to\n$U(1)_Y$-violating $n$-particle interactions ($n>4$) in the low-energy\nexpansion of type IIB superstring amplitudes in $AdS_5\\times S^5$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic Entanglement Negativity for Adjacent Subsystems in\n  $\\mathrm{AdS_{d+1}/CFT_d}$: We establish our recently proposed holographic entanglement negativity\nconjecture for mixed states of adjacent subsystems in conformal field theories\nwith concrete higher dimensional examples. In this context we compute the\nholographic entanglement negativity for mixed states of adjacent subsystems in\n$d$-dimensional conformal field theories dual to bulk $AdS_{d+1}$ vacuum and\n$AdS_{d+1}$-Schwarzschild black holes. These representative examples provide\nstrong indication for the universality of our conjecture which affirms\nsignificant implications for diverse applications.",
        "positive": "Topological nodal line semimetals in holography: We show a holographic model of a strongly coupled topological nodal line\nsemimetal (NLSM) and find that the NLSM phase could go through a quantum phase\ntransition to a topologically trivial state. The dual fermion spectral function\nshows that there are multiple Fermi surfaces each of which is a closed nodal\nloop in the NLSM phase. The topological structure in the bulk is induced by the\nIR interplay between the dual mass operator and the operator that deforms the\ntopology of the Fermi surface. We propose a practical framework for building\nvarious strongly coupled topological semimetals in holography, which indicates\nthat at strong coupling topologically nontrivial semimetal states generally\nexist."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Shadows of the Planck Scale: The Changing Face of Compactification\n  Geometry: By studying the effects of the shape moduli associated with toroidal\ncompactifications, we demonstrate that Planck-sized extra dimensions can cast\nsignificant ``shadows'' over low-energy physics. These shadows can greatly\ndistort our perceptions of the compactification geometry associated with large\nextra dimensions, and place a fundamental limit on our ability to probe the\ngeometry of compactification simply by measuring Kaluza-Klein states. We also\ndiscuss the interpretation of compactification radii and hierarchies in the\ncontext of geometries with non-trivial shape moduli. One of the main results of\nthis paper is that compactification geometry is effectively renormalized as a\nfunction of energy scale, with ``renormalization group equations'' describing\nthe ``flow'' of geometric parameters such as compactification radii and shape\nangles as functions of energy.",
        "positive": "Two-Dimensional Chiral Matrix Models and String Theories: We formulate and solve a class of two-dimensional matrix gauge models\ndescribing ensembles of non-folding surfaces covering an oriented, discretized,\ntwo-dimensional manifold. We interpret the models as string theories\ncharacterized by a set of coupling constants associated to worldsheet\nramification points of various orders. Our approach is closely related to, but\nsimpler than, the string theory describing two-dimensional Yang-Mills theory.\nUsing recently developed character expansion methods we exactly solve the\nmodels for target space lattices of arbitrary internal connectivity and\ntopology."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "T-Duality and Mixed Branes: In this article the action of T-duality on a mixed brane is studied in the\nboundary state formalism. We also obtain a two dimensional mixed brane with\nnon-zero electric and magnetic fields, from a D$_1$-brane.",
        "positive": "Effects of Dirac's Negative Energy Sea on Quantum Numbers: One route towards understanding both fractional charges and chiral anomalies\ndelves into Dirac's negative energy sea. Usually we think of Dirac's negative\nenergy sea as an unphysical construct, invented to render quantum field theory\nphysically acceptable by hiding the negative energy solutions. I suggest that\nin fact physical consequences can be drawn from Dirac's construction."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quasinormal modes of (Anti-)de Sitter black holes in the 1/D expansion: We use the inverse-dimensional expansion to compute analytically the\nfrequencies of a set of quasinormal modes of static black holes of\nEinstein-(Anti-)de Sitter gravity, including the cases of spherical, planar or\nhyperbolic horizons. The modes we study are decoupled modes localized in the\nnear-horizon region, which are the ones that capture physics peculiar to each\nblack hole (such as their instabilities), and which in large black holes\ncontain hydrodynamic behavior. Our results also give the unstable\nGregory-Laflamme frequencies of Ricci-flat black branes to two orders higher in\n1/D than previous calculations. We discuss the limits on the accuracy of these\nresults due to the asymptotic but not convergent character of the 1/D\nexpansion, which is due to the violation of the decoupling condition at finite\nD. Finally, we compare the frequencies for AdS black branes to calculations in\nthe hydrodynamic expansion in powers of the momentum k. Our results extend up\nto k^9 for the sound mode and to k^8 for the shear mode.",
        "positive": "Central Configurations in Three Dimensions: We consider the equilibria of point particles under the action of two body\ncentral forces in which there are both repulsive and attractive interactions,\noften known as central configurations, with diverse applications in physics, in\nparticular as homothetic time-dependent solutions to Newton's equations of\nmotion and as stationary states in the One Component Plasma model.\nConcentrating mainly on the case of an inverse square law balanced by a linear\nforce, we compute numerically equilibria and their statistical properties. When\nall the masses (or charges) of the particles are equal, for small numbers of\npoints they are regular convex deltahedra, which on increasing the number of\npoints give way to a multi-shell structure. In the limit of a large number of\npoints we argue using an analytic model that they form a homogeneous spherical\ndistribution of points, whose spatial distribution appears, from our\npreliminary investigation, to be similar to that of a Bernal hard-sphere\nliquid."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Sigma-model for Generalized Composite p-branes: A multidimensional gravitational model containing several dilatonic scalar\nfields and antisymmetric forms is considered. The manifold is chosen in the\nform M = M_0 x M_1 x ... x M_n, where M_i are Einstein spaces (i > 0). The\nblock-diagonal metric is chosen and all fields and scale factors of the metric\nare functions on M_0. For the forms composite (electro-magnetic) p-brane ansatz\nis adopted. The model is reduced to gravitating self-interacting sigma-model\nwith certain constraints. In pure electric and magnetic cases the number of\nthese constraints is m(m - 1)/2 where m is number of 1-dimensional manifolds\namong M_i. In the \"electro-magnetic\" case for dim M_0 = 1, 3 additional m\nconstraints appear. A family of \"Majumdar-Papapetrou type\" solutions governed\nby a set of harmonic functions is obtained, when all factor-spaces M_k are\nRicci-flat. These solutions are generalized to the case of non-Ricci-flat M_0\nwhen also some additional \"internal\" Einstein spaces of non-zero curvature are\nadded to M. As an example exact solutions for D = 11 supergravity and related\n12-dimensional theory are presented.",
        "positive": "Born-Infeld Corrections to the Entropy Function of Heterotic Black Holes: We use the black hole entropy function to study the effect of Born-Infeld\nterms on the entropy of extremal black holes in heterotic string theory in four\ndimensions. We find that after adding a set of higher curvature terms to the\neffective action, attractor mechanism works and Born-Infeld terms contribute to\nthe stretching of near horizon geometry. In the alpha'--> 0 limit, the\nsolutions of attractor equations for moduli fields and the resulting entropy,\nare in conformity with the ones for standard two charge black holes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Axion Monodromy and the Weak Gravity Conjecture: Axions with broken discrete shift symmetry (axion monodromy) have recently\nplayed a central role both in the discussion of inflation and the `relaxion'\napproach to the hierarchy problem. We suggest a very minimalist way to\nconstrain such models by the weak gravity conjecture for domain walls: While\nthe electric side of the conjecture is always satisfied if the\ncosine-oscillations of the axion potential are sufficiently small, the magnetic\nside imposes a cutoff, $\\Lambda^3 \\sim m f M_{pl}$, independent of the height\nof these `wiggles'. We compare our approach with the recent related proposal by\nIbanez, Montero, Uranga and Valenzuela. We also discuss the non-trivial\nquestion which version, if any, of the weak gravity conjecture for domain walls\nshould hold. In particular, we show that string compactifications with branes\nof different dimensions wrapped on different cycles lead to a `geometric weak\ngravity conjecture' relating volumes of cycles, norms of corresponding forms\nand the volume of the compact space. Imposing this `geometric conjecture',\ne.g.~on the basis of the more widely accepted weak gravity conjecture for\nparticles, provides at least some support for the (electric and magnetic)\nconjecture for domain walls.",
        "positive": "Sphaleron in the dilatonic electroweak theory: A numerical study of static, spherically symmetric sphaleron solutions in the\nstandard model coupled to the dilaton field is presented. We show that\nsphaleron is surrounded by strong dilaton cloud which vanishes inside the\nsphaleron."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "New Identities among Gauge Theory Amplitudes: Color-ordered amplitudes in gauge theories satisfy non-linear identities\ninvolving amplitude products of different helicity configurations. We consider\nthe origin of such identities and connect them to the Kawai-Lewellen-Tye (KLT)\nrelations between gravity and gauge theory amplitudes. Extensions are made to\none-loop order of the full N=4 super Yang-Mills multiplet.",
        "positive": "Modified spontaneous symmetry breaking pattern by brane-bulk interaction\n  terms: We show how translational invariance can be broken by the vacuum that drives\nthe spontaneous symmetry breaking of extra-dimensional extensions of the\nStandard Model, when delta-like interactions between brane and bulk scalar\nfields are present. We explicitly build some examples of vacuum configurations,\nwhich induce the spontaneous symmetry breaking, and have non trivial profile in\nthe extra coordinate."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Renormalization of the cyclic Wilson loop: In finite-temperature field theory, the cyclic Wilson loop is defined as a\nrectangular Wilson loop spanning the whole compactified time direction. In a\ngeneric non-abelian gauge theory, we calculate the perturbative expansion of\nthe cyclic Wilson loop up to order g^4. At this order and after charge\nrenormalization, the cyclic Wilson loop is known to be ultraviolet divergent.\nWe show that the divergence is not associated with cusps in the contour but is\ninstead due to the contour intersecting itself because of the periodic boundary\nconditions. One consequence of this is that the cyclic Wilson loop mixes under\nrenormalization with the correlator of two Polyakov loops. The resulting\nrenormalization equation is tested up to order g^6 and used to resum the\nleading logarithms associated with the intersection divergence. Implications\nfor lattice studies of this operator, which may be relevant for the\nphenomenology of quarkonium at finite temperature, are discussed.",
        "positive": "On Metastable Branes and a New Type of Magnetic Monopole: String compactifications with D-branes may exhibit regular magnetic monopole\nsolutions, whose presence does not rely on broken non-abelian gauge symmetry.\nThese stringy monopoles exist on interesting metastable brane configurations,\nsuch as anti-D3 branes inside a flux compactification or D5-branes wrapping\n2-cycles that are locally stable but globally trivial. In brane realizations of\nSM-like gauge theories, the monopoles carry one unit of magnetic hypercharge.\nTheir mass can range from the string scale down to the multi-TeV regime."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "BPS coherent states and localization: We introduce coherent states averaged over a gauge group action to study\ncorrelators of half BPS states in ${\\cal N}=4 $ SYM theory. The overlaps of\nthese averaged coherent states are a generating function of correlators and can\nbe written in terms of the Harish-Chandra-Itzykzon-Zuber (HCIZ) integral. We\nshow that this formula immediately leads to a computation of the normalization\nof two point functions in terms of characters obtained originally in the work\nof Corley, Jevicki and Ramgoolam. We also find various generalizations for\n$A_{n-1}$ quivers that follow directly from other solvable integrals over\nunitary groups. All of these can be computed using localization methods. When\nwe promote the parameters of the generating function to collective coordinates,\nthere is a dominant saddle that controls the effective action of these coherent\nstates in the regime where they describe single AdS giant gravitons. We also\ndiscuss how to add open strings to this formulation. These will produce\ncalculations that rely on correlators of matrix components of unitaries in the\nensemble that is determined by the HCIZ integral to determine anomalous\ndimensions. We also discuss how sphere giants arise from Grassman integrals,\nhow one gets a dominant saddle and how open strings are added in that case. The\nfact that there is a dominant saddle helps to understand how a $1/N$ expansion\narises for open strings. We generalize the coherent state idea to study $1/4$\nand $1/8$ BPS states as more general integrals over unitary groups.",
        "positive": "Confining Phase of Three Dimensional Supersymmetric Quantum\n  Electrodynamics: Abelian theories in three dimensions can have linearly confining phases as a\nresult of monopole-instantons, as shown, for SU(2) Yang-Mills theory broken to\nits abelian subgroup, by Polyakov. In this article the generalization of this\nphase for N=2 supersymmetric abelian theories is identified, using a dual\ndescription. Topologically stable BPS-saturated and unsaturated particle and\nstring solitons play essential roles. A plasma of chiral monopoles of charge 1\nand -1 (along with their antichiral conjugates) are required for a stable\nconfining vacuum. N=2 SU(2) Yang-Mills theory broken to U(1) lacks this phase\nbecause its chiral monopoles all have the same charge, leading to a runaway\ninstability. The possibility of analogous confining phases of string theory,\nand a dual field theoretic model thereof, are briefly discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Comments on \"Entropy of 2D Black Holes from Counting Microstates\": In a recent letter, Cadoni and Mignemi proposed a formulation for the\nstatistical computation of the 2D black holes entropy. We present a criticism\nabout their formulation.",
        "positive": "Spontaneous scalarization in (A)dS gravity at zero temperature: We study spontaneous scalarization of electrically charged extremal black\nholes in $D\\geq 4$ spacetime dimensions. Such a phenomenon is caused by the\nsymmetry breaking due to quartic interactions of the scalar -- Higgs potential\nand Stueckelberg interaction with electromagnetic and gravitational fields,\ncharacterized by the couplings $a$ and $b$, respectively. We use the entropy\nrepresentation of the states in the vicinity of the horizon, apply the inverse\nattractor mechanism for the scalar field, and analyze analytically the\nthermodynamic stability of the system using the laws of thermodynamics. As a\nresult, we obtain that the scalar field condensates on the horizon only in\nspacetimes which are asymptotically non-flat, $\\Lambda \\neq 0$ (dS or AdS), and\nwhose extremal black holes have non-planar horizons $k=\\pm 1$, provided that\nthe mass $m$ of the scalar field belongs to a mass interval (area code)\ndifferent for each set of the boundary conditions specified by $(\\Lambda ,k)$.\nA process of scalarization describes a second order phase transition of the\nblack hole, from the extremal Reissner-Nordstr\\\"{o}m (A)dS one, to the\ncorresponding extremal hairy one. Furthermore, for the transition to happen,\nthe interaction has to be strong enough, and all physical quantities on the\nhorizon depend at most on the effective Higgs-Stueckelberg interaction\n$am^2-2b$. Most of our results are general, valid for any parameter and any\nspacetime dimension."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Cosmology of Rolling Tachyon: We study dynamics of rolling tachyon and Abelian gauge field on unstable\nD-branes, of which effective action is given by Born-Infeld type nonlocal\naction. Possible cosmological evolutions are also discussed. In the Einstein\nframe of string cosmology, every expanding flat universe is proven to be\ndecelerating.",
        "positive": "A direct proof of AGT conjecture at beta = 1: The AGT conjecture claims an equivalence of conformal blocks in 2d CFT and\nsums of Nekrasov functions (instantonic sums in 4d SUSY gauge theory). The\nconformal blocks can be presented as Dotsenko-Fateev beta-ensembles, hence, the\nAGT conjecture implies the equality between Dotsenko-Fateev beta-ensembles and\nthe Nekrasov functions. In this paper, we prove it in a particular case of\nbeta=1 (which corresponds to c = 1 at the conformal side and to epsilon_1 +\nepsilon_2 = 0 at the gauge theory side) in a very direct way. The central role\nis played by representation of the Nekrasov functions through correlators of\ncharacters (Schur polynomials) in the Selberg matrix models. We mostly\nconcentrate on the case of SU(2) with 4 fundamentals, the extension to other\ncases being straightforward. The most obscure part is extending to an arbitrary\nbeta: for beta \\neq 1, the Selberg integrals that we use do not reproduce\nsingle Nekrasov functions, but only sums of them."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Solutions to the \"Faddeev-Niemi\" Equations: Recently it has been pointed out that the \"Faddeev-Niemi\" equations that\ncorrespond to the Yang-Mills equations of motion for a decomposed gauge field,\ncan have solutions that obey the standard Yang-Mills equations with a source\nterm. Here we present a general class of such gauge field configurations.",
        "positive": "Semiclassical Tunneling in 1+1 Dimensional String Theory: We describe time-dependent tunneling of massless particles in 1+1 dimensional\nstring field theory. Polchinski's description of the classical solutions in\nterms of the Fermi sea is used to identify the leading instanton contribution\nconnecting the two half-lines. The field theory lagrangian is proportional to\n$1/g^2$, where $g$ is the string coupling constant, but the $S$-matrix for\ntunneling from one half-line to the other behaves as $\\exp(-C/g)$. We note the\nconstant~$C$ involves curious boundary contributions and observe that a\nprescription connecting the two half-lines unifies treatments of the Fermi\nlevel above and below the barrier. We also note the relation to recent work of\nBrustein and Ovrut."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the first law of entanglement for Quasi-Topological gravity: The first law of entanglement has been used to obtain the linearized Einstein\nequations of the holographic dual spacetimes. In the present paper, the first\nlaw of entanglement in quasi-topological gravity is explicitly derived by using\nthe Iyer-Wald formalism. In addition, we investigate the extended first law of\nentanglement for the special case in Quasi-Topological gravity.",
        "positive": "Moduli-Space Approximation for BPS Brane-Worlds: We develop the moduli-space approximation for the low energy regime of\nBPS-branes with a bulk scalar field to obtain an effective four-dimensional\naction describing the system. An arbitrary BPS potential is used and account is\ntaken of the presence of matter in the branes and small supersymmetry breaking\nterms. The resulting effective theory is a bi-scalar tensor theory of gravity.\nIn this theory, the scalar degrees of freedom can be stabilized naturally\nwithout the introduction of additional mechanisms other than the appropriate\nBPS potential. We place observational constraints on the shape of the potential\nand the global configuration of branes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Radiation from the non-extremal fuzzball: The fuzzball proposal says that the information of the black hole state is\ndistributed throughout the interior of the horizon in a `quantum fuzz'. There\nare special microstates where in the dual CFT we have `many excitations in the\nsame state'; these are described by regular classical geometries without\nhorizons. Jejjala et.al constructed non-extremal regular geometries of this\ntype. Cardoso et. al then found that these geometries had a classical\ninstability. In this paper we show that the energy radiated through the\nunstable modes is exactly the Hawking radiation for these microstates. We do\nthis by (i) starting with the semiclassical Hawking radiation rate (ii) using\nit to find the emission vertex in the CFT (iii) replacing the Boltzman\ndistributions of the generic CFT state with the ones describing the microstate\nof interest (iv) observing that the emission now reproduces the classical\ninstability. Because the CFT has `many excitations in the same state' we get\nthe physics of a Bose-Einstein condensate rather than a thermal gas, and the\nusually slow Hawking emission increases, by Bose enhancement, to a classically\nradiated field. This system therefore provides a complete gravity description\nof information-carrying radiation from a special microstate of the nonextremal\nhole.",
        "positive": "S-duality and the Double Copy: The double copy formalism provides an intriguing connection between gauge\ntheories and gravity. It was first demonstrated in the perturbative context of\nscattering amplitudes but recently the formalism has been applied to exact\nclassical solutions in gauge theories such as the monopole and instanton.\n  In this paper we will investigate how duality symmetries in the gauge theory\ndouble copy to gravity and relate these to solution generating transformations\nand the action of $Sl(2,R)$ in general relativity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spectral function of the Bloch-Nordsieck model at finite temperature: In this paper we determine the exact fermionic spectral function of the\nBloch-Nordsieck model at finite temperature. Analytic results are presented for\nsome special parameters, for other values we have numerical results. The\nspectral function is finite and normalizable for any nonzero temperature\nvalues. The real time dependence of the retarded Green's function is power-like\nfor small times and exhibits exponential damping for large times. Treating the\ntemperature as an infrared regulator, we can also give a safe interpretation of\nthe zero temperature result.",
        "positive": "Low-energy U(1) x USp(2M) gauge theory from simple high-energy gauge\n  group: We give an explicit example of the embedding of a near BPS low-energy (U(1) x\nUSp(2M))/Z_2 gauge theory into a high-energy theory with a simple gauge group\nand adjoint matter content. This system possesses degenerate monopoles arising\nfrom the high-energy symmetry breaking as well as non-Abelian vortices due to\nthe symmetry breaking at low energies. These solitons of different codimensions\nare related by the exact homotopy sequences."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chaos in Celestial CFT: Celestial holography proposes a duality between gravitational scattering in\nasymptotically flat space-time and a conformal field theory living on the\ncelestial sphere. Its dictionary relates the infinite dimensional space-time\nsymmetry group to Ward identities of the CFT. The spontaneous breaking of these\nasymptotic symmetries governs the dynamics of the soft sector in the CFT. Here\nwe show that this sector encodes non-trivial backreaction effects that exhibit\ncharacteristics of maximal quantum chaos. A key element in the derivation is\nthe identification of the Hilbert space of celestial CFT, defined through\nradial quantization, with that of a constantly accelerating Rindler observer.\nFrom the point of view of the bulk, Rindler particles exhibit Lyapunov behavior\ndue to shockwave interactions that shift the observer horizon. From the point\nof view of the boundary, the superrotation Goldstone modes affect the relevant\nrepresentations of the celestial Virasoro symmetry in a manner that induces\nLyapunov behavior of out-of-time-ordered celestial correlators.",
        "positive": "Generalising the matter coupling in massive gravity: a search for new\n  interactions: Massive gravity theory introduced by de Rham, Gabadadze, Tolley (dRGT) is\nrestricted by several uniqueness theorems that protect the form of the\npotential and kinetic terms, as well as the matter coupling. These restrictions\narise from the requirement that the degrees of freedom match the expectation\nfrom Poincar\\'e representations of a spin--2 field. Any modification beyond the\ndRGT form is known to invalidate a constraint that the theory enjoys and revive\na dangerous sixth mode. One loophole is to exploit the effective nature of the\ntheory by pushing the sixth mode beyond the strong coupling scale without\ncompletely removing it. In this paper, we search for modifications to dRGT\naction by coupling the matter sector to an arbitrary metric constructed out of\nthe already existing degrees of freedom in the dRGT action. We formulate the\nconditions that such an extension should satisfy in order to prevent the sixth\nmode from contaminating the effective theory. Our approach provides a new\nperspective for the \"composite coupling\" which emerges as the unique extension\nup to four-point interactions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Harmonicity in N=4 supersymmetry and its quantum anomaly: The holomorphicity property of N=1 superpotentials or of N=2 F-terms\ninvolving vector multiplets is generalized to the case of N=4 1/2-BPS effective\noperators defined in harmonic superspace. The resulting harmonicity equations\nare shown to control the moduli dependence of the couplings of higher\ndimensional operators involving powers of the N=4 Weyl superfield, computed by\nN=4 topological amplitudes. These equations can also be derived on the string\nside, exhibiting an anomaly from world-sheet boundary contributions that leads\nto recursion relations for the non-analytic part of the couplings.",
        "positive": "6d surface defects from massive type IIA: We present a new BPS flow within minimal $\\mathcal{N}=1$ supergravity in\nseven dimensions describing a warped $\\textrm{AdS}_{3}$ background supported by\na \"dyonic\" profile of the three-form. Furthermore, we discuss the holographic\ninterpretation of the above solution in terms of a defect $\\textrm{SCFT}_{2}$\ninside the 6d $(1,0)$ theory dual to the AdS in the asymptotic region. Finally\nwe provide the brane picture of the aforementioned defect CFT as D2- and\nwrapped D4-branes ending on a D6 - NS5 - D8 funnel in massive type IIA string\ntheory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "$T^{1,1}$ truncation on the spindle: We study the compactification of the $\\mathcal{N}=2$ AdS$_5$ consistent\ntruncation of the conifold, in presence of a Betti vector multiplet, on the\nspindle. We derive the BPS equations and solve them at the poles, computing the\ncentral charge for both the twist and the anti-twist class, turning on the\nmagnetic charge associated to the baryonic symmetry. Then, in the anti-twist\nclass, where there are choices of the quantized flux that give origin to a\npositive central charge, we numerically solve the BPS equations interpolating\nbetween the poles of the spindle. We conclude by comparing our results with the\none obtained from the analysis of the dual field theory, finding an exact\nagreement.",
        "positive": "Pole-skipping and hydrodynamic analysis in Lifshitz, AdS$_2$ and Rindler\n  geometries: The \"pole-skipping\" phenomenon reflects that the retarded Green's function is\nnot unique at a pole-skipping point in momentum space $(\\omega,k)$. We explore\nthe universality of the pole-skipping in different geometries. In holography,\nnear horizon analysis of the bulk equation of motion is a simpler way to derive\na pole-skipping point and we use this method in Lifshitz, AdS$_2$ and Rindler\ngeometries. We also study the complex hydrodynamic analyses and find that the\ndispersion relations in terms of dimensionless variables $\\frac{\\omega}{2\\pi\nT}$ and $\\frac{\\vert k\\vert}{2\\pi T}$ pass through pole-skipping points\n$(\\frac{\\omega_n}{2\\pi T}, \\frac{\\vert k_n\\vert}{2\\pi T}$) at small $\\omega$\nand $k$ in Lifshitz background. We verify that the position of the\npole-skipping points does not depend on the standard quantization or\nalternative quantization in the boundary theory in\nAdS$_2\\times\\mathbb{R}^{d-1}$ geometry. In Rindler geometry, we cannot find the\ncorresponding Green's function to calculate pole-skipping points because it is\ndifficult to impose the boundary condition. However we can obtain \"special\npoints\" near horizon where bulk equations of motion have two incoming\nsolutions. These \"special points\" correspond to nonunique of the Green's\nfunction in physical meaning from the perspective of holography."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Transcending the ensemble: baby universes, spacetime wormholes, and the\n  order and disorder of black hole information: In the 1980's, work by Coleman and by Giddings and Strominger linked the\nphysics of spacetime wormholes to `baby universes' and an ensemble of theories.\nWe revisit such ideas, using features associated with a negative cosmological\nconstant and asymptotically AdS boundaries to strengthen the results, introduce\na change in perspective, and connect with recent replica wormhole discussions\nof the Page curve. A key new feature is an emphasis on the role of null states.\nWe explore this structure in detail in simple topological models of the bulk\nthat allow us to compute the full spectrum of associated boundary theories. The\ndimension of the asymptotically AdS Hilbert space turns out to become a random\nvariable $Z$, whose value can be less than the naive number $k$ of independent\nstates in the theory. For $k>Z$, consistency arises from an exact degeneracy in\nthe inner product defined by the gravitational path integral, so that many a\npriori independent states differ only by a null state. We argue that a similar\nproperty must hold in any consistent gravitational path integral. We also\ncomment on other aspects of extrapolations to more complicated models, and on\npossible implications for the black hole information problem in the individual\nmembers of the above ensemble.",
        "positive": "Scattering of Topological Solitons on Barriers and Holes in Two \u03bb\n  \u03c6^4 Models: We present results of our studies of various scattering properties of\ntopological solitons on obstructions in the form of holes and barriers in 1+1\ndimensions. Our results are based on two models involving a \\phi^4 potential.\nThe obstructions are characterised by a potential parameter, \\lambda which has\na non-zero value in a certain region of space and zero elsewhere. In the first\nmodel the potential parameter is included in the potential and in the second\nmodel the potential parameter is included in the metric. Our results are based\non numerical simulations and analytical considerations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "WZNW Models and Gauged WZNW Models Based on a Family of Solvable Lie\n  Algebras: A family of solvable self-dual Lie algebras that are not double extensions of\nAbelian algebras and, therefore, cannot be obtained through a Wigner\ncontraction, is presented. We construct WZNW and gauged WZNW models based on\nthe first two algebras in this family. We also analyze some general phenomena\narising in such models.",
        "positive": "Quantum Kaluza-Klein Cosmologies (V): In the No-boundary Universe with $d=11$ supergravity, under the $S_n \\times\nS_{11-n}$ Kaluza-Klein ansatz, the only seed instanton for the universe\ncreation is a $S_7 \\times S_4$ space. It is proven that for the Freund-Rubin,\nEnglert and Awada-Duff-Pope models the macroscopic universe in which we are\nliving must be 4- instead of 7-dimensional without appealing to the anthropic\nprinciple."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fermion on Curved Spaces, Symmetries, and Quantum Anomalies: We review the geodesic motion of pseudo-classical spinning particles in\ncurved spaces. Investigating the generalized Killing equations for spinning\nspaces, we express the constants of motion in terms of Killing-Yano tensors.\nPassing from the spinning spaces to the Dirac equation in curved backgrounds we\npoint out the role of the Killing-Yano tensors in the construction of the\nDirac-type operators. The general results are applied to the case of the\nfour-dimensional Euclidean Taub-Newman-Unti-Tamburino space. The gravitational\nand axial anomalies are studied for generalized Euclidean Taub-NUT metrics\nwhich admit hidden symmetries analogous to the Runge-Lenz vector of the\nKepler-type problem. Using the Atiyah-Patodi-Singer index theorem for manifolds\nwith boundaries, it is shown that the these metrics make no contribution to the\naxial anomaly.",
        "positive": "Dynamical Description of Spectral Flow in N=2 Superconformal Field\n  Theories: We show how the spectral flow between the Neveu-Schwarz and Ramond sectors of\nN=2 superconformal field theories can be described in three dimensions in terms\nof the propagation of charged particles coupled to a a Chern-Simons gauge\ntheory. Quantum mechanical mixing between the degenerate Chern-Simons vacua\ninterpolates between the different boundary conditions of the two sectors and\nso provides a dynamical picture for the GSO-projection."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Picard-Fuchs Equations and Prepotentials in $N=2$ Supersymmetric QCD: The Picard-Fuchs equations for $N=2$ supersymmetric $SU(N_{c})$ Yang-Mills\ntheories with massless hypermultiplets are obtained for $N_{c}=2$ and $3$. For\n$SU(2)$ we derive the non-linear differential equations for the prepotentials\nand calculate full non-perturbative corrections to the effective gauge coupling\nconstant in the weak and strong coupling regions.",
        "positive": "The global gravitational anomaly of the self-dual field theory: We derive a formula for the global gravitational anomaly of the self-dual\nfield theory on an arbitrary compact oriented Riemannian manifold. Along the\nway, we uncover interesting links between the theory of determinant line\nbundles of Dirac operators, Siegel theta functions and a functor constructed by\nHopkins and Singer. We apply our result to type IIB supergravity and show that\nin the naive approximation where the Ramond-Ramond fields are treated as\ndifferential cohomology classes, the global gravitational anomaly vanishes on\nall 10-dimensional spin manifolds. We sketch a few other important physical\napplications."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Warped anti-de Sitter in 3d (2,0) Supergravity: We comment on the ubiquity of the so-called warped anti-de Sitter spacetimes\nin three-dimensional (2,0) supergravity theory. By using isometry-invariant\ntensors and simple counting, we prove their existence for arbitrary $(2,0)$\nsupergravity models suitably defined close to a minimal model. We also analyze\ntheir offshell supersymmetry and the supersymmetry of two geometric orbifolds.",
        "positive": "Gauge Theories with Time Dependent Couplings and their Cosmological\n  Duals: We consider the N=4 SYM theory in flat 3+1 dimensional spacetime with a time\ndependent coupling constant which vanishes at $t=0$, like $g_{YM}^2=t^p$. In an\nanalogous quantum mechanics toy model we find that the response is singular.\nThe energy diverges at $t=0$, for a generic state. In addition, if $p>1$ the\nphase of the wave function has a wildly oscillating behavior, which does not\nallow it to be continued past $t=0$. A similar effect would make the gauge\ntheory singular as well, though nontrivial effects of renormalization could\ntame this singularity and allow a smooth continuation beyond $t=0$. The gravity\ndual in some cases is known to be a time dependent cosmology which exhibits a\nspace-like singularity at $t=0$. Our results, if applicable in the gauge theory\nfor the case of the vanishing coupling, imply that the singularity is a genuine\nsickness and does not admit a meaningful continuation. When the coupling\nremains non-zero and becomes small at $t=0$, the curvature in the bulk becomes\nof order the string scale. The gauge theory now admits a time evolution beyond\nthis point. In this case, a finite amount of energy is produced which possibly\nthermalizes and leads to a black hole in the bulk."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The R-matrix structure of the Euler-Calogero-Moser model: We construct the $r$-matrix for the generalization of the Calogero-Moser\nsystem introduced by Gibbons and Hermsen. By reduction procedures we obtain the\n$r$-matrix for the $O(N)$ Euler-Calogero-Moser model and for the standard $A_N$\nCalogero-Moser model.",
        "positive": "Lie 2-algebra models: In this paper, we begin the study of zero-dimensional field theories with\nfields taking values in a semistrict Lie 2-algebra. These theories contain the\nIKKT matrix model and various M-brane related models as special cases. They\nfeature solutions that can be interpreted as quantized 2-plectic manifolds. In\nparticular, we find solutions corresponding to quantizations of R^3, S^3 and a\nfive-dimensional Hpp-wave. Moreover, by expanding a certain class of Lie\n2-algebra models around the solution corresponding to quantized R^3, we obtain\nhigher BF-theory on this quantized space."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Superfield Lagrangian Quantization with Extended BRST Symmetry: We consider possible superfield representations of extended BRST symmetry for\ngeneral gauge theories within the principle of gauge-fixing based on a\ngenerating equation for the gauge functional. We examine admissible superfield\nchoices for an extended antibracket and delta-operator with given algebraic\nproperties and show that only one of these choices is compatible with the\nrequirement of extended BRST symmetry realized in terms of supertranslations\nalong Grassmann coordinates. We demonstrate that this realization leads to the\ngauge-independence of the S-matrix.",
        "positive": "Deformation Quantization, Superintegrability, and Nambu Mechanics: Phase Space is the framework best suited for quantizing superintegrable\nsystems--systems with more conserved quantities than degrees of freedom. In\nthis quantization method, the symmetry algebras of the hamiltonian invariants\nare preserved most naturally. We illustrate the power and simplicity of the\nmethod through new applications to nonlinear sigma-models, specifically for\nChiral Models and de Sitter N-spheres, where the symmetric quantum hamiltonians\namount to compact and elegant expressions, in accord with the Groenewold-van\nHove theorem. Additional power and elegance is provided by the use of Nambu\nBrackets (linked to Dirac Brackets) involving the extra invariants of\nsuperintegrable models. The quantization of Nambu Brackets is then successfully\ncompared to that of Moyal, validating Nambu's original proposal, while\ninvalidating other proposals."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "How useful can knot and number theory be for loop calculations?: We summarize recent results connecting multiloop Feynman diagram calculations\nto different parts of mathematics, with special attention given to the Hopf\nalgebra structure of renormalization.",
        "positive": "Particle with non-Abelian charge: classical and quantum: We study the action for a non-Abelian charged particle in a non-Abelian\nbackground field in the worldline formalism, described by real bosonic\nvariables, leading to the well known equations given by Wong. The isospin parts\nin the action can be viewed as the Lagrange multiplier term corresponding to a\nnon-holonomic constraint restricting the isospins to be parallel transported.\nThe path integration is performed over the isospin variables and as a result,\nthe worldlines turn out to be constrained by the classical solutions for the\nisospins. We derive a wave equation from the path integral, constructed as the\nconstrained Hamiltonian operator acting on the wave function. The operator\nordering corresponding to the quantum Hamiltonian is found and verified by the\ninverse Weyl transformation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Path Integral Discussion of Two and- Three-Dimensional $\u03b4$-Function\n  Perturbations: The incorporation of two- and three-dimensional $\\delta$-function\nperturbations into the path-integral formalism is discussed. In contrast to the\none-dimensional case, a regularization procedure is needed due to the\ndivergence of the Green-function $G^{(V)}(\\vec x,\\vec y;E)$, ($\\vec x,\\vec\ny\\in\\bbbr^2,\\bbbr^3$) for $\\vec x=\\vec y$, corresponding to a potential problem\n$V(\\vec x)$. The known procedure to define proper self-adjoint extensions for\nHamiltonians with deficiency indices can be used to regularize the path\nintegral, giving a perturbative approach for $\\delta$-function perturbations in\ntwo and three dimensions in the context of path integrals. Several examples\nillustrate the formalism.",
        "positive": "N=1/2 Super Yang-Mills Theory on Euclidean AdS2xS2: We study D-branes in the background of Euclidean AdS2xS2 with a graviphoton\nfield turned on. As the background is not Ricci flat, the graviphoton field\nmust have both self-dual and antiself-dual parts. This, in general, will break\nall the supersymmetries on the brane. However, we show that there exists a\nlimit for which one can restore half of the supersymmetries. Further, we show\nthat in this limit, the N=1/2 SYM Lagrangian on flat space can be lifted on to\nthe Euclidean AdS2xS2 preserving the same amount of supersymmetries as in the\nflat case. We observe that without the C-dependent terms present in the action\nthis lift is not possible."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetry in Classical Mechanics: We briefly review the universal supersymmetry present in classical\nhamiltonian systems and show its applications to field theories.",
        "positive": "Complex Monopoles and Gribov Copies: Complex monopole solutions exist in the three dimensional Georgi-Glashow\nmodel with the Chern-Simons term. They dominate the path integral and disorder\nthe Higgs vacuum. Gribov copies of the vacuum and monopole configurations are\nstudied in detail."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Towards general scalar-Yukawa renormalisation group equations at\n  three-loop order: For arbitrary four-dimensional quantum field theories with scalars and\nfermions, renormalisation group equations in the $\\overline{\\text{MS}}$ scheme\nare investigated at three-loop order in perturbation theory. Collecting\nliterature results, general expressions are obtained for field anomalous\ndimensions, Yukawa interactions, as well as fermion masses. The renormalisation\ngroup evolution of scalar quartic, cubic and mass terms is determined up to a\nfew unknown coefficients. The combined results are applied to compute the\nrenormalisation group evolution of the gaugeless Litim-Sannino model.",
        "positive": "Seiberg-Witten Geometry of Four-Dimensional $\\mathcal N=2$ Quiver Gauge\n  Theories: Seiberg-Witten geometry of mass deformed $\\mathcal N=2$ superconformal ADE\nquiver gauge theories in four dimensions is determined. We solve the limit\nshape equations derived from the gauge theory and identify the space $\\mathfrak\nM$ of vacua of the theory with the moduli space of the genus zero holomorphic\n(quasi)maps to the moduli space ${\\rm Bun}_{\\mathbf G} (\\mathcal E)$ of\nholomorphic $G^{\\mathbb C}$-bundles on a (possibly degenerate) elliptic curve\n$\\mathcal E$ defined in terms of the microscopic gauge couplings, for the\ncorresponding simple ADE Lie group $G$. The integrable systems $\\mathfrak P$\nunderlying the special geometry of $\\mathfrak M$ are identified. The moduli\nspaces of framed $G$-instantons on ${\\mathbb R}^{2} \\times {\\mathbb T}^{2}$, of\n$G$-monopoles with singularities on ${\\mathbb R}^{2} \\times {\\mathbb S}^{1}$,\nthe Hitchin systems on curves with punctures, as well as various spin chains\nplay an important r\\^ole in our story. We also comment on the\nhigher-dimensional theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chromo-Natural Model in Anisotropic Background: In this work we study the chromo-natural inflation model in the anisotropic\nsetup. Initiating inflation from Bianchi type-I cosmology, we analyze the\nsystem thoroughly during the slow-roll inflation, from both analytical and\nnumerical points of view. We show that the isotropic FRW inflation is an\nattractor of the system. In other words, anisotropies are damped within few\n$e$--folds and the chromo-natural model respects the cosmic no-hair conjecture.\nFurthermore, we demonstrate that in the slow-roll limit, the anisotropies in\nboth chromo-natural and gauge-flation models share the same dynamics.",
        "positive": "Path Integral Bosonization of the Massive Thirring Model: There is a conceptual error in the main argument of this paper (essentially a\nregularization scheme is changed in the middle of a calculation), and therefore\nit is withdrawn. Interested readers are instead referred to hep-th/9811137."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Nonperturbative infrared effects for light scalar fields in de Sitter\n  space: We study the phi^4 scalar field theory in de Sitter space using the 2PI\neffective action formalism. This formalism enables us to investigate the\nnonperturbative quantum effects. We use the mean field and gap equations and\ncalculate the physical mass and effective potential. We find that\nnonperturbative infrared effects on de Sitter space produce a curvature-induced\nmass and work to restore the broken Z_2 symmetry.",
        "positive": "Algebraic Properties of BRST Coupled Doublets: We characterize the dependence on doublets of the cohomology of an arbitrary\nnilpotent differential s (including BRST differentials and classical linearized\nSlavnov-Taylor (ST) operators) in terms of the cohomology of the\ndoublets-independent component of s. All cohomologies are computed in the space\nof local integrated formal power series. We drop the usual assumption that the\ncounting operator for the doublets commutes with s (decoupled doublets) and\ndiscuss the general case where the counting operator does not commute with s\n(coupled doublets). The results are purely algebraic and do not rely on\npower-counting arguments."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Magnetic Moments of Branes and Giant Gravitons: We study the magnetic analogue of Myers' Dielectric Effect and, in some\ncases, relate it to the blowing up of particles into branes, first investigated\nby Greevy, Susskind and Toumbas. We show that $D0$ branes or gravitons in M\ntheory, moving in a magnetic four-form field strength background expand into a\nnon-commutative two sphere. Both examples of constant magnetic field and\nnon-constant fields in curved backgrounds generated by branes are considered.\nWe find, in all cases, another solution, consisting of a two-brane wrapping a\nclassical two-sphere, which has all the quantum numbers of the $D0$ branes.\nMotivated by this, we investigate the blowing up of gravitons into branes in\nbackgrounds different from $AdS_m \\times S^n$. We find the phenomenon is quite\ngeneral. In many cases with less or even no supersymmetry we find a brane\nconfiguration which has the same quantum numbers and the same energy as a\nmassless particle in supergravity.",
        "positive": "Green-Schwarz String in AdS_5 x S^5: Semiclassical Partition Function: A systematic approach to the study of semiclassical fluctuations of strings\nin AdS_5 x S^5 based on the Green-Schwarz formalism is developed. We show that\nthe string partition function is well defined and finite. Issues related to\ndifferent gauge choices are clarified. We consider explicitly several cases of\nclassical string solutions with the world surface ending on a line, on a circle\nor on two lines on the boundary of AdS. The first example is a BPS object and\nthe partition function is one. In the third example the determinants we derive\nshould give the first corrections to the Wilson loop expectation value in the\nstrong coupling expansion of the n=4 SYM theory at large N."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Wave zone in the Ho\u0159ava-Lifshitz theory at the kinetic-conformal\n  point in the low energy regime: We show that in the Ho\\v{r}ava-Lifshitz theory at the kinetic-conformal\npoint, in the low energy regime, a wave zone for asymptotically flat fields can\nbe consistently defined. In it, the physical degrees of freedom, the transverse\ntraceless tensorial modes, satisfy a linear wave equation. The Newtonian\ncontributions, among which there are terms which manifestly break the\nrelativistic invariance, are non-trivial but do not obstruct the free\npropagation (radiation) of the physical degrees of freedom. For an appropriate\nvalue of the couplings of the theory, the wave equation becomes the\nrelativistic one in agreement with the propagation of the gravitational\nradiation in the wave zone of General Relativity. Previously to the wave zone\nanalysis, and in general grounds, we obtain the physical Hamiltonian of the\nHo\\v{r}ava-Lifshitz theory at the kinetic-conformal point in the constrained\nsubmanifold. We determine the canonical physical degrees of freedom in a\nparticular coordinate system. They are well defined fuctions of the\ntransverse-traceless modes of the metric and coincide with them in the wave\nzone and also at linearized level.",
        "positive": "Gravity and Yang-Mills Amplitude Relations: Using only general features of the S-matrix and quantum field theory, we\nprove by induction the Kawai-Lewellen-Tye relations that link products of gauge\ntheory amplitudes to gravity amplitudes at tree level. As a bonus of our\nanalysis, we provide a novel and more symmetric form of these relations. We\nalso establish an infinite tower of new identities between amplitudes in gauge\ntheories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Black hole entropy reveals a 12th \"dimension\": The Beckenstein-Hawking black hole entropy in string theory and its\nextensions, as expressed in terms of charges that correspond to central\nextensions of the supersymmetry algebra, has more symmetries than U-duality. It\nis invariant under transformations of the charges, involving a 12th (or 13th)\n``dimension''. This is an indication that the secret theory behind string\ntheory has a superalgebra involving Lorentz non-scalar extensions (that are not\nstrictly central), as suggested in S-theory, and which could be hidden in M- or\nF- theories. It is suggested that the idea of spacetime is broader than usual,\nand that a larger ``spacetime\" is partially present in black holes.",
        "positive": "Reducible higher-spin multiplets in flat and AdS spaces and their\n  geometric frame-like formulation: We consider the frame-like formulation of reducible sets of totally symmetric\nbosonic and fermionic higher-spin fields in flat and AdS backgrounds of any\ndimension, that correspond to so-called higher-spin triplets resulting from the\nstring-inspired BRST approach. The explicit relationship of the fields of\nhigher-spin triplets to the higher-spin vielbeins and connections is found. The\ngauge invariant actions are constructed including, in particular, the reducible\n(i.e. triplet) higher-spin fermion case in AdS_D space."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Geometry/Gauge Theory Duality and the Dijkgraaf-Vafa Conjecture: In this dissertation we discuss various issues concerning application of the\nDijkgraaf-Vafa (DV) conjecture to the study of supersymmetric gauge theories.\nThe DV approach is very powerful in that it provides a systematic way of\ncomputing the nonperturbative, often even exact, superpotential of the system,\nwhich was possible only on a case-by-case basis in the more traditional\napproach based on holomorphy and symmetry.\n  This conjecture has been checked for many nontrivial examples, but the range\nof its applicability remained unclear. We give an explicit example, Sp(N)\ntheory with antisymmetric tensor, which reveals the subtleties in applying the\nconjecture. We show that, the superpotential obtained by a straightforward\napplication of the DV approach starts to disagree with the standard gauge\ntheory result at N/2+1 loops. The same discrepancy is reproduced in the\ngeneralized Konishi anomaly method.\n  In order to look for the physical origin of the discrepancy, we consider the\nstring theory realization of the gauge theories by Calabi-Yau\ncompactifications. By closely analyzing the physics that accompanies the\ngeometric transitions involved, we clarify the prescription regarding when to\ninclude a glueball field as the physical field, and when to not. In particular,\nthe aforementioned discrepancy is resolved if we follow this prescription and\nintroduce a glueball field for the \"Sp(0)\" group.\n  Furthermore, we generalize the prescription to include flavors and\ndemonstrate that the matrix model computations with the generalized\nprescription correctly reproduce the gauge theory results.",
        "positive": "Generalizing the Swampland: Embedding $P(X, \\varphi)$ Inflationary\n  Theories in a Curved Multi-field Space: We study the general embedding of a $ P(X, \\varphi) $ inflationary theory\ninto a two-field theory with curved field space metric, which was proposed as a\npossible way to examine the relation between de Sitter Swampland conjecture and\n\\textit{k}-inflation. We show that this embedding method fits into the special\ntype of two-field model in which the heavy field can be integrated out at the\nfull action level. However, this embedding is not exact due to the upper bound\nof the effective mass of the heavy field. We quantify the deviation between the\nspeed of sound calculated via the $ P(X, \\varphi) $ theory and the embedding\ntwo-field picture to next leading order terms. We especially focus on the first\npotential slow roll parameter defined in the two-field picture and obtain an\nupper bound on it."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "String Unification and Threshold Corrections: The interpretation of the apparent unification of gauge couplings within\nsupersymmetric theories depends on uncertainties induced through heavy particle\nthresholds. While in standard grand unified theories these effects can be\nestimated easily, the corresponding calculations are quite complicated in\nstring unified theories and do exist only in models with unbroken $E_6$. We\npresent results for heavy particle thresholds in more realistic models with\ngauge group $SU(3)\\times SU(2)\\times U(1)$. Effects of Wilson line background\nfields as well as the universal part of the (rather mild) threshold corrections\nindicate a strong model dependence. We discuss the consequences of our results\nfor the idea of string unification without a grand unified gauge group.",
        "positive": "Statistical physics of black holes as quantum-mechanical systems: Some basic features of black-hole statistical mechanics are investigated,\nassuming that black holes respect the principles of quantum mechanics. Care is\nneeded in defining an entropy S_bh corresponding to the number of microstates\nof a black hole, given that the black hole interacts with its surroundings. An\nopen question is then the relationship between this entropy and the\nBekenstein-Hawking entropy S_BH. For a wide class of models with interactions\nneeded to ensure unitary quantum evolution, these interactions produce extra\nenergy flux beyond that predicted by Hawking. Arguments are then presented that\nthis results in an entropy S_bh that is smaller than S_BH. Correspondingly, in\nsuch scenarios equilibrium properties of black holes are modified. We examine\nquestions of consistency of such an inequality; if it is not consistent, that\nprovides significant constraints on models for quantum-mechanical black hole\nevolution."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non Local Observables and Confinement in BF Formulation of Yang-Mills\n  Theory: The vev's of the magnetic order-disorder operators in QCD are found in an\nexplicit calculation using the first order formulation of Yang-Mills theory.",
        "positive": "Killing-Yano equations and G-structures: We solve the Killing-Yano equation on manifolds with a $G$-structure for\n$G=SO(n), U(n), SU(n), Sp(n)\\cdot Sp(1), Sp(n), G_2$ and $Spin(7)$. Solutions\ninclude nearly-K\\\"ahler, weak holonomy $G_2$, balanced SU(n) and holonomy $G$\nmanifolds. As an application, we find that particle probes on $AdS_4\\times X$\ncompactifications of type IIA and 11-dimensional supergravity admit a ${\\cal\nW}$-type of symmetry generated by the fundamental forms. We also explore the\n${\\cal W}$-symmetries of string and particle actions in heterotic and common\nsector supersymmetric backgrounds. In the heterotic case, the generators of the\n${\\cal W}$-symmetries completely characterize the solutions of the gravitino\nKilling spinor equation, and the structure constants of the ${\\cal W}$-symmetry\nalgebra depend on the solution of the dilatino Killing spinor equation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Lagrangian quantum field theory in momentum picture. II. Free spinor\n  fields: Free spinor fields, with spin 1/2, are explored in details in the momentum\npicture of motion in Lagrangian quantum field theory. The field equations are\nequivalently written in terms of creation and annihilation operators and on\ntheir base the anticommutation relations are derived. Some problems concerning\nthe vacuum and state vectors of free spinor field are discussed. Several\nLagrangians, describing free spinor fields, are considered and the basic\nconsequences of them are investigated.",
        "positive": "Geometrical thermodynamics and P-V criticality of charged accelerating\n  AdS black holes: The unusual asymptotic structure of the accelerating black holes led to\nambiguity in their geometric characteristics and thermodynamic behavior.\nMotivated by the interesting properties of such black holes and the significant\nrole of electric charge and string tension on their structure, we study the\nthermodynamic behavior of these black holes by two methods and examine the\nchanges of free parameters on the thermal behavior of the black holes. First,\nwe investigate phase transition and thermal stability of the system through the\nuse of heat capacity in the non-extended phase space. We examine the effects of\nelectric charge, string tension and the cosmological constant on the phase\ntransition and stability of the system. We also find that to have a phase\ntransition, we have to apply some constraints on the free parameters. Then, we\nemploy the geometrical thermodynamic (GT) method to study phase transition and\ncompare the obtained results with those of the heat capacity. Next, we work in\nthe extended phase space by considering the cosmological constant as a\ndynamical pressure and evaluate the existence of van der Waals like phase\ntransition. We obtain critical quantities and study the effective role of\nelectric charge and string tension on these quantities. Finally, we make use of\nthe GT method in the extended phase space and find that the results of the GT\nmethod, heat capacity and $P-V$ diagram lead to a consistent conclusion."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dynamic and static properties of Quantum Hall and Harmonic Oscillator\n  systems on the non-commutative plane: We study two quantum mechanical systems on the noncommutative plane using a\nrepresentation independent approach. First, in the context of the Landau\nproblem, we obtain an explicit expression for the gauge transformation that\nconnects the Landau and the symmetric gauge in noncommutative space. This lead\nus to conclude that the usual form of the symmetric gauge\n$\\vec{A}=\\left(-\\frac{\\beta}{2}\\hat{Y},\\frac{\\beta}{2}\\hat{X}\\right)$, in which\nthe constant $\\beta$ is interpreted as the magnetic field, is not true in\nnoncommutative space. We also be able to establish a precise definition of\n$\\beta$ as function of the magnetic field, for which the equivalence between\nthe symmetric and Landau gauges is hold in noncommutative plane. Using the\nsymmetric gauge we obtain results for the spectrum of the Quantum Hall system,\nits transverse conductivity in the presence of an electric field and other\nstatic observables. These results amend the literature on Quantum Hall Effect\nin noncommutative plane in which the incorrect form of the symmetric gauge, in\nnoncommutative space, is assumed. We also study the non-equilibrium dynamics of\nsimple observables for this system. On the other hand, we study the dynamics of\nthe harmonic oscillator in non-commutative space and show that, in general, it\nexhibit quasi-periodic behavior, in striking contrast with its commutative\nversion. The study of the dynamics reveals itself as a most powerful tool to\ncharacterize and understand the effects of non-commutativity.",
        "positive": "On the stability and spectrum of non-supersymmetric AdS(5) solutions of\n  M-theory compactified on Kahler-Einstein spaces: Eleven-dimensional supergravity admits non-supersymmetric solutions of the\nform AdS(5)xM(6) where M(6) is a positive Kahler-Einstein space. We show that\nthe necessary and sufficient condition for such solutions to be stable against\nlinearized bosonic supergravity perturbations can be expressed as a condition\non the spectrum of the Laplacian acting on (1,1)-forms on M(6). For M(6)=CP(3),\nthis condition is satisfied, although there are scalars saturating the\nBreitenlohner-Freedman bound. If M(6) is a product S(2)xM(4) (where M(4) is\nKahler-Einstein) then there is an instability if M(4) has a continuous\nisometry. We show that a potential non-perturbative instability due to 5-brane\nnucleation does not occur. The bosonic Kaluza-Klein spectrum is determined in\nterms of eigenvalues of operators on M(6)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "String propagation in four-dimensional dyonic black hole background: We study string propagation in an exact, four-dimensional dyonic black hole\nbackground. The general solutions describing string configurations are obtained\nby solving the string equations of motion and constraints. By using the\ncovariant formalism, we also investigate the propagation of physical\nperturbations along the string in the given curved background.",
        "positive": "Quantum gravity and elementary particles from higher gauge theory: We give a brief overview how to couple general relativity to the Standard\nModel of elementary particles, within the higher gauge theory framework,\nsuitable for the spinfoam quantization procedure. We begin by providing a short\nreview of all relevant mathematical concepts, most notably the idea of a\ncategorical ladder, 3-groups and generalized parallel transport. Then, we give\nan explicit construction of the algebraic structure which describes the full\nStandard Model coupled to Einstein-Cartan gravity, along with the classical\naction, written in the form suitable for the spinfoam quantization procedure.\nWe emphasize the usefulness of the 3-group concept as a superior tool to\ndescribe gauge symmetry, compared to an ordinary Lie group, as well as the\npossibility to employ this new structure to classify matter fields and study\ntheir spectrum, including the origin of fermion families."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A note on the Gauge Symmetries of Unimodular Gravity: The symmetries of Unimodular Gravity are clarified somewhat.",
        "positive": "Physical ageing and new representations of some Lie algebras of local\n  scale-invariance: Indecomposable but reducible representations of several Lie algebras of local\nscale-transformations, including the Schr\\\"odinger and conformal Galilean\nalgebras, and some of their applications in physical ageing are reviewed. The\nphysical requirement of the decay of co-variant two-point functions for large\ndistances is related to analyticity properties in the coordinates dual to the\nphysical masses or rapidities."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Noncommutativity from Embedding Techniques: We apply the embedding method of Batalin-Tyutin for revealing noncommutative\nstructures in the generalized Landau problem. Different types of\nnoncommutativity follow from different gauge choices. This establishes a\nduality among the distinct algebras. An alternative approach is discussed which\nyields equivalent results as the embedding method. We also discuss the\nconsequences in the Landau problem for a non constant magnetic field.",
        "positive": "Generalized universality in the massive sine-Gordon model: A non-trivial interplay of the UV and IR scaling laws, a generalization of\nthe universality is demonstrated in the framework of the massive sine-Gordon\nmodel, as a result of a detailed study of the global behaviour of the\nrenormalization group flow and the phase structure."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Phase Transitions In M-Theory And F-Theory: Phase transitions are studied in $M$-theory and $F$-theory. In $M$-theory\ncompactification to five dimensions on a Calabi-Yau, there are\ntopology-changing transitions similar to those seen in conformal field theory,\nbut the non-geometrical phases known in conformal field theory are absent. At\nboundaries of moduli space where such phases might have been expected, the\nmoduli space ends, by a conventional or unconventional physical mechanism. The\nunconventional mechanisms, which roughly involve the appearance of tensionless\nstrings, can sometimes be better understood in $F$-theory.",
        "positive": "A Conformal Fixed-Point Equation for the Effective Average Action: A Legendre transform of the recently discovered conformal fixed-point\nequation is constructed, providing an unintegrated equation encoding full\nconformal invariance within the framework of the effective average action."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Rigid Supersymmetry from Conformal Supergravity in Five Dimensions: We study the rigid limit of 5d conformal supergravity with minimal\nsupersymmetry on Riemannian manifolds. The necessary and sufficient condition\nfor the existence of a solution is the existence of a conformal Killing vector.\nWhenever a certain $SU(2)$ curvature becomes abelian the backgrounds define a\ntransversally holomorphic foliation. Subsequently we turn to the question under\nwhich circumstances these backgrounds admit a kinetic Yang-Mills term in the\naction of a vector multiplet. Here we find that the conformal Killing vector\nhas to be Killing. We supplement the discussion with various appendices.",
        "positive": "Ungauging Schemes and Coulomb Branches of Non-simply Laced Quiver\n  Theories: Three-dimensional Coulomb branches have a prominent role in the study of\nmoduli spaces of supersymmetric gauge theories with $8$ supercharges in\n$3,4,5$, and $6$ dimensions. Inspired by simply laced $3$d $\\mathcal{N}=4$\nsupersymmetric quiver gauge theories, we consider Coulomb branches constructed\nfrom non-simply laced quivers with edge multiplicity $k$ and no flavor nodes.\nIn a computation of the Coulomb branch as the space of dressed monopole\noperators, a center-of-mass $U(1)$ symmetry needs to be ungauged. Typically,\nfor a simply laced theory, all choices of the ungauged $U(1)$ (i.e. all choices\nof ungauging schemes) are equivalent and the Coulomb branch is unique. In this\nnote, we study various ungauging schemes and their effect on the resulting\nCoulomb branch variety. It is shown that, for a non-simply laced quiver,\ninequivalent ungauging schemes exist which correspond to inequivalent Coulomb\nbranch varieties. Ungauging on any of the long nodes of a non-simply laced\nquiver yields the same Coulomb branch $\\mathcal{C}$. For choices of ungauging\nthe $U(1)$ on a short node of rank higher than $1$, the GNO dual magnetic\nlattice deforms such that it no longer corresponds to a Lie group, and\ntherefore, the monopole formula yields a non-valid Coulomb branch. However, if\nthe ungauging is performed on a short node of rank $1$, the one-dimensional\nmagnetic lattice is rescaled conformally along its single direction and the\ncorresponding Coulomb branch is an orbifold of the form\n$\\mathcal{C}/\\mathbb{Z}_k$. Ungauging schemes of $3$d Coulomb branches provide\na particularly interesting and intuitive description of a subset of actions on\nthe nilpotent orbits studied by Kostant and Brylinski arXiv:math/9204227. The\nungauging scheme analysis is carried out for minimally unbalanced $C_n$, affine\n$F_4$, affine $G_2$, and twisted affine $D_4^{(3)}$ quivers, respectively."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Black Holes in Supergravity and String Theory: We give an elementary introduction to black holes in supergravity and string\ntheory. The focus is on BPS solutions in four- and higher-dimensional\nsupergravity and string theory. Basic ideas and techniques are explained in\ndetail, including exercises with solutions.",
        "positive": "Lorentz-violating effects on topological defects generated by two real\n  scalar fields: The influence of a Lorentz-violation on soliton solutions generated by a\nsystem of two coupled scalar fields is investigated. Lorentz violation is\ninduced by a fixed tensor coefficient that couples the two fields. The\nBogomol'nyi method is applied and first-order differential equations are\nobtained whose solutions minimize energy and are also solutions of the\nequations of motion. The analysis of the solutions in phase space shows how the\nstability is modified with the Lorentz violation. It is shown explicitly that\nthe solutions preserve linear stability despite the presence of Lorentz\nviolation. Considering Lorentz violation as a small perturbation, an analytical\nmethod is employed to yield analytical solutions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Domain Walls for Two-Dimensional Renormalization Group Flows: Renormalization Group domain walls are natural conformal interfaces between\ntwo CFTs related by an RG flow. The RG domain wall gives an exact relation\nbetween the operators in the UV and IR CFTs. We propose an explicit algebraic\nconstruction of the RG domain wall between consecutive Virasoro minimal models\nin two dimensions. Our proposal passes a stringent test: it reproduces in\ndetail the leading order mixing of UV operators computed in the conformal\nperturbation theory literature. The algebraic construction can be applied to a\nvariety of known RG flows in two dimensions.",
        "positive": "Monopoles near the Planck Scale and Unification: Considering our (3+1)-dimensional space-time as, in some way, discrete or l\nattice with a parameter $a=\\lambda_P$, where $\\lambda_P$ is the Planck length,\nwe have investigated the additional contributions of lattice artifact monopoles\nto beta-functions of the renormalisation group equations for the running fine\nstructure constants $\\alpha_i(\\mu)$ (i=1,2,3 correspond to the U(1), SU(2) and\nSU(3) gauge groups of the Standard Model) in the Family Replicated Gauge Group\nModel (FRGGM) which is an extension of the Standard Model at high energies. It\nwas shown that monopoles have $N_{fam}$ times smaller magnetic charge in FRGGM\nthan in SM ($N_{fam}$ is the number of families in FRGGM). We have estimated al\nso the enlargement of a number of fermions in FRGGM leading to the suppression\nof the asymptotic freedom in the non-Abelian theory. We have shown that, in\ncontrast to the case of AntiGUT when the FRGGM undergoes the breakdown at\n$\\mu=\\mu_G\\sim 10^{18}$ GeV, we have the possibility of unification if the\nFRGGM-breakdown occurs at $\\mu_G\\sim 10^{14}$ GeV. By numerical calculations we\nobtained an example of the unification of all gauge interactions (including\ngravity) at the scale $\\mu_{GUT}\\approx 10^{18.4}$ GeV. We discussed the\npossibility of $[SU(5)]^3$ or $[SO(10)]^3$ (SUSY or not SUSY) unifications."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spinor description of $D=5$ massless low-spin gauge fields: Spinor description for the curvatures of $D=5$ Yang-Mills, Rarita-Schwinger\nand gravitational fields is elaborated. Restrictions imposed on the curvature\nspinors by the dynamical equations and Bianchi identities are analyzed. In the\nabsence of sources symmetric curvature spinors with $2s$ indices obey\nfirst-order equations that in the linearized limit reduce to Dirac-type\nequations for massless free fields. These equations allow for a higher-spin\ngeneralization similarly to $4d$ case. Their solution in the form of the\nintegral over Lorentz-harmonic variables parametrizing coset manifold\n$SO(1,4)/(SO(1,1)\\times ISO(3))$ isomorphic to the three-sphere is considered.\nSuperparticle model that contains such Lorentz harmonics as dynamical\nvariables, as well as harmonics parametrizing the two-sphere $SU(2)/U(1)$ is\nproposed. The states in its spectrum are given by the functions on $S^3$ that\nupon integrating over the Lorentz harmonics reproduce on-shell symmetric\ncurvature spinors for various massless supermultiplets of $D=5$ space-time\nsupersymmetry.",
        "positive": "Green functions of 2-dimensional Yang-Mills theories on nonorientable\n  surfaces: By using the path integral method , we calculate the Green functions of field\nstrength of Yang-Mills theories on arbitrary nonorientable surfaces in\nSchwinger-Fock gauge. We show that the non-gauge invariant correlators consist\nof a free part and an almost $x$-independent part. We also show that the gauge\ninvariant $n$-point functions are those corresponding to the free part , as in\nthe case of orientable surfaces."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Quantum Cohomology: We discuss a general quantum theoretical example of quantum cohomology and\nshow that various mathematical aspects of quantum cohomology have quantum\nmechanical and also observable significance.",
        "positive": "From dS to AdS and back: We describe in more detail the general relation uncovered in our previous\nwork between boundary correlators in de Sitter (dS) and in Euclidean anti-de\nSitter (EAdS) space, at any order in perturbation theory. Assuming the\nBunch-Davies vacuum at early times, any given diagram contributing to a\nboundary correlator in dS can be expressed as a linear combination of Witten\ndiagrams for the corresponding process in EAdS, where the relative coefficients\nare fixed by consistent on-shell factorisation in dS. These coefficients are\ngiven by certain sinusoidal factors which account for the change in coefficient\nof the contact sub-diagrams from EAdS to dS, which we argue encode\n(perturbative) unitary time evolution in dS. dS boundary correlators with\nBunch-Davies initial conditions thus perturbatively have the same singularity\nstructure as their Euclidean AdS counterparts and the identities between them\nallow to directly import the wealth of techniques, results and understanding\nfrom AdS to dS. This includes the Conformal Partial Wave expansion and, by\ngoing from single-valued Witten diagrams in EAdS to Lorentzian AdS, the\nFroissart-Gribov inversion formula. We give a few (among the many possible)\napplications both at tree and loop level. Such identities between boundary\ncorrelators in dS and EAdS are made manifest by the Mellin-Barnes\nrepresentation of boundary correlators, which we point out is a useful tool in\nits own right as the analogue of the Fourier transform for the dilatation\ngroup. The Mellin-Barnes representation in particular makes manifest\nfactorisation and dispersion formulas for bulk-to-bulk propagators in (EA)dS,\nwhich imply Cutkosky cutting rules and dispersion formulas for boundary\ncorrelators in (EA)dS. Our results are completely general and in particular\napply to any interaction of (integer) spinning fields."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The lowest modes around Gaussian solutions of tensor models and the\n  general relativity: In the previous paper, the number distribution of the low-lying spectra\naround Gaussian solutions representing various dimensional fuzzy tori of a\ntensor model was numerically shown to be in accordance with the general\nrelativity on tori. In this paper, I perform more detailed numerical analysis\nof the properties of the modes for two-dimensional fuzzy tori, and obtain\nconclusive evidences for the agreement. Under a proposed correspondence between\nthe rank-three tensor in tensor models and the metric tensor in the general\nrelativity, conclusive agreement is obtained between the profiles of the\nlow-lying modes in a tensor model and the metric modes transverse to the\ngeneral coordinate transformation. Moreover, the low-lying modes are shown to\nbe well on a massless trajectory with quartic momentum dependence in the tensor\nmodel. This is in agreement with that the lowest momentum dependence of metric\nfluctuations in the general relativity will come from the R^2-term, since the\nR-term is topological in two dimensions. These evidences support the idea that\nthe low-lying low-momentum dynamics around the Gaussian solutions of tensor\nmodels is described by the general relativity. I also propose a renormalization\nprocedure for tensor models. A classical application of the procedure makes the\npatterns of the low-lying spectra drastically clearer, and suggests also the\nexistence of massive trajectories.",
        "positive": "Asymptotic Symmetries and Electromagnetic Memory: Recent investigations into asymptotic symmetries of gauge theory and gravity\nhave illuminated connections between gauge field zero-mode sectors, the\ncorresponding soft factors, and their classically observable counterparts -- so\ncalled \"memories.\" Here we complete this triad for the case of large U(1) gauge\nsymmetries at null infinity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Future Boundary Conditions in De Sitter Space: We consider asymptotically future de Sitter spacetimes endowed with an\neternal observatory. In the conventional descriptions, the conformal metric at\nthe future boundary I^+ is deformed by the flux of gravitational radiation. We\nhowever impose an unconventional future \"Dirichlet\" boundary condition\nrequiring that the conformal metric is flat everywhere except at the conformal\npoint where the observatory arrives at I^+. This boundary condition violates\nconventional causality, but we argue the causality violations cannot be\ndetected by any experiment in the observatory. We show that the bulk-to-bulk\ntwo-point functions obeying this future boundary condition are not realizable\nas operator correlation functions in any de Sitter invariant vacuum, but they\ndo agree with those obtained by double analytic continuation from anti-de\nSitter space.",
        "positive": "Bulk locality and cooperative flows: We use the 'bit thread' formulation of holographic entanglement entropy to\nhighlight the distinction between the universally-valid strong subadditivity\nand the more restrictive relation called monogamy of mutual information (MMI),\nknown to hold for geometrical states (i.e. states of holographic theories with\ngravitational duals describing a classical bulk geometry). In particular, we\nprovide a novel proof of MMI, using bit threads directly. To this end, we\npresent an explicit geometrical construction of cooperative flows which we\nbuild out of disjoint thread bundles. We conjecture that our method applies in\na wide class of configurations, including ones with non-trivial topology,\ncausal structure, and time dependence. The explicit nature of the construction\nreveals that MMI is more deeply rooted in bulk locality than is the case for\nstrong subadditivity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dynamical (super)symmetry vacuum properties of the supersymmetric\n  Chern-Simons-matter model: By computing the two-loop effective potential of the D=3 N=1 supersymmetric\nChern-Simons model minimally coupled to a massless self-interacting matter\nsuperfield, it is shown that supersymmetry is preserved, while the internal\nU(1) and the scale symmetries are broken at two-loop order, dynamically\ngenerating masses both for the gauge superfield and for the real component of\nthe matter superfield.",
        "positive": "The analytic structure of conformal blocks and the generalized\n  Wilson-Fisher fixed points: We describe in detail the method used in our previous work arXiv:1611.10344\nto study the Wilson-Fisher critical points nearby generalized free CFTs,\nexploiting the analytic structure of conformal blocks as functions of the\nconformal dimension of the exchanged operator. Our method is equivalent to the\nmechanism of conformal multiplet recombination set up by null states. We\ncompute, to the first non-trivial order in the $\\epsilon$-expansion, the\nanomalous dimensions and the OPE coefficients of infinite classes of scalar\nlocal operators using just CFT data. We study single-scalar and\n$O(N)$-invariant theories, as well as theories with multiple deformations. When\navailable we agree with older results, but we also produce a wealth of new\nones. Unitarity and crossing symmetry are not used in our approach and we are\nable to apply our method to non-unitary theories as well. Some implications of\nour results for the study of the non-unitary theories containing partially\nconserved higher-spin currents are briefly mentioned."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A test of the circular Unruh effect using atomic electrons: We propose a test for the circular Unruh effect using certain atoms -\nfluorine and oxygen. For these atoms the centripetal acceleration of the outer\nshell electrons implies an effective Unruh temperature in the range 1000 - 2000\nK. This range of Unruh temperatures is large enough to shift the expected\noccupancy of the lowest energy level and nearby energy levels. In effect the\nUnruh temperature changes the expected pure ground state, with all the\nelectrons in the lowest energy level, to a mixed state with some larger than\nexpected occupancy of states near to the lowest energy level. Examining these\natoms at low background temperatures and finding a larger than expected number\nof electrons in low lying excited levels, beyond what is expected due to the\nbackground thermal excitation, would provide experimental evidence for the\nUnruh effect.",
        "positive": "Topological Masses From Broken Supersymmetry: We develop a formalism for computing one-loop gravitational corrections to\nthe effective action of D-branes. In particular, we study bulk to brane\nmediation of supersymmetry breaking in models where supersymmetry is broken at\nthe tree-level in the closed string sector (bulk) by Scherk-Schwarz boundary\nconditions, while it is realized on a collection of D-branes in a linear or\nnon-linear way. We compute the gravitational corrections to the fermion masses\n$m_{1/2}$ (gauginos or goldstino) induced from the exchange of closed strings,\nwhich are non-vanishing for world-sheets with Euler characteristic -1 (``genus\n3/2'') due to a string diagram with one handle and one hole. We show that the\ncorrections have a topological origin and that in general, for a small\ngravitino mass, the induced mass behaves as $m_{1/2}\\propto g^4 m_{3/2}$, with\n$g$ the gauge coupling. In generic orbifold compactifications however, this\nleading term vanishes as a consequence of cancellations caused by discrete\nsymmetries, and the remainder is exponentially suppressed by a factor of\n$\\exp(-1/\\alpha'm^2_{3/2})$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dual Vector Multiplet Coupled to Dual N=1 Supergravity in 10D: We couple in superspace a `dual' vector multiplet (C_{m_1... m_7}, \\l^\\alpha)\nto the dual version of N=1 supergravity (e_m{}^a, \\psi_m{}^\\alpha, M_{m_1...\nm_6}, \\chi_\\a,\\Phi) in ten-dimensions. Our new 7-form field C has its 8-form\nfield strength H dual to the 2-form field strength F of the conventional vector\nmultiplet. We have found that the H-Bianchi identity must have the form N\\wedge\nF, where N is the 7-form field strength in dual supergravity. We also see why\nonly the dual version of supergravity couples to the dual vector multiplet\nconsistently. The potential anomaly for the dual vector multiplet can be\ncancelled for the particular gauge group U(1)^{496} by the Green-Schwarz\nmechanism. As a by-product, we also give the globally supersymmetric Abelian\nDirac-Born-Infeld interactions for the dual vector multiplet for the first\ntime.",
        "positive": "Charge Expulsion from Black Brane Horizons, and Holographic Quantum\n  Criticality in the Plane: Quantum critical behavior in 2+1 dimensions is established via holographic\nmethods in a 5+1-dimensional Einstein gravity theory with gauge potential form\nfields of rank 1 and 2. These fields are coupled to one another via a\ntri-linear Chern-Simons term with strength k. The quantum phase transition is\nphysically driven by the expulsion of the electric charge from inside the black\nbrane horizon to the outside, where it gets carried by the gauge fields which\nacquire charge thanks to the Chern-Simons interaction. At a critical value\nk=k_c, zero temperature, and any finite value of the magnetic field, the IR\nbehavior is governed by a near-horizon Lifshitz geometry. The associated\ndynamical scaling exponent depends on the magnetic field. For k<k_c, the flow\ntowards low temperature is governed by a Reissner-Nordstrom-like black brane\nwhose charge and entropy density are non-vanishing at zero temperature. For k >\nk_c, the IR flow is towards the purely magnetic brane in AdS_6. Its\nnear-horizon geometry is AdS_4 \\times R^2, so that the entropy density vanishes\nquadratically with temperature, and all charge is carried by the gauge fields\noutside of the horizon."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum flux operators in higher spin theories: We construct Carrollian higher spin field theories by reducing the bosonic\nFronsdal theories in flat spacetime to future null infinity. We extend the\nPoincar\\'e fluxes to quantum flux operators which generate Carrollian\ndiffeomorphism, namely supertranslation and superrotation. These flux operators\nform a closed symmetry algebra once including a helicity flux operator which\nfollows from higher spin super-duality transformation. The super-duality\ntransformation is an angle-dependent transformation at future null infinity\nwhich generalizes the usual electro-magnetic duality transformation. The\nresults agree with the lower spin cases when restricting to $s=0,1,2$.",
        "positive": "On Exceptional 't Hooft Lines in 4D-Chern-Simons Theory: We study 't Hooft lines and the associated $\\mathcal{L}$- operators in\ntopological 4D Chern-Simons theory with gauge symmetry given by the exceptional\ngroups E$_{6}$ and E$_{7}$. We give their oscillator realisations and propose\ntopological gauge quivers encoding the properties of these topological lines\nwhere Darboux coordinates are interpreted in terms of topological fundamental\nmatter. Other related aspects are also described."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Deriving on-shell open string field amplitudes without using Feynman\n  rules: We present a series of new gauge invariant quantities in Witten's open string\nfield theory. They are defined for a given set of open string states which\nsatisfy the physical state condition around a classical solution. For known\nclassical solutions, we show that these gauge invariant quantities compute on\nshell tree-level scattering amplitudes around the correspondent D-brane\nconfiguration.",
        "positive": "Conformal mechanics on rotating Bertotti-Robinson spacetime: We investigate conformal mechanics associated with the rotating\nBertotti-Robinson (RBR) geometry found recently as the near-horizon limit of\nthe extremal rotating Einstein-Maxwell-dilaton-axion black holes. The solution\nbreaks the $SL(2,R)\\times SO(3)$ symmetry of Bertotti-Robinson (BR) spacetime\nto $SL(2,R)\\times U(1)$ and breaks supersymmetry in the sense of $N=4, d=4$\nsupergravity as well. However, it shares with BR such properties as confinement\nof timelike geodesics and discreteness of the energy of test fields on the\ngeodesically complete manifold. Conformal mechanics governing the radial\ngeodesic motion coincides with that for a charged particle in the BR background\n(a relativistic version of the De Alfaro-Fubini-Furlan model), with the\nazimuthal momentum playing the role of a charge. Similarly to the BR case, the\ntransition from Poincar\\'e to global coordinates leads to a redefinition of the\nHamiltonian making the energy spectrum discrete. Although the metric does not\nsplit into a product space even asymptotically, it still admits an\ninfinite-dimensional extension of $SL(2,R)$ as asymptotic symmetry. The latter\nis shown to be given by the product of one copy of the Virasoro algebra and\nU(1), the same being valid for the extremal Kerr throat."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Interaction of instantons in a gauge theory forcing their identical\n  orientation: A gauge theory model in which there exists a specific interaction between\ninstantons is considered. An effective action describing this interaction\npossesses a minimum when the instantons have identical orientation. The\nconsidered interaction might provide a phase transition into the state where\ninstantons have a preferred orientation. This phase of the gauge-field theory\nis important because it can give the description of gravity in the framework of\nthe gauge theory.",
        "positive": "Moving Mixed Branes in Compact Spacetime: In this article we present a general description of two moving branes in\npresence of the $B_{\\mu \\nu}$ field and gauge fields $A^{(1)}_{\\alpha_1}$ and\n$A^{(2)}_{\\alpha_2}$ on them, in spacetime in which some of its directions are\ncompact on tori. Some examples are considered to elucidate this general\ndescription. Also contribution of the massless states to the interaction is\nextracted. Boundary state formalism is a useful tool for these considerations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The vacuum state functional of interacting string field theory: We show that the vacuum state functional for both open and closed string\nfield theories can be constructed from the vacuum expectation values it must\ngenerate. The method also applies to quantum field theory and as an application\nwe give a diagrammatic description of the equivalance between Schrodinger and\ncovariant repreresentations of field theory.",
        "positive": "Supersymmetry,Shape Invariance and Exactly Solvable Noncentral\n  Potentials: Using the ideas of supersymmetry and shape invariance we show that the\neigenvalues and eigenfunctions of a wide class of noncentral potentials can be\nobtained in a closed form by the operator method. This generalization\nconsiderably extends the list of exactly solvable potentials for which the\nsolution can be obtained algebraically in a simple and elegant manner. As an\nillustration, we discuss in detail the example of the potential\n$$V(r,\\theta,\\phi)={\\omega^2\\over 4}r^2 + {\\delta\\over r^2}+{C\\over r^2\nsin^2\\theta}+{D\\over r^2 cos^2\\theta} + {F\\over r^2 sin^2\\theta sin^2\n\\alpha\\phi} +{G\\over r^2 sin^2\\theta cos^2\\alpha\\phi}$$ with 7 parameters.Other\nalgebraically solvable examples are also given."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Two-dimensional Yang-Mills theory: perturbative and instanton\n  contributions, and its relation to QCD in higher dimensions: Two different scenarios (light-front and equal-time) are possible for\nYang-Mills theories in two dimensions. The exact $\\bar q q$-potential can be\nderived in perturbation theory starting from the light-front vacuum, but\nrequires essential instanton contributions in the equal-time formulation. In\nhigher dimensions no exact result is available and, paradoxically, only the\nlatter formulation (equal-time) is acceptable, at least in a perturbative\ncontext.",
        "positive": "Superconducting phase transitions in 2+1 dimensional quantum field\n  theories modeling generalized polaronic interactions. Part I: Jahn-Teller\n  inspired models: We review the fundamentals of Jahn-Teller interactions and their field\ntheoretical modelings and show that a 2+1 dimensional gauge theory where the\ngauge field couples to \"flavored fermions\" arises in a natural way from a\ntwo-band model describing the dynamical Jahn-Teller effect. The theory exhibits\na second order phase transition to novel finite-temperature superconductivity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On a Deformation of 3-Branes: We construct an explicit class of solutions of type IIB supergravity that is\na smooth deformation of the 3-brane class of solutions. The solution is\nnonsupersymmetric and involves nontrivial dilaton and axion fields as well as\nthe standard 5-form field strength. One of the main features of the solution is\nthat for large values of the radius the deformation is small and it\nasymptotically approaches the undeformed 3-brane solution, signaling a\nrestoration of conformal invariance in the UV for the dual gauge theory. We\nsuggest that the supergravity deformation corresponds to a massive deformation\non the dual gauge theory and consequently the deformed theory has the\nundeformed one as an ultraviolet fixed point. In cases where the original\n3-brane solution preserves some amount of supersymmetry we suggest that the\ngauge theory interpretation is that of soft supersymmetry breaking. We discuss\nthe deformation for D3-branes on the conifold and the generalized conifold\nexplicitly. We show that the semiclassical behavior of the Wilson loop suggests\nthat the corresponding gauge theory duals are confining.",
        "positive": "Conserved charges and soliton solutions in affine Toda theory: We study the conserved charges of affine Toda field theories by making use of\nthe conformally invariant extension of these theories. We compute the values of\nall charges for the single soliton solutions, and show that these are related\nto eigenvectors of the Cartan matrix of the finite-dimensional Lie algebra\nunderlying the theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The upper critical magnetic field of holographic superconductor with\n  conformally invariant power-Maxwell electrodynamics: The properties of $(d-1)$-dimensional $s$-wave holographic superconductor in\nthe presence of power-Maxwell field is explored. We study the probe limit in\nwhich the scalar and gauge fields do not backreact on the background geometry.\nOur study is based on the matching of solutions on the boundary and on the\nhorizon at some intermediate point. At first, the case without external\nmagnetic field is considered, and the critical temperature is obtained in terms\nof the charge density, the dimensionality, and the power-Maxwell exponent.\nThen, a magnetic field is turned on in the $d$-dimensional bulk which can\ninfluence the $(d-1)$-dimensional holographic superconductor at the boundary.\nThe phase behavior of the corresponding holographic superconductor is obtained\nby computing the upper critical magnetic field in the presence of power-Maxwell\nelectrodynamics, characterized by the power exponent $q$. Interestingly, it is\nobserved that in the presence of magnetic field, the physically acceptable\nphase behavior of the holographic superconductor is obtained for $q={d}/{4}$,\nwhich guaranties the conformal invariance of the power-Maxwell Lagrangian. The\ncase of physical interest in five spacetime dimensions ($d=5$, and $q=5/4$) is\nconsidered in detail, and compared with the results obtained for the usual\nMaxwell electrodynamics $q=1$ in the same dimensions.",
        "positive": "A non-rational CFT with central charge 1: Two dimensional conformal field theories with central charge one are\ndiscussed. After a short review of theories based on one free boson, a\ndifferent CFT is described, which is obtained as a limit of minimal models."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Relativistic Bohmian mechanics from scalar gravity: In this article we show that the fundamental equations of relativistic\nBohmian mechanics for a single particle can be derived from a scalar theory of\ncurved space-time.",
        "positive": "Gauge Orbit Types for Theories with Classical Compact Gauge Group: We determine the orbit types of the action of the group of local gauge\ntransformations on the space of connections in a principal bundle with\nstructure group O(n), SO(n) or $Sp(n)$ over a closed, simply connected manifold\nof dimension 4. Complemented with earlier results on U(n) and SU(n) this\ncompletes the classification of the orbit types for all classical compact gauge\ngroups over such space-time manifolds. On the way we derive the classification\nof principal bundles with structure group SO(n) over these manifolds and the\nHowe subgroups of SO(n)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "F-Theorem without Supersymmetry: The conjectured F-theorem for three-dimensional field theories states that\nthe finite part of the free energy on S^3 decreases along RG trajectories and\nis stationary at the fixed points. In previous work various successful tests of\nthis proposal were carried out for theories with {\\cal N}=2 supersymmetry. In\nthis paper we perform more general tests that do not rely on supersymmetry. We\nstudy perturbatively the RG flows produced by weakly relevant operators and\nshow that the free energy decreases monotonically. We also consider large N\nfield theories perturbed by relevant double trace operators, free massive field\ntheories, and some Chern-Simons gauge theories. In all cases the free energy in\nthe IR is smaller than in the UV, consistent with the F-theorem. We discuss\nother odd-dimensional Euclidean theories on S^d and provide evidence that\n(-1)^{(d-1)/2} \\log |Z| decreases along RG flow; in the particular case d=1\nthis is the well-known g-theorem.",
        "positive": "Gauge bosons and the AdS_3/LCFT_2 correspondence: We study the relationship between the gauge boson coupled to spin 2 operator\nand the singleton in three-dimensional anti-de Sitter space(AdS$_3$). The\nsingleton can be expressed in terms of a pair of dipole ghost fields $A$ and\n$B$ which couple to $D$ and $C$ operators on the boundary of AdS$_3$. These\noperators form the logarithmic conformal field theory(LCFT$_2$). Using the\ncorrelation function for logarithmic pair, we calculate the greybody factor for\nthe singleton. In the low temperature limit of $\\omega \\gg T_{\\pm}$, this is\ncompared with the result of the bulk AdS$_3$ calculation of the gauge boson. We\nfind that the gauge boson cannot be realized as a model of the AdS$_3$/LCFT$_2$\ncorrespondence."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Massive Fields of Arbitrary Integer Spin in Symmetrical Einstein Space: We study the propagation of gauge fields with arbitrary integer spins in the\nsymmetrical Einstein space of any dimensionality. We reduce the problem of\nobtaining a gauge-invariant Lagrangian of integer spin fields in such\nbackground to an purely algebraic problem of finding a set of operators with\ncertain features using the representation of high-spin fields in the form of\nsome vectors of pseudo-Hilbert space. We consider such construction in the\nlinear order in the Riemann tensor and scalar curvature and also present an\nexplicit form of interaction Lagrangians and gauge transformations for massive\nparticles with spins 1 and 2 in terms of symmetrical tensor fields.",
        "positive": "On the quantum matrix string: We study the behavior of matrix string theory in the strong coupling region,\nwhere it is expected to reduce to discrete light-cone type IIA superstring. In\nthe large $N$ limit, the reduction corresponds to the double-dimensional\nreduction from wrapped supermembranes on $R^{10}\\times S^1$ to type IIA\nsuperstrings on $R^{10}$ in the light-cone gauge, which is shown classically,\nhowever it is not obvious quantum mechanically. We analyze the problem in\nmatrix string theory by using the strong coupling ($1/g$) expansion. We find\nthat the quantum corrections do not cancel out at $\\mathcal{O}(1/g^2)$.\nDetailed calculations can be seen in Ref.\\cite{UY}."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Localization of Bulk Matters on a Thick Anti-de Sitter Brane: In this paper, we investigate the localization and the mass spectra of\ngravity and various bulk matter fields on a thick anti-de Sitter (AdS) brane,\nby presenting the mass-independent potentials of the Kaluza-Klein (KK) modes in\nthe corresponding Schr\\\"{o}dinger equations. For gravity, the potential of the\nKK modes tends to infinity at the boundaries of the extra dimension, which\nleads to an infinite number of the bound KK modes. Although the gravity zero\nmode cannot be localized on the AdS brane, the massive modes are trapped on the\nbrane. The scalar perturbations of the thick AdS brane have been analyzed, and\nthe brane is stable under the scalar perturbations. For spin-0 scalar fields\nand spin-1 vector fields, the potentials of the KK modes also tend to infinity\nat the boundaries of the extra dimension, and the characteristic of the\nlocalization is the same as the case of gravity. For spin-1/2 fermions, by\nintroducing the usual Yukawa coupling $\\eta\\bar{\\Psi}\\phi\\Psi$ with the\npositive coupling constant $\\eta$, the four-dimensional massless left-chiral\nfermion and massive Dirac fermions are obtained on the AdS thick brane.",
        "positive": "Low Energy Processes Associated with Spontaneously Broken N=2\n  Supersymmetry: We consider low energy processes described by the N=2 supercurrent on its\npartially (to N=1) and spontaneously broken vacuum and the attendant\nNambu-Goldstone fermion (NGF), which the presence of the electric and magnetic\nFayet-Iliopoulos (FI) terms is responsible for. We show suppressions of\namplitudes decaying into the NGF as its momentum becomes small. In the\nlagrangian realization (namely, the model of arXiv:hep-th/0409060) of the\nconserved supercurrent, the NGF resides in the overall U(1), which is\nnonetheless not decoupled, and interacts with the SU(N) sector through\nnonderivative as well as derivative couplings. The low energy suppression is\ninstead accomplished by a cancellation between the annihilation diagram from\nthe Yukawa couplings and the contact four-Fermi terms. We give a complete form\nof the supercurrent and the model is recast in more transparent notation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "New agegraphic dark energy in Horava-Lifshitz cosmology: We investigate the new agegraphic dark energy scenario in a universe governed\nby Horava-Lifshitz gravity. We consider both the detailed and non-detailed\nbalanced version of the theory, we impose an arbitrary curvature, and we allow\nfor an interaction between the matter and dark energy sectors. Extracting the\ndifferential equation for the evolution of the dark energy density parameter\nand performing an expansion of the dark energy equation-of-state parameter, we\ncalculate its present and its low-redshift value as functions of the dark\nenergy and curvature density parameters at present, of the Horava-Lifshitz\nrunning parameter $\\lambda$, of the new agegraphic dark energy parameter $n$,\nand of the interaction coupling $b$. We find that $w_0=-0.82^{+0.08}_{-0.08}$\nand $w_1=0.08^{+0.09}_{-0.07}$. Although this analysis indicates that the\nscenario can be compatible with observations, it does not enlighten the\ndiscussion about the possible conceptual and theoretical problems of\nHorava-Lifshitz gravity.",
        "positive": "Microstates of Non-supersymmetric Black Holes: A five-dimensional dyonic black hole in Type-I theory is considered that is\nextremal but non-supersymmetric. It is shown that the Bekenstein-Hawking\nentropy of this black hole counts precisely the microstates of a D-brane\nconfiguration with the same charges and mass, even though there is no apparent\nsupersymmetric nonrenormalization theorem for the mass. A similar result is\nknown for the entropy at the stretched horizon of electrically charged,\nextremal, but non-supersymmetric black holes in heterotic string theory. It is\nargued that classical nonrenormalization of the mass may partially explain this\nresult."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "D-Branes in Coset Models: The analysis of D-branes in coset models G/H provides a natural extension of\nrecent studies on branes in WZW-theory and it has various interesting\napplications to physically relevant models. In this work we develop a reduction\nprocedure that allows to construct the non-commutative gauge theories which\ngovern the dynamics of branes in G/H. We obtain a large class of solutions and\ninterprete the associated condensation processes geometrically. The latter are\nused to propose conservation laws for the dynamics of branes in coset models at\nlarge level k. In super-symmetric theories, conserved charges are argued to\ntake their values in the representation ring of the denominator theory.\nFinally, we apply the general results to study boundary fixed points in two\nexamples, namely for parafermions and minimal models.",
        "positive": "Exact Geometries from Boundary Gravity: We show that the extremal Reissner-Nordstr\\\"{o}m type multi black holes in an\nemergent scenario are exact in General Relativity. It is shown that an axion in\nthe bulk together with a geometric torsion ensure the required energy-momentum\nto source the $(3$$+$$1)$ geometry in the Einstein tensor. Analysis reveals a\nsignificant role of dark energy to the curved space-time."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "No-interaction theorem without Hamiltonian and Lagrangian formalism:\n  invariant momentum on null cones: In a previous paper (G.Yoneda, Proc.R.Soc.London, A445,(1994),221), we proved\nthe no-interaction theorem for four particles with the assumption that the\n(linear and angular) momentum on space-like planes is invariant. In this paper,\nwe assume that the momentum on null cones is invariant and prove that there is\nno interaction for four particles.",
        "positive": "Holographic Entanglement Distillation from the Surface State\n  Correspondence: We study correlations between geometric subfactors living on the\nRyu-Takayanagi surface that bounds the entanglement wedge. Using the\nsurface-state correspondence and the bit threads program, we are able to\ncalculate mutual information and conditional mutual information between\nsubfactors. This enables us to count the shared Bell pairs between subfactors,\nand we propose an entanglement distillation procedure over these subsystems via\na SWAP gate protocol. We comment on extending to multipartite entanglement."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Mathematical Footing of Non-associative Geometry: Starting with a Hilbert space endowed with a representation of a unitary Lie\nalgebra and an action of a generalized Dirac operator, we develop a\nmathematical concept towards gauge field theories. This concept shares common\nfeatures with the non--commutative geometry a la Connes/Lott, differs from\nthat, however, by the implementation of unitary Lie algebras instead of\nassociative *-algebras. The general scheme is presented in detail and is\napplied to functions $\\otimes$ matrices.",
        "positive": "From k-essence to generalised Galileons: We determine the most general scalar field theories which have an action that\ndepends on derivatives of order two or less, and have equations of motion that\nstay second order and lower on flat space-time. We show that those theories can\nall be obtained from linear combinations of Lagrangians made by multiplying a\nparticular form of the Galileon Lagrangian by an arbitrary scalar function of\nthe scalar field and its first derivatives. We also obtain curved space-time\nextensions of those theories which have second order field equations for both\nthe metric and the scalar field. This provide the most general extension, under\nthe condition that field equations stay second order, of k-essence, Galileons,\nk-Mouflage as well as of the kinetically braided scalars. It also gives the\nmost general action for a scalar classicalizer, which has second order field\nequations. We discuss the relation between our construction and the Euler\nhierachies of Fairlie et al, showing in particular that Euler hierachies allow\none to obtain the most general theory when the latter is shift symmetric. As a\nsimple application of our formalism, we give the covariantized version of the\nconformal Galileon."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Black holes from CFT: Universality of correlators at large c: Two-dimensional conformal field theories at large central charge and with a\nsufficiently sparse spectrum of light states have been shown to exhibit\nuniversal thermodynamics. This thermodynamics matches that of AdS$_3$ gravity,\nwith a Hawking-Page transition between thermal AdS and the BTZ black hole. We\nextend these results to correlation functions of light operators. Upon making\nsome additional assumptions, such as large $c$ factorization of correlators, we\nestablish that the thermal AdS and BTZ solutions emerge as the universal\nbackgrounds for the computation of correlators. In particular, Witten diagrams\ncomputed on these backgrounds yield the CFT correlators, order by order in a\nlarge $c$ expansion, with exponentially small corrections. In pure CFT terms,\nour result is that thermal correlators of light operators are determined\nentirely by light spectrum data. Our analysis is based on the constraints of\nmodular invariance applied to the torus two-point function.",
        "positive": "Unstable Nambu-Goldstone modes: Nambu-Goldstone (NG) modes for 0-form and higher-form symmetries can become\nunstable in the presence of background fields. Examples include the instability\nof a photon with a time-dependent axion background or with a chirality\nimbalance, known as the chiral plasma instability, and the instability of a\ndynamical axion with a background electric field. We show that all these\nphenomena can be universally described by a symmetry algebra for 0-form and\nhigher-form symmetries. We prove a counting rule for the number of unstable NG\nmodes in terms of correlation functions of broken symmetry generators. Based on\nour unified description, we further give a simple new example where one of the\nNG modes associated with the spontaneous 0-form symmetry breaking $U(1) \\times\nU(1) \\to \\{1\\}$ becomes unstable."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetric Janus Solutions in Four Dimensions: We use maximal gauged supergravity in four dimensions to construct the\ngravity dual of a class of supersymmetric conformal interfaces in the theory on\nthe world-volume of multiple M2-branes. We study three classes of examples in\nwhich the $(1+1)$-dimensional defects preserve $(4,4)$, $(0,2)$ or $(0,1)$\nsupersymmetry. Many of the solutions have the maximally supersymmetric $AdS_4$\nvacuum dual to the $\\mathcal{N}=8$ ABJM theory on both sides of the interface.\nWe also find new special classes of solutions including one that interpolates\nbetween the maximally supersymmetric vacuum and a conformal fixed point with\n$\\mathcal{N}=1$ supersymmetry and $G_2$ global symmetry. We find another\nsolution that interpolates between two distinct conformal fixed points with\n$\\mathcal{N}=1$ supersymmetry and $G_2$ global symmetry. In eleven dimensions,\nthis $G_2$ to $G_2$ solution corresponds to a domain wall across which a\nmagnetic flux reverses orientation.",
        "positive": "Some properties of meta-stable supersymmetry-breaking vacua in\n  Wess-Zumino models: As a contribution to the current efforts to understand supersymmetry-breaking\nby meta-stable vacua, we study general properties of supersymmetry-breaking\nvacua in Wess-Zumino models: we show that tree-level degeneracy is generic,\nexplore some constraints on the couplings and present a simple model with a\nlong-lived meta-stable vacuum, ending with some generalizations to\nnon-renormalizable models."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Electric dipole moment induced by a QCD instanton in an external\n  magnetic field: In the chiral magnetic effect, there is a competition between a strong\nmagnetic field, which tends to project positively charged particles to have\nspin aligned along the magnetic field, and a chirality imbalance which may be\nproduced locally by a topologically nontrivial gauge field such as an\ninstanton. We study the properties of the Euclidean Dirac equation for a light\nfermion in the presence of both a constant abelian magnetic field and an SU(2)\ninstanton. In particular, we analyze the zero modes analytically in various\nlimits, both on R^4 and on the four-torus, in order to compare with recent\nlattice QCD results, and study the implications for the electric dipole moment.",
        "positive": "On Unitarity of Massive Gravity in Three Dimensions: We examine a unitarity of a particular higher-derivative extension of general\nrelativity in three space-time dimensions, which has been recently shown to be\nequivalent to the Pauli-Fierz massive gravity at the linearized approximation\nlevel, and explore a possibility of generalizing the model to higher space-time\ndimensions. We find that the model in three dimensions is indeed unitary in the\ntree-level, but the corresponding model in higher dimensions is not so due to\nthe appearance of non-unitary massless spin-2 modes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Decay constants in soft wall AdS/QCD revisited: Phenomenological AdS/QCD models, like hard wall and soft wall, provide\nhadronic mass spectra in reasonable consistency with experimental and (or)\nlattice results. These simple models are inspired in the AdS/CFT correspondence\nand assume that gauge/ gravity duality holds in a scenario where conformal\ninvariance is broken through the introduction of an energy scale.\n  Another important property of hadrons: the decay constant, can also be\nobtained from these models. However, a consistent formulation of an AdS/QCD\nmodel that reproduces the observed behavior of decay constants of vector meson\nexcited states is still lacking. In particular: for radially excited states of\nheavy vector mesons, the experimental data lead to decay constants that\ndecrease with the radial excitation level.\n  We show here that a modified framework of soft wall AdS/QCD involving an\nadditional dimensionfull parameter, associated with an ultraviolet energy\nscale, provides decay constants decreasing with radial excitation level. In\nthis version of the soft wall model the two point function of gauge theory\noperators is calculated at a finite position of the anti-de Sitter space radial\ncoordinate.",
        "positive": "T-symmetry in String Geometry Theory: String geometry theory is one of the candidates of non-perturbative\nformulation of string theory. In this paper, we have shown that dimensionally\nreduced string geometry theories have what we call T-symmetry. In case of the\ndimensional reduction in space-like directions, the T-symmetry transformation\ngives the T-dual transformation between the type IIA and IIB perturbative\nvacua. In case of the dimensional reduction in the direction of string geometry\ntime $\\bar{\\tau}$, the T-symmetry transformation is independent of the T-dual\ntransformation, and gives a symmetry that cannot be seen in the perturbative\nstring theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Vacuum expectation value of the energy-momentum tensor in a higher\n  dimensional compactified cosmic string spacetime: The main objective of this paper is to analyze the vacuum expectation value\n(VEV) of the energy-momentum tensor (EMT) associated with a charged scalar\nquantum field in a high-dimensional cosmic string spacetime admitting the\npresence of a magnetic flux running along the string's core. In addition, we\nalso assume that the coordinate along the string's axis is compactified to a\ncircle and presents an extra magnetic flux running along its center. This\ncompactification is implemented by imposing a quasiperiodic condition on the\nfield with an arbitrary phase $\\beta$. The calculation of the VEV of the EMT\nand field squared, are developed by using the positive-energy Wightman\nfunction. The latter is constructed by the mode sum of the complete set of\nnormalized bosonic wave-functions. Due to the compactification, two distinct\ncontributions take place. The first one corresponds to the VEV in a cosmic\nstring spacetime without compactification considering the magnetic interaction.\nSo, this term presents a contribution due to the non-trivial topology of the\nconical space, and an additional contribution due to the interaction between\nthe scalar field with the magnetic flux. The latter is a periodic function of\nthe magnetic flux with period equal to the quantum flux, $\\Phi_0=2\\pi/e$, and\ncorresponds to a Aharanov-Bhom type contribution. The second contribution is\ninduced by the compactification itself and depends on the magnetic flux along\nthe string's core. It is also an even function of the magnetic flux enclosed by\nthe string axis. Some asymptotic expressions for the VEVs of the\nenergy-momentum tensor and field squared are provided for specific limiting\ncases of the physical parameter of the model.",
        "positive": "Holographic Optics and Negative Refractive Index: In recent years a very exciting and intense activity has been devoted to the\nunderstanding and construction of materials that enjoy exotic optical\nproperties, such as a negative refractive index. Motivated by these\nexperimental and theoretical developments, we use the string-inspired idea of\nholography to study the electromagnetic response of a certain class of media:\nstrongly coupled relativistic systems that admit a dual gravitational\ndescription. Our results indicate that this type of media generally have a\nnegative refractive index. Moreover we observe that a negative refractive index\ncould be a common feature of relativistic hydrodynamic systems at low\nfrequencies."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Black hole entropy and quantum information: We review some recently established connections between the mathematics of\nblack hole entropy in string theory and that of multipartite entanglement in\nquantum information theory. In the case of N=2 black holes and the entanglement\nof three qubits, the quartic [SL(2)]^3 invariant, Cayley's hyperdeterminant,\nprovides both the black hole entropy and the measure of tripartite\nentanglement. In the case of N=8 black holes and the entanglement of seven\nqubits, the quartic E_7 invariant of Cartan provides both the black hole\nentropy and the measure of a particular tripartite entanglement encoded in the\nFano plane.",
        "positive": "Initial states and infrared physics in locally de Sitter spacetime: The long wavelength physics in a de Sitter region depends on the initial\nquantum state. While such long wavelength physics is under control for massive\nfields near the Hartle-Hawking vacuum state, such initial states make unnatural\nassumptions about initial data outside the region of causal contact of a local\nobserver. We argue that a reasonable approximation to a maximum entropy state,\none that makes minimal assumptions outside an observer's horizon volume, is one\nwhere a cutoff is placed on a surface bounded by timelike geodesics, just\noutside the horizon. For sufficiently early times, such a cutoff induces\nsecular logarithmic divergences with the expansion of the region. For massive\nfields, these effects sum to finite corrections at sufficiently late times. The\ndifference between the cutoff correlators and Hartle-Hawking correlators\nprovides a measure of the theoretical uncertainty due to lack of knowledge of\nthe initial state in causally disconnected regions. These differences are\nnegligible for primordial inflation, but can become significant during epochs\nwith very long-lived de Sitter regions, such as we may be entering now."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Causal propagation of constraints in bimetric relativity in standard 3+1\n  form: The goal of this work was to investigate the propagation of the constraints\nin the ghost-free bimetric theory where the evolution equations are in standard\n3+1 form. It is established that the constraints evolve according to a\nfirst-order symmetric hyperbolic system whose characteristic cone consists of\nthe null cones of the two metrics. Consequently, the constraint evolution\nequations are well-posed, and the constraints stably propagate.",
        "positive": "The quantum algebra of superspace: We present the complete set of $N=1$, $D=4$ quantum algebras associated to\nmassive superparticles. We obtain the explicit solution of these algebras\nrealized in terms of unconstrained operators acting on the Hilbert space of\nsuperfields. These solutions are expressed using the chiral, anti-chiral and\ntensorial projectors which define the three irreducible representations of the\nsupersymmetry on the superfields. In each case the space-time variables are\nnon-commuting and their commutators are proportional to the internal angular\nmomentum of the representation. The quantum algebra associated to the chiral or\nthe anti-chiral projector is the one obtained by the quantization of the\nCasalbuoni-Brink-Schwarz (superspin 0) massive superparticle. We present a new\nsuperparticle action for the (superspin 1/2) case and show that their wave\nfunctions are the ones associated to the irreducible tensor multiplet."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Wigner Surmise for Hermitian and Non-Hermitian Chiral Random Matrices: We use the idea of a Wigner surmise to compute approximate distributions of\nthe first eigenvalue in chiral Random Matrix Theory, for both real and complex\neigenvalues. Testing against known results for zero and maximal non-Hermiticity\nin the microscopic large-N limit we find an excellent agreement, valid for a\nsmall number of exact zero-eigenvalues. New compact expressions are derived for\nreal eigenvalues in the orthogonal and symplectic classes, and at intermediate\nnon-Hermiticity for the unitary and symplectic classes. Such individual Dirac\neigenvalue distributions are a useful tool in Lattice Gauge Theory and we\nillustrate this by showing that our new results can describe data from\ntwo-colour QCD simulations with chemical potential in the symplectic class.",
        "positive": "Sound waves in strongly coupled non-conformal gauge theory plasma: Gauge/string correspondence provides an efficient method to investigate gauge\ntheories. In this talk we discuss the results of the paper (to appear) by P.\nBenincasa, A. Buchel and A. O. Starinets, where the propagation of sound waves\nis studied in a strongly coupled non-conformal gauge theory plasma. In\nparticular, a prediction for the speed of sound as well as for the bulk\nviscosity is made for the N=2* gauge theory in the high temperature limit. As\nexpected, the results achieved show a deviation from the speed of sound and the\nbulk viscosity for a conformal theory. It is pointed out that such results\ndepend on the particular gauge theory considered."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On-shell recursion for massive fermion currents: We analyze the validity of BCFW recursion relations for currents of n - 2\ngluons and two massive quarks, where one of the quarks is off shell and the\nremaining particles are on shell. These currents are gauge-dependent and can be\nused as ingredients in the unitarity-based approach to computing one-loop\namplitudes. The validity of BCFW recursion relations is well known to depend on\nthe so-called boundary behavior of the currents as the momentum shift parameter\ngoes to infinity. With off-shell currents, a new potential problem arises,\nnamely unphysical poles that depend on the choice of gauge. We identify\nconditions under which boundary terms are absent and unphysical poles are\navoided, so that there is a natural recursion relation. In particular, we are\nable to choose a gauge in which we construct a valid shift for currents with at\nleast n - 3 gluons of the same helicity. We derive an analytic formula in the\ncase where all gluons have the same helicity. As by-products, we prove the\nvanishing boundary behavior of general off-shell objects in Feynman gauge, and\nwe find a compact generalization of Berends-Giele gluon currents with a generic\nreference spinor.",
        "positive": "A General Framework of Automorphic Inflation: Automorphic inflation is an application of the framework of automorphic\nscalar field theory, based on the theory of automorphic forms and\nrepresentations. In this paper the general framework of automorphic and modular\ninflation is described in some detail, with emphasis on the resulting\nstratification of the space of scalar field theories in terms of the group\ntheoretic data associated to the shift symmetry, as well as the automorphic\ndata that specifies the potential. The class of theories based on Eisenstein\nseries provides a natural generalization of the model of $j$-inflation\nconsidered previously."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Third order wave equation in Duffin-Kemmer-Petiau theory. Massive case: Within the framework of the Duffin-Kemmer-Petiau (DKP) formalism a more\nconsistent approach to the derivation of the third order wave equation obtained\nearlier by M. Nowakowski [Phys.Lett.A {\\bf 244} (1998) 329] on the basis of\nheuristic considerations is suggested. For this purpose an additional algebraic\nobject, the so-called $q$ - commutator ($q$ is a primitive cubic root of unity)\nand a new set of matrices $\\eta_{\\mu}$ instead of the original matrices\n$\\beta_{\\mu}$ of the DKP algebra are introduced. It is shown that in terms of\nthese $\\eta_{\\mu}$ matrices we have succeeded in reducing a procedure of the\nconstruction of cubic root of the third order wave operator to a few simple\nalgebraic transformations and to a certain operation of the passage to the\nlimit $z \\rightarrow q$, where $z$ is some complex deformation parameter\nentering into the definition of the $\\eta$ - matrices. A corresponding\ngeneralization of the result obtained to the case of the interaction with an\nexternal electromagnetic field introduced through the minimal coupling scheme\nis carried out and a comparison with M. Nowakowski's result is performed. A\ndetailed analysis of the general structure for a solution of the first order\ndifferential equation for the wave function $\\psi(x; z)$ is performed and it is\nshown that the solution is singular in the $z \\rightarrow q$ limit. The\napplication to the problem of construction within the DKP approach of the path\nintegral representation in parasuperspace for the propagator of a massive\nvector particle in a background gauge field is discussed.",
        "positive": "On Smooth Time-Dependent Orbifolds and Null Singularities: We study string theory on a non-singular time-dependent orbifold of flat\nspace, known as the `null-brane'. The orbifold group, which involves only\nspace-like identifications, is obtained by a combined action of a null Lorentz\ntransformation and a constant shift in an extra direction. In the limit where\nthe shift goes to zero, the geometry of this orbifold reproduces an orbifold\nwith a light-like singularity, which was recently studied by Liu, Moore and\nSeiberg (hep-th/0204168). We find that the backreaction on the geometry due to\na test particle can be made arbitrarily small, and that there are scattering\nprocesses which can be studied in the approximation of a constant background.\nWe quantize strings on this orbifold and calculate the torus partition\nfunction. We construct a basis of states on the smooth orbifold whose tree\nlevel string interactions are nonsingular. We discuss the existence of physical\nmodes in the singular orbifold which resolve the singularity. We also describe\nanother way of making the singular orbifold smooth which involves a sandwich\npp-wave."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Confinement and Asymptotic Freedom with Cooper pairs: One of the most profound aspects of the standard model of particle physics,\nthe mechanism of confinement binding quarks into hadrons, is not sufficiently\nunderstood. The only known semiclassical mechanism of confinement, mediated by\nchromo-electric strings in a condensate of magnetic monopoles still lacks\nexperimental evidence. Here we show that the infinite resistance\nsuperinsulating state, which emerges on the insulating side of the\nsuperconductor-insulator transition in superconducting films offers a\nrealization of confinement that allows for a direct experimental access. We\nfind that superinsulators realize a single-color version of quantum\nchromodynamics and establish the mapping of quarks onto Cooper pairs. We reveal\nthat the mechanism of superinsulation is the linear binding of Cooper pairs\ninto neutral \"mesons\" by electric strings. Our findings offer a powerful\nlaboratory for exploring and testing the fundamental implications of\nconfinement, asymptotic freedom, and related quantum chromodynamics phenomena\nvia desktop experiments on superconductors.",
        "positive": "Some exact solutions of all f(Ricci) theories in three dimensions: We find constant scalar curvature Type-N and Type-D solutions in all higher\ncurvature gravity theories with actions of the form f(Ricci) that are built on\nthe Ricci tensor, but not on its derivatives. In our construction, these higher\nderivative theories inherit some of the previously studied solutions of the\ncosmological topologically massive gravity and the new massive gravity field\nequations, once the parameters of the theories are adjusted. Besides the\ngeneric higher curvature theory, we have considered in some detail the examples\nof the quadratic curvature theory, the cubic curvature theory, and the\nBorn-Infeld extension of the new massive gravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Cancellation of energy-divergences in Coulomb gauge QCD: In the Coulomb gauge of nonabelian gauge theories there are in general, in\nindividual graphs, 'energy-divergences' on integrating over the loop energy\nvariable for fixed loop momentum. These divergences are avoided in the\nHamiltonian, phase-space formulation. But, even in this formulation,\nenergy-divergences re-appear at 2-loop order. We show in an example how these\ncancel between graphs as a consequence of Ward identities.",
        "positive": "Bethe Ansatz in Stringy Sigma Models: We compute the exact S-matrix and give the Bethe ansatz solution for three\nsigma-models which arise as subsectors of string theory in AdS(5)xS(5):\nLandau-Lifshitz model (non-relativistic sigma-model on S(2)),\nAlday-Arutyunov-Frolov model (fermionic sigma-model with su(1|1) symmetry), and\nFaddeev-Reshetikhin model (string sigma-model on S(3)xR)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Conformal bounds in three dimensions from entanglement entropy: The entanglement entropy of an arbitrary spacetime region $A$ in a\nthree-dimensional conformal field theory (CFT) contains a constant universal\ncoefficient, $F(A)$. For general theories, the value of $F(A)$ is minimized\nwhen $A$ is a round disk, $F_0$, and in that case it coincides with the\nEuclidean free energy on the sphere. We conjecture that, for general CFTs, the\nquantity $F(A)/F_0$ is bounded above by the free scalar field result and below\nby the Maxwell field one. We provide strong evidence in favor of this claim and\nargue that an analogous conjecture in the four-dimensional case is equivalent\nto the Hofman-Maldacena bounds. In three dimensions, our conjecture gives rise\nto similar bounds on the quotients of various constants characterizing the CFT.\nIn particular, it implies that the quotient of the stress-tensor two-point\nfunction coefficient and the sphere free energy satisfies $C_{\n\\scriptscriptstyle T} / F_0 \\leq 3/ (4\\pi^2 \\log 2 - 6\\zeta[3]) \\simeq 0.14887$\nfor general CFTs. We verify the validity of this bound for free scalars and\nfermions, general $O(N)$ and Gross-Neveu models, holographic theories,\n$\\mathcal{N}=2$ Wess-Zumino models and general ABJM theories.",
        "positive": "Graviton Vertices and the Mapping of Anomalous Correlators to Momentum\n  Space for a General Conformal Field Theory: We investigate the mapping of conformal correlators and of their anomalies\nfrom configuration to momentum space for general dimensions, focusing on the\nanomalous correlators $TOO$, $TVV$ - involving the energy-momentum tensor $(T)$\nwith a vector $(V)$ or a scalar operator ($O$) - and the 3-graviton vertex\n$TTT$. We compute the $TOO$, $TVV$ and $TTT$ one-loop vertex functions in\ndimensional regularization for free field theories involving conformal scalar,\nfermion and vector fields. Since there are only one or two independent tensor\nstructures solving all the conformal Ward identities for the $TOO$ or $TVV$\nvertex functions respectively, and three independent tensor structures for the\n$TTT$ vertex, and the coefficients of these tensors are known for free fields,\nit is possible to identify the corresponding tensors in momentum space from the\ncomputation of the correlators for free fields. This works in general $d$\ndimensions for $TOO$ and $TVV$ correlators, but only in 4 dimensions for $TTT$,\nsince vector fields are conformal only in $d=4$. In this way the general\nsolution of the Ward identities including anomalous ones for these correlators\nin (Euclidean) position space, found by Osborn and Petkou is mapped to the\nordinary diagrammatic one in momentum space. We give simplified expressions of\nall these correlators in configuration space which are explicitly Fourier\nintegrable and provide a diagrammatic interpretation of all the contact terms\narising when two or more of the points coincide. We discuss how the anomalies\narise in each approach [...]"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "NonMarkovian Abraham--Lorentz--Dirac Equation: Radiation Reaction\n  without Pathology: Motion of a point charge emitting radiation in an electromagnetic field obeys\nthe Abraham-Lorenz-Dirac (ALD) equation, with the effects of radiation reaction\nor self-force incorporated. This class of equations describing backreaction,\nincluding also the equations for gravitational self-force or Einstein's\nequation for cosmology driven by trace anomaly, contain third-order derivative\nterms. They are known to have pathologies like the possession of runaway\nsolutions, causality violation in pre-acceleration and the need for an extra\nsecond-order derivative initial condition. In our current program we reexamine\nthis old problem from the perspective of non-Markovian dynamics in open\nsystems, applied earlier to backreaction problems in the early universe. Here\nwe consider a harmonic atom coupled to a scalar field, which acts effectively\nlike a supra-Ohmic environment, as in scalar electrodynamics. Our analysis\nshows that a) there is no need for specifying a second derivative for the\ninitial condition; b) there is no pre-acceleration. These undesirable features\nin conventional treatments arise from an inconsistent Markovian assumption:\nthese equations were regarded as Markovian ab initio, not as a limit of the\nbackreaction-imbued non-Markovian equation of motion. If one starts with the\nfull non-Markovian dynamical equation and takes the proper Markovian limit\njudiciously, no harms are done. Finally, c) There is no causal relation between\nthe higher-derivative term in the equation of motion and the existence of\nrunaway solutions. If the charge has an effective size greater than this\ncritical value, its dynamics is stable. When this reasonable condition is met,\nradiation reaction understood and treated correctly in the non-Ohmic\nnon-Markovian dynamics still obeys a third-order derivative equation, but it\ndoes not require a second derivative initial condition, and there is no\npre-acceleration.",
        "positive": "Correlation functions of boundary field theory from bulk Green's\n  functions and phases in the boundary theory: In the context of the bulk-boundary correspondence we study the correlation\nfunctions arising on a boundary for different types of boundary conditions. The\nmost general condition is the mixed one interpolating between the Neumann and\nDirichlet conditions. We obtain the general expressions for the correlators on\na boundary in terms of Green's function in the bulk for the Dirichlet, Neumann\nand mixed boundary conditions and establish the relations between the\ncorrelation functions. As an instructive example we explicitly obtain the\nboundary correlators corresponding to the mixed condition on a plane boundary\n$R^d$ of a domain in flat space $R^{d+1}$. The phases of the boundary theory\nwith correlators of the Neumann and Dirichlet types are determined. The\nboundary correlation functions on sphere $S^d$ are calculated for the Dirichlet\nand Neumann conditions in two important cases: when sphere is a boundary of a\ndomain in flat space $R^{d+1}$ and when it is a boundary at infinity of Anti-De\nSitter space $AdS_{d+1}$. For massless in the bulk theory the Neumann\ncorrelator on the boundary of AdS space is shown to have universal logarithmic\nbehavior in all AdS spaces. In the massive case it is found to be finite at the\ncoinciding points. We argue that the Neumann correlator may have a dual\ntwo-dimensional description. The structure of the correlators obtained, their\nconformal nature and some recurrent relations are analyzed. We identify the\nDirichlet and Neumann phases living on the boundary of AdS space and discuss\ntheir evolution when the location of the boundary changes from infinity to the\ncenter of the AdS space."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Proposal On Culling & Filtering A Coxeter Group For 4D, N = 1\n  Spacetime SUSY Representations: We review the mathematical tools required to cull and filter representations\nof the Coxeter Group $BC_4$ into providing bases for the construction of\nminimal off-shell representations of the 4D, $ {\\cal N}$ = 1 spacetime\nsupersymmetry algebra. Of necessity this includes a description of the\nmathematical mechanism by which four dimensional Lorentz symmetry appears as an\nemergent symmetry in the context of one dimensional adinkras with four colors\ndescribed by the Coxeter Group $BC_4$.",
        "positive": "Localization of nonlocal cosmological models with quadratic potentials\n  in the case of double roots: Nonlocal cosmological models with quadratic potentials are considered. We\nstudy the action with an arbitrary analytic function F(\\Box_g), which has both\ndouble and simple roots. The formulae for nonlocal energy-momentum tensor,\nwhich correspond to double roots, have been obtained. The way to find\nparticular solutions for nonlocal Einstein equations in the case when F(\\Box_g)\nhas both simple and double roots has been proposed. One and the same functions\nsolve the initial nonlocal Einstein equations and the obtained local Einstein\nequations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Solitons on Noncommutative Torus as Elliptic Algebras and Elliptic\n  Models: For the noncommutative torus ${\\cal T}$, in case of the N.C. parameter\n$\\theta = \\frac{Z}{n}$ and the area of ${\\cal T}$ is an integer, we construct\nthe basis of Hilbert space ${\\cal H}_n$ in terms of $\\theta$ functions of the\npositions $z_i$ of $n$ solitons. The loop wrapping around the torus generates\nthe algebra ${\\cal A}_n$. We show that ${\\cal A}_n$ is isomorphic to the $Z_n\n\\times Z_n$ Heisenberg group on $\\theta$ functions. We find the explicit form\nfor the local operators, which is the generators $g$ of an elliptic $su(n)$,\nand transforms covariantly by the global gauge transformation of the Wilson\nloop in ${\\cal A}_n$. By acting on ${\\cal H}_n$ we establish the isomorphism of\n${\\cal A}_n$ and $g$. Then it is easy to give the projection operators\ncorresponding to the solitons and the ABS construction for generating solitons.\nWe embed this $g$ into the $L$-matrix of the elliptic Gaudin and C.M. models to\ngive the dynamics. For $\\theta$ generic case, we introduce the crossing\nparameter $\\eta$ related with $\\theta$ and the modulus of ${\\cal T}$. The\ndynamics of solitons is determined by the transfer matrix $T$ of the elliptic\nquantum group ${\\cal A}_{\\tau, \\eta}$, equivalently by the elliptic Ruijsenaars\noperators $M$. The eigenfunctions of $T$ found by Bethe ansatz appears to be\ntwisted by $\\eta$.",
        "positive": "Brans-Dicke theory in the local potential approximation: We study the Brans-Dicke theory with arbitrary potential within a functional\nrenormalization group framework. Motivated by the asymptotic safety scenario of\nquantum gravity and by the well-known relation between f(R) gravity and\nBrans-Dicke theory at the classical level, we concentrate our analysis on the\nfixed-point equation for the potential in four dimensions and with Brans-Dicke\nparameter omega equal to zero. For two different choices of gauge, we study the\nresulting equations by examining both local and global properties of the\nsolutions, by means of analytical and numerical methods. As a result of our\nanalysis we do not find any nontrivial fixed point in one gauge, but we find a\ncontinuum of fixed points in the other one. We interpret such inconsistency as\na result of the restriction to omega equal to zero, and thus we suggest that it\nindicates a failure of the equivalence between f(R) gravity and Brans-Dicke\ntheory at the quantum level."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Low energy dynamics from deformed conformal symmetry in quantum 4D N = 2\n  SCFTs: We determine the one-loop deformation of the conformal symmetry of a general\nN}=2 superconformally invariant Yang-Mills theory. The deformation is computed\nfor several explicit examples which have a realization as world-volume theories\non a stack of D3 branes. These include (i) N=4 SYM with gauge groups SU(N),\nUSp(2N) and SO(N); (ii) USp(2N) gauge theory with one hypermultiplet in the\ntraceless antisymmetric representation and four hypermultiplets in the\nfundamental; (iii) quiver gauge theory with gauge group SU(N)xSU(N) and two\nhypermultiplets in the bifundamental representations (N,\\bar N) and (bar N,N).\nThe existence of quantum corrections to the conformal transformations imposes\nrestrictions on the effective action which we study on a subset of the Coulomb\nbranch corresponding to the separation of one brane from the stack. In the N=4\ncase, the one-loop corrected transformations provide a realization of the\nconformal algebra; this deformation is shown to be one-loop exact. For the\nother two models, higher-loop corrections are necessary to close the algebra.\nRequiring closure, we infer the two-loop conformal deformation.",
        "positive": "Bound States of Dimensionally Reduced {SYM}_{2+1} at Finite N: We consider the dimensional reduction of N=1 {SYM}_{2+1} to 1+1 dimensions.\nThe gauge groups we consider are U(N) and SU(N), where N is finite. We\nformulate the continuum bound state problem in the light-cone formalism, and\nshow that any normalizable SU(N) bound state must be a superposition of an\ninfinite number of Fock states. We also discuss how massless states arise in\nthe DLCQ formulation for certain discretizations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetric Reducible Higher-Spin Multiplets in Various Dimensions: We construct, in D=3,4,6 and 10 space-time dimensions, supersymmetric\nLagrangians for free massless higher spin fields which belong to reducible\nrepresentations of the Poincare group.The fermionic part of these models\nconsists of spinor-tensor fields which are totally symmetrical with respect to\ntheir tensor indices, while the bosonic part contains totally symmetric tensor\nfields as well as the simplest mixed-symmetry fields. A peculiar feature of\nthese models is that they describe higher- and lower-spin supermultiplets in\ndifferent dimensions in a uniform way.",
        "positive": "Noncommutativity and logarithmic correction to the black hole entropy: We study the noncommutative corrections to the entropy of the\nReissner-Nordstr\\\"{o}m black hole using a $\\kappa$-deformed scalar probe within\nthe brick-wall framework. The noncommutativity is encoded in an Abelian\nDrinfeld twist constructed from the Killing vector fields of the\nReissner-Nordstr\\\"{o}m black hole. We show that the noncommutative effects\nnaturally lead to a logarithmic correction to the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy\neven at the lowest order of the WKB approximation. In contrast, such\nlogarithmic corrections in the commutative setup appear only after the quantum\neffects are included through higher order WKB corrections or through higher\nloop effects. Our analysis thus provides further evidence towards the\nhypothesis that the noncommutative framework is capable of encoding quantum\neffects in curved spacetime."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Casimir effect for massless minimally coupled scalar field between\n  parallel plates in de Sitter spacetime: Casimir effect for massless minimally coupled scalar field is studied. An\nexplicit answer for de Sitter spacetime is obtained and analized. Cosmological\nimplications of the result are discussed.",
        "positive": "Dirac spectrum and chiral condensate for QCD at fixed $\u03b8$-angle: We analyze the mass dependence of the chiral condensate for QCD at nonzero\n$\\theta$-angle and find that in general the discontinuity of the chiral\ncondensate is not on the support of the Dirac spectrum. To understand this\nbehavior we decompose the spectral density and the chiral condensate into\ncontributions from the zero modes, the quenched part, and a remainder which is\nsensitive to the fermion determinant and is referred to as the dynamical part.\nWe obtain general formulas for the contributions of the zero modes. Expressions\nfor the quenched part, valid for an arbitrary number of flavors, and for the\ndynamical part, valid for one and two flavors, are derived in the microscopic\ndomain of QCD. We find that at nonzero $\\theta$-angle the quenched and\ndynamical part of the Dirac spectral density are strongly oscillating with an\namplitude that increases exponentially with the volume $V$ and a period of\norder of $1/V$. The quenched part of the chiral condensate becomes\nexponentially large at $\\theta\\ne0$, but this divergence is canceled by the\ncontribution from the zero modes. The oscillatory behavior of the dynamical\npart of the density is essential for moving the discontinuity of the chiral\ncondensate away from the support of the Dirac spectrum. As important\nby-products of this work we obtain analytical expressions for the microscopic\nspectral density of the Dirac operator at nonzero $\\theta$-angle for both one-\nand two-flavor QCD with nonzero quark masses."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quasi-local conserved charges and holography: We construct a quasi-local formalism for conserved charges in a theory of\ngravity in the presence of matter fields which may have slow falloff behaviors\nat the asymptotic infinity. This construction depends only on equations of\nmotion and so it is irrespective of ambiguities in the total derivatives of the\nLagrangian. By using identically conserved currents, we show that this\nformalism leads to the same expressions of conserved charges as those in the\ncovariant phase space approach. At the boundary of the asymptotic AdS space, we\nalso introduce an identically conserved boundary current which has the same\nstructure as the bulk current and then show that this boundary current gives us\nthe holographic conserved charges identical with those from the boundary stress\ntensor method. In our quasi-local formalism we present a general proof that\nconserved charges from the bulk potential are identical with those from the\nboundary current. Our results can be regarded as the extension of the existing\nresults on the equivalence of conserved charges by the covariant phase space\napproach and by the boundary stress tensor method.",
        "positive": "On the equivalence between Implicit Regularization and Constrained\n  Differential Renormalization: Constrained Differential Renormalization (CDR) and the constrained version of\nImplicit Regularization (IR) are two regularization independent techniques that\ndo not rely on dimensional continuation of the space-time. These two methods\nwhich have rather distinct basis have been successfully applied to several\ncalculations which show that they can be trusted as practical, symmetry\ninvariant frameworks (gauge and supersymmetry included) in perturbative\ncomputations even beyond one-loop order.\n  In this paper, we show the equivalence between these two methods at one-loop\norder. We show that the configuration space rules of CDR can be mapped into the\nmomentum space procedures of Implicit Regularization, the major principle\nbehind this equivalence being the extension of the properties of regular\ndistributions to the regularized ones."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Linear relations among 4-point functions in the high energy limit of\n  string theory: The decoupling of zero-norm states leads to linear relations among 4-point\nfunctions in the high energy limit of string theory. Recently it was shown that\nthe linear relations uniquely determine ratios among 4-point functions at the\nleading order. The purpose of this paper is to extend the validity of the same\napproach to the next-to-leading order and higher orders.",
        "positive": "MHz Gravitational Waves from Short-term Anisotropic Inflation: We reveal the universality of short-term anisotropic inflation. As a\ndemonstration, we study inflation with an exponential type gauge kinetic\nfunction which is ubiquitous in models obtained by dimensional reduction from\nhigher dimensional fundamental theory. It turns out that an anisotropic\ninflation universally takes place in the later stage of conventional inflation.\nRemarkably, we find that primordial gravitational waves with a peak amplitude\naround $10^{-26}$ ~ $10^{-27}$ are copiously produced in high-frequency bands\n10MHz~100MHz. If we could detect such gravitational waves in future, we would\nbe able to probe higher dimensional fundamental theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Lorentz Anomaly and 1+1-Dimensional Radiating Black Holes: The radiation from the black holes of a 1+1-dimensional chiral quantum\ngravity model is studied. Most notably, a non-trivial dependence on a\nrenormalization parameter that characterizes the anomaly relations is uncovered\nin an improved semiclassical approximation scheme; this dependence is not\npresent in the naive semiclassical approximation.",
        "positive": "Flux-Induced Baryon Asymmetry: I propose that the primordial baryon asymmetry of the universe was induced by\nthe presence of a non-vanishing antisymmetric field background H_ijk across the\nthree space dimensions. This background creates a dilute (B-L)-number density\nin the universe cancelling the contribution from baryons and leptons. This\nsituation naturally appears if the U(1)_{B-L} symmetry is gauged and the\ncorresponding gauge boson gets a Stuckelberg mass by combining with an\nantisymmetric field B_ij. All these ingredients are present in D-brane models\nof particle physics. None of the Sakharov conditions are required."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Perturbative Equivalence Between the Hamiltonian and Lagrangian\n  Quantizations: The Hamiltonian (BFV) and Lagrangian (BV) quantization schemes are proved to\nbe equivalent perturbatively to each other. It is shown in particular that the\nquantum master equation being treated perturbatively possesses a local formal\nsolution.",
        "positive": "Environment-induced uncertainties on moving mirrors in quantum critical\n  theories via holography: Environment effects on a $n$-dimensional mirror from the strongly coupled\nd-dimensional quantum critical fields with a dynamic exponent $z$ in weakly\nsqueezed states are studied by the holographic approach. The dual description\nis a $n+1$-dimensional probe brane moving in the $d+1$-dimensional asymptotic\nLifshitz geometry with gravitational wave perturbations. Using the holographic\ninfluence functional method, we find that the large coupling constant of the\nfields reduces the position uncertainty of the mirror, but enhances the\nmomentum uncertainty. As such, the product of the position and momentum\nuncertainties is independent of the coupling constant. The proper choices of\nthe phase of the squeezing parameter might reduce the uncertainties,\nnevertheless large values of its amplitude always lead to the larger\nuncertainties due to the fact that more quanta are excited as compared with the\ncorresponding normal vacuum and thermal states. In the squeezed vacuum state,\nthe position and momentum of the mirror gain maximum uncertainties from the\nfield at the dynamic exponent $z=n+2$ when the same squeezed mode is\nconsidered. As for the squeezed thermal state, the contributions of thermal\nfluctuations to the uncertainties decrease as the temperature increases in the\ncase $1<z<n+2$, whereas for $z>n+2$ the contributions increase as the\ntemperature increases. These results are in sharp contrast with those in the\nenvironments of the relativistic free field. Some possible observable effects\nare discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Classical Scattering in $1+1$ Dimensional String Theory: We find the general solution to Polchinski's classical scattering equations\nfor $1+1$ dimensional string theory. This allows efficient computation of\nscattering amplitudes in the standard Liouville $\\times$ $c=1$ background.\nMoreover, the solution leads to a mapping from a large class of time-dependent\ncollective field theory backgrounds to corresponding nonlinear sigma models.\nFinally, we derive recursion relations between tachyon amplitudes. These may be\nsummarized by an infinite set of nonlinear PDE's for the partition function in\nan arbitrary time-dependent background.",
        "positive": "Duality of the Superstring in Superspace: The evolution of a closed NSR string is considered in the background of\nconstant graviton and antisymmetric fields. The $\\sigma$-model action is\nwritten in a manifestly supersymmetric form in terms of superfields. The first\norder formalism adopted for the closed bosonic string is generalised to\nimplement duality transformations and the constant dual backgrounds are\nobtained for the dual theory. We recover the $G \\rightarrow G^{-1}$ duality for\nthe case when antisymmetric tensor field is set to zero. Next, the case when\nthe backgrounds depend on one superfield, is also analysed. This scenario is\nsimilar to the cosmological case envisaged for the bosonic string. The explicit\nform of the duality transformation is given for this case."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Abelian Current Algebra and the Virasoro Algebra on the Lattice: We describe how a natural lattice analogue of the abelian current algebra\ncombined with free discrete time dynamics gives rise to the lattice Virasoro\nalgebra and corresponding hierarchy of conservation laws.",
        "positive": "Ultra-spinning exotic compact objects supporting static massless scalar\n  field configurations: Horizonless spacetimes describing highly compact exotic objects with\nreflecting (instead of absorbing) surfaces have recently attracted much\nattention from physicists and mathematicians as possible quantum-gravity\nalternatives to canonical classical black-hole spacetimes. Interestingly, it\nhas recently been proved that spinning compact objects with angular momenta in\nthe sub-critical regime ${\\bar a}\\equiv J/M^2\\leq1$ are characterized by an\ninfinite countable set of surface radii, $\\{r_{\\text{c}}({\\bar\na};n)\\}^{n=\\infty}_{n=1}$, that can support asymptotically flat static\nconfigurations made of massless scalar fields. In the present paper we study\nanalytically the physical properties of ultra-spinning exotic compact objects\nwith dimensionless angular momenta in the complementary regime ${\\bar a}>1$. It\nis proved that ultra-spinning reflecting compact objects with dimensionless\nangular momenta in the super-critical regime\n$\\sqrt{1-[{{m}/{(l+2)}}]^2}\\leq|{\\bar a}|^{-1}<1$ are characterized by a finite\ndiscrete family of surface radii, $\\{r_{\\text{c}}({\\bar\na};n)\\}^{n=N_{\\text{r}}}_{n=1}$, distributed symmetrically around $r=M$, that\ncan support spatially regular static configurations of massless scalar fields\n(here the integers $\\{l,m\\}$ are the harmonic indices of the supported static\nscalar field modes). Interestingly, the largest supporting surface radius\n$r^{\\text{max}}_{\\text{c}}({\\bar a})\\equiv \\text{max}_n\\{r_{\\text{c}}({\\bar\na};n)\\}$ marks the onset of superradiant instabilities in the composed\nultra-spinning-exotic-compact-object-massless-scalar-field system."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A new two-faced scalar solution and cosmological SUSY breaking: We propose a possible new way to resolve the long standing problem of strong\nsupersymmetry breaking coexisting with a small cosmological constant. We\nconsider a scalar component of a minimally coupled N=1 supermultiplet in a\ngeneral Friedmann-Robertson-Walker (FRW) expanding universe. We argue that a\ntiny term, proportional to H^2 ~ 10^(-122) in Plank's units, appearing in the\nfield equations due to this expansion will provide both, the small vacuum\nenergy and the heavy mass of the scalar supersymmetric partner. We present a\nnon-perturbative solution for the scalar field with an unusual dual-frequency\nbehavior. This solution has two characteristic mass scales related to the\nHubble parameter as H^(1/4) and H^(1/2) measured in Plank's units.",
        "positive": "$\u03ba$-Deformation of Poincar\u00e9 Superalgebra with Classical Lorentz\n  Subalgebra and its Graded Bicrossproduct Structure: The $\\kappa$-deformed $D=4$ Poincar{\\'e} superalgebra written in Hopf\nsuperalgebra form is transformed to the basis with classical Lorentz subalgebra\ngenerators. We show that in such a basis the $\\kappa$-deformed $D=4$ Poincare\nsuperalgebra can be written as graded bicrossproduct. We show that the\n$\\kappa$-deformed $D=4$ superalgebra acts covariantly on $\\kappa$-deformed\nchiral superspace."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Three-Point Form Factor Through Five Loops: We bootstrap the three-point form factor of the chiral part of the\nstress-tensor supermultiplet in planar $\\mathcal{N}=4$ super-Yang-Mills theory,\nobtaining new results at three, four, and five loops. Our construction employs\nknown conditions on the first, second, and final entries of the symbol,\ncombined with new multiple-final-entry conditions, ``extended-Steinmann-like''\nconditions, and near-collinear data from the recently-developed form factor\noperator product expansion. Our results are expected to give the maximally\ntranscendental parts of the $gg\\to Hg$ and $H\\to ggg$ amplitudes in the\nheavy-top limit of QCD. At two loops, the extended-Steinmann-like space of\nfunctions we describe contains all transcendental functions required for\nfour-point amplitudes with one massive and three massless external legs, and\nall massless internal lines, including processes such as $gg\\to Hg$ and\n$\\gamma^*\\to q\\bar{q}g$. We expect the extended-Steinmann-like space to contain\nthese amplitudes at higher loops as well, although not to arbitrarily high loop\norder. We present evidence that the planar $\\mathcal{N}=4$ three-point form\nfactor can be placed in an even smaller space of functions, with no independent\n$\\zeta$ values at weights two and three.",
        "positive": "Twistor Parametrization of Locally BPS Super-Wilson Loops: We consider the kinematics of the locally BPS super-Wilson loop in\n$\\mathcal{N}=4$ super-Yang-Mills with scalar coupling from a twistorial point\nof view. We find that the kinematics can be described either as\nsupersymmetrized pure spinors or as a point in $G_{2\\vert 2}(4\\vert 4) \\times\nG_{2\\vert 2}(4\\vert 4)$. In this description of the kinematics the\nscalar--scalar correlation function appearing in the one-loop evaluation of the\nsuper-Wilson loop can be neatly written as a sum of four super-determinants."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "New aspects of the Z$_{\\textrm 2}$ $\\times$ Z$_{\\textrm 2}$-graded 1D\n  superspace: induced strings and 2D relativistic models: A novel feature of the ${\\mathbb Z}_2\\times {\\mathbb Z}_2$-graded\nsupersymmetry which finds no counterpart in ordinary supersymmetry is the\npresence of $11$-graded exotic bosons (implied by the existence of two classes\nof parafermions). Their interpretation, both physical and mathematical,\npresents a challenge. The role of the \"exotic bosonic coordinate\" was not\nconsidered by previous works on the one-dimensional ${\\mathbb Z}_2\\times\n{\\mathbb Z}_2$-graded superspace (which was restricted to produce\npoint-particle models). By treating this coordinate at par with the other\ngraded superspace coordinates new consequences are obtained. The graded\nsuperspace calculus of the ${\\mathbb Z}_2\\times {\\mathbb Z}_2$-graded worldline\nsuper-Poincar\\'e algebra induces two-dimensional ${\\mathbb Z}_2\\times {\\mathbb\nZ}_2$-graded relativistic models; they are invariant under a new ${\\mathbb\nZ}_2\\times {\\mathbb Z}_2$-graded $2D$ super-Poincar\\'e algebra which differs\nfrom the previous two ${\\mathbb Z}_2\\times {\\mathbb Z}_2$-graded $2D$ versions\nof super-Poincar\\'e introduced in the literature. In this new superalgebra the\nsecond translation generator and the Lorentz boost are $11$-graded.\nFurthermore, if the exotic coordinate is compactified on a circle ${\\bf S}^1$,\na ${\\mathbb Z}_2\\times {\\mathbb Z}_2$-graded closed string with periodic\nboundary conditions is derived. The analysis of the irreducibility conditions\nof the $2D$ supermultiplet implies that a larger $(\\beta$-deformed, where\n$\\beta\\geq 0$ is a real parameter) class of point-particle models than the ones\ndiscussed so far in the literature (recovered at $\\beta=0$) is obtained. While\nthe spectrum of the $\\beta=0$ point-particle models is degenerate (due to its\nrelation with an ${\\cal N}=2$ supersymmetry), this is no longer the case for\nthe $\\beta> 0$ models.",
        "positive": "The fate of the type I non-BPS D7-brane: We describe the fate of the Type I non-BPS D7-brane, which is tachyonic but\ncarries a non-trivial K-theory $\\IZ_2$ charge. It decays to topologically\nnon-trivial gauge field configurations on the background D9-branes. In the\nuncompactified theory the decay proceeds to infinity, while with a transverse\ntorus the decay reaches a final state, a toron gauge configuration with\nvanishing Chern classes but non-trivial $\\IZ_2$ charge. A similar behaviour is\nobtained for the type I non-BPS D8-brane, and other related systems. We\nconstruct explicit examples of type IIB orientifolds with non-BPS D7-branes,\nwhich are hence non-supersymmetric, but for which supersymmetry is restored\nupon condensation of the tachyon. We also report on the interesting structure\nof non-BPS states of type IIA theory in the presence of an O6-plane, their\nM-theory lifts, the relation between string theory K-theory and M-theory\ncohomology, and its interplay with NS-NS charged objects. We discuss several\nnew effects, including: i) transmutation between NS-NS and RR torsion charges,\nii) non-BPS states classified by K-theory but not by cohomology in string\ntheory, but whose lift to M-theory is cohomological."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "R-charges, Chiral Rings and RG Flows in Supersymmetric\n  Chern-Simons-Matter Theories: We discuss the non-perturbative behavior of the U(1)_R symmetry in N=2\nsuperconformal Chern-Simons theories coupled to matter in the (anti)fundamental\nand adjoint representations of the gauge group, which we take to be U(N).\nInequalities constraining this behavior are obtained as consequences of\nspontaneous breaking of supersymmetry and Seiberg duality. This information\nreveals a web of RG flows connecting different interacting superconformal field\ntheories in three dimensions. We observe that a subclass of these theories\nadmits an ADE classification. In addition, we postulate new examples of Seiberg\nduality in N=2 and N=3 Chern-Simons-matter theories and point out interesting\nparallels with familiar non-perturbative properties in N=1 (adjoint) SQCD\ntheories in four dimensions where the exact U(1)_R symmetry can be determined\nusing a-maximization.",
        "positive": "Replica Symmetry Breaking and Phase Transitions in a PT Symmetric\n  Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev Model: We show that the low temperature phase of a conjugate pair of uncoupled,\nquantum chaotic, nonhermitian systems such as the Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev (SYK) model\nor the Ginibre ensemble of random matrices are dominated by replica symmetry\nbreaking configurations with a nearly flat free energy that terminates in a\nfirst order phase transition. In the case of the SYK model, we show explicitly\nthat the spectrum of the effective replica theory has a gap. These features are\nstrikingly similar to those induced by wormholes in the gravity path integral\nwhich suggests a close relation between both configurations. For a non-chaotic\nSYK, the results are qualitatively different: the spectrum is gapless in the\nlow temperature phase and there is an infinite number of second order phase\ntransitions unrelated to the restoration of replica symmetry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Celestial holography and AdS3/CFT2 from a scaling reduction of twistor\n  space: Celestial amplitudes obtained from Mellin transforming 4d momentum space\nscattering amplitudes contain distributional delta functions, hindering the\napplication of conventional CFT techniques. In this paper, we propose to bypass\nthis problem by recognizing Mellin transforms as integral transforms\nprojectivizing certain components of the angular momentum. It turns out that\nthe Mellin transformed wavefunctions in the conformal primary basis can be\nregarded as representatives of certain cohomology classes on the minitwistor\nspace of the hyperbolic slices of 4d Minkowski space. Geometrically, this\namounts to treating 4d Minkowski space as the embedding space of AdS3. By\nconsidering scattering of such on-shell wavefunctions on the projective spinor\nbundle PS of Euclidean AdS3, we bypass the difficulty of the distributional\nproperties of celestial correlators using the traditional AdS3/CFT2 dictionary\nand find conventional 2d CFT correlators for the scaling reduced Yang-Mills\ntheory living on the hyperbolic slices. In the meantime, however, one is\nrequired to consider action functionals on the auxiliary space PS, which\nintroduces additional difficulties. Here we provide a framework to work on the\nprojective spinor bundle of hyperbolic slices, obtained from a careful scaling\nreduction of the twistor space of 4d Minkowski spacetime.",
        "positive": "Generalized Integrability and two-dimensional Gravitation: We review the construction of generalized integrable hierarchies of partial\ndifferential equations, associated to affine Kac-Moody algebras, that include\nthose considered by Drinfel'd and Sokolov. These hierarchies can be used to\nconstruct new models of 2D quantum or topological gravity, as well as new $\\cal\nW$-algebras."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The spin jumping in the context of a QCD effective model: The tensor formulation for the effective theory of QCD vector ressonances,\nwhose model we denote by TEVR, is given by an antisymmetric tensor field and\ndescribes spin 1 particles. Our goal is to show, by diferent approaches, that\nthe Abelian version of this model presents the so called \"spin jumping\" when we\nconsider its massless limit. Classically we find, by the use of the equations\nof motion and the Hamiltonian constraint analysis, that the massive phase of\nthe model describes spin 1 particles while its massless phase describes spin 0\nparticles. By the quantum point of view we derive these conclusions via tree\nlevel unitarity analysis and the master action approach.",
        "positive": "Supersymmetric Casimir energy on $\\mathcal{N}=1$ conformal supergravity\n  backgrounds: We provide a first principles derivation of the supersymmetric Casimir energy\nof $\\mathcal{N}=1$ SCFTs in four dimensions using the supercharge algebra on\ngeneral conformal supergravity backgrounds that admit Killing spinors. The\nsuperconformal Ward identities imply that there exists a continuous family of\nconserved R-currents on supersymmetric backgrounds, as well as a continuous\nfamily of conserved currents for each conformal Killing vector. These\ncontinuous families interpolate between the consistent and covariant R-current\nand energy-momentum tensor. The resulting Casimir energy, therefore, depends on\ntwo continuous parameters corresponding to the choice of conserved currents\nused to define the energy and R-charge. This ambiguity is in addition to any\npossible scheme dependence due to local terms in the effective action. As an\napplication, we evaluate the general expression for the supersymmetric Casimir\nenergy we obtain on a family of backgrounds with the cylinder topology\n$\\mathbb{R}\\times S^3$ and admitting a single Majorana supercharge. Our result\nis a direct consequence of the supersymmetry algebra, yet it resembles more\nknown expressions for the non-supersymmetric Casimir energy on such backgrounds\nand differs from the supersymmetric Casimir energy obtained from the zero\ntemperature limit of supersymmetric partition functions. We defer a thorough\nanalysis of the relation between these results to future work."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "$\u03ba$-Poincar\u00e9-comodules, Braided Tensor Products and\n  Noncommutative Quantum Field Theory: We discuss the obstruction to the construction of a multiparticle field\ntheory on a $\\kappa$-Minkowski noncommutative spacetime: the existence of\nmultilocal functions which respect the deformed symmetries of the problem. This\nconstruction is only possible for a light-like version of the commutation\nrelations, if one requires invariance of the tensor product algebra under the\ncoaction of the $\\kappa$-Poincar\\'e group. This necessitates a braided tensor\nproduct. We study the representations of this product, and prove that\n$\\kappa$-Poincar\\'e-invariant N-point functions belong to an Abelian\nsubalgebra, and are therefore commutative. We use this construction to define\nthe 2-point Whightman and Pauli--Jordan functions, which turn out to be\nidentical to the undeformed ones. We finally outline how to construct a free\nscalar $\\kappa$-Poincar\\'e-invariant quantum field theory, and identify some\nopen problems.",
        "positive": "Low Energy Supersymmetry from Non-Geometry: We study a class of flux compactifications that have all the moduli\nstabilised, a high (GUT) string scale and a low (TeV) gravitino mass that is\ngenerated dynamically. These non-geometric compactifications correspond to type\nII string theories on SU(3)xSU(3) structure orientifolds. The resulting\nsuperpotentials admit, excluding non-perturbative effects, supersymmetric\nMinkowski vacua with any number of moduli stabilised. We argue that\nnon-perturbative effects are present and introduce terms in the superpotential\nthat are exponentially suppressed by the same moduli that appear\nperturbatively. These deform the supersymmetric Minkowski vacua to\nsupersymmetric AdS vacua with an exponentially small gravitino mass. The\nresulting vacua allow for low scale supersymmetry breaking which can be\nrealised by a number of mechanisms."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Anomalous Dimensions from a Spinning D5-Brane: We consider the anomalous dimension of a certain twist two operator in N=4\nsuper Yang-Mills theory. At strong coupling and large-N it is captured by the\nclassical dynamics of a spinning D5-brane. The present calculation generalizes\nthe result of Gubser, Klebanov and Polyakov (hep-th/0204051): in order to\ncalculate the anomalous dimension of a bound state of k coincident strings, the\nspinning closed string is replaced by a spinning D5 brane that wraps an S4\ninside the S5 part of the AdS5 times S5 metric.",
        "positive": "$U_q osp(2,2)$ Lattice Models: In this paper I construct lattice models with an underlying $U_q osp(2,2)$\nsuperalgebra symmetry. I find new solutions to the graded Yang-Baxter equation.\nThese {\\it trigonometric} $R$-matrices depend on {\\it three} continuous\nparameters, the spectral parameter, the deformation parameter $q$ and the\n$U(1)$ parameter, $b$, of the superalgebra. It must be emphasized that the\nparameter $q$ is generic and the parameter $b$ does not correspond to the\n`nilpotency' parameter of \\cite{gs}. The rational limits are given; they also\ndepend on the $U(1)$ parameter and this dependence cannot be rescaled away. I\ngive the Bethe ansatz solution of the lattice models built from some of these\n$R$-matrices, while for other matrices, due to the particular nature of the\nrepresentation theory of $osp(2,2)$, I conjecture the result. The parameter $b$\nappears as a continuous generalized spin. Finally I briefly discuss the problem\nof finding the ground state of these models."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The structure of the ground ring in critical $W_3$ gravity: By explicit calculation, I determine the structure of the ground ring of the\ncritical $W_3$ gravity and show that there is an $su(3)$ invariant quadratic\nrelation among the six basic elements. By using this result, I also construct\nsome discrete physical states of the critical $W_3$ gravity.",
        "positive": "Adiabatic Invariance of Oscillons/I-balls: Real scalar fields are known to fragment into spatially localized and\nlong-lived solitons called oscillons or $I$-balls. We prove the adiabatic\ninvariance of the oscillons/$I$-balls for a potential that allows periodic\nmotion even in the presence of non-negligible spatial gradient energy. We show\nthat such potential is uniquely determined to be the quadratic one with a\nlogarithmic correction, for which the oscillons/$I$-balls are absolutely\nstable. For slightly different forms of the scalar potential dominated by the\nquadratic one, the oscillons/$I$-balls are only quasi-stable, because the\nadiabatic charge is only approximately conserved. We check the conservation of\nthe adiabatic charge of the $I$-balls in numerical simulation by slowly varying\nthe coefficient of logarithmic corrections. This unambiguously shows that the\nlongevity of oscillons/$I$-balls is due to the adiabatic invariance."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Near horizon gravitational charges: In this paper, we study the near horizon symmetry and gravitational charges\nin the Newman-Penrose formalism. In particular we investigate the effect from\ntopological terms. We find that the Pontryagin term and Gauss-Bonnet term have\nsignificant influence on the near horizon charges and bring interesting novel\nfeatures. We show that the gravitational charge derived from a general class of\ntopological terms including the Pontryagin term and Gauss-Bonnet term can be\nobtained from the ambiguities of the symplectic potential.",
        "positive": "Untwisted Moduli and Internal Fermions in Free Fermionic Strings: We investigate the dependence of the number and type of untwisted moduli on\nthe boundary condition vectors of relistic free fermionic strings. The number\nof moduli is given by six minus the number of complex internal world--sheet\nfermions and the type of moduli is determined by the details of the\nworld--sheet left--right asymmetry of the boundary conditions for the internal\nfermions. We give a geometrical description of our results in terms of the\ntransformations of the compactified dimensions of $Z_2 \\times Z_2$ orbifolds.\nWe investigate all possible boundary conditions for the internal fermions and\nprove our results in general by showing that world--sheet supersymmetry\neliminates those boundary conditions which violate our results."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Lattice Topological Field Theory in Two Dimensions: The lattice definition of a two-dimensional topological field theory (TFT) is\ngiven generically, and the exact solution is obtained explicitly. In\nparticular, the set of all lattice topological field theories is shown to be in\none-to-one correspondence with the set of all associative algebras $R$, and the\nphysical Hilbert space is identified with the center $Z(R)$ of the associative\nalgebra $R$. Perturbations of TFT's are also considered in this approach,\nshowing that the form of topological perturbations is automatically determined,\nand that all TFT's are obtained from one TFT by such perturbations. Several\nexamples are presented, including twisted $N=2$ minimal topological matter and\nthe case where $R$ is a group ring.",
        "positive": "Gauge k-vortices: We consider gauge vortices in symmetry breaking models with a non-canonical\nkinetic term. This work extends our previous study on global topological\nk-defects (hep-th/0608071), including a gauge field. The model consists of a\nscalar field with a non-canonical kinetic term, while for the gauge field the\nstandard form of its kinetic term is preserved. Topological defects arising in\nsuch models, k-vortices, may have quite different properties as compared to\n``standard'' vortices. This happens because an additional dimensional parameter\nenters the Lagrangian for the considered model -- a ``kinetic'' mass. We\nbriefly discuss possible consequences for cosmology, in particular, the\nformation of cosmic strings during phase transitions in the early universe and\ntheir properties."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Lattice regularization of massive and massless integrable field theories: We show that integrable vertex and RSOS models with trigonometric Boltzmann\nweights and appropriate inhomogeneities provide a convenient lattice\nregularization for massive field theories and for the recently studied massless\nfield theories that interpolate between two non trivial conformal field\ntheories. Massive and massless S matrices are computed from the lattice Bethe\nansatz.",
        "positive": "Spectral interaction between universes: We derive a perturbative formula for the direct interaction between two\nfour-dimensional geometries. Based on the spectral action principle we give an\nexplicit potential up to the third order perturbation around the flat vacua. We\npresent the leading terms of the interaction as polynomials of the invariants\nof the two metrics and compare the expansion to the models of bimetric gravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Deformation of the Poincare Supergroup and $\u03ba$-deformed\n  Superspace: The classical $r$-matrix for $N=1$ superPoincar{\\'e} algebra, given by\nLukierski, Nowicki and Sobczyk is used to describe the graded Poisson structure\non the $N=1$ Poincar{\\'e} supergroup. The standard correspondence principle\nbetween the even (odd) Poisson brackets and (anti)commutators leads to the\nconsistent quantum deformation of the superPoincar{\\'e} group with the\ndeformation parameter $q$ described by fundamental mass parameter $\\kappa \\quad\n(\\kappa^{-1}=\\ln{q})$. The $\\kappa$-deformation of $N=1$ superspace as dual to\nthe $\\kappa$-deformed supersymmetry algebra is discussed.",
        "positive": "Reply to Comment on Dirac spectral sum rules for QCD in three dimensions: I reply to the comment by Dr S. Nishigaki (hep-th/0007042) to my papers Phys.\nRev. D61 (2000) 056005 and Phys. Rev. D62 (2000) 016005."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Wilson loops and topological phases in closed string theory: Using covariant phase space formulations for the natural topological\ninvariants associated with the world-surface in closed string theory, we find\nthat certain Wilson loops defined on the world-surface and that preserve\ntopological invariance, correspond to wave functionals for the vacuum state\nwith zero energy. The differences and similarities with the 2-dimensional QED\nproposed by Schwinger early are discussed.",
        "positive": "Complexity growth rate during phase transitions: We present evidences for the connection between the potential of different\nfields and complexity growth rates both in conformal and confining cases. By\nstudying different models, we also establish a strong connection between phase\ntransitions and the discontinuities in the complexity growth rates. In the\nfirst example, for the dyonic black holes which are dual to van der Waals\nfluids, we find a similar first order phase transition in the behavior of\ncomplexity growth rate. We then compare the Schwinger effect and also the\nbehavior of complexity in the AdS and AdS soliton backgrounds and comment on\nthe connection between them. Finally, in a general Gubser model of QCD, we\npresent the connections between the potentials, entropies, speed of sounds and\ncomplexity growth rates during crossover, first and second order phase\ntransitions and also the behavior of quasinormal modes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Noncommutative Standard Modelling: We present a noncommutative gauge theory that has the ordinary Standard Model\nas its low-energy limit. The model is based on the gauge group U(4) x U(3) x\nU(2) and is constructed to satisfy the key requirements imposed by\nnoncommutativity: the UV/IR mixing effects, restrictions on representations and\ncharges of matter fields, and the cancellation of noncommutative gauge\nanomalies. At energies well below the noncommutative mass scale our model flows\nto the commutative Standard Model plus additional free U(1) degrees of freedom\nwhich are decoupled due to the UV/IR mixing. Our model also predicts the values\nof the hypercharges of the Standard Model fields.",
        "positive": "Uniqueness of photon sphere for Einstein-Maxwell-dilaton black holes\n  with arbitrary coupling constant: The uniqueness of static asymptotically flat photon sphere for static black\nhole solution in Einstein-Maxwell-dilaton theory with arbitrary coupling\nconstant was proposed. Using the conformal positive energy theorem we show that\nthe dilaton sphere subject to the non-extremality condition authorizes a\ncylinder over a topological sphere."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "An Embedding of the BV Quantization into an N=1 Local Superfield\n  Formalism: We propose an N=1 superfield formulation of Lagrangian quantization in\ngeneral hypergauges by extending a reducible gauge theory to a superfield model\nwith a local dependence on a Grassmann parameter $\\theta$. By means of\n$\\theta$-local functions of the quantum and gauge-fixing actions in terms of\nDarboux coordinates on the antisymplectic manifold, we construct superfield\ngenerating functionals of Green's functions, including the effective action. We\nprove the gauge-independence of the S-matrix, obtain the Ward identities and\nestablish a relation of the proposed local quantization with the BV method and\nthe multilevel Batalin-Tyutin formalism.",
        "positive": "A Numerical Study of Gluon Scattering Amplitudes in N=4 Super Yang-Mills\n  Theory at Strong Coupling: We study gluon scattering amplitudes in N=4 super Yang-Mills theory at strong\ncoupling via the AdS/CFT correspondence. We solve numerically the discretized\nEuler-Lagrange equations on the square worldsheet for the minimal surface with\nlight-like boundaries in AdS spacetime. We evaluate the area of the surface for\nthe 4, 6 and 8-point amplitudes using worldsheet and radial cut-off\nregularizations. Their infrared singularities in the cut-off regularization are\nfound to agree with the analytical results near the cusp less than 5% at\n520x520 lattice points."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Twisted Noncommutative Field Theory: Wick-Voros vs Moyal: We present a comparison of the noncommutative field theories built using two\ndifferent star products: Moyal and Wick-Voros (or normally ordered). We compare\nthe two theories in the context of the noncommutative geometry determined by a\nDrinfeld twist, and the comparison is made at the level of Green's functions\nand S-matrix. We find that while the Green's functions are different for the\ntwo theories, the S-matrix is the same in both cases, and is different from the\ncommutative case.",
        "positive": "Statistical Mechanics of Multiply Wound D-Branes: The D-brane counting of black hole entropy is commonly understood in terms of\nexcitations carrying fractional charges living on long, multiply-wound branes\n(e.g. open strings with fractional Kaluza-Klein momentum). This paper addresses\nwhy the branes become multiply wound. Since multiply wound branes are T-dual to\nbranes evenly spaced around the compact dimension, this tendency for branes to\nbecome multiply wound can be seen as an effective repulsion between branes in\nthe T-dual picture. We also discuss how the fractional charges on multiply\nwound branes conspire to always form configurations with integer charge."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Additional analytically exact solutions for three-anyons: We present new family of exact analytic solutions for three anyons in a\nharmonic potential (or in free space) in terms of generalized harmonics on\n$S^3$, which supplement the known solutions. The new solutions satisfy the\nhard-core condition when $\\alpha={1\\over 3},1$ ($\\alpha$ being the statistical\nparameter) but otherwise, have finite non-vanishing two-particle colliding\nprobability density, which is consistent with self-adjointness of the\nHamiltonian. These solutions, however, do not have one-to-one mapping property\nbetween bosonic and fermionic spectra.",
        "positive": "DGP brane cosmology and quark-hadron phase transition: In the standard picture of cosmology it is predicted that a phase transition,\nassociated with chiral symmetry breaking after the electroweak transition, has\noccurred at approximately 10 \\mu seconds after the Big Bang to convert a plasma\nof free quarks and gluons into hadrons. We consider the quark-hadron phase\ntransition in a DGP brane world scenario within an effective model of QCD. We\nstudy the evolution of the physical quantities useful for the study of the\nearly universe, namely, the energy density, temperature and the scale factor\nbefore, during, and after the phase transition. Also, due to the high energy\ndensity in the early universe, we consider the quadratic energy density term\nthat appears in the Friedmann equation. In DGP brane models such a term\ncorresponds to the negative branch (\\epsilon=-1) of the Friedmann equation when\nthe Hubble radius is much smaller than the crossover length in 4D and 5D\nregimes. We show that for different values of the cosmological constant on a\nbrane, \\lambda, phase transition occurs and results in decreasing the effective\ntemperature of the quark-gluon plasma and of the hadronic fluid. We then\nconsider the quark-hadron transition in the smooth crossover regime at high and\nlow temperatures and show that such a transition occurs along with decreasing\nthe effective temperature of the quark-gluon plasma during the process of the\nphase transition."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The light asymptotic limit of conformal blocks in Toda field theory: We compute the light asymptotic limit of $A_{n-1}$ Toda conformal blocks by\nusing the AGT correspondence. We show that for certain class of CFT blocks the\ncorresponding Nekrasov partition functions in this limit are simplified\ndrastically being represented as a sum of a restricted class of Young diagrams.\nIn the particular case of $A_{2}$ Toda we also compute the corresponding\nconformal blocks using conventional CFT techniques finding a perfect agreement\nwith the results obtained from the Nekrasov partition functions.",
        "positive": "Deformed Lorentz Symmetry and High-Energy Astrophysics (III): Lorentz symmetry violation (LSV) can be generated at the Planck scale, or at\nsome other fundamental length scale, and naturally preserve Lorentz symmetry as\na low-energy limit (deformed Lorentz symmetry, DLS). DLS can have important\nimplications for ultra-high energy cosmic-ray physics (see papers\nphysics/0003080 - hereafter referred to as I -, astro-ph/0011181 and\nastro-ph/0011182, and references quoted in these papers). A crucial question is\nhow DLS can be extended to a deformed Poincar\\'e symmetry (DPS), and what can\nbe the dynamical origin of this phenomenon. In a recent paper (hep-th/0208064,\nhereafter referred to as II), we started a discussion of proposals to identify\nDPS with a symmetry incorporating the Planck scale (like doubly special\nrelativity, DSR) and suggested new ways in similar directions. Implications for\nmodels of quadratically deformed relativistic kinematics (QDRK) and linearly\ndeformed relativistic kinematics (LDRK) were also discussed. We pursue here our\nstudy of these basic problems, focusing on the possibility to relate deformed\nrelativistic kinematics (DRK) to new space-time dimensions and compare our QDRK\nmodel, in the form proposed since 1997, which the Kirzhnits-Chechin (KCh) and\nSato-Tati (ST) models. It is pointed out that, although the KCh model does not\nseem to work such as it was formulated, our more recent proposals can be\nrelated to suitable extensions of this model generalizing the Finsler algebras\n(even to situations where a preferred physical inertial frame exists) and using\nthe Magueijo-Smolin transformation as a technical tool."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Anyonic Chains, Topological Defects, and Conformal Field Theory: Motivated by the three-dimensional topological field theory / two-dimensional\nconformal field theory (CFT) correspondence, we study a broad class of\none-dimensional quantum mechanical models, known as anyonic chains, that can\ngive rise to an enormously rich (and largely unexplored) space of\ntwo-dimensional critical theories in the thermodynamic limit. One remarkable\nfeature of these systems is the appearance of non-local microscopic\n\"topological symmetries\" that descend to topological defects of the resulting\nCFTs. We derive various model-independent properties of these theories and of\nthis topological symmetry / topological defect correspondence. For example, by\nstudying precursors of certain twist and defect fields directly in the anyonic\nchains, we argue that (under mild assumptions) the two-dimensional CFTs\ncorrespond to particular modular invariants with respect to their maximal\nchiral algebras and that the topological defects descending from topological\nsymmetries commute with these maximal chiral algebras. Using this map, we apply\nproperties of defect Hilbert spaces to show how topological symmetries give a\nhandle on the set of allowed relevant deformations of these theories.\nThroughout, we give a unified perspective that treats the constraints from\ndiscrete symmetries on the same footing as the constraints from topological\nones.",
        "positive": "Finite Temperature Effect on Wilson Loop Mechanism: We evaluate the energy splitting of vacua appearing in the gauge theory in\nthe space $M_4\\times S^N/Z_2$ ($N=2,3,4,5,6$ and $7$). One-loop quantum effects\nwhich come from scalar and gauge fields are considered. We calculate them at\nzero temperature as well as in high-temperature limit. We find that in these\nsituations there is no breakdown of the gauge symmetry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Soap bubble hadronic states in a QCD-motivated Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model: Inhomogeneous solutions of the gap equation in the mean field approach to\nNambu-Jona-Lasinio model are studied. An approximate Ginzburg-Landau-like gap\nequation is obtained and the domain wall solution is found. Binding of fermions\nto the domain wall is demonstrated. Compact domain wall with bound fermions is\nstudied and stabilisation by fermion pressure is demonstrated which opens a\npossibility for existence of \"soap bubble\" hadronic states.",
        "positive": "Five-dimensional gauge theories on spheres with negative couplings: We consider supersymmetric gauge theories on $S^5$ with a negative Yang-Mills\ncoupling in their large $N$ limits. Using localization we compute the partition\nfunctions and show that the pure ${\\mathrm{SU}}(N)$ gauge theory descends to an\n${\\mathrm{SU}}(N/2)_{+N/2}\\times {\\mathrm{SU}}(N/2)_{-N/2}\\times\n{\\mathrm{SU}}(2)$ Chern-Simons gauge theory as the inverse 't Hooft coupling is\ntaken to negative infinity for $N$ even. The Yang-Mills coupling of the\n${\\mathrm{SU}}(N/2)_{\\pm N/2}$ is positive and infinite, while that on the\n${\\mathrm{SU}}(2)$ goes to zero. We also show that the odd $N$ case has\nsomewhat different behavior. We then study the ${\\mathrm{SU}}(N/2)_{N/2}$ pure\nChern-Simons theory. While the eigenvalue density is only found numerically, we\nshow that its width equals $1$ in units of the inverse sphere radius, which\nallows us to find the leading correction to the free energy when turning on the\nYang-Mills term. We then consider ${\\mathrm{USp}}(2N)$ theories with an\nantisymmetric hypermultiplet and $N_f<8$ fundamental hypermultiplets and carry\nout a similar analysis. Along the way we show that the one-instanton\ncontribution to the partition function remains exponentially suppressed at\nnegative coupling for the ${\\mathrm{SU}}(N)$ theories in the large $N$ limit."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Marginal Operators in Boundary Conformal Field Theory: The presence of a boundary (or defect) in a conformal field theory allows one\nto generalize the notion of an exactly marginal deformation. Without a\nboundary, one must find an operator of protected scaling dimension $\\Delta$\nequal to the space-time dimension $d$ of the conformal field theory, while with\na boundary, as long as the operator dimension is protected, one can make up for\nthe difference $d-\\Delta$ by including a factor $z^{\\Delta-d}$ in the\ndeformation where $z$ is the distance from the boundary. This coordinate\ndependence does not lead to a reduction in the underlying $SO(d,1)$ global\nconformal symmetry group of the boundary conformal field theory. We show that\nsuch terms can arise from boundary flows in interacting field theories.\nUltimately, we would like to be able to characterize what types of boundary\nconformal field theories live on the orbits of such deformations. As a first\nstep, we consider a free scalar with a conformally invariant mass term $z^{-2}\n\\phi^2$, and a fermion with a similar mass. We find a connection to double\ntrace deformations in the AdS/CFT literature.",
        "positive": "Radiative corrections to the Casimir effect for the massive scalar field: We compute the $O(\\lambda)$ correction to the Casimir energy for the massive\n$\\lambda\\phi^4$ model confined between a pair of parallel plates. The\ncalculations are made with Dirichlet and Neumann boundary conditions. The\ncorrection is shown to be sensitive to the boundary conditions, except in the\nzero mass limit, in which case our results agree with those found in the\nliterature."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Bootstrapping SCFTs with Four Supercharges: We study the constraints imposed by superconformal symmetry, crossing\nsymmetry, and unitarity for theories with four supercharges in spacetime\ndimension $2\\leq d\\leq 4$. We show how superconformal algebras with four\nPoincar\\'{e} supercharges can be treated in a formalism applicable to any, in\nprinciple continuous, value of $d$ and use this to construct the superconformal\nblocks for any $d\\leq 4$. We then use numerical bootstrap techniques to derive\nupper bounds on the conformal dimension of the first unprotected operator\nappearing in the OPE of a chiral and an anti-chiral superconformal primary. We\nobtain an intriguing structure of three distinct kinks. We argue that one of\nthe kinks smoothly interpolates between the $d=2$, $\\mathcal N=(2,2)$ minimal\nmodel with central charge $c=1$ and the theory of a free chiral multiplet in\n$d=4$, passing through the critical Wess-Zumino model with cubic superpotential\nin intermediate dimensions.",
        "positive": "On a family of $\u03b1'$-corrected solutions of the Heterotic\n  Superstring effective action: We compute explicitly the first-order in $\\alpha'$ corrections to a family of\nsolutions of the Heterotic Superstring effective action that describes\nfundamental strings with momentum along themselves, parallel to solitonic\n5-branes with Kaluza-Klein monopoles (Gibbons-Hawking metrics) in their\ntransverse space. These solutions correspond to 4-charge extremal black holes\nin 4 dimensions upon dimensional reduction on $\\mathrm{T}^{6}$. We show that\nsome of the $\\alpha'$ corrections can be cancelled by introducing solitonic\n$\\mathrm{SU}(2)\\times \\mathrm{SU}(2)$ Yang-Mills fields, and that this family\nof $\\alpha'$-corrected solutions is invariant under $\\alpha'$-corrected\nT-duality transformations. We study in detail the mechanism that allows us to\ncompute explicitly these $\\alpha'$ corrections for the ansatz considered here,\nbased on a generalization of the 't Hooft ansatz to hyperK\\\"ahler spaces."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Sur un syst\u00e8me int\u00e9grable \u00e0 bord: [French] We develop new applications of Sklyanin's $K$-matrix formalism to\nthe study of periodic solutions of the sinh-Gordon equation.",
        "positive": "An Action for Extended String Newton-Cartan Gravity: We construct an action for four-dimensional extended string Newton-Cartan\ngravity which is an extension of the string Newton-Cartan gravity that\nunderlies nonrelativistic string theory. The action can be obtained as a\nnonrelativistic limit of the Einstein-Hilbert action in General Relativity\naugmented with a term that contains an auxiliary two-form and one-form gauge\nfield that both have zero flux on-shell. The four-dimensional extended string\nNewton-Cartan gravity is based on a central extension of the algebra that\nunderlies string Newton-Cartan gravity.\n  The construction is similar to the earlier construction of a\nthree-dimensional Chern-Simons action for extended Newton-Cartan gravity, which\nis based on a central extension of the algebra that underlies Newton-Cartan\ngravity. We show that this three-dimensional action is naturally obtained from\nthe four-dimensional action by a reduction over the spatial isometry direction\nlongitudinal to the string followed by a truncation of the extended string\nNewton-Cartan gravity fields. Our construction can be seen as a special case of\nthe construction of an action for extended p-brane Newton-Cartan gravity in p+3\ndimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "BKM Lie superalgebra for the Z_5 orbifolded CHL string: We study the Z_5-orbifolding of the CHL string theory by explicitly\nconstructing the modular form tilde{Phi}_2 generating the degeneracies of the\n1/4-BPS states in the theory. Since the additive seed for the sum form is a\nweak Jacobi form in this case, a mismatch is found between the modular forms\ngenerated from the additive lift and the product form derived from threshold\ncorrections. We also construct the BKM Lie superalgebra, tilde{G}_5,\ncorresponding to the modular form tilde{Delta}_1 (Z) = tilde{Phi}_2 (Z)^{1/2}\nwhich happens to be a hyperbolic algebra. This is the first occurrence of a\nhyperbolic BKM Lie superalgebra. We also study the walls of marginal stability\nof this theory in detail, and extend the arithmetic structure found by Cheng\nand Dabholkar for the N=1,2,3 orbifoldings to the N=4,5 and 6 models, all of\nwhich have an infinite number of walls in the fundamental domain. We find that\nanalogous to the Stern-Brocot tree, which generated the intercepts of the walls\non the real line, the intercepts for the N >3 cases are generated by linear\nrecurrence relations. Using the correspondence between the walls of marginal\nstability and the walls of the Weyl chamber of the corresponding BKM Lie\nsuperalgebra, we propose the Cartan matrices for the BKM Lie superalgebras\ncorresponding to the N=5 and 6 models.",
        "positive": "The classical double copy for Taub-NUT spacetime: The double copy is a much-studied relationship between gauge theory and\ngravity amplitudes. Recently, this was generalised to an infinite family of\nclassical solutions to Einstein's equations, namely stationary Kerr-Schild\ngeometries. In this paper, we extend this to the Taub-NUT solution in gravity,\nwhich has a double Kerr-Schild form. The single copy of this solution is a\ndyon, whose electric and magnetic charges are related to the mass and NUT\ncharge in the gravity theory. Finally, we find hints that the classical double\ncopy extends to curved background geometries."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Sen Limit: F-theory compactifications on elliptic Calabi-Yau manifolds may be related to\nIIb compactifications by taking a certain limit in complex structure moduli\nspace, introduced by A. Sen. The limit has been characterized on the basis of\nSL(2,Z) monodromies of the elliptic fibration. Instead, we introduce a stable\nversion of the Sen limit. In this picture the elliptic Calabi-Yau splits into\ntwo pieces, a P^1-bundle and a conic bundle, and the intersection yields the\nIIb space-time. We get a precise match between F-theory and perturbative type\nIIb. The correspondence is holographic, in the sense that physical quantities\nseemingly spread in the bulk of the F-theory Calabi-Yau may be rewritten as\nexpressions on the log boundary. Smoothing the F-theory Calabi-Yau corresponds\nto summing up the D(-1)-instanton corrections to the IIb theory.",
        "positive": "Seiberg-Witten Theories, Integrable Models and Perturbative\n  Prepotentials: This is a very brief review of relations between Seiberg-Witten theories and\nintegrable systems with emphasis on the perturbative prepotentials presented at\nthe E.S.Fradkin Memorial Conference."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Hybrid (Topologically) Massive Supergravity in Three Dimensions: A class of hybrid (topologically) massive off-shell supergravities coupled to\nan on-shell matter scalar multiplet was recently constructed. The auxiliary\nfield in the off-shell multiplet is dynamical for generic values of the eight\nparameters. We find that by choosing the parameters appropriately, it remains\nnon-dynamical. We perform linearized analysis around the supersymmetric AdS3\nvacuum and its Minkowski limit. The ghost-free condition for the Minkowski\nvacuum is explored. For the AdS3 vacuum, we obtain the criticality condition\nand find that at the critical points, one of the two massive gravitons becomes\npure gauge and decouples from the bulk physics, whilst the other has positive\nenergy. We demonstrate that the mass of the BTZ black hole is non-negative at\nthe critical points. We also investigate general BPS solutions. For certain\nparameter choices, we obtain exact solutions. In particular, we present the BPS\nstring (domain-wall) solution that is dual to certain two-dimensional quantum\nfield theory with an ultra-violet conformal fixed point.",
        "positive": "Hyperkahler Metrics from Monopole Walls: We present ALH hyperkahler metrics induced from well-separated SU(2) monopole\nwalls which are equivalent to monopoles on T^2 x R. The metrics are explicitly\nobtained due to Manton's observation by using explicit monopole solutions.\nThese are doubly-periodic and have the modular invariance with respect to the\ncomplex structure of the complex torus T^2. We also derive metrics from\nmonopole walls with Dirac-type singularities."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Small Black Hole Explosions: Small black holes are a powerful tool to explore infinite distances in moduli\nspaces. However, we show that in 4d theories with a scalar potential growing\nfast enough at infinity, it is energetically too costly for scalars to diverge\nat the core, and the small black hole puffs up into a regular black hole, or\nfollows a runaway behaviour.\n  We derive a critical exponent characterizing the occurrence or not of such\nsmall black hole explosions, both from a 4d perspective, and in the 2d theory\nafter an $\\bf{S}^2$ truncation. The latter setup allows a unified discussion of\nfluxes, domain walls and black holes, solving an apparent puzzle in the\nexpression of their potentials in the 4d $\\cal{N}=2$ gauged supergravity\ncontext.\n  We discuss the realization of these ideas in 4d $\\cal{N}=2$ gauged\nsupergravities. Along the way we show that many regular black hole supergravity\nsolutions in the literature in the latter context are incomplete, due to\nFreed-Witten anomalies (or duals thereof), and require the emission of strings\nby the black hole.\n  From the 2d perspective, small black hole solutions correspond to dynamical\ncobordisms, with the core describing an end of the world brane. Small black\nhole explosions represent obstructions to completing the dynamical cobordism.\nWe study the implications for the Cobordism Distance Conjecture, which states\nthat in any theory there should exist dynamical cobordisms accessing all\npossible infinite distance limits in scalar field space. The realization of\nthis principle using small black holes leads to non-trivial constraints on the\n4d scalar potential of any consistent theory; in the 4d $\\cal{N}=2$ context,\nthey allow to recover from a purely bottom-up perspective, several non-trivial\nproperties of vector moduli spaces near infinity familiar from CY$_3$\ncompactifications.",
        "positive": "Deep Inelastic Scattering off a Plasma with a Background Magnetic Field: Using holography, we analyse deep inelastic scattering of a flavor current\nfrom a strongly coupled quark-gluon plasma with a background magnetic field.\nThe aim is to show how the magnetic field affects the partonic picture of the\nplasma. The flavored constituents of the plasma are described using D3-D7 brane\nmodel at finite temperature. We find that the presence of a background magnetic\nfield makes it harder to detect the plasma constituents. Our calculations are\nin agreement with those calculated from other approaches. Besides the resulting\nchanges for plasma structure functions a criteria will be obtained for the\npossibility of deep inelastic process in the presence of magnetic field."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Extremal black string with Kalb-Ramond field via $\u03b1^{\\prime}$\n  corrections: In this paper, we obtain the three-dimensional regular extremal black string\nsolution incorporating $\\alpha'$ corrections and a non-trivial Kalb-Ramond\nfield. The difficulty in considering the Kalb-Ramond field lies in the fact\nthat it transforms the original equations of motion into an infinite summation\nform involving matrices, making it difficult to calculate the matrix\ndifferential equations. To solve this problem, we introduce a new method that\ntransforms the infinite summation of matrix differential equations into a\nsimple trace of the matrix. As a result, we are able to obtain a\nnon-perturbative and non-singular extremal black string solution. Indeed, this\nwork serves as a good example for studying more complicated non-perturbative\nsolutions that incorporate the Kalb-Ramond field via complete $\\alpha'$\ncorrections.",
        "positive": "Do gauge fields really contribute negatively to black hole entropy?: Quantum fluctuations of matter fields contribute to the thermal entropy of\nblack holes. For free minimally-coupled scalar and spinor fields, this\ncontribution is precisely the entanglement entropy. For gauge fields, Kabat\nfound an extra negative divergent \"contact term\" with no known statistical\ninterpretation. We compare this contact term to a similar term that arises for\nnonminimally-coupled scalar fields. Although both divergences may be\ninterpreted as terms in the Wald entropy, we point out that the contact term\nfor gauge fields comes from a gauge-dependent ambiguity in Wald's formula.\nRevisiting Kabat's derivation of the contact term, we show that it is sensitive\nto the treatment of infrared modes. To explore these infrared issues, we\nconsider two-dimensional compact manifolds, such as Euclidean de Sitter space,\nand show that the contact term arises from an incorrect treatment of zero\nmodes. In a manifestly gauge-invariant reduced phase space quantization, the\ngauge field contribution to the entropy is positive, finite, and equal to the\nentanglement entropy."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Effective action approach to dynamical generation of fermion mixing: In this paper we discuss a mechanism for the dynamical generation of flavor\nmixing, in the framework of the Nambu--Jona Lasinio model. Our approach is\nillustrated both with the conventional operatorial formalism and with\nfunctional integral and ensuing one-loop effective action. The results obtained\nare briefly discussed.",
        "positive": "Towards Supergravity Duals of Chiral Symmetry Breaking in\n  Sasaki-Einstein Cascading Quiver Theories: We construct a first order deformation of the complex structure of the cone\nover Sasaki-Einstein spaces Y^{p,q} and check supersymmetry explicitly. This\nspace is a central element in the holographic dual of chiral symmetry breaking\nfor a large class of cascading quiver theories. We discuss a solution\ndescribing a stack of N D3 branes and M fractional D3 branes at the tip of the\ndeformed spaces."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Bound States of the Hydrogen Atom in the Presence of a Magnetic Monopole\n  Field and an Aharonov-Bohm Potential: In the present article we analyze the bound states of an electron in a\nCoulomb field when an Aharonov-Bohm field as well as a magnetic Dirac monopole\nare present. We solve, via separation of variables, the Schr\\\"odinger equation\nin spherical coordinates and we show how the Hydrogen energy spectrum depends\non the Aharonov-Bohm and the magnetic monopole strengths. In passing, the\nKlein-Gordon equation is solved.",
        "positive": "ABJ Triality: from Higher Spin Fields to Strings: We demonstrate that a supersymmetric and parity violating version of\nVasiliev's higher spin gauge theory in AdS$_4$ admits boundary conditions that\npreserve ${\\cal N}=0,1,2,3,4$ or 6 supersymmetries. In particular, we argue\nthat the Vasiliev theory with U(M) Chan-Paton and ${\\cal N}=6$ boundary\ncondition is holographically dual to the 2+1 dimensional $U(N)_k\\times\nU(M)_{-k}$ ABJ theory in the limit of large $N,k$ and finite $M$. In this\nsystem all bulk higher spin fields transform in the adjoint of the U(M) gauge\ngroup, whose bulk t'Hooft coupling is $\\frac{M}{N}$. Analysis of boundary\nconditions in Vasiliev theory allows us to determine exact relations between\nthe parity breaking phase of Vasiliev theory and the coefficients of two and\nthree point functions in Chern-Simons vector models at large $N$. Our picture\nsuggests that the supersymmetric Vasiliev theory can be obtained as a limit of\ntype IIA string theory in AdS$_4\\times \\mathbb{CP}^3$, and that the non-Abelian\nVasiliev theory at strong bulk 't Hooft coupling smoothly turn into a string\nfield theory. The fundamental string is a singlet bound state of Vasiliev's\nhigher spin particles held together by U(M) gauge interactions. This is\nillustrated by the thermal partition function of free ABJ theory on a two\nsphere at large $M$ and $N$ even in the analytically tractable free limit. In\nthis system the traces or strings of the low temperature phase break up into\ntheir Vasiliev particulate constituents at a U(M) deconfinement phase\ntransition of order unity. At a higher temperature of order\n$T=\\sqrt{\\frac{N}{M}}$ Vasiliev's higher spin fields themselves break up into\nmore elementary constituents at a U(N) deconfinement temperature, in a process\ndescribed in the bulk as black hole nucleation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetry Breaking, Moduli Stabilization and Hidden U(1) Breaking in\n  M-Theory: We calculate and explore the moduli potential for M-Theory compactified on\nG_2-manifolds in which the superpotential is dominated by a single membrane\ninstanton term plus one from an asymptotically free hidden sector gauge\ninteraction. We show that all moduli can be stabilized and that hidden sector\ngauge symmetries can be Higgsed at a high scale. We then compute the spectrum\nof superpartner masses at the GUT scale and evolve it to the electroweak scale.\nWe find a spectrum which is very similar to the G_2-MSSM with light gauginos -\naccessible at the LHC - and a neutral wino dark matter candidate.",
        "positive": "Singular hypersurfaces and thin shells in cosmology: We analyse spherically symmetric geometries, combining a cosmological patch\nand a Schwarzschild black hole patch joined via a singular co-dimension 1\nhypersurface. In a general analysis applicable to dimensions greater than\nthree, assuming an arbitrary homogeneous and isotropic cosmology, we derive the\nstress-energy tensor of the hypersurface in terms of the cosmological energy\ndensity. This analysis reveals a novel exact solution featuring radiation\nwithin the cosmology and a shell composed of pressureless dust. Exploring the\nparameter space yields twenty-two distinct solution families, including `bubble\nof cosmology' and `Swiss cheese' spacetimes. Notably, solutions with a negative\ncosmological constant exhibit a holographic dual. Additionally, we provide a\npedagogical introduction to hypersurfaces in general relativity and a practical\napproach for constructing thin shell spacetimes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Comments on Non-Supersymmetric Orientifolds at Strong Coupling: We consider several properties of a set of anti-D$p$-branes in the presence\nof orientifold $p$-planes in type II theory. This system breaks all the\nsupersymmetries of the theory, but is free of tachyons. In particular, we\ncenter on the case of a single anti-D$p$-brane stuck at a negatively charged\norientifold $p$-plane, and study its strong coupling behaviour for $p=2,3,4$.\nInterestingly enough, as the coupling increases the system undergoes a phase\ntransition where an additional antibrane is created. We conclude with some\nremarks on the limit of large number of antibranes on top of orientifold\nplanes.",
        "positive": "Weaving the Exotic Web: String and M-theory contain a family of branes forming U-duality multiplets.\nIn particular, standard branes with codimension higher than or equal to two,\ncan be explicitly found as supergravity solutions. However, whether domain-wall\nbranes and space-filling branes can be found as supergravity solutions is still\nunclear. In this paper, we firstly provide a full list of exotic branes in type\nII string theory or M-theory compactified to three or higher dimensions. We\nshow how to systematically obtain backgrounds of exotic domain-wall branes and\nspace-filling branes as solutions of the double field theory or the exceptional\nfield theory. Such solutions explicitly depend on the winding coordinates and\ncannot be given as solutions of the conventional supergravity theories.\nHowever, as the domain-wall solutions depend linearly on the winding\ncoordinates, we describe them as solutions of deformed supergravities such as\nthe Romans massive IIA supergravity or lower-dimensional gauged supergravities.\nWe establish explicit relations among the domain-wall branes, the\nmixed-symmetry potentials, the locally non-geometric fluxes, and deformed\nsupergravities."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Free field realisation of boundary vertex algebras for Abelian gauge\n  theories in three dimensions: We study the boundary vertex algebras of $A$-twisted $\\mathcal{N}=4$ Abelian\ngauge theories in three dimensions. These are identified with the BRST quotient\n(semi-infinite cohomology) of collections of symplectic bosons and free\nfermions that reflect the matter content of the corresponding gauge theory. We\ndevelop various free field realisations for these vertex algebras which we\npropose to interpret in terms of their localisation on their associated\nvarieties. We derive the free field realisations by bosonising the elementary\nsymplectic bosons and free fermions and then calculating the relevant\nsemi-infinite cohomology, which can be done systematically. An interesting\nfeature of our construction is that for certain preferred free field\nrealisations, the outer automorphism symmetry of the vertex algebras in\nquestion (which are identified with the symmetries of the Coulomb branch in the\ninfrared) are made manifest.",
        "positive": "Non-perturbative membrane spin-orbit couplings in M/IIA theory: Membrane source-probe dynamics is investigated in the framework of the finite\nN-sector DLCQ M theory compactified on a transverse two-torus for an arbitrary\nsize of the longitudinal dimension. The non-perturbative two fermion terms in\nthe effective action of the matrix theory, the (2+1)-dimensional supersymmetric\nYang-Mills theory, that are related to the four derivative F^4 terms by the\nsupersymmetry transformation are obtained, including the one-loop term and full\ninstanton corrections. On the supergravity side, we compute the classical probe\naction up to two fermion terms based on the classical supermembrane formulation\nin an arbitrary curved background geometry produced by source membranes\nsatisfying the BPS condition; two fermion terms correspond to the spin-orbit\ncouplings for membranes. We find precise agreement between two approaches when\nthe background space-time is chosen to be that of the DLCQ M theory, which is\nasymptotically locally Anti-de Sitter."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holography as Cutoff: a proposal for measure of inflationary universes: We propose the holographic principle as a dynamical cutoff for any quantum\ntheory of gravity with a geometric description at low energies, incorporating\nideas of effective field theory. We illustrate the proposal by revisiting the\nproblem of defining a measure for homogeneous and isotropic spacetimes coupled\nto a scalar field and conclude by discussing the implications to the\ninflationary model.",
        "positive": "A Color Dual Form for Gauge-Theory Amplitudes: Recently a duality between color and kinematics has been proposed, exposing a\nnew unexpected structure in gauge theory and gravity scattering amplitudes.\nHere we propose that the relation goes deeper, allowing us to reorganize\namplitudes into a form reminiscent of the standard color decomposition in terms\nof traces over generators, but with the role of color and kinematics swapped.\nBy imposing additional conditions similar to Kleiss-Kuijf relations between\npartial amplitudes, the relationship between the earlier form satisfying the\nduality and the current one is invertible. We comment on extensions to loop\nlevel."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Splitting of folded strings in AdS_3: In this paper we present semiclassical computations of the splitting of\nfolded spinning strings in AdS_3, which may be of interest in the context of\nAdS/CFT duality. We start with a classical closed string and assume that it can\nsplit on two closed string fragments, if at a given time two points on it\ncoincide in target space and their velocities agree. First we consider the case\nof the folded string with large spin. Assuming the formal large-spin\napproximation of the folded string solution in AdS_3, we can completely\ndescribe the process of splitting: compute the full set of charges and obtain\nthe string solutions describing the evolution of the final states. We find\nthat, in this limit, the world surface does not change in the process and the\nfinal states are described by the solutions of the same type as the initial\nstring, i.e. the formal large-spin approximation of the folded string in AdS_3.\nThen we consider the general case --- splitting of string given by the exact\nfolded string solution. We find the expressions for the charges of the final\nfragments, the coordinate transformations diagonalizing them and, finally,\ntheir energies and spins. Due to the complexity of the initial string profile,\nwe cannot find the solutions describing the evolution of the final fragments,\nbut we can predict their qualitative behavior. We also generalize the results\nto include circular rotations and windings in S^5.",
        "positive": "Reconstruction of Type II Supergravities via $O(d) \\times O(d)$ Duality\n  Invariants: We reconstruct type II supergravities by using building blocks of $O(d)\n\\times O(d)$ invariants.These invariants are obtained by explicitly analyzing\n$O(d) \\times O(d)$ transformations of 10 dimensional massless fields. Similar\nconstructions are done by employing double field theory or generalized\ngeometry, but we completed the reconstruction within the framework of the\nsupergravities."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quasi-exactly solvable quasinormal modes: We consider quasinormal modes with complex energies from the point of view of\nthe theory of quasi-exactly solvable (QES) models. We demonstrate that it is\npossible to find new potentials which admit exactly solvable or QES quasinormal\nmodes by suitable complexification of parameters defining the QES potentials.\nParticularly, we obtain one QES and four exactly solvable potentials out of the\nfive one-dimensional QES systems based on the $sl(2)$ algebra.",
        "positive": "Initial Kaluza-Klein fluctuations and inflationary gravitational waves\n  in braneworld cosmology: We study the spectrum of gravitational waves generated from inflation in the\nRandall-Sundrum braneworld. Since the inflationary gravitational waves are of\nquantum-mechanical origin, the initial configuration of perturbations in the\nbulk includes Kaluza-Klein quantum fluctuations as well as fluctuations in the\nzero mode. We show, however, that the initial fluctuations in Kaluza-Klein\nmodes have no significant effect on the late time spectrum, irrespective of the\nenergy scale of inflation and the equation of state parameter in the\npost-inflationary stage. This is done numerically, using the Wronskian\nformulation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Restricted sine-Gordon Theory in the Repulsive Regime as Perturbed\n  Minimal CFTs: We construct the restricted sine-Gordon theory by truncating the sine-Gordon\nmulti-soliton Hilbert space for the repulsive coupling constant due to the\nquantum group symmetry $SL_q(2)$ which we identify from the Korepin's\n$S$-matrices. We connect this restricted sine-Gordon theory with the minimal\n($c<1$) conformal field theory ${\\cal M}_{p/p+2}$ ($p$ odd) perturbed by the\nleast relevent primary field $\\Phi_{1,3}$. The exact $S$-matrices are derived\nfor the particle spectrum of a kink and neutral particles. As a consistency\ncheck, we compute the central charge of the restricted theory in the UV limit\nusing the thermodynamic Bethe ansatz analysis and show that it is equal to that\nof ${\\cal M}_{p/p+2}$.",
        "positive": "Symmetric space sigma-model dynamics: Current formalism: After explicitly constructing the symmetric space sigma model lagrangian in\nterms of the coset scalars of the solvable Lie algebra gauge in the current\nformalism we derive the field equations of the theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holomorphic Couplings in String Theory: In these lectures we review the properties of holomorphic couplings in the\neffective action of four-dimensional N=1 and N=2 closed string vacua. We\nbriefly outline their role in establishing a duality among (classes of)\ndifferent string vacua. (Lectures presented by J. Louis at the Trieste Spring\nSchool 1996.)",
        "positive": "A Comment on Entropy and Area: For an arbitrary quantum field in flat space with a planar boundary, an\nentropy of entanglement, associated with correlations across the boundary, is\npresent when the field is in its vacuum state. The vacuum state of the same\nquantum field appears thermal in Rindler space, with an associated thermal\nentropy. We show that the density matrices describing the two situations are\nidentical, and therefore that the two entropies are equal. We comment on the\ngenerality and significance of this result, and make use of it in analyzing the\narea and cutoff dependence of the entropy. The equivalence of the density\nmatrices leads us to speculate that a planar boundary in Minkowski space has a\nclassical entropy given by the Bekenstein--Hawking formula."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The spectrum of strings on BTZ black holes and spectral flow in the\n  SL(2,R) WZW model: We study the spectrum of bosonic string theory on rotating BTZ black holes,\nusing a SL(2,R) WZW model. Previously, Natsuume and Satoh have analyzed strings\non BTZ black holes using orbifold techniques. We show how an appropriate\nspectral flow in the WZW model can be used to generate the twisted sectors,\nemphasizing how the spectral flow works in the hyperbolic basis natural for the\nBTZ black hole. We discuss the projection condition which leads to the\nquantization condition for the allowed quantum numbers for the string\nexcitations, and its connection to the anomaly in the corresponding conserved\nNoether current.",
        "positive": "On stability of false vacuum in supersymmetric theories with cosmic\n  strings: We study the stability of supersymmetry breaking vacuum in the presence of\ncosmic strings arising in the messenger sector. For certain ranges of the\ncouplings, the desired supersymmetry breaking vacua become unstable against\ndecay into phenomenologically unacceptable vacua. This sets constraints on the\nrange of allowed values of the coupling constants appearing in the models and\nmore generally on the chosen dynamics of gauge symmetry breaking."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Advances in Inflation in String Theory: We provide a pedagogical overview of inflation in string theory. Our theme is\nthe sensitivity of inflation to Planck-scale physics, which we argue provides\nboth the primary motivation and the central theoretical challenge for the\nsubject. We illustrate these issues through two case studies of inflationary\nscenarios in string theory: warped D-brane inflation and axion monodromy\ninflation. Finally, we indicate how future observations can test scenarios of\ninflation in string theory.",
        "positive": "Quasinormal modes and thermodynamic phase transitions: It has recently been suggested that scalar, Dirac and Rarita-Schwinger\nperturbations are related to thermodynamic phase transitions of charged\n(Reissner-Nordstr\\\"om) black holes. In this note we show that this result is\nprobably a numerical coincidence, and that the conjectured correspondence does\nnot straightforwardly generalize to other metrics, such as Kerr or\nSchwarzschild (anti-)de Sitter. Our calculations do not rule out a relation\nbetween dynamical and thermodynamical properties of black holes, but they\nsuggest that such a relation is non-trivial."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetric quantum theory, non-commutative geometry, and\n  gravitation. Lecture Notes Les Houches 1995: This is an expanded version of the notes to a course taught by the first\nauthor at the 1995 Les Houches Summer School. Constraints on a tentative\nreconciliation of quantum theory and general relativity are reviewed. It is\nexplained what supersymmetric quantum theory teaches us about differential\ntopology and geometry. Non-commutative differential topology and geometry are\ndeveloped in some detail. As an example, the non-commutative torus is studied.\nAn introduction to string theory and $M$(atrix) models is provided, and it is\noutlined how tools of non-commutative geometry can be used to explore the\ngeometry of string theory and conformal field theory.",
        "positive": "The covariant and on-shell statistics in kappa-deformed spacetime: It has been a long-standing issue to construct the statistics of identical\nparticles in $\\kappa$-deformed spacetime. In this letter, we investigate\ndifferent ideas on this problem. Following the ideas of Young and Zegers, we\nobtain the covariant and on-shell kappa two-particle state in 1+1 D in a\nsimpler way. Finally, a procedure to get such state in higher dimension is\nproposed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Twist decomposition of nonlocal light-ray operators and harmonic tensor\n  functions: For arbitrary spacetime dimension a systematic procedure is carried on to\nuniquely decompose nonlocal light-cone operators into harmonic operators of\nwell defined twist. Thereby, harmonic tensor polynomials up to rank 2 are\nintroduced. Symmetric tensor operators of rank 2 are considered as an example.",
        "positive": "3d Conformal Higher Spin Symmetry in 2+1 Dimensional Matter Systems: The symmetry algebra of massless fields living on the 3-dimensional conformal\nboundary of AdS(4) is shown to be isomorphic to 3d conformal higher spin\nalgebra (AdS(4) higher spin algebra). A simple realization of this algebra on\nthe free flat 3d massless matter fields is given in terms of an auxiliary Fock\nmodule."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Review of W Strings: We review some of the recent developments in the construction of $W$-string\ntheories. These are generalisations of ordinary strings in which the\ntwo-dimensional ``worldsheet'' theory, instead of being a gauging of the\nVirasoro algebra, is a gauging of a higher-spin extension of the Virasoro\nalgebra---a $W$ algebra. Despite the complexity of the (non-linear) $W$\nalgebras, it turns out that the spectrum can be computed completely and\nexplicitly for more or less any $W$ string. The result is equivalent to a set\nof spectra for Virasoro strings with unusual central charge and intercepts.",
        "positive": "Nonrelativistic Lee model in three dimensional Riemannian manifolds: In this work, we construct the non-relativistic Lee model on some class of\nthree dimensional Riemannian manifolds by following a novel approach introduced\nby S. G. Rajeev hep-th/9902025. This approach together with the help of heat\nkernel allows us to perform the renormalization non-perturbatively and\nexplicitly. For completeness, we show that the ground state energy is bounded\nfrom below for different classes of manifolds, using the upper bound estimates\non the heat kernel. Finally, we apply a kind of mean field approximation to the\nmodel for compact and non-compact manifolds separately and discover that the\nground state energy grows linearly with the number of bosons n."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "String Theory in Polar Coordinates and the Vanishing of the One-Loop\n  Rindler Entropy: We analyze the string spectrum of flat space in polar coordinates, following\nthe small curvature limit of the $SL(2,\\mathbb{R})/U(1)$ cigar CFT. We first\nanalyze the partition function of the cigar itself, making some clarifications\nof the structure of the spectrum that have escaped attention up to this point.\nThe superstring spectrum (type 0 and type II) is shown to exhibit an involution\nsymmetry, that survives the small curvature limit. We classify all marginal\nstates in polar coordinates for type II superstrings, with emphasis on their\nlinks and their superconformal structure. This classification is confirmed by\nan explicit large $\\tau_2$ analysis of the partition function. Next we compare\nthree approaches towards the type II genus one entropy in Rindler space: using\na sum-over-fields strategy, using a Melvin model approach and finally using a\nsaddle point method on the cigar partition function. In each case we highlight\npossible obstructions and motivate that the correct procedures yield a\nvanishing result: $S=0$. We finally discuss how the QFT UV divergences of the\nfields in the spectrum disappear when computing the free energy and entropy\nusing Euclidean techniques.",
        "positive": "Gauge-invariant spectral description of the $U(1)$ Higgs model from\n  local composite operators: The spectral properties of a set of local gauge-invariant composite operators\nare investigated in the $U(1)$ Higgs model quantized in the 't Hooft $R_{\\xi}$\ngauge. These operators enable us to give a gauge-invariant description of the\nspectrum of the theory, thereby surpassing certain incommodities when using the\nstandard elementary fields. The corresponding two-point correlation functions\nare evaluated at one-loop order and their spectral functions are obtained\nexplicitly. As expected, the above mentioned correlation functions are\nindependent from the gauge parameter $\\xi$, while exhibiting positive spectral\ndensities as well as gauge-invariant pole masses corresponding to the massive\nphoton and Higgs physical excitations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Branes at Orbifolded Conifold Singularities and Supersymmetric Gauge\n  Field Theories: We consider D3 branes at orbifolded conifold singularities which are not\nquotient singularities. We use toric geometry and gauged linear sigma model to\nstudy the moduli space of the gauge theories on the D3 branes. We find that\ntopologically distinct phases are related by a flop transition. It is also\nshown that an orbifold singularity can occur in some phases if we give\nexpectation values to some of the chiral fields.",
        "positive": "Higher order corrections to beyond-all-order effects in a fifth order\n  Korteweg-de Vries equation: A perturbative scheme is applied to calculate corrections to the leading,\nexponentially small (beyond-all-orders) amplitude of the ``trailing'' wave\nasymptotics of weakly localized solitons. The model considered is a Korteweg-de\nVries equation modified by a fifth order derivative term,\n$\\epsilon^2\\partial_x^5$ with $\\epsilon\\ll1$ (fKdV). The leading order\ncorrections to the tail amplitude are calculated up to ${\\cal{O}}(\\epsilon^5)$.\nAn arbitrary precision numerical code is implemented to solve the fKdV equation\nand to check the perturbative results. Excellent agreement is found between the\nnumerical and analytical results. Our work also clarifies the origin of a\nlong-standing disagreement between the ${\\cal{O}}(\\epsilon^2)$ perturbative\nresult of Grimshaw and Joshi [SIAM J. Appl. Math. 55, 124 (1995)] and the\nnumerical results of Boyd [Comp. Phys. 9, 324 (1995)]."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Lagrangian and Covariant Field Equations for Supersymmetric Yang-Mills\n  Theory in 12D: We present a lagrangian formulation for recently-proposed supersymmetric\nYang-Mills theory in twelve dimensions. The field content of our multiplet has\nan additional auxiliary vector field in the adjoint representation. The usual\nYang-Mills field strength is modified by a Chern-Simons form containing this\nauxiliary vector field. This formulation needs no constraint imposed on the\ncomponent field from outside, and a constraint on the Yang-Mills field is\ngenerated as the field equation of the auxiliary vector field. The invariance\ncheck of the action is also performed without any reference to constraints by\nhand. Even though the total lagrangian takes a simple form, it has several\nhighly non-trivial extra symmetries. We couple this twelve-dimensional\nsupersymmetric Yang-Mills background to Green-Schwarz superstring, and confirm\nfermionic kappa-invariance. As another improvement of this theory, we present a\nset of fully Lorentz-covariant and supercovariant field equations with no use\nof null-vectors. This system has an additional scalar field, whose gradient\nplays a role of the null-vector. This system exhibits spontaneous breaking of\nthe original Lorentz symmetry SO(10,2) for twelve-dimensions down to SO(9,1)\nfor ten-dimensions.",
        "positive": "Relations Between Closed String Amplitudes at Higher-order Tree Level\n  and Open String Amplitudes: KLT relations almost factorize closed string amplitudes on $S_2$ by two open\nstring tree amplitudes which correspond to the left- and the right- moving\nsectors. In this paper, we investigate string amplitudes on $D_2$ and $RP_2$.\nWe find that KLT factorization relations do not hold in these two cases. The\nrelations between closed and open string amplitudes have new forms. On $D_2$\nand $RP_2$, the left- and the right- moving sectors are connected into a single\nsector. Then an amplitude with closed strings on $D_2$ or $RP_2$ can be given\nby one open string tree amplitude except for a phase factor. The relations\ndepends on the topologies of the world-sheets.Under T-duality, the relations on\n$D_2$ and $RP_2$ give the amplitudes between closed strings scattering from\nD-brane and O-plane respectively by open string partial amplitudes.In the low\nenergy limits of these two cases, the factorization relations for graviton\namplitudes do not hold. The amplitudes for gravitons must be given by the new\nrelations instead."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fractional Conformal Descendants and Correlators in General 2D $S_N$\n  Orbifold CFTs at Large $N$: We consider correlation functions in symmetric product ($S_N$) orbifold CFTs\nat large $N$ with arbitrary seed CFT. Specifically, we consider correlators of\ndescendant operators constructed using both the full Virasoro generators\n$L_{m}$ and fractional Virasoro generators $\\ell_{m/n_i}$. Using covering space\ntechniques, we show that correlators of descendants may be written entirely in\nterms of correlators of ancestors, and further that the appropriate set of\nancestors are those operators that lift to conformal primaries on the cover. We\nargue that the covering space data should cancel out in such calculations. To\nback this claim, we provide some example calculations by considering a\nthree-point function of the form (4-cycle)-(2-cycle)-(5-cycle) that lifts to a\nthree-point function of arbitrary primaries on the cover, and descendants\nthereof. In these examples we show that while the covering space is used for\nthe calculation, the final descent relations do not depend on covering space\ndata, nor on the details of which seed CFT is used to construct the orbifold,\nmaking these results universal.",
        "positive": "Relativistic and nonrelativistic Landau levels for the noncommutative\n  quantum Hall effect with anomalous magnetic moment in a conical G\u00f6del-type\n  spacetime: In this paper, we analyze the relativistic and nonrelativistic energy spectra\n(fermionic Landau levels) for the noncommutative quantum Hall effect with\nanomalous magnetic moment in the conical G\\\"odel-type spacetime in\n(2+1)-dimensions, where such spacetime is the combination of the flat\nG\\\"odel-type spacetime with a cosmic string (conical gravitational topological\ndefect). To analyze these energy spectra, we start from the noncommutative\nDirac equation with minimal and nonminimal couplings in polar coordinates.\nUsing the tetrads formalism, we obtain a second-order differential equation.\nNext, we solve exactly this differential equation, where we obtain a\ngeneralized Laguerre equation, and also a quadratic polynomial equation for the\ntotal relativistic energy. By solving this polynomial equation, we obtain the\nrelativistic energy spectrum of the fermion and antifermion. Besides, we also\nanalyze the nonrelativistic limit of the system, where we obtain the\nnonrelativistic energy spectrum. In both cases (relativistic and\nnonrelativistic), we discuss in detail the characteristics of each spectrum as\nwell as the influence of all parameters and physical quantities in such\nspectra. Comparing our problem with other works, we verified that our results\ngeneralize several particular cases in the literature."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Thermal gravity, black holes and cosmological entropy: Taking seriously the interpretation of black hole entropy as the logarithm of\nthe number of microstates, we argue that thermal gravitons may undergo a phase\ntransition to a kind of black hole condensate. The phase transition proceeds\nvia nucleation of black holes at a rate governed by a saddlepoint configuration\nwhose free energy is of order the inverse temperature in Planck units. Whether\nthe universe remains in a low entropy state as opposed to the high entropy\nblack hole condensate depends sensitively on its thermal history. Our results\nmay clarify an old observation of Penrose regarding the very low entropy state\nof the universe.",
        "positive": "Quantum Curves, Resurgence and Exact WKB: We study the non-perturbative quantum geometry of the open and closed\ntopological string on the resolved conifold and its mirror. Our tools are\nfinite difference equations in the open and closed string moduli and the\nresurgence analysis of their formal power series solutions. In the closed\nsetting, we derive new finite difference equations for the refined partition\nfunction as well as its Nekrasov-Shatashvili (NS) limit. We write down a\ndistinguished analytic solution for the refined difference equation that\nreproduces the expected non-perturbative content of the refined topological\nstring. We compare this solution to the Borel analysis of the free energy in\nthe NS limit. We find that the singularities of the Borel transform lie on\ninfinitely many rays in the Borel plane and that the Stokes jumps across these\nrays encode the associated Donaldson-Thomas invariants of the underlying\nCalabi-Yau geometry. In the open setting, the finite difference equation\ncorresponds to a canonical quantization of the mirror curve. We analyze this\ndifference equation using Borel analysis and exact WKB techniques and identify\nthe 5d BPS states in the corresponding exponential spectral networks. We\nfurthermore relate the resurgence analysis in the open and closed setting. This\nguides us to a five-dimensional extension of the Nekrasov-Rosly-Shatashvili\nproposal, in which the NS free energy is computed as a generating function of\n$q$-difference opers in terms of a special set of spectral coordinates.\nFinally, we examine two spectral problems describing the corresponding quantum\nintegrable system."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "D-brane Configurations and Nicolai Map in Supersymmetric Yang-Mills\n  Theory: We discuss some properties of a supersymmetric matrix model that is the\ndimensional reduction of supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory in ten dimensions and\nwhich has been recently argued to represent the short-distance structure of M\ntheory in the infinite momentum frame. We describe a reduced version of the\nmatrix quantum mechanics and derive the Nicolai map of the simplified\nsupersymmetric matrix model. We use this to argue that there are no phase\ntransitions in the large-N limit, and hence that S-duality is preserved in the\nfull eleven dimensional theory.",
        "positive": "Linearized supergravity from Matrix theory: We show that the linearized supergravity potential between two objects\narising from the exchange of quanta with zero longitudinal momentum is\nreproduced to all orders in 1/r by terms in the one-loop Matrix theory\npotential. The essential ingredient in the proof is the identification of the\nMatrix theory quantities corresponding to moments of the stress tensor and\nmembrane current. We also point out that finite-N Matrix theory violates the\nequivalence principle."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "1/8 BPS States in Ads/CFT: We study a class of exact supersymmetric solutions of type IIB Supergravity.\nThey have an SO(4) x SU(2) x U(1) isometry and preserve generically 4 of the 32\nsupersymmetries of the theory. Asymptotically AdS_5 x S^5 solutions in this\nclass are dual to 1/8 BPS chiral operators which preserve the same symmetries\nin the N=4 SYM theory. They are parametrized by a set of four functions that\nsatisfy certain differential equations. We analyze the solutions to these\nequations in a large radius asymptotic expansion: they carry charges with\nrespect to two U(1) KK gauge fields and their mass saturates the expected BPS\nbound.",
        "positive": "The zeros of the QCD partition function: We establish a relationship between the zeros of the partition function in\nthe complex mass plane and the spectral properties of the Dirac operator in\nQCD. This relation is derived within the context of chiral Random Matrix Theory\nand applies to QCD when chiral symmetry is spontaneously broken. Further, we\nintroduce and examine the concept of normal modes in chiral spectra. Using this\nformalism we study the consequences of a finite Thouless energy for the zeros\nof the partition function. This leads to the demonstration that certain\nfeatures of the QCD partition function are universal."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Transgression Forms and Abelian Semigroups in Supergravity: Two main themes populate this Thesis's pages: transgression forms as\nLagrangians for gauge theories and the Abelian semigroup expansion of Lie\nalgebras.\n  A transgression form is a function of two gauge connections whose main\nproperty is its full invariance under gauge transformations. From this form a\nLagrangian is built, and equations of motion, boundary conditions and\nassociated Noether currents are derived. A subspace separation method, based on\nthe extended Cartan homotopy formula, is proposed, which allows to (i) split\nthe Lagrangian in 'bulk' and 'boundary' contributions and (ii) separate the\nbulk term in sublagrangians corresponding to the subspaces of the gauge\nalgebra.\n  Use is made of Abelian semigroups to develop an expansion method for Lie\n(super)algebras, based on the work by de Azcarraga, Izquierdo, Picon and\nVarela. The main idea consists in considering the direct product between an\nAbelian semigroup S and a Lie (super)algebra g. General conditions under which\nsmaller algebras can be extracted from S \\otimes g are given. It is shown how\nto recover the known expansion cases in this new context. Several d=11\nsuperalgebras are obtained as examples of the application of the method.\nGeneral theorems that allow to find an invariant tensor for the expanded\nalgebra from an invariant tensor for the original algebra are formulated.\n  Finally, a d=11 gauge theory for the M Algebra is considered by using the\nideas developed in the Thesis. The dynamical properties of this theory are\nbriefly analyzed.",
        "positive": "Geometric Models of Matter: Inspired by soliton models, we propose a description of static particles in\nterms of Riemannian 4-manifolds with self-dual Weyl tensor. For electrically\ncharged particles, the 4-manifolds are non-compact and asymptotically fibred by\ncircles over physical 3-space. This is akin to the Kaluza-Klein description of\nelectromagnetism, except that we exchange the roles of magnetic and electric\nfields, and only assume the bundle structure asymptotically, away from the core\nof the particle in question. We identify the Chern class of the circle bundle\nat infinity with minus the electric charge and the signature of the 4-manifold\nwith the baryon number. Electrically neutral particles are described by compact\n4-manifolds. We illustrate our approach by studying the Taub-NUT manifold as a\nmodel for the electron, the Atiyah-Hitchin manifold as a model for the proton,\nCP^2 with the Fubini-Study metric as a model for the neutron, and S^4 with its\nstandard metric as a model for the neutrino."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "3d $\\mathcal{N}=3$ Generalized Giveon-Kutasov Duality: We generalize the Giveon-Kutasov duality for the 3d $\\mathcal{N}=3$\n$U(N)_{k,k+nN}$ Chern-Simons matter gauge theory with $F$ fundamental\nhypermultiplets by introducing $SU(N)$ and $U(1)$ Chern-Simons levels\ndifferently. We study the supersymmetric partition functions and the\nsuperconformal indices of the duality, which supports the validity of the\nduality proposal. From the duality, we can map out the low-energy phases: For\nexample, confinement appears for $F+k-N=-n=1$ or $N=2F=k=-n=2$. For $F+k-N<0$,\nsupersymmetry is spontaneously broken, which is in accord with the fact that\nthe partition function vanishes. In some cases, the theory shows supersymmetry\nenhancement to 3d $\\mathcal{N}=4$. For $k=0$, we comment on the magnetic\ndescription dual to the so-called \"ugly\" theory, where the usual decoupled\nsector is still interacting with others for $n \\neq 0$. We argue that the\n$SU(N)_0$ \"ugly-good\" duality (which corresponds to the $n \\rightarrow \\infty$\nlimit in our setup) is closely related to the S-duality of the 4d\n$\\mathcal{N}=2$ $SU(N)$ superconformal gauge theory with $2N$ fundamental\nhypermultiplets. By reducing the number of flavors via real masses, we suggest\npossible ways to flow to the \"bad\" theories.",
        "positive": "Charged black holes from near extremal black holes: We recover the properties of a wide class of far from extremal charged black\nbranes from the properties of near extremal black branes, generalizing the\nresults of Danielsson, Guijosa and Kruczenski."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "$q$-Poincar\u00e9 supersymmetry in $AdS_5/CFT_4$: We consider the exact S-matrix governing the planar spectral problem for\nstrings on $AdS_5\\times S^5$ and $\\mathcal N=4$ super Yang-Mills, and we show\nthat it is invariant under a novel \"boost\" symmetry, which acts as a\ndifferentiation with respect to the particle momentum. This generator leads us\nalso to reinterpret the usual centrally extended $\\mathfrak{psu}(2|2)$\nsymmetry, and to conclude that the S-matrix is invariant under a $q$-Poincar\\'e\nsupersymmetry algebra, where the deformation parameter is related to the 't\nHooft coupling. We determine the two-particle action (coproduct) that turns out\nto be non-local, and study the property of the new symmetry under crossing\ntransformations. We look at both the strong-coupling (large tension in the\nstring theory) and weak-coupling (spin-chain description of the gauge theory)\nlimits; in the former regime we calculate the cobracket utilising the universal\nclassical r-matrix of Beisert and Spill. In the eventuality that the boost has\nhigher partners, we also construct a quantum affine version of 2D Poincar\\'e\nsymmetry, by contraction of the quantum affine algebra\n$U_q(\\widehat{\\mathfrak{sl}_2})$ in Drinfeld's second realisation.",
        "positive": "Traversable Asymptotically Flat Wormholes with Short Transit Times: We construct traversable wormholes by starting with simple four-dimensional\nclassical solutions respecting the null energy condition and containing a pair\nof oppositely charged black holes connected by a non-traversable wormhole. We\nthen consider the perturbative back-reaction of bulk quantum fields in\nHartle-Hawking states. Our geometries have zero cosmological constant and are\nasymptotically flat except for a cosmic string stretching to infinity that is\nused to hold the black holes apart. Another cosmic string wraps the\nnon-contractible cycle through the wormhole, and its quantum fluctuations\nprovide the negative energy needed for traversability. Our setting is closely\nrelated to the non-perturbative construction of Maldacena, Milekhin, and Popov\n(MMP), but the analysis is complementary. In particular, we consider cases\nwhere back-reaction slows, but fails to halt, the collapse of the wormhole\ninterior, so that the wormhole is traversable only at sufficiently early times.\nFor non-extremal backgrounds, we find the integrated null energy along the\nhorizon of the classical background to be exponentially small, and thus\ntraversability to be exponentially fragile. Nevertheless, if there are no\nlarger perturbations, and for appropriately timed signals, a wormhole with\nmouths separated by a distance $d$ becomes traversable with a minimum transit\ntime $t_{\\text{min transit}} = d + \\text{logs}$. Thus $\\frac{t_{\\text{min\ntransit}}}{d}$ is smaller than for the eternally traversable MMP wormholes by\nmore than a factor of 2, and approaches the value that, at least in higher\ndimensions, would be the theoretical minimum. For contrast we also briefly\nconsider a `cosmological wormhole' solution where the back-reaction has the\nopposite sign, so that negative energy from quantum fields makes the wormhole\nharder to traverse."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A note on the functional determinant of higher-derivative scalar fields\n  on sphere products: It is shown that the functional determinant ($\\sim$ effective action) for a\nscalar field propagating on the mixed signature product of unit spheres,\nS$^q\\times$S$^p$, according to the GJMS operator, depends, if $d$ is odd, only\non $d=p+q$ and on whether $p$ is even or odd. In the first case the effective\naction equals twice the standard quantity on S$^d$ and vanishes in the second.",
        "positive": "Phases of kinky holographic nuclear matter: Holographic QCD at finite baryon number density and zero temperature is\nstudied within the five-dimensional Sakai-Sugimoto model. We introduce a new\napproximation that models a smeared crystal of solitonic baryons by assuming\nspatial homogeneity to obtain an effective kink theory in the holographic\ndirection. The kink theory correctly reproduces a first order phase transition\nto lightly bound nuclear matter. As the density is further increased the kink\nsplits into a pair of half-kink constituents, providing a concrete realization\nof the previously suggested dyonic salt phase, where the bulk soliton splits\ninto constituents at high density. The kink model also captures the phenomenon\nof baryonic popcorn, in which a first order phase transition generates an\nadditional soliton layer in the holographic direction. We find that this\npopcorn transition takes place at a density below the dyonic salt phase, making\nthe latter energetically unfavourable. However, the kink model predicts only\none pop, rather than the sequence of pops suggested by previous approximations.\nIn the kink model the two layers produced by the single pop form the surface of\na soliton bag that increases in size as the baryon chemical potential is\nincreased. The interior of the bag is filled with abelian electric potential\nand the instanton charge density is localized on the surface of the bag. The\nsoliton bag may provide a holographic description of a quarkyonic phase."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Pure Spinor Formalism for Osp(N|4) backgrounds: We start from the Maurer-Cartan (MC) equations of the Osp(N|4) superalgebras\nsatisfied by the left-invariant super-forms realized on supercoset manifolds of\nthe corresponding supergroups and we derive some new pure spinor constraints.\nThey are obtained by \"ghostifying\" the MC forms and extending the differential\nd to a BRST differential. From the superalgebras G =Osp(N|4) we single out\ndifferent subalgebras H contained in G associated with the different cosets\nG/H: each choice of H leads to a different weakening of the pure spinor\nconstraints. In each case, the number of parameter is counted and we show that\nin the cases of Osp(6|4)/U(3) x SO(1,3), Osp(4|4)/SO(3) x SO(1,3) and finally\nOsp(4|4) U(2)} x SO(1,3) the bosonic and fermionic degrees of freedom match in\norder to provide a c=0 superconformal field theory. We construct both the\nGreen-Schwarz and the pure spinor sigma model for the case Osp(6|4)/U(3)x\nSO(1,3) corresponding to AdS_4 x P^3. The pure spinor sigma model can be\nconsistently quantized.",
        "positive": "Quantum Mechanically Induced Wess-Zumino Term in the Principal Chiral\n  Model: It is argued that, in the two dimensional principal chiral model, the\nWess-Zumino term can be induced quantum mechanically, allowing the model with\nthe critical value of the coupling constant $\\lambda^2 = 8\\pi/|k|$ to turn into\nthe Wess-Zumino-Novikov-Witten model at the quantum level. The Wess-Zumino term\nemerges from the inequivalent quantizations possible on a sphere hidden in the\nconfiguration space of the original model. It is shown that the Dirac monopole\npotential, which is induced on the sphere in the inequivalent quantizations,\nturns out to be the Wess-Zumino term in the entire configuration space."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Towards a Classification of Charge-3 Monopoles with Symmetry: We classify all possible charge-3 monopole spectral curves with non-trivial\nautomorphism group and within these identify those with elliptic quotients. By\nfocussing on elliptic quotients the transcendental constraints for a monopole\nspectral curve become ones regarding periods of elliptic functions. We\nconstruct the Nahm data and new monopole spectral curves with $D_6$ and $V_4$\nsymmetry, the latter based on an integrable complexification of Euler's\nequations, and for which energy density isosurfaces are plotted. Extensions of\nour approach to higher charge and hyperbolic monopoles are discussed.",
        "positive": "Evolution of Pure States into Mixed States: In the formulation of Banks, Peskin and Susskind, we show that one can\nconstruct evolution equations for the quantum mechanical density matrix $\\rho$\nwith operators which do not commute with hamiltonian which evolve pure states\ninto mixed states, preserve the normalization and positivity of $\\rho$ and\nconserve energy. Furthermore, it seems to be different from a quantum\nmechanical system with random sources."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Black Hole Hair Removal: Macroscopic entropy of an extremal black hole is expected to be determined\ncompletely by its near horizon geometry. Thus two black holes with identical\nnear horizon geometries should have identical macroscopic entropy, and the\nexpected equality between macroscopic and microscopic entropies will then imply\nthat they have identical degeneracies of microstates. An apparent\ncounterexample is provided by the 4D-5D lift relating BMPV black hole to a four\ndimensional black hole. The two black holes have identical near horizon\ngeometries but different microscopic spectrum. We suggest that this discrepancy\ncan be accounted for by black hole hair, -- degrees of freedom living outside\nthe horizon and contributing to the degeneracies. We identify these degrees of\nfreedom for both the four and the five dimensional black holes and show that\nafter their contributions are removed from the microscopic degeneracies of the\nrespective systems, the result for the four and five dimensional black holes\nmatch exactly.",
        "positive": "Quantization of Second Order Fermions: The quantization of a massive spin $1/2$ field that satisfies the\nKlein-Gordon equation is studied. The framework is consistent, provided it is\nformulated as a pseudo-hermitian quantum field theory by the redefinition of\nthe field dual and the identification of an operator that modifies the internal\nproduct of states in Hilbert space to preserve a real energy spectrum and\nunitary evolution. Since the fermion field has mass dimension one, the theory\nadmits renormalizable fermion self-interactions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Rota-Baxter Algebras in Renormalization of Perturbative Quantum Field\n  Theory: Recently, the theory of renormalization in perturbative quantum field theory\nunderwent some exciting new developments. Kreimer discovered an organization of\nFeynman graphs into combinatorial Hopf algebras. The process of renormalization\nis captured by a factorization theorem for regularized Hopf algebra characters.\nIn this context the notion of Rota-Baxter algebras enters the scene. We review\nseveral aspects of Rota-Baxter algebras as they appear in other sectors also\nrelevant to perturbative renormalization, for instance multiple-zeta-values and\nmatrix differential equations.",
        "positive": "Comments on Higher Loop Integrability in the $su(1|1)$ Sector of $\\cal\n  N$=4 $SYM$: Lessons From the $su(2)$ Sector: An analysis of two loop integrability in the $su(1|1)$ sector of\n$\\cal{N}$=4$SYM$ is presented from the point of view of Yangian symmetries. The\nanalysis is carried out in the scaling limit of the dilatation operator which\nis shown to have a manifest $su(1|1)$ invariance. After embedding the scaling\nlimit of the dilatation operator in a general (Inozemtsev like) integrable long\nranged supersymmetric spin chain, the perturbative Yangian symmetry of the two\nloop dilatation operator is also made evident. The explicit formulae for the\ntwo loop gauge theory transfer matrix and Yangian charges are presented.\nComparisons with recent results for the effective Hamiltonians for fast moving\nstrings in the same sector are also carried out. Apart from this, a review of\nthe corresponding results in the $su(2)$ sector obtained by Beisert, Dippel,\nSerban and Staudacher is also presented."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Glueballs vs. Gluinoballs: Fluctuation Spectra in Non-AdS/Non-CFT: Building on earlier results on holographic bulk dynamics in confining gauge\ntheories, we compute the spin-0 and spin-2 spectra of gauge theories dual to\nthe non-singular Maldacena-Nunez and Klebanov-Strassler supergravity\nbackgrounds. We construct and apply a numerical recipe for computing mass\nspectra from certain determinants. In the Klebanov-Strassler case, states\ncontaining the glueball and gluinoball obey \"quadratic confinement\", i.e. their\nmass-squareds depend on consecutive number as m^2 ~ n^2 for large n, with a\nuniversal proportionality constant. The hardwall approximation appears to work\npoorly when compared to the unique spectra we find in the full theory with a\nsmooth cap-off in the infrared.",
        "positive": "Solitonic fullerene structures in light atomic nuclei: The Skyrme model is a classical field theory which has topological soliton\nsolutions. These solitons are candidates for describing nuclei, with an\nidentification between the numbers of solitons and nucleons. We have computed\nnumerically, using two different minimization algorithms, minimum energy\nconfigurations for up to 22 solitons. We find, remarkably, that the solutions\nfor seven or more solitons have nucleon density isosurfaces in the form of\npolyhedra made of hexagons and pentagons. Precisely these structures arise,\nthough at the much larger molecular scale, in the chemistry of carbon shells,\nwhere they are known as fullerenes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Lagrangian formulation, generalizations and quantization of null\n  Maxwell's knots: Knotted solutions to electromagnetism are investigated as an independent\nsubsector of the theory. We write down a Lagrangian and a Hamiltonian\nformulation of Bateman's construction for the knotted electromagnetic\nsolutions. We introduce a general definition of the null condition and\ngeneralize the construction of Maxwell's theory to massless free complex\nscalar, its dual two form field, and to a massless DBI scalar. We set up the\nframework for quantizing the theory both in a path integral approach, as well\nas the canonical Dirac method for a constrained system. We make several\nobservations about the semi-classical quantization of systems of null\nconfigurations.",
        "positive": "Universal critical coupling constants for the three-dimensional n-vector\n  model from field theory: The field-theoretical renormalization group approach in three dimensions is\nused to estimate the universal critical values of renormalized coupling\nconstants g_6 and g_8 for the O(n)-symmetric model. The RG series for g_6 and\ng_8 are calculated in the four-loop and three-loop approximations respectively\nand then resummed by means of the Pade-Borel-Leroy technique. Under the optimal\nvalue of the shift parameter b providing the fastest convergence of the\niteration procedure numerical estimates for the universal critical values\ng_6^*(n) are obtained for n = 1, 2, 3,...40 with the accuracy no worse than\n0.3%. The RG expansion for g_8 demonstrates stronger divergence and results in\nconsiderably cruder numerical estimates. They are found to be consistent with\nthe values of g_8^* deduced from the exact RG equations and, for n > 8, with\nthose given by a constrained analysis of corresponding \\epsilon-expansion."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Aspects of Flavour and Supersymmetry in F-theory GUTs: We study the constraints of supersymmetry on flavour in recently proposed\nmodels of F-theory GUTs. We relate the topologically twisted theory to the\ncanonical presentation of eight-dimensional super Yang-Mills and provide a\ndictionary between the two. We describe the constraints on Yukawa couplings\nimplied by holomorphy of the superpotential in the effective 4-dimensional\nsupergravity theory, including the scaling with \\alpha_{GUT}. Taking D-terms\ninto account we solve explicitly to second order for wavefunctions and Yukawas\ndue to metric and flux perturbations and find a rank-one Yukawa matrix with no\nsubleading corrections.",
        "positive": "A bi-invariant Einstein-Hilbert action for the non-geometric string: Inspired by recent studies on string theory with non-geometric fluxes, we\ndevelop a differential geometry calculus combining usual diffeomorphisms with\nwhat we call beta-diffeomorphisms. This allows us to construct a manifestly\nbi-invariant Einstein-Hilbert type action for the graviton, the dilaton and a\ndynamical (quasi-)symplectic structure. The equations of motion of this\nsymplectic gravity theory, further generalizations and the relation to the\nusual form of the string effective action are discussed. The Seiberg-Witten\nlimit, known for open strings to relate commutative with non-commutative\ntheories, makes an interesting appearance."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Characters for Coset Conformal Field Theories: We solve the Kac-Moody branching equation to obtain explicit formulae for the\ncharacters of coset conformal field theories and then apply these to specific\nexamples to determine the integer shift of the conformal weights of primary\nfields. We also present an example of coset conformal field theory which cannot\nbe described by the identification current method.",
        "positive": "Alternative approach to the regularization of odd dimensional AdS\n  gravity: In this paper I present an action principle for odd dimensional AdS gravity\nwhich consists of introducing another manifold with the same boundary and a\nvery specific boundary term. This new action allows and alternative approach to\nthe regularization of the theory, yielding a finite euclidean action and finite\nconserved charges. The choice of the boundary term is justified on the grounds\nthat an enhanced 'almost off-shell' local AdS/Conformal symmetry arises for\nthat very special choice. One may say that the boundary term is dictated by a\nguiding symmetry principle. Two sets of boundary conditions are considered,\nwhich yield regularization procedures analogous to (but different from) the\nstandard 'background substraction' and 'counterterms' regularization methods.\nThe Noether charges are constructed in general. As an application it is shown\nthat for Schwarszchild-AdS black holes the charge associated to the time-like\nKilling vector is finite and is indeed the mass. The Euclidean action for\nSchwarzschild-AdS black holes is computed, and it turns out to be finite, and\nto yield the right thermodynamics. The previous paragraph may be interpreted in\nthe sense that the boundary term dictated by the symmetry principle is the one\nthat correctly regularizes the action."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The twelve dimensional super (2+2)-brane: We discuss supersymmetry in twelve dimensions and present a covariant\nsupersymmetric action for a brane with worldsheet signature (2,2), called a\nsuper (2+2)-brane, propagating in the osp(64,12) superspace. This superspace is\nexplicitly constructed, and is trivial in the sense that the spinorial part is\na trivial bundle over spacetime, unlike the twisted superspace of usual\nPoincare supersymmetry. For consistency, it is necessary to take a projection\nof the superspace. This is the same as the projection required for worldvolume\nsupersymmetry. Upon compactification of this superspace, a torsion is naturally\nintroduced and we produce the membrane and type IIB string actions in 11 and 10\ndimensional Minkowski spacetimes. In addition, the compactification of the\ntwelve dimensional supersymmetry algebra produces the correct algebras for\nthese theories, including central charges. These considerations thus give the\ntype IIB string and M-theory a single twelve dimensional origin.",
        "positive": "Chaotic string dynamics in Bosonic $\u03b7$-deformed $AdS_5 \\times T^{\n  1,1}$ background: We investigate a new class of $\\eta$-deformed $AdS_5 \\times T^{1,1}$\nbackgrounds produced by $r$-matrices that satisfy the modified classical\nYang-Baxter equation [Jour. High Ener. Phys. 03 (2022) 094]. We examine the\nclassical phase space of these (semi)classical strings by numerically studying\nthe dynamics of the string sigma models over this deformed background, and we\ncompute several chaos signals. These involve figuring out the Poincar'e section\nand computing the Lyapunov exponents. In the (semi)classical limit, we discover\nevidence that supports a non-integrable phase space dynamics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fermionic Casimir effect in toroidally compactified de Sitter spacetime: We investigate the fermionic condensate and the vacuum expectation values of\nthe energy-momentum tensor for a massive spinor field in de Sitter spacetime\nwith spatial topology $\\mathrm{R}^{p}\\times (\\mathrm{S}^{1})^{q}$. Both cases\nof periodicity and antiperiodicity conditions along the compactified dimensions\nare considered. By using the Abel-Plana formula, the topological parts are\nexplicitly extracted from the vacuum expectation values. In this way the\nrenormalization is reduced to the renormalization procedure in uncompactified\nde Sitter spacetime. It is shown that in the uncompactified subspace the\nequation of state for the topological part of the energy-momentum tensor is of\nthe cosmological constant type. Asymptotic behavior of the topological parts in\nthe expectation values is investigated in the early and late stages of the\ncosmological expansion. In the limit when the comoving length of a compactified\ndimension is much smaller than the de Sitter curvature radius the topological\npart in the expectation value of the energy-momentum tensor coincides with the\ncorresponding quantity for a massless field and is conformally related to the\ncorresponding flat spacetime result. In this limit the topological part\ndominates the uncompactified de Sitter part. In the opposite limit, for a\nmassive field the asymptotic behavior of the topological parts is damping\noscillatory for both fermionic condensate and the energy-momentum tensor.",
        "positive": "Pole Inflation - Shift Symmetry and Universal Corrections: An appealing explanation for the Planck data is provided by inflationary\nmodels with a singular non-canonical kinetic term: a Laurent expansion of the\nkinetic function translates into a potential with a nearly shift-symmetric\nplateau in canonical fields. The shift symmetry can be broken at large field\nvalues by including higher-order poles, which need to be hierarchically\nsuppressed in order not to spoil the inflationary plateau. The herefrom\nresulting corrections to the inflationary dynamics and predictions are shown to\nbe universal at lowest order and possibly to induce power loss at large angular\nscales. At lowest order there are no corrections from a pole of just one order\nhigher and we argue that this phenomenon is related to the well-known extended\nno-scale structure arising in string theory scenarios. Finally, we outline\nwhich other corrections may arise from string loop effects."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Planck Scale Effect in the Entropic Force Law: In this note we generalize the quantum uncertainty relation proposed by\nVancea and Santos [7] in the entropic force law, by introducing Planck scale\nmodifications. The latter is induced by the Generalized Uncertainty Principle.\nWe show that the proposed uncertainty relation of [7], involving the entropic\nforce and the square of particle position, gets modified from the consideration\nof a minimum measurable length, (which can be the Planck length).",
        "positive": "Aether SUSY breaking: Can aether be alternative to F-term SUSY breaking?: We investigate supersymmetry (SUSY) breaking scenarios where both SUSY and\nLorentz symmetry are broken spontaneously. For concreteness, we propose models\nin which scalar fluid or vector condensation breaks Lorentz symmetry and\naccordingly SUSY. Then, we examine whether such scenarios are viable for\nrealistic model buildings. We find, however, that the scalar fluid model\nsuffers from several issues. Then, we extend it to a vector condensation model,\nwhich avoids the issues in the scalar fluid case. We show that accelerated\nexpansion and soft SUSY breaking in matter sector can be achieved. In our\nsimple setup, the soft SUSY breaking is constrained to be less than\n$\\mathcal{O}(100)$TeV from the constraints on modification of gravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Transverse Fierz-Pauli symmetry: We consider some flat space theories for spin 2 gravitons, with less\ninvariance than full diffeomorphisms. For the massless case, classical\nstability and absence of ghosts require invariance under transverse\ndiffeomorphisms (TDiff). Generic TDiff invariant theories contain a propagating\nscalar, which disappears if the symmetry is enhanced in one of two ways. One\npossibility is to consider full diffeomorphisms (Diff). The other (which we\ndenote WTDiff) adds a Weyl symmetry, by which the Lagrangian becomes\nindependent of the trace. The first possibility corresponds to General\nRelativity, whereas the second corresponds to \"unimodular\" gravity (in a\ncertain gauge). Phenomenologically, both options are equally acceptable. For\nmassive gravitons, the situation is more restrictive. Up to field\nredefinitions, classical stability and absence of ghosts lead directly to the\nstandard Fierz-Pauli Lagrangian. In this sense, the WTDiff theory is more rigid\nagainst deformations than linearized GR, since a mass term cannot be added\nwithout provoking the appearance of ghosts.",
        "positive": "String Theories on Flat Supermanifolds: We construct bosonic string theories, RNS string theories and heterotic\nstring theories on flat supermanifolds. For these string theories, we show\ncancellations of the central charges and modular invariance. Bosonic string\ntheories on supermanifolds have dimensions (D_B,D_F)=(26,0),(28,2),(30,4),...,\nwhere D_B and D_F are the numbers of bosonic coordinates and fermionic\ncoordinates, respectively. We show that in type II string theories the one loop\nvacuum amplitudes vanish. From this result, we can suggest the existence of\nsupersymmetry on supermanifolds. As examples of the heterotic string theories,\nwe construct those whose massless spectra are related to N=1 supergravity\ntheories and N=1 super Yang-Mills theories with orthosymplectic supergroups on\nthe bosonic flat 10 dimensional Minkowski space. Also, we construct D-branes on\nsupermanifolds and compute tensions of the D-branes. We show that the number of\nfermionic coordinates contributes to the tensions of the D-branes as an inverse\npower of the contribution of bosonic coordinates. Moreover, we find some\nconfigurations of two D-branes which satisfy the BPS-like no-force conditions\nif \\nu_B - \\nu_F = 0,4 and 8, where \\nu_B and \\nu_F are the numbers of\nDirichlet-Neumann directions in the bosonic coordinates and in the fermionic\ncoordinates, respectively."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Path integrals for awkward actions: Time derivatives of scalar fields occur quadratically in textbook actions. A\nsimple Legendre transformation turns the lagrangian into a hamiltonian that is\nquadratic in the momenta. The path integral over the momenta is gaussian. Mean\nvalues of operators are euclidian path integrals of their classical\ncounterparts with positive weight functions. Monte Carlo simulations can\nestimate such mean values.\n  This familiar framework falls apart when the time derivatives do not occur\nquadratically. The Legendre transformation becomes difficult or so intractable\nthat one can't find the hamiltonian. Even if one finds the hamiltonian, it\nusually is so complicated that one can't path-integrate over the momenta and\nget a euclidian path integral with a positive weight function. Monte Carlo\nsimulations don't work when the weight function assumes negative or complex\nvalues.\n  This paper solves both problems. It shows how to make path integrals without\nknowing the hamiltonian. It also shows how to estimate complex path integrals\nby combining the Monte Carlo method with parallel numerical integration and a\nlook-up table. This \"Atlantic City method\" lets one estimate the energy\ndensities of theories that, unlike those with quadratic time derivatives, may\nhave finite energy densities. It may lead to a theory of dark energy.\n  The approximation of multiple integrals over weight functions that assume\nnegative or complex values is the long-standing sign problem. The Atlantic City\nmethod solves it for problems in which numerical integration leads to a\npositive weight function.",
        "positive": "Topology and Signature Changes in Braneworlds: It has been believed that topology and signature change of the universe can\nonly happen accompanied by singularities, in classical, or instantons, in\nquantum, gravity. In this note, we point out however that in the braneworld\ncontext, such an event can be understood as a classical, smooth event. We\nsupply some explicit examples of such cases, starting from the\nDirac-Born-Infeld action. Topology change of the brane universe can be realised\nby allowing self-intersecting branes. Signature change in a braneworld is made\npossible in an everywhere Lorentzian bulk spacetime. In our examples, the\nboundary of the signature change is a curvature singularity from the brane\npoint of view, but nevertheless that event can be described in a completely\nsmooth manner from the bulk point of view."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Lax Pair Formulation of the W-gravity Theories in two Dimensions: The Lax pair formulation of the two dimensional induced gravity in the\nlight-cone gauge is extended to the more general $w_N$ theories. After\npresenting the $w_2$ and $w_3$ gravities, we give a general prescription for an\narbitrary $w_N$ case. This is further illustrated with the $w_4$ gravity to\npoint out some peculiarities. The constraints and the possible presence of the\ncosmological constants are systematically exhibited in the zero-curvature\ncondition, which also yields the relevant Ward identities. The restrictions on\nthe gauge parameters in presence of the constraints are also pointed out and\nare contrasted with those of the ordinary 2d-gravity.",
        "positive": "The Quantum Effective Action, Wave Functions and Yang-Mills (2+1): We explore the relationship between the quantum effective action and the\nground state (and excited state) wave functions of a field theory. Applied to\nthe Yang-Mills theory in 2+1 dimensions, we find the leading terms of the\neffective action from the ground state wave function previously obtained in the\nHamiltonian formalism by solving the Schrodinger equation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Near-Horizon BMS Symmetry, Dimensional Reduction, and Black Hole Entropy: In an earlier short paper [Phys.\\ Rev.\\ Lett.\\ 120 (2018) 101301,\narXiv:1702.04439], I argued that the horizon-preserving diffeomorphisms of a\ngeneric black hole are enhanced to a larger BMS${}_3$ symmetry, which is\npowerful enough to determine the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy. Here I provide\ndetails and extensions of that argument, including a loosening of horizon\nboundary conditions and a more thorough treatment of dimensional reduction and\nmeaning of a \"near-horizon symmetry.\"",
        "positive": "Pair creation in electric fields, anomalies, and renormalization of the\n  electric current: We investigate the Schwinger pair production phenomena in spatially\nhomogeneous strong electric fields. We first consider scalar QED in\nfour-dimensions and discuss the potential ambiguity in the adiabatic order\nassignment for the electromagnetic potential required to fix the\nrenormalization subtractions. We argue that this ambiguity can be solved by\ninvoking the conformal anomaly when both electric and gravitational backgrounds\nare present. We also extend the adiabatic regularization method for spinor QED\nin two-dimensions and find consistency with the chiral anomaly. We focus on the\nissue of the renormalization of the electric current $\\langle j^\\mu \\rangle$\ngenerated by the created pairs. We illustrate how to implement the\nrenormalization of the electric current for the Sauter pulse."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Isospin precession in non-Abelian Aharonov-Bohm scattering: The concept of pseudoclassical isospin is illustrated by the non-Abelian\nAharonov-Bohm effect proposed by Wu and Yang in 1975. The spatial motion is\nfree however the isospin precesses when the enclosed magnetic flux and the\nincoming particle's isosopin are not parallel. The non-Abelian phase factor\n$\\mathfrak{F}$ of Wu and Yang acts on the isospin as an S-matrix. The\nscattering becomes side-independent when the enclosed flux is quantized,\n${\\Phi}_N=N\\Phi_0$ with $N$ an integer. The gauge group $SU(2)$ is an internal\nsymmetry and generates conserved charges only when the flux is quantized, which\nthen splits into two series: for $N=2k$ $SU(2)$ acts trivially but for $N=1+2k$\nthe implementation is twisted. The orbital and the internal angular momenta are\nseparately conserved. The double rotational symmetry is broken to $SO(2)\\times\nSO(2)$ when $N$ odd. For unquantized flux there are no internal symmetries, the\ncharge is not conserved and protons can be turned into neutrons.",
        "positive": "Quantum Transitions Between Classical Histories: Bouncing Cosmologies: In a quantum theory of gravity spacetime behaves classically when quantum\nprobabilities are high for histories of geometry and field that are correlated\nin time by the Einstein equation. Probabilities follow from the quantum state.\nThis quantum perspective on classicality has important implications: (a)\nClassical histories are generally available only in limited patches of the\nconfiguration space on which the state lives. (b) In a given patch states\ngenerally predict relative probabilities for an ensemble of possible classical\nhistories. (c) In between patches classical predictability breaks down and is\nreplaced by quantum evolution connecting classical histories in different\npatches. (d) Classical predictability can break down on scales well below the\nPlanck scale, and with no breakdown in the classical equations of motion. We\nsupport and illustrate (a)-(d) by calculating the quantum transition across the\nde Sitter like throat connecting asymptotically classical, inflating histories\nin the no-boundary quantum state. This supplies probabilities for how a\nclassical history on one side transitions and branches into a range of\nclassical histories on the opposite side. We also comment on the implications\nof (a)-(d) for the dynamics of black holes and eternal inflation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Affine Lie Algebras, Casimir Invariants and Diagonalization of\n  the Braid Generator: Let $U_q(\\hat{\\cal G})$ be an infinite-dimensional quantum affine Lie\nalgebra. A family of central elements or Casimir invariants are constructed and\ntheir eigenvalues computed in any integrable irreducible highest weight\nrepresentation. These eigenvalue formulae are shown to absolutely convergent\nwhen the deformation parameter $q$ is such that $|q|>1$. It is proven that the\nuniversal R-matrix $R$ of $U_q(\\hat{\\cal G})$ satisfies the celebrated\nconjugation relation $R^\\dagger=TR$ with $T$ the usual twist map. As\napplications, the braid generator is shown to be diagonalizable on arbitrary\ntensor product modules of integrable irreducible highest weight $U_q(\\hat{\\cal\nG})$-modules and a spectral decomposition formula for the braid generator is\nobtained which is the generalization of Reshetikhin's and Gould's forms to the\npresent affine case. Casimir invariants acting on a specified module are also\nconstructed and their eigenvalues, again absolutely convergent for $|q|>1$,\ncomputed by means of the spectral decomposition formula.",
        "positive": "Time-dependent flow from an AdS Schwarzschild black hole: I discuss two examples of time-dependent flow which can be described in terms\nof an AdS Schwarzschild black hole via holography. The first example involves\nBjorken hydrodynamics which should be applicable to the formation of the quark\ngluon plasma in heavy ion collisions. The second example is the cosmological\nevolution of our Universe."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Electron stars for holographic metallic criticality: We refer to the ground state of a gravitating, charged ideal fluid of\nfermions held at a finite chemical potential as an `electron star'. In a\nholographic setting, electron stars are candidate gravity duals for strongly\ninteracting finite fermion density systems. We show how electron stars develop\nan emergent Lifshitz scaling at low energies. This IR scaling region is a\nconsequence of the two way interaction between emergent quantum critical\nbosonic modes and the finite density of fermions. By integrating from the IR\nregion to an asymptotically AdS_4 spacetime, we compute basic properties of the\nelectron stars, including their electrical conductivity. We emphasize the\nchallenge of connecting UV and IR physics in strongly interacting finite\ndensity systems.",
        "positive": "On the stability of field-theoretical regularizations of negative\n  tension branes: Any attempt to regularize a negative tension brane through a bulk scalar\nrequires that this field is a ghost. One can try to improve in this aspect in a\nnumber of ways. For instance, it has been suggested to employ a field whose\nkinetic term is not sign definite, in the hope that the background may be\noverall stable. We show that this is not the case; the physical perturbations\n(gravity included) of the system do not extend across the zeros of the kinetic\nterm; hence, all the modes are entirely localized either where the kinetic term\nis positive, or where it is negative; this second type of modes are ghosts. We\nshow that this conclusion does not depend on the specific choice for the\nkinetic and potential functions for the bulk scalar."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Constructing the Supersymmetric anti-D3-brane action in KKLT: The derivation of the complete anti-D3-brane low energy effective action in\nKKLT is reviewed. All worldvolume fields are included, together with the\nbackground moduli. The result is recast into a manifest supersymmetric form in\nterms of the three independent functions of $\\mathcal{N}=1$ supergravity in\nfour dimensions: the Kaehler potential, the superpotential and the gauge\nkinetic function. The latter differs from the expression one would expect by\nanalogy with the D3-brane case.",
        "positive": "Dual dynamics of three dimensional asymptotically flat Einstein gravity\n  at null infinity: Starting from the Chern-Simons formulation, the two-dimensional dual theory\nfor three-dimensional asymptotically flat Einstein gravity at null infinity is\nconstructed. Solving the constraints together with suitable gauge fixing\nconditions gives in a first stage a chiral Wess-Zumino-Witten like model based\non the Poincar\\'e algebra in three dimensions. The next stage involves a\nHamiltonian reduction to a BMS3 invariant Liouville theory. These results are\nconnected to those originally derived in the anti-de Sitter case by rephrasing\nthe latter in a suitable gauge before taking their flat-space limit."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "How to Run Through Walls: Dynamics of Bubble and Soliton Collisions: It has recently been shown in high resolution numerical simulations that\nrelativistic collisions of bubbles in the context of a multi-vacua potential\nmay lead to the creation of bubbles in a new vacuum. In this paper, we show\nthat scalar fields with only potential interactions behave like free fields\nduring high-speed collisions; the kick received by them in a collision can be\ndeduced simply by a linear superposition of the bubble wall profiles. This\nprocess is equivalent to the scattering of solitons in 1+1 dimensions. We\ndeduce an expression for the field excursion (shortly after a collision), which\nis related simply to the field difference between the parent and bubble vacua,\ni.e. contrary to expectations, the excursion cannot be made arbitrarily large\nby raising the collision energy. There is however a minimum energy threshold\nfor this excursion to be realized. We verify these predictions using a number\nof 3+1 and 1+1 numerical simulations. A rich phenomenology follows from these\ncollision induced excursions - they provide a new mechanism for scanning the\nlandscape, they might end/begin inflation, and they might constitute our very\nown big bang, leaving behind a potentially observable anisotropy.",
        "positive": "Superfluid Black Holes: We present what we believe is the first example of a \"$\\lambda$-line\" phase\ntransition in black hole thermodynamics. This is a line of (continuous) second\norder phase transitions which in the case of liquid $^4$He marks the onset of\nsuperfluidity. The phase transition occurs for a class of asymptotically AdS\nhairy black holes in Lovelock gravity where a real scalar field is conformally\ncoupled to gravity. We discuss the origin of this phase transition and outline\nthe circumstances under which it (or generalizations of it) could occur."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Attractors, black objects, and holographic RG flows in 5d maximal gauged\n  supergravities: We perform a systematic search for static solutions in different sectors of\n5d $N=8$ supergravities with compact and non-compact gauged R-symmetry groups,\nfinding new and listing already known backgrounds. Due to the variety of\npossible gauge groups and resulting scalar potentials, the maximally symmetric\nvacua we encounter in these theories can be Minkowski, de Sitter, or anti-de\nSitter. There exist BPS and non-BPS near-horizon geometries and full solutions\nwith all these three types of asymptotics, corresponding to black holes,\nbranes, strings, rings, and other black objects with more exotic horizon\ntopologies, supported by $U(1)$ and $SU(2)$ charges. The asymptotically AdS$_5$\nsolutions also have a clear holographic interpretation as RG flows of field\ntheories on D3 branes, wrapped on compact 2- and 3-manifolds.",
        "positive": "Anisotropic Landau-Lifshitz sigma models from q-deformed AdS_5 x S^5\n  superstrings: We consider bosonic subsectors of the q-deformed AdS_5 x S^5 superstring\naction and study the classical integrable structure of anisotropic\nLandau-Lifshitz sigma models (LLSMs) derived by taking fast-moving limits. The\nsubsectors are 1) deformed AdS_3 x S^1 and 2) R x deformed S^3. The cases 1)\nand 2) lead to a time-like warped SL(2) LLSM and a squashed S^3 LLSM,\nrespectively. For each of them, we construct an infinite number of non-local\nconserved charges and show a quantum affine algebra at the classical level.\nFurthermore, a pp-wave like limit is applied for the case 1). The resulting\nsystem is a null-like warped SL(2) LLSM and exhibits a couple of Yangians\nthrough non-local gauge transformations associated with Jordanian twists."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Entanglement entropy in higher derivative holography: We consider holographic entanglement entropy in higher derivative gravity\ntheories. Recently Lewkowycz and Maldacena arXiv:1304.4926 have provided a\nmethod to derive the equations for the entangling surface from first\nprinciples. We use this method to compute the entangling surface in four\nderivative gravity. Certain interesting differences compared to the two\nderivative case are pointed out. For Gauss-Bonnet gravity, we show that in the\nregime where this method is applicable, the resulting equations coincide with\nproposals in the literature as well as with what follows from considerations of\nthe stress tensor on the entangling surface. Finally we demonstrate that the\narea functional in Gauss-Bonnet holography arises as a counterterm needed to\nmake the Euclidean action free of power law divergences.",
        "positive": "Hawking radiation of Dirac particles from black strings: Hawking radiation has been studied as a phenomenon of quantum tunneling in\ndifferent black holes. In this paper we extend this semi-classical approach to\ncylindrically symmetric black holes. Using the Hamilton-Jacobi method and WKB\napproximation we calculate the tunneling probabilities of incoming and outgoing\nDirac particles from the event horizon and find the Hawking temperature of\nthese black holes. We obtain results both for uncharged as well as charged\nparticles."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Construction of Correlation Functions for the Integrable\n  Supersymmetric Fermion Models: We review the recent progress on the construction of the determinant\nrepresentations of the correlation functions for the integrable supersymmetric\nfermion models. The factorizing $F$-matrices (or the so-called $F$-basis) play\nan important role in the construction. In the $F$-basis, the creation (and the\nannihilation) operators and the Bethe states of the integrable models are given\nin completely symmetric forms. This leads to the determinant representations of\nthe scalar products of the Bethe states for the models. Based on the scalar\nproducts, the determinant representations of the correlation functions may be\nobtained. As an example, in this review, we give the determinant\nrepresentations of the two-point correlation function for the $\\gl$ (i.e.\nq-deformed) supersymmetric t-J model. The determinant representations are\nuseful for analysing physical properties of the integrable models in the\nthermodynamical limit.",
        "positive": "Heterotic Calabi-Yau Compactifications with Flux: Compactifications of the heterotic string with NS flux normally require non\nCalabi-Yau internal spaces which are complex but no longer K\\\"ahler. We point\nout that this conclusion rests on the assumption of a maximally symmetric\nfour-dimensional space-time and can be avoided if this assumption is relaxed.\nSpecifically, it is shown that an internal Calabi-Yau manifold is consistent\nwith the presence of NS flux provided four-dimensional space-time is taken to\nbe a domain wall. These Calabi-Yau domain wall solutions can still be\nassociated with a covariant four-dimensional N=1 supergravity. In this\nfour-dimensional context, the domain wall arises as the \"simplest\" solution to\nthe effective supergravity due to the presence of a flux potential with a\nrunaway direction. Our main message is that NS flux is a legitimate ingredient\nfor moduli stabilization in heterotic Calabi-Yau models. Ultimately, the\nsuccess of such models depends on the ability to stabilize the runaway\ndirection and thereby \"lift\" the domain wall to a maximally supersymmetric\nvacuum."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Information Problem in Black Holes and Cosmology and Ghosts in Quadratic\n  Gravity: Black hole information problem is the question about unitarity of the\nevolution operator during the collapse and evaporation of the black hole. One\ncan ask the same question about unitarity of quantum and inflationary\ncosmology. In this paper we argue that in both cases, for black holes and for\ncosmology, the answer is negative and we face non-unitarity.\n  Such a question can not be addressed by using the fixed classical\ngravitational background since one has to take into account the backreaction.\nTo his end one uses the semi-classical gravity, which includes the expectation\nvalue of the energy - momentum tensor operator of the matter fields. One has to\nrenormalize the energy-momentum tensor and one gets an effective action which\ncontains quadratic terms in scalar curvature and Ricci tensor. Such quadratic\ngravity contains ghosts which in fact lead to violation of unitarity in black\nholes and cosmology. We discuss the question whether black holes will emit\nghosts.\n  One can try to restrict ourselves to the $f(R)$ gravity that seems is a good\napproximation to the semi-classical gravity and widely used in cosmology. The\nblack hole entropy in $f(R)$ gravity is different from the Bekenstein-Hawking\nentropy and from entanglement island entropy. The black hole entropy in $R+R^2$\ngravity goes to a constant during the evaporation process. This can be\ninterpreted as another indication to the possible non-unitarity in black holes\nand cosmology",
        "positive": "Exactly Solvable Quantum Mechanical Models with Infinite Renormalization\n  of the Wave Function: The main difficulty of quantum field theory is the problem of divergences and\nrenormalization. However, realistic models of quantum field theory are\nrenormalized within the perturbative framework only. It is important to\ninvestigate renormalization beyond perturbation theory. However, known models\nof constructive field theory do not contain such difficulties as infinite\nrenormalization of the wave function. In this paper an exactly solvable quantum\nmechanical model with such a difficulty is constructed. This model is a\nsimplified analog of the large-N approximation to the $\\Phi\\phi^a\\phi^a$-model\nin 6-dimensional space-time. It is necessary to introduce an indefinite inner\nproduct to renormalize the theory. The mathematical results of the theory of\nPontriagin spaces are essentially used. It is remarkable that not only the\nfield but also the canonically conjugated momentum become well-defined\noperators after adding counterterms."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Superconformal Tensor Calculus on an Orbifold in 5D: Superconformal tensor calculus on an orbifold S^1/Z_2 is given in\nfive-dimensional (5D) spacetime. The four-dimensional superconformal Weyl\nmultiplet and various matter multiplets are induced on the boundary planes from\nthe 5D supermultiplets in the bulk. We identify those induced 4D\nsupermultiplets and clarify a general method for coupling the bulk fields to\nthe matter fields on the boundaries in a superconformal invariant manner.",
        "positive": "Explicit Bosonization of the Massive Thirring Model in 3+1 Dimensions: We bosonize the Massive Thirring Model in 3+1D for small coupling constant\nand arbitrary mass. The bosonized action is explicitly obtained both in terms\nof a Kalb-Ramond tensor field as well as in terms of a dual vector field. An\nexact bosonization formula for the current is derived. The small and large mass\nlimits of the bosonized theory are examined in both the direct and dual forms.\nWe finally obtain the exact bosonization of the free fermion with an arbitrary\nmass."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Contextual viewpoint to quantum stochastics: We study the role of context, complex of physical conditions, in quantum as\nwell as classical experiments. It is shown that by taking into account\ncontextual dependence of experimental probabilities we can derive the quantum\nrule for the addition of probabilities of alternatives. Thus we obtain quantum\ninterference without applying to wave or Hilbert space approach. The Hilbert\nspace representation of contextual probabilities is obtained as a consequence\nof the elementary geometric fact: $\\cos$-theorem. By using another fact from\nelementary algebra we obtain complex-amplitude representation of probabilities.\nFinally, we found contextual origin of noncommutativity of incompatible\nobservables.",
        "positive": "Quantum Generation of the non-Abelian SU(N) Gauge Fields: In this paper we investigate a generation mechanism of the non-Abelian gauge\nfields in the SU(N) gauge theory. It is shown that the SU(N) gauge fields\nensuring the local invariance of the theory are generated at the quantum level\nonly due to nonsmoothness of the scalar phases of the fundamental spinor\nfields. The expression for the gauge fields are obtained in terms of the\nnonsmooth scalar phases."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Topological gauge theories from supersymmetric quantum mechanics on\n  spaces of connections: We rederive the recently introduced $N=2$ topological gauge theories,\nrepresenting the Euler characteristic of moduli spaces ${\\cal M}$ of\nconnections, from supersymmetric quantum mechanics on the infinite dimensional\nspaces ${\\cal A}/{\\cal G}$ of gauge orbits. To that end we discuss variants of\nordinary supersymmetric quantum mechanics which have meaningful extensions to\ninfinite-dimensional target spaces and introduce supersymmetric quantum\nmechanics actions modelling the Riemannian geometry of submersions and\nembeddings, relevant to the projections ${\\cal A}\\rightarrow {\\cal A}/{\\cal G}$\nand inclusions ${\\cal M}\\subset{\\cal A}/{\\cal G}$ respectively. We explain the\nrelation between Donaldson theory and the gauge theory of flat connections in\n$3d$ and illustrate the general construction by other $2d$ and $4d$ examples.",
        "positive": "On gauge fields - strings duality as an integrable system: It was suggested in hep-th/0002106, that semiclassically, a partition\nfunction of a string theory in the 5 dimensional constant negative curvature\nspace with a boundary condition at the absolute satisfy the loop equation with\nrespect to varying the boundary condition, and thus the partition function of\nthe string gives the expectation value of a Wilson loop in the 4 dimensional\nQCD. In the paper, we present the geometrical framework, which reveals that the\nequations of motion of such string theory are integrable, in the sense that\nthey can be written via a Lax pair with a spectral parameter. We also show,\nthat the issue of the loop equation rests solely on the properly posing the\nboundary condition."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Holar Wind: String theory in AdS3 with purely NS-NS fluxes and vanishing RR moduli has a\ncontinuum of winding string excitations in radial plane wave states. BTZ black\nholes can emit such strings, which then flow out toward the AdS3 boundary as a\nstream of massive quanta, and form a black hole analogue of the solar wind. The\nwinding string sector thus provides a decay channel for the black hole to\nevaporate without having either to couple the system to an external reservoir\nor to match the AdS3 throat onto an asymptotically flat region. We compute the\nemission amplitude of this \"holar wind\" in the semi-classical approximation,\nand consider the associated version of the black hole information paradox.",
        "positive": "The quantization problem in Scherk-Schwarz compactifications: We re-examine the quantization of structure constants, or equivalently the\nchoice of lattice in the so-called flat group reductions, introduced originally\nby Scherk and Schwarz. Depending on this choice, the vacuum either breaks\nsupersymmetry and lifts certain moduli, or preserves all supercharges and is\nidentical to the one obtained from the torus reduction. Nonetheless the\nlow-energy effective theory proposed originally by Scherk and Schwarz is a\ngauged supergravity that describes supersymmetry breaking and moduli lifting\nfor all values of the structure constants. When the vacuum does not break\nsupersymmetry, such a description turns out to be an artifact of the consistent\ntruncation to left-invariant forms as illustrated for the example of ISO(2). We\nfurthermore discuss the construction of flat groups in d dimensions and find\nthat the Scherk--Schwarz algorithm is exhaustive. A classification of flat\ngroups up to six dimensions and a discussion of all possible lattices is\npresented."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "QCD effective coupling constant and effective quark mass given in a\n  mass-dependent renormalization: The QCD one-loop renormalization is restudied in a mass-dependent subtraction\nscheme in which the quark mass is not set to vanish and the renormalization\npoint is chosen to be an arbitrary timelike momentum. The correctness of the\nsubtraction is ensured by the Ward identities which are respected in all the\nprocesses of subtraction. By considering the mass effect, the effective\ncoupling constant and the effective quark mass are given in improved\nexpressions which are different from the previous results.",
        "positive": "Generalized Landau-Lifshitz models on the interval: We study the classical generalized gl(n) Landau-Lifshitz (L-L) model with\nspecial boundary conditions that preserve integrability. We explicitly derive\nthe first non-trivial local integral of motion, which corresponds to the\nboundary Hamiltonian for the sl(2) L-L model. Novel expressions of the modified\nLax pairs associated to the integrals of motion are also extracted. The\nrelevant equations of motion with the corresponding boundary conditions are\ndetermined. Dynamical integrable boundary conditions are also examined within\nthis spirit. Then the generalized isotropic and anisotropic gl(n)\nLandau-Lifshitz models are considered, and novel expressions of the boundary\nHamiltonians and the relevant equations of motion and boundary conditions are\nderived."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Potentials in N=4 superconformal mechanics: Proceeding from nonlinear realizations of (super)conformal symmetries, we\nexplicitly demonstrate that adding the harmonic oscillator potential to the\naction of conformal mechanics does not break these symmetries but modifies the\ntransformation properties of the (super)fields. We also analyze the possibility\nto introduce potentials in N=4 supersymmetric mechanics by coupling it with\nauxiliary fermionic superfields. The new coupling we considered does not\nintroduce new fermionic degrees of freedom - all our additional fermions are\npurely auxiliary ones. The new bosonic components have a first order kinetic\nterm and therefore they serve as spin degrees of freedom. The resulting system\ncontains, besides the potential term in the bosonic sector, a non-trivial\nspin-like interaction in the fermionic sector. The superconformal mechanics we\nconstructed in this paper is invariant under the full $D(2,1;\\alpha)$\nsuperconformal group. This invariance is not evident and is achieved within\nmodified (super)conformal transformations of the superfields.",
        "positive": "When Worlds Collide: We analyze the cosmological signatures visible to an observer in a Coleman-de\nLuccia bubble when another such bubble collides with it. We use a gluing\nprocedure to generalize the results of Freivogel, Horowitz, and Shenker to the\ncase of a general cosmological constant in each bubble and study the resulting\nspacetimes. The collision breaks the isotropy and homogeneity of the bubble\nuniverse and provides a cosmological \"axis of evil\" which can affect the cosmic\nmicrowave background in several unique and potentially detectable ways. Unlike\nmore conventional perturbations to the inflationary initial state, these\nsignatures can survive even relatively long periods of inflation. In addition,\nwe find that for a given collision the observers in the bubble with smaller\ncosmological constant are safest from collisions with domain walls, possibly\nproviding another anthropic selection principle for small positive vacuum\nenergy."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantization of the massive gravitino on FRW spacetimes: In this article we study the quantization and causal properties of a massive\nspin 3/2 Rarita-Schwinger field on spatially flat Friedmann-Robertson-Walker\n(FRW) spacetimes. We construct Zuckerman's universal conserved current and\nprove that it leads to a positive definite inner product on solutions of the\nfield equation. Based on this inner product, we quantize the Rarita-Schwinger\nfield in terms of a CAR-algebra. The transversal and longitudinal parts\nconstituting the independent on-shell degrees of freedom decouple. We find a\nDirac-type equation for the transversal polarizations, ensuring a causal\npropagation. The equation of motion for the longitudinal part is also of\nDirac-type, but with respect to an `effective metric'. We obtain that for all\nfour-dimensional FRW solutions with a matter equation of state p = w rho and w\nin (-1,1] the light cones of the effective metric are more narrow than the\nstandard cones, which are recovered for the de Sitter case w=-1. In particular,\nthis shows that the propagation of the longitudinal part, although non-standard\nfor w different from -1, is completely causal in cosmological constant, dust\nand radiation dominated universes.",
        "positive": "Hessian eigenvalue distribution in a random Gaussian landscape: The energy landscape of multiverse cosmology is often modeled by a\nmulti-dimensional random Gaussian potential. The physical predictions of such\nmodels crucially depend on the eigenvalue distribution of the Hessian matrix at\npotential minima. In particular, the stability of vacua and the dynamics of\nslow-roll inflation are sensitive to the magnitude of the smallest eigenvalues.\nThe Hessian eigenvalue distribution has been studied earlier, using the saddle\npoint approximation, in the leading order of $1/N$ expansion, where $N$ is the\ndimensionality of the landscape. This approximation, however, is insufficient\nfor the small eigenvalue end of the spectrum, where sub-leading terms play a\nsignificant role. We extend the saddle point method to account for the\nsub-leading contributions. We also develop a new approach, where the eigenvalue\ndistribution is found as an equilibrium distribution at the endpoint of a\nstochastic process (Dyson Brownian motion). The results of the two approaches\nare consistent in cases where both methods are applicable. We discuss the\nimplications of our results for vacuum stability and slow-roll inflation in the\nlandscape."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "RR charges of D2-branes in group manifold and Hanany-Witten effect: By exploiting the correspondence between the Cardy boundary state in SU(2)\ngroup manifold and the BPS D3-brane configuration in the full asymptotically\nflat geometry of NS5-branes, we show that the Hanany-Witten effect in 10D\nbackground is encoded in the Cardy boundary states. The two RR Page D0 charges\nof the $n$-th spherical D2-brane due to the contraction to $e$ or ($-e$) is\ninterpreted, and attributed to the Hanany-Witten effect.",
        "positive": "N=2 Sigma Models for Ramond-Ramond Backgrounds: Using the U(4) hybrid formalism, manifestly N=(2,2) worldsheet supersymmetric\nsigma models are constructed for the Type IIB superstring in Ramond-Ramond\nbackgrounds. The Kahler potential in these N=2 sigma models depends on four\nchiral and antichiral bosonic superfields and two chiral and antichiral\nfermionic superfields. When the Kahler potential is quadratic, the model is a\nfree conformal field theory which describes a flat ten-dimensional target space\nwith Ramond-Ramond flux and non-constant dilaton. For more general Kahler\npotentials, the model describes curved target spaces with Ramond-Ramond flux\nthat are not plane-wave backgrounds. Ricci-flatness of the Kahler metric\nimplies the on-shell conditions for the background up to the usual four-loop\nconformal anomaly."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Casimir Effect in Problems with Spherical Symmetry: New Perspectives: Since the Maxwell theory of electromagnetic phenomena is a gauge theory, it\nis quite important to evaluate the zero-point energy of the quantized\nelectromagnetic field by a careful assignment of boundary conditions on the\npotential and on the ghost fields. Recent work by the authors has shown that,\nfor a perfectly conducting spherical shell, it is precisely the contribution of\nlongitudinal and normal modes of the potential which enables one to reproduce\nthe result first due to Boyer. This is obtained provided that one works with\nthe Lorenz gauge-averaging functional, and with the help of the Feynman choice\nfor a dimensionless gauge parameter. For arbitrary values of the gauge\nparameter, however, covariant and non-covariant gauges lead to an entangled\nsystem of three eigenvalue equations. Such a problem is crucial both for the\nfoundations and for the applications of quantum field theory.",
        "positive": "Supersymmetric Nonlinear Sigma Models on Ricci-flat Kahler Manifolds\n  with O(N) Symmetry: We propose a class of N=2 supersymmetric nonlinear sigma models on the\nRicci-flat Kahler manifolds with O(n) symmetry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Topological Quantum Field Theory: A Progress Report: A brief introduction to Topological Quantum Field Theory as well as a\ndescription of recent progress made in the field is presented. I concentrate\nmainly on the connection between Chern-Simons gauge theory and Vassiliev\ninvariants, and Donaldson theory and its generalizations and Seiberg-Witten\ninvariants. Emphasis is made on the usefulness of these relations to obtain\nexplicit expressions for topological invariants, and on the universal structure\nunderlying both systems.",
        "positive": "5d Black Hole as Emergent Geometry of Weakly Interacting 4d Hot\n  Yang-Mills Gas: We demonstrate five-dimensional anti-de Sitter black hole emerges as dual\ngeometry holographic to weakly interacting N=4 superconformal Yang-Mills\ntheory. We first note that an ideal probe of the dual geometry is the\nYang-Mills instanton, probing point by point in spacetime. We then study\ninstanton moduli space at finite temperature by adopting Hitchin's proposal\nthat geometry of the moduli space is definable by Fisher-Rao \"information\ngeometry\". In Yang-Mills theory, the information metric is measured by a novel\nclass of gauge-invariant, nonlocal operators in the instanton sector. We show\nthat the moduli space metric exhibits (1) asymptotically anti-de Sitter, (2)\nhorizon at radial distance set by the Yang-Mills temperature, and (3) after\nWick rotation of the moduli space to the Lorentzian signature, a singularity at\nthe origin. We argue that the dual geometry emerges even for rank of gauge\ngroups of order unity and for weak `t Hooft coupling."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Conformal Field Theories in Six-Dimensional Twistor Space: This article gives a study of the higher-dimensional Penrose transform\nbetween conformally invariant massless fields on space-time and cohomology\nclasses on twistor space, where twistor space is defined to be the space of\nprojective pure spinors of the conformal group. We focus on the 6-dimensional\ncase in which twistor space is the six-quadric Q in CP^7 with a view to\napplications to the self-dual (0,2)-theory. We show how spinor-helicity\nmomentum eigenstates have canonically defined distributional representatives on\ntwistor space (a story that we extend to arbitrary dimension). These give an\nelementary proof of the surjectivity of the Penrose transform. We give a direct\nconstruction of the twistor transform between the two different representations\nof massless fields on twistor space (H^2 and H^3) in which the H^3s arise as\nobstructions to extending the H^2s off Q into CP^7.\n  We also develop the theory of Sparling's `\\Xi-transform', the analogous\ntotally real split signature story based now on real integral geometry where\ncohomology no longer plays a role. We extend Sparling's \\Xi-transform to all\nhelicities and homogeneities on twistor space and show that it maps kernels and\ncokernels of conformally invariant powers of the ultrahyperbolic wave operator\non twistor space to conformally invariant massless fields on space-time. This\nis proved by developing the 6-dimensional analogue of the half-Fourier\ntransform between functions on twistor space and momentum space. We give a\ntreatment of the elementary conformally invariant \\Phi^3 amplitude on twistor\nspace and finish with a discussion of conformal field theories in twistor\nspace.",
        "positive": "On Interpretation of Special Relativity: a complement to Covariant\n  Harmonic Oscillator Picture: In 1971 Feynman, Kislinger and Ravndal [1] proposed Lorentz-invariant\ndifferential equation capable to describe relativistic particle with mass and\ninternal space-time structure. By making use of new variables that\ndifferentiate between space-time particle position and its space-time\nseparations, one finds this wave equation to become separable and providing the\ntwo kinds of solutions endowed with different physical meanings. The first kind\nconstitutes the running waves that represent Klein-Gordon-like particle. The\nsecond kind, widely discussed by Kim and Noz [4], constitutes standing waves\nwhich are normalizable space-time wave functions. To fully appreciate how\nvaluable theses solutions are it seems necessarily, however, to verify a\ngeneral outlook on relativity issue that (still) is in force. It was explained\n[5] that Lorentz symmetry should be perceived rather as the symmetry of\npreferred frame quantum description (based on the freedom of choice of\ncomparison scale) than classical Galilean idea realized in a generalized form.\nCurrently we point to some basic consequences that relate to solutions of\nFeynman equation framed in the new approach. In particular (i) Lorentz symmetry\ngroup appears to describe energy-dependent geometry of extended quantum objects\ninstead of relativity of space and time measure, (ii) a new picture of\nparticle-wave duality involving running and standing waves emerges, (iii)\nspace-time localized quantum states are shown to provide a new way of\ndescription of particle kinematics, and (iv) proposed by Witten [14]\ngeneralized form of Heisenberg uncertainty relation is derived and shown be the\nintegral part of overall non-orthodox approach."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Solving the Noether procedure for cubic interactions of higher spins in\n  (A)dS: The Noether procedure represents a perturbative scheme to construct all\npossible consistent interactions starting from a given free theory. In this\nnote we describe how cubic interactions involving higher spins in any\nconstant-curvature background can be systematically derived within this\nframework.",
        "positive": "Casimir operator dependences of non-perturbative fermionic QCD\n  amplitudes: In eikonal and quenched approximation, it is argued that the strong coupling\nfermionic QCD Green's functions and related amplitudes depart from a sole\ndependence on the SUc(3) quadratic Casimir operator, C2f, evaluated over the\nfundamental gauge group representation. Noticed in non-relativistic Quark\nModels and in a non-perturbative generalization of the Schwinger mechanism, an\nadditional dependence on the cubic Casimir operator shows up, in\ncontradistinction with perturbation theory and other non-perturbative\napproaches. However, it accounts for the full algebraic content of the rank-2\nLie algebra of SUc(3). Though numerically sub-leading effects, cubic Casimir\ndependences, here and elsewhere, appear to be a signature of the\nnon-perturbative fermonic sector of QCD."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "1/J^2 corrections to BMN energies from the quantum long range\n  Landau-Lifshitz model: In a previous paper (hep-th/0509071), it was shown that quantum 1/J\ncorrections to the BMN spectrum in an effective Landau-Lifshitz (LL) model\nmatch with the results from the one-loop gauge theory, provided one chooses an\nappropriate regularization. In this paper we continue this study for the\nconjectured Bethe ansatz for the long range spin chain representing\nperturbative planar N=4 Super Yang-Mills in the SU(2) sector, and the ``quantum\nstring\" Bethe ansatz for its string dual. The comparison is carried out for\ncorrections to BMN energies up to 3rd order in the effective expansion\nparameter $\\tl=\\lambda/J^2$. After determining the ``gauge-theory'' LL action\nto order $\\tl^3$, which is accomplished indirectly by fixing the coefficients\nin the LL action so that the energies of circular strings match with the\nenergies found using the Bethe ansatz, we find perfect agreement. We interpret\nthis as further support for an underlying integrability of the system. We then\nconsider the ``string-theory'' LL action which is a limit of the classical\nstring action representing fast string motion on an S^3 subspace of S^5 and\ncompare the resulting $\\tl^3/J^2$ corrections to the prediction of the\n``string'' Bethe ansatz. As in the gauge case, we find precise matching. This\nindicates that the LL Hamiltonian supplemented with a normal ordering\nprescription and zeta-function regularization reproduces the full superstring\nresult for the $1/J^2$ corrections, and also signifies that the string Bethe\nansatz does describe the quantum BMN string spectrum to order $1/J^2$. We also\ncomment on using the quantum LL approach to determine the non-analytic\ncontributions in $\\lambda$ that are behind the strong to weak coupling\ninterpolation between the string and gauge results.",
        "positive": "Functional Relations in Solvable Lattice Models I: Functional Relations\n  and Representation Theory: We study a system of functional relations among a commuting family of\nrow-to-row transfer matrices in solvable lattice models. The role of exact\nsequences of the finite dimensional quantum group modules is clarified. We find\na curious phenomenon that the solutions of those functional relations also\nsolve the so-called thermodynamic Bethe ansatz equations in the high\ntemperature limit for $sl(r+1)$ models. Based on this observation, we propose\npossible functional relations for models associated with all the simple Lie\nalgebras. We show that these functional relations certainly fulfill strong\nconstraints coming from the fusion procedure analysis. The application to the\ncalculations of physical quantities will be presented in the subsequent\npublication."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-perturbative Supersymmetry Breaking and Finite Temperature\n  Instabilities in N=4 Superstrings: We obtain the non-perturbative effective potential for the dual\nfive-dimensional N=4 strings in the context of finite-temperature regarded as a\nbreaking of supersymmetry into four space-time dimensions. Using the properties\nof gauged N=4 supergravity we derive the universal thermal effective potential\ndescribing all possible high-temperature instabilities of the known N=4\nsuperstrings. These strings undergo a high-temperature transition to a new\nphase in which five-branes condense. This phase is described in detail, using\nboth the effective supergravity and non-critical string theory in six\ndimensions. In the new phase, supersymmetry is perturbatively restored but\nbroken at the non-perturbative level.",
        "positive": "Generalised $G_2$-structures and type IIB superstrings: The recent mathematical literature introduces generalised geometries which\nare defined by a reduction from the structure group $SO(d,d)$ of the vector\nbundle $T^d\\oplus T^{d*}$ to a special subgroup. In this article we show that\ncompactification of IIB superstring vacua on 7-manifolds with two covariantly\nconstant spinors leads to a generalised $G_2$-structure associated with a\nreduction from SO(7,7) to $G_2\\times G_2$. We also consider compactifications\non 6-manifolds where analogously we obtain a generalised SU(3)-structure\nassociated with $SU(3)\\times SU(3)$, and show how these relate to generalised\n$G_2$-structures."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Conformal gravity with totally antisymmetric torsion: We present a gauge theory of the conformal group in four spacetime dimensions\nwith a non-vanishing torsion. In particular, we allow for a completely\nantisymmetric torsion, equivalent by Hodge duality to an axial vector whose\npresence does not spoil the conformal invariance of the theory, in contrast\nwith claims of antecedent literature. The requirement of conformal invariance\nimplies a differential condition (in particular, a Killing equation) on the\naforementioned axial vector which leads to a Maxwell-like equation in a\nfour-dimensional curved background. We also give some preliminary results in\nthe context of $\\mathcal{N}=1$ four-dimensional conformal supergravity in the\ngeometric approach, showing that if we only allow for the constraint of\nvanishing supertorsion all the other constraints imposed in the spacetime\napproach are a consequence of the closure of the Bianchi identities in\nsuperspace. This paves the way towards a future complete investigation of the\nconformal supergravity using the Bianchi identities in the presence a\nnon-vanishing (super)torsion.",
        "positive": "Stability Analysis of the Dilatonic Black Hole in Two Dimensions: We explicitly show that the net number of degrees of freedom in the\ntwo-dimensional dilaton gravity is zero through the Hamiltonian constraint\nanalysis. This implies that the local space-time dependent physical excitations\ndo not exist. From the linear perturbation around the black hole background, we\nexplicitly prove that the exponentially growing mode with time is in fact\neliminated outside the horizon. Therefore, the two-dimensional dilation gravity\nis essentially stable."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "QCD, Wick's Theorem for KdV $\u03c4$-functions and the String Equation: Two consistency conditions for partition functions established by Akemann and\nDam-gaard in their studies of the fermionic mass dependence of the QCD\npartition function at low energy ({\\it a la} Leutwiller-Smilga-Verbaarschot)\nare interpreted in terms of integrable hierarchies. Their algebraic relation is\nshown to be a consequence of Wick's theorem for 2d fermionic correlators\n(Hirota identities) in the special case of the 2-reductions of the KP hierarchy\n(that is KdV/mKdV). The consistency condition involving derivatives is an\nincarnation of the string equation associated with the particular matrix model\n(the particular kind of the Kac-Schwarz operator).",
        "positive": "New results for a two-loop massless propagator-type Feynman diagram: We consider the two-loop massless propagator-type Feynman diagram with an\narbitrary (non-integer) index on the central line. We analytically prove the\nequality of the two well-known results existing in the literature which express\nthis diagram in terms of ${}_3F_2$-hypergeometric functions of argument $-1$\nand $1$, respectively. We also derive new representations for this diagram\nwhich may be of importance in practical calculations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Matrix Ernst Potentials and Orthogonal Symmetry for Heterotic String in\n  Three Dimensions: A new matrix representation for low-energy limit of heterotic string theory\nreduced to three dimensions is considered. The pair of matrix Ernst Potentials\nuniquely connected with the coset matrix is derived. The action of the symmetry\ngroup on the Ernst potentials is established.",
        "positive": "On the Emergence of Lorentz Invariance and Unitarity from the Scattering\n  Facet of Cosmological Polytopes: The concepts of Lorentz invariance of local (flat space) physics, and\nunitarity of time evolution and the S-matrix, are famously rigid and robust,\nadmitting no obvious consistent theoretical deformations, and confirmed to\nincredible accuracy by experiments. But neither of these notions seem to appear\ndirectly in describing the spatial correlation functions at future infinity\ncharacterizing the \"boundary\" observables in cosmology. How then can we see\nthem emerge as {\\it exact} concepts from a possible ab-initio theory for the\nlate-time wavefunction of the universe? In this letter we examine this question\nin a simple but concrete setting, for the perturbative wavefunction in a class\nof scalar field models where an ab-initio description of the wavefunction has\nbeen given by \"cosmological polytopes\". Singularities of the wavefunction are\nassociated with facets of the polytope. One of the singularities --\ncorresponding to the \"total energy pole\" -- is well known to be associated with\nthe flat-space scattering amplitude. We show how the combinatorics and geometry\nof this {\\it scattering facet} of the cosmological polytope straightforwardly\nleads to the emergence of Lorentz invariance and unitarity for the S-matrix.\nUnitarity follows from the way boundaries of the scattering facet factorize\ninto products of lower-dimensional polytopes, while Lorentz invariance follows\nfrom a contour integral representation of the canonical form, which exists for\nany polytope, specialized to cosmological polytopes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Rolling Closed String Tachyons and the Big Crunch: We study the low-energy effective field equations that couple gravity, the\ndilaton, and the bulk closed string tachyon of bosonic closed string theory. We\nestablish that whenever the tachyon induces the rolling process, the string\nmetric remains fixed while the dilaton rolls to strong coupling. For negative\ndefinite potentials we show that this results in an Einstein metric that\ncrunches the universe in finite time. This behavior is shown to be rather\ngeneric even if the potentials are not negative definite. The solutions are\nreminiscent of those in the collapse stage of a cyclic universe cosmology where\nscalar field potentials with negative energies play a central role.",
        "positive": "On the generalized Freedman-Townsend model: Consistent interactions that can be added to a free, Abelian gauge theory\ncomprising a finite collection of BF models and a finite set of two-form gauge\nfields (with the Lagrangian action written in first-order form as a sum of\nAbelian Freedman-Townsend models) are constructed from the deformation of the\nsolution to the master equation based on specific cohomological techniques.\nUnder the hypotheses of smoothness in the coupling constant, locality, Lorentz\ncovariance, and Poincare invariance of the interactions, supplemented with the\nrequirement on the preservation of the number of derivatives on each field with\nrespect to the free theory, we obtain that the deformation procedure modifies\nthe Lagrangian action, the gauge transformations as well as the accompanying\nalgebra. The interacting Lagrangian action contains a generalized version of\nnon-Abelian Freedman-Townsend model. The consistency of interactions to all\norders in the coupling constant unfolds certain equations, which are shown to\nhave solutions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "QNMs of scalar fields on small Reissner-Nordstr\u00f6m-AdS$\\mathbf{_5}$\n  black holes: We study the quasinormal modes (QNMs) of a charged scalar field on a\nReissner-Nordstr\\\"{o}m-anti-de Sitter (RN-AdS$_{5}$) black hole in the small\nradius limit by using the isomonodromic method. We also derive the\nlow-temperature expansion of the fundamental QNM frequency. Finally, we provide\nnumerical evidence that instabilities appear in the small radius limit for\nlarge values of the charge of the scalar field.",
        "positive": "Modular application of an Integration by Fractional Expansion (IBFE)\n  method to multiloop Feynman diagrams: We present an alternative technique for evaluating multiloop Feynman\ndiagrams, using the integration by fractional expansion method. Here we\nconsider generic diagrams that contain propagators with radiative corrections\nwhich topologically correspond to recursive constructions of bubble type\ndiagrams. The main idea is to reduce these subgraphs, replacing them by their\nequivalent multiregion expansion. One of the main advantages of this\nintegration technique is that it allows to reduce massive cases with the same\ndegree of difficulty as in the massless case."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "BPS/CFT correspondence IV: sigma models and defects in gauge theory: Quantum field theory $L_1$ on spacetime $X_{1}$ can be coupled to another\nquantum field theory $L_2$ on a spacetime $X_{2}$ via the third quantum field\ntheory $L_{12}$ living on $X_{12} = X_{1} \\cap X_{2}$. We explore several such\nconstructions with two and four dimensional $X_{1}, X_{2}$'s and zero and two\ndimensional $X_{12}$'s, in the context of $\\mathcal{N}=2$ supersymmetry,\nnon-perturbative Dyson-Schwinger equations, and BPS/CFT correspondence. The\ncompanion paper will show that the BPZ and KZ equations of two dimensional\nconformal field theory are obeyed by the half-BPS surface defects in quiver\n$\\mathcal{N}=2$ gauge theories.",
        "positive": "Overview and Warmup Example for Perturbation Theory with Instantons: The large $k$ asymptotics (perturbation series) for integrals of the form\n$\\int_{\\cal F}\\mu e^{i k S}$, where $\\mu$ is a smooth top form and $S$ is a\nsmooth function on a manifold ${\\cal F}$, both of which are invariant under the\naction of a symmetry group ${\\cal G}$, may be computed using the stationary\nphase approximation. This perturbation series can be expressed as the integral\nof a top form on the space $\\cM$ of critical points of $S$ mod the action of\n${\\cal G}$. In this paper we overview a formulation of the ``Feynman rules''\ncomputing this top form and a proof that the perturbation series one obtains is\nindependent of the choice of metric on ${\\cal F}$ needed to define it. We also\noverview how this definition can be adapted to the context of $3$-dimensional\nChern--Simons quantum field theory where ${\\cal F}$ is infinite dimensional.\nThis results in a construction of new differential invariants depending on a\nclosed, oriented $3$-manifold $M$ together with a choice of smooth component of\nthe moduli space of flat connections on $M$ with compact structure group $G$.\nTo make this paper more accessible we warm up with a trivial example and only\ngive an outline of the proof that one obtains invariants in the Chern--Simons\ncase. Full details will appear elsewhere."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "N=1 superfield description of six-dimensional supergravity: We express the action of six-dimensional supergravity in terms of\nfour-dimensional N=1 superfields, focusing on the moduli dependence of the\naction. The gauge invariance of the action in the tensor-vector sector is\nrealized in a quite nontrivial manner, and it determines the moduli dependence\nof the action. The resultant moduli dependence is intricate, especially on the\nshape modulus. Our result is reduced to the known superfield actions of\nsix-dimensional global SUSY theories and of five-dimensional supergravity by\nreplacing the moduli superfields with their background values and by performing\nthe dimensional reduction, respectively.",
        "positive": "Friedel Oscillations in Holographic Metals: In this article we study the conditions under which holographic metallic\nstates display Friedel oscillations. We focus on systems where the bulk charge\ndensity is not hidden behind a black hole horizon. Understanding holographic\nFriedel oscillations gives a clean way to characterize the boundary system,\ncomplementary to probe fermion calculations. We find that fermions in a \"hard\nwall\" AdS geometry unambiguously display Friedel oscillations. However, similar\noscillations are washed out for electron stars, suggesting a smeared continuum\nof Fermi surfaces."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Solutions of coupled BPS equations for two-family Calogero and matrix\n  models: We consider a large N, two-family Calogero and matrix model in the\nHamiltonian, collective-field approach. The Bogomol'nyi limit appears and the\nsolutions to the coupled Bogomol'nyi-Prasad-Sommerfeld equations are given by\nthe static soliton configurations. We find all solutions close to constant and\nconstruct exact one-parameter solutions in the strong-weak dual case. Full\nclassification of these solutions is presented.",
        "positive": "Instabilities of microstate geometries with antibranes: One can obtain very large classes of horizonless microstate geometries\ncorresponding to near-extremal black holes by placing probe supertubes whose\naction has metastable minima inside certain supersymmetric bubbling solutions.\nWe show that these minima can lower their energy when the bubbles move in\ncertain directions in the moduli space, which implies that these near-extremal\nmicrostates are in fact unstable once one considers the dynamics of all their\ndegrees of freedom. The decay of these solutions corresponds to Hawking\nradiation, and we compare the emission rate and frequency to those of the\ncorresponding black hole. Our analysis supports the expectation that generic\nnon-extremal black holes microstate geometries should be unstable. It also\nestablishes the existence of a new type of instabilities for antibranes in\nhighly-warped regions with charge dissolved in fluxes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Mesons from global Anti-de Sitter space: In the context of gauge/gravity duality, we study both probe D7-- and probe\nD5--branes in global Anti-de Sitter space. The dual field theory is N=4 theory\non R x S^3 with added flavour. The branes undergo a geometrical phase\ntransition in this geometry as function of the bare quark mass m_q in units of\n1/R with R the S^3 radius. The meson spectra are obtained from fluctuations of\nthe brane probes. First, we study them numerically for finite quark mass\nthrough the phase transition. Moreover, at zero quark mass we calculate the\nmeson spectra analytically both in supergravity and in free field theory on R x\nS^3 and find that the results match: For the chiral primaries, the lowest level\nis given by the zero point energy or by the scaling dimension of the operator\ncorresponding to the fluctuations, respectively. The higher levels are\nequidistant. Similar results apply to the descendents. Our results confirm the\nphysical interpretation that the mesons cannot pair-produce any further when\ntheir zero-point energy exceeds their binding energy.",
        "positive": "Vector Supersymmetry of 2D Yang-Mills Theory: The vector supersymmetry of the 2D topological BF model is extended to 2D\nYang-Mills. The consequences of the corresponding Ward identity on the\nultraviolet behavior of the theory are analyzed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Renormalization of the Non-Linear Sigma Model in Four Dimensions. A\n  two-loop example: The renormalization procedure of the non-linear SU(2) sigma model in D=4\nproposed in hep-th/0504023 and hep-th/0506220 is here tested in a truly\nnon-trivial case where the non-linearity of the functional equation is crucial.\nThe simplest example, where the non-linear term contributes, is given by the\ntwo-loop amplitude involving the insertion of two \\phi_0 (the constraint of the\nnon-linear sigma model) and two flat connections. In this case we verify the\nvalidity of the renormalization procedure: the recursive subtraction of the\npole parts at D=4 yields amplitudes that satisfy the defining functional\nequation. As a by-product we give a formal proof that in D dimensions (without\ncounterterms) the Feynman rules provide a perturbative symmetric solution.",
        "positive": "Central potential and examples of hidden algebra structure: We propose two generalisations of the Coulomb potential equation of quantum\nmechanics and investigate the occurence of algebraic eigenfunctions for the\ncorresponding Scrh\\\"odinger equations. Some relativistic counterparts of these\nproblems are also discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Hausdorff dimension of random walks and the correlation length\n  critical exponent in Euclidean field theory: We study the random walk representation of the two-point function in\nstatistical mechanics models near the critical point. Using standard scaling\narguments we show that the critical exponent $\\nu$ describing the vanishing of\nthe physical mass at the critical point is equal to $\\nu_\\theta/ d_w$. $d_w$ is\nthe Hausdorff dimension of the walk. $\\nu_\\theta$ is the exponent describing\nthe vanishing of the energy per unit length of the walk at the critical point.\nFor the case of O(N) models, we show that $\\nu_\\theta=\\varphi$, where $\\varphi$\nis the crossover exponent known in the context of field theory. This implies\nthat the Hausdorff dimension of the walk is $\\varphi/\\nu$ for O(N) models.",
        "positive": "Moduli Stabilization in String Theory: We give an overview of moduli stabilization in compactifications of string\ntheory. We summarize current methods for construction and analysis of vacua\nwith stabilized moduli, and we describe applications to cosmology and particle\nphysics. This is a contribution to the Handbook of Quantum Gravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dynamics of Fundamental Matter in N=2* Yang-Mills Theory: We study the dynamics of quenched fundamental matter in $\\mathcal{N}=2^\\ast$\nsupersymmetric large $N$ SU(N) Yang-Mills theory at zero temperature. Our tools\nfor this study are probe D7-branes in the holographically dual\n$\\mathcal{N}=2^\\ast$ Pilch-Warner gravitational background. Previous work using\nD3-brane probes of this geometry has shown that it captures the physics of a\nspecial slice of the Coulomb branch moduli space of the gauge theory, where the\n$N$ constituent D3-branes form a dense one dimensional locus known as the\nenhancon, located deep in the infrared. Our present work shows how this physics\nis supplemented by the physics of dynamical flavours, revealed by the D7-branes\nembeddings we find. The Pilch-Warner background introduces new divergences into\nthe D7-branes free energy, which we are able to remove with a single\ncounterterm. We find a family of D7-brane embeddings in the geometry and\ndiscuss their properties. We study the physics of the quark condensate,\nconstituent quark mass, and part of the meson spectrum. Notably, there is a\nspecial zero mass embedding that ends on the enhancon, which shows that while\nthe geometry acts repulsively on the D7-branes, it does not do so in a way that\nproduces spontaneous chiral symmetry breaking.",
        "positive": "Self-adjointness and the Casimir effect with confined quantized spinor\n  matter: A generalization of the MIT bag boundary condition for spinor matter is\nproposed basing on the requirement that the Dirac hamiltonian operator be\nself-adjoint. An influence of a background magnetic field on the vacuum of\ncharged spinor matter confined between two parallel material plates is studied.\nEmploying the most general set of boundary conditions at the plates in the case\nof the uniform magnetic field directed orthogonally to the plates, we find the\npressure from the vacuum onto the plates. In physically plausible situations,\nthe Casimir effect is shown to be repulsive, independently of a choice of\nboundary conditions and of a distance between the plates."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Noncommutative spacetime symmetries: Twist versus covariance: We prove that the Moyal product is covariant under linear affine spacetime\ntransformations. From the covariance law, by introducing an $(x,\\Theta)$-space\nwhere the spacetime coordinates and the noncommutativity matrix components are\non the same footing, we obtain a noncommutative representation of the affine\nalgebra, its generators being differential operators in $(x,\\Theta)$-space. As\na particular case, the Weyl Lie algebra is studied and known results for Weyl\ninvariant noncommutative field theories are rederived in a nutshell. We also\nshow that this covariance cannot be extended to spacetime transformations\ngenerated by differential operators whose coefficients are polynomials of order\nlarger than one. We compare our approach with the twist-deformed enveloping\nalgebra description of spacetime transformations.",
        "positive": "Flips, dualities and symmetry enhancements: We present various 4d $\\mathcal{N}=1$ theories enjoying IR global symmetry\nenhancement. The models we consider have the $USp(2n)$ gauge group, 8\nfundamental, one antisymmetric chirals and various numbers of gauge singlets.\nBy suitably turning on superpotential deformations involving the singlets which\nbreak part of the UV symmetry we flow to SCFTs with $E_6$, $SO(10)$, $SO(9)$,\n$SO(8)$ and $F_4$ IR global symmetry. We explain these patterns of symmetry\nenhancement following two arguments due to Razamat, Sela and Zafrir. The first\none involves the study of the relations satisfied by marginal operators, while\nthe second one relies on the existence of self-duality frames."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Second Order Langevin Equation and Definition of Quantum Gravity By\n  Stochastic Quantisation: Euclidean quantum gravity might be defined by stochastic quantisation that is\ngoverned by a higher order Langevin equation rather than a first order\nstochastic equation. In a transitory phase where the Lorentz time cannot be\ndefined, the parameter that orders the evolution of quantum gravity phenomena\nis the stochastic time. This changes the definition of causality in the period\nof primordial cosmology. The prediction of stochastically quantised gravity is\nthat there will a transition from an oscillating quantum phase to a\nsemi-classical one, when the Lorentz time emerges. The end of the transition,\nas it can be observed from now and described by inflation models, is a diluted\nUniverse, following the inflation phenomenological evolution. It is filled at\nthe beginning with scattered classical primordial black holes. The smallest\nones will quickly decay in matter, with a standard quantum field theory\nevolution till our period. The stable heavier black holes will remain, forming\na good fraction of the dark matter and the large black holes observed in the\ngalaxies. In a theoretically related way, this framework suggests the\npossibility of a gravitational parton content for \"point-like\" particles, in\nthe same five dimensional quantum field theory context as in the primordial\ncosmology, with a (+----) signature for the 5d metrics. The very precise and\nexplicit result expressed in this paper is actually far more modest than its\nmotivation. We compute explicitly the meaning of a second order Langevin\nequation in zero dimensions and define precisely what is second order\nstochastic quantisation in a soluble case.",
        "positive": "$W_\\infty$ Algebras, Hawking Radiation and Information Retention by\n  Stringy Black Holes: We have argued previously, based on the analysis of two-dimensional stringy\nblack holes, that information in stringy versions of four-dimensional\nSchwarzschild black holes (whose singular regions are represented by\nappropriate Wess-Zumino-Witten models) is retained by quantum $W$-symmetries\nwhen the horizon area is not preserved due to Hawking radiation. It is key that\nthe exactly-marginal conformal world-sheet operator representing a massless\nstringy particle interacting with the black hole requires a contribution from\n$W_\\infty$ generators in its vertex function. The latter correspond to\ndelocalised, non-propagating, string excitations that guarantee the transfer of\ninformation between the string black hole and external particles. When\ninfalling matter crosses the horizon, these topological states are excited via\na process: (Stringy black hole) + infalling matter $\\rightarrow $ (Stringy\nblack hole)$^\\star$, where the black hole is viewed as a stringy state with a\nspecific configuration of $W_\\infty$ charges that are conserved. Hawking\nradiation is then the reverse process, with conservation of the $W_\\infty$\ncharges retaining information. The Hawking radiation spectrum near the horizon\nof a Schwarzschild or Kerr black hole is specified by matrix elements of\nhigher-order currents that form a phase-space $W_{1+\\infty}$ algebra. We show\nthat an appropriate gauging of this algebra preserves the horizon\ntwo-dimensional area classically, as expected because the latter is a conserved\nNoether charge."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "N=1 Theories, T-duality, and AdS/CFT correspondence: We construct an N=1 superconformal field theory using branes of type IIA\nstring theory. The IIA construction is related via T-duality to a IIB\nconfiguration with 3-branes in a background generated by two intersecting\nO7-planes and 7-branes. The IIB background can be viewed as a local piece of an\nF-theory compactification previously studied by Sen in connection with the\nGimon-Polchinski orientifold. We discuss the deformations of the IIA and IIB\nconstructions and describe a new supersymmetric configuration with curving\nD6-branes. Starting from the IIB description we find the supergravity dual of\nthe large N field theory and discuss the matching of operators and KK states.\nThe matching of non-chiral primaries exhibits some interesting new features. We\nalso discuss a relevant deformation of the field theory under which it flows to\na line of strongly coupled N=1 fixed points in the infrared. For these fixed\npoints we find a partial supergravity description.",
        "positive": "Results in susy field theory from 3-brane probe in F-theory: Employing Sen's picture of BPS states on a 3-brane probe world volume field\ntheory in a F-theory background. we determine some selection rules for the\nallowed spectrum in massless $N_{f}\\leq 4$ SU(2) Seiberg-Witten theory. The\nspectrum for any $N_f \\leq 4$ is consistent with previous conjectures and\nanalysis."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quadrupole Instabilities of Relativistic Rotating Membranes: We generalize recent study of the stability of isotropic (spherical) rotating\nmembranes to the anisotropic ellipsoidal membrane. We find that while the\nstability persists for deformations of spin $l=1$, the quadrupole and higher\nspin deformations ($l\\geq 2$) lead to instabilities. We find the relevant\ninstability modes and the corresponding eigenvalues. These indicate that the\nellipsoidal rotating membranes generically decay into finger-like\nconfigurations.",
        "positive": "Why has spacetime torsion such negligible effect on our universe?: We attempt an answer to the question as to why the evolution of\nfour-dimensional universe is governed by spacetime curvature but not torsion.\nAn answer is found if there is an additional compact spacelike dimension with a\nwarped geometry, with torsion caused by a Kalb-Ramond (KR) antisymmetric tensor\nfield in the bulk. Starting from a Randall-Sundrum type of warped extra\ndimension, and including the inevitable back reaction ensuing from the radius\nstabilization mechanism, we show that there is always an extra exponential\nsuppression of the KR field on the four-dimensional projection that constitutes\nour visible universe. The back reaction is found to facilitate the process of\nsuch suppression."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Ultraviolet divergences in maximal supergravity from a pure spinor point\n  of view: The ultraviolet divergences of amplitude diagrams in maximal supergravity are\ninvestigated using the pure spinor superfield formalism in maximal\nsupergravity, with maximally supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory for reference. We\ncomment on the effects of the loop regularisation in relation to the actual\nabsence of high powers (within the degrees of freedom) of the non-minimal\nvariable r. The absence affects previous results of the field theory\ndescription, which is examined more closely (with a new b-ghost) with respect\nto the limit on the dimension for finiteness of the theory, dependent on the\nnumber of loops present. The results imply a cut-off of the loop dependence at\nsix loops for the 4-point amplitude, and at seven loops otherwise.",
        "positive": "Gauge-invariant operators of open bosonic string field theory in the\n  low-energy limit: In the AdS/CFT correspondence we consider correlation functions of\ngauge-invariant operators on the gauge theory side, which we obtain in the\nlow-energy limit of the open string sector. To investigate this low-energy\nlimit we consider the action of open bosonic string field theory including\nsource terms for gauge-invariant operators and classically integrate out\nmassive fields to obtain the effective action for massless fields. While the\ngauge-invariant operators depend linearly on the open string field and do not\nresemble the corresponding operators such as the energy-momentum tensor in the\nlow-energy limit, we find that nonlinear dependence is generated in the process\nof integrating out massive fields. We also find that the gauge transformation\nis modified in such a way that the effective action and the modified gauge\ntransformation can be written in terms of the same set of multi-string products\nwhich satisfy weak $A_\\infty$ relations, and we present explicit expressions\nfor the multi-string products."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Heavy Handed Quest for Fixed Points in Multiple Coupling Scalar Theories\n  in the $\\varepsilon$ Expansion: The tensorial equations for non trivial fully interacting fixed points at\nlowest order in the $\\varepsilon$ expansion in $4-\\varepsilon$ and\n$3-\\varepsilon$ dimensions are analysed for $N$-component fields and\ncorresponding multi-index couplings $\\lambda$ which are symmetric tensors with\nfour or six indices. Both analytic and numerical methods are used. For\n$N=5,6,7$ in the four-index case large numbers of irrational fixed points are\nfound numerically where $||\\lambda ||^2$ is close to the bound found by Rychkov\nand Stergiou in arXiv:1810.10541. No solutions, other than those already known,\nare found which saturate the bound. These examples in general do not have\nunique quadratic invariants in the fields. For $N \\geqslant 6$ the stability\nmatrix in the full space of couplings always has negative eigenvalues. In the\nsix index case the numerical search generates a very large number of solutions\nfor $N=5$.",
        "positive": "Inflationary field excursion in broad classes of scalar field models: In single field slow roll inflation models the height and slope of the\npotential are to satisfy certain conditions, to match with observations. This\nin turn translates into bounds on the number of e-foldings and the excursion of\nthe scalar field during inflation. In this work we consider broad classes of\ninflationary models to study how much the field excursion starting from horizon\nexit to the end of inflation, $\\Delta \\phi $, can vary for the set of\ninflationary parameters given by Planck. We also derive an upper bound on the\nnumber of e-foldings between the horizon exit of a cosmologically interesting\nmode and the end of inflation. We comment on the possibility of having\nsuper-Planckian and sub-Planckian field excursions within the framework of\nsingle field slow roll inflation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A note on the hidden conformal structure of non-extremal black holes: We study, following Bertini et al. \\cite{Bertini:2011ga}, the hidden\nconformal symmetry of the massless Klein-Gordon equation in the background of\nthe general, charged, spherically symmetric, static black-hole solution of a\nclass of d-dimensional Lagrangians which includes the relevant parts of the\nbosonic Lagrangian of any ungauged supergravity. We find that a hidden\nSL(2,\\mathbb{R}) symmetry appears at the near event and Cauchy-horizon limit.",
        "positive": "The future evolution and finite-time singularities in $F(R)$-gravity\n  unifying the inflation and cosmic acceleration: We study the future evolution of quintessence/phantom dominated epoch in\nmodified $F(R)$-gravity which unifies the early-time inflation with late-time\nacceleration and which is consistent with observational tests. Using the\nreconstruction technique it is demonstrated that there are models where any\nknown (Big Rip, II, III or IV Type) singularity may classically occur. From\nanother side, in Einstein frame (scalar-tensor description) only IV Type\nsingularity occurs. Near the singularity the classical description breaks up,\nit is demonstrated that quantum effects act against the singularity and may\nprevent its appearance. The realistic $F(R)$-gravity which is future\nsingularity free is proposed. We point out that additional modification of any\n$F(R)$-gravity by the terms relevant at the early universe is possible, in such\na way that future singularity does not occur even classically."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Kink solutions in logarithmic scalar field theory: Excitation spectra,\n  scattering, and decay of bions: We consider the (1+1)-dimensional Lorentz-symmetric field-theoretic model\nwith logarithmic potential having a Mexican-hat form with two local minima\nsimilar to that of the quartic Higgs potential in conventional electroweak\ntheory with spontaneous symmetry breaking and mass generation. We demonstrate\nthat this model allows topological solutions -- kinks. We analyze the kink\nexcitation spectrum, and show that it does not contain any vibrational modes.\nWe also study the scattering dynamics of kinks for a wide range of initial\nvelocities. The critical value of the initial velocity occurs in kink-antikink\ncollisions, which thus differentiates two regimes. Below this value, we observe\nthe capture of kinks and their fast annihilation; while above this value, the\nkinks bounce off and escape to spatial infinities. Numerical studies show no\nresonance phenomena in the kink-antikink scattering.",
        "positive": "Holographic Description of Finite Size Effects in Strongly Coupled\n  Superconductors: Despite its fundamental and practical interest, the understanding of\nmesoscopic effects in strongly coupled superconductors is still limited. Here\nwe address this problem by studying holographic superconductivity in a disk and\na strip of typical size $\\ell$. For $\\ell < \\ell_c$, where $\\ell_c$ depends on\nthe chemical potential and temperature, we have found that the order parameter\nvanishes. The superconductor-metal transition at $\\ell = \\ell_c$ is controlled\nby mean-field critical exponents which suggests that quantum and thermal\nfluctuations induced by finite size effects are suppressed in holographic\nsuperconductors. Intriguingly, the effective interactions that bind the order\nparameter increases as $\\ell$ decreases. Most of these results are consistent\nwith experimental observations in Pb nanograins at low temperature and\nqualitatively different from the ones expected in a weakly coupled\nsuperconductor."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Comprehensive Solution to the Cosmological Constant, Zero-Point Energy,\n  and Quantum Gravity Problems: We present a solution to the cosmological constant, the zero-point energy,\nand the quantum gravity problems within a single comprehensive framework. We\nshow that in quantum theories of gravity in which the zero-point energy density\nof the gravitational field is well-defined, the cosmological constant and\nzero-point energy problems solve each other by mutual cancellation between the\ncosmological constant and the matter and gravitational field zero-point energy\ndensities. Because of this cancellation, regulation of the matter field\nzero-point energy density is not needed, and thus does not cause any trace\nanomaly to arise. We exhibit our results in two theories of gravity that are\nwell-defined quantum-mechanically. Both of these theories are locally conformal\ninvariant, quantum Einstein gravity in two dimensions and Weyl-tensor-based\nquantum conformal gravity in four dimensions (a fourth-order derivative quantum\ntheory of the type that Bender and Mannheim have recently shown to be\nghost-free and unitary). Central to our approach is the requirement that any\nand all departures of the geometry from Minkowski are to be brought about by\nquantum mechanics alone. Consequently, there have to be no fundamental\nclassical fields, and all mass scales have to be generated by dynamical\ncondensates. In such a situation the trace of the matter field energy-momentum\ntensor is zero, a constraint that obliges its cosmological constant and\nzero-point contributions to cancel each other identically, no matter how large\nthey might be. Quantization of the gravitational field is caused by its\ncoupling to quantized matter fields, with the gravitational field not needing\nany independent quantization of its own. With there being no a priori classical\ncurvature, one does not have to make it compatible with quantization.",
        "positive": "Nested braneworlds and strong brane gravity: We find the gravitational field of a `nested' domain wall living entirely\nwithin a brane-universe, or, a localised vortex within a wall. For a vortex\nliving on a critical Randall-Sundrum brane universe, we show that the induced\ngravitational field on the brane is identical to that of an (n-1)-dimensional\nvacuum domain wall. We also describe how to set-up a nested Randall-Sundrum\nscenario using a flat critical vortex living on a subcritical (adS) brane\nuniverse."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Coulomb integrals and conformal blocks in the AdS3-WZNW model: We study spectral flow preserving four-point correlation functions in the\nAdS3-WZNW model using the Coulomb gas method on the sphere. We present a\nmultiple integral realization of the conformal blocks and explicitly compute\namplitudes involving operators with quantized values of the sum of their spins,\ni.e., requiring an integer number of screening charges of the first kind. The\nresult is given as a sum over the independent configurations of screening\ncontours yielding a monodromy invariant expansion in powers of the worldsheet\nmoduli. We then examine the factorization limit and show that the leading terms\nin the sum can be identified, in the semiclassical limit, with products of\nspectral flow conserving three-point functions. These terms can be rewritten as\nthe m-basis version of the integral expression obtained by J. Teschner from a\npostulate for the operator product expansion of normalizable states in the\nH3+-WZNW model. Finally, we determine the equivalence between the\nfactorizations of a particular set of four-point functions into products of two\nthree-point functions either preserving or violating spectral flow number\nconservation. Based on this analysis we argue that the expression for the\namplitude as an integral over the spin of the intermediate operators holds\nbeyond the semiclassical regime, thus corroborating that spectral flow\nconserving correlators in the AdS3-WZNW model are related by analytic\ncontinuation to correlation functions in the H3+-WZNW model.",
        "positive": "Entanglement of purification: from spin chains to holography: Purification is a powerful technique in quantum physics whereby a mixed\nquantum state is extended to a pure state on a larger system. This process is\nnot unique, and in systems composed of many degrees of freedom, one natural\npurification is the one with minimal entanglement. Here we study the entropy of\nthe minimally entangled purification, called the entanglement of purification,\nin three model systems: an Ising spin chain, conformal field theories\nholographically dual to Einstein gravity, and random stabilizer tensor\nnetworks. We conjecture values for the entanglement of purification in all\nthese models, and we support our conjectures with a variety of numerical and\nanalytical results. We find that such minimally entangled purifications have a\nnumber of applications, from enhancing entanglement-based tensor network\nmethods for describing mixed states to elucidating novel aspects of the\nemergence of geometry from entanglement in the AdS/CFT correspondence."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Plane-parallel waves as duals of the flat background: We give a classification of non-Abelian T-duals of the flat metric in D=4\ndimensions with respect to the four-dimensional continuous subgroups of the\nPoincare group. After dualizing the flat background, we identify majority of\ndual models as conformal sigma models in plane-parallel wave backgrounds, most\nof them having torsion. We give their form in Brinkmann coordinates. We find,\nbesides the plane-parallel waves, several diagonalizable curved metrics with\nnontrivial scalar curvature and torsion. Using the non-Abelian T-duality, we\nfind general solution of the classical field equations for all the sigma models\nin terms of d'Alembert solutions of the wave equation.",
        "positive": "Particle Kinematics in Horava-Lifshitz Gravity: We study the deformed kinematics of point particles in the Horava theory of\ngravity. This is achieved by considering particles as the optical limit of\nfields with a generalized Klein-Gordon action. We derive the deformed geodesic\nequation and study in detail the cases of flat and spherically symmetric\n(Schwarzschild-like) spacetimes. As the theory is not invariant under local\nLorenz transformations, deviations from standard kinematics become evident even\nfor flat manifolds, supporting superluminal as well as massive luminal\nparticles. These deviations from standard behavior could be used for\nexperimental tests of this modified theory of gravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spin vortices in the Abelian-Higgs model with cholesteric vacuum\n  structure: We continue the study of $U(1)$ vortices with cholesteric vacuum structure. A\nnew class of solutions is found which represent global vortices of the internal\nspin field. These spin vortices are characterized by a non-vanishing angular\ndependence at spatial infinity, or winding. We show that despite the\ntopological $\\mathbb{Z}_2$ behavior of $SO(3)$ windings, the topological charge\nof the spin vortices is of the $\\mathbb{Z}$ type in the cholesteric. We find\nthese solutions numerically and discuss the properties derived from their low\nenergy effective field theory in $1+1$ dimensions.",
        "positive": "Vortex Solutions of Nonrelativistic Fermion and Scalar Field Theories\n  Coupled to Maxwell-Chern-Simons theories: We have constructed nonrelativistic fermion and scalar field theories coupled\nto a Maxwell-Chern-Simons gauge field which admit static multi-vortex\nsolutions. This is achieved by introducing a magnetic coupling term in addition\nto the usual minimal coupling."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Comment on Path Integral Derivation of Schr\u00f6dinger Equation in Spaces\n  with Curvature and Torsion: We present a derivation of the Schr\\\"odinger equation for a path integral of\na point particle in a space with curvature and torsion which is considerably\nshorter and more elegant than what is commonly found in the literature.",
        "positive": "Janus and Hades in M-theory: Multi-parametric and analytic families of four-dimensional\n$\\,\\textrm{AdS}_{3} \\times \\mathbb{R}\\,$ (Janus) and $\\,\\textrm{AdS}_{3}\n\\,\\times\\, \\mathbb{R}^{+}$ (Hades) solutions are constructed in the SO(8)\ngauged supergravity that arises from the consistent reduction of\neleven-dimensional supergravity on $\\,\\textrm{S}^7\\,$. The solutions are\ngenerically non-supersymmetric, involve non-trivial running scalars and\npreserve a $\\,\\textrm{U}(1)^4\\,$ symmetry. Different patterns of (super)\nsymmetry enhancement occur upon suitable adjustment of the free parameters\nwhich further control the boundary conditions of the running scalars. We\nconcentrate on the non-supersymmetric Janus and Hades solutions with\n$\\,\\textrm{SU}(3) \\times \\textrm{U}(1)^2\\,$ symmetry and provide their\nhigher-dimensional description in terms of M-theory fluxes and membranes.\nSpecial attention is paid to a class of such Hades solutions dubbed ''ridge\nflows'' which resemble dielectric rotations of Coulomb branch flows previously\ninvestigated in the literature."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic Wilsonian Renormalization and Chiral Phase Transitions: We explore the role of a holographic Wilsonian cut-off in simple probe brane\nmodels with chiral symmetry breaking/restoration phase transitions. The\nWilsonian cut-off allows us to define supergravity solutions for off-shell\nconfigurations and hence to define a potential for the chiral condensate. We\npay particular attention to the need for configurations whose action we are\ncomparing to have the same IR and UV boundary conditions. We exhibit new first\nand second order phase transitions with changing cut-off. We derive the\neffective potential for the condensate including mean field and BKT type\ncontinuous transitions.",
        "positive": "BIons in topological string theory: When many fundamental strings are stacked together, they puff up into\nD-branes. BIons and giant gravitons are the examples of such D-brane\nconfigurations that arise from coincident strings. We propose and demonstrate\nanalogous transitions in topological string theory. Such transitions can also\nbe understood in terms of the Fourier transform of D-brane amplitudes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Microscopic Perspective of Black Branes Thermodynamic Geometry: In this article we study correspondence between the microscopic spectrum and\nmacroscopic properties of a class of extremal and non-extremal black branes and\noutline an origin of the interactions among various microstates of a given\nblack brane configuration from the perspective of an intrinsic Riemannian\ngeometry arising from the coarse graining entropy over a large number of\nmicrostates. We have analyzed the state-space geometry in the case of various\nextremal and non-extremal black branes arising from the string theories,\nmulti-centered black brane configurations, small black holes with fractional\nbranes, fuzzy rings in the set up of Mathur's fuzzballs and subensemble theory,\nas well as that the black brane foams from the considerations of bubbling black\nbrane solutions in the M-theory. We have further shown that there exists a\nclear mechanism on the black brane side that describes the notion of associated\ninteractions in the state-space or vice-versa. We thus find that in all such\ncases there are no singularities in the state-space manifold of these black\nbrane configurations. This observation is in turn consistent with the existing\npicture of corresponding microscopic CFT data.",
        "positive": "Quantum (anti)de Sitter algebras and generalizations of the\n  kappa-Minkowski space: We present two different quantum deformations for the (anti)de Sitter\nalgebras and groups. The former is a non-standard (triangular) deformation of\nSO(4,2) realized as the conformal group of the (3+1)D Minkowskian spacetime,\nwhile the latter is a standard (quasitriangular) deformation of both SO(2,2)\nand SO(3,1) expressed as the kinematical groups of the (2+1)D anti-de Sitter\nand de Sitter spacetimes, respectively. The Hopf structure of the quantum\nalgebra and a study of the dual quantum group are presented for each\ndeformation. These results enable us to propose new non-commutative spacetimes\nthat can be interpreted as generalizations of the kappa-Minkowski space, either\nby considering a variable deformation parameter (depending on the boost\ncoordinates) in the conformal deformation, or by introducing an explicit\ncurvature/cosmological constant in the kinematical one; kappa-Minkowski turns\nout to be the common first-order structure for all of these quantum spaces.\nSome properties provided by these deformations, such as dimensions of the\ndeformation parameter (related with the Planck length), space isotropy,\ndeformed boost transformations, etc., are also commented."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Kazakov-Migdal model on the Graph and Ihara Zeta Function: We propose the Kazakov-Migdal model on graphs and show that, when the\nparameters of this model are appropriately tuned, the partition function is\nrepresented by the unitary matrix integral of an extended Ihara zeta function,\nwhich has a series expansion by all non-collapsing Wilson loops with their\nlengths as weights. The partition function of the model is expressed in two\ndifferent ways according to the order of integration. A specific unitary matrix\nintegral can be performed at any finite $N$ thanks to this duality. We exactly\nevaluate the partition function of the parameter-tuned Kazakov-Migdal model on\nan arbitrary graph in the large $N$ limit and show that it is expressed by the\ninfinite product of the Ihara zeta functions of the graph.",
        "positive": "Chiral gauge theory in four dimensions: A formulation of abelian and non-abelian chiral gauge theories is presented\ntogether with arguments for the unitarity and renormalisability in four\ndimensions. IASSNS-HEP-94/70, UM-P-94/96, and RCHEP-94/26."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Scalar Field Theory in the AdS/CFT Correspondence Revisited: We consider the role of boundary conditions in the $AdS_{d+1}/CFT_{d}$\ncorrespondence for the scalar field theory. Also a careful analysis of some\nlimiting cases is presented. We study three possible types of boundary\nconditions, Dirichlet, Neumann and mixed. We compute the two-point functions of\nthe conformal operators on the boundary for each type of boundary condition. We\nshow how particular choices of the mass require different treatments. In the\nDirichlet case we find that there is no double zero in the two-point function\nof the operator with conformal dimension $\\frac{d}{2}$. The Neumann case leads\nto new normalizations for the boundary two-point functions. In the massless\ncase we show that the conformal dimension of the boundary conformal operator is\nprecisely the unitarity bound for scalar operators. We find a one-parameter\nfamily of boundary conditions in the mixed case. There are again new\nnormalizations for the boundary two-point functions. For a particular choice of\nthe mixed boundary condition and with the mass squared in the range\n$-d^2/4<m^2<-d^2/4+1$ the boundary operator has conformal dimension comprised\nin the interval $[\\frac{d-2}{2}, \\frac{d}{2}]$. For mass squared $m^2>-d^2/4+1$\nthe same choice of mixed boundary condition leads to a boundary operator whose\nconformal dimension is the unitarity bound.",
        "positive": "Asymptotic Freedom: I discuss how the basic phenomenon of asymptotic freedom in QCD can be\nunderstood in elementary physical terms. Similarly, I discuss how the\nlong-predicted phenomenon of ``gluonization of the proton'' -- recently\nspectacularly confirmed at HERA -- is a rather direct manifestation of the\nphysics of asymptotic freedom. I review the broader significance of asymptotic\nfreedom in QCD in fundamental physics: how on the one hand it guides the\ninterpretation and now even the design of experiments, and how on the other it\nmakes possible a rational, quantitative theoretical approach to problems of\nunification and early universe cosmology."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Stringy Instantons and Cascading Quivers: D-brane instantons can perturb the quantum field theories on space-time\nfilling D-branes by interesting operators. In some cases, these D-brane\ninstantons are novel \"stringy\" effects (not interpretable directly as instanton\neffects in the low-energy quantum field theory), while in others the D-brane\ninstantons can be directly interpreted as field theory effects. In this note,\nwe describe a situation where both perspectives are available, by studying\nstringy instantons in quivers which arise at simple Calabi-Yau singularities.\nWe show that a stringy instanton which wraps an unoccupied node of the quiver,\nand gives rise to a non-perturbative mass in the space-time field theory, can\nbe reinterpreted as a conventional gauge theory effect by going up in an\nappropriate renormalization group cascade. Interestingly, in the cascade, the\ncontribution of the stringy instanton does not come from gauge theory\ninstantons but from strong coupling dynamics.",
        "positive": "Meanders: A Direct Enumeration Approach: We study the statistics of semi-meanders, i.e. configurations of a set of\nroads crossing a river through n bridges, and possibly winding around its\nsource, as a toy model for compact folding of polymers. By analyzing the\nresults of a direct enumeration up to n=29, we perform on the one hand a large\nn extrapolation and on the other hand we reformulate the available data into a\nlarge q expansion, where q is a weight attached to each road. We predict a\ntransition at q=2 between a low-q regime with irrelevant winding, and a large-q\nregime with relevant winding."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Iterated amplitudes in the high-energy limit: We consider the high-energy limits of the colour ordered four-, five- and\nsix-gluon MHV amplitudes of the maximally supersymmetric QCD in the multi-Regge\nkinematics where all the gluons are strongly ordered in rapidity. We show that\nvarious building blocks occurring in the Regge factorisation (the Regge\ntrajectory, the coefficient functions and the Lipatov vertex) satisfy an\niterative structure very similar to the Bern-Dixon-Smirnov (BDS) ansatz. This\niterative structure, combined with the universality of the building blocks,\nenables us to show that in the Euclidean region any two- and three-loop\namplitude in multi-Regge kinematics is guaranteed to satisfy the BDS ansatz. We\nalso consider slightly more general kinematics where the strong rapidity\nordering applies to all the gluons except the two with either the largest or\nsmallest rapidities, and we derive the iterative formula for the associated\ncoefficient function. We show that in this kinematic limit the BDS ansatz is\nalso satisfied. Finally, we argue that only for more general kinematics - e.g.\nwith three gluons having similar rapidities, or where the two central gluons\nhave similar rapidities - can a disagreement with the BDS ansatz arise.",
        "positive": "Scattering of fermionic isodoublets on the sine-Gordon kink: The scattering of Dirac fermions on the sine-Gordon kink is studied both\nanalytically and numerically. To achieve invariance with respect to a discrete\nsymmetry, the sine-Gordon model is treated as a nonlinear $\\sigma$-model with a\ncircular target space that interacts with fermionic isodublets through the\nYukawa interaction. It is shown that the diagonal and antidiagonal parts of the\nfermionic wave function interact independently with the external field of the\nsine-Gordon kink. The wave functions of the fermionic scattering states are\nexpressed in terms of the Heun functions. General expressions for the\ntransmission and reflection coefficients are derived, and their dependences on\nthe fermion momentum and mass are studied numerically. The existence condition\nis found for two fermionic zero modes, and their analytical expressions are\nobtained. It is shown that the zero modes do not lead to fragmentation of the\nfermionic charge, but can lead to polarization of the fermionic vacuum. The\nscattering of the diagonal and antidiagonal fermionic states is found to be\nsignificantly different; this difference is shown to be due to the different\ndependences of the energy levels of these bound states on the fermion mass, and\nis in accordance with Levinson's theorem."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Nonabelian interactions from Hamiltonian BRST cohomology: Consistent Hamiltonian couplings between a set of vector fields and a system\nof matter fields are derived by means of BRST cohomological techniques.",
        "positive": "Convex programs for minimal-area problems: The closed string field theory minimal-area problem asks for the conformal\nmetric of least area on a Riemann surface with the condition that all\nnon-contractible closed curves have length at least 2\\pi. This is an extremal\nlength problem in conformal geometry as well as a problem in systolic geometry.\nWe consider the analogous minimal-area problem for homology classes of curves\nand, with the aid of calibrations and the max flow-min cut theorem, formulate\nit as a local convex program. We derive an equivalent dual program involving\nmaximization of a concave functional. These two programs give new insights into\nthe form of the minimal-area metric and are amenable to numerical solution. We\nexplain how the homology problem can be modified to provide the solution to the\noriginal homotopy problem."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A strange relationship between 2d CFT and 4d gauge theory: A relationship between 4d gauge theory and 2d CFT will be reviewed from the\nvery basics. We will first cover the introductory material on the 2d CFT and on\nthe instantons of 4d gauge theory. Next we will explicitly calculate and check\nthe agreement of the norm of a coherent state on the 2d side and the instanton\npartition function on the 4d side. We will then see how this agreement can be\nunderstood from the perspective of string and M theory.",
        "positive": "Phases of unstable conifolds: We explore the phase structure induced by closed string tachyon condensation\nof toric nonsupersymmetric conifold-like singularities described by an integral\ncharge matrix $Q=(n_1 n_2 -n_3 -n_4), n_i>0, \\sum_i Q_i\\neq 0$, initiated in\nhep-th/0510104. Using gauged linear sigma model renormalization group flows and\ntoric geometry techniques, we see a cascade-like phase structure containing\ndecays to lower order conifold-like singularities, including in particular the\nsupersymmetric conifold and the $Y^{pq}$ spaces. This structure is consistent\nwith the Type II GSO projection obtained previously for these singularities.\nTransitions between the various phases of these geometries include flips and\nflops."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Covariant Master Theory for Novel Galilean Invariant Models and\n  Massive Gravity: Coupling the galileons to a curved background has been a tradeoff between\nmaintaining second order equations of motion, maintaining the galilean shift\nsymmetries, and allowing the background metric to be dynamical. We propose a\nconstruction which can achieve all three for a novel class of galilean\ninvariant models, by coupling a scalar with the galilean symmetry to a massive\ngraviton. This generalizes the brane construction for galileons, by adding to\nthe brane a dynamical metric, (non-universally) interacting with the galileon\nfield. Alternatively, it can be thought of as an extension of the ghost-free\nmassive gravity, or as a massive graviton-galileon scalar-tensor theory. In the\ndecoupling limit of these theories, new kinds of galileon invariant\ninteractions arise between the scalar and the longitudinal mode of the\ngraviton. These have higher order equations of motion and infinite powers of\nthe field, yet are ghost-free.",
        "positive": "Superradiance from a Charged Dilaton Black Hole: We study the behavior of the wave function of charged Klein-Gordon field\naround a charge dilaton black hole. The rate of spontaneous charge loss is\nestimated for large black hole case."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Subleading Soft Graviton Theorem for Loop Amplitudes: Superstring field theory gives expressions for heterotic and type II string\nloop amplitudes that are free from ultraviolet and infrared divergences when\nthe number of non-compact space-time dimensions is five or more. We prove the\nsubleading soft graviton theorem in these theories to all orders in\nperturbation theory for S-matrix elements of arbitrary number of finite energy\nexternal states but only one external soft graviton. We also prove the leading\nsoft graviton theorem for arbitrary number of finite energy external states and\narbitrary number of soft gravitons. Since our analysis is based on general\nproperties of one particle irreducible effective action, the results are valid\nin any theory of quantum gravity that gives finite result for the S-matrix\norder by order in perturbation theory without violating general coordinate\ninvariance.",
        "positive": "Threshold corrections in orbifold models and superstring unification of\n  gauge interactions: The string one loop renormalization of the gauge coupling constants is\nexamined in abelian orbifold models. The contributions to string threshold\ncorrections independent of the compactification moduli fields are evaluated\nnumerically for several representative examples of orbifold models. We consider\ncases with standard and non-standard embeddings as well as cases with discrete\nWilson lines background fields which match reasonably well with low energy\nphenomenology. We examine one loop gauge coupling constants unification in a\ndescription incorporating the combined effects of moduli dependent and\nindependent threshold corrections, an adjustable Kac-Moody level for the\nhypercharge group factor and a large mass threshold associated with an\nanomalous $U(1)$ mechanism."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Thermodynamics on Fuzzy Spacetime: We investigate the thermodynamics of non-relativistic and relativistic ideal\ngases on the spacetime with noncommutative fuzzy geometry. We first find that\nthe heat capacities of the non-relativistic ideal boson and fermion on the\nfuzzy two-sphere have different values, contrast to that on the commutative\ngeometry. We calculate the \"statistical interparticle potential\" therein and\ninterprete this property as a result that the non-commutativity of the fuzzy\nsphere has an inclination to enhance the statistical \"attraction (repulsion)\ninterparticle potential\" between boson (fermion). We also see that at high\ntemperature the heat capacity approaches to zero. We next evaluate the heat\ncapacities of the non-relativistic ideal boson and fermion on the product of\nthe 1+D (with D=2,3) Minkowski spacetime by a fuzzy two-sphere and see that the\nfermion capacity could be a decreasing function of temperature in\nhigh-temperature limit, contrast to that always being an increasing function on\nthe commutative geometry. Also, the boson and fermion heat capacities both\napproach to that on the 1+D Minkowski spacetime in high-temperature limit. We\ndiscuss these results and mention that the properties may be traced to the\nmechanism of \"thermal reduction of the fuzzy space\". We also investigate the\nsame problems in the relativistic system with free Klein-Gordon field and Dirac\nfield and find the similar properties.",
        "positive": "Non-Abelian U-duality for membrane: T-duality of string theory can be extended to the Poisson-Lie T-duality when\nthe target space has a generalized isometry group given by a Drinfel'd double.\nIn M-theory, T-duality is understood as a subgroup of U-duality, but the\nnon-Abelian extension of U-duality is still a mystery. In this paper, we study\nmembrane theory on a curved background with a generalized isometry group given\nby the $\\mathcal{E}_n$ algebra. This provides a natural setup to study\nnon-Abelian U-duality because the $\\mathcal{E}_n$ algebra has been proposed as\na U-duality extension of the Drinfel'd double. We show that the standard\ntreatment of Abelian U-duality can be extended to the non-Abelian setup.\nHowever, a famous issue in Abelian U-duality still exists in the non-Abelian\nextension."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Maximally Supersymmetric RG Flows and AdS Duality: We discuss four dimensional renormalization group flows which preserve\nsixteen supersymmetries. In the infra-red, these can be viewed as deformations\nof the N=4 superconformal fixed points by special, irrelevant operators. It is\nargued that the gauge coupling beta function continues to vanish identically,\nfor all coupling constants and energy scales, for such RG flows. In addition,\nthe dimensions of all operators in short supersymmetry representations are\nconstant along such flows. It is conjectured that there is a generalization of\nthe AdS/CFT holography correspondence which describes such flows, e.g. the D3\nbrane vacuum before taking the near-horizon limit, at all energy scales. RG\nflows in three and six dimensions, preserving 16 supersymmetries, are also\nbriefly discussed, including a conjectured generalized AdS/CFT duality for the\nM2 and M5 brane cases. Finally, we discuss maximally supersymmetric RG flows\nassociated with non-commutative geometry.",
        "positive": "T-duality of Non-Relativistic String in Torsional Newton-Cartan\n  Background: In this short note we analyse T-duality properties of non-relativistic String\nin Torsional Newton-Cartan Background. We also determine condition that ensures\nthat non-relativistic string maps to non-relativistic string under T-duality."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "D-brane in R-R Field Background: The purpose of this paper is to understand the low energy effective theory of\na Dp-brane in the background of a large constant R-R (p-1)-form field. We start\nwith the M5-brane theory in large C-field background. The C-field background\ndefines a 3-dimensional volume form on an M5-brane, and it is known that the\nlow energy M5-brane theory can be described as a Nambu-Poisson gauge theory\nwith the volume-preserving diffeomorphism symmetry (VPD). Via a double\ndimensional reduction we obtain a D4-brane in R-R 3-form field background. This\ntheory has both the usual U(1) gauge symmetry and the new symmetry of VPD. We\nfind that the gauge potential for VPD is electric-magnetic dual to the U(1)\ngauge potential, sharing the same physical degrees of freedom. The result can\nbe generalized to Dp-branes.",
        "positive": "High-energy effective theory for matter on close Randall Sundrum branes: Extending the analysis of hep-th/0504128, we obtain a formal expression for\nthe coupling between brane matter and the radion in a Randall-Sundrum\nbraneworld. This effective theory is correct to all orders in derivatives of\nthe radion in the limit of small brane separation, and, in particular, contains\nno higher than second derivatives. In the case of cosmological symmetry the\ntheory can be obtained in closed form and reproduces the five-dimensional\nbehaviour. Perturbations in the tensor and scalar sectors are then studied.\nWhen the branes are moving, the effective Newtonian constant on the brane is\nshown to depend both on the distance between the branes and on their velocity.\nIn the small distance limit, we compute the exact dependence between the\nfour-dimensional and the five-dimensional Newtonian constants."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Schwarzschild de Sitter and extremal surfaces: We study extremal surfaces in the Schwarzschild de Sitter spacetime with real\nmass parameter. We find codim-2 timelike extremal surfaces stretching between\nthe future and past boundaries that pass through the vicinity of the\ncosmological horizon in a certain limit. These are analogous to the surfaces in\narXiv:1711.01107 [hep-th]. We also find spacelike surfaces that never reach the\nfuture/past boundaries but stretch indefinitely through the extended Penrose\ndiagram, passing through the vicinity of the cosmological and Schwarzschild\nhorizons in a certain limit. Further, these exhibit interesting structure for\nde Sitter space (zero mass) as well as in the extremal, or Nariai, limit.",
        "positive": "Fermions on spontaneously generated spherical extra dimensions: We include fermions to the model proposed in hep-th/0606021, and obtain a\nrenormalizable 4-dimensional SU(N) gauge theory which spontaneously generates\nfuzzy extra dimensions and behaves like Yang-Mills theory on M^4 \\times S^2. We\nfind a truncated tower of fermionic Kaluza-Klein states transforming under the\nlow-energy gauge group, which is found to be either SU(n), or SU(n_1) x SU(n_2)\nx U(1). The latter case implies a nontrivial U(1) flux on S^2, leading to\nwould-be zero modes for the bifundamental fermions. In the non-chiral case they\nmay pair up to acquire a mass, and the emerging picture is that of mirror\nfermions. We discuss the possible implementation of a chirality constraint in 6\ndimensions, which is nontrivial at the quantum level due to the fuzzy nature of\nthe extra dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantizations of D=3 Lorentz symmetry: Using the isomorphism\n$\\mathfrak{o}(3;\\mathbb{C})\\simeq\\mathfrak{sl}(2;\\mathbb{C})$ we develop a new\nsimple algebraic technique for complete classification of quantum deformations\n(the classical $r$-matrices) for real forms $\\mathfrak{o}(3)$ and\n$\\mathfrak{o}(2,1)$ of the complex Lie algebra $\\mathfrak{o}(3;\\mathbb{C})$ in\nterms of real forms of $\\mathfrak{sl}(2;\\mathbb{C})$: $\\mathfrak{su}(2)$,\n$\\mathfrak{su}(1,1)$ and $\\mathfrak{sl}(2;\\mathbb{R})$. We prove that the $D=3$\nLorentz symmetry\n$\\mathfrak{o}(2,1)\\simeq\\mathfrak{su}(1,1)\\simeq\\mathfrak{sl}(2;\\mathbb{R})$\nhas three different Hopf-algebraic quantum deformations which are expressed in\nthe simplest way by two standard $\\mathfrak{su}(1,1)$ and\n$\\mathfrak{sl}(2;\\mathbb{R})$ $q$-analogs and by simple Jordanian\n$\\mathfrak{sl}(2;\\mathbb{R})$ twist deformations. These quantizations are\npresented in terms of the quantum Cartan-Weyl generators for the quantized\nalgebras $\\mathfrak{su}(1,1)$ and $\\mathfrak{sl}(2;\\mathbb{R})$ as well as in\nterms of quantum Cartesian generators for the quantized algebra\n$\\mathfrak{o}(2,1)$. Finaly, some applications of the deformed $D=3$ Lorentz\nsymmetry are mentioned.",
        "positive": "Holographic RG Flows for Kondo-like Impurities: Boundary, defect, and interface RG flows, as exemplified by the famous Kondo\nmodel, play a significant role in the theory of quantum fields. We study in\ndetail the holographic dual of a non-conformal supersymmetric impurity in the\nD1/D5 CFT. Its RG flow bears similarities to the Kondo model, although unlike\nthe Kondo model the CFT is strongly coupled in the holographic regime. The\ninterface we study preserves $d = 1$ $\\mathcal{N} = 4$ supersymmetry and flows\nto conformal fixed points in both the UV and IR. The interface's UV fixed point\nis described by $d = 1$ fermionic degrees of freedom, coupled to a gauge\nconnection on the CFT target space that is induced by the ADHM construction. We\nbriefly discuss its field-theoretic properties before shifting our focus to its\nholographic dual. We analyze the supergravity dual of this interface RG flow,\nfirst in the probe limit and then including gravitational backreaction. In the\nprobe limit, the flow is realized by the puffing up of probe branes on an\ninternal $\\mathsf{S}^3$ via the Myers effect. We further identify the\nbackreacted supergravity configurations dual to the interface fixed points.\nThese supergravity solutions provide a geometric realization of critical\nscreening of the defect degrees of freedom. This critical screening arises in a\nway similar to the original Kondo model. We compute the $g$-factor both in the\nprobe brane approximation and using backreacted supergravity solutions, and\nshow that it decreases from the UV to the IR as required by the $g$-theorem."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Turbulent Two Dimensional Magnetohydrodynamics and Conformal Field\n  Theory.: We show that an infinite number of non-unitary minimal models may describe\ntwo dimensional turbulent magnetohydrodynamics (MHD), both in the presence and\nabsence of the Alf'ven effect.\n  We argue that the existence of a critical dynamical index results in the\nAlf'ven effect or equivelently the equipartition of energy. We show that there\nare an infinite number of conserved quantities in $2D-MHD$ turbulent systems\nboth in the limit of vanishing the viscocities and in force free case. In the\nforce free case, using the non-unitary minimal model $ M_{2,7} $ we derive the\ncorrelation functions for the velocity stream function and magnetic flux\nfunction. Generalising this simple model we find the exponents of the energy\nspectrum in the inertial range for a class of conformal field theories.",
        "positive": "Functional Renormalisation Group Approach for Tensorial Group Field\n  Theory: a Rank-3 Model: We set up the Functional Renormalisation Group formalism for Tensorial Group\nField Theory in full generality. We then apply it to a rank-3 model over U(1) x\nU(1) x U(1), endowed with a linear kinetic term and nonlocal interactions. The\nsystem of FRG equations turns out to be non-autonomous in the RG flow\nparameter. This feature is explained by the existence of a hidden scale, the\nradius of the group manifold. We investigate in detail the opposite regimes of\nlarge cut-off (UV) and small cut-off (IR) of the FRG equations, where the\nsystem becomes autonomous, and we find, in both case, Gaussian and non-Gaussian\nfixed points. We derive and interpret the critical exponents and flow diagrams\nassociated with these fixed points, and discuss how the UV and IR regimes are\nmatched at finite N. Finally, we discuss the evidence for a phase transition\nfrom a symmetric phase to a broken or condensed phase, from an RG perspective,\nfinding that this seems to exist only in the approximate regime of very large\nradius of the group manifold, as to be expected for systems on compact\nmanifolds."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Higher spin holography for SYM in d dimensions: We derive the spectrum of gauge invariant operators for maximally\nsupersymmetric Yang-Mills theories in d dimensions. After subtracting the tower\nof BPS multiplets, states are shown to fall into long multiplets of a hidden\nSO(10,2) symmetry dressed by thirty-two supercharges. Their primaries organize\ninto a universal, i.e. d-independent pattern. The results are in perfect\nagreement with those following from (naive) KK reduction of type II strings on\nthe warped AdS x S near-horizon geometry of Dp-branes.",
        "positive": "Parametric holomorphy? Triviality versus Duality in Sinh-Gordon: Suppose a regularised functional integral depends holomorphically on a\nparameter that receives only a finite renormalization. Can one expect the\ncorrelation functions to retain the analyticity in the parameter after removal\nof the cutoff(s)? We examine the issue in the Sinh-Gordon theory by computing\nthe intrinsic 4-point coupling as a function of the Lagrangian coupling \\beta.\nDrawing on the conjectured triviality of the model in its functional integral\nformulation for \\beta^2 > 8\\pi, and the weak-strong coupling duality in the\nbootstrap formulation on the other hand, we conclude that the operations:\n``Removal of the cutoff(s)'' and ``analytic continuation in \\beta'' do not\ncommute."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Covariant procedures for perturbative non-linear deformation of\n  duality-invariant theories: We analyze a recent conjecture regarding the perturbative construction of\nnon-linear deformations of all classically duality invariant theories,\nincluding N=8 supergravity. Starting with an initial quartic deformation, we\nengineer a procedure that generates a particular non-linear deformation\n(Born-Infeld) of the Maxwell theory. This procedure requires the introduction\nof an infinite number of modifications to a constraint which eliminates degrees\nof freedom consistent with the duality and field content of the system. We\ndiscuss the extension of this procedure to N=1 and N=2 supersymmetric theories,\nand comment on its potential to either construct new supergravity theories with\nnon-linear Born-Infeld type duality, or to constrain the finiteness of N=8\nsupergravity.",
        "positive": "Higher Derivative Couplings and Heterotic-Type I Duality in Eight\n  Dimensions: We calculate F^4 and R^4T^(4g-4) couplings in d=8 heterotic and type I string\nvacua (with gauge and graviphoton field strengths F,T, and Riemann curvature\nR). The holomorphic piece F_g of the heterotic one-loop coupling R^4T^(4g-4) is\ngiven by a polylogarithm of index 5-4g and encodes the counting of genus g\ncurves with g nodes on the K3 of the dual F-theory side. We present closed\nexpressions for world-sheet tau-integrals with an arbitrary number of lattice\nvector insertions. Furthermore we verify that the corresponding heterotic\none-loop couplings sum up perturbative open string and non-perturbative\nD-string contributions on the type I side. Finally we discuss a type I one-loop\ncorrection to the R^2 term."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Algebraic Aspects of Orbifold Models: : Algebraic properties of orbifold models on arbitrary Riemann surfaces are\ninvestigated. The action of mapping class group transformations and of standard\ngeometric operations is given explicitly. An infinite dimensional extension of\nthe quantum group is presented.",
        "positive": "$(n+1)$-Dimensional Lorentzian Wormholes in an Expanding Cosmological\n  Background: We discuss $(n+1)$-dimensional dynamical wormholes in an evolving\ncosmological background with a throat expanding with time. These solutions are\nexamined in the general relativity framework. A linear relation between\ndiagonal elements of an anisotropic energy-momentum tensor is used to obtain\nthe solutions. The energy-momentum tensor elements approach the vacuum case\nwhen we are far from the central object for one class of solutions. Finally, we\ndiscuss the energy-momentum tensor which supports this geometry, taking into\naccount the energy conditions ."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Noncommutative Gauge Theory on Fuzzy Sphere from Matrix Model: We derive a noncommutative U(1) and U(n) gauge theory on the fuzzy sphere\nfrom a three dimensional matrix model by expanding the model around a classical\nsolution of the fuzzy sphere. Chern-Simons term is added in the matrix model to\nmake the fuzzy sphere as a classical solution of the model. Majorana mass term\nis also added to make it supersymmetric. We consider two large $N$ limits, one\ncorresponding to a gauge theory on a commutative sphere and the other to that\non a noncommutative plane. We also investigate stability of the fuzzy sphere by\ncalculating one-loop effective action around classical solutions. In the final\npart of this paper, we consider another matrix model which gives a\nsupersymmetric gauge theory on the fuzzy sphere. In this matrix model, only\nChern-Simons term is added and supersymmetry transformation is modified.",
        "positive": "Conformal SO(2,4) Transformations of the One-Cusp Wilson Loop Surface: By applying the conformal SO(2,4) transformations to the elementary one-cusp\nWilson loop surface we construct various two-cusp and four-cusp Wilson loop\nsurface configurations in AdS_5 and demonstrate that they solve the string\nequations of the Nambu-Goto string action. The conformal boosts of the basic\nfour-cusp Wilson loop surface with a square-form projection generate various\nfour-cusp Wilson loop surfaces with projections of the rescaled square, the\nrhombus and the trapezium, on which surfaces the classical Euclidean Nambu-Goto\nstring actions in the IR dimensional regularization are evaluated."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Off-shell Closed String Amplitudes: Towards a Computation of the Tachyon\n  Potential: We derive an explicit formula for the evaluation of the classical closed\nstring action for any off-shell string field, and for the calculation of\narbitrary off-shell amplitudes. The formulae require a parametrization, in\nterms of some moduli space coordinates, of the family of local coordinates\nneeded to insert the off-shell states on Riemann surfaces. We discuss in detail\nthe evaluation of the tachyon potential as a power series in the tachyon field.\nThe expansion coefficients in this series are shown to be geometrical\ninvariants of Strebel quadratic differentials whose variational properties\nimply that closed string polyhedra, among all possible choices of string\nvertices, yield a tachyon potential which is as small as possible order by\norder in the string coupling constant. Our discussion emphasizes the\ngeometrical meaning of off-shell amplitudes.",
        "positive": "The Solution of the d-Dimensional Twisted Group Lattices: The general d-dimensional twisted group lattice is solved. The irreducible\nrepresentations of the corresponding group are constructed by an explicit\nprocedure. It is proven that they are complete. All matrix representation\nsolutions to the quantum hyperplane equations are obtained."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fischler-Susskind holographic cosmology revisited: When Fischler and Susskind proposed a holographic prescription based on the\nParticle Horizon, they found that spatially closed cosmological models do not\nverify it due to the apparently unavoidable recontraction of the Particle\nHorizon area. In this article, after a short review of their original work, we\nexpose graphically and analytically that spatially closed cosmological models\ncan avoid this problem if they expand fast enough. It has been also shown that\nthe Holographic Principle is saturated for a codimension one brane dominated\nUniverse. The Fischler-Susskind prescription is used to obtain the maximum\nnumber of degrees of freedom per Planck volume at the Planck era compatible\nwith the Holographic Principle.",
        "positive": "Localization of Vortex Partition Functions in $\\mathcal{N}=(2,2) $ Super\n  Yang-Mills theory: In this article, we study the localizaiton of the partition function of BPS\nvortices in $\\mathcal{N}=(2,2)$ $U(N)$ super Yang-Mills theory with $N$-flavor\non $\\R^2$. The vortex partition function for $\\mathcal{N}=(2,2)$ super\nYang-Mills theory is obtained from the one in $\\mathcal{N}=(4,4)$ super\nYang-Mills theory by mass deformation. We show that the partition function can\nbe written as $Q$-exact form and integration in the partition functions is\nlocalized to the fixed points which are related to $N$-tuple one dimensional\npartitions of positive integers."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Graded Quivers, Generalized Dimer Models and Toric Geometry: The open string sector of the topological B-model model on CY $(m+2)$-folds\nis described by $m$-graded quivers with superpotentials. This correspondence\nextends to general $m$ the well known connection between CY $(m+2)$-folds and\ngauge theories on the worldvolume of D$(5-2m)$-branes for $m=0,\\ldots, 3$. We\nintroduce $m$-dimers, which fully encode the $m$-graded quivers and their\nsuperpotentials, in the case in which the CY $(m+2)$-folds are toric.\nGeneralizing the well known $m=1,2$ cases, $m$-dimers significantly simplify\nthe connection between geometry and $m$-graded quivers. A key result of this\npaper is the generalization of the concept of perfect matching, which plays a\ncentral role in this map, to arbitrary $m$. We also introduce a simplified\nalgorithm for the computation of perfect matchings, which generalizes the\nKasteleyn matrix approach to any $m$. We illustrate these new tools with a few\ninfinite families of CY singularities.",
        "positive": "Bosonization in the path integral formulation: We establish the direct $d=2$ on-shell bosonization\n$\\psi_{L}(x_{+})=e^{i\\xi(x_{+})}$ and\n$\\psi_{R}^{\\dagger}(x_{-})=e^{i\\xi(x_{-})}$ in path integral formulation by\nderiving the off-shell relations\n$\\psi_{L}(x)\\psi_{R}^{\\dagger}(x)=\\exp[i\\xi(x)]$ and\n$\\psi_{R}(x)\\psi_{L}^{\\dagger}(x)=\\exp[-i\\xi(x)]$. Similarly, the on-shell\nbosonization of the bosonic commuting spinor,\n$\\phi_{L}(x_{+})=ie^{-i\\xi(x_{+})}\\partial^{+}e^{-i\\chi(x_{+})}$,\n$\\phi^{\\dagger}_{R}(x_{-})=e^{-i\\xi(x_{-})-i\\chi(x_{-})}$ and\n$\\phi_{R}(x_{-})=ie^{i\\xi(x_{-})}\\partial^{-}e^{+i\\chi(x_{-})}$,\n$\\phi^{\\dagger}_{L}(x_{+})=e^{i\\xi(x_{+})+i\\chi(x_{+})}$, is established in\npath integral formulation by deriving the off-shell relations\n$\\phi_{L}(x)\\phi^{\\dagger}_{R}(x)=ie^{-i\\xi(x)}\\partial^{+}e^{-i\\chi(x)}$ and\n$\\phi_{R}(x)\\phi^{\\dagger}_{L}(x)=ie^{i\\xi(x)}\\partial^{-}e^{i\\chi(x)}$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Tachyon Hair for Two-Dimensional Black Holes: Using a combination of analytical and numerical methods, we obtain a\ntwo-dimensional spacetime describing a black hole with tachyon hair. The\nphysical ADM mass of the black hole is finite. The presence of tachyon hair\nincreases the Hawking temperature.",
        "positive": "Resolved gravity duals of ${\\cal N}=4$ quiver field theories in 2+1\n  dimensions: We generalize the construction by Aharony, Hashimoto, Hirano, and Ouyang of\n${\\cal N}=4$ quiver gauge theory with gauge group $U(N+M) \\times U(N)$, $k$\nfundamentals charged under $U(N)$ and bi-fundamentals, to the case with gauge\ngroup $\\prod_{i=1}^{\\hat k} U(N_i)$ with $k_i$ fundamentals charged under\n$U(N_i)$. This construction is facilitated by considering the resolved\n$ALE_{\\hat k} \\times TN_{k}$ background in M-theory including non-trivial\nfluxes through the resolved 4-cycles in the geometry. We also describe the\nM-theory lift of the IIA Page charge quantization condition. Finally, we\nclarify the role of string corrections in various regimes of parameter space."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Semiclassical Unimodular Gravity: Classically, unimodular gravity is known to be equivalent to General\nRelativity (GR), except for the fact that the effective cosmological constant\n$\\Lambda$ has the status of an integration constant. Here, we explore various\nformulations of unimodular gravity beyond the classical limit. We first\nconsider the non-generally covariant action formulation in which the\ndeterminant of the metric is held fixed to unity. We argue that the\ncorresponding quantum theory is also equivalent to General Relativity for\nlocalized perturbative processes which take place in generic backgrounds of\ninfinite volume (such as asymptotically flat spacetimes). Next, using the same\naction, we calculate semiclassical non-perturbative quantities, which we expect\nwill be dominated by Euclidean instanton solutions. We derive the entropy/area\nratio for cosmological and black hole horizons, finding agreement with GR for\nsolutions in backgrounds of infinite volume, but disagreement for backgrounds\nwith finite volume. In deriving the above results, the path integral is taken\nover histories with fixed 4-volume. We point out that the results are different\nif we allow the 4-volume of the different histories to vary over a continuum\nrange. In this \"generalized\" version of unimodular gravity, one recovers the\nfull set of Einstein's equations in the classical limit, including the trace,\nso $\\Lambda$ is no longer an integration constant. Finally, we consider the\ngenerally covariant theory due to Henneaux and Teitelboim, which is classically\nequivalent to unimodular gravity. In this case, the standard semiclassical GR\nresults are recovered provided that the boundary term in the Euclidean action\nis chosen appropriately.",
        "positive": "Path integral representations in noncommutative quantum mechanics and\n  noncommutative version of Berezin-Marinov action: It is known that actions of field theories on a noncommutative space-time can\nbe written as some modified (we call them $\\theta$-modified) classical actions\nalready on the commutative space-time (introducing a star product). Then the\nquantization of such modified actions reproduces both space-time\nnoncommutativity and usual quantum mechanical features of the corresponding\nfield theory. The $\\theta$-modification for arbitrary finite-dimensional\nnonrelativistic system was proposed by Deriglazov (2003). In the present\narticle, we discuss the problem of constructing $\\theta$-modified actions for\nrelativistic QM. We construct such actions for relativistic spinless and\nspinning particles. The key idea is to extract $\\theta$-modified actions of the\nrelativistic particles from path integral representations of the corresponding\nnoncommtative field theory propagators. We consider Klein-Gordon and Dirac\nequations for the causal propagators in such theories. Then we construct for\nthe propagators path-integral representations. Effective actions in such\nrepresentations we treat as $\\theta$-modified actions of the relativistic\nparticles. To confirm the interpretation, we quantize canonically these\nactions. Thus, we obtain the Klein-Gordon and Dirac equations in the\nnoncommutative field theories. The $\\theta$-modified action of the relativistic\nspinning particle is just a generalization of the Berezin-Marinov\npseudoclassical action for the noncommutative case."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Jordan C*-Algebras and Supergravity: It is known that black hole charge vectors of N=8 and magic N=2 supergravity\nin four and five dimensions can be represented as elements of Jordan algebras\nof degree three over the octonions and split-octonions and their Freudenthal\ntriple systems. We show both such Jordan algebras are contained in the\nexceptional Jordan C*-algebra and construct its corresponding Freudenthal\ntriple system and single variable extension. The transformation groups for\nthese structures give rise to the complex forms of the U-duality groups for N=8\nand magic N=2 supergravities in three, four and five dimensions.",
        "positive": "Rotating NS5-brane solution and its exact string theoretical description: We construct the most general solution in type-II string theory that\nrepresents N coincident non-extremal rotating NS5-branes and determine the\nrelevant thermodynamic quantities. We show that in the field theory limit, it\nhas an exact description. In particular, it can be obtained by an O(3,3)\nduality transformation on the exact string background for the coset model\nSL(2,R)_{-N}/U(1) \\times SU(2)_N. In the extreme supersymmetric limit we\nrecover the multicenter solution, with a ring singularity structure, that has\nbeen discussed recently."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Open strings, Born--Infeld action and the heat kernel: In the derivation of the Born-Infeld action for the case with a nontrivial\nboundary of the string world sheet the appearance of a new term changes the\nconformal anomaly. This may have many consequences, especially also in the\nstudy of generalized interacting brane systems.",
        "positive": "Background Independent Algebraic Structures in Closed String Field\n  Theory: We construct a Batalin-Vilkovisky (BV) algebra on moduli spaces of Riemann\nsurfaces. This algebra is background independent in that it makes no reference\nto a state space of a conformal field theory. Conformal theories define a\nhomomorphism of this algebra to the BV algebra of string functionals. The\nconstruction begins with a graded-commutative free associative algebra $\\C$\nbuilt from the vector space whose elements are orientable subspaces of moduli\nspaces of punctured Riemann surfaces. The typical element here is a surface\nwith several connected components. The operation $\\Delta$ of sewing two\npunctures with a full twist is shown to be an odd, second order derivation that\nsquares to zero. It follows that $(\\C, \\Delta)$ is a Batalin-Vilkovisky\nalgebra. We introduce the odd operator $\\delta = \\partial + \\hbar\\Delta$, where\n$\\partial$ is the boundary operator. It is seen that $\\delta^2=0$, and that\nconsistent closed string vertices define a cohomology class of $\\delta$. This\ncohomology class is used to construct a Lie algebra on a quotient space of\n$\\C$. This Lie algebra gives a manifestly background independent description of\na subalgebra of the closed string gauge algebra."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Power of M Theory: A proposed duality between type IIB superstring theory on R^9 X S^1 and a\nconjectured 11D fundamental theory (``M theory'') on R^9 X T^2 is investigated.\nSimple heuristic reasoning leads to a consistent picture relating the various\np-branes and their tensions in each theory. Identifying the M theory on R^{10}\nX S^1 with type IIA superstring theory on R^{10}, in a similar fashion, leads\nto various relations among the p-branes of the IIA theory.",
        "positive": "Anisotropic Four-Dimensional NS-NS String Cosmology: An anisotropic (Bianchi type I) cosmology is considered in the\nfour-dimensional NS-NS sector of low-energy effective string theory coupled to\na dilaton and an axion-like $H$-field within a de Sitter-Einstein frame\nbackground. The time evolution of this Universe is discussed in both the\nEinstein and string frames."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Axial-Current Anomaly in Euler Fluid: We argue that a close analog of the axial-current anomaly of quantum field\ntheories with fermions occurs in the classical Euler fluid. The conservation of\nthe axial current (closely related to the helicity of inviscid barotropic flow)\nis anomalously broken by the external electromagnetic field as $\\partial_\\mu\nj_{A}^\\mu = 2\\,\\bf E\\!\\cdot\\! \\bf B$ similar to that of the axial current of a\nquantum field theory with Dirac fermions such as QED.",
        "positive": "Non-supersymmetric heterotic strings and chiral CFTs: Non-supersymmetric heterotic strings share various properties with their\nsupersymmetric counterparts. Torus compactifications of the latter live in a\ncomponent of the moduli space of string vacua with 16 supercharges, and various\nasymmetric orbifolds thereof realize vacua in other components, exhibiting\nqualitative differences such as rank reduction. We set out to study the\nanalogous problem for non-supersymmetric heterotic strings, framing it in\nrelation to chiral fermionic CFTs with central charge 24, which were classified\nrecently. We find that for the case analogous to the so-called CHL string,\nwhich has gauge group rank reduced by 8, there are in total four\nnon-supersymmetric versions. These include the well known $E_8$ string and\nthree other constructions a la CHL, which can be distinguished qualitatively by\nhow tachyons appear in their classical moduli spaces. We also discuss the\nclassification problem for lower rank theories and the relationship between\nMSDS models and Scherk-Schwarz reductions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Effective field theory approach to quasi-single field inflation and\n  effects of heavy fields: We apply the effective field theory approach to quasi-single field inflation,\nwhich contains an additional scalar field with Hubble scale mass other than\ninflaton. Based on the time-dependent spatial diffeomorphism, which is not\nbroken by the time-dependent background evolution, the most generic action of\nquasi-single field inflation is constructed up to third order fluctuations.\nUsing the obtained action, the effects of the additional massive scalar field\non the primordial curvature perturbations are discussed. In particular, we\ncalculate the power spectrum and discuss the momentum-dependence of three point\nfunctions in the squeezed limit for general settings of quasi-single field\ninflation. Our framework can be also applied to inflation models with heavy\nparticles. We make a qualitative discussion on the effects of heavy particles\nduring inflation and that of sudden turning trajectory in our framework.",
        "positive": "A geometrical approach to degenerate scalar-tensor theories: Degenerate scalar-tensor theories are recently proposed covariant theories of\ngravity coupled with a scalar field. Despite being characterised by higher\norder equations of motion, they do not propagate more than three degrees of\nfreedom, thanks to the existence of constraints. We discuss a geometrical\napproach to degenerate scalar-tensor systems, and analyse its consequences. We\nshow that some of these theories emerge as a certain limit of DBI Galileons. In\nabsence of dynamical gravity, these systems correspond to scalar theories\nenjoying a symmetry which is different from Galileon invariance. The scalar\ntheories have however problems concerning the propagation of fluctuations\naround a time dependent background. These issues can be tamed by breaking the\nsymmetry by hand, or by minimally coupling the scalar with dynamical gravity in\na way that leads to degenerate scalar-tensor systems. We show that distinct\ntheories can be connected by a relation which generalizes Galileon duality, in\ncertain cases also when gravity is dynamical. We discuss some implications of\nour results in concrete examples. Our findings can be helpful for assessing\nstability properties and understanding the non-perturbative structure of\nsystems based on degenerate scalar-tensor systems."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Emergent Global Symmetry from IR N-ality: We present a new family of IR dualities in three space-time dimensions with\neight supercharges. In contrast to 3d mirror symmetry, these dualities map\nCoulomb branches to Coulomb branches and Higgs branches to Higgs branches in\nthe deep IR. For a large class of quiver gauge theories with an emergent\nCoulomb branch global symmetry, one can construct a sequence of such dualities\nby step-wise implementing a set of quiver mutations. The duality sequence leads\nto a set of quiver gauge theories which flow to the same IR superconformal\nfield theory -- a phenomenon we refer to as IR N-ality. We show that this set\nof N-al quivers always contains a theory for which the rank of the IR Coulomb\nbranch symmetry is manifest in the UV. For a special subclass of theories, the\nemergent symmetry algebra itself can be read off from the quiver description of\nthe aforementioned theory.",
        "positive": "Generalized Coherent State Approach to Star Products and Applications to\n  the Fuzzy Sphere: We construct a star product associated with an arbitrary two dimensional\nPoisson structure using generalized coherent states on the complex plane. From\nour approach one easily recovers the star product for the fuzzy torus, and also\none for the fuzzy sphere. For the latter we need to define the `fuzzy'\nstereographic projection to the plane and the fuzzy sphere integration measure,\nwhich in the commutative limit reduce to the usual formulae for the sphere."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic non-relativistic fermionic fixed point by the charged\n  dilatonic black hole: Driven by the landscape of garden-variety condensed matter systems, we have\ninvestigated how the dual spectral function behaves at the non-relativistic as\nwell as relativistic fermionic fixed point by considering the probe Dirac\nfermion in an extremal charged dilatonic black hole with zero entropy. Although\nthe pattern for both of the appearance of flat band and emergence of Fermi\nsurface is qualitatively similar to that given by the probe fermion in the\nextremal Reissner-Nordstrom AdS black hole, we find a distinctly different low\nenergy behavior around the Fermi surface, which can be traced back to the\ndifferent near horizon geometry. In particular, with the peculiar near horizon\ngeometry of our extremal charged dilatonic black hole, the low energy behavior\nexhibits the universal linear dispersion relation and scaling property, where\nthe former indicates that the dual liquid is a Fermi one while the latter\nimplies that the dual liquid is not exactly of Landau Fermi type.",
        "positive": "Non-Standard neutral kaons dynamics from D-brane statistics: The neutral kaon system can be effectively described by non-unitary,\ndissipative, completely positive dynamics that extend the usual treatment. In\nthe framework of open quantum systems, we show how the origin of these\nnon-standard time evolutions can be traced to the interaction of the kaon\nsystem with a large environment. We find that D-branes, effectively described\nby a heat-bath of quanta obeying infinite statistics, could constitute a\nrealistic example of such an environment."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Graph complexes and Feynman rules: We investigate Feynman graphs and their Feynman rules from the viewpoint of\ngraph complexes. We focus on graph homology and on the appearance of cubical\ncomplexes when either reducing internal edges or when removing them by putting\nthem on the massshell.",
        "positive": "Maximal super Yang-Mills theories on curved background with off-shell\n  supercharges: We construct d<=7 dimensional maximally supersymmetric Yang-Mills theories on\na class of curved backgrounds with off-shell supercharges. The off-shell\nsupersymmetry is mainly a generalization of on-shell supersymmetry constructed\npreviously by Blau. We present several examples of backgrounds and discuss the\nnumber of the preserved supersymmetries on these backgrounds. We also construct\nanother maximally supersymmetric Yang-Mills theories on S^3 by dimensional\nreducing along the R-direction of N=4 super Yang-Mills theory on RxS^3."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "BMS charges in polyhomogeneous spacetimes: We classify the asymptotic charges of a class of polyhomogeneous\nasymptotically-flat spacetimes with finite shear, generalising recent results\non smooth asymptotically-flat spacetimes. Polyhomogenous spacetimes are a\nformally consistent class of spacetimes that do not satisfy the well-known\npeeling property. As such, they constitute a more physical class of\nasymptotically-flat spacetimes compared to the smooth class. In particular, we\nestablish that the generalised conserved non-linear Newman-Penrose charges that\nare known to exist for such spacetimes are a subset of asymptotic BMS charges.",
        "positive": "Phase transitions and light scalars in bottom-up holography: Within the bottom-up approach to holography, we construct a class of\nsix-dimensional gravity models, and discuss solutions that can be interpreted,\nasymptotically in the far UV, in terms of dual five-dimensional conformal field\ntheories deformed by a single scalar operator. We treat the scaling dimension\nof such operator, related to the mass of the one scalar field in the gravity\ntheory, as a free parameter. One dimension in the regular geometry is\ncompactified on a shrinking circle, hence mimicking confinement in the\nresulting dual four-dimensional theories.\n  We study the mass spectrum of bosonic states. The lightest state in this\nspectrum is a scalar particle. Along the regular (confining) branch of\nsolutions, we find the presence of a tachyonic instability in part of the\nparameter space, reached by a smooth deformation of the mass spectrum, as a\nfunction of the boundary value of the background scalar field in the gravity\ntheory. In a region of parameter space nearby the tachyonic one, the lightest\nscalar particle can be interpreted as an approximate dilaton, sourced by the\ntrace of the stress-energy tensor, and its mass is parametrically suppressed.\n  We also compute the free energy, along several branches of gravity solutions.\nWe find that both the dilatonic and tachyonic regions of parameter space,\nidentified along the branch of confining solutions, are hidden behind a\nfirst-order phase transition, so that they are not realised as stable\nsolutions, irrespectively of the scaling dimension of the deforming\nfield-theory operator. The (approximate) dilaton, in particular, appears in\nmetastable solutions. Yet, the mass of the lightest state, computed close to\nthe phase transition, is (mildly) suppressed. This feature is amplified when\nthe (free) parameter controlling the scaling dimension of the deformation is\n5/2, half the dimension of space-time in the field theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Solution of the Relativistic Schr\u00f6dinger Equation for the\n  $\u03b4$-Function Potential in 1-dimensiona with Cutoff Regularization: We study the solution of the relativistic Schr\\\"odinger equation for a point\nparticle in 1-d under $\\delta$-function potential by using cutoff\nregularization. We show that the problem is renormalizable, and the results are\nexactly the same as the ones obtained using dimensional regularization.",
        "positive": "Restoration of Lorentz Symmetry for Lifshitz-Type Scalar Theory: The purpose of this paper is to present our study on the restoration of the\nLorentz symmetry for a Lifshitz-type scalar theory in the infrared region by\nusing nonperturbative methods. We apply the Wegner-Houghton equation, which is\none of the exact renormalization group equations, to the Lifshitz-type theory.\nAnalyzing the equation for a z=2, d=3+1 Lifshitz-type scalar model, and using\nsome variable transformations, we found that broken symmetry terms vanish in\nthe infrared region. This shows that the Lifshitz-type scalar model dynamically\nrestores the Lorentz symmetry at low energy. Our result provides a definition\nof ultraviolet complete renormalizable scalar field theories. These theories\ncan have nontrivial interaction terms of \\phi^{n} (n=4, 6, 8, 10) even when the\nLorentz symmetry is restored at low energy."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Instability of Chern-Simons Theory with Fermions at Large N: We study the (in)stability around the dynamical gap solution of the $U(N)$\nChern-Simons gauge theory with fundamental fermions (massless or massive)\ncoupled in $D=3$ at large $N$. Explicit analyses on both the Auxiliary-Field\n(AF) and the Cornwall-Jackiw-Tomboulis (CJT) effective potentials are given. In\nboth approaches we manage to analytically identify the saddle-point instability\naround the gap solution. We also give a comparison with the QCD-like theories.\nThis study can help understanding the scale symmetry breaking picture of this\ntheory.",
        "positive": "Environmentally Friendly Renormalization: We analyze the renormalization of systems whose effective degrees of freedom\nare described in terms of fluctuations which are ``environment'' dependent.\nRelevant environmental parameters considered are: temperature, system size,\nboundary conditions, and external fields. The points in the space of \\lq\\lq\ncoupling constants'' at which such systems exhibit scale invariance coincide\nonly with the fixed points of a global renormalization group which is\nnecessarily environment dependent. Using such a renormalization group we give\nformal expressions to two loops for effective critical exponents for a generic\ncrossover induced by a relevant mass scale $g$. These effective exponents are\nseen to obey scaling laws across the entire crossover, including hyperscaling,\nbut in terms of an effective dimensionality, $d\\ef=4-\\gl$, which represents the\neffects of the leading irrelevant operator. We analyze the crossover of an\n$O(N)$ model on a $d$ dimensional layered geometry with periodic, antiperiodic\nand Dirichlet boundary conditions. Explicit results to two loops for effective\nexponents are obtained using a [2,1] Pad\\'e resummed coupling, for: the\n``Gaussian model'' ($N=-2$), spherical model ($N=\\infty$), Ising Model ($N=1$),\npolymers ($N=0$), XY-model ($N=2$) and Heisenberg ($N=3$) models in four\ndimensions. We also give two loop Pad\\'e resummed results for a three\ndimensional Ising ferromagnet in a transverse magnetic field and corresponding\none loop results for the two dimensional model. One loop results are also\npresented for a three dimensional layered Ising model with Dirichlet and\nantiperiodic boundary conditions. Asymptotically the effective exponents are in\nexcellent agreement with known results."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Generalized Chern-Simons Form and Descent Equation: We present the general method to introduce the generalized Chern-Simons form\nand the descent equation which contain the scalar field in addition to the\ngauge fields. It is based on the technique in a noncommutative differential\ngeometry (NCG) which extends the $N$-dimensional Minkowski space $M_N$ to the\ndiscrete space such as $M_N\\times Z_2$ with two point space $Z_2$. However, the\nresultant equations do not depend on NCG but are justified by the algebraic\nrules in the ordinary differential geometry.",
        "positive": "4d F(4) gauged supergravity and black holes of class $\\mathcal{F}$: We perform a consistent reduction of 6d matter-coupled F(4) supergravity on a\ncompact Riemann surface $\\Sigma_\\mathfrak{g}$ of genus $\\mathfrak{g}$, at the\nlevel of the bosonic action. The result is an $\\mathcal{N}=2$ gauged\nsupergravity coupled to two vector multiplets and a single hypermultiplet. The\nfour-dimensional model is holographically dual to the 3d superconformal field\ntheories of class $\\mathcal{F}$, describing different brane systems in massive\ntype IIA and IIB wrapped on $\\Sigma_\\mathfrak{g}$. The naive reduction leads to\na non-standard 4d mixed duality frame with both electric and magnetic gauge\nfields, as well as a massive tensor, that can be only described in the\nembedding tensor formalism. Upon a chain of electromagnetic dualities, we are\nable to determine the scalar manifolds and electric gaugings that uniquely\nspecify the model in the standard supergravity frame. We then use the result to\nconstruct the first examples of static dyonic black holes in AdS$_6$ and\nperform a microscopic counting of their entropy via the 5d topologically\ntwisted index. Finally, we show the existence of further subtruncations to the\nmassless sector of the 4d theory, such as the Fayet-Iliopoulos gauged $T^3$\nmodel and minimal gauged supergravity. We are in turn able to find new\nasymptotically AdS$_4$ solutions, providing predictions for the squashed $S^3$\npartition functions and the superconformal and refined twisted indices of class\n$\\mathcal{F}$ theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Topological and Universal Aspects of Bosonized Interacting Fermionic\n  Systems in (2+1)d: General results on the structure of the bosonization of fermionic systems in\n$(2+1)$d are obtained. In particular, the universal character of the bosonized\ntopological current is established and applied to generic fermionic current\ninteractions. The final form of the bosonized action is shown to be given by\nthe sum of two terms. The first one corresponds to the bosonization of the free\nfermionic action and turns out to be cast in the form of a pure Chern-Simons\nterm, up to a suitable nonlinear field redefinition. We show that the second\nterm, following from the bosonization of the interactions, can be obtained by\nsimply replacing the fermionic current by the corresponding bosonized\nexpression.",
        "positive": "D1/D5 System with B-field, Noncommutative Geometry and the CFT of the\n  Higgs Branch: The D1/D5 system is considered in the presence of the NS B field. An explicit\nsupergravity solution in the asymptotically flat and near horizon limits is\npresented. Explicit mass formulae are presented in both cases. This solution\nhas no D3 source branes and represents a true bound state of the D1/D5 system.\nWe study the motion of a separated D1-brane in the background geometry\ndescribed above and reproduce the Liouville potential that binds the D1 brane.\nA gauge theory analysis is also presented in the presence of Fayet-Iliopoulos\n(FI) parameters which can be identified with the self-dual part of the NS B\nfield. In the case of a single D5-brane and an arbitrary number of D1 branes we\ncan demonstrate the existence of a bound state in the Higgs branch. We also\npoint out the connection of the SCFT on the resolved Sym$_{Q_1Q_5}(\\tilde T^4)$\nwith recent developments in non-commutative Yang-Mills theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Induced Angular Momentum in (2+1)-Dimensional Spinor Electrodynamics in\n  Curved Space: Effects due to fermion-vacuum polarization by an external static magnetic\nfield are considered in a two-dimensional noncompact curved space with a\nnontrivial topology. An expression for the vacuun angular momentum is obtained.\nLike the vacuum fermion number, it proves to be dependent on the global\ncharacteristics of the field and space.",
        "positive": "The duality between $\u03ba$-Poincar\u00e9 algebra and $\u03ba$-Poincar\u00e9\n  group: The full duality between the $\\kappa$-Poincar\\'e algebra and\n$\\kappa$-Poincar\\'e group is proved."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Bosonic Tensor Models at Large $N$ and Small $\u03b5$: We study the spectrum of the large $N$ quantum field theory of bosonic\nrank-$3$ tensors, whose quartic interactions are such that the perturbative\nexpansion is dominated by the melonic diagrams. We use the Schwinger-Dyson\nequations to determine the scaling dimensions of the bilinear operators of\narbitrary spin. Using the fact that the theory is renormalizable in $d=4$, we\ncompare some of these results with the $4-\\epsilon$ expansion, finding perfect\nagreement. This helps elucidate why the dimension of operator\n$\\phi^{abc}\\phi^{abc}$ is complex for $d<4$: the large $N$ fixed point in\n$d=4-\\epsilon$ has complex values of the couplings for some of the $O(N)^3$\ninvariant operators. We show that a similar phenomenon holds in the $O(N)^2$\nsymmetric theory of a matrix field $\\phi^{ab}$, where the double-trace operator\nhas a complex coupling in $4-\\epsilon$ dimensions. We also study the spectra of\nbosonic theories of rank $q-1$ tensors with $\\phi^q$ interactions. In\ndimensions $d>1.93$ there is a critical value of $q$, above which we have not\nfound any complex scaling dimensions. The critical value is a decreasing\nfunction of $d$, and it becomes $6$ in $d\\approx 2.97$. This raises a\npossibility that the large $N$ theory of rank-$5$ tensors with sextic potential\nhas an IR fixed point which is free of perturbative instabilities for\n$2.97<d<3$. This theory may be studied using renormalized perturbation theory\nin $d=3-\\epsilon$.",
        "positive": "2D Gravity and Random Matrices: We review recent progress in 2D gravity coupled to $d<1$ conformal matter,\nbased on a representation of discrete gravity in terms of random matrices. We\ndiscuss the saddle point approximation for these models, including a class of\nrelated $O(n)$ matrix models. For $d<1$ matter, the matrix problem can be\ncompletely solved in many cases by the introduction of suitable orthogonal\npolynomials. Alternatively, in the continuum limit the orthogonal polynomial\nmethod can be shown to be equivalent to the construction of representations of\nthe canonical commutation relations in terms of differential operators. In the\ncase of pure gravity or discrete Ising--like matter, the sum over topologies is\nreduced to the solution of non-linear differential equations (the Painlev\\'e\nequation in the pure gravity case) which can be shown to follow from an action\nprinciple. In the case of pure gravity and more generally all unitary models,\nthe perturbation theory is not Borel summable and therefore alone does not\ndefine a unique solution. In the non-Borel summable case, the matrix model does\nnot define the sum over topologies beyond perturbation theory. We also review\nthe computation of correlation functions directly in the continuum formulation\nof matter coupled to 2D gravity, and compare with the matrix model results.\nFinally, we review the relation between matrix models and topological gravity,\nand as well the relation to intersection theory of the moduli space of\npunctured Riemann surfaces."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Interpolating between open and closed strings - a BSFT approach: We address the conjecture that at the tachyonic vacuum open strings get\ntransformed into closed strings. We show that it is possible in the context of\nboundary string field theory to interpolate between the conventional open\nstring theory, characterized by having the D25 brane as the boundary state, and\nan off-shell (open) string theory where the boundary state is identified with\nthe closed string vacuum, where holomorphic and antiholomorphic modes decouple\nand where bulk vertex operator correlation functions are identical to those of\nthe closed string.",
        "positive": "Spinorial Snyder and Yang Models From Superalgebras And Noncommutative\n  Quantum Superspaces: The relativistic Lorentz-covariant quantum space-times obtained by Snyder can\nbe described by the coset generators of (anti) de-Sitter algebras. Similarly,\nthe Lorentz-covariant quantum phase spaces introduced by Yang, which contain\nadditionally quantum curved fourmomenta and quantum-deformed relativistic\nHeisenberg algebra, can be defined by suitably chosen coset generators of\nconformal algebras. We extend such algebraic construction to the respective\nsuperalgebras, which provide quantum Lorentz-covariant superspaces (SUSY Snyder\nmodel) and indicate also how to obtain the quantum relativistic phase\nsuperspaces (SUSY Yang model). In last Section we recall briefly other ways of\nderiving quantum phase (super)spaces and we compare the spinorial Snyder type\nmodels defining bosonic or fermionic quantum-deformed spinors."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Universal Lower Bound on the Specific Temperatures of\n  AdS-Reissner-Nordstrom Black Holes with Flat Event Horizons: We show that, in a gravitational theory [in any number of dimensions greater\nthan 3] which admits BPS branes and AdS-Reissner-Nordstrom black holes with\nflat event horizons, the specific [dimensionless] temperature of such a black\nhole is bounded below by approximately 0.156875. This confirms the recent\nsuggestion by Hartnoll and Tavanfar, to the effect that no such black hole can\nbe arbitrarily cold, since from the AdS/CFT dual point of view the\nlow-temperature degrees of freedom should not be concealed by the equivalent of\nan event horizon.",
        "positive": "Weak-strong duality of the non-commutative Landau problem induced by a\n  two-vortex permutation, and conformal bridge transformation: A correspondence is established between the dynamics of the two-vortex system\nand the non-commutative Landau problem (NCLP) in its sub- (non-chiral), super-\n(chiral) and critical phases. As a result, a trivial permutation symmetry of\nthe point vortices induces a weak-strong coupling duality in the NCLP. We show\nthat quantum two-vortex systems with non-zero total vorticity can be generated\nby applying conformal bridge transformation to a two-dimensional quantum free\nparticle or to a quantum vortex-antivortex system of zero total vorticity. The\nsub- and super-critical phases of the quantum NCLP are generated in a similar\nway from the 2D quantum free particle in a commutative or non-commutative\nplane. The composition of the inverse and direct transformations of the\nconformal bridge also makes it possible to link the non-chiral and chiral\nphases in each of these two systems."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-Equilibrium Field Dynamics of an Honest Holographic Superconductor: Most holographic models of superconducting systems neglect the effects of\ndynamical boundary gauge fields during the process of spontaneous\nsymmetry-breaking. Usually a global symmetry gets broken. This yields a\nsuperfluid, which then is gauged \"weakly\" afterwards. In this work we build\n(and probe the dynamics of) a holographic model in which a local boundary\nsymmetry is spontaneously broken instead. We compute two-point functions of\ndynamical non-Abelian gauge fields in the normal and in the broken phase, and\nfind non-trivial gapless modes. Our AdS3 gravity dual realizes a p-wave\nsuperconductor in (1+1) dimensions. The ground state of this model also breaks\n(1+1)-dimensional parity spontaneously, while the Hamiltonian is\nparity-invariant. We discuss possible implications of our results for a wider\nclass of holographic liquids.",
        "positive": "Cosmological Perturbations in Non-Commutative Inflation: We compute the spectrum of cosmological perturbations in a scenario in which\ninflation is driven by radiation in a non-commutative space-time. In this\nscenario, the non-commutativity of space and time leads to a modified\ndispersion relation for radiation with two branches, which allows for\ninflation. The initial conditions for the cosmological fluctuations are\nthermal. This is to be contrasted with the situation in models of inflation in\nwhich the accelerated expansion of space is driven by the potential energy of a\nscalar field, and in which the fluctuations are of quantum vacuum type. We find\nthat, in the limit that the expansion of space is almost exponential, the\nspectrum of fluctuations is scale-invariant with a slight red tilt. The\nmagnitude of the tilt is different from what is obtained in a usual\ninflationary model with the same expansion rate during the period of inflation.\nThe amplitude also differs, and can easily be adjusted to agree with\nobservations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Brane-bulk energy exchange and cosmological acceleration: The consequences for the brane cosmological evolution of energy exchange\nbetween the brane and the bulk are analyzed. A rich variety of brane\ncosmologies is obtained, depending on the precise mechanism of energy transfer,\nthe equation of state of brane-matter and the spatial topology. An accelerating\nera is generically a feature of the solutions.\n  (Prepared for 36th International Symposium Ahrenshoop on the Theory of\nElementary Particles: Recent Developments in String M Theory and Field Theory,\nWernsdorf, Germany, 26-30 Aug 2003.)",
        "positive": "Inflation in string theory: a graceful exit to the real world: The most important criteria for a successful inflation are to explain the\nobserved temperature anisotropy in the cosmic microwave background radiation,\nand exiting inflation in a vacuum where it can excite the Standard Model quarks\nand leptons required for the success of Big Bang Nucleosynthesis. In this paper\nwe provide the first ever closed string model of inflation where the inflaton\ncouplings to hidden sector, moduli sector, and visible sector fields can be\ncomputed, showing that inflation can lead to reheating the Standard Model\ndegrees of freedom before the electro-weak scale."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Strong Coupling Phase of Chiral Gross Neveu Model: We perform the numerical simulation of the two dimensional chiral Gross Neveu\nmodel using the Kogut-Susskind(KS) fermion. In the case of SU(4), the\nKosterlitz-Thouless phase transition happens at some critical value of the\ncoupling constant. In the case of one flavour, there exists the strong coupling\nphase in which the correlation functions vanish and the general covariance is\nrealized in the quantum field thoery through the dynamical process.",
        "positive": "Construction of irregular conformal/W block and flavor mass relations of\n  $\\mathcal{N}=2$ SUSY gauge theory from the $A_{n-1}$ quiver matrix model: A sequence of massive scaling limits of the $\\beta$-deformed $A_{n-1}$ quiver\nmatrix model that keeps the size of the matrices finite and that corresponds to\nthe $N_{f} =2n \\rightarrow 2n-1, 2n-2$ limits on the number of flavors at 4d\n$su(n)$ ${\\cal N} = 2$ SUSY gauge theory side is carried out to provide us with\nthe integral representation of $su(n)$ irregular conformal/W block. The\noriginal paths are naturally deformed into those in the complex plane,\npermitting us to convert into an $su(n)$ extension of the unitary matrix model\nof GWW type with a set of log potentials for all species of eigenvalues.\nLooking at the region in the parameter space that enjoys the maximal symmetry\nof the model, we derive a set of relations among the mass parameters which may\nserve as evidence for the existence of the Argyres-Douglas critical\nhypersurface."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Proof of the MHV vertex expansion for all tree amplitudes in N=4 SYM\n  theory: We prove the MHV vertex expansion for all tree amplitudes of N=4 SYM theory.\nThe proof uses a shift acting on all external momenta, and we show that every\nN^kMHV tree amplitude falls off as 1/z^k, or faster, for large z under this\nshift. The MHV vertex expansion allows us to derive compact and efficient\ngenerating functions for all N^kMHV tree amplitudes of the theory. We also\nderive an improved form of the anti-NMHV generating function. The proof leads\nto a curious set of sum rules for the diagrams of the MHV vertex expansion.",
        "positive": "D-brane Superpotentials and Geometric Invariants in Complete\n  Intersection Calabi-Yau Manifolds: By blowing up the ambient space along the curve wrapped by B-branes, we study\nthe brane superpotentials and Ooguri-Vafa invariants on complete intersections\nCalabi-Yau threefolds. On the topological B-model side, B-brane superpotentials\nare expressed in terms of the period integral of the blow-up manifolds. By\nmirror maps, the superpotentials are generating functions of Ooguri-Vafa\ninvariants counting holomorphic disks on the topological A-model side."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Duality, gauging and superHiggs effect in string and M-theory: We consider no-scale extended supergravity models as they arise from string\nand M-theory compactifications in presence of fluxes. The special role of\ngauging axion symmetries for the Higgs and superHiggs mechanism is outlined.",
        "positive": "Percolation and the existence of a soft phase in the classical\n  Heisenberg model: We present the results of a numerical investigation of percolation properties\nin a version of the classical Heisenberg model. In particular we study the\npercolation properties of the subsets of the lattice corresponding to\nequatorial strips of the target manifold ${\\cal S}^2$. As shown by us several\nyears ago, this is relevant for the existence of a massless phase of the model.\nOur investigation yields strong evidence that such a massless phase does indeed\nexist. It is further shown that this result implies lack of asymptotic freedom\nin the massive continuum limit. A heuristic estimate of the transition\ntemperature is given which is consistent with the numerical data."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Extremal Branes as Elementary Particles: The supersymmetric p-branes of Type II string theory can be interpreted after\ncompactification as extremal black holes with zero entropy and infinite\ntemperature. We show how the p-branes avoid this apparent, catastrophic\ninstability by developing an infinite mass gap. Equivalently, these black holes\nbehave like elementary particles: they are dressed by effective potentials that\nprevent absorption of impinging particles. In contrast, configurations with 2,\n3, and 4 intersecting branes and their nonextremal extensions, behave\nincreasingly like conventional black holes. These results extend and clarify\nearlier work by Holzhey and Wilczek in the context of four dimensional dilaton\ngravity.",
        "positive": "Path-Integral for Quantum Tunneling: Path-integral for theories with degenerate vacua is investigated. The origin\nof the non Borel-summability of the perturbation theory is studied. A new\nprescription to deal with small coupling is proposed. It leads to a series,\nwhich at low orders and small coupling differs from the ordinary perturbative\nseries by nonperturbative amount, but is Borel-summable."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Conformal renormalization of scalar-tensor theories: We study a conformally coupled scalar-tensor theory with a quartic potential\npossessing local conformal symmetry up to a boundary term. We show that\nrequiring the restoration of the full local conformal symmetry fixes the\ncounterterms that render the on-shell action finite. The building block of the\nresulting action is a conformally covariant tensor which is constructed out of\nthe metric and the scalar field and it has the same conformal weight as the\nWeyl tensor. This allows us to obtain the counterterms for the scalar-tensor\nsector in a closed form. The finiteness of the conformally complete version of\nthe action is suggestive on the validity of the Conformal Renormalization\nprescription. We extend this theory by adding the Conformal Gravity action and\nalso the Einstein-AdS action written in McDowell-Mansouri form. Even though the\nlatter breaks the conformal symmetry, we find that the action is still\nrenormalized provided a suitable falloff of the scalar field when considering\nasymptotically locally anti-de Sitter solutions. Black hole solutions in these\ntheories are studied, for which the Hawking temperature and the partition\nfunction to first order in the saddle-point approximation are calculated,\nproviding a concrete example of this renormalization scheme.",
        "positive": "On q-Electroweak: The q-electroweak theory obtained by replacing SU(2) by $SU_q(2)$ in the\nWeinberg-Salam model is experimentally not distinguishable from the standard\nmodel at the level of the doublet representation. However, differences between\nthe two theories should be observable when higher dimensional representations\nare taken into account. In addition the possibility of probing non-local\nstructure may be offered by the q-theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Holonomies based on the Lorentz-violating tensor background: We study geometric quantum phases corresponding to analogues of the Anandan\nquantum phase [J. Anandan, Phys. Lett. A {\\bf138}, 347 (1989)] based on a\npossible scenario of the Lorentz symmetry violation background in a tensor\nbackground. We also show that quantum holonomies associated with the analogue\nof the Anandan quantum phase can be determined, and discuss a way of performing\none-qubit quantum gates by analogy with the holonomic quantum computation [P.\nZanardi and M. Rasetti, Phys. Lett. A {\\bf264}, 94 (1999)].",
        "positive": "Generalized supersymmetric cosmological term in N=1 Supergravity: An alternative way of introducing the supersymmetric cosmological term in a\nsupergravity theory is presented. We show that the $AdS$-Lorentz superalgebra\nallows to construct a geometrical formulation of supergravity containing a\ngeneralized supersymmetric cosmological constant. The $N=1$, $D=4$ supergravity\naction is built only from the curvatures of the $AdS$-Lorentz superalgebra and\ncorresponds to a MacDowell-Mansouri like action. The extension to a generalized\n$AdS$-Lorentz superalgebra is also analyzed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Schwarzschild Black Hole from Perturbation Theory to all Orders: Applying the quantum field theoretic perturbiner approach to Einstein\ngravity, we compute the metric of a Schwarzschild black hole order by order in\nperturbation theory. Using recursion, this calculation can be carried out in de\nDonder gauge to all orders in Newton's constant. The result is a geometric\nseries which is convergent outside a disk of finite radius, and it agrees\nwithin its region of convergence with the known de Donder gauge metric of a\nSchwarzschild black hole. It thus provides a first all-order perturbative\ncomputation in Einstein gravity with a matter source, and this series converges\nto the known non-perturbative expression in the expected range of convergence.",
        "positive": "Membranes on an Orbifold: We harvest clues to aid with the interpretation of the recently discovered\nN=8 supersymmetric Chern-Simons theory with SO(4) gauge symmetry. The theory is\nargued to describe two membranes moving in the orbifold R8/Z2. At level k=1 and\nk=2, the classical moduli space M coincides with the infra-red moduli space of\nSO(4) and SO(5) super Yang-Mills theory respectively. For higher Chern-Simons\nlevel, the moduli space is a quotient of M. At a generic point in the moduli\nspace, the massive spectrum is proportional to the area of the triangle formed\nby the two membranes and the orbifold fixed point."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Higher spin currents in the critical $O(N)$ vector model at $1/N^2$: We calculate the anomalous dimensions of higher spin singlet currents in the\ncritical $O(N)$ vector model at order $1/N^2$. The results are shown to be in\nagreement with the four-loop perturbative computation in $\\phi^4$ theory in\n$4-2\\epsilon$ dimensions. It is known that the order $1/N$ anomalous dimensions\nof higher-spin currents happen to be the same in the Gross-Neveu and the\ncritical vector model. On the contrary, the order $1/N^2$ corrections are\ndifferent. The results can also be interpreted as a prediction for the two-loop\ncomputation in the dual higher-spin gravity.",
        "positive": "Casimir force between surfaces close to each other: Casimir interactions (due to the massless scalar field fluctuations) of two\nsurfaces which are close to each other are studied.\n  After a brief general presentation, explicit calculations for co-axial\ncylinders, co-centric spheres and co-axial cones are performed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "String correlators on $\\text{AdS}_3$: Three-point functions: We revisit the computation of string worldsheet correlators on Euclidean\n$\\text{AdS}_3$ with pure NS-NS background. We compute correlation functions\nwith insertions of spectrally flowed operators. We explicitly solve all the\nknown constraints of the model and for the first time conjecture a closed\nformula for three-point functions with arbitrary amount of spectral flow. We\nexplain the relation of our results with previous computations in the\nliterature and derive the fusion rules of the model. This paper is the first in\na series with several installments.",
        "positive": "Non-relativistic Nambu-Goldstone modes associated with spontaneously\n  broken space-time and internal symmetries: We show that a momentum operator of a translational symmetry may not commute\nwith an internal symmetry operator in the presence of a topological soliton in\nnon-relativistic theories. As a striking consequence, there appears a coupled\nNambu-Goldstone mode with a quadratic dispersion consisting of translational\nand internal zero modes in the vicinity of a domain wall in an O(3) sigma\nmodel, a magnetic domain wall in ferromagnets with an easy axis."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-renormalization of the $V\\bar cc$-vertices in ${\\cal N}=1$\n  supersymmetric theories: Using the Slavnov--Taylor identities we prove that the three-point ghost\nvertices with a single line of the quantum gauge superfield are not\nrenormalized in all loops in ${\\cal N}=1$ supersymmetric gauge theories. This\nstatement is verified by the explicit one-loop calculation made by the help of\nthe BRST invariant version of the higher covariant derivative regularization.\nUsing the restrictions to the renormalization constants which are imposed by\nthe non-renormalization of the considered vertices we express the exact NSVZ\n$\\beta$-function in terms of the anomalous dimensions of the Faddeev--Popov\nghosts and of the quantum gauge superfield. In the expression for the NSVZ\n$\\beta$-function obtained in this way the contributions of the Faddeev--Popov\nghosts and of the matter superfields have the same structure.",
        "positive": "Cosmological solutions with massive gravitons in the bigravity theory: We present solutions describing homogeneous and isotropic cosmologies in the\nmassive gravity theory with two dynamical metrics recently proposed in\narXiv:1109.3515 and claimed to be ghost free. These solutions can be spatially\nopen, closed, or flat, and at early times they are sourced by the perfect\nfluid, while the graviton mass typically manifests itself at late times by\ngiving rise to a cosmological term. In addition, there are also exotic\nsolutions, for which already at early times, when the matter density is high,\nthe contribution of the graviton mass to the energy density is negative and\nlarge enough to screen that of the matter contribution. The total energy can\nthen be negative, which may result in removing the initial singularity. For\nspecial parameter values there are also solutions for which the two metrics\neffectively decouple and evolve independently of each other. In the limit where\none of the gravitational coupling constant vanishes, such special solutions\nreduce to those found in arXiv:1107.5504 within the theory where one of the\nmetrics is flat."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "New N=1 AdS$_4$ solutions of type IIB supergravity: We construct analytically a new family of supersymmetric AdS$_4$ solutions of\nIIB supergravity, with the internal space provided by a deformed $S^5\\times\nS^1$. The solutions preserve N=1 supersymmetry and an SO(3) subgroup of\nisometries of $S^5$, which is broken to U(1) along a flat direction. They are\nfurther parametrised by a winding number and a choice of SL(2) duality twist\nalong the circle in an elliptic conjugacy class, thus including both globally\ngeometric and S-fold configurations. We identify these solutions by first\nconstructing a new family of vacua of D=4, $U(4)\\ltimes\\mathbb{R}^{12}$ gauged\nmaximal supergravity and use exceptional field theory to perform the uplift to\nten dimensions. We discuss the relevance of D=5 Wilson loops associated to\npreserved and broken gauge symmetries in the construction of these classes of\nsolutions.",
        "positive": "Second Quantization of the Wilson Loop: Treating the QCD Wilson loop as amplitude for the propagation of the first\nquantized particle we develop the second quantization of the same propagation.\nThe operator of the particle position $\\hat{\\cal X}_{\\mu}$ (the endpoint of the\n\"open string\") is introduced as a limit of the large $N$ Hermitean matrix. We\nthen derive the set of equations for the expectation values of the vertex\noperators $\\VEV{ V(k_1)\\dots V(k_n)} $. The remarkable property of these\nequations is that they can be expanded at small momenta (less than the QCD mass\nscale), and solved for expansion coefficients. This provides the relations for\nmultiple commutators of position operator, which can be used to construct this\noperator. We employ the noncommutative probability theory and find the\nexpansion of the operator $\\hat{\\cal X}_\\mu $ in terms of products of creation\noperators $ a_\\mu^{\\dagger}$. In general, there are some free parameters left\nin this expansion. In two dimensions we fix parameters uniquely from the\nsymplectic invariance. The Fock space of our theory is much smaller than that\nof perturbative QCD, where the creation and annihilation operators were\nlabelled by continuous momenta. In our case this is a space generated by $d =\n4$ creation operators. The corresponding states are given by all sentences made\nof the four letter words. We discuss the implication of this construction for\nthe mass spectra of mesons and glueballs."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Functional Schroedinger and BRST Quantization of (1+1)--Dimensional\n  Gravity: We discuss the quantization of pure string--inspired dilaton--gravity in\n$(1+1)$--dimensions, and of the same theory coupled to scalar matter. We\nperform the quantization using the functional Schroedinger and BRST formalisms.\nWe find, both for pure gravity and the matter--coupled theory, that the two\nquantization procedures give inequivalent ``physical'' results.",
        "positive": "Null Strings in Schwarzschild Spacetime: The null string equations of motion and constraints in the Schwarzschild\nspacetime are given. The solutions are those of the null geodesics of General\nRelativity appended by a null string constraint in which the \"constants of\nmotion\" depend on the world-sheet spatial coordinate. Because of the extended\nnature of a string, the physical interpretation of the solutions is completely\ndifferent from the point particle case. In particular, a null string is\ngenerally not propagating in a plane through the origin, although each of its\nindividual points is. Some special solutions are obtained and their physical\ninterpretation is given. Especially, the solution for a null string with a\nconstant radial coordinate $r$ moving vertically from the south pole to the\nnorth pole around the photon sphere, is presented. A general discussion of\nclassical null/tensile strings as compared to massless/massive particles is\ngiven. For instance, tensile circular solutions with a constant radial\ncoordinate $r$ do not exist at all. The results are discussed in relation to\nthe previous literature on the subject."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Relative Topological Integrals and Relative Cheeger-Simons Differential\n  Characters: Topological integrals appear frequently in Lagrangian field theories. On\nmanifolds without boundary, they can be treated in the framework of (absolute)\n(co)homology using the formalism of Cheeger--Simons differential characters.\nString and D--brane theory involve field theoretic models on worldvolumes with\nboundary. On manifolds with boundary, the proper treatment of topological\nintegrals requires a generalization of the usual differential topological set\nup and leads naturally to relative (co)homology and relative Cheeger--Simons\ndifferential characters. In this paper, we present a construction of relative\nCheeger--Simons differential characters which is computable in principle and\nwhich contains the ordinary Cheeger--Simons differential characters as a\nparticular case.",
        "positive": "Localised Gravity and Resolved Braneworlds: Deriving an effective massless field theory for fluctuations about a\nbraneworld spacetime requires analysis of the transverse-space-wavefunction's\nsecond-order differential equation. There can be two strikingly different types\nof effective theory. For a supersymmetric braneworld, one involves a\ntechnically consistent embedding of a supergravity theory on the worldvolume;\nthe other can produce, in certain situations, a genuine localisation of gravity\nnear the worldvolume but not via a technically consistent embedding. So, in the\nlatter situation, the theory's dynamics remains higher-dimensional but there\ncan still be a lower-dimensional effective-theory interpretation of the\ndynamics at low worldvolume momenta / large worldvolume distances.\n  This paper examines the conditions for such a gravity localisation to be\npossible. Localising gravity about braneworld spacetimes requires finding\nsolutions to transverse-space self-adjoint Sturm-Liouville problems admitting a\nnormalisable zero mode in the noncompact transverse space. This in turn\nrequires analysis of Sturm-Liouville problems with radial singular endpoints\nfollowing a formalism originating in the work of Hermann Weyl. Examples of such\ngravity-localising braneworld systems are found and analysed in this formalism\nwith underlying \"skeleton\" braneworlds of Salam-Sezgin, resolved D3-brane and\nRandall-Sundrum II types."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "N=2 Supersymmetry and U(1)-Duality: Understanding the consequences of the E_{7(7)} duality on the UV properties\nof N=8 supergravity requires unravelling when and how duality-covariant actions\ncan be constructed so as to accommodate duality-invariant counter-terms. For\nnon-supersymmetric abelian gauge theories exhibiting U(1)-duality, with and\nwithout derivative couplings, it was shown that such a covariant construction\nis always possible. In this paper we describe a similar procedure for the\nconstruction of covariant non-linear deformations of U(1)-duality invariant\ntheories in the presence of rigid N=2 supersymmetry. This is a concrete step\ntowards studying the interplay of duality and extended supersymmetry.",
        "positive": "Sp-brane accelerating cosmologies: We investigate time dependent solutions (S-brane solutions) for product\nmanifolds consisting of factor spaces where only one of them is non-Ricci-flat.\nOur model contains minimally coupled free scalar field as a matter source. We\ndiscuss a possibility of generating late time acceleration of the Universe. The\nanalysis is performed in conformally related Brans-Dicke and Einstein frames.\nDynamical behavior of our Universe is described by its scale factor. Since the\nscale factors of our Universe are described by different variables in both\nframes, they can have different dynamics.\n  Indeed, we show that with our S-brane ansatz in the Brans-Dicke frame the\nstages of accelerating expansion exist for all types of the external space\n(flat, spherical and hyperbolic). However, applying the same ansatz for the\nmetric in the Einstein frame, we find that a model with flat external space and\nhyperbolic compactification of the internal space is the only one with the\nstage of the accelerating expansion. Scalar field can prevent this\nacceleration. It is shown that the case of hyperbolic external space in\nBrans-Dicke frame is the only model which can satisfy experimental bounds for\nthe fine structure constant variations. We obtain a class of models where a\npare of dynamical internal spaces have fixed total volume. It results in fixed\nfine structure constant. However, these models are unstable and external space\nis non-accelerating."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Effective Stringy Description of Schwarzschild Black Holes: We start by pointing out that certain Riemann surfaces appear rather\nnaturally in the context of wave equations in the black hole background. For a\ngiven black hole there are two closely related surfaces. One is the Riemann\nsurface of complexified ``tortoise'' coordinate. The other Riemann surface\nappears when the radial wave equation is interpreted as the Fuchsian\ndifferential equation. We study these surfaces in detail for the BTZ and\nSchwarzschild black holes in four and higher dimensions. Topologically, in all\ncases both surfaces are a sphere with a set of marked points; for BTZ and 4D\nSchwarzschild black holes there is 3 marked points. In certain limits the\nsurfaces can be characterized very explicitly. We then show how properties of\nthe wave equation (quasi-normal modes) in such limits are encoded in the\ngeometry of the corresponding surfaces. In particular, for the Schwarzschild\nblack hole in the high damping limit we describe the Riemann surface in\nquestion and use this to derive the quasi-normal mode frequencies with the\nlog(3) as the real part. We then argue that the surfaces one finds this way\nsignal an appearance of an effective string. We propose that a description of\nthis effective string propagating in the black hole background can be given in\nterms of the Liouville theory living on the corresponding Riemann surface. We\ngive such a stringy description for the Schwarzschild black hole in the limit\nof high damping and show that the quasi-normal modes emerge naturally as the\npoles in 3-point correlation function in the effective conformal theory.",
        "positive": "Hard thermal effective action in QCD through the thermal operator: Through the application of the thermal operator to the zero temperature\nretarded Green's functions, we derive in a simple way the well known hard\nthermal effective action in QCD. By relating these functions to forward\nscattering amplitudes for on-shell particles, this derivation also clarifies\nthe origin of important properties of the hard thermal effective action, such\nas the manifest Lorentz and gauge invariance of its integrand."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Covariant Hamiltonian formalisms for particles and antiparticles: The hyperplane and proper time formalisms are discussed mainly for the\nspin-half particles in the quantum case. A connection between these covariant\nHamiltonian formalisms is established. It is showed that choosing the\nspace-like hyperplanes instantaneously orthogonal to the direction of motion of\nthe particle the proper time formalism is retrieved on the mass shell. As a\nconsequence, the relation between the St\\\"uckelberg-Feynman picture and the\nstandard canonical picture of quantum field theory is clarified.",
        "positive": "Heterotic supersymmetric backgrounds with compact holonomy revisited: We simplify the classification of supersymmetric solutions with compact\nholonomy of the Killing spinor equations of heterotic supergravity using the\nfield equations and the additional assumption that the 3-form flux is closed.\nWe determine all the fractions of supersymmetry that the solutions preserve and\nfind that there is a restriction on the number of supersymmetries which depends\non the isometry group of the background. We examine the geometry of spacetime\nin all cases. We find that the supersymmetric solutions of heterotic\nsupergravity are associated with a large number of geometric structures which\ninclude 7-dimensional manifolds with $G_2$ structure,\n  6-dimensional complex and almost complex manifolds, and 4-dimensional\nhyper-K\\\"ahler, K\\\"ahler and anti-self-dual Weyl manifolds."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetric K field theories and defect structures: We construct supersymmetric K field theories (i.e., theories with a\nnon-standard kinetic term) in 1+1 and 2+1 dimensions such that the bosonic\nsector just consists of a nonstandard kinetic term plus a potential. Further,\nwe study the possibility of topological defect formation in these\nsupersymmetric models. Finally, we consider more general supersymmetric K field\ntheories where, again, topological defects exist in some cases.",
        "positive": "Deep Inelastic Scattering on an Extremal RN-AdS Black Hole II:\n  Holographic Fermi Surface: We consider deep inelastic scattering (DIS) on a dense nucleus described as\nan extremal RN-AdS black hole with holographic quantum fermions in the bulk. We\nevaluate the 1-loop fermion contribution to the R-current on the charged black\nhole, and map it on scattering off a Fermi surface of a dense and large nucleus\nwith fixed atomic number. Near the black hole horizon, the geometry is that of\nAdS$_2\\times $R$^3$ where the fermions develop an emergent Fermi surface with\nanomalous dimensions. DIS scattering off these fermions yields to anomalous\npartonic distributions mostly at large-x, as well as modified hard scattering\nrules. The pertinent R-ratio for the black hole is discussed. For comparison,\nthe structure functions and the R-ratio in the probe or dilute limit with no\nback-reaction on the geometry, are also derived. We formulate a hybrid\nholographic model for DIS scattering on heavy and light nuclei, which compares\nfavorably to the existing data for Pb, Au, Fe, C and He over a wide range of\nparton-x."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "(2,0) Superconformal OPEs in D=6, Selection Rules and\n  Non-renormalization Theorems: We analyse the OPE of any two 1/2 BPS operators of (2,0) SCFT$_6$ by\nconstructing all possible three-point functions that they can form with\nanother, in general long operator. Such three-point functions are uniquely\ndetermined by superconformal symmetry. Selection rules are derived, which allow\nus to infer ``non-renormalization theorems'' for an abstract superconformal\nfield theory. The latter is supposedly related to the strong-coupling dynamics\nof $N_c$ coincident M5 branes, dual, in the large-$N_c$ limit, to the bulk\nM-theory compactified on AdS$_7 \\times$S$_4$. An interpretation of extremal and\nnext-to-extremal correlators in terms of exchange of operators with protected\nconformal dimension is given.",
        "positive": "Superluminal Propagation and Acausality of Nonlinear Massive Gravity: Massive gravity is an old idea: trading geometry for mass. Much effort has\nbeen expended on establishing a healthy model, culminating in the current\nghost-free version. We summarize here our recent findings -- that it is still\nuntenable -- because it is locally acausal: CTC solutions can be constructed in\na small neighborhood of any event."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Two Moving-Angled 1-Branes with Electric Fields in a Partially Compact\n  Spacetime: In this article we consider two $m1$-branes at angle in the presence of the\nbackground electric fields, in a partially compact spacetime. The branes have\nmotions along a common direction that is perpendicular to both of them. Using\nthe boundary state formalism, we calculate their interaction amplitude. Some\nspecial cases of this interaction will be studied in detail.",
        "positive": "Bound states in N=2 Liouville theory with boundary and Deep throat\n  D-branes: We exhibit bound states in the spectrum of non-compact D-branes in N=2\nLiouville conformal field theory. We interpret these states in the study of\nD-branes in the near-horizon limit of Neveu-Schwarz five-branes spread on a\ntopologically trivial circle. We match semi-classical di-electric and repulsion\neffects with exact conformal field theory results and describe the fate of\nD-branes hitting NS5-branes. We also show that the bound states can give rise\nto massless vector and hyper multiplets in a low-energy gauge theory on\nD-branes deep inside the throat."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Motion of a Rigid Body in Body-Fixed Coordinate System -- for\n  Autoparrallel Trajectories in Spaces with Torsion: We use a recently developed action principle in spaces with curvature and\ntorsion to derive the Euler equations of motion for a rigid body within the\nbody-fixed coordinate system. This serves as an example that the particle\ntrajectories in a space with curvature and torsion follow the straightest paths\n(autoparallels), not the shortest paths (geodesics), as commonly believed.",
        "positive": "Refined Black Hole Ensembles and Topological Strings: We formulate a refined version of the Ooguri-Strominger-Vafa (OSV)\nconjecture. The OSV conjecture that Z_{BH} = |Z_{top}|^2 relates the BPS black\nhole partition function to the topological string partition function Z_{top}.\nIn the refined conjecture, Z_{BH} is the partition function of BPS black holes\ncounted with spin, or more precisely the protected spin character. Z_{top}\nbecomes the partition function of the refined topological string, which is\nitself an index. Both the original and the refined conjecture are examples of\nlarge N duality in the 't Hooft sense. The refined conjecture applies to\nnon-compact Calabi-Yau manifolds only, so the black holes are really BPS\nparticles with large entropy, of order N^2. The refined OSV conjecture states\nthat the refined BPS partition function has a large N dual which is captured by\nthe refined topological string. We provide evidence that the conjecture holds\nby studying local Calabi-Yau threefolds consisting of line bundles over a genus\ng Riemann surface. We show that the refined topological string partition\nfunction on these geometries is computed by a two-dimensional TQFT. We also\nstudy the refined black hole partition function arising from N D4 branes on the\nCalabi-Yau, and argue that it reduces to a (q,t)-deformed version of\ntwo-dimensional SU(N) Yang-Mills. Finally, we show that in the large N limit\nthis theory factorizes to the square of the refined topological string in\naccordance with the refined OSV conjecture."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "$d>2$ Stress-Tensor OPE near a Line: We study the $TT$ OPE in $d>2$ CFTs whose bulk dual is Einstein gravity.\nDirectly from the $TT$ OPE, we obtain, in a certain null-like limit, an\nalgebraic structure consistent with the Jacobi identity: $[{\\cal L}_m, {\\cal\nL}_n]= (m-n) {\\cal L}_{m+n}+ C m (m^2-1) \\delta_{m+n,0}$. The dimensionless\nconstant $C$ is proportional to the central charge $C_T$. Transverse integrals\nin the definition of ${\\cal L}_m$ play a crucial role. We comment on the\ncorresponding limiting procedure and point out a curiosity related to the\ncentral term. A connection between the $d>2$ near-lightcone stress-tensor\nconformal block and the $d=2$ $\\cal W$-algebra is observed. This note is\nmotivated by the search for a field-theoretic derivation of $d>2$ correlators\nin strong coupling critical phenomena.",
        "positive": "Torus HOMFLY as the Hall-Littlewood Polynomials: We show that the HOMFLY polynomials for torus knots T[m,n] in all fundamental\nrepresentations are equal to the Hall-Littlewood polynomials in representation\nwhich depends on m, and with quantum parameter, which depends on n. This makes\nthe long-anticipated interpretation of Wilson averages in 3d Chern-Simons\ntheory as characters precise, at least for the torus knots, and calls for\nfurther studies in this direction. This fact is deeply related to\nHall-Littlewood-MacDonald duality of character expansion of superpolynomials\nfound in arXiv:1201.3339. In fact, the relation continues to hold for extended\npolynomials, but the symmetry between m and n is broken, then m is the number\nof strands in the braid. Besides the HOMFLY case with q=t, the torus\nsuperpolynomials are reduced to the single Hall-Littlewood characters in the\ntwo other distinguished cases: q=0 and t=0."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Non-BPS Black Hole Attractor Equation: We study the attractor mechanism for extremal non-BPS black holes with an\ninfinite throat near horizon geometry, developing, as we do so, a physical\nargument as to why such a mechanism does not exist in non-extremal cases. We\npresent a detailed derivation of the non-supersymmetric attractor equation.\nThis equation defines the stabilization of moduli near the black hole horizon:\nthe fixed moduli take values specified by electric and magnetic charges\ncorresponding to the fluxes in a Calabi Yau compactification of string theory.\nThey also define the so-called double-extremal solutions. In some examples,\nstudied previously by Tripathy and Trivedi, we solve the equation and show that\nthe moduli are fixed at values which may also be derived from the critical\npoints of the black hole potential.",
        "positive": "Hagedorn Behavior of Little String Theories: We examine the Hagedorn behavior of little string theory using its\nconjectured duality with near-horizon NS5-branes. In particular, by studying\nthe string-corrected NS5-brane supergravity solution, it is shown that\ntree-level corrections to the temperature vanish, while the leading one-loop\nstring correction generates the correct temperature dependence of the entropy\nnear the Hagedorn temperature. Finally, the Hagedorn behavior of ODp-brane\ntheories, which are deformed versions of little string theory, is considered\nvia their supergravity duals."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Correction terms to Newton law due to induced gravity in AdS background: We calculate small correction terms to gravitational potential on\nRandall-Sundrum brane with an induced Einstein term. The behaviors of the\ncorrection terms depend on the magnitudes of $AdS$ radius $k^{-1}$ and a\ncharacteristic length scale $\\l$ of model. We represent the gravitational\npotential for arbitrary $k$ and $\\l$ at all distances.",
        "positive": "Semirelativistic stability of N-boson systems bound by 1/r pair\n  potentials: We analyze a system of self-gravitating identical bosons by means of a\nsemirelativistic Hamiltonian comprising the relativistic kinetic energies of\nthe involved particles and added (instantaneous) Newtonian gravitational pair\npotentials. With the help of an improved lower bound to the bottom of the\nspectrum of this Hamiltonian, we are able to enlarge the known region for\nrelativistic stability for such boson systems against gravitational collapse\nand to sharpen the predictions for their maximum stable mass."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Renyi entropy for monodromy defects of higher derivative free fields on\n  even-dimensional spheres: Explicit polynomial forms for R\\'enyi and entanglement entropies are given on\neven --dimensional spheres which possess a codimension--2 U(1) monodromy\ndefect. Free scalar and Dirac fields are treated and higher-derivative\npropagation operators employed. The central charge, $C_T$, is also calculated.\nComparison with existing results is made and it is shown how these can be\nobtained from the values here.",
        "positive": "Emerging AdS from Extremally Rotating NS5-branes: We investigate the near-horizon limit of extremally rotating NS5-branes. The\nresulting geometry has SL(2,R) \\times U(1)^2 isometry. The asymptotic symmetry\ngroup contains a chiral Virasoro algebra, and we obtain two different\nrealizations depending on the boundary conditions we impose. When one of the\ntwo angular momenta vanishes, the symmetry is enhanced to AdS_3. The entropy of\nthe boundary theory can be estimated from the Cardy formula and it agrees with\nthe Bekenstein-Hawking entropy of the bulk theory. We can embed the extremally\nrotating NS5-brane geometry in an exactly solvable string background, which may\nyield microscopic understanding of this duality, especially about the\nmysterious enhancement of the symmetry from AdS_2 to AdS_3. The construction\nsuggests emerging Virasoro symmetries in the extreme corner of the (1+5)\ndimensional little string theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "M-theory Potential from the $G_2$ Hitchin Functional in Superspace: We embed the component fields of eleven-dimensional supergravity into a\nsuperspace of the form $X\\times Y$ where $X$ is the standard 4D, $N=1$\nsuperspace and $Y$ is a smooth 7-manifold. The eleven-dimensional 3-form gives\nrise to a tensor hierarchy of superfields gauged by the diffeomorphisms of $Y$.\nIt contains a natural candidate for a $G_2$ structure on $Y$, and being a\ncomplex of superforms, defines a superspace Chern-Simons invariant. Adding to\nthis a natural generalization of the Riemannian volume on $X\\times Y$ and\nfreezing the (superspin-$\\frac32$ and 1) supergravity fields on $X$, we obtain\nan approximation to the eleven-dimensional supergravity action that suffices to\ncompute the scalar potential. In this approximation the action is the sum of\nthe superspace Chern-Simons term and a superspace generalization of the Hitchin\nfunctional for $Y$ as a $G_2$-structure manifold. Integrating out auxiliary\nfields, we obtain the conditions for unbroken supersymmetry and the scalar\npotential. The latter reproduces the Einstein-Hilbert term on $Y$ in a form due\nto Bryant.",
        "positive": "Degenerate noncommutativity: We study a renormalizable four dimensional model with two deformed quantized\nspace directions. A one-loop renormalization is performed explicitly. The\nEuclidean model is connected to the Minkowski version via an analytic\ncontinuation. At a special value of the parameters a nontrivial fixed point of\nthe renormalization group occurs."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Penrose limits and Green-Schwarz strings: We discuss the Green-Schwarz action for type IIB strings in general\nplane-wave backgrounds obtained as Penrose limits from any IIB supergravity\nsolutions with vanishing background fermions. Using the normal-coordinate\nexpansion in superspace, we prove that the light-cone action is necessarily\nquadratic in the fermionic coordinates. This proof is valid for more general\npp-wave backgrounds under certain conditions. We also write down the complete\nquadratic action for general bosonic on-shell backgrounds in a form in which\nits geometrical meaning is manifest both in the Einstein and string frames.\nWhen the dilaton and 1-form field strength are vanishing, and the other field\nstrengths are constant, our string-frame action reduces, up to conventions, to\nthe one which has been written down using the supercovariant derivative.",
        "positive": "Binary AdS black holes coupled to a bath in Type IIB: We construct Type IIB string theory setups which, via double holography,\nrealize two gravitational systems in separate AdS spaces which interact with\neach other and with a non-gravitational bath. We employ top-down string theory\nsolutions with concrete field theory duals in the form of 4d $\\mathcal N=4$ SYM\nBCFTs and a first-principles notion of double holography. The setups are used\nto realize pairs of `near' and `far' black holes from the perspective of the\nbath, which exchange Hawking radiation with each other and radiate into the\nbath. We identify three phases for the entropy in the bath characterized as no\nisland, partial island and full island, and discuss the entropy curves. The\nsetups differ from the black hole binaries observed in gravitational wave\nexperiments but may capture certain aspects."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Positive Energy Theorem for AdS Solitons: The uncharged AdS$_4$ soliton has been recently shown to be continuously\nconnected to a magnetic, supersymmetric AdS$_4$ soliton within $\\mathcal{N}=8$\ngauged supergravity. By constructing the asymptotic superalgebra, we establish\na positive energy theorem for the magnetic AdS$_4$ solitons admitting\nwell-defined asymptotic Killing spinors, antiperiodic on a contractible $S^1$.\nWe show that there exists only one discrete solution endowed with these\nboundary conditions satisfying the bound, the latter being saturated by the\nnull energy supersymmetric configuration. Despite having negative energy, the\nuncharged AdS$_4$ soliton does not contradict the positive energy theorem, as\nit does not admit well-defined asymptotic Killing spinors.",
        "positive": "Decomposition of $\\mathcal{N}=1$ superconformal minimal models and their\n  fractional quantum Hall wavefunctions: $\\mathcal{N}=1$ superconformal minimal models are the first series of unitary\nconformal field theories (CFTs) extending beyond Virasoro algebra. Using coset\nconstructions, we characterize CFTs in $\\mathcal{N}=1$ superconformal minimal\nmodels using combinations of a parafermion theory, an Ising theory and a free\nboson theory. Supercurrent operators in the original theory also becomes sums\nof operators from each constituent theory. If we take our $\\mathcal{N}=1$\nsuperconformal theories as the neutral part of the edge theory of a fractional\nquantum Hall state, we present a systematic way of calculating its ground state\nwavefunction using free field methods. Each ground state wavefunction is known\npreviously as a sum of polynomials with distinct clustering behaviours. Based\non our decomposition, we find explicit expressions for each summand polynomial.\nA brief generalization to $S_3$ minimal models using coset construction is also\nincluded."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Logarithmic supertranslations and supertranslation-invariant Lorentz\n  charges: We extend the BMS(4) group by adding logarithmic supertranslations. This is\ndone by relaxing the boundary conditions on the metric and its conjugate\nmomentum at spatial infinity in order to allow logarithmic terms of carefully\ndesigned form in the asymptotic expansion, while still preserving finiteness of\nthe action. Standard theorems of the Hamiltonian formalism are used to derive\nthe (finite) generators of the logarithmic supertranslations. As the ordinary\nsupertranslations, these depend on a function of the angles. Ordinary and\nlogarithmic supertranslations are then shown to form an abelian subalgebra with\nnon-vanishing central extension. Because of this central term, one can make\nnonlinear redefinitions of the generators of the algebra so that the pure\nsupertranslations ($\\ell >1$ in a spherical harmonic expansion) and the\nlogarithmic supertranslations have vanishing brackets with all the Poincar\\'e\ngenerators, and, in particular, transform in the trivial representation of the\nLorentz group. The symmetry algebra is then the direct sum of the Poincar\\'e\nalgebra and the infinite-dimensional abelian algebra formed by the pure\nsupertranslations and the logarithmic supertranslations (with central\nextension). The pure supertranslations are thus completely decoupled from the\nstandard Poincar\\'e algebra in the asymptotic symmetry algebra. This implies in\nparticular that one can provide a definition of the angular momentum which is\nmanifestly free from supertranslation ambiguities. An intermediate redefinition\nproviding a partial decoupling of the pure and logarithmic supertranslations is\nalso given.",
        "positive": "General N = 1 Supersymmetric Flux Vacua of (Massive) Type IIA String\n  Theory: We derive conditions for the existence of four-dimensional \\N=1\nsupersymmetric flux vacua of massive type IIA string theory with general\nsupergravity fluxes turned on. For an SU(3) singlet Killing spinor, we show\nthat such flux vacua exist only when the internal geometry is nearly-K\\\"ahler.\nThe geometry is not warped, all the allowed fluxes are proportional to the mass\nparameter and the dilaton is fixed by a ratio of (quantized) fluxes. The\nfour-dimensional cosmological constant, while negative, becomes small in the\nvacuum with the weak string coupling."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "String tension and string susceptibility in two-dimensional generalized\n  Weingarten model: We study the two-dimensional generalized Weingarten model reduced to a point,\nwhich interpolates reduced Weingarten model and the large-N gauge theory. We\ncalculate the expectation value of the Wilson loop using Monte-Carlo method and\ndetermine the string tension and string susceptibility. The numerical result\nsuggests that the string susceptibility approaches to -2 in a certain\nparametric region, which implies that the branched-polymer configurations are\nsuppressed.",
        "positive": "All Global One- and Two-Dimensional Higher-Point Conformal Blocks: We introduce a full set of rules to directly express all $M$-point conformal\nblocks in one- and two-dimensional conformal field theories, irrespective of\nthe topology. The $M$-point conformal blocks are power series expansion in some\ncarefully-chosen conformal cross-ratios. We then prove the rules for any\ntopology constructively with the help of the known position space operator\nproduct expansion. To this end, we first compute the action of the position\nspace operator product expansion on the most general function of position space\ncoordinates relevant to conformal field theory. These results provide the\ncomplete knowledge of all $M$-point conformal blocks with arbitrary external\nand internal quasi-primary operators (including arbitrary spins in two\ndimensions) in any topology."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Perturbations of W(infinity) CFTs: The holographic duals of higher spin theories on AdS_3 are described by the\nlarge N limit of a family of minimal model CFTs, whose symmetry algebra is\nequivalent to W(infinity)[lambda]. We study perturbations of these limit\ntheories, and show that they possess a marginal symmetry-preserving\nperturbation that describes switching on the 1/N corrections. We also test our\ngeneral results for the specific cases of lambda=0,1, where free field\nrealisations are available.",
        "positive": "Fermions, boundaries and conformal and chiral anomalies in $d=3,\\ 4$ and\n  $5$ dimensions: In the presence of boundaries, the quantum anomalies acquire additional\nboundary terms. In odd dimensions the integrated conformal anomaly, for which\nthe bulk contribution is known to be absent, is non-trivial due to the boundary\nterms. These terms became a subject of active study in the recent years. In the\npresent paper we continue our previous study [1], [2] and compute explicitly\nthe anomaly for fermions in dimensions $d=3, \\ 4 \\ $ and $5$. The calculation\nin dimension $5$ is new. It contains both contributions of the gravitational\nfield and the gauge fields to the anomaly. In dimensions $d=3$ and $4$ we\nreproduce and clarify the derivation of the results available in the\nliterature. Imposing the conformal invariant mixed boundary conditions for\nfermions in odd dimension $d$ we particularly pay attention to the necessity of\nchoosing the doubling representation for gamma matrices. In this representation\nthere exists a possibility to define chirality and thus address the question of\nthe chiral anomaly. The anomaly is entirely due to terms defined on the\nboundary. They are calculated in the present paper in dimensions $d=3$ and $5$\ndue to both gravitational and gauge fields. To complete the picture we\nre-evaluate the chiral anomaly in $d=4$ dimensions and find a new boundary term\nthat is supplementary to the well-known Pontryagin term."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Continuity and Resurgence: towards a continuum definition of the CP(N-1)\n  model: We introduce a non-perturbative continuum framework to study the dynamics of\nquantum field theory (QFT), applied here to the CP(N-1) model, using Ecalle's\ntheory of resurgent trans-series, combined with the physical principle of\ncontinuity, in which spatial compactification and a Born-Oppenheimer\napproximation reduce QFT to quantum mechanics, while preventing all intervening\nrapid cross-overs or phase transitions. The reduced quantum mechanics contains\nthe germ of all non-perturbative data, e.g., mass gap, of the QFT, all of which\nare calculable. For CP(N-1), the results obtained at arbitrary N are consistent\nwith lattice and large-N results. These theories are perturbatively non-Borel\nsummable and possess the elusive IR-renormalon singularities. The trans-series\nexpansion, in which perturbative and non-perturbative effects are intertwined,\nencapsulates the multi-length-scale nature of the theory, and eliminates all\nperturbative and non-perturbative ambiguities under consistent analytic\ncontinuation of the coupling. We demonstrate the cancellation of the leading\nnon-perturbative ambiguity in perturbation theory against the ambiguity in\nneutral bion amplitudes. This provides a weak-coupling interpretation of the\nIR-renormalon, and a theorem by Pham et al implies that the mass gap is a\nresurgent function, for which resummation of the semi-classical expansion\nyields finite exact results.",
        "positive": "Three-Point Functions of Chiral Operators in D=4, $\\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM at\n  Large N: We study all three-point functions of normalized chiral operators in D=4,\n$\\mathcal{N}=4$, U(N) supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory in the large $N$ limit.\nWe compute them for small 't Hooft coupling $\\lambda=g_{YM}^2N<<1$ using free\nfield theory and at strong coupling $\\lambda=g_{YM}^2>>1$ using the $AdS$/CFT\ncorrespondence. Surprisingly, we find the same answers in the two limits. We\nconjecture that at least for large $N$ the exact answers are independent of\n$\\lambda $ ."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Wilson loop and dS/CFT correspondence: We calculate Wilson loop (quark anti-quark potential) in dS/CFT\ncorrespondence. The brane-world model is considered where bulk is two 5d\nEuclidean de Sitter spaces and boundary (brane) is 4d de Sitter one. Starting\nfrom the Nambu-Goto action, the calculation of the effective tension (average\nenergy) is presented. Unlike to the case of supergravity calculation of Wilson\nloop in AdS/CFT set-up, there is no need to regularize the Nambu-Goto action\n(the volume of de Sitter space is finite). It turns out that at sufficiently\nsmall curvature of 5d background the energy (potential) is positive and linear\non the distance between quark and anti-quark what indicates to the possibility\nof confinement.",
        "positive": "Black Holes with Flavors of Quantum Hair?: We show that black holes can posses a long-range quantum hair of\nsuper-massive tensor fields, which can be detected by Aharonov-Bohm tabletop\ninterference experiments, in which a quantum-hairy black hole, or a remnant\nparticle, passes through the loop of a magnetic solenoid. The long distance\neffect does not decouple for an arbitrarily high mass of the hair-providing\nfield. Because Kaluza-Klein and String theories contain infinite number of\nmassive tensor fields, we study black holes with quantum Kaluza-Klein hair. We\nshow that in five dimensions such a black hole can be interpreted as a string\nof `combed' generalized magnetic monopoles, with their fluxes confined along\nit. For the compactification on a translation-invariant circle, this\nsubstructure uncovers hidden flux conservation and quantization of the monopole\ncharges, which constrain the quantum hair of the resulting four-dimensional\nblack hole. For the spin-2 quantum hair this result is somewhat unexpected,\nsince the constituent `magnetic' charges have no `electric' counterparts.\nNevertheless, the information about their quantization is encoded in\nsingularity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Primordial Black Holes from non-Gaussian tails: We develop a primordial black hole (PBH) production mechanism, deriving\nnon-Gaussian tails from interacting quantum fields during early universe\ninflation. The multi-field potential landscape may contain relatively flat\ndirections, as a result of energetically favorable adjustments of fields\ncoupled to the inflaton. Such additional fields do not contribute to CMB\nfluctuations given a sufficient large-scale decay, related to a gap in the\ncritical exponents computed using stochastic methods. Along such directions\ntransverse to the inflaton, the field makes rare jumps to large values. Mixing\nwith the inflaton leads to a substantial tail in the resulting probability\ndistribution for the primordial perturbations. Incorporating a large number of\nflavors of fields ensures theoretical control of radiative corrections and a\nsubstantial abundance. This generates significant PBH production for a\nreasonable window of parameters, with the mass range determined by the time\nperiod of mixing and the inflationary Hubble scale. We analyze a particular\nmodel in detail, and then comment on a broader family of models in this class\nwhich suggests a mechanism for primordial seeds for early super-massive black\nholes in the universe. Along the way, we encounter an analytically tractable\nexample of stochastic dynamics and provide some representative calculations of\nits correlations and probability distributions.",
        "positive": "Holographic renormalization group flows in two-dimensional gravity and\n  $AdS$ black holes: We look into the $AdS$ black holes from two-dimensional gravity perspective.\nIn this work, we extend the previous results of holographic renormalization\ngroup flows to dimensions two. By introducing a superpotential, we derive the\nflow equations in two-dimensional dilaton gravity. We find a quantity which\nmonotonically decreases along flows and give some comments on holographic\n$c$-theorem. As examples, we show that recently studied supersymmetric $AdS$\nblack hole solutions generically dimensionally reduce to two-dimensional\ndilaton gravity, and obtain the flow equations for black hole solutions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Topological field theories, string backgrounds and homotopy algebras: String backgrounds are described as purely geometric objects related to\nmoduli spaces of Riemann surfaces, in the spirit of Segal's definition of a\nconformal field theory. Relations with conformal field theory, topological\nfield theory and topological gravity are studied. For each field theory, an\nalgebraic counterpart, the (homotopy) algebra satisfied by the tree level\ncorrelators, is constructed.",
        "positive": "Holographic Screens and Transport Coefficients in the Fluid/Gravity\n  Correspondence: We consider in the framework of the fluid/gravity correspondence the dynamics\nof hypersurfaces located in the holographic radial direction at r = r_0. We\nprove that these hypersurfaces evolve, to all orders in the derivative\nexpansion and including all higher curvature corrections, according to the same\nhydrodynamics equations with identical transport coefficients. The analysis is\ncarried out for normal fluids as well as for superfluids. Consequently, this\nproves the exactness of the bulk viscosity formula derived in arXiv:1103.1657\nvia the null horizon dynamics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Stairway to equilibrium entropy: We compute the time evolution of the non-equilibrium entropy in the\nhomogeneous isotropization dynamics of the 1RCBH model, corresponding to a\ntop-down holographic construction describing a strongly coupled $\\mathcal{N}=4$\nSupersymmetric Yang-Mills fluid charged under an Abelian $U(1)$ subgroup of the\nglobal $SU(4)$ R-symmetry. The model has a critical point in its conformal\nphase diagram and for the analyzed set of initial data we also evaluate the\ntime evolution of the pressure anisotropy and the scalar condensate of the\nmedium. As found previously for the Bjorken flow of the same model, we observe\nthat for some initial data satisfying all the energy conditions, dynamical\ntransient violations of the dominant and the weak energy conditions take place\nwhen the fluid is still far from equilibrium. However, a more complex structure\nthan in Bjorken flow is observed in the formation of transient plateaus during\nthe time evolution of the entropy density in the homogeneous isotropization\ndynamics. In fact, a new feature disclosed in this work is the formation of a\nperiodic sequence of several close plateaus in the form of a stairway for the\nentropy density near thermodynamic equilibrium, which is observed for all the\ninitial data analyzed.",
        "positive": "Exact Green's Function and Fermi Surfaces from Conformal Gravity: We study the Dirac equation of a charged massless spinor on the general\ncharged AdS black hole of conformal gravity. The equation can be solved exactly\nin terms of Heun's functions. We obtain the exact Green's function in the phase\nspace (\\omega,k). This allows us to obtain Fermi surfaces for both Fermi and\nnon-Fermi liquids. Our analytic results provide a more elegant approach of\nstudying some strongly interacting fermionic systems not only at zero\ntemperature, but also at any finite temperature. At zero temperature, we\nanalyse the motion of the poles in the complex \\omega plane and obtain the\nleading order terms of the dispersion relation, expressed as the Laurent\nexpansion of \\omega in terms of k. We illustrate new distinguishing features\narising at the finite temperature. The Green's function with vanishing \\omega\nat finite temperature has a fascinating rich structure of spiked maxima in the\nplane of k and the fermion charge q."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Aspects of Effective Theory for Multiple M5-Branes Compactified On\n  Circle: A supersymmetric non-Abelian self-dual gauge theory with the explicit\nintroduction of Kaluza-Klein modes is proposed to give a classical description\nof multiple M5-branes on $R^5 \\times S^1$. The gauge symmetry is parametrized\nby Lie-algebra valued 1-forms with the redundancy of a 0-form, and the\nsupersymmetry transformations without gauge-fixing are given. We study BPS\nconfigurations involving KK modes, including M-waves and M2-branes with\nnon-trivial distributions around the circle. Finally, this supersymmetric gauge\ntheory of two-forms can be equipped with more general non-Abelian gerbes in\nfive dimensions.",
        "positive": "On the algebraic approach to cubic lattice Potts models: We consider Diagram algebras, $\\Dg(G)$ (generalized Temperley-Lieb algebras)\ndefined for a large class of graphs $G$, including those of relevance for cubic\nlattice Potts models, and study their structure for generic $Q$. We find that\nthese algebras are too large to play the precisely analogous role in three\ndimensions to that played by the Temperley-Lieb algebras for generic $Q$ in the\nplanar case. We outline measures to extract the quotient algebra that would\nilluminate the physics of three dimensional Potts models."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Perturbative zero-point energy for a cylinder of elliptical section: We examine the Casimir effect for a perfectly conducting cylinder of\nelliptical section, taking as reference the known case of circular section. The\nzero-point energy of this system is evaluated by the mode summation method,\nusing the ellipticity as a perturbation parameter. Mathieu function techniques\nare applied.",
        "positive": "Reflection algebra, Yangian symmetry and bound-states in AdS/CFT: We present the `Heisenberg picture' of the reflection algebra by explicitly\nconstructing the boundary Yangian symmetry of an AdS/CFT superstring which ends\non a boundary with non-trivial degrees of freedom and which preserves the full\nbulk Lie symmetry algebra. We also consider the spectrum of bulk and boundary\nstates and some automorphisms of the underlying algebras."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Flopping and Slicing: SO(4) and Spin(4)-models: We study the geometric engineering of gauge theories with gauge group Spin(4)\nand SO(4) using crepant resolutions of Weierstrass models. The corresponding\nelliptic fibrations realize a collision of singularities corresponding to two\nfibers with dual graph the affine $A_1$ Dynkin diagram. There are eight\ndifferent ways to engineer such collisions using decorated Kodaira fibers. The\nMordell-Weil group of the elliptic fibration is required to be trivial for\nSpin(4) and Z/2Z for SO(4).\n  Each of these models have two possible crepant resolutions connected by a\nflop. We also compute a generating function for the Euler characteristic of\nsuch elliptic fibrations over a base of arbitrary dimensions. In the case of a\nthreefold, we also compute the triple intersection numbers of the fibral\ndivisors. In the case of Calabi-Yau threefolds, we also compute their Hodge\nnumbers, and check the cancellations of anomalies in a six-dimensional\nsupergravity theory.",
        "positive": "Covariant Closed String Bits -- Classical Theory: We study lattice wouldsheet theory with continuous time describing free\nmotion of a system of bound string bits. We use a non-local lattice derivative\nthat allows us to preserve all the symmetries of the continuum including the\nworldsheet local symmetries. There exists a ``local correspondence'' between\nthe continuum and lattice theories in the sense that every local dynamical or\nconstraint equation in the continuum also holds true on the lattice, site-wise.\nWe perform a detailed symmetry analysis for the bits and establish conservation\nlaws. In particular, for a bosonic non-linear sigma model with arbitrary target\nspace, we demonstrate both the global symmetry algebra and classical Virasoro\nalgebra (in position space) on the lattice. Our construction is generalizable\nto higher dimensions for any generally covariant theory that can be studied by\nexpanding around a globally hyperbolic spacetime with conformally flat Cauchy\nslices."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gravity and instantons: Conventional non-Abelian SO(4) gauge theory is able to describe gravity\nprovided the gauge field possesses a specific polarized vacuum state in which\nthe instantons have a preferred orientation. Their orientation plays the role\nof the order parameter for the polarized phase of the gauge field. The\ninteraction of a weak and smooth gauge field with the polarized vacuum is\ndescribed by an effective long-range action which is identical to the Hilbert\naction of general relativity. In the classical limit this action results in the\nEinstein equations of general relativity. Gravitons appear as the mode\ndescribing propagation of the gauge field which strongly interacts with the\noriented instantons. The Newton gravitational constant describes the density of\nthe considered phase of the gauge field. The radius of the instantons under\nconsideration is comparable with the Planck radius.",
        "positive": "String theory in target space: It is argued that the complete S-matrix of string theory at tree level in a\nflat background can be obtained from a small set of target space properties,\nwithout recourse to the worldsheet description. The main non-standard inputs\nare (generalised) Britto-Cachazo-Feng-Witten shifts, as well as the monodromy\nrelations for open string theory and the Kawai-Lewellen-Tye relations for\nclosed string theory. The roots of the scattering amplitudes and especially\ntheir appearance in the residues at the kinematic poles are central to the\nstory. These residues determine the amplitudes through on-shell recursion\nrelations. Several checks of the formalism are presented, including a\ncomputation of the Koba-Nielsen amplitude in the bosonic string. Furthermore\nthe question of target space unitarity is (re-)investigated. For the Veneziano\namplitude this question is reduced by Poincare invariance, unitarity and\nlocality to that of positivity of a particular numerical sum. Interestingly,\nthis analysis produces the main conditions of the no-ghost theorem on dimension\nand intercept from the first three poles of this amplitude."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "`Stringy' Newton-Cartan Gravity: We construct a \"stringy\" version of Newton-Cartan gravity in which the\nconcept of a Galilean observer plays a central role. We present both the\ngeodesic equations of motion for a fundamental string and the bulk equations of\nmotion in terms of a gravitational potential which is a symmetric tensor with\nrespect to the longitudinal directions of the string. The extension to include\na non-zero cosmological constant is given. We stress the symmetries and\n(partial) gaugings underlying our construction. Our results provide a\nconvenient starting point to investigate applications of the AdS/CFT\ncorrespondence based on the non-relativistic \"stringy\" Galilei algebra.",
        "positive": "On Soliton Content of Self Dual Yang-Mills Equations: Exploiting the formulation of the Self Dual Yang-Mills equations as a\nRiemann-Hilbert factorization problem, we present a theory of pulling back\nsoliton hierarchies to the Self Dual Yang-Mills equations. We show that for\neach map $ \\C^4 \\to \\C^{\\infty } $ satisfying a simple system of linear\nequations formulated below one can pull back the (generalized) Drinfeld-Sokolov\nhierarchies to the Self Dual Yang-Mills equations. This indicates that there is\na class of solutions to the Self Dual Yang-Mills equations which can be\nconstructed using the soliton techniques like the $\\tau$ function method. In\nparticular this class contains the solutions obtained via the symmetry\nreductions of the Self Dual Yang-Mills equations. It also contains genuine 4\ndimensional solutions . The method can be used to study the symmetry reductions\nand as an example of that we get an equation exibiting breaking solitons,\nformulated by O. Bogoyavlenskii, as one of the $2 + 1 $ dimensional reductions\nof the Self Dual Yang-Mills equations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Linear response of entanglement entropy from holography: For time-independent excited states in conformal field theories, the\nentanglement entropy of small subsystems satisfies a `first law'-like relation,\nin which the change in entanglement is proportional to the energy within the\nentangling region. Such a law holds for time-dependent scenarios as long as the\nstate is perturbatively close to the vacuum, but is not expected otherwise. In\nthis paper we use holography to investigate the spread of entanglement entropy\nfor unitary evolutions of special physical interest, the so-called global\nquenches. We model these using AdS-Vaidya geometries. We find that the first\nlaw of entanglement is replaced by a linear response relation, in which the\nenergy density takes the role of the source and is integrated against a\ntime-dependent kernel with compact support. For adiabatic quenches the standard\nfirst law is recovered, while for rapid quenches the linear response includes\nan extra term that encodes the process of thermalization. This extra term has\nproperties that resemble a time-dependent `relative entropy'. We propose that\nthis quantity serves as a useful order parameter to characterize\nfar-from-equilibrium excited states. We illustrate our findings with concrete\nexamples, including generic power-law and periodically driven quenches.",
        "positive": "Stationary black holes: Large $D$ analysis: We consider the effective theory of the large D stationary black hole. By\nsolving Einstein equation with a cosmological constant using the 1/D expansion\nin near zone of a black hole we obtain the effective equation for the\nstationary black hole. The effective equation describes the Myers-Perry black\nhole, bumpy black holes and, possibly, the black ring solution as its\nsolutions. In this effective theory the black hole is represented as the\nembedded membrane in the background, i.e., Minkowski or Anti-de Sitter\nspacetime and its mean curvature is given by the redshifted surface gravity by\nthe background geometry and the local Lorentz boost. The local Lorentz boost\nproperty of the effective equation is observed also in the metric. In fact we\nshow that the leading order metric of the Einstein equation in the 1/D\nexpansion is generically regarded as the Lorentz boosted Schwarzschild black\nhole. We apply this Lorentz boost property of the stationary black hole\nsolution to solve the perturbation equation. As a result we obtain the analytic\nformula for the quasinormal mode of the singly rotating Myers-Perry black hole\nin the 1/D expansion."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Renormalization group study of the higher derivative conformal scalar\n  model: The second alternative conformal limit of the recently proposed general\nhigher derivative dilaton quantum theory in curved spacetime is explored. In\nthis version of the theory the dilaton is transformed, along with the metric,\nto provide the conformal invariance of the classical action. We find the\ncorresponding quantum theory to be renormalizable at one loop, and the\nrenormalization constants for the dimensionless parameters are explicitly shown\nto be universal for an arbitrary parametrization of the quantum field. The\nrenormalization group equations indicate an asymptotic freedom in the IR limit.\nIn this respect the theory is similar to the well-known model based on the\nanomaly-induced effective action.",
        "positive": "Dark Energy, Inflation and Extra Dimensions: We consider how accelerated expansion, whether due to inflation or dark\nenergy, imposes strong constraints on fundamental theories obtained by\ncompactification from higher dimensions. For theories that obey the null energy\ncondition (NEC), we find that inflationary cosmology is impossible for a wide\nrange of compactifications; and a dark energy phase consistent with\nobservations is only possible if both Newton's gravitational constant and the\ndark energy equation-of-state vary with time. If the theory violates the NEC,\ninflation and dark energy are only possible if the NEC-violating elements are\ninhomogeneously distributed in thecompact dimensions and vary with time in\nprecise synchrony with the matter and energy density in the non-compact\ndimensions. Although our proofs are derived assuming general relativity applies\nin both four and higher dimensions and certain forms of metrics, we argue that\nsimilar constraints must apply for more general compactifications."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Equivalence of Geometric Engineering and Hanany-Witten via Fractional\n  Branes: We present an explicit relation between the Hanany-Witten and Geometric\nEngineering approaches of realising gauge theories in string theory. The last\npiece in the puzzle is a T-duality relating arbitrary Hanany-Witten setups and\nfractional branes.",
        "positive": "On infinite symmetry algebras in Yang-Mills theory: Similar to gravity, an infinite tower of symmetries generated by higher-spin\ncharges has been identified in Yang-Mills theory by studying collinear limits\nor celestial operator products of gluons. This work aims to recover this loop\nsymmetry in terms of charge aspects constructed on the gluonic Fock space. We\npropose an explicit construction for these higher spin charge aspects as\noperators which are polynomial in the gluonic annihilation and creation\noperators. The core of the paper consists of a proof that the charges we\npropose form a closed loop algebra to quadratic order. This closure involves\nusing the commutator of the cubic order expansion of the charges with the\nlinear (soft) charge. Quite remarkably, this shows that this\ninfinite-dimensional symmetry constrains the non-linear structure of Yang-Mills\ntheory. We provide a similar all spin proof in gravity for the so-called global\nquadratic (hard) charges which form the loop wedge subalgebra of\n$w_{1+\\infty}$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauged supergravities and non-geometric Q/R-fluxes from asymmetric\n  orbifold CFT's: We investigate the orbifold limits of string theory compactifications with\ngeometric and non-geometric fluxes. Exploiting the connection between internal\nfluxes and structure constants of the gaugings in the reduced supergravity\ntheory, we can identify the types of fluxes arising in certain classes of\nfreely-acting symmetric and asymmetric orbifolds. We give a general procedure\nfor deriving the gauge algebra of the effective gauged supergravity using the\nexact CFT description at the orbifold point. We find that the asymmetry is, in\ngeneral, related to the presence of non-geometric Q- and R- fluxes. The action\nof T-duality is studied explicitly on various orbifold models and the resulting\ntransformation of the fluxes is derived. Several explicit examples are\nprovided, including compactifications with geometric fluxes, Q-backgrounds\n(T-folds) and R-backgrounds. In particular, we present an asymmetric Z4xZ2\norbifold in which all geometric and non-geometric fluxes {\\omega}, H, Q, R are\nturned on simultaneously. We also derive the corresponding flux backgrounds,\nwhich are not in general T-dual to geometric ones, and may even simultaneously\ndepend non-trivially on both the coordinates and their winding T-duals.",
        "positive": "A Non-minimally Coupled Quintom Dark Energy Model on the Warped DGP\n  Brane: We study dynamics of equation of state parameter for a non-minimally coupled\nquintom dark energy component on the warped DGP brane. We investigate crossing\nof the cosmological constant line in this scenario. This crossing occurs in\nboth DGP$^{\\pm}$ branches of the model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The effect of Chern-Simons dynamics on the energy of electrically\n  charged and spinning vortices: We study the effect of a Chern-Simons term on the electrically charged and\nspinning solitons of several $U(1)$ gauged models in $2+1$ dimensions. These\nare vortices of complex scalar field theories, both with and without symmetry\nbreaking dynamics, and the $O(3)$ Skyrme model. In all cases the gauge\ndecoupling limits are also considered. It is well known that the effect of the\nChern-Simons dynamics is to endow vortices with electric charge $Q_e$ and spin\n$J$, but our main aim here is to reveal a new feature: that the mass-energy $E$\nof the electrically charged vortex can be lower than that of the electrically\nneutral one, in contrast to the usual monotonic increase of $E$ with $Q_e$.\nThese effects of Chern-Simons dynamics were observed previously in $3+1$\ndimensional systems, and the present results can be viewed as corroborating the\nlatter. Moreover, the usual energy-spin relationship is likewise altered. We\ncarry out a detailed quantitative analysis of azimuthally symmetric vortices\nand describe their qualitative features by constructing the solutions\nnumerically.",
        "positive": "Non linear realizations of isometry groups, conformal algebras and\n  geodesics in Anti-de Sitter like spaces: We present the explicit global realization of the isometries of anti-de\nSitter like spaces of signature $(d_-,d_+)$, and their algebras in the space of\nfunctions on the pseudo-Riemannian symmetric space $SO(d_- +1,d_+) /\nSO(d_-,d_+)$. The process of going to the invariant boundaries leads to the\nrealization of the corresponding conformal groups and algebras. We compute\nsystematically the geodesics in these spaces by considering the coset\nrepresentation of them."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Matter Coupled F(4) Supergravity and the AdS_6/CFT_5 Correspondence: F(4) supergravity, the gauge theory of the exceptional six-dimensional\nAnti-de Sitter superalgebra, is coupled to an arbitrary number of vector\nmultiplets whose scalar components parametrize the quaternionic manifold\n$SO(4,n)/SO(4)\\times SO(n)$. By gauging the compact subgroup $SU(2)_d \\otimes\n\\cG$, where SU(2)_d is the diagonal subgroup of $SO(4)\\simeq SU(2)_L\\otimes\nSU(2)_R$ (the R-symmetry group of six-dimensional Poincar\\'e supergravity) and\n$\\cG$ is a compact group such that $dim\\cG = n$, we compute the scalar\npotential which, besides the gauge coupling constants, also depends in non\ntrivial way on the parameter m associated to a massive 2-form $B_{\\mu\\nu}$ of\nthe gravitational multiplet. The potential admits an AdS background for g=3m,\nas the pure F(4)-supergravity. We compute the scalar squared masses (which are\nall negative) and retrieve the results dictated by AdS_6/CFT_5 correspondence\nfrom the conformal dimensions of boundary operators. The boundary F(4)\nsuperconformal fields are realized in terms of a singleton superfield\n(hypermultiplet) in harmonic superspace with flag manifold SU(2)/U(1)=S^2. We\nanalize the spectrum of short representations in terms of superconformal\nprimaries and predict general features of the K-K specrum of massive type IIA\nsupergravity compactified on warped $AdS_6\\otimes S^4$.",
        "positive": "Towards the QED beta function and renormalons at $1/N_f^2$ and $1/N_f^3$: We determine the $1/N_f^2$ and $1/N_f^3$ contributions to the QED beta\nfunction stemming from the closed set of nested diagrams. At order $1/N_f^2$ we\ndiscover a new logarithmic branch-cut closer to the origin when compared to the\n$1/N_f$ results. The same singularity location appears at $1/N_f^3$, and these\ncorrespond to a UV renormalon singularity in the finite part of the photon\ntwo-point function."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the integrability of Einstein-Maxwell-(A)dS gravity in presence of\n  Killing vectors: We study some symmetry and integrability properties of four-dimensional\nEinstein-Maxwell gravity with nonvanishing cosmological constant in the\npresence of Killing vectors. First of all, we consider stationary spacetimes,\nwhich lead, after a timelike Kaluza-Klein reduction followed by a dualization\nof the two vector fields, to a three-dimensional nonlinear sigma model coupled\nto gravity, whose target space is a noncompact version of\n$\\mathbb{C}\\text{P}^2$ with SU(2,1) isometry group. It is shown that the\npotential for the scalars, that arises from the cosmological constant in four\ndimensions, breaks three of the eight SU(2,1) symmetries, corresponding to the\ngeneralized Ehlers and the two Harrison transformations. This leaves a\nsemidirect product of a one-dimensional Heisenberg group and a translation\ngroup $\\mathbb{R}^2$ as residual symmetry. We show that, under the additional\nassumptions that the three-dimensional manifold is conformal to a product space\n$\\mathbb{R}\\times\\Sigma$, and all fields depend only on the coordinate along\n$\\mathbb{R}$, the equations of motion are integrable. This generalizes the\nresults of Leigh et al. in arXiv:1403.6511 to the case where also\nelectromagnetic fields are present. In the second part of the paper we consider\nthe purely gravitational spacetime admitting a second Killing vector that\ncommutes with the timelike one. We write down the resulting two-dimensional\naction and discuss its symmetries. If the fields depend only on one of the two\ncoordinates, the equations of motion are again integrable, and the solution\nturns out to be one constructed by Krasinski many years ago.",
        "positive": "Multi-centered black holes in gauged D=5 supergravity: One of the important consequences of the no-force condition for BPS states is\nthe existence of stable static multi-center solutions, at least in ungauged\nsupergravities. This observation has been at the heart of many developments in\nbrane physics, including the construction of intersecting branes and reduced\nsymmetry D-brane configurations corresponding to the Coulomb branch of the\ngauge theory. However the search for multi-center solutions to gauged\nsupergravities has proven rather elusive. Because of the background curvature,\nit appears such solutions cannot be static. Nevertheless even allowing for time\ndependence, general multi-center solutions to gauged supergravity have yet to\nbe constructed. In this letter we investigate the construction of such\nsolutions for the case of D=5, N=2 gauged supergravity coupled to an arbitrary\nnumber of vector multiplets. Formally, we find a family of time dependent\nmulti-center black hole solutions which are easily generalized to the case of\nAdS supergravities in general dimensions. While these are not true solutions,\nas they have a complex metric and gauge potential, they may be related to a\nWick rotated theory or to a theory where the coupling is taken to be imaginary.\nThese solutions thus provide a partial realization of true multi-center\nblack-holes in gauged supergravities."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Ashtekar variables, self-dual metrics and w-infinity: The self-duality equations for the Riemann tensor are studied using the\nAshtekar Hamiltonian formulation for general relativity. These equations may be\nwritten as dynamical equations for three divergence free vector fields on a\nthree dimensional surface in the spacetime. A simplified form of these\nequations, describing metrics with a one Killing field symmetry are written\ndown, and it shown that a particular sector of these equations has a\nHamiltonian form where the Hamiltonian is an arbitrary function on a\ntwo-surface. In particular, any element of the $w_\\infty$ algebra may be chosen\nas a the Hamiltonian. For a special choice of this Hamiltonian, an infinite set\nof solutions of the self-duality equations are given. These solutions are\nparametrized by elements of the $w_\\infty$ algebra, which in turn leads to an\nexplicit form of four dimensional complex self-dual metrics that are in one to\none correspondence with elements of this algebra.",
        "positive": "Equivalent Dual Theories for 3D N=2 Supergravity: N=2 three dimensional Supergravity with internal $R-$symmetry generators can\nbe understood as a two dimensional chiral Wess-Zumino-Witten model. In this\npaper, we present the reduced phase space description of the theory, which\nturns out to be flat limit of a generalised Liouville theory, up to zero modes.\nThe reduced phase space description can also be explained as a gauged chiral\nWess-Zumino-Witten model. We show that both these descriptions possess\nidentical gauge and global (quantum N=2 superBMS$_3$) symmetries."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spinning strings: $\u03bb$-deformation and non-Abelian T-dual limit: The simplest example of the $\\lambda$-deformation connects the SU(2)\nWess-Zumino-Witten model with the non-Abelian T-dual (NATD) of the SU(2)\nprincipal chiral model. We analyze spinning strings with one spin propagating\nthrough the $\\lambda$-deformation of the target space of the interpolation. We\nshow that the situation apart from the NATD limit parallels the undeformed\ncase. We demonstrate that regular spinning strings are either folded or\ncircular, and that nearly degenerate spinning strings are either nearly\npoint-like, fast, or slow. The effects of the $\\lambda$-deformation are both\nthe overall increment of the energy of spinning strings and the enlargement of\nthe gap between the energies of folded and circular strings. In the NATD limit,\nwe prove that circular strings disappear and that fast strings realize the\ndispersion relation of Gubser-Klebanov-Polyakov strings.",
        "positive": "Superintegrability of matrix Student's distribution: For ordinary matrix models, the eigenvalue probability density decays rapidly\nas one goes to infinity, in other words, has \"short tails\". This ensures that\nall the multiple trace correlators (multipoint moments) are convergent and\nwell-defined.\n  Still, many critical phenomena are associated with an enhanced probability of\nseemingly rare effects, and one expects that they are better described by the\n\"long tail\" models. In absence of the exponential fall-off, the integrals for\nhigh moments diverge, and this could imply a loss of (super)integrability\nproperties pertinent to matrix and eigenvalue models and, presumably, to the\nnon-perturbative (exact) treatment of more general quantum systems. In this\npaper, we explain that this danger to modern understanding could be\nexaggerated. We consider a simple family of long-tail matrix models, which\npreserve the crucial feature of superintegrability: exact factorized\nexpressions for a full set of basic averages. It turns out that\nsuperintegrability can survive after an appropriate (natural and obvious)\nanalytical continuation even in the presence of divergencies, which opens new\nperspectives for the study of the long-tail matrix models."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Past incompleteness of a bouncing multiverse: According to classical GR, Anti-de Sitter (AdS) bubbles in the multiverse\nterminate in big crunch singularities. It has been conjectured, however, that\nthe fundamental theory may resolve these singularities and replace them by\nnonsingular bounces. This may have important implications for the beginning of\nthe multiverse. Geodesics in cosmological spacetimes are known to be\npast-incomplete, as long as the average expansion rate along the geodesic is\npositive, but it is not clear that the latter condition is satisfied if the\ngeodesic repeatedly passes through crunching AdS bubbles. We investigate this\nissue in a simple multiverse model, where the spacetime consists of a patchwork\nof FRW regions. The conclusion is that the spacetime is still past-incomplete,\neven in the presence of AdS bounces.",
        "positive": "Betti multiplets, flows across dimensions and c-extremization: We consider 4d N=1 SCFTs, topologically twisted on compact constant curvature\nRiemann surfaces, giving rise to 2d N=(0,2) SCFTs. The exact R-current of these\n2d SCFT extremizes the central charge c_{2d}, similarly to the 4d picture,\nwhere the exact R-current maximizes the central charge a_{4d}. There are global\ncurrents that do not mix with the R-current in 4d but their mixing becomes non\ntrivial in 2d. In this paper we study the holographic dual of this process by\nanalyzing a 5d N=2 truncation of T^{1,1} with one Betti vector multiplet, dual\nto the baryonic current on the CFT side. The holographic realization of the\nflow across dimensions connects AdS_5 to AdS_3 vacua in the supergravity\npicture. We verify the existence of the flow to AdS_3 solutions and we retrieve\nthe field theory results for the mixing of the Betti vector with the\ngraviphoton. Moreover, we extract the central charge from the Brown-Henneaux\nformula, matching with the results obtained in field theory. We develop a\ngeneral formalism to obtain the central charge of a 2d SCFT from 5d N=2 gauged\nsupergravity with a generic number of vector multiplets, showing that its\nextremization corresponds to an attractor mechanism for the scalars in the\nsupergravity picture."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Absorption of Fixed scalars and the D-brane Approach to Black Holes: We calculate the emission and absorption rates of fixed scalars by the\nnear-extremal five-dimensional black holes that have recently been modeled\nusing intersecting D-branes. We find agreement between the semi-classical and\nD-brane computations. At low energies the fixed scalar absorption cross-section\nis smaller than for ordinary scalars and depends on other properties of the\nblack hole than just the horizon area. In the D-brane description, fixed scalar\nabsorption is suppressed because these scalars must split into at least four,\nrather than two, open strings running along the D-brane. Consequently, this\ncomparison provides a more sensitive test of the effective string picture of\nthe D-brane bound state than does the cross-section for ordinary scalars. In\nparticular, it allows us to read off the value of the effective string tension.\nThat value is precisely what is needed to reproduce the near-extremal 5-brane\nentropy.",
        "positive": "N=1 supersymmetric higher spin holography on AdS_3: We propose a duality between a higher spin N=1 supergravity on AdS_3 and a\nlarge N limit of a family of N=(1,1) superconformal field theories. The gravity\ntheory is an N=1 truncation of the N=2 supergravity found by Prokushkin and\nVasiliev, and the dual conformal field theory is defined by a supersymmetric\ncoset model. We check this conjecture by comparing one loop partition functions\nand find agreement. Moreover, we study the symmetry of the dual coset model and\nin particular compute fields of the coset algebra of dimension 3/2, 2, 2 and\n5/2 explicitely."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Correlation functions of the open XXZ chain I: We consider the XXZ spin chain with diagonal boundary conditions in the\nframework of algebraic Bethe Ansatz. Using the explicit computation of the\nscalar products of Bethe states and a revisited version of the bulk inverse\nproblem, we calculate the elementary building blocks for the correlation\nfunctions. In the limit of half-infinite chain, they are obtained as multiple\nintegrals of usual functions, similar to the case of periodic boundary\nconditions.",
        "positive": "Asymptotic safety of gravity and the Higgs boson mass: There are indications that gravity is asymptotically safe. The Standard Model\n(SM) plus gravity could be valid up to arbitrarily high energies. Supposing\nthat this is indeed the case and assuming that there are no intermediate energy\nscales between the Fermi and Planck scales we address the question of whether\nthe mass of the Higgs boson $m_H$ can be predicted. For a positive gravity\ninduced anomalous dimension $A_\\lambda>0$ the running of the quartic scalar\nself interaction $\\lambda$ at scales beyond the Planck mass is determined by a\nfixed point at zero. This results in $m_H=m_{\\rm min}=126$ GeV, with only a few\nGeV uncertainty. This prediction is independent of the details of the short\ndistance running and holds for a wide class of extensions of the SM as well.\nFor $A_\\lambda <0$ one finds $m_H$ in the interval $m_{\\rm min}< m_H < m_{\\rm\nmax}\\simeq 174$ GeV, now sensitive to $A_\\lambda$ and other properties of the\nshort distance running. The case $A_\\lambda>0$ is favored by explicit\ncomputations existing in the literature."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Singularities, Gauge Dynamics, and Nonperturbative Superpotentials in\n  String Theory: We describe a class of 4d N=1 compactifications of the $SO(32)$\nheterotic/type I string theory which are destabilized by nonperturbatively\ngenerated superpotentials. In the type I description, the destabilizing\nsuperpotential is generated by a one instanton effect or gaugino condensation\nin a nonperturbative $SU(2)$ gauge group. The dual, heterotic description\ninvolves destabilization due to worldsheet instanton or $\\it half$ worldsheet\ninstanton effects in the two cases. A genericity argument suggests that a\n(global) supersymmetry-breaking model of Intriligator and Thomas might be\ntypical in a class of string theory models. Our analysis also suggests that the\ntensionless strings which arise in the $E_8 \\times E_8$ theory in six\ndimensions when an instanton shrinks to zero size should, in some cases, have\nsupersymmetry breaking dynamics upon further compactification to four\ndimensions. We provide explicit examples, constructed using F-theory, of the\ntwo cases of dynamically generated superpotentials.",
        "positive": "A Note on Quantum Geometric Langlands Duality, Gauge Theory, and\n  Quantization of the Moduli Space of Flat Connections: Montonen-Olive duality implies that the categories of A-branes on the moduli\nspaces of Higgs bundles on a Riemann surface C for a pair of Langlands-dual\ngroups are equivalent. We reformulate this as a statement about categories of\nB-branes on the quantized moduli spaces of flat connections for these groups.\nWe show that it implies the statement of the Quantum Geometric Langlands\nduality with a purely imaginary ``quantum parameter'' which is proportional to\nthe inverse of the Planck constant of the gauge theory. The ramified version of\nthe story is also considered."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Group Symmetric Bargmann Fock Construction: Usually in quantum mechanics the Heisenberg algebra is generated by operators\nof position and momentum. The algebra is then represented on an Hilbert space\nof square integrable functions. Alternatively one generates the Heisenberg\nalgebra by the raising and lowering operators. It is then natural to represent\nit on the Bargmann Fock space of holomorphic functions. In the following I show\nthat the Bargmann Fock construction can also be done in the quantum group\nsymmetric case. This leads to a 'q- deformed quantum mechanics' in which the\nbasic concepts, Hilbert space of states and unitarity of time evolution, are\npreserved.",
        "positive": "Studies of low-energy effective actions in supersymmetric field theories: This thesis examines low-energy effective actions of supersymmetric quantum\nfield theories. These actions contain information about the low-energy field\ncontent and dynamics of quantum field theories and are essential for\nunderstanding their phenomenological and theoretical properties.\n  In chapters 2 to 5, the covariant background field method is used to\ninvestigate quantum corrections to sectors of a variety of supersymmetric field\ntheories at 1 and 2 loops. We start by looking at the background field\nquantisation of a general N=1 super-Yang-Mills theory, rederiving the\nwell-known 1 loop finiteness conditions. This is followed by a reexamination of\nthe effective potential of the Wess-Zumino model, focusing on a derivation of\nthe full auxiliary fields' potential. Next, the 2 loop Euler-Heisenberg\neffective action is constructed for N=1 supersymmetric quantum electrodynamics;\nits renormalisation properties and self-dual limit are studied. The final\naction studied is the 2 loop Kahler potential for beta-deformed N=4\nsuper-Yang-Mills. This sector is purely a product of the deformation and its\nfiniteness is demonstrated in a general background before examining two special\ncases.\n  Chapter 6 studies spontaneously broken supersymmetry and the pure Goldstino\naction. A general approach to constructing explicit field redefinitions is used\nto relate all known models of the Goldstino and to study their nonlinear\nsupersymmetries. This approach is also used to construct the most general pure\nGoldstino action and to examine its supersymmetry transformations. Finally, a\nnew embedding of the Goldstino into a complex linear superfield is presented.\nIts interactions to matter and gravity are examined and compared to existing\nGoldstino superfield constructions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Yangian-invariant regularisation of deformed on-shell diagrams in N=4\n  super-Yang-Mills theory: We investigate Yangian invariance of deformed on-shell diagrams with D=4, N=4\nsuperconformal symmetry. We find that invariance implies a direct relationship\nbetween the deformation parameters and the permutation associated to the\non-shell graph. We analyse the connection with deformations of scattering\namplitudes in N=4 super-Yang-Mills theory and the possibility of using the\ndeformation parameters as a regulator preserving Yangian invariance. A study of\nhigher-point tree and loop graphs suggests that manifest Yangian invariance of\nthe amplitude requires trivial deformation parameters.",
        "positive": "On quantum group symmetry and Bethe ansatz for the asymmetric twin spin\n  chain with integrable boundary: Motivated by a study of the crossing symmetry of the `gemini' representation\nof the affine Hecke algebra we give a construction for crossing tensor space\nrepresentations of ordinary Hecke algebras. These representations build\nsolutions to the Yang--Baxter equation satisfying the crossing condition (that\nis, integrable quantum spin chains). We show that every crossing representation\nof the Temperley--Lieb algebra appears in this construction, and in particular\nthat this construction builds new representations. We extend these to new\nrepresentations of the blob algebra, which build new solutions to the Boundary\nYang--Baxter equation (i.e. open spin chains with integrable boundary\nconditions).\n  We prove that the open spin chain Hamiltonian derived from Sklyanin's\ncommuting transfer matrix using such a solution can always be expressed as the\nrepresentation of an element of the blob algebra, and determine this element.\nWe determine the representation theory (irreducible content) of the new\nrepresentations and hence show that all such Hamiltonians have the same\nspectrum up to multiplicity, for any given value of the algebraic boundary\nparameter. (A corollary is that our models have the same spectrum as the open\nXXZ chain with nondiagonal boundary -- despite differing from this model in\nhaving reference states.) Using this multiplicity data, and other ideas, we\ninvestigate the underlying quantum group symmetry of the new Hamiltonians. We\nderive the form of the spectrum and the Bethe ansatz equations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A BMS-invariant free scalar model: The BMS (Bondi-van der Burg-Metzner-Sachs) symmetry arises as the asymptotic\nsymmetry of flat spacetime at null infinity. In particular, the BMS algebra for\nthree dimensional flat spacetime (BMS$_3$) is generated by the super-rotation\ngenerators which form a Virasoro sub-algebra with central charge $c_L$,\ntogether with mutually-commuting super-translation generators. The\nsuper-rotation and super-translation generators have non-trivial commutation\nrelations with another central charge $c_M$. In this paper, we study a free\nscalar theory in two dimensions exhibiting BMS$_3$ symmetry, which can also be\nunderstood as the ultra-relativistic limit of a free scalar CFT$_2$. Upon\ncanonical quantization on the highest weight vacuum, the central charges are\nfound to be $c_L=2$ and $c_M=0$. Because of the vanishing central charge\n$c_M=0$, the theory features novel properties: there exist primary states which\nform a multiplet, and the Hilbert space can be organized by an enlarged version\nof BMS modules dubbed the staggered modules. We further calculate correlation\nfunctions and the torus partition function, the later of which is also shown\nexplicitly to be modular invariant.",
        "positive": "Spontaneous Symmetry Breaking in Gauge Theories: a Historical Survey: The personal and scientific history of the discovery of spontaneous symmetry\nbreaking in gauge theories is outlined and its scientific content is reviewed"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Heterotic phase transitions and singularities of the gauge dyonic string: Heterotic strings on $R^6 \\times K3$ generically appear to undergo some\ninteresting new phase transition at that value of the string coupling for which\nthe one of the six-dimensional gauge field kinetic energies changes sign. An\nexception is the $E_8 \\times E_8$ string with equal instanton numbers in the\ntwo $E_8$'s, which admits a heterotic/heterotic self-duality. In this paper, we\ngeneralize the dyonic string solution of the six-dimensional heterotic string\nto include non-trivial gauge field configurations corresponding to self-dual\nYang-Mills instantons in the four transverse dimensions. We find that vacua\nwhich undergo a phase transition always admit a string solution exhibiting a\nnaked singularity, whereas for vacua admitting a self-duality the solution is\nalways regular. When there is a phase transition, there exists a choice of\ninstanton numbers for which the dyonic string is tensionless and\nquasi-anti-self-dual at that critical value of the coupling. For an infinite\nsubset of the other choices of instanton number, the string will also be\ntensionless, but all at larger values of the coupling.",
        "positive": "Survey of the Tachyonic Lump in Bosonic String Field Theory: We study some properties of the tachyonic lumps in the level truncation\nscheme of bosonic cubic string field theory. We find that several gauges work\nwell and that the size of the lump as well as its tension is approximately\nindependent of these gauge choices at level (2,4). We also examine the\nfluctuation spectrum around the lump solution, and find that a tachyon with\nm^2=-0.96 and some massive scalars appear on the lump world-volume. This result\nstrongly supports the conjecture that a codimension 1 lump solution is\nidentified with a D-brane of one lower dimension within the framework of\nbosonic cubic string field theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Closed time like curve and the energy condition in 2+1 dimensional\n  gravity: We consider gravity in 2+1 dimensions in presence of extended stationary\nsources with rotational symmetry. We prove by direct use of Einstein's\nequations that if i) the energy momentum tensor satisfies the weak energy\ncondition, ii) the universe is open (conical at space infinity), iii) there are\nno CTC at space infinity, then there are no CTC at all.",
        "positive": "Conformal 3-point functions and the Lorentzian OPE in momentum space: In conformal field theory in Minkowski momentum space, the 3-point\ncorrelation functions of local operators are completely fixed by symmetry.\nUsing Ward identities together with the existence of a Lorentzian operator\nproduct expansion (OPE), we show that the Wightman function of three scalar\noperators is a double hypergeometric series of the Appell $F_4$ type. We extend\nthis simple closed-form expression to the case of two scalar operators and one\ntraceless symmetric tensor with arbitrary spin. Time-ordered and\npartially-time-ordered products are constructed in a similar fashion and their\nrelation with the Wightman function is discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "General fluctuations of the type II pure spinor string on curved\n  backgrounds: The general fluctuations, in the form of vertex operators, for the type II\nsuperstring in the pure spinor formalism are considered. We review the\nconstruction of these vertex operators in flat space-time. We then review the\ntype II superstrings in curved background in the pure spinor formalism to\nfinally construct the vertex operators on a generic type II supergravity\nbackground.",
        "positive": "CANONICAL NONABELIAN DUAL TRANSFORMATIONS IN SUPERSYMMETRIC FIELD\n  THEORIES: A generating functional $F$ is found for a canonical nonabelian dual\ntransformation which maps the supersymmetric chiral O(4) $\\sigma$-model to an\nequivalent supersymmetric extension of the dual $\\sigma$-model. This $F$\nproduces a mapping between the classical phase spaces of the two theories in\nwhich the bosonic (coordinate) fields transform nonlocally, the fermions\nundergo a local tangent space chiral rotation, and all currents (fermionic and\nbosonic) mix locally. Purely bosonic curvature-free currents of the chiral\nmodel become a {\\em symphysis} of purely bosonic and fermion bilinear currents\nof the dual theory. The corresponding transformation functional $T$ which\nrelates wavefunctions in the two quantum theories is argued to be {\\em exactly}\ngiven by $T=\\exp(iF)$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Protected Spectrum of the Minimal Argyres-Douglas Theory: Despite the power of supersymmetry, finding exact closed-form expressions for\nthe protected operator spectra of interacting superconformal field theories\n(SCFTs) is difficult. In this paper, we take a step towards a solution for the\n\"simplest\" interacting 4D $\\mathcal{N}=2$ SCFT: the minimal Argyres-Douglas\n(MAD) theory. We present two results that go beyond the well-understood Coulomb\nbranch and Schur sectors. First, we find the exact closed-form spectrum of\nmultiplets containing operators that are chiral with respect to any\n$\\mathcal{N}=1\\subset\\mathcal{N}=2$ superconformal subalgebra. We argue that\nthis \"full\" chiral sector (FCS) is as simple as allowed by unitarity for a\ntheory with a Coulomb branch and that, up to a rescaling of $U(1)_r$ quantum\nnumbers and the vanishing of a finite number of states, the MAD FCS is\nisospectral to the FCS of the free $\\mathcal{N}=2$ Abelian gauge theory. In the\nlanguage of superconformal representation theory, this leaves only the spectrum\nof the poorly understood $\\bar{\\mathcal{C}}_{R,r(j,\\bar j)}$ multiplets to be\ndetermined. Our second result sheds light on these observables: we find an\nexact closed-form answer for the number of $\\bar{\\mathcal{C}}_{0,r(j,0)}$\nmultiplets, for any $r$ and $j$, in the MAD theory. We argue that this\nsub-sector is also as simple as allowed by unitarity for a theory with a\nCoulomb branch and that there is a natural map to the corresponding sector of\nthe free $\\mathcal{N}=2$ Abelian gauge theory. These results motivate a\nconjecture on the full local operator algebra of the MAD theory.",
        "positive": "Quantum Gravity via Random Triangulations of R^4 and Gravitons as\n  Goldstone Bosons of SL(4)/O(4): A model of random triangulations of a domain in $R^{(4)}$ is presented. The\nglobal symmetries of the model include SL(4) transformations and translations.\nIf a stable microscopic scale exists for some range of parameters, the model\nshould be in a translation invariant phase where SL(4) is spontaneously broken\nto O(4). In that phase, SL(4) Ward identities imply that the correlation length\nin the spin two channel of a symmetric tensor field is infinite. Consequently,\nit may be possible to identify the continuum limit of four dimensional Quantum\nGravity with points inside that phase."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fuzzy Classical Dynamics as a Paradigm for Emerging Lorentz Geometries: We show that the classical equations of motion for a particle on three\ndimensional fuzzy space and on the fuzzy sphere are underpinned by a natural\nLorentz geometry. From this geometric perspective, the equations of motion\ngenerally correspond to forced geodesic motion, but for an appropriate choice\nof noncommutative dynamics, the force is purely noncommutative in origin and\nthe underpinning Lorentz geometry some standard space-time with, in general,\nnon-commutatuve corrections to the metric. For these choices of the\nnoncommutative dynamics the commutative limit therefore corresponds to geodesic\nmotion on this standard space-time. We identify these Lorentz geometries to be\na Minkowski metric on $\\mathbb{R}^4$ and $\\mathbb{R} \\times S ^2$ in the cases\nof a free particle on three dimensional fuzzy space ($\\mathbb{R}^3_\\star$) and\nthe fuzzy sphere ($S^2_\\star$), respectively. We also demonstrate the\nequivalence of the on-shell dynamics of $S^2_\\star$ and a relativistic charged\nparticle on the commutative sphere coupled to the background magnetic field of\na Dirac monopole.",
        "positive": "SU(3) Yang-Mills Hamiltonian in the flux-tube gauge: Strong coupling\n  expansion and glueball dynamics: It is shown that the formulation of the SU(3) Yang-Mills quantum Hamiltonian\nin the \"flux-tube gauge\" $A_{a1}=0$ for all a=1,2,4,5,6,7 and $A_{a2}=0$ for\nall a=5,7 allows for a systematic and practical strong coupling expansion of\nthe Hamiltonian in $\\lambda\\equiv g^{-2/3}$, equivalent to an expansion in the\nnumber of spatial derivatives. Introducing an infinite spatial lattice with box\nlength a, the \"free part\" is the sum of Hamiltonians of Yang-Mills quantum\nmechanics of constant fields for each box, and the \"interaction terms\" contain\nhigher and higher number of spatial derivatives connecting different boxes. The\nFaddeev-Popov operator, its determinant and inverse, are rather simple, but\nshow a highly non-trivial periodic structure of six Gribov-horizons separating\nsix Weyl-chambers. The energy eigensystem of the gauge reduced Hamiltonian of\nSU(3) Yang-Mills mechanics of spatially constant fields can be calculated in\nprinciple with arbitrary high precision using the orthonormal basis of all\nsolutions of the corresponding harmonic oscillator problem, which turn out to\nbe made of orthogonal polynomials of the 45 components of eight irreducible\nsymmetric spatial tensors. First results for the low-energy glueball spectrum\nare obtained which substantially improve those by Weisz and Ziemann using the\nconstrained approach. Thus, the gauge reduced approach using the flux-tube\ngauge proposed here, is expected to enable one to obtain valuable\nnon-perturbative information about low-energy glueball dynamics, using\nperturbation theory in $\\lambda$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A class of non-geometric M-theory compactification backgrounds: We study a particular class of supersymmetric M-theory eight-dimensional\nnon-geometric compactification backgrounds to three-dimensional Minkowski\nspace-time, proving that the global space of the non-geometric compactification\nis still a differentiable manifold, although with very different geometric and\ntopological properties with respect to the corresponding standard M-theory\ncompactification background: it is a compact complex manifold admitting a\nK\\\"ahler covering with deck transformations acting by holomorphic homotheties\nwith respect to the K\\\"ahler metric. We show that this class of non-geometric\ncompactifications evade the Maldacena-Nu\\~nez no-go theorem by means of a\nmechanism originally developed by Mario Garc\\'ia-Fern\\'andez and the author for\nHeterotic Supergravity, and thus do not require $l_{P}$-corrections to allow\nfor a non-trivial warp factor or four-form flux. We obtain an explicit\ncompactification background on a complex Hopf four-fold that solves all the\nequations of motion of the theory. We also show that this class of\nnon-geometric compactification backgrounds is equipped with a holomorphic\nprincipal torus fibration over a projective K\\\"ahler base as well as a\ncodimension-one foliation with nearly-parallel $G_{2}$-leaves, making thus\ncontact with the work of M. Babalic and C. Lazaroiu on the foliation structure\nof the most general M-theory supersymmetric compactifications.",
        "positive": "On the Infrared Limit of Unconstrained SU(2) Yang-Mills Theory: The variables appropriate for the infrared limit of unconstrained SU(2)\nYang-Mills field theory are obtained in the Hamiltonian formalism. It is shown\nhow in the infrared limit an effective nonlinear sigma model type Lagrangian\ncan be derived which out of the six physical fields involves only one of three\nscalar fields and two rotational fields summarized in a unit vector. Its\npossible relation to the effective Lagrangian proposed recently by Faddeev and\nNiemi is discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Flat JT Gravity and the BMS-Schwarzian: We consider Minkowskian Jackiw-Teitelboim (JT) gravity in Bondi gauge at\nfinite temperature, with non-zero vacuum energy. Its asymptotic symmetries span\nan extension of the warped Virasoro group, dubbed \"BMS$_2$\", which we\ninvestigate in detail. In particular, we show that this extension has a single\ncoadjoint orbit when central charges are real and non-zero. The ensuing\nBMS-Schwarzian action has no saddle points, and only coincides with the\nboundary action functional of flat JT gravity up to a crucial dilatonic\nzero-mode that ensures the existence of a well-defined bulk variational\nprinciple. We evaluate the corresponding gravitational partition function,\nwhich turns out to be one-loop exact precisely thanks to the presence of such a\nzero-mode.",
        "positive": "Thermoelectric Transport Coefficients from Charged Solv and Nil Black\n  Holes: In the present work we study charged black hole solutions of the\nEinstein-Maxwell action that have Thurston geometries on its near horizon\nregion. In particular we find solutions with charged Solv and Nil geometry\nhorizons. We also find Nil black holes with hyperscaling violation. For all our\nsolutions we compute the thermoelectric DC transport coefficients of the\ncorresponding dual field theory. We find that the Solv and Nil black holes\nwithout hyperscaling violation are dual to metals while those with hyperscaling\nviolation are dual to insulators."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Communication protocols and QECCs from the perspective of TQFT, Part I:\n  Constructing LOCC protocols and QECCs from TQFTs: Topological quantum field theories (TQFTs) provide a general,\nminimal-assumption language for describing quantum-state preparation and\nmeasurement. They therefore provide a general language in which to express\nmulti-agent communication protocols, e.g. local operations, classical\ncommunication (LOCC) protocols. Here we construct LOCC protocols using TQFT,\nand show that LOCC protocols generically induce quantum error-correcting codes\n(QECCs). Using multi-observer scenarios described by quantum Darwinism and\nBell/EPR experiments as examples, we show how these LOCC-induced QECCs\neffectively convert entanglement into classical redundancy. In the accompanying\nPart II, we show that such QECCs can be regarded as implementing, or inducing\nthe emergence of, spacetimes on the boundaries between interacting systems. We\ninvestigate this connection between inter-agent communication and spacetime\nusing BF and Chern-Simons theories, and then using topological M-theory.",
        "positive": "Exorcizing the Landau Ghost in Non Commutative Quantum Field Theory: We show that the simplest non commutative renormalizable field theory, the\n$\\phi^4$ model on four dimensional Moyal space with harmonic potential is\nasymptotically safe to all orders in perturbation theory"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Q-balls in Non-Minimally Coupled Palatini Inflation and their\n  Implications for Cosmology: We demonstrate the existence of Q-balls in non-minimally coupled inflation\nmodels with a complex inflaton in the Palatini formulation of gravity. We show\nthat there exist Q-ball solutions which are compatible with inflation and we\nderive a window in the inflaton mass squared for which this is the case. In\nparticular, we confirm the existence of Q-ball solutions with $\\phi \\sim\n10^{17}-10^{18}$ GeV, consistent with the range of field values following the\nend of slow-roll Palatini inflation. We study the Q-balls and their properties\nboth numerically and in an analytical approximation. The existence of such\nQ-balls suggests that the complex inflaton condensate can fragment into\nQ-balls, and that there may be an analogous process for the case of a real\ninflaton with fragmentation to neutral oscillons. We discuss the possible\npost-inflationary cosmology following the formation of Q-balls, including an\nearly Q-ball matter domination (eMD) period and the effects of this on the\nreheating dynamics of the model, gravitational wave signatures which may be\ndetectable in future experiments, and the possibility that Q-balls could lead\nto the formation of primordial black holes (PBHs). In particular, we show that\nPalatini Q-balls with field strengths typical of inflaton condensate\nfragmentation can directly form black holes with masses around 500 kg or more\nwhen the self-coupling is $\\lambda = 0.1$, resulting in very low (less than 100\nGeV) reheating temperatures from black hole decay, with smaller black hole\nmasses and larger reheating temperatures possible for smaller values of\n$\\lambda$. Q-ball dark matter from non-minimally coupled Palatini inflation may\nalso be a direction for future work.",
        "positive": "Fields in nonaffine bundles. IV. Harmonious non-Abelian currents in\n  string defects: This article continues the study of the category of harmonious field models\nthat was recently introduced as a kinetically non-linear generalisation of the\nwell known harmonic category of multiscalar fields over a supporting brane\nwordsheet in a target space with a curved Riemannian metric. Like the perfectly\nharmonious case of which a familiar example is provided by ordinary barotropic\nperfect fluids, another important subcategory is the simply harmonious case,\nfor which it is shown that as well as ``wiggle'' modes of the underlying brane\nworld sheet, and sound type longitudinal modes, there will also be transverse\nshake modes that propagate at the speed of light. Models of this type are shown\nto arise from a non-Abelian generalisation of the Witten mechanism for\nconducting string formation by ordinary scalar fields with a suitable quartic\nself coupling term in the action."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Cosmological Theories From $SO(2,2)/SO(2)\\times SO(1,1)$: We herein set forth intrinsically four-dimensional string solutions and\nanalyze some of its properties. The solutions are constructed as gauged WZW\nmodels of the coset $SO(2,2)/SO(2)\\times SO(1,1)$. We recover backgrounds\nhaving metric and antisymmetric tensors, dilaton fields and two electromagnetic\nfields. The theories describe anisotropically expanding and static universes\nfor some time values.",
        "positive": "Phase Structure and Compactness: In order to study the influence of compactness on low-energy properties, we\ncompare the phase structures of the compact and non-compact two-dimensional\nmulti-frequency sine-Gordon models. It is shown that the high-energy scaling of\nthe compact and non-compact models coincides, but their low-energy behaviors\ndiffer. The critical frequency $\\beta^2 = 8\\pi$ at which the sine-Gordon model\nundergoes a topological phase transition is found to be unaffected by the\ncompactness of the field since it is determined by high-energy scaling laws.\nHowever, the compact two-frequency sine-Gordon model has first and second order\nphase transitions determined by the low-energy scaling: we show that these are\nabsent in the non-compact model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Borcherds-Kac-Moody Symmetry of N=4 Dyons: We consider compactifications of heterotic string theory to four dimensions\non CHL orbifolds of the type T^6 /Z_N with 16 supersymmetries. The exact\npartition functions of the quarter-BPS dyons in these models are given in terms\nof genus-two Siegel modular forms. Only the N=1,2,3 models satisfy a certain\nfiniteness condition, and in these cases one can identify a Borcherds-Kac-Moody\nsuperalgebra underlying the symmetry structure of the dyon spectrum. We\nidentify the real roots, and find that the corresponding Cartan matrices\nexhaust a known classification. We show that the Siegel modular form satisfies\nthe Weyl denominator identity of the algebra, which enables the determination\nof all root multiplicities. Furthermore, the Weyl group determines the\nstructure of wall-crossings and the attractor flows of the theory. For N> 4, no\nsuch interpretation appears to be possible.",
        "positive": "Planar QED at finite temperature and density: Hall conductivity, Berry's\n  phases and minimal conductivity of graphene: We study 1-loop effects for massless Dirac fields in two spatial dimensions,\ncoupled to homogeneous electromagnetic backgrounds, both at zero and at finite\ntemperature and density. In the case of a purely magnetic field, we analyze the\nrelationship between the invariance of the theory under large gauge\ntransformations, the appearance of Chern-Simons terms and of different Berry's\nphases. In the case of a purely electric background field, we show that the\neffective Lagrangian is independent of the chemical potential and of the\ntemperature. More interesting: we show that the minimal conductivity, as\npredicted by the quantum field theory, is the right multiple of the\nconductivity quantum and is, thus, consistent with the value measured for\ngraphene, with no extra factor of pi in the denominator."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "One-dimensional holographic superconductor from AdS_3/CFT_2\n  correspondence: We obtain a holographical description of a superconductor by using the d=2\ncase of the AdS_{d+1}/CFT_d correspondence. The gravity system is a\n(2+1)-dimensional AdS black hole coupled to a Maxwell field and charged scalar.\nThe dual (1+1)-dimensional superconductor will be strongly correlated. The\ncharacteristic exponents for vector perturbations at the boundary degenerate,\nwhich implies that d=2 is a critical dimension and the Green's function needs\nto be regularized. In the normal phase, the current-current correlation\nfunction and the conductivity can be analytically solved at zero chemical\npotential. The dc conductivity can be analytically solved at finite chemical\npotential. When we add a scalar hair to the black hole, a charged condensate\nhappens at low temperatures. We compare our results with higher-dimensional\ncases.",
        "positive": "Supersymmetric Consistent Truncations of IIB on T(1,1): We study consistent Kaluza-Klein reductions of type IIB supergravity on\nT(1,1) down to five-dimensions. We find that the most general reduction\ncontaining singlets under the global SU(2)xSU(2) symmetry of T(1,1) is N=4\ngauged supergravity coupled to three vector multiplets with a particular\ngauging due to topological and geometric flux. Key to this reduction is several\nmodes which have not been considered before in the literature and our\nconstruction allows us to easily show that the Papadopoulos - Tseytlin ansatz\nfor IIB solutions on T(1,1) is a consistent truncation. This explicit reduction\nprovides an organizing principle for the linearized spectrum around the warped\ndeformed conifold as well as the baryonic branch and should have applications\nto the physics of flux compactifications with warped throats."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Generalized entropy function for Schwarzschild and non-extremal black\n  holes in string theory: This paper has been withdrawn by the author due to a crucial error",
        "positive": "Contrast data mining for the MSSM from strings: We apply techniques from data mining to the heterotic orbifold landscape in\norder to identify new MSSM-like string models. To do so, so-called contrast\npatterns are uncovered that help to distinguish between areas in the landscape\nthat contain MSSM-like models and the rest of the landscape. First, we develop\nthese patterns in the well-known $\\mathbb{Z}_6$-II orbifold geometry and then\nwe generalize them to all other $\\mathbb{Z}_N$ orbifold geometries. Our\ncontrast patterns have a clear physical interpretation and are easy to check\nfor a given string model. Hence, they can be used to scale down the potentially\ninteresting area in the landscape, which significantly enhances the search for\nMSSM-like models. Thus, by deploying the knowledge gain from contrast mining\ninto a new search algorithm we create many novel MSSM-like models, especially\nin corners of the landscape that were hardly accessible by the conventional\nsearch algorithm, for example, MSSM-like $\\mathbb{Z}_6$-II models with\n$\\Delta(54)$ flavor symmetry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gradient flow and the Wilsonian renormalization group flow: The gradient flow is the evolution of fields and physical quantities along a\ndimensionful parameter~$t$, the flow time. We give a simple argument that\nrelates this gradient flow and the Wilsonian renormalization group (RG) flow.\nWe then illustrate the Wilsonian RG flow on the basis of the gradient flow in\ntwo examples that possess an infrared fixed point, the 4D many-flavor gauge\ntheory and the 3D $O(N)$ linear sigma model.",
        "positive": "Resolving spacetime singularities in flux compactifications & KKLT: In flux compactifications of type IIB string theory with D3 and seven-branes,\nthe negative induced D3 charge localized on seven-branes leads to an apparently\npathological profile of the metric sufficiently close to the source. With the\nvolume modulus stabilized in a KKLT de Sitter vacuum this pathological region\ntakes over a significant part of the entire compactification, threatening to\nspoil the KKLT effective field theory. In this paper we employ the\nSeiberg-Witten solution of pure $SU(N)$ super Yang-Mills theory to argue that\nwrapped seven-branes can be thought of as bound states of more microscopic\nexotic branes. We argue that the low-energy worldvolume dynamics of a stack of\n$n$ such exotic branes is given by the $(A_1,A_{n-1})$ Argyres-Douglas theory.\nMoreover, the splitting of the perturbative (in $\\alpha'$) seven-brane into its\nconstituent branes at the non-perturbative level resolves the apparently\npathological region close to the seven-brane and replaces it with a region of\n$\\mathcal{O}(1)$ Einstein frame volume. While this region generically takes up\nan $\\mathcal{O}(1)$ fraction of the compactification in a KKLT de Sitter vacuum\nwe argue that a small flux superpotential \\textit{dynamically} ensures that the\n4d effective field theory of KKLT remains valid nevertheless."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Global Spacetime Structure of Compactified Inflationary Universe: We investigate the global spacetime structure of torus de Sitter universe,\nwhich is exact de Sitter space with torus identification based on the flat\nchart. We show that past incomplete null geodesics in torus de Sitter universe\nare locally extendible. Then we give an extension of torus de Sitter universe\nso that at least one of the past incomplete null geodesics in the original\nspacetime becomes complete. However we find that extended torus de Sitter\nuniverse has two ill behaviors. The first one is a closed causal curve. The\nsecond one is so called quasi regular singularity, which means that there is no\nglobal, consistent extension of spacetime where all curves become complete,\nnevertheless each curve is locally extensible.",
        "positive": "Nambu and the Ising Model: In 2021, to mark the occasion of 2021 was Y\\^oichir\\^o Nambu's birth\ncentenary, we engaged in writing a historical/scientific description of his\nmost incisive papers. Nambu was the humblest genius we have known, and we\nexpected to find some of his great but forgotten insights. We found one,\nwritten in 1947: ``A Note on the Eigenvalue Problem in Crystal Statistics\",\nwhere he formulates and solves the $(N\\times N)$ Ising model in a\n$2N$-dimensional Hilbert space"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Open effective theory of scalar field in rotating plasma: We study the effective dynamics of an open scalar field interacting with a\nstrongly-coupled two-dimensional rotating CFT plasma. The effective theory is\ndetermined by the real-time correlation functions of the thermal plasma. We\nemploy holographic Schwinger-Keldysh path integral techniques to compute the\neffective theory. The quadratic effective theory computed using holography\nleads to the linear Langevin dynamics with rotation. The noise and dissipation\nterms in this equation get related by the fluctuation-dissipation relation in\npresence of chemical potential due to angular momentum. We further compute\nhigher order terms in the effective theory of the open scalar field. At quartic\norder, we explicitly compute the coefficient functions that appear in front of\nvarious terms in the effective action in the limit when the background plasma\nis slowly rotating. The higher order effective theory has a description in\nterms of the non-linear Langevin equation with non-Gaussianity in the thermal\nnoise.",
        "positive": "Non-perturbative Methods in Supersymmetric Theories: The aim of these notes is to provide a short introduction to supersymmetric\ntheories: supersymmetric quantum mechanics, Wess-Zumino models and\nsupersymmetric gauge theories. A particular emphasis is put on the underlying\nstructures and non-perturbative effects in N=1, N=2 and N=4 Yang-Mills\ntheories. (Extended version of lectures given at the TROISIEME CYCLE DE LA\nPHYSIQUE EN SUISSE ROMANDE)"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A New Approach to Scale Symmetry Breaking and Confinement: Scale invariant theories which contain (in $4-D$) a four index field strength\nare considered. The integration of the equations of motion of these $4-index$\nfield strength gives rise to scale symmetry breaking. The phenomena of mass\ngeneration and confinement are possible consequences of this.",
        "positive": "New angles on D-branes: A low-energy background field solution is presented which describes several\nD-membranes oriented at angles with respect to one another. The mass and charge\ndensities for this configuration are computed and found to saturate the BPS\nbound, implying the preservation of one-quarter of the supersymmetries.\nT-duality is exploited to construct new solutions with nontrivial angles from\nthe basic one."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Small Kinetic Mixing in String Theory: Kinetic mixing between gauge fields of different $U(1)$ factors is a\nwell-studied phenomenon in 4d EFT. In string compactifications with $U(1)$s\nfrom sequestered D-brane sectors, kinetic mixing becomes a key target for the\nUV prediction of a phenomenologically important EFT operator. Surprisingly, in\nmany cases kinetic mixing is absent due to a non-trivial cancellation. In\nparticular, D3-D3 kinetic mixing in type-IIB vanishes while D3-anti-D3 mixing\ndoes not. This follows both from exact CFT calculations on tori as well as from\na leading-order 10d supergravity analysis, where the key cancellation is\nbetween the $C_2$ and $B_2$ contribution. We take the latter approach, which is\nthe only one available in realistic Calabi-Yau settings, to a higher level of\nprecision by including sub-leading terms of the brane action and allowing for\nnon-vanishing $C_0$. The exact cancellation persists, which we argue to be the\nresult of $SL(2,\\mathbb{R})$ self-duality. We note that a $B_2C_2$ term on the\nD3-brane, which is often missing in the recent literature, is essential to\nobtain the correct zero result. Finally, allowing for\n$SL(2,\\mathbb{R})$-breaking fluxes, kinetic mixing between D3-branes arises at\na volume-suppressed level. We provide basic explicit formulae, both for kinetic\nas well as magnetic mixing, leaving the study of phenomenologically relevant,\nmore complex situations for the future. We also note that describing our result\nin 4d supergravity appears to require higher-derivative terms - an issue which\ndeserves further study.",
        "positive": "Correlations in Hawking radiation and the infall problem: It is sometimes believed that small quantum gravity effects can encode\ninformation as `delicate correlations' in Hawking radiation, thus saving\nunitarity while maintaining a semiclassical horizon. A recently derived\ninequality showed that this belief is incorrect: one must have order unity\ncorrections to low energy evolution at the horizon (i.e. fuzzballs) to remove\nentanglement between radiation and the hole. In this paper we take several\nmodels of `small corrections' and compute the entanglement entropy numerically;\nin each case this entanglement is seen to monotonically grow, in agreement with\nthe general inequality. We also construct a model of `burning paper', where the\nentanglement is found to rise and then return to zero, in agreement with the\ngeneral arguments of Page. We then note that the fuzzball structure of string\nmicrostates offers a version of `complementarity'. Low energy evolution is\nmodified by order unity, resolving the information problem, while for high\nenergy infalling modes ($E>> kT$) we may be able to replace correlators by\ntheir ensemble averaged values. Israel (and others) have suggested that this\nensemble sum can be represented in the thermo-field-dynamics language as an\nentangled sum over two copies of the system, giving the two sides of the\nextended black hole diagram. Thus high energy correlators in a microstate may\nbe approximated by correlators in a spacetime with horizons, with the ensemble\nsum over microstates acting like the `sewing' prescription of conformal field\ntheory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Almost-zero-energy Eigenvalues of Some Broken Supersymmetric Systems: For a quantum mechanical system with broken supersymmetry, we present a\nsimple method of determining the ground state when the corresponding energy\neigenvalue is sufficiently small. A concise formula is derived for the\napproximate ground state energy in an associated, well-separated, asymmetric\ndouble-well-type potential. Our discussion is also relevant for the analysis of\nthe fermion bound state in the kink-antikink scalar background.",
        "positive": "Physical Account of Weyl Anomaly from Dirac Sea: We derive the Weyl anomaly in two dimensional space-time by considering the\nDirac sea regularized some negatively counted formally bosonic extra species.In\nfact we calculate the trace of the energy-momentum tensor of the Dirac sea in a\nbackground gravitational field. It has to be regularized, since otherwise the\nDirac sea is bottomless and thus causes divergence. The new regularization\nmethod consists in adding various massive species some of which are to be\ncounted negative in the Dirac sea.The mass term in the Lagrangian of the\nregularization fields have a dependence on the background gravitational field."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Elementary modes of coupled oscillators with balanced loss and gain: We obtain the elementary modes of a system of parity-time reversal ( PT ) -\nsymmetric coupled oscillators with balanced loss and gain . These modes are\nused to give a physical picture of the phase transition recently reported in\nexperiments with whispering - gallery microresonators.",
        "positive": "Saturating the unitarity bound in AdS/CFT_(AdS): We investigate the holographic description of CFTs defined on the cylinder\nand on AdS, which include an operator saturating the unitarity bound. The\nstandard Klein-Gordon field with the corresponding mass and boundary conditions\non global AdS_(d+1) and on an AdS_(d+1) geometry with AdS_d conformal boundary\ncontains ghosts. We identify a limit in which the singleton field theory is\nobtained from the bulk theory with standard renormalized inner product, showing\nthat a unitary bulk theory corresponding to an operator which saturates the\nunitarity bound can be formulated and that this yields a free field on the\nboundary. The normalizability issues found for the standard Klein-Gordon field\non the geometry with AdS_d conformal boundary are avoided for the singleton\ntheory, which offers interesting prospects for multi-layered AdS/CFT."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Torsional Constitutive Relations at Finite Temperature: The general form of the linear torsional constitutive relations at finite\ntemperature of the chiral current, energy-momentum tensor, and spin energy\npotential are computed for a chiral fermion fluid minimally coupled to\ngeometric torsion and with nonzero chiral chemical potential. The corresponding\ntransport coefficients are explicitly calculated in terms of the energy and\nnumber densities evaluated at vanishing torsion. A microscopic calculation of\nthese constitutive relations in some particular backgrounds is also presented,\nconfirming the general structure found.",
        "positive": "The Logarithmic Conformal Field Theories: We study the correlation functions of logarithmic conformal field theories.\nFirst, assuming conformal invariance, we explicitly calculate two-- and three--\npoint functions. This calculation is done for the general case of more than one\nlogarithmic field in a block, and more than one set of logarithmic fields. Then\nwe show that one can regard the logarithmic field as a formal derivative of the\nordinary field with respect to its conformal weight. This enables one to\ncalculate any $n$-- point function containing the logarithmic field in terms of\nordinary $n$--point functions. At last, we calculate the operator product\nexpansion (OPE) coefficients of a logarithmic conformal field theory, and show\nthat these can be obtained from the corresponding coefficients of ordinary\nconformal theory by a simple derivation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Particle dynamics on AdS_2 x S^2 background with two-form flux: Different aspects of particle dynamics on AdS_2 x S^2 background with\ntwo-form flux are discussed. These include solution of equations of motion, a\ncanonical transformation to conformal mechanics and an N=4 supersymmetric\nextension.",
        "positive": "The Spindle Index from Localization: We present a new supersymmetric index for three-dimensional ${\\cal N}=2$\ngauge theories defined on $\\Sigma \\times S^1$, where $\\Sigma$ is a spindle,\nwith twist or anti-twist for the $R$-symmetry background gauge field. We start\nexamining general supersymmetric backgrounds of Euclidean new minimal\nsupergravity admitting two Killing spinors of opposite $R$-charges. We then\nfocus on $\\Sigma \\times S^1$ and demostrate how to realise twist and\nanti-twist. We compute the supersymmetric partition functions on such\nbackgrounds via localization and show that these are captured by a general\nformula, depending on the type of twist, which unifies and generalises the\nsuperconformal and topologically twisted indices."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Stable non-singular cosmologies in beyond Horndeski theory and disformal\n  transformations: In this note we collect, systemise and generalise the existing results for\nrelations between general Horndeski theories and beyond Horndeski theories via\ndisformal transformations of metric. We derive additional disformal\ntransformation rules relating Lagrangian functions of beyond Horndeski theory\nand corresponding Horndeski theory and demonstrate that some of them become\nsingular at some moments(s) once one constructs a non-singular cosmological\nsolution in beyond Horndeski theory that is free from ghost, gradient\ninstabilities and strong gravity regime during the entire evolution of the\nsystem. The key issue here is that such solutions are banned in Horndeski\ntheory due to existing no-go theorem. The proof of singular behaviour of\ndisformal relations in this case resolves the apparent contradiction between\nthe fact that Horndeski and beyond Horndeski theories appear related by field\nredefinition but describe different physics in the context of non-singular\ncosmologies.",
        "positive": "Supersymmetric Yang-Mills Theory From Lorentzian Three-Algebras: We show that by adding a supersymmetric Faddeev-Popov ghost sector to the\nrecently constructed Bagger-Lambert theory based on a Lorentzian three algebra,\nwe obtain an action with a BRST symmetry that can be used to demonstrate the\nabsence of negative norm states in the physical Hilbert space. We show that the\ncombined theory, expanded about its trivial vacuum, is BRST equivalent to a\ntrivial theory, while the theory with a vev for one of the scalars associated\nwith a null direction in the three-algebra is equivalent to a reformulation of\nmaximally supersymmetric 2+1 dimensional Yang-Mills theory in which there a\nformal SO(8) superconformal invariance."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Confinement, asymptotic freedom and renormalons in type 0 string duals: Type 0B string theory has been proposed as the dual description of\nnon-supersymmetric SU(N) Yang-Mills theory coupled to six scalars, in four\ndimensions. We study numerically and analytically the equations of motion of\ntype 0B gravity and we find RG trajectories of the dual theory that flow from\nan asymptotically free UV regime to a confining IR regime. In the UV we find a\none-parameter family of solutions that approach asymptotically $AdS_5\\times\nS^5$ with a logarithmic flow of the coupling plus non-perturbative terms that\ncorrectly reproduce all UV and IR renormalon singularities. The first UV\nrenormalon gives a contribution $\\sim F_1(E)/E^2$ and we are able to predict\nalso the form of the function $F_1(E)$, which, from the YM side, corresponds to\nsumming all multiple-chain bubble graphs. The fact that the positions of the\nrenormalon singularities in the Borel plane come out correctly is a non-trivial\ntest of the conjectured duality.",
        "positive": "Thermodynamics of Einstein-Proca AdS Black Holes: We study static spherically-symmetric solutions of the Einstein-Proca\nequations in the presence of a negative cosmological constant. We show that the\ntheory admits solutions describing both black holes and also solitons in an\nasymptotically AdS background. Interesting subtleties can arise in the\ncomputation of the mass of the solutions and also in the derivation of the\nfirst law of thermodynamics. We make use of holographic renormalisation in\norder to calculate the mass, even in cases where the solutions have a rather\nslow approach to the asymptotic AdS geometry. By using the procedure developed\nby Wald, we derive the first law of thermodynamics for the black hole and\nsoliton solutions. This includes a non-trivial contribution associated with the\nProca \"charge.\" The solutions cannot be found analytically, and so we make use\nof numerical integration techniques to demonstrate their existence."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quasinormal Modes of Self-Dual Warped AdS$_3$ Black Hole in Topological\n  Massive Gravity: We consider the various perturbations of self-dual warped AdS$_3$ black hole\nand obtain the exact expressions of quasinormal modes by imposing the vanishing\nDirichlet boundary condition at asymptotic infinity. It is expected that the\nquasinormal modes agree with the poles of retarded Green's functions of the\ndual CFT. Our results provide a quantitative test of the warped AdS/CFT\ncorrespondence.",
        "positive": "Casimir's energy of a conducting sphere and of a dilute dielectric ball: In this paper we sum over the spherical modes appearing in the expression for\nthe Casimir energy of a conducting sphere and of a dielectric ball (assuming\nthe same speed of light inside and outside), before doing the frequency\nintegration. We derive closed integral expressions that allow the calculations\nto be done to all orders, without the use of regularization procedures. The\ntechnique of mode summation using a contour integral is critically examined."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Classical Liouville Action and Uniformization of Orbifold Riemann\n  Surfaces: We study the classical Liouville field theory on Riemann surfaces of genus\n$g>1$ in the presence of vertex operators associated with branch points of\norders $m_i>1$. In order to do so, we consider the generalized Schottky space\n$\\mathfrak{S}_{g,n}(\\boldsymbol{m})$ obtained as a holomorphic fibration over\nthe Schottky space $\\mathfrak{S}_g$ of the (compactified) underlying Riemann\nsurface. Those fibers correspond to configuration spaces of $n$ orbifold points\nof orders $\\boldsymbol{m}=(m_1,\\dots,m_n)$. Drawing on the previous work of\nPark, Teo, and Takhtajan \\cite{park2015potentials} as well as Takhtajan and\nZograf \\cite{ZT_2018}, we define Hermitian metrics $\\mathsf{h}_i$ for\ntautological line bundles $\\mathscr{L}_i$ over\n$\\mathfrak{S}_{g,n}(\\boldsymbol{m})$. These metrics are expressed in terms of\nthe first coefficient of the expansion of covering map $J$ of the Schottky\ndomain. Additionally, we define the regularized classical Liouville action\n$S_{\\boldsymbol{m}}$ using Schottky global coordinates on Riemann orbisurfaces\nwith genus $g>1$. We demonstrate that $\\exp{S_{\\boldsymbol{m}}/\\pi}$ serves as\na Hermitian metric on the $\\mathbb{Q}$-line bundle\n$\\mathscr{L}=\\bigotimes_{i=1}^{n}\\mathscr{L}_i^{\\otimes (1-1/m_i^2)}$ over\n$\\mathfrak{S}_{g,n}(\\boldsymbol{m})$. Furthermore, we explicitly compute the\nfirst and second variations of the smooth real-valued function\n$\\mathscr{S}_{\\boldsymbol{m}}=S_{\\boldsymbol{m}}-\\pi\\sum_{i=1}^n(m_i-\\tfrac{1}{m_i})\\log\\mathsf{h}_{i}$\non the Schottky deformation space $\\mathfrak{S}_{g,n}(\\boldsymbol{m})$. We\nestablish two key results: (i) $\\mathscr{S}_{\\boldsymbol{m}}$ generates a\ncombination of accessory and auxiliary parameters, and (ii)\n$-\\mathscr{S}_{\\boldsymbol{m}}$ acts as a K\\\"{a}hler potential for a specific\ncombination of Weil-Petersson and Takhtajan-Zograf metrics that appear in the\nlocal index theorem for orbifold Riemann surfaces \\cite{ZT_2018}.",
        "positive": "Generalised Hydrodynamics of Particle Creation and Decay: Unstable particles rarely feature in conjunction with integrability in 1+1D\nquantum field theory. However, the family of homogenous sine-Gordon models\nprovides a rare example where both stable and unstable bound states are present\nin the spectrum whilst the scattering matrix is diagonal and solves the usual\nbootstrap equations. In the standard scattering picture, unstable particles\nresult from complex poles of the $S$-matrix located in the unphysical sheet of\nrapidity space. Since they are not part of the asymptotic spectrum, their\npresence is only felt through the effect they have on physical quantities\nassociated either to the theory as a whole (i.e.~scaling functions, correlation\nfunctions) or to the stable particles themselves (i.e.~energy/particle\ndensity). In two recent publications, the effect of unstable particles in\ndifferent out-of-equilibrium settings has been studied. It has been shown that\ntheir presence is associated with specific signatures in many quantities of\nphysical interest. A good way to select those quantities is to adopt the\ngeneralised hydrodynamic approach and to consider the effective velocities and\nparticle densities of the stable particles in the theory. For an initial state\ngiven by a spacial gaussian profile of temperatures peaked at the origin, time\nevolution gives rise to particle and spectral particle densities that exhibit\nhallmarks of the creation and decay of unstable particles. While these\nsignatures have been observed numerically elsewhere, this paper explores their\nquantitative and qualitative dependence on the parameters of the problem. We\nalso consider other initial states characterised by \"inverted gaussian\" and\n\"double gaussian\" temperature profiles."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Partition Functions, the Bekenstein Bound and Temperature Inversion in\n  Anti-de Sitter Space and its Conformal Boundary: We reformulate the Bekenstein bound as the requirement of positivity of the\nHelmholtz free energy at the minimum value of the function L=E- S/(2\\pi R),\nwhere R is some measure of the size of the system. The minimum of L occurs at\nthe temperature T=1/(2\\pi R). In the case of n-dimensional anti-de Sitter\nspacetime, the rather poorly defined size R acquires a precise definition in\nterms of the AdS radius l, with R=l/(n-2). We previously found that the\nBekenstein bound holds for all known black holes in AdS. However, in this paper\nwe show that the Bekenstein bound is not generally valid for free quantum\nfields in AdS, even if one includes the Casimir energy. Some other aspects of\nthermodynamics in anti-de Sitter spacetime are briefly touched upon.",
        "positive": "Position-space cuts for Wilson line correlators: We further develop the formalism for taking position-space cuts of eikonal\ndiagrams introduced in [Phys.Rev.Lett. 114 (2015), no. 18 181602,\narXiv:1410.5681]. These cuts are applied directly to the position-space\nrepresentation of any such diagram and compute its discontinuity to the leading\norder in the dimensional regulator. We provide algorithms for computing the\nposition-space cuts and apply them to several two- and three-loop eikonal\ndiagrams, finding agreement with results previously obtained in the literature.\nWe discuss a non-trivial interplay between the cutting prescription and\nnon-Abelian exponentiation. We furthermore discuss the relation of the\nimaginary part of the cusp anomalous dimension to the static interquark\npotential."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Large N Renormalization Group Approach to Matrix Models: We summarize our recent results on the large N renormalization group (RG)\napproach to matrix models for discretized two-dimensional quantum gravity. We\nderive exact RG equations by solving the reparametrization identities, which\nreduce infinitely many induced interactions to a finite number of them. We find\na nonlinear RG equation and an algorithm to obtain the fixed points and the\nscaling exponents. They reproduce the spectrum of relevant operators in the\nexact solution. The RG flow is visualized by the linear approximation.",
        "positive": "Geometry of Spin(10) Symmetry Breaking: We provide a new characterisation of the Standard Model gauge group GSM as a\nsubgroup of Spin(10). The new description of GSM relies on the geometry of pure\nspinors. We show that GSM is the subgroup that stabilises a pure spinor Psi_1\nand projectively stabilises another pure spinor Psi_2, with Psi_1, Psi_2\northogonal and such that their arbitrary linear combination is still a pure\nspinor. Our characterisation of GSM relies on the facts that projective pure\nspinors describe complex structures on R^{10}, and the product of two commuting\ncomplex structures is a what is known as a product structure. For the pure\nspinors Psi_1, Psi_2 satisfying the stated conditions the complex structures\ndetermined by Psi_1, Psi_2 commute and the arising product structure is R^{10}\n= R^6 + R^4, giving rise to a copy of Pati-Salam gauge group inside Spin(10).\nOur main statement then follows from the fact that GSM is the intersection of\nthe Georgi-Glashow SU(5) that stabilises Psi_1, and the Pati-Salam Spin(6) x\nSpin(4) arising from the product structure determined by Psi_1, Psi_2. We have\ntried to make the paper self-contained and provided a detailed description of\nthe creation/annihilation operator construction of the Clifford algebras Cl(2n)\nand the geometry of pure spinors in dimensions up to and including ten."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Temperature Correlations of Quantum Spins: Isotropic XY is considered. It describes interaction of quantum spins on\n1-dimesional lattice. Alternatevly one can call the model XXO Hiesenberg\nantiferromagnet. We solved long standing problem of evaluation of temperature\ncorelations. We proved that correlation function of the model is $\\tau $\nfunction of Ablowitz-Ladik PDE. We explicitly evaluated asymptotics.",
        "positive": "Stable interactions in higher derivative field theories of derived type: We consider the general higher derivative field theories of derived type. At\nfree level, the wave operator of derived-type theory is a polynomial of the\norder $n\\geq 2$ of another operator $W$ which is of the lower order. Every\nsymmetry of $W$ gives rise to the series of independent higher order symmetries\nof the field equations of derived system. In its turn, these symmetries give\nrise to the series of independent conserved quantities. In particular, the\ntranslation invariance of operator $W$ results in the series of conserved\ntensors of the derived theory. The series involves $n$ independent conserved\ntensors including canonical energy-momentum. Even if the canonical energy is\nunbounded, the other conserved tensors in the series can be bounded, that will\nmake the dynamics stable. The general procedure is worked out to switch on the\ninteractions such that the stability persists beyond the free level. The stable\ninteraction vertices are inevitably non-Lagrangian. The stable theory, however,\ncan admit consistent quantization. The general construction is exemplified by\nthe order $N$ extension of Chern-Simons coupled to the Pais-Uhlenbeck-type\nhigher derivative complex scalar field."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "D1/D5 systems in ${\\cal N}=4$ string theories: We propose CFT descriptions of the D1/D5 system in a class of freely acting\nZ_2 orbifolds/orientifolds of type IIB theory, with sixteen unbroken\nsupercharges. The CFTs describing D1/D5 systems involve N=(4,4) or N=(4,0)\nsigma models on $(R^3\\times S^1\\times T^4\\times (T^4)^N/S_N)/Z_2$, where the\naction of Z_2 is diagonal and its precise nature depends on the model. We also\ndiscuss D1(D5)-brane states carrying non-trivial Kaluza-Klein charges. The\nresulting multiplicities for two-charge bound states are shown to agree with\nthe predictions of U-duality. We raise a puzzle concerning the multiplicities\nof three-charge systems, which is generically present in all vacuum\nconfigurations with sixteen unbroken supercharges studied so far, including the\nmore familiar type IIB on K3 case: the constraints put on BPS counting formulae\nby U-duality are apparently in contradiction with any CFT interpretation. We\nargue that the presence of RR backgrounds appearing in the symmetric product\nCFT may provide a resolution of this puzzle.",
        "positive": "A discrete leading symbol and spectral asymptotics for natural\n  differential operators: We initiate a systematic study of natural differential operators in\nRiemannian geometry whose leading symbols are not of Laplace type. In\nparticular, we define a discrete leading symbol for such operators which may be\ncomputed pointwise, or from spectral asymptotics. We indicate how this can be\napplied to the computation of another kind of spectral asymptotics, namely\nasymptotic expansions of fundamental solutions, and to the computation of\nconformally covariant operators."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Dirac Oscillator: In the present work we obtain a new representation for the Dirac oscillator\nbased on the Clifford algebra $C\\ell_7.$ The symmetry breaking and the energy\neigenvalues for our model of the Dirac oscillator are studied in the\nnon-relativistic limit.",
        "positive": "One-Loop Effective Action for Euclidean Maxwell Theory on Manifolds with\n  Boundary: This paper studies the one-loop effective action for Euclidean Maxwell theory\nabout flat four-space bounded by one three-sphere, or two concentric\nthree-spheres. The analysis relies on Faddeev-Popov formalism and\n$\\zeta$-function regularization, and the Lorentz gauge-averaging term is used\nwith magnetic boundary conditions. The contributions of transverse,\nlongitudinal and normal modes of the electromagnetic potential, jointly with\nghost modes, are derived in detail. The most difficult part of the analysis\nconsists in the eigenvalue condition given by the determinant of a $2 \\times 2$\nor $4 \\times 4$ matrix for longitudinal and normal modes. It is shown that the\nformer splits into a sum of Dirichlet and Robin contributions, plus a simpler\nterm. This is the quantum cosmological case. In the latter case, however, when\nmagnetic boundary conditions are imposed on two bounding three-spheres, the\ndeterminant is more involved. Nevertheless, it is evaluated explicitly as well.\nThe whole analysis provides the building block for studying the one-loop\neffective action in covariant gauges, on manifolds with boundary. The final\nresult differs from the value obtained when only transverse modes are\nquantized, or when noncovariant gauges are used."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Virasoro Entanglement Berry Phases: We study the parallel transport of modular Hamiltonians encoding entanglement\nproperties of a state. In the case of 2d CFT, we consider a change of state\nthrough action with a suitable diffeomorphism on the circle: one that\ndiagonalizes the adjoint action of the modular Hamiltonian. These vector fields\nexhibit kinks at the interval boundary, thus together with their central\nextension they differ from usual elements of the Virasoro algebra. The Berry\ncurvature associated to state-changing parallel transport is the\nKirillov-Kostant symplectic form on an associated coadjoint orbit, one which\ndiffers appreciably from known Virasoro orbits. We find that the boundary\nparallel transport process computes a bulk symplectic form for a Euclidean\ngeometry obtained from the backreaction of a cosmic brane, with Dirichlet\nboundary conditions at the location of the brane. We propose that this gives a\nreasonable definition for the symplectic form on an entanglement wedge.",
        "positive": "BRST-Fixed Points and Topological Conformal Symmetry: We study the twisted version of the supersymmetric\n$G/T=SU(n)/U(1)^{\\otimes(n-1)} gauged Wess-Zumino-Witten model. By studying its\nfixed points under BRST transformation this model is shown to be reduced to a\nsimple topological field theory, that is, the topological matter system in the\nK.Li's theory of 2 dimensional gravity for the case of $n=2$, and its\ngeneralization for $n \\geq 3$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Minimal gauge invariant and gauge fixed actions for massive higher-spin\n  fields: Inspired by the rich structure of covariant string field theory, we propose a\nminimal gauge invariant action for general massive integer spin n field. The\naction consists of four totally symmetric tensor fields of order respectively\nn, n-1, n-2 and n-3, and is invariant under the gauge transformation\nrepresented by two also totally symmetric fields of order n-1 and n-2. This\naction exactly has the same gauge structure as for the string field theory and\nwe discuss general covariant gauge fixing procedure using the knowledge of\nstring field theory. We explicitly construct the corresponding gauge fixed\naction for each of general covariant gauge fixing conditions.",
        "positive": "Interaction of symmetric higher-spin gauge fields: We show that the recently proposed equations for holomorphic sector of\nhigher-spin theory in $d=4$, also known as chiral, can be naturally extended to\ndescribe interacting symmetric higher-spin gauge fields in any dimension. This\nis achieved with the aid of Vasiliev's off shell higher-spin algebra. The\nlatter contains ideal associated to traces that has to be factored out in order\nto set the equations on shell. To identify the ideal in interactions we observe\nthe global $sp(2)$ that underlies it to all orders. The $sp(2)$ field dependent\ngenerators are found in closed form and appear to be remarkably simple. The\ntraceful higher-spin vertices are analyzed against locality and shown to be\nall-order space-time spin-local in the gauge sector, as well as spin-local in\nthe Weyl sector. The vertices are found manifestly in the form of curious\nintegrals over hypersimplices. We also extend to any $d$ the earlier observed\nin $d=4$ higher-spin shift symmetry known to be tightly related to\nspin-locality."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Liouville theory with heavy charges: We develop a general technique for solving the Riemann-Hilbert problem in\npresence of a number of heavy charges and a small one thus providing the exact\nGreen functions of Liouville theory for various non trivial backgrounds. The\nnon invariant regularization suggested by Zamolodchikov and Zamolodchikov gives\nthe correct quantum dimensions; this is shown to one loop in the sphere\ntopology and for boundary Liouville theory and to all loop on the pseudosphere.\nThe method is also applied to give perturbative checks of the one point\nfunctions derived in the bootstrap approach by Fateev Zamolodchikov and\nZamolodchikov in boundary Liouville theory and by Zamolodchikov and\nZamolodchikov on the pseudosphere, obtaining complete agreement.",
        "positive": "BPS Z(N) String Tensions, Sine Law and Casimir Scaling and Integrable\n  Field Theories: We consider a Yang-Mills-Higgs theory with spontaneous symmetry breaking of\nthe gauge group G -> U(1)^r -> C(G), with C(G) being the center of G. We study\ntwo vacua solutions of the theory which produce this symmetry breaking. We show\nthat for one of these vacua, the theory in the Coulomb phase has the mass\nspectrum of particles and monopoles which is exactly the same as the mass\nspectrum of particles and solitons of two dimensional affine Toda field theory.\nThat result holds also for N=4 Super Yang-Mills theories. On the other hand, in\nthe Higgs phase, we show that for each of the two vacua the ratio of the\ntensions of the BPS Z(N) strings satisfy either the Casimir scaling or the sine\nlaw scaling for G=SU(N). These results are extended to other gauge groups: for\nthe Casimir scaling, the ratios of the tensions are equal to the ratios of the\nquadratic Casimir constant of specific representations; for the sine law\nscaling, the tensions are proportional to the components of the left\nPerron-Frobenius eigenvector of Cartan matrix and the ratios of tensions are\nequal to the ratios of the soliton masses of affine Toda field theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "BTZ black hole with KdV-type boundary conditions: Thermodynamics\n  revisited: The thermodynamic properties of the Ba\\~nados-Teitelboim-Zanelli (BTZ) black\nhole endowed with Korteweg-de Vries (KdV)-type boundary conditions are\nconsidered. This familiy of boundary conditions for General Relativity on\nAdS$_{3}$ is labeled by a non-negative integer $n$, and gives rise to a dual\ntheory which possesses anisotropic Lifshitz scaling invariance with dynamical\nexponent $z=2n+1$. We show that from the scale invariance of the action for\nstationary and circularly symmetric spacetimes, an anisotropic version of the\nSmarr relation arises, and we prove that it is totally consistent with the\npreviously reported anisotropic Cardy formula. The set of KdV-type boundary\nconditions defines an unconventional thermodynamic ensemble, which leads to a\ngeneralized description of the thermal stability of the system. Finally, we\nshow that at the self-dual temperature $T_{s}=\n\\frac{1}{2\\pi}(\\frac{1}{z})^{\\frac{z}{z+1}}$, there is a Hawking-Page phase\ntransition between the BTZ black hole and thermal AdS$_{3}$ spacetime.",
        "positive": "Inclusion of radiation in the CCM approach of the $\u03c6^4$ model: We present an effective Lagrangian for the $\\phi^4$ model that includes\nradiation modes as collective coordinates. The coupling between these modes to\nthe discrete part of the spectrum, i.e., the zero mode and the shape mode,\ngives rise to different phenomena which can be understood in a simple way in\nour approach. In particular, the energy transfer between radiation, translation\nand shape modes is carefully investigated in the single-kink sector. Finally,\nwe also discuss the inclusion of radiation modes in the study of oscillons.\nThis leads to relevant phenomena such as the oscillon decay and the\nkink-antikink creation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Universality of Nonperturbative Effect in Type 0 String Theory: We derive the nonperturbative effect in type 0B string theory, which is\ndefined by taking the double scaling limit of a one-matrix model with a two-cut\neigenvalue distribution. However, the string equation thus derived cannot\ndetermine the nonperturbative effect completely, at least without specifying\nunknown boundary conditions. The nonperturbative contribution to the free\nenergy comes from instantons in such models. We determine by direct computation\nin the matrix model an overall factor of the instanton contribution, which\ncannot be determined by the string equation itself. We prove that it is\nuniversal in the sense that it is independent of the detailed structure of\npotentials in the matrix model. It turns out to be a purely imaginary number\nand therefore can be interpreted as a quantity related to instability of the\nD-brane in type 0 string theory. We also comment on a relation between our\nresult and boundary conditions for the string equation.",
        "positive": "Inhomogeneous String Cosmologies: We present exact inhomogeneous and anisotropic cosmological solutions of\nlow-energy string theory containing dilaton and axion fields. The spacetime\nmetric possesses cylindrical symmetry. The solutions describe ever-expanding\nuniverses with an initial curvature singularity and contain known homogeneous\nsolutions as subcases. The asymptotic form of the solution near the initial\nsingularity has a spatially-varying Kasner-like form. The inhomogeneous axion\nand dilaton fields are found to evolve quasi-homogeneously on scales larger\nthan the particle horizon. When the inhomogeneities enter the horizon they\noscillate as non-linear waves and the inhomogeneities attentuate. When the\ninhomogeneities are small they behave like small perturbations of homogeneous\nuniverses. The manifestation of duality and the asymptotic behaviour of the\nsolutions are investigated."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Higher-dimensional Rotating Charged Black Holes: Using the blackfold approach, we study new classes of higher-dimensional\nrotating black holes with electric charges and string dipoles, in theories of\ngravity coupled to a 2-form or 3-form field strength and to a dilaton with\narbitrary coupling. The method allows to describe not only black holes with\nlarge angular momenta, but also other regimes that include charged black holes\nnear extremality with slow rotation. We construct explicit examples of electric\nrotating black holes of dilatonic and non-dilatonic Einstein-Maxwell theory,\nwith horizons of spherical and non-spherical topology. We also find new\nfamilies of solutions with string dipoles, including a new class of prolate\nblack rings. Whenever there are exact solutions that we can compare to, their\nproperties in the appropriate regime are reproduced precisely by our solutions.\nThe analysis of blackfolds with string charges requires the formulation of the\ndynamics of anisotropic fluids with conserved string-number currents, which is\nnew, and is carried out in detail for perfect fluids. Finally, our results\nindicate new instabilities of near-extremal, slowly rotating charged black\nholes, and motivate conjectures about topological constraints on dipole hair.",
        "positive": "Nonperturbative universal Chern-Simons theory: Closed simple integral representation through Vogel's universal parameters is\nfound both for perturbative and nonperturbative (which is inverse invariant\ngroup volume) parts of free energy of Chern-Simons theory on $S^3$. This proves\nthe universality of that partition function. For classical groups it manifestly\nsatisfy N \\rightarrow -N duality, in apparent contradiction with previously\nused ones. For SU(N) we show that asymptotic of nonperturbative part of our\npartition function coincides with that of Barnes G-function, recover\nChern-Simons/topological string duality in genus expansion and resolve\nabovementioned contradiction. We discuss few possible directions of development\nof these results: derivation of representation of free energy through\nGopakumar-Vafa invariants, possible appearance of non-perturbative additional\nterms, 1/N expansion for exceptional groups, duality between string coupling\nconstant and K\\\"ahler parameters, etc."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Matrix Model and beta-deformed N=4 SYM: This work is the result of the ideas developed by Ken Yoshida about the\npossibility of extending the range of applications of the matrix model approach\nto the computation of the holomorphic superpotential of the beta-deformed N=4\nsuper Yang-Mills theory both in the presence of a mass term and in the massless\nlimit. Our formulae, while agreeing with all the existing results we can\ncompare with, are valid also in the case of spontaneously broken gauge\nsymmetry.\n  We dedicate this paper to the memory of Ken, an unforgettable friend for all\nof us and a great scientist.",
        "positive": "Quantum integrability and functional equations: In this thesis a general procedure to represent the integral Bethe Ansatz\nequations in the form of the Reimann-Hilbert problem is given. This allows us\nto study in simple way integrable spin chains in the thermodynamic limit. Based\non the functional equations we give the procedure that allows finding the\nsubleading orders in the solution of various integral equations solved to the\nleading order by the Wiener-Hopf technics. The integral equations are studied\nin the context of the AdS/CFT correspondence, where their solution allows\nverification of the integrability conjecture up to two loops of the strong\ncoupling expansion. In the context of the two-dimensional sigma models we\nanalyze the large-order behavior of the asymptotic perturbative expansion.\nObtained experience with the functional representation of the integral\nequations allowed us also to solve explicitly the crossing equations that\nappear in the AdS/CFT spectral problem."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Approximate BPS states: We consider dimensionally reduced three-dimensional supersymmetric\nYang-Mills-Chern-Simons theory. Although the N=1 supersymmetry of this theory\ndoes not allow true massive Bogomol'nyi-Prasad-Sommerfield (BPS) states, we\nfind approximate BPS states which have non-zero masses that are almost\nindependent of the Yang-Mills coupling constant and which are a reflection of\nthe massless BPS states of the underlying N=1 super Yang-Mills theory. The\nmasses of these states at large Yang-Mills coupling are exactly at the\nn-particle continuum thresholds. This leads to a relation between their masses\nat zero and large Yang-Mills coupling.",
        "positive": "Scalar Fields in BTZ Black Hole Spacetime and Entanglement Entropy: We study the quantum scalar fields in background of BTZ black hole spacetime.\nWe calculate the entanglement entropy using the discretized model, which\nresembles a system of coupled harmonic oscillators. The leading term of the\nentropy formula is standard Bakenstein-Hawking entropy and sub-leading\ncorresponds to quantum corrections to black hole entropy. We calculate the\nco-efficent of sub-leading logarithmic corrections numerically."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "How to Build the Thermofield Double State: Given two copies of any quantum mechanical system, one may want to prepare\nthem in the thermofield double state for the purpose of studying thermal\nphysics or black holes. However, the thermofield double is a unique entangled\npure state and may be difficult to prepare. We propose a local interacting\nHamiltonian for the combined system whose ground state is approximately the\nthermofield double. The energy gap for this Hamiltonian is of order the\ntemperature. Our construction works for any quantum system satisfying the\nEigenvalue Thermalization Hypothesis.",
        "positive": "Weyl fermions in a non-abelian gauge background and trace anomalies: We study the trace and chiral anomalies of Weyl fermions in a non-abelian\ngauge background in four dimensions. Using a Pauli-Villars regularization we\nidentify the trace anomaly, proving that it can be cast in a gauge invariant\nform, even in the presence of the non-abelian chiral anomaly, that we rederive\nto check the consistency of our methods. In particular, we find that the trace\nanomaly does not contain any parity-odd topological contribution, whose\npresence has been debated in the recent literature."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Solitons in (1,1)-supersymmetric massive sigma model: We find the solitons of massive (1,1)-supersymmetric sigma models with target\nspace the groups $SO(2)$ and $SU(2)$ for a class of scalar potentials and\ncompute their charge, mass and moduli space metric. We also investigate the\nmassive sigma models with target space any semisimple Lie group and show that\nsome of their solitons can be obtained from embedding the $SO(2)$ and $SU(2)$\nsolitons.",
        "positive": "The supersymmetric spinning polynomial: In this paper, we construct the supersymmetric spinning polynomials. These\nare orthogonal polynomials that serve as an expansion basis for the residue or\ndiscontinuity of four-point scattering amplitudes, respecting four-dimensional\nsuper Poincare invariance. The polynomials are constructed by gluing on-shell\nsupersymmetric three-point amplitudes of one massive two massless multiplets,\nand are identified with algebraic Jacobi-polynomials. Equipped with these we\nconstruct the supersymmetric EFThedron, which geometrically defines the allowed\nregion of Wilson coefficients respecting UV unitarity and super Poincare\ninvariance."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Identities in Nonlinear Realizations of Supersymmetry: In this paper, we emphasize that a UV SUSY-breaking theory can be realized\neither linearly or nonlinearly. Both realizations form the dual descriptions of\nthe UV SUSY-breaking theory. Guided by this observation, we find subtle\nidentities involving the Goldstino field and matter fields in the standard\nnonlinear realization from trivial ones in the linear realization. Rather\ncomplicated integrands in the standard nonlinear realization are identified as\ntotal-divergences. Especially, identities only involving the Goldstino field\nreveal the self-consistency of the Grassmann algebra. As an application of\nthese identities, we prove that the nonlinear Kahler potential without or with\ngauge interactions is unique, if the corresponding linear one is fixed. Our\nidentities pick out the total-divergence terms and guarantee this uniqueness.",
        "positive": "Classification and stability of vacua in maximal gauged supergravity: This article presents a systematic study of critical points for the SL(8,\nR)-type gauging in four dimensional maximal gauged supergravity. We determine\nall the possible vacua for which the origin of the moduli space becomes a\ncritical point. We formulate a new tool which enables us to find analytically\nthe mass spectrum of the corresponding vacua in terms of eigenvalues of the\nembedding tensor. When the cosmological constant is nonvanishing, it turns out\nthat many vacua obtained by the dyonic embedding admit a single deformation\nparameter of the theory, in agreement with the results of the recent paper by\nDall'Agata, Inverso and Trigiante [arXiv:1209.0760]. Nevertheless, it is shown\nthat the resulting mass spectrum is independent of the deformation parameter\nand can be classified according to the unbroken gauge symmetry at the vacua,\nrather than the underlying gauging. We also show that the generic Minkowski\nvacua exhibit instability."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Four-point conformal blocks with three heavy background operators: We study CFT$_2$ Virasoro conformal blocks of the 4-point correlation\nfunction $\\langle \\mathcal{O}_L \\mathcal{O}_H \\mathcal{O}_H \\mathcal{O}_H\n\\rangle $ with three background operators $\\mathcal{O}_H$ and one perturbative\noperator $\\mathcal{O}_L$ of dimensions $\\Delta_L/\\Delta_H \\ll1$. The conformal\nblock function is calculated in the large central charge limit using the\nmonodromy method. From the holographic perspective, the background operators\ncreate $AdS_3$ space with three conical singularities parameterized by\ndimensions $\\Delta_H$, while the perturbative operator corresponds to the\ngeodesic line stretched from the boundary to the bulk. The geodesic length\ncalculates the perturbative conformal block. We propose how to address the\nblock/length correspondence problem in the general case of higher-point\ncorrelation functions $\\langle \\mathcal{O}_L \\cdots \\mathcal{O}_L \\mathcal{O}_H\n\\cdots \\mathcal{O}_H \\rangle $ with arbitrary numbers of background and\nperturbative operators.",
        "positive": "Lifting of D1-D5-P states: We consider states of the D1-D5 CFT where only the left-moving sector is\nexcited. As we deform away from the orbifold point, some of these states will\nremain BPS while others can `lift'. We compute this lifting for a particular\nfamily of D1-D5-P states, at second order in the deformation off the orbifold\npoint. We note that the maximally twisted sector of the CFT is special: the\ncovering surface appearing in the correlator can only be genus one while for\nother sectors there is always a genus zero contribution. We use the results to\nargue that fuzzball configurations should be studied for the full class\nincluding both extremal and near-extremal states; many extremal configurations\nmay be best seen as special limits of near extremal configurations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Nonequilibrium quantum fields from first principles: Calculations of nonequilibrium processes become increasingly feasable in\nquantum field theory from first principles. There has been important progress\nin our analytical understanding based on 2PI generating functionals. In\naddition, for the first time direct lattice simulations based on stochastic\nquantization techniques have been achieved. The quantitative descriptions of\ncharacteristic far-from-equilibrium time scales and thermal equilibration in\nquantum field theory point out new phenomena such as prethermalization. They\ndetermine the range of validity of standard transport or semi-classical\napproaches, on which most of our ideas about nonequilibrium dynamics were based\nso far. These are crucial ingredients to understand important topical phenomena\nin high-energy physics related to collision experiments of heavy nuclei, early\nuniverse cosmology and complex many-body systems.",
        "positive": "M-theory Compactifications on Manifolds with G2 Structure: In this paper we study M-theory compactifications on manifolds of G2\nstructure. By computing the gravitino mass term in four dimensions we derive\nthe general form for the superpotential which appears in such compactifications\nand show that beside the normal flux term there is a term which appears only\nfor non-minimal G2 structure. We further apply these results to\ncompactifications on manifolds with weak G2 holonomy and make a couple of\nstatements regarding the deformation space of such manifolds. Finally we show\nthat the superpotential derived from fermionic terms leads to the potential\nthat can be derived from the explicit compactification, thus strengthening the\nconjectures we make about the space of deformations of manifolds with weak G2\nholonomy."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-Commutative Geometry from Strings: To appear in Encyclopedia of Mathematical Physics, J.-P. Fran\\c{c}oise, G.\nNaber and T.S. Tsou, eds., Elsevier, 2006. The article surveys the modern\ndevelopments of noncommutative geometry in string theory.",
        "positive": "BMN operators and string field theory: We extract from gauge theoretical calculations the matrix elements of the SYM\ndilatation operator. By the BMN correspondence this should coincide with the\n3-string vertex of light cone string field theory in the pp-wave background. We\nfind a mild but important discrepancy with the SFT results. If the modified\n$O(g_2)$ matrix elements are used, the $O(g_2^2)$ anomalous dimensions are\nexactly reproduced without the need for a contact interaction in the single\nstring sector."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dilogarithm ladders from Wilson loops: We consider a light-like Wilson loop in N=4 SYM evaluated on a regular\nn-polygon contour. Sending the number of edges to infinity the polygon\napproximates a circle and the expectation value of the light-like WL is\nexpected to tend to the localization result for the circular one. We show this\nexplicitly at one loop, providing a prescription to deal with the divergences\nof the light-like WL and the large n limit. Taking this limit entails\nevaluating certain sums of dilogarithms which, for a regular polygon, evaluate\nto the same constant independently of n. We show that this occurs thanks to\nunderpinning dilogarithm identities, related to the so-called polylogarithm\nladders, which appear in rather different contexts of physics and mathematics\nand enable us to perform the large n limit analytically.",
        "positive": "Counting Vacua in Random Landscapes: It is speculated that the correct theory of fundamental physics includes a\nlarge landscape of states, which can be described as a potential which is a\nfunction of N scalar fields and some number of discrete variables. The\nproperties of such a landscape are crucial in determining key cosmological\nparameters including the dark energy density, the stability of the vacuum, the\nnaturalness of inflation and the properties of the resulting perturbations, and\nthe likelihood of bubble nucleation events. We codify an approach to landscape\ncosmology based on specifications of the overall form of the landscape\npotential and illustrate this approach with a detailed analysis of the\nproperties of N-dimensional Gaussian random landscapes. We clarify the\ncorrelations between the different matrix elements of the Hessian at the\nstationary points of the potential. We show that these potentials generically\ncontain a large number of minima. More generally, these results elucidate how\nrandom function theory is of central importance to this approach to landscape\ncosmology, yielding results that differ substantially from those obtained by\ntreating the matrix elements of the Hessian as independent random variables."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Colliding Hadrons as Cosmic Membranes and Possible Signatures of Lost\n  Momentum: We argue that in the TeV-gravity scenario high energy hadrons colliding on\nthe 3-brane embedded in D=4+n-dimensional spacetime, with n dimensions smaller\nthan the hadron size, can be considered as cosmic membranes. In the\n5-dimensional case these cosmic membranes produce effects similar to cosmic\nstrings in the 4-dimensional world. We calculate the corrections to the eikonal\napproximation for the gravitational scattering of partons due to the presence\nof effective hadron cosmic membranes. Cosmic membranes dominate the momentum\nlost in the longitudinal direction for colliding particles that opens new\nchannels for particle decays.",
        "positive": "Gauge invariant approach to low-spin anomalous conformal currents and\n  shadow fields: Conformal low-spin anomalous currents and shadow fields in flat space-time of\ndimension greater than or equal to four are studied. Gauge invariant\nformulation for such currents and shadow fields is developed. Gauge symmetries\nare realized by involving Stueckelberg and auxiliary fields. Gauge invariant\ndifferential constraints for anomalous currents and shadow fields and\nrealization of global conformal symmetries are obtained. Gauge invariant\ntwo-point vertices for anomalous shadow fields are also obtained. In\nStueckelberg gauge frame, these gauge invariant vertices become the standard\ntwo-point vertices of CFT. Light-cone gauge two-point vertices of the anomalous\nshadow fields are derived. AdS/CFT correspondence for anomalous currents and\nshadow fields and the respective normalizable and non-normalizable solutions of\nmassive low-spin AdS fields is studied. The bulk fields are considered in\nmodified de Donder gauge that leads to decoupled equations of motion. We\ndemonstrate that leftover on-shell gauge symmetries of bulk massive fields\ncorrespond to gauge symmetries of boundary anomalous currents and shadow\nfields, while the modified (Lorentz) de Donder gauge conditions for bulk\nmassive fields correspond to differential constraints for boundary anomalous\ncurrents and shadow fields."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Static solutions with nontrivial boundaries for the\n  Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet theory in vacuum: The classification of certain class of static solutions for the\nEinstein-Gauss-Bonnet theory in vacuum is performed in $d\\geq5$ dimensions. The\nclass of metrics under consideration is such that the spacelike section is a\nwarped product of the real line and an arbitrary base manifold. It is shown\nthat for a generic value of the Gauss-Bonnet coupling, the base manifold must\nbe necessarily Einstein, with an additional restriction on its Weyl tensor for\n$d>5$. The boundary admits a wider class of geometries only in the special case\nwhen the Gauss-Bonnet coupling is such that the theory admits a unique\nmaximally symmetric solution. The additional freedom in the boundary metric\nenlarges the class of allowed geometries in the bulk, which are classified\nwithin three main branches, containing new black holes and wormholes in vacuum.",
        "positive": "Voisin-Borcea Manifolds and Heterotic Orbifold Models: We study the relation between a heterotic T^6/Z6 orbifold model and a\ncompactification on a smooth Voisin-Borcea Calabi-Yau three-fold with\nnon-trivial line bundles. This orbifold can be seen as a Z2 quotient of T^4/Z3\nx T^2. We consider a two-step resolution, whose intermediate step is (K3 x\nT^2)/Z2. This allows us to identify the massless twisted states which\ncorrespond to the geometric Kaehler and complex structure moduli. We work out\nthe match of the two models when non-zero expectation values are given to all\ntwisted geometric moduli. We find that even though the orbifold gauge group\ncontains an SO(10) factor, a possible GUT group, the subgroup after higgsing\ndoes not even include the standard model gauge group. Moreover, after higgsing,\nthe massless spectrum is non-chiral under the surviving gauge group."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Elliptic Genera of 2d (0,2) Gauge Theories from Brane Brick Models: We compute the elliptic genus of abelian 2d (0,2) gauge theories\ncorresponding to brane brick models. These theories are worldvolume theories on\na single D1-brane probing a toric Calabi-Yau 4-fold singularity. We identify a\nmatch with the elliptic genus of the non-linear sigma model on the same\nCalabi-Yau background, which is computed using a new localization formula. The\nmatching implies that the quantum effects do not drastically alter the\ncorrespondence between the geometry and the 2d (0,2) gauge theory. In theories\nwhose matter sector suffers from abelian gauge anomaly, we propose an ansatz\nfor an anomaly cancelling term in the integral formula for the elliptic genus.\nWe provide an example in which two brane brick models related to each other by\nGadde-Gukov-Putrov triality give the same elliptic genus.",
        "positive": "Loop Fayet-Iliopoulos terms in $T^2/Z_2$ models: instability and moduli\n  stabilization: We study Fayet-Iliopoulos (FI) terms of six-dimensional supersymmetric\nAbelian gauge theory compactified on a $T^2/Z_2$ orbifold. Such orbifold\ncompactifications can lead to localized FI-terms and instability of bulk zero\nmodes. We study 1-loop correction to FI-terms in more general geometry than the\nprevious works. We find induced FI-terms depend on the complex structure of the\ncompact space. We also find the complex structure of the torus can be\nstabilized at a specific value corresponding to a self-consistent\nsupersymmetric minimum of the potential by such 1-loop corrections, which is\napplicable to the modulus stabilization."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Black hole excited states from broken translations in Euclidean time: We prepare an excited finite temperature state in ${\\cal N}=4$ SYM by means\nof a Euclidean path integral with a relevant deformation. The deformation\nexplicitly breaks imaginary-time translations along the thermal circle whilst\npreserving its periodicity. We then study how the state relaxes to thermal\nequilibrium in real time. Computations are performed using real-time AdS/CFT,\nby constructing novel mixed-signature black holes in numerical relativity\ncorresponding to Schwinger-Keldysh boundary conditions. These correspond to\ndeformed cigar geometries in the Euclidean, glued to a pair of dynamical\nspacetimes in the Lorentzian.\n  The maximal extension of the Lorentzian black hole exhibits a `causal\nshadow', a bulk region which is spacelike separated from both boundaries. We\nshow that causal shadows are generic in path-integral prepared states where\nimaginary-time translations along the thermal circle are broken.",
        "positive": "$\\mathcal N=2$ conformal gauge theories at large R-charge: the $SU(N)$\n  case: Conformal theories with a global symmetry may be studied in the double\nscaling regime where the interaction strength is reduced while the global\ncharge increases. Here, we study generic 4d $\\mathcal N=2$ $SU(N)$ gauge\ntheories with conformal matter content at large R-charge $Q_{\\rm R}\\to \\infty$\nwith fixed 't Hooft-like coupling $\\kappa = Q_{\\rm R}\\,g_{\\rm YM}^{2}$. Our\nanalysis concerns two distinct classes of natural scaling functions. The first\nis built in terms of chiral/anti-chiral two-point functions. The second\ninvolves one-point functions of chiral operators in presence of\n$\\frac{1}{2}$-BPS Wilson-Maldacena loops. In the rank-1 $SU(2)$ case, the\ntwo-point sector has been recently shown to be captured by an auxiliary chiral\nrandom matrix model. We extend the analysis to $SU(N)$ theories and provide an\nalgorithm that computes arbitrarily long perturbative expansions for all\nconsidered models, parametric in the rank. The leading and next-to-leading\ncontributions are cross-checked by a three-loops computation in $\\mathcal N=1$\nsuperspace. This perturbative analysis identifies maximally non-planar Feynman\ndiagrams as the relevant ones in the double scaling limit. In the\nWilson-Maldacena sector, we obtain closed expressions for the scaling\nfunctions, valid for any rank and $\\kappa$. As an application, we analyze\nquantitatively the large 't Hooft coupling limit $\\kappa\\gg 1$ where we\nidentify all perturbative and non-perturbative contributions. The latter are\nassociated with heavy electric BPS states and the precise correspondence with\ntheir mass spectrum is clarified."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A new perspective in the dark energy puzzle from particle mixing\n  phenomenon: We report on recent results on particle mixing and oscillations in quantum\nfield theory. We discuss the role played in cosmology by the vacuum condensate\ninduced by the neutrino mixing phenomenon. We show that it can contribute to\nthe dark energy of the universe.",
        "positive": "Does gravitational wave propagate in the five dimensional space-time\n  with Kaluza-Klein monopole?: The behavior of small perturbations around the Kaluza-Klein monopole in the\nfive dimensional space-time is investigated. The fact that the odd parity\ngravitational wave does not propagate in the five dimensional space-time with\nKaluza-Klein monopole is found provided that the gravitational wave is constant\nin the fifth direction."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Embedding nonlinear O(6) sigma model into N=4 super-Yang-Mills theory: Anomalous dimensions of high-twist Wilson operators have a nontrivial scaling\nbehavior in the limit when their Lorentz spin grows exponentially with the\ntwist. To describe the corresponding scaling function in planar N=4 SYM theory,\nwe analyze an integral equation recently proposed by Freyhult, Rej and\nStaudacher and argue that at strong coupling it can be casted into a form\nidentical to the thermodynamical Bethe Ansatz equations for the nonlinear O(6)\nsigma model. This result is in a perfect agreement with the proposal put\nforward by Alday and Maldacena within the dual string description, that the\nscaling function should coincide with the energy density of the nonlinear O(6)\nsigma model embedded into AdS_5xS^5.",
        "positive": "Holographic Cosmology and its Relevant Degrees of Freedom: We reconsider the options for cosmological holography. We suggest that a\nglobal and time--symmetric version of the Fischler-Susskind bound is the most\nnatural generalization of the holographic bound encountered in AdS and De\nSitter space. A consistent discussion of cosmological holography seems to imply\nan understanding of the notion of ``number of degrees of freedom'' that\ndeviates from its simple definition as the entropy of the current state. The\nintroduction of a more adequate notion of degree of freedom makes the suggested\nvariation of the Fischler-Susskind bound look like a stringent and viable bound\nin all 4--dimensional cosmologies without a cosmological constant."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Solvable Models in Two-Dimensional N=2 Theories: N=2 supersymmetric field theories in two dimensions have been extensively\nstudied in the last few years. Many of their properties can be determined along\nthe whole renormalization group flow, like their coupling dependence and\nsoliton spectra. We discuss here several models which can be solved completely,\nwhen the number of superfields is taken to be large, by studying their\ntopological-antitopological fusion equations. These models are the CPN model,\nsigma models on Grassmannian manifolds, and certain perturbed $N=2$ Minimal\nmodel.",
        "positive": "New Strings for Old Veneziano Amplitudes I.Analytical Treatment: The bosonic string theory evolved as an attempt to find physical/quantum\nmechanical model capable of reproducing Euler's beta function (Veneziano\namplitude) and its multidimensional analogue. The multidimensional analogue of\nbeta function was studied mathematically for some time from different angles by\nmathematicians such as Selberg, Weil and Deligne among many others. The results\nof their studies apparently were not taken into account in physics literature\non string theory. In recent publication hep-th/0212189 [IJMPA 19 (2004) 1655]\nan attempt was made to restore the missing links. The results of this\npublication are incomplete, however, since no attempts were made at reproducing\nknown spectra of both open and closed bosonic string or at restoration of the\nunderlying model(s) reproducing such spectra. Nevertheless, discussed in this\npublication the existing mathematical interpretation of the multidimensional\nanalogue of Euler's beta function as one of the periods associated with the\ncorresponding differential form \"living\" on the Fermat-type (hyper)surfaces,\nhappens to be crucial for restoration of the quantum/statistical mechanical\nmodel reproducing such generalized beta function. Unlike the traditional\nformulations, this new model is supersymmetric. Although details leading to the\nrestoration of this model are already presented in hep-th/0312294, the present\nwork is aimed at more focused exposition of some of earlier presented results\nand is restricted mainly to the description of analytical properties of the\nVeneziano and Veneziano-like amplitudes. As such, it constututes Part I of our\nfour parts work. Parts 2-4 will be devoted respectively to the group-theoretic,\nsymplectic and combinatorial treatments of this new string-like supersymmetric\nmodel"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Universal aspects of the phase diagram of QCD with heavy quarks: The flavor dependence of the QCD phase diagram presents universal properties\nin the heavy quark limit. For the wide class of models where the quarks are\ntreated at the one-loop level, we show, for arbitrary chemical potential, that\nthe flavor dependence of the critical quark masses-for which the\nconfinement-deconfinement transition is second order-is insensitive to the\ndetails of the (confining) gluon dynamics and that the critical temperature is\nconstant along the corresponding critical line. We illustrate this with\nexplicit results in various such one-loop models studied in the literature:\neffective matrix models for the Polyakov loop, the Curci-Ferrari model, and a\nrecently proposed Gribov-Zwanziger-type model. We further observe that the\npredictions which follow from this one-loop universality property are well\nsatisfied by different calculations beyond one-loop order, including lattice\nsimulations. For degenerate quarks, we propose a simple universal law for the\nflavor dependence of the critical mass, satisfied by all approaches.",
        "positive": "Quantum Larmor radiation from a moving charge in an electromagnetic\n  plane wave background: We extend our previous work [Phys. Rev. D83 045030 (2011)], which\ninvestigated the first-order quantum effect in the Larmor radiation from a\nmoving charge in a spatially homogeneous time-dependent electric field.\nSpecifically, we investigate the quantum Larmor radiation from a moving charge\nin a monochromatic electromagnetic plane wave background based on the scalar\nquantum electrodynamics at the lowest order of the perturbation theory. Using\nthe in-in formalism, we derive the theoretical formula of the total radiation\nenergy from a charged particle in the initial states being at rest and being in\na relativistic motion. Expanding the theoretical formula in terms of the Planck\nconstant \\hbar, we obtain the first-order quantum effect on the Larmor\nradiation. The quantum effect generally suppresses the total radiation energy\ncompared with the prediction of the classical Larmor formula, which is a\ncontrast to the previous work. The reason is explained by the fact that the\nradiation from a moving charge in a monochromatic electromagnetic plane wave is\nexpressed in terms of the inelastic collisions between an electron and photons\nof the background electromagnetic waves."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Correlation functions in super Liouville theory: We calculate three- and four-point functions in super Liouville theory\ncoupled to super Coulomb gas on world sheets with spherical topology. We first\nintegrate over the zero mode and assume that a parameter takes an integer\nvalue. After calculating the amplitudes, we formally continue the parameter to\nan arbitrary real number. Remarkably the result is completely parallel to the\nbosonic case, the amplitudes being of the same form as those of the bosonic\ncase.",
        "positive": "Towards a Semiclassical Seismology of Black Holes: Black hole spacetimes are semiclassically not static. For black holes whose\nlifetime is larger than the age of the universe we compute, in leading order,\nthe power spectrum of deviations of the electromagnetic charge from it's\naverage value, zero. Semiclassically the metric itself has a statistical\ninterpretation and we compute a lowerbound on its variance. (1 figure, at end\nin encapsulated postscript - to locate use 'find figs')"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Consistent deformations of dual formulations of linearized gravity: A\n  no-go result: The consistent, local, smooth deformations of the dual formulation of\nlinearized gravity involving a tensor field in the exotic representation of the\nLorentz group with Young symmetry type (D-3,1) (one column of length D-3 and\none column of length 1) are systematically investigated. The rigidity of the\nAbelian gauge algebra is first established. We next prove a no-go theorem for\ninteractions involving at most two derivatives of the fields.",
        "positive": "Exotica and discreteness in the classification of string spectra: I discuss the existence of discrete properties in the landscape of free\nfermionic heterotic-string vacua that were discovered via their classification\nby SO(10) GUT models and its subgroups such as the Pati-Salam, Flipped SU(5)\nand SU(4) x SU(2) x U(1) models. The classification is carried out by fixing a\nset of basis vectors and varying the GGSO projection coefficients entering the\none-loop partition function. The analysis of the models is facilitated by\nderiving algebraic expressions for the GSO projections that enable a\ncomputerised analysis of the entire string spectrum and the scanning of large\nspaces of vacua. The analysis reveals discrete symmetries like the\nspinor-vector duality observed at the SO(10) level and the existence of\nexophobic Pati-Salam vacua. Contrary to the Pati-Salam case the classification\nshows that there are no exophobic Flipped SU(5) vacua with an odd number of\ngenerations. It is observed that the SU(4) x SU(2) x U(1) models are\nsubstantially more constrained."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Scaling Limit of the Ising Model in a Field: The dilute A_3 model is a solvable IRF (interaction round a face) model with\nthree local states and adjacency conditions encoded by the Dynkin diagram of\nthe Lie algebra A_3. It can be regarded as a solvable version of an Ising model\nat the critical temperature in a magnetic field. One therefore expects the\nscaling limit to be governed by Zamolodchikov's integrable perturbation of the\nc=1/2 conformal field theory. Indeed, a recent thermodynamic Bethe Ansatz\napproach succeeded to unveil the corresponding E_8 structure under certain\nassumptions on the nature of the Bethe Ansatz solutions. In order to check\nthese conjectures, we perform a detailed numerical investigation of the\nsolutions of the Bethe Ansatz equations for the critical and off-critical\nmodel. Scaling functions for the ground-state corrections and for the lowest\nspectral gaps are obtained, which give very precise numerical results for the\nlowest mass ratios in the massive scaling limit. While these agree perfectly\nwith the E_8 mass ratios, we observe one state which seems to violate the\nassumptions underlying the thermodynamic Bethe Ansatz calculation. We also\nanalyze the critical spectrum of the dilute A_3 model, which exhibits massive\nexcitations on top of the massless states of the Ising conformal field theory.",
        "positive": "$EL_\\infty$-algebras, Generalized Geometry, and Tensor Hierarchies: We define a generalized form of $L_\\infty$-algebras called\n$EL_\\infty$-algebras. As we show, these provide the natural algebraic framework\nfor generalized geometry and the symmetries of double field theory as well as\nthe gauge algebras arising in the tensor hierarchies of gauged supergravity.\nOur perspective shows that the kinematical data of the tensor hierarchy is an\nadjusted higher gauge theory, which is important for developing finite gauge\ntransformations as well as non-local descriptions. Mathematically,\n$EL_\\infty$-algebras provide small resolutions of the operad $\\mathcal{L}ie$,\nand they shed some light on Loday's problem of integrating Leibniz algebras."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Perturbative Anti-Brane Potentials in Heterotic M-theory: We derive the perturbative four-dimensional effective theory describing\nheterotic M-theory with branes and anti-branes in the bulk space. The\nback-reaction of both the branes and anti-branes is explicitly included. To\nfirst order in the heterotic strong-coupling expansion, we find that the forces\non branes and anti-branes vanish and that the KKLT procedure of simply adding\nto the supersymmetric theory the probe approximation to the energy density of\nthe anti-brane reproduces the correct potential. However, there are additional\nnon-supersymmetric corrections to the gauge-kinetic functions and matter terms.\nThe new correction to the gauge kinetic functions is important in a discussion\nof moduli stabilization. At second order in the strong-coupling expansion, we\nfind that the forces on the branes and anti-branes become non-vanishing. These\nforces are not precisely in the naive form that one may have anticipated and,\nbeing second order in the small parameter of the strong-coupling expansion,\nthey are relatively weak. This suggests that moduli stabilization in heterotic\nmodels with anti-branes is achievable.",
        "positive": "Norm of Bethe-wave functions in the continuum limit: The 6-vertex model with appropriately chosen alternating inhomogeneities\ngives the so-called light-cone lattice regularization of the sine-Gordon\n(Massive-Thirring) model. In this integrable lattice model we consider pure\nhole states above the antiferromagnetic vacuum and express the norm of\nBethe-wave functions in terms of the hole's positions and the counting-function\nof the state under consideration. In the light-cone regularized picture pure\nhole states correspond to pure soliton (fermion) states of the sine-Gordon\n(massive Thirring) model. Hence, we analyze the continuum limit of our new\nformula for the norm of the Bethe-wave functions. We show, that the physically\nmost relevant determinant part of our formula can be expanded in the large\nvolume limit and turns out to be proportional to the Gaudin-determinant of pure\nsoliton states in the sine-Gordon model defined in finite volume."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Weyl Degree of Freedom in The Nambu-Goto String Through Field\n  Transformation: We show how Weyl degrees of freedom, can be introduced in the Nambu-Goto\nstring in the path integral formulation using reparametrization invariant\nmeasure. We first identify Weyl degrees in conformal gauge using BFV\nformulation. Further we change Nambu-Goto string action to Polyakov action. The\ngenerating functional in light-cone gauge is then obtained from the generating\nfunc- tional corresponding to Polyakov action in conformal gauge by using\nsuitably constructed finite field dependent BRST transformation.",
        "positive": "Quantized cosmological constant in 1+1 dimensional quantum gravity with\n  coupled scalar matter: A two dimensional matter coupled model of quantum gravity is studied in the\nDirac approach to constrained dynamics in the presence of a cosmological\nconstant. It is shown that after partial fixing to the conformal gauge the\nrequirement of a quantum realization of the conformal algebra for physical\nquantum states of the fields naturally constrains the cosmological constant to\ntake values in a well determined and mostly discrete spectrum. Furthermore the\ncontribution of the quantum fluctuations of the single dynamical degree of\nfreedom in the gravitational sector, namely the conformal mode, to the\ncosmological constant is negative, in contrast to the positive contributions of\nthe quantum fluctuations of the matter fields, possibly opening an avenue\ntowards addressing the cosmological constant problem in a more general context."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "New States of Gauge Theories on a Circle: We study a one-dimensional large-N U(N) gauge theory on a circle as a toy\nmodel of higher dimensional Yang-Mills theories at finite temperature. To\ninvestigate the profile of the thermodynamical potential in this model, we\nevaluate a stochastic time evolution of several states, and find that an\nunstable confinement phase at high temperature does not decay to a stable\ndeconfinement phase directly. Before it reaches the deconfinement phase, it\ndevelops to several intermediate states. These states are characterised by the\nexpectation values of the Polyakov loop operators, which wind the temporal\ncircle different times. We reveal that these intermediate states are the saddle\npoint solutions of the theory, and similar solutions exist in a wide class of\nSU(N) and U(N) gauge theories on S^1 including QCD and pure Yang-Mills theories\nin various dimensions. We also consider a Kaluza-Klein gravity, which is the\ngravity dual of the one-dimensional gauge theory on a spatial S^1, and show\nthat these solutions may be related to multi black holes localised on the S^1.\nThen we present a connection between the stochastic time evolution of the gauge\ntheory and the dynamical decay process of a black string though the\nGregory-Laflamme instability.",
        "positive": "Spontaneous N=2 --> N=1 local supersymmetry breaking with surviving\n  local gauge group: Generic partial supersymmetry breaking of $N=2$ supergravity with zero vacuum\nenergy and with surviving unbroken arbitrary gauge groups is exhibited.\nSpecific examples are given."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Double-Well Potential : The WKB Approximation with Phase Loss and\n  Anharmonicity Effect: We derive a general WKB energy splitting formula in a double-well potential\nby incorporating both phase loss and anharmonicity effect in the usual WKB\napproximation. A bare application of the phase loss approach to the usual WKB\nmethod gives better results only for large separation between two potential\nminima. In the range of substantial tunneling, however, the phase loss approach\nwith anharmonicity effect considered leads to a great improvement on the\naccuracy of the WKB approximation.",
        "positive": "How fundamental are fundamental constants?: I argue that the laws of physics should be independent of one's choice of\nunits or measuring apparatus. This is the case if they are framed in terms of\ndimensionless numbers such as the fine structure constant, alpha. For example,\nthe Standard Model of particle physics has 19 such dimensionless parameters\nwhose values all observers can agree on, irrespective of what clock, rulers,\nscales... they use to measure them. Dimensional constants, on the other hand,\nsuch as h, c, G, e, k..., are merely human constructs whose number and values\ndiffer from one choice of units to the next. In this sense only dimensionless\nconstants are \"fundamental\". Similarly, the possible time variation of\ndimensionless fundamental \"constants\" of nature is operationally well-defined\nand a legitimate subject of physical enquiry. By contrast, the time variation\nof dimensional constants such as c or G on which a good many (in my opinion,\nconfusing) papers have been written, is a unit-dependent phenomenon on which\ndifferent observers might disagree depending on their apparatus. All these\nconfusions disappear if one asks only unit-independent questions.\n  We provide a selection of opposing opinions in the literature and respond\naccordingly."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Unitarity in Maxwell-Carroll-Field-Jackiw electrodynamics: In this work we focus on the Carroll-Field-Jackiw (CFJ) modified\nelectrodynamics in combination with a CPT-even Lorentz-violating contribution.\nWe add a photon mass term to the Lagrange density and study the question\nwhether this contribution can render the theory unitary. The analysis is based\non the pole structure of the modified photon propagator as well as the validity\nof the optical theorem. We find, indeed, that the massive CFJ-type modification\nis unitary at tree-level. This result provides a further example for how a\nphoton mass can mitigate malign behaviors.",
        "positive": "Current-driven tricritical point in large-$N_{c}$ gauge theory: We discover a new tricritical point realized only in non-equilibrium steady\nstates, using the AdS/CFT correspondence. Our system is a (3+1)-dimensional\nstrongly-coupled large-$N_{c}$ gauge theory. The tricritical point is\nassociated with a chiral symmetry breaking under the presence of an electric\ncurrent and a magnetic field. The critical exponents agree with those of the\nLandau theory of equilibrium phase transitions. This suggests that the presence\nof a Landau-like phenomenological theory behind our non-equilibrium phase\ntransitions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A spacetime derivation of the Lorentzian OPE inversion formula: Caron-Huot has recently given an interesting formula that determines OPE data\nin a conformal field theory in terms of a weighted integral of the four-point\nfunction over a Lorentzian region of cross-ratio space. We give a new\nderivation of this formula based on Wick rotation in spacetime rather than\ncross-ratio space. The derivation is simple in two dimensions but more involved\nin higher dimensions. We also derive a Lorentzian inversion formula in one\ndimension that sheds light on previous observations about the chaos regime in\nthe SYK model.",
        "positive": "Flag manifold sigma models: spin chains and integrable theories: This review is dedicated to two-dimensional sigma models with flag manifold\ntarget spaces, which are generalizations of the familiar $CP^{n-1}$ and\nGrassmannian models. They naturally arise in the description of continuum\nlimits of spin chains, and their phase structure is sensitive to the values of\nthe topological angles, which are determined by the representations of spins in\nthe chain. Gapless phases can in certain cases be explained by the presence of\ndiscrete 't Hooft anomalies in the continuum theory. We also discuss integrable\nflag manifold sigma models, which provide a generalization of the theory of\nintegrable models with symmetric target spaces. These models, as well as their\ndeformations, have an alternative equivalent formulation as bosonic Gross-Neveu\nmodels, which proves useful for demonstrating that the deformed geometries are\nsolutions of the renormalization group (Ricci flow) equations, as well as for\nthe analysis of anomalies and for describing potential couplings to fermions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "N=2 Massive superparticle: the Minimality Principle and the k-symmetry: The electromagnetic interaction of massive superparticles with N=2 extended\nMaxwell supermultiplet is studied. It is proved that the minimal coupling\nbreaks the k-symmetry. A non-minimal k-symmetric action is built and it is\nestablished that the k-symmetry uniquely fixes the value of the superparticle's\nanomalous magnetic moment",
        "positive": "Fivebrane Lagrangian with Loop Corrections in Field-Theory Limit: Equations of motion and the lagrangian are derived explicitely for Dual D=10,\nN=1 Supergravity considered as a field theory limit of a Fivebrane. It is used\nthe mass-shell solution of Heterotic String Bianchi Identites obtained in the\n2-dimensional $\\sigma$-model two-loop approximation and in the tree-level\nHeterotic String approximation. As a result the Dual Supergravity lagrangian is\nderived in the one-loop Five-Brane approximation and in the lowest\n6-dimensional $\\sigma$-model approximaton."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Towards Timelike Singularity via AdS Dual: It is well known that Kasner geometry with space-like singularity can be\nextended to bulk AdS-like geometry, furthermore one can study field theory on\nthis Kasner space via its gravity dual. In this paper, we show that there\nexists a Kasner-like geometry with timelike singularity for which one can\nconstruct a dual gravity description. We then study various extremal surfaces\nincluding space-like geodesics in the dual gravity description. Finally, we\ncompute correlators of highly massive operators in the boundary field theory\nwith a geodesic approximation.",
        "positive": "Compressible Matter at a Holographic Interface: We study the interface between a fractional topological insulator and an\nordinary insulator, both described using holography. By turning on a chemical\npotential we induce a finite density of matter localized at the interface.\nThese are gapless surface excitations which are expected to have a fermionic\ncharacter. We study the thermodynamics of the system, finding a symmetry\npreserving compressible state at low temperatures, whose excitations exhibit\nhyperscaling violation. These results are consistent with the expectation of\ngapless fermionic excitations forming a Fermi surface at finite density."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dual Non-Abelian Duality and the Drinfeld Double: The standard notion of the non-Abelian duality in string theory is\ngeneralized to the class of $\\si$-models admitting `non-commutative conserved\ncharges'. Such $\\si$-models can be associated with every Lie bialgebra $(\\cg\n,\\cgt)$ and they possess an isometry group iff the commutant\n  $[\\cgt,\\cgt]$ is not equal to $\\cgt$. Within the enlarged class of the\nbackgrounds the non-Abelian duality {\\it is} a duality transformation in the\nproper sense of the word. It exchanges the roles of $\\cg$ and $\\cgt$ and it can\nbe interpreted as a symplectomorphism of the phase spaces of the mutually dual\ntheories. We give explicit formulas for the non-Abelian duality transformation\nfor any $(\\cg,\\cgt)$. The non-Abelian analogue of the Abelian modular space\n$O(d,d;{\\bf Z})$ consists of all maximally isotropic decompositions of the\ncorresponding Drinfeld double.",
        "positive": "A note on the torque anomaly: I reproduce, in the case of a conical geometry, the torque anomaly recently\nnoted by Fulling, Mera and Trendafilova for the wedge. The expected\nconservation equation is obtained by a variational method and a mathematical\ncancellation of the anomaly is exhibited, motivated by the process of\ntruncating the cone at some inner radius."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Finite Temperature Tunneling and Phase Transitions in SU(2)-Gauge Theory: A pure Yang-Mills theory extended by addition of a quartic term is considered\nin order to study the transition from the quantum tunneling regime to that of\nclassical, i.e. thermal, behaviour. The periodic field configurations are\nfound, which interpolate between the vacuum and sphaleron field configurations.\nIt is shown by explicit calculation that only smooth second order transitions\noccur for all permissible values of the parameter $\\L$ introduced with the\nquartic term. The theory is one of the rare cases which can be handled\nanalytically.",
        "positive": "Gravitational corrections to the Euler-Heisenberg Lagrangian: We use the worldline formalism for calculating the one-loop effective action\nfor the Einstein-Maxwell background induced by charged scalars or spinors, in\nthe limit of low energy and weak gravitational field but treating the\nelectromagnetic field nonperturbatively. The effective action is obtained in a\nform which generalizes the standard proper-time representation of the\nEuler-Heisenberg Lagrangian. We compare with previous work and discuss possible\napplications."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Generalized action-angle coordinates in toric contact spaces: In this paper we are concerned with completely integrable Hamiltonian systems\nin the setting of contact geometry. Unlike the symplectic case, contact\nstructures are automatically Hamiltonian. Using the Jacobi brackets defined on\ncontact manifolds, we discuss the commutativity of the first integrals for\ncontact Hamiltonian systems and introduce the generalized contact action-angle\nvariables. We exemplify the general scheme in the case of the five-dimensional\ntoric Sasaki-Einstein spaces $T^{1,1}$ and $Y^{p,q}$.",
        "positive": "Spin $ 2 $ spectrum for marginal deformations of 4d $ \\mathcal{N}=2 $\n  SCFTs: We compute spin $ 2 $ spectrum associated with massive graviton fluctuations\nin $\\gamma$-deformed Gaiotto-Maldacena background those are holographically\ndual to marginal deformations of $\\mathcal{N}=2$ SCFTs in four dimensions.\nUnder the special circumstances, we analytically estimate the spectra both for\nthe $ \\gamma $- deformed Abelian T dual (ATD) as well as the non-Abelian T dual\n(NATD) cases where we retain ourselves upto leading order in the deformation\nparameter. Our analysis reveals a continuous spectra which is associated with\nthe breaking of the $ U(1) $ isometry (along the directions of the internal\nmanifold) in the presence of the $ \\gamma $- deformation. We also comment on\nthe effects of adding flavour branes into the picture and the nature of the\nassociated spin $ 2 $ operators in the dual $ \\mathcal{N}=1 $ SCFTs."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Conformal Anomaly for Amplitudes in N=6 Superconformal Chern-Simons\n  Theory: Scattering amplitudes in three-dimensional N=6 Chern-Simons theory are shown\nto be non-invariant with respect to the free representation of the osp(6|4)\nsymmetry generators. At tree and one-loop level these \"anomalous\" terms occur\nonly for non-generic, singular configurations of the external momenta and can\nbe used to determine the form of the amplitudes. In particular we show that the\nsymmetries predict that the one-loop six-point amplitude is non-vanishing and\nconfirm this by means of an explicit calculation using generalized unitarity\nmethods. We comment on the implications of this finding for any putative Wilson\nloop/amplitude duality in N=6 Chern-Simons theory.",
        "positive": "Duality and Topological Quantum Field Theory: We present a summary of the applications of duality to Donaldson-Witten\ntheory and its generalizations. Special emphasis is made on the computation of\nDonaldson invariants in terms of Seiberg-Witten invariants using recent results\nin N=2 supersymmetric gauge theory. A brief account on the invariants obtained\nin the theory of non-abelian monopoles is also presented."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dimensional reduction, magnetic flux strings, and domain walls: We study some consequences of dimensionally reducing systems with massless\nfermions and Abelian gauge fields from 3+1 to 2+1 dimensions. We first consider\nfermions in the presence of an external Abelian gauge field. In the reduced\ntheory, obtained by compactifying one of the coordinates `a la Kaluza-Klein,\nmagnetic flux strings are mapped into domain wall defects. Fermionic zero\nmodes, localized around the flux strings of the 3+1 dimensional theory, become\nalso zero modes in the reduced theory, via the Callan and Harvey mechanism, and\nare concentrated around the domain wall defects. We also study a dynamical\nmodel: massless $QED_4$, with fermions confined to a plane, deriving the\neffective action that describes the `planar' system.",
        "positive": "Exact $\\mathcal{N}=2^{*}$ Schur line defect correlators: We study the Schur line defect correlation functions in $\\mathcal{N}=4$ and\n$\\mathcal{N}=2^*$ $U(N)$ super Yang-Mills (SYM) theory. We find exact\nclosed-form formulae of the correlation functions of the Wilson line operators\nin the fundamental, antisymmetric and symmetric representations via the\nFermi-gas method in the canonical and grand canonical ensembles. All the Schur\nline defect correlators are shown to be expressible in terms of multiple series\nthat generalizes the Kronecker theta function. From the large $N$ correlators\nwe obtain generating functions for the spectra of the D5-brane giant and the\nD3-brane dual giant and find a correspondence between the fluctuation modes and\nthe plane partition diamonds."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Affine Lie Algebras and S-Duality of N=4 Super Yang-Mills Theory for ADE\n  Gauge Groups on K3: We attempt to determine the partition function of ${\\cal N}=4$ super\nYang-Mills theory for $ADE$ gauge groups on $K3$ and investigate the relation\nwith affine Lie algebras. In particular we describe eta functions, which\ncompose SU(N) partition function, by level $N$ $A_{N-1}$ theta functions.\nMoreover we find $D,E$ theta functions, which satisfy the Montonen-Olive\nduality for $D,E$ partition functions.",
        "positive": "Bosonic Matrix Theory and Matrix Dbranes: We develop new tools for an in-depth study of our recent proposal for Matrix\nTheory. We construct the anomaly-free and finite planar continuum limit of the\nground state with SO(2^{13}) symmetry matching with the tadpole and tachyon\nfree IR stable high temperature ground state of the open and closed bosonic\nstring. The correspondence between large N limits and spacetime effective\nactions is demonstrated more generally for an arbitrary D25brane ground state\nwhich might include brane-antibrane pairs or NS-branes and which need not have\nan action formulation. Closure of the finite N matrix Lorentz algebra\nnevertheless requires that such a ground state is simultaneously charged under\nall even rank antisymmetric matrix potentials. Additional invariance under the\ngauge symmetry mediated by the one-form matrix potential requires a ground\nstate charged under the full spectrum of antisymmetric (p+1)-form matrix\npotentials with p taking any integer value less than 26. Matrix Dbrane\ndemocracy has a beautiful large N remnant in the form of mixed Chern-Simons\ncouplings in the effective Lagrangian whenever the one-form gauge symmetry is\nnonabelian."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Monodromy, Duality and Integrability of Two Dimensional String Effective\n  Action: In this talk, we show how the monodromy matrix, ${\\hat{\\cal M}}$, can be\nconstructed for the two dimensional tree level string effective action. The\npole structure of ${\\hat{\\cal M}}$ is derived using its factorizability\nproperty. It is shown that the monodromy matrix transforms non-trivially under\nthe non-compact T-duality group, which leaves the effective action invariant\nand this can be used to construct the monodromy matrix for more complicated\nbackgrounds starting from simpler ones. We construct, explicitly, ${\\hat{\\cal\nM}}$ for the exactly solvable Nappi-Witten model, both when B=0 and $B\\neq 0$,\nwhere these ideas can be directly checked.",
        "positive": "Local charges in involution and hierarchies in integrable sigma-models: Integrable $\\sigma$-models, such as the principal chiral model,\n${\\mathbb{Z}}_T$-coset models for $T \\in {\\mathbb{Z}}_{\\geq 2}$ and their\nvarious integrable deformations, are examples of non-ultralocal integrable\nfield theories described by (cyclotomic) $r/s$-systems with twist function. In\nthis general setting, and when the Lie algebra ${\\mathfrak{g}}$ underlying the\n$r/s$-system is of classical type, we construct an infinite algebra of local\nconserved charges in involution, extending the approach of Evans, Hassan,\nMacKay and Mountain developed for the principal chiral model and symmetric\nspace $\\sigma$-model. In the present context, the local charges are attached to\ncertain `regular' zeros of the twist function and have increasing degrees\nrelated to the exponents of the untwisted affine Kac-Moody algebra\n$\\widehat{{\\mathfrak{g}}}$ associated with ${\\mathfrak{g}}$. The Hamiltonian\nflows of these charges are shown to generate an infinite hierarchy of\ncompatible integrable equations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "AdS$_6$/CFT$_5$ with O7-planes: Type IIB AdS$_6$ solutions with orientifold 7-planes are constructed. The\ngeometry is a warped product of AdS$_6$ and S$^2$ over a Riemann surface\n$\\Sigma$ and the O7-planes correspond to a particular type of puncture on\n$\\Sigma$. The solutions are identified as near-horizon limits of $(p,q)$\n5-brane webs with O7-planes. The dual 5d SCFTs have relevant deformations to\nlinear quiver gauge theories which have $SO(\\cdot)$ or $USp(\\cdot)$ nodes or\n$SU(\\cdot)$ nodes with hypermultiplets in symmetric or antisymmetric\nrepresentations, in addition to $SU(\\cdot)$ nodes with fundamental\nhypermultiplets. The S$^5$ free energies are obtained holographically and\nmatched to field theory computations using supersymmetric localization to\nsupport the proposed dualities.",
        "positive": "Dual D-Brane Actions: Dual super Dp-brane actions are constructed by carrying out a duality\ntransformation of the world-volume U(1) gauge field. The resulting world-volume\nactions, which contain a (p - 2)-form gauge field, are shown to have the\nexpected properties. Specifically, the D1-brane and D3-brane transform in ways\nthat can be understood on the basis of the SL(2, Z) duality of type IIB\nsuperstring theory. Also, the D2-brane and the D4-brane transform in ways that\nare expected on the basis of the relationship between type IIA superstring\ntheory and 11d M theory. For example, the dual D4-brane action is shown to\ncoincide with the double-dimensional reduction of the recently constructed\nM5-brane action. The implications for gauge-fixed D-brane actions are discussed\nbriefly."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Spectral Problem for the q-Knizhnik-Zamolodchikov Equation and\n  Continuous q-Jacobi Polynomials: The spectral problem for the q-Knizhnik-Zamolodchikov equations for\n$U_{q}(\\widehat{sl_2}) (0<q<1)$ at arbitrary level $k$ is considered. The case\nof two-point functions in the fundamental representation is studied in\ndetail.The scattering states are given explicitly in terms of continuous\nq-Jacobi polynomials, and the $S$-matrix is derived from their asymptotic\nbehavior. The level zero $S$-matrix is shown to coincide, up to a trivial\nfactor, with the kink-antikink $S$-matrix for the spin-$\\frac{1}{2}$ XXZ\nantiferromagnet. In the limit of infinite level we observe connections with\nharmonic analysis on $p$-adic groups with the prime $p$ given by $p=q^{-2}$.",
        "positive": "Extending the Thermodynamic Form Factor Bootstrap Program: Multiple\n  particle-hole excitations, crossing symmetry, and reparameterization\n  invariance: In this study, we further the thermodynamic bootstrap program which involves\na set of recently developed ideas used to determine thermodynamic form factors\nof local operators in integrable quantum field theories. These form factors are\nessential building blocks for dynamic correlation functions at finite\ntemperatures or non-equilibrium stationary states. In this work we extend this\nprogram in three ways. Firstly, we demonstrate that the conjectured\nannihilation pole axiom is valid in the low energy particle-hole excitations.\nSecondly, we introduce a crossing relation, which establishes a connection\nbetween form factors with different excitation content. Typically, the crossing\nrelation is a consequence of Lorentz invariance, but due to the finite energy\ndensity of the considered states, Lorentz invariance is broken. Nonetheless a\ncrossing relation involving excitations with both particles and holes can\nestablished using the finite volume representation of the thermodynamic form\nfactors. Finally, we demonstrate that the thermodynamic form factors satisfy a\nreparameterization invariance, an invariance which encompasses crossing.\nReparameterization invariance exploits the fact that the details of the\nrepresentation of the thermodynamic state are unimportant. In the course of\ndeveloping these results, we demonstrate the internal consistency of the\nthermodynamic form factor bootstrap program in a number of ways. Finally, we\nprovide explicit computations of form factors of conserved charges and\ndensities with crossed excitations and show our results can be used to infer\ninformation about thermodynamic form factors in the Lieb-Liniger model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The fate of stringy AdS vacua and the WGC: The authors of arXiv:1610.01533 have recently proposed a stronger version of\nthe weak gravity conjecture (WGC), based on which they concluded that all those\nnon-supersymmetric AdS vacua that can be embedded within a constistent theory\nof quantum gravity necessarily develop instabilities. In this paper we further\nelaborate on this proposal by arguing that the aforementioned instabilities\nhave a perturbative nature and arise from the crucial interplay between the\nclosed and the open string sectors of the theory.",
        "positive": "Localizing fields on brane in magnetized backgound: To localize the scalar, fermion, and abelian gauge fields on our 3-brane, a\nsimple mechanism with a hypothetical \"magnetic field\" in the bulk is proposed.\nThis mechanism is to treat all fields in the equal footing without ad hoc\nconsideration. In addition, the machanism can be easily realized in a flat\ndimension six Minkowski space and it works even in the weak coupling limit."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Geometrodynamical description of two-dimensional electrodynamics: Two-dimensional pure electrodynamics is mapped into two-dimensional gravity\nin the first order formalism at classical and quantum levels. Due to the fact\nthat the degrees of freedom of these two theories do not match, we are enforced\nto introduce extra fields from the beginning. These fields are introduced\nthrough a BRST exact boundary term, so they are harmless to the physical\ncontent of the theory. The map between electromagnetism and gravity fields\ngenerate a non-trivial Jacobian, which brings extra features (but also harmless\nto the physical content of the gravity theory) at quantum level.",
        "positive": "Geometric Representation of Interacting Non-Relativistic Open Strings\n  using Extended Objects: Non-relativistic charged open strings coupled with Abelian gauge fields are\nquantized in a geometric representation that generalizes the Loop\nRepresentation. The model consists of open-strings interacting through a\nKalb-Ramond field in four dimensions. The geometric representation proposed\nuses lines and surfaces that can be interpreted as an extension of the picture\nof Faraday's lines of classical electromagnetism. This representation results\nto be consistent, provided the coupling constant (the \"charge\" of the string)\nis quantized. The Schr\\\"odinger equation in this representation is also\npresented."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Prepotential of N=2 SU(2) x SU(2) Supersymmetric Yang-Mills Theory\n  with Bifundamental Matter: We study the non-perturbative, instanton-corrected effective action of the\nN=2 SU(2) x SU(2) supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory with a massless\nhypermultiplet in the bifundamental representation. Starting from the\nappropriate hyperelliptic curve, we determine the periods and the exact\nholomorphic prepotential in a certain weak coupling expansion. We discuss the\ndependence of the solution on the parameter q=L2^2/L1^2 and several other\ninteresting properties.",
        "positive": "Towards state locality in quantum field theory: free fermions: Hilbert spaces of states can be constructed in standard quantum field theory\nonly for infinitely extended spacelike hypersurfaces, precluding a more local\nnotion of state. In fact, the Reeh-Schlieder Theorem prohibits the localization\nof states on pieces of hypersurfaces in the standard formalism. From the point\nof view of geometric quantization the problem lies in the non-locality of the\ncomplex structures associated to hypersurfaces in standard quantization. We\nshow that using a weakened version of the positive formalism puts this problem\ninto a new perspective. This is a local TQFT type formalism based on\nsuper-operators and mixed state spaces rather than on amplitudes and pure state\nspaces as the one of Atiyah-Segal. In particular, we show that in the case of\npurely fermionic degrees of freedom the complex structure can be dispensed with\nwhen the notion of state is suitably generalized. These generalized states do\nlocalize on compact hypersurfaces with boundaries. For the simplest case of\nfree fermionic fields we embed this in a rigorous and functorial quantization\nscheme yielding a local description of the quantum theory. Crucially, no\nclassical data is needed beyond the structures evident from a Lagrangian\nsetting. When the classical data is augmented with complex structures on\nhypersurfaces, the quantum data correspondingly augment to the full positive\nformalism. This scheme is applicable to field theory in curved spacetime, but\nalso to field theories without metric background."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Emergent Supersymmetry in Local Equilibrium Systems: Many physical processes we observe in nature involve variations of\nmacroscopic quantities over spatial and temporal scales much larger than\nmicroscopic molecular collision scales and can be considered as in local\nthermal equilibrium. In this paper we show that any classical statistical\nsystem in local thermal equilibrium has an emergent supersymmetry at low\nenergies. We use the framework of non-equilibrium effective field theory for\nquantum many-body systems defined on a closed time path contour and consider\nits classical limit. Unitarity of time evolution requires introducing\nanti-commuting degrees of freedom and BRST symmetry which survive in the\nclassical limit. The local equilibrium is realized through a $Z_2$ dynamical\nKMS symmetry. We show that supersymmetry is equivalent to the combination of\nBRST and a specific consequence of the dynamical KMS symmetry, to which we\nrefer as the special dynamical KMS condition. In particular, we prove a theorem\nstating that a system satisfying the special dynamical KMS condition is always\nsupersymmetrizable. We discuss a number of examples explicitly, including model\nA for dynamical critical phenomena, a hydrodynamic theory of nonlinear\ndiffusion, and fluctuating hydrodynamics for relativistic charged fluids.",
        "positive": "Novel Symmetry of Non-Einsteinian Gravity in Two Dimensions: The integrability of $R^2$-gravity with torsion in two dimensions is traced\nto an ultralocal dynamical symmetry of constraints and momenta in Hamiltonian\nphase space. It may be interpreted as a quadratically deformed\n$iso(2,1)$-algebra with the deformation consisting of the Casimir operators of\nthe undeformed algebra. The locally conserved quantity encountered in the\nexplicit solution is identified as an element of the centre of this algebra.\nSpecific contractions of the algebra are related to specific limits of the\nexplicit solutions of this model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Large U(1) charges from flux breaking in 4D F-theory models: We study the massless charged spectrum of U(1) gauge fields in F-theory that\narise from flux breaking of a nonabelian group. The U(1) charges that arise in\nthis way can be very large. In particular, using vertical flux breaking, we\nconstruct an explicit 4D F-theory model with a U(1) decoupled from other gauge\nsectors, in which the massless/light fields have charges as large as 657. This\nresult greatly exceeds prior results in the literature. We argue heuristically\nthat this result may provide an upper bound on charges for light fields under\ndecoupled U(1) factors in the F-theory landscape. We also show that the charges\ncan be even larger when the U(1) is coupled to other gauge groups.",
        "positive": "DBI Global Strings: In this note we present global string solutions which are a generalization of\nthe usual field theory global vortices when the kinetic term is DBI. Such\nvortices can result from the spontaneous symmetry breaking in the potential\nfelt by a D3-brane. In a previous paper (0706.0485), the DBI instanton solution\nwas constructed which develops a \"wrinkle\" for stringy heights of the\npotential. A similar effect is also seen for the DBI vortex solution. The\nwrinkle develops for stringy heights of the potential. One recovers the usual\nfield theory global string for substringy potentials. As an example of the\nsymmetry breaking, we consider a mobile D3-brane on the warped deformed\nconifold. Symmetry breaking can occur if the structure of the vacuum manifold\nof the potential for the D3-brane changes as it moves through the throat\nregion."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The $n$-component KP hierarchy and representation theory: Starting from free charged fermions we give equivalent definitions of the\n$n\\/$-component KP hierarchy, in terms of $\\tau\\/$-functions $\\tau_\\alpha\\/$\n(where $\\alpha \\in M =\\/$ root lattice of $sl_n\\/$), in terms of $n \\times n\\/$\nmatrix valued wave functions $W_\\alpha(\\alpha\\in M)\\/$, and in terms of\npseudodifferential wave operators $P_\\alpha(\\alpha\\in M)\\/$. These imply the\ndeformation and the zero curvature equations. We show that the 2-component KP\nhierarchy contains the Davey-Stewartson system and the $n\\geq3\\/$ component KP\nhierarchy continues the $n\\/$-wave interaction equations. This allows us to\nconstruct theis solutions.",
        "positive": "Note on a Positronium Model from Flow Equations in Front Form Dynamics: In this note we address the problem of solving for the positronium mass\nspectrum. We use front-form dynamics together with the method of flow\nequations. For a special choice of the similarity function, the calculations\ncan be simplified by analytically integrating over the azimuthal angle. One\nobtains an effective Hamiltonian and we solve numerically for its spectrum.\nComparing our results with different approaches we find encouraging properties\nconcerning the cutoff dependence of the results."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Free Abelian 2-Form Gauge Theory: BRST Approach: We discuss various symmetry properties of the Lagrangian density of a four (3\n+ 1)-dimensional (4D) free Abelian 2-form gauge theory within the framework of\nBecchi-Rouet-Stora-Tyutin (BRST) formalism. The present free Abelian gauge\ntheory is endowed with a Curci-Ferrari type condition which happens to be a key\nsignature of the 4D non-Abelian 1-form gauge theory. In fact, it is due to the\nabove condition that the nilpotent BRST and anti-BRST symmetries of the theory\nare found to be absolutely anticommuting in nature. For our present 2-form\ngauge theory, we discuss the BRST, anti-BRST, ghost and discrete symmetry\nproperties of the Lagrangian densities and derive the corresponding conserved\ncharges. The algebraic structure, obeyed by the above conserved charges, is\ndeduced and the constraint analysis is performed with the help of the\nphysicality criteria where the conserved and nilpotent (anti-)BRST charges play\ncompletely independent roles. These physicality conditions lead to the\nderivation of the above Curci-Ferrari type restriction, within the framework of\nBRST formalism, from the constraint analysis.",
        "positive": "On Curvature Expansion of Higher Spin Gauge Theory: We examine the curvature expansion of a the field equations of a\nfour-dimensional higher spin gauge theory extension of anti-de Sitter gravity.\nThe theory contains massless particles of spin 0,2,4,... that arise in the\nsymmetric product of two spin 0 singletons. We cast the curvature expansion\ninto manifestly covariant form and elucidate the structure of the equations and\nobserve a significant simplification."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "SIP-potentials and self-similar potentials of Shabat and Spiridonov:\n  space asymmetric deformation: An appropriateness of a space asymmetry of shape invariant potentials with\nscaling of parameters and potentials of Shabat and Spiridonov in calculation of\ntheir forms, wave functions and discrete energy spectra has proved and has\ndemonstrated on a simple example. Parameters, defined space asymmetry, have\nfound. A new type of a hyerarchy, in which superpotentials with neighbouring\nnumbers are connected by space rotation relatively a point of origin of space\ncoordinates, has proposed.",
        "positive": "The Classical Double Copy of a Point Charge: The classical double copy relates solutions to the equations of motion in\ngauge theory and in gravity. In this paper, we present two double-copy\nformalisms for relating the Coulomb solution in gauge theory to the\ntwo-parameter Janis-Newman-Winicour solution in gravity. The latter is a\nstatic, spherically symmetric, asymptotically flat solution that generically\nincludes a dilaton field, but also admits the Schwarzschild solution as a\nspecial case. We first present the classical double copy as a perturbative\nconstruction, similar to its formulation for scattering amplitudes, and then\npresent it as an exact map, with a novel generalisation of the Kerr-Schild\ndouble copy motivated by double field theory. The latter formalism exhibits the\nrelation between the Kerr-Schild classical double copy and the string theory\norigin of the double copy for scattering amplitudes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Inflation, moduli (de)stabilization and supersymmetry breaking: We study the cosmological inflation from the viewpoint of the moduli\nstabilization. We study the scenario that the superpotential has a large value\nduring the inflation era enough to stabilize moduli, but it is small in the\ntrue vacuum. This scenario is discussed by using a simple model, one type of\nhybrid models.",
        "positive": "Neumann-Rosochatius integrable system for strings on AdS_4 x CP^3: We use the reduction of the string dynamics on AdS_4 x CP^3 to the\nNeumann-Rosochatius integrable system. All constraints can be expressed simply\nin terms of a few parameters. We analyze the giant magnon and single spike\nsolutions on R_t x CP^3 with two angular momenta in detail and find the\nenergy-charge relations. The finite-size effects of the giant magnon and single\nspike solutions are analyzed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Integrable structures in matrix models and physics of 2d-gravity: A review of the appearence of integrable structures in the matrix model\ndescription of $2d$-gravity is presented. Most of ideas are demonstrated at the\ntechnically simple but ideologically important examples. Matrix models are\nconsidered as a sort of \"effective\" description of continuum $2d$ field theory\nformulation. The main physical role in such description is played by the\nVirasoro-$W$ constraints which can be interpreted as a certain unitarity or\nfactorization constraints. Bith discrete and continuum (Generalized Kontsevich)\nmodels are formulated as the solutions to those discrete (continuous)\nVirasoro-$W$ constraints. Their integrability properties are proven using\nmostly the determinant technique highly related to the representation in terms\nof free fields. The paper also contains some new observations connected to\nformulation of more general than GKM solutions and deeper understanding of\ntheir relation to $2d$ gravity.",
        "positive": "JT gravity, KdV equations and macroscopic loop operators: We study the thermal partition function of Jackiw-Teitelboim (JT) gravity in\nasymptotically Euclidean $AdS_2$ background using the matrix model description\nrecently found by Saad, Shenker and Stanford [arXiv:1903.11115]. We show that\nthe partition function of JT gravity is written as the expectation value of a\nmacroscopic loop operator in the old matrix model of 2d gravity in the\nbackground where infinitely many couplings are turned on in a specific way.\nBased on this expression we develop a very efficient method of computing the\npartition function in the genus expansion as well as in the low temperature\nexpansion by making use of the Korteweg-de Vries constraints obeyed by the\npartition function. We have computed both these expansions up to very high\norders using this method. It turns out that we can take a low temperature limit\nwith the ratio of the temperature and the genus counting parameter held fixed.\nWe find the first few orders of the expansion of the free energy in a closed\nform in this scaling limit. We also study numerically the behavior of the\neigenvalue density and the Baker-Akhiezer function using the results in the\nscaling limit."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Poincare polynomials for Landau-Ginzburg Orbifolds: We construct the Poincare polynomials for Landau-Ginzburg orbifolds with\nprojection operators.Using them we show that special types of dualities\nincluding Poincare duality are realized under certain conditions. When\nCalabi-Yau interpretation exists, two simple formulae for Hodge numbers\n$h^{2,1}$ and $h^{1,1}$ are obtained.",
        "positive": "Flux tube solutions in noncommutative gauge theories: We derive nonperturbative classical solutions of noncommutative U(1) gauge\ntheory, with or without a Higgs field, representing static magnetic flux tubes\nwith arbitrary cross-section. The fields are nonperturbatively different from\nthe vacuum in at least some region of space. The flux of these tubes is\nquantized in natural units. We also point out that magnetic monopole charge can\nbe fractionized by embedding the monopoles in a constant magnetic field."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Finite Groups and Quantum Yang-Baxter Equation: We construct integrable modifications of 2d lattice gauge theories with\nfinite gauge groups.",
        "positive": "\"Stringy\" Coherent States Inspired By Generalized Uncertainty Principle: In this Letter we have explicitly constructed Generalized Coherent States for\nthe Non-Commutative Harmonic Oscillator that directly satisfy the Generalized\nUncertainty Principle (GUP). Our results have a smooth commutative limit. The\nstates show fractional revival which provides an independent bound on the GUP\nparameter. Using this and similar bounds we derive the largest possible value\nof the (GUP induced) minimum length scale. Mandel parameter analysis shows that\nthe statistics is Sub-Poissionian."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Vacuum Force and Confinement: We show that confinement of quarks and gluons can be explained by their\ninteraction with the vacuum Abelian gauge field $A_{\\sf{vac}}$, which is\nimplicitly introduced by the canonical commutation relations and generates the\nvacuum force. The background gauge field $A_{\\sf{vac}}$, linear in coordinates\nof $\\mathbb{R}^3$, is inherently present in quantum mechanics: it is introduced\nduring the canonical quantization of phase space $(T^*\\mathbb{R}^3, \\omega )$\nof a nonrelativistic particle, when a potential $\\theta$ of the symplectic\n2-form $\\omega =\\mathrm{d}\\theta$ on $T^*\\mathbb{R}^3$ is mapped into a\nconnection $A_{\\sf{vac}}=-\\mathrm{i}\\theta$ on a complex line bundle\n$L_{\\sf{v}}$ over $T^*\\mathbb{R}^3$ with gauge group U(1)$_{\\sf{v}}$ and\ncurvature $F_{\\sf{vac}}=\\mathrm{d} A_{\\sf{vac}}=-\\mathrm{i}\\omega$.\nGeneralizing this correspondence to the relativistic phase space\n$T^*\\mathbb{R}^{3,1}$, we extend the Dirac equation from $\\mathbb{R}^{3,1}$ to\n$T^*\\mathbb{R}^{3,1}$ while maintaining the condition that fermions depend only\non $x\\in\\mathbb{R}^{3,1}$. The generalized Dirac equation contains the\ninteraction of fermions with $A_{\\sf{vac}}$ and has particle-like solutions\nlocalized in space. Thus, the wave-particle duality can be explained by turning\non or off the interaction with the vacuum field $A_{\\sf{vac}}$. Accordingly,\nconfinement of quarks and gluons can be explained by the fact that their\ninteraction with $A_{\\sf{vac}}$ is always on and therefore they can only exist\nin bound states in the form of hadrons.",
        "positive": "Link Homology from Homological Mirror Symmetry: We explain how to calculate link homology for a Lie algebra $\\mathfrak{g}$\nusing the Fukaya category associated to a 2d A-model. Links are represented as\nconfigurations of particular A-branes and link homology is given by Homs\nbetween these A-branes. In the case of $\\mathfrak{g}=\\mathfrak{su}_2$, we\nexplain how to explicitly construct projective resolutions of the relevant\nA-branes in terms of thimbles, whose algebra is known. This gives an explicit\nalgorithm for computing Khovanov homology. This algorithm can be extended to\nall Lie algebras."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Localization of supersymmetric field theories on non-compact hyperbolic\n  three-manifolds: We study supersymmetric gauge theories with an R-symmetry, defined on\nnon-compact, hyperbolic, Riemannian three-manifolds, focusing on the case of a\nsupersymmetry-preserving quotient of Euclidean AdS$_3$. We compute the exact\npartition function in these theories, using the method of localization, thus\nreducing the problem to the computation of one-loop determinants around a\nsupersymmetric locus. We evaluate the one-loop determinants employing three\ndifferent techniques: an index theorem, the method of pairing of eigenvalues,\nand the heat kernel method. Along the way, we discuss aspects of supersymmetry\nin manifolds with a conformal boundary, including supersymmetric actions and\nboundary conditions.",
        "positive": "A novel non-perturbative approach to String Cosmology: We develop an exact functional method applied to the bosonic string on a\nshperical world sheet, in graviton and dilaton backgrounds, consistent with\nconformal invariance. In this method, quantum fluctuations are controled by the\namplitude of the kinetic term of the corresponding stringy sigma-model, and we\nexhibit a novel non-perturbative non-critical string configuration which\nappears as a fixed point of our evolution equation. We argue that this string\nconfiguration is an exact solution, valid to all orders in alpha', which is\nconsistent with string scattering amplitudes. The dilaton configuration is\nlogarithmic in terms of the string coordinate X^0, and the amplitude of the\ncorresponding quantum fluctuations is independent of the target space dimension\nD; for D=4, the corresponding Universe, in the Einstein frame, is static and\nflat. A linearization around this fixed point leads to a slowly expanding,\ndecelerating Universe, reaching asymptotically (in Einstein time) the Minkowski\nUniverse. Moreover, the well-known linear (in terms of X^0) dilaton background,\nwhich is a trivial fixed point of our evolution equation, is recovered by our\nnon trivial fixed point for early times. This feature explains the time\nevolution from a linearly expanding Universe to a Minkowski Universe."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Rotations and e, $\u03bd$ Propagators, Part III: In Parts I and II we showed that e, $\\nu$ propagators can be derived from\nrotation invariant projection operators, thereby providing examples of how\nquantities with spacetime symmetry can be obtained by constraining rotationally\nsymmetric objects. One constraint is the restriction of the basis; only two\nkinds of bases were considered, one for the electron and one for the neutrino.\nIn this part, we find that, of a wide range of bases each consistent with the\nconstraint process, only the two kinds of bases considered in Parts I and II\ngive spacetime symmetric propagators. We interpret the result geometrically.\nThe spinor representation is unfaithful in four dimensional Euclidean space\nwhich explains why spin 1/2 wave functions have four, not two, components. Then\nwe show how a basis relates to two planes in four dimensional Euclidean space.\nA pair of planes spanning two or three dimensions does not allow spacetime\nsymmetry. Spacetime symmetry requires two planes that span four dimensions.\n  PACS: 11.30.-j, 11.30.Cp, and 03.65.Fd",
        "positive": "Vacua of M-theory and N=2 strings: String and membrane dynamics may be unified into a theory of 2+2 dimensional\nself-dual world-volumes living in a 10+2 dimensional target space. Some of the\nvacua of this M-theory are described by the N=(2,1) heterotic string, whose\ntarget space theory describes the world-volume dynamics of 2+2 dimensional\n`M-branes'. All classes of string and membrane theories are realized as\nparticular vacua of the N=(2,1) string: Type IIA/B strings and supermembranes\narise in the standard moduli space of toroidal compactifications, while type\n${\\rm I}'$ and heterotic strings arise from a $\\bf Z_2$ orbifold of the N=2\nalgebra. Yet another vacuum describes M-theory on a ${\\bf T}^5/{\\bf Z}_2$\norientifold, the type I string on $ {\\bf T}^4$, and the six-dimensional\nself-dual string. We find that open membranes carry `Chan-Paton fields' on\ntheir boundaries, providing a common origin for gauge symmetries in M-theory.\nThe world-volume interactions of M-brane fluctuations agree with those of\nBorn-Infeld effective dynamics of the Dirichlet two-brane in the presence of a\nnon-vanishing electromagnetic field on the brane."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Two Dimensional Quantum (4,4) Null Superstring in de Sitter Space: The (4,4) null superstring equations of motions and constraints on de Sitter\nspace are given by using the harmonic superspace. These are solved explicitly\nby performing a perturbative expansion of the (4,4) superstring coordinates in\npowers of c2, the world-sheet speed of light. The analytic expressions of the\nzeroth and first order solutions are determined. On the other hand, we study\nthe quantization of the (4,4)null superstring in de Sitter space and we\ndescribe its superalgebra.",
        "positive": "Duality Induced Reflections and CPT: The linear particle-antiparticle conjugation $\\ty C$ and position space\nreflection $\\ty P$ as well as the antilinear time reflection $\\ty T$ are shown\nto be inducable by the selfduality of representations for the operation groups\n$\\SU(2)$, $\\SL(\\C^2)$ and $\\R$ for spin, Lorentz transformations and time\ntranslations resp. The definition of a colour compatible linear\n$\\ty{CP}$-reflection for quarks as selfduality induced is impossible since\ntriplet and antitriplet $\\SU(3)$-representations are not linearly equivalent."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Contravariant Gravity on Poisson Manifolds and Einstein Gravity: A relation between gravity on Poisson manifolds proposed in arXiv:1508.05706\nand Einstein gravity is investigated. The compatibility of the Poisson and\nRiemann structures defines a unique connection, the contravariant Levi-Civita\nconnection, and leads to the idea of the contravariant gravity. The\nEinstein-Hilbert-type action yields an equation of motion which is written in\nterms of the analog of the Einstein tensor, and it includes couplings between\nthe metric and the Poisson tensor. The study of the Weyl transformation reveals\nproperties of those interactions. It is argued that this theory can have an\nequivalent description as a system of Einstein gravity coupled to matter. As an\nexample, it is shown that the contravariant gravity on a two-dimensional\nPoisson manifold can be described by a real scalar field coupled to the metric\nin a specific manner.",
        "positive": "Phase transitions in thick branes endorsed by entropic information: The so-called configurational entropy (CE) framework has proved to be an\nefficient instrument to study nonlinear scalar field models featuring solutions\nwith spatially-localized energy, since its proposal by Gleiser and Stamapoulos.\nTherefore, in this work, we apply this new physical quantity in order to\ninvestigate the properties of degenerate Bloch branes. We show that it is\npossible to construct a configurational entropy measure in functional space\nfrom the field configurations, where a complete set of exact solutions for the\nmodel studied displays both double and single-kink configurations. Our study\nshows a rich internal structure of the configurations, where we observe that\nthe field configurations undergo a quick phase transition, which is endorsed by\ninformation entropy. Furthermore, the Bloch configurational entropy is employed\nto demonstrate a high organisational degree in the structure of the\nconfigurations of the system, stating that there is a best ordering for the\nsolutions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Microscopical Description of Giant Gravitons: We construct a non-Abelian world volume effective action for a system of\nmultiple M-theory gravitons. This action contains multipole moment couplings to\nthe eleven-dimensional background potentials. We use these couplings to study,\nfrom the microscopical point of view, giant graviton configurations where the\ngravitons expand into an M2-brane, with the topology of a fuzzy 2-sphere, that\nlives in the spherical part of the AdS_7 x S^4 background or in the AdS part of\nAdS_4 x S^7. When the number of gravitons is large we find perfect agreement\nwith the Abelian, macroscopical description of giant gravitons given in the\nliterature.",
        "positive": "Three-loop renormalization of the quantum action for a four-dimensional\n  scalar model with quartic interaction with the usage of the background field\n  method and a cutoff regularization: The paper studies the quantum action for the four-dimensional real\n$\\phi^4$-theory in the case of a general formulation using the background field\nmethod. The three-loop renormalization is performed with the usage of a cutoff\nregularization in the coordinate representation. The absence of non-local\nsingular contributions and the correctness of the renormalization\n$\\mathcal{R}$-operation on the example of separate three-loop diagrams are also\ndiscussed. The explicit form of the first three coefficients for the\nrenormalization constants and for the $\\beta$-function is presented.\nConsistency with previously known results is shown."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauging of Lorentz Group WZW Model by its Null Subgroup: We consider the standard vector gauging of Lorentz group $ SO(3,1) $ WZW\nmodel by its non-semisimple null Euclidean subgroup in two dimensions $ E(2) $.\nThe resultant effective action of the theory is seen to describe a one\ndimensional bosonic field in the presence of external charge that we interpret\nit as a Liouville field. Gauging a boosted $ SO(3) $ subgroup, we find that in\nthe limit of the large boost, the theory can be interpreted as an interacting\nToda theory. We also take the generalized non-standard bilinear form for\n$SO(3,1) $ and gauge both $ SO(3) $ and $E(2)$ subgroups and discuss the\nresultant theories.",
        "positive": "Baryonic sphere: a spherical domain wall carrying baryon number: We construct a spherical domain wall which has baryon charge distributed on a\nsphere of finite radius in a Skyrme model with a sixth order derivative term\nand a modified mass term. Its distribution of energy density likewise takes the\nform of a sphere. In order to localize the domain wall at a finite radius we\nneed a negative coefficient in front of the Skyrme term and a positive\ncoefficient of the sixth order derivative term to stabilize the soliton.\nIncreasing the pion mass pronounces the shell-like structure of the\nconfiguration."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Solution of the dispersionless Hirota equations: The dispersionless differential Fay identity is shown to be equivalent to a\nkernel expansion providing a universal algebraic characterization and solution\nof the dispersionless Hirota equations. Some calculations based on D-bar data\nof the action are also indicated.",
        "positive": "Universality of anomalous conductivities in theories with\n  higher-derivative holographic duals: Anomalous chiral conductivities in theories with global anomalies are\nindependent of whether they are computed in a weakly coupled quantum (or\nthermal) field theory, hydrodynamics, or at infinite coupling from holography.\nWhile the presence of dynamical gauge fields and mixed, gauge-global anomalies\ncan destroy this universality, in their absence, the non-renormalisation of\nanomalous Ward identities is expected to be obeyed at all intermediate coupling\nstrengths. In holography, bulk theories with higher-derivative corrections\nincorporate coupling constant corrections to the boundary theory observables in\nan expansion around infinite coupling. In this work, we investigate the\ncoupling constant dependence and universality of anomalous conductivities (and\nthus of the anomalous Ward identities) in general, four-dimensional systems\nthat possess asymptotically anti-de Sitter holographic duals with a\nnon-extremal black brane in five dimensions, and anomalous transport introduced\ninto the boundary theory via the bulk Chern-Simons action. We show that in bulk\ntheories with arbitrary gauge- and diffeomorphism-invariant higher-derivative\nactions, anomalous conductivities, which can incorporate an infinite series of\n(inverse) coupling constant corrections, remain universal. Owing to the\nexistence of the membrane paradigm, the proof reduces to a construction of bulk\neffective theories at the horizon and the boundary. It only requires us to\nimpose the condition of horizon regularity and correct boundary conditions on\nthe fields. We also discuss ways to violate the universality by violating\nconditions for the validity of the membrane paradigm, in particular, by adding\nmass to the vector fields (a case with a mixed, gauge-global anomaly) and in\nbulk geometries with a naked singularity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Birth of de Sitter Universe from time crystal: We show that a simple sub-class of Horndeski theory can describe a time\ncrystal Universe. The time crystal Universe can be regarded as a baby Universe\nnucleated from a flat space, which is mediated by an extension of\nGiddings-Strominger instanton in a 2-form theory dual to the Horndeski theory.\nRemarkably, when a cosmological constant is included, de Sitter Universe can be\ncreated by tunneling from the time crystal Universe. It gives rise to a past\ncompletion of an inflationary Universe.",
        "positive": "Abrikosov String in N=2 Supersymmetric QED: We study the Abrikosov-Nielsen-Olesen string in N=2 supersymmetric QED with\nN=2-preserving superpotential, in which case the Abrikosov string is found to\nbe 1/2-BPS saturated. Adding a quadratic small perturbation in the\nsuperpotential breaks N=2 supersymmetry to N=1 supersymmetry. Then the\nAbrikosov string is no longer BPS saturated. The difference between the string\ntensions for the non-BPS and BPS saturated situation is found to be negative to\nthe first order of the perturbation parameter."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gromov-Witten Invariants via Algebraic Geometry: Calculations of the number of curves on a Calabi-Yau manifold via an\ninstanton expansion do not always agree with what one would expect naively. It\nis explained how to account for continuous families of instantons via\ndeformation theory and excess intersection theory. The essential role played by\ndegenerate instantons is also explained. This paper is a slightly expanded\nversion of the author's talk at the June 1995 Trieste Conference on S-Duality\nand Mirror Symmetry.",
        "positive": "Glueball Spectra from a Matrix Model of Pure Yang-Mills Theory: We present variational estimates for the low-lying energies of a simple\nmatrix model that approximates $SU(3)$ Yang-Mills theory on a three-sphere of\nradius $R$. By fixing the ground state energy, we obtain the (integrated)\nrenormalization group (RG) equation for the Yang-Mills coupling $g$ as a\nfunction of $R$. This RG equation allows to estimate the masses of other\nglueball states, which we find to be in excellent agreement with lattice\nsimulations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Toy Model for Topology Change Transitions: Role of Curvature\n  Corrections: We consider properties of near-critical solutions describing a test static\naxisymmetric D-dimensional brane interacting with a bulk N-dimensional black\nhole (N>D). We focus our attention on the effects connected with curvature\ncorrections to the brane action. Namely, we demonstrate that the second order\nphase transition in such a system is modified and becomes first order. We\ndiscuss possible consequences of these results for merger transitions between\ncaged black holes and black strings.",
        "positive": "Chern-Simons States at Genus One: We present a rigorous analysis of the Schr\\\"{o}dinger picture quantization\nfor the $SU(2)$ Chern-Simons theory on 3-manifold torus$\\times$line, with\ninsertions of Wilson lines. The quantum states, defined as gauge covariant\nholomorphic functionals of smooth $su(2)$-connections on the torus, are\nexpressed by degree $2k$ theta-functions satisfying additional conditions. The\nconditions are obtained by splitting the space of semistable\n$su(2)$-connections into nine submanifolds and by analyzing the behavior of\nstates at four codimension $1$ strata. We construct the\nKnizhnik-Zamolodchikov-Bernard connection allowing to compare the states for\ndifferent complex structures of the torus and different positions of the Wilson\nlines. By letting two Wilson lines come together, we prove a recursion relation\nfor the dimensions of the spaces of states which, together with the (unproven)\nabsence of states for spins$\\s>{_1\\over^2}$level implies the Verlinde dimension\nformula."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Notes on the bulk viscosity of holographic gauge theory plasmas: A novel technique is used to compute the bulk viscosity of high temperature\nholographic gauge theory plasmas with softly broken conformal symmetry. Working\nin a black hole background which corresponds to a non-trivial solution to the\nNavier-Stokes equation, and using a Ward identity for the trace of the\nstress-energy tensor, it is possible to obtain an analytic expression for the\nbulk viscosity. This can be used to verify the high temperature limit of a\nconjectured bound on the bulk viscosity for these theories. The bound is\nsaturated when the conformal symmetry-breaking operator becomes marginal.",
        "positive": "BRST symmetry for Regge-Teitelboim based minisuperspace models: The Einstein-Hilbert action in the context of Higher derivative theories is\nconsidered for finding out their BRST symmetries. Being a constraint system,\nthe model is transformed in the minisuperspace language with the FRLW\nbackground and the gauge symmetries are explored. Exploiting the first order\nformalism developed by Banerjee et. al. the diffeomorphism symmetry is\nextracted. From the general form of the gauge transformations of the field, the\nanalogous BRST transformations are calculated. The effective Lagrangian is\nconstructed by considering two gauge fixing conditions. Further, the BRST\n(conserved) charge is computed which plays an important role in defining the\nphysical states from the total Hilbert space of states. The finite field\ndependent BRST (FFBRST) formulation is also studied in this context where the\nJacobian for functional measure is illustrated specifically."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Cosmology in nonrelativistic general covariant theory of gravity: Horava and Melby-Thompson recently proposed a new version of the\nHorava-Lifshitz theory of gravity, in which the spin-0 graviton is eliminated\nby introducing a Newtonian pre-potential $\\phi$ and a local U(1) gauge field\n$A$. In this paper, we first derive the corresponding Hamiltonian,\nsuper-momentum constraints, the dynamical equations, and the equations for\n$\\phi$ and $A$, in the presence of matter fields. Then, we apply the theory to\ncosmology, and obtain the modified Friedmann equation and the conservation law\nof energy, in addition to the equations for $\\phi$ and $A$. When the spatial\ncurvature is different from zero, terms behaving like dark radiation and\nstiff-fluid exist, from which, among other possibilities, bouncing universe can\nbe constructed. We also study linear perturbations of the FRW universe with any\ngiven spatial curvature $k$, and derive the most general formulas for scalar\nperturbations. The vector and tensor perturbations are the same as those\nrecently given by one of the present authors [A. Wang, Phys. Rev. D{\\bf 82},\n124063 (2010)] in the setup of Sotiriou, Visser and Weinfurtner. Applying these\nformulas to the Minkowski background, we have shown explicitly that the scalar\nand vector perturbations of the metric indeed vanish, and the only remaining\nmodes are the massless spin-2 gravitons.",
        "positive": "Moduli Corrections to D-term Inflation: We present a D-term hybrid inflation model, embedded in supergravity with\nmoduli stabilisation. Its novel features allow us to overcome the serious\nchallenges of combining D-term inflation and moduli fields within the same\nstring-motivated theory. One salient point of the model is the positive\ndefinite uplifting D-term arising from the moduli stabilisation sector. By\ncoupling this D-term to the inflationary sector, we generate an effective\nFayet-Iliopoulos term. Moduli corrections to the inflationary dynamics are also\nobtained. Successful inflation is achieved for a limited range of parameter\nvalues with spectral index compatible with the WMAP3 data. Cosmic D-term\nstrings are also formed at the end of inflation; these are no longer\nBogomol'nyi-Prasad-Sommerfeld (BPS) objects. The properties of the strings are\nstudied."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dyonic branes and linear dilaton background: We study dyonic solutions to the gravity-dilaton-antisymmetric form equations\nwith the goal of identifying new $p$-brane solutions on the fluxed linear\ndilaton background. Starting with the generic solutions constructed by reducing\nthe system to decoupled Liouville equations for certain values of parameters,\nwe identify the most general solution whose singularities are hidden behind a\nregular event horizon, and then explore the admissible asymptotic behaviors. In\naddition to known asymptotically flat dyonic branes, we find two classes of\nasymptotically non-flat solutions which can be interpreted as describing\nmagnetically charged branes on the electrically charged linear dilaton\nbackground (and the $S$-dual configuration of electrically charged branes on\nthe magnetically charged background), and uncharged black branes on the\ndyonically charged linear dilaton background. This interpretation is shown to\nbe consistent with the first law of thermodynamics for the new solutions.",
        "positive": "Effective potential for quantum scalar fields on a de Sitter geometry: We study the quantum theory of an O(N) scalar field on de Sitter geometry at\nleading order in a nonperturbative 1/N-expansion. This resums the infinite\nseries of so-called superdaisy loop diagrams. We obtain the de Sitter symmetric\nsolutions of the corresponding, properly renormalized, dynamical field\nequations and compute the complete effective potential. Because of its\nself-interactions, the field acquires a strictly positive square mass which\nscreens potential infrared divergences. Moreover, strongly enhanced\nultralong-wavelength fluctuations prevent the existence of a spontaneously\nbroken symmetry state in any dimension."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The M-Theory Three-Form and Singular Geometries: While M- and F-theory compactifications describe a much larger class of vacua\nthan perturbative string compactifications, they typically need singularities\nto generate non-abelian gauge fields and charged matter. The physical\nexplanation involves M2-branes wrapped on vanishing cycles. Here we seek an\nalternative explanation that could address outstanding issues such as the\ndescription of nilpotent branches, stability walls, frozen singularities and so\nforth. To this end we use a model in which the three-form is related to the\nChern-Simons form of a bundle. The model has a one-form non-abelian gauge\nsymmetry which normally eliminates all the degrees of freedom associated to the\nbundle. However by restricting the transformations to preserve the bundle along\nthe vanishing cycles, we may get new degrees of freedom associated to\nsingularities, without appealing to wrapped M2-branes. The analysis can be\nsimplified by gauge-fixing the one-form symmetry using higher-dimensional\ninstanton equations. We explain how this mechanism leads to the natural\nemergence of phenomena such as enhanced ADE gauge symmetries, nilpotent\nbranches, charged matter fields and their holomorphic couplings.",
        "positive": "New BPS solitons in N=4 gauged supergravity and black holes in\n  Einstein-Yang-Mills-dilaton theory: We start by revisiting the problem of finding BPS solutions in\n$\\mathcal{N}=4$ SU(2)$\\times$SU(2) gauged supergravity. We report on a new\nsupersymmetric solution in the Abelian sector of the theory, which describes a\nsoliton that is regular everywhere. The solution is 1/4 BPS and can be obtained\nfrom a double analytic continuation of a planar solution found by Klemm in\nhep-th/9810090. Also in the Abelian sector, but now for a spherically symmetric\nansatz we find a new solution whose supersymmetric nature was overlooked in the\nprevious literature. Then, we move to the non-Abelian sector of the theory by\nconsidering the meron ansatz for SU(2). We construct electric-meronic and\ndouble-meron solutions and show that the latter also leads to 1/4 BPS\nconfigurations that are singular and acquire an extra conformal Killing vector.\nWe then move beyond the supergravity embedding of this theory by modifying the\nself-interaction of the scalar, but still within the same meron ansatz for a\nsingle gauge field, which is dilatonically coupled with the scalar. We\nconstruct exact black holes for two families of self-interactions that admit\ntopologically Lifshitz black holes, as well as other black holes with\ninteresting causal structures and asymptotic behavior. We analyze some thermal\nproperties of these spacetimes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "M Theory, Type IIA Superstrings, and Elliptic Cohomology: The topological part of the M-theory partition function was shown by Witten\nto be encoded in the index of an E8 bundle in eleven dimensions. This partition\nfunction is, however, not automatically anomaly-free. We observe here that the\nvanishing W_7=0 of the Diaconescu-Moore-Witten anomaly in IIA and compactified\nM-theory partition function is equivalent to orientability of spacetime with\nrespect to (complex-oriented) elliptic cohomology. Motivated by this, we define\nan elliptic cohomology correction to the IIA partition function, and propose\nits relationship to interaction between 2-branes and 5-branes in the M-theory\nlimit.",
        "positive": "Linear space of spinor monomials and realization of the Nambu-Goldstone\n  fermion in the Volkov-Akulov and Komargodski-Seiberg Lagrangians: The analytical algorithm previously proposed by the author for matching the\nVolkov-Akulov (VA) and Komargodski-Seiberg (KS) actions describing the\nNambu-Goldstone (NG) fermion, is discussed. The essence of the algotithm is\nexplained, its consistency is proved and the recent results obtained with\ncomputer assistance are reproduced, when the proper Fierz rearrangements for\nMajorana bispinors are taken into account. We reveal a linear space of\ncomposite spinorial monomials $\\Delta_{m}$ which are the solutions of the\nscalar constraint $(\\partial^{m}\\bar\\psi\\Delta_{m})=0$. This space is used to\nclarify relations between the KS and VA realizations of the NG fermionic field\n$\\psi$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Holographic Space-Time Model of Cosmology: This essay outlines the Holographic Space-time (HST) theory of cosmology and\nits relation to conventional theories of inflation. The predictions of the\ntheory are compatible with observations, and one must hope for data on\nprimordial gravitational waves or non-Gaussian fluctuations to distinguish it\nfrom conventional models. The model predicts an early era of structure\nformation, prior to the Big Bang. Understanding the fate of those structures\nrequires complicated simulations that have not yet been done. The result of\nthose calculations might falsify the model, or might provide a very economical\nframework for explaining dark matter and the generation of the baryon\nasymmetry.",
        "positive": "Phases of bosonic strings and two dimensional gauge theories: We suggest that the extrinsic curvature and torsion of a bosonic string can\nbe employed as variables in a two dimensional Landau-Ginzburg gauge field\ntheory. Their interpretation in terms of the abelian Higgs multiplet leads to\ntwo different phases. In the phase with unbroken gauge symmetry the ground\nstate describes open strings while in the phase with broken gauge symmetry the\nground state involves closed strings. When we allow for an additional abelian\ngauge structure along the string, we arrive at an interpretation in terms of\nthe two dimensional SU(2) Yang-Mills theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Low Energy Effective Equations of Motion for Multibrane World\n  Gravity: The three 3-brane system with both positive or negative tension is studied in\na low energy regime by using gradient expansion method. The effective equations\nof motion on the brane is derived and in particular we examine, in the first\norder, the radion effective lagrangian for this system. In this case, we show\nthe solution of the modified Friedmann equation with dark radiation on the\nmiddle brane and the other 3-branes by direct elimination of the radion fields\nand Weyl scaling of the metric on the branes. We also derived the scalar-tensor\ngravity on the branes.",
        "positive": "Fine Structure Constant in the Spacetime of a Cosmic String: We calculate the fine structure constant in the spacetime of a cosmic string.\nIn the presence of a cosmic string the value of the fine structure constant\nreduces. We also discuss on numerical results."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "$D_n$ Dynkin quiver moduli spaces: We study $3d$ $\\mathcal{N}=4$ quiver gauge theories with gauge nodes forming\na $D_n$ Dynkin diagram. The class of good $D_n$ Dynkin quivers is completely\ncharacterised and the moduli space singularity structure fully determined for\nall such theories. The class of good $D_n$ Dynkin quivers is denoted\n$D_\\nu^\\mu(n)_p$ where $n \\geq 2$ is an integer, $\\nu$ and $\\mu$ are integer\npartitions and $p \\in \\{ \\textrm{even}, \\textrm{odd}\\}$ denotes membership of\none of two broad subclasses. A full assessment of which $\\mathfrak{so}_{2n}$\nnilpotent varieties are realisable as $D_n$ Dynkin quiver moduli spaces is\nprovided. Quiver addition is introduced and is used to give large subclasses of\n$D_n$ Dynkin quivers poset structure. The partial ordering is determined by\ninclusion relations for the moduli space branches. The resulting Hasse diagrams\nare used to both classify $D_n$ Dynkin quivers and determine the moduli space\nsingularity structure for an arbitrary good theory. The poset constructions and\nlocal moduli space analyses are complemented throughout by explicit checks\nutilising moduli space dimension matching.",
        "positive": "Bounce beyond Horndeski with GR asymptotics and $\u03b3$-crossing: It is known that beyond Horndeski theory admits healthy bouncing cosmological\nsolutions. However, the constructions proposed so far do not reduce to General\nRelativity (GR) in either infinite past or infinite future or both. The\nobstacle is so called $\\gamma$-crossing, which off hand appears pathological.\nBy working in the unitary gauge, we confirm the recent observation by Ijjas\n[arXiv:1710.05990] that $\\gamma$-crossing is, in fact, healthy. On this basis\nwe construct a spatially flat, stable bouncing Universe solution whose\nasymptotic past and future are described by GR with conventional massless\nscalar field."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauge-invariant fields and flow equations for Yang-Mills theories: We discuss the concept of gauge-invariant fields for non-abelian gauge\ntheories. Infinitesimal fluctuations around a given gauge field can be split\ninto physical and gauge fluctuations. Starting from some reference field the\ngauge-invariant fields are constructed by consecutively adding physical\nfluctuations. An arbitrary gauge field can be mapped to an associated gauge\ninvariant field. An effective action that depends on gauge-invariant fields\nbecomes a gauge-invariant functional of arbitrary gauge fields by associating\nto every gauge field the corresponding gauge-invariant field. The\ngauge-invariant effective action can be obtained from an implicit functional\nintegral with a suitable \"physical gauge fixing\". We generalize this concept to\nthe gauge-invariant effective average action or flowing action, which involves\nan infrared cutoff. It obeys a gauge-invariant functional flow equation. We\ndemonstrate the use of this flow equation by a simple computation of the\nrunning gauge coupling and propagator in pure $SU(N)$-Yang-Mills theory.",
        "positive": "Comments on Brane Recombination, Finite Flux Vacua, and the Swampland: The Swampland program relies heavily on the conjecture that there can only be\na finite number of flux vacua (FFV conjecture). Stipulating this FFV conjecture\nand applying it to some older work in flux vacua construction we show that\nwithin a patch of the landscape the FFV conjecture makes predictions on the\nnon-existence of otherwise viable non-perturbative objects arising from brane\nrecombination. Future gains in direct non-perturbative analysis could therefore\nnot only test this prediction but also test portions of the Swampland program\nitself. We also discuss implications of a weaker FFV conjecture on the counting\nof flux vacua which predicts positivity of the brane central charge if the EFT\nanalysis is to be qualitatively trusted."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Charged rotating Kaluza-Klein multi-black holes and multi-black strings\n  in five-dimensional Einstein-Maxwell theory: We construct exact solutions, which represent regular charged rotating\nKaluza-Klein multi-black holes in the five-dimensional pure Einstein-Maxwell\ntheory. Quantization conditions between the mass, the angular momentum, and\ncharges appear from the regularity condition of horizon. We also obtain\nmulti-black string solutions by taking some limits in the solutions. We extend\nthe black hole solutions to the five-dimensional Einstein-Maxwell-Chern-Simons\ntheory with an arbitrary Chern-Simons coupling constant.",
        "positive": "Dirac-Born-Infeld-Volkov-Akulov and Deformation of Supersymmetry: We deform the action and the supersymmetry transformations of the d=10 and\nd=4 Maxwell supermultiplets so that at each order of the deformation the theory\nhas 16 Maxwell multiplet deformed supersymmetries as well as 16 Volkov-Akulov\ntype non-linear supersymmetries. The result agrees with the expansion in the\nstring tension of the explicit action of the Dirac-Born-Infeld model and its\nsupersymmetries, extracted from D9 and D3 superbranes, respectively. The\nhalf-maximal Dirac-Born-Infeld models with 8 Maxwell supermultiplet deformed\nsupersymmetries and 8 Volkov-Akulov type supersymmetries are described by a new\nclass of d=6 vector branes related to chiral (2,0) supergravity, which we\ndenote as `Vp-branes'. We use a space-filling V5 superbrane for the d=6 model\nand a V3 superbrane for the d=4 half-maximal Dirac-Born-Infeld (DBI) models. In\nthis way we present a completion to all orders of the deformation of the\nMaxwell supermultiplets with maximal 16+16 supersymmetries in d=10 and 4, and\nhalf-maximal 8+8 supersymmetries in d=6 and 4."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Third Way to Interacting $p$-form Theories: We construct a class of interacting $(d-2)$-form theories in $d$ dimensions\nthat are `third way' consistent. This refers to the fact that the interaction\nterms in the $p$-form field equations of motion neither come from the variation\nof an action nor are they off-shell conserved on their own. Nevertheless the\nfull equation is still on-shell consistent. Various generalizations, e.g.\ncoupling them to $(d-3)$-forms, where 3-algebras play a prominent role, are\nalso discussed. The method to construct these models also easily recovers the\nmodified 3$d$ Yang-Mills theory obtained earlier and straightforwardly allows\nfor higher derivative extensions.",
        "positive": "On the Supersymmetric Extension of Gauss-Bonnet like Gravity: We explore the supersymmetry invariance of a supergravity theory in the\npresence of a non-trivial boundary. The explicit construction of a bulk\nLagrangian based on an enlarged superalgebra, known as $AdS$-Lorentz, is\npresented. Using a geometric approach we show that the supersymmetric extension\nof a Gauss-Bonnet like gravity is required in order to restore the\nsupersymmetry invariance of the theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spontaneous symmetry breaking in N=2 supergravity: A model describing the $N=2$ supergravity interaction with vector and linear\nmultiplets is constructed. It admits the introduction of the spontaneous\nbreaking of supersymmetry with arbitrary scales, one of which may be equal to\nzero, which corresponds to partial super-Higgs effect ($N=2 \\rightarrow N=1$).\nA cosmological term is automatically equal to zero.",
        "positive": "Axion electrodynamics and nonrelativistic photons in nuclear and quark\n  matter: We argue that the effective theory for electromagnetic fields in spatially\nvarying meson condensations in dense nuclear and quark matter is given by the\naxion electrodynamics. We show that one of the helicity states of photons there\nhas the nonrelativistic gapless dispersion relation $\\omega \\sim k^2$ at small\nmomentum, while the other is gapped. This \"nonrelativistic photon\" may also be\nrealized at the interface between topological and trivial insulators in\ncondensed matter systems."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetric completion of supersymmetric quantum mechanics: Via supersymmetry argument, we determine the effective action of the SU(2)\nsupersymmetric Yang-Mills quantum mechanics up to two constants, which results\nfrom the full supersymmetric completion of the F^4 term. The effective action,\nconsisting of zero, two, four, six and eight fermion terms, agrees with the\nknown perturbative one-loop calculations from the type II string theory and the\nmatrix theory. Our derivation thus demonstrates its non-renormalization\nproperties, namely, the one-loop exactness of the aforementioned action and the\nabsence of the non-perturbative corrections. We briefly discuss generalizations\nto other branes and the comparison to the DLCQ supergravity analysis. In\nparticular, our results show that the stringent constraints from the\nsupersymmetry are responsible for the agreement between the matrix theory and\nsupergravity with sixteen supercharges.",
        "positive": "Notes on Integrable Boundary Interactions of Open $SU(4)$ Alternating\n  Spin Chains: In arXiv:1704.05807, it was shown that the planar flavored ABJM theory is\nintegrable in the scalar sector at two-loop order using coordinate Bethe\nansatz. A salient feature of this case is that the boundary reflection matrices\nare anti-diagonal with respect to the chosen basis. In this paper, we relax the\ncoefficients of the boundary terms to be general constants in order to search\nfor integrable systems among this class. We found that at each end of the spin\nchain, the only integrable boundary interaction, besides the one in\narXiv:1704.05807, is the one with vanishing boundary interactions leading to\ndiagonal reflection matrices. We also construct non-supersymmetric plannar\nflavored ABJM theory which leads to trivial boundary interaction at both ends\nof the open chain from two-loop anomalous dimension matrix in the scalar\nsector."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A systematic study of finite field dependent BRST-BV transformations in\n  $Sp(2)$ extended field-antifield formalism: In the framework of $Sp(2)$ extended Lagrangian field-antifield BV formalism\nwe study systematically the role of finite field-dependent BRST-BV\ntransformations. We have proved that the Jacobian of a finite BRST-BV\ntransformation is capable of generating arbitrary finite change of the\ngauge-fixing function in the path integral.",
        "positive": "Black and super p-branes in diverse dimensions: We present a generic Lagrangian, in arbitrary spacetime dimension $D$,\ndescribing the interaction of a dilaton, a graviton and an antisymmetric tensor\nof arbitrary rank $d$. For each $D$~and~$d$, we find ``solitonic'' black\n$\\tilde{p}$-brane solutions where $\\tilde{p} = \\tilde{d} - 1$~and~ $\\tilde d =\nD - d - 2$. These solutions display a spacetime singularity surrounded by an\nevent horizon, and are characterized by a mass per unit $\\tilde p$-volume,\n${\\cal M}_{\\tilde{d}}$, and topological ``magnetic'' charge $g_{\\tilde{d}}$,\nobeying $\\kappa {\\cal M}_{\\tilde{d}} \\geq g_{\\tilde{d}}/ \\sqrt{2}$. In the\nextreme limit $\\kappa {\\cal M}_{\\tilde{d}}=g_{\\tilde{d}}/ \\sqrt{2}$, the\nsingularity and event horizon coalesce. For specific values of $D$~and~$d$,\nthese extreme solutions also exhibit supersymmetry and may be identified with\npreviously classified heterotic, Type IIA and Type IIB super $\\tilde p$-branes.\nThe theory also admits elementary $p$-brane solutions with ``electric'' Noether\ncharge $e_d$, obeying the Dirac quantization rule $e_d g_{\\tilde{d}} = 2\\pi n$,\n$n =$~integer. We also present the Lagrangian describing the theory dual to the\noriginal theory, whose antisymmetric tensor has rank $\\tilde{d}$ and for which\nthe roles of topological and elementary solutions are interchanged. The super\n$p$-branes and their duals are mutually non-singular. As special cases of our\ngeneral solution we recover the black $p$-branes of Horowitz and Strominger $(D\n= 10)$, Guven $(D = 11)$ and Gibbons et al $(D = 4)$, the $N = 1$, $N =\n2a$~and~$N = 2b$ super-$p$-branes of Dabholkar et al $(4 \\leq D \\leq 10)$, Duff\nand Stelle $(D = 11)$, Duff and Lu $(D = 10)$ and Callan, Harvey and Strominger\n$(D = 10)$, and the axionic instanton of Rey $(D = 4)$. In particular, the\nelectric/magnetic duality of Gibbons and Perry in $D = 4$ is seen to be a\nconsequence of particle/sixbrane duality in $D = 10$. Among the new solutions\nis a self-dual superstring in $D = 6$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dynamics of the Peccei Quinn Scale: Invoking the Peccei-Quinn (PQ) solution to the strong CP problem substitutes\nthe puzzle of why $\\theta_{qcd}$ is so small with the puzzle of why the PQ\nsymmetry is of such high quality. Cosmological and astrophysical considerations\nraise further puzzles. This paper explores this issues in several contexts:\nstring theory and field theory, and theories without and with low energy\nsupersymmetry. Among the questions studied are whether requiring axion dark\nmatter can account for the quality of the PQ symmetry, to which the answer is\nsometimes yes. In non-supersymmetric theories, we find $f_a = 10^{12}$ GeV is\nquite plausible. In gauge mediation, cosmological constraints on pseudomoduli\nplace $f_a$ in this range, and require that the gravitino mass be of order an\nMeV.",
        "positive": "Deformed Boost Transformations That Saturate at the Planck Scale: We derive finite boost transformations based on the Lorentz sector of the\nbicross-product-basis $\\kappa$-Poincare' Hopf albegra. We emphasize the role of\nthese boost transformations in a recently-proposed new relativistic theory. We\nfind that when the (dimensionful) deformation parameter is identified with the\nPlanck length, which together with the speed-of-light constant has the status\nof observer-independent scale in the new relativistic theory, the deformed\nboosts saturate at the value of momentum that corresponds to the inverse of the\nPlanck length."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Ising Model on Random Lattices in Arbitrary Dimensions: We study analytically the Ising model coupled to random lattices in dimension\nthree and higher. The family of random lattices we use is generated by the\nlarge N limit of a colored tensor model generalizing the two-matrix model for\nIsing spins on random surfaces. We show that, in the continuum limit, the spin\nsystem does not exhibit a phase transition at finite temperature, in agreement\nwith numerical investigations. Furthermore we outline a general method to study\ncritical behavior in colored tensor models.",
        "positive": "Mass gaps of a $\\mathbb{Z}_3$ gauge theory with three fermion flavors in\n  1 + 1 dimensions: We consider a $\\mathbb{Z}_3$ gauge theory coupled to three degenerate massive\nflavors of fermions, which we term \"QZD\". The spectrum can be computed in $1+1$\ndimensions using tensor networks. In weak coupling the spectrum is that of the\nexpected mesons and baryons, although the corrections in weak coupling are\nnontrivial, analogous to those of non-relativistic QED in 1+1 dimensions. In\nstrong coupling, besides the usual baryon, the singlet meson is a baryon\nanti-baryon state. For two special values of the coupling constant, the\nlightest baryon is degenerate with the lightest octet meson, and the lightest\nsinglet meson, respectively."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "From Locality and Unitarity to Cosmological Correlators: In the standard approach to deriving inflationary predictions, we evolve a\nvacuum state in time according to the rules of a given model. Since the only\nobservables are the future values of correlators and not their time evolution,\nthis brings about a large degeneracy: a vast number of different models are\nmapped to the same minute number of observables. Furthermore, due to the lack\nof time-translation invariance, even tree-level calculations require an\nincreasing number of nested integrals that quickly become intractable. Here we\nask how much of the final observables can be \"bootstrapped\" directly from\nlocality, unitarity and symmetries.\n  To this end, we introduce two new bootstrap tools to efficiently compute\ncosmological correlators/wavefunctions. The first is a Manifestly Local Test\n(MLT) that any $n$-point (wave)function of massless scalars or gravitons must\nsatisfy if it is to arise from a manifestly local theory. When combined with a\nsub-set of the recently proposed Bootstrap Rules, this allows us to compute\nexplicitly all bispectra to all orders in derivatives for a single scalar.\nSince we don't invoke soft theorems, this can also be extended to multi-field\ninflation. The second is a partial energy recursion relation that allows us to\ncompute exchange correlators. Combining a bespoke complex shift of the partial\nenergies with Cauchy's integral theorem and the Cosmological Optical Theorem,\nwe fix exchange correlators up to a boundary term. The latter can be determined\nup to contact interactions using unitarity and manifest locality. As an\nillustration, we use these tools to bootstrap scalar inflationary trispectra\ndue to graviton exchange and inflaton self-interactions.",
        "positive": "Multiscale Renormalization and Decoupling: The standard MS renormalization prescription is inadequate for dealing with\nmultiscale problems. To illustrate this, we consider the computation of the\neffective potential in the Higgs-Yukawa model. It is argued that the most\nnatural way to deal with this problem is to introduce a 2-scale renormalization\ngroup. We review various ways of implementing this idea and consider to what\nextent they fit in with the notion of heavy particle decoupling."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Regularized Casimir energy for an infinite dielectric cylinder subject\n  to light-velocity conservation: The Casimir energy of a dilute dielectric cylinder, with the same\nlight-velocity as in its surrounding medium, is evaluated exactly to first\norder in $\\xi^2$ and numerically to higher orders in $\\xi^2$. The first part is\ncarried out using addition formulas for Bessel functions, and no Debye\nexpansions are required.",
        "positive": "Modular properties of surface operators in N=2 SQCD: We study half-BPS surface operators in N=2 supersymmetric QCD in four\ndimensions with gauge group SU(2) and four fundamental flavours. We compute the\ntwisted chiral superpotential that describes the effective theory on the\nsurface operator using equivariant localization as well as the Seiberg-Witten\ndata. We then use the constraints imposed by S-duality to resum the instanton\ncontributions to the twisted superpotential into elliptic functions and\n(quasi-) modular forms. The resummed results match what one would obtain from\nthe description of surface operators as the insertion of a degenerate operator\nin a spherical conformal block in Liouville CFT."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum vacuum effects in braneworlds on AdS bulk: We review the results of investigations for brane-induced effects on the\nlocal properties of quantum vacuum in background of AdS spacetime. Two\ngeometries are considered: a brane parallel to the AdS boundary and a brane\nintersecting the AdS boundary. For both these cases the contribution in the\nvacuum expectation value (VEV) of the energy-momentum tensor is separated\nexplicitly and its behavior in various asymptotic regions of the parameters is\nstudied. It is shown that the influence of the gravitational field on the local\nproperties of the quantum vacuum is essential at distance from the brane larger\nthan the AdS curvature radius. In the geometry with a brane parallel to the AdS\nboundary the VEV of the energy-momentum tensor is considered for scalar field\nwith the Robin boundary condition, for Dirac field with the bag boundary\ncondition and for the electromagnetic field. In the latter case two types of\nboundary conditions are discussed. The first one is a generalization of the\nperfect conductor boundary condition and the second one corresponds to the\nconfining boundary condition used in QCD for gluons. For the geometry of a\nbrane intersecting the AdS boundary, the case of a scalar field is considered.\nThe corresponding energy-momentum tensor, apart from the diagonal components,\nhas nonzero off-diagonal component. As a consequence of the latter, in addition\nto the normal component, the Casimir force acquires a component parallel to the\nbrane.",
        "positive": "Meson spectroscopy in a confining theory via AdS/CFT: Instanton effects may have implications for hadronization of quark-gluon\nplasma as it cools. Here we study dispersion relations of mesons in a strongly\ncoupled plasma with an instanton background present. It will be shown that at\nhigher energies the instanton effect diminishes and some comments on the\nlimiting velocity of mesons in the plasma. the profile function of mesons on\nthe gravity side is considered also because of its relevance to energy loss of\nquark in plasma."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Asymptotic symmetries of Schr\u00f6dinger spacetimes: We discuss the asymptotic symmetry algebra of the Schrodinger-invariant\nmetrics in d+3 dimensions and its realization on finite temperature solutions\nof gravity coupled to matter fields. These solutions have been proposed as\ngravity backgrounds dual to non-relativistic CFTs with critical exponent z in d\nspace dimensions. It is known that the Schrodinger algebra possesses an\ninfinite-dimensional extension, the Schrodinger-Virasoro algebra. However, we\nshow that the asymptotic symmetry algebra of Schrodinger spacetimes is only\nisomorphic to the exact symmetry group of the background. It is possible to\nconstruct from first principles finite and integrable charges that\ninfinite-dimensionally extend the Schrodinger algebra but these charges are not\ncorrectly represented via a Dirac bracket. We briefly comment on the extension\nof our analysis to spacetimes with Lifshitz symmetry.",
        "positive": "Testing String Theory with CMB: Future detection/non-detection of tensor modes from inflation in CMB\nobservations presents a unique way to test certain features of string theory.\nCurrent limit on the ratio of tensor to scalar perturbations, r=T/S, is r <\n0.3, future detection may take place for r > 10^{-2}-10^{-3}. At present all\nknown string theory inflation models predict tensor modes well below the level\nof detection. Therefore a possible experimental discovery of tensor modes may\npresent a challenge to string cosmology.\n  The strongest bound on r in string inflation follows from the observation\nthat in most of the models based on the KKLT construction, the value of the\nHubble constant H during inflation must be smaller than the gravitino mass. For\nthe gravitino mass in the usual range, m_{3/2} < O(1) TeV, this leads to an\nextremely strong bound r < 10^{-24}. A discovery of tensor perturbations with r\n> 10^{-3} would imply that the gravitinos in this class of models are\nsuperheavy, m_{3/2} > 10^{13} GeV. This would have important implications for\nparticle phenomenology based on string theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Renormalization Group Approach to A Yang-Mills Two Matrix Model: A Yang-Mills type two matrix model with mass terms is studied by use of a\nmatrix renormalization group approach proposed by Brezin and Zinn-Justin. The\nrenormalization group method indicates that the model exhibits a critical\nbehavior similar to that of two dimensional Euclidean gravity. A massless limit\nand the generation of quadratic terms along the renormalization group flow are\ndiscussed.",
        "positive": "Lattice effective potential of $(\u03bb\u03a6^4)_4$: nature of the phase\n  transition and bounds on the Higgs mass: We present a detailed discussion of Spontaneous Symmetry Breaking (SSB) in\n$(\\lambda\\Phi^4)_4$. In the usual approach, inspired by perturbation theory,\none predicts a second-order phase transition, the Higgs mass $m_h$, related to\nthe value of the renormalized 4-point coupling, gets smaller when increasing\nthe ultraviolet cutoff and this leads to the generally quoted upper bounds\n$m_h<$700-900 GeV. On the other hand, by exploring the structure of the\neffective potential in those approximation consistent with `triviality', where\nthe Higgs mass does not represent a measure of any observable interaction, SSB\ndoes not require an ultraviolet cutoff, the phase transition is first-order,\nsuch that the massless `Coleman-Weinberg' regime lies in the broken phase, and\none gets only $m_h<$3 TeV from vacuum stability. To separate out the two\nalternatives, we present a precise lattice computation of the slope of the\neffective potential in the region of bare parameters indicated by the\nLuscher~\\&~Weisz and Brahm's analysis of the critical line. Our lattice data\nstrongly support the latter description of SSB. Indeed, our data cannot be\nreproduced in perturbation theory, and then they confirm the existence on the\nlattice of a remarkable phase of $(\\lambda\\Phi^4)_4$ where SSB is generated\nthrough ``dimensional transmutation'', and show no evidence for residual\nself-interaction effects of the shifted ``Higgs'' field\n$h(x)=\\Phi(x)-\\langle\\Phi\\rangle$, in agreement with ``triviality''."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic Reconstruction of AdS Exchanges from Crossing Symmetry: Motivated by AdS/CFT, we address the following outstanding question in large\n$N$ conformal field theory: given the appearance of a single-trace operator in\nthe ${\\cal O}\\times{\\cal O}$ OPE of a scalar primary ${\\cal O}$, what is its\ntotal contribution to the vacuum four-point function $\\langle {\\cal O}{\\cal\nO}{\\cal O}{\\cal O}\\rangle$ as dictated by crossing symmetry? We solve this\nproblem in 4d conformal field theories at leading order in $1/N$. Viewed\nholographically, this provides a field theory reconstruction of\ncrossing-symmetric, four-point exchange amplitudes in AdS$_5$. Our solution\ntakes the form of a resummation of the large spin solution to the crossing\nequations, supplemented by corrections at finite spin, required by crossing.\nThe method can be applied to the exchange of operators of arbitrary twist\n$\\tau$ and spin $s$, although it vastly simplifies for even-integer twist,\nwhere we give explicit results. The output is the set of OPE data for the\nexchange of all double-trace operators $[{\\cal O}{\\cal O}]_{n,\\ell}$. We find\nthat the double-trace anomalous dimensions $\\gamma_{n,\\ell}$ are negative,\nmonotonic and convex functions of $\\ell$, for all $n$ and all $\\ell>s$. This\nconstitutes a holographic signature of bulk causality and classical dynamics of\neven-spin fields. We also find that the \"derivative relation\" between\ndouble-trace anomalous dimensions and OPE coefficients does not hold in\ngeneral, and derive the explicit form of the deviation in several cases.\nFinally, we study large $n$ limits of $\\gamma_{n,\\ell}$, relevant for the Regge\nand bulk-point regimes.",
        "positive": "Polarization spin-tensors in two-spinor formalism and Behrends-Fronsdal\n  spin projection operator for $D$-dimensional case: In the work, the recurrent differential relations that connecting the\npolarization spin-tensor of the wave function of a free massive particle of an\narbitrary spin for $D=4$ and new formula of the $D$-dimensional\nBehrends-Fronsdal spin projection operator are found."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Some Applications of String Field Theory: We study general properties of the classical solutions in non-polynomial\nclosed string field theory and their relationship with two dimensional\nconformal field theories. In particular we discuss how different conformal\nfield theories which are related by marginal or nearly marginal deformations\ncan be regarded as different classical solutions of some underlying string\nfield theory. We also discuss construction of a classical solution labelled by\ninfinite number of parameters in string field theory in two dimensions. For a\nspecific set of values of the parameters the solution can be identified to the\nblack hole solution.",
        "positive": "Chirality and fermion number in a knotted soliton background: We consider the coupling of a single Dirac fermion to the three component\nunit vector field which appears as an order parameter in the Faddeev model.\nClassically, the coupling is determined by requiring that it preserves a\ncertain local frame independence. But quantum mechanically the separate left\nand right chiral fermion number currents suffer from a frame anomaly. We employ\nthis anomaly to compute the fermion number of a knotted soliton. The result\ncoincides with the self-linking number of the soliton. In particular, the\nanomaly structure of the fermions relates directly to the inherent chiral\nproperties of the soliton. Our result suggests that interactions between\nfermions and knotted solitons can lead to phenomena akin the Callan-Rubakov\neffect."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A short review on Noether's theorems, gauge symmetries and boundary\n  terms: This review is dedicated to some modern applications of the remarkable paper\nwritten in 1918 by E. Noether. On a single paper, Noether discovered the\ncrucial relation between symmetries and conserved charges as well as the impact\nof gauge symmetries on the equations of motion. Almost a century has gone since\nthe publication of this work and its applications have permeated modern\nphysics. Our focus will be on some examples that have appeared recently in the\nliterature. This review is aim at students, not researchers. The main three\ntopics discussed are (i) global symmetries and conserved charges (ii) local\nsymmetries and gauge structure of a theory (iii) boundary conditions and\nalgebra of asymptotic symmetries. All three topics are discussed through\nexamples.",
        "positive": "Vector Effective Field Theories from Soft Limits: We present a bottom-up construction of vector effective field theories using\nthe infrared structure of scattering amplitudes. Our results employ two\ndistinct probes of soft kinematics: multiple soft limits and single soft limits\nafter dimensional reduction, applicable in four and general dimensions,\nrespectively. Both approaches uniquely specify the Born-Infeld (BI) model as\nthe only theory of vectors completely fixed by certain infrared conditions\nwhich generalize the Adler zero for pions. These soft properties imply new\nrecursion relations for on-shell scattering amplitudes in BI theory and suggest\nthe existence of a wider class of vector effective field theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Anomalous Hall conductivity of the holographic $\\mathbb{Z}_2$ Dirac\n  semimetals: The anomalous spin Hall conductivity in the holographic model of Dirac\nsemimetals with two Dirac nodes protected by the crystal symmetry has been\nelaborated. Such system besides the chiral anomaly possesses another anomaly\nwhich is related to the $\\mathbb{Z}_2$ topological charge of the system. The\nholographic model of the system contains matter action with two $U(1)$-gauge\nfields as well as the appropriate combination of the Chern-Simons gauge terms.\n  We also allow for the coupling of two gauge fields {\\it via} the kinetic\nmixing parametrised by the coupling $\\alpha$. The holographic approach in the\nprobe limit enables us to obtain Hall conductivity. The aim of this work is to\ndescribe the phase transitions in the $\\mathbb{Z}_2$ Dirac semimetals between\nthe topologically trivial and non-trivial phases. Interestingly the anomalous\nHall conductivity plays a role of the order parameter of this phase transition.\nThe holographically found prefactor of the Hall conductivity in the\ntopologically non-trivial phase, depends on the coupling $\\alpha$ and the Chern\n- Simons couplings.",
        "positive": "Integrability + Supersymmetry + Boundary: Life on the edge is not so\n  dull after all!: After a brief review of integrability, first in the absence and then in the\npresence of a boundary, I outline the construction of actions for the N=1 and\nN=2 boundary sine-Gordon models. The key point is to introduce Fermionic\nboundary degrees of freedom in the boundary actions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "String Theory on K3 Surfaces: The moduli space of N=(4,4) string theories with a K3 target space is\ndetermined, establishing in particular that the discrete symmetry group is the\nfull integral orthogonal group of an even unimodular lattice of signature\n(4,20). The method combines an analysis of the classical theory of K3 moduli\nspaces with mirror symmetry. A description of the moduli space is also\npresented from the viewpoint of quantum geometry, and consequences are drawn\nconcerning mirror symmetry for algebraic K3 surfaces.",
        "positive": "Near-Extremal Spherically Symmetric Black Holes in an\n  Arbitrary-Dimensional Spacetime: In a recent paper (hep-th/0111091), the near-extremal thermodynamics of a\n4-dimensional Reissner-Nordstrom black hole had been considered. In the current\nletter, we extend this prior treatment to the more general case of a\nspherically symmetric, charged black hole of arbitrary dimensionality. After\nsummarizing the earlier work, we demonstrate a duality that exists between the\nnear-extremal sector of spherically symmetric black holes and Jackiw-Teitelboim\ntheory. On the basis of this correspondence, we argue that back-reaction\neffects prohibit any of these ``RN-like'' black holes from reaching extremality\nand, moreover, from coming arbitrarily close to an extremal state."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Discrete Spectra of Semirelativistic Hamiltonians: We review various attempts to localize the discrete spectra of\nsemirelativistic Hamiltonians of the form H = \\beta \\sqrt{m^2 + p^2} + V(r)\n(w.l.o.g. in three spatial dimensions) as entering, for instance, in the\nspinless Salpeter equation. Every Hamiltonian in this class of operators\nconsists of the relativistic kinetic energy \\beta \\sqrt{m^2 + p^2} (where \\beta\n> 0 allows for the possibility of more than one particles of mass m) and a\nspherically symmetric attractive potential V(r), r = |x|. In general, accurate\neigenvalues of a nonlocal Hamiltonian operator can only be found by the use of\na numerical approximation procedure. Our main emphasis, however, is on the\nderivation of rigorous semi-analytical expressions for both upper and lower\nbounds to the energy levels of such operators. We compare the bounds obtained\nwithin different approaches and present relationships existing between the\nbounds.",
        "positive": "Non-invertible Time-reversal Symmetry: In gauge theory, it is commonly stated that time-reversal symmetry only\nexists at $\\theta=0$ or $\\pi$ for a $2\\pi$-periodic $\\theta$-angle. In this\npaper, we point out that in both the free Maxwell theory and massive QED, there\nis a non-invertible time-reversal symmetry at every rational $\\theta$-angle,\ni.e., $\\theta= \\pi p/N$. The non-invertible time-reversal symmetry is\nimplemented by a conserved, anti-linear operator without an inverse. It is a\ncomposition of the naive time-reversal transformation and a fractional quantum\nHall state. We also find similar non-invertible time-reversal symmetries in\nnon-Abelian gauge theories, including the $\\mathcal{N}=4$ $SU(2)$ super\nYang-Mills theory along the locus $|\\tau|=1$ on the conformal manifold."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gravitational Waves as a Probe of the Extra Dimension: We consider the Einstein-Hilbert action without cosmological constant in\n5-dimensions and implement the Kaluza-Klein (KK) reduction by compactifying the\nfifth direction on a circle of small but finite radius. For non-zero\ncompactification radius, the 4- dimensional spectrum contains massless and\nmassive KK modes. For the massive KK modes, we retain four KK tensor and one KK\nscalar modes after a gauge fixing. We treat those massive KK modes as\nstochastic sources of gravitational wave (GW) with characteristic dependences\nof the frequencies on the size of the extra dimension. Using the observational\nbounds on the size of the extra dimension and on the characteristic strain, we\nmake an order estimation on the frequencies and amplitudes of the massive KK\nmodes that can contribute to the GW.",
        "positive": "Superspace Gauge Fixing in Yang-Mills Matter Coupled Conformal\n  Supergravity: In $D=4$, $\\cal{N}=1$ conformal superspace, the Yang-Mills matter coupled\nsupergravity system is constructed where the Yang-Mills gauge interaction is\nintroduced by extending the superconformal group to include the K\\\"ahler\nisometry group of chiral matter fields. There are two gauge-fixing procedures\nto get to the component Poincar\\'e supergravity: one via the superconformal\ncomponent formalism and the other via the Poincar\\'e superspace formalism.\nThese two types of superconformal gauge-fixing conditions are analyzed in\ndetail and their correspondence is clarified."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Graceful exit via polymerization of pre-big bang cosmology: We consider a phenomenological modification of the Pre Big Bang scenario\nusing ideas from the resolution of curvature singularities in Loop Quantum\nCosmology. We show that non-perturbative Loop modifications to the dynamics,\narising from the underlying polymer representation, can resolve the graceful\nexit problem. The curvature and the dilaton energy stay finite at all times, in\nboth the string and Einstein frames. In the string frame, the dilaton tends to\na constant value at late times after the bounce.",
        "positive": "CP-violating phases in the CKM matrix in orbifold compactifications: The picture of CP-violation in orbifold compactifications in which the\n$T$-modulus is at a complex fixed point of the modular group is studied.\nCP-violation in the neutral kaon system and in the neutron electric dipole\nmoment are both discussed. The situation where the $T$-modulus takes complex\nvalues on the unit circle which are not at a fixed point is also discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Lee-Wald Charge and Asymptotic Behaviors of the Weyl-invariant\n  Topologically Massive Gravity: We apply the Lee-Wald covariant phase space method to the Weyl-invariant\nTopologically Massive Gravity and compute the corresponding on-shell conserved\ncharges. By using appropriate decay conditions for the existing propagating\nmodes in the near-horizon of a stationary black hole, we obtain the charges\ngenerating the asymptotic symmetries. We show that the charges are integrable\nand the (modified) algebras among the asymptotic generators are closed for the\ncertain choice of central extensions.",
        "positive": "Classical dynamics on Snyder spacetime: We study the classical dynamics of a particle in Snyder spacetime, adopting\nthe formalism of constrained Hamiltonian systems introduced by Dirac. We show\nthat the motion of a particle in a scalar potential is deformed with respect to\nspecial relativity by terms of order \\beta E^2. An important result is that in\nthe relativistic Snyder model a consistent choice of the time variable must\nnecessarily depend on the dynamics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Three Dimensional Gravity and Schramm-Loewner Evolution: The partition function of three dimensional gravity in the quantum level,\nwhere the AdS radius $\\ell$ is Planck scale, is dual to the Ising model when\nthe central charge $c=3\\ell/2G$ is $1/2$. Mathematically, we show that the\nthree dimensional gravity can be described by Schramm-Loewner Evolution(SLE)\nwith certain $\\kappa$. In fact, SLE depends on the parameter $\\kappa$ which\ncontrols the diffusion of the Brownian motion. Since every value of $c < 1$\ncorresponding to two values of $\\kappa$, then it may hint that the three\ndimensional gravity has two different phases at certain central charge c.\nMoreover, phase transition is also discussed in Ads and Ising model.",
        "positive": "Mapping pure gravity to strings in three-dimensional anti-de Sitter\n  geometry: Strings propagating in three-dimensional anti-de Sitter space with a\nbackground antisymmetric tensor field are well understood, even at the quantum\nlevel. Pure three-dimensional gravity with a negative cosmological constant is\npotentially important because of the existence of black hole solutions and an\nasymptotic conformal symmetry, but it is mysterious and surprisingly resistant\nto analysis. In this letter, the two theories are related by a map on the\nclassical level. The map is obtained by gauge fixing the string completely,\nlike in a light cone gauge, and comparing the resulting constrained theory with\nthe boundary theory obtained from gravity by imposing the appropriate\nasymptotic boundary conditions. The two theories are formally related as\ndifferent gauge fixings of the same gauge theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fermionic vacuum polarization by a flat boundary in cosmic string\n  spacetime: In this paper we investigate the fermionic condensate and the renormalized\nvacuum expectation value (VEV) of the energy-momentum tensor for a massive\nfermionic field induced by a flat boundary in the cosmic string spacetime. In\nthis analysis we assume that the field operator obeys MIT bag boundary\ncondition on the boundary. We explicitly decompose the VEVs into the\nboundary-free and boundary-induced parts. General formulas are provided for\nboth parts which are valid for any value of the parameter associated with the\ncosmic string. For a massless field, the boundary-free part in the fermionic\ncondensate and the boundary-induced part in the energy-momentum tensor vanish.\nFor a massive field the radial stress is equal to the energy density for both\nboundary-free and boundary-induced parts. The boundary-induced part in the\nstress along the axis of the cosmic string vanishes. The total energy density\nis negative everywhere, whereas the effective pressure along the azimuthal\ndirection is positive near the boundary and negative near the cosmic string. We\nshow that for points away from the boundary, the boundary-induced parts in the\nfermionic condensate and in the VEV of the energy-momentum tensor vanish on the\nstring.",
        "positive": "Gerbes and Massive Type II Configurations: We find novel bound states of NS5, D6 and D8-branes in massive Type IIA\nstring theory. As the NS gauge transformations can change the Chern class of\nthe RR field these configurations should be thought of as nonlocal objects\ncalled gerbes. We develop a global formalism for theories that involve massive\ntensor fields in general, and apply it in massive Type IIA supergravity. We\ncheck the results by investigating the T-dual NS5/D5-brane configurations in\nType IIB, and relate them to an F-theory compactification on a CY3. We comment\non the implications to consistency conditions for brane-wrapping and the\nclassification of D-brane charges in terms of K-theory classes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On K(E_9): We study the maximal compact subgroup K(E_9) of the affine Lie group E_9(9)\nand its on-shell realization as an R symmetry of maximal N=16 supergravity in\ntwo dimensions. We first give a rigorous definition of the group K(E_9), which\nlives on the double cover of the spectral parameter plane, and show that the\ninfinitesimal action of K(E_9) on the chiral components of the bosons and the\nfermions is determined in terms of an expansion of the Lie algebra of K(E_9)\nabout the two branch points of this cover; this implies in particular that the\nfermions of N=16 supergravity transform in a spinor representation of K(E_9).\nThe fermionic equations of motion can be fitted into the lowest components of a\nsingle K(E_9) covariant `Dirac equation', with the linear system of N=16\nsupergravity as the gauge connection. These results suggest the existence of an\n`off-shell' realization of K(E_9) in terms of an infinite component spinor\nrepresentation. We conclude with some coments on `generalized holonomies' of M\ntheory.",
        "positive": "Fluxes in M-theory on 7-manifolds and G structures: We consider warp compactifications of M-theory on 7-manifolds in the presence\nof 4-form fluxes and investigate the constraints imposed by supersymmetry. As\nlong as the 7-manifold supports only one Killing spinor we infer from the\nKilling spinor equations that non-trivial 4-form fluxes will necessarily curve\nthe external 4-dimensional space. On the other hand, if the 7-manifold has at\nleast two Killing spinors, there is a non-trivial Killing vector yielding a\nreduction of the 7-manifold to a 6-manifold and we confirm that 4-form fluxes\ncan be incorporated if one includes non-trivial SU(3) structures."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the exact Foldy-Wouthuysen transformation for a Dirac spinor in\n  torsion and other CPT and Lorentz violating backgrounds: We discuss the possibility to perform and use the exact Foldy-Wouthuysen\ntransformation (EFWT) for the Dirac spinor coupled to different CPT and Lorentz\nviolating terms. The classification of such terms is performed, selecting those\nof them which admit EFWT. For the particular example of an axial vector field,\nwhich can be associated with the completely antisymmetric torsion, we construct\nan explicit EFWT in the case when only a timelike component of this axial\nvector is present. In the cases when EFWT is not possible, one can still use\nthe corresponding technique for deriving the perturbative Foldy-Wouthuysen\ntransformation, as is illustrated in a particular example in the Appendix.",
        "positive": "Effective action of type II superstring theories at order $\u03b1'^3$:\n  NS-NS couplings: Recently, it has been shown that the minimum number of gauge invariant\ncouplings for $B$-field, metric and dilaton at order $\\alpha'^3$ is 872. These\ncouplings, in a particular scheme, appear in 55 different structures. In this\npaper, up to an overall factor, we fix all parameters in type II supertirng\ntheories by requiring the reduction of the couplings on a circle to be\ninvariant under T-duality transformations. We find that there are 445 non-zero\ncouplings which appear in 15 different structures. The couplings are fully\nconsistent with the partial couplings that have been found in the literature by\nthe four-point S-matrix element and by the non-linear Sigma model methods."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Orbifold Reduction and 2d (0,2) Gauge Theories: We introduce Orbifold Reduction, a new method for generating $2d$ $(0,2)$\ngauge theories associated to D1-branes probing singular toric Calabi-Yau\n4-folds starting from $4d$ $\\mathcal{N}=1$ gauge theories on D3-branes probing\ntoric Calabi-Yau 3-folds. The new procedure generalizes dimensional reduction\nand orbifolding. In terms of T-dual configurations, it generates brane brick\nmodels starting from brane tilings. Orbifold reduction provides an agile\napproach for generating $2d$ $(0,2)$ theories with a brane realization. We\npresent three practical applications of the new algorithm: the connection\nbetween $4d$ Seiberg duality and $2d$ triality, a combinatorial method for\ngenerating theories related by triality and a $2d$ $(0,2)$ generalization of\nthe Klebanov-Witten mass deformation.",
        "positive": "Induced Gauge Theory on a Noncommutative Space: We discuss the calculation of the 1-loop effective action on four\ndimensional, canonically deformed Euclidean space. The theory under\nconsideration is a scalar $\\phi^4$ model with an additional oscillator\npotential. This model is known to be re normalisable. Furthermore, we couple an\nexterior gauge field to the scalar field and extract the dynamics for the gauge\nfield from the divergent terms of the 1-loop effective action using a matrix\nbasis. This results in proposing an action for noncommutative gauge theory,\nwhich is a candidate for a renormalisable model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "General Covariant Gauge Fixing for Massless Spin-Two Fields: The most general covariant gauge fixing Lagrangian is considered for a\nspin-two gauge theory in the context of the Faddeev-Popov procedure. In\ngeneral, five parameters characterize this gauge fixing. Certain limiting\nvalues for these parameters give rise to a spin-two propagator that is either\ntraceless or transverse, but for no values of these parameters is this\npropagator simultaneously traceless and transverse. Having a\ntraceless-transverse (TT) propagator ensures that only the physical degrees of\nfreedom associated with the tensor field propagate, and hence it is analogous\nto the Landau gauge in electrodynamics. To obtain such a traceless-transverse\npropagator, a gauge fixing Lagrangian which is not quadratic must be employed;\nthis sort of gauge fixing Lagrangian is not encountered in the usual\nFaddeev-Popov procedure. It is shown that when this non-quadratic gauge fixing\nLagrangian is used, two Fermionic and one Bosonic ghost arise. As a simple\napplication we discuss the energy-momentum tensor of the gravitational field at\nfinite temperature.",
        "positive": "Brane inflation in background supergravity: We propose a model of inflation in the framework of brane cosmology driven by\nbackground supergravity. Starting from bulk supergravity we construct the\ninflaton potential on the brane and employ it to investigate for the\nconsequences to inflationary paradigm. To this end, we derive the expressions\nfor the important parameters in brane inflation, which are somewhat different\nfrom their counterparts in standard cosmology, using the one loop radiative\ncorrected potential. We further estimate the observable parameters and find\nthem to fit well with recent observational data by confronting with WMAP7 using\nCAMB. We also analyze the typical energy scale of brane inflation with our\nmodel, which resonates well with present estimates from cosmology and standard\nmodel of particle physics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Emergent unitarity, all-loop cuts and integrations from the ABJM\n  amplituhedron: We elaborate on aspects of a new positive geometry proposed recently, which\nwas conjectured to be the four-point amplituhedron for ABJM theory. We study\ngeneralized unitarity cuts from the geometry, and in particular we prove that\n(1) the four-point integrand satisfies perturbative unitarity (or optical\ntheorem) to all loops, which follows directly from the geometry, and (2)\nvanishing cuts involving odd-point amplitudes follow from the ``bipartite\"\nnature of the associated ``negative geometries\", which justifies their\nappearance in ABJM theory. We also take a first step in integrating the forms\nof these negative geometries and obtain an infrared-finite quantity up to two\nloops, from which we extract the cusp anomalous dimension at leading order.",
        "positive": "N=1,2 Super-NLS Hierarchies as Super-KP Coset Reductions: We define consistent finite-superfields reductions of the $N=1,2$ super-KP\nhierarchies via the coset approach we already developped for reducing the\nbosonic KP-hierarchy (generating e.g. the NLS hierarchy from the\n$sl(2)/U(1)-{\\cal KM}$ coset). We work in a manifestly supersymmetric framework\nand illustrate our method by treating explicitly the $N=1,2$ super-NLS\nhierarchies. W.r.t. the bosonic case the ordinary covariant derivative is now\nreplaced by a spinorial one containing a spin ${\\textstyle {1\\over 2}}$\nsuperfield. Each coset reduction is associated to a rational super-$\\cw$\nalgebra encoding a non-linear super-$\\cw_\\infty$ algebra structure. In the\n$N=2$ case two conjugate sets of superLax operators, equations of motion and\ninfinite hamiltonians in involution are derived. Modified hierarchies are\nobtained from the original ones via free-fields mappings (just as a m-NLS\nequation arises by representing the $sl(2)-{\\cal KM}$ algebra through the\nclassical Wakimoto free-fields)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Most Irrational Rational Theories: We propose a two-parameter family of modular invariant partition functions of\ntwo-dimensional conformal field theories (CFTs) holographically dual to pure\nthree-dimensional gravity in anti de Sitter space. Our two parameters control\nthe central charge, and the representation of $SL(2,\\mathbb{Z})$. At large\ncentral charge, the partition function has a gap to the first nontrivial\nprimary state of $\\frac{c}{24}$. As the $SL(2,\\mathbb{Z})$ representation\ndimension gets large, the partition function exhibits some of the qualitative\nfeatures of an irrational CFT. This, for instance, is captured in the behavior\nof the spectral form factor. As part of these analyses, we find similar\nbehavior in the minimal model spectral form factor as $c$ approaches $1$.",
        "positive": "Integrability of Schwinger-Dyson Equations in 2D Quantum Gravity and c <\n  1 Non-critical String Field Theory: We investigate the integrability of the Schwinger-Dyson equations in $c = 1 -\n\\frac{6}{m(m+1)}$ string field theory which were proposed by Ikehara et al as\nthe continuum limit of the Schwinger-Dyson equations of the matrix chain model.\nWe show the continuum Schwinger-Dyson equations generate a closed algebra. This\nalgebra contains Virasoro algebra but does not coincide with $W_{\\infty}$\nalgebra. We include in the Schwinger-Dyson equations a new process of removing\nfrom the loop boundaries the operator ${\\cal H}(\\sigma)$ which locally changes\nthe spin configuration. We also derive the string field Hamiltonian from the\ncontinuum Schwinger-Dyson equations. Its form is universal for all $c = 1 -\n\\frac{6}{m(m+1)}$ string theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "CFT correlators, ${\\cal W}$-algebras and Generalized Catalan Numbers: In two spacetime dimensions the Virasoro heavy-heavy-light-light (HHLL)\nvacuum block in a certain limit is governed by the Catalan numbers. The\nequation for their generating function can be generalized to a differential\nequation which the logarithm of the block satisfies. We show that a similar\nstory holds for the HHLL ${\\cal W}_N$ vacuum blocks, where a suitable\ngeneralization of the Catalan numbers plays the main role. Moreover, the ${\\cal\nW}_N$ blocks have the same form as the stress tensor sector of HHLL near\nlightcone conformal correlators in $2(N-1)$ spacetime dimensions. In the latter\ncase the Catalan numbers are generalized to the numbers of linear extensions of\ncertain partially ordered sets.",
        "positive": "Low-energy effective theory for a Randall-Sundrum scenario with a moving\n  bulk brane: We derive the low-energy effective theory of gravity for a generalized\nRandall-Sundrum scenario, allowing for a third self-gravitating brane to live\nin the 5D bulk spacetime. At zero order the 5D spacetime is composed of two\nslices of anti-de Sitter spacetime, each with a different curvature scale, and\nthe 5D Weyl tensor vanishes. Two boundary branes are at the fixed points of the\norbifold whereas the third brane is free to move in the bulk. At first order,\nthe third brane breaks the otherwise continuous evolution of the projection of\nthe Weyl tensor normal to the branes. We derive a junction condition for the\nprojected Weyl tensor across the bulk brane, and combining this constraint with\nthe junction condition for the extrinsic curvature tensor, allows us to derive\nthe first-order field equations on the middle brane. The effective theory is a\ngeneralized Brans-Dicke theory with two scalar fields. This is conformally\nequivalent to Einstein gravity and two scalar fields, minimally coupled to the\ngeometry, but nonminimally coupled to matter on the three branes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Path integrals for the relativistic particle: Some conceptual and\n  pedagogical comments: In my textbook on Quantum Field Theory \\cite{tpqft} and in a recent paper\n\\cite{tpejc2018}, I advocated a lattice regularization procedure for defining\nthe path integral for the relativistic particle, using the non-quadratic action\ncontaining a square root. I also provided an interpretation of this result in\nterms of the Jacobi action principle. This note clarifies several conceptual\nand pedagogical issues related to this approach and highlights some interesting\nopen questions which this result leads to.",
        "positive": "Quantum scale symmetry: Quantum scale symmetry is the realization of scale invariance in a quantum\nfield theory. No parameters with dimension of length or mass are present in the\nquantum effective action. Quantum scale symmetry is generated by quantum\nfluctuations via the presence of fixed points for running couplings. As for any\nglobal symmetry, the ground state or cosmological state may be scale invariant\nor not. Spontaneous breaking of scale symmetry leads to massive particles and\npredicts a massless Goldstone boson. A massless particle spectrum follows from\nscale symmetry of the effective action only if the ground state is scale\nsymmetric. Approximate scale symmetry close to a fixed point leads to important\npredictions for observations in various areas of fundamental physics.\n  We review consequences of scale symmetry for particle physics, quantum\ngravity and cosmology. For particle physics, scale symmetry is closely linked\nto the tiny ratio between the Fermi scale of weak interactions and the Planck\nscale for gravity. For quantum gravity, scale symmetry is associated to the\nultraviolet fixed point which allows for a non-perturbatively renormalizable\nquantum field theory for all known interactions. The interplay between gravity\nand particle physics at this fixed point permits to predict couplings of the\nstandard model or other \"effective low energy models\" for momenta below the\nPlanck mass. In particular, quantum gravity determines the ratio of Higgs boson\nmass and top quark mass. In cosmology, approximate scale symmetry explains the\nalmost scale-invariant primordial fluctuation spectrum which is at the origin\nof all structures in the universe. The pseudo-Goldstone boson of spontaneously\nbroken approximate scale symmetry may be responsible for dynamical dark energy\nand a solution of the cosmological constant problem."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Deformations of the Almheiri-Polchinski model: We study deformations of the Almheiri-Polchinski (AP) model by employing the\nYang-Baxter deformation technique. The general deformed AdS$_2$ metric becomes\na solution of a deformed AP model. In particular, the dilaton potential is\ndeformed from a simple quadratic form to a hyperbolic function-type potential\nsimilarly to integrable deformations. A specific solution is a deformed black\nhole solution. Because the deformation makes the spacetime structure around the\nboundary change drastically and a new naked singularity appears, the\nholographic interpretation is far from trivial. The Hawking temperature is the\nsame as the undeformed case but the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy is modified due\nto the deformation. This entropy can also be reproduced by evaluating the\nrenormalized stress tensor with an appropriate counter term on the regularized\nscreen close to the singularity.",
        "positive": "A Spin Chain from String Theory: We study the semiclassical spectrum of bosonic string theory on AdS_3 x S^1\nin the limit of large AdS angular momentum. At leading semiclassical order,\nthis is a subsector of the IIB superstring on AdS_5 x S^5. The theory includes\nstrings with K spikes which approach the boundary in this limit. We show that,\nfor all K, the spectrum of these strings exactly matches that of the\ncorresponding operators in the dual gauge theory up to a single universal\nprefactor which can be identified with the cusp anomalous dimension. We propose\na precise map between the dynamics of the spikes and the classical SL(2,R) spin\nchain which arises in the large-spin limit of N=4 Super Yang-Mills theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Two-point closed string amplitudes in the BRST formalism: Two-point tree-level amplitudes in bosonic closed string theory are described\nby a correlation function within the BRST formalism, which respects manifest\nLorentz and conformal invariance. In the derivation of the two-point\namplitudes, we use the mostly BRST exact operator, which has been introduced\nfor two-point open string amplitudes, and a closed string vertex with ghost\nnumber three, which has been explored in our recent work, in addition to the\nconventional one.",
        "positive": "Higher Quantum Geometry and Non-Geometric String Theory: We present a concise overview of the physical and mathematical structures\nunderpinning the appearence of nonassociative deformations of geometry in\nnon-geometric string theory. Starting from a quick recap of the appearence of\nnoncommutative product and commutator deformations of geometry in open string\ntheory with $B$-fields, we argue on physical principles that closed strings\nshould instead probe triproduct and tribracket deformations in backgrounds of\nlocally non-geometric fluxes. After describing the toy model of electric\ncharges moving in fields of smooth distributions of magnetic charge as a\nphysical introduction to the notions of nonassociative geometry, we review the\ndescription of non-geometric fluxes in generalized geometry and double field\ntheory, and the worldsheet calculations suggesting the appearence of\nnonassociative deformations, together with their caveats. We discuss how\nalgebroids and their associated AKSZ sigma-models give a description of\nnon-geometric backgrounds in terms of higher geometry, and consider the\nquantization of the membrane sigma-model which geometrizes closed strings with\n$R$-flux. From this we derive an explicit nonassociative star product for the\nquantum geometry of the closed string phase space, and apply it to derive the\ntriproducts that appear in conformal field theory correlation functions, to\ndescribe a consistent treatment of nonassociative quantum mechanics, to\ndemonstrate quantitatively the coarse-graining of spacetime due to $R$-flux,\nand to describe the quantization of Nambu brackets. We also briefly review how\nthese constructions lead to a nonassociative theory of gravity, their uplifts\nto non-geometric M-theory, and the role played by $L_\\infty$-algebras in these\ndevelopments."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Longitudinal Rescaling of Quantum Chromodynamics: We examine the effect of quantum longitudinal rescaling of coordinates, on\nthe action of quantum chromodynamics (with quarks) to one loop. We use an\naspherical Wilsonian integration (previously applied to the pure Yang-Mills\ntheory and to quantum electrodynamics). Quantum fluctuations produce anomalous\npowers of the rescaling parameter in the coefficients of the rescaled action.\nOur results are valid for small rescalings only, because perturbation theory\nbreaks down for large rescalings.",
        "positive": "On the Quantization of Massive Superparticles: We consider the action of the D=11 supermembrane wrapping a compactified\nsector of the target space in such a way that a non trivial central charge in\nthe SUSY algebra is induced. We show that the dynamics of the center of mass\ncorresponds to a superparticle in D=9 with additional fermionic terms\nassociated to the central charges . We perform the covariant quantization of\nthis system following a direct approach which introduces an equivalent action\nfor the system which has only first class constraints allowing to obtain the\nspace of physical states in a covariant way. The resulting multiplet contains\n$2^8$ states corresponding to a $KKB$ ultrashort multiplet."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The holographic interpretation of $J \\bar T$-deformed CFTs: Recently, a non-local yet possibly UV-complete quantum field theory has been\nconstructed by deforming a two-dimensional CFT by the composite operator $J\n\\bar T$, where $J$ is a chiral $U(1)$ current and $\\bar T$ is a component of\nthe stress tensor. Assuming the original CFT was a holographic CFT, we work out\nthe holographic dual of its $J \\bar T$ deformation. We find that the dual\nspacetime is still AdS$_3$, but with modified boundary conditions that mix the\nmetric and the Chern-Simons gauge field dual to the $U(1)$ current. We show\nthat when the coefficient of the chiral anomaly for $J$ vanishes, the energy\nand thermodynamics of black holes obeying these modified boundary conditions\nprecisely reproduce the previously derived field theory spectrum and\nthermodynamics. Our proposed holographic dictionary can also reproduce the\nfield-theoretical spectrum in presence of the chiral anomaly, upon a certain\nassumption that we justify. The asymptotic symmetry group associated to these\nboundary conditions consists of two copies of the Virasoro and one copy of the\n$U(1)$ Ka\\v{c}-Moody algebra, just as before the deformation; the only effect\nof the latter is to modify the spacetime dependence of the right-moving\nVirasoro generators, whose action becomes state-dependent and effectively\nnon-local.",
        "positive": "The operator form of the effective potential governing the time\n  evolution in n-dimensional subspace of states: This paper presents the operator form of the effective potential V governing\nthe time evolution in 2 and 3 and n dimensional subspace of states. The general\nformula for the n dimensional case is considered the starting point for the\ncalculation of the explicit formulae for 2 and 3 dimensional degenerate and\nnon-degenerate cases. We relate the 2 and 3 dimensional cases to some physical\nsystems which are currently investigated."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chiral decomposition in the non-commutative Landau problem: The decomposition of the non-commutative Landau (NCL) system into two\nuncoupled one-dimensional chiral components, advocated by Alvarez, Gomis,\nKamimura and Plyushchay [1], is generalized to nonvanishing electric fields.\nThis allows us to discuss the main properties of the NCL problem including its\nexotic Newton-Hooke symmetry and its relation to the Hall effect. The \"phase\ntransition\" when the magnetic field crosses a critical value determined by the\nnon-commutative parameter is studied in detail.",
        "positive": "Dual Form of the Paperclip Model: The ``paperclip model'' is 2D model of Quantum Field Theory with boundary\ninteraction defined through a special constraint imposed on the boundary values\nof massless bosonic fields (hep-th/0312168). Here we argue that this model\nadmits equivalent ``dual'' description, where the boundary constraint is\nreplaced by special interaction of the boundary values of the bosonic fields\nwith an additional boundary degree of freedom. The dual form involves the\ntopological theta-angle in explicit way."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Where is the Information Stored in Black Holes?: It is shown that many modes of the gravitational field exist only inside the\nhorizon of an extreme black hole in string theory. At least in certain cases,\nthe number of such modes is sufficient to account for the Bekenstein-Hawking\nentropy. These modes are associated with sources which carry Ramond-Ramond\ncharge, and so may be viewed as the strong coupling limit of D-branes. Although\nthese sources naturally live at the singularity, they are well defined and\ngenerate modes which extend out to the horizon. This suggests that the\ninformation in an extreme black hole is not localized near the singularity or\nthe horizon, but extends between them.",
        "positive": "The 1/N Expansion in Noncommutative Quantum Mechanics: We study the 1/N expansion in noncommutative quantum mechanics for the\nanharmonic and Coulombian potentials. The expansion for the anharmonic\noscillator presented good convergence properties, but for the Coulombian\npotential, we found a divergent large N expansion when using the usual\nnoncommutative generalization of the potential. We proposed a modified version\nof the noncommutative Coulombian potential which provides a well-behaved 1/N\nexpansion."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Magnetic Soft Charges, Dual Supertranslations and 't Hooft Line\n  Dressings: We construct the Faddeev-Kulish asymptotic states in a quantum field theory\nof electric and magnetic charges. We find that there are two kind of dressings:\napart from the well known (electric) Wilson line dressing, there is a magnetic\ncounterpart which can be written as a 't Hooft line operator. The 't Hooft line\ndressings are charged under the magnetic large gauge transformation (LGT), but\nare neutral under electric LGT. This is in contrast to the Faddeev-Kulish\ndressings of electrons, which can be written as a Wilson line operator and are\ncharged under electric LGT but neutral under magnetic LGT. With these dressings\nand the corresponding construction of the coherent states, the infrared\nfiniteness of the theory of electric and magnetic charges is guaranteed. Even\nin the absence of magnetic monopoles, the electric and magnetic soft modes\nexhibit the electromagnetic duality of vacuum Maxwell theory. Using only the\nasymptotic form of three-point interactions in a field theory of electric and\nmagnetic charges, we show that the leading magnetic dressings, like the leading\nelectric ones, are exact in the field theory of electric and magnetic charges,\nin accordance with a conjecture of Strominger. We then extend the construction\nto perturbative quantum gravity in asymptotically flat spacetime, and construct\ngravitational 't Hooft line dressings that are charged under dual\nsupertranslations. The duality in the quantum theory between the electric and\nmagnetic soft charges and their dressings is thus made manifest.",
        "positive": "5d Field Theories and M Theory: 5-brane configurations describing 5d field theories are promoted to an M\ntheory description a la Witten in terms of polynomials in two complex\nvariables. The coefficients of the polynomials are the Coulomb branch. This\npicture resolves apparent singularities at vertices and reveals exponentially\nsmall corrections. These corrections ask to be compared to world line instanton\ncorrections. From a different perspective this procedure may be used to define\na diagrammatic representation of polynomials in two variables."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Baryons as Vortexes on the $\u03b7^{\\prime}$ Domain Wall: We show that the recent construction of $N_f=1$ baryons on the $\\eta^\\prime$\ndomain wall can be understood as vortexes of the principal effective theory --\nthe Chern-Simons-Higgs theory -- on a 2+1-dimensional sheet. This theory has a\nseries of vertex solutions, and the vortex with unit topological charge\nnaturally spins $N_c/2$, which coincides with the spin of the one-flavor baryon\nin QCD. Since the $N_c$ scaling of the vortexes is the same as that of baryons,\nbaryons can be regarded as vortexes. By virtue of the particle-vortex symmetry,\nthe dual Zhang-Hansson-Kivelson theory indicates that the quark carries\ntopological charge $1/N_c$ and obeys fractional statistics. The generalization\nto arbitrary $N_f$ is also discussed.",
        "positive": "Motivations and Physical Aims of Algebraic QFT: We present illustrations which show the usefulness of algebraic QFT. In\nparticular in low-dimensional QFT, when Lagrangian quantization does not exist\nor is useless (e.g. in chiral conformal theories), the algebraic method is\nbeginning to reveal its strength."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Superconformal hypermultiplets in superspace: We use the manifestly N=2 supersymmetric, off-shell, harmonic (or twistor)\nsuperspace approach to solve the constraints implied by four-dimensional N=2\nsuperconformal symmetry on the N=2 non-linear sigma-model target space, known\nas the special hyper-K\"ahler geometry. Our general solution is formulated in\nterms of a homogeneous (of degree two) function of unconstrained (analytic)\nFayet-Sohnius hypermultiplet superfields. We also derive the improved (N=2\nsuperconformal) actions for the off-shell (constrained) N=2 projective\nhypermultiplets, and relate them (via non-conformal deformations) to the\nasymptotically locally-flat (ALF) A_k and D_k series of the gravitational\ninstantons. The same metrics describe Kaluza-Klein monopoles in M-theory, while\nthey also arise in the quantum moduli spaces of N=4 supersymmetric gauge field\ntheories with SU(2) gauge group and matter hypermultiplets in three spacetime\ndimensions. We comment on rotational isometries versus translational isometries\nin the context of N=2 NLSM in terms of projective hypermultiplets.",
        "positive": "On a self-dual phase space for 3+1 lattice Yang-Mills theory: I propose a self-dual deformation of the classical phase space of lattice\nYang--Mills theory, in which both the electric and magnetic fluxes take value\nin the gauge Lie group. A local construction of the deformed phase space\nrequires the machinery of \"quasi-Hamiltonian spaces\" by Alekseev et al., which\nis here reviewed. The results is a full-fledged finite-dimensional and\ngauge-invariant phase space, whose self-duality properties are largely enhanced\nin (3+1) spacetime dimensions. This enhancement is due to a correspondence with\nthe moduli space of an auxiliary non-commutative flat connection living on a\nRiemann surface defined from the lattice itself, which in turn equips the\nduality between electric and magnetic fluxes with a neat geometrical\ninterpretation in terms of a Heegaard splitting of the space manifold. Finally,\nI discuss the consequences of the proposed deformation on the quantization of\nthe phase space, its quantum gravitational interpretation, as well as its\nrelevance for the construction of (3+1) dimensional topological field theories\nwith defects."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "New Algorithm for Tensor Calculation in Field Theories: Tensor calculation of suffix-contraction is carried out by a C-program.\nTensors are represented graphically, and the algorithm makes use of the\ntopology of graphs. Classical and quantum gravity, in the weak-field\nperturbative approach, is a special interest. Examples of the leading order\ncalculation of some general invariants such as $R_{\\mn\\ls}R^{\\mn\\ls}$ are\ngiven. Application to Weyl anomaly calculation is commented.",
        "positive": "Linearization of thick K-branes: We study the linearization of a class of thick K-branes, namely,\nfour-dimensional domain walls generated by a scalar field with particular\nnonstandard kinetic terms. The master equations for linear perturbations are\nderived from the point of view of both dynamical equations and quadratic\naction. The spectra of the canonical normal modes are studied using\nsupersymmetric quantum mechanics. Our results indicate that the scalar\nperturbation is nonlocalizable in general. Conditions for stable $K$-branes are\nalso found."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Form factors, correlation functions and vertex operators in the\n  eight-vertex model at reflectionless points: The eight-vertex model at the reflectionless points is considered on the\nbasis of Smirnov's axiomatic approach. Integral formulae for form factors of\nthe eight-vertex model can be obtained in terms of those of the eight-vertex\nSOS model, by using vertex-face transformation. The resulting formulae have\nvery simple forms at the reflectionless points, and suggests us the explicit\nexpressions of the type II vertex operators of the eight-vertex model.",
        "positive": "A renormalization group improved computation of correlation functions in\n  theories with non-trivial phase diagram: We present a simple and consistent way to compute correlation functions in\ninteracting theories with non-trivial phase diagram. As an example we show how\nto consistently compute the four-point function in three dimensional\n$\\mathbb{Z}_2$-scalar theories. The idea is to perform the path integral by\nweighting the momentum modes that contribute to it according to their\nrenormalization group (RG) relevance, i.e. we weight each mode according to the\nvalue of the running couplings at that scale. In this way, we are able encode\nin a loop computation the information regarding the RG trajectory along which\nwe are integrating. We show that depending on the initial condition, or initial\npoint in the phase diagram, we obtain different behaviors of the four-point\nfunction at the end point of the flow."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Searching for a Connection Between Matroid Theory and String Theory: We make a number of observations about matter-ghost string phase, which may\neventually lead to a formal connection between matroid theory and string\ntheory. In particular, in order to take advantage of the already established\nconnection between matroid theory and Chern-Simons theory, we propose a\ngeneralization of string theory in terms of some kind of Kahler metric. We show\nthat this generalization is closely related to the Kahler-Chern-Simons action\ndue to Nair and Schiff. In addition, we discuss matroid/string connection via\nmatroid bundles and a Schild type action, and we add new information about the\nrelationship between matroid theory, D=11 supergravity and Chern-Simons\nformalism.",
        "positive": "He-McKellar-Wilkens-type effect from the Lorentz symmetry breaking\n  effects: From the effects of the Lorentz symmetry violation in the CPT-even gauge\nsector of Standard Model Extension, we establish a possible scenario where an\nanalogue of the He-McKellar-Wilkens effect can stem from. Besides, we build\nquantum holonomies associated with the analogue of the He-McKellar-Wilkens\neffect and discuss a possible analogy with the holonomic quantum computation\n[P. Zanardi and M. Rasetti, Phys. Lett. A {\\bf264}, 94 (1999)]. Finally, we\ninvestigate the dependence of the energy levels on the He-McKellar-Wilkens\ngeometric phase induced by Lorentz symmetry breaking effects when the particle\nis confined to a hard-wall confining potential."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Casimir Energy of an irregular membrane: We compute the Casimir energy which arises in a bi-dimensional surface due to\nthe quantum fluctuations of a scalar field. We assume that the boundaries are\nirregular and the field obeys Dirichlet condition. We re-parametrize the\nproblem to one which has flat boundary conditions and the irregularity is\ntreated as a perturbation in the Laplace-Beltrami operator which appears.\nLater, to compute the Casimir energy, we use zeta function regularization. It\nis compared the results coming from perturbation theory with the WKB method.",
        "positive": "What Becomes of Semilocal non-Abelian Strings in ${\\mathcal N}=1$\n  Supersymmetric QCD: We study non-Abelian vortex strings in ${\\mathcal N}=2$ supersymmetric QCD\nwith the gauge group U$(N)$ deformed by the mass $\\mu$ of the adjoint matter.\nThis deformation breaks ${\\mathcal N}=2$ supersymmetry down to ${\\mathcal N}=1$\nand in the limit of large $\\mu$ the theory flows to ${\\mathcal N}=1$ QCD.\nNon-Abelian strings in addition to translational zero modes have orientation\nmoduli. In the ${\\mathcal N}=2$ limit of small $\\mu$ the dynamics of\norientational moduli is described by the two dimensional $CP(N-1)$ model for\nQCD with $N_f=N$ flavors of quark hypermultiplets. For the case of $N_f>N$ the\nnon-Abelian string becomes semilocal developing additional size moduli which\nmodify the effective two dimensional $\\sigma$-model on the string making its\ntarget space non-compact. In this paper we consider the $\\mu$-deformed theory\nwith $N_f>N$ eventually making $\\mu$ large. We show that size moduli develop a\npotential that forces the string transverse size to shrink. Eventually in the\nlarge $\\mu$ limit size moduli decouple and the effective theory on the string\nreduces to the $CP(N-1)$ model. We also comment on physics of confined\nmonopoles."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Interquark Potential in Schrodinger Representation: Static charges are introduced in Yang-Mills theory via coupling to heavy\nfermions. The states containing static color charges are constructed using\nintegration over gauge transformations. A functional representation for\ninterquark potential is obtained. This representation provides a simple\ncriterion for confinement.",
        "positive": "Perturbative 4D conformal field theories and representation theory of\n  diagram algebras: The correlators of free four dimensional conformal field theories (CFT4) have\nbeen shown to be given by amplitudes in two-dimensional $so(4,2)$ equivariant\ntopological field theories (TFT2), by using a vertex operator formalism for the\ncorrelators. We show that this can be extended to perturbative interacting\nconformal field theories, using two representation theoretic constructions. A\nco-product deformation for the conformal algebra accommodates the equivariant\nconstruction of composite operators in the presence of non-additive anomalous\ndimensions. Explicit expressions for the co-product deformation are given\nwithin a sector of $ \\mathcal{N} =4 $ SYM and for the Wilson-Fischer fixed\npoint near four dimensions. The extension of conformal equivariance beyond\ninteger dimensions (relevant for the Wilson-Fischer fixed point) leads to the\ndefinition of an associative diagram algebra $ {\\bf U}_{*} $, abstracted from $\nUso(d)$ in the limit of large integer $d$, which admits extension of $ Uso(d)$\nrepresentation theory to general real (or complex) $d$. The algebra is related,\nvia oscillator realisations, to $so(d)$ equivariant maps and Brauer category\ndiagrams. Tensor representations are constructed where the diagram algebra acts\non tensor products of a fundamental diagram representation. A similar\ndiagrammatic algebra ${\\bf U}_{\\star ,2}$, related to a general $d$ extension\nfor $ Uso(d,2)$ is defined, and some of its lowest weight representations\nrelevant to the Wilson-Fischer fixed point are described."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum gravitational contributions to quantum electrodynamics: Quantum electrodynamics describes the interactions of electrons and photons.\nElectric charge (the gauge coupling constant) is energy dependent, and there is\na previous claim that charge is affected by gravity (described by general\nrelativity) with the implication that the charge is reduced at high energies.\nBut that claim has been very controversial with the situation inconclusive.\nHere I report an analysis (free from earlier controversies) demonstrating that\nthat quantum gravity corrections to quantum electrodynamics have a quadratic\nenergy dependence that result in the reduction of the electric charge at high\nenergies, a result known as asymptotic freedom.",
        "positive": "One-point Functions in AdS/dCFT from Matrix Product States: One-point functions of certain non-protected scalar operators in the defect\nCFT dual to the D3-D5 probe brane system with k units of world volume flux can\nbe expressed as overlaps between Bethe eigenstates of the Heisenberg spin chain\nand a matrix product state. We present a closed expression of determinant form\nfor these one-point functions, valid for any value of k. The determinant\nformula factorizes into the k=2 result times a k-dependent prefactor. Making\nuse of the transfer matrix of the Heisenberg spin chain we recursively relate\nthe matrix product state for higher even and odd k to the matrix product state\nfor k=2 and k=3 respectively. We furthermore find evidence that the matrix\nproduct states for k=2 and k=3 are related via a ratio of Baxter's Q-operators.\nThe general k formula has an interesting thermodynamical limit involving a\nnon-trivial scaling of k, which indicates that the match between string and\nfield theory one-point functions found for chiral primaries might be tested for\nnon-protected operators as well. We revisit the string computation for chiral\nprimaries and discuss how it can be extended to non-protected operators."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic superconductor with nonlinear arcsin-electrodynamics: We investigate holographic s-wave superconductors with nonlinear\narcsin-electrodynamics in the background of Schwarzschild anti-de Sitter black\nholes. The analytical Sturm-Liouville eigenvalue problem is explored and we\nassume that the scalar and electromagnetic fields do not influence on the\nbackground metric (the probe limit). The critical temperatures of phase\ntransitions depending on the parameter of the model is obtained. We show that\nin our case the condensation formation becomes easier compared to Born-Infeld\nnonlinear electrodynamics. The critical exponent near the critical temperature\nis calculated which is 1/2. With the help of the matching method we derive\nanalytic expressions for the condensation value and the critical temperature.\nThe real and imaginary parts of the conductivity in our model, making use of an\nanalytical method, are computed.",
        "positive": "Matrix Models of Induced Large-N QCD: I review recent works on the problem of inducing large-N QCD by matrix\nfields. In the first part of the talk I describe the matrix models which induce\nlarge-N QCD and present the results of studies of their phase structure by the\nstandard lattice technology (in particular, by the mean field method). The\nsecond part is devoted to the exact solution of these models in the strong\ncoupling region by means of the loop equations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Analogue Aharonov-Bohm effect in neo-Newtonian theory: We address the issues of the scattering of massless planar scalar waves by an\nacoustic black hole in neo-Newtonian hydrodynamics. We then compute the\ndifferential cross section through the use of the partial wave approach in the\nneo-Newtonian theory which is a modification of the usual Newtonian theory that\ncorrectly incorporates the effects of pressure. We mainly show that the\nscattering of planar waves leads to a modified analogue Aharonov-Bohm effect\ndue to a nontrivial response of the parameters defining the equation of state.",
        "positive": "A Note on c=1 Virasoro Boundary States and Asymmetric Shift Orbifolds: We comment on the conformal boundary states of the c=1 free boson theory on a\ncircle which do not preserve the U(1) symmetry. We construct these Virasoro\nboundary states at a generic radius by a simple asymmetric shift orbifold\nacting on the fundamental boundary states at the self-dual radius. We further\ncalculate the boundary entropy and find that the Virasoro boundary states at\nirrational radius have infinite boundary entropy. The corresponding open string\ndescription of the asymmetric orbifold is given using the quotient algebra\nconstruction. Moreover, we find that the quotient algebra associated with a\nnon-fundamental boundary state contains the noncommutative Weyl algebra."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Quantum Geometer's Universe: Particles, Interactions and Topology: With the two most profound conceptual revolutions of XXth century physics,\nquantum mechanics and relativity, which have culminated into relativistic\nspacetime geometry and quantum gauge field theory as the principles for gravity\nand the three other known fundamental interactions, the physicist of the XXIst\ncentury has inherited an unfinished symphony: the unification of the quantum\nand the continuum. As an invitation to tomorrow's quantum geometers who must\ndesign the new rulers by which to size up the Universe at those scales where\nthe smallest meets the largest, these lectures review the basic principles of\ntoday's conceptual framework, and highlight by way of simple examples the\ninterplay that presently exists between the quantum world of particle\ninteractions and the classical world of geometry and topology.",
        "positive": "N=4 Gauged Supergravity from Duality-Twist Compactifications of String\n  Theory: We investigate the lifting of half-maximal four-dimensional gauged\nsupergravities to compactifications of string theory. It is shown that a class\nof such supergravities can arise from compactifications of IIA string theory on\nmanifolds of SU(2)-structure which may be thought of as K3 fibrations over T^2.\nExamples of these SU(2)-structure backgrounds, as smooth K3 bundles and as\ncompactifications with H-flux, are given and we also find evidence for a class\nof non-geometric, Mirror-fold backgrounds. By applying the duality between IIA\nstring theory on K3 and Heterotic string theory on T^4 fibrewise, we argue that\nthese SU(2)-structure backgrounds are dual to Heterotic compactifications on a\nclass T^4 fibrations over T^2. Examples of these fibrations as twisted tori,\nH-flux and T-fold compactifications are given. We also construct a new set of\nbackgrounds, particular to Heterotic string theory, which includes a previously\nunknown class of Heterotic T-folds. A sigma model description of these\nbackgrounds, from the Heterotic perspective, is presented in which we\ngeneralize the Bosonic doubled formalism to Heterotic string theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Lorentz invariance violation and simultaneous emission of\n  electromagnetic and gravitational waves: In this work, we compute some phenomenological bounds for the electromagnetic\nand massive gravitational high-derivative extensions supposing that it is\npossible to have an astrophysical process that generates simultaneously\ngravitational and electromagnetic waves. We present Lorentz invariance\nviolating (LIV) higher-order derivative models, following the Myers-Pospelov\napproach, to electrodynamics and massive gravitational waves. We compute the\ncorrected equation of motion of these models, their dispersion relations and\nthe velocities. The LIV parameters for the gravitational and electromagnetic\nsectors, $\\xi_{g}$ and $\\xi_{\\gamma}$, respectively, were also obtained for\nthree different approaches: luminal photons, time delay of flight and the\ndifference of graviton and photon velocities. These LIV parameters depend on\nthe mass scales where the LIV-terms become relevant, $M$ for the\nelectromagnetic sector and $M_{1}$ for the gravitational one. We obtain, using\nthe values for $M$ and $M_{1}$ found in the literature, that\n$\\xi_{g}\\sim10^{-2}$, which is expected to be phenomenologically relevant and\n$\\xi_{\\gamma}\\sim10^{3}$, which cannot be suitable for an effective LIV theory.\nHowever, we show that $\\xi_{\\gamma}$ can be interesting in a phenomenological\npoint of view if $M\\gg M_{1}$. Finally the relation between the variation of\nthe velocities of the photon and the graviton in relation to the speed of light\nwas calculated and resulted in $\\Delta v_{g}/\\Delta\nv_{\\gamma}\\lesssim1.82\\times 10^{-3}$.",
        "positive": "N=6 superconformal Chern-Simons-matter theories, M2-branes and their\n  gravity duals: We construct three dimensional Chern-Simons-matter theories with gauge groups\nU(N)xU(N) and SU(N)xSU(N) which have explicit N=6 superconformal symmetry.\nUsing brane constructions we argue that the U(N)xU(N) theory at level k\ndescribes the low energy limit of N M2-branes probing a C^4/Z_k singularity. At\nlarge N the theory is then dual to M theory on AdS_4xS^7/Z_k. The theory also\nhas a 't Hooft limit (of large N with a fixed ratio N/k) which is dual to type\nIIA string theory on AdS_4xCP^3. For k=1 the theory is conjectured to describe\nN M2-branes in flat space, although our construction realizes explicitly only\nsix of the eight supersymmetries. We give some evidence for this conjecture,\nwhich is similar to the evidence for mirror symmetry in d=3 gauge theories.\nWhen the gauge group is SU(2)xSU(2) our theory has extra symmetries and becomes\nidentical to the Bagger-Lambert theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Emission of linearly polarized photons in a strongly coupled magnetized\n  plasma from the gauge/gravity correspondence: We use holographic methods to show that photons emitted by a strongly coupled\nplasma subject to a magnetic field are linearly polarized regardless of their\nfour-momentum, except when they propagate along the field direction. The\ngravitational dual is constructed using a 5D truncation of 10-dimensional type\nIIB supergravity, and includes a scalar field in addition to the constant\nmagnetic one. In terms of the geometry of the collision experiment that we\nmodel, our statement is that any photon produced there has to be in its only\npolarization state parallel to the reaction plane.",
        "positive": "Completing the Bootstrap Program for\n  $\\mathrm{T}\\bar{\\mathrm{T}}$-Deformed Massive Integrable Quantum Field\n  Theories: In recent years a considerable amount of attention has been devoted to the\ninvestigation of 2D quantum field theories perturbed by certain types of\nirrelevant operators. These are the composite field\n$\\mathrm{T}\\bar{\\mathrm{T}}$ - constructed out of the components of the\nstress-energy tensor - and its generalisations - built from higher-spin\nconserved currents. The effect of such perturbations on the infrared and\nultraviolet properties of the theory has been extensively investigated. In the\ncontext of integrable quantum field theories, a fruitful perspective is that of\nfactorised scattering theory. In fact, the above perturbations were shown to\npreserve integrability. The resulting deformed scattering matrices -\nextensively analysed with the thermodynamic Bethe ansatz - provide the first\nstep in the development of a complete bootstrap program. In this letter we\npresent a systematic approach to computing matrix elements of operators in\ngeneralised $\\mathrm{T}\\bar{\\mathrm{T}}$-perturbed models, based on employing\nthe standard form factor program. Our approach is very general and can be\napplied to all theories with diagonal scattering. We show that the deformed\nform factors, just as happens for the $S$-matrix, factorise into the product of\nthe undeformed ones and of a perturbation- and theory-dependent term. From\nthese solutions, correlation functions can be obtained and their asymptotic\nproperties studied. Our results set the foundations of a new research program\nfor massive integrable quantum field theory perturbed by irrelevant operators."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Reflections on the Matter of 3d $\\mathcal{N} = 1$ Vacua and Local\n  $Spin(7)$ Compactifications: We use Higgs bundles to study the 3d $\\mathcal{N} = 1$ vacua obtained from\nM-theory compactified on a local $Spin(7)$ space given as a four-manifold $M_4$\nof ADE singularities with further generic enhancements in the singularity type\nalong one-dimensional subspaces. There can be strong quantum corrections to the\nmassless degrees of freedom in the low energy effective field theory, but\ntopologically robust quantities such as \"parity\" anomalies are still\ncalculable. We show how geometric reflections of the compactification space\ndescend to 3d reflections and discrete symmetries. The \"parity\" anomalies of\nthe effective field theory descend from topological data of the\ncompactification. The geometric perspective also allows us to track various\nperturbative and non-perturbative corrections to the 3d effective field theory.\nWe also provide some explicit constructions of well-known 3d theories,\nincluding those which arise as edge modes of 4d topological insulators, and 3d\n$\\mathcal{N} = 1$ analogs of grand unified theories. An additional result of\nour analysis is that we are able to track the spectrum of extended objects and\ntheir transformations under higher-form symmetries.",
        "positive": "SU(N) monopoles with and without SUSY: These are expanded notes of lectures given at the Advanced Summer School on\nModern Mathematical Physics (JINR Dubna, July 2005) and at the 8th\nInternational School-Seminar ``The actual problems of microworld physics 2005''\n(Gomel-Dubna, August 2005). I review classical monopole solutions of the SU(N)\nYang-Mills-Higgs theory. The first part is a pedagogical introduction into to\nthe theory of non-Abelian SU(2) monopoles. In the second part I discuss a\nparticular case of SU(3) theories containing different limits of symmetry\nbreaking. It turns out that the multimonopole configurations are natural in a\nmodel with the gauge group of higher rank. Here I discuss fundamental and\ncomposite monopoles and consider the limiting situation of the massless states.\nIn the last part I briefly discuss construction of the $N = 2$ SU(2)\nsupersymmetric monopoles and some of the basic properties which are connected\nwith the field theoretical aspects of these classical solutions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "D-branes et orientifolds dans des espaces courbes ou dependant du temps: In this thesis we study string theory with D-branes and possibly orientifolds\nin curved or time-dependent spaces. Our study aims at understanding some\naspects of curved and time-dependent spaces, notably because of their\nimportance in cosmology.\n  The first chapter introduces some bases of string theory.\n  The second chapter studies non-oriented strings on compact groups SU(2) and\nSO(3): after reviewing known results about D-branes in such spaces, we present\nour results on the position of orientifolds and their interaction with open and\nclosed strings.\n  The third chapter studies D-branes in certain backgrounds of Ramond-Ramond\ntype, using S-duality, which links them with backgrounds of Neveu-Schwarz type,\nwhere calculations can be done.\n  The last chapter considers strings on a D-brane embedded with a plane wave,\nand introduces tools which allow to study interactions in such a background.",
        "positive": "Topological and non-topological kink families in non-linear\n  $(\\mathbb{S}^1\\times \\mathbb{S}^1)$-Sigma models: In this paper we construct a family of Hamilton-Jacobi separable non-linear\n$\\mathbb{S}^1\\times\\mathbb{S}^1$ Sigma models for which the kink variety can be\nanalytically identified and for which the linear stability of the emerging\nkinks is ensured. Furthermore, a model with only one vacuum point is found,\nwhere all kinks are forced to be non-topological. The non-simply connectedness\nof the torus guarantees the global stability of all the non-topological kinks\nin these models."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Harmonic BRST Quantization of Systems with Irreducible Holomorphic Boson\n  and Fermion Constraints: We show that the harmonic Becchi-Rouet-Stora-Tyutin method of quantizing\nbosonic systems with second-class constraints or first-class holomorphic\nconstraints extends to systems having both bosonic and fermionic second-class\nor first-class holomorphic constraints. Using a limit argument, we show that\nthe harmonic BRST modified path integral reproduces the correct Senjanovic\nmeasure.",
        "positive": "The Linear Multiplet and Quantum 4-D String Effective Actions: In 4-D heterotic superstrings, the dilaton and antisymmetric tensor fields\nbelong to a linear N=1 supersymmetric multiplet L. We study the lagrangian\ndescribing the coupling of one linear multiplet to chiral and gauge multiplets\nin global and local supersymmetry, with particular emphasis on string\ntree-level and loop-corrected effective actions. This theory is dual to an\nequivalent one with chiral multiplets only. But the formulation with a linear\nmultiplet appears to have decisive advantages beyond string tree-level since,\nin particular, <L> is the string loop-counting parameter and the duality\ntransformation is in general not exactly solvable beyond tree-level. This\nformulation allows us to easily deduce some powerful non-renormalization\ntheorems in the effective theory and to obtain explicitly some loop corrections\nto the string effective supergravity for simple compactifications. Finally, we\ndiscuss the issue of supersymmetry breaking by gaugino condensation using this\nformalism."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Additional Symmetries of Supersymmetric KP Hierarchies: We investigate the additional symmetries of several supersymmetric KP\nhierarchies: the SKP hierarchy of Manin and Radul, the $\\hbox{SKP}_2$\nhierarchy, and the Jacobian SKP hierarchy. In all three cases we find that the\nalgebra of symmetries is isomorphic to the algebra of superdifferential\noperators, or equivalently $\\SW_{1+\\infty}$. These results seem to suggest that\ndespite their realization depending on the dynamics, the additional symmetries\nare kinematical in nature.",
        "positive": "Holographic dark energy with non-minimal coupling: We study a scalar field non-minimally coupled to the curvature, in the\nframework of holographic dark energy. We obtain a relation between the coupling\nof the scalar field and the holographic DE parameters. In the model without\npotential we found the EOS parameter in different regions of the parameters,\ngiving rise to accelerated expansion. For some restrictions on the parameters,\nthe model presents quintom behavior."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Multi-Particle Amplitudes from the Four-Point Correlator in Planar N=4\n  SYM: A non-trivial consequence of the super-correlator/super-amplitude duality is\nthat the integrand of the four-point correlation function of stress-tensor\nmultiplets in planar N=4 super Yang-Mills contains a certain combination of\nn-point amplitude integrands for any n. This combination is the sum of products\nof all helicity super-amplitudes with their corresponding helicity conjugates.\nThe four-point correlator itself is described by a single scalar function whose\nloop level integrands possess a hidden permutation symmetry facilitating its\ncomputation up to ten loops. We discover that assuming Yangian symmetry and an\nappropriate basis of planar dual conformal integrands it is possible to\ndisentangle the contributions from the individual amplitudes from this\ncombination. We test this up to seven points and up to two loops. This suggests\nthat any scattering amplitude for any n, with any helicity structure and at any\nloop order may be extractable from the four-point correlator.",
        "positive": "On the backreaction issue for the black hole in de Sitter space-time: We consider quantum real massive scalar field in the de Sitter-Schwarzschild\nspace-time backround. To have an analytic head way we study in detail the\ntwo-dimensional case, assuming that the situation in four dimensions will not\nbe much different conceptually. It is assumed, that quantum field is in a\nthermal state i.e. described by the planckian distribution for the exact modes\nin the geometry under consideration. We calculate approximately the expectation\nvalue of stress-energy tensor near the cosmological and black hole horizons. It\nis shown that for a generic temperature backreaction from quantum fields on the\ngeometry cannot be neglected. Thus, de Sitter-Schwarzschild space-time geometry\ninevitably is strongly modified by the quantum fluctuations of the matter\nfields."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dynamical Generation of the Primordial Magnetic Field by Ferromagnetic\n  Domain Walls: The spontaneous generation of uniform magnetic condensate in $QED_3$ gives\nrise to ferromagnetic domain walls at the electroweak phase transition. These\nferromagnetic domain walls are caracterized by vanishing effective surface\nenergy density avoiding, thus, the domain wall problem. Moreover we find that\nthe domain walls generate a magnetic field $B \\simeq 10^{24} Gauss$ at the\nelectroweak scale which account for the seed field in the so called dynamo\nmechanism for the cosmological primordial magnetic field. We find that the\nannihilation processes of walls with size $R \\simeq 10^5 Km$ could release an\nenergy of order $10^{52} erg$ indicating the invisible ferromagnetic walls as\npossible compact sources of Gamma Ray Bursts.",
        "positive": "Reflected entropy for free scalars: We continue our study of reflected entropy, $R(A,B)$, for Gaussian systems.\nIn this paper we provide general formulas valid for free scalar fields in\narbitrary dimensions. Similarly to the fermionic case, the resulting\nexpressions are fully determined in terms of correlators of the fields, making\nthem amenable to lattice calculations. We apply this to the case of a\n$(1+1)$-dimensional chiral scalar, whose reflected entropy we compute for two\nintervals as a function of the cross-ratio, comparing it with previous\nholographic and free-fermion results. For both types of free theories we find\nthat reflected entropy satisfies the conjectural monotonicity property $R(A,BC)\n\\geq R(A,B)$. Then, we move to $(2+1)$ dimensions and evaluate it for square\nregions for free scalars, fermions and holography, determining the very-far and\nvery-close regimes and comparing them with their mutual information\ncounterparts. In all cases considered, both for $(1+1)$- and\n$(2+1)$-dimensional theories, we verify that the general inequality relating\nboth quantities, $R(A,B)\\geq I(A,B)$, is satisfied. Our results suggest that\nfor general regions characterized by length-scales $L_A\\sim L_B\\sim L$ and\nseparated a distance $\\ell$, the reflected entropy in the large-separation\nregime ($x\\equiv L/\\ell \\ll 1$) behaves as $R(x) \\sim - I(x) \\log x$ for\ngeneral CFTs in arbitrary dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Starobinsky-like Inflationary Models as Avatars of No-Scale Supergravity: Models of cosmological inflation resembling the Starobinsky R + R^2 model\nemerge naturally among the effective potentials derived from no-scale\nSU(N,1)/SU(N) x U(1) supergravity when N > 1. We display several examples in\nthe SU(2,1)/SU(2) x U(1) case, in which the inflaton may be identified with\neither a modulus field or a matter field. We discuss how the modulus field may\nbe stabilized in models in which a matter field plays the role of the inflaton.\nWe also discuss models that generalize the Starobinsky model but display\ndifferent relations between the tilt in the spectrum of scalar density\nperturbations, n_s, the tensor-to-scalar ratio, r, and the number of e-folds,\nN_*. Finally, we discuss how such models can be probed by present and future\nCMB experiments.",
        "positive": "Twisted Weil Algebras for the String Lie 2-Algebra: In this article, we give a concise summary of $L_\\infty$-algebras viewed in\nterms of Chevalley-Eilenberg algebras, Weil algebras and invariant polynomials\nand their use in defining connections in higher gauge theory. Using this, we\ndiscuss the example of the string Lie 2-algebra in both the skeletal and the\nloop model. In both cases, we show how to arrive at the twisted Weil algebras\nwhich were used in arXiv:1705.02353 to construct a non-Abelian self-dual string\nsoliton, see also arXiv:1712.06623, arXiv:0801.3480, arXiv:0910.4001."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dual gravity and E11: We consider the equation of motion in the gravity sector that arises from the\nnon-linear realisation of the semi-direct product of E11 and its first\nfundamental representation, denoted by l1, in four dimensions. This equation is\nfirst order in derivatives and at low levels relates the usual field of gravity\nto a dual gravity field. When the generalised space-time is restricted to be\nthe usual four dimensional space-time we show that this equation does correctly\ndescribe Einstein's theory at the linearised level. We also comment on previous\ndiscussions of dual gravity.",
        "positive": "AdS$_4$ solutions of massive IIA from dyonic ISO(7) supergravity: Explicit formulae are given for the consistent truncation of massive type IIA\nsupergravity on the six-sphere to the SU(3)--invariant sector of $D=4$ ${\\cal\nN}=8$ supergravity with dyonic ISO(7) gauging. These formulae are then used to\nconstruct AdS$_4$ solutions of massive type IIA via uplift on $S^6$ of the\ncritical points of the $D=4$ supergravity with at least SU(3) symmetry. We find\na new ${\\cal N}=1$ solution with SU(3) symmetry, a new non-supersymmetric\nsolution with SO(6) symmetry, and recover previously known solutions. We\nquantise the fluxes, calculate the gravitational free energies of the solutions\nand discuss the stability of the non-supersymmetric ones. Among these, a\n(previously known) G$_2$--invariant solution is found to be stable."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Low-energy structure of six-dimensional open-string vacua: This dissertation reviews some properties of the low-energy effective actions\nfor six dimensional open-string models. The first chapter is a pedagogical\nintroduction about supergravity theories. In the second chapter closed strings\nare analyzed, with particular emphasis on type IIB, whose orientifold\nprojection, in order to build type-I models, is the subject of the third\nchapter. Original results are reported in chapters 4 and 5. In chapter 4 we\ndescribe the complete coupling of (1,0) six-dimensional supergravity to tensor,\nvector and hypermultiplets. The generalized Green-Schwarz mechanism implies\nthat the resulting theory embodies factorized gauge and supersymmetry\nanomalies, to be disposed of by fermion loops. Consequently, the low-energy\ntheory is determined by the Wess-Zumino consistency conditions, rather than by\nthe requirement of supersymmetry, and this procedure does not fix a quartic\ncoupling for the gauginos. In chapter 5 we describe the low-energy effective\nactions for type-I models with brane supersymmetry breaking, resulting form the\nsimultaneous presence of supersymmetric bulks, with one or more gravitinos, and\nnon-supersymmetric combinations of BPS branes.The consistency of the resulting\ngravitino couplings implies that local supersymmetry is non-linearly realized\non some branes. We analyze in detail the ten-dimensional $USp(32)$ model and\nthe six-dimensional (1,0) models.",
        "positive": "Poisson gauge theory: The Poisson gauge algebra is a semi-classical limit of complete\nnon-commutative gauge algebra. In the present work we formulate the Poisson\ngauge theory which is a dynamical field theoretical model having the Poisson\ngauge algebra as a corresponding algebra of gauge symmetries. The proposed\nmodel is designed to investigate the semi-classical features of the full\nnon-commutative gauge theory with coordinate dependent non-commutativity\n$\\Theta^{ab}(x)$, especially whose with a non-constant rank. We derive the\nexpression for the covariant derivative of matter field. The commutator\nrelation for the covariant derivatives defines the Poisson field strength which\nis covariant under the Poisson gauge transformations and reproduces the\nstandard $U(1)$ field strength in the commutative limit. We derive the\ncorresponding Bianchi identities. The field equations for the gauge and the\nmatter fields are obtained from the gauge invariant action. We consider\ndifferent examples of linear in coordinates Poisson structures\n$\\Theta^{ab}(x)$, as well as non-linear ones, and obtain explicit expressions\nfor all proposed constructions. Our model is unique up to invertible field\nredefinitions and coordinate transformations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Linking Past and Future Null Infinity in Three Dimensions: We provide a mapping between past null and future null infinity in\nthree-dimensional flat space, using symmetry considerations. From this we\nderive a mapping between the corresponding asymptotic symmetry groups. By\nstudying the metric at asymptotic regions, we find that the mapping is energy\npreserving and yields an infinite number of conservation laws.",
        "positive": "Lax pair formulation in the simultaneous presence of boundaries and\n  defects: Inspired by recent results on the effect of integrable boundary conditions on\nthe bulk behavior of an integrable system, and in particular on the behavior of\nan existing defect we systematically formulate the Lax pairs in the\nsimultaneous presence of integrable boundaries and defects. The respective\nsewing conditions as well as the relevant equations of motion on the defect\npoint are accordingly extracted. We consider a specific prototype i.e. the\nvector non-linear Schr\\\"{o}dinger (NLS) model to exemplify our construction.\nThis model displays a highly non-trivial behavior and allows the existence of\ntwo distinct types of boundary conditions based on the reflection algebra or\nthe twisted Yangian."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Mathieu moonshine in four dimensional $\\mathcal{N}=1$ theories: We show that the recently discovered Mathieu moonshine plays a role for\ncertain four dimensional theories with $\\mathcal{N}=1$ supersymmetry. These\ntheories are obtained from the $E_8 \\times E_8$ heterotic string theory by\ncompactifying on toroidal orbifolds. We find that a universal contribution to\nthe holomorphic gauge kinetic function can be expanded in such a way that the\nexpansion coefficients are the dimensions of representations of the Mathieu\ngroup M$_{24}$.",
        "positive": "Non-geodesic motion in $f({\\mathcal G})$ gravity with non-minimal\n  coupling: The dynamics of test particles in $f(\\mathcal G)$ modified Gauss-Bonnet\ngravity is investigated. It is shown that in $f({\\mathcal G})$ gravity models\nwith non-minimal coupling to matter, particles experience an extra force normal\nto their four-velocities and as a result move along non- geodesic world-lines.\nThe explicit form of the extra force depends on the function of the\nGauss-Bonnet term included in coupling term. The effects of this force on the\nrelative accelerations of particles are studied."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Deriving particle physics from quantum gravity: a plan: I give a short review of the holographic approach to quantum gravity, with\nemphasis on its application to deriving the properties of elementary particles.",
        "positive": "On Higher Derivative Couplings in Theories with Sixteen Supersymmetries: We give simple arguments for new non-renormalization theorems on higher\nderivative couplings of gauge theories to supergravity, with sixteen\nsupersymmetries, by considerations of brane-bulk superamplitudes. This leads to\nsome exact results on the effective coupling of D3-branes in type IIB string\ntheory. We also derive exact results on higher dimensional operators in the\ntorus compactification of the six dimensional (0, 2) superconformal theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Perturbative Confinement: A Procedure is outlined that may be used as a starting point for a\nperturbative treatment of theories with permanent confinement. By using a\ncounter term in the Lagrangian that renormalizes the infrared divergence in the\nCoulomb potential, it is achieved that the perturbation expansion at a finite\nvalue of the strong coupling constant may yield reasonably accurate properties\nof hadrons, and an expression for the string constant as a function of the QCD\nLambda parameter.",
        "positive": "On the trees of quantum fields: The solution of some equations involving functional derivatives is given as a\nseries indexed by planar binary trees. The terms of the series are given by an\nexplicit recursive formula. Some algebraic properties of these series are\ninvestigated. Several examples are treated in the case of quantum\nelectrodynamics: the complete fermion and photon propagators, the two-body\nGreen function, and the one-body Green function in the presence of an external\nsource, the complete vacuum polarization, electron self-energy and irreducible\nvertex."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "BMS Symmetry of Celestial OPE: In this paper we study the BMS symmetry of the celestial OPE of two positive\nhelicity gravitons in Einstein theory in four dimensions. The celestial OPE is\nobtained by Mellin transforming the scattering amplitude in the (holomorphic)\ncollinear limit. The collinear limit at leading order gives the singular term\nof the celestial OPE. We compute the first subleading correction to the OPE by\nanalysing the four graviton scattering amplitude directly in Mellin space. The\nsubleading term can be written as a linear combination of BMS descendants with\nthe OPE coefficients determined by BMS algebra and the coefficient of the\nleading term in the OPE. This can be done by defining a suitable BMS primary\nstate. We find that among the descendants, which appear at the first subleading\norder, there is one which is created by holomorphic supertranslation with\nsimple pole on the celestial sphere.",
        "positive": "Stability of spin-0 graviton and strong coupling in Horava-Lifshitz\n  theory of gravity: In this paper, we consider two different issues, stability and strong\ncoupling, raised lately in the newly-proposed Horava-Lifshitz (HL) theory of\nquantum gravity with projectability condition. We find that all the scalar\nmodes are stable in the de Sitter background, due to two different kinds of\neffects, one from high-order derivatives of the spacetime curvature, and the\nother from the exponential expansion of the de Sitter space. Combining these\neffects properly, one can make the instability found in the Minkowski\nbackground never appear even for small-scale modes, provided that the IR limit\nis sufficiently closed to the relativistic fixed point. At the fixed point, all\nthe modes become stabilized. We also show that the instability of Minkowski\nspacetime can be cured by introducing mass to the spin-0 graviton. The strong\ncoupling problem is investigated following the effective field theory approach,\nand found that it cannot be cured by the Blas-Pujolas-Sibiryakov mechanism,\ninitially designed for the case without projectability condition, but might be\ncircumvented by the Vainshtein mechanism, due to the non-linear effects. In\nfact, we construct a class of exact solutions, and show explicitly that it\nreduces smoothly to the de Sitter spacetime in the relativistic limit."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Discrete gauge theories of charge conjugation: We define gauge theories whose gauge group includes charge conjugation as\nwell as standard $\\mathrm{SU}(N)$ transformations. When combined, these\ntransformations form a novel type of group with a semidirect product structure.\nFor $N$ even, we show that there are exactly two possible such groups which we\ndub $\\widetilde{\\mathrm{SU}}(N)_{\\mathrm{I,II}}$. We construct the\ntransformation rules for the fundamental and adjoint representations, allowing\nus to explicitly build four-dimensional $\\mathcal{N}=2$ supersymmetric gauge\ntheories based on $\\widetilde{\\mathrm{SU}}(N)_{\\mathrm{I,II}}$ and understand\nfrom first principles their global symmetry. We compute the Haar measure on the\ngroups, which allows us to quantitatively study the operator content in\nprotected sectors by means of the superconformal index. In particular, we find\nthat both types of $\\widetilde{\\mathrm{SU}}(N)_{\\mathrm{I,II}}$ groups lead to\nnon-freely generated Coulomb branches.",
        "positive": "Couplings in Asymmetric Orbifolds and Grand Unified String Models: Using the bosonic supercurrent (or covariant lattice) formalism, we review\nhow to compute scattering amplitudes in asymmetric orbifold string models. This\nmethod is particularly useful for calculating scattering of multiple\nasymmetrically twisted string states, where the twisted states are rewritten as\nordinary momentum states. We show how to reconstruct some of the 3-family grand\nunified string models in this formalism, and identify the quantum numbers of\nthe massless states in their spectra. The discrete symmetries of these models\nare rather intricate. The superpotentials for the 3-family E_6 model and a\nclosely related SO(10) model are discussed in some detail. The forms of the\nsuperpotentials of the two 3-family SU(6) models (with asymptotically-free\nhidden sectors SU(3) and SU(2) \\otimes SU(2)) are also presented."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Black Hole State Dependence as a Single Parameter: It has previously been proposed that the black hole interior of typical state\nlarge black holes in AdS can be described using state-dependent operators. We\ninvestigate the possibility that the interior can be described by explicit time\ndependence, which reduces the state-dependence of the interior operators to a\nsingle parameter. We also propose to use the natural cone, obtained from\nTomita-Takesaki theory, as a candidate construction for the interior operators.",
        "positive": "QED Effective Action in Magnetic Field Backgrounds and Electromagnetic\n  Duality: In the in-out formalism we advance a method of the inverse scattering matrix\nfor calculating effective actions in pure magnetic field backgrounds. The\none-loop effective actions are found in a localized magnetic field of Sauter\ntype and approximately in a general magnetic field by applying the uniform\nsemiclassical approximation. The effective actions exhibit the electromagnetic\nduality between a constant electric field and a constant magnetic field and\nbetween $E(x) = E sech^2 (x/L)$ and $B(x) = B sech^2 (x/L)$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "No hair theorem in quasi-dilaton massive gravity: We investigate the static, spherically symmetric black hole solutions in the\nquasi-dilaton model and its generalizations, which are scalar extended dRGT\nmassive gravity with a shift symmetry. We show that, unlike generic scalar\nextended massive gravity models, these theories do not admit static,\nspherically symmetric black hole solutions until the theory parameters in the\ndRGT potential is fine-tuned. When fine-tuned, the geometry of the static,\nspherically symmetric black hole is necessarily that of general relativity and\nthe quasi-dilaton field is constant across the spacetime. The fine-tuning and\nthe no hair theorem apply to black holes with flat, anti-de Sitter or de Sitter\nasymptotics.",
        "positive": "Amalgamated Codazzi Raychaudhuri identity for foliation: It is shown how a pure background tensor formalism provides a concise but\nexplicit and highly flexible machinery for the generalised curvature analysis\nof individual embedded surfaces and foliations such as arise in the theory of\ntopological defects in cosmological and other physical contexts. The unified\ntreatment provided here shows how the relevant extension of the Raychaudhuri\nidentity is related to the correspondingly extended Codazzi identity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Coadjoint orbit action of Virasoro group and two-dimensional quantum\n  gravity dual to SYK/tensor models: The Nambu-Goldstone (NG) bosons of the SYK model are described by a coset\nspace Diff/$\\mathbb{SL}(2,\\mathbb{R})$, where Diff, or Virasoro group, is the\ngroup of diffeomorphisms of the time coordinate valued on the real line or a\ncircle. It is known that the coadjoint orbit action of Diff naturally turns out\nto be the two-dimensional quantum gravity action of Polyakov without\ncosmological constant, in a certain gauge, in an asymptotically flat spacetime.\nMotivated by this observation, we explore Polyakov action with cosmological\nconstant and boundary terms, and study the possibility of such a\ntwo-dimensional quantum gravity model being the AdS dual to the low energy (NG)\nsector of the SYK model. We find strong evidences for this duality: (a) the\nbulk action admits an exact family of asymptotically AdS$_2$ spacetimes,\nparameterized by Diff/$\\mathbb{SL}(2,\\mathbb{R})$, in addition to a fixed\nconformal factor of a simple functional form; (b) the bulk path integral\nreduces to a path integral over Diff/$\\mathbb{SL}(2,\\mathbb{R})$ with a\nSchwarzian action; (c) the low temperature free energy qualitatively agrees\nwith that of the SYK model. We show, up to quadratic order, how to couple an\ninfinite series of bulk scalars to the Polyakov model and show that it\nreproduces the coupling of the higher modes of the SYK model with the NG\nbosons.",
        "positive": "Fourth order spatial derivative gravity: In this work we study a modified theory of gravity that contains up to fourth\norder spatial derivatives as a model for the Horava-Lifshitz gravity. The\npropagator is evaluated and, as a result, it is obtained one extra pole\ncorresponding to a spin two nonrelativistic massless particle, an extra term\nwhich jeopardizes renormalizability, besides the unexpected general relativity\nunmodified propagator. Then, unitarity is proved at the tree-level, where the\ngeneral relativity pole has shown to have no dynamics, remaining only the two\ndegrees of freedom of the new pole. Next, the nonrelativistic effective\npotential is determined from a scattering process of two identical massive\ngravitationally interacting bosons. In this limit, Newton's potential is\nobtained, together with a Darwin-like term that comes from the extra non-pole\nterm in the propagator. Regarding renormalizability, this extra term may be\nharmful, by power counting, but it can be eliminated by adjusting the free\nparameters of the model. This adjustment is in accord with the detailed balance\ncondition suggested in the literature and shows that the way in which extra\nspatial derivative terms are added is of fundamental importance."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spectral Functions of Gauge Theories with Banks-Zaks Fixed Points: We investigate spectral functions of matter-gauge theories that are\nasymptotically free in the ultraviolet and display a Banks-Zaks conformal fixed\npoint in the infrared. Using perturbation theory, Callan-Symanzik resummations,\nand UV-IR connecting renormalisation group trajectories, we analytically\ndetermine the gluon, quark, and ghost propagators in the entire complex\nmomentum plane. At weak coupling, we find that a K\\\"all\\'en-Lehmann spectral\nrepresentation of propagators is achieved for all fields, and determine\nsuitable ranges for gauge-fixing parameters. At strong coupling, a\nproliferation of complex conjugated branch cuts renders a causal representation\nimpossible. We also derive relations for scaling exponents that determine the\npresence or absence of propagator non-analyticities. Further results include\nspectral functions for all fields up to five loop order, bounds on the\nconformal window, and an algorithm to find running gauge coupling analytically\nat higher loops. Implications of our findings and extensions to other theories\nare discussed.",
        "positive": "Brane Resolution and Gravitational Chern-Simons terms: We show that gravitational Chern-Simons corrections, associated with the\nsigma-model anomaly on the M5-brane world-volume, can resolve the singularity\nof the M2-brane solution with Ricci-flat, special holonomy transverse space. We\nexplicitly find smooth solutions in the cases when the transverse space is a\nmanifold of Spin(7) holonomy and SU(4) holonomy. We comment on the consequences\nof these results for the holographically related three-dimensional theories\nliving on the world volume of a stack of such resolved M2-branes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Effects of heavy modes on vacuum stability in supersymmetric theories: We study the effects induced by heavy fields on the masses of light fields in\nsupersymmetric theories, under the assumption that the heavy mass scale is much\nhigher than the supersymmetry breaking scale. We show that the square-masses of\nlight scalar fields can get two different types of significant corrections when\na heavy multiplet is integrated out. The first is an indirect level-repulsion\neffect, which may arise from heavy chiral multiplets and is always negative.\nThe second is a direct coupling contribution, which may arise from heavy vector\nmultiplets and can have any sign. We then apply these results to the sGoldstino\nmass and study the implications for the vacuum metastability condition. We find\nthat the correction from heavy chiral multiplets is always negative and tends\nto compromise vacuum metastability, whereas the contribution from heavy vector\nmultiplets is always positive and tends on the contrary to reinforce it. These\ntwo effects are controlled respectively by Yukawa couplings and gauge charges,\nwhich mix one heavy and two light fields respectively in the superpotential and\nthe Kahler potential. Finally we also comment on similar effects induced in\nsoft scalar masses when the heavy multiplets couple both to the visible and the\nhidden sector.",
        "positive": "On AdS$_7$ stability: AdS$_7$ supersymmetric solutions in type IIA have been classified, and they\nare infinitely many. Moreover, every such solution has a non-supersymmetric\nsister. In this paper, we study the perturbative and non-perturbative stability\nof these non-supersymmetric solutions, focusing on cases without orientifolds.\nPerturbatively, we first look at the KK spectrum of spin-2 excitations. This\ndoes not exhibit instabilities, but it does show that there is no separation of\nscales for either the BPS and the non-BPS case, thus proving for supersymmetric\nAdS$_7$ a well-known recent conjecture. We then use 7d gauged supergravity and\na brane polarization computation to access part of the spectrum of KK scalars.\nThe result signals an instability for all non-supersymmetric solutions except\nthose that have a single D8 on each side. We finally look at non-perturbative\ninstabilities, and find that NS5 bubbles make these remaining solutions decay."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Heterotic Stringy Corrections to Metrics of Toroidal Orbifolds and Their\n  Resolutions: We explicitly analyse $O(\\alpha')$ corrections to heterotic supergravity on\ntoroidal orbifolds and their resolutions, which play important roles in string\nphenomenology as well as moduli stabilisation. Using a conformal factor ansatz\nthat is valid only for four dimensional geometries, we obtain a closed\nexpression for the $O(\\alpha')$ metric corrections in the case of several\norbifold limits of K3, namely $T^4/\\mathbb{Z}_n$ where $n=2,3,4,6$. However, we\nfind that non-standard embedding requires the inclusion of five-branes on such\norbifolds. We also numerically investigate the behaviour around orbifold fixed\npoints by considering the metric correction on the resolution of a\n$\\mathbb{C}^2/\\mathbb{Z}_2$ singularity. In this case, a non-trivial conformal\nfactor can be obtained in non-standard embedding even without five-branes. In\nthe same manner, we generalise our analysis to study metric corrections on\n$T^6/\\mathbb{Z}_3$ and its resolution described by a complex line bundle over\n$\\mathbb{CP}^2$. Further prospects of utilising these $O(\\alpha')$ corrected\nmetrics as a novel approach in obtaining realistic or semi-realistic Yukawa\ncouplings are discussed.",
        "positive": "Large Field Distances from EFT strings: In any consistent effective field theory of quantum gravity limits of\ninfinite field distance are expected to lead to the EFT breakdown due to the\nappearance of an infinite tower of light states, as predicted by the Distance\nConjecture. We review the Distant Axionic String Conjecture, which proposes\nthat any 4d EFT infinite-field-distance limit can be realized as an RG flow of\na fundamental axionic string. The RG flow can be understood in terms of the 4d\nbackreaction of such a string, and implies that it becomes tensionless towards\nthe said limit. This property is understood as a shielding mechanism towards\nrealizing an exact axionic symmetry, and it implies the breakdown of the EFT in\na way that reproduces the Distance Conjecture. Motivated by string theory data\nwe further propose the Integral Scaling Conjecture, which provides a specific\nrelation between the string tension and the EFT maximal cut-off set by the\ninfinite tower of states."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exploring a Tractable Lagrangian for Arbitrary Spin: A simple Lagrangian is proposed that by the choice of the representation of\nSU(2), gives rise to field equations for arbitrary spin. In explicit examples\nit is shown, how the Klein-Gordon, the Dirac, and the Proca equation can be\nobtained from this Lagrangian. On the same footing, field equations for\narbitrary spin are given. Finally, symmetries are discussed, the fields are\nquantized, their statistics is deduced, and Feynman rules are derived.",
        "positive": "Infrared Modification of Gravity: In this lecture I address the issue of possible large distance modification\nof gravity and its observational consequences. Although, for the illustrative\npurposes we focus on a particular simple generally-covariant example, our\nconclusions are rather general and apply to large class of theories in which,\nalready at the Newtonian level, gravity changes the regime at a certain very\nlarge crossover distance $r_c$. In such theories the cosmological evolution\ngets dramatically modified at the crossover scale, usually exhibiting a\n\"self-accelerated\" expansion, which can be differentiated from more\nconventional \"dark energy\" scenarios by precision cosmology. However, unlike\nthe latter scenarios, theories of modified-gravity are extremely constrained\n(and potentially testable) by the precision gravitational measurements at much\nshorter scales. Despite the presence of extra polarizations of graviton, the\ntheory is compatible with observations, since the naive perturbative expansion\nin Newton's constant breaks down at a certain intermediate scale. This happens\nbecause the extra polarizations have couplings singular in $1/r_c$. However,\nthe correctly resummed non-linear solutions are regular and exhibit continuous\nEinsteinian limit. Contrary to the naive expectation, explicit examples\nindicate that the resummed solutions remain valid after the ultraviolet\ncompletion of the theory, with the loop corrections taken into account."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "S-duality as a beta-deformed Fourier transform: An attempt is made to formulate Gaiotto's S-duality relations in an explicit\nquantitative form. Formally the problem is that of evaluation of the Racah\ncoefficients for the Virasoro algebra, and we approach it with the help of the\nmatrix model representation of the AGT-related conformal blocks and Nekrasov\nfunctions. In the Seiberg-Witten limit, this S-duality reduces to the Legendre\ntransformation. In the simplest case, its lifting to the level of Nekrasov\nfunctions is just the Fourier transform, while corrections are related to the\nbeta-deformation. We calculate them with the help of the matrix model approach\nand observe that they vanish for beta=1. Explicit evaluation of the same\ncorrections from the U_q(sl(2)) infinite-dimensional representation formulas\ndue to B.Ponsot and J.Teshner remains an open problem.",
        "positive": "On the Evolution of Jet Energy and Opening Angle in Strongly Coupled\n  Plasma: We calculate how the energy and the opening angle of jets in ${\\cal N}=4$ SYM\ntheory evolve as they propagate through the strongly coupled plasma of that\ntheory. We define the rate of energy loss $dE_{\\rm jet}/dx$ and the jet opening\nangle in a straightforward fashion directly in the gauge theory before\ncalculating both holographically, in the dual gravitational description. In\nthis way, we rederive the previously known result for $dE_{\\rm jet}/dx$ without\nthe need to introduce a finite slab of plasma. We obtain a striking\nrelationship between the initial opening angle of the jet, which is to say the\nopening angle that it would have had if it had found itself in vacuum instead\nof in plasma, and the thermalization distance of the jet. Via this\nrelationship, we show that ${\\cal N}=4$ SYM jets with any initial energy that\nhave the same initial opening angle and the same trajectory through the plasma\nexperience the same fractional energy loss. We also provide an expansion that\ndescribes how the opening angle of the ${\\cal N}=4$ SYM jets increases slowly\nas they lose energy, over the fraction of their lifetime when their fractional\nenergy loss is not yet large. We close by looking ahead toward potential\nqualitative lessons from our results for QCD jets produced in heavy collisions\nand propagating through quark-gluon plasma."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Orientifolds, Brane Coordinates and Special Geometry: We report on the gauged supergravity analysis of Type IIB vacua on K3x T2/Z2\norientifold in the presence of D3-D7-branes and fluxes. We discuss\nsupersymmetric critical points correspond to Minkowski vacua and the related\nfixing of moduli, finding agreement with previous analysis. An important role\nis played by the choice of the symplectic holomorphic sections of special\ngeometry which enter the computation of the scalar potential. The related\nperiod matrix N is explicitly given. The relation between the special geometry\nand the Born--Infeld action for the brane moduli is elucidated.",
        "positive": "Scale invariance and constants of motion: Scale invariance in the theory of classical mechanics can be induced from the\nscale invariance of background fields. In this paper we consider the relation\nbetween the scale invariance and the constants of particle motion in a\nself-similar spacetime, only in which the symmetry is well-defined and is\ngenerated by a homothetic vector. Relaxing the usual conservation condition by\nthe Hamiltonian constraint in a particle system, we obtain a conservation law\nholding only on the constraint surface in the phase space. By the conservation\nlaw, we characterize constants of motion associated with the scale invariance\nnot only for massless particles but for massive particles and classify the\ncondition for the existence of the constants of motion. Furthermore, we find\nthe explicit form of the constants of motion by solving the conservation\nequations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gravitational Properties of the Proca Field: We study various properties of a Proca field coupled to gravity through\nminimal and quadrupole interactions, described by a two-parameter family of\nLagrangians. St\\\"uckelberg decomposition of the effective theory spells out its\nmodel-dependent ultraviolet cutoff, parametrically larger than the Proca mass.\nWe present pp-wave solutions that the model admits, consider linear\nfluctuations on such backgrounds, and thereby constrain the parameter space of\nthe theory by requiring null-energy condition and the absence of negative time\ndelays in high-energy scattering. We briefly discuss the positivity\nconstraints$-$derived from unitarity and analyticity of scattering\namplitudes$-$that become ineffective in this regard.",
        "positive": "Diagrammar and metamorphosis of coset symmetries in dimensionally\n  reduced type IIB supergravity: Studying the reduction of type IIB supergravity from ten to three space-time\ndimensions we describe the metamorphosis of Dynkin diagram for gravity line\n\"caterpillar\" into a type IIB supergravity \"dragonfly\" that is triggered by\ninclusion of scalars and antisymmetric tensor fields. The final diagram\ncorresponds to type IIB string theory E8 global symmetry group which is the\nsubgroup of the conjectured E11 hidden symmetry group. Application of the\nresults for getting the type IIA/IIB T-duality rules and for searching for type\nIIB vacua solutions is considered."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Generalized Scaling Function at Strong Coupling: We considered folded spinning string in AdS_5 x S^5 background dual to the\nTr(D^S Phi^J) operators of N=4 SYM theory. In the limit S,J-> \\infty and l=pi\nJ/\\sqrt\\lambda\\log S fixed we compute the string energy with the 2-loop\naccuracy in the worldsheet coupling \\sqrt\\lambda from the asymptotical Bethe\nansatz. In the limit l-> 0 the result is finite due to the massive cancelations\nwith terms coming from the conjectured dressing phase. We also managed to\ncompute all leading logarithm terms l^{2m}\\log^n l/\\lambda^n/2 to an arbitrary\norder in perturbation theory. In particular for m=1 we reproduced results of\nAlday and Maldacena computed from a sigma model. The method developed in this\npaper could be used for a systematic expansion in 1/\\sqrt\\lambda and also at\nweak coupling.",
        "positive": "Noncommutative nonsingular black holes: Adopting noncommutative spacetime coordinates, we determined a new solution\nof Einstein equations for a static, spherically symmetric matter source. The\nlimitations of the conventional Schwarzschild solution, due to curvature\nsingularities, are overcome. As a result, the line element is endowed of a\nregular DeSitter core at the origin and of two horizons even in the considered\ncase of electrically neutral, nonrotating matter. Regarding the Hawking\nevaporation process, the intriguing new feature is that the black hole is\nallowed to reach only a finite maximum temperature, before cooling down to an\nabsolute zero extremal state. As a consequence the quantum back reaction is\nnegligible."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Duality Cascade in Brane Inflation: We show that brane inflation is very sensitive to tiny sharp features in\nextra dimensions, including those in the potential and in the warp factor. This\ncan show up as observational signatures in the power spectrum and/or\nnon-Gaussianities of the cosmic microwave background radiation (CMBR). One\ngeneral example of such sharp features is a succession of small steps in a\nwarped throat, caused by Seiberg duality cascade using gauge/gravity duality.\nWe study the cosmological observational consequences of these steps in brane\ninflation. Since the steps come in a series, the prediction of other steps and\ntheir properties can be tested by future data and analysis. It is also possible\nthat the steps are too close to be resolved in the power spectrum, in which\ncase they may show up only in the non-Gaussianity of the CMB temperature\nfluctuations and/or EE polarization. We study two cases. In the slow-roll\nscenario where steps appear in the inflaton potential, the sensitivity of brane\ninflation to the height and width of the steps is increased by several orders\nof magnitude comparing to that in previously studied large field models. In the\nIR DBI scenario where steps appear in the warp factor, we find that the\nglitches in the power spectrum caused by these sharp features are generally\nsmall or even unobservable, but associated distinctive non-Gaussianity can be\nlarge. Together with its large negative running of the power spectrum index,\nthis scenario clearly illustrates how rich and different a brane inflationary\nscenario can be when compared to generic slow-roll inflation. Such distinctive\nstringy features may provide a powerful probe of superstring theory.",
        "positive": "Graviton mediated polarisation-polarisation entanglement of photons by\n  means of the Schwinger Keldysh and Kadanoff Baym formalisms and Quantum\n  Boltzmann equations: In order to show that the graviton is a quantum entity an experiment is\nproposed that can show that quantum entanglement is produced by means of an\nexchange of gravitons. For this to be possible, one has to be able to witness\nthe entanglement between the two objects considered in the experiment and to be\nable to eliminate other sources of entanglement like the exchange of virtual\nphotons. Graviton mediated polarisation-polarisation photon entanglement is\nbeing analysed by methods originating from the Schwinger Keldysh and the\nKadanoff Baym formalisms in conjunction with quantum Boltzmann type equations.\nApplications in the context of cosmology are discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Backreaction in spinor QED and decoherence functional: Using the Schwinger-Keldysh (closed time path or CTP) and Feynman-Vernon\ninfluence functional formalisms we obtain an expression for the influence\nfunctional in terms of Bogoliubov coefficients for the case of spinor quantum\nelectrodynamics. Then we derive a CTP effective action in semiclassical\napproximation and its cumulant expansion. Using it we obtain a equation for the\ndescription of the charged particle creation in electric field and of\nbackreaction of charged quantum fields and their fluctuations on time evolution\nof this electric field. Also an intimate connection between CTP effective\naction and decoherence functional will allow us to analyze how macroscopic\nelectromagnetic fields are ``measured'' through interaction with charges and\nthereby rendered classical.",
        "positive": "The Secret Chern-Simons Action for the Hot Gluon Plasma: We show that the generating functional for hard thermal loops with external\ngluons in QCD is essentially given by the eikonal for a Chern-Simons gauge\ntheory. This action, determined essentially by gauge invariance arguments, also\ngives an efficient way of obtaining the hard thermal loop contributions without\nthe more involved calculation of Feynman diagrams."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-Perturbative Gravity and the Spin of the Lattice Graviton: The lattice formulation of quantum gravity provides a natural framework in\nwhich non-perturbative properties of the ground state can be studied in detail.\nIn this paper we investigate how the lattice results relate to the continuum\nsemiclassical expansion about smooth manifolds. As an example we give an\nexplicit form for the lattice ground state wave functional for semiclassical\ngeometries. We then do a detailed comparison between the more recent\npredictions from the lattice regularized theory, and results obtained in the\ncontinuum for the non-trivial ultraviolet fixed point of quantum gravity found\nusing weak field and non-perturbative methods. In particular we focus on the\nderivative of the beta function at the fixed point and the related universal\ncritical exponent $\\nu$ for gravitation. Based on recently available lattice\nand continuum results we assess the evidence for the presence of a massless\nspin two particle in the continuum limit of the strongly coupled lattice\ntheory. Finally we compare the lattice prediction for the vacuum-polarization\ninduced weak scale dependence of the gravitational coupling with recent\ncalculations in the continuum, finding similar effects.",
        "positive": "Marginal deformations of heterotic interpolating models and exponential\n  suppression of the cosmological constant: Following our previous work of 1905.10745 [hep-th], 2003.11217 [hep-th], we\nstudy heterotic interpolating models $D$ dimensionally compactified with\nconstant background fields that include the full set of Wilson lines and radii.\nFocusing on the phenomenoloically viable supersymmetry restoring parameter\nregion, we analyze the pattern of gauge symmetry enhancement and the\nrepresentation of massless fermions. We obtain the set of cases with the\nexponentially small cosmological constant. Our analysis does not depend on\nnon-supersymmetric endpoint models of interpolations. A part of the moduli\nspace of interpolating models is in one-to-one correspondence with the\ncounterpart of toroidal compactification of heterotic superstrings."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Generalized G-inflation: Inflation with the most general second-order\n  field equations: We study generalized Galileons as a framework to develop the most general\nsingle-field inflation models ever, Generalized G-inflation, containing yet\nfurther generalization of G-inflation, as well as previous examples such as\nk-inflation, extended inflation, and new Higgs inflation as special cases. We\ninvestigate the background and perturbation evolution in this model,\ncalculating the most general quadratic actions for tensor and scalar\ncosmological perturbations to give the stability criteria and the power spectra\nof primordial fluctuations. It is pointed out in the Appendix that the\nHorndeski theory and the generalized Galileons are equivalent. In particular,\neven the non-minimal coupling to the Gauss-Bonnet term is included in the\ngeneralized Galileons in a non-trivial manner.",
        "positive": "Quantum-mechanical tunnelling and the renormalization group: We explore the applicability of the exact renormalization group to the study\nof tunnelling phenomena. We investigate quantum-mechanical systems whose energy\neigenstates are affected significantly by tunnelling through a barrier in the\npotential. Within the approximation of the derivative expansion, we find that\nthe exact renormalization group predicts the correct qualitative behaviour for\nthe lowest energy eigenvalues. However, quantitative accuracy is achieved only\nfor potentials with small barriers. For large barriers, the use of alternative\nmethods, such as saddle-point expansions, can provide quantitative accuracy."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauge-Invariant Energy Functional in Relativistic Schroedinger Theory: The non-invariant energy functional of the preceding paper is improved in\norder to obtain its gauge-invariant form by strictly taking into account the\nnon-Abelian character of Relativistic Schroedinger Theory (RST). As an\napplication of the results, the dichotomy of positronium with respect to\nsinglet and triplet states is discussed (ortho- and para-positronium). The\ndegeneracy of the ortho- and para-states occurs in RST if (i) the magnetic\ninteractions are neglected (as in the conventional theory) and (ii) the\nanisotropy of the electric interaction potential is disregarded. In view of\nsuch a very crude approximation procedure, the non-relativistic positronium\nspectrum in RST agrees amazingly well with the conventional predictions.",
        "positive": "Generalizations of Lunin-Maldacena transformation on the $AdS sub 5 x S\n  sup 5$ background: In this paper we consider a simple generalization of the method of Lunin and\nMaldacena for generating new string backgrounds based on TsT-transformations.\nWe study multi-shift $Ts... sT$ transformations applied to backgrounds with at\nleast two U(1) isometries. We prove that the string currents in any two\nbackgrounds related by Ts...sT-transformations are equal. Applying this\nprocedure to the $AdS_{5}\\times S^{5}$, we find a new background and study some\nproperties of the semiclassical strings."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Note on refined topological vertex, Jack polynomials and instanton\n  counting: In this article, we calculated the refined topological vertex for the one\nparameter case using the Jack symmetric functions. Also, we obtain the\npartition function for elliptic N=2 models, the results coincide with those of\nNekrasov instanton counting partition functions for the $N=2^{\\ast}$ theories.",
        "positive": "Holographic scalar and vector exchange in OTOCs and pole-skipping\n  phenomena: We study scalar and vector exchange terms in out-of-time-order correlators\n(OTOCs) holographically. By applying a computational method in graviton\nexchange, we analyze exponential behaviors in scalar and vector exchange terms\nat late times. We show that their exponential behaviors in simple holographic\nmodels are related to pole-skipping points obtained from the near-horizon\nequations of motion of scalar and vector fields. Our results are\ngeneralizations of the relation between the graviton exchange effect in OTOCs\nand the pole-skipping phenomena of the dual operator, to scalar and vector\nfields."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantized equations of motion in non-commutative theories: Quantum field theories based on interactions which contain the Moyal star\nproduct suffer, in the general case when time does not commute with space, from\nseveral diseases: quantum equation of motions contain unusual terms, conserved\ncurrents can not be defined and the residual spacetime symmetry is not\nmaintained. All these problems have the same origin: time ordering does not\ncommute with taking the star product. Here we show that these difficulties can\nbe circumvented by a new definition of time ordering: namely with respect to a\nlight-cone variable. In particular the original spacetime symmetries SO(1,1) x\nSO(2) and translation invariance turn out to be respected. Unitarity is\nguaranteed as well.",
        "positive": "Off-shell N=(4,4) supersymmetry for new (2,2) vector multiplets: We discuss the conditions for extra supersymmetry of the N=(2,2)\nsupersymmetric vector multiplets described in arXiv:0705.3201 [hep-th] and in\narXiv:0808.1535 [hep-th]. We find (4,4) supersymmetry for the semichiral vector\nmultiplet but not for the Large Vector Multiplet."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Current Algebra on the Conformal Boundary and the Variables of Quantum\n  Gravity: I argue that scattering theory for massless particles in Minkowski space\nshould be reformulated as a mapping between past and future representations of\nan algebra of densities on the conformal boundary. These densities are best\nthought of as living on the momentum space light cone dual to null infinity,\nwhich describes the simultaneous eigenstates of the BMS generators. The\ncurrents describe the flow of other quantum numbers through the holographic\nscreen at infinity. They are operator valued measures on the momentum light\ncone, with non-zero support at $P = 0$, which is necessary to describe finite\nflows of total momentum, with zero energy-momentum density, on the asymptotic\nholographic screen. Jet states, the closest approximation to the conventional\nnotion of asymptotic particle state, have finite momentum flowing out through\nspherical caps of finite opening angle, with the zero momentum currents\nvanishing in annuli surrounding these caps. Although these notions are valid\nboth in field theory and quantum gravity, I'll argue that they form the basis\nfor understanding the holographic/covariant entropy principle in the latter\nframework, where the densities form a complete set of operators. The variables\non a finite area holographic screen are restrictions of those at infinity. The\nrestriction is implemented by a cutoff on the Euclidean Dirac spectrum on the\nscreen, which is a generalized UV/IR correspondence.",
        "positive": "Universal Thermal Corrections to Symmetry-Resolved Entanglement Entropy\n  and Full Counting Statistics: We consider the symmetry-resolved R\\'{e}nyi and entanglement entropies for\ntwo-dimensional conformal field theories on a circle at nonzero temperature. We\nassume a unique ground state with a nonzero mass gap induced by the system's\nfinite size and then calculate the leading corrections to the contributions of\nindividual charge sectors in a low-temperature expansion. Besides the size of\nthe mass gap and the degeneracy of the first excited state, these universal\ncorrections depend only on the four-point correlation function of the primary\nfields. We also obtain thermal corrections to the full counting statistics of\nthe ground state and define the \\textit{probability fluctuations} function. It\nscales as $e^{-2 \\pi \\Delta_{\\psi} \\beta /L}$, where $\\Delta_{\\psi}$ is the\nscaling dimension of the lowest weight states. As an example, we explicitly\nevaluate the thermal corrections to the symmetry-resolved entanglement entropy\nand FCS for the spinless fermions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A connection between $\\mathcal{R}$-invariants and Yang-Baxter\n  $R$-operators in $\\mathcal{N}=4$ super-Yang-Mills theory: The BCFW recursion relation in $\\mathcal{N}=4$ super-Yang-Mills theory is\nsolved using Yang-Baxter $R$-operators in the NMHV sector. Explicit expressions\nfor $\\mathcal{R}$-invariants are obtained in terms of the chains of\n$R$-operators acting on an appropriate basic state.",
        "positive": "Near Horizon Geometry of Strings Ending on Intersecting D8/D4-branes: We consider solutions of massive IIA supergravity corresponding to the\nhalf-BPS intersection of D8/D4-branes with fundamental strings. The\n$1+1$-dimensional intersection preserves the symmetry $D(2,1;\\gamma;1) \\times\nSO(4)$. We give a reduction and partial integration of the BPS equations for\nthis symmetry group. We then specialize to the cases of enhanced supersymmetry\ncorresponding to $\\gamma = -1/2,-2$ or $\\gamma = 1$. In the first case, we show\nthat the only solution with enhanced symmetry is given by the $AdS_6$ geometry\ndescribing the near horizon geometry of D8/D4-branes in the presence of an\nO8-plane. In the second case, we identify novel solutions corresponding to\nfundamental strings ending on D8-branes and a second set of novel solutions\ncorresponding to fundamental strings ending on an O8-plane. In both cases, the\nfundamental string geometry contains an asymptotically flat region where the\nstring coupling goes to zero. We also show that there are no solutions\ncorresponding to $1+0$-dimensional CFTs, which one may have hoped to construct\nby suspending fundamental strings between D8-branes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Line operators on S^1xR^3 and quantization of the Hitchin moduli space: We perform an exact localization calculation for the expectation values of\nWilson-'t Hooft line operators in N=2 gauge theories on S^1xR^3. The\nexpectation values are naturally expressed in terms of the complexified\nFenchel-Nielsen coordinates, and form a quantum mechanically deformed algebra\nof functions on the associated Hitchin moduli space by Moyal multiplication. We\npropose that these expectation values are the Weyl transform of the Verlinde\noperators, which act on Liouville/Toda conformal blocks as difference\noperators. We demonstrate our proposal explicitly in SU(N) examples.",
        "positive": "Singular perturbation theory for the thermodynamic properties of\n  holographic QCD: We explore the thermodynamics of a black-hole solution in improved\nholographic QCD with a simple dilaton potential having two parameters. By\napplying techniques of singular perturbation theory, we get uniform\napproximations for the metric and the dilaton field in the two regimes of big\nand small black-holes. These techniques lead to a resummation of the naive\nexpansion at high temperatures, providing an important theoretical improvement\nwith respect to previous results in the literature. By using this technique, it\nis shown how a quadratic dependence at low enough temperatures can naturally\nappear in the free energy. A comparison with lattice data of gluodynamics is\nperformed. It is provided as well an estimate of the value of the gluon\ncondensate at zero temperature which turns out to be in quite good agreement\nwith the accepted values in the literature from phenomenological studies of\nQCD."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Linearly resummed hydrodynamics in a weakly curved spacetime: We extend our study of all-order linearly resummed hydrodynamics in a flat\nspace~\\cite{1406.7222,1409.3095} to fluids in weakly curved spaces. The\nunderlying microscopic theory is a finite temperature $\\mathcal{N}=4$\nsuper-Yang-Mills theory at strong coupling. The AdS/CFT correspondence relates\nblack brane solutions of the Einstein gravity in asymptotically \\emph{locally}\n$\\textrm{AdS}_5$ geometry to relativistic conformal fluids in a weakly curved\n4D background. To linear order in the amplitude of hydrodynamic variables and\nmetric perturbations, the fluid's energy-momentum tensor is computed with\nderivatives of both the fluid velocity and background metric resummed to all\norders. We extensively discuss the meaning of all order hydrodynamics by\nexpressing it in terms of the memory function formalism, which is also suitable\nfor practical simulations. In addition to two viscosity functions discussed at\nlength in refs.~\\cite{1406.7222,1409.3095}, we find four curvature induced\nstructures coupled to the fluid via new transport coefficient functions. In\nref.~\\cite{0905.4069}, the latter were referred to as gravitational\nsusceptibilities of the fluid. We analytically compute these coefficients in\nthe hydrodynamic limit, and then numerically up to large values of momenta.",
        "positive": "Novel color superconducting phases of $\\cal{N}$ = 4 super Yang-Mills at\n  strong coupling: We revisit the large-$N_c$ phase diagram of $\\cal{N}$ = 4 super Yang-Mills\ntheory at finite $R$-charge density and strong coupling, by means of the\nAdS/CFT correspondence. We conjecture new phases that result from a black hole\nshedding some of its charge through the nucleation of probe color D3-branes\nthat remain at a finite distance from the black hole when the dual field theory\nlives on a sphere. In the corresponding ground states the color group is\npartially Higgsed, so these phases can be identified as having a type of color\nsuperconductivity. The new phases would appear at intermediate values of the\n$R$-charge chemical potential and we expect them to be metastable but\nlong-lived in the large-$N_c$ limit."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "$f(R, R_{\u03bc\u03bd}^2)$ at one loop: We compute the one-loop divergences in a theory of gravity with Lagrangian of\nthe general form $f(R,R_{\\mu\\nu}R^{\\mu\\nu})$, on an Einstein background. We\nalso establish that the one-loop effective action is invariant under a duality\nthat consists of changing certain parameters in the relation between the metric\nand the quantum fluctuation field. Finally, we discuss the unimodular version\nof such a theory and establish its equivalence at one-loop order with the\ngeneral case.",
        "positive": "From Boundary Data to Bound States II: Scattering Angle to Dynamical\n  Invariants (with Twist): We recently introduced in [1910.03008] a \"boundary-to-bound\" dictionary\nbetween gravitational scattering data and observables for bound states of\nnon-spinning bodies. In this paper, we elaborate further on this (holographic)\nmap. We start by deriving the following -- remarkably simple -- formula\nrelating the periastron advance to the scattering angle: $\\Delta \\Phi(J,{\\cal\nE}) =\\chi(J,{\\cal E}) + \\chi (-J,{\\cal E})$, via analytic continuation in\nangular momentum and binding energy. Using explicit expressions from\n[1910.03008], we confirm its validity to all orders in the Post-Minkowskian\n(PM) expansion. Furthermore, we reconstruct the radial action for the bound\nstate directly from the knowledge of the scattering angle. The radial action\nenables us to write compact expressions for dynamical invariants in terms of\nthe deflection angle to all PM orders, which can also be written as a function\nof the PM-expanded amplitude. As an example, we reproduce our result in\n[1910.03008] for the periastron advance, and compute the radial and azimuthal\nfrequencies and redshift variable to two-loops. Agreement is found in the\noverlap between PM and Post-Newtonian (PN) schemes. Last but not least, we\ninitiate the study of our dictionary including spin. We demonstrate that the\nsame relation between deflection angle and periastron advance applies for\naligned-spin contributions, with $J$ the (canonical) total angular momentum.\nExplicit checks are performed to display perfect agreement using\nstate-of-the-art PN results in the literature. Using the map between test- and\ntwo-body dynamics, we also compute the periastron advance up to quadratic order\nin the spin, to one-loop and to all orders in velocity. We conclude with a\ndiscussion on the generalized \"impetus formula\" for spinning bodies and black\nholes as \"elementary particles\"."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Beyond Amplitudes' Positivity and the Fate of Massive Gravity: We constrain effective field theories by going beyond the familiar positivity\nbounds that follow from unitarity, analyticity, and crossing symmetry of the\nscattering amplitudes. As interesting examples, we discuss the implications of\nthe bounds for the Galileon and ghost-free massive gravity. The combination of\nour theoretical bounds with the experimental constraints on the graviton mass\nimplies that the latter is either ruled out or unable to describe gravitational\nphenomena, let alone to consistently implement the Vainshtein mechanism, down\nto the relevant scales of fifth-force experiments, where general relativity has\nbeen successfully tested. We also show that the Galileon theory must contain\nsymmetry-breaking terms that are at most one-loop suppressed compared to the\nsymmetry-preserving ones. We comment as well on other interesting applications\nof our bounds.",
        "positive": "Hawking temperature in the eternal BTZ black hole: an example of\n  Holography in AdS spacetime: We review the relation between AdS spacetime in 1+2 dimensions and the BTZ\nblack hole. Later we show that a ground state in AdS spacetime becomes a\nthermal state in the BTZ black hole. We show that this is true in the bulk and\nin the boundary of AdS spacetime. The existence of this thermal state is\ntantamount to say that the Unruh effect exists in AdS spacetime and becomes the\nHawking effect for an eternal BTZ black hole. In order to make this we use the\ncorrespondence introduced in Algebraic Holography between algebras of\nquasi-local observables associated to wedges and doble cones regions in the\nbulk of AdS spacetime and its conformal boundary respectively. Also we give the\nreal scalar quantum field as a concrete heuristic realization of this\nformalism."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Einstein equations for an asymmetric brane-world: We consider a brane-world of co-dimension one without the reflection symmetry\nthat is commonly imposed between the two sides of the brane. Using the\ncoordinate-free formalism of the Gauss-Codacci equations, we derive the\neffective Einstein equations by relating the local curvature to the matter on\nthe brane in the case when its bare tension is much larger than the localized\nmatter, and hence show that Einstein gravity is a natural consequence of such\nmodels in the weak field limit. We find agreement with the recently derived\ncosmological case, which can be solved exactly, and point out that such models\ncan be realized naturally in the case where there is a minimally coupled form\nfield in the bulk.",
        "positive": "Open-closed superstring amplitudes using vertex operators in\n  $\\mathrm{AdS}_5 \\times \\mathrm{S}^5$: Using the pure spinor formalism, a particular superstring scattering\namplitude involving one closed string and $N$ open string vertex operators in\n$\\mathrm{AdS}{}_5 \\times \\mathrm{S}^5$ is studied. It is shown that the\ntree-level amplitude containing one supergravity state and $N$ super-Yang-Mills\nstates located on D3-branes near the AdS${}_5$ boundary can be expressed as a\n$d=4$ ${\\cal N}=4$ harmonic superspace integral in terms of the supergravity\nand super-Yang-Mills superfields."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum correlation in quark-gluon medium: We study thermodynamics and quantum correlations of the string cloud geometry\nwhose field theory dual is the quark-gluon medium. We found the novel\nuniversality of the entanglement entropy first law in the high quark density\nlimit. We also showed that a correlation function generally decreases as the\nentanglement entropy of the background medium increases due to the screening\neffect of the background. We study the UV and IR effects of the medium on phase\ntransition behaviour observed in the holographic mutual information using both\nperturbative and numerical computations. Moreover, by numerical computation, we\nshow that in the IR region the critical length obtained from the mutual\ninformation behaves similar to the correlation length of the two-point\nfunction.",
        "positive": "A correspondence between standard model fermions and degrees of freedom\n  of polycrystalline materials: We identify natural degrees of freedom of polycrystalline materials -- affine\ntransformations of grains -- with those of a three-dimensional lattice theory\nfor $(T\\otimes\\Omega)(\\mathbb{R}^3)$. We define a lattice Dirac operator on\nthis space and identify its continuous limit with the free field limit of the\nwhole fermionic sector of the standard model. Fermion doubling is used here as\na tool to obtain the necessary number of steps of freedom. The correspondence\nextends to important structural properties (families, colors, flavor pairs,\nelectromagnetic charge). We find a lattice version of chiral symmetry similar\nto the Ginsparg-Wilson approach.\n  This correspondence suggests to propose a ``polycrystalline ether''. Combined\nwith GLET, a general Lorentz ether theory of gravity with GR limit, this\nbecomes a concept for a theory of everything. The extension to gauge fields is\nthe major open problem and requires new concepts."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Squeezing in a 2-D generalized oscillator: A two-dimensional generalized oscillator with time-dependent parameters is\nconsidered to study the two-mode squeezing phenomena. Specific choices of the\nparameters are used to determine the dispersion matrix and analytic\nexpressions, in terms of standard hermite polynomials, of the wavefunctions and\nphoton distributions. (to be publish in the Third Workshop on Squeezed States\nand Uncertainty Relations, Baltimore, USA, (August 1993))",
        "positive": "Convergence of derivative expansions in scalar field theory: The convergence of the derivative expansion of the exact renormalisation\ngroup is investigated via the computation of the beta function of massless\nscalar lambda phi^4 theory. The derivative expansion of the Polchinski flow\nequation converges at one loop for certain fast falling smooth cutoffs.\nConvergence of the derivative expansion of the Legendre flow equation is\ntrivial at one loop, but also can occur at two loops and in particular\nconverges for an exponential cutoff."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fusion of RSOS Models as a Coset Construction: Using the vertex operator approach we show that fusion of the RSOS models can\nbe considered as a kind of coset construction which is very similar to the\ncoset construction of minimal models in conformal field theory. We reproduce\nthe excitation spectrum and $S$-matrix of the fusion RSOS models in the regime\nIII and show that their correlation functions and form factors can be expressed\nin terms of those of the ordinary (ABF) RSOS models.",
        "positive": "A generating formulation for free higher spin massless fields: An action describing the dynamics of an infinite collection of massless\ninteger spin fields with spin s=0,1,2,3, ...$\\infty$ corresponding to totally\nsymmetric Young tableaux representations of Poincare and anti-de Sitter groups\nis constructed, in any dimension d, in terms of two functions on a\n2d-dimensional manifold. The action is represented by an integral localized on\na 2d-1-dimensional hypersurface."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supergravity Supertubes: We find the supergravity solution sourced by a supertube: a\n(1/4)-supersymmetric D0-charged IIA superstring that has been blown up to a\ncylindrical D2-brane by angular momentum. The supergravity solution captures\nall essential features of the supertube, including the D2-dipole moment and an\nupper bound on the angular momentum: violation of this bound implies the\nexistence of closed timelike curves, with a consequent ghost-induced\ninstability of supertube probes.",
        "positive": "Spontaneous Radiation of Black Holes: We provide an explicitly hermitian hamiltonian description for the\nspontaneous radiation of black holes, which is a many-level,\nmultiple-degeneracy generalization of the usual Janeys-Cummings model for\ntwo-level atoms. By standard Wigner-Wiesskopf approximation, we show that for\nthe first one or few particles' radiation our model yields completely the same\npower spectrum as hawking radiation requires. While in the many-particle\nradiation cases, numeric methods allow us to follow the evolution of\nmicroscopic state of a black hole exactly, from which we can get the firstly\nincreasing then decreasing entropy variation trend for the radiation particles\njust as the Page-curve exhibited. Basing on this model analysis, we claim that\ntwo ingredients are necessary for resolutions of the information missing\npuzzle, a spontaneous radiation like mechanism for the production of hawking\nparticles and proper account of the macroscopic superposition happening in the\nfull quantum description of a black hole radiation evolution and, the working\nlogic of replica wormholes is an effect account of this latter ingredient.\n  As the basis for our interpretation of black hole Hawking radiation as their\nspontaneous radiation, we also provide a fully atomic like inner structure\nmodels for their microscopic states definition and origins of their\nBekenstein-Hawking entropy, that is, exact solution families to the Einstein\nequation sourced by matter constituents oscillating across the central point\nand their quantization. Such a first quantization model for black holes'\nmicroscopic state is non necessary for our spontaneous radiation description,\nbut has advantages comparing with other alternatives, such as string theory\nfuzzball or brick wall models."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Construction and classification of novel BPS Wilson loops in quiver\n  Chern-Simons-matter theories: In this paper we construct and classify novel Drukker-Trancanelli (DT) type\nBPS Wilson loops along infinite straight lines and circles in $\\mathcal N=2,3$\nquiver superconformal Chern-Simons-matter theories,\nAharony-Bergman-Jafferis-Maldacena (ABJM) theory, and $\\mathcal N=4$ orbifold\nABJM theory. Generally we have four classes of Wilson loops, and all of them\npreserve the same supersymmetries as the BPS Gaiotto-Yin (GY) type Wilson\nloops. There are several free complex parameters in the DT type BPS Wilson\nloops, and for two classes of Wilson loops in ABJM theory and $\\mathcal N=4$\norbifold ABJM theory there are supersymmetry enhancements at special values of\nthe parameters. We check that the differences of the DT type and GY type Wilson\nloops are $Q$-exact with $Q$ being some supercharges preserved by both the DT\ntype and GY type Wilson loops. The results would be useful to calculate vacuum\nexpectation values of the DT type Wilson loops in matrix models if they are\nstill BPS quantum mechanically.",
        "positive": "Supersymmetric asymptotically locally AdS$_5$ gravitational solitons: We construct supersymmetric gravitational soliton solutions of\nfive-dimensional gauged supergravity coupled to arbitrarily many vector\nmultiplets. The solutions are complete, globally stationary, $1/4$-BPS and are\nasymptotically locally AdS$_5$ with conformal boundary $\\mathbb{R} \\times\nL(p,1)$. The construction uses an $SU(2) \\times U(1)-$invariant ansatz\noriginally used by Gutowski and Reall to construct supersymmetric\nasymptotically AdS$_5$ black holes. A subset of these solutions have previously\nbeen obtained as supersymmetric limits of a class of local solutions of\n$U(1)^3$ gauged supergravity found by Chong-Cvetic-Lu-Pope, and by\nLucietti-Ovchinnikov in their classification of $SU(2)$-invariant solutions of\nminimal gauged supergravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Cylinder partition function of the 6-vertex model from algebraic\n  geometry: We compute the exact partition function of the isotropic 6-vertex model on a\ncylinder geometry with free boundary conditions, for lattices of intermediate\nsize, using Bethe ansatz and algebraic geometry. We perform the computations in\nboth the open and closed channels. We also consider the partial thermodynamic\nlimits, whereby in the open (closed) channel, the open (closed) direction is\nkept small while the other direction becomes large. We compute the zeros of the\npartition function in the two partial thermodynamic limits, and compare with\nthe condensation curves.",
        "positive": "Ward identities and gauge independence in general chiral gauge theories: Using the Batalin-Vilkovisky formalism, we study the Ward identities and the\nequations of gauge dependence in potentially anomalous general gauge theories,\nrenormalizable or not. A crucial new term, absent in manifestly nonanomalous\ntheories, is responsible for interesting effects. We prove that gauge\ninvariance always implies gauge independence, which in turn ensures\nperturbative unitarity. Precisely, we consider potentially anomalous theories\nthat are actually free of gauge anomalies thanks to the Adler-Bardeen theorem.\nWe show that when we make a canonical transformation on the tree-level action,\nit is always possible to re-renormalize the divergences and re-fine-tune the\nfinite local counterterms, so that the renormalized $\\Gamma $ functional of the\ntransformed theory is also free of gauge anomalies, and is related to the\nrenormalized $\\Gamma $ functional of the starting theory by a canonical\ntransformation. An unexpected consequence of our results is that the beta\nfunctions of the couplings may depend on the gauge-fixing parameters, although\nthe physical quantities remain gauge independent. We discuss nontrivial checks\nof high-order calculations based on gauge independence and determine how\npowerful they are."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Framework for the Landscape: It seems likely that string theory has a landscape of vacua that includes\nvery many metastable de Sitter spaces. However, as emphasized by Banks, Dine\nand Gorbatov, no current framework exists for examining these metastable vacua\nin string theory. In this paper we attempt to correct this situation by\nintroducing an eternally inflating background in which the entire collection of\naccelerating cosmologies is present as intermediate states. The background is a\nclassical solution which consists of a bubble of zero cosmological constant\ninside de Sitter space, separated by a domain wall. At early and late times the\nflat space region becomes infinitely big, so an S-matrix can be defined.\nQuantum mechanically, the system can tunnel to an intermediate state which is\npure de Sitter space. We present evidence that a string theory S-matrix makes\nsense in this background and contains metastable de Sitter space as an\nintermediate state.",
        "positive": "Bosonization and even Grassmann variables: A new approach to bosonization in relativistic field theories and many-body\nsystems, based on the use of fermionic composites as integration variables in\nthe Berezin integral defining the partition function of the system, is tested.\nThe method is applied to the study of a simplified version of the BCS model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "All Loop N=2 String Amplitudes: Using the N=4 topological reformulation of N=2 strings, we compute all loop\npartition function for special compactifications of N=2 strings as a function\nof target moduli. We also reinterpret N=4 topological amplitudes in terms of\nslightly modified N=2 topological amplitudes. We present some preliminary\nevidence for the conjecture that N=2 strings is the large N limit of\nHolomorphic Yang-Mills in 4 dimensions.",
        "positive": "Gauge Symmetry Enhancement and Radiatively Induced Mass in the Large N\n  Nonlinear Sigma Model: We consider a hybrid of nonlinear sigma models in which two complex\nprojective spaces are coupled with each other under a duality. We study the\nlarge N effective action in 1+1 dimensions. We find that some of the\ndynamically generated gauge bosons acquire radiatively induced masses which,\nhowever, vanish along the self-dual points where the two couplings\ncharacterizing each complex projective space coincide. These points correspond\nto the target space of the Grassmann manifold along which the gauge symmetry is\nenhanced, and the theory favors the non-Abelian ultraviolet fixed point."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Stability and thermodynamics of black rings: We study the phase diagram of D=5 rotating black holes and the black rings\ndiscovered by Emparan and Reall. We address the issue of microcanonical\nstability of these spacetimes and its relation to thermodynamics by using the\nso-called ``Poincare method'' of stability. We are able to show that one of the\nBR branches is always unstable, with a change of stability at the point where\nboth BR branches meet. We study the geometry of the thermodynamic state space\n(``Ruppeiner geometry'') and compute the critical exponents to check the\ncorresponding scaling laws. We find that, at extremality, the system exhibits a\nbehaviour which, formally, is very similar to that of a second order phase\ntransition.",
        "positive": "Seven-Sphere and the Exceptional N=7 and N=8 Superconformal Algebras: We study realizations of the exceptional non-linear (quadratically generated,\nor W-type) N=8 and N=7 superconformal algebras with Spin(7) and G_2 affine\nsymmetry currents, respectively. Both the N=8 and N=7 algebras admit unitary\nhighest-weight representations in terms of a single boson and free fermions in\n8 of Spin(7) and 7 of G_2, with the central charges c_8=26/5 and c_7=5,\nrespectively. Furthermore, we show that the general coset Ans\"atze for the N=8\nand N=7 algebras naturally lead to the coset spaces SO(8)xU(1)/SO(7) and\nSO(7)xU(1)/G_2, respectively, as the additional consistent solutions for\ncertain values of the central charge. The coset space SO(8)/SO(7) is the\nseven-sphere S^7, whereas the space SO(7)/G_2 represents the seven-sphere with\ntorsion, S^7_T. The division algebra of octonions and the associated triality\nproperties of SO(8) play an essential role in all these realizations. We also\ncomment on some possible applications of our results to string theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Large Charge Four-Dimensional Extremal N=2 Black Holes with R^2-Terms: We consider N=2 supergravity in four dimensions with small R^2 curvature\ncorrections. We construct large charge extremal supersymmetric and\nnon-supersymmetric black hole solutions in all space, and analyze their\nthermodynamic properties.",
        "positive": "Bifurcations in the RG-flow of QCD: Bifurcation analysis is used to study an effective model of QCD$_4$ with\nfour-fermi interactions. Our analysis supports the scenario of a fixed point\nmerger at the lower edge of the conformal window. This indicates square root\nscaling of the anomalous scaling dimensions of the fermion fields just above\nthe lower edge and exponential scaling just below. We also predict existence of\nnew fixed points in this model whose (dis)appearance may indicate transitions\nof the flow within the conformal window. Furthermore, we make new predictions\nfor the critical value $(N_{f}/N_{c})_{\\textrm{crit}}$ at the lower edge. We\nalso obtain exotic spiraling flows that are generated by complex scaling\ndimensions of the effective four-fermi interactions. Finally, we extend the\nmodel by adding a scalar field that couples with a Yukawa interaction term and\nstudy the modifications it causes to RG-flows."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "N=4 SYM NMHV Loop Amplitude in Superspace: Here we construct N=4 SuperYang-Mills 6 point NMHV loop amplitude (amplitudes\nwith three minus helicities) as a full superspace form, using the $SU(4)_{R}$\nanti-commuting spinor variables. Amplitudes with different external particle\nand cyclic helicity ordering are then just a particular expansion of this\nfermionic variable. We've verified this by explicit expansion obtaining\namplitudes with two gluino calculated before. We give results for all gluino\n$A(\\Lambda^{-}\\Lambda^{-}\\Lambda^{-}\\Lambda^{+}\\Lambda^{+}\\Lambda^{+})$and all\nscalar $A(\\phi\\phi\\phi\\phi\\phi\\phi)$scattering amplitude. A discussion of using\nMHV vertex approach to obtain these amplitudes are given, which implies a\nsimplification for general loop amplitudes.",
        "positive": "Neutrinos, mixed bosons, Quantum Reference Frames and entanglement: We discuss the relevance of quantum reference frames in the description of\nmixed particle states. We show that the notion of rest frame for mixed\nparticles, which is classically ill-defined, can be introduced in the context\nof quantum frames. We discuss the possible phenomenological implications,\ndisplaying a new form of framedependent entanglement that characterizes\nreactions involving mixed particles."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "BPS Sphalerons in the $F_2$ Non-Linear Sigma Model: We construct static and also time-dependent solutions in a non-linear sigma\nmodel with target space being the flag manifold $F_2=SU(3)/U(1)^2$ on the four\ndimensional Minkowski space-time by analytically solving the second order\nEuler-Lagrange equation. We show the static solutions saturate an energy lower\nbound and can be derived from coupled first order equations though they are\nsaddle point solutions. We also discuss basic properties of the time-dependent\nsolutions.",
        "positive": "Construction of non-Abelian electric strings: We detail the construction of electric string solutions in $SU(2)$\nYang-Mills-Higgs theory with a scalar in the fundamental representation and\ndiscuss the properties of the solution. We show that Schwinger gluon pair\nproduction in the electric string background is absent. A similar construction\nin other models, such as with an adjoint scalar field and the electroweak\nmodel, does not yield solutions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Towards a second law for Lovelock theories: In classical general relativity described by Einstein-Hilbert gravity, black\nholes behave as thermodynamic objects. In particular, the laws of black hole\nmechanics can be interpreted as laws of thermodynamics. The first law of black\nhole mechanics extends to higher derivative theories via the Noether charge\nconstruction of Wald. One also expects the statement of the second law, which\nin Einstein-Hilbert theory owes to Hawking's area theorem, to extend to higher\nderivative theories. To argue for this however one needs a notion of entropy\nfor dynamical black holes, which the Noether charge construction does not\nprovide. We propose such an entropy function for the family of Lovelock\ntheories, treating the higher derivative terms as perturbations to the\nEinstein-Hilbert theory. Working around a dynamical black hole solution, and\nmaking no assumptions about the amplitude of departure from equilibrium, we\nconstruct a candidate entropy functional valid to all orders in the low energy\neffective field theory. This entropy functional satisfies a second law, modulo\na certain subtle boundary term, which deserves further investigation in\nnon-spherically symmetric situations.",
        "positive": "Solving Gauge Invariant Systems without Gauge Fixing: the Physical\n  Projector in 0+1 Dimensional Theories: The projector onto gauge invariant physical states was recently constructed\nfor arbitrary constrained systems. This approach, which does not require gauge\nfixing nor any additional degrees of freedom beyond the original ones---two\ncharacteristic features of all other available methods for quantising\nconstrained dynamics---is put to work in the context of a general class of\nquantum mechanical gauge invariant systems. The cases of SO(2) and SO(3) gauge\ngroups are considered specifically, and a comprehensive understanding of the\ncorresponding physical spectra is achieved in a straightforward manner, using\nonly standard methods of coherent states and group theory which are directly\namenable to generalisation to other Lie algebras. Results extend by far the few\nexamples available in the literature from much more subtle and delicate\nanalyses implying gauge fixing and the characterization of modular space."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Evading divergences in quantum field theory: Explicit solution of a Green function in a non-renormalizable toy model\ndemonstrates that Green functions of the interacting theory fall off much\nfaster than at the tree level at large momenta. This suggests a method of\ncalculations in quantum field theory which is free of divergences.",
        "positive": "Black hole entropy from Poisson brackets (demystification of some\n  calculations): Recently it has been suggested by S. Carlip that black hole entropy can be\nderived from a central charge of the Virasoro algebra arising as a subalgebra\nin the surface deformations of General Relativity in any dimension. Here it is\nshown that the argumentation given in Section 2 of hep-th/9812013 and based on\nthe Regge-Teitelboim approach is unsatisfactory. The functionals used are\nreally ``non-differentiable'' under required variations and also the standard\nPoisson brackets for these functionals are exactly zero so being unable to get\nany Virasoro algebra with a central charge. Nevertheless Carlip's calculations\nwill be correct if we admit another definition for the Poisson bracket. This\nnew Poisson bracket differs from the standard one in surface terms only and\nallows to work with ``non-differentiable'' functionals."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Nonstandard Supersymmetric KP Hierarchy: We show that the supersymmetric nonlinear Schr\\\"odinger equation can be\nwritten as a constrained super KP flow in a nonstandard representation of the\nLax equation. We construct the conserved charges and show that this system\nreduces to the super mKdV equation with appropriate identifications. We\nconstruct various flows generated by the general nonstandard super Lax equation\nand show that they contain both the KP and mKP flows in the bosonic limits.\nThis nonstandard supersymmetric KP hierarchy allows us to construct a new super\nKP equation which is nonlocal.",
        "positive": "Standard Models and Split Supersymmetry from Intersecting Brane\n  Orbifolds: We construct four dimensional three generation non-supersymmetric $SU(3)_c\n\\times SU(2)_L \\times U(1)_Y$ intersecting D6-brane models with $\\nu_R$\\rq{s}.\nAt three stacks we find exactly the MSSM chiral fermion matter spectrum. At 4-,\n5-stacks we find models with the massless fermion spectrum of the N=1 Standard\nModel and massive exotic non-chiral matter; these models flow also to only the\nSM. At 8-stacks we find MSSM-like models, with minimal massless exotics, made\nfrom two different N=1 sectors. Exotic triplet masses put a lower bound on the\nstring scale of $2.79/2.89 \\times 10^6$ GeV for a Higgs 124/126 GeV. It\\rq{}s\nthe first appearance of N=0 stringy quivers with the MSSM and matter in\nantisymmetric representations and perturbatively missing Yukawa couplings. The\npresent models are based on orientifolds of ${\\bf T^6/(Z_3 \\times Z_3)}$\ncompactifications of IIA theory based on the torus lattice AAA; all complex\nmoduli are fixed by the orbifold symmetry. We also present the spectrum rules +\nGS anomaly cancellation for the ABB lattice. Moreover, we point out the\nrelevance of intersecting/and present D6-brane constructions on ideas related\nto existence of split supersymmetry in nature. In this context we present\nnon-susy models with only the SM-matter and also MSSM-matter dominated models,\nwith massive gauginos and light higgsinos, that achieve the correct\nsupersymmetric GUT value for the Weinberg angle $sin^2 \\theta = \\frac{3}{8}$ at\na string scale $5 \\cdot 10^{13} \\ GeV < M_{S} < 1.4 \\cdot 10^{17}$ GeV. It\nappears that if only the SM survives at low energy the unification scale is\npreserved at $5.03 \\times 10^{13}$ GeV when n$_H$ =1, 3, 6. These models\nsupport the existence of split supersymmetry scenario in string theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Power of Worldsheets: Applications and Prospects: We explain how perturbative string theory can be viewed as an exactly\nrenormalizable Weyl invariant quantum mechanics in the worldsheet\nrepresentation clarifying why string scattering amplitudes are both finite and\nunambiguously normalized and explaining the origin of UV-IR relations in\nspacetime. As applications we examine the worldsheet representation of\nnonperturbative type IB states and of string solitons. We conclude with an\nanalysis of the thermodynamics of a free closed string gas establishing the\nabsence of the Hagedorn phase transition. We show that the 10D heterotic\nstrings share a stable finite temperature ground state with gauge group\nSO(16)xSO(16). The free energy at the self-dual Kosterlitz-Thouless phase\ntransition is minimized with finite entropy and positive specific heat. The\nopen and closed string gas transitions to a confining long string phase at a\ntemperature at or below the string scale in the presence of an external\nelectric field.",
        "positive": "Quenching the CME via the gravitational anomaly and holography: In the presence of a gravitational contribution to the chiral anomaly, the\nchiral magnetic effect induces an energy current proportional to the square of\nthe temperature in equilibrium. In holography the thermal state corresponds to\na black hole. We numerically study holographic quenches in which a planar shell\nof scalar matter falls into a black hole and rises its temperature. During the\nprocess the momentum density (energy current) is conserved. The energy current\nhas two components, a non-dissipative one induced by the anomaly and a\ndissipative flow component. The dissipative component can be measured via the\ndrag it asserts on an additional auxiliary color charge. Our results indicate\nstrong suppression very far from equilibrium."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "About the Claimed Longitudinal Nature of the Antisymmetric Tensor Field\n  After Quantization: It has long been claimed that antisymmetric tensor field of the second rank\nis longitudinal after quantization. Such a situation is quite unacceptable from\na viewpoint of the Correspondence Principle. On the basis of the Lagrangian\nformalism we calculate the Pauli-Lyuban'sky vector of relativistic spin for\nthis field. Even at the classical level it can be equal to zero after\napplication of the well-known constraints. The correct quantization procedure\npermits us to propose solution of this puzzle in the modern field theory.\nObtained results develop the previous consideration of Evans [{\\it Physica\nA}214 (1995) 605-618].",
        "positive": "On the effective potential in higher-derivative superfield theories: We study the one-loop quantum corrections for higher-derivative superfield\ntheories, generalizing the approach for calculating the superfield effective\npotential. In particular, we calculate the effective potential for two versions\nof higher-derivative chiral superfield models. We point out that the\nequivalence of the higher-derivative theory for the chiral superfield and the\none without higher derivatives but with an extended number of chiral\nsuperfields occurs only when the mass term is contained in the general\nLagrangian. The presence of divergences can be taken as an indication of this\nequivalence."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "String Theory, Space-Time Non-Commutativity and Structure Formation: A natural consequence of string theory is a non-commutative structure of\nspace-time on microscopic scales. The existence of a minimal length, and a\nmodification of the effective field theory are two consequences of this\nspace-time non-commutativity. I will first explore some consequences of the\nmodifications of the effective field theory for structure formation in the\ncontext of an inflationary cosmology. Then, I will explore the possibility that\nthe existence of a minimal length will lead to a structure formation scenario\ndifferent from inflation. Specifically, I will discuss recent work on string\ngas cosmology.",
        "positive": "Remnants in two-dimensional quantum gravity: In this work we consider a two-dimensional quantum black hole sourced by the\ntrace anomaly of a conformal field theory. By using holography, we are able to\nprove that the black hole size is always proportional to the number of states\ninside the black hole, a result that might be interpreted as a two dimensional\nversion of the Bekenstein entropy law. Finally, we also show that such a black\nhole has a minimal size (a remnant). Extrapolating this result for higher\ndimensions, we show that this would imply that the remnant has a size way\nlarger than the Planck length and is, therefore, always weakly coupled."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Computing real time correlation functions on a hybrid classical/quantum\n  computer: Quantum devices may overcome limitations of classical computers in studies of\nnuclear structure functions and parton Wigner distributions of protons and\nnuclei. In this talk, we discuss a worldline approach to compute nuclear\nstructure functions in the high energy Regge limit of QCD using a hybrid\nquantum computer, by expressing the fermion determinant in the QCD path\nintegral as a quantum mechanical path integral over $0+1$-dimensional fermionic\nand bosonic world-lines in background gauge fields. Our simplest example of\ncomputing the well-known dipole model result for the structure function $F_2$\nin the high energy Regge limit is feasible with NISQ era technology using few\nqubits and shallow circuits. This example can be scaled up in complexity and\nextended in scope to compute structure functions, scattering amplitudes and\nother real-time correlation functions in QCD, relevant for example to describe\nnon-equilibrium transport of quarks and gluons in a Quark-Gluon-Plasma.",
        "positive": "Magnetically-enhanced open string pair production: We consider the stringy interaction between two parallel stacks of D3 branes\nplaced at a separation. Each stack of D3 branes in a similar fashion carry an\nelectric flux and a magnetic flux with the two sharing no common field strength\nindex. The interaction amplitude has an imaginary part, giving rise to the\nSchwinger-like pair production of open strings. We find a significantly\nenhanced rate of this production when the two electric fluxes are almost\nidentical and the brane separation is on the order of string scale. This\nenhancement will be largest if the two magnetic fluxes are opposite in\ndirection. This novel enhancement results from the interplay of the\nnon-perturbative Schwinger-type pair production due to the electric flux and\nthe stringy tachyon due to the magnetic flux, and may have realistic physical\napplications."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Division Algebras: 26 Dimensions; 3 Families: The link of the Division Algebras to 10-dimensional spacetime and one\nleptoquark family is extended to 26-dimensional spacetime and three leptoquark\nfamilies.",
        "positive": "Slowly rotating black hole solution in the scalar-tensor theory with\n  nonminimal derivative coupling and its thermodynamics: We obtain a slowly rotating black hole solution in the scalar-tensor theory\nof gravity with nonminimal derivative coupling to the Einstein tensor.\nProperties of the obtained solution have been examined carefully. We also\ninvestigate the thermodynamics of the given black hole. To obtain thermodynamic\nfunctions, namely its entropy we use the Wald procedure which is suitable for\nquite general diffeomorphism-invariant theories. The applied approach allowed\nus to obtain the expression for entropy and the first law of black hole\nthermodynamics. Having introduced thermodynamic pressure which is related to\nthe cosmological constant we have examined thermodynamics of the black hole in\nthe so called extended phase space. The extended phase space and specifically\nchosen scalar `charge' allowed us not only to obtain the generalized first law\nbut also derive the Smarr relation. The behaviour of black hole's temperature,\nheat capacity and Gibbs free energy shows a lot of similarities with the\nbehaviour of the corresponding values for Schwarzschild-AdS black hole in\nstandard General Relativity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Conservative Scattering of Reissner-Nordstr\u00f6m Black Holes at Third\n  Post-Minkowskian Order: Using a recently developed effective field theory formalism for extreme mass\nratios [2308.14832], we present a calculation of charged black hole scattering\nat third post-Minkowskian order. The charges and masses are kept arbitrary, and\nthe result interpolates from the scattering of Schwarzschild to extremal\ncharged black holes, and beyond to charged particles in electrodynamics --\nagreeing with previously reported results in all such limits. The computation\nof the radial action is neatly organized in powers of the mass ratio. The probe\n(0SF) contributions are readily computed by direct integration of the radial\nmomentum, and we use the effective field theory to compute the subleading (1SF)\ncontributions via background-field Feynman rules supplemented by an operator\nencoding recoil of the background. Together these contributions completely\ndetermine the conservative physics at order~$\\mathcal{O}(G^{3})$.",
        "positive": "Twisted Supersymmetric Gauge Theories and Orbifold Lattices: We examine the relation between twisted versions of the extended\nsupersymmetric gauge theories and supersymmetric orbifold lattices. In\nparticular, for the $\\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM in $d=4$, we show that the continuum\nlimit of orbifold lattice reproduces the twist introduced by Marcus, and the\nexamples at lower dimensions are usually Blau-Thompson type. The orbifold\nlattice point group symmetry is a subgroup of the twisted Lorentz group, and\nthe exact supersymmetry of the lattice is indeed the nilpotent scalar\nsupersymmetry of the twisted versions. We also introduce twisting in terms of\nspin groups of finite point subgroups of $R$-symmetry and spacetime symmetry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Extended BPH Renormalization of Cutoff Scalar Field Theories: We show that general cutoff scalar field theories in four dimensions are\nperturbatively renormalizable through the use of diagrammatic techniques and an\nadapted BPH renormalization method. Weinberg's convergence theorem is used to\nshow that operators in the Lagrangian with dimension greater than four, which\nare divided by powers of the cutoff, produce perturbatively only local\ndivergences in the two-, three-, and four-point correlation functions. We also\nshow that the renormalized Green's functions are the same as in ordinary\n$\\Phi^4$ theory up to corrections suppressed by inverse powers of the cutoff.\nThese conclusions are consistent with those of existing proofs based on the\nrenormalization group.",
        "positive": "Classification of discrete modular symmetries in Type IIB flux vacua: We classify discrete modular symmetries in the effective action of Type IIB\nstring on toroidal orientifolds with three-form fluxes, emphasizing on\n$T^6/\\mathbb{Z}_2$ and $T^6/(\\mathbb{Z}_2\\times \\mathbb{Z}_2^\\prime)$\norientifold backgrounds. On the three-form flux background, the modular group\nis spontaneously broken down to its congruence subgroup whose pattern is\nseverely constrained by a quantization of fluxes and tadpole cancellation\nconditions. We explicitly demonstrate that the congruence subgroups appearing\nin the effective action arise on magnetized D-branes wrapping certain cycles of\ntori."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hybrid Gauge Theory: Cyclic symmetry $C_N$ is gauged in such a way that the local parametrization\nis provided by a Lie group: matter fields are in irreducible representations of\n$C_N$ while gauge fields are in the adjoint representation of a Lie group,\nhence \"hybrid\". Allowed simple Lie groups are only SO(2) for $N=2$, SU(3) for\n$N=3$, and SU(2) for all $N$. The implication of the local discrete symmetry\n$C_N$ is evident as the ratio of the coupling constant to the usual gauge\ntheory one of the parametrization Lie group is given by that of the length\nbetween any two vertices of a regular N-polygon to the radius of the\ncircumcircle: $2\\sin(n\\pi/N),\\ n\\in {\\mathbb Z}_N$.",
        "positive": "Remarks on the existence of Spinning Membrane Actions: It has been recently argued by some authors that is impossible to construct a\nWeyl invariant spinning membrane action, where the $S$-supersymmetry associated\nwith the 3D superconformal algebra, is relinquished without gauge fixing.\nContrary to those assertions, we show why it is possible to construct a\nWeyl-invariant spinning polynomial membrane action, without curvature\nterms,where $both$ the conformal boost symmetry and $S$-supersymmetry are\nexplicitly broken by the action. It is shown that the gauge algebra $closes$\ndespite that the two latter symmetries are broken . For this to happen, a\nmodifed $Q$-supersymmetry transformation, a sort of new $Q+K+S$ ``sum `` rule,\nis required that generates the compensating terms to cancel the spurious\ncontributions fromthe $S$ and conformal boost anomalous transformations. A\nsubstantial discussion of the quantization of the spinning membrane and\nanomalies is given. We review briefly the role that this spinning membrane\naction may have in the theory of $D$-branes, Skyrmions and BPS monopoles in the\nlarge $N$-limit of SU(N) Yang-Mills ."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Some Calculable Contributions to Holographic Entanglement Entropy: Using the AdS/CFT correspondence, we examine entanglement entropy for a\nboundary theory deformed by a relevant operator and establish two results. The\nfirst is that if there is a contribution which is logarithmic in the UV\ncut-off, then the coefficient of this term is independent of the state of the\nboundary theory. In fact, the same is true of all of the coefficients of\ncontributions which diverge as some power of the UV cut-off. Secondly, we show\nthat the relevant deformation introduces new logarithmic contributions to the\nentanglement entropy. The form of some of these new contributions is similar to\nthat found recently in an investigation of entanglement entropy in a free\nmassive scalar field theory [1].",
        "positive": "On Gauge-Invariant Boundary Conditions for 2d Gravity with Dynamical\n  torsion: In the example of $R^2+T^2$ gravity on the unit two dimensional disk we\ndemonstrate that in the presence of an independent spin connection it is\npossible to define local gauge invariant boundary conditions even on boundaries\nwhich are not totally geodesic. One-loop partition function and the\ncorresponding heat kernel are calculated."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Functional Renormalization Analytically Continued: We discuss a method to analytically continue functional renormalization group\nequations from imaginary Matsubara frequencies to the real frequency axis. In\nthis formalism, we investigate the analytic structure of the flowing action and\nthe propagator for a theory of scalar fields with $O(N)$ symmetry. We go on to\nshow how it is possible to derive and solve flow equations for real-time\nproperties such as particle decay widths. Our treatment is fully\nLorentz-invariant and enables an improved, self-consistent derivative expansion\nin Minkowski space.",
        "positive": "Stability of accelerating cosmology in two scalar-tensor theory: Little\n  Rip versus de Sitter: We develop the general reconstruction scheme in two scalar model. The\nquintom-like theory which may describe (different) non-singular Little Rip or\nde Sitter cosmology is reconstructed. (In)stability of such dark energy\ncosmologies as well as the flow to fixed points is studied. The stability of\nLittle Rip universe which leads to dissolution of bound objects sometime in\nfuture indicates that no classical transition to de Sitter space occurs."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A superspace formulation of the BV action: We show that the BV (Batalin Vilkovisky) action, formulated with an extended\nBRST symmetry (including the shift symmetry), is also invariant under an\nextended anti-BRST transformation (where the antifields are the parameters of\nthe transformation), when the gauge fixing Lagrangian is both BRST and\nanti-BRST invariant. We show that for a general gauge fixing Lagrangian, the BV\naction can be written in a manifestly extended BRST invariant manner in a\nsuperspace with one Grassmann coordinate whereas it can be expressed in a\nmanifestly extended BRST and anti-BRST invariant manner in a superspace with\ntwo Grassmann coordinates when the gauge fixing Lagrangian is invariant under\nboth BRST and anti-BRST transformations.",
        "positive": "Solution of One-dimensional Dirac Equation via Poincare Map: We solve the general one-dimensional Dirac equation using a \"Poincare Map\"\napproach which avoids any approximation to the spacial derivatives and reduces\nthe problem to a simple recursive relation which is very practical from the\nnumerical implementation point of view. To test the efficiency and rapid\nconvergence of this approach we apply it to a vector coupling Woods--Saxon\npotential, which is exactly solvable. Comparison with available analytical\nresults is impressive and hence validates the accuracy and efficiency of this\nmethod."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the AdS Higher Spin / O(N) Vector Model Correspondence: degeneracy of\n  the holographic image: We explore the conjectured duality between the critical O(N) vector model and\nminimal bosonic massless higher spin (HS) theory in AdS. In the boundary free\ntheory, the conformal partial wave expansion (CPWE) of the four-point function\nof the scalar singlet bilinear is reorganized to make it explicitly\ncrossing-symmetric and closed in the singlet sector, dual to the bulk HS gauge\nfields. We are able to analytically establish the factorized form of the fusion\ncoefficients as well as the two-point function coefficient of the HS currents.\nWe insist in directly computing the free correlators from bulk graphs with the\nunconventional branch. The three-point function of the scalar bilinear turns\nout to be an \"extremal\" one at d=3. The four-leg bulk exchange graph can be\nprecisely related to the CPWs of the boundary dual scalar and its shadow. The\nflow in the IR by Legendre transforming at leading 1/N, following the pattern\nof double-trace deformations, and the assumption of degeneracy of the hologram\nlead to the CPWE of the scalar four-point function at IR. Here we confirm some\nprevious results, obtained from more involved computations of skeleton graphs,\nas well as extend some of them from d=3 to generic dimension 2<d<4.",
        "positive": "Scattering amplitudes of massive Nambu-Goldstone bosons: Massive Nambu-Goldstone (mNG) bosons are quasiparticles whose gap is\ndetermined exactly by symmetry. They appear whenever a symmetry is broken\nspontaneously in the ground state of a quantum many-body system, and at the\nsame time explicitly by the system's chemical potential. In this paper, we\nrevisit mNG bosons and show that apart from their gap, symmetry also protects\ntheir scattering amplitudes. Just like for ordinary gapless NG bosons, the\nscattering amplitudes of mNG bosons vanish in the long-wavelength limit. Unlike\nfor gapless NG bosons, this statement holds for any scattering process\ninvolving one or more external mNG states; there are no kinematic singularities\nassociated with the radiation of a soft mNG boson from an on-shell initial or\nfinal state."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Graphical Representation of SUSY and Application to QFT: We present a graphical representation of the supersymmetry and the graphical\ncalculation. Calculation is demonstrated for 4D Wess-Zumino model and for Super\nQED. The chiral operators are graphically expressed in an illuminating way. The\ntedious part of SUSY calculation, due to manipulating chiral suffixes, reduces\nconsiderably. The application is diverse.",
        "positive": "Wilson Renormalization Group Equations for the Critical Dynamics of\n  Chiral Symmetry: The critical dynamics of the chiral symmetry breaking induced by gauge\ninteraction is examined in the Wilson renormalization group framework in\ncomparison with the Schwinger-Dyson approach. We derive the beta functions for\nthe four-fermi couplings in the sharp cutoff renormalzation group scheme, from\nwhich the critical couplings and the anomalous dimensions of the fermion\ncomposite operators near criticality are immediately obtained. It is also shown\nthat the beta functions lead to the same critical behavior found by solving the\nso-called ladder Schwinger-Dyson equation, if we restrict the radiative\ncorrections to a certain limited type."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A No-go Theorem for a Gauge Vector as a Space-time Goldstone: Scalars and fermions can arise as Goldstone modes of non-linearly realised\nextensions of the Poincare group (with important implications for the soft\nlimits of such theories): the Dirac-Born-Infeld scalar realises a\nhigher-dimensional Poincare symmetry, while the Volkov-Akulov fermion\ncorresponds to super-Poincare. In this paper we classify extensions of the\nPoincare group which give rise to a vector Goldstone mode instead. Our main\nresult is that there are no healthy interacting $U(1)$ gauge theories that\nnon-linearly realise space-time symmetries beyond gauge transformations. This\nimplies that the special soft limits of e.g. the Born-Infeld vector cannot be\nexplained by space-time symmetries.",
        "positive": "CFT duals of Kerr-Taub-NUT and beyond: The duality relating the four-dimensional Kerr-Taub-NUT black hole to a\nthermal two-dimensional CFT with central charges $c_L=c_R=12 J_0$ is analyzed\nin detail, generalizing an argument given recently for Kerr within the\nsoft-hair approach. The hidden conformal symmetry is realized in the form of\n$Vir_L \\times Vir_R$ diffeomorphisms which act non-trivially on the black hole\nhorizon. Semiclassical formulae are derived for the temperature and central\ncharges of the dual CFT. Assuming the applicability of the Cardy formula, these\nCFT quantities precisely reproduce the macroscopic Bekenstein-Hawking area law.\nVarious further generalizations including the complete family of black holes in\nfour dimensions are discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quintics with Finite Simple Symmetries: We construct all quintic invariants in five variables with simple Non-Abelian\nfinite symmetry groups. These define Calabi-Yau three-folds which are left\ninvariant by the action of A_5, A_6 or PSL_2(11).",
        "positive": "Numerical Analysis of Black Hole Evaporation: Black hole formation/evaporation in two-dimensional dilaton gravity can be\ndescribed, in the limit where the number $N$ of matter fields becomes large, by\na set of second-order partial differential equations. In this paper we solve\nthese equations numerically. It is shown that, contrary to some previous\nsuggestions, black holes evaporate completely a finite time after formation. A\nboundary condition is required to evolve the system beyond the naked\nsingularity at the evaporation endpoint. It is argued that this may be\nnaturally chosen so as to restore the system to the vacuum. The analysis also\napplies to the low-energy scattering of $S$-wave fermions by four-dimensional\nextremal, magnetic, dilatonic black holes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "SUSY breaking mediation by throat fields: We investigate, in the general framework of KKLT, the mediation of\nsupersymmetry breaking by fields propagating in the strongly warped region of\nthe compactification manifold ('throat fields'). Such fields can couple both to\nthe supersymmetry breaking sector at the IR end of the throat and to the\nvisible sector at the UV end. We model the supersymmetry breaking sector by a\nchiral superfield which develops an F-term vacuum expectation value. It turns\nout that the mediation effect of vector multiplets propagating in the throat\ncan compete with modulus-anomaly mediation. Moreover, such vector fields are\nnaturally present as the gauge fields arising from isometries of the throat\n(most notably the SO(4) isometry of the Klebanov-Strassler solution). Their\nmediation effect is important in spite of their large 4d mass. The latter is\ndue to the breaking of the throat isometry by the compact manifold at the UV\nend of the throat. The contribution from heavy chiral superfields is found to\nbe subdominant.",
        "positive": "BPS-like potential for compactifications of heterotic M-theory?: We analyze the possibility to rewrite the action of Horava-Witten theory in a\nBPS-like form, which means that it is given as a sum of squares of the\nsupersymmetry conditions. To this end we compactify the theory on a seven\ndimensional manifold of SU(3) structure and rewrite the scalar curvature of the\ncompactification manifold in terms of the SU(3) structure forms. This shows\nthat a BPS-like form cannot be obtained in general, but only for certain types\nof compactifications."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Self-interacting scalar fields on spacetime with compact hyperbolic\n  spatial part: We calculate the one-loop effective potential of a self-interacting scalar\nfield on the spacetime of the form $\\reals^2\\times H^2/\\Gamma$. The Selberg\ntrace formula associated with a co-compact discrete group $\\Gamma$ in\n$PSL(2,\\reals )$ (hyperbolic and elliptic elements only) is used. The closed\nform for the one-loop unrenormalized and renormalized effective potentials is\ngiven. The influence of non-trivial topology on curvature induced phase\ntransitions is also discussed.",
        "positive": "Effective Field Theory of non-Attractor Inflation: We present the model-independent studies of non attractor inflation in the\ncontext of effective field theory (EFT) of inflation. Within the EFT approach\ntwo independent branches of non-attractor inflation solutions are discovered in\nwhich a near scale-invariant curvature perturbation power spectrum is generated\nfrom the interplay between the variation of sound speed and the second slow\nroll parameter \\eta. The first branch captures and extends the previously\nstudied models of non-attractor inflation in which the curvature perturbation\nis not frozen on super-horizon scales and the single field non-Gaussianity\nconsistency condition is violated. We present the general expression for the\namplitude of local-type non-Gaussianity in this branch. The second branch is\nnew in which the curvature perturbation is frozen on super-horizon scales and\nthe single field non-Gaussianity consistency condition does hold in the\nsqueezed limit. Depending on the model parameters, the shape of bispectrum in\nthis branch changes from an equilateral configuration to a folded configuration\nwhile the amplitude of non-Gaussianity is less than unity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Noncommutative General Relativity: We define a theory of noncommutative general relativity for canonical\nnoncommutative spaces. We find a subclass of general coordinate transformations\nacting on canonical noncommutative spacetimes to be volume-preserving\ntransformations. Local Lorentz invariance is treated as a gauge theory with the\nspin connection field taken in the so(3,1) enveloping algebra. The resulting\ntheory appears to be a noncommutative extension of the unimodular theory of\ngravitation. We compute the leading order noncommutative correction to the\naction and derive the noncommutative correction to the equations of motion of\nthe weak gravitation field.",
        "positive": "Extremal non-BPS black holes and entropy extremization: At the horizon, a static extremal black hole solution in N=2 supergravity in\nfour dimensions is determined by a set of so-called attractor equations which,\nin the absence of higher-curvature interactions, can be derived as\nextremization conditions for the black hole potential or, equivalently, for the\nentropy function. We contrast both methods by explicitly solving the attractor\nequations for a one-modulus prepotential associated with the conifold. We find\nthat near the conifold point, the non-supersymmetric solution has a\nsubstantially different behavior than the supersymmetric solution. We analyze\nthe stability of the solutions and the extrema of the resulting entropy as a\nfunction of the modulus. For the non-BPS solution the region of attractivity\nand the maximum of the entropy do not coincide with the conifold point."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gravity duals of N = 2 superconformal field theories with no\n  electrostatic description: We construct the first eleven-dimensional supergravity solutions, which are\nregular, have no smearing and possess only SO(2,4) x SO(3) x U(1)_R isometry.\nThey are dual to four-dimensional field theories with N = 2 superconformal\nsymmetry. We utilise the Toda frame of self-dual four-dimensional Euclidean\nmetrics with SU(2) rotational symmetry. They are obtained by transforming the\nAtiyah--Hitchin instanton under SL(2,R) and are expressed in terms of theta\nfunctions. The absence of any extra U(1) symmetry, even asymptotically, renders\ninapplicable the electrostatic description of our solution.",
        "positive": "Additional considerations in the definition and renormalization of\n  non-covariant gauges: In this work, we pursue further consequences of a general formalism for\nnon-covariant gauges developed in an earlier work (hep-th/0205042). We carry\nout further analysis of the additional restrictions on renormalizations noted\nin that work. We use the example of the axial gauge A_3=0. We find that if\nmultiplicative renormalization together with ghost-decoupling is to hold, the\n``prescription-term'' (that defines a prescription) cannot be chosen\narbitrarily but has to satisfy certain non-trivial conditions (over and above\nthose implied by the validity of power counting) arising from the WT identities\nassociated with the residual gauge invariance. We also give a restricted class\nof solutions to these conditions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetric Spacetimes from Curved Superspace: We review the superspace technique to determine supersymmetric spacetimes in\nthe framework of off-shell formulations for supergravity in diverse dimensions\nusing the case of 3D N=2 supergravity theories as an illustrative example. This\ngeometric formalism has several advantages over other approaches advocated in\nthe last four years. Firstly, the infinitesimal isometry transformations of a\ngiven curved superspace form, by construction, a finite-dimensional Lie\nsuperalgebra, with its odd part corresponding to the rigid supersymmetry\ntransformations. Secondly, the generalised Killing spinor equation, which must\nbe obeyed by the supersymmetry parameters, is a consequence of the more\nfundamental superfield Killing equation. Thirdly, general rigid supersymmetric\ntheories on a curved spacetime are readily constructed in superspace by making\nuse of the known off-shell supergravity-matter couplings and restricting them\nto the background chosen. It is the superspace techniques which make it\npossible to generate arbitrary off-shell supergravity-matter couplings.\nFourthly, all maximally supersymmetric Lorentzian spaces correspond to those\noff-shell supergravity backgrounds for which the Grassmann-odd components of\nthe superspace torsion and curvature tensors vanish, while the Grassmann-even\ncomponents of these tensors are annihilated by the spinor derivatives.",
        "positive": "Extremal solutions of the S3 model and nilpotent orbits of G2(2): We study extremal black hole solutions of the S3 model (obtained by setting\nS=T=U in the STU model) using group theoretical methods. Upon dimensional\nreduction over time, the S3 model exhibits the pseudo-Riemannian coset\nstructure G/K with G=G2(2) and K=SO(2,2). We study nilpotent K-orbits of G2(2)\ncorresponding to non-rotating single-center extremal solutions. We find six\nsuch distinct K-orbits. Three of these orbits are supersymmetric, one is\nnon-supersymmetric, and two are unphysical. We write general solutions and\ndiscuss examples in all four physical orbits. We show that all solutions in\nsupersymmetric orbits when uplifted to five-dimensional minimal supergravity\nhave single-center Gibbons-Hawking space as their four-dimensional Euclidean\nhyper-K\\\"ahler base space. We construct hitherto unknown extremal\n(supersymmetric as well as non-supersymmetric) pressureless black strings of\nminimal five-dimensional supergravity and briefly discuss their relation to\nblack rings."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Bhabha scattering in Very Special Relativity at finite temperature: In this paper the differential cross section for Bhabha scattering in the\nVery Special Relativity (VSR) framework is calculated. The main characteristic\nof the VSR is to modify the gauge invariance. This leads to different types of\ninteractions appearing in a non-local form. In addition, using the Thermo Field\nDynamics formalism, thermal corrections for the differential cross section of\nBhabha scattering in VSR framework are obtained.",
        "positive": "Quantum Stability of Accelerated Black Holes: We study quantum aspects of the accelerated black holes in some detail.\nExplicitly shown is the fact that a uniform acceleration stabilizes certain\ncharged black holes against the well-known thermal evaporation. Furthermore, a\nclose inspection of the geometry reveals that this is possible only for\nnear-extremal black holes and that most nonextremal varieties continue to\nevaporate with a modified spectrum under the acceleration. We also introduce a\ntwo-dimensional toy model where the energy-momentum flow is easily obtained for\ngeneral accelerations, and find the behavior to be in accordance with the\nfour-dimensional results. After a brief comparison to the classical system of a\nuniformly accelerated charge, we close by pointing out the importance of this\nresult in the WKB expansion of the black hole pair-creation rate."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "An Addendum to the Heisenberg-Euler effective action beyond one loop: We study the effective interactions of external electromagnetic fields\ninduced by fluctuations of virtual particles in the vacuum of quantum\nelectrodynamics. Our main focus is on these interactions at two-loop order. We\ndiscuss in detail the emergence of the renowned Heisenberg-Euler effective\naction from the underlying microscopic theory of quantum electrodynamics,\nemphasizing its distinction from a standard one-particle irreducible effective\naction. In our explicit calculations we limit ourselves to constant and slowly\nvarying external fields, allowing us to adopt a locally constant field\napproximation. One of our main findings is that at two-loop order there is a\nfinite one-particle reducible contribution to the Heisenberg-Euler effective\naction in constant fields, which was previously assumed to vanish. In addition\nto their conceptual significance, our results are relevant for high-precision\nprobes of quantum vacuum nonlinearity in strong electromagnetic fields.",
        "positive": "Quantum $\u03ba$-deformations of D=4 relativistic supersymmetries: We describe the quantum $\\kappa$-deformation of super-Poincar\\'{e} algebra,\nwith fundamental mass-like deformation parameter $\\kappa$. We shall describe\nthe result in graded bicrossproduct basis, with classical Lorentz superalgebra\nsector which includes half of the supercharges."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Perturbative renormalization of lattice N=4 super Yang-Mills theory: We consider N=4 super Yang-Mills theory on a four-dimensional lattice. The\nlattice formulation under consideration retains one exact supersymmetry at\nnon-zero lattice spacing. We show that this feature combined with gauge\ninvariance and the large point group symmetry of the lattice theory ensures\nthat the only counterterms that appear at any order in perturbation theory\ncorrespond to renormalizations of existing terms in the bare lattice action. In\nparticular we find that no mass terms are generated at any finite order of\nperturbation theory. We calculate these renormalizations by examining the\nfermion and auxiliary boson self energies at one loop and find that they all\nexhibit a common logarithmic divergence which can be absorbed by a single\nwavefunction renormalization. This finding implies that at one loop only a fine\ntuning of the finite parts is required to regain full supersymmetry in the\ncontinuum limit.",
        "positive": "Varying electric charge in multiscale spacetimes: We derive the covariant equations of motion for Maxwell field theory and\nelectrodynamics in multiscale spacetimes with weighted Laplacian. An effective\nspacetime-dependent electric charge of geometric origin naturally emerges from\nthe theory, thus giving rise to a varying fine-structure constant. The theory\nis compared with other varying-coupling models, such as those with a varying\nelectric charge or varying speed of light. The theory is also confronted with\ncosmological observations, which can place constraints on the characteristic\nscales in the multifractional measure. We note that the model considered here\nis fundamentally different from those previously proposed in the literature,\neither of the varying-e or varying-c persuasion."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Universality between vector-like and chiral quiver gauge theories:\n  Anomalies and domain walls: We study low-energy dynamics of $[SU(N)]^K$ chiral quiver gauge theories in\nconnection with $\\mathcal{N}=1$ super Yang-Mills (SYM) theory, and quantum\nchromodynamics with bi-fundamental fermions (QCD(BF)). These theories can be\nobtained by $\\mathbb{Z}_K$ orbifold projections of $\\mathcal{N}=1$ $SU(NK)$ SYM\ntheory, but the perturbative planar equivalence does not extend\nnonperturbatively for $K\\ge 3$. In order to study low-energy behaviors, we\nanalyze these systems using 't~Hooft anomaly matching and reliable semiclassics\non $\\mathbb{R}^3\\times S^1$. Thanks to 't~Hooft anomaly that involves $1$-form\ncenter symmetry and discrete chiral symmetry, we predict that chiral symmetry\nmust be spontaneously broken in the confinement phase, and there exist $N$\nvacua. Theories with even $K$ possess a physical $\\theta$ angle despite the\npresence of massless fermions, and we further predict the $N$-branch structure\nassociated with it; the number of vacua is enhanced to $2N$ at $\\theta=\\pi$ due\nto spontaneous $CP$ breaking. Both of these predictions are explicitly\nconfirmed by reliable semiclassics on $\\mathbb{R}^3\\times S^1$ with the\ndouble-trace deformation. Symmetry and anomaly of odd-$K$ theories are the same\nas those of the ${\\cal N}=1$ SYM, and the ones of even-$K$ theories are same as\nthose of QCD(BF). We unveil why there exists universality between vector-like\nand chiral quiver theories, and conjecture that their ground states can be\ncontinuously deformed without quantum phase transitions. We briefly discuss\nanomaly inflow on the domain walls connecting the vacua of the theory and\npossible anomaly matching scenarios.",
        "positive": "The Off-Shell Recursion for Gravity and the Classical Double Copy for\n  currents: We construct the off-shell recursion for gravity and the graviton current for\nthe perturbative double field theory (DFT). We first formulate the perturbative\nDFT, which is equivalent but simpler to perturbative general relativity, to\nall-orders in fluctuations of generalised metric. The perturbative action and\nequations of motion (EoM) are derived to arbitrary order for pure gravity case.\nWe then derive the graviton off-shell recursion, the gravity counterpart of the\nBerends-Giele recursion in Yang-Mills theory, through the so-called perturbiner\nmethod using the EoM of the perturbative DFT. We solve the recursion\niteratively and obtain the graviton off-shell currents explicitly. We then\ndiscuss the classical double copy for the off-shell currents. We present the\ncurrent KLT relation for gravity by extending the result proposed by Mizera and\nSkrzypek for the non-gravitational effective field theories. The relation\nrepresents graviton currents by squaring gluon currents with the KLT kernel up\nto gauge transformation and regular terms that do not have any pole. Finally we\ndiscuss the off-shell conservation of currents for nonlinear gauge choices."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spectral curves and $W$-representations of matrix models: We explain how the spectral curve can be extracted from the ${\\cal\nW}$-representation of a matrix model. It emerges from the part of the ${\\cal\nW}$-operator, which is linear in time-variables. A possibility of extracting\nthe spectral curve in this way is important because there are models where\nmatrix integrals are not yet available, and still they possess all their\nimportant features. We apply this reasoning to the family of WLZZ models and\ndiscuss additional peculiarities which appear for the non-negative value of the\nfamily parameter $n$, when the model depends on additional couplings (dual\ntimes). In this case, the relation between topological and $1/N$ expansions is\nbroken. On the other hand, all the WLZZ partition functions are\n$\\tau$-functions of the Toda lattice hierarchy, and these models also celebrate\nthe superintegrability properties.",
        "positive": "Higher-spin charges in Hamiltonian form. II. Fermi fields: We build the asymptotic higher-spin charges associated with \"improper\" gauge\ntransformations for fermionic higher-spin gauge fields on Anti de Sitter\nbackgrounds of arbitrary dimension. This is achieved within the canonical\nformalism. We consider massless fields of spin s+1/2, described by a symmetric\nspinor-tensor of rank s in the Fang-Fronsdal approach. We begin from a detailed\nanalysis of the spin 5/2 example, for which we cast the Fang-Fronsdal action in\nHamiltonian form, we derive the charges and we propose boundary conditions on\nthe canonical variables that secure their finiteness. We then extend the\ncomputation of charges and the characterisation of boundary conditions to\narbitrary half-integer spin. Our construction generalises to higher-spin\nfermionic gauge fields the known Hamiltonian derivation of supercharges in AdS\nsupergravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Tunneling cosmological state revisited: Origin of inflation with a\n  non-minimally coupled Standard Model Higgs inflaton: We suggest a path integral formulation for the tunneling cosmological state,\nwhich admits a consistent renormalization and renormalization group (RG)\nimprovement in particle physics applications of quantum cosmology. We apply\nthis formulation to the inflationary cosmology driven by the Standard Model\n(SM) Higgs boson playing the role of an inflaton with a strong non-minimal\ncoupling to gravity. In this way a complete cosmological scenario is obtained,\nwhich embraces the formation of initial conditions for the inflationary\nbackground in the form of a sharp probability peak in the distribution of the\ninflaton field and the ongoing generation of the Cosmic Microwave Background\n(CMB) spectrum on this background. Formation of this probability peak is based\non the same RG mechanism which underlies the generation of the CMB spectrum\nwhich was recently shown to be compatible with the WMAP data in the Higgs mass\nrange $135.6 {\\rm GeV} \\lesssim M_H\\lesssim 184.5 {\\rm GeV}$. This brings to\nlife a convincing unification of quantum cosmology with the particle\nphenomenology of the SM, inflation theory, and CMB observations.",
        "positive": "Quantum fields, dark matter and non-standard Wigner classes: The Elko field of Ahluwalia and Grumiller is a quantum field for massive\nspin-1/2 particles. It has been suggested as a candidate for dark matter. We\ndiscuss our attempts to interpret the Elko field as a quantum field in the\nsense of Weinberg. Our work suggests that one should investigate quantum fields\nbased on representations of the full Poincar\\'e group which belong to one of\nthe non-standard Wigner classes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Higher Spins in Hyper-Superspace: We extend the results of arXiv:1401.1645 on the generalized conformal\nSp(2n)-structure of infinite multiplets of higher spin fields, formulated in\nspaces with extra tensorial directions (hyperspaces), to the description of\nOSp(1|2n)-invariant infinite-dimensional higher-spin supermultiplets formulated\nin terms of scalar superfields on flat hyper-superspaces and on OSp(1|n)\nsupergroup manifolds. We find generalized superconformal transformations\nrelating the superfields and their equations of motion in flat hyper-superspace\nwith those on the OSp(1|n) supermanifold. We then use these transformations to\nrelate the two-, three- and four-point correlation functions of the scalar\nsuperfields on flat hyperspace, derived by requiring the OSp(1|2n) invariance\nof the correlators, to correlation functions on the OSp(1|n) group manifold. As\na byproduct, for the simplest particular case of a conventional N=1, D=3\nsuperconformal theory of scalar superfields, we also derive correlation\nfunctions of component fields of the scalar supermultiplet including those of\nauxiliary fields.",
        "positive": "Tidal effects for spinning particles: Expanding on the recent derivation of tidal actions for scalar particles, we\npresent here the action for a tidally deformed spin-$1/2$ particle. Focusing on\noperators containing two powers of the Weyl tensor, we combine the Hilbert\nseries with an on-shell amplitude basis to construct the tidal action. With the\ntidal action in hand, we compute the leading-post-Minkowskian tidal\ncontributions to the spin-1/2 -- spin-1/2 amplitude, arising at\n$\\mathcal{O}(G^{2})$. Our amplitudes provide evidence that the observed long\nrange spin-universality for the scattering of two point particles extends to\nthe scattering of tidally deformed objects. From the scattering amplitude we\nfind the conservative two-body Hamiltonian, linear and angular impulses,\neikonal phase, spin kick, and aligned-spin scattering angle. We present\nanalogous results in the electromagnetic case along the way."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chern-Simons Theory on Seifert Manifold and Matrix Model: Chern-Simons (CS) theories with rank $N$ and level $k$ on Seifert manifold\nare discussed. The partition functions of such theories can be written as a\nfunction of modular transformation matrices summed over different integrable\nrepresentations of affine Lie algebra $u(N)_k$ associated with boundary\nWess-Zumino-Witten (WZW) model. Using properties of modular transform matrices\nwe express the partition functions of these theories as a unitary matrix model.\nWe show that, the eigenvalues of unitary matrices are discrete and proportional\nto hook lengths of the corresponding integrable Young diagram. As a result, in\nthe large $N$ limit, the eigenvalue density develops an upper cap. We consider\nCS theory on $S^2\\times S^1$ coupled with fundamental matters and express the\npartition functions in terms of modular transformation matrices. Solving this\nmodel at large $N$ we find the dominant integrable representations and show how\nlarge $N$ representations are related to each other by transposition of Young\ndiagrams as a result of level rank duality. Next we consider $U(N)$ CS theory\non $S^3$ and observed that in Seifert framing the dominant representation is no\nlonger an integrable representation after a critical value of 't Hooft\ncoupling. We also show that CS on $S^3$ admits multiple (two-gap phase) large\n$N$ phases with the same free energy.",
        "positive": "Exactly solvable models and spontaneous symmetry breaking: We study a few two-dimensional models with massive and massless fermions in\nthe hamiltonian framework and in both conventional and light-front forms of\nfield theory. The new ingredient is a modification of the canonical procedure\nby taking into account solutions of the operator field equations. After\nsummarizing the main results for the derivative-coupling and the Thirring\nmodels, we briefly compare conventional and light-front versions of the\nFederbush model including the massive current bosonization and a Bogoliubov\ntransformation to diagonalize the Hamiltonian. Then we sketch an extension of\nour hamiltonian approach to the two-dimensional Nambu--Jona-Lasinio model and\nthe Thirring--Wess models. Finally, we discuss the Schwinger model in a\ncovariant gauge. In particular, we point out that the solution due to\nLowenstein and Swieca implies the physical vacuum in terms of a coherent state\nof massive scalar field and suggest a new formulation of the model's vacuum\ndegeneracy."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Relativistic wave functions and energies for nonzero angular momentum\n  states in light-front dynamics: Light-front dynamics (LFD) is a powerful approach to the theory of\nrelativistic composite systems (hadrons in the quark models and relativistic\nnucleons in nuclei). Its explicitly covariant version has been recently applied\nwith success to describe the new CEBAF/TJNAF data on the deuteron\nelectromagnetic form factors. The solutions used in were however not obtained\nfrom solving exactly the LFD equations but by means of a perturbative\ncalculation with respect to the non relativistic wave function. Since, a\nconsequent effort has been made to obtain exact solutions of LFD equations. The\nfirst results concerning J=0 states in a scalar model have been published in\nnucl-th/9912050. The construction of $J \\ne 0$ states in LFD is complicated by\nthe two following facts. First, the generators of the spatial rotations contain\ninteraction and are thus difficult to handle. Second, one is always forced to\nwork in a truncated Fock space, and consequently, the Poincar\\'e group\ncommutation relations between the generators -- ensuring the correct properties\nof the state vector under rotation -- are in practice destroyed. In the\nstandard approach, with the light-front plane defined as $t+z=0$, this\nviolation of rotational invariance manifests by the fact that the energy\ndepends on the angular momentum projection on $z$-axis.\n  We present here a method to construct $J\\ne0$ states in the explicitly\ncovariant formulation of LFD and show how it leads to a restoration of\nrotational invariance.",
        "positive": "Negative-Tension Branes and Tensionless 1/2 Brane in Boundary Conformal\n  Field Theory: In the framework of boundary conformal field theory we consider a flat\nunstable D$p$-brane in the presence of a large constant electromagnetic field.\nSpecifically, we study the case that the electromagnetic field satisfy the\nfollowing three conditions: (i) a constant electric field is turned on along\nthe $x^1$ direction ($E_{1}\\ne 0$); (ii) the determinant of the matrix $(\\eta +\nF)$ is negative so that it lies in the physical region ($-\\det (\\eta + F)>0$);\n(iii) the 11-component of its cofactor is positive to the large electromagnetic\nfield. In this case, we identify exactly marginal deformations depending on the\nspatial coordinate $x^1$. They correspond to tachyon profiles of hyperbolic\nsine, exponential, and hyperbolic cosine types. Boundary states are constructed\nfor these deformations by utilizing T-duality approach and also by directly\nsolving the overlap conditions in BCFT. The exponential type deformation gives\na tensionless half brane connecting the perturbative string vacuum and one of\nthe true tachyon vacua, while the others have negative tensions. This is in\nagreement with the results obtained in other approaches."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On boundary degrees of freedom in three dimensional Anti-de Sitter\n  spacetime and thermofield-double: In this article, we will study the Gibbons-Hawking-York (GHY) action over a\nco-dimension one hypersurface, called the ``physical boundary,'' close to the\nboundary of AdS$_3$. For that, we take a coordinate system that consists of two\ntimes, one is associated with evolution on the boundary, and the second is\nassociated with evolution into the bulk. The resulting action is divergent and\nneeds regularization. We consider two particular schemes. In the first scheme,\nwe will add the Einstein-Hilbert on-shell action as the counter-term, which,\nwhile cancels the divergent part, adds the contribution of deep in the bulk,\nsuch as an existing horizon. The resulting action includes the Liouville\naction, which describes the curvature of the physical boundary. In the second\nscheme, however, we prescribe a natural regularization for GHY action without\nadding any counter-term. The resulting action will include two copies of\nSchwarzian actions associated with the left and right-moving reparametrization\nmodes. At finite temperature, these modes live on two disjoint circles. We will\nshow that these are the thermofield-double's effective degrees of freedom.\nWhile the first scheme is more common in practice, the second scheme may be\nmore convenient for Susskind-'t Hooft proposal for holography.",
        "positive": "Twisted Poisson Structures and Non-commutative/non-associative Closed\n  String Geometry: In this paper we discuss non-commutative and non-associative geometries that\nemerge in the context of non-geometric closed string backgrounds. T-duality and\ndoubled field theory plays an important role in formulating the corresponding\neffective action for these kind of non-geometric string backgrounds. As we will\nargue, the emerging non-commutative and non-associative algebras for the closed\nstring (dual) coordinates and (dual) momenta can be mathematically described by\na twisted Poisson structure, in closed analogy to the phase space of a point\nparticle moving in the field of a magnetic monopole."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "W-Gravity: The geometric structure of theories with gauge fields of spins two and higher\nshould involve a higher spin generalisation of Riemannian geometry. Such\ngeometries are discussed and the case of $W_\\infty$-gravity is analysed in\ndetail. While the gauge group for gravity in $d$ dimensions is the\ndiffeomorphism group of the space-time, the gauge group for a certain\n$W$-gravity theory (which is $W_\\infty$-gravity in the case $d=2$) is the group\nof symplectic diffeomorphisms of the cotangent bundle of the space-time. Gauge\ntransformations for $W$-gravity gauge fields are given by requiring the\ninvariance of a generalised line element. Densities exist and can be\nconstructed from the line element (generalising $\\sqrt { \\det g_{\\mu \\nu}}$)\nonly if $d=1$ or $d=2$, so that only for $d=1,2$ can actions be constructed.\nThese two cases and the corresponding $W$-gravity actions are considered in\ndetail. In $d=2$, the gauge group is effectively only a subgroup of the\nsymplectic diffeomorphism group. Some of the constraints that arise for $d=2$\nare similar to equations arising in the study of self-dual four-dimensional\ngeometries and can be analysed using twistor methods, allowing contact to be\nmade with other formulations of $W$-gravity. While the twistor transform for\nself-dual spaces with one Killing vector reduces to a Legendre transform, that\nfor two Killing vectors gives a generalisation of the Legendre transform.",
        "positive": "Matrix model and dimensions at hypercube vertices: In hypercube approach to correlation functions in Chern-Simons theory (knot\npolynomials) the central role is played by the numbers of cycles, in which the\nlink diagram is decomposed under different resolutions. Certain functions of\nthese numbers are further interpreted as dimensions of graded spaces,\nassociated with hypercube vertices. Finding these functions is, however, a\nsomewhat non-trivial problem. In arXiv:1506.07516 it was suggested to solve it\nwith the help of the matrix model technique, in the spirit of AMM/EO\ntopological recursion. In this paper we further elaborate on this idea and\nprovide a vast collection of non-trivial examples, related both to ordinary and\nvirtual links and knots. Remarkably, most powerful versions of the formalism\nfreely convert ordinary knots/links to virtual and back -- moreover, go beyond\nthe knot-related set of the (2,2)-valent graphs."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Planckian Conspiracy: String Theory and the Black Hole Information\n  Paradox: It has been argued that the consistency of quantum theory with black hole\nphysics requires nonlocality not present in ordinary effective field theory. We\nexamine the extent to which such nonlocal effects show up in the perturbative\nS-matrix of string theory.",
        "positive": "Quantum Field Theory, Causal Structures and Weyl Transformations: We suggest that in the proper definition, Quantum Field Theories are quantum\nmechanical system which 'live' on the space of causal structures ${\\cal C}$ of\nspacetime. That is, for any QFT a Hilbert space ${\\cal H}$ on which local\noperators live is assigned not for each Lorentzian metric $g$, but for each\ncausal structure ${\\cal C}$. In practice one uses 'conformal frames' which all\nprovide equivalent descriptions of the same QFT. To put it differently, Quantum\nField Theories only know about causal structure of spacetime, and not its full\nLorentzian metric. The Weyl group and the local RG flow naturally arise when\none compares equivalent descriptions in different conformal frames. This is\nreduced to the usual RG flow of coupling constants when one only compares\ndescriptions in conformal frames related by spacetime-independent Weyl\nrescalings. We point out that in this picture minimal coupling of a QFT to the\nmetric is inconsistent and comment on the necessary violation of the\nequivalence principle in the presence of scalars."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "String/M-theories About Our World Are Testable in the traditional\n  Physics Way: Some physicists hope to use string/M-theory to construct a comprehensive\nunderlying theory of our physical world a \"final theory\". Can such a theory be\ntested? A quantum theory of gravity must be formulated in 10 dimensions, so\nobviously testing it experimentally requires projecting it onto our 4D world\n(called \"compactification\"). Most string theorists study theories, including\naspects such as AdS/CFT, not phenomena, and are not much interested in testing\ntheories beyond the Standard Model about our world. Compactified theories\ngenerically have many realistic features whose necessary presence provides some\ntests, such as gravity, Yang-Mills forces like the Standard Model ones, chiral\nfermions that lead to parity violation, softly broken supersymmetry, Higgs\nphysics, families, hierarchical fermion masses and more. All tests of theories\nin physics have always depended on assumptions and approximate calculations,\nand tests of compactified string/M-theories do too. String phenomenologists\nhave also formulated some explicit tests for compactified theories. In\nparticular, I give examples of tests from compactified M-theory (involving\nHiggs physics, predictions for superpartners at LHC, electric dipole moments,\nand more). It is clear that compactified theories exist that can describe\nworlds like ours, and it is clear that even if a multiverse were real it does\nnot prevent us from finding comprehensive compactified theories like one that\nmight describe our world. I also discuss what we might mean by a final theory,\nwhat we might want it to explain, and comment briefly on multiverse issues from\nthe point of view of finding a theory that describes our world.",
        "positive": "Non-Hermitian Quantum Quenches in Holography: The notion of non-Hermitian PT symmetric quantum theory has recently been\ngeneralized to the gauge/gravity duality. We study the evolution of such\nnon-Hermitian holographic field theories when the couplings are varied with\ntime with particular emphasis on the question non-unitary time vs. unitary time\nevolution. We show that a non-unitary time evolution in the dual quantum theory\ncorresponds to a violation of the Null Energy Condition (NEC) in the bulk of\nthe asymptotically AdS spacetime. We find that upon varying the non-Hermitian\ncoupling the horizon of a bulk AdS black hole shrinks. On the other hand\nvarying the Hermitian coupling in the presence of a constant non-Hermitian\ncoupling still violates the NEC but results in a growing horizon. We also show\nthat by introducing a non-Hermitian gauge field the time evolution can be made\nunitary, e.g. the NEC in the bulk is obeyed, and an exactly equivalent purely\nHermitian description can be given."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Cluster Expansion Approach to the Effective Potential in\n  $\u03a6^4_{2+1}$-Theory: We apply a truncated set of dynamical equations of motion for connected\nequal-time Green functions up to the 4-point level to the investigation of\nspontaneous ground state symmetry breaking in $\\Phi^4_{2+1}$ quantum field\ntheory. Within our momentum space discretization we obtain a second order phase\ntransition as soon as the connected 3-point function is included. However, an\nadditional inclusion of the connected 4-point function still shows a\nsignificant influence on the shape of the effective potential and the critical\ncoupling.",
        "positive": "Swampland Conditions for Higher Derivative Couplings from CFT: There are effective field theories that cannot be embedded in any UV complete\ntheory. We consider scalar effective field theories, with and without dynamical\ngravity, in $D$-dimensional anti-de Sitter (AdS) spacetime with large radius\nand derive precise bounds (analytically) on the coupling constants of higher\nderivative interactions $\\phi^2\\Box^k\\phi^2$ by only requiring that the dual\nCFT obeys the standard conformal bootstrap axioms. In particular, we show that\nall such coupling constants, for even $k\\ge 2$, must satisfy positivity,\nmonotonicity, and log-convexity conditions in the absence of dynamical gravity.\nInclusion of gravity only affects constraints involving the\n$\\phi^2\\Box^2\\phi^2$ interaction which now can have a negative coupling\nconstant. Our CFT setup is a Lorentzian four-point correlator in the Regge\nlimit. We also utilize this setup to derive constraints on effective field\ntheories of multiple scalars. We argue that similar analysis should impose\nnontrivial constraints on the graviton four-point scattering amplitude in AdS."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic dual of collimated radiation: We propose a new and simple method of estimating the radiation due to an\naccelerated quark in a strongly coupled medium, within the framework of the\nAdS/CFT correspondence. In particular, we offer a heuristic explanation of the\ncollimated nature of synchrotron radiation produced by a circling quark, which\nwas recently studied in Phys.Rev.D81 (2010) 126001. The gravitational dual of\nsuch quark is a coiling string in AdS, whose backreaction on the spacetime\ngeometry remains tightly confined, as if 'beamed' towards the boundary. While\nthis appears to contradict conventional expectations from the scale/radius\nduality, we resolve the issue by observing that the backreaction of a\nrelativistic string is reproduced by a superposition of gravitational shock\nwaves. We further demonstrate that this proposal allows us to reduce the\nproblem of computing the boundary stress tensor to merely calculating geodesics\nin AdS, as opposed to solving linearized Einstein's equations.",
        "positive": "A Mathematica code for calculating massless spectrum of (0,2)\n  Landau-Ginzburg orbifold: In this short paper, we try to explain how to use our program which has been\nwritten in Wolfram Mathematica to get the massless spectrum of any\nLandau-Ginzburg orbifold. The technique has been developed by Witten-Kachru\ntheoretically, but calculating it for an explicit Landau-Ginzburg model is\nexhausting and in general, beyond human ability to calculate using pen and\npaper."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic antiferromganetic quantum criticality and AdS$_2$ scaling\n  limit: A holographic description on antiferromagnetic quantum phase transition (QPT)\ninduced by magnetic field and the criticality in the vicinity of quantum\ncritical point (QCP) have been investigated numerically recently. In this\npaper, we show that the properties of QPT in this holographic model are\ngoverned by a CFT dual to the emergent AdS$_2$ in the IR region, which confirms\nthat the dual boundary theory is a strong coupling theory with dynamic exponent\n$z=2$ and logarithmic corrections appear. We also compare them with the results\nfrom Hertz model by solving RG equation at its upper critical dimension and\nwith some experimental data from pyrochlores Er$_{2-2x}$Y$_{2x}$Ti$_2$O$_7$ and\nBiCoPO$_5$.",
        "positive": "Two-dimensional Black Hole With Torsion: The 2D model of gravity with zweibeins $e^{a}$ and the Lorentz connection\none-form $\\omega^{a}_{\\ b}$ as independent gravitational variables is\nconsidered and it is shown that the classical equations of motion are exactly\nintegrated in coordinate system determined by components of 2D torsion. For\nsome choice of integrating constant the solution is of the charged black hole\ntype. The conserved charge and ADM mass of the black hole are calculated."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Nonabelian Generalization of Electric-Magnetic Duality - a Brief Review: A loop space formulation of Yang-Mills theory high-lighting the significance\nof monopoles for the existence of gauge potentials is used to derive a\ngeneralization of electric-magnetic duality to the nonabelian theory. The\nresult implies that the gauge symmetry is doubled from SU(N) to $SU(N) \\times\n\\widetilde{SU}(N)$, while the physical degrees of freedom remain the same, so\nthat the theory can be described in terms of either the usual Yang-Mills\npotential $A_\\mu(x)$ or its dual $\\tilde{A}_\\mu(x)$. Nonabelian `electric'\ncharges appear as sources of $A_\\mu$ but as monopoles of $\\tilde{A}_\\mu$, while\ntheir `magnetic' counterparts appear as monopoles of $A_\\mu$ but sources of\n$\\tilde{A}_\\mu$. Although these results have been derived only for classical\nfields, it is shown for the quantum theory that the Dirac phase factors (or\nWilson loops) constructed out of $A_\\mu$ and $\\tilde{A}_\\mu$ satisfy the 't\nHooft commutation relations, so that his results on confinement apply. Hence\none concludes, in particular, that since colour SU(3) is confined then dual\ncolour $\\widetilde{SU}(3)$ is broken. Such predictions can lead to many very\ninteresting physical consequences which are explored in a companion paper.",
        "positive": "Effective Action of Spontaneously Broken Gauge Theories: The effective action of a Higgs theory should be gauge-invariant. However,\nthe quantum and/or thermal contributions to the effective potential seem to be\ngauge-dependent, posing a problem for its physical interpretation. In this\npaper, we identify the source of the problem and argue that in a Higgs theory,\nperturbative contributions should be evaluated with the Higgs fields in the\npolar basis, not in the Cartesian basis. Formally, this observation can be made\nfrom the derivation of the Higgs theorem, which we provide. We show explicitly\nthat, properly defined, the effective action for the Abelian Higgs theory is\ngauge invariant to all orders in perturbation expansion when evaluated in the\ncovariant gauge in the polar basis. In particular, the effective potential is\ngauge invariant. We also show the equivalence between the calculations in the\ncovariant gauge in the polar basis and the unitary gauge. These points are\nillustrated explicitly with the one-loop calculations of the effective action.\nWith a field redefinition, we obtain the physical effective potential. The\nSU(2) non-Abelian case is also discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Open-closed duality and Double Scaling: Nonperturbative terms in the free energy of Chern-Simons gauge theory play a\nkey role in its duality to the closed topological string. We show that these\nterms are reproduced by performing a double scaling limit near the point where\nthe perturbation expansion diverges. This leads to a derivation of closed\nstring theory from this large-N gauge theory along the lines of noncritical\nstring theories. We comment on the possible relevance of this observation to\nthe derivation of superpotentials of asymptotically free gauge theories and its\nrelation to infrared renormalons.",
        "positive": "An Introduction into the Feynman Path Integral: In this lecture a short introduction is given into the theory of the Feynman\npath integral in quantum mechanics. The general formulation in Riemann spaces\nwill be given based on the Weyl- ordering prescription, respectively product\nordering prescription, in the quantum Hamiltonian. Also, the theory of\nspace-time transformations and separation of variables will be outlined. As\nelementary examples I discuss the usual harmonic oscillator, the radial\nharmonic oscillator, and the Coulomb potential. Lecture given at the graduate\ncollege ''Quantenfeldtheorie und deren Anwendung in der Elementarteilchen- und\nFestk\\\"orperphysik'', Universit\\\"at Leipzig, 16-26 November 1992."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exact solution of the supersymmetric sinh-Gordon model with boundary: The boundary supersymmetric sinh-Gordon model is an integrable quantum field\ntheory in 1+1 dimensions with bulk N=1 supersymmetry, whose bulk and boundary S\nmatrices are not diagonal. We present an exact solution of this model. In\nparticular, we derive an exact inversion identity and the corresponding\nthermodynamic Bethe Ansatz equations. We also compute the boundary entropy, and\nfind a rich pattern of boundary roaming trajectories corresponding to c < 3/2\nsuperconformal models.",
        "positive": "The conformal squid: We introduce a discrete, graph theoretic approach to conformal field theory\ncorrelators. In a certain basis, called the squid basis, the correlator of N\nscalar operators can be expressed as the determinant of a natural, conformally\ncovariant metric on a weighted graph, called the squid graph. We present the\nconstruction of this metric and discuss its possible role in constraining\nconformal data."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The multitrace matrix model: An alternative to Connes NCG and IKKT model: We present a new multitrace matrix model, which is a generalization of the\nreal quartic one matrix model, exhibiting dynamical emergence of a fuzzy\ntwo-sphere and its non-commutative gauge theory. This provides a novel and a\nmuch simpler alternative to Connes non-commutative geometry and to the IKKT\nmatrix model for emergent geometry in two dimensions.",
        "positive": "Asymptotic Dynamics in Quantum Field Theory - When does the coupling\n  switch off?: We discuss the approach to asymptotic dynamics due to Kulish and Faddeev. We\nshow that there are problems in applying this method to theories with four\npoint interactions. The source of the difficulties is identified and a more\ngeneral method is constructed. This is then applied to various theories\nincluding some where the coupling does switch off at large times and some where\nit does not."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chaotic string motion in a near pp-wave limit: We revisit classical string motion in a near pp-wave limit of\nAdS$_5\\times$S$^5$. It is known that the Toda lattice models are integrable.\nBut if the exponential potential is truncated at finite order, then the system\nmay become non-integrable. In particular, when the exponential potential in a\nthree-particle periodic Toda chain is truncated at the third order of the\ndynamical variables, the resulting system becomes a well-known non-integrable\nsystem, Henon-Heiles model. The same thing may happen in a near pp-wave limit\nof AdS$_5\\times$S$^5$, on which the classical string motion becomes chaotic.",
        "positive": "A new integral representation for the scalar products of Bethe states\n  for the XXX spin chain: Based on the method of separation of variables due to Sklyanin, we construct\na new integral representation for the scalar products of the Bethe states for\nthe SU(2) XXX spin 1/2 chain obeying the periodic boundary condition. Due to\nthe compactness of the symmetry group, a twist matrix must be introduced at the\nboundary in order to extract the separated variables properly. Then by deriving\nthe integration measure and the spectrum of the separated variables, we express\nthe inner product of an on-shell and an off-shell Bethe states in terms of a\nmultiple contour integral involving a product of Baxter wave functions. Its\nform is reminiscent of the integral over the eigenvalues of a matrix model and\nis expected to be useful in studying the semi-classical limit of the product."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Scattering of Giant Magnons in CP^3: We study classical scattering phase of CP^2 dyonic giant magnons in R_t x\nCP^3. We construct two-soliton solutions explicitly by the dressing method.\nUsing these solutions, we compute the classical time delays for the scattering\nof giant magnons, and compare them to boundstate S-matrix elements derived from\nthe conjectured AdS_4/CFT_3 S-matrix by Ahn and Nepomechie in the strong\ncoupling limit. Our result is consistent with the conjectured S-matrix. The\ndyonic solutions play an essential role in revealing the polarization\ndependence of scattering phase.",
        "positive": "New nonlocal effective action: We suggest a new method for the calculation of the nonlocal part of the\neffective action. It is based on resummation of perturbation series for the\nheat kernel and its functional trace at large values of the proper time\nparameter. We derive a new, essentially nonperturbative, nonlocal contribution\nto the effective action in spacetimes with dimensions $d>2$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Five-dimensional super Yang-Mills theory from ABJM theory: We derive five-dimensional super Yang-Mills theory from mass-deformed ABJM\ntheory by expanding about $S^2$ for large Chern-Simons level $K$. We obtain the\nYang-Mills coupling constant $g_{YM}^2 = 4\\pi^2 R/K$. If we consider\n$S^3/{\\mb{Z}_K}$ as a fiber bundle over $S^2$ then $R/K$ is the circumference\nof the fiber. The value on the coupling constant agrees with what one gets by\ncompactifying M five-brane on that fiber. For this computation we take $R,K\\to\n\\infty$ while keeping $R/K$ at a fixed finite value. We also study mass\ndeformed star-three-product BLG theory at K=1 and $R\\to \\infty$. In that limit\nwe obtain Lorentz covariant supersymmetry variations and gauge variations of a\nnon-Abelian tensor multiplet.",
        "positive": "Quantum Mirror Map for Del Pezzo Geometries: Mirror maps play an important role in studying supersymmetric gauge theories.\nIn these theories the dynamics is often encoded in an algebraic curve where two\nsets of periods enjoy the symplectic structure. The A-periods contribute to\nredefinitions of chemical potentials known as mirror maps. Using the\nquantization of the $D_5$ del Pezzo geometry, which enjoys the symmetry of the\n$D_5$ Weyl group, we are able to identify clearly the group-theoretical\nstructure and the multi-covering structure for the mirror map. With the\nstructures, we can apply the mirror map to superconformal Chern-Simons theories\ndescribing the worldvolume of multiple M2-branes on various backgrounds, where\nwe find that the redefinition of the chemical potential is obtained directly\nfrom the mirror map. Besides, we have interesting observations for the mirror\nmap: The representations appearing in the quantum mirror map are the same as\nthose appearing in the BPS indices except for the trivial case of degree 1 and\nthe coefficients are all integers."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum complex sine-Gordon dressed boundaries: In this paper we investigate the quantum reflection factor for the CSG\ndressed boundary, previously constructed by dressing the Dirichlet boundary\nwith the integrable CSG defect. We analyse classical bound states and use\nsemi-classical methods to investigate the quantum boundary spectrum. We\nconjecture a fully quantum reflection matrix for a particle reflecting from an\nunexcited boundary. By using the reflection and boundary bootstrap equations,\nthe reflection matrix for a charge Q=+n soliton reflecting from the mth excited\nboundary is constructed. Evidence supporting our conjecture is given by\nchecking that the bootstrap closes and that the reflection matrices agrees with\nknown results in the classical limit. A partial analysis of the poles in the\nreflection matrices which arise from Coleman-Thun diagrams is given.",
        "positive": "A geometric basis for the standard-model gauge group: A geometric approach to the standard model in terms of the Clifford algebra\nCl_7 is advanced. A key feature of the model is its use of an algebraic spinor\nfor one generation of leptons and quarks. Spinor transformations separate into\nleft-sided (\"exterior\") and right-sided (\"interior\") types. By definition,\nPoincare transformations are exterior ones. We consider all rotations in the\nseven-dimensional space that (1) conserve the spacetime components of the\nparticle and antiparticle currents and (2) do not couple the right-chiral\nneutrino. These rotations comprise additional exterior transformations that\ncommute with the Poincare group and form the group SU(2)_L, interior ones that\nconstitute SU(3)_C, and a unique group of coupled double-sided rotations with\nU(1)_Y symmetry. The spinor mediates a physical coupling of Poincare and\nisotopic symmetries within the restrictions of the Coleman--Mandula theorem.\nThe four extra spacelike dimensions in the model form a basis for the Higgs\nisodoublet field, whose symmetry requires the chirality of SU(2). The charge\nassignments of both the fundamental fermions and the Higgs boson are produced\nexactly."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum flux operators for Carrollian diffeomorphism in general\n  dimensions: We construct Carrollian scalar field theories in general dimensions, mainly\nfocusing on the boundaries of Minkowski and Rindler spacetime, whose quantum\nflux operators form a faithful representation of Carrollian diffeomorphism up\nto a central charge, respectively. At future/past null infinity, the fluxes are\nphysically observable and encode rich information of the radiation. The central\ncharge may be regularized to be finite by the spectral zeta function or heat\nkernel method on the unit sphere. For the theory at the Rindler horizon, the\neffective central charge is proportional to the area of the bifurcation surface\nafter regularization. Moreover, the zero mode of supertranslation is identified\nas the modular Hamiltonian, linking Carrollian diffeomorphism to quantum\ninformation theory. Our results may hold for general null hypersurfaces and\nprovide new insight in the study of the Carrollian field theory, asymptotic\nsymmetry group and entanglement entropy.",
        "positive": "Correct path-integral formulation of the quantum thermal field theory in\n  the coherent state representation: This paper has been superseded by hep-th/0510131."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Short distance non-perturbative effects of large distance modified\n  gravity: In a model of large distance modified gravity we compare the nonperturbative\nSchwarzschild solution of hep-th/0407049 to approximate solutions obtained\npreviously. In the regions where there is a good qualitative agreement between\nthe two, the nonperturbative solution yields effects that could have\nobservational significance. These effects reduce, by a factor of a few, the\npredictions for the additional precession of the orbits in the Solar system,\nstill rendering them in an observationally interesting range. The very same\neffects lead to a mild anomalous scaling of the additional scale-invariant\nprecession rate found by Lue and Starkman.",
        "positive": "Strong Coupling Limit of ${\\cal N}=2$ SCFT Free Energy and Higher\n  Derivative AdS/CFT Correspondence: We study the role of higher derivative terms (Riemann curvature squared ones)\nin thermodynamics of SCFTs via AdS/CFT correspondence. Using IIB string\neffective action (d5 AdS gravity) with such HD terms deduced from heterotic\nstring via duality we calculate strong coupling limit of ${\\cal N}=2$ SCFT free\nenergy with the account of next to leading term in large $N$ expansion. It is\ncompared with perturbative result following from boundary QFT. Considering\nmodification of such action where HD terms form Weyl squared tensor we found\n(strong coupling limit) free energy in such theory. It is interesting that\nleading and next to leading term of large $N$ expanded free energy may differ\nonly by factor 3/4 if compare with perturbative result. Considering HD gravity\nas bosonic sector of some (compactified) HD supergravity we suggest new version\nof AdS/CFT conjecture and successfully test it on the level of free energies\nfor ${\\cal N}=2,4$ SCFTs."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spectrum of the Hypereclectic Spin Chain and P\u00f3lya Counting: In earlier work we proposed a generating function that encodes the Jordan\nblock spectrum of the integrable Hypereclectic spin chain, related to the\none-loop dilatation operator of the dynamical fishnet quantum field theory. We\nsignificantly improve the expressions for these generating functions, rendering\nthem much more explicit and elegant. In particular, we treat the case of the\nfull spin chain without imposing any cyclicity constraints on the states, as\nwell as the case of cyclic states. The latter involves the P\\'olya enumeration\ntheorem in conjunction with q-binomial coefficients.",
        "positive": "Scattering of Topological Solitons on Barriers and Holes of Deformed\n  Sine-Gordon Models: We study scattering properties of topological solitons in two classes of\nmodels, which are generalizations of the Sine-Gordon model and which have\nrecently been proposed by Bazeia et al. These two classes of models depend on\nan integer parameter n which, when n=2(for the first class) and n=1 (for the\nsecond class), reduce to the Sine-Gordon model. We take the soliton solutions\nof these models (generalizations of the 'kink' solution of the Sine-Gordon\nmodel) and consider their scattering on potential holes and barriers. We\npresent our results for n=1,...6. We find that, like in the Sine Gordon models,\nthe scattering on the barrier is very elastic while the scattering on the hole\nis inelastic and can at times, lead to a reflection. We discuss the dependence\nof our results on n and find that the critical velocity for the transmission\nthrough the hole is lowest for n=3."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Understanding the Cancelation of Double Poles in the Pfaffian of\n  CHY-formulism: For a physical field theory, the tree-level amplitudes should possess only\nsingle poles. However, when computing amplitudes with Cachazo-He-Yuan (CHY)\nformulation, individual terms in the intermediate steps will contribute\nhigher-order poles. In this paper, we investigate the cancelation of\nhigher-order poles in CHY formula with Pfaffian as the building block. We\ndevelop a diagrammatic rule for expanding the reduced Pfaffian. Then by\norganizing diagrams in appropriate groups and applying the cross-ratio\nidentities, we show that all potential contributions to higher-order poles in\nthe reduced Pfaffian are canceled out, i.e., only single poles survive in\nYang-Mills theory and gravity. Furthermore, we show the cancelations of\nhigher-order poles in other field theories by introducing appropriate\ntruncations, based on the single pole structure of Pfaffian.",
        "positive": "On the number of relevant operators in asymptotically safe gravity: The asymptotic safety scenario of gravity conjectures that (i) the quantum\nfield theory of gravity exists thanks to the presence of a non-trivial\nultraviolet fixed point of the renormalization group, and that (ii) the fixed\npoint has only a finite number of relevant perturbations, i.e. a finite number\nof UV-stable directions (or in other words, a finite number of free parameters\nto be fixed experimentally). Within the f(R) approximation of the functional\nrenormalization group equation of gravity, we show that assuming the first half\nof the conjecture to be true, the remaining half follows from general\narguments, that is, we show that assuming the existence of a non-trivial fixed\npoint, the fact that the number of relevant directions is finite is a general\nconsequence of the structure of the equations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Higher Spin Gauge Theory and Holography: The Three-Point Functions: In this paper we calculate the tree level three-point functions of Vasiliev's\nhigher spin gauge theory in AdS4 and find agreement with the correlators of the\nfree field theory of N massless scalars in three dimensions in the O(N) singlet\nsector. This provides substantial evidence that Vasiliev theory is dual to the\nfree field theory, thus verifying a conjecture of Klebanov and Polyakov. We\nalso find agreement with the critical O(N) vector model, when the bulk scalar\nfield is subject to the alternative boundary condition such that its dual\noperator has classical dimension 2.",
        "positive": "QCD Flux Tubes and Anomaly Inflow: We apply the Callan-Harvey anomaly inflow mechanism to the study of QCD\n(chromoelectric) flux tubes, quark (pair)-creation and chiral magnetic effect,\nusing new variables from the Cho-Faddeev-Niemi decomposition of the gauge\npotential. A phenomenological description of chromoelectric flux tubes is\nobtained by studying a gauged Nambu-Jona-Lasinio effective Lagrangian, derived\nfrom the original QCD Lagrangian. At the quantum level, quark condensates in\nthe QCD vacuum may form a vortex-like structure in a chromoelectric flux tube.\nQuark zero modes trapped in the vortex are chiral and lead to a two-dimensional\ngauge anomaly. To cancel it an effective Chern-Simons coupling is needed and\nhence a topological charge density term naturally appears."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Towards S matrices on flat space and pp waves from SYM: We analyze the possibility of extracting S matrices on pp waves and flat\nspace from SYM correlators. For pp waves, there is a subtlety in defining S\nmatrices, but we can certainly obtain observables. Only extremal correlators\nsurvive the pp wave limit. A first quantized string approach is inconclusive,\nproducing in the simplest form results that vanish in the pp wave limit. We\ndefine a procedure to get S matrices from SYM correlators, both for flat space\nand for pp waves, generalizing a procedure due to Giddings. We analyze\nnonrenormalized correlators: 2 and 3 -point functions and extremal correlators.\nFor the extremal 3-point function, the SYM and AdS results for the S matrix\nmatch for the angular dependence, but the energy dependence doesn't.",
        "positive": "Toward a Quantum theory of Gravity and a Resolution of the Time paradox: One of the major issues confronting theoretical physics is finding a quantum\ntheory of gravity and a resolution to the cosmological constant problem. It is\nbelieved that a true quantum theory of gravity will lead to a solution to the\nthis problem. Finding a quantum theory of gravity has been a difficult issue\nmainly because of the high energy scale required for testing quantum gravity\nwhich is far the reach of current accelerators. Also general relativity does\nnot possess a natural time variable thus the nature of time is not clear in\nquantum gravity, a problem called the time paradox. The two main approaches are\nstring theory and loop quantum gravity. String theory unifies all interaction\nbut provides a perturbative background dependent formulation which violates\ngeneral covariance. Loop quantum gravity provides a non-perturbative approach\nbut does not provide a unified theory of interactions, which most physicist\nbelieve should be the case at Planck scale energies. It doesn't also seem to\nconnect with low energy phenomena.\n  In this note I look at how quantum cosmology provides useful inference toward\na quantum gravity theory by merging inputs from the perturbative and the\nnon-perturbative approaches, and resolving the time paradox issue."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Closed strings in Misner space: a toy model for a Big Bounce ?: Misner space, also known as the Lorentzian orbifold $R^{1,1}/boost$, is one\nof the simplest examples of a cosmological singularity in string theory. In\nthis lecture, we review the semi-classical propagation of closed strings in\nthis background, with a particular emphasis on the twisted sectors of the\norbifold. Tree-level scattering amplitudes and the one-loop vacuum amplitude\nare also discussed.",
        "positive": "Sphaleron on $S^{3}$: An exactly solvable sphaleron model in $3+1$ spacetime dimensions is\ndescribed"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "4+1 dimensional homogeneous anisotropic string cosmological models: We present exact solutions of string cosmological models characterized by\nfive dimensional metrics (with four-dimensional real Lie groups as isometry\ngroups), space independent dilaton and vanishing torsion. As an example we\nconsider VII 0 \\oplus R model and show that it is equivalent to the (4\n+1)-dimensional cosmological model coupled to perfect fluid with negative\ndeceleration parameters (accelerating universe).",
        "positive": "IR-deformed thermodynamics of quantum bouncers and the issue of\n  dimensional reduction: We probe the low-temperature behavior of a system of quantum bouncers as a\ntheoretical model for ultracold neutrons within a low energy modified version\nof the standard quantum mechanics, due to the gravitational effects. Working in\none dimension, the energy spectrum and bound states of a deformed quantum\nbouncer are obtained using the first-order WKB approximation, granted the very\nlow energy regime of the particle. In this manner, we can study energy levels\nof a system of ultracold neutrons as an informative probe towards exploring the\nlow energy manifestation of semi-classical quantum gravitational effects. Our\ncalculated energy levels of ultracold neutrons are in accordance with the\nobserved energy levels, as obtained in the famous Nesvizhevsky \\emph{et al.}\nexperiment, with a negative constant deformation, as dependent on the\ndeformation parameter. In advance, we tackle modified thermodynamics of a\nsystem of quantum bouncers in the infrared regime via an ensemble theory both\nin one dimension and also three dimensions, to seek for any trace of an\neffective, thermodynamic dimensional reduction in this low energy regime of\nsemi-classical quantum gravity. While the issue of dimensional reduction has\nbeen essentially assigned to the high energy regime, here we show that there is\na trace of an effective, thermodynamic dimensional reduction in infrared regime\nwith one important difference: in the high energy regime, the dimensional\nreduction effectively occurs from $D=3$ to $D=1$, but here, in this low energy\nregime, there is a trace of thermodynamic dimensional reduction from $D=3$ to\n$D=2$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Higher Representations Duals: We uncover novel solutions of the 't Hooft anomaly matching conditions for\nscalarless gauge theories with matter transforming according to higher\ndimensional representations of the underlying gauge group. We argue that, if\nthe duals exist, they are gauge theories with fermions transforming according\nto the defining representation of the dual gauge group. The resulting conformal\nwindows match the one stemming from the all-orders beta function results when\ntaking the anomalous dimension of the fermion mass to be unity which are also\nvery close to the ones obtained using the Schwinger-Dyson approximation. We use\nthe solutions to gain useful insight on the conformal window of the associated\nelectric theory. A consistent picture emerges corroborating previous results\nobtained via different analytic methods and in agreement with first principle\nlattice explorations.",
        "positive": "UV stable, Lorentz-violating dark energy with transient phantom era: Phantom fields with negative kinetic energy are often plagued by the vacuum\nquantum instability in the ultraviolet region. We present a Lorentz-violating\ndark energy model free from this problem and show that the crossing of the\ncosmological constant boundary w=-1 to the phantom equation of state is\nrealized before reaching a de Sitter attractor. Another interesting feature is\na peculiar time-dependence of the effective Newton's constant; the magnitude of\nthis effect is naturally small but may be close to experimental limits. We also\nderive momentum scales of instabilities at which tachyons or ghosts appear in\nthe infrared region around the present Hubble scale and clarify the conditions\nunder which tachyonic instabilities do not spoil homogeneity of the\npresent/future Universe."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Higher derivative effects on eta/s at finite chemical potential: We examine the effects of higher derivative corrections on eta/s, the ratio\nof shear viscosity to entropy density, in the case of a finite R-charge\nchemical potential. In particular, we work in the framework of five-dimensional\nN =2 gauged supergravity, and include terms up to four derivatives,\nrepresenting the supersymmetric completion of the Chern-Simons term A \\wedge Tr\n(R \\wedge R). The addition of the four-derivative terms yields a correction\nwhich is a 1/N effect, and in general gives rise to a violation of the eta/s\nbound. Furthermore, we find that, once the bound is violated, turning on the\nchemical potential only leads to an even larger violation of the bound.",
        "positive": "Fibers add Flavor, Part II: 5d SCFTs, Gauge Theories, and Dualities: In arXiv:1906.11820 and arXiv:1907.05404 we proposed an approach based on\ngraphs to characterize 5d superconformal field theories (SCFTs), which arise as\ncompactifications of 6d $\\mathcal{N}= (1,0)$ SCFTs. The graphs, so-called\ncombined fiber diagrams (CFDs), are derived using the realization of 5d SCFTs\nvia M-theory on a non-compact Calabi--Yau threefold with a canonical\nsingularity. In this paper we complement this geometric approach by connecting\nthe CFD of an SCFT to its weakly coupled gauge theory or quiver descriptions\nand demonstrate that the CFD as recovered from the gauge theory approach is\nconsistent with that as determined by geometry. To each quiver description we\nalso associate a graph, and the embedding of this graph into the CFD that is\nassociated to an SCFT provides a systematic way to enumerate all possible\nconsistent weakly coupled gauge theory descriptions of this SCFT. Furthermore,\ndifferent embeddings of gauge theory graphs into a fixed CFD can give rise to\nnew UV-dualities for which we provide evidence through an analysis of the\nprepotential, and which, for some examples, we substantiate by constructing the\nM-theory geometry in which the dual quiver descriptions are manifest."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Constraining GUP Models Using Limits on SME Coefficients: Generalized uncertainty principles (GUP) and, independently, Lorentz symmetry\nviolations are two common features in many candidate theories of quantum\ngravity. Despite that, the overlap between both has received limited attention\nso far. In this brief paper, we carry out further investigations on this topic.\nAt the nonrelativistic level and in the realm of commutative spacetime\ncoordinates, a large class of both isotropic and anisotropic GUP models is\nshown to produce signals experimentally indistinguishable from those predicted\nby the Standard Model Extension (SME), the common framework for studying\nLorentz-violating phenomena beyond the Standard Model. This identification is\nused to constrain GUP models using current limits on SME coefficients. In\nparticular, bounds on isotropic GUP models are improved by a factor of $10^{7}$\ncompared to current spectroscopic bounds and anisotropic models are constrained\nfor the first time.",
        "positive": "Non-Renormalization For Non-Supersymmetric Black Holes: We analyze large logarithmic corrections to 4D black hole entropy and relate\nthem to the Weyl anomaly. We use duality to show that counter-terms in\nEinstein-Maxwell theory can be expressed in terms of geometry alone, with no\ndependence on matter terms. We analyze the two known $\\mathcal{N} = 2$\nsupersymmetric invariants for various non-supersymmetric black holes and find\nthat both reduce to the Euler invariant. The $c$-anomaly therefore vanishes in\nthese theories and the coefficient of the large logarithms becomes topological.\nIt is therefore independent of continuous black hole parameters, such as the\nmass, even far from extremality."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Membrane paradigm and RG flows for anomalous holographic theories: Holographic RG flows can be better understood with the help of radially\nconserved charges. It was shown by various authors that the bulk gauge and\ndiffeomorphism symmetries lead to the conservation of the zero mode of the\nholographic U(1) current and, if the spacetime is stationary, to that of the\nholographic heat current. In describing dual theories with \\'t Hooft anomalies\nthe bulk gauge invariance is broken by Chern-Simons terms. We show that\nconservation laws can still be derived and used to characterize the anomalous\ntransport in terms of membrane currents at the horizon. We devote particular\nattention to systems with gravitational anomalies. These are known to be\nproblematic due to their higher derivative content. We show that this feature\nalters the construction of the membrane currents in a way which is deeply tied\nwith the anomalous gravitational transport.",
        "positive": "Phase transition in the 3-D massive Gross-Neveu model: We consider the 3-dimensional massive Gross-Neveu model at finite temperature\nas an effective theory for strong interactions. Using the Matsubara imaginary\ntime formalism, we derive a closed form for the renormalized $T$-dependent\nfour-point function. This gives a singularity, suggesting a phase transition.\nConsidering the free energy we obtain the $T$-dependent mass, which goes to\nzero for some temperature. These results lead us to the conclusion that there\nis a second-order phase transition."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Matter waves in terms of the unitary representations of the Lorentz\n  group: In a generalized Heisenberg/Schroedinger picture, the unitary representations\nof the Lorentz group may, for a massive relativistic particle, be used to\nattribute to waves an extra wavelength that is longer than the de Broglie\nwavelength. Propagators are defined as spacetime transitions between states\nwith different eigenvalues of the first or the second Casimir operator of the\nLorentz algebra.",
        "positive": "Non-Abelian Gravitoelectromagnetism and applications at finite\n  temperature: Studies about a formal analogy between the gravitational and the\nelectromagnetic fields lead to the notion of Gravitoelectromagnetism (GEM) to\ndescribe gravitation. In fact, the GEM equations correspond to the weak field\napproximation of gravitation field. Here a non-abelian extension of the GEM\ntheory is considered. Using the Thermo Field Dynamics (TFD) formalism to\nintroduce temperature effects some interesting physical phenomena are\ninvestigated. The non-abelian GEM Stefan-Boltzmann law and the Casimir effect\nat zero and finite temperature for this non-abelian field are calculated."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "3-Cocycles, Non-Associative Star-Products and the Magnetic Paradigm of\n  R-Flux String Vacua: We consider the geometric and non-geometric faces of closed string vacua\narising by T-duality from principal torus bundles with constant H-flux and pay\nattention to their double phase space description encompassing all toroidal\ncoordinates, momenta and their dual on equal footing. We construct a\nstar-product algebra on functions in phase space that is manifestly duality\ninvariant and substitutes for canonical quantization. The 3-cocycles of the\nAbelian group of translations in double phase space are seen to account for\nnon-associativity of the star-product. We also provide alternative\ncohomological descriptions of non-associativity and draw analogies with the\nquantization of point-particles in the field of a Dirac monopole or other\ndistributions of magnetic charge. The magnetic field analogue of the R-flux\nstring model is provided by a constant uniform distribution of magnetic charge\nin space and non-associativity manifests as breaking of angular symmetry. The\nPoincare vector comes to rescue angular symmetry as well as associativity and\nalso allow for quantization in terms of operators and Hilbert space only in the\ncase of charged particles moving in the field of a single magnetic monopole.",
        "positive": "Finite size effects in integrable quantum field theory: the sine-Gordon\n  model with boundaries: In this thesis we review recent progresses on Nonlinear Integral Equation\napproach to finite size effects in two dimensional integrable quantum field\ntheory with boundaries, with emphasis to sine-Gordon model with Dirichlet\nboundary conditions. Exact calculations of the dependence of the energy\nspectrum on the size and on boundary conditions are presented for vacuum and\nmany excited states."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Flavoured Large N Gauge Theory on a Compact Space with an External\n  Magnetic Field: The phase structure of flavoured N=2 SYM on a three sphere in an external\nmagnetic field is studied. The pairing effect of the magnetic field competes\nwith the dissociating effect of the Casimir free energy, leading to an\ninteresting phase structure of confined and deconfined phases separated by a\ncritical curve of a first order quantum phase transition. At vanishing magnetic\nfield the phase transition is of a third order. For sufficiently strong\nmagnetic field, the only stable phase is the confined phase and magnetic\ncatalysis of chiral symmetry breaking is realized. The meson spectra of the\ntheory exhibit Zeeman splitting and level crossing and feature a finite jump at\nthe phase transition between the confined and deconfined phases. At strong\nmagnetic field the ground state has a massless mode corresponding to the\nGoldstone boson associated with the spontaneously broken U(1) R-symmetry\nanalogous to the eta' meson in QCD.",
        "positive": "A dynamical formulation of ghost-free massive gravity: We present a formulation of ghost-free massive gravity with flat reference\nmetric that exhibits the full non-linear constraint algebraically, in a way\nthat can be directly implemented for numerical simulations. Motivated by the\npresence of higher order operators in the low-energy effective description of\nmassive gravity, we show how the inclusion of higher-order gradient\n(dissipative) terms leads to a well-posed formulation of its dynamics. While\nthe formulation is presented for a generic combination of the minimal and\nquadratic mass terms on any background, for concreteness, we then focus on the\nnumerical evolution of the minimal model for spherically symmetric\ngravitational collapse of scalar field matter. This minimal model does not\ncarry the relevant interactions to switch on an active Vainshtein mechanism, at\nleast in spherical symmetry, thus we do not expect to recover usual GR\nbehaviour even for small graviton mass. Nonetheless we may ask what the outcome\nof matter collapse is for this gravitational theory. Starting with small\ninitial data far away from the centre, we follow the matter through a\nnon-linear regime as it falls towards the origin. For sufficiently weak data\nthe matter disperses. However for larger data we generally find that the\nclassical evolution breaks down due to the theory becoming infinitely strongly\ncoupled without the presence of an apparent horizon shielding this behaviour\nfrom an asymptotic observer."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A non-rational CFT with c=1 as a limit of minimal models: We investigate the limit of minimal model conformal field theories where the\ncentral charge approaches one. We conjecture that this limit is described by a\nnon-rational CFT of central charge one. The limiting theory is different from\nthe free boson but bears some resemblance to Liouville theory. Explicit\nexpressions for the three point functions of bulk fields are presented, as well\nas a set of conformal boundary states. We provide analytic and numerical\narguments in support of the claim that this data forms a consistent CFT.",
        "positive": "Gravity and the Crossed Product: Recently Leutheusser and Liu [1,2] identified an emergent algebra of Type\nIII$_1$ in the operator algebra of ${\\mathcal N}=4$ super Yang-Mills theory for\nlarge $N$. Here we describe some $1/N$ corrections to this picture and show\nthat the emergent Type III$_1$ algebra becomes an algebra of Type II$_\\infty$.\nThe Type II$_\\infty$ algebra is the crossed product of the Type III$_1$ algebra\nby its modular automorphism group. In the context of the emergent Type\nII$_\\infty$ algebra, the entropy of a black hole state is well-defined up to an\nadditive constant, independent of the state. This is somewhat analogous to\nentropy in classical physics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exact M-Theory Solutions, Integrable Systems, and Superalgebras: In this paper, an overview is presented of the recent construction of fully\nback-reacted half-BPS solutions in 11-dimensional supergravity which correspond\nto near-horizon geometries of M2 branes ending on, or intersecting with, M5 and\nM5$'$ branes along a self-dual string. These solutions have space-time manifold\n${\\rm AdS}_3 \\times S^3 \\times S^3$ warped over a Riemann surface $\\Sigma$, and\nare invariant under the exceptional Lie superalgebra $D(2,1;\\gamma) \\oplus\nD(2,1;\\gamma)$, where $\\gamma $ is a real continuous parameter and $|\\gamma|$\nis governed by the ratio of the number of M5 and M5$'$ branes. The construction\nproceeds by mapping the reduced BPS equations onto an integrable field theory\non $\\Sigma$ which is of the Liouville sine-Gordon type. Families of regular\nsolutions are distinguished by the sign of $\\gamma$, and include a\ntwo-parameter Janus solution for $\\gamma >0$, and self-dual strings on M5 as\nwell as asymptotically ${\\rm AdS}_4/{\\mathbb Z}_2$ solutions for $\\gamma <0$.",
        "positive": "BPS spectra from BPS graphs: I present a simple graphical method to find the BPS spectra of $A_1$ theories\nof class S. BPS graphs provide a bridge between spectral networks and BPS\nquivers, the two main frameworks for the study of BPS states. Here I show how\nto essentially read off from a BPS graph the quantum spectrum generator (or BPS\nmonodromy), expressed as a product of quantum dilogarithms. Thanks to the\nframed wall-crossing phenomenon for line defects, the determination of the BPS\nspectrum reduces to the computation of quantum parallel transport across the\nedges of the BPS graph."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Renormalization-group Method for Reduction of Evolution Equations;\n  invariant manifolds and envelopes: The renormalization group (RG) method as a powerful tool for reduction of\nevolution equations is formulated in terms of the notion of invariant\nmanifolds. We start with derivation of an exact RG equation which is analogous\nto the Wilsonian RG equations in statistical physics and quantum field theory.\nIt is clarified that the perturbative RG method constructs invariant manifolds\nsuccessively as the initial value of evolution equations, thereby the meaning\nto set $t_0=t$ is naturally understood where $t_0$ is the arbitrary initial\ntime. We show that the integral constants in the unperturbative solution\nconstitutes natural coordinates of the invariant manifold when the linear\noperator $A$ in the evolution equation has no Jordan cell; when $A$ has a\nJordan cell, a slight modification is necessary because the dimension of the\ninvariant manifold is increased by the perturbation. The RG equation determines\nthe slow motion of the would-be integral constants in the unperturbative\nsolution on the invariant manifold. We present the mechanical procedure to\nconstruct the perturbative solutions hence the initial values with which the RG\nequation gives meaningful results. The underlying structure of the reduction by\nthe RG method as formulated in the present work turns out to completely fit to\nthe universal one elucidated by Kuramoto some years ago. We indicate that the\nreduction procedure of evolution equations has a good correspondence with the\nrenormalization procedure in quantum field theory; the counter part of the\nuniversal structure of reduction elucidated by Kuramoto may be the Polchinski's\ntheorem for renormalizable field theories. We apply the method to interface\ndynamics such as kink-anti-kink and soliton-soliton interactions in the latter\nof which a linear operator having a Jordan-cell structure appears.",
        "positive": "Bootstrapping Pions at Large $N$: We revisit from a modern bootstrap perspective the longstanding problem of\nsolving QCD in the large $N$ limit. We derive universal bounds on the effective\nfield theory of massless pions by imposing the full set of positivity\nconstraints that follow from $2 \\to 2$ scattering. Some features of our\nexclusion plots have intriguing connections with hadronic phenomenology. The\nexclusion boundary exhibits a sharp kink, raising the tantalizing scenario that\nlarge $N$ QCD may sit at this kink. We critically examine this possibility,\ndeveloping in the process a partial analytic understanding of the geometry of\nthe bounds."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "T-duality for boundary-non-critical point-particle and string quantum\n  mechanics: It is observed that some structures recently uncovered in the study of\nCalogero-Sutherland models and anyons are close analogs of well-known\nstructures of boundary conformal field theory. These examples of ``boundary\nconformal quantum mechanics'', in spite of their apparent simplicity, have a\nrather reach structure, including some sort of T-duality, and could provide\nuseful frameworks for testing general properties of boundary conformal\ntheories. Of particular interest are the duality properties of anyons and\nCalogero-Sutherland particles in presence of boundary-violations of conformal\ninvariance; these are here briefly analyzed leading to the conjecture of a\ngeneral interconnection between (deformed) boundary conformal quantum\nmechanics, T-type duality, and (``exchange'' or ``exclusion'') exotic\nstatistics. These results on the point-particle quantum-mechanics side are\ncompared with recent results on the action of T-duality on open strings that\nsatisfy conformal-invariance-violating boundary conditions. Moreover, it is\nobserved that some of the special properties of anyon and Calogero-Sutherland\nquantum mechanics are also enjoyed by the M(atrix) quantum mechanics which has\nrecently attracted considerable attention.",
        "positive": "Localization and Reference Frames in $\u03ba$-Minkowski Spacetime: We study the limits to the localizability of events and reference frames in\nthe $\\kappa$-Minkowski quantum spacetime. Our main tool will be a\nrepresentation of the $\\kappa$-Minkowski commutation relations between\ncoordinates, and the operator and measurement theory borrowed from ordinary\nquantum mechanics. Spacetime coordinates are described by operators on a\nHilbert space, and a complete set of commuting observables cannot contain the\nradial coordinate and time at the same time. The transformation between the\ncomplete sets turns out to be the Mellin transform, which allows us to discuss\nthe localizability properties of states both in space and time. We then discuss\nthe transformation rules between inertial observers, which are described by the\nquantum $\\kappa$-Poincar\\'e group. These too are subject to limitations in the\nlocalizability of states, which impose further restrictions on the ability of\nan observer to localize events defined in a different observer's reference\nframe."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Operads, homotopy algebra and iterated integrals for double loop spaces: This paper provides some background to the theory of operads, used in the\nfirst author's papers on 2d topological field theory (hep-th/921204, CMP 159\n(1994), 265-285; hep-th/9305013). It is intended for specialists.",
        "positive": "OPE formulae for deformed super-Virasoro algebras: We show the OPE formulae for three types of deformed super-Virasoro algebras:\nChaichian-Presnajder's deformation, Belov-Chaltikhian's one and its modified\nversion. Fundamental (anti-)commutation relations toward a ghost realization of\ndeformed super-Virasoro algebra are also discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic Constraints on a Vector Boson: We show that holography poses non-trivial restrictions on various couplings\nof an interacting field. For a vector boson in the AdS Reissner-Nordstrom\nbackground, the dual boundary theory is pathological unless its electromagnetic\nand gravitational multipole moments are constrained. Among others, a generic\ndipole moment afflicts the dual CFT with superluminal modes, whose remedy\nbounds the gyromagnetic ratio in a range around the natural value g=2. We\ndiscuss the CFT implications of our results, and argue that similar\nconsiderations can shed light on how massive higher-spin fields couple to\nelectromagnetism and gravity.",
        "positive": "Descent equations of Yang--Mills anomalies in noncommutative geometry: Consistent Yang--Mills anomalies $\\int\\om_{2n-k}^{k-1}$ ($n\\in\\N$, $ k=1,2,\n\\ldots ,2n$) as described collectively by Zumino's descent equations\n$\\delta\\om_{2n-k}^{k-1}+\\dd\\om_{2n-k-1}^{k}=0$ starting with the Chern\ncharacter $Ch_{2n}=\\dd\\om_{2n-1}^{0}$ of a principal $\\SU(N)$ bundle over a\n$2n$ dimensional manifold are considered (i.e.\\ $\\int\\om_{2n-k}^{k-1}$ are the\nChern--Simons terms ($k=1$), axial anomalies ($k=2$), Schwinger terms ($k=3$)\netc.\\ in $(2n-k)$ dimensions). A generalization in the spirit of Connes'\nnoncommutative geometry using a minimum of data is found. For an arbitrary\ngraded differential algebra $\\CC=\\bigoplus_{k=0}^\\infty \\CC^{(k)}$ with\nexterior differentiation $\\dd$, form valued functions $Ch_{2n}: \\CC^{(1)}\\to\n\\CC^{(2n)}$ and $\\om_{2n-k}^{k-1}: \\underbrace{\\CC^{(0)}\\times\\cdots \\times\n\\CC^{(0)}}_{\\mbox{{\\small $(k-1)$ times}}} \\times \\CC^{(1)}\\to \\CC^{(2n-k)}$\nare constructed which are connected by generalized descent equations\n$\\delta\\om_{2n-k}^{k-1}+\\dd\\om_{2n-k-1}^{k}=(\\cdots)$. Here $Ch_{2n}= (F_A)^n$\nwhere $F_A=\\dd(A)+A^2$ for $A\\in\\CC^{(1)}$, and $(\\cdots)$ is not zero but a\nsum of graded commutators which vanish under integrations (traces). The problem\nof constructing Yang--Mills anomalies on a given graded differential algebra is\nthereby reduced to finding an interesting integration $\\int$ on it. Examples\nfor graded differential algebras with such integrations are given and thereby\nnoncommutative generalizations of Yang--Mills anomalies are found."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Gravity Dual of the Chiral Anomaly: We study effects associated with the chiral anomaly for a cascading\n$SU(N+M)\\times SU(N)$ gauge theory using gauge/gravity duality. In the gravity\ndual the anomaly is a classical feature of the supergravity solution, and the\nbreaking of the U(1) R-symmetry down to ${\\bf Z}_{2M}$ proceeds via the Higgs\nmechanism.",
        "positive": "BPS states and the P=W conjecture: A string theoretic framework is presented for the work of Hausel and\nRodriguez-Vilegas as well as de Cataldo, Hausel and Migliorini on the\ncohomology of character varieties. The central element of this construction is\nan identification of the cohomology of the Hitchin moduli space with BPS states\nin a local Calabi-Yau threefold. This is a summary of several talks given\nduring the Moduli Space Program 2011 at Isaac Newton Institute."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Complete integration-by-parts reductions of the non-planar hexagon-box\n  via module intersections: We present the powerful module-intersection integration-by-parts (IBP)\nmethod, suitable for multi-loop and multi-scale Feynman integral reduction.\nUtilizing modern computational algebraic geometry techniques, this new method\nsuccessfully trims traditional IBP systems dramatically to much simpler\nintegral-relation systems on unitarity cuts. We demonstrate the power of this\nmethod by explicitly carrying out the complete analytic reduction of two-loop\nfive-point non-planar hexagon-box integrals, with degree-four numerators, to a\nbasis of $73$ master integrals.",
        "positive": "Dimensional regularization for N=1 susy sigma models and the worldline\n  formalism: We generalize the worldline formalism to include spin 1/2 fields coupled to\ngravity. To this purpose we first extend dimensional regularization to\nsupersymmetric nonlinear sigma models in one dimension. We consider a finite\npropagation time and find that dimensional regularization is a manifestly\nsupersymmetric regularization scheme, since the classically supersymmetric\naction does not need any counterterm to preserve worldline supersymmetry. We\napply this regularization scheme to the worldline description of Dirac fermions\ncoupled to gravity. We first compute the trace anomaly of a Dirac fermion in 4\ndimensions, providing an additional check on the regularization with finite\npropagation time. Then we come to the main topic and consider the one-loop\neffective action for a Dirac field in a gravitational background. We describe\nhow to represent this effective action as a worldline path integral and compute\nexplicitly the one- and two-point correlation functions, i.e. the spin 1/2\nparticle contribution to the graviton tadpole and graviton self-energy. These\nresults are presented for the general case of a massive fermion. It is\ninteresting to note that in the worldline formalism the coupling to gravity can\nbe described entirely in terms of the metric, avoiding the introduction of a\nvielbein. Consequently, the fermion--graviton vertices are always linear in the\ngraviton, just like the standard coupling of fermions to gauge fields."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetric Wilson Loops in IIB Matrix Model: We show that the supersymmetric Wilson loops in IIB matrix model give a\ntransition operator from reduced supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory to\nsupersymmetric space-time theory. In comparison with Green-Schwarz superstring\nwe identify the supersymmetric Wilson loops with the asymptotic states of IIB\nsuperstring. It is pointed out that the supersymmetry transformation law of the\nWilson loops is the inverse of that for the vertex operators of massless modes\nin the U(N) open superstring with Dirichlet boundary condition.",
        "positive": "Gravity-mediated holography in fluid dynamics: For any spherically symmetric black hole spacetime with an ideal fluid\nsource, we establish a dual fluid system on a hypersurface near the black hole\nhorizon. The dual fluid is incompressible and obeys Navier-Stokes equation\nsubject to some external force. The force term in the fluid equation consists\nin two parts, one comes from the curvature of the hypersurface, the other comes\nfrom the stress-energy of the bulk fluid."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Heating up Galilean holography: We embed a holographic description of a quantum field theory with Galilean\nconformal invariance in string theory. The key observation is that such field\ntheories may be realized as conventional superconformal field theories with a\nknown string theory embedding, twisted by the R-symmetry in a light-like\ndirection. Using the Null Melvin Twist, we construct the appropriate dual\ngeometry and its non-extremal generalization. From the nonzero temperature\nsolution we determine the equation of state. We also discuss the hydrodynamic\nregime of these non-relativistic plasmas and show that the shear viscosity to\nentropy density ratio takes the universal value one over four pi typical of\nstrongly interacting field theories with gravity duals.",
        "positive": "Born-Infeld Electrodynamics and Euler-Heisenberg-like Model: outstanding\n  examples of the lack of commutativity among quantized truncated actions and\n  truncated quantized actions: We calculate the lowest-order corrections to the static potential for both\nthe generalized Born-Infeld Electrodynamics and an Euler-Heisenberg-like model,\nin the presence of a constant external magnetic field. Our analysis is carried\nout within the framework of the gauge-invariant but path-dependent variables\nformalism. The calculation reveals a long-range correction ($\n{\\raise0.7ex\\hbox{$1$} \\mathord{\\left/ {\\vphantom {1\n{r^5}}}\\right.\\kern-\\nulldelimiterspace} \\lower0.7ex\\hbox{${r^5}$}}$-type) to\nthe Coulomb potential for the generalized Born-Infeld Electrodynamics.\nInterestingly enough, in the Euler-Heisenberg-like model, the static potential\nremains Coulombian. Therefore, contrary to popular belief, the quantized\ntruncated action and the truncated quantized action do not commute at all."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The superconformal index of N=1 class S fixed points: We investigate the superconformal index of four-dimensional N=1\nsuperconformal field theories that arise on coincident M5 branes wrapping a\nholomorphic curve in a local Calabi-Yau three-fold. The structure of the index\nis very similar to that which appears in the special case preserving N=2\nsupersymmetry. We first compute the index for the fixed points that admit a\nknown four-dimensional ultraviolet description and prove infrared equivalence\nat the level of the index for all such constructions. These results suggest a\nformulation of the index as a two-dimensional topological quantum field theory\nthat generalizes the one that computes the N=2 index. The TQFT structure leads\nto an expression for the index of all class S fixed points in terms of the\nindex of the N=2 theories. Calculations of spectral data using the index\nsuggests a connection between these families of fixed points and the\nmathematics of SU(2) Yang-Mills theory on the wrapped curve.",
        "positive": "Small N=2 Extremal Black Holes in Special Geometry: We provide an intrinsic classification of the large and small orbits for N=2,\n4D extremal black holes on symmetric spaces which does not depend on the\nduality frame used for the charges or on the special coordinates. A coordinate\nindependent formula for the fake superpotential W, which (at infinity)\nrepresents the black hole ADM mass, is given explicitly in terms of invariants\nof the N=2 special geometry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Field Theory on the q-deformed Fuzzy Sphere: We discuss the second quantization of scalar field theory on the q-deformed\nfuzzy sphere S^2_{q,N} for q \\in \\R, using a path-integral approach. We find\nquantum field theories which are manifestly covariant under U_q(su(2)), have a\nsmooth limit q -> 1, and satisfy positivity and twisted bosonic symmetry\nproperties. Using a Drinfeld twist, they are equivalent to ordinary but\nslightly \"nonlocal\" QFT's on the undeformed fuzzy sphere, which are covariant\nunder SU(2).",
        "positive": "A $p$-Adic Matter in a Closed Universe: In this paper, we introduce a new type of matter that has origin in $p$-adic\nstrings, i.e., strings with a $p$-adic worldsheet. We investigate some\nproperties of this $p$-adic matter, in particular its cosmological aspects. We\nstart with crossing symmetric scattering amplitudes for $p$-adic open strings\nand related effective nonlocal and nonlinear Lagrangian which describes tachyon\ndynamics at the tree level. Then, we make a slight modification of this\nLagrangian and obtain a new Lagrangian for non-tachyonic scalar field. {Using\nthis new Lagrangian in the weak field approximation as a matter in Einstein\ngravity with the cosmological constant, one obtains an exponentially expanding\nFLRW closed universe.} At the end, we discuss the obtained results, i.e.,\ncomputed mass of the scalar $p$-adic particle, estimated radius of related\nclosed universe and noted $p$-adic matter as a possible candidate for dark\nmatter."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Regular collision of dilatonic inflating branes: We demonstrate that a two brane system with a bulk scalar field driving\npower-law inflation on the branes has an instability in the radion. We solve\nfor the resulting trajectory of the brane, and find that the instability can\nlead to collision. Brane quantities such as the scale factor are shown to be\nregular at this collision. In addition we describe the system using a low\nenergy expansion. The low energy expansion accurately reproduces the known\nexact solution, but also identifies an alternative solution for the bulk metric\nand brane trajectory.",
        "positive": "Mild Non-Gaussianities under Perturbative Control from Rapid-Turn\n  Inflation Models: Inflation can be supported in very steep potentials if it is generated by\nrapidly turning fields, which can be natural in negatively curved field spaces.\nThe curvature perturbation, $\\zeta$, of these models undergoes an exponential,\ntransient amplification around the time of horizon crossing, but can still be\ncompatible with observations at the level of the power spectrum. However, a\nrecent analysis (based on a proposed single-field effective theory with an\nimaginary speed of sound) found that the trispectrum and other higher-order,\nnon-Gaussian correlators also undergo similar exponential enhancements. This\narguably leads to `hyper-large' non-Gaussianities in stark conflict with\nobservations, and even to the loss of perturbative control of the calculations.\nIn this paper, we provide the first analytic solution of the growth of the\nperturbations in two-field rapid-turn models, and find it in good agreement\nwith previous numerical and single-field EFT estimates. We also show that the\nnested structure of commutators of the in-in formalism has subtle and crucial\nconsequences: accounting for these commutators, we show analytically that the\nnaively leading-order piece (which indeed is exponentially large) cancels\nexactly in all relevant correlators. The remaining non-Gaussianities of these\nmodels are modest, and there is no problem with perturbative control from the\nexponential enhancement of $\\zeta$. Thus, rapid-turn inflation with negatively\ncurved field spaces remains a viable and interesting class of candidate\ntheories of the early universe."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Marginal Deformations In the Open Bosonic String Field Theory for N\n  D0-branes: In this short note we give an example of the exact solution of the open\nbosonic string field theory defined on the background of $N$ coincided\nD0-branes. This solution leads to the change of the original background to the\nbackground where D0-branes are localised in general positions.",
        "positive": "Special Geometry of Euclidean Supersymmetry III: the local r-map,\n  instantons and black holes: We define and study projective special para-Kahler manifolds and show that\nthey appear as target manifolds when reducing five-dimensional vector\nmultiplets coupled to supergravity with respect to time. The dimensional\nreductions with respect to time and space are carried out in a uniform way\nusing an epsilon-complex notation. We explain the relation of our formalism to\nother formalisms of special geometry used in the literature. In the second part\nof the paper we investigate instanton solutions and their dimensional lifting\nto black holes. We show that the instanton action, which can be defined after\ndualising axions into tensor fields, agrees with the ADM mass of the\ncorresponding black hole. The relation between actions via Wick rotation, Hodge\ndualisation and analytic continuation of axions is discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-anticommutative N=2 supersymmetric SU(2) gauge theory: We calculate the component Lagrangian of a four-dimensional\nnon-anticommutative (with a singlet deformation parameter) and fully N=2\nsupersymmetric gauge field theory with the simple gauge group SU(2). We find\nthat the deformed (classical) scalar potential is unbounded from below, in\ncontrast to the undeformed case.",
        "positive": "Exotic symmetry and monodromy equivalence in Schrodinger sigma models: We consider the classical integrable structure of two-dimensional non-linear\nsigma models with target space three-dimensional Schrodinger spacetimes. There\nare the two descriptions to describe the classical dynamics: 1) the left\ndescription based on SL(2,R)_L and 2) the right description based on U(1)_R. We\nhave shown the sl(2,R)_L Yangian and q-deformed Poincare algebras associated\nwith them. We proceed to argue an infinite-dimensional extension of the\nq-deformed Poincare algebra. The corresponding charges are constructed by using\na non-local map from the flat conserved currents related to the Yangian. The\nexotic tower structure of the charges is revealed by directly computing the\nclassical Poisson brackets. Then the monodromy matrices in both descriptions\nare shown to be gauge-equivalent via the relation between the spectral\nparameters. We also give a simple Riemann sphere interpretation of this\nequivalence."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic End-Point of Spatially Modulated Phase Transition: In the previous paper [arXiv:0911.0679], we showed that the\nReissner-Nordstrom black hole in the 5-dimensional anti-de Sitter space coupled\nto the Maxwell theory with the Chern-Simons term is unstable when the\nChern-Simons coupling is sufficiently large. In the dual conformal field\ntheory, the instability suggests a spatially modulated phase transition. In\nthis paper, we construct and analyze non-linear solutions which describe the\nend-point of this phase transition. In the limit where the Chern-Simons\ncoupling is large, we find that the phase transition is of the second order\nwith the mean field critical exponent. However, the dispersion relation with\nthe Van Hove singularity enhances quantum corrections in the bulk, and we argue\nthat this changes the order of the phase transition from the second to the\nfirst. We compute linear response functions in the non-linear solution and find\nan infinite off-diagonal DC conductivity in the new phase.",
        "positive": "Black hole determinants and quasinormal modes: We derive an expression for functional determinants in thermal spacetimes as\na product over the corresponding quasinormal modes. As simple applications we\ngive efficient computations of scalar determinants in thermal AdS, BTZ black\nhole and de Sitter spacetimes. We emphasize the conceptual utility of our\nformula for discussing `1/N' corrections to strongly coupled field theories via\nthe holographic correspondence."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Equivalence of Local Potential Approximations: In recent papers it has been noted that the local potential approximation of\nthe Legendre and Wilson-Polchinski flow equations give, within numerical error,\nidentical results for a range of exponents and Wilson-Fisher fixed points in\nthree dimensions, providing a certain ``optimised'' cutoff is used for the\nLegendre flow equation. Here we point out that this is a consequence of an\nexact map between the two equations, which is nothing other than the exact\nreduction of the functional map that exists between the two exact\nrenormalization groups. We note also that the optimised cutoff does not allow a\nderivative expansion beyond second order.",
        "positive": "Classical Solutions for Two Dimensional QCD on the Sphere: We consider $U(N)$ and $SU(N)$ gauge theory on the sphere. We express the\nproblem in terms of a matrix element of $N$ free fermions on a circle. This\nallows us to find an alternative way to show Witten's result that the partition\nfunction is a sum over classical saddle points. We then show how the phase\ntransition of Douglas and Kazakov occurs from this point of view. By\ngeneralizing the work of Douglas and Kazakov, we find other `stringy' solutions\nfor the $U(N)$ case in the large $N$ limit. Each solution is described by a net\n$U(1)$ charge. We derive a relation for the maximum charge for a given area and\nwe also describe the critical behavior for these new solutions. Finally, we\ndescribe solutions for lattice $SU(N)$ which are in a sense dual to the\ncontinuum $U(N)$ solutions. (Parts of this paper were presented at the Strings\n'93 Workshop, Berkeley, May 1993.)"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Integrality of instanton numbers and p-adic B-model: We study integrality of instanton numbers (genus zero Gopakumar - Vafa\ninvariants) for quintic and other Calabi-Yau manifolds. We start with the\nanalysis of the case when the moduli space of complex structures is\none-dimensional; later we show that our methods can be used to prove\nintegrality in general case. We give an expression of instanton numbers in\nterms of Frobenius map on $p$-adic cohomology ; the proof of integrality is\nbased on this expression.",
        "positive": "Comparing two definitions for gauge variations of dielectric D-branes: We compare two definitions of gauge variations in the case of non-Abelian\nactions for multiple D-branes. Equivalence is proven for the R-R variations,\nwhich shows that the action is invariant also under the easier, naive\nvariation. For the NS-NS variations however, the two definitions are not\nequivalent, leaving the naive definition as the only valid one."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Scale-invariant breaking of conformal symmetry: Known examples of unitary relativistic scale but not conformal-invariant\nfield theories (SFTs) can be embedded into conventional conformal field\ntheories (CFTs). We show that any SFT which is a subsector of a unitary CFT is\na free theory. Our discussion applies to an arbitrary number of spacetime\ndimensions and explains triviality of known SFTs in four spacetime dimensions.\nWe comment on examples of unitary SFTs which are not captured by our\nconstruction.",
        "positive": "Boundary Liouville Field Theory: Boundary Three Point Function: Liouville field theory is considered on domains with conformally invariant\nboundary conditions. We present an explicit expression for the three point\nfunction of boundary fields in terms of the fusion coefficients which determine\nthe monodromy properties of the conformal blocks."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "New massive spin two model on curved space-time: We have proposed a new ghost-free model with interactions of massive spin two\nparticles in Phys.\\ Rev.\\ D {\\bf 90} (2014) 043006 [arXiv:1402.5737 [hep-th]].\nAlthough the model is ghost-free on the Minkowski space-time, it is not obvious\nwhether or not this desirable property is preserved on curved space-time. In\nfact, Buchbinder et al. already pointed out that the Fierz-Pauli theory is not\nghost-free on curved space-time without non-minimal coupling terms. In this\npaper, we construct a new theory of massive spin two particles with non-minimal\ncoupling on curved space-time and show that the model can be ghost-free.\nFurthermore, we propose new non-minimal coupling terms.",
        "positive": "Direct evidence for the Maldacena conjecture for N=(8,8) super\n  Yang-Mills theory in 1+1 dimensions: We solve N=(8,8) super Yang-Mills theory in 1+1 dimensions at strong coupling\nto directly confirm the predictions of supergravity at weak coupling. We do our\ncalculations in the large-N_c approximation using Supersymmetric Discrete\nLight-Cone Quantization with up to 3*10^{12} basis states. We calculate the\nstress-energy correlator <T^{++}(r) T^{++}(0)> as a function of the separation\nr and find that at intermediate values of r the correlator behaves as r^{-5} to\nwithin errors as predicted by weak-coupling supergravity. We also present an\nextension to significantly higher resolution of our earlier results for the\nsame correlator in the N=(2,2) theory and see that in this theory the\ncorrelator has very different behavior at intermediate values of r."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Background Independent Quantum Field Theory and the Cosmological\n  Constant Problem: We introduce the notion of background independent quantum field theory. The\ndistinguishing feature of this theory is that the dynamics can be formulated\nwithout recourse to a background metric structure. We show in a simple model\nhow the metric properties of spacetime can be recovered from the dynamics.\nBackground independence is not only conceptually desirable but allows for the\nresolution of a problem haunting ordinary quantum field theory: the\ncosmological constant problem.",
        "positive": "Degenerate Odd Poisson Bracket on Grassmann Variables: A linear degenerate odd Poisson bracket (antibracket) realized solely on\nGrassmann variables is presented. It is revealed that this bracket has at once\nthree nilpotent $\\Delta$-like differential operators of the first, the second\nand the third orders with respect to the Grassmann derivatives. It is shown\nthat these $\\Delta$-like operators together with the Grassmann-odd nilpotent\nCasimir function of this bracket form a finite-dimensional Lie superalgebra."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Ramond-Ramond Field Transformation: We find that the mixture of Ramond-Ramond fields and Neveu-Schwarz two form\nare transformed as Majorana spinors under the T-duality group $O(d,d)$. The\nRamond-Ramond field transformation under the group $O(d,d)$ is realized in a\nsimple form by using the spinor representation. The Ramond-Ramond field\ntransformation rule obtained by Bergshoeff et al. is shown as a specific simple\nexample. We also give some explicit examples of the spinor representation.",
        "positive": "Hidden Conformal Symmetry of Smooth Braneworld Scenarios: In this paper we generalize our previous model (arXiv: 1705.09331), on a\nhidden conformal symmetry of smooth braneworld scenarios, to the case with two\nreal scalar fields non-minimally coupled to gravity. The gauge condition\nreduces the action of the system to the action were gravity minimally couples\nto one of the scalar fields, plus a cosmological constant. We show that,\ndepending on the internal symmetry of the scalar fields, the two possibilities,\n$SO(2)$ or $SO(1,1)$, emerge. In the $SO(2)$ case we get a ghost-like scalar\nfield action, which can describe two models -- Standing Wave and Sine-Gordon\nsmooth braneworlds. For the $SO(1,1)$ case we get the standard sign for the\nkinetic part of the scalar field. By breaking the $SO(1,1)$ symmetry (but\nkeeping the conformal one) we are able to get two Randall-Sundrum models, with\na non-minimal coupling and with a scalar field having hyperbolic potential. We\nconclude that this method can be seen as a solution-generating technique and a\nnatural way to introduce non-trivial scalar fields that can provide smooth\nbraneworld models."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Holographic Entropy Cone: We initiate a systematic enumeration and classification of entropy\ninequalities satisfied by the Ryu-Takayanagi formula for conformal field theory\nstates with smooth holographic dual geometries. For 2, 3, and 4 regions, we\nprove that the strong subadditivity and the monogamy of mutual information give\nthe complete set of inequalities. This is in contrast to the situation for\ngeneric quantum systems, where a complete set of entropy inequalities is not\nknown for 4 or more regions. We also find an infinite new family of\ninequalities applicable to 5 or more regions. The set of all holographic\nentropy inequalities bounds the phase space of Ryu-Takayanagi entropies,\ndefining the holographic entropy cone. We characterize this entropy cone by\nreducing geometries to minimal graph models that encode the possible cutting\nand gluing relations of minimal surfaces. We find that, for a fixed number of\nregions, there are only finitely many independent entropy inequalities. To\nestablish new holographic entropy inequalities, we introduce a combinatorial\nproof technique that may also be of independent interest in Riemannian geometry\nand graph theory.",
        "positive": "Inscribing geodesic circles on the face of the superstratum: We use families of circular null geodesics as probes of a family of\nmicrostate geometries, known as $(1,0,n)$ superstrata. These geometries carry a\nleft-moving momentum wave and the behavior of some of the geodesic probes is\nvery sensitive to this background wave. The left-moving geodesics behave like\nBPS particles and so can be placed in circular orbits anywhere in the geometry\nand actually \"float\" at fixed radius and angle in the three-dimensional \"capped\nBTZ\" geometry. The right-moving geodesics behave like non-BPS particles. We\nshow that they provide a simple geometric characterization of the black-hole\nbound: when the momentum charge of the geometry is below this bound, such\ngeodesics can be placed anywhere, but exceeding the bound, even by a small\namount, means these geodesics are restricted to the deep interior of the\ngeometry. We also show that for left-moving string probes, the tidal forces\nremain comparable with those of global AdS$_3$. Nevertheless, for some of these\nprobes, the \"bumps\" in the geometry induce an oscillatory mass term and we\ndiscuss how this can lead to chaotic scrambling of the state of the string."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Free fields via canonical transformations of matter-coupled 2D dilaton\n  gravity models: It is shown that the 1+1-dimensional matter-coupled Jackiw-Teitelboim model\nand the model with an exponential potential can be converted by means of\nappropriate canonical transformations into a bosonic string theory propagating\non a flat target space with an indefinite signature. This makes it possible to\nconsistently quantize these models in the functional Schroedinger\nrepresentation thus generalizing recent results on CGHS theory.",
        "positive": "Asymptotic Safety Guaranteed at Four Loop: We investigate a family of four-dimensional quantum field theories with\nweakly interacting ultraviolet fixed points up to four loop order in\nperturbation theory. Key new ingredients are the three loop gauge contributions\nto quartic scalar beta functions, which we compute in the\n$\\overline{\\text{MS}}$ scheme for a template $SU(N_c)$ gauge theory coupled to\n$N_f$ fundamental fermions and elementary scalars. We then determine fixed\npoint couplings, field and mass anomalous dimensions, and universal scaling\nexponents up to the first three non-trivial orders in a small Veneziano\nparameter. The phase diagram and UV-IR connecting trajectories are found and\ncontrasted with asymptotic freedom. Further, the size of the conformal window,\nunitarity, and mechanisms leading to the loss of conformality are investigated.\nOur results provide blueprints for concrete 4d non-supersymmetric conformal\nfield theories with standard model-like field content, and invite further model\nbuilding."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Witten index in supersymmetric 3d theories revisited: We have performed a direct calculation of Witten index in N = 1,2,3\nsupersymmetric Yang-Mills Chern-Simons 3d theories. We do it in the framework\nof Born-Oppenheimer (BO) approach by putting the system into a small spatial\nbox and studying the effective Hamiltonian depending on the zero field\nharmonics. At the tree level, our results coincide with the results of Witten,\nbut there is a difference in the way the loop effects are implemented. In\nWitten's approach, one has only take into account the fermion loops, which\nbring about a negative shift of the (chosen positive at the tree level)\nChern-Simons coupling k. As a result, Witten index vanishes and supersymmetry\nis broken at small k. In the effective BO Hamiltonian framework, fermion, gluon\nand ghost loops contribute on an equal footing. Fermion loop contribution to\nthe effective Hamiltonian can be evaluated exactly, and their effect amounts to\nthe negative shift k -> k - h/2 for N =1 and k -> k - h for N = 2,3 in the\ntree-level formulae for the index. In our approach, with rather natural\nassumptions on the structure of bosonic corrections, the shift k -> k + h\nbrought about by the gluon loops also affects the index. Since the total shift\nof k is positive or zero, Witten index appears to be nonzero at nonzero k, and\nsupersymmetry is not broken. We discuss possible reasons for such disagreement.",
        "positive": "Super-de Sitter and alternative super-Poincar\u00e9 symmetries: It is well-known that de Sitter Lie algebra $\\mathfrak{o}(1,4)$ contrary to\nanti-de Sitter one $\\mathfrak{o}(2,3)$ does not have a standard\n$\\mathbb{Z}_2$-graded superextension. We show here that the Lie algebra\n$\\mathfrak{o}(1,4)$ has a superextension based on the\n$\\mathbb{Z}_2\\times\\mathbb{Z}_2$-grading. Using the standard contraction\nprocedure for this superextension we obtain an {\\it alternative}\nsuper-Poincar\\'e algebra with the $\\mathbb{Z}_2\\times\\mathbb{Z}_2$-grading."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Decoherence and Vacuum Fluctuations: The interference pattern of coherent electrons is effected by coupling to the\nquantized electromagnetic field. The amplitudes of the interference maxima are\nchanged by a factor which depends upon a double line integral of the photon\ntwo-point function around the closed path of the electrons. The interference\npattern is sensitive to shifts in the vacuum fluctuations in regions from which\nthe electrons are excluded. Thus this effect combines aspects of both the\nCasimir and the Aharonov-Bohm effects. The coupling to the quantized\nelectromagnetic field tends to decrease the amplitude of the interference\noscillations, and hence is a form of decoherence. The contributions due to\nphoton emission and to vacuum fluctuations may be separately identified. It is\nto be expected that photon emission leads to decoherence, as it can reveal\nwhich path an electron takes. It is less obvious that vacuum fluctuations also\ncan cause decoherence. What is directly observable is a shift in the\nfluctuations due, for example, to the presence of a conducting plate. In the\ncase of electrons moving parallel to conducting boundaries, the dominant\ndecohering influence is that of the vacuum fluctuations. The shift in the\ninterference amplitudes can be of the order of a few percent, so experimental\nverification of this effect may be possible. The possibility of using this\neffect to probe the interior of matter, e.g., to determine the electrical\nconductivity of a rod by means of electrons encircling it is discussed.\n(Presented at the Conference on Fundamental Problems in Quantum Theory,\nUniversity of Maryland, Baltimore County, June 18-22, 1994.)",
        "positive": "Electromagnetic field generated by a charge moving along a helical orbit\n  inside a dielectric cylinder: The electromagnetic field generated by a charged particle moving along a\nhelical orbit inside a dielectric cylinder immersed into a homogeneous medium\nis investigated. Expressions are derived for the electromagnetic potentials,\nelectric and magnetic fields in the region inside the cylinder. The parts\ncorresponding to the radiation field are separated. The radiation intensity on\nthe lowest azimuthal mode is studied."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chaotic dynamics of a suspended string in a gravitational background\n  with magnetic field: We study the effects of a magnetic field on the chaotic dynamics of a string\nwith endpoints on the boundary of an asymptotically AdS$_5$ space with black\nhole. We study Poincar\\'e sections and compute the Lyapunov exponents for the\nstring perturbed from the static configuration, for two different orientations,\nwith position of the endpoints on the boundary orthogonal and parallel to the\nmagnetic field. We find that the magnetic field stabilizes the string dynamics,\nwith the largest Lyapunov exponent remaining below the\nMaldacena-Shenker-Stanford bound.",
        "positive": "Partial wave expansion and Wightman positivity in conformal field theory: A new method for computing exact conformal partial wave expansions is\ndeveloped and applied to approach the problem of Hilbert space (Wightman)\npositivity in a non-perturbative four-dimensional quantum field theory model.\nThe model is based on the assumption of global conformal invariance on\ncompactified Minkowski space. Bilocal fields arising in the harmonic\ndecomposition of the operator product expansion prove to be a powerful\ninstrument in exploring the field content. In particular, in the theory of a\nfield of dimension 4 which has the properties of a (gauge invariant)\nLagrangian, the scalar field contribution to the 6-point function of the twist\n2 bilocal field is analyzed with the aim to separate the free field part from\nthe nontrivial part."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "SL(2,Z) Multiplets in N=4 SYM Theory: We discuss the action of SL(2,Z) on local operators in D=4, N=4 SYM theory in\nthe superconformal phase. The modular property of the operator's scaling\ndimension determines whether the operator transforms as a singlet, or\ncovariantly, as part of a finite or infinite dimensional multiplet under the\nSL(2,Z) action. As an example, we argue that operators in the Konishi multiplet\ntransform as part of a (p,q) PSL(2,Z) multiplet. We also comment on the\nnon-perturbative local operators dual to the Konishi multiplet.",
        "positive": "On the Scalar Manifold of Exceptional Supergravity: We construct two parametrizations of the non compact exceptional Lie group\nG=E7(-25), based on a fibration which has the maximal compact subgroup K=(E6 x\nU(1))/Z_3 as a fiber. It is well known that G plays an important role in the\nN=2 d=4 magic exceptional supergravity, where it describes the U-duality of the\ntheory and where the symmetric space M=G/K gives the vector multiplets' scalar\nmanifold. First, by making use of the exponential map, we compute a realization\nof G/K, that is based on the E6 invariant d-tensor, and hence exhibits the\nmaximal possible manifest [(E6 x U(1))/Z_3]-covariance. This provides a basis\nfor the corresponding supergravity theory, which is the analogue of the\nCalabi-Vesentini coordinates. Then we study the Iwasawa decomposition. Its main\nfeature is that it is SO(8)-covariant and therefore it highlights the role of\ntriality. Along the way we analyze the relevant chain of maximal embeddings\nwhich leads to SO(8). It is worth noticing that being based on the properties\nof a \"mixed\" Freudenthal-Tits magic square, the whole procedure can be\ngeneralized to a broader class of groups of type E7."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Constraints on GUT 7-brane Topology in F-theory: We study the relation between phenomenological requirements and the topology\nof the surfaces that GUT 7-branes wrap in F-theory compactifications. In\naddition to the exotic matter free condition in the hypercharge flux scenario\nof SU(5)_{GUT} breaking, we analyze a new condition that comes from a discrete\nsymmetry aligning the contributions to low-energy Yukawa matrices from a number\nof codimension-three singularity points. We see that the exotic matter free\ncondition excludes Hirzebruch surfaces (except ${\\mathbb F}_0$) as the GUT\nsurface, correcting an existing proof in the literature. We further find that\nthe discrete symmetry for the alignment of the Yukawa matrices excludes del\nPezzo surfaces and a rational elliptic surface as the GUT surface. Therefore,\nsome GUT 7-brane surfaces are good for some phenomenological requirements, but\nsometimes not for others, and this aspect should be kept in mind in geometry\nsearch in F-theory compactifications.",
        "positive": "The anomaly in the central charge of the supersymmetric kink from\n  dimensional regularization and reduction: We show that the anomalous contribution to the central charge of the\n1+1-dimensional N=1 supersymmetric kink that is required for BPS saturation at\nthe quantum level can be linked to an analogous term in the extra momentum\noperator of a 2+1-dimensional kink domain wall with spontaneous parity\nviolation and chiral domain wall fermions. In the quantization of the domain\nwall, BPS saturation is preserved by nonvanishing quantum corrections to the\nmomentum density in the extra space dimension. Dimensional reduction from 2+1\nto 1+1 dimensions preserves the unbroken N=1/2 supersymmetry and turns these\nparity-violating contributions into the anomaly of the central charge of the\nsupersymmetric kink. On the other hand, standard dimensional regularization by\ndimensional reduction from 1 to (1-epsilon) spatial dimensions, which also\npreserves supersymmetry, obtains the anomaly from an evanescent counterterm."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Interacting Noncommutative Lumps: We consider interaction of two lumps corresponding to 0-branes in\nnoncommutative gauge theory",
        "positive": "On the cigar CFT and Schwarzschild horizons: Aspects of shock waves and instantly-created folded strings operators in the\nsupersymmetric $SL(2)_k/U(1)$ CFT, and their relevance to the near-horizon\nphysics of Schwarzschild black holes in perurbative superstring theory, are\npresented."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Type IIA String Theory on the PP-wave Background: We study type IIA superstring theory on a PP-wave background with 24\nsupercharges. This model can exactly be solved and then quantized. The open\nstring in this PP-wave background is also studied. We observe that the theory\nhas supersymmetric Dp-branes for p=2,4,6,8.",
        "positive": "Regge Trajectories for Mesons in the Holographic Dual of Large-N_c QCD: We discuss Regge trajectories of dynamical mesons in large-N_c QCD, using the\nsupergravity background describing N_c D4-branes compactified on a thermal\ncircle. The flavor degrees of freedom arise from the addition of N_f<<N_c D6\nprobe branes. Our work provides a string theoretical derivation, via the\ngauge/string correspondence, of a phenomenological model describing the meson\nas rotating point-like massive particles connected by a flux string. The\nmassive endpoints induce nonlinearities for the Regge trajectory. For light\nquarks the Regge trajectories of mesons are essentially linear. For massive\nquarks our trajectories qualitatively capture the nonlinearity detected in\nlattice calculations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic Geometry and Noise in Matrix Theory: Using Matrix Theory as a concrete example of a fundamental holographic\ntheory, we show that the emergent macroscopic spacetime displays a new\nmacroscopic quantum structure, holographic geometry, and a new observable\nphenomenon, holographic noise, with phenomenology similar to that previously\nderived on the basis of a quasi-monochromatic wave theory. Traces of matrix\noperators on a light sheet with a compact dimension of size $R$ are interpreted\nas transverse position operators for macroscopic bodies. An effective quantum\nwave equation for spacetime is derived from the Matrix Hamiltonian. Its\nsolutions display eigenmodes that connect longitudinal separation and\ntransverse position operators on macroscopic scales. Measurements of transverse\nrelative positions of macroscopically separated bodies, such as signals in\nMichelson interferometers, are shown to display holographic nonlocality,\nindeterminacy and noise, whose properties can be predicted with no parameters\nexcept $R$. Similar results are derived using a detailed scattering calculation\nof the matrix wavefunction. Current experimental technology will allow a\ndefinitive and precise test or validation of this interpretation of holographic\nfundamental theories. In the latter case, they will yield a direct measurement\nof $R$ independent of the gravitational definition of the Planck length, and a\ndirect measurement of the total number of degrees of freedom.",
        "positive": "The Kaluza-Klein Monopole in a Massive IIA Background: We construct the effective action of the KK-monopole in a massive Type IIA\nbackground. We follow two approaches. First we construct a massive M-theory\nKK-monopole from which the IIA monopole is obtained by double dimensional\nreduction. This eleven dimensional monopole contains two isometries: one under\ntranslations of the Taub-NUT coordinate and the other under massive\ntransformations of the embedding coordinates. Secondly, we construct the\nmassive T-duality rules that map the Type IIB NS-5-brane onto the massive Type\nIIA KK-monopole. This provides a check of the action constructed from eleven\ndimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Remarks on the Additional Symmetries and W-Constraints in the\n  Generalized KdV Hierarchy: Additional symmetries of the $p$-reduced KP hierarchy are generated by the\nLax operator $L$ and another operator $M$, satisfying $res (M^n L^{m+n/p})$ = 0\nfor $1 \\leq n \\leq p-1$ and $m \\geq -1$ with the condition that ${\\partial L\n\\over {\\partial t_{kp}}}$ = 0, $k$ = 1, 2,..... We show explicitly that the\ngenerators of these additional symmetries satisfy a closed and consistent\nW-algebra only when we impose the extra condition that ${\\partial M \\over\n{\\partial t_{kp}}} = 0$.",
        "positive": "The Geometric Construction of WZW Effective Action in Non-commutative\n  Manifold: By constructing close one cochain density ${\\Omega^1}_{2n}$ in the gauge\ngroup space we get WZW effective Lagrangian on high dimensional non-commutative\nspace.Especially consistent anomalies derived from this WZW effective action in\nnon-commutative four-dimensional space coincides with those by L.Bonora etc."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Reflective Kinks: We scatter a meson off of a scalar kink in quantum field theory, at leading\norder in perturbation theory. We calculate the full quantum state, at leading\norder, at all times and also check that the reflection and transmission\ncoefficients agree with those which would be obtained in relativistic quantum\nmechanics.",
        "positive": "Light Front Formalism for Composite Systems and Some of Its Applications\n  in Particle and Relativistic Nuclear Physics: Light front formalism for composite systems is presented. Derivation of\nequations for bound state and scattering problems are given. Methods of\nconstructing of elastic form factors and scattering amplitudes of composite\nparticles are reviewed. Elastic form factors in the impulse approximation are\ncalculated. Scattering amplitudes for relativistic bound states are\nconstructed. Some model cases for transition amplitudes are considered. Deep\ninelastic form factors (structure functions) are expressed through light front\nwave functions. It is shown that taking into account of transverse motion of\npartons leads to the violation of Bjorken scaling and structure functions\nbecome square of transverse momentum dependent. Possible explanation of the\nEMC-effect is given. Problem of light front relativization of wave functions of\nlightest nuclei is considered. Scaling properties of deuteron, ${}^3He$ and\n${}^4He$ light front wave functions are checked in a rather wide energy range."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Low-Energy Dynamics of Noncommutative CP^1 Solitons in 2+1 Dimensions: We investigate the low-energy dynamics of the BPS solitons of the\nnoncommutative CP^1 model in 2+1 dimensions using the moduli space metric of\nthe BPS solitons. We show that the dynamics of a single soliton coincides with\nthat in the commutative model. We find that the singularity in the two-soliton\nmoduli space, which exists in the commutative CP^1 model, disappears in the\nnoncommutative model.We also show that the two-soliton metric has the smooth\ncommutative limit.",
        "positive": "Slinky evolution of domain wall brane cosmology: Invoking an initial symmetry between the time $ t $ and some extra spatial\ndimension $ y $, we discuss a novel scenario where the dynamical formation of\nthe 4-dim brane and its cosmological evolution are induced simultaneously by a\ncommon $ t<->y $ symmetry breaking mechanism. The local maximum of the\nunderlying scalar potential is mapped onto a 'watershed' curve in the $ (t,y) $\nplane; the direction tangent to this curve is identified as the cosmic time,\nwhereas the perpendicular direction serves locally as the extra spatial\ndimension. Special attention is devoted to the so-called slinky configurations,\nwhose brane cosmology is characterized by a decaying cosmological constant\nalong the watershed curve. Such a slinky solution is first constructed within a\nsimplified case where the watershed is constrained by $ y = 0 $. The physical\nrequirements for a slinky configuration to generate a realistic model of\ncosmological evolution are then discussed in a more elaborated framework."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "One-Loop Free Energy of the Four-Dimensional Compact QED in the\n  Confining Phase: The one-loop free energy of the four-dimensional compact QED, which is known\nto be equivalent to the vector Sine-Gordon model, is calculated in the strong\ncoupling regime. In the case, when the norm of the strength tensor of the\nsaddle-point value of the corresponding Sine-Gordon model is much larger than\nthe typical inverse area of a loop in the gas of the monopole rings, the\nobtained free energy decays exponentially versus this norm. In the opposite\ncase, when the dominant configuration of the Sine-Gordon model is identically\nzero, the resulting free energy decays with the growth of loops as an exponent\nof the inverse square of their typical area.",
        "positive": "The Large $N$ Limit of icMERA and Holography: In this work, we compute the entanglement entropy in continuous icMERA tensor\nnetworks for large $N$ models at strong coupling. Our results show that the\n$1/N$ quantum corrections to the Fisher information metric (interpreted as a\nlocal bond dimension of the tensor network) in an icMERA circuit, are related\nto quantum corrections to the minimal area surface in the Ryu-Takayanagi\nformula. Upon picking two different non-Gaussian entanglers to build the icMERA\ncircuit, the results for the entanglement entropy only differ at subleading\norders in $1/G_N$, i.e, at the structure of the quantum corrections in the\nbulk. The fact that the large $N$ part of the entropy can be always related to\nthe leading area term of the holographic calculation is very suggestive. These\nresults, constitute the first tensor network calculations at large $N$ and\nstrong coupling simultaneously, pushing the field of tensor network\ndescriptions of the emergence of dual spacetime geometries from the structure\nof entanglement in quantum field theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Causal Phase in $QED_{3}$: The operator ${\\bf S}$ in Fock space which describes the scattering and\nparticle production processes in an external time-dependent electromagnetic\npotential $A$ can be constructed from the one-particle S-matrix up to a\nphysical phase $\\lambda [A]$. In this work we determine this phase for $QED$ in\n(2+1) dimensions, by means of causality, and show that no ultraviolet\ndivergences arise, in contrast to the usual formalism of $QED$.",
        "positive": "Hartree-Fock approach to dynamical mass generation in the generalized\n  (2+1)-dimensional Thirring model: The (2+1)-dimensional generalized massless Thirring model with 4-component\nFermi-fields is investigated by the Hartree-Fock method. The Lagrangian of this\nmodel is constructed from two different four-fermion structures. One of them\ntakes into account the vector$\\times$vector channel of fermion interaction with\ncoupling constant $G_v$, the other - the scalar$\\times$scalar channel with\ncoupling $G_s$. At some relation between bare couplings $G_s$ and $G_v$, the\nHartree-Fock equation for self-energy of fermions can be renormalized, and\ndynamical generation of the Dirac and Haldane fermion masses is possible. As a\nresult, phase portrait of the model consists of two nontrivial phases. In the\nfirst one the chiral symmetry is spontaneously broken due to dynamical\nappearing of the Dirac mass term, while in the second phase a spontaneous\nbreaking of the spatial parity $\\mathcal P$ is induced by Haldane mass term. It\nis shown that in the particular case of pure Thirring model, i.e. at $G_s=0$,\nthe ground state of the system is indeed a mixture of these phases. Moreover,\nit was found that dynamical generation of fermion masses is possible for any\nfinite number of Fermi-fields."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Untwisting the symmetries of $\u03b2$-deformed Super-Yang--Mills: We demonstrate that the planar real-$\\beta$-deformed Super-Yang--Mills theory\npossesses an infinitely-dimensional Yangian symmetry algebra and thus is\nclassically integrable. This is achieved by the introduction of the twisted\ncoproduct which allows us to lift the apparent $\\mathcal{N}=1$ supersymmetry\nfirst to the full $\\mathcal{N}=4$ symmetry of the parent $\\mathcal{N} = 4$ SYM\ntheory, and subsequently to its Yangian.",
        "positive": "Supersymmetrization of the Radiation Damping: We construct a supersymmetrized version of the model to the radiation damping\n\\cite{03} introduced by the present authors \\cite{ACWF}. We dicuss its\nsymmetries and the corresponding conserved Noether charges. It is shown this\nsupersymmetric version provides a supersymmetric generalization of the Galilei\nalgebra obtained in \\cite{ACWF}. We have shown that the supersymmetric action\ncan be splited into dynamically independent external and internal sectors."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "General Virasoro Construction on Orbifold Affine Algebra: We obtain the orbifold Virasoro master equation (OVME) at integer order\nlambda, which summarizes the general Virasoro construction on orbifold affine\nalgebra. The OVME includes the Virasoro master equation when lambda=1 and\ncontains large classes of stress tensors of twisted sectors of conventional\norbifolds at higher lambda. The generic construction is like a twisted sector\nof an orbifold (with non-zero ground state conformal weight) but new\nconstructions are obtained for which we have so far found no conventional\norbifold interpretation.",
        "positive": "Vacuum polarization for compactified $QED_{4+1}$ in a magnetic flux\n  background: We evaluate one-loop effects for $QED_{4+1}$ compactified to ${\\bf R}^4\n\\times S^1$, in a non-trivial vacuum for the gauge field, such that a\nnon-vanishing magnetic flux is encircled along the extra dimension. We obtain\nthe vacuum polarization tensor and evaluate the exact parity breaking term,\npresenting the results from the point of view of the effective 3+1 dimensional\ntheory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Testing Effective String Models of Black Holes with Fixed Scalars: We solve the problem of mixing between the fixed scalar and metric\nfluctuations. First, we derive the decoupled fixed scalar equation for the\nfour-dimensional black hole with two different charges. We proceed to the\nfive-dimensional black hole with different electric (1-brane) and magnetic\n(5-brane) charges, and derive two decoupled equations satisfied by appropriate\nmixtures of the original fixed scalar fields. The resulting greybody factors\nare proportional to those that follow from coupling to dimension (2,2)\noperators on the effective string. In general, however, the string action also\ncontains couplings to chiral operators of dimension (1,3) and (3,1), which\ncause disagreements with the semiclassical absorption cross-sections.\nImplications of this for the effective string models are discussed.",
        "positive": "Thermodynamical First Laws of Black Holes in Quadratically-Extended\n  Gravities: Einstein gravities in general dimensions coupled to a cosmological constant\nand extended with quadratic curvature invariants admit a variety of black holes\nthat may asymptote to Minkowski, anti-de Sitter or Lifshitz spacetimes. We\nadopt the Wald formalism to derive an explicit formula for calculating the\nthermodynamical first law for the static black holes with\nspherical/toric/hyperbolic isometries in these theories. This allows us to\nderive/rederive the first laws for a wide range of black holes in literature.\nFurthermore, we construct many new exact solutions and obtain their first laws."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Lattice polarized toric K3 surfaces: When studying mirror symmetry in the context of K3 surfaces, the hyperkaehler\nstructure of K3 makes the notion of exchanging Kaehler and complex moduli\nambiguous. On the other hand, the metric is not renormalized due to the higher\namount of supersymmetry of the underlying superconformal field theory. Thus one\ncan define a natural mapping from the classical K3 moduli space to the moduli\nspace of conformal field theories. Apart from the generalization of mirror\nconstructions for Calabi-Yau threefolds, there is a formulation of mirror\nsymmetry in terms of orthogonal lattices and global moduli space arguments. In\nmany cases both approaches agree perfectly - with a long outstanding exception:\nBatyrev's mirror construction for K3 hypersurfaces in toric varieties does not\nfit into the lattice picture whenever the Picard group of the K3 surface is not\ngenerated by the pullbacks of the equivariant divisors of the ambient toric\nvariety. In this case, not even the ranks of the corresponding Picard lattices\nadd up as expected. In this paper the connection is clarified by refining the\nlattice picture. We show (by explicit calculation with a computer) mirror\nsymmetry for all families of toric K3 hypersurfaces corresponding to dual\nreflexive polyhedra, including the formerly problematic cases.",
        "positive": "Kinematical Analogy for Marginal Dyon Decay: We describe a kinematical analogy for the marginal decay of 1/4-BPS dyons in\n4-dimensional N=4 string compactifications. In this analogy, the electric and\nmagnetic charges play the role of spatial momenta, the BPS mass plays the role\nof energy, and 1/2-BPS dyons correspond to massless particles. Using SO(12,1)\n\"Lorentz\" invariance and standard kinematical formulae in particle physics, we\nprovide simple derivations of the curves of marginal stability. We also show\nhow these curves map into the momentum ellipsoid, and propose some applications\nof this analogy."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "One Loop Renormalizability of Spontaneously Broken Gauge Theory with a\n  Product of Gauge Groups on Noncommutative Spacetime: the U(1) x U(1) Case: A generalization of the standard electroweak model to noncommutative\nspacetime would involve a product gauge group which is spontaneously broken.\nGauge interactions in terms of physical gauge bosons are canonical with respect\nto massless gauge bosons as required by the exact gauge symmetry, but not so\nwith respect to massive ones; and furthermore they are generally asymmetric in\nthe two sets of gauge bosons. On noncommutative spacetime this already occurs\nfor the simplest model of U(1) x U(1). We examine whether the above feature in\ngauge interactions can be perturbatively maintained in this model. We show by a\ncomplete one loop analysis that all ultraviolet divergences are removable with\na few renormalization constants in a way consistent with the above structure.",
        "positive": "Soliton Equations Extracted from the Noncommutative Zero-Curvature\n  Equation: We investigate the equation where the commutation relation in 2-dimensional\nzero-curvature equation composed of the algebra-valued potentials is replaced\nby the Moyal bracket and the algebra-valued potentials are replaced by the\nnon-algebra-valued ones with two more new variables. We call the 4-dimensional\nequation the noncommutative zero-curvature equation. We show that various\nsoliton equations are derived by the dimensional reduction of the equation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Mass Generation in the Supersymmetric Nambu--Jona--Lasinio Model in an\n  External Magnetic Field: The mass generation in the (3+1)-dimensional supersymmetric\nNambu-Jona-Lasinio model in a constant magnetic field is studied. It is shown\nthat the external magnetic field catalyzes chiral symmetry breaking.",
        "positive": "Hypercharge flux in F-theory and the stable Sen limit: IIB compactifications enjoy the possibility to break GUT groups via fluxes\nwithout giving mass to the hypercharge gauge field. Although this important\nadvantage has greatly motivated F-theory constructions, no such fluxes have\nbeen constructed directly in terms of the M-theory $G_4$-form. In this note, we\ngive a general prescription for constructing hypercharge G-fluxes. By using a\nstable version of Sen's weak coupling limit, we verify their connection with\nIIB fluxes. We illustrate the lift of fluxes in a number of examples, including\na compact ${\\rm SU}(5) \\times {\\rm U}(1)$ model with explicit realization of\ndoublet-triplet splitting. Finally, we prove an equivalence conjectured in an\nearlier work as a by-product."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Collective Field Theory of a Singular Supersymmetric Matrix Model: The supersymmetric collective field theory with the potential $v'(x)=\\omega\nx-{\\eta\\over x}$ is studied, motivated by the matrix model proposed by Jevicki\nand Yoneya to describe two dimensional string theory in a black hole\nbackground. Consistency with supersymmetry enforces a two band solution. A\nsupersymmetric classical configuration is found, and interpreted in terms of\nthe density of zeros of certain Laguerre polynomials. The spectrum of the model\nis then studied and is seen to correspond to a massless scalar and a majorana\nfermion. The $x$ space eigenfunctions are constructed and expressed in terms of\nChebyshev polynomials. Higher order interactions are also discussed.",
        "positive": "Lorentz-violating extension of the spin-one Duffin-Kemmer-Petiau\n  equation: We investigate the breaking of Lorentz symmetry caused by the inclusion of an\nexternal four-vector via a Chern-Simons-like term in the Duffin-Kemmer-Petiau\nLagrangian for massless and massive spin-one fields. The resulting equations of\nmotion lead to the appearance of birefringence, where the corresponding photons\nare split into two propagation modes. We discuss the gauge invariance of the\nextended Lagrangian. Throughout the paper, we utilize projection operators to\nreduce the wave-functions to their physical components, and we provide many new\nproperties of these projection operators."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Two flavor massless Schwinger model on a torus at a finite chemical\n  potential: We study the thermodynamics of the two flavor massless Schwinger model on a\ntorus at a finite chemical potential. We show that thermodynamic quantities\nonly depend on the isospin chemical potential and there are marked deviations\nfrom a free fermion theory.",
        "positive": "Supersymmetry and Dual String Solitons: We present new classes of string-like soliton solutions in ($N=1$; $D=10$),\n($N=2$; $D=6$) and ($N=4$; $D=4$) heterotic string theory. Connections are made\nbetween the solution-generating subgroup of the $T$-duality group of the\ncompactification and the number of spacetime supersymmetries broken. Analogous\nsolutions are also noted in ($N=1,2$; $D=4$) compactifications, where a\ndifferent form of supersymmetry breaking arises."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spinning Dilaton Black Holes in 2 +1 Dimensions: Quasi-normal Modes and\n  the Area Spectrum: We have studied the perturbation of a spinning dilaton black hole in 2 +1\ndimensions by a massless scalar field. The wave equations of a massless scalar\nfield is shown to be exactly solvable in terms of hypergeometric functions. The\nquasinormal frequencies are computed for slowly spinning black holes. The\nstability of the black hole is discussed. The asymptotic form of the\nquasinormal frequencies are evaluated. The area spectrum of the quantum black\nholes are evaluated by using the asymptotic quasi-normal frequencies and is\nshown to be equally-spaced.",
        "positive": "Non-perturbative to perturbative QCD via the FFBRST: Recently a new type of quadratic gauge was introduced in QCD in which the\ndegrees of freedom are suggestive of a phase of abelian dominance. In its\nsimplest form it is also free of Gribov ambiguity. However this gauge is not\nsuitable for usual perturbation theory. The finite field dependent BRST\n(FFBRST) transformation is a method established to interrelate generating\nfunctionals for different effective versions of gauge fixed field theories. In\nthis paper we propose a FFBRST transformation suitable for transforming the\ntheory in the new quadratic gauge into the standard Lorenz gauge Faddeev-Popov\nversion of the effective lagrangian. The task is made interesting by the fact\nthe BRST invariance obeyed by the two effective lagrangians are not the same,\nhowever suitable extension of the previous procedures accomplishes the required\nresult. We are thus able to identify a field redefinition to go from a\nnon-perturbative phase of QCD to perturbative QCD."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dualisation of the Salam-Sezgin D=8 Supergravity: The first-order formulation of the Salam-Sezgin D=8 supergravity coupled to N\nvector multiplets is discussed. The non-linear realization of the bosonic\nsector of the D=8 matter coupled Salam-Sezgin supergravity is introduced by the\ndualisation of the fields and by constructing the Lie superalgebra of the\nsymmetry group of the doubled field strength.",
        "positive": "Radiation, entanglement and islands from a boundary local quench: We study the entanglement and the energy density of the radiation emitted\nafter a local quench in a boundary conformal field theory. We use the operator\nproduct expansion (OPE) to predict the early- and late-time behavior of the\nentanglement entropy and we find, under mild assumptions, a universal form for\nthe leading term, which we test on some treatable two-dimensional examples. We\nalso derive a general upper bound on the entanglement, valid along the full\ntime evolution. In two dimensions, the bound is computed analytically, while in\nhigher dimensions it is evaluated at early and late time via the OPE. These CFT\npredictions are then compared with a doubly-holographic setup where the CFT is\ninterpreted as a reservoir for the radiation produced on an end-of-the-world\nbrane. After finding the gravitational dual of a boundary local quench, we\ncompute the time evolution of the holographic entanglement entropy, whose\nlate-time behavior is in perfect agreement with the CFT predictions. In the\nbrane+bath picture, unitarity of the time evolution is preserved thanks to the\nformation of an island. The holographic results can be recovered explicitly\nfrom the island formula, in the limit where the tension of the brane is close\nto the maximal value."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Towards brane-antibrane inflation in type $II_A$: The holographic MQCD\n  model: We describe type $II_A$ cosmological brane inflation scenarios based on the\nholographic MQCD model of Aharony et al \\cite{Aharony:2010mi}. The scenarios\ncan be related via T-duality to the type $II_B$ KKLMMT model\n\\cite{Kachru:2003sx}. They describe a probe brane configuration of $p$ D4\nbranes stretching between an $NS5$ and $NS5'$ branes in the holographic\nbackground of large $N$ D4 branes. The resulting cosmological models have a\nWick-rotated D4-brane metric, with transverse dimensions compactified, and a\nspiralling brane with flux $p$. In one model, the background has a small\nnonextremality, and the inflaton is provided by the position of a \"sliding\"\nD4-brane, and in the other, the background is supersymmetric, but with a\nsliding anti-D4-brane. We obtain good and generic inflationary models, though\nseveral unknowns remain, in particular about subleading corrections. The usual\ncaveat of volume stabilization generically spoiling slow-roll still applies.",
        "positive": "Lecture Notes for Massless Spinor and Massive Spinor Triangle Diagrams: These notes present the details of the computation of massless and massive\nspinor triangle loops for consistent anomalies in gauge theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Two Hundred Heterotic Standard Models on Smooth Calabi-Yau Threefolds: We construct heterotic standard models by compactifying on smooth Calabi-Yau\nthree-folds in the presence of purely Abelian internal gauge fields. A\nsystematic search over complete intersection Calabi-Yau manifolds with less\nthan six Kahler parameters leads to over 200 such models which we present. Each\nof these models has precisely the matter spectrum of the MSSM, at least one\npair of Higgs doublets, the standard model gauge group and no exotics. For\nabout 100 of these models there are, naively, four additional U(1) symmetries,\nhowever these are Green-Schwarz anomalous and, hence, massive. In the remaining\ncases, three U(1) symmetries are anomalous while the fourth, massless one can\nbe spontaneously broken by singlet vacuum expectation values. The presence of\nadditional global U(1) symmetries, together with the possibility of switching\non singlet vacuum expectation values, leads to a rich phenomenology which is\nillustrated for a particular example. Our database of standard models, which\ncan be further enlarged by simply extending the computer-based search, allows\nfor a detailed and systematic phenomenological analysis of string standard\nmodels, covering issues such as the structure of Yukawa couplings, R-parity\nviolation, proton stability and neutrino masses.",
        "positive": "Non-local partner to the cosmological constant: I show that quantum corrections due to a massive particle generates a\nnon-local term in the gravitational effective action which is of zeroth order\nin the derivative expansion, much like the cosmological constant. It carries a\nfixed coefficient which is very much larger than the cosmological constant, and\nwhich cannot be fine-tuned. The interaction is active at scales above the\nparticle's mass. This is of the form $m^4 (\\frac1{\\Box}R)_x \"<x|\\log (\\Box +m^2\n)|y >\" (\\frac1{\\Box}R)_y$, and I discuss the meaning of $ \"<x|\\log (\\Box +m^2)\n|y >\" $ and other aspects of its interpretation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauge Invariant Treatment of $\u03b3_{5}$ in the Scheme of 't Hooft and\n  Veltman: We propose moving all the $\\gamma_{5}$ matrices to the rightmost position\nbefore continuing the dimension, and show that this simple prescription will\nenable the dimension regularization scheme proposed by 't Hooft and Veltman to\nbe consistent with gauge invariance.",
        "positive": "One-loop effective action of the ${\\mathbb C}P^{N-1}$ model at large\n  $\u03bc\u03b2$: In this note we consider a non-linear, large-$N$ ${\\mathbb C}P^{N-1}$ sigma\nmodel on a finite size interval with periodic boundary conditions, at finite\ntemperature and chemical potential in the regime of $\\beta \\mu$ large. Our goal\nis to extend previous calculations and obtain the coefficients of the\nderivative expansion of the one-loop effective action in the region of $\\beta\n\\mu$ large by carrying out the appropriate analytical continuation. This\ncalculation complements previous results and allows us to conclude that the\nground state remains homogeneous in this regime as long as it is assumed to be\na slowly varying function of the spatial coordinates. While this is reasonable\nat the two extremes of small or large chemical potential, for intermediate\nvalues of the chemical potential and small enough temperature, one might expect\n(by analogy with other models) that lower energy crystalline solutions may\nexist. In this case a simple derivative expansion, like the one discussed here,\nwould need to be modified in order to capture these features."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "p-Brane Black Holes as Stability Islands: In multidimensional gravity with an arbitrary number of internal Ricci-flat\nfactor spaces, interacting with electric and magnetic $p$-branes, spherically\nsymmetric configurations are considered. It is shown that all single-brane\nblack-hole solutions are stable under spherically symmetric perturbations,\nwhereas similar solutions possessing naked singularities turn out to be\ncatastrophically unstable. The black hole stability conclusion is extended to\nsome classes of configurations with intersecting branes. These results do not\ndepend on the particular composition of the $D$-dimensional space-time, on the\nnumber of dilatonic scalar fields $\\phi^a$ and on the values of their coupling\nconstants. Some examples from 11-dimensional supergravity are considered.",
        "positive": "Winding out of the Swamp: Evading the Weak Gravity Conjecture with\n  F-term Winding Inflation?: We present a new model of large field inflation along a winding trajectory in\nthe field space of two axionic fields, where the 'axions' originate from the\ncomplex structure moduli sector of a Calabi-Yau 3-fold at large complex\nstructure. The winding trajectory arises from fixing one combination of axions\nby bulk fluxes and allows for a transplanckian effective field range. The\ninflaton potential arises from small 'instantonic' corrections to the geometry\nand realises natural inflation. By working in a regime of large complex\nstructure for two complex structure moduli the inflaton potential can be made\nsubdominant without severe tuning. We also discuss the impact of the recent\n'no-go theorems' for transplanckian axion periodicities on our work.\nInterestingly, our setup seems to realise a loophole pointed out in\narXiv:1503.00795 and arXiv:1503.04783: our construction is a candidate for a\nstring theory model of large field inflation which is consistent with the mild\nform of the weak gravity conjecture for axions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Standard Model and its Generalisations in Epstein-Glaser Approach to\n  Renormalisation Theory: We continue our study of non-Abelian gauge theories in the framework of\nEpstein-Glaser approach to renormalisation theory. We consider the case when\nmassive spin-one Bosons are present into the theory and we modify appropriately\nthe analysis of the origin of gauge invariance performed in a preceding paper\nin the case of null-mass spin-one Bosons. Then we are able to extend a result\nof D\\\"utsch and Scharf concerning the uniqueness of the standard model\nconsistent with renormalisation theory. In fact we consider the most general\ncase i.e. the consistent interaction of $r$ spin-one Bosons and we do not\nimpose any restriction on the gauge group and the mass spectrum of the theory.\nWe show that, beside the natural emergence of a group structure (like in the\nmassless case) we obtain, new conditions of group-theoretical nature, namely\nthe existence of a certain representation of the gauge group associated to the\nHiggs fields. Some other mass relations connecting the structure constants of\nthe gauge group and the masses of the Bosons emerge naturally. The proof is\ndone using Epstein-Glaser approach to renormalisation theory.",
        "positive": "Scale Invariance plus Unitarity Implies Conformal Invariance in Four\n  Dimensions: We give a non-perturbative proof that any 4D unitary and Lorentz-invariant\nquantum field theory with a conserved scale current is in fact conformally\ninvariant. We show that any scale invariant theory (unitary or not) must have\neither a vanishing anomaly for global scale transformations or an operator of\nspin 2 and dimension 2. Neither of these possibilities is allowed for unitary\ntheories, proving the result. This is also a strong constraint on non-unitary\nEuclidean theories with scale but not conformal invariance, suggesting the\nconjecture that all such theories are free field theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Integrable asymmetric $\u03bb$-deformations: We construct integrable deformations of the $\\lambda$-type for asymmetrically\ngauged WZW models. This is achieved by a modification of the Sfetsos gauging\nprocedure to account for a possible automorphism that is allowed in $G/G$\nmodels. We verify classical integrability, derive the one-loop beta function\nfor the deformation parameter and give the construction of integrable D-brane\nconfigurations in these models. As an application, we detail the case of the\n$\\lambda$-deformation of the cigar geometry corresponding to the axial gauged\n$SL(2,R)/U(1)$ theory at large $k$. Here we also exhibit a range of both A-type\nand B-type integrability preserving D-brane configurations.",
        "positive": "Vortex Holography: We show that the Abelian Higgs field equations in the four dimensional anti\nde Sitter spacetime have a vortex line solution. This solution, which has\ncylindrical symmetry in AdS$_4$, is a generalization of the flat spacetime\nNielsen-Olesen string. We show that the vortex induces a deficit angle in the\nAdS$_4$ spacetime that is proportional to its mass density. Using the AdS/CFT\ncorrespondence, we show that the mass density of the string is uniform and dual\nto the discontinuity of a logarithmic derivative of correlation function of the\nboundary scalar operator."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Observable effects of anisotropic bubble nucleation: Our universe may have formed via bubble nucleation in an eternally-inflating\nbackground. Furthermore, the background may have a compact dimension--the\nmodulus of which tunnels out of a metastable minimum during bubble\nnucleation--which subsequently grows to become one of our three large spatial\ndimensions. Then the reduced symmetry of the background is equivalent to\nanisotropic initial conditions in our bubble universe. We compute the\ninflationary spectrum in such a scenario and, as a first step toward\nunderstanding the effects of anisotropy, project it onto spherical harmonics.\nThe resulting spectrum exhibits anomalous multipole correlations, their\nrelative amplitude set by the present curvature parameter, which extend to\narbitrarily large multipole moments. This raises the possibility of future\ndetection, if slow-roll inflation does not last too long within our bubble. A\nfull understanding of the observational signal must account for the effects of\nbackground anisotropy on photon free streaming, and is left to future work.",
        "positive": "The many faces of OSp(1|32): We show that the complete superalgebra of symmetries, including central\ncharges, that underlies F-theories, M-theories and type II string theories in\ndimensions 12, 11 and 10 of various signatures correspond to rewriting of the\nsame OSp(1|32) algebra in different covariant ways. One only has to distinguish\nthe complex and the unique real algebra. We develop a common framework to\ndiscuss all signatures theories by starting from the complex form of OSp(1|32).\nTheories are distinguished by the choice of basis for this algebra. We\nformulate dimensional reductions and dualities as changes of basis of the\nalgebra. A second ingredient is the choice of a real form corresponding to a\nspecific signature. The existence of the real form of the algebra selects\npreferred spacetime signatures. In particular, we show how the real d=10 IIA\nand IIB superalgebras for various signatures are related by generalized\nT-duality transformations that not only involve spacelike but also timelike\ndirections. A third essential ingredient is that the translation generator in\none theory plays the role of a central charge operator in the other theory. The\nidentification of the translation generator in these algebras leads to the star\nalgebras of Hull, which are characterized by the fact that the positive\ndefinite energy operator is not part of the translation generators. We apply\nour results to discuss different T-dual pictures of the D-instanton solution of\nEuclidean IIB supergravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Ingoing Eddington-Finkelstein Metric of an Evaporating Black Hole: We present an approximate time-dependent metric in ingoing\nEddington-Finkelstein coordinates for an evaporating nonrotating black hole as\na first-order perturbation of the Schwarzschild metric, using the linearized\nback reaction from a realistic approximation to the stress-energy tensor for\nthe Hawking radiation in the Unruh quantum state.",
        "positive": "Superfield approach to a novel symmetry for non-Abelian gauge theory: In the framework of superfield formalism, we demonstrate the existence of a\nnew local, covariant, continuous and nilpotent (dual-BRST) symmetry for the\nBRST invariant Lagrangian density of a self-interacting two ($1 +\n1$)-dimensional (2D) non-Abelian gauge theory (having no interaction with\nmatter fields). The local and nilpotent Noether conserved charges corresponding\nto the above continuous symmetries find their geometrical interpretation as the\ntranslation generators along the odd (Grassmannian) directions of the four ($2\n+ 2)$-dimensional supermanifold."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "4D gravity on a brane from bulk higher-curvature terms: We study a gravity model where a tensionful codimension-one three-brane is\nembedded on a bulk with infinite transverse length. We find that 4D gravity is\ninduced on the brane already at the classical level if we include\nhigher-curvature (Gauss-Bonnet) terms in the bulk. Consistency conditions\nappear to require a negative brane tension as well as a negative coupling for\nthe higher-curvature terms.",
        "positive": "Decoherence and entropy of primordial fluctuations II. The entropy\n  budget: We calculate the entropy of adiabatic perturbations associated with a\ntruncation of the hierarchy of Green functions at the first non trivial level,\ni.e. in a self-consistent Gaussian approximation. We give the equation\ngoverning the entropy growth and discuss its phenomenology. It is parameterized\nby two model-dependent kernels. We then examine two particular inflationary\nmodels, one with isocurvature perturbations, the other with corrections due to\nloops of matter fields. In the first model the entropy grows rapidely, while in\nthe second the state remains pure (at one loop)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "N=2 supersymmetric AdS_4 solutions of M-theory: We analyse the most general N=2 supersymmetric solutions of D=11 supergravity\nconsisting of a warped product of four-dimensional anti-de-Sitter space with a\nseven-dimensional Riemannian manifold Y_7. We show that the necessary and\nsufficient conditions for supersymmetry can be phrased in terms of a local\nSU(2)-structure on Y_7. Solutions with non-zero M2-brane charge also admit a\ncanonical contact structure, in terms of which many physical quantities can be\nexpressed, including the free energy and the scaling dimensions of operators\ndual to supersymmetric wrapped M5-branes. We show that a special class of\nsolutions is singled out by imposing an additional symmetry, for which the\nproblem reduces to solving a second order non-linear ODE. As well as recovering\na known class of solutions, that includes the IR fixed point of a mass\ndeformation of the ABJM theory, we also find new solutions which are dual to\ncubic deformations. In particular, we find a new supersymmetric warped AdS_4 x\nS^7 solution with non-trivial four-form flux.",
        "positive": "Fluctuation and dissipation within a deformed holographic model with\n  backreaction: In this work we study the fluctuation and dissipation of a string attached to\na brane in a deformed and backreated AdS-Schwarzschild spacetime. This space is\na solution of Einstein-dilaton equations and contains a conformal exponential\nfactor $\\exp(k/r^2)$ in the metric. We consider the backreaction contributions\ncoming only from the exponential warp factor on the AdS-Schwarzschild black\nhole, where the string and brane are in the probe approximation.\n  Within this Lorentz invariant holographic model we have computed the\nadmittance, the diffusion coefficient, the two-point functions and the\nregularized mean square displacement $s^2_{reg}$. From this quantity we obtain\nthe diffuse and ballistic regimes characteristic of the Brownian motion. From\nthe two-point functions and the admittance, we also have checked the well know\nfluctuation-dissipation theorem in this set up."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fermionic Coset Realization of the Critical Ising Model: We obtain an explicit realization of all the primary fields of the Ising\nmodel in terms of a conformal field theory of constrained fermions. The\nfour-point correlators of the energy, order and disorder operators are\nexplicitly calculated.",
        "positive": "One-loop Superstring Amplitude From Integrals on Pure Spinors Space: In the Type II superstring the 4-point function for massless NS-NS bosons at\none-loop is well known [1][14]. The overall constant factor in this amplitude\nis very important because it needs to satisfy the unitarity and S-duality\nconditions [14]. This coefficient has not been computed in the pure spinor\nformalism due to the difficulty to solve the integrals on the pure spinors\nspace. In this paper we compute it by using the non-minimal pure spinor\nformalism and we will show that the answer is in perfect agreement with the one\ngiven in [14]."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Unruh effect detection through chirality in curved graphene: We analyze a generalization of the analogue Unruh effect based on curved\ngraphene. To this end, we consider the fourth order in derivatives field\ntheoretic version of the Pais-Uhlenbeck oscillator, for which the Unruh effect\nmay be interpreted as the creation of two different particles with different\nmasses, corresponding to two Klein-Gordon subsystems. For our model, unlike the\nstandard case, electron chirality on the graphene sheet plays a main role as\nchirality is essential to distinguish the couple of particles predicted by the\nUnruh effect associated to the Pais-Uhlenbeck field model.",
        "positive": "Representations of the Lie Superalgebra gl(1|n) in a Gel'fand-Zetlin\n  Basis and Wigner Quantum Oscillators: An explicit construction of all finite-dimensional irreducible\nrepresentations of the Lie superalgebra gl(1|n) in a Gel'fand-Zetlin basis is\ngiven. Particular attention is paid to the so-called star type I\nrepresentations (``unitary representations''), and to a simple class of\nrepresentations V(p), with p any positive integer. Then, the notion of Wigner\nQuantum Oscillators (WQOs) is recalled. In these quantum oscillator models, the\nunitary representations of gl(1|DN) are physical state spaces of the N-particle\nD-dimensional oscillator. So far, physical properties of gl(1|DN) WQOs were\ndescribed only in the so-called Fock spaces W(p), leading to interesting\nconcepts such as non-commutative coordinates and a discrete spatial structure.\nHere, we describe physical properties of WQOs for other unitary\nrepresentations, including certain representations V(p) of gl(1|DN). These new\nsolutions again have remarkable properties following from the spectrum of the\nHamiltonian and of the position, momentum, and angular momentum operators.\nFormulae are obtained that give the angular momentum content of all the\nrepresentations V(p) of gl(1|3N), associated with the N-particle 3-dimensional\nWQO. For these representations V(p) we also consider in more detail the\nspectrum of the position operators and their squares, leading to interesting\nconsequences. In particular, a classical limit of these solutions is obtained,\nthat is in agreement with the correspondence principle."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Flow Equations for Non-BPS Extremal Black Holes: We exploit some common features of black hole and domain wall solutions of\n(super)gravity theories coupled to scalar fields and construct a class of\nstable extremal black holes that are non-BPS, but still can be described by\nfirst-order differential equations. These are driven by a \"superpotential'',\nwhich replaces the central charge Z in the usual black hole potential. We\nprovide a general procedure for finding this class and deriving the associated\n\"superpotential''. We also identify some other cases which do not belong to\nthis class, but show a similar behaviour.",
        "positive": "Lorentz Symmetry Breaking in $\\mathcal{N} =2$ Superspace: In this paper, we will study the deformation of a three dimensional theory\nwith $\\mathcal{N} =2$ supersymmetry. This theory will be deformed by the\npresence of a constant vector field. This deformation will break the Lorentz\nsymmetry. So, we will analyse this theory using $\\mathcal{N} =2$ aether\nsuperspace. The $\\mathcal{N} =2$ aether superspace will be obtained from a\ndeformation of the usual $\\mathcal{N} =2$ superspace. This will be done by\ndeforming the generators of the three dimensional $\\mathcal{N} =2$\nsupersymmetry. After analysing this deformed superalgebra, we will derive an\nexplicit expression for the superspace propagators in this deformed superspace.\nFinally, we will use these propagators for performing perturbative\ncalculations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Inflation in Gauged 6D Supergravity: In this note we demonstrate that chaotic inflation can naturally be realized\nin the context of an anomaly free minimal gauged supergravity in D=6 which has\nrecently been the focus of some attention. This particular model has a unique\nmaximally symmetric ground state solution, $R^{3,1} \\times S^2$ which leaves\nhalf of the six-dimensional supersymmetries unbroken. In this model, the\ninflaton field $\\phi$ originates from the complex scalar fields in the D=6\nscalar hypermultiplet. The mass and the self couplings of the scalar field are\ndictated by the D=6 Lagrangian. The scalar potential has an absolute munimum at\n$\\phi = 0$ with no undetermined moduli fields. Imposing a mild bound on the\nradius of $S^2$ enables us to obtain chaotic inflation. The low eenrgy\nequations of motion are shown to be consistent for the range of scalar field\nvalues relevant for inflation.",
        "positive": "Green-Schwarz Superstrings on AdS_3 and the Boundary N=4 Superconformal\n  Algebra: We study the hybrid formulation of Green-Schwarz superstrings on AdS_3 with\nNS flux and the boundary N=4 superconformal algebra. We show the equivalence\nbetween the NSR and GS superstrings by a field redefinition. The boundary N=4\nsuperconformal algebra is realized by the free fields of the affine Lie\nsuperalgebra A(1|1)^{(1)}. We also consider the light-cone gauge and obtain the\nN=4 super-Liouville theory which describes the effective theory of the single\nlong string near the singularities of the D1-D5 system."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Expansions for semiclassical conformal blocks: We propose a relation the expansions of regular and irregular semiclassical\nconformal blocks at different branch points making use of the connection\nbetween the accessory parameters of the BPZ decoupling equations to the\nlogarithm derivative of isomonodromic tau functions. We give support for these\nrelations by considering two eigenvalue problems for the confluent Heun\nequations obtained from the linearized perturbation theory of black holes. We\nfirst derive the large frequency expansion of the spheroidal equations, and\nthen compare numerically the excited quasi-normal mode spectrum for the\nSchwarzschild case obtained from the large frequency expansion to the one\nobtained from the low frequency expansion and with the literature, indicating\nthat the relations hold generically in the complex modulus plane.",
        "positive": "Classification of Finite Spectral Triples: It is known that the spin structure on a Riemannian manifold can be extended\nto noncommutative geometry using the notion of a spectral triple. For finite\ngeometries, the corresponding finite spectral triples are completely described\nin terms of matrices and classified using diagrams. When tensorized with the\nordinary space-time geometry, finite spectral triples give rise to Yang-Mills\ntheories with spontaneous symmetry breaking, whose characteristic features are\ngiven within the diagrammatic approach: vertices of the diagram correspond to\ngauge multiplets of chiral fermions and links to Yukawa couplings."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Unitary theory of massive non-Abelian vector bosons: This paper is being revised to make it intelligible, and to incorporate some\ncorrections.",
        "positive": "Probabilities and Path-Integral Realization of Exclusion Statistics: A microscopic formulation of Haldane's exclusions statistics is given in\nterms of a priori occupation probabilities of states. It is shown that negative\nprobabilities are always necessary to reproduce fractional statistics. Based on\nthis formulation, a path-integral realization for systems with exclusion\nstatistics is derived. This has the advantage of being generalizable to\ninteracting systems, and can be used as the starting point for further\ngeneralizations of statistics. As a byproduct, the vanishing of the heat\ncapacity at zero temperature for exclusion statistics systems is proved."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Notes on time entanglement and pseudo-entropy: Following arXiv:2210.12963 [hep-th], we investigate aspects of the time\nevolution operator regarded as a density operator and associated\nentanglement-like structures in various quantum systems. These involve timelike\nseparations and generically lead to complex-valued entropy, although there are\ninteresting real subfamilies. There are many parallels and close relations with\nreduced transition matrices and pseudo-entropy, which we discuss and clarify.\nFor instance, a related quantity involves the time evolution operator along\nwith a projection onto some initial state, which amounts to analysing\npseudo-entropy for the initial state and its time-evolved final state.",
        "positive": "Explicit Non-Abelian Gerbes with Connections: We define the notion of adjustment for strict Lie 2-groups and provide the\ncomplete cocycle description for non-Abelian gerbes with connections whose\nstructure 2-group is an adjusted 2-group. Most importantly, we depart from the\ncommon fake-flat connections and employ adjusted connections. This is an\nimportant generalisation that is needed for physical applications especially in\nthe context of supergravity. We give a number of explicit examples; in\nparticular, we lift the spin structure on $S^4$, corresponding to an\ninstanton-anti-instanton pair, to a string structure, a 2-group bundle with\nconnection. We also outline how categorified forms of Bogomolny monopoles known\nas self-dual strings can be obtained via a Penrose-Ward transform of string\nbundles over twistor space."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "From BFV to BV and spacetime covariance: The BFV formulation of a given gauge theory is usually significantly easier\nto obtain than its BV formulation. Grigoriev and Damgaard introduced simple\nformulas for obtaining the latter from the former. Since BFV relies on the\nHamiltonian version of the gauge theory, however, it does not come as a\nsurprise that in general the resulting BV theory does not exhibit space-time\ncovariance. We provide an explicit example of this phenomenon in two spacetime\ndimensions and show how to restore covariance of the BV data by improving the\nGrigoriev--Damgaard procedure with appropriate adaptations of its original\nformulas.",
        "positive": "Static, non-SUSY $p$-branes in diverse dimensions: We give explicit constructions of static, non-supersymmetric $p$-brane (for\n$p \\leq d-4$, where $d$ is the space-time dimensionality and including $p=-1$\nor D-instanton) solutions of type II supergravities in diverse dimensions. A\nsubclass of these are the static counterpart of the time dependent solutions\nobtained in [hep-th/0309202]. Depending on the forms of the non-extremality\nfunction $G(r)$ defined in the text, we discuss various possible solutions and\ntheir region of validity. We show how one class of these solutions interpolate\nbetween the $p$-brane--anti $p$-brane solutions and the usual BPS $p$-brane\nsolutions in $d=10$, while the other class, although have BPS limits, do not\nhave such an interpretation. We point out how the time dependent solutions\nmentioned above can be obtained by a Wick rotation of one class of these static\nsolutions. We also discuss another type of solutions which might seem\nnon-supersymmetric, but we show by a coordinate transformation that they are\nnothing but the near horizon limits of the various BPS $p$-branes already\nknown."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Phase structure and phase transitions of the SU(2) x O(N) symmetric\n  scalar field theory: Radiatively induced SU(2) symmetry breaking is shown to be a genuine feature\nof SU(2) x O(N) globally symmetric renormalisable field theories in the large N\nlimit, describing interaction of a complex SU(2) doublet, O(N)-singlet field\nwith an SU(2) singlet, O(N) vector. Symmetry breaking solutions are found even\nwhen all fields have positive renormalised squared mass. The emerging novel\nmechanism of symmetry breaking can reproduce with a choice of N~300 the\nstandard range of the electroweak condensate and the Higgs mass occurring in\nthe extended Higgs dynamics of an SU(2) symmetric Gauge+Higgs model.",
        "positive": "Characters of the BMS Group in Three Dimensions: Using the Frobenius formula, we evaluate characters associated with certain\ninduced representations of the centrally extended BMS$_3$ group. This\ncomputation involves a functional integral over a coadjoint orbit of the\nVirasoro group; a delta function localizes the integral to a single point,\nallowing us to obtain an exact result. The latter is independent of the\nspecific form of the functional measure, and holds for all values of the\nBMS$_3$ central charges and all values of the chosen mass and spin. It can also\nbe recovered as a flat limit of Virasoro characters."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The eleven-dimensional supermembrane revisited: It is argued that the type IIA 10-dimensional superstring theory is actually\na compactified 11-dimensional supermembrane theory in which the fundamental\nsupermembrane is identified with the the solitonic membrane of 11-dimensional\nsupergravity. The charged extreme black holes of the 10-dimensional type IIA\nstring theory are interpreted as the Kaluza-Klein modes of 11-dimensional\nsupergravity and the dual sixbranes as the analogue of Kaluza-Klein monopoles.\nAll other p-brane solutions of the type IIA superstring theory are derived from\nthe 11-dimensional membrane and its magnetic dual fivebrane soliton.",
        "positive": "The slow expansion with nonminimal derivative coupling and its conformal\n  dual: We show that the primordial gravitational wave with scale-invariant spectrum\nmight emerge from a nearly Minkowski space, in which the gravity is\nasymptotic-past free. We illustrate it with a model, in which the derivative of\nbackground scalar field nonminimally couples to gravity. We also show that\nsince here the tensor perturbation is dominated by its growing mode,\nmathematically our slowly expanding background is conformally dual to the\nmatter contraction, but there is no the anisotropy problem."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Basis Optimization Renormalization Group for Quantum Hamiltonian: We find an algorithm of numerical renormalization group for spin chain\nmodels. The essence of this algorithm is orthogonal transformation of basis\nstates, which is useful for reducing the number of relevant basis states to\ncreate effective Hamiltonian. We define two types of rotations and combine them\nto create appropriate orthogonal transformation.",
        "positive": "Interactions in the SL(2,R)/U(1) Black Hole Background: We calculate two- and three-point tachyon amplitudes of the SL(2,R)/U(1)\ntwo-dimensional Euclidean black hole for spherical topologies in the continuum\napproach proposed by Bershadsky and Kutasov. We find an interesting relation to\nthe tachyon scattering amplitudes of standard non-critical string theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Global Structure of Deffayet (Dvali-Gabadadze-Porrati) Cosmologies: We detail the global structure of the five-dimensional bulk for the\ncosmological evolution of Dvali-Gabadadze-Porrati braneworlds. The picture\narticulated here provides a framework and intuition for understanding how\nmetric perturbations leave (and possibly reenter) the brane universe. A bulk\nobserver sees the braneworld as a relativistically expanding bubble, viewed\neither from the interior (in the case of the\nFriedmann-Lemaitre-Robertson-Walker phase) or the exterior (the\nself-accelerating phase). Shortcuts through the bulk in the first phase can\nlead to an apparent brane causality violation and provide an opportunity for\nthe evasion of the horizon problem found in conventional four-dimensional\ncosmologies. Features of the global geometry in the latter phase anticipate a\ndepletion of power for linear metric perturbations on large scales.",
        "positive": "Quantum quenches of holographic plasmas: We employ holographic techniques to study quantum quenches at finite\ntemperature, where the quenches involve varying the coupling of the boundary\ntheory to a relevant operator with an arbitrary conformal dimension\n$2\\leq\\D\\leq4$. The evolution of the system is studied by evaluating the\nexpectation value of the quenched operator and the stress tensor throughout the\nprocess. The time dependence of the new coupling is characterized by a fixed\ntimescale and the response of the observables depends on the ratio of the this\ntimescale to the initial temperature. The observables exhibit universal scaling\nbehaviours when the transitions are either fast or slow, i.e. when this ratio\nis very small or very large. The scaling exponents are smooth functions of the\noperator dimension. We find that in fast quenches, the relaxation time is set\nby the thermal timescale regardless of the operator dimension or the precise\nquenching rate."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Bounds on Tensor wave and Twisted Inflation: We study the bounds on tensor wave in a class of twisted inflation models\nwhere $D(4+2k)$-branes are wrapped on cycles in the compact manifold and wrap\nthe KK-direction in the corresponding effective field theory. While the lower\nbound is found to be analogous to that in Type IIB models of brane inflation,\nthe upper bound turns out to be significantly different. This is argued for a\nrange of values for the parameter $g_s M$ satisfying the self-consistency\nrelation and the WMAP data. Further, we observe that the wrapped $D8$-brane\nappears to be the most attractive from a cosmological perspective.",
        "positive": "Bulk photons in Asymmetrically Warped Space-times and Non-trivial Vacuum\n  Refractive Index: We consider asymmetrically warped brane models, or equivalently brane models\nwhere the background metric is characterized by different time and space warp\nfactors. The main feature of these models is that 4D Lorentz symmetry is\nviolated for fields which propagate in the bulk, such as gravitons. In this\npaper we examine the case of bulk photons in asymmetrically warped brane\nmodels. Although our results are general, we examine here two specific but\ncharacteristic solutions: 1) AdS-Schwarzschild 5D Black Hole solution and 2)\nAdS-Reissner Nordstrom 5D Black Hole solution. We show that the standard\nLorentz invariant dispersion relation for 4D photons is corrected by nonlinear\nterms which lead to an Energy-dependent speed of light. Specifically, we obtain\na sub-luminous Energy-dependent refractive index of the form\nn_{eff}(\\omega)=1+c_{G} \\omega^2, where \\omega is the energy of the photon, and\nthe factor c_G is always positive and depends on the free parameters of the\nmodel. Finally, comparing the results with recent data from the MAGIC\nTelescope, claiming a delayed arrival of photons from the Active Galactic\nNucleus of Mk501, we impose concrete restrictions to the two sets of models\nexamined in this work. We shall also discuss briefly other possible\nastrophysical constraints on our models."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "40 Bilinear Relations of q-Painleve VI from N=4 Super Chern-Simons\n  Theory: We investigate partition functions of the circular-quiver supersymmetric\nChern-Simons theory which corresponds to the q-deformed Painleve VI equation.\nFrom the partition functions with the lowest rank vanishing, where the circular\nquiver reduces to a linear one, we find 40 bilinear relations. The bilinear\nrelations extend naturally to higher ranks if we regard these partition\nfunctions as those in the lowest order of the grand canonical partition\nfunctions in the fugacity. Furthermore, we show that these bilinear relations\nare a powerful tool to determine some unknown partition functions. We also\nelaborate the relation with some previous works on q-Painleve equations.",
        "positive": "Lightfront holography and area density of entropy associated with\n  localization on wedge-horizons: It is shown that a suitably formulated algebraic lightfront holography, in\nwhich the lightfront is viewed as the linear extension of the upper causal\nhorizon of a wedge region, is capable of overcoming the shortcomings of the old\nlightfront quantization. The absence of transverse vacuum fluctuations which\nthis formalism reveals, is responsible for an area (edge of the wedge)\n-rearrangement of degrees of freedom which in turn leads to the notion of area\ndensity of entropy for a ``split localization''. This area proportionality of\nhorizon associated entropy has to be compared to the volume dependence of\nordinary heat bath entropy. The desired limit, in which the split distance\nvanishes and the localization on the horizon becomes sharp, can at most yield a\nrelative area density which measures the ratio of area densities for different\nquantum matter. In order to obtain a normalized area density one needs the\nunknown analog of a second fundamental law of thermodynamics for thermalization\ncaused by vacuum fluctuation through localization on causal horizons. This is\nsimilar to the role of the classical Gibbs form of that law which relates\nBekenstein's classical area formula with the Hawking quantum mechanism for\nthermalization from black holes. PACS: 11.10.-z, 11.30.-j, 11.55.-m"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A new continuum limit of matrix models: We define a new scaling limit of matrix models which can be related to the\nmethod of causal dynamical triangulations (CDT) used when investigating\ntwo-dimensional quantum gravity. Surprisingly, the new scaling limit of the\nmatrix models is also a matrix model, thus explaining why the recently\ndeveloped CDT continuum string field theory (arXiv:0802.0719) has a\nmatrix-model representation (arXiv:0804.0252).",
        "positive": "A Brief Introduction to Poisson Sigma-Models: The theory of Poisson-$\\sigma$-models employs the mathematical notion of\nPoisson manifolds to formulate and analyze a large class of topological and\nalmost topological two dimensional field theories. As special examples this\nclass of field theories includes pure Yang-Mills and gravity theories, and, to\nsome extent, the G/G gauged WZW-model. The aim of this contribution is to give\na pedagogical introduction, explaining many aspects of the general theory by\nillustrative examples."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Possible origin of CMB temperature fluctuations: Vacuum fluctuations of\n  Kaluza-Klein and string states during inflationary era: We point out that the temperature fluctuations of cosmic microwave background\n(CMB) can be generated in a way that is different from the one usually assumed\nin slow-roll inflation. Our mechanism is based on vacuum fluctuations of fields\nwhich are at rest at the bottom of the potential, such as Kaluza-Klein modes or\nstring excited states. When there are a large number (typically of order $N\\sim\n10^{14}$) of fields with small mass in unit of Hubble parameter during the\ninflationary era, this effect can give significant contributions to the CMB\ntemperature fluctuations. This number $N$ makes it possible to enhance scalar\nperturbation relative to tensor perturbation. Comparison with the observed\namplitudes suggests that models with string scale of order $10^{-5}$ of 4D\nPlanck scale are favorable.",
        "positive": "A black lens in bubble of nothing: Applying the inverse scattering method to static and bi-axisymmetric Einstein\nequations, we construct a non-rotating black lens inside bubble of nothing\nwhose horizon is topologically lens space L(n,1)=S^3/Z_n. Using this solution,\nwe discuss whether a static black lens can be in equilibrium by the force\nbalance between the expansion and gravitational attraction."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spectrum of rotating black holes and its implications for Hawking\n  radiation: The reduced phase space formalism for quantising black holes has recently\nbeen extended to find the area and angular momentum spectra of four dimensional\nKerr black holes. We extend this further to rotating black holes in all\nspacetime dimensions and show that although as in four dimensions the spectrum\nis discrete, it is not equispaced in general. As a result, Hawking radiation\nspectra from these black holes are continuous, as opposed to the discrete\nspectrum predicted for four dimensional black holes.",
        "positive": "Spacetime Brout-Englert-Higgs effect in General Relativity interacting\n  with p-brane matter: We review the manifestation of the Brout-Englert-Higgs effect in general\nrelativity interacting with point-like and extended objects (p-branes including\nstring for p=1 and membrane for p=2), which manifests itself in the appearance\nof the brane source in the Einstein equation while the graviton remains\nmassless (hep-th/0112207, hep-th/0507197 and refs therein), and discuss briefly\nits relation and differences with the model for massive spin 2 field proposed\nrecently by G. t'Hooft in [arXiv:0708.3184 [hep-th]]."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Wormholes in 2d Horava-Lifshitz quantum gravity: We quantize the two-dimensional projectable Horava-Lifshitz gravity with a\nbi-local as well as space-like wormhole interaction. The resulting quantum\nHamiltonian coincides with the one obtained through summing over all genus in\nthe string field theory for two-dimensional causal dynamical triangulations.\nThis implies that our wormhole interaction can be interpreted as a splitting or\njoining interaction of one-dimensional strings.",
        "positive": "Hermitian-Einstein metrics from noncommutative $U\\left(1 \\right)$\n  instantons: We show that Hermitian-Einstein metrics can be locally constructed by a map\nfrom (anti-)self-dual two-forms on Euclidean ${\\mathbb R}^4$ to symmetric\ntwo-tensors introduced in \"Gravitational instantons from gauge theory,\" H. S.\nYang and M. Salizzoni, Phys. Rev. Lett. (2006) 201602, [hep-th/0512215]. This\ncorrespondence is valid not only for a commutative space but also for a\nnoncommutative space. We choose $U(1)$ instantons on a noncommutative ${\\mathbb\nC}^2$ as the self-dual two-form, from which we derive a family of\nHermitian-Einstein metrics. We also discuss the condition when the metric\nbecomes K\\\"ahler."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Loop corrections and graceful exit in string cosmology: We examine the effect of perturbative string loops on the cosmological\npre-big-bang evolution. We study loop corrections derived from heterotic string\ntheory compactified on a $Z_N$ orbifold and we consider the effect of the\nall-order loop corrections to the Kahler potential and of the corrections to\ngravitational couplings, including both threshold corrections and corrections\ndue to the mixed Kahler-gravitational anomaly. We find that string loops can\ndrive the evolution into the region of the parameter space where a graceful\nexit is in principle possible, and we find solutions that, in the string frame,\nconnect smoothly the superinflationary pre-big-bang evolution to a phase where\nthe curvature and the derivative of the dilaton are decreasing. We also find\nthat at a critical coupling the loop corrections to the Kahler potential induce\na ghost-like instability, i.e. the kinetic term of the dilaton vanishes. This\nis similar to what happens in Seiberg-Witten theory and signals the transition\nto a new regime where the light modes in the effective action are different and\nare related to the original ones by S-duality. In a string context, this means\nthat we enter a D-brane dominated phase.",
        "positive": "Homological Algebra and Yang-Mills Theory: The antifield-BRST formalism and the various cohomologies associated with it\nare surveyed and illustrated in the context of Yang-Mills gauge theory. In\nparticular, the central role played by the Koszul-Tate resolution and its\nrelation to the characteristic cohomology are stressed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Yang-Baxter Equation on Two-Dimensional Lattice and Some Infinite\n  Dimensional Algebras: We show that the Yang-Baxter equation is equivalent to the associativity of\nthe algebra generated by non-commuting link operators. Starting from these link\noperators we build out the (FFZ) algebras, the $s\\ell_q (2)$ is derived by\nconsidering a special combination of the generators of (FFZ) algebra.",
        "positive": "Meromorphic CFTs have central charges c = 8$\\mathbb{N}$: a proof by the\n  MLDE approach: In this short note, we present a simple and elementary proof that meromorphic\nconformal field theories (CFTs) have central charges of the form: $c=8N$ with\n$N\\in\\mathbb{N}$ (the set of natural numbers) using the modular linear\ndifferential equations (MLDEs) approach. We first set up the 1-character MLDE\nfor arbitrary value of the Wronskian index: $\\ell$. From this we get the\ngeneral form of the meromorphic CFT's character. We then study its modular\ntransformations and the asymptotic value of it's Fourier coefficients to\nconclude that odd values of $\\ell$ make the character in-admissible implying\nthat the central charge for admissible character has to be a multiple of 8."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Power-law cosmologies in minimal and maximal gauged supergravity: In this paper we search for accelerating power-law solutions and ekpyrotic\nsolutions within minimal and maximal four dimensional supergravity theories. We\nfocus on the STU model for N=1 and on the new CSO(p,q,r) theories, which were\nrecently obtained exploiting electromagnetic duality, for N=8. In the minimal\ncase we find some new ekpyrotic solutions, while in the maximal case we find\nsome new generic power-law solutions. We do not find any new accelerating\nsolutions for these models.",
        "positive": "Quantization of the Type II Superstring in a Curved Six-Dimensional\n  Background: A sigma model action with N=2 D=6 superspace variables is constructed for the\nType II superstring compactified to six curved dimensions with Ramond-Ramond\nflux. The action can be quantized since the sigma model is linear when the\nsix-dimensional spacetime is flat. When the six-dimensional spacetime is\n$AdS_3\\times S^3$, the action reduces to one found earlier with Vafa and\nWitten."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauge fixing and BRST formalism in non-Abelian gauge theories: In this Thesis we present a comprehensive study of perturbative and\nnon-perturbative non-Abelian gauge theories in the light of gauge-fixing\nprocedures, focusing our attention on the BRST formalism in Yang-Mills theory.\nWe propose first a model to re-write the Faddeev-Popov quantisation method in\nterms of group-theoretical techniques and then we give a possible way to solve\nthe no-go theorem of Neuberger for lattice Yang-Mills theory with double BRST\nsymmetry. In the final part we present a study of the Batalin-Vilkovisky\nquantisation method for non-linear gauges in non-Abelian gauge theories.",
        "positive": "N=2 Supersymmetric U(1) Gauge Theory in Noncommutative Harmonic\n  Superspace: We study N=2 supersymmetric U(1) gauge theory in the noncommutative harmonic\nsuperspace with nonanticommutative fermionic coordinates. We examine the gauge\ntransformation which preserves the Wess-Zumino gauge by harmonic expansions of\ncomponent fields. The gauge transformation is shown to depend on the\ndeformation parameters and the anti-holomorphic scalar field. We compute the\naction explicitly up to the third order in component fields and discuss the\nfield redefinitions so that the component fields transform canonically."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Three Dimensional Chern-Simons Theory as a Theory of Knots and Links: Three dimensional SU(2) Chern-Simons theory has been studied as a topological\nfield theory to provide a field theoretic description of knots and links in\nthree dimensions. A systematic method has been developed to obtain the\nlink-invariants within this field theoretic framework. The monodromy properties\nof the correlators of the associated Wess-Zumino SU(2)$_k$ conformal field\ntheory on a two-dimensional sphere prove to be useful tools. The method is\nsimple enough to yield a whole variety of new knot invariants of which the\nJones polynomials are the simplest example.",
        "positive": "Anomalous Thresholds for the S-matrix of Unstable Particles: In this work, we study the analytic properties of S-matrix for unstable\nparticles, which is defined as the residues on the unphysical sheets where\nunstable poles reside. We demonstrate that anomalous threshold associated with\nUV physics is unavoidable for unstable particles. This is in contrast to stable\nparticles, where the anomalous thresholds are due to IR physics, set by the\nscale of the external kinematics. As a result any dispersive representation for\nthe amplitude will involve contributions from these thresholds that are not\ncomputable from the IR theory, and thus invalidates general positivity bound.\nIndeed using toy models, we explicitly demonstrate that the four-derivative\ncouplings for unstable particles can become negative, violating positivity\nbounds even for non-gravitational theories. Along the way we show that\ncontributions from anomalous thresholds in a given channel can be captured by\nthe double discontinuity of that channel."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A mini-course on topological strings: These are the lecture notes for a short course in topological string theory\nthat I gave at Uppsala University in the fall of 2004. The notes are aimed at\nPhD students who have studied quantum field theory and general relativity, and\nwho have some general knowledge of ordinary string theory. The main purpose of\nthe course is to cover the basics: after a review of the necessary mathematical\ntools, a thorough discussion of the construction of the A- and B-model\ntopological strings from twisted N=(2,2) supersymmetric field theories is\ngiven. The notes end with a brief discussion on some selected applications.",
        "positive": "Light-Front Quantization and Spontaneous Symmetry Breaking: The spontaneous symmetry breaking (and Higgs) mechanism in the theory\nquantized on the light-front ({\\it l.f.}), in the {\\it discretized\nformulation}, is discussed. The infinite volume limit is taken to obtain the\n{\\it continuum version}. The hamiltonian formulation is shown to contain a new\ningredient in the form of nonlocal {\\it constraint eqs.} which lead to a {\\it\nnonlocal l.f. Hamiltonian}. The description of the broken symmetry here has the\nsame physical content as in the conventional formulation though arrived at\nthrough a different mechanism."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Adding flavour to the S-matrix bootstrap: We explore the S-matrices of gapped, unitary, Lorentz invariant quantum field\ntheories with a global O($N$) symmetry in 1+1 dimensions. We extremize various\ncubic and quartic couplings in the two-to-two scattering amplitudes of vector\nparticles. Saturating these bounds, we encounter known integrable models with\nO($N$) symmetry such as the O($N$) Gross-Neveu and non-linear sigma models and\nthe scattering of kinks in the sine-Gordon model. We also considered more\ngeneral mass spectra for which we move away from the integrable realm. In this\nregime we find (numerically, through a large N analysis and sometimes even\nanalytically) that the S-matrices saturating the various coupling bounds have\nan extremely rich structure exhibiting infinite resonances and virtual states\nin the various kinematical sheets. They are rather exotic in that they admit no\nparticle production yet they do not obey Yang-Baxter equations. We discuss\ntheir physical (ir)relevance and speculate, based on some preliminary numerics,\nthat they might be close to more realistic realistic theories with particle\nproduction.",
        "positive": "Chiral Symmetry restoration in the massive Thirring model at finite T\n  and $\u03bc$: Dimensional reduction and the Coulomb gas: We show that in certain limits the (1+1)-dimensional massive Thirring model\nat finite temperature $T$ is equivalent to a one-dimensional Coulomb gas of\ncharged particles at the same $T$. This equivalence is then used to explore the\nphase structure of the massive Thirring model. For strong coupling and $T>>m$\n(the fermion mass) the system is shown to behave as a free gas of \"molecules\"\n(charge pairs in the Coulomb gas terminology) made of pairs of chiral\ncondensates. This binding of chiral condensates is responsible for the\nrestoration of chiral symmetry as $T\\to\\infty$. In addition, when a fermion\nchemical potential $\\mu\\neq 0$ is included, the analogy with a Coulomb gas\nstill holds with $\\mu$ playing the role of a purely imaginary external electric\nfield. For small $T$ and $\\mu$ we find a typical massive Fermi gas behaviour\nfor the fermion density, whereas for large $\\mu$ it shows chiral restoration by\nmeans of a vanishing effective fermion mass. Some similarities with the chiral\nproperties of low-energy QCD at finite $T$ and baryon chemical potential are\ndiscussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Helical Phase Inflation: We show that the quadratic inflation can be realized by the phase of a\ncomplex field with helicoid potential. Remarkably, this helicoid potential can\nbe simply realized in minimal supergravity. The global $U(1)$ symmetry of the\nK\\\"ahler potential introduces a flat direction and evades the $\\eta$ problem\nautomatically. So such inflation is technically natural. The phase excursion is\nsuper-Planckian as required by the Lyth bound, while the norm of the complex\nfield can be suppressed in the sub-Planckian region. This model resolves the\nultraviolet sensitive problem of the large field inflation, besides, it also\nprovides a new type of monodromy inflation in supersymmetric field theory with\nconsistent field stabilization.",
        "positive": "Stochastic Processes and the Dirac Equation with External Fields: The equation describing the stochastic motion of a classical particle in\n1+1-dimensional space-time is connected to the Dirac equation with external\ngauge fields. The effects of assigning different turning probabilities to the\nforward and the backward moving particles in time are discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Production of Dirac Particles in External Electromagnetic Fields: Pair creation of spin- 1/2 particles in Minkowski spacetime is investigated\nby obtaining exact solu- tions of the Dirac equation in the presence of\nelectromagnetic fields and using them for determining the Bogoliubov\ncoefficients. The resulting particle creation number density depends on the\nstrength of the electric and magnetic fields.",
        "positive": "N=2 Superstrings with (1,2m) Spacetime Signature: We show that the $N=2$ superstring in $d=2D\\ge6$ real dimensions, with\ncriticality achieved by including background charges in the two real time\ndirections, exhibits a ``coordinate-freezing'' phenomenon, whereby the momentum\nin one of the two time directions is constrained to take a specific value for\neach physical state. This effectively removes this time direction as a physical\ncoordinate, leaving the theory with $(1,d-2)$ real spacetime signature. Norm\ncalculations for low-lying physical states suggest that the theory is ghost\nfree."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Linear Response Theory for Symmetry Improved Two Particle Irreducible\n  Effective Actions: We investigate the linear response of an O(N) scalar quantum field theory\nsubject to external perturbations using the symmetry improved two particle\nirreducible effective action formalism [A. Pilaftsis and D. Teresi, Nucl. Phys.\nB874, 594 (2013)]. Despite satisfactory equilibrium behavior, we find a number\nof unphysical effects at the linear response level. Goldstone boson field\nfluctuations are over-determined, with the only consistent solution being to\nset the fluctuations and their driving sources to zero, except for momentum\nmodes where the Higgs and Goldstone self-energies obey a particular\nrelationship. Also Higgs field fluctuations propagate masslessly, despite the\nHiggs propagator having the correct mass. These pathologies are independent of\nany truncation of the effective action and still exist even if we relax the\nover-determining Ward identities, so long as the constraint is formulated\nO(N)-covariantly. We discuss possible reasons for the apparent incompatibility\nof the constraints and linear response approximation and possible ways forward.",
        "positive": "Conformal dynamics of quantum gravity with torsion: The trace anomaly induced dynamics of the conformal factor is investigated in\nfour-dimensional quantum gravity with torsion. The constraints for the coupling\nconstants of torsion matter interaction are obtained in the infrared stable\nfixed point of the effective scalar theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Conformal Galilei groups, Veronese curves, and Newton-Hooke spacetimes: Finite-dimensional nonrelativistic conformal Lie algebras spanned by\npolynomial vector fields of Galilei spacetime arise if the dynamical exponent\nis z=2/N with N=1,2,.... Their underlying group structure and matrix\nrepresentation are constructed (up to a covering) by means of the Veronese map\nof degree N. Suitable quotients of the conformal Galilei groups provide us with\nNewton-Hooke nonrelativistic spacetimes with a quantized reduced negative\ncosmological constant \\lambda=-N.",
        "positive": "ER = EPR revisited: On the Entropy of an Einstein-Rosen Bridge: We propose a new link between entropy and area: an eternal black hole with an\nER bridge with cross-section $A$ can carry a macroscopic amount of quantum\ninformation, or be in a mixed state, with entropy bounded by $S \\leq A/4G_N$.\nWe substantiate our proposal in the context of AdS3 and JT gravity, by using\nthe Island prescription and replica wormhole method for computing the black\nhole entropy. We argue that the typical mixed state of a two sided black hole\ntakes the form of an entangled `thermo-mixed double' state with only classical\ncorrelations between the two sides. Our result for the von Neumann entropy of a\npost-Page time two-sided black hole is smaller by a factor of two from previous\nanswers. Our reasoning implies that black hole quantum information is\ntopologically protected, similar to the information stored inside a topological\nquantum memory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Comments on N=4 Superconformal Algebras: We present a new and asymmetric N=4 superconformal algebra for arbitrary\ncentral charge, thus completing our recent work on its classical analogue with\nvanishing central charge. Besides the Virasoro generator and 4 supercurrents,\nthe algebra consists of an internal SL(2) \\otimes U(1) Kac-Moody algebra in\naddition to two spin 1/2 fermions and a bosonic scalar. The algebra is shown to\nbe invariant under a linear twist of the generators, except for a unique value\nof the continuous twist parameter. At this value, the invariance is broken and\nthe algebra collapses to the small N=4 superconformal algebra. In the context\nof string theory, the asymmetric N=4 superconformal algebra is provided with an\nexplicit construction on the boundary of AdS_3, and is induced by an affine\nSL(2|2) current superalgebra residing on the world sheet. Substituting the\nworld sheet SL(2|2) by the coset SL(2|2)/U(1) results in the small N=4\nsuperconformal algebra on the boundary of AdS_3.",
        "positive": "Cosmological Rescaling through Warped Space: We discuss a scenario where at least part of the homogeneity on a brane world\ncan be directly related to the hierarchy problem through warped space. We study\nthe dynamics of an anti-D3-brane moving toward the infrared cut-off of a warped\nbackground. After a region described by the DBI action, the self-energy of the\nanti-D3-brane will dominate over the background. Then the world-volume scale of\nthe anti-D3-brane is no longer comoving with the background geometry. After it\nsettles down in the infrared end, the world-volume inhomogeneity will appear,\nto a Poincare observer, to be stretched by an exponentially large ratio. This\nratio is close to that of the hierarchy problem between the gravitational and\nelectroweak scales."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Electric-magnetic Duality and Deformations of Three-Dimensional CFT's: SL(2,Z) duality transformations in asymptotically AdS4 x S^7 act\nnon-trivially on the three-dimensional SCFT of coincident M2-branes on the\nboundary. We show how S-duality acts away from the IR fixed point. We develop a\nsystematic method to holographically obtain the deformations of the boundary\nCFT and show how electric-magnetic duality relates different deformations. We\nanalyze in detail marginal deformations and deformations by dimension 4\noperators. In the case of massive deformations, the RG flow relates S-dual\nCFT's. Correlation functions in the CFT are computed by varying magnetic bulk\nsources, whereas correlation functions in the dual CFT are computed by electric\nbulk sources. Under massive deformations, the boundary effective action is\ngenerically minimized by massive self-dual configurations of the U(1) gauge\nfield. We show that a self-dual choice of boundary conditions exists, and it\ncorresponds to the self-dual topologically massive gauge theory in 2+1\ndimensions. Thus, self-duality in three dimensions can be understood as a\nconsequence of electric-magnetic invariance in the bulk of AdS4.",
        "positive": "$W$-Infinity Ward Identities and Correlation Functions in the $C=1$\n  Matrix Model: We explore consequences of $W$-infinity symmetry in the fermionic field\ntheory of the $c=1$ matrix model. We derive exact Ward identities relating\ncorrelation functions of the bilocal operator. These identities can be\nexpressed as equations satisfied by the effective action of a {\\it three}\ndimensional theory and contain non-perturbative information about the model. We\nuse these identities to calculate the two point function of the bilocal\noperator in the double scaling limit. We extract the operator whose two point\ncorrelator has a {\\it single} pole at an (imaginary) integer value of the\nenergy. We then rewrite the \\winf~ charges in terms of operators in the matrix\nmodel and use this derive constraints satisfied by the partition function of\nthe matrix model with a general time dependent potential."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Axionic Membranes: A metal ring removed from a soap-water solution encloses a film of soap which\ncan be mathematically described as a minimal surface having the ring as its\nonly boundary. This is known to everybody. In this letter we suggest a\nrelativistic extension of the above fluidodynamic system where the soap film is\nreplaced by a Kalb-Ramond gauge potential $\\b(x)$ and the ring by a closed\nstring. The interaction between the $\\b$-field and the string current excites a\nnew configuration of the system consisting of a relativistic membrane bounded\nby the string. We call such a classical solution of the equation of motion an\naxionic membrane. As a dynamical system, the axionic membrane admits a\nHamilton-Jacobi formulation which is an extension of the H-J theory of\nelectromagnetic strings.",
        "positive": "Multi-Instanton Check of the Relation Between the Prepotential F and the\n  Modulus u in N=2 SUSY Yang-Mills Theory: By examining multi-instantons in N=2 supersymmetric SU(2) gauge theory, we\nderive, on very general grounds, and to all orders in the instanton number, a\nrelationship between the prepotential F(Phi), and the coordinate on the quantum\nmoduli space u=<Tr Phi^2>. This relation was previously obtained by Matone in\nthe context of the explicit Seiberg-Witten low-energy solution of the model.\nOur findings can be viewed as a multi-instanton check of the proposed exact\nresults in supersymmetric gauge theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Amplification of the scattering cross section due to non-trivial\n  topology of the spacetime: In previous articles it was demonstrated that the total cross section of the\nscattering of two light particles (zero modes of the Kaluza-Klein tower) in the\nsix-dimensional $\\lambda \\phi^{4}$ model differs significantly from the cross\nsection of the same process in the conventional $\\lambda \\phi^{4}$ theory in\nfour space-time dimensions even for the energies below the threshold of the\nfirst heavy particle. Here the analytical structure of the cross section in the\nsame model with torus compactification for arbitrary radii of the\ntwo-dimensional torus is studied. Further amplification of the total cross\nsection due to interaction of the scalar field with constant background Abelian\ngauge potential in the space of extra dimensions is shown.",
        "positive": "Type I Non-Abelian Superconductors in Supersymmetric Gauge Theories: Non-BPS non-Abelian vortices with CP^1 internal moduli space are studied in\nan N=2 supersymmetric U(1) x SU(2) gauge theory with softly breaking adjoint\nmass terms. For generic internal orientations the classical force between two\nvortices can be attractive or repulsive. On the other hand, the mass of the\nscalars in the theory is always less than that of the vector bosons; also, the\nforce between two vortices with the same CP^1 orientation is always attractive:\nfor these reasons we interpret our model as a non-Abelian generalization of\ntype I superconductors. We compute the effective potential in the limit of two\nwell separated vortices. It is a function of the distance and of the relative\ncolour-flavour orientation of the two vortices; in this limit we find an\neffective description in terms of two interacting CP^1 sigma models. In the\nlimit of two coincident vortices we find two different solutions with the same\ntopological winding and, for generic values of the parameters, different\ntensions. One of the two solutions is described by a CP^1 effective sigma\nmodel, while the other is just an Abelian vortex without internal degrees of\nfreedom. For generic values of the parameters, one of the two solutions is\nmetastable, while there are evidences that the other one is truly stable."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Models for (super)conformal higher-spin fields on curved backgrounds: This thesis is devoted to the construction of theories describing the\nconsistent propagation of (super)conformal higher-spin fields on curved three-\nand four-dimensional (super)spaces. In the first half of this thesis we\nsystematically derive models for conformal fields of arbitrary rank on various\ntypes of curved spacetimes. On generic conformally-flat backgrounds in three\n$(3d)$ and four $(4d)$ dimensions, we obtain closed-form expressions for the\nactions which are manifestly gauge and Weyl invariant. Similar results are\nprovided for generalised conformal fields, which have higher-depth gauge\ntransformations. In three dimensions, conformally-flat spacetimes are the most\ngeneral backgrounds allowing consistent propagation. In four dimensions, it is\nwidely expected that gauge invariance can be extended to Bach-flat backgrounds,\nalthough no complete models for spin greater than two exist. We confirm these\nexpectations for the first time by constructing a number of complete\ngauge-invariant models for conformal fields with higher spin. In the second\nhalf of this thesis we employ superspace techniques to extend the above results\nto conformal higher-spin theories possessing off-shell supersymmetry.\n  Several novel applications of our results are also provided. In particular,\ntransverse projection operators are constructed in $4d$ anti-de Sitter\n(AdS$_4$) space, and their poles are shown to be associated with\npartially-massless fields. This allows us to demonstrate that on such\nbackgrounds, the (super)conformal higher-spin kinetic operator factorises into\nproducts of second order operators. Similar conclusions are drawn in AdS$_3$\n(super)space. Finally, we make use of the (super)conformal higher-spin models\nin $3d$ Minkowski and AdS (super)space to build topologically massive gauge\ntheories.",
        "positive": "Affine $\\mathcal{W}$-algebras and Miura maps from 3d $\\mathcal N=4$\n  non-Abelian quiver gauge theories: We study Vertex Operator Algebras (VOAs) obtained from the H-twist of 3d\n$\\mathcal{N}=4$ linear quiver gauge theories. We find that H-twisted VOAs can\nbe regarded as the ''chiralization'' of the extended Higgs branch: many of the\ningredients of the Higgs branch are naturally ''uplifted'' into the VOAs, while\nconversely the Higgs branch can be recovered as the associated variety of the\nVOA. We also discuss the connection of our VOA with affine\n$\\mathcal{W}$-algebras. For example, we construct an explicit homomorphism from\nan affine $\\mathcal{W}$-algebra\n$\\mathcal{W}^{-n+1}(\\mathfrak{gl}_n,f_{\\mathrm{min}})$ into the H-twisted VOA\nfor $T^{[2,1^{n-2}]}_{[1^n]}[\\mathrm{SU}(n)]$ theories. Motivated by the\nrelation with affine $\\mathcal{W}$-algebras, we introduce a reduction procedure\nfor the quiver diagram, and use this to give an algorithm to systematically\nconstruct novel free-field realizations for VOAs associated with general linear\nquivers."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Mechanics and Black Holes in Four-Dimensional String Theory: In previous papers we have shown how strings in a two-dimensional target\nspace reconcile quantum mechanics with general relativity, thanks to an\ninfinite set of conserved quantum numbers, ``W-hair'', associated with\ntopological soliton-like states. In this paper we extend these arguments to\nfour dimensions, by considering explicitly the case of string black holes with\nradial symmetry. The key infinite-dimensional W-symmetry is associated with the\n$\\frac{SU(1,1)}{U(1)}$ coset structure of the dilaton-graviton sector that is a\nmodel-independent feature of spherically symmetric four-dimensional strings.\nArguments are also given that the enormous number of string {\\it discrete\n(topological)} states account for the maintenance of quantum coherence during\nthe (non-thermal) stringy evaporation process, as well as quenching the large\nHawking-Bekenstein entropy associated with the black hole. Defining the latter\nas the measure of the loss of information for an observer at infinity, who -\nignoring the higher string quantum numbers - keeps track only of the classical\nmass,angular momentum and charge of the black hole, one recovers the familiar a\nquadratic dependence on the black-hole mass by simple counting arguments on the\nasymptotic density of string states in a linear-dilaton background.",
        "positive": "Phase Transitions in Charged Topological-AdS Black Holes: We study the perturbative behaviour of charged topological-AdS black holes.\nWe calculate both analytically and numerically the quasi-normal modes of the\nelectromagnetic and gravitational perturbations. Keeping the charge-to-mass\nratio constant, we show that there is a second-order phase transition at a\ncritical temperature at which the mass of the black hole vanishes. We pay\nspecial attention to the purely dissipative modes appearing in the spectrum as\nthey behave singularly at the critical point."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A matrix S for all simple current extensions: A formula is presented for the modular transformation matrix S for any simple\ncurrent extension of the chiral algebra of a conformal field theory. This\nprovides in particular an algorithm for resolving arbitrary simple current\nfixed points, in such a way that the matrix S we obtain is unitary and\nsymmetric and furnishes a modular group representation. The formalism works in\nprinciple for any conformal field theory. A crucial ingredient is a set of\nmatrices S^J_{ab}, where J is a simple current and a and b are fixed points of\nJ. We expect that these input matrices realize the modular group for the torus\none-point functions of the simple currents. In the case of WZW-models these\nmatrices can be identified with the S-matrices of the orbit Lie algebras that\nwe introduced in a previous paper. As a special case of our conjecture we\nobtain the modular matrix S for WZW-theories based on group manifolds that are\nnot simply connected, as well as for most coset models.",
        "positive": "A Modern Fareytail: We revisit the \"fareytail expansions\" of elliptic genera which have been used\nin discussions of the AdS_3/CFT_2 correspondence and the OSV conjecture. We\nshow how to write such expansions without the use of the problematic \"fareytail\ntransform.\" In particular, we show how to write a general vector-valued modular\nform of non-positive weight as a convergent sum over cosets of SL(2,Z). This\nsum suggests a new regularization of the gravity path integral in AdS_3,\nresolves the puzzles associated with the \"fareytail transform,\" and leads to\nseveral new insights. We discuss constraints on the polar coefficients of\nnegative weight modular forms arising from modular invariance, showing how\nthese are related to Fourier coefficients of positive weight cusp forms. In\naddition, we discuss the appearance of holomorphic anomalies in the context of\nthe fareytail."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A holographic bound on the scaling contribution to black hole entropy: We discuss the existence of scaling solutions for multicenter black hole\nconfigurations. One of the central results is the equivalence between the\nexistence of two centered scaling solutions and the holographic entropy bound.\nThis equivalence (and another one) are proved rigorously at the end of the\npaper, and allow to simplify the process counting of certain (fuzzball-like)\ncontributions to black hole entropy.",
        "positive": "Soluble field theory with a massless gauge invariant limit: It is shown that there exists a soluble four parameter model in (1+1)\ndimensions all of whose propagators can be determined in terms of the\ncorresponding known propagators of the vector coupling theory. Unlike the\nlatter case, however, the limit of zero bare mass is nonsingular and yields a\nnontrivial theory with a rigorously unbroken gauge invariance."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Loop operators and S-duality from curves on Riemann surfaces: We study Wilson-'t Hooft loop operators in a class of N=2 superconformal\nfield theories recently introduced by Gaiotto. In the case that the gauge group\nis a product of SU(2) groups, we classify all possible loop operators in terms\nof their electric and magnetic charges subject to the Dirac quantization\ncondition. We then show that this precisely matches Dehn's classification of\nhomotopy classes of non-self-intersecting curves on an associated Riemann\nsurface--the same surface which characterizes the gauge theory. Our analysis\nprovides an explicit prediction for the action of S-duality on loop operators\nin these theories which we check against the known duality transformation in\nseveral examples.",
        "positive": "$\u03b1'$ corrections to KPV: An uplifting story: In earlier work, the effect of $\\alpha'^2$ curvature corrections on the\nNS5-brane responsible for the decay of anti-D3-branes in the set-up of Kachru,\nPearson, and Verlinde (KPV) was considered. We extend this analysis to include\nall known $\\alpha'^2$ corrections to the action of an abelian fivebrane which\ninvolve not just curvature but also gauge fields and flux. We compute the value\nof these terms at the tip of the Klebanov-Strassler throat to obtain the\n$\\alpha'^2$ corrected potential for the NS5-brane of KPV. The resulting\npotential provides a novel uplifting mechanism where one can obtain metastable\nvacua with an arbitrarily small positive uplifting potential by fine-tuning\n$\\alpha'$ corrections against the tree-level potential. This mechanism works\nfor small warped throats, both in terms of size and contribution to the\nD3-tadpole, thereby sidestepping the issues associated with a standard deep\nwarped throat uplift which are deadly in KKLT and, as we explicitly check,\nseverely constraining in the Large Volume Scenario."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Graded parafermions: standard and quasi-particle bases: Two bases of states are presented for modules of the graded parafermionic\nconformal field theory associated to the coset $\\osp(1,2)_k/\\uh(1)$. The first\none is formulated in terms of the two fundamental (i.e., lowest dimensional)\nparafermionic modes. In that basis, one can identify the completely reducible\nrepresentations, i.e., those whose modules contain an infinite number of\nsingular vectors; the explicit form of these vectors is also given.\n  The second basis is a quasi-particle basis, determined in terms of a modified\nversion of the $\\ZZ_{2k}$ exclusion principle. A novel feature of this model is\nthat none of its bases are fully ordered and this reflects a hidden structural\n$\\Z_3$ exclusion principle.",
        "positive": "All superalgebras for warped AdS$_2$ and black hole near horizon\n  geometries: We identify all symmetry superalgebras $\\mathfrak{g}$ of near horizon\ngeometries of black holes with a Killing horizon, assuming the solution is\nsmooth and that the spatial cross section of the event horizon is compact\nwithout boundary. This includes all warped AdS$_2$ backgrounds with the most\ngeneral allowed fluxes in 10- and 11-dimensional supergravities. If the index\nof a particular Dirac operator vanishes, we find that the even symmetry\nsubalgebra decomposes as $\\mathfrak{g}_0=\\mathfrak{sl}(2,\\mathbb{R})\\oplus\n\\mathfrak{t}_0$, where $\\mathfrak{t}_0/\\mathfrak{c}$ is the Lie algebra of a\ngroup that acts transitively and effectively on spheres, and $\\mathfrak{c}$ is\nthe center of $\\mathfrak{g}$. If the Dirac operator index does not vanish, then\nthe symmetry superalgebra is nilpotent with one even generator. We also\ndemonstrate that there are no near horizon geometries, and also therefore no\nwarped AdS$_2$ backgrounds, in 10- and 11-dimensions that preserve more than 16\nsupersymmetries."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Large N Expansion From Fuzzy AdS_2: We study the quantum analogue of primary fields and their descendants on\nfuzzy AdS_2, proposed in hep-th/0004072. Three-point vertices are calculated\nand shown to exhibit the conventional 1/N expansion as well as nonperturtive\neffects in large N, thus providing a strong consistency check of the fuzzy\nAdS_2 model. A few new physical motivations for this model are also presented.",
        "positive": "Supersymmetric localization in two dimensions: This is an introductory review to localization techniques in supersymmetric\ntwo-dimensional gauge theories. In particular we describe how to construct\nLagrangians of N=(2,2) theories on curved spaces, and how to compute their\npartition functions and certain correlators on the sphere, the hemisphere and\nother curved backgrounds. We also describe how to evaluate the partition\nfunction of N=(0,2) theories on the torus, known as the elliptic genus. Finally\nwe summarize some of the applications, in particular to probe mirror symmetry\nand other non-perturbative dualities."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Projective quantum spaces: Associated to the standard $SU_{q}(n)$ R-matrices, we introduce quantum\nspheres $S_{q}^{2n-1}$, projective quantum spaces $CP_{q}^{n-1}$, and quantum\nGrassmann manifolds $G_{k}(C_{q}^{n})$. These algebras are shown to be\nhomogeneous quantum spaces of standard quantum groups and are also quantum\nprinciple bundles in the sense of T Brzezinski and S. Majid (Comm. Math. Phys.\n157,591 (1993)).",
        "positive": "Global Properties of Exact Solutions in Integrable Dilaton-Gravity\n  Models: Global canonical transformations to free chiral fields are constructed for DG\nmodels minimally coupled to scalar fields. The boundary terms for such\ncanonical transformations are shown to vanish in asymptotically static\ncoordinates if there is no scalar field."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Thermodynamics of Rotating Charged Black Branes in Third Order Lovelock\n  Gravity and the Counterterm Method: We generalize the quasilocal definition of the stress energy tensor of\nEinstein gravity to the case of third order Lovelock gravity, by introducing\nthe surface terms that make the action well-defined. We also introduce the\nboundary counterterm that removes the divergences of the action and the\nconserved quantities of the solutions of third order Lovelock gravity with zero\ncurvature boundary at constant $t$ and $r$. Then, we compute the charged\nrotating solutions of this theory in $n+1$ dimensions with a complete set of\nallowed rotation parameters. These charged rotating solutions present black\nhole solutions with two inner and outer event horizons, extreme black holes or\nnaked singularities provided the parameters of the solutions are chosen\nsuitable. We compute temperature, entropy, charge, electric potential, mass and\nangular momenta of the black hole solutions, and find that these quantities\nsatisfy the first law of thermodynamics. We find a Smarr-type formula and\nperform a stability analysis by computing the heat capacity and the determinant\nof Hessian matrix of mass with respect to its thermodynamic variables in both\nthe canonical and the grand-canonical ensembles, and show that the system is\nthermally stable. This is commensurate with the fact that there is no\nHawking-Page phase transition for black objects with zero curvature horizon.",
        "positive": "Covariant calculation of the partition function of the two-dimensional\n  sigma model on compact two-surfaces: Motivated by string theory connection, a covariant procedure for perturbative\ncalculation of the partition function of the two-dimensional generalized\n$\\sigma$-model is considered. The importance of a consistent regularization of\nthe measure in the path integral is emphasized. The partition function is\ncomputed for a number of specific 2-manifolds: sphere, disk and torus."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Bound States of Matrix Strings: We investigate excitations in Matrix Theory on T^2 corresponding to bound\nstates of strings. We demonstrate the Dirichlet aspect of R-R charged vacua\nthrough a non-trivial connection between the U(1) and SU(n) sectors of the\nmatrix SYM.",
        "positive": "On-shell Correlators and Color-Kinematics Duality in Curved Symmetric\n  Spacetimes: We define a perturbatively calculable quantity--the on-shell\ncorrelator--which furnishes a unified description of particle dynamics in\ncurved spacetime. Specializing to the case of flat and anti-de Sitter space,\non-shell correlators coincide precisely with on-shell scattering amplitudes and\nboundary correlators, respectively. Remarkably, we find that symmetric\nmanifolds admit a generalization of on-shell kinematics in which the\ncorresponding momenta are literally the isometry generators of the spacetime\nacting on the external kinematic data. These isometric momenta are\nintrinsically non-commutative but exhibit on-shell conditions that are\nidentical to those of flat space, thus providing a common language for\ncomputing and representing on-shell correlators which is agnostic about the\nunderlying geometry. Afterwards, we compute tree-level on-shell correlators for\nbiadjoint scalar (BAS) theory and the nonlinear sigma model (NLSM) and learn\nthat color-kinematics duality is manifested at the level of fields under a\nmapping of the color algebra to the algebra of gauged isometries on the\nspacetime manifold. Last but not least, we present a field theoretic derivation\nof the fundamental BCJ relations for on-shell correlators following from the\nexistence of certain conserved currents in BAS theory and the NLSM."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Singularities of 1/2 Calabi-Yau 4-folds and classification scheme for\n  gauge groups in four-dimensional F-theory: In a previous study, we constructed a family of elliptic Calabi-Yau 4-folds\npossessing a geometric structure that allowed them to be split into a pair of\nrational elliptic 4-folds. In the present study, we introduce a method of\nclassifying the singularity types of this class of elliptic Calabi-Yau 4-folds.\nIn brief, we propose a method to classify the non-Abelian gauge groups formed\nin four-dimensional (4D) $N=1$ F-theory for this class of elliptic Calabi-Yau\n4-folds. To demonstrate our method, we explicitly construct several elliptic\nCalabi-Yau 4-folds belonging to this class and study the 4D F-theory thereupon.\nThese constructions include a 4D model with two U(1) factors.",
        "positive": "One loop corrections to coupling constants in String Effective Field\n  Theory: In the framework of a recently proposed method for computing exactly string\namplitudes regularized in the infra-red, I determine the one-loop correlators\nfor auxiliary fields in the symmetric $Z_2\\times Z_2$ orbifold model. The\n$D$-field correlation function turns out to give the one-loop corrections for\nthe gauge couplings, which amounts to a string-theory supersymmetry Ward\nidentity. The two-point function for uncharged $F$ fields leads to the one-loop\nrenormalization of the moduli K\\\"ahler metric, and eventually to the\ncorrections for the Yukawa couplings."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum anomaly and geometric phase; their basic differences: It is sometimes stated in the literature that the quantum anomaly is regarded\nas an example of the geometric phase. Though there is some superficial\nsimilarity between these two notions, we here show that the differences bewteen\nthese two notions are more profound and fundamental. As an explicit example, we\nanalyze in detail a quantum mechanical model proposed by M. Stone, which is\nsupposed to show the above connection. We show that the geometric term in the\nmodel, which is topologically trivial for any finite time interval $T$,\ncorresponds to the so-called ``normal naive term'' in field theory and has\nnothing to do with the anomaly-induced Wess-Zumino term. In the fundamental\nlevel, the difference between the two notions is stated as follows: The\ntopology of gauge fields leads to level crossing in the fermionic sector in the\ncase of chiral anomaly and the {\\em failure} of the adiabatic approximation is\nessential in the analysis, whereas the (potential) level crossing in the matter\nsector leads to the topology of the Berry phase only when the precise adiabatic\napproximation holds.",
        "positive": "Nature's Book Keeping System: Establishing how one should describe and study natures fundamental degrees of\nfreedom is a notoriously difficult problem. It is tempting to assume that the\nnumber of bits (or qubits) needed in a given Planckian 3-volume, or perhaps\n2-volume, is a fixed finite number, but this ansatz does not make the problem\nmuch easier. We come not even close to solving this problem, but we propose\nvarious ingredients in phrasing the questions, possibilities and limitations\nthat may serve as starting points."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Effective Lagrangian of Domain Wall Networks: Domain wall networks are studied in N=2 supersymmetric U(N_C) gauge theory\nwith N_F (>N_C) flavors. We find a systematic method to construct domain wall\nnetworks in terms of moduli matrices. Normalizable moduli parameters of the\nnetwork are found to be sizes and phases of the loop. We obtain moduli space\nmetric which specifies the effective Lagrangian on the domain wall networks. It\nis used to study dynamics of domain wall networks with the moduli\napproximation.",
        "positive": "On the absence of BPS preonic solutions in IIA and IIB supergravities: We consider the present absence of 31 out of 32 supersymmetric solutions in\nsupergravity i.e., of solutions describing BPS preons. A recent result\nindicates that (bosonic) BPS preonic solutions do not exist in type IIB\nsupergravity. We reconsider this analysis by using the G-frame method, extend\nit to the IIA supergravity case, and show that there are no (bosonic) preonic\nsolutions for type IIA either. For the classical D=11 supergravity no\nconclusion can be drawn yet, although the negative IIA results permit\nestablishing the conditions that preonic solutions would have to satisfy. For\nsupergravities with `stringy' corrections, the existence of BPS preonic\nsolutions remains fully open."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the space of solutions of the Horava theory at the kinetic-conformal\n  point: The nonprojectable Horava theory at the kinetic-conformal point is defined by\nsetting a specific value of the coupling constant of the kinetic term of the\nLagrangian. This formulation has two additional second class-constraints that\neliminate the extra mode. We show that the space of solutions of this theory in\nthe Hamiltonian formalism is bigger than the space of solutions in the original\nLagrangian formalism. In the Hamiltonian formalism there are certain\nconfigurations for the Lagrange multupliers that lead to solutions that cannot\nbe found in the original Lagrangian formulation. We show specific examples in\nvacuum and with a source. The solution with the source has homogeneous and\nisotropic spatial hypersurfaces. The enhancement of the space of solutions\nleaves the possibility that new solutions applicable to cosmology, or to other\nphysical systems, can be found in the Hamiltonian formalism.",
        "positive": "Anomalous U(1) Vortices and The Dilaton: The role of the (dynamical) dilaton in the vortices associated with the\nspontaneous breaking of an anomalous U(1) from heterotic string theory is\nexamined. We demonstrate how the anomaly (and the coupling to the\ndilaton/axion) can appear in the Lagrangian and associated field equations as a\ncontrolled perturbation about the standard Nielsen-Olesen equations. In such a\npicture, the additional field equation for the dilaton becomes a series of\ncorrections to a constant dilaton vev as the anomaly is turned on. In\nparticular we find that even the first nontrivial correction to a constant\ndilaton generically leads to a (positive) logarithmic divergence of the\nheterotic dilaton near the vortex core. Since the dilaton field governs the\nstrength of quantum fluctuations in string theory, this runaway behaviour\nimplies that anomalous U(1) vortices in string theory are intrinsically quantum\nmechanical objects."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Algebraic structures in exceptional geometry: Exceptional field theory (EFT) gives a geometric underpinning of the\nU-duality symmetries of M-theory. In this talk I give an overview of the\nsurprisingly rich algebraic structures which naturally appear in the context of\nEFT. This includes Borcherds superalgebras, Cartan type superalgebras (tensor\nhierarchy algebras) and $L_\\infty$ algebras. This is the written version of a\ntalk based mainly on refs. [1-6], presented at ISQS25, Prague, June 2017, at\nQTS-10/LT-12, Varna, June 2017, at SQS 2017, Dubna, Aug. 2017, and at the 9th\nMathematical Physics Meeting, Belgrade, Sept. 2017.",
        "positive": "Monopoles and Modifications of Bundles over Elliptic Curves: Modifications of bundles over complex curves is an operation that allows one\nto construct a new bundle from a given one. Modifications can change a\ntopological type of bundle. We describe the topological type in terms of the\ncharacteristic classes of the bundle. Being applied to the Higgs bundles\nmodifications establish an equivalence between different classical integrable\nsystems. Following Kapustin and Witten we define the modifications in terms of\nmonopole solutions of the Bogomolny equation. We find the Dirac monopole\nsolution in the case $R $\\times$ (elliptic curve). This solution is a\nthree-dimensional generalization of the Kronecker series. We give two\nrepresentations for this solution and derive a functional equation for it\ngeneralizing the Kronecker results. We use it to define Abelian modifications\nfor bundles of arbitrary rank. We also describe non-Abelian modifications in\nterms of theta-functions with characteristic."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Scale Invariance in the Causal Approach to Renormalization Theory: The dilation invariance is studied in the framework of Epstein-Glaser\napproach to renormalization theory. Some analogues of the Callan-Symanzik\nequations are found and they are applied to the scalar field theory and to\nYang-Mills models. We find the interesting result that, if all the fields of\nthe theory have zero masses, then from purely cohomological consideration, one\ncan obtain the anomalous terms of logarithmic type.",
        "positive": "Instantons, Topological Strings and Enumerative Geometry: We review and elaborate on certain aspects of the connections between\ninstanton counting in maximally supersymmetric gauge theories and the\ncomputation of enumerative invariants of smooth varieties. We study in detail\nthree instances of gauge theories in six, four and two dimensions which\nnaturally arise in the context of topological string theory on certain\nnon-compact threefolds. We describe how the instanton counting in these gauge\ntheories are related to the computation of the entropy of supersymmetric black\nholes, and how these results are related to wall-crossing properties of\nenumerative invariants such as Donaldson-Thomas and Gromov-Witten invariants.\nSome features of moduli spaces of torsion-free sheaves and the computation of\ntheir Euler characteristics are also elucidated."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spectral Bundles and the DRY-Conjecture: Supersymmetric heterotic string models, built from a Calabi-Yau threefold $X$\nendowed with a stable vector bundle $V$, usually start from a\nphenomenologically motivated choice of a bundle $V_v$ in the visible sector,\nthe spectral cover construction on an elliptically fibered $X$ being a\nprominent example. The ensuing anomaly mismatch between $c_2(V_v)$ and\n$c_2(X)$, or rather the corresponding differential forms, is often 'solved', on\nthe cohomological level, by including a fivebrane. This leads to the question\nwhether the difference can be alternatively realized by a further stable\nbundle. The 'DRY'-conjecture of Douglas, Reinbacher and Yau in math.AG/0604597\ngives a sufficient condition on cohomology classes on $X$ to be realized as the\nChern classes of a stable sheaf. In arXiv:1010.1644 we showed that infinitely\nmany classes on $X$ exist for which the conjecture ist true. In this note we\ngive the sufficient condition for the mentioned fivebrane classes to be\nrealized by a further stable bundle in the hidden sector. Using a result\nobtained in arXiv:1011.6246 we show that corresponding bundles exist, thereby\nconfirming this version of the DRY-Conjecture.",
        "positive": "Higher dimensional Reissner-Nordstr\u00f6m black holes supporting static\n  scalar shells: We analytically study scalarization of higher-dimensional charged\nReissner-Nordstr\\\"{o}m (RN) black hole. It is shown that static massive scalar\nfield which is non-minimally coupled to Gauss-Bonnet invariant can be supported\nby higher-dimensional black hole in super-critical charge regime $Q/M\\ge\n\\bar{C}_d$ with $Q, M$ charge and mass of the black hole and $\\bar{C}_d$ some\nunitless spacetime dimension-dependent quantity. Moreover, we show that the\nstatic massive scalar shell can be quite thin in the large mass regime $\\mu\nM^{\\frac{1}{d-3}}\\gg 1$ with $\\mu$ mass of the scalar field."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Uncertainty relation in Schwarzschild spacetime: We explore the entropic uncertainty relation in the curved background outside\na Schwarzschild black hole, and find that Hawking radiation introduces a\nnontrivial modification on the uncertainty bound for particular observer,\ntherefore it could be witnessed by proper uncertainty game experimentally. We\nfirst investigate an uncertainty game between a free falling observer and his\nstatic partner holding a quantum memory initially entangled with the quantum\nsystem to be measured. Due to the information loss from Hawking decoherence, we\nfind an inevitable increase of the uncertainty on the outcome of measurements\nin the view of static observer, which is dependent on the mass of the black\nhole, the distance of observer from event horizon, and the mode frequency of\nquantum memory. To illustrate the generality of this paradigm, we relate the\nentropic uncertainty bound with other uncertainty probe, e.g., time-energy\nuncertainty. In an alternative game between two static players, we show that\nquantum information of qubit can be transferred to quantum memory through a\nbath of fluctuating quantum fields outside the black hole. For a particular\nchoice of initial state, we show that the Hawking decoherence cannot counteract\nentanglement generation after the dynamical evolution of system, which triggers\nan effectively reduced uncertainty bound that violates the intrinsic limit\n$-\\log_2c$. Numerically estimation for a proper choice of initial state shows\nthat our result is comparable with possible real experiments. Finally, a\ndiscussion on the black hole firewall paradox in the context of entropic\nuncertainty relation is given.",
        "positive": "Quantum field theory with an interaction on the boundary: We consider quantum theory of fields \\phi defined on a D dimensional manifold\n(bulk) with an interaction V(\\phi) concentrated on a d<D dimensional surface\n(brane). Such a quantum field theory can be less singular than the one in d\ndimensions with the interaction $V(\\phi)$. It is shown that scaling properties\nof fields on the brane are different from the ones in the bulk."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Qubit Transport Model for Unitary Black Hole Evaporation without\n  Firewalls: We give an explicit toy qubit transport model for transferring information\nfrom the gravitational field of a black hole to the Hawking radiation by a\ncontinuous unitary transformation of the outgoing radiation and the black hole\ngravitational field. The model has no firewalls or other drama at the event\nhorizon, and it avoids a counterargument that has been raised for subsystem\ntransfer models as resolutions of the firewall paradox. Furthermore, it fits\nthe set of six physical constraints that Giddings has proposed for models of\nblack hole evaporation. It does utilize nonlocal qubits for the gravitational\nfield but assumes that the radiation interacts locally with these nonlocal\nqubits, so in some sense the nonlocality is confined to the gravitational\nsector. Although the qubit model is too crude to be quantitively correct for\nthe detailed spectrum of Hawking radiation, it fits qualitatively with what is\nexpected.",
        "positive": "No isomorphism between the affine $\\hat sl(2)$ algebra and the N=2\n  superconformal algebras: Since 1999 it became obvious that the would be `isomorphism' between the\naffine $\\hat sl(2)$ algebra and the N=2 superconformal algebras, proposed by\nsome authors, simply does not work. However, this issue was never properly\ndiscussed in the literature and, as a result, some confusion still remains. In\nthis article we finally settle down, clearly and unambiguously, the true facts:\nthere is no isomorphism between the affine $\\hat sl(2)$ algebra and the N=2\nsuperconformal algebras."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Time-dependent backgrounds of 2D string theory: Non-perturbative effects: We study the non-perturbative corrections (NPC) to the partition function of\na compactified 2D string theory in a time-dependent background generated by a\ntachyon source. The sine-Liouville deformation of the theory is a particular\ncase of such a background. We calculate the leading as well as the subleading\nNPC using the dual description of the string theory as matrix quantum\nmechanics. As in the minimal string theories, the NPC are classified by the\ndouble points of a complex curve. We calculate them by two different methods:\nby solving Toda equation and by evaluating the quasiclassical fermion wave\nfunctions. We show that the result can be expressed in terms of correlation\nfunctions of the bosonic field associated with the tachyon source and identify\nthe leading and the subleading corrections as the contributions from the\none-point (disk) and two-point (annulus) correlation functions.",
        "positive": "D-branes in the diagonal SU(2) coset: The symmetry preserving D-branes in coset theories have previously been\ndescribed as being centered around projections of products of conjugacy classes\nin the underlying Lie groups. Here, we investigate the coset where a diagonal\naction of SU(2) is divided out from SU(2)\\times SU(2). The corresponding target\nspace is described as a (3-dimensional) pillow with four distinguished corners.\nIt is shown that the (fractional) brane which corresponds to the fixed point\nthat arises in the CFT description, is spacefilling. Moreover, the spacefilling\nbrane is the only one that reaches all of the corners. The other branes are 3,\n1 and 0 - dimensional."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Boundaries in the Moyal plane: We study the oscillations of a scalar field on a noncommutative disc\nimplementing the boundary as the limit case of an interaction with an\nappropriately chosen confining background. The space of quantum fluctuations of\nthe field is finite dimensional and displays the rotational and parity symmetry\nof the disc. We perform a numerical evaluation of the (finite) Casimir energy\nand obtain similar results as for the fuzzy sphere and torus.",
        "positive": "Gauge anomalies of finite groups: We show how the theory of characters can be used to analyse an anomaly\ncorresponding to chiral fermions carrying an arbitrary representation of a\ngauge group that is finite, but otherwise arbitrary. By way of example, we do\nthis for some groups of relevance for the study of quark and lepton masses and\nmixings."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fermion excitations of a tense brane black hole: By finding the spinor eigenvalues for a single deficit angle (d-2)-sphere, we\nderive the radial potential for fermions on a d-dimensional black hole\nbackground that is embedded on a codimension two brane with conical\nsingularity, where the deficit angle is related to the brane tension. From this\nwe obtain the quasi-normal mode spectrum for bulk fermions on such a\nbackground. As a byproduct of our method, this also gives a rigorous proof for\ninteger spin fields on the deficit 2-sphere.",
        "positive": "Conformal symmetry limit of QED and QCD and identities between\n  perturbative contributions to deep-inelastic scattering sum rules: Conformal symmetry-based relations between concrete perturbative QED and QCD\napproximations for the Bjorken, the Ellis-Jaffe sum rules of polarized lepton-\nnucleon deep-inelastic scattering (DIS), the Gross-Llewellyn Smith sum rules of\nneutrino-nucleon DIS, and for the Adler functions of axial-vector and vector\nchannels are derived. They result from the application of the operator product\nexpansion to three triangle Green functions, constructed from the non-singlet\naxial-vector, and two vector currents, the singlet axial-vector and two\nnon-singlet vector currents and the non-singlet axial-vector, vector and\nsinglet vector currents in the limit, when the conformal symmetry of the gauge\nmodels with fermions is considered unbroken. We specify the perturbative\nconditions for this symmetry to be valid in the case of the $U(1)$ and\n$SU(N_c)$ models. The all-order perturbative identity following from the\nconformal invariant limit between the concrete contributions to the Bjorken,\nthe Ellis-Jaffe and the Gross-Llewellyn Smith sum rules is proved. The\nanalytical and numerical $O(\\alpha^4)$ and $O(\\alpha_s^2)$ conformal symmetry\nbased approximations for these sum rules and for the Adler function of the\nnon-singlet vector currents are summarized. Possible theoretical applications\nof the results presented are discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Reduction of General One-loop Integrals Using Auxiliary Vector: As a key method to deal with loop integrals, Integration-By-Parts (IBP)\nmethod can be used to do reduction as well as establish the differential\nequations for master integrals. However, when talking about tensor reduction,\nthe Passarino-Veltman (PV) reduction method is also widely used for one-loop\nintegrals. Recently, we have proposed an improved PV reduction method, i.e.,\nthe PV reduction method with auxiliary vector $R$, which can easily give\nanalytical reduction results for any tensor rank. However, our results are only\nfor integrals with propagators with power one. In this paper, we generalize our\nmethod to one-loop integrals with general tensor structures and propagators\nwith general powers. Our ideas are simple. We solve the generalised reduction\nproblem by combining differentiation over masses and proper limit of reduction\nwith power-one propagators. Finally, we demonstrate our method with several\nexamples. With the result in this paper, we have shown that our improved\nPV-reduction method with auxiliary vector is a self-completed reduction method\nfor one-loop integrals.",
        "positive": "Entanglement entropy at CFT junctions: We consider entanglement through permeable junctions of $N$\n$(1+1)$-dimensional free boson and free fermion conformal field theories. In\nthe folded picture we constrain the form of the general boundary state. We\ncalculate replicated partition functions with interface operators inserted in\nthe partially-folded picture, from which the entanglement entropy is\ncalculated. The functional form of the universal and constant terms are the\nsame as the $N=2$ case, depending only of the total transmission of the\njunction and the unit volume of the zero mode lattice. For $N>2$ we see a\nsub-leading divergent term which does not depend on the parameters of the\njunction. For $N=3$ we consider some specific geometries and discuss various\nlimits."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-Abelian Magnetic Monopoles in a Background of Gravitation with\n  Fermions: The purpose of this paper is to study static solution configuration which\ndescribes the magnetic monopoles in a scenary where the gravitation is coupled\nwith Higgs, Yang-Mills and fermions. We are looking for analysis of the energy\nfunctional and Bogomol'nyi equations. The Einstein equations now take into\nconsideration the fermions' contribution for energy-momentum tensor. The\ninteresting aspect here is to verify that the fermion field gives a\ncontribution for non abelian magnetic field and for potential which minimise\nthe energy functional.",
        "positive": "The SU(2) sector in AdS/CFT: In the large N limit of N=4 Super Yang-Mills, the mixing under dilatations of\nthe SU(2) sector, single trace operators composed of L complex scalar fields of\ntwo types, is closed to all orders in perturbation theory. By relying on the\nAdS/CFT correspondence, and by examining the currents for semiclassical\nstrings, we present evidence which implies that there are small mixings that\ncontradict the closure of the SU(2) sector in the strong coupling limit. These\nmixings first appear to second order in the \\lambda/L^2 expansion."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Equivalence Postulate and the Quantum Potential of Two Free Particles: Commutativity of the diagram of the maps connecting three one--particle\nstate, implied by the Equivalence Postulate (EP), gives a cocycle condition\nwhich unequivocally leads to the quantum Hamilton--Jacobi equation. Energy\nquantization is a direct consequences of the local homeomorphicity of the\ntrivializing map. We review the EP and show that the quantum potential for two\nfree particles, which depends on constants which may have a geometrical\ninterpretation, plays the role of interaction term that admits solutions which\ndo not vanish in the classical limit.",
        "positive": "3d N=4 Bootstrap and Mirror Symmetry: We investigate the non-BPS realm of 3d ${\\cal N} = 4$ superconformal field\ntheory by uniting the non-perturbative methods of the conformal bootstrap and\nsupersymmetric localization, and utilizing special features of 3d ${\\cal N} =\n4$ theories such as mirror symmetry and a protected sector described by\ntopological quantum mechanics (TQM). Supersymmetric localization allows for the\nexact determination of the conformal and flavor central charges, and the latter\ncan be fed into the mini-bootstrap of the TQM to solve for a subset of the OPE\ndata. We examine the implications of the $\\mathbb{Z}_2$ mirror action for the\nSCFT single- and mixed-branch crossing equations for the moment map operators,\nand apply numerical bootstrap to obtain universal constraints on OPE data for\ngiven flavor symmetry groups. A key ingredient in applying the bootstrap\nanalysis is the determination of the mixed-branch superconformal blocks. Among\nother results, we show that the simplest known self-mirror theory with $SU(2)\n\\times SU(2)$ flavor symmetry saturates our bootstrap bounds, which allows us\nto extract the non-BPS data and examine the self-mirror $\\mathbb{Z}_2$ symmetry\nthereof."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Renormalization In Coupled-Abelian Self-Dual Chern-Simons Models: An algebraic restriction of the nonabelian self-dual Chern-Simons-Higgs\nsystems leads to coupled-abelian self-dual models with intricate mass spectra.\nThe vacua are characterized by embeddings of SU(2) into the gauge algebra; and\nin the broken phases, the gauge and real scalar masses are related to the\nexponents of the gauge algebra. In this paper we compute the gauge-gauge-Higgs\ncouplings in the broken phases and use this to compute the finite\nrenormalizations of the Chern-Simons coefficient in the various vacua.",
        "positive": "Remarks on cosmological issues in some string theoretic brane worlds: We examine, in the context of certain string compactifications resulting in\nfive dimensional brane worlds the mechanisms of (self) tuning of the\ncosmological constant and the recovery of standard cosmological evolution. We\nshow that self tuning can occur only as long as supersymmetry is unbroken\n(unless additional assumptions are made) and that the adjustment of the\ncosmological constant to zero after supersymmetry breaking and the recovery of\nstandard evolution are the same problem verifying previously made statements in\nthe context of general i.e. not necessarily string theoretic brane worlds. We\nemphasize, however, that contrary to general brane worlds where the above\nadjustment requires a fine tuning, stringy brane worlds contain an additional\nintegration constant due to the presence of the compact space thus allowing the\nadjustment to be done only with integration constants."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Renormalized non-perturbative scalar and fermions models in Covariant\n  Light Front Dynamics: Within the framework of the Covariant formulation of Light-Front Dynamics, we\ndevelop a general non-perturbative renormalization scheme, based on the Fock\ndecomposition of the state vector and its truncation. The explicit dependence\nof our formalism on the orientation of the light front, defined by a light-like\nfour vector $\\omega$, is essential in order to analyze the structure of the\ncounterterms needed to renormalize the theory. We illustrate our framework for\nscalar and fermion models",
        "positive": "Revisiting light stringy states in view of the 750 GeV diphoton excess: We investigate light massive string states that appear at brane\nintersections. They replicate the massless spectrum in a richer fashion and may\nbe parametrically lighter than standard Regge excitations. We identify the\nfirst few physical states and determine their BRST invariant vertex operators.\nIn the supersymmetric case we reconstruct the super-multiplet structure. We\nthen compute some simple interactions, such as the decay rate of a massive\nscalar or vector into two massless fermions. Finally we suggest an alternative\ninterpretation of the 750 GeV diphoton excess at LHC in terms of a light\nmassive string state, a replica of the Standard Model Higgs."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Nonlocality in Quantum Gravity and the Breakdown of Effective Field\n  Theory: We argue that quantum gravity is nonlocal, first by recalling well-known\narguments that support this idea and then by focusing on a point not usually\nemphasized: that making a conventional effective field theory (EFT) for quantum\ngravity is particularly difficult, and perhaps impossible in principle. This\ninability to realize an EFT comes down to the fact that gravity itself sets\nlength scales for a problem: when integrating out degrees of freedom above some\ncutoff, the effective metric one uses will be different, which will itself\nre-define the cutoff. We also point out that even if the previous problem is\nfixed, naively applying EFT in gravity can lead to problems - we give a\nparticular example in the case of black holes.",
        "positive": "Generalised diffeomorphisms for E$_9$: We construct generalised diffeomorphisms for E$_9$ exceptional field theory.\nThe transformations, which like in the E$_8$ case contain constrained local\ntransformations, close when acting on fields. This is the first example of a\ngeneralised diffeomorphism algebra based on an infinite-dimensional Lie algebra\nand an infinite-dimensional coordinate module. As a byproduct, we give a simple\ngeneric expression for the invariant tensors used in any extended geometry. We\nperform a generalised Scherk--Schwarz reduction and verify that our\ntransformations reproduce the structure of gauged supergravity in two\ndimensions. The results are valid also for other affine algebras."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographically smeared Fermi surface: Quantum oscillations and\n  Luttinger count in electron stars: We apply a small magnetic field to strongly interacting matter with a gravity\ndual description as an electron star. These systems are both metallic and\nquantum critical at low energies. The resulting quantum oscillations are shown\nto be of the Kosevich-Lifshitz form characteristic of Fermi liquid theory. It\nis seen that only fermions at a single radius in the electron star contribute\nto the oscillations. We proceed to show that the Fermi surface area extracted\nfrom the quantum oscillations does not obey the simplest statement of the\nLuttinger theorem, that is, it is not universally proportional to the total\ncharge density. It follows that our system is a non-Fermi liquid that\nnonetheless exhibits Kosevich-Lifshitz quantum oscillations. We explain how the\nLuttinger count is recovered via a field theoretic description involving a\ncontinuum of `smeared' fermionic excitations.",
        "positive": "Translation map in quantum principal bundles: The notion of a translation map in a quantum principal bundle is introduced.\nA translation map is then used to prove that the cross sections of a quantum\nfibre bundle $E(B,V,A)$ associated to a quantum principal bundle $P(B,A)$ are\nin bijective correspondence with equivariant maps $V\\to P$, and that a quantum\nprincipal bundle is trivial if it admits a cross section which is an algebra\nmap. The vertical automorphisms and gauge transformations of a quantum\nprincipal bundle are discussed. In particular it is shown that vertical\nautomorphisms are in bijective correspondence with $\\ad$-covariant maps $A\\to\nP$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Toward Thermalization in Heavy Ion Collisions at Strong Coupling: We find the trapped surface for a collision of two sourceless shock waves in\nAdS$_5$ and conclude that such collisions always lead to a creation of a black\nhole in the bulk. Due to holographic correspondence, in the boundary gauge\ntheory this result proves that a thermalized medium (quark-gluon plasma) is\nproduced in heavy ion collisions at strong coupling (albeit in ${\\cal N} =4$\nsuper-Yang-Mills theory). We present new evidence supporting the analytic\nestimate for the time of thermalization that exists in the literature and find\nthat thermalization time is parametrically much shorter than the time of shock\nwave stopping, indicating that our result may be relevant for description of\nheavy ion collision experiments.",
        "positive": "Symmetries and String Field Theory in D=2: (This talk was presented at the Third International Wigner Symposium on Group\nTheory, Oxford, September, 1993.) Matrix models provides us with the most\npowerful framework in which to analyze D=2 string theory, yet some of its\nmiraculous features, such as discrete states and $w(\\infty)$, remain rather\nobscure, because the string degrees of freedom have been removed. Liouville\ntheory, on the other hand, has all its string degrees of freedom intact, yet is\nnotoriously difficult to solve. In this paper, we present the second quantized\nformulation of Liouville theory in D=2, where discrete states and $w(\\infty)$\nhave a natural, field theoretic interpretation. We generalize the\nnon-polynomial closed string field theory, first developed by the author and\nthe Kyoto and MIT groups, to the D=2 case. We find that, in second quantized\nfield theory language, the rather mysterious features of matrix models have an\nintuitively transparent interpretation, similar to standard gauge theory. Latex\nfile."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetric Janus solutions of dyonic $ISO(7)$-gauged\n  $\\mathcal{N}\\,=\\,8$ supergravity: We study supersymmetric Janus solutions of dyonic $ISO(7)$-gauged\n$\\mathcal{N}$ = 8 supergravity. We mostly find Janus solutions flowing to 3d\n$\\mathcal{N}$ = 8 SYM phase which is the worldvolume theory on D2-branes and\nnon-conformal. There are also solutions flowing from the critical points which\nare dual to 3d SCFTs from deformations of the D2-brane theory.",
        "positive": "Contraints on Matter from Asymptotic Safety: Recent studies of the ultraviolet behaviour of pure gravity suggest that it\nadmits a non-Gaussian attractive fixed point, and therefore that the theory is\nasymptotically safe. We consider the effect on this fixed point of massless\nminimally coupled matter fields. The existence of a UV attractive fixed point\nputs bounds on the type and number of such fields."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "How are the degrees of freedom responsible for entropy in BTZ spacetime?: The entanglement entropy approach to study the dependence of entropy upon the\nlocation of degrees of freedom (dof) (near/far) from the horizon is discussed\nin this article. We try to understand the physical deviation of the area law\nfor the excited states by incorporating the logarithmic and power law\ncorrections. We show that the dof near the horizon gives contribution to the\ntotal entropy of the system in the ground state and away from the event horizon\ngives contribution to the excited state.",
        "positive": "The infinitesimal moduli space of heterotic $G_2$ systems: Heterotic string compactifications on integrable $G_2$ structure manifolds\n$Y$ with instanton bundles $(V,A), (TY,\\tilde{\\theta})$ yield supersymmetric\nthree-dimensional vacua that are of interest in physics. In this paper, we\ndefine a covariant exterior derivative $\\cal D$ and show that it is equivalent\nto a heterotic $G_2$ system encoding the geometry of the heterotic string\ncompactifications. This operator $\\cal D$ acts on a bundle ${\\cal\nQ}=T^*Y\\oplus{\\rm End}(V)\\oplus{\\rm End}(TY)$ and satisfies a nilpotency\ncondition $\\check{\\cal D}^2=0$, for an appropriate projection of $\\cal D$.\nFurthermore, we determine the infinitesimal moduli space of these systems and\nshow that it corresponds to the finite-dimensional cohomology group $\\check\nH^1_{\\check{\\cal D}}(\\cal Q)$. We comment on the similarities and differences\nof our result with Atiyah's well-known analysis of deformations of holomorphic\nvector bundles over complex manifolds. Our analysis leads to results that are\nof relevance to all orders in the $\\alpha'$ expansion."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Asymptotic Solutions to the Quantized Knizhnik-Zamolodchikov Equation\n  and Bethe Vectors: Asymptotic solutions to the quantized Knizhnik-Zamolodchikov equation\nassociated with $\\frak{gl}_{N+1}$ are constructed. The leading term of an\nasymptotic solution is the Bethe vector -- an eigenvector of the\ntransfer-matrix of a quantum spin chain model. We show that the norm of the\nBethe vector is equal to the product of the Hessian of a suitable function and\nan explicitly written rational function. This formula is an analogue of the\nGaudin-Korepin formula for the norm of the Bethe vector. It is shown that,\ngenerically, the Bethe vectors form a base for the $\\frak{gl}_2$ case.",
        "positive": "Winding strings and AdS_3 black holes: We start a systematic study of string theory in AdS_3 black hole backgrounds.\nFirstly, we analyse in detail the geodesic structure of the BTZ black hole,\nincluding spacelike geodesics. Secondly, we study the spectrum for massive and\nmassless scalar fields, paying particular attention to the connection between\nSl(2,R) subgroups, the theory of special functions and global properties of the\nBTZ black holes. We construct classical strings that wind the black holes.\nFinally, we apply the general formalism to the vacuum black hole background,\nand formulate the boundary spacetime Virasoro algebra in terms of worldsheet\noperators. We moreover establish the link between a proposal for a ghost free\nspectrum for Sl(2,R) string propagation and the massless black hole background,\nthereby claryfing aspects of the AdS3/CFT correspondence."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Ward Identities in Lifshitz-like Field Theories: In this work, we develop a normal product algorithm suitable to the study of\nanisotropic field theories in flat space, apply it to construct the symmetries\ngenerators and describe how their possible anomalies may be found. In\nparticular, we discuss the dilatation anomaly in a scalar model with critical\nexponent z=2 in six spatial dimensions.",
        "positive": "Violation of the phase space general covariance as a diffeomorphism\n  anomaly in quantum mechanics: We consider a topological quantum mechanics described by a phase space path\nintegral and study the 1-dimensional analog for the path integral\nrepresentation of the Kontsevich formula. We see that the naive bosonic\nintegral possesses divergences, that it is even naively non-invariant and thus\nis ill-defined. We then consider a super-extension of the theory which\neliminates the divergences and makes the theory naively invariant. This\nsuper-extension is equivalent to the correct choice of measure and was\ndiscussed in the literature. We then investigate the behavior of this extended\ntheory under diffeomorphisms of the extended phase space and despite of its\nnaive invariance find out that the theory possesses anomaly under nonlinear\ndiffeomorphisms. We localize the origin of the anomaly and calculate the lowest\nnontrivial anomalous contribution."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "R-current six-point correlators in AdS_5 Supergravity: Within the conjectured duality between N=4 super Yang-Mills and Anti-deSitter\nstring theory, the BFKL Pomeron of the gauge theory corresponds to the graviton\nmode of the dual string. As a first step towards analyzing multigraviton\nexchange, we investigate R-current six-point functions within the supergravity\napproximation. We compute the analogue of diffractive scattering, and we\nanalyze the triple Regge limit. In the supergravity approximation the triple\ngraviton vertex is found to vanish.",
        "positive": "Scrambling time from local perturbations of the rotating BTZ black hole: In this paper, we investigate the entanglement entropy of the rotating BTZ\nblack hole perturbed by a massive back-reacting free falling particle. Then,\nmutual information between two finite intervals in two asymptotic regions of\nrotating BTZ is derived. It allows us to find the scrambling time, the time\nscale in which mutual information vanishes. We give a dual large $c$ CFT\ndescription in terms of a thermofield double state with different temperatures\nfor left and right moving modes that is perturbed by a local operator. Exact\nmatching between gravity and CFT results is obtained."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quiver Yangian and Supersymmetric Quantum Mechanics: The statistical model of crystal melting represents BPS configurations of\nD-branes on a toric Calabi-Yau three-fold. Recently it has been noticed that an\ninfinite-dimensional algebra, the quiver Yangian, acts consistently on the\ncrystal-melting configurations. We physically derive the algebra and its action\non the BPS states, starting with the effective supersymmetric quiver quantum\nmechanics on the D-brane worldvolume. This leads to remarkable combinatorial\nidentities involving equivariant integrations on the moduli space of the\nquantum mechanics, which can be checked by numerical computations.",
        "positive": "A Manifestly Gauge-Invariant Approach to Quantum Theories of Gauge\n  Fields: In gauge theories, physical histories are represented by space-time\nconnections modulo gauge transformations. The space of histories is thus\nintrinsically non-linear. The standard framework of constructive quantum field\ntheory has to be extended to face these {\\it kinematical} non-linearities\nsquarely. We first present a pedagogical account of this problem and then\nsuggest an avenue for its resolution."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chiral splitting and world-sheet gravitinos in higher-derivative string\n  amplitudes: We report on progress made in the construction of higher-derivative\nsuperinvariants for type-II theories in ten dimensions. The string amplitude\ncalculations required for this analysis exhibit interesting features which have\nreceived little attention in the literature so far. We discuss two examples\nfrom a forthcoming publication: the construction of the (H_{NS})^2 R^3 terms\nand the fermionic completion of the \\epsilon\\epsilon R^4 terms. We show that a\ncorrect answer requires very careful treatment of the chiral splitting theorem,\nimplies unexpected new relations between fermionic correlators, and most\ninterestingly, necessitates the use of worldsheet gravitino zero modes in the\nstring vertex operators. In addition, we discuss the relation of our results to\nthe predictions of the linear scalar superfield of the type-IIB theory and find\n(and explain) an interesting discrepancy.",
        "positive": "MHV Graviton Scattering Amplitudes and Current Algebra on the Celestial\n  Sphere: The Cachazo-Strominger subleading soft graviton theorem for a positive\nhelicity soft graviton is equivalent to the Ward identities for\n$\\overline{SL(2,\\mathbb C)}$ currents. This naturally gives rise to a\n$\\overline{SL(2,\\mathbb C)}$ current algebra living on the celestial sphere.\nThe generators of the $\\overline{SL(2,\\mathbb C)}$ current algebra and the\nsupertranslations, coming from a positive helicity leading soft graviton, form\na closed algebra. We find that the OPE of two graviton primaries in the\nCelestial CFT, extracted from MHV amplitudes, is completely determined in terms\nof this algebra. To be more precise, 1) The subleading terms in the OPE are\ndetermined in terms of the leading OPE coefficient if we demand that both sides\nof the OPE transform in the same way under this local symmetry algebra. 2)\nPositive helicity gravitons have null states under this local algebra whose\ndecoupling leads to differential equations for MHV amplitudes. An $n$ point MHV\namplitude satisfies two systems of $(n-2)$ linear first order PDEs\ncorresponding to $(n-2)$ positive helicity gravitons. We have checked, using\nHodges' formula, that one system of differential equations is satisfied by any\nMHV amplitude, whereas the other system has been checked up to six graviton MHV\namplitude. 3) One can determine the leading OPE coefficients from these\ndifferential equations.\n  This points to the existence of an autonomous sector of the Celestial CFT\nwhich holographically computes the MHV graviton scattering amplitudes and is\ncompletely defined by this local symmetry algebra. The MHV-sector of the\nCelestial CFT is like a minimal model of $2$-D CFT."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Critical mass renormalization in renormalized phi4 theories in two and\n  three dimensions: We consider the O(N)-symmetric phi4 theory in two and three dimensions and\ndetermine the nonperturbative mass renormalization needed to obtain the phi4\ncontinuum theory. The required nonperturbative information is obtained by\nresumming high-order perturbative series in the massive renormalization scheme,\ntaking into account their Borel summability and the known large-order behavior\nof the coefficients. The results are in good agreement with those obtained in\nlattice calculations.",
        "positive": "Measurement of the Schrodinger wave of a single particle: We show that it is possible to measure Schrodinger wave of a single quantum\nsystem. This provides a strong argument for associating physical reality with\nthe quantum state of a single system, and challenges the usual assumption that\nthe quantum state has physical meaning only for an ensemble of identical\nsystems."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Black holes and Bhargava's invariant theory: Attractor black holes in type II string compactifications on $K3 \\times T^2$\nare in correspondence with equivalence classes of binary quadratic forms. The\ndiscriminant of the quadratic form governs the black hole entropy, and the\ncount of attractor black holes at a given entropy is given by a class number.\nHere, we show this tantalizing relationship between attractors and arithmetic\ncan be generalized to a rich family, connecting black holes in supergravity and\nstring models with analogous equivalence classes of more general forms under\nthe action of arithmetic groups. Many of the physical theories involved have\nplayed an earlier role in the study of \"magical\" supergravities, while their\nmathematical counterparts are directly related to geometry-of-numbers examples\nin the work of Bhargava et. al.\n  This paper is dedicated to the memory of Peter Freund. The last section is\ndevoted to some of M.G's personal reminiscences of Peter Freund.",
        "positive": "Instantons in N=1/2 Super Yang-Mills Theory via Deformed Super ADHM\n  Construction: We study an extension of the ADHM construction to give deformed\nanti-self-dual (ASD) instantons in N=1/2 super Yang-Mills theory with U(n)\ngauge group. First we extend the exterior algebra on superspace to\nnon(anti)commutative superspace and show that the N=1/2 super Yang-Mills theory\ncan be reformulated in a geometrical way. By using this exterior algebra, we\nformulate a non(anti)commutative version of the super ADHM construction and\nshow that the curvature two-form superfields obtained by our construction do\nsatisfy the deformed ASD equations and thus we establish the deformed super\nADHM construction. We also show that the known deformed U(2) one instanton\nsolution is obtained by this construction."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Higher Derivative Correction to the Hawking Flux via Trace Anomaly: In this paper we derive Hawking radiation of black holes with higher\nderivative corrections by the method of trace anomaly. Firstly we derive\nHawking radiation for general spherical black holes. We introduce a modified\ntortoise coordinate to it and find the analyticity of the coordinate. Secondly\nwe apply its method to a black hole with a higher derivative correction and\nderive the Hawking radiation of it. We found that as an ordinary case the flux\ndepends only on the surface gravity.",
        "positive": "A Doubly Supersymmetric Particle in 3+3 Dimensions: It is shown how in 3+3 dimensions, it is possible to have a superparticle\nLagrangian that has manifest supersymmetry both on the world line and in the\ntarget space."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hawking Radiation and Covariant Anomalies: Generalising the method of Wilczek and collaborators we provide a derivation\nof Hawking radiation from charged black holes using only covariant gauge and\ngravitational anomalies. The reliability and universality of the anomaly\ncancellation approach to Hawking radiation is also discussed.",
        "positive": "Derivative Expansion and the Effective Action for the Abelian\n  Chern-Simons Theory at Higher Orders: We study systematically the higher order corrections to the parity violating\npart of the effective action for the Abelian Chern-Simons theory in 2+1\ndimensions, using the method of derivative expansion. We explicitly calculate\nthe parity violating parts of the quadratic, cubic and the quartic terms (in\nfields) of the effective action. We show that each of these actions can be\nsummed, in principle, to all orders in the derivatives. However, such a\nstructure is complicated and not very useful. On the other hand, at every order\nin the powers of the derivatives, we show that the effective action can also be\nsummed to all orders in the fields. The resulting actions can be expressed in\nterms of the leading order effective action in the static limit. We prove gauge\ninvariance, both large and small of the resulting effective actions. Various\nother features of the theory are also brought out."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Connections between reflected entropies and hyperbolic string vertices: In this paper, we establish connections between reflected entropies of\nmultipartite mixed states in CFT$_{2}$ and hyperbolic string vertices of closed\nstring field theory (CSFT). We show that the reflected surfaces, which are bulk\nduals of the reflected entropies, share the same Riemann surfaces with the\nhyperbolic string vertices. This observation enables us to build quantitative\nrelations between the reflected entropies and hyperbolic string vertices. We\nillustrate the connections with several examples. Consequently, we propose that\nspacetime structure could be directly generated from the hyperbolic string\nvertices. The advantage of the hyperbolic string vertices approach is that we\nhave a dynamical equation, the Batalin-Vilkoviski master equation, to control\nthe generating process.",
        "positive": "No Area Law in QCD: Wilson's area law in QCD is critically examined. It is shown that the\nexpectation value of the Wilson loop integral $ \\exp(\\int iA_\\mu dx^\\mu) $ in\nthe strong coupling limit vanishes when we employ the conjugate Wilson action\nwhich has a proper QED action in the continuum limit. The finite value of\nWilson loop with the Wilson action is due to the result of the artifact. The\nfact that his area law is obtained even for QED simply indicates that the area\nlaw is unphysical."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "All Chern-Simons Invariants of 4D, N = 1 Gauged Superform Hierarchies: We give a geometric description of supersymmetric gravity/(non-)abelian\n$p$-form hierarchies in superspaces with 4D, $N = 1$ super-Poincare invariance.\nThese hierarchies give rise to Chern-Simons-like invariants, such as those of\nthe 5D, $N = 1$ graviphoton and the eleven-dimensional 3-form but also\ngeneralizations such as Green-Schwarz-like/BF-type couplings. Previous\nconstructions based on prepotential superfields are reinterpreted in terms of\n$p$-forms in superspace thereby elucidating the underlying geometry. This\nvastly simplifies the calculations of superspace field-strengths, Bianchi\nidentities, and Chern-Simons invariants. Using this, we prove the validity of a\nrecursive formula for the conditions defining these actions for any such tensor\nhierarchy. Solving it at quadratic and cubic orders, we recover the known\nresults for the BF-type and cubic Chern-Simons actions. As an application, we\ncompute the quartic invariant $\\sim A dA dA dA + \\ldots$ relevant, for example,\nto seven-dimensional supergravity compactifications.",
        "positive": "'t Hooft-Polyakov Monopoles with Non-Abelian Moduli: We extend the Georgi-Glashow model of the t'Hooft-Polyakov monopoles to\ninclude additional collective coordinates \"orientational isospin moduli\". The\nlow-energy theory of these solitonic solutions can be interpreted as dyons with\nisospin."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Permutation Orbifold of N=2 Supersymmetric Minimal Models: In this paper we apply the previously derived formalism of permutation\norbifold conformal field theories to N=2 supersymmetric minimal models. By\ninterchanging extensions and permutations of the factors we find a very\ninteresting structure relating various conformal field theories that seems not\nto be known in literature. Moreover, unexpected exceptional simple currents\narise in the extended permuted models, coming from off-diagonal fields. In a\nfew situations they admit fixed points that must be resolved. We determine the\ncomplete CFT data with all fixed point resolution matrices for all simple\ncurrents of all Z_2-permutations orbifolds of all minimal N=2 models with k\\neq\n2 mod 4.",
        "positive": "Quantum mirror symmetry and twistors: Using the twistor approach to hypermultiplet moduli spaces, we derive the\nworldsheet, D(-1), and D1-instanton contributions to the generalized mirror\nmap, relating Type IIA and Type IIB string theory compactified on generic\nmirror Calabi-Yau threefolds. For this purpose, we provide a novel description\nof the twistor space underlying the Type IIB hypermultiplet moduli space where\nthe SL(2,Z)-action is found to be free from quantum corrections. The extent to\nwhich instanton effects may resolve the perturbative singularities of the\nmoduli space metric is discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Aspects of Integrability in N =4 SYM: Various recently developed connections between supersymmetric Yang-Mills\ntheories in four dimensions and two dimensional integrable systems serve as\ncrucial ingredients in improving our understanding of the AdS/CFT\ncorrespondence. In this review, we highlight some connections between\nsuperconformal four dimensional Yang-Mills theory and various integrable\nsystems. In particular, we focus on the role of Yangian symmetries in studying\nthe gauge theory dual of closed string excitations. We also briefly review how\nthe gauge theory connects to Calogero models and open quantum spin chains\nthrough the study of the gauge theory duals of D3 branes and open strings\nending on them. This invited review, written for Modern Physics Letters-A, is\nbased on a seminar given at the Institute of Advanced Study, Princeton.",
        "positive": "Space-time singularities and the axion in the Poincare coset models\n  ISO(2,1)/H: By promoting an invariant subgroup $H$ of $ISO(2,1)$ to a gauge symmetry of a\nWZWN action, we obtain the description of a bosonic string moving either in a\ncurved 4-dimensional space--time with an axion field and curvature\nsingularities or in 3-dimensional Minkowski space--time."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Revisiting the Second Law and Weak Cosmic Censorship Conjecture in\n  High-Dimensional Charged-AdS Black Hole: an Additional Assumption: The verification of the second law of black hole mechanics and the WCCC in\nthe context of enthalpy as mass of the black hole and its related thermodynamic\nproperties has not been tested through a vast number of literature in the\nrecent past. Such studies are of great physical importance as they provide us\nwith a large number of information regarding the thermodynamics and the\ndynamics of AdS black hole systems. We invest the prior limited surveys of such\nanalysis to investigate the WCCC for the $D$- dimensional asymptotically\nAdS-charged black holes characterized by its mass ($M$), electric charge ($Q$),\nand AdS radius ($l$) under the absorption of scalar particles of charge $q$. We\nexamine the WCCC by analyzing the energy-momentum condition of the electrically\ncharged particles as absorbed by the black holes. We prove that the conjecture\nis well verified irrespective of whether the initial black hole configurations\nare extremal or non-extremal by changing its charge, the AdS radius, and their\nvariations. We show that the first law and the WCCC are valid for all spacetime\ndimensions ($D$) independent of the choice of the parameters characterizing the\nblack holes. But to verify the second law in the extremal and non-extremal\nconfigurations one has to be very cautious as it gets strongly affected by the\nchoices of the values of the black hole parameters and their variations...\n  In the context of the extended phase space, taking the grand canonical\npotential into account allow us to obtain the missing information about the\nvariation of the cosmological constant necessary to construct the extended\nphase space, namely the notion of the black hole pressure, and which is absent\nin the previous literature so far.",
        "positive": "Relaxing Lorentz invariance in general perturbative anomalies: We analyze the role of Lorentz symmetry in the perturbative non-gravitational\nanomalies for a single family of fermions. The theory is assumed to be\ntranslational invariant, power-counting renormalizable and based on a local\naction, but is allowed to have general Lorentz violating operators. We study\nthe conservation of global and gauge currents associate with general internal\nsymmetry groups and find, by using a perturbative approach, that Lorentz\nsymmetry does not participate in the clash of symmetries that leads to the\nanomalies. We first analyze the triangle graphs and prove that there are\nregulators for which the anomalous part of the Ward identities exactly\nreproduces the Lorentz invariant case. Then we show, by means of a regulator\nindependent argument, that the anomaly cancellation conditions derived in\nLorentz invariant theories remain necessary ingredients for anomaly freedom."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Perturbative Noncommutative Quantum Gravity: We study perturbative noncommutative quantum gravity by expanding the\ngravitational field about a fixed classical background. A calculation of the\none loop gravitational self-energy graph reveals that only the non-planar\ngraviton loops are damped by oscillating internal momentum dependent factors.\nThe noncommutative quantum gravity perturbation theory is not renormalizable\nbeyond one loop for matter-free gravity and all loops for matter interactions.\nComments are made about the nonlocal gravitational interactions produced by the\nnoncommutative spacetime geometry.",
        "positive": "Butterflies on the Stretched Horizon: In this paper I return to the question of what kind of perturbations on\nAlice's side of an Einstein-Rosen bridge can send messages to Bob as he enters\nthe horizon at the other end. By definition \"easy\" operators do not activate\nmessages and \"hard\" operators do, but there are no clear criteria to identify\nthe difference between easy and hard. In this paper I argue that the difference\nis related to the time evolution of a certain measure of computational\ncomplexity, associated with the stretched horizon of Alice's black hole. The\narguments suggest that the AMPSS commutator argument is more connected with\nbutterflies than with firewalls."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Coset Models and Differential Geometry: String propagation on a curved background defines an embedding problem of\nsurfaces in differential geometry. Using this, we show that in a wide class of\nbackgrounds the classical dynamics of the physical degrees of freedom of the\nstring involves 2-dim sigma-models corresponding to coset conformal field\ntheories.",
        "positive": "The generalized Abel-Plana formula. Applications to Bessel functions and\n  Casimir effect: One of the most efficient methods to obtain the vacuum expectation values for\nthe physical observables in the Casimir effect is based on the using the\nAbel-Plana summation formula. This allows to derive the regularized quantities\nby manifestly cutoff independent way and to present them in the form of\nstrongly converging integrals. However the applications of Abel- Plana formula\nin usual form is restricted by simple geometries when the eigenmodes have a\nsimple dependence on quantum numbers. The author generalized the Abel-Plana\nformula which essentially enlarges its application range. Based on this\ngeneralization, formulae have been obtained for various types of series over\nthe zeros of some combinations of Bessel functions and for integrals involving\nthese functions. It have been shown that these results generalize the special\ncases existing in literature. Further the derived summation formulae have been\nused to summarize series arising in the mode summation approach to the Casimir\neffect for spherically and cylindrically symmetric boundaries. This allows to\nextract the divergent parts from the vacuum expectation values for the local\nphysical observables in the manifestly cutoff independent way. The present\npaper reviews these results. Some new considerations are added as well."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Multi-point Local Height Probabilities in the Integrable RSOS Model: By using the bosonization technique, we derive an integral representation for\nmulti-point Local Hight Probabilities for the Andrews-Baxter-Forrester model in\nthe regime III. We argue that the dynamical symmetry of the model is provided\nby the deformed Virasoro algebra.",
        "positive": "Analytical solutions of pure-spinor superstring field theory: We examine the possibility of constructing analytical solutions describing\nmarginal deformations in the open superstring field theory that is based on the\nnon-minimal pure-spinor formalism. It is found out that some methods used for\nconstructing solutions of bosonic and RNS string field theories do not seem to\ngeneralize to the pure-spinor case, while other methods do lead to reliable\nanalytical solutions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Topological Roots of Black Hole Entropy: We review the insights into black hole entropy that arise from the\nformulation of gravitation theory in terms of dimensional continuation. The\nrole of the horizon area and the deficit angle of a conical singularity at the\nhorizon as canonically conjugate dynamical variables is analyzed. The path\nintegral and the extension of the Wheeler-De Witt equation for black holes are\ndiscussed.",
        "positive": "Asymmetric interiors for small black holes: We develop the representation of infalling observers and bulk fields in the\nCFT as a way to understand the black hole interior in AdS. We first discuss\nproperties of CFT states which are dual to black holes. We then show that in\nthe presence of a Killing horizon bulk fields can be decomposed into pieces we\ncall ingoing and outgoing. The ingoing field admits a simple operator\nrepresentation in the CFT, even inside a small black hole at late times, which\nleads to a simple CFT description of infalling geodesics. This means classical\ninfalling observers will experience the classical geometry in the interior. The\noutgoing piece of the field is more subtle. In an eternal two-sided geometry it\ncan be represented as an operator on the left CFT. In a stable one-sided\ngeometry it can be described using entanglement via the PR construction. But in\nan evaporating black hole trans-horizon entanglement breaks down at the Page\ntime, which means that for old black holes the PR construction fails and the\noutgoing field does not see local geometry. This picture of the interior allows\nthe CFT to reconcile unitary Hawking evaporation with the classical experience\nof infalling observers."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A survey of the electroweak configuration space and the W boson mass: Following the recent work of V. Moncrief, A. Marini, R. Maitra and P. Mondal\non the geometry of field theoretic configuration spaces, this account examines\nhow the regularized Ricci curvature of the $SU(2)_L \\times U(1)_Y$ Yang-Mills\norbit space may provide an intrinsic mass to the W boson which contributes to\nthe value obtained from the renormalized Higgs mechanism. Though the discussion\nis heuristic, one hopes that this infinite-dimensional technology, which does\nnot postulate extensions to the Standard Model, could explain the mass anomaly\nreported by the CDF II collaboration.",
        "positive": "Thermal Equilibrium of String Gas in Hagedorn Universe: The thermal equilibrium of string gas is necessary to activate the\nBrandenberger-Vafa mechanism, which makes our observed 4-dimensional universe\nenlarge. Nevertheless, the thermal equilibrium is not realized in the original\nsetup, a problem that remains as a critical defect. We study thermal\nequilibrium in the Hagedorn universe, and explore possibilities for avoiding\nthe issue aforementioned flaw. We employ a minimal modification of the original\nsetup, introducing a dilaton potential. Two types of potential are\ninvestigated: exponential and double-well potentials. For the first type, the\nbasic evolutions of universe and dilaton are such that both the radius of the\nuniverse and the dilaton asymptotically grow in over a short time, or that the\nradius converges to a constant value while the dilaton rolls down toward the\nweak coupling limit. For the second type, in addition to the above solutions,\nthere is another solution in which the dilaton is stabilized at a minimum of\npotential and the radius grows in proportion to $t$. Thermal equilibrium is\nrealized for both cases during the initial phase. These simple setups provide\npossible resolutions of the difficulty."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Entanglement Entropy as a Probe of the Proximity Effect in Holographic\n  Superconductors: We study the entanglement entropy as a probe of the proximity effect of a\nsuperconducting system by using the gauge/gravity duality in a fully\nback-reacted gravity system. While the entanglement entropy in the\nsuperconducting phase is less than the entanglement entropy in the normal\nphase, we find that near the contact interface of the superconducting to normal\nphase the entanglement entropy has a different behavior due to the leakage of\nCooper pairs to the normal phase. We verify this behavior by calculating the\nconductivity near the boundary interface.",
        "positive": "Fuzzy Nambu-Goldstone Physics: In spacetime dimensions larger than 2, whenever a global symmetry G is\nspontaneously broken to a subgroup H, and G and H are Lie groups, there are\nNambu-Goldstone modes described by fields with values in G/H. In\ntwo-dimensional spacetimes as well, models where fields take values in G/H are\nof considerable interest even though in that case there is no spontaneous\nbreaking of continuous symmetries. We consider such models when the world sheet\nis a two-sphere and describe their fuzzy analogues for G=SU(N+1),\nH=S(U(N-1)xU(1)) ~ U(N) and G/H=CP^N. More generally our methods give fuzzy\nversions of continuum models on S^2 when the target spaces are Grassmannians\nand flag manifolds described by (N+1)x(N+1) projectors of rank =< (N+1)/2.\nThese fuzzy models are finite-dimensional matrix models which nevertheless\nretain all the essential continuum topological features like solitonic sectors.\nThey seem well-suited for numerical work."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Aspects of Black Hole Entropy: This survey intends to cover recent approaches to black hole entropy which\nattempt to go beyond the standard semiclassical perspective. Quantum\ncorrections to the semiclassical Bekenstein-Hawking area law for black hole\nentropy, obtained within the quantum geometry framework, are treated in some\ndetail. Their ramification for the holographic entropy bound for bounded\nstationary spacetimes is discussed. Four dimensional supersymmetric extremal\nblack holes in string-based N=2 supergravity are also discussed, albeit more\nbriefly.",
        "positive": "Caustics for Spherical Waves: We study the development of caustics in shift-symmetric scalar field theories\nby focusing on simple waves with an $SO(p)$-symmetry in an arbitrary number of\nspace dimensions. We show that the pure Galileon, the DBI-Galileon, and the\nextreme-relativistic Galileon naturally emerge as the unique set of\ncaustic-free theories, highlighting a link between the caustic-free condition\nfor simple $SO(p)$-waves and the existence of either a global Galilean symmetry\nor a global (extreme-)relativistic Galilean symmetry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A nonperturbative study of three-dimensional phi^4 theory: The spherical field formalism---a nonperturbative approach to quantum field\ntheory---was recently introduced and applied to phi^4 theory in two dimensions.\nThe spherical field method reduces a quantum field theory to a\nfinite-dimensional quantum mechanical system by expanding field configurations\nin terms of spherical partial wave modes. We extend the formalism to phi^4\ntheory in three dimensions and demonstrate the application of the method by\nanalyzing the phase structure of this theory.",
        "positive": "Instanton constraints and renormalization: The renormalization is investigated of one-loop quantum fluctuations around a\nconstrained instanton in $\\phi ^4$-theory with negative coupling. It is found\nthat the constraint should be renormalized also. This indicates that in general\nonly renormalizable constraints are permitted."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Remarks on relativistic scalar models with chemical potential: We discuss selected aspects of classical relativistic scalar field theories\nwith nonzero chemical potential. First, we offer a review of classical field\ntheory at nonzero density within the Lagrangian formalism. The aspects covered\ninclude the question of equivalence of descriptions of finite-density states\nusing a chemical potential or time-dependent field configurations, the choice\nof Hamiltonian whose minimization yields the finite-density equilibrium state,\nand the issue of breaking of Lorentz invariance. Second, we demonstrate how the\nlow-energy effective field theory for Nambu-Goldstone (NG) modes arising from\nthe spontaneous breakdown of global internal symmetries can be worked out\nexplicitly by integrating out the heavy (Higgs) fields. This makes it possible\nto analyze the spectrum of NG modes and their interactions without having to\ndeal with mixing of NG and Higgs fields, ubiquitous in the linear-sigma-model\ndescription of spontaneous symmetry breaking.",
        "positive": "String Theory in Beta Deformed Spacetimes: Fluxbrane-like backgrounds obtained from flat space by a sequence of\nT-dualities and shifts of polar coordinates (beta deformations) provide an\ninteresting class of exactly solvable string theories. We compute the one-loop\npartition function for various such deformed spaces and study their spectrum of\nD-branes. For rational values of the B-field these models are equivalent to Z_N\n\\times Z_N orbifolds with discrete torsion. We also obtain an interesting new\nclass of time-dependent backgrounds which resemble localized closed string\ntachyon condensation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Heat Kernel Coefficients to the Matrix Schr\u00f6dinger Operator: The heat kernel coefficients $H_k$ to the Schr\\\"odinger operator with a\nmatrix potential are investigated. We present algorithms and explicit\nexpressions for the Taylor coefficients of the $H_k$. Special terms are\ndiscussed, and for the one-dimensional case some improved algorithms are\nderived.",
        "positive": "Spinning Relativistic Particle in an External Electromagnetic Field: The Hamiltonian formulation of the motion of a spinning relativistic particle\nin an external electromagnetic field is considered. The approach is based on\nthe introduction of new coordinates and their conjugated momenta to describe\nthe spin degrees of freedom together with an appropriate set of constraints in\nthe Dirac formulation. For particles with gyromagnetic ratio $g=2$, the\nequations of motion do not predict any deviation from the standard Lorentz\nforce, while for $g \\neq 2$ an additional force, which corresponds to the\nmagnetic dipole force, is obtained."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauge-invariant variables, WZW models and (2+1)-dimensional Yang-Mills\n  theory: Recent progress in understanding (2+1)-dimensional Yang-Mills (YM_{2+1})\ntheory via the use of gauge-invariant variables is reviewed. Among other\nthings, we discuss the vacuum wavefunction, an analytic calculation of the\nstring tension and the propagator mass for gluons and its relation to the\nmagnetic mass for YM_{3+1} at nonzero temperature.",
        "positive": "Israel--Wilson--Perj\u00e9s Solutions in Heterotic String Theory: We present a simple algorithm to obtain solutions that generalize the\nIsrael--Wilson--Perj\\'es class for the low-energy limit of heterotic string\ntheory toroidally compactified from D=d+3 to three dimensions. A remarkable map\nexisting between the Einstein--Maxwell (EM) theory and the theory under\nconsideration allows us to solve directly the equations of motion making use of\nthe matrix Ernst potentials connected with the coset matrix of heterotic string\ntheory. For the particular case d=1 (if we put n=6, the resulting theory can be\nconsidered as the bosonic part of the action of D=4, N=4 supergravity) we\nobtain explicitly a dyonic solution in terms of one real 2\\times 2--matrix\nharmonic function and 2n real constants (n being the number of Abelian vector\nfields). By studying the asymptotic behaviour of the field configurations we\ndefine the charges of the system. They satisfy the\nBogomol'nyi--Prasad--Sommmerfeld (BPS) bound."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On strong integrability of the dressing cosets: We formulate sufficient conditions for the strong integrability of dressing\ncosets. We provide several sigma-model backgrounds solving those conditions,\nsome of them are new and some of them were not so far formulated as the\ndressing cosets. The new models are based on the Drinfeld doubles having the\nstructure of higher order jet bundles of quadratic Lie groups.",
        "positive": "Holography and Thermodynamics of 5D Dilaton-gravity: The asymptotically-logarithmically-AdS black-hole solutions of 5D dilaton\ngravity with a monotonic dilaton potential are analyzed in detail. Such\ntheories are holographically very close to pure Yang-Mills theory in four\ndimensions. The existence and uniqueness of black-hole solutions is shown. It\nis also shown that a Hawking-Page transition exists at finite temperature if\nand only if the potential corresponds to a confining theory. The physics of the\ntransition matches in detail with that of deconfinement of the Yang-Mills\ntheory. The high-temperature phase asymptotes to a free gluon gas at high\ntemperature matching the expected behavior from asymptotic freedom. The thermal\ngluon condensate is calculated and shown to be crucial for the existence of a\nnon-trivial deconfining transition. The condensate of the topological charge is\nshown to vanish in the deconfined phase."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Homes' law in Holographic Superconductor with Q-lattices: Homes' law, $\\rho_s = C \\sigma_{\\mathrm{DC}} T_c$, is an empirical law\nsatisfied by various superconductors with a material independent universal\nconstant $C$, where $\\rho_{s}$ is the superfluid density at zero temperature,\n$T_c$ is the critical temperature, and $\\sigma_{\\mathrm{DC}}$ is the electric\nDC conductivity in the normal state close to $T_c$. We study Homes' law in\nholographic superconductor with Q-lattices and find that Homes' law is realized\nfor some parameter regime in insulating phase near the metal-insulator\ntransition boundary, where momentum relaxation is strong. In computing the\nsuperfluid density, we employ two methods: one is related to the infinite DC\nconductivity and the other is related to the magnetic penetration depth. With\nfinite momentum relaxation both yield the same results, while without momentum\nrelaxation only the latter gives the superfluid density correctly because the\nformer has a spurious contribution from the infinite DC conductivity due to\ntranslation invariance.",
        "positive": "Charging the Conformal Window: We investigate the properties of near-conformal dynamics in a sector of large\ncharge when approaching the lower boundary of the conformal window from the\nchirally broken phase. To elucidate our approach we use the time-honored\nexample of the phenomenologically relevant SU(2) color theory featuring $N_f$\nDirac fermions transforming in the fundamental representation of the gauge\ngroup. In the chirally broken phase we employ the effective pion Lagrangian\nfeaturing also a pseudo-dilaton to capture a possible smooth\nconformal-to-non-conformal phase transition. We charge the baryon symmetry of\nthe Lagrangian and study its impact on the ground state and spectrum of the\ntheory as well as the would-be conformal dimensions of the lowest large-charge\noperator. We moreover study the effects of and dependence on the fermion mass\nterm."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dynamical actions and q-representation theory for double-scaled SYK: We show that DSSYK amplitudes are reproduced by considering the quantum\nmechanics of a constrained particle on the quantum group SU$_q(1,1)$. We\nconstruct its left-and right-regular representations, and show that the\nrepresentation matrices reproduce two-sided wavefunctions and correlation\nfunctions of DSSYK. We then construct a dynamical action and path integral for\na particle on SU$_q(1,1)$, whose quantization reproduces the aforementioned\nrepresentation theory. By imposing boundary conditions or constraining the\nsystem we find the $q$-analog of the Schwarzian and Liouville boundary path\nintegral descriptions. This lays the technical groundwork for identifying the\ngravitational bulk description of DSSYK. We find evidence the theory in\nquestion is a sine dilaton gravity, which interestingly is capable of\ndescribing both AdS and dS quantum gravity.",
        "positive": "Hayden-Preskill protocol and decoding Hawking radiation at finite\n  temperature: We study the Hayden-Preskill thought experiment at finite temperature and\nobtain the decoupling condition that the information thrown into an old black\nhole can be extracted by decoding the Hawking radiation. We then consider the\ndecoding Hayden-Preskill protocol at finite temperature assuming the observer\noutside the black hole who has the access to the full radiation and the unitary\ndynamics of the black hole. We also consider the cases when the Hawking\nradiation has noise and decoherence in the storage. The decoding probabilities\nand the corresponding fidelities are calculated. It is shown that for all the\nthree cases we have considered, the decoding fidelities are less than unity in\ngeneral. This result indicates that at finite temperature, the decoding\nstrategy and the recovery algorithm is harder to realize than that at infinite\ntemperature."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Toroidal Compactification Without Vector Structure: Many important ideas about string duality that appear in conventional $\\T^2$\ncompactification have analogs for $\\T^2$ compactification without vector\nstructure. We analyze some of these issues and show, in particular, how\norientifold planes associated with $Sp(n)$ gauge groups can arise from\nT-duality and how they can be interpreted in F-theory. We also, in an appendix,\nresolve a longstanding puzzle concerning the computation of $\\Tr (-1)^F$ in\nfour-dimensional supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory with gauge group SO(n).",
        "positive": "Tests for C-theorems in 4D: A proof for a non-perturbative C-theorem in four dimensions, capturing the\nirreversibility of the renormalization group flow in the space of unitary\nquantum field theories, has not been accomplished, yet. We test the conjectured\nC-theorems using the exact results recently obtained in N=1 supersymmetric\ngauge theories. We find that the flow towards the infrared region is consistent\nwith the main proposals for a C-theorem."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Integrability vs. Information Loss: A Simple Example: The half-BPS sector of Yang-Mills theory with 16 supercharges is integrable:\nthere is a set of commuting conserved charges, whose eigenvalues can completely\nidentify a state. We show that these charges can be measured in the dual\ngravitational description from asymptotic multipole moments of the spacetime.\nHowever, Planck scale measurements are required to separate the charges of\ndifferent microstates. Thus, semiclassical observers making coarse-grained\nmeasurements necessarily lose information about the underlying quantum state.",
        "positive": "Aharonov-Bohm Effect in the Abelian-Projected SU(3)-QCD with\n  $\u0398$-term: By making use of the path-integral duality transformation, string\nrepresentation of the Abelian-projected SU(3)-QCD with the $\\Theta$-term is\nderived. Besides the short-range (self-)interactions of quarks (which due to\nthe $\\Theta$-term acquire a nonvanishing magnetic charge, i.e. become dyons)\nand electric Abrikosov-Nielsen-Olesen strings, the resulting effective action\ncontains also a long-range topological interaction of dyons with strings. This\ninteraction, which has the form of the 4D Gauss linking number of the\ntrajectory of a dyon with the world-sheet of a closed string, is shown to\nbecome nontrivial at $\\Theta$ not equal to $3\\pi$ times an integer. At these\nvalues of $\\Theta$, closed electric Abrikosov-Nielsen-Olesen strings in the\nmodel under study can be viewed as solenoids scattering dyons, which is the 4D\nanalogue of the Aharonov-Bohm effect."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dual Fermion Condensates in Curved Space: In this paper we compute the effective action at finite temperature and\ndensity for the dual fermion condensate in curved space with the fermions\ndescribed by an effective field theory with four-point interactions. The\napproach we adopt refines a technique developed earlier to study chiral\nsymmetry breaking in curved space and it is generalized here to include the\nU$(1)$-valued boundary conditions necessary to define the dual condensate. The\nmethod we present is general, includes the coupling between the fermion\ncondensate and the Polyakov loop, and applies to any ultrastatic background\nspacetime with a nonsingular base. It also allows one to include inhomogeneous\nand anisotropic phases and therefore it is suitable to study situations where\nthe geometry is not homogeneous. We first illustrate a procedure, based on heat\nkernels, useful to deal with situations where the dual and chiral condensates\n(as well as any smooth background field eventually present) are slowly or\nrapidly varying functions in space. Then we discuss a different approach based\non the density of states method and on the use of Tauberian theorems to handle\nthe case of arbitrary chemical potentials. As a trial application, we consider\nthe case of constant curvature spacetimes and show how to compute numerically\nthe dual fermion condensate in the case of both homogeneous and inhomogeneous\nphases.",
        "positive": "Spectral geometry approach to Horava-Lifshitz type theories: gravity and\n  matter sectors in IR regime: We give a brief exposition of the approach based on the methods of spectral\ngeometry and the spectral action principle to construction and analysis of\nmodels on a foliated space-time."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Annihilation of the scalar pair into a photon on de Sitter spacetime: The annihilation of massive scalar particles in one photon on de Sitter\nexpanding universe is studied, using perturbation theory. The amplitude and\nprobability corresponding to this process is computed using the exact solutions\nof the Klein-Gordon and Maxwell equations on de Sitter geometry. Our results\nshow that the expression of the total probability of photon emission is a\nfunction dependent on the ratio mass/expansion\\, factor. We perform a graphical\nstudy of the total probability in terms of the parameter mass/expansion factor,\nshowing that this effect is significant only in strong gravitational fields. We\nalso obtain that the total probability for this process vanishes in the\nMinkowski limit.",
        "positive": "Global Black Branes (Extended Global Defects Surrounded by Horizons),\n  Brane Worlds and the Cosmological Constant: We study global defects coupled to higher-dimensional gravity with a negative\ncosmological constant. This paper is mainly devoted to studying global black\nbrane solutions which are extended global defects surrounded by horizons. We\nfind series solutions in a few separated regions and confirm numerically that\nthey can be mutually connected. When the world volume of the brane is\nRicci-flat, the brane is surrounded by a degenerated horizon, while it is\nsurrounded by two horizons when the world volume has a positive constant\ncurvature. Each solution corresponds to an extremal and a non-extremal state,\nrespectively. Their causal structures resemble those of the\nReissner-Nordstr\\\"{o}m black holes in anti-de Sitter spacetime. However, the\nnon-extremal black brane is not a static object, but an inflating brane. In\naddition, we briefly discuss a brane world model in the context of the global\nblack branes. We comment on a few thermodynamic properties of the global black\nbranes, and discuss a decrease of the cosmological constant on the brane world\nthrough the thermodynamic instability of the non-extremal global black brane."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Weak Gravity Strongly Constrains Large-Field Axion Inflation: Models of large-field inflation based on axion-like fields with shift\nsymmetries can be simple and natural, and make a promising prediction of\ndetectable primordial gravitational waves. The Weak Gravity Conjecture is known\nto constrain the simplest case in which a single compact axion descends from a\ngauge field in an extra dimension. We argue that the Weak Gravity Conjecture\nalso constrains a variety of theories of multiple compact axions including\nN-flation and some alignment models. We show that other alignment models entail\nsurprising consequences for how the mass spectrum of the theory varies across\nthe axion moduli space, and hence can be excluded if further conjectures hold.\nIn every case that we consider, plausible assumptions lead to field ranges that\ncannot be parametrically larger than the Planck scale. Our results are strongly\nsuggestive of a general inconsistency in models of large-field inflation based\non compact axions, and possibly of a more general principle forbidding\nsuper-Planckian field ranges.",
        "positive": "Tetrahedron instantons: We introduce and study tetrahedron instantons, which can be realized in\nstring theory by D$1$-branes probing a configuration of intersecting\nD$7$-branes in flat spacetime with a proper constant $B$-field. Physically they\ncapture instantons on $\\mathbb{C}^{3}$ in the presence of the most general\nintersecting real codimension-two supersymmetric defects. Moreover, we\nconstruct the tetrahedron instantons as particular solutions of general\ninstanton equations in noncommutative field theory. We analyze the moduli space\nof tetrahedron instantons and discuss the geometric interpretations. We compute\nthe instanton partition function both via the equivariant localization on the\nmoduli space of tetrahedron instantons and via the elliptic genus of the\nworldvolume theory on the D$1$-branes probing the intersecting D$7$-branes,\nobtaining the same result. The instanton partition function of the tetrahedron\ninstantons lies between the higher-rank Donaldson-Thomas invariants on\n$\\mathbb{C}^{3}$ and the partition function of the magnificent four model,\nwhich is conjectured to be the mother of all instanton partition functions.\nFinally, we show that the instanton partition function admits a free field\nrepresentation, suggesting the existence of a novel kind of symmetry which acts\non the cohomology of the moduli spaces of tetrahedron instantons."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Instanton Calculations of N=2 Supersymmetric Yang-Mills Theory: Instanton calculations are demonstrated from a viewpoint of twisted\ntopological field theory. Various properties become manifest such that\nperturbative corrections are terminated at one-loop, and norm cancellations\noccur between bosonic and fermionic excitations in any instanton background. We\ncan easily observe that for a suitable choice of Green functions the infinite\ndimensional path integration reduces to a finite dimensional integration over a\nsupersymmetric instanton moduli space.",
        "positive": "Regularization Dependence of Quadratic Divergence Cancellations,\n  VPI-IHEP-92/10: Certain results related to the cancellation of quadratic divergences, which\nhad been obtained using dimensional reduction, are reconsidered using a\nnonlocal regulator. The results obtained are shown to depend strongly on the\nregulator. Specifically, it is shown that a certain result of Al-sarhi, Jack,\nand Jones no longer holds, even if a nontrivial measure factor is used; also\nthat there are no values of the top and Higgs mass for which the one-loop\nquadratic divergence in the standard model cancels independently of the\nrenormalization scale, whether or not strong interaction effects are ignored."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fixed points and the spontaneous breaking of scale invariance: We investigate critical $N$-component scalar field theories and the\nspontaneous breaking of scale invariance in three dimensions using functional\nrenormalisation. Global and local renormalisation group flows are solved\nanalytically in the infinite $N$ limit to establish the phase diagram including\nthe Wilson-Fisher fixed point and a line of asymptotically safe UV fixed points\ncharacterised by an exactly marginal sextic coupling. We also study the\nBardeen-Moshe-Bander phenomenon of spontaneously broken scale invariance and\nthe stability of the vacuum for general regularisation. Our findings clarify a\nlong-standing puzzle about the apparent unboundedness of the effective\npotential. Implications for other theories are indicated.",
        "positive": "Entanglement Entropy for $TT$ deformed CFT in general dimensions: We consider deformation of a generic $d$ dimensional ($d\\geq 2$) large-$N$\nCFT on a sphere by a spin-0 operator which is bilinear in the components of the\nstress tensor. Such a deformation has been proposed to be holographically dual\nto an $AdS_{d+1}$ bulk with a hard radial cut-off. We compute the exact\npartition function and find the entanglement entropy from the field theory side\nin various dimensions and compare with the corresponding holographic results.\nWe also compute renormalized entanglement entropy both in field theory and\nholography and find complete agreement between them."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Landau Gauge QCD: Functional Methods versus Lattice Simulations: The infrared behaviour of QCD Green's functions in Landau gauge has been\nfocus of intense study. Different non-perturbative approaches lead to a\nprediction in line with the conditions for confinement in local quantum field\ntheory as spelled out in the Kugo-Ojima criterion. Detailed comparisons with\nlattice studies have revealed small but significant differences, however. But\naren't we comparing apples with oranges when contrasting lattice Landau gauge\nsimulations with these continuum results? The answer is yes, and we need to\nchange that. We therefore propose a reformulation of Landau gauge on the\nlattice which will allow us to perform gauge-fixed Monte-Carlo simulations\nmatching the continuum methods of local field theory which will thereby be\nelevated to a non-perturbative level at the same time.",
        "positive": "Connection between topology and statistics: We introduce topological magnetic field in two-dimensional flat space, which\nadmits a solution of scalar monopole that describes the nontrivial topology. In\nthe Chern-Simons gauge field theory of anyons, we interpret the anyons as the\nquasi-particles composed of fermions and scalar monopoles in such a form that\neach fermion is surrounded by infinite number of scalar monopoles. It is the\nmonopole charge that determines the statistics of anyons. We re-analyze the\nconventional arguments of the connection between topology and statistics in\nthree-dimensional space, and find that those arguments are based on the global\ntopology, which is relatively trivial compared with the monopole structure.\nThrough a simple model, we formulate the three-dimensional anyon field\n  using infinite number of Dirac's magnetic monopoles that change the ordinary\nspacetime topology. The quasi-particle picture of the three-dimensional anyons\nis quite similar to that of the usual two-dimensional anyons. However, the\nexotic statistics there is not restricted to the usual fractional statistics,\nbut a functional statistics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Continuous Local Symmetry in Ising-type Models: A class of generalized Ising models is examined with a view to extracting a\nlow energy sector comprising\n  Dirac fermions coupled to Yang-Mills vectors. The main feature of this\napproach is a set of gap equations, covariant with respect to one of the\n$4$-dimensional crystallographic space groups.",
        "positive": "Tetrahedron equation and the algebraic geometry: The tetrahedron equation arises as a generalization of the famous\nYang--Baxter equation to the 2+1-dimensional quantum field theory and the\n3-dimensional statistical mechanics. Very little is still known about its\nsolutions. Here a systematic method is described that does produce non-trivial\nsolutions to the tetrahedron equation with spin-like variables on the links.\nThe essence of the method is the use of the so-called tetrahedral Zamolodchikov\nalgebras."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gamma ray burst delay times probe the geometry of momentum space: We study the application of the recently proposed framework of relative\nlocality to the problem of energy dependent delays of arrival times of photons\nthat are produced simultaneously in distant events such as gamma ray bursts.\nWithin this framework, possible modifications of special relativity are coded\nin the geometry of momentum space. The metric of momentum space codes\nmodifications in the energy momentum relation, while the connection on momentum\nspace describes possible non-linear modifications in the laws of conservation\nof energy and momentum. In this paper, we study effects of first order in the\ninverse Planck scale, which are coded in the torsion and non-metricity of\nmomentum space. We find that time delays of order Distance * Energies/m_p are\ncoded in the non-metricity of momentum space. Current experimental bounds on\nsuch time delays hence bound the components of this tensor of order 1/m_p. We\nalso find a new effect, whereby photons from distant sources can appear to\narrive from angles slightly off the direction to the sources, which we call\ngravitational lensing. This is found to be coded into the torsion of momentum\nspace.",
        "positive": "Branes from Matrix Theory in PP-Wave Background: Based on the recently proposed action for Matrix theory describing the DLCQ M\ntheory in the maximally supersymmetric pp-wave background, we obtain the\nsupersymmetry algebra of supercharge density. Using supersymmetry\ntransformation rules for fermions, we identify BPS states with the central\ncharges in the supersymmetry algebra, which can be activated only in the large\nN limit. They preserve some fraction of supersymmetries and correspond to\nrotating transverse membranes and longitudinal five branes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "String Theory and Water Waves: We uncover a remarkable role that an infinite hierarchy of non-linear\ndifferential equations plays in organizing and connecting certain {hat c}<1\nstring theories non-perturbatively. We are able to embed the type 0A and 0B\n(A,A) minimal string theories into this single framework. The string theories\narise as special limits of a rich system of equations underpinned by an\nintegrable system known as the dispersive water wave hierarchy. We observe that\nthere are several other string-like limits of the system, and conjecture that\nsome of them are type IIA and IIB (A,D) minimal string backgrounds. We explain\nhow these and several string-like special points arise and are connected. In\nsome cases, the framework endows the theories with a non-perturbative\ndefinition for the first time. Notably, we discover that the Painleve IV\nequation plays a key role in organizing the string theory physics, joining its\nsiblings, Painleve I and II, whose roles have previously been identified in\nthis minimal string context.",
        "positive": "Strings in a 2-d Extremal Black Hole: String theory on 2-d charged black holes corresponding to (SL(2)xU(1)_L)/U(1)\nexact asymmetric quotient CFTs are investigated. These backgrounds can be\nembedded, in particular, in a two dimensional heterotic string. In the extremal\ncase, the quotient CFT description captures the near horizon physics, and is\nequivalent to strings in AdS_2 with a gauge field. Such string vacua possess an\ninfinite space-time Virasoro symmetry, and hence enhancement of global\nspace-time Lie symmetries to affine symmetries, in agreement with the\nconjectured AdS_2/CFT_1 correspondence. We argue that the entropy of these 2-d\nblack holes in string theory is compatible with semi-classical results, and\nshow that in perturbative computations part of an incoming flux is absorbed by\nthe black hole. Moreover, on the way we find evidence that the 2-d heterotic\nstring is closely related to the N=(2,1) string, and conjecture that they are\ndual."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauging Wess-Zumino-Witten Models: We review some aspects of gauged WZW models. By choosing a nilpotent subgroup\nas gauge group, one is lead to three main applications: the construction of\nfield theories with an extended conformal symmetry, the construction of the\neffective action of (extended) 2D gravities and the systematic construction of\nstring theories with some extended gauge symmetry.",
        "positive": "Modifying the Sum Over Topological Sectors and Constraints on\n  Supergravity: The standard lore about the sum over topological sectors in quantum field\ntheory is that locality and cluster decomposition uniquely determine the sum\nover such sectors, thus leading to the usual theta-vacua. We show that without\nchanging the local degrees of freedom, a theory can be modified such that the\nsum over instantons should be restricted; e.g. one should include only\ninstanton numbers which are divisible by some integer p. This conclusion about\nthe configuration space of quantum field theory allows us to carefully\nreconsider the quantization of parameters in supergravity. In particular, we\nshow that FI-terms and nontrivial Kahler forms are quantized. This analysis\nalso leads to a new derivation of recent results about linearized supergravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Binding Complexity and Multiparty Entanglement: We introduce \"binding complexity\", a new notion of circuit complexity which\nquantifies the difficulty of distributing entanglement among multiple parties,\neach consisting of many local degrees of freedom. We define binding complexity\nof a given state as the minimal number of quantum gates that must act between\nparties to prepare it. To illustrate the new notion we compute it in a toy\nmodel for a scalar field theory, using certain multiparty entangled states\nwhich are analogous to configurations that are known in AdS/CFT to correspond\nto multiboundary wormholes. Pursuing this analogy, we show that our states can\nbe prepared by the Euclidean path integral in $(0+1)$-dimensional quantum\nmechanics on graphs with wormhole-like structure. We compute the binding\ncomplexity of our states by adapting the Euler-Arnold approach to Nielsen's\ngeometrization of gate counting, and find a scaling with entropy that resembles\na result for the interior volume of holographic multiboundary wormholes. We\nalso compute the binding complexity of general coherent states in perturbation\ntheory, and show that for \"double-trace deformations\" of the Hamiltonian the\neffects resemble expansion of a wormhole interior in holographic theories.",
        "positive": "Gauge Theories Coupled to Fermions in Generation: Gauge theories coupled to fermions in generation are reformulated in a\nmodified version of extended differential geometry with the symbol $\\chi$.\nAfter discussing several toy models, we will reformulate in our framework the\nstandard model based on Connes' real structure. It is shown that for the most\ngeneral bosonic lagrangin which is required to also reconstruct N=2 super\nYang-Mills theory Higgs mechanism operates only for more than one generation as\nfirst pointed out by Connes and Lott."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetric (non-)Abelian Bundles in the Type I and SO(32) Heterotic\n  String: We discuss perturbative four-dimensional compactifications of both the SO(32)\nheterotic and the Type I string on smooth Calabi-Yau manifolds endowed with\ngeneral non-abelian and abelian bundles. We analyse the generalized\nGreen-Schwarz mechanism for multiple anomalous U(1) factors and derive the\ngenerically non-universal one-loop threshold corrections to the gauge kinetic\nfunction as well as the one-loop corrected Fayet-Iliopoulos terms. The latter\ncan be interpreted as a stringy one-loop correction to the\nDonaldson-Uhlenbeck-Yau condition. Applying S-duality, for the Type I string we\nobtain the perturbative Pi-stability condition for non-abelian bundles on\ncurved spaces. Some simple examples are given, and we qualitatively discuss\nsome generic phenomenological aspects of this kind of string vacua. In\nparticular, we point out that in principle an intermediate string scale\nscenario with TeV scale large extra dimensions might be possible for the\nheterotic string.",
        "positive": "Universal Bounds on Charged States in 2d CFT and 3d Gravity: We derive an explicit bound on the dimension of the lightest charged state in\ntwo dimensional conformal field theories with a global abelian symmetry. We\nfind that the bound scales with $c$ and provide examples that parametrically\nsaturate this bound. We also prove than any such theory must contain a state\nwith charge-to-mass ratio above a minimal lower bound. We comment on the\nimplications for charged states in three dimensional theories of gravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "5d Conformal Matter: Six-dimensional superconformal field theories (SCFTs) have an atomic\nclassification in terms of elementary building blocks, conformal systems that\ngeneralize matter and can be fused together to form all known 6d SCFTs in terms\nof generalized 6d quivers. It is therefore natural to ask whether 5d SCFTs can\nbe organized in a similar manner, as the outcome of fusions of certain\nelementary building blocks, which we call 5d conformal matter theories. In this\nproject we begin exploring this idea and we give a systematic construction of\n5d generalized ``bifundamental'' SCFTs, building from geometric engineering\ntechniques in M-theory. In particular, we find several examples of $(\\mathfrak\n{e}_6,\\mathfrak {e}_6)$, $(\\mathfrak {e}_7,\\mathfrak {e}_7)$ and $(\\mathfrak\n{e}_8,\\mathfrak {e}_8)$ 5d bifundamental SCFTs beyond the ones arising from\n(elementary) KK reductions of the 6d conformal matter theories. We show that\nthese can be fused together giving rise to 5d SCFTs captured by 5d generalized\nlinear quivers with exceptional gauge groups as nodes, and links given by 5d\nconformal matter. As a first application of these models we uncover a large\nclass of novel 5d dualites, that generalize the well-known fiber/base dualities\noutside the toric realm.",
        "positive": "Symmetric Space Sigma-model Dynamics: Internal Metric Formalism: For the symmetric space sigma model in the internal metric formalism we\nexplicitly construct the lagrangian in terms of the axions and the dilatons of\nthe solvable Lie algebra gauge and then we exactly derive the axion-dilaton\nfield equations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Testing holography using lattice super-Yang--Mills on a 2-torus: We consider maximally supersymmetric SU(N) Yang--Mills theory in Euclidean\nsignature compactified on a flat two-dimensional torus with anti-periodic\n(`thermal') fermion boundary conditions imposed on one cycle. At large N,\nholography predicts that this theory describes certain black hole solutions in\nType IIA and IIB supergravity, and we use lattice gauge theory to test this.\nUnlike the one-dimensional quantum mechanics case where there is only the\ndimensionless temperature to vary, here we emphasize there are two more\nparameters which determine the shape of the flat torus. While a rectangular\nEuclidean torus yields a thermal interpretation, allowing for skewed tori\nmodifies the holographic dual black hole predictions and results in another\ndirection to test holography. Our lattice calculations are based on a\nsupersymmetric formulation naturally adapted to a particular skewing. Using\nthis we perform simulations up to N=16 with several lattice spacings for both\nskewed and rectangular tori. We observe the two expected black hole phases with\ntheir predicted behavior, with a transition between them that is consistent\nwith the gravity prediction based on the Gregory--Laflamme transition.",
        "positive": "Revisiting the Conformally Soft Sector with Celestial Diamonds: Celestial diamonds encode the structure of global conformal multiplets in 2D\ncelestial CFT and offer a natural language for describing the conformally soft\nsector. The operators appearing at their left and right corners give rise to\nconformally soft factorization theorems, the bottom corners correspond to\nconserved charges, and the top corners to conformal dressings. We show that\nconformally soft charges can be expressed in terms of light ray integrals that\nselect modes of the appropriate conformal weights. They reside at the bottom\ncorners of memory diamonds, and ascend to generalized currents. We then\nidentify the top corners of the associated Goldstone diamonds with conformal\nFaddeev-Kulish dressings and compute the sub-leading conformally soft dressings\nin gauge theory and gravity which are important for finding nontrivial central\nextensions. Finally, we combine these ingredients to speculate on 2D effective\ndescriptions for the conformally soft sector of celestial CFT."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Confining Boundary conditions from dynamical Coupling Constants: It is shown that it is possible to consistently and gauge invariantly\nformulate models where the coupling constant is a non trivial function of a\nscalar field . In the $U(1)$ case the coupling to the gauge field contains a\nterm of the form $g(\\phi)j_\\mu (A^{\\mu} +\\partial^{\\mu}B)$ where $B$ is an\nauxiliary field and $j_\\mu$ is the Dirac current. The scalar field $\\phi$\ndetermines the local value of the coupling of the gauge field to the Dirac\nparticle. The consistency of the equations determine the condition\n$\\partial^{\\mu}\\phi j_\\mu = 0$ which implies that the Dirac current cannot have\na component in the direction of the gradient of the scalar field. As a\nconsequence, if $\\phi$ has a soliton behaviour, like defining a bubble that\nconnects two vacuua, we obtain that the Dirac current cannot have a flux\nthrough the wall of the bubble, defining a confinement mechanism where the\nfermions are kept inside those bags. Consistent models with time dependent fine\nstructure constant can be also constructed",
        "positive": "Entropy of Near-Extremal Black p-branes: We carry out a thorough survey of entropy for a large class of $p$-branes in\nvarious dimensions. We find that the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy may be given a\nsimple world volume interpretation only for the non-dilatonic $p$-branes, those\nwith the dilaton constant throughout spacetime. The entropy of extremal\nnon-dilatonic $p$-branes is non-vanishing only for the solutions preserving 1/8\nof the original supersymmetries. Upon toroidal compactification these reduce to\ndyonic black holes in 4 and 5 dimensions. For the self-dual string in 6\ndimensions, which preserves 1/4 of the original supersymmetries, the\nnear-extremal entropy is found to agree with a world sheet calculation, in\nsupport of the existing literature. The remaining 3 interesting cases preserve\n1/2 of the original supersymmetries. These are the self-dual 3-brane in 10\ndimensions, and the 2- and 5-branes in 11 dimensions. For all of them the\nscaling of the near-extremal Bekenstein-Hawking entropy with the Hawking\ntemperature is in agreement with a statistical description in terms of free\nmassless fields on the world volume."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Axial anomaly in nonlinear conformal electrodynamics: We study the axial anomaly of Dirac spinors on gravitational instanton\nbackgrounds in the context of nonlinear electrodynamics. In order to do so, we\nconsider Einstein gravity minimally coupled to a recently proposed conformal\nelectrodynamics that enjoys duality transformation invariance. These symmetries\nallow us to generalize the Eguchi-Hanson configuration while preserving its\ngeometry. We then compute the Dirac index of the nonlinearly charged\nEguchi-Hanson and Taub-NUT configurations. We find that there is an excess of\npositive chiral Dirac fermions over the negative ones which triggers the\nanomaly.",
        "positive": "Born Reciprocity and Cosmic Accelerations: The trans-Planckian theory is a model that realizes concretely the Born\nreciprocity idea, which is the postulate of absolute equivalence between\ncoordinate $x$ and momenta $p$. This model is intrinsically global, and thus it\nis naturally implemented in a cosmological setting. Cosmology and Born\nreciprocity are made for each other. Inflation provides the essential mechanism\nto suppress the terms coming from the dual part of the action. The\ntrans-Planckian theory provides an explanation for the present acceleration of\nthe universe scale factor. This is possible just considering a simple model\nthat contains gravity, one gauge field plus one matter field (to be identified\nwith dark matter), together with the reciprocity principle."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Sequential Flows by Irrelevant Operators: We explore whether one can $T \\overline{T}$ deform a collection of theories\nthat are already $T \\overline{T}$-deformed. This allows us to define classes of\nirrelevant deformations that know about subsystems. In some basic cases, we\nexplore the spectrum that results from this procedure and we provide numerical\nevidence in favor of modular invariance. We also study the flow of the\nclassical Lagrangian for free bosons and free fermions under successive\ndeformations. Some of the models found by sequentially flowing are likely to\nhave interesting holographic interpretations.",
        "positive": "Gradient flow of Einstein-Maxwell theory and Reissner-Nordstr\u00f6m black\n  holes: Ricci flow is a natural gradient flow of the Einstein-Hilbert action. Here we\nconsider the analog for the Einstein-Maxwell action, which gives Ricci flow\nwith a stress tensor contribution coupled to a Yang-Mills flow for the Maxwell\nfield. We argue that this flow is well-posed for static spacetimes with pure\nelectric or magnetic potentialsand show it preserves both non-extremal and\nextremal black hole horizons. In the latter case we find the flow of the near\nhorizon geometry decouples from that of the exterior. The Schwarzschild black\nhole is an unstable fixed point of Ricci flow for static spacetimes. Here we\nconsider flows of the Reissner-Nordstr\\\"om (RN) fixed point. The magnetic RN\nsolution becomes a stable fixed point of the flow for sufficient charge.\nHowever we find that the electric RN black hole is always unstable. Numerically\nsolving the flow starting with a spherically symmetric perturbation of a\nnon-extremal RN solution, we find similar behaviour in the electric case to the\nRicci flows of perturbed Schwarzschild, namely the horizon shrinks to a\nsingularity in finite time or expands forever. In the magnetic case, a\nperturbed unstable RN solution has a similar expanding behaviour, but a\nperturbation that decreases the horizon size flows to a stable black hole\nsolution rather than a singularity. For extremal RN we solve the near horizon\nflow for spherical symmetry exactly, and see in the electric case two unstable\ndirections which flow to singularities in finite flow time. However, even\nturning these off, and fixing the near horizon geometry to be that of RN, we\nnumerically show that the flows appear to become singular in the vicinity of\nits horizon."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Covariant Map Between Ramond-Neveu-Schwarz and Pure Spinor Formalisms\n  for the Superstring: A covariant map between the Ramond-Neveu-Schwarz (RNS) and pure spinor\nformalisms for the superstring is found which transforms the RNS and pure\nspinor BRST operators into each other. The key ingredient is a dynamical\ntwisting of the ten spin-half RNS fermions into five spin-one and five\nspin-zero fermions using bosonic pure spinors that parameterize an SO(10)/U(5)\ncoset. The map relates massless vertex operators in the two formalisms, and\ngives a new description of Ramond states which does not require spin fields. An\nargument is proposed for relating the amplitude prescriptions in the two\nformalisms.",
        "positive": "M-Theory and Stringy Corrections to Anti-de Sitter Black Holes and\n  Conformal Field Theories: We consider black holes in anti-de Sitter space AdS_{p+2} (p = 2,3,5), which\nhave hyperbolic, flat or spherical event horizons. The $O(\\alpha'^3)$\ncorrections (or the leading corrections in powers of the eleven-dimensional\nPlanck length) to the black hole metrics are computed for the various\ntopologies and dimensions. We investigate the consequences of the stringy or\nM-theory corrections for the black hole thermodynamics. In particular, we show\nthe emergence of a stable branch of small spherical black holes. We obtain the\ncorrected Hawking-Page transition temperature for black holes with spherical\nhorizons, and show that for p=3 this phase transition disappears at a value of\n$\\alpha'$ considerably smaller than that estimated previously by Gao and Li.\nUsing the AdS/CFT correspondence, we determine the $S^1 x S^3$ N=4 SYM phase\ndiagram for sufficiently large `t Hooft coupling, and show that the critical\npoint at which the Hawking-Page transition disappears (the correspondence point\nof Horowitz-Polchinski), occurs at $g_{YM}^2N \\approx 20.5$. The d=4 and d=7\nblack hole phase diagrams are also determined, and connection is made with the\ncorresponding boundary CFTs. Finally, for flat and hyperbolic horizons, we show\nthat the leading stringy or M-theory corrections do not give rise to any phase\ntransition. For horizons compactified to a torus $T^p$ or to a quotient of\nhyperbolic space, $H^p/\\Gamma$, we comment on the effects of light winding\nmodes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Bethe ansatz of the open spin-s XXZ chain with nondiagonal boundary\n  terms: We consider the open spin-s XXZ quantum spin chain with nondiagonal boundary\nterms. By exploiting certain functional relations at roots of unity, we propose\nthe Bethe ansatz solution for the transfer matrix eigenvalues for cases where\natmost two of the boundary parameters are set to be arbitrary and the bulk\nanisotropy parameter has values \\eta = i \\pi/3, i \\pi/5,... We present\nnumerical evidence to demonstrate completeness of the Bethe ansatz solutions\nderived for s = 1/2 and s = 1.",
        "positive": "Flat connections for Yang-Mills theories on the 3--torus: We discuss the moduli space of flat connections of Yang-Mills theories\nformulated on T^3 x R, with periodic boundary conditions. When the gauge group\nis SO(N>=7), G_2, F_4, E_6, E_7 or E_8, the moduli space consists of more than\none component."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Explicit supertring vacua in a background of gravitational waves and\n  dilaton: We present an explicit solution of superstring effective equations,\nrepresented by gravitational waves and dilaton backgrounds. Particular\nsolutions will be examined in a forthcoming note.",
        "positive": "Entanglement in Theory Space: We propose a new concept of entanglement for quantum systems: entanglement in\ntheory space. This is defined by decomposing a theory into two by an un-gauging\nprocedure. We provide two examples where this newly-introduced entanglement is\nclosely related with conventional geometric entropies: deconstruction and\nAGT-type correspondence."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Deep Quantum Geometry of Matrices: We employ machine learning techniques to provide accurate variational\nwavefunctions for matrix quantum mechanics, with multiple bosonic and fermionic\nmatrices. Variational quantum Monte Carlo is implemented with deep generative\nflows to search for gauge invariant low energy states. The ground state, and\nalso long-lived metastable states, of an $\\mathrm{SU}(N)$ matrix quantum\nmechanics with three bosonic matrices, as well as its supersymmetric `mini-BMN'\nextension, are studied as a function of coupling and $N$. Known semiclassical\nfuzzy sphere states are recovered, and the collapse of these geometries in more\nstrongly quantum regimes is probed using the variational wavefunction. We then\ndescribe a factorization of the quantum mechanical Hilbert space that\ncorresponds to a spatial partition of the emergent geometry. Under this\npartition, the fuzzy sphere states show a boundary-law entanglement entropy in\nthe large $N$ limit.",
        "positive": "Non-Critical Bosonic String Corrections to the Black Hole Entropy: We calculate the quantum corrections to the entropy of a very large black\nhole, coming from the theory of a $D$-dimensional, non-critical bosonic string.\nWe show that, for $D >2$, as a result of modular invariance the entropy is\nultraviolet finite, although it diverges in the infrared (while for $D=2$ the\nentropy contains both ultraviolet and infrared divergences). The issue of\nmodular invariance in field theory, in connection with black-hole entropy, is\nalso investigated."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Bound State Transfer Matrix for AdS5 x S5 Superstring: We apply the algebraic Bethe ansatz technique to compute the eigenvalues of\nthe transfer matrix constructed from the general bound state S-matrix of the\nlight-cone AdS5 x S5 superstring. This allows us to verify certain conjectures\non the quantum characteristic function, and to extend them to the general case.",
        "positive": "Conformal, Integrable and Topological Theories, Graphs and Coxeter\n  Groups: I review three different problems occuring in two dimensional field theory:\n1) classification of conformal field theories; 2) construction of lattice\nintegrable realizations of the latter; 3) solutions to the WDVV equations of\ntopological field theories. I show that a structure of Coxeter group is hidden\nbehind these three related problems."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Axion Inflation in F-theory: We study the dynamics of axion-like fields in F-theory and suggest that they\ncan serve as inflatons in models of natural inflation. The axions arise from\nharmonic three-forms on the F-theory compactification space and parameterize a\ncomplex torus that varies over the geometric moduli space. In particular, this\nimplies that the axion decay constants depend on the complex structure moduli\nthat can be fixed by background fluxes. This might allow tuning them to be\nsuper-Planckian in a controlled way and allow for interesting single field\ninflationary models. We argue that this requires a localization of the\nthree-forms near regions of strong string coupling, analogously to the\nreasoning that GUT physics requires the use of F-theory. These models can admit\na tensor to scalar ratio r>0.1.",
        "positive": "Killing-Yano tensors and generalized supersymmetries in black-hole and\n  monopole geometries: New kinds of supersymmetry arise in supersymmetric $\\sg$-models describing\nthe motion of spinning point-particles in classical backgrounds, for example\nblack-holes, or the dynamics of monopoles. Their geometric origin is the\nexistence of Killing-Yano tensors. The relation between these concepts is\nexplained and examples are given. --- Contribution to Proceedings Quarks-94;\nVladimir, Russia (1994)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Superconformal N=2, D=5 matter with and without actions: We investigate N=2, D=5 supersymmetry and matter-coupled supergravity\ntheories in a superconformal context. In a first stage we do not require the\nexistence of a Lagrangian. Under this assumption, we already find at the level\nof rigid supersymmetry, i.e. before coupling to conformal supergravity, more\ngeneral matter couplings than have been considered in the literature. For\ninstance, we construct new vector-tensor multiplet couplings, theories with an\nodd number of tensor multiplets, and hypermultiplets whose scalar manifold\ngeometry is not hyperkaehler.\n  Next, we construct rigid superconformal Lagrangians. This requires some extra\ningredients that are not available for all dynamical systems. However, for the\ngeneralizations with tensor multiplets mentioned above, we find corresponding\nnew actions and scalar potentials. Finally, we extend the supersymmetry to\nlocal superconformal symmetry, making use of the Weyl multiplet. Throughout the\npaper, we will indicate the various geometrical concepts that arise, and as an\napplication we compute the non-vanishing components of the Ricci tensor of\nhypercomplex group manifolds. Our results can be used as a starting point to\nobtain more general matter-couplings to Poincare supergravity.",
        "positive": "Timelike Duality: Several stationary solutions of the low energy string equations are dualized\nwith respect to their timelike symmetry. Many of the duals have simple physical\ninterpretations. Those of the nonextremal three dimensional black hole and\nblack string are negative mass black strings. The extremal cases of these, and\nextremal higher dimensional black strings also, give negative energy plane\nfronted waves. In fact, all of the duals of positive mass solutions that will\nbe considered here have nonpositive energies, but an argument is given which\nsuggests that this is not true in general."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Inflation and cosmic (super)strings: implications of their intimate\n  relation revisited: We briefly discuss constraints on supersymmetric hybrid inflation models and\nexamine the consistency of brane inflation models. We then address the\nimplications for inflationary scenarios resulting from the strong constraints\non the cosmic (super)string tension imposed from the most recent cosmic\nmicrowave background temperature anisotropies data.",
        "positive": "Heterotic non-linear sigma models with anti-de Sitter target spaces: We calculate the beta function of non-linear sigma models with S^{D+1} and\nAdS_{D+1} target spaces in a 1/D expansion up to order 1/D^2 and to all orders\nin \\alpha'. This beta function encodes partial information about the spacetime\neffective action for the heterotic string to all orders in \\alpha'. We argue\nthat a zero of the beta function, corresponding to a worldsheet CFT with\nAdS_{D+1} target space, arises from competition between the one-loop and\nhigher-loop terms, similarly to the bosonic and supersymmetric cases studied\npreviously in hep-th/0512355. Various critical exponents of the non-linear\nsigma model are calculated, and checks of the calculation are presented."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "New particle model in extended space-time and covariantization of planar\n  Landau dynamics: We introduce the Maxwell-invariant extension of D=4 relativistic free\nparticle model into ten-dimensional Maxwell tensorial space. The new model\nafter first quantization describes in particular Lorentz frame the planar\ndynamics providing Landau orbits in the presence of constant magnetic field.",
        "positive": "Spectrum-Generating Algebra for Charged Strings: When an open string ends with charges on a D2-brane, which involves constant\nbackground magnetic field perpendicular to the brane, we construct the\nspectrum-generating algebra for this charged string, which assures that our\nsystem is ghost-free under some conditions. The application to the Hall effect\nfor charged strings is also shortly remarked."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Emergence of space and cosmic evolution based on entropic force: In this paper, we propose a model in which an additional pressure due to the\neffects of the entropic force is added to the ideal fluid. Furthermore, we\nobtain the dynamic equation in the FRW universe which contains the quantum\ngravitational effects based on the description of entropic force and emergence\nof space. Our model can well explain the age of the universe and the effect of\nthe current accelerating expansion. We give the relation between the luminosity\ndistance and the redshift factor, and compare this relation with that of lambda\ncold dark matter model($\\Lambda CDM$ model).",
        "positive": "Singlet Couplings and (0,2) Models: We use the quantum symmetries present in string compactification on\nLandau-Ginzburg orbifolds to prove the existence of a large class of exactly\nmarginal (0,2) deformations of (2,2) superconformal theories. Analogous methods\napply to the more general (0,2) models introduced in \\DK, lending further\ncredence to the fact that the corresponding \\LG\\ models represent bona-fide\n(0,2) SCFTs. We also use the large symmetry groups which arise when the\nworldsheet superpotential is turned off to constrain the dependence of certain\ncorrelation functions on the untwisted moduli. This allows us to approach the\nproblem of what happens when one tries to deform away from the \\LG\\ point. In\nparticular, we find that the masses and three-point couplings of the massless\n$E_{6}$ singlets related to ${\\rm H^{1}}(\\ET)$ vanish at all points in the\nquintic \\Ka\\ moduli space. Putting these results together, and invoking some\nplausible dynamical assumptions about the corresponding linear \\sm s, we show\nthat one can deform these \\LG\\ theories to arbitrary values of the \\Ka\\ moduli."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Non-Split Scalar Coset in Supergravity Theories: The general non-split scalar coset of supergravity theories is discussed.The\nsymmetric space sigma model is studied in two equivalent formulations and for\ndifferent coset parametrizations.The dualisation and the local first order\nformulation is performed for the non-split scalar coset G/K when the rigid\nsymmetry group G is a real form of a non-compact semisimple Lie group (not\nnecessarily split) and the local symmetry group K is G's maximal compact\nsubgroup.A comparison with the scalar cosets arising in the\nT^{10-D}-compactification of the heterotic string theory in ten dimensions is\nalso mentioned.",
        "positive": "Phase transition and thermodynamical geometry for Schwarzschild AdS\n  black hole in $AdS_5\\times{S^5}$ spacetime: We study thermodynamics and thermodynamic geometry of a five-dimensional\nSchwarzschild AdS black hole in $AdS_5\\times{S^5}$ spacetime by treating the\ncosmological constant as the number of colors in the boundary gauge theory and\nits conjugate quantity as the associated chemical potential. It is found that\nthe chemical potential is always negative in the stable branch of black hole\nthermodynamics and it has a chance to be positive, but appears in the unstable\nbranch. We calculate scalar curvatures of the thermodynamical Weinhold metric,\nRuppeiner metric and Quevedo metric, respectively and we find that the\ndivergence of scalar curvature is related to the divergence of specific heat\nwith fixed chemical potential in the Weinhold metric and Ruppeiner metric,\nwhile in the Quevedo metric the divergence of scalar curvature is related to\nthe divergence of specific heat with fixed number of colors and the vanishing\nof the specific heat with fixed chemical potential."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum tunneling from scalar fields in rotating black strings: Using the Hamilton-Jacobi method of quantum tunneling and complex path\nintegration, we study Hawking radiation of scalar particles from rotating black\nstrings. We discuss tunneling of both charged and uncharged scalar particles\nfrom the event horizons. For this purpose, we use the Klein-Gordon equation and\nfind the tunneling probability of outging scalar particles. The procedure gives\nHawking temperature for rotating charged black strings as well.",
        "positive": "Comments on the Algebraic Properties of Dilaton Actions: We study the relation between the dilaton action and sigma models for the\nGoldstone bosons of the spontaneous breaking of the conformal group. We argue\nthat the relation requires that the sigma model is diffeomorphism invariant.\nThe origin of the WZW terms for the dilaton is clarified and it is shown that\nin this approach the dilaton WZW term is necessarily accompanied by a Weyl\ninvariant term proposed before from holographic considerations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Categorical Foundation of Quantum Mechanics and String Theory: The unification of Quantum Mechanics and General Relativity remains the\nprimary goal of Theoretical Physics, with string theory appearing as the only\nplausible unifying scheme. In the present work, in a search of the conceptual\nfoundations of string theory, we analyze the relational logic developed by C.\nS. Peirce in the late nineteenth century. The Peircean logic has the\nmathematical structure of a category with the relation $R_{ij}$ among two\nindividual terms $S_i$ and $S_j$, serving as an arrow (or morphism). We\nintroduce a realization of the corresponding categorical algebra of\ncompositions, which naturally gives rise to the fundamental quantum laws, thus\nindicating category theory as the foundation of Quantum Mechanics. The same\nrelational algebra generates a number of group structures, among them\n$W_{\\infty}$. The group $W_{\\infty}$ is embodied and realized by the matrix\nmodels, themselves closely linked with string theory. It is suggested that\nrelational logic and in general category theory may provide a new paradigm,\nwithin which to develop modern physical theories.",
        "positive": "Quantum corrections during inflation and conservation of adiabatic\n  perturbations: The possibility that quantum corrections break the conservation of\nsuperhorizon adiabatic perturbations in single field inflation is examined. I\nconsider the lowest order corrections from massless matter fields in the\nHamiltonian formalism. Particular emphasis is therefore laid on the\nrenormalization. The counterterms are the same as in the Lagrangian formalism.\nThe renormalized value of the tadpole is zero. I find a possible secular\ndependence of the power spectrum at one loop due to the trace anomaly, but this\nresult depends on the approximation of the modes and is inconclusive. The\nsymmetry (not) violated by the quantum corrections is the invariance by\ndilatation. Perspectives on the backreaction problem are briefly discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Mathieu Moonshine and symmetries of K3 sigma models: A recent observation by Eguchi, Ooguri and Tachikawa (EOT) suggests a\nrelationship between the largest Mathieu group M24 and the elliptic genus of\nK3. This correspondence would be naturally explained by the existence of a\nnon-linear sigma-model on K3 with the Mathieu group as its group of symmetries.\nHowever, all possible symmetry groups of K3 models have been recently\nclassified and none of them contains M24. We review the evidence in favour of\nthe EOT conjecture and discuss the open problems in its physical\ninterpretation.",
        "positive": "Stretching the Horizon of a Higher Dimensional Small Black Hole: There is a general scaling argument that shows that the entropy of a small\nblack hole, representing a half-BPS excitation of an elementary heterotic\nstring in any dimension, agrees with the statistical entropy up to an overall\nnumerical factor. We propose that for suitable choice of field variables the\nnear horizon geometry of the black hole in D space-time dimensions takes the\nform of AdS_2\\times S^{D-2} and demonstrate how this ansatz can be used to\ncalculate the numerical factor in the expression for the black hole entropy if\nwe know the higher derivative corrections to the action. We illustrate this by\ncomputing the entropy of these black holes in a theory where we modify the\nsupergravity action by adding the Gauss-Bonnet term. The black hole entropy\ncomputed this way is finite and has the right dependence on the charges in\naccordance with the general scaling argument, but the overall numerical factor\ndoes not agree with that computed from the statistical entropy except for D=4\nand D=5. This is not surprising in view of the fact that we do not use a fully\nsupersymmetric action in our analysis; however this analysis demonstrates that\nhigher derivative corrections are capable of stretching the horizon of a small\nblack hole in arbitrary dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Problems and Progress in Covariant High Spin Description: A universal description of particles with spins j greater or equal one ,\ntransforming in (j,0)+(0,j), is developed by means of representation specific\nsecond order differential wave equations without auxiliary conditions and in\ncovariant bases such as Lorentz tensors for bosons, Lorentz-tensors with Dirac\nspinor components for fermions, or, within the basis of the more fundamental\nWeyl-Van-der-Waerden sl(2,C) spinor-tensors. At the root of the method, which\nis free from the pathologies suffered by the traditional approaches, are\nprojectors constructed from the Casimir invariants of the spin-Lorentz group,\nand the group of translations in the Minkowski space time.",
        "positive": "Modular graph functions and asymptotic expansions of Poincar\u00e9 series: In this note we study $SL(2,\\mathbb{Z})$-invariant functions such as modular\ngraph functions or coefficient functions of higher derivative corrections in\ntype IIB string theory. The functions solve inhomogeneous Laplace equations and\nwe choose to represent them as Poincar\\'e series. In this way we can combine\ndifferent methods for asymptotic expansions and obtain the perturbative and\nnon-perturbative contributions to their zero Fourier modes. In the case of the\nhigher derivative corrections, these terms have an interpretation in terms of\nperturbative string loop effects and pairs of instantons/anti-instantons."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Perturbative Inaccessibility of Conformal Fixed Points in\n  Nonsupersymmetric Quiver Theories: The possibility that non-supersymmetric quiver theories may have a\nrenormalization-group fixed point at which there is conformal invariance\nrequires non-perturbative information.",
        "positive": "Multi instanton tests of holography: Gauge theories living on stacks of D7-branes are holographically related to\nIIB gravitational backgrounds with a varying axion-dilaton field (F-theory).\nThe axion-dilaton field is generated by D7, O7 and D-instanton sources and can\nbe written in terms of the chiral correlators of the eight dimensional gauge\ntheory living on the D7-branes. Using localization techniques, we prove that\nthe same correlators determine the gauge coupling of the four-dimensional N=2\nsupersymmetric SU(2) gauge theories living on the elementary D3-brane which\nprobes the F-theory geometries."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Searching for Kerr in the 2PM amplitude: The classical scattering of spinning objects is well described by the\nspinor-helicity formalism for heavy particles. Using these variables, we derive\nspurious-pole-free, all-spin opposite-helicity Compton amplitudes (factorizing\non physical poles to the minimal, all-spin three-point amplitudes of ref.\n\\cite{Arkani-Hamed:2017jhn}) in the classical limit for QED, QCD, and gravity.\nThe cured amplitudes are subject to deformations by contact terms, the vast\nmajority of whose contributions we can fix by imposing a relation between spin\nstructures -- motivated by lower spin multipoles of black hole scattering -- at\nthe second post-Minkowskian (2PM) order. For QED and gravity, this leaves a\nmodest number of unfixed coefficients parametrizing contact-term deformations,\nwhile the QCD amplitude is uniquely determined. Our gravitational Compton\namplitude allows us to push the state-of-the-art of spinning-2PM scattering to\nany order in the spin vectors of both objects; we present results here and in\nthe auxiliary file \\texttt{2PMSpin8Aux.nb} up to eighth order in the spin\nvectors. Interestingly, despite leftover coefficients in the Compton amplitude,\nimposing the aforementioned relation between spin structures uniquely fixes\nsome higher-spin parts of the 2PM amplitude.",
        "positive": "On The Existence of a Holographic Description of the LHC Quark-Gluon\n  Plasmas: Peripheral collisions of heavy ions can give rise to extremely intense\nmagnetic fields. It has been suggested that these fields might invalidate the\nholographic description of the corresponding quark-gluon plasmas, assuming that\nthese can be modelled by strongly coupled field theories. In the case of the\nplasmas produced in collisions at the RHIC facility (including in the beam\nenergy scans), it is known how to deal with this problem: one has to take into\naccount the large angular momenta generated in these plasmas, and the effects\nof the baryonic chemical potential. But this does not work for the plasmas\nproduced in peripheral collisions at the LHC. However, these results neglect\nsome (less significant) aspects of bulk physics; could it be that the problem\nis resolved by taking into account these lower-order effects? Here we use a\nbulk dilatonic field (fully compatible with boundary data, as well as with the\nasymptotically AdS character of the bulk geometry) as a model of these effects,\nand show that this is unlikely to be the solution. Thus, the existence of a\nconsistent holographic description of the most extreme LHC plasmas remains open\nto question."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Corner Transfer Matrices and Quantum Affine Algebras: Let H be the corner-transfer-matrix Hamiltonian for the six-vertex model in\nthe anti-ferroelectric regime. It acts on the infinite tensor product W = V . V\n. V ....., where is the 2-dimensional irreducible representation of the quantum\naffine sl(2). We observe that H is the derivation of quantum affine sl(2), and\nconjecture that the eigenvectors of H form the level-1 vacuum representation of\nquantum affine sl(2). We report on checks in support of our conjecture.",
        "positive": "On minimal coupling of the ABC-superparticle to supergravity background: By rigorous application of the Hamiltonian methods we show that the\nABC-formulation of the Siegel superparticle admits consistent minimal coupling\nto external supergravity. The consistency check proves to involve all the\nsupergravity constraints."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Constraint characterization and degree of freedom counting in Lagrangian\n  field theory: We present a Lagrangian approach to counting degrees of freedom in\nfirst-order field theories. The emphasis is on the systematic attainment of a\ncomplete set of constraints. In particular, we provide the first comprehensive\nprocedure to ensure the functional independence of all constraints and discuss\nin detail the possible closures of the constraint algorithm. We argue degrees\nof freedom can but need not correspond to physical modes. The appendix\ncomprises fully worked out, physically relevant examples of varying complexity.",
        "positive": "Coarse Grained Quantum Dynamics: Inspired by holographic Wilsonian renormalization, we consider coarse\ngraining a quantum system divided between short distance and long distance\ndegrees of freedom, coupled via the Hamiltonian. Observations using purely long\ndistance observables are described by the reduced density matrix that arises\nfrom tracing out the short-distance degrees of freedom. The dynamics of this\ndensity matrix is non-Hamiltonian and nonlocal in time, on the order of some\nshort time scale. We describe this dynamics in a model system with a simple\nhierarchy of energy gaps $\\Delta E_{UV} > \\Delta E_{IR}$, in which the coupling\nbetween high-and low-energy degrees of freedom is treated to second order in\nperturbation theory. We then describe the equations of motion under suitable\ntime averaging, reflecting the limited time resolution of actual experiments,\nand find an expansion of the master equation in powers of $\\Delta E_{IR}/\\Delta\nE_{UV}$, after the fashion of effective field theory. The failure of the system\nto be Hamiltonian or even Markovian appears at higher orders in this ratio. We\ncompute the evolution of the density matrix in three specific examples: coupled\nspins, linearly coupled simple harmonic oscillators, and an interacting scalar\nQFT. Finally, we argue that the logarithm of the Feynman-Vernon influence\nfunctional is the correct analog of the Wilsonian effective action for this\nproblem."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Equivalence Principle, Planck Length and Quantum Hamilton-Jacobi\n  Equation: The Quantum Stationary HJ Equation (QSHJE) that we derived from the\nequivalence principle, gives rise to initial conditions which cannot be seen in\nthe Schroedinger equation. Existence of the classical limit leads to a\ndependence of the integration constant $\\ell=\\ell_1+i\\ell_2$ on the Planck\nlength. Solutions of the QSHJE provide a trajectory representation of quantum\nmechanics which, unlike Bohm's theory, has a non-trivial action even for bound\nstates and no wave guide is present. The quantum potential turns out to be an\nintrinsic potential energy of the particle which, similarly to the relativistic\nrest energy, is never vanishing.",
        "positive": "Anomaly-Induced Magnetic Screening in 2+1 dimensional QED at Finite\n  Density: We show that in 2+1 dimensional Quantum Electrodynamics an external magnetic\nfield applied to a finite density of massless fermions is screened, due to a\n$2+1$-dimensional realization of the underlying $2$-dimensional axial anomaly\nof the space components of the electric current. This is shown to imply\nscreening of the magnetic field, i.e., the Meissner effect. We discuss the\nphysical implications of this result."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "$p$-wave holographic superconductors with massive vector condensate in\n  Born-Infeld electrodynamics: In this paper, we have studied the effect of Born-Infeld electrodynamics in\nholographic $p$-wave superconductors with massive vector condensation. We have\nanalysed this model in the probe limit using a variational method known as the\nSt\\\"urm-Liouville eigenvalue approach. For this $p$-wave holographic\nsuperconductor model, we have calculated the critical temperature $T_{c}$ as\nwell as the value of the condensation operator for two different choices of\n$m^{2}$. We have also pointed out the similarities and dissimilarities between\nthis model for $m^{2} = 0$ and $p$-wave holographic superconductor model\nconstructed out of Einstein-Yang-Mills theory. We have then computed the\nconductivity of these holographic superconductor models using a self-consistent\napproach and have shown that the DC conductivity diverges.",
        "positive": "General Neveu-Schwarz Correlators in Super Liouville Theory: In this paper we compute the N-point correlation functions of the tachyon\noperator from the Neveu Schwarz sector of super Liouville theory coupled to\nmatter fields (with $\\hat c\\le 1$) in the super Coulomb gas formulation, on\nworld sheets with spherical topology. We first integrate over the zero mode\nassuming that the $s$ parameter takes an integer value, subsequently we\ncontinue the parameter to an arbitrary real number. We included an arbitrary\nnumber of screening charges (s.c.) and as a result, after renormalizing the\ns.c., the external legs and the cosmological constant, the form of the final\namplitudes do not modify. Remarkably, the result is completely parallel to the\nbosonic case. We also completed a discussion on the calculation of bosonic\ncorrelators including arbitrary screening charges."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Enhanced Gauge Groups in N=4 Topological Amplitudes and Lorentzian\n  Borcherds Algebras: We continue our study of algebraic properties of N=4 topological amplitudes\nin heterotic string theory compactified on T^2, initiated in arXiv:1102.1821.\nIn this work we evaluate a particular one-loop amplitude for any enhanced gauge\ngroup h \\subset e_8 + e_8, i.e. for arbitrary choice of Wilson line moduli. We\nshow that a certain analytic part of the result has an infinite product\nrepresentation, where the product is taken over the positive roots of a\nLorentzian Kac-Moody algebra g^{++}. The latter is obtained through double\nextension of the complement g= (e_8 + e_8)/h. The infinite product is\nautomorphic with respect to a finite index subgroup of the full T-duality group\nSO(2,18;Z) and, through the philosophy of Borcherds-Gritsenko-Nikulin, this\ndefines the denominator formula of a generalized Kac-Moody algebra G(g^{++}),\nwhich is an 'automorphic correction' of g^{++}. We explicitly give the root\nmultiplicities of G(g^{++}) for a number of examples.",
        "positive": "Note on Dirac--K\u00e4hler massless fields: We obtain the canonical and symmetrical Belinfante energy-momentum tensors of\nDirac--K\\\"{a}hler's fields. It is shown that the traces of the energy-momentum\ntensors are not equal to zero. We find the canonical and Belinfante dilatation\ncurrents which are not conserved, but a new conserved dilatation current is\nobtained. It is pointed out that the conformal symmetry is broken. The\ncanonical quantization is performed and the propagator of the massless fields\nin the first-order formalism is found."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exploring Euclidean Dynamical Triangulations with a Non-trivial Measure\n  Term: We investigate a nonperturbative formulation of quantum gravity defined via\nEuclidean dynamical triangulations (EDT) with a non-trivial measure term in the\npath integral. We are motivated to revisit this older formulation of dynamical\ntriangulations by hints from renormalization group approaches that gravity may\nbe asymptotically safe and by the emergence of a semiclassical phase in causal\ndynamical triangulations (CDT). We study the phase diagram of this model and\nidentify the two phases that are well known from previous work: the branched\npolymer phase and the collapsed phase. We verify that the order of the phase\ntransition dividing the branched polymer phase from the collapsed phase is\nalmost certainly first-order. The nontrivial measure term enlarges the phase\ndiagram, allowing us to explore a region of the phase diagram that has been\ndubbed the crinkled region. Although the collapsed and branched polymer phases\nhave been studied extensively in the literature, the crinkled region has not\nreceived the same scrutiny. We find that the crinkled region is likely a part\nof the collapsed phase with particularly large finite-size effects.\nIntriguingly, the behavior of the spectral dimension in the crinkled region at\nsmall volumes is similar to that of CDT, as first reported in arXiv:1104.5505,\nbut for sufficiently large volumes the crinkled region does not appear to have\n4-dimensional semiclassical features. Thus, we find that the crinkled region of\nthe EDT formulation does not share the good features of the extended phase of\nCDT, as we first suggested in arXiv:1104.5505. This agrees with the recent\nresults of arXiv:1307.2270, in which the authors used a somewhat different\ndiscretization of EDT from the one presented here.",
        "positive": "Noncommutative instantons revisited: We find a new gauge in which U(1) noncommutative instantons are explicitly\nnon-singular on the whole noncommutative R^4, thus resolving the previous\nconfusions of the author. We start with the pedagogical introduction to the\nnoncommutative gauge theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Probing the holographic dilaton: Many strongly coupled field theories admit a spectrum of gauge-invariant\nbound states that includes scalar particles with the same quantum numbers as\nthe vacuum. The challenge naturally arises of how to characterise them. In\nparticular, how can a dilaton---the pseudo-Nambu-Goldstone boson associated\nwith approximate scale invariance---be distinguished from other generic light\nscalars with the same quantum numbers? We address this problem within the\ncontext of gauge-gravity dualities, by analysing the fluctuations of the\nhigher-dimensional gravitational theory. The diagnostic test that we propose\nconsists of comparing the results of the complete calculation, performed by\nusing gauge-invariant fluctuations in the bulk, with the results obtained in\nthe probe approximation. While the former captures the mixing between scalar\nand metric degrees of freedom, the latter removes by hand the fluctuations that\nsource the dilatation operator of the boundary field-theory. Hence, the probe\napproximation cannot capture a possible light dilaton, while it should fare\nwell for other scalar particles. We test this idea on a number of holographic\nmodels, among which are some of the best known, complete gravity backgrounds\nconstructed within the top-down approach to gauge-gravity dualities. We compute\nthe spectra of scalar and tensor fluctuations, that are interpreted as bound\nstates (glueballs) of the dual field theory, and we highlight those cases in\nwhich the probe approximation yields results close to the correct physical\nones, as well as those cases where significant discrepancies emerge. We\ninterpret the latter occurrence as an indication that identifying one of the\nlightest scalar states with the dilaton is legitimate, at least as a\nleading-order approximation.",
        "positive": "String Junctions and Non-Simply Connected Gauge Groups: Relations between the global structure of the gauge group in elliptic\nF-theory compactifications, fractional null string junctions, and the\nMordell-Weil lattice of rational sections are discussed. We extend results in\nthe literature, which pertain primarily to rational elliptic surfaces and\nobtain pi^1(G) where G is the semi-simple part of the gauge group. We show how\nto obtain the full global structure of the gauge group, including all U(1)\nfactors. Our methods are not restricted to rational elliptic surfaces. We also\nconsider elliptic K3's and K3-fibered Calabi-Yau three-folds."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-Spherical Horizons, I: We formulate an extension of Maldacena's AdS/CFT conjectures to the case of\nbranes located at singular points in the ambient transverse space. For\nsingularities which occur at finite distance in the moduli space of M or F\ntheory models with spacetime-filling branes, the conjectures identify the\nworldvolume theory on the p-branes with a compactification of M or IIB theory\non $AdS_{p+2} \\times H^{D-p-2}$. We show how the singularity determines the\nhorizon H, and demonstrate the relationship between global symmetries on the\nworldvolume and gauge symmetries in the AdS model. As a first application, we\nstudy some singularities relevant to the D3-branes required in four-dimensional\nF-theory. For these we are able to explicitly derive the low-energy field\ntheory on the worldvolume and compare its properties to predictions from the\ndual AdS model. In particular, we examine the baryon spectra of the models and\nthe fate of the Abelian factors in the gauge group.",
        "positive": "Instanton-soliton loops in 5D super-Yang-Mills: Soliton contributions to perturbative processes in QFT are controlled by a\nform factor, which depends on the soliton size. We provide a demonstration of\nthis fact in a class of scalar theories with generic moduli spaces. We then\nargue that for instanton-solitons in 5D super-Yang-Mills theory the analogous\nform factor does not lead to faster-than-any-power suppression in the\nperturbative coupling. We also discuss the implications of such contributions\nfor the UV behavior of maximally supersymmetric Yang-Mills in 5D and its\nrelation to the (2,0) CFT in 6D. This is a contribution to the proceedings of\nthe \"String Math 2013'\" conference and is a condensed version of results\nappearing in 1404.0016 and 1403.5017."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Algorithmic construction of SYM multiparticle superfields in the BCJ\n  gauge: We write down closed formulas for all necessary steps to obtain multiparticle\nsuper Yang--Mills superfields in the so-called BCJ gauge. The superfields in\nthis gauge have obvious applications in the quest for finding BCJ-satisfying\nrepresentations of amplitudes. As a benefit of having these closed formulas, we\nidentify the explicit finite gauge transformation responsible for attaining the\nBCJ gauge. To do this, several combinatorial maps on words are introduced and\nassociated identities rigorously proven.",
        "positive": "Stability of warped AdS3 vacua of topologically massive gravity: AdS3 vacua of topologically massive gravity (TMG) have been shown to be\nperturbatively unstable for all values of the coupling constant except the\nchiral point \\mu l=1. We study the possibility that the warped vacua of TMG,\nwhich exist for all values of \\mu, are stable under linearized perturbations.\nIn this paper, we show that spacelike warped AdS3 vacua with Compere-Detournay\nboundary conditions are indeed stable in the range \\mu l > 3. This is precisely\nthe range in which black hole solutions arise as discrete identifications of\nthe warped AdS3 vacuum. The situation somewhat resembles chiral gravity:\nalthough negative energy modes do exist, they are all excluded by the boundary\nconditions, and the perturbative spectrum solely consists of boundary (pure\nlarge gauge) gravitons."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fractal Theory Space: Spacetime of Noninteger Dimensionality: We construct matter field theories in ``theory space'' that are fractal, and\ninvariant under geometrical renormalization group (RG) transformations. We\ntreat in detail complex scalars, and discuss issues related to fermions,\nchirality, and Yang-Mills gauge fields. In the continuum limit these models\ndescribe physics in a noninteger spatial dimension which appears above a RG\ninvariant ``compactification scale,'' M. The energy distribution of KK modes\nabove M is controlled by an exponent in a scaling relation of the vacuum energy\n(Coleman-Weinberg potential), and corresponds to the dimensionality. For\ntruncated-s-simplex lattices with coordination number s the spacetime\ndimensionality is 1+(3+2ln(s)/ln(s+2)). The computations in theory space\ninvolve subtleties, owing to the 1+3 kinetic terms, yet the resulting\ndimensionalites are equivalent to thermal spin systems. Physical implications\nare discussed.",
        "positive": "Solvable Lie Algebras in Type IIA, Type IIB and M Theories: We study some applications of solvable Lie algebras in type IIA, type IIB and\nM theories. RR and NS generators find a natural geometric interpretation in\nthis framework. Special emphasis is given to the counting of the abelian\nnilpotent ideals (translational symmetries of the scalar manifolds) in\narbitrary D dimensions. These are seen to be related, using Dynkin diagram\ntechniques, to one-form counting in D+1 dimensions. A recipy for gauging\nisometries in this framework is also presented. In particular, we list the\ngauge groups both for compact and translational isometries. The former agree\nwith some results already existing in gauged supergravity. The latter should be\npossibly related to the study of partial supersymmetry breaking, as suggested\nby a similar role played by solvable Lie algebras in N=2 gauged supergravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-Abelian bootstrap of primordial magnetism: We point out that a primordial magnetic field can be generated in the\nelectroweak phase transition by a non-Abelian bootstrap, where the field is\ngenerated by currents of W's, which in turn are extracted from the vacuum by\nthe magnetic field. This magnetic field is produced as a vortex condensate at\nthe electroweak phase transition. It becomes stringy as a consequence of the\ndynamical evolution due to magnetohydrodynamics.",
        "positive": "On space-time noncommutative U(1) model at high temperature: We extend the results of Ref. [arXiv:0705.4294] to noncommutative gauge\ntheories at finite temperature. In particular, by making use of the background\nfield method, we analyze renormalization issues and the high-temperature\nasymptotics of the one-loop Euclidean free energy of the noncommutative U(1)\ngauge model within imaginary time formalism. As a by-product, the heat trace of\nthe non-minimal photon kinetic operator on noncommutative $S^1 \\times R^3$\nmanifold taken in an arbitrary background gauge is investigated. All possible\ntypes of noncommutativity on $S^1 \\times R^3$ are considered. It is\ndemonstrated that the non-planar sector of the model does not contribute to the\nfree energy of the system at high temperature. The obtained results are\ndiscussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetric Construction of W-Algebras from Super Toda and Wznw\n  Theories: A systematic construction of super W-algebras in terms of the WZNW model\nbased on a super Lie algebra is presented. These are shown to be the symmetry\nstructure of the super Toda models, which can be obtained from the WZNW theory\nby Hamiltonian reduction. A classification, according to the conformal spin\ndefined by an improved energy-momentum tensor, is dicussed in general terms for\nall super Lie algebras whose simple roots are fermionic . A detailed discussion\nemploying the Dirac bracket structure and an explicit construction of\nW-algebras for the cases of $OSP(1,2)$, $OSP(2,2)$ , $OSP(3,2)$ and $D(2,1 \\mid\n\\alpha )$ are given. The $N=1$ and $N=2$ super conformal algebras are discussed\nin the pertinent cases.",
        "positive": "Topology Changing Transitions in Bubbling Geometries: Topological transitions in bubbling half-BPS Type IIB geometries with SO(4) x\nSO(4) symmetry can be decomposed into a sequence of n elementary transitions.\nThe half-BPS solution that describes the elementary transition is seeded by a\nphase space distribution of fermions filling two diagonal quadrants. We study\nthe geometry of this solution in some detail. We show that this solution can be\ninterpreted as a time dependent geometry, interpolating between two asymptotic\npp-waves in the far past and the far future. The singular solution at the\ntransition can be resolved in two different ways, related by the particle-hole\nduality in the effective fermion description. Some universal features of the\ntopology change are governed by two-dimensional Type 0B string theory, whose\ndouble scaling limit corresponds to the Penrose limit of AdS_5 x S^5 at\ntopological transition. In addition, we present the full class of geometries\ndescribing the vicinity of the most general localized classical singularity\nthat can occur in this class of half-BPS bubbling geometries."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Entanglement Negativity in Flat Holography: We advance holographic constructions for the entanglement negativity of\nbipartite states in a class of $(1+1)-$dimensional Galilean conformal field\ntheories dual to asymptotically flat three dimensional bulk geometries\ndescribed by Einstein Gravity and Topologically Massive Gravity. The\nconstruction involves specific algebraic sums of the lengths of bulk extremal\ncurves homologous to certain combinations of the intervals appropriate to such\nbipartite states. Our analysis exactly reproduces the corresponding replica\ntechnique results in the large central charge limit. We substantiate our\nconstruction through a semi classical analysis involving the geometric\nmonodromy technique for the case of two disjoint intervals in such Galilean\nconformal field theories dual to bulk Einstein Gravity.",
        "positive": "On the Thermodynamic Bethe Ansatz Equation in Sinh-Gordon Model: Two implicit periodic structures in the solution of sinh-Gordon thermodynamic\nBethe ansatz equation are considered. The analytic structure of the solution as\na function of complex $\\theta$ is studied to some extent both analytically and\nnumerically. The results make a hint how the CFT integrable structures can be\nrelevant in the sinh-Gordon and staircase models. More motivations are figured\nout for subsequent studies of the massless sinh-Gordon (i.e. Liouville) TBA\nequation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dressing Transformations and the Algebraic--Geometrical Solutions in the\n  Conformal Affine $sl(2)$ Toda Model: It is shown that the algebraic--geometrical (or quasiperiodic) solutions of\nthe Conformal Affine $sl(2)$ Toda model are generated from the vacuum via\ndressing transformations. This result generalizes the result of Babelon and\nBernard which states that the $N$--soliton solutions are generated from the\nvacuum by dressing transformations.",
        "positive": "Supersymmetric Yang-Mills Theories in 1 + 1 Dimensions: Supersymmetric Yang-Mills theories are considered in 1+1 dimensions. Firstly\nphysical mass spectra of supersymmetric Yang-Mills theories in 1+1 dimensions\nare evaluated in the light-cone gauge with a compact spatial dimension. The\nsupercharges are constructed in order to provide a manifestly supersymmetric\ninfrared regularization for the discretized light-cone approach. By exactly\ndiagonalizing the supercharge matrix between up to several hundred color\nsinglet bound states, we find a rapidly increasing density of states as mass\nincreases. Interpreting this limiting density of states as the stringbehavior,\nwe obtain the Hagedron temperature $\\beta_H=0.676 \\sqrt{\\pi \\over g^2 N}$.\nSecondly we have examined the vacuum structure of supersymmetric Yang-Mills\ntheories in 1+1 dimensions. SUSY allows only periodic boundary conditions for\nboth fermions and bosons. By using the Born-Oppenheimer approximation for the\nweak coupling limit, we find that the vacuum energy vanishes, and hence the\nSUSY is unbroken. Other boundary conditions are also studied. The first part is\nbased on a work in collaboration with Y. Matsumura and T. Sakai. The second\npart is based on a work in collaboration with H. Oda and T. Sakai."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Canonical Quantization for a Relativistic Neutral Scalar Field in\n  Non-equilibrium Thermo Field Dynamics: A relativistic neutral scalar field is investigated in non-equilibrium thermo\nfield dynamics. The canonical quantization is applied to the fields out of\nequilibrium. Because the thermal Bogoliubov transformation becomes\ntime-dependent, the equations of motion for the ordinary unperturbed creation\nand annihilation operators are modified. This forces us to introduce a thermal\ncounter term in the interaction Hamiltonian which generates additional\nradiative corrections. Imposing the self-consistency renormalization condition\non the total radiative corrections, we obtain the quantum Boltzmann equation\nfor the relativistic scalar field.",
        "positive": "A Safe Beginning for the Universe?: When general relativity is augmented by quadratic gravity terms, it becomes a\nrenormalisable theory of gravity. This theory may admit a non-Gaussian fixed\npoint as envisaged in the asymptotic safety program, rendering the theory\ntrustworthy to energies up to the Planck scale and even beyond. We show that\nrequiring physical solutions to have a finite action imposes a strong selection\non big-bang-type universes. More precisely we find that, in the approach to\nzero volume, both anisotropies and inhomogeneities are suppressed while the\nscale factor is required to undergo accelerated expansion. This provides\ninitial conditions which are favourable to the onset of an inflationary phase\nwhile also providing a suitable starting point for the second law of\nthermodynamics in the spirit of the Weyl curvature hypothesis."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "High power Cherenkov radiation from a relativistic particle rotating\n  around a dielectric ball: Some characteristic features in the radiation from a relativistic electron\nuniformly rotating along an equatorial orbit around a dielectric ball have been\nstudied. It was shown that at some harmonics, in case of weak absorption of\nradiation in the ball material, the electron may generate radiation field\nquanta exceeding in several dozens of times those generated by electron\nrotating in a continuous, infinite and transparent medium having the same real\npart of permittivity as the ball material. The rise of high power radiation is\ndue to the fact that electromagnetic oscillations of Cherenkov radiation\ninduced along the trajectory of particle are partially locked inside the ball\nand superimposed in nondestructive way.",
        "positive": "Cosmological Power Spectrum in Non-commutative Space-time: We propose a generalized star product which deviates from the standard\nproduct when the fields at evaluated at different space-time points. This\nproduces no changes in the standard Lagrangian density in non-commutative\nspace-time but produces a change in the cosmological power spectrum. We show\nthat the generalized star product leads to physically consistent results and\ncan fit the observed data on hemispherical anisotropy in the cosmic microwave\nbackground radiation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Vacuum Cherenkov radiation at finite temperature: In this paper we examine the thermal effects of the vacuum Cherenkov\nradiation in a Lorentz- and CPT-violating electrodynamics. We compute the\nthermal contribution to the Cherenkov radiation rate within the Thermofield\nDynamics approach. Since the model under consideration possess a consistent\ncanonical quantization and also fulfils the physical constraints in order to\nthis vacuum process to happen, it is a perfect candidate to implement the study\nat finite temperature. We evaluate in details the instantaneous rate of energy\nloss for a charge, and show that the radiation rate is significantly modified\nat very high temperatures. Intriguingly, we further observe that when the\ntemperature goes to infinity the radiation rate goes to zero even if the\nprocess is kinematically allowed.",
        "positive": "Towards SDp-brane Quantization: The quantum mechanical analysis of the canonical hamiltonian description of\nthe effective action of a SDp-brane in bosonic ten dimensional Type II\nsupergravity in a homogeneous background is given. We find exact solutions for\nthe corresponding quantum theory by solving the Wheeler-deWitt equation in the\nlate-time limit of the rolling tachyon. The probability densities for several\nvalues of p are shown and their possible interpretation is discussed. In the\nprocess the effects of electromagnetic fields are also incorporated and it is\nshown that in this case the interpretation of tachyon regarded as ``matter\nclock'' is modified."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dynamics of partially localized brane systems: We study dynamical partially localized brane solutions in higher dimensions.\nWe give new descriptions of the relevant solutions of dynamical branes which\nare localized along both the overall and relative transverse directions. The\nstarting point is a system of p_r-branes ending on a p_s-brane with a\ntime-dependent warp factor. This system can be related to Dp_r-Dp_s brane\nsystem in string theory, where one brane is localized at the delocalized other\nbrane. We then show that these give Friedmann-Lemaitre-Robertson-Walker\ncosmological solutions. Our approach leads to a new and manifest description of\nthe brane configurations near the delocalized branes, and new solutions in the\nwave or KK-monopole background in terms of certain partial differential\nequations in D dimensions including ten and eleven dimensions.",
        "positive": "7D supersymmetric Yang-Mills on hypertoric 3-Sasakian manifolds: We study 7D maximally supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory on 3-Sasakian\nmanifolds. For manifolds whose hyper-K\\\"ahler cones are hypertoric we derive\nthe perturbative part of the partition function. The answer involves a special\nfunction that counts integer lattice points in a rational convex polyhedral\ncone determined by hypertoric data. This also gives a more geometric structure\nto previous enumeration results of holomorphic functions in the literature.\nBased on physics intuition, we provide a factorisation result for such\nfunctions. The full proof of this factorisation using index calculations will\nbe detailed in a forthcoming paper."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quaternionic Groups in Physics: A Panoramic Review: Due to the non-commutative nature of quaternions we introduce the concept of\nleft and right action for quaternionic numbers. This gives the opportunity to\nmanipulate appropriately the $H$-field. The standard problems arising in the\ndefinitions of transpose, determinant and trace for quaternionic matrices are\novercome. We investigate the possibility to formulate a new approach to\nQuaternionic Group Theory. Our aim is to highlight the possibility of looking\nat new quaternionic groups by the use of left and right operators as\nfundamental step toward a clear and complete discussion of Unification Theories\nin Physics.",
        "positive": "de Sitter String Vacua from Perturbative Kahler Corrections and\n  Consistent D-terms: We present a new way to construct de Sitter vacua in type IIB flux\ncompactifications, in which moduli stabilization and D-term uplifting can be\ncombined in a manner consistent with the supergravity constraints. Here, the\nclosed string fluxes fix the dilaton and the complex structure moduli while\nperturbative quantum corrections to the Kahler potential stabilize the volume\nKahler modulus in an AdS_4-vacuum. Then, the presence of magnetized D7-branes\nin this setup provide supersymmetric D-terms in a fully consistent way which\nuplift the AdS_4-vacuum to a metastable dS-minimum."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Relativistic Rindler Hydrodynamics: We consider a (d+2)-dimensional class of Lorentzian geometries\nholographically dual to a relativistic fluid flow in (d+1) dimensions. The\nfluid is defined on a (d+1)-dimensional time-like surface which is embedded in\nthe (d+2)-dimensional bulk space-time and equipped with a flat intrinsic\nmetric. We find two types of geometries that are solutions to the vacuum\nEinstein equations: the Rindler metric and the Taub plane symmetric vacuum.\nThese correspond to dual perfect fluids with vanishing and negative energy\ndensities respectively. While the Rindler geometry is characterized by a causal\nhorizon, the Taub geometry has a timelike naked singularity, indicating\npathological behavior. We construct the Rindler hydrodynamics up to the second\norder in derivatives of the fluid variables and show the positivity of its\nentropy current divergence.",
        "positive": "De Sitter from T-branes: Hidden sector D7-branes with non-zero gauge flux are a generic feature of\ntype IIB compactifications. A non-vanishing Fayet-Iliopoulos term induced by\nnon-zero gauge flux leads to a T-brane configuration. Expanding the D7-brane\naction around this T-brane background in the presence of three-form\nsupersymmetry breaking fluxes, we obtain a positive definite contribution to\nthe moduli scalar potential which can be used as an uplifting source for de\nSitter vacua. In this way we provide a higher-dimensional understanding of\nknown 4D mechanisms of de Sitter uplifting based on hidden sector F-terms which\nare non-zero because of D-term stabilisation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Scaling Cosmologies from Duality Twisted Compactifications: Oscillating moduli fields can support a cosmological scaling solution in the\npresence of a perfect fluid when the scalar field potential satisfies\nappropriate conditions. We examine when such conditions arise in\nhigher-dimensional, non-linear sigma-models that are reduced to four dimensions\nunder a generalized Scherk-Schwarz compactification. We show explicitly that\nscaling behaviour is possible when the higher-dimensional action exhibits a\nglobal SL(n,R) or O(2,2) symmetry. These underlying symmetries can be exploited\nto generate non-trivial scaling solutions when the moduli fields have\nnon-canonical kinetic energy. We also consider the compactification of\neleven-dimensional vacuum Einstein gravity on an elliptic twisted torus.",
        "positive": "Stable bound orbits in black lens backgrounds: In contrast to five-dimensional Schwarzschild-Tangherlini and Myers-Perry\nbackgrounds, we show that there are stable bound orbits of massive/massless\nparticles in five-dimensional black lens backgrounds, in particular, the\nsupersymmetric black lens with $L(2,1)$ and $L(3,1)$ topologies. We also show\nthat in the zero-energy limit of massless particles, there exist stable\ncircular orbits on the evanescent ergosurfaces."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Panorama Of Physical Mathematics c. 2022: What follows is a broad-brush overview of the recent synergistic interactions\nbetween mathematics and theoretical physics of quantum field theory and string\ntheory. The discussion is forward-looking, suggesting potentially useful and\nfruitful directions and problems, some old, some new, for further development\nof the subject. This paper is a much extended version of the Snowmass\nwhitepaper on physical mathematics [1].",
        "positive": "Absence of Black Holes at LHC due to Gravity's Rainbow: In this paper, we investigate the effect of Planckian deformation of quantum\ngravity on the production of black holes at colliders using the framework of\ngravity's rainbow. We demonstrate that a black hole remnant exists for\nSchwarzschild black holes in higher dimensions using gravity's rainbow. The\nmass of this remnant is found to be greater than the energy scale at which\nexperiments were performed at the LHC. We propose this as a possible\nexplanation for the absence of black holes at the LHC. Furthermore, we\ndemonstrate that it is possible for black holes in six (and higher) dimensions\nto be produced at energy scales that will be accessible in the near future."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A novel approach to non-commutative gauge theory: We propose a field theoretical model defined on non-commutative space-time\nwith non-constant non-commutativity parameter $\\Theta(x)$, which satisfies two\nmain requirements: it is gauge invariant and reproduces in the commutative\nlimit, $\\Theta\\to 0$, the standard $U(1)$ gauge theory. We work in the slowly\nvarying field approximation where higher derivatives terms in the star\ncommutator are neglected and the latter is approximated by the Poisson bracket,\n$-i[f,g]_\\star\\approx\\{f,g\\}$. We derive an explicit expression for both the NC\ndeformation of Abelian gauge transformations which close the algebra\n$[\\delta_f,\\delta_g]A=\\delta_{\\{f,g\\}}A$, and the NC field strength ${\\cal F}$,\ncovariant under these transformations, $\\delta_f {\\cal F}=\\{{\\cal F},f\\}$. NC\nChern-Simons equations are equivalent to the requirement that the NC field\nstrength, ${\\cal F}$, should vanish identically. Such equations are\nnon-Lagrangian. The NC deformation of Yang-Mills theory is obtained from the\ngauge invariant action, $S=\\int {\\cal F}^2$. As guiding example, the case of\n$su(2)$-like non-commutativity, corresponding to rotationally invariant NC\nspace, is worked out in detail.",
        "positive": "Current Algebra and Integrability of Principal Chiral Model on the\n  World-sheet with General Metric: We study the classical current algebra for principial chiral model defined on\ntwo dimensional world-sheet with general metric. We develop the Hamiltonian\nformalism and determine the form of the Poisson brackets between currents. Then\nwe determine the Poisson bracket for Lax connection and we show that this\nPossion bracket does not depend on the world-sheet metric. We also study the\nNambu-Gotto form of this model. We prove an existence of the Lax connection and\ndetermine their Poisson bracket."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Black holes in Truncated Higher Spin AdS$_3$ Gravity: We study the higher spin black holes in a truncated version of higher spin\ngravity in $AdS_3$. This theory contains only finite number of even spins\ns=2,4,...,2N. We mainly focus on the simplest case, so-called (Type I and II)\nspin ${\\tilde 4}$ gravity, which contains only spin 2 and spin 4 fields. This\nspin ${\\tilde 4}$ gravity is as simple as spin 3 gravity, thus provides another\nexample to test various ideas on higher spin gravity. We find that the\nasymptotical symmetry of this spin ${\\tilde 4}$ gravity is a classical\nW(2,4)-symmetry. Moreover, we study the black hole solution with pure spin 4\nhair and discuss its thermodynamics. One important feature of this black hole\nis that its entropy could be written in compact forms. Furthermore, we\ninvestigate a $G_2$ generated higher spin gravity. This higher spin gravity\nonly contains spin 2 and spin 6 fields which makes it different from other\nkinds of higher spin gravity. We find the corresponding black hole with spin 6\nhair, and discuss its thermodynamics analytically. It turns out that the black\nholes with spin 4 or spin 6 hair constructed in this paper are the only black\nholes with single higher spin hair, besides the spin 3 black hole found in\narXiv:1103.4304.",
        "positive": "Logarithmic Black Hole Entropy Corrections and Holographic R\u00e9nyi\n  Entropy: The entanglement and R\\'{e}nyi entropies for spherical entangling surfaces in\nCFTs with gravity duals can be explicitly calculated by mapping these entropies\nfirst to the thermal entropy on hyperbolic space and then, using the AdS/CFT\ncorrespondence, to the Wald entropy of topological black holes. Here we extend\nthis idea by taking into account corrections to the Wald entropy. Using the\nmethod based on horizon symmetries and the asymptotic Cardy formula, we\ncalculate corrections to the Wald entropy and find that these corrections are\nproportional to the logarithm of horizon area. With the corrected black hole\nentropy expression, we then find corrections to the R\\'{e}nyi entropies. We\ncalculate these corrections for both Einstein as well as Gauss-Bonnet gravity\nduals. Corrections with logarithmic dependence on the area of the entangling\nsurface naturally occur at the order $G_{D}^0$ and it seems to be a general\nfeature of entanglement and R\\'{e}nyi entropies for CFTs with gravity duals. In\nparticular, there is a logarithmic correction to the entropy in odd boundary\nspacetime dimensions as well."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Celestial gluon and graviton OPE at loop level: In this paper, we analyze the loop corrections to celestial OPE for gluons\nand gravitons. Even at the loop level, the soft gluons and gravitons have\nconformal dimensions $\\Delta=1-\\mathbb Z_{\\geq 0}$. The only novelty is the\npresence of higher poles. At one loop level, there are two types of conformal\nsoft gluons with a single pole and a double pole in the $\\Delta$ plane. The\ncelestial OPEs are obtained using the collinear splitting functions. In the\ncase of gluons, the splitting functions receive loop corrections. After taking\nthe holomorphic soft limit, we find the OPE of conformal soft gluons. We find a\nnovel mixing of simple and double poles soft gluon operators in the OPE. In the\ncase of gravitons, where splitting functions are known to be all loop exact, we\nstill find a wedge algebra of $w_{\\infty}$ which is in addition to the wedge\nalgebra of $w_{1+\\infty}$ already found by Strominger.",
        "positive": "Off-Shell ADT Conserved Quantities in Palatini Gravity: In this paper we generalize the off-shell Abbott-Deser-Tekin (ADT) conserved\ncharge formalism to Palatini theory of gravity with torsion and non-metricity.\nOur construction is based on the coordinate formalism and the independent\ndynamic fields are the metric and the affine connection. For a general Palatini\ntheory of gravity, which is diffeomorphism invariant up to a boundary term, we\nobtain the most general expression for off-shell ADT potential. As explicit\nexamples, we derive the off-shell ADT potentials for Einstein-Hilbert action,\nthe most general $L(g_{\\mu\\nu}, R^{\\lambda}{}_{\\nu\\alpha\\mu},\nT^{\\lambda}{}_{\\alpha\\beta}, Q_{\\alpha\\mu\\nu})$ theories and the teleparallel\nPalatini gravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Invariant Charges of the Nambu-Goto String Theory: Quantization of\n  Non-Additive Composition Laws: We examine and implement the concept of non-additive composition laws in the\nquantum theory of closed bosonic strings moving in (3+1)-dimensional Minkowski\nspace. Such laws supply exact selection rules for the merging and splitting of\nclosed strings.",
        "positive": "All-multiplicity amplitudes with four massive quarks and\n  identical-helicity gluons: We explore the on-shell recursion for tree-level scattering amplitudes with\nmassive spinning particles. Based on the factorization structure encoded in the\nsame way by two different recursion relations, we conjecture an\nall-multiplicity formula for two gauged massive particles of arbitrary spin and\nany number of identical-helicity gluons. Specializing to quantum chromodynamics\n(QCD), we solve the on-shell recursion relations in the presence of two pairs\nof massive quarks and an arbitrary number of identical-helicity gluons. We find\nclosed-form expressions for the two distinct families of color-ordered\nfour-quark amplitudes, in which all gluons comprise a single color-adjacent\nset. We compare the efficiency of the numerical evaluation of the two resulting\nanalytic formulae against a numerical implementation of the off-shell\nBerends-Giele recursion. We find the formulae for both amplitude families to be\nfaster for large multiplicities, while the simpler of the two is actually\nfaster for any number of external legs. Our analytic results are provided in a\ncomputer-readable format as two ancillary files."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Bubbles in Anti-de Sitter Space: We explore the bubble spacetimes which can be obtained from double analytic\ncontinuations of static and rotating black holes in anti-de Sitter space. In\nparticular, we find that rotating black holes with elliptic horizon lead to\nbubble spacetimes only in dimension greater than five. For dimension greater\nthan seven, the topology of the bubble can be non-spherical. However, a bubble\nspacetime is shown to arise from a rotating de Sitter black hole in four\ndimensions. In all cases, the evolution of the bubble is of de Sitter type.\nDouble analytic continuations of hyperbolic black holes and branes are also\ndiscussed.",
        "positive": "WZW fusion rings in the limit of infinite level: We show that the WZW fusion rings at finite levels form a projective system\nwith respect to the partial ordering provided by divisibility of the height,\ni.e. the level shifted by a constant. From this projective system we obtain WZW\nfusion rings in the limit of infinite level. This projective limit constitutes\na mathematically well-defined prescription for the `classical limit' of WZW\ntheories which replaces the naive idea of `sending the level to infinity'. The\nprojective limit can be endowed with a natural topology, which plays an\nimportant role for studying its structure. The representation theory of the\nlimit can be worked out by considering the associated fusion algebra; this way\nwe obtain in particular an analogue of the Verlinde formula."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Partial spontaneous breakdown of 3-dimensional N=2 supersymmetry: The superfield models with the partial spontaneous breaking of the global\nD=3, N=2 supersymmetry are discussed. The abelian gauge model describes\nlow-energy interactions of the real scalar field with the 3D vector and fermion\nfields. We introduce the new Goldstone-Maxwell representation of the 3D gauge\nsuperfield and show that the partial spontaneous breaking N=2 to N=1 is\npossible for the non-minimal self-interaction of this modified gauge superfield\nincluding the linear Fayet-Iliopoulos term. The dual description of the partial\nbreaking in the model of the self- interacting Goldstone chiral superfield is\nalso considered. These models have the constant vacuum solutions and describe,\nrespectively, the interactions of the N=1 Goldstone multiplets of the D2-brane\nor supermembrane with the additional massive multiplets.",
        "positive": "Lectures on Holographic Space Time: Summary of three talks on the Holographic Space Time models of early universe\ncosmology, particle physics, and the asymptotically de Sitter final state of\nour universe."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The threefold way to quantum periods: WKB, TBA equations and\n  q-Painlev\u00e9: We show that TBA equations defined by the BPS spectrum of $5d$\n$\\mathcal{N}=1$ $SU(2)$ Yang-Mills on $S^1\\times \\mathbb{R}^4$ encode the\nq-Painlev\\'e III$_3$ equation. We find a fine-tuned stratum in the physical\nmoduli space of the theory where solutions to TBA equations can be obtained\nexactly, and verify that they agree with the algebraic solutions to\nq-Painlev\\'e. Switching from the physical moduli space to that of stability\nconditions, we identify a one-parameter deformation of the fine-tuned stratum,\nwhere the general solution of the q-Painlev\\'e equation in terms of dual\ninstanton partition functions continues to provide explicit TBA solutions.\nMotivated by these observations, we propose a further extensions of the range\nof validity of this correspondence, under a suitable identification of moduli.\nAs further checks of our proposal, we study the behavior of exact WKB quantum\nperiods for the quantum curve of local $\\mathbb{P}^1\\times\\mathbb{P}^1$.",
        "positive": "Calabi-Yau fourfolds for M- and F-Theory compactifications: We investigate topological properties of Calabi-Yau fourfolds and consider a\nwide class of explicit constructions in weighted projective spaces and, more\ngenerally, toric varieties. Divisors which lead to a non-perturbative\nsuperpotential in the effective theory have a very simple description in the\ntoric construction. Relevant properties of them follow just by counting lattice\npoints and can be also used to construct examples with negative Euler number.\nWe study nets of transitions between cases with generically smooth elliptic\nfibres and cases with ADE gauge symmetries in the N=1 theory due to\ndegenerations of the fibre over codimension one loci in the base. Finally we\ninvestigate the quantum cohomology ring of this fourfolds using Frobenius\nalgebras."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-Relativistic Superstrings: A New Soluble Sector of AdS_5xS^5: We find a new sector of string theory in AdS_5xS^5 describing\nnon-relativistic superstrings in that geometry. The worldsheet theory of\nnon-relativistic strings in AdS_5xS^5 is derived and shown to reduce to a\nsupersymmetric free field theory in AdS_2. Non-relativistic string theory\nprovides a new calculable setting in which to study holography.",
        "positive": "A remark on worldsheet fermions and double-scaled matrix models: We provide a heuristic explanation for the emergence of worldsheet fermions\nin the continuum limit of some matrix models. We also argue that turning on\nRamond-Ramond flux confines the fermionic degrees of freedom of the\nRamond-Neveu-Schwarz formalism."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Closed conformal Killing-Yano tensor and uniqueness of generalized\n  Kerr-NUT-de Sitter spacetime: The higher-dimensional Kerr-NUT-de Sitter spacetime describes the general\nrotating asymptotically de Sitter black hole with NUT parameters. It is known\nthat such a spacetime possesses a rank-2 closed conformal Killing-Yano (CKY)\ntensor as a ``hidden'' symmetry which provides the separation of variables for\nthe geodesic equations and Klein-Gordon equations. We present a classification\nof higher-dimensional spacetimes admitting a rank-2 closed CKY tensor. This\nprovides a generalization of the Kerr-NUT-de Sitter spacetime. In particular,\nwe show that the Kerr-NUT-de Sitter spacetime is the only spacetime with a\nnon-degenerate CKY tensor.",
        "positive": "Logarithmic Conformal Field Theory: Beyond an Introduction: This article aims to review a selection of central topics and examples in\nlogarithmic conformal field theory. It begins with a pure Virasoro example,\ncritical percolation, then continues with a detailed exposition of symplectic\nfermions, the fractional level WZW model on SL(2;R) at level -1/2 and the WZW\nmodel on the Lie supergroup GL(1|1). It concludes with a general discussion of\nthe so-called staggered modules that give these theories their logarithmic\nstructure, before outlining a proposed strategy to understand more general\nlogarithmic conformal field theories. Throughout, the emphasis is on continuum\nmethods and their generalisation from the familiar rational case. In\nparticular, the modular properties of the characters of the spectrum play a\ncentral role and Verlinde formulae are evaluated with the results compared to\nthe known fusion rules. Moreover, bulk modular invariants are constructed, the\nstructures of the corresponding bulk state spaces are elucidated, and a\nformalism for computing correlation functions is discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic Gauge Mediation: We discuss gravitational backgrounds where supersymmetry is broken at the end\nof a warped throat, and the SUSY-breaking is transmitted to the Standard Model\nvia gauginos which live in (part of) the bulk of the throat geometry. We find\nthat the leading effect arises from splittings of certain \"messenger mesons,\"\nwhich are adjoint KK-modes of the D-branes supporting the Standard Model gauge\ngroup. This picture is a gravity dual of a strongly coupled field theory where\nSUSY is broken in a hidden sector and transmitted to the Standard Model via a\nrelative of semi-direct gauge mediation.",
        "positive": "B-type Landau-Ginzburg models on Stein manifolds: We summarize the description of the open-closed TFT datum for B-type\nLandau-Ginzburg models with Stein manifold targets and discuss various\nconstructions which lead to large classes of examples of such models."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Three-dimensional Newtonian gravity with cosmological constant and\n  torsion: In this paper we present an alternative cosmological extension of the\nthree-dimensional extended Newtonian Chern-Simons gravity by switching on the\ntorsion. The theory is obtained as a non-relativistic limit of an enhancement\nand $U(1)$-enlargement of the so-called teleparallel algebra and can be seen as\nthe teleparallel analogue of the Newtonian gravity theory. The\ninfinite-dimensional extension of our result is also explored through the Lie\nalgebra expansion method. An infinite-dimensional torsional Galilean gravity\nmodel is presented which in the vanishing cosmological constant limit\nreproduces the infinite-dimensional extension of the Galilean gravity theory.",
        "positive": "The Gribov problem in presence of background field for $SU(2)$\n  Yang-Mills theory: The Gribov problem in the presence of a background field is analyzed: in\nparticular, we study the Gribov copies equation in the Landau-De Witt gauge as\nwell as the semi-classical Gribov gap equation. As background field, we choose\nthe simplest non-trivial one which corresponds to a constant gauge potential\nwith non-vanishing component along the Euclidean time direction. This kind of\nconstant non-Abelian background fields is very relevant in relation with (the\ncomputation of) the Polyakov loop but it also appears when one considers the\nnon-Abelian Schwinger effect. We show that the Gribov copies equation is\naffected directly by the presence of the background field, constructing an\nexplicit example. The analysis of the Gribov gap equation shows that the larger\nthe background field, the smaller the Gribov mass parameter. These results\nstrongly suggest that the relevance of the Gribov copies (from the path\nintegral point of view) decreases as the size of the background field\nincreases."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Compact Codimension Two Braneworld with Precisely One Brane: Building on earlier work on football shaped extra dimensions, we construct a\ncompact codimension two braneworld with precisely one brane. The two extra\ndimensions topologically represent a 2-torus which is stabilized by a bulk\ncosmological constant and magnetic flux. The torus has positive constant\ncurvature almost everywhere, except for a single conical singularity at the\nlocation of the brane. In contradistinction to the football shaped case, there\nis no fine-tuning required for the brane tension. We also present some\nplausibility arguments why the model should not suffer from serious stability\nissues.",
        "positive": "Defining < A^2 > in the finite volume hamiltonian formalism: It is shown how in principle for non-abelian gauge theories it is possible in\nthe finite volume hamiltonian framework to make sense of calculating the\nexpectation value of ||A||^2=\\int d^3x(A^a_i(x))^2. Gauge invariance requires\none to replace ||A||^2 by its minimum over the gauge orbit, which makes it a\nhighly non-local quantity. We comment on the difficulty of finding a gauge\ninvariant expression for ||A||^2_{min} analogous to that found for the abelian\ncase, and the relation of this question to Gribov copies. We deal with these\nissues by implementing the hamiltonian on the so-called fundamental domain,\nwith appropriate boundary conditions in field space, essential to correctly\nrepresent the physics of the problem."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Localized Gravitons, Gauge Bosons and Chiral Fermions in Smooth Spaces\n  Generated by a Bounce: We study five-dimensional solutions to Einstein equations coupled to a scalar\nfield. Bounce-type solutions for the scalar field are associated with AdS_5\nspaces with smooth warp functions. Gravitons are dynamically localized in this\nframework in analogy to the Randall-Sundrum solution whereas, a bulk fermion\ngives rise to a single chiral zero mode localized at the bounce. Additional\nbulk scalar fields are incorporated in this picture. The dilaton, as a bulk\nscalar leads, through its coupling, to localized gauge boson fields, something\nthat holds also in the case that the bounce system is replaced by a brane.",
        "positive": "Boosting Nearest-Neighbour to Long-Range Integrable Spin Chains: We present an integrability-preserving recursion relation for the explicit\nconstruction of long-range spin chain Hamiltonians. These chains are\ngeneralizations of the Haldane-Shastry and Inozemtsev models and they play an\nimportant role in recent advances in string/gauge duality. The method is based\non arbitrary nearest-neighbour integrable spin chains and it sheds light on the\nmoduli space of deformation parameters. We also derive the closed chain\nasymptotic Bethe equations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Semi-simple enlargement of the $\\mathfrak{bms}_3$ algebra from a\n  $\\mathfrak{so}(2,2)\\oplus\\mathfrak{so}(2,1)$ Chern-Simons theory: In this work we present a BMS-like ansatz for a Chern-Simons theory based on\nthe semi-simple enlargement of the Poincar\\'e symmetry, also known as\nAdS-Lorentz algebra. We start by showing that this ansatz is general enough to\ncontain all the relevant stationary solutions of this theory and provides with\nsuitable boundary conditions for the corresponding gauge connection. We find an\nexplicit realization of the asymptotic symmetry at null infinity, which defines\na semi-simple enlargement of the $\\mathfrak{bms}_3$ algebra and turns out to be\nisomorphic to three copies of the Virasoro algebra. The flat limit of the\ntheory is discussed at the level of the action, field equations, solutions and\nasymptotic symmetry.",
        "positive": "Metamorphosis of the Cosmological Constant and 5D Origin of the Fiducial\n  Metric: In a recently proposed theory, the cosmological constant (CC) does not curve\nspacetime in our universe, but instead gets absorbed into another universe\nendowed with its own dynamical metric, nonlocally coupled to ours. Thus, one\nachieves a long standing goal of removing entirely any cosmological constant\nfrom our universe. Dark energy then cannot be due to a cosmological constant,\nbut must be obtained via other mechanisms. Here we focus on the scenario in\nwhich dark energy is due to massive gravity and its extensions. We show how the\nmetric of the other universe, that absorbs our CC, also gives rise to the\nfiducial metric known to be necessary for the diffeomorphism invariant\nformulation of massive gravity. This is achieved in a framework where the other\nuniverse is described by 5D AdS gravity, while our universe lives on its\nboundary and is endowed with dynamical massive gravity. A non-dynamical\npullback of the bulk AdS metric acts as the fiducial metric for massive gravity\non the boundary. This framework also removes a difficulty caused by the quantum\nstrongly coupled behavior of massive gravity at the Lambda3 scale: in the\npresent approach, the massive gravity action does not receive any loop-induced\ncounterterms, despite being strongly coupled."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Energy distribution in a BTZ black hole spacetime: We evaluate the energy distribution associated with the (2+1)-dimensional\nrotating BTZ black hole. The energy-momentum complexes of Landau-Lifshitz and\nWeinberg are employed for this computation. Both prescriptions give exactly the\nsame form of energy distribution. Therefore, these results provide evidence in\nsupport of the claim that, for a given gravitational background, different\nenergy-momentum complexes can give identical results in three dimensions, as it\nis the case in four dimensions.",
        "positive": "Current Oscillations, Interacting Hall Discs and Boundary CFTs: In this paper, we discuss the behavior of conformal field theories\ninteracting at a single point. The edge states of the quantum Hall effect (QHE)\nsystem give rise to a particular representation of a chiral Kac-Moody current\nalgebra. We show that in the case of QHE systems interacting at one point we\nobtain a ``twisted'' representation of the current algebra. The condition for\nstationarity of currents is the same as the classical Kirchoff's law applied to\nthe currents at the interaction point. We find that in the case of two discs\ntouching at one point, since the currents are chiral, they are not stationary\nand one obtains current oscillations between the two discs. We determine the\nfrequency of these oscillations in terms of an effective parameter\ncharacterizing the interaction. The chiral conformal field theories can be\nrepresented in terms of bosonic Lagrangians with a boundary interaction. We\ndiscuss how these one point interactions can be represented as boundary\nconditions on fields, and how the requirement of chirality leads to\nrestrictions on the interactions described by these Lagrangians. By gauging\nthese models we find that the theory is naturally coupled to a Chern-Simons\ngauge theory in 2+1 dimensions, and this coupling is completely determined by\nthe requirement of anomaly cancellation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Off-shell construction of some trilinear higher spin gauge field\n  interactions: Several trilinear interactions of higher spin fields involving two equal\n($s=s_{1}=s_{2}$) and one higher even ($s_{3}\\geq 2s$) spin are presented.\nInteractions are constructed on the Lagrangian level using Noether's procedure\ntogether with the corresponding next to free level fields of the gauge\ntransformations. In certain cases when the number of derivatives in the\ntransformation is $2s-1$ the interactions lead to the currents constructed from\nthe generalization of the gravitational Bell-Robinson tensors. In other cases\nwhen the number of derivatives in the transformation is more than $2s-1$ we\nobtain the finite tower of interactions with smaller even spins less than\n$s_{3}$ in full agreement with our previous results for the interaction of the\nhigher even spins field with a conformal scalar [1,2].",
        "positive": "Quaternionic Formulation of Supersymmetric Quantum Mechanics: Quaternionic formulation of supersymmetric quantum mechanics has been\ndeveloped consistently in terms of Hamiltonians, superpartner Hamiltonians, and\nsupercharges for free particle and interacting field in one and three\ndimensions. Supercharges, superpartner Hamiltonians and energy eigenvalues are\ndiscussed and it has been shown that the results are consistent with the\nresults of quantum mechanics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Courant Algebroids: This paper is devoted to studying some properties of the Courant algebroids:\nwe explain the so-called \"conducting bundle construction\" and use it to attach\nthe Courant algebroid to Dixmier-Douady gerbe (following ideas of P. Severa).\nWe remark that WZNW-Poisson condition of Klimcik and Strobl (math.SG/0104189)\nis the same as Dirac structure in some particular Courant algebroid. We propose\nthe construction of the Lie algebroid on the loop space starting from the Lie\nalgebroid on the manifold and conjecture that this construction applied to the\nDirac structure above should give the Lie algebroid of symmetries in the\nWZNW-Poisson $\\sigma$-model, we show that it is indeed true in the particular\ncase of Poisson $\\sigma$-model.",
        "positive": "Emergent N=4 supersymmetry from N=1: We discover a four-dimensional $\\mathcal{N}=1$ supersymmetric field theory\nthat is dual to the $\\mathcal{N}=4$ super Yang-Mills theory with gauge group\n$SU(2n+1)$ for each $n$. The dual theory is constructed through the diagonal\ngauging of the $SU(2n+1)$ flavor symmetry of three copies of a strongly-coupled\nsuperconformal field theory (SCFT) of Argyres-Douglas type. We find that this\ntheory flows in the infrared to a strongly-coupled $\\mathcal{N}=1$ SCFT that\nlies on the same conformal manifold as $\\mathcal{N}=4$ super Yang-Mills with\ngauge group $SU(2n+1)$. Our construction provides a hint on why certain\n$\\mathcal{N}=1,2$ SCFTs have identical central charges ($a=c$)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Holomorphic Tension of Nonabelian Vortices: We continue the work hep-th/0411075 considering here the case of degenerate\nmasses. A nonabelian vortex arises in r-vacua upon the breaking by a\nsuperpotential for the adjoint field. We find the BPS tension in the strong\ncoupling regime computing the dual-quark condensate. Then we find that it is\nequal to a simple quantity in the chiral ring of the theory and so we\nconjecture the validity of our result out of the strong coupling regime. Our\nresult gives an interesting hint about the duality r <--> N_f-r, seeing it as\nthe exchange first <--> second sheet of N=1 Riemann surface.",
        "positive": "Lanczos spectrum for random operator growth: Krylov methods have reappeared recently, connecting physically sensible\nnotions of complexity with quantum chaos and quantum gravity. In these\ndevelopments, the Hamiltonian and the Liouvillian are tridiagonalized so that\nSchrodinger/Heisenberg time evolution is expressed in the Krylov basis. In the\ncontext of Schrodinger evolution, this tridiagonalization has been carried out\nin Random Matrix Theory. We extend these developments to Heisenberg time\nevolution, describing how the Liouvillian can be tridiagonalized as well until\nthe end of Krylov space. We numerically verify the analytical formulas both for\nGaussian and non-Gaussian matrix models."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Tensionless String in the Notoph Background: We study the interaction between a tensionless (null) string and an\nantisymmetric background field B_{ab} using a 2-component spinor formalism. A\ngeometric condition for the absence of such an interaction is formulated. We\nshow that only one gauge-invariant degree of freedom of the field B_{ab} does\nnot satisfy this condition. Identification of this degree of freedom with the\nnotoph field \\phi of Ogievetskii-Polubarinov-Kalb-Ramond is suggested.\nApplication of a two-component spinor formalism allows us a reduction of the\ncomplete system of non-linear partial differential equations and constraints\ngoverning the interacting null string dynamics to a system of linear\ndifferential equations for the basis spinors of the spin-frame. We find that\ntotal effect of the interaction is contained in a single derivation coefficient\nwhich is identified with the notoph field.",
        "positive": "Infrared instability of the de Sitter space: We continue to investigate various instabilities of the fixed backgrounds\nrelated to the de Sitter space. It is shown that in many cases the in/in\nperturbation theory contains IR/UV mixing and thus is non-renormalizible. The\napplication of this result to the global de Sitter space leads to the\nconclusion that even massive particles generate IR divergence and the huge back\nreaction. The expanding universe is also unstable but in a weaker sense. We\nfurther discuss, the strange features of the Gibbons-Hawking radiation and its\nrelation to the above instabilities. ."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Topological invariants for holographic semimetals: We study the behavior of fermion spectral functions for the holographic\ntopological Weyl and nodal line semimetals. We calculate the topological\ninvariants from the Green functions of both holographic semimetals using the\ntopological Hamiltonian method, which calculates topological invariants of\nstrongly interacting systems from an effective Hamiltonian system with the same\ntopological structure. Nontrivial topological invariants for both systems have\nbeen obtained and the presence of nontrivial topological invariants further\nsupports the topological nature of the holographic semimetals.",
        "positive": "Gravitational Corrections for Supersymmetric Gauge Theories with Flavors\n  via Matrix Models: We study the gravitational corrections to the F-term in four-dimensional N=1\nU(N) gauge theories with flavors, using the Dijkgraaf-Vafa theory. We derive a\ncompact formula for the annulus contribution in terms of the prime form on the\nmatrix model curve. Remarkably, the full R^2 correction can be reproduced as a\nspecial momentum sector of a single c=1 CFT correlator, which closely resembles\nthat in the bosonization of fermions on Riemann surfaces. The N=2 limit of the\ntorus contribution agrees with the multi-instanton calculations as well as the\ntopological A-model result. The planar contributions, on the other hand, have\nno counterpart in the topological gauge theories, and we speculate about the\norigin of these terms."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Deriving the First Law of Black Hole Thermodynamics without Entanglement: In AdS/CFT, how is the bulk first law realized in the boundary CFT? Recently,\nFaulkner et al. showed that in certain holographic contexts, the bulk first law\nhas a precise microscopic interpretation as a first law of entanglement entropy\nin the boundary theory. However, the bulk can also satisfy a first law when the\nboundary density matrix is pure, i.e. in the absence of entanglement with other\ndegrees of freedom. In this note we argue that the bulk first law should\ngenerally be understood in terms of a particular coarse-graining of the\nboundary theory. We use geons, or single-exterior black holes, as a testing\nground for this idea. Our main result is that for a class of small\nperturbations to these spacetimes the Wald entropy agrees to first order with\nthe one-point entropy, a coarse-grained entropy recently proposed by Kelly and\nWall. This result also extends the regime over which the one-point entropy is\nknown to be equal to the causal holographic information of Hubeny and\nRangamani.",
        "positive": "Anomalies and nonperturbative results: We investigate nonperturbative effects in N=1 and N=2 supersymmetric theories\nusing a relation between perturbative and exact anomalies as a starting point.\nFor N=2 supersymmetric SU(n) Yang-Mills theory we derive the general structure\nof the Picard-Fuchs equations; for N=1 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theories we\nfind holomorphic part of the superpotential (with gluino condensate) exactly."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Associativity of Star Product in Systems with Nonlinear\n  Constraints: The noncommutative star product of phase space functions is, by construction,\nassociative for both non-degenerate and degenerate case (involving only second\nclass constraints) as has been shown by Berezin, Batalin and Tyutin. However,\nfor the latter case, the manifest associativity is lost if an arbitrary\ncoordinate system is used but can be restored by using an unconstrained\ncanonical set.\n  The existence of such a canonical transformation is guaranteed by a theorem\ndue to Maskawa and Nakajima. In terms of these new variables, the Kontsevich\nseries for the star product reduces to an exponential series which is\nmanifestly associative. We also show, using the star product formalism, that\nthe angular momentum of a particle moving on a circle is quantized.",
        "positive": "General treatment of anomalies in (1,0) and (1,1) two-dimensional\n  super-gravity: In this paper we discuss the interplay among (~super-~)coordinate, Weyl and\n\\l\\ anomaly both in chiral and non-chiral super-gravity represented by $(1,0)$\nand $(1,1)$ two-dimensional models. It is shown that for this purpose two\nregularization dependent parameters are needed in the effective action. We\ndiscuss in {\\it full generality} the regularization ambiguities of the induced\neffective action and recover the corresponding general form of the anomalous\nWard Identities. Finally, we explain the difference between chiral and\nnon-chiral super-gravity models in terms of the free parameters and establish\nrelation between these two models by projecting $(1,1)$ into $(1,0)$\nsuper-symmetry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic duals of five-dimensional SCFTs on a Riemann surface: We study the twisted compactifications of five-dimensional Seiberg SCFTs,\nwith $SU_\\mathcal{M}(2)\\times E_{N_f+1}$ flavor symmetry, on a generic Riemann\nsurface that preserves four supercharges. The five-dimensional SCFTs are\nobtained from the decoupling limit of $N$ D4-branes probing a geometry of\n$N_f<8$ D8-branes and an O8-plane. In addition to the R-symmetry, we can also\ntwist the flavor symmetry by turning on background flux on the Riemann surface.\nIn particular, in the string theory construction of the five-dimensional SCFTs,\nthe background flux for the $SU_\\mathcal{M}(2)$ has a geometric origin, similar\nto the topological twist of the R-symmetry. We argue that the resulting\nlow-energy three-dimensional theories describe the dynamics on the world-volume\nof the $N$ D4-branes wrapped on the Riemann surface in the O8/D8 background.\nThe Riemann surface can be described as a curve in a Calabi-Yau three-fold that\nis a sum of two line bundles over it. This allows for an explicit construction\nof $AdS_4$ solutions in massive IIA supergravity dual to the world-volume\ntheories, thereby providing strong evidence that the three-dimensional SCFTs\nexist in the low-energy limit of the compactification of the five-dimensional\nSCFTs. We compute observables such as the free energy and the scaling\ndimensions of operators dual to D2-brane probes; these have non-trivial\ndependence on the twist parameter for the $U(1)$ in $SU_\\mathcal{M}(2)$. The\nfree energy exhibits the $N^{5/2}$ scaling that is emblematic of\nfive-dimensional SCFTs.",
        "positive": "Holographic Superconductors: It has been shown that a gravitational dual to a superconductor can be\nobtained by coupling anti-de Sitter gravity to a Maxwell field and charged\nscalar. We review our earlier analysis of this theory and extend it in two\ndirections. First, we consider all values for the charge of the scalar field.\nAway from the large charge limit, backreaction on the spacetime metric is\nimportant. While the qualitative behaviour of the dual superconductor is found\nto be similar for all charges, in the limit of arbitrarily small charge a new\ntype of black hole instability is found. We go on to add a perpendicular\nmagnetic field B and obtain the London equation and magnetic penetration depth.\nWe show that these holographic superconductors are Type II, i.e., starting in a\nnormal phase at large B and low temperatures, they develop superconducting\ndroplets as B is reduced."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum tunneling and spectroscopy of noncommutative inspired Kerr black\n  hole: We discuss the thermodynamics of the noncommutative inspired Kerr black hole\nby means of a reformulated Hamilton-Jacobi method and a dimensional reduction\ntechnique. In order to investigate the effect of the angular momentum of the\ntunneling particle, we calculate the wave function to the first order of the\nWKB ansatz. Then, using a density matrix technique we derive the radiation\nspectrum from which the radiation temperature can be read out. Our results show\nthat the radiation of this noncommutative inspired black hole corresponds to a\nmodified temperature which involves the effect of noncommutativity. However,\nthe angular momentum of the tunneling particle has no influence on the\nradiation temperature. Moreover, we analyze the entropy spectrum and verify\nthat its quantization is modified neither by the noncommutativity of spacetime\nnor by the quantum correction of wave functions.",
        "positive": "Cosmological Particle Creation and Dynamical Casimir Effect: In this paper we have considered the particle creation in the spatially\nclosed Robertson-Walker space-time. We considered a real massive scalar field\nwhich conformally coupled to the Robertson-Walker background. With the\ndependence of the scale factor on time, the case under consideration is a\ndynamical Casimir effect with moving boundaries."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A relation between moduli space of D-branes on orbifolds and Ising model: We study D-branes transverse to an abelian orbifold C^3/Z_n Z_n. The moduli\nspace of the gauge theory on the D-branes is analyzed by combinatorial\ncalculation based on toric geometry. It is shown that the calculation is\nrelated to a problemto count the number of ground states of an\nantiferromagnetic Ising model. The lattice on which the Ising model is defined\nis a triangular one defined on the McKay quiver of the orbifold.",
        "positive": "The supersymmetric version of the Green--Schwarz anomaly cancellation\n  mechanism: The $N=1$, $D=10$ Supergravity--Super--Yang--Mills (SUGRA-SYM) theory is\nplagued by ABBJ gauge and Lorentz anomalies which are cancelled via the\nGreen-Schwarz anomaly cancellation mechanism. Due to the fact that the ABBJ\nanomalies are not invariant under supersymmetry (SUSY) transformations one\nconcludes that the theory is plagued also by a SUSY anomaly. For the gauge\ngroups $SO(32)$ and $E_8\\times E_8$ we compute this SUSY anomaly, by solving a\ncoupled cohomology problem, and we show that it can be cancelled by subtracting\nfrom the action the known Green--Schwarz counterterm, the same which cancels\nalso the ABBJ anomaly, the expected result. Finally, we argue that the\ncorresponding mechanism does not apply in the dual SUGRA-SYM, related to the\nheterotic five-brane."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Momentum-space conformal blocks on the light cone: We study the momentum-space 4-point correlation function of identical scalar\noperators in conformal field theory. Working specifically with null momenta, we\nshow that its imaginary part admits an expansion in conformal blocks. The\nblocks are polynomials in the cosine of the scattering angle, with degree\n$\\ell$ corresponding to the spin of the intermediate operator. The coefficients\nof these polynomials are obtained in a closed-form expression for arbitrary\nspacetime dimension $d > 2$. If the scaling dimension of the intermediate\noperator is large, the conformal block reduces to a Gegenbauer polynomial\n$\\mathcal{C}_\\ell^{(d-2)/2}$. If on the contrary the scaling dimension\nsaturates the unitarity bound, the block is different Gegenbauer polynomial\n$\\mathcal{C}_\\ell^{(d-3)/2}$. These results are then used as an inversion\nformula to compute OPE coefficients in a free theory example.",
        "positive": "Yang-Mills Duality and the Generation Puzzle: The fermion generation puzzle has survived into this century as one of the\ngreat mysteries in particle physics. We consider here a possible solution\nwithin the Standard Model framework based on a nonabelian generalization of\nelectric-magnetic duality. First, by constructing in loop space a nonabelian\ngeneralization of the abelian dual transform (Hodge *), one finds that a\n``magnetic'' symmetry exists also in classical Yang-Mills theory dual to the\noriginal (``electric'') gauge symmetry. Secondly, from a result of 't Hooft's,\none obtains that for confined colour SU(3), the dual symmetry\n$\\widetilde{SU}(3)$ is spontaneously broken and can play the role of the\n``horizontal symmetry'' for generations. Thirdly, such an identification not\nonly offers an explanation why there should be three and apparently only three\ngenerations of fermions with the remarkable mass and mixing patterns seen in\nexperiment, but allows even a calculation of the relevant parameters giving\nvery sensible results. Other testible predictions follow ranging from rare\nhadron decays to cosmic ray air showers."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Asymmetric Orbifolds and Higher Level Models: I introduce a class of string constructions based on asymmetric orbifolds\nleading to level two models. In particular, I derive in detail various models\nwith gauge groups $E_6$ and SO(10), including a four generation $E_6$ model\nwith two adjoint representations. The occurrence of multiple adjoint\nrepresentations is a generic feature of the construction. In the course of\ndescribing this approach, I will address the problem of twist phases in higher\ntwisted sectors of asymmetric orbifolds.",
        "positive": "Populating the Whole Landscape: Every de Sitter vacuum can transition to every other de Sitter vacuum despite\nany obstacle, despite intervening anti-de Sitter sinks, despite not being\nconnected by an instanton. Eternal inflation populates the whole landscape."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the general action of boundary (super)string field theory: We reconstruct boundary superstring field theory via boundary states. After a\nminor modification of the fermionic two-form, all the equations needed for\nBatalin-Vilkovisky formulation are simply represented by closed string\noscillators and the proof of gauge invariance is drastically simplified. The\ngeneral form of the action of boundary superstring field theory is also\nobtained without any assumption and found to take exactly the same form as the\nbosonic one. As a special case of this action, we revisit the conjecture that\nthe action is simply given by the disk partition function when matter and\nghosts are completely decoupled.",
        "positive": "BPS States, String Duality, and Nodal Curves on K3: We describe the counting of BPS states of Type II strings on K3 by relating\nthe supersymmetric cycles of genus $g$ to the number of rational curves with\n$g$ double points on K3. The generating function for the number of such curves\nis the left-moving partition function of the bosonic string."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fradkin-Bacry-Ruegg-Souriau vector in kappa-deformed space-time: We study presence of an additional symmetry of a generic central potential in\nthe $\\kappa$-space-time. An explicit construction of Fradkin and Bacry, Ruegg,\nSouriau (FBRS) for a central potential is carried out and the piece-wise\nconserved nature of the vector is established. We also extend the study to\nKepler systems with a drag term, particularly Gorringe-Leach equation is\ngeneralized to the $\\kappa$-deformed space. The possibility of mapping\nGorringe-Leach equation to an equation with out drag term is exploited in\nassociating a similar conserved vector to system with a drag term. An extension\nof duality between two class of central potential is introduced in the\n$\\kappa$-deformed space and is used to investigate the duality existing between\ntwo class of Gorringe-Leach equations. All the results obtained can be retraced\nto the correct commutative limit as we let $a \\rightarrow 0$.",
        "positive": "The Second Law in 4D Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet Gravity: The topological contribution to black hole entropy of a Gauss-Bonnet term in\nfour dimensions opens up the possibility of a violation of the second law of\nthermodynamics in black hole mergers. We show, however, that the second law is\nnot violated in the regime where Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet holds as an effective\ntheory and black holes can be treated thermodynamically. For mergers of AdS\nblack holes, the second law appears to be violated even in Einstein gravity; we\nargue, however, that the second law holds when gravitational potential energy\nis taken into account."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Note on Inflation with Tachyon Rolling on the Gauss-Bonnet Brane: In this paper we study the tachyonic inflation in brane world cosmology with\nGauss-Bonnet term in the bulk. We obtain the exact solution of slow roll\nequations in case of exponential potential. We attempt to implement the\nproposal of Lidsey and Nunes, astro-ph/0303168, for the tachyon condensate\nrolling on the Gauss-Bonnet brane and discuss the difficulties associated with\nthe proposal.",
        "positive": "Spectral Flow in 3D Flat Spacetimes: In this paper we investigate spectral flow symmetry in asymptotically flat\nspacetimes both from a gravity as well as a putative dual quantum field theory\nperspective. On the gravity side we consider models in Einstein gravity and\nsupergravity as well as their \"reloaded\" versions, present suitable boundary\nconditions, determine the respective asymptotic symmetry algebras and the\nthermal entropy of cosmological solutions in each of these models. On the\nquantum field theory side we identify the spectral flow symmetry as\nautomorphisms of the underlying symmetry algebra of the theory. Using spectral\nflow invariance we then determine the thermal entropy of these quantum field\ntheories and find perfect agreement with the results from the gravity side. In\naddition we determine logarithmic corrections to the thermal entropy."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Mass Gap in Quantum Chromodynamics: We present a heuristic argument in support of the assertion that QCD will\nexhibit a mass gap, if the Callan-Symanzik function \\beta(g) obeys the\ninequality \\beta(g) < 0, for all g > 0.",
        "positive": "Analytical study of critical magnetic field in a holographic\n  superconductor: We analytically sutdy the effect of external magnetic field in a Holographic\nsuperconductor by using Sturm-Liouville method. We estimate the coefficient of\nproportionality at critical temperature and find its denpendence on external\nmagnetic field. By exploring phase diagrams of critical temperature and\nmagnetic field for various condensates, we conclude that a Meissner-like effect\nis a general feature in Holographic superconductors. We also study the quantum\nphase transition at zero temperature and find that critical charge density\nincreases linearly with the condensate dimension."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spectroscopy of a canonically quantized horizon: Deviations from Hawking's thermal black hole spectrum, observable for\nmacroscopic black holes, are derived from a model of a quantum horizon in loop\nquantum gravity. These arise from additional area eigenstates present in\nquantum surfaces excluded by the classical isolated horizon boundary\nconditions. The complete spectrum of area unexpectedly exhibits evenly spaced\nsymmetry. This leads to an enhancement of some spectral lines on top of the\nthermal spectrum. This can imprint characteristic features into the spectra of\nblack hole systems. It most notably gives the signature of quantum gravity\nobservability in radiation from primordial black holes, and makes it possible\nto test loop quantum gravity with black holes well above Planck scale.",
        "positive": "Screening length and the direction of plasma winds: We study the screening length of a heavy quark-antiquark pair in strongly\ncoupled gauge theory plasmas flowing at velocity v following a proposal by Liu,\nRajagopal, and Wiedemann. We analyze the screening length as the direction of\nthe plasma winds vary. To leading order in v, this angle-dependence can be\nstudied analytically for many theories by extending our previous formalism. We\nshow that the screening length is locally a minimum (maximum) when the pair is\nperpendicular (parallel) to the plasma winds, which has been observed for the\nN=4 plasma. Also, we compare AdS/CFT results with weak coupling ones, and we\ndiscuss the subleading dependence on v for the Dp-brane."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Conformal blocks for highly disparate scaling dimensions: We show that conformal blocks simplify greatly when there is a large\ndifference between two of the scaling dimensions for external operators. In\nparticular the spacetime dimension only appears in an overall constant which we\ndetermine via recurrence relations. Connections to the conformal bootstrap\nprogram and the AdS / CFT correspondence are also discussed.",
        "positive": "Quantum Observables of Quantized Fluxes: While it has become widely appreciated that defining (higher) gauge theories\nrequires, in addition to ordinary phase space data, also \"flux quantization\"\nlaws in generalized differential cohomology, there has been little discussion\nof the general rules, if any, for lifting Poisson-brackets of\n(flux-)observables and their quantization from traditional phase spaces to the\nresulting higher moduli stacks of flux-quantized gauge fields.\n  In this short note, we present a systematic analysis of (i) the canonical\nquantization of flux observables in Yang-Mills theory and (ii) of valid flux\nquantization laws in abelian Yang-Mills, observing (iii) that the resulting\ntopological quantum observables form the homology Pontrjagin algebra of the\nloop space of the moduli space of flux-quantized gauge fields.\n  This is remarkable because the homology Ponrjagin algebra on loops of moduli\nmakes immediate sense in broad generality for higher and non-abelian\n(non-linearly coupled) gauge fields, such as for the C-field in 11d\nsupergravity, where it recovers the quantum effects previously discussed in the\ncontext of \"Hypothesis H\"."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic Abrikosov lattice: vortex matter from black hole: The AdS/CFT correspondence provides a unique way to study the vortex matter\nphases in superconductors. We solved the nonlinear equations of motion for the\nAbelain-Higgs theory living on the AdS$_4$ black hole boundary that is dual to\na two dimensional strongly coupled type II superconductor at temperature $T$\nwith a perpendicular external uniform magnetic field $B_0$. We found the\nassociated two critical magnetic fields, $B_{c1}(T)$ and $B_{c2}(T)$. For $B_0\n< B_{c1}(T)$ the magnetic field will be expelled out by the superconductor\nresembling the Meissner effect and the superconductivity will be destroyed when\n$B_0 > B_{c2}(T)$. The Abrikosov lattice appears in the range $B_{c1}(T) < B_0\n< B_{c2}(T)$ including, due to the finite size and boundary effect, several\nkinds of configurations such as hexagonal, square and slightly irregular square\nlattices, when the magnetic field is increased. The upper and lower critical\nfields behave as inverse squares of coherence length and magnetic penetration\ndepth respectively which matches the well known consensus.",
        "positive": "Standard-like Models with Broken Supersymmetry from Type I String Vacua: We construct D=4 Type I vacua with massless content remarkably close to that\nof the standard model of particle physics. They are tachyon-free\nnon-supersymmetric models which are obtained starting with a standard D=4, N=1\ncompact Type IIB orientifold and adding the same number of Dp-branes and\nanti-Dp-branes distributed at different points of the underlying orbifold.\nSupersymmetry-breaking is felt by the observable world either directly, by\ngravity mediation or gauge mediation, depending on the brane configuration. We\nconstruct several simple three generation examples with the gauge group of the\nstandard model or its left-right symmetric extensions. The models contain a\nnumber of U(1) gauge groups whose anomalies are cancelled by a generalized\nGreen-Schwarz mechanism. These U(1)'s are broken but may survive as global\nsymmetries providing for a flavour structure to the models. The value of the\nstring scale may be lowered down to the intermediate scale (as required in the\ngravity mediation case) or down to 1-100 TeV for the non-SUSY models. Thus the\npresent models are the first semirealistic string vacua realizing the\npossibility of a low string scale. The unbalanced force between the pairs of\nDp- and anti-Dp-branes provides for an effect which tends to compactify some of\nthe extra dimensions but no others. This could provide a new mechanism for\nradius stabilization."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Extensions of a scale-separated AdS$_4$ solution and their mass spectrum: We consider two extensions of the so-called DGKT solution, a 4d\nscale-separated anti-de Sitter (AdS) solution obtained as a compactification on\na 6d torus orbifold. Each extension consists in a specific large $n$ expansion\nbeyond the DGKT solution, where $n$ is the unbounded $F_4$-flux parameter. One\nof the extensions considered generalizes the known warped, partially\nbackreacted solution. We analyse the two extensions in 10d massive type IIA\nsupergravity as well as in a 4d effective theory, using a general warped\ncompactification formalism, including axions. On top of known corrections to\nDGKT, we mainly get new ones from $F_4$; other fluxes are very constrained by\nflux quantization. In each extension, one would expect corresponding\ncorrections to the mass spectrum, before reaching contributions from\n$\\alpha'$-corrections. But the mass spectrum turns out to be robust, and\nconformal dimensions remain unchanged.",
        "positive": "Aspects of the QCD $\u03b8$-vacuum: This paper addresses two aspects concerning the $\\theta$-vacuum of Quantum\nChromodynamics. First, large-$N_c$ chiral perturbation theory is used to\ncalculate the first two non-trivial cumulants of the distribution of the\nwinding number, i.\\,e. the topological susceptibility, $\\chi_\\mathrm{top}$, and\nthe fourth cumulant, $c_4$, up to next-to-leading order. Their large-$N_c$\nscaling is discussed, and compared to lattice results. It is found that\n$\\chi_\\mathrm{top}=\\mathcal{O}(N_c^0)$, as known before, and\n$c_4=\\mathcal{O}(N_c^{-3})$, correcting the assumption of\n$\\mathcal{O}(N_c^{-2})$ in the literature. Second, we discuss the properties of\nQCD at $\\theta\\sim\\pi$ using chiral perturbation theory for the case of $2+1$\nlight flavors, i.\\,e. by taking the strange quark mass heavier than the\ndegenerate up and down quark masses. It is shown that --- in accordance with\nprevious findings for $N_f=2$ and $N_f=3$ mass-degenerate flavors --- in the\nregion $\\theta\\sim\\pi$ two vacuum states coexist, which become degenerate at\n$\\theta=\\pi$. The wall tension of the energy barrier between these degenerate\nvacua is determined as well as the decay rate of a false vacuum."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A characterization of the differential in semi-infinite cohomology: Semi-infinite cohomology is constructed from scratch as the proper\ngeneralization of finite dimensional Lie algebra cohomology. The differential d\nand other operators are realized as universal inner deri- vations of a\ncompleted algebra, which acts on any appropriate semi-infinite complex. In\nparticular, d is shown to be the unique derivation satisfying the \"Cartan\nidentity\" and certain natural degree conditions. The proof that d is\nsquare-zero may well be the shortest (arguably, the only) one in print.",
        "positive": "Perturbative Expansion around the Gaussian Effective Potential of the\n  Fermion Field Theory: We have extended the perturbative expansion method around the Gaussian\neffective action to the fermionic field theory, by taking the 2-dimensional\nGross-Neveu model as an example. We have computed both the zero temperature and\nthe finite temperature effective potentials of the Gross-Neveu model up to the\nfirst perturbative correction terms, and have found that the critical\ntemperature, at which dynamically broken symmetry is restored, is significantly\nimproved for small value of the flavour number."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Two-Dimensional Stringy Black-Hole: A New Approach and a Pathology: The string propagation in the two-dimensional stringy black-hole is\ninvestigated from a new approach. We completely solve the classical and quantum\nstring dynamics in the lorentzian and euclidean regimes. In the lorentzian case\nall the physics reduces to a massless scalar particle described by a\nKlein-Gordon type equation with a singular effective potential. The scattering\nmatrix is found and it reproduces the results obtained by coset CFT techniques.\nIt factorizes into two pieces : an elastic coulombian amplitude and an\nabsorption part. In both parts, an infinite sequence of imaginary poles in the\nenergy appear. The generic features of string propagation in curved\nD-dimensional backgrounds (string stretching, fall into spacetime\nsingularities) are analyzed in the present case. A new physical phenomenon\nspecific to the present black-hole is found : the quantum renormalization of\nthe speed of light. We find $c_{quantum} = \\sqrt{{k\\o{k-2}}}~c_{classical}$,\nwhere $k$ is the integer in front of the WZW action. This feature is, however,\na pathology. Only for $ k \\to \\infty$ the pathology disappears (although the\nconformal anomaly is present). We analyze all the classical euclidean string\nsolutions and exactly compute the quantum partition function. No critical\nHagedorn temperature appears here.",
        "positive": "Toward an Effective Field Theory Approach to Reheating: We investigate whether Effective Field Theory (EFT) approaches, which have\nbeen useful in examining inflation and dark energy, can also be used to\nestablish a systematic approach to inflationary reheating. We consider two\nmethods. First, we extend Weinberg's background EFT to the end of inflation and\nreheating. We establish when parametric resonance and decay of the inflaton\noccurs, but also find intrinsic theoretical limitations, which make it\ndifficult to capture some reheating models. This motivates us to next consider\nCheung, et. al.'s EFT approach, which instead focuses on perturbations and the\nsymmetry breaking induced by the cosmological background. Adapting the latter\napproach to reheating implies some new and important differences compared to\nthe EFT of Inflation. In particular, there are new hierarchical scales, and we\nmust account for inflaton oscillations during reheating, which lead to discrete\nsymmetry breaking. Guided by the fundamental symmetries, we construct the EFT\nof reheating, and as an example of its usefulness we establish a new class of\nreheating models and the corresponding predictions for gravity wave\nobservations. In this paper we primarily focus on the first stages of\npreheating. We conclude by discussing challenges for the approach and future\ndirections. This paper builds on ideas first proposed in the note\narXiv:1507.06651."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Rationalizing roots: an algorithmic approach: In the computation of Feynman integrals which evaluate to multiple\npolylogarithms one encounters quite often square roots. To express the Feynman\nintegral in terms of multiple polylogarithms, one seeks a transformation of\nvariables, which rationalizes the square roots. In this paper, we give an\nalgorithm for rationalizing roots. The algorithm is applicable whenever the\nalgebraic hypersurface associated with the root has a point of multiplicity\n$(d-1)$, where $d$ is the degree of the algebraic hypersurface. We show that\none can use the algorithm iteratively to rationalize multiple roots\nsimultaneously. Several examples from high energy physics are discussed.",
        "positive": "New Solvable Lattice Models from Conformal Field Theory: We build the trigonometric solutions of the Yang-Baxter equation that can not\nbe obtained from quantum groups in any direct way. The solution is obtained\nusing the construction suggested recently from the rational conformal field\ntheory corresponding to the WZW model on $SO(3)_{4 R}=SU(2)_{4 R} / Z_{2}$. We\nalso discuss the full elliptic solution to the Yang-Baxter equation whose\ncritical limit corresponds to the trigonometric solution found below."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "p,q-Duality and Hamiltonian Flows in the Space of Integrable Systems or\n  Integrable Systems as Canonical Transforms of the Free Ones: Variation of coupling constants of integrable system can be considered as\ncanonical transformation or, infinitesimally, a Hamiltonian flow in the space\nof such systems. Any function $T(\\vec p, \\vec q)$ generates a one-parametric\nfamily of integrable systems in vicinity of a single system: this gives an idea\nof how many integrable systems there are in the space of coupling constants.\nInverse flow is generated by a dual \"Hamiltonian\", $\\widetilde T(\\vec p, \\vec\nq)$ associated with the dual integrable system. In vicinity of a self-dual\npoint the duality transformation just interchanges momenta and coordinates in\nsuch a \"Hamiltonian\": $\\widetilde T(\\vec p, \\vec q) = T(\\vec q, \\vec p)$. For\nintegrable system with several coupling constants the corresponding\n\"Hamiltonians\" $T_i(\\vec p, \\vec q)$ satisfy Whitham equations and after\nquantization (of the original system) become operators satisfying the\nzero-curvature condition in the space of coupling constants: [ d/dg_a -\nT_a(p,q), d/dg_b - T_b(p,q) ] = 0. Some explicit formulas are given for\nharmonic oscillator and for Calogero-Ruijsenaars-Dell system.",
        "positive": "Non-equilibrium Phase Transition from AdS/CFT: Using AdS/CFT correspondence we study non-equilibrium phase transition in the\npresence of a constant external magnetic field. The transition occurs when the\nsign of differential conductivity reverses. Utilizing numerical method we show\nthat the type of transition depends on the value of magnetic field as well as\nthe temperature of gauge theory. Moreover we show that this transition does not\ndepend on the supersymmetry and the subspace on which the fundamental matter\nfields live."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The boundary F-theorem for free fields: The boundary free energy, as defined by Gaiotto, is further analysed for free\nscalars on a hemisphere and shown to be the same as the N-D determinant that\nearlier occurred in a treatment of GJMS operators. It is also shown to be\nidentical, up to spin degeneracy, to the free energy for a spin-half field on\nthe hemisphere boundary. This is also true if the hemisphere is replaced by a\nlune. The calculations are carried out in arbitrary dimensions.",
        "positive": "Discrete symmetries of unitary minimal conformal theories: We classify the possible discrete (finite) symmetries of two--dimensional\ncritical models described by unitary minimal conformally invariant theories. We\nfind that all but six models have the group Z_2 as maximal symmetry. Among the\nsix exceptional theories, four have no symmetry at all, while the other two are\nthe familiar critical and tricritical 3--Potts models, which both have an S_3\nsymmetry. These symmetries are the expected ones, and coincide with the\nautomorphism groups of the Dynkin diagrams of simply--laced simple Lie algebras\nADE. We note that extended chiral algebras, when present, are almost never\npreserved in the frustrated sectors."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Complex structures for an S-matrix of Klein-Gordon theory on AdS\n  spacetimes: While the standard construction of the S-matrix fails on Anti-de Sitter (AdS)\nspacetime, a generalized S-matrix makes sense, based on the hypercylinder\ngeometry induced by the boundary of AdS. In contrast to quantum field theory in\nMinkowski spacetime, there is not yet a standard way to resolve the\nquantization ambiguities arising in its construction. These ambiguities are\nconveniently encoded in the choice of a complex structure. We explore in this\npaper the space of complex structures for real scalar Klein-Gordon theory based\non a number of criteria. These are: invariance under AdS isometries, induction\nof a positive definite inner product, compatibility with the standard S-matrix\npicture and recovery of standard structures in Minkowski spacetime under a\nlimit of vanishing curvature. While there is no complex structure that\nsatisfies all demands, we emphasize two interesting candidates that satisfy\nmost: In one case we have to give up part of the isometry invariance, in the\nother case the induced inner product is indefinite.",
        "positive": "Janus field theories from multiple M2 branes: Based on the recent proposal of N=8 superconformal gauge theories of the\nmultiple M2 branes, we derive (2+1)-dimensional supersymmetric Janus field\ntheories with a space-time dependent coupling constant. From the original\nBagger-Lambert model, we get a supersymmetric field theory with a similar\naction to the N D2 branes, but the coupling varies with the space-time as a\nfunction of the light-cone coordinate, g(t+x). Half of the supersymmetries can\nbe preserved. We further investigate the M2 brane action deformed by mass and\nMyers-like terms. In this case, the final YM action is deformed by mass and\nMyers terms and the coupling behaves as exp(\\mu x) where \\mu is a constant mass\nparameter. Weak coupling gauge theory is continuously changed to strong\ncoupling in the large x region."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Magnetic monopole loop for the Yang-Mills instanton: We investigate 't Hooft-Mandelstam monopoles in QCD in the presence of a\nsingle classical instanton configuration. The solution to the Maximal Abelian\nprojection is found to be a circular monopole trajectory with radius $R$\ncentered on the instanton. At zero loop radius, there is a marginally stable\n(or flat) direction for loop formation to $O(R^4 logR)$. We argue that loops\nwill form, in the semi-classical limit, due to small perturbations such as the\ndipole interaction between instanton anti-instanton pairs. As the instanton gas\nbecomes a liquid, the percolation of the monopole loops may therefore provide a\nsemi-classical precursor to the confinement mechanism.",
        "positive": "Physical renormalization schemes and asymptotic safety in quantum\n  gravity: The methods of the renormalization group and the $\\varepsilon$-expansion are\napplied to quantum gravity revealing the existence of an asymptotically safe\nfixed point in spacetime dimensions higher than two. To facilitate this,\nphysical renormalization schemes are exploited where the renormalization group\nflow equations take a form which is independent of the parameterisation of the\nphysical degrees of freedom (i.e. the gauge fixing condition and the choice of\nfield variables). Instead the flow equation depends on the anomalous dimensions\nof reference observables. In the presence of spacetime boundaries we find that\nthe required balance between the Einstein-Hilbert action and\nGibbons-Hawking-York boundary term is preserved by the beta functions.\nExploiting the $\\varepsilon$-expansion near two dimensions we consider Einstein\ngravity coupled to matter. Scheme independence is generically obscured by the\nloop-expansion due to breaking of two-dimensional Weyl invariance. In schemes\nwhich preserve two-dimensional Weyl invariance we avoid the loop expansion and\nfind a unique ultra-violet (UV) fixed point. At this fixed point the anomalous\ndimensions are large and one must resum all loop orders to obtain the critical\nexponents. Performing the resummation a set of universal scaling dimensions are\nfound. These scaling dimensions show that only a finite number of matter\ninteractions are relevant. This is a strong indication that quantum gravity is\nrenormalizable."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Existence of Majorana fermions for M-branes wrapped in space and time: We show that it is possible to define Majorana (s)pinor fields on M-branes\nwhich have been identified under the action of the antipodal map on the adS\nfactor of the throat geometry, or which have been wrapped on two-cycles of\narbitrary genus. This is an important consistency check, since it means that\none may still take the generators of supertranslations in superspace to\ntransform as Majorana fermions under the adjoint action of $Spin(10,1)$, even\nthough the antipodally identified M2-brane is {\\it not} space-orientable. We\npoint out that similar conclusions hold for any p-branes which have the generic\n(adS)$~{\\times}~$(Sphere) throat geometry.",
        "positive": "Instantons and Holomorphic Couplings in Intersecting D-brane Models: We clarify certain aspects and discuss extensions of the recently introduced\nstring D-instanton calculus (hep-th/0609191). The one-loop determinants are\nrelated to one-loop open string threshold corrections in intersecting D6-brane\nmodels. Utilising a non-renormalisation theorem for the holomorphic Wilsonian\ngauge kinetic functions, we derive a number of constraints for the moduli\ndependence of the matter field Kaehler potentials of intersecting D6-brane\nmodels on the torus. Moreover, we compute string one-loop corrections to the\nFayet-Iliopoulos terms on the D6-branes finding that they are proportional to\nthe gauge threshold corrections. Employing these results, we discuss the issue\nof holomorphy for E2-instanton corrections to the superpotential. Eventually,\nwe discuss E2-instanton corrections to the gauge kinetic functions and the\nFI-terms."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Optimal Control Theory: The possibility of control of phenomena at microscopic level compatible with\nquantum mechanics and quantum field theory is outlined. The theory could be\nused in nanotechnology.",
        "positive": "Compact, Singular G2-Holonomy Manifolds and M/Heterotic/F-Theory Duality: We study the duality between M-theory on compact holonomy G2-manifolds and\nthe heterotic string on Calabi-Yau three-folds. The duality is studied for\nK3-fibered G2-manifolds, called twisted connected sums, which lend themselves\nto an application of fiber-wise M-theory/Heterotic Duality. For a large class\nof such G2-manifolds we are able to identify the dual heterotic as well as\nF-theory realizations. First we establish this chain of dualities for smooth\nG2-manifolds. This has a natural generalization to situations with non-abelian\ngauge groups, which correspond to singular G2-manifolds, where each of the\nK3-fibers degenerates. We argue for their existence through the chain of\ndualities, supported by non-trivial checks of the spectra. The corresponding 4d\ngauge groups can be both Higgsable and non-Higgsable, and we provide several\nexplicit examples of the general construction."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The sine-Gordon model in the presence of defects: The sine-Gordon model in the presence of dynamical integrable defects is\ninvestigated. This is an application of the algebraic formulation introduced\nfor integrable defects in earlier works. The quantities in involution as well\nas the associated Lax pairs are explicitly extracted. Integrability i also\nshown using certain sewing constraints, which emerge as suitable continuity\nconditions.",
        "positive": "Supersymmetry, Supercurrent and Scale Invariance: Contents: Generalities, Chiral supermultiplets, Super Yang-Mills theory,\nSuperspace Feynman graphs, Renormalization, Supercurrent, Finite theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Bimodule structure in the periodic gl(1|1) spin chain: This paper is second in a series devoted to the study of periodic super-spin\nchains. In our first paper at 2011, we have studied the symmetry algebra of the\nperiodic gl(1|1) spin chain. In technical terms, this spin chain is built out\nof the alternating product of the gl(1|1) fundamental representation and its\ndual. The local energy densities - the nearest neighbor Heisenberg-like\ncouplings - provide a representation of the Jones Temperley Lieb (JTL) algebra.\nThe symmetry algebra is then the centralizer of JTL, and turns out to be\nsmaller than for the open chain, since it is now only a subalgebra of U_q sl(2)\nat q=i, dubbed U_q^{odd} sl(2). A crucial step in our associative algebraic\napproach to bulk logarithmic conformal field theory (LCFT) is then the analysis\nof the spin chain as a bimodule over U_q^{odd} sl(2) and JTL. While our\nultimate goal is to use this bimodule to deduce properties of the LCFT in the\ncontinuum limit, its derivation is sufficiently involved to be the sole subject\nof this paper. We describe representation theory of the centralizer and then\nuse it to find a decomposition of the periodic gl(1|1) spin chain over JTL for\nany even number N of tensorands and ultimately a corresponding bimodule\nstructure. Applications of our results to the analysis of the bulk LCFT will\nthen be discussed in the third part of this series.",
        "positive": "Type IIB at eight derivatives: insights from Superstrings, Superfields\n  and Superparticles: We study the non-linear structure of Type IIB eight-derivative couplings\ninvolving the metric and the complexified three-form $G_3$. We show that, at\nthe level of five-point string amplitudes, the kinematics in the maximally\nR-symmetry-violating sector is fully matched by standard superspace integrals\nand by superparticle amplitudes in M-theory on a two-torus. The latter approach\nis used to determine the complete effective action in this sector and to verify\nits invariance under SL$(2,\\mathbb{Z})$ duality. We further comment on the\ngeneral structure of the higher-point kinematics. Compactifications to lower\ndimensions provide both tests for our results and the arena for their\napplications. We verify that K3 reductions are fully consistent with the\nconstraints of six-dimensional supersymmetry, and derive the four-dimensional\nflux scalar potential and axion kinetic terms at order $(\\alpha^{\\prime})^{3}$\nin Calabi-Yau threefold reductions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Conformal Anomaly of String Theory in the Harmonic Gauge: Considering the conformal anomaly in an effective action, the critical\ndimension of string theory can be decided in the harmonic gauge, in which it\nhad been reported before to be indefinite. In this gauge, there is no anomaly\nfor the ghost number symmetry. This can be naturally understood in terms of\nFaddeev-Popov conjugation in the theory.",
        "positive": "RG flow of entanglement entropy to thermal entropy: Utilizing the holographic technique, we investigate how the entanglement\nentropy evolves along the RG flow. After introducing a new generalized\ntemperature which satisfies the thermodynamics-like law even in the IR regime,\nwe find that the renormalized entropy and the generalized temperature in the IR\nlimit approach the thermal entropy and thermodynamic temperature of a real\nthermal system. This result implies that the microscopic quantum entanglement\nentropy in the IR region leads to the thermodynamic relation up to small\nquantum corrections caused by the quantum entanglement near the entangling\nsurface. Intriguingly, this IR feature of the entanglement entropy universally\nhappens regardless of the detail of the dual field theory and the shape of the\nentangling surface. We check this IR universality with a most general geometry\ncalled the hyperscaling violation geometry which is dual to a relativistic\nnon-conformal field theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Positivity Bounds for Scalar Theories: Assuming the existence of a local, analytic, unitary UV completion in a\nPoincar\\'{e} invariant scalar field theory with a mass gap, we derive an\ninfinite number of positivity requirements using the known properties of the\namplitude at and away from the forward scattering limit. These take the form of\nbounds on combinations of the pole subtracted scattering amplitude and its\nderivatives. In turn, these positivity requirements act as constraints on the\noperator coefficients in the low energy effective theory. For certain theories\nthese constraints can be used to place an upper bound on the mass of the next\nlightest state that must lie beyond the low energy effective theory if such a\nUV completion is to ever exist.",
        "positive": "Permutation Branes: N-fold tensor products of a rational CFT carry an action of the permutation\ngroup S_N. These automorphisms can be used as gluing conditions in the study of\nboundary conditions for tensor product theories. We present an ansatz for such\npermutation boundary states and check that it satisfies the cluster condition\nand Cardy's constraints. For a particularly simple case, we also investigate\nassociativity of the boundary OPE, and find an intriguing connection with the\nbulk OPE. In the second part of the paper, the constructions are slightly\nextended for application to Gepner models. We give permutation branes for the\nquintic, together with some formulae for their intersections."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the asymptotic states and the quantum S matrix of the $\u03b7$-deformed\n  $AdS_5\\times S^5$ superstring: We investigate the worldsheet S matrix of string theory in $\\eta$-deformed\n$AdS_5\\times S^5$. By computing the six-point tree-level S matrix we explicitly\nshow that there is no particle production at this level, as required by the\nclassical integrability of the theory. At one and two loops we show that\nintegrability requires that the classical two-particle states be redefined in a\nnon-local and $\\eta$-dependent way. This is a significant departure from the\nundeformed theory which is probably related to the quantum group symmetry of\nthe worldsheet theory. We use generalized unitarity to carry out the loop\ncalculations and identify a set of integrals that allow us to give a two-loop\nFeynman integral representation of the logarithmic terms of the two-loop S\nmatrix. We finally also discuss aspects of the calculation of the two-loop\nrational terms.",
        "positive": "Non-commutative flux representation for loop quantum gravity: The Hilbert space of loop quantum gravity is usually described in terms of\ncylindrical functionals of the gauge connection, the electric fluxes acting as\nnon-commuting derivation operators. It has long been believed that this\nnon-commutativity prevents a dual flux (or triad) representation of loop\nquantum gravity to exist. We show here, instead, that such a representation can\nbe explicitly defined, by means of a non-commutative Fourier transform defined\non the loop gravity state space. In this dual representation, flux operators\nact by *-multiplication and holonomy operators act by translation. We describe\nthe gauge invariant dual states and discuss their geometrical meaning. Finally,\nwe apply the construction to the simpler case of a U(1) gauge group and compare\nthe resulting flux representation with the triad representation used in loop\nquantum cosmology."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "End of the World Branes from Dimensional Reduction: We consider dimensional reduction of cigar geometries which are obtained by a\nWick rotation of black hole solutions. Originally the cigar geometry is smooth\naround the tip, but after the dimensional reduction along the Euclidean time\ndirection, there appears an end-of-the-world brane (ETW brane). We derive the\ntension of the brane by two methods: bulk equations of motion and boundary\nequations of motion. In particular, for AdS7-soliton cross S4 and AdS4-soliton\ncross S7 backgrounds in M-theory, we find that the tension of the emerging ETW\nbranes behaves as exp(-3Phi) in the string frame. This indicates the existence\nof such ETW branes in the strongly coupled regime of type 0A string theory.",
        "positive": "3-Cocycles and the Operator Product Expansion: Anomalous contributions to the Jacobi identity of chromo-electric fields and\nnon-Abelian vector currents are calculated using a non-perturbative approach\nthat combines operator product expansion and a generalization of\nBjorken-Johnson-Low limit. The failure of the Jacobi identity and the\nassociated 3-cocycles are discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Infrared Effects and the Soft Photon Theorem in Massive QED: Stueckelberg QED with massive photon is known to be renormalizable. But the\nlimit of the mass going to zero is interesting because it brings the resolution\nto infrared questions through the role of Stueckelberg field at null infinity\nin addition to providing new asymptotic symmetries. Such symmetries facilitate\nthe soft photon theorems also.",
        "positive": "Spinning particles and higher spin field equations: Relativistic particles with higher spin can be described in first\nquantization using actions with local supersymmetry on the worldline. First, we\npresent a brief review of these actions and their use in first quantization. In\na Dirac quantization scheme the field equations emerge as Dirac constraints on\nthe Hilbert space, and we outline how they lead to the description of higher\nspin fields in terms of the more standard Fronsdal-Labastida equations. Then,\nwe describe how these actions can be extended so that the propagating particle\nis allowed to take different values of the spin, i.e. carry a reducible\nrepresentation of the Poincar\\'e group. This way one may identify a four\ndimensional model that carries the same degrees of freedom of the minimal\nVasiliev's interacting higher spin field theory. Extensions to massive\nparticles and to propagation on (A)dS spaces are also briefly commented upon."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauge Theory and Integrability, I: Several years ago, it was proposed that the usual solutions of the\nYang-Baxter equation associated to Lie groups can be deduced in a systematic\nway from four-dimensional gauge theory. In the present paper, we extend this\npicture, fill in many details, and present the arguments in a concrete and\ndown-to-earth way. Many interesting effects, including the leading nontrivial\ncontributions to the $R$-matrix, the operator product expansion of line\noperators, the framing anomaly, and the quantum deformation that leads from\n$\\mathfrak{g}[[z]]$ to the Yangian, are computed explicitly via Feynman\ndiagrams. We explain how rational, trigonometric, and elliptic solutions of the\nYang-Baxter equation arise in this framework, along with a generalization that\nis known as the dynamical Yang-Baxter equation.",
        "positive": "Perturbation Theory for the Logarithm of a Positive Operator: In various contexts in mathematical physics one needs to compute the\nlogarithm of a positive unbounded operator. Examples include the von Neumann\nentropy of a density matrix and the flow of operators with the modular\nHamiltonian in the Tomita-Takesaki theory. Often, one encounters the situation\nwhere the operator under consideration, that we denote by $\\Delta$, can be\nrelated by a perturbative series to another operator $\\Delta_0$, whose\nlogarithm is known. We set up a perturbation theory for the logarithm $\\log\n\\Delta$. It turns out that the terms in the series possess remarkable algebraic\nstructure, which enable us to write them in the form of nested commutators plus\nsome \"contact terms.\""
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Complexified path integrals, exact saddles and supersymmetry: In the context of two illustrative examples from supersymmetric quantum\nmechanics we show that the semi-classical analysis of the path integral\nrequires complexification of the configuration space and action, and the\ninclusion of complex saddle points, even when the parameters in the action are\nreal. We find new exact complex saddles, and show that without their\ncontribution the semi-classical expansion is in conflict with basic properties\nsuch as positive-semidefiniteness of the spectrum, and constraints of\nsupersymmetry. Generic saddles are not only complex, but also possibly\nmulti-valued, and even singular. This is in contrast to instanton solutions,\nwhich are real, smooth, and single-valued. The multi-valuedness of the action\ncan be interpreted as a hidden topological angle, quantized in units of $\\pi$\nin supersymmetric theories. The general ideas also apply to non-supersymmetric\ntheories.",
        "positive": "M(atrix) Theory on the Negative Light-Front: M(atrix) theory defines light-front description of M-theory boosted along\npositive direction of eleventh, M-coordinate. Rank of M(atrix) gauge group is\ndirectly related to M-momentum $P_{11} = N / R_{11}$ or, equivalently, to total\nnumber of D0-partons. Alternatively, M-theory may be boosted along opposite\ndirection of M-coordinate, for which the theory consists only of anti-D0\npartons. In M(atrix) theory description, we interpret this as analytic\ncontinuation of dimension of the gauge group: $U(-N) \\sim U(N)$, $SO(-2N) \\sim\nUSp(2N)$ and $USp(-2N) \\sim SO(2N)$. We check these reciprocity relations\nexplicitly for uncompactified, heterotic, and CHL M(atrix) theories as well as\neffective M(atrix) gauge theories of $T_5/Z_2$ and $T_9/Z_2$ compactifications.\nIn all cases, we show that absence of parity, gauge and supersymmetry anomalies\nrequire introduction of a twisted sector with negative numbers of matter\nmultiplets. They are interpreted as massless open string excitations connected\nto anti-D-brane background."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "AdS$_5$ vacua from type IIB supergravity on $T^{1,1}$: We study maximally supersymmetric Anti-de Sitter backgrounds in consistent\nN=2 truncations of type IIB supergravity compactified on the Sasaki-Einstein\nmanifold $T^{1,1}$. In particular, we focus on truncations that contain fields\ncoming from the nontrivial second and third cohomology forms on $T^{1,1}$.\nThese give rise to N=2 supergravity coupled to two vector- and two\nhypermultiplets (Betti-vector truncation) or one vector- and three\nhypermultiplets (Betti-hyper truncation), respectively. We find that both\ntruncations admit AdS$_5$ backgrounds with the gauge group always being broken\nbut containing at least an $U(1)_R$ factor. Moreover, in both cases we show\nthat the moduli space of AdS vacua is nontrivial and of maximal dimension.\nFinally, we explicitly compute the metrics on these moduli spaces.",
        "positive": "Supersymmetric Field Theories on Three-Manifolds: We construct supersymmetric field theories on Riemannian three-manifolds M,\nfocusing on N=2 theories with a U(1)_R symmetry. Our approach is based on the\nrigid limit of new minimal supergravity in three dimensions, which couples to\nthe flat-space supermultiplet containing the R-current and the energy-momentum\ntensor. The field theory on M possesses a single supercharge, if and only if M\nadmits an almost contact metric structure that satisfies a certain\nintegrability condition. This may lead to global restrictions on M, even though\nwe can always construct one supercharge on any given patch. We also analyze the\nconditions for the presence of additional supercharges. In particular, two\nsupercharges of opposite R-charge exist on every Seifert manifold. We present\ngeneral supersymmetric Lagrangians on M and discuss their flat-space limit,\nwhich can be analyzed using the R-current supermultiplet. As an application, we\nshow how the flat-space two-point function of the energy-momentum tensor in N=2\nsuperconformal theories can be calculated using localization on a squashed\nsphere."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-Abelian Einstein-Born-Infeld Black Holes: We construct regular and black hole solutions in SU(2) Einstein-Born-Infeld\ntheory. These solutions have many features in common with the corresponding\nSU(2) Einstein-Yang-Mills solutions. In particular, sequences of neutral\nnon-abelian solutions tend to magnetically charged limiting solutions, related\nto embedded abelian solutions. Thermodynamic properties of the black hole\nsolutions are addressed.",
        "positive": "Phases in noncommutative quantum mechanics on (pseudo)sphere: We compare the non-commutative quantum mechanics (NCQM) on sphere and the\ndiscrete part of the spectrum of NCQM on pseudosphere (Lobachevsky plane, or\n$AdS_2$) in the presence of a constant magnetic field $B$ with planar NCQM. We\nshow, that (pseudo)spherical NCQM has a ``critical point'', where the system\nbecomes effectively one-dimensional, and two different ``phases'', which the\nphases of the planar system originate from, specified by the sign of the\nparameter $\\kappa=1-B\\theta$. The ``critical point'' of (pseudo)spherical NCQM\ncorresponds to the $\\kappa\\to\\infty $ point of conventional planar NCQM, and to\nthe ``critical point'' $\\kappa=0$ of the so-called ``exotic'' planar NCQM, with\na symplectic coupling of the (commutative) magnetic field."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Geometry and Topology of Anti-BRST Symmetry in Quantized Yang-Mills\n  Gauge Theories: The entire geometric formulations of the BRST and the anti-BRST structures\nare worked out in presence of the Nakanishi-Lautrup field. It is shown that in\nthe general form of gauge fixing mechanisms within the Faddeev-Popov\nquantization approach, the antiBRST invariance reflects thoroughly the\nclassical symmetry of the Yang-Mills theories with respect to gauge fixing\nmethods. The Nakanishi-Lautrup field is also defined and worked out as a\ngeometric object. This formulation helps us to introduce two absolutely new\ntopological invariants of quantized Yang-Mills theories, so called the\nNakanishi-Lautrup invariants. The cohomological structure of the anti-BRST\nsymmetry is also studied and the anti-BRST topological index is derived\naccordingly.",
        "positive": "Ryu-Takayanagi Area as an Entanglement Edge Term: By comparing entanglement in emergent gauge theories to the bulk in AdS/CFT,\nI suggest that the Ryu-Takayanagi area term is an entanglement edge term\nrelated to a natural measure on the gauge group. The main technical result in\nthis paper is an argument why the \"extended Hilbert space\" definition of\nentanglement entropy in a lattice gauge theory is applicable to an emergent\ngauge theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "WKB Method and Quantum Periods beyond Genus One: We extend topological string methods in order to perform WKB approximations\nfor quantum mechanical problems with higher order potentials efficiently. This\nrequires techniques for the evaluation of the relevant quantum periods for\nRiemann surfaces beyond genus one. The basis of these quantum periods is fixed\nusing the leading behaviour of the classical periods. The full expansion of the\nquantum periods is obtained using a system of Picard-Fuchs like operators for a\nsequence of integrals of meromorphic forms of the second kind. Discrete\nautomorphisms of simple higher order potentials allow to view the corresponding\nhigher genus curves as covering of a genus one curve. In this case the quantum\nperiods can be alternatively obtained using the holomorphic anomaly solved in\nthe holomorphic limit within the ring of quasi modular forms of a congruent\nsubgroup of SL$(2,\\mathbb{Z})$ as we check for a symmetric sextic potential.",
        "positive": "Gravitational fields on a noncommutative space: Noncommutative three-dimensional gravity can be described in terms of a\nnoncommutative Chern-Simons theory. We extend this structure and also propose\nan action for gravitational fields on an even dimensional noncommutative space.\nThe action is worked out in some detail for fields on a noncommutative ${\\bf\nCP}^2$ and on $S^4$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Taming Nonrenormalizability: Nonrenormalizable scalar fields, such as \\varphi^4_n, n\\ge5, require\ninfinitely many distinct counter terms when perturbed about the free theory,\nand lead to free theories when defined as the continuum limit of a lattice\nregularized theory restricted only to arbitrary mass and coupling constant\nrenormalization. Based on the proposal that functional integrals for\ninteracting nonrenormalizable models do not reduce to the expression for the\nfree field functional integral as the coupling constant vanishes -- a proposal\nsupported by the fact that even the set of classical solutions for such models\ndoes not reduce to the set of free field solutions as the coupling constant\nvanishes -- it has been conjectured that for nonrenormalizable models the\ninteraction term acts partially as a hard core eliminating certain fields\notherwise allowed by the free theory. As a consequence, interacting models are\ncontinuously connected to a pseudofree theory that takes into account the hard\ncore as the coupling constant vanishes, and this general view is supported not\nonly by simple quantum mechanical examples as well as soluble but\nnonrelativistic nonrenormalizable models. The present article proposes a\npseudofree model for relativistic nonrenormalizable models about which it is\nargued that a perturbation expansion of the interaction is term-by-term\ndivergence free.",
        "positive": "Late-time Evolution of a Charged Massless Scalar Field in the Spacetime\n  of a Dilaton Black Hole: We investigate the power-law tails in the evolution of a charged massless\nscalar field around a fixed background of a dilaton black hole. Using both\nanalytical and numerical methods we find the inverse power-law relaxation of\ncharged fields at future timelike infinity, future null infinity, and along the\nouter horizon of the considered black hole. We invisage that a charged hair\ndecays slower than neutral ones. The oscillatory inverse power law along the\nouter horizon of the dilaton black hole is of a great importance for a mass\ninflation scenario along the Cauchy horizon of a dynamically formed dilaton\nblack hole."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "General Metrics of G_2 Holonomy and Contraction Limits: We obtain first-order equations for G_2 holonomy of a wide class of metrics\nwith S^3\\times S^3 principal orbits and SU(2)\\times SU(2) isometry, using a\nmethod recently introduced by Hitchin. The new construction extends previous\nresults, and encompasses all previously-obtained first-order systems for such\nmetrics. We also study various group contractions of the principal orbits,\nfocusing on cases where one of the S^3 factors is subjected to an Abelian,\nHeisenberg or Euclidean-group contraction. In the Abelian contraction, we\nrecover some recently-constructed G_2 metrics with S^3\\times T^3 principal\norbits. We obtain explicit solutions of these contracted equations in cases\nwhere there is an additional U(1) isometry. We also demonstrate that the only\nsolutions of the full system with S^3\\times T^3 principal orbits that are\ncomplete and non-singular are either flat R^4 times T^3, or else the direct\nproduct of Eguchi-Hanson and T^3, which is asymptotic to R^4/Z_2\\times T^3.\nThese examples are in accord with a general discussion of isometric fibrations\nby tori which, as we show, in general split off as direct products. We also\ngive some (incomplete) examples of fibrations of G_2 manifolds by associative\n3-tori with either T^4 or K3 as base.",
        "positive": "Crossing Symmetry for Long Multiplets in 4D $\\mathcal{N}=1$ SCFTs: In this work we construct the crossing symmetry equations for mixed\ncorrelators of two long and two BPS operators in 4D $\\mathcal{N}=1$ SCFTs. The\nanalysis presented here illustrates how our general group theoretic approach to\nlong superblocks and tensor structures of superconformal algebras can be\napplied to give explicit ready-to-use expressions. In the case at hand, we\nobtain a system of four crossing symmetry equations for the relevant OPE\ncoefficients. One of these four equations coincides with the equation found and\nanalysed by Li, Meltzer and Stergiou by restricting to the superprimary\ncomponent of the long multiplets. The other three equations are new and they\nprovide powerful additional constraints on the same OPE data."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Semi-Classical States of Quantum Gravity and Noncommutative Geometry: We construct normalizable, semi-classical states for the previously proposed\nmodel of quantum gravity which is formulated as a spectral triple over holonomy\nloops. The semi-classical limit of the spectral triple gives the Dirac\nHamiltonian in 3+1 dimensions. Also, time-independent lapse and shift fields\nemerge from the semi-classical states. Our analysis shows that the model might\ncontain fermionic matter degrees of freedom.\n  The semi-classical analysis presented in this paper does away with most of\nthe ambiguities found in the initial semi-finite spectral triple construction.\nThe cubic lattices play the role of a coordinate system and a divergent\nsequence of free parameters found in the Dirac type operator is identified as a\ncertain inverse infinitesimal volume element.",
        "positive": "M-Theory Superalgebra From Multiple Membranes: We investigate space-time supersymmetry of the model of multiple M2-branes\nproposed by Bagger-Lambert and Gustavsson. When there is a central element in\nLie 3-algebra, the model possesses an extra symmetry shifting the fermions in\nthe central element. Together with the original worldvolume supersymmetry\ntransformation, we construct major part of the eleven dimensional space-time\nsuper-Poincar\\'{e} algebra with central extensions. Implications to transverse\nfive-branes in the matrix model for M-theory are also discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-Relativistic Supersymmetry on Curved Three-Manifolds: We construct explicit examples of non-relativistic supersymmetric field\ntheories on curved Newton-Cartan three-manifolds. These results are obtained by\nperforming a null reduction of four-dimensional supersymmetric field theories\non Lorentzian manifolds and the Killing spinor equations that their\nsupersymmetry parameters obey. This gives rise to a set of algebraic and\ndifferential Killing spinor equations that are obeyed by the supersymmetry\nparameters of the resulting three-dimensional non-relativistic field theories.\nWe derive necessary and sufficient conditions that determine whether a\nNewton-Cartan background admits non-trivial solutions of these Killing spinor\nequations. Two classes of examples of Newton-Cartan backgrounds that obey these\nconditions are discussed. The first class is characterised by an integrable\nfoliation, corresponding to so-called twistless torsional geometries, and\nincludes manifolds whose spatial slices are isomorphic to the Poincar\\'e disc.\nThe second class of examples has a non-integrable foliation structure and\ncorresponds to contact manifolds.",
        "positive": "Calculations of Delbr\u00fcck scattering to all orders in $\u03b1Z$: We present a theoretical method to calculate Delbr\\\"uck scattering\namplitudes. Our formalism is based on the exact analytical Dirac-Coulomb\nGreen's function and, therefore, accounts for the interaction of the virtual\nelectron-positron pair with the nucleus to all orders, including the Coulomb\ncorrections. The numerical convergence of our calculations is accelerated by\nsolving the radial integrals that are involved analytically in the asymptotic\nregion. Numerical results for the collision of photons with energies 102.2 keV\nand 255.5 keV with bare neon and lead nuclei are compared with the predictions\nof the lowest-order Born approximation. We find that our method can produce\naccurate results within a reasonable computation time and that the Coulomb\ncorrections enhance the absolute value of the Delbr\\\"uck amplitude by a few\npercent for the studied photon energies."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Complete nonlinear action for supersymmetric multiple D$0$-brane system: We present a complete nonlinear action for the dynamical system of nearly\ncoincident multiple D$0$-branes (mD$0$) which possesses, besides manifest\nspacetime (target superspace) supersymmetry, also the worldline supersymmetry,\na counterpart of the local fermionic $\\kappa$-symmetry of single D$0$-brane\n(Dirichlet superparticle). The action contains an arbitrary non-vanishing\nfunction ${\\cal M}({\\cal H})$ of the relative motion Hamiltonian ${\\cal H}$.\nThe $D=10$ mD$0$ model with particular form of ${\\cal M}({\\cal H})$ can be\nobtained by dimensional reduction from the action of eleven-dimensional\n($D=11$) multiple M-wave (mM$0$) system.",
        "positive": "Generalized N=2 Supersymmetric Toda Field Theories: In this paper we introduce a class of generalized supersymmetric Toda field\ntheories. The theories are labeled by a continuous parameter and have $N=2$\nsupersymmetry. They include previously known $N=2$ Toda theories as special\ncases. Using the WZNW -->Toda reduction approach we obtain a closed expression\nfor the bracket of the associated ${\\cal W}$ algebras. We also derive an\nexpression for the generators of the ${\\cal W}$ algebra in a free superfield\nrealization."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Cosmic Inflation: The Most Powerful Microscope in the Universe: How well can we constrain the initial quantum state of metric perturbations\nsourced during inflation? We exhibit an interesting new class of quantum states\nthat entangle the scalar metric perturbations {\\zeta} with other fields such as\nscalars as well as the tensor metric perturbations hij. These states are\ntheoretically consistent, for inflation that lasts close to its minimum number\nof e-folds. They give distinguishable signatures in the power spectrum and may\nbe able to explain some long-standing anomalies in the CMB power spectrum. We\nadvocate using a generalized effective theory of quantum states (of which our\nwork is an example) that, using inflation as a powerful microscope, could\nprovide deep insights into the quantum state of matter on the smallest scales.",
        "positive": "A loop of SU(2) gauge fields stable under the Yang-Mills flow: The gradient flow of the Yang-Mills action acts pointwise on closed loops of\ngauge fields. We construct a topologically nontrivial loop of SU(2) gauge\nfields on S4 that is locally stable under the flow. The stable loop is written\nexplicitly as a path between two gauge fields equivalent under a topologically\nnontrivial SU(2) gauge transformation. Local stability is demonstrated by\ncalculating the flow equations to leading order in perturbations of the loop.\nThe stable loop might play a role in physics as a classical winding mode of the\nlambda model, a 2-d quantum field theory that was proposed as a mechanism for\ngenerating spacetime quantum field theory. We also present evidence for\n2-manifolds of SU(2) and SU(3) gauge fields that are stable under the\nYang-Mills flow. These might provide 2-d instanton corrections in the lambda\nmodel. For Isidore M. Singer in celebration of his eighty-fifth birthday."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Topologically protected qubits as minimal Josephson junction arrays with\n  non trivial boundary conditions: a proposal: Recently a one-dimensional closed ladder of Josephson junctions has been\nstudied (G. Cristofano et al., Phys. Lett. A 372 (2008) 2464) within a twisted\nconformal field theory (CFT) approach (G. Cristofano et al., Mod. Phys. Lett. A\n15 (2000) 1679; Nucl. Phys. B 641 (2002) 547) and shown to develop the\nphenomenon of flux fractionalization (G. Cristofano et al., Eur. Phys. J. B 49\n(2006) 83). That led us to predict the emergence of a topological order in such\na system (G. Cristofano et al., JSTAT (2005) P03006). In this letter we analyze\nthe ground states and the topological properties of fully frustrated Josephson\njunction arrays (JJA) arranged in a Corbino disk geometry for a variety of\nboundary conditions. In particular minimal configurations of fully frustrated\nJJA are considered and shown to exhibit the properties needed in order to build\nup a solid state qubit, protected from decoherence. The stability and\ntransformation properties of the ground states of the JJA under adiabatic\nmagnetic flux changes are analyzed in detail in order to provide a tool for the\nmanipulation of the proposed qubit.",
        "positive": "Standard Model from A Supergravity Model with a Naturally Small\n  Cosmological Constant: Guided by the naturalness criterion for an exponentially small cosmological\nconstant, we present a string theory motivated 4-dimensional $\\mathcal{N}=1$\nnon-linear supergravity model (or its linear version with a nilpotent\nsuperfield) with spontaneous supersymmetry breaking. The model encompasses the\nminimal supersymmetric standard model, the racetrack K\\\"ahler uplift, and the\nKKLT anti-$\\rm D3$-branes, and use the nilpotent superfield to project out the\nundesirable interaction terms as well as the unwanted degrees of freedom to end\nup with the standard model (not the supersymmetric version) of strong and\nelectroweak interactions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Multi-instantons in minimal string theory and in matrix integrals: We compute the normalization of the general multi-instanton contribution to\nthe partition function of $(p',p)$ minimal string theory and also to the dual\ntwo-matrix integral. We find perfect agreement between the two results.",
        "positive": "Bounds in 4D Conformal Field Theories with Global Symmetry: We explore the constraining power of OPE associativity in 4D Conformal Field\nTheory with a continuous global symmetry group. We give a general analysis of\ncrossing symmetry constraints in the 4-point function <Phi Phi Phi* Phi*>,\nwhere Phi is a primary scalar operator in a given representation R. These\nconstraints take the form of 'vectorial sum rules' for conformal blocks of\noperators whose representations appear in R x R and R x Rbar. The coefficients\nin these sum rules are related to the Fierz transformation matrices for the R x\nR x Rbar x Rbar invariant tensors. We show that the number of equations is\nalways equal to the number of symmetry channels to be constrained. We also\nanalyze in detail two cases - the fundamental of SO(N) and the fundamental of\nSU(N). We derive the vectorial sum rules explicitly, and use them to study the\ndimension of the lowest singlet scalar in the Phi x Phi* OPE. We prove the\nexistence of an upper bound on the dimension of this scalar. The bound depends\non the conformal dimension of Phi and approaches 2 in the limit dim(Phi)-->1.\nFor several small groups, we compute the behavior of the bound at dim(Phi)>1.\nWe discuss implications of our bound for the Conformal Technicolor scenario of\nelectroweak symmetry breaking."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Can the clustered dark matter and the smooth dark energy arise from the\n  same scalar field ?: Cosmological observations suggest the existence of two different kinds of\nenergy densities dominating at small ($ \\lesssim 500$ Mpc) and large ($\\gtrsim\n1000 $ Mpc) scales. The dark matter component, which dominates at small scales,\ncontributes $\\Omega_m \\approx 0.35$ and has an equation of state $p=0$ while\nthe dark energy component, which dominates at large scales, contributes\n$\\Omega_V \\approx 0.65$ and has an equation of state $p\\simeq -\\rho$. It is\nusual to postulate wimps for the first component and some form of scalar field\nor cosmological constant for the second component. We explore the possibility\nof a scalar field with a Lagrangian $L =- V(\\phi) \\sqrt{1 - \\del^i \\phi \\del_i\n\\phi}$ acting as {\\it both} clustered dark matter and smoother dark energy and\nhaving a scale dependent equation of state. This model predicts a relation\nbetween the ratio $ r = \\rho_V/\\rho_{\\rm DM}$ of the energy densities of the\ntwo dark components and expansion rate $n$ of the universe (with $a(t) \\propto\nt^n$) in the form $n = (2/3) (1+r) $. For $r \\approx 2$, we get $n \\approx 2$\nwhich is consistent with observations.",
        "positive": "SL(2,R) matrix model and supersymmetric Yang-Mills integrals: The density of states of Yang-Mills integrals in the supersymmetric case is\ncharacterized by power-law tails whose decay is independent of N, the rank of\nthe gauge group. It is believed that this has no counterpart in matrix models,\nbut we construct a matrix model that exactly exhibits this property. In\naddition, we show that the eigenfunctions employed to construct the matrix\nmodel are invariant under the collinear subgroup of conformal transformations,\nSL(2,R). We also show that the matrix model itself is invariant under a\nfractional linear transformation. The wave functions of the model appear in the\ntrigonometric Rosen-Morse potential and in free relativistic motion on AdS\nspace."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dynamical Behavior of the BTZ Black Hole: We study the dynamical behavior of the BTZ (Banados-Teitelboim-Zanelli) black\nhole with the low-energy string effective action. The perturbation analysis\naround the BTZ black hole reveals a mixing between the dilaton and other\nfields. Introducing the new gauge (dilaton gauge), we disentangle this mixing\ncompletely and obtain one decoupled dilaton equation. We obtain the decay rate\n$\\Gamma$ of BTZ black hole.",
        "positive": "On holographic thermalization and gravitational collapse of tachyonic\n  scalar fields: In this paper we study the thermalization of a spatially homogeneous system\nin a strongly coupled CFT. The non-equilibrium initial state is created by\nswitching on a relevant perturbation in the CFT vacuum during Delta t >= t >=\n-Delta t. Via AdS/CFT, the thermalization process corresponds to the\ngravitational collapse of a tachyonic scalar field (m^2 = -3) in the Poincare\npatch of AdS_5. In the limit Delta t < 0.02/T, the thermalization time t_T is\nfound to be quantitatively the same as that of a non-equilibrium state created\nby a marginal perturbation discussed in Ref. [5]. In the case Delta t >= 1/T,\nwe also obtain double-collapse solutions but with a non-equilibrium\nintermediate state at t = 0. In all the cases our results show that the system\nthermalizes in a typical time t_T ~ O(1)/T. Besides, a conserved energy-moment\ncurrent in the bulk is found, which helps understand the qualitative difference\nof the collapse process in the Poincare patch from that in global AdS[9, 10]."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Entanglement entropy of linearized gravitons in a sphere: We compute the entanglement entropy of a massless spin $2$ field in a sphere\nin flat Minkowski space. We describe the theory with a linearized metric\nperturbation field $h_{\\mu\\nu}$ and decompose it in tensor spherical harmonics.\nWe fix the gauge such that a) the two dynamical modes for each angular momentum\ndecouple and have the dynamics of scalar spherical modes, and b) the\ngauge-fixed field degrees of freedom inside the sphere represent gauge\ninvariant operators of the theory localized in the same region. In this way the\nentanglement entropy turns out to be equivalent to the one of a pair of free\nmassless scalars where the contributions of the $l=0$ and $l=1$ modes have been\nsubtracted. The result for the coefficient of the universal logarithmic term is\n$-61/45$ and coincides with the one computed using the mutual information.",
        "positive": "Non-Relativistic Gravitation: From Newton to Einstein and Back: We present an improvement to the Classical Effective Theory approach to the\nnon-relativistic or Post-Newtonian approximation of General Relativity. The\n\"potential metric field\" is decomposed through a temporal Kaluza-Klein ansatz\ninto three NRG-fields: a scalar identified with the Newtonian potential, a\n3-vector corresponding to the gravito-magnetic vector potential and a 3-tensor.\nThe derivation of the Einstein-Infeld-Hoffmann Lagrangian simplifies such that\neach term corresponds to a single Feynman diagram providing a clear physical\ninterpretation. Spin interactions are dominated by the exchange of the\ngravito-magnetic field. Leading correction diagrams corresponding to the 3PN\ncorrection to the spin-spin interaction and the 2.5PN correction to the\nspin-orbit interaction are presented."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Manifest causality in quantum field theory with sources and detectors: We introduce a way to compute scattering amplitudes in quantum field theory\nincluding the effects of particle production and detection. Our amplitudes are\nmanifestly causal, by which we mean that the source and detector are always\nlinked by a connected chain of retarded propagators. We show how these\namplitudes can be derived from a path integral, using the Schwinger-Keldysh\n\"in-in\" formalism. Focussing on phi-cubed theory, we confirm that our approach\nagrees with the standard S-matrix approach in the case of positive energy\nplane-wave scattering.",
        "positive": "Liouville-like solutions in dilaton gravity with Gauss-Bonnet\n  modifications: We investigate nonperturbative dilatonic solutions of the wide class of the\nmodified gravity models including the Gauss-Bonnet terms with a general $F(G)$\nLagrangian. We show that presence of the Liouville-like solutions is a\ncharacteristic feature of these models."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The World in a Grain of Sand: Condensing the String Vacuum Degeneracy: We propose a novel approach toward the vacuum degeneracy problem of the\nstring landscape, by finding an efficient measure of similarity amongst\ncompactification scenarios. Using a class of some one million Calabi-Yau\nmanifolds as concrete examples, the paradigm of few-shot machine-learning and\nSiamese Neural Networks represents them as points in R(3) where the similarity\nscore between two manifolds is the Euclidean distance between their R(3)\nrepresentatives. Using these methods, we can compress the search space for\nexceedingly rare manifolds to within one percent of the original data by\ntraining on only a few hundred data points. We also demonstrate how these\nmethods may be applied to characterize `typicality' for vacuum representatives.",
        "positive": "Holography Principle and Topology Change in String Theory: D-instantons of Type IIB string theory are Ramond-Ramond counterpart of\nGiddings-Strominger wormholes connecting two asymptotic regions of spacetime.\nSuch wormholes, according to Coleman, might lead to spacetime topology change,\nthird-quantized baby universes and probabilistic determination of fundamental\ncoupling parameters. Utilizing correspondence between AdS5 x M5 Type IIB\nsupergravity and d=4 super Yang-Mills theory, we point out that topology change\nand sum over topologies not only take place in string theory but also are\nrequired for consistency with holography. Nevertheless, the effects of\nD-instanton wormholes remain completely deterministic, in sharp contrast to\nColeman's scenario."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spontaneous CP violation and symplectic modular symmetry in Calabi-Yau\n  compactifications: We explore the geometrical origin of CP and the spontaneous CP violation in\nCalabi-Yau compactifications. We find that the CP symmetry is identified with\nan outer automorphism of the symplectic modular group in the large complex\nstructure regime of Calabi-Yau threefolds, thereby enlarging the symplectic\nmodular group to their semidirect product group. The spontaneous CP violation\nis realized by the introduction of fluxes, whose effective action is invariant\nunder CP as well as the discrete $\\mathbb{Z}_2$ symmetry or $\\mathbb{Z}_4$\nR-symmetry. We explicitly demonstrate the spontaneous CP violation on a\nspecific Calabi-Yau threefold.",
        "positive": "Noncritical Einstein-Weyl Gravity and the AdS/CFT Correspondence: We explore four-dimensional Einstein-Weyl gravity and supergravity on anti-de\nSitter spacetime. For a specific range of the coupling with appropriate\nboundary conditions, we show the effective equivalence of the theory with\nEinstein gravity and AdS supergravity at the quadratic Lagrangian level.\nFurthermore we show that these equivalences can be promoted to the full\nnonlinear level. We also show that the similar behavior holds for the\ngeneralized Gibbons-Hawking terms. From this we find that the correlation\nfunctions in the dual conformal field theory of Einstein-Weyl gravity and\nsupergravity can be readily read off from corresponding ones from Einstein\ngravity and AdS supergravity. We also give comments on some issues in critical\ngravity and supergravity as well as conformal gravity and supergravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quasinormal modes of large AdS black holes: We develop a perturbative approach to the solution of the scalar wave\nequation for a large AdS black hole. In three dimensions, our method coincides\nwith the known exact solution. We discuss the five-dimensional case in detail\nand apply our procedure to the Heun equation. We calculate the quasi-normal\nmodes analytically and obtain good agreement with numerical results for the\nlow-lying frequencies.",
        "positive": "Unitarity bounds and RG flows in time dependent quantum field theory: We generalize unitarity bounds on operator dimensions in conformal field\ntheory to field theories with spacetime dependent couplings. Below the energy\nscale of spacetime variation of the couplings, their evolution can strongly\naffect the physics, effectively shifting the infrared operator scaling and\nunitarity bounds determined from correlation functions in the theory. We\nanalyze this explicitly for large-$N$ double-trace flows, and connect these to\nUV complete field theories. One motivating class of examples comes from our\nprevious work on FRW holography, where this effect explains the range of\nflavors allowed in the dual, time dependent, field theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "New non-supersymmetric flux vacua from generalised calibrations: We construct a new class of non-supersymmetric ten-dimensional type II flux\nvacua, by studying first order differential equations which are deformations of\nthe $\\mathcal{N}=1$ supersymmetry conditions. We do so within the context of\nGeneralised Complex Geometry, where there is a natural interpretation of the\n$\\mathcal{N}=1$ supersymmetry conditions in terms of calibration conditions for\nprobe D-branes, called D-string, domain-wall or space-filling branes, depending\non them wrapping two, three or four non-compact dimensions. We focus on the\nclass of non-supersymmetric vacua violating the D-string calibration condition,\nand write down their general equations of motion in the language of pure\nspinors. We solve them for a subclass of vacua, where the deformation of the\ncalibration condition is dictated by the foliated geometry of the internal\nspace. We also construct backgrounds violating both the domain-wall and\nD-string calibration conditions, generalising the one-parameter DWSB class of\nbackgrounds introduced in L\\\"ust et al. We present several explicit solutions\nwith SU$(2)$ and SU$(3)$ structures, and we investigate briefly their\nassociated low energy effective theories.",
        "positive": "The Quantum Yang Baxter conditions: The fundamental relations behind the\n  Nambu-Goldstone theorem: We demonstrate that when there is spontaneous symmetry breaking in any\nsystem, relativistic or non-relativistic, the dynamic of the Nambu-Goldstone\nbosons is governed by the Quantum Yang-Baxter equations. These equations\ndescribe the triangular dynamical relations between pairs of Nambu-Goldstone\nbosons and the degenerate vacuum. We then formulate a theorem and a corollary\nshowing that these relations guarantee the appropriate dispersion relation and\nthe appropriate counting for the Nambu-Goldstone bosons."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Thermodynamics of accelerated fermion gas and instability at Unruh\n  temperature: We demonstrate that the energy density of an accelerated fermion gas\nevaluated within quantum statistical approach in Minkowski space is related to\na quantum correction to the vacuum expectation value of the energy-momentum\ntensor in a space with non-trivial metric and conical singularity. The key\nelement of the derivation is the existence of a novel class of polynomial\nSommerfeld integrals. The emerging duality of quantum statistical and\ngeometrical approaches is explicitly checked at temperatures $T$ above or equal\nto the Unruh temperature $T_U$. Treating the acceleration as an imaginary part\nof the chemical potential allows for an analytical continuation to temperatures\n$T<T_U$ . There is a discontinuity at $T=T_U$ manifested in the second\nderivative of the energy density with respect to the temperature. Moreover,\nenergy density becomes negative at $T<T_U$, apparently indicating some\ninstability. Obtained results might have phenomenological implications for the\nphysics of heavy-ion collisions.",
        "positive": "Self-accelerating Massive Gravity: Covariant Perturbation Theory: We undertake a complete and covariant treatment for the quadratic Lagrangian\nof all of the degrees of freedom of massive gravity with a fixed flat fiducial\nmetric for arbitrary massive gravity parameters around any isotropic\nself-accelerating background solution. Generically, 3 out of 4 Stuckelberg\ndegrees of freedom propagate in addition to the usual 2 tensor degrees of\nfreedom of general relativity. The complete kinetic structure typically is only\nrevealed at an order in the graviton mass that is equivalently to retaining\ncurvature terms in a locally flat expansion. These results resolve several\napparent discrepancies in the literature where zero degrees of freedom\npropagate in either special cases or approximate treatments as well as\ndecoupling limit analyses which attempt to count longitudinal degrees of\nfreedom."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Geometrothermodynamics of Myers-Perry black holes: We consider the thermodynamics and Geometrothermodynamics of the Myers-Perry\nblack holes in five dimensions for three different cases, depending on the\nvalues of the angular momenta. We follow Davies approach to study the\nthermodynamics of black holes and find a non-trivial thermodynamic structure in\nall cases, which is fully reproduced by the analysis performed with the\ntechniques of Geometrothermodynamics. Moreover, we observe that in the cases\nwhen only one angular momentum is present or the two angular momenta are fixed\nto be equal, i.e. when the thermodynamic system is two dimensional, there is a\ncomplete agreement between the divergences of the generalized susceptibilities\nand the singularities of the equilibrium manifold, whereas when the two angular\nmomenta are fully independent, that is, when the thermodynamic system is three\ndimensional, additional singularities in the curvature appear. However, we\nprove that such singularities are due to the changing from a stable phase to an\nunstable one.",
        "positive": "(2,0) Chern-Simons Supergravity Plus Matter Near the Boundary of AdS_3: We examine the boundary behaviour of the gauged N=(2,0) supergravity in D=3\ncoupled to an arbitrary number of scalar supermultiplets which parametrize a\nKahler manifold. In addition to the gravitational coupling constant, the model\ndepends on two parameters, namely the cosmological constant and the size of the\nKahler manifold. It is shown that regular and irregular boundary conditions can\nbe imposed on the matter fields depending on the size of the sigma model\nmanifold. It is also shown that the super AdS transformations in the bulk\nproduce the transformations of the N=(2,0) conformal supergravity and scalar\nmultiplets on the boundary, containing fields with nonvanishing Weyl weights\ndetermined by the ratio of the sigma model and the gravitational coupling\nconstants. Various types of (2,0) superconformal multiplets are found on the\nboundary and in one case the superconformal symmetry is shown to be realized in\nan unconventional way."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Novel construction and the monodromy relation for three-point functions\n  at weak coupling: In this article, we shall develop and formulate two novel viewpoints and\nproperties concerning the three-point functions at weak coupling in the SU(2)\nsector of the N = 4 super Yang-Mills theory. One is a double spin-chain\nformulation of the spin-chain and the associated new interpretation of the\noperation of Wick contraction. It will be regarded as a skew symmetric pairing\nwhich acts as a projection onto a singlet in the entire SO(4) sector, instead\nof an inner product in the spin-chain Hilbert space. This formalism allows us\nto study a class of three-point functions of operators built upon more general\nspin-chain vacua than the special configuration discussed so far in the\nliterature. Furthermore, this new viewpoint has the signicant advantage over\nthe conventional method: In the usual \"tailoring\" operation, the Wick\ncontraction produces inner products between off-shell Bethe states, which\ncannot be in general converted into simple expressions. In contrast, our\nprocedure directly produces the so-called partial domain wall partition\nfunctions, which can be expressed as determinants. Using this property, we\nderive simple determinantal representation for a broader class of three-point\nfunctions. The second new property uncovered in this work is the non-trivial\nidentity satisfied by the three-point functions with monodromy operators\ninserted. Generically this relation connects three-point functions of different\noperators and can be regarded as a kind of Schwinger-Dyson equation. In\nparticular, this identity reduces in the semiclassical limit to the triviality\nof the product of local monodromies around the vertex operators, which played a\ncrucial role in providing all important global information on the three-point\nfunction in the strong coupling regime. This structure may provide a key to the\nunderstanding of the notion of \"integrability\" beyond the spectral level.",
        "positive": "Gravity is not an entropic force: We argue that experiments with ultra-cold neutrons in the gravitational field\nof Earth disprove recent speculations on the entropic origin of gravitation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Towards Massless Sector of Tensionless Strings on $AdS_5$: {A} Higher Spin Gravity in five dimensions is constructed. It was shown\nrecently that constructing formally consistent classical equations of motion of\nhigher spin gravities is equivalent to finding a certain deformation of a given\nhigher spin algebra. A strong homotopy algebra encoding the interaction\nvertices then follows. We propose two different and novel realizations of the\ndeformed higher spin algebra in the case of five dimensions: one in terms of\nthe universal enveloping algebra of $su(2,2)$ and the other by means of\noscillator variables. Both the new realizations admit supersymmetric extensions\nand the $\\mathcal{N}=8$ case underlies the massless sector of tensionless\nstrings.",
        "positive": "Demonstration of how the zeta function method for effective potential\n  removes the divergences: The calculation of the minimum of the effective potential using the zeta\nfunction method is extremely advantagous, because the zeta function is regular\nat $s=0$ and we gain immediately a finite result for the effective potential\nwithout the necessity of subtratction of any pole or the addition of infinite\ncounter-terms. The purpose of this paper is to explicitly point out how the\ncancellation of the divergences occurs and that the zeta function method\nimplicitly uses the same procedure used by Bollini-Giambiagi and\nSalam-Strathdee in order to gain finite part of functions with a simple pole."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Green functions and dimensional reduction of quantum fields on product\n  manifolds: We discuss Euclidean Green functions on product manifolds P=NxM. We show that\nif M is compact then the Euclidean field on P can be approximated by its zero\nmode which is a Euclidean field on N. We estimate the remainder of this\napproximation. We show that for large distances on N the remainder is small. If\nP=R^{D-1}xS^{beta}, where S^{beta} is a circle of radius beta, then the result\nreduces to the well-known approximation of the D dimensional finite temperature\nquantum field theory to D-1 dimensional one in the high temperature limit.\nAnalytic continuation of Euclidean fields is discussed briefly.",
        "positive": "Kerr-Schild perturbations of coset CFTs as scale invariant integrable\n  $\u03c3$-models: Kerr-Schild perturbations in General Relativity provide a fruitful way of\nconstructing new exact solutions starting from known ones, elucidating also the\nstructure of the spacetimes. We initiate such a study in the context of string\ntheory and supergravity. Specifically, we explicitly construct Kerr-Schild\nperturbations of coset CFTs based on low dimensionality orthogonal groups. We\nshow that these give rise to scale, but not Weyl, invariant integrable\n$\\sigma$-models. We explicitly demonstrate that these models can also be\nderived from a particular limiting procedure of $\\lambda$-deformed coset CFTs\nbased on non-compact groups. The target space of the simplest $\\sigma$-model\ndescribes a two-dimensional scale invariant black hole for which we also\nprovide two different embeddings to type-II supergravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On gravity localization in scalar braneworlds with a super-exponential\n  warp factor: We show that within tachyonic braneworld models,\"super-exponential\" warp\nfactors of the form $e^{-2f} \\sim e^{-2c_1e^{c_2 |\\sigma|}}$ are problematic\nwhen dealing with both the finiteness of the effective four-dimensional (4d)\nPlanck mass and the localization of 4d gravity, which can be stated by the\nrequirement that $\\int e^{-2f(\\sigma)}d\\sigma < \\infty$, because this condition\nnecessarily implies that c_1 and c_2 should be positive. As a consequence of\nthis fact the tachyonic field $T$ turns out to be complex in contradiction with\nthe real nature of the starting action for the tachyonic braneworld. Conversely\nif one requires to have a real tachyon field, 4d gravity will not be localized\nand the effective gravitational coupling will be infinite. We present several\ntypical examples where this problem occurs: we have analysed this situation for\nthin as well as thick tachyonic braneworlds with 4d Poincare symmetry, for the\ncase when a bulk cosmological constant is present, and even for a brane with an\ninduced spatially flat 4d cosmological background, and shown that in all cases\nthe tachyon field T comes out to be inconsistently complex when imposing\nlocalization of 4d gravity. On the other hand, when dealing with a further\nreduction of the hierarchy problem one should carefully consider the sign of\nthe constants c_1 and c_2 to avoid inconsistencies in the tachyonic braneworld\nmodel. We also present a similar discusion involving a canonical scalar field\nin the bulk where none of these problems arise and hence, the mass hierarchy\nand 4d gravity localization problems can be successfully addressed at once.\nFinally, the stability analysis of this scalar tensor braneworld model with a\nsuper-exponential warp factor is performed.",
        "positive": "Witten Index and Wall Crossing: We compute the Witten index of one-dimensional gauged linear sigma models\nwith at least ${\\mathcal N}=2$ supersymmetry. In the phase where the gauge\ngroup is broken to a finite group, the index is expressed as a certain residue\nintegral. It is subject to a change as the Fayet-Iliopoulos parameter is varied\nthrough the phase boundaries. The wall crossing formula is expressed as an\nintegral at infinity of the Coulomb branch. The result is applied to many\nexamples, including quiver quantum mechanics that is relevant for BPS states in\n$d=4$ ${\\mathcal N}=2$ theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Black Hole Information Revisited: We argue that four-dimensional black hole evaporation inevitably produces an\ninfinite number of soft particles in addition to the thermally distributed\n`hard' Hawking quanta, and moreover that the soft and hard particles are highly\ncorrelated. This raises the possibility that quantum purity is restored by\ncorrelations between the hard and soft radiation, while inclusive measurements\nwhich omit the soft radiation observe the thermal Hawking spectrum. In theories\nwhose only stable particle is the graviton, conservation laws are used to argue\nthat such correlations are in principle sufficient for the soft gravitons to\npurify the hard thermal ones.",
        "positive": "Scattering between wobbling kinks: In this paper the scattering between a wobbling kink and a wobbling antikink\nin the standard $\\phi^4$ model is numerically investigated. The dependence of\nthe final velocities, wobbling amplitudes and frequencies of the scattered\nkinks on the collision velocity and on the initial wobbling amplitude is\ndiscussed. The fractal structure becomes more intricate due to the emergence of\nnew resonance windows and the splitting of those arising in the non-excited\nkink scattering. Outside this phase the final wobbling amplitude exhibits a\nlinear dependence of the collision velocity whereas the final frequency is a\ndecreasing function. By contrast these magnitudes are almost independent of the\ninitial wobbling amplitude."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Stability and duality in N=2 supergravity: The BPS-spectrum is known to change when moduli cross a wall of marginal\nstability. This paper tests the compatibility of wall-crossing with S-duality\nand electric-magnetic duality for N=2 supergravity. To this end, the\nBPS-spectrum of D4-D2-D0 branes is analyzed in the large volume limit of\nCalabi-Yau moduli space. Partition functions are presented, which capture the\nstability of BPS-states corresponding to two constituents with primitive\ncharges and supported on very ample divisors in a compact Calabi-Yau. These\nfunctions are `mock modular invariant' and therefore confirm S-duality.\nFurthermore, wall-crossing preserves electric-magnetic duality, but is shown to\nbreak the `spectral flow' symmetry of the N=(4,0) CFT, which captures the\ndegrees of freedom of a single constituent.",
        "positive": "New brane solutions in higher order gravity: We consider the higher order gravity with dilaton and with the leading string\ntheory corrections taken into account. The domain wall type solutions are\ninvestigated for arbitrary number of space-time dimensions. The explicit\nformulae for the fixed points and asymptotic behavior of generic solutions are\ngiven. We analyze and classify solutions with finite effective gravitational\nconstant. There is a class of such solutions which have no singularities. We\ndiscuss in detail the relation between fine tuning and self tuning and clarify\nin which sense our solutions are fine-tuning free. The stability of such\nsolutions is also discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Expanding Einstein-Yang-Mills by Yang-Mills in CHY frame: Using the Cachazo-He-Yuan (CHY) formalism, we prove a recursive expansion of\ntree level single trace Einstein-Yang-Mills (EYM) amplitudes with arbitrary\nnumber of gluons and gravitons, which is valid for general spacetime dimensions\nand any helicity configurations. The recursion is written in terms of\nfewer-graviton EYM amplitudes and pure Yang-Mills (YM) amplitudes, which can be\nfurther carried out until we reach an expansion in terms of pure YM amplitudes\nin Kleiss-Kuijf (KK) basis. Our expansion then generates naturally a spanning\ntree structure rooted on gluons whose vertices are gravitons. We further\npropose a set of graph theoretical rules based on spanning trees that evaluate\ndirectly the pure YM expansion coefficients.",
        "positive": "Families of Singular and Subsingular Vectors of the Topological N=2\n  Superconformal Algebra: We analyze several issues concerning the singular vectors of the Topological\nN=2 Superconformal algebra. First we investigate which types of singular\nvectors exist, regarding the relative U(1) charge and the BRST-invariance\nproperties, finding four different types in chiral Verma modules and\ntwenty-nine different types in complete Verma modules. Then we study the family\nstructure of the singular vectors, every member of a family being mapped to any\nother member by a chain of simple transformations involving the spectral flows.\nThe families of singular vectors in chiral Verma modules follow a unique\npattern (four vectors) and contain subsingular vectors. We write down these\nfamilies until level 3, identifying the subsingular vectors. The families of\nsingular vectors in complete Verma modules follow infinitely many different\npatterns, grouped roughly in five main kinds. We present a particularly\ninteresting thirty-eight-member family at levels 3, 4, 5, and 6, as well as the\ncomplete set of singular vectors at level 1 (twenty-eight different types).\nFinally we analyze the D\\\"orrzapf conditions leading to two linearly\nindependent singular vectors of the same type, at the same level in the same\nVerma module, and we write down four examples of those pairs of singular\nvectors, which belong to the same thirty-eight-member family."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Pure spinor superfields -- an overview: Maximally supersymmetric theories do not allow off-shell superspace\nformulations with traditional superfields containing a finite set of auxiliary\nfields. It has become clear that off-shell supersymmetric action formulations\nof such models can be achieved by the introduction of pure spinors. In this\ntalk, an overview of this formalism is given, with emphasis on D=10\nsuper-Yang-Mills theory and D=11 supergravity. This a somewhat expanded version\nof a talk presented at the workshop \"Breaking of supersymmetry and ultraviolet\ndivergences in extended supergravity\" (BUDS), Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati,\nMarch 25-28, 2013.",
        "positive": "Novel Type I Compactifications: We argue that there are two distinct classes of type I compactification to\nfour dimensions on any space. These two classes are distinguished in a\nmysterious way by the presence (or absence) of a discrete 6-form potential. In\nsimple examples, duality suggests that the new class of compactifications have\nreduced numbers of moduli. We also point out analogous discrete choices in M, F\nand type II compactifications, including some with $G_2$ holonomy. These\nchoices often result in spaces with frozen singularities."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Inhomogeneous states in two dimensional linear sigma model at large N: In this note we consider inhomogeneous solutions of two-dimensional linear\nsigma model in the large $N$ limit. These solutions are similar to the ones\nfound recently in two-dimensional $CP^N$ sigma model. The solution exists only\nfor some range of coupling constant. We calculate energy of the solutions as\nfunction of parameters of the model and show that at some value of the coupling\nconstant it changes sign signaling a possible phase transition. The case of the\nnonlinear model at finite temperature is also discussed. The free energy of the\ninhomogeneous solution is shown to change sign at some critical temperature.",
        "positive": "Strings with Non-Relativistic Conformal Symmetry and Limits of the\n  AdS/CFT Correspondence: We find a Polyakov-type action for strings moving in a torsional\nNewton-Cartan geometry. This is obtained by starting with the relativistic\nPolyakov action and fixing the momentum of the string along a non-compact null\nisometry. For a flat target space, we show that the world-sheet theory becomes\nthe Gomis-Ooguri action. From a target space perspective these strings are\nnon-relativistic but their world-sheet theories are still relativistic. We show\nthat one can take a scaling limit in which also the world-sheet theory becomes\nnon-relativistic with an infinite-dimensional symmetry algebra given by the\nGalilean conformal algebra. This scaling limit can be taken in the context of\nthe AdS/CFT correspondence and we show that it is realized by the `Spin Matrix\nTheory' limits of strings on AdS$_5$ $\\times$ $S^5$. Spin Matrix theory arises\nas non-relativistic limits of the AdS/CFT correspondence close to BPS bounds.\nThe duality between non-relativistic strings and Spin Matrix theory provides a\nholographic duality of its own and points towards a framework for more\ntractable holographic dualities whereby non-relativistic strings are dual to\nnear BPS limits of the dual field theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Seiberg Witten Map and the Axial Anomaly in Noncommutative Field Theory: Using the point-splitting regularisation, we calculate the axial anomaly in\nan arbitrary even dimensional Non-Commutative (NC) field theory. Our result is\n(star) gauge invariant in its {\\it unintegrated} form, to the leading order in\nthe NC parameter.\n  Exploiting the Seiberg Witten map, this result gets transformed to the\nfamiliar Adler-Bell-Jackiw anomaly in ordinary space-time. Furthermore, using\nthis map, we derive an expression for the unintegrated axial anomaly for\nconstant fields in NC space-time, that is valid to all finite orders of the NC\nparameter.",
        "positive": "Intersecting Branes, Domain Walls and Superpotentials in 3d Gauge\n  Theories: We revisit the Hanany-Witten brane construction of 3d gauge theories with N=2\nsupersymmetry. Instantons are known to generate a superpotential on the Coulomb\nbranch of the theory. We show that this superpotential can be viewed as arising\nfrom the classical scattering of domain wall solitons. The domain walls live on\nthe worldvolume of the fivebranes and their existence relies on the recent\nobservation that the charged hypermultiplet at the intersection of\nperpendicular D-branes has non-canonical kinetic terms. We further show how Dp\nbranes may be absorbed at the intersection of perpendicular D(p+4)-branes where\nthey appear as BPS sigma-model lumps."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetry and Fredholm modules over quantized spaces: The purpose of this paper is to apply the framework of non- commutative\ndifferential geometry to quantum deformations of a class of Kahler manifolds.\nFor the examples of the Cartan domains of type I and flat space, we construct\nFredholm modules over the quantized manifolds using the supercharges which\narise in the quantization of supersymmetric generalizations of the manifolds.\nWe compute the explicit formula for the Chern character on generators of the\nToeplitz C^* -algebra.",
        "positive": "Tensor models and 3-ary algebras: Tensor models are the generalization of matrix models, and are studied as\nmodels of quantum gravity in general dimensions. In this paper, I discuss the\nalgebraic structure in the fuzzy space interpretation of the tensor models\nwhich have a tensor with three indices as its only dynamical variable. The\nalgebraic structure is studied mainly from the perspective of 3-ary algebras.\nIt is shown that the tensor models have algebraic expressions, and that their\nsymmetries are represented by 3-ary algebras. It is also shown that the 3-ary\nalgebras of coordinates, which appear in the nonassociative fuzzy flat\nspacetimes corresponding to a certain class of configurations with Gaussian\nfunctions in the tensor models, form Lie triple systems, and the associated Lie\nalgebras are shown to agree with those of the Snyder's noncommutative\nspacetimes. The Poincare transformations on the fuzzy flat spacetimes are shown\nto be generated by 3-ary algebras."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dynamical Domain Wall Defects in 2+1 Dimensions: We study some dynamical properties of a Dirac field in 2+1 dimensions with\nspacetime dependent domain wall defects. We show that the Callan and Harvey\nmechanism applies even to the case of defects of arbitrary shape, and in a\ngeneral state of motion. The resulting chiral zero modes are localized on the\nworldsheet of the defect, an embedded curved two dimensional manifold. The\ndynamics of these zero modes is governed by the corresponding induced metric\nand spin connection. Using known results about determinants and anomalies for\nfermions on surfaces embedded in higher dimensional spacetimes, we show that\nthe chiral anomaly for this two dimensional theory is responsible for the\ngeneration of a current along the defect. We derive the general expression for\nsuch a current in terms of the geometry of the defect, and show that it may be\ninterpreted as due to an \"inertial\" electric field, which can be expressed\nentirely in terms of the spacetime curvature of the defects. We discuss the\napplication of this framework to fermionic systems with defects in condensed\nmatter.",
        "positive": "A modified Schwinger's formula for the Casimir effect: After briefly reviewing how the (proper-time) Schwinger's formula works for\ncomputing the Casimir energy in the case of \"scalar electrodynamics\" where the\nboundary conditions are dictated by two perfectly conducting parallel plates\nwith separation \"a\" in the Z-axis, we propose a slightly modification in the\nprevious approach based on an analytical continuation method. As we will see,\nfor the case at hand our formula does not need the use of Poisson summation to\nget a (renormalized) finite result."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Manifestly N=3 supersymmetric Euler-Heisenberg action in light-cone\n  superspace: We find a manifestly N=3 supersymmetric generalization of the\nfour-dimensional Euler-Heisenberg (four-derivative, or F^4) part of the\nBorn-Infeld action in light-cone gauge, by using N=3 light-cone superspace.",
        "positive": "Partial breaking of global supersymmetry and super particle actions: We argue the conjecture that the on-shell component super particle actions\nhave a universal form, in which the physical fermions enter the action through\nthe ein-bein and the space-time derivatives of the matter fields, only. We\nexplicitly constructed the actions for the super particles in $D=3$ realizing\nthe $N=4\\cdot 2^{k} \\rightarrow N=2\\cdot 2^k$ pattern of supersymmetry\nbreaking, and in $D=5$ with the $N=16$ supersymmetry broken down to the $N=8$\none. All constructed actions have indeed a universal form, confirming our\nconjecture. Our construction is strictly based on the assumption that in the\nsystem we have one half breaking of the global supersymmetry, and on the very\nspecial choice of the superspace coordinates and component fields."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Critical thermodynamics of the two-dimensional systems in five-loop\n  renormalization-group approximation: The RG functions of the 2D $n$-vector $\\phi^4$ model are calculated in the\nfive-loop approximation. Perturbative series for the $\\beta$ function and\ncritical exponents are resummed by the Pade-Borel and Pade-Borel-Leroy\ntechniques, resummation procedures are optimized and an accuracy of the\nnumerical results is estimated. In the Ising case $n = 1$ as well as in the\nothers ($n = 0$, $n = -1$, $n = 2, 3,...32$) an account for the five-loop term\nis found to shift the Wilson fixed point location only briefly, leaving it\noutside the segment formed by the results of the corresponding lattice\ncalculations; even error bars of the RG and lattice estimates do not overlap in\nthe most cases studied. This is argued to reflect the influence of the singular\n(non-analytical) contribution to the $\\beta$ function that can not be found\nperturbatively. The evaluation of the critical exponents for $n = 1$, $n = 0$\nand $n = -1$ in the five-loop approximation and comparison of the numbers\nobtained with their known exact counterparts confirm the conclusion that\nnon-analytical contributions are visible in two dimensions.",
        "positive": "Bare vs. Effective Fixed Point Action in Asymptotic Safety: The\n  Reconstruction Problem: We propose a method for the (re)-construction of a regularized functional\nintegral, well defined in the ultraviolet limit, from a solution of the\nfunctional renormalization group equation of the effective average action. The\nfunctional integral is required to reproduce this solution. The method is of\nparticular interest for asymptotically safe theories. The bare action for the\nEinstein-Hilbert truncation of Quantum Einstein Gravity (QEG) is computed and\nits flow is analyzed. As a second example conformally reduced gravity is\nexplored. Various conceptual issues related to the reconstruction problem are\ndiscussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetry, Vacuum Statistics, and the Fundamental Theorem of Algebra: I give an interpretation of the fundamental theorem of algebra based on\nsupersymmetry and the Witten index. The argument gives a physical explanation\nof why a real polynomial of degree $n$ need not have $n$ real zeroes, while a\ncomplex polynomial of degree $n$ must have $n$ complex zeroes. This paper also\naddresses in a general and model-independent way the statistics of the\nperturbative ground states (the states which correspond to classical vacua) in\nsupersymmetric theories with complex and with real superfields.",
        "positive": "Minimal Length and the Quantum Bouncer: A Nonperturbative Study: We present the energy eigenvalues of a quantum bouncer in the framework of\nthe Generalized (Gravitational) Uncertainty Principle (GUP) via quantum\nmechanical and semiclassical schemes. In this paper, we use two equivalent\nnonperturbative representations of a deformed commutation relation in the form\n[X,P]=i\\hbar(1+\\beta P^2) where \\beta is the GUP parameter. The new\nrepresentation is formally self-adjoint and preserves the ordinary nature of\nthe position operator. We show that both representations result in the same\nmodified semiclassical energy spectrum and agrees well with the quantum\nmechanical description."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Perturbing Around A Warped Product Of AdS_4 and Seven-Ellipsoid: We compute the spin-2 Kaluza-Klein modes around a warped product of AdS_4 and\na seven-ellipsoid. This background with global G_2 symmetry is related to a\nU(N) x U(N) N=1 superconformal Chern-Simons matter theory with sixth order\nsuperpotential. The mass-squared in AdS_4 is quadratic in G_2 quantum number\nand KK excitation number. We determine the dimensions of spin-2 operators using\nthe AdS/CFT correspondence. The connection to N=2 theory preserving SU(3) x\nU(1)_R is also discussed.",
        "positive": "On features of the radiation from an electron moving along a helix\n  inside a cylindrical hole in a homogeneous dielectric: The radiation from a charge moving along a helical trajectory inside a\ncylindrical hole in homogeneous dielectric medium is investigated. Prompted by\navailability of materials with large dielectric permittivity $\\epsilon $ and\nsmall absorption, we discuss the features of this type of radiation for media\nwith $\\epsilon \\gg 1$. It is shown that there are high peaks in the angular\ndistribution of radiation intensity at well-defined harmonics. The conditions\nare specified for the cavity-to-helix radii ratio, $\\rho_{1}/\\rho_{0}$, under\nwhich the angle-integrated radiation intensity on some harmonics exceeds that\nin the empty space. Though the amplification of radiation intensity increases\nwith increasing $\\epsilon $, the corresponding \"resonant\" values of $\\rho\n_{1}/\\rho_{0}$ ratio are practically independent of the dielectric permittivity\nof surrounding medium. It is shown that an analogous amplification of radiation\ntakes place essentially for the same values of $\\rho_{1}/\\rho_{0}$ also for the\nradiation in a cylindrical waveguide with conducting walls. An explanation of\nthis phenomenon is given."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A geodesic Witten diagram description of holographic entanglement\n  entropy and its quantum corrections: We use the formalism of geodesic Witten diagrams to study the holographic\nrealization of the conformal block expansion for entanglement entropy of two\ndisjoint intervals. The agreement between the Ryu-Takayanagi formula and the\nidentity block contribution has a dual realization as the product of bulk to\nboundary propagators. Quantum bulk corrections instead arise from stripped\nhigher order diagrams and back-reaction effects; these are also mapped to the\nstructure for $G_N^0$ terms found in \\cite{Faulkner:2013ana}, with the former\nidentified as the bulk entanglement entropy across the Ryu-Takayanagi surfaces.\nAn independent derivation of this last statement is provided by implementing a\ntwist-line formalism in the bulk, and additional checks from the computation of\nmutual information and single interval entanglement entropy. Finally an\ninteresting correspondence is found between the recently proposed holographic\nentanglement of purification, and an approximated form for certain $1/c$ Renyi\nentropies corrections.",
        "positive": "Timelike U-dualities in Generalised Geometry: We study timelike U-dualities acting in three and four directions of\n11-dimensional supergravity, which form the groups $SL(2)\\times SL(3)$ and\nSL(5). Using generalised geometry, we find that timelike U-dualities, despite\nprevious conjectures, do not change the signature of the spacetime.\nFurthermore, we prove that the spacetime signature must be $(-,+,...,+)$ when\nthe U-duality modular group is either $\\frac{SL(2)\\times SL(3)}{SO(1,1)\\times\nSO(2,1)}$ or $\\frac{SL(5)}{SO(3,2)}$. We find that for some dual solutions it\nis necessary to include a trivector field which is related to the existence of\nnon-geometric fluxes in lower dimensions. In the second part of the paper, we\nexplicitly study the action of the dualities on supergravity solutions\ncorresponding to M2-branes. For a finite range of the transformation, the\naction of $SL(2)\\otimes SL(3)$ on the worldvolume of uncharged M2-branes\ncharges them while it changes the charge of extreme M2-branes. It thus acts as\na Harrison transformation. At the limits of the range, we obtain the\n\"subtracted geometries\" which correspond to an infinite Harrison boost. Outside\nthis range the trivector field becomes non-zero and we obtain a dual solution\nthat cannot be uniquely written in terms of a metric, 3-form and trivector.\nInstead it corresponds to a family of solutions linked by a local SO(1,1)\nrotation. The SL(5) duality is used to act on a smeared extreme M2-brane giving\na brane-like solution carrying momentum in the transverse direction that the\nbrane was delocalised along."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Definition of the Dirac Sea in the Presence of External Fields: It is shown that the Dirac sea can be uniquely defined for the Dirac equation\nwith general interaction, if we impose a causality condition on the Dirac sea.\nWe derive an explicit formula for the Dirac sea in terms of a power series in\nthe bosonic potentials.\n  The construction is extended to systems of Dirac seas. If the system contains\nchiral fermions, the causality condition yields a restriction for the bosonic\npotentials.",
        "positive": "Discrete Kaluza-Klein from scalar fluctuations in noncommutative\n  geometry: We compute the metric associated to noncommutative spaces described by a\ntensor product of spectral triples. Well known results of the two-sheets model\n(distance on a sheet, distance between the sheets) are extended to any product\nof two spectral triples. The distance between different points on different\nfibres is investigated. When one of the triple describes a manifold, one find a\nPythagorean theorem as soon as the direct sum of the internal states (viewed as\nprojections) commutes with the internal Dirac operator. Scalar fluctuations\nyield a discrete Kaluza-Klein model in which the extra metric component is\ngiven by the internal part of the geometry. In the standard model, this extra\ncomponent comes from the Higgs field."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetric codimension-two branes and U(1)_R mediation in 6D gauged\n  supergravity: We construct a consistent supersymmetric action for brane chiral and vector\nmultiplets in a six-dimensional chiral gauged supergravity. A nonzero brane\ntension can be accommodated by allowing for a brane-localized Fayet-Iliopoulos\nterm proportional to the brane tension. When the brane chiral multiplet is\ncharged under the bulk U(1)_R, we obtain a nontrivial coupling to the extra\ncomponent of the U(1)_R gauge field strength as well as a singular scalar\nself-interaction term. Dimensionally reducing to 4D on a football\nsupersymmetric solution, we discuss the implication of such interactions for\nobtaining the U(1)_R D-term in the 4D effective supergravity. By assuming the\nbulk gaugino condensates and nonzero brane F- and/or D-term for the uplifting\npotential, we have all the moduli stabilized with a vanishing cosmological\nconstant. The brane scalar with nonzero R charge then gets a soft mass of order\nthe gravitino mass. The overall sign of the soft mass squared depends on the\nsign of the R charge as well as whether the brane F- or D-term dominates.",
        "positive": "Semiclassical Strings on Curved Branes: We study semiclassical strings in the near horizon geometry of certain curved\nbranes. We investigate the rigidly rotating strings in the near horizon\ngeometry of NS5-branes wrapped on AdS3 x S3 and in the presence of background\nNS-NS flux. We study several string solutions corresponding to giant magnon,\nsingle spike and more general folded strings for the fundamental string in this\nbackground. We comment that in the S-dual background the situation changes\ndrastically."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Entanglement, Observers and Cosmology: a view from von Neumann Algebras: Infinite entanglement fluctuations appear when a quantum field theory on a\ncausally complete domain of space-time is a type $III$ factor. In the weak\ngravity limit $G_N=0$ this factor can be transformed into a crossed product\ntype $II$ factor with finite entanglement fluctuations by adding a physical\nreference frame system (observer). The use of a physical reference frame to\ndefine a regularization of divergent entanglement is formally identical to the\nquantum information approach to superselection charges. In that case the added\nreference frame allows quantum superpositions between different superselection\nsectors. For the case of cosmological horizons we map the primordial\ninflationary slow rolling phase into a type $II$ modification of the pure de\nSitter type $III$ factor and we use the so defined type $II$ finite\nentanglement fluctuations to predict the primordial power spectrum of scalar\ncurvature fluctuations. For the Hagedorn high temperature phase of large $N$\nYang Mills, the type $II$ description of the Hagedorn phase accounts, in the\nlarge $N$ limit, for the quantum fluctuations of the interval of the\ncorresponding matrix model eigenvalue distribution.",
        "positive": "Probing the Vacuum Structure of Spacetime: We explore the question of how to probe the vacuum structure of space time by\na massive scalar field through interaction with background gravitons. Using the\n$\\Gamma$-regularization for the in-/out-state formalism, we find the effective\naction of a scalar field in a conformally, asymptotically flat spacetime and a\nfour-dimensional de Sitter space, which is a gravitational analog of the\nHeisenberg-Euler and Schwinger effective action for a charged scalar in a\nconstant electric field. The effective action is nonperturbative in that it\nsums all one-loop diagrams with arbitrary number of external lines of\ngravitons. The massive scalar field becomes unstable due to particle\nproduction, the effective action has an imaginary part that determines the\ndecay rate of the vacuum, and the out-vacuum is unitarily inequivalent to the\nin-vacuum."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "CFT$_D$ from TQFT$_{D+1}$ via Holographic Tensor Network, and Precision\n  Discretisation of CFT$_2$: We show that the path-integral of conformal field theories in $D$ dimensions\n(CFT$_D$) can be constructed by solving for eigenstates of an RG operator\nfollowing from the Turaev-Viro formulation of a topological field theory in\n$D+1$ dimensions (TQFT$_{D+1}$), explicitly realising the holographic sandwich\nrelation between a symmetric theory and a TQFT. Generically, exact eigenstates\ncorresponding to symmetric-TQFT$_D$ follow from Frobenius algebra in the\nTQFT$_{D+1}$. For $D=2$, we constructed eigenstates that produce 2D rational\nCFT path-integral exactly, which, curiously connects a continuous field\ntheoretic path-integral with the Turaev-Viro state sum. We also devise and\nillustrate numerical methods for $D=2,3$ to search for CFT$_D$ as phase\ntransition points between symmetric TQFT$_D$. Finally since the RG operator is\nin fact an exact analytic holographic tensor network, we compute\n``bulk-boundary'' correlator and compare with the AdS/CFT dictionary at $D=2$.\nPromisingly, they are numerically compatible given our accuracy, although\nfurther works will be needed to explore the precise connection to the AdS/CFT\ncorrespondence.",
        "positive": "Hidden Symmetries of the Principal Chiral Model and a Nonstandard Loop\n  Algebra: We examine the precise structure of the loop algebra of `dressing' symmetries\nof the Principal Chiral Model, and discuss a new infinite set of abelian\nsymmetries of the field equations which preserve a symplectic form on the space\nof solutions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Computing topological invariants with one and two-matrix models: A generalization of the Kontsevich Airy-model allows one to compute the\nintersection numbers of the moduli space of p-spin curves. These models are\ndeduced from averages of characteristic polynomials over Gaussian ensembles of\nrandom matrices in an external matrix source. After use of a duality, and of an\nappropriate tuning of the source, we obtain in a double scaling limit these\nintersection numbers as polynomials in p. One can then take the limit p to -1\nwhich yields a matrix model for orbifold Euler characteristics. The\ngeneralization to a time-dependent matrix model, which is equivalent to a\ntwo-matrix model, may be treated along the same lines ; it also yields a\nlogarithmic potential with additional vertices for general p.",
        "positive": "Non-associative geometry and discrete structure of spacetime: A new mathematical theory, non-associative geometry, providing a unified\nalgebraic description of continuous and discrete spacetime, is introduced."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Infrared and transcendental structure of two-loop supersymmetric QCD\n  amplitudes: Using a careful choice of infrared (IR) subtraction scheme, we demonstrate\nthe cancellation of all terms with transcendental weights 0,1,2 from the finite\npart of the full-color two-loop four-gluon $\\mathcal{N}=2$ supersymmetric QCD\namplitude, with $N_f$ massless supersymmetric quarks. This generalizes the\npreviously observed cancellation of weight-2 terms in the superconformal\ntheory, where $N_f=2N_c$ for gauge group SU$(N_c)$. The subtraction scheme\nfollows naturally both from general IR factorization principles and from an\nintegrand-level analysis of divergences in this amplitude. The divergences are\nwritten in terms of scalar triangle integrals whose expressions are known to\nall orders in the dimensional regulator $\\epsilon=(4-D)/2$. We also present\nintegrated expressions for the full-color two-loop four-point amplitudes with\nboth matter and vectors on external legs in which lower-weight terms also\ncancel using an appropriate IR scheme. This provides us with values for the\ntwo-loop cusp, gluonic, and quark anomalous dimensions in $\\mathcal{N}=2$\nsupersymmetric QCD, which are cross-checked between the three different\namplitudes.",
        "positive": "Quantum Foam and de Sitter-like universe: We perform a foliation of a four dimensional Riemannian space-time with\nrespect to a discrete time which is an integer multiple of the Planck time. We\nfind that the quantum fluctuations of the metric have a discrete energy\nspectrum. The metric field is expanded in stationary eigenstates, and this\nleads to the description of a de Sitter-like universe. At the Planck scale the\nmodel describes a Planckian Euclidean black hole."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Nonabelian parafermions and their dimensions: We propose a generalization of the Zamolodchikov-Fateev parafermions which\nare abelian, to nonabelian groups. The fusion rules are given by the tensor\nproduct of representations of the group. Using Vafa equations we get the\nallowed dimensions of the parafermions. We find for simple groups that the\ndimensions are integers. For cover groups of simple groups, we find, for\n$n.G.m$, that the dimensions are the same as $Z_n$ parafermions. Examples of\nintegral parafermionic systems are studied in detail.",
        "positive": "Further Evidence for a Gravitational Fixed Point: A theory of gravity with a generic action functional and minimally coupled to\nN matter fields has a nontrivial fixed point in the leading large N\napproximation. At this fixed point, the cosmological constant and Newton's\nconstant are nonzero and UV relevant; the curvature squared terms are\nasymptotically free with marginal behaviour; all higher order terms are\nirrelevant and can be set to zero by a suitable choice of cutoff function."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Calabi-Yau Moduli Space, Mirror Manifolds and Spacetime Topology Change\n  in String Theory: We analyze the moduli spaces of Calabi-Yau threefolds and their associated\nconformally invariant nonlinear sigma-models and show that they are described\nby an unexpectedly rich geometrical structure. Specifically, the Kahler sector\nof the moduli space of such Calabi-Yau conformal theories admits a\ndecomposition into adjacent domains some of which correspond to the\n(complexified) Kahler cones of topologically distinct manifolds. These domains\nare separated by walls corresponding to singular Calabi-Yau spaces in which the\nspacetime metric has degenerated in certain regions. We show that the union of\nthese domains is isomorphic to the complex structure moduli space of a single\ntopological Calabi-Yau space---the mirror. In this way we resolve a puzzle for\nmirror symmetry raised by the apparent asymmetry between the Kahler and complex\nstructure moduli spaces of a Calabi-Yau manifold. Furthermore, using mirror\nsymmetry, we show that we can interpolate in a physically smooth manner between\nany two theories represented by distinct points in the Kahler moduli space,\neven if such points correspond to topologically distinct spaces. Spacetime\ntopology change in string theory, therefore, is realized by the most basic\noperation of deformation by a truly marginal operator. Finally, this work also\nyields some important insights on the nature of orbifolds in string theory.",
        "positive": "The quantum non-linear Schrodinger model with point-like defect: We establish a family of point-like impurities which preserve the quantum\nintegrability of the non-linear Schrodinger model in 1+1 space-time dimensions.\nWe briefly describe the construction of the exact second quantized solution of\nthis model in terms of an appropriate reflection-transmission algebra. The\nbasic physical properties of the solution, including the space-time symmetry of\nthe bulk scattering matrix, are also discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chiral vortical effect for vector fields: We consider photonic vortical effect, i.e. the difference of the flows of\nleft- and right-handed photons along the vector of angular velocity in rotating\nphotonic medium. Two alternative frameworks to evaluate the effect are\nconsidered, both of which have already been tried in the literature. First, the\nstandard thermal fied theory and, alternatively, Hawking-radiation-type\nderivation. In our earlier attempt to compare the two approaches, we found a\ncrucial factor of two difference. Here we revisit the problem, paying more\nattention to details of infrared regularizations. We find out that introduction\nof an infinitesimal mass of the vector field brings the two ways of evaluating\nthe chiral vortical effect into agreement with each other. Some implications,\nboth on the theoretical and phenomenological sides, are mentioned.",
        "positive": "Quantum Mechanics on the Circle and W_{1+\\INFTY}: The algebra W_{1+\\infty} with central charge c=0 can be identified with the\nalgebra of quantum observables of a particle moving on a circle.\nMathematically, it is the universal enveloping algebra of the Euclidean algebra\nin two dimensions. Similarly, the super W_\\infty algebra is found to be the\nuniversal enveloping algebra of the super-Euclidean algebra in two dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "PSS: A FORM Program to Evaluate Pure Spinor Superspace Expressions: A FORM program which is used to efficiently expand in components pure spinor\nsuperfield expressions of kinematic factors is presented and comments on how it\nworks are made. It is highly customizable using the standard features of FORM\nand can be used to help obtaining superstring effective actions from the\nscattering amplitudes computed with the pure spinor formalism.",
        "positive": "Topological M Theory from Pure Spinor Formalism: We construct multiloop superparticle amplitudes in 11d using the pure spinor\nformalism. We explain how this construction reduces to the superparticle limit\nof the multiloop pure spinor superstring amplitudes prescription. We then argue\nthat this construction points to some evidence for the existence of a\ntopological M theory based on a relation between the ghost number of the\nfull-fledged supersymmetric critical models and the dimension of the spacetime\nfor topological models. In particular, we show that the extensions at higher\norders of the previous results for the tree and one-loop level expansion for\nthe superparticle in 11 dimensions is related to a topological model in 7\ndimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Abelian mirror symmetry of $\\mathcal{N}=(2,2)$ boundary conditions: We evaluate half-indices of $\\mathcal{N}=(2,2)$ half-BPS boundary conditions\nin 3d $\\mathcal{N}=4$ supersymmetric Abelian gauge theories. We confirm that\nthe Neumann boundary condition is dual to the generic Dirichlet boundary\ncondition for its mirror theory as the half-indices perfectly match with each\nother. We find that a naive mirror symmetry between the exceptional Dirichlet\nboundary conditions defining the Verma modules of the quantum Coulomb and Higgs\nbranch algebras does not always hold. The triangular matrix obtained from the\nelliptic stable envelope describes the precise mirror transformation of a\ncollection of half-indices for the exceptional Dirichlet boundary conditions.",
        "positive": "p-wave Holographic Superconductors and five-dimensional gauged\n  Supergravity: We explore five-dimensional ${\\cal N}=4$ $SU(2)\\times U(1)$ and ${\\cal N}=8$\nSO(6) gauged supergravities as frameworks for condensed matter applications.\nThese theories contain charged (dilatonic) black holes and 2-forms which have\nnon-trivial quantum numbers with respect to U(1) subgroups of SO(6). A question\nof interest is whether they also contain black holes with two-form hair with\nthe required asymptotic to give rise to holographic superconductivity. We first\nconsider the ${\\cal N}=4$ case, which contains a complex two-form potential\n$A_{\\mu\\nu}$ which has U(1) charge $\\pm 1$. We find that a slight\ngeneralization, where the two-form potential has an arbitrary charge $q$, leads\nto a five-dimensional model that exhibits second-order superconducting\ntransitions of p-wave type where the role of order parameter is played by\n$A_{\\mu\\nu}$, provided $q \\gtrsim 5.6$. We identify the operator that condenses\nin the dual CFT, which is closely related to ${\\cal N}=4$ Super Yang-Mills\ntheory with chemical potentials. Similar phase transitions between R-charged\nblack holes and black holes with 2-form hair are found in a generalized version\nof the ${\\cal N}=8$ gauged supergravity Lagrangian where the two-forms have\ncharge $q\\gtrsim 1.8$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Stochastic tunneling in de Sitter spacetime: Tunneling processes in de Sitter spacetime are studied by using the\nstochastic approach. We exploit the Martin-Siggia-Rose-Janssen-de Dominicis\n(MSRJD) functional integral to obtain the tunneling rate. The applicability\nconditions of this method are clarified using the Schwinger-Keldysh formalism.\nIn the case of a shallow potential barrier, we reproduce the Hawking-Moss (HM)\ntunneling rate. Remarkably, in contrast to HM picture, the configuration\nderived from the MSRJD functional integral satisfies physically natural\nboundary conditions. We also discuss the case of a steep potential barrier and\nfind an interesting Coleman-de Luccia (CDL) bubble-like configuration. Our\nresults demonstrate how the bubble nucleation process could be described in the\nstochastic approach. Our method turns out to be useful for investigating\nvarious tunneling processes during inflation.",
        "positive": "Holographic spectral functions and diffusion constants for fundamental\n  matter: The holographic dual of large-Nc super-Yang-Mills coupled to a small number\nof flavours of fundamental matter, Nf << Nc, is described by Nf probe D7-branes\nin the gravitational background of Nc black D3-branes. This system undergoes a\nfirst order phase transition characterised by the `melting' of the mesons. We\nstudy the high temperature phase in which the D7-branes extend through the\nblack hole horizon. In this phase, we compute the spectral function for vector,\nscalar and pseudoscalar modes on the D7-brane probe. We also compute the\ndiffusion constant for the flavour currents."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Cohomological Supercharge: We discuss the supersymmetry operator in the cohomological formulation of\ndimensionally reduced SYM. By establishing the cohomology, a large class of\ninvariants are classified.",
        "positive": "Gauge theories in anti-selfdual variables: Some years ago the Nicolai map, viewed as a change of variables from the\ngauge connection in a fixed gauge to the anti-selfdual part of the curvature,\nhas been extended by the first named author to pure YM from its original\ndefinition in N=1 SUSY YM. We study here the perturbative 1PI effective action\nin the anti-selfdual variables of any gauge theory, in particular pure YM, QCD\nand N=1 SUSY YM. We prove that the one-loop 1PI effective action of a gauge\ntheory mapped to the anti-selfdual variables in any gauge is identical to the\none of the original theory. This is due to the conspiracy between the Jacobian\nof the change to the anti-selfdual variables and an extra functional\ndeterminant that arises from the non-linearity of the coupling of the\nanti-selfdual curvature to an external source in the Legendre transform that\ndefines the 1PI effective action. Hence we establish the one-loop perturbative\nequivalence of the mapped and original theories on the basis of the identity of\nthe one-loop 1PI effective actions. Besides, we argue that the identity of the\nperturbative 1PI effective actions extends order by order in perturbation\ntheory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Large N Harmonic Oscillator as a String Theory: We propose a duality between the large-N gauged harmonic oscillator and a\nnovel string theory in two dimensions.",
        "positive": "The first heat: production of entanglement entropy in the early universe: Entanglement entropy (EE) of a spatial region quantifies correlations between\nthe region and its surroundings. For a free scalar in the adiabatic vacuum in\nde Sitter space the EE is known to remain low, scaling as the surface area of\nthe region. Here, we study the evolution of entanglement after the universe\ntransitions from de Sitter to flat space. We concentrate on the case of a\nmassless minimally coupled scalar. We find numerically that, after the de\nSitter stage ends, the EE and the R\\'enyi entropy rapidly grow and saturate at\nvalues obeying the volume law. The final state of the subsystem (region) is a\npartially thermalized state reminiscent of a generalized Gibbs ensemble. We\ncomment on application of our results to the question of when and how\ncosmological perturbations decohere."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spectral functions of the Dirac operator under local boundary conditions: After a brief discussion of elliptic boundary problems and their properties,\nwe concentrate on a particular example: the Euclidean Dirac operator in two\ndimensions, with its domain determined by local boundary conditions. We discuss\nthe meromorphic structure of the zeta function of the associated second order\nproblem, as well as the main characteristic of the first order problem, i.e.,\nthe boundary contribution to the spectral asymmetry, as defined through the eta\nfunction.",
        "positive": "Exceptional Groups and Physics: Quarks and leptons charges and interactions are derived from gauge theories\nassociated with symmetries. Their space-time labels come from representations\nof the non-compact algebra of Special Relativity. Common to these descriptions\nare the Lie groups stemming from their invariances. Does Nature use Exceptional\nGroups, the most distinctive among them? We examine the case for and against\ntheir use. They do indeed appear in charge space, as the Standard Model fits\nnaturally inside the exceptional group $E_6$. Further, the advent of the\n$E_8\\times E_8$ Heterotic Superstring theory adds credibility to this venue. On\nthe other hand, their use as space-time labels has not been as evident as they\nlink spinors and tensors under space rotations, which flies in the face of the\nspin-statistics connection. We discuss a way to circumvent this difficulty in\ntrying to generalize eleven-dimensional supergravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "T-duality versus Gauge Symmetry: We review the recently constructed `double field theory' which introduces in\naddition to the conventional coordinates associated to momentum modes\ncoordinates associated to winding modes. Thereby, T-duality becomes a global\nsymmetry of the theory, which can be viewed as an `O(D,D) covariantization' of\nthe low-energy effective space-time action of closed string theory. We discuss\nits symmetries with a special emphasis on the relation between global duality\nsymmetries and local gauge symmetries.",
        "positive": "Thermal Conformal Blocks: We study conformal blocks for thermal one-point-functions on the sphere in\nconformal field theories of general dimension. These thermal conformal blocks\nsatisfy second order Casimir differential equations and have integral\nrepresentations related to AdS Witten diagrams. We give an analytic formula for\nthe scalar conformal block in terms of generalized hypergeometric functions. As\nan application, we deduce an asymptotic formula for the three-point coeffcients\nof primary operators in the limit where two of the operators are heavy."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Mass Renormalization in String Theory: Special States: String theory gives a well defined procedure for computing the S-matrix of\nBPS or a class of massless states, but similar calculation for general massive\nstates is plagued with difficulties due to mass renormalization effect. In this\npaper we describe a procedure for computing the renormalized masses and\nS-matrix elements in bosonic string theory for a special class of massive\nstates which do not mix with unphysical states under renormalization. Even\nthough this requires working with off-shell amplitudes which are ambiguous, we\nshow that the renormalized masses and S-matrix elements are free from these\nambiguities. We also argue that the masses and S-matrix elements for general\nexternal states can be found by examining the locations of the poles and the\nresidues of the S-matrix of special states. Finally we discuss generalizations\nto heterotic and superstring theories.",
        "positive": "Geodesic Motions in AdS Soliton Background Space-time: We study both massive and massless particle's geodesic motion in the\nbackground of general dimensional AdS-Sol space-time. We find that the massive\nparticles oscillate along the radial direction, while massless particles\nexperience one-time bouncing as they approach the \"horizon\" line of the\nsoliton. Our results provide a direct way to understand the negative\nenergy/masses leading to the AdS-Sol geometry. As a potential application, we\nextend the point particle to a 3-brane and fix the background as a 5+1\ndimension AdS-Sol, thus obtain a very natural bouncing/cyclic cosmological\nmodel."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-analyticities in three-dimensional gauge theories: Quantum fluctuations generate in three-dimensional gauge theories not only\nradiative corrections to the Chern-Simons coupling but also non-analytic terms\nin the effective action. We review the role of those terms in gauge theories\nwith massless fermions and Chern-Simons theories. The explicit form of\nnon-analytic terms turns out to be dependent on the regularization scheme and\nin consequence the very existence of phenomena like parity and framing\nanomalies becomes regularization dependent. In particular we find\nregularization regimes where both anomalies are absent. Due to the presence of\nnon-analytic terms the effective action becomes not only discontinuous but also\nsingular for some background gauge fields which include sphalerons. The\nappearence of this type of singularities is linked to the existence of nodal\nconfigurations in physical states and tunneling suppression at some classical\nfield configurations. In the topological field theory the number of physical\nstates may also become regularization dependent. Another consequence of the\npeculiar behaviour of three-dimensional theories under parity odd\nregularizations is the existence of a simple mechanism of generation of a mass\ngap in pure Yang-Mills theory by a suitable choice of regularization scheme.\nThe generic value of this mass does agree with the values obtained in\nHamiltonian and numerical analysis. Finally, the existence of different\nregularization regimes unveils the difficulties of establishing a Zamolodchikov\nc-theorem for three-dimensional field theories in terms of the induced\ngravitational Chern-Simons couplings.",
        "positive": "On the Evaluation of Compton Scattering Amplitudes in String Theory: We consider the Compton amplitude for the scattering of a photon and a\n(massless) ``electron/positron'' at one loop (i.e. genus one) in a\nfour-dimensional fermionic heterotic string model. Starting from the\nbosonization of the world-sheet fermions needed to explicitly construct the\nspin-fields representing the space-time fermions, we present all the steps of\nthe computation which leads to the explicit form of the amplitude as an\nintegral of modular forms over the moduli space."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "T-dual RR couplings on D-branes from S-matrix elements: Using the linear T-dual ward identity associated with the NSNS gauge\ntransformations, some RR couplings on D$_p$-branes have been found at order\n$O(\\alpha'^2)$. We examine the $C^{(p-1)}$ couplings with the S-matrix elements\nof one RR, one graviton and one antisymmetric B-field vertex operators. We find\nthe consistency of T-dual S-matrix elements and explicit results of scattering\nstring amplitude and show that the string amplitude reproduces these couplings\nas well as some other couplings. This illustration is found for $C^{(p-3)}$\ncouplings in the literature which is extended to the $C^{(p-1)}$ couplings in\nthis paper.",
        "positive": "A new AdS/CFT correspondence: We consider a geometric zero-radius limit for strings on $AdS_5\\times S^5$,\nwhere the anti-de Sitter hyperboloid becomes the projective lightcone. In this\nlimit the fifth dimension becomes nondynamical, yielding a different\n\"holographic\" interpretation than the usual \"bulk to boundary\" one. When\nquantized on the random lattice, the fifth coordinate acts as a new kind of\nSchwinger parameter, producing Feynman rules with normal propagators at the\ntree level: For example, in the bosonic case ordinary massless $\\phi^4$ theory\nis obtained. In the superstring case we obtain new, manifestly ${\\cal N}=4$\nsupersymmetric rules for ${\\cal N}=4$ super Yang-Mills. These gluons are also\ndifferent from those of the usual AdS/CFT correspondence: They are the\n\"partons\" that make up the usual \"hadrons\" of the open and closed strings in\nthe familiar QCD string picture. Thus, their coupling $g_{YM}$ and rank $N$ of\nthe \"color\" gauge group are different from those of the \"flavor\" gauge group of\nthe open string. As a result we obtain different perturbation expansions in\nradius, coupling, and 1/N."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chern-Simons Forms, Mickelsson-Faddeev Algebras and the P-Branes: In string theory, nilpotence of the BRS operator $\\d$ for the string\nfunctional relates the Chern-Simons term in the gauge-invariant antisymmetric\ntensor field strength to the central term in the Kac-Moody algebra. We\ngeneralize these ideas to p-branes with odd p and find that the Kac-Moody\nalgebra for the string becomes the Mickelsson-Faddeev algebra for the p-brane.",
        "positive": "Infrared Behaviour, sources and the Schwinger action principle: The paper describes a dynamical analogy for the renormalization group which\nleads to insights into its structure."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dressing operator approach to Moyal algebraic deformation of selfdual\n  gravity: Recently Strachan introduced a Moyal algebraic deformation of selfdual\ngravity, replacing a Poisson bracket of the Plebanski equation by a Moyal\nbracket. The dressing operator method in soliton theory can be extended to this\nMoyal algebraic deformation of selfdual gravity. Dressing operators are defined\nas Laurent series with coefficients in the Moyal (or star product) algebra, and\nturn out to satisfy a factorization relation similar to the case of the KP and\nToda hierarchies. It is a loop algebra of the Moyal algebra (i.e., of a\n$W_\\infty$ algebra) and an associated loop group that characterize this\nfactorization relation. The nonlinear problem is linearized on this loop group\nand turns out to be integrable.",
        "positive": "Product of Boundary Distributions: 1) We identify new parameter branches for the ultra-local boundary Poisson\nbracket in d spatial dimension with a (d-1)-dimensional spatial boundary. There\nexist 2^{r(r-1)/2} r-dimensional parameter branches for each d-box, r-row Young\ntableau. The already known branch (hep-th/9912017) corresponds to a vertical\n1-column, d-box Young tableau. 2) We consider a local distribution product\namong the so-called boundary distributions. The product is required to respect\nthe associativity and the Leibnitz rule. We show that the consistency\nrequirements on this product correspond to the Jacobi identity conditions for\nthe boundary Poisson bracket. In other words, the restrictions on forming a\nboundary Poisson bracket can be related to the more fundamental distribution\nproduct construction. 3) The definition of the higher functional derivatives is\nmade independent of the choice of integral kernel representative for a\nfunctional."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Transition Amplitudes in de Sitter Space: Maldacena has shown that the wavefunction of the universe in de Sitter space\ncan be viewed as the partition function of a conformal field theory. In this\npaper, we investigate this approach to the dS/CFT correspondence in further\ndetail. We emphasize that massive bulk fields are dual to two primary operators\non the boundary, which encode information about the two independent behaviors\nof bulk expectation values at late times. An operator statement of the duality\nis given, and it is shown that the resulting boundary correlators can be\ninterpreted as transition amplitudes from the Bunch-Davies vacuum to an excited\nstate in the infinite future. We also explain how these scattering amplitudes\ncan be used to compute late-time Bunch-Davies expectation values, and comment\non the effects of anomalies in the dual CFT on such expectation values.",
        "positive": "A General Solution of the Master Equation for a Class of First Order\n  Systems: Inspired by the formulation of the Batalin-Vilkovisky method of quantization\nin terms of ``odd time'', we show that for a class of gauge theories which are\nfirst order in the derivatives, the kinetic term is bilinear in the fields, and\nthe interaction part satisfies some properties, it is possible to give the\nsolution of the master equation in a very simple way. To clarify the general\nprocedure we discuss its application to Yang-Mills theory, massive (abelian)\ntheory in the Stueckelberg formalism, relativistic particle and to the\nself-interacting antisymmetric tensor field."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-minimally coupled canonical, phantom and quintom models of\n  holographic dark energy: We investigate canonical, phantom and quintom models, with the various fields\nbeing non-minimally coupled to gravity, in the framework of holographic dark\nenergy. We classify them and we discuss their cosmological implications. In\nparticular, we examine the present value of the dark energy equation-of-state\nparameter and the crossing through the phantom divide, and we extract the\nconditions for a future cosmological singularity. The combined scenarios are in\nagreement with observations and reveal interesting cosmological behaviors.",
        "positive": "Anomaly inflow and thermal equilibrium: Using the anomaly inflow mechanism, we compute the flavor/Lorentz\nnon-invariant contribution to the partition function in a background with a\nU(1) isometry. This contribution is a local functional of the background\nfields. By identifying the U(1) isometry with Euclidean time we obtain a\ncontribution of the anomaly to the thermodynamic partition function from which\nhydrostatic correlators can be efficiently computed. Our result is in line\nwith, and an extension of, previous studies on the role of anomalies in a\nhydrodynamic setting. Along the way we find simplified expressions for\nBardeen-Zumino polynomials and various transgression formulae"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Space-time Schr\u00f6dinger symmetries of a post-Galilean particle: We study the space-time symmetries of the actions obtained by expanding the\naction for a massive free relativistic particle around the Galilean action. We\nobtain all the point space-time symmetries of the post-Galilean actions by\nworking in canonical space. We also construct an infinite collection of\ngeneralized Schr\\\"odinger algebras parameterized by an integer $M$, with $M=0$\ncorresponding to the standard Schr\\\"odinger algebra. We discuss the\nSchr\\\"odinger equations associated to these algebras, their solutions and\nprojective phases.",
        "positive": "The Giant Graviton Expansion: We propose and test a novel conjectural relation satisfied by the\nsuperconformal index of maximally supersymmetric $U(N)$ gauge theory in four\ndimensions. Analogous relations appear to be also valid for the superconformal\nindices of a large collection of other gauge theories, as well as for a broad\nclass of index-like generating functions. The relation expresses the finite $N$\nindex as a systematic series of corrections to a large $N$ answer. Individual\ncorrections have an holographic interpretation as the analytic continuation of\ncontributions from \"giant graviton\" branes fixed by a specific symmetry\ngenerator."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "More on Heavy-Light Bootstrap up to Double-Stress-Tensor: We investigate the heavy-light four-point function up to\ndouble-stress-tensor, supplementing 1910.06357. By using the OPE coefficients\nof lowest-twist double-stress-tensor in the literature, we find the Regge\nbehavior for lowest-twist double-stress-tensor in general even dimension within\nthe large impact parameter regime. In the next, we perform the Lorentzian\ninversion formula to obtain both the OPE coefficients and anomalous dimensions\nof double-twist operators $[\\mathcal{O}_H\\mathcal{O}_L]_{n,J}$ with finite spin\n$J$ in $d=4$. We also extract the anomalous dimensions of double-twist\noperators with finite spin in general dimension, which allows us to address the\ncases that $\\Delta_L$ is specified to the poles in lowest-twist\ndouble-stress-tensors where certain double-trace operators\n$[\\mathcal{O}_L\\mathcal{O}_L]_{n,J}$ mix with lowest-twist\ndouble-stress-tensors. In particular, we verify and discuss the Residue\nrelation that determines the product of the mixed anomalous dimension and the\nmixed OPE. We also present the double-trace and mixed OPE coefficients\nassociated with $\\Delta_L$ poles in $d=6,8$. In the end, we turn to discuss\nCFT$_2$, we verify the uniqueness of double-stress-tensor that is consistent\nwith Virasoso symmetry.",
        "positive": "Black hole collision with a scalar particle in four, five and seven\n  dimensional anti-de Sitter spacetimes: ringing and radiation: In this work we compute the spectra, waveforms and total scalar energy\nradiated during the radial infall of a small test particle coupled to a scalar\nfield into a $d$-dimensional Schwarzschild-anti-de Sitter black hole. We focus\non $d=4, 5$ and 7, extending the analysis we have done for $d=3$. For small\nblack holes, the spectra peaks strongly at a frequency $\\omega \\sim d-1$, which\nis the lowest pure anti-de Sitter (AdS) mode. The waveform vanishes\nexponentially as $t \\to \\infty$, and this exponential decay is governed\nentirely by the lowest quasinormal frequency. This collision process is\ninteresting from the point of view of the dynamics itself in relation to the\npossibility of manufacturing black holes at LHC within the brane world\nscenario, and from the point of view of the AdS/CFT conjecture, since the\nscalar field can represent the string theory dilaton, and 4, 5, 7 are\ndimensions of interest for the AdS/CFT correspondence."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "D-Branes in Field Theory: Certain gauge theories in four dimensions are known to admit semi-classical\nD-brane solitons. These are domain walls on which vortex flux tubes may end.\nThe purpose of this paper is to develop an open-string description of these\nD-branes. The dynamics of the domain walls is shown to be governed by a\nChern-Simons-Higgs theory which, at the quantum level, captures the classical\n\"closed string\" scattering of domain wall solitons.",
        "positive": "Generalized Coordinate Gauge, Nonabelian Stokes Theorem and Dual QCD\n  Lagrangian: This paper is an extended version of hep-th/9802134. Dual QCD Lagrangian is\nderived by making use of the generalized coordinate gauge, where 1-form (vector\npotential) is expressed as an integral of the 2-form (field strength) along an\n(arbitrary) contour. As another application a simple proof of the nonabelian\nStokes theorem is given."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "General Metrics of G_2 and Spin(7) Holonomy: Using a method introduced by Hitchin we obtain the system of first order\ndifferential equations that determine the most general cohomogeniety one G_2\nholonomy metric with S^3 \\times S^3 principal orbits. The method is then\napplied to G_2 metric with S^3 \\times T^3 principal orbits in which an analytic\nsolution is obtained. The generalized metric has more free parameters than that\npreviously constructed. After showing that the generalization is non-trivial a\nsystem of first order equations is obtained for new Spin(7) metric with\nprincipal orbits S^7.",
        "positive": "How to Stop (Worrying and Love) the Bubble: Boundary Changing Solutions: We discover that a class of bubbles of nothing are embedded as time dependent\nscaling limits of previous spacelike-brane solutions. With the right initial\nconditions, a near-bubble solution can relax its expansion and open the compact\ncircle. Thermodynamics of the new class of solutions is discussed and the\nrelationships between brane/flux transitions, tachyon condensation and\nimaginary D-branes are outlined. Finally, a related class of simultaneous\nconnected S-branes are also examined."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Nonlinear (Super)Symmetries and Amplitudes: There is an increasing interest in nonlinear supersymmetries in cosmological\nmodel building. Independently, elegant expressions for the all-tree amplitudes\nin models with nonlinear symmetries, like D3 brane\nDirac-Born-Infeld-Volkov-Akulov theory, were recently discovered. Using the\ngeneralized background field method we show how, in general, nonlinear\nsymmetries of the action, bosonic and fermionic, constrain amplitudes beyond\nsoft limits. The same identities control, for example, bosonic E_{7(7)} scalar\nsector symmetries as well as the fermionic goldstino symmetries.\n  We present a universal derivation of the vanishing amplitudes in the single\n(bosonic or fermionic) soft limit. We explain why, universally, the double-soft\nlimit probes the coset space algebra. We also provide identities describing the\nmultiple-soft limit. We discuss loop corrections to N\\geq 5 supergravity, to\nthe D3 brane, and the UV completion of constrained multiplets in string theory.",
        "positive": "Formation of Black Holes in Topologically Massive Gravity: We present an exact solution in 3-dimensional topologically massive gravity\nwith negative cosmological constant which dynamically interpolates between a\npast horizon and a chiral AdS pp-wave. Similarly, upon time reversal, one\nobtains an AdS pp-wave with a future event horizon"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On holographic entanglement entropy of Horndeski black holes: We study entanglement entropy in a particular tensor-scalar theory: Horndeski\ngravity. Our goal is two-fold: investigate the Lewkowycz-Maldacena proposal for\nentanglement entropy in the presence of a tensor-scalar coupling and address a\npuzzle existing in the literature regarding the thermal entropy of\nasymptotically AdS Horndeski black holes. Using the squashed cone method, i.e.\nturning on a conical singularity in the bulk, we derive the functional for\nentanglement entropy in Horndeski gravity. We analyze the divergence structure\nof the bulk equation of motion. Demanding that the leading divergence of the\ntransverse component of the equation of motion vanishes we identify the surface\nwhere to evaluate the entanglement functional. We show that the surface\nobtained is precisely the one that minimizes said functional. By evaluating the\nentanglement entropy functional on the horizon we obtain the thermal entropy\nfor Horndeski black holes; this result clarifies discrepancies in the\nliterature. As an application of the functional derived we find the minimal\nsurfaces numerically and study the entanglement plateaux.",
        "positive": "Polylogarithm identities, cluster algebras and the N=4 supersymmetric\n  theory: Scattering amplitudes in N = 4 super-Yang Mills theory can be computed to\nhigher perturbative orders than in any other four-dimensional quantum field\ntheory. The results are interesting transcendental functions. By a hidden\nsymmetry (dual conformal symmetry) the arguments of these functions have a\ngeometric interpretation in terms of configurations of points in CP^3 and they\nturn out to be cluster coordinates. We briefly introduce cluster algebras and\ndiscuss their Poisson structure and the Sklyanin bracket. Finally, we present a\n40-term trilogarithm identity which was discovered by accident while studying\nthe physical results."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Static supersymmetric black holes in AdS_4 with spherical symmetry: We elaborate further on the static supersymmetric AdS_4 black holes found in\narXiv:0911.4926, investigating thoroughly the BPS constraints for spherical\nsymmetry in N = 2 gauged supergravity in the presence of Fayet-Iliopoulos\nterms. We find Killing spinors that preserve two of the original eight\nsupercharges and investigate the conditions for genuine black holes free of\nnaked singularities. The existence of a horizon is intimately related with the\nrequirement that the scalars are not constant, but given in terms of harmonic\nfunctions in analogy to the attractor flow in ungauged supergravity. The black\nhole charges depend on the choice of the electromagnetic gauging, with only\nmagnetic charges for purely electric gaugings. Finally we show how these black\nholes can be embedded in N = 8 supergravity and thus in M-theory.",
        "positive": "Anyonic Defect Branes and Conformal Blocks in Twisted Equivariant\n  Differential (TED) K-theory: We demonstrate that twisted equivariant differential K-theory of transverse\ncomplex curves accommodates exotic charges of the form expected of\ncodimension=2 defect branes, such as of D7-branes in IIB/F-theory on A-type\norbifold singularities, but also of their dual 3-brane defects of class-S\ntheories on M5-branes. These branes have been argued, within F-theory and the\nAGT correspondence, to carry special SL(2)-monodromy charges not seen for other\nbranes, but none of these had previously been identified in the expected brane\ncharge quantization law given by K-theory.\n  Here we observe that it is the subtle (and previously somewhat neglected)\ntwisting of equivariant K-theory by flat complex line bundles appearing inside\norbi-singularities (\"inner local systems\") that makes the secondary Chern\ncharacter on a punctured plane inside an A-type singularity evaluate to the\ntwisted holomorphic de Rham cohomology which Feigin, Schechtman & Varchenko\nshowed realizes sl(2,C)-conformal blocks, here in degree 1 -- in fact it gives\nthe direct sum of these over all admissible fractional levels. The remaining\nhigher-degree conformal blocks appear similarly if we assume our previously\ndiscussed \"Hypothesis H\" about brane charge quantization in M-theory. Since\nconformal blocks -- and hence these twisted equivariant secondary Chern\ncharacters -- solve the Knizhnik-Zamolodchikov equation and thus constitute\nrepresentations of the braid group of motions of defect branes inside their\ntransverse space, this provides a concrete first-principles realization of\nanyon statistics of -- and hence of topological quantum computation on --\ndefect branes in string/M-theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Heat-Kernel Asymptotics of Locally Symmetric Spaces of Rank One and\n  Chern-Simons Invariants: The asymptotic expansion of the heat kernel associated with Laplace operators\nis considered for general irreducible rank one locally symmetric spaces.\nInvariants of the Chern-Simons theory of irreducible U(n)- flat connections on\nreal compact hyperbolic 3-manifolds are derived",
        "positive": "Lorentzian AdS, Wormholes and Holography: We investigate the structure of two point functions for the QFT dual to an\nasymptotically Lorentzian AdS-wormhole. The bulk geometry is a solution of\n5-dimensional second order Einstein Gauss Bonnet gravity and causally connects\ntwo asymptotically AdS space times. We revisit the GKPW prescription for\ncomputing two-point correlation functions for dual QFT operators O in\nLorentzian signature and we propose to express the bulk fields in terms of the\nindependent boundary values phi_0^\\pm at each of the two asymptotic AdS\nregions, along the way we exhibit how the ambiguity of normalizable modes in\nthe bulk, related to initial and final states, show up in the computations. The\nindependent boundary values are interpreted as sources for dual operators O^\\pm\nand we argue that, apart from the possibility of entanglement, there exists a\ncoupling between the degrees of freedom leaving at each boundary. The AdS_(1+1)\ngeometry is also discussed in view of its similar boundary structure. Based on\nthe analysis, we propose a very simple geometric criterium to distinguish\ncoupling from entanglement effects among the two set of degrees of freedom\nassociated to each of the disconnected parts of the boundary."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Entropy and topology for manifolds with boundaries: In this work a deep relation between topology and thermodynamical features of\nmanifolds with boundaries is shown. The expression for the Euler\ncharacteristic, through the Gauss- Bonnet integral, and the one for the entropy\nof gravitational instantons are proposed in a form which makes the relation\nbetween them self-evident. A generalization of Bekenstein-Hawking formula, in\nwhich entropy and Euler characteristic are related in the form $S=\\chi A/8$, is\nobtained. This formula reproduces the correct result for extreme black hole,\nwhere the Bekenstein-Hawking one fails ($S=0$ but $A \\neq 0$). In such a way it\nrecovers a unified picture for the black hole entropy law. Moreover, it is\nproved that such a relation can be generalized to a wide class of manifolds\nwith boundaries which are described by spherically symmetric metrics (e.g.\nSchwarzschild, Reissner-Nordstr\\\"{o}m, static de Sitter).",
        "positive": "Reheating after relaxation of large cosmological constant: We present a cosmological model of an early-time scenario that incorporates a\nrelaxation process of the would-be large vacuum energy, followed by a reheating\nera connecting to the standard hot big bang universe. Avoiding fine-tuning the\ncosmological constant is achieved by the dynamics of a scalar field whose\nkinetic term is modulated by an inverse power of spacetime curvature. While it\nis at work against radiative corrections to the dark energy, this mechanism\nalone would wipe out not only the vacuum energy but also all other matter\ncontents. Our present work aims to complete the scenario by exploiting a\nnull-energy-condition violating sector whose energy is eventually transferred\nto a reheating sector. We provide an explicit example of this process and thus\na concrete scenario of the cosmic onset that realizes the thermal history of\nthe Universe with a negligible cosmological constant."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Stable causality of Black Saturns: We prove that the Black Saturns are stably causal on the closure of the\ndomain of outer communications.",
        "positive": "Flux corrections to anomaly cancellation in M-theory on a manifold with\n  boundary: We show how the coupling of gravitinos and gauginos to fluxes modifies\nanomaly cancellation in M-theory on a manifold with boundary. Anomaly\ncancellation continues to hold, after a shift of the definition of the gauge\ncurrents by a local gauge invariant expression in the curvatures and E8\nfieldstrengths. We compute the first nontrivial correction of this kind.\nWarning: Ian Moss has called into question several of the numerical\ncoefficients in the extended Dirac operators in this paper. We have not\nconfirmed this but the reader is warned not to trust the precise coefficients\nin the formulae for the Dirac operators and heat kernel expansions. We believe\nthese possible errors do not change our qualitative conclusions. One of us\nintends to return to the issue and recheck the formulae. We thank Ian Moss for\npointing out these problems."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Firewalls in General Relativity: We present spherically symmetric solutions to Einstein's equations which are\nequivalent to canonical Schwarzschild and Reissner-Nordstrom black holes on the\nexterior, but with singular (Planck-density) shells at their respective event\nand inner horizons. The locally measured mass of the shell and the singularity\nare much larger than the asymptotic ADM mass. The area of the shell is equal to\nthat of the corresponding canonical black hole, but the physical distance from\nthe shell to the singularity is a Planck length, suggesting a natural\nexplanation for the scaling of the black hole entropy with area. The existence\nof such singular shells enables solutions to the black hole information problem\nof Schwarzschild black holes and the Cauchy horizon problem of\nReissner-Nordstrom black holes. While we cannot rigorously address the\nformation of these solutions, we suggest plausibility arguments for how normal\nblack hole solutions may evolve into such states. We also comment on the\npossibility of negative mass Schwarzschild solutions that could be constructed\nusing our methods. Requirements for the non-existence of negative-mass\nsolutions may put restrictions on the types of singularities allowed in an\nultraviolet theory of gravity.",
        "positive": "Correlation measures and distillable entanglement in AdS/CFT: Recent developments have exposed close connections between quantum\ninformation and holography. In this paper, we explore the geometrical\ninterpretations of the recently introduced $Q$-correlation and $R$-correlation,\n$E_Q$ and $E_R$. We find that $E_Q$ admits a natural geometric interpretation\nvia the surface-state correspondence: it is a minimal mutual information\nbetween a surface region $A$ and a cross-section of $A$'s entanglement wedge\nwith $B$. We note a strict trade-off between this minimal mutual information\nand the symmetric side-channel assisted distillable entanglement from the\nenvironment $E$ to $A$, $I^{ss}(E\\rangle A)$. We also show that the\n$R$-correlation, $E_R$, coincides holographically with the entanglement wedge\ncross-section. This further elucidates the intricate relationship between\nentanglement, correlations, and geometry in holographic field theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "How to superize Liouville equation: So far, there are described in the literature two ways to superize the\nLiouville equation: for a scalar field (for $N\\leq 4$) and for a vector-valued\nfield (analogs of the Leznov--Saveliev equations) for N=1. Both superizations\nare performed with the help of Neveu--Schwarz superalgebra. We consider another\nversion of these superLiouville equations based on the Ramond superalgebra,\ntheir explicit solutions are given by Ivanov--Krivonos' scheme. Open problems\nare offered.",
        "positive": "Lifshitz/Schr\u00f6dinger D-p-branes and dynamical exponents: We extend our earlier study of special double limits of `boosted' $AdS_5$\nblack hole solutions to include all black D$p$-branes of type II strings. We\nfind that Lifshitz solutions can be obtained in generality, with varied\ndynamical exponents, by employing these limits. We then study such double\nlimits for `boosted' D$p$-brane bubble solutions and find that the resulting\nnon-relativistic solutions instead describe Schr\\\"odinger like spacetimes,\nhaving varied dynamical exponents. We get a simple map between these Lifshitz &\nSchr\\\"odinger solutions and a relationship between two types of dynamical\nexponents. We also discuss about the singularities of the Lifshitz solutions\nand an intriguing thermodynamic duality."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Metric Flows with Neural Networks: We develop a theory of flows in the space of Riemannian metrics induced by\nneural network gradient descent. This is motivated in part by recent advances\nin approximating Calabi-Yau metrics with neural networks and is enabled by\nrecent advances in understanding flows in the space of neural networks. We\nderive the corresponding metric flow equations, which are governed by a metric\nneural tangent kernel, a complicated, non-local object that evolves in time.\nHowever, many architectures admit an infinite-width limit in which the kernel\nbecomes fixed and the dynamics simplify. Additional assumptions can induce\nlocality in the flow, which allows for the realization of Perelman's\nformulation of Ricci flow that was used to resolve the 3d Poincar\\'e\nconjecture. We apply these ideas to numerical Calabi-Yau metrics, including a\ndiscussion on the importance of feature learning.",
        "positive": "Black Holes and Massive Remnants: This paper revisits the conundrum faced when one attempts to understand the\ndynamics of black hole formation and evaporation without abandoning unitary\nevolution. Previous efforts to resolve this puzzle assume that information\nescapes in corrections to the Hawking process, that an arbitrarily large amount\nof information is transmitted by a planckian energy or contained in a\nPlanck-sized remnant, or that the information is lost to another universe. Each\nof these possibilities has serious difficulties. This paper considers another\nalternative: remnants that carry large amounts of information and whose size\nand mass depend on their information content. The existence of such objects is\nsuggested by attempts to incorporate a Planck scale cutoff into physics. They\nwould greatly alter the late stages of the evaporation process. The main\ndrawback of this scenario is apparent acausal behavior behind the horizon."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-abelian black strings: Non-abelian black strings in a 5-dimensional Einstein-Yang-Mills model are\nconsidered. The solutions are spherically symmetric non-abelian black holes in\n4 dimensions extended into an extra dimension and thus possess horizon topology\nS^2 x R. We find that several branches of solutions exist. In addition, we\ndetermine the domain of existence of the non-abelian black strings.",
        "positive": "IR properties of one loop corrections to brane-to-brane propagators in\n  models with localized vector bosons: We discuss the one loop effects of massless fermion fields on the low energy\nvector brane-to-brane propagators in the framework of two QED brane-world\nscenarios. We show that one loop photon brane-to-brane propagator has a power\nlaw pathologic IR divergences in the 5D QED brane-world model with gap between\nthe vector zero mode and continuous states. We also find that bulk fermions do\nnot give rise to IR divergences in a photon brane-to-brane Green's function at\nleast at the one loop level in the framework of 6D QED brane model with gapless\nmass spectrum between vector zero mode and higher states."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Theory of Stochastic Space-Time. 1. Gravitation as a Quantum\n  Diffusion: The Nelson stochastic mechanics of inhomogeneous quantum diffusion in flat\nspacetime with a tensor of diffusion can be described as a homogeneous one in a\nRiemannian manifold where this tensor of diffusion plays the role of a metric\ntensor. It is shown that the such diffusion accelerates both a sample particle\nand a local frame such that their mean accelerations do not depend on their\nmasses. This fact, explaining the principle of equivalence, allows one to\nrepresent the curvature and gravitation as consequences of the quantum\nfluctuations. In this diffusional treatment of gravitation it can be naturally\nexplained the fact that the energy density of the instantaneous Newtonian\ninteraction is negative defined.",
        "positive": "Open Spin Chains in Super Yang-Mills at Higher Loops: Some Potential\n  Problems with Integrability: The super Yang-Mills duals of open strings attached to maximal giant\ngravitons are studied in perturbation theory. It is shown that non-BPS baryonic\nexcitations of the gauge theory can be studied within the paradigm of open\nquantum spin chains even beyond the leading order in perturbation theory. The\nopen spin chain describing the two loop mixing of non-BPS giant gravitons\ncharged under an su(2) of the so(6) R symmetry group is explicitly constructed.\nIt is also shown that although the corresponding open spin chain is integrable\nat the one loop order, there is a potential breakdown of integrability at two\nand higher loops. The study of integrability is performed using coordinate\nBethe ansatz techniques."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fivebranes and 4-manifolds: We describe rules for building 2d theories labeled by 4-manifolds. Using the\nproposed dictionary between building blocks of 4-manifolds and 2d N=(0,2)\ntheories, we obtain a number of results, which include new 3d N=2 theories\nT[M_3] associated with rational homology spheres and new results for\nVafa-Witten partition functions on 4-manifolds. In particular, we point out\nthat the gluing measure for the latter is precisely the superconformal index of\n2d (0,2) vector multiplet and relate the basic building blocks with coset\nbranching functions. We also offer a new look at the fusion of defect lines /\nwalls, and a physical interpretation of the 4d and 3d Kirby calculus as\ndualities of 2d N=(0,2) theories and 3d N=2 theories, respectively",
        "positive": "Derivation of spontaneously broken gauge symmetry from the consistency\n  of effective field theory I: Massive vector bosons coupled to a scalar field: We revisit the problem of deriving local gauge invariance with spontaneous\nsymmetry breaking in the context of an effective field theory. Previous\nderivations were based on the condition of tree-order unitarity. However, the\nmodern point of view considers the Standard Model as the leading order\napproximation to an effective field theory. As tree-order unitarity is in any\ncase violated by higher-order terms in an effective field theory, it is\ninstructive to investigate a formalism which can be also applied to analyze\nhigher-order interactions. In the current work we consider an effective field\ntheory of massive vector bosons interacting with a massive scalar field. We\nimpose the conditions of generating the right number of constraints for systems\nwith spin-one particles and perturbative renormalizability as well as the\nseparation of scales at one-loop order. We find that the above conditions\nimpose severe restrictions on the coupling constants of the interaction terms.\nExcept for the strengths of the self-interactions of the scalar field, that can\nnot be determined at this order from the analysis of three- and four-point\nfunctions, we recover the gauge-invariant Lagrangian with spontaneous symmetry\nbreaking taken in the unitary gauge as the leading order approximation to an\neffective field theory. We also outline the additional work that is required to\nfinish this program."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Connecting 5d Higgs Branches via Fayet-Iliopoulos Deformations: We describe how the geometry of the Higgs branch of 5d superconformal field\ntheories is transformed under movement along the extended Coulomb branch.\nWorking directly with the (unitary) magnetic quiver, we demonstrate a\ncorrespondence between Fayet-Iliopoulos deformations in 3d and 5d mass\ndeformations. When the Higgs branch has multiple cones, characterised by a\ncollection of magnetic quivers, the mirror map is not globally well-defined,\nhowever we are able to utilize the correspondence to establish a local version\nof mirror symmetry. We give several detailed examples of deformations,\nincluding decouplings and weak-coupling limits, in $(D_n,D_n)$ conformal matter\ntheories, $T_N$ theory and its parent $P_N$, for which we find new Lagrangian\ndescriptions given by quiver gauge theories with fundamental and anti-symmetric\nmatter.",
        "positive": "Some Remarks on Anthropic Approaches to the Strong CP Problem: The peculiar value of $\\theta$ is a challenge to the notion of an anthropic\nlandscape. We briefly review the possibility that a suitable axion might arise\nfrom an anthropic requirement of dark matter. We then consider an alternative\nsuggestion of Kaloper and Terning that $\\theta$ might be correlated with the\ncosmological constant. We note that in a landscape one expects that $\\theta$ is\ndetermined by the expectation value of one or more axions. We discuss how a\ndiscretuum of values of $\\theta$ might arise with an energy distribution\ndominated by QCD, and find the requirements to be quite stringent. Given such a\ndiscretuum, we find limited circumstances where small $\\theta$ might be\nselected by anthropic requirements on the cosmological constant."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dynamical systems of eternal inflation: A possible solution to the\n  problems of entropy, measure, observables and initial conditions: There are two main approaches to non-equlibrium statistical mechanics: one\nusing stochastic processes and the other using dynamical systems. To model the\ndynamics during inflation one usually adopts a stochastic description, which is\nknown to suffer from serious conceptual problems. To overcome the problems\nand/or to gain more insight, we develop a dynamical systems approach. A key\nassumption that goes into analysis is the chaotic hypothesis, which is a\nnatural generalization of the ergodic hypothesis to non-Hamiltonian systems.\nThe unfamiliar feature for gravitational systems is that the local phase space\ntrajectories can either reproduce or escape due to the presence of cosmological\nand black hole horizons. We argue that the effect of horizons can be studied\nusing dynamical systems and apply the so-called thermodynamic formalism to\nderive the equilibrium (or Sinai-Ruelle-Bowen) measure given by a variational\nprinciple. We show that the only physical measure is not the Liouville measure\n(i.e. no entropy problem), but the equilibrium measure (i.e. no measure\nproblem) defined over local trajectories (i.e. no problem of observables) and\nsupported on only infinite trajectories (i.e. no problem of initial\nconditions). Phenomenological aspects of the fluctuation theorem are discussed.",
        "positive": "Inflation with a stringy minimal length, reworked: In this paper we revisit the formulation of scalar field theories on de\nSitter backgrounds subject to the generalized uncertainty principle (GUP). The\nGUP arises in several contexts in string theory, but is most readily thought of\nas resulting from using strings as effective probes of geometry, which suggests\nan uncertainty relation incorporating the string scale $l_s$. After reviewing\nthe string theoretic case for the GUP, which implies a minimum length scale\n$l_s$, we follow in the footsteps of Kempf and concern ourselves with how one\nmight write down field theories which respect the GUP. We uncover a new\nrepresentation of the GUP, which unlike previous studies, readily permits exact\nanalytical solutions for the mode functions of a scalar field on de Sitter\nbackgrounds. We find that scalar fields cannot be quantized on inflationary\nbackgrounds with a Hubble radius $H^{-1}$ smaller than the string scale,\nimplying a sensibly stringy (as opposed to Planckian) cutoff on the scale of\ninflation resulting from the GUP. We also compute $(H l_s)^2$ corrections to\nthe two point correlation function analytically and comment on the future\nprospects of observing such corrections in the fortunate circumstance our\nuniverse is described by a very weakly coupled string theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Observer-dependent black hole interior from operator collision: We present concrete construction of interior operators for a black hole which\nis perturbed by an infalling observer. The construction is independent from the\ninitial states of the black hole while dependent only on the quantum state of\nthe infalling observer. The construction has a natural interpretation from the\nperspective of the boundary operator's growth, resulting from the collision\nbetween operators accounting for the infalling and outgoing modes. The interior\npartner modes are created once the infalling observer measures the outgoing\nmode, suggesting that the black hole interior is observer-dependent.\nImplications of our results on various conceptual puzzles, including the\nfirewall puzzle and the information problem, are also discussed.",
        "positive": "The Holographic Landscape of Symmetric Product Orbifolds: We investigate the growth of coefficients in the elliptic genus of symmetric\nproduct orbifolds at large central charge. We find that this landscape\ndecomposes into two regions. In one region, the growth of the low energy states\nis Hagedorn, which indicates a stringy dual. In the other, the growth is much\nslower, and compatible with the spectrum of a supergravity theory on AdS$_3$.\nWe provide a simple diagnostic which places any symmetric product orbifold in\neither region. We construct a class of elliptic genera with such\nsupergravity-like growth, indicating the possible existence of new realizations\nof AdS$_3$/CFT$_2$ where the bulk is a semi-classical supergravity theory. In\nsuch cases, we give exact expressions for the BPS degeneracies, which could be\nmatched with the spectrum of perturbative states in a dual supergravity\ndescription."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Eschenburg space as gravity dual of flavored N=4 Chern-Simons-matter\n  theory: We find 3D flavored N=4 Chern-Simons-matter theory, a kind of N=3 SCFT, has a\ngravity dual AdS4xM7(t1,t2,t3) where three coprime parameters can be read off\naccording to the number and charge of 5-branes in Type IIB setup. Because\nM7(t1,t2,t3) has been known in literatures as Eschenburg space, we exploit some\nof its properties to examine the correspondence between two sides.",
        "positive": "Two-loop kite master integral for a correlator of two composite vertices: We consider the most general two-loop massless correlator\n$I(n_1,n_2,n_3,n_4,n_5; x,y;D)$ of two composite vertices with the Bjorken\nfractions $x$ and $y$ for arbitrary indices $\\{n_i\\}$ and space-time dimension\n$D$; this correlator is represented by a \"kite\" diagram. The correlator\n$I(\\{n_i\\};x,y;D)$ is the generating function for any scalar Feynman integrals\nrelated to this kind of diagrams. We calculate $I(\\{n_i\\};x,y;D)$ and its\nMellin moments in a direct way by evaluating hypergeometric integrals in the\n$\\alpha$ representation. The result for $I(\\{n_i\\};x,y;D)$ is given in terms of\na double hypergeometric series -- the Kamp\\'{e} de F\\'{e}rriet function. In\nsome particular but still quite general cases it reduces to a sum of\ngeneralized hypergeometric functions $_3F_2$. The Mellin moments can be\nexpressed through generalized Lauricella functions, which reduce to the\nKamp\\'{e} de F\\'{e}rriet functions in several physically interesting\nsituations. A number of Feynman integrals involved and relations for them are\nobtained."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "More Curiosities at Effective c = 1: The moduli space of all rational conformal quantum field theories with\neffective central charge c_eff = 1 is considered. Whereas the space of unitary\ntheories essentially forms a manifold, the non unitary ones form a fractal\nwhich lies dense in the parameter plane. Moreover, the points of this set are\nshown to be in one-to-one correspondence with the elements of the modular group\nfor which an action on this set is defined.",
        "positive": "Effects of quantum deformation on the integer quantum Hall effect: In this work an application of the $\\kappa$--deformed algebra in condensed\nmatter physics is presented. Starting by the $\\kappa$--deformed Dirac equation\nwe study the relativistic generalization of the $\\kappa$--deformed Landau\nlevels as well as the consequences of the deformation on the Hall conductivity.\nBy comparing the $\\kappa$--deformed Landau levels in the nonrelativistic regime\nwith the energy levels of a two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) in the presence\nof a normal magnetic field, upper bounds for the deformation parameter in\ndifferent materials are established. An expression for the $\\kappa$--deformed\nHall conductivity of a 2DEG is obtained as well. The expression recovers the\nwell-known result for the usual Hall conductivity in the limit\n$\\varepsilon=\\kappa^{-1}\\to 0$. The deformation parameter breaks the Landau\nlevels degeneracy and due to this, it is observed that deformation gives rise\nto new plateaus of conductivity in a such way that the plateaus widths of the\n$\\kappa$--deformed Hall conductivity are less than the usual one. By studying\nthe temperature dependence of the $\\kappa$--deformed Hall conductivity, we show\nthat an increase of the temperature causes the smearing of the plateaus and a\ndiminution of the effect of the deformation, whilst an increase in the magnetic\nfield enhances the effect of the deformation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic Complexity Of Cold Hyperbolic Black Holes: AdS black holes with hyperbolic horizons provide strong-coupling descriptions\nof thermal CFT states on hyperboloids. The low-temperature limit of these\nsystems is peculiar. In this note we show that, in addition to a large ground\nstate degeneracy, these states also have an anomalously large holographic\ncomplexity, scaling logarithmically with the temperature. We speculate on\nwhether this fact generalizes to other systems whose extreme infrared regime is\nformally controlled by Conformal Quantum Mechanics, such as various instances\nof near-extremal charged black holes.",
        "positive": "Crypto-Harmonic Oscillator in Higher Dimensions: Classical and Quantum\n  Aspects: We study complexified Harmonic Oscillator models in two and three dimensions.\nOur work is a generalization of the work of Smilga \\cite{sm} who initiated the\nstudy of these Crypto-gauge invariant models that can be related to\n$PT$-symmetric models. We show that rotational symmetry in higher spatial\ndimensions naturally introduces more constraints, (in contrast to \\cite{sm}\nwhere one deals with a single constraint), with a much richer constraint\nstructure. Some common as well as distinct features in the study of the same\nCrypto-oscillator in different dimensions are revealed. We also quantize the\ntwo dimensional Crypto-oscillator."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Unique Nilpotent Symmetry Transformations For Matter Fields In QED:\n  Augmented Superfield Formalism: We derive the local, covariant, continuous, anticommuting and off-shell\nnilpotent (anti-)BRST symmetry transformations for the interacting U(1) gauge\ntheory of quantum electrodynamics (QED) in the framework of augmented\nsuperfield approach to BRST formalism. In addition to the horizontality\ncondition, we invoke another gauge invariant condition on the six (4,\n2)-dimensional supermanifold to obtain the exact and unique nilpotent symmetry\ntransformations for all the basic fields, present in the (anti-)BRST invariant\nLagrangian density of the physical four (3 + 1)-dimensional QED. The above\nsupermanifold is parametrized by four even spacetime variables x^\\mu (with \\mu\n= 0, 1, 2, 3) and a couple of odd variables (\\theta and \\bar\\theta) of the\nGrassmann algebra. The new gauge invariant condition on the supermanifold owes\nits origin to the (super) covariant derivatives and leads to the derivation of\nunique nilpotent symmetry transformations for the matter fields. The\ngeometrical interpretations for all the above off-shell nilpotent\ntransformations are discussed, too.",
        "positive": "Chiral dynamics in QED and QCD in a magnetic background and nonlocal\n  noncommutative field theories: We study the connection of the chiral dynamics in QED and QCD in a strong\nmagnetic field with noncommutative field theories (NCFT). It is shown that\nthese dynamics determine complicated nonlocal NCFT. In particular, although the\ninteraction vertices for electrically neutral composites in these gauge models\ncan be represented in the space with noncommutative spatial coordinates, there\nis no field transformation that could put the vertices in the conventional form\nconsidered in the literature. It is unlike the Nambu-Jona-Lasinio (NJL) model\nin a magnetic field where such a field transformation can be found, with a cost\nof introducing an exponentially damping form factor in field propagators. The\ncrucial distinction between these two types of models is in the characters of\ntheir interactions, being short-range in the NJL-like models and long-range in\ngauge theories. The relevance of the NCFT connected with the gauge models for\nthe description of the quantum Hall effect in condensed matter systems with\nlong-range interactions is briefly discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Gauge Theory that mixes Bosonic and Fermionic Gauge Fields: Using a gauge symmetry derived by applying the Dirac constraint formalism to\nsupergravity with cosmological term in 2+1 dimensions, we construct a gauge\ntheory with many characteristics of Yang-Mills theory. The gauge transformation\nmixes two Bosonic fields and one Fermionic field.",
        "positive": "Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless transition and criticality of an\n  elliptic deformation of the sine-Gordon model: We introduce and study the properties of a periodic model interpolating\nbetween the sine-- and the sinh--Gordon theories in $1+1$ dimensions. This\nmodel shows the peculiarities, due to the preservation of the functional form\nof their potential across RG flows, of the two limiting cases: the sine-Gordon,\nnot having conventional order/magnetization at finite temperature, but\nexhibiting Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless (BKT) transition; and the\nsinh-Gordon, not having a phase transition, but being integrable. The\nconsidered interpolation, which we term as {\\em sn-Gordon} model, is performed\nwith potentials written in terms of Jacobi functions. The critical properties\nof the sn-Gordon theory are discussed by a renormalization-group approach. The\ncritical points, except the sinh-Gordon one, are found to be of BKT type.\nExplicit expressions for the critical coupling as a function of the elliptic\nmodulus are given."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Critical exponents and amplitude ratios of scalar nonextensive $q$-field\n  theories: We compute the radiative quantum corrections to the critical exponents and\namplitude ratios for O($N$) $\\lambda\\phi^{4}$ scalar high energy nonextensive\n$q$-field theories. We employ the field theoretic renormalization group\napproach through six methods for evaluating the high energy nonextensive\ncritical exponents up to next-to-leading order while the high energy\nnonextensive amplitude ratios are computed up to leading level by applying\nthree methods. Later we generalize these high energy nonextensive finite loop\norder results for any loop level. We find that the high energy nonextensive\ncritical exponents are the same when obtained through all the methods employed.\nThe same fact occurs for the high energy nonextensive amplitude ratios.\nFurthermore, we show that these high energy nonextensive universal quantities\nare equal to their low energy extensive counterparts, thus showing that the\nnonextensivity is broken down at high energies.",
        "positive": "The emergence of Special and Doubly Special Relativity: Building on our previous work [Phys.Rev.D82,085016(2010)], we show in this\npaper how a Brownian motion on a short scale can originate a relativistic\nmotion on scales that are larger than particle's Compton wavelength. This can\nbe described in terms of polycrystalline vacuum. Viewed in this way, special\nrelativity is not a primitive concept, but rather it statistically emerges when\na coarse graining average over distances of order, or longer than the Compton\nwavelength is taken. By analyzing the robustness of such a special relativity\nunder small variations in the polycrystalline grain-size distribution we\nnaturally arrive at the notion of doubly-special relativistic dynamics. In this\nway, a previously unsuspected, common statistical origin of the two frameworks\nis brought to light. Salient issues such as the role of gauge fixing in\nemergent relativity, generalized commutation relations, Hausdorff dimensions of\nrepresentative path-integral trajectories and a connection with Feynman\nchessboard model are also discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Horizon Strings and Interior States of a Black Hole: We provide an explicit construction of classical strings that have endpoints\non the horizons of the 2D Lorentzian black hole. We argue that this is a dual\ndescription of geodesics that are localized around the horizon which are the\nLorentzian counterparts of the winding strings of the Euclidean black hole (the\ncigar geometry). Identifying these with the states of the black hole, we can\nexpect that issues of black hole information loss can be posed sharply in terms\nof a fully quantizable string theory.",
        "positive": "The Quantum Darboux Theorem,: The problem of computing quantum mechanical propagators can be recast as a\ncomputation of a Wilson line operator for parallel transport by a flat\nconnection acting on a vector bundle of wavefunctions. In this picture the base\nmanifold is an odd dimensional symplectic geometry, or quite generically a\ncontact manifold that can be viewed as a \"phase-spacetime\", while the fibers\nare Hilbert spaces. This approach enjoys a \"quantum Darboux theorem\" that\nparallels the Darboux theorem on contact manifolds which turns local classical\ndynamics into straight lines. We detail how the quantum Darboux theorem works\nfor anharmonic quantum potentials. In particular, we develop a novel\ndiagrammatic approach for computing the asymptotics of a gauge transformation\nthat locally makes complicated quantum dynamics trivial."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Energies of Strings in a 2+1 Dimensional Gauge Theory: We study classically unstable string type configurations and compute the\nrenormalized vacuum polarization energies that arise from fermion fluctuations\nin a 2+1 dimensional analog of the standard model. We then search for a minimum\nof the total energy (classical plus vacuum polarization energies) by varying\nthe profile functions that characterize the string. We find that typical string\nconfigurations bind numerous fermions and that populating these levels is\nbeneficial to further decrease the total energy. Ultimately our goal is to\nexplore the stabilization of string type configurations in the standard model\nthrough quantum effects.\n  We compute the vacuum polarization energy within the phase shift formalism\nwhich identifies terms in the Born series for scattering data and Feynman\ndiagrams. This approach allows us to implement standard renormalization\nconditions of perturbation theory and thus yields the unambiguous result for\nthis non--perturbative contribution to the total energy.",
        "positive": "Multiloop String Amplitudes with B-Field and Noncommutative QFT: The multiloop amplitudes for the bosonic string in presence of a constant\nB-field are built by using the basic commutation relations for the open string\nzero modes and oscillators. The open string Green function on the annulus is\nobtained from the one loop scattering amplitude among N tachyons. For higher\nloops, it is necessary to use the so called three Reggeon vertex, which\ndescribes the emission from the open string of another string and not simply of\na tachyon. We find that the modifications to the three (and multi) Reggeon\nvertex due to the B-field only affect the zero modes and can be written in a\nsimple and elegant way. Therefore we can easily sew these vertices together and\nwrite the general expression for the multiloop N-Reggeon vertex, which contains\nany loop string amplitude, in presence of the B-field. The field theory limit\nis also considered in some examples at two loops and reproduces exactly the\nresults of a noncommutative scalar field theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Near horizon data and physical charges of extremal AdS black holes: We compute the physical charges and discuss the properties of a large class\nof five-dimensional extremal AdS black holes by using the near horizon data.\nOur examples include baryonic and electromagnetic black branes, as well as\nsupersymmetric spinning black holes. In the presence of the gauge Chern-Simons\nterm, the five-dimensional physical charges are the Page charges. We carry out\nthe near horizon analysis and compute the four-dimensional charges of the\ncorresponding black holes by using the entropy function formalism and show that\nthey match the Page charges.",
        "positive": "Scalar Quartic Effective Action on $AdS_5$: We review the recent results concerning the computation of cubic and quartic\ncouplings of scalar fields in type IIB supergravity on AdS_5\\times S^5\nbackground that are dual to (extended) chiral primary operators in N=4 SYM_4.\nWe discuss the vanishing of certain cubic and quartic couplings and\nnon-renormalization property of corresponding correlators in the conformal\nfield theory"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Topological Open/Closed String Dualities: Matrix Models and Wave\n  Functions: We sharpen the duality between open and closed topological string partition\nfunctions for topological gravity coupled to matter. The closed string\npartition function is a generalised Kontsevich matrix model in the large\ndimension limit. We integrate out off-diagonal degrees of freedom associated to\none source eigenvalue, and find an open/closed topological string partition\nfunction, thus proving open/closed duality. We match the resulting open\npartition function to the generating function of intersection numbers on moduli\nspaces of Riemann surfaces with boundaries and boundary insertions. Moreover,\nwe connect our work to the literature on a wave function of the KP integrable\nhierarchy and clarify the role of the extended Virasoro generators that include\nall time variables as well as the coupling to the open string observable.",
        "positive": "Dynamical sectors for a spinning particle in AdS_3: We consider the dynamics of the motion of a particle of mass M and spin J in\nAdS_3. The study reveals the presence of different dynamical sectors depending\non the relative values of M, J and the AdS_3 radius R. For the subcritical M^2\nR^2-J^2 >0 and supercritical M^2 R^2-J^2<0 cases, it is seen that the equations\nof motion give the geodesics of AdS_3. For the critical case M^2R^2=J^2 there\nexist extra gauge transformations which further reduce the physical degrees of\nfreedom, and the motion corresponds to the geodesics of AdS_2. This result\nshould be useful in the holographic interpretation of the entanglement entropy\nfor 2d conformal field theories with gravitational anomalies."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Single impurity operators at critical wrapping order in the\n  beta-deformed N=4 SYM: We study the spectrum of one single magnon in the superconformal\nbeta-deformed N=4 SYM theory in the planar limit. We compute the anomalous\ndimensions of one-impurity operators O_{1,L}= tr(phi Z^{L-1}), including\nwrapping contributions at their critical order L.",
        "positive": "Baby Skyrme model and fermionic zero modes: In this work we investigate some features of the fermionic sector of the\nsupersymmetric version of the baby Skyrme model. We find that, in the\nbackground of BPS compact Skyrmions, fermionic zero modes are confined to the\ndefect core. Further, we show that, while three SUSY generators are broken in\nthe defect core, SUSY is completely restored outside. We study also the effect\nof a D-term deformation of the model. Such a deformation allows for the\nexistence of fermionic zero modes and broken SUSY outside the compact defect."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Tadpole versus anomaly cancellation in D=4,6 compact IIB orientifolds: It is often stated in the literature concerning D=4,6 compact Type IIB\norientifolds that tadpole cancellation conditions i) uniquely fix the gauge\ngroup (up to Wilson lines and/or moving of branes) and ii) are equivalent to\ngauge anomaly cancellation. We study the relationship between tadpole and\nanomaly cancellation conditions and qualify both statements. In general the\ntadpole cancellation conditions imply gauge anomaly cancellation but are\nstronger than the latter conditions in D=4, N=1 orientifolds. We also find that\ntadpole cancellation conditions in Z_N D=4,6 compact orientifolds do not\ncompletely fix the gauge group and we provide new solutions different from\nthose previously reported in the literature.",
        "positive": "USp(2k) Matrix Model: Nonperturbative Approach to Orientifolds: We discuss theoretical implications of the large k USp(2k) matrix model in\nzero dimension. The model appears as the matrix model of type IIB superstrings\non a large $T^{6}/Z^{2}$ orientifold via the matrix twist operation. In the\nsmall volume limit, the model behaves four dimensional and its T dual is\nsix-dimensional worldvolume theory of type I superstrings in ten spacetime\ndimensions. Several theoretical considerations including the analysis on planar\ndiagrams, the commutativity of the projectors with supersymmetries and the\ncancellation of gauge anomalies are given, providing us with the rationales for\nthe choice of the Lie algebra and the field content. A few classical solutions\nare constructed which correspond to Dirichlet p-branes and some fluctuations\nare evaluated. The particular scaling limit with matrix T duality\ntransformation is discussed which derives the F theory compactification on an\nelliptic fibered K3."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quiver Tails and N=1 SCFTs from M5-branes: We study a class of four-dimensional N=1 superconformal field theories\nobtained by wrapping M5-branes on a Riemann surface with punctures. We identify\nUV descriptions of four-dimensional SCFTs corresponding to curves with a class\nof punctures. The quiver tails appearing in these UV descriptions differ\nsignificantly from their N=2 counterpart. We find a new type of object that we\ncall the `Fan'. We show how to construct new N=1 superconformal theories using\nthe Fan. Various dual descriptions for these SCFTs can be identified with\ndifferent colored pair-of-pants decompositions. For example, we find an N=1\nanalog of Argyres-Seiberg duality for the SU(N) SQCD with 2N flavors. We also\ncompute anomaly coefficients and superconformal indices for these theories and\nshow that they are invariant under dualities.",
        "positive": "Quantisation of Klein-Gordon field in $\u03ba$ space-time: deformed\n  oscillators and Unruh effect: In this paper we study the quantisation of scalar field theory in\n$\\kappa$-deformed space-time. Using a quantisation scheme that use only field\nequations, we derive the quantisation rules for deformed scalar theory,\nstarting from the $\\kappa$-deformed equations of motion. This scheme allows two\nchoices; (i)a deformed commutation relation between the field and its conjugate\nwhich leads to usual oscillator algebra, (ii) an undeformed commutation\nrelation between field and its conjugate leading to a deformed oscillator\nalgebra. This deformed oscillator algebra is used to derive modification to\nUnruh effect in the $\\kappa$-space-time."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Standard Model of Particles and Forces in the Framework of\n  2T-physics: In this paper it will be shown that the Standard Model in 3+1 dimensions is a\ngauge fixed version of a 2T-physics field theory in 4+2 dimensions, thus\nestablishing that 2T-physics provides a correct description of Nature from the\npoint of view of 4+2 dimensions. The 2T formulation leads to phenomenological\nconsequences of considerable significance. In particular, the higher structure\nin 4+2 dimensions prevents the problematic F*F term in QCD. This resolves the\nstrong CP problem without a need for the Peccei-Quinn symmetry or the\ncorresponding elusive axion. Mass generation with the Higgs mechanism is less\nstraightforward in the new formulation of the Standard Model, but its\nresolution leads to an appealing deeper physical basis for mass, coupled with\nphenomena that could be measurable. In addition, there are some brand new\nmechanisms of mass generation related to the higher dimensions that deserve\nfurther study. The technical progress is based on the construction of a new\nfield theoretic version of 2T-physics including interactions in an action\nformalism in d+2 dimensions. The action is invariant under a new type of gauge\nsymmetry which we call 2Tgauge-symmetry in field theory. This opens the way for\ninvestigations of the Standard Model directly in 4+2 dimensions, or from the\npoint of view of various embeddings of 3+1 dimensions, by using the duality,\nholography, symmetry and unifying features of 2T-physics.",
        "positive": "Doubled Aspects of Vaisman Algebroid and Gauge Symmetry in Double Field\n  Theory: The metric algebroid proposed by Vaisman (the Vaisman algebroid) governs the\ngauge symmetry algebra generated by the C-bracket in double field theory (DFT).\nWe show that the Vaisman algebroid is obtained by an analogue of the Drinfel'd\ndouble of Lie algebroids. Based on a geometric realization of doubled\nspace-time as a para-Hermitian manifold, we examine exterior algebras and a\npara-Dolbeault cohomology on DFT and discuss the structure of the Drinfel'd\ndouble behind the DFT gauge symmetry. Similar to the Courant algebroid in the\ngeneralized geometry, Lagrangian subbundles $(L,\\tilde{L})$ in a para-Hermitian\nmanifold play Dirac-like structures in the Vaisman algebroid. We find that an\nalgebraic origin of the strong constraint in DFT is traced back to the\ncompatibility condition needed for $(L,\\tilde{L})$ be a Lie bialgebroid. The\nanalysis provides a foundation toward the \"coquecigrue problem\" for the gauge\nsymmetry in DFT."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Yang-Mills and Supersymmetry Covariance Must Coexist: Supersymmetry and Yang-Mills type gauge invariance are two of the essential\nproperties of most, and possibly the most important models in fundamental\nphysics. Supersymmetry is nearly trivial to prove in the (traditionally\ngauge-noncovariant) superfield formalism, whereas the gauge-covariant formalism\nmakes gauge invariance manifest. In 3+1-dimensions, the transformation from one\ninto the other is elementary and essentially unique. By contrast, this\ntransformation turns out to be impossible in the most general 1+1-dimensional\ncase. In fact, only the (manifestly) gauge- and supersymmetry-covariant\nformalism guarantees both universal gauge-invariance and supersymmetry.",
        "positive": "Non-minimal Higgs content in standard-like models from D-branes at a Z_N\n  singularity: We show that attempts to construct the standard model, or the MSSM, by\nplacing D3-branes and D7-branes at a Z_N orbifold or orientifold singularity\nall require that the electroweak Higgs content is non-minimal. For the orbifold\nthe lower bound on the number n(H) + n({\\bar{H}}) of electroweak Higgs doublets\nis the number n(q^c_L)=6 of quark singlets, and for the orientifold the lower\nbound can be one less. As a consequence there is a generic flavour changing\nneutral current problem in such models."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "K\u00e4hler potential of heterotic orbifolds with multiple K\u00e4hler moduli: Aiming at improving our knowledge of the low-energy limit of heterotic\norbifold compactifications, we determine at lowest order the Kahler potential\nof matter fields in the case where more than three bulk Kahler moduli appear.\nInterestingly, bulk matter fields couple to more than one Kahler modulus, a\nsubtle difference with models with only three Kahler moduli that may provide a\ntool to address the question of moduli stabilization in these models.",
        "positive": "$L_\\infty$ algebras for extended geometry: Extended geometry provides a unified framework for double geometry,\nexceptional geometry, etc., i.e., for the geometrisations of the string theory\nand M-theory dualities. In this talk, we will explain the structure of gauge\ntransformations (generalised diffeomorphisms) in these models. They are\ngenerically infinitely reducible, and arise as derived brackets from an\nunderlying Borcherds superalgebra or tensor hierarchy algebra. The infinite\nreducibility gives rise to an $L_\\infty$ structure, the brackets of which have\nuniversal expressions in terms of the underlying superalgebra."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "New Exact Quantization Condition for Toric Calabi-Yau Geometries: We propose a new exact quantization condition for a class of quantum\nmechanical systems derived from local toric Calabi-Yau three-folds. Our\nproposal includes all contributions to the energy spectrum which are\nnon-perturbative in the Planck constant, and is much simpler than the available\nquantization condition in the literature. We check that our proposal is\nconsistent with previous works and implies non-trivial relations among the\ntopological Gopakumar-Vafa invariants of the toric Calabi-Yau geometries.\nTogether with the recent developments, our proposal opens a new avenue in the\nlong investigations at the interface of geometry, topology and quantum\nmechanics.",
        "positive": "TASI lectures on black holes in string theory: This is a write-up of introductory lectures on black holes in string theory\ngiven at TASI-99. Topics discussed include: Black holes, thermodynamics and the\nBekenstein-Hawking entropy, the information problem; supergravity actions,\nconserved quantum numbers, supersymmetry and BPS states, units and duality,\ndimensional reduction, solution-generating; extremal M-branes and D-branes,\nsmearing, probe actions, nonextremal branes, the Gregory-Laflamme instability;\nbreakdown of supergravity and the Correspondence Principle, limits in parameter\nspace, singularity resolution; making black holes with branes,\nintersection-ology, explicit d=5,4 examples; string/brane computations of\nextremal black hole entropy in d=5,4, rotation, fractionation; non-extremality\nand entropy, the link to BTZ black holes, Hawking radiation and absorption\ncross-sections in the string/brane and supergravity pictures."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Freudenthal Duality and Generalized Special Geometry: Freudenthal duality, introduced in L. Borsten, D. Dahanayake, M. J. Duff and\nW. Rubens, Phys.Rev. D80, 026003 (2009), and defined as an anti-involution on\nthe dyonic charge vector in d = 4 space-time dimensions for those dualities\nadmitting a quartic invariant, is proved to be a symmetry not only of the\nclassical Bekenstein-Hawking entropy but also of the critical points of the\nblack hole potential. Furthermore, Freudenthal duality is extended to any\ngeneralized special geometry, thus encompassing all N > 2 supergravities, as\nwell as N = 2 generic special geometry, not necessarily having a coset space\nstructure.",
        "positive": "Coherence revival and metrological advantage for moving Unruh-DeWitt\n  detector: In this paper, we investigate the quantum coherence extraction for two\naccelerating Unruh-DeWitt detectors coupling to a scalar background in $3+1$\nMinkowski spacetime. We find that quantum coherence as a sort of nonclassical\ncorrelation can be generated through the Markovian evolution of the detectors\nsystem just like quantum entanglement. However, with growing Unruh temperature,\nin contrast to monotonous degrading entanglement, we find that quantum\ncoherence exhibits a striking revival phenomenon. That is, for certain choice\nof detectors' initial state, coherence measure will reduce to zero firstly then\ngrow up to an asymptotic value. We verify such coherence revival by inspecting\nits metrological advantage on enhancing the quantum Fisher information (QFI).\nSince the maximal QFI bounding the accuracy of a quantum measurement, we\nconclude that the extracted coherence can be utilized as a physical resource in\nquantum metrology."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exact Half-BPS Flux Solutions in M-theory I, Local Solutions: The complete eleven-dimensional supergravity solutions with 16\nsupersymmetries on manifolds of the form $AdS_3 \\times S^3 \\times S^3 \\times\n\\Sigma$, with isometry $SO(2,2) \\times SO(4) \\times SO(4)$, and with either\n$AdS_4 \\times S^7$ or $AdS_7 \\times S^4$ boundary behavior, are obtained in\nexact form. The two-dimensional parameter space $\\Sigma$ is a Riemann surface\nwith boundary, over which the product space $AdS_3 \\times S^3 \\times S^3$ is\nwarped. By mapping the reduced BPS equations to an integrable system of the\nsine-Gordon/Liouville type, and then mapping this integrable system onto a\nlinear equation, the general local solutions are constructed explicitly in\nterms of one harmonic function on $\\Sigma$, and an integral transform of two\nfurther harmonic functions on $\\Sigma$. The solutions to the BPS equations are\nshown to automatically solve the Bianchi identities and field equations for the\n4-form field, as well as Einstein's equations. The solutions we obtain have\nnon-vanishing 4-form field strength on each of the three factors of $AdS_3\n\\times S^3 \\times S^3$, and include fully back-reacted M2-branes in $AdS_7\n\\times S^4$ and M5-branes in $AdS_4 \\times S^7$. No interpolating solutions\nexist with mixed $AdS_4 \\times S^7$ and $AdS_7 \\times S^4$ boundary behavior.\nGlobal regularity of these local solutions, as well as the existence of further\nsolutions with neither $AdS_4 \\times S^7$ nor $AdS_7 \\times S^4$ boundary\nbehavior will be studied elsewhere.",
        "positive": "Duality in Matrix Theory and Three Dimensional Mirror Symmetry: Certain limits of the duality between M-theory on ${T^5/Z_2}$ and IIB on K3\nare analyzed in Matrix theory. The correspondence between M-theory five-branes\nand ALE backgrounds is realized as three dimensional mirror symmetry.\nNon-critical strings dual to open membranes are explicitly described as gauge\ntheory excitations. We also comment on Type IIA on K3 and the appearance of\ngauge symmetry enhancement at special points in the moduli space."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On integrability of geodesics in near-horizon extremal geometries: Case\n  of Myers-Perry black holes in arbitrary dimensions: We investigate dynamics of probe particles moving in the near-horizon limit\nof extremal Myers-Perry black holes in arbitrary dimensions. Employing\nellipsoidal coordinates we show that this problem is integrable and separable,\nextending the results of the odd dimensional case discussed in\narXiv:1703.00713. We find the general solution of the Hamilton-Jacobi equations\nfor these systems and present explicit expressions for the Liouville integrals,\ndiscuss Killing tensors and the associated constants of motion. We analyze\nspecial cases of the background near-horizon geometry were the system possesses\nmore constants of motion and is hence superintegrable. Finally, we consider\nnear-horizon extremal vanishing horizon case which happens for Myers-Perry\nblack holes in odd dimensions and show that geodesic equations on this geometry\nare also separable and work out its integrals of motion.",
        "positive": "Fractional Virasoro Algebras: We show that it is possible to construct a Virasoro algebra as a central\nextension of the fractional Witt algebra generated by non-local operators of\nthe form, $L_n^a\\equiv\\left(\\frac{\\partial f}{\\partial z}\\right)^a$ where $a\\in\n{\\mathbb R}$. The Virasoro algebra is explicitly of the form, \\beq\n[L^a_m,L_n^a]=A_{m,n}L^a_{m+n}+\\delta_{m,n}h(n)cZ^a \\eeq where $c$ is the\ncentral charge (not necessarily a constant), $Z^a$ is in the center of the\nalgebra and $h(n)$ obeys a recursion relation related to the coefficients\n$A_{m,n}$. In fact, we show that all central extensions which respect the\nspecial structure developed here which we term a multimodule Lie-Algebra, are\nof this form. This result provides a mathematical foundation for non-local\nconformal field theories, in particular recent proposals in condensed matter in\nwhich the current has an anomalous dimension."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Classical and quantum gravitational scattering with Generalized Wilson\n  Lines: The all-order structure of scattering amplitudes is greatly simplified by the\nuse of Wilson line operators, describing eikonal emissions from straight lines\nextending to infinity. A generalization at subleading powers in the eikonal\nexpansion, known as Generalized Wilson Line (GWL), has been proposed some time\nago, and has been applied both in QCD phenomenology and in the high energy\nlimits of gravitational amplitudes. In this paper we revisit the construction\nof the scalar gravitational GWL starting from first principles in the worldline\nformalism. We identify the correct Hamiltonian that leads to a simple\ncorrespondence between the soft expansion and the weak field expansion. This\nallows us to isolate the terms in the GWL that are relevant in the classical\nlimit. In doing so we devote special care to the regularization of UV\ndivergences that were not discussed in an earlier derivation. We also clarify\nthe relation with a parallel body of work that recently investigated the\nclassical limit of scattering amplitudes in gravity in the worldline formalism.",
        "positive": "Two Ramond-Ramond corrections to type II supergravity via field-theory\n  amplitude: Motivated by the standard form of string-theory amplitude, we calculate the\nfield-theory amplitude to complete the higher-derivative terms in type II\nsupergravity theories in their conventional form. We derive explicitly the $\nO(\\alpha'^3) $ interactions for the RR (Ramond-Ramond) fields with graviton,\nB-field and dilaton in the low-energy effective action of type II superstrings.\nWe check our results by comparison with previous works that have been done by\nthe other methods, and find an exact agreement."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Modular anomaly equations and S-duality in N=2 conformal SQCD: We use localization techniques to study the non-perturbative properties of an\nN=2 superconformal gauge theory with gauge group SU(3) and six fundamental\nflavours. The instanton corrections to the prepotential, the dual periods and\nthe period matrix are calculated in a locus of special vacua possessing a Z_3\nsymmetry. In a semi-classical expansion, we show that these observables are\nconstrained by S-duality via a modular anomaly equation which takes the form of\na recursion relation. The solutions of the recursion relation are quasi-modular\nfunctions of Gamma_1(3), which is a subgroup of the S-duality group and is also\na congruence subgroup of SL(2,Z).",
        "positive": "BRST invariant approach to quantum mechanical tunneling: A new approach with BRST invariance is suggested to cure the degeneracy\nproblem of ill defined path integrals in the path-integral calculationof\nquantum mechanical tunneling effects in which the problem arises due to the\noccurrence of zero modes. The Faddeev-Popov procedure is avoided and the\nintegral over the zero mode is transformed in a systematic way into a well\ndefined integral over instanton positions. No special procedure has to be\nadopted as in the Faddeev-Popov method in calculating the Jacobian of the\ntransformation. The quantum mechanical tunneling for the Sine-Gordon potential\nis used as a test of the method and the width of the lowest energy band is\nobtained in exact agreement with that of WKB calculations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Noncommutativity from the symplectic point of view: The great deal in noncommutative (NC) field theories started when it was\nnoted that NC spaces naturally arise in string theory with a constant\nbackground magnetic field in the presence of $D$-branes. Besides their origin\nin string theories and branes, NC field theories have been studied extensively\nin many branches of physics. In this work we explore how NC geometry can be\nintroduced into a commutative field theory besides the usual introduction of\nthe Moyal product. We propose a systematic new way to introduce NC geometry\ninto commutative systems, based mainly on the symplectic approach. Further, as\nexample, this formalism describes precisely how to obtain a Lagrangian\ndescription for the NC version of some systems reproducing well known theories.",
        "positive": "Gauge Theories from Orientifolds and Large N Limit: Extending the recent work in hep-th/9803076, we consider string perturbative\nexpansion in the presence of D-branes and orientifold planes imbedded in\norbifolded space-time. In the $\\alpha'\\to 0$ limit the weak coupling string\nperturbative expansion maps to `t Hooft's large N expansion. We focus on four\ndimensional ${\\cal N}=1,2,4$ supersymmetric theories, and also discuss possible\nextensions to ${\\cal N}=0$ cases. Utilizing the string theory perturbation\ntechniques we show that computation of any M-point correlation function in\nthese theories reduces to the corresponding computation in the parent ${\\cal\nN}=4$ theory. In particular, we discuss theories (which are rather constrained)\nwith vanishing beta-functions to all orders in perturbation theory in the large\nN limit. We also point out that in theories with non-vanishing beta-functions\nthe gauge coupling running is suppressed in the large N limit. Introduction of\norientifold planes allows to construct certain gauge theories with SO, Sp and\nSU gauge groups and various matter (only unitary gauge groups with\nbi-fundamental/adjoint matter arise in theories without orientifold planes)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Lagrangians with electric and magnetic charges of N=2 supersymmetric\n  gauge theories: General Lagrangians are constructed for N=2 supersymmetric gauge theories in\nfour space-time dimensions involving gauge groups with (non-abelian) electric\nand magnetic charges. The charges induce a scalar potential, which, when the\ncharges are regarded as spurionic quantities, is invariant under\nelectric/magnetic duality. The resulting theories are especially relevant for\nsupergravity, but details of the extension to local supersymmetry will be\ndiscussed elsewhere. The results include the coupling to hypermultiplets.\nWithout the latter, it is demonstrated how an off-shell representation can be\nconstructed based on vector and tensor supermultiplets.",
        "positive": "Tree-level Correlators of scalar and vector fields in AdS/CFT: Extending earlier results by Paulos, we discuss further the use of the\nembedding formalism and Mellin transform in the calculation of tree-level\ncorrelators of scalar and vector fields in AdS/CFT. We present an iterative\nprocedure that builds amplitudes by sewing together lower-point off-shell\ndiagrams. Both scalar and vector correlators are shown to be given in terms of\nMellin amplitudes. We apply the procedure to the explicit calculation of\nthree-, four- and five-point correlators."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Superconformal Index for $\\mathcal{N}=3$ $\\hat{ADE}$ Chern-Simons Quiver\n  Gauge Theories: We compute superconformal indices for $\\mathcal{N} = 3$ $\\hat{ADE}$\nChern-Simons quiver gauge theories with a product gauge group $\\prod_i U(N)_i$,\nusing the method of supersymmetric localization. We also perform a large $N$\nanalysis of the index. This index includes contribution from non zero magnetic\nflux sector. The fact that these theories have a weakly coupled UV completion\nin terms of $\\mathcal{N}= 3$ supersymmetric Chern-Simons Yang-Mills theories\nenables us to apply the localization technique. Such theories have dual\nM-theory description on $\\mathrm{AdS}_4\\times M_7$, where $M_7$ is a tri-Sasaki\nEinstein manifold.",
        "positive": "Orientifolds and duality cascades: confinement before the wall: We consider D-branes at orientifold singularities and discuss two properties\nof the corresponding low energy four-dimensional effective theories which are\nnot shared, generically, by other Calabi-Yau singularities. The first property\nis that duality cascades are finite and, unlike ordinary ones, do not require\nan infinite number of degrees of freedom to be UV-completed. The second is that\norientifolds tend to stabilize runaway directions. These two properties can\nhave interesting implications and widen in an intriguing way the variety of\ngauge theories one can describe using D-branes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Double Scaling Limits and Twisted Non-Critical Superstrings: We consider double-scaling limits of multicut solutions of certain one matrix\nmodels that are related to Calabi-Yau singularities of type A and the\nrespective topological B model via the Dijkgraaf-Vafa correspondence. These\ndouble-scaling limits naturally lead to a bosonic string with c $\\leq$ 1. We\nargue that this non-critical string is given by the topologically twisted\nnon-critical superstring background which provides the dual description of the\ndouble-scaled little string theory at the Calabi-Yau singularity. The\nalgorithms developed recently to solve a generic multicut matrix model by means\nof the loop equations allow to show that the scaling of the higher genus terms\nin the matrix model free energy matches the expected behaviour in the\ntopological B-model. This result applies to a generic matrix model singularity\nand the relative double-scaling limit. We use these techniques to explicitly\nevaluate the free energy at genus one and genus two.",
        "positive": "Boundary Reflection Matrix in Perturbative Quantum Field Theory: We study boundary reflection matrix for the quantum field theory defined on a\nhalf line using Feynman's perturbation theory. The boundary reflection matrix\ncan be extracted directly from the two-point correlation function. This enables\nus to determine the boundary reflection matrix for affine Toda field theory\nwith the Neumann boundary condition modulo `a mysterious factor half'."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Superstring Dualities, Dirichlet Branes and the Small Scale Structure of\n  Space: We give a broad overview of superstring duality, Dirichlet branes, and some\nimplications of both for questions about the structure of space-time at short\ndistances.",
        "positive": "Four-dimensional QCD and fiberwise duality: We transform, by means of a fiberwise duality, the partition function of QCD\non a product of two two-tori, into a four-dimensional sigma-model, whose target\nspace is the cotangent space of unitary connections on the fiber torus\nfiberwise."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Spin-2 Conjecture on the Swampland: We consider effective theories with massive fields that have spins larger\nthan or equal to two. We conjecture a universal cutoff scale on any such theory\nthat depends on the lightest mass of such fields. This cutoff corresponds to\nthe mass scale of an infinite tower of states, signalling the breakdown of the\neffective theory. The cutoff can be understood as the Weak Gravity Conjecture\napplied to the St\\\"uckelberg gauge field in the mass term of the high spin\nfields. A strong version of our conjecture applies even if the graviton itself\nis massive, so to massive gravity. We provide further evidence for the\nconjecture from string theory.",
        "positive": "Holographic Friedmann Equation and $\\cal{N}=$4 SYM theory: According to the AdS/CFT correspondence, the ${\\cal N}=4$ supersymmetric\nYang-Mills (SYM) theory has been studied by solving the dual supergravity. In\nsolving the bulk Einstein equation, we find that it could be related to the 4D\nFriedmann equation, which is solved by using the cosmological constant and the\nenergy density of the matters on the boundary, and they are dynamically\ndecoupled from the SYM theory. We call this combination of the bulk Einstein\nequations and the 4D Friedmann equation as holographic Friedmann equations\n(HFE). Solving the HFE, it is shown how the 4D decoupled matters and the\ncosmological constant control the dynamical properties of the SYM theory, quark\nconfinement, chiral symmetry breaking, and baryon stability. From their effect\non the SYM, the matters are separated to two groups. Our results would give\nimportant information in studying the cosmological development of our universe."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Irreducible Hamiltonian BRST symmetry for reducible first-class systems: An irreducible Hamiltonian BRST quantization method for reducible first-class\nsystems is proposed. The general theory is illustrated on a two-stage reducible\nmodel, the link with the standard reducible BRST treatment being also\nemphasized.",
        "positive": "Charged Magnetic Brane Correlators and Twisted Virasoro Algebras: Prior work using gauge/gravity duality has established the existence of a\nquantum critical point in the phase diagram of 3+1-dimensional gauge theories\nat finite charge density and background magnetic field. The critical theory,\nobtained by tuning the dimensionless charge density to magnetic field ratio,\nexhibits nontrivial scaling in its thermodynamic properties, and an associated\nnontrivial dynamical critical exponent. In the present work, we analytically\ncompute low energy correlation functions in the background of the charged\nmagnetic brane solution to 4+1-dimensional Einstein-Maxwell-Chern-Simons\ntheory, which represents the bulk description of the critical point. Results\nare obtained for neutral scalar operators, the stress tensor, and the\nU(1)-current. The theory is found to exhibit a twisted Virasoro algebra,\nconstructed from a linear combination of the original stress tensor and chiral\nU(1)-current. The effective speed of light in the IR is renormalized downward\nfor one chirality, but not the other, by finite density, a behavior that is\nconsistent with a Luttinger liquid description of fermions in the lowest Landau\nlevel. The results obtained here do not directly shed light on the mechanism\ndriving the phase transition, and we comment on why this is so."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Off-shell Invariant D=N=2 Twisted Super Yang-Mills Theory with a Gauged\n  Central Charge without Constraints: We formulate N=2 twisted super Yang-Mills theory with a gauged central charge\nby superconnection formalism in two dimensions. We obtain off-shell invariant\nsupermultiplets and actions with and without constraints, which is in contrast\nwith the off-shell invariant D=N=4 super Yang-Mills formulation with\nunavoidable constraints.",
        "positive": "Runaway dilatonic domain walls: We explore the stability of domain wall and bubble solutions in theories with\ncompact extra dimensions. The energy density stored inside of the wall can\ndestabilize the volume modulus of a compactification, leading to solutions\ncontaining either a timelike singularity or a region where space\ndecompactifies, depending on the metric ansatz. We determine the structure of\nsuch solutions both analytically and using numerical simulations, and analyze\nhow they arise in compactifications of Einstein--Maxwell theory and Type IIB\nstring theory. The existence of instabilities has important implications for\nthe formation of networks of topological defects and the population of vacua\nduring eternal inflation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hyperspherical Harmonics, Separation of Variables and the Bethe Ansatz: The relation between solutions to Helmholtz's equation on the sphere\n$S^{n-1}$ and the $[{\\gr sl}(2)]^n$ Gaudin spin chain is clarified. The joint\neigenfuctions of the Laplacian and a complete set of commuting second order\noperators suggested by the $R$--matrix approach to integrable systems, based on\nthe loop algebra $\\wt{sl}(2)_R$, are found in terms of homogeneous polynomials\nin the ambient space. The relation of this method of determining a basis of\nharmonic functions on $S^{n-1}$ to the Bethe ansatz approach to integrable\nsystems is explained.",
        "positive": "Chiral Limit of 2d QCD Revisited with Lightcone Conformal Truncation: We study the chiral limit of 2d QCD with a single quark flavor at finite\n$N_c$ using LCT. By modifying the LCT basis according to the quark mass in a\nmanner motivated by 't Hooft's analysis, we are able to restore convergence for\nquark masses much smaller than the QCD strong coupling scale. For such small\nquark masses, the IR of the theory is expected to be well described by the\nSine-Gordon model. We verify that LCT numerics are able to capture in detail\nthe spectrum and correlation functions of the Sine-Gordon model. This opens up\nthe possibility for studying deformations of various integrable CFTs using LCT\nby considering the chiral limit of QCD like theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Soft theorems for boosts and other time symmetries: We derive soft theorems for theories in which time symmetries -- symmetries\nthat involve the transformation of time, an example of which are Lorentz boosts\n-- are spontaneously broken. The soft theorems involve unequal-time correlation\nfunctions with the insertion of a soft Goldstone in the far past. Explicit\nchecks are provided for several examples, including the effective theory of a\nrelativistic superfluid and the effective field theory of inflation. We discuss\nhow in certain cases these unequal-time identities capture information at the\nlevel of observables that cannot be seen purely in terms of equal-time\ncorrelators of the field alone. We also discuss when it is possible to phrase\nthese soft theorems as identities involving equal-time correlators.",
        "positive": "Gravitationally Dressed Conformal Field Theory and Emergence of\n  Logarithmic Operators: We study correlation functions in two-dimensional conformal field theory\ncoupled to induced gravity in the light-cone gauge. Focussing on the fermion\nfour-point function, we display an unexpected non-perturbative singularity\nstructure: coupling to gravity {\\it qualitatively} changes the perturbative\n$(x_1-x_2)^{-1}(x_3-x_4)^{-1}$ singularity into a logarithmic one plus a\nnon-singular piece. We argue that this is related to the appearence of new\nlogarithmic operators in the gravitationally dressed operator product\nexpansions. We also show some evidence that non-conformal but integrable models\nmay remain integrable when coupled to gravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Boundary terms, branes and AdS/BCFT in first-order gravity: We provide an account of the issue of Gibbons-Hawking-York-like boundary\nterms for a gravity theory defined on a Riemman-Cartan spacetime. We further\ndiscuss different criteria for introducing boundary terms in some familiar\nfirst-order gravity theories with both on-shell vanishing and non-vanishing\ntorsion, along with considerations regarding the thermodynamics of black holes\nand profiles of the End-of-the-World branes. Our analysis confirms the expected\ngeodesic profile of the End-of-the-World brane in the BF formulation of\nJackiw-Teitelboim gravity. Finally, we present the first realisation of the\nAdS/BCFT duality for spacetime with torsion.",
        "positive": "Lifshitz Scale Anomalies: We analyse scale anomalies in Lifshitz field theories, formulated as the\nrelative cohomology of the scaling operator with respect to foliation\npreserving diffeomorphisms. We construct a detailed framework that enables us\nto calculate the anomalies for any number of spatial dimensions, and for any\nvalue of the dynamical exponent. We derive selection rules, and establish the\nanomaly structure in diverse universal sectors. We present the complete\ncohomologies for various examples in one, two and three space dimensions for\nseveral values of the dynamical exponent. Our calculations indicate that all\nthe Lifshitz scale anomalies are trivial descents, called B-type in the\nterminology of conformal anomalies. However, not all the trivial descents are\ncohomologically non-trivial. We compare the conformal anomalies to Lifshitz\nscale anomalies with a dynamical exponent equal to one."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Witten index for weak supersymmetric systems: invariance under\n  deformations: When a $4D$ supersymmetric theory is placed on $S^3 \\times \\mathbb{R}$, the\nsupersymmetric algebra is necessarily modified to $su(2|1)$ and we are dealing\nwith a weak supersymmetric system. For such systems, the excited states of the\nHamiltonian are not all paired. As a result, the Witten index Tr$\\{(-1)^F\ne^{-\\beta H}\\}$ is no longer an integer number, but a $\\beta$-dependent\nfunction.\n  However, this function stays invariant under deformations of the theory that\nkeep the supersymmetry algebra intact. Based on the Hilbert space analysis, we\ngive a simple general proof of this fact. We then show how this invariance\nworks for two simplest weak supersymmetric quantum mechanical systems involving\na real or a complex bosonic degree of freedom.",
        "positive": "Calculable membrane theory: The key to membrane theory is to enlarge the diffeomorphism group until 4D\ngravity becomes almost topological. Just one ghost survives and its central\ncharges can cancel against matter. A simple bosonic membrane emerges, but its\nflat D = 28 target space is unstable. Adding supersymmetry ought to give\ncalculable (2,2) membranes in 12 target dimensions, but (2,1) membranes won't\nwork."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Quantum Integrable System with Two Colour-Components in Two Dimensions: The Davey-Stewartson 1(DS1) system[9] is an integrable model in two\ndimensions. A quantum DS1 system with 2 colour-components in two dimensions has\nbeen formulated. This two-dimensional problem has been reduced to two\none-dimensional many-body problems with 2 colour-components. The solutions of\nthe two-dimensional problem under consideration has been constructed from the\nresulting problems in one dimensions. For latters with the $\\delta $-function\ninteractions and being solved by the Bethe ansatz, we introduce symmetrical and\nantisymmetrical Young operators of the permutation group and obtain the exact\nsolutions for the quantum DS1 system. The application of the solusions is\ndiscussed.",
        "positive": "Topological Excitation in Skyrme Theory: Based on the $\\phi$-mapping topological current theory and the decomposition\nof gauge potential theory, we investigate knotted vortex lines and monopoles in\nSkyrme theory and simply discuss the branch processes (splitting, merging and\nintersection) during the evolution of the monopoles."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Kink Dynamics in a Topological Phi^4 Lattice: It was recently proposed a novel discretization for nonlinear Klein-Gordon\nfield theories in which the resulting lattice preserves the topological\n(Bogomol'nyi) lower bound on the kink energy and, as a consequence, has no\nPeierls-Nabarro barrier even for large spatial discretizations (h~1.0). It was\nthen suggested that these ``topological discrete systems'' are a natural choice\nfor the numerical study of continuum kink dynamics. Giving particular emphasis\nto the phi^4 theory, we numerically investigate kink-antikink scattering and\nbreather formation in these topological lattices. Our results indicate that,\neven though these systems are quite accurate for studying free kinks in coarse\nlattices, for legitimate dynamical kink problems the accuracy is rather\nrestricted to fine lattices (h~0.1). We suggest that this fact is related to\nthe breaking of the Bogomol'nyi bound during the kink-antikink interaction,\nwhere the field profile loses its static property as required by the\nBogomol'nyi argument. We conclude, therefore, that these lattices are not\nsuitable for the study of more general kink dynamics, since a standard\ndiscretization is simpler and has effectively the same accuracy for such\nresolutions.",
        "positive": "Is it possible to relate MOND with Horava Gravity?: In this work we present a scalar field theory invariant under space-time\nanisotropic transformations with a dynamic exponet $z$. It is shown that this\ntheory possess symmetries similar to Horava gravity and that in the limit $z=0$\nthe equations of motion of the non-relativistic MOND theory are obtained. This\nresult allow us to conjecture the existence of a Horava type gravity that in\nthe limit $z=0$ is consistent with MOND."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Preheating a bouncing universe: Preheating describes the stage of rapidly depositing the energy of\ncosmological scalar field into excitations of other light fields. This stage is\ncharacterized by exponential particle production due to the parametric\nresonance. We study this process in the frame of matter bounce cosmology. Our\nresults show that the preheating process in bouncing cosmology is even more\nefficient than that in inflationary cosmology. In the limit of weak coupling,\nthe period of preheating is doubled. For the case of normal coupling, the\nback-reaction of light fields can lead to thermalization before the bouncing\npoint. The scenario of matter bounce curvaton could be tightly constrained due\nto a large coupling coefficient if the curvaton field is expected to preheat\nthe universe directly. However, this concern can be greatly relaxed through the\nprocess of geometric preheating.",
        "positive": "Topological anomalies for Seifert 3-manifolds: We study globally supersymmetric 3d gauge theories on curved manifolds by\ndescribing the coupling of 3d topological gauge theories, with both Yang-Mills\nand Chern-Simons terms in the action, to background topological gravity. In our\napproach the Seifert condition for manifolds supporting global supersymmetry is\nelegantly deduced from the topological gravity BRST transformations. A\ncohomological characterization of the geometrical moduli which affect the\npartition function is obtained. In the Seifert context Chern-Simons topological\n(framing) anomaly is BRST trivial. We compute explicitly the corresponding\nlocal Wess-Zumino functional. As an application, we obtain the dependence on\nthe Seifert moduli of the partition function of 3d supersymmetric gauge theory\non the squashed sphere by solving the anomalous topological Ward identities, in\na regularization independent way and without the need of evaluating any\nfunctional determinant."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Simplifying one-loop amplitudes in superstring theory: We show that 4-point vector boson one-loop amplitudes, computed in ref.[1] in\nthe RNS formalism, around vacuum configurations with open unoriented strings,\npreserving at least N=1 SUSY in D=4, satisfy the correct supersymmetry Ward\nidentities, in that they vanish for non MHV configurations (++++) and (-+++).\nIn the MHV case (--++) we drastically simplify their expressions. We then study\nfactorisation and the limiting IR and UV behaviour and find some unexpected\nresults. In particular no massless poles are exposed at generic values of the\nmodular parameter. Relying on the supersymmetric properties of our bosonic\namplitudes, we extend them to manifestly supersymmetric super-amplitudes and\ncompare our results with those obtained in the D=4 hybrid formalism, pointing\nout difficulties in reconciling the two approaches for contributions from N=1,2\nsectors.",
        "positive": "Stationary equilibrium of test particles near charged black branes with\n  the hyperscaling violating factor: We explore the upper bound of the Lyapunov exponent for test particles that\nmaintain equilibrium in the radial direction near the charged black brane with\nthe hyperscaling violating factor. The influences of black brane parameters\n(hyperscaling violation exponent $\\theta$ and dynamical exponent $z$) are\ninvestigated. We show that the equilibrium in the radial direction of test\nparticles can violate the chaos bound. The chaos bound is more easily violated\nfor the near-extremal charged black branes. When the null energy condition\n($T_{\\mu\\nu}\\xi^\\mu\\xi^\\nu \\geq 0$) is broken, the bound is also more likely to\nbe violated. These results indicate that the chaos bound of particle motion is\nrelated to the temperature of the black hole and the null energy condition\n(NEC). By considering the zero-temperature and $T_{\\mu\\nu}\\xi^\\mu\\xi^\\nu=0$\ncases, we obtain the critical parameters $\\theta_c$ and $z_c$ for the violation\nof chaos bound. The chaos bound is always satisfied in the range $\\theta >\n\\theta_c$ or $z>z_c$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Brane World Models And Darboux Transformations: We consider a 5-D gravity plus a bulk scalar field, and with a 3-brane. The\nDarboux transformation is used to construct some exact solutions. To do this we\nreduce the system of equations, which describes the 5-D gravity and bulk scalar\nfield to the Schr\\\"odinger equation. The jump conditions at the branes lead to\nthe jump potential in the Schr\\\"odinger equation. Using the Darboux\ntransformation with these jump conditions, we offer a new exact solution of the\nbrane equations, which represents a generalization of the Rundall-Sundrum\nsolution. For simplicity, the main attention is focused on the case when Hubble\nroot on the visible brane is zero. However, the argument is given that our\nmethod is valid in more realistic models with cosmological expansion.",
        "positive": "Tree Level Supergravity and the Matrix Model: It has recently been shown that the Matrix model and supergravity give the\nsame predictions for three graviton scattering. This contradicts an earlier\nclaim in the literature (hep-th/9710174). We explain the error in this earlier\nwork, and go on to show that certain terms in the $n$-graviton scattering\namplitude involving $v^{2n}$ are given correctly by the Matrix model. The\nMatrix model also generates certain $v^6$ terms in four graviton scattering at\nthree loops, which do not seem to have any counterparts in supergravity. The\nconnection of these results with nonrenormalization theorems is discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Towards a Theory of the QCD String: We construct a new model of four-dimensional relativistic strings with\nintegrable dynamics on the worldsheet. In addition to translational modes this\nmodel contains a single massless pseudoscalar worldsheet field - the worldsheet\naxion. The axion couples to a topological density which counts the\nself-intersection number of a string. The corresponding coupling is fixed by\nintegrability to $Q=\\sqrt{7\\over 16\\pi}\\approx 0.37$. We argue that this model\nis a member of a larger family of relativistic non-critical integrable string\nmodels. This family includes and extends conventional non-critical strings\ndescribed by the linear dilaton CFT. Intriguingly, recent lattice data in\n$SU(3)$ and $SU(5)$ gluodynamics reveals the presence of a massive pseudoscalar\naxion on the worldsheet of confining flux tubes. The value of the corresponding\ncoupling, as determined from the lattice data, is equal to\n$Q_L\\approx0.38\\pm0.04$.",
        "positive": "On Schwinger pair production between D3 branes: We study the open string pair production between two D3 branes, which will\ngive rise to similar effect as Schwinger pair production for observers on one\nof the D3 branes. The D3 branes are placed parallel at a distance, and they are\ncarrying world-volume electromagnetic fluxes that takes general form. We derive\nthe pair production rate by computing the interaction amplitude between the D3\nbranes. We discussed how to maximize the pair production rate in this general\ncase. We also mentioned that the general result can be used to describe other\nsystem such as D3-D1, where the pair production is ultra large compared to\noriginal Schwinger pair production, making it hopeful to observe pair\nproduction in experiments."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Torsional response of relativistic fermions in $2+1$ dimensions: We consider the equilibrium partition function of an ideal gas of Dirac\nfermions minimally coupled to torsion in $2+1$ dimensions. We show that the\nenergy-momentum tensor reproduces the Hall viscosity and other parity violating\nterms of first order in the torsion. We also consider the modifications of the\nconstitutive relations, and classify the corresponding susceptibilities. An\nentropy current consistent with zero production of entropy in equilibrium is\nconstructed.",
        "positive": "Berry Connections for 2d $(2,2)$ Theories, Monopole Spectral Data &\n  (Generalised) Cohomology Theories: We study Berry connections for supersymmetric ground states of 2d\n$\\mathcal{N}=(2,2)$ GLSMs quantised on a circle, which are generalised periodic\nmonopoles, with the aim to provide a fruitful physical arena for mathematical\nconstructions related to the latter. These are difference modules encoding\nmonopole solutions due to Mochizuki, as well as an alternative algebraic\ndescription of solutions in terms of vector bundles endowed with filtrations.\nThe simultaneous existence of these descriptions is an example of a\nRiemann-Hilbert correspondence. We demonstrate how these constructions arise\nnaturally by studying the ground states as the cohomology of a one-parameter\nfamily of supercharges. Through this, we show that the two sides of this\ncorrespondence are related to two types of monopole spectral data that have a\ndirect interpretation in terms of the physics of the GLSM: the Cherkis-Kapustin\nspectral variety (difference modules) as well as twistorial spectral data\n(vector bundles with filtrations). By considering states generated by D-branes\nand leveraging the difference modules, we derive novel difference equations for\nbrane amplitudes. We then show that in the conformal limit, these degenerate\ninto novel difference equations for hemisphere or vortex partition functions,\nwhich are exactly calculable. Beautifully, when the GLSM flows to a nonlinear\nsigma model with K\\\"ahler target $X$, we show that the difference modules are\nrelated to deformations of the equivariant quantum cohomology of $X$, whereas\nthe vector bundles with filtrations are related to the equivariant K-theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Horava-Lifshitz gravity and Godel Universe: We prove the consistency of the G\\\"{o}del metric with the Horava-Lifshitz\ngravity whose action involves terms with z=1, z=2 and z=3. We show that, for\ndifferent relations between the parameters of the theory, this consistency is\nachieved for different classes of matter, in particular, for the small\ncosmological constant it is achieved only for the exotic matter, that is,\nghosts or phantom matter.",
        "positive": "Black holes thermodynamics with CFT re-scaling: In this paper, we study the thermodynamic behavior of charged AdS black holes\nin a conformal holographic extended thermodynamic. Our setup is constructed\nusing a new dictionary that relates AdS black hole quantities to the\ncorresponding dual conformal field theory (CFT) one, with the conformal factor\nbeing treated as a variable thermodynamic. In this thermodynamic study, we\ninvestigate the critical phenomena of charged AdS black holes and their\nrelationship to the central charge value, \\(C\\). Additionally, we examine the\nphase transitions and black hole stability using the free energy and the heat\ncapacity, respectively. Furthermore, by examining the chemical potential, we\nestablish criteria that differentiate between quantum and classical black hole\nbehaviors. Our setup highlights one of the key findings, namely traditional\nblack hole thermodynamics acts as a boundary between quantum and classical\nregimes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Correlation functions, null polygonal Wilson loops, and local operators: We consider the ratio of the correlation function of n+1 local operators over\nthe correlator of the first n of these operators in planar N=4 super-Yang-Mills\ntheory, and consider the limit where the first n operators become pairwise null\nseparated. By studying the problem in twistor space, we prove that this is\nequivalent to the correlator of a n-cusp null polygonal Wilson loop with the\nremaining operator in general position, normalized by the expectation value of\nthe Wilson loop itself, as recently conjectured by Alday, Buchbinder and\nTseytlin. Twistor methods also provide a BCFW-like recursion relation for such\ncorrelators. Finally, we study the natural extension where n operators become\npairwise null separated with k operators in general position. As an example, we\nperform an analysis of the resulting correlator for k=2 and discuss some of the\ndifficulties associated to fixing the correlator completely in the strong\ncoupling regime.",
        "positive": "Standard Model Vacua in Heterotic M-Theory: We present a class of N=1 supersymmetric ``standard'' models of particle\nphysics, derived directly from heterotic M-theory, that contain three families\nof chiral quarks and leptons coupled to the gauge group SU(3)_C X SU(2)_L X\nU(1)_Y. These models are a fundamental form of ``brane world'' theories, with\nan observable and hidden sector each confined, after compactification on a\nCalabi--Yau threefold, to a BPS three-brane separated by a higher dimensional\nbulk space with size of the order of the intermediate scale. The requirement of\nthree families, coupled to the fundamental conditions of anomaly freedom and\nsupersymmetry, constrains these models to contain additional five-branes\nlocated in the bulk space and wrapped around holomorphic curves in the\nCalabi--Yau threefold."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The holographic entropy zoo: We study the holographic dual of a two parameter family of quantities known\nas the $\\alpha$-$z$ divergences. Many familiar information theoretic quantities\noccur within this family, including the relative entropy, fidelity, and\ncollision relative entropy. We find explicit bulk expressions for the boundary\ndivergences to second order in a state perturbation whenever $\\alpha$ is an\ninteger and $z\\geq0$, as well as when $z\\in\\{0,\\infty\\}$ and $\\alpha\\in\n\\mathbb{R}$. Our results apply for perturbations around an arbitrary background\nstate and in any dimension, under the assumption of the equality of bulk and\nboundary modular flows.",
        "positive": "Reverse geometric engineering of singularities: One can geometrically engineer supersymmetric field theories theories by\nplacing D-branes at or near singularities. The opposite process is described,\nwhere one can reconstruct the singularities from quiver theories. The\ndescription is in terms of a noncommutative quiver algebra which is constructed\nfrom the quiver diagram and the superpotential. The center of this\nnoncommutative algebra is a commutative algebra, which is the ring of\nholomorphic functions on a variety V. If certain algebraic conditions are met,\nthen the reverse geometric engineering produces V as the geometry that D-branes\nprobe. It is also argued that the identification of V is invariant under\nSeiberg dualities."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Toric Lego: A method for modular model building: Within the context of local type IIB models arising from branes at toric\nCalabi-Yau singularities, we present a systematic way of joining any number of\ndesired sectors into a consistent theory. The different sectors interact via\nmassive messengers with masses controlled by tunable parameters. We apply this\nmethod to a toy model of the minimal supersymmetric standard model (MSSM)\ninteracting via gauge mediation with a metastable supersymmetry breaking sector\nand an interacting dark matter sector. We discuss how a mirror procedure can be\napplied in the type IIA case, allowing us to join certain intersecting brane\nconfigurations through massive mediators.",
        "positive": "Classical Inflationary and Ekpyrotic Universes in the No-Boundary\n  Wavefunction: This paper investigates the manner in which classical universes are obtained\nin the no-boundary quantum state. In this context, universes can be\ncharacterised as classical (in a WKB sense) when the wavefunction is highly\noscillatory, i.e. when the ratio of the change in the amplitude of the\nwavefunction becomes small compared to the change in the phase. In the presence\nof a positive or negative exponential potential, the WKB condition is satisfied\nin proportion to a factor $e^{-(\\epsilon - 3)N/(\\epsilon -1)},$ where\n$\\epsilon$ is the (constant) slow-roll/fast-roll parameter and $N$ designates\nthe number of e-folds. Thus classicality is reached exponentially fast in $N$,\nbut only when $\\epsilon < 1$ (inflation) or $\\epsilon > 3$ (ekpyrosis).\nFurthermore, when the potential switches off and the ekpyrotic phase goes over\ninto a phase of kinetic domination, the level of classicality obtained up to\nthat point is preserved. Similar results are obtained in a cyclic potential,\nwhere a dark energy plateau is added. Finally, for a potential of the form\n$-\\phi^n$ (with $n=4,6,8$), where the classical solution becomes increasingly\nkinetic-dominated, there is an initial burst of classicalisation which then\nquickly levels off. These results demonstrate that inflation and ekpyrosis,\nwhich are the only dynamical mechanisms known for smoothing the universe, share\nthe perhaps even more fundamental property of rendering space and time\nclassical in the first place."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Remarks on self-dual formulation of Born-Infeld-Chern-Simons theory: We study the self-duality of Born-Infeld-Chern-Simons theory which can be\ninterpreted as a massive D2 brane in IIA string theory and exhibit the\nself-dual formulation in terms of the gauge invariant master Lagrangian. The\nproposed master Lagrangian contains the nonlocal auxiliary field and approaches\nself-dual formulation of Maxwell-Chern-Simons theory in a point-particle limit\nwith the weak string-coupling limit. The consistent canonical brackets of dual\nsystem are derived.",
        "positive": "Self-Dual Black Holes in Celestial Holography: We construct two-dimensional quantum states associated to four-dimensional\nlinearized rotating self-dual black holes in $(2,2)$ signature Klein space. The\nstates are comprised of global conformal primaries circulating on the celestial\ntorus, the Kleinian analog of the celestial sphere. By introducing a\ngeneralized tower of Goldstone operators we identify the states as coherent\nexponentiations carrying an infinite tower of ${\\rm w}_{1+\\infty}$ charges or\nsoft hair. We relate our results to recent approaches to black hole scattering,\nincluding a connection to Wilson lines, $\\mathcal{S}$-matrix results, and\ncelestial holography in curved backgrounds."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Minimal and maximal lengths from position-dependent noncommutativity: Fring and al in their paper entitled \"Strings from position-dependent\nnoncommutativity\" have introduced a new set of noncommutative space commutation\nrelations in two space dimensions. It had been shown that any fundamental\nobjects introduced in this space-space non-commutativity are string-like.\nTaking this result into account, we generalize the seminal work of Fring and al\nto the case that there is also a maximal length from position-dependent\nnoncommutativity and minimal momentum arising from generalized versions of\nHeisenberg's uncertainty relations. The existence of maximal length is related\nto the presence of an extra, first order term in particle's length that\nprovides the basic difference of our analysis with theirs. This maximal length\nbreaks up the well known singularity problem of space time. We establish\ndifferent representations of this noncommutative space and finally we study\nsome basic and interesting quantum mechanical systems in these new variables.",
        "positive": "Holographic Mutual and Tripartite Information in a Non-Conformal\n  Background: Holographic mutual and tripartite information have been studied in a\nnon-conformal background. We have investigated how these observables behave as\nthe energy scale and number of degrees of freedom vary. We have found out that\nthe effect of degrees of freedom and energy scale is opposite. Moreover, it has\nbeen observed that the disentangling transition occurs at large distance\nbetween sub-systems in non-conformal field theory independent of l. The mutual\ninformation in a non-conformal background remains also monogamous."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Self-dual solitons in a Born-Infeld baby Skyrme model: We show the existence of self-dual (topological) solitons in a gauged version\nof the baby Skyrme model in which the Born-Infeld term governs the gauge field\ndynamics. The successful implementation of the Bogomol'nyi-Prasad-Sommerfield\nformalism provides a lower bound for the energy and the respective self-dual\nequations whose solutions are the solitons saturating such a limit. The energy\nlower bound (Bogomol'nyi bound) is proportional to the topological charge of\nthe Skyrme field and therefore quantized. In contrast, the total magnetic flux\nis a nonquantized quantity. Furthermore, the model supports three types of\nself-dual solitons profiles: the first describes compacton solitons, the second\nfollows a Gaussian decay law, and the third portrays a power-law decay.\nFinally, we perform numerical solutions of the self-dual equations and depicted\nthe soliton profiles for different values of the parameters controlling the\nnonlinearity of the model.",
        "positive": "The nonrelativistic limit of the Magueijo-Smolin model of deformed\n  special relativity: We study the nonrelativistic limit of the motion of a classical particle in a\nmodel of deformed special relativity and of the corresponding generalized\nKlein-Gordon and Dirac equations, and show that they reproduce nonrelativistic\nclassical and quantum mechanics, respectively, although the rest mass of a\nparticle no longer coincides with its inertial mass. This fact clarifies the\nmeaning of the different definitions of velocity of a particle available in DSR\nliterature. Moreover, the rest mass of particles and antiparticles differ,\nbreaking the CPT invariance. This effect is close to observational limits and\nfuture experiments may give indications on its effective existence."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Towards the most general scalar-tensor theories of gravity: a unified\n  approach in the language of differential forms: We use a description based on differential forms to systematically explore\nthe space of scalar-tensor theories of gravity. Within this formalism, we\npropose a basis for the scalar sector at the lowest order in derivatives of the\nfield and in any number of dimensions. This minimal basis is used to construct\na finite and closed set of Lagrangians describing general scalar-tensor\ntheories invariant under Local Lorentz Transformations in a pseudo-Riemannian\nmanifold, which contains ten physically distinct elements in four spacetime\ndimensions. Subsequently, we compute their corresponding equations of motion\nand find which combinations are at most second order in derivatives in four as\nwell as arbitrary number of dimensions. By studying the possible exact forms\n(total derivatives) and algebraic relations between the basis components, we\ndiscover that there are only four Lagrangian combinations producing second\norder equations, which can be associated with Horndeski's theory. In this\nprocess, we identify a new second order Lagrangian, named kinetic Gauss-Bonnet,\nthat was not previously considered in the literature. However, we show that its\ndynamics is already contained in Horndeski's theory. Finally, we provide a full\nclassification of the relations between different second order theories. This\nallows us to clarify, for instance, the connection between different\ncovariantizations of Galileons theory. In conclusion, our formulation affords\ngreat computational simplicity with a systematic structure. As a first step we\nfocus on theories with second order equations of motion. However, this new\nformalism aims to facilitate advances towards unveiling the most general\nscalar-tensor theories.",
        "positive": "Completing the solution for the $OSp(1|2)$ spin chain: The periodic $OSp(1|2)$ quantum spin chain has both a graded and a non-graded\nversion. Naively, the Bethe ansatz solution for the non-graded version does not\naccount for the complete spectrum of the transfer matrix, and we propose a\nsimple mechanism for achieving completeness. In contrast, for the graded\nversion, this issue does not arise. We also clarify the symmetries of both\nversions of the model, and we show how these symmetries are manifested in the\ndegeneracies and multiplicities of the transfer-matrix spectrum. While the\ngraded version has $OSp(1|2)$ symmetry, the non-graded version has only $SU(2)$\nsymmetry. Moreover, we obtain conditions for selecting the physical singular\nsolutions of the Bethe equations. This analysis solves a lasting controversy\nover signs in the Bethe equations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Theories with Two Times: General considerations on the unification of A-type and B-type\nsupersymmetries in the context of interacting p-branes strongly suggest that\nthe signature of spacetime includes two timelike dimensions. This leads to the\npuzzle of how ordinary physics with a single timelike dimension emerges. In\nthis letter we suggest that the two timelike dimensions could be real, and\nbelong to two physical sectors of a single theory each containing its own\ntimelike dimension. Effectively there is a single time evolution parameter. We\nsubstantiate this idea by constructing certain actions for interacting p-branes\nwith signature (n,2) that have gauge symmetries and constraints appropriate for\na physical interpretation with no ghosts. In combination with related ideas and\ngeneral constraints in S-theory, we are led to a cosmological scenario in\nwhich, after a phase transition, the extra timelike dimension becomes part of\nthe compactified universe residing inside microscopic matter. The internal\nspace, whose geometry is expected to determine the flavor quantum numbers of\nlow energy matter, thus acquires a Minkowski signature. The formalism meshes\nnaturally with a new supersymmetry in the context of field theory that we\nsuggested in an earlier paper. The structure of this supersymmetry gives rise\nto a new Kaluza-Klein type mechanism for determining the quantum numbers of low\nenergy families, thus suggesting that the extra timelike dimension would be\ntaken into account in understanding the Standard Model of particle physics.",
        "positive": "Motion on moduli spaces with potentials: In the limit of small velocities, the dynamics of half-BPS Yang-Mills-Higgs\nsolitons can be described by the geodesic approximation. Recently, it has been\nshown that quarter-BPS states require the addition of a potential term to this\napproximation. We explain the logic behind this modification for a larger class\nof models and then analyse in detail the dynamics of two five-dimensional\ndyonic instantons, using both analytical and numerical techniques.\nNonzero-modes are shown to play a crucial role in the analysis of these\nsystems, and we explain how these modes lead to qualitatively new types of\ndynamics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Reaction-Diffusion Processes, Critical Dynamics and Quantum Chains: The master equation describing non-equilibrium one-dimensional problems like\ndiffusion limited reactions or critical dynamics of classical spin systems can\nbe written as a Schr\\\"odinger equation in which the wave function is the\nprobability distribution and the Hamiltonian is that of a quantum chain with\nnearest neighbor interactions. Since many one-dimensional quantum chains are\nintegrable, this opens a new field of applications. At the same time physical\nintuition and probabilistic methods bring new insight into the understanding of\nthe properties of quantum chains. A simple example is the asymmetric diffusion\nof several species of particles which leads naturally to Hecke algebras and\n$q$-deformed quantum groups. Many other examples are given. Several relevant\ntechnical aspects like critical exponents, correlation functions and\nfinite-size scaling are also discussed in detail.",
        "positive": "Edge Asymptotics of Planar Electron Densities: The $N\\to\\infty$ limit of the edges of finite planar electron densities is\ndiscussed for higher Landau levels. For full filling, the particle number is\ncorrelated with the magnetic flux, and hence with the boundary location, making\nthe $N\\to\\infty$ limit more subtle at the edges than in the bulk. In the\n$n^{\\rm th}$ Landau level, the density exhibits $n$ distinct steps at the edge,\nin both circular and rectangular samples. The boundary characteristics for\nindividual Landau levels, and for successively filled Landau levels, are\ncomputed in an asymptotic expansion."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Heat Kernel on AdS_3 and its Applications: We derive the heat kernel for arbitrary tensor fields on S^3 and (Euclidean)\nAdS_3 using a group theoretic approach. We use these results to also obtain the\nheat kernel on certain quotients of these spaces. In particular, we give a\nsimple, explicit expression for the one loop determinant for a field of\narbitrary spin s in thermal AdS_3. We apply this to the calculation of the one\nloop partition function of N=1 supergravity on AdS_3. We find that the answer\nfactorizes into left- and right-moving super Virasoro characters built on the\nSL(2, C) invariant vacuum, as argued by Maloney and Witten on general grounds.",
        "positive": "D3-brane shells to black branes on the Coulomb branch: We use the AdS/CFT duality to study the special point on the Coulomb branch\nof ${\\cal N}=4$ SU(N) gauge theory which corresponds to a spherically symmetric\nshell of D3-branes. This point is of interest both because the spacetime region\ninside the shell is flat, and because this configuration gives a very simple\nexample of the transition between D-branes in the perturbative string regime\nand the non-perturbative regime of black holes. We discuss how this geometry is\ndescribed in the dual gauge theory, through its effect on the two-point\nfunctions and Wilson loops. In the calculation of the two-point function, we\nstress the importance of absorption by the branes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chern-Simons Theory in the Temporal Gauge and Knot Invariants through\n  the Universal Quantum R-Matrix: In temporal gauge A_{0}=0 the 3d Chern-Simons theory acquires quadratic\naction and an ultralocal propagator. This directly implies a 2d R-matrix\nrepresentation for the correlators of Wilson lines (knot invariants), where\nonly the crossing points of the contours projection on the xy plane contribute.\nThough the theory is quadratic, P-exponents remain non-trivial operators and\nR-factors are easier to guess then derive. We show that the topological\ninvariants arise if additional flag structure (xy plane and an y line in it) is\nintroduced, R is the universal quantum R-matrix and turning points contribute\nthe \"enhancement\" factors q^{\\rho}.",
        "positive": "Tensionless branes and the null string critical dimension: BRST quantization is carried out for a model of p-branes with second class\nconstraints. After extension of the phase space the constraint algebra\ncoincides with the one of null string when p=1. It is shown that in this case\none can or can not obtain critical dimension for the null string, depending on\nthe choice of the operator ordering and corresponding vacuum states. When p>1,\noperator orderings leading to critical dimension in the p=1 case are not\nallowed. Admissable orderings give no restrictions on the dimension of the\nembedding space-time. Finally, a generalization to supersymmetric null branes\nis proposed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "p-Wave holographic superconductors with Weyl corrections: We study the (3+1) dimensional p-wave holographic superconductors with Weyl\ncorrections both numerically and analytically. We describe numerically the\nbehavior of critical temperature $T_{c}$ with respect to charge density $\\rho$\nin a limited range of Weyl coupling parameter $\\gamma$ and we find in general\nthe condensation becomes harder with the increase of parameter $\\gamma$. In\nstrong coupling limit of Yang-Mills theory, we show that the minimum value of\n$T_{c}$ obtained from analytical approach is in good agreement with the\nnumerical results, and finally show how we got remarkably a similar result in\nthe critical exponent 1/2 of the chemical potential $\\mu$ and the order\nparameter$<J^1_x>$ with the numerical curves of superconductors.",
        "positive": "Non-perturbative Yukawa Couplings from String Instantons: Non-perturbative D-brane instantons can generate perturbatively absent though\nphenomenologically relevant couplings for Type II orientifold compactifications\nwith D-branes. We discuss the generation of the perturbatively vanishing SU(5)\nGUT Yukawa coupling of type 10 10 5_H. Moreover, for a simple globally\nconsistent intersecting D6-brane model, we discuss the generation of mass terms\nfor matter fields. This can serve as a mechanism for decoupling exotic matter."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Singularity Resolution + Unitary Evolution + Horizon = Firewall ?: We assume that a quantum gravity theory exists where evolutions are unitary,\nno information is lost, singularities are resolved, and horizons form. Thus a\nmassive star will collapse to a black hole having a horizon and an interior\nsingularity--resolved region. Based on unitarity and on a postulated relation,\nwe obtain an evolution equation for the size of this region. As the black hole\nevolves by evaporation and accretions, this region grows, meets the horizon,\nand becomes accessible to an outside observer. The required time is typically\nof the order of black hole evaporation time. If the boundary of the\nsingularity--resolved region can be considered as the firewall of Almheiri et\nal then this marks the appearance of a firewall.",
        "positive": "Dynamical r-matrices and Separation of Variables: The Generalised\n  Calogero-Moser Model: A generalisation of the classical Calogero-Moser model obtained by coupling\nit to the Gaudin model is considered. The recently found classical dynamical\nr-matrix [E. Billey, J. Avan and O. Babelon, PAR LPTHE 93-55] for the\nEuler-Calogero-Moser model is used to separate variables for this generalised\nCalogero-Moser model in the case in which there are two Calogero-Moser\nparticles. The model is then canonically quantised and the same classical\nr-matrix is employed to separate variables in the Schr\\\"odinger equations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On bounds and boundary conditions in the continuum Landau gauge: In this note, we consider the Landau gauge in the continuum formulation. Our\npurposes are twofold. Firstly, we try to work out the consequences of the\nrecently derived Cucchieri-Mendes bounds on the inverse Faddeev-Popov operator\nat the level of the path integral quantization. Secondly, we give an explicit\nrenormalizable prescription to implement the so-called Landau B-gauges as\nintroduced by Maas.",
        "positive": "Instantons on Gravitons: Yang-Mills instantons on ALE gravitational instantons were constructed by\nKronheimer and Nakajima in terms of matrices satisfying algebraic equations.\nThese were conveniently organized into a quiver. We construct generic\nYang-Mills instantons on ALF gravitational instantons. Our data are formulated\nin terms of matrix-valued functions of a single variable, that are in turn\norganized into a bow. We introduce the general notion of a bow, its\nrepresentation, its associated data and moduli space of solutions. For a\njudiciously chosen bow the Nahm transform maps any bow solution to an instanton\non an ALF space. We demonstrate that this map respects all complex structures\non the moduli spaces, so it is likely to be an isometry, and use this fact to\nstudy the asymptotics of the moduli spaces of instantons on ALF spaces."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Large-N Solution of the Heterotic N=(0,2) Two-Dimensional CP(N-1) Model: We continue explorations of non-Abelian strings, focusing on the solution of\na heterotic deformation of the CP(N-1) model with an extra right-handed fermion\nfield and N=(0,2) supersymmetry. This model emerges as a low-energy theory on\nthe worldsheet of the BPS-saturated flux tubes (strings) in N=2 supersymmetric\nQCD deformed by a superpotential of a special type breaking N=2 supersymmetry\ndown to N=1. Using large-N expansion we solve this model to the leading order\nin 1/N. Our solution exhibits spontaneous supersymmetry breaking for all values\nof the deformation parameter. We identify the Goldstino field. The discrete\nZ_{2N} symmetry is shown to be spontaneously broken down to Z_2; therefore, the\nworldsheet model has N strictly degenerate vacua (with nonvanishing vacuum\nenergy). Thus, the heterotic CP(N-1) model is in the deconfinement phase. We\ncan compare this dynamical pattern, on the one hand, with the N=(2,2) CP(N-1)\nmodel which has N degenerate vacua with unbroken supersymmetry, and, on the\nother hand, with nonsupersymmetric CP(N-1) model with split quasivacua and the\nCoulomb/confining phase. We determine the mass spectrum of the heterotic\nCP(N-1) model in the large-N limit.",
        "positive": "Sequential Monte Carlo with Cross-validated Neural Networks for\n  Complexity of Hyperbolic Black Hole Solutions in 4D: This paper investigates the self-similar solutions of the\nEinstein-axion-dilaton configuration from type IIB string theory and the global\nSL(2,R) symmetry. We consider the Continuous Self Similarity (CSS), where the\nscale transformation is controlled by an SL(2, R) boost or hyperbolic\ntranslation. The solutions stay invariant under the combination of space-time\ndilation with internal SL(2,R) transformations. We develop a new formalism\nbased on Sequential Monte Carlo (SMC) and artificial neural networks (NNs) to\nestimate the self-similar solutions to the equations of motion in the\nhyperbolic class in four dimensions. Due to the complex and highly nonlinear\npatterns, researchers typically have to use various constraints and numerical\napproximation methods to estimate the equations of motion; thus, they have to\noverlook the measurement errors in parameter estimation. Through a Bayesian\nframework, we incorporate measurement errors into our models to find the\nsolutions to the hyperbolic equations of motion. It is well known that the\nhyperbolic class suffers from multiple solutions where the critical collapse\nfunctions have overlap domains for these solutions. To deal with this\ncomplexity, for the first time in literature on the axion-dilaton system, we\npropose the SMC approach to obtain the multi-modal posterior distributions.\nThrough a probabilistic perspective, we confirm the deterministic $\\alpha$ and\n$\\beta$ solutions available in the literature and determine all possible\nsolutions that may occur due to measurement errors. We finally proposed the\npenalized Leave-One-Out Cross-validation (LOOCV) to combine the Bayesian\nNN-based estimates optimally. The approach enables us to determine the optimum\nweights while dealing with the co-linearity issue in the NN-based estimates and\nbetter predict the critical functions corresponding to multiple solutions of\nthe equations of motion."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Born-Infeld-Goldstone superfield actions for gauge-fixed D-5- and\n  D-3-branes in 6d: The supersymmetric Born-Infeld actions describing gauge-fixed D-5- and\nD-3-branes in ambient six-dimensional (6d) spacetime are constructed in\nsuperspace. A new 6d action is the (1,0) supersymmetric extension of the 6d\nBorn-Infeld action. It is related via dimensional reduction to another\nremarkable 4d action describing the N=2 supersymmetric extension of the\nBorn-Infeld-Nambu-Goto action with two real scalars. Both actions are the\nGoldstone actions associated with partial (1/2) spontaneous breaking of\nextended supersymmetry having 16 supercharges down to 8 supercharges. Both\nactions can be put into the `non-linear sigma-model' form by using certain\nnon-linear superfield constraints. The unbroken supersymmetry is always\nlinearly realised in our construction.",
        "positive": "Nambu-like odd bracket on Grassmann algebra: The Grassmann-odd Nambu-like bracket corresponding to an arbitrary Lie\nalgebra and realized on the Grassmann algebra is proposed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "D-Brane Propagation in Two-Dimensional Black Hole Geometries: We study propagation of D0-brane in two-dimensional Lorentzian black hole\nbackgrounds by the method of boundary conformal field theory of SL(2,R)/U(1)\nsupercoset at level k. Typically, such backgrounds arise as near-horizon\ngeometries of k coincident non-extremal NS5-branes, where 1/k measures\ncurvature of the backgrounds in string unit and hence size of string worldsheet\neffects. At classical level, string worldsheet effects are suppressed and\nD0-brane propagation in the Lorentzian black hole geometry is simply given by\nthe Wick rotation of D1-brane contour in the Euclidean black hole geometry.\nTaking account of string worldsheet effects, boundary state of the Lorentzian\nD0-brane is formally constructible via Wick rotation from that of the Euclidean\nD1-brane. However, the construction is subject to ambiguities in boundary\nconditions. We propose exact boundary states describing the D0-brane, and\nclarify physical interpretations of various boundary states constructed from\ndifferent boundary conditions. As it falls into the black hole, the D0-brane\nradiates off to the horizon and to the infinity. From the boundary states\nconstructed, we compute physical observables of such radiative process. We find\nthat part of the radiation to infinity is in effective thermal distribution at\nthe Hawking temperature. We also find that part of the radiation to horizon is\nin the Hagedorn distribution, dominated by massive, highly non-relativistic\nclosed string states, much like the tachyon matter. Remarkably, such\ndistribution emerges only after string worldsheet effects are taken exactly\ninto account. From these results, we observe that nature of the radiation\ndistribution changes dramatically across the conifold geometry k=1 (k=3 for the\nbosonic case), exposing the `string - black hole transition' therein.",
        "positive": "Generalized Calabi-Yau structures and mirror symmetry: We use the differential geometrical framework of generalized (almost)\nCalabi-Yau structures to reconsider the concept of mirror symmetry. It is shown\nthat not only the metric and B-field but also the algebraic structures are\nuniquely mapped. As an example we use the six-torus as a trivial generalized\nCalabi-Yau 6-fold and an appropriate B-field."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Light-front Schwinger Model at Finite Temperature: We study the light-front Schwinger model at finite temperature following the\nrecent proposal in \\cite{alves}. We show that the calculations are carried out\nefficiently by working with the full propagator for the fermion, which also\navoids subtleties that arise with light-front regularizations. We demonstrate\nthis with the calculation of the zero temperature anomaly. We show that\ntemperature dependent corrections to the anomaly vanish, consistent with the\nresults from the calculations in the conventional quantization. The gauge\nself-energy is seen to have the expected non-analytic behavior at finite\ntemperature, but does not quite coincide with the conventional results.\nHowever, the two structures are exactly the same on-shell. We show that\ntemperature does not modify the bound state equations and that the fermion\ncondensate has the same behavior at finite temperature as that obtained in the\nconventional quantization.",
        "positive": "One-loop background calculations in the general field theory: We present master formulas for the divergent part of the one-loop effective\naction for a minimal operator of any order in the 4-dimensional curved space\nand for an arbitrary nonminimal operator in the flat space."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Vortex Pair Creation on Brane-Antibrane Pair via Marginal Deformation: It has been conjectured that the vortex solution on a D-brane - anti-D-brane\nsystem represents a D-brane of two lower dimension. We establish this result by\nfirst identifying a series of marginal deformations which create the vortex -\nantivortex pair on the brane - antibrane system, and then showing that under\nthis series of marginal deformations the original D-brane - anti-D-brane system\nbecomes a D-brane - anti-D-brane system with two lower dimensions.\nGeneralization of this construction to the case of solitons of higher\ncodimension is also discussed.",
        "positive": "Quantum Black Hole Entropy, Localization and the Stringy Exclusion\n  Principle: Supersymmetric localization has lead to remarkable progress in computing\nquantum corrections to BPS black hole entropy. The program has been successful\nespecially for computing perturbative corrections to the Bekenstein-Hawking\narea formula. In this work, we consider non-perturbative corrections related to\npolar states in the Rademacher expansion, which describes the entropy in the\nmicrocanonical ensemble. We propose that these non-perturbative effects can be\nidentified with a new family of saddles in the localization of the quantum\nentropy path integral. We argue that these saddles, which are euclidean\n$AdS_2\\times S^1\\times S^2$ geometries, arise after turning on singular fluxes\nin M-theory on a Calabi-Yau. They cease to exist after a certain amount of\nflux, resulting in a finite number of geometries; the bound on that number is\nin precise agreement with the stringy exclusion principle. Localization of\nsupergravity on these backgrounds gives rise to a finite tail of Bessel\nfunctions in agreement with the Rademacher expansion. As a check of our\nproposal, we test our results against well-known microscopic formulas for\none-eighth and one-quarter BPS black holes in $\\mathcal{N}=8$ and\n$\\mathcal{N}=4$ string theory respectively, finding agreement. Our method\nbreaks down precisely when mock-modular effects are expected in the entropy of\none-quarter BPS dyons and we comment upon this. Furthermore, we mention\npossible applications of these results, including an exact formula for the\nentropy of four dimensional $\\mathcal{N}=2$ black holes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Natural solution to the naturalness problem -- Universe does fine-tuning: We propose a new mechanism to solve the fine-tuning problem. We start from a\nmulti-local action $\nS=\\sum_{i}c_{i}S_{i}+\\sum_{i,j}c_{i,j}S_{i}S_{j}+\\sum_{i,j,k}c_{i,j,k}S_{i}S_{j}S_{k}+\\cdots$,\nwhere $S_{i}$'s are ordinary local actions. Then, the partition function of\nthis system is given by \\begin{equation} Z=\\int d\\overrightarrow{\\lambda}\nf(\\overrightarrow{\\lambda})\\langle\nf|T\\exp\\left(-i\\int_{0}^{+\\infty}dt\\hat{H}(\\overrightarrow{\\lambda};a_{cl}(t))\\right)|i\\rangle,\\nonumber\\end{equation}\nwhere $\\overrightarrow{\\lambda}$ represents the parameters of the system whose\nHamiltonian is given by $\\hat{H}(\\overrightarrow{\\lambda};a_{cl}(t))$,\n$a_{cl}(t)$ is the radius of the universe determined by the Friedman equation,\nand $f(\\overrightarrow{\\lambda})$, which is determined by $S$, is a smooth\nfunction of $\\overrightarrow{\\lambda}$. If a value of\n$\\overrightarrow{\\lambda}$, $\\overrightarrow{\\lambda}_{0}$, dominates in the\nintegral, we can interpret that the parameters are dynamically tuned to\n$\\overrightarrow{\\lambda}_{0}$. We show that indeed it happens in some\nrealistic systems. In particular, we consider the strong CP problem, multiple\npoint criticality principle and cosmological constant problem. It is\ninteresting that these different phenomena can be explained by one mechanism.",
        "positive": "String Theory, Unification and Quantum Gravity: An overview is given of the way in which the unification program of particle\nphysics has evolved into the proposal of superstring theory as a prime\ncandidate for unifying quantum gravity with the other forces and particles of\nnature. A key concern with quantum gravity has been the problem of ultraviolet\ndivergences, which is naturally solved in string theory by replacing particles\nwith spatially extended states as the fundamental excitations. String theory\nturns out, however, to contain many more extended-object states than just\nstrings. Combining all this into an integrated picture, called M-theory,\nrequires recognition of the r\\^ole played by a web of nonperturbative duality\nsymmetries suggested by the nonlinear structures of the field-theoretic\nsupergravity limits of string theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Logarithmic Corrections to Schwarzschild and Other Non-extremal Black\n  Hole Entropy in Different Dimensions: Euclidean gravity method has been successful in computing logarithmic\ncorrections to extremal black hole entropy in terms of low energy data, and\ngives results in perfect agreement with the microscopic results in string\ntheory. Motivated by this success we apply Euclidean gravity to compute\nlogarithmic corrections to the entropy of various non-extremal black holes in\ndifferent dimensions, taking special care of integration over the zero modes\nand keeping track of the ensemble in which the computation is done. These\nresults provide strong constraint on any ultraviolet completion of the theory\nif the latter is able to give an independent computation of the entropy of\nnon-extremal black holes from microscopic description. For Schwarzschild black\nholes in four space-time dimensions the macroscopic result seems to disagree\nwith the existing result in loop quantum gravity.",
        "positive": "Six-Dimensional (1,0) Superconformal Models and Higher Gauge Theory: We analyze the gauge structure of a recently proposed superconformal field\ntheory in six dimensions. We find that this structure amounts to a weak\nCourant-Dorfman algebra, which, in turn, can be interpreted as a strong\nhomotopy Lie algebra. This suggests that the superconformal field theory is\nclosely related to higher gauge theory, describing the parallel transport of\nextended objects. Indeed we find that, under certain restrictions, the field\ncontent and gauge transformations reduce to those of higher gauge theory. We\nalso present a number of interesting examples of admissible gauge structures\nsuch as the structure Lie 2-algebra of an abelian gerbe, differential crossed\nmodules, the 3-algebras of M2-brane models and string Lie 2-algebras."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Nonderivative Modified Gravity: a Classification: We analyze the theories of gravity modified by a generic nonderivative\npotential built from the metric, under the minimal requirement of unbroken\nspatial rotations. Using the canonical analysis, we classify the potentials $V$\naccording to the number of degrees of freedom (DoF) that propagate at the\nnonperturbative level. We then compare the nonperturbative results with the\nperturbative DoF propagating around Minkowski and FRW backgrounds. A generic\n$V$ implies 6 propagating DoF at the non-perturbative level, with a ghost on\nMinkowski background. There exist potentials which propagate 5 DoF, as already\nstudied in previous works. Here, no $V$ with unbroken rotational invariance\nadmitting 4 DoF is found. Theories with 3 DoF turn out to be strongly coupled\non Minkowski background. Finally, potentials with only the 2 DoF of a massive\ngraviton exist. Their effect on cosmology is simply equivalent to a\ncosmological constant. Potentials with 2 or 5 DoF and explicit time dependence\nappear to be a further viable possibility.",
        "positive": "Small Volumes in Compactified String Theory: We discuss some of the classical and quantum geometry associated to the\ndegeneration of cycles within a Calabi-Yau compactification. In particular, we\nfocus on the definition and properties of quantum volume, especially as it\napplies to identifying the physics associated to loci in moduli space where\nnonperturbative effects become manifest. We discuss some unusual features of\nquantum volume relative to its classical counterpart."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Bit Strings from N=4 Gauge Theory: We present an improvement of the interacting string bit theory proposed in\nhep-th/0206059, designed to reproduce the non-planar perturbative amplitudes\nbetween BMN operators in N=4 gauge theory. Our formalism incorporates the\neffect of operator mixing and all non-planar corrections to the inner product.\nWe use supersymmetry to construct the bosonic matrix elements of the light-cone\nHamiltonian to all orders in g_2, and make a detailed comparison with the\nnon-planar amplitudes obtained from gauge theory to order (g_2)^2. We find a\nprecise match.",
        "positive": "Finiteness of N =4 super-Yang-Mills effective action in terms of dressed\n  N =1 superfields: We argue in favor of the independence on any scale, ultraviolet or infrared,\nin kernels of the effective action expressed in terms of dressed ${\\cal N} =1$\nsuperfields for the case of ${\\cal N} =4$ super-Yang--Mills theory. Under\n``scale independence '' of the effective action of dressed mean superfields we\nmean its `` finiteness in the off-shell limit of removing all the\nregularizations.'' This off-shell limit is scale independent because no scale\nremains inside these kernels after removing the regularizations. We use two\ntypes of regularization: regularization by dimensional reduction and\nregularization by higher derivatives in its supersymmetric form. Based on the\nSlavnov-Taylor identity we show that dressed fields of matter and of vector\nmultiplets can be introduced to express the effective action in terms of them.\nKernels of the effective action expressed in terms of such dressed effective\nfields do not depend on the ultraviolet scale. In the case of dimensional\nreduction, by using the developed technique we show how the problem of\ninconsistency of the dimensional reduction can be solved. Using Piguet and\nSibold formalism, we indicate that the dependence on the infrared scale\ndisappears off shell in both the regularizations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Q-Balls Meet Fuzzballs: Non-BPS Microstate Geometries: We construct a three-parameter family of non-extremal microstate geometries,\nor \"microstrata,\" that are dual to states and deformations of the D1-D5 CFT.\nThese families are non-extremal analogues of superstrata. We find these\nmicrostrata by using a Q-ball-inspired Ansatz that reduces the equations of\nmotion to solving for eleven functions of one variable. We then solve this\nsystem both perturbatively and numerically and the results match extremely\nwell. We find that the solutions have normal mode frequencies that depend upon\nthe amplitudes of the excitations. We also show that, at higher order in\nperturbations, some of the solutions, having started with normalizable modes,\ndevelop a \"non-normalizable\" part, suggesting that the microstrata represent\nstates in a perturbed form of the D1-D5 CFT. This paper is intended as a \"Proof\nof Concept\" for the Q-ball-inspired approach, and we will describe how it opens\nthe way to many interesting follow-up calculations both in supergravity and in\nthe dual holographic field theory.",
        "positive": "Noncommutative Harmonic Oscillator at Finite Temperature: A Path\n  Integral Approach: We use the path integral approach to a two-dimensional noncommutative\nharmonic oscillator to derive the partition function of the system at finite\ntemperature. It is shown that the result based on the Lagrangian formulation of\nthe problem, coincides with the Hamiltonian derivation of the partition\nfunction."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gravitational waves in dark bubble cosmology: In this paper we construct the 5D uplift of 4D gravitational waves in de\nSitter cosmology for the brane world scenario based on a nucleated bubble in\nAdS5. This makes it possible to generalize the connection between the dark\nbubbles and Vilenkin's quantum cosmology to include gravitational\nperturbations. We also use the uplift to explain the interpretation of the\napparently negative energy contributions in the 4D Einstein equations, which\ndistinguish the dark bubble scenario from Randall-Sundrum.",
        "positive": "The simplest massive S-matrix: from minimal coupling to Black Holes: In this paper, we explore the physics of electromagnetically and\ngravitationally coupled massive higher spin states from the on-shell point of\nview. Starting with the three-point amplitude, we focus on the simplest\namplitude which is characterized by matching to minimal coupling in the UV. In\nthe IR such amplitude leads to g = 2 for arbitrary charged spin states, and the\nbest high energy behavior for a given spin. We proceed to construct the\n(gravitational) Compton amplitude for generic spins. We find that the leading\ndeformation away from minimal coupling, in the gravitation sector, will lead to\ninconsistent factorizations and are thus forbidden. As the corresponding\ndeformation in the gauge sector encodes the anomalous magnetic dipole moment,\nthis leads to the prediction that for systems with gauge2 =gravity relations,\nsuch as perturbative string theory, all charged states must have g = 2. It is\nthen natural to ask for generic spin, what is the theory that yields such\nminimal coupling. By matching to the one body effective action, remarkably we\nverify that for large spins, the answer is Kerr black holes. This\nidentification is then an on-shell avatar of the no hair theorem. Finally using\nthis identification as well as the newly constructed Compton amplitudes, we\nproceed to compute the spin dependent pieces for the classical potential at 2PM\norder up to degree four in spin operator of either black holes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Radiative Properties of the Stueckelberg Mechanism: We examine the mechanism for generating a mass for a U(1) vector field\nintroduced by Stueckelberg. First, it is shown that renormalization of the\nvector mass is identical to the renormalization of the vector field on account\nof gauge invariance. We then consider how the vector mass affects the effective\npotential in scalar quantum electrodynamics at one-loop order. The possibility\nof extending this mechanism to couple, in a gauge invariant way, a charged\nvector field to the photon is discussed.",
        "positive": "Holographic superconductors at zero density: We construct holographic superconductors at zero density. The model enjoys a\nluxury property that the background geometry dual to the ground state is\nanalytically available. It has a hyperscaling-violating geometry in the IR and\nis asymptotically AdS in the UV. Classification by IR geometries gives new\ninsights on supergravity solutions. We numerically construct the finite\ntemperature solution of hairy black holes and verify the phase transition by\ntuning a double-trace deformation parameter. For a holographic superconductor\nfrom M-theory, we obtain an analytic solution of the AC conductivity, which\nexplicitly shows a superconducting delta function and a hard gap."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum corrections for D-brane models with broken supersymmetry: Intersecting D-brane models and their T-dual magnetic compactifications yield\nattractive models of particle physics where magnetic flux plays a twofold role,\nbeing the source of fermion chirality as well as supersymmetry breaking. A\npotential problem of these models is the appearance of tachyons which can only\nbe avoided in certain regions of moduli space and in the presence of Wilson\nlines. We study the effective four-dimensional field theory for an orientifold\ncompactification of type IIA string theory and the corresponding toroidal\ncompactification of type I string theory. After determining the Kaluza-Klein\nand Landau-level towers of massive states in different sectors of the model, we\nevaluate their contributions to the one-loop effective potential, summing over\nall massive states, and we relate the result to the corresponding string\npartition functions. We find that the Wilson-line effective potential has only\nsaddle points, and the theory is therefore driven to the tachyonic regime.\nThere tachyon condensation takes place and chiral fermions acquire a mass of\nthe order of the compactification scale. We also find evidence for a tachyonic\nbehaviour of the volume moduli. More work on tachyon condensation is needed to\nclarify the connection between supersymmetry breaking, a chiral fermion\nspectrum and vacuum stability.",
        "positive": "Five-Dimensional Gauge Theories and Unitary Matrix Models: The matrix model computations of effective superpotential terms in N=1\nsupersymmetric gauge theories in four dimensions have been proposed to apply\nmore generally to gauge theories in higher dimensions. We discuss aspects of\nfive-dimensional gauge theory compactified on a circle, which leads to a\nunitary matrix model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Matrix Theory: This is an expanded version of talks given by the author at the Trieste\nSpring School on Supergravity and Superstrings in April of 1997 and at the\naccompanying workshop. The manuscript is intended to be a mini-review of Matrix\nTheory. The motivations and some of the evidence for the theory are presented,\nas well as a clear statement of the current puzzles about compactification to\nlow dimensions.",
        "positive": "Second Class Constraints in a Higher-Order Lagrangian Formalism: We consider the description of second-class constraints in a Lagrangian path\nintegral associated with a higher-order $\\Delta$-operator. Based on two\nconjugate higher-order $\\Delta$-operators, we also propose a Lagrangian path\nintegral with $Sp(2)$ symmetry, and describe the corresponding system in the\npresence of second-class constraints."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Renormalization Group Transformation for the Wave Function: The problem considered here is the determination of the hamiltonian of a\nfirst quantized nonrelativistic particle by the help of some measurements of\nthe location with a finite resolution. The resulting hamiltonian depends on the\nresolution of the measuring device. This dependence is reproduced by the help\nof a blocking transformation on the wave function. The systems with quadratic\nhamiltonian are studied in details. The representation of the renormalization\ngroup in the space of observables is identified.",
        "positive": "On higher derivative corrections of tachyon action: We have examined the momentum expansion of the disk level S-matrix element of\ntwo tachyons and two gauge fields to find, up to on-shell ambiguity, the\ncouplings of these fields in the world volume theory of N coincident non-BPS\nD-branes to all order of $\\alpha'$. Using the proposal that the action of\nD-brane-anti-D-brane is given by the projection of the action of two non-BPS\nD-branes with $(-1)^{F_L}$, we find the corresponding couplings in the world\nvolume theory of the brane-anti-brane system. Using these infinite tower of\ncouplings, we then calculate the massless pole of the scattering amplitude of\none RR field, two tachyons and one gauge field in the brane-anti-brane theory.\nWe find that the massless pole of the field theory amplitude is exactly equal\nto the massless pole of the disk level S-matrix element of one RR, two tachyons\nand one gauge field to all order of $\\alpha'$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Integer solutions to the anomaly equations for a class of chiral gauge\n  theories: We find all the integer charge solutions to the equations for the\ncancellation of local gauge anomalies in a class of gauge theories which extend\nthe Standard Model (SM) by a gauge group of the form $G \\times U(1)$, where $G$\nis an arbitrary semisimple compact Lie group. The SM fermions are assumed to be\nneutral under $G \\times U(1)$ gauge interactions, while the new fermions\ntransform in non-trivial representations of both the new and the SM gauge\ngroups. Our analysis is valid also when the latter is embedded in an arbitrary\nsemisimple compact Lie group. Theories with this structure have been recently\nstudied as models of composite axions based on accidental symmetries and can\nprovide a field theory resolution to the axion quality problem. We apply our\nresults to cases of phenomenological interest and prove the existence of charge\nassignments with Peccei-Quinn symmetry protected up to dimension 18.",
        "positive": "Introduction to noncommutative field and gauge theory: These are lecture notes for an introductory course on noncommutative field\nand gauge theory. We begin by reviewing quantum mechanics as the prototypical\nnoncommutative theory, as well as the geometrical language of standard gauge\ntheory. Then, we review a specific approach to noncommutative field and gauge\ntheory, which relies on the introduction of a derivations-based differential\ncalculus. We focus on the cases of constant and linear noncommutativity, e.g.,\nthe Moyal spacetime and the so-called $\\mathbb{R}^3_\\lambda$, respectively. In\nparticular, we review the $g\\varphi^4$ scalar field theory and the $U(1)$ gauge\ntheory on such noncommutative spaces. Finally, we discuss noncommutative\nspacetime symmetries from both the observer and particle point of view. In this\ncontext, the twist approach is reviewed and the $\\lambda$-Minkowski\n$g\\varphi^4$ model is discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Time evolution of the complexity in chaotic systems: concrete examples: We investigate the time evolution of the complexity of the operator by the\nSachdev-Ye-Kitaev (SYK) model with $N$ Majorana fermions. We follow Nielsen's\nidea of complexity geometry and geodesics thereof. We show that it is possible\nthat the bi-invariant complexity geometry can exhibit the conjectured time\nevolution of the complexity in chaotic systems: i) linear growth until $t\\sim\ne^{N}$, ii) saturation and small fluctuations after then. We also show that the\nLloyd's bound is realized in this model. Interestingly, these characteristic\nfeatures appear only if the complexity geometry is the most natural\n\"non-Riemannian\" Finsler geometry. This serves as a concrete example showing\nthat the bi-invariant complexity may be a competitive candidate for the\ncomplexity in quantum mechanics/field theory (QM/QFT). We provide another\nargument showing a naturalness of bi-invariant complexity in QM/QFT. That is\nthat the bi-invariance naturally implies the equivalence of the right-invariant\ncomplexity and left-invariant complexity, either of which may correspond to the\ncomplexity of a given operator. Without bi-invariance, one needs to answer why\nonly right (left) invariant complexity corresponds to the \"complexity\", instead\nof only left (right) invariant complexity.",
        "positive": "Calogero-Moser models with noncommutative spin interactions: We construct integrable generalizations of the elliptic\nCalogero-Sutherland-Moser model of particles with spin, involving\nnoncommutative spin interactions. The spin coupling potential is a modular\nfunction and, generically, breaks the global spin symmetry of the model down to\na product of U(1) phase symmetries. Previously known models are recovered as\nspecial cases."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Complexity and Behind the Horizon Cut Off: Motivated by $T{\\overline T}$ deformation of a conformal field theory we\ncompute holographic complexity for a black brane solution with a cut off using\n\"complexity=action\" proposal. In order to have a late time behavior consistent\nwith Lloyd's bound one is forced to have a cut off behind the horizon whose\nvalue is fixed by the boundary cut off. Using this result we compute\nholographic complexity for two dimensional AdS solutions where we get expected\nlate times linear growth. It is in contrast with the naively computation which\nis done without assuming the cut off where the complexity approaches a constant\nat the late time.",
        "positive": "Evaluation of conformal integrals: We present a comprehensive method for the evaluation of a vast class of\nintegrals representing 3-point functions of conformal field theories in\nmomentum space. The method leads to analytic, closed-form expressions for all\nscalar and tensorial 3-point functions of operators with integer dimensions in\nany spacetime dimension. In particular, this encompasses all 3-point functions\nof the stress tensor, conserved currents and marginal scalar operators."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "More on complexity of operators in quantum field theory: Recently it has been shown that the complexity of SU($n$) operator is\ndetermined by the geodesic length in a bi-invariant Finsler geometry, which is\nconstrained by some symmetries of quantum field theory. It is based on three\naxioms and one assumption regarding the complexity in continuous systems. By\nrelaxing one axiom and an assumption, we find that the complexity formula is\nnaturally generalized to the Schatten $p$-norm type. We also clarify the\nrelation between our complexity and other works. First, we show that our\nresults in a bi-invariant geometry are consistent with the ones in a\nright-invariant geometry such as $k$-local geometry. Here, a careful analysis\nof the sectional curvature is crucial. Second, we show that our complexity can\nconcretely realize the conjectured pattern of the time-evolution of the\ncomplexity: the linear growth up to saturation time. The saturation time can be\nestimated by the relation between the topology and curvature of SU($n$) groups.",
        "positive": "$\u03b1'$ corrections of Reissner-Nordstr\u00f6m black holes: We study the first-order in $\\alpha'$ corrections to non-extremal\n4-dimensional dyonic Reissner-Nordstr\\\"om (RN) black holes with equal electric\nand magnetic charges in the context of Heterotic Superstring effective field\ntheory (HST) compactified on a $T^{6}$. The particular embedding of the dyonic\nRN black hole in HST considered here is not supersymmetric in the extremal\nlimit. We show that, at first order in $\\alpha'$, consistency with the\nequations of motion of the HST demands additional scalar and vector fields\nbecome active, and we provide explicit expressions for all of them. We\ndetermine analytically the position of the event horizon of the black hole, as\nwell as the corrections to the extremality bound, to the temperature and to the\nentropy, checking that they are related by the first law of black-hole\nthermodynamics, so that $\\partial S/\\partial M=1/T$. We discuss the\nimplications of our results in the context of the Weak Gravity Conjecture,\nclarifying that entropy corrections for fixed mass and charge at extremality do\nnot necessarily imply corrections to the extremal charge-to-mass ratio."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Kinks, extra dimensions, and gravitational waves: We investigate in detail the gravitational wave signal from kinks on cosmic\n(super)strings, including the kinematical effects from the internal extra\ndimensions. We find that the signal is suppressed, however, the effect is less\nsignificant that that for cusps. Combined with the greater incidence of kinks\non (super)strings, it is likely that the kink signal offers the better chance\nfor detection of cosmic (super)strings.",
        "positive": "Equivariant Topological Sigma Models: We identify and examine a generalization of topological sigma models suitable\nfor coupling to topological open strings. The targets are Kahler manifolds with\na real structure, i.e. with an involution acting as a complex conjugation,\ncompatible with the Kahler metric. These models satisfy axioms of what might be\ncalled ``equivariant topological quantum field theory,'' generalizing the\naxioms of topological field theory as given by Atiyah. Observables of the\nequivariant topological sigma models correspond to cohomological classes in an\nequivariant cohomology theory of the targets. Their correlation functions can\nbe computed, leading to intersection theory on instanton moduli spaces with a\nnatural real structure. An equivariant $CP^1\\times CP^1$ model is discussed in\ndetail, and solved explicitly. Finally, we discuss the equivariant formulation\nof topological gravity on surfaces of unoriented open and closed string theory,\nand find a $Z_2$ anomaly explaining some problems with the formulation of\ntopological open string theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The (1,0) tensor and hypermultiplets in loop space: We show that the (1,0) tensor and hypermultiplet superconformal symmetry\nvariations can be uplifted to loop space if we assume that two lightlike\nconformal Killing vectors commute. Upon dimensional reduction we make contact\nwith five dimensional super-Yang-Mills and its nonabelian generalization that\nwe subsequently uplift back to loop space where we conjecture a nonabelian\ngeneralization of the (1,0) superconformal symmetry variations and demonstrate\ntheir on-shell closure.",
        "positive": "Hairpin-Branes and Tachyon-Paperclips in Holographic Backgrounds: D-branes with a U-shaped geometry, like the D8 flavor branes in the\nSakai-Sugimoto model of QCD, are encountered frequently in holographic\nbackgrounds. We argue that the commonly used DBI action is inadequate as an\neffective field theory description of these branes, because it misses a crucial\ncomponent of the low-energy dynamics: a light complex scalar mode. Following an\nidea of Erkal, Kutasov and Lunin we elaborate on an effective description based\non the abelian tachyon-DBI action which incorporates naturally the non-local\nphysics of the complex scalar mode. We demonstrate its power in a context where\nan explicit worldsheet description of the open string dynamics exists\n--hairpin-branes in the background of NS5-branes. Our results are relevant for\nthe holographic description of chiral symmetry breaking and bare quark mass in\nQCD and open string tachyon condensation in curved backgrounds."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Free Quotients of Favorable Calabi-Yau Manifolds: Non-simply connected Calabi-Yau threefolds play a central role in the study\nof string compactifications. Such manifolds are usually described by\nquotienting a simply connected Calabi-Yau variety by a freely acting discrete\nsymmetry. For the Calabi-Yau threefolds described as complete intersections in\nproducts of projective spaces, a classification of such symmetries descending\nfrom linear actions on the ambient spaces of the varieties has been given in\nthe literature. However, which symmetries can be described in this manner\ndepends upon the description that is being used to represent the manifold. In\nrecent work new, favorable, descriptions were given of this data set of\nCalabi-Yau threefolds. In this paper, we perform a classification of cyclic\nsymmetries that descend from linear actions on the ambient spaces of these new\nfavorable descriptions. We present a list of 129 symmetries/non-simply\nconnected Calabi-Yau threefolds. Of these, at least 33, and potentially many\nmore, are topologically new varieties.",
        "positive": "A universal formula for the density of states in theories with\n  finite-group symmetry: In this paper we use Euclidean gravity to derive a simple formula for the\ndensity of black hole microstates which transform in each irreducible\nrepresentation of any finite gauge group. Since each representation appears\nwith nonzero density, this gives a new proof of the completeness hypothesis for\nfinite gauge fields. Inspired by the generality of the argument we further\npropose that the formula applies at high energy in any quantum field theory\nwith a finite-group global symmetry, and give some evidence for this\nconjecture."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "String Network from M-theory: We study the three string junctions and string networks in Type IIB string\ntheory by explicity constructing the holomorphic embeddings of the M-theory\nmembrane that describe such configurations. The main feature of them such as\nsupersymmetry, charge conservation and balance of tensions are derived in a\nmore unified manner. We calculate the energy of the string junction and show\nthat there is no binding energy associated with the junction.",
        "positive": "Effects of temperature on thick branes and the fermion\n  (quasi-)localization: Following Campos's work [Phys. Rev. Lett. 88, 141602 (2002)], we investigate\nthe effects of temperature on flat, de Sitter (dS), and anti-de Following\nCampos's work [Phys. Rev. Lett. \\textbf{88}, 141602 (2002)], we investigate the\neffects of temperature on flat, de Sitter (dS), and anti-de Sitter (AdS) thick\nbranes in five-dimensional (5D) warped spacetime, and on the fermion\n(quasi-)localization. First, in the case of flat brane, when the critical\ntemperature reaches, the solution of the background scalar field and the warp\nfactor is not unique. So the thickness of the flat thick brane is uncertain at\nthe critical value of the temperature parameter, which is found to be lower\nthan the one in flat 5D spacetime. The mass spectra of the fermion Kaluza-Klein\n(KK) modes are continuous, and there is a series of fermion resonances. The\nnumber and lifetime of the resonances are finite and increase with the\ntemperature parameter, but the mass of the resonances decreases with the\ntemperature parameter. Second, in the case of dS brane, we do not find such a\ncritical value of the temperature parameter. The mass spectra of the fermion KK\nmodes are also continuous, and there is a series of fermion resonances. The\neffects of temperature on resonance number, lifetime, and mass are the same\nwith the case of flat brane. Last, in the case of AdS brane, {the critical\nvalue of the temperature parameter can less or greater than the one in the flat\n5D spacetime.} The spectra of fermion KK modes are discrete, and the mass of\nfermion KK modes does not decrease monotonically with increasing temperature\nparameter."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Shedding black hole light on the emergent string conjecture: Asymptotically massless towers of species are ubiquitous in the string\nlandscape when infinite-distance limits are approached. Due to the remarkable\nproperties of string dualities, they always comprise Kaluza-Klein states or\nhigher-spin excitations of weakly coupled, asymptotically tensionless critical\nstrings. The connection between towers of light species and small black holes\nwarrants seeking a bottom-up rationale for this dichotomoy, dubbed emergent\nstring conjecture. In this paper we move a first step in this direction,\nexploring bottom-up constraints on towers of light species motivated purely\nfrom the consistency of the corresponding thermodynamic picture for small black\nholes. These constraints shed light on the allowed towers in quantum gravity,\nand, upon combining them with unitarity and causality constraints from\nperturbative graviton scattering, they provide evidence for the emergent string\nscenario with no reference to a specific ultraviolet completion.",
        "positive": "Affine holomorphic quantization: We present a rigorous and functorial quantization scheme for affine field\ntheories, i.e., field theories where local spaces of solutions are affine\nspaces. The target framework for the quantization is the general boundary\nformulation, allowing to implement manifest locality without the necessity for\nmetric or causal background structures. The quantization combines the\nholomorphic version of geometric quantization for state spaces with the Feynman\npath integral quantization for amplitudes. We also develop an adapted notion of\ncoherent states, discuss vacuum states, and consider observables and their\nBerezin-Toeplitz quantization. Moreover, we derive a factorization identity for\nthe amplitude in the special case of a linear field theory modified by a\nsource-like term and comment on its use as a generating functional for a\ngeneralized S-matrix."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Analytic study of properties of holographic superconductors in\n  Born-Infeld electrodynamics: In this paper, based on the Sturm-Liouville eigenvalue problem, we\nanalytically investigate several properties of holographic s-wave\nsuperconductors in the background of a Schwarzschild-AdS spacetime in the\nframework of Born-Infeld electrodynamics. Based on a perturbative approach, we\nexplicitly find the relation between the critical temperature and the charge\ndensity and also the fact that the Born-Infeld coupling parameter indeed\naffects the formation of scalar hair at low temperatures. Higher value of the\nBorn-Infeld parameter results in a harder condensation to form. We further\ncompute the critical exponent associated with the condensation near the\ncritical temperature. The analytical results obtained are found to be in good\nagreement with the existing numerical results.",
        "positive": "Multimomentum Hamiltonian Formalism in Field Theory. Geometric\n  Supplementary: The well-known geometric approach to field theory is based on description of\nclassical fields as sections of fibred manifolds, e.g. bundles with a structure\ngroup in gauge theory. In this approach, Lagrangian and Hamiltonian formalisms\nincluding the multiomentum Hamiltonian formalism are phrased in terms of jet\nmanifolds. Then, configuration and phase spaces of fields are\nfinite-dimensional. Though the jet manifolds have been widely used for theory\nof differential operators, the calculus of variations and differential\ngeometry, this powerful mathematical methods remains almost unknown for\nphysicists. This Supplementary to our previous article (hep-th/9403172) aims to\nsummarize necessary requisites on jet manifolds and general connections."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Duality Transformations in Supersymmetric Yang-Mills Theories coupled to\n  Supergravity,: We consider duality transformations in N=2, d=4 Yang--Mills theory coupled to\nN=2 supergravity. A symplectic and coordinate covariant framework is\nestablished, which allows one to discuss stringy `classical and quantum duality\nsymmetries' (monodromies), incorporating T and S dualities. In particular, we\nshall be able to study theories (like N=2 heterotic strings) which are\nformulated in symplectic basis where a `holomorphic prepotential' F does not\nexist, and yet give general expressions for all relevant physical quantities.\nDuality transformations and symmetries for the N=1 matter coupled Yang--Mills\nsupergravity system are also exhibited. The implications of duality symmetry on\nall N>2 extended supergravities are briefly mentioned. We finally give the\ngeneral form of the central charge and the N=2 semiclassical spectrum of the\ndyonic BPS saturated states (as it comes by truncation of the N=4 spectrum).",
        "positive": "Comments on N=2 Born-Infeld Attractors: We demonstrated that the new N=2 Born-Infeld action with two N=1 vector\nsupermultiplets, i.e. n=2 case considered as the example in the recent paper by\nS. Ferrara, M. Porrati and A. Sagnotti, is some sort of complexification of J.\nBagger and A. Galperin construction of N=2 Born-Infeld action. Thus, novel\nfeatures could be expected only for n>2 cases, if the standard action is\nconsidered."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetry preserving and breaking degenerate vacua, and radiative\n  moduli stabilization: We propose a new type of moduli stabilization scenario where the\nsupersymmetric and supersymmetry-breaking minima are degenerate at the leading\nlevel. The inclusion of the loop-corrections originating from the matter fields\nresolves this degeneracy of vacua. Light axions are predicted in one of our\nmodels.",
        "positive": "Topological strings and large N phase transitions I: Nonchiral expansion\n  of q-deformed Yang-Mills theory: We examine the problem of counting bound states of BPS black holes on local\nCalabi-Yau threefolds which are fibrations over a Riemann surface by computing\nthe partition function of q-deformed Yang-Mills theory on the Riemann surface.\nWe study in detail the genus zero case and obtain, at finite $N$, the instanton\nexpansion of the gauge theory. It can be written exactly as the partition\nfunction for U(N) Chern-Simons gauge theory on a Lens space, summed over all\nnon-trivial vacua, plus a tower of non-perturbative instanton contributions.\nThe correspondence between two and three dimensional gauge theories is\nelucidated by an explicit mapping between two-dimensional Yang-Mills instantons\nand flat connections on the Lens space. In the large $N$ limit we find a\npeculiar phase structure in the model. At weak string coupling the theory\nreduces exactly to the trivial flat connection sector with instanton\ncontributions exponentially suppressed, and the topological string partition\nfunction on the resolved conifold is reproduced in this regime. At a certain\ncritical point all non-trivial vacua contribute, instantons are enhanced and\nthe theory appears to undergo a phase transition into a strong coupling regime.\nWe rederive these results by performing a saddle-point approximation to the\nexact partition function. We obtain a q-deformed version of the Douglas-Kazakov\nequation for two-dimensional Yang-Mills theory on the sphere, whose one-cut\nsolution below the transition point reproduces the resolved conifold geometry.\nAbove the critical point we propose a two-cut solution that should reproduce\nthe chiral-antichiral dynamics found for black holes on the Calabi-Yau\nthreefold and the Gross-Taylor string in the undeformed limit."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Black Hole Thermodynamics, Induced Gravity and Gravity in Brane Worlds: One of explanations of the black hole entropy implies that gravity is\nentirely induced by quantum effects. By using arguments based on the AdS/CFT\ncorrespondence we give induced gravity interpretation of the gravity in a brane\nworld in higher dimensional anti-de Sitter (AdS) space. The underlying quantum\ntheory is SU(N) theory where $N$ is related to the CFT central charge. The\ntheory includes massless fields which correspond to degrees of freedom of the\nboundary CFT. In addition, on the brane there are massive degrees of freedom\nwith masses proportional to $l^{-1}$ where $l$ is the radius of AdS. At the\nconformal boundary of AdS they are infinitely heavy and completely decouple. It\nis the massive fields which can explain the black hole entropy. We support our\ninterpretation by a microscopic model of a 2D brane world in $AdS_3$.",
        "positive": "The Algebraic Page Curve: The Page curve describing the process of black hole evaporation is derived in\nterms of a family, parametrized in terms of the evaporation time, of finite\ntype II_1 factors, associated, respectively, to the entanglement wedges of the\nblack hole and the radiation. The so defined Page curve measures the relative\ncontinuous dimension of the black hole and the radiation along the evaporation\nprocess. The transfer of information is quantitatively defined in terms of the\nMurray von Neumann parameter describing the change of the spatial properties of\nthe factors during the evaporation. In the simplest case the generator of the\nevaporation process is defined in terms of the action of the fundamental group\nof the hyperfinite type II_1 factor. In this setup the Page curve describes a\nphase transition with the transfer of information as order parameter. We\ndiscuss the limits of either a type I or a type III description of the black\nhole evaporation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Oscillator quantization of the massive scalar particle dynamics on AdS\n  spacetime: The set of trajectories for massive spinless particles on $AdS_{N+1}$\nspacetime is described by the dynamical integrals related to the isometry group\nSO(2,N). The space of dynamical integrals is mapped one to one to the phase\nspace of the $N$-dimensional oscillator. Quantizing the system canonically, the\nclassical expressions for the symmetry generators are deformed in a consistent\nway to preserve the $so(2,N)$ commutation relations. This quantization thus\nyields new explicit realizations of the spin zero positive energy UIR's of\nSO(2,N) for generic $N$. The representations as usual can be characterized by\ntheir minimal energy $\\alpha$ and are valid in the whole range of $\\alpha$\nallowed by unitarity.",
        "positive": "Domain Walls in Strongly Coupled Theories: Domain walls in strongly coupled gauge theories are discussed. A general\nmechanism is suggested automatically leading to massless gauge bosons localized\non the wall. In one of the models considered, outside the wall the theory is in\nthe non-Abelian confining phase, while inside the wall it is in the Abelian\nCoulomb phase. Confining property of the non-Abelian theories is a key\ningredient of the mechanism which may be of practical use in the context of the\ndynamic compactification scenarios.\n  In supersymmetric (N=1) Yang-Mills theories the energy density of the wall\ncan be exactly calculated in the strong coupling regime. This calculation\npresents a further example of non-trivial physical quantities that can be found\nexactly by exploiting specific properties of supersymmetry. A key observation\nis the fact that the wall in this theory is a BPS-saturated state."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Probing F-theory With Branes: Last week, A. Sen found an explicit type I string compactification dual to\nthe eight-dimensional F-theory construction with SO(8)^4 nonabelian gauge\nsymmetry. He found that the perturbations around the enhanced symmetry point\nwere described by the mathematics of the solution of N=2, d=4 SU(2) gauge\ntheory with four flavors, and argued more generally that global symmetry\nenhancement in CN=2, d=4 gauge theories corresponded to gauge symmetry\nenhancement in F-theory. We show that these N=2, d=4 gauge theories have a\nphysical interpretation in the theory. They are the world-volume theories of\n3-branes parallel to the 7-branes. They can be used to probe the structure of\nthe exact quantum F-theory solutions. On the Higgs branch of the moduli space,\nthe objects are equivalent to finite size instantons in the 7-brane gauge\ntheory.",
        "positive": "A symplectic covariant formulation of special Kahler geometry in\n  superconformal calculus: We present a formulation of the coupling of vector multiplets to N=2\nsupergravity which is symplectic covariant (and thus is not based on a\nprepotential) and uses superconformal tensor calculus. We do not start from an\naction, but from the combination of the generalised Bianchi identities of the\nvector multiplets in superspace, a symplectic definition of special Kahler\ngeometry, and the supersymmetric partners of the corresponding constraints.\nThese involve the breaking to super-Poincare symmetry, and lead to on-shell\nvector multiplets. This symplectic approach gives the framework to formulate\nvector multiplet couplings using a weaker defining constraint for special\nKahler geometry, which is an extension of older definitions of special Kahler\nmanifolds for some cases with only one vector multiplet."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Confinement of spinless particles by Coulomb potentials in\n  two-dimensional space-time: The problem of confinement of spinless particles in 1+1 dimensions is\napproached with a linear potential by considering a mixing of Lorentz vector\nand scalar couplings. Analytical bound-states solutions are obtained when the\nscalar coupling is of sufficient intensity compared to the vector coupling.",
        "positive": "Fluid/p-form duality: In this study, we demonstrate that an inviscid fluid in a near-equilibrium\nstate, when viewed in the Lagrangian picture in d+1 spacetime dimensions, can\nbe reformulated as a (d-1)-form gauge theory. We construct a fluid/p-form\ndictionary and show that volume-preserving diffeomorphisms on the fluid side\nmanifest as a U(1) gauge symmetry on the {(p+1)-form} gauge theory side.\n{Intriguingly, Kelvin's circulation theorem and the mass continuity equation\nrespectively appear as the Gauss law and the Bianchi identity on the gauge\ntheory side.} Furthermore, we show that at the level of the sources, the\nvortices in the fluid side correspond to the p-branes in the gauge theory side.\nWe also consider fluid mechanics in the presence of boundaries and examine the\nboundary symmetries and corresponding charges from both the fluid and gauge\ntheory perspectives."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Susy Theories and QCD: Numerical Approaches: We review on-shell and unitarity methods and discuss their application to\nprecision predictions for LHC physics. Being universal and numerically robust,\nthese methods are straight-forward to automate for next-to-leading-order\ncomputations within Standard Model and beyond. Several state-of-the-art results\nincluding studies of W/Z+3-jet and W+4-jet production have explicitly\ndemonstrated the effectiveness of the unitarity method for describing\nmulti-parton scattering. Here we review central ideas needed to obtain\nefficient numerical implementations. This includes on-shell loop-level\nrecursions, the unitarity method, color management and further refined tricks.",
        "positive": "The thermodynamics of the Hagedorn mass spectrum: No bootstrap assumption is needed to derive the exponential growth of the\nHagedorn hadron mass spectrum: It is a consequence of the second law applied to\na relativistic gas, and the relativistic equivalence between inertial mass and\nits heat content. The Hagedorn temperature occurs in the limit as the number of\nparticles and their internal energy diverge such that their ratio remains\nconstant. The divergences in the $N$ particle entropy, energy, and free energy\nresult when this condition is imposed upon a mixture of ideal gases, one\nconserving particle number and the other not. The analogy with a droplet in the\npresence of vapor explains why the pressure of the droplet continues to\nincrease as the temperature rises finally leading to its break up when the\nHagedorn temperature is reached. The adiabatic condition relating the particle\nvolume to the Hagedorn temperature is asymptotic. Since it is a limiting\ntemperature, and not a critical one, there can be no phase transition of\nwhatever kind, and the original density of states used to derive such a phase\ntransition is not thermodynamically admissible because its partition function\ndoes not exist."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "AdS$_3$ vacua and RG flows in three dimensional gauged supergravities: We study $AdS_3$ supersymmetric vacua in N=4 and N=8, three dimensional\ngauged supergravities, with scalar manifolds $(\\frac{SO(4,4)}{SO(4)\\times\nSO(4)})^2$ and $\\frac{SO(8,8)}{SO(8)\\times SO(8)}$, non-semisimple Chern-Simons\ngaugings $SO(4)\\ltimes {\\bf R}^6$ and $(SO(4)\\ltimes {\\bf R}^6)^2$,\nrespectively. These are in turn equivalent to SO(4) and $SO(4)\\times SO(4)$\nYang-Mills theories coupled to supergravity. For the N=4 case, we study\nrenormalization group flows between UV and IR $AdS_3$ vacua with the same\namount of supersymmetry: in one case, with (3,1) supersymmetry, we can find an\nanalytic solution whereas in another, with (2,0) supersymmetry, we give a\nnumerical solution. In both cases, the flows turn out to be v.e.v. flows, i.e.\nthey are driven by the expectation value of a relevant operator in the dual\n$SCFT_2$. These provide examples of v.e.v. flows between two $AdS_3$ vacua\nwithin a gauged supergravity framework.",
        "positive": "Bootstrapping bulk locality. Part I: Sum rules for AdS form factors: The problem of constructing local bulk observables from boundary CFT data is\nof paramount importance in holography. In this work, we begin addressing this\nquestion from a modern bootstrap perspective. Our main tool is the boundary\noperator expansion (BOE), which holds for any QFT in AdS. Following Kabat and\nLifschytz, we argue that the BOE is strongly constrained by demanding locality\nof correlators involving bulk fields. Focusing on 'AdS form factors' of one\nbulk and two boundary insertions, we reformulate these locality constraints as\na complete set of sum rules on the BOE data. We show that these sum rules lead\nto a manifestly local representation of form factors in terms of 'local\nblocks'. The sum rules are valid non-perturbatively, but are especially\nwell-adapted for perturbative computations in AdS where they allow us to\nbootstrap the BOE data in a systematic fashion. Finally, in the flat space\nlimit, we show that the AdS form factor reduces to an ordinary QFT form factor.\nWe provide a phase shift formula for it in terms of the BOE and CFT data. In\ntwo dimensions, this formula makes manifest Watson's equations for integrable\nform factors under certain extremality assumptions on the CFT. We discuss the\neventual modifications of our formalism to account for dressed operators in\nAdS."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Brane Configuration of $N=(4,4)$ 2D supersymmetric gauge theory: We study two dimensional $N=(4,4)$ supersymmetric gauge theories with various\ngauge groups and various hypermultiplets in the fundamental as well as\nbi-fundamental and adjoint representations. They have \" mirror theories \" which\nbecome equivalent to them at the strong coupling. The theory with one\nfundamental and one adjoint has a Higgs branch which is parametrized by the\nadjoint matter. We also consider theories which involve an orientifold plane.\nThe brane realization of the Matrix theory formulation of NS 5-branes in Type\nII string theories is also considered.",
        "positive": "Vortex Structure in Charged Condensate: We study magnetic fields in the charged condensate that we have previously\nargued should be present in helium-core white dwarf stars. We show that below a\ncertain critical value the magnetic field is entirely expelled from the\ncondensate, while for larger values it penetrates the condensate within\nflux-tubes that are similar to Abrikosov vortex lines; yet higher fields lead\nto the disruption of the condensate. We find the solution for the vortex lines\nin both relativistic and nonrelativistic theories that exhibit the charged\ncondensation. We calculate the energy density of the vortex solution and the\nvalues of the critical magnetic fields. The minimum magnetic field required for\nvortices to penetrate the helium white dwarf cores ranges from roughly 10^7 to\n10^9 Gauss. Fields of this strength have been observed in white dwarfs. We also\ncalculate the London magnetic field due to the rotation of a dwarf star and\nshow that its value is rather small."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Revisiting Atiyah-Hitchin manifold in the generalized Legendre transform: We revisit construction of the Atiyah-Hitchin manifold in the generalized\nLegendre transform approach. This is originally studied by Ivanov and Rocek and\nis subsequently investigated more by Ionas, in the latter of which the explicit\nforms of the K\\\"ahler potential and the K\\\"ahler metric are calculated. There\nis a difference between the former and the latter. In the generalized Legendre\ntransform approach, a K\\\"ahler potential is constructed from the contour\nintegration of one function with holomorphic coordinates. The choice of the\ncontour in the latter is different from the former's one, whose difference may\nyield a discrepancy in the K\\\"ahler potential and eventually in the K\\\"ahler\nmetric. We show that the former only gives the real K\\\"ahler potential, which\nis consistent with its definition, while the latter yields the complex one. We\nderive the K\\\"ahler potential and the metric for the Atiyah-Hitchin manifold in\nterms of holomorphic coordinates for the contour considered by Ivanov and\nRo\\v{c}ek for the first time.",
        "positive": "Extension of the Poincar\u00e9 Symmetry and Its Field Theoretical\n  Implementation: We define a new algebraic extension of the Poincar\\'e symmetry; this algebra\nis used to implement a field theoretical model. Free Lagrangians are explicitly\nconstructed; several discussions regarding degrees of freedom, compatibility\nwith Abelian gauge invariance etc. are done. Finally we analyse the\npossibilities of interaction terms for this model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Tachyons and (non)vanishing scalar masses in six-dimensional gauge\n  theories with flux compactification: In this paper, we study the possibility to obtain a massless scalar boson for\nwhich quantum corrections to the mass vanish at all loop-order, which has been\nrecently understood to be due to a shift symmetry making the scalar a Goldstone\nboson. We present the effective four-dimensional Lagrangian of a\nsix-dimensional gauge theory compactified on a torus with magnetic flux.\nBecause of this magnetic field, a symmetry of translation in the extra\ndimensions is broken which implies the existence of a massless scalar boson. We\nthen explicitly check that a model with two U(1) gauge symmetries contains a\nscalar boson with finite mass but protected from large quantum corrections.\nFinally, we study the presence of tachyons in the model with non-abelian gauge\nsymmetry. In particular, we propose a way to eliminate these tachyons and we\ncompute the full mass spectrum of the scalars in this theory. Finally, we show\nthat our method preserve the chirality of fermions in the model.",
        "positive": "Recovery of Dirac Equations from Their Solutions: We deal with quantum field theory in the restriction to external Bose fields.\nLet $(i\\gamma^\\mu\\partial_\\mu - \\mathcal{B})\\psi=0$ be the Dirac equation. We\nprove that a non-quantized Bose field $\\mathcal{B}$ is a functional of the\nDirac field $\\psi$, whenever this $\\psi$ is strictly canonical. Performing the\ntrivial verification for the $\\mathcal{B} := m = $ constant which yields the\nfree Dirac field, we also prepare the tedious verifications for all\n$\\mathcal{B}$ which are non-quantized and static. Such verifications must not\nbe confused, however, with the easy and rigorous proof of our formula, which is\nshown in detail."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Harmonic Space, Self-Dual Yang Mills and the $N=2$ String: The geometrical structure and the quantum properties of the recently proposed\nharmonic space action describing self-dual Yang-Mills (SDYM) theory are\nanalyzed. The geometrical structure that is revealed is closely related to the\ntwistor construction of instanton solutions. The theory gets no quantum\ncorrections and, despite having SDYM as its classical equation of motion, its S\nmatrix is trivial. It is therefore NOT the theory of the N=2 string. We also\ndiscuss the 5-dimensional actions that have been proposed for SDYM.",
        "positive": "A Simple System For Coleman-De Luccia Transitions: This paper presents a simple framework that organizes thin-wall Coleman-De\nLuccia instantons based on the Euclidean geometries of their original and\ntunneled vacuum patches. We consider all a priori allowed vacuum pairs (de\nSitter or Anti-de Sitter for either patch, Minkowski can be obtained as a limit\nof either), and $O(4)$-symmetric thin-wall geometries connecting them. For each\ncandidate bounce geometry, either a condition under which a solution to the\n$O(4)$-invariant equations of motion exists is derived, or the would-be vacuum\ntransition is ruled out. For the parameter regimes in which a solution exists,\nwe determine whether expansion/contraction of the bounce supplies a negative\nmode in the second variation of the Euclidean action. All results follow from\nthe monotonicity of a single function."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Note on generalized gravitational entropy in Lovelock gravity: The recently proposed gravitational entropy generalize the usual black hole\nentropy to Euclidean solutions without U(1) symmetry in the framework of\nEinstein gravity. The entropy of such smooth configuration is given by the area\nof minimal surface, therefore explaining the Ryu-Takayanagi formula of\nholographic entanglement entropy. In this note we investigate the generalized\ngravitational entropy for general Lovelock gravity in arbitrary dimensions. We\nuse the replica trick and consider the Euclidean bulk spacetime with conical\nsingularity localized at a codimension two surface. We obtain a constraint\nequation for the surface by requiring the bulk equation of motion to be of good\nbehavior. When the bulk spacetime is maximally symmetric, the constraints show\nthat the traces of the extrinsic curvatures of the surface are vanishing, i.e.\nthe surface has to be geometrically a minimal surface. However the constraint\nequation cannot be obtained by the variation of the known functional for\nholographic entanglement entropy in Lovelock gravity.",
        "positive": "Fermi Liquids from D-Branes: We discuss finite density configurations on probe D-branes, in the presence\nof worldvolume fermions. To this end we consider a phenomenological model whose\nbosonic sector is governed by the DBI action, and whose charged sector is\npurely fermionic. In this model, we demonstrate the existence of a compact\nworldvolume embedding, stabilized by a Fermi surface on the D- brane. The\nfinite density state in the boundary QFT is a Fermi-like liquid. We comment on\nthe possibility of realizing non-Fermi liquids in this setup."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Optimisation of the exact renormalisation group: A simple criterion to optimise coarse-grainings for exact renormalisation\ngroup equations is given. It is aimed at improving the convergence of\napproximate solutions of flow equations. The optimisation criterion is generic,\nas it refers only to the coarse-grained propagator at vanishing field. In\nphysical terms, it is understood as an optimisation condition for amplitude\nexpansions. Alternatively, it can be interpreted as the requirement to move\npoles of threshold functions away from the physical region. The link to\nexpansions in field amplitudes is discussed as well. Optimal parameters are\ngiven explicitly for a variety of different coarse-grainings. As a by-product\nit is found that the sharp cut-off regulator does not belong to the class of\nsuch optimal coarse-grainings, which explains the poor convergence of amplitude\nexpansions based on it.",
        "positive": "BRST Analysis of QCD_2 as a Perturbed WZW Theory: Integrability of Quantum Chromodynamics in 1+1 dimensions has recently been\nsuggested by formulating it as a perturbed conformal Wess-Zumino-Witten Theory.\nThe present paper further elucidates this formulation, by presenting a detailed\nBRST analysis."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Euclidean solutions of Yang-Mills theory coupled to a massive dilaton: The Euclidean version of Yang-Mills theory coupled to a massive dilaton is\ninvestigated. Our analytical and numerical results imply existence of infinite\nnumber of branches of globally regular, spherically symmetric, dyonic type\nsolutions for any values of dilaton mass $m$. Solutions on different branches\nare labelled by the number of nodes of gauge field amplitude $W$. They have\nfinite reduced action and provide new saddle points in the Euclidean path\nintegral.",
        "positive": "Magnetic Branes Supported by Nonlinear Electromagnetic Field: Considering the nonlinear electromagnetic field coupled to Einstein gravity\nin the presence of cosmological constant, we obtain a new class of\n$d$-dimensional magnetic brane solutions. This class of solutions yields a\nspacetime with a longitudinal nonlinear magnetic field generated by a static\nsource. These solutions have no curvature singularity and no horizons but have\na conic geometry with a deficit angle $\\delta \\phi$. We investigate the effects\nof nonlinearity on the metric function and deficit angle and also find that for\nthe special range of the nonlinear parameter, the solutions are not asymptotic\nAdS. We generalize this class of solutions to the case of spinning magnetic\nsolutions, and find that when one or more rotation parameters are nonzero, the\nbrane has a net electric charge which is proportional to the magnitude of the\nrotation parameters. Then, we use the counterterm method and compute the\nconserved quantities of these spacetimes. Finally, we obtain a constrain on the\nnonlinear parameter, such that the nonlinear electromagnetic field is\nconformally invariant."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-Unitary Evolution in the General Extended EFT of Inflation & Excited\n  Initial States: I study the \"general\" case that arises in the Extended Effective Field Theory\nof Inflation (gEEFToI), in which the coefficients of the sixth order polynomial\ndispersion relation depend on the physical wavelength of the fluctuation mode,\nhence they are time-dependent. At arbitrarily short wavelengths the unitarity\nis lost for each mode. Depending on the values of the gEEFToI parameters in the\nunitary gauge action, two scenarios can arise: in one, the coefficients of the\npolynomial become singular, flip signs at some physical wavelength and\nasymptote to a constant value as the wavelength of the mode is stretched to\ninfinity. Starting from the WKB vacuum, the two-point function is essentially\nsingular in the infinite IR limit. In the other case, the coefficients of the\ndispersion relation evolve monotonically from zero to a constant value in the\ninfinite IR. In order to have a finite power spectrum starting from the vacuum\nin this case, the mode function has to be an eigensolution of the Confluent\nHeun (CH) equation, which leads to a very confined parameter space for gEEFToI.\nFinally, I look at a solution of the CH equation which is regular in the\ninfinite IR limit and yields a finite power spectrum in either scenario. I\ndemonstrate that this solution asymptotes to an excited state in past infinity\nin both cases. The result is interpreted in the light of the loss of unitarity\nfor very small wavelengths. The outcome of such a non-unitary phase evolution\nshould prepare each mode in the excited initial state that yields a finite\ntwo-point function for all the parameter space. This will be constraining of\nthe new physics that UV completes such scenarios.",
        "positive": "Resurgence and Lefschetz thimble in 3d N=2 supersymmetric Chern-Simons\n  matter theories: We study a certain class of supersymmetric (SUSY) observables in 3d\n$\\mathcal{N}=2$ SUSY Chern-Simons (CS) matter theories and investigate how\ntheir exact results are related to the perturbative series with respect to\ncoupling constants given by inverse CS levels. We show that the observables\nhave nontrivial resurgent structures by expressing the exact results as a full\ntransseries consisting of perturbative and non-perturbative parts. As real mass\nparameters are varied, we encounter Stokes phenomena at an infinite number of\npoints, where the perturbative series becomes non-Borel-summable due to\nsingularities on the positive real axis of the Borel plane. We also investigate\nthe Stokes phenomena when the phase of the coupling constant is varied. For\nthese cases, we find that the Borel ambiguities in the perturbative sector are\ncanceled by those in nonperturbative sectors and end up with an unambiguous\nresult which agrees with the exact result even on the Stokes lines. We also\ndecompose the Coulomb branch localization formula, which is an integral\nrepresentation for the exact results, into Lefschetz thimble contributions and\nstudy how they are related to the resurgent transseries. We interpret the\nnon-perturbative effects appearing in the transseries as contributions of\ncomplexified SUSY solutions which formally satisfy the SUSY conditions but are\nnot on the original path integral contour."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Logarithmic Negativity in Lifshitz Harmonic Models: Recently generalizations of the harmonic lattice model has been introduced as\na discrete approximation of bosonic field theories with Lifshitz symmetry with\na generic dynamical exponent z. In such models in (1+1) and (2+1)-dimensions,\nwe study logarithmic negativity in the vacuum state and also finite temperature\nstates. We investigate various features of logarithmic negativity such as the\nuniversal term, its z-dependence and also its temperature dependence in various\nconfigurations. We present both analytical and numerical evidences for linear\nz-dependence of logarithmic negativity in almost all range of parameters both\nin (1+1) and (2+1)-dimensions. We also investigate the validity of area law\nbehavior of logarithmic negativity in these generalized models and find that\nthis behavior is still correct for small enough dynamical exponents.",
        "positive": "Calculating the Superconformal Index and Seiberg Duality: We develop techniques to calculate an index for four dimensional\nsuperconformal field theories. This superconformal index is counting BPS\noperators which preserve only one supercharge. To calculate the superconformal\nindex we quantize the field theory on S^3 X R and show that the twisted theory\nhas an appropriate mass gap. This allows for the interactions to be switched\noff continuously without the superconformal index being changed. We test those\ntechniques for theories which go through a non-trivial RG flow and for Seiberg\ndual theories. This leads to the conjecture of some group/number theoretical\nidentities."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Superfield BRST Charge and the Master Action: Using a superfield formulation of extended phase space, we propose a new form\nof the Hamiltonian action functional. A remarkable feature of this construction\nis that it directly leads to the BV master action on phase space. Conversely,\nsuperspace can be used to construct nilpotent BRST charges directly from\nsolutions to the classical Lagrangian Master Equation. We comment on the\nrelation between these constructions and the specific master action proposal of\nAlexandrov, Kontsevich, Schwarz and Zaboronsky.",
        "positive": "On manifestly sp(2) invariant formulation of quadratic higher spin\n  Lagrangians: The Lagrangian frame-like formulation of free higher spin symmetric bosonic\nAdS(d) fields is given within a manifestly sp(2) invariant framework. It is\ndesigned to deal with infinite multiplets of fields appearing as gauge\nconnections of the higher spin algebras."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Negative magnetoresistivity in chiral fluids and holography: In four dimensions Weyl fermions possess a chiral anomaly which leads to\nseveral special features in the transport phenomena, such as the negative\nlongitudinal magnetoresistivity. In this paper, we study its inverse, the\nlongitudinal magnetoconductivity, in the case of a chiral anomalous system with\na background magnetic field B using the linear response method in the\nhydrodynamic limit and from holography. Our hydrodynamic results show that in\ngeneral we need to have energy, momentum and charge dissipations to get a\nfinite DC longitudinal magnetoconductivity due to the existence of the chiral\nanomaly. Applying the formula that we get from hydrodynamics to the holographic\nsystem in the probe limit, we find that the result in the hydrodynamic regime\nmatches that calculated from holography via Kubo formula. The holographic\nresult shows that in an intermediate regime of B there is naturally a negative\nmagnetoresistivity which decreases as 1/B. At small B direct calculations in\nthe holographic system suggest that holography provides a new explanation for\nthe small B positive magnetoresistivity behavior seen in experiment, i.e. the\nsmall B behavior comes from the quantum critical conductivity being affected by\nthe chiral anomaly.",
        "positive": "Extremal black holes in D=4 Gauss-Bonnet gravity: We show that four-dimensional Einstein-Maxwell-Dilaton-Gauss-Bonnet gravity\nadmits asymptotically flat black hole solutions with a degenerate event horizon\nof the Reissner-Nordstr\\\"om type $AdS_2\\times S^2$. Such black holes exist for\nthe dilaton coupling constant within the interval $0\\leq a^2<a^2_{\\rm cr}$.\nBlack holes must be endowed with an electric charge and (possibly) with\nmagnetic charge (dyons) but they can not be purely magnetic. Purely electric\nsolutions are constructed numerically and the critical dilaton coupling is\ndetermined $a_{\\rm cr}\\simeq 0.488219703$. For each value of the dilaton\ncoupling $a$ within this interval and for a fixed value of the Gauss--Bonnet\ncoupling $\\alpha$ we have a family of black holes parameterized by their\nelectric charge. Relation between the mass, the electric charge and the dilaton\ncharge at both ends of the allowed interval of $a$ is reminiscent of the BPS\ncondition for dilaton black holes in the Einstein-Maxwell-Dilaton theory. The\nentropy of the DGB extremal black holes is twice the Bekenstein-Hawking\nentropy."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Curved space resolution of singularity of fractional D3-branes on\n  conifold: We construct a supergravity dual to the cascading $SU(N+M) x SU(N)$\nsupersymmetric gauge theory (related to fractional D3-branes on conifold\naccording to Klebanov et al) in the case when the 3-space is compactified on\n$S^3$ and in the phase with unbroken chiral symmetry. The size of $S^3$ serves\nas an infrared cutoff on the gauge theory dynamics. For a sufficiently large\n$S^3$ the dual supergravity background is expected to be nonsingular. We\ndemonstrate that this is indeed the case: we find a smooth type IIB\nsupergravity solution using a perturbation theory that is valid when the radius\nof $S^3$ is large. We consider also the case with the euclidean world-volume\nbeing $S^4$ instead of $R x S^3$, where the supergravity solution is again\nfound to be regular. This ``curved space'' resolution of the singularity of the\nfractional D3-branes on conifold solution is analogous to the one in the\nnon-extremal (finite temperature) case discussed in our previous work.",
        "positive": "Null boundary phase space: slicings, news and memory: We construct the boundary phase space in $D$-dimensional Einstein gravity\nwith a generic given co-dimension one null surface ${\\cal N}$ as the boundary.\nThe associated boundary symmetry algebra is a semi-direct sum of\ndiffeomorphisms of $\\cal N$ and Weyl rescalings. It is generated by $D$ towers\nof surface charges that are generic functions over $\\cal N$. These surface\ncharges can be rendered integrable for appropriate slicings of the phase space,\nprovided there is no graviton flux through $\\cal N$. In one particular slicing\nof this type, the charge algebra is the direct sum of the Heisenberg algebra\nand diffeomorphisms of the transverse space, ${\\cal N}_v$ for any fixed value\nof the advanced time $v$. Finally, we introduce null surface expansion- and\nspin-memories, and discuss associated memory effects that encode the passage of\ngravitational waves through $\\cal N$, imprinted in a change of the surface\ncharges."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Introduction to Supersymmetry: These are expanded notes of lectures given at the summer school \"Gif 2000\" in\nParis. They constitute the first part of an \"Introduction to supersymmetry and\nsupergravity\" with the second part on supergravity by J.-P. Derendinger to\nappear soon. The present introduction is elementary and pragmatic. I discuss:\nspinors and the Poincar\\'e group, the susy algebra and susy multiplets,\nsuperfields and susy lagrangians, susy gauge theories, spontaneously broken\nsusy, the non-linear sigma model, N=2 susy gauge theories, and finally\nSeiberg-Witten duality.",
        "positive": "Calculation of QCD Instanton Determinant with Arbitrary Mass: The precise quark mass dependence of the one-loop effective action in an\ninstanton background has recently been computed [arXiv:hep-th/0410190]. The\nresult interpolates smoothly between the previously known extreme small and\nlarge mass limits. The computational method makes use of the fact that the\nsingle instanton background has radial symmetry, so that the computation can be\nreduced to a sum over partial waves of logarithms of radial determinants, each\nof which can be computed numerically in an efficient manner. The bare sum over\npartial waves is divergent and must be regulated and renormalized. In this\npaper we provide more details of this computation, including both the\nrenormalization procedure and the numerical approach. We conclude with\ncomparisons of our precise numerical results with a simple interpolating\nfunction that connects the small and large mass limits, and with the leading\norder of the derivative expansion."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Note on Polytopes for Scattering Amplitudes: In this note we continue the exploration of the polytope picture for\nscattering amplitudes, where amplitudes are associated with the volumes of\npolytopes in generalized momentum-twistor spaces. After a quick warm-up example\nillustrating the essential ideas with the elementary geometry of polygons in\nCP^2, we interpret the 1-loop MHV integrand as the volume of a polytope in\nCP^3x CP^3, which can be thought of as the space obtained by taking the\ngeometric dual of the Wilson loop in each CP^3 of the product. We then review\nthe polytope picture for the NMHV tree amplitude and give it a more direct and\nintrinsic definition as the geometric dual of a canonical \"square\" of the\nWilson-Loop polygon, living in a certain extension of momentum-twistor space\ninto CP^4. In both cases, one natural class of triangulations of the polytope\nproduces the BCFW/CSW representations of the amplitudes; another class of\ntriangulations leads to a striking new form, which is both remarkably simple as\nwell as manifestly cyclic and local.",
        "positive": "De-Higgsing In Eleven-Dimensional Supergravity On The Squashed $S^7$: In this paper we construct the subset of modes on $S^7$ that are relevant in\nthe compactification of eleven-dimensional supergravity on a squashed $S^7$\nwhen restricted to the sector that comprises singlets under the $Sp(1)\\times\nSp(2)$ isometry of the squashed sphere. Some of the properties of these modes,\nconnected to the transition from the round $S^7$ to the squashed $S^7$, are\nanalysed in detail. Special features of the Rarita-Schwinger operator,\ndescribed in earlier work by Buchdahl, are explained and related to properties\nof the squashed $S^7$ operator spectrum obtained in previous work by the\nauthors. We then discuss how the singlet modes give rise to supermultiplets in\nthe left-squashed case, the phenomenon of de-Higgsing, and what happens to the\nAdS$_4$ fields in these supermultiplets under an orientation reversal\n(``skew-whiffing'') of the squashed $S^7$. Finally, we consider the possible\nchoices of boundary conditions that appear for some of these fields in AdS$_4$\nin the case of the right-squashed non-supersymmetric compactification, and how\nthese choices may affect the stability of the gravity theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The gauge structure of Exceptional Field Theories and the tensor\n  hierarchy: We address the construction of manifest U-duality invariant generalized\ndiffeomorphisms. The closure of the algebra requires an extension of the\ntangent space to include a tensor hierarchy indicating the existence of an\nunderlying unifying structure, compatible with E_{11} and Borcherds algebras\nconstructions. We begin with four-dimensional gauged maximal supergravity, and\nbuild a generalized Lie derivative that encodes all the gauge transformations\nof the theory. A generalized frame is introduced, which accommodates for all\nthe degrees of freedom, including the tensor hierarchy. The generalized Lie\nderivative defines generalized field-dependent fluxes containing all the\ncovariant quantities in the theory, and the closure conditions give rise to\ntheir corresponding Bianchi Identities. We then move towards the construction\nof a full generalized Lie derivative defined on an extended space, analyze the\nclosure conditions, and explore the connection with that of maximal gauged\nsupergravity via a generalized Scherk-Schwarz reduction, and with\n11-dimensional supergravity.",
        "positive": "Baby Skyrme models for a class of potentials: We consider a class of (2+1) dimensional baby Skyrme models with potentials\nthat have more than one vacum. These potentials are generalisation of old and\nnew baby Skyrme models;they involve more complicated dependence on phi_3.We\nfind that when the potential is invariant under phi_3 -> -phi_3 the\nconfiguration corresponding to the baby skyrmions lying \"on top of each other\"\nare the minima of the energy. However when the potential breaks this symmetry\nthe lowest field configurations correspond to separated baby skyrmions. We\ncompute the energy distributions for skyrmions of degrees between one and eight\nand discuss their geometrical shapes and binding energies. We also compare the\n2-skyrmion states for these potentials. Most of our work has been performed\nnumerically with the model being formulated in terms of three real scalar\nfields (satisfying one constraint)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Aspects of Quantum Corrections in a Lorentz-violating Extension of the\n  Abelian Higgs Model: We investigate new aspects related to the abelian gauge-Higgs model with the\naddition of the Carroll-Field-Jackiw term. We focus on one-loop quantum\ncorrections to the photon and Higgs sectors due to spontaneous breaking of\ngauge symmetry and show that new finite and definite Lorentz-breaking terms are\ninduced. Specifically in the gauge sector, a CPT-even aether term is induced.\nBesides, aspects of the one-loop renormalization of the background vector\ndependent terms are discussed.",
        "positive": "Confinement On the Moose Lattice: In this work we present a new class of N=1 supersymmetric confining gauge\ntheories, with strikingly simple infrared theories that descend from intricate\ninterconnected networks of product gauge groups. A diagram of the gauge groups\nand the charged matter content of the ultraviolet theory has the structure of a\ntriangular lattice, with $SU(N)$ or $SU(3 N)$ gauge groups at each of the\nvertices, connected by bifundamental chiral superfields. This structure admits\na $U(1)_R$ conserving superpotential with marginal trilinear operators. With\nthe introduction of this superpotential, the $SU(3N)$ and $SU(N)$ gauge groups\nconfine: in the far infrared limit of the supersymmetric theory, the relevant\ndegrees of freedom are gauge invariant \"mesons\" and \"baryons.\" In this paper we\nshow how the properties of the infrared degrees of freedom depend on the\ntopology and shape of the moose/quiver ``lattice'' of the original gauge\ntheory. We investigate various deformations of the theory, and propose some\nphenomenological applications for BSM models."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Towards a proof of AGT conjecture by methods of matrix models: A matrix model approach to proof of the AGT relation is briefly reviewed. It\nstarts from the substitution of conformal blocks by the Dotsenko-Fateev\nbeta-ensemble averages and Nekrasov functions by a double deformation of the\nexponentiated Seiberg-Witten prepotential in beta \\neq 1 and g_s \\neq 0\ndirections. Establishing the equality of these two quantities is a typical\nmatrix model problem, and it presumably can be ascertained by investigation of\nintegrability properties and developing an associated Harer-Zagier technique\nfor evaluation of the exact resolvent.",
        "positive": "Noncommutative Quantum Field Theories: We start by reviewing the formulation of noncommutative quantum mechanics as\na constrained system. Then, we address to the problem of field theories defined\non a noncommutative space-time manifold. The Moyal product is introduced and\nthe appearance of the UV/IR mechanism is exemplified. The emphasis is on\nfinding and analyzing noncommutative quantum field theories which are\nrenormalizable and free of nonintegrable infrared singularities. In this last\nconnection we give a detailed discussion of the quantization of the\nnoncommutative Wess-Zumino model as well as of its low energy behavior."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Moduli Axions, Stabilizing Moduli and the Large Field Swampland\n  Conjecture in Heterotic M-Theory: We compute the potential energy for the dilaton, complex structure and Kahler\nmoduli and search of realistic vacua of heterotic M-theory compactified on\nCalabi-Yau threefolds. We present a protocol for deriving the potential that\ncombines the non-perturbative complex structure, gaugino condensate and\nworldsheet instanton superpotentials in theories in which the hidden sector\ncontains an anomalous $U(1)$ structure group. The Green-Schwarz anomaly\ncancellation induces inhomogeneous axion transformations for the imaginary\ncomponents of the dilaton and Kahler modulus. Using this protocol we obtain\nexplicit examples in which potential has a global minimum at negative or zero\nvacuum density or a metastable minimum with positive vacuum density. In all\nthree cases, the dilaton, Kahler modulus and associated axion moduli are\ncompletely stabilized. Finally, we show that, for any of these vacua, the\npotential energy satisfies the large scalar field Swampland conjecture.",
        "positive": "Relationship between High-Energy Absorption Cross Section and Strong\n  Gravitational Lensing for Black Hole: In this paper, we obtain a relation between the high-energy absorption cross\nsection and the strong gravitational lensing for a static and spherically\nsymmetric black hole. It provides us a possible way to measure the high-energy\nabsorption cross section for a black hole from strong gravitational lensing\nthrough astronomical observation. More importantly, it allows us to compute the\ntotal energy emission rate for high-energy particles emitted from the black\nhole acting as a gravitational lens. It could tell us the range of the\nfrequency, among which the black hole emits the most of its energy and the\ngravitational waves are most likely to be observed. We also apply it to the\nJanis-Newman-Winicour solution. The results suggest that we can test the cosmic\ncensorship hypothesis through the observation of gravitational lensing by the\nweakly naked singularities acting as gravitational lenses."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Carrollian and Non-relativistic Jackiw-Teitelboim Supergravity: We present non- and ultra-relativistic Jackiw-Teitelboim (JT) supergravity as\nmetric BF theories based on the extended Newton-Hooke and extended AdS Carroll\nsuperalgebras in two spacetime dimensions, respectively. The extended\nNewton-Hooke structure, and, in particular, the invariant metric necessary for\nthe BF construction of non-relativistic JT supergravity, is obtained by\nperforming an expansion of the $\\mathcal{N}=2$ AdS$_2$ superalgebra.\nSubsequently, we introduce the extended AdS$_2$ Carroll superalgebra, and the\nassociated invariant metric, as a suitable redefinition of the extended\nNewton-Hooke superalgebra. The mapping involved can be seen as the\nsupersymmetric extension of the duality existing at the purely bosonic level\nbetween the extended Newton-Hooke algebra with (positive) negative cosmological\nconstant and the extended (A)dS Carroll algebra in two dimensions. Finally, we\nprovide the Carrollian JT supergravity action in the BF formalism. Moreover, we\nshow that both the non-relativistic and the ultra-relativistic theories\npresented can also be obtained by direct expansion of $\\mathcal{N}=2$ JT\nsupergravity.",
        "positive": "Integrability and Diffeomorphisms on Target Space: We briefly review the concepts of generalized zero curvature conditions and\nintegrability in higher dimensions, where integrability in this context is\nrelated to the existence of infinitely many conservation laws. Under certain\nassumptions, it turns out that these conservation laws are, in fact, generated\nby a class of geometric target space transformations, namely the\nvolume-preserving diffeomorphisms. We classify the possible conservation laws\nof field theories for the case of a three-dimensional target space. Further, we\ndiscuss some explicit examples."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Thermal Stress Tensor Correlators near Lightcone and Holography: We consider thermal stress-tensor two-point functions in holographic theories\nin the near-lightcone regime and analyse them using the operator product\nexpansion (OPE). In the limit we consider only the leading-twist multi-stress\ntensors contribute and the correlators depend on a particular combination of\nlightcone momenta. We argue that such correlators are described by three\nuniversal functions, which can be holographically computed in Einstein gravity;\nhigher-derivative terms in the gravitational Lagrangian enter the arguments of\nthese functions via the cubic stress-tensor couplings and the thermal\nstress-tensor expectation value in the dual CFT. We compute the retarded\ncorrelators and observe that in addition to the perturbative OPE, which\ncontributes to the real part, there is a non-perturbative contribution to the\nimaginary part.",
        "positive": "Thermodynamic Bethe Ansatz for G_k x G_l / G_{k+l} Coset Models\n  Perturbed by Their \u03c6_{1,1,Adj} Operator: We propose a Thermodynamic Bethe Ansatz (TBA) for G_k x G_l / G_{k+l}\nconformal coset models (G any simply-laced Lie algebra) perturbed by their\noperator \\phi_{1,1,Adj}. An interesting adjacency structure appears and can be\ndepicted in a sort of ``product'' of Dynkin diagrams of G and A_{k+l-1}. UV and\nIR limits are computed and reproduce the expected values for the central\ncharges. For k->\\infty, l fixed we obtain the TBA of the G_l WZW model\nperturbed by J_a\\bar{J}_a, and for k,l->\\infty, k-l fixed, that of Principal\nChiral model with WZ term at level k-l."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Generalised Raychaudhuri Equations for Strings and Membranes: A recent generalisation of the Raychaudhuri equations for timelike geodesic\ncongruences to families of $D$ dimensional extremal, timelike, Nambu--Goto\nsurfaces embedded in an $N$ dimensional Lorentzian background is reviewed.\nSpecialising to $D=2$ (i.e the case of string worldsheets) we reduce the\nequation for the generalised expansion $\\theta _{a}, (a =\\sigma,\\tau)$ to a\nsecond order, linear, hyperbolic partial differential equation which resembles\na variable--mass wave equation in $1+1$ dimensions. Consequences, such as a\ngeneralisation of geodesic focussing to families of worldsheets as well as\nexactly solvable cases are explored and analysed in some detail. Several\npossible directions of future research are also pointed out.",
        "positive": "Comment on \"Turnaround in Cyclic Cosmology\": We comment on a recent paper by L. Baum and P. H. Frampton [Phys. Rev. Lett.\n98, 071301 (2007)] where it was argued that the entropy problem can be resolved\nin a peculiar cyclic universe model through a deflation mechanism (i.e., the\nuniverse is fragmented into many disconnected causal patches at the\nturnaround). We point out that in this cyclic model the Hubble length will\nbecome infinity at the turnaround, thus the deflation scenario is not valid."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Varieties of Quantum Measurement: Quantum measurement theory has fallen under the resticting influence of the\nattempt to explain the fundamental axioms of quantum theory in terms of the\ntheory itself. This has not only led to confusion but has also restricted our\nattention to a limited class of measurements. This paper outlines some of the\nnovel types of measurements which fall outside the usual textbook description.",
        "positive": "Short Distance Properties from Large Distance Behaviour: For slowly varying fields the vacuum functional of a quantum field theory may\nbe expanded in terms of local functionals. This expansion satisfies its own\nform of the Schr\\\"odinger equation from which the expansion coefficents can be\nfound. For scalar field theory in 1+1 dimensions we show that this approach\ncorrectly reproduces the short-distance properties as contained in the\ncounter-terms. We also describe an approximate simplification that occurs for\nthe Sine-Gordon and Sinh-Gordon vacuum functionals."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-manifest symmetries in quantum field theory: Non-manifest symmetries are an important feature of quantum field theories\n(QFTs), and yet their characteristics are not fully understood. In particular,\nthe construction of the charge operators associated with these symmetries is\nambiguous. In this paper we adopt a rigorous axiomatic approach in order to\naddress this issue. It turns out that charge operators of non-manifest\nsymmetries are not unique, and that although this does not affect their\nproperty as generators of the corresponding symmetry transformations,\nadditional physical input is required in order to determine how they act on\nstates. Applying these results to the examples of spacetime translation and\nLorentz symmetry, it follows that the assumption that the vacuum is the unique\ntranslationally invariant state is sufficient to uniquely define the charges\nassociated with these symmetries. In the case of supersymmetry though there\nexists no such physical requirement, and this therefore implies that the\nsupersymmetric charge, and hence the supersymmetric space of states, is not\nuniquely defined.",
        "positive": "Radion stabilization in the presence of Wilson line phase: We study the stabilization of an extra-dimensional radius in the presence of\na Wilson line phase of an extra $U(1)$ gauge symmetry on a five-dimensional\nspace-time, using the effective potential relating both the radion and the\nWilson line phase at the one-loop level. We find that the radion can be\nstabilized by the introduction of a small number of fermions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum hypermultiplet moduli spaces in N=2 string vacua: a review: The hypermultiplet moduli space M_H in type II string theories compactified\non a Calabi-Yau threefold X is largely constrained by supersymmetry (which\ndemands quaternion-K\\\"ahlerity), S-duality (which requires an isometric action\nof SL(2, Z)) and regularity. Mathematically, M_H ought to encode all\ngeneralized Donaldson-Thomas invariants on X consistently with wall-crossing,\nmodularity and homological mirror symmetry. We review recent progress towards\ncomputing the exact metric on M_H, or rather the exact complex contact\nstructure on its twistor space.",
        "positive": "Thermodynamics of nonlinear charged Lifshitz black branes with\n  hyperscaling violation: In this paper, we investigate the thermodynamics of hyperscaling violating\nLifshitz black branes in the presence of a nonlinear massless electromagnetic\nfield. We, first, obtain analytic nonlinear charged black brane solutions with\nhyperscaling violating factor in dilaton gravity and give the condition on the\nparameters of the metric for having black brane solutions. Second, we introduce\nthe appropriate finite action in grand-canonical and canonical ensembles for\nnonlinear electromagnetic field. Next, by generalizing the counterterm method\nfor the asymptotic Lifshitz spacetimes with hyperscaling violating factor, we\ncalculate the energy density of our solutions. Then, we present a relation\nbetween the energy density and the thermodynamic quantities, electric\npotential, charge density, temperature and entropy density. This relation is\nthe generalization of Smarr formula for anti-de Sitter black branes and charged\nLifshiz solutions. Finally, we perform a stability analysis in both the\ncanonical and grand-canonical ensemble. We show that the nonlinearity of\nelectromagnetic field can make the solutions unstable in grand-canonical\nensemble."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Semi-classical strings in $(2+1)-$dimensional backgrounds: This study analyzes the geometrical relationship between a classical string\nand its semi-classical quantum model. From an arbitrary $(2+1)-$dimensional\ngeometry, a specific ansatz for a classical string is used to generate a\nsemi-classical quantum model. In this framework, examples of quantum\noscillations and quantum free particles are presented that uniquely determine a\nclassical string and the space-time geometry where its motion takes place.",
        "positive": "On higher order geometric and renormalisation group flows: Renormalisation group flows of the bosonic nonlinear \\sigma-model are\ngoverned, perturbatively, at different orders of \\alpha', by the perturbatively\nevaluated \\beta--functions. In regions where \\frac{\\alpha'}{R_c^2} << 1 the\nflow equations at various orders in \\alpha' can be thought of as \\em\napproximating the full, non-perturbative RG flow. On the other hand, taking a\ndifferent viewpoint, we may consider the abovementioned RG flow equations as\nviable {\\em geometric} flows in their own right and without any reference to\nthe RG aspect. Looked at as purely geometric flows where higher order terms\nappear, we no longer have the perturbative restrictions . In this paper, we\nperform our analysis from both these perspectives using specific target\nmanifolds such as S^2, H^2, unwarped S^2 x H^2 and simple warped products. We\nanalyze and solve the higher order RG flow equations within the appropriate\nperturbative domains and find the \\em corrections arising due to the inclusion\nof higher order terms. Such corrections, within the perturbative regime, are\nshown to be small and they provide an estimate of the error which arises when\nhigher orders are ignored.\n  We also investigate the higher order geometric flows on the same manifolds\nand figure out generic features of geometric evolution, the appearance of\nsingularities and solitons. The aim, in this context, is to demonstrate the\nrole of the higher order terms in modifying the flow. One interesting aspect of\nour analysis is that, separable solutions of the higher order flow equations\nfor simple warped spacetimes, correspond to constant curvature Anti-de Sitter\n(AdS) spacetime, modulo an overall flow--parameter dependent scale factor. The\nfunctional form of this scale factor (which we obtain) changes on the inclusion\nof successive higher order terms in the flow."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Kinematic Space and Wormholes: The kinematic space could play a key role in constructing the bulk geometry\nfrom dual CFT. In this paper, we study the kinematic space from geometric\npoints of view, without resorting to differential entropy. We find that the\nkinematic space could be intrinsically defined in the embedding space. For each\noriented geodesic in the Poincar\\'e disk, there is a corresponding point in the\nkinematic space. This point is the tip of the causal diamond of the disk whose\nintersection with the Poincar\\'e disk determines the geodesic. In this\ngeometric construction, the causal structure in the kinematic space can be seen\nclearly. Moreover, we find that every transformation in the $SL(2,\\mathbb{R})$\nleads to a geodesic in the kinematic space. In particular, for a hyperbolic\ntransformation defining a BTZ black hole, it is a timelike geodesic in the\nkinematic space. We show that the horizon length of the static BTZ black hole\ncould be computed by the geodesic length of corresponding points in the\nkinematic space. Furthermore, we discuss the fundamental regions in the\nkinematic space for the BTZ blackhole and multi-boundary wormholes.",
        "positive": "Four coupled SYK models and Nearly AdS$_2$ gravities: Phase Transitions\n  in Traversable wormholes and in Bra-ket wormholes: We study four coupled SYK models and nearly AdS$_2$ gravities. In the SYK\nmodel side, we construct a model that couples two copies of two coupled SYK\nmodels. In nearly AdS$_2$ gravity side, we entangle matter fields in two copies\nof traversable wormholes. In both cases, the systems show first order phase\ntransitions at zero temperature by changing couplings, which is understood as\nthe exchange of traversable wormhole configurations. In nearly AdS$_2$ gravity\ncases, by exchanging the role of space and time the wormholes are interpreted\nas bra-ket wormholes. In Lorentzian signature, these bra-ket wormholes lead to\ntwo closed universes that are entangled with each other as well as matter\nfields in the flat space without dynamical gravity. We study the effect of\nprojection or entangling operation for matters on flat spaces and they cause\nphase transitions in bra-ket wormholes, which leads to the pair annihilation of\nclosed universes. Using these bra-ket wormholes, we discuss the way to embed\nstates in 2d holographic CFTs into Hilbert space of many 2d free fields."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Viscosity bound for anisotropic superfluids with dark matter sector: The shear viscosity to the entropy density ratio $\\eta/s$ of the anisotropic\nsuperfluid has been calculated by means of the gauge/gravity duality in the\npresence of the {\\it dark matter} sector. The {\\it dark matter} has been\ndescribed by the Yang-Mills field analogous to the one describing visible\nmatter sector and it is assumed to interact with the visible field with\ncoupling constant $\\alpha$. Close to the superfluid transition temperature\n($T_c$) the analytical solution has been given up to the leading order in a\nsymmetry breaking parameter and the ratio of the gravitational constant and\nYang-Mils coupling. The tensor element of ratio $\\eta/s$ remains unaffected by\nthe {\\it dark matter} for the viscosity tensor in the plane perpendicular to\nthe symmetry breaking direction (here $yz$). The temperature dependence and the\nlinear correction in $(1-\\alpha)$ in the plane containing this direction (here\n$xy$) was also revealed. The correction linearly vanishes for temperature\ntending to the critical one $T\\rightarrow T_c$.",
        "positive": "Scaling Violation in O(N) Vector Models: We investigate $O(N)$-symmetric vector field theories in the double scaling\nlimit. Our model describes branched polymeric systems in $D$ dimensions, whose\nmulticritical series interpolates between the Cayley tree and the ordinary\nrandom walk. We give explicit forms of residual divergences in the free energy,\nanalogous to those observed in the strings in one dimension."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Inflation in multi-field random Gaussian landscapes: We investigate slow-roll inflation in a multi-field random Gaussian\nlandscape. The landscape is assumed to be small-field, with a correlation\nlength much smaller than the Planck scale. Inflation then typically occurs in\nsmall patches of the landscape, localized near inflection or saddle points. We\nfind that the inflationary track is typically close to a straight line in the\nfield space, and the statistical properties of inflation are similar to those\nin a one-dimensional landscape. This picture of multi-field inflation is rather\ndifferent from that suggested by the Dyson Brownian motion model; we discuss\nthe reasons for this difference. We also discuss tunneling from inflating false\nvacua to the neighborhood of inflection and saddle points and show that the\ntunneling endpoints tend to concentrate along the flat direction in the\nlandscape.",
        "positive": "BRST, anti-BRST and their geometry: We continue the comparison between the field theoretical and geometrical\napproaches to the gauge field theories of various types, by deriving their\nBecchi-Rouet-Stora-Tyutin (BRST) and anti-BRST trasformation properties and\ncomparing them with the geometrical properties of the bundles and gerbes. In\nparticular, we provide the geometrical interpretation of the so--called\nCurci-Ferrari conditions that are invoked for the absolute anticommutativity of\nthe BRST and anti-BRST symmetry transformations in the context of non-Abelian\n1-form gauge theories as well as Abelian gauge theory that incorporates a\n2-form gauge field. We also carry out the explicit construction of the 3-form\ngauge fields and compare it with the geometry of 2--gerbes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Localizing non-linear ${\\cal N}=(2,2)$ sigma model on $S^2$: We present a systematic study of ${\\cal N}=(2,2)$ supersymmetric non-linear\nsigma models on $S^2$ with the target being a K\\\"ahler manifold. We discuss\ntheir reformulation in terms of cohomological field theory. In the\ncohomological formulation we use a novel version of 2D self-duality which\ninvolves a $U(1)$ action on $S^2$. In addition to the generic model we discuss\nthe theory with target space equivariance corresponding to a supersymmetric\nsigma model coupled to a non-dynamical supersymmetric background gauge\nmultiplet. We discuss the localization locus and perform a one-loop calculation\naround the constant maps. We argue that the theory can be reduced to some\nexotic model over the moduli space of holomorphic disks.",
        "positive": "On the 3-point functions of Aging Dynamics and the AdS/CFT\n  Correspondence: Aging can be realized as a sub-algebra of Schr\\\"odinger algebra by discarding\nthe time-translation generator. While the 2-point functions of the Age algebra\nhave been known for some time, little else was known about the higher $n$-point\ncorrelators. In this letter we present novel 3-point correlators of scalar\nprimary operators. We find that the Aging correlators are distinct from the\nSchr\\\"odinger correlators by more than certain dressings with time-dependent\nfactors, as was the case with 2-point functions. In the existing literature,\nthe holographic geometry of Aging is obtained by performing certain general\ncoordinate transformations on the holographic dual of the Schr\\\"odinger theory.\nConsequently, the Aging 2-point functions derived from holography look as the\nSchr\\\"odinger 2-point functions dressed by time-dependent factors. However,\nsince the 3-point functions obtained in this letter are not merely dressed\nSchr\\\"odinger correlators and instead depend on an additional time-translation\nbreaking variable, we conclude that the most general holographic realization of\nAging is yet to be found."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Simple Brane World Scenario with Positive Five Dimensional Cosmological\n  Constant: We present a simple brane-world model in five dimensions. In this model we do\nnot need any fine-tuning between the five dimensional cosmological constant and\nthe brane tension to obtain four dimensional flat Minkowski space. The\nspace-time of our solution has no naked singularities. Further the\ncompactification scale of the fifth direction is automatically determined.",
        "positive": "Non-Perturbative Quantum Geometry: The beta-ensemble with cubic potential can be used to study a quantum\nparticle in a double-well potential with symmetry breaking term. The quantum\nmechanical perturbative energy arises from the ensemble free energy in a novel\nlarge N limit. A relation between the generating functions of the exact\nnon-perturbative energy, similar in spirit to the one of Dunne-Unsal, is found.\nThe exact quantization condition of Zinn-Justin and Jentschura is equivalent to\nthe Nekrasov-Shatashvili quantization condition on the level of the ensemble.\nRefined topological string theory in the Nekrasov-Shatashvili limit arises as a\nlarge N limit of quantum mechanics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Lax matrix solution of c=1 Conformal Field Theory: To a correlation function in a two-dimensional conformal field theory with\nthe central charge $c=1$, we associate a matrix differential equation $\\Psi' =\nL \\Psi$, where the Lax matrix $L$ is a matrix square root of the\nenergy-momentum tensor. Then local conformal symmetry implies that the\ndifferential equation is isomonodromic. This provides a justification for the\nrecently observed relation between four-point conformal blocks and solutions of\nthe Painlev\\'e VI equation. This also provides a direct way to compute the\nthree-point function of Runkel-Watts theory -- the common $c\\rightarrow 1$\nlimit of Minimal Models and Liouville theory.",
        "positive": "Perturbative construction of the two-dimensional O(N) non-linear sigma\n  model with ERG: We use the exact renormalization group (ERG) perturbatively to construct the\nWilson action for the two-dimensional O(N) non-linear sigma model. The\nconstruction amounts to regularization of a non-linear symmetry with a momentum\ncutoff. A quadratically divergent potential is generated by the momentum\ncutoff, but its non-invariance is compensated by the jacobian of the non-linear\nsymmetry transformation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "New Perspectives on Attractor Flows and Trees from CFT: In this note, we use the first order formalism for attractor flows in N=2\nSUGRA extremal black hole backgrounds to establish a formal correspondence\nbetween the RG flow of moduli in the underlying N=(2,2) SCFT and bulk attractor\nflows. Starting from a study of moduli flow trajectories in the CFT, we derive\na potential which generates the aforesaid flow. This potential is shown to be a\nsymplectic invariant with the same form as the black hole potential which\ndrives the attractor flows in the bulk. We use these results to make comments\non the non-renormalization of extremal black hole entropy and indicate a\nsimilar correspondence for two-centered forked flows in CFT.",
        "positive": "Quantum field theory of relic nonequilibrium systems: In terms of the de Broglie-Bohm pilot-wave formulation of quantum theory, we\ndevelop field-theoretical models of quantum nonequilibrium systems which could\nexist today as relics from the very early universe. We consider relic excited\nstates generated by inflaton decay, as well as relic vacuum modes, for particle\nspecies that decoupled close to the Planck temperature. Simple estimates\nsuggest that, at least in principle, quantum nonequilibrium could survive to\nthe present day for some relic systems. The main focus of this paper is to\ndescribe the behaviour of such systems in terms of field theory, with the aim\nof understanding how relic quantum nonequilibrium might manifest\nexperimentally. We show by explicit calculation that simple perturbative\ncouplings will transfer quantum nonequilibrium from one field to another (for\nexample from the inflaton field to its decay products). We also show that\nfields in a state of quantum nonequilibrium will generate anomalous spectra for\nstandard energy measurements. Possible connections to current astrophysical\nobservations are briefly addressed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hidden Conformal Symmetry of Extremal Kerr-Bolt Spacetimes: We show that extremal Kerr-Bolt spacetimes have a hidden conformal symmetry.\nIn this regard, we consider the wave equation of a massless scalar field\npropagating in extremal Kerr-Bolt spacetimes and find in the \"near region\", the\nwave equation in extremal limit can be written in terms of the $SL(2,R)$\nquadratic Casimir. Moreover, we obtain the microscopic entropy of the extremal\nKerr-Bolt spacetimes also we calculate the correlation function of a\nnear-region scalar field and find perfect agreement with the dual 2D CFT.",
        "positive": "Dynamical noncommutative quantum mechanics: We study some basic and interesting quantum mechanical systems in dynamical\nnoncommutative spaces in which the space- space commutation relations are\nposition dependent. It is observed that the fundamental objects in the\ndynamical noncommutative space introduced here are stringlike. We show that the\nStark effect can be employed to determine whether the noncommutativity of space\nis dynamical or non-dynamical. It appears that unlike non-dynamical case there\nis a fundamental energy $\\dfrac{\\tau\\hbar^{2}}{m}$ in this dynamical space.}"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the motion of particles in covariant Horava-Lifshitz gravity and the\n  meaning of the A-field: We studied the low energy motion of particles in the general covariant\nversion of Horava-Lifshitz gravity proposed by Horava and Melby-Thompson. Using\na scalar field coupled to gravity according to the minimal substitution recipe\nproposed by da Silva and taking the geometrical optics limit, we could write an\neffective relativistic metric for a general solution. As a result, we\ndiscovered that the equivalence principle is not in general recovered at low\nenergies, unless the spatial Laplacian of A vanishes. Finally, we analyzed the\nmotion on the spherical symmetric solution proposed by Horava and\nMelby-Thompson, where we could find its effective line element and compute\nspin-0 geodesics. Using standard methods we have shown that such an effective\nmetric cannot reproduce Newton's gravity law even in the weak gravitational\nfield approximation.",
        "positive": "Generalized uncertainty principle with maximal observable momentum and\n  no minimal length indeterminacy: We present a novel generalization of the Heisenberg uncertainty principle\nwhich introduces the existence of a maximal observable momentum and at the same\ntime does not entail a minimal indeterminacy in position. The above result is\nan exact generalized uncertainty principle (GUP), valid at all energy scales.\nFor small values of the deformation parameter $\\beta$, our ansatz is consistent\nwith the usual expression for GUP borrowed from string theory, doubly special\nrelativity and other quantum gravity candidates that provide $\\beta$ with a\nnegative sign. As a preliminary analysis, we study the implications of this new\nmodel on some quantum mechanical applications and on the black hole\nthermodynamics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Half-BPS half-BPS twist two at four loops in N=4 SYM: We consider a double OPE limit of the planar four-point function of stress\ntensor multiplets in N = 4 SYM theory. Loop integrands for this correlator have\nbeen constructed to very high order, but the corresponding integrals are\nexplicitly known only up to three loops. Fortunately, the double coincidence\nlimit of the four-loop integrals can be found by the method of expansion by\nregions, which reduces the problem of computing the four-point integrals to the\nevaluation of a large set of massless propagator integrals. These can in turn\nbe evaluated by IBP reduction.\n  The OPE limit of the stress tensor four-point function allows us to extract\nthe (square of the) three-point couplings between two stress tensor multiplets\nand one twist two operator in the 20' of SU(4). The latest available IBP\nsoftware accomplishes this task up to and including spin 8. With the data\nobtained we hope to further the development of the recent integrable systems\npicture for correlation functions.",
        "positive": "Vacuum Structure and $\u03b8$ States of Adjoint QCD in Two Dimensions: We address the issue of topological angles in the context of two dimensional\nSU(N) Yang-Mills theory coupled to massive fermions in the adjoint\nrepresentation. Classification of the resulting multiplicity of vacua is\ncarried outin terms of asymptotic fundamental Wilson loops, or equivalently,\ncharges at the boundary of the world. We explicitly demonstrate that the\nmultiplicity of vacuum states is equal to N for SU(N) gauge group. Different\nworlds of the theory are classified by the integer number k=0,1,...N-1\n(superselection rules) which plays an analogous role to the $\\theta$ parameter\nin QCD. Via two completely independent approaches we study the physical\nproperties of these unconnected worlds as a function of k. First, we apply the\nwell known machinery of the loop calculus in order to calculate the effective\nstring tensions in the theory as function of $k$. The second way of doing the\nsame physics is the standard particle/field theoretic calculation for the\nbinding potential of a pair of infinitely massive fermions. We also calculate\nthe vacuum energy as function of k."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Instantons in AdS$_4$ From (anti)Membranes Wrapping $S^7$ To Bose-Fermi\n  Duality in CFT$_3$'s: We present new SO(4)-invariant and non-supersymmetric instanton solutions for\nthe conformally coupled m^2=-2 and massive m^2=+4 (pseudo)scalars arising from\na consistent truncation of 11-dimensional supergravity over AdS_4 x S^7/Z_k\nwhen the internal space is a S^1 Hopf fibration on CP^3, and we consider\nbackreaction. In fact, the bulk configurations associate with (anti)membranes\nwrapped around mixed internal (and external) directions, which in turn probe\nthe Wick-rotated or skew-whiffed background, break all supersymmetries as well\nas parity invariance. From near the boundary behavior of the closed solution\nfor the coupled bulk (pseudo)scalar, we get a marginal triple-trace deformation\nwith mixed boundary condition (valid also for the bulk massless m^2=0\n(pseudo)scalar, raised when considering the external space backreaction, with\nDirichlet boundary condition) and as a result, the corresponding boundary\neffective potential is unbounded from below and causes an instability because\nof the Fubini-like instanton. Presenting dual effective actions, we see that\nthe boundary solutions and counterparts realize in singlet sectors of\nthree-dimensional U(N) and O(N) Chern--Simons-matter field theories. In\nparticular, we use versions of massless and mass-deformed regular and critical\nboson and fermion models, find instantons and confirm state-operator\nAdS_4/CFT_3 correspondence and also Bose-Fermi duality at the level of the\nsolutions. In addition, we discuss on relations of our setups with Vasiliev's\nHigher-Spin theories, deformations of the Aharony-Bergman-Jafferis-Maldacena\nmodel and other related studies.",
        "positive": "Black holes and the quark-gluon plasma: I discuss the possibility that the quark-gluon plasma at strong coupling\nadmits a description in terms of a black hole in asymptotically anti-de Sitter\nspace."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Twisted Boundary Conditions and Matching to the Effective Four\n  Dimensional Theory: Nontrivial twisted boundary conditions associated with extra compact\ndimensions produce an ambiguity in the value of the four dimensional coupling\nconstants of the renormalizable interactions of the twisted fields' zero modes.\nResolving this indeterminancy would require a knowledge of the exact form of\nthe higher dimensional action including the coefficients of higher dimensional\noperators. For the case of moderately sized extra dimensions, the uncertainty\nin the coupling constants can be of order one and may lead to modifications in\nthe stability of the model.",
        "positive": "Diffeomorphisms in momentum space: physical implications of different\n  choices of momentum coordinates in the Galilean Snyder model: It has been pointed out that different choices of momenta can be associated\nto the same noncommutative spacetime model. The question of whether these\nmomentum spaces, related by diffeomorphisms, produce the same physical\npredictions is still debated. In this work, we focus our attention on a few\ndifferent momentum spaces that can be associated to the Galilean Snyder\nnoncommutative spacetime model and show that they produce different predictions\nfor the energy spectrum of the harmonic oscillator."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "An Alternative Interpretation for the Moduli Fields of the Cosmology\n  Associated to Type IIB Supergravity with Fluxes: We start with a particular cosmological model derived from type IIB\nsupergravity theory with fluxes, where usually the dilaton is interpreted as a\nQuintessence field. Instead of that, in this letter we interpret the dilaton as\nthe dark matter of the universe. With this alternative interpretation we find\nthat in this supergravity model gives a similar evolution and structure\nformation of the universe compared with the $\\Lambda$CDM model in the linear\nregime of fluctuations of the structure formation. Some free parameters of the\ntheory are fixed using the present cosmological observations. In the non-linear\nregimen there are some differences between the type IIB supergravity theory\nwith the traditional CDM paradigm. The supergravity theory predicts the\nformation of galaxies earlier than the CDM and there is no density cusp in the\ncenter of galaxies. These differences can distinguish both models and can give\na distinctive feature to the phenomenology of the cosmology coming from\nsuperstring theory with fluxes.",
        "positive": "Fractional S-branes on a Spacetime Orbifold: Unstable D-branes are central objects in string theory, and exist also in\ntime-dependent backgrounds. In this paper we take first steps to studying brane\ndecay in spacetime orbifolds. As a concrete model we focus on the R^{1,d}/Z_2\norbifold. We point out that on a spacetime orbifold there exist two kinds of\nS-branes, fractional S-branes in addition to the usual ones. We investigate\ntheir construction in the open string and closed string boundary state\napproach. As an application of these constructions, we consider a scenario\nwhere an unstable brane nucleates at the origin of time of a spacetime, its\ninitial energy then converting into energy flux in the form of closed strings.\nThe dual open string description allows for a well-defined description of this\nprocess even if it originates at a singular origin of the spacetime."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetric twisting of carbon nanotubes: We construct exactly solvable models of twisted carbon nanotubes via\nsupersymmetry, by applying the matrix Darboux transformation. We derive the\nGreen's function for these systems and compute the local density of states.\nExplicit examples of twisted carbon nanotubes are produced, where the\nback-scattering is suppressed and bound states are present. We find that the\nlocal density of states decreases in the regions where the bound states are\nlocalized. Dependence of bound-state energies on the asymptotic twist of the\nnanotubes is determined. We also show that each of the constructed unextended\nfirst order matrix systems possesses a proper nonlinear hidden supersymmetric\nstructure with a nontrivial grading operator.",
        "positive": "Large $N$ Universality of 4d $\\mathcal{N}=1$ Superconformal Index and\n  AdS Black Holes: We study the large $N$ limit of the matrix models associated with the\nsuperconformal indices of four-dimensional $\\mathcal{N}=1$ superconformal field\ntheories. We find that for a large class of $\\mathcal{N}=1$ superconformal\ngauge theories, the superconformal indices in the large $N$ limit of such\ntheories are dominated by the 'parallelogram' saddle, providing $O(N^2)$ free\nenergy for the generic value of chemical potentials. This saddle corresponds to\nBPS black holes in AdS$_5$ whenever a holographic dual description is\navailable. Our saddle applies to a large class of gauge theories, including ADE\nquiver gauge theories, and the theories with rank-2 tensor matters. Our\nanalysis works for most $\\mathcal{N}=1$ superconformal gauge theories that\nadmit a suitable large $N$ limit while keeping the flavor symmetry fixed. We\nalso find 'multi-cut' saddle points, which correspond to the orbifolded\nEuclidean black holes in AdS$_5$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Wormholes in Maximal Supergravity: In this brief note, we reconsider the problem of finding Euclidean wormhole\nsolutions to maximal supergravity in d dimensions. We find that such solutions\nexists for all d less than or equal to 9. However, we argue that, in\ntoroidally-compactified string theories, these saddle points never contribute\nto the path integral because of a tension with U-duality.",
        "positive": "On the temporal Wilson loop in the Hamiltonian approach in Coulomb gauge: We investigate the temporal Wilson loop using the Hamiltonian approach to\nYang-Mills theory. In simple cases such as the Abelian theory or the\nnon-Abelian theory in (1+1) dimensions, the known results can be reproduced\nusing unitary transformations to take care of time evolution. We show how\nCoulomb gauge can be used for an alternative solution if the exact ground state\nwave functional is known. In the most interesting case of Yang-Mills theory in\n(3+1) dimensions, the vacuum wave functional is not known, but recent\nvariational approaches in Coulomb gauge give a decent approximation. We use\nthis formulation to compute the temporal Wilson loop and find that the Wilson\nand Coulomb string tension agree within our approximation scheme. Possible\nimprovements of these findings are briefly discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Novel BPS Wilson loops in three-dimensional quiver Chern-Simons-matter\n  theories: We show that generic three-dimensional $\\mathcal N=2$ quiver super\nChern-Simons-matter theories admit Bogomol'nyi-Prasad-Sommerfield (BPS)\nDrukker-Trancanelli (DT) type Wilson loops. We investigate both Wilson loops\nalong timelike infinite straight lines in Minkowski spacetime and circular\nWilson loops in Euclidean space. In Aharnoy-Bergman-Jafferis-Maldacena theory,\nwe find that generic BPS DT type Wilson loops preserve the same number of\nsupersymmetries as Gaiotto-Yin type Wilson loops. There are several free\nparameters for generic BPS DT type Wilson loops in the construction, and\nsupersymmetry enhancement for Wilson loops happens for special values of the\nparameters.",
        "positive": "Induced Magnetic moments in three-dimensional gauge theories with\n  external magnetic fields: We study the appearance of induced parity-violating magnetic moment, in the\npresence of external magnetic fields, for even-number of fermion species\ncoupled to dynamical fields in three dimensions. Specifically, we use a\nSU(2)xU(1) gauge model for dynamical gauge symmetry breaking, which is also\nproposed recently as a field theoretical model for high-temperature\nsuperconductors. By decomposing the fermionic degrees of freedom in terms of\nLandau levels, we show that, in the effective theory with the lowest Landau\nlevels, a parity-violating magnetic moment interaction is induced by the higher\nLandau levels when the fermions are massive. The possible relevance of this\nresult for a recently observed phenomenon in high-temperature superconductors\nis also discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Phase structures emerging from holography with Einstein gravity --\n  dilaton models at finite temperature: Asymptotic AdS Riemann space-times in five dimensions with a black brane\n(horizon) sourced by a fully back-reacted scalar field (dilaton) offer -- via\nthe holographic dictionary -- various options for the thermodynamics of the\nflat four-dimensional boundary theory, uncovering Hawking-Page, first-order and\nsecond-order phase transitions up to a cross-over or featureless behavior. The\nrelation of these phase structures to the dilaton potential is clarified and\nillustrating examples are presented. Having in mind applications to QCD we\nstudy probe vector mesons with the goal to figure out conditions for forming\nRegge type series of radial excitations and address the issue of meson melting.",
        "positive": "A Solitonic 3-Brane in 6D Bulk: We construct a solitonic 3-brane solution in the 6-dimensional\nEinstein-Hilbert-Gauss-Bonnet theory with a (negative) cosmological term. This\nsolitonic brane world is delta-function-like. Near the brane the metric is that\nfor a product of the 4-dimensional flat Minkowski space with a 2-dimensional\n``wedge'' with a deficit angle (which depends on the solitonic brane tension).\nFar from the brane the metric approaches that for a product of the\n5-dimensional AdS space and a circle. This solitonic solution exists for a\nspecial value of the Gauss-Bonnet coupling (for which we also have a\ndelta-function-like codimension-1 solitonic solution), and the solitonic brane\ntension can take values in a continuous range. We discuss various properties of\nthis solitonic brane world, including coupling between gravity and matter\nlocalized on the brane."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Multiplicative Anomaly matches Casimir Energy for GJMS Operators on\n  Spheres: An explicit formula to compute the multiplicative anomaly or defect of\n$\\zeta$-regularized products of linear factors is derived, by using a Feynman\nparametrization, generalizing Shintani-Mizuno formulas. Firstly, this is\napplied on $n$-spheres, reproducing known results in the literature. Then, this\nframework is applied to a closed Einstein universe at finite temperature,\nnamely $S^1_{\\beta}\\times S^{n-1}$. In doing so, it is shown that the standard\nCasimir energy for GJMS operators coincides with the accumulated multiplicative\nanomaly for the shifted Laplacians that build them up. This equivalence between\nCasimir energy and multiplicative anomaly, unnoticed so far to our knowledge,\nbrings about a new turn regarding the physical significance of the\nmultiplicative anomaly, putting both now on equal footing. An emergent improved\nCasimir energy, that takes into account the multiplicative anomaly among the\nbuilding Laplacians, is also discussed.",
        "positive": "Topics in 3D N=2 AdS supergravity in superspace: We review some recent results on the construction in superspace of 3D N=2 AdS\nsupergravities and on the formulation of rigid supersymmetric theories in (1,1)\nand (2,0) AdS superspaces."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Heavy quark potential at finite temperature from gauge/string duality: A static string in an AdS Schwarzschild space is dual to a heavy quark\nanti-quark pair in a gauge theory at high temperature. This space is non\nconfining in the sense that the energy is finite for infinite quark anti-quark\nseparation. We introduce an infrared cut off in this space and calculate the\ncorresponding string energy. We find a deconfining phase transition at a\ncritical temperature T_C. Above T_C the string tension vanishes representing\nthe deconfined phase. Below T_C we find a linear confining behavior for large\nquark anti-quark separation. This simple phenomenological model leads to the\nappropriate zero temperature limit, corresponding to the Cornell potential and\nalso describes a thermal deconfining phase transition. However the temperature\ncorrections to the string tension do not recover the expected results for low\ntemperatures.",
        "positive": "Effective lagrangian for a mass dimension one fermionic field in curved\n  spacetime: In this work we use momentum-space techniques to evaluate the propagator\n$G(x,x^{\\prime})$ for a spin $1/2$ mass dimension one spinor field on a curved\nFriedmann-Robertson-Walker spacetime. As a consequence, we built the one-loop\ncorrection to the effective lagrangian in the coincidence limit. Going further\nwe compute the effective lagrangian in the finite temperature regime. We arrive\nat interesting cosmological consequences, as time-dependent cosmological\n`constant', fully explaining the functional form of previous cosmological\nmodels."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Strings vs Spins on the Null Orbifold: We study the null orbifold singularity in 2+1 d flat space higher spin theory\nas well as string theory. Using the Chern-Simons formulation of 2+1 d Einstein\ngravity, we first observe that despite the singular nature of this geometry,\nthe eigenvalues of its Chern-Simons holonomy are trivial. Next, we construct a\nresolution of the singularity in higher spin theory: a Kundt spacetime with\nvanishing scalar curvature invariants. We also point out that the UV\ndivergences previously observed in the 2-to-2 tachyon tree level string\namplitude on the null orbifold do not arise in the $\\alpha^\\prime\\to \\infty$\nlimit. We find all the divergences of the amplitude and demonstrate that the\nones remaining in the tensionless limit are physical IR-type divergences. We\nconclude with a discussion on the meaning and limitations of higher spin\n(cosmological) singularity resolution and its potential connection to string\ntheory.",
        "positive": "Kaluza-Klein Towers on General Manifolds: A higher-dimensional universe with compactified extra dimensions admits a\nfour-dimensional description consisting of an infinite Kaluza-Klein tower of\nfields. We revisit the problem of describing the free part of the complete\nKaluza-Klein tower of gauge fields, p-forms, gravity, and flux\ncompactifications. In contrast to previous studies, we work with a generic\ninternal manifold of any dimension, completely at the level of the action, in a\ngauge invariant formulation, and without resorting to the equations of motion\nor analysis of propagators. We demonstrate that the physical fields and\nStuckelberg fields are naturally described by ingredients of the Hodge\ndecomposition and its analog for symmetric tensors. The spectrum of states and\nstability conditions, in terms of the eigenvalues of various Laplacians on the\ninternal manifold, is easily read from the action."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Discontinuity relations for the AdS(4)/CFT(3) correspondence: We study in detail the analytic properties of the Thermodynamic Bethe Ansatz\n(TBA) equations for the anomalous dimensions of composite operators in the\nplanar limit of the 3D N=6 superconformal Chern-Simons gauge theory and derive\nfunctional relations for the jump discontinuities across the branch cuts in the\ncomplex rapidity plane. These relations encode the analytic structure of the Y\nfunctions and are extremely similar to the ones obtained for the\npreviously-studied AdS(5)/CFT(4) case. Together with the Y-system and more\nbasic analyticity conditions, they are completely equivalent to the TBA\nequations. We expect these results to be useful to derive alternative nonlinear\nintegral equations for the AdS(4)/CFT(3) spectrum.",
        "positive": "D-Brane Instability as a Large N Phase Transition: In AdS/CFT analyticity suggests that certain singular behaviors expected at\nlarge 't Hooft coupling should continue smoothly to weak 't Hooft coupling\nwhere the gauge theory is tractable. This may provide a window into stringy\nsingularity resolution and is a promising technique for studying the signature\nof the black hole singularity discussed in hep-th/0306170. We comment briefly\non its status. Our main goal, though, is to study a simple example of this\ntechnique. Gross and Ooguri (hep-th/9805129) have pointed out that the D-brane\nminimal surface spanning a pair of 't Hooft loops undergoes a phase transition\nas the distance between the loops is varied. We find the analog of this\nbehavior in the weakly coupled Super Yang Mills theory by computing 't Hooft\nloop expectation values there."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "N=(0,2) Deformation of CP(1) Model: Two-dimensional Analog of N=1\n  Yang-Mills Theory in Four Dimensions: We consider two-dimensional $\\mathcal{N}=(0,2)$ sigma models with the CP(1)\ntarget space. A minimal model of this type has one left-handed fermion.\nNonminimal extensions contain, in addition, $N_f$ right-handed fermions. Our\ntask is to derive expressions for the $\\beta$ functions valid to all orders. To\nthis end we use a variety of methods: (i) perturbative analysis; (ii) instanton\ncalculus; (iii) analysis of the supercurrent supermultiplet (the so-called\nhypercurrent) and its anomalies, and some other arguments. All these arguments,\ncombined, indicate a direct parallel between the heterotic $\\mathcal{N}=(0,2)$\nCP(1) models and four-dimensional super-Yang-Mills theories. In particular, the\nminimal $\\mathcal{N}=(0,2)$ CP(1) model is similar to ${\\mathcal N}=1$\nsupersymmetric gluodynamics. Its exact $\\beta$ function can be found; it has\nthe structure of the Novikov-Shifman-Vainshtein-Zakharov (NSVZ) $\\beta$\nfunction of supersymmetric gluodynamics. The passage to nonminimal\n$\\mathcal{N}=(0,2)$ sigma models is equivalent to adding matter. In this case\nan NSVZ-type exact relation between the $\\beta$ function and the anomalous\ndimensions $\\gamma$ of the \"matter\" fields is established. We derive an analog\nof the Konishi anomaly. At large $N_f$ our $\\beta$ function develops an\ninfrared fixed point at small values of the coupling constant (analogous to the\nBanks-Zaks fixed point). Thus, we reliably predict the existence of a conformal\nwindow. At $N_f=1$ the model under consideration reduces to the well-known\n$\\mathcal{N}=(2,2)$ CP(1) model.",
        "positive": "Double field theory, twistors, and integrability in 4-manifolds: The search for a geometrical understanding of dualities in string theory, in\nparticular T-duality, has led to the development of modern T-duality covariant\nframeworks such as Double Field Theory, whose mathematical structure can be\nunderstood in terms of generalized geometry and, more recently, para-Hermitian\ngeometry. In this work we apply techniques associated to this doubled geometry\nto four-dimensional manifolds, and we show that they are particularly\nwell-suited to the analysis of integrability in special spacetimes, especially\nin connection with Penrose's twistor theory and its applications to general\nrelativity. This shows a close relationship between some of the geometrical\nstructures in the para-Hermitian approach to double field theory and those in\nalgebraically special solutions to the Einstein equations. Particular results\ninclude the classification of four-dimensional, possibly complex-valued,\n(para-)Hermitian structures in different signatures, the Lie and Courant\nalgebroid structures of special spacetimes, and the analysis of deformations of\n(para-)complex structures. We also discuss a notion of \"weighted algebroids\" in\nrelation to a natural gauge freedom in the framework. Finally, we analyse the\nconnection with two- and three-dimensional (real and complex) twistor spaces,\nand how the former can be understood in terms of the latter, in particular in\nterms of twistor families."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Lorentz-Dirac Equation: One More Paradox of Preacceleration: One more paradox of classical Lorentz-Dirac preaccelerative solution is\nfound: the formation of the event horizon.",
        "positive": "Solitons in the Gauged Skyrme-Maxwell Model: We consider soliton solutions of the U(1) gauged Skyrme model with the pion\nmass term. The domain of existence of gauged Skyrmions is restricted from above\nby the value of the pion mass. Concentrating on the solutions of topological\ndegree one, we find that coupling to the electromagnetic field breaks the\nsymmetry of the configurations, the Skyrmions carrying both an electric charge\nand a magnetic flux, with an induced dipole magnetic moment. The Skyrmions also\npossess an angular momentum, which is quantized in the units of the electric\ncharge. The mass of the gauged Skyrmions monotonically decreases with increase\nof the gauge coupling."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-holomorphic Corrections from Threebranes in F Theory: We construct solutions of type IIB supergravity dual to N=2 super Yang-Mills\ntheories. By considering a probe moving in a background with constant coupling\nand an AdS_{5} component in its geometry, we are able to reproduce the exact\nlow energy effective action for the theory with gauge group SU(2) and N_{f}=4\nmassless flavors. After turning on a mass for the flavors we find corrections\nto the AdS_{5} geometry. In addition, the coupling shows a power law dependence\non the energy scale of the theory. The origin of the power law behaviour of the\ncoupling is traced back to instanton corrections. Instanton corrections to the\nfour derivative terms in the low energy effective action are correctly obtained\nfrom a probe analysis. By considering a Wilson loop in this geometry we are\nalso able to compute the instanton effects on the quark-antiquark potential.\nFinally we consider a solution corresponding to an asymptotically free field\ntheory. Again, the leading form of the four derivative terms in the low energy\neffective action are in complete agreement with field theory expectations.",
        "positive": "On the spin geometry of supergravity and string theory: We summarize the main results of our recent investigation of bundles of real\nClifford modules and briefly touch on some applications to string theory and\nsupergravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Two Massive and One Massless Sp(4) Monopoles: Starting from Nahm's equations, we explore BPS magnetic monopoles in the\nYang-Mills Higgs theory of gauge group $Sp(4)$ which is broken to $SU(2)\\times\nU(1)$. A family of BPS field configurations with purely Abelian magnetic charge\ndescribe two identical massive monopoles and one massless monopole. We\nconstruct the field configurations with axial symmetry by employing the ADHMN\nconstruction, and find the explicit expression of the metrics for the\n12-dimensional moduli space of Nahm data and its submanifolds.",
        "positive": "Calogero-Sutherland eigenfunctions with mixed boundary conditions and\n  conformal field theory correlators: We construct certain eigenfunctions of the Calogero-Sutherland hamiltonian\nfor particles on a circle, with mixed boundary conditions. That is, the\nbehavior of the eigenfunction, as neighbouring particles collide, depend on the\npair of colliding particles. This behavior is generically a linear combination\nof two types of power laws, depending on the statistics of the particles\ninvolved. For fixed ratio of each type at each pair of neighboring particles,\nthere is an eigenfunction, the ground state, with lowest energy, and there is a\ndiscrete set of eigenstates and eigenvalues, the excited states and the\nenergies above this ground state. We find the ground state and special excited\nstates along with their energies in a certain class of mixed boundary\nconditions, interpreted as having pairs of neighboring bosons and other\nparticles being fermions. These particular eigenfunctions are characterised by\nthe fact that they are in direct correspondence with correlation functions in\nboundary conformal field theory. We expect that they have applications to\nmeasures on certain configurations of curves in the statistical O(n) loop\nmodel. The derivation, although completely independent from results of\nconformal field theory, uses ideas from the \"Coulomb gas\" formulation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Universal Logarithmic Behavior in Microstate Counting and the Dual\n  One-loop Entropy of AdS$_4$ Black Holes: We numerically study the topologically twisted index of several\nthree-dimensional supersymmetric field theories on a genus $g$ Riemann surface\ntimes a circle, $\\Sigma_g\\times S^1$. We show that for a large class of\ntheories with leading term of the order $N^{3/2}$, where $N$ is generically the\nrank of the gauge group, there is a universal logarithmic correction of the\nform $\\frac{g-1}{2} \\log N$. We explain how this logarithmic subleading\ncorrection can be obtained as a one-loop effect on the dual supergravity theory\nfor magnetically charged, asymptotically AdS$_4\\times M^7$ black holes for a\nlarge class of Sasaki-Einstein manifolds, $M^7$. The matching of the\nlogarithmic correction relies on a generic cohomological property of $M^7$ and\nit is independent of the black hole charges. We argue that our supergravity\nresults apply also to rotating, electrically charged asymptotically\nAdS$_4\\times M^7$ black holes. We present explicitly the quiver gauge theories\nand the gravity side corresponding to $M^7=N^{0,1,0}, V^{5,2}$ and $Q^{1,1,1}$.",
        "positive": "Nilpotent Symmetries of a Modified Massive Abelian 3-Form Theory:\n  Augmented Superfield Approach: We derive the off-shell nilpotent and absolutely anticommuting (anti-)BRST\nsymmetry transformations for any arbitrary D-dimensional St$\\ddot\nu$ckelberg-modified massive Abelian 3-form theory within the framework of\naugmented version of superfield approach (AVSA) to Becchi-Rouet-Stora-Tyutin\n(BRST) formalism where, in addition to the horizontality condition (HC), we\nexploit the theoretical strength of the gauge invariant restriction (GIR) to\ndeduce the proper transformations for the gauge, associated (anti-)ghost\nfields, auxiliary fields, St$\\ddot u$ckelberg compensating field, etc. In fact,\nit is an elegant and delicate combination of HC and GIR (within the ambit of\nAVSA) that is crucial for all our discussions and derivations. One of the\nhighlights of our present endeavor is the deduction of a new set of (anti-)BRST\ninvariant Curci-Ferrari (CF)-type restrictions which are not found in the\nmassless version of our present theory where only the HC plays an important\nrole in the derivation of all the (anti-)BRST transformations and a very\nspecific set of CF-type restrictions. The alternative ways of the derivation of\nthe full set of the latter, from various theoretical considerations, are also\ninteresting results of our present investigation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On The Behavior Of Gravitational Force At Small Scales: We point out the idea that, at small scales, gravity can be described by the\nstandard degrees of freedom of general relativity, plus a scalar particle and a\ndegree of freedom of a new type: the fakeon. This possibility leads to\nfundamental implications in understanding gravitational force at quantum level\nas well as phenomenological consequences in the corresponding classical theory.",
        "positive": "On the Matrix Description of Calabi-Yau Compactifications: We point out that the matrix description of M-theory compactified on\nCalabi-Yau threefolds is in many respects simpler than the matrix description\nof a $T^6$ compactification. This is largely because of the differences between\nD6 branes wrapped on Calabi-Yau threefolds and D6 branes wrapped on six-tori.\nIn particular, if we define the matrix theory following the prescription of Sen\nand Seiberg, we find that the remaining degrees of freedom are decoupled from\ngravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hairy black hole entropy and the role of solitons in three dimensions: Scalar fields minimally coupled to General Relativity in three dimensions are\nconsidered. For certain families of self-interaction potentials, new exact\nsolutions describing solitons and hairy black holes are found. It is shown that\nthey fit within a relaxed set of asymptotically AdS boundary conditions, whose\nasymptotic symmetry group coincides with the one for pure gravity and its\ncanonical realization possesses the standard central extension. Solitons are\ndevoid of integration constants and their (negative) mass, fixed and determined\nby nontrivial functions of the self-interaction couplings, is shown to be\nbounded from below by the mass of AdS spacetime. Remarkably, assuming that a\nsoliton corresponds to the ground state of the sector of the theory for which\nthe scalar field is switched on, the semiclassical entropy of the corresponding\nhairy black hole is exactly reproduced from Cardy formula once nonvanishing\nlowest eigenvalues of the Virasoro operators are taking into account, being\nprecisely given by the ones associated to the soliton. This provides further\nevidence about the robustness of previous results, for which the ground state\nenergy instead of the central charge appears to play the leading role in order\nto reproduce the hairy black hole entropy from a microscopic counting.",
        "positive": "Covariant tetraquark equations in quantum field theory: We derive general covariant coupled equations of QCD describing the\ntetraquark in terms of a mix of four-quark states $2q2\\bar q$, and two-quark\nstates $q\\bar q$. The coupling of $2q2\\bar q$ to $q\\bar q$ states is achieved\nby a simple contraction of a four-quark $q\\bar q$-irreducible Green function\ndown to a two-quark $q\\bar q$ Bethe-Salpeter kernel. The resulting tetraquark\nequations are expressed in an exact field theoretic form, and are in agreement\nwith those obtained previously by consideration of disconnected interactions;\nhowever, despite being more general, they have been derived here in a much\nsimpler and more transparent way."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Framed Wilson Operators, Fermionic Strings, and Gravitational Anomaly in\n  4d: We study gapped systems with anomalous time-reversal symmetry and global\ngravitational anomaly in three and four spacetime dimensions. These systems\ndescribe topological order on the boundary of bosonic Symmetry Protected\nTopological (SPT) Phases. Our description of these phases is via the recent\ncobordism proposal for their classification. In particular, the behavior of\nthese systems is determined by the geometry of Stiefel-Whitney classes. We\ndiscuss electric and magnetic operators defined by these classes, and new types\nof Wilson lines and surfaces that sit on their boundary. The lines describe\nfermionic particles, while the surfaces describe a sort of fermionic string. We\nshow that QED with a fermionic monopole exhibits the 4d global gravitational\nanomaly and has a fermionic $\\pi$-flux.",
        "positive": "Finite Size Effects in Integrable Quantum Field Theories: The study of Finite Size Effects in Quantum Field Theory allows the\nextraction of precious perturbative and non-perturbative information. The use\nof scaling functions can connect the particle content (scattering theory\nformulation) of a QFT to its ultraviolet Conformal Field Theory content. If the\nmodel is integrable, a method of investigation through a nonlinear integral\nequation equivalent to Bethe Ansatz and deducible from a light-cone lattice\nregularization is available. It allows to reconstruct the S-matrix and to\nunderstand the locality properties in terms of Bethe root configurations,\nthanks to the link to ultraviolet CFT guaranteed by the exact determination of\nscaling function. This method is illustrated in practice for Sine-Gordon /\nmassive Thirring models, clarifying their locality structure and the issues of\nequivalence between the two models. By restriction of the Sine-Gordon model it\nis also possible to control the scaling functions of minimal models perturbed\nby Phi_1,3"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exact absorption probabilities for the D3-brane: We consider a minimal scalar in the presence of a three-brane in ten\ndimensions. The linearized equation of motion, which is just the wave equation\nin the three-brane metric, can be solved in terms of associated Mathieu\nfunctions. An exact expression for the reflection and absorption probabilities\ncan be obtained in terms of the characteristic exponent of Mathieu's equation.\nWe describe an algorithm for obtaining the low-energy behavior as a series\nexpansion, and discuss the implications for the world-volume theory of\nD3-branes.",
        "positive": "Quasinormal modes of black holes in anti-de Sitter space: a numerical\n  study of the eikonal limit: Using series solutions and time-domain evolutions, we probe the eikonal limit\nof the gravitational and scalar-field quasinormal modes of large black holes\nand black branes in anti-de Sitter backgrounds. These results are particularly\nrelevant for the AdS/CFT correspondence, since the eikonal regime is\ncharacterized by the existence of long-lived modes which (presumably) dominate\nthe decay timescale of the perturbations. We confirm all the main qualitative\nfeatures of these slowly-damped modes as predicted by Festuccia and Liu\n(arXiv:0811.1033) for the scalar-field (tensor-type gravitational)\nfluctuations. However, quantitatively we find dimensional-dependent correction\nfactors. We also investigate the dependence of the QNM frequencies on the\nhorizon radius of the black hole (brane) and the angular momentum (wavenumber)\nof vector- and scalar-type gravitational perturbations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Brane Gases in the Early Universe: Over the past decade it has become clear that fundamental strings are not the\nonly fundamental degrees of freedom in string theory. D-branes are also part of\nthe spectrum of fundamental states. In this paper we explore some possible\neffects of D-branes on early Universe string cosmology, starting with two key\nassumptions: firstly that the initial state of the Universe corresponded to a\ndense, hot gas in which all degrees of freedom were in thermal equilibrium, and\nsecondly that the topology of the background space admits one-cycles. We argue\nby t-duality that in this context the cosmological singularities are not\npresent. We derive the equation of state of the brane gases and apply the\nresults to suggest that, in an expanding background, the winding modes of\nfundamental strings will play the most important role at late times. In\nparticular, we argue that the string winding modes will only allow four\nspace-time dimensions to become large. The presence of brane winding modes with\n$p > 1$ may lead to a hierarchy in the sizes of the extra dimensions.",
        "positive": "Two-Matrix String Model as Constrained (2+1)-Dimensional Integrable\n  System: We show that the 2-matrix string model corresponds to a coupled system of\n$2+1$-dimensional KP and modified KP ($\\KPm$) integrable equations subject to a\nspecific ``symmetry'' constraint. The latter together with the\nMiura-Konopelchenko map for $\\KPm$ are the continuum incarnation of the matrix\nstring equation. The $\\KPm$ Miura and B\\\"{a}cklund transformations are natural\nconsequences of the underlying lattice structure. The constrained $\\KPm$ system\nis equivalent to a $1+1$-dimensional generalized KP-KdV hierarchy related to\ngraded ${\\bf SL(3,1)}$. We provide an explicit representation of this\nhierarchy, including the associated ${\\bf W(2,1)}$-algebra of the second\nHamiltonian structure, in terms of free currents."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Identity of the van der Waals Force and the Casimir Effect and the\n  Irrelevance of these Phenomena to Sonoluminescence: We show that the Casimir, or zero-point, energy of a dilute dielectric ball,\nor of a spherical bubble in a dielectric medium, coincides with the sum of the\nvan der Waals energies between the molecules that make up the medium. That\nenergy, which is finite and repulsive when self-energy and surface effects are\nremoved, may be unambiguously calculated by either dimensional continuation or\nby zeta function regularization. This physical interpretation of the Casimir\nenergy seems unambiguous evidence that the bulk self-energy cannot be relevant\nto sonoluminescence.",
        "positive": "Peeling and Multi-critical Matter Coupled to Quantum Gravity: We show how to determine the unknown functions arising when the peeling\ndecomposition is applied to multi-critical matter coupled to two-dimensional\nquantum gravity and compute the loop-loop correlation functions. The results\nthat $\\eta=2+2/(2K-3)$ and $\\nu=1-3/2K$ agree with the slicing decomposition,\nand satisfy Fisher scaling."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Einstein-Cartan gravity, Asymptotic Safety, and the running Immirzi\n  parameter: In this paper we analyze the functional renormalization group flow of quantum\ngravity on the Einstein-Cartan theory space. The latter consists of all action\nfunctionals depending on the spin connection and the vielbein field (co-frame)\nwhich are invariant under both spacetime diffeomorphisms and local frame\nrotations. In the first part of the paper we develop a general methodology and\ncorresponding calculational tools which can be used to analyze the flow\nequation for the pertinent effective average action for any truncation of this\ntheory space. In the second part we apply it to a specific three-dimensional\ntruncated theory space which is parametrized by Newton's constant, the\ncosmological constant, and the Immirzi parameter. A comprehensive analysis of\ntheir scale dependences is performed, and the possibility of defining an\nasymptotically safe theory on this hitherto unexplored theory space is\ninvestigated. In principle Asymptotic Safety of metric gravity (at least at the\nlevel of the effective average action) is neither necessary nor sufficient for\nAsymptotic Safety on the Einstein-Cartan theory space which might accommodate\ndifferent \"universality classes\" of microscopic quantum gravity theories.\nNevertheless, we do find evidence for the existence of at least one\nnon-Gaussian renormalization group fixed point which seems suitable for the\nAsymptotic Safety construction in a setting where the spin connection and the\nvielbein are the fundamental field variables.",
        "positive": "Probing analytical and numerical integrability: The curious case of\n  $(AdS_5\\times S^5)_\u03b7$: Motivated by recent studies related to integrability of string motion in\nvarious backgrounds via analytical and numerical procedures, we discuss these\nprocedures for a well known integrable string background $(AdS_5\\times\nS^5)_{\\eta}$. We start by revisiting conclusions from earlier studies on string\nmotion in $(\\mathbb{R}\\times S^3)_{\\eta}$ and $(AdS_3)_{\\eta}$ and then move on\nto more complex problems of $(\\mathbb{R}\\times S^5)_{\\eta}$ and\n$(AdS_5)_{\\eta}$. Discussing both analytically and numerically, we deduce that\nwhile $(AdS_5)_{\\eta}$ strings do not encounter any irregular trajectories,\nstring motion in the deformed five-sphere can indeed, quite surprisingly, run\ninto chaotic trajectories. We discuss the implications of these results both on\nthe procedures used and the background itself."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Condensates in Quantum Chromodynamics and the Cosmological Constant: Casher and Susskind have noted that in the light-front description,\nspontaneous chiral symmetry breaking in quantum chromodynamics (QCD) is a\nproperty of hadronic wavefunctions and not of the vacuum. Here we show from\nseveral physical perspectives that, because of color confinement, quark and\ngluon QCD condensates are associated with the internal dynamics of hadrons. We\ndiscuss condensates using condensed matter analogues, the AdS/CFT\ncorrespondence, and the Bethe-Salpeter/Dyson-Schwinger approach for bound\nstates. Our analysis is in agreement with the Casher and Susskind model and the\nexplicit demonstration of \"in-hadron\" condensates by Roberts et al., using the\nBethe-Salpeter/Dyson-Schwinger formalism for QCD bound states. These results\nimply that QCD condensates give {\\it zero} contribution to the cosmological\nconstant, since all of the gravitational effects of the in-hadron condensates\nare already included in the normal contribution from hadron masses.",
        "positive": "Algebra for quantum fields: We give an account of the current state of the approch to quantum field\ntheory via Hopf algebras and Hochschild cohomology. We emphasize the\nversatility and mathematical foundation of this algebraic structure, and\ncollect algebraic structures here in one place which are either scattered over\nthe literature, or only implicit in previous writings. In particular we point\nout mathematical structures which can be helpful to farther develop our\nmathematical understanding of quantum fields."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Lectures on Higher-Gauge Symmetries from Nambu Brackets and\n  Covariantized M(atrix) Theory: This lecture consists of three parts. In part I, an overview is given on the\nso-called Matrix theory in the light-front gauge as a proposal for a concrete\nand non-perturbative formulation of M-theory. I emphasize motivations towards\nits covariant formulation. Then, in part II, I turn the subject to the\nso-called Nambu bracket and Nambu mechanics, which were proposed by Nambu in\n1973 as a possible extension of the ordinary Hamiltonian mechanics. After\nreviewing briefly Nambu's original work, it will be explained why his idea may\nbe useful in exploring higher symmetries which would be required for covariant\nformulations of Matrix theory. Then, using this opportunity, some comments on\nthe nature of Nambu mechanics and its quantization are given incidentally:\nthough they are not particularly relevant for our specialized purpose of\nconstructing covariant Matrix theory, they may be of some interests for further\ndevelopments in view of possible other applications of Nambu mechanics. The\ndetails will be relegated to forthcoming publications. In part III, I give an\nexpository account of the basic ideas and main results from my recent attempt\nto construct a covariantized Matrix theory on the basis of a simple matrix\nversion of Nambu bracket equipped with some auxiliary variables, which\ncharacterize the scale of M-theory and simultaneously play a crucial role in\nrealizing (dynamical) supersymmetry in a covariant fashion.",
        "positive": "Noncommutative Quantum Field Theory: A Confrontation of Symmetries: The concept of a noncommutative field is formulated based on the interplay\nbetween twisted Poincar\\'e symmetry and residual symmetry of the Lorentz group.\nVarious general dynamical results supporting this construction, such as the\nlight-wedge causality condition and the integrability condition for\nTomonaga-Schwinger equation, are presented. Based on this analysis, the claim\nof the identity between commutative QFT and noncommutative QFT with twisted\nPoincar\\'e symmetry is refuted."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Mixing internal and spacetime transformations: some examples and\n  counterexamples: This note addresses the question whether in a gauge theory coupled to gravity\ninternal and spacetime transformation can be mixed. It is shown that if the VEV\nof the gauge field is flat, the symmetry group is always a product of internal\nand spacetime symmetries. On the other hand, if the VEV of the gauge field is\nnot flat it is impossible to properly define the notion of a ``spacetime''\ntransformation; as a consequence, if the symmetry group is nontrivial, mixing\ngenerically occurs.",
        "positive": "Mixed-symmetry massless gauge fields in AdS(5): Free AdS(5) mixed-symmetry massless bosonic and fermionic gauge fields of\narbitrary spins are described by using su(2,2) spinor language. Manifestly\ncovariant action functionals are constructed and field equations are derived."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Cabling procedure for the colored HOMFLY polynomials: In the present paper we discuss the cabling procedure for the colored HOMFLY\npolynomial. We describe how it can be used and how one can find all the\nquantities such as projectors and $\\mathcal{R}$-matrices, which are needed in\nthis procedure. The constructed matrix forms of the projectors and the\nfundamental $\\mathcal{R}$-matrices allow one in principle (neglecting the\ncomputational difficulties) to find the HOMFLY polynomial in any representation\nfor any knot. We also discuss the group theory explanation of the cabling\nprocedure. This leads to the explanations of the form of the fundamental\n$\\mathcal{R}$-matrices and illuminates several conjectures proposed in previous\npapers.",
        "positive": "Kronecker anomalies and gravitational striction: We study quantum field theories in which the number of degrees of freedom\nchanges discontinuously across the momentum space. This discontinuity which we\ncall \"Kronecker anomaly\" leads to non-local effective actions and can be\nrepresented as a theory with the random, self-tuning coupling constants."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "p-Adic description of Higgs mechanism III: calculation of elementary\n  particle masses: This paper belongs to the series devoted to the calculation of particle\nmasses in the framework of p-adic conformal field theory limit of Topological\nGeometroDynamics. In paper II the general formulation of p-adic Higgs mechanism\nwas given. In this paper the calculation of the fermionic and bosonic masses is\ncarried out. The calculation of the masses necessitates the evaluation of dege-\nneracies for states as a function of conformal weight in certain tensor product\nof Super Virasoro algebras. The masses are very sen- sitive to the degeneracy\nratios: Planck mass results unless the ratio for the degeneracies for first\nexcited states and massless states is an integer multiple of 2/3. For leptons,\nquarks and gauge bosons this miracle occurs. The main deviation from standard\nmodel is the prediction of light color excited leptons and quarks as well as\ncolored boson exotics. Higgs particle is absent from spectrum as is also\ngraviton: the latter is due to the basic approximation of p-adic TGD. Reason\nfor replacement: the recently identified light colored boson exotics making\ntheory asymptotically free in standard sense.",
        "positive": "Holographic phase transitions from higgsed, non abelian charged black\n  holes: We find solutions of a gravity-Yang-Mills-Higgs theory in four dimensions\nthat represent asymptotic anti-de Sitter charged black holes with partial/full\ngauge symmetry breaking. We then apply the AdS/CFT correspondence to study the\nstrong coupling regime of a $2+1$ quantum field theory at temperature $T$ and\nfinite chemical potential, which undergoes transitions to phases exhibiting the\ncondensation of a composite charged vector operator below a critical\ntemperature $T_c$, presumably describing $p+ip/p$-wave superconductors. In the\ncase of $p+ip$-wave superconductors the transitions are always of second order.\nBut for $p$-wave superconductors we determine the existence of a critical value\n$\\alpha_c$ of the gravitational coupling (for fixed Higgs v.e.v. parameter\n$\\hat m_W$) beyond which the transitions become of first order. As a\nby-product, we show that the $p$-wave phase is energetically favored over the\n$p+ip$ one, for any values of the parameters. We also find the ground state\nsolutions corresponding to zero temperature. Such states are described by\ndomain wall geometries that interpolate between $AdS_4$ spaces with different\nlight velocities, and for a given $\\hat m_{W}$, they exist below a critical\nvalue of the coupling. The behavior of the order parameter as function of the\ngravitational coupling near the critical coupling suggests the presence of\nsecond order quantum phase transitions. We finally study the dependence of the\nsolution on the Higgs coupling, and find the existence of a critical value\nbeyond which no condensed solution is present."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Origin of fermion generations from extended noncommutative geometry: We propose a way to understand the 3 fermion generations by the algebraic\nstructures of noncommutative geometry, which is a promising framework to unify\nthe standard model and general relativity. We make the tensor product extension\nand the quaternion extension on the framework. Each of the two extensions alone\nkeeps the action invariant, and we consider them as the almost trivial\nstructures of the geometry. We combine the two extensions, and show the\ncorresponding physical effects, i.e., the emergence of 3 fermion generations\nand the mass relationships among those generations. We define the coordinate\nfiber space of the bundle of the manifold as the space in which the classical\nnoncommutative geometry is expressed, then the tensor product extension\nexplicitly shows the contribution of structures in the non-coordinate base\nspace of the bundle to the action. The quaternion extension plays an essential\nrole to reveal the physical effect of the structure in the non-coordinate base\nspace.",
        "positive": "Splitting of surface defect partition functions and integrable systems: We study Bethe/gauge correspondence at the special locus of Coulomb moduli\nwhere the integrable system exhibits the splitting of degenerate levels. For\nthis investigation, we consider the four-dimensional pure $\\mathcal{N}=2$\nsupersymmetric $U(N)$ gauge theory, with a half-BPS surface defect constructed\nwith the help of an orbifold or a degenerate gauge vertex. We show that the\nnon-perturbative Dyson-Schwinger equations imply the Schr\\\"odinger-type and the\nBaxter-type differential equations satisfied by the respective surface defect\npartition functions. At the special locus of Coulomb moduli the surface defect\npartition function splits into parts. We recover the Bethe/gauge dictionary for\neach summand."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Notes on gauging noneffective group actions: In this paper we study sigma models in which a noneffective group action has\nbeen gauged. Such gauged sigma models turn out to be different from gauged\nsigma models in which an effectively-acting group is gauged, because of\nnonperturbative effects on the worldsheet. We concentrate on finite\nnoneffectively-acting groups, though we also outline how analogous phenomena\nalso happen in nonfinite noneffectively-acting groups. We find that\nunderstanding deformations along twisted sector moduli in these theories leads\none to new presentations of CFT's, defined by fields valued in roots of unity.",
        "positive": "Deformation of Conifold and Intersecting Branes: We study the relation between intersecting NS5-branes whose intersection is\nsmoothed out and the deformed conifold in terms of the supergravity solution.\nWe solve the condition of preserved supersymmetry on a metric inspired by the\ndeformed conifold metric and obtain a solution of the NS5-branes which is\ndelocalized except for one of the overall transverse directions. The solution\nhas consistent properties with other configurations obtained by string\ndualities."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum corrections to the kinetic term in the Randall-Sundrum model: The effective action of the radion in the Randall-Sundrum model is analysed.\nFine tunings are needed to obtain the observed mass hierarchy and an invisible\nradion. since the kinetic terms are important for determining the radion mass,\nthe finite quantum corrections from massless conformally coupled fermions are\nanalysed and found to vanish at one loop order.",
        "positive": "The off-shell 4D/5D connection: A systematic off-shell reduction scheme from five to four space-time\ndimensions is presented for supergravity theories with eight supercharges. It\nis applicable to theories with higher-derivative couplings and it is used to\naddress a number of open questions regarding BPS black holes in five\ndimensions. Under this reduction the 5D Weyl multiplet becomes reducible and\ndecomposes into the 4D Weyl multiplet and an extra Kaluza-Klein vector\nmultiplet. The emergence of the pseudoscalar field of the latter multiplet and\nthe emergence of the 4D R-symmetry group are subtle features of the reduction.\nThe reduction scheme enables to determine how a 5D supersymmetric Lagrangian\nwith higher-derivative couplings decomposes upon dimensional reduction into a\nvariety of independent 4D supersymmetric invariants, without the need for\nimposing field equations. In this way we establish, for example, the existence\nof a new N=2 supersymmetric invariant that involves the square of the Ricci\ntensor. Finally we resolve the questions associated with the 5D Chern-Simons\nterms for spinning BPS black holes and their relation to the corresponding 4D\nblack holes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exact Wavefunctions in a Noncommutative Field Theory: We consider the nonrelativistic field theory with a quartic interaction on a\nnoncommutative plane. We compute the four point scattering amplitude within\nperturbative analysis to all orders and identify the beta function and the\nrunning of the coupling constant. Since the theory admits an equivalent\ndescription via the N particle Schrodinger equation, we regain the scattering\namplitude by finding an exact scattering wavefunction of the two body equation.\nThe wave function for the bound state is also identified. These wave functions\nunusually have two center positions in the relative coordinates. The separation\nof the centers is in the transverse direction of the total momentum and grows\nlinearly with the noncommutativity scale and the total momentum, exhibiting the\nstringy nature of the noncommutative field theory.",
        "positive": "N=2 SuperTime Dependent Oscillator and spontaneous Breaking of\n  Supersymmetry: Using the nonlinear realizations of the N=2 superVirasoro group we construct\nthe action of the N=2 Superconformal Quantum Mechanics(SCQM) with additional\nharmonic potential.We show that SU(1,1|1) invariance group of this action is\nnontrivially embedded in the N=2 Super Virasoro group.The generalization for\nthe (super)time dependent oscillator is constructed.In a particular case when\nthe oscillator frequency depends on the proper-time anticommuting coordinates\nthe unusual effect of spontaneous breaking of the supersymmetry takes place:\nthe Masses of bosons and fermions can have different nonzero values."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Metric for Heterotic Moduli: Heterotic vacua of string theory are realised, at large radius, by a compact\nthreefold with vanishing first Chern class together with a choice of stable\nholomorphic vector bundle. These form a wide class of potentially realistic\nfour-dimensional vacua of string theory. Despite all their phenomenological\npromise, there is little understanding of the metric on the moduli space of\nthese. What is sought is the analogue of special geometry for these vacua. The\nmetric on the moduli space is important in phenomenology as it normalises\nD-terms and Yukawa couplings. It is also of interest in mathematics, since it\ngeneralises the metric, first found by Kobayashi, on the space of gauge field\nconnections, to a more general context. Here we construct this metric, correct\nto first order in alpha', in two ways: first by postulating a metric that is\ninvariant under background gauge transformations of the gauge field, and also\nby dimensionally reducing heterotic supergravity. These methods agree and the\nresulting metric is Kahler, as is required by supersymmetry. Checking that the\nmetric is in fact Kahler is quite intricate and uses the anomaly cancellation\nequation for the H-field, in an essential way. The Kahler potential\nnevertheless takes a remarkably simple form: it is Kahler potential for special\ngeometry with the Kahler form replaced by the alpha'-corrected hermitian form.",
        "positive": "Observable algebra for the rational and trigonometric Euler Calogero\n  Moser models: We construct polynomial Poisson algebras of observables for the classical\nEuler-Calogero-Moser (ECM) models. The conserved Hamiltonians and symmetry\nalgebras derived in a previous work are subsets of these algebras. We define\ntheir linear, $N \\rightarrow \\infty$ limits, realizing $\\w_{\\infty}$ type\nalgebras coupled to current algebras."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A New Family of Diagonal Ade-Related Scattering Theories: We propose the factorizable S-matrices of the massive excitations of the\nnon-unitary minimal model $M_{2,11}$ perturbed by the operator $\\Phi_{1,4}$.\nThe massive excitations and the whole set of two particle S-matrices of the\ntheory is simply related to the $E_8$ unitary minimal scattering theory. The\ncounting argument and the Thermodynamic Bethe Ansatz (TBA) are applied to this\nscattering theory in order to support this interpretation. Generalizing this\nresult, we describe a new family of NON UNITARY and DIAGONAL $ADE$-related\nscattering theories. A further generalization suggests the magnonic TBA for a\nlarge class of non-unitary $\\G\\otimes\\G/\\G$ coset models\n($\\G=A_{odd},D_n,E_{6,7,8}$) perturbed by $\\Phi_{id,id,adj}$, described by\nnon-diagonal S-matrices.",
        "positive": "Exact Solution of the One-Dimensional Non-Abelian Coulomb Gas at Large N: The problem of computing the thermodynamic properties of a one-dimensional\ngas of particles which transform in the adjoint representation of the gauge\ngroup and interact through non-Abelian electric fields is formulated and solved\nin the large $N$ limit. The explicit solution exhibits a first order\nconfinement-deconfinement phase transition with computable properties and\ndescribes two dimensional adjoint QCD in the limit where matter field masses\nare large."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chains of N=2, D=4 heterotic/type II duals: We report on a search for $N=2$ heterotic strings that are dual candidates of\ntype II compactifications on Calabi-Yau threefolds described as $K3$\nfibrations. We find many new heterotic duals by using standard orbifold\ntechniques. The associated type II compactifications fall into chains in which\nthe proposed duals are heterotic compactifications related one another by a\nsequential Higgs mechanism. This breaking in the heterotic side typically\ninvolves the sequence $SU(4)\\rightarrow SU(3)\\rightarrow $ $SU(2)\\rightarrow\n0$, while in the type II side the weights of the complex hypersurfaces and the\nstructure of the $K3$ quotient singularities also follow specific patterns.",
        "positive": "Quasinormal modes of Reissner-Nordstr$\\ddot{o}$m Anti-de Sitter Black\n  Holes: Complex frequencies associated with quasinormal modes for large\nReissner-Nordstr$\\ddot{o}$m Anti-de Sitter black holes have been computed.\nThese frequencies have close relation to the black hole charge and do not\nlinearly scale with the black hole temperature as in Schwarzschild Anti-de\nSitter case. In terms of AdS/CFT correspondence, we found that the bigger the\nblack hole charge is, the quicker for the approach to thermal equilibrium in\nthe CFT. The properties of quasinormal modes for $l>0$ have also been studied."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Truncated Conformal Space at c=1, Nonlinear Integral Equation and\n  Quantization Rules for Multi-Soliton States: We develop Truncated Conformal Space (TCS) technique for perturbations of c=1\nConformal Field Theories. We use it to give the first numerical evidence of the\nvalidity of the non-linear integral equation (NLIE) derived from light-cone\nlattice regularization at intermediate scales. A controversy on the\nquantization of Bethe states is solved by this numerical comparison and by\nusing the locality principle at the ultra- violet fixed point. It turns out\nthat the correct quantization for pure hole states is the one with half-integer\nquantum numbers originally proposed by Mariottini et al. Once the correct rule\nis imposed, the agreement between TCS and NLIE for pure hole states turns out\nto be impressive.",
        "positive": "String Theory and Unification: The use of the AdS/CFT correspondence to arrive at quiver gauge field\ntheories is discussed. An abelian orbifold with the finite group $Z_{p}$ can\ngive rise to a nonsupersymmetric $G = U(N)^p$ gauge theory with chiral fermions\nand complex scalars in different bi-fundamental representations of $G$. The\nprecision measurements at the $Z$ resonance suggest the values $p = 12$ and $N\n= 3$, and a unifications scale $M_U \\sim 4$ TeV. Dedicated to the 65th birthday\nof Pran Nath."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quartic propagators, negative norms and the physical spectrum: Many arguments against quartic propagators, negative norm states and related\neffects concern the sicknesses which occur when the spectrum of the free\nparticle Hamiltonian is formed. However, if the theory is more complicated, for\nexample involving confinement such that the particle in question does not\nappear in the physical spectrum, those considerations do not apply directly.\nPath integral methods suggest that some of these may be acceptable theories. I\nprovide an example that should be able to be simulated on a lattice which then\nallows a non-perturbative resolution of this question. In its SU(2) version it\ninvolves a scalar triplet with a quartic derivative Lagrangian coupled to the\nSU(2) gauge field. If this is verified to be a healthy theory, it could open\nnew avenues in model building. I also discuss how strong interactions can\ndynamically modify the dispersion relation leaving a healthy effective field\ntheory, using conformal gravity coupled to a Yang-Mills theory as an example.\nSuch a theory could possibly form a UV completion for quantum gravity.",
        "positive": "Scattering of Open and Closed Strings in 1+1 Dimensions: The ground ring structure of 1+1 dimensional string theory leads to an\ninfinite set of non linear recursion relations among the `bulk' scattering\namplitudes of open and closed tachyons on the disk, which fix them uniquely.\nThe relations are generated by the action of the ring on the tachyon modules;\nassociativity of this action determines all structure constants. This algebraic\nstructure may allow one to relate the continuum picture to a matrix model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Solitons in Brane Worlds: We study some aspects of dilatonic domain walls in relation to the idea on\nthe noncompact internal space. We find that the warp factor in the spacetime\nmetric increases as one moves away from the domain wall for all the\nsupersymmetric dilatonic domain wall solutions obtained from the (intersecting)\nBPS branes in string theories through toroidal compactifications, unlike the\ncase of the Randall-Sundrum model. On the other hand, when the dilaton coupling\nparameter a for the D-dimensional extreme dilatonic domain wall takes the\nvalues |a|<2/(D-2), the Kaluza-Klein spectrum of graviton has the same\nstructure as that of the Randall-Sundrum model (and the warp factor decreases\nin the finite interval around the dilatonic domain wall), thereby implying the\npossibility of extending the Randall-Sundrum model to the |a|<2/(D-2) case. We\nconstruct fully localized solutions describing extreme dilatonic branes within\nextreme dilatonic domain walls and the supersymmetric branes within the\nsupersymmetric domain walls of string theories. These solutions are valid in\nany region of spacetime, not just in the region close to the domain walls.",
        "positive": "Spherical functions on affine Lie groups: We describe vector valued conjugacy equivariant functions on a group K in two\ncases -- K is a compact simple Lie group, and K is an affine Lie group.\n  We construct such functions as weighted traces of certain intertwining\noperators between representations of K. For a compact group $K$, Peter-Weyl\ntheorem implies that all equivariant functions can be written as linear\ncombinations of such traces. Next, we compute the radial parts of the Laplace\noperators of $K$ acting on conjugacy equivariant functions and obtain a comple-\ntely integrable quantum system with matrix coefficients, which in a special\ncase coincides with the trigonometric Calogero-Sutherland-Moser multi-particle\nsystem. In the affine Lie group case, we prove that the space of equivariant\nfunctions having a fixed homogeneity degree with respect to the action of the\ncenter of the group is finite-dimensional and spanned by weighted traces of\nintertwining operators. This space coincides with the space of\nWess-Zumino-Witten conformal blocks on an elliptic curve. We compute the radial\npart of the second order Laplace operator on the affine Lie group acting on\nequivariant functions, and find that it is a certain parabolic partial\ndifferential operator, which degenerates to the elliptic\nCalogero-Sutherland-Moser hamiltonian as the central charge tends to minus the\ndual Coxeter number (the critical level). Quantum integrals of this hamiltonian\nare obtained as radial part of the higher Sugawara operators which are central\nat the critical level."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Magnetic monopole loops supported by a meron pair as the quark confiner: We give a definition of gauge-invariant magnetic monopoles in Yang-Mills\ntheory without using the Abelian projection due to 't Hooft. They automatically\nappear from the Wilson loop operator. This is shown by rewriting the Wilson\nloop operator using a non-Abelian Stokes theorem. The magnetic monopole defined\nin this way is a topological object of co-dimension 3, i.e., a loop in\nfour-dimensions. We show that such magnetic loops indeed exist in\nfour-dimensional Yang-Mills theory. In fact, we give an analytical solution\nrepresenting circular magnetic monopole loops joining a pair of merons in the\nfour-dimensional Euclidean SU(2) Yang-Mills theory. This is achieved by solving\nthe differential equation for the adjoint color (magnetic monopole) field in\nthe two--meron background field within the recently developed reformulation of\nthe Yang-Mills theory. Our analytical solution corresponds to the numerical\nsolution found by Montero and Negele on a lattice. This result strongly\nsuggests that a meron pair is the most relevant quark confiner in the original\nYang-Mills theory, as Callan, Dashen and Gross suggested long ago.",
        "positive": "Generalized $\u03bc$-Terms from Orbifolds and M-Theory: We consider solutions to the $\\mu$-problem originating in the effective low\nenergy theories, of N=1 orbifold compactifications of the heterotic string,\nafter supersymmetry breaking. They are consistent with the invariance of the\none loop corrected effective action in the linear representation of the\ndilaton. The proposed $\\mu$-terms naturally generalize solutions proposed\npreviously, in the literature, in the context of minimal low energy\nsupergravity models. They emanate from the connection of the non-perturbative\nsuperpotential to the determinant of the mass matrix of the chiral\ncompactification modes. Within this approach we discuss the lifting of our\nsolutions to their M-theory compactification counterparts."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Graphity: We introduce a new model of background independent physics in which the\ndegrees of freedom live on a complete graph and the physics is invariant under\nthe permutations of all the points. We argue that the model has a low energy\nphase in which physics on a low dimensional lattice emerges and the permutation\nsymmetry is broken to the translation group of that lattice. In the high\ntemperature, or disordered, phase the permutation symmetry is respected and the\naverage distance between degrees of freedom is small. This may serve as a\ntractable model for the emergence of classical geometry in background\nindependent models of spacetime. We use this model to argue for a cosmological\nscenario in which the universe underwent a transition from the high to the low\ntemperature phase, thus avoiding the horizon problem.",
        "positive": "Noncommutative spectral geometry: A guided tour for theoretical\n  physicists: We review a gravitational model based on noncommutative geometry and the\nspectral action principle. The space-time geometry is described by the tensor\nproduct of a four-dimensional Riemanian manifold by a discrete noncommutative\nspace consisting of only two points. With a specific choice of the finite\ndimensional involutive algebra, the noncommutative spectral action leads to the\nstandard model of electroweak and strong interactions minimally coupled to\nEinstein and Weyl gravity. We present the main mathematical ingredients of this\nmodel and discuss their physical implications. We argue that the doubling of\nthe algebra is intimately related to dissipation and the gauge field structure.\nWe then show how this noncommutative spectral geometry model, a purely\nclassical construction, carries implicit in the doubling of the algebra the\nseeds of quantization. After a short review on the phenomenological\nconsequences of this geometric model as an approach to unification, we discuss\nsome of its cosmological consequences. In particular, we study deviations of\nthe Friedmann equation, propagation of gravitational waves, and investigate\nwhether any of the scalar fields in this model could play the role of the\ninflaton."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "E{7(7)} Symmetry and Finiteness of N=8 Supergravity: We study N=8 supergravity deformed by the presence of the candidate\ncounterterms. We show that even though they are invariant under undeformed\nE{7(7)}, all of the candidate counterterms violate the deformed E{7(7)} current\nconservation. The same conclusion follows from the uniqueness of the Lorentz\nand SU(8) covariant, E{7(7)} invariant unitarity constraint expressing the\n56-dimensional E{7(7)} doublet via 28 independent vectors. Therefore E{7(7)}\nduality predicts the all-loop UV finiteness of perturbative N=8 supergravity.",
        "positive": "Gauge and Gravitational Anomalies and Hawking Radiation of Rotating BTZ\n  Black Holes: In this paper we obtain the flux of Hawking radiation from Rotating BTZ black\nholes from gauge and gravitational anomalies point of view. Then we show that\nthe gauge and gravitational anomaly in the BTZ spacetime is cancelled by the\ntotal flux of a 2-dimensional blackbody at the Hawking temperature of the\nspacetime."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On canonical quantization of the gauged WZW model with permutation\n  branes: In this paper we perform canonical quantization of the product of the gauged\nWZW models on a strip with boundary conditions specified by permutation branes.\nWe show that the phase space of the $N$-fold product of the gauged WZW model\n$G/H$ on a strip with boundary conditions given by permutation branes is\nsymplectomorphic to the phase space of the double Chern-Simons theory on a\nsphere with $N$ holes times the time-line with $G$ and $H$ gauge fields both\ncoupled to two Wilson lines. For the special case of the topological coset\n$G/G$ we arrive at the conclusion that the phase space of the $N$-fold product\nof the topological coset $G/G$ on a strip with boundary conditions given by\npermutation branes is symplectomorphic to the phase space of Chern-Simons\ntheory on a Riemann surface of the genus $N-1$ times the time-line with four\nWilson lines.",
        "positive": "Black hole thermodynamics and information loss in two dimensions: Black hole evaporation is investigated in a (1+1)-dimensional model of\nquantum gravity. Quantum corrections to the black hole entropy are computed,\nand the fine-grained entropy of the Hawking radiation is studied. A generalized\nsecond law of thermodynamics is formulated, and shown to be valid under\nsuitable conditions. It is also shown that, in this model, a black hole can\nconsume an arbitrarily large amount of information."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Off-Shell Dynamics of the O(3) Nonlinear Sigma-Model -- Beyond\n  Monte-Carlo and Perturbation Theory: The off-shell dynamics of the O(3) nonlinear sigma-model is probed in terms\nof spectral densities and two-point functions by means of the form factor\napproach. The exact form factors of the Spin field, Noether-current, EM-tensor\nand the topological charge density are computed up to 6-particles. The\ncorresponding $n\\leq 6$ particle spectral densities are used to compute the\ntwo-point functions, and are argued to deviate at most a few per mille from the\nexact answer in the entire energy range below 10^3 in units of the mass gap. To\ncover yet higher energies we propose an extrapolation scheme to arbitrary\nparticle numbers based on a novel scaling hypothesis for the spectral\ndensities. It yields candidate results for the exact two-point functions at all\nenergy scales and allows us to exactly determine the values of two, previously\nunknown, non-perturbative constants.",
        "positive": "A Relation between the Anomalous Dimensions and OPE Coefficients in\n  Asymptotic Free Field Theories: In asymptotic free field theories we show that part of the OPE of the trace\nof the stress-energy tensor and an arbitrary composite field is determined by\nthe anomalous dimension of the composite field. We take examples from the\ntwo-dimensional O(N) non-linear sigma model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "$d+id$ Holographic Superconductors: A holographic model of $d+id$ superconductors based on the action proposed by\nBenini, Herzog, and Yarom [arXiv:1006.0731] is studied. This model has a\ncharged spin two field in an AdS black hole spacetime. Working in the probe\nlimit, the normalizable solution of the spin two field in the bulk gives rise\nto a $d+id$ superconducting order parameter at the boundary of the AdS. We\ncalculate the fermion spectral function in this\\ superconducting background and\nconfirm the existence of fermi arcs for non-vanishing Majorana couplings. By\nchanging the relative strength $\\gamma $ of the $d$ and $id$ condensations, the\nposition and the size of the fermi arcs are changed. When $\\gamma =1$, the\nspectrum becomes isotropic and the spectral function is s-wave like. By\nchanging the fermion mass, the fermi momentum is changed. We also calculate the\nconductivity for these holographic $d+id$ superconductors where time reversal\nsymmetry has been broken spontaneously. A non-vanishing Hall conductivity is\nobtained even without an external magnetic field.",
        "positive": "The cosmic role of tachyon in the type 0 strings: We present a new class of solution to the ten-dimensional type 0 effective\naction. Given a generic potential of tachyon field, there exist phases where\ntachyon is either frozen at local extremals or free to propagate along flat\ndirections. In the latter phase, a cosmology model is proposed where the\ntachyon plays the role of time."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Curved BPS domain wall solutions in four-dimensional N=2 supergravity: We construct four-dimensional domain wall solutions of N=2 gauged\nsupergravity coupled to vector and to hypermultiplets. The gauged supergravity\ntheories that we consider are obtained by performing two types of Abelian\ngauging. In both cases we find that the behaviour of the scalar fields\nbelonging to the vector multiplets is governed by the so-called attractor\nequations known from the study of BPS black hole solutions in ungauged N=2\nsupergravity theories. The scalar fields belonging to the hypermultiplets, on\nthe other hand, are either constant or exhibit a run-away behaviour. These\ndomain wall solutions preserve 1/2 of supersymmetry and they are, in general,\ncurved. We briefly comment on the amount of supersymmetry preserved by domain\nwall solutions in gauged supergravity theories obtained by more general\ngaugings.",
        "positive": "Electron-positron pairs production in a macroscopic charged core: Classical and semi-classical energy states of relativistic electrons bounded\nby a massive and charged core with the charge-mass-radio Q/M and macroscopic\nradius R_c are discussed. We show that the energies of semi-classical (bound)\nstates can be much smaller than the negative electron mass-energy (-mc^2), and\nenergy-level crossing to negative energy continuum occurs. Electron-positron\npair production takes place by quantum tunneling, if these bound states are not\noccupied. Electrons fill into these bound states and positrons go to infinity.\nWe explicitly calculate the rate of pair-production, and compare it with the\nrates of electron-positron production by the Sauter-Euler-Heisenberg-Schwinger\nin a constant electric field. In addition, the pair-production rate for the\nelectro-gravitational balance ratio Q/M = 10^{-19} is much larger than the\npair-production rate due to the Hawking processes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-Abelian T-Dualizing the Resolved Conifold with Regular and\n  Fractional D3-Branes: In this paper we obtain new solutions of Type IIA and massive Type IIA\nsupergravity. These solutions are the result of implementing a non-abelian\nT-duality along the internal $SU(2)$ isometries of several D3-brane\nconfigurations on the resolved conifold, studied by Pando Zayas and Tseytlin.\nWe first study the pure NS resolved conifold solution, then we add fluxes by\nplacing a stack of D3-branes at the tip of the resolved conifold and finally we\nconsider the system of regular and fractional D3-branes at the tip. We present\nthe non-abelian T-duals associated with these backgrounds and study their\ngeometries and fluxes. We briefly comment on some field theory features by\nstudying couplings and the central charge of the dual field theory. We also\nanalyze the supersymmetry of the dual solutions and show that for the system of\nonly D3 branes the duality defines a map between backgrounds with $SU(3)$ and\northogonal $SU(2)$ structures.",
        "positive": "Characteristics of the new phase in CDT: Causal Dynamical Triangulations (CDT), a candidate theory of nonperturbative\nquantum gravity in 4D, turns out to have a rich phase structure. We investigate\nthe recently discovered bifurcation phase $C_b$ and relate some of its\ncharacteristics to the presence of singular vertices of very high order. The\ntransition lines separating this phase from the \"time-collapsed\" $B$-phase and\nthe de Sitter phase $C_{dS}$ are of great interest when searching for physical\nscaling limits. The work presented here sheds light on the mechanisms behind\nthese transitions. First, we study how the $B$-$C_b$ transition signal depends\non the volume-fixing implemented in the simulations, and find results\ncompatible with the previously determined second-order character of the\ntransition. The transition persists in a transfer matrix formulation, where the\nsystem's time extension is taken to be minimal. Second, we relate the new\n$C_b$-$C_{dS}$ transition to the appearance of singular vertices, which leads\nto a direct physical interpretation in terms of a breaking of the homogeneity\nand isotropy observed in the de Sitter phase when crossing from $C_{dS}$ to the\nbifurcation phase $C_b$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Domain wall cosmology and multiple accelerations: We classify the cosmological behaviors of the domain wall under junctions\nbetween two spacetimes in terms of various parameters: cosmological constants\nof bulk spacetime, a tension of a domain wall, and mass parameters of the black\nhole-type metric. Especially, we consider the false-true vacuum type junctions\nand the domain wall connecting between an inner AdS space and an outer AdS\nReissner-Nordstr${\\rm \\ddot{o}}$m black hole. We find that there exist a\nsolution to the junction equations with an inflation at earlier times and an\naccelerating expansion at later times.",
        "positive": "Cohomological Reduction of Sigma Models: This article studies some features of quantum field theories with internal\nsupersymmetry, focusing mainly on 2-dimensional non-linear sigma models which\ntake values in a coset superspace. It is discussed how BRST operators from the\ntarget space supersymmetry algebra can be used to identify subsectors which are\noften simpler than the original model and may allow for an explicit computation\nof correlation functions. After an extensive discussion of the general\nreduction scheme, we present a number of interesting examples, including\nsymmetric superspaces $G/G^{\\mathbb{Z}_2}$ and coset superspaces of the form\n$G/G^{\\mathbb{Z}_4}$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Interference Phenomenon for Different Chiral Bosonization Schemes: We study, in the framework put forward by Siegel\\cite{WS} and by Floreanini\nand Jackiw\\cite{FJ} (FJ), the relationship between different chiral\nbosonization schemes (CBS). This is done in the context of the soldering\nformalism\\cite{MS}, that considers the phenomenon of interference in the\nquantum field theory\\cite{ABW}. We propose a field redefinition that discloses\nthe presence of a noton, a nonmover field, in Siegel's formulation for chiral\nbosons. The presence of a noton in the Siegel CBS is a new and surprising\nresult, that separates dynamics from symmetry. While the FJ component describes\nthe dynamics, it is the noton that carries the symmetry contents, acquiring\ndynamics upon quantization and is fully responsible for the Siegel anomaly. The\ndiagonal representation proposed here is used to study the effect of quantum\ninterference between gauged rightons and leftons.",
        "positive": "Nekrasov and Argyres-Douglas theories in spherical Hecke algebra\n  representation: AGT conjecture connects Nekrasov instanton partition function of 4D quiver\ngauge theory with 2D Liouville conformal blocks. We re-investigate this\nconnection using the central extension of spherical Hecke algebra in\nq-coordinate representation, q being the instanton expansion parameter. Based\non AFLT basis together with interwiners we construct gauge conformal state and\ndemonstrate its equivalence to the Liouville conformal state, with careful\nattention to the proper scaling behavior of the state. Using the colliding\nlimit of regular states, we obtain the formal expression of irregular conformal\nstates corresponding to Argyres-Douglas theory, which involves summation of\nfunctions over Young diagrams."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Homotopy Algebras in String Field Theory: Homotopy algebra and its involutive generalisation plays an important role in\nthe construction of string field theory. I will review recent progress in these\napplications of homotopy algebra and its relation to moduli spaces.",
        "positive": "Non-perturbative particle production and differential geometry: This paper proposes a basic method for understanding stationary particle\nproduction on manifolds by means of the Stokes phenomenon. We studied the\nStokes phenomena of the Schwinger effect, the Unruh effect and Hawking\nradiation in detail focusing on the origin of their continuous particle\nproduction. We found a possibility that conventional calculations may not\nexplain the experimental results."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Some aspects of free field resolutions in 2D CFT with application to the\n  quantum Drinfeld-Sokolov reduction: We review some aspects of the free field approach to two-dimensional\nconformal field theories. Specifically, we discuss the construction of free\nfield resolutions for the integrable highest weight modules of untwisted affine\nKac-Moody algebras, and extend the construction to a certain class of\nadmissible highest weight modules. Using these, we construct resolutions of the\ncompletely degenerate highest weight modules of W-algebras by means of the\nquantum Drinfeld-Sokolov reduction. As a corollary we derive character formulae\nfor these degenerate highest weight modules.",
        "positive": "Q-balls without a potential: We study non-topological Q-ball solutions of the (3+1)-dimensional\nFriedberg-Lee-Sirlin two-component model. The limiting case of vanishing\npotential term yields an example of hairy Q-balls, which possess a long range\nmassless real field. We discuss the properties of these stationary field\nconfigurations and determine their domain of existence. Considering\nFriedberg-Lee-Sirlin model we present numerical evidence for the existence of\nspinning axially symmetric Q-balls with different parity. Solution of this type\nexist also in the limiting case of vanishing scalar potential. We find that the\nhairy Q-balls are classically stable for all range of values of angular\nfrequency."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Finite field dependent BRST transformations and its applications to\n  gauge field theories: The Becchi-Rouet-Stora and Tyutin (BRST) transformation plays a crucial role\nin the quantization of gauge theories. The BRST transformation is also very\nimportant tool in characterizing the various renormalizable field theoretic\nmodels. The generalization of the usual BRST transformation, by making the\ninfinitesimal global parameter finite and field dependent, is commonly known as\nthe finite field dependent BRST (FFBRST) transformation. In this thesis, we\nhave extended the FFBRST transformation in an auxiliary field formulation and\nhave developed both on-shell and off-shell FF-anti-BRST transformations. The\ndifferent aspects of such transformation are studied in Batalin-Vilkovisky (BV)\nformulation. FFBRST transformation has further been used to study the\ncelebrated Gribov problem and to analyze the constrained dynamics in gauge\ntheories. A new finite field dependent symmetry (combination of FFBRST and\nFF-anti-BRST) transformation has been invented. The FFBRST transformation is\nshown useful in connection of first-class constrained theory to that of\nsecond-class also. Further, we have applied the Batalin-Fradkin-Vilkovisky\n(BFV) technique to quantize a field theoretic model in the Hamiltonian\nframework. The Hodge de Rham theorem for differential geometry has also been\nstudied in such context.",
        "positive": "The Zeeman Effect for the Relativistic Bound State: In the context of a relativistic quantum mechanics with invariant evolution\nparameter, solutions for the relativistic bound state problem have been found,\nwhich yield a spectrum for the total mass coinciding with the nonrelativistic\nSchr\\\"odinger energy spectrum. These spectra were obtained by choosing an\narbitrary spacelike unit vector $n_\\mu$ and restricting the support of the\neigenfunctions in spacetime to the subspace of the Minkowski measure space, for\nwhich $(x_\\perp )^2 = [x-(x \\cdot n) n ]^2 \\geq 0$. In this paper, we examine\nthe Zeeman effect for these bound states, which requires $n_\\mu$ to be a\ndynamical quantity. We recover the usual Zeeman splitting in a manifestly\ncovariant form."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Continuous 2-Category Symmetries and Yang-Mills Theory: We study a 4d gauge theory $U(1)^{N-1}\\rtimes S_N$ obtained from a\n$U(1)^{N-1}$ theory by gauging a 0-form symmetry $S_N$. We show that this\ntheory has a global continuous 2-category symmetry, whose structure is\nparticularly rich for $N>2$. This example allows us to draw a connection\nbetween the higher gauging procedure and the difference between local and\nglobal fusion, which turns out to be a key feature of higher category\nsymmetries. By studying the spectrum of local and extended operators, we find a\nmapping with gauge invariant operators of 4d $SU(N)$ Yang-Mills theory. The\nlargest group-like subcategory of the non-invertible symmetries of our theory\nis a $\\mathbb{Z}_N^{(1)}$ 1-form symmetry, acting on the Wilson lines in the\nsame way as the center symmetry of Yang-Mills theory does. Supported by a\npath-integral argument, we propose that the $U(1)^{N-1}\\rtimes S_N$ gauge\ntheory has a relation with the ultraviolet limit of $SU(N)$ Yang-Mills theory\nin which all Gukov-Witten operators become topological, and form a continuous\nnon-invertible 2-category symmetry, broken down to the center symmetry by the\nRG flow.",
        "positive": "Radiative Correction to the Casimir Energy for Lorentz-violating Scalar\n  Field in d+1 Dimensions: The renormalization program in every renormalized theory should be run\nconsistently with the type of boundary condition imposed on quantum fields. To\nmaintain this consistency, the counterterms usually appear in the\nposition-dependent form. In the present study, using such counterterms, we\ncalculated the radiative correction to the Casimir energy for massive and\nmassless Lorentz-violating scalar field constrained with Dirichlet boundary\ncondition between two parallel plates in d spatial dimensions. In the\ncalculation procedure, to remove infinities appearing in the vacuum energies,\nthe box subtraction scheme supplemented by the cutoff regularization technique\nand analytic continuation technique were employed. Normally, in the box\nsubtraction scheme, two similar configurations are defined and their vacuum\nenergies are subtracted from each other in the appropriate limits. Our final\nresults regarding all spatial dimensions were convergent and consistent with\nthe expected physical basis. We further plotted the Casimir energy density for\nthe time-like and space-like Lorentz-violating systems in a number of odd and\neven dimensions; multiple aspects of the obtained results were ultimately\ndiscussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A new scale in the sky: The existence of a new ultraviolet scale $\\Lambda=g M_P$ for effective\ntheories with gravity and U(1) gauge fields has recently been conjectured as a\npossible criterion for distinguishing parts of the swampland from the string\nlandscape. Here we discuss a possible phenomenological signature of this scale,\nfor electromagnetic fields, in astrophysical observations.",
        "positive": "Complexity vs. Vorticity: In the study of \"holographic complexity\", upper bounds on the rate of growth\nof the (specific) complexity of field theories with holographic duals have\nattracted much attention. Underlying these upper bounds there are inequalities\nrelating the parameters of the dual black hole. We derive such an inequality in\nthe case of the five-dimensional AdS-Kerr black hole, dual to a\nfour-dimensional field theory with a non-zero angular momentum density. We\npropose to test these underlying inequalities \"experimentally\", by using the\nconjectured analogy of the field theory with phenomenological models of the\nQuark-Gluon Plasma. The test consists of comparing data for the parameters of\nthe QGP with the upper bound on the relevant combination of black hole\nparameters. The bound in the non-rotating case passes the test: in this sense,\nit is confirmed \"experimentally\". In the rotating case, the inequality makes\npredictions regarding the entropy density of the vortical plasma, recently\nobserved by the STAR collaboration."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauge and Poincare properties of the UV cutoff and UV completion in\n  quantum field theory: The ultraviolet (UV) cutoff on a quantum field theory (QFT) can explicitly\nbreak or conserve the Poincare (translation) symmetry. And the very same cutoff\ncan explicitly break or conserve the gauge symmetry. In the present work, we\nperform a systematic study of the UV cutoff in regard to its gauge and Poincare\nproperties, and construct UV completions restoring the broken gauge symmetry.\nIn the case of Poincare-conserving UV cutoff, we find that the gauge symmetry\ngets restored via the Higgs mechanism. In the case of Poincare-breaking UV\ncutoff, however, we find that the flat spacetime affine curvature takes the\nplace of the Higgs field and, when taken to curved spacetime, gauge symmetry\ngets restored at the extremum of the metric-affine action. We also find that\ngravity emerges at the extremum if the QFT under concern consists of new\nparticles beyond the known ones. The resulting emergent gravity plus\nrenormalized QFT setup has the potential to reveal itself in various\nastrophysical, cosmological and collider phenomena.",
        "positive": "Tensor and Matrix models: a one-night stand or a lifetime romance?: The spectra of energy eigenstates of free tensor and matrix models are\norganized by Kronecker coefficients and Littlewood-Richardson numbers,\nrespectively. Exploiting recent results in combinatorics for Kronecker\ncoefficients, we derive a formula that relates Kronecker coefficients with a\nhook shape with Littlewood-Richardson numbers. This formula has a natural\ntranslation into physics: the eigenstates of the hook sector of tensor models\nare in one-to-one correspondence with fluctuations of 1/2-BPS states in\nmulti-matrix models. We then conjecture the duality between both sectors.\nFinally, we study the Hagedorn behaviour of tensor models with finite rank of\nthe symmetry group and, using similar arguments, suggest that the second (high\nenergy) phase could be entirely described by multi-matrix models."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Wilson Loops and Vertex Operators in Matrix Model: We systematically construct wave functions and vertex operators in the type\nIIB (IKKT) matrix model by expanding a supersymmetric Wilson loop operator.\nThey form a massless multiplet of the N=2 type IIB supergravity and\nautomatically satisfy conservation laws.",
        "positive": "Exact renormalization group study of fermionic theories: The exact renormalization group approach (ERG) is developed for the case of\npure fermionic theories by deriving a Grassmann version of the ERG equation and\napplying it to the study of fixed point solutions and critical exponents of the\ntwo-dimensional chiral Gross-Neveu model. An approximation based on the\nderivative expansion and a further truncation in the number of fields is used.\nTwo solutions are obtained analytically in the limit $N\\to \\infty $, with N\nbeing the number of fermionic species. For finite N some fixed point solutions,\nwith their anomalous dimensions and critical exponents, are computed\nnumerically. The issue of separation of physical results from the numerous\nspurious ones is discussed. We argue that one of the solutions we find can be\nidentified with that of Dashen and Frishman, whereas the others seem to be new\nones."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Particle Physics Implications of F-theory: We review recent progress in realizing Grand Unified Theories (GUTs) in a\nstrongly coupled formulation of type IIB string theory known as F-theory. Our\nmain emphasis is on the expected low-energy phenomenology of a minimal class of\nF-theory GUTs. We introduce the primary ingredients in such constructions, and\nthen present qualitative features of GUT models in this framework such as GUT\nbreaking, doublet-triplet splitting, and proton decay. Next, we review\nproposals for realizing flavor hierarchies in the quark and lepton sectors. We\ndiscuss possible supersymmetry breaking scenarios, and their consequences for\nexperiment, as well as geometrically minimal realizations of F-theory GUTs\nwhich incorporate most of these features.",
        "positive": "Seiberg-Witten maps and scattering amplitudes of NCQED: The connection between tree-level scattering amplitudes and the\nSeiberg-Witten (SW) map in the Moyal deformed U(1) noncommutataive quantum\nelectrodynamics (NCQED) is studied. We show that in the minimal U(1) NCQED\nbased on a reversible Seiberg-Witten (SW) map, SW map induced interactions\ncancel each other in all tree-level scattering amplitudes and leave them\nidentical to the Moyal NCQED without SW map. On the other hand, the two-by-two\nCompton and light-by-light scattering amplitudes deviate from minimal model\nwhen irreversible SW map is used. Therefore the risibility of SW map and\nequivalence between NCQED before and after SW map manifest themselves as an\nidentity between the tree-level scattering amplitudes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Noncommutativity and Model Building: We propose a way to introduce matter fields transforming in arbitrary\nrepresentations of the gauge group in noncommutative U(N) gauge theories. We\nthen argue that in the presence of supersymmetry, an ordinary commutative SU(N)\ngauge theory with a general matter content can always be embedded into a\nnoncommutative U(N) theory at energies above the noncommutativity mass scale\nM_{NC} ~ \\theta^{-1/2}. At energies below M_{NC}, the U(1) degrees of freedom\ndecouple due to the IR/UV mixing, and the noncommutative theory reduces to its\ncommutative counterpart. Supersymmetry can be spontaneously broken by a\nFayet-Iliopoulos D-term introduced in the noncommutative U(N) theory. U(1)\ndegrees of freedom become arbitrarily weakly coupled in the infrared and\nnaturally play the role of the hidden sector for supersymmetry breaking. To\nillustrate these ideas we construct a noncommutative U(5) GUT model with\nFayet-Iliopoulos supersymmetry breaking, which reduces to a realistic\ncommutative theory in the infrared.",
        "positive": "Supersymmetry Breaking In Orbifolds Compactifications: Known mechanisms for breaking of supersymmetry at the level of string theory\nimply that at least one of the internal dimensions has a very large size.\nExperimental detection of the associated light Kaluza-Klein (KK) excitations\nwould be a strong hint for the existence of string like elementary objects, as\nno consistent field theory describing them is known. We restrict the discussion\nto the Scherk-Schwarz mechanism in orbifold compactifications. For this case we\ninvestigate the quantum number of the lightest predicted KK states."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exact solution of d=1 Kazakov-Migdal induced gauge theory: We give the exact solution of the Kazakov-Migdal induced gauge model in the\ncase of a D=1 compactified lattice with a generic number $S$ of sites and for\nany value of N. Due to the peculiar features of the model, the partition\nfunction that we obtain also describes the vortex-free sector of the D=1\ncompactified bosonic string, and it coincides in the continuum limit with the\none obtained by Boulatov and Kazakov in this context.",
        "positive": "Bounces/Dyons in the Plane Wave Matrix Model and SU(N) Yang-Mills Theory: We consider SU(N) Yang-Mills theory on the space R^1\\times S^3 with Minkowski\nsignature (-+++). The condition of SO(4)-invariance imposed on gauge fields\nyields a bosonic matrix model which is a consistent truncation of the plane\nwave matrix model. For matrices parametrized by a scalar \\phi, the Yang-Mills\nequations are reduced to the equation of a particle moving in the double-well\npotential. The classical solution is a bounce, i.e. a particle which begins at\nthe saddle point \\phi=0 of the potential, bounces off the potential wall and\nreturns to \\phi=0. The gauge field tensor components parametrized by \\phi are\nsmooth and for finite time both electric and magnetic fields are nonvanishing.\nThe energy density of this non-Abelian dyon configuration does not depend on\ncoordinates of R^1\\times S^3 and the total energy is proportional to the\ninverse radius of S^3. We also describe similar bounce dyon solutions in SU(N)\nYang-Mills theory on the space R^1\\times S^2 with signature (-++). Their energy\nis proportional to the square of the inverse radius of S^2. From the viewpoint\nof Yang-Mills theory on R^{1,1}\\times S^2 these solutions describe non-Abelian\n(dyonic) flux tubes extended along the x^3-axis."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Lightlike Brane as a Gravitational Source of Misner-Wheeler-Type\n  Wormhole: Consistent Lagrangian description of lightlike p-branes (LL-branes) is\npresented in two equivalent forms - a Polyakov-type formulation and a dual to\nit Nambu-Goto-type formulation. An important characteristic feature of the\nLL-branes is that the brane tension appears as a non-trivial additional\ndynamical degree of freedom. Next, properties of p=2 LL-brane dynamics (as a\ntest brane) in D=4 Kerr or Kerr-Newman gravitational backgrounds are discussed\nin some detail. It is shown that the LL-brane automatically positions itself on\nthe horizon and rotates along with the same angular velocity. Finally, a\nMisner-Wheeler-type of Reissner-Nordstroem wormhole is constructed in a\nself-consistent electrically sourceless Einstein-Maxwell system in the D=4 bulk\ninteracting with a LL-brane. The pertinent wormhole throat is located precisely\nat the LL-brane sitting on the outer Reissner-Nordstroem horizon with the\nReissner-Nordstroem mass and charge being functions of the dynamical LL-brane\ntension.",
        "positive": "Pulsar Timing Constraints on Physics Beyond the Standard Model: We argue that massive quantum fields source low-frequency long-wavelength\nmetric fluctuations through the quantum fluctuations of their stress-energy,\ngiven reasonable assumptions about the analytic structure of its correlators.\nThis can be traced back to the non-local nature of the gauge symmetry in\nGeneral Relativity, which prevents an efficient screening of UV scales (what we\ncall the cosmological non-constant problem). We define a covariant and\ngauge-invariant observable which probes line-of-sight spacetime curvature\nfluctuations on an observer's past lightcone, and show that current pulsar\ntiming data constrains any massive particle to $m\\lesssim 600$ GeV. This\nastrophysical bound severely limits the possibilities for physics beyond the\nstandard model below the scale of quantum gravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A note on the asymptotic symmetries of electromagnetism: We extend the asymptotic symmetries of electromagnetism in order to\nconsistently include angle-dependent $u(1)$ gauge transformations $\\epsilon$\nthat involve terms growing at spatial infinity linearly and logarithmically in\n$r$, $\\epsilon \\sim a(\\theta, \\varphi) r + b(\\theta, \\varphi) \\ln r + c(\\theta,\n\\varphi)$. The charges of the logarithmic $u(1)$ transformations are found to\nbe conjugate to those of the $\\mathcal O(1)$ transformations (abelian algebra\nwith invertible central term) while those of the $\\mathcal O(r)$\ntransformations are conjugate to those of the subleading $\\mathcal O(r^{-1})$\ntransformations. Because of this structure, one can decouple the\nangle-dependent $u(1)$ asymptotic symmetry from the Poincar\\'e algebra, just as\nin the case of gravity: the generators of these internal transformations are\nLorentz scalars in the redefined algebra. This implies in particular that one\ncan give a definition of the angular momentum which is free from $u(1)$ gauge\nambiguities. The change of generators that brings the asymptotic symmetry\nalgebra to a direct sum form involves non linear redefinitions of the charges.\nOur analysis is Hamiltonian throughout and carried at spatial infinity.",
        "positive": "W(E_10) Symmetry, M-Theory and Painleve Equations: The Weyl group symmetry W(E_k) is studied from the points of view of the\nE-strings, Painleve equations and U-duality. We give a simple reformulation of\nthe elliptic Painleve equation in such a way that the hidden symmetry W(E_10)\nis manifestly realized. This reformulation is based on the birational geometry\nof the del Pezzo surface and closely related to Seiberg-Witten curves\ndescribing the E-strings. The relation of the W(E_k) symmetry to the duality of\nM-theory on a torus is discussed on the level of string equations of motion."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum groups, q-dynamics and Rajaji: We sketch briefly the essentials of the quantum groups and their application\nto the dynamics of a q-deformed simple harmonic oscillator moving on a quantum\nline, defined in the q-deformed cotangent (momentum phase) space. In this\nendeavour, the quantum group $GL_{qp} (2)$- and the conventional rotational\ninvariances are respected together. During the course of this discussion, we\ntouch upon Rajaji's personality as a critical physicist and a bold and\nadventurous man of mathematical physics.",
        "positive": "U-duality and non-BPS solutions: We derive the explicit action of the U-duality group of the STU model on both\nBPS and non-BPS extremal multi-center solutions. As the class of known non-BPS\nextremal solutions is not closed under U-duality, we generate in this way new\nsolutions. These should represent the most general class of extremal non-BPS\nmulti-center under-rotating solutions of the STU model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "ABC of multi-fractal spacetimes and fractional sea turtles: We clarify what it means to have a spacetime fractal geometry in quantum\ngravity and show that its properties differ from those of usual fractals. A\nweak and a strong definition of multi-scale and multi-fractal spacetimes are\ngiven together with a sketch of the landscape of multi-scale theories of\ngravitation. Then, in the context of the fractional theory with\n$q$-derivatives, we explore the consequences of living in a multi-fractal\nspacetime. To illustrate the behavior of a non-relativistic body, we take the\nentertaining example of a sea turtle. We show that, when only the time\ndirection is fractal, sea turtles swim at a faster speed than in an ordinary\nworld, while they swim at a slower speed if only the spatial directions are\nfractal. The latter type of geometry is the one most commonly found in quantum\ngravity. For time-like fractals, relativistic objects can exceed the speed of\nlight, but strongly so only if their size is smaller than the range of\nparticle-physics interactions. We also find new results about log-oscillating\nmeasures, the measure presentation and their role in physical observations and\nin future extensions to nowhere-differentiable stochastic spacetimes.",
        "positive": "Tachyon Condensation in Large Magnetic Fields with Background\n  Independent String Field Theory: We discuss the problem of tachyon condensation in the framework of background\nindependent open string field theory. We show, in particular, that the\ncomputation of the string field theory action simplifies considerably if one\nlooks at closed string backgrounds with a large B field, and can be carried out\nexactly for a generic tachyon profile. We confirm previous results on the form\nof the exact tachyon potential, and we find, within this framework, solitonic\nsolutions which correspond to lower dimensional unstable branes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Renormalization Group and the Effective Action: The renormalization group is used to sum the leading-log (LL) contributions\nto the effective action for a large constant external gauge field in terms of\nthe one-loop renormalization group (RG) function beta, the next-to-leading-log\n(NLL) contributions in terms of the two-loop RG function etc. The log\nindependent pieces are not determined by the RG equation, but can be fixed by\nthe anomaly in the trace of the energy-momentum tensor. Similar considerations\ncan be applied to the effective potential V for a scalar field phi; here the\nlog independent pieces are fixed by the condition V'(phi=v)=0.",
        "positive": "Notes on instantons in topological field theory and beyond: This is a brief summary of our studies of quantum field theories in a special\nlimit in which the instantons are present, the anti-instantons are absent, and\nthe perturbative corrections are reduced to one-loop. We analyze the\ncorresponding models as full-fledged quantum field theories, beyond their\ntopological sector. We show that the correlation functions of all, not only\ntopological (or BPS), observables may be studied explicitly in these models,\nand the spectrum may be computed exactly. An interesting feature is that the\nHamiltonian is not always diagonalizable, but may have Jordan blocks, which\nleads to the appearance of logarithms in the correlation functions. We also\nfind that in the models defined on Kahler manifolds the space of states\nexhibits holomorphic factorization. In particular, in dimensions two and four\nour theories are logarithmic conformal field theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Factorization of Chiral String Amplitudes: We re-examine a closed-string model defined by altering the boundary\nconditions for one handedness of two-dimensional propagators in\notherwise-standard string theory. We evaluate the amplitudes using\nKawai-Lewellen-Tye factorization into open-string amplitudes. The only\nmodification to standard string theory is effectively that the spacetime\nMinkowski metric changes overall sign in one open-string factor. This cancels\nall but a finite number of states: As found in earlier approaches, with enough\nsupersymmetry (e.g., type II) the tree amplitudes reproduce those of the\nmassless truncation of ordinary string theory. However, we now find for the\nother cases that additional fields, formerly thought to be auxiliary, describe\nnew spin-2 states at the two adjacent mass levels (tachyonic and tardyonic).\nThe tachyon is always a ghost, but can be avoided in the heterotic case.",
        "positive": "Nonlinear Hydrodynamics from Flow of Retarded Green's Function: We study the radial flow of retarded Green's function of energy-momentum\ntensor and $R$-current of dual gauge theory in presence of generic higher\nderivative terms in bulk Lagrangian. These are first order non-linear Riccati\nequations. We solve these flow equations analytically and obtain second order\ntransport coefficients of boundary plasma. This way of computing transport\ncoefficients has an advantage over usual Kubo approach. The non-linear equation\nturns out to be a linear first order equation when we study the Green's\nfunction perturbatively in momentum. We consider several examples including\n$Weyl^4$ term and generic four derivative terms in bulk. We also study the flow\nequations for $R$-charged black holes and obtain exact expressions for second\norder transport coefficients for dual plasma in presence of arbitrary chemical\npotentials. Finally we obtain higher derivative corrections to second order\ntransport coefficients of boundary theory dual to five dimensional gauge\nsupergravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spectrum continuity and level repulsion: the Ising CFT from\n  infinitesimal to finite $\\boldsymbol\\varepsilon$: Using numerical conformal bootstrap technology we perform a non-perturbative\nstudy of the Ising CFT and its spectrum from infinitesimal to finite values of\n$\\varepsilon=4-d$. Exploiting the recent navigator bootstrap method in\nconjunction with the extremal functional method, we test various qualitative\nand quantitative features of the $\\varepsilon$-expansion. We follow the scaling\ndimensions of numerous operators from the perturbatively controlled regime to\nfinite coupling. We do this for $\\mathbb Z_2$-even operators up to spin 12 and\nfor $\\mathbb Z_2$-odd operators up to spin 6 and find a good matching with\nperturbation theory. In the finite coupling regime we observe two operators\nwhose dimensions approach each other and then repel, a phenomenon known as\nlevel repulsion and which can be analyzed via operator mixing. Our work\nimproves on previous studies in both increased precision and the number of\noperators studied, and is the first to observe level repulsion in the conformal\nbootstrap.",
        "positive": "PP-waves from Nonlocal Theories: We study the Penrose limit of ODp theory. There are two different PP-wave\nlimits of the theory. One of them is a ten dimensional PP-wave and the other a\nfour dimensional one. We observe the later one leads to an exactly solvable\nbackground for type II string theories where we have both NS and RR fields. The\nPenrose limit of different branes of string (M-theory) in a nonzero B/E field\n(C field) is also studied. These backgrounds are conjectured to provide dual\ndescription of NCSYM, NCOS and OM theory. We see that under S-duality the\nsubsector of NCSYM$_4$ and NCOS$_4$ which are dual to the corresponding string\ntheory on PP-wave coming from NCYM$_4$ and NCOS$_4$ map to each other for given\nnull geodesic."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Large N Field Theories, String Theory and Gravity: We review the holographic correspondence between field theories and string/M\ntheory, focusing on the relation between compactifications of string/M theory\non Anti-de Sitter spaces and conformal field theories. We review the background\nfor this correspondence and discuss its motivations and the evidence for its\ncorrectness. We describe the main results that have been derived from the\ncorrespondence in the regime that the field theory is approximated by classical\nor semiclassical gravity. We focus on the case of the N=4 supersymmetric gauge\ntheory in four dimensions, but we discuss also field theories in other\ndimensions, conformal and non-conformal, with or without supersymmetry, and in\nparticular the relation to QCD. We also discuss some implications for black\nhole physics.",
        "positive": "On the SLq(2) extension of the standard model and the measure of charge: Our SLq(2) extension of the standard model is constructed by replacing the\nelementary field operators, $\\Psi (x)$, of the standard model by\n$\\hat{\\Psi}^{j}_{mm'}(x) D^{j}_{mm'}$ where $D^{j}_{mm'}$ is an element of the\n$2j + 1$ dimensional representation of the SLq(2) algebra, which is also the\nknot algebra. The allowed quantum states $(j,m,m')$ are restricted by the\ntopological conditions \\begin{equation*} (j,m,m') = \\frac{1}{2}(N,w,r+o)\n\\end{equation*} postulated between the states of the quantum knot $(j,m,m')$\nand the corresponding classical knot $(N,w,r+o)$ where the $(N,w,r)$ are (the\nnumber of crossings, the writhe, the rotation) of the 2d projection of the\ncorresponding oriented classical knot. Here $o$ is an odd number that is\nrequired by the difference in parity between $w$ and $r$. There is also the\nempirical restriction on the allowed states \\begin{equation*}\n(j,m,m')=3(t,-t_3,-t_0)_L \\end{equation*} that holds at the $j=\\frac{3}{2}$\nlevel, connecting quantum trefoils $(\\frac{3}{2},m,m')$ with leptons and quarks\n$(\\frac{1}{2}, -t_3, -t_0)_L$. The so constructed knotted leptons and quarks\nturn out to be composed of three $j=\\frac{1}{2}$ particles which unexpectedly\nagree with the preon models of Harrari and Shupe. The $j=0$ particles, being\nelectroweak neutral, are dark and plausibly greatly outnumber the quarks and\nleptons. The SLq(2) or $(j,m,m')$ measure of charge has a direct physical\ninterpretation since $2j$ is the total number of preonic charges while $2m$ and\n$2m'$ are the numbers of writhe and rotation sources of preonic charge. The\ntotal SLq(2) charge of a particle, measured by writhe and rotation and composed\nof preons, sums the signs of the counterclockwise turns $(+1)$ and clockwise\nturns $(-1)$ that any energy-momentum current makes in going once around the\nknot...\n  Keywords: Quantum group; electroweak; knot models; preon models; dark matter."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "TeV scale 5D $SU(3)_W$ unification and the fixed point anomaly\n  cancellation with chiral split multiplets: A possibility of 5D gauge unification of $SU(2)_L \\times U(1)_Y$ in $SU(3)_W$\nis examined. The orbifold compactification allows fixed points where\n$SU(2)_L\\times U(1)_Y$ representations can be assigned. We present a few\npossibilities which give long proton lifetime, top-bottom mass hierarchy from\ngeometry, and reasonable neutrino masses. In general, these {\\it chiral models}\ncan lead to fixed point anomalies. We can show easily, due to the simplicity of\nthe model, that these anomalies are cancelled by the relevant Chern-Simons\nterms for all the models we consider. It is also shown that the fixed point\nU(1)--graviton--graviton anomaly cancels without the help from the Chern-Simons\nterm. Hence, we conjecture that the fixed point anomalies can be cancelled if\nthe effective 4D theory is made anomaly free by locating chiral fermions at the\nfixed points.",
        "positive": "Deep inelastic scattering off scalar mesons in the 1/N expansion from\n  the D3D7-brane system: Deep inelastic scattering (DIS) of charged leptons off scalar mesons in the\n$1/N$ expansion is studied by using the gauge/gravity duality. We focus on the\nD3D7-brane system and investigate the corresponding structure functions by\nconsidering both the high energy limit and the $1/N$ expansion. These limits do\nnot commute. From the D7-brane DBI action we derive a Lagrangian at sub-leading\norder in the D7-brane fluctuations and obtain a number of interactions some of\nwhich become relevant for two-hadron final-state DIS. By considering first the\nhigh energy limit followed by the large $N$ one, our results fit lattice QCD\ndata within $1.27\\%$ for the first three moments of $F_2$ for the lightest\npseudoscalar meson."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Tachyon Condensation, Boundary State and Noncommutative Solitons: We discuss the tachyon condensation in a single unstable D-brane in the\nframework of boundary state formulation. The boundary state in the background\nof the tachyon condensation and the NS B-field is explicitly constructed. We\nshow in both commutative theory and noncommutative theory that the unstable\nD-branes behaves like an extended object and eventually reduces to the lower\ndimensional D-branes as the system approaches the infrared fixed point. We\nclarify the relationship between the commutative field theoretical description\nof the tachyon condensation and the noncommutative one.",
        "positive": "Remarks on A-branes, Mirror Symmetry, and the Fukaya category: We discuss D-branes of the topological A-model (A-branes), which are believed\nto be closely related to the Fukaya category. We give string theory arguments\nwhich show that A-branes are not necessarily Lagrangian submanifolds in the\nCalabi-Yau: more general coisotropic branes are also allowed, if the line\nbundle on the brane is not flat. We show that a coisotropic A-brane has a\nnatural structure of a foliated manifold with a transverse holomorphic\nstructure. We argue that the Fukaya category must be enlarged with such objects\nfor the Homological Mirror Symmetry conjecture to be true."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Killing symmetries of generalized Minkowski spaces. 3-Space-time\n  translations in four dimensions: In this paper, we continue the study of the Killing symmetries of a\nN-dimensional generalized Minkowski space, i.e. a space endowed with a (in\ngeneral non-diagonal) metric tensor, whose coefficients do depend on a set of\nnon-metrical coodinates. We discuss here the translations in such spaces, by\nconfining ourselves (without loss of generality) to the four-dimensional case.\nIn particular, the results obtained are specialized to the case of a\n''deformed'' Minkowski space $\\widetilde{M_{4}}$ (i.e. a pseudoeuclidean space\nwith metric coefficients depending on energy).",
        "positive": "A note on brane boxes at finite string coupling: We consider N=1 supersymmetric SU(N_c) gauge theories, using the type IIB\nbrane construction recently proposed by Hanany and Zaffaroni. At non-zero\nstring coupling, we find that the bending of branes imposes consistency\nconditions that allow only non-anomalous gauge theories with stable vacua,\ni.e., N_f >= N_c, to be constructed. We find qualitative differences between\nthe brane configurations for N_f <= 3N_c and N_f > 3N_c, corresponding to\nasymptotically free and infrared free theories respectively. We also discuss\nsome properties of the brane configurations that may be relevant to\nconstructing Seiberg's duality in this framework."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Can Magnetic Charge and Quantum Mechanics Co-exist ?: It is proven that if more than a single magnetic charge exists it is\nimpossible to define a proper quantum mechanical angular momentum operator for\nan electrically charged particle in the field of the magnetic charges. Assuming\nthat quantum mechanics is correct we conclude that free magnetic charges (i.e.\nmagnetic charges with a Coulomb-like magnetic field) can not exist. The only\napparent way to avoid this conclusion is if magnetic charges do exist, they\nmust be permanently confined in monopole anti-monopole pairs, much in the same\nway quarks are thought to be confined.",
        "positive": "Discrete torsion, de Sitter tunneling vacua and AdS brane: U(1) gauge\n  theory on D4-brane and an effective curvature: The U(1) gauge dynamics on a D4-brane is revisited, with a two form, to\nconstruct an effective curvature theory in a second order formalism. We exploit\nthe local degrees in a two form, and modify its dynamics in a gauge invariant\nway, to incorporate a non-perturbative metric fluctuation in an effective\nD4-brane. Interestingly, the near horizon D4-brane is shown to describe an\nasymptotic Anti de Sitter (AdS) in a semi-classical regime. Using Weyl\nscaling(s), we obtain the emergent rotating geometries leading to primordial de\nSitter (dS) and AdS vacua in a quantum regime. Under a discrete transformation,\nwe re-arrange the mixed dS patches to describe a Schwazschild-like dS (SdS) and\na topological-like dS (TdS) black holes. We analyze SdS vacuum for Hawking\nradiations to arrive at Nariai geometry, where a discrete torsion forms a\ncondensate. We perform thermal analysis to identify Nariai vacuum with a TdS.\nInvestigation reveals an AdS patch within a thermal dS brane, which may provide\na clue to unfold dS/CFT. In addition, the role of dark energy, sourced by a\ndiscrete torsion, in the dS vacua is investigated using Painleve geometries. It\nis argued that a D-instanton pair is created by a discrete torsion, with a Big\nBang/Crunch, at the past horizon in a pure dS. Nucleation, of brane/anti-brane\npair(s), is qualitatively analyzed to construct an effective space-time on a\nD4-brane and its anti brane. Analysis re-assures the significant role played by\na non-zero mode, of NS-NS two form, to generalize the notion of branes within a\nbrane."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exact Solution of Noncommutative U(1) Gauge Theory in 4-Dimensions: Noncommutative U(1) gauge theory on the Moyal-Weyl space ${\\bf\nR}^2{\\times}{\\bf R}^2_{\\theta}$ is regularized by approximating the\nnoncommutative spatial slice ${\\bf R}^2_{\\theta}$ by a fuzzy sphere of matrix\nsize $L$ and radius $R$ . Classically we observe that the field theory on the\nfuzzy space ${\\bf R}^2{\\times}{\\bf S}^2_L$ reduces to the field theory on the\nMoyal-Weyl plane ${\\bf R}^2{\\times}{\\bf R}^2_{\\theta}$ in the flattening\ncontinuum planar limits $R,L{\\longrightarrow}{\\infty}$ where\n$R^2/L^{2q}{\\simeq}{\\theta}^2/4^q$ and $q>{3/2}$ . The effective\nnoncommutativity parameter is found to be given by\n${\\theta}_{eff}^2{\\sim}2{\\theta}^2(\\frac{L}{2})^{2q-1}$ and thus it corresponds\nto a strongly noncommuting space. In the quantum theory it turns out that this\nprescription is also equivalent to a dimensional reduction of the model where\nthe noncommutative U(1) gauge theory in 4 dimensions is shown to be equivalent\nin the large $L$ limit to an ordinary $O(M)$ non-linear sigma model in 2\ndimensions where $M{\\sim}3L^2$ . The Moyal-Weyl model defined this way is also\nseen to be an ordinary renormalizable theory which can be solved exactly using\nthe method of steepest descents . More precisely we find for a fixed\nrenormalization scale $\\mu$ and a fixed renormalized coupling constant $g_r^2$\nan $O(M)-$symmetric mass, for the different components of the sigma field,\nwhich is non-zero for all values of $g_r^2$ and hence the $O(M)$ symmetry is\nnever broken in this solution . We obtain also an exact representation of the\nbeta function of the theory which agrees with the known one-loop perturbative\nresult .",
        "positive": "Normal ordering and boundary conditions for fermionic string coordinates: We build up normal ordered products for fermionic open string coordinates\nconsistent with boundary conditions. The results are obtained considering the\npresence of antisymmetric tensor fields. We find a discontinuity of the normal\nordered products at string endpoints even in the absence of the background. We\ndiscuss how the energy momentum tensor also changes at the world-sheet boundary\nin such a way that the central charge keeps the standard value at string end\npoints."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "$\u03a9$ versus Graviphoton: I study the deformation of the topological string by $\\bar\\Omega$, the\ncomplex conjugate of the $\\Omega$-deformation. Namely, I identify $\\bar\\Omega$\nin terms of a physical state in the string spectrum and verify that the\ndeformed Yang-Mills and ADHM actions are reproduced. This completes the study\ninitiated recently [1] where we show that $\\bar\\Omega$ decouples from the\none-loop topological amplitudes in heterotic string theory. Similarly to the\nN=2* deformation, I show that the quadratic terms in the effective action play\na crucial role in obtaining the correct realisation of the full\n$\\Omega$-deformation. Finally, I comment on the differences between the\ngraviphoton and the $\\Omega$-deformation in general and discuss possible\n$\\bar\\Omega$ remnants at the boundary of the string moduli space.",
        "positive": "Off-Shell Duality in Maxwell and Born-Infeld Theories: It is well known that the classical equations of motion of Maxwell and\nBorn-Infeld theories are invariant under a duality symmetry acting on the field\nstrengths. We review the implementation of the SL(2,Z) duality in these\ntheories as linear but non-local transformations of the potentials."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Conformal Invariance of the One-Loop All-Plus Helicity Scattering\n  Amplitudes: The massless QCD Lagrangian is conformally invariant and, as a consequence,\nso are the tree-level scattering amplitudes. However, the implications of this\npowerful symmetry at loop level are only beginning to be explored\nsystematically. Even for finite loop amplitudes, the way conformal symmetry\nmanifests itself may be subtle, e.g. in the form of anomalous conformal Ward\nidentities. As they are finite and rational, the one-loop all-plus and\nsingle-minus amplitudes are a natural first step towards understanding the\nconformal properties of Yang-Mills theory at loop level. Remarkably, we find\nthat the one-loop all-plus amplitudes are conformally invariant, whereas the\nsingle-minus are not. Moreover, we present a formula for the one-loop all-plus\namplitudes where the symmetry is manifest term by term. Surprisingly, each term\ntransforms covariantly under directional dual conformal variations. We prove\nthe formula directly using recursive techniques, and check that it has the\ncorrect physical factorisations.",
        "positive": "A Critical Cosmological Constant from Millimeter Extra Dimensions: We consider `brane universe' scenarios with standard-model fields localized\non a 3-brane in 6 spacetime dimensions. We show that if the spacetime is\nrotationally symmetric about the brane, local quantities in the bulk are\ninsensitive to the couplings on the brane. This potentially allows\ncompactifications where the effective 4-dimensional cosmological constant is\nindependent of the couplings on the 3-brane. We consider several possible\nsingularity-free compactification mechanisms, and find that they do not\nmaintain this property. We also find solutions with naked spacetime\nsingularities, and we speculate that new short-distance physics can become\nimportant near the singularities and allow a compactification with the desired\nproperties. The picture that emerges is that standard-model loop contributions\nto the effective 4-dimensional cosmological constant can be cut off at\ndistances shorter than the compactification scale. At shorter distance scales,\nrenormalization effects due to standard-model fields renormalize the 3-brane\ntension, which changes a deficit angle in the transverse space without\naffecting local quantities in the bulk. For a compactification scale of order\n10^{-2} mm, this gives a standard-model contribution to the cosmological\nconstant in the range favored by cosmology."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Multi-Stream Inflation in a Landscape: There are hidden observables for inflation, such as features localized in\nposition space, which do not manifest themselves when only one inflation\ntrajectory is considered. To address this issue, we investigate inflation\ndynamics in a landscape mimicked by a random potential. We calculate the\nprobability for bifurcation of the inflation trajectory in multi-stream\ninflation. Depending on the shape of the random bumps and the distance between\nbumps in the potential, there is a phase transition: on one side of the\ncritical curve in parameter space isocurvature fluctuation are exponentially\namplified and bifurcation becomes very probable. On the other side bifurcation\nis dominated by a random walk where bifurcations are less likely to happen.",
        "positive": "Integrable Renormalization I: the Ladder Case: In recent years a Hopf algebraic structure underlying the process of\nrenormalization in quantum field theory was found. It led to a Birkhoff\nfactorization for (regularized) Hopf algebra characters, i.e. for Feynman\nrules. In this work we would like to show that this Birkhoff factorization\nfinds its natural formulation in terms of a classical r-matrix, coming from a\nRota-Baxter structure underlying the target space of the regularized Hopf\nalgebra characters. Working in the rooted tree Hopf algebra, the simple case of\nthe Hopf subalgebra of ladder trees is treated in detail. The extension to the\ngeneral case, i.e. the full Hopf algebra of rooted trees or Feynman graphs is\nbriefly outlined."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Semi-classical BMS-blocks from the Oscillator Construction: Flat-space holography requires a thorough understanding of BMS symmetry. We\nintroduce an oscillator construction of the highest-weight representation of\nthe $\\mathfrak{bms}_3$ algebra and show that it is consistent with known\nresults concerning the $\\mathfrak{bms}_3$ module. We take advantage of this\nframework to prove that $\\mathfrak{bms}_3$-blocks exponentiate in the\nsemi-classical limit, where one of the central charges is large. Within this\ncontext, we compute perturbatively heavy, and heavy-light vacuum\n$\\mathfrak{bms}_3$-blocks.",
        "positive": "PP-waves from rotating and continuously distributed D3-branes: We study families of PP-wave solutions of type-IIB supergravity that have\n(light-cone) time dependent metrics and RR five-form fluxes. They arise as\nPenrose limits of supergravity solutions that correspond to rotating or\ncontinuous distributions of D3-branes. In general, the solutions preserve\nsixteen supersymmetries. On the dual field theory side these backgrounds\ndescribe the BMN limit of N=4 SYM when some scalars in the field theory have\nnon-vanishing expectation values. We study the perturbative string spectrum and\nin several cases we are able to determine it exactly for the bosons as well as\nfor the fermions. We find that there are special states for particular values\nof the light-cone constant P_+."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Field Theory without Infinite Renormalization: Although Quantum field theory has been very successful in explaining\nexperiment, there are two aspects of the theory that remain quite troubling.\nOne is the no-interaction result proved in Haag's theorem. The other is the\nexistence of infinite perturbation expansion terms that need to be absorbed\ninto theoretically unknown but experimentally measurable quantities like charge\nand mass -- i.e. renormalization. Here it will be shown that the two problems\nmay be related. A \"natural\" method of eliminating the renormalization problem\nalso sidesteps Haag's theorem automatically. Existing renormalization schemes\ncan at best be considered a temporary fix as perturbation theory assumes\nexpansion terms to be \"small\" -- and infinite terms are definitely not so (even\nif they are renormalized away). String theories may be expected to help the\nsituation because the infinities can be traced to the point-nature of\nparticles. However, string theories have their own problems arising from the\nextra space dimensions required. Here a more directly physical remedy is\nsuggested. Particles are modeled as extended objects (like strings). But,\nunlike strings, they are composites of a finite number of constituents each of\nwhich resides in the normal 4-dimensional space-time. The constituents are\nbound together by a manifestly covariant confining potential. This approach no\nlonger requires infinite renormalizations. At the same time it sidesteps the\nno-interaction result proved in Haag's theorem.",
        "positive": "Conformal supergravity in three dimensions: Off-shell actions: Using the off-shell formulation for N-extended conformal supergravity in\nthree dimensions, which has recently been presented in arXiv:1305.3132, we\nconstruct superspace actions for conformal supergravity theories with N<6. For\neach of the cases considered, we work out the complete component action as well\nas the gauge transformation laws of the fields belonging to the Weyl\nsupermultiplet. The N=1 and N=2 component actions derived coincide with those\nproposed by van Nieuwenhuizen and Rocek in the mid-1980s. The off-shell N=3,\nN=4 and N=5 supergravity actions are new results. Upon elimination of the\nauxiliary fields, these actions reduce to those constructed by Lindstrom and\nRocek in 1989 (and also by Gates and Nishino in 1993)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exercises in equivariant cohomology: Equivariant cohomology is a mathematical framework particularly well adapted\nto a kinematical understanding of topological gauge theories of the\ncohomological type. It also sheds some light on gauge fixing, a necessary field\ntheory operation connected with the non compactness of the gauge group. The\nrespective roles of fields and observables are emphasized throughout.",
        "positive": "Signatures of Initial State Modifications on Bispectrum Statistics: Modifications of the initial-state of the inflaton field can induce a\ndeparture from Gaussianity and leave a testable imprint on the higher order\ncorrelations of the CMB and large scale structures in the Universe. We focus on\nthe bispectrum statistics of the primordial curvature perturbation and its\nprojection on the CMB. For a canonical single-field action the three-point\ncorrelator enhancement is localized, maximizing in the collinear limit,\ncorresponding to enfolded or squashed triangles in comoving momentum space. We\nshow that the available local and equilateral template are very insensitive to\nthis localized enhancement and do not generate noteworthy constraints on\ninitial-state modifications. On the other hand, when considering the addition\nof a dimension 8 higher order derivative term, we find a dominant rapidly\noscillating contribution, which had previously been overlooked and whose\nsignificantly enhanced amplitude is independent of the triangle under\nconsideration. Nevertheless, the oscillatory nature of (the sign of) the\ncorrelation function implies the signal is nearly orthogonal to currently\navailable observational templates, strongly reducing the sensitivity to the\nenhancement. Constraints on departures from the standard Bunch-Davies vacuum\nstate can be derived, but also depend on the next-to-leading terms. We\nemphasize that the construction and application of especially adapted templates\ncould lead to CMB bispectrum constraints on modified initial states already\ncompeting with those derived from the power spectrum."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Knot solitons in modified Ginzburg-Landau model: We study a modified version of the Ginzburg-Landau model suggested by Ward\nand show that Hopfions exist in it as stable static solutions, for values of\nthe Hopf invariant up to at least 7. We also find that their properties closely\nfollow those of their counterparts in the Faddeev-Skyrme model. Finally, we\nlend support to Babaev's conjecture that longer core lengths yield more stable\nsolitons and propose a possible mechanism for constructing Hopfions in pure\nGinzburg-Landau model.",
        "positive": "Temporal vs Spatial Conservation and Memory Effect in Electrodynamics: We consider the standard Maxwell's theory in 1+3 dimensions in the presence\nof a timelike boundary. In this context, we show that (generalized)\nAmpere-Maxwell's charge appears as a Noether charge associated with the Maxwell\nU(1) gauge symmetry which satisfies a spatial conservation equation.\nFurthermore, we also introduce the notion of spatial memory field and its\ncorresponding memory effect. Finally, similar to the temporal case through the\nlens of Strominger's triangle proposal, we show how spatial memory and\nconservation are related."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Degrees of freedom of massless boson and fermion fields in any even\n  dimension: This is a discussion on degrees of freedom of massless fermion and boson\nfields, if they are free or weakly interacting. We generalize the gauge fields\nof $S^{ab}$ - $\\omega_{abc}$ - and of $\\tilde{S}^{ab}$ - $\n\\tilde{\\omega}_{abc}$ - of the spin-charge-family to the gauge fields of all\npossible products of $\\gamma^a$'s and of all possible products of\n$\\tilde{\\gamma}^a$'s, the first taking care in the {\\it spin-charge-family}\ntheory of the spins and charges quantum numbers ($\\tau^{Ai}=\\sum_{a,b}\nc^{Ai}{}_{ab} \\,S^{ab}$) of fermions, the second ($\\tilde{\\tau}^{Ai}=\n\\sum_{a,b} \\tilde{c}^{Ai}{}_{ab}\\, \\tilde{S}^{ab}$) taking care of the families\nquantum numbers.",
        "positive": "Space-time dependent couplings in N=1 SUSY gauge theories: Anomalies and\n  Central Functions: We consider N=1 supersymmetric gauge theories in which the couplings are\nallowed to be space-time dependent functions. Both the gauge and the\nsuperpotential couplings become chiral superfields. As has recently been shown,\na new topological anomaly appears in models with space-time dependent gauge\ncoupling. Here we show how this anomaly may be used to derive the NSVZ beta\nfunction in a particular, well-determined renormalisation scheme, both without\nand with chiral matter. Moreover we extend the topological anomaly analysis to\ntheories coupled to a classical curved superspace background, and use it to\nderive an all-order expression for the central charge c, the coefficient of the\nWeyl tensor squared contribution to the conformal anomaly. We also comment on\nthe implications of our results for the central charge a expected to be of\nrelevance for a four-dimensional C-theorem."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Polyakov-Mellin Bootstrap for AdS loops: We consider holographic CFTs and study their large $N$ expansion. We use\nPolyakov-Mellin bootstrap to extract the CFT data of all operators, including\nscalars, till $O(1/N^4)$. We add a contact term in Mellin space, which\ncorresponds to an effective $\\phi^4$ theory in AdS and leads to anomalous\ndimensions for scalars at $O(1/N^2)$. Using this we fix $O(1/N^4)$ anomalous\ndimensions for double trace operators finding perfect agreement with\n\\cite{loopal} (for $\\Delta_{\\phi}=2$). Our approach generalizes this to any\ndimensions and any value of conformal dimensions of external scalar field. In\nthe second part of the paper, we compute the loop amplitude in AdS which\ncorresponds to non-planar correlators of in CFT. More precisely, using CFT data\nat $O(1/N^4)$ we fix the AdS bubble diagram and the triangle diagram for the\ngeneral case.",
        "positive": "Non-Perturbative Solution of Matrix Models Modified by Trace-Squared\n  Terms: We present a non-perturbative solution of large $N$ matrix models modified by\nterms of the form $ g(\\Tr\\Phi^4)^2$, which add microscopic wormholes to the\nrandom surface geometry. For $g<g_t$ the sum over surfaces is in the same\nuniversality class as the $g=0$ theory, and the string susceptibility exponent\nis reproduced by the conventional Liouville interaction $\\sim e^{\\alpha_+\n\\phi}$. For $g=g_t$ we find a different universality class, and the string\nsusceptibility exponent agrees for any genus with Liouville theory where the\ninteraction term is dressed by the other branch, $e^{\\alpha_- \\phi}$. This\nallows us to define a double-scaling limit of the $g=g_t$ theory. We also\nconsider matrix models modified by terms of the form $g O^2$, where $O$ is a\nscaling operator. A fine-tuning of $g$ produces a change in this operator's\ngravitational dimension which is, again, in accord with the change in the\nbranch of the Liouville dressing."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Trilogy: Discrete Toda, Y-System and Chaos: We discuss a discretization of the quantum Toda field theory associated with\na semisimple finite-dimensional Lie algebra or a tamely-laced\ninfinite-dimensional Kac-Moody algebra $G$, generalizing the previous\nconstruction of discrete quantum Liouville theory for the case $G=A_1$. The\nmodel is defined on a discrete two-dimensional lattice, whose spatial direction\nis of length $L$. In addition we also find a \"discretized extra dimension\"\nwhose width is given by the rank $r$ of $G$, which decompactifies in the large\n$r$ limit. For the case of $G=A_N$ or $A_{N-1}^{(1)}$, we find a symmetry\nexchanging $L$ and $N$ under appropriate spatial boundary conditions. The\ndynamical time evolution rule of the model is a quantizations of the so-called\nY-system, and the theory can be well-described by the quantum cluster algebra.\nWe discuss possible implications for recent discussions of quantum chaos, and\ncomment on the relation with the quantum higher Teichmuller theory of type\n$A_N$.",
        "positive": "Grassmannian sigma model on a finite interval: We discuss the two-dimensional Grassmannian sigma model $\\mathbb{G}_{N, M}$\non a finite interval $L$. The different boundary conditions which allow to\nobtain analytical solutions by the saddle-point method in the large $N$ limit\nare considered. The nontrivial phase structure of the model on the interval\nsimilar to $\\mathbb{C}P(N)$ model is found."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Branes And Supergroups: Extending previous work that involved D3-branes ending on a fivebrane with\n$\\theta_{\\mathrm{YM}}\\not=0$, we consider a similar two-sided problem. This\nconstruction, in case the fivebrane is of NS type, is associated to the\nthree-dimensional Chern-Simons theory of a supergroup U$(m|n)$ or OSp$(m|2n)$\nrather than an ordinary Lie group as in the one-sided case. By $S$-duality, we\ndeduce a dual magnetic description of the supergroup Chern-Simons theory; a\nslightly different duality, in the orthosymplectic case, leads to a strong-weak\ncoupling duality between certain supergroup Chern-Simons theories on\n$\\mathbb{R}^3$; and a further $T$-duality leads to a version of Khovanov\nhomology for supergroups. Some cases of these statements are known in the\nliterature. We analyze how these dualities act on line and surface operators.",
        "positive": "Effective Lagrangian in de Sitter Spacetime: Scale invariant fluctuations of metric are universal feature of quantum\ngravity in de Sitter spacetime. We construct an effective Lagrangian which\nsummarizes their implications on local physics by integrating super-horizon\nmetric fluctuations. It shows infrared quantum effects are local and render\nfundamental couplings time dependent. We impose Lorenz invariance on the\neffective Lagrangian as it is required by the principle of general covariance.\nWe show that such a requirement leads to unique physical predictions by fixing\nthe quantization ambiguities. We explain how the gauge parameter dependence of\nobservables is canceled. In particular the relative evolution speed of the\ncouplings are shown to be gauge invariant."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Moduli Stabilization in the Heterotic/IIB Discretuum: We consider supersymmetric compactifications of type IIB and the weakly\ncoupled heterotic string with G resp.H-flux and gaugino condensation in a\nhidden sector included. We point out that proper inclusion of the\nnon-perturbative effects changes the Hodge structure of the allowed fluxes in\ntype IIB significantly. In the heterotic theory it is known that, in contrast\nto the potential read off from dimensional reduction, the effective\nfour-dimensional description demands for consistency a non-vanishing H^{2,1}\ncomponent if a H^{3,0} component is already present balancing the condensate.\nThe H^{2,1} component causes a non-Kahlerness of the underlying geometry whose\nmoduli space is, however, not well-understood. We show that the occurrence of\nH^{2,1} might actually be avoided by using a KKLT-like two-step procedure for\nmoduli stabilization. Independently of the H^{2,1} issue one-loop corrections\nto the gauge couplings were argued to cause a not well-controlled strong\ncoupling transition. This problem can be avoided as well when the effects of\nworld-sheet instantons are included. They will also stabilize the Kahler\nmodulus what was accomplished by H^{2,1} before.",
        "positive": "Correlation Functions in Unitary Minimal Liouville Gravity and Frobenius\n  Manifolds: We continue to study minimal Liouville gravity (MLG) using a dual approach\nbased on the idea that the MLG partition function is related to the tau\nfunction of the A_q integrable hierarchy via the resonance transformations,\nwhich are in turn fixed by conformal selection rules. One of the main problems\nin this approach is to choose the solution of the Douglas string equation that\nis relevant for MLG. The appropriate solution was recently found using\nconnection with the Frobenius manifolds. We use this solution to investigate\nthree- and four-point correlators in the unitary MLG models. We find an\nagreement with the results of the original approach in the region of the\nparameters where both methods are applicable. In addition, we find that only\npart of the selection rules can be satisfied using the resonance\ntransformations. The physical meaning of the nonzero correlators, which before\ncoupling to Liouville gravity are forbidden by the selection rules, and also\nthe modification of the dual formulation that takes this effect into account\nremains to be found."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Noncommutative Supersymmetric Field Theories: We discuss some properties of noncommutative supersymmetric field theories\nwhich do not involve gauge fields. We concentrate on the renormalizability\nissue of these theories.",
        "positive": "Canonical Chern-Simons Theory and the Braid Group on a Riemann Surface: We find an explicit solution of the Schr\\\"odinger equation for a Chern-Simons\ntheory coupled to charged particles on a Riemann surface, when the coefficient\nof the Chern-Simons term is a rational number (rather than an integer) and\nwhere the total charge is zero. We find that the wave functions carry a\nprojective representation of the group of large gauge transformations. We also\nexamine the behavior of the wave function under braiding operations which\ninterchange particle positions. We find that the representation of both the\nbraiding operations and large gauge transformations involve unitary matrices\nwhich mix the components of the wave function. The set of wave functions are\nexpressed in terms of appropriate Jacobi theta functions. The matrices form a\nfinite dimensional representation of a particular (well known to\nmathematicians) version of the braid group on the Riemann surface. We find a\nconstraint which relates the charges of the particles, $q$, the coefficient of\nthe Chern-Simons term, $k$ and the genus of the manifold, $g$: $q^2(g-1)/k$\nmust be an integer. We discuss a duality between large gauge transformations\nand braiding operations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Schwinger-Keldysh Diagrammatics for Primordial Perturbations: We present a systematic introduction to the diagrammatic method for practical\ncalculations in inflationary cosmology, based on Schwinger-Keldysh path\nintegral formalism. We show in particular that the diagrammatic rules can be\nderived directly from a classical Lagrangian even in the presence of derivative\ncouplings. Furthermore, we use quasi-single-field inflation as an example to\nshow how this formalism, combined with the trick of mixed propagator, can\nsignificantly simplify the calculation of some in-in correlation functions. The\nresulting bispectrum includes the lighter scalar case ($m<3H/2$) that has been\npreviously studied, and the heavier scalar case ($m>3H/2$) that has not been\nexplicitly computed for this model. The latter provides a concrete example of\nquantum primordial standard clocks, in which the clock signals can be\nobservably large.",
        "positive": "Tensor Field Theories: Renormalization and Random Geometry: This thesis focuses on renormalization of quantum field theories. Its first\npart considers three tensor models in three dimensions, a Fermionic quartic\nwith tensors of rank-3 and two Bosonic sextic, of ranks 3 and 5. We rely upon\nthe large-$N$ melonic expansion of tensor models. For the first model,\ninvariant under $U(N)^3$, we obtain the RG flow of the two melonic couplings\nand the vacuum phase diagram, from a reformulation with a diagonalizable matrix\nintermediate field. The discrete chiral symmetry breaks spontaneously and we\ncompare with the three-dimensional Gross-Neveu model. Beyond the massless\n$U(N)^3$ symmetric phase, we also observe a massive phase of same symmetry and\nanother where the symmetry breaks into $U(N^2)\\times U(N/2)\\times U(N/2)$. A\nmatrix model invariant under $U(N)\\times U(N^2)$, with close properties, is\nalso studied. For the other models, with symmetry groups $U(N)^3$ and $O(N)^5$,\na non-melonic coupling (the \"wheel\") with an optimal scaling in $N$ drives us\nto a generalized melonic expansion. The kinetic terms are taken of short- and\nlong-range, and we analyze perturbatively, at large-$N$, the RG flows of the\nsextic couplings up to four loops. Only the rank-3 model displays non-trivial\nfixed points (two real Wilson-Fisher-like in the short-range case and a line of\nfixed points in the other). We finally obtain the real conformal dimensions of\nthe primary bilinear operators. In the second part, we establish the first\nresults of perturbative multi-scale renormalization for a quartic scalar field\non critical Galton-Watson trees, with a long-range kinetic term. At\ncriticality, an emergent infinite spine provides a space of effective dimension\n$4/3$ on which to compute averaged correlation fonctions. This approach\nformalizes the notion of a QFT on a random geometry. We use known probabilistic\nbounds on the heat-kernel on a random graph reviewed in detail."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chiral Reductions of the M-Algebra: We present the chiral truncation of the eleven dimensional M-algebra down to\nten and six dimensions. In ten dimensions, we obtain a topological extension of\nthe $(1,0)$ Poincar\\'e superalgebra that includes super one-form and super\nfive-form charges. Closed super three- and seven-forms associated with this\nalgebra are constructed. In six dimensions, we obtain a topological extension\nof the $(2,0)$ and $(1,0)$ Poincar\\'e superalgebras. The former includes a\nquintet of super one-form charges, and a decuplet of super three-form charges,\nwhile the latter includes a triplet of super three-form charges.",
        "positive": "Symmetry breaking mechanisms of the 3BF action for the Standard Model\n  coupled to gravity: We study the details of the explicit and spontaneous symmetry breaking of the\nconstrained 3BF action representing the Standard Model coupled to\nEinstein-Cartan gravity. First we discuss how each particular constraint breaks\nthe original symmetry of the topological 3BF action. Then we investigate the\nspontaneous symmetry breaking and the Higgs mechanism for the electroweak\ntheory in the constrained 3BF form, in order to demonstrate that they can\nindeed be performed in the framework of higher gauge theory. A formulation of\nthe Proca action as a constrained 3BF theory is also studied in detail."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spinning Hopf solitons on S^3 x R: We consider a field theory with target space being the two dimensional sphere\nS^2 and defined on the space-time S^3 x R. The Lagrangean is the square of the\npull-back of the area form on S^2. It is invariant under the conformal group\nSO(4,2) and the infinite dimensional group of area preserving diffeomorphisms\nof S^2. We construct an infinite number of exact soliton solutions with\nnon-trivial Hopf topological charges. The solutions spin with a frequency which\nis bounded above by a quantity proportional to the inverse of the radius of\nS^3. The construction of the solutions is made possible by an ansatz which\nexplores the conformal symmetry and a U(1) subgroup of the area preserving\ndiffeomorphism group.",
        "positive": "Goldilocks Modes and the Three Scattering Bases: We consider massless scattering from the point of view of the position,\nmomentum, and celestial bases. In these three languages different properties of\nphysical processes become manifest or obscured. Within the soft sector, they\nhighlight distinct aspects of the infrared triangle: quantum field theory soft\ntheorems arise in the limit of vanishing energy $\\omega$, memory effects are\ndescribed via shifts of fields at the boundary along the null time coordinate\n$u$, and celestial symmetry algebras are realized via currents that appear at\nspecial values of the conformal dimension $\\Delta$. We focus on the subleading\nsoft theorems at $\\Delta=1-s$ for gauge theory $(s=1)$ and gravity $(s=2)$ and\nexplore how to translate the infrared triangle to the celestial basis. We\nresolve an existing tension between proposed overleading gauge transformations\nas examined in the position basis and the `Goldstone-like' modes where we\nexpect celestial symmetry generators to appear. In the process we elucidate\nvarious order-of-limits issues implicit in the celestial formalism. We then\ngeneralize our construction to the tower of $w_{1+\\infty}$ generators in\ncelestial CFT, which probe further subleading-in-$\\omega$ soft behavior and are\nrelated to subleading-in-$r$ vacuum transitions that measure higher multipole\nmoments of scatterers. In the end we see that the celestial basis is `just\nright' for identifying the symmetry structure."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Lattice supersymmetry, superfields and renormalization: We study Euclidean lattice formulations of non-gauge supersymmetric models\nwith up to four supercharges in various dimensions. We formulate the conditions\nunder which the interacting lattice theory can exactly preserve one or more\nnilpotent anticommuting supersymmetries. We introduce a superfield formalism,\nwhich allows the enumeration of all possible lattice supersymmetry invariants.\nWe use it to discuss the formulation of Q-exact lattice actions and their\nrenormalization in a general manner. In some examples, one exact supersymmetry\nguarantees finiteness of the continuum limit of the lattice theory. As a\nconsequence, we show that the desired quantum continuum limit is obtained\nwithout fine tuning for these models. Finally, we discuss the implications and\npossible further applications of our results to the study of gauge and\nnon-gauge models.",
        "positive": "Holographic Superconductors in Quasi-topological Gravity: In this paper we study (3+1) dimensional holographic superconductors in\nquasi-topological gravity which is recently proposed by R. Myers {\\it et.al.}.\nThrough both analytical and numerical analysis, we find in general the\ncondensation becomes harder with the increase of coupling parameters of higher\ncurvature terms. In particular, comparing with those in ordinary Gauss-Bonnet\ngravity, we find that positive cubic corrections in quasi-topological gravity\nsuppress the condensation while negative cubic terms make it easier. We also\ncalculate the conductivity numerically for various coupling parameters. It\nturns out that the universal relation of $\\omega_g/T_c\\simeq 8$ is unstable and\nthis ratio becomes larger with the increase of the coupling parameters. A brief\ndiscussion on the condensation from the CFT side is also presented."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Inhomogeneous Reheating Scenario with DBI fields: We discuss a new mechanism which can be responsible for the origin of the\nprimordial perturbation in inflationary models, the inhomogeneous DBI reheating\nscenario. Light DBI fields fluctuate during inflation, and finally create the\ndensity perturbations through modulation of the inflation decay rate. In this\nnote, we investigate the curvature perturbation and its non-Gaussianity from\nthis new mechanism. Presenting generalized expressions for them, we show that\nthe curvature perturbation not only depends on the particular process of decay\nbut is also dependent on the sound speed $c_s$ from the DBI action. More\ninterestingly we find that the non-Gaussianity parameter $f_{NL}$ is\nindependent of $c_s$. As an application we exemplify some decay processes which\ngive a viable and detectable non-Gaussianity. Finally we find a possible\nconnection between our model and the DBI-Curvaton mechanism.",
        "positive": "Simple recipe for holographic Weyl anomaly: We propose a recipe - arguably the simplest - to compute the holographic\ntype-B Weyl anomaly for general higher-derivative gravity in asymptotically AdS\nspacetimes. In 5 and 7 dimensions we identify a suitable basis of curvature\ninvariants that allows to read off easily, without any further computation, the\nWeyl anomaly coefficients of the dual CFT. We tabulate the contributions from\nquadratic, cubic and quartic purely algebraic curvature invariants and also\nfrom terms involving derivatives of the curvature. We provide few examples,\nwhere the anomaly coefficients have been obtained by other means, to illustrate\nthe effectiveness of our prescription."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Unbroken $E_7\\times E_7$ nongeometric heterotic strings, stable\n  degenerations and enhanced gauge groups in F-theory duals: Eight-dimensional non-geometric heterotic strings with gauge algebra\n$\\mathfrak{e}_8\\mathfrak{e}_7$ were constructed by Malmendier and Morrison as\nheterotic duals of F-theory on K3 surfaces with $\\Lambda^{1,1}\\oplus E_8\\oplus\nE_7$ lattice polarization. Clingher, Malmendier and Shaska extended these\nconstructions to eight-dimensional non-geometric heterotic strings with gauge\nalgebra $\\mathfrak{e}_7\\mathfrak{e}_7$ as heterotic duals of F-theory on\n$\\Lambda^{1,1}\\oplus E_7\\oplus E_7$ lattice polarized K3 surfaces. In this\nstudy, we analyze the points in the moduli of non-geometric heterotic strings\nwith gauge algebra $\\mathfrak{e}_7\\mathfrak{e}_7$, at which the non-Abelian\ngauge groups on the F-theory side are maximally enhanced. The gauge groups on\nthe heterotic side do not allow for the perturbative interpretation at these\npoints. We show that these theories can be described as deformations of the\nstable degenerations, as a result of coincident 7-branes on the F-theory side.\nFrom the heterotic viewpoint, this effect corresponds to the insertion of\n5-branes. These effects can be used to understand nonperturbative aspects of\nnongeometric heterotic strings. Additionally, we build a family of elliptic\nCalabi-Yau 3-folds by fibering elliptic K3 surfaces, which belong to the\nF-theory side of the moduli of non-geometric heterotic strings with gauge\nalgebra $\\mathfrak{e}_7\\mathfrak{e}_7$, over $\\mathbb{P}^1$. We find that\nhighly enhanced gauge symmetries arise on F-theory on the built elliptic\nCalabi-Yau 3-folds.",
        "positive": "Study of the nonlocal gauge invariant mass operator $\\mathrm{Tr} \\int\n  d^4x F_{\u03bc\u03bd} (D^2)^{-1} F_{\u03bc\u03bd}$ in the maximal Abelian gauge: The nonlocal gauge invariant mass operator $\\mathrm{Tr} \\int d^{4}x\nF_{\\mu\\nu} (D^2)^{-1} F_{\\mu\\nu}$ is investigated in Yang-Mills theories in the\nmaximal Abelian gauge. By means of the introduction of auxiliary fields a local\naction is achieved, enabling us to use the algebraic renormalization in order\nto prove the renormalizability of the resulting local model to all orders of\nperturbation theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Early Dark Energy in Type IIB String Theory: Early Dark Energy (EDE) is a promising model to resolve the Hubble Tension,\nthat, informed by Cosmic Microwave Background data, features a generalization\nof the potential energy usually associated with axion-like particles. We\ndevelop realizations of EDE in type IIB string theory with the EDE field\nidentified as either a $C_4$ or $C_2$ axion and with full closed string moduli\nstabilization within the framework of either KKLT or the Large Volume Scenario.\nWe explain how to achieve a natural hierarchy between the EDE energy scale and\nthat of the other fields within a controlled effective field theory. We argue\nthat the data-driven EDE energy scale and decay constant can be achieved\nwithout any tuning of the microscopic parameters for EDE fields that violate\nthe weak gravity conjecture, while for states that respect the conjecture it is\nnecessary to introduce a fine-tuning. This singles out as the most promising\nEDE candidates, amongst several working models, the $C_2$ axions in LVS with 3\nnon-perturbative corrections to the superpotential generated by gaugino\ncondensation on D7-branes with non-zero world-volume fluxes.",
        "positive": "Currents for Arbitrary Helicity: Using Mackey's classification of unitary representations of the Poincar\\'e\ngroup on massles states of arbitrary helicity we disprove the claim that states\nwith helicity |h|>=1 cannot couple to a conserved current by constructing such\na current."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Analytic long-lived modes in charged critical plasma: Fluctuations around critical behavior of a holographic charged plasmas are\ninvestigated by studying quasi-normal modes of the corresponding black branes\nin 5D Einstein-Maxwell-Dilaton gravity. The near horizon geometry of black\nbranes approaches the well-known 2D charged string black hole in the critical\nlimit, for which a world-sheet description is available, and the corresponding\nquasi-normal modes can be obtained analytically from the reflection amplitude\nof the 2D black hole geometry. We find two distinct set of modes: a purely\nimaginary ``decoupled'' set, directly following from the reflection amplitude,\nand a ``non-decoupled'' set that was already identified in the neutral\nholographic plasma in \\cite{Betzios:2018kwn}. In the extremal limit, the former\nset of imaginary quasi-normal modes coalesce on a branch cut starting from the\nthe origin, signaling breakdown of hydrodynamic approximation. We further\ncomplete the black brane geometry with a slice of AdS near the boundary, to\nallow for a holographic construction, and find another set of modes localized\nin the UV. Finally, we develop an alternative WKB method to obtain the\nquasi-normal modes in the critical limit and apply this method to study the\nspectrum of hyperscaling-violating Lifshitz black branes. The critical limit of\nthe plasma we consider in this paper is in one-to-one correspondence with the\nlarge D limit of Einstein's gravity which allows for an alternative interesting\ninterpretation of our findings.",
        "positive": "On thermal molecular potential among micromolecules in charged AdS black\n  holes: Considering the unexpected similarity between the thermodynamic features of\ncharged AdS black holes and that of the van der Waals fluid system, we\ncalculate the number densities of black hole micromolecules and derive the\nthermodynamic scalar curvature for the small and large black holes on the\nco-existence curve based on the so-called Ruppeiner thermodynamic geometry. We\nreveal that the microscopic feature of the small black hole perfectly matches\nthat of the ideal anyon gas, and that the microscopic feature of the large\nblack hole matches that of the ideal Bose gas. More importantly, we investigate\nthe issue of molecular potential among micromolecules of charged AdS black\nholes, and point out explicitly that the well-known experiential Lennard-Jones\npotential is a feasible candidate to describe interactions among black hole\nmicromolecules completely from a thermodynamic point of view. The behavior of\nthe interaction force induced by the Lennard-Jones potential coincides with\nthat of the thermodynamic scalar curvature. Both the Lennard-Jones potential\nand the thermodynamic scalar curvature offer a clear and reliable picture of\nmicroscopic structures for the small and large black holes on the co-existence\ncurve for charged AdS black holes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A note on scaling arguments in the effective average action formalism: The effective average action (EAA) is a scale dependent effective action\nwhere a scale $k$ is introduced via an infrared regulator. The $k-$dependence\nof the EAA is governed by an exact flow equation to which one associates a\nboundary condition at a scale $\\mu$. We show that the $\\mu-$dependence of the\nEAA is controlled by an equation fully analogous to the Callan-Symanzik\nequation which allows to define scaling quantities straightforwardly.\nParticular attention is paid to composite operators which are introduced along\nwith new sources. We discuss some simple solutions to the flow equation for\ncomposite operators and comment their implications in the case of a local\npotential approximation.",
        "positive": "Form factors of descendant operators: $A^{(1)}_{L-1}$ affine Toda theory: In the framework of the free field representation we obtain exact form\nfactors of local operators in the two-dimensional affine Toda theories of the\n$A^{(1)}_{L-1}$ series. The construction generalizes Lukyanov's well-known\nconstruction to the case of descendant operators. Besides, we propose a free\nfield representation with a countable number of generators for the `stripped'\nform factors, which generalizes the recent proposal for the sine/sinh-Gordon\nmodel. As a check of the construction we compare numbers of the operators\ndefined by these form factors in level subspaces of the chiral sectors with the\ncorresponding numbers in the Lagrangian formalism. We argue that the\nconstruction provides a correct counting for operators with both chiralities.\nAt last we study the properties of the operators with respect to the Weyl\ngroup. We show that for generic values of parameters there exist Weyl invariant\nanalytic families of the bases in the level subspaces."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Pure N=2 Super Yang-Mills and Exact WKB: We apply exact WKB methods to the study of the partition function of pure N=2\nepsilon_i-deformed gauge theory in four dimensions in the context of the 2d/4d\ncorrespondence. We study the partition function at leading order in\nepsilon_2/epsilon_1 (i.e. at large central charge) and in an expansion in\nepsilon_1. We find corrections of the form ~ exp[- SW periods / epsilon_1] to\nthis expansion. We attribute these to the exchange of the order of summation\nover gauge instanton number and over powers of epsilon_1 when passing from the\nNekrasov form of the partition function to the topological string theory\ninspired form. We conjecture that such corrections should be computable from a\nworldsheet perspective on the partition function. Our results follow upon the\ndetermination of the Stokes graphs associated to the Mathieu equation with\ncomplex parameters and the application of exact WKB techniques to compute the\nMathieu characteristic exponent.",
        "positive": "Teukolsky master equation and Painlev\u00e9 transcendents: numerics and\n  extremal limit: We conduct an analysis of the quasi-normal modes for generic spin\nperturbations of the Kerr black hole using the isomonodromic method. The\nstrategy consists of solving the Riemann-Hilbert map relating the accessory\nparameters of the differential equations involved to monodromy properties of\nthe solutions, using the $\\tau$-function for the Painlev\\'e V transcendent. We\nshow good accordance of the method with the literature for generic rotation\nparameter $a<M$. In the extremal limit, we determined the dependence of the\nmodes with the black hole temperature and establish that the extremal values of\nthe modes are obtainable from the Painlev\\'e V and III transcendents."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Scaling attractors in multi-field inflation: Multi-field inflation with a curved scalar geometry has been found to support\nbackground trajectories that violate the slow-roll, slow-turn conditions and\nthus have the potential to evade the swampland constraints. In order to\nunderstand how generic this novel behaviour is and what conditions lead to it,\nwe perform a classification of dynamical attractors of two-field inflation that\nare of the scaling type. Scaling solutions form a one-parameter generalization\nof De Sitter solutions with a constant value of the first Hubble flow parameter\n$\\epsilon$ and, as we argue and demonstrate, form a natural starting point for\nthe study of non-slow-roll slow-turn behaviour.\n  All scaling solutions can be classified as critical points of a specific\ndynamical system. We recover known multi-field inflationary attractors as\napproximate scaling solutions and classify their stability using dynamical\nsystem techniques. In particular, we discover that dynamical bifurcations play\nan integral role in the transition between geodesic and non-geodesic motion and\ndiscuss the ability of scaling solutions to describe realistic multi-field\nmodels. We revisit the criteria for background stability and show cases where\nthe usual criteria found in the literature do not capture the background\nevolution of the system.",
        "positive": "Aether-scalar field compactification and Casimir effect: In this study, we explore the impact of an additional dimension, as proposed\nin Kaluza-Klein's theory, on the Casimir effect within the context of Lorentz\ninvariance violation (LIV), which is represented by the aether field. We\ndemonstrate that the Casimir energy is directly influenced by the presence of\nthe fifth dimension, as well as by the aether parameter. Consequently, the\nforce between the plates is also subject to variations of these parameters.\nFurthermore, we examine constraints on both the size of the extra dimension and\nthe aether field parameter based on experimental data. The LIV parameter can\nprovide insights into addressing the size-related challenges in Kaluza-Klein's\ntheory and offers a mean to establish an upper limit on the size of the extra\ndimension. This helps to rationalize the difficulties associated with its\ndetection in current experiments."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Line defects in the 3d Ising model: We investigate the properties of the twist line defect in the critical 3d\nIsing model using Monte Carlo simulations. In this model the twist line defect\nis the boundary of a surface of frustrated links or, in a dual description, the\nWilson line of the Z2 gauge theory. We test the hypothesis that the twist line\ndefect flows to a conformal line defect at criticality and evaluate numerically\nthe low-lying spectrum of anomalous dimensions of the local operators which\nlive on the defect as well as mixed correlation functions of local operators in\nthe bulk and on the defect.",
        "positive": "Heterotic Line Bundle Models on Generalized Complete Intersection Calabi\n  Yau Manifolds: The systematic program of heterotic line bundle model building has resulted\nin a wealth of standard-like models (SLM) for particle physics. In this paper,\nwe continue this work in the setting of generalised Complete Intersection\nCalabi Yau (gCICY) manifolds. Using the gCICYs constructed in Ref. [1], we\nidentify two geometries that, when combined with line bundle sums, are directly\nsuitable for heterotic GUT models. We then show that these gCICYs admit freely\nacting $\\mathbb{Z}_2$ symmetry groups, and are thus amenable to Wilson line\nbreaking of the GUT gauge group to that of the standard model. We proceed to a\nsystematic scan over line bundle sums over these geometries, that result in 99\nand 33 SLMs, respectively. For the first class of models, our results may be\ncompared to line bundle models on homotopically equivalent Complete\nIntersection Calabi Yau manifolds. This shows that the number of realistic\nconfigurations is of the same order of magnitude."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The modified Seiberg-Witten monopole equations and their exact solutions: The modified Seiberg-Witten monopole equations are presented in this letter.\nThese equations have analytic solutions in the whole 1+3 Minkowski space with\nfinite energy. The physical meaning of the equations and solutions are\ndiscussed here.",
        "positive": "Some classes of renormalizable tensor models: We identify new families of renormalizable of tensor models from anterior\nrenormalizable tensor models via a mapping capable of reducing or increasing\nthe rank of the theory without having an effect on the renormalizability\nproperty. Mainly, a version of the rank 3 tensor model as defined in\n[arXiv:1201.0176 [hep-th]], the Grosse-Wulkenhaar model in 4D and 2D generate\nthree different classes of renormalizable models. The proof of the\nrenormalizability is fully performed for the first reduced model. The same\nprocedure can be applied for the remaining cases. Interestingly, we find that,\ndue to the peculiar behavior of anisotropic wave function renormalizations, the\nrank 3 tensor model reduced to a matrix model generates a simple\nsuper-renormalizable vector model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exact effective interactions and 1/4-BPS dyons in heterotic CHL\n  orbifolds: Motivated by precision counting of BPS black holes, we analyze six-derivative\ncouplings in the low energy effective action of three-dimensional string vacua\nwith 16 supercharges. Based on perturbative computations up to two-loop,\nsupersymmetry and duality arguments, we conjecture that the exact coefficient\nof the $\\nabla^2(\\nabla\\phi)^4$ effective interaction is given by a genus-two\nmodular integral of a Siegel theta series for the non-perturbative Narain\nlattice times a specific meromorphic Siegel modular form. The latter is\nfamiliar from the Dijkgraaf-Verlinde-Verlinde (DVV) conjecture on exact\ndegeneracies of 1/4-BPS dyons. We show that this Ansatz reproduces the known\nperturbative corrections at weak heterotic coupling, including tree-level, one-\nand two-loop corrections, plus non-perturbative effects of order\n$e^{-1/g_3^2}$. We also examine the weak coupling expansions in type I and type\nII string duals and find agreement with known perturbative results, as well as\nnew predictions for higher genus perturbative contributions. In the limit where\na circle in the internal torus decompactifies, our Ansatz predicts the exact\n$\\nabla^2 F^4$ effective interaction in four-dimensional CHL string vacua,\nalong with infinite series of exponentially suppressed corrections of order\n$e^{-R}$ from Euclideanized BPS black holes winding around the circle, and\nfurther suppressed corrections of order $e^{-R^2}$ from Taub-NUT instantons. We\nshow that instanton corrections from 1/4-BPS black holes are precisely weighted\nby the BPS index predicted from the DVV formula, including the detailed moduli\ndependence. We also extract two-instanton corrections from pairs of 1/2-BPS\nblack holes, demonstrating consistency with supersymmetry and wall-crossing,\nand estimate the size of instanton-anti-instanton contributions.",
        "positive": "Meta-Stable Brane Configurations with Multiple NS5-Branes: Starting from an N=1 supersymmetric electric gauge theory with the multiple\nproduct gauge group and the bifundamentals, we apply Seiberg dual to each gauge\ngroup, obtain the N=1 supersymmetric dual magnetic gauge theories with dual\nmatters including the gauge singlets. Then we describe the intersecting brane\nconfigurations, where there are NS-branes and D4-branes(and anti D4-branes), of\ntype IIA string theory corresponding to the meta-stable nonsupersymmetric vacua\nof this gauge theory.\n  We also discuss the case where the orientifold 4-planes are added into the\nabove brane configuration. Next, by adding an orientifold 6-plane, we apply to\nan N=1 supersymmetric electric gauge theory with the multiple product gauge\ngroup(where a single symplectic or orthogonal gauge group is present) and the\nbifundamentals. Finally, we describe the other cases where the orientifold\n6-plane intersects with NS-brane."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "B-Model Approaches to Instanton Counting: This is the 13th article in the collection of reviews \"Exact results in N=2\nsupersymmetric gauge theories\", ed. J. Teschner. It discusses the relation\nbetween the instanton partition functions and the partition function of the\ntopological string from the perspective of the B-model. The instanton partition\nfunctions provide solutions to the holomorphic anomaly equations characterising\nthe partition functions of the topological string.",
        "positive": "Odd entanglement entropy in Galilean conformal field theories and flat\n  holography: The odd entanglement entropy (OEE) for bipartite states in a class of\n$(1+1)$-dimensional Galilean conformal field theories ($GCFT_{1+1}$) is\nobtained through an appropriate replica technique. In this context our results\nare compared with the entanglement wedge cross section (EWCS) for\n$(2+1)$-dimensional asymptotically flat geometries dual to the $GCFT_{1+1}$ in\nthe framework of flat holography. We find that our results are consistent with\nthe duality of the difference between the odd entanglement entropy and the\nentanglement entropy of bipartite states, with the bulk EWCS for flat\nholographic scenarios."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The quantum $p$-spin glass model: A user manual for holographers: We study a large-$N$ bosonic quantum mechanical sigma-model with a spherical\ntarget space subject to disordered interactions, more colloquially known as the\n$p$-spin spherical model. Replica symmetry is broken at low temperatures and\nfor sufficiently weak quantum fluctuations, which drives the system into a spin\nglass phase. The first half of this paper is dedicated to a discussion of this\nmodel's thermodynamics, with particular emphasis on the marginally stable spin\nglass. This phase exhibits an emergent conformal symmetry in the strong\ncoupling regime, which dictates its thermodynamic properties. It is associated\nwith an extensive number of nearby states in the free energy landscape. We\ndiscuss in detail an elegant approximate solution to the spin glass equations,\nwhich interpolates between the conformal regime and an ultraviolet-complete\nshort distance solution. In the second half of this paper we explore the\nreal-time dynamics of the model and uncover quantum chaos as measured by\nout-of-time-order four-point functions, both numerically and analytically. We\nfind exponential Lyapunov growth, which intricately depends on the model's\ncouplings and becomes strongest in the quantum critical regime. We emphasize\nthat the spin glass phase also exhibits quantum chaos, albeit with\nparametrically smaller Lyapunov exponent than in the replica symmetric phase.\nAn analytical calculation in the marginal spin glass phase suggests that this\nLyapunov exponent vanishes in a particular infinite coupling limit. We comment\non the potential meaning of these observations from the perspective of\nholography.",
        "positive": "Gradient Properties of Perturbative Multiscalar RG Flows to Six Loops: The gradient property of the renormalisation group (RG) flow of multiscalar\ntheories is examined perturbatively in $d=4$ and $d=4-\\varepsilon$ dimensions.\nSuch theories undergo RG flows in the space of quartic couplings $\\lambda^I$.\nStarting at five loops, the relevant vector field that determines the physical\nRG flow is not the beta function traditionally computed in a minimal\nsubtraction scheme in dimensional regularisation, but a suitable modification\nof it, the $B$ function. It is found that up to five loops the $B$ vector field\nis gradient, i.e. $B^I=G^{IJ}\\partial A / \\partial\\lambda^J$ with $A$ a scalar\nand $G_{IJ}$ a rank-two symmetric tensor of the couplings. Up to five loops the\nbeta function is also gradient, but it fails to be so at six loops. The\nconditions under which the $B$ function (and hence the RG flow) is gradient at\nsix loops are specified, but their verification rests on a separate six-loop\ncomputation that remains to be performed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Implications of Lorentz symmetry violation on a 5D supersymmetric model: Field models with $n$ extra spatial dimensions have a larger $SO(1,3+n)$\nLorentz symmetry which is broken down to the standard $SO(1,3)$ four\ndimensional one by the compactification process. By considering Lorentz\nviolating operators in a $5D$ supersymmetric Wess-Zumino mo\\-del, which\notherwise conserve the standard four dimensional Poincare invariance, we show\nthat supersymmetry can be restored upon a simple deformation of the\nsupersymmetric transformations. However, supersymmetry is not preserved in the\neffective $4D$ theory that arises after compactification when the $5D$ Lorentz\nviolating operators do not preserve $Z_2: y\\rightarrow -y$ bulk parity. Our\nmechanism unveils a possible connection among Lorentz violation and the\nScherk-Schwarz mechanism. We also show that parity preserving models, on the\nother hand, do provide well defined supersymmetric KK models.",
        "positive": "Triangle Anomalies, Thermodynamics, and Hydrodynamics: We consider 3+1-dimensional fluids with U(1)^3 anomalies. We use Ward\nidentities to constrain low-momentum Euclidean correlation functions and obtain\ndifferential equations that relate two and three-point functions. The solution\nto those equations yields, among other things, the chiral magnetic\nconductivity. We then compute zero-frequency functions in hydrodynamics and\nshow that the consistency of the hydrodynamic theory also fixes the\nanomaly-induced conductivities."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Localised Anti-Branes in Flux Backgrounds: Solutions corresponding to finite temperature (anti)-D3 and M2 branes\nlocalised in flux backgrounds are constructed in a linear approximation. The\nflux backgrounds considered are toy models for the IR of the Klebanov-Strassler\nsolution and its M-theory analogue, the Cveti\\v{c}-Gibbons-L\\\"{u}-Pope\nsolution. Smooth solutions exist for either sign charge, in stark contrast with\nthe previously considered case of smeared black branes. That the singularities\nof the anti-branes in the zero temperature extremal limit can be shielded\nbehind a finite temperature horizon indicates that the singularities are\nphysical and resolvable by string theory. As the charge of the branes grows\nlarge and negative, the flux at the horizon increases without bound and\ndiverges in the extremal limit, which suggests a resolution via brane\npolarisation \\`{a} la Polchinski-Strassler. It therefore appears that the\nanti-brane singularities do not indicate a problem with the SUSY-breaking\nmetastable states corresponding to expanded anti-brane configurations in these\nbackgrounds, nor with the use of these states in constructing the de Sitter\nlandscape.",
        "positive": "New Double Soft Emission Theorems: We study the behavior of the tree-level S-matrix of a variety of theories as\ntwo particles become soft. By analogy with the recently found subleading soft\ntheorems for gravitons and gluons, we explore subleading terms in double soft\nemissions. We first consider double soft scalar emissions and find subleading\nterms that are controlled by the angular momentum operator acting on hard\nparticles. The order of the subleading theorems depends on the presence or not\nof color structures. Next we obtain a compact formula for the leading term in a\ndouble soft photon emission. The theories studied are a special Galileon, DBI,\nEinstein-Maxwell-Scalar, NLSM and Yang-Mills-Scalar. We use the recently found\nCHY representation of these theories in order to give a simple proof of the\nleading order part of all these theorems"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum and Braided Linear Algebra: Quantum matrices $A(R)$ are known for every $R$ matrix obeying the Quantum\nYang-Baxter Equations. It is also known that these act on `vectors' given by\nthe corresponding Zamalodchikov algebra. We develop this interpretation in\ndetail, distinguishing between two forms of this algebra, $V(R)$ (vectors) and\n$V^*(R)$ (covectors). $A(R)\\to V(R_{21})\\tens V^*(R)$ is an algebra\nhomomorphism (i.e. quantum matrices are realized by the tensor product of a\nquantum vector with a quantum covector), while the inner product of a quantum\ncovector with a quantum vector transforms as a scaler. We show that if $V(R)$\nand $V^*(R)$ are endowed with the necessary braid statistics $\\Psi$ then their\nbraided tensor-product $V(R)\\und\\tens V^*(R)$ is a realization of the braided\nmatrices $B(R)$ introduced previously, while their inner product leads to an\ninvariant quantum trace. Introducing braid statistics in this way leads to a\nfully covariant quantum (braided) linear algebra. The braided groups obtained\nfrom $B(R)$ act on themselves by conjugation in a way impossible for the\nquantum groups obtained from $A(R)$.",
        "positive": "Energy-energy correlations at next-to-next-to-leading order: We develop further an approach to computing energy-energy correlations (EEC)\ndirectly from finite correlation functions. In this way, one completely avoids\ninfrared divergences. In maximally supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory\n($\\mathcal{N}=4$ sYM), we derive a new, extremely simple formula relating the\nEEC to a triple discontinuity of a four-point correlation function. We use this\nformula to compute the EEC in $\\mathcal{N}=4$ sYM at next-to-next-to-leading\norder in perturbation theory. Our result is given by a two-fold integral\nrepresentation that is straightforwardly evaluated numerically. We find that\nsome of the integration kernels are equivalent to those appearing in sunrise\nFeynman integrals, which evaluate to elliptic functions. Finally, we use the\nnew formula to provide the expansion of the EEC in the back-to-back and\ncollinear limits."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Superstring in doubled superspace: The covariant and kappa-symmetric action for superstring in direct product of\ntwo flat D=10 N=1 superspaces is presented. It is given by the sum of\nsupersymmetric generalization of two copies of chiral boson actions constructed\nwith the use of the Pasti-Sorokin-Tonin (PST) technique. The chirality of 8\n`left' bosons and 8 `left' fermions and the anti-chirality of their `right'\ncounterparts are obtained as gauge fixed version of the equations of motion, so\nthat the physical degrees of freedom are essentially those of the II\nGreen-Schwarz superstring. Our action is manifestly T-duality invariant as the\nfields describing oscillating and winding modes enter it on equal footing.",
        "positive": "Consistent SO(6) Reduction Of Type IIB Supergravity on S^5: Type IIB supergravity can be consistently truncated to the metric and the\nself-dual 5-form. We obtain the complete non-linear Kaluza-Klein S^5 reduction\nAnsatz for this theory, giving rise to gravity coupled to the fifteen\nYang-Mills gauge fields of SO(6) and the twenty scalars of the coset\nSL(6,R)/SO(6). This provides a consistent embedding of this subsector of N=8,\nD=5 gauged supergravity in type IIB in D=10. We demonstrate that the\nself-duality of the 5-form plays a crucial role in the consistency of the\nreduction. We also discuss certain necessary conditions for a theory of gravity\nand an antisymmetric tensor in an arbitrary dimension D to admit a consistent\nsphere reduction, keeping all the massless fields. We find that it is only\npossible for D=11, with a 4-form field, and D=10, with a 5-form. Furthermore,\nin D=11 the full bosonic structure of eleven-dimensional supergravity is\nrequired, while in D=10 the 5-form must be self-dual. It is remarkable that\njust from the consistency requirement alone one would discover D=11 and type\nIIB supergravities, and that D=11 is an upper bound on the dimension."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "New Consistent Limits to M-theory: The construction of effective field theories describing M-theory compactified\non $S^1/{\\bf Z}_2$ is revisited, and new insights into the parameters of the\ntheory are explained. Particularly, the web of constraints which follow from\nsupersymmetry and anomaly cancelation is argued to be more rich than previously\nunderstood. In contradistinction to the lore on the subject, a consistent\nclassical theory describing the coupling of eleven dimensional supergravity to\nsuper Yang-Mills theory constrained to the orbifold fixed points is suggested\nto exist.",
        "positive": "Exact Three Dimensional Black Holes in String Theory: A black hole solution to three dimensional general relativity with a negative\ncosmological constant has recently been found. We show that a slight\nmodification of this solution yields an exact solution to string theory. This\nblack hole is equivalent (under duality) to the previously discussed three\ndimensional black string solution. Since the black string is asymptotically\nflat and the black hole is asymptotically anti-de Sitter, this suggests that\nstrings are not affected by a negative cosmological constant in three\ndimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Anomalies of Generalized Symmetries from Solitonic Defects: We propose the general idea that 't Hooft anomalies of generalized global\nsymmetries can be understood in terms of the properties of solitonic defects,\nwhich generically are non-topological defects. The defining property of such\ndefects is that they act as sources for background fields of generalized\nsymmetries. 't Hooft anomalies arise when solitonic defects are charged under\nthese generalized symmetries. We illustrate this idea for several kinds of\nanomalies in various spacetime dimensions. A systematic exploration is\nperformed in 3d for 0-form, 1-form, and 2-group symmetries, whose 't Hooft\nanomalies are related to two special types of solitonic defects, namely vortex\nline defects and monopole operators. This analysis is supplemented with\ndetailed computations of such anomalies in a large class of 3d gauge theories.\nCentral to this computation is the determination of the gauge and 0-form\ncharges of a variety of monopole operators: these involve standard gauge\nmonopole operators, but also fractional gauge monopole operators, as well as\nmonopole operators for 0-form symmetries. The charges of these monopole\noperators mainly receive contributions from Chern-Simons terms and fermions in\nthe matter content. Along the way, we interpret the vanishing of the global\ngauge and ABJ anomalies, which are anomalies not captured by local anomaly\npolynomials, as the requirement that gauge monopole operators and mixed\nmonopole operators for 0-form and gauge symmetries have non-fractional integer\ncharges.",
        "positive": "Comments on Perturbative Dynamics of Non-Commutative Yang-Mills Theory: We study the U(N) non-commutative Yang-Mills theory at the one-loop\napproximation. We check renormalizability and gauge invariance of the model and\ncalculate the one-loop beta function. The interaction of the SU(N) gauge bosons\nwith the U(1) gauge boson plays an important role in the consistency check. In\nparticular, the SU(N) theory by itself is not consistent. We also find that the\ntheta --> 0 limit of the U(N) theory does not converge to the ordinary SU(N) x\nU(1) commutative theory, even at the planar limit. Finally, we comment on the\nUV/IR mixing."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Vacuum Polarization of STU Black Holes and their Subtracted Geometry\n  Limit: We study the vacuum polarization of a massless minimally coupled scalar field\nat the horizon of four-charge STU black holes. We compare the results for the\nstandard asymptotically flat black holes and for the black holes obtained in\nthe \"subtracted limit\", both in the general static case and at the horizon pole\nfor the general rotating case. The original and the subtracted results are\nidentical only in the BPS limit, and have opposite sign in the extremal Kerr\nlimit. We also compute the vacuum polarization on the static solutions that\ninterpolate between both the original and the subtracted case through a\nsolution-generating transformation and show that the vacuum polarization stays\npositive throughout the interpolating solution. In the Appendix we provide a\nclosed-form solution for the Green's function on general (static or rotating)\nsubtracted black hole geometries.",
        "positive": "Liquid crystal defects and confinement in Yang-Mills theory: We show that in the Landau gauge of the SU(2) Yang-Mills theory the residual\nglobal symmetry supports existence of the topological vortices which resemble\ndisclination defects in the nematic liquid crystals and the Alice\n(half-quantum) vortices in the superfluid heluim 3 in the A-phase. The theory\nalso possesses half-integer and integer charged monopoles which are analogous\nto the point-like defects in the nematic crystal and in the liquid helium. We\nargue that the deconfinement phase transition in the Yang-Mills theory in the\nLandau gauge is associated with the proliferation of these vortices and/or\nmonopoles. The disorder caused by these defects is suggested to be responsible\nfor the confinement of quarks in the low-temperature phase."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Anomaly breaking of de Sitter symmetry: To one loop order, interacting boson fields on de Sitter space have an\n\"infrared\" anomaly that breaks the de Sitter symmetry for all vacua save the\nEuclidian one. The divergence of a symmetry current at point $x$ has a non-zero\ncontribution at the antipodal point ${\\bar x}$.",
        "positive": "Flux-branes and the Dielectric Effect in String Theory: We consider the generalization to String and M-theory of the Melvin solution.\nThese are flux p-branes which have (p+1)-dimensional Poincare invariance and\nare associated to an electric (p+1)-form field strength along their\nworldvolume. When a stack of Dp-branes is placed along the worldvolume of a\nflux (p+3)-brane it will expand to a spherical D(p+2)-brane due to the\ndielectric effect. This provides a new setup to consider the gauge\ntheory/gravity duality. Compactifying M-theory on a circle we find the exact\ngravity solution of the type IIA theory describing the dielectric expansion of\nN D4-branes into a spherical bound state of D4-D6-branes, due to the presence\nof a flux 7-brane. In the decoupling limit, the deformation of the dual field\ntheory associated with the presence of the flux brane is irrelevant in the UV.\nWe calculate the gravitational radius and energy of the dielectric brane which\ngive, respectively, a prediction for the VEV of scalars and vacuum energy of\nthe dual field theory. Consideration of a spherical D6-brane probe with n units\nof D4-brane charge in the dielectric brane geometry suggests that the dual\ntheory arises as the Scherk-Schwarz reduction of the M5-branes (2,0) conformal\nfield theory. The probe potential has one minimum placed at the locus of the\nbulk dielectric brane and another associated to an inner dielectric brane\nshell."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Correlation Functions of Complex Matrix Models: For a restricted class of potentials (harmonic+Gaussian potentials), we\nexpress the resolvent integral for the correlation functions of simple traces\nof powers of complex matrices of size $N$, in term of a determinant; this\ndeterminant is function of four kernels constructed from the orthogonal\npolynomials corresponding to the potential and from their Cauchy transform. The\ncorrelation functions are a sum of expressions attached to a set of fully\npacked oriented loops configurations; for rotational invariant systems,\nexplicit expressions can be written for each configuration and more\nspecifically for the Gaussian potential, we obtain the large $N$ expansion ('t\nHooft expansion) and the so-called BMN limit.",
        "positive": "Comments on Higher Derivative Operators in Some SUSY Field Theories: We study the leading irrelevant operators along the flat directions of\ncertain supersymmetric theories. In particular, we focus on finite N=2\n(including N=4) supersymmetric field theories in four dimensions and show that\nthese operators are completely determined by the symmetries of the problem.\nThis shows that they are generated only at one loop and are not renormalized\nbeyond this order. An instanton computation in similar three dimensional\ntheories shows that these terms are renormalized. Hence, the four dimensional\nnon-renormalization theorem of these terms is not valid in three dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Consistency Relation for Single-Field Inflation with Power Spectrum\n  Oscillations: We derive a theoretical upper bound on the oscillation frequency in the\nscalar perturbation power spectrum of single-field inflation. Oscillations are\nmost naturally produced by modified vacua with varying phase. When this phase\nchanges rapidly, it induces strong interactions between the scalar\nfluctuations. If the interactions are sufficiently strong the theory cannot be\nevaluated using perturbation theory, hence imposing a limit on the oscillation\nfrequency. This complements the bound found by Weinberg governing the validity\nof effective field theory. The generalized consistency relation also allows one\nto use squeezed configurations of higher-point correlations to place\nconstraints on the power spectrum oscillations.",
        "positive": "Missing Mirrors: Type IIA Supergravity on the Resolved Conifold: We consider massive IIA supergravity on the resolved conifold with\n$SU(2)_L^2\\times U(1)_R$ symmetry and $\\N=1$ supersymmetry. A one dimensional\nfamily of such regular solutions was found by Brandhuber and we propose this to\nbe the mirror to one dimension of the moduli space of IIB solutions on the\ndeformed conifold found by Butti et al. This family provides a description of\nthe geometric transition in terms of a smooth family of flux backgrounds. The\nremaining dimension of the moduli space of Butti et al contains the baryonic\nbranch of Klebanov-Strassler and we propose that the mirror of this is either\nsome stringy resolution of a family of singular solutions found here or must be\nentirely non-geometric."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauged compact Q-balls and Q-shells in a multi-component $CP^N$ model: We study a multicomponent $CP^N$ model's scalar electrodynamics. The model\ncontains Q-balls/shells, which are non-topological compact solitons with time\ndependency $e^{i\\omega t}$. Two coupled $CP^N$ models can decouple locally if\none of their $CP^N$ fields takes the vacuum value. Because of the compacton\nnature of solutions, Q-shells can shelter another compact Q-ball or Q-shell\nwithin their hollow region. Even if compactons do not overlap, they can\ninteract through the electromagnetic field. We investigate how the size of\nmulti-compacton formations is affected by electric charge. We are interested in\nstructures with non-zero or zero total net charge.",
        "positive": "Minimal Simple de Sitter Solutions: We show that the minimal set of necessary ingredients to construct explicit,\nfour-dimensional de Sitter solutions from IIA string theory at tree-level are\nO6-planes, non-zero Romans mass parameter, form fluxes, and negative internal\ncurvature. To illustrate our general results, we construct such minimal simple\nde Sitter solutions from an orientifold compactification of compact hyperbolic\nspaces. In this case there are only two moduli and we demonstrate that they are\nstabilized to a sufficiently weakly coupled and large volume regime. We also\ndiscuss generalizations of the scenario to more general metric flux\nconstructions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum chains with a Catalan tree pattern of conserved charges: the\n  $\u0394= -1$ XXZ model and the isotropic octonionic chain: A class of quantum chains possessing a family of local conserved charges with\na Catalan tree pattern is studied. Recently, we have identified such a\nstructure in the integrable $SU(N)$-invariant chains. In the present work we\nfind sufficient conditions for the existence of a family of charges with this\nstructure in terms of the underlying algebra. Two additional systems with a\nCatalan tree structure of conserved charges are found. One is the spin 1/2 XXZ\nmodel with $\\Delta=-1$. The other is a new octonionic isotropic chain,\ngeneralizing the Heisenberg model. This system provides an interesting example\nof an infinite family of noncommuting local conserved quantities.",
        "positive": "Formation of Chiral Soliton Lattice: The Chiral Soliton Lattice (CSL) is a lattice structure composed of domain\nwalls aligned in parallel at equal intervals, which is energetically stable in\nthe presence of a background magnetic field and a finite (baryon) chemical\npotential due to the topological term originated from the chiral anomaly. We\nstudy its formation from the vacuum state, with describing the CSL as a layer\nof domain-wall disks surrounded by the vortex or string loop, based on the\nNambu-Goto-type effective theory. We show that the domain wall nucleates via\nquantum tunneling when the magnetic field is strong enough. We evaluate its\nnucleation rate and determine the critical magnetic field strength with which\nthe nucleation rate is no longer exponentially suppressed. We apply this\nanalysis to the neutral pion in the two-flavor QCD as well as the axion-like\nparticles (ALPs) with a finite (baryon) chemical potential under an external\nmagnetic field. In the former case, even though the CSL state is more\nenergetically stable than the vacuum state and the nucleation rate becomes\nlarger for sufficiently strong magnetic field, it cannot be large enough so\nthat the nucleation of the domain walls is not exponentially suppressed and\npromoted, without suffering from the tachyonic instability of the charged pion\nfluctuations. In the latter case, we confirm that the effective interaction of\nthe ALPs generically includes the topological term required for the CSL state\nto be energetically favored. We show that the ALP CSL formation is promoted if\nthe magnetic field strength and the chemical potential of the system is\nslightly larger than the scale of the axion decay constant."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-canonical quantization of electromagnetic fields and the meaning of\n  $Z_3$: Non-canonical quantization is based on certain reducible representations of\ncanonical commutation relations. Relativistic formalism for electromagnetic\nnon-canonical quantum fields is introduced. Unitary representations of the\nPoincar\\'e group at the level of fields and states are explicitly given.\nMulti-photon and coherent states are introduced. Statistics of photons in a\ncoherent state is Poissonian if an appropriately defined thermodynamic limit is\nperformed. Radiation fields having a correct $S$ matrix are constructed. The\n$S$ matrix is given by a non-canonical coherent-state displacement operator, a\nfact automatically eliminating the infrared catastrophe. This, together with\nearlier results on elimination of vacuum and ultraviolet infinities, suggests\nthat non-canonical quantization leads to finite field theories. Renormalization\nconstant $Z_3$ is found as a parameter related to wave functions of\nnon-canonical vacua.",
        "positive": "Quartic Horndeski, planar black holes, holographic aspects and universal\n  bounds: In this work, we consider a specific shift-invariant quartic Horndeski model,\nderiving new planar black hole solutions with axionic hair. We explore these\nsolutions in terms of their horizon structure and their thermodynamic\nproperties. We use the gauge/gravity dictionary to derive the DC transport\ncoefficients of the holographic dual with the aim of investigating how the new\ndeformation affects the universality of some renown bound proposals. Although\nmost of them are found to hold true, we nevertheless find a highly interesting\nparametric violation of the heat conductivity-to-temperature lower bound which\nacquires a dependence on both the scale and the coupling. Finally, using a\nperturbative approach, a more brutal violation of the viscocity-to-entropy\nratio is demonstrated."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Celestial Operator Products of Gluons and Gravitons: The operator product expansion (OPE) on the celestial sphere of conformal\nprimary gluons and gravitons is studied. Asymptotic symmetries imply recursion\nrelations between products of operators whose conformal weights differ by\nhalf-integers. It is shown, for tree-level Einstein-Yang-Mills theory, that\nthese recursion relations are so constraining that they completely fix the\nleading celestial OPE coefficients in terms of the Euler beta function. The\npoles in the beta functions are associated with conformally soft currents.",
        "positive": "Q-holes: We consider localized soliton-like solutions in the presence of a stable\nscalar condensate background. By the analogy with classical mechanics, it can\nbe shown that there may exist solutions of the nonlinear equations of motion\nthat describe dips or rises in the spatially-uniform charge distribution. We\nalso present explicit analytical solutions for some of such objects and examine\ntheir properties."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Classical and Quantum Integrable Systems in $\\wt{\\gr{gl}}(2)^{+*}$ and\n  Separation of Variables: Classical integrable Hamiltonian systems generated by elements of the Poisson\ncommuting ring of spectral invariants on rational coadjoint orbits of the loop\nalgebra $\\wt{\\gr{gl}}^{+*}(2,{\\bf R})$ are integrated by separation of\nvariables in the Hamilton-Jacobi equation in hyperellipsoidal coordinates. The\ncanonically quantized systems are then shown to also be completely integrable\nand separable within the same coordinates. Pairs of second class constraints\ndefining reduced phase spaces are implemented in the quantized systems by\nchoosing one constraint as an invariant, and interpreting the other as\ndetermining a quotient (i.e., by treating one as a first class constraint and\nthe other as a gauge condition). Completely integrable, separable systems on\nspheres and ellipsoids result, but those on ellipsoids require a further\nmodification of order $\\OO(\\hbar^2)$ in the commuting invariants in order to\nassure self-adjointness and to recover the Laplacian for the case of free\nmotion. For each case - in the ambient space ${\\bf R}^{n}$, the sphere and the\nellipsoid - the Schr\\\"odinger equations are completely separated in\nhyperellipsoidal coordinates, giving equations of generalized Lam\\'e type.",
        "positive": "Matching the observational value of the cosmological constant: A simple model is introduced in which the cosmological constant is\ninterpreted as a true Casimir effect on a scalar field filling the universe\n(e.g. $\\mathbf{R} \\times \\mathbf{T}^p\\times \\mathbf{T}^q$, $\\mathbf{R} \\times\n\\mathbf{T}^p\\times \\mathbf{S}^q, ...$). The effect is driven by compactifying\nboundary conditions imposed on some of the coordinates, associated both with\nlarge and small scales. The very small -but non zero- value of the cosmological\nconstant obtained from recent astrophysical observations can be perfectly\nmatched with the results coming from the model, by playing just with the\nnumbers of -actually compactified- ordinary and tiny dimensions, and being the\ncompactification radius (for the last) in the range $(1-10^3) l_{Pl}$, where\n$l_{Pl}$ is the Planck length. This corresponds to solving, in a way, what has\nbeen termed by Weinberg the {\\it new} cosmological constant problem. Moreover,\na marginally closed universe is favored by the model, again in coincidence with\nindependent analysis of the observational results."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hopf Solitons on the Lattice: Hopf solitons in the Skyrme-Faddeev model -- S^2-valued fields on R^3 with\nSkyrme dynamics -- are string-like topological solitons. In this Letter, we\ninvestigate the analogous lattice objects, for S^2-valued fields on the cubic\nlattice Z^3 with a nearest-neighbour interaction. For suitable choices of the\ninteraction, topological solitons exist on the lattice. Their appearance is\nremarkably similar to that of their continuum counterparts, and they exhibit\nthe same power-law relation E \\approx c H^{3/4} between the energy E and the\nHopf number H.",
        "positive": "Tachyon-free Orientifolds of Type 0B Strings in Various Dimensions: We construct non-tachyonic, non-supersymmetric orientifolds of Type 0B\nstrings in ten, six and four space-time dimensions. Typically, these models\nhave unitary gauge groups with charged massless fermionic and bosonic matter\nfields. However, generically there remains an uncancelled dilaton tadpole."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum anomalies and some recent developments: Some of the developments related to quantum anomalies and path integrals\nduring the past 10 years are briefly discussed. The covered subjects include\nthe issues related to the local counter term in the context of 2-dimensional\npath integral bosonization and the treatment of chiral anomaly and index\ntheorem on the lattice. We also briefly comment on a recent analysis of the\nconnection between the two-dimensional chiral anomalies and the\nfour-dimensional black hole radiation.",
        "positive": "Touching Random Surfaces and Liouville Gravity: Large $N$ matrix models modified by terms of the form $ g(\\Tr\\Phi^n)^2$\ngenerate random surfaces which touch at isolated points. Matrix model results\nindicate that, as $g$ is increased to a special value $g_t$, the string\nsusceptibility exponent suddenly jumps from its conventional value $\\gamma$ to\n${\\gamma\\over\\gamma-1}$. We study this effect in \\L\\ gravity and attribute it\nto a change of the interaction term from $O e^{\\alpha_+ \\phi}$ for $g<g_t$ to\n$O e^{\\alpha_- \\phi}$ for $g=g_t$ ($\\alpha_+$ and $\\alpha_-$ are the two roots\nof the conformal invariance condition for the \\L\\ dressing of a matter operator\n$O$). Thus, the new critical behavior is explained by the unconventional branch\nof \\L\\ dressing in the action."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Diagonal Form Factors and Heavy-Heavy-Light Three-Point Functions at\n  Weak Coupling: In this paper we consider a special kind of three-point functions of HHL type\nat weak coupling in N=4 SYM theory and analyze its volume dependence. At strong\ncoupling this kind of three-point functions were studied recently by Bajnok,\nJanik and Wereszczynski [1]. The authors considered some cases of HHL\ncorrelator in the su(2) sector and, relying on their explicit results,\nformulated a conjecture about the form of the volume dependence of the\nsymmetric HHL structure constant to be valid at any coupling up to wrapping\ncorrections. In order to test this hypothesis we considered the HHL correlator\nin su(2) sector at weak coupling and directly showed that, up to one loop, the\nfinite volume dependence has exactly the form proposed in [1]. Another side of\nthe conjecture suggests that computation of the symmetric structure constant is\nequivalent to computing the corresponding set of infinite volume form factors,\nwhich can be extracted as the coefficients of finite volume expansion. In this\nsense, extracting appropriate coefficients from our result gives a prediction\nfor the corresponding infinite volume form factors.",
        "positive": "Supersymmetric Toda Field Theories: We present new supersymmetric extensions of Conformal Toda and $A^{(1)}_N$\nAffine Toda field theories. These new theories are constructed using methods\nsimilar to those that have been developed to find supersymmetric extensions of\ntwo-dimensional bosonic sigma models with a scalar potential. In particular, we\nshow that the Conformal Toda field theory admits a (1,1)-supersymmetric\nextension, and the $A^{(1)}_N$ Affine Toda field admits a (1,0)-supersymmetric\nextension."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Brane-anti-brane Democracy: We suggest a duality invariant formula for the entropy and temperature of\nnon-extreme black holes in supersymmetric string theory. The entropy is given\nin terms of the duality invariant parameter of the deviation from extremality\nand 56 SU(8) covariant central charges. It interpolates between the entropies\nof Schwarzschild solution and extremal solutions with various amount of\nunbroken supersymmetries and therefore serves for classification of black holes\nin supersymmetric string theories. We introduce the second auxiliary 56 via\nE(7) symmetric constraint. The symmetric and antisymmetric combinations of\nthese two multiplets are related via moduli to the corresponding two\nfundamental representations of E(7): brane and anti-brane \"numbers.\" Using the\nCPT as well as C symmetry of the entropy formula and duality one can explain\nthe mysterious simplicity of the non-extreme black hole area formula in terms\nof branes and anti-branes.",
        "positive": "A quasi-particle description of the M(3,p) models: The M(3,p) minimal models are reconsidered from the point of view of the\nextended algebra whose generators are the energy-momentum tensor and the\nprimary field \\phi_{2,1} of dimension $(p-2)/4$. Within this framework, we\nprovide a quasi-particle description of these models, in which all states are\nexpressed solely in terms of the \\phi_{2,1}-modes. More precisely, we show that\nall the states can be written in terms of \\phi_{2,1}-type highest-weight states\nand their phi_{2,1}-descendants. We further demonstrate that the conformal\ndimension of these highest-weight states can be calculated from the \\phi_{2,1}\ncommutation relations, the highest-weight conditions and associativity. For the\nsimplest models (p=5,7), the full spectrum is explicitly reconstructed along\nthese lines. For $p$ odd, the commutation relations between the \\phi_{2,1}\nmodes take the form of infinite sums, i.e., of generalized commutation\nrelations akin to parafermionic models. In that case, an unexpected operator,\ngeneralizing the Witten index, is unravelled in the OPE of \\phi_{2,1} with\nitself. A quasi-particle basis formulated in terms of the sole \\phi_{1,2} modes\nis studied for all allowed values of p. We argue that it is governed by\njagged-type partitions further subject a difference 2 condition at distance 2.\nWe demonstrate the correctness of this basis by constructing its generating\nfunction, from which the proper fermionic expression of the combination of the\nVirasoro irreducible characters \\chi_{1,s} and \\chi_{1,p-s} (for 1\\leq s\\leq\n[p/3]+1) are recovered. As an aside, a practical technique for implementing\nassociativity at the level of mode computations is presented, together with a\ngeneral discussion of the relation between associativity and the Jacobi\nidentities."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Brane-worlds and their Deformations: A geometric theory of brane-worlds with large or non-compact extra dimensions\nis presented. It is shown that coordinate gauge independent perturbations of\nthe brane-world correspond to the Einstein-Hilbert dynamics derived from the\nembeddings of the brane-world. The quantum states of a perturbation are\ndescribed by Schr\\\"odinger's equation with respect to the extra dimensions and\nthe deformation Hamiltonian. A gauge potential with confined components is\nderived from the differentiable structure of the brane-world",
        "positive": "Faster than Hermitian Time Evolution: For any pair of quantum states, an initial state |I> and a final quantum\nstate |F>, in a Hilbert space, there are many Hamiltonians H under which |I>\nevolves into |F>. Let us impose the constraint that the difference between the\nlargest and smallest eigenvalues of H, E_max and E_min, is held fixed. We can\nthen determine the Hamiltonian H that satisfies this constraint and achieves\nthe transformation from the initial state to the final state in the least\npossible time \\tau. For Hermitian Hamiltonians, \\tau has a nonzero lower bound.\nHowever, among non-Hermitian PT-symmetric Hamiltonians satisfying the same\nenergy constraint, \\tau can be made arbitrarily small without violating the\ntime-energy uncertainty principle. The minimum value of \\tau can be made\narbitrarily small because for PT-symmetric Hamiltonians the path from the\nvector |I> to the vector |F>, as measured using the Hilbert-space metric\nappropriate for this theory, can be made arbitrarily short. The mechanism\ndescribed here is similar to that in general relativity in which the distance\nbetween two space-time points can be made small if they are connected by a\nwormhole. This result may have applications in quantum computing."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Induced modules for vertex operator algebras: For a vertex operator algebra $V$ and a vertex operator subalgebra $V'$ which\nis invarinant under an automorphism $g$ of $V$ of finite order, we introduce a\n$g$-twisted induction functor from the category of $g$-twisted $V'$-modules to\nthe category of $g$-twisted $V$-modules. This functor satisfies the Frobenius\nreciprocity and transitivity. The results are illustrated with $V$ being simple\nor with $V'$ being $g$-rational.",
        "positive": "Supergravity Instantons and the Universal Hypermultiplet: The effective action of N=2 supersymmetric 5-dimensional supergravity arising\nfrom compactifications of M-theory on Calabi-Yau threefolds receives\nnon-perturbative corrections from wrapped Euclidean membranes and fivebranes.\nThese contributions can be interpreted as instanton corrections in the 5\ndimensional field theory. Focusing on the universal hypermultiplet, a solution\nof this type is presented and the instanton action is calculated, generalizing\nprevious results involving membrane instantons. The instanton action is not a\nsum of membrane and fivebrane contributions: it has the form reminiscent of\nnon-threshold bound states."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "I-Brane Inflow and Anomalous Couplings on D-Branes: We show that the anomalous couplings of $D$-brane gauge and gravitational\nfields to Ramond-Ramond tensor potentials can be deduced by a simple anomaly\ninflow argument applied to intersecting $D$-branes and use this to determine\nthe eight-form gravitational coupling.",
        "positive": "Exact S-Matrices for Nonsimply-Laced Affine Toda Theories: We derive exact, factorized, purely elastic scattering matrices for affine\nToda theories based on the nonsimply-laced Lie algebras and superalgebras."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Yang-Mills Instanton Sheaves with Higher Topological Charges: We explicitly construct SL(2,C) Yang-Mills (weakly) three and four instanton\nsheaves on CP^3. These results extend the previous construction of Yang-Mills\n(weakly) instanton sheaves with topological charge two [18].",
        "positive": "Aspects of the ODE/IM correspondence: We review a surprising correspondence between certain two-dimensional\nintegrable models and the spectral theory of ordinary differential equations.\nParticular emphasis is given to the relevance of this correspondence to certain\nproblems in PT-symmetric quantum mechanics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The noncommutative sine-Gordon breather: As shown in [hep-th/0406065], there exists a noncommutative deformation of\nthe sine-Gordon model which remains (classically) integrable but features a\nsecond scalar field. We employ the dressing method (adapted to the\nMoyal-deformed situation) for constructing the deformed kink-antikink and\nbreather configurations. Explicit results and plots are presented for the\nleading noncommutativity correction to the breather. Its temporal periodicity\nis unchanged.",
        "positive": "Cosmic string interactions induced by gauge and scalar fields: We study the interaction between two parallel cosmic strings induced by gauge\nfields and by scalar fields with non-minimal couplings to curvature. For small\ndeficit angles the gauge field behaves like a collection of non-minimal scalars\nwith a specific value for the non-minimal coupling. We check this equivalence\nby computing the interaction energy between strings at first order in the\ndeficit angles. This result provides another physical context for the \"contact\nterms\" which play an important role in the renormalization of black hole\nentropy due to a spin-1 field."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Equation of State for a van der Waals Universe during Reissner-Nordstrom\n  Expansion: In a previous work [E.M. Prodanov, R.I. Ivanov, and V.G. Gueorguiev,\nReissner-Nordstrom Expansion, Astroparticle Physics 27 (150-154) 2007], we\nproposed a classical model for the expansion of the Universe during the\nradiation-dominated epoch based on the gravitational repulsion of the\nReissner-Nordstrom geometry - naked singularity description of particles that\n\"grow\" with the drop of the temperature. In this work we model the Universe\nduring the Reissner-Nordstrom expansion as a van der Waals gas and determine\nthe equation of state.",
        "positive": "Soliton Gauge States and T-duality of Closed Bosonic String Compatified\n  on Torus: We study soliton gauge states in the spectrum of bosonic string compatified\non torus. The enhenced Kac-Moody gauge symmetry, and thus T-duality, is shown\nto be related to the existence of these soliton gauge states in some moduli\npoints."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Ferromagnetic instability in PAAI in the sky: We study an idealised plasma of fermions, coupled through an abelian gauge\nforce $U(1)_X$, and which is asymmetric in that the masses of the oppositely\ncharged species are greatly unequal. The system is dubbed PAAI, plasma\nasym\\'etrique, ab\\'elien et id\\'ealis\\'e. It is argued that due to the\nferromagnetic instability that arises, the ground state gives rise to a complex\nof domain walls. This complex being held together by stresses much stronger\nthan cosmic gravity, does not evolve with the scale factor and along with the\nheavier oppositely charged partners simulates the required features of Dark\nEnergy with mass scale for the lighter fermions in the micro-eV to nano-eV\nrange. Further, residual $X$-magnetic fields through mixture with standard\nmagnetic fields, can provide the seed for cosmic-scale magnetic fields. Thus\nthe scenario can explain several cosmological puzzles including Dark Energy.",
        "positive": "Quantum Mechanics of the Vacuum State in Two-Dimensional QCD with\n  Adjoint Fermions: A study of two-dimensional QCD on a spatial circle with Majorana fermions in\nthe adjoint representation of the gauge groups SU(2) and SU(3) has been\nperformed. The main emphasis is put on the symmetry properties related to the\nhomotopically non-trivial gauge transformations and the discrete axial symmetry\nof this model. Within a gauge fixed canonical framework, the delicate interplay\nof topology on the one hand and Jacobians and boundary conditions arising in\nthe course of resolving Gauss's law on the other hand is exhibited. As a\nresult, a consistent description of the residual $Z_N$ gauge symmetry (for\nSU(N)) and the ``axial anomaly\" emerges. For illustrative purposes, the vacuum\nof the model is determined analytically in the limit of a small circle. There,\nthe Born-Oppenheimer approximation is justified and reduces the vacuum problem\nto simple quantum mechanics. The issue of fermion condensates is addressed and\nresidual discrepancies with other approaches are pointed out."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Pauli Oscillator In Noncommutative Space: In this study, we investigate the Pauli oscillator in a noncommutative space.\nIn other words, we derive wave function and energy spectrum of a spin half\nnon-relativistic charged particle that is moving under a constant magnetic\nfield with an oscillator potential in noncommutative space. We obtain critical\nvalues of the deformation parameter and the magnetic field, which counteract\nthe normal and anomalous Zeeman effects. Moreover, we find that the deformation\nparameter has to be smaller than $2.57\\times 10^{-26}m^2$. Then, we derive the\nHelmholtz free energy, internal energy, specific heat, and entropy functions of\nthe Pauli oscillator in the noncommutative space. With graphical methods, at\nfirst, we compare these functions with the ordinary ones, and then, we\ndemonstrate the effects of magnetic field on these thermodynamic functions in\nthe commutative and noncommutative space, respectively",
        "positive": "Universal Kounterterms in Lovelock AdS gravity: We show the universal form of the boundary term (Kounterterm series) which\nregularizes the Euclidean action and background-independent definition of\nconserved quantities for any Lovelock gravity theory with AdS asymptotics\n(including Einstein-Hilbert and Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet). We discuss on the\nconnection of this procedure to the existence of topological invariants and\nChern-Simons forms in the corresponding dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Deformations of calibrated D-branes in flux generalized complex\n  manifolds: We study massless deformations of generalized calibrated cycles, which\ndescribe, in the language of generalized complex geometry, supersymmetric\nD-branes in N=1 supersymmetric compactifications with fluxes. We find that the\ndeformations are classified by the first cohomology group of a Lie algebroid\ncanonically associated to the generalized calibrated cycle, seen as a\ngeneralized complex submanifold with respect to the integrable generalized\ncomplex structure of the bulk. We provide examples in the SU(3) structure case\nand in a `genuine' generalized complex structure case. We discuss cases of\nlifting of massless modes due to world-volume fluxes, background fluxes and a\ngeneralized complex structure that changes type.",
        "positive": "BCJ relations in ${AdS}_5 \\times S^3$ and the double-trace spectrum of\n  super gluons: We revisit the four-point function of super gluons in $AdS_5 \\times S^3$ in\nthe spirit of the large $p$ formalism and show how the integrand of a\ngeneralised Mellin transform satisfies various non-trivial properties such as\n$U(1)$ decoupling identity, BCJ relations and colour-kinematic duality, in a\nway that directly mirrors the analogous relations in flat space. We unmix the\nspectrum of double-trace operators at large $N$ and find all anomalous\ndimensions at leading order. The anomalous dimensions follow a very simple\npattern, resembling those of other theories with hidden conformal symmetries."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Universality of critical magnetic field in holographic superconductor: In this letter we study aspects of the holographic superconductors\nanalytically in the presence of a constant external magnetic field. We show\nthat the critical temperature and critical magnetic field can be calculated at\nnonzero temperature. We detect the Meissner effect in such superconductors. A\nuniversal relation between black hole mass $ M$ and critical magnetic field\n$H_c$ is proposed as $\\frac{H_c}{M^{2/3}}\\leq 0.687365$. We discuss some\naspects of phase transition in terms of black hole entropy and the Bekenstein's\nentropy to energy upper bound.",
        "positive": "Heterotic Moduli Stabilisation: We perform a systematic analysis of moduli stabilisation for weakly coupled\nheterotic string theory compactified on manifolds which are Calabi-Yau up to\nalpha' effects. We review how to fix all geometric and bundle moduli in a\nsupersymmetric way by fractional fluxes, the requirement of a holomorphic gauge\nbundle, D-terms, higher order perturbative contributions to W, non-perturbative\nand threshold effects. We then show that alpha' corrections to K lead to new\nstable Minkowski (or dS) vacua where the complex structure moduli Z and the\ndilaton are fixed supersymmetrically, while the fixing of the Kahler moduli at\na lower scale leads to spontaneous SUSY breaking. The minimum lies at\nmoderately large volumes of all geometric moduli, at a perturbative string\ncoupling and at the right value of the GUT coupling. We also give a dynamical\nderivation of anisotropic compactifications which allow for gauge coupling\nunification around 10^16 GeV. The gravitino mass can be anywhere between the\nGUT and TeV scale depending on the fixing of the Z-moduli. In general, these\nare fixed by turning on background fluxes, leading to a gravitino mass around\nthe GUT scale since the heterotic 3-form flux does not contain enough freedom\nto tune W to small values. Moreover accommodating the observed value of the\ncosmological constant (CC) is a challenge. Low-energy SUSY could instead be\nobtained in particular situations where the gauge bundle is holomorphic only at\na point-like sub-locus of Z-moduli space, or where the number of Z-moduli is\nsmall (like orbifold models), since in these cases one may fix all moduli\nwithout turning on any quantised flux. However tuning the CC is even more of a\nchallenge in these cases. Another option is to focus on non-complex manifolds\nsince these allow for new geometric fluxes which can be used to tune W and the\nCC, even if their moduli space is presently only poorly understood."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Vacuum fluctuation effects due to an Abelian gauge field in 2+1\n  dimensions, in the presence of moving mirrors: We study the Dynamical Casimir Effect (DCE) due to an Abelian gauge field in\n2+1 dimensions, in the presence of semitransparent, zero-width mirrors, which\nmay move or deform in a time-dependent way. We obtain general expressions for\nthe probability of motion-induced pair creation, which we render in a more\nexplicit form, for some relevant states of motion.",
        "positive": "General boundary quantum field theory: Foundations and probability\n  interpretation: We elaborate on the proposed general boundary formulation as an extension of\nstandard quantum mechanics to arbitrary (or no) backgrounds. Temporal\ntransition amplitudes are generalized to amplitudes for arbitrary spacetime\nregions. State spaces are associated to general (not necessarily spacelike)\nhypersurfaces. We give a detailed foundational exposition of this approach,\nincluding its probability interpretation and a list of core axioms. We explain\nhow standard quantum mechanics arises as a special case. We include a\ndiscussion of probability conservation and unitarity, showing how these\nconcepts are generalized in the present framework. We formulate vacuum axioms\nand incorporate spacetime symmetries into the framework. We show how the\nSchroedinger-Feynman approach is a suitable starting point for casting quantum\nfield theories into the general boundary form. We discuss the role of\noperators."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quark scattering amplitudes at strong coupling: Following Alday and Maldacena, we describe a string theory method to compute\nthe strong coupling behavior of the scattering amplitudes of quarks and gluons\nin planar N=2 super Yang-Mills theory in the probe approximation. Explicit\npredictions for these quantities can be constructed using the all-orders planar\ngluon scattering amplitudes of N=4 super Yang-Mills due to Bern, Dixon and\nSmirnov.",
        "positive": "Extended supersymmetry with gauged central charge: Global N=2 supersymmetry in four dimensions with a gauged central charge is\nformulated in superspace. To find an irreducible representation of\nsupersymmetry for the gauge connections a set of constraints is given. Then the\nBianchi identities are solved subject to this set of constraints. It is shown\nthat the gauge connection of the central charge is a N=2 vector multiplet.\nMoreover the Bogomol'nyi bound of the massive particle states is studied."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "N=2 Super - $W_{3}$ Algebra and N=2 Super Boussinesq Equations: We study classical $N=2$ super-$W_3$ algebra and its interplay with $N=2$\nsupersymmetric extensions of the Boussinesq equation in the framework of the\nnonlinear realization method and the inverse Higgs - covariant reduction\napproach. These techniques have been previously applied by us in the bosonic\n$W_3$ case to give a new geometric interpretation of the Boussinesq hierarchy.\nHere we deduce the most general $N=2$ super Boussinesq equation and two kinds\nof the modified $N=2$ super Boussinesq equations, as well as the super Miura\nmaps relating these systems to each other, by applying the covariant reduction\nto certain coset manifolds of linear $N=2$ super-$W_3^{\\infty}$ symmetry\nassociated with $N=2$ super-$W_3$. We discuss the integrability properties of\nthe equations obtained and their correspondence with the formulation based on\nthe notion of the second hamiltonian structure.",
        "positive": "Instability of (1+1) de sitter space in the presence of interacting\n  fields: Instabilities of two dimensional (1+1) de Sitter space induced by interacting\nfields are studied. As for the case of flat Minkowski space, several\ninteracting fermion models can be translated into free boson ones and vice\nversa. It is found that interacting fermion theories do not lead to any\ninstabilities, while the interacting bosonic sine-Gordon model does lead to a\nbreakdown of de Sitter symmetry and to the vanishing of the vacuum expectation\nvalue of the S matrix."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Black hole interiors in holographic topological semimetals: We study the black hole interiors in holographic Weyl semimetals and\nholographic nodal line semimetals. We find that the black hole singularities\nare of Kasner form. In the topologically nontrivial phase at low temperature,\nboth the Kasner exponents of the metric fields and the proper time from the\nhorizon to the singularity are almost constant, likely reflecting the\ntopological nature of the topological semimetals. We also find some specific\nbehaviors inside the horizon in each holographic semimetal model.",
        "positive": "Quantum Fisher information as a probe for Unruh thermality: A long-standing debate on Unruh effect is about its obscure thermal nature.\nIn this Letter, we use quantum Fisher information (QFI) as an effective probe\nto explore the thermal nature of Unruh effect from both local and global\nperspectives. By resolving the full dynamics of UDW detector, we find that the\nQFI is a time-evolving function of detector's energy gap, Unruh temperature\n$T_U$ and particularities of background field, e.g., mass and spacetime\ndimensionality. We show that the asymptotic QFI whence detector arrives its\nequilibrium is solely determined by $T_U$, demonstrating the global side of\nUnruh thermality alluded by the KMS condition. We also show that the local side\nof Unruh effect, i.e., the different ways for the detector to approach the same\nthermal equilibrium, is encoded in the corresponding time-evolution of the QFI.\nIn particular, we find that with massless scalar background the QFI has unique\nmonotonicity in $n=3$ dimensional spacetime, and becomes non-monotonous for\n$n\\neq3$ models where a local peak value exists at early time and for finite\nacceleration, indicating an enhanced precision of estimation on Unruh\ntemperature at a relative low acceleration can be achieved. Once the field\nacquiring mass, the related QFI becomes significantly robust against the Unruh\ndecoherence in the sense that its local peak sustains for a very long time.\nWhile coupling to a more massive background, the persistence can even be\nstrengthened and the QFI possesses a larger maximal value. Such robustness of\nQFI can surely facilitate any practical quantum estimation task."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Charged AdS Black Holes and Catastrophic Holography: We compute the properties of a class of charged black holes in anti-de Sitter\nspace-time, in diverse dimensions. These black holes are solutions of\nconsistent Einstein-Maxwell truncations of gauged supergravities, which are\nshown to arise from the inclusion of rotation in the transverse space. We\nuncover rich thermodynamic phase structures for these systems, which display\nclassic critical phenomena, including structures isomorphic to the van der\nWaals-Maxwell liquid-gas system. In that case, the phases are controlled by the\nuniversal `cusp' and `swallowtail' shapes familiar from catastrophe theory. All\nof the thermodynamics is consistent with field theory interpretations via\nholography, where the dual field theories can sometimes be found on the world\nvolumes of coincident rotating branes.",
        "positive": "Conformal symmetry and nonlinear extensions of nonlocal gravity: We study two nonlinear extensions of the nonlocal $R\\,\\Box^{-2}R$ gravity\ntheory. We extend this theory in two different ways suggested by conformal\nsymmetry, either replacing $\\Box^{-2}$ with $(-\\Box + R/6)^{-2}$, which is the\noperator that enters the action for a conformally-coupled scalar field, or\nreplacing $\\Box^{-2}$ with the inverse of the Paneitz operator, which is a\nfour-derivative operator that enters in the effective action induced by the\nconformal anomaly. We show that the former modification gives an interesting\nand viable cosmological model, with a dark energy equation of state today\n$w_{\\rm DE}\\simeq -1.01$, which very closely mimics $\\Lambda$CDM and evolves\nasymptotically into a de Sitter solution. The model based on the Paneitz\noperator seems instead excluded by the comparison with observations. We also\nreview some issues about the causality of nonlocal theories, and we point out\nthat these nonlocal models can be modified so to nicely interpolate between\nStarobinski inflation in the primordial universe and accelerated expansion in\nthe recent epoch."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Thermal Field Theory and Infinite Statistics: We construct a quantum thermal field theory for scalar particles in the case\nof infinite statistics. The extension is provided by working out the Fock space\nrealization of a \"quantum algebra\", and by identifying the hamiltonian as the\nenergy operator. We examine the perturbative behavior of this theory and in\nparticular the possible extension of the KLN theorem, and argue that it appears\nas a stable structure in a quantum field theory context.",
        "positive": "Horizon Acoustics of the GHS Black Hole and the Spectrum of ${\\rm\n  AdS}_2$: We uncover a novel structure in Einstein-Maxwell-dilaton gravity: an ${\\rm\nAdS}_2 \\times S^2$ solution in string frame, which can be obtained by a\nnear-horizon limit of the extreme GHS black hole with dilaton coupling $\\lambda\n\\neq 1$. Unlike the Bertotti-Robinson spacetime, our solution has independent\nlength scales for the ${\\rm AdS}_2$ and $S^2$, with ratio controlled by\n$\\lambda$. We solve the perturbation problem for this solution, finding the\nindependently propagating towers of states in terms of superpositions of\ngravitons, photons, and dilatons and their associated effective potentials.\nThese potentials describe modes obeying conformal quantum mechanics, with\ncouplings that we compute, and can be recast as giving the spectrum of the\neffective masses of the modes. By dictating the conformal weights of boundary\noperators, this spectrum provides crucial data for any future construction of a\nholographic dual to these ${\\rm AdS}_2\\times S^2$ configurations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Strong coupling expansion of free energy and BPS Wilson loop in\n  $\\mathcal N=2$ superconformal models with fundamental hypermultiplets: As a continuation of the study (in arXiv:2102.07696 and arXiv:2104.12625) of\nstrong-coupling expansion of non-planar corrections in $\\mathcal N=2$ 4d\nsuperconformal models we consider two special theories with gauge groups\n$SU(N)$ and $Sp(2N)$. They contain $N$-independent numbers of hypermultiplets\nin rank 2 antisymmetric and fundamental representations and are\nplanar-equivalent to the corresponding $\\mathcal N=4$ SYM theories. These\n$\\mathcal N=2$ theories can be realised on a system of $N$ D3-branes with a\nfinite number of D7-branes and O7-plane; the dual string theories should be\nparticular orientifolds of $AdS_5\\times S^5$ superstring. Starting with the\nlocalization matrix model representation for the $\\mathcal N=2$ partition\nfunction on $S^4$ we find exact differential relations between the $1/N$ terms\nin the corresponding free energy $F$ and the $\\frac{1}{2}$-BPS Wilson loop\nexpectation value $\\langle\\mathcal W\\rangle$ and also compute their large 't\nHooft coupling ($\\lambda \\gg 1$) expansions. The structure of these expansions\nis different from the previously studied models without fundamental\nhypermultiplets. In the more tractable $Sp(2N)$ case we find an exact resummed\nexpression for the leading strong coupling terms at each order in the $1/N$\nexpansion. We also determine the exponentially suppressed at large $\\lambda$\ncontributions to the non-planar corrections to $F$ and $\\langle\\mathcal\nW\\rangle$ and comment on their resurgence properties. We discuss dual string\ntheory interpretation of these strong coupling expansions.",
        "positive": "Type IIB Flows with N=1 Supersymmetry: We write general and explicit equations which solve the supersymmetry\ntransformations with two arbitrary complex-proportional Weyl spinors on\n$\\mathcal{N}=1$ supersymmetric type IIB strings backgrounds with all R-R $F_1$,\n$F_3$, $F_5$ and NS-NS $H_3$ fluxes turned on using SU(3) structures. The\nequations are generalizations of the ones found for specific relations between\nthe two spinors by Grana, Minasian, Petrini and Tomasiello in [1] and by Butti,\nGrana, Minasian, Petrini and Zaffaroni in [2]. The general equations allow to\nstudy systematically generic type IIB backgrounds with $\\mathcal{N}=1$\nsupersymmetry. We then explore some specific classes of flows with constant\naxion, flows with constant dilaton, flows on conformally Calabi-Yau\nbackgrounds, flows with imaginary self-dual 3-form flux, flows with constant\nratio of the two spinors, the corresponding equations are written down and some\nof their features and relations are discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Bulk-Boundary Correspondence in the Quantum Hall Effect: We present a detailed microscopic study of edge excitations for n filled\nLandau levels. We show that the higher-level wavefunctions possess a\nnon-trivial radial dependence that should be integrated over for properly\ndefining the edge conformal field theory. This analysis let us clarify the role\nof the electron orbital spin s in the edge theory and to discuss its\nuniversality, thus providing a further instance of the bulk-boundary\ncorrespondence. We find that the values s_i for each level, i=1,...,n,\nparameterize a Casimir effect or chemical potential shift that could be\nexperimentally observed. These results are generalized to fractional and\nhierarchical fillings by exploiting the W-infinity symmetry of incompressible\nHall fluids.",
        "positive": "Star--Matrix Models: The star-matrix models are difficult to solve due to the multiple powers of\nthe Vandermonde determinants in the partition function. We apply to these\nmodels a modified Q-matrix approach and we get results consistent with those\nobtained by other methods.As examples we study the inhomogenous gaussian model\non Bethe tree and matrix $q$-Potts-like model. For the last model in the\nspecial cases $q=2$ and $q=3$, we write down explicit formulas which\ndeterminate the critical behaviour of the system.For $q=2$ we argue that the\ncritical behaviour is indeed that of the Ising model on the $\\phi^3$ lattice."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Trees: An algebraic formalism, developped with V. Glaser and R. Stora for the study\nof the generalized retarded functions of quantum field theory, is used to prove\na factorization theorem which provides a complete description of the\ngeneralized retarded functions associated with any tree graph. Integrating over\nthe variables associated to internal vertices to obtain the perturbative\ngeneralized retarded functions for interacting fields arising from such graphs\nis shown to be possible for a large category of space-times.",
        "positive": "Derivation of Transport Equations using the Time-Dependent Projection\n  Operator Method: We develop a formalism to carry out coarse-grainings in quantum field\ntheoretical systems by using a time-dependent projection operator in the\nHeisenberg picture. A systematic perturbative expansion with respect to the\ninteraction part of the Hamiltonian is given, and a Langevin-type equation\nwithout a time-convolution integral term is obtained. This method is applied to\na quantum field theoretical model, and coupled transport equations are derived."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "All-orders asymptotics of tensor model observables from symmetries of\n  restricted partitions: The counting of the dimension of the space of $U(N) \\times U(N) \\times U(N)$\npolynomial invariants of a complex $3$-index tensor as a function of degree $n$\nis known in terms of a sum of squares of Kronecker coefficients. For $n \\le N$,\nthe formula can be expressed in terms of a sum of symmetry factors of\npartitions of $n$ denoted $Z_3(n)$. We derive the large $n$ all-orders\nasymptotic formula for $ Z_3(n)$ making contact with high order results\npreviously obtained numerically. The derivation relies on the dominance in the\nsum, of partitions with many parts of length $1$. The dominance of other small\nparts in restricted partition sums leads to related asymptotic results. The\nresult for the $3$-index tensor observables gives the large $n$ asymptotic\nexpansion for the counting of bipartite ribbon graphs with $n$ edges, and for\nthe dimension of the associated Kronecker permutation centralizer algebra. We\nexplain how the different terms in the asymptotics are associated with\nprobability distributions over ribbon graphs. The large $n$ dominance of small\nparts also leads to conjectured formulae for the asymptotics of invariants for\ngeneral $d$-index tensors. The coefficients of $ 1/n$ in these expansions\ninvolve Stirling numbers of the second kind along with restricted partition\nsums.",
        "positive": "Stable Vacua with Realistic Phenomenology and Cosmology in Heterotic\n  M-theory Satisfying Swampland Conjectures: We recently described a protocol for computing the potential energy in\nheterotic M-theory for the dilaton, complex structure and K\\\"ahler moduli. This\nincluded the leading order non-perturbative contributions to the complex\nstructure, gaugino condensation and worldsheet instantons assuming a hidden\nsector that contains an anomalous U(1) structure group embedded in $E_8$. In\nthis paper, we elucidate, in detail, the mathematical and computational methods\nrequired to utilize this protocol. These methods are then applied to a\nrealistic heterotic M-theory model, the $B-L$ MSSM, whose observable sector is\nconsistent with all particle physics requirements. Within this context, it is\nshown that the dilaton and universal moduli can be completely stabilized at\nvalues compatible with every phenomenological and mathematical constraint -- as\nwell as with $\\Lambda$CDM cosmology. We also show that the heterotic M-theory\nvacua are consistent with all well-supported Swampland conjectures based on\nconsiderations of string theory and quantum gravity, and we discuss the\nimplications of dark energy theorems for compactified theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Towards a quadratic Poisson algebra for the subtracted classical\n  monodromy of Symmetric Space Sine-Gordon theories: Symmetric Space Sine-Gordon theories are two-dimensional massive integrable\nfield theories, generalising the Sine-Gordon and Complex Sine-Gordon theories.\nTo study their integrability properties on the real line, it is necessary to\nintroduce a subtracted monodromy matrix. Moreover, since the theories are not\nultralocal, a regularisation is required to compute the Poisson algebra for the\nsubtracted monodromy. In this article, we regularise and compute this Poisson\nalgebra for certain configurations, and show that it can both satisfy the\nJacobi identity and imply the existence of an infinite number of conserved\nquantities in involution.",
        "positive": "Asymptotic Dynamics of Monopole Walls: We determine the asymptotic dynamics of the U(N) doubly periodic BPS monopole\nin Yang-Mills-Higgs theory, called a monopole wall, by exploring its Higgs\ncurve using the Newton polytope and amoeba. In particular, we show that the\nmonopole wall splits into subwalls when any of its moduli become large. The\nlong-distance gauge and Higgs field interactions of these subwalls are abelian,\nallowing us to derive an asymptotic metric for the monopole wall moduli space."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Entropy of Operator-valued Random Variables: A Variational Principle for\n  Large N Matrix Models: We show that, in 't Hooft's large N limit, matrix models can be formulated as\na classical theory whose equations of motion are the factorized\nSchwinger--Dyson equations. We discover an action principle for this classical\ntheory. This action contains a universal term describing the entropy of the\nnon-commutative probability distributions. We show that this entropy is a\nnontrivial 1-cocycle of the non-commutative analogue of the diffeomorphism\ngroup and derive an explicit formula for it. The action principle allows us to\nsolve matrix models using novel variational approximation methods; in the\nsimple cases where comparisons with other methods are possible, we get\nreasonable agreement.",
        "positive": "Cosmological quantum states of de Sitter-Schwarzschild are static patch\n  partition functions: We solve the Wheeler-DeWitt equation in the 'cosmological interior' (the past\ncausal diamond of future infinity) of four dimensional dS-Schwarzschild\nspacetimes. Within minisuperspace there is a basis of solutions labelled by a\nconstant $c$, conjugate to the mass of the black hole. We propose that these\nsolutions are in correspondence with partition functions of a dual quantum\nmechanical theory where $c$ plays the role of time. The quantum mechanical\ntheory lives on worldtubes in the 'static patch' of dS-Schwarzschild, and the\npartition function is obtained by evolving the corresponding Wheeler-DeWitt\nwavefunction through the cosmological horizon, where a metric component\n$g_{tt}$ changes sign. We establish that the dual theory admits a symmetry\nalgebra given by a central extension of the Poincar\\'e algebra\n$\\mathfrak{e}(1,1)$ and that the entropy of the dS black hole is encoded as an\naveraging of the dual partition function over the background $g_{tt}$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Modularity, Quaternion-Kahler spaces and Mirror Symmetry: We provide an explicit twistorial construction of quaternion-Kahler manifolds\nobtained by deformation of c-map spaces and carrying an isometric action of the\nmodular group SL(2,Z). The deformation is not assumed to preserve any\ncontinuous isometry and therefore this construction presents a general\nframework for describing NS5-brane instanton effects in string\ncompactifications with N=2 supersymmetry. In this context the modular invariant\nparametrization of twistor lines found in this work yields the complete\nnon-perturbative mirror map between type IIA and type IIB physical fields.",
        "positive": "BPS preons in supergravity and higher spin theories. An overview from\n  the hill of twistor appraoch: We review briefly the notion of BPS preons, first introduced in\n11-dimensional context as hypothetical constituents of M-theory, in its\ngeneralization to arbitrary dimensions and emphasizing the relation with\ntwistor approach. In particular, the use of a 'twistor-like' definition of BPS\npreon (almost) allows us to remove supersymmetry arguments from the discussion\nof the relation of the preons with higher spin theories and also of the\ntreatment of BPS preons as constituents. We turn to the supersymmetry in the\nsecond part of this contribution, where we complete the algebraic discussion\nwith supersymmetric arguments based on the M-algebra (generalized Poincare\nsuperalgebra), discuss the possible generalization of BPS preons related to the\nosp(1|n) (generalized AdS) superalgebra, review a twistor-like kappa-symmetric\nsuperparticle in tensorial superspace, which provides a point-like dynamical\nmodel for BPS preon, and the role of BPS preons in the analysis of supergravity\nsolutions. Finally we describe resent results on the concise superfield\ndescription of the higher spin field equations and on superfield supergravity\nin tensorial superspaces."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Analytic bootstrap for magnetic impurities: We study the $O(3)$ critical model and the free theory of a scalar triplet in\nthe presence of a magnetic impurity. We use analytic bootstrap techniques to\nextract results in the $\\varepsilon$-expansion. First, we extend by one order\nin perturbation theory the computation of the beta function for the defect\ncoupling in the free theory. Then, we analyze in detail the low-lying spectrum\nof defect operators, focusing on their perturbative realization when the defect\nis constructed as a path-ordered exponential. After this, we consider two\ndifferent bulk two-point functions and we compute them using the defect\ndispersion relation. For a free bulk theory, we are able to fix the form of the\ncorrelator at all orders in $\\varepsilon$, while for an interacting bulk we\ncompute it up to second order in $\\varepsilon$. Expanding these results in the\nbulk and defect block expansions, we are able to extract an infinite set of\ndefect CFT data. We discuss low-spin ambiguities that affect every result\ncomputed through the dispersion relation and we use a combination of\nconsistency conditions and explicit diagrammatic calculations to fix this\nambiguity.",
        "positive": "Aspects of Defects in 3d-3d Correspondence: In this paper we study supersymmetric co-dimension 2 and 4 defects in the\ncompactification of the 6d $(2,0)$ theory of type $A_{N-1}$ on a 3-manifold\n$M$. The so-called 3d-3d correspondence is a relation between complexified\nChern-Simons theory (with gauge group $SL(N, \\mathbb{C})$) on $M$ and a 3d\n$\\mathcal{N}=2$ theory $T_{N}[M]$. We establish a dictionary for this\ncorrespondence in the presence of supersymmetric defects, which are knots/links\ninside the 3-manifold. Our study employs a number of different methods:\nstate-integral models for complex Chern-Simons theory, cluster algebra\ntechniques, domain wall theory $T[SU(N)]$, 5d $\\mathcal{N}=2$ SYM, and also\nsupergravity analysis through holography. These methods are complementary and\nwe find agreement between them. In some cases the results lead to highly\nnon-trivial predictions on the partition function. Our discussion includes a\ngeneral expression for the cluster partition function, in particular for\nnon-maximal punctures and $N>2$. We also highlight the non-Abelian description\nof the 3d $\\mathcal{N}=2$ $T_N[M]$ theory with defect included, as well as its\nHiggsing prescription and the resulting `refinement' in complex CS theory. This\npaper is a companion to our shorter paper arXiv:1510.03884, which summarizes\nour main results."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Incompressible topological solitons: We discover a new class of topological solitons. These solitons can exist in\na space of infinite volume like, e.g., $\\mathbb{R}^n$, but they cannot be\nplaced in any finite volume, because the resulting formal solutions have\ninfinite energy. These objects are, therefore, interpreted as totally\nincompressible solitons.\n  As a first, particular example we consider (1+1) dimensional kinks in\ntheories with a nonstandard kinetic term or, equivalently, in models with the\nso-called runaway (or vacummless) potentials. But incompressible solitons exist\nalso in higher dimensions. As specific examples in (3+1) dimensions we study\nSkyrmions in the dielectric extensions both of the minimal and the BPS Skyrme\nmodels. In the the latter case, the skyrmionic matter describes a completely\nincompressible topological perfect fluid.",
        "positive": "Giant Gravitons - with Strings Attached (I): In this article, the free field theory limit of operators dual to giant\ngravitons with open strings attached are studied. We introduce a graphical\nnotation, which employs Young diagrams, for these operators. The computation of\ntwo point correlation functions is reduced to the application of three simple\nrules, written as graphical operations performed on the Young diagram labels of\nthe operators. Using this technology, we have studied gravitational radiation\nby giant gravitons and bound states of giant gravitons, transitions between\nexcited giant graviton states and joining of open strings attached to the\ngiant."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Geometry of Supersymmetric Quantum Mechanical Systems: We consider some simple examples of supersymmetric quantum mechanical systems\nand explore their possible geometric interpretation with the help of geometric\naspects of real Clifford algebras. This leads to natural extensions of the\nconsidered systems to higher dimensions and more complicated potentials.",
        "positive": "Structure of the two-boundary XXZ model with non-diagonal boundary terms: We study the integrable XXZ model with general non-diagonal boundary terms at\nboth ends. The Hamiltonian is considered in terms of a two boundary extension\nof the Temperley-Lieb algebra.\n  We use a basis that diagonalizes a conserved charge in the one-boundary case.\nThe action of the second boundary generator on this space is computed. For the\nL-site chain and generic values of the parameters we have an irreducible space\nof dimension 2^L. However at certain critical points there exists a smaller\nirreducible subspace that is invariant under the action of all the bulk and\nboundary generators. These are precisely the points at which Bethe Ansatz\nequations have been formulated. We compute the dimension of the invariant\nsubspace at each critical point and show that it agrees with the splitting of\neigenvalues, found numerically, between the two Bethe Ansatz equations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Diagrammatic Expansion of Non-Perturbative Little String Free Energies: In arXiv:1911.08172 we have studied the single-particle free energy of a\nclass of Little String Theories of A-type, which are engineered by $N$ parallel\nM5-branes on a circle. To leading instanton order (from the perspective of the\nlow energy $U(N)$ gauge theory) and partially also to higher order, a\ndecomposition was observed, which resembles a Feynman diagrammatic expansion:\nexternal states are given by expansion coefficients of the $N=1$ BPS free\nenergy and a quasi-Jacobi form that governs the BPS-counting of an M5-brane\ncoupling to two M2-branes. The effective coupling functions were written as\ninfinite series and similarities to modular graph functions were remarked. In\nthe current work we continue and extend this study: Working with the full\nnon-perturbative BPS free energy, we analyse in detail the cases $N=2,3$ and\n$4$. We argue that in these cases to leading instanton order all coupling\nfunctions can be written as a simple combination of two-point functions of a\nsingle free scalar field on the torus. We provide closed form expressions,\nwhich we conjecture to hold for generic $N$. To higher instanton order, we\nobserve that a decomposition of the free energy in terms of higher point\nfunctions with the same external states is still possible but a priori not\nunique. We nevertheless provide evidence that tentative coupling functions are\nstill combinations of scalar Greens functions, which are decorated with\nderivatives or multiplied with holomorphic Eisenstein series. We interpret\nthese decorations as corrections of the leading order effective couplings and\nin particular link the latter to dihedral graph functions with bivalent\nvertices, which suggests an interpretation in terms of disconnected graphs.",
        "positive": "One Loop Calculations in Gauge Theories Regulated on an $x^+$-$p^+$\n  Lattice: In earlier work, the planar diagrams of $SU(N_c)$ gauge theory have been\nregulated on the light-cone by a scheme involving both discrete $p^+$ and\n$\\tau=ix^+$. The transverse coordinates remain continuous, but even so all\ndiagrams are rendered finite by this procedure. In this scheme quartic\ninteractions are represented as two cubics mediated by short lived fictitious\nparticles whose detailed behavior could be adjusted to retain properties of the\ncontinuum theory, at least at one loop. Here we use this setup to calculate the\none loop three gauge boson triangle diagram, and so complete the calculation of\ndiagrams renormalizing the coupling to one loop. In particular, we find that\nthe cubic vertex is correctly renormalized once the couplings to the fictitious\nparticles are chosen to keep the gauge bosons massless."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Geometrical methods in loop calculations and the three-point function: A geometrical way to calculate N-point Feynman diagrams is reviewed. As an\nexample, the dimensionally-regulated three-point function is considered,\nincluding all orders of its epsilon-expansion. Analytical continuation to other\nregions of the kinematical variables is discussed.",
        "positive": "AdS/QCD oddball masses and Odderon Regge trajectory from a twist-five\n  operator approach: In this work, we consider a massive gauge boson field in AdS$_5$ dual to odd\nglueball states with twist-5 operator in 4D Minkowski spacetime. Introducing an\nIR cutoff we break the conformal symmetry of the boundary theory allowing us to\ncalculate the glueball masses with odd spins using Dirichlet and Neumann\nboundary conditions. Then, from these masses we construct the corresponding\nRegge trajectories associated with the odderon. Our results are compatible with\nthe ones in the literature."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Operator Manifold Formalism. I: The suggested operator manifold formalism enables to develop an approach to\nthe unification of the geometry and the field theory. We also elaborate the\nformalism of operator multimanifold yielding the multiworld geometry involving\nthe spacetime continuum and internal worlds, where the subquarks are defined\nimplying the Confinement and Gauge principles. This formalism in Part II\n(hep-th/9812182) is used to develop further the microscopic approach to some\nkey problems of particle physics.",
        "positive": "Domain walls and M2-branes partition functions: M-theory and ABJM Theory: We study the BPS counting functions (free energies) of the M-string\nconfigurations. We consider separated M5-branes along with M2-branes stretched\nbetween them, with M5-branes acting as domain walls interpolating different\nconfigurations of M2-branes. We find recursive structure in the free energies\nof these configurations. The M-string degrees of freedom on the domain walls\nare interpreted in terms of a pair of interacting supersymmetric WZW models. We\nalso compute the elliptic genus of the M-string in a toy model of the ABJM\ntheory and compare it with the M-theory computation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exotic Courant algebroids and T-duality: In this paper, we extend the T-duality isomorphism by Gualtieri and\nCavalcanti, from invariant exact Courant algebroids, to exotic exact Courant\nalgebroids such that the momentum and winding numbers are exchanged, filling in\na gap in the literature.",
        "positive": "A model for massless higher spin field interacting with a geometrical\n  background: We study a very general four dimensional Field Theory model describing the\ndynamics of a massless higher spin $N$ symmetric tensor field particle\ninteracting with a geometrical background.This model is invariant under the\naction of an extended linear diffeomorphism. We investigate the consistency of\nthe equations of motion, and the highest spin degrees of freedom are extracted\nby means of a set of covariant constraints. Moreover the the highest spin\nequations of motions (and in general all the highest spin field 1-PI\nirreducible Green functions) are invariant under a chain of transformations\ninduced by a set of $N-2$ Ward operators, while the auxiliary fields equations\nof motion spoil this symmetry. The first steps to a quantum extension of the\nmodel are discussed on the basis of the Algebraic Field Theory.Technical\naspects are reported in Appendices; in particular one of them is devoted to\nillustrate the spin-$2$ case."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Superluminality and UV Completion: The idea that the existence of a consistent UV completion satisfying the\nfundamental axioms of local quantum field theory or string theory may impose\npositivity constraints on the couplings of the leading irrelevant operators in\na low-energy effective field theory is critically discussed. Violation of these\nconstraints implies superluminal propagation, in the sense that the\nlow-frequency limit of the phase velocity $v_{\\rm ph}(0)$ exceeds $c$. It is\nexplained why causality is related not to $v_{\\rm ph}(0)$ but to the\nhigh-frequency limit $v_{\\rm ph}(\\infty)$ and how these are related by the\nKramers-Kronig dispersion relation, depending on the sign of the imaginary part\nof the refractive index $\\Ima n(\\w)$ which is normally assumed positive.\nSuperluminal propagation and its relation to UV completion is investigated in\ndetail in three theories: QED in a background electromagnetic field, where the\nfull dispersion relation for $n(\\w)$ is evaluated numerically for the first\ntime and the role of the null energy condition $T_{\\m\\n}k^\\m k^\\n \\ge 0$ is\nhighlighted; QED in a background gravitational field, where examples of\nsuperluminal low-frequency phase velocities arise in violation of the\npositivity constraints; and light propagation in coupled laser-atom\n$\\L$-systems exhibiting Raman gain lines with $\\Ima n(\\w) < 0$. The possibility\nthat a negative $\\Ima n(\\w)$ must occur in quantum field theories involving\ngravity to avoid causality violation, and the implications for the relation of\nIR effective field theories to their UV completion, are carefully analysed.",
        "positive": "Further Evidence for Lattice-Induced Scaling: We continue our study of holographic transport in the presence of a\nbackground lattice. We recently found evidence that the presence of a lattice\ninduces a new intermediate scaling regime in asymptotically $AdS_4$ spacetimes.\nThis manifests itself in the optical conductivity which exhibits a robust\npower-law dependence on frequency, $\\sigma \\sim \\omega^{-2/3}$, in a\n\"mid-infrared\" regime, a result which is in striking agreement with experiments\non the cuprates. Here we provide further evidence for the existence of this\nintermediate scaling regime. We demonstrate similar scaling in the\nthermoelectric conductivity, find analogous scalings in asymptotically $AdS_5$\nspacetimes, and show that we get the same results with an ionic lattice."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "String Representation of Field Correlators in the SU(3)-Gluodynamics: The string representation of the Abelian projected SU(3)-gluodynamics\npartition function is derived by using the path-integral duality\ntransformation. On this basis, we also derive analogous representations for the\ngenerating functionals of correlators of gluonic field strength tensors and\nmonopole currents, which are finally applied to the evaluation of the\ncorresponding bilocal correlators. The large distance asymptotic behaviours of\nthe latter turn out to be in a good agreement with existing lattice data and\nthe Stochastic Model of the QCD vacuum.",
        "positive": "Supergravity description of field theories on curved manifolds and a no\n  go theorem: In the first part of this paper we find supergravity solutions corresponding\nto branes on worldvolumes of the form $R^d \\times \\Sigma$ where $\\Sigma$ is a\nRiemann surface. These theories arise when we wrap branes on holomorphic\nRiemann surfaces inside $K3$ or CY manifolds. In some cases the theory at low\nenergies is a conformal field theory with two less dimensions. We find some\nnon-singular supersymmetric compactifications of M-theory down to $AdS_5$. We\nalso propose a criterion for permissible singularities in supergravity\nsolutions.\n  In the second part of this paper, which can be read independently of the\nfirst, we show that there are no non-singular Randall-Sundrum or de-Sitter\ncompactifications for large class of gravity theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dilaton Stabilization in Three-generation Heterotic String Model: We study dilaton stabilization in heterotic string models. By utilizing the\nasymmetric orbifold construction, we construct an explicit three-generation\nmodel whose matter content in the visible sector is the supersymmetric standard\nmodel with additional vectorlike matter. This model does not contain any\ngeometric moduli fields except the dilaton field. Model building at a symmetry\nenhancement point in moduli space enlarges the rank of the hidden gauge group.\nBy analyzing multiple hidden gauge sectors, the dilaton field is stabilized by\nthe racetrack mechanism. We also discuss a supersymmetry breaking scenario and\nF-term uplifting.",
        "positive": "QCD With A Chemical Potential, Topology, And The 't Hooft 1/N Expansion: We discuss the dependence of observables on the chemical potential in 't\nHooft's large-N QCD. To this end we use the worldline formalism to expand the\nfermionic determinant in powers of 1/N. We consider the hadronic as well as the\ndeconfining phase of the theory. We discuss the origin of the sign problem in\nthe worldline approach and elaborate on the planar equivalence between QCD with\na baryon chemical potential and QCD with an isospin chemical potential. We show\nthat for C-even observables the sign problem occurs at a subleading order in\nthe 1/N expansion of the fermionic determinant. Finally, we comment on the\nfinite N theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Simple non-perturbative resummation schemes beyond mean-field: case\n  study for scalar $\u03c6^4$ theory in 1+1 dimensions: I present a sequence of non-perturbative approximate solutions for scalar\n$\\phi^4$ theory for arbitrary interaction strength, which contains, but allows\nto systematically improve on, the familiar mean-field approximation. This\nsequence of approximate solutions is apparently well-behaved and numerically\nsimple to calculate since it only requires the evaluation of (nested) one-loop\nintegrals. To test this resummation scheme, the case of $\\phi^4$ theory in 1+1\ndimensions is considered, finding approximate agreement with known results for\nthe vacuum energy and mass gap up to the critical point. Because it can be\ngeneralized to other dimensions, fermionic fields and finite temperature, the\nresummation scheme could potentially become a useful tool for calculating\nnon-perturbative properties approximately in certain quantum field theories.",
        "positive": "Dimer piling problems and interacting field theory: The dimer tiling problem asks in how many ways can the edges of a graph be\ncovered by dimers so that each site is covered once. In the special case of a\nplanar graph, this problem has a solution in terms of a free fermionic field\ntheory. We rediscover and explore an expression for the number of coverings of\nan arbitrary graph by arbitrary objects in terms of an interacting fermionic\nfield theory first proposed by Samuel. Generalizations of the dimer tiling\nproblem, which we call `dimer piling problems,' demand that each site be\ncovered N times by indistinguishable dimers. Our field theory provides a\nsolution of these problems in the large-N limit. We give a similar path\nintegral representation for certain lattice coloring problems."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Blowups in BPS/CFT correspondence, and Painlev\u00e9 VI: We study four dimensional supersymmetric gauge theory in the presence of\nsurface and point-like defects (blowups) and propose an identity relating\npartition functions at different values of $\\Omega$-deformation parameters\n$({\\varepsilon}_{1}, {\\varepsilon}_{2})$. As a consequence, we obtain the\nformula conjectured in 2012 by O.Gamayun, N.Iorgov, and O.Lysovyy, relating the\ntau-function ${\\tau}_{PVI}$ to $c=1$ conformal blocks of Liouville theory and\npropose its generalization for the case of Garnier-Schlesinger system. To this\nend we clarify the notion of the quasiclassical tau-function ${\\tau}_{PVI}$ of\nPainlev\\'e VI and its generalizations. We also make some remarks about the\nsphere partition functions, the boundary operator product expansion in the\n${\\mathcal{N}}=(4,4)$ sigma models related to four dimensional\n${\\mathcal{N}}=2$ theories on toric manifolds, discuss crossed instantons on\nconifolds, elucidate some aspects of the BPZ/KZ correspondence, and\napplications to quantization.",
        "positive": "Exact Solution of Long-Range Interacting Spin Chains with Boundaries: We consider integrable models of the Haldane-Shastry type with open boundary\nconditions. We define monodromy matrices, obeying the reflection equation,\nwhich generate the symmetries of these models. Using a map to the\nCalogero-Sutherland Hamiltonian of BC type, we derive the spectrum and the\nhighest weight eigenstates."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Vanishingly Small Vector Mass from Anisotropy of Higher Dimensional\n  Spacetime: We consider five-dimensional massive vector-gravity theory which is based on\nthe foliation preserving diffeomorphism and anisotropic conformal invariance.\nIt does not have an intrinsic scale and the only relevant parameter is the\nanisotropic factor $z$ which characterizes the degree of anisotropy between the\nfour-dimensional spacetime and the extra dimension. We assume that physical\nscale $M_*$ emerges as a consequence of spontaneous conformal symmetry breaking\nof vacuum solution. It is demonstrated that a very small mass for the vector\nparticle compared to $M_*$ can be achieved with a relatively mild adjustment of\nthe parameter $z$. At the same time, it is also observed that the motion along\nthe extra dimension can be highly suppressed and the five-dimensional theory\ncan be effectively reduced to four-dimensional spacetime.",
        "positive": "Gauge $\\times$ Gauge $=$ Gravity on Homogeneous Spaces using Tensor\n  Convolutions: A definition of a convolution of tensor fields on group manifolds is given,\nwhich is then generalised to generic homogeneous spaces. This is applied to the\nproduct of gauge fields in the context of `gravity $=$ gauge $\\times$ gauge'.\nIn particular, it is shown that the linear Becchi-Rouet-Stora-Tyutin (BRST)\ngauge transformations of two Yang-Mills gauge fields generate the linear BRST\ndiffeomorphism transformations of the graviton. This facilitates the definition\nof the `gauge $\\times$ gauge' convolution product on, for example, the static\nEinstein universe, and more generally for ultrastatic spacetimes with compact\nspatial slices."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Matrix $\u03c6^4$ Models on the Fuzzy Sphere and their Continuum Limits: We demonstrate that the UV/IR mixing problems found recently for a scalar\n$\\phi^4$ theory on the fuzzy sphere are localized to tadpole diagrams and can\nbe overcome by a suitable modification of the action. This modification is\nequivalent to normal ordering the $\\phi^4$ vertex. In the limit of the\ncommutative sphere, the perturbation theory of this modified action matches\nthat of the commutative theory.",
        "positive": "Branes, Black Holes and Topological Strings on Toric Calabi-Yau\n  Manifolds: We develop means of computing exact degerenacies of BPS black holes on toric\nCalabi-Yau manifolds. We show that the gauge theory on the D4 branes wrapping\nample divisors reduces to 2D q-deformed Yang-Mills theory on necklaces of\nP^1's. As explicit examples we consider local P^2, P^1 x P^1 and A_k type ALE\nspace times C. At large N the D-brane partition function factorizes as a sum\nover squares of chiral blocks, the leading one of which is the topological\nclosed string amplitude on the Calabi-Yau. This is in complete agreement with\nthe recent conjecture of Ooguri, Strominger and Vafa."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A new kind of McKay correspondence from non-Abelian gauge theories: The boundary chiral ring of a 2d gauged linear sigma model on a K\\\"ahler\nmanifold $X$ classifies the topological D-brane sectors and the massless open\nstrings between them. While it is determined at small volume by simple group\ntheory, its continuation to generic volume provides highly non-trivial\ninformation about the $D$-branes on $X$, related to the derived category\n$D^\\flat(X)$. We use this correspondence to elaborate on an extended notion of\nMcKay correspondence that captures more general than orbifold singularities. As\nan illustration, we work out this new notion of McKay correspondence for a\nclass of non-compact Calabi-Yau singularities related to Grassmannians.",
        "positive": "On thermal field fluctuations in ghost-free theories: We study the response of a scalar thermal field to a $\\delta$-probe in the\ncontext of non-local ghost-free theories. In these theories a non-local form\nfactor is inserted into the kinetic part of the action which does not introduce\nnew poles. For the case of a static $\\delta$-potential we obtain an explicit\nexpression for the thermal Hadamard function and use it for the calculation of\nthe thermal fluctuations. We then demonstrate how the presence of non-locality\nmodifies the amplitude of these fluctuations. Finally, we also discuss the\nfluctuation-dissipation theorem in the context of ghost-free quantum field\ntheories at finite temperature."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A representation theoretic approach to the WZW Verlinde formula: By exploring the description of chiral blocks in terms of co-invariants, a\nderivation of the Verlinde formula for WZW models is obtained which is entirely\nbased on the representation theory of affine Lie algebras. In contrast to\nexisting proofs of the Verlinde formula, this approach works universally for\nall untwisted affine Lie algebras. As a by-product we obtain a homological\ninterpretation of the Verlinde multiplicities as Euler characteristics of\ncomplexes built from invariant tensors of finite-dimensional simple Lie\nalgebras. Our results can also be used to compute certain traces of\nautomorphisms on the spaces of chiral blocks. Our argument is not rigorous; in\nits present form this paper will therefore not be submitted for publication.",
        "positive": "Entanglement entropy in a four-dimensional cosmological background: We compute the holographic entanglement entropy of a thermalized CFT on a\ntime-dependent background in four dimensions. We consider a slab configuration\nextending beyond the cosmological horizon of a\nFriedmann-Lemaitre-Robertson-Walker metric. We identify a volume term that\ncorresponds to the thermal entropy of the CFT, as well as terms proportional to\nthe proper area of the entangling surface which are associated with strongly\nentangled degrees of freedom in the vicinity of this surface or with the\nexpansion."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Membranes for Topological M-Theory: We formulate a theory of topological membranes on manifolds with G_2\nholonomy. The BRST charges of the theories are the superspace Killing vectors\n(the generators of global supersymmetry) on the background with reduced\nholonomy G_2. In the absence of spinning formulations of supermembranes, the\nstarting point is an N=2 target space supersymmetric membrane in seven\neuclidean dimensions. The reduction of the holonomy group implies a twisting of\nthe rotations in the tangent bundle of the branes with ``R-symmetry'' rotations\nin the normal bundle, in contrast to the ordinary spinning formulation of\ntopological strings, where twisting is performed with internal U(1) currents of\nthe N=(2,2) superconformal algebra. The double dimensional reduction on a\ncircle of the topological membrane gives the strings of the topological A-model\n(a by-product of this reduction is a Green-Schwarz formulation of topological\nstrings). We conclude that the action is BRST-exact modulo topological terms\nand fermionic equations of motion. We discuss the role of topological membranes\nin topological M-theory and the relation of our work to recent work by Hitchin\nand by Dijkgraaf et al.",
        "positive": "On Regular Black Holes at Finite Temperature: The Thermo Field Dynamics (TFD) formalism is used to investigate the regular\nblack holes at finite temperature. Using the Teleparalelism Equivalent to\nGeneral Relativity (TEGR) the gravitational Stefan-Boltzmann law and the\ngravitational Casimir effect at zero and finite temperature are calculated. In\naddition, the first law of thermodynamics is considered. Then the gravitational\nentropy and the temperature of the event horizon of a class of regular black\nholes are determined."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Functional RG flow equation: regularization and coarse-graining in phase\n  space: Starting from the basic path integral in phase space we reconsider the\nfunctional approach to the RG flow of the one particle irreducible effective\naverage action. On employing a balanced coarse-graining procedure for the\ncanonical variables we obtain a functional integral with a non trivial measure\nwhich leads to a modified flow equation. We first address quantum mechanics for\nboson and fermion degrees of freedom and we then extend the construction to\nquantum field theories. For this modified flow equation we discuss the\nreconstruction of the bare action and the implications on the computation of\nthe vacuum energy density.",
        "positive": "Matrix Models, Large N Limits and Noncommutative Solitons: A survey of the interrelationships between matrix models and field theories\non the noncommutative torus is presented. The discretization of noncommutative\ngauge theory by twisted reduced models is described along with a rigorous\ndefinition of the large N continuum limit. The regularization of arbitrary\nnoncommutative field theories by means of matrix quantum mechanics and its\nconnection to noncommutative solitons is also discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Renormalization Group Equation in N=2 Supersymmetric Gauge Theories: We clarify the mass dependence of the effective prepotential in N=2\nsupersymmetric SU(N_c) gauge theories with an arbitrary number N_f<2N_c of\nflavors. The resulting differential equation for the prepotential extends the\nequations obtained previously for SU(2) and for zero masses. It can be viewed\nas an exact renormalization group equation for the prepotential, with the beta\nfunction given by a modular form. We derive an explicit formula for this\nmodular form when N_f=0, and verify the equation to 2-instanton order in the\nweak-coupling regime for arbitrary N_f and N_c.",
        "positive": "The connection between nonzero density and spontaneous symmetry breaking\n  for interacting scalars: We consider ${\\rm U}(1)$-symmetric scalar quantum field theories at zero\ntemperature. At nonzero charge densities, the ground state of these systems is\nusually assumed to be a superfluid phase, in which the global symmetry is\nspontaneously broken along with Lorentz boosts and time translations. We show\nthat, in $d>2$ spacetime dimensions, this expectation is always realized at one\nloop for arbitrary non-derivative interactions, confirming that the physically\ndistinct phenomena of nonzero charge density and spontaneous symmetry breaking\noccur simultaneously in these systems. We quantify this result by deriving\nuniversal scaling relations for the symmetry breaking scale as a function of\nthe charge density, at low and high density. Moreover, we show that the\ncritical value of $\\mu$ above which a nonzero density develops coincides with\nthe pole mass in the unbroken, Poincar\\'e invariant vacuum of the theory. The\nsame conclusions hold non-perturbatively for an ${\\rm O}(N)$ theory with\nquartic interactions in $d=3$ and $4$, at leading order in the $1/N$ expansion.\nWe derive these results by computing analytically the zero-temperature,\nfinite-$\\mu$ one-loop effective potential. We check our results against the\none-loop low-energy effective action for the superfluid phonons in $\\lambda\n\\phi^4$ theory in $d=4$ previously derived by Joyce and ourselves, which we\nfurther generalize to arbitrary potential interactions and arbitrary\ndimensions. As a byproduct, we find analytically the one-loop scaling dimension\nof the lightest charge-$n$ operator for the $\\lambda \\phi^6$ conformal\nsuperfluid in $d=3$, at leading order in $1/n$, reproducing a numerical result\nof Badel et al. For a $\\lambda \\phi^4$ superfluid in $d=4$, we also reproduce\nthe Lee--Huang--Yang relation and compute relativistic corrections to it.\nFinally, we discuss possible extensions of our results beyond perturbation\ntheory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Universal behaviour of interfaces in 2d and dimensional reduction of\n  Nambu-Goto strings: We propose a simple effective model for the description of interfaces in 2d\nstatistical models, based on the first-order treatment of an action\ncorresponding to the length of the interface. The universal prediction of this\nmodel for the interface free energy agrees with the result of an exact\ncalculation in the case of the 2d Ising model. This model appears as a\ndimensional reduction of the Nambu-Goto stringy description of interfaces in\n3d, i.e., of the capillary wave model.",
        "positive": "Emergent SUSY Theories: QED, SM & GUT: It might be expected that only global symmetries are fundamental symmetries\nof Nature, whereas local symmetries and associated massless gauge fields could\nsolely emerge due to spontaneous breaking of underlying spacetime symmetries\ninvolved, such as relativistic invariance and supersymmetry. This breaking,\ntaken in the form of the nonlinear sigma-model type pattern for vector fields\nor superfields, puts essential restrictions on geometrical degrees of freedom\nof a physical field system that makes it to adjust itself in such a way that\nits global internal symmetry G turns into the local symmetry G_{loc}.\nRemarkably, this emergence process may naturally be triggered by spontaneously\nbroken supersymmetry, as is illustrated in detail by an example of a general\nsupersymmetric QED model which is then extended to electroweak models and grand\nunified theories. Among others, the U(1)xSU(2) symmetrical Standard Model and\nflipped SU(5) GUT appear preferable to emerge at high energies."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A noncommutative anomaly through Seiberg-Witten map and non-locally\n  regularized BV quantization: Anomalies are one essential concept for the renormalization of noncommutative\n(NC) gauge theories. A NC space can be visualized as a deformation of the usual\nspacetime with the $\\star$-product and can be constructed after the\nquantization of a given space with its symplectic structure. The Seiberg-Witten\n(SW) map connects NC fields, transformations parameters and gauge potential to\ntheir commutative analogs. In this work we used the SW map to calculate the NC\nversion of the anomaly of the BV quantized chiral Schwinger model with nonlocal\nregularization.",
        "positive": "Blobbed topological recursion for the quartic melonic tensor model: Random tensor models are generalizations of random matrix models which admit\n$1/N$ expansions. In this article we show that the topological recursion, a\nmodern approach to matrix models which solves the loop equations at all orders,\nis also satisfied in some tensor models. While it is obvious in some tensor\nmodels which are matrix models in disguise, it is far from clear that it can be\napplied to others. Here we focus on melonic interactions for which the models\nare best understood, and further restrict to the quartic case. Then\nHubbard-Stratonovich transformation maps the tensor model to a multi-matrix\nmodel with multi-trace interactions. We study this matrix model and show that\nafter substracting the leading order, it satisfies the blobbed topological\nrecursion. It is a new extension of the topological recursion, recently\nintroduced by Borot and further studied by Borot and Shadrin. Here it applies\nstraightforwardly, yet with a novelty as our model displays a disconnected\nspectral curve, which is the union of several spectral curves of the Gaussian\nUnitary Ensemble. Finally, we propose a way to evaluate expectations of\ntensorial observables using the correlation functions computed from the blobbed\ntopological recursion."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fast scrambling in holographic Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen pair: We demonstrate that a holographic model of the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen pair\nexhibits fast scrambling. Strongly entangled quark and antiquark in\n$\\mathcal{N}=4$ super Yang-Mills theory are considered. Their gravity dual is a\nfundamental string whose endpoints are uniformly accelerated in opposite\ndirection. We slightly increase the acceleration of the endpoint and show that\nit quickly destroys the correlation between the quark and antiquark. The proper\ntime scale of the destruction is $\\tau_\\ast\\sim \\beta \\ln S$ where $\\beta$ is\nthe inverse Unruh temperature and $S$ is the entropy of the accelerating quark.\nWe also evaluate the Lyapunov exponent from correlation function as\n$\\lambda_L=2\\pi/\\beta$, which saturates the Lyapunov bound. Our results suggest\nthat the fast scrambling or saturation of the Lyapunov bound do not directly\nimply the existence of an Einstein dual. When we slightly decrease the\nacceleration, the quark and antiquark are causally connected and an \"one-way\ntraversable wormhole\" is created on the worldsheet. It causes the divergence of\nthe correlation function between the quark and antiquark.",
        "positive": "Free Fermions and Thermal AdS/CFT: The dynamics of finite temperature U(N) gauge theories on $S^3$ can be\ndescribed, at weak coupling, by an effective unitary matrix model. Here we\npresent an exact solution to these models, for any value of $N$, in terms of a\nsum over representations. Taking the large $N$ limit of this solution provides\na new perspective on the deconfinement transition which is supposed to be dual\nto the Hawking-Page transition. The large $N$ phase transition manifests itself\nhere in a manner similar to the Douglas-Kazakov phase transition in 2d\nYang-Mills theory. We carry out a complete analysis of the saddle\nrepresentation in the simplest case involving only the order parameter ${\\rm\nTr}U$. We find that the saddle points corresponding to thermal $AdS$, the small\nblack hole and the large black hole can all be described in terms of free\nfermions. They all admit a simple phase space description {\\it a la} the BPS\ngeometries of Lin, Lunin and Maldacena."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Modular Curves and the Refined Distance Conjecture: We test the refined distance conjecture in the vector multiplet moduli space\nof 4D $\\mathcal{N}=2$ compactifications of the type IIA string that admit a\ndual heterotic description. In the weakly coupled regime of the heterotic\nstring, the moduli space geometry is governed by the perturbative heterotic\ndualities, which allows for exact computations. This is reflected in the type\nIIA frame through the existence of a K3 fibration. We identify the degree\n$d=2N$ of the K3 fiber as a parameter that could potentially lead to large\ndistances, which is substantiated by studying several explicit models. The\nmoduli space geometry degenerates into the modular curve for the congruence\nsubgroup $\\Gamma_0(N)^+$. In order to probe the large $N$ regime, we initiate\nthe study of Calabi-Yau threefolds fibered by general degree $d>8$ K3 surfaces\nby suggesting a construction as complete intersections in Grassmann bundles.",
        "positive": "Induced gravity and entanglement entropy of 2D black holes: Using the fact that 2D Newton constant is wholly induced by a conformal field\ntheory, we derive a formula for the entanglement entropy of the anti-de Sitter\nblack hole in two spacetime dimensions. The leading term in the large black\nhole mass expansion of our formula reproduces exactly the Bekenstein-Hawking\nentropy S_{BH}, whereas the subleading term behaves as ln S_{BH}. This\nsubleading term has the universal form typical for the entanglement entropy of\nphysical systems described by effective conformal fields theories (e.g.\none-dimensional statistical models at the critical point)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Roles of Z_2-odd N=1 multiplets in off-shell dimensional reduction of 5D\n  supergravity: We discuss the dimensional reduction of five-dimensional supergravity\ncompactified on S^1/Z_2 keeping the N=1 off-shell structure. Especially we\nclarify the roles of the Z_2-odd N=1 multiplets in such an off-shell\ndimensional reduction. Their equations of motion provide constraints on the\nZ_2-even multiplets and extract the zero modes from the latter. The procedure\ncan be applied to wide range of models and performed in a\nbackground-independent way. We demonstrate it in some specific models.",
        "positive": "Anomalies, boundaries and the in-in formalism: In the context of quantum field theory, an anomaly exists when a theory has a\nclassical symmetry which is not a symmetry of the quantum theory. This short\nexposition aims at introducing a new point of view, which is that the proper\nsetting for anomaly calculations is the `in-in', or closed-time path\nformulation of quantum field theory. There are also some new results for\nanomalies in the context of boundary value problems, and a new correction to\nthe $a_5$ heat-kernel coefficient."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Horizon Fluffs: In the Context of Generalized Minimal Massive Gravity: We consider a metric which describes Ba$\\tilde{\\text{n}}$ados geometries and\nshow that the considered metric is a solution of generalized minimal massive\ngravity (GMMG) model. We consider the Killing vector field which preserves the\nform of considered metric. Using the off-shell quasi-local approach we obtain\nthe asymptotic conserved charges of given solution. Similar to the Einstein\ngravity in the presence of negative cosmological constant, for the GMMG model\nalso, we show that the algebra among the asymptotic conserved charges is\nisomorphic to two copies of the Virasoro algebra. Eventually, we find relation\nbetween the algebra of the near horizon and the asymptotic conserved charges.\nThis relation show that the main part of the horizon fluffs proposal of\nRefs.\\cite{140,14} appear for generic black holes in the class of\nBa$\\tilde{\\text{n}}$ados geometries in the context of GMMG model.",
        "positive": "Near-extremal black hole entropy and fluctuating 3-branes: We discuss the known microscopic interpretations of the Bekenstein-Hawking\nentropy for configurations of intersecting M-branes. In some cases the entropy\nscales as that of a massless field theory on the intersection. A different\nsituation, found for configurations which reduce to 1-charge D=5 black holes or\n2-charge D=4 black holes, is explained by a gas of non-critical strings at\ntheir Hagedorn temperature. We further suggest that the entropy of\nconfigurations reducing to 1-charge D=4 black holes is due to 3-branes moving\nwithin 5-branes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Quantum Theory of Chern-Simons Supergravity: We consider $AdS_3$ $N$-extended Chern-Simons supergravity (\\`a la\nAchucarro-Tonswend) and we study its gauge symmetries. We promote those gauge\nsymmetries to a BRST symmetry and we perform its quantization by choosing\nsuitable gauge-fixings. The resulting quantum theories have different features\nwhich we discuss in the present work. In particular, we show that a special\nchoice of the gauge-fixing correctly reproduces the Ansatz by Alvarez,\nValenzuela and Zanelli for the graphene fermion.",
        "positive": "$q$-Virasoro Operators from $q$-Noether Currents: We discuss the $q$-Virasoro algebra based on the arguments of the Noether\ncurrents in a two-dimensional massless fermion theory as well as in a\nthree-dimensional nonrelativistic one. Some notes on the $q$-differential\noperator realization and the central extension are also included."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-supersymmetric asymptotically AdS_5 x S^5 smooth geometries: We find soliton solutions in five-dimensional gauged supergravity, where a\ncircle degenerates smoothly in the core of the geometry. In the family of\nsolutions we consider, we find no completely smooth supersymmetric solutions,\nbut we find discrete families of non-supersymmetric solitons. We discuss the\nrelation to previous studies of the asymptotically flat case. We also consider\ngauged supergravities in four and seven dimensions, but fail to find any smooth\nsolutions.",
        "positive": "Energy-momentum balance in particle - domain wall perforating collision: We investigate the energy-momentum balance in the perforating collision of a\npoint particle with an infinitely thin planar domain wall within the linearized\ngravity in arbitrary dimensions. Since the metric of the wall increases with\ndistance, the wall and the particle are never free, and their energy-momentum\nbalance involves not only the instantaneous kinetic momenta, but also the\nnon-local contribution of gravitational stresses. However, careful analysis\nshows that the stresses can be unambiguously divided between the colliding\nobjects leading to definition of the gravitationally dressed momenta. These\ntake into account for gravity in the same way as the potential energy does in\nthe non-relativistic theory, but our treatment is fully relativistic. Another\nunusual feature of our problem is the non-vanishing flux of the total\nenergy-momentum tensor through the lateral surface of the world tube. In this\ncase the zero divergence of the energy-momentum tensor does not imply\nconservation of the total momentum defined as the integral over the space-like\nsection of the tube. But one can still define the conservation low\ninfinitesimally, passing to time derivatives of the momenta. Using this\ndefinition we establish the momentum balance in terms of the dressed particle\nand wall momenta."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exact Analysis of Scaling and Dominant Attractors Beyond the Exponential\n  Potential: By considering the potential parameter $\\Gamma$ as a function of another\npotential parameter $\\lambda$[47], We successfully extend the analysis of\ntwo-dimensional autonomous dynamical system of quintessence scalar field model\nto the analysis of three-dimension, which makes us be able to research the\ncritical points of a large number of potentials beyond the exponential\npotential exactly. We find that there are ten critical points in all, three\npoints $P_{3, 5, 6}$} are general points which are possessed by all\nquintessence models regardless of the form of potentials and the rest points\nare closely connected to the concrete potentials. It is quite surprising that,\napart from the exponential potential, there are a large number of potentials\nwhich can give the scaling solution when the function\n$f(\\lambda)(=\\Gamma(\\lambda)-1)$ equals zero for one or some values of\n$\\lambda_{*}$ and if the parameter $\\lambda_{*}$ also satisfies the condition\nEq.(16) or Eq.(17) at the same time. We give the differential equations to\nderive these potentials $V(\\phi)$ from $f(\\lambda)$. We also find that, if some\nconditions are satisfied, the de-Sitter-like dominant point $P_4$ and the\nscaling solution point $P_9$(or $P_{10}$) can be stable simultaneously but\n$P_9$ and $P_{10}$ can not be stable simultaneity. Although we survey scaling\nsolutions beyond the exponential potential for ordinary quintessence models in\nstandard general relativity, this method can be applied to other extensively\nscaling solution models studied in literature[46] including coupled\nquintessence, (coupled-)phantom scalar field, k-essence and even beyond the\ngeneral relativity case $H^2 \\propto\\rho_T^n$. we also discuss the disadvantage\nof our approach.",
        "positive": "On the Chaos Bound in Rotating Black Holes: We study out-of-time-order correlators (OTOCs) of rotating BTZ black holes\nusing two different approaches: the elastic eikonal gravity approximation, and\nthe Chern-Simons formulations of 3-dimensional gravity. Within both methods the\nOTOC is given as a sum of two contributions, corresponding to left and right\nmoving modes. The contributions have different Lyapunov exponents,\n$\\lambda_L^{\\pm}=\\frac{2\\pi}{\\beta}\\frac{1}{1\\mp \\ell \\Omega}$, where $\\Omega$\nis the angular velocity and $\\ell$ is the AdS radius. Since $\\lambda_L^{-} \\leq\n\\frac{2\\pi}{\\beta} \\leq \\lambda_L^{+}$, there is an apparent contradiction with\nthe chaos bound. We discuss how the result can be made consistent with the\nchaos bound if one views $\\beta_{\\pm}=\\beta(1\\mp \\ell \\Omega)$ as the effective\ninverse temperatures of the left and right moving modes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dirac fermions in strong gravitational fields: We discuss the dynamics of the Dirac fermions in the general strong\ngravitational and electromagnetic fields. We derive the general Hermitian Dirac\nHamiltonian and transform it to the Foldy-Wouthuysen representation for the\nspatially isotropic metric. The quantum operator equations of motion are\nobtained and the semiclassical limit is analyzed. The comparison of the quantum\nmechanical and classical equations shows their complete agreement. The helicity\ndynamics in strong fields is discussed. Squaring the covariant Dirac equation\nexplicitly shows a similarity of the interactions of electromagnetic and\ngravitational fields with a charged and spinning particle.",
        "positive": "Magnetic Deformation of Super-Maxwell Theory in Supergravity: A necessary condition for partial breaking of N=2 global supersymmetry is the\npresence of nonlinear deformations of the field transformations which cannot be\ngenerated by background values of auxiliary fields. This work studies the\nsimplest of these deformations which already occurs in N=1 global\nsupersymmetry, and its coupling to supergravity. It can be viewed as an\nimaginary constant shift of the D-auxiliary real field of an abelian gauge\nmultiplet. We show how this deformation describes the magnetic dual of a\nFayet-Iliopoulos term, a result that remains valid in supergravity, using its\nnew-minimal formulation. Local supersymmetry and the deformation induce a\npositive cosmological constant. Moreover, the deformed U(1) Maxwell theory\ncoupled to supergravity describes upon elimination of the auxiliary fields the\ngauging of R-symmetry, realised by the Freedman model of 1976. To this end, we\nconstruct the chiral spinor multiplet in superconformal tensor calculus by\nworking out explicitly its transformation rules and use it for an alternative\ndescription of the new-minimal supergravity coupled to a U(1) multiplet. We\nalso discuss the deformed Maxwell theory in curved superspace."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Toward the construction of N=2 supersymmetric integrable hierarchies: We formulate a conjecture for the three different Lax operators that describe\nthe bosonic sectors of the three possible $N=2$ supersymmetric integrable\nhierarchies with $N=2$ super $W_n$ second hamiltonian structure. We check this\nconjecture in the simplest cases, then we verify it in general in one of the\nthree possible supersymmetric extensions. To this end we construct the $N=2$\nsupersymmetric extensions of the Generalized Non-Linear Schr\\\"{o}dinger\nhierarchy by exhibiting the corresponding super Lax operator. To find the\ncorrect hamiltonians we are led to a new definition of super-residues for\ndegenerate N=2 supersymmetric pseudodifferential operators. We have found a new\nnon-polinomial Miura-like realization for $N=2$ superconformal algebra in terms\nof two bosonic chiral--anti--chiral free superfields.",
        "positive": "AdS_5 and the 4D Cosmological Constant: The hypothesis is discussed that our universe is really 5--dimensional with a\nnonzero cosmological constant that produces a large negative curvature. In this\nscenario, the observable flat 4--dimensional universe is identified with the\nholographic projection of the 5--dimensional world onto its own boundary."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Causality & holographic entanglement entropy: We identify conditions for the entanglement entropy as a function of spatial\nregion to be compatible with causality in an arbitrary relativistic quantum\nfield theory. We then prove that the covariant holographic entanglement entropy\nprescription (which relates entanglement entropy of a given spatial region on\nthe boundary to the area of a certain extremal surface in the bulk) obeys these\nconditions, as long as the bulk obeys the null energy condition. While\nnecessary for the validity of the prescription, this consistency requirement is\nquite nontrivial from the bulk standpoint, and therefore provides important\nadditional evidence for the prescription. In the process, we introduce a\ncodimension-zero bulk region, named the entanglement wedge, naturally\nassociated with the given boundary spatial region. We propose that the\nentanglement wedge is the most natural bulk region corresponding to the\nboundary reduced density matrix.",
        "positive": "Exact Bosonic and Supersymmetric String Black Hole Solutions: We show that Witten's two-dimensional string black hole metric is exactly\nconformally invariant in the supersymmetric case. We also demonstrate that this\nmetric, together with a recently proposed exact metric for the bosonic case,\nare respectively consistent with the supersymmetric and bosonic $\\sigma$-model\nconformal invariance conditions up to four-loop order."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Constraints on Axion Inflation from the Weak Gravity Conjecture: We derive constraints facing models of axion inflation based on decay\nconstant alignment from a string-theoretic and quantum gravitational\nperspective. In particular, we investigate the prospects for alignment and\n`anti-alignment' of $C_4$ axion decay constants in type IIB string theory,\nderiving a strict no-go result in the latter case. We discuss the relationship\nof axion decay constants to the weak gravity conjecture and demonstrate\nagreement between our string-theoretic constraints and those coming from the\n`generalized' weak gravity conjecture. Finally, we consider a particular model\nof decay constant alignment in which the potential of $C_4$ axions in type IIB\ncompactifications on a Calabi-Yau three-fold is dominated by contributions from\n$D7$-branes, pointing out that this model evades some of the challenges derived\nearlier in our paper but is highly constrained by other geometric\nconsiderations.",
        "positive": "Thermodynamic Bethe Ansatz with Haldane Statistics: We derive the thermodynamic Bethe ansatz equation for the situation inwhich\nthe statistical interaction of a multi-particle system is governed by Haldane\nstatistics. We formulate a macroscopical equivalence principle for such\nsystems. Particular CDD-ambiguities play a distinguished role in compensating\nthe ambiguity in the exclusion statistics. We derive Y-systems related to\ngeneralized statistics. We discuss several fermionic, bosonic and anyonic\nversions of affine Toda field theories and Calogero-Sutherland type models in\nthe context of generalized statistics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Anomaly resolution via decomposition: In this paper we apply decomposition to orbifolds with quantum symmetries to\nresolve anomalies. Briefly, it has been argued by e.g. Wang-Wen-Witten,\nTachikawa that an anomalous orbifold can sometimes be resolved by enlarging the\norbifold group so that the pullback of the anomaly to the larger group is\ntrivial. For this procedure to resolve the anomaly, one must specify a set of\nphases in the larger orbifold, whose form is implicit in the extension\nconstruction. There are multiple choices of consistent phases, which give rise\nto physically distinct resolutions. We apply decomposition, and find that\ntheories with enlarged orbifold groups are equivalent to (disjoint unions of\ncopies of) orbifolds by nonanomalous subgroups of the original orbifold group.\nIn effect, decomposition implies that enlarging the orbifold group is\nequivalent to making it smaller. We provide a general conjecture for such\ndescriptions, which we check in a number of examples.",
        "positive": "Mass-Gaps and Spin Chains for (Super) Membranes: We present a method for computing the non-perturbative mass-gap in the theory\nof Bosonic membranes in flat background spacetimes with or without background\nfluxes. The computation of mass-gaps is carried out using a matrix\nregularization of the membrane Hamiltonians. The mass gap is shown to be\nnaturally organized as an expansion in a 'hidden' parameter, which turns out to\nbe $\\frac{1}{d}$: d being the related to the dimensionality of the background\nspace. We then proceed to develop a large $N$ perturbation theory for the\nmembrane/matrix-model Hamiltonians around the quantum/mass corrected effective\npotential. The same parameter that controls the perturbation theory for the\nmass gap is also shown to control the Hamiltonian perturbation theory around\nthe effective potential. The large $N$ perturbation theory is then translated\ninto the language of quantum spin chains and the one loop spectra of various\nBosonic matrix models are computed by applying the Bethe ansatz to the one-loop\neffective Hamiltonians for membranes in flat space times. Apart from membranes\nin flat spacetimes, the recently proposed matrix models (hep-th/0607005) for\nnon-critical membranes in plane wave type spacetimes are also analyzed within\nthe paradigm of quantum spin chains and the Bosonic sectors of all the models\nproposed in (hep-th/0607005) are diagonalized at the one-loop level."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Cosmology of the closed string tachyon: The spacetime physics of bulk closed string tachyon condensation is studied\nat the level of a two-derivative effective action. We derive the unique\nperturbative tachyon potential consistent with a full class of linearized\ntachyonic deformations of supercritical string theory. The solutions of\ninterest deform a general linear dilaton background by the insertion of purely\nexponential tachyon vertex operators. In spacetime, the evolution of the\ntachyon drives an accelerated contraction of the universe and, absent\nhigher-order corrections, the theory collapses to a cosmological singularity in\nfinite time, at arbitrarily weak string coupling. When the tachyon exhibits a\nnull symmetry, the worldsheet dynamics are known to be exact and well-defined\nat tree level. We prove that if the two-derivative effective action is free of\nnon-gravitational singularities, higher-order corrections always resolve the\nspacetime curvature singularity of the null tachyon. The resulting theory\nprovides an explicit mechanism by which tachyon condensation can generate or\nterminate the flow of cosmological time in string theory. Additional particular\nsolutions can resolve an initial singularity with a tachyonic phase at weak\ncoupling, or yield solitonic configurations that localize the universe along\nspatial directions.",
        "positive": "Quantization of $gl(1,{\\bf R})$ Generalized Chern-Simons Theory in 1+1\n  Dimensions: We present a quantization of previously proposed generalized Chern-Simons\ntheory with $gl(1,{\\bf R})$ algebra in 1+1 dimensions. This simplest model\nshares the common features of generalized CS theories: on-shell reducibility\nand violations of regularity. On-shell reducibility of the theory requires us\nto use the Lagrangian Batalin-Vilkovisky and/or Hamiltonian\nBatalin-Fradkin-Vilkovisky formulation. Since the regularity condition is\nviolated, their quantization is not straightforward. In the present case we can\nshow that both formulations give an equivalent result. It leads to an\ninterpretation that a physical degree of freedom which does not exist at the\nclassical level appears at the quantum level."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Aspects of the Gribov-Zwanziger framework: The existence of gauge (Gribov) copies disturbs the usual Faddeev-Popov\nquantization procedure in the Landau gauge. It is a very hard job to treat\nthese in the continuum, even in a partial manner. A decent way to do so was\nworked out by Gribov, and later on by Zwanziger. The final point was a\nrenormalizable action (the Gribov-Zwanziger action), implementing the\nrestriction of the path integration to the so-called Gribov region, which is\nfree of a subset of gauge copies, but not of all copies. Till recently,\neverybody agreed upon the fact that the restriction to the Gribov region\nimplied a infrared enhanced ghost, and vanishing zero momentum gluon\npropagator. We discuss how the Gribov-Zwanziger action naturally leads to the\nexistence of vacuum condensates of dimension two. As it is very common, such\ncondensates can seriously alter the dynamics. In particular, the\nGribov-Zwanziger condensates give rise to a gluon propagator with a finite but\nnonvanishing zero momentum limit, and reconstitute a nonenhanced ghost. We call\nthis the refined Gribov-Zwanziger framework. The predictions are in qualitative\nagreement with most recent lattice simulations, and certain solutions of the\nSchwinger-Dyson equations. A crucial feature of the Gribov-Zwanziger framework\nis the soft (controllable) breaking of the BRST symmetry. We also point out\nthat imposing the Kugo-Ojima confinement criterion on the Faddeev-Popov theory\nas a boundary condition from the beginning leads to the same partition function\nas of Gribov-Zwanziger, with associated BRST symmetry breaking. This clouds the\ninterpretation of the Kugo-Ojima criterion in se.",
        "positive": "Self-gravitating non-abelian kinks as brane worlds: We address the properties of self-gravitating domain walls arising from the\nbreaking of an SU(N) x Z_2- symmetric theory. In the particular case of N=5, we\nfind that the two classes of stable non-abelian kinks possible in flat space\nhave an analogue in the gravitational case, and construct the analytical\nsolutions. Localization of fermion fields in different representations of the\ngauge group in these branes is investigated. It is also shown that non-abelian\ngauge fields localization cannot be achieved through interactions with the\nbrane, but that in one of the two classes of kinks this localization can be\nimplemented via the Dvali-Shifman mechanism."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Can we implement the holographic principle in asymptotically flat\n  spacetimes?: We discuss some recent results in the quest to implement the holographic\nprinciple in asymptotically flat spacetimes. In particular we introduce the key\ningredients of the candidate dual theory which lives at null infinity and it is\ninvariant under the asymptotic symmetry group of this class of spacetimes.",
        "positive": "Holographic Equilibration under External Dynamical Electric Field: The holographic equilibration of a far-from-equilibrium strongly coupled\ngauge theory is investigated. The dynamics of a probe D7-brane in an AdS-Vaidya\nbackground is studied in the presence of an external time-dependent electric\nfield. Defining the equilibration times $t_{eq}^c$ and $t_{eq}^j$, at which\ncondensation and current relax to their final equilibrated values, receptively,\nthe smallness of transition time $k_M$ or $k_E$ is enough to observe a\nuniversal behaviour for re-scaled equilibration times $k_M k_E (t_{eq}^c)^{-2}$\nand $k_M k_E (t_{eq}^j)^{-2}$. Moreover, regardless of the values for $k_M$ and\n$k_E$, $t_{eq}^c/t_{eq}^j$ also behaves universally for large enough value of\nthe ratio of the final electric field to final temperature. Then a simple\ndiscussion of the static case reveals that $t_{eq}^c \\leq t_{eq}^j$. For an\nout-of-equilibrium process, our numerical results show that, apart from the\ncases for which $k_E$ is small, the static time ordering persists."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic Metal-Insulator Transition in Higher Derivative Gravity: We introduce a Weyl term into the Einstein-Maxwell-Axion theory in four\ndimensional spacetime. Up to the first order of the Weyl coupling parameter\n$\\gamma$, we construct charged black brane solutions without translational\ninvariance in a perturbative manner. Among all the holographic frameworks\ninvolving higher derivative gravity, we are the first to obtain metal-insulator\ntransitions (MIT) when varying the system parameters at zero temperature.\nFurthermore, we study the holographic entanglement entropy (HEE) of strip\ngeometry in this model and find that the second order derivative of HEE with\nrespect to the axion parameter exhibits maximization behavior near quantum\ncritical points (QCPs) of MIT. It testifies the conjecture in 1502.03661 and\n1604.04857 that HEE itself or its derivatives can be used to diagnose quantum\nphase transition (QPT).",
        "positive": "String and M-Theory Cosmological Solutions with Ramond Forms: A general framework for studying a large class of cosmological solutions of\nthe low-energy limit of type II string theory and of M-theory, with non-trivial\nRamond form fields excited, is presented. The framework is applicable to\nspacetimes decomposable into a set of flat or, more generally, maximally\nsymmetric spatial subspaces, with multiple non-trivial form fields spanning one\nor more of the subspaces. It is shown that the corresponding low-energy\nequations of motion are equivalent to those describing a particle moving in a\nmoduli space consisting of the scale factors of the subspaces together with the\ndilaton. The choice of which form fields are excited controls the potential\nterm in the particle equations. Two classes of exact solutions are given, those\ncorresponding to exciting only a single form and those with multiple forms\nexcited which correspond to Toda theories. Although typically these solutions\nbegin or end in a curvature singularity, there is a subclass with positive\nspatial curvature which appears to be singularity free. Elements of this class\nare directly related to certain black p-brane solutions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-Abelian Duality and Canonical Transformations: We construct explicit canonical transformations producing non-abelian duals\nin principal chiral models with arbitrary group G. Some comments concerning the\nextension to more general $\\sigma$-models, like WZW models, are given.",
        "positive": "Hirota equation as an example of integrable symplectic map: The hamiltonian formalism is developed for the sine-Gordon model on the\nspace-time light-like lattice, first introduced by Hirota. The evolution\noperator is explicitely constructed in the quantum variant of the model, the\nintegrability of the corresponding classical finite-dimensional system is\nestablished."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Casimir effect for parallel plates at finite temperature in the\n  presence of one fractal extra compactified dimension: We discuss the Casimir effect for massless scalar fields subject to the\nDirichlet boundary conditions on the parallel plates at finite temperature in\nthe presence of one fractal extra compactified dimension. We obtain the Casimir\nenergy density with the help of the regularization of multiple zeta function\nwith one arbitrary exponent and further the renormalized Casimir energy density\ninvolving the thermal corrections. It is found that when the temperature is\nsufficiently high, the sign of the Casimir energy remains negative no matter\nhow great the scale dimension $\\delta$ is within its allowed region. We derive\nand calculate the Casimir force between the parallel plates affected by the\nfractal additional compactified dimension and surrounding temperature. The\nstronger thermal influence leads the force to be stronger. The nature of the\nCasimir force keeps attractive.",
        "positive": "Two-dimensional Black Holes in a Higher Derivative Gravity and Matrix\n  Model: We construct perturbatively a class of charged black hole solutions in type\n0A string theory with higher derivative terms. They have extremal limit, where\nthe solution interpolates smoothly between near horizon AdS_2 geometry and the\nasymptotic linear dilaton geometry. We compute the free energy and the entropy\nof those solution using various methods. In particular, we show that there is\nno correction in the leading term of the free energy in the large charge limit.\nThis supports the duality of the type 0A strings on the extremal black hole and\nthe 0A matrix model in which the tree level free energy is exact without any\nalpha' corrections."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Covariant realizations of kappa-deformed space: We study a Lie algebra type $\\kappa$-deformed space with undeformed rotation\nalgebra and commutative vector-like Dirac derivatives in a covariant way. Space\ndeformation depends on an arbitrary vector. Infinitely many covariant\nrealizations in terms of commuting coordinates of undeformed space and their\nderivatives are constructed. The corresponding coproducts and star products are\nfound and related in a new way. All covariant realizations are physically\nequivalent. Specially, a few simple realizations are found and discussed. The\nscalar fields, invariants and the notion of invariant integration is discussed\nin the natural realization.",
        "positive": "The two-loop superstring five-point amplitude and S-duality: The low-energy limit of the massless two-loop five-point amplitudes for both\ntype IIA and type IIB superstrings is computed with the pure spinor formalism\nand its overall coefficient determined from first principles. For the type IIB\ntheory, the five-graviton amplitude is found to be proportional to its\ntree-level counterpart at the corresponding order in $\\alpha'$. Their ratio\nties in with expectations based on S-duality since it matches the same modular\nfunction $E_{5/2}$ which relates the two-loop and tree-level four-graviton\namplitudes. For R-symmetry violating states, the ratio between tree-level and\ntwo-loop amplitudes at the same $\\alpha'$-order carries an additional factor of\n$-3/5$. Its S-duality origin can be traced back to a modular form derived from\n$E_{5/2}$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Twin conformal field theories: Supersymmetric theories with the same bosonic content but different fermions,\naka \\emph{twins}, were thought to exist only for supergravity. Here we show\nthat pairs of super conformal field theories, for example exotic\n$\\mathcal{N}=3$ and $\\mathcal{N}=1$ theories in $D=4$ spacetime dimensions, can\nalso be twin. We provide evidence from three different perspectives: (i) a twin\nS-fold construction, (ii) a double-copy argument and (iii) by identifying\ncandidate twin holographically dual gauged supergravity theories. Furthermore,\ntwin W-supergravity theories then follow by applying the double-copy\nprescription to exotic super conformal field theories.",
        "positive": "Time warps: I reconsider asymmetrically warped compactifications, in which time and space\nhave different warp factors. I call such compactifications time warps if the\nbulk geometry has neither entropy nor temperature. I provide an example\nstarting from an asymptotically AdS_5 spacetime where the speed of light,\nmeasured in a fixed coordinate system, is larger near the boundary than it is\ndeep in the interior. This example follows the general plan of earlier work on\nsuperconducting black holes. To obtain a normalizable, four-dimensional\ngraviton, one can introduce a Planck brane whose action includes a wrong-sign\nEinstein-Hilbert term. The equation of state of the Planck brane has w < -1,\nwhich is a violation of the null energy condition. I show, in an almost\ndimension-independent fashion, that such a violation must occur in a static\ntime warp geometry. Time warps of the type I describe provide an\nextra-dimensional description of boost invariance as an emergent symmetry in\nthe infrared. High-energy violations of Lorentz symmetry, if confined to a\nstrongly coupled unparticle sector dual to the time warp geometry, might\nmanifest themselves through unusual kinematic constraints. As an example, I\nexplain how modifications of unparticle phase space would affect the decay of a\nheavy particle into a light visible sector particle plus unparticle stuff."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Update on the quantum properties of the Supermembrane: In this note we summarize some of the quantum properties found since the\nearly 80's until nowdays that characterize at quantum level the spectrum of the\nsupermembrane. In particular we will focus on a topological sector of the 11D\nsupermembrane that, contrary to the general case, has a purely discrete\nspectrum at supersymmetric level. This construction has been consistently\nimplemented in different types of backgrounds: toroidal and orbifold-type with\nG2 structure able to lead to a true G2 compactification manifold. This theory\nhas N=1 supersymmetries in 4D. comment on the relevant points of this\nconstruction as well as on its spectral characteristics. We will also make some\ncomments on the quantum properties of some effective formulation of multiple\nM2's theories recently found.",
        "positive": "Matrix elements of the operator T\\bar{T} in integrable quantum field\n  theory: Recently A. Zamolodchikov obtained a series of identities for the expectation\nvalues of the composite operator T\\bar{T} constructed from the components of\nthe energy-momentum tensor in two-dimensional quantum field theory. We show\nthat if the theory is integrable the addition of a requirement of factorization\nat high energies can lead to the exact determination of the generic matrix\nelement of this operator on the asymptotic states. The construction is\nperformed explicitly in the Lee-Yang model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Scalar Perturbation and Stability of Ricci Dark Energy: The Ricci dark energy (RDE) proposed to explain the accelerating expansion of\nthe universe requires its parameter $\\alpha < 1$, whose value will determine\nthe behavior of RDE. In this Letter, we study the scalar perturbation of RDE\nwith and without matter in the universe, and we find that in both cases, the\nperturbation is stable if $\\alpha> 1/3$, which gives a lower bound for $\\alpha$\ntheoretically.",
        "positive": "A next-to-leading Luescher formula: We propose a next-to-leading Luescher-like formula for the finite-size\ncorrections of the excited states energies in integrable theories. We\nconjecture the expressions of the corrections for both the energy and the\nparticles' rapidities by interpreting the excited states as momenta-dependent\ndefects. We check the resulting formulas in some simple relativistic model and\nconjecture those for the AdS5/CFT4 case."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Lorentz invariance and confined noncommutativity: There have been comments on this paper which point out unclear motivation and\ndefinitions on noncommutative momentum introduced. Therefore, this paper is\nwithdrawn by the author for more clear presentation.",
        "positive": "The Near-Horizon Limit of the Extreme Rotating d=5 Black Hole as a\n  Homogenous Spacetime: We show that the spacetime of the near-horizon limit of the extreme rotating\nd=5 black hole, which is maximally supersymmetric in N=2,d=5 supergravity for\nany value of the rotation parameter j in [-1,1], is locally isomorphic to a\nhomogeneous non-symmetric spacetime corresponding to an element of the\n1-parameter family of coset spaces SO(2,1)x SO(3)/SO(2)_j in which the subgroup\nSO(2)_j is a combination of the two SO(2) subgroups of SO(2,1) and SO(3)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Superradiant (In)stability, Greybody Radiation, and Quasinormal Modes of\n  Rotating Black Holes in non-linear Maxwell f (R) Gravity: The research of superradiant instability in the realm of quantum gravity is a\nwell-known topic, with many physicists and astronomers studying the potential\nimpact it can have on gravitational waves, the structure of the universe, and\nspacetime itself. In this work, we investigate the superradiant (in)stability\nof a rotating black hole obtained from the nonlinear Maxwell $f(R)$ gravity\ntheory. In this study, the evaluation of stability/instability is going to be\nbased on non-existence and existence of magnetic field, when the magnetic field\nconstant becomes $c_{4}=0$ and $c_{4}\\neq 0$, respectively. The analyzes of\ngreybody factor (GF) and quasinormal modes (QNMs) are investigated in the\nstationary black hole spacetime both in the absence and presence of the\nmagnetic field parameter. To this end, we first consider the Klein-Gordon\nequation for the complex scalar field in the geometry of that rotating black\nhole. In the sequel, the obtained radial equation is reduced to a\none-dimensional Schr\\\"{o}dinger-like wave equation with an effective potential\nenergy. The effects of the nonlinear Maxwell $f(R)$ gravity theory parameters\n($q$, $c$, and $c_{4}$) on the effective potential, GFs, and QNMs are\nthoroughly investigated. The obtained results show that even though the factors\n$q$, $c$, and $c_{4}$ all affect the effective potential, this phenomena,\nsurprisingly, is not valid for the GFs and QNMs. With the proper graphics and\ntables, all outputs are depicted, tabulated, and interpreted.",
        "positive": "Open String Gravity?: We present a new application of Boundary String Field Theory: calculating the\ninduced-gravity action on a D-brane. Using a simple quadratic tachyon potential\nto model a D-brane fluctuating in the flat target space we derive the effective\naction in terms of the extrinsic curvature to all orders in alpha'. We identify\nboth the Born-Infeld structure as well as the Einstein-Hilbert term at order\nalpha'. This corroborates the conjectured existence of the latter term in the\nbrane-world scenarios. The higher order terms in Ricci scalar and extrinsic\ncurvature suggest a pattern which calls for an explanation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Half-maximal supergravity in three dimensions: supergeometry,\n  differential forms and algebraic structure: The half-maximal supergravity theories in three dimensions, which have local\n$SO(8)\\xz SO(n)$ and rigid SO(8,n) symmetries, are discussed in a superspace\nsetting starting from the superconformal theory. The on-shell theory is\nobtained by imposing further constraints; it is essentially a non-linear sigma\nmodel that induces a Poincar\\'e supergeometry. The deformations of the geometry\ndue to gauging are briefly discussed. The possible $p$-form field strengths are\nstudied using supersymmetry and SO(8,n) symmetry. The set of such forms obeying\nconsistent Bianchi identities constitutes a Lie super co-algebra while the\ndemand that these identities admit solutions places a further constraint on the\npossible representations of SO(8,n) that the forms transform under which can be\neasily understood using superspace cohomology. The dual Lie superalgebra can\nthen be identified as the positive sector of a Borcherds superalgebra that\nextends the Lie algebra of the duality group. In addition to the known\n$p=2,3,4$ forms, which we construct explicitly, there are five-forms that can\nbe non-zero in supergravity, while all forms with $p>5$ vanish. It is shown\nthat some six-forms can have non-trivial contributions at order $\\a'$.",
        "positive": "Construction of a Gauge-Invariant Action for Type II Superstring Field\n  Theory: We construct a gauge-invariant action for covariant type II string field\ntheory in the NS-NS sector. Our construction is based on the large Hilbert\nspace description and Zwiebach's string products are used. First, we rewrite\nthe action for bosonic string field theory into a new form where a state in the\nkernel of the generator of the gauge transformation appears explicitly. Then we\nuse the same strategy and write down our type II action, where a projector onto\nthe small Hilbert space plays an important role. We present lower-order terms\nup to quartic order and show that three-point amplitudes are reproduced\ncorrectly."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Disorder in AdS$_3$/CFT$_2$: We perturbatively study marginally relevant quenched disorder in\nAdS$_3$/CFT$_2$ to second order in the disorder strength. Using the\nChern-Simons formulation of AdS$_3$ gravity for the Poincar\\'e patch, we\nintroduce disorder via the chemical potentials. We discuss the bulk and\nboundary properties resulting from the disorder averaged metric. The disorder\ngenerates a small mass and angular momentum. In the bulk and the boundary, we\nfind unphysical features due to the disorder average. Motivated by these\nfeatures, we propose a Poincar\\'e-Lindstedt-inspired resummation method. We\ndiscuss how this method enables us to remove all of the unphysical features and\ncompare with other approaches to averaging.",
        "positive": "Flow Equation of N=1 Supersymmetric O(N) Nonlinear Sigma Model in Two\n  Dimensions: We study the flow equation for the $\\mathcal{N}=1$ supersymmetric $O(N)$\nnonlinear sigma model in two dimensions, which cannot be given by the gradient\nof the action, as evident from dimensional analysis. Imposing the condition on\nthe flow equation that it respects both the supersymmetry and the $O(N)$\nsymmetry, we show that the flow equation has a specific form, which however\ncontains an undetermined function of the supersymmetric derivatives $D$ and\n$\\bar D$. Taking the most simple choice, we propose a flow equation for this\nmodel. As an application of the flow equation, we give the solution of the\nequation at the leading order in the large $N$ expansion. The result shows that\nthe flow of the superfield in the model is dominated by the scalar term, since\nthe supersymmetry is unbroken in the original model. It is also shown that the\ntwo point function of the superfield is finite at the leading order of the\nlarge $N$ expansion."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Classical r-matrices and construction of quantum groups: A problem of constructing quantum groups from classical r-matrices is\ndiscussed.",
        "positive": "Hawking radiation for scalar fields by Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet-de Sitter\n  black holes: We study the greybody factor and power spectra of Hawking radiation for the\nminimally or nonminimally coupled scalar field with exact numerical method in\nspherically symmetric Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet-de Sitter black hole spacetime. The\neffects of scalar coupling constant, angular momentum number of scalar,\nspacetime dimension, cosmological constant and Gauss-Bonnet coupling constant\non the Hawking radiation are studied in detail. Specifically, the Gauss-Bonnet\ncoupling constant always increases the greybody factor in the entire energy\nregime. Different from the case of Schwarzschild-de Sitter black hole, the\neffects of the scalar coupling constant on the greybody factor are not\nmonotonic but relevant to the values of Gauss-Bonnet coupling constant.\nMoreover, both these two coupling constants always suppress the power spectra\nof Hawking radiation in the whole energy regime."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Strong Wilson polygons from the lodge of free and bound mesons: Previously predicted by the $S$-matrix bootstrap of the excitations over the\nGKP quantum vacuum, the appearance of a new particle at strong coupling --\nformed by one fermion and one anti-fermion -- is here confirmed: this\ntwo-dimensional meson shows up, along with its infinite tower of bound states,\nwhile analysing the fermionic contributions to the Operator Product Expansion\n(collinear regime) of the Wilson null polygon loop. Moreover, its existence,\nfree \\footnote{This term is used here as opposite to bound, thus as {\\it\nunbound}.} and bound, turns out to be a powerful idea in re-summing all the\ncontributions (at large coupling) for a general $n$-gon ($n\\geq 6$) to a\nThermodynamic Bethe Ansatz, which is proven to be equivalent to the known one\nand suggests new structures for a special $Y$-system.",
        "positive": "Homotopy Properties and Lower-Order Vertices in Higher-Spin Equations: New homotopy approach to the analysis of nonlinear higher-spin equations is\ndeveloped. It is shown to directly reproduce the previously obtained local\nvertices. Simplest cubic (quartic in Lagrangian nomenclature) higher-spin\ninteraction vertices in four dimensional theory are examined from locality\nperspective by the new approach and shown to be local. The results are obtained\nin a background independent fashion."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Transport coefficients, membrane couplings and universality at\n  extremality: We present an efficient method for computing the zero frequency limit of\ntransport coefficients in strongly coupled field theories described\nholographically by higher derivative gravity theories. Hydrodynamic parameters\nsuch as shear viscosity and conductivity can be obtained by computing residues\nof poles of the off-shell lagrangian density. We clarify in which sense these\ncoefficients can be thought of as effective couplings at the horizon, and\npresent analytic, Wald-like formulae for the shear viscosity and conductivity\nin a large class of general higher derivative lagrangians. We show how to apply\nour methods to systems at zero temperature but finite chemical potential. Our\nresults imply that such theories satisfy $\\eta/s=1/4\\pi$ universally in the\nEinstein-Maxwell sector. Likewise, the zero frequency limit of the real part of\nthe conductivity for such systems is shown to be universally zero, and we\nconjecture that higher derivative corrections in this sector do not modify this\nresult to all orders in perturbation theory.",
        "positive": "Canonical form of Euler-Lagrange equations and gauge symmetries: The structure of the Euler-Lagrange equations for a general Lagrangian theory\nis studied. For these equations we present a reduction procedure to the\nso-called canonical form. In the canonical form the equations are solved with\nrespect to highest-order derivatives of nongauge coordinates, whereas gauge\ncoordinates and their derivatives enter in the right hand sides of the\nequations as arbitrary functions of time. The reduction procedure reveals\nconstraints in the Lagrangian formulation of singular systems and, in that\nrespect, is similar to the Dirac procedure in the Hamiltonian formulation.\nMoreover, the reduction procedure allows one to reveal the gauge identities\nbetween the Euler-Lagrange equations. Thus, a constructive way of finding all\nthe gauge generators within the Lagrangian formulation is presented. At the\nsame time, it is proven that for local theories all the gauge generators are\nlocal in time operators."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Lattice BRST without Neuberger 0/0 problem: We illustrate in a simple toy model how the methods of SUSY quantum mechanics\nand topological quantum field theory can be used for covariant gauge-fixing\nwith unbroken BRST symmetry on a finite lattice.",
        "positive": "More on integrable structures of superstrings in AdS(4) x CP(3) and\n  AdS(2) x S(2) x T(6) superbackgrounds: In this paper we continue the study, initiated in arXiv:1009.3498 and\narXiv:1104.1793, of the classical integrability of Green-Schwarz superstrings\nin AdS(4) x CP(3) and AdS(2) x S(2) x T(6) superbackgrounds whose spectrum\ncontains non-supercoset worldsheet degrees of freedom corresponding to broken\nsupersymmetries in the bulk. We derive an explicit expression, to all orders in\nthe coset fermions and to second order in the non-coset fermions, which extends\nthe supercoset Lax connection in these backgrounds with terms depending on the\nnon-coset fermions. An important property of the obtained form of the Lax\nconnection is that it is invariant under Z_4-transformations of the\nsuperisometry generators and the spectral parameter. This demonstrates that the\ncontribution of the non-coset fermions does not spoil the Z_4-symmetry of the\nsuper-coset Lax connection which is of crucial importance for the application\nof Bethe-ansatz techniques. The expressions describing the AdS(4) x CP(3) and\nAdS(2) x S(2) x T(6) superstring sigma--models and their Lax connections have a\nvery similar form. This is because their amount of target-space supersymmetries\ncomplement each other to 32=24+8, the maximal number of 10d type II\nsupersymmetries. As a byproduct, this similarity has allowed us to obtain the\nform of the geometry of the complete type IIA AdS(2) x S(2) x T(6) superspace\nto all orders in the coset fermions and to the second order in the non-coset\nones."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hamiltonian Analysis of SL(2,R) Symmetry in Liouville Theory: We consider a Hamiltonian analysis of the Liouville theory and construction\nof symmetry generators using Castellani's method. We then discuss the\nlight-cone gauge fixed theory. In particular, we clarify the difference between\nHamiltonian approaches based on different choices of time, $\\xi^0$ and $\\xi^+$.\nOur main result is the construction of SL(2,R) symmetry generators in both\ncases. ( Lectures presented at the Danube Workshop '93,\n  June 1993, Belgrade, Yugoslavia.)",
        "positive": "Spinning Particles, Braid Groups and Solitons: We develop general techniques for computing the fundamental group of the\nconfiguration space of $n$ identical particles, possessing a generic internal\nstructure, moving on a manifold $M$. This group generalizes the $n$-string\nbraid group of $M$ which is the relevant object for structureless particles. In\nparticular, we compute these generalized braid groups for particles with an\ninternal spin degree of freedom on an arbitrary $M$. A study of their unitary\nrepresentations allows us to determine the available spectrum of spin and\nstatistics on $M$ in a certain class of quantum theories. One interesting\nresult is that half-integral spin quantizations are obtained on certain\nmanifolds having an obstruction to an ordinary spin structure. We also compare\nour results to corresponding ones for topological solitons in\n$O(d+1)$-invariant nonlinear sigma models in $(d+1)$-dimensions, generalizing\nrecent studies in two spatial dimensions. Finally, we prove that there exists a\ngeneral scalar quantum theory yielding half-integral spin for particles (or\n$O(d+1)$ solitons) on a closed, orientable manifold $M$ if and only if $M$\npossesses a ${\\rm spin}_c$ structure."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-simply-laced Symmetry Algebras in F-theory on Singular Spaces: We demonstrate how non-simply-laced gauge and flavor symmetries arise in\nF-theory on spaces with non-isolated singularities. The breaking from a\nsimply-laced symmetry to one that is non-simply-laced is induced by Calabi-Yau\ncomplex structure deformation. In all examples the deformation maintains\nnon-isolated singularities but is accompanied by a splitting of an I1\nseven-brane that opens new loops in the geometry near a non-abelian\nseven-brane. The splitting also arises in the moduli space of a probe D3-brane,\nwhich upon traversing the new loop experiences a monodromy that acts on 3-7\nstring junctions on the singular space. The monodromy reduces the symmetry\nalgebra, which is the flavor symmetry of the D3-brane and the gauge symmetry of\nthe seven-brane, to one that is non-simply-laced. A collision of the D3-brane\nwith the seven-brane gives rise to a 4d N = 1 SCFT with a non-simply-laced\nflavor symmetry.",
        "positive": "Taking the Temperature of a Black Hole: We use the global embedding of a black hole spacetime into a higher\ndimensional flat spacetime to define a local temperature for observers in free\nfall outside a static black hole. The local free-fall temperature remains\nfinite at the event horizon and in asymptotically flat spacetime it approaches\nthe Hawking temperature at spatial infinity. Freely falling observers outside\nan AdS black hole do not see any high-temperature thermal radiation even if the\nHawking temperature of such black holes can be arbitrarily high."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "NS Three-form Flux Deformation for the Critical Non-Abelian Vortex\n  String: It has been shown that non-Abelian solitonic vortex string supported in\nfour-dimensional (4D) N = 2 supersymmetric QCD (SQCD) with the U(2) gauge group\nand $N_f = 4$ quark flavors becomes a critical superstring. This string\npropagates in the ten-dimensional space formed by a product of the flat 4D\nspace and an internal space given by a Calabi-Yau noncompact threefold, namely,\nthe conifold. The spectrum of low lying closed string states in the associated\ntype IIA string theory was found and interpreted as a spectrum of hadrons in 4D\nN = 2 SQCD. In particular, the lowest string state appears to be a massless BPS\nbaryon associated with the deformation of the complex structure modulus $b$ of\nthe conifold. In the previous work the deformation of the 10-dimensional\nbackground with nonzero Neveu-Schwarz 3-form flux was considered and\ninterpreted as a switching on a particular choice of quark masses in 4D SQCD.\nThis deformation was studied to the leading order at small 3-form flux. In this\npaper we study the back reaction of the nonzero 3-form flux on the metric and\nthe dilaton introducing ansatz with several warp factors and solving gravity\nequations of motion. We show that 3-form flux produces a potential for the\nconifold complex structure modulus $b$, which leads to the runaway vacuum. At\nthe runaway vacuum warp factors disappear, while the conifold degenerates. In\n4D SQCD we relate this to the flow to the U(1) gauge theory upon switching on\nquark masses and decoupling of two flavors.",
        "positive": "Is it Physically Sound to Add a Topologically Massive Term to\n  Three-Dimensional Massive Electromagnetic or Gravitational Models ?: The addition of a topologically massive term to an admittedly non-unitary\nthree-dimensional massive model, be it an electromagnetic system or a\ngravitational one, does not cure its non-unitarity. What about the enlargement\nof avowedly unitary massive models by way of a topologically massive term? The\nelectromagnetic models remain unitary after the topological augmentation but,\nsurprisingly enough, the gravitational ones have their unitarity spoiled. Here\nwe analyze these issues and present the explanation why unitary massive\ngravitational models, unlike unitary massive electromagnetic ones, cannot\ncoexist from the viewpoint of unitarity with topologically massive terms. We\nalso discuss the novel features of the three-term effective field models that\nare gauge-invariant."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Reconstructing cosmic acceleration from modified and non-minimal\n  gravity: The Yang-Mills case: A variant of the accelerating cosmology reconstruction program is developed\nfor $f(R)$ gravity and for a modified Yang-Mills/Maxwell theory. Reconstruction\nschemes in terms of e-foldings and by using an auxiliary scalar field are\ndeveloped and carefully compared, for the case of $f(R)$ gravity. An example of\na model with a transient phantom behavior without real matter is explicitly\ndiscussed in both schemes. Further, the two reconstruction schemes are applied\nto the more physically interesting case of a Yang-Mills/Maxwell theory, again\nwith explicit examples. Detailed comparison of the two schemes of\nreconstruction is presented also for this theory. It seems to support, as well,\nphysical non-equivalence of the two frames.",
        "positive": "Gauge/Gravity Duality and Some Applications: We discuss the AdS/CFT correspondence in which space-time emerges from an\ninteracting theory of D-branes and open strings. These ideas have a historical\ncontinuity with QCD which is an interacting theory of quarks and gluons. In\nparticular we review the classic case of D3 branes and the non-conformal D1\nbrane system. We outline by some illustrative examples the calculations that\nare enabled in a strongly coupled gauge theory by correspondence with dynamical\nhorizons in semi-classical gravity in one higher dimension. We also discuss\nimplications of the gauge-fluid/gravity correspondence for the information\nparadox of black hole physics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Zero Modes of Massive Fermions Delocalize from Axion Strings: Massless chiral excitations can arise from the interactions between a fermion\nand an axion string, propagating along the string and allowing it to\nsuperconduct. The properties of these excitations, or zero modes, dictate how\nthe string interacts with light and can thus have important phenomenological\nconsequences. In this paper, we add a nowhere-vanishing Dirac mass for the\nfermion in the usual model of axion electrodynamics. We find that the zero\nmodes exhibit an interesting phase structure in which they delocalize from the\nstring's core as the mass increases, up until a critical value past which they\ndisappear. We study this structure from an analytic perspective, with explicit\nnumerical solutions, and via anomaly inflow arguments. Finally, we derive the\ntwo-dimensional effective theory of the zero mode and its interactions with the\nfour-dimensional gauge field and show how this effective theory breaks down as\nthe zero modes delocalize.",
        "positive": "Dual Supergravity in D=10, N=1 Superspace with Tree-Level Superstring\n  Corrections: The dual version of the D=10 N=1 supergravity (SUGRA) is considered in the\nsuperspace approach. The superstring (anomaly compensating) corrections are\ndescribed by the 3-form superfield $A_{abc}$ . The complete set of dynamical\nequations for the $A$-field and for physical fields of the theory are\npresented. The solution of the $A$-field equations as a finite order polynomial\nin terms of curvature and graviphoton superfields is given. It makes possible\nto incorporate some of the superstring corrections in the dual supergravity in\nthe explicit, supersymmetric and closed form."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Excitation Spectrum and Correlation Functions of the Z_3-Chiral Potts\n  Quantum Spin Chain: We study the excitation spectrum and the correlation functions of the Z_3-\nchiral Potts model in the massive high-temperature phase using perturbation\nexpansions and numerical diagonalization. We are mainly interested in results\nfor general chiral angles but we consider also the superintegrable case. For\nthe parameter values considered, we find that the band structure of the low-\nlying part of the excitation spectrum has the form expected from a\nquasiparticle picture with two fundamental particles. Studying the N-dependence\nof the spectrum, we confirm the stability of the second fundamental particle in\na limited range of the momentum, even when its energy becomes so high that it\nlies very high up among the multiparticle scattering states. This is not a\nphenomenon restricted to the superintegrable line. Calculating a\nnon-translationally invariant correlation function, we give evidence that it is\noscillating. Within our numerical accuracy we find a relation between the\noscillation length and the dip position of the momentum dispersion of the\nlightest particle which seems to be quite independent of the chiral angles.",
        "positive": "Highest states in light-cone $AdS_5\\times S^5$ superstring: We study the highest states in the compact rank-1 sectors of the AdS5 X S5\nsuperstring in the framework of the recently proposed light cone Bethe Ansatz\nequations. In the su(1|1) sector we present strong coupling expansions in the\ntwo limits L,lambda -> OO (expanding in power of lambda^{-1/4} with fixed large\nL) and lambda, L -> OO (expanding in power of 1/L with fixed large lambda)\nwhere lambda is the 't Hooft coupling and L is the number of Bethe momenta. The\ntwo limits do not commute apart from the leading term which reproduces the\nresult obtained with the Arutyunov-Frolov-Staudacher phase in the lambda, L ->\nOO limit. In the su(2) sector we perform the strong coupling expansions in the\nL->OO limit up to O(lambda^{-1/4}), and our result is in agreement with\npreviuos String Bethe Ansatz analysis."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Two Stringy Systems of the Kerr Spinning Particle: A classical spinning particle based on the Kerr-Newman black hole (BH)\nsolution is considered. For parameters of spinning particles $|a|>>m$, the BH\nhorizons disappear and BH image is drastically changed. We show that it turns\ninto a skeleton formed by two coupled stringy systems. One of them is the Kerr\nsingular ring which can be considered as a circular D-string with an\norientifold world-sheet.\n  Analyzing the aligned to the Kerr congruence electromagnetic excitations of\nthis string, we obtain the second stringy system which consists of two axial\nhalf-infinite chiral D-strings. These axial strings are similar to the Dirac\nmonopole strings but carry the induced chiral traveling pp-waves. Their field\nstructure can be described by the field model suggested by Witten for the\ncosmic superconducting strings.\n  We discuss a relation of this stringy system to the Dirac equation and argue\nthat this stringy system can play a role of a classical carrier of the wave\nfunction.",
        "positive": "An Approach to SU_q(2)p Gauge Theory: In the usual approach to q-deformed gauge theories, the gauge fields are\nrequired to be non-local or non-commutative one's. If we introduce, however, an\nextended product, which we call `` $\\star$-product\\rq\\rq, among the generators\nof a q-deformed Lie group, the deformed group can be reduced to a ordinary Lie\ngroup under the $\\star$-product. According to this line of approach, we try to\nconstruct a $[SU_q(2)\\times U(1)]_\\star$, a $SU(2)\\times U(1)$ analogue under\nthe $\\star$-product, gauge theory. In this gauge theory with the\n$\\star$-product, the U(1) symmetry is naturally incorporated into the SU(2)\nsymmetry. We also study the symmetry breaking by the Higgs mechanism associated\nwith $J=1/2$ and J=1 representations of $SU_q(2)$ algebra, and show that the\nmixing angle between the SU(2) and U(1) gauge fields is determined uniquely in\na tree level."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Two-Point Functions of Chiral Fields at One Loop in Type II: We compute the two-point functions for chiral matter states in toroidal\nintersecting D6-brane models. In particular, we provide the techniques to\ncalculate Moebius strip diagrams including the worldsheet instanton\ncontribution.",
        "positive": "Born-Infeld Dynamics in Uniform Electric Field: We investigate various properties of classical configurations of the\nBorn-Infeld theory in a uniform electric field. This system is involved with\ndynamics of (F,Dp) bound states, which are bound states of fundamental strings\nand Dp-branes. The uniform electric field can be treated as a constraint on the\nasymptotic behavior of the fields on the brane. BPS configurations in this\ntheory correspond to fundamental strings attached to the (F,Dp) bound state,\nand are found to be stable due to force balance. Fluctuations around these\nstable configurations are subject to appropriate Dirichlet and Neumann boundary\nconditions which are identical with the ones deduced from the ordinary\nworldsheet description of the attached string. Additionally, non-BPS solutions\nare studied and related physics are discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Time ordered perturbation theory for non-local interactions;\n  applications to NCQFT: In the past decades, time ordered perturbation theory was very successful in\ndescribing relativistic scattering processes. It was developed for local\nquantum field theories. However, there are field theories which are governed by\nnon-local interactions, for example non-commutative quantum field theory\n(NCQFT). Filk (Phys. Lett. B 376 (1996) 53) first studied NCQFT perturbatively\nobtaining the usual Feynman propagator and additional phase factors as the\nbasic elements of perturbation theory. However, this treatment is only\napplicable for cases, where the deformation of space-time does not involve\ntime. Thus, we generalize Filk's approach in two ways: First, we study\nnon-local interactions of a very general type able to embed NCQFT. And second,\nwe also include the case, where non-locality involves time. A few applications\nof the obtained formalism will also be discussed.",
        "positive": "The influence of a conducting surface on the conductivity of graphene: In the present paper, using Pseudo-Quantum Electrodynamics to describe the\ninteraction between electrons in graphene, we investigate the longitudinal and\noptical conductivities of a neutral graphene sheet near a grounded perfectly\nconducting surface, with calculations up to 2-loop perturbation order. We show\nthat the longitudinal conductivity increases as we bring the conducting surface\ncloser to the graphene sheet. On the other hand, although the optical\nconductivity initially increases with the proximity of the plate, it reaches a\nmaximum value, tending, afterwards, to the minimal conductivity in the ideal\nlimit of no separation between graphene and the conducting surface. We recover\nthe correspondent results in the literature when the distance to the plate\ntends to infinity. Our results may be useful as an alternative way to control\nthe longitudinal and optical conductivities of graphene."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Arithmetic of Calabi-Yau Varieties and Rational Conformal Field Theory: It is proposed that certain techniques from arithmetic algebraic geometry\nprovide a framework which is useful to formulate a direct and intrinsic link\nbetween the geometry of Calabi-Yau manifolds and the underlying conformal field\ntheory. Specifically it is pointed out how the algebraic number field\ndetermined by the fusion rules of the conformal field theory can be derived\nfrom the number theoretic structure of the cohomological Hasse-Weil L-function\ndetermined by Artin's congruent zeta function of the algebraic variety. In this\ncontext a natural number theoretic characterization arises for the quantum\ndimensions in this geometrically determined algebraic number field.",
        "positive": "Yoga Dark Energy: Natural Relaxation and Other Dark Implications of a\n  Supersymmetric Gravity Sector: We construct a class of 4D `yoga' (naturally relaxed) models for which the\ngravitational response of heavy-particle vacuum energies is strongly\nsuppressed. The models contain three ingredients: (i) a relaxation mechanism,\n(ii) a very supersymmetric gravity sector coupled to matter for which\nsupersymmetry is non-linearly realised, and (iii) an accidental approximate\nscale invariance expressed through the presence of a low-energy dilaton\nsupermultiplet. All three are common in higher-dimensional and string\nconstructions and although none suffices on its own, taken together they can\ndramatically suppress the net vacuum-energy density. The dilaton's {\\it\nvev}~$\\tau$ determines the weak scale $M_W \\sim M_p/\\sqrt\\tau$. We compute the\npotential for $\\tau$ and find it can be stabilized in a local de Sitter minimum\nat sufficiently large field values to explain the electroweak hierarchy, doing\nso using input parameters no larger than $O(60)$ because the relevant potential\narises as a rational function of $\\ln\\tau$. The de Sitter vacuum energy at the\nminimum is order $c\\, M_W^8 \\propto 1/\\tau^4$, with $c \\ll O(M_W^{-4})$. We\ndiscuss how to achieve $c \\sim 1/M_p^4$ as required by observations. Scale\ninvariance implies the dilaton couples to matter like a Brans-Dicke scalar with\ndangerously large coupling yet because it comes paired with an axion it can\nevade bounds through the novel screening mechanism described in {\\tt\nArXiV:2110.10352}. Cosmological axio-dilaton evolution predicts a natural\nquintessence model for Dark Energy, whose evolution can realize recent\nproposals to resolve the Hubble tension, and whose axion contributes to Dark\nMatter. We summarize inflationary implications and some remaining challenges,\nincluding the unusual supersymmetry breaking regime used and the potential for\nUV completions of our approach."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Multi-Regge Limit of the n-Gluon Bubble Ansatz: We investigate n-gluon scattering amplitudes in the multi-Regge region of N=4\nsupersymmetric Yang-Mills theory at strong coupling. Through a careful analysis\nof the thermodynamic bubble ansatz (TBA) for surfaces in AdS5 with n-g(lu)on\nboundary conditions we demonstrate that the multi-Regge limit probes the large\nvolume regime of the TBA. In reaching the multi-Regge regime we encounter\nwall-crossing in the TBA for all n>6. Our results imply that there exists an\nauxiliary system of algebraic Bethe ansatz equations which encode valuable\ninformation on the analytical structure of amplitudes at strong coupling.",
        "positive": "Potential energy of Yang-Mills vortices in three and four dimensions: We calculate the energy of a Yang-Mills vortex as function of its magnetic\nflux or, else, of the Wilson loop surrounding the vortex center. The\ncalculation is performed in the 1-loop approximation. A parallel with a\npotential as function of the Polyakov line at nonzero temperatures is drawn. We\nfind that quantized Z(2) vortices are dynamically preferred though vortices\nwith arbitrary fluxes cannot be ruled out."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Global strings in five-dimensional supergravity: We show the existence of solitonic solutions of five-dimensional\nsupergravity, which can be interpreted as global cosmic strings in our\nuniverse. They possess the same mathematical structure as the stringy cosmic\nstrings studied by Greene, Shapere, Vafa and Yau, while the size of the extra\nspace and the value of the extra-space component of the gauge field vary from\nplace to place around the string in our model. We also show that supersymmetry\nis partially broken in the presence of the global strings.",
        "positive": "Instantons and Berry's connections on quantum graph: In this paper, we study non-Abelian Berry's connections in the parameter\nspace of boundary conditions for Dirac zero modes on quantum graphs. We apply\nthe ADHM construction, which is the method for constructing Yang-Mills\ninstanton solutions, to the Berry's connections. Then we find that the\ninstanton configurations appear as the Berry's connections."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetry and Euler Multiplets: Some massless supermultiplets appear as the trivial solution of Kostant's\nequation, a Dirac-like equation over special cosets. We study two examples; one\nover the coset SU(3)/SU(2) times U(1) contains the N=2 hypermultiplet in (3+1)\ndimensions with U(1) as helicity; the other over the coset F_4/SO(9) describes\nthe N=1 supermultiplet in eleven dimensions, where SO(9) is the light-cone\nlittle group. We present the general solutions to Kostant's equation for both\ncases; they describe massless physical states of arbitrary spins which display\nthe same relations as the fields in the supermultiplets. They come in sets of\nthree representations called Euler triplets, but do not display supersymmetry\nalthough the number of bosons and fermions is the same when spin-statistics is\nsatisfied. We build the free light-cone Lagrangian for both cases.",
        "positive": "Maximal Subgroups of the Coxeter Group $W(H_4)$ and Quaternions: The largest finite subgroup of O(4) is the noncrystallographic Coxeter group\n$W(H_{4})$ of order 14400. Its derived subgroup is the largest finite subgroup\n$W(H_{4})/Z_{2}$ of SO(4) of order 7200. Moreover, up to conjugacy, it has five\nnon-normal maximal subgroups of orders 144, two 240, 400 and 576. Two groups $[\nW(H_{2})\\times W(H_{2})] \\times Z_{4}$ and $W(H_{3})\\times Z_{2}$ possess\nnoncrystallographic structures with orders 400 and 240 respectively. The groups\nof orders 144, 240 and 576 are the extensions of the Weyl groups of the root\nsystems of $SU(3)\\times SU(3)$%, SU(5) and SO(8) respectively. We represent the\nmaximal subgroups of $% W(H_{4})$ with sets of quaternion pairs acting on the\nquaternionic root systems."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Is there supersymmetric Lee-Yang fixed point in three dimensions?: The supersymmetric Lee-Yang model is arguably the simplest interacting\nsupersymmetric field theory in two dimensions, albeit non-unitary. A natural\nquestion is if there is an analogue of supersymmetric Lee-Yang fixed point in\nhigher dimensions. The absence of any $\\mathbb{Z}_2$ symmetry (except for\nfermion numbers) makes it impossible to approach it by using perturbative\n$\\epsilon$ expansions. We find that the truncated conformal bootstrap suggests\nthat candidate fixed points obtained by the dimensional continuation from two\ndimensions annihilate below three dimensions, implying that there is no\nsupersymmetric Lee-Yang fixed point in three dimensions. We conjecture that the\ncorresponding phase transition, if any, will be the first order transition.",
        "positive": "Extremal Black Brane Attractors on The Elliptic Curve: Reconsidering the analysis of the moduli space of N=2 eight dimensional\nsupergravity coupled to seven scalars, we propose a new scalar manifold\nfactorization given by \\frac{\\textsc {SO(2,2)}}{{\\textsc{SO(2)}}\\times\n{\\textsc{SO(2)}}}\\times \\frac{\\textsc{SO(2,1)}}{\\textsc{SO(2)}}\\times \\textsc\n{SO(1,1)}. This factorization is supported by the appearance of three solutions\nof Type IIA extremal black p-branes (p=0,1,2) with AdS_{p+2}\\times S^{6-p}\nnear-horizon geometries in eight dimensions. We analyze the corresponding\nattractor mechanism. In particular, we give an interplay between the scalar\nmanifold factors and the extremal black p-brane charges. Then we show that the\ndilaton can be stabilized by the dyonic black 2-brane charges."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Scalarization-like mechanism through spacetime anisotropic scaling\n  symmetry: We present a new family of exact black hole configurations, which is a\nsolution to a generalized Einstein-Maxwell-Dilaton setup in arbitrary\ndimension. These solutions are asymptotically Lifshitz for any dynamical\ncritical exponent $z\\geq 1$. It turns out that the existence of a nontrivial\nscalar field is a direct consequence of breaking the spacetime isotropic\nscaling symmetry. This black hole family accepts various interesting limits\nthat link it to well-known solutions in both the isotropic and anisotropic\ncases. We study the thermodynamics of these field configurations showing that\nthe first law is satisfied and providing the corresponding Smarr formula, both\nof these relations account for an electric contribution. Furthermore, we show\nthat for a certain parameter region, the anisotropic field configuration with a\nnonzero scalar field is thermodynamically preferred. This observation, together\nwith a direct verification of the so-called scalarization conditions, suggest\nthat the emergence of the dilaton field is due to a mechanism similar to\nspontaneous scalarization.",
        "positive": "Interaction energy of Chern-Simons vortices in the gauged O(3) sigma\n  model: The purpose of this Letter is to present a computation of the interaction\nenergy of gauged O(3) Chern-Simons vortices which are infinitely separated. The\nresults will show the behaviour of the interaction energy as a function of the\nconstant coupling the potential, which measures the relative strength of the\nmatter self-coupling and the electromagnetic coupling. We find that vortices\nattract each other for $\\lambda > 1 $ and repel when $\\lambda < 1 $. When\n$\\lambda =1 $ there is a topological lower bound on the energy. It is possible\nto saturate the bound if the fields satisfy a set of first order partial\ndifferential equations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Noncommutative correction to the entropy of BTZ black hole with GUP: We investigate the effect of noncommutativity and quantum corrections to the\ntemperature and entropy of a BTZ black hole based on a Lorentzian distribution\nwith the generalized uncertainty principle (GUP). To determine the Hawking\nradiation in the tunneling formalism we apply the Hamilton-Jacobi method by\nusing the Wentzel-Kramers-Brillouin (WKB) approach. In the present study we\nhave obtained logarithmic corrections to entropy due to the effect of\nnoncommutativity and GUP. We also address the issue concerning stability of the\nnon-commutative BTZ black hole by investigating its modified specific heat\ncapacity.",
        "positive": "Towards higher-N superextensions of Born-Infeld theory: We give a brief account of supersymmetric Born-Infeld theories with extended\nsupersymmetry, including those with partially broken supersymmetry. Some latest\ndevelopments in this area are presented. One of them is N=3 supersymmetric\nBorn-Infeld theory which admits a natural off-shell formulation in N=3 harmonic\nsuperspace."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "An approach to BPS black hole microstate counting in an N=2 STU model: We consider four-dimensional dyonic single-center BPS black holes in the\n$N=2$ STU model of Sen and Vafa. By working in a region of moduli space where\nthe real part of two of the three complex scalars $S, T, U$ are taken to be\nlarge, we evaluate the quantum entropy function for these BPS black holes. In\nthis regime, the subleading corrections point to a microstate counting formula\npartly based on a Siegel modular form of weight two. This is supplemented by\nanother modular object that takes into account the dependence on $Y^0$, a\ncomplex scalar field belonging to one of the four off-shell vector multiplets\nof the underlying supergravity theory. We also observe interesting connections\nto the rational Calogero model and to formal deformation of a Poisson algebra,\nand suggest a string web picture of our counting proposal.",
        "positive": "From static to Vaidya solutions in scalar tensor theories: We consider some classes of Horndeski theories in four dimensions for which a\ncertain combination of the Einstein equations within a spherical ansatz splits\ninto two distinct branches. Recently, for these theories, some integrability\nand compatibility conditions have been established which have made it possible\nto obtain black hole solutions depending on a single integration constant\nidentified as the mass. Here, we will show that these compatibility conditions\ncan be generalized to accommodate a time dependence by promoting the constant\nmass to an arbitrary function of the retarded (advanced) time. As a direct\nconsequence, we prove that all the static black hole solutions can be naturally\npromoted to non static Vaidya-like solutions. We extend this study in arbitrary\nhigher dimensions where the pure gravity part is now described by the Lovelock\ntheory and, where the scalar field action enjoyed the conformal invariance. For\nthese theories, the splitting in two branches is also effective, and we show\nthat their known static black hole solutions can as well be promoted to\nVaidya-like solutions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Singularity-free model of electrically charged fermionic particles and\n  gauged Q-balls: We propose a model of an electrically charged fermion as a regular localized\nsolution of electromagnetic and spinor fields interacting with a physical\nvacuum, which is phenomenologically described as a logarithmic superfluid. We\nanalytically study the asymptotic behavior of the solution, while obtaining its\nform by numerical methods. The solution has physically plausible properties,\nsuch as finite size, self-energy, total charge and mass. In the case of\nspherical symmetry, its electric field obeys the Coulomb asymptotics at large\ndistances from its core. It is shown that the observable rest mass of the\nfermion arises as a result of interaction of the fields with the physical\nvacuum. The spinor and scalar field components of the solution decay\nexponentially outside the core; therefore they can be regarded as internal\ndegrees of freedom which can only be probed at sufficiently large scales of\nenergy and momentum. Apart from conventional Fermi particles, our model can\nfind applications in a theory of exotic localized objects, such as U(1) gauged\nQ-balls with half-integer spin.",
        "positive": "Introductory Lectures on Quantum Field Theory: In these lectures we present a few topics in Quantum Field Theory in detail.\nSome of them are conceptual and some more practical. They have been selected\nbecause they appear frequently in current applications to Particle Physics and\nString Theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Centrally extended symmetry algebra of asymptotically Goedel spacetimes: We define an asymptotic symmetry algebra for three-dimensional Goedel\nspacetimes supported by a gauge field which turns out to be the semi-direct sum\nof the diffeomorphisms on the circle with two loop algebras. A class of fields\nadmitting this asymptotic symmetry algebra and leading to well-defined\nconserved charges is found. The covariant Poisson bracket of the conserved\ncharges is then shown to be centrally extended to the semi-direct sum of a\nVirasoro algebra and two affine algebras.",
        "positive": "Tachyonic Kink and Lump-like Solutions in Superstring Field Theory: We construct a kink solution on a non-BPS D-brane using Berkovits'\nformulation of superstring field theory in the level truncation scheme. The\ntension of the kink reproduces 95% of the expected BPS D-brane tension. We also\nfind a lump-like solution which is interpreted as a kink--antikink pair, and\ninvestigate some of its properties. These results may be considered as\nsuccessful tests of Berkovits' superstring field theory combined with the\nmodified level truncation scheme."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Transport Properties of Solitons: We calculate in this article the transport coefficients which characterize\nthe dynamics of solitons in quantum field theory using the methods of\ndissipative quantum systems. We show how the damping and diffusion coefficients\nof soliton-like excitations can be calculated using the integral functional\nformalism. The model obtained in this article has new features which cannot be\nobtained in the standard models of dissipation in quantum mechanics.",
        "positive": "AKSZ-BV Formalism and Courant Algebroid-induced Topological Field\n  Theories: We give a detailed exposition of the Alexandrov-Kontsevich-Schwarz-\nZaboronsky superfield formalism using the language of graded manifolds. As a\nmain illustarting example, to every Courant algebroid structure we associate\ncanonically a three-dimensional topological sigma-model. Using the AKSZ\nformalism, we construct the Batalin-Vilkovisky master action for the model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Higher N-point Amplitudes in Open Superstring Theory: In this work we report on recent progress in the calculation of open\nsuperstring scattering amplitudes, at tree level, with more than four external\nmassless states. We also report on the corresponding terms in the low energy\neffective lagrangian.",
        "positive": "Run-away solutions in relativistic spin 1/2 quantum electrodynamics: The existence of run-away solutions in classical and non-relativistic quantum\nelectrodynamics is reviewed. It is shown that the less singular high energy\nbehavior of relativistic spin 1/2 quantum electrodynamics precludes an\nanalogous behavior in that theory. However, a Landau-like anomalous pole in the\nphoton propagation function or in the electron-massive photon foward scattering\namplitude would generate a new run-away, characterized by an energy scale omega\n~ m_e exp (1/alpha). This contrasts with the energy scale omega ~ (m_e/alpha)\nassociated with the classical and non-relativistic quantum run-aways."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Bosonic vacuum wave functions from the BCS-type wave function of the\n  ground state of the massless Thirring model: A BCS-type wave function describes the ground state of the massless Thirring\nmodel in the chirally broken phase. The massless Thirring model with fermion\nfields quantized in the chirally broken phase bosonizes to the quantum field\ntheory of the free massless (pseudo)scalar field (Eur. Phys. J. C20, 723\n(2001)). The wave functions of the ground state of the free massless\n(pseudo)scalar field are obtained from the BCS-type wave function by averaging\nover quantum fluctuations of the Thirring fermion fields. We show that these\nwave functions are orthogonal, normalized and non-invariant under shifts of the\nmassless (pseudo)scalar field. This testifies the spontaneous breaking of the\nfield-shift symmetry in the quantum field theory of a free massless\n(pseudo)scalar field. We show that the vacuum-to-vacuum transition amplitude\ncalculated for the bosonized BCS-type wave functions coincides with the\ngenerating functional of Green functions defined only by the contribution of\nvibrational modes (Eur. Phys. J. C 24, 653 (2002)) . This confirms the\nassumption that the bosonized BCS-type wave function is defined by the\ncollective zero-mode (hep-th/0212226). We argue that the obtained result is not\na counterexample to the Mermin-Wagner-Hohenberg and Coleman theorems.",
        "positive": "Construction of New D=3, N=4 Quiver Gauge Theories: In this paper we propose a special class of 3-algebras, called\ndouble-symplectic 3-algebras. We further show that a consistent contraction of\nthe double-symplectic 3-algebra gives a new 3-algebra, called an N=4\nthree-algebra, which is then identified as the exact gauged three-algebra in\nthe N=4 quiver gauge theories. A systematic construction is proposed for the\n3-brackets and fundamental identities used in building up the N=4 theories, by\nstarting with two superalgebras whose bosonic parts share at least one simple\nfactor or U(1) factor. This leads to a systematic way of constructing D=3, N=4\nquiver theories, of which several examples with new gauge groups are presented\nin detail. The general N=4 superconformal Chern-Simons matter theories in terms\nof ordinary Lie algebras can be also re-derived in our new 3-algebra approach."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Virasoro Characters from Bethe Equations for the Critical Ferromagnetic\n  Three-State Potts Model: We obtain new fermionic sum representations for the Virasoro characters of\nthe confromal field theory describing the ferromagnetic three-state Potts spin\nchain. These arise from the fermionic quasi-particle excitations derived from\nthe Bethe equations for the eigenvalues of the hamiltonian. In the conformal\nscaling limit, the Bethe equations provide a description of the spectrum in\nterms of one genuine quasi-particle, and two ``ghost'' excitations with a\nlimited microscopic momentum range. This description is reflected in the\nstructure of the character formulas, and suggests a connection with the\nintegrable perturbation of dimensions (2/3,2/3)$^+$ which breaks the $S_3$\nsymmetry of the conformal field theory down to $Z_2$.",
        "positive": "Possible Contributions to the Bulk Casimir Energy in Heterotic M-theory: Some possible ways for the study of the contributions of some background\nfields to the bulk Casimir energy have been probed in the framework of the 5D\nheterotic M-theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On-Shell Electric-Magnetic Duality and the Dual Graviton: Using on-shell amplitude methods, we explore 4-dimensional Electric-Magnetic\nduality and its double copy. We show explicitly that the on-shell scattering\namplitudes know about `dual' photons (and dual gravitons), that the off-shell\nphoton propagator double copies to the graviton propagator and that the\nmagnetic part of the propagator is essential for the double copy to hold. We\nalso show that there is an equivalent gravito-magnetic part of the graviton\npropagator which is essential in giving rise to solutions with either angular\nmomentum or NUT charge. Furthermore, we comment on the so-called Weinberg\nparadox, which states that scattering amplitudes involving the mixing of\nelectric and magnetic monopoles cannot be Lorentz invariant, and would seem to\npreclude the existence of the 't Hooft-Polyakov (topological) monopole. We\ntrace this paradox to the magnetic part of the propagator, showing that it can\nbe eliminated if one restricts to proper orthochronous Lorentz transformations.\nFinally, we compute the fully relativistic cross-section for arbitrary spin\ndyons using the recently formulated on-shell duality transformation and show\nthat this is always fully Lorentz invariant.",
        "positive": "Renormalisability of the matter determinants in noncommutative gauge\n  theory in the enveloping-algebra formalism: We consider noncommutative gauge theory defined by means of Seiberg-Witten\nmaps for an arbitrary semisimple gauge group. We compute the one-loop UV\ndivergent matter contributions to the gauge field effective action to all\norders in the noncommutative parameters $\\theta$. We do this for Dirac fermions\nand complex scalars carrying arbitrary representations of the gauge group. We\nuse path-integral methods in the framework of dimensional regularisation and\nconsider arbitrary invertible Seiberg-Witten maps that are linear in the matter\nfields. Surprisingly, it turns out that the UV divergent parts of the matter\ncontributions are proportional to the noncommutative Yang-Mills action where\ntraces are taken over the representation of the matter fields; this result\nsupports the need to include such traces in the classical action of the gauge\nsector of the noncommutative theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Path Integral for the Dirac Equation: A path integral representation is given for the solutions of the 3+1\ndimensional Dirac equation. The regularity of the trajectories, the\nnon-relativistic limit and the semiclassical approximation are briefly\nmentioned.",
        "positive": "Holographic Aspects of Non-minimal $RF^{(a)}_{\u03bc\u03b1}F^{(a)\u03bc\n  \u03b1} $ Black Brane: In this paper, we consider Einstein-Hilbert gravity in the presence of\ncosmological constant and an electric field of Yang-Mills type, which is\nminimally coupled to gravity. We couple the Ricci scalar to the Yang-Mills\ninvariant to obtain a modified theory of gravity. The black brane solution of\nthis model is introduced up to the first order of the $RF^{(a)}_{\\mu \\alpha\n}F^{(a)\\mu \\alpha} $ term. Then, the color non-abelian direct current (DC)\nconductivity and the ratio of shear viscosity to entropy density are calculated\nfor this solution. Our results recover the Yang-Mills Schwarzschild AdS black\nbrane in the limit of $q_2 \\to 0$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Geodesics on Calabi-Yau manifolds and winding states in nonlinear sigma\n  models: We conjecture that a non-flat $D$-real-dimensional compact Calabi-Yau\nmanifold, such as a quintic hypersurface with D=6, or a K3 manifold with D=4,\nhas locally length minimizing closed geodesics, and that the number of these\nwith length less than L grows asymptotically as L^{D}. We also outline the\nphysical arguments behind this conjecture, which involve the claim that all\nstates in a nonlinear sigma model can be identified as \"momentum\" and \"winding\"\nstates in the large volume limit.",
        "positive": "A Specific N = 2 Supersymmetric Quantum Mechanical Model: Supervariable\n  Approach: By exploiting the supersymmetric invariant restrictions on the chiral and\nanti-chiral supervariables, we derive the off-shell nilpotent symmetry\ntransformations for a specific (0 + 1)-dimensional N = 2 supersymmetric quantum\nmechanical model which is considered on a (1, 2)-dimensional supermanifold\n(parametrized by a bosonic variable t and a pair of Grassmannian variables\n(\\theta, \\bar\\theta). We also provide the geometrical meaning to the symmetry\ntransformations. Finally, we show that this specific N = 2 SUSY quantum\nmechanical model is a model for Hodge theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supergravity flows and D-brane stability: We investigate the correspondence between existence/stability of BPS states\nin type II string theory compactified on a Calabi-Yau manifold and BPS\nsolutions of four dimensional N=2 supergravity. Some paradoxes emerge, and we\npropose a resolution by considering composite configurations. This in turn\ngives a smooth effective field theory description of decay at marginal\nstability. We also discuss the connection with 3-pronged strings, the Joyce\ntransition of special Lagrangian submanifolds, and Pi-stability.",
        "positive": "All-Order Quantum Gravity in Two Dimensions: We derive curvature counterterms in two-dimensional gravity coupled to\nconformal matter up to infinite order. By construction the higher-order action\nis equivalent to a finite first-order theory with auxiliary scalar. Due to this\nequivalence it shares the following remarkable properties: There is no need for\ngravitational dressing of the cosmological constant, quantization is consistent\nfor any conformal anomaly $c$ of the coupled matter system, and if the coupled\nmatter system is a $c=d~$-dimensional string theory in a Euclidean background\nthen the effective string theory is $D=d+2~$-dimensional with Minkowski\nsignature $(1,D-1)$. The resulting quantum theory favours flat geometries and\nsuppresses both parabolic and hyperbolic singularities."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetry Constraints and String Theory on K3: We study supervertices in six dimensional (2,0) supergravity theories, and\nderive supersymmetry non-renormalization conditions on the 4- and 6-derivative\nfour-point couplings of tensor multiplets. As an application, we obtain exact\nnon-perturbative results of such effective couplings in type IIB string theory\ncompactified on K3 surface, extending previous work on type II/heterotic\nduality. The weak coupling limit thereof, in particular, gives certain\nintegrated four-point functions of half-BPS operators in the nonlinear sigma\nmodel on K3 surface, that depend nontrivially on the moduli, and capture\nworldsheet instanton contributions.",
        "positive": "An Early Proposal of \"Brane World\": Here we place the TeX-typeset version of the old preprint SMC-PHYS-66 (1982),\nwhich was published in K. Akama, \"Pregeometry\", in Lecture Notes in Physics,\n176, Gauge Theory and Gravitation, Proceedings, Nara, 1982, edited by K.\nKikkawa, N. Nakanishi and H. Nariai, (Springer-Verlag) 267--271. In the paper,\nwe presented the picture that we live in a \"brane world\" (in the present-day\nterminology) i.e. in a dynamically localized 3-brane in a higher dimensional\nspace. We adopt, as an example, the dynamics of the Nielsen-Olesen vortex type\nin six dimensional spacetime to localize our space-time within a 3-brane. At\nlow energies, everything is trapped in the 3-brane, and the Einstein gravity is\ninduced through the fluctuations of the 3-brane. The idea is important because\nit provides a way basically distinct from the \"compactification\" to hide the\nextra dimensions which become necessary for various theoretical reasons."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Remark on the Geometry of Two-Dimensional Anisotropic Non-Linear\n  Sigma-Models: One discusses here the connection between \\sigma-model gauge anomalies and\nthe existence of a connection with torsion that does not flatten the Ricci\ntensor of the target manifold, by considering a number of non-symmetric coset\nspaces. The influence of an eventual anisotropy on a certain direction of the\ntarget manifold is also contemplated.",
        "positive": "The Gaussian entropy of fermionic systems: We consider the entropy and decoherence in fermionic quantum systems. By\nmaking a Gaussian Ansatz for the density operator of a collection of fermions\nwe study statistical 2-point correlators and express the entropy of a system\nfermion in terms of these correlators. In a simple case when a set of N\nthermalised environmental fermionic oscillators interacts bi-linearly with the\nsystem fermion we can study its time dependent entropy, which also represents a\nquantitative measure for decoherence. We then consider a relativistic fermionic\nquantum field theory and take a mass mixing term as a simple model for the\nYukawa interaction. It turns out that even in this Gaussian approximation, the\nfermionic system decoheres quite effectively, such that in a large coupling and\nhigh temperature regime the system field approaches the temperature of the\nenvironmental fields."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A varying gravitational constant map in asymptotically AdS black hole\n  thermodynamics: We propose a sequence of steps and a generic transformation for connecting\ncommon thermodynamic quantities considered in asymptotically anti-de Sitter\nblack hole thermodynamics in the bulk and those that are appropriate for CFT\nthermodynamics in the boundary. We do this by constructing a \"varying-$G$ map\",\nwhere $G$ is the gravitational constant, and demonstrate its usefulness by\nconsidering various examples.",
        "positive": "High spin baryon in hot strongly coupled plasma: We consider a strings-junction holographic model of probe baryon in the\nfinite-temperature supersymmetric Yang-Mills dual of the AdS-Schwarzschild\nblack hole background. In particular, we investigate the screening length for\nhigh spin baryon composed of rotating N_c heavy quarks. To rotate quarks by\nfinite force, we put hard infrared cutoff in the bulk and give quarks finite\nmass. We find that N_c microscopic strings are embedded reasonably in the bulk\ngeometry when they have finite angular velocity \\omega, similar to the meson\ncase. By defining the screening length as the critical separation of quarks, we\ncompute the \\omega dependence of the baryon screening length numerically and\nobtain a reasonable result which shows that baryons with high spin dissociate\nmore easily. Finally, we discuss the relation between J and E^2 for baryons."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Duality in Non-Trivially Compactified Heterotic Strings: We study the implications of duality symmetry on the analyticity properties\nof the partition function as it depends upon the compactification length. In\norder to obtain non-trivial compactifications, we give a physical prescription\nto get the Helmholtz free energy for any heterotic string supersymmetric or\nnot. After proving that the free energy is always invariant under the duality\ntransformation $R\\rightarrow \\alpha^{'}/(4R)$ and getting the zero temperature\ntheory whose partition function corresponds to the Helmholtz potential, we show\nthat the self-dual point $R_{0}=\\sqrt{\\alpha^{'}}/2$ is a generic singularity\nas the Hagedorn one. The main difference between these two critical\ncompactification radii is that the term producing the singularity at the\nself-dual point is finite for any $R \\neq R_{0}$. We see that this behavior at\n$R_{0}$ actually implies a loss of degrees of freedom below that point.",
        "positive": "Low Energy Dynamics of N=2 Supersymmetric Monopoles: It is argued that the low-energy dynamics of $k$ monopoles in N=2\nsupersymmetric Yang-Mills theory are determined by an N=4 supersymmetric\nquantum mechanics based on the moduli space of $k$ static monople solutions.\nThis generalises Manton's ``geodesic approximation\" for studying the low-energy\ndynamics of (bosonic) BPS monopoles. We discuss some aspects of the\nquantisation and in particular argue that dolbeault cohomology classes of the\nmoduli space are related to bound states of the full quantum field theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Superconformal Index of the E_6 SCFT: We derive an integral representation for the superconformal index of the\nstrongly-coupled N=2 superconformal field theory with E_6 flavor symmetry. The\nexplicit expression of the index allows highly non-trivial checks of\nArgyres-Seiberg duality and of a class of S-dualities conjectured by Gaiotto.",
        "positive": "On the BRST Operator Structure of the N=2 String: The BRST operator cohomology of $N=2$ $2d$ supergravity coupled to matter is\npresented. Descent equations for primary superfields of the matter sector are\nderived. We find one copy of the cohomology at ghost number one, two\nindependent copies at ghost number two, and conjecture that there is a copy at\nghost number three. The $N=2$ string has a twisted $N=4$ superconformal\nsymmetry generated by the $N=2$ superstress tensor, the BRST supercurrent, the\nantighost superfield, and the ghost number supercurrent."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the problem of inflation in nonlinear multidimensional cosmological\n  models: We consider a multidimensional cosmological model with nonlinear quadratic\n$R^2$ and quartic $R^4$ actions. As a matter source, we include a monopole form\nfield, D-dimensional bare cosmological constant and tensions of branes located\nin fixed points. In the spirit of the Universal Extra Dimensions models, the\nStandard Model fields are not localized on branes but can move in the bulk. We\ndefine conditions which ensure the stable compactification of the internal\nspace in zero minimum of the effective potentials. Such effective potentials\nmay have rather complicated form with a number of local minima, maxima and\nsaddle points. Then, we investigate inflation in these models. It is shown that\n$R^2$ and $R^4$ models can have up to 10 and 22 e-foldings, respectively. These\nvalues are not sufficient to solve the homogeneity and isotropy problem but big\nenough to explain the recent CMB data. Additionally, $R^4$ model can provide\nconditions for eternal topological inflation. However, the main drawback of the\ngiven inflationary models consists in a value of spectral index $n_s$ which is\nless than observable now $n_s\\approx 1$. For example, in the case of $R^4$\nmodel we find $n_s \\approx 0.61$.",
        "positive": "Fuzzy Ring from M2-brane Giant Torus: We construct spinning dual M2 giant gravitons in AdS_4 x S^7, which\ngenerically become 1/16 BPS states, and show that their world-volumes become\ntorii. By taking an orbifold, we obtain spinning dielectric D2-brane\nconfigurations in AdS_4 x CP^3 dual to specific BPS operators in ABJM theory.\nThis reveals a novel mechanism how to give an angular momentum to a dielectric\nD2-brane. We also find that when its angular momentum in the AdS_4 becomes\nlarge, it approaches to a ring-like object. Our result might suggest an\nexistence of supersymmetric black rings in the AdS_4 background. We will also\ndiscuss dual giant gravitons in AdS_4 x CP^3."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetric Chaplygin gas: Using a Kaluza-Klein framework, we consider a relativistic fluid whose\nprojection yields the supersymmetric non-relativistic Chaplygin gas introduced\nby Bergner-Jackiw-Polychronakos and by Hoppe. The conserved (super)charges of\nthe Chaplygin gas are obtained as the projection of those arising in the\nextended model.",
        "positive": "Gauge theory, topological strings, and S-duality: We offer a derivation of the duality between the topological U(1) gauge\ntheory on a Calabi-Yau 3-fold and the topological A-model on the same manifold.\nThis duality was conjectured recently by Iqbal, Nekrasov, Okounkov, and Vafa.\nWe deduce it from the S-duality of the IIB superstring. We also argue that the\nmirror version of this duality relates the topological B-model on a Calabi-Yau\n3-fold and a topological sector of the Type IIA Little String Theory on the\nsame manifold."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fermionic currents in AdS spacetime with compact dimensions: We derive a closed expression for the vacuum expectation value (VEV) of the\nfermionic current density in a (D+1)-dimensional locally AdS spacetime with an\narbitrary number of toroidally compactified Poincare spatial dimensions and in\nthe presence of a constant gauge field. The latter can be formally interpreted\nin terms of a magnetic flux treading the compact dimensions. In the compact\nsubspace, the field operator obeys quasiperiodicity conditions with arbitrary\nphases. The VEV of the charge density is zero and the current density has\nnonzero components along the compact dimensions only. They are periodic\nfunctions of the magnetic flux with the period equal to the flux quantum and\ntend to zero on the AdS boundary. Near the horizon, the effect of the\nbackground gravitational field is small and the leading term in the\ncorresponding asymptotic expansion coincides with the VEV for a massless field\nin the locally Minkowski bulk. Unlike the Minkowskian case, in the system\nconsisting an equal number of fermionic and scalar degrees of freedom, with\nsame masses, charges and phases in the periodicity conditions, the total\ncurrent density does not vanish. In these systems, the leading divergences in\nthe scalar and fermionic contributions on the horizon are canceled and, as a\nconsequence of that, the charge flux, integrated over the coordinate\nperpendicular to the AdS boundary, becomes finite. We show that in odd\nspacetime dimensions the fermionic fields realizing two inequivalent\nrepresentations of the Clifford algebra and having equal phases in the\nperiodicity conditions give the same contribution to the VEV of the current\ndensity. Combining the contributions from these fields, the current density in\nodd-dimensional C-,P- and T -symmetric models are obtained. As an application,\nwe consider the ground state current density in curved carbon nanotubes.",
        "positive": "Five-loop renormalization-group expansions for two-dimensional Euclidean\n  \u03bb\u03c6^4 theory: The renormalization-group functions of the two-dimensional n-vector \\lambda\n\\phi^4 model are calculated in the five-loop approximation. Perturbative series\nfor the \\beta-function and critical exponents are resummed by the\nPade-Borel-Leroy techniques. An account for the five-loop term shifts the\nWilson fixed point location only briefly, leaving it outside the segment formed\nby the results of the lattice calculations. This is argued to reflect the\ninfluence of the non-analytical contribution to the \\beta-function. The\nevaluation of the critical exponents for n = 1, n = 0 and n = -1 in the\nfive-loop approximation and comparison of the results with known exact values\nconfirm the conclusion that non-analytical contributions are visible in two\ndimensions. For the 2D Ising model, the estimate \\omega = 1.31 for the\ncorrection-to-scaling exponent is found."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Neveu-Schwarz Five-Branes at Orbifold Singularities and Holography: We consider Type IIB Neveu-Schwarz five-branes transverse to C^2/Z_n\norbifolds and conjecture that string theory on the near horizon geometry is\ndual to the decoupled theory on the branes. We analyze the conformal field\ntheory describing the near horizon region and the world volume non-critical\nstring theory. The modular invariance consistency condition of string theory is\nexactly reproduced as the gauge anomaly cancellation condition in the little\nstring theories. We comment on aspects of the holographic nature of this\nduality.",
        "positive": "Gravitational lensing and shadow of charged black holes in the\n  low-energy limit of string theory: In this work, we investigate the shadow cast and strong field gravitational\nlensing of a new class of black hole solutions in dilaton gravity where dilaton\nfield is coupled with nonlinear Maxwell invariant [Younesizadeh et al. in Int J\nMod Phys A 34(35):1950239]. The space-time is a stationary axisymmetric\ngeometry. The key part in our investigations is finding the effect of dilaton\nparameter N on the size of shadows and the energy emission rate. As the N\nparameter increases, the size of black hole shadow increases. Also, the energy\nemission rate increases with increase in the dilaton parameter N. By supposing\nthe gravitational field of the supermassive object at the heart of Milky Way\ngalaxy described by this metric, we estimated the numerical values of the\nobservables for gravitational lensing in the strong field limit."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Momentum Amplituhedron: In this paper we define a new object, the momentum amplituhedron, which is\nthe long sought-after positive geometry for tree-level scattering amplitudes in\n$\\mathcal{N}=4$ super Yang-Mills theory in spinor helicity space. Inspired by\nthe construction of the ordinary amplituhedron, we introduce bosonized spinor\nhelicity variables to represent our external kinematical data, and restrict\nthem to a particular positive region. The momentum amplituhedron\n$\\mathcal{M}_{n,k}$ is then the image of the positive Grassmannian via a map\ndetermined by such kinematics. The scattering amplitudes are extracted from the\ncanonical form with logarithmic singularities on the boundaries of this\ngeometry.",
        "positive": "Summing the Instantons in Half-Twisted Linear Sigma Models: We study half-twisted linear sigma models relevant to (0,2) compactifications\nof the heterotic string. Focusing on theories with a (2,2) locus, we examine\nthe linear model parameter space and the dependence of genus zero half-twisted\ncorrelators on these parameters. We show that in a class of theories the\ncorrelators and parameters separate into A and B types, present techniques to\ncompute the dependence, and apply these to some examples. These results should\nbear on the mathematics of (0,2) mirror symmetry and the physics of the moduli\nspace and Yukawa couplings in heterotic compactifications."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Twisted sectors from plane partitions: Twisted sectors arise naturally in the bosonic higher spin CFTs at their free\npoints, as well as in the associated symmetric orbifolds. We identify the coset\nrepresentations of the twisted sector states using the description of W_\\infty\nrepresentations in terms of plane partitions. We confirm these proposals by a\nmicroscopic null-vector analysis, and by matching the excitation spectrum of\nthese representations with the orbifold prediction.",
        "positive": "Gluing II: Boundary Localization and Gluing Formulas: We describe applications of the gluing formalism discussed in the companion\npaper. When a $d$-dimensional local theory $\\text{QFT}_d$ is supersymmetric,\nand if we can find a supersymmetric polarization for $\\text{QFT}_d$ quantized\non a $(d-1)$-manifold $W$, gluing along $W$ is described by a non-local\n$\\text{QFT}_{d-1}$ that has an induced supersymmetry. Applying supersymmetric\nlocalization to $\\text{QFT}_{d-1}$, which we refer to as the boundary\nlocalization, allows in some cases to represent gluing by finite-dimensional\nintegrals over appropriate spaces of supersymmetric boundary conditions. We\nfollow this strategy to derive a number of `gluing formulas' in various\ndimensions, some of which are new and some of which have been previously\nconjectured. First we show how gluing in supersymmetric quantum mechanics can\nreduce to a sum over a finite set of boundary conditions. Then we derive two\ngluing formulas for 3D $\\mathcal{N}=4$ theories on spheres: one providing the\nCoulomb branch representation of gluing, and another providing the Higgs branch\nrepresentation. This allows to study various properties of their\n$(2,2)$-preserving boundary conditions in relation to Mirror Symmetry. After\nthat we derive a gluing formula in 4D $\\mathcal{N}=2$ theories on spheres, both\nsquashed and round. First we apply it to predict the hemisphere partition\nfunction, then we apply it to the study of boundary conditions and domain walls\nin these theories. Finally, we mention how to glue half-indices of 4D\n$\\mathcal{N}=2$ theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Classical Theorems in Noncommutative Quantum Field Theory: Classical results of the axiomatic quantum field theory - Reeh and\nSchlieder's theorems, irreducibility of the set of field operators and\ngeneralized Haag's theorem are proven in SO(1,1) invariant quantum field\ntheory, of which an important example is noncommutative quantum field theory.\nIn SO(1,3) invariant theory new consequences of generalized Haag's theorem are\nobtained. It has been proven that the equality of four-point Wightman functions\nin two theories leads to the equality of elastic scattering amplitudes and thus\nthe total cross-sections in these theories.",
        "positive": "Generalizations of normal ordering and applications to quantization in\n  classical backgrounds: A nonlocal method of extracting the positive (or the negative) frequency part\nof a field, based on knowledge of a 2-point function, leads to certain natural\ngeneralizations of the normal ordering of quantum fields in classical\ngravitational and electromagnetic backgrounds and illuminates the origin of the\nrecently discovered nonlocalities related to a local description of particles.\nA local description of particle creation by gravitational backgrounds is given,\nwith emphasis on the case of black-hole evaporation. The formalism reveals a\npreviously hidden relation between various definitions of the particle current\nand those of the energy-momentum tensor. The implications to particle creation\nby classical backgrounds, as well as to the relation between vacuum energy,\ndark matter, and cosmological constant, are discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Tensor supercurrent in QCD: An external Abelian magnetic field excites in the QCD vacuum a tensor\nsupercurrent that represents the tensor polarization of the chiral condensate.\nThis tensor supercurrent can be deduced from the chiral lagrangian in the\npresence of anomalies; a similar tensor supercurrent emerges in rotating\nsystems at finite chemical potential. We discuss the microscopic origin of this\nsupercurrent and argue that it screens the instanton--anti-instanton $I\\bar{I}$\nmolecules in the QCD vacuum, similarly to the vector supercurrent screening\nAbrikosov vortices in a superconductor. A number of possible experimental\nmanifestations of the tensor supercurrent are discussed: {\\it i}) spin\nalignment of axial-vector and vector mesons in heavy ion collisions; {\\it ii})\ntensor charge of the nucleon; {\\it iii}) transversity of quark distributions in\npolarized nucleons.",
        "positive": "Three-Dimensional Extended Bargmann Supergravity: We show that three-dimensional General Relativity, augmented with two vector\nfields, allows for a non-relativistic limit, different from the standard limit\nleading to Newtonian gravity, that results into a well-defined action which is\nof the Chern-Simons type. We show that this three-dimensional `Extended\nBargmann Gravity', after coupling to matter, leads to equations of motion\nallowing a wider class of background geometries than the ones that one\nencounters in Newtonian gravity. We give the supersymmetric generalization of\nthese results and point out an important application in the context of\ncalculating partition functions of non-relativistic field theories using\nlocalization techniques."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "More about F-term uplifting: We study moduli stabilization and a realization of de Sitter vacua in\ngeneralized F-term uplifting scenarios of the KKLT-type anti-de Sitter vacuum,\nwhere the uplifting sector X directly couples to the light K\\\"ahler modulus T\nin the superpotential through, e.g., stringy instanton effects. F-term\nuplifting can be achieved by a spontaneous supersymmetry breaking sector, e.g.,\nthe Polonyi model, the O'Raifeartaigh model and the Intriligator-Seiberg-Shih\nmodel. Several models with the X-T mixing are examined and qualitative features\nin most models {\\it even with such mixing} are almost the same as those in the\nKKLT scenario. One of the quantitative changes, which are relevant to the\nphenomenology, is a larger hierarchy between the modulus mass m_T and the\ngravitino mass $m_{3/2}$, i.e., $m_T/m_{3/2} = {\\cal O}(a^2)$, where $a \\sim 4\n\\pi^2$. In spite of such a large mass, the modulus F-term is suppressed not\nlike $F^T = {\\cal O}(m_{3/2}/a^2)$, but like $F^T = {\\cal O}(m_{3/2}/a)$ for\n$\\ln (M_{Pl}/m_{3/2}) \\sim a$, because of an enhancement factor coming from the\nX-T mixing. Then we typically find a mirage-mediation pattern of gaugino masses\nof ${\\cal O}(m_{3/2}/a)$, while the scalar masses would be generically of\n${\\cal O}(m_{3/2})$.",
        "positive": "Non-Volkov solutions for a charge in a plane wave: We focus our attention, once again, on the Klein--Gordon and Dirac equations\nwith a plane-wave field. We recall that for the first time a set of solutions\nof these equations was found by Volkov. The Volkov solutions are widely used in\ncalculations of quantum effects with electrons and other elementary particles\nin laser beams. We demonstrate that one can construct sets of solutions which\ndiffer from the Volkov solutions and which may be useful in physical\napplications. For this purpose, we show that the transversal charge motion in a\nplane wave can be mapped by a special transformation to transversal free\nparticle motion. This allows us to find new sets of solutions where the\ntransversal motion is characterized by quantum numbers different from Volkov's\n(in the Volkov solutions this motion is characterized by the transversal\nmomentum). In particular, we construct solutions with semiclassical transversal\ncharge motion (transversal squeezed coherent states). In addition, we\ndemonstrate how the plane-wave field can be eliminated from the transversal\ncharge motion in a more complicated case of the so-called combined\nelectromagnetic field (a combination of a plane-wave field and constant\ncolinear electric and magnetic fields). Thus, we find new sets of solutions of\nthe Klein--Gordon and Dirac equations with the combined electromagnetic field."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exact beta function and glueball spectrum in large-N Yang Mills theory: In the pure large-N Yang-Mills theory there is a quasi-BPS sector that is\nexactly solvable at large N. It follows an exact beta function and the glueball\nspectrum in this sector. The main technical tool is a new holomorphic loop\nequation for quasi-BPS Wilson loops, that occurs as a non-supersymmetric\nanalogue of Dijkgraaf-Vafa holomorphic loop equation for the glueball\nsuperpotential of n=1 SUSY gauge theories. The new holomorphic loop equation is\nlocalized, i.e. reduced to a critical equation, by a deformation of the loop\nthat is a vanishing boundary in homology, somehow in analogy with Witten's\ncohomological localization by a coboundary deformation in SUSY gauge theories.",
        "positive": "Brane Descent Relations in K-theory: The various descent and duality relations among BPS and non-BPS D-branes are\nclassified using topological K-theory. It is shown how the descent procedures\nfor producing type-II D-branes from brane-antibrane bound states by tachyon\ncondensation and $\\klein$ projections arise as natural homomorphisms of\nK-groups generating the brane charges. The transformations are generalized to\ntype-I theories and type-II orientifolds, from which the complete set of vacuum\nmanifolds and field contents for tachyon condensation is deduced. A new set of\ninternal descent relations is found which describes branes over orientifold\nplanes as topological defects in the worldvolumes of brane-antibrane pairs on\ntop of planes of higher dimension. The periodicity properties of these\nrelations are shown to be a consequence of the fact that all fundamental bound\nstate constructions and hence the complete spectrum of brane charges are\nassociated with the topological solitons which classify the four Hopf\nfibrations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Equivalence between light-cone and conformal gauge in the\n  two-dimensional string: Aiming towards understanding the question of the discrete states in the\nlight-cone gauge in the theory of two-dimensional strings with a linear\nbackground charge term, we study the path-integral formulation of the theory.\nIn particular, by gauge fixing Polyakov's path-integral expression for the 2-d\nstrings, we show that the light-cone gauge-fixed generating functional is the\nsame as the conformal gauge-fixed one and is critical for the same value of the\nbackground charge (Q=2 $\\sqrt 2 $). Since the equivalence is shown at the\ngenerating functional level, one expects that the spectra of the two theories\nare the same. The zero modes of the ratio of the determinants are briefly\nanalyzed and it is shown that only the constant mode survives in this\nformulation. This is an indication that the discrete states may lie in these\nzero modes. This result is not particular to the light-cone gauge, but it holds\nfor the conformal gauge as well.",
        "positive": "The Wheeler Propagator: We study the half advanced and half retarded Wheeler Green function and its\nrelation to Feynman propagators. First for massless equation. Then, for\nKlein-Gordon equations with arbitrary mass parameters; real, imaginary or\ncomplex. In all cases the Wheeler propagator lacks an on-shell free\npropagation. The Wheeler function has support inside the light-cone (whatever\nthe mass). The associated vacuum is symmetric with respect to annihilation and\ncreation operators.\n  We show with some examples that perturbative unitarity holds, whatever the\nmass (real or complex). Some possible applications are discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Note About Non-BPS and BPS Dp-branes in Near Horizon Region of N\n  Dk-Branes: In this paper we will consider the dynamics of BPS and non-BPS Dp-branes in\nthe background of N Dk-branes. Our approach is based on an existence of the new\nsymmetry of D-brane effective actions that naturally emerges in the near\nhorizon region of the stack of N Dk-branes. Since generally this scaling\nsymmetry is explicitly broken in the Lagrangian we will find the equation that\ndetermines the time evolution of the generator of this transformations. Then we\nwill argue that in case when the tachyon living on the worldvolume of unstable\nD-brane reaches the stable minimum the time evolution of this generator can be\neasily determined. With the help of the knowledge of the time dependence of\nthis charge we will determine the trajectory of the non-BPS D-brane in the near\nhorizon region of N Dk-branes. In case of BPS Dp-brane probe we will aruge that\nsuch a broken scaling symmetry exists as well and the existence of the explicit\ntime dependence of the generator of this symmetry can be used in the solving\nthe equation of motion of the probe Dp-brane in the near horizon region of N\nDk-branes.",
        "positive": "Consistent sphere reductions of gravity to two dimensions: Consistent reductions of higher-dimensional (matter-coupled) gravity theories\non spheres have been constructed and classified in an important paper by\nCveti\\v{c}, L\\\"u and Pope. We close a gap in the classification and study the\ncase when the resulting lower-dimensional theory is two-dimensional. We\nconstruct the consistent reduction of Einstein-Maxwell-dilaton gravity on a\n$d$-sphere $S^d$ to two-dimensional dilaton-gravity coupled to a gauged sigma\nmodel with target space ${\\rm SL}(d+1)/{\\rm SO}(d+1)$. The truncation contains\nsolutions of type AdS$_2\\times \\Sigma_d$ where the internal space $\\Sigma_d$ is\na deformed sphere. In particular, the construction includes the consistent\ntruncation around the near-horizon geometry of the boosted Kerr string. In\nturn, we find that an AdS$_2\\times S^d$ background with the round $S^d$ within\na consistent truncation requires $d>3$ and an additional cosmological term in\nthe higher-dimensional theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Circuit Complexity in an interacting quenched Quantum Field Theory: In this work, we explore the effects of a quantum quench on the circuit\ncomplexity for a quenched quantum field theory having weakly coupled quartic\ninteraction. We use the invariant operator method, under a perturbative\nframework, for computing the ground state of this system}. We give the\nanalytical expressions for specific reference and target states using the\nground state of the system. Using a particular cost functional, we show the\nanalytical computation of circuit complexity for the quenched and interacting\nfield theory. Further, we give a numerical estimate of circuit complexity with\nrespect to the quench rate, $\\delta t$ for two coupled oscillators. The\nparametric variation of the unambiguous contribution of the circuit complexity\nfor an arbitrary number of oscillators has been studied with respect to the\ndimensionless parameter $(t/\\delta t$). We comment on the variation of circuit\ncomplexity for different values of coupling strength, different number of\noscillators, and even in different dimensions.",
        "positive": "$KBc$ algebra and the gauge invariant overlap in open string field\n  theory: We study in detail the evaluation of the gauge invariant overlap for analytic\nsolutions constructed out of elements in the $KBc$ algebra in open string field\ntheory. We compute this gauge invariant observable using analytical and\nnumerical techniques based on the sliver frame $\\mathcal{L}_0$ and traditional\nVirasoro $L_0$ level expansions of the solutions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Heterotic geometry without isometries: We present some properties of hyperkahler torsion (or heterotic) geometry in\nfour dimensions that make it even more tractable than its hyperkahler\ncounterpart. We show that in $d=4$ hypercomplex structures and weak torsion\nhyperkahler geometries are the same. We present two equivalent formalisms\ndescribing such spaces, they are stated in the propositions of section 1. The\nfirst is reduced to solve a non-linear system for a doublet of potential\nfunctions, first found by Plebanski and Finley. The second is equivalent to\nfinding the solutions of a quadratic Ashtekar-Jacobson-Smolin like system, but\nwithout a volume preserving condition. This is why heterotic spaces are simpler\nthan usual hyperkahler ones. We also analyze the strong version of this\ngeometry. Certain examples are presented, some of them are metrics of the\nCallan-Harvey-Strominger type and others are not. In the conclusion we discuss\nthe benefits and disadvantages of both formulations in detail.",
        "positive": "6D F-theory models and elliptically fibered Calabi-Yau threefolds over\n  semi-toric base surfaces: We carry out a systematic study of a class of 6D F-theory models and\nassociated Calabi-Yau threefolds that are constructed using base surfaces with\na generalization of toric structure. In particular, we determine all smooth\nsurfaces with a structure invariant under a single C^* action (sometimes called\n\"T-varieties\" in the mathematical literature) that can act as bases for an\nelliptic fibration with section of a Calabi-Yau threefold. We identify 162,404\ndistinct bases, which include as a subset the previously studied set of\nstrictly toric bases. Calabi-Yau threefolds constructed in this fashion include\nexamples with previously unknown Hodge numbers. There are also bases over which\nthe generic elliptic fibration has a Mordell-Weil group of sections with\nnonzero rank, corresponding to non-Higgsable U(1) factors in the 6D\nsupergravity model; this type of structure does not arise for generic elliptic\nfibrations in the purely toric context."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Infinite Distance Networks in Field Space and Charge Orbits: The Swampland Distance Conjecture proposes that approaching infinite\ndistances in field space an infinite tower of states becomes exponentially\nlight. We study this conjecture for the complex structure moduli space of\nCalabi-Yau manifolds. In this context, we uncover significant structure within\nthe proposal by showing that there is a rich spectrum of different infinite\ndistance loci that can be classified by certain topological data derived from\nan associated discrete symmetry. We show how this data also determines the\nrules for how the different infinite distance loci can intersect and form an\ninfinite distance network. We study the properties of the intersections in\ndetail and, in particular, propose an identification of the infinite tower of\nstates near such intersections in terms of what we term charge orbits. These\norbits have the property that they are not completely local, but depend on data\nwithin a finite patch around the intersection, thereby forming an initial step\ntowards understanding global aspects of the distance conjecture in field\nspaces. Our results follow from a deep mathematical structure captured by the\nso-called orbit theorems, which gives a handle on singularities in the moduli\nspace through mixed Hodge structures, and is related to a local notion of\nmirror symmetry thereby allowing us to apply it also to the large volume\nsetting. These theorems are general and apply far beyond Calabi-Yau moduli\nspaces, leading us to propose that similarly the infinite distance structures\nwe uncover are also more general.",
        "positive": "Large-Small Equivalence in String Theory: The simplest toroidally compactified string theories exhibit a duality\nbetween large and small radii: compactification on a circle, for example, is\ninvariant under R goes to 1/R. Compactification on more general Lorentzian\nlattices (i.e. toroidal compactification in the presence of background metric,\nantisymmetric tensor, and gauge fields) yields theories for which large-small\ninvariance is not so simple. Here an equivalence is demonstrated between large\nand small geometries for all toroidal compactifications. By repeatedly\ntransforming the momentum mode corresponding to the smallest winding length to\nanother mode on the lattice, it is possible to increase the volume to exceed a\nfinite lower bound."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dyonic Non-Abelian Vortices: We study three-dimensional Yang-Mills-Higgs theories with and without a\nChern-Simons interaction. We find that these theories admit a rich spectrum of\nvortex solitons carrying both a topological charge and a global flavour charge.\nWe further derive a low-energy description of the vortex dynamics from a gauged\nlinear sigma model on the vortex worldline.",
        "positive": "SO(10) GUTs with large tensor representations on Noncommutative\n  Space-time: We construct a noncommutative version of a general renormalizable SO(10) GUT\nwith Higgses in the 210, $\\overline{126}, 45, 10$ and 120 irreps of SO(10) and\na Peccei-Quinn symmetry. Thus, we formulate the noncommutative counterpart of a\nnon-supersymmetric SO(10) GUT which has recently been shown to be consistent\nwith all the physics below $M_{GUT}$. The simplicity of our construction --the\nsimplicity of the Yukawa terms, in particular-- stems from the fact that the\nHiggses of our GUT can be viewed as elements of the Clifford algebra\n$\\mathbb{C}\\rm{l}_{10}(\\mathbb{C})$; elements on which the SO(10) gauge\ntransformations act by conjugation. The noncommutative GUT we build contains\ntree-level interactions among different Higgs species that are absent in their\nordinary counterpart as they are forbidden by SO(10) and Lorentz invariance.\nThe existence of these interactions helps to clearly distinguish noncommutative\nMinkowski space-time from ordinary Minkowski space-time."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A non-relativistic limit of M-theory and 11-dimensional membrane\n  Newton-Cartan geometry: We consider a non-relativistic limit of the bosonic sector of\neleven-dimensional supergravity, leading to a theory based on a covariant\n`membrane Newton-Cartan' (MNC) geometry. The local tangent space is split into\nthree `longitudinal' and eight `transverse' directions, related only by\nGalilean rather than Lorentzian symmetries. This generalises the\nten-dimensional stringy Newton-Cartan (SNC) theory. In order to obtain a finite\nlimit, the field strength of the eleven-dimensional four-form is required to\nobey a transverse self-duality constraint, ultimately due to the presence of\nthe Chern-Simons term in eleven dimensions. The finite action then gives a set\nof equations that is invariant under longitudinal and transverse rotations,\nGalilean boosts and local dilatations. We supplement these equations with an\nextra Poisson equation, coming from the subleading action. Reduction along a\nlongitudinal direction gives the known SNC theory with the addition of RR gauge\nfields, while reducing along a transverse direction yields a new\nnon-relativistic theory associated to D2 branes. We further show that the MNC\ntheory can be embedded in the U-duality symmetric formulation of exceptional\nfield theory, demonstrating that it shares the same exceptional Lie algebraic\nsymmetries as the relativistic supergravity, and providing an alternative\nderivation of the extra Poisson equation.",
        "positive": "Anomalous transport from equilibrium partition functions: We summarize recent advances in the application of the equilibrium partition\nfunction formalism for the study of the transport coefficients of relativistic\nfluids induced by quantum anomalies, at first and second order in the\nhydrodynamic expansion. We provide results for theories with Abelian and\nnon-Abelian chiral fermions, and discuss some features of the corresponding\nconstitutive relations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Remarks on the 2nd order Seiberg-Witten maps: In this report, we discuss the Seiberg-Witten maps up to the second order in\nthe noncommutative parameter $\\theta$. They add to the recently published\nsolutions in [1]. Expressions for the vector, fermion and Higgs fields are\ngiven explicitly.",
        "positive": "A Nonlocal Approach to the Cosmological Constant Problem: We construct a model in which the cosmological constant is canceled from the\ngravitational equations of motion. Our model relies on two key ingredients: a\nnonlocal constraint on the action, which forces the spacetime average of the\nLagrangian density to vanish, and a dynamical way for this condition to be\nsatisfied classically with arbitrary matter content. We implement the former\ncondition with a spatially-constant Lagrange multiplier associated with the\nvolume form and the latter by including a free four-form gauge field strength\nin the action. These two features are enough to remove the cosmological\nconstant from the Einstein equation. The model is consistent with all\ncosmological and experimental bounds on modification of gravity and allows for\nboth cosmic inflation and the present epoch of acceleration."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Tower of subleading dual BMS charges: We supplement the recently found dual gravitational charges with dual charges\nfor the whole BMS symmetry algebra. Furthermore, we extend the dual charges\naway from null infinity, defining subleading dual charges. These subleading\ndual charges complement the subleading BMS charges in the literature and\ntogether account for all the Newman-Penrose charges.",
        "positive": "Kaluza-Klein Spectrometry from Exceptional Field Theory: Exceptional field theories yield duality-covariant formulations of\nhigher-dimensional supergravity. They have proven to be an efficient tool for\nthe construction of consistent truncations around various background\ngeometries. In this paper, we demonstrate how the formalism can moreover be\nturned into a powerful tool for computing the Kaluza-Klein mass spectra around\nthese backgrounds. Most of these geometries have little to no remaining\nsymmetries and their spectra are accessible to standard methods only in\nselected subsectors. The present formalism not only grants access to the full\nKaluza-Klein spectra but also provides the scheme to identify the resulting\nmass eigenstates in higher dimensions. As a first illustration, we rederive in\ncompact form the mass spectrum of IIB supergravity on $S^5$. We further discuss\nthe application of our formalism to determine the mass spectra of higher\nKaluza-Klein multiplets around the warped geometries corresponding to some\nprominent ${\\cal N}=2$ and ${\\cal N}=0$ AdS vacua in maximal supergravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chiral geometries of (2+1)-d AdS gravity: Pure gravity in (2+1)-dimensions with negative cosmological constant is\nclassically equivalent Chern-Simons gauge theory with gauge group SO(2; 2),\nwhich may be realized on chiral and antichiral gauge connections. This paper\nlooks at half-AdS geometries i.e. those with a trivial rightmoving gauge\nconnection while the left-moving connection is a standard (Banados-Teitelboim-\nZanelli) BTZ connection. These are shown to be related by diffeomorphism to a\nBTZ geometry with different mass and angular momentum. Generically this is\nover-spinning, leading to a naked closed timelike curves. Other closely related\nsolutions are also studied. These results suggest that the measure of the\nChern-Simons path integral cannot factorize in a chiral way, if it is to\nrepresent a sum over physically sensible states.",
        "positive": "From the WZWN Model to the Liouville Equation: Exact String Dynamics in\n  Conformally Invariant AdS Background: It has been known for some time that the SL(2,R) WZWN model reduces to\nLiouville theory. Here we give a direct and physical derivation of this result\nbased on the classical string equations of motion and the proper string size.\nThis allows us to extract precisely the physical effects of the metric and\nantisymmetric tensor, respectively, on the {\\it exact} string dynamics in the\nSL(2,R) background. The general solution to the proper string size is also\nfound. We show that the antisymmetric tensor (corresponding to conformal\ninvariance) generally gives rise to repulsion, and it precisely cancels the\ndominant attractive term arising from the metric.\n  Both the sinh-Gordon and the cosh-Gordon sectors of the string dynamics in\nnon-conformally invariant AdS spacetime reduce here to the Liouville equation\n(with different signs of the potential), while the original Liouville sector\nreduces to the free wave equation. Only the very large classical string size is\naffected by the torsion. Medium and small size string behaviours are unchanged.\n  We also find illustrative classes of string solutions in the SL(2,R)\nbackground: dynamical closed as well as stationary open spiralling strings, for\nwhich the effect of torsion is somewhat like the effect of rotation in the\nmetric. Similarly, the string solutions in the 2+1 BH-AdS background with\ntorsion and angular momentum are fully analyzed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Anomaly and Exotic Statistics in One Dimension: We study the influence of the anomaly on the physical quantum picture of the\nchiral Schwinger model (CSM) defined on $S^1$. We show that such phenomena as\nthe total screening of charges and the dynamical mass generation characteristic\nfor the standard Schwinger model do not take place here. Instead of them, the\nanomaly results in the background linearly rising electric field or,\nequivalently, in the exotic statistics of the physical matter field. We\nconstruct the algebra of the Poincare generators and show that it differs from\nthe Poincare one. For the CSM on $R^1$, the anomaly influences only the mass\ngeneration mechanism.",
        "positive": "Wilson Loops in string duals of Walking and Flavored Systems: We consider the VEV of Wilson loop operators by studying the behavior of\nstring probes in solutions of Type IIB string theory generated by Nc D5 branes\nwrapped on an internal manifold. In particular, we focus on solutions to the\nbackground equations that are dual to field theories with a walking gauge\ncoupling as well as for flavored systems. We present in detail our walking\nsolution and emphasize various general aspects of the procedure to study Wilson\nloops using string duals. We discuss the special features that the strings show\nwhen probing the region associated with the walking of the field theory\ncoupling."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exact results on N=2 supersymmetric gauge theories: This is the introduction to the collection of review articles \"Exact results\non N=2 supersymmetric gauge theories\". The first three sections are intended to\ngive a general overview over the physical motivations behind this direction of\nresearch, and some of the developments that initiated this project. These\nsections are written for a broad audience of readers with interest in quantum\nfield theory, assuming only very basic knowledge of supersymmetric gauge\ntheories and string theory. This will be followed by a brief overview over the\ndifferent chapters collected in this volume, while the last section indicates\nsome related developments that we were unfortunately not able to cover.",
        "positive": "Membrane Matrix models and non-perturbative checks of gauge/gravity\n  duality: We compare the bosonic and maximally supersymmetric membrane models. We find\nthat in Hoppe regulated form the bosonic membrane is well approximated by\nmassive Gaussian quantum matrix models. In contrast the similarly regulated\nsupersymmetric membrane, which is equivalent to the BFSS model, has a gravity\ndual description. We sketch recent progress in checking gauge/gravity duality\nin this context."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum mechanics of a generalised rigid body: We consider the quantum version of Arnold's generalisation of a rigid body in\nclassical mechanics. Thus, we quantise the motion on an arbitrary Lie group\nmanifold of a particle whose classical trajectories correspond to the geodesics\nof any one-sided-invariant metric. We show how the derivation of the spectrum\nof energy eigenstates can be simplified by making use of automorphisms of the\nLie algebra and (for groups of Type I) by methods of harmonic analysis. We show\nhow the method can be extended to cosets, generalising the linear rigid rotor.\nAs examples, we consider all connected and simply-connected Lie groups up to\ndimension 3. This includes the universal cover of the archetypical rigid body,\nalong with a number of new exactly-solvable models. We also discuss a possible\napplication to the topical problem of quantising a perfect fluid.",
        "positive": "Effective Lagrangians and Chiral Random Matrix Theory: Recently, sum rules were derived for the inverse eigenvalues of the Dirac\noperator. They were obtained in two different ways: i) starting from the\nlow-energy effective Lagrangian and ii) starting from a random matrix theory\nwith the symmetries of the Dirac operator. This suggests that the effective\ntheory can be obtained directly from the random matrix theory. Previously, this\nwas shown for three or more colors with fundamental fermions. In this paper we\nconstruct the effective theory from a random matrix theory for two colors in\nthe fundamental representation and for an arbitrary number of colors in the\nadjoint representation. We construct a fermionic partition function for\nMajorana fermions in Euclidean space time. Their reality condition is\nformulated in terms of complex conjugation of the second kind."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Ternary Virasoro - Witt Algebra: A 3-bracket variant of the Virasoro-Witt algebra is constructed through the\nuse of su(1,1) enveloping algebra techniques. The Leibniz rules for 3-brackets\nacting on other 3-brackets in the algebra are discussed and verified in various\nsituations.",
        "positive": "Microstates of a Neutral Black Hole in M Theory: We consider vacuum solutions in M theory of the form of a five-dimensional\nKaluza-Klein black hole cross T^6. In a certain limit, these include the\nfive-dimensional neutral rotating black hole (cross T^6). From a IIA\nstandpoint, these solutions carry D0 and D6 charges. We show that there is a\nweakly coupled D-brane description which precisely reproduces the\nHawking-Bekenstein entropy in the extremal limit, even though supersymmetry is\ncompletely broken."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Phenomenological studies in the matrix models: Matrix models are a promising candidate for a nonperturbative formulation of\nthe superstring theory. It is possible to study how the standard model and\nother phenomenological models appear from the matrix model, and estimate the\nprobability distribution of their appearance. This article mainly addresses\nstudies in toroidal compactifications with magnetic fluxes.",
        "positive": "Duality Invariance of the Hawking Temperature and Entropy: We consider solutions to low energy string theory which have a horizon and a\nspacelike symmetry. Each of these solutions has a geometrically different dual\ndescription. We show that the dual solution has a horizon with exactly the same\nHawking temperature (surface gravity) and entropy (area) as the original\nsolution."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Quasi-Exactly Solvable N-Body Problem with the sl(N+1) Algebraic\n  Structure: Starting from a one-particle quasi-exactly solvable system, which is\ncharacterized by an intrinsic sl(2) algebraic structure and the\nenergy-reflection symmetry, we construct a daughter N-body Hamiltonian\npresenting a deformation of the Calogero model. The features of this\nHamiltonian are (i) it reduces to a quadratic combination of the generators of\nsl(N+1); (ii) the interaction potential contains two-body terms and interaction\nwith the force center at the origin; (iii) for quantized values of a certain\ncohomology parameter n it is quasi-exactly solvable, the multiplicity of states\nin the algebraic sector is (N+n)!/(N!n!); (iv) the energy-reflection symmetry\nof the parent system is preserved.",
        "positive": "Non-geometric Kaluza-Klein monopoles and magnetic duals of M-theory\n  R-flux backgrounds: We introduce a magnetic analogue of the seven-dimensional nonassociative\noctonionic R-flux algebra that describes the phase space of M2-branes in\nfour-dimensional locally non-geometric M-theory backgrounds. We show that these\ntwo algebras are related by a Spin(7) automorphism of the 3-algebra that\nprovides a covariant description of the eight-dimensional M-theory phase space.\nWe argue that this algebra also underlies the phase space of electrons probing\na smeared magnetic monopole in quantum gravity by showing that upon appropriate\ncontractions, the algebra reduces to the noncommutative algebra of a spin foam\nmodel of three-dimensional quantum gravity, or to the nonassociative algebra of\nelectrons in a background of uniform magnetic charge. We realise this set-up in\nM-theory as M-waves probing a delocalised Kaluza-Klein monopole, and show that\nthis system also has a seven-dimensional phase space. We suggest that the\nsmeared Kaluza-Klein monopole is non-geometric because it cannot be described\nby a local metric. This is the magnetic analogue of the local non-geometry of\nthe R-flux background and arises because the smeared Kaluza-Klein monopole is\ndescribed by a U(1)-gerbe rather than a U(1)-fibration."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Moduli Space Dynamics of Noncommutative U(2) Instantons: We consider the low energy dynamics of charge two instantons on\nnoncommutative $\\mathbb{R}^{2}_{NC}\\times\\mathbb{R}^{2}_{NC}$ in U(2)\n5-dimensional super-Yang-Mills, using the Manton approximation for slow-moving\ninstantons to calculate the moduli space metric. By employing the ADHM\nconstruction, we are able to understand some aspects of the geometry and\ntopology of the system. We also consider the effect of adding a potential to\nthe moduli space, giving scattering results for noncommutative dyonic\ninstantons.",
        "positive": "Giant gravitons in non-supersymmetric backgrounds: We consider giant gravitons as probes of a class of ten-dimensional solutions\nof type IIB supergravity which arise as lifts of solutions of U(1)^3 gauged N=2\nsupergravity in five-dimensions. Surprisingly it is possible to solve exactly\nfor minimum energy configurations of these spherical D3-brane probes in the\ncompact directions, even in backgrounds which preserve no supersymmetry. The\nbranes behave as massive charged particles in the five non-compact dimensions.\nAs an example we probe geometries which are believed to represent the\nsupergravity background of coherent states of giant gravitons. We comment on\nthe apparently repulsive nature of the naked singularities in these geometries."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The non-linear coupled spin 2 - spin 3 Cotton equation in three\n  dimensions: In the context of three-dimensional conformal higher spin theory we derive,\nin the frame field formulation, the full non-linear spin 3 Cotton equation\ncoupled to spin 2. This is done by solving the corresponding Chern-Simons gauge\ntheory system of equations, that is, using $F=0$ to eliminate all auxiliary\nfields and thus expressing the Cotton equation in terms of just the spin 3\nframe field and spin 2 covariant derivatives and tensors (Schouten). In this\nderivation we neglect the spin 4 and higher spin sectors and approximate the\nstar product commutator by a Poisson bracket. The resulting spin 3 Cotton\nequation is complicated but can be related to linearized versions in the metric\nformulation obtained previously by other authors. The expected symmetry (spin 3\n\"translation\", \"Lorentz\" and \"dilatation\") properties are verified for Cotton\nand other relevant tensors but some perhaps unexpected features emerge in the\nprocess, in particular in relation to the non-linear equations. We discuss the\nstructure of this non-linear spin 3 Cotton equation but its explicit form is\nonly presented here, in an exact but not completely refined version, in\nappended files obtained by computer algebra methods. Both the frame field and\nmetric formulations are provided.",
        "positive": "Properties of the Faddeev-Popov operator in the Landau gauge, matter\n  confinement and soft BRST breaking: In light of the development of the Gribov issue for pure Euclidean gauge\ntheories and of the recent lattice measurement of soft breaking of the BRST\ninvariance in Yang-Mills theories in the Landau gauge, we consider\nnon-perturbative features in the gauge-interacting matter sector and their\nrelation with general properties of the Faddeev-Popov operator. A signature for\nBRST breaking in the matter sector is proposed and a local and renormalizable\nframework is constructed, accommodating this signature and predicting\nnon-perturbative matter propagators that are consistent with available lattice\ndata for adjoint scalars and quarks."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Kreimer's Hopf algebra structure of Feynman graphs: We reinvestigate Kreimer's Hopf algebra structure of perturbative quantum\nfield theories with a special emphasis on overlapping divergences. Kreimer\nfirst disentangles overlapping divergences into a linear combination of\ndisjoint and nested ones and then tackles that linear combination by the Hopf\nalgebra operations. We present a formulation where the Hopf algebra operations\nare directly defined on any type of divergence. We explain the precise relation\nto Kreimer's Hopf algebra and obtain thereby a characterization of their\nprimitive elements.",
        "positive": "Power-law cosmological solution derived from DGP brane with a brane\n  tachyon field: By studying a tachyon field on the DGP brane model, in order to embed the 4D\nstandard Friedmann equation with a brane tachyon field in 5D bulk, the metric\nof the 5D spacetime is presented. Then, adopting the inverse square potential\nof tachyon field, we obtain an expanding universe with power-law on the brane\nand an exact 5D solution."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Electron Mass Anomalous Dimension at O(1/N^2_f) in Quantum\n  Electrodynamics: The critical exponent corresponding to the renormalization of the composite\noperator $\\bar{\\psi}\\psi$ is computed in quantum electrodynamics at\n$O(1/\\Nf^2)$ in arbitrary dimensions and covariant gauge at the non-trivial\nzero of the $\\beta$-function in the large $\\Nf$ expansion and the exponent\ncorresponding to the anomalous dimension of the electron mass which is a gauge\nindependent object is deduced. Expanding in powers of $\\epsilon$ $=$ $2$ $-$\n$d/2$ we check it is consistent with the known three loop perturbative\nstructure and determine the subsequent coefficients in the coupling constant",
        "positive": "CFT(4) Partition Functions and the Heat Kernel on AdS(5): We explicitly reorganise the partition function of an arbitrary CFT in four\nspacetime dimensions into a heat kernel form for the dual string spectrum on\nAdS(5). On very general grounds, the heat kernel answer can be expressed in\nterms of a convolution of the one-particle partition function of the\nfour-dimensional CFT. Our methods are general and would apply for arbitrary\ndimensions, which we comment on."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Problems with Duality in N=2 Super-Yang-Mills Theory: Actual calculations of monopole and dyon spectra have previously been\nperformed in N=4 SYM and in N=2 SYM with gauge group SU(2), and are in total\nagreement with duality conjectures for the finite theories. These calculations\nare extended to N=2 SYM with higher rank gauge groups, and it turns out that\nthe SU(2) model with four fundamental hypermultiplet is an exception in that\nits soliton spectrum supports duality. This may be an indication that the other\nperturbatively finite N=2 theories have non-perturbative contributions to the\nbeta-function. This talk contains a short summary of recent results.",
        "positive": "Matter-gravity coupling for fuzzy geometry and the Landau-Hall problem: We consider a set of physical degrees of freedom coupled to a\nfinite-dimensional Hilbert space, which may be taken as modeling a fuzzy space\nor as the lowest Landau level of a Landau-Hall problem. These may be viewed as\nmatter fields on a fuzzy space. Sequentially generalizing to arbitrary\nbackgrounds, we argue that the effective action is given by the Chern-Simons\nform associated with the Dirac index density (with gauge and gravitational\nfields), with an abelian gauge field shifted by the Poincar\\'e-Cartan form for\nmatter dynamics. The result is an action for matter fields where the Lagrangian\nis integrated with a density which is a specific polynomial in the curvatures."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Moyal dynamics of constraint systems: Quantization of constraint systems within the Weyl-Wigner-Groenewold-Moyal\nframework is discussed. Constraint dynamics of classical and quantum systems is\nreformulated using the skew-gradient projection formalism. The quantum\ndeformation of the Dirac bracket is generalized to match smoothly the classical\nDirac bracket in and outside of the constraint submanifold in the limit $\\hbar\n\\to 0$.",
        "positive": "On the origin of the holographic universe: In this work, we reexamine the holographic dark energy concept proposed\nalready for cosmological applications. By considering, more precisely, the\nbounds on the entropy arising from lattice field theory on one side and\nBekenstein-Hawking entropy of black holes on another side, it is shown that the\nso-called holographic dark energy cannot be mimicked as easily as claimed in\nthe literature. In addition, the limits on the electron $(g-2)$ experiments are\ntaken into account again. It is shown that the corrections to the electron\nmagnetic momentum are of the order of ${\\mathcal{O}}(10^{-23})$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Link polynomial calculus and the AENV conjecture: Using the recently proposed differential hierarchy (Z-expansion) technique,\nwe obtain a general expression for the HOMFLY polynomials in two arbitrary\nsymmetric representations of link families, including Whitehead and Borromean\nlinks. Among other things, this allows us to check and confirm the recent\nconjecture of arXiv:1304.5778 that the large representation limit (the same as\nconsidered in the knot volume conjecture) of this quantity matches the\nprediction from mirror symmetry consideration. We also provide, using the\nevolution method, the HOMFLY polynomial in two arbitrary symmetric\nrepresentations for an arbitrary member of the one-parametric family of\n2-component 3-strand links, which includes the Hopf and Whitehead links.",
        "positive": "Magnetic Strings In Five Dimensional Gauged Supergravity Theories: Magnetic BPS string solutions preserving quarter of supersymmetry are\nobtained for all abelian gauged d=5 N=2 supergravity theories coupled to vector\nsupermultiplets. Due to a ``generalised Dirac quantization'' condition\nsatisfied by the minimized magnetic central charge, the string metric takes a\nuniversal form for all five dimensional gauged theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic KMS relations at finite density: We extend the holographic Schwinger-Keldysh prescription introduced in\narXiv:1812.08785 to charged black branes, with a view towards studying Hawking\nradiation in these backgrounds. Equivalently we study real-time fluctuations of\nthe dual CFT held at finite temperature and finite chemical potential. We check\nour prescription using charged Dirac probe fields. We solve the Dirac equation\nin a boundary derivative expansion extending the results in arXiv:2011.07039.\nThe Schwinger-Keldysh correlators derived using this prescription automatically\nsatisfy the appropriate KMS relations with Fermi-Dirac factors.",
        "positive": "RPA for Light-Front Hamiltonian Field Theory: A self-consistent random phase approximation (RPA) is proposed as an\neffective Hamiltonian method in Light-Front Field Theory (LFFT). We apply the\ngeneral idea to the light-front massive Schwinger model to obtain a new bound\nstate equation and solve it numerically."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Symmetries of the Free Schr\u00f6dinger Equation in the Non-Commutative\n  Plane: We study all the symmetries of the free Schr\\\"odinger equation in the\nnon-commutative plane. These symmetry transformations form an\ninfinite-dimensional Weyl algebra that appears naturally from a two-dimensional\nHeisenberg algebra generated by Galilean boosts and momenta. These infinite\nhigh symmetries could be useful for constructing non-relativistic interacting\nhigher spin theories. A finite-dimensional subalgebra is given by the\nSchr\\\"odinger algebra which, besides the Galilei generators, contains also the\ndilatation and the expansion. We consider the quantization of the symmetry\ngenerators in both the reduced and extended phase spaces, and discuss the\nrelation between both approaches.",
        "positive": "Energy Flux Positivity and Unitarity in CFTs: We show that in most conformal field theories the condition of the energy\nflux positivity, proposed by Hofman and Maldacena, is equivalent to the absence\nof ghosts. At finite temperature and large energy and momenta, the two-point\nfunctions of the stress energy tensor develop lightlike poles. The residues of\nthe poles can be computed, as long as the only spin two conserved current,\nwhich appears in the stress energy tensor OPE and acquires nonvanishing\nexpectation value at finite temperature, is the stress energy tensor. The\ncondition for the residues to stay positive and the theory to remain ghost free\nis equivalent to the condition of positivity of energy flux."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Topological T-duality via Lie algebroids and $Q$-flux in\n  Poisson-generalized geometry: It is known that the topological T-duality exchanges $H$ and $F$-fluxes. In\nthis paper, we reformulate the topological T-duality as an exchange of two Lie\nalgebroids in the generalized tangent bundle. Then, we apply the same\nformulation to the Poisson-generalized geometry, which is introduced in\narXiv:1408.2649 to define $R$-fluxes as field strength associated with\n$\\beta$-transformations. We propose a definition of $Q$-flux associated with\n$\\beta$-diffeomorphisms, and show that the topological T-duality exchanges $R$\nand $Q$-fluxes.",
        "positive": "Duality Between Hydrogen Atom and Oscillator Systems via Hidden SO(d,2)\n  Symmetry and 2T-physics: The relation between motion in $-1/r$ and $r^{2}$ potentials, known since\nNewton, can be demonstrated by the substitution $r\\rightarrow r^{2}$ in the\nclassical/quantum radial equations of the Kepler/Hydrogen problems versus the\nharmonic oscillator. This suggests a duality-type relationship between these\nsystems. However, when both radial and angular components of these systems are\nincluded the possibility of a true duality seems to be remote. Indeed,\ninvestigations that explored and generalized Newton's radial relation,\nincluding algebraic approaches based on noncompact groups such as SO(4,2), have\nnever exhibited a full duality consistent with Newton's. On the other hand,\n2T-physics predicts a host of dualities between pairs of a huge set of systems\nthat includes Newton's two systems. These dualities take the form of rather\ncomplicated canonical transformations that relate the full phase spaces of\nthese respective systems in all directions. In this paper we focus on Newton's\ncase by imposing his radial relation to find an appropriate basis for\n2T-physics dualities, and then construct the full duality. Using the techniques\nof 2T-physics, we discuss the hidden symmetry of the actions (beyond the\nsymmetry of Hamiltonians) for the Hydrogen atom in $D$-dimensions and the\nharmonic oscillator in $\\bar{D}$ dimensions. The symmetries lead us to find the\none-to-one relation between the quantum states, including angular degrees of\nfreedom, for specific values of $\\left( D,\\bar{D}\\right) $, and construct the\nexplicit quantum canonical transformation in those special cases. We find that\nthe canonical transformation has itself a hidden gauge symmetry that is crucial\nfor the respective phase spaces to be dual even when $D\\neq\\bar{D}$. In this\nway we display the surprising beautiful symmetry of the full duality that\ngeneralizes Newton's radial duality."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Some Remarks About Berkovits' Superstring Field Theory: In this short note we would like to discuss general solutions of the\nBerkovits superstring field theory, in particular the string field action for\nfluctuation around such a solution. We will find that fluctuations obey the\nsame equation of motion as the original field with the new BRST operator. Then\nwe will argue that the superstring field theory action for fluctuation field\nhas the same form as the original one.",
        "positive": "Effective holographic models for QCD: Thermodynamics and viscosity\n  coefficients: A finite temperature extension of the effective holographic models for QCD\n(EHQCD), proposed in Ref.[1], is investigated in the present work. EHQCD models\nare characterized by two parameters, the conformal dimension of the relevant\noperator that deforms the CFT and the associated coupling. We find that black\nhole solutions appear at temperatures higher than some temperature $T_{min}$\nand can be categorized in two classes: large and small black holes. A large\nblack hole is thermally stable and it is therefore interpreted as the gravity\ndual of a non-conformal plasma. A small black hole, on the other hand, is\nthermally unstable. We show that thermodynamic quantities such as the entropy\ndensity $s$, specific heat $C_V$, and speed of sound $c_s$ are sensitive to the\nmodel parameters. We investigate perturbations of the black hole solutions and\ncalculate the viscosity coefficients of the corresponding dual non-conformal\nplasma. For the shear viscosity, we confirm that the ratio $\\eta/s$ is given by\nthe universal result $1/4\\pi$. For the bulk viscosity, the ratio $\\zeta/s$\nvaries with the temperature, displaying a rapid growth close to $T_{min}$, and\nit is sensitive to the model parameters. We compare our results for the\nthermodynamic quantities with the lattice $SU(N_C)$ results and find that they\nare compatible as long as the coupling is fixed appropriately as a function of\nthe conformal dimension. We also compare our results for the viscosity\ncoefficients against the JETSCAPE results that are obtained from the analysis\nof experimental data on heavy ion collisions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Vilkovisky-DeWitt Effective Action for Einstein Gravity on Kaluza-Klein\n  Spacetimes $M^4\\times S^N$: We evaluate the divergent part of the Vilkovisky-DeWitt effective action for\nEinstein gravity on even-dimensional Kaluza-Klein spacetimes of the form\n$M^{4}\\times S^{N}$. Explicit results are given for $N$=2, 4, and 6. Trace\nanomalies for gravitons are also given for these cases. Stable Kaluza-Klein\nconfigurations are sought, unsuccessfully, assuming the divergent part of the\neffective action dominates the dynamics.",
        "positive": "Strong coupling in Horava gravity: By studying perturbations about the vacuum, we show that Horava gravity\nsuffers from two different strong coupling problems, extending all the way into\nthe deep infra-red. The first of these is associated with the principle of\ndetailed balance and explains why solutions to General Relativity are typically\nnot recovered in models that preserve this structure. The second of these\noccurs even without detailed balance and is associated with the breaking of\ndiffeomorphism invariance, required for anisotropic scaling in the UV. Since\nthere is a reduced symmetry group there are additional degrees of freedom,\nwhich need not decouple in the infra-red. Indeed, we use the Stuckelberg trick\nto show that one of these extra modes become strongly coupled as the parameters\napproach their desired infra-red fixed point. Whilst we can evade the first\nstrong coupling problem by breaking detailed balance, we cannot avoid the\nsecond, whatever the form of the potential. Therefore the original Horava\nmodel, and its \"phenomenologically viable\" extensions do not have a\nperturbative General Relativity limit at any scale. Experiments which confirm\nthe perturbative gravitational wave prediction of General Relativity, such as\nthe cumulative shift of the periastron time of binary pulsars, will presumably\nrule out the theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Effects of Noncommutativity on the Black Hole Entropy: In this paper the BTZ black hole geometry is probed with a noncommutative\nscalar field which obeys the $\\kappa$-Minkowski algebra. The entropy of the BTZ\nblack hole is calculated using the brick wall method. The contribution of the\nnoncommutativity to the black hole entropy is explicitly evaluated up to the\nfirst order in the deformation parameter. We also argue that such a correction\nto the black hole entropy can be interpreted as arising from the\nrenormalization of the Newton's constant due to the effects of the\nnoncommutativity.",
        "positive": "Entanglement and Chaos in De Sitter Holography: An SYK Example: Entanglement, chaos, and complexity are as important for de Sitter space as\nfor AdS and for black holes. There are similarities and great differences\nbetween AdS and dS in how these concepts are manifested in the space-time\ngeometry. In the first part of this paper the Ryu-Takayanagi prescription, the\ntheory of fast scrambling, and the holographic complexity correspondence are\nreformulated for de Sitter space. Criteria are proposed for a holographic model\nto describe de Sitter space. The criteria can be summarized by the requirement\nthat scrambling and complexity growth must be \"hyperfast.\" In the later part of\nthe paper I show that a certain limit of SYK is a concrete, computable,\nholographic model of de Sitter space. Calculations are described which support\nthe conjecture."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Heat Kernel and Weyl Anomaly of Schr\u00f6dinger invariant theory: We propose a method inspired from discrete light cone quantization (DLCQ) to\ndetermine the heat kernel for a Schr\\\"odinger field theory (Galilean boost\ninvariant with $z=2$ anisotropic scaling symmetry) living in $d+1$ dimensions,\ncoupled to a curved Newton-Cartan background starting from a heat kernel of a\nrelativistic conformal field theory ($z=1$) living in $d+2$ dimensions. We use\nthis method to show the Schr\\\"odinger field theory of a complex scalar field\ncannot have any Weyl anomalies. To be precise, we show that the Weyl anomaly\n$\\mathcal{A}^{G}_{d+1}$ for Schr\\\"odinger theory is related to the Weyl anomaly\nof a free relativistic scalar CFT $\\mathcal{A}^{R}_{d+2}$ via\n$\\mathcal{A}^{G}_{d+1}= 2\\pi \\delta (m) \\mathcal{A}^{R}_{d+2}$ where $m$ is the\ncharge of the scalar field under particle number symmetry. We provide further\nevidence of vanishing anomaly by evaluating Feynman diagrams in all orders of\nperturbation theory. We present an explicit calculation of the anomaly using a\nregulated Schr\\\"odinger operator, without using the null cone reduction\ntechnique. We generalise our method to show that a similar result holds for one\ntime derivative theories with even $z>2$.",
        "positive": "Third and Higher Order NFPA Twisted Constructions of Conformal Field\n  Theories from Lattices: We investigate orbifold constructions of conformal field theories from\nlattices by no-fixed-point automorphisms (NFPA's) $Z_p$ for $p$ prime, $p>2$,\nconcentrating on the case $p=3$. Explicit expressions are given for most of the\nrelevant vertex operators, and we consider the locality relations necessary for\nthese to define a consistent conformal field theory. A relation to\nconstructions of lattices from codes, analogous to that found in earlier work\nin the $p=2$ case which led to a generalisation of the triality structure of\nthe Monster module, is also demonstrated."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "An N=8 Superaffine Malcev Algebra and Its N=8 Sugawara: A supersymmetric affinization of the algebra of octonions is introduced. It\nsatisfies a super-Malcev property and is N=8 supersymmetric. Its Sugawara\nconstruction recovers, in a special limit, the non-associative N=8 superalgebra\nof Englert et al. This paper extends to supersymmetry the results obtained by\nOsipov in the bosonic case.",
        "positive": "Boundary action of free AdS higher-spin gauge fields and the holographic\n  correspondence: We determine the boundary terms of the free higher-spin action which\nreproduce the AdS Fronsdal equations in an AdS manifold with a finite distance\nboundary. The boundary terms are further constrained by the gauge invariance of\nthe total action. We show that, for spins larger than two, no local boundary\nterm can restore the full gauge symmetry, and the broken symmetry corresponds\nto higher-spin Weyl transformations on the boundary CFT. The boundary action is\nused for the evaluation of the on-shell higher-spin AdS action in terms of the\nboundary data given by a conformal higher-spin field."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Classification of Supersymmetric Flux Vacua in M Theory: We present a comprehensive classification of supersymmetric vacua of M-theory\ncompactification on seven-dimensional manifolds with general four-form fluxes.\nWe analyze the cases where the resulting four-dimensional vacua have N =\n1,2,3,4 supersymmetry and the internal space allows for SU(2), SU(3) or G_2\nstructures. In particular, we find for N = 2 supersymmetry, that the external\nspace-time is Minkowski and the base manifold of the internal space is\nconformally K\\\"ahler for SU(2) structures, while for SU(3) structures the\ninternal space has to be Einstein-Sasaki and no internal fluxes are allowed.\nMoreover, we provide a new vacuum with N = 1 supersymmetry and SU(3) structure,\nwhere all fluxes are non-zero and the first order differential equations are\nsolved.",
        "positive": "Gravitational Thermodynamics of Causal Diamonds in (A)dS: The static patch of de Sitter spacetime and the Rindler wedge of Minkowski\nspacetime are causal diamonds admitting a true Killing field, and they behave\nas thermodynamic equilibrium states under gravitational perturbations. We\nexplore the extension of this gravitational thermodynamics to all causal\ndiamonds in maximally symmetric spacetimes. Although such diamonds generally\nadmit only a conformal Killing vector, that seems in all respects to be\nsufficient. We establish a Smarr formula for such diamonds and a \"first law\"\nfor variations to nearby solutions. The latter relates the variations of the\nbounding area, spatial volume of the maximal slice, cosmological constant, and\nmatter Hamiltonian. The total Hamiltonian is the generator of evolution along\nthe conformal Killing vector that preserves the diamond. To interpret the first\nlaw as a thermodynamic relation, it appears necessary to attribute a negative\ntemperature to the diamond, as has been previously suggested for the special\ncase of the static patch of de Sitter spacetime. With quantum corrections\nincluded, for small diamonds we recover the \"entanglement equilibrium\" result\nthat the generalized entropy is stationary at the maximally symmetric vacuum at\nfixed volume, and we reformulate this as the stationarity of free conformal\nenergy with the volume not fixed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Operators with large R charge in N=4 Yang-Mills theory: It has been recently proposed that string theory in the background of a plane\nwave corresponds to a certain subsector of the N=4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills\ntheory. This correspondence follows as a limit of the AdS/CFT duality. As a\nparticular case of the AdS/CFT correspondence, it is a priori a strong/weak\ncoupling duality. However, the predictions for the anomalous dimensions which\nfollow from this particular limit are analytic functions of the 't Hooft\ncoupling constant $\\lambda$ and have a well defined expansion in the weak\ncoupling regime. This allows one to conjecture that the correspondence between\nthe strings on the plane wave background and the Yang-Mills theory works at the\nlevel of perturbative expansions.\n  In our paper we perform perturbative computations in the Yang-Mills theory\nthat confirm this conjecture. We calculate the anomalous dimension of the\noperator corresponding to the elementary string excitation. We verify at the\ntwo loop level that the anomalous dimension has a finite limit when the R\ncharge $J\\to \\infty$ keeping $\\lambda/J^2$ finite. We conjecture that this is\ntrue at higher orders of perturbation theory. We show, by summing an infinite\nsubset of Feynman diagrams, under the above assumption, that the anomalous\ndimensions arising from the Yang-Mills perturbation theory are in agreement\nwith the anomalous dimensions following from the string worldsheet sigma-model.",
        "positive": "Double Yang-Baxter deformation of spinning strings: We study the reduction of classical strings rotating in the deformed\nthree-sphere truncation of the double Yang-Baxter deformation of the\n$\\hbox{AdS}_3 \\times \\hbox{S}^3 \\times \\hbox{T}^4$ background to an integrable\nmechanical model. The use of the generalized spinning-string ansatz leads to an\nintegrable deformation of the Neumann-Rosochatius system. Integrability of this\nsystem follows from the fact that the usual constraints for the Uhlenbeck\nconstants apply to any deformation that respects the isometric coordinates of\nthe three-sphere. We construct solutions to the system in terms of the\nunderlying ellipsoidal coordinate. The solutions depend on the domain of the\ndeformation parameters and the reality conditions of the roots of a fourth\norder polynomial. We obtain constant-radii, giant-magnon and trigonometric\nsolutions when the roots degenerate, and analyze the possible solutions in the\nundeformed limit. In the case where the deformation parameters are purely\nimaginary and the polynomial involves two complex-conjugated roots, we find a\nnew class of solutions. The new class is connected with twofold giant-magnon\nsolutions in the degenerate limit of infinite period."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "NLIE for the Sausage model: The sausage model, first proposed by Fateev, Onofri, and Zamolodchikov, is a\ndeformation of the O(3) sigma model preserving integrability. The target space\nis deformed from the sphere to \"sausage\" shape by a deformation parameter \\nu.\nThis model is defined by a factorizable S-matrix which is obtained by deforming\nthat of the O(3) sigma model by a parameter \\lambda. Clues for the deformed\nsigma model are provided by various UV and IR information through the\nthermodynamic Bethe ansatz (TBA) analysis based on the S-matrix. Application of\nTBA to the sausage model is, however, limited to the case of 1/\\lambda integer\nwhere the coupled integral equations can be truncated to a finite number. In\nthis paper, we propose a finite set of nonliear integral equations (NLIEs),\nwhich are applicable to generic value of \\lambda. Our derivation is based on\nT-Q relations extracted from the truncated TBA equations. For consistency\ncheck, we compute next-leading order corrections of the vacuum energy and\nextract the S-matrix information in the IR limit. We also solved the NLIE both\nanalytically and numerically in the UV limit to get the effective central\ncharge and compared with that of the zero-mode dynamics to obtain exact\nrelation between \\nu and \\lambda.\n  This paper is a tribute to the memory of Prof. Petr Kulish.",
        "positive": "Chiral Green's Functions in Superconformal Field Theory: By solving the Ward identities in a superconformal field theory we find the\nunique three-point Green's functions composed of chiral superfields for N =\n1,2,3,4 supersymmetry. We show that the N=1 four-point function with R-charge\nequal to one is uniquely determined by the Ward identities up to the\nspecification of four constants. We discuss why chiral Green's functions above\nthree-points, with total R-charge greater than N, are not uniquely determined."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supergravity currents and linearized interactions for Matrix Theory\n  configurations with fermionic backgrounds: The leading terms in the long-range interaction potential between an\narbitrary pair of matrix theory objects are calculated at one-loop order. This\nresult generalizes previous calculations by including arbitrary fermionic\nbackground field configurations. The interaction potential at orders 1/r^7 and\n1/r^8 is shown to correspond precisely with the leading terms expected from\nlinearized supergravity interactions between arbitrary objects in M-theory.\nGeneral expressions for the stress tensor, membrane current and 5-brane current\nof an arbitrary matrix configuration are derived, including fermionic\ncontributions. Supergravity effects which are correctly reproduced include\nmembrane/5-brane interactions, 0-brane/6-brane interactions,\nsupercurrent/supercurrent interactions and the spin contributions to moments of\nthe supergravity currents. The matrix theory description of the supergravity\nstress tensor, membrane current and 5-brane current are used to propose an\nexplicit formulation of matrix theory in an arbitrary background metric and\n3-form field.",
        "positive": "Signals of Confinement in the Dyson-Schwinger Equation for the Gauge\n  Boson Propagator: In the first part of this thesis a coupled truncated set of Dyson-Schwinger\nequations (DSEs) including the one for the gluon-propagator is solved\nself-consistently over the whole momentum range. In Landau gauge the truncation\nof the coupled set of DSEs for the ghost and gluon propagators is improved by\nthe first full inclusion of the sunset diagram. A solution method which avoids\nall overlapping divergences is presented. In the Maximal Abelian gauge a\ntruncation is developed with respectively one infrared and one ultraviolet\nleading diagram included. A first solution of the ghost equation is presented.\nIn the second part generalizations of the Kugo-Ojima confinement scenario to\nother gauges than the linear covariant gauge are investigated. In the\ngeneralized covariant gauge no contradiction is found by using a Faddeev-Popov\nconjugation invariant assignment of the asymptotic fields. In the last section\na gauge-independent generalized criterion is developed which allows for the\nidentification of the Coulomb, Higgs- and confining phases of Yang-Mills theory\nin terms of the infrared limit of the Dyson-Schwinger equation of the gauge\nboson propagator. While in a Coulomb phase the photon is massless, dominating\nthe infrared of the equation, in the Higgs phase this equation is dominated by\nthe physical mass of the gauge boson. In the confining phase the equation is\nsaturated by unphysical degrees of freedom in the infrared limit only. This\nproposal is tested in a variety of gauges and the corresponding unphysical\nterms are identified."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Natural F-theory constructions of Standard Model structure from $E_7$\n  flux breaking: We describe a broad class of 4D F-theory models in which an $E_7$ gauge group\nis broken through fluxes to the Standard Model gauge group. These models are\nubiquitous in the 4D F-theory landscape and can arise from flux breaking of\nmost models with $E_7$ factors. While in many cases the $E_7$ breaking leads to\nexotic matter, there are large families of models in which the Standard Model\ngauge group and chiral matter representations are obtained through an\nintermediate $\\mathrm{SU}(5)$ group. The number of generations of matter\nappearing in these models can easily be small. We demonstrate the possibility\nof getting three generations of chiral matter as the preferred matter content.",
        "positive": "The Yang-Mills theory as a massless limit of a massive nonabelian gauge\n  model: A gauge invariant infrared regularization of the Yang-Mills theory applicable\nbeyond perturbation theory is constructed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Black Hole Meiosis: The enumeration of BPS bound states in string theory needs refinement.\nStudying partition functions of particles made from D-branes wrapped on\nalgebraic Calabi-Yau 3-folds, and classifying states using split attractor flow\ntrees, we extend the method for computing a refined BPS index, arXiv:0810.4301.\nFor certain D-particles, a finite number of microstates, namely polar states,\nexclusively realized as bound states, determine an entire partition function\n(elliptic genus). This underlines their crucial importance: one might call them\nthe `chromosomes' of a D-particle or a black hole. As polar states also can be\naffected by our refinement, previous predictions on elliptic genera are\nmodified. This can be metaphorically interpreted as `crossing-over in the\nmeiosis of a D-particle'. Our results improve on hep-th/0702012, provide\nnon-trivial evidence for a strong split attractor flow tree conjecture, and\nthus suggest that we indeed exhaust the BPS spectrum. In the D-brane\ndescription of a bound state, the necessity for refinement results from the\nfact that tachyonic strings split up constituent states into `generic' and\n`special' states. These are enumerated separately by topological invariants,\nwhich turn out to be partitions of Donaldson-Thomas invariants. As modular\npredictions provide a check on many of our results, we have compelling evidence\nthat our computations are correct.",
        "positive": "M-theory on Calabi-Yau Five-Folds: We study the compactification of M-theory on Calabi-Yau five-folds and the\nresulting N=2 super-mechanics theories. By explicit reduction from 11\ndimensions, including both bosonic and fermionic terms, we calculate the\none-dimensional effective action and show that it can be derived from an N=2\nsuper-space action. We find that the Kahler and complex structure moduli of the\nfive-fold reside in 2a and 2b super-multiplets, respectively. Constrained 2a\nsuper-multiplets arise from zero-modes of the M-theory three-form and lead to\ncross-couplings between 2a and 2b multiplets. Fermionic zero modes which arise\nfrom the (1,3) sector of the 11-dimensional gravitino do not have bosonic\nsuper-partners and have to be described by purely fermionic super-multiplets in\none dimension. We also study the inclusion of flux and discuss the consistency\nof the scalar potential with one-dimensional N=2 supersymmetry and how it can\nbe described in terms of a superpotential. This superpotential can also be\nobtained from a Gukov-type formula which we present. Supersymmetric vacua,\nobtained by solving the F-term equations, always have vanishing vacuum energy\ndue to the form of this scalar potential. We show that such supersymmetric\nsolutions exist for particular examples. Two substantial appendices develop the\ntopology and geometry of Calabi-Yau five-folds and the structure of\none-dimensional N=2 supersymmetry and supergravity to the level of generality\nrequired for our purposes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "An approach to the quasi-equilibrium state of a self-gravitating system: We propose an approach to find out when a self-gravitating system is in a\nquasi-equilibrium state. This approach is based on a comparison between two\nquantities identifying behavior of the system: a measure of interactions\nintensity and the area. Gravitational scattering cross section of the system,\ndefined by using the two-particle scattering cross section formula, is\nconsidered as the measure of interactions intensity here. A quasi-equilibrium\nstate of such system is considered as a state when there is a balance between\nthese two quantities. As a result, we obtain an equation which relates density\nand temperature for such a system in the non-relativistic classical limit. This\nequation is consistent with the TOV equation as expected.",
        "positive": "Quantum Tachyon Dynamics: It is suggested that charged tachyons of extremely large mass M could not\nonly contribute to the dark matter needed to fit astrophysical observations,\nbut could also provide an explanation for gamma ray bursts and ultra high\nenergy cosmic rays. The present paper defines a quantum field theory of\ntachyons, the latter similar to ordinary leptons, but with momenta larger than\nenergy."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Integrable coupled sigma-models: A systematic procedure for constructing classical integrable field theories\nwith arbitrarily many free parameters is outlined. It is based on the recent\ninterpretation of integrable field theories as realisations of affine Gaudin\nmodels. In this language, one can associate integrable field theories with\naffine Gaudin models having arbitrarily many sites. We present the result of\napplying this general procedure to couple together an arbitrary number of\nprincipal chiral model fields on the same Lie group, each with a Wess-Zumino\nterm.",
        "positive": "Critical behavior of charged AdS black holes surrounded by quintessence\n  via an alternative phase space: Considering the variable cosmological constant in the extended phase space\nhas a significant background in the black hole physics. It was shown that the\nthermodynamic behavior of charged AdS black hole surrounded by the quintessence\nin the extended phase space is similar to the van der Waals fluid. In this\npaper, we indicate that such a black hole admits the same criticality and van\nder Waals like behavior in the non-extended phase space. In other words, we\nkeep the cosmological constant as a fixed parameter, and instead, we consider\nthe normalization factor as a thermodynamic variable. We show that there is a\nfirst-order small/large black hole phase transition which is analogous to the\nliquid/gas phase transition in fluids. We introduce a new picture of the\nequation of state and then we calculate the corresponding critical quantities.\nMoreover, we obtain the critical exponents and show that they are the same\nvalues as the van der Waals system. Finally, we study the photon sphere and the\nshadow observed by a distant observer and investigate how the shadow radius may\nbe affected by the variation of black hole parameters. We also investigate the\nrelations between shadow radius and phase transitions and calculate the\ncritical shadow radius where the black hole undergoes a second-order phase\ntransition."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Seiberg duality in three dimensions: We analyze three dimensional gauge theories with $Sp$ gauge group. We find\nthat in some regime the theory should be described in terms of a dual theory,\nvery much in the spirit of Seiberg duality in four dimensions. This duality\ndoes not coincide with mirror symmetry.",
        "positive": "The gauge structure of generalised diffeomorphisms: We investigate the generalised diffeomorphisms in M-theory, which are gauge\ntransformations unifying diffeomorphisms and tensor gauge transformations.\nAfter giving an En(n)-covariant description of the gauge transformations and\ntheir commutators, we show that the gauge algebra is infinitely reducible,\ni.e., the tower of ghosts for ghosts is infinite. The Jacobiator of generalised\ndiffeomorphisms gives such a reducibility transformation. We give a concrete\ndescription of the ghost structure, and demonstrate that the infinite sums give\nthe correct (regularised) number of degrees of freedom. The ghost towers belong\nto the sequences of rep- resentations previously observed appearing in tensor\nhierarchies and Borcherds algebras. All calculations rely on the section\ncondition, which we reformulate as a linear condition on the cotangent\ndirections. The analysis holds for n < 8. At n = 8, where the dual gravity\nfield becomes relevant, the natural guess for the gauge parameter and its\nreducibility still yields the correct counting of gauge parameters."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Contrasting confinement in superQCD and superconductors: The vacuum of supersymmetric gauge theories (SQCD) with N=2 softly broken to\nN=1 resembles that of a BCS superconductor in that it has a condensate which\ncollimates flux into vortices, leading to confinement. We embed the SQCD vortex\ninto the BCS theory by identifying the N=1 vector multiplet mass and lightest\nmassive chiral multiplet mass with the Fermi velocity divided by the London\npenetration depth and coherence length respectively. Thus embedded the\nsuperconductivity is type I and so the vortex core is smaller than the\ncoherence length. Therefore nonlocal effects (Pippard electrodynamics) imply\nthat the vortex solution is beyond the range of validity of the Landau-Ginzburg\napproximation implicit in the gauge theory. In other words, the vortex solution\ncontains gradients greater than those for which the BCS and gauge theory\ndescriptions agree. We consider more general superpotentials which are\npolynomial in the chiral multiplets and find that, unless one adds a SUSY\nbreaking sector, one obtains type II superconductivity only when the\nsuperpotential perturbation is at least quadratic in the fundamental chiral\nmultiplets and at least linear in the adjoint chiral multiplets, in which case\nthere is no N=2 supersymmetry in the ultraviolet.",
        "positive": "Ambitwistor formulations of $R^2$ gravity and $(DF)^2$ gauge theories: We consider $D$-dimensional amplitudes in $R^2$ gravities (conformal gravity\nin $D=4$) and in the recently introduced $(DF)^2$ gauge theory, from the\nperspective of the CHY formulae and ambitwistor string theory. These theories\nare related through the BCJ double-copy construction, and the $(DF)^2$ gauge\ntheory obeys color-kinematics duality. We work out the worldsheet details of\nthese theories and show that they admit a formulation as integrals on the\nsupport of the scattering equations, or alternatively, as ambitwistor string\ntheories. For gravity, this generalizes the work done by Berkovits and Witten\non conformal gravity to $D$ dimensions. The ambitwistor is also interpreted as\na $D$-dimensional generalization of Witten's twistor string (SYM + conformal\nsupergravity). As part of our ambitwistor investigation, we discover another\n$(DF)^2$ gauge theory containing a photon that couples to Einstein gravity.\nThis theory can provide an alternative KLT description of Einstein gravity\ncompared to the usual Yang-Mills squared."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "D-particle polarizations with multipole moments of higher-dimensional\n  branes: We study the polarization states of the D0-brane in type IIA string theory.\nIn addition to states with angular momentum and magnetic dipole moments, there\nare polarization states of a single D0-brane with nonzero D2-brane dipole and\nmagnetic H-dipole moments, as well as quadrupole and higher moments of various\ncharges. These fundamental moments of the D0-brane polarization states can be\ndetermined directly from the linearized couplings of background fields to the\nD0-brane world-volume fermions. These couplings determine the long range\nsupergravity fields produced by a general polarization state, which typically\nhave non-zero values for all the bosonic fields of type IIA supergravity. We\ndemonstrate the precise cancellation between spin-spin and magnetic\ndipole-dipole interactions and an analogous cancellation between 3-form and\nH-field dipole-dipole interactions for a pair of D0-branes. The first of these\ncancellations follows from the fact that spinning D0-brane states have\ngyromagnetic ratio g = 1, and the second follows from the fact that the ratio\nbetween the 3-form and H-field dipole moments is also 1 in natural units. Both\nof these relationships can be seen immediately from the couplings in the\nD0-brane world-volume action.",
        "positive": "Three-point correlators of twist-2 operators in N=4 SYM at Born\n  approximation: We calculate two different types of 3-point correlators involving twist-2\noperators in the leading weak coupling approximation and all orders in N_c in\nN=4 SYM theory. Each of three operators in the first correlator can be any\ncomponent of twist-2 supermultiplet, though the explicit calculation was done\nfor a particular component which is an SU(4) singlet. It is calculated in the\nleading, Born approximation for arbitrary spins j_1,j_2,j_3. The result\nsignificantly simplifies when at least one of the spins is large or equal to\nzero and the coordinates are restricted to the 2d plane spanned by two\nlight-rays. The second correlator involves two twist-2 operators Tr\nX\\nabla^{j_1}X +..., Tr Z\\nabla^{j_2}Z+... and one Konishi operator Tr[\\bar\nZ,\\bar X]^2. It vanishes in the lowest g^0 order and is computed at the leading\ng^2 approximation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Complex Path Integrals and the Space of Theories: The Feynman Path Integral is extended in order to capture all solutions of a\nquantum field theory. This is done via a choice of appropriate integration\ncycles, parametrized by M in SL(2,C), i.e., the space of allowed integration\ncycles is related to certain Dp-branes and their properties, which can be\nfurther understood in terms of the \"physical states\" of another theory. We also\nlook into representations of the Feynman Path Integral in terms of a\nMellin-Barnes transform, bringing the singularity structure of the theory to\nthe foreground. This implies that, as a sum over paths, we should consider more\ngeneric paths than just Brownian ones. Finally, we are able to study the Space\nof Theories through our examples in terms of their Quantum Phases and\nassociated Stokes' Phenomena (wall-crossing).",
        "positive": "Affleck-Dine Baryogenesis in Effective Supergravity: We investigate the viability of Affleck-Dine baryogenesis in D=4, N=1\nsupergravity descending from string theory. The process relies on an initial\ncondition where visible sector supersymmetric flat directions obtain tachyonic\nmasses during inflation. We discuss this condition for a variety of cases where\nsupersymmetry is broken during inflation by a geometric modulus or hidden\nsector scalar, and outline scenarios where the initial condition is satisfied."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauge Theory And Wild Ramification: The gauge theory approach to the geometric Langlands program is extended to\nthe case of wild ramification. The new ingredients that are required, relative\nto the tamely ramified case, are differential operators with irregular\nsingularities, Stokes phenomena, isomonodromic deformation, and, from a\nphysical point of view, new surface operators associated with higher order\nsingularities.",
        "positive": "Uses of Sigma Models: This is a brief review of some of the uses of nonlinear sigma models. After a\nshort general discussion touching on point particles, strings and condensed\nmatter systems, focus is shifted to sigma models as probes of target space\ngeometries. The relation of supersymmetric non-linear sigma models to K\\\"ahler,\nhyperk\\\"ahler, hyperk\\\"ahler with torsion and generalised K\\\"ahler geometries\nis described."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The central dogma and cosmological horizons: The central dogma of black hole physics -- which says that from the outside a\nblack hole can be described in terms of a quantum system with\nexp$(\\text{Area}/4G_N)$ states evolving unitarily -- has recently been\nsupported by computations indicating that the interior of the black hole is\nencoded in the Hawking radiation of the exterior. In this paper, we probe\nwhether such a dogma for cosmological horizons has any support from similar\ncomputations. The fact that the de Sitter bifurcation surface is a minimax\nsurface (instead of a maximin surface) causes problems with this interpretation\nwhen trying to import calculations analogous to the AdS case. This suggests\nanchoring extremal surfaces to the horizon itself, where we formulate a\ntwo-sided extremization prescription and find answers consistent with general\nexpectations for a quantum theory of de Sitter space: vanishing total entropy,\nan entropy of $A/4G_N$ when restricting to a single static patch, an entropy of\na subregion of the horizon which grows as the region size grows until an\nisland-like transition at half the horizon size when the entanglement wedge\nbecomes the entire static patch interior, and a de Sitter version of the\nHartman-Maldacena transition.",
        "positive": "On Fock Space Representations of quantized Enveloping Algebras related\n  to Non-Commutative Differential Geometry: In this paper we construct explicitly natural (from the geometrical point of\nview) Fock space representations (contragradient Verma modules) of the\nquantized enveloping algebras. In order to do so, we start from the Gauss\ndecomposition of the quantum group and introduce the differential operators on\nthe corresponding $q$-deformed flag manifold (asuumed as a left comodule for\nthe quantum group) by a projection to it of the right action of the quantized\nenveloping algebra on the quantum group. Finally, we express the\nrepresentatives of the elements of the quantized enveloping algebra\ncorresponding to the left-invariant vector fields on the quantum group as\nfirst-order differential operators on the $q$-deformed flag manifold."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Functional Callan-Symanzik equation: We describe a functional method to obtain the exact evolution equation of the\neffective action with a parameter of the bare theory. When this parameter\nhappens to be the bare mass of the scalar field, we find a functional\ngeneralization of the Callan-Symanzik equations. Another possibility is when\nthis parameter is the Planck constant and controls the amplitude of the\nfluctuations. We show the similarity of these equations with the Wilsonian\nrenormalization group flows and also recover the usual one loop effective\naction.",
        "positive": "More about wormholes in generalized Galileon theories: We consider a class of generalized Galileon theories within General\nRelativity in space-times of more than two spatial dimensions. We show that\nthese theories do not admit stable, static, spherically symmetric,\nasymptotically flat and traversable Lorentzian wormholes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Linear Dilaton Background and Fully Localized Intersecting Five-branes: We investigate a near-horizon geometry of NS5-branes wrapping on a Riemann\nsurface, which asymptotically approaches to linear dilaton backgrounds. We\nconcretely find a fully localized solution of the near-horizon geometry of\nintersecting NS5-branes. We also discuss a relation to a description of\nLandau-Ginzburg theories.",
        "positive": "Applying the variational principle to (1+1)-dimensional quantum field\n  theories: We extend the recently introduced continuous matrix product state (cMPS)\nvariational class to the setting of (1+1)-dimensional relativistic quantum\nfield theories. This allows one to overcome the difficulties highlighted by\nFeynman concerning the variational procedure applied to relativistic theories,\nand provides a new way to regularize quantum field theories. A fermionic\nversion of the continuous matrix product state is introduced which is\nmanifestly free from fermion doubling and sign problems. We illustrate the\npower of the formalism with the simulation of free massive Dirac fermions, the\nGross-Neveu model, and the Casimir effect. We find that cMPS can capture chiral\nsymmetry breaking with absolute scaling of the chiral parameter, and that\nboundary effects can be accommodated with modest computational effort."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Equivalence between various versions of the self-dual action of the\n  Ashtekar formalism: Different aspects of the self-dual (anti-self-dual) action of the Ashtekar\ncanonical formalism are discussed. In particular, we study the equivalences and\ndifferences between the various versions of such an action. Our analysis may be\nuseful for the development of an Ashtekar formalism in eight dimensions.",
        "positive": "Floccinaucinihilipilification: Semisimple extensions of the Standard\n  Model gauge algebra: We show how one may classify all semisimple algebras containing the\n$\\mathfrak{su}(3)\\oplus \\mathfrak{su}(2) \\oplus \\mathfrak{u}(1)$ symmetry of\nthe Standard Model and acting on some given matter sector, enabling theories\nbeyond the Standard Model with unification (partial or total) of symmetries\n(gauge or global) to be catalogued. With just a single generation of Standard\nModel fermions plus a singlet neutrino, the only {gauge} symmetries correspond\nto the well-known algebras $\\mathfrak{su}(5),\\mathfrak{so}(10),$ and\n$\\mathfrak{su}(4)\\oplus \\mathfrak{su}(2) \\oplus \\mathfrak{su}(2)$, but with two\nor more generations a limited number of exotic symmetries mixing flavour,\ncolour, and electroweak degrees of freedom become possible. We provide a\ncomplete catalogue in the case of 3 generations or fewer and outline how our\nmethod generalizes to cases with additional matter."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Lorentz harmonics and superfield action. D=10, N=1 superstring: We propose a new version of the superfield action for a closed D=10, N=1\nsuperstring where the Lorentz harmonics are used as auxiliary superfields. The\nincorporation of Lorentz harmonics into the superfield action makes possible to\nobtain superfield constraints of the induced worldsheet supergravity as\nequations of motion. Moreover, it becomes evident that a so-called 'Wess-Zumino\npart' of the superfield action is basically a Lagrangian form of the\ngeneralized action principle. We propose to use the second Noether theorem to\nhandle the essential terms in the transformation lows of hidden gauge\nsymmetries, which remove dynamical degrees of freedom from the Lagrange\nmultiplier superfield.",
        "positive": "The Exact Effective Couplings of 4D N=2 gauge theories: The anomalous dimensions of operators in the purely gluonic SU(2,1|2) sector\nof any planar conformal N=2 theory can be read off from the N=4 SYM results by\nreplacing the N=4 coupling constant by an interpolating function of the N=2\ncoupling constants, to which we refer to as the effective coupling. For a large\nclass of N=2 theories we compute the weak coupling expansion of these functions\nas well as the leading strong coupling term by employing supersymmetric\nlocalization. Via Feynman diagrams, we interpret our results as the relative\n(between N=2 and N=4) finite renormalization of the coupling constant. Using\nthe AdS/CFT dictionary, we identify the effective couplings with the effective\nstring tensions of the corresponding gravity dual theories. Thus, any\nobservable in the SU(2,1|2) sector can be obtained from its N=4 counterpart by\nreplacing the N=4 coupling constant by the universal, for a given theory,\neffective coupling."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Superconformal Calogero models as a gauged matrix mechanics: We present basics of the gauged superfield approach to constructing\nN-superconformal multi-particle Calogero-type systems developed in\narXiv:0812.4276, arXiv:0905.4951 and arXiv:0912.3508. This approach is\nillustrated by the multi-particle systems possessing SU(1,1|1) and\nD(2,1;\\alpha) supersymmetries, as well as by the model of new N=4\nsuperconformal quantum mechanics.",
        "positive": "Interacting Thermofield Doubles and Critical Behavior in Random Regular\n  Graphs: We discuss numerically the non-perturbative effects in exponential random\ngraphs which are analogue of eigenvalue instantons in matrix models. The phase\nstructure of exponential random graphs with chemical potential for 4-cycles and\ndegree preserving constraint is clarified. The first order phase transition at\ncritical value of chemical potential for 4-cycles into bipartite phase with a\nformation of fixed number of bipartite clusters is found for ensemble of random\nregular graphs (RRG). We consider the similar phase transition in combinatorial\nquantum gravity based of the Ollivier graph curvature for RRG supplemented with\nhard-core constraint and show that a order of a phase transition and the\nstructure of emerging phase depend on a vertex degree d in RRG. For d = 3 the\nbipartite closed ribbon emerges at bipartite phase while for d > 3 the ensemble\nof isolated or weakly interacting hypercubes supplemented with the bipartite\nclosed ribbon gets emerged at the first order phase transition with a clear-cut\nhysteresis. If the additional connectedness condition is imposed the bipartite\nphase gets identified as the closed chain of weakly coupled hypercubes. Since\nthe ground state of isolated hypercube is the thermofield double (TFD) we\nsuggest that the dual holographic picture involves multiboundary wormholes.\nTreating RRG as a model of a Hilbert space for a interacting many-body system\nwe discuss the patterns of the Hilbert space fragmentation at the phase\ntransition. We also briefly comment on a possible relation of the found phase\ntransition to the problem of holographic interpretation of a partial\ndeconfinement transition in the gauge theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dual gravitational charges and soft theorems: We consider the consequences of the dual gravitational charges for the phase\nspace of radiating modes, and find that they imply a new soft NUT theorem. In\nparticular, we argue that the existence of these new charges removes the need\nfor imposing boundary conditions at spacelike infinity that would otherwise\npreclude the existence of NUT charges.",
        "positive": "A Remark on Witten Effect for QCD Monopoles in Matrix Quantum Mechanics: In a recent work (hep-th/9905198) we argued that a certain matrix quantum\nmechanics may describe 't Hooft's monopoles which emerge in QCD when the theory\nis projected to its maximal Abelian subgroup. In this note we find further\nevidence which supports this interpretation. We study the theory with a\nnon-zero theta-term. In this case, 't Hooft's QCD monopoles become dyons since\nthey acquire electric charges due to the Witten effect. We calculate a\npotential between a dyon and an anti-dyon in the matrix quantum mechanics, and\nfind that the attractive force between them grows as the theta angle increases."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Hall fluids in the presence of topological defects: We review our recent results on the physics of quantum Hall fluids at Jain\nand non conventional fillings within a general field theoretic framework. We\nfocus on a peculiar conformal field theory (CFT), the one obtained by means of\nthe m-reduction technique, and stress its power in describing strongly\ncorrelated low dimensional condensed matter systems in the presence of\nlocalized impurities or topological defects. By exploiting the notion of Morita\nequivalence for field theories on noncommutative two-tori and choosing rational\nvalues of the noncommutativity parameter, we find a general one-to-one\ncorrespondence between the m-reduced conformal field theory describing the\nquantum Hall fluid and an Abelian noncommutative field theory. As an example of\napplication of the formalism, we study a quantum Hall bilayer at\nnonconventional fillings in the presence of a localized topological defect and\nbriefly recall its boundary state structure corresponding to two different\nboundary conditions, the periodic as well as the twisted boundary conditions\nrespectively, which give rise to different topological sectors on a torus. Then\nwe introduce generalized magnetic translation operators as tensor products,\nwhich act on the quantum Hall fluid and defect space respectively, and compute\ntheir action on the boundary partition functions: in this way their role as\nboundary condition changing operators is fully evidenced. From such results we\ninfer the general structure of generalized magnetic translations in our model\nand clarify the deep relation between noncommutativity and non-Abelian\nstatistics of quasi-hole excitations, which is crucial for physical\nimplementations of topological quantum computing.",
        "positive": "Differential Geometry and Integrability of the Hamiltonian System of a\n  Closed Vortex Filament: The system of a closed vortex filament is an integrable Hamiltonian one,\nnamely, a Hamiltonian system with an infinite sequense of constants of motion\nin involution. An algebraic framework is given for the aim of describing\ndifferential geometry of this system. A geometrical structure related to the\nintegrability of this system is revealed. It is not a bi-Hamiltonian structure\nbut similar one. As a related topic, a remark on the inspection of J.Langer and\nR.Perline, J.Nonlinear Sci.1, 71 (1991), is given."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Duality Symmetric Strings, Dilatons and O(d,d) Effective Actions: We calculate the background field equations for the T-duality symmetric\nstring building on previous work by including the effect of the Dilaton up to\ntwo-loops. Inclusion of the Dilaton allows us to obtain the full beta\nfunctionals of the duality symmetric sigma model. We are able to interpret the\nresult in terms of a dimensionally reduced O(d,d) invariant target space\neffective action.",
        "positive": "Bosonic-type S-Matrix, Vacuum Instability and CDD Ambiguities: We consider the simplest bosonic-type S-matrix which is usually regarded as\nunphysical due to the complex values of the finite volume ground state energy.\nWhile a standard quantum field theory interpretation of such a scattering\ntheory is precluded, we argue that the physical situation described by this\nS-matrix is of a massive Ising model perturbed by a particular set of\nirrelevant operators. The presence of these operators drastically affects the\nstability of the original vacuum of the massive Ising model and its ultraviolet\nproperties."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Renormalization group improvement of the effective potential in six\n  dimensions: Using the renormalization group improvement technique, we study the effective\npotential of a model consisting of $N$ scalar fields $\\phi^i$ transforming in\nthe fundamental representation of $O(N)$ group coupled to an additional scalar\nfield $\\sigma$ via cubic interactions, defined in a six-dimensional spacetime.\nWe find that the model presents a metastable vacuum, that can be long-lived,\nwhere the particles become massive. The existence of attractive and repulsive\ninteractions plays a crucial role in such phenomena.",
        "positive": "T-duality and Gauge Theories from Near Horizon Dp-branes: We study the significance of T-duality in the context of the gravitational\ndescription of gauge theories. We found that T-duality relates the deferents\npoints of the moduli of a given gauge theory always far from the conformal\nfixed point. Also the described gauge theories seems to flow naturally to the\nable conformal points, those that naturally saturate all the possible known\nexamples of near horizon geometries. Supersymmetry properties and T-duality\nbreaking of it are discuss."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spontaneous supersymmetry breaking in N=3 supergravity with matter: In this paper we investigate the problem of spontaneous supersymmetry\nbreaking without a cosmological term in $N=3$ supergravity with matter vector\nmultiplets, scalar fields geometry being $SU(3,m)/SU(3)\\otimes SU(m)\\otimes\nU(1)$. At first, we consider the case of minimal coupling with different\npossible gaugings (compact as well as non-compact). Then we show that there\nexist dual version of such a theory (with the same scalar field geometry),\nwhich turns out to be the generalization of the $N=3$ hidden sector,\nconstructed some time ago by one of us, to the case of arbitrary number of\nvector multiplets. We demonstrate that spontaneous supersymmetry breaking is\nstill possible in the presence of matter multiplets.",
        "positive": "Scalar potential in F(R) supergravity: We derive a scalar potential in the recently proposed N=1 supersymmetric\ngeneralization of f(R) gravity in four space-time dimensions. Any such\nhigher-derivative supergravity is classically equivalent to the standard N=1\nsupergravity coupled to a chiral (matter) superfield, via a Legendre-Weyl\ntransform in superspace. The Kaehler potential, the superpotential and the\nscalar potential of that theory are all governed by a single holomorphic\nfunction. We also find the conditions for the vanishing cosmological constant\nand spontaneous supersymmetry breaking, without fine-tuning, which define a\nno-scale F(R) supergravity. The F(R) supergravities are suitable for physical\napplications in the inflationary cosmology based on supergravity and\nsuperstrings."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "N-flation: The presence of many axion fields in four-dimensional string vacua can lead\nto a simple, radiatively stable realization of chaotic inflation.",
        "positive": "On the glueball spectrum of walking backgrounds from wrapped-D5 gravity\n  duals: We compute the mass spectrum of glueball excitations of a special class of\nstrongly-coupled field theories via their type-IIB supergravity dual. We focus\non two subclasses of backgrounds, which have different UV-asymptotics, but both\nof which exhibit walking behavior, in the weak sense that the gauge coupling of\nthe dual field theory exhibits a quasi-constant behavior at strong coupling\nover a range of energies, before diverging in the deep IR. We improve on\nearlier calculations, by making use of the fully rigorous treatment of the\n5-dimensional consistent truncation, including the rigorous form of the\nboundary conditions. In both cases there is a parametrically light scalar\nglueball. In the first case, this is a physical state, while in the second case\nthis result is unphysical, since the presence of higher-order operators in the\ndual field theory makes the whole (physical) spectrum depend explicitly on a\n(unphysical) UV-cutoff scale."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Equivalence between SRS and PCO Formulations of Superstring\n  Perturbation Theory: We establish the equivalence between two formulations of superstring\nperturbation theory, one based on integration over the supermoduli space of\nsuper Riemann surfaces (SRS), the other based on integration over the bosonic\nmoduli space with insertions of picture changing operators (PCO) on the\nworldsheet and the vertical integration prescription, by showing how the latter\narises from a specific construction of the supermoduli integration contour.",
        "positive": "Quantum correction to a new Wilson line-based action for Gluodynamics: We discuss a new classical action that enables efficient computation of the\ngluonic tree amplitudes but does not contain any triple point vertices. This\nnew formulation is obtained via a canonical transformation of the light-cone\nYang-Mills action, with the field transformations based on Wilson line\nfunctionals. In addition to MHV vertices, the action contains also\n$\\mathrm{N}^k\\mathrm{MHV}$ vertices, where $1 \\leq k \\leq (n - 4)$, and $n$ is\nthe number of external legs. We computed tree-level amplitudes up to 8 gluons\nand found agreement with standard results. The classical action is however not\nsufficient to obtain rational parts of amplitudes, in particular the finite\namplitudes with all same helicity gluons. In order to systematically develop\nquantum corrections to this new action, we derive the one-loop effective\naction, in such a way there are no quantum contributions missing at one loop."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Lorentz Violating Inflation: We explore the impact of Lorentz violation on the inflationary scenario. More\nprecisely, we study the inflationary scenario in the scalar-vector-tensor\ntheory where the vector is constrained to be unit and time like. It turns out\nthat the Lorentz violating vector affects the dynamics of the chaotic\ninflationary model and divides the inflationary stage into two parts; the\nLorentz violating stage and the standard slow roll stage. We show that the\nuniverse is expanding as an exact de Sitter spacetime in the Lorentz violating\nstage although the inflaton field is rolling down the potential. Much more\ninterestingly, we find exact Lorentz violating inflationary solutions in the\nabsence of the inflaton potential. In this case, the inflation is completely\nassociated with the Lorentz violation. We also mention some consequences of\nLorentz violating inflation which can be tested by observations.",
        "positive": "Effective Action from the Functional Renormalization Group: We study the quantum gravitational system coupled to a charged scalar, Dirac\nfermions, and electromagnetic fields. We use the \"exact\" or \"functional\"\nrenormalization group equation to derive the effective action $\\Gamma_0$ by\nintegrating the flow equation from the ultraviolet scale down to $k=0$. The\nresulting effective action consists of local terms and nonlocal terms with\nunique coefficients."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Magnetic charge quantization from SYM considerations: An intersecting D3-D3' system contains magnetic monopole solutions due to D-\nstrings stretched between two branes. These magnetic charges satisfy the usual\nDirac quantization relation. We show that this quantization condition can also\nbe obtained directly by SUSY and gauge invariance arguments of the theory and\nconclude that the independence of physics from a shift of holonomy is exactly\nequivalent to regarding a {\\it Fayet-Iliopoulos (FI) gauge} for our set-up. So\nwe are led to conjecture that there is a correspondence between the topological\npoint of view of magnetic charges and SYM considerations of their theories.\nThis picture implies that one can attribute a definite quantity to the\nintegration of the vector multiplet over the singular region such that we can\nidentify it with magnetic flux. It also indicates that the FI parameter is\nproportional to the magnetic charge so it is a quantized number.",
        "positive": "M-theory, Cosmological Constant and Anthropic Principle: We discuss the theory of dark energy based on maximally extended supergravity\nand suggest a possible anthropic explanation of the present value of the\ncosmological constant and of the observed ratio between dark energy and energy\nof matter."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Complex Multiplication of Exactly Solvable Calabi-Yau Varieties: We propose a conceptual framework that leads to an abstract characterization\nfor the exact solvability of Calabi-Yau varieties in terms of abelian varieties\nwith complex multiplication. The abelian manifolds are derived from the\ncohomology of the Calabi-Yau manifold, and the conformal field theoretic\nquantities of the underlying string emerge from the number theoretic structure\ninduced on the varieties by the complex multiplication symmetry. The geometric\nstructure that provides a conceptual interpretation of the relation between\ngeometry and the conformal field theory is discrete, and turns out to be given\nby the torsion points on the abelian varieties.",
        "positive": "Sharpened Information-Theoretic Uncertainty Relations and the Histories\n  Approach to Quantum Mechanics: In this paper alternative formulations of the conventional uncertainty\nrelation are studied in the context of decoherent histories. The results are\ngiven in terms of Shannon information. A variety of methods are developed to\nevaluate the upper bound for the probability of two or more projection\nhistories. The methods employed give improved limits for the maximal achievable\nprobability and an improved lower bound for the Shannon information.\n  The results are then applied to a number of physically relevant situations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spontaneously Broken Lorentz Invariance in Three-Dimensional Gauge\n  Theories: In a wide class of three-dimensional Abelian gauge theories with a bare\nChern-Simons term, the Lorentz invariance is spontaneously broken by dynamical\ngeneration of a non-vanishing magnetic field. A detailed computation of an\nenergy density of the true vacuum is given. The originally massive photon\nbecomes massless, fulfilling the role of a Nambu-Goldstone boson associated\nwith the spontaneous breaking of the Lorentz invariance.",
        "positive": "Dirac Gauginos, Negative Supertraces and Gauge Mediation: In an attempt to maximize General Gauge Mediated parameter space, I propose\nsimple models in which gauginos and scalars are generated from disconnected\nmechanisms. In my models Dirac gauginos are generated through the supersoft\nmechanism, while independent R-symmetric scalar masses are generated through\noperators involving non-zero messenger supertrace. I propose several new\nmethods for generating negative messenger supertraces which result in viable\npositive mass squareds for MSSM scalars. The resultant spectra are novel,\ncompressed and may contain light fermionic SM adjoint fields."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Crossing Symmetric Dispersion Relations for Mellin Amplitudes: We consider manifestly crossing symmetric dispersion relations for Mellin\namplitudes of scalar four point correlators in conformal field theories (CFTs).\nThis allows us to set up the non-perturbative Polyakov bootstrap for CFTs in\nMellin space on a firm foundation, thereby fixing the contact term ambiguities\nin the crossing symmetric blocks. Our new approach employs certain \"locality\"\nconstraints replacing the requirement of crossing symmetry in the usual\nfixed-$t$ dispersion relation. Using these constraints we show that the sum\nrules based on the two channel dispersion relations and the present dispersion\nrelations are identical. Our framework allows us to connect with the\nconceptually rich picture of the Polyakov blocks being Witten diagrams in\nanti-de Sitter (AdS) space. We also give two sided bounds for Wilson\ncoefficients for effective field theories in AdS space.",
        "positive": "Harmonic Superspace: New Directions: We sketch recent applications of the harmonic superspace approach for\noff-shell formulations of $(4,4)$, $2D$ sigma models with torsion and for\nconstructing super KdV hierarchies associated with \"small\" and \"large\" $N=4$\nsuperconformal algebras."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetric Janus solutions in $\u03c9$-deformed N=8 gauged\n  supergravity: We give a large class of supersymmetric Janus solutions in $\\omega$-deformed\n(dyonic) $SO(8)$ maximal gauged supergravity with $\\omega=\\frac{\\pi}{8}$.\nUnlike the purely electric counterpart, the dyonic $SO(8)$ gauged supergravity\nexhibits a richer structure of $AdS_4$ vacua with $N=8,2,1,1$ supersymmetries\nand $SO(8)$, $U(3)$, $G_2$ and $SU(3)$ symmetries, respectively. Similarly,\ndomain walls interpolating among these critical points show a very rich\nstructure as well. In this paper, we show that this gauged supergravity also\naccommodates a number of interesting supersymmetric Janus solutions in the form\nof $AdS_3$-sliced domain walls asymptotically interpolating between the\naforementioned $AdS_4$ geometries. These solutions could be holographically\ninterpreted as two-dimensional conformal defects within the superconformal\nfield theories (SCFTs) of ABJM type dual to the $AdS_4$ vacua. We also give a\nclass of solutions interpolating among the $SO(8)$, $G_2$ and $U(3)$ $AdS_4$\nvacua in the case of $\\omega=0$ which have not previously appeared in the\npresently known Janus solutions of electric $SO(8)$ gauged supergravity.",
        "positive": "Quantum Gates to other Universes: We present a microscopic model of a bridge connecting two large\nAnti-de-Sitter Universes. The Universes admit a holographic description as\nthree-dimensional ${\\cal N}=4$ supersymmetric gauge theories based on large\nlinear quivers, and the bridge is a small rank-$n$ gauge group that acts as a\nmessenger. On the gravity side, the bridge is a piece of a highly-curved\nAdS$_5\\times$S$_5$ throat carrying $n$ units of five-form flux. We derive a\nuniversal expression for the mixing of the two massless gravitons: $M^2 \\simeq\n3n^2 (\\kappa_4^2 + \\kappa_4^{\\prime\\,2})/16\\pi^2$, where $M$ is the mass\nsplitting of the gravitons, $\\kappa_4^2, \\kappa_4^{\\prime\\,2}$ are the\neffective gravitational couplings of the AdS$_4$ Universes, and $n$ is the\nquantized charge of the gate. This agrees with earlier results based on\ndouble-trace deformations, with the important difference that the effective\ncoupling is here quantized. We argue that the apparent non-localities of\nholographic double-trace models are resolved by integrating-in the (scarce)\ndegrees of freedom of the gate."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Resolution of an Entropy Puzzle for 4D non-BPS Black Holes: We show the equality between macroscopic and microscopic black hole entropy\nfor a class of four dimensional non-supersymmetric black holes in ${\\cal N}=2$\nsupergravity theory, up to the first subleading order in their charges. This\nsolves a long standing entropy puzzle for this class of black holes. The\nmacroscopic entropy has been computed in the presence of a newly derived\nhigher-derivative supersymmetric invariant of \\cite{{Butter:2013lta}},\nconnected to the five dimensional supersymmetric Weyl squared Lagrangian.\nMicroscopically, the crucial role in obtaining the equivalence is played by the\nanomalous gauge gravitational Chern-Simons term.",
        "positive": "The Embedding of Superstring Backgrounds in Einstein Gravity: A theorem of differential geometry is employed to locally embed a wide class\nof superstring backgrounds that admit a covariantly constant null Killing\nvector field in eleven-dimensional, Ricci-flat spaces. Included in this class\nare exact type IIB superstring backgrounds with non-trivial Ramond-Ramond\nfields and a class of supersymmetric string waves. The embedding spaces\nrepresent exact solutions to eleven-dimensional, vacuum Einstein gravity. A\nsolution of eleven-dimensional supergravity is also embedded in a\ntwelve--dimensional, Ricci-flat space."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Path Integral for Stochastic Inflation: Non-Perturbative Volume\n  Weighting, Complex Histories, Initial Conditions and the End of Inflation: In this paper we present a path integral formulation of stochastic inflation,\nin which volume weighting can easily be implemented. With an in-depth study of\ninflation in a quartic potential, we investigate how the inflaton evolves and\nhow inflation typically ends both with and without volume weighting. Perhaps\nunexpectedly, complex histories sometimes emerge with volume weighting. The\nreward for this excursion into the complex plane is an insight into how\nvolume-weighted inflation both loses memory of initial conditions and ends via\nslow-roll. The slow-roll end of inflation mitigates certain \"Youngness\nParadox\"-type criticisms of the volume-weighted paradigm. Thus it is perhaps\ntime to rehabilitate proper time volume weighting as a viable measure for\nanswering at least some interesting cosmological questions.",
        "positive": "Quark-Monopole Potentials in Large N Super Yang-Mills: We compute the quark-monopole potential for ${\\cal N}=4$ super Yang-Mills in\nthe large $N$ limit. We find an attractive potential that falls off as 1/L and\nis manifestly invariant under $g\\to 1/g$. The strength of the potential is less\nthan the quark-antiquark and monopole-antimonopole potentials."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chern-Simons Gravity Dual of BCFT: In this paper we provide a Chern-Simons gravity dual of a two dimensional\nconformal field theory on a manifold with boundaries, so called boundary\nconformal field theory (BCFT). We determine the correct boundary action on the\nend of the world brane in the Chern-Simons gauge theory. This reproduces known\nresults of the AdS/BCFT for the Einstein gravity. We also give a prescription\nof calculating holographic entanglement entropy by employing Wilson lines which\nextend from the AdS boundary to the end of the world brane. We also discuss a\nhigher spin extension of our formulation.",
        "positive": "Quantization of Scalar Field Theory with Internal Symmetry: A simple theoretical model of scalar fields in one spatial dimension with\ninternal symmetry is considered. Assuming the existence of localized classical\nfield configurations, the Schr\\\"{o}dinger picture is used to describe their\nquantum properties. Using the collective coordinates method for the\nSchr\\\"{o}dinger equation allows the development of a perturbation theory that\naccurately describes the symmetry properties of the theory. Examples of $U(1)$\nand $SU (2)$ symmetries are analyzed and the discreteness of the energy of\nbound states is shown as a result of the symmetry of the theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Towards open-closed string duality: Closed Strings as Open String Fields: We establish a translation dictionary between open and closed strings,\nstarting from open string field theory. Under this correspondence, (off-shell)\nlevel-matched closed string states are represented by star algebra projectors\nin open string field theory. Particular attention is paid to the zero mode\nsector, which is indispensable in order to generate closed string states with\nmomentum. As an outcome of our identification, we show that boundary states,\nwhich in closed string theory represent D-branes, correspond to the identity\nstring field in the open string side. It is to be remarked that closed string\ntheory D-branes are thus given by an infinite superposition of star algebra\nprojectors.",
        "positive": "Constraints on 6D Supergravity Theories with Abelian Gauge Symmetry: We study six-dimensional N=(1,0) supergravity theories with abelian, as well\nas non-abelian, gauge group factors. We show that for theories with fewer than\nnine tensor multiplets, the number of possible combinations of gauge groups -\nincluding abelian factors - and non-abelian matter representations is finite.\nWe also identify infinite families of theories with distinct U(1) charges that\ncannot be ruled out using known quantum consistency conditions, though only a\nfinite subset of these can arise from known string constructions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chern-Simons Gauge Theory As A String Theory: Certain two dimensional topological field theories can be interpreted as\nstring theory backgrounds in which the usual decoupling of ghosts and matter\ndoes not hold. Like ordinary string models, these can sometimes be given\nspace-time interpretations. For instance, three-dimensional Chern-Simons gauge\ntheory can arise as a string theory. The world-sheet model in this case\ninvolves a topological sigma model. Instanton contributions to the sigma model\ngive rise to Wilson line insertions in the space-time Chern-Simons theory. A\ncertain holomorphic analog of Chern-Simons theory can also arise as a string\ntheory.",
        "positive": "Holographic metals and the fractionalized Fermi liquid: We show that there is a close correspondence between the physical properties\nof holographic metals near charged black holes in anti-de Sitter (AdS) space,\nand the fractionalized Fermi liquid phase of the lattice Anderson model. The\nlatter phase has a \"small\" Fermi surface of conduction electrons, along with a\nspin liquid of local moments. This correspondence implies that certain\nmean-field gapless spin liquids are states of matter at non-zero density\nrealizing the near-horizon, AdS_2 x R^2 physics of Reissner-Nordstrom black\nholes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Two Field Matter Bounce Cosmology: We re-examine the non-singular Matter Bounce scenario first developed in\n[arXiv:1206.2382], which starts with a matter-dominated period of contraction\nand transitions into an Ekpyrotic phase of contraction. We consider both matter\nfields, the first of which plays the role of regular matter, and the second of\nwhich is responsible for the non-singular bounce. Since the dominant matter\nfield is massive, the induced curvature fluctuations are initially not\nscale-invariant, whereas the fluctuations of the second scalar field (which are\ninitially entropy fluctuations) are scale-invariant. We study the transfer of\nthe initial entropy perturbations into curvature fluctuations in the\nmatter-dominated phase of contraction and show that the latter become nearly\nscale invariant on large scales but are blue tilted on small scales. We study\nthe evolution of both curvature and entropy fluctuations through the bounce,\nand show that both have a scale-invariant spectrum which is blue-tilted on\nsmall scales. However, we find that the entropy fluctuations have an amplitude\nthat is much smaller than that of the curvature perturbations, due to\ngravitational amplification of curvature perturbations during the bounce phase.",
        "positive": "Equivalence between Born-Infeld tachyon and effective real scalar field\n  theories for brane structures in warped geometry: An equivalence between Born-Infeld and effective real scalar field theories\nfor brane structures is built in some specific warped space-time scenarios.\nOnce the equations of motion for tachyon fields related to the Born-Infeld\naction are written as first-order equations, a simple analytical connection\nwith a particular class of real scalar field superpotentials can be found. This\nequivalence leads to the conclusion that, for a certain class of\nsuperpotentials, both systems can support identical thick brane solutions as\nwell as brane structures described through localized energy densities,\n$T_{00}(y)$, in the $5^{th}$ dimension, $y$. Our results indicate that thick\nbrane solutions realized by the Born-Infeld cosmology can be connected to real\nscalar field brane scenarios which can be used to effectively map the tachyon\ncondensation mechanism."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Vacuum decay and internal symmetries: We study the effects of internal symmetries on the decay by bubble nucleation\nof a metastable false vacuum. The zero modes about the bounce solution that are\nassociated with the breaking of continuous internal symmetries result in an\nenhancement of the tunneling rate into vacua in which some of the symmetries of\nthe initial state are spontaneously broken. We develop a general formalism for\nevaluating the effects of these zero modes on the bubble nucleation rate in\nboth flat and curved space-times.",
        "positive": "Form-factors of the sausage model obtained with bootstrap fusion from\n  sine-Gordon theory: We continue the investigation of massive integrable models by means of the\nbootstrap fusion procedure, started in our previous work on O(3) nonlinear\nsigma model. Using the analogy with SU(2) Thirring model and the O(3) nonlinear\nsigma model we prove a similar relation between sine-Gordon theory and a\none-parameter deformation of the O(3) sigma model, the sausage model. This\nallows us to write down a free field representation for the\nZamolodchikov-Faddeev algebra of the sausage model and to construct an integral\nrepresentation for the generating functions of form-factors in this theory. We\nalso clear up the origin of the singularities in the bootstrap construction and\nthe reason for the problem with the kinematical poles."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Conformal Theory of M2, D3, M5 and `D1+D5' Branes: The bosonic actions for M2, D3 and M5 branes in their own d-dimensional\nnear-horizon background are given in a manifestly SO(p+1,2) x SO(d-p-1)\ninvariant form (p=2,3,5). These symmetries result from a breakdown of ISO(d,2)\n(with d=10 for D3 and d=11 for M2 and M5) symmetry by the Wess-Zumino term and\nconstraints. The new brane actions, reduce after gauge-fixing and solving\nconstraints to (p+1) dimensional interacting field theories with a non-linearly\nrealized SO(p+1,2) conformal invariance. We also present an interacting\ntwo-dimensional conformal field theory on a D-string in the near-horizon\ngeometry of a D1+D5 configuration.",
        "positive": "On the analytic computation of massless propagators in dimensional\n  regularization: We comment on the algorithm to compute periods using hyperlogarithms, applied\nto massless Feynman integrals in the parametric representation. Explicitly, we\ngive results for all three-loop propagators with arbitrary insertions including\norder $\\varepsilon^4$ and show examples at four and more loops.\n  Further we prove that all coefficients of the $\\varepsilon$-expansion of\nthese integrals are rational linear combinations of multiple zeta values and in\nsome cases possibly also alternating Euler sums."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Superentropic Black Hole Shadows in Arbitrary Dimensions: We investigate the shadow behaviors of the superentropic black holes in\narbitrary dimensions. Using the Hamilton-Jacobi mechanism, we first obtain the\nassociated null geodesic equations of motion. By help of a spheric\nstereographic projection, we discuss the shadows in terms of one-dimensional\nreal curves. Fixing the mass parameter m, we obtain certain shapes being\nremarkably different than four dimensional geometric configurations. We then\nstudy theirs behaviors by varying the black hole mass parameter. We show that\nthe shadows undergo certain geometric transitions depending on the spacetime\ndimension. In terms of a critical value mc, we find that the four dimensional\nshadows exhibit three configurations being the D-shape, the cardioid and the\nnaked singularity associated with m > mc, m = mc and m < mc, respectively. We\nreveal that the D-shape passes to the naked singularity via a critical curve\ncalled cardioid. In higher dimensions, however, we show that such transitional\nbehaviors are removed.",
        "positive": "More Exact Results in the Wilson Loop Defect CFT: Bulk-Defect OPE,\n  Nonplanar Corrections and Quantum Spectral Curve: We perform exact computations of correlation functions of 1/2-BPS local\noperators and protected operator insertions on the 1/8-BPS Wilson loop in\n$\\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM. This generalizes the results of our previous paper\narXiv:1802.05201, which employs supersymmetric localization, OPE and the\nGram-Schmidt process. In particular, we conduct a detailed analysis for the\n1/2-BPS circular (or straight) Wilson loop in the planar limit, which defines\nan interesting nontrivial defect CFT. We compute its bulk-defect structure\nconstants at finite 't Hooft coupling, and present simple integral expressions\nin terms of the $Q$-functions that appear in the Quantum Spectral Curve---a\nformalism originally introduced for the computation of the operator spectrum.\nThe results at strong coupling are found to be in precise agreement with the\nholographic calculation based on perturbation theory around the AdS$_2$ string\nworldsheet, where they correspond to correlation functions of open string\nfluctuations and closed string vertex operators inserted on the worldsheet.\nAlong the way, we clarify several aspects of the Gram-Schmidt analysis which\nwere not addressed in the previous paper. In particular, we clarify the role\nplayed by the multi-trace operators at the non-planar level, and confirm its\nimportance by computing the non-planar correction to the defect two-point\nfunction. We also provide a formula for the first non-planar correction to the\ndefect correlators in terms of the Quantum Spectral Curve, which suggests the\npotential applicability of the formalism to the non-planar correlation\nfunctions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Solution Space of the Unitary Matrix Model String Equation and the\n  Sato Grassmannian: The space of all solutions to the string equation of the symmetric unitary\none-matrix model is determined. It is shown that the string equation is\nequivalent to simple conditions on points $V_1$ and $V_2$ in the big cell $\\Gr$\nof the Sato Grassmannian $Gr$. This is a consequence of a well-defined\ncontinuum limit in which the string equation has the simple form $\\lb \\cp\n,\\cq_- \\rb =\\hbox{\\rm 1}$, with $\\cp$ and $\\cq_-$ $2\\times 2$ matrices of\ndifferential operators. These conditions on $V_1$ and $V_2$ yield a simple\nsystem of first order differential equations whose analysis determines the\nspace of all solutions to the string equation. This geometric formulation leads\ndirectly to the Virasoro constraints $\\L_n\\,(n\\geq 0)$, where $\\L_n$ annihilate\nthe two modified-KdV $\\t$-functions whose product gives the partition function\nof the Unitary Matrix Model.",
        "positive": "Relaxing to a three dimensional brane junction: We suggest a mechanism which leads to 3+1 space-time dimensions. The Universe\nassumed to have nine spatial dimensions is regarded as a special nonlinear\noscillatory system -- a kind of Einstein solid. There are p-brane solutions\nwhich manifest as phase oscillations separating different phase states. The\npresence of interactions allows for bifurcations of higher dimensional spaces\nto lower dimensional ones in the form of brane junctions. We argue this is a\nnatural way to select lower dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Mixed Symmetries of SPT Phases: Symmetry Protected Topological (SPT) phases describe trivially-acting\nsymmetries. We argue that a symmetry-based description of SPT phases ought to\ninclude the topological twist fields associated to the symmetry. Doing so\nallows us to predict the results of gauging part or all of the symmetries of\nthese theories.",
        "positive": "Renormalisation of \u03c6^4-theory on noncommutative R^4 to all orders: We present the main ideas and techniques of the proof that the\nduality-covariant four-dimensional noncommutative \\phi^4-model is\nrenormalisable to all orders. This includes the reformulation as a dynamical\nmatrix model, the solution of the free theory by orthogonal polynomials as well\nas the renormalisation by flow equations involving power-counting theorems for\nribbon graphs drawn on Riemann surfaces."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Note on Agegraphic Dark Energy: Recently a new model of dynamical dark energy, or time-varying $\\Lambda$, was\nproposed by Cai [arXiv:0707.4049] by relating the energy density of quantum\nfluctuations in a Minkowski space-time, namely $\\rho_q \\equiv 3 n^2 m_P^2/t^2$,\nwhere $n\\sim {\\cal O}(1)$ and t is the cosmic time, to the present day dark\nenergy density. In this note, we show that the model can be adjusted to the\npresent values of dark energy density parameter $\\Omega_q$ ($\\simeq 0.73$) and\nthe equation of state ${\\rm w}\\Z{q}$ ($\\simeq -1$) only if the numerical\ncoefficient $n$ takes a reasonably large value ($n\\gtrsim 3$) or the present\nvalue of the gravitational coupling of q-field to (dark) matter is also\nnonzero, namely, $\\tilde{Q}\\simeq \\frac{2}{n}(\\Omega\\Z{q0})^{3/2}>0$ where\n$\\Omega\\Z{q0}$ is the present value of dark energy density fraction. We also\ndiscuss some of the difficulties of this proposal as a viable dark energy model\nwith a constant $n$; especially, the bound imposed on the dark energy density\nparameter $\\Omega_q <0.1$ during big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) requires $n<\n1/6$. To overcome this drawback, we outline a few modifications where such\nconstraints can be weakened or relaxed. Finally, by establishing a\ncorrespondence between the agegraphic dark energy scenario and the standard\nscalar-field model, we also point out some interesting features of an\nagegraphic quintessence model.",
        "positive": "Geodesic Witten diagrams with an external spinning field: We explore AdS/CFT correspondence between geodesic Witten diagrams and\nconformal blocks (conformal partial waves) with an external symmetric traceless\ntensor field. We derive an expression for the conformal partial wave with an\nexternal spin-1 field and show that this expression is equivalent to the\namplitude of the geodesic Witten diagram. We also show the equivalence by using\nconformal Casimir equation in embedding formalism. Furthermore, we extend the\nconstruction of the amplitude of the geodesic Witten diagram to an external\narbitrary symmetric traceless tensor field. We show our construction agrees\nwith the known result of the conformal partial waves."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Axion Isocurvature Collider: Cosmological colliders can preserve information from interactions at very\nhigh energy scale, and imprint them on cosmological observables. Taking the\nsqueezed limit of cosmological perturbation bispectrum, information of the\nintermediate particle can be directly extracted from observations such as\ncosmological microwave background (CMB). Thus cosmological colliders can be\npowerful and promising tools to test theoretical models. In this paper, we\nstudy extremely light axions (including QCD axions and axion-like-particles),\nand consider them constituting cold dark matter (CDM) at late times. We are\ninterested in inflationary isocurvature modes by such axions, and try to figure\nout how axion perturbations can behave as isocurvature colliders. We work out\nan example where the intermediate particle is a boson, and show that, in the\nsqueezed limit, it is possible to provide a clock signal of significant\namplitudes, with a characteristic angular dependence. This provides a channel\nto contribute and analyze clock signals of isocurvature bispectrum, which we\nmay hopefully see in future experiments.",
        "positive": "Gravitational solitons, hairy black holes and phase transitions in BHT\n  massive gravity: Hairy black holes and gravitational solitons in three dimensions for the new\nmassive gravity theory proposed by Bergshoeff, Hohm and Townsend (BHT) are\nconsidered at the special case when there is a unique maximally symmetric\nsolution. Following the Brown-York approach with suitable counterterms, it is\nshown that the soliton possesses a fixed negative mass which coincides with the\none of AdS spacetime regardless the value of the integration constant that\ndescribes it. Hence, the soliton can be naturally regarded as a degenerate\nground state labeled by a single modulus parameter. The Euclidean action,\nendowed with suitable counterterms, is shown to be finite and independent of\nmodulus and hair parameters for both classes of solutions, and in the case of\nhairy black holes the free energy in the semiclassical approximation is\nreproduced. Modular invariance allows to show that the gravitational hair turns\nout to be determined by the modulus parameter. According to Cardy's formula, it\nis shown that the semiclassical entropy agrees with the microscopic counting of\nstates provided the modulus parameter of the ground state is spontaneously\nfixed, which suggests that the hairy black hole is in a broken phase of the\ntheory. Indeed, it is found that there is a critical temperature characterizing\na first order phase transition between the static hairy black hole and the\nsoliton which, due to the existence of gravitational hair, can take place in\nthe semiclassical regime."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Natural Gauge Fields of Manifolds: The gauge symmetry inherent in the concept of manifold has been discussed.\nWithin the scope of this symmetry the linear connection or displacement field\ncan be considered as a natural gauge field on the manifold. The gauge invariant\nequations for the displacement field have been derived. It has been shown that\nthe energy-momentum tensor of this field conserves and hence the displacement\nfield can be treated as one that transports energy and gravitates. To show the\nexistence of the solutions of the field equations we have derived the general\nform of the displacement field in Minkowski space-time which is invariant under\nrotation and space and time inversion. With this anzats we found\nspherically-symmetric solutions of the equations in question.",
        "positive": "Positive Mass from Holographic Causality: For n+1 dimensional asymptotically AdS spacetimes which have holographic\nduals on their n dimensional conformal boundaries, we show that the imposition\nof causality on the boundary theory is sufficient to prove positivity of mass\nfor the spacetime when n > 2, without the assumption of any local energy\ncondition. We make crucial use of a generalization of the time-delay formula\ncalculated in gr-qc/9404019, which relates the time delay of a bulk null curve\nwith respect to a boundary null geodesic to the Ashtekar-Magnon mass of the\nspacetime. We also discuss holographic causality for the negative mass AdS\nsoliton and its implications for the positive energy conjecture of Horowitz and\nMyers."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "B-modes and the sound speed of primordial fluctuations: It was recently shown that a large value of the tensor to scalar ratio $r$\nimplies a constraint on the minimum value of the sound speed $c_s$ of\nprimordial curvature perturbations during inflation that is stronger than\ncurrent bounds coming from non-Gaussianity measurements. Here we consider\nadditional aspects related to the measurement of B-modes that may provide\nadditional leverage to constrain the sound speed parametrizing non-canonical\nmodels of inflation. We find that a confirmation of the consistency relation $r\n= -8 n_t$ between the tensor to scalar ratio $r$ and the tensor spectral index\n$n_t$ is not enough to rule out non-canonical models of inflation with a sound\nspeed $c_s$ different from unity. To determine whether inflation was canonical\nor not, one requires knowledge of additional parameters, such as the running of\nthe spectral index of scalar perturbations $\\alpha$. We also study how other\nparameters related to the ultra violet completion of inflation modify the\ndependence of $r$ on $c_s$. For instance, we find that heavy degrees of freedom\ninteracting with curvature fluctuations generically tend to make the constraint\non the sound speed stronger. Our results, combined with future observations of\nprimordial B-modes, may help to constrain the background evolution of\nnon-canonical models of inflation.",
        "positive": "Weyl anomaly of conformal higher spins on six-sphere: This paper is a sequel to arXiv:1309.0785 were we computed the Weyl anomaly\na-coefficient on d-sphere for higher-derivative conformal higher spin field in\nd=4 and shown that it matches the expression found in arXiv:1306.5242 by a\n\"holographic\" method from a ratio of massless higher spin determinants in\nAdS_5. Here we repeat the same computation on 6-sphere and demonstrate that the\nresult agrees again with the one following from AdS_7. We also discuss\nexplicitly similar matching in the d=2 case."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Geometry of spin-field coupling on the worldline: We derive a geometric representation of couplings between spin degrees of\nfreedom and gauge fields within the worldline approach to quantum field theory.\nWe combine the string-inspired methods of the worldline formalism with elements\nof the loop-space approach to gauge theory. In particular, we employ the loop\n(or area) derivative operator on the space of all holonomies which can\nimmediately be applied to the worldline representation of the effective action.\nThis results in a spin factor that associates the information about spin with\n\"zigzag\" motion of the fluctuating field. Concentrating on the case of quantum\nelectrodynamics in external fields, we obtain a purely geometric representation\nof the Pauli term. To one-loop order, we confirm our formalism by rederiving\nthe Heisenberg-Euler effective action. Furthermore, we give closed-form\nworldline representations for the all-loop order effective action to lowest\nnontrivial order in a small-N_f expansion.",
        "positive": "SU(2) Action-Angle Variables: Operator angle-action variables are studied in the frame of the SU(2)\nalgebra, and their eigenstates and coherent states are discussed. The quantum\nmechanical addition of action-angle variables is shown to lead to a novel non\ncommutative Hopf algebra. The group contraction is used to make the connection\nwith the harmonic oscillator."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Notes on Vanishing Cosmological Constant without Bose-Fermi Cancellation: In this article we discuss how one can systematically construct the point\nparticle theories that realize the vanishing one-loop cosmological constant\nwithout the bose-fermi cancellation. Our construction is based on the\nasymmetric (or non-geometric) orbifolds of supersymmetric string vacua. Using\nthe building blocks of their partition functions and their modular properties,\nwe construct the theories which would be naturally identified with certain\npoint particle theories including infinite mass spectra, but not with string\nvacua. They are obviously non-supersymmetric due to the mismatch of the bosonic\nand fermionic degrees of freedom at each mass level. Nevertheless, it is found\nthat the one-loop cosmological constant vanishes, after removing the parameter\neffectively playing the role of the UV cut-off. As concrete examples we\ndemonstrate the constructions of the models based on the toroidal asymmetric\norbifolds with the Lie algebra lattices (Englert-Neveu lattices) by making use\nof the analysis given in [26].",
        "positive": "Nonabelian Monopoles: We study topological as well as dynamical properties of BPS nonabelian\nmagnetic monopoles of Goddard-Nuyts-Olive-Weinberg type in $ G=SU(N)$,\n$USp(2N)$ and SO(N) gauge theories, spontaneously broken to nonabelian\nsubgroups $H$. We find that monopoles transform under the group dual to $H$ in\na tensor representation of rank determined by the corresponding element in\n$\\pi_1(H)$. When the system is embedded in a ${\\cal N}=2$ supersymmetric theory\nwith an appropriate set of flavors with appropriate bare masses, the BPS\nmonopoles constructed semiclassically persist in the full quantum theory. This\nresult supports the identification of ``dual quarks'' found at $r$-vacua of\n${\\cal N}=2$ theories with the nonabelian magnetic monopoles. We present\nseveral consistency checks of our monopole spectra."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Emergent Gravity from a Mass Deformation in Warped Spacetime: We consider a deformation of five-dimensional warped gravity with bulk and\nboundary mass terms to quadratic order in the action. We show that massless\nzero modes occur for special choices of the masses. The tensor zero mode is a\nsmooth deformation of the Randall-Sundrum graviton wavefunction and can be\nlocalized anywhere in the bulk. There is also a vector zero mode with similar\nlocalization properties, which is decoupled from conserved sources at tree\nlevel. Interestingly, there are no scalar modes, and the model is ghost-free at\nthe linearized level. When the tensor zero mode is localized near the IR brane,\nthe dual interpretation is a composite graviton describing an emergent\n(induced) theory of gravity at the IR scale. In this case Newton's law of\ngravity changes to a new power law below the millimeter scale, with an exponent\nthat can even be irrational.",
        "positive": "Anisotropic Cosmology and (Super)Stiff Matter in Ho\u0159ava's Gravity\n  Theory: We study anisotropic cosmology in Ho\\v{r}ava's gravity theory and obtain\nKasner type solutions, valid for any number d of spatial dimensions. The\ncorresponding exponents satisfy two relations, one involving the marginal\ncoupling \\lambda. Also, Ho\\v{r}ava's (super)renormalisable theory predicts\n(super)stiff matter whose equation of state is p = w \\rho with w \\ge 1. We\ndiscuss briefly the implications of these results for the nature of\ncosmological collapse."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Generalized Rindler Wedge and Holographic Observer Concordance: We study the most general horizons of accelerating observers and find that in\na general spacetime, only spacelike surfaces satisfying a global condition\ncould become horizons of well-defined accelerating observers, which we name the\nRindler-convexity condition. The entanglement entropy associated with a\nRindler-convex region is proportional to the area of the enclosing surface.\nThis observer physics provides a novel perspective to define a well-defined\nsubregion in spacetime, named the generalized Rindler wedge, whose degrees of\nfreedom should be fully encoded within the subregion. We propose the\nholographic interpretation of generalized Rindler wedges and provide evidence\nfrom the observer correspondence, the subregion subalgebra duality, and the\nequality of the entanglement entropy, respectively. We introduce time/space\ncutoffs in the bulk to substantiate this proposition, generalize it, and\nestablish a holographic observer concordance framework, which asserts that the\npartitioning of degrees of freedom through observation is holographically\nconcordant.",
        "positive": "Zeta Function Method for Repulsive Casimir Forces at Finite Temperature: We compute the Casimir energy between an unusual pair of parallel plates at\nfinite temperature, namely, a perfectely conducting plate ($\\epsilon\\to\\infty$)\nand an infinitely permeable one ($\\mu\\to\\infty$) by applying the generalized\nzeta function method. We also compute the Casimir pressure and discuss the high\nand the low temperature limits."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Conformal anomaly and gravitational pair production: We argue that the rate density of particle pair production $\\Gamma$ in\nbackground fields in conformal field theories is determined by the conformal\nanomaly and related to anomalous trace of the energy-momentum tensor as $\\Gamma\n= (\\pi/2) \\langle T^\\mu_{\\ \\mu}\\rangle$ if the trace is positive (and $\\Gamma =\n0$ otherwise). This formula perfectly reproduces (presumably, non-Hawking)\nradiation generated by static gravitational fields in the absence of an event\nhorizon via a new evaporation mechanism suggested recently. Our relation also\ncorrectly describes the one-loop Schwinger pair creation in massless (scalar\nand spinor) quantum electrodynamics. It also accurately points to the Savvidi\ninstability of the gluonic vacuum towards the formation of the chromomagnetic\ncondensate. Photon and neutrino pair production are also discussed.",
        "positive": "Deriving covariant holographic entanglement: We provide a gravitational argument in favour of the covariant holographic\nentanglement entropy proposal. In general time-dependent states, the proposal\nasserts that the entanglement entropy of a region in the boundary field theory\nis given by a quarter of the area of a bulk extremal surface in Planck units.\nThe main element of our discussion is an implementation of an appropriate\nSchwinger-Keldysh contour to obtain the reduced density matrix (and its powers)\nof a given region, as is relevant for the replica construction. We map this\ncontour into the bulk gravitational theory, and argue that the saddle point\nsolutions of these replica geometries lead to a consistent prescription for\ncomputing the field theory Renyi entropies. In the limiting case where the\nreplica index is taken to unity, a local analysis suffices to show that these\nsaddles lead to the extremal surfaces of interest. We also comment on various\nproperties of holographic entanglement that follow from this construction."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The dyon charge in noncommutative gauge theories: We present an explicit classical dyon solution for the noncommutative version\nof the Yang-Mills-Higgs model (in the Prasad-Sommerfield limit) with a tehta\nterm. We show that the relation between classical electric and magnetic charges\nalso holds in noncommutative space. Extending the Noether approach to the case\nof a noncommutative gauge theory, we analyze the effect of CP violation at the\nquantum level, induced both by the theta term and by noncommutativity and we\nprove that the Witten effect formula for the dyon charge remains the same as in\nordinary space.",
        "positive": "Analytic treatment of the excited instability spectra of the\n  magnetically charged SU(2) Reissner-Nordstr\u00f6m black holes: The magnetically charged SU(2) Reissner-Nordstr\\\"om black-hole solutions of\nthe coupled nonlinear Einstein-Yang-Mills field equations are known to be\ncharacterized by infinite spectra of unstable (imaginary) resonances\n$\\{\\omega_n(r_+,r_-)\\}_{n=0}^{n=\\infty}$ (here $r_{\\pm}$ are the black-hole\nhorizon radii). Based on direct {\\it numerical} computations of the black-hole\ninstability spectra, it has recently been observed that the excited instability\neigenvalues of the magnetically charged black holes exhibit a simple universal\nbehavior. In particular, it was shown that the numerically computed instability\neigenvalues of the magnetically charged black holes are characterized by the\nsmall frequency universal relation $\\omega_n(r_+-r_-)=\\lambda_n$, where\n$\\{\\lambda_n\\}$ are dimensionless constants which are independent of the\nblack-hole parameters. In the present paper we study analytically the\ninstability spectra of the magnetically charged SU(2) Reissner-Nordstr\\\"om\nblack holes. In particular, we provide a rigorous {\\it analytical} proof for\nthe {\\it numerically}-suggested universal behavior\n$\\omega_n(r_+-r_-)=\\lambda_n$ in the small frequency $\\omega_n r_+\\ll\n(r_+-r_-)/r_+$ regime. Interestingly, it is shown that the excited black-hole\nresonances are characterized by the simple universal relation\n$\\omega_{n+1}/\\omega_n=e^{-2\\pi/\\sqrt{3}}$. Finally, we confirm our analytical\nresults for the black-hole instability spectra with numerical computations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Conformal Turbulence with Boundary: Based upon the formalism of conformal field theory with a boundary, we give a\ndescription of the boundary effect on fully developed two dimensional\nturbulence. Exact one and two point velocity correlation functions and energy\npower spectrum confined in the upper half plane are obtained using the image\nmethod. This result enables us to address the infrared problem of the theory of\nconformal turbulence.",
        "positive": "Direct Calculation of the Boundary $S$ Matrix for the Open Heisenberg\n  Chain: We calculate the boundary $S$ matrix for the open antiferromagnetic spin\n$1/2$ isotropic Heisenberg chain with boundary magnetic fields. Our approach,\nwhich starts from the model's Bethe Ansatz solution, is an extension of the\nKorepin-Andrei-Destri method. Our result agrees with the boundary $S$ matrix\nfor the boundary sine-Gordon model with $\\beta^2 \\rightarrow 8\\pi$ and with\n``fixed'' boundary conditions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Affleck-Dine-Seiberg Superpotential and Magnetic Monopoles in\n  Supersymmetric QCD: Certain exact results in supersymmetric gauge theories are generated by\nnon-perturbative effects different from instantons. In supersymmetric QCD with\nN colours and Nf fundamental flavours we examine the Affleck-Dine-Seiberg (ADS)\nsuperpotential using controlled semi-classical analysis. We show how for Nf <\nN-1 the ADS superpotential arises from monopole contributions to the path\nintegral of the supersymmetric gauge theory compactified on R^3*S^1. These are\nthe monopole effects leading to gaugino condensation and confinement of the\nlow-energy SU(N-Nf) supersymmetric gauge theory.",
        "positive": "de Sitter Complementarity, TCC, and the Swampland: Motivated by the coincidence of scrambling time in de Sitter and maximum\nlifetime given by the $\\textit{Trans-Planckian Censorship Conjecture}$ (TCC),\nwe study the relation between the de Sitter complementarity and the Swampland\nconditions. We study thermalization in de Sitter space from different\nperspectives and show that TCC implies de Sitter space cannot live long enough\nto be considered a thermal background. We also revisit $\\alpha$-vacua in light\nof this work and show that TCC imposes multiple initial condition/fine-tuning\nproblems on any conventional inflationary scenario."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "D$_4$-flops of the E$_7$-model: We study the geography of crepant resolutions of E$_7$-models. An E$_7$-model\nis a Weierstrass model corresponding to the output of Step 9 of Tate's\nalgorithm characterizing the Kodaira fiber of type III$^*$ over the generic\npoint of a smooth prime divisor. The dual graph of the Kodaira fiber of type\nIII$^*$ is the affine Dynkin diagram of type E$_7$. A Weierstrass model of type\nE$_7$ is conjectured to have eight distinct crepant resolutions whose flop\ndiagram is a Dynkin diagram of type E$_8$. We construct explicitly four of\nthese eight crepant resolutions forming a sub-diagram of type D$_4$. We explain\nhow the flops between these four crepant resolutions can be understood using\nthe flops between the crepant resolutions of two well-chosen suspended pinch\npoints.",
        "positive": "BRST Analysis of Physical States in Two-Dimensional Black Hole: We study the BRST cohomology for $SL(2,R)/U(1)$ coset model, which describes\nan exact string black hole solution. It is shown that the physical spectrum\ncould contain not only the extra discrete states corresponding to those in\n$c=1$ two-dimensional gravity but also many additional new states with ghost\nnumber $N_{FP}= -1 \\sim 2$. We also discuss characters for nonunitary\nrepresentations and the relation of our results to other approaches."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A novel holographic quantum phase transition and butterfly velocity: In this paper, we make a systematical and in-depth exploration on the phase\nstructure and the behaviors of butterfly velocity in an\nEinstein-Maxwell-dilaton-axions (EMDA) model. Depending on the model parameter,\nthere are two kinds of mechanisms driving quantum phase transition (QPT) in\nthis model. One is the infrared (IR) geometry to be renormalization group (RG)\nunstable, and the other is the strength of lattice deformation leading to some\nkind of bifurcating solution. We also find a novel QPT in the metal phases. The\nstudy on the behavior of the butterfly velocity crossing QPT indicates that the\nbutterfly velocity or its first derivative exhibiting local extreme depends on\nthe QPT mechanism. Further, the scaling behaviors of the butterfly velocity in\nthe zero-temperature limit confirm that different phases are controlled by\ndifferent IR geometries. Therefore, the butterfly velocity is a good probe to\nQPT and it also provides a possible way to study QPT beyond holography.",
        "positive": "Tensor Self Energy in a Vector-Tensor Model: The tensor self energy is computed at one loop order in a model in which a\nvector and tensor interact in a way that eliminates all tensor degrees of\nfreedom. Divergencies arise which cannot be eliminated without introducing a\nkinetic term for the tensor field which does not appear in the classical\naction. We comment on a possible resolution of this puzzle."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Ghost spectral function from the spectral Dyson-Schwinger equation: We compute the ghost spectral function in Yang-Mills theory by solving the\ncorresponding Dyson-Schwinger equation for a given input gluon spectral\nfunction. The results encompass both scaling and decoupling solutions for the\ngluon propagator input. The resulting ghost spectral function displays a\nparticle peak at vanishing momentum and a negative scattering spectrum, whose\ninfrared and ultraviolet tails are obtained analytically. The ghost dressing\nfunction is computed in the entire complex plane, and its salient features are\nidentified and discussed.",
        "positive": "An interplay between static potential and Reggeon trajectory for QCD\n  string: I consider two cases where QCD string is described by an effective theory of\nlong strings: the static potential and meson scattering amplitudes in the Regge\nregime. I show how they can be solved in the mean-field approximation,\njustified by the large number of space-time dimensions, and argue that it turns\nout to be exact. I compare contributions from QCD string and perturbative QCD\nand discuss experimental consequences for the scattering amplitudes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Tree-level gluon amplitudes on the celestial sphere: Pasterski, Shao and Strominger have recently proposed that massless\nscattering amplitudes can be mapped to correlators on the celestial sphere at\ninfinity via a Mellin transform. We apply this prescription to arbitrary\n$n$-point tree-level gluon amplitudes. The Mellin transforms of MHV amplitudes\nare given by generalized hypergeometric functions on the Grassmannian\n$Gr(4,n)$, while generic non-MHV amplitudes are given by more complicated\nGelfand $A$-hypergeometric functions.",
        "positive": "Quantization of Noncommutative Scalar Solitons at finite $\u03b8$: We start by discussing the classical noncommutative (NC) Q-ball solutions\nnear the commutative limit, then generalize the virial relation. Next we\nquantize the NC Q-ball canonically. At very small theta quantum correction to\nthe energy of the Q-balls is calculated through summation of the phase shift.\nUV/IR mixing terms are found in the quantum corrections which cannot be\nrenormalized away. The same method is generalized to the NC GMS soliton for the\nsmooth enough solution. UV/IR mixing is also found in the energy correction and\nUV divergence is shown to be absent. In this paper only (2+1) dimensional\nscalar field theory is discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Impact Factors for Reggeon-Gluon Transitions: General expressions for the impact factors up to terms vanishing at the\nspace-time dimension $D\\rightarrow 4$ are presented. Their infrared behaviour\nis analysed and calculation of exact in $D\\rightarrow 4$ asymptotics at small\nmomenta of Reggeized gluons is discussed.",
        "positive": "Cosmology in the Einstein-Electroweak Theory and Magnetic Fields: In the SU(2)_{L} x U(1)_{Y} standard electroweak theory coupled with the\nEinstein gravity, new topological configurations naturally emerge, if the\nspatial section of the universe is globally a three-sphere(S^3) with a small\nradius. The SU(2)_L gauge fields and Higgs fields wrap the space nontrivially,\nresiding at or near a local minimum of the potential. As the universe expands,\nhowever, the shape of the potential rapidly changes and the local minimum\neventually disappears. The fields then start to roll down towards the absolute\nminimum. In the absence of the U(1)_Y gauge interaction the resulting space is\na homogeneous and isotropic S^3, but the U(1)_Y gauge interaction necessarily\ninduces anisotropy while preserving the homogeneity of the space. Large\nmagnetic fields are generically produced over a substantial period of the\nrolling-over transition. The magnetic field configuration is characterized by\nthe Hopf map."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "E_(10), BE_(10) and Arithmetical Chaos in Superstring Cosmology: It is shown that the never ending oscillatory behaviour of the generic\nsolution, near a cosmological singularity, of the massless bosonic sector of\nsuperstring theory can be described as a billiard motion within a simplex in\n9-dimensional hyperbolic space. The Coxeter group of reflections of this\nbilliard is discrete and is the Weyl group of the hyperbolic Kac-Moody algebra\nE$_{10}$ (for type II) or BE$_{10}$ (for type I or heterotic), which are both\narithmetic. These results lead to a proof of the chaotic (``Anosov'') nature of\nthe classical cosmological oscillations, and suggest a ``chaotic quantum\nbilliard'' scenario of vacuum selection in string theory.",
        "positive": "Field theory in 4D N=2 conformally flat superspace: Building on the superspace formulation for four-dimensional N=2\nmatter-coupled supergravity developed in arXiv:0805.4683, we elaborate upon a\ngeneral setting for field theory in N=2 conformally flat superspaces, and\nconcentrate specifically on the case of anti-de Sitter (AdS) superspace. We\ndemonstrate, in particular, that associated with the N=2 AdS supergeometry is a\nunique vector multiplet such that the corresponding covariantly chiral field\nstrength W_0 is constant, W_0=1. This multiplet proves to be intrinsic in the\nsense that it encodes all the information about the N=2 AdS supergeometry in a\nconformally flat frame. Moreover, it emerges as a building block in the\nconstruction of various supersymmetric actions. Such a vector multiplet, which\ncan be identified with one of the two compensators of N=2 supergravity, also\nnaturally occurs for arbitrary conformally flat superspaces. An explicit\nsuperspace reduction N=2 to N=1 is performed for the action principle in\ngeneral conformally flat N=2 backgrounds, and examples of such reduction are\ngiven."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Multi-Monopole Moduli Spaces for SU(n) Gauge Group: The moduli space describing the low-energy dynamics of BPS multi-monopoles\nfor several charge configurations is presented. We first prove the conjectured\nform of the moduli space of $n-1$ distinct monopoles in a spontaneously broken\nSU(n) gauge theory. We further propose the solution where one of the charge\ncomponents has two units, hence asymptotically corresponds to embeddings of two\nmonopoles of one charge type and the rest different. The latter hyperk\\\"ahler\nmetrics possess features of the two-monopole Atiyah-Hitchin metric. We also\nconjecture classes of solutions to multi-monopole moduli spaces with arbitrary\ncharge and no more than two units in each component, which models the gluing\ntogether of Atiyah-Hitchin metrics. Our approach here uses the generalized\nLegendre transform technique to find the new hyperk\\\"ahler manifolds and\nrederive previously conjectured ones.",
        "positive": "Lorentz invariance violations in the interplay of quantum gravity with\n  matter: We explore the interplay of matter with quantum gravity with a preferred\nframe to highlight that the matter sector cannot be protected from the\nsymmetry-breaking effects in the gravitational sector. Focusing on Abelian\ngauge fields, we show that quantum gravitational radiative corrections induce\nLorentz-invariance-violating couplings for the Abelian gauge field. In\nparticular, we discuss how such a mechanism could result in the possibility to\ntranslate observational constraints on Lorentz violation in the matter sector\ninto strong constraints on the Lorentz-violating gravitational couplings."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Compact dimensions and the Casimir effect: the Proca connection: We study the Casimir effect in the presence of an extra dimension\ncompactified on a circle of radius R ($M^4\\times S^1$ spacetime). Our starting\npoint is the Kaluza Klein decomposition of the 5D Maxwell action into a\nmassless sector containing the 4D Maxwell action and an extra massless scalar\nfield and a Proca sector containing 4D gauge fields with masses $m_n=n/R$ where\n$n$ is a positive integer. An important point is that, in the presence of\nperfectly conducting parallel plates, the three degrees of freedom do not yield\nthree discrete (non-penetrating) modes but two discrete modes and one continuum\n(penetrating) mode. The massless sector reproduces Casimir's original result\nand the Proca sector yields the corrections. The contribution from the Proca\ncontinuum mode is obtained within the framework of Lifshitz theory for plane\nparallel dielectrics whereas the discrete modes are calculated via 5D formulas\nfor the piston geometry. An interesting manifestation of the extra compact\ndimension is that the Casimir force between perfectly conducting plates depends\non the thicknesses of the slabs.",
        "positive": "A note on the algebraic engineering of 4D $\\mathcal{N}=2$ super\n  Yang-Mills theories: Some BPS quantities of $\\mathcal{N}=1$ 5D quiver gauge theories, like\ninstanton partition functions or qq-characters, can be constructed as algebraic\nobjects of the Ding-Iohara-Miki (DIM) algebra. This construction is applied\nhere to $\\mathcal{N}=2$ super Yang-Mills theories in four dimensions using a\ndegenerate version of the DIM algebra. We build up the equivalent of horizontal\nand vertical representations, the first one being defined using vertex\noperators acting on a free boson's Fock space, while the second one is\nessentially equivalent to the action of Vasserot-Shiffmann's Spherical Hecke\ncentral algebra. Using intertwiners, the algebraic equivalent of the\ntopological vertex, we construct a set of $\\mathcal{T}$-operators acting on the\ntensor product of horizontal modules, and the vacuum expectation values of\nwhich reproduce the instanton partition functions of linear quivers. Analysing\nthe action of the degenerate DIM algebra on the $\\mathcal{T}$-operator in the\ncase of a pure $U(m)$ gauge theory, we further identify the degenerate version\nof Kimura-Pestun's quiver W-algebra as a certain limit of q-Virasoro algebra.\nRemarkably, as previously noticed by Lukyanov, this particular limit reproduces\nthe Zamolodchikov-Faddeev algebra of the sine-Gordon model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Feynman propagator for the nonbirefringent CPT-even electrodynamics of\n  the Standard Model Extension: The CPT-even gauge sector of the Standard Model Extension is composed of\nnineteen components comprised in the tensor $(K_{F})_{\\mu \\nu\\rho\\sigma}$, of \\\nwhich nine do not yield birefringence. In this work, we examine the Maxwell\nelectrodynamics supplemented by these nine nonbirefringent CPT-even components\nin aspects related to the Feynman propagator and full consistency (stability,\ncausality, unitarity). We adopt a prescription that parametrizes the\nnonbirefringent components in terms of a symmetric and traceless tensor,\n$K_{\\mu\\nu},$ and second parametrization that writes $K_{\\mu\\nu}$ in terms of\ntwo arbitrary four-vectors, $U_{\\mu}$ and $V_{\\nu}.$ We then explicitly\nevaluate the gauge propagator of this electrodynamics in a tensor closed way.\nIn the sequel, we show that this propagator and involved dispersion relations\ncan be specialized for the parity-odd\\ and parity-even sectors of the tensor\n$(K_{F})_{\\mu\\nu\\rho\\sigma}$. In this way, we reassess some results of the\nliterature and derive some new outcomes showing that the parity-even\nanisotropic sector engenders a stable, noncausal and unitary electrodynamics.",
        "positive": "Non-Relativistic Maxwell Chern-Simons Gravity: We consider a non-relativistic (NR) limit of $(2+1)$-dimensional Maxwell\nChern-Simons (CS) gravity with gauge algebra [Maxwell] $\\oplus \\ u(1)\\oplus\nu(1)$. We obtain a finite NR CS gravity with a degenerate invariant bilinear\nform. We find two ways out of this difficulty: To consider i) [Maxwell]\n$\\oplus\\ u(1)$, which does not contain Extended Bargmann gravity (EBG); or, ii)\nthe NR limit of [Maxwell] $\\oplus\\ u(1)\\oplus u(1)\\oplus u(1)$, which is a\nMaxwellian generalization of the EBG."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gepner-like boundary states on $T^4$: We present exact expressions for elementary boundary states which describe\nD-branes preserving 16 or fewer supercharges in type II superstring\ncompactified on certain self-dual 4-tori. While being manifestly\nsuperconformal, our boundary states are not a priori required to satisfy the\nusual free-field gluing conditions along the internal directions of the 4-tori.\nOur calculations proceed along the lines of Gepner's construction by recasting\nthe $\\mathcal{N}=(2,2)$ worldsheet sigma model on the 4-tori in terms of\n$\\mathcal{N}=2$ minimal models. Imposing general permutation gluing conditions\non the $\\mathcal{N}=(2,2)$ generators is shown to yield various stable and\nunstable D-branes, where the stable ones include the known 1/2-BPS and 1/4-BPS\nbound states of D$p$-branes, as well as new non-BPS D-branes, which do not\ncarry RR charges.",
        "positive": "A Non-perturbative Evidence toward the Positive Energy Conjecture for\n  asymptotically locally AdS_5 IIB Supergravity on S^5: We consider the classical solution of the type IIB supergravity spontaneously\ncompactified on S^5, whose metric depends only on the radial coordinate and\nwhose asymptotic geometry is locally that of AdS_5, i.e., R \\times S^1 \\times\nT^2. We solve the equations of motion to obtain the general solutions\nsatisfying these conditions, and find that the only naked-singularity-free\nsolutions are the AdS black holes and AdS solitons. The other solutions, that\nsmoothly interpolate these two solutions, are shown to have naked singularities\neven though their Ricci tensor is proportional to the metric with a negative\nconstant. Thus, among the possible solutions of this type, the AdS solitons are\nthe unique lowest energy solution; this result is consistent with the recently\nproposed positive energy conjecture for the IIB AdS supergravity on S^5."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetric Yang-Mills Theories in $D\\ge 12$: We present supersymmetric Yang-Mills theories in arbitrary even dimensions\nwith the signature (9+m,1+m) where $m=0,1,2,...$ beyond ten-dimensions up to\ninfinity. This formulation utilizes null-vectors and is a generalization of our\nprevious work in 10+2 dimensions to arbitrary even dimensions with the above\nsignature. We have overcome the previously-observed obstruction beyond 11+3\ndimensions, by the aid of projection operators. Both component and superspace\nformulations are presented. This also suggests the possibility of consistent\nsupergravity theories in any even dimensions beyond 10+1 dimensions.",
        "positive": "Fast QSC Solver: tool for systematic study of N=4 Super-Yang-Mills\n  spectrum: Integrability methods give us access to a number of observables in the planar\nN=4 SYM. Among them, the Quantum Spectral Curve (QSC) governs the spectrum of\nanomalous dimensions. Low lying states were successfully studied in the past\nusing the QSC. However, with the increased demand for a systematic study of a\nlarge number of states for various applications, there is a clear need for a\nfast QSC solver which can easily access a large number of excited states. Here,\nwe fill this gap by developing a new algorithm and applied it to study all 219\nstates with the bare dimension $\\Delta_0 \\leq 6$ in a wide range of couplings.\nThe new algorithm has an improved performance at weak coupling and allows to\nglue numerics smoothly the available perturbative data, resolving the previous\nobstruction. Further ~ 8-fold efficiency gain comes from C++ implementation\nover the best available Mathematica implementation. We have made the code and\nthe data to be available via a GitHub repository. The method is generalisable\nfor non-local observables as well as for other theories such as deformations of\nN=4 SYM and ABJM. It may find applications in the separation of variables and\nbootstrability approaches to the correlation functions. Some applications to\ncorrelators at strong coupling are also presented."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quadrics on Complex Riemannian Spaces of Constant Curvature, Separation\n  of Variables and the Gaudin Magnet: We consider integrable systems that are connected with orthogonal separation\nof variables in complex Riemannian spaces of constant curvature. An isomorphism\nwith the hyperbolic Gaudin magnet, previously pointed out by one of us, extends\nto coordinates of this type. The complete classification of these separable\ncoordinate systems is provided by means of the corresponding $L$-matrices for\nthe Gaudin magnet. The limiting procedures (or $\\epsilon $ calculus) which\nrelate various degenerate orthogonal coordinate systems play a crucial result\nin the classification of all such systems.",
        "positive": "Compact analytical form for non-zeta terms in critical exponents at\n  order 1/N^3: We simplify, to a single integral of dilogarithms, the least tractable\nO(1/N^3) contribution to the large-N critical exponent $\\eta$ of the non-linear\nsigma-model, and hence $\\phi^4$-theory, for any spacetime dimensionality, D. It\nis the sole generator of irreducible multiple zeta values in epsilon-expansions\nwith $D=2-2\\epsilon$, for the sigma-model, and $D=4-2\\epsilon$, for\n$\\phi^4$-theory. In both cases we confirm results of Broadhurst, Gracey and\nKreimer (BGK) that relate knots to counterterms. The new compact form is much\nsimpler than that of BGK. It enables us to develop 8 new terms in the\nepsilon-expansion with $D=3-2\\epsilon$. These involve alternating Euler sums,\nfor which the basis of irreducibles is larger. We conclude that massless\nFeynman diagrams in odd spacetime dimensions share the greater transcendental\ncomplexity of massive diagrams in even dimensions, such as those contributing\nto the electron's magnetic moment and the electroweak $\\rho$-parameter.\nConsequences for the perturbative sector of Chern-Simons theory are discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Cosmology in generalized Horndeski theories with second-order equations\n  of motion: We study the cosmology of an extended version of Horndeski theories with\nsecond-order equations of motion on the flat\nFriedmann-Lema\\^{i}tre-Robertson-Walker (FLRW) background. In addition to a\ndark energy field $\\chi$ associated with the gravitational sector, we take into\naccount multiple scalar fields $\\phi_I$ ($I=1,2\\cdots,N-1$) characterized by\nthe Lagrangians $P^{(I)}(X_I)$ with\n$X_I=\\partial_{\\mu}\\phi_I\\partial^{\\mu}\\phi_I$. These additional scalar fields\ncan model the perfect fluids of radiation and non-relativistic matter. We\nderive propagation speeds of scalar and tensor perturbations as well as\nconditions for the absence of ghosts. The theories beyond Horndeski induce\nnon-trivial modifications to all the propagation speeds of $N$ scalar fields,\nbut the modifications to those for the matter fields $\\phi_I$ are generally\nsuppressed relative to that for the dark energy field $\\chi$. We apply our\nresults to the covariantized Galileon with an Einstein-Hilbert term in which\npartial derivatives of the Minkowski Galileon are replaced by covariant\nderivatives. Unlike the covariant Galileon with second-order equations of\nmotion in general space-time, the scalar propagation speed square $c_{s1}^2$\nassociated with the field $\\chi$ becomes negative during the matter era for\nlate-time tracking solutions, so the two Galileon theories can be clearly\ndistinguished at the level of linear cosmological perturbations.",
        "positive": "An infinite supermultiplet of massive higher-spin fields: The representation theory underlying the infinite-component relativistic wave\nequation written by Majorana is revisited from a modern perspective. On the one\nhand, the massless solutions of this equation are shown to form a\nsupermultiplet of the superPoincare algebra with tensorial central charges; it\ncan also be obtained as the infinite spin limit of massive solutions. On the\nother hand, the Majorana equation is generalized for any space-time dimension\nand for arbitrary Regge trajectories. Inspired from these results, an infinite\nsupermultiplet of massive fields of all spins and of equal mass is constructed\nin four dimensions and proved to carry an irreducible representation of the\northosymplectic group OSp(1|4) and of the superPoincare group with tensorial\ncharges."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Is the Standard Model in the Swampland? Consistency Requirements from\n  Gravitational Scattering: We study compatibility of the Standard Model of particle physics and General\nRelativity by means of gravitational positivity bounds, which provide a\nnecessary condition for a low-energy gravitational theory to be UV completable\nwithin the weakly coupled regime of gravity. In particular, we identify the\ncutoff scale of the Standard Model coupled to gravity by studying consistency\nof light-by-light scattering. While the precise value depends on details of the\nPomeron effects in QCD, the cutoff scale reads $10^{16}$GeV if the\nsingle-Pomeron exchange picture works well up to this scale. We also\ndemonstrate that the cutoff scale is lowered to $10^{13}$GeV if we consider the\nelectroweak theory without the QCD sector.",
        "positive": "Racah Sum Rule and Biedenharn-Elliott Identity for the Super-Rotation\n  $6-j$ symbols: It is shown that the well known Racah sum rule and Biedenharn-Elliott\nidentity satisfied by the recoupling coefficients or by the $6-j$ symbols of\nthe usual rotation $SO(3)$ algebra can be extended to the corresponding\nfeatures of the super-rotation $osp(1|2)$ superalgebra. The structure of the\nsum rules is completely similar in both cases, the only difference concerns the\nsigns which are more involved in the super-rotation case."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Multiple Inflationary Stages with Varying Equation of State: We consider a model of inflation consisting a single fluid with a\ntime-dependent equation of state. In this phenomenological picture, two periods\nof inflation are separated by an intermediate non-inflationary stage which can\nbe either a radiation dominated, matter dominated or kinetic energy dominated\nuniverse, respectively, with the equation of state $w=1/3$, 0 or 1. We consider\nthe toy model in which the change in $w$ happens instantaneously. Depending on\nwhether the mode of interest leaves the horizon before or after or between the\nphase transitions, the curvature power spectrum can have non-trivial sinusoidal\nmodulations. This can have interesting observational implications for CMB\nanisotropies and for primordial black-hole formation.",
        "positive": "D--branes and Spinning Black Holes: We obtain a new class of spinning charged extremal black holes in five\ndimensions, considered both as classical configurations and in the\nDirichlet(D)--brane representation. The degeneracy of states is computed from\nthe D--brane side and the entropy agrees perfectly with that obtained from the\nblack hole side."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Cosmic Billiards with Painted Walls in Non-Maximal Supergravities: a\n  worked out example: The derivation of smooth cosmic billiard solutions through the compensator\nmethod is extended to non maximal supergravities. A new key feature is the\nnon-maximal split nature of the scalar coset manifold. To deal with this, one\nneeds the theory of Tits Satake projections leading to maximal split projected\nalgebras. Interesting exact solutions that display several smooth bounces can\nthus be derived. From the analysis of the Tits Satake projection emerges a\nregular scheme for all non maximal supergravities and a challenging so far\nunobserved structure, that of the paint group G-paint. This latter is preserved\nthrough dimensional reduction and provides a powerful tool to codify solutions.\nIt appears that the dynamical walls on which the cosmic ball bounces come\nactually in painted copies rotated into each other by G-paint. The effective\ncosmic dynamics is that dictated by the maximal split Tits Satake manifold plus\npaint. We work out in details the example provided by N=6,D=4 supergravity,\nwhose scalar manifold is the special Kahlerian SO*(12)}/SU(6)xU(1). In D=3 it\nmaps to the quaternionic E_7(-5)/ SO(12) x SO(3). From this example we extract\na scheme that holds for all supergravities with homogeneous scalar manifolds\nand that we plan to generalize to generic special geometries. We also comment\non the merging of the Tits-Satake projection with the affine Kac--Moody\nextensions originating in dimensional reduction to D=2 and D=1.",
        "positive": "(In)stability of de Sitter vacuum in light of distance conjecture and\n  emergence proposal: The distance conjecture claims that as the modulus traverses along the\ntrans-Planckian geodesic distance, the effective field theory becomes invalid\nby a descent of a tower of states from UV. Moreover, according to the recent\nemergence proposal, the kinetic term of the modulus is entirely generated by\nthe wavefunction renormalization in which a tower of states are integrated out.\nAssuming these two conjectures, we explore the role of a tower of states\ncoupled to the modulus in (in)stability of the de Sitter (dS) vacuum by\nstudying the one-loop effective potential generated by a tower of states. We\nfind that a fermionic tower of states makes the effective potential more or\nless consistent with the dS swampland conjecture : either the slope or the\ncurvature of the potential is sizeable. In contrast, the effective potential\ngenerated by a bosonic tower of states seems to allow the stable dS vacuum.\nTherefore, in order to argue the instability of the dS vacuum, the additional\ningredient like supersymmetry breaking needs to be taken into account."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "String Models for Locally Supersymmetric Grand Unification: Phenomenologically viable string vacua may require incorporating Kac-Moody\nalgebras at level $\\geq 2$. We exploit the free fermionic formulation to\nconstruct N=(0,2) world-sheet supersymmetric string models with specific\nphenomenological input: N=1 spacetime supersymmetry, three generations of\nchiral fermions in gauge groups $SO(10)$ or $SU(5)$, adjoint Higgses, and a\nsingle Yukawa coupling of a fundamental Higgs to the third generation. In this\ntalk, we will show models of gauge group $SO(10)$ and of $SU(5)$ without any\ngauge singlet moduli, and show some novel features appearing in the connection\nof these two models. The accompanying, and rather non-trivial, discrete chiral\nsub-algebras can determine hierarchies in the fermion mass matrix. Our approach\nto string phenomenology opens up the possibility of {\\it concrete} explorations\nof a wide range of proposals both for dynamical supersymmetry breaking and for\nthe dynamics of the dilaton and other stringy moduli. (Talk presented at DPF\n94, Albuquerque, New Mexico)",
        "positive": "Supersymmetric wormholes in String theory: We construct a large family of Euclidean supersymmetric wormhole solutions of\ntype IIB supergravity which are asymptotically AdS$_5 \\times S^5$. The\nsolutions are constructed using consistent truncation to maximally gauged\nsupergravity in five dimensions which is further truncated to a four scalar\nmodel. Within this model we perform a full analytic classification of\nsupersymmetric domain wall solutions with flat Euclidean domain wall slices. On\neach side of the wormhole, the solution asymptotes to AdS$_5$ dual to ${\\cal\nN}= 4$ supersymmetric Yang-Mills deformed by a supersymmetric mass term."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic conductivity of holographic superconductors with higher\n  order corrections: We analytically as well as numerically disclose the effects of the higher\norder correction terms in the gravity and in the gauge field on the properties\nof $s$-wave holographic superconductors. On the gravity side, we consider the\nhigher curvature Gauss-Bonnet corrections and on the gauge field side, we add a\nquadratic correction term to the Maxwell Lagrangian. We show that for this\nsystem, one can still obtain an analytical relation between the critical\ntemperature and the charge density. We also calculate the critical exponent and\nthe condensation value both analytically and numerically. We use a variational\nmethod, based on the Sturm-Liouville eigenvalue problem for our analytical\nstudy, as well as a numerical shooting method in order to compare with our\nanalytical results. For a fixed value of the Gauss-Bonnet parameter, we observe\nthat the critical temperature decreases with increasing the nonlinearity of the\ngauge field. This implies that the nonlinear correction term to the Maxwell\nelectrodynamics make the condensation harder. We also study the holographic\nconductivity of the system and disclose the effects of Gauss-Bonnet and\nnonlinear parameters $\\alpha$ and $b$ on the superconducting gap. We observe\nthat for various values of $\\alpha $ and $b$, the real part of conductivity is\nproportional to the frequency per temperature, $\\omega /T$, as frequency is\nenough large. Besides, the conductivity has a minimum in the imaginary part\nwhich is shifted toward greater frequency with decreasing the temperature.",
        "positive": "A Crossing-Symmetric OPE Inversion Formula: We derive a Lorentzian OPE inversion formula for the principal series of\n$sl(2,\\mathbb{R})$. Unlike the standard Lorentzian inversion formula in higher\ndimensions, the formula described here only applies to fully crossing-symmetric\nfour-point functions and makes crossing symmetry manifest. In particular,\ninverting a single conformal block in the crossed channel returns the\ncoefficient function of the crossing-symmetric sum of Witten exchange diagrams\nin AdS, including the direct-channel exchange. The inversion kernel exhibits\npoles at the double-trace scaling dimensions, whose contributions must cancel\nout in a generic solution to crossing. In this way the inversion formula leads\nto a derivation of the Polyakov bootstrap for $sl(2,\\mathbb{R})$. The residues\nof the inversion kernel at the double-trace dimensions give rise to analytic\nbootstrap functionals discussed in recent literature, thus providing an\nalternative explanation for their existence. We also use the formula to give a\ngeneral proof that the coefficient function of the principal series is\nmeromorphic in the entire complex plane with poles only at the expected\nlocations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Partial summation of the nonlocal expansion for the gravitational\n  effective action in 4 dimensions: The vacuum action for the gravitational field admits a known expansion in\npowers of the Ricci tensor with nonlocal operator coefficients (form factors).\nWe show that going over to a different basis of curvature invariants makes\npossible a partial summation of this expansion. Only the form factors of the\nWeyl-tensor invariants need be calculated. The full action is then uniquely\nrecovered to all orders from the knowledge of the trace anomaly. We present an\nexplicit expression for the partially summed action, and point out\nsimplifications resulting in the vertex functions. An application to the effect\nof the vacuum gravitational waves is discussed.",
        "positive": "Extension of the Virasoro and Neveu-Schwartz algebras and generalized\n  Sturm-Liouville operators: We consider the universal central extension of the Lie algebra $\\Vect\n(S^1)${\\math \\s}$ C^{\\infty}(S^1)$. The coadjoint representation of this Lie\nalgebra has a natural geometric interpretation by matrix analogues of the\nSturm-Liouville operators. This approach leads to new Lie superalgebras\ngeneralizing the well-known Neveu-Schwartz algebra."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum scalar field in FRW Universe with constant electromagnetic\n  background: We discuss massive scalar field with conformal coupling in\nFriedmann-Robertson-Walker (FRW) Universe of special type with constant\nelectromagnetic field. Treating an external gravitational-electromagnetic\nbackground exactly, at first time the proper-time representations for out-in,\nin-in, and out-out scalar Green functions are explicitly constructed as\nproper-time integrals over the corresponding (complex) contours. The\nvacuum-to-vacuum transition amplitudes and number of created particles are\nfound and vacuum instability is discussed. The mean values of the current and\nenergy-momentum tensor are evaluated, and different approximations for them are\ninvestigated. The back reaction of the particles created to the electromagnetic\nfield is estimated in different regimes. The connection between proper-time\nmethod and effective action is outlined. The effective action in scalar QED in\nweakly-curved FRW Universe (De Sitter space) with weak constant electromagnetic\nfield is found as derivative expansion over curvature and electromagnetic field\nstrength. Possible further applications of the results are briefly mentioned.",
        "positive": "Chiral de Rham complex and the half-twisted sigma-model: On any Calabi-Yau manifold X one can define a certain sheaf of chiral N=2\nsuperconformal field theories, known as the chiral de Rham complex of X. It\ndepends only on the complex structure of X, and its local structure is\ndescribed by a simple free field theory. We show that the cohomology of this\nsheaf can be identified with the infinite-volume limit of the half-twisted\nsigma-model defined by E. Witten more than a decade ago. We also show that the\ncorrelators of the half-twisted model are independent of the Kahler moduli to\nall orders in worldsheet perturbation theory, and that the relation to the\nchiral de Rham complex can be violated only by worldsheet instantons."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Cosmological Constants from alpha'-Corrections: We examine to what extent perturbative alpha'-corrections can generate a\nsmall cosmological constant in warped string compactifications. Focusing on the\nheterotic string at lowest order in the string loop expansion, we show that,\nfor a maximally symmetric spacetime, the alpha'-corrected 4D scalar potential\nhas no effect on the cosmological constant. The only relevant terms are instead\nhigher order products of 4D Riemann tensors, which, however, are found to\nvanish in the usual perturbative regime of the alpha'-expansion. The heterotic\nstring therefore only allows for 4D Minkowski vacua to all orders in alpha',\nunless one also introduces string loop and/or nonperturbative corrections or\nallows for curvatures or field strengths that are large in string units. In\nparticular, we find that perturbative alpha'-effects cannot induce weakly\ncurved AdS_4 solutions.",
        "positive": "Phase transitions of neutral planar hairy AdS black holes: We investigate the phase diagram of a general class of $4$-dimensional exact\nregular hairy planar black holes. For some particular values of the parameters\nin the moduli potential, these solutions can be embedded in $\\omega$-deformed\n$\\mathcal{N}=8$ gauged supergravity. We construct the hairy soliton that is the\nground state of the theory and show that there exist first order phase\ntransitions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Mirror Symmetry And Some Applications: We report on recent progress in understanding mirror symmetry. Some of more\nrecent generalizations and applications are also presented. --- A contribution\nto the Proceedings of ``Strings 2001'' at Mumbai, India.",
        "positive": "Explicit boundary form factors: the scaling Lee-Yang model: We provide explicit expressions for boundary form factors in the boundary\nscaling Lee-Yang model for operators with the mildest ultraviolet behavior for\nall integrable boundary conditions. The form factors of the boundary stress\ntensor take a determinant form, while the form factors of the boundary primary\nfield contain additional explicit polynomials."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dark Fermions and Spontaneous $CP$ violation in $SU(2)$-axion Inflation: Remarkably, if $CP$ was spontaneously broken in the physics of inflation,\nfermions would notice and remember it. Based on that, we present a new\n(non-thermal) mechanism for generating self-interacting dark Dirac fermions\nprior to the Hot Big Bang. The non-Abelian gauge fields and axions are\nwell-motivated matter contents for the particle physics of inflation. In this\nbackground, we analytical study Dirac fermion doublets charged under the\n$SU(2)$ gauge field and use point-splitting technique to regularize the\ncurrents. We show that the non-trivial $CP$-violating vacuum structure of\n$SU(2)$-axion models naturally leads to an efficient mechanism for generating\nmassive fermions during inflation. The size of the fermionic backreaction and\nthe density fraction of dark fermions put upper bounds on the fermion's mass.\nFor a GUT scale inflation, the generated dark fermions, only gravitationally\ncoupled to the visible sector, can be as heavy as $m\\lesssim 10 TeV$.",
        "positive": "On elliptic genera of 6d string theories: We study the elliptic genera of 6d strings based on their modular properties.\nThey are weak Jacobi forms of weight 0, whose indices are determined from the\n2d chiral anomalies. We propose the ansatz for the elliptic genera which\nreflects the analytic structure of instanton partition functions. Given a\nfinite amount of initial BPS data, we completely determine the elliptic genera\nof 6d strings in various 6d SCFTs. We also apply our ansatz to study\n$\\mathcal{N}=(2,0)$ and $(1,1)$ little strings as well as $\\mathcal{N}=(1,0)$\nheterotic little strings, for which T-duality of little string theories\nsupplies a sufficient number of initial BPS data. The anomaly polynomials of 6d\nlittle strings are worked out, which is needed for the elliptic genera\nbootstrap. In some little string theories, the elliptic genera must have the\nextra contributions from the Coulomb branch, which correspond to the additional\nzero modes for the full strings. The modified ansatze for such elliptic genera\nare also discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Wilson Loop in Yang-Mills Theory in the General Axial Gauge: We test the unified-gauge formalism by computing a Wilson loop in Yang-Mills\ntheory to one-loop order. The unified-gauge formalism is characterized by the\nabritrary, but fixed, four-vector $N_\\mu$, which collectively represents the\nlight-cone gauge $(N^2 = 0)$, the temporal gauge $(N^2 > 0)$, the pure axial\ngauge $(N^2 < 0)$ and the planar gauge $(N^2 < 0)$. A novel feature of the\ncalculation is the use of distinct sets of vectors, $\\{ n_{\\mu}, n_{\\mu}^{\\ast}\n\\}$ and $\\{N_{\\mu}, N_{\\mu}^{\\ast}\\}$, for the path and for the gauge-fixing\nconstraint, respectively. The answer for the Wilson loop is independent of\n$N_{\\mu}$, and agrees numerically with the result obtained in the Feymman\ngauge.",
        "positive": "Carving Out the End of the World or (Superconformal Bootstrap in Six\n  Dimensions): We bootstrap ${\\cal N}=(1,0)$ superconformal field theories in six\ndimensions, by analyzing the four-point function of flavor current multiplets.\nAssuming $E_8$ flavor group, we present universal bounds on the central charge\n$C_T$ and the flavor central charge $C_J$. Based on the numerical data, we\nconjecture that the rank-one E-string theory saturates the universal lower\nbound on $C_J$, and numerically determine the spectrum of long multiplets in\nthe rank-one E-string theory. We comment on the possibility of solving the\nhigher-rank E-string theories by bootstrap and thereby probing M-theory on\nAdS${}_7\\times{\\rm S}^4$/$\\mathbb{Z}_2$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Connection between the Loop Variable Formalism and the Old Covariant\n  Formalsm for the Open Bosonic String: The gauge invariant loop variable formalism and old covariant formalism for\nbosonic open string theory are compared in this paper. It is expected that for\nthe free theory, after gauge fixing, the loop variable fields can be mapped to\nthose of the old covariant formalism in bosonic string theory, level by level.\nThis is verified explicitly for the first two massive levels. It is shown that\n(in the critical dimension) the fields, constraints and gauge transformations\ncan all be mapped from one to the other. Assuming this continues at all levels\none can give general arguments that the tree S-matrix (integrated correlation\nfunctions for on-shell physical fields) is the same in both formalisms and\ntherefore they describe the same physical theory (at tree level).",
        "positive": "Symmetry and holonomy in M Theory: In this PhD Thesis, supersymmetry and its formulation in the context of D=11\nsupergravity is discussed from several perspectives. The role of generalized\nholonomy as a classification tool of supersymmetric supergravity solutions is\nreviewed, with particular emphasis on how successive supercovariant derivatives\nof the generalized curvature may be needed to properly define the generalized\nholonomy algebra. The generalized curvature is also shown to contain the\nsupergravity equations of motion, even in the non-vanishing gravitino case. The\nunderlying gauge symmetry of D=11 supergravity is discussed and argued to\nbecome manifest when its three-form field A_3 is expressed through a set of\none-form gauge fields, associated with the generators of a suitable family of\nenlarged supersymmetry algebras. This family is related to osp(1|32) through\nexpansion, a method to obtain new Lie (super)algebras of increasing dimensions\nfrom given ones. The analysis of the underlying gauge symmetry of D=11\nsupergravity leads naturally to enlarged supersymmetry algebras and superspaces\nmaking, thus, natural to consider actions for objects moving in such spaces. In\nparticular, a string moving in tensorial space is discussed, describing the\nexcitations of a state preserving 30 out of 32 supersymmetries (hence composed\nof two preons, hypothetical constituents of M Theory preserving 31\nsupersymmetries). A G-frame method is also discussed to study hypothetical\npreonic solutions of supergravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic Wilsonian RG Flow and Sliding Membrane Paradigm: We study the relations between two different approaches to the holographic\nRenormalization Group (RG) flow at the dual gravity level: One is the radial\nevolution of the classical equation of motion and the other is the flow\nequation given by the holographic Wilsonian RG coming from the cut off\nindependence. Apparently, the two flows look different. We give general proofs\nthat the two flows are actually equivalent. The role of the momentum continuity\n(MC) is essential. We show that MC together with cutoff independence gives the\nevolution equation of the boundary values. Equivalence of conductivity flows in\ntwo paradigm has been shown as an explicit example. We also get the connecting\nformula of Green functions and AC conductivity at arbitrary slice in terms of\nits value at horizon for various geometry backgrounds.",
        "positive": "Israel conditions for the Gauss-Bonnet theory and the Friedmann equation\n  on the brane universe: Assuming an Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet theory of gravitation in a ($D \\geq\n5$)-dimensional spacetime with boundary, we consider the problem of the\nboundary dynamics given the matter Lagrangian on it. The resulting equation is\napplied in particular on the derivation of the Friedmann eq. of a 3-brane,\nunderstood as the non-orientable boundary of a 5d spacetime. We briefly discuss\nthe contradictory conclusions of the literature."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Functional truncations in asymptotic safety for quantum gravity: Finite dimensional truncations and the single field approximation have thus\nfar played dominant roles in investigations of asymptotic safety for quantum\ngravity. This thesis is devoted to exploring asymptotic safety in infinite\ndimensional, or functional, truncations of the effective action as well as the\neffects that can be caused by the single field approximation in this context.\nIt begins with a comprehensive analysis of the three existing flow equations of\nthe single field f(R) truncation by determining their spaces of global fixed\npoint solutions and, where applicable, of corresponding eigenoperator\nsolutions. As a second result, it is then shown that one incarnation of the\nsingle field f(R) approximation actually breaks down in the sense that there is\nno physical content left to explore. In order to clarify whether such drastic\nfindings can be caused by the approximations used in setting up the\nrenormalisation group flow, we identify the single field approximation as a\nprime candidate and show in the more familiar context of scalar field theory\nthat it can indeed lead to many types of non-physical results. As a way to\navoid such non-physical behaviour we highlight the importance of the previously\nknown split Ward identity and exemplify its usefulness by fully restoring the\ncorrect physical picture in scalar field theory. Taking this result as evidence\nthat the split Ward identity may lead to well behaved functional truncations\nalso in gravity, we derive the flow equations of conformal gravity in a\nbi-field truncation of the effective action that goes beyond the local\npotential approximation in the fluctuation field. It is found that the split\nWard identity leads to a simplified set of renormalisation group equations for\nthe conformal factor that, while differing at crucial points, bear close\nresemblance to flow equations obtained in scalar field theory.",
        "positive": "Crossing Symmetric Spinning S-matrix Bootstrap: EFT bounds: We develop crossing symmetric dispersion relations for describing 2-2\nscattering of identical external particles carrying spin. This enables us to\nimport techniques from Geometric Function Theory and study two sided bounds on\nlow energy Wilson coefficients. We consider scattering of photons, gravitons in\nweakly coupled effective field theories. We provide general expressions for the\nlocality/null constraints. Consideration of the positivity of the absorptive\npart leads to an interesting connection with the recently conjectured weak low\nspin dominance. We also construct the crossing symmetric amplitudes and\nlocality constraints for the massive neutral Majorana fermions and parity\nviolating photon and graviton theories. The techniques developed in this paper\nwill be useful for considering numerical S-matrix bootstrap in the future."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dangerous implications of a minimum length in quantum gravity: The existence of a minimum length and a generalization of the Heisenberg\nuncertainty principle seem to be two fundamental ingredients required in any\nconsistent theory of quantum gravity. In this letter we show that they would\npredict dangerous processes which are phenomenologically unacceptable. For\nexample, long--lived virtual super--Planck mass black holes may lead to rapid\nproton decay. Possible solutions of this puzzle are briefly discussed.",
        "positive": "Nonrelativistic counterparts of twistors and the realizations of\n  Galilean conformal algebra: Using the notion of Galilean conformal algebra (GCA) in arbitrary space\ndimension d, we introduce for d=3 quantized nonrelativistic counterpart of\ntwistors as the spinorial representation of O(2,1){\\oplus}SO(3) which is the\nmaximal semisimple subalgebra of three-dimensional GCA. The GC-covariant\nquantization of such nonrelativistic spinors, which shall be called also\nGalilean twistors, is presented. We consider for d=3 the general spinorial\nmatrix realizations of GCA, which are further promoted to quantum-mechanical\noperator representations, expressed as bilinears in quantized Galilean twistors\ncomponents. For arbitrary Hermitian quantum-mechanical Galilean twistor\nrealizations we obtain the result that the representations of GCA with\npositive-definite Hamiltonian do not exist. For non-positive H we construct for\nN{\\geq}2 the Hermitian Galilean N-twistor realizations of GCA; for N=2 such\nrealization is provided explicitly."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "3-dimensional scalar-vector dual of topological sigma-model: A 3-dimensional model dual to the Rozansky-Witten topological sigma-model\nwith a hyper-Kaehler target space is considered. It is demonstrated that a\nFeynman diagram calculation of the classical part of its partition function\nyields the Milnor linking number.",
        "positive": "Quantization of a Theory of 2d Dilaton Gravity: We discuss the quantization of the 2d gravity theory of Callan, Giddings,\nHarvey, and Strominger (CGHS), following the procedure of David, and of Distler\nand Kawai. We find that the physics depends crucially on whether the number of\nmatter fields is greater than or less than 24. In the latter case the\nsingularity pointed out by several authors is absent but the physical\ninterpretation is unclear. In the former case (the one studied by CGHS) the\nquantum theory which gives CGHS in the linear dilaton semi-classical limit, is\ndifferent from that which gives CGHS in the extreme Liouville regime."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Connections and dynamical trajectories in generalised Newton-Cartan\n  gravity II. An ambient perspective: Connections compatible with degenerate metric structures are known to possess\npeculiar features: on the one hand, the compatibility conditions involve\nrestrictions on the torsion; on the other hand, torsionfree compatible\nconnections are not unique, the arbitrariness being encoded in a tensor field\nwhose type depends on the metric structure. Nonrelativistic structures\ntypically fall under this scheme, the paradigmatic example being a\ncontravariant degenerate metric whose kernel is spanned by a one-form.\nTorsionfree compatible (i.e. Galilean) connections are characterised by the\ngift of a two-form (the force field). Whenever the two-form is closed, the\nconnection is said Newtonian. Such a nonrelativistic spacetime is known to\nadmit an ambient description as the orbit space of a gravitational wave with\nparallel rays. The leaves of the null foliation are endowed with a\nnonrelativistic structure dual to the Newtonian one, dubbed Carrollian\nspacetime. We propose a generalisation of this unifying framework by\nintroducing a new non-Lorentzian ambient metric structure of which we study the\ngeometry. We characterise the space of (torsional) connections preserving such\na metric structure which is shown to project to (resp. embed) the most general\nclass of (torsional) Galilean (resp. Carrollian) connections.",
        "positive": "The Calogero Model - Anyonic Representation, Fermionic Extension and\n  Supersymmetry: We discuss several applications and extensions of our previous operator\nsolution of the $N$-body Calogero problem, \\ie N particles in 1 dimension\nsubject to a two-body interaction of the form $\\half \\sum_{i,j}[ (x_i - x_j)^2\n+ g/ {(x_i - x_j)^2}]$. Using a complex representation of the deformed\nHeisenberg algebra underlying the Calogero model, we explicitly establish the\nequivalence between this system and anyons in the lowest Landau level. A\nconstruction based on supersymmetry is used to extend our operator method to\ninclude fermions, and we obtain an explicit solution of the supersymmetric\nCalogero model constructed by Freedman and Mende. We also show how the\ndynamical $OSp(2;2)$ supersymmetry is realized by bilinears of modified\ncreation and annihilation operators, and how to construct a supersymmetic\nextension of the deformed Heisenberg algebra."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Induced deformation of the canonical structure and UV/IR duality in\n  $(1+1)D$: The purpose of this work is two fold. Working in the framework of $(1+1)D$\nLorentz violating field theories we will investigate in the first place the\ngeneral claim that fermionic interactions may be equivalent to a deformation of\nthe canonical structure of the theory. Second the deformed theory will be\nstudied using duality reasoning to address the behavior of the Infra-Red and\nUltra-Violet regimes.",
        "positive": "All genus correlation functions for the hermitian 1-matrix model: We rewrite the loop equations of the hermitian matrix model, in a way which\nallows to compute all the correlation functions, to all orders in the\ntopological $1/N^2$ expansion, as residues on an hyperelliptical curve. Those\nresidues, can be represented diagrammaticaly as Feynmann graphs of a cubic\ninteraction field theory on the curve."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quasi-local structure of p-form theory: We show that the Hamiltonian dynamics of the self-interacting, abelian p-form\ntheory in D=2p+2 dimensional space-time gives rise to the quasi-local\nstructure. Roughly speaking, it means that the field energy is localized but on\nclosed 2p-dimensional surfaces (quasi-localized). From the mathematical point\nof view this approach is implied by the boundary value problem for the\ncorresponding field equations. Various boundary problems, e.g. Dirichlet or\nNeumann, lead to different Hamiltonian dynamics. Physics seems to prefer\ngauge-invariant, positively defined Hamiltonians which turn out to be\nquasi-local. Our approach is closely related with the standard two-potential\nformulation and enables one to generate e.g. duality transformations in a\nperfectly local way (but with respect to a new set of nonlocal variables).\nMoreover, the form of the quantization condition displays very similar\nstructure to that of the symplectic form of the underlying p-form theory\nexpressed in the quasi-local language.",
        "positive": "The Quantum 3D Superparticle: The minimal (${\\cal N}=1$) superparticle in three spacetime dimensions (3D)\nis quantized. For non-zero mass it describes a spin-1/4 semion supermultiplet\nof \"relativistic helicities\" (-1/4, 1/4). The addition of a parity-violating\nLorentz-Wess-Zumino term shifts this to $(\\beta-1/4,\\beta+1/4)$ for arbitrary\n$\\beta$. For zero mass, in which case spin is not defined, the quantum\nsuperparticle describes a supermultiplet of one boson and one fermion."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On gauged maximal d=8 supergravities: We study the gauging of maximal $d=8$ supergravity using the embedding tensor\nformalism. We focus on SO$(3)$ gaugings, study all the possible choices of\ngauge fields and construct explicitly the bosonic actions (including the\ncomplicated Chern-Simons terms) for all these choices, which are parametrized\nby a parameter associated to the 8-dimensional SL$(2,\\mathbb{R})$ duality group\nthat relates all the possible choices which are, ultimately, equivalent from\nthe purely 8-dimensional point of view. Our result proves that the theory\nconstructed by Salam and Sezgin by Scherk-Schwarz compactification of $d=11$\nsupergravity and the theory constructed in Ref.~\\cite{AlonsoAlberca:2000gh} by\ndimensional reduction of the so called ``massive 11-dimensional supergravity''\nproposed by Meessen and Ort\\'{\\i}n in Ref.~\\cite{Meessen:1998qm} are indeed\nrelated by an SL$(2,\\mathbb{R})$ duality even though they have two completely\ndifferent 11-dimensional origins.",
        "positive": "No superradiance for the scalar field in the BTZ black hole with\n  reflexive boundary conditions: We show that there is no superradiance in the rotating BTZ black hole for\nvanishing boundary conditions at infinity for the real scalar field"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Small mass graviton propagator via finite-field-dependent BRST\n  transformations in the critical dimension Siegel-Zwiebach action from string\n  theory: We discuss the divergent graviton propagator massless limit problem in $D=26$\nand show how it can be rigorously approached by interconnecting distinct\ngauge-fixed Siegel-Zwiebach generating functionals from string theory in the\ncritical dimension through proper finite-field-dependent BRST (FFBRST)\ntransformations. The massive Fierz-Pauli Lagrangian can be obtained from the\ngauge-invariant Siegel-Zwiebach one in the unitary gauge as a particular case,\nhowever suffering from the van Dam-Veltman-Zakharov discontinuity and\npossessing a ill-defined propagator in the massless limit. Nevertheless,\nalternatively working in a more suitable generalized Lorenz type gauge,\nincluding the transverse-traceless case, the graviton propagator for the\nSiegel-Zwiebach Lagrangian in the massless limit can be made finite. Gauge\nattainability and nilpotent BRST symmetries are explicitly worked out. We write\ndown the complete corresponding generating functional, including the ghosts\nsector, and construct a convenient FFBRST transformation connecting the unitary\ngauge to a new bi-parametrized class of gauge-fixings containing the transverse\ntraceless case. By taking into account the corresponding change in the Feynman\nintegral Jacobian, a finite massless continuous limit propagator is achieved\nand fully justified.",
        "positive": "Webs of integrable theories: We present an intuitive diagrammatic representation of a new class of\nintegrable $\\s$-models. It is shown that to any given diagram corresponds an\nintegrable theory that couples $N$ WZW models with a certain number of each of\nthe following four fundamental integrable models, the PCM, the YB model, both\nbased on a group $G$, the isotropic $\\s$-model on the symmetric space $G/H$ and\nthe YB model on the symmetric space $G/H$. To each vertex of a diagram we\nassign the matrix of one of the aforementioned fundamental integrable theories.\nAny two vertices may be connected with a number of lines having an orientation\nand carrying an integer level $k_i$. Each of these lines is associated with an\nasymmetrically gauged WZW model at an arbitrary level $k_i$. Gauge invariance\nof the full action is translated to level conservation at the vertices. We also\nshow how to immediately read from the diagrams the corresponding $\\s$-model\nactions. The most generic of these models depends on at least $n^2+1$\nparameters, where $n$ is the total number of vertices/fundamental integrable\nmodels. Finally, we discuss the case where the level conservation at the\nvertices is relaxed and the case where the deformation matrix is not diagonal\nin the space of integrable models."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Charge varying sine-Gordon deformed defects: Sine-Gordon deformed defects that exhibit unusual phenomenological features\non the topological charge are investigated. The possibility of a smooth and\ncontinuous transition between topological (non null charge) and non-topological\n(null charge) scenarios of deformed defects supported by sine-Gordon structures\nis evinced by the analytical calculation of topological charges and localized\nenergy distributions. By describing cyclic deformation chains, we show that a\ntriggering sine-Gordon model simultaneously supports kink and lump-like\ndefects, whose topological mass values are closed by trigonometric or\nhyperbolic successive deformations. In spite of preserving analytical closure\nrelations constraining the topological masses of $3$-and $4$-cyclically\ndeformed defects, the deformation chains produce kinks and lumps which exhibit\nnon-monotonic behavior and extra inflection points, respectively. The outcome\nof our analysis suggests that cyclic deformations create novel scenarios of\nphysical and mathematical applicability of defect structures supported by the\nsine-Gordon theory.",
        "positive": "String Driven Cosmology and its Predictions: We present a minimal model for the Universe evolution fully extracted from\neffective String Theory. This model is by its construction close to the\nstandard cosmological evolution, and it is driven selfconsistently by the\nevolution of the string equation of state itself. The inflationary String\nDriven stage is able to reach enough inflation, describing a Big Bang like\nevolution for the metric. By linking this model to a minimal but well\nestablished observational information, (the transition times of the different\ncosmological epochs), we prove that it gives realistic predictions on early and\ncurrent energy density and its results are compatible with General Relativity.\nInterestingly enough, the predicted current energy density is found Omega = 1\nand a lower limit Omega \\geq 4/9 is also found. The energy density at the exit\nof the inflationary stage also gives | Omega |_{inf}=1. This result shows an\nagreement with General Relativity (spatially flat metric gives critical energy\ndensity) within an inequivalent Non-Einstenian context (string low energy\neffective equations). The order of magnitude of the energy density-dilaton\ncoupled term at the beginning of the radiation dominated stage agrees with the\nGUT scale. The predicted graviton spectrum is computed and analyzed without any\nfree parameters. Peaks and asymptotic behaviours of the spectrum are a direct\nconsequence of the dilaton involved and not only of the scale factor evolution.\nDrastic changes are found at high frequencies: the dilaton produces an\nincreasing spectrum (in no string cosmologies the spectrum is decreasing).\nWithout solving the known problems about higher order corrections and graceful\nexit of inflation, we find this model closer to the observational Universe than\nthe current available string cosmology scenarii."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Casimir force variability in one-dimensional QED systems: The Casimir force between two short-range charge sources, embedded in a\nbackground of one dimensional massive Dirac fermions, is explored by means of\nthe original $\\ln\\text{[Wronskian]}$ contour integration techniques. For\nidentical sources with the same (positive) charge, we find that in the\nnon-perturbative region the Casimir interaction between them can reach\nsufficiently large negative values and simultaneously reveal the features of a\nlong-range force in spite of nonzero fermion mass, that could significantly\ninfluence the properties of such quasi-one-dimensional QED systems. For large\ndistances $s$ between sources we recover that their mutual interaction is\ngoverned first of all by the structure of the discrete spectrum of a single\nsource, in dependence on which it can be tuned to give an attractive, a\nrepulsive, or an (almost) compensated Casimir force with various rates of the\nexponential fall-down, quite different from the standard $\\exp (-2 m s)$ law.\nBy means of the same $\\ln\\text{[Wronskian]}$ techniques, the case of two\n$\\delta$-sources is also considered in a self-consistent manner with similar\nresults for the variability of the Casimir force. A quite different behavior of\nthe Casimir force is found for the antisymmetric source-anti-source system. In\nparticular, in this case, there is no possibility for a long-range interaction\nbetween sources. The asymptotics of the Casimir force follows the standard\n$\\exp (-2 m s)$ law. Moreover, for small separations between sources, the\nCasimir force for symmetric and antisymmetric cases turns out to be of opposite\nsign.",
        "positive": "Non-geometric fluxes and mixed-symmetry potentials: We discuss the relation between generalised fluxes and mixed-symmetry\npotentials. We first consider the NS fluxes, and point out that the\n`non-geometric' $R$ flux is dual to a mixed-symmetry potential with a set of\nnine antisymmetric indices. We then consider the T-duality family of fluxes\nwhose prototype is the Scherk-Schwarz reduction of the S-dual of the RR scalar\nof IIB supergravity. Using the relation with mixed-symmetry potentials, we are\nable to give a complete classification of these fluxes, including the ones that\nare non-geometric. The non-geometric fluxes again turn out to be dual to\npotentials containing nine antisymmetric indices. Our analysis suggests that\nall these fluxes can be understood in the context of double field theory,\nalthough for the non-geometric ones one expects a violation of the strong\nconstraint."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exterior Differential Systems for Field Theories: Exterior Differential Systems (EDS) and Cartan forms, set in the state space\nof field variables taken together with four space-time variables, are\nformulated for classical gauge theories of Maxwell and SU(2) Yang-Mills fields\nminimally coupled to Dirac spinor multiplets. Cartan character tables are\ncalculated, showing whether the EDS, and so the Euler-Lagrange partial\ndifferential equations, is well-posed. The first theory, with 22 dimensional\nstate space (10 Maxwell field and potential components and 8 components of a\nDirac field), anticipates QED. In the second, non-Abelian, case (30 Yang-Mills\nfield components and 16 Dirac), only if three additional \"ghost\" fields are\nincluded (15 more scalar variables) is a well-posed EDS found. This classical\nformulation anticipates the need for introduction of Fadeev-Popov ghost fields\nin the quantum standard model.",
        "positive": "Dualities in 3D Large $N$ Vector Models: Using an explicit path integral approach we derive non-abelian bosonization\nand duality of 3D systems in the large $N$ limit. We first consider a fermionic\n$U(N)$ vector model coupled to level $k$ Chern-Simons theory, following\nstandard techniques we gauge the original global symmetry and impose the\ncorresponding field strength $F_{\\mu\\nu}$ to vanish introducing a Lagrange\nmultiplier $\\Lambda$. Exchanging the order of integrations we obtain the\nbosonized theory with $\\Lambda$ as the propagating field using the large $N$\nrather than the previously used large mass limit. Next we follow the same\nprocedure to dualize the scalar $U(N)$ vector model coupled to Chern-Simons and\nfind its corresponding dual theory. Finally, we compare the partition functions\nof the two resulting theories and find that they agree in the large $N$ limit\nincluding a level/rank duality. This provides a constructive evidence for\nprevious proposals on level/rank duality of 3D vector models in the large $N$\nlimit. We also present a partial analysis at subleading order in large $N$ and\nfind that the duality does not generically hold at this level."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Bulk Local States and Crosscaps in Holographic CFT: In a weakly coupled gravity theory in the anti-de Sitter space, local states\nin the bulk are linear superpositions of Ishibashi states for a crosscap in the\ndual conformal field theory. The superposition structure can be constrained\neither by the microscopic causality in the bulk gravity or the bootstrap\ncondition in the boundary conformal field theory. We show, contrary to some\nexpectation, that these two conditions are not compatible to each other in the\nweak gravity regime. We also present an evidence to show that bulk local states\nin three dimensions are not organized by the Virasoro symmetry.",
        "positive": "Restricted Maximin surfaces and HRT in generic black hole spacetimes: The AdS/CFT understanding of CFT entanglement is based on HRT surfaces in the\ndual bulk spacetime. While such surfaces need not exist in sufficiently general\nspacetimes, the maximin construction demonstrates that they can be found in any\nsmooth asymptotically locally AdS spacetime without horizons or with only\nKasner-like singularities. In this work, we introduce restricted maximin\nsurfaces anchored to a particular boundary Cauchy slice $C_\\partial$. We show\nthat the result agrees with the original unrestricted maximin prescription when\nthe restricted maximin surface lies in a smooth region of spacetime. We then\nuse this construction to extend the existence theorem for HRT surfaces to\ngeneric charged or spinning AdS black holes whose mass-inflation singularities\nare not Kasner-like. We also discuss related issues in time-independent charged\nwormholes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum fields in anti de Sitter spacetime and degrees of freedom in the\n  bulk/boundary correspondence: The quantization of a scalar field in anti de Sitter spacetime using\nPoincar\\'e coordinates is considered. We find a discrete spectrum that is\nconsistent with a possible mapping between bulk and boundary quantum states.",
        "positive": "Quantum Group Analysis of the Bound States in the Strong Coupling Regime\n  of the Modified Sine-Gordon Model: A quantum group analysis is applied to the Sine-Gordon model (or may be its\nversion) in a strong-coupling regime. Infinitely many bound states are found\ntogether with the corresponding S-matrices. These new solutions of the\nYang-Baxter eqations are related to some reducible representations of the\nquantum $sl(2)$ algebra resembling the Kac-Moody algebra representations in the\nWess-Zumino-Witten-Novikov conformal field theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauged Q-balls in the Affleck-Dine mechanism: We consider gauged Q-balls in the gravity-mediation-type model in the\nAffleck-Dine mechanism, which is described by the potential $V_{\\rm\ngrav.}(\\phi):=(m_{\\rm grav.}^2/2)\\phi^2\\left[1+K\\ln(\\phi/M)^2\\right]$ with\n$K<0$. In many models of gauged Q-balls, which were studied in the literature,\nthere are upper limits for charge and size of Q-balls due to repulsive Coulomb\nforce. In the present model, by contrast, our numerical calculation strongly\nsuggests that stable solutions with any amount of charge and size exist. As the\nelectric charge $Q$ increases, the field configuration of the scalar field\nbecomes shell-like; because the charge is concentrated on the surface, the\nCoulomb force does not destroy the Q-ball configuration. These properties are\nanalogous to those in the V-shaped model, which was studied by Arod\\'z and Lis.\nWe also find that for each $K$ there is another sequence of unstable solutions,\nwhich is separated from the other sequence of the stable solutions. As $|K|$\nincreases, the two sequences approach; eventually at some point in\n$-1.07<K<-1.06$, the \"recombination\" of the two sequences takes place.",
        "positive": "Three-Body Effective Potential in General Relativity at Second\n  Post-Minkowskian Order and Resulting Post-Newtonian Contributions: We study the Post-Minkowskian (PM) and Post-Newtonian (PN) expansions of the\ngravitational three-body effective potential. At order 2PM a formal result is\ngiven in terms of a differential operator acting on the maximal generalized cut\nof the one-loop triangle integral. We compute the integral in all kinematic\nregions and show that the leading terms in the PN expansion are reproduced. We\nthen perform the PN expansion unambiguously at the level of the integrand.\nFinding agreement with the 2PN three-body potential after integration, we\nexplicitly present new $G^2v^4$-contributions at order 3PN and outline the\ngeneralization to $G^2v^{2n}$. The integrals that represent the essential input\nfor these results are obtained by applying the recent Yangian bootstrap\ndirectly to their $\\epsilon$-expansion around three dimensions. The coordinate\nspace Yangian generator that we employ to obtain these integrals can be\nunderstood as a special conformal symmetry in a dual momentum space."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Renormalizability of pure $\\mathcal{N}=1$ Super Yang-Mills in the\n  Wess-Zumino gauge in the presence of the local composite operators $A^{2}$\n  and $\\bar\u03bb\u03bb$: The renormalization of $\\mathcal{N}=1$ Super Yang-Mills theory with the\npresence of the local composite operators $AA$, $A_\\mu \\gamma_\\mu \\lambda$ and\n$\\bar{\\lambda}\\lambda$ is analyzed in the Wess-Zumino gauge, employing the\nLandau condition. An all-orders proof of the renormalizability of the theory is\ngiven by means of the Algebraic Renormalization procedure. Only three\nrenormalization constants are needed, which can be identified with the coupling\nconstant, gauge field, and gluino renormalization. The non-renormalization\ntheorem of the gluon--ghost--anti-ghost vertex in the Landau gauge is shown to\nremain valid in $\\mathcal{N}=1$ Super Yang-Mills with the presence of the local\ncomposite operators. Moreover, due to the non-linear realization of the\nsupersymmetry in the Wess-Zumino gauge, the renormalization factor of the gauge\nfield turns out to be different from that of the gluino.",
        "positive": "A geometrical approach to super W-induced gravities in two dimensions: A geometrical study of supergravity defined on (1|1) complex superspace is\npresented. This approach is based on the introduction of generalized\nsuperprojective structures extending the notions of super Riemann geometry to a\nkind of super W-Riemann surfaces. On these surfaces a connection is\nconstructed. The zero curvature condition leads to the super Ward identities of\nthe underlying supergravity. This is accomplished through the symplectic form\nlinked to the (super)symplectic manifold of all super gauge connections. The\nBRST algebra is also derived from the knowledge of the super W-symmetries which\nare the gauge transformations of the vector bundle canonically associated to\nthe generalized superprojective structures. We obtain the possible consistent\nBRST (super)anomalies and their cocycles related by the descent equations.\nFinally we apply our considerations to the case of supergravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Lectures on Twistor Strings and Perturbative Yang-Mills Theory: Recently, Witten proposed a topological string theory in twistor space that\nis dual to a weakly coupled gauge theory. In this lectures we will discuss\naspects of the twistor string theory. Along the way we will learn new things\nabout Yang-Mills scattering amplitudes. The string theory sheds light on\nYang-Mills perturbation theory and leads to new methods for computing\nYang-Mills scattering amplitudes.",
        "positive": "Competing s-wave orders from Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet gravity: In this paper, the holographic superconductor model with two s-wave orders\nfrom 4+1 dimensional Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet gravity is explored in the probe\nlimit. At different values of the Gauss-Bonnet coefficient $\\alpha$, we study\nthe influence of tuning the mass and charge parameters of the bulk scalar field\non the free energy curve of condensed solution with signal s-wave order, and\ncompare the difference of tuning the two different parameters while the changes\nof the critical temperature are the same. Based on the above results, it is\nindicated that the two free energy curves of different s-wave orders can have\none or two intersection points, where two typical phase transition behaviors of\nthe s+s coexistent phase, including the reentrant phase transition near the\nChern-Simons limit $\\alpha=0.25$, can be found. We also give an explanation to\nthe nontrivial behavior of the $T_c-\\alpha$ curves near the Chern-Simons limit,\nwhich might be heuristic to understand the origin of the reentrant behavior\nnear the Chern-Simons limit."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Virasoro Representations on Fusion Graphs: For any non-unitary model with central charge c(2,q) the path spaces\nassociated to a certain fusion graph are isomorphic to the irreducible Virasoro\nhighest weight modules.",
        "positive": "Coordinate representation of particle dynamics in AdS and in generic\n  static spacetimes: We discuss the quantum dynamics of a particle in static curved spacetimes in\na coordinate representation. The scheme is based on the analysis of the squared\nenergy operator E^2, which is quadratic in momenta and contains a scalar\ncurvature term. Our main emphasis is on AdS spaces, where this term is fixed by\nthe isometry group. As a byproduct the isometry generators are constructed and\nthe energy spectrum is reproduced. In the massless case the conformal symmetry\nis realized as well. We show the equivalence between this quantization and the\ncovariant quantization, based on the Klein-Gordon type equation in AdS. We\nfurther demonstrate that the two quantization methods in an arbitrary\n(N+1)-dimensional static spacetime are equivalent to each other if the scalar\ncurvature terms both in the operator E^2 and in the Klein-Gordon type equation\nhave the same coefficient equal to (N-1)/(4N)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "U(1) lattice gauge theory and N=2 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory: We discuss the physics of four-dimensional compact U(1) lattice gauge theory\nfrom the point of view of softly broken N=2 supersymmetric SU(2) Yang-Mills\ntheory. We provide arguments in favor of (pseudo-)critical mass exponents 1/3,\n5/11 and 1/2, in agreement with the values observed in the computer\nsimulations. We also show that the J^{CP} assignment of some of the lowest\nlying states can be naturally explained.",
        "positive": "QED_2+1: the Compton effect: The Compton effect in a two-dimensional world is compared with the same\nprocess in ordinary three-dimensional space."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Josephson Junctions and AdS/CFT Networks: We propose a new holographic model of Josephson junctions (and networks\nthereof) based on designer multi-gravity, namely multi-(super)gravity theories\non products of distinct asymptotically AdS spacetimes coupled by mixed boundary\nconditions. We present a simple model of a Josephson junction (JJ) that\nexhibits the well-known current-phase sine relation of JJs. In one-dimensional\nchains of holographic superconductors we find that the Cooper-pair condensates\nare described by a discretized Schrodinger-type equation. Such non-integrable\nequations, which have been studied extensively in the past in condensed matter\nand optics applications, are known to exhibit complex behavior that includes\nperiodic and quasiperiodic solutions, chaotic dynamics, soliton and kink\nsolutions. In our setup these solutions translate to holographic configurations\nof strongly-coupled superconductors in networks with weak site-to-site\ninteractions that exhibit interesting patterns of modulated superconductivity.\nIn a continuum limit our equations reduce to generalizations of the\nGross-Pitaevskii equation. We comment on the many possible extensions and\napplications of this new approach.",
        "positive": "Holographic Aspects of Four Dimensional ${\\cal N }=2$ SCFTs and their\n  Marginal Deformations: We study the holographic description of ${\\cal N}=2$ Super Conformal Field\nTheories in four dimensions first given by Gaiotto and Maldacena. We present\nnew expressions that holographically calculate characteristic numbers of the\nCFT and associated Hanany-Witten set-ups, or more dynamical observables, like\nthe central charge. A number of examples of varying complexity are studied and\nsome proofs for these new expressions are presented. We repeat this treatment\nfor the case of the marginally deformed Gaiotto-Maldacena theories, presenting\nan infinite family of new solutions and compute some of its observables. These\nnew backgrounds rely on the solution of a Laplace equation and a boundary\ncondition, encoding the kinematics of the original conformal field theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Extremal Black Holes in Supergravity and the Bekenstein-Hawking Entropy: We review some results on the connection among supergravity central charges,\nBPS states and Bekenstein-Hawking entropy. In particular, N=2 supergravity in\nfour dimensions is studied in detail. For higher N supergravities we just give\nan account of the general theory specializing the discussion to the N=8 case\nwhen one half of supersymmetry is preserved. We stress the fact that for\nextremal supergravity black holes the entropy formula is topological, that is\nthe entropy turns out to be a moduli independent quantity and can be written in\nterms of invariants of the duality group of the supergravity theory.",
        "positive": "Perturbations of Self-Accelerated Universe: We discuss small perturbations on the self-accelerated solution of the DGP\nmodel, and argue that claims of instability of the solution that are based on\nlinearized calculations are unwarranted because of the following: (1) Small\nperturbations of an empty self-accelerated background can be quantized\nconsistently without yielding ghosts. (2) Conformal sources, such as radiation,\ndo not give rise to instabilities either. (3) A typical non-conformal source\ncould introduce ghosts in the linearized approximation and become unstable,\nhowever, it also invalidates the approximation itself. Such a source creates a\nhalo of variable curvature that locally dominates over the self-accelerated\nbackground and extends over a domain in which the linearization breaks down.\nPerturbations that are valid outside the halo may not continue inside, as it is\nsuggested by some non-perturbative solutions. (4) In the Euclidean continuation\nof the theory, with arbitrary sources, we derive certain constraints imposed by\nthe second order equations on first order perturbations, thus restricting the\nlinearized solutions that could be continued into the full nonlinear theory.\nNaive linearized solutions fail to satisfy the above constraints. (5) Finally,\nwe clarify in detail subtleties associated with the boundary conditions and\nanalytic properties of the Green's functions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Five-loop Konishi in N=4 SYM: We present a new method for computing the Konishi anomalous dimension in N=4\nSYM at weak coupling. It does not rely on the conventional Feynman diagram\ntechnique and is not restricted to the planar limit. It is based on the OPE\nanalysis of the four-point correlation function of stress-tensor multiplets,\nwhich has been recently constructed up to six loops. The Konishi operator gives\nthe leading contribution to the singlet SU(4) channel of this OPE. Its\nanomalous dimension is the coefficient of the leading single logarithmic\nsingularity of the logarithm of the correlation function in the double\nshort-distance limit, in which the operator positions coincide pairwise. We\nregularize the logarithm of the correlation function in this singular limit by\na version of dimensional regularization. At any loop level, the resulting\nsingularity is a simple pole whose residue is determined by a finite two-point\nintegral with one loop less. This drastically simplifies the five-loop\ncalculation of the Konishi anomalous dimension by reducing it to a set of known\nfour-loop two-point integrals and two unknown integrals which we evaluate\nanalytically. We obtain an analytic result at five loops in the planar limit\nand observe perfect agreement with the prediction based on integrability in\nAdS/CFT.",
        "positive": "Quantum phase transitions in semi-local quantum liquids: We consider several types of quantum critical phenomena from finite-density\ngauge-gravity duality which to different degrees lie outside the\nLandau-Ginsburg-Wilson paradigm. These include: (1) a \"bifurcating\" critical\npoint, for which the order parameter remains gapped at the critical point, and\nthus is not driven by soft order parameter fluctuations. Rather it appears to\nbe driven by \"confinement\" which arises when two fixed points annihilate and\nlose conformality. On the condensed side, there is an infinite tower of\ncondensed states and the nonlinear response of the tower exhibits an infinite\nspiral structure; (2) a \"hybridized\" critical point which can be described by a\nstandard Landau-Ginsburg sector of order parameter fluctuations hybridized with\na strongly coupled sector; (3) a \"marginal\" critical point which is obtained by\ntuning the above two critical points to occur together and whose bosonic\nfluctuation spectrum coincides with that postulated to underly the \"Marginal\nFermi Liquid\" description of the optimally doped cuprates."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Flow equations for generalised $T\\bar{T}$ deformations: We consider the most general set of integrable deformations extending the\n$T\\bar{T}$ deformation of two-dimensional relativistic QFTs. They are CDD\ndeformations of the theory's factorised S-matrix related to the higher-spin\nconserved charges. Using a mirror version of the generalised Gibbs ensemble, we\nwrite down the finite-volume expectation value of the higher-spin charges, and\nderive a generalised flow equation that every charge must obey under a\ngeneralised $T\\bar{T}$ deformation. This also reproduces the known flow\nequations on the nose.",
        "positive": "Wilson Loops in the Large N Limit at Finite Temperature: Using a proposal of Maldacena we compute in the framework of the supergravity\ndescription of N coincident D3 branes the energy of a quark anti-quark pair in\nthe large N limit of U(N) N=4 SYM in four dimensions at finite temperature."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Analysis of Maxwell Equations in a Gravitational Field: In a gravitational field, we analyze the Maxwell equations, the correponding\nelectromagnetic wave and continuity equations. A particular solution for\nparellel electric and magnetic fields in a gravitational background is\npresented. These solutions also satisfy the free-wave equations and the\nphenomenology suggested by plasma physics.",
        "positive": "The (p,q) String Tension in a Warped Deformed Conifold: We find the tension spectrum of the bound states of p fundamental strings and\nq D-strings at the bottom of a warped deformed conifold. We show that it can be\nobtained from a D3-brane wrapping a 2-cycle that is stabilized by both electric\nand magnetic fluxes. Because the F-strings are Z_M-charged with non-zero\nbinding energy, binding can take place even if (p,q) are not coprime.\nImplications for cosmic strings are briefly discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A $U(3)$ Gauge Theory on Fuzzy Extra Dimensions: In this article, we explore the low energy structure of a $U(3)$ gauge theory\nover spaces with fuzzy sphere(s) as extra dimensions. In particular, we\ndetermine the equivariant parametrization of the gauge fields, which transform\neither invariantly or as vectors under the combined action of $SU(2)$ rotations\nof the fuzzy spheres and those $U(3)$ gauge transformations generated by $SU(2)\n\\subset U(3)$ carrying the spin $1$ irreducible representation of $SU(2)$. The\ncases of a single fuzzy sphere $S_F^2$ and a particular direct sum of\nconcentric fuzzy spheres, $S_F^{2 \\, Int}$, covering the monopole bundle\nsectors with windings $\\pm 1$ are treated in full and the low energy degrees of\nfreedom for the gauge fields are obtained. Employing the parametrizations of\nthe fields in the former case, we determine a low energy action by tracing over\nthe fuzzy sphere and show that the emerging model is abelian Higgs type with\n$U(1) \\times U(1)$ gauge symmetry and possess vortex solutions on ${\\mathbb\nR}^2$, which we discuss in some detail. Generalization of our formulation to\nthe equivariant parametrization of gauge fields in $U(n)$ theories is also\nbriefly addressed.",
        "positive": "Quaternionic structures, supertwistors and fundamental superspaces: Superspace is considered as space of parameters of the supercoherent states\ndefining the basis for oscillator-like unitary irreducible representations of\nthe generalized superconformal group SU(2m,2n/2N) in the field of quaternions\nH. The specific construction contains naturally the supertwistor one of the\nprevious work by Litov and Pervushin [1] and it is shown that in the case of\nextended supersymmetry such an approach leads to the separation of a class of\nsuperspaces and and its groups of motion. We briefly discuss this particular\nextension to the domain of quaternionic superspaces as nonlinear realization of\nsome kind of the affine and the superconformal groups with the final end to\ninclude also the gravitational field[6] (this last possibility to include\ngravitation, can be realized on the basis of the reference[12] where the coset\n((Sp(8))/(SL(4R)))~((SU(2,2))/(SL(2C)))was used in the non supersymmetric\ncase). It is shown that this quaternionic construction avoid some\nunconsistencies appearing at the level of the generators of the superalgebras\n(for specific values of p and q; p+q=N) in the twistor one."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On certain cosmological relics of the early string dynamics: The tracing of cosmological relics from the early string dynamics may enhance\nthe theory and provide new perspectives on the major cosmological problems.\nThis point is illustrated in a leading-order Bianchi-type $VII_0$ string\nbackground, wherein spatial isotropy can be claimed as such a relic. A much\nfiner one, descending from a premordial gravitational wave, could be retrieved\nfrom its imprint on the small-scale structure of the cosmic microwave\nbackground. In spite of the absence of conventional inflation, there is no\nhorizon problem thanks to the presence of an equally fundamental mixmaster\ndynamics. Implications and certain new perspectives which thus arise for the\nmore general problem of cosmological mixing are briefly discussed.",
        "positive": "Effect of rotation symmetry to abelian Chern-Simons field theory and\n  anyon equation on a sphere: We analyze the Chern-Simons field theory coupled to non-relativistic matter\nfield on a sphere using canonical transformation on the fields with special\nattention to the role of the rotation symmetry: SO(3) invariance restricts the\nHilbert space to the one with a definite number of charges and dictates Dirac\nquantization condition to the Chern-Simons coefficient, whereas SO(2)\ninvariance does not. The corresponding Schr\\\"odinger equation for many anyons\n(and for multispecies) on the sphere are presented with appropriate boundary\ncondition. In the presence of an external magnetic monopole source, the ground\nstate solutions of anyons are compared with monopole harmonics. The role of the\ntranslation and modular symmetry on a torus is also expounded."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum fluctuations in the DGP model and the size of the cross-over\n  scale: The Dvali-Gabadadze-Porrati model introduces a parameter, the cross-over\nscale $r_c$, setting the scale where higher dimensional effects are important.\nIn order to agree with observations and to explain the current acceleration of\nthe Universe, $r_c$ must be of the order of the present Hubble radius. We\ndiscuss a mechanism to generate a large $r_c$, assuming that it is determined\nby a dynamical field and exploiting the quantum effects of the graviton. For\nsimplicity, we consider a scalar field $\\Psi$ with a kinetic term on the brane\ninstead of the full metric perturbations. We compute the Green function and the\n1-loop expectation value of the stress tensor of $\\Psi$ on the background\ndefined by a flat bulk and an inflating brane (self-accelerated or not). We\nalso include the flat brane limit. The quantum fluctuations of the bulk field\n$\\Psi$ provide an effective potential for $r_c$. For a flat brane, the 1-loop\neffective potential is of the Coleman-Weinberg form, and admits a minimum for\nlarge $r_c$ without fine tuning. When we take into account the brane curvature,\na sizeable contribution at the classical level changes this picture and the\npotential develops a (minimum) maximum for the (non-) self-accelerated branch.",
        "positive": "Massless Monopoles and Multipronged Strings: We investigate the role of massless magnetic monopoles in the N=4\nsupersymmetric Yang-Mills Higgs theories. They can appear naturally in the\n1/4-BPS dyonic configurations associated with multi-pronged string\nconfigurations. Massless magnetic monopoles can carry nonabelian electric\ncharge when their associated gauge symmetry is unbroken. Surprisingly, massless\nmonopoles can also appear even when the gauge symmetry is broken to abelian\nsubgroups."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Generalised Complex Geometry and the Planck Cone: Complex geometry and symplectic geometry are mirrors in string theory. The\nrecently developed generalised complex geometry interpolates between the two of\nthem. On the other hand, the classical and quantum mechanics of a finite number\nof degrees of freedom are respectively described by a symplectic structure and\na complex structure on classical phase space. In this letter we analyse the\nrole played by generalised complex geometry in the classical and quantum\nmechanics of a finite number of degrees of freedom. We identify generalised\ncomplex geometry as an appropriate geometrical setup for dualities. The latter\nare interpreted as transformations connecting points in the interior of the\nPlanck cone with points in the exterior, and viceversa. The Planck cone bears\nsome resemblance with the relativistic light-cone. However the latter cannot be\ntraversed by physical particles, while dualities do connect the region outside\nthe Planck cone with the region inside, and viceversa.",
        "positive": "On the Relationship between the Uniqueness of the Moonshine Module and\n  Monstrous Moonshine: We consider the relationship between the conjectured uniqueness of the\nMoonshine Module, ${\\cal V}^\\natural$, and Monstrous Moonshine, the genus zero\nproperty of the modular invariance group for each Monster group Thompson\nseries. We first discuss a family of possible $Z_n$ meromorphic orbifold\nconstructions of ${\\cal V}^\\natural$ based on automorphisms of the Leech\nlattice compactified bosonic string. We reproduce the Thompson series for all\n51 non-Fricke classes of the Monster group $M$ together with a new relationship\nbetween the centralisers of these classes and 51 corresponding Conway group\ncentralisers (generalising a well-known relationship for 5 such classes).\nAssuming that ${\\cal V}^\\natural$ is unique, we then consider meromorphic\norbifoldings of ${\\cal V}^\\natural$ and show that Monstrous Moonshine holds if\nand only if the only meromorphic orbifoldings of ${\\cal V}^\\natural$ give\n${\\cal V}^\\natural$ itself or the Leech theory. This constraint on the\nmeromorphic orbifoldings of ${\\cal V}^\\natural$ therefore relates Monstrous\nMoonshine to the uniqueness of ${\\cal V}^\\natural$ in a new way."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exploring Reggeon bound states in strongly-coupled $\\mathcal{N}=4$ super\n  Yang-Mills: The multi-Regge limit of scattering amplitudes in strongly-coupled\n$\\mathcal{N}=4$ super Yang-Mills is described by the large mass limit of a set\nof thermodynamic Bethe ansatz (TBA) equations. A non-trivial remainder function\narises in this setup in certain kinematical regions due to excitations of the\nTBA equations which appear during the analytic continuation into these\nkinematical regions. So far, these analytic continuations were carried out on a\ncase-by-case basis for the six- and seven-gluon remainder function. In this\nnote, we show that the set of possible excitations appearing in any analytic\ncontinuation in the multi-Regge limit for any number of particles is rather\nconstrained. In particular, we show that the BFKL eigenvalue of any possible\nReggeon bound state is a multiple of the two-Reggeon BFKL eigenvalue appearing\nin the six-gluon case.",
        "positive": "AdS_3/CFT_2 Correspondence and Space-Time N=3 Superconformal Algebra: We study a Wess-Zumino-Witten model with target space AdS_3 x (S^3 x S^3 x\nS^1)/Z_2. This allows us to construct space-time N=3 superconformal theories.\nBy combining left-, and right-moving parts through a GSO and a Z_2 projections,\na new asymmetric (N,\\bar{N})=(3,1) model is obtained. It has an extra gauge\n(affine) SU(2) symmetry in the target space of the type IIA string. An\nassociated configuration is realized as slantwise intersecting M5-M2 branes\nwith a Z_2-fixed plane in the M-theory viewpoint."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spectral-integral representation of the photon polarization operator in\n  a constant uniform magnetic field: The polarization operator in a constant and homogeneous magnetic field of\narbitrary strength is investigated on mass shell. The calculations are carried\nout at all photon energies higher the pair creation threshold as well as lower\nthis threshold. The general formula for the effective mass of the photon with\ngiven polarization has been obtained being useful for an analysis of the\nproblem under consideration as well as at a numerical work. Approximate\nexpressions for strong or weak fields, compared with the critical field, have\nbeen found. Depending on the ratio of these fields we consider the pure quantum\nregion of photon energy, where particles are created on lower Landau levels or\ncreated not at all. Also the energy region of large level numbers is considered\nwhere the quasiclassical approximation is valid.",
        "positive": "Singularities and Gauge Theory Phases II: We present a simple algebraic construction of all the small resolutions for\nthe SU(5) Weierstrass model. Each resolution corresponds to a subchamber on the\nCoulomb branch of the five-dimensional N=1 SU(5) gauge theory with matter\nfields in the fundamental and two-index antisymmetric representations. This\nconstruction unifies all previous resolutions found in the literature in a\nsingle framework."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Islands in Closed and Open Universes: We show that spatial curvature has a significant effect on the existence of\nentanglement islands in cosmology. We consider a homogeneous, isotropic\nuniverse with thermal radiation purified by a reference spacetime. Arbitrarily\nsmall positive curvature guarantees that the entire universe is an island.\nProper subsets of the time-symmetric slice of a closed or open universe can be\nislands, but only if the cosmological constant is negative and sufficiently\nlarge in magnitude.",
        "positive": "Rayleigh-Schr\u00f6dinger Perturbation Theory Based on Gaussian\n  Wavefunctional Approch: A Rayleigh-Schr\\\"{o}dinger perturbation theory based on the Gaussian\nwavefunctional is constructed. The method can be used for calculating the\nenergies of both the vacuum and the excited states. A model calculation is\ncarried out for the vacuum state of the $\\lambda\\phi^4$ field theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Domain Lines as Fractional Strings: We consider N=2 supersymmetric quantum electrodynamics (SQED) with 2 flavors,\nthe Fayet--Iliopoulos parameter, and a mass term $\\beta$ which breaks the\nextended supersymmetry down to N=1. The bulk theory has two vacua; at $\\beta=0$\nthe BPS-saturated domain wall interpolating between them has a moduli space\nparameterized by a U(1) phase $\\sigma$ which can be promoted to a scalar field\nin the effective low-energy theory on the wall world-volume. At small\nnonvanishing $\\beta$ this field gets a sine-Gordon potential. As a result, only\ntwo discrete degenerate BPS domain walls survive. We find an explicit solitonic\nsolution for domain lines -- string-like objects living on the surface of the\ndomain wall which separate wall I from wall II. The domain line is seen as a\nBPS kink in the world-volume effective theory. We expect that the wall with the\ndomain line on it saturates both the $\\{1,0\\}$ and the $\\{{1/2},{1/2}\\}$b\ncentral charges of the bulk theory. The domain line carries the magnetic flux\nwhich is exactly 1/2 of the flux carried by the flux tube living in the bulk on\neach side of the wall. Thus, the domain lines on the wall confine charges\nliving on the wall, resembling Polyakov's three-dimensional confinement.",
        "positive": "P-adic AdS/CFT on subspaces of the Bruhat-Tits tree: On two different subspaces of Bruhat-Tits tree, the exact effective actions\nand two-point functions of deformed CFTs are calculated according to the p-adic\nversion of AdS/CFT. These subspaces are specially chosen such that in the case\nof $p\\equiv3\\pmod4$, they can be viewed as a circle and a hyperbola over p-adic\nnumbers when taken to infinities. It is found that two-point functions of CFTs\ndepend on chordal distances of the circle and the hyperbola."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Aspects of quantum integrability for pure spinor superstring in\n  AdS(5)xS(5): We consider the monodromy matrix for the pure spinor IIB superstring on\n$AdS_5\\times S^5$ at leading order at strong coupling, in particular its\nvariation under an infinitesimal and continuous deformation of the contour.\nSuch variation is equivalent to the insertion of a local operator. Demanding\nthe BRST-closure for such an operator rules out its existence, implying that\nthe monodromy matrix remains contour-independent at the first order in\nperturbation theory. Furthermore we explicitly compute the field strength\ncorresponding to the flat connections up to leading order and directly check\nthat it is free from logarithmic divergences. The absence of anomaly in the\ncoordinate transformation of the monodromy matrix and the UV-finiteness of the\ncurvature tensor finally imply the integrability of the pure spinor superstring\nat the first order.",
        "positive": "The Analysis of Time-Space Translations in Quantum Fields: I discuss the indefinite metrical structure of the time-space translations as\nrealized in the indefinite inner products for relativistic quantum fields,\nfamiliar in the example of quantum gauge fields. The arising indefinite unitary\nnondiagonalizable representations of the translations suggest as the positive\nunitarity condition for the probability interpretable positive definite\nasymptotic particle state space the requirement of a vanishing nilpotent part\nin the time-space translations realization. A trivial Becchi-Rouet-Stora charge\n(classical gauge invariance) for the asymptotics in quantum gauge theories can\nbe interpreted as one special case of this general principle - the asymptotic\nprojection to the eigenstates of the time-space translations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Non-relativistic Logarithmic Conformal Field Theory from a Holographic\n  Point of View: We study a fourth-order derivative scalar field configuration in a fixed\nLifshitz background. Using an auxiliary field we rewrite the equations of\nmotion as two coupled second order equations. We specialize to the limit that\nthe mass of the scalar field degenerates with that of the auxiliary field and\nshow that logarithmic modes appear. Using non-relativistic holographic methods\nwe calculate the two-point correlation functions of the boundary operators in\nthis limit and find evidence for a non-relativistic logarithmic conformal field\ntheory at the boundary.",
        "positive": "One-Dimensional Super Calabi-Yau Manifolds and their Mirrors: We apply a definition of generalised super Calabi-Yau variety (SCY) to\nsupermanifolds of complex dimension one. One of our results is that there are\ntwo SCY's having reduced manifold equal to $\\mathbb{P}^1$, namely the\nprojective super space $\\mathbb{P}^{1|2} $ and the weighted projective super\nspace $\\mathbb{WP}^{1|1}_{(2)}$. Then we compute the corresponding sheaf\ncohomology of superforms, showing that the cohomology with picture number one\nis infinite dimensional, while the de Rham cohomology, which is what matters\nfrom a physical point of view, remains finite dimensional. Moreover, we provide\nthe complete real and holomorphic de Rham cohomology for generic projective\nsuper spaces $\\mathbb P^{n|m}$. We also determine the automorphism groups:\nthese always match the dimension of the projective super group with the only\nexception of $\\mathbb{P}^{1|2} $, whose automorphism group turns out to be\nlarger than the projective general linear supergroup. By considering the\ncohomology of the super tangent sheaf, we compute the deformations of\n$\\mathbb{P}^{1|m}$, discovering that the presence of a fermionic structure\nallows for deformations even if the reduced manifold is rigid. Finally, we show\nthat $\\mathbb{P}^{1|2} $ is self-mirror, whereas $\\mathbb{WP} ^{1|1}_{(2)}$ has\na zero dimensional mirror. Also, the mirror map for $\\mathbb{P}^{1|2}$\nnaturally endows it with a structure of $N=2$ super Riemann surface."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Loop Algebra Moment Maps and Hamiltonian Models for the Painleve\n  Transcendants: The isomonodromic deformations underlying the Painlev\\'e transcendants are\ninterpreted as nonautonomous Hamiltonian systems in the dual $\\gR^*$ of a loop\nalgebra $\\tilde\\grg$ in the classical $R$-matrix framework. It is shown how\ncanonical coordinates on symplectic vector spaces of dimensions four or six\nparametrize certain rational coadjoint orbits in $\\gR^*$ via a moment map\nembedding. The Hamiltonians underlying the Painlev\\'e transcendants are\nobtained by pulling back elements of the ring of spectral invariants. These are\nshown to determine simple Hamiltonian systems within the underlying symplectic\nvector space.",
        "positive": "Nonabelian Bosonic Currents in Cosmic Strings: A nonabelian generalization of the neutral Witten current-carrying string\nmodel is discussed in which the bosonic current-carrier belongs to a two\ndimensional representation of SU(2). We find that the current-carrying\nsolutions can be of three different kinds: either the current spans a U(1)\nsubgroup, and in which case one is left with an abelian current-carrying\nstring, or the three currents are all lightlike, travelling in the same\ndirection (only left or right movers). The third, genuinely nonabelian\nsituation, cannot be handled within a cylindrically symmetric framework, but\ncan be shown to depend on all possible string Lorentz invariant quantities that\ncan be constructed out of the phase gradients."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Five-dimensional rotating black holes in Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet theory: We present arguments for the existence of five-dimensional rotating black\nholes with equal magnitude angular momenta in Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet theory with\nnegative cosmological constant. These solutions posses a regular horizon of\nspherical topology and approach asymptotically an Anti-de Sitter spacetime\nbackground. We discuss the general properties of these solutions and, using an\nadapted counterterm prescription, we compute their entropy and conserved\ncharges.",
        "positive": "Baryonic torii: Toroidal baryons in a generalized Skyrme model: We study a Skyrme-type model with a potential term motivated by Bose-Einstein\ncondensates (BECs), which we call the BEC Skyrme model. We consider two flavors\nof the model, the first is the Skyrme model and the second has a sixth-order\nderivative term instead of the Skyrme term; both with the added BEC-motivated\npotential. The model contains toroidally shaped Skyrmions and they are\ncharacterized by two integers P and Q, representing the winding numbers of two\ncomplex scalar fields along the toroidal and poloidal cycles of the torus,\nrespectively. The baryon number is B=PQ. We find stable Skyrmion solutions for\nP=1,2,3,4,5 with Q=1, while for P=6 and Q=1 it is only metastable. We further\nfind that configurations with higher Q>1 are all unstable and split into Q\nconfigurations with Q=1. Finally we discover a phase transition, possibly of\nfirst order, in the mass parameter of the potential under study."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Entanglement Islands in Generalized Two-dimensional Dilaton Black Holes: The Fabbri-Russo model is a generalized model of a two-dimensional dilaton\ngravity theory with various parameters \"$n$\" describing various specific\ngravities. Particularly, the Russo-Susskind-Thorlacius gravity model fits the\ncase $n=1$. In the Fabbri-Russo model, we investigate Page curves and the\nentanglement island. Islands are considered in eternal and evaporating black\nholes. Surprisingly, in any black hole, the emergence of islands causes the\nrise of the entanglement entropy of the radiation to decelerate after the Page\ntime, satisfying the principle of unitarity. For eternal black holes, the\nfine-grained entropy reaches a saturation value that is twice the\nBekenstein-Hawking entropy. For evaporating black holes, the fine-grained\nentropy finally reaches zero. The parameter \"$n$\" significantly impacts the\nPage curve at extremely early times. However, at late times and large distance\nlimit, the impact of the parameter \"$n$\" is a subleading term and is\nexponentially suppressed. As a result, the shape of Page curves is\n\"$n$\"-independent in the leading order. Furthermore, we discuss the\nrelationship between islands and firewalls. We show that the island is a better\ncandidate than firewalls for encountering the quantum entanglement-monogamy\nproblem. Finally, we briefly review the gravity/ensemble duality as a potential\nresolution to the state conundrum resulting from the island formula.",
        "positive": "Fermion localization in a backreacted warped spacetime: We consider a five dimensional AdS warped spacetime in presence of a massive\nscalar field in the bulk. The scalar field potential fulfills the requirement\nof modulus stabilization even when the effect of backreaction of the\nstabilizing field is taken into account. In such a scenario, we explore the\nrole of backreaction on the localization of bulk fermions which in turn\ndetermines the effective radion-fermion coupling on the brane. Our result\nreveals that both the chiral modes of the zeroth Kaluza-Klein (KK) fermions get\nlocalized near TeV brane as the backreaction of the scalar field increases. We\nalso show that the profile of massive KK fermions shifts towards the Planck\nbrane with increasing backreaction parameter."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Topology change in ISO(2,1) Chern-Simons gravity: In 2+1 dimensional gravity, a dreibein and the compatible spin connection can\nrepresent a space-time containing a closed spacelike surface $\\Sigma$ only if\nthe associated SO(2,1) bundle restricted to $\\Sigma$ has the same\nnon-triviality (Euler class) as that of the tangent bundle of $\\Sigma.$ We\nimpose this bundle condition on each external state of Witten's\ntopology-changing amplitude. The amplitude is non-vanishing only if the\ncombination of the space topologies satisfies a certain selection rule. We\nconstruct a family of transition paths which reproduce all the allowed\ncombinations of genus $g \\ge 2$ spaces.",
        "positive": "Life-time of Metastable Vacuum in String Theory and Trans-Planckian\n  Censorship Conjecture: It has been known that the catalytic effect makes the life-time of a\nmetastable state shorter. We discuss this phenomenon in a decay process of a\nmetastable vacuum in the brane-limit of type IIB string theory. Due to the\nnon-linear effect of DBI action, the bubble created by the decay makes an\nenergetically favorable bound state with an impurity that plays the role of\ncatalyst, which is quite specific to this model and different from other\ncatalysts such as a back hole. Furthermore, we found that this low-energy\neffective theory around almost unstable regions reduces to a simple quantum\nmechanical system, and the vacuum life-time can be calculated using known\nresults, even beyond the WKB approximation. Finally, we compare the life-time\nof the vacuum with the Trans-Planckian Censorship Conjecture (TCC) and find\nthat as long as the string scale is at least one order magnitude smaller than\nthe Planck scale, there is a nonzero window to satisfy the TCC condition."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supercurrents on Asymmetric Orbifolds: We study $E_8 \\times E_8$-heterotic string on asymmetric orbifolds associated\nwith semi-simple simply-laced Lie algebras. Using the fact that $E_6$-model\nallows different twists, we present a new N=1 space-time supersymmetric model\nwhose supercurrent appears from twisted sectors but not untwisted sector.",
        "positive": "The Heterotic Enhancon: The enhancon mechanism is studied in the heterotic string theory. We consider\nthe N_L=0 winding strings with momentum (NS1-W*) and the Kaluza-Klein dyons\n(KK5-NS5*). The NS1-W* and KK5-NS5* systems are dualized to the D4-D0* and\nD6-D2* systems, respectively, under the d=6 heterotic/IIA S-duality. The\nheterotic form has a number of advantages over the type IIA form. We study\nthese backgrounds and obtain the enhancon radii by brane probe analysis. The\nresults are consistent with S-duality."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "THE HIGGS-YUKAWA MODEL IN CURVED SPACETIME: The Higgs-Yukawa model in curved spacetime (renormalizable in the usual\nsense) is considered near the critical point, employing the $1/N$--expansion\nand renormalization group techniques. By making use of the equivalence of this\nmodel with the standard NJL model, the effective potential in the linear\ncurvature approach is calculated and the dynamically generated fermionic mass\nis found. A numerical study of chiral symmetry breaking by curvature effects is\npresented.",
        "positive": "Symmetry in noncommutative quantum mechanics: We reconsider the generalization of standard quantum mechanics in which the\nposition operators do not commute. We argue that the standard formalism found\nin the literature leads to theories that do not share the symmetries present in\nthe corresponding commutative system. We propose a general prescription to\nspecify a Hamiltonian in the noncommutative theory that preserves the existing\nsymmetries. We show that it is always possible to choose this Hamiltonian in\nsuch a way that the energy spectrum of the standard and non-commuting theories\nare identical, so that experimental differences between the predictions of both\ntheories are to be found only at the level of the detailed structure of the\nenergy eigenstates."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Noncommutative Supersymmetric Nonlinear Sigma Model: We show that the noncommutativity of space-time destroys the\nrenormalizability of the 1/N expansion of the O(N) Gross-Neveu model. A similar\nstatement holds for the noncommutative nonlinear sigma model. However, we show\nthat, up to the subleading order in 1/N expansion, the noncommutative\nsupersymmetric O(N) nonlinear sigma model becomes renormalizable in D=3. We\nalso show that dynamical mass generation is restored and there is no\ncatastrophic UV/IR mixing. Unlike the commutative case, we find that the\nLagrange multiplier fields, which enforce the supersymmetric constraints, are\nalso renormalized. For D=2 the divergence of the four point function of the\nbasic scalar field, which in D=3 is absent, cannot be eliminated by means of a\ncounterterm having the structure of a Moyal product.",
        "positive": "SU(3) x SU(2) x U(1) Vacua in F-Theory: The Standard Model group and matter spectrum is obtained in vacua of\nF-theory, without resorting to an intermediate unification group. The group\nSU(3) x SU(2) x U(1)_Y is the commutant to SU(5)_t \\times U(1)_Y structure\ngroup of a Higgs bundle in E_8 and is geometrically realized as a deformation\nof I_5 singularity. Lying along the unification groups of E_n, our vacua\nnaturally inherit their unification structure. By modding SU(5)_t out by Z_4\nmonodromy group, we can distinguish Higgses from lepton doublets by matter\nparity. Turning on universal G-flux on this part, the spectrum contains three\ngenerations of quarks and leptons, as well as vectorlike pairs of electroweak\nand colored Higgses. Minimal Yukawa couplings is obtained at the renormalizable\nlevel."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chiral Gauge Dynamics: Candidates for Non-Supersymmetric Dualities: We study the dynamics of chiral SU(N) gauge theories. These contain Weyl\nfermions in the symmetric or anti-symmetric representation of the gauge group,\ntogether with further fermions in the fundamental and anti-fundamental. We\nrevisit an old proposal of Bars and Yankielowicz who match the 't Hooft\nanomalies of this theory to free fermions. We show that there are novel and, in\nsome cases, quite powerful constraints on the dynamics in the large N limit.\n  In addition, we study these SU(N) theories with an extra Weyl fermion\ntransforming in the adjoint representation. Here we show that all 21 't Hooft\nanomalies for global symmetries are matched with those of a Spin(8) gauge\ntheory. This suggests a non-supersymmetric extension of the duality of Pouliot\nand Strassler. Finally, we also discuss some non-supersymmetric dualities with\nvector-like matter content for SO(N) and Sp(N) gauge theories and the\nconstraints imposed by Weingarten inequalities.",
        "positive": "WDVV Equations from Algebra of Forms: A class of solutions to the WDVV equations is provided by period matrices of\nhyperelliptic Riemann surfaces, with or without punctures. The equations\nthemselves reflect associativity of explicitly described multiplicative algebra\nof (possibly meromorphic) 1-differentials, which holds at least in the\nhyperelliptic case. This construction is direct generalization of the old one,\ninvolving the ring of polynomials factorized over an ideal, and is inspired by\nthe study of the Seiberg-Witten theory. It has potential to be further extended\nto reveal algebraic structures underlying the theory of quantum cohomologies\nand the prepotentials in string models with N=2 supersymmetry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Electric-magnetic duality as a quantum operator and more symmetries of\n  $U(1)$ gauge theory: We promote the Noether charge of the electric-magnetic duality symmetry of\n$U(1)$ gauge theory, \"$G$\" to a quantum operator. We construct ladder\noperators, $D_{(\\pm)a}^\\dagger(k)$ and $D_{(\\pm)a}(k)$ which create and\nannihilate the simultaneous quantum eigen states of the quantum Hamiltonian(or\nnumber) and the electric-magnetic duality operators respectively. Therefore all\nthe quantum states of the $U(1)$ gauge fields can be expressed by a form of\n$|E,g\\rangle$, where $E$ is the energy of the state, the $g$ is the eigen value\nof the quantum operator $G$, where the $g$ is quantized in the unit of 1. We\nalso show that 10 independent bilinears comprised of the creation and\nannihilation operators can form $SO(2,3)$ which is as demonstrated in the\nDirac's paper published in 1962. The number operator and the electric-magnetic\nduality operator are the members of the $SO(2,3)$ generators. We note that\nthere are two more generators which commute with the number operator(or\nHamiltonian). We prove that these generators are indeed symmetries of the\n$U(1)$ gauge field theory action.",
        "positive": "A Note on Letters of Yangian Invariants: Motivated by reformulating Yangian invariants in planar ${\\cal N}=4$ SYM\ndirectly as $d\\log$ forms on momentum-twistor space, we propose a purely\nalgebraic problem of determining the arguments of the $d\\log$'s, which we call\n\"letters\", for any Yangian invariant. These are functions of momentum twistors\n$Z$'s, given by the positive coordinates $\\alpha$'s of parametrizations of the\nmatrix $C(\\alpha)$, evaluated on the support of polynomial equations $C(\\alpha)\n\\cdot Z=0$. We provide evidence that the letters of Yangian invariants are\nrelated to the cluster algebra of Grassmannian $G(4,n)$, which is relevant for\nthe symbol alphabet of $n$-point scattering amplitudes. For $n=6,7$, the\ncollection of letters for all Yangian invariants contains the cluster ${\\cal\nA}$ coordinates of $G(4,n)$. We determine algebraic letters of Yangian\ninvariant associated with any \"four-mass\" box, which for $n=8$ reproduce the\n$18$ multiplicative-independent, algebraic symbol letters discovered recently\nfor two-loop amplitudes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Analytic and numerical bootstrap for the long-range Ising model: We combine perturbation theory with analytic and numerical bootstrap\ntechniques to study the critical point of the long-range Ising (LRI) model in\ntwo and three dimensions. This model interpolates between short-range Ising\n(SRI) and mean-field behaviour. We use the Lorentzian inversion formula to\ncompute infinitely many three-loop corrections in the two-dimensional LRI near\nthe mean-field end. We further exploit the exact OPE relations that follow from\nbulk locality of the LRI to compute infinitely many two-loop corrections near\nthe mean-field end, as well as some one-loop corrections near SRI. By including\nsuch exact OPE relations in the crossing equations for LRI we set up a very\nconstrained bootstrap problem, which we solve numerically using SDPB. We find a\nfamily of sharp kinks for two- and three-dimensional theories which compare\nfavourably to perturbative predictions, as well as some Monte Carlo simulations\nfor the two-dimensional LRI.",
        "positive": "Coupling Constants in Asymptotic Expansions: Perturbation theory is a powerful tool in manipulating dynamical system.\nHowever, it is legal only for infinitesimal perturbations. We propose to\ndispose this problem by means of perturbation group, and find that the coupling\nconstant approaches to zero in the limit of high order perturbations as Dyson\nonce expected."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic Gas as Dark Energy: We investigate the statistical nature of holographic gas, which may represent\nthe quasi-particle excitations of a strongly correlated gravitational system.\nWe find that the holographic entropy can be obtained by modifying degeneracy.\nWe calculate thermodynamical quantities and investigate stability of the\nholographic gas. When applying to cosmology, we find that the holographic gas\nbehaves as holographic dark energy, and the parameter $c$ in holographic dark\nenergy can be calculated from our model. Our model of holographic gas generally\npredicts $c<1$, implying that the fate of our universe is phantom like.",
        "positive": "Bulk versus brane running couplings: A simplified higher dimensional Randall-Sundrum-like model in 6 dimensions is\nconsidered. It has been observed previously by Goldberger and Wise that in such\na self-interacting scalar theory on the bulk with a conical singularity there\nis mixing of renormalization of 4d brane couplings with that of the bulk\ncouplings. We study the influence of the running bulk couplings on the running\nof the 4d brane couplings. We find that bulk quantum effects may completely\nalter the running of brane couplings. In particular, the structure of the\nLandau pole may be drastically altered and non-asymptotically free running may\nturn into asymptotically safe (or free) behavior."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Canonical quantization approach to 2d gravity coupled to c<1 matter: We show that all important features of 2d gravity coupled to $c<1$ matter can\nbe easily understood from the canonical quantization approach a la Dirac.\nFurthermore, we construct a canonical transformation which maps the theory into\na free-field form, i.e. the constraints become free-field Virasoro generators\nwith background charges. This implies the gauge independence of the\nDavid-Distler-Kawai results, and also proves the free-field assumption which\nwas used for obtaining the spectrum of the theory in the conformal gauge. A\ndiscussion of the unitarity of the physical spectrum is presented and we point\nout that the scalar products of the discrete states are not well defined in the\nstandard Fock space framework.",
        "positive": "Nonlinear Constraints on Relativistic Fluids Far From Equilibrium: New constraints are found that must necessarily hold for Israel-Stewart-like\ntheories of fluid dynamics to be causal far away from equilibrium. Conditions\nthat are sufficient to ensure causality, local existence, and uniqueness of\nsolutions in these theories are also presented. Our results hold in the full\nnonlinear regime, taking into account bulk and shear viscosities (at zero\nchemical potential), without any simplifying symmetry or near-equilibrium\nassumptions. Our findings provide fundamental constraints on the magnitude of\nviscous corrections in fluid dynamics far from equilibrium."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "5D Differential Calculus and Noether Analysis of Translation Symmetries\n  in kappa-Minkowski Noncommutative Spacetime: We perform a Noether analysis for a description of translation\ntransformations in 4D kappa-Minkowski noncommutative spacetime which is based\non the structure of a 5D differential calculus. Taking properly into account\nthe properties of the differential calculus we arrive at an explicit formula\nfor the conserved charges. We also propose a choice of basis for the 5D\ncalculus which leads to an intuitive description of time derivatives.",
        "positive": "Diffeomorphism Symmetry in Two Dimensions and Celestial Holography: Two-dimensional diffeomorphism symmetry can be described by an operator\nalgebra extension of the well-known Virasoro algebra description of conformal\nsymmetry. Utilizing this extension, this note explains why the conformal\nsymmetry that appears in celestial holography should not be extended to\ndiffeomorphism symmetry, a possibility that several authors have proposed. The\ndescription of the two-dimensional diffeomorphism algebra presented here might\nbe useful for other purposes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Thermodynamics of Large N Noncommutative Super Yang-Mills Theory: We study the thermodynamics of the large N noncommutative super Yang-Mills\ntheory in the strong 't Hooft coupling limit in the spirit of AdS/CFT\ncorrespondence. It has already been noticed that some thermodynamic quantities\nof near-extremal D3-branes with NS B fields, which are dual gravity\nconfigurations of the noncommutative ${\\cal N}$=4 super Yang-Mills theory, are\nthe same as those without B fields. In this paper, (1) we examine the\n$\\alpha'^3 R^4$ corrections to the free energy and find that the part of the\ntree-level contribution remains unchanged, but the one-loop and the\nnon-perturbative D-instanton corrections are suppressed, compared to the\nordinary case. (2) We consider the thermodynamics of a bound state probe\nconsisting of D3-branes and D-strings in the near-extremal D3-brane background\nwith B field, and find the thermodynamics of the probe is the same as that of a\nD3-brane probe in the D3-brane background without B field. (3) The\nstress-energy tensor of the noncommutative super Yang-Mills theory is\ncalculated via the AdS/CFT correspondence. It is found that the tensor is not\nisotropic and its trace does not vanish, which confirms that the super\nYang-Mills is not conformal even in four dimensions due to the noncommutative\nnature of space. Our results render further evidence for the argument that the\nlarge N noncommutative and ordinary super Yang-Mills theories are equivalent\nnot only in the weak coupling limit, but also in the strong coupling limit.",
        "positive": "Unifying the 6D $\\mathcal{N}=(1,1)$ String Landscape: We propose an organizing principle for string theory moduli spaces in six\ndimensions with $\\mathcal{N} = (1,1)$, based on a rank reduction map, into\nwhich all known constructions fit. In the case of cyclic orbifolds, which are\nthe main focus of the paper, we make an explicit connection with meromorphic 2D\n(s)CFTs with $c = 24$ ($c = 12$) and show how these encode every possible gauge\nsymmetry enhancement in their associated 6D theories. These results generalize\nnaturally to non-cyclic orbifolds, into which the only known string\nconstruction (to our awareness) also fits. This framework suggests the\nexistence of a total of 47 moduli spaces: the Narain moduli space, 23 of cyclic\norbifold type and 23 of non-cyclic type. Of these only 17 have known string\nconstructions. Among the 30 new moduli spaces, 15 correspond to pure\nsupergravity, for a total of 16 such spaces. A full classification of\nnonabelian gauge symmetries is given, and as a byproduct we complete the one\nfor seven dimensions, in which only those of theories with heterotic\ndescriptions were known exhaustively."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Possibility of Super-luminal Propagation in a Gravitational\n  Background: We argue that superluminal propagation in a gravitational field discovered by\nDrummond and Hathrell in the lowest order of perturbation theory remains intact\nin higher orders. The criticism of this result based on an exact calculation of\nthe one loop correction to the photon polarization operator in the Penrose\nplane wave approximation is not tenable. The statement that quantum causality\nis automatically imposed by classical causality is possibly invalid due to the\ninfrared nature of the same triangle diagram which also contributes to the\nquantum trace anomaly.",
        "positive": "The Dirichlet Casimir Energy for $\u03c6^4$ Theory in a Rectangle: In this article, we present the zero and first-order radiative correction to\nthe Dirichlet Casimir energy for massive and massless scalar field confined in\na rectangle. This calculation procedure was conducted in two spatial dimensions\nand for the case of the first-order correction term is new. The renormalization\nprogram that we have used in this work, allows all influences from the dominant\nboundary conditions (e.g. the Dirichlet boundary condition) be automatically\nreflected in the counterterms. This permission usually makes the counterterms\nposition-dependent. Along with the renormalization program, a supplementary\nregularization technique was performed in this work. In this regularization\ntechnique, that we have named Box Subtraction Scheme (BSS), two similar\nconfigurations were introduced and the zero point energies of these two\nconfigurations were subtracted from each other using appropriate limits. This\nregularization procedure makes the usage of any analytic continuation\ntechniques unnecessary. In the present work, first, we briefly present\ncalculation of the leading order Casimir energy for the massive scalar field in\na rectangle via BSS. Next, the first order correction to the Casimir energy is\ncalculated by applying the mentioned renormalization and regularization\nprocedures. Finally, all the necessary limits of obtained answers for both\nmassive and massless cases are discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "From Quantum Probabilities to Classical Facts: Model interactions between classical and quantum systems are briefly\nreviewed. These include: general measurement - like couplings, Stern-Gerlach\nexperiment, model of a counter, quantum Zeno effect, piecewise deterministic\nMarkov processes and meaning of the wave function.",
        "positive": "Boundary spectrum in the sine-Gordon model with Dirichlet boundary\n  conditions: We find the spectrum of boundary bound states for the sine-Gordon model with\nDirichlet boundary conditions, closing the bootstrap and providing a complete\ndescription of all the poles in the boundary reflection factors. The boundary\nColeman-Thun mechanism plays an important role in the analysis. Two basic\nlemmas are introduced which should hold for any 1+1-dimensional boundary field\ntheory, allowing the general method to be applied to other models."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chern-Simons Theory in SIM(1) Superspace: In this paper, we will analyse a three dimensional supersymmetric\nChern-Simons theory in SIM(1) superspace formalism. The breaking of the Lorentz\nsymmetry down to the SIM(1) symmetry, breaks half the supersymmetry of the\nLorentz invariant theory. So, the supersymmetry of the Lorentz invariant\nChern-Simons theory with N=1 supersymmetry will break down to N=1/2\nsupersymmetry, when the Lorentz symmetry is broken down to the SIM(1) symmetry.\nFirst, we will write the Chern-Simons action using SIM(1) projections of N=1\nsuperfields. However, as the SIM(1) transformations of these projections are\nvery complicated, we will define SIM(1) superfields which transform simply\nunder SIM(1) transformations. We will then express the Chern-Simons action\nusing these SIM(1) superfields. Furthermore, we will analyse the gauge symmetry\nof this Chern-Simons theory. This is the first time that a Chern-Simons theory\nwith N=1/2 supersymmetry will be constructed on a manifold without a boundary.",
        "positive": "Genus four superstring measures: A main issue in superstring theory are the superstring measures. D'Hoker and\nPhong showed that for genus two these reduce to measures on the moduli space of\ncurves which are determined by modular forms of weight eight and the bosonic\nmeasure. They also suggested a generalisation to higher genus. We showed that\ntheir approach works, with a minor modification, in genus three and we\nannounced a positive result also in genus four. Here we give the modular form\nin genus four explicitly. Recently S. Grushevsky published this result as part\nof a more general approach."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Geometric Actions for D-Branes and M-Branes: New forms of Born-Infeld, D-brane and M theory five-brane actions are found\nwhich are quadratic in the abelian field strength. The gauge fields couple both\nto a background or induced metric and a new auxiliary metric, whose elimination\nreproduces the non-polynomial Born-Infeld action. This is similar to the\nintroduction of an auxiliary metric to simplify the Nambu-Goto string action.\nThis simplifies the quantisation and dualisation of the gauge fields.",
        "positive": "Algebraic Renormalization of $N=1$ Supersymmetric Gauge Theories: The complete renormalization procedure of a general N=1 supersymmetric gauge\ntheory in the Wess-Zumino gauge is presented, using the regulator free\n``algebraic renormalization'' procedure. Both gauge invariance and\nsupersymmetry are included into one single BRS invariance. The form of the\ngeneral nonabelian anomaly is given. Furthermore, it is explained how the gauge\nBRS and the supersymmetry functional operators can be extracted from the\ngeneral BRS operator. It is then shown that the supersymmetry operators\nactually belong to the closed, finite, Wess-Zumino superalgebra when their\naction is restricted to the space of the ``gauge invariant operators'', i.e. to\nthe cohomology classes of the gauge BRS operator. An erratum is added at the\nend of the paper."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Review of AdS/CFT Integrability, Chapter V.2: Dual Superconformal\n  Symmetry: Scattering amplitudes in planar N=4 super Yang-Mills theory reveal a\nremarkable symmetry structure. In addition to the superconformal symmetry of\nthe Lagrangian of the theory, the planar amplitudes exhibit a dual\nsuperconformal symmetry. The presence of this additional symmetry imposes\nstrong restrictions on the amplitudes and is connected to a duality relating\nscattering amplitudes to Wilson loops defined on polygonal light-like contours.\nThe combination of the superconformal and dual superconformal symmetries gives\nrise to a Yangian, an algebraic structure which is known to be related to the\nappearance of integrability in other regimes of the theory. We discuss two dual\nformulations of the symmetry and address the classification of its invariants.",
        "positive": "The kappa-(A)dS quantum algebra in (3+1) dimensions: The quantum duality principle is used to obtain explicitly the Poisson\nanalogue of the kappa-(A)dS quantum algebra in (3+1) dimensions as the\ncorresponding Poisson-Lie structure on the dual solvable Lie group. The\nconstruction is fully performed in a kinematical basis and deformed Casimir\nfunctions are also explicitly obtained. The cosmological constant $\\Lambda$ is\nincluded as a Poisson-Lie group contraction parameter, and the limit\n$\\Lambda\\to 0$ leads to the well-known kappa-Poincar\\'e algebra in the\nbicrossproduct basis. A twisted version with Drinfel'd double structure of this\nkappa-(A)dS deformation is sketched."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Field Decomposition and the Ground State Structure of SU(2) Yang-Mills\n  Theory: We compute the effective potential of SU(2) Yang-Mills theory using the\nbackground field method and the Faddeev-Niemi decomposition of the gauge\nfields. In particular, we find that the potential will depend on the values of\ntwo scalar fields in the decomposition and that its structure will give rise to\na symmetry breaking.",
        "positive": "Gravity with linear action and gravitational singularities: Motivated by quantum mechanical considerations we earlier suggested an\nalternative action for discretised quantum gravity which has a dimension of\nlength. It is the so called \"linear\" action. The proposed action is a \"square\nroot\" of the classical area action in gravity and has in front of the action a\nnew constant of dimension one. Here we shall consider the continuous limit of\nthe discretised linear action. We shall demonstrate that in the modified theory\nof gravity there appear space-time regions of the Schwarzschild radius scale\nwhich are unreachable by test particles. These regions are located in the\nplaces where standard theory of gravity has singularities. We are confronted\nhere with a drastically new concept that there may exist space-time regions\nwhich are excluded from the physical scene, being physically unreachable by\ntest particles or observables. If this concept is accepted, then it seems\nplausible that the gravitational singularities are excluded from the modified\ntheory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Bulk gauge and matter fields in nested warping: I. the formalism: The lack of evidence for a TeV-mass graviton has been construed as\nconstricting the Randall-Sundrum model. However, a doubly-warped generalization\nnaturally avoids such restrictions. We develop, here, the formalism for\nextension of the Standard Model gauge bosons and fermions into such a\nsix-dimensional bulk. Apart from ameliorating the usual problems such as\nflavour-changing neutral currents, this model admits two very distinct phases,\nwith their own unique phenomenologies.",
        "positive": "Twisted K-Theory as a BRST Cohomology: We use the BRST formalism to classify the gauge orbits of type II string\ntheory's Ramond-Ramond (RR) field strengths under large RR gauge\ntransformations of the RR gauge potentials. We find that this construction is\nidentical to the Atiyah-Hirzebruch spectral sequence construction of twisted\nK-theory, where the Atiyah-Hirzebruch differentials are the BRST operators. The\nactions of the large gauge transformations on the field strengths that lie in\nan integral lattice of de Rham cohomology are found using supergravity, while\nthe action on Z_2 torsion classes is found using the Freed-Witten anomaly. We\nspeculate that an S-duality covariant classification may be obtained by\nincluding NSNS gauge transformations and using the BV formalism. An example of\na Z_3 torsion generalization of the Freed-Witten anomaly is provided."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic Complexity of Rotating Quantum Black Holes: We study holographic complexity for the rotating quantum BTZ black holes\n(quBTZ), the BTZ black holes with corrections from bulk quantum fields. Using\ndouble holography, the combined system of backreacted rotating BTZ black holes\nwith conformal matters, can be holographically described by the rotating AdS4\nC-metric with the BTZ black hole living on a codimension-1 brane. We\ninvestigate both volume complexity and action complexity of rotating quBTZ, and\npay special attention to their late-time behaviors. When the mass of BTZ black\nhole is not very small and the rotation is not very slow, we show that the\nlate-time rates of the volume complexity and the action complexity agree with\neach other up to a factor 2 and reduce to the ones of BTZ at the leading\nclassical order, and they both receive subleading quantum corrections. For the\nvolume complexity, the leading quantum correction comes from the backreaction\nof comformal matter on the geometry, similar to the static quBTZ case. For the\naction complexity, unlike the static case, the Wheeler-de Witt (WdW) patch in\ncomputing the action complexity for the rotating black hole does not touch the\nblack hole singularity such that the leading order result is in good match with\nthe one of classical BTZ. However, when the mass of BTZ black hole is small or\nthe rotation parameter a is small, the quantum correction to the action\ncomplexity could be significant such that the late-time slope of the action\ncomplexity of quBTZ deviates very much from the one of classical BTZ.\nRemarkably, we notice that the nonrotating limit $a \\to 0$ is singular and does\nnot lead to the late-time slope of the action complexity for non-rotating\nquantum BTZ black hole. The similar phenomenon happens for higher dimensional\nrotating black holes.",
        "positive": "Superconformal Symmetry, The Supercurrent And Non-BPS Brane Dynamics: The Noether currents associated with the non-linearly realized\nsuper-Poincare' symmetries of the Green-Schwarz (Nambu-Goto-Akulov-Volkov)\naction for a non-BPS p=2 brane embedded in a N=1, D=4 target superspace are\nconstructed. The R symmetry current, the supersymmetry currents, the\nenergy-momentum tensor and the scalar central charge current are shown to be\ncomponents of a world volume supercurrent. The centrally extended\nsuperconformal transformations are realized on the Nambu-Goldstone boson and\nfermion fields of the non-BPS brane. The superconformal currents form\nsupersymmetry multiplets with the world volume conformal central charge current\nand special conformal current being the primary components of the supersymmetry\nmultiplets containing all the currents. Correspondingly the superconformal\nsymmetry breaking terms form supersymmetry multiplets the components of which\nare obtainable as supersymmetry transformations of the primary currents'\nsymmetry breaking terms."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "More on the Similarity between D=5 Simple Supergravity and M Theory: It has been known that D=5 simple supergravity resembles D=11 supergravity in\nmany respects. We present their further resemblances in (1) the duality groups\nupon dimensional reduction, and (2) the worldsheet structure of the solitonic\nstring of the D=5 supergravity. We show that the D=3, G_{2(+2)}/SO(4) (bosonic)\nnonlinear sigma model is obtained by using Freudenthal's construction in\nparallel to the derivation of the D=3, E_{8(+8)}/SO(16) sigma model from D=11\nsupergravity. The zero modes of the string solution with unbroken (4,0)\nsupersymmetry consist of three (non-chiral) scalars, four Majorana-Weyl spinors\nof the same chirality and one chiral scalar, which suggests a duality to a\ncertain six-dimensional chiral string theory. The worldsheet gravitational\nanomaly indicates a quantum correction to the Bianchi identity for the dualized\ntwo-form gauge field in the bulk just like the M5-brane case.",
        "positive": "The effective potential of gauged NJL model in magnetic field: The formalism, which permits to study the phase structure of gauged NJL-model\nfor arbitrary external fields, is developed. The effective potential in the\ngauged NJL model in the weak magnetic field is found. It is shown that in fixed\ngauge coupling case the weak magnetic field doesn't influence chiral symmetry\nbreaking condition. The analogy with the situation near black hole is briefly\nmentioned."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetric $AdS_5$ black holes and strings from 5D $N=4$ gauged\n  supergravity: We study supersymmetric $AdS_3\\times \\Sigma_2$ and $AdS_2\\times \\Sigma_3$\nsolutions, with $\\Sigma_2=S^2,H^2$ and $\\Sigma_3=S^3,H^3$, in five-dimensional\n$N=4$ gauged supergravity coupled to five vector multiplets. The gauge groups\nconsidered here are $U(1)\\times SU(2)\\times SU(2)$, $U(1)\\times SO(3,1)$ and\n$U(1)\\times SL(3,\\mathbb{R})$. For $U(1)\\times SU(2)\\times SU(2)$ gauge group\nadmiting two supersymmetric $N=4$ $AdS_5$ vacua, we identify a new class of\n$AdS_3\\times \\Sigma_2$ and $AdS_2\\times H^3$ solutions preserving four\nsupercharges. Holographic RG flows describing twisted compactifications of\n$N=2$ four-dimensional SCFTs dual to the $AdS_5$ vacua to the SCFTs in two and\none dimensions dual to these geometries are numerically given. The solutions\ncan also be interpreted as supersymmetric black strings and black holes in\nasymptotically $AdS_5$ spaces with near horizon geometries given by\n$AdS_3\\times \\Sigma_2$ and $AdS_2\\times H^3$, respectively. These solutions\nbroaden previously known black brane solutions including half-supersymmetric\n$AdS_5$ black strings recently found in $N=4$ gauged supergravity. Similar\nsolutions are also studied in non-compact gauge groups $U(1)\\times SO(3,1)$ and\n$U(1)\\times SL(3,\\mathbb{R})$.",
        "positive": "Superspace formulation of the Chern character of a theta-summable\n  Fredholm module: We apply the concepts of superanalysis to present an intrinsically\nsupersymmetric formulation of the Chern character in entire cyclic cohomology.\nWe show that the cocycle condition is closely related to the invariance under\nsupertranslations. Using the formalism of superfields, we find a path integral\nrepresentation of the index of the generalized Dirac operator."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Critical points of WAdS/CFT and higher-curvature gravity: WAdS/WCFT correspondence is an interesting realization of non-AdS holography.\nIt relates 3-dimensional Warped-Anti-de Sitter (WAdS$_3$) spaces to a special\nclass of 2-dimensional quantum field theory with chiral scaling symmetry that\nacts only on right-moving modes. The latter are often called Warped Conformal\nField Theories (WCFT$_2$), and their existence makes WAdS/WCFT particularly\ninteresting as a tool to investigate a new type of 2-dimensional conformal\nstructure. Besides, WAdS/WCFT is interesting because it enables to apply\nholographic techniques to the microstate counting problem of non-AdS,\nnon-supersymmetric black holes. Asymptotically WAdS$_3$ black holes (WBH$_3$)\nappear as solutions of topologically massive theories, Chern-Simons theories,\nand many other models. Here, we explore WBH$_3\\times \\Sigma_{D-3}$ solutions of\n$D$-dimensional higher-curvature gravity, with $\\Sigma_{D-3}$ being different\ninternal manifolds, typically given by products of deformations of hyperbolic\nspaces, although we also consider warped products with time-dependent\ndeformations. These geometries are solutions of the second order\nhigher-curvature theory at special (critical) points of the parameter space,\nwhere the theory exhibits a sort of degeneracy. We argue that the dual (W)CFT\nat those points is actually trivial. In many respects, these critical points of\nWAdS$_3 \\times \\Sigma_{D-3}$ vacua are the squashed/stretched analogs of the\nAdS$_D$ Chern-Simons point of Lovelock gravity.",
        "positive": "Pre-Big Bang Scenario on Self-T-Dual Bouncing Branes: We consider a new class of 5-dimensional dilatonic actions which are\ninvariant under T-duality transformations along three compact coordinates,\nprovided that an appropriate potential is chosen. We show that the invariance\nremains when we add a boundary term corresponding to a moving 3-brane, and we\nstudy the effects of the T-duality symmetry on the brane cosmological\nequations. We find that T-duality transformations in the bulk induce scale\nfactor duality on the brane, together with a change of sign of the pressure of\nthe brane cosmological matter. However, in a remarkable analogy with the\nPre-Big Bang scenario, the cosmological equations are unchanged. Finally, we\npropose a model where the dual phases are connected through a scattering of the\nbrane induced by an effective potential. We show how this model can realise a\nsmooth, non-singular transition between a pre-Big Bang superinflationary\nUniverse and a post-Big Bang accelerating Universe."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Comment on \"What the information loss is {\\it not}\": A recent article by Mathur attempts a \"precise formulation\" for the paradox\nof black hole information loss [S. D. Mathur, arXiv:1108.0302v2 (hep-th)]. We\npoint out that a key component of the above work, which refers to entangled\npairs inside and outside of the horizon and their associated entropy gain or\ninformation loss during black hole evaporation, is a presumptuous false outcome\nnot backed by the very foundation of physics. The very foundation of Mathur's\nabove work is thus incorrect. We further show that within the framework of\nHawking radiation as tunneling the so-called small corrections are sufficient\nto resolve the information loss problem.",
        "positive": "Conformal Symmetry of a Black Hole as a Scaling Limit: A Black Hole in\n  an Asymptotically Conical Box: We show that the previously obtained subtracted geometry of four-dimensional\nasymptotically flat multi-charged rotating black holes, whose massless wave\nequation exhibit $SL(2,\\R) \\times SL(2,\\R) \\times SO(3)$ symmetry may be\nobtained by a suitable scaling limit of certain asymptotically flat\nmulti-charged rotating black holes, which is reminiscent of near-extreme black\nholes in the dilute gas approximation. The co-homogeneity-two geometry is\nsupported by a dilation field and two (electric) gauge-field strengths. We also\npoint out that these subtracted geometries can be obtained as a particular\nHarrison transformation of the original black holes. Furthermore the subtracted\nmetrics are asymptotically conical (AC), like global monopoles, thus describing\n\"a black hole in an AC box\". Finally we account for the the emergence of the\n$SL(2,\\R) \\times SL(2,\\R) \\times SO(3)$ symmetry as a consequence of the\nsubtracted metrics being Kaluza-Klein type quotients of $ AdS_3\\times 4 S^3$.\nWe demonstrate that similar properties hold for five-dimensional black holes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Theories of Class F and Anomalies: We consider the 6d (2,0) theory on a fibration by genus g curves, and\ndimensionally reduce along the fiber to 4d theories with duality defects. This\ngeneralizes class S theories, for which the fibration is trivial. The\nnon-trivial fibration in the present setup implies that the gauge couplings of\nthe 4d theory, which are encoded in the complex structures of the curve, vary\nand can undergo S-duality transformations. These monodromies occur around 2d\nloci in space-time, the duality defects, above which the fiber is singular. The\nkey role that the fibration plays here motivates refering to this setup as\ntheories of class F. In the simplest instance this gives rise to 4d N=4\nSuper-Yang-Mills with space-time dependent coupling that undergoes SL(2, Z)\nmonodromies. We determine the anomaly polynomial for these theories by pushing\nforward the anomaly polynomial of the 6d (2,0) theory along the fiber. This\ngives rise to corrections to the anomaly polynomials of 4d N=4 SYM and theories\nof class S. For the torus case, this analysis is complemented with a field\ntheoretic derivation of a U(1) anomaly in 4d N=4 SYM. The corresponding anomaly\npolynomial is tested against known expressions of anomalies for wrapped\nD3-branes with varying coupling, which are known field theoretically and from\nholography. Extensions of the construction to 4d N = 0 and 1, and 2d theories\nwith varying coupling, are also discussed.",
        "positive": "Self-consistent Analytic Solutions in Twisted $\\mathbb{C}P^{N-1}$ Model\n  in the Large-$N$ Limit: We construct self-consistent analytic solutions in the ${\\mathbb C}P^{N-1}$\nmodel in the large-$N$ limit, in which more than one Higgs scalar component\ntake values inside a single or multiple soliton on an infinite space or on a\nring, or around boundaries of a finite interval."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Generalized symmetries of topological field theories: We study generalized symmetries in a simplified arena in which the usual\nquantum field theories of physics are replaced with topological field theories\nand the smooth structure with which the symmetry groups of physics are usually\nendowed is forgotten. Doing so allows many questions of physical interest to be\nanswered using the tools of homotopy theory. We study both global and gauge\nsymmetries, as well as `t Hooft anomalies, which we show fall into one of two\nclasses. Our approach also allows some insight into earlier work on symmetries\n(generalized or not) of topological field theories.",
        "positive": "Duality, generalized Chern-Simons terms and gauge transformations in a\n  high-dimensional curved spacetime: With two typical parent actions we have two kinds of dual worlds: i) one of\nwhich contains an electric as well as magnetic current, and ii) the other\ncontains (generalized) Chern-Simons terms. All these fields are defined on a\ncurved spacetime of arbitrary (odd) dimensions. A new form of gauge\ntransformations is introduced and plays an essential role in defining the\ninteraction with a magnetic monopole or in defining the generalized\nChern-Simons terms."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Yang-Mills theories in dimensions 3,4,6,10 and Bar-duality: In this note we give a homological explanation of \"pure spinors\" in YM\ntheories with minimal amount of supersymmetries. We construct A_{\\infty}\nalgebras A for every dimension D=3,4,6,10, which for D=10 coincides with\nhomogeneous coordinate ring of pure spinors with coordinate lambda^{alpha}.\nThese algebras are Bar-dual to Lie algebras generated by supersymmetries,\nwritten in components. The algebras have a finite number of higher\nmultiplications. The main result of the present note is that in dimension\nD=3,6,10 the algebra A\\otimes \\Lambda[\\theta^{\\alpha}]\\otimes Mat_n with a\ndifferential D is equivalent to Batalin-Vilkovisky algebra of minimally\nsupersymmetric YM theory in dimension D reduced to a point. This statement can\nbe extended to nonreduced theories.",
        "positive": "Shifted quantum groups and matter multiplets in supersymmetric gauge\n  theories: The notion of shifted quantum groups has recently played an important role in\nalgebraic geometry. This subtle modification of the original definition brings\nmore flexibility in the representation theory of quantum groups. The first part\nof this paper presents new mathematical results for the shifted quantum\ntoroidal $\\mathfrak{gl}(1)$ and quantum affine $\\mathfrak{sl}(2)$ algebras\n(resp. denoted $\\ddot{U}_{q_1,q_2}^\\boldsymbol{\\mu}(\\mathfrak{gl}(1))$ and\n$\\dot{U}_q^\\boldsymbol{\\mu}(\\mathfrak{sl}(2))$). It defines several new\nrepresentations, including finite dimensional highest $\\ell$-weight\nrepresentations for the toroidal algebra, and a vertex representation of\n$\\dot{U}_q^\\boldsymbol{\\mu}(\\mathfrak{sl}(2))$ acting on Hall-Littlewood\npolynomials. It also explores the relations between representations of\n$\\dot{U}_q^\\boldsymbol{\\mu}(\\mathfrak{sl}(2))$ and\n$\\ddot{U}_{q_1,q_2}^\\boldsymbol{\\mu}(\\mathfrak{gl}(1))$ in the limit\n$q_1\\to\\infty$ ($q_2$ fixed), and present the construction of several new\nintertwiners. These results are used in the second part to construct BPS\nobservables for 5d $\\mathcal{N}=1$ and 3d $\\mathcal{N}=2$ gauge theories. In\nparticular, it is shown that 5d hypermultiplets and 3d chiral multiplets can be\nintroduced in the algebraic engineering framework using shifted\nrepresentations, and the Higgsing procedure is revisited from this perspective."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Double-soft behavior for scalars and gluons from string theory: We compute the leading double-soft behavior for gluons and for the scalars\nobtained by dimensional reduction of a higher dimensional pure gauge theory,\nfrom the scattering amplitudes of gluons and scalars living in the world-volume\nof a Dp-brane of the bosonic string. In the case of gluons, we compute both the\ndouble-soft behavior when the two soft gluons are contiguous as well as when\nthey are not contiguous. From our results, that are valid in string theory, one\ncan easily get the double-soft limit in gauge field theory by sending the\nstring tension to infinity.",
        "positive": "The Geometry of Quantum Mechanics: A recent notion in theoretical physics is that not all quantum theories arise\nfrom quantising a classical system. Also, a given quantum model may possess\nmore than just one classical limit. These facts find strong evidence in string\nduality and M-theory, and it has been suggested that they should also have a\ncounterpart in quantum mechanics. In view of these developments we propose\n\"dequantisation\", a mechanism to render a quantum theory classical.\nSpecifically, we present a geometric procedure to \"dequantise\" a given quantum\nmechanics (regardless of its classical origin, if any) to possibly different\nclassical limits, whose quantisation gives back the original quantum theory.\nThe standard classical limit $\\hbar\\to 0$ arises as a particular case of our\napproach."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exact Dynamics of Quantum Dissipative System in Constant External Field: The quantum dynamics of a simplest dissipative system, a particle moving in a\nconstant external field , is exactly studied by taking into account its\ninteraction with a bath of Ohmic spectral density. We apply the main idea and\nmethods developed in our recent work [1] to quantum dissipative system with\nconstant external field. Quantizing the dissipative system we obtain the simple\nand exact solutions for the coordinate operator of the system in Heisenberg\npicture and the wave function of the composite system of system and bath in\nSchroedinger picture. An effective Hamiltonian for the dissipative system is\nexplicitly derived from these solutions with Heisenberg picture method and\nthereby the meaning of the wavefunction governed by it is clarified by\nanalyzing the effect of the Brownian motion. Especially, the general effective\nHamiltonian for the case with arbitrary potential is directly derived with this\nmethod for the case when the Brownian motion can be ignored. Using this\neffective Hamiltonian, we show an interesting fact that the dissipation\nsuppresses the wave packet spreading.",
        "positive": "Developing the Covariant Batalin-Vilkovisky approach to String Theory: We investigate the variation of the string field action under changes of the\nstring field vertices giving rise to different decompositions of the moduli\nspaces of Riemann surfaces. We establish that any such change in the string\naction arises from a field transformation canonical with respect to the\nBatalin-Vilkovisky (BV) antibracket, and find the explicit form of the\ngenerator of the infinitesimal transformations. Two theories using different\ndecompositions of moduli space are shown to yield the same gauge fixed action\nupon use of different gauge fixing conditions. We also elaborate on recent work\non the covariant BV formalism, and emphasize the necessity of a measure in the\nspace of two dimensional field theories in order to extend a recent analysis of\nbackground independence to quantum string field theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Duality Invariance: From M-theory to Double Field Theory: We show how the duality invariant approach to M-theory formulated by Berman\nand Perry relates to the double field theory proposed by Hull and Zwiebach. In\ndoing so we provide suggestions as to how Ramond fields can be incorporated\ninto the double field theory. We find that the standard dimensional reduction\nprocedure has a duality invariant (doubled) analogue in which the gauge fields\nof the doubled Kaluza-Klein ansatz encode the Ramond potentials. We identify\nthe internal gauge index of these gauge fields with a spinorial index of\nO(d,d).",
        "positive": "Covariant Hamilton-Jacobi Equation for Pure Gravity: The main purpose of this article is to provide access to a previously\nunpublished and nearly lost paper: P. Ho\\v{r}ava, \"Covariant Hamilton-Jacobi\nEquation for Pure Gravity\", which appeared originally in July 1990 as a Prague\nPreprint PRA-HEP-90/4, at the Institute of Physics, Czechoslovak Academy of\nSciences, but appears otherwise unavailable online. The author has recently\nacquired an original copy of this preprint; the present article contains a\nverbatim transcript of the original 1990 paper, framed by a small number of\ncomments. The contents of the 1990 paper was based on the results contained in\nthe author's BSc Thesis, written in Czech, and presented at Charles University,\nPrague, in 1986.\n  The original 1990 Abstract: We present an alternative framework for treating\nEinstein gravity in any dimension greater than two, and at any signature. It is\nbased on a covariant Hamilton-Jacobi-De~Donder equation, which is proved to be\nequivalent to the Lagrange theory, on space-times of arbitrary topology. It in\nparticular means that Einstein gravity can be thought of as a (covariantly)\nregular system. Finally, the Hamilton-Jacobi theory is studied, and it is shown\nthat any solution of Einstein equations can be obtained from the action form\nequal identically to zero."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Super D-string Action on $AdS_5 \\times S^5$: We present a supersymmetric and $\\kappa$-symmetric D-string action on $AdS_5\n\\times S^5$ in supercoset construction. As in the previous work of the super\nD-string action in the flat background, the super D-string action on $AdS_5\n\\times S^5$ can be transformed to a form of the IIB Green-Schwarz superstring\naction with the $SL(2,Z)$ covariant tension on $AdS_5 \\times S^5$ through a\nduality transformation. In order to understand a part of the duality\ntransformation as SO(2) rotation of N=2 spinor coordinates, it seems to be\nnecessary to fix the $\\kappa$-symmetry in a gauge condition which simplifies\nthe classical action. This is the article showing for the first time that there\nexists S-duality in type IIB superstring theory in a curved background whose\nvalidity has been conjectured in the past but not shown so far in an explicit\nway.",
        "positive": "Debye entropic force and modified Newtonian dynamics: Verlinde has suggested that the gravity has an entropic origin, and a\ngravitational system could be regarded as a thermodynamical system. It is\nwell-known that the equipartition law of energy is invalid at very low\ntemperature. Therefore, entropic force should be modified while the temperature\nof the holographic screen is very low. It is shown that the modified entropic\nforce is proportional to the square of the acceleration, while the temperature\nof the holographic screen is much lower than the Debye temperature $T_D$. The\nmodified entropic force returns to the Newton's law of gravitation while the\ntemperature of the holographic screen is much higher than the Debye\ntemperature. The modified entropic force is connected with modified Newtonian\ndynamics (MOND). The constant $a_0$ involved in MOND is linear in the Debye\nfrequency $\\omega_D$, which can be regarded as the largest frequency of the\nbits in screen. We find that there do have a strong connection between MOND and\ncosmology in the framework of Verlinde's entropic force, if the holographic\nscreen is taken to be bound of the Universe. The Debye frequency is linear in\nthe Hubble constant $H_0$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Towards R-matrix construction of Khovanov-Rozansky polynomials. I.\n  Primary $T$-deformation of HOMFLY: We elaborate on the simple alternative from arXiv:1308.5759 to the\nmatrix-factorization construction of Khovanov-Rozansky (KR) polynomials for\narbitrary knots and links in the fundamental representation of arbitrary SL(N).\nConstruction consists of 2 steps: first, with every link diagram with m\nvertices one associates an m-dimensional hypercube with certain q-graded vector\nspaces, associated to its 2^m vertices. A generating function for q-dimensions\nof these spaces is what we suggest to call the primary T-deformation of HOMFLY\npolynomial -- because, as we demonstrate, it can be explicitly reduced to\ncalculations of ordinary HOMFLY polynomials, i.e. to manipulations with quantum\nR-matrices. The second step is a certain minimization of residues of this new\npolynomial with respect to T+1. Minimization is ambiguous and is actually\nspecified by the choice of commuting cut-and-join morphisms, acting along the\nedges of the hypercube -- this promotes it to Abelian quiver, and KR polynomial\nis a Poincare polynomial of associated complex, just in the original Khovanov's\nconstruction at N=2. This second step is still somewhat sophisticated -- though\nincomparably simpler than its conventional matrix-factorization counterpart. In\nthis paper we concentrate on the first step, and provide just a mnemonic\ntreatment of the second step. Still, this is enough to demonstrate that all the\ncurrently known examples of KR polynomials in the fundamental representation\ncan be easily reproduced in this new approach. As additional bonus we get a\nsimple description of the DGR relation between KR polynomials and\nsuperpolynomials and demonstrate that the difference between reduced and\nunreduced cases, which looks essential at KR level, practically disappears\nafter transition to superpolynomials. However, a careful derivation of all\nthese results from cohomologies of cut-and-join morphisms remains for further\nstudies.",
        "positive": "Quantum, higher-spin, local charges in symmetric space sigma models: Potential anomalies are analysed for the local spin-3 and spin-4 classically\nconserved currents in any two-dimensional sigma model on a compact symmetric\nspace $G/H$, with $G$ and $H$ classical groups. Quantum local conserved charges\nare shown to exist in exactly those models which also possess quantum non-local\n(Yangian) charges. The possibility of larger sets of quantum local charges is\ndiscussed and shown to be consistent with known S-matrix results and the\nbehaviour of the corresponding Yangian representations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hidden Symmetries of Euclideanised Kerr-NUT-(A)dS Metrics in Certain\n  Scaling Limits: The hidden symmetries of higher dimensional Kerr-NUT-(A)dS metrics are\ninvestigated. In certain scaling limits these metrics are related to the\nEinstein-Sasaki ones. The complete set of Killing-Yano tensors of the\nEinstein-Sasaki spaces are presented. For this purpose the Killing forms of the\nCalabi-Yau cone over the Einstein-Sasaki manifold are constructed. Two new\nKilling forms on Einstein-Sasaki manifolds are identified associated with the\ncomplex volume form of the cone manifolds. Finally the Killing forms on mixed\n3-Sasaki manifolds are briefly described.",
        "positive": "The SAGEX Review on Scattering Amplitudes, Chapter 6: Ambitwistor\n  Strings and Amplitudes from the Worldsheet: Starting with Witten's twistor string, chiral string theories have emerged\nthat describe field theory amplitudes without the towers of massive states of\nconventional strings. These models are known as ambitwistor strings due to\ntheir target space; the space of complexified null geodesics, also called\nambitwistor space. Correlators in these string theories directly yield compact\nformulae for tree-level amplitudes and loop integrands, in the form of\nworldsheet integrals fully localized on solutions to constraints known as the\nscattering equations. In this chapter, we discuss two incarnations of the\nambitwistor string: a 'vector representation' starting in space-time and\nstructurally resembling the RNS superstring, and a four-dimensional twistorial\nversion closely related to, but distinct from Witten's original model. The\nRNS-like models exist for several theories, with 'heterotic' and type II models\ndescribing super-Yang-Mills and 10d supergravities respectively, and they\nmanifest the double copy relations directly at the level of the worldsheet\nmodels. In the second half of the chapter, we explain how the underlying models\nlead to diverse applications, ranging from extensions to new sectors of\ntheories, loop amplitudes and to scattering on curved backgrounds. We conclude\nwith a brief discussion of connections to conventional strings and celestial\nholography."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On three dimensional bigravity: In this paper we explore some features of f-g theory in three dimensions. We\nshow that the theory has (A)dS and (A)dS wave solutions. In particular at a\ncritical value of the coupling constant we see that the model admits Log\ngravity solution as well, reminiscing TMG and NMG. We have also studied a class\nof exact static spherically symmetric black hole solution in the model.",
        "positive": "Infinite dimensional Lie algebras in 4D conformal quantum field theory: The concept of global conformal invariance (GCI) opens the way of applying\nalgebraic techniques, developed in the context of 2-dimensional chiral\nconformal field theory, to a higher (even) dimensional space-time. In\nparticular, a system of GCI scalar fields of conformal dimension two gives rise\nto a Lie algebra of harmonic bilocal fields, V_m(x,y), where the m span a\nfinite dimensional real matrix algebra M closed under transposition. The\nassociative algebra M is irreducible iff its commutant M' coincides with one of\nthe three real division rings. The Lie algebra of (the modes of) the bilocal\nfields is in each case an infinite dimensional Lie algebra: a central extension\nof sp(infty,R) corresponding to the field R of reals, of u(infty,infty)\nassociated to the field C of complex numbers, and of so*(4 infty) related to\nthe algebra H of quaternions. They give rise to quantum field theory models\nwith superselection sectors governed by the (global) gauge groups O(N), U(N),\nand U(N,H)=Sp(2N), respectively."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Braided Heisenberg Group: We compute the braided groups and braided matrices $B(R)$ for the solution\n$R$ of the Yang-Baxter equation associated to the quantum Heisenberg group. We\nalso show that a particular extension of the quantum Heisenberg group is dual\nto the Heisenberg universal enveloping algebra $U_{q}(h)$, and use this result\nto derive an action of $U_{q}(h)$ on the braided groups. We then demonstrate\nthe various covariance properties using the braided Heisenberg group as an\nexplicit example. In addition, the braided Heisenberg group is found to be\nself-dual. Finally, we discuss a physical application to a system of n braided\nharmonic oscillators. An isomorphism is found between the n-fold braided and\nunbraided tensor products, and the usual `free' time evolution is shown to be\nequivalent to an action of a primitive generator of $U_{q}(h)$ on the braided\ntensor product.",
        "positive": "D-branes and the Noncommutative Torus: We show that in certain superstring compactifications, gauge theories on\nnoncommutative tori will naturally appear as D-brane world-volume theories.\nThis gives strong evidence that they are well-defined quantum theories. It also\ngives a physical derivation of the identification proposed by Connes, Douglas\nand Schwarz of Matrix theory compactification on the noncommutative torus with\nM theory compactification with constant background three-form tensor field."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Self-Dual Critical N=2 String: I review the covariant quantization of the closed fermionic string with (2,2)\nextended world-sheet supersymmetry on R^{2,2}. Results on n-point scattering\namplitudes are presented, for tree- and one-loop world-sheets with arbitrary\nMaxwell instanton number. I elaborate the connection between Maxwell moduli,\nspectral flow, and instantons. It is argued that the latter serve to extend the\nLorentz symmetry from U(1,1) to SO(2,2) by undoing the choice of spacetime\ncomplex structure.",
        "positive": "Duality between Wilson loops and gluon amplitudes: An intriguing new duality between planar MHV gluon amplitudes and light-like\nWilson loops in N=4 super Yang-Mills is investigated. We extend previous checks\nof the duality by performing a two-loop calculation of the rectangular and\npentagonal Wilson loop. Furthermore, we derive an all-order broken conformal\nWard identity for the Wilson loops and analyse its consequences. Starting from\nsix points, the Ward identity allows for an arbitrary function of conformal\ninvariants to appear in the expression for the Wilson loop. We compute this\nfunction at six points and two loops and discuss its implications for the\ncorresponding gluon amplitude. It is found that the duality disagrees with a\nconjecture for the gluon amplitudes by Bern et al. A recent calculation by Bern\net al indeed shows that the latter conjecture breaks down at six gluons and at\ntwo loops. By doing a numerical comparison with their results we find that the\nduality between gluon amplitudes and Wilson loops is preserved. This review is\nbased on the author's PhD thesis and includes developments until May 2008."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "$\u03ba$--Rindler space: In this paper we construct, and investigate some thermal properties of, the\nnon-commutative counterpart of Rindler space, which we call $\\kappa$--Rindler\nspace. This space is obtained by changing variables in the defining commutators\nof $\\kappa$--Minkowski space. We then re-derive the commutator structure of\n$\\kappa$--Rindler space with the help of an appropriate star product, obtained\nfrom the $\\kappa$--Minkowski one. Using this star product, following the idea\nof Padmanabhan, we find the leading order, $1/\\kappa$ correction to the Hawking\nthermal spectrum.",
        "positive": "Wilson-Fisher fixed points for any dimension: The critical behavior of a non-local scalar field theory is studied. This\ntheory has a non-local quartic interaction term which involves a real power\n-\\beta of the Laplacian. The parameter \\beta can be tuned so as to make that\ninteraction marginal for any dimension. The lowest order Feynman diagrams\ncorresponding to coupling constant renormalization, mass renormalization, and\nfield renormalization are computed. In all cases a non-trivial IR fixed point\nis obtained. Remarkably, for dimensions different from 4, field renormalization\nis required at the one-loop level. For d=4, the theory reduces to the usual\nlocal \\phi^{4} field theory and field renormalization is required starting at\nthe the two-loop level. The critical exponents \\nu and \\eta are computed for\ndimensions 2,3,4 and 5. For dimensions greater than four, the critical exponent\n\\eta turns out to be negative for \\epsilon>0, which indicates a violation of\nthe unitarity bounds."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A toy model for time evolving QFT on a lattice with controllable chaos: A class of models with a dynamics of generalized quantum cat maps on a\nproduct of quantum tori is described. These tori are defined by an algebra of\nclock-shift matrices of dimension $N$. The dynamics is such that the Lyapunov\nexponents can be computed analytically at large $N$. Some of these systems can\nbe thought of as a toy model for quantum fields on a lattice under a time\nevolution with nearest neighbor interactions, resembling a quantum version of a\ncellular automaton. The dynamics of entangling is studied for initial product\nstates. Some of these entangle at rates determined by Lyapunov exponents of the\nsystem at large $N$ when the initial states are gaussian. For other classes of\nstates, entanglement between two regions can be computed analytically: it is\nfound that entanglement rates are controlled by $\\log(N)$. Some of these setups\ncan be realized on quantum computers with CNOT quantum gates. This is analyzed\nin detail where we find that the dynamics has a self-similar behavior and\nvarious peculiar behaviors. This dynamics can be interpreted in a particular\nbasis as a machine that broadcasts classical messages in one direction and that\nproduces over time a generalized GHZ state with the receiving region once we\nconsider superpositions of such messages. With the appropriate choice of\nquantum vacuum on the receiving end of the system one can stop the message from\nleaving the broadcast area.",
        "positive": "Angles, scales and parametric renormalization: We decompose renormalized Feynman rules according to the scale and angle\ndependence of amplitudes. We use parametric representations such that the\nresulting amplitudes can be studied in algebraic geometry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-Thermal Phase Transitions after Inflation: At the first stage of reheating after inflation, parametric resonance may\nrapidly transfer most of the energy of an inflaton field $\\phi$ to the energy\nof other bosons. We show that quantum fluctuations of scalar and vector fields\nproduced at this stage are much greater than they would be in a state of\nthermal equilibrium. This leads to cosmological phase transitions of a new\ntype, which may result in a copious production of topological defects and in a\nsecondary stage of inflation after reheating.",
        "positive": "The geometry of optimal functionals: In this paper, we give a geometric interpretation of optimal functionals in\nthe context of intersection of symmetry planes and cyclic polytopes. For 1D\nCFTs, we demonstrate that at given derivative order, the functional is given by\na degenerate simplex of the cyclic polytope. More precisely the derivative\nfunctionals at $2N{+}1$-th order, is given by an unique $N$-dimensional simplex\nenclosing the origin. Taking the continuous limit, in the large $\\Delta$\napproximation this qualitatively agrees with that derived by Mazac et al.\nRemarkably similar construction applies to 2D CFT in the diagonal limit as well\nas the spin-less modular bootstrap. Finally we show that such geometric\ninterpretation can be extended to functionals associated with bounds beyond the\nleading operator."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Area Spectrum of Near Extremal Black Branes from Quasi-normal Modes: Motivated by the recent interest in quantization of black hole area spectrum,\nwe consider the area spectrum of near extremal black $3-$branes. Based on the\nproposal by Bekenstein and others that the black hole area spectrum is discrete\nand equally spaced, we implement Kunstatter's method to derive the area\nspectrum for the near extremal black $3-$branes. The result for the area of\nevent horizon although discrete, is not equally spaced.",
        "positive": "Multiverse Understanding of Cosmological Coincidences: There is a deep cosmological mystery: although dependent on very different\nunderlying physics, the timescales of structure formation, of galaxy cooling\n(both radiatively and against the CMB), and of vacuum domination do not differ\nby many orders of magnitude, but are all comparable to the present age of the\nuniverse. By scanning four landscape parameters simultaneously, we show that\nthis quadruple coincidence is resolved. We assume only that the statistical\ndistribution of parameter values in the multiverse grows towards certain\ncatastrophic boundaries we identify, across which there are drastic regime\nchanges. We find order-of-magnitude predictions for the cosmological constant,\nthe primordial density contrast, the temperature at matter-radiation equality,\nthe typical galaxy mass, and the age of the universe, in terms of the fine\nstructure constant and the electron, proton and Planck masses. Our approach\npermits a systematic evaluation of measure proposals; with the causal patch\nmeasure, we find no runaway of the primordial density contrast and the\ncosmological constant to large values."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Coulomb Branch of Yang-Mills Theory from the Schroedinger\n  Representation: The Coulomb branch of the potential between two static colored sources is\ncalculated for the Yang-Mills theory using the electric Schroedinger\nrepresentation.",
        "positive": "Dyson-Schwinger equation approach to Lorentz Symmetry Breaking with\n  finite temperature and chemical potential: In this work, we investigate the dynamical breakdown of Lorentz symmetry in 4\ndimensions by the condensation of a fermionic field described by a Dirac\nLagrangian with a four-fermion interaction. Using the Keldysh formalism we show\nthat the Lorentz symmetry breaking modifies the Dyson-Schwinger equations of\nthe fermionic propagator. We analyze the nonperturbative solutions for the\nDyson-Schwinger equations using the combination of the rainbow and quenched\napproximations and show that, in equilibrium, the Lorentz symmetry breakdown\ncan occur in the strong coupling regime and new features arise from this\napproach. Finally, we analyze the contributions of temperature and chemical\npotential and find the respective phase diagram of the model and analyze the\ndependence of the critical temperature and chemical potential as functions of\nthe coupling constant."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Octonions and M-theory: We explain how structures related to octonions are ubiquitous in M-theory.\nAll the exceptional Lie groups, and the projective Cayley line and plane appear\nin M-theory. Exceptional G_2-holonomy manifolds show up as compactifying\nspaces, and are related to the M2 Brane and 3-form. We review this evidence,\nwhich comes from the initial 11-dim structures. Relations between these objects\nare stressed, when extant and understood. We argue for the necessity of a\nbetter understanding of the role of the octonions themselves (in particular\nnon-associativity) in M-theory.",
        "positive": "ADE functional dilogarithm identities and integrable models: We describe a new infinite family of multi-parameter functional equations for\nthe Rogers dilogarithm, generalizing Abel's and Euler's formulas. They are\nsuggested by the Thermodynamic Bethe Ansatz approach to the Renormalization\nGroup flow of 2D integrable, ADE-related quantum field theories. The known sum\nrules for the central charge of critical fixed points can be obtained as\nspecial cases of these. We conjecture that similar functional identities can be\nconstructed for any rational integrable quantum field theory with factorized\nS-matrix and support it with extensive numerical checks."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "HHL correlators, orbit averaging and form factors: We argue that the conventional method to calculate the OPE coefficients in\nthe strong coupling limit for heavy-heavy-light operators in the N=4\nSuper-Yang-Mills theory has to be modified by integrating the light vertex\noperator not only over a single string worldsheet but also over the moduli\nspace of classical solutions corresponding to the heavy states. This reflects\nthe fact that we are primarily interested in energy eigenstates and not\ncoherent states. We tested our prescription for the BMN vacuum correlator, for\nfolded strings on $S^5$ and for two-particle states. Our prescription for\ntwo-particle states with the dilaton leads to a volume dependence which matches\nexactly to the structure of finite volume diagonal formfactors. As the volume\ndepence does not rely on the particular light operator we conjecture that\nsymmetric OPE coefficients can be described for any coupling by finite volume\ndiagonal form factors.",
        "positive": "Skyrmions and clustering in light nuclei: One of the outstanding problems in modern nuclear physics is to determine the\nproperties of nuclei from the fundamental theory of the strong force, quantum\nchromodynamics (QCD). Skyrmions offer a novel approach to this problem by\nconsidering nuclei as solitons of a low energy effective field theory obtained\nfrom QCD. Unfortunately, the standard theory of Skyrmions has been plagued by\ntwo significant problems, in that it yields nuclear binding energies that are\nan order of magnitude larger than experimental nuclear data, and it predicts\nintrinsic shapes for nuclei that fail to match the clustering structure of\nlight nuclei. Here we show that extending the standard theory of Skyrmions, by\nincluding the next lightest subatomic meson particles traditionally neglected,\ndramatically improves both these aspects. We find Skyrmion clustering that now\nagrees with the expected structure of light nuclei, with binding energies that\nare much closer to nuclear data."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Perturbation theory in the Hamiltonian approach to Yang-Mills theory in\n  Coulomb gauge: We study the Hamiltonian approach to Yang-Mills theory in Coulomb gauge in\nRayleigh-Schroedinger perturbation theory. The static gluon and ghost\npropagator as well as the potential between static colour sources are\ncalculated to one-loop order. Furthermore, the one-loop $\\beta$-function is\ncalculated from both the ghost-gluon vertex and the static potential and found\nto agree with the result of covariant perturbation theory.",
        "positive": "On holographic time-like entanglement entropy: In order to study the pseudo entropy of time-like subregions holographically,\nthe previous smooth space-like extremal surface was recently generalized to mix\nspace-like and time-like segments and the area becomes complex value. This\npaper finds that, if one tries to use such kind of piecewise smooth extremal\nsurfaces to compute time-like entanglement entropy holographically, the complex\narea is not unique in general. We then generalize the original holographic\nproposal of space-like entanglement entropy to pick up a unique area from all\nallowed ``space-like+time-like'' piecewise smooth extremal surfaces for a\ntime-like subregion. We will give some concrete examples to show the\ncorrectness of our proposal."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Explicit BCJ numerators of nonlinear sigma model: In this paper, we investigate the color-kinematics duality in nonlinear sigma\nmodel (NLSM). We present explicit polynomial expressions for the kinematic\nnumerators (BCJ numerators). The calculation is done separately in two\nparametrization schemes of the theory using Kawai-Lewellen-Tye relation\ninspired technique, both lead to polynomial numerators. We summarize the\ncalculation in each case into a set of rules that generates BCJ numerators for\nall multilplicities. In Cayley parametrization we find the numerator is\ndescribed by a particularly simple formula solely in terms of momentum kernel.",
        "positive": "Renormalization Group Flows on Line Defects: We consider line defects in d-dimensional Conformal Field Theories (CFTs).\nThe ambient CFT places nontrivial constraints on Renormalization Group (RG)\nflows on such line defects. We show that the flow on line defects is\nconsequently irreversible and furthermore a canonical decreasing entropy\nfunction exists. This construction generalizes the g theorem to line defects in\narbitrary dimensions. We demonstrate our results in a flow between Wilson loops\nin 4 dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gravitational anomalies of fermionic higher-spin fields: Using the Atiyah-Singer index theorem, we formally compute gravitational\nanomalies for fermionic higher-spin fields in two, six and ten dimensions, as\nwell as the U(1) mixed gauge-gravitational anomaly in four dimensions. In all\ncases, anomaly cancellations are found for an infinite tower of fields with\nalternating chiralities.",
        "positive": "Black holes and membranes in AdS_7: We investigate maximal gauged supergravity in seven dimensions and some of\nits solitonic solutions. By focusing on a truncation of the gauged SO(5)\nR-symmetry group to its U(1)^2 Cartan subgroup, we construct general two charge\nblack holes that are asymptotically anti-de Sitter. We demonstrate that 1- and\n2-charge black holes preserve 1/2 and 1/4 of the supersymmetries respectively.\nAdditionally, we examine the odd-dimensional self-duality equation governing\nthe three-form potential transforming as the 5 of SO(5), and provide some\ninsight on the construction of membrane solutions in anti-de Sitter\nbackgrounds."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Extended BRS symmetry in topological field theories: A class of topological field theories like the $BF$ model and Chern-Simons\ntheory, when quantized in the Landau gauge, enjoys the property of invariance\nunder a vector supersymmetry, which is responsible for their finiteness. We\nintroduce a new type of gauge fixing which makes these theories invariant under\nan extended $BRS$ symmetry, containing a new type of field, the ghost of\ndiffeomorphisms. The presence of such an extension is naturally related to the\nvector supersymmetry discussed before.",
        "positive": "Resolving anti-brane singularities through time-dependence: In this note we discuss a possible resolution of the flux singularities\nassociated with the insertion of branes in backgrounds supported by fluxes that\ncarry charges opposite to the branes. We present qualitative arguments that\nsuch a setup could be unstable both in the closed and open string sector. The\nsingularities in the fluxes then get naturally resolved by taking the true\nsolution to be a time-dependent process in which flux gets attracted towards\nthe brane and subsequently annihilates."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "de Sitter Supersymmetry Revisited: We present the basic $\\mathcal{N} =1$ superconformal field theories in\nfour-dimensional de Sitter space-time, namely the non-abelian super Yang-Mills\ntheory and the chiral multiplet theory with gauge interactions or cubic\nsuperpotential. These theories have eight supercharges and are invariant under\nthe full $SO(4,2)$ group of conformal symmetries, which includes the de Sitter\nisometry group $SO(4,1)$ as a subgroup. The theories are ghost-free and the\nanti-commutator $\\sum_\\alpha\\{Q_\\alpha, Q^{\\alpha\\dagger}\\}$ is positive. SUSY\nWard identities uniquely select the Bunch-Davies vacuum state. This vacuum\nstate is invariant under superconformal transformations, despite the fact that\nde Sitter space has non-zero Hawking temperature. The $\\mathcal{N}=1$ theories\nare classically invariant under the $SU(2,2|1)$ superconformal group, but this\nsymmetry is broken by radiative corrections. However, no such difficulty is\nexpected in the $\\mathcal{N}=4$ theory, which is presented in appendix B.",
        "positive": "Cosmic vorticity on the brane: We study vector perturbations about four-dimensional brane-world cosmologies\nembedded in a five-dimensional vacuum bulk. Even in the absence of matter\nperturbations, vector perturbations in the bulk metric can support vector\nmetric perturbations on the brane. We show that during de Sitter inflation on\nthe brane vector perturbations in the bulk obey the same wave equation for a\nmassless five-dimensional field as found for tensor perturbations. However, we\npresent the second-order effective action for vector perturbations and find no\nnormalisable zero-mode in the absence of matter sources. The spectrum of\nnormalisable states is a continuum of massive modes that remain in the vacuum\nstate during inflation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Cosmelkology: Elko fermions in FLRW space-time: Cosmelkology is the study of Elko in cosmology. Elko is a massive spin-half\nfield of mass dimension one. Elko differs from the Dirac and Majorana fermions\nbecause it furnishes the irreducible representation of the extended Poincare\ngroup with a two-fold Wigner degeneracy where the particle and anti-particle\nstates both have four degrees of freedom. Elko has a renormalizable quartic\nself interaction which makes it a candidate for self-interacting dark matter.\nWe study Elko in the spatially flat FLRW space-time and find exact solutions in\nthe de Sitter space. By choosing the appropriate solutions and phases, the\nfields satisfy the canonical anti-commutation relations and have the correct\ntime evolutions in the flat space limit.",
        "positive": "Small Cosmological Constants from a Modified Randall-Sundrum Model: We study a mechanism, inspired from the mechanism for generating the gauge\nhierarchy in Randall-Sundrum model, to investigate the cosmological constant\nproblem. First we analyze the bulk cosmological constant and brane vacuum\nenergies in RS model. We show that the five-dimensional bulk cosmological\nconstant and the vacuum energies of the two branes all obtain their natural\nvalues. Finally we argue how we can generate a small four-dimensional effective\ncosmological constant on the branes through modifying the original RS model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The O(N) Monolith reloaded: Sum rules and Form Factor Bootstrap: We revisit the space of gapped quantum field theories with a global O(N)\nsymmetry in two spacetime dimensions. Previous works using S-matrix bootstrap\nrevealed a rich space in which integrable theories such as the non-linear sigma\nmodel appear at special points on the boundary, along with an abundance of\nunknown models hinting at a non conventional UV behaviour. We extend the\nS-matrix set-up by including into the bootstrap form factors and spectral\nfunctions for the stress-energy tensor and conserved O(N) currents. Sum rules\nallow us to put bounds on the central charges of the conformal field theory\n(CFT) in the UV. We find that a big portion of the boundary can only flow from\nCFTs with infinite central charges. We track this result down to a particular\nbehaviour of the amplitudes in physical kinematics and discuss its physical\nimplications.",
        "positive": "The Anatomy of Gauge/String Duality in Lunin-Maldacena Background: We consider the correspondence between the spinning string solutions in\nLunin-Maldacena background and the single trace operators in the\nLeigh-Strassler deformation of N=4 SYM. By imposing an appropriate rotating\nstring ans\\\"atz on the Landau-Lifshitz reduced sigma model in the deformed\nSU(2) sector, we find two types of `elliptic' solutions with two spins, which\nturn out to be the solutions associated with the Neumann-Rosochatius system. We\nthen calculate the string energies as functions of spins, and obtain their\nexplicit forms in terms of a set of moduli parameters. On the deformed\nspin-chain side, we explicitly compute the one-loop anomalous dimensions of the\ngauge theory operators dual to each of the two types of spinning string\nsolutions, extending and complementing the results of hep-th/0511164. Moreover,\nwe propose explicit ans\\\"atze on how the locations of the Bethe strings are\naffected due to the deformation, with several supports from the string side."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Anharmonic oscillators, the thermodynamic Bethe ansatz, and nonlinear\n  integral equations: The spectral determinant $D(E)$ of the quartic oscillator is known to satisfy\na functional equation. This is mapped onto the $A_3$-related $Y$-system\nemerging in the treatment of a certain perturbed conformal field theory,\nallowing us to give an alternative integral expression for $D(E)$. Generalising\nthis result, we conjecture a relationship between the $x^{2M}$ anharmonic\noscillators and the $A_{2M-1}$ TBA systems. Finally, spectral determinants for\ngeneral $|x|^{\\alpha}$ potentials are mapped onto the solutions of nonlinear\nintegral equations associated with the (twisted) XXZ and sine-Gordon models.",
        "positive": "On the Classification of Brane Tilings: We present a computationally efficient algorithm that can be used to generate\nall possible brane tilings. Brane tilings represent the largest class of\nsuperconformal theories with known AdS duals in 3+1 and also 2+1 dimensions and\nhave proved useful for describing the physics of both D3 branes and also M2\nbranes probing Calabi-Yau singularities. This algorithm has been implemented\nand is used to generate all possible brane tilings with at most 6\nsuperpotential terms, including consistent and inconsistent brane tilings. The\ncollection of inconsistent tilings found in this work form the most\ncomprehensive study of such objects to date."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauge Theories on ALE Space and Super Liouville Correlation Functions: We present a relation between N=2 quiver gauge theories on the ALE space\nO_{P^1}(-2) and correlators of N=1 super Liouville conformal field theory,\nproviding checks in the case of punctured spheres and tori. We derive a blow-up\nformula for the full Nekrasov partition function and show that, up to a U(1)\nfactor, the N=2^* instanton partition function is given by the product of the\ncharacter of \\hat{SU}(2)_2 times the super Virasoro conformal block on the\ntorus with one puncture. Moreover, we match the perturbative gauge theory\ncontribution with super Liouville three-point functions.",
        "positive": "Remarks on the M5-Brane: The fivebrane of M theory -- the M5-brane -- is an especially interesting\nobject. It plays a central role in a geometric understanding of the\nSeiberg-Witten solution of N=2 D=4 gauge theories as well as in certain new 6d\nquantum theories. The low energy effective action is an interacting theory of a\n(2,0) tensor multiplet. The fact that this multiplet contains a two-form gauge\nfield with a self-dual field strength poses special challenges. Recent progress\nin addressing those challenges is reviewed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Extravariables in the BRST Quantization of Second-Class Constrained\n  Systems; Existence Theorems: In this paper we show how the BRST quantization can be applied to systems\npossessing only second-class constraints through their conversion to some\nfirst-class ones starting with our method exposed in [Nucl.Phys. B456\n(1995)473]. Thus, it is proved that i) for a certain class of second-class\nsystems there exists a standard coupling between the variables of the original\nphase-space and some extravariables such that we can transform the original\nsystem into a one-parameter family of first-class systems; ii) the BRST\nquantization of this family in a standard gauge leads to the same path integral\nas that of the original system. The analysis is accomplished in both reducible\nand irreducible cases. In the same time, there is obtained the Lagrangian\naction of the first-class family and its provenience is clarified. In this\ncontext, the Wess-Zumino action is also derived. The results from the\ntheoretical part of the paper are exemplified in detail for the massive\nYang-Mills theory and for the massive abelian three-form gauge fields.",
        "positive": "Higgs and Coulomb Branch Descriptions of the Volume of the Vortex Moduli\n  Space: BPS vortex systems on closed Riemann surfaces with arbitrary genus are\nembedded into two-dimensional supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory with matters. We\nturn on a background R-gauge fields to keep half of rigid supersymmetry\n(topological A-twist) on the curved space. We consider two complementary\ndescriptions; Higgs and Coulomb branches. The path integral reduces to the zero\nmode integral by the localization in the Higgs branch. The integral over the\nbosonic zero modes directly gives an integral over the volume form of the\nmoduli space, whereas the fermionic zero modes are compensated by an\nappropriate operator insertion. In the Coulomb branch description with the same\noperator insertion, the path integral reduces to a finite-dimensional residue\nintegral. The operator insertion automatically determines a choice of integral\ncontours, leading to the Jeffrey-Kirwan residue formula. This result ensures\nthe existence of the solution to the BPS vortex equation and explains the\nBradlow bounds of the BPS vortex. We also discuss a generating function of the\nvolume of the vortex moduli space and show a reduction of the moduli space from\nsemi-local to local vortices."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Scalar and Spinor Two-Point Functions in Einstein Universe: Two-point functions for scalar and spinor fields are investigated in Einstein\nuniverse ($R \\otimes S^{\\sN-1}$). Equations for massive scalar and spinor\ntwo-point functions are solved and the explicit expressions for the two-point\nfunctions are given. The simpler expressions for massless cases are obtained\nboth for the scalar and spinor cases.",
        "positive": "Divergences of Discrete States Amplitudes and Effective Lagrangian in 2D\n  String Theory: Scattering amplitudes for discrete states in 2D string theory are considered.\nPole divergences of tree-level amplitudes are extracted and residues are\ninterpreted as renormalized amplitudes for discrete states. An effective\nLagrangian generating renormalized amplitudes for open string is written and\ncorresponding Ward identities are presented. A relation of this Lagrangian with\nhomotopy Lie algebra is discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Multi-particle States from the Effective Action for Local Composite\n  Operators: Anharmonic Oscillator: The effective action for the local composite operator $\\Phi^2(x)$ in the\nscalar quantum field theory with $\\lambda\\Phi^4$ interaction is obtained in the\nexpansion in two-particle-point-irreducible (2PPI) diagrams up to five-loops.\nThe effective potential and 2-point Green's functions for elementary and\ncomposite fields are derived. The ground state energy as well as one- and\ntwo-particle excitations are calculated for space-time dimension $n=1$, when\nthe theory is equivalent to the quantum mechanics of an anharmonic oscillator.\nThe agreement with the exact spectrum of the oscillator is much better than\nthat obtained within the perturbation theory.",
        "positive": "Asymptotic safety guaranteed: We study the ultraviolet behaviour of four-dimensional quantum field theories\ninvolving non-abelian gauge fields, fermions and scalars in the Veneziano\nlimit. In a regime where asymptotic freedom is lost, we explain how the three\ntypes of fields cooperate to develop fully interacting ultraviolet fixed\npoints, strictly controlled by perturbation theory. Extensions towards strong\ncoupling and beyond the large-N limit are discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non Abelian Vortices as Instantons on Noncommutative Discrete Space: There seems to be close relationship between the moduli space of vortices and\nthe moduli space of instantons, which is not yet clearly understood from a\nstandpoint of the field theory. We clarify the reasons why many similarities\nare found in the methods for constructing the moduli of instanton and vortex,\nviewed in the light of the notion of the self-duality. We show that the\nnon-Abelian vortex is nothing but the instanton in $R^{2} \\times Z_{2}$ from a\nviewpoint of the noncommutative differential geometry and the gauge theory in\ndiscrete space. The action for pure Yang-Mills theory in $R^{2} \\times Z_{2}$\nis equivalent to that for Yang-Mills-Higgs theory in $R^{2} $.",
        "positive": "Interactions of Massless Higher Spin Fields From String Theory: We construct vertex operators for massless higher spin fields in RNS\nsuperstring theory and compute some of their three-point correlators,\ndescribing gauge-invariant cubic interactions of the massless higher spins. The\nFierz-Pauli on-shell conditions for the higher spins (including tracelessness\nand vanishing divergence) follow from the BRST-invariance conditions for the\nvertex operators constructed in this paper. The gauge symmetries of the\nmassless higher spins emerge as a result of the BRST nontriviality conditions\nfor these operators, being equivalent to transformations with the traceless\ngauge parameter in the Fronsdal's approach. The gauge invariance of the\ninteraction terms of the higher spins is therefore ensured automatically by\nthat of the vertex operators in string theory. We develop general algorithm to\ncompute the cubic interactions of the massless higher spins and use it to\nexplicitly describe the gauge-invariant interaction of two $s=3$ and one $s=4$\nmassless particles."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Asymptotic safety guaranteed in supersymmetry: We explain how asymptotic safety arises in four-dimensional supersymmetric\ngauge theories. We provide asymptotically safe supersymmetric gauge theories\ntogether with their superconformal fixed points, R-charges, phase diagrams, and\nUV-IR connecting trajectories. Strict perturbative control is achieved in a\nVeneziano limit. Consistency with unitarity and the a-theorem is established.\nWe find that supersymmetry enhances the predictivity of asymptotically safe\ntheories.",
        "positive": "Gravitational duals to the grand canonical ensemble abhor Cauchy\n  horizons: The gravitational dual to the grand canonical ensemble of a large $N$\nholographic theory is a charged black hole. These spacetimes -- for example\nReissner-Nordstr\\\"om-AdS -- can have Cauchy horizons that render the classical\ngravitational dynamics of the black hole interior incomplete. We show that a\n(spatially uniform) deformation of the CFT by a neutral scalar operator\ngenerically leads to a black hole with no inner horizon. There is instead a\nspacelike Kasner singularity in the interior. For relevant deformations, Cauchy\nhorizons never form. For certain irrelevant deformations, Cauchy horizons can\nexist at one specific temperature. We show that the scalar field triggers a\nrapid collapse of the Einstein-Rosen bridge at the would-be Cauchy horizon.\nFinally, we make some observations on the interior of charged dilatonic black\nholes where the Kasner exponent at the singularity exhibits an attractor\nmechanism in the low temperature limit."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fractional Supersymmetry through Generalized Anyonic algebra: The construction of anyonic operators and algebra is generalized by using\nquons operators. Therefore, the particular versionof fractional supersymmetry\nis constructed on the two-dimensional lattice by associating two generalized\nanyons of different kinds. The fractional supersymmetry Hamiltonian operator is\nobtained on the two-dimensional lattice and the quantum algebra $U_{q}(sl_{2})$\nis realized.",
        "positive": "Sequestering in String Compactifications: We study the mediation of supersymmetry breaking in string compactifications\nwhose moduli are stabilized by nonperturbative effects. We begin with a\ncritical review of arguments for sequestering in supergravity and in string\ntheory. We then show that geometric isolation, even in a highly warped space,\nis insufficient to achieve sequestering: in type IIB compactifications,\nnonperturbative superpotentials involving the Kahler moduli introduce\ncross-couplings between well-separated visible and hidden sectors. The scale of\nthe resulting soft terms depends on the moduli stabilization scenario. In the\nLarge Volume Scenario, nonperturbative superpotential contributions to the soft\ntrilinear $A$ terms can introduce significant flavor violation, while in KKLT\ncompactifications their effects are negligible. In both cases, the\ncontributions to the $\\mu$ and $B\\mu$ parameters cannot be ignored in general.\nWe conclude that sequestered supersymmetry breaking is possible in\nnonperturbatively-stabilized compactifications only if a mechanism in addition\nto bulk locality suppresses superpotential cross-couplings."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "No chiral truncation of quantum log gravity?: At the classical level, chiral gravity may be constructed as a consistent\ntruncation of a larger theory called log gravity by requiring that left-moving\ncharges vanish. In turn, log gravity is the limit of topologically massive\ngravity (TMG) at a special value of the coupling (the chiral point). We study\nthe situation at the level of linearized quantum fields, focussing on a unitary\nquantization. While the TMG Hilbert space is continuous at the chiral point,\nthe left-moving Virasoro generators become ill-defined and cannot be used to\ndefine a chiral truncation. In a sense, the left-moving asymptotic symmetries\nare spontaneously broken at the chiral point. In contrast, in a non-unitary\nquantization of TMG, both the Hilbert space and charges are continuous at the\nchiral point and define a unitary theory of chiral gravity at the linearized\nlevel.",
        "positive": "Lorentz-preserving fields in Lorentz-violating theories: We identify a fairly general class of field configurations (of spins 0, 1/2\nand 1) which preserve Lorentz invariance in effective field theories of Lorentz\nviolation characterized by a constant timelike vector. These fields\nconcomitantly satisfy the equations of motion yielding cubic dispersion\nrelations similar to those found earlier. They appear to have prospective\napplications in inflationary scenarios."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A strongly coupled anyon material: We use alternative quantisation of the D3-D5 system to explore properties of\na strongly coupled anyon material at finite density and temperature. We study\nthe transport properties of the material and find both diffusion and massive\nholographic zero sound modes. By studying the anyon number conductivity we also\nfind evidence for the anyonic analogue of the metal-insulator transition.",
        "positive": "Towards New Classes of Flux Compactifications: We derive novel solutions of flux compactification with D7-branes on the\nresolved conifold in type IIB String Theory and later extend this solution to\nallow for non-zero temperature. At zero temperature, we find that adding\nD7-branes via the Ouyang embedding contributes to the supersymmetry-breaking\n(1,2) imaginary-self-dual flux, without generating a bulk cosmological\nconstant. We further find that having D7-branes and a resolved conifold\ntogether give rise to a non-trivial D-term on the D7-branes. This\nsupersymmetry-breaking term vanishes when we take the singular conifold limit,\nalthough supersymmetry appears to remain broken. We also lift our construction\nto F-theory where we show that the type IIB (1,2) flux goes to (2,2)\nnon-primitive flux on the fourfold.\n  In the second part of the thesis, we extend these results by taking the\nnon-extremal limit of our geometry to incorporate temperature. In this case,\nthe internal NS-NS and R-R fluxes are no longer expected to be self-dual, but\nthey should also naturally be extensions of the fluxes found above. From the\nsupergravity equations of motion, we compute how the new contributions to the\nfluxes should enter, due to the squashing of the resolved metric and\nnon-extremality. This provides us with a compelling gravity dual of large N\nthermal quantum chromodynamics with flavor."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "M2-brane Flows and the Chern-Simons Level: The Chern-Simons level k of ABJM gauge theory captures the orbifolding in the\ndual geometry. This suggests that if we move the membranes away from the tip of\nthe orbifold to a smooth point, it should trigger an RG flow that changes the\nlevel to k=1 in the IR. We construct an explicit supergravity solution that is\ndual to this shift from generic k to k=1. In the gauge theory side, we present\narguments for why this shift is plausible at the end of the RG flow. We also\nconsider a resolution of the orbifold for the case k=4 (where explicit metrics\ncan be found), and construct the smooth supergravity solution that interpolates\nbetween AdS4 X S7/Z4 and AdS4 X S7, corresponding to localized branes on the\nblown up six cycle. In the gauge theory, we make some comments about the\ndimension four operator dual to the resolution as well as the associated RG\nflow.",
        "positive": "Caustic Formation in Tachyon Effective Field Theories: Certain configurations of D-branes, for example wrong dimensional branes or\nthe brane-antibrane system, are unstable to decay. This instability is\ndescribed by the appearance of a tachyonic mode in the spectrum of open strings\nending on the brane(s). The decay of these unstable systems is described by the\nrolling of the tachyon field from the unstable maximum to the minimum of its\npotential. We analytically study the dynamics of the inhomogeneous tachyon\nfield as it rolls towards the true vacuum of the theory in the context of\nseveral different tachyon effective actions. We find that the vacuum dynamics\nof these theories is remarkably similar and in particular we show that in all\ncases the tachyon field forms caustics where second and higher derivatives of\nthe field blow up. The formation of caustics signals a pathology in the\nevolution since each of the effective actions considered is not reliable in the\nvicinity of a caustic. We speculate that the formation of caustics is an\nartifact of truncating the tachyon action, which should contain all orders of\nderivatives acting on the field, to a finite number of derivatives. Finally, we\nconsider inhomogeneous solutions in p-adic string theory, a toy model of the\nbosonic tachyon which contains derivatives of all orders acting on the field.\nFor a large class of initial conditions we conclusively show that the evolution\nis well behaved in this case. It is unclear if these caustics are a genuine\nprediction of string theory or not."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Heavy Fermion Stabilization of Solitons in 1+1 Dimensions: We find static solitons stabilized by quantum corrections in a\n(1+1)-dimensional model with a scalar field chirally coupled to fermions. This\nmodel does not support classical solitons. We compute the renormalized energy\nfunctional including one-loop quantum corrections. We carry out a variational\nsearch for a configuration that minimizes the energy functional. We find a\nnontrivial configuration with fermion number whose energy is lower than the\nsame number of free fermions quantized about the translationally invariant\nvacuum. In order to compute the quantum corrections for a given background\nfield we use a phase-shift parameterization of the Casimir energy. We identify\norders of the Born series for the phase shift with perturbative Feynman\ndiagrams in order to renormalize the Casimir energy using perturbatively\ndetermined counterterms. Generalizing dimensional regularization, we\ndemonstrate that this procedure yields a finite and unambiguous energy\nfunctional.",
        "positive": "String creation in cosmologies with a varying dilaton: FRW solutions of the string theory low-energy effective actions are\ndescribed, yielding a dilaton which first decreases and then increases. We\nstudy string creation in these backgrounds and find an exponential divergence\ndue to an initial space-like singularity. We conjecture that this singularity\nmay be removed by the effects of back-reaction, leading to a solution which at\nearly times is de Sitter space."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "An infinite square-well potential as a limiting case of a finite\n  square-well potential in a minimal-length scenario: One of the most widely problem studied in quantum mechanics is of an infinite\nsquare-well potential. In a minimal-length scenario its study requires\nadditional care because the boundary conditions at the walls of the well are\nnot well fixed. In order to avoid this we solve the finite square-well\npotential whose the boundary conditions are well fixed, even in a\nminimal-length scenario, and then we take the limit of the potential going to\ninfinity to find the eigenfunctions and the energy equation for the infinite\nsquare-well potential. Although the first correction for the energy eigenvalues\nis the same one has been found in the literature, our result shows that the\neigenfunctions have the first derivative continuous at the square-well walls\nwhat is in disagreement those previous work. That is because in the literature\nthe authors have neglected the hyperbolic solutions and have assumed the\ndiscontinuity of the first derivative of the eigenfunctions at the walls of the\ninfinite square-well which is not correct. As we show, the continuity of the\nfirst derivative of the eigenfunctions at the square-well walls guarantees the\ncontinuity of the probability current density and the unitarity of the time\nevolution",
        "positive": "Functional Integral Approach to the N-Flavor Schwinger Model: We study massless QED_2 with N flavors using path integrals. We identify the\nsector that is generated by the N^2 classically conserved vector currents. One\nof them (the U(1) current) creates a massive particle, while the others create\nmassless ones. We show that the mass spectrum obeys a Witten-Veneziano type\nformula. Two theorems on n-point functions clarify the structure of the Hilbert\nspace. Evaluation of the Fredenhagen-Marcu order parameter indicates that a\nconfining force exists only between charges that are integer multiples of +/-\nNe, whereas charges that are nonzero mod(N) screen their confining forces and\nlead to non-vacuum sectors. Finally we identify operators that violate\nclustering, and decompose the theory into clustering theta vacua."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Manifestly gauge invariant computations: Using a gauge invariant exact renormalization group, we show how to compute\nthe effective action, and extract the physics, whilst manifestly preserving\ngauge invariance at each and every step. As an example we give an elegant\ncomputation of the one-loop SU(N) Yang-Mills beta function, for the first time\nat finite N without any gauge fixing or ghosts. It is also completely\nindependent of the details put in by hand, e.g. the choice of covariantisation\nand the cutoff profile, and, therefore, guides us to a procedure for\nstreamlined calculations.",
        "positive": "QCD Dynamics From M-Theory: The field theories on the surface of non-supersymmetric D-brane constructions\nare identified. By moving to M-theory a semi-classical, strong coupling\nexpansion to the IR non-supersymmetric gauge dynamics is obtained. The solution\nis consistent with the formation of a quark condensate but there is evidence\nthat in moving to strong coupling scalar degrees of freedom have not decoupled."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hilbert Space Representation of an Algebra of Observables for q-Deformed\n  Relativistic Quantum Mechanics: Using a representation of the q-deformed Lorentz algebra as differential\noperators on quantum Minkowski space, we define an algebra of observables for a\nq-deformed relativistic quantum mechanics with spin zero. We construct a\nHilbert space representation of this algebra in which the square of the mass $\np^2 $ is diagonal.",
        "positive": "A systematic approach to model building: We outline a new, systematic way of constructing and analysing field\ntheories, where all possible continuous symmetries of a given model are derived\nusing the method of Lie point symmetries. If the model has free parameters, and\nrelationships amongst any of these parameters yields an enhanced symmetry, then\nall such relationships are found, along with the resulting symmetry group. We\ndiscuss how the method can be applied to the standard model and beyond, to\ndirect the search for a more predictive field theory. The method handles\ncompact and non-compact continuous groups, spontaneously broken symmetries, and\nis also applicable to general relativity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Voros product, noncommutative inspired Reissner-Nordstr{\u00f6}m black hole\n  and corrected area law: We emphasize the importance of the Voros product in defining a noncommutative\ninspired Reissner-Nordstr\\\"{o}m black hole. The entropy of this black hole is\nthen computed in the tunneling approach and is shown to obey the area law at\nthe next to leading order in the noncommutative parameter $\\theta$.\nModifications to entropy/area law is then obtained by going beyond the\nsemi-classical approximation. The leading correction to the semiclassical\nentropy/area law is found to be logarithmic and its coefficient involves the\nnoncommutative parameter $\\theta$.",
        "positive": "On q-deformed symmetries as Poisson-Lie symmetries and application to\n  Yang-Baxter type models: Yang-Baxter type models are integrable deformations of integrable field\ntheories, such as the principal chiral model on a Lie group $G$ or\n$\\sigma$-models on (semi-)symmetric spaces $G/F$. The deformation has the\neffect of breaking the global $G$-symmetry of the original model, replacing the\nassociated set of conserved charges by ones whose Poisson brackets are those of\nthe $q$-deformed Poisson-Hopf algebra $\\mathscr U_q(\\mathfrak g)$. Working at\nthe Hamiltonian level, we show how this $q$-deformed Poisson algebra originates\nfrom a Poisson-Lie $G$-symmetry. The theory of Poisson-Lie groups and their\nactions on Poisson manifolds, in particular the formalism of the non-abelian\nmoment map, is reviewed. For a coboundary Poisson-Lie group $G$, this\nnon-abelian moment map must obey the Semenov-Tian-Shansky bracket on the dual\ngroup $G^*$, up to terms involving central quantities. When the latter vanish,\nwe develop a general procedure linking this Poisson bracket to the defining\nrelations of the Poisson-Hopf algebra $\\mathscr U_q(\\mathfrak g)$, including\nthe $q$-Poisson-Serre relations. We consider reality conditions leading to $q$\nbeing either real or a phase. We determine the non-abelian moment map for\nYang-Baxter type models. This enables to compute the corresponding action of\n$G$ on the fields parametrising the phase space of these models."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Ground states of a Klein-Gordon field with Robin boundary conditions in\n  global anti-de Sitter spacetime: We consider a real, massive scalar field both on the $n$-dimensional anti--de\nSitter (AdS$_n$) spacetime and on its universal cover CAdS$_n$. In the second\nscenario, we extend the recent analysis on PAdS$_n$, the Poincar\\'e patch of\nAdS$_n$, first determining all admissible boundary conditions of Robin type\nthat can be applied on the conformal boundary. Most notably, contrary to what\nhappens on PAdS$_n$, no bound state mode solution occurs. Subsequently, we\naddress the problem of constructing the two-point function for the ground state\nsatisfying the admissible boundary conditions. All these states are locally of\nHadamard form being obtained via a mode expansion which encompasses only the\npositive frequencies associated to the global timelike Killing field on\nCAdS$_n$. To conclude we investigate under which conditions any of the\ntwo-point correlation functions constructed on the universal cover defines a\ncounterpart on AdS$_n$, still of Hadamard form. Since this spacetime is\nperiodic in time, it turns out that this is possible only for Dirichlet\nboundary conditions, though for a countable set of masses of the underlying\nfield, or for Neumann boundary conditions, though only for even dimensions and\nfor one given value of the mass.",
        "positive": "Canonical Chern-Simons Theory and the Braid Group on a Riemann Surface: We examine the problem of determining which representations of the braid\ngroup on a Riemann surface are carried by the wave function of a quantized\nAbelian Chern-Simons theory interacting with non-dynamical matter. We\ngeneralize the quantization of Chern-Simons theory to the case where the\ncoefficient of the Chern-Simons term, $k$, is rational, the Riemann surface has\narbitrary genus and the total matter charge is non-vanishing. We find an\nexplicit solution of the Schr\\\"odinger equation. We find that the wave\nfunctions carry a representation of the braid group as well as a projective\nrepresentation of the discrete group of large gauge transformations. We find a\nfundamental constraint which relates the charges of the particles, $q_i$, the\ncoefficient $k$ and the genus of the manifold, $g$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Effective Planck Mass and the Scale of Inflation: A recent paper argued that it is not possible to infer the energy scale of\ninflation from the amplitude of tensor fluctuations in the Cosmic Microwave\nBackground, because the usual connection is substantially altered if there are\na large number of universally coupled fields present during inflation, with\nmass less than the inflationary Hubble scale. We give a simple argument\ndemonstrating that this is incorrect.",
        "positive": "Encoding the lattice in the Holography: One of the most wanted features of holography in its condensed matter physics\napplication is to encode the structure of lattice, which is the most direct\ndata of the material. In this paper, we propose a method to encode the lattice\nstructure by embedding the tight binding data into the Dirac equation in the\nAdS bulk. We explicitly worked out the idea for the Graphene and Haldane model,\nand the result shows that some degrees of freedom escape the free-electron\non-shell curve, and Green's function loses the pole structure completely. It\nimplies that the electronic structure is not described by the band structure\nonly, which is consistent with what many ARPES data tell us, and it also\nimplies that the system is in non-fermi liquid even for the graphene, which is\nconsistent with recent experiments for the clean graphene."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Discrete Torsion, AdS/CFT and duality: We analyse D-branes on orbifolds with discrete torsion, extending earlier\nresults. We analyze certain Abelian orbifolds of the type C^3/ \\Gamma, where\n\\Gamma is given by Z_m x Z_n, for the most general choice of discrete torsion\nparameter. By comparing with the AdS/CFT correspondence, we can consider\ndifferent geometries which give rise to the same physics. This identifies new\nmirror pairs and suggests new dualities at large N. As a by-product we also get\na more geometric picture of discrete torsion.",
        "positive": "More about the $j=0$ relativistic oscillator: I start from the Bargmann-Wigner equations and introduce an interaction in\nthe form which is similar to a $j=1/2$ case [M. Moshinsky & A. Szczepaniak,\n{\\it J. Phys. A}{\\bf 22} (1989) L817]. By means of the expansion of the wave\nfunction in the complete set of $\\gamma$- matrices one can obtain the equations\nfor a system which could be named as the $j=0$ Kemmer-Dirac oscillator.\n  The equations for the components $\\phi_1$ and $\\phi_2$ are different from the\nones obtained by Y. Nedjadi & R. Barrett for the $j=0$ Duffin-Kemmer-Petiau\noscillator [{\\it J. Phys. A} {\\bf 27} (1994) 4301]. This fact leads to the\ndissimilar energy spectrum of the $j=0$ relativistic oscillator."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Octagon as a Determinant: The computation of a certain class of four-point functions of heavily charged\nBPS operators boils down to the computation of a special form factor - the\noctagon. In this paper, which is an extended version of the short note [1], we\nderive a non-perturbative formula for the square of the octagon as the\ndeterminant of a semi-infinite skew-symmetric matrix. We show that\nperturbatively in the weak coupling limit the octagon is given by a determinant\nconstructed from the polylogarithms evaluating ladder Feynman graphs. We also\ngive a simple operator representation of the octagon in terms of a vacuum\nexpectation value of massless free bosons or fermions living in the rapidity\nplane.",
        "positive": "Two Dimensional Quantum Gravity Coupled to Matter: A classical two dimensional theory of gravity which has a number of\ninteresting features (including a Newtonian limit, black holes and\ngravitational collapse) is quantized using conformal field theoretic\ntechniques. The critical dimension depends upon Newton's constant, permitting\nmodels with $d=4$. The constraint algebra and scaling properties of the model\nare computed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Newton-Cartan $ D 0$ branes from $ D1 $ branes and integrability: We explore analytic integrability criteria for $ D1 $ branes probing 4D\nrelativistic background with a null isometry direction. We use both the\nKovacic's algorithm of classical (non)integrability as well as the standard\nformulation of Lax connections to show the analytic integrability of the\nassociated dynamical configuration. We further use the notion of double null\nreduction and obtain the world-volume action corresponding to a torsional\nNewton-Cartan (TNC) $ D0 $ brane probing a 3D torsional Newton-Cartan geometry.\nMoreover, following Kovacic's method, we show the classical integrability of\nthe TNC $ D0 $ brane configuration thus obtained. Finally, considering a\ntrivial field redefinition for the $ D1 $ brane world-volume fields, we show\nthe equivalence between two configurations in the presence of vanishing NS\nfluxes.",
        "positive": "Low Energy Pion-Pion Elastic Scattering in Sakai-Sugimoto Model: We have considered the holographic large $N_c$ QCD model proposed by Sakai\nand Sugimoto and evaluated the non-Abelian DBI-action on the D8-brane upto\n$(\\alpha')^4$ terms. Restricting to the pion sector, these corrections give\nrise to four derivative contact terms for the pion field. We derive the\nWeinberg's phenemenological lagrangian. The coefficients of the four derivative\nterms are determined in terms of $g_{YM}^2$. The low energy pion-pion\nscattering amplitudes are evaluated. Numerical results are presented with the\nchoice of $M_{KK}=0.94 GeV$ and $N_c=11$. The results are compared with the\namplitudes calculated using the experimental phase shifts. The agreement with\nthe experimental data is found to be satisfactory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "CP Violation and Baryogenesis in the Presence of Black Holes: In a recent paper[1] Kundu and one of the present authors showed that there\nwere transient but observable CP violating effects in the decay of classical\ncurrents on the horizon of a black hole, if the Lagrangian of the Maxwell field\ncontained a CP violating angle {\\theta}. In this paper we demonstrate that a\nsimilar effect can be seen in the quantum mechanics of QED: a non-trivial Berry\nphase in the QED wave function is produced by in-falling electric charges. We\nalso investigate whether CP violation, of this or any other type, might be used\nto produce the baryon asymmetry of the universe, in models where primordial\nblack hole decay contributes to the matter content of the present universe.\nThis can happen both in a variety of hybrid inflation models, and in the\nHolographic Space-time (HST) model of inflation[2].",
        "positive": "Attractors with Vanishing Central Charge: We consider the Attractor Equations of particular $\\mathcal{N}=2$, d=4\nsupergravity models whose vector multiplets' scalar manifold is endowed with\nhomogeneous symmetric cubic special K\\\"{a}hler geometry, namely of the\nso-called $st^{2}$ and $stu$ models. In this framework, we derive explicit\nexpressions for the critical moduli corresponding to non-BPS attractors with\nvanishing $\\mathcal{N}=2$ central charge. Such formul\\ae hold for a generic\nblack hole charge configuration, and they are obtained without formulating any\n\\textit{ad hoc} simplifying assumption. We find that such attractors are\nrelated to the 1/2-BPS ones by complex conjugation of some moduli. By uplifting\nto $\\mathcal{N}=8$, d=4 supergravity, we give an interpretation of such a\nrelation as an exchange of two of the four eigenvalues of the $\\mathcal{N}=8$\ncentral charge matrix $Z_{AB}$. We also consider non-BPS attractors with\nnon-vanishing $\\mathcal{Z}$; for peculiar charge configurations, we derive\nsolutions violating the Ansatz usually formulated in literature. Finally, by\ngroup-theoretical considerations we relate Cayley's hyperdeterminant (the\ninvariant of the stu model) to the invariants of the st^{2} and of the\nso-called t^{3} model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Parity-Violating Hydrodynamics in 2+1 Dimensions: We study relativistic hydrodynamics of normal fluids in two spatial\ndimensions. When the microscopic theory breaks parity, extra transport\ncoefficients appear in the hydrodynamic regime, including the Hall viscosity,\nand the anomalous Hall conductivity. In this work we classify all the transport\ncoefficients in first order hydrodynamics. We then use properties of response\nfunctions and the positivity of entropy production to restrict the possible\ncoefficients in the constitutive relations. All the parity-breaking transport\ncoefficients are dissipationless, and some of them are related to the\nthermodynamic response to an external magnetic field and to vorticity. In\naddition, we give a holographic example of a strongly interacting relativistic\nfluid where the parity-violating transport coefficients are computable.",
        "positive": "Evaluating the Wald Entropy from two-derivative terms in quadratic\n  actions: We evaluate the Wald Noether charge entropy for a black hole in generalized\ntheories of gravity. Expanding the Lagrangian to second order in gravitational\nperturbations, we show that contributions to the entropy density originate only\nfrom the coefficients of two-derivative terms. The same considerations are\nextended to include matter fields and to show that arbitrary powers of matter\nfields and their symmetrized covariant derivatives cannot contribute to the\nentropy density. We also explain how to use the linearized gravitational field\nequation rather than quadratic actions to obtain the same results. Several\nexplicit examples are presented that allow us to clarify subtle points in the\nderivation and application of our method."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Composite black holes in external fields: The properties of composite black holes in the background of electric or\nmagnetic flux tubes are analyzed, both when the black holes remain in static\nequilibrium and when they accelerate under a net external force. To this\neffect, we present a number of exact solutions (generalizing the Melvin, C and\nErnst solutions) describing these configurations in a theory that admits\ncomposite black holes with an arbitrary number of constituents. The\ncompositeness property is argued to be independent of supersymmetry. Even if,\nin general, the shape of the horizon is distorted by the fields, the dependence\nof the extreme black hole area on the charges is shown to remain unchanged by\neither the external fields or the acceleration. We also discuss pair creation\nof composite black holes. In particular, we extend a previous analysis of pair\ncreation of massless holes. Finally, we give the generalization of our\nsolutions to include non-extreme black holes.",
        "positive": "Revisiting non-Gaussianity in non-attractor inflation models in the\n  light of the cosmological soft theorem: We revisit the squeezed-limit non-Gaussianity in the single-field\nnon-attractor inflation models from the viewpoint of the cosmological soft\ntheorem. In the single-field attractor models, inflaton's trajectories with\ndifferent initial conditions effectively converge into a single trajectory in\nthe phase space, and hence there is only one \\emph{clock} degree of freedom\n(DoF) in the scalar part. Its long-wavelength perturbations can be absorbed\ninto the local coordinate renormalization and lead to the so-called\n\\emph{consistency relation} between $n$- and $(n+1)$-point functions. On the\nother hand, if the inflaton dynamics deviates from the attractor behavior, its\nlong-wavelength perturbations cannot necessarily be absorbed and the\nconsistency relation is expected not to hold any longer. In this work, we\nderive a formula for the squeezed bispectrum including the explicit correction\nto the consistency relation, as a proof of its violation in the non-attractor\ncases. First one must recall that non-attractor inflation needs to be followed\nby attractor inflation in a realistic case. Then, even if a specific\nnon-attractor phase is effectively governed by a single DoF of phase space\n(represented by the exact ultra-slow-roll limit) and followed by a single-DoF\nattractor phase, its transition phase necessarily involves two DoF in dynamics\nand hence its long-wavelength perturbations cannot be absorbed into the local\ncoordinate renormalization. Thus, it can affect local physics, even taking\naccount of the so-called \\emph{local observer effect}, as shown by the fact\nthat the bispectrum in the squeezed limit can go beyond the consistency\nrelation. More concretely, the observed squeezed bispectrum does not vanish in\ngeneral for long-wavelength perturbations exiting the horizon during a\nnon-attractor phase."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Heterotic T-fects, 6D SCFTs, and F-Theory: We study the $(1,0)$ six-dimensional SCFTs living on defects of non-geometric\nheterotic backgrounds (T-fects) preserving a $E_7\\times E_8$ subgroup of\n$E_8\\times E_8$. These configurations can be dualized explicitly to F-theory on\nelliptic K3-fibered non-compact Calabi-Yau threefolds. We find that the\nmajority of the resulting dual threefolds contain non-resolvable singularities.\nIn those cases in which we can resolve the singularities we explicitly\ndetermine the SCFTs living on the defect. We find a form of duality in which\ndistinct defects are described by the same IR fixed point. For instance, we\nfind that a subclass of non-geometric defects are described by the SCFT arising\nfrom small heterotic instantons on ADE singularities.",
        "positive": "Holography on the Quantum Disk: Motivated by recent study of DSSYK and the non-commutative nature of its bulk\ndual, we review and analyze an example of a non-commutative spacetime known as\nthe quantum disk proposed by L. Vaksman. The quantum disk is defined as the\nspace whose isometries are generated by the quantum algebra\n$U_q(\\mathfrak{su}_{1,1})$. We review how this algebra is defined and its\nassociated group $SU_q(1,1)$ that it generates, highlighting its non-trivial\ncoproduct that sources bulk non-commutativity. We analyze the structure of\nholography on the quantum disk and study the imprint of non-commutativity on\nthe putative boundary dual."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Proof of the Julia-Zee Theorem: It is a well accepted principle that finite-energy static solutions in the\nclassical relativistic gauge field theory over the $(2+1)$-dimensional\nMinkowski spacetime must be electrically neutral. We call such a statement the\nJulia--Zee theorem. In this paper, we present a mathematical proof of this\nfundamental structural property.",
        "positive": "Heterotic Little String Theories and Holography: It has been conjectured that Little String Theories in six dimensions are\nholographic to critical string theory in a linear dilaton background. We test\nthis conjecture for theories arising on the worldvolume of heterotic\nfivebranes. We compute the spectrum of chiral primaries in these theories and\ncompare with results following from Type I-heterotic duality and the AdS/CFT\ncorrespondence. We also construct holographic duals for heterotic fivebranes\nnear orbifold singularities. Finally we find several new Little String Theories\nwhich have Spin(32)/Z_2 or E_8 \\times E_8 global symmetry but do not have a\nsimple interpretation either in heterotic or M-theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Physical Properties of Quantum Field Theory Measures: Well known methods of measure theory on infinite dimensional spaces are used\nto study physical properties of measures relevant to quantum field theory. The\ndifference of typical configurations of free massive scalar field theories with\ndifferent masses is studied. We apply the same methods to study the\nAshtekar-Lewandowski (AL) measure on spaces of connections. We prove that the\ndiffeomorphism group acts ergodically, with respect to the AL measure, on the\nAshtekar-Isham space of quantum connections modulo gauge transformations. We\nalso prove that a typical, with respect to the AL measure, quantum connection\nrestricted to a (piecewise analytic) curve leads to a parallel transport\ndiscontinuous at every point of the curve.",
        "positive": "Schwinger, ltd: Loop-tree duality in the parametric representation: We derive a variant of the loop-tree duality for Feynman integrals in the\nSchwinger parametric representation. This is achieved by decomposing the\nintegration domain into a disjoint union of cells, one for each spanning tree\nof the graph under consideration. Each of these cells is the total space of a\nfiber bundle with contractible fibers over a cube. Loop-tree duality emerges\nthen as the result of first decomposing the integration domain, then\nintegrating along the fibers of each fiber bundle. As a byproduct we obtain a\nnew proof that the moduli space of graphs is homotopy equivalent to its spine.\nIn addition, we outline a potential application to Kontsevich's graph\n(co-)homology."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Solid quantization for non-point particles: In quantum field theory, elemental particles are assumed to be point\nparticles. As a result, the loop integrals are divergent in many cases.\nRegularization and renormalization are necessary in order to get the physical\nfinite results from the infinite, divergent loop integrations. We propose new\nquantization conditions for non-point particles. With this solid quantization,\ndivergence could be treated systematically. This method is useful for effective\nfield theory which is on hadron degrees of freedom. The elemental particles\ncould also be non-point ones. They can be studied in this approach as well.",
        "positive": "Equation of motion of canonical tensor model and Hamilton-Jacobi\n  equation of general relativity: The canonical tensor model (CTM) is a rank-three tensor model formulated as a\ntotally constrained system in the canonical formalism. The constraint algebra\nof CTM has a similar structure as that of the ADM formalism of general\nrelativity, and is studied as a discretized model for quantum gravity. In this\npaper, we analyze the classical equation of motion (EOM) of CTM in a formal\ncontinuum limit through a derivative expansion of the tensor up to the forth\norder, and show that it is the same as the EOM of a coupled system of gravity\nand a scalar field derived from the Hamilton-Jacobi equation with an\nappropriate choice of an action. The action contains a scalar field potential\nof an exponential form, and the system classically respects a dilatational\nsymmetry. We find that the system has a critical dimension, given by six, over\nwhich it becomes unstable due to the wrong sign of the scalar kinetic term. In\nsix dimensions, de Sitter spacetime becomes a solution to the EOM, signaling\nthe emergence of a conformal symmetry, while the time evolution of the scale\nfactor is power-law in dimensions below six."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Collective fermionic excitations in systems with a large chemical\n  potential: We study fermionic excitations in a cold ultrarelativistic plasma. We\nconstruct explicitly the quantum states associated with the two branches which\ndevelop in the excitation spectrum as the chemical potential is raised. The\ncollective nature of the long wavelength excitations is clearly exhibited.\nEmail contact: ollie@amoco.saclay.cea.fr",
        "positive": "Mixmaster Horava-Witten Cosmology: We discuss various superstring effective actions and, in particular, their\ncommon sector which leads to the so-called pre-big-bang cosmology (cosmology in\na weak coupling limit of heterotic superstring). Then, we review the main ideas\nof the Horava-Witten theory which is a strong coupling limit of heterotic\nsuperstring theory. Using the conformal relationship between these two theories\nwe present Kasner asymptotic solutions of Bianchi type IX geometries within\nthese theories and make predictions about possible emergence of chaos. Finally,\nwe present a possible method of generating Horava-Witten cosmological solutions\nout of the well-known general relativistic pre-big-bang solutions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Involution requirement on a boundary makes massless fermions\n  compactified on a finite flat disk mass protected: The genuine Kaluza-Klein-like theories--with no fields in addition to\ngravity--have difficulties with the existence of massless spinors after the\ncompactification of some space dimensions \\cite{witten}. We proposed (Phys.\nLett. B 633 (2006)771) such a boundary condition for spinors in 1+5\ncompactified on a flat disk that ensures masslessness of spinors in d=1+3 as\nwell as their chiral coupling to the corresponding background gauge field\n(which solves equations of motion for a free field linear in the Riemann\ncurvature). In this paper we study the same toy model: M^{(1+3)} x M^{(2)},\nlooking this time for an involution which transforms a space of solutions of\nWeyl equations in d=1+5 from the outside of the flat disk in x^5 and x^6 into\nits inside, allowing massless spinor of only one handedness--and accordingly\nassures mass protection--and of one charge--1/2--and infinitely many massive\nspinors of the same charge, chirally coupled to the corresponding background\ngauge field. We reformulate the operator of momentum so that it is Hermitean on\nthe vector space of spinor states obeying the involution boundary condition.",
        "positive": "General Composite Non-Abelian Strings and Flag Manifold Sigma Models: We fully investigate the symmetry breaking patterns occurring upon creation\nof composite non-Abelian strings: vortex strings in non-Abelian theories where\ndifferent sets of colours have different amounts of flux. After spontaneous\nsymmetry breaking, there remains some internal colour degrees of freedom\nattached to these objects, which we argue must exist in a Flag manifold, a more\ngeneral kind of projective space than both $\\mathbb{CP}(N)$ and the\nGrassmannian manifold. These strings are expected to be BPS, since its\nconstituents are. We demonstrate that this is true and construct a low-energy\neffective action for the fluctuations of the internal Flag moduli, which we\nthen re-write it in two different ways for the dynamics of these degrees of\nfreedom: a gauged linear sigma model with auxiliary fields and a non-linear\nsigma model with an explicit target space metric for the Flag Manifolds, both\nof which $\\mathcal{N}=(2,2)$ supersymmetric. We finish by performing some\ngroundwork analysis of the resulting theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Finite Temperature Large N Gauge Theory with Quarks in an External\n  Magnetic Field: Using a ten dimensional dual string background, we study aspects of the\nphysics of finite temperature large N four dimensional SU(N) gauge theory,\nfocusing on the dynamics of fundamental quarks in the presence of a background\nmagnetic field. At vanishing temperature and magnetic field, the theory has N=2\nsupersymmetry, and the quarks are in hypermultiplet representations. In a\nprevious study, similar techniques were used to show that the quark dynamics\nexhibit spontaneous chiral symmetry breaking. In the present work we begin by\nestablishing the non-trivial phase structure that results from finite\ntemperature. We observe, for example, that above the critical value of the\nfield that generates a chiral condensate spontaneously, the meson melting\ntransition disappears, leaving only a discrete spectrum of mesons at any\ntemperature. We also compute several thermodynamic properties of the plasma.",
        "positive": "Nonabelian noncommutative gauge theory via noncommutative extra\n  dimensions: The concept of covariant coordinates on noncommutative spaces leads directly\nto gauge theories with generalized noncommutative gauge fields of the type that\narises in string theory with background B-fields. The theory is naturally\nexpressed in terms of cochains in an appropriate cohomology; we discuss how it\nfits into the framework of projective modules. The equivalence of star products\nthat arise from the background field with and without fluctuations and\nKontsevich's formality theorem allow an explicitly construction of a map that\nrelates ordinary gauge theory and noncommutative gauge theory (Seiberg-Witten\nmap.) As application we show the exact equality of the Dirac-Born-Infeld action\nwith B-field in the commutative setting and its semi-noncommutative cousin in\nthe intermediate picture. Using noncommutative extra dimensions the\nconstruction is extended to noncommutative nonabelian gauge theory for\narbitrary gauge groups; an explicit map between abelian and nonabelian gauge\nfields is given. All constructions are also valid for non-constant B-field,\nPoisson structure and metric."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Decoupling limits of N=4 super Yang-Mills on R x S^3: We find new decoupling limits of N=4 super Yang-Mills (SYM) on R x S^3 with\ngauge group SU(N). These decoupling limits lead to decoupled theories that are\nmuch simpler than the full N=4 SYM but still contain many of its interesting\nfeatures. The decoupling limits correspond to being in a near-critical region,\nnear a point with zero temperature and critical chemical potentials. The new\ndecoupling limits are found by generalizing the limits of hep-th/0605234 to\ninclude not only the chemical potentials for the SU(4) R-symmetry of N=4 SYM\nbut also the chemical potentials corresponding to the SO(4) symmetry. In the\ndecoupled theories it is possible to take a strong coupling limit in a\ncontrollable manner since the full effective Hamiltonian is known. For planar\nN=4 SYM on R x S^3 all the decoupled theories correspond to fully integrable\nspin chains. We study the thermodynamics of the decoupled theories and find the\nHagedorn temperature for small and large values of the effective coupling. We\nfind an alternative formulation of the decoupling limits in the microcanonical\nensemble. This leads to a characterization of certain regimes of weakly coupled\nN=4 SYM in which there are string-like states. Finally, we find a similar\ndecoupling limit for pure Yang-Mills theory, which for the planar limit leads\nto a fully integrable decoupled theory.",
        "positive": "Complex Linear Effective Theory and Supersymmetry Breaking Vacua: We calculate the low energy effective action of massless and massive complex\nlinear superfields coupled to a massive U(1) vector multiplet. Our calculations\ninclude superspace higher derivative corrections and therefore go beyond\nprevious results. Among the superspace higher derivatives we find that terms\nwhich lead to a deformation of the auxiliary field potential and may break\nsupersymmetry are also generated. We show that the supersymmetry breaking vacua\ncan only be trusted if there exists a hierarchy between the higher order terms.\nA renormalization group analysis shows that generically a hierarchy is not\ngenerated by the quantum corrections."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Renormalization Group Flow of the Holst Action: The renormalization group (RG) properties of quantum gravity are explored,\nusing the vielbein and the spin connection as the fundamental field variables.\nThe scale dependent effective action is required to be invariant both under\nspace time diffeomorphisms and local frame rotations. The nonperturbative RG\nequation is solved explicitly on the truncated theory space defined by a three\nparameter family of Holst-type actions which involve a running Immirzi\nparameter. We find evidence for the existence of an asymptotically safe\nfundamental theory, probably inequivalent to metric quantum gravity constructed\nin the same way.",
        "positive": "Sasakian quiver gauge theories and instantons on Calabi-Yau cones: We consider SU(2)-equivariant dimensional reduction of Yang-Mills theory on\nmanifolds of the form $M\\times S^3/\\Gamma$, where $M$ is a smooth manifold and\n$S^3/\\Gamma$ is a three-dimensional Sasaki-Einstein orbifold. We obtain new\nquiver gauge theories on $M$ whose quiver bundles are based on the affine ADE\nDynkin diagram associated to $\\Gamma$. We relate them to those arising through\ntranslationally-invariant dimensional reduction over the associated Calabi-Yau\ncones $C(S^3/\\Gamma)$ which are based on McKay quivers and ADHM matrix models,\nand to those arising through SU(2)-equivariant dimensional reduction over the\nleaf spaces of the characteristic foliations of $S^3/\\Gamma$ which are K\\\"ahler\norbifolds of $\\mathbb{C} P^1$ whose quiver bundles are based on the unextended\nDynkin diagram corresponding to $\\Gamma$. We use Nahm equations to describe the\nvacua of SU(2)-equivariant quiver gauge theories on the cones as moduli spaces\nof spherically symmetric instantons. We relate them to the Nakajima quiver\nvarieties which can be realized as Higgs branches of the worldvolume quiver\ngauge theories on D$p$-branes probing D$(p+4)$-branes which wrap an ALE space,\nand to the moduli spaces of spherically symmetric solutions in putative\nnon-abelian generalizations of two-dimensional affine Toda field theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Anomalies and Wess-Zumino Terms in an Extended, Regularized\n  Field-Antifield Formalism: Quantization of anomalous gauge theories with closed, irreducible gauge\nalgebra within the extended Field-Antifield formalism is further pursued. Using\na Pauli-Villars (PV) regularization of the generating functional at one loop\nlevel, an alternative form for the anomaly is found which involves only the\nregulator. The analysis of this expression allows to conclude that recently\nfound ghost number one cocycles with nontrivial antifield dependence can not\nappear in PV regularization. Afterwards, the extended Field-Antifield formalism\nis further completed by incorporating quantum effects of the extra variables,\ni.e., by explicitly taking into account the regularization of the extra sector.\nIn this context, invariant PV regulators are constructed from non-invariant\nones, leading to an alternative interpretation of the Wess-Zumino action as the\nlocal counterterm relating invariant and non-invariant regularizations.\nFinally, application of the above ideas to the bosonic string reproduces the\nwell-known Liouville action and the shift $(26-D)\\rightarrow(25-D)$ at one\nloop.",
        "positive": "Non-Commutative Instantons and the Information Metric: By using the so-called Information Metric on the moduli space of an\nanti-selfdual (ASD) Instanton in a Self-Dual (SD) Non-Commutative background,\nwe investigate the geometry of moduli space. The metric is evaluated\nperturbatively in non-commutativity parameter and we show that by putting a\ncut-off in the location of instanton in the definition of Information Metric we\ncan recover the five dimensional space time in the presence of a B-field. This\nresult shows that the non-commutative YM-Instanton Moduli corresponds to\nD-Instanton Moduli in the gravity side where the radial and transverse location\nof D-Instanton are corresponding to YM-Instanton size and location,\nrespectively. The match is shown in the first order of non-commutativity\nparameter."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fermion Number 1/2 of Sphalerons and Spectral Mirror Symmetry: We present a rederivation of the baryon and lepton numbers $\\frac{1}{2}$ of\nthe $SU(2)_L$ S sphaleron of the standard electroweak theory based on spectral\nmirror symmetry. We explore the properties of a fermionic Hamiltonian under\ndiscrete transformations along a noncontractible loop of field configurations\nthat passes through the sphaleron and whose endpoints are the vacuum. As is\nwell known, CP transformation is not a symmetry of the system anywhere on the\nloop, except at the endpoints. By augmenting CP with a chirality\ntransformation, we observe that the Dirac Hamiltonian is odd under the new\ntransformation precisely at the sphaleron, and this ensures the mirror symmetry\nof the spectrum, including the continua. As a consistency check, we show that\nthe fermionic zero mode presented by Ringwald in the sphaleron background is\ninvariant under the new transformation. The spectral mirror symmetry which we\nestablish here, together with the presence of the zero mode, are the two\nnecessary conditions whence the fermion number $\\frac{1}{2}$ of the sphaleron\ncan be inferred using the reasoning presented by Jackiw and Rebbi or,\nequivalently, using the spectral deficiency $\\frac{1}{2}$ of the Dirac sea. The\nrelevance of this analysis to other solutions is also discussed.",
        "positive": "SYMMETRIES OF THE DIMENSIONALLY REDUCED STRING EFFECTIVE ACTION: A two dimensional string effective action is obtained by dimensionally\nreducing the bosonic part of the ten dimensional heterotic string effective\naction. It is shown that this effective action, with a few restrictions on some\nbackgrounds describes a two dimensional model which admits an infinite sequence\nof nonlocal conserved currents."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chern-Simons gravity, based on a non-semisimple group: The gauge theory-formulation of string-motivated lineal gravity proposed by\nCangemi and Jackiw is obtained by dimensional reduction from $(2+1)$\ndimensional gravity with a Chern-Simons Lagrangian.",
        "positive": "Electromagnetic Duality and Entanglement Anomalies: Duality is an indispensable tool for describing the strong-coupling dynamics\nof gauge theories. However, its actual realization is often quite subtle:\nquantities such as the partition function can transform covariantly, with\ndegrees of freedom rearranged in a nonlocal fashion. We study this phenomenon\nin the context of the electromagnetic duality of abelian $p$-forms. A careful\ncalculation of the duality anomaly on an arbitrary $D$-dimensional manifold\nshows that the effective actions agree exactly in odd $D$, while in even $D$\nthey differ by a term proportional to the Euler number. Despite this anomaly,\nthe trace of the stress tensor agrees between the dual theories. We also\ncompute the change in the vacuum entanglement entropy under duality, relating\nthis entanglement anomaly to the duality of an \"edge mode\" theory in two fewer\ndimensions. Previous work on this subject has led to conflicting results; we\nexplain and resolve these discrepancies."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Comments on the Boundary Scattering Phase: We present a simple solution to the crossing equation for an open string\nworldsheet reflection matrix, with boundaries preserving a SU(1|2)^2 residual\nsymmetry, which constrains the boundary dressing factor. In addition, we also\npropose an analogous crossing equation for the dressing factor where extra\nboundary degrees of freedom preserve a SU(2|2)^2 residual symmetry.",
        "positive": "Geometric Approaches to Quantum Fields and Strings at Strong Couplings: Geometric structures and dualities arise naturally in quantum field theories\nand string theory. In fact, these tools become very useful when studying strong\ncoupling effects, where standard perturbative techniques can no longer be used.\nIn this thesis we look at several conformal field theories in various\ndimensions. We first discuss the structure of the nilpotent networks stemming\nfrom T-brane deformations in 4D $\\mathcal{N}=1$ theories and then go to the\nstringy origins of 6D superconformal field theories to realize deformations\nassociated with T-branes in terms of simple combinatorial data. We then analyze\nnon-perturbative generalizations of orientifold 3-planes (i.e. S-folds) in\norder to produce different 4D $\\mathcal{N}=2$ theories. Afterwards, we turn our\nattention towards a few dualities found at strong coupling. For instance,\nabelian T-duality is known to be a full duality in string theory between type\nIIA and type IIB. Its nonabelian generalization, Poisson-Lie T-duality, has\nonly been conjectured to be so. We show that Poisson-Lie symmetric\n$\\sigma$-models are at least two-loop renormalizable and their\n$\\beta$-functions are invariant under Poisson-Lie T-duality. Finally, we review\nrecent progress leading to phenomenologically relevant dualities between\nM-theory on local $G_2$ spaces and F-theory on locally elliptically fibered\nCalabi-Yau fourfolds. In particular, we find that the 3D $\\mathcal{N}=1$\neffective field theory defined by M-theory on a local $Spin(7)$ space unifies\nthe Higgs bundle data associated with 4D $\\mathcal{N}=1$ M-theory and F-theory\nvacua. We finish with some comments on 3D interfaces at strong coupling."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Equivalence of Auxiliary Field Methods in Supersymmetric\n  Theories: Quantum corrections to Legendre transformations are shown to cancel to all\norders in supersymmetric theories in path integral formalism. Using this\nresult, lagrangians for auxiliary fields are generalized to non-quadratic\nforms. In supersymmetric effective nonlinear lagrangians, the arbitrariness due\nto the existence of quasi Nambu-Goldstone bosons is shown to disappear when\nlocal auxiliary gauge fields are introduced.",
        "positive": "A_{N-1} conformal Toda field theory correlation functions from conformal\n  N=2 SU(N) quiver gauge theories: We propose a relation between correlation functions in the 2d A_{N-1}\nconformal Toda theories and the Nekrasov instanton partition functions in\ncertain conformal N=2 SU(N) 4d quiver gauge theories. Our proposal generalises\nthe recently uncovered relation between the Liouville theory and SU(2) quivers.\nNew features appear in the analysis that have no counterparts in the Liouville\ncase."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Towards a $Z_3$-graded approach to quarks' symmetries: Colour $SU(3)$ group is an exact symmetry of Quantum Chromodynamics, which\ndescribes strong interactions between quarks and gluons. Supplemented by two\ninternal symmetries, $SU(2)$ and $U(1)$, it serves as the internal symmetry of\nthe Standard Model, describing as well the electroweak interactions of quarks\nand leptons. The colour$SU(3)$ symmetry is exact, while two other symmetries\nare broken by means of the Higgs-Kibble mechanism. The three colours and\nfractional quarks charges with values $1/3$ and $2/3$ suggest that the cyclic\ngroup $Z_3$ may play a crucial role in quark field dynamics. In this paper we\nconsequently apply the $Z_3$ symmetry to field multiplets describing colour\nquark fields. Generalized Dirac equation for coloured $12$-component spinors is\nintroduced and its properties are discussed. Imposing $Z_3$-graded Lorentz and\nPoincar\\'e covariance leads to enlargement of quark fields multiplets and\nincorporates additional $Z_2 \\times Z_3$ symmetry which leads to the appearance\nof three generations (families) of distinct quark doublets.",
        "positive": "On Macroscopic Energy Gap for $q$-Quantum Mechanical Systems: The q-deformed harmonic oscillator within the framework of the recently\nintroduced Schwenk-Wess $q$-Heisenberg algebra is considered. It is shown, that\nfor \"physical\" values $q\\sim1$, the gap between the energy levels decreases\nwith growing energy. Comparing with the other (real) $q$-deformations of the\nharmonic oscillator, where the gap instead increases, indicates that the\nformation of the macroscopic energy gap in the Schwenk-Wess $q$-Quantum\nMechanics may be avoided."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quadratic supersymmetric transformations of the Dirac Green functions: We consider the quadratic supersymmetric aspect of the Darboux transformation\nfor the Green functions of the one-dimensional Dirac equation with a\ngeneralized form of the potential. We obtain the relation between the initial\nand the transformed Green functions on the whole real line. We also construct\nthe formula for the unabridged trace of the difference of the transformed and\nthe initial Green functions of the boundary problem on the whole real line. We\npresent an example illustrated our developments.",
        "positive": "On spectrum of ILW hierarchy in conformal field theory: We consider a system of Integrals of Motion in conformal field theory related\nto the gl(2) Intermediate Long Wave equation. It interpolates between the\nsystem studied by Bazhanov, Lukyanov and Zamolodchikov and the one studied by\nthe author and collaborators. We find Bethe anzatz equations for the spectrum\nof this system and its gl(n) generalizations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dualities of Adjoint QCD$_3$ from Branes: We consider an 'electric' $U(N)$ level $k$ QCD$_3$ theory with one adjoint\nMajorana fermion. Inspired by brane dynamics, we suggest that for $k \\ge N/2$\nthe massive $m<0$ theory, in the vicinity of the supersymmetric point, admits a\n$U(k-\\frac{N}{2})_{-(\\frac{1}{2}k+\\frac{3}{4}N),-(k+\\frac{N}{2})}$ 'magnetic'\ndual with one adjoint Majorana fermion. The magnetic theory flows in the IR to\na topological $U(k-\\frac{N}{2})_{-N,-(k+\\frac{N}{2})}$ pure Chern-Simons theory\nin agreement with the dynamics of the electric theory. When $k<N/2$ the\nmagnetic dual is $U(\\frac{N}{2}-k)_{\\frac{1}{2}k+\\frac{3}{4}N,N}$ with one\nadjoint Majorana fermion. Depending on the sign of the fermion mass, the\nmagnetic theory flows to either $U(\\frac{N}{2}-k)_{N,N}$ or\n$U(\\frac{N}{2}-k)_{\\frac{1}{2}N+k,N}$ TQFT. A second magnetic theory,\n$U(N/2+k)_{\\frac{1}{2}k-\\frac{3}{4}N,-N}$, flows to either\n$U(\\frac{N}{2}+k)_{-N,-N}$ or $U(\\frac{N}{2}+k)_{-(\\frac{1}{2}N-k),-N}$ TQFT.\nDualities for $SO$ and $USp$ theories with one adjoint fermion are also\ndiscussed.",
        "positive": "Black Hole Thermodynamics with Dynamical Lambda: We study evolution and thermodynamics of a slow-roll transition between early\nand late time de Sitter phases, both in the homogeneous case and in the\npresence of a black hole, in a scalar field model with a generic potential\nhaving both a maximum and a positive minimum. Asymptotically future de Sitter\nspacetimes are characterized by ADM charges known as cosmological tensions. We\nshow that the late time de Sitter phase has finite cosmological tension when\nthe scalar field oscillation around its minimum is underdamped, while the\ncosmological tension in the overdamped case diverges. We compute the variation\nin the cosmological and black hole horizon areas between the early and late\ntime phases, finding that the fractional change in horizon area is proportional\nto the corresponding fractional change in the effective cosmological constant.\nWe show that the extended first law of thermodynamics, including variation in\nthe effective cosmological constant, is satisfied between the initial and final\nstates, and discuss the dynamical evolution of the black hole temperature."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Note on Background (In)dependence: In general quantum systems there are two kinds of spacetime modes, those that\nfluctuate and those that do not. Fluctuating modes have normalizable\nwavefunctions. In the context of 2D gravity and ``non-critical'' string theory\nthese are called macroscopic states. The theory is independent of the initial\nEuclidean background values of these modes. Non-fluctuating modes have\nnon-normalizable wavefunctions and correspond to microscopic states. The theory\ndepends on the background value of these non-fluctuating modes, at least to all\norders in perturbation theory. They are superselection parameters and should\nnot be minimized over. Such superselection parameters are well known in field\ntheory. Examples in string theory include the couplings $t_k$ (including the\ncosmological constant) in the matrix models and the mass of the two-dimensional\nEuclidean black hole. We use our analysis to argue for the finiteness of the\nstring perturbation expansion around these backgrounds.",
        "positive": "Holographic complexity of local quench at finite temperature: This paper is devoted to the study of the evolution of holographic complexity\nafter a local perturbation of the system at finite temperature. We calculate\nthe complexity using both the complexity=action(CA) and the\ncomplexity=volume(CA) conjectures and find that the CV complexity of the total\nstate shows the unbounded late time linear growth. The CA computation shows\nlinear growth with fast saturation to a constant value. We estimate the CV and\nCA complexity linear growth coefficients and show, that finite temperature\nleads to violation of the Lloyd bound for CA complexity. Also it is shown that\nfor composite system after the local quench the state with minimal entanglement\nmay correspond to the maximal complexity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Functional renormalization group for $p=2$ like glassy matrices in the\n  planar approximation: II. Ward identities method in the deep IR: This paper, as a continuation of our previous investigation\n[arXiv:2403.07577] aims to study the glassy random matrices with quenched\nWigner disorder. In this previous work, we have constructed a renormalization\ngroup based on the effective deterministic kinetic spectrum emerging from large\n$N$ limit, and we extended approximate solutions using standard vertex\nexpansion, at the leading order of the derivative expansion. Now in the\nfollowing work, by introducing the non-trivial Ward identities which come from\nthe $(\\mathcal{U}(N))^{\\times 2}$ symmetry broken of the effective kinetic\naction, we provide in the deep IR the explicit solution of the functional\nrenormalization group for a model with quartic coupling by solving the\nHierarchy to all orders in the local sector, which in particular imply the\nvanishing of the anomalous dimension. The numerical investigations confirm the\nfirst-order phase transition discovered in the vertex expansion framework, both\nin the active and passive schemes. Finally, we extend the discussion to\nhermitian matrices.",
        "positive": "Higgs Inflation in Horava-Lifshitz Gravity: We study the possibility of standard model Higgs boson acting as an inflaton\nfield in the framework of Horava-Lifshitz Gravity. Under this framework, we\nshowed that it is possible for the Higgs field to produce right amount of\ninflation and generate scale invariant power spectrum with the correct\nexperimental value. Thanks to the foliation preserving diffeomorphism and\nanisotropic space-time scaling, it essentially helps us to construct this model\nwithout the pre-existing inconsistency coming from cosmological and particle\nphysics constraints. We do not need to introduce any non-minimal or higher\nderivative coupling term in an arbitrary basis either."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Anomaly-free scale symmetry and gravity: In this Letter, we address the question of whether the conformal invariance\ncan be considered as a global symmetry of a theory of fundamental interactions.\nTo describe Nature, this theory must contain a mechanism of spontaneous\nbreaking of the scale symmetry. Besides that, the fundamental theory must\ninclude gravity, whereas all known extensions of the conformal invariance to\nthe curved space-time suffer from the Weyl anomaly. We show that conformal\nsymmetry can be made free from the quantum anomaly only in the flat space. The\npresence of gravity would reduce the global symmetry group of the fundamental\ntheory to the scale invariance only. We discuss how the effective Lagrangian\nrespecting the scale symmetry can be used for the description of particle\nphenomenology and cosmology.",
        "positive": "How to Classify Reflexive Gorenstein Cones: Two of my collaborations with Max Kreuzer involved classification problems\nrelated to string vacua. In 1992 we found all 10,839 classes of polynomials\nthat lead to Landau-Ginzburg models with c=9 (Klemm and Schimmrigk also did\nthis); 7,555 of them are related to Calabi-Yau hypersurfaces. Later we found\nall 473,800,776 reflexive polytopes in four dimensions; these give rise to\nCalabi-Yau hypersurfaces in toric varieties. The missing piece - toric\nconstructions that need not be hypersurfaces - are the reflexive Gorenstein\ncones introduced by Batyrev and Borisov. I explain what they are, how they\ndefine the data for Witten's gauged linear sigma model, and how one can modify\nour classification ideas to apply to them. I also present results on the first\nand possibly most interesting step, the classification of certain basic weights\nsystems, and discuss limitations to a complete classification."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Magnetic flux tube models in superstring theory: Superstring models describing curved 4-dimensional magnetic flux tube\nbackgrounds are exactly solvable in terms of free fields. We first consider the\nsimplest model of this type (corresponding to `Kaluza-Klein' Melvin\nbackground). Its 2d action has a flat but topologically non-trivial\n10-dimensional target space (there is a mixing of angular coordinate of the\n2-plane with an internal compact coordinate). We demonstrate that this theory\nhas broken supersymmetry but is perturbatively stable if the radius R of the\ninternal coordinate is larger than R_0=\\sqrt{2\\a'}. In the Green-Schwarz\nformulation the supersymmetry breaking is a consequence of the presence of a\nflat but non-trivial connection in the fermionic terms in the action. For R <\nR_0 and the magnetic field strength parameter q > R/2\\a' there appear\ninstabilities corresponding to tachyonic winding states. The torus partition\nfunction Z(q,R) is finite for R > R_0 (and vanishes for qR=2n, n=integer). At\nthe special points qR=2n (2n+1) the model is equivalent to the free superstring\ntheory compactified on a circle with periodic (antiperiodic) boundary condition\nfor space-time fermions. Analogous results are obtained for a more general\nclass of static magnetic flux tube geometries including the a=1 Melvin model.",
        "positive": "Non-minimal couplings in two dimensional gravity: a quantum\n  investigation: We investigate the quantum effects of the non-minimal matter-gravity\ncouplings derived by Cangemi and Jackiw in the realm of a specific fermionic\ntheory, namely the abelian Thirring model on a Riemann surface of genus zero\nand one. The structure and the strength of the new interactions are seen to be\nhighly constrained, when the topology of the underlying manifold is taken into\naccount. As a matter of fact, by requiring to have a well-defined action, we\nare led both to quantization rules for the coupling constants and to selection\nrules for the correlation functions. Explicit quantum computations are carried\nout in genus one (torus). In particular the two-point function and the chiral\ncondensate are carefully derived for this case. Finally the effective\ngravitational action, coming from integrating out the fermionic degrees of\nfreedoom, is presented. It is different from the standard Liouville one: a new\nnon-local functional of the conformal factor arises and the central charge is\nimproved, depending also on the Thirring coupling constant. This last feature\nopens the possibility of giving a new explicit representation of the minimal\nseries in terms of a fermionic interacting model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Conical Casimir Pistons with Hybrid Boundary Conditions: In this paper we compute the Casimir energy and force for massless scalar\nfields endowed with hybrid boundary conditions, in the setting of the bounded\ngeneralized cone. By using spectral zeta function regularization methods, we\nobtain explicit expressions for the Casimir energy and force in arbitrary\ndimensions in terms of the zeta function defined on the piston. Our general\nformulas are, subsequently, specialized to the case in which the piston is\nmodelled by a $d$-dimensional sphere. In this particular situation, explicit\nresults are given for $d=2,3,4,5$.",
        "positive": "Lumpy cosmic strings: We outline a model of abelian-Higgs strings with variable scalar and vector\ncore radii. In general, the functions determining the time and\nposition-dependent core widths may be expressed as arbitrary left or right\nmovers, of which the usual constant values are a particular solution. In this\ncase the string may carry momentum, even if the embedding of its central axis\nremains fixed, and the resulting objects resemble \"necklaces\". Some possible\nastrophysical applications of lumpy strings, including as potential engines for\nanomalous gamma ray bursts, are also discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Massive Gauge Field Theory Without Higgs Mechanism I. .Quantization: According to the conventional concept of the gauge field theory, the local\ngauge invariance excludes the possibility of giving a mass to the gauge boson\nwithout resorting to the Higgs mechanism because the Lagrangian constructed by\nadding a mass term to the Yang-Mills Lagrangian is not only\ngauge-non-invariant, but also unrenormalizable. On the contrary, we argue that\nthe principle of gauge invariance actually allows a mass term to enter the\nLagrangian if the Lorentz constraint condition is taken into account at the\nsame time. The Lorentz condition, which implies vanishing of the unphysical\nlongitudinal field, defines a gauge-invariant physical space for the massive\ngauge field. The quantum massive gauge field theory without Higgs mechanism may\nwell be established by using a BRST-invariant action which is constructed by\nthe Lagrange undetermined multiplier procedure of incorporating the Lorentz\ncondition and another condition constraining the gauge group into the original\nmassive Yang-Mills action. The quantum theory established in this way shows\ngood renormalizability.",
        "positive": "Higher-derivative relations between scalars and gluons: We extend the covariant color-kinematics duality introduced by Cheung and\nMangan to effective field theories. We focus in particular on relations between\nthe effective field theories of gluons only and of gluons coupled to bi-adjoint\nscalars. Maps are established between their respective equations of motion and\nbetween their tree-level scattering amplitudes. An additional rule for the\nreplacement of flavor structures by kinematic factors realizes the map between\nhigher-derivative amplitudes. As an example of new relations, the pure-gluon\namplitudes of mass dimension up to eight, featuring insertions of the $F^3$ and\n$F^4$ operators which satisfy the traditional color-kinematics duality, can be\ngenerated at all multiplicities from just renormalizable amplitudes of gluons\nand bi-adjoint scalars. We also obtain closed-form expressions for the\nkinematic numerators of the dimension-six gluon effective field theory, which\nare valid in $D$ space-time dimensions. Finally, we find strong evidence that\nthis extended covariant color-kinematics duality relates the\n$(DF)^2+$YM$(+\\phi^3)$ theories which, at low energies, generate infinite\ntowers of operators satisfying the traditional color-kinematics duality, beyond\naforementioned $F^3$ and $F^4$ ones."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Cardy Formula from Goldstone Bosons: Two dimensional conformal field theories, can be described by their pseudo\nGoldstone bosons when the conformal symmetry is spontaneously and anomalously\nbroken. We show that the Schwarzian action of these bosons leads to the Cardy\nformula without using modular invariance. As a result, the Cardy formula\napplies to conformal field theories on a cylinder and chiral theories in one\ndimension. This also explains why the Cardy--Verlinde formula for theories on\n$S^1 \\times S^{d-2}$ can be written in the form of the Cardy formula of an\neffective two dimensional theory.",
        "positive": "Why Boltzmann Brains Don't Fluctuate Into Existence From the De Sitter\n  Vacuum: Many modern cosmological scenarios feature large volumes of spacetime in a de\nSitter vacuum phase. Such models are said to be faced with a \"Boltzmann Brain\nproblem\" - the overwhelming majority of observers with fixed local conditions\nare random fluctuations in the de Sitter vacuum, rather than arising via\nthermodynamically sensible evolution from a low-entropy past. We argue that\nthis worry can be straightforwardly avoided in the Many-Worlds (Everett)\napproach to quantum mechanics, as long as the underlying Hilbert space is\ninfinite-dimensional. In that case, de Sitter settles into a truly stationary\nquantum vacuum state. While there would be a nonzero probability for observing\nBoltzmann-Brain-like fluctuations in such a state, \"observation\" refers to a\nspecific kind of dynamical process that does not occur in the vacuum (which is,\nafter all, time-independent). Observers are necessarily out-of-equilibrium\nphysical systems, which are absent in the vacuum. Hence, the fact that\nprojection operators corresponding to states with observers in them do not\nannihilate the vacuum does not imply that such observers actually come into\nexistence. The Boltzmann Brain problem is therefore much less generic than has\nbeen supposed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Scalar correlators and normal modes in holographic neutron stars: We study a scalar field in the background of a holographic neutron star at\nfinite temperature and analyze its asymptotic behavior to compute the two-point\ncorrelator at the boundary. From the normal modes of the field we determine the\nresonances and decay constants of the boundary field theory. We show that the\ncorrelator is dominated by the normal modes in the stable regions of phase\nspace of the neutron star, becoming a power law as we move into the unstable\nzones.",
        "positive": "Duality Relations Among Topological Effects In String Theory: We explore two different problems in string theory in which duality relates\nan ordinary p-form in one theory to a self-dual (p+1)-form in another theory.\nOne problem involves comparing D4-branes to M5-branes, and the other involves\ncomparing the Ramond-Ramond forms in Type IIA and Type IIB superstring theory.\nIn each case, a subtle topological effect involving the p-form can be recovered\nfrom a careful analysis of the quantum mechanics of the self-dual (p+1)-form."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Boundary N=2 Theory, Floer Homologies, Affine Algebras, and the Verlinde\n  Formula: Generalizing our ideas in [arXiv:1006.3313], we explain how\ntopologically-twisted N=2 gauge theory on a four-manifold with boundary, will\nallow us to furnish purely physical proofs of (i) the Atiyah-Floer conjecture,\n(ii) Munoz's theorem relating quantum and instanton Floer cohomology, (iii)\ntheir monopole counterparts, and (iv) their higher rank generalizations. In the\ncase where the boundary is a Seifert manifold, one can also relate its\ninstanton Floer homology to modules of an affine algebra via a 2d A-model with\ntarget the based loop group. As an offshoot, we will be able to demonstrate an\naction of the affine algebra on the quantum cohomology of the moduli space of\nflat connections on a Riemann surface, as well as derive the Verlinde formula.",
        "positive": "On Orientifolds, Discrete Torsion, Branes and M Theory: We find some lifts to M theory of orientifold and orbifold planes including\nthe O1, O3 and O5 planes of Type IIB and their transformations under SL(2,Z).\nThe possible discrete torsion variants (or K theory classes) are explored, and\nare interpreted as arising from brane intersections with planes. We find new\nvariants of the O0 and of an orbifold line (OF1) and determine their tensions\nin some cases. A systematic review of orientifolds, M orientifolds, and known M\nlifts, with some new clarifications is included together with a discussion of\nthe role of T duality."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Perturbative Understanding of Non-Perturbative Processes and\n  Quantumization versus Classicalization: In some instances of study of quantum evolution of classical backgrounds it\nis considered inevitable to resort to non-perturbative methods at the price of\ntreating the system semiclassically. We show that a fully quantum perturbative\ntreatment, in which the background is resolved as a multi-particle state,\nrecovers the semiclassical non-perturbative results and allows going beyond. We\nreproduce particle-creation by a classical field in a theory of two scalars as\nwell as in scalar QED in terms of scattering processes of high multiplicity.\nThe multi-particle treatment also gives a transparent picture of why a\nsingle-process transition from a classical to a quantum state, which we call\nquantumization, is exponentially suppressed, whereas the opposite process,\nclassicalization, can take place swiftly if the microstate degeneracy of the\nclassical state is high. An example is provided by the $N$-graviton portrait of\na black hole: a black hole can form efficiently via a $2\\to N$ classicalization\nprocess in the collision of high-energy particles but its quantumization via a\ndecay $N \\to 2$ is exponentially suppressed.",
        "positive": "The universality of the shift of the Chern-Simons parameter for a\n  general class of BRS invariant regularizations: We consider a biparametric family of BRS invariant regularization methods of\nSU(N) Chern-Simons theory (the parameters defining the family taking arbitrary\nvalues in $\\RR^2$) and show that the shift $k\\to k + sign(k) N$ of the\nChern-Simons parameter $k$ occurs for arbitrary values of the family defining\nparameters. This supports irrefutably the conjecture that the shift of $k$ is\nuniversal for BRS invariant regulators."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Crystalline geometries from fermionic vortex lattice with hyperscaling\n  violation: We analytically consider the spontaneous formation of a fermionic crystalline\ngeometry in a gravity background with Lifshitz scaling and/or hyperscaling\nviolation. Fermionic vortex lattice solution sourced by the lowest Laundau\nlevel has been obtained. Thermodynamic analysis shows that the fermionic vortex\nlattice favors a triangular configuration, regardless of the values of the\nLifshitz scaling $z$ and the hyperscaling violation exponent $\\theta$. Our\nresults also show that the larger $z$ or lower $\\theta$ leads to more stable\nlattices thermodynamically.",
        "positive": "Null Polygonal Wilson Loops in Full N=4 Superspace: We compute the one-loop expectation value of light-like polygonal Wilson\nloops in N=4 super-Yang-Mills theory in full superspace. When projecting to\nchiral superspace we recover the known results for tree-level\nnext-to-maximally-helicity-violating (NMHV) scattering amplitude. The one-loop\nMHV amplitude is also included in our result but there are additional terms\nwhich do not immediately correspond to scattering amplitudes. We finally\ndiscuss different regularizations and their Yangian anomalies."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Relaxing to Three Dimensions: We propose a new selection principle for distinguishing among possible vacua\nthat we call the \"relaxation principle\". The idea is that the universe will\nnaturally select among possible vacua through its cosmological evolution, and\nthe configuration with the biggest filling fraction is the likeliest. We apply\nthis idea to the question of the number of dimensions of space. We show that\nunder conventional (but higher-dimensional) FRW evolution, a universe filled\nwith equal numbers of branes and antibranes will naturally come to be dominated\nby 3-branes and 7-branes. We show why this might help explain the number of\ndimensions that are experienced in our visible universe.",
        "positive": "The structure of N=3 multiplets in AdS_4 and the complete Osp(3|4) X\n  SU(3) spectrum of M-theory on AdS_4 X N^{010}: In this paper, relying on previous results of one of us on harmonic analysis,\nwe derive the complete spectrum of Osp(3|4) X SU(3) multiplets that one obtains\ncompactifying D=11 supergravity on the unique homogeneous space N^{0,1,0} that\nhas a tri-sasakian structure, namely leads to N=3 supersymmetry both in the\nfour-dimensional bulk and on the three-dimensional boundary. As in previously\nanalyzed cases the knowledge of the Kaluza Klein spectrum, together with\ngeneral information on the geometric structure of the compact manifold is an\nessential ingredient to guess and construct the corresponding superconformal\nfield theory. This is work in progress. As a bonus of our analysis we derive\nand present the explicit structure of all unitary irreducible representations\nof the superalgebra Osp(3|4) with maximal spin content s_{max}>=2."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Some exact Bradlow vortex solutions: We consider the Bradlow equation for vortices which was recently found by\nManton and find a two-parameter class of analytic solutions in closed form on\nnontrivial geometries with non-constant curvature. The general solution to our\nclass of metrics is given by a hypergeometric function and the area of the\nvortex domain by the Gaussian hypergeometric function.",
        "positive": "Generalized Kerr-NUT-de Sitter metrics in all dimensions: We classify all spacetimes with a closed rank-2 conformal Killing-Yano\ntensor. They give a generalization of Kerr-NUT-de Sitter spacetimes. The\nEinstein condition is explicitly solved and written as an indefinite integral.\nIt is characterized by a polynomial in the integrand. We briefly discuss the\nsmoothness conditions of the Einstein metrics over compact Riemannian\nmanifolds."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Heterotic NS5-branes from closed string tachyon condensation: We show how to construct the familiar heterotic NS5 brane as a topological\nsoliton in a supercritical version of heterotic string theory. Closed string\ntachyon condensation removes the extra dimensions, leaving the NS5 in 10d, in a\nprocess highly reminiscent of the K-theoretical description of type II\nD-branes, but linking non-trivial gauge bundles and geometry. The construction\nrequires a modification of the anomalous Bianchi identity for $H_3$ in\nsupercritical heterotic string theory. We give various proofs for the existence\nof this modification.",
        "positive": "Renormalization of supersymmetric chiral theories in rational spacetime\n  dimensions: We renormalize models with scalar chiral superfields with an odd\nsuperpotential to several orders in perturbation theory. These extensions of\nthe cubic Wess-Zumino model are renormalizable in spacetime dimensions which\nare rational. When endowed with an $O(N)$ symmetry it is shown that they share\nthe same property as their non-supersymmetric counterparts in that at a\nparticular fixed point there is an emergent $OSp(1|n-1)$ symmetry, where $n$ is\nthe power of the superpotential. This is shown at a loop order beyond that for\nwhich it was established in the parallel non-supersymmetric theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quasinormal modes around the BTZ black hole at the tricritical\n  generalized massive gravity: Employing the operator method, we obtain log-square quasinormal modes and\nfrequencies of a graviton around the BTZ black hole at the tricritical point of\nthe generalized massive gravity. The log-square quasinormal frequencies are\nalso obtained by considering a finite temperature conformal field theory. This\nshows the AdS/LCFT correspondence at the tricritical point approximately. We\ndiscuss a truncation process to the unitary theory on the BTZ black hole\nbackground.",
        "positive": "Supersymmetry, Variational Method and Hulth\u00e9n Potential: The formalism of Supersymmetric Quantum Mechanics provides us the\neigenfunctions to be used in the variational mathod to obtain the eigenvalues\nfor the Hulth\\'en Potential."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Synchrotron Radiation in the Standard Model Extension: We obtain a system of exact solutions of the Dirac equation for an electron\nmoving in a constant homogeneous external magnetic field with account of its\nvacuum magnetic moment and assumed Lorentz invariance violation in the minimal\nCPT-odd form in the framework of the Standard Model Extension. Using these\nsolutions, characteristics of the particle synchrotron radiation are\ncalculated, and possible observable effects caused by the Lorentz non-invariant\ninteraction are described. We demonstrate that the angular distribution of the\nradiation has specific asymmetry, which can be explained as a consequence of\nnon-conservation of transversal electron polarization in the presence of a\nbackground Lorentz non-invariant condensate field.",
        "positive": "Sphalerons, knots, and dynamical compactification in\n  Yang-Mills-Chern-Simon theories: Euclidean d=3 SU(2) Yang-Mills-Chern-Simons (YMCS) theory, including\nGeorgi-Glashow (GGCS) theory, may have solitons in the presence of appropriate\nmass terms. For integral CS level k and for solitons carrying integral CS\nnumber, YMCS is gauge-invariant and consistent. However, individual solitons\nsuch as sphalerons and linked center vortices with CS number of 1/2 and\nwrithing center vortices with arbitrary CS number are non-compact; a condensate\nof them threatens compactness of the theory. We study various forms of the\nnon-compact theory in the dilute-gas approximation, treating the parameters of\nnon-compact large gauge transformations as collective coordinates. We conclude:\n1) YMCS theory dynamically compactifies; non-compact YMCS have infinitely\nhigher vacuum energy than compact YMCS. 2) An odd number of sphalerons is\nassociated with a domain- wall sphaleron, a pure-gauge configuration on a\nclosed surface enclosing them and with a half-integral CS number. 3) We\ninterpret the domain-wall sphaleron in terms of fictitious closed Abelian\nmagnetic field lines that express the links of the Hopf fibration. Sphalerons\nare over- and under-crossings of knots in the field lines; the domain-wall\nsphaleron is a superconducting wall confining these knots to a compact domain.\n4) Analogous results hold for center vortices and nexuses. 5) For a CS term\ninduced with an odd number of fermion doublets, domain-wall sphalerons are\nrelated to non-normalizable fermion modes. 6) GGCS with monopoles is\ncompactified with center-vortex-like strings."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chiral string theories as an interpolation between strings and particles: A new set of boundary conditions for string propagators is proposed in this\npaper. The boundary conditions are parametrized by a complex number $\\lambda$.\nUnder these new boundary conditions, the left-moving and right-moving modes are\ntreated unequally. Thus, we called them chiral string theories. If $\\lambda =\n-1$, the spectrum of such theory truncates to a finite number, and therefore it\nbecomes a different description of supergravity. We found the spectrum of\nchiral string theories by requiring that the vertex operators are conformally\ninvariant. In addition, we also calculate the amplitudes for arbitrary\n$\\lambda$. The amplitudes are expressed as a product of open string amplitudes\nwhich are similar to the KLT relation. The unitarity of these theories are\ninvestigated. However, we found out that except for $\\lambda = \\pm 1$, all\nother theories are not unitary; i.e., only the supergravity and ordinary\nstrings are unitary. Although most of the chiral strings are not physical, they\nstill serve as a valuable tool in studying the relation between particle\ntheories and string theories.",
        "positive": "Two-dimensional models: Proposal for contribution to the quantum field theory section in\n\"Encyclopedia of Mathematical Physics\"."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Geometry of Higher-Dimensional Black Hole Thermodynamics: We investigate thermodynamic curvatures of the Kerr and Reissner-Nordstr\\\"om\n(RN) black holes in spacetime dimensions higher than four. These black holes\npossess thermodynamic geometries similar to those in four dimensional\nspacetime. The thermodynamic geometries are the Ruppeiner geometry and the\nconformally related Weinhold geometry. The Ruppeiner geometry for $d=5$ Kerr\nblack hole is curved and divergent in the extremal limit. For $d \\geq 6$ Kerr\nblack hole there is no extremality but the Ruppeiner curvature diverges where\none suspects that the black hole becomes unstable. The Weinhold geometry of the\nKerr black hole in arbitrary dimension is a flat geometry. For RN black hole\nthe Ruppeiner geometry is flat in all spacetime dimensions, whereas its\nWeinhold geometry is curved. In $d \\geq 5$ the Kerr black hole can possess more\nthan one angular momentum. Finally we discuss the Ruppeiner geometry for the\nKerr black hole in $d=5$ with double angular momenta.",
        "positive": "Propagation peculiarities of mean field massive gravity: Massive gravity (mGR) describes a dynamical \"metric\" on a fiducial,\nbackground one. We investigate fluctuations of the dynamics about mGR\nsolutions, that is about its \"mean field theory\". Analyzing mean field massive\ngravity propagation characteristics is not only equivalent to studying those of\nthe full non-linear theory, but also in direct correspondence with earlier\nanalyses of charged higher spin systems, the oldest example being the charged,\nmassive spin 3/2 Rarita--Schwinger (RS) theory. The fiducial and mGR mean field\nbackground metrics in the mean field mGR model correspond to the RS Minkowski\nmetric and external EM field. The common implications in both systems are that\nhyperbolicity holds only in a weak background-mean-field limit, immediately\nruling both theories out as fundamental theories. Although both can still be\nconsidered as predictive effective models in the weak regime, their lower\nhelicities exhibit superluminal behavior: lower helicity gravitons are\nsuperluminal as compared to photons propagating on either the fiducial or\nbackground metric. This \"crystal-like\" phenomenon of differing helicities\nhaving differing propagation speeds in both mean field mGR and mGR is a\npeculiar feature of these models."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fermion states localized on a self-gravitating Skyrmion: We investigate self-gravitating solutions of the Einstein-Skyrme theory\ncoupled to spin-isospin Dirac fermions and consider the dependence of the\nspectral flow on the effective gravitational coupling constant and on the\nYukawa coupling. It is shown that the effects of the backreaction of the\nfermionic mode may strongly deform the configuration. In particular, the energy\nconditions may be violated, and regular anti-gravitating asymptotically flat\nsolutions with negative ADM mass may emerge.",
        "positive": "Hyperscaling violation, quasinormal modes and shear diffusion: We study quasinormal modes of shear gravitational perturbations for\nhyperscaling violating Lifshitz theories, with Lifshitz and hyperscaling\nviolating exponents $z$ and $\\theta$. The lowest quasinormal mode frequency\nyields a shear diffusion constant which is in agreement with that obtained in\nprevious work by other methods. In particular for theories with $z<\nd_i+2-\\theta$ where $d_i$ is the boundary spatial dimension, the shear\ndiffusion constant exhibits power-law scaling with temperature, while for\n$z=d_i+2-\\theta$, it exhibits logarithmic scaling. We then calculate certain\n2-point functions of the dual energy-momentum tensor holographically for $z\\leq\nd_i+2-\\theta$, identifying the diffusive poles with the quasinormal modes\nabove. This reveals universal behaviour $\\eta/s=1/4\\pi$ for the\nviscosity-to-entropy-density ratio for all $z\\leq d_i+2-\\theta$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic RG and Exact RG in O(N) Model: In this paper an Exact Renormalization Group (ERG) equation is written for\nthe the critical $O(N)$ model in $D$-dimensions (with $D\\approx 3$) at the\nWilson-Fisher fixed point perturbed by a scalar composite operator. The action\nis written in terms of an auxiliary scalar field and reproduces correlation\nfunctions of a scalar composite operator. The equation is derived starting from\nthe Polchinski ERG equation for the fundamental scalar field. As described in\narXiv:1706.03371 an evolution operator for the Polchinski ERG equation can be\nwritten in the form of a functional integral, with a $D+1$ dimensional scalar\nfield theory action. In the case of the fundamental scalar field this action\nonly has a kinetic term and therefore looks quite different from Holographic RG\nwhere there are potential terms. But in the composite operator case discussed\nin this paper, the ERG equation and consequently the $D+1$ dimensional action\ncontains higher order potential terms for the scalar field and is therefore\nvery similar to the case of Holographic RG. Furthermore this action can be\nmapped to a scalar field action in $AdS_{D+1}$ using the techniques of\narXiv:1706.03371. The leading cubic term of the potential is computed in this\npaper for $D \\approx 3$ and expectedly vanishes in $D=3$ in agreement with\nresults in the AdS/CFT literature.",
        "positive": "New Massive JT Multi-Gravity and N-Replica of SYK Models: We study a series of powerful correspondences among new multi-gravity\nextensions of the Jackiw-Teitelboim model, multi-SYK models and\nmulti-Schwarzian quantum mechanics, in the $\\rm{(A)dS_{2}/CFT}$ arena.\nDeploying a $BF$-like formulation of the model, we discuss the counting of the\ndegrees of freedom for some specific classes of multi-gravity potentials, and\nunveil connections among a variety of apparently different models. Quantization\nof multi-gravity models can be then achieved from both the Hartle-Hawking\nno-boundary proposal, the SYK partition function and the spin-foam approaches.\nWe comment on the SYK quantization procedure, and deepen in the appendix the\nquantization scheme naturally achieved in the $BF$ framework. The new\nmulti-gravity theory hence recovered presents intriguing applications for\nanalogue gravitational models developed for condensed matter physics, including\ngraphene, endowed with defects and high intensity magnetic fields."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On two-loop divergences of effective action in $6D$, ${\\cal N}=(1,1)$\n  SYM theory: We study the off-shell structure of the two-loop effective action in $6D,\n{\\cal N}=(1,1)$ supersymmetric gauge theories formulated in ${\\cal N}=(1,0)$\nharmonic superspace. The off-shell effective action involving all fields of\n$6D, {\\cal N}=(1,1)$ supermultiplet is constructed by the harmonic superfield\nbackground field method, which ensures both manifest gauge covariance and\nmanifest ${\\cal N}=(1,0)$ supersymmetry. We analyze the off-shell divergences\ndependent on both gauge and hypermultiplet superfields and argue that the gauge\ninvariance of the divergences is consistent with the non-locality in harmonics.\nThe two-loop contributions to the effective action are given by harmonic\nsupergraphs with the background gauge and hypermultiplet superfields. The\nprocedure is developed to operate with the harmonic-dependent superpropagators\nin the two-loop supergraphs within the superfield dimensional regularization.\nWe explicitly calculate the gauge and the hypermultiplet-mixed divergences as\nthe coefficients of $\\frac{1}{{\\varepsilon}^2}$ and demonstrate that the\ncorresponding expressions are non-local in harmonics.",
        "positive": "From Seiberg-Witten invariants to topological Green-Schwarz string: In this note we describe the physics of equivalence of the Seiberg-Witten\ninvariants of 4-manifolds and certain Gromov-Witten invariants defined by\npseudo-holomorphic curves. We show that physics of the pseudo-holomorphic\ncurves should be governed by the N=2 Green-Schwarz string."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Kappa-Minkowski space-time and the star product realizations: We investigate a Lie algebra-type $ \\kappa$-deformed Minkowski space-time\nwith undeformed Lorentz algebra and mutually commutative vector-like Dirac\nderivatives. There are infinitely many realizations of $ \\kappa$-Minkowski\nspace. The coproduct and the star product corresponding to each of them are\nfound. Utilizing the properties of the {\\em{natural}} realization, we construct\na scalar field theory on $ \\kappa$-deformed Minkowski space and show that it is\nequivalent to the scalar, nonlocal, relativistically invariant field theory on\nthe ordinary Minkowski space.",
        "positive": "On the structure of symmetric self-dual Lie algebras: A finite-dimensional Lie algebra is called (symmetric) self-dual, if it\npossesses an invariant nondegenerate (symmetric) bilinear form. Symmetric\nself-dual Lie algebras have been studied by Medina and Revoy, who have proven a\nvery useful theorem about their structure. In this paper we prove a refinement\nof their theorem which has wide applicability in Conformal Field Theory, where\nsymmetric self-dual Lie algebras start to play an important role due to the\nfact that they are precisely the Lie algebras which admit a Sugawara\nconstruction. We also prove a few corollaries which are important in Conformal\nField Theory. (This paper provides mathematical details of results used, but\nonly sketched, in the companion paper hep-th/9506151.)"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Stoyanovsky-Ribault-Teschner Map and String Scattering Amplitudes: Recently, Ribault and Teschner pointed out the existence of a one-to-one\ncorrespondence between N-point correlation functions for the SL(2,C)_k/SU(2)\nWZNW model on the sphere and certain set of 2N-2-point correlation functions in\nLiouville field theory. This result is based on a seminal work by Stoyanovsky.\nHere, we discuss the implications of this correspondence focusing on its\napplication to string theory on curved backgrounds. For instance, we analyze\nhow the divergences corresponding to worldsheet instantons in AdS_3 can be\nunderstood as arising from the insertion of the dual screening operator in the\nLiouville theory side. We also study the pole structure of N-point functions in\nthe 2D Euclidean black hole and its holographic meaning in terms of the Little\nString Theory. This enables us to interpret the correspondence between CFTs as\nencoding a LSZ-type reduction procedure. Furthermore, we discuss the scattering\namplitudes violating the winding number conservation in those backgrounds and\nprovide a formula connecting such amplitudes with observables in Liouville\nfield theory. Finally, we study the WZNW correlation functions in the limit k\n-> 0 and show that, at the point k=0, the Stoyanovsky-Ribault-Teschner\ndictionary turns out to be in agreement with the FZZ conjecture at a particular\npoint of the space of parameters where the Liouville central charge becomes\nc=-2. This result makes contact with recent studies on the dynamical tachyon\ncondensation in closed string theory.",
        "positive": "False vacuum decay in kink scattering: In this work we consider kink-antikink and antikink-kink collisions in a\nmodified $\\phi^4$ model with a false vacuum characterized by a dimensionless\nparameter $\\epsilon$. The usual $\\phi^4$ model is recovered for $\\epsilon=0$.\nWe investigate the $\\epsilon<<1$ regime where the kink in the presence of false\nvacuum can be understood as a small deformation of the standard kink for the\n$\\phi^4$ model. We show that the attractive interaction between the\nkink-antikink pair leads to a rich scattering pattern, in some cases delaying\nconsiderably the false vacuum decay."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Swampland Conjectures and Cosmological Expansion: Swampland conjectures (SCs) of string theory require that a constant\ncosmological constant $\\Lambda$ be replaced by a time-dependent scalar-field\nquintessence with constrained parameters. The constraints limit the duration of\nthe present expansion era because, although the SCs may be fulfilled at the\npresent time, they will be violated at a finite time in the future allowing\nonly an order-one number of e-foldings. In contrast, cyclic cosmology requires\n$\\sim94$ e-foldings of the present universe before turnaround from expansion to\ncontraction. This presents a dilemma to the original SCs. One possibility is\nthat one of the SCs, the range conjecture, be significantly weakened. A second\npossibility, difficult to believe, is that cyclic cosmology vastly\noverestimates the number of e-foldings. A third possibility, which is the least\ndisfavoured, is that string theory is not the correct theory of quantum\ngravity.",
        "positive": "Entanglement Entropy of Two Black Holes and Entanglement Entropic Force: We study the entanglement entropy, $S_C$, of a massless free scalar field on\nthe outside region $C$ of two black holes $A$ and $B$ whose radii are $R_1$ and\n$R_2$ and how it depends on the distance, $r(\\gg R_1,R_2)$, between two black\nholes. If we can consider the entanglement entropy as thermodynamic entropy, we\ncan see the entropic force acting on the two black holes from the $r$\ndependence of $S_C$. We develop the computational method based on that of\nBombelli et al to obtain the $r$ dependence of $S_C$ of scalar fields whose\nLagrangian is quadratic with respect to the scalar fields. First we study $S_C$\nin $d+1$ dimensional Minkowski spacetime. In this case the state of the\nmassless free scalar field is the Minkowski vacuum state and we replace two\nblack holes by two imaginary spheres, and we take the trace over the degrees of\nfreedom residing in the imaginary spheres. We obtain the leading term of $S_C$\nwith respect to $1/r$. The result is $S_C=S_A+S_B+\\tfrac{1}{r^{2d-2}}\nG(R_1,R_2)$, where $S_A$ and $S_B$ are the entanglement entropy on the inside\nregion of $A$ and $B$, and $G(R_1,R_2) \\leq 0$. We do not calculate\n$G(R_1,R_2)$ in detail, but we show how to calculate it. In the black hole case\nwe use the method used in the Minkowski spacetime case with some modifications.\nWe show that $S_C$ can be expected to be the same form as that in the Minkowski\nspacetime case. But in the black hole case, $S_A$ and $S_B$ depend on $r$, so\nwe do not fully obtain the $r$ dependence of $S_C$. Finally we assume that the\nentanglement entropy can be regarded as thermodynamic entropy, and consider the\nentropic force acting on two black holes. We argue how to separate the\nentanglement entropic force from other force and how to cancel $S_A$ and $S_B$\nwhose $r$ dependence are not obtained. Then we obtain the physical prediction\nwhich can be tested experimentally in principle."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hook variables: cut-and-join operators and $\u03c4$-functions: Young diagrams can be parameterized with the help of hook variables, which is\nwell known but never studied in big detail. We demonstrate that this is the\nmost adequate parameterization for many physical applications: from the Schur\nfunctions, conventional, skew and shifted, which all satisfy their own kinds of\ndeterminant formulas in these coordinates, to KP/Toda integrability and related\nbasis of cut-and-join $\\hat W$-operators, which are both actually expressed\nthrough the single-hook diagrams. In particular, we discuss a new type of\nmulti-component KP $\\tau$-functions, Matisse $\\tau$-functions. We also\ndemonstrate that the Casimir operators, which are responsible for\nintegrability, are single-hook, with the popular basis of \"completed cycles\"\nbeing distinguished by especially simple coefficients in the corresponding\nexpansion. The Casimir operators also generate the $q=t$ Ruijsenaars\nHamiltonians. However, these properties are broken by the naive Macdonald\ndeformation, which is the reason for the loss of KP/Toda integrability and\nrelated structures in $q$-$t$ matrix models.",
        "positive": "N=4 Topological Amplitudes and Black Hole Entropy: We study the effects of N=4 topological string amplitudes on the entropy of\nblack holes. We analyse the leading contribution associated to six-derivative\nterms and find one particular operator which can correct the entropy of N=4\nblack holes. This operator is BPS-like and appears in the effective action of\ntype II string theory on K3 x T^2 or equivalently its heterotic dual on T^6. In\nboth descriptions the leading contribution arises at one-loop, which we\ncalculate explicitly on the heterotic side. We then consider whether this term\nhas any consequences for the entropy of (large) N=4 black holes and find that\nit makes indeed a contribution at subleading order. Repeating the computation\nfor small black holes with vanishing horizon area at the classical level, we\nprove that this coupling lifts certain flat directions in the entropy function\nthereby being responsible for the attractor equations of some moduli fields."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the String Pair Creation in Dp-Dp' Brane System: We address the bosonic string pair creation in a system of parallel Dp-Dp'\n(p<p') branes by applying the path integral formalism. We drive the string pair\ncreation rate by calculating the one loop vacuum amplitude of the setup in\npresence of the background electric field defined over the Dp'-brane. It is\npointed out that just the components of the electric field defined over the $p$\nspatial directions (the common directions along which the both D-branes are\nextended) give rise to the pair creation",
        "positive": "Holographic Jets in an Expanding Plasma: We use the holographic principle to study quark jets with trailing strings in\nan expanding plasma that asymptotes Bjorken hydrodynamics. We make use of the\nfact that the trailing string is the locus of the light delay in bulk to obtain\nthe explicit form for quark jets in the expanding plasma. From the trailing\nstring solution we calculate the drag coefficient of a heavy quark in the\nstrongly coupled expanding plasma. The energy scaling of the maximum\npenetration length of an ultrarelativistic light quark jet using light rays in\nbulk is estimated."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Deformation of the Cubic Open String Field Theory: We study a consistent deformation of the cubic open bosonic string theory in\nsuch a way that the non-planar world sheet diagrams of the perturbative string\ntheory are mapped onto their equivalent planar diagrams of the light-cone\nstring field theory with some length parameters fixed. An explicit evaluation\nof the cubic string vertex in the zero-slope limit yields the correct\nrelationship between the string coupling constant and the Yang-Mills coupling\nconstant. The deformed cubic open string field theory is shown to produce the\nnon-Abelian Yang-Mills action in the zero-slope limit if it is defined on\nmultiple D-branes. Applying the consistent deformation systematically to\nmulti-string world sheet diagrams, we may be able to calculate scattering\namplitudes with an arbitrary number of external open strings.",
        "positive": "A new method for directly computing reduced density matrices: We demonstrate the power of a first principle-based and practicable method\nthat allows for the perturbative computation of reduced density matrix elements\nof an open quantum system without making use of any master equations. The\napproach is based on techniques from non-equilibrium quantum field theory like\nthermo field dynamics, the Schwinger-Keldsyh formalism, and the Feynman-Vernon\ninfluence functional. It does not require the Markov approximation and is\nessentially a Lehmann-Szymanzik-Zimmermann-like reduction. In order to\nillustrate this method, we consider a real scalar field as an open quantum\nsystem interacting with an environment comprising another real scalar field. We\ngive a general formula that allows for the perturbative computation of density\nmatrix elements for any number of particles in a momentum basis. Finally, we\nconsider a simple toy model and use this formula to obtain expressions for some\nof the system's reduced density matrix elements."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Violation of vacuum stability by inverse square electric fields: In the framework of QED with a strong background, we study particle creation\n(the Schwinger effect) by a time-dependent inverse square electric field. To\nthis end corresponding exact in- and out-solutions of the Dirac and\nKlein-Gordon equations are found. We calculate the vacuum-to-vacuum probability\nand differential and total mean numbers of pairs created from the vacuum. For\nelectric fields varying slowly in time, we present detailed calculations of the\nSchwinger effect and discuss possible asymptotic regimes. The obtained results\nare consistent with universal estimates of the particle creation effect by\nelectric fields in the locally constant field approximation. Differential and\ntotal quantities corresponding to asymmetrical configurations are also\ndiscussed in detail. Finally, the inverse square electric field is used to\nimitate switching on and off processes. Then the case under consideration is\ncompared with the one where an exponential electric field is used to imitate\nswitching on and off processes.",
        "positive": "Infinite-dimensional representations of the rotation group and Dirac's\n  monopole problem: Within the context of infinite-dimensional representations of the rotation\ngroup the Dirac monopole problem is studied in details. Irreducible\ninfinite-dimensional representations, being realized in the indefinite metric\nHilbert space, are given by linear unbounded operators in infinite-dimensional\ntopological spaces, supplied with a weak topology and associated weak\nconvergence. We argue that an arbitrary magnetic charge is allowed, and the\nDirac quantization condition can be replaced by a generalized quantization rule\nyielding a new quantum number, the so-called topological spin, which is related\nto the weight of the Dirac string."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Accelerated Cosmological Models in First-Order Non-Linear Gravity: The evidence of the acceleration of universe at present time has lead to\ninvestigate modified theories of gravity and alternative theories of gravity,\nwhich are able to explain acceleration from a theoretical viewpoint without the\nneed of introducing dark energy. In this paper we study alternative\ngravitational theories defined by Lagrangians which depend on general functions\nof the Ricci scalar invariant in minimal interaction with matter, in view of\ntheir possible cosmological applications. Structural equations for the\nspacetimes described by such theories are solved and the corresponding field\nequations are investigated in the Palatini formalism, which prevents\ninstability problems. Particular examples of these theories are also shown to\nprovide, under suitable hypotheses, a coherent theoretical explanation of\nearlier results concerning the present acceleration of the universe and\ncosmological inflation. We suggest moreover a new possible Lagrangian,\ndepending on the inverse of sinh(R), which gives an explanation to the present\nacceleration of the universe.",
        "positive": "Unitarity Violation in Field Theories of Lee-Wick's Complex Ghost: Theories with fourth-order derivatives, including the Lee-Wick finite QED\nmodel and Quadratic Gravity, have a better UV behaviour, but the presence of\nnegative metric ghost modes endanger unitarity. Noticing that the ghost\nacquires a complex mass by radiative corrections, Lee and Wick, in particular,\nclaimed that such complex ghosts would never be created by collisions of\nphysical particles because of energy conservation, so that the physical\nS-matrix unitarity must hold.\n  We investigate the unitarity problem faithfully working in the operator\nformalism of quantum field theory. When complex ghosts participate, a complex\ndelta function (generalization of Dirac delta function) appears at each\ninteraction vertex, which enforces a specific conservation law of complex\nenergy. Its particular property implies that the naive Feynman rule is wrong if\nthe four-momenta are assigned to the internal lines after taking account of the\nconservation law in advance. We show that the complex ghosts are actually\ncreated and unitarity is violated in such fourth-order derivative theories. We\nalso find a definite energy threshold below which the ghosts cannot be created:\nThe theories are unitary and renormalizable below the threshold."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Magnetic Vortex Line Configuration of Faddeev-Niemi Knot: This paper has been withdrawn by the author due to the inaccurate result.",
        "positive": "Hidden Symmetries of the Principal Chiral Model Unveiled: By relating the two-dimensional U(N) Principal Chiral Model to a simple\nlinear system we obtain a free-field parametrisation of solutions. Obvious\nsymmetry transformations on the free-field data give symmetries of the model.\nIn this way all known `hidden symmetries' and B\\\"acklund transformations, as\nwell as a host of new symmetries, arise."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Large mass expansion of the one-loop effective action induced by a\n  scalar field on the two-dimensional Minkowski background with non-trivial\n  $(1+1)$ splitting: A large mass expansion of the one-loop effective action of a scalar field on\nthe two-dimensional Minkowski spacetime is found in the system of coordinates,\nwhere the metric $g_{\\mu\\nu}(t,x)\\neq\\eta_{\\mu\\nu}=diag(1,-1)$, and\n$g_{\\mu\\nu}(t,x)$ tends to $\\eta_{\\mu\\nu}$ at the spatial and temporal\ninfinities. It is shown that, apart from the Coleman-Weinberg potential, this\nexpansion contains the terms both analytic and non-analytic in $m^{-2}$, where\n$m$ is the mass of a scalar field. A general unambiguous expression for the\none-loop correction to the effective action on non-stationary backgrounds is\nderived.",
        "positive": "Nonspherical Giant Gravitons and Matrix Theory: We consider the plane wave limit of the nonspherical giant gravitons. We\ncompute the Poisson brackets of the coordinate functions and find a nonlinear\nalgebra. We show that this algebra solves the supersymmetry conditions of the\nmatrix model. This is the generalization of the algebraic realization of the\nspherical membrane as the ``fuzzy sphere''. We describe finite dimensional\nrepresentations of the algebra corresponding to the fuzzy torus."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Conserved charges in timelike Warped-AdS$_3$ spaces: We consider the timelike version of Warped Anti-de Sitter space (WAdS), which\ncorresponds to the three-dimensional section of the G\\\"{o}del solution of\nfour-dimensional cosmological Einstein equations. This geometry presents closed\ntimelike curves (CTCs), which are inherited from its four-dimensional\nembedding. In three dimensions, this type of solutions can be supported without\nmatter provided the graviton acquires mass. Here, among the different ways to\nconsistenly give mass to the graviton in three dimensions, we consider the\nparity-even model known as New Massive Gravity (NMG). In the bulk of timelike\nWAdS$_{3}$ space, we introduce defects that, from the three-dimensional point\nof view, represent spinning massive particle-like objects. For this type of\nsources, we investigate the definition of quasi-local gravitational energy as\nseen from infinity, far beyond the region where the CTCs appear. We also\nconsider the covariant formalism applied to NMG to compute the mass and the\nangular momentum of spinning particle-like defects, and compare the result with\nthe one obtained by means of the quasi-local stress-tensor. We apply these\nmethods to special limits in which the WAdS$_3$ solutions coincide with locally\nAdS$_3$ and locally AdS$_{2}\\times \\mathbb{R}$ spaces. Finally, we make some\ncomments about the asymptotic symmetry algebra of asymptotically WAdS$_3$\nspaces in NMG.",
        "positive": "Self-Gravitating Strings and String/Black Hole Correspondence: In a recent essay, we discussed the possibility of using polymer sizing to\nmodel the collapse of a single, long excited string to a black hole. In this\nletter, we apply this idea to bring further support to string/black hole\ncorrespondence. In particular, we reproduce Horowitz and Polchinki's results\nfor self-gravitating fundamental strings and speculate on the nature of the\nquantum degrees of freedom of black holes in string theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic Floquet states II: Floquet condensation of vector mesons in\n  nonequilibrium phase diagram: With the aim to reveal universal features of hadronic matter and correlated\nDirac insulators in strong AC-electric fields, we study the $\\mathcal{N}=2$\nsupersymmetric QCD with a finite quark mass driven by a rotating electric field\n$\\mathcal{E}_x+i\\mathcal{E}_y= E e^{i\\Omega t}$. The analysis is done in the\nholographically dual D3/D7 system in the co-rotating frame, effectively. The\nnonequilibrium phase diagram is determined from the threshold electric field at\nwhich the insulator phase breaks down to a conductive phase due to the AC\nversion of the Schwinger mechanism. The external field induces a rotating\ncurrent $\\mathcal{J}_x + i \\mathcal{J}_y = J e^{i\\Omega t}$ originating from\nvacuum polarization and dissipative current in the insulating and conductive\nphases respectively. Intriguing features are observed as the frequency $\\Omega$\napproaches resonance with the meson excitation energy $\\Omega_{\\rm meson}$.\nThere, the threshold minimizes and a condensate of vector mesons with\noscillating current exists even in the zero driving field limit. This state,\nwhich we call Floquet condensate of vector mesons, is expected to be\ndynamically stable realizing a non-thermal fixed point that breaks time\ntranslational and reversal symmetries. Our finding has many similarities with\nexciton BEC discussed in solid state systems, where the semiconductor is to be\nreplaced by materials hosting gapped Dirac electrons, e.g. 3D topological\ninsulators or bismuth. Vector meson Floquet condensate may also have\nimplications in the pre-thermalized dynamics in heavy ion collision\nexperiments.",
        "positive": "Isolated vacua in supersymmetric Yang-Mills theories: An explicit proof of the existence of nontrivial vacua in the pure\nsupersymmetric Yang-Mills theories with higher orthogonal SO(N), N>=7 or the\nG_2 gauge group defined on a 3-torus with periodic boundary conditions is\ngiven. Extra vacuum states are separated by an energy barrier from the\nperturbative vacuum A_i=0 and its gauge copies."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Towards a Swampland Global Symmetry Conjecture using Weak Gravity: It is widely believed and in part established that exact global symmetries\nare inconsistent with quantum gravity. One then expects that approximate global\nsymmetries can be quantitatively constrained by quantum gravity or swampland\narguments. We provide such a bound for an important class of global symmetries:\nThose arising from a gauged $U(1)$ with the vector made massive via Higgsing\nwith an axion. The latter necessarily couples to instantons, and their action\ncan be constrained, using both the electric and magnetic version of the axionic\nweak gravity conjecture, in terms of the cutoff of the theory. As a result,\ninstanton-induced symmetry breaking operators with a suppression factor not\nsmaller than $\\exp(-M_{\\rm P}^2/\\Lambda^2)$ are present, where $\\Lambda$ is a\ncutoff of the 4d effective theory. We provide a general argument and clarify\nthe meaning of $\\Lambda$. Simple 4d and 5d models are presented to illustrate\nthis, and we recall that this is the standard way in which things work out in\nstring compactifications with brane instantons. The relation of our constraint\nto bounds that can be derived from wormholes or gravitational instantons and to\nthose motivated by black-hole effects at finite temperature are discussed, and\nwe present a generalization of the Giddings-Strominger wormhole solution to the\ncase of a gauge-derived $U(1)$ global symmetry. Finally, we discuss potential\nloopholes to our arguments.",
        "positive": "Problems with False Vacua in Supersymmetric Theories: It has been suggested recently that in a consistent theory any Minkowski\nvacuum must be exactly stable. As a result, a large class of theories that in\nordinary treatment would appear sufficiently long-lived, in reality make no\nsense. In particular, this applies to supersymmetric models in which global\nsupersymmetry is broken in a false vacuum. We show that in any such theory the\ndynamics of supersymmetry breaking cannot be decoupled from the Planck scale\nphysics. This finding poses an obvious challenge for the idea of low-scale\nmetastable (for example gauge) mediation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "World-Volume Potentials on D-branes: By evaluating string scattering amplitudes, we investigate various low energy\ninteractions for the massless scalars on a nonabelian Dirichlet brane. We\nconfirm the existence of couplings of closed string fields to the world-volume\nscalars, involving commutators of the latter. Our results are consistent with\nthe recently proposed nonabelian world-volume actions for Dp-branes.",
        "positive": "Integrability As Duality: The Gauge/YBE Correspondence: The Gauge/YBE correspondence states a surprising connection between solutions\nto the Yang-Baxter equation with spectral parameters and partition functions of\nsupersymmetric quiver gauge theories. This correspondence has lead to\nsystematic discoveries of new integrable models based on quantum-field-theory\nmethods. We provide pedagogical introduction to the subject and summarizes many\nrecent developments. This is a write-up of the lecture at the String-Math 2018\nconference."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Deformed supersymmetric gauge theories from the fluxtrap background: The fluxtrap background of string theory provides a transparent and\nalgorithmic way of constructing supersymmetric gauge theories with both mass\nand Omega-type deformations in various dimensions. In this article, we review a\nnumber of deformed supersymmetric gauge theories in two and four dimensions\nwhich can be obtained via the fluxtrap background from string or M-theory. Such\ntheories, the most well-known being Omega-deformed super Yang-Mills theory in\nfour dimensions, have met with a lot of interest in the recent literature. The\nstring theory treatment offers many new avenues of analysis and applications,\nsuch as for example the study of the gravity duals for deformed N=4 gauge\ntheories.",
        "positive": "Left-right symmetric gauge model in a noncommutative geometry on\n  $M_4\\times Z_4$: The left-right symmetric gauge model with the symmetry of $SU(3)_c\\times\nSU(2)_L\\times SU(2)_R\\times U(1)$ is reconstructed in a new scheme of the\nnoncommutative differential geometry (NCG) on the discrete space $M_4\\times\nZ_4$ which is a product space of Minkowski space and four points space. The\ncharacteristic point of this new scheme is to take the fermion field to be a\nvector in a 24-dimensional space which contains all leptons and quarks.\nCorresponding to this specification, all gauge and Higgs boson fields are\nrepresented in $24\\times 24$ matrix forms. We incorporate two Higgs doublet\nbosons $h$ and $SU(2)_R$ adjoint Higgs $\\xi_R$ which are as usual transformed\nas $(2,2^\\ast,0)$ and $(1,3,-2)$ under $SU(2)_L\\times SU(2)_R\\times U(1)$,\nrespectively. Owing to the revise of the algebraic rules in a new NCG, we can\nobtain the necessary potential and interacting terms between these Higgs bosons\nwhich are responsible for giving masses to the particles included. Among the\nHiggs doublet bosons, one CP-even scalar boson survives in the weak energy\nscale and other four scalar bosons acquire the mass of the $SU(2)_R\\times U(1)$\nbreaking scale, which is similar to the situation in the standard model.\n$\\xi_R$ is responsible to spontaneously break $SU(2)\\ma{R} \\times U(1)$ down to\n$U(1)\\ma{Y}$ and so well explains the seesaw mechanism. Up and down quarks have\nthe different masses through the vacuum expectation value of $h$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Noncommutative cosmological models coupled to a perfect fluid and a\n  cosmological constant: In this work we carry out a noncommutative analysis of several\nFriedmann-Robert-Walker models, coupled to different types of perfect fluids\nand in the presence of a cosmological constant. The classical field equations\nare modified, by the introduction of a shift operator, in order to introduce\nnoncommutativity in these models. We notice that the noncommutative versions of\nthese models show several relevant differences with respect to the\ncorrespondent commutative ones.",
        "positive": "Non-ladder Extended Renormalization Group Analysis of the Dynamical\n  Chiral Symmetry Breaking: The order parameters of dynamical chiral symmetry breaking in QCD, the\ndynamical mass of quarks and the chiral condensates, are evaluated by\nnumerically solving the Non-Perturbative Renormalization Group (NPRG)\nequations. We employ an approximation scheme beyond ``the ladder'', that is,\nbeyond the (improved) ladder Schwinger-Dyson equations. The chiral condensates\nare enhanced compared with the ladder ones, which is phenomenologically\nfavorable. The gauge dependence of the order parameters is fairly reduced in\nthis scheme."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dp-branes, NS5-branes and U-duality from nonabelian (2,0) theory with\n  Lie 3-algebra: We derive the super Yang-Mills action of Dp-branes on a torus T^{p-4} from\nthe nonabelian (2,0) theory with Lie 3-algebra. Our realization is based on Lie\n3-algebra with pairs of Lorentzian metric generators. The resultant theory then\nhas negative norm modes, but it results in a unitary theory by setting VEV's of\nthese modes. This procedure corresponds to the torus compactification,\ntherefore by taking a transformation which is equivalent to T-duality, the\nDp-brane action is obtained. We also study type IIA/IIB NS5-brane and\nKaluza-Klein monopole systems by taking other VEV assignments. Such various\ncompactifications can be realized in the nonabelian (2,0) theory, since both\nlongitudinal and transverse directions can be compactified, which is different\nfrom the BLG theory. We finally discuss U-duality among these branes, and show\nthat most of the moduli parameters in U-duality group are recovered. Especially\nin D5-brane case, the whole U-duality relation is properly reproduced.",
        "positive": "Search of scaling solutions in scalar-tensor gravity: We write new functional renormalization group equations for a scalar\nnonminimally coupled to gravity. Thanks to the choice of the parametrization\nand of the gauge fixing they are simpler than older equations and avoid some of\nthe difficulties that were previously present. In three dimensions these\nequations admit, at least for sufficiently small fields, a solution that may be\ninterpreted as a gravitationally dressed Wilson-Fisher fixed point. We also\nfind for any dimension d>2 two analytic scaling solutions which we study for\nd=3 and d=4. One of them corresponds to the fixed point of the Einstein-Hilbert\ntruncation, the others involve a nonvanishing minimal coupling."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Alday-Maldacena duality and AdS Plateau problem: A short summary of approximate approach to the study of minimal surfaces in\nAdS, based on solving Nambu-Goto equations iteratively. Today, after partial\ndenunciation of the BDS conjecture, this looks like the only constructive\napproach to understanding the ways of its possible modification and thus to\nsaving the Alday-Maldacena duality. Numerous open technical problems are\nexplicitly formulated throughout the text.",
        "positive": "Duality Between the Webs of Heterotic and Type II Vacua: We discuss how transitions in the space of heterotic K3*T^2 compactifications\nare mapped by duality into transitions in the space of Type II\ncompactifications on Calabi-Yau manifolds. We observe that perturbative\nsymmetry restoration, as well as non-perturbative processes such as changes in\nthe number of tensor multiplets, have at least in many cases a simple\ndescription in terms of the reflexive polyhedra of the Calabi-Yau manifolds.\nOur results suggest that to many, perhaps all, four-dimensional N=2 heterotic\nvacua there are corresponding type II vacua."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exophobic Quasi-Realistic Heterotic String Vacua: We demonstrate the existence of heterotic-string vacua that are free of\nmassless exotic fields. The need to break the non-Abelian GUT symmetries in k=1\nheterotic-string models by Wilson lines, while preserving the GUT embedding of\nthe weak-hypercharge and the GUT prediction sin^2\\theta_w(M(GUT))=3/8,\nnecessarily implies that the models contain states with fractional electric\ncharge. Such states are severely restricted by observations, and must be\nconfined or sufficiently massive and diluted. We construct the first\nquasi-realistic heterotic-string models in which the exotic states do not\nappear in the massless spectrum, and only exist, as they must, in the massive\nspectrum. The SO(10) GUT symmetry is broken to the Pati-Salam subgroup. Our PS\nheterotic-string models contain adequate Higgs representations to break the GUT\nand electroweak symmetry, as well as colour Higgs triplets that can be used for\nthe missing partner mechanism. By statistically sampling the space of\nPati-Salam vacua we demonstrate the abundance of quasi--realistic three\ngeneration models that are completely free of massless exotics, rendering it\nplausible that obtaining realistic Yukawa couplings may be possible in this\nspace of models.",
        "positive": "Allowable complex metrics in minisuperspace quantum cosmology: Kontsevich and Segal (K-S) have proposed a criterion to determine which\ncomplex metrics should be allowed, based on the requirement that quantum field\ntheories may consistently be defined on these metrics, and Witten has recently\nsuggested that their proposal should also apply to gravity. We explore this\ncriterion in the context of gravitational path integrals, in simple\nminisuperspace models, specifically considering de Sitter (dS), no-boundary and\nAnti-de Sitter (AdS) examples. These simple examples allow us to gain some\nunderstanding of the off-shell structure of gravitational path integrals. In\nall cases, we find that the saddle points of the integral lie right at the edge\nof the allowable domain of metrics, even when the saddle points are complex or\nEuclidean. Moreover the Lefschetz thimbles, in particular the steepest descent\ncontours for the lapse integral, are cut off as they intrude into the domain of\nnon-allowable metrics. In the AdS case, the implied restriction on the\nintegration contour is found to have a simple physical interpretation. In the\ndS case, the lapse integral is forced to become asymptotically Euclidean. We\nalso point out that the K-S criterion provides a reason, in the context of the\nno-boundary proposal, for why scalar fields would start their evolution at\nlocal extrema of their potential."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Electromagnetic signatures of a strongly coupled anisotropic plasma: In heavy-ion collisions, quark-gluon plasma is likely to be produced with\nsizable initial pressure anisotropy, which may leave an imprint on\nelectromagnetic observables. In order to model a strongly coupled anisotropic\nplasma, we use the AdS/CFT correspondence to calculate the current-current\ncorrelator of a weakly gauged U(1) subgroup of R symmetry in an N=4\nsuper-Yang-Mills plasma with a (temporarily) fixed anisotropy. The dual\ngeometry, obtained previously by Janik and Witaszczyk, contains a naked\nsingularity which however permits purely infalling boundary conditions and\ntherefore the usual definition of a retarded correlator. We obtain numerical\nresults for the cases of wave vector parallel and orthogonal to the direction\nof anisotropy, and we compare with previous isotropic results. In the\n(unphysical) limit of vanishing frequency (infinite time) we obtain a vanishing\nDC conductivity for any amount of anisotropy, but the anisotropic AC\nconductivities smoothly approach the isotropic case in the limit of high\nfrequencies. We also discuss hard photon production from an anisotropic plasma\nand compare with existing hard-loop resummed calculations.",
        "positive": "On hypersymmetry in three dimensioons: In this work we presented a number of explicit examples for the cubic\nvertices describing an interaction of massless spin-5/2 field with massive\nboson and fermion including all hypertransformations necessary for the vertices\nto be gauge invariant. Here we restrict ourselves with the massive bosons with\nspins s=2,1,0 and massive fermions with spins s=3/2,1/2. Our general analysis\npredicted that the vertex must exist for any boson and fermion with the spin\ndifference 3/2 or 1/2. And indeed it appeared that the vertex exists for all\nsix possible pairs (2,1,0) X (3/2,1/2). As in the case of massive\nsupermultiplets, our construction is based on the gauge invariant description\nfor the massive fields with spins s >= 1. Moreover, we have explicitly checked\nthat all the vertices are invariant also under the gauge symmetries of these\nmassive fields."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Semi-Chiral Operators in 4d ${\\cal N}=1$ Gauge Theories: We discuss the properties of quarter-BPS local operators in four dimensional\n${\\cal N}=1$ supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory using the formalism of\nholomorphic twists. We study loop corrections both to the space of local\noperators and to algebraic operations which endow the twisted theory with an\ninfinite symmetry algebra. We classify all single-trace quarter-BPS operators\nin the planar approximation for $SU(N)$ gauge theory and propose a holographic\ndual description for the twisted theory. We classify perturbative quarter-BPS\noperators in $SU(2)$ and $SU(3)$ gauge theories with sufficiently small quantum\nnumbers and discuss possible non-perturbative corrections to the answer. We set\nup analogous calculations for some theories with matter.",
        "positive": "Hydrodynamic fluctuations and long-time tails in a fluid on an\n  anisotropic background: The effective low-energy late-time description of many body systems near\nthermal equilibrium provided by classical hydrodynamics in terms of dissipative\ntransport phenomena receives important corrections once the effects of\nstochastic fluctuations are taken into account. One such physical effect is the\noccurrence of long-time power law tails in correlation functions of conserved\ncurrents. In the hydrodynamic regime $\\vec{k} \\rightarrow 0$ this amounts to\nnon-analytic dependence of the correlation functions on the frequency $\\omega$.\nIn this article, we consider a relativistic fluid with a conserved global\n$U(1)$ charge in the presence of a strong background magnetic field, and\ncompute the long-time tails in correlation functions of the stress tensor. The\npresence of the magnetic field renders the system anisotropic. In the absence\nof the magnetic field, there are three out-of-equilibrium transport parameters\nthat arise at the first order in the hydrodynamic derivative expansion, all of\nwhich are dissipative. In the presence of a background magnetic field, there\nare ten independent out-of-equilibrium transport parameters at the first order,\nthree of which are non-dissipative and the rest are dissipative. We provide the\nmost general linearized equations about a given state of thermal equilibrium\ninvolving the various transport parameters in the presence of a magnetic field,\nand use them to compute the long-time tails for the fluid."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Superstring loop amplitudes from the field theory limit: We propose a procedure to determine the moduli-space integrands of loop-level\nsuperstring amplitudes for massless external states in terms of the field\ntheory limit. We focus on the type II superstring. The procedure is to: (i)\ntake a supergravity loop integrand written in a BCJ double-copy representation,\n(ii) use the loop-level scattering equations to translate that integrand into\nthe ambitwistor string moduli-space integrand, localised on the nodal Riemann\nsphere, and (iii) uplift that formula to one on the higher-genus surface valid\nfor the superstring, guided by modular invariance. We show how this works for\nthe four-point amplitude at two loops, where we reproduce the known answer, and\nat three loops, where we present a conjecture that is consistent with a\nprevious proposal for the chiral measure. Useful supergravity results are\ncurrently known up to five loops.",
        "positive": "Crunches, Hats, and a Conjecture: Our purpose in this paper is to discuss criteria for the existence of a\nprecise dual description of a cosmology. A number of exact descriptions exist\nfor flat and anti de Sitter backgrounds and possibly for open FRW universes\nthat nucleate in an eternally inflating background. In addition duals have been\nproposed for de Sitter space, and for crunching FRW bubbles with negative\ncosmological constant. In the latter cases there is reason to think the\ndualities are at best approximate. One of our primary purposes is to analyze\nthe quality of these descriptions, i.e., how exact they can be made.\nMaldacena's recent discussion of dualities involving crunching FRW cosmologies\nprovides an opportunity for exploring some of these question."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Branes wrapped on orbifolds and their gravitational blocks: We construct new supersymmetric $\\mathrm{AdS}_2\\times \\mathbb{M}_4$ solutions\nof $D=6$ gauged supergravity, where $\\mathbb{M}_4$ are certain four-dimensional\norbifolds. After uplifting to massive type IIA supergravity these correspond to\nthe near-horizon limit of a system of $N$ D4-branes and $N_f$ D8-branes wrapped\non $\\mathbb{M}_4$. In one class of solutions $\\mathbb{M}_4 =\n\\Sigma_{\\mathrm{g}}\\ltimes\\Sigma$ is a spindle fibred over a smooth Riemann\nsurface of genus $\\mathrm{g}>1$, while in another class $\\mathbb{M}_4 =\n\\Sigma\\ltimes\\Sigma$ is a spindle fibred over another spindle. Both classes can\nbe thought of as orbifold generalizations of Hirzebruch surfaces and, in the\nsecond case, we describe the solutions in terms of toric geometry. We show that\nthe entropy associated with these solutions is reproduced by extremizing an\nentropy function obtained by gluing gravitational blocks, using a general\nrecipe for orbifolds that we propose. We also discuss how our prescription can\nbe used to define an off-shell central charge whose extremization reproduces\nthe gravitational central charge of analogous $\\mathrm{AdS}_3\\times\n\\mathbb{M}_4$ solutions of $D=7$ gauged supergravity, arising from wrapping\nM5-branes on $\\mathbb{M}_4$.",
        "positive": "Noncommutativity and the Aharonov-Bohm Effect: The possibility of detecting noncommutive space relics is analyzed by using\nthe Aharonov-Bohm effect. If space is non-commutative, it turns out that the\nholonomy receives kinematical corrections that tend to diffuse the fringe\npattern. This fringe pattern has a non-trivial energy dependence and,\ntherefore, one could observe noncommutative effects by modifying the energy of\nthe incident electrons beam in the Tonomura experimental arrangement"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Possible alternative mechanism to SUSY: conservative extensions of the\n  Poincar\u00e9 group: A group theoretical mechanism is outlined, which can indecomposably extend\nthe Poincar\\'e group by the compact internal (gauge) symmetries at the price of\nallowing some nilpotent (or, more precisely: solvable) internal symmetries in\naddition. Due to the presence of this nilpotent part, the prohibitive argument\nof the well known Coleman-Mandula and McGlinn no-go theorems do not go through.\nIn contrast to SUSY or extended SUSY, in our construction the symmetries\nextending the Poincar\\'e group will be all internal, i.e. they do not act on\nthe spacetime, merely on some internal degrees of freedom -- hence the name:\nconservative extensions of the Poincar\\'e group. Using the Levi decomposition\nand O'Raifeartaigh theorem, the general structure of all possible conservative\nextensions of the Poincar\\'e group is outlined, and a concrete example group is\npresented with U(1) being the compact gauge group component. It is argued that\nsuch nilpotent internal symmetries may be inapparent symmetries of some more\nfundamental field variables, and therefore do not carry an ab initio\ncontradiction with the present experimental understanding in particle physics.\nThe construction is compared to (extended) SUSY, since SUSY is somewhat\nanalogous to the proposed mechanism. It is pointed out, however, that the\nproposed mechanism is less irregular in comparison to SUSY, in certain aspects.\nThe only exoticity needed in comparison to a traditional gauge theory setting\nis that the full group of internal symmetries is not purely compact, but is a\nsemi-direct product of a nilpotent and of a compact part.",
        "positive": "Relativistic Landau problem at finite temperature: We study the zero temperature Casimir energy and fermion number for Dirac\nfields in a 2+1-dimensional Minkowski space-time, in the presence of a uniform\nmagnetic field perpendicular to the spatial manifold. Then, we go to the\nfinite-temperature problem with a chemical potential, introduced as a uniform\nzero component of the gauge potential. By performing a Lorentz boost, we obtain\nHall's conductivity in the case of crossed electric and magnetic fields."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The 2-Dimensional Quantum Euclidean Algebra: The algebra dual to Woronowicz's deformation of the 2-\\-di\\-men\\-sion\\-al\nEuclidean group is constructed. The same algebra is obtained from $SU_{q}(2)$\nvia contraction on both the group and algebra levels.",
        "positive": "A supersymmetric version of the quark model, and supersymmetry breaking\n  for the Leptons, Baryons and Hadronic Mesons: Cybersusy V: Cybersusy is a new mechanism for supersymmetry breaking in the standard\nsupersymmetric model (SSM). Here we note that the superpotential for the SSM\nhas a set of thirteen invariances, five of which are well known, and eight of\nwhich are new. The eight new invariances generate a sort of supersymmetric\nquark and lepton model, together with supersymmetry breaking that makes the\nsquarks and sleptons very heavy. This breaking regenerates the standard model\nout of the supersymmetric standard model, except that the gauge particles are\nnot yet included in this reduction. In this paper, it is shown that, with some\ncontinued effort, cybersusy will make some predictions for hadron masses that\nmay actually be wrong, so that it is a supersymmetry breaking theory that can\nbe proved wrong! This is the fifth paper in what was intended to be a series of\nfour papers on cybersusy."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A covariant regulator for entanglement entropy: proofs of the Bekenstein\n  bound and QNEC: While von Neumann entropies for subregions in quantum field theory\nuniversally contain ultraviolet divergences, differences between von Neumann\nentropies are finite and well-defined in many physically relevant scenarios. We\ndemonstrate that such a notion of entropy differences can be rigorously defined\nin quantum field theory in a general curved spacetime by introducing a novel,\ncovariant regulator for the entropy based on the modular crossed product. This\nregulator associates a type II von Neumann algebra to each spacetime subregion,\nresulting in well-defined renormalized entropies. This prescription reproduces\nformulas for entropy differences that coincide with heuristic formulas widely\nused in the literature, and we prove that it satisfies desirable properties\nsuch as unitary invariance and concavity. As an application, we provide proofs\nof the Bekenstein bound and the quantum null energy condition, formulated\ndirectly in terms of vacuum-subtracted von Neumann entropies.",
        "positive": "Strings on Calabi--Yau spaces and Toric Geometry: After a brief introduction into the use of Calabi--Yau varieties in string\ndualities, and the role of toric geometry in that context, we review the\nclassification of toric Calabi-Yau hypersurfaces and present some results on\ncomplete intersections. While no proof of the existence of a finite bound on\nthe Hodge numbers is known, all new data stay inside the familiar range\n$h_{11}+h_{12}\\le 502$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic relationships in Lovelock type brane gravity: We show that the Lovelock type brane gravity is naturally holographic by\nproviding a correspondence between bulk and surface terms that appear in the\nLovelock-type brane gravity action functional. We prove the existence of\nrelationships between the $\\mathcal{L}_{\\mbox{\\tiny bulk}}$ and\n$\\mathcal{L}_{\\mbox{\\tiny surf}}$ allowing $\\mathcal{L}_{\\mbox{\\tiny surf}}$ to\nbe determined completely by $\\mathcal{L}_{\\mbox{\\tiny bulk}}$. In the same\nspirit, we provide relationships among the various conserved tensors that this\ntheory possesses. We further comment briefly on the correspondence between\ngeometric degrees of freedom in both bulk and surface space.",
        "positive": "Colour-kinematics duality, double copy, and homotopy algebras: Colour-kinematics duality is a remarkable property of Yang-Mills theory. Its\nvalidity implies a relation between gauge theory and gravity scattering\namplitudes, known as double copy. Albeit fully established at the tree level,\nits extension to the loop level is conjectural. Lifting the on-shell,\nscattering amplitudes-based description to the level of action functionals, we\nargue that a theory that exhibits tree-level colour-kinematics duality can be\nreformulated in a way such that its loop integrands manifest a generalised form\nof colour-kinematics duality. Moreover, we show how the structures of higher\nhomotopy theory naturally describe this off-shell reformulation of\ncolour-kinematics duality."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauge symmetry breaking in ten-dimensional Yang-Mills theory dynamically\n  compactified on S^6: We study fluctuation modes in ten-dimensional Yang-Mills theory with a higher\nderivative term for the gauge field. We consider the ten-dimensional space-time\nto be a product of a four-dimensional space-time and six-dimensional sphere\nwhich exhibits dynamical compactification. Because of the isometry on S^6,\nthere are flat directions corresponding to the\n  Nambu-Goldstone zero modes in the effective theory on the solution. The zero\nmodes are absorbed into gauge fields and form massive vector fields as a\nconsequence of the Higgs-Kibble mechanism. The mass of the vector fields is\nproportional to the inverse of the radius of the sphere and larger than the\nmass scale set by the radius because of the higher derivative term.",
        "positive": "On the equivalence between Starobinsky and Higgs inflationary models in\n  gravity and supergravity: Starobinsky inflation and Higgs inflation in gravity, and their equivalence\nbased on the common inflationary potential are extended to supergravity in the\nproper framework, where the Starobinsky and Higgs descriptions of inflation\narise in two different gauges of the same supergravity model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Doubled Geometry and T-Folds: The doubled formulation of string theory, which is T-duality covariant and\nenlarges spacetime with extra coordinates conjugate to winding number, is\nreformulated and its geometric and topological features examined. It is used to\nformulate string theory in T-fold backgrounds with T-duality transition\nfunctions and a quantum implementation of the constraints of the doubled\nformalism is presented. This establishes the quantum equivalence to the usual\nsigma-model formalism for world-sheets of arbitrary genus, provided a\ntopological term is added to the action. The quantisation involves a local\nchoice of polarisation, but the results are independent of this. The natural\ndilaton of the doubled formalism is duality-invariant and so T-duality is a\nperturbative symmetry for the perturbation theory in the corresponding coupling\nconstant. It is shown how this dilaton is related to the dilaton of the\nconventional sigma-model which does transform under T-duality. The\ngeneralisation of the doubled formalism to the superstring is given and shown\nto be equivalent to the usual formulation. Finally, the formalism is\ngeneralised to one in which the whole spacetime is doubled.",
        "positive": "Four-dimensional gravity on supersymmetric dilatonic domain walls: We investigate the localization of four-dimensional metastable gravity in\nsupersymmetric dilatonic domain walls through massive modes by considering\nseveral scenarios in the model. We compute corrections to the Newtonian\npotential for small and long distances compared with a crossover scale given in\nterms of the dilatonic coupling. 4D gravity behavior is developed on the brane\nfor distance very much below the crossover scale, while for distance much\nlarger, the 5D gravity is recovered. Whereas in the former regime gravity is\nalways attractive, in the latter regime due to non-normalizable unstable\nmassive graviton modes present on the spectrum, in some special cases, gravity\nappears to be repulsive and signalizes a gravitational confining phase which is\nable to produce an inflationary phase of the Universe."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Conformal Foliations and Constraint Quantization: We show that the Classical Constraint Algebra of a Parametrized Relativistic\nGauge System induces a natural structure of Conformal Foliation on a\nTransversal Gauge. Using the theory of Conformal Foliations, we provide a\nnatural Factor Ordering for the Quantum Operators associated to the Canonical\nQuantization of such Gauge System.",
        "positive": "Anomalous dimensions of twist 2 operators and $\\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM\n  quantum spectral curve: We present algorithmic perturbative solution of $\\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM quantum\nspectral curve in the case of twist 2 operators, valid to in principle\narbitrary order in coupling constant. The latter treats operator spins as\narbitrary integer values and is written in terms of special class of functions\n-- products of rational functions in spectral parameter with sums of Baxter\npolynomials and Hurwitz functions. It is shown that this class of functions is\nclosed under elementary operations, such as shifts, partial fractions,\nmultiplication by spectral parameter and differentiation. Also, it is fully\nsufficient to solve arising non-homogeneous multiloop Baxter and first order\ndifference equations. As an application of the proposed method we present the\ncomputation of anomalous dimensions of twist 2 operators up to four loop order."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dark Radiation Dynamics on the Brane: We investigate the dynamics of a spherically symmetric vaccum on a Randall\nand Sundrum 3-brane world. Under certain natural conditions, the effective\nEinstein equations on the brane form a closed system for spherically symmetric\ndark radiation. We determine exact dynamical and inhomogeneous solutions, which\nare shown to depend on the brane cosmological constant, on the dark radiation\ntidal charge and on its initial energy configuration. We identify the\nconditions defining these solutions as singular or as globally regular.\nFinally, we discuss the confinement of gravity to the vicinity of the brane and\nshow that a phase transition to a regime where gravity is not bound to the\nbrane may occur at short distances during the collapse of positive dark energy\ndensity on a realistic de Sitter brane.",
        "positive": "Screening fifth forces in k-essence and DBI models: New fifth forces have not yet been detected in the laboratory or in the solar\nsystem, hence it is typically difficult to introduce new light scalar fields\nthat would mediate such forces. In recent years it has been shown that a number\nof non-linear scalar field theories allow for a dynamical mechanism, such as\nthe Vainshtein and chameleon ones, that suppresses the strength of the scalar\nfifth force in experimental environments. This is known as screening, however\nit is unclear how common screening is within non-linear scalar field theories.\nk-essence models are commonly studied examples of non-linear models, with DBI\nas the best motivated example, and so we ask whether these non-linearities are\nable to screen a scalar fifth force. We find that a Vainshtein-like screening\nmechanism exists for such models although with limited applicability. For\ninstance, we cannot find a screening mechanism for DBI models. On the other\nhand, we construct a large class of k-essence models which lead to the\nacceleration of the Universe in the recent past for which the fifth force\nmediated by the scalar can be screened."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Microscopic Spectrum of the QCD Dirac Operator in Three Dimensions: The microscopic spectral correlators of the Dirac operator in\nthree-dimensional Yang-Mills theory coupled to fundamental fermions and with\nthree or more colours are derived from the supersymmetric formulation of\npartially quenched effective Lagrangians. The flavour supersymmetry breaking\npatterns are appropriately identified and used to calculate the corresponding\nfinite volume partition functions from Itzykson-Zuber type integrals over\nsupersymmetric cosets. New and simple determinant expressions for the spectral\ncorrelators in the mesoscopic scaling region are thereby found. The microscopic\nspectrum derived from the effective finite volume partition function of\nthree-dimensional QCD agrees with earlier results based on the unitary ensemble\nof random matrix theory and extends the corresponding calculations for QCD in\nfour dimensions.",
        "positive": "Different realizations of kappa-momentum space and relative-locality\n  effect: We consider different realizations for the momentum sector of kappa-Poincare\nHopf algebra, which is associated with a curved momentum space. We show that\nthe notion of the particle mass as introduced recently by Amelino-Camelia et\nal. in the context of relative-locality is realization independent for a wide\nclass of realizations, up to linear order in deformation parameter l. On the\nother hand, the time delay formula clearly shows a dependence on the choice of\nrealization."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Graviton non-Gaussianities in the Effective Field Theory of Inflation: We derive parity-even graviton bispectra in the Effective Field Theory of\nInflation (EFToI) to all orders in derivatives. Working in perturbation theory,\nwe construct all cubic interactions that can contribute to tree-level graviton\nbispectra, showing that they all come from EFToI operators containing two or\nthree powers of the extrinsic curvature and its covariant derivatives: all\nother operators can be removed by field redefinitions or start at higher-order\nin perturbations. For operators cubic in the extrinsic curvature, where the\nsingle-clock consistency relations are satisfied without a correction to the\ngraviton two-point function, we use the Manifestly Local Test (MLT) to\nefficiently extract the effects of evolving graviton fluctuations to the end of\ninflation. Despite the somewhat complicated nature of the bulk interactions,\nthe final boundary correlators take a very compact form. For operators\nquadratic in the extrinsic curvature, the leading order bispectra are a sum of\ncontact and single exchange diagrams, which are tied together by spatial\ndiffeomorphisms, and to all orders in derivatives we derive these bispectra by\ncomputing the necessary bulk time integrals. For single exchange diagrams we\nexploit factorisation properties of the bulk-bulk propagator for massless\ngravitons and write the result as a finite sum over residues. Perhaps\nsurprisingly, we show these single exchange contributions have only\ntotal-energy poles and also satisfy the MLT.",
        "positive": "Induced Magnetic Field in a Finite Fermion Density Maxwell QED$_{2+1}$: We are studying finite fermion density states in Maxwell QED$_{2+1}$ with\nexternal magnetic field. It is shown that at any fermion density the energy of\nsome magnetized states may be less than that of the state with the same\ndensity, but no magnetic field. Magnetized states are described by the\neffective Maxwell-Chern-Simons QED$_{2+1}$ Lagrangian with gauge field mass\nproportional to the number of filled Landau levels."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Cosmological Breaking of Supersymmetry?: It is conjectured that M-theory in asymptotically flat spacetime must be\nsupersymmetric, and that the observed SUSY breaking in the low energy world\nmust be attributed to the existence of a nonzero cosmological constant. This\nwould be consistent with experiment, if the {\\it critical exponent} $\\alpha$ in\nthe relation $M_{SUSY} \\sim M_P (\\Lambda /M_P^4)^{\\alpha}$ took on the value\n1/8, rather than its classical value 1/4. We attribute this large\nrenormalization to the effect of large virtual black holes via the UV/IR\ncorrespondence.",
        "positive": "Nonlocal Electrodynamics of Rotating Systems: The nonlocal electrodynamics of uniformly rotating systems is presented and\nits predictions are discussed. In this case, due to paucity of experimental\ndata, the nonlocal theory cannot be directly confronted with observation at\npresent. The approach adopted here is therefore based on the correspondence\nprinciple: the nonrelativistic quantum physics of electrons in circular\n\"orbits\" is studied. The helicity dependence of the photoeffect from the\ncircular states of atomic hydrogen is explored as well as the resonant\nabsorption of a photon by an electron in a circular \"orbit\" about a uniform\nmagnetic field. Qualitative agreement of the predictions of the classical\nnonlocal electrodynamics with quantum-mechanical results is demonstrated in the\ncorrespondence regime."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Symmetric Vacua in Heterotic M-Theory: Symmetric vacua of heterotic M-theory, characterized by vanishing cohomology\nclasses of individual sources in the three-form Bianchi identity, are analyzed\non smooth Calabi-Yau three-folds. We show that such vacua do not exist for\nelliptically fibered Calabi-Yau spaces. However, explicit examples are found\nfor Calabi-Yau three-folds arising as intersections in both unweighted and\nweighted projective space. We show that such symmetric vacua can be combined\nwith attractive phenomenological features such as three generations of quarks\nand leptons. Properties of the low energy effective actions associated with\nsymmetric vacua are discussed. In particular, the gauge kinetic functions\nreceive no perturbative threshold corrections, there are no corrections to the\nmatter field Kahler metric and the associated five-dimensional effective theory\nadmits flat space as its vacuum.",
        "positive": "A Brief Summary Of Global Anomaly Cancellation In Six-Dimensional\n  Supergravity: This is a short summary of a talk at Strings 2018. See also arXiv:1808.01334."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Branes, quivers and wave-functions: We consider a large class of branes in toric strip geometries, both\nnon-periodic and periodic ones. For a fixed background geometry we show that\npartition functions for such branes can be reinterpreted, on one hand, as\nquiver generating series, and on the other hand as wave-functions in various\npolarizations. We determine operations on quivers, as well as\n$SL(2,\\mathbb{Z})$ transformations, which correspond to changing positions of\nthese branes. Our results prove integrality of BPS multiplicities associated to\nthis class of branes, reveal how they transform under changes of polarization,\nand imply all other properties of brane amplitudes that follow from the\nrelation to quivers.",
        "positive": "Once again about quantum deformations of D=4 Lorentz algebra: twistings\n  of q-deformation: This paper together with the previous one (arXiv:hep-th/0604146) presents the\ndetailed description of all quantum deformations of D=4 Lorentz algebra as Hopf\nalgebra in terms of complex and real generators. We describe here in detail two\nquantum deformations of the D=4 Lorentz algebra o(3,1) obtained by twisting of\nthe standard q-deformation U_{q}(o(3,1)). For the first twisted q-deformation\nan Abelian twist depending on Cartan generators of o(3,1) is used. The second\nexample of twisting provides a quantum deformation of Cremmer-Gervais type for\nthe Lorentz algebra. For completeness we describe also twisting of the Lorentz\nalgebra by standard Jordanian twist. By twist quantization techniques we obtain\nfor these deformations new explicit formulae for the deformed coproducts and\nantipodes of the o(3,1)-generators."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The boundary dual of the bulk symplectic form: In this paper, we study the overlaps of wavefunctionals prepared by turning\non sources in the Euclidean path integral. For nearby states, these overlaps\ngive rise to a Kahler structure on the space of sources, which is naturally\ninduced by the Fubini-Study metric. The Kahler form obtained this way can also\nbe thought of as a Berry curvature and, for holographic field theories, we show\nthat it is identical to the gravitational symplectic form in the bulk. We\ndiscuss some possible applications of this observation, in particular a\nboundary prescription to calculate the variation of the volume of a maximal\nslice.",
        "positive": "The evolution of conifolds: We simulate the gravitational dynamics of the conifold geometries (resolved\nand deformed) involved in the description of certain compact spacetimes. As the\ncycles of the conifold collapse towards a singular geometry we find that a\nhorizon develops, shielding the external spacetime from the curvature\nsingularity of the newly formed black hole. The structure of the black hole is\nexamined for a range of initial conditions, and we find a candidate black-hole\nsolution for the final state of the collapse."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The vacuum as a Lagrangian subspace: We unify and generalize the notions of vacuum and amplitude in linear quantum\nfield theory in curved spacetime. Crucially, the generalized notion admits a\nlocalization in spacetime regions and on hypersurfaces. The underlying concept\nis that of a Lagrangian subspace of the space of complexified germs of\nsolutions of the equations of motion on hypersurfaces. Traditional vacua and\ntraditional amplitudes correspond to the special cases of definite and real\nLagrangian subspaces respectively. Further, we introduce both infinitesimal and\nasymptotic methods for vacuum selection that involve a localized version of\nWick rotation. We provide examples from Klein-Gordon theory in settings\ninvolving different types of regions and hypersurfaces to showcase generalized\nvacua and the application of the proposed vacuum selection methods. A recurrent\ntheme is the occurrence of mixed vacua, where propagating solutions yield\ndefinite Lagrangian subspaces and evanescent solutions yield real Lagrangian\nsubspaces. The examples cover Minkowski space, Rindler space, Euclidean space\nand de Sitter space. A simple formula allows for the calculation of expectation\nvalues for observables in the generalized vacua.",
        "positive": "Toward a Nonlocal Theory of Gravitation: The nonlocal theory of accelerated systems is extended to linear\ngravitational waves as measured by accelerated observers in Minkowski\nspacetime. The implications of this approach are discussed. In particular, the\nnonlocal modifications of helicity-rotation coupling are pointed out and a\nnonlocal wave equation is presented for a special class of uniformly rotating\nobservers. The results of this study, via Einstein's heuristic principle of\nequivalence, provide the incentive for a nonlocal classical theory of the\ngravitational field."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Symmetries of fundamental interactions in quantum phase space: Quantum operators of coordinates and momentum components of a particle in\nMinkowski space-time belong to a noncommutative algebra and give rise to a\nquantum phase space. Under some constraints, in particular, the Lorentz\ninvariance condition, the algebra of observables, including Lorentz group\ngenerators, depends on additional fundamental physical constants with the\ndimensions of mass, length and action. Generalized symmetries in a quantum\nphase space and some consequences for fundamental interactions of particles are\nconsidered.",
        "positive": "Imprints of phase transitions on Kasner singularities: Under the AdS/CFT correspondence, asymptotically AdS geometries with\nbackreaction can be viewed as CFT states subject to a renormalization group\n(RG) flow from an ultraviolet (UV) description towards an infrared (IR) sector.\nFor black holes however, the IR point is the horizon, so one way to interpret\nthe interior is as an analytic continuation to a \"trans-IR\" imaginary-energy\nregime. In this paper, we demonstrate that this analytic continuation preserves\nsome imprints of the UV physics, particularly near its \"endpoint\" at the\nclassical singularity. We focus on holographic phase transitions of geometric\nobjects in round black holes. We first assert the consistency of interpreting\nsuch black holes, including their interiors, as RG flows by constructing a\nmonotonic $a$-function. We then explore how UV phase transitions of\nentanglement entropy and scalar two-point functions, each of which are encoded\nby bulk geometry under the holographic mapping, are connected to the structure\nof the near-singularity geometry, which is characterized by Kasner exponents.\nUsing 2d holographic flows triggered by relevant scalar deformations as test\nbeds, we find that the 3d bulk's near-singularity Kasner exponents can be\nviewed as functions of the UV physics precisely when the deformation is\nnonzero."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauge Symmetries on $\u03b8$-Deformed Spaces: A Hamiltonian formulation of gauge symmetries on noncommutative ($\\theta$\ndeformed) spaces is discussed. Both cases- star deformed gauge transformation\nwith normal coproduct and undeformed gauge transformation with twisted\ncoproduct- are considered. While the structure of the gauge generator is\nidentical in either case, there is a difference in the computation of the\ngraded Poisson brackets that yield the gauge transformations. Our analysis\nprovides a novel interpretation of the twisted coproduct for gauge\ntransformations.",
        "positive": "Konishi Anomalies and N=1 Curves: We present a brief summary of exact results on the non-perturbative effective\nsuperpotential of N=1 supersymmetric gauge theories based on generalized\nKonishi anomaly equations. In particular we consider theories with classical\ngauge groups and chiral matter in two-index tensor representations. All these\ntheories can be embedded into theories with unitary gauge group and adjoint\nmatter. This embedding can be used to derive expressions for the exact\nnon-perturbative superpotential in terms of the 1/N expansion of the free\nenergy of the related matrix models."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Phase Transition in (2+1)d Quantum Gravity: (2+1) dimensional gravity is equivalent to an exactly soluble non-Abelian\nChern-Simons gauge field theory (E Witten 1988). Regarding this as the\ntopological phase of quantum gravity in (2+1)d, we suggest a topological\nsymmetry breaking by introducing a mass term for the gauge fields, which\ncarries a space-time metric and local dynamical degrees of freedom. We consider\nthe finite temperature behavior of the symmetry broken phase, and claim a\nrestoration of the topological invariance at some critical temperature. The\nphase transition is shown of the zeroth order.",
        "positive": "Gauged AdS-Maxwell algebra and gravity: We deform the anti-de Sitter algebra by adding additional generators\n$\\mathcal{Z}_{ab}$, forming in this way the negative cosmological constant\ncounterpart of the Maxwell algebra. We gauge this algebra and construct a\ndynamical model with the help of a constrained the BF theory. It turns out that\nthe resulting theory is described by the Einstein-Cartan action with Holst\nterm, and the gauge fields associated with the Maxwell generators\n$\\mathcal{Z}_{ab}$ appear only in topological terms that do not influence\ndynamical field equations. We briefly comment on the extension of this\nconstruction, which would lead to a nontrivial Maxwell fields dynamics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Integrable structure in supersymmetric gauge theories with massive\n  hypermultiplets: We study the quantum moduli space of vacua of $N=2$ supersymmetric $SU(N_c)$\ngauge theories coupled to $N_f$ flavors of quarks in the fundamental\nrepresentation. We identify the moduli space of the $N_c = 3$ and $N_f=2$\nmassless case with the full spectral curve obtained from the Lax representation\nof the Goryachev-Chaplygin top. For the case with {\\it massive} quarks, we\npresent an integrable system where the corresponding hyperelliptic curve\nparametrizing the Laurent solution coincides with that of the moduli space of\n$N_{c}=3$ with $N_{f}=0, 1, 2$. We discuss possible generalizations of the\nintegrable systems relevant to gauge theories with $N_c \\neq 3 $ and general\n$N_f$.",
        "positive": "The effect of dark strings on semilocal strings: Dark strings have recently been suggested to exist in new models of dark\nmatter that explain the excessive electronic production in the galaxy. We study\nthe interaction of these dark strings with semilocal strings which are\nsolutions of the bosonic sector of the Standard Model in the limit\n$\\sin^2\\theta_{\\rm w}=1$, where $\\theta_{\\rm w}$ is the Weinberg angle. While\nembedded Abelian-Higgs strings exist for generic values of the coupling\nconstants, we show that semilocal solutions with non-vanishing condensate\ninside the string core exist only above a critical value of the Higgs to gauge\nboson mass ratio when interacting with dark strings. Above this critical value,\nwhich is greater than unity, the energy per unit length of the semilocal-dark\nstring solutions is always smaller than that of the embedded Abelian-Higgs-dark\nstring solutions and we show that Abelian-Higgs-dark strings become unstable\nabove this critical value. Different from the non-interacting case, we would\nthus expect semilocal strings to be stable for values of the Higgs to gauge\nboson mass ratio larger than unity. Moreover, the one-parameter family of\nsolutions present in the non-interacting case ceases to exist when semilocal\nstrings interact with dark strings."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Euler numbers of four-dimensional rotating black holes with the\n  Euclidean signature: For a black hole's spacetime manifold in the Euclidean signature, its metric\nis positive definite and therefore a Riemannian manifold. It can be regarded as\na gravitational instanton and a topological characteristic which is the Euler\nnumber is associated. In this paper we derive a formula for the Euler numbers\nof four-dimensional rotating black holes by the integral of the Euler density\non the spacetime manifolds of black holes. Using this formula, we obtain that\nthe Euler numbers of Kerr and Kerr-Newman black holes are 2. We also obtain\nthat the Euler number of the Kerr-Sen metric in the heterotic string theory\nwith one boost angle nonzero is 2 that is in accordence with its topology.",
        "positive": "M-theory on Elliptic Calabi-Yau Threefolds and 6d Anomalies: We consider the 8-supercharge 5d su(N) gauge theories from M-theory\ncompactified on elliptic Calabi-Yau threefolds. By matching the triple\nintersection numbers in the elliptic Calabi-Yau with the 5d Chern-Simons\nlevels, we determine the charged matter contents for these theories. We show\nthat all these 5d theories can be lifted to 6d N = (1, 0) theories while\nsatisfying the anomaly cancellation equations. This suggests that the 5d\ntheories obtained from M-theory compactified on elliptic Calabi-Yau threefolds\nhave a natural 12d description, which as we know is F-theory. Furthermore, we\ncompute the Euler characteristics of the elliptic Calabi-Yau threefolds."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Effects related to spacetime foam in particle physics: It is found that the existence of spacetime foam leads to a situation in\nwhich the number of fundamental quantum bosonic fields is a variable quantity.\nThe general aspects of an exact theory that allows for a variable number of\nfields are discussed, and the simplest observable effects generated by the foam\nare estimated. It is shown that in the absence of processes related to\nvariations in the topology of space, the concept of an effective field can be\nreintroduced and standard field theory can be restored. However, in the\ncomplete theory the ground state is characterized by a nonvanishing particle\nnumber density. From the effective-field standpoint, such particles are \"dark\".\nIt is assumed that they comprise dark matter of the universe. The properties of\nthis dark matter are discussed, and so is the possibility of measuring the\nquantum fluctuation in the field potentials.",
        "positive": "The Bekenstein Bound: Bekenstein's conjectured entropy bound for a system of linear size $R$ and\nenergy $E$, namely $S \\leq 2 \\pi E R$, has counterexamples for many of the ways\nin which the \"system,\" $R$, $E$, and $S$ may be defined. One consistent set of\ndefinitions for these quantities in flat Minkowski spacetime is that $S$ is the\ntotal von Neumann entropy and $E$ is the expectation value of the energy in a\n\"vacuum-outside-$R$\" quantum state that has the the vacuum expectation values\nfor all operators entirely outside a sphere of radius $R$. However, there are\ncounterexamples to the Bekenstein bound for this set of definitions.\nNevertheless, an alternative formulation ten years ago by Horacio Casini for\nthe definitions of $S$ and of $2 \\pi E R$ have finally enabled a proof for this\nparticular formulation of the Bekenstein bound."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dirac electron in a Coulomb Field in 2+1 Dimensions: Exact solutions of Dirac equation in two spatial dimensions in the Coulomb\nfield are obtained. Equation which determines the so-called critical charge of\nthe Coulomb field is derived and solved for a simple model.",
        "positive": "Physics of crypto-Hermitian and/or cryptosupersymmetric field theories: We discuss non-Hermitian field theories where the spectrum of the Hamiltonian\ninvolves only real energies. We make three observations. (i) The theories\nobtained from supersymmetric theories by nonanticommutative deformations belong\nin many cases to this class. (ii) When the deformation parameter is small, the\ndeformed theory enjoys the same supersymmetry algebra as the undeformed one.\nHalf of the supersymmetries are manifest and the existence of another half can\nbe deduced from the structure of the spectrum. (iii) Generically, the\nconventionally defined S--matrix is not unitary for such theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Higher-derivative N=4 superparticle in three-dimensional spacetime: Using the coset approach (nonlinear realization) we construct component\nactions for a superparticle in three-dimensional spacetime with N=4\nsupersymmetry partially broken to N=2. These actions may contain an anyonic\nterm and the square of the first extrinsic worldline curvature. We present the\nsupercharges for the unbroken and broken supersymmetries as well as the\nHamiltonian for the supersymmetric anyon. In terms of the nonlinear realization\nsuperfields, the superspace actions take a simple form in all cases.",
        "positive": "Perturbed N=(2,2) supersymmetric sigma models on Lie groups: We perturbed N=(2,2) supersymmetric WZW and sigma models on Lie groups by\nadding a term to their actions. Then by using non-coordinate basis we obtain\nconditions, from the algebraic point of view, under which the N=(2,2)\nsupersymmetry is preserved. By applying this method, we have obtained\nconditions on the existence of N=(2,2) supersymmetry on the Drinfeld action\n(master action for the Poisson-Lie T-dual sigma models)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Sphalerons and resonance phenomenon in kink-antikink collisions: We show that in some kink-antikink (KAK) collisions sphalerons, i.e.,\nunstable static solutions - rather than the asymptotic free soliton states -\ncan be the source of the internal degrees of freedom (normal modes) which\ntrigger the resonance phenomenon responsible for the fractal structure in the\nfinal state formation.",
        "positive": "Probability Distributions for Space and Time Averaged Quantum Stress\n  Tensors: We extend previous work on quantum stress tensor operators which have been\naveraged over finite time intervals to include averaging over finite regions of\nspace as well. The space and time averaging can be viewed as describing a\nmeasurement process for a stress tensor component, such as the energy density\nof a quantized field in its vacuum state. Although spatial averaging reduces\nthe probability of large vacuum fluctuations compared to time averaging alone,\nwe find that the probability distribution decreases more slowly than\nexponentially as the magnitude of the measured energy density increases. This\nimplies that vacuum fluctuations can sometimes dominate over thermal\nfluctuations and potentially have observable effects."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holography, Fractionalization and Magnetic Fields: Four dimensional gravity with a U(1) gauge field, coupled to various fields\nin asymptotically anti-de Sitter spacetime, provides a rich arena for the\nholographic study of the strongly coupled (2+1)-dimensional dynamics of finite\ndensity matter charged under a global U(1). As a first step in furthering the\nstudy of the properties of fractionalized and partially fractionalized degrees\nof freedom in the strongly coupled theory, we construct electron star solutions\nat zero temperature in the presence of a background magnetic field. We work in\nEinstein-Maxwell-dilaton theory. In all cases we construct, the magnetic source\nis cloaked by an event horizon. A key ingredient of our solutions is our\nobservation that starting with the standard Landau level structure for the\ndensity of states, the electron star limits reduce the charge density and\nenergy density to that of the free fermion result. Using this result we\nconstruct three types of solution: One has a star in the infra-red with an\nelectrically neutral horizon, another has a star that begins at an electrically\ncharged event horizon, and another has the star begin a finite distance from an\nelectrically charged horizon.",
        "positive": "Exact operator Hamiltonians and interactions in the droplet bosonization\n  method: We derive the exact form of the bosonized Hamiltonian for a many-body fermion\nsystem in one spatial dimension with arbitrary dispersion relations, using the\ndroplet bosonization method. For a single-particle Hamiltonian polynomial in\nthe momentum, the bosonized Hamiltonian is a polynomial of one degree higher in\nthe bosonic \"boundary\" field and includes subleading lower-order and derivative\nterms. This generalizes the known results for massless relativistic and\nnonrelativistic fermions (quadratic and cubic bosonic Hamiltonians,\nrespectively). We also consider two-body interactions and demonstrate that they\nlead to interesting collective behavior and phase transitions in the Fermi sea."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Duality in the Born-Infeld Theory: The $SL(2,R)$ duality symmetric action for the Born-Infeld theory in terms of\ntwo potentials, coupled with non-trivial backgroud fields in four dimensions is\nestablished. This construction is carried out in detail by analysing the\nhamiltonian structure of the Born-Infeld theory. The equivalence with the usual\nBorn-Infeld theory is shown.",
        "positive": "Multi-matrix models without continuum limit: We derive the discrete linear systems associated to multi--matrix models, the\ncorresponding discrete hierarchies and the appropriate coupling conditions. We\nalso obtain the $W_{1+\\infty}$ constraints on the partition function. We then\napply to multi--matrix models the technique, developed in previous papers, of\nextracting hierarchies of differential equations from lattice ones without\npassing through a continuum limit. In a q--matrix model we find 2q coupled\ndifferential systems. The corresponding differential hierarchies are particular\nversions of the KP hierarchy. We show that the multi--matrix partition function\nis a $\\tau$--function of these hierarchies. We discuss a few examples in the\ndispersionless limit."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Comment on Operator Algebra in Chern-Simons Theory on a Torus: It is shown that \"nonintegrable phases of Wilson line integrals\" are not true\ndynamical variables in Chern-Simons field theory.",
        "positive": "Tachyonic Instability and Dynamics of Spontaneous Symmetry Breaking: Spontaneous symmetry breaking usually occurs due to the tachyonic (spinodal)\ninstability of a scalar field near the top of its effective potential at $\\phi\n= 0$. Naively, one might expect the field $\\phi$ to fall from the top of the\neffective potential and then experience a long stage of oscillations with\namplitude O(v) near the minimum of the effective potential at $\\phi = v$ until\nit gives its energy to particles produced during these oscillations. However,\nit was recently found that the tachyonic instability rapidly converts most of\nthe potential energy V(0) into the energy of colliding classical waves of the\nscalar field. This conversion, which was called \"tachyonic preheating,\" is so\nefficient that symmetry breaking typically completes within a single\noscillation of the field distribution as it rolls towards the minimum of its\neffective potential. In this paper we give a detailed description of tachyonic\npreheating and show that the dynamics of this process crucially depend on the\nshape of the effective potential near its maximum. In the simplest models where\n$V(\\phi) \\sim -m^2\\phi^2$ near the maximum, the process occurs solely due to\nthe tachyonic instability, whereas in the theories $-\\lambda\\phi^n$ with n > 2\none encounters a combination of the effects of tunneling, tachyonic instability\nand bubble wall collisions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Bootstrapping pentagon functions: In PRL 116 (2016) no.6, 062001, the space of planar pentagon functions that\ndescribes all two-loop on-shell five-particle scattering amplitudes was\nintroduced. In the present paper we present a natural extension of this space\nto non-planar pentagon functions. This provides the basis for our pentagon\nbootstrap program. We classify the relevant functions up to weight four, which\nis relevant for two-loop scattering amplitudes. We constrain the first entry of\nthe symbol of the functions using information on branch cuts. Drawing on an\nanalogy from the planar case, we introduce a conjectural second-entry condition\non the symbol. We then show that the information on the function space, when\ncomplemented with some additional insights, can be used to efficiently\nbootstrap individual Feynman integrals. The extra information is read off of\nMellin-Barnes representations of the integrals, either by evaluating simple\nasymptotic limits, or by taking discontinuities in the kinematic variables. We\nuse this method to evaluate the symbols of two non-trivial non-planar\nfive-particle integrals, up to and including the finite part.",
        "positive": "Supersymmetry from a braided point of view: We show that one-dimensional superspace is isomorphic to a non-trivial but\nconsistent limit as $q\\to-1$ of the braided line. Supersymmetry is identified\nas translational invariance along this line. The supertranslation generator and\ncovariant derivative are obtained in the limit in question as the left and\nright derivatives of the calculus on the braided line."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fermion Localization and Resonances on A de Sitter Thick Brane: In arXiv:0901.3543, the simplest Yukawa coupling $\\eta\\bar{\\Psi}\\phi\\chi\\Psi$\nwas considered for a two-scalar-generated Bloch brane model. Fermionic\nresonances for both chiralities were obtained, and their appearance is related\nto branes with internal structure. Inspired on this result, we investigate the\nlocalization and resonance spectrum of fermions on a one-scalar-generated $dS$\nthick brane with a class of scalar-fermion couplings $\\eta\\bar{\\Psi}\\phi^k\\Psi$\nwith positive odd integer $k$. A set of massive fermionic resonances for both\nchiralities are obtained when provided large couple constant $\\eta$. We find\nthat the masses and life-times of left and right chiral resonances are almost\nthe same, which demonstrates that it is possible to compose massive Dirac\nfermions from the left and right chiral resonances. The resonance with lower\nmass has longer life-time. For a same set of parameters, the number of\nresonances increases with $k$ and the life-time of the lower level resonance\nfor larger $k$ is much longer than the one for smaller $k$.",
        "positive": "6D thick branes from interacting scalar fields: A thick brane in six dimensions is constructed using two scalar fields. The\nfield equations for 6D gravity plus the scalar fields are solved numerically.\nThis thick brane solution shares some features with a previously studied\nanalytic solutions, but has the advantage that the energy-momentum tensor which\nforms the thick brane comes from the scalar fields rather than being put in by\nhand. Additionally the scalar fields which form the brane also provide a\nuniversal, non-gravitational trapping mechanism for test fields of various\nspins."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Facts of life with gamma(5): The increasing precision of many experiments in elementary particle physics\nleads to continuing interest in perturbative higher order calculations in the\nelectroweak Standard Model or extensions of it. Such calculations are of\nincreasing complexity because more loops and/or more legs are considered.\nCorrespondingly efficient computational methods are mandatory for many\ncalculations. One problem which affects the feasibility of higher order\ncalculations is the problem with gamma(5) in dimensional regularization. Since\nthe subject thirty years after its invention is still controversial I advocate\nhere some ideas which seem not to be common knowledge but might shed some new\nlight on the problem. I present arguments in favor of utilizing an\nanticommuting gamma(5) and a simple 4-dimensional treatment of the hard\nanomalies.",
        "positive": "Ghost conditions for Gauss-Bonnet cosmologies: We investigate the stability against inhomogeneous perturbations and the\nappearance of ghost modes in Gauss-Bonnet gravitational theories with a\nnon-minimally coupled scalar field, which can be regarded as either the dilaton\nor a compactification modulus in the context of string theory. Through\ncosmological linear perturbations we extract four no-ghost and two sub-luminal\nconstraint equations, written in terms of background quantities, which must be\nsatisfied for consistency. We also argue that, for a general action with\nquadratic Riemann invariants, homogeneous and inhomogeneous perturbations are,\nin general, inequivalent, and that attractors in the phase space can have\nghosts. These results are then generalized to a two-field configuration.\nSingle-field models as candidates for dark energy are explored numerically and\nsevere bounds on the parameter space of initial conditions are placed. A number\nof cases proposed in the literature are tested and most of them are found to be\nunstable or observationally unviable."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Multibrane Inflation and Dynamical Flattening of the Inflaton Potential: We investigate the problem of fine tuning of the potential in the KKLMMT\nwarped flux compactification scenario for brane-antibrane inflation in Type IIB\nstring theory. We argue for the importance of an additional parameter psi_0\n(approximated as zero by KKLMMT), namely the position of the antibrane,\nrelative to the equilibrium position of the brane in the absence of the\nantibrane. We show that for a range of values of a particular combination of\nthe Kahler modulus, warp factor, and psi_0, the inflaton potential can be\nsufficiently flat. We point out a novel mechanism for dynamically achieving\nflatness within this part of parameter space: the presence of multiple mobile\nbranes can lead to a potential which initially has a metastable local minimum,\nbut gradually becomes flat as some of the branes tunnel out. Eventually the\nlocal minimum disappears and the remaining branes slowly roll together, with\nassisted inflation further enhancing the effective flatness of the potential.\nWith the addition of Kahler and superpotential corrections, this mechanism can\ncompletely remove the fine tuning problem of brane inflation, within large\nregions of parameter space. The model can be falsified if future cosmic\nmicrowave background observations confirm the hint of a large running spectral\nindex.",
        "positive": "Effective Lagrangian for 3d N=4 SYM theories for any gauge group and\n  monopole moduli spaces: We construct low energy effective Lagrangians for 3d N=4 supersymmetric\nYang-Mills theory with any gauge group. They represent supersymmetric sigma\nmodels at hyper-Kahlerian manifolds of dimension 4r (r is the rang of the\ngroup). In the asymptotic region, perturbatively exact explicit expression for\nthe metric are written. We establish the relationship of this metric with the\nTAUB-NUT metric describing the perturbatively exact effective Lagrangians for\nunitary groups and monopole moduli spaces: the former is obtained out of the\nlatter by a proper hyper-Kahlerian reduction. We describe in details the\nreduction procedure for SO/Sp/G_2 gauge groups, where it can also be given a\nnatural interpretation in D-brane language. We conjecture that the exact\nnonperturbative metrics can be obtained by a similar hyper-Kahlerian reduction\nfrom the corresponding multidimensional Atiyah-Hitchin metrics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Effects of wave propagation in canonical Poisson gauge theory under an\n  external magnetic field: The non-commutative electrodynamics based on the canonical Poisson gauge\ntheory is studied in this paper. For a pure spatial non-commutativity, we\ninvestigate the plane wave solutions in the presence of a constant and uniform\nmagnetic background field for the classical electrodynamics in canonical\nPoisson gauge theory. We obtain the properties of the medium ruled by the\npermittivity and the permeability tensors in terms of the non-commutative\nparameter, with the electrodynamics equations in the momentum space. Using the\nplane wave solutions mentioned, the dispersion relations are modified by the\nmagnetic background, and the correspondent group velocity is affected by the\nspatial non-commutative parameter. We construct the energy-momentum tensor and\ndiscuss the conserved components of this tensor in the spatial non-commutative\ncase. The birefringence phenomenon is showed through the modified dispersion\nrelations, that depends directly on the non-commutative corrections and also on\nthe magnetic background field. Using the bound of the polarized vacuum with\nlaser (PVLAS) experiment for the vacuum magnetic birefringence, we estimate a\ntheoretical value for the spatial non-commutative parameter.",
        "positive": "Colliding Waves on a Brane, the Big Bounce and Reconnection: We present a time-dependent solution of the Nambu-Goto action which\nrepresents two colliding waves moving at the speed of light. This solution can\nbe decomposed into two distinct regions with different geometries corresponding\nto shrinking or expanding brane universe and two colliding branes. The former\ndescribes the Big Bounce without singularity while the latter describes that\ntwo branes collide and reconnect to each other. The colliding brane region has\na signature change. Classical dynamics of a massive particle on the brane is\nstudied through the geodesics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Black hole entropy and thermodynamics from symmetries: Given a boundary of spacetime preserved by a Diff(S^{1}) sub-algebra, we\npropose a systematic method to compute the zero mode and the central extension\nof the associated Virasoro algebra of charges. Using these values in the Cardy\nformula, we may derive an associated statistical entropy to be compared with\nthe Bekenstein-Hawking result.\n  To illustrate our method, we study in detail the BTZ and the rotating\nKerr-adS_{4} black holes (at spatial infinity and on the horizon). In both\ncases, we are able to reproduce the area law with the correct factor of 1/4 for\nthe entropy. We also recover within our framework the first law of black hole\nthermodynamics.\n  We compare our results with the analogous derivations proposed by Carlip and\nothers. Although similar, our method differs in the computation of the zero\nmode. In particular, the normalization of the ground state is automatically\nfixed by our construction.",
        "positive": "Bilinear Functional Equations in 2D Quantum Gravity: The microscopic theories of quantum gravity related to integrable lattice\nmodels can be constructed as special deformations of pure gravity. Each such\ndeformation is defined by a second order differential operator acting on the\ncoupling constants. As a consequence, the theories with matter fields satisfy a\nset of constraints inherited from the integrable structure of pure gravity. In\nparticular, a set of bilinear functional equations for each theory with matter\nfields follows from the Hirota equations defining the KP (KdV) structure of\npure gravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Understanding Skyrmions using Rational Maps: We discuss an ansatz for Skyrme fields in three dimensions which uses\nrational maps between Riemann spheres, and produces shell-like structures of\npolyhedral form. Houghton, Manton and Sutcliffe showed that a single rational\nmap gives good approximations to the minimal energy Skyrmions up to baryon\nnumber of order ten. We show how the method can be generalised by using two or\nmore rational maps to give a double-shell or multi-shell structure.\nParticularly interesting examples occur at baryon numbers twelve and fourteen.",
        "positive": "N=2 Instanton Calculus In Closed String Background: In this contribution we describe how to obtain instanton effects in four\ndimensional gauge theories by computing string scattering amplitudes in\nD3/D(-1) brane systems. In particular we study a system of fractional D3/D(-1)\nbranes in a Z_2 orbifold and in a Ramond-Ramond closed string background, and\nshow that it describes the gauge instantons of N=2 super Yang-Mills theory and\ntheir interactions with the graviphoton of N=2. Using string theory methods we\ncompute the prepotential of the effective gauge theory exploiting the\nlocalization methods of the instanton calculus, showing that this leads to the\nsame information given by the topological string."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Lattice Gauge Fields and Discrete Noncommutative Yang-Mills Theory: We present a lattice formulation of noncommutative Yang-Mills theory in\narbitrary even dimensionality. The UV/IR mixing characteristic of\nnoncommutative field theories is demonstrated at a completely nonperturbative\nlevel. We prove a discrete Morita equivalence between ordinary Yang-Mills\ntheory with multi-valued gauge fields and noncommutative Yang-Mills theory with\nperiodic gauge fields. Using this equivalence, we show that generic\nnoncommutative gauge theories in the continuum can be regularized\nnonperturbatively by means of {\\it ordinary} lattice gauge theory with 't~Hooft\nflux. In the case of irrational noncommutativity parameters, the rank of the\ngauge group of the commutative lattice theory must be sent to infinity in the\ncontinuum limit. As a special case, the construction includes the recent\ndescription of noncommutative Yang-Mills theories using twisted large $N$\nreduced models. We study the coupling of noncommutative gauge fields to matter\nfields in the fundamental representation of the gauge group using the lattice\nformalism. The large mass expansion is used to describe the physical meaning of\nWilson loops in noncommutative gauge theories. We also demonstrate Morita\nequivalence in the presence of fundamental matter fields and use this property\nto comment on the calculation of the beta-function in noncommutative quantum\nelectrodynamics.",
        "positive": "Moduli Dependence of One--Loop Gauge Couplings in (0,2)\n  Compactifications: We derive the moduli dependence of the one--loop gauge couplings for\nnon--vanishing gauge background fields in a four--dimensional heterotic (0,2)\nstring compactification. Remarkably, these functions turn out to have a\nrepresentation as modular functions on an auxiliary Riemann surface on\nappropriate truncations of the full moduli space. In particular, a certain kind\nof one--loop functions is given by the free energy of two--dimensional solitons\non this surface."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Renyi Entropy and Geometry: Entanglement entropy in even dimensional conformal field theories (CFTs)\ncontains well-known universal terms arising from the conformal anomaly. Renyi\nentropies are natural generalizations of the entanglement entropy that are much\nless understood. Above two spacetime dimensions, the universal terms in the\nRenyi entropies are unknown for general entangling geometries. We conjecture a\nnew structure in the dependence of the four-dimensional Renyi entropies on the\nintrinsic and extrinsic geometry of the entangling surface. We provide evidence\nfor this conjecture by direct numerical computations in the free scalar and\nfermion field theories. The computation involves relating the four-dimensional\nfree massless Renyi entropies across cylindrical entangling surfaces to\ncorresponding three-dimensional massive Renyi entropies across circular\nentangling surfaces. Our numerical technique also allows us to directly probe\nother interesting aspects of three-dimensional Renyi entropy, including the\nmassless renormalized Renyi entropy and calculable contributions to the\nperimeter law.",
        "positive": "Geometric dualities in 4d field theories and their 5d interpretation: We study four-dimensional N=1 gauge theories arising on D3-branes probing\ntoric singularities. Toric dualities and flows between theories corresponding\nto different singularities are analyzed by encoding the geometric information\ninto (p,q) webs. A new method for identifying global symmetries of the\nfour-dimensional theories using the brane webs is developed. Five-dimensional\ntheories are associated to the theories on the D3-branes by using (p,q) webs.\nThis leads to a novel interpretation of Seiberg duality, as crossing curves of\nmarginal stability in five dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Thermodynamic curvature of charged black holes with $AdS_2$ horizons: Sign and magnitude of the thermodynamic curvature provides empirical\ninformation about the nature of microstructures of a general thermodynamic\nsystem. For charged black holes in AdS, thermodynamic curvature is positive for\nlarge charge or chemical potential, and diverges for extremal black holes,\nindicating strongly repulsive nature. We compute the thermodynamic curvature at\nlow temperatures, for charged black holes with AdS$_2$ near horizon geometry,\nand containing a zero temperature horizon radius $r_h$, in a spacetime which\nasymptotically approaches $AdS_D$ (for $D>3$). In the semi-classical analysis\nat low temperatures, the curvature shows a novel crossover from negative to\npositive side, indicating the shift from attraction to repulsion dominated\nregime near $T=0$, before diverging as $1/(\\gamma T)$, where $\\gamma$ is the\ncoefficient of leading low temperature correction to entropy. Accounting for\nquantum fluctuations, the curvature computed in the canonical ensemble is\npositive, whereas the one in the grand canonical ensemble, continues to show a\ncrossover from negative to positive side. Moreover, the divergence of curvature\nat $T=0$ is cured irrespective of the ensemble used, resulting in a universal\nconstant.",
        "positive": "A stringy massive double copy: We derive a massive double copy construction within string theory. To this\nend, we use massive vectors of the open string spectrum that appear in\ncompactifications to four dimensions and construct massive spin-2 tensors as\nclosed string states, thereby mimicking the structure of the massless graviton.\nWe then compute three-point amplitudes for the scattering of massless and\nmassive spin-2 closed string states and reveal the double copy structure of the\nlatter. With these results being finite in the string scale, we are further\nable to reproduce the cubic Lagrangian of ghost-free bimetric theory around\nflat spacetime for bulk massive spin-2 states originating in products of\nvectors of extended brane supersymmetry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Contour gauges, canonical formalism and flux algebras: A broad class of contour gauges is shown to be determined by admissible\ncontractions of the geometrical region considered and a suitable equivalence\nclass of curves is defined. In the special case of magnetostatics, the relevant\nelectromagnetic potentials are directly related to the ponderomotive forces.\nSchwinger's method of extracting a gauge invariant factor from the fermion\npropagator could, it is argued, lead to incorrect results. Dirac brackets of\nboth Maxwell and Yang-Mills theories are given for arbitrary admissible\nspace-like paths. It is shown how to define a non-abelian flux and local\ncharges which obey a local charge algebra. Fields associated with the charges\ndiffer from the electric fields of the theory by singular topological terms; to\navoid this obstruction to the Gauss law it is necessary to exclude a single,\ngauge fixing curve from the region considered.",
        "positive": "p-Brane Quantum Mechanical Wave Equations: Several quantum mechanical wave equations for $p$-branes are proposed based\non the role that the volume-preserving diffeomorphisms group has on the physics\nof extended objects. The $p$-brane quantum mechanical wave equations determine\nthe quantum dynamics involving the creation/destruction of $p$-branes in a $D$\ndimensional spacetime background with a given world-volume measure\nconfiguration in a given quantum state $\\Psi$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Boundaries in Free Higher Derivative Conformal Field Theories: We consider free higher derivative theories of scalars and Dirac fermions in\nthe presence of a boundary in general dimension. We establish a method for\nfinding consistent conformal boundary conditions in these theories by removing\ncertain boundary primaries from the spectrum. A rich set of renormalization\ngroup flows between various conformal boundary conditions is revealed,\ntriggered by deformations quadratic in the boundary primaries. We compute the\nfree energy of these theories on a hemisphere, and show that the boundary\n$a$-theorem is generally violated along boundary flows as a consequence of bulk\nnon-unitarity. We further characterize the boundary theory by computing the\ntwo-point function of the displacement operator.",
        "positive": "Supersymmetric Galilean Electrodynamics: In 2+1 dimensions, we propose a renormalizable non-linear sigma model action\nwhich describes the $\\mathcal{N}=2$ supersymmetric generalization of Galilean\nElectrodynamics. We first start with the simplest model obtained by null\nreduction of the relativistic Abelian $\\mathcal{N}=1$ supersymmetric QED in 3+1\ndimensions and study its renormalization properties directly in\nnon-relativistic superspace. Despite the existence of a non-renormalization\ntheorem induced by the causal structure of the non-relativistic dynamics, we\nfind that the theory is non-renormalizable. Infinite dimensionless,\nsupersymmetric and gauge-invariant terms, which combine into an analytic\nfunction, are generated at quantum level. Renormalizability is then restored by\ngeneralizing the theory to a non-linear sigma model where the usual minimal\ncoupling between gauge and matter is complemented by infinitely many marginal\ncouplings driven by a dimensionless gauge scalar and its fermionic\nsuperpartner. Superconformal invariance is preserved in correspondence of a\nnon-trivial conformal manifold of fixed points where the theory is\ngauge-invariant and interacting."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Jets in strongly-coupled N = 4 super Yang-Mills theory: We study jets of massless particles in N=4 super Yang-Mills using the AdS/CFT\ncorrespondence both at zero and finite temperature. We set up an initial state\ncorresponding to a highly energetic quark/anti-quark pair and follow its time\nevolution into two jets. At finite temperature the jets stop after traveling a\nfinite distance, whereas at zero temperature they travel and spread forever. We\nmap out the corresponding baryon number charge density and identify the generic\nlate time behavior of the jets as well as features that depend crucially on the\ninitial conditions.",
        "positive": "Belinfante Tensors Induced by Matter-Gravity Couplings: We show that any generally covariant coupling of matter fields to gravity\ngives rise to a conserved, on-shell symmetric energy-momentum tensor equivalent\nto the canonical energy-momentum tensor of the flat-space theory. For matter\nfields minimally coupled to gravity our algorithm gives the conventional\nBelinfante tensor. We establish that different matter-gravity couplings give\nmetric energy-momentum tensors differing by identically conserved tensors. We\nprove that the metric energy-momentum tensor obtained from an arbitrary gravity\ntheory is on-shell equivalent to the canonical energy-momentum tensor of the\nflat-space theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dynamical systems and nonlinear transient rheology of the\n  far-from-equilibrium Bjorken flow: In relativistic kinetic theory, the one-particle distribution function is\napproximated by an asymptotic perturbative power series in Knudsen number which\nis divergent. For the Bjorken flow, we expand the distribution function in\nterms of its moments and study their nonlinear evolution equations. The\nresulting coupled dynamical system can be solved for each moment consistently\nusing a multi-parameter transseries which makes the constitutive relations\ninherit the same structure. A new non-perturbative dynamical renormalization\nscheme is born out of this formalism that goes beyond the linear response\ntheory. We show that there is a Lyapunov function, aka dynamical potential,\nwhich is, in general, a function of the moments and time satisfying Lyapunov\nstability conditions along RG flows connected to the asymptotic hydrodynamic\nfixed point. As a result, the transport coefficients get dynamically\nrenormalized at every order in the time-dependent perturbative expansion by\nreceiving non-perturbative corrections present in the transseries. The\nconnection between the integration constants and the UV data is discussed using\nthe language of dynamical systems. Furthermore, we show that the first\ndissipative correction in the Knudsen number to the distribution function is\nnot only determined by the known effective shear viscous term but also a new\nhigh energy non-hydrodynamic mode. It is demonstrated that the survival of this\nnew mode is intrinsically related to the nonlinear mode-to-mode coupling with\nthe shear viscous term. Finally, we comment on some possible phenomenological\napplications of the proposed non-hydrodynamic transport theory.",
        "positive": "Intersecting black branes in strong gravitational waves: We consider intersecting black branes with strong gravitational waves\npropagating along their worldvolume in the context of supergravity theories.\nBoth near-horizon and space-filling gravitational wave modes are included in\nour ansatz. The equations of motion (originally, partial differential\nequations) are shown to reduce to ordinary differential equations, which\ninclude a Toda-like system. For special arrangements of intersecting black\nbranes, the Toda-like system becomes integrable, permitting a more thorough\nanalysis of the gravitational equations of motion."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Generalized Cardy conditions of topological defect lines: We propose a systematic procedure to work out systems of topological defect\nlines (TDLs) in minimal models. The only input of this method is the modular\ninvariant partition function. For diagonal and permutation diagonal models, we\nprove there is a bijection between simple TDLs and primary fields preserving\nfusion rules. For block-diagonal models, we work out simple TDLs in the\n$3$-state Potts model as an example. The results agree with those in $3D$\ntopological field theory methods.",
        "positive": "Four-Dimensional Gravity on a Covariant Noncommutative Space (II): Based on the construction of the 4-dim noncommutative gravity model described\nin our previous work, first, a more extended description of the covariant\nnoncommutative space (fuzzy 4-dim de Sitter space), which accommodates the\ngravity model, is presented and then the corresponding field equations, which\nare obtained after variation of the previously proposed action, are extracted.\nAlso, a spontaneous breaking of the initial symmetry is performed, this time\ninduced by the introduction of an auxiliary scalar field, and its implications\nin the reduced theory, which is produced after considering the commutative\nlimit, are examined."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Recoils of a Dynamical Mirror and the Decoherence of its Fluxes: In order to address the problem of the validity of the \"background field\napproximation\", we introduce a dynamical model for a mirror described by a\nmassive quantum field. We then analyze the properties of the scattering of a\nmassless field from this dynamical mirror and compare the results with the\ncorresponding quantities evaluated using the original Davies Fulling model in\nwhich the mirror is represented by a boundary condition imposed on the massless\nfield at its surface. We show that in certain circumstances, the recoils of the\ndynamical mirror induce decoherence effects which subsist even when the mass of\nthe mirror is sent to infinity. In particular we study the case of the\nuniformly accelerated mirror and prove that, after a certain lapse of proper\ntime, the decoherence effects inevitably dominate the physics of the quanta\nemitted forward. Then, the vanishing of the mean flux obtained in the Davies\nFulling model is no longer found but replaced by a positive incoherent flux.",
        "positive": "A Note on the Symplectic Structure on the Dressing Group in the\n  sinh--Gordon Model: We analyze the symplectic structure on the dressing group in the \\shG\\, model\nby calculating explicitly the Poisson bracket $\\{g\\x g\\}$ where $g$ is the\n\\dg\\, element which creates a generic one soliton solution from the vacuum. Our\nresult is that this bracket does not coincide with the Semenov--Tian--Shansky\none. The last induces a Lie--Poisson structure on the \\dg . To get the bracket\nobtained by us from the Semenov--Tian--Shansky bracket we apply the formalism\nof the constrained Hamiltonian systems. The constraints on the \\dg\\, appear\nsince the element which generates one solitons from the vacuum has a specific\nform."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Conformal symmetry in non-local field theories: We have shown that a particular class of non-local free field theory has\nconformal symmetry in arbitrary dimensions. Using the local field theory\ncounterpart of this class, we have found the Noether currents and Ward\nidentities of the translation, rotation and scale symmetries. The operator\nproduct expansion of the energy-momentum tensor with quasi-primary fields is\nalso investigated.",
        "positive": "Inflation with racetrack superpotential and matter field: Several models of inflation with the racetrack superpotential for the volume\nmodulus coupled to a matter field are investigated. In particular, it is shown\nthat two classes of racetrack inflation models, saddle point and inflection\npoint ones, can be constructed in a fully supersymmetric framework with the\nmatter field F-term as a source of supersymmetry breaking and uplifting. Two\nmodels of F-term supersymmetry breaking are considered: the Polonyi model and\nthe quantum corrected O'Raifeartaigh model. In the former case, both classes of\nracetrack inflation models differ significantly from the corresponding models\nwith non-supersymmetric uplifting. The main difference is a quite strong\ndominance of the inflaton by the matter field. In addition, fine-tuning of the\nparameters is relaxed as compared to the original racetrack models. In the case\nof the racetrack inflation models coupled to the O'Raifeartaigh model, the\nmatter field is approximately decoupled from the inflationary dynamics. In all\nof the above models the gravitino mass is larger than the Hubble scale during\ninflation. The possibility of having the gravitino much lighter than the Hubble\nscale is also investigated. It is very hard to construct models with light\ngravitino in which the volume modulus dominates inflation. On the other hand,\nmodels in which the inflationary dynamics is dominated by the matter field are\nrelatively simple and seem to be more natural."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Computing the \u03b8-exact Seiberg-Witten map for arbitrary gauge groups: We discuss how to obtain \\theta-exact Seiberg-Witten maps by expanding in the\ngauge coupling constant or, equivalently, in the number of ordinary gauge\nfields. We do so for arbitrary compact gauge groups in arbitrary unitary\nrepresentations. For gauge and matter fields, we fully work out \\theta-exact\nnon-hybrid Seiberg-Witten maps up to order three in the number of ordinary\ngauge fields.",
        "positive": "Generalized Thirring Models: The Thirring model and various generalizations of it are analyzed in detail.\nThe four-Fermi interaction modifies the equation of state. Chemical potentials\nand twisted boundary conditions both result in complex fermionic determinants\nwhich are analyzed. The non-minimal coupling to gravity does deform the\nconformal algebra which in particular contains the minimal models. We compute\nthe central charges, conformal weights and finite size effects. For the gauged\nmodel we derive the partition functions and the explicit expression for the\nchiral condensate at finite temperature and curvature. The Bosonization in\ncompact curved space-times is also investigated."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "q-Translations on quantum spaces: Attention is focused on quantum spaces of particular importance in physics,\ni.e. two-dimensional quantum plane, q-deformed Euclidean space in three or four\ndimensions, and q-deformed Minkowski space. Each of these quantum spaces can be\ncombined with its symmetry algebra to form a Hopf algebra. The Hopf structures\non quantum space coordinates imply their translation. This article is devoted\nto the question how to calculate translations on the quantum spaces under\nconsideration.",
        "positive": "On the smoothness of multi center coplanar black hole and membrane\n  horizons: We study the differentiability of the metric and other fields at any of the\nhorizons of multi center Reissner-Nordstrom black hole solutions in $d \\ge 5$\nand of multi center $M2$ brane solutions. The centers are distributed in a\nplane in transverse space, hence termed coplanar. We construct the Gaussian\nnull co-ordinate system for the neighborhood of a horizon by solving the\ngeodesic equations in expansions of (appropriate powers of) the affine\nparameter. Organizing the harmonic functions that appear in the solution in\nterms of what can be called generalized Gegenbauer polynomials is key to\nobtaining the solution to the geodesic equations in a compact and manageable\nform. We then compute the metric and other fields in the Gaussian null\nco-ordinate system and find that the differentiability of the coplanar solution\nis \\emph{identical to} the differentiability of the collinear solution (centers\ndistributed on a line in transverse space). The results of this paper thus run\ncounter to a suggestion in the literature that posits reduction in the degree\nof smoothness to accompany reduction in symmetries. We end the paper with a\nconjecture on the degree of smoothness of the most general multi center\nsolution, the one with centers distributed arbitrarily and hence possessing no\ntransverse spatial isometries."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "11D supergravity at ${\\cal O}(l^3)$: We compute certain spinorial cohomology groups controlling possible\nsupersymmetric deformations of eleven-dimensional supergravity up to order\n$l^3$ in the Planck length. At ${\\cal O}(l)$ and ${\\cal O}(l^2)$ the spinorial\ncohomology groups are trivial and therefore the theory cannot be deformed\nsupersymmetrically. At ${\\cal O}(l^3)$ the corresponding spinorial cohomology\ngroup is generated by a nontrivial element. On an eleven-dimensional manifold\n$M$ such that $p_1(M)\\neq 0$, this element corresponds to a supersymmetric\ndeformation of the theory, which can only be redefined away at the cost of\nshifting the quantization condition of the four-form field strength.",
        "positive": "$SO(2)$ gauged Skyrmions in $4+1$ dimensions: We study the simplest $SO(2)$ gauged $O(5)$ Skyrme models in $4+1$ (flat)\ndimensions. In the gauge decoupled limit, the model supports topologically\nstable solitons (Skyrmions) and after gauging, the static energy of the\nsolutions is bounded from below by a \"baryon number\". The studied model\nfeatures both Maxwell and Maxwell--Chern-Simons dynamics. The considered\nconfigurations are subject to bi-azimuthal symmetry in the ${\\mathbb R}^4$\nsubspace resulting in a two dimensional subsystem, as well as subject to an\nenhanced symmetry relating the two planes in the ${\\mathbb R}^4$ subspace,\nwhich results in a one dimensional subsystem. Numerical solutions are\nconstructed in both cases. In the purely magnetic case, fully bi-azimuthal\nsolutions were given, while electrically charged and spinning solutions were\nconstructed only in the radial (enhanced symmetric) case, both in the presence\nof a Chern-Simons term, and in its absence. We find that, in contrast with the\nanalogous models in $2+1$ dimensions, the presence of the Chern-Simons term in\nthe model under study here results only in quantitative effects."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chiral Bosons Through Linear Constraints: We study in detail the quantization of a model which apparently describes\nchiral bosons. The model is based on the idea that the chiral condition could\nbe implemented through a linear constraint. We show that the space of states is\nof indefinite metric. We cure this disease by introducing ghost fields in such\na way that a BRST symmetry is generated. A quartet algebra is seen to emerge.\nThe quartet mechanism, then, forces all physical states, but the vacuum, to\nhave zero norm.",
        "positive": "$W_{1+\\infty}$ as a Discretization of Virasoro Algebra: It is shown that the $W_{1+\\infty}$ algebra is nothing but the simplest\nsubalgebra of a $q$-discretized \\vi\\ algebra, in the language of the KP\nhierarchy explicitly."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the space of quantum fields in massive two-dimensional theories: For a large class of integrable quantum field theories we show that the\nS-matrix determines a space of fields which decomposes into subspaces labeled,\nbesides the charge and spin indices, by an integer k. For scalar fields k is\nnon-negative and is naturally identified as an off-critical extension of the\nconformal level. To each particle we associate an operator acting in the space\nof fields whose eigenvectors are primary (k=0) fields of the massive theory. We\ndiscuss how the existing results for models as different as Z_n, sine-Gordon or\nIsing with magnetic field fit into this classification.",
        "positive": "Quantum Gravity at the Planck Length: I describe our understanding of physics near the Planck length, in particular\nthe great progress in the last four years in string theory. These are lectures\npresented at the 1998 SLAC Summer Institute."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Two Loop Renormalization of Massive (p,q) Supersymmetric Sigma Models: We calculate the beta-functions of the general massive (p,q) supersymmetric\nsigma model to two loop order using (1,0) superfields. The conditions for\nfiniteness are discussed in relation to (p,q) supersymmetry. We also calculate\nthe effective potential using component fields to one loop order and consider\nthe possibility of perturbative breaking of supersymmetry. The effect of one\nloop finite local counter terms and the ultra-violet behaviour of the off-shell\n(p,q) models to all orders in perturbation theory are also addressed.",
        "positive": "Solitons, Links and Knots: Using numerical simulations of the full nonlinear equations of motion we\ninvestigate topological solitons of a modified O(3) sigma model in three space\ndimensions, in which the solitons are stabilized by the Hopf charge. We find\nthat for solitons up to charge five the solutions have the structure of closed\nstrings, which become increasingly twisted as the charge increases. However,\nfor higher charge the solutions are more exotic and comprise linked loops and\nknots. We discuss the structure and formation of these solitons and demonstrate\nthat the key property responsible for producing such a rich variety of solitons\nis that of string reconnection."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Transgression forms as unifying principle in field theory: In this work I consider extensions of Chern-Simons gravities and\nsupergravities associated to the use of Transgression forms as actions, instead\nof Chern-Simons forms.\n  It is noted that Transgression Forms yields a essencially unique prescription\nof boundary terms which allows: (i) to make Chern-Simons theories truly gauge\ninvariant, instead of just quasi-invariant,\n  (ii) to have a well defined action principle, so that the action is an\nextremum when the field equations hold,\n  (iii) to compute covariant finite conserved charges in agreement with those\nobtained using hamiltonian methods,\n  (iv) to regularize the action so that the euclidean action is finite and the\nblack hole thermodynamics derived from this action agrees with the one obtained\nby hamiltonian methods.\n  In addition a class of models for extended objects or branes with or without\nsupersymmetry is introduced and studied. The actions for those models and the\nspace-time in which they propagate is given by the sum of integrals of\ntransgression forms for ordinary gauge groups, space-time groups orr the\nsupersymmetric extensions of space-time groups. This brane models are generally\ncovariant, background independent and true gauge systems.",
        "positive": "D-Brane Monodromies, Derived Categories and Boundary Linear Sigma Models: An important subclass of D-branes on a Calabi-Yau manifold, X, are in 1-1\ncorrespondence with objects in D(X), the derived category of coherent sheaves\non X. We study the action of the monodromies in Kaehler moduli space on these\nD-branes. We refine and extend a conjecture of Kontsevich about the form of one\nof the generators of these monodromies (the monodromy about the \"conifold\"\nlocus) and show that one can do quite explicit calculations of the monodromy\naction in many examples. As one application, we verify a prediction of Mayr\nabout the action of the monodromy about the Landau-Ginsburg locus of the\nquintic. Prompted by the result of this calculation, we propose a modification\nof the derived category which implements the physical requirement that the\nshift-by-6 functor should be the identity. Boundary Linear sigma-Models prove\nto be a very nice physical model of many of these derived category ideas, and\nwe explain the correspondence between these two approaches"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fermionic determinant as an overlap between bosonic vacua: We find a representation for the determinant of a Dirac operator in an even\nnumber $D= 2 n$ of Euclidean dimensions as an overlap between two different\nvacua, each one corresponding to a bosonic theory with a quadratic action in $2\nn + 1$ dimensions, with identical kinetic terms, but differing in their mass\nterms. This resembles the overlap representation of a fermionic determinant\n(although bosonic fields are used here). This representation may find\napplications to lattice field theory, as an alternative to other bosonized\nrepresentations for Dirac determinants already proposed.",
        "positive": "Synthetic versus Dirac monopoles: In some recent experiments the distinction between synthetic magnetic\nmonopoles and Dirac monopoles has been blurred. A case in point is the work in\na letter by Ray {\\it et al.} [arXiv:1408.3133] in which a beautiful experiment\nis reported but claims with regard to Dirac monopoles are misleading."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fast-Roll Inflation: We show that in the simplest theories of spontaneous symmetry breaking one\ncan have a stage of a fast-roll inflation. In this regime the standard\nslow-roll condition |m^2| << H^2 is violated. Nevertheless, this stage can be\nrather long if |m| is sufficiently small. Fast-roll inflation can be useful for\ngenerating proper initial conditions for the subsequent stage of slow-roll\ninflation in the very early universe. It may also be responsible for the\npresent stage of accelerated expansion of the universe. We also make two\nobservations of a more general nature. First of all, the universe after a long\nstage of inflation (either slow-roll or fast-roll) cannot reach anti-de Sitter\nregime even if the cosmological constant is negative. Secondly, the theories\nwith the potentials with a \"stable\" minimum at V(\\phi)<0 in the cosmological\nbackground exhibit the same instability as the theories with potentials\nunbounded from below. This instability leads to the development of singularity\nwith the properties practically independent of V(\\phi). However, the\ndevelopment of the instability in some cases may be so slow that the theories\nwith the potentials unbounded from below can describe the present stage of\ncosmic acceleration even if this acceleration occurs due to the fast-roll\ninflation.",
        "positive": "Black holes Entangled by Radiation: We construct three models to describe the scenario where two eternal black\nholes are separated by a flat space, and can eventually be entangled by\nexchanging radiations. In the doubly holographic setup, we compute the\nentanglement entropy and the mutual information among the subsystems and obtain\nthe dynamic phase structure of the entanglement. The formation of entanglement\nbetween the two black holes is delayed by the space where the radiations must\ntravel through. Finally, if the two black holes exchange sufficient Hawking\nmodes, the final state is characterized by a connected entanglement wedge;\notherwise, the final entanglement wedge contains two separated islands. In the\nformer case, the entanglement wedge of the two black holes forms at the time\nscale of the size of the flat space between them. While in both cases,\nunitarity of the evolution is preserved. When the sizes of two black holes are\nnot equal, we observe a loss of entanglement between the smaller black hole and\nthe radiation at late times. In the field theory side, we consider two\nSachdev-Ye-Kitaev (SYK) clusters coupled to a Majorana chain, which resemble\ntwo black holes connected by a radiation region. We numerically compute the\nsame entanglement measures, and obtain similar phase structures as the bulk\nresults. In general, a time delay of the entanglement between the two SYK\nclusters is found in cases with a long Majorana chain. In particular, when the\ntwo SYK clusters are different in size, similar entanglement loss between the\nsmaller SYK cluster and the Majorana chain is observed. Finally, we investigate\na chain model composed of EPR clusters with particle exchanges between\nneighboring clusters, and reproduce the features of entanglement observed in\nthe other models."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Matching higher symmetries across Intriligator-Seiberg duality: We study higher symmetries and anomalies of 4d $\\mathfrak{so}(2n_c)$ gauge\ntheory with $2n_f$ flavors. We find that they depend on the parity of $n_c$ and\n$n_f$, the global form of the gauge group, and the discrete theta angle. The\ncontribution from the fermions plays a central role in our analysis.\nFurthermore, our conclusion applies to $\\mathcal{N}=1$ supersymmetric cases as\nwell, and we see that higher symmetries and anomalies match across the\nIntriligator-Seiberg duality between\n$\\mathfrak{so}(2n_c)\\leftrightarrow\\mathfrak{so}(2n_f-2n_c+4)$.",
        "positive": "Near Horizon Extreme Magnetized Kerr Geometry: The conjectured magnetized Kerr/CFT correspondence states that the quantum\ntheory of gravity in the near horizon of extreme Kerr black holes immersed by\nthe magnetic field, Near Horizon Extreme Magnetized Kerr black holes, is\nholographic dual to a two-dimensional chiral conformal field theory. To obtain\nNear Horizon Extreme Magnetized Kerr geometry, the extreme limit of the\nmagnetized Kerr metric is taken so, $ a=M $ and then continued by transforming\nthe coordinates to have a warped and twisted product of $ \\textrm{AdS}_2 \\times\n\\textrm{S}^2 $, and also with the Near Horizon Extreme Kerr metric one.\nConsequently, we can obtain also the new Ernst potentials for those geometries.\nFinally, the transformed central charge from the extremal non-magnetized one to\nthe magnetized one in the Ernst-Papapetrou formalism is obtained."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Islands in Multiverse Models: We consider multiverse models in two-dimensional linear dilaton-gravity\ntheories as toy models of false vacuum eternal inflation. Coupling conformal\nmatter we calculate the Von Neumann entropy of subregions. When these are\nsufficiently large we find that an island develops covering most of the rest of\nthe multiverse, leading to a Page-like transition. This resonates with a\ndescription of multiverse models in semiclassical quantum cosmology, where a\nmeasure for local predictions is given by saddle point geometries which\ncoarse-grain over any structure associated with eternal inflation beyond one's\npatch.",
        "positive": "The Area Quantum and Snyder Space: We show that in the Snyder space the area of the disc and of the sphere can\nbe quantized. It is also shown that the area spectrum of the sphere can be\nrelated to the Bekenstein conjecture for the area spectrum of a black hole\nhorizon."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Fate of Unstable Gauge Flux Compactifications: Fluxes are widely used to stabilise extra dimensions, but if they arise\nwithin a non-abelian gauge sector they are often unstable. We seek the fate of\nthis instability, focussing on the simplest examples: sphere-monopole\ncompactifications in six dimensions. Without gravity most non-abelian monopoles\nare unstable, decaying into the unique stable monopole in the same topological\nclass. We show that the same is true in Einstein-YM systems, with the geometry\nadjusting accordingly: a Mink(d)xS2 geometry supported by an unstable monopole\nrelaxes to an AdS(d)xS2. For 6D supergravity, the dilaton obstructs this simple\nevolution, acquiring a gradient and thus breaking some of the spacetime\nsymmetries. We argue that it is the 4D symmetries that break, and examine\nseveral endpoint candidates. Oxidising the supergravity system into a\nhigher-dimensional Einstein-YM monopole, we use the latter to guide us to the\ncorresponding endpoint. The result is a singular Kasner-like geometry conformal\nto Mink(4)xS2. The solution has lower potential energy and is perturbatively\nstable, making it a sensible candidate endpoint for the evolution. (Abridged\nabstract for arXiv.)",
        "positive": "Infrared Behaviour of Massive Scalar Matter coupled to Gravity: In the framework of causal perturbation theory we consider a massive scalar\nfield coupled to gravity. In the field theoretic approach to quantum gravity\n(QG) we start with a massless second rank tensor field. This tensor field is\nthen quantized in a covariant way in Minkowski space. This article deals with\nthe adiabatic limit for graviton radiative corrections in a scattering process\nof two massive scalar particles. We compute the differential cross-section for\nbremsstrahlung processes in which one of the outgoing particles emites a\ngraviton of low energy, a so called soft graviton. Since the emited graviton\nwill not be detected we have to integrate over all soft gravitons."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Boundary states in coset conformal field theories: We construct various boundary states in the coset conformal field theory G/H.\nThe G/H theory admits the twisted boundary condition if the G theory has an\nouter automorphism of the horizontal subalgebra that induces an automorphism of\nthe H theory. By introducing the notion of the brane identification and the\nbrane selection rule, we show that the twisted boundary states of the G/H\ntheory can be constructed from those of the G and the H theories. We apply our\nconstruction to the su(n) diagonal cosets and the su(2)/u(1) parafermion theory\nto obtain the twisted boundary states of these theories.",
        "positive": "Semiclassical and Quantum Black Holes and their Evaporation, de Sitter\n  and Anti-de Sitter Regimes, Gravitational and String Phase Transitions: An effective string theory in physically relevant cosmological and black hole\nspace times is reviewed. Explicit computations of the quantum string entropy,\npartition function and quantum string emission by black holes (Schwarzschild,\nrotating, charged, asymptotically flat, de Sitter dS and AdS space times) in\nthe framework of effective string theory in curved backgrounds provide an\namount of new quantum gravity results as: (i) gravitational phase transitions\nappear with a distinctive universal feature: a square root branch point\nsingularity in any space time dimensions. This is of the type of the de Vega -\nSanchez transition for the thermal self-gravitating gas of point particles.\n(ii) There are no phase transitions in AdS alone. (iii) For $dS$ background,\nupper bounds of the Hubble constant H are found, dictated by the quantum string\nphase transition.(iv) The Hawking temperature and the Hagedorn temperature are\nthe same concept but in different (semiclassical and quantum) gravity regimes\nrespectively. (v) The last stage of black hole evaporation is a microscopic\nstring state with a finite string critical temperature which decays as usual\nquantum strings do in non-thermal pure quantum radiation (no information\nloss).(vi) New lower string bounds are given for the Kerr-Newman black hole\nangular momentum and charge, which are entirely different from the upper\nclassical bounds. (vii) Semiclassical gravity states undergo a phase transition\ninto quantum string states of the same system, these states are duals of each\nother in the precise sense of the usual classical-quantum (wave-particle)\nduality, which is universal irrespective of any symmetry or isommetry of the\nspace-time and of the number or the kind of space-time dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantization of Integrable Systems and a 2d/4d Duality: We present a new duality between the F-terms of supersymmetric field theories\ndefined in two- and four-dimensions respectively. The duality relates N=2\nsupersymmetric gauge theories in four dimensions, deformed by an\nOmega-background in one plane, to N=(2,2) gauged linear sigma-models in two\ndimensions. On the four dimensional side, our main example is N=2 SQCD with\ngauge group SU(L) and 2L fundamental flavours. Using ideas of Nekrasov and\nShatashvili, we argue that the Coulomb branch of this theory provides a\nquantization of the classical Heisenberg SL(2) spin chain. Agreement with the\nstandard quantization via the Algebraic Bethe Ansatz implies the existence of\nan isomorphism between the chiral ring of the 4d theory and that of a certain\ntwo-dimensional theory. The latter can be understood as the worldvolume theory\non a surface operator/vortex string probing the Higgs branch of the same 4d\ntheory. We check the proposed duality by explicit calculation at low orders in\nthe instanton expansion. One striking consequence is that the Seiberg-Witten\nsolution of the 4d theory is captured by a one-loop computation in two\ndimensions. The duality also has interesting connections with the AGT\nconjecture, matrix models and topological string theory where it corresponds to\na refined version of the geometric transition.",
        "positive": "Deformation Quantization of Classical Fields: We study the deformation quantization of scalar and abelian gauge classical\nfree fields. Stratonovich-Weyl quantizer, star-products and Wigner functionals\nare obtained in field and oscillator variables. Abelian gauge theory is\nparticularly intriguing since Wigner functional is factorized into a physical\npart and other one containing the constraints only. Some effects of non-trivial\ntopology within deformation quantization formalism are also considered."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Translation Invariance, Commutation Relations and Ultraviolet/Infrared\n  Mixing: We show that the Ultraviolet/Infrared mixing of noncommutative field theories\nwith the Gronewold-Moyal product, whereby some (but not all) ultraviolet\ndivergences become infrared, is a generic feature of translationally invariant\nassociative products. We find, with an explicit calculation that the phase\nappearing in the nonplanar diagrams is the one given by the commutator of the\ncoordinates, the semiclassical Poisson structure of the non commutative\nspacetime. We do this with an explicit calculation for represented generic\nproducts.",
        "positive": "On consistency of the closed bosonic string with different left-right\n  ordering constants: Closed bosonic string with different normal ordering constants $a \\ne \\bar a$\nfor the right and the left moving sectors is considered. One immediate\nconsequence of this choice is absence of tachyon in the physical state\nspectrum. Selfconsistency of the resulting model in the \"old covariant\nquantization\" (OCQ) framework is studyed. The model is manifestly Poincare\ninvariant, it has non trivial massless sector and is ghost free for $D=26, ~\na=1, ~\\bar a=0$. A possibility to obtain the light-cone formulation for the\nmodel is also discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Noncommutative vector bundles over fuzzy CP^N and their covariant\n  derivatives: We generalise the construction of fuzzy CP^N in a manner that allows us to\naccess all noncommutative equivariant complex vector bundles over this space.\nWe give a simplified construction of polarization tensors on S^2 that\ngeneralizes to complex projective space, identify Laplacians and natural\nnoncommutative covariant derivative operators that map between the modules that\ndescribe noncommuative sections. In the process we find a natural\ngeneralization of the Schwinger-Jordan construction to su(n) and identify\ncomposite oscillators that obey a Heisenberg algebra on an appropriate Fock\nspace.",
        "positive": "Neumann-Rosochatius system for strings in ABJ Model: Neumann-Rosochatius system is a well known one dimensional integrable system.\nWe study the rotating and pulsating string in $AdS_4 \\times \\mathbb{CP}^3$ with\na $B_{\\rm{NS}}$ holonomy turned on over $\\mathbb{CP}^1 \\subset \\mathbb{CP}^3$,\nor the so called Aharony-Bergman-Jafferis (ABJ) background. We observe that the\nstring equations of motion in both cases are integrable and the Lagrangians\nreduce to a form similar to that of deformed Neuman-Rosochatius system. We find\nout the scaling relations among various conserved charges and comment on the\nfinite size effect for the dyonic giant magnons on $R_{t}\\times\n\\mathbb{CP}^{3}$ with two angular momenta. For the pulsating string we derive\nthe energy as function of oscillation number and angular momenta along\n$\\mathbb{CP}^{3}$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Superstring Scattering from O-planes: We write the vertex operators of massless NS-NS and RR states of Type II\nsuperstring theory in the presence of Orientifold p-planes. They include the\nusual vertex operators of Type II theory and their images. We then calculate\nthe two-point functions of these vertex operators at the projective plane PR_2\nlevel. We show that the result can be written in the Veneziano-type formulae,\nwith the same kinematic factor that appears in the D_p-branes amplitudes. While\nthe scattering amplitudes with the usual vertex operators are not gauge\ninvariant, the above amplitudes are invariant. From the amplitude describing\nscattering of two NS-NS states off the O-plane, we find the low energy\neffective action of O-planes. The result shows a relative factor 2^{p-6}\nbetween couplings to O-planes and to D-branes at (\\alpha')^2 order.",
        "positive": "Dimensional Reduction Applied to Non-Supersymmetric Theories: We consider regularisation of a Yang-Mills theory by Dimensional Reduction\n(DRED). In particular, the anomalous dimensions of fermion masses and gauge\ncoupling are computed to four-loop order. We put special emphasis on the\ntreatment of evanescent couplings which appear when DRED is applied to\nnon-supersymmetric theories. We highlight the importance of distinguishing\nbetween the evanescent and the real couplings. Considering the special case of\na Super-Yang-Mills theory, we find that Dimensional Reduction is sufficient to\npreserve Supersymmetry in our calculations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "RG Flows with Global Symmetry Breaking and Bounds from Chaos: We discuss general aspects of renormalization group (RG) flows between two\nconformal fixed points in 4d with a broken continuous global symmetry in the\nUV. Every such RG flow can be described in terms of the dynamics of\nNambu-Goldstone bosons of broken conformal and global symmetries. We derive the\nlow-energy effective action that describes this class of RG flows from basic\nsymmetry principles. We view the theory of Nambu-Goldstone bosons as a theory\nin anti-de Sitter space with the flat space limit. This enables an equivalent\nCFT$_3$ formulation of these 4d RG flows in terms of spectral deformations of a\ngeneralized free CFT$_3$. We utilize this dual description to impose further\nconstraints on the low energy effective action associated with unitary RG flows\nin 4d by invoking the chaos bound in 3d. This approach naturally provides a set\nof independent monotonically decreasing $C$-functions for 4d RG flows with\nglobal symmetry breaking by explicitly relating 4d $C$-functions with certain\nout-of-time-order correlators that diagnose chaos in 3d. We also comment on a\nmore general connection between RG and chaos in QFT.",
        "positive": "Bounded solutions of fermions in the background of mixed vector-scalar\n  P\u00f6schl-Teller-like potentials: The problem of a fermion subject to a convenient mixing of vector and scalar\npotentials in a two-dimensional space-time is mapped into a Sturm-Liouville\nproblem. For a specific case which gives rise to an exactly solvable effective\nmodified P\\\"{o}schl-Teller potential in the Sturm-Liouville problem,\nbound-state solutions are found. The behaviour of the upper and lower\ncomponents of the Dirac spinor is discussed in detail and some unusual results\nare revealed. The Dirac delta potential as a limit of the modified P%\n\\\"{o}schl-Teller potential is also discussed. The problem is also shown to be\nmapped into that of massless fermions subject to classical topological scalar\nand pseudoscalar potentials."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Tree Theorem for Inflation: It is shown that the generating function for tree graphs in the \"in-in\"\nformalism may be calculated by solving the classical equations of motion\nsubject to certain constraints. This theorem is illustrated by application to\nthe evolution of a single inflaton field in a Robertson--Walker background.",
        "positive": "Symmetry breaking in holographic theories with Lifshitz scaling: We study holographically Lifshitz-scaling theories with broken symmetries. In\norder to do this, we set up a bulk action with a complex scalar and a massless\nvector on a background which consists in a Lifshitz metric and a massive\nvector. We first study separately the complex scalar and the massless vector,\nfinding a similar pattern in the two-point functions that we can compute\nanalytically. By coupling the probe complex scalar to the background massive\nvector we can construct probe actions that are more general than the usual\nKlein--Gordon action. Some of these actions have Galilean boost symmetry.\nFinally, in the presence of a symmetry breaking scalar profile in the bulk, we\nreproduce the expected Ward identities of a Lifshitz-scaling theory with a\nbroken global continuous symmetry. In the spontaneous case, the latter imply\nthe presence of a gapless mode, the Goldstone boson, which will have dispersion\nrelations dictated by the Lifshitz scaling."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "D-dimensional massless particle with extended gauge invariance: We propose the model of $D-$dimensional massless particle whose Lagrangian is\ngiven by the $N-$th extrinsic curvature of world-line. The system has $N+1$\ngauge degrees of freedom constituting $W-$like algebra; the classical\ntrajectories of the model are space-like curves which obey the conditions\n$k_{N+a}=k_{N-a}$, $k_{2N}=0$, $a=1,...,N-1$, $N\\leq[(D-2)/2]$, while the first\n$N$ curvatures $k_i$ remain arbitrary. We show that the model admits consistent\nformulation on the anti-De Sitter space. The solutions of the system are the\nmassless irreducible representations of Poincar\\'e group with $N$ nonzero\nhelicities, which are equal to each other.",
        "positive": "The Non-Compact Weyl Equation: A non-compact version of the Weyl equation is proposed, based on the infinite\ndimensional spin zero representation of the sl_2 algebra. Solutions of the\naforementioned equation are obtained in terms of the Kummer functions. In this\ncontext, we discuss the ADHMN approach in order to construct the corresponding\nnon-compact BPS monopoles."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic Entanglement Entropy: An Overview: In this article, we review recent progresses on the holographic\nunderstandings of the entanglement entropy in the AdS/CFT correspondence. After\nreviewing the general idea of holographic entanglement entropy, we will explain\nits applications to confinement/deconfinement phase transitions, black hole\nentropy and covariant formulation of holography.",
        "positive": "The a-theorem and conformal symmetry breaking in holographic RG flows: We study holographic models describing an RG flow between two fixed points\ndriven by a relevant scalar operator. We show how to introduce a spurion field\nto restore Weyl invariance and compute the anomalous contribution to the\ngenerating functional in even dimensional theories. We find that the\ncoefficient of the anomalous term is proportional to the difference of the\nconformal anomalies of the UV and IR fixed points, as expected from anomaly\nmatching arguments in field theory. For any even dimensions the coefficient is\npositive as implied by the holographic a-theorem. For flows corresponding to\nspontaneous breaking of conformal invariance, we also compute the two-point\nfunctions of the energy-momentum tensor and the scalar operator and identify\nthe dilaton mode. Surprisingly we find that in the simplest models with just\none scalar field there is no dilaton pole in the two-point function of the\nscalar operator but a stronger singularity. We discuss the possible\nimplications."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hamiltonian Analysis of the Effective Action for Hard Thermal Loops in\n  QCD: The effective action for hard thermal loops in QCD is related to a gauged\nWZNW theory. Some of the technical issues of this approach are clarified and\nthe Hamiltonian formulation is presented. The two-point correlation function\nfor the induced current in QCD is obtained; some simplifications of the\ndynamics of the longitudinal modes are also pointed out.",
        "positive": "Galilean anti-de-Sitter spacetime in Romans theory: The Romans type IIA theory is the only known example of 10-dimensional\nmaximal supergravity where (tensor) fields are explicitly massive. We provide\nan example of a non-relativistic anti-de Sitter $NRadS_4\\times S^6$ background\nas a solution in massive type IIA. A compactification of which on $S^6$ gives\nimmediately the prototype NRadS background in D=4 which is proposed to be dual\nto `cold atoms' or unitary fermions on a wire."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Boundary condition for D-brane from Wilson loop, and gravitational\n  interpretation of eigenvalue in matrix model in AdS/CFT correspondence: We study the supersymmetric Wilson loops in the four-dimensional N=4 super\nYang-Mills theory in the context of AdS/CFT correspondence. In the gauge theory\nside, it is known that the expectation value of the Wilson loops of circular\nshape with winding number k is calculable by using a Gaussian matrix model. On\nthe other hand, in the gravity side, it has been conjectured that the\nexpectation value of the Wilson loop is given by the classical value of the\naction for a probe D3-brane with k electric fluxes. Given such correspondence,\nwe pursue the interpretation of the matrix model eigenvalue density, or more\nprecisely the resolvent, from the viewpoint of the probe D3-brane in the\ngravity side. We see that in the gravity side, the position of an eigenvalue\nappears as an integrated flux on the D3-brane. In the course of our analysis,\nwe also clarify the boundary condition on the D3-brane in terms of the Wilson\nloop.",
        "positive": "Metastability of Spherical Membranes in Supermembrane and Matrix Theory: Motivated by recent work we study rotating ellipsoidal membranes in the\nframework of the light-cone supermembrane theory. We investigate stability\nproperties of these classical solutions which are important for the\nquantization of super membranes. We find the stability modes for all sectors of\nsmall multipole deformations. We exhibit an isomorphism of the linearized\nmembrane equation with that of the SU(N) matrix model for every value of $N$.\nThe boundaries of the linearized stability region are at a finite distance and\nthey appear for finite size perturbations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Vortex content of calorons and deconfinement mechanism: We reveal the center vortex content of SU(2) calorons and ensembles of them.\nWhile one part of the vortex connects the constituent dyons of a single\ncaloron, another part is predominantly spatial and can be related to the twist\nthat exists in the caloron gauge field. The latter part depends strongly on the\ncaloron holonomy and degenerates to a plane between the dyons when the\nasymptotic Polyakov loop is traceless. Correspondingly, the spatial vortex in\ncaloron ensembles is percolating in this case. This finding fits perfectly in\nthe confinement scenario of vortices and shows that calorons are suitable to\nfacilitate the vortex (de)confinement mechanism.",
        "positive": "Asymptotic Four Point Functions: We initiate the study of four-point functions of large BPS operators at any\nvalue of the coupling. We do it by casting it as a sum over exchange of\nsuperconformal primaries and computing the structure constants using\nintegrability. Along the way, we incorporate the nested Bethe ansatz structure\nto the hexagon formalism for the three-point functions and obtain a compact\nformula for the asymptotic structure constant of a non-BPS operator in a higher\nrank sector."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The implications of noninertial motion on covariant quantum spin: It is shown that the Pauli-Lubanski spin vector defined in terms of\ncurvilinear co-ordinates does not satisfy Lorentz invariance for spin-1/2\nparticles in noninertial motion along a curved trajectory. The possibility of\ndetecting this violation in muon decay experiments is explored, where the\nnoninertial contribution to the decay rate becomes large for muon beams with\nlarge momenta and trajectories with radius of curvature approaching the muon's\nCompton wavelength scale. A new spacelike spin vector is derived from the\nPauli-Lubanski vector that satisfies Lorentz invariance for both inertial and\nnoninertial motion. In addition, this spin vector suggests a generalization for\nthe classification of spin-1/2 particles, and has interesting properties that\nare applicable for both massive and massless particles.",
        "positive": "BRST cohomology of the sum of two pure spinors: We study the zero mode cohomology of the sum of two pure spinors. The\nknowledge of this cohomology allows us to better understand the structure of\nthe massless vertex operator of the Type IIB pure spinor superstring."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Tachyon condensation and universality of DBI action: We show that a low-energy action for massless fluctuations around a tachyonic\nsoliton background representing a codimension one D-brane coincides with the\nDirac-Born-Infeld action. The scalar modes which describe transverse\noscillations of the D-brane are translational collective coordinates of the\nsoliton. The appearance of the DBI action is a universal feature independent of\ndetails of a tachyon effective action, provided it has the structure implied by\nthe open string sigma model partition function.",
        "positive": "UV caps, IR modification of gravity, and recovery of 4D gravity in\n  regularized braneworlds: In the context of six-dimensional conical braneworlds we consider a simple\nand explicit model that incorporates long distance modification of gravity and\nregularization of codimension-2 singularities. To resolve the conical\nsingularities we replace the codimension-2 branes with ring-like codimension-1\nbranes, filling in the interiors with regular caps. The six-dimensional Planck\nscale in the cap is assumed to be much greater than the bulk Planck scale,\nwhich gives rise to the effect analogous to brane-induced gravity. Weak gravity\non the regularized brane is studied in the case of a sharp conical bulk. We\nshow by a linear analysis that gravity at short distances is effectively\ndescribed by the four-dimensional Brans-Dicke theory, while the higher\ndimensional nature of gravity emerges at long distances. The linear analysis\nbreaks down at some intermediate scale, below which four-dimensional Einstein\ngravity is shown to be recovered thanks to the second-order effects of the\nbrane bending."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Rotating Charged BTZ Metric: It is shown that the charged non-diagonal BTZ (2+1)-spacetime is not a\nsolution of the Einstein-Maxwell field equations with cosmological constant.",
        "positive": "Correlators of chiral primaries and 1/8 BPS Wilson loops from\n  perturbation theory: We study at perturbative level the correlation functions of a general class\nof 1/8 BPS Wilson loops and chiral primaries in N = 4 Super Yang-Mills theory.\nThe contours and the location of operator insertions share a sphere S^2\nembedded into spacetime and the system preserves at least two supercharges. We\nperform explicit two-loop computations, for some particular but still rather\ngeneral configuration, that confirm the elegant results expected from\nlocalization procedure. We find notably full consistency with the multi-matrix\nmodel averages, obtained from 2D Yang-Mills theory on the sphere, when\ninteracting diagrams do not cancel and contribute non-trivially to the final\nanswer."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Rotating stealth black holes with a cohomogeneity-1 metric: In five dimensions we consider a general shift symmetric and parity\npreserving scalar tensor action that contains up to second order covariant\nderivatives of the scalar field. A rotating stealth black hole solution is\nconstructed where the metric is given by the Myers-Perry spacetime with equal\nmomenta and the scalar field is identified with the Hamilton-Jacobi potential.\nThis nontrivial scalar field has an extra hair associated with the rest mass of\nthe test particle, and the solution does not require any fine tuning of the\ncoupling functions of the theory. Interestingly enough, we show that the\ndisformal transformation, generated by this scalar field, and with a constant\ndegree of disformality, leaves invariant (up to diffeomorphisms) the\nMyers-Perry metric with equal momenta. This means that the hair of the scalar\nfield, along with the constant disformality parameter, can be consistently\nabsorbed into further redefinitions of the mass and of the single angular\nparameter of the disformed metric. These results are extended in higher odd\ndimensions with a Myers-Perry metric for which all the momenta are equal. The\nkey of the invariance under disformal transformation of the metric is mainly\nthe cohomogeneity-1 character of the Myers-Perry metric with equal momenta.\nStarting from this observation, we consider a general class of cohomogeneity-1\nmetrics in arbitrary dimension, and we list the conditions ensuring that this\nclass of metrics remain invariant (up to diffeomorphisms) under a disformal\ntransformation with a constant degree of disformality and with a scalar field\nwith constant kinetic term. The extension to the Kerr-(A)dS case is also\nconsidered where it is shown that rotating stealth solutions may exist provided\nsome fine tuning of the coupling functions of the scalar tensor theory.",
        "positive": "Duality rotations in supersymmetric nonlinear electrodynamics revisited: We revisit the U(1) duality-invariant nonlinear models for N=1 and N=2 vector\nmultiplets coupled to off-shell supergravities. For such theories we develop\nnew formulations which make use of auxiliary chiral superfields (spinor in the\nN=1 case and scalar for N=2) and are characterized by the remarkable property\nthat U(1) duality invariance is equivalent to the manifest U(1) invariance of\nthe self-interaction. Our construction is inspired by the non-supersymmetric\napproach that was proposed by Ivanov and Zupnik a decade ago and recently\nre-discovered in the form of twisted self-duality."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "N=4 Super NLS-mKdV Hierarchies: N=2 extension of affine algebra $\\hat{sl(2)\\oplus u(1)}$ possesses a hidden\nglobal N=4 supersymmetry and provides a second hamiltonian structure for a new\nN=4 supersymmetric integrable hierarchy defined on N=2 affine supercurrents.\nThis system is an N=4 extension of at once two hierarchies, N=2 NLS and N=2\nmKdV ones. It is related to N=4 KdV hierarchy via a generalized\nSugawara-Feigin-Fuks construction which relates N=2 $\\hat{sl(2)\\oplus u(1)}$\nalgebra to ``small'' N=4 SCA. We also find the underlying affine hierarchy for\nanother integrable system with the N=4 SCA second hamiltonian structure,\n``quasi'' N=4 KdV hierarchy. It respects only N=2 supersymmetry. For both new\nhierarchies we construct scalar Lax formulations. We speculate that any N=2\naffine algebra admitting a quaternionic structure possesses N=4 supersymmetry\nand so can be used to produce N=4 supersymmetric hierarchies. This suggests a\nway of classifying all such hierarchies.",
        "positive": "A remarkably simple theory of 3d massive gravity: We propose and study a new action for three-dimensional massive gravity. This\naction takes a very simple form when written in terms of connection and triad\nvariables, but the connection can also be integrated out to obtain a triad\nformulation. The quadratic action for the perturbations around a Minkowski\nbackground reproduces the action of self-dual massive gravity, in agreement\nwith the expectation that the theory propagates a massive graviton. We confirm\nthis result at the non-linear level with a Hamiltonian analysis, and show that\nthis new theory does indeed possess a single massive degree of freedom. The\naction depends on four coupling constants, and we identify the various massive\nand topological (or massless) limits in the space of parameters. This richness,\nalong with the simplicity of the action, opens a very interesting new window\nonto massive gravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Canonical equivalence in anisotropic models for higher order theory of\n  gravity: We show that as in the case of isotropic models, the `Dirac Algorithm' and\n`Modified Horowitz' Formalism' lead to identical phase-space structure of the\nHamiltonian for the gravitational action with curvature squared terms, in\nanisotropic space-time, viz, Bianchi-I, Bianchi-III and Kantowski-Sachs models\ntoo.",
        "positive": "On Cosmic No-hair in Bimetric Gravity and the Higuchi Bound: We study the cosmic no-hair in the presence of spin-2 matter, i.e. in\nbimetric gravity. We obtain stable de Sitter solutions with the cosmological\nconstant in the physical sector and find an evidence that the cosmic no-hair is\ncorrect. In the presence of the other cosmological constant, there are two\nbranches of de Sitter solutions. Under anisotropic perturbations, one of them\nis always stable and there is no violation of the cosmic no-hair at the linear\nlevel. The stability of the other branch depends on parameters and the cosmic\nno-hair can be violated in general. Remarkably, the bifurcation point of two\nbranches exactly coincides with the Higuchi bound. It turns out that there\nexists a de Sitter solution for which the cosmic no-hair holds at the linear\nlevel and the effective mass for the anisotropic perturbations is above the\nHiguchi bound."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Compactified rotating branes in the matrix model, and excitation\n  spectrum towards one loop: We study compactified brane solutions of type R^4 x K in the IIB matrix\nmodel, and obtain explicitly the bosonic and fermionic fluctuation spectrum\nrequired to compute the one-loop effective action. We verify that the one-loop\ncontributions are UV finite for R^4 x T^2, and supersymmetric for R^3 x S^1.\nThe higher Kaluza-Klein modes are shown to have a gap in the presence of flux\non T^2, and potential problems concerning stability are discussed.",
        "positive": "SU(5) D-brane realizations, Yukawa couplings and proton stability: We discuss SU(5) Grand Unified Theories in the context of orientifold\ncompactifications. Specifically, we investigate two and three D-brane stack\nrealizations of the Georgi-Glashow and the flipped SU(5) model and analyze them\nwith respect to their Yukawa couplings. As pointed out in arXiv:0909.0271 the\nmost economical Georgi-Glashow realization based on two stacks generically\nsuffers from a disastrous large proton decay rate. We show that allowing for an\nadditional U(1) D-brane stack this as well as other phenomenological problems\ncan be resolved. We exemplify with globally consistent Georgi-Glashow models\nbased on RCFT that these D-brane quivers can be indeed embedded in a global\nsetting. These globally consistent realizations admit rigid O(1) instantons\ninducing the perturbatively missing coupling 10105^H. Finally we show that\nflipped SU(5) D-brane realizations even with multiple U(1) D-brane stacks are\nplagued by severe phenomenological drawbacks which generically cannot be\novercome."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Braneless Black Holes: It is known that the naive version of D-brane theory is inadequate to explain\nthe black hole entropy in the limit in which the Schwarzschild radius becomes\nlarger than all compactification radii. We present evidence that a more\nconsistent description can be given in terms of strings with rescaled tensions.\nWe show that the rescaling can be interpreted as a redshift of the tension of a\nfundamental string in the gravitational field of the black hole. An interesting\nconnection is found between the string level number and the Rindler energy.\nUsing this connection, we reproduce the entropies of Schwarzschild black holes\nin arbitrary dimensions in terms of the entropy of a single string at the\nHagedorn temperature.",
        "positive": "Anomalies for Nonlocal Dirac Operators: The anomalies of a very general class of non local Dirac operators are\ncomputed using the $\\zeta$-function definition of the fermionic determinant and\nan asymmetric version of the Wigner transformation. For the axial anomaly all\nnew terms introduced by the non locality can be brought to the standard minimal\nBardeen's form. Some extensions of the present techniques are also commented."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Radiation from a D-dimensional collision of shock waves: first order\n  perturbation theory: We study the spacetime obtained by superimposing two equal Aichelburg-Sexl\nshock waves in D dimensions traveling, head-on, in opposite directions.\nConsidering the collision in a boosted frame, one shock becomes stronger than\nthe other, and a perturbative framework to compute the metric in the future of\nthe collision is setup. The geometry is given, in first order perturbation\ntheory, as an integral solution, in terms of initial data on the null surface\nwhere the strong shock has support. We then extract the radiation emitted in\nthe collision by using a D-dimensional generalisation of the Landau-Lifschitz\npseudo-tensor and compute the percentage of the initial centre of mass energy\nepsilon emitted as gravitational waves. In D=4 we find epsilon=25.0%, in\nagreement with the result of D'Eath and Payne. As D increases, this percentage\nincreases monotonically, reaching 40.0% in D=10. Our result is always within\nthe bound obtained from apparent horizons by Penrose, in D=4, yielding 29.3%,\nand Eardley and Giddings, in D> 4, which also increases monotonically with\ndimension, reaching 41.2% in D=10. We also present the wave forms and provide a\nphysical interpretation for the observed peaks, in terms of the null generators\nof the shocks.",
        "positive": "Instantons, Twistors, and Emergent Gravity: Motivated by potential applications to holography on space-times of positive\ncurvature, and by the successful twistor description of scattering amplitudes,\nwe propose a new dual matrix formulation of N = 4 gauge theory on S(4). The\nmatrix model is defined by taking the low energy limit of a holomorphic\nChern-Simons theory on CP(3|4), in the presence of a large instanton flux. The\ntheory comes with a choice of S(4) radius L and a parameter N controlling the\noverall size of the matrices. The flat space variant of the 4D effective theory\narises by taking the large N scaling limit of the matrix model, with l_pl^2 ~\nL^2 / N held fixed. Its massless spectrum contains both spin one and spin two\nexcitations, which we identify with gluons and gravitons. As shown in the\ncompanion paper, the matrix model correlation functions of both these\nexcitations correctly reproduce the corresponding MHV scattering amplitudes. We\npresent evidence that the scaling limit defines a gravitational theory with a\nfinite Planck length. In particular we find that in the l_pl -> 0 limit, the\nmatrix model makes contact with the CSW rules for amplitudes of pure gauge\ntheory, which are uncontaminated by conformal supergravity. We also propose a\nUV completion for the system by embedding the matrix model in the physical\nsuperstring."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-Abelian W-representation for GKM: $W$-representation is a miraculous possibility to define a non-perturbative\n(exact) partition function as an exponential action of somehow integrated Ward\nidentities on unity. It is well known for numerous eigenvalue matrix models\nwhen the relevant operators are of a kind of $W$-operators: for the Hermitian\nmatrix model with the Virasoro constraints, it is a $W_3$-like operator, and so\non. We extend this statement to the monomial generalized Kontsevich models\n(GKM), where the new feature is the appearance of an ordered P-exponential for\nthe set of non-commuting operators of different gradings.",
        "positive": "The Heterotic Green-Schwarz Superstring on an N=(2,0) Super-Worldsheet: By defining the heterotic Green-Schwarz superstring action on an N=(2,0)\nsuper-worldsheet, rather than on an ordinary worldsheet, many problems with the\ninteracting Green-Schwarz superstring formalism can be solved. In the\nlight-cone approach, superconformally transforming the light-cone\nsuper-worldsheet onto an N=(2,0) super-Riemann surface allows the elimination\nof the non-trivial interaction-point operators that complicate the evaluation\nof scattering amplitudes. In the Polyakov approach, the ten-dimensional\nheterotic Green-Schwarz covariant action defined on an N=(2,0) super-worldsheet\ncan be gauge-fixed to a free-field action with non-anomalous N=(2,0)\nsuperconformal invariance, and integrating the exponential of the covariant\naction over all punctured N=(2,0) super-Riemann surfaces produces scattering\namplitudes that closely resemble amplitudes obtained using the unitary\nlight-cone approach."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Functional Relations in Solvable Lattice Models II: Reported are two applications of the functional relations ($T$-system) among\na commuting family of row-to-row transfer matrices proposed in the previous\npaper Part I. For a general simple Lie algebra $X_r$, we determine the\ncorrelation lengths of the associated massive vertex models in the\nanti-ferroelectric regime and central charges of the RSOS models in two\ncritical regimes. The results reproduce known values or even generalize them,\ndemonstrating the efficiency of the $T$-system.",
        "positive": "All-Multiplicity Amplitudes with Massive Scalars: We compute two infinite series of tree-level amplitudes with a massive scalar\npair and an arbitrary number of gluons. We provide results for amplitudes where\nall gluons have identical helicity, and amplitudes with one gluon of opposite\nhelicity. These amplitudes are useful for unitarity-based one-loop calculations\nin nonsupersymmetric gauge theories generally, and QCD in particular."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The black hole and FRW geometries of non-relativistic gravity: We consider the recently proposed non-relativistic Ho\\v{r}ava-Lifshitz\nfour-dimensional theory of gravity. We study a particular limit of the theory\nwhich admits flat Minkowski vacuum and we discuss thoroughly the quadratic\nfluctuations around it. We find that there are two propagating polarizations of\nthe metric. We then explicitly construct a spherically symmetric,\nasymptotically flat, black hole solution that represents the analog of the\nSchwarzschild solution of GR. We show that this theory has the same Newtonian\nand post-Newtonian limits as GR and thus, it passes the classical tests. We\nalso consider homogeneous and isotropic cosmological solutions and we show that\nalthough the equations are identical with GR cosmology, the couplings are\nconstrained by the observed primordial abundance of ${}^4{\\rm He}$.",
        "positive": "Up-type quark masses in SU(5) F-theory models: F-theory SU(5) unification has been proposed as a scenario where the mass of\nthe top quark is naturally large, as opposed to type II SU(5) models. We\nanalyze this claim from the viewpoint of local SU(5) F-theory models, by\nexplicitly computing the 10 x 10 x 5 Yukawa couplings that are developed in the\nvicinity of an E6 singularity. Realizing this singularity via T-branes allows\nfor a non-trivial mass for the top quark, while lighter generations of up-type\nquarks still have vanishing Yukawa couplings. Nevertheless, we show that by\ntaking instanton effects into account non-vanishing Yukawas are induced for all\nU-quark families, together with a hierarchical structure at the level of the\nsuperpotential. Finally, by solving for internal wavefunction profiles we\ncompute physical U-quark Yukawa couplings and show that this F-theory scenario\nallows to describe the measured top quark mass, as well as the observed\nquotients of U-quark masses."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Mining Energy from a Black Hole by Strings: We discuss how cosmic strings can be used to mine energy from black holes. A\nstring attached to the black hole gives rise to an additional channel for the\nenergy release. It is demonstrated that when a string crosses the event\nhorizon, its transverse degrees of freedom are thermally excited and thermal\nstring perturbations propagate along the string to infinity. The internal\nmetric induced on the 2D worldsheet of the static string crossing the horizon\ndescribes a 2D black hole. For this reason thermal radiation of string\nexcitations propagating along the string can be interpreted as Hawking\nradiation of the 2D black hole. It is shown that the rate of energy emission\nthrough the string channel is of the same order of magnitude as the bulk\nradiation of the black hole. Thus, for N strings attached to the black hole the\nefficiency of string channels is increased by factor N. We discuss restrictions\non N which exist because of the finite thickness of strings, the gravitational\nbackreaction and quantum fluctuations. Our conclusion is that the energy\nemission rate by strings can be increased as compared to the standard emission\nin the bulk by the factor 10^3 for GUT strings and up to the factor 10^{31} for\nelectroweak strings.",
        "positive": "Critical Boundary Sine-Gordon Revisited: We revisit the exact solution of the two space-time dimensional quantum field\ntheory of a free massless boson with a periodic boundary interaction and\nself-dual period. We analyze the model by using a mapping to free fermions with\na boundary mass term originally suggested in ref.[22]. We find that the entire\nSL(2,C) family of boundary states of a single boson are boundary sine-Gordon\nstates and we derive a simple explicit expression for the boundary state in\nfermion variables and as a function of sine-Gordon coupling constants. We use\nthis expression to compute the partition function. We observe that the solution\nof the model has a strong-weak coupling generalization of T-duality. We then\nexamine a class of recently discovered conformal boundary states for compact\nbosons with radii which are rational numbers times the self-dual radius. These\nhave simple expression in fermion variables. We postulate sine-Gordon-like\nfield theories with discrete gauge symmmetries for which they are the\nappropriate boundary states."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetric Black Holes and Freudenthal Duality: We study the effect of Freudenthal duality on supersymmetric extremal black\nhole attractors in N = 2, D = 4 ungauged supergravity. Freudenthal duality acts\non the dyonic black hole charges as an anti-involution which keeps the black\nhole entropy and the critical points of the effective black hole potential\ninvariant. We analyze its effect on the recently discovered distinct, mutually\nexclusive phases of axionic supersymmetric black holes, related to the\nexistence of non-trivial involutory constant matrices. In particular, we\nconsider a supersymmetric D0-D4-D6 black hole and we explicitly Freudenthal-map\nit to a supersymmetric D0-D2-D4-D6 black hole. We thus show that the charge\nrepresentation space of a supersymmetric D0-D2-D4-D6 black hole also contains\nmutually exclusive domains.",
        "positive": "M-theory branes and their interactions: In recent years there has been some progress in understanding how one might\nmodel the interactions of branes in M-theory despite not having a fundamental\nperturbative description. The goal of this review is to describe different\napproaches to M-theory branes and their interactions. This includes: a review\nof M-theory branes themselves and their properties; brane interactions; the\nself-dual string and its properties; the role of anomalies in learning about\nbrane systems; the recent work of Basu and Harvey with subsequent developments;\nand how these complimentary approaches might fit together."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Soliton solutions of the classical lattice sine-Gordon system: We study the soliton-type solutions of the system introduced by B. Feigin and\nthe author in in [EF]. We show that it reduces to a top-like system, and we\nstudy the behaviour of the solutions at the lattice infinity. We compute the\nscattering of the solitons and study some periodic solutions of the system.",
        "positive": "A differential equation approach for examining the subtraction schemes: We propose a natural differential equation with respect to mass(es) to\nanalyze the scheme dependence problem. It is shown that the vertex functions\nsubtracted at an arbitrary Euclidean momentum (MOM) do not satisfy such\ndifferential equations, as extra unphysical mass dependence is introduced which\nis shown to lead to the violation of the canonical form of the Slavnov-Taylor\nidentities, a notorious fact with MOM schemes. By the way, the traditional\nadvantage of MOM schemes in decoupling issue is shown to be lost in the context\nof Callan-Symanzik equations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Elko in 1+1 dimensions: The quantum field operator for spin-half Elko describes a massive\nself-interacting fermionic dark matter candidate of mass dimension one. It has\nbeen shown that the theory has a built-in violation of the Lorentz symmetry and\na well-defined element of non-locality in the form of a preferred direction.\nThis note shows that quantum field operators constructed using spin-half and\nhigher-spin Elko violate Lorentz symmetry from first principle. Subsequently,\nwe study the kinematics of Elko and its quantum field operator for any spin\nalong the preferred direction.",
        "positive": "The D-branes of SU(n): D-branes that appear to generate all the K-theory charges of string theory on\nSU(n) are constructed, and their charges are determined."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Extending Starobinsky inflationary model in gravity and supergravity: We review some recent trends in the inflationary model building, the\nsupersymmetry (SUSY) breaking, the gravitino Dark Matter (DM) and the\nPrimordial Black Holes (PBHs) production in supergravity. The Starobinsky\ninflation can be embedded into supergravity when the inflaton belongs to the\nmassive vector multiplet associated with a (spontaneously broken) $U(1)$ gauge\nsymmetry. The SUSY and R-symmetry can be also spontaneously broken after\ninflation by the (standard) Polonyi mechanism. Polonyi particles and gravitinos\nare super heavy and can be copiously produced during inflation via the\nSchwinger mechanism sourced by the Universe expansion. The overproduction and\ninstability problems can be avoided, and the positive cosmological constant\n(dark energy) can also be introduced. The observed abundance of the Cold Dark\nMatter (CDM) composed of gravitinos can be achieved in our supergravity model\ntoo, thus providing the unifying framework for inflation, supersymmetry\nbreaking, dark energy and dark matter genesis. Our supergravity approach may\nalso lead to a formation of primordial non-linear structures like\nstellar-mass-type black holes, and may include the SUSY GUTs inspired by\nheterotic string compactifications, unifying particle physics with quantum\ngravity.",
        "positive": "A particle-like description of Planckian black holes: In this paper we abandon the idea that even a \"quantum\" black hole, of Planck\nsize, can still be described as a classical, more or less complicated,\ngeometry. Rather, we consider a genuine quantum mechanical approach where a\nPlanckian black hole is, by all means, just another \"particle\", even if with a\ndistinguishing property: its linear size increases with the energy. The horizon\ndynamics is equivalently described in terms of a particle moving in\ngravitational potential derived from the horizon equation itself in a\nself-consistent manner. The particle turning-points match the radius of the\ninner and outer horizons of a charged black hole. This classical model pave the\nway towards the wave equation for a truly quantum black hole. We compute the\nexact form of the wave function and determine the energy spectrum. Finally, we\ndescribe the classical limit in which the quantum picture correctly approaches\nthe classical geometric formulation. We find that the quantum-to-classical\ntransition occurs far above the Planck scale."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic Renormalisation for the Spin-3 Theory and the (A)dS3/CFT2\n  correspondence: We compute the two-point correlation functions for the spin-3 theory in three\ndimensional (Anti-) de Sitter spacetimes by using holographic renormalisation.\nFor the AdS case, we find results consistent with the general requirements of\ntwo-dimensional conformal invariance. In the de Sitter case, we find similar\nresults. We discuss consistency requirements on the three point functions TWW\nfor our results to be compatible with the asymptotic symmetry algebra for AdS\ncase and with the de-Sitter central charge found in hep-th/0106113 by analyzing\nthe stress-tensor. We also discuss why it is very likely that our results are\nnot compatible with the imaginary central charge previously found for\nhigher-spin theories in dS(3).",
        "positive": "Spectral dimensions from the spectral action: The generalised spectral dimension $D_{ S}(T)$ provides a powerful tool for\ncomparing different approaches to quantum gravity. In this work, we apply this\nformalism to the classical spectral actions obtained within the framework of\nalmost-commutative geometry. Analysing the propagation of spin-0, spin-1 and\nspin-2 fields, we show that a non-trivial spectral dimension arises already at\nthe classical level. The effective field theory interpretation of the spectral\naction yields plateau-structures interpolating between a fixed spin-independent\n$D_{ S}(T) = d_S$ for short and $D_{ S}(T) = 4$ for long diffusion times $T$.\nGoing beyond effective field theory\n  the spectral dimension is completely dominated by the high-momentum\nproperties of the spectral action, yielding $D_{ S}(T)=0$ for all spins. Our\nresults support earlier claims that high-energy bosons do not propagate."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "De Sitter space as BRST invariant coherent state of gravitons: The $S$-matrix formulation indicates that a consistent embedding of de Sitter\nstate in quantum gravity is possible exclusively as an excited quantum state\nconstructed on top of a valid $S$-matrix vacuum such as Minkowski. In the\npresent paper we offer such a construction of de Sitter in the form of a\ncoherent state of gravitons. Unlike previous realizations of this idea, we\nfocus on BRST invariance as the guiding principle for physicality. In order to\nestablish the universal rules of gauge consistency, we study the BRST-invariant\nconstruction of coherent states created by classical and quantum sources in QED\nand in linearized gravity. Introduction of $N$ copies of scalar matter coupled\nto gravity allows us to take a special double scaling limit, a so-called\nspecies limit, in which our construction of de Sitter becomes exact. In this\nlimit, the irrelevant quantum gravitational effects vanish whereas the\ncollective phenomena, such as Gibbons-Hawking radiation, are calculable.",
        "positive": "Infinite Symmetry in the Fractional Quantum Hall Effect: We have generalized recent results of Cappelli, Trugenberger and Zemba on the\ninteger quantum Hall effect constructing explicitly a ${\\cal W}_{1+\\infty}$ for\nthe fractional quantum Hall effect such that the negative modes annihilate the\nLaughlin wave functions. This generalization has a nice interpretation in\nJain's composite fermion theory. Furthermore, for these models we have\ncalculated the wave functions of the edge excitations viewing them as area\npreserving deformations of an incompressible quantum droplet, and have shown\nthat the ${\\cal W}_{1+\\infty}$ is the underlying symmetry of the edge\nexcitations in the fractional quantum Hall effect. Finally, we have applied\nthis method to more general wave functions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Phases of planar 5-dimensional supersymmetric Chern-Simons theory: In this paper we investigate the large-$N$ behavior of 5-dimensional\n$\\mathcal{N}=1$ super Yang-Mills with a level $k$ Chern-Simons term and an\nadjoint hypermultiplet. As in three-dimensional Chern-Simons theories, one must\nchoose an integration contour to completely define the theory. Using\nlocalization, we reduce the path integral to a matrix model with a cubic action\nand compute its free energy in various scenarios. In the limit of infinite\nYang-Mills coupling and for particular choices of the contours, we find that\nthe free-energy scales as $N^{5/2}$ for $U(N)$ gauge groups with large values\nof the Chern-Simons 't\\,Hooft coupling, $\\tilde\\lambda\\equiv N/k$. If we also\nset the hypermultiplet mass to zero, then this limit is a superconformal fixed\npoint and the $N^{5/2}$ behavior parallels other fixed points which have known\nsupergravity duals. We also demonstrate that $SU(N)$ gauge groups cannot have\nthis $N^{5/2}$ scaling for their free-energy. At finite Yang-Mills coupling we\nestablish the existence of a third order phase transition where the theory\ncrosses over from the Yang-Mills phase to the Chern-Simons phase. The phase\ntransition exists for any value of $\\tilde\\lambda$, although the details differ\nbetween small and large values of $\\tilde\\lambda$. For pure Chern-Simons\ntheories we present evidence for a chain of phase transitions as\n$\\tilde\\lambda$ is increased.\n  We also find the expectation values for supersymmetric circular Wilson loops\nin these various scenarios and show that the Chern-Simons term leads to\ndifferent physical properties for fundamental and anti-fundamental Wilson\nloops. Different choices of the integration contours also lead to different\nproperties for the loops.",
        "positive": "Duality, Superconvergence and the Phases of Gauge Theories: Results about the phase structure of certain N=1 supersymmetric gauge\ntheories, which have been obtained as a consequence of holomorphy and\n`electric-magnetic' duality, are shown to be in quantitative agreement with\ncorresponding consequences of analyticity and superconvergence of the gauge\nfield propagator. This connection is of interest, because the superconvergence\narguments for confinement are not restricted to theories with supersymmetry.\nThe method of reduction in the space of coupling parameters is used in order to\ndefine, beyond the matching conditions, an asymptotically free, dual magnetic\ntheory involving Yukawa couplings."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Cooling-heating phase transition and critical behavior of the charged\n  accelerating AdS black hole: We study the cooling-heating phase transition of the charged accelerating\nanti-de Sitter black hole in extended phase space, and investigate the critical\nbehavior of this black hole in extended phase space. By calculating the\nthermodynamic quantities and state equation, we found that the charged\naccelerating AdS black hole as thermodynamic system is similar to the van der\nWaals system. The inversion temperature of this black hole is obtained, and\ncooling-heating and isenthalpic curves are plotted in T-P plane. Our results\nindicate that the inversion temperature for a given pressure increases with e,\nand the acceleration parameter has the opposite effect, which the\ncooling-heating curves decreases gradually with the the increases of a. We also\nanalyse the influence of acceleration parameter on isenthalpic curves, implying\nthat the phase transition point decreases with the increase of acceleration\nfactor under constant pressure.",
        "positive": "Yangian Symmetry in Five Dimensions: Quantum gravity in AdS$_7 \\times$S$^4$ is dual to a 6d superconformal field\ntheory, known as the 6d $(2,0)$ theory, which is very challenging to describe\nbecause it lacks a conventional Lagrangian description. On the other hand,\ncertain null reductions of the 6d $(2,0)$ theory give rise to 5d Lagrangian\ntheories with $SU(1,3)$ spacetime symmetry, $SO(5)$ R-symmetry, and 24\nsupercharges. This appears to be closely related to the superconformal group of\na 3d superconformal Chern-Simons theory known as the ABJM theory, which is\nbelieved to be integrable in the planar limit, if one exchanges the role of\nconformal and R-symmetry. In this note, we construct a representation of the 5d\nsuperconformal group using 6d supertwistors and show that it admits an infinite\ndimensional extension known as Yangian symmetry, which opens up the possiblity\nthat these 5d theories are exactly solvable in the planar limit."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Secret Symmetries of Type IIB Superstring Theory on AdS3 x S3 x M4: We establish features of so-called Yangian secret symmetries for AdS3 type\nIIB superstring backgrounds thus verifying the persistence of such symmetries\nto this new instance of the AdS/CFT correspondence. Specifically, we find two a\npriori different classes of secret symmetry generators. One class of\ngenerators, anticipated from the previous literature, is more naturally\nembedded in the algebra governing the integrable scattering problem. The other\nclass of generators is more elusive, and somewhat closer in its form to its\nhigher-dimensional AdS5 counterpart. All of these symmetries respect left-right\ncrossing. In addition, by considering the interplay between left and right\nrepresentations, we gain a new perspective on the AdS5 case. We also study the\nRTT-realisation of the Yangian in AdS3 backgrounds thus establishing a new\nincarnation of the Beisert-de Leeuw construction.",
        "positive": "The universal Vassiliev-Kontsevich invariant for framed oriented links: We give a generalization of the Reshetikhin-Turaev functor for tangles to get\na combinatorial formula for the universal Vassiliev-Kontsevich invariant of\nframed oriented links which is coincident with the Kontsevich integral. The\nuniversal Vassiliev-Kontsevich invariant is constructed using the Drinfeld\nassociator. We prove the uniqueness of the Drinfeld associator. As a corollary\none gets the rationality of the Kontsevich integral. Many properties of the\nuniversal Vassiliev-Kontsevich invariant are established. Connections to\nquantum group invariants and to multiple zeta values are discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Numerical Evaluation of Gauge Invariants for a-gauge Solutions in Open\n  String Field Theory: We evaluate gauge invariants, action and gauge invariant overlap, for\nnumerical solutions which satisfy the \"a-gauge\" condition with various values\nof $a$ in cubic open bosonic string field theory. We use the level truncation\napproximation and an iterative procedure to construct numerical solutions in\nthe twist even universal space. The resulting gauge invariants are numerically\nstable and almost equal to those of Schnabl's solution for tachyon\ncondensation. Our result provides further evidence that these numerical and\nanalytical solutions are gauge equivalent.",
        "positive": "The Hubble parameters in the D-brane models: We consider the DBI action for the D-branes with the dynamic embeddings in\nthe background produced by p-branes. For the D-brane with the special topology\nwe obtain two Hublle parameters on this brane. The condition for the equality\nof these parameters is analyzed. In the special case a mass and a charge of the\nbackground p-branes are derived from this condition."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Mechanization of scalar field theory in 1+1 dimensions: The `mechanization' is a procedure of replacing a scalar field in 1+1\ndimensions with a piece-wise linear function, i.e. a finite graph consisting of\n$N$ joints (vertices) and straight segments (edges). As a result, the field\ntheory is approximated by a sequence of algebraically tractable,\ngeneral-purpose collective coordinate mechanical models. We observe the\nstep-by-step emergence of dynamical objects and associated phenomena as the $N$\nincreases. Mech-kinks and mech-oscillons -- mechanical analogs of kinks and\noscillons (bions) -- appear in the simplest models, while more intricate\ndynamical patterns, such as bouncing phenomenon and bion pair-production,\nemerge gradually as decay states of high $N$ mech-oscillons.",
        "positive": "Hodge Numbers for CICYs with Symmetries of Order Divisible by 4: We compute the Hodge numbers for the quotients of complete intersection\nCalabi-Yau three-folds by groups of orders divisible by 4. We make use of the\npolynomial deformation method and the counting of invariant K\\\"ahler classes.\nThe quotients studied here have been obtained in the automated classification\nof V. Braun. Although the computer search found the freely acting groups, the\nHodge numbers of the quotients were not calculated. The freely acting groups,\n$G$, that arise in the classification are either $Z_2$ or contain $Z_4$, $Z_2\n\\times Z_2$, $Z_3$ or $Z_5$ as a subgroup. The Hodge numbers for the quotients\nfor which the group $G$ contains $Z_3$ or $Z_5$ have been computed previously.\nThis paper deals with the remaining cases, for which $G \\supseteq Z_4$ or\n$G\\supseteq Z_2 \\times Z_2$. We also compute the Hodge numbers for 99 of the\n166 CICY's which have $Z_2$ quotients."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Electromagnetic Casimir densities for a wedge with a coaxial cylindrical\n  shell: Vacuum expectation values of the field square and the energy-momentum tensor\nfor the electromagnetic field are investigated for the geometry of a wedge with\na coaxal cylindrical boundary. All boundaries are assumed to be perfectly\nconducting and both regions inside and outside the shell are considered. By\nusing the generalized Abel-Plana formula, the vacuum expectation values are\npresented in the form of the sum of two terms. The first one corresponds to the\ngeometry of the wedge without the cylindrical shell and the second term is\ninduced by the presence of the shell. The vacuum energy density induced by the\nshell is negative for the interior region and is positive for the exterior\nregion. The asymptotic behavior of the vacuum expectation values are\ninvestigated in various limiting cases. It is shown that the vacuum forces\nacting on the wedge sides due to the presence of the cylindrical boundary are\nalways attractive.",
        "positive": "The coherent states: old geometrical methods in new quantum clothes: A geometric characterization of transition amplitudes between coherent\nstates, or equivalently, of the hermitian scalar product of holomorphic cross\nsections in the associated D - M tilda - module, in terms of the embedding of\nthe cohe- rent state manifold M-tilda into a projective Hilbert space is\nproposed. Cohe- rent state manifolds endowed with a homogeneous kaehler\nstructure are conside- red. Using the coherent state approach, an effective\nmethod to find the cut loci on symmetric manifolds and generalized symmetric\nmanifolds M-tilda is proposed. The CW - complex structure of coherent state\nmanifolds of flag type is discussed. Recent results of Anandan and Aharonov are\ncommented vis-a-vis of last century constructions in projective geometry.\nCalculations with signi- ficance in coherent state approch furnish explicit\nproofs of the results announ- ced by Y. C. Wong on conjugate locus in complex\nGrassmann manifold."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Equilibration of Small and Large Subsystems in Field Theories and Matrix\n  Models: It has been recently shown that small subsystems of finite quantum systems\ngenerically equilibrate. We extend these results to infinite-dimensional\nHilbert spaces of field theories and matrix models. We consider a quench setup,\nwhere initial states are chosen from a microcanonical ensemble of finite energy\nin free theory, and then evolve with an arbitrary non-perturbative Hamiltonian.\nGiven a dynamical assumption on the expectation value of particle number\ndensity, we prove that small subsystems reach equilibrium at the level of\nquantum wave-function, and with respect to all observables. The picture that\nemerges is that at higher energies, larger subsystems can reach equilibrium.\nFor bosonic fields on a lattice, in the limit of large number of bosons per\nsite, all subsystem smaller than half equilibrate. In the Hermitian matrix\nmodel, by contrast, this occurs in the limit of large energy per matrix\nelement, emphasizing the importance of the $O(N^2)$ energy scale for the fast\nscrambling conjecture. Applying our techniques to continuum field theories on\ncompact spaces, we show that the density matrix of small momentum-space\nobservables equilibrate. Finally, we discuss the connection with scrambling,\nand provide a sufficient condition for a time-independent Hamiltonian to be a\nscrambler in terms of the entanglement entropy of its energy eigenstates.",
        "positive": "Dynamics of Warped Flux Compactifications: We discuss the four dimensional effective action for type IIB flux\ncompactifications, and obtain the quadratic terms taking warp effects into\naccount. The analysis includes both the 4-d zero modes and their KK\nexcitations, which become light at large warping. We identify an `axial' type\ngauge for the supergravity fluctuations, which makes the four dimensional\ndegrees of freedom manifest. The other key ingredient is the existence of\nconstraints coming from the ten dimensional equations of motion. Applying these\nconditions leads to considerable simplifications, enabling us to obtain the low\nenergy lagrangian explicitly. In particular, the warped K\\\"ahler potential for\nmetric moduli is computed and it is shown that there are no mixings with the KK\nfluctuations and the result differs from previous proposals. The four\ndimensional potential contains a generalization of the Gukov-Vafa-Witten term,\nplus usual mass terms for KK modes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Finite-size effect of \u03b7-deformed AdS_5 x S^5 at strong coupling: We compute Luscher corrections for a giant magnon in the \\eta-deformed\n(AdS_5\\times S^5)_{\\eta} using the su(2|2)_q-invariant S-matrix at strong\ncoupling and compare with the finite-size effect of the corresponding string\nstate, derived previously. We find that these two results match and confirm\nthat the su(2|2)_q-invariant S-matrix is describing world-sheet excitations of\nthe \\eta-deformed background.",
        "positive": "Effective Potential for Revolving D-branes: We quantize an open string stretched between D0-branes revolving around each\nother. The worldsheet theory is analyzed in a rotating coordinate system in\nwhich the worldsheet fields obey simple boundary conditions, but instead the\nworldsheet Lagrangian becomes nonlinear. We quantize the system perturbatively\nwith respect to the velocity of the D-branes and determine the one-loop\npartition function of the open string, from which we extract the short-distance\nbehavior of the effective potential for the revolving D0-branes. It is compared\nwith the calculation of the partition function of open strings between\nD0-branes moving at a constant relative velocity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-Gravitating Scalars and Spacetime Compactification: We discuss role of partially gravitating scalar fields, scalar fields whose\nenergy-momentum tensors vanish for a subset of dimensions, in dynamical\ncompactification of a given set of dimensions. We show that the resulting\nspacetime exhibits a factorizable geometry consisting of usual four-dimensional\nspacetime with full Poincare invariance times a manifold of extra dimensions\nwhose size and shape are determined by the scalar field dynamics. Depending on\nthe strength of its coupling to the curvature scalar, the vacuum expectation\nvalue (VEV) of the scalar field may or may not vanish. When its VEV is zero the\nhigher dimensional spacetime is completely flat and there is no\ncompactification effect at all. On the other hand, when its VEV is nonzero the\nextra dimensions get spontaneously compactified. The compactification process\nis such that a bulk cosmological constant is utilized for curving the extra\ndimensions.",
        "positive": "Stability of the Early Universe in Bigravity Theory: We study the stability of a spherically symmetric perturbation around the\nflat Friedmann-Lema$\\hat{\\i}$tre-Robertson-Walker spacetime in the ghost-free\nbigravity theory, retaining nonlinearities of the helicity-$0$ mode of the\nmassive graviton. It has been known that, when the graviton mass is smaller\nthan the Hubble parameter, homogeneous and isotropic spacetimes suffer from the\nHiguchi-type ghost or the gradient instability against the linear perturbation\nin the bigravity. Hence, the bigravity theory has no healthy massless limit for\ncosmological solutions at linear level. In this paper we show that the\ninstabilities can be resolved by taking into account nonlinear effects of the\nscalar graviton mode for an appropriate parameter space of coupling constants.\nThe growth history in the bigravity can be restored to the result in general\nrelativity in the early stage of the Universe, in which the St\\\"uckelberg\nfields are nonlinear and there is neither ghost nor gradient instability.\nTherefore, the bigravity theory has the healthy massless limit, and cosmology\nbased on it is viable even when the graviton mass is smaller than the Hubble\nparameter."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Multi-trace Correlators from Permutations as Moduli Space: We study the $n$-point functions of scalar multi-trace operators in the\n$U(N_c)$ gauge theory with adjacent scalars, such as ${\\cal N}=4$ super\nYang-Mills, at tree-level by using finite group methods. We derive a set of\nformulae of the general $n$-point functions, valid for general $n$ and to all\norders of $1/N_c$. In one formula, the sum over Feynman graphs becomes a\ntopological partition function on $\\Sigma_{0,n}$ with a discrete gauge group,\nwhich resembles closed string interactions. In another formula, a new skeleton\nreduction of Feynman graphs generates connected ribbon graphs, which resembles\nopen string interaction. We define the moduli space ${\\cal M}_{g,n}^{\\rm\ngauge}$ from the space of skeleton-reduced graphs in the connected $n$-point\nfunction of gauge theory. This moduli space is a proper subset of ${\\cal\nM}_{g,n}$ stratified by the genus, and its top component gives a simple\ntriangulation of $\\Sigma_{g,n}$.",
        "positive": "The Off-shell Symmetry Algebra of the Light-cone AdS_5 x S^5 Superstring: We analyze the psu(2,2|4) supersymmetry algebra of a superstring propagating\nin the AdS_5 x S^5 background in the uniform light-cone gauge. We consider the\noff-shell theory by relaxing the level-matching condition and take the limit of\ninfinite light-cone momentum, which decompactifies the string world-sheet. We\nfocus on the psu(2|2)+psu(2|2) subalgebra which leaves the light-cone\nHamiltonian invariant and show that it undergoes extension by a central element\nwhich is expressed in terms of the level-matching operator. This result is in\nagreement with the conjectured symmetry algebra of the dynamic S-matrix in the\ndual N=4 gauge theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Minimal $\\cal N=4$ topologically massive supergravity: Using the superconformal framework, we construct a new off-shell model for\n$\\cal N=4$ topologically massive supergravity which is minimal in the sense\nthat it makes use of a single compensating vector multiplet and involves no\nfree parameter. As such, it provides a counterexample to the common lore that\ntwo compensating multiplets are required within the conformal approach to\nsupergravity with eight supercharges in diverse dimensions. This theory is an\noff-shell $\\cal N=4$ supersymmetric extension of chiral gravity. All of its\nsolutions correspond to non-conformally flat superspaces. Its maximally\nsupersymmetric solutions include the so-called critical (4,0) anti-de Sitter\nsuperspace introduced in arXiv:1205.4622, and well as warped critical (4,0)\nanti-de Sitter superspaces. We also propose a dual formulation for the theory\nin which the vector multiplet is replaced with an off-shell hypermultiplet.\nUpon elimination of the auxiliary fields belonging to the hypermultiplet and\nimposing certain gauge conditions, the dual action reduces to the one\nintroduced in arXiv:1605.00103.",
        "positive": "Recursion Relations for Long-Range Integrable Spin Chains with Open\n  Boundary Conditions: It is well known that integrable charges for short-range (e.g.\nnearest-neighbor) spin chains with periodic boundary conditions can be\nrecursively generated by a so-called boost operator. In the past, this\niterative construction has been generalized to periodic long-range spin chains\nas they appear in the context of the gauge/gravity correspondence. Here we\nintroduce recursion relations for open long-range spin chain charges converting\na short-range into a long-range integrable model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "CFTs on curved spaces: We study conformal field theories (CFTs) on curved spaces including both\norientable and unorientable manifolds possibly with boundaries. We first review\nconformal transformations on curved manifolds. We then compute the identity\ncomponents of conformal groups acting on various metric spaces using a simple\nfact; given local coordinate systems be single-valued. Boundary conditions thus\nobtained which must be satisfied by conformal Killing vectors (CKVs) correctly\nreproduce known conformal groups. As a byproduct, on $\\mathbb\nS^1_l\\times\\mathbb H^2_r$, by setting their radii $l=Nr$ with $N\\in\\mathbb\nN^\\times$, we find (the identity component of) the conformal group enhances,\nwhose persistence in higher dimensions is also argued. We also discuss forms of\ncorrelation functions on these spaces using the symmetries. Finally, we study a\n$d$-torus $\\mathbb T^d$ in detail, and show the identity component of the\nconformal group acting on the manifold in general is given by\n$\\text{Conf}_0(\\mathbb T^d)\\simeq U(1)^d$ when $d\\ge2$. Using the fact, we\nsuggest some candidates of conformal manifolds of CFTs on $\\mathbb T^d$ without\nassuming the presence of supersymmetry (SUSY). In order to clarify which parts\nof correlation functions are physical, we also discuss renormalization group\n(RG) and local counterterms on curved spaces.",
        "positive": "Semi-classical BMS$_3$ blocks and flat holography: We present the construction of BMS$_3$ blocks in a two-dimensional field\ntheory and compare the results with holographic computations involving probe\nparticles propagating in flat space cosmologies. On the field theory side, we\ngeneralize the monodromy method used in the context of AdS/CFT to theories with\nBMS symmetry. On the bulk side we consider geodesic Feynman diagrams, recently\nintroduced in [arXiv:1712.07131], evaluated in locally flat geometries\ngenerated by backreaction of heavy BMS primary operators. We comment on the\nimplications of these results for the eigenstate thermalization hypothesis in\nflat holography."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Phases of higher spin black holes: Hawking-Page, transitions between\n  black holes and a critical point: We study the thermodynamic phase diagram of three-dimensional\n$sl(N;\\mathbb{R})$ higher spin black holes. By analyzing the semi-classical\npartition function we uncover a rich structure that includes Hawking-Page\ntransitions to the AdS$_3$ vacuum, first order phase transitions among black\nhole states, and a second order critical point. Our analysis is explicit for\n$N=4$ but we extrapolate some of our conclusions to arbitrary $N$. In\nparticular, we argue that even $N$ is stable in the ensemble under\nconsideration but odd $N$ is not.",
        "positive": "Construction of a Wilson action for the Wess-Zumino model: We construct a Wilson action for the Wess-Zumino model by applying the exact\nrenormalization group perturbatively. Using neither superfields nor auxiliary\nfields, we construct a supersymmetric action only with complex scalar and\nMajorana spinor fields. We adopt the BRST (antifield) formalism to show the\nconsistency of the construction to all orders in loop expansions. The resulting\naction has a quadratically divergent scalar mass term which is absent in the\nsuperfield formalism."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Strong anomaly and phases of chiral gauge theories: We present a simple argument which seems to favor, when applied to a large\nclass of strongly-coupled chiral gauge theories, a dynamical-Higgs-phase\nscenario, characterized by certain bifermion condensates. Flavor symmetric\nconfining vacua described in the infrared by a set of baryonlike massless\ncomposite fermions saturating the conventional 't Hooft anomaly matching\nequations, appear instead disfavored. Our basic criterion is that it should be\npossible to write a strong-anomaly effective action, analogous to the one used\nin QCD to describe the solution of the $U(1)_A$ problem in the low-energy\neffective action, by using the low-energy degrees of freedom in the\nhypothesized infrared theory. We also comment on some well-known ideas such as\nthe complementarity and the large $N$ planar dominance in the context of these\nchiral gauge theories.Some striking analogies and contrasts between the\nmassless QCD and chiral gauge theories seem to emerge from this discussion.",
        "positive": "Symbolic Computing with Grassman Variables: A package of Maple 5.3 commands for doing calculations with anticommutative\nvariables is presented."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Aspects of Massive ABJM Models with Inhomogeneous Mass Parameters: Recently, ${\\cal N} =3$ mass-deformed ABJM model with arbitrary mass-function\ndepending on a spatial coordinate was constructed. In addition to the ${\\cal N}\n= 3$ case, we construct lower supersymmetric ${\\cal N} =1$ and ${\\cal N} =2$\ninhomogeneously mass-deformed ABJM (ImABJM) models, which require three and two\narbitrary mass-functions, respectively. We also construct general vacuum\nsolutions of the ${\\cal N} = 3$ ImABJM model for any periodic mass-function.\nThere are two classes of vacua, which are diagonal type and GRVV type according\nto reference value of mass-functions. We provide explicit examples of the\nvacuum solutions and discuss related operators.",
        "positive": "Observing braneworld black holes: Spacetime in the vicinity of an event horizon can be probed using\nobservations which explore the dynamics of the accretion disc. Many high energy\ntheories of gravity lead to modifications of the near horizon regime,\npotentially providing a testing ground for these theories. In this paper, we\nexplore the impact of braneworld gravity on this region by formulating a method\nof deriving the general behaviour of the as yet unknown braneworld black hole\nsolution. We use simple bounds to constrain the solution close to the horizon."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Aligned Natural Inflation in String Theory: We propose a scenario for realizing super-Planckian axion decay constants in\nCalabi-Yau orientifolds of type IIB string theory, leading to large-field\ninflation. Our construction is a simple embedding in string theory of the\nmechanism of Kim, Nilles, and Peloso, in which a large effective decay constant\narises from alignment of two smaller decay constants. The key ingredient is\ngaugino condensation on magnetized or multiply-wound D7-branes. We argue that,\nunder very mild assumptions about the topology of the Calabi-Yau, there are\ncontrollable points in moduli space with large effective decay constants.",
        "positive": "Simulating seeded vacuum decay in a cold atom system: We propose to test the concept of seeded vacuum decay in cosmology using an\nanalogue gravity Bose-Einstein condensate system. The role of the nucleation\nseed is played by a vortex within the condensate. We present two complementary\ntheoretical analyses that demonstrate seeded decay is the dominant decay\nmechanism of the false vacuum. First, we adapt the standard instanton methods\nto the Gross-Pitaevskii equation. Second, we use the truncated Wigner method to\nstudy vacuum decay."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Null Fluids - A New Viewpoint of Galilean Fluids: This article is a detailed version of our short letter `On equilibrium\npartition function for non-relativistic fluid' [arXiv:1505.05677] extended to\ninclude an anomalous $U(1)$ symmetry. We construct a relativistic system, which\nwe call null fluid and show that it is in one-to-one correspondence with a\nGalilean fluid living in one lower dimension. The correspondence is based on\nlight cone reduction, which is known to reduce the Poincare symmetry of a\ntheory to Galilean in one lower dimension. We show that the proposed null fluid\nand the corresponding Galilean fluid have exactly same symmetries,\nthermodynamics, constitutive relations, and equilibrium partition to all orders\nin derivative expansion. We also devise a mechanism to introduce $U(1)$ anomaly\nin even dimensional Galilean theories using light cone reduction, and study its\neffect on the constitutive relations of a Galilean Fluid.",
        "positive": "Classical Noncommutative Bicosmology Model: We propose a bicosmology model which is the classical analog of\nnoncommutative quantum mechanics. From this point of view the sources of the\nmodified FRW equations are dark energy ones governed by a Chapligyn's equation\nstate. The parameters of noncommutativity $\\theta$ and $B$ are interpreted in\nterms of the Planck area and a like-magnetic field, presumably the magnetic\nseed of magnetogenesis."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Axial Symmetry, Anti-BRST Invariance and Modified Anomalies: It is shown that anti-BRST symmetry is the quantized counterpart of local\naxial symmetry in gauge theories. An extended form of descent equations is\nworked out which yields a set of modified consistent anomalies.",
        "positive": "On the Derivation of Chiral Symmetry Breaking in QCD-like Theories and\n  S-confining Theories: Recent works argue that the pattern of chiral symmetry breaking in QCD-like\ntheories can be derived from supersymmetric (SUSY) QCD with perturbation of\nanomaly-mediated SUSY breaking (AMSB). Nevertheless, despite the fact that AMSB\nneeds to be a small (but still exact) perturbation, there are two other major\nproblems remaining unsolved: first, in order to derive the chiral symmetry\nbreaking pattern, one needs to minimize the potential along a certain specific\ndirection, identifying this direction fully as an outcome is nontrivial given\nthe moduli space of degenerate vacua in the SUSY limit; second, when SUSY is\nbroken, non-holomorphic states might emerge and be relevant for determining the\nvacuum structure. In this work, we focus on SUSY QCD with $N_f\\leq N_c+1$ and\nperturb the theories using AMSB. Without minimizing the potential along a\ncertain specific direction in the moduli space, we successfully derive the\nexpected chiral symmetry breaking pattern when $N_f<N_c$. However, when\n$N_f=N_c$ and $N_f=N_c+1$, we show that tree-level AMSB would induce runaway\ndirections, along which baryon number is spontaneously broken, and the vacua\nwith broken baryon number can be deeper while the field values are not far from\nthe origin. This implies that phase transitions and/or non-holomorphic physics\nare necessary. Moreover, we perform explicit consistency checks on ultraviolet\ninsensitivity for different $N_f$ by adding the holomorphic mass term for the\nlast flavor, we find that the jump of AMSB potential indeed matches the\ncontribution from the holomorphic mass term. We also show in general that, when\ntree-level AMSB is not vanishing, the origin of the moduli space in s-confining\ntheories does not persist as a minimum."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Heat kernel coefficients for compact fuzzy spaces: I discuss the trace of a heat kernel Tr[e^(-tA)] for compact fuzzy spaces. In\ncontinuum theory its asymptotic expansion for t -> +0 provides geometric\nquantities, and therefore may be used to extract effective geometric quantities\nfor fuzzy spaces. For compact fuzzy spaces, however, an asymptotic expansion\nfor t -> +0 is not appropriate because of their finiteness. It is shown that\neffective geometric quantities are found as coefficients of an approximate\npower-law expansion of the trace of a heat kernel valid for intermediate values\nof t. An efficient method to obtain these coefficients is presented and applied\nto some known fuzzy spaces to check its validity.",
        "positive": "The Renormalization Group with Exact beta-Functions: The perturbative $\\beta$-function is known exactly in a number of\nsupersymmetric theories and in the 't Hooft renormalization scheme in the\n$\\phi_4^4$ model. It is shown how this allows one to compute the effective\naction exactly for certain background field configurations and to relate bare\nand renormalized couplings. The relationship between the MS and SUSY\nsubtraction schemes in $N = 1$ super Yang-Mills theory is discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Tropical Periods for Calabi-Yau Hypersurfaces in non--Fano Toric\n  Varieties: We consider multi-polytopes to describe non-Fano toric varieties and their\nassociated anticanonical Calabi-Yau hypersurfaces. From the periods of the\nmirror manifold the $\\widehat{\\Gamma}$-conjecture is shown to hold for examples\nof Calabi-Yau hypersurfaces in non-Fano ambient spaces, extending earlier work\nby Abouzaid et al by employing a generalized Duistermaat-Heckman measure.",
        "positive": "Real-Time Instantons and Suppression of Collision-Induced Tunneling: We consider tunneling processes in QFT induced by collisions of elementary\nparticles. We propose a semiclassical method for estimating the probability of\nthese processes in the limit of very high collision energy. As an illustration,\nwe evaluate the maximum probability of induced tunneling between different\nvacua in a (1+1)-dimensional scalar model with boundary interaction."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Baby de Sitter Black Holes and dS$_3$/CFT$_2$: Unlike three-dimensional Einstein gravity, three-dimensional massive gravity\nadmits asymptotically de Sitter space (dS) black hole solutions. These black\nholes present interesting features and provide us with toy models to study the\ndS/CFT correspondence. A remarkable property of these black holes is that they\nare always in thermal equilibrium with the cosmological horizon of the space\nthat hosts them. This invites us to study the thermodynamics of these solutions\nwithin the context of dS/CFT. We study the asymptotic symmetry group of the\ntheory and find that it indeed coincides with the local two-dimensional\nconformal algebra. The charge algebra associated to the asymptotic Killing\nvectors consists of two copies of the Virasoro algebra with non-vanishing\ncentral extension. We compute the mass and angular momentum of the dS black\nholes and verify that a naive application of Cardy's formula exactly reproduces\nthe entropy of both the black hole and the cosmological horizon. By adapting\nthe holographic renormalization techniques to the case of dS space, we define\nthe boundary stress tensor of the dual Euclidean conformal field theory.",
        "positive": "Higher Spin Currents in the Enhanced N=3 Kazama-Suzuki Model: The N=3 Kazama-Suzuki model at the `critical' level has been found by\nCreutzig, Hikida and Ronne. We construct the lowest higher spin currents of\nspins (3/2, 2,2,2,5/2, 5/2, 5/2, 3) in terms of various fermions. In order to\nobtain the operator product expansions (OPEs) between these higher spin\ncurrents, we describe three N=2 OPEs between the two N=2 higher spin currents\ndenoted by (3/2, 2, 2, 5/2) and (2, 5/2, 5/2, 3) (corresponding 36 OPEs in the\ncomponent approach). Using the various Jacobi identities, the coefficient\nfunctions appearing on the right hand side of these N=2 OPEs are determined in\nterms of central charge completely. Then we describe them as one single N=3 OPE\nin the N=3 superspace. The right hand side of this N=3 OPE contains the\nSO(3)-singlet N=3 higher spin multiplet of spins (2, 5/2, 5/2, 5/2, 3,3,3,\n7/2), the SO(3)-singlet N=3 higher spin multiplet of spins (5/2, 3,3,3, 7/2,\n7/2, 7/2, 4), and the SO(3)-triplet N=3 higher spin multiplets where each\nmultiplet has the spins (3, 7/2, 7/2, 7/2, 4,4,4, 9/2), in addition to N=3\nsuperconformal family of the identity operator. Finally, by factoring out the\nspin-1/2 current of N=3 linear superconformal algebra generated by eight\ncurrents of spins (1/2, 1,1,1, 3/2, 3/2, 3/2, 2), we obtain the extension of\nso-called SO(3) nonlinear Knizhnik Bershadsky algebra."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Nonlinear Responses of Chiral Fluids from Kinetic Theory: The second-order nonlinear responses of inviscid chiral fluids near local\nequilibrium are investigated by applying the chiral kinetic theory (CKT)\nincorporating side-jump effects. It is shown that the local equilibrium\ndistribution function can be non-trivially introduced in a co-moving frame with\nrespect to the fluid velocity when the quantum corrections in collisions are\ninvolved. For the study of anomalous transport, contributions from both quantum\ncorrections in anomalous hydrodynamic equations of motion and those from the\nCKT and Wigner functions are considered under the relaxation-time (RT)\napproximation, which result in anomalous charge Hall currents propagating along\nthe cross product of the background electric field and the temperature (or\nchemical-potential) gradient and of the temperature and chemical-potential\ngradients. On the other hand, the nonlinear quantum correction on the charge\ndensity vanishes in the classical RT approximation, which in fact satisfies the\nmatching condition given by the anomalous equation obtained from the CKT.",
        "positive": "Condensates beyond the horizons: In this work we continue our previous studies concerning the possibility of\nthe existence of a Bose-Einstein condensate in the interior of a static black\nhole, a possibility first advocated by Dvali and G\\'omez. We find that the\nphenomenon seems to be rather generic and it is associated to the presence of\nan horizon, acting as a confining potential. We extend the previous\nconsiderations to a Reissner-Nordstr\\\"om black hole and to the de Sitter\ncosmological horizon. In the latter case the use of static coordinates is\nessential to understand the physical picture. In order to see whether a BEC is\npreferred, we use the Brown-York quasilocal energy, finding that a condensate\nis energetically favourable in all cases in the classically forbidden region.\nThe Brown-York quasilocal energy also allows us to derive a quasilocal\npotential, whose consequences we explore. Assuming the validity of this\nquasilocal potential allows us to suggest a possible mechanism to generate a\ngraviton condensate in black holes. However, this mechanism appears not to be\nfeasible in order to generate a quantum condensate behind the cosmological de\nSitter horizon."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Surface Operators in Abelian Gauge Theory: We consider arbitrary embeddings of surface operators in a pure,\nnon-supersymmetric abelian gauge theory on spin (non-spin) four-manifolds. For\nany surface operator with a priori simultaneously non-vanishing parameters, we\nexplicitly show that the parameters transform naturally under an SL(2, Z) (or a\ncongruence subgroup thereof) duality of the theory. However, for\nnon-trivially-embedded surface operators, exact S-duality holds only if the\nquantum parameter effectively vanishes, while the overall SL(2, Z) (or a\ncongruence subgroup thereof) duality holds up to a c-number at most,\nregardless. Via the formalism of duality walls, we furnish an alternative\nderivation of the transformation of parameters - found also to be consistent\nwith a switch from Wilson to 't Hooft loop operators under S-duality. With any\nbackground embedding of surface operators, the partition function and the\ncorrelation functions of non-singular, gauge-invariant local operators on any\ncurved four-manifold, are found to transform like modular forms under the\nrespective duality groups.",
        "positive": "Finite energy shifts in SU(n) supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory on T^3xR\n  at weak coupling: We consider a semi-classical treatment, in the regime of weak gauge coupling,\nof supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory in a space-time of the form T^3xR with\nSU(n)/Z_n gauge group and a non-trivial gauge bundle. More specifically, we\nconsider the theories obtained as power series expansions around a certain\nclass of normalizable vacua of the classical theory, corresponding to isolated\npoints in the moduli space of flat connections, and the perturbative\ncorrections to the free energy eigenstates and eigenvalues in the weakly\ninteracting theory. The perturbation theory construction of the interacting\nHilbert space is complicated by the divergence of the norm of the interacting\nstates. Consequently, the free and interacting Hilbert furnish unitarily\ninequivalent representation of the algebra of creation and annihilation\noperators of the quantum theory. We discuss a consistent redefinition of the\nHilbert space norm to obtain the interacting Hilbert space and the properties\nof the interacting representation. In particular, we consider the lowest\nnon-vanishing corrections to the free energy spectrum and discuss the crucial\nimportance of supersymmetry for these corrections to be finite."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Three and Four Point Functions of Stress Energy Tensors in D=3 for the\n  Analysis of Cosmological Non-Gaussianities: We compute the correlation functions of 3 and 4 stress energy tensors $(T)$\nin D=3 in free field theories of scalars, abelian gauge fields, and fermions,\nwhich are relevant in the analysis of cosmological non-gaussianities. These\ncorrelators appear in the holographic expressions of the scalar and tensor\nperturbations derived for holographic cosmological models. The result is simply\nadapted to describe the leading contributions in the gauge coupling to the same\ncorrelators also for a non abelian SU(N) gauge theory. In the case of the\nbispectrum, our results are mapped and shown to be in full agreement with the\ncorresponding expressions given in a recent holographic study by Bzowski,\nMcFadden and Skenderis. In the 4-T case we present the completely traced\namplitude plus all the contact terms. These are expected to appear in a fourth\norder extension of the holographic formulas for the 4-point functions of scalar\nmetric perturbations.",
        "positive": "Spectral curve for open strings attached to the Y=0 brane: The concept of spectral curve is generalized to open strings in AdS/CFT with\nintegrability preserving boundary conditions. Our definition is based on the\nlogarithms of the eigenvalues of the open monodromy matrix and makes possible\nto determine all the analytic, symmetry and asymptotic properties of the\nquasimomenta. We work out the details of the whole construction for the Y = 0\nbrane boundary condition. The quasimomenta of open circular strings are\nexplicitly calculated. We use the asymptotic solutions of the Y -system and the\nboundary Bethe Ansatz equations to recover the spectral curve in the strong\ncoupling scaling limit. Using the curve the quasiclassical fluctuations of some\nopen string solutions are also studied."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "BPS Algebras in 2D String Theory: We discuss a set of heterotic and type II string theory compactifications to\n1+1 dimensions that are characterized by factorized internal worldsheet CFTs of\nthe form $V_1\\otimes \\bar V_2$, where $V_1, V_2$ are self-dual (super) vertex\noperator algebras. In the cases with spacetime supersymmetry, we show that the\nBPS states form a module for a Borcherds-Kac-Moody (BKM) (super)algebra, and we\nprove that for each model the BKM (super)algebra is a symmetry of genus zero\nBPS string amplitudes. We compute the supersymmetric indices of these models\nusing both Hamiltonian and path integral formalisms. The path integrals are\nmanifestly automorphic forms closely related to the Borcherds-Weyl-Kac\ndenominator. Along the way, we comment on various subtleties inherent to these\nlow-dimensional string compactifications.",
        "positive": "Exact WKB analysis of the vacuum pair production by time-dependent\n  electric fields: We study the vacuum pair production by a time-dependent strong electric field\nbased on the exact WKB analysis. We identify the generic structure of a Stokes\ngraph for systems with the vacuum pair production and show that the number of\nproduced pairs is given by a product of connection matrices for Stokes segments\nconnecting pairs of turning points. We derive an explicit formula for the\nnumber of produced pairs, assuming the semi-classical limit. The obtained\nformula can be understood as a generalization of the divergent asymptotic\nseries method by Berry, and is consistent with other semi-classical methods\nsuch as the worldline instanton method and the steepest descent evaluation of\nthe Bogoliubov coefficients done by Brezin and Izykson. We also use the formula\nto discuss effects of time-dependence of the applied strong electric field\nincluding the interplay between the perturbative multi-photon pair production\nand non-peturbative Schwinger mechanism, and the dynamically assisted Schwinger\nmechanism."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantization of (1+1)-dimensional Ho\u0159ava-Lifshitz theory of gravity: In this paper, we study the quantization of the (1+1)-dimensional projectable\nHo\\v{r}ava-Lifshitz (HL) gravity, and find that, when only gravity is present,\nthe system can be quantized by following the canonical Dirac quantization, and\nthe corresponding wavefunction is normalizable for some orderings of the\noperators. The corresponding Hamilton can also be written in terms of a simple\nharmonic oscillator, whereby the quantization can be carried out quantum\nmechanically in the standard way. When the HL gravity minimally couples to a\nscalar field, the momentum constraint is solved explicitly in the case where\nthe fundamental variables are functions of time only. In this case, the coupled\nsystem can also be quantized by following the Dirac process, and the\ncorresponding wavefunction is also normalizable for some particular orderings\nof the operators. The Hamilton can be also written in terms of two interacting\nharmonic oscillators. But, when the interaction is turned off, one of the\nharmonic oscillators has positive energy, while the other has negative energy.\nA remarkable feature is that orderings of the operators from a classical\nHamilton to a quantum mechanical one play a fundamental role in order for the\nWheeler-DeWitt equation to have nontrivial solutions. In addition, the\nspace-time is well quantized, even when it is classically singular.",
        "positive": "Strings, Branes and Cosmology: What can we hope to learn?: This article briefly summarizes the motivations for -- and recent progress in\n-- searching for cosmological configurations within string theory, with a focus\non how much we might reasonably hope to learn about fundamental physics from\nprecision cosmological measurements."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Algebraic structure of Gravity with Torsion: The BRS transformations for gravity with torsion are discussed by using the\nMaurer-Cartan horizontality conditions. With the help of an operator $\\d$ which\nallows to decompose the exterior space-time derivative as a BRS commutator we\nsolve the Wess-Zumino consistency condition corresponding to invariant\nLagrangians and anomalies.",
        "positive": "On a Boundary CFT Description of Nonperturbative N=2 Yang-Mills Theory: We describe a simple method for determining the strong-coupling BPS spectrum\nof four dimensional N=2 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory. The idea is to\nrepresent the magnetic monopoles and dyons in terms of D-brane boundary states\nof a non-compact d=2 N=2 Landau-Ginzburg model. In this way the quantum\ntruncated BPS spectrum at the origin of the moduli space can be directly mapped\nto the finite number of primary fields of the superconformal minimal models."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Tauberian-Cardy formula with spin: We prove a $2$ dimensional Tauberian theorem in context of $2$ dimensional\nconformal field theory. The asymptotic density of states with conformal weight\n$(h,\\bar{h})\\to (\\infty,\\infty)$ for any arbitrary spin is derived using the\ntheorem. We further rigorously show that the error term is controlled by the\ntwist parameter and insensitive to spin. The sensitivity of the leading piece\ntowards spin is discussed. We identify a universal piece in microcanonical\nentropy when the averaging window is large. An asymptotic spectral gap on\n$(h,\\bar{h})$ plane, hence the asymptotic twist gap is derived. We prove an\nuniversal inequality stating that in a compact unitary $2$D CFT without any\nconserved current $Ag\\leq \\frac{\\pi(c-1)r^2}{24}$ is satisfied, where $g$ is\nthe twist gap over vacuum and $A$ is the minimal \"areal gap\", generalizing the\nminimal gap in dimension to $(h',\\bar{h}')$ plane and\n$r=\\frac{4\\sqrt{3}}{\\pi}\\simeq 2.21$. We investigate density of states in the\nregime where spin is parametrically larger than twist with both going to\ninfinity. Moreover, the large central charge regime is studied. We also probe\nfinite twist, large spin behavior of density of states.",
        "positive": "Ghost anomalous dimension in asymptotically safe quantum gravity: We compute the ghost anomalous dimension within the asymptotic-safety\nscenario for quantum gravity. For a class of covariant gauge fixings and using\na functional RG scheme, the anomalous dimension $\\eta_c$ is negative, implying\nan improved UV behavior of ghost fluctuations. At the non-Gaussian UV fixed\npoint, we observe a maximum value of $\\eta_c\\simeq -0.78$ for the Landau-deWitt\ngauge within the given scheme and truncation. Most importantly, the\nbackreaction of the ghost flow onto the Einstein-Hilbert sector preserves the\nnon-Gaussian fixed point with only mild modifications of the fixed-point values\nfor the gravitational coupling and cosmological constant and the associated\ncritical exponents; also their gauge dependence is slightly reduced. Our\nresults provide further evidence for the asymptotic-safety scenario of quantum\ngravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Proof of the fundamental BCJ relations for QCD amplitudes: The fundamental BCJ-relation is a linear relation between primitive tree\namplitudes with different cyclic orderings. The cyclic orderings differ by the\ninsertion place of one gluon. The coefficients of the fundamental BCJ-relation\nare linear in the Lorentz invariants $2 p_i p_j$. The BCJ-relations are well\nestablished for pure gluonic amplitudes as well as for amplitudes in ${\\mathcal\nN}=4$ super-Yang-Mills theory. Recently, it has been conjectured that the\nBCJ-relations hold also for QCD amplitudes. In this paper we give a proof of\nthis conjecture. The proof is valid for massless and massive quarks.",
        "positive": "Can the Red Shift be a consequence of the Dilaton field?: The possibility that the expansion rate of the Universe, as reflected by the\nRed Shift, could be produced by the existence of the dilaton field is explored.\nThe analysis starts from previously studied solutions of the Einstein equations\nfor gravity interacting with a massive scalar field. It is firstly underlined\nthat such solutions can produce the observed values of the Hubble constant.\nSince the Einstein-Klein-Gordon lagrangian could be expected to appear as an\neffective one for the dilaton in some approximation, the mentioned solutions\nare applied to study this field. Therefore, the vacuum expectation value for\nthe dilaton is selected to be of the order of the Planck mass, as it is\nfrequently fixed in string phenomenology. Then, it follows that the value of\nits effective mass should be as low as m=3.9 10^(-29) cm^(-1) in order produce\nthe observed expansion rate. The discussion can also predict a radius of the\nUniverse of the order of 10^(29) cm. Finally, after adopting the view advanced\nina previous work, in which these mentioned solutions are associated to\ninterior configurations of collapsed scalar fields, a picture of our Universe\nas a black hole interior is suggested."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On gauge coupling constant in linearization of nonlinear supersymmetry: We study in two space-time dimensions (d = 2) the relation between N = 2\nsupersymmetric (SUSY) QED theory and N = 2 nonlinear (NL) SUSY model by\nlinearizing N = 2 NLSUSY generally based upon the fundamental notions of the\nbasic theory. We find a remarkable mechanism which determines theoretically the\nmagnitude of the bare gauge coupling constant from the general structure of\nauxiliary fields. We show explicitly in d = 2 that the NL/linear SUSY relation\n(i.e. a SUSY compositeness condition for all particles) determines the\nmagnitude of the bare electromagnetic coupling constant (i.e. the fine\nstructure constant) of N = 2 SUSY QED.",
        "positive": "On the Non-relativistic Limit of Linear Wave Equations for Zero and\n  Unity Spin Particles: The non-relativistic limit of the linear wave equation for zero and unity\nspin bosons of mass $m$ in the Duffin-Kemmer-Petiau representation is\ninvestigated by means of a unitary transformation, analogous to the\nFoldy-Wouthuysen canonical transformation for a relativistic electron. The\ninteracting case is also analyzed, by considering a power series expansion of\nthe transformed Hamiltonian, thus demonstrating that all features of particle\ndynamics can be recovered if corrections of order $1/m^{2}$ are taken into\naccount through a recursive iteration procedure."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Magnetising the ${\\cal N}=4$ Super Yang-Mills plasma: We investigate the thermodynamics of the anisotropic magnetic $\\rm AdS_5$\nblack brane solution found by D'Hoker and Kraus arXiv:0908.3875. This solution\nis the gravity dual of a strongly coupled ${\\cal N}=4$ Super Yang-Mills plasma\nin ${\\mathbb R}^{3,1}$, with temperature $T$, in the presence of a magnetic\nfield ${\\cal B}$. Following the procedure of holographic renormalisation we\ncalculate the Gibbs free energy and the holographic stress tensor of the\nconformal plasma. We evaluate several thermodynamic quantities including the\nmagnetisation, the anisotropic pressures and the speeds of sound. Our results\nare consistent with an RG flow from a perturbed $\\rm AdS_5$ black brane at\nsmall ${\\cal B}/T^2$ to a $\\rm \\bf BTZ \\times {\\mathbb R}^2$ black brane at\nlarge ${\\cal B}/T^2$. We also perform a phenomenological analysis where we\ncompare the thermodynamics of a magnetised conformal plasma against the lattice\nQCD results for the thermodynamics of the magnetised quark-gluon plasma.",
        "positive": "Minimal cut-off vacuum state constraints from CMB bispectrum statistics: In this short note we translate the best available observational bounds on\nthe CMB bispectrum amplitudes into constraints on a specific scale-invariant\nNew Physics Hypersurface (NPH) model of vacuum state modifications, as first\nproposed by Danielsson, in general models of single-field inflation. As\ncompared to the power spectrum the bispectrum constraints are less ambiguous\nand provide an interesting upper bound on the cut-off scale in general models\nof single-field inflation with a small speed of sound. This upper bound is\nincompatible with the power spectrum constraint for most of the parameter\ndomain, leaving very little room for minimal cut-off vacuum state modifications\nin general single-field models with a small speed of sound."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Counting Supertubes: The quantum states of the supertube are counted by directly quantizing the\nlinearized Born-Infeld action near the round tube. The result is an entropy $S\n= 2\\pi \\sqrt{2 (Q_{D0}Q_{F1}-J)}$, in accord with conjectures in the\nliterature. As a result, supertubes may be the generic D0-F1 bound state. Our\napproach also shows directly that supertubes are marginal bound states with a\ndiscrete spectrum. We also discuss the relation to recent suggestions of Mathur\net al involving three-charge black holes.",
        "positive": "Gauss-Bonnet braneworld redux: A novel scenario for the bouncing\n  universe: We propose a new scenario for the bouncing universe in a simple\nfive-dimensional braneworld model in the framework of Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet\ngravity, which works even with ordinary matter on the brane. In this scenario,\nthe so-called branch singularity located at a finite physical radius in the\nbulk spacetime plays an essential role. We show that a three-brane moving in\nthe bulk may reach and pass through it in spite of the fact that it is a\ncurvature singularity. The bulk spacetime is extended beyond the branch\nsingularity in the C^0 sense and then the branch singularity is identified as a\nmassive thin shell. From the bulk point of view, this process is the collision\nof the three-brane with the shell of branch singularity. From the point of view\non the brane, this process is a sudden transition from the collapsing phase to\nthe expanding phase of the universe. The present result opens a completely new\npossibility to achieve the bouncing brane universe as a higher-curvature\neffect."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Instanton corrections to the effective action of N=4 SYM: We compute the one-instanton effective action of N=4 super Yang-Mills theory\nwith gauge group Sp(2N). The result can be written in a very compact and\nmanifestly supersymmetric form involving an integral over the superspace of an\nirrational function of the N=4 on-shell superfields. In the Coulomb branch, the\ninstanton corrects both the MHV and next-to-next-MHV higher derivative terms\nD^4F^{2n+2} and F^{2n+4}. We confirm at the non-perturbative level the\nnon-renormalization theorems for MHV F^{2n+2} terms that are expected to\nreceive perturbative corrections only at n-loops. We compute also the one and\ntwo-loop corrections to the D^4F^4 term and show that its completion under\nSL(2,Z) duality is consistent with the one-instanton results of U(2) gauge\ngroup.",
        "positive": "Poisson equations, higher derivative automorphic forms and string\n  parameter limits: This paper considers the higher derivative terms in the effective action of\ntype II string theory and in particular the behaviour of the automorphic forms\nthey contain in all the different possible limits of the string parameters. The\nautomorphic forms are thought to obey Poisson equations which contain the\nLaplacian defined on the coset space to which the scalars fields belong and we\ncompute this Laplacian in all the possible string theory limits. We also\nconsider these Poisson equations in the decompactification limit of a single\ndimension and by making two assumptions, one on the generic form of this\nequation and the other on the behaviour of the automorphic forms in this limit,\nwe find strong constraints on the allowed form of this differential equation.\nWe show that these constraints allow one to recover much of what was previously\nknown about the automorphic forms corresponding to terms in the effective\naction that have fourteen or fewer space-time derivatives in a simple way."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Massive selfdual perturbed gauge theory: Spontaneously broken gauge theories are described as a perturbation of\nselfdual gauge theory. Instead of the incorporation of scalar degrees of\nfreedom, the massive component of the gauge field is obtained from an\nanti-selfdual field strength consisting of three components before gauge\nfixing. The interactions describe a massive gauge theory that is non-polynomial\nwith an expansion containing an infinite number of terms. The Lagrangian\ngeneralizes the form of the axial anomaly in two dimensions. Unitary\npropagation of the tensor field occurs upon gauge fixing an additional\nsymmetry.",
        "positive": "BPS D-branes after Tachyon Condensation: We construct an effective action describing brane-antibrane system containing\nN D-branes and N \\bar{D}-branes. BPS equations for remaining D-branes after\ntachyon condensation are derived and their properties are investigated. The\nvalue of the D-brane tension and the number of brane bound states are\ndiscussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The D(2,1;\u03b1) Particle: The exceptional superalgebra $D(2,1;\\alpha)$ has been classified as a\ncandidate conformal supersymmetry algebra in two dimensions. We propose an\nalternative interpretation of it as extended BFV-BRST quantisation\nsuperalgebras in 2D ($D(2,1;1) \\simeq osp(2,2|2)$). A superfield realization is\npresented wherein the standard extended phase space coordinates can be\nidentified. The physical states are studied via the cohomology of the BRST\noperator. It is conjectured that the underlying model giving rise to this\n`quantisation' is that of a scalar relativistic particle in 1+1 dimensions, for\nwhich the light cone coordinates $x_R$, $x_L$ transform under worldline\ndiffeomorphisms as scalar densities of appropriate weight.",
        "positive": "D-Branes and Vanishing Cycles in Higher Dimensions: We investigate the quantum volume of D-branes wrapped around cycles of\nvarious dimension in Calabi-Yau fourfolds and fivefolds. Examining the cases of\nthe sextic and heptic hypersurface Calabi-Yau varieties, as well as one example\nin weighted projective space, we find expressions for periods which vanish at\nthe singular point analogous to the conifold point. As in the known\nthree-dimensional cases, it is the top dimensional cycle which attains zero\nquantum volume, even though lower dimensional cycles remain non-degenerate,\nindicating this phenomena to be a general feature of quantum geometry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Branes with Brains: Exploring String Vacua with Deep Reinforcement\n  Learning: We propose deep reinforcement learning as a model-free method for exploring\nthe landscape of string vacua. As a concrete application, we utilize an\nartificial intelligence agent known as an asynchronous advantage actor-critic\nto explore type IIA compactifications with intersecting D6-branes. As different\nstring background configurations are explored by changing D6-brane\nconfigurations, the agent receives rewards and punishments related to string\nconsistency conditions and proximity to Standard Model vacua. These are in turn\nutilized to update the agent's policy and value neural networks to improve its\nbehavior. By reinforcement learning, the agent's performance in both tasks is\nsignificantly improved, and for some tasks it finds a factor of O(200) more\nsolutions than a random walker. In one case, we demonstrate that the agent\nlearns a human-derived strategy for finding consistent string models. In\nanother case, where no human-derived strategy exists, the agent learns a\ngenuinely new strategy that achieves the same goal twice as efficiently per\nunit time. Our results demonstrate that the agent learns to solve various\nstring theory consistency conditions simultaneously, which are phrased in terms\nof non-linear, coupled Diophantine equations.",
        "positive": "p-adic Strings Then and Now: After a brief review of the idea and main results of the original p-adic\nstring work, I describe the recent interest in p-adic strings in the context of\nAdS/CFT duality"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "$\\mathbb{1}$-Loop Theory: A new formalism for lattice gauge theory is developed that preserves\nPoincar\\'e symmetry in a discrete universe. We define the $\\mathbb{1}$-loop, a\ngeneralization of the Wilson loop that reformulates classical differential\nequations of motion as identity-valued multiplicative loops of Lie group\nelements of the form ${[g_1\\cdots g_n]=\\mathbb{1}}$. A lattice Poincar\\'e gauge\ntheory of gravity is thus derived that employs a novel matter field\nconstruction and recovers Einstein's vacuum equations in the appropriate limit.",
        "positive": "QCD Cosmology from the Lattice Equation of State: We numerically determine the time dependence of the scale factor from the\nlattice QCD equation of state, which can be used to define a QCD driven\ncosmology. We compare a lattice approach to QCD cosmology at late times with\nother models of the low temperature equation of state including the hadronic\nresonance gas model, Hagedorn model and AdS/CFT."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exact N=4 Supersymmetric Low-Energy Effective Action in N=4\n  Super-Yang-Mills Theory: We review a recent progress in constructing the low-energy effective action\nof N=4 SYM theory. This theory is formulated in terms of N=2 harmonic\nsuperfields corresponding to N=2 vector multiplet and hypermultiplet. Such a\nformulation possesses the manifest N=2 supersymmetry and an extra hidden\non-shell supersymmetry. Exploring the hidden N=2 supersymmetry we proved that\nthe known non-holomorphic potentials of the form ln W ln \\bar{W} can be\nexplicitly completed by the appropriate hypermultiplet-dependent terms to the\nentire N=4 supersymmetric form. The non-logarithmic effective potentials do not\nadmit an N=4 completion and, hence, such potentials cannot occur in N=4\nsupersymmetric theory. As a result we obtain the exact N=4 supersymmetric\nlow-energy effective action in N=4 SYM theory.",
        "positive": "On the Lorentz-breaking theory with higher derivatives in spinor sector: We consider the two-point function of the gauge field in Lorentz-breaking\ntheories with higher-derivative extension of the Dirac Lagrangian. We show that\nthe Carroll-Field-Jackiw term naturally arises in this theory as a quantum\ncorrection being perfectly finite and thus displaying no ambiguities. Also, the\nfiniteness of this term at low energy limit and the absence of large Lorentz\nviolating corrections allows to avoid the fine-tuning problem."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Stability of the nonperturbative bosonic string vacuum: Quantization of the bosonic string around the classical, perturbative vacuum\nis not consistent for spacetime dimensions 2<d<26. Recently we have showed that\nat large d there is another so-called mean field vacuum. Here we extend this\nmean field calculation to finite d and show that the corresponding mean field\nvacuum is stable under quadratic fluctuations for 2<d<26. We point out the\nanalogy with the two-dimensional O(N)-symmetric sigma-model, where the\n1/N-vacuum is very close to the real vacuum state even for finite N, in\ncontrast to the perturbative vacuum.",
        "positive": "Gauge theory of second class constraints without extra variables: We show that any theory with second class constraints may be cast into a\ngauge theory if one makes use of solutions of the constraints expressed in\nterms of the coordinates of the original phase space. We perform a Lagrangian\npath integral quantization of the resulting gauge theory and show that the\nnatural measure follows from a superfield formulation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Equivalence of a Complex $\\cP\\cT$-Symmetric Quartic Hamiltonian and a\n  Hermitian Quartic Hamiltonian with an Anomaly: In a recent paper Jones and Mateo used operator techniques to show that the\nnon-Hermitian $\\cP\\cT$-symmetric wrong-sign quartic Hamiltonian $H=\\half\np^2-gx^4$ has the same spectrum as the conventional Hermitian Hamiltonian\n$\\tilde H=\\half p^2+4g x^4-\\sqrt{2g} x$. Here, this equivalence is demonstrated\nvery simply by means of differential-equation techniques and, more importantly,\nby means of functional-integration techniques. It is shown that the linear term\nin the Hermitian Hamiltonian is anomalous; that is, this linear term has no\nclassical analog. The anomaly arises because of the broken parity symmetry of\nthe original non-Hermitian $\\cP\\cT$-symmetric Hamiltonian. This anomaly in the\nHermitian form of a $\\cP\\cT$-symmetric quartic Hamiltonian is unchanged if a\nharmonic term is introduced into $H$. When there is a harmonic term, an\nimmediate physical consequence of the anomaly is the appearance of bound\nstates; if there were no anomaly term, there would be no bound states. Possible\nextensions of this work to $-\\phi^4$ quantum field theory in higher-dimensional\nspace-time are discussed.",
        "positive": "Dessins d'Enfants in $\\mathcal{N}=2$ Generalised Quiver Theories: We study Grothendieck's dessins d'enfants in the context of the\n$\\mathcal{N}=2$ supersymmetric gauge theories in $\\left(3+1\\right)$ dimensions\nwith product $SU\\left(2\\right)$ gauge groups which have recently been\nconsidered by Gaiotto et al. We identify the precise context in which dessins\narise in these theories: they are the so-called ribbon graphs of such theories\nat certain isolated points in the Coulomb branch of the moduli space. With this\npoint in mind, we highlight connections to other work on trivalent dessins,\ngauge theories, and the modular group."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Higher Order Corrections to the Hagedorn Temperature at Strong Coupling: We propose a general formula for higher order corrections to the value of the\nHagedorn temperature of a class of holographic confining gauge theories in the\nstrong coupling expansion. Inspired by recent proposals in the literature, the\nformula combines the sigma-model string expansion with an effective approach.\nIn particular, it includes the sigma-model contributions to the Hagedorn\ntemperature at next-to-next-to leading order, which are computed in full\ngenerality. For ${\\cal N}=4$ SYM on $S^3$ our result agrees with numerical\nfield theory estimates with excellent precision. We use the general formula to\npredict the value of the Hagedorn temperature for ABJM on $S^2$ and for the\ndual of purely RR global $AdS_3$.",
        "positive": "Analytical Solution for Bosonic Fields in the FRW Multiply Warped\n  Braneworld: In this paper we find analytical solutions for the scalar and gauge fields in\nthe Freedman-Robertson-Walker multiply warped braneworld scenario. With this we\nfind the precise mass spectra for these fields. We compare these spectra with\nthat previously found in the literature for the static case."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Notes on relativistic superfluidity and gauge/string duality: We consider selected topics of relativistic superfluidity within gauge/string\nduality. Non-relativistically, the only conservation law relevant to the\nhydrodynamic approximation is the energy-momentum conservation.\nRelativistically, one has to introduce an extra conserved U(1) current and an\nextra three-dimensional scalar field which is condensed. Finding out a proper\nU(1) symmetry becomes a crucial point. We emphasize that in dual models there\ndo arise extra U(1) symmetries associated with wrapping of the strings around\n(extra) compact directions in Euclidean space-time. Moreover, if the geometry\nassociated with an extra compact dimension is cigar-like then the corresponding\nU(1) symmetry could well be spontaneously broken. The emerging Goldstone\nparticle survives in the hydrodynamic limit. A specific point is that the\nchemical potential conjugated with the corresponding U(1) charge is vanishing.\nWithin the standard approach the vanishing chemical potential implies no\nsuperfluidity. We argue that an exotic liquid, introduced recently in the\nliterature, with vanishing energy density and non-vanishing pressure represents\na viable description of the liquid associated with 3d Goldstone particles in\nEuclidean space-time. Since it lives on the stretched membrane, it describes\nenergy-momentum transport in the deep infrared. We discuss briefly possible\napplications to the quark-gluon plasma.",
        "positive": "$W$ Strings and Cohomology in Parafermionic Theories: By enforcing locality we relate the cohomology found in parafermionic\ntheories to that occurring in $W$ strings. This link provides a systematic\nmethod of finding states in the cohomology of $W_{2,s}$ strings."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supergravity at One Loop II: Chiral and Yang-Mills Matter: We present the full calculation of the divergent one-loop contribution to the\neffective boson Lagrangian for supergravity, including the Yang-Mills sector\nand the helicity-odd operators that arise from integration over fermion fields.\nThe only restriction is on the Yang-Mills kinetic energy normalization\nfunction, which is taken diagonal in gauge indices, as in models obtained from\nsuperstrings.",
        "positive": "Exact Spectrum of SU(n) Spin Chain with Inverse-Square Exchange: The spectrum and partition function of a model consisting of SU(n) spins\npositioned at the equilibrium positions of a classical Calogero model and\ninteracting through inverse-square exchange are derived. The energy levels are\nequidistant and have a high degree of degeneracy, with several SU(n) multiplets\nbelonging to the same energy eigenspace. The partition function takes the form\nof a q-deformed polynomial. This leads to a description of the system by means\nof an effective parafermionic hamiltonian, and to a classification of the\nstates in terms of \"modules\" consisting of base-n strings of integers."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "\"the Instability of String-Theoretic Black Holes\": It is demonstrated that static, charged, spherically--symmetric black holes\nin string theory are classically and catastrophically unstable to linearized\nperturbations in four dimensions, and moreover that unstable modes appear for\narbitrarily small positive values of the charge. This catastrophic classical\ninstability dominates and is distinct from much smaller and less significant\neffects such as possible quantum mechanical evaporation. The classical\ninstability of the string--theoretic black hole contrasts sharply with the\nsituation which obtains for the Reissner--Nordstr\\\"om black hole of general\nrelativity, which has been shown by Chandrasekhar to be perfectly stable to\nlinearized perturbations at the event horizon.",
        "positive": "A manifestly gauge invariant exact renormalization group: A manifestly gauge invariant exact renormalization group for pure SU(N)\nYang-Mills theory is proposed, allowing gauge invariant calculations, without\nany gauge fixing or ghosts. The necessary gauge invariant regularisation which\nimplements the effective cutoff, is naturally incorporated by embedding the\ntheory into a spontaneously broken SU(N|N) super-gauge theory. This guarantees\nfiniteness to all orders in perturbation theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Massive 4D Abelian 2-Form Theory: Nilpotent Symmetries from the\n  (Anti-)Chiral Superfield Approach: We derive the off-shell nilpotent (anti-)BRST symmetry transformations by\nexploiting the (anti-)chiral superfield approach (ACSA) to\nBecchi-Rouet-Stora-Tyutin (BRST) formalism for the four (3+1)-dimensional (4D)\nSt$\\ddot{u}$ckelberg-modified massive Abelian 2-form gauge theory. We perform\nexactly similar kind of exercise for the derivation of the off-shell nilpotent\n(anti-)co-BRST symmetry transformations, too. In the above derivations, the\nsymmetry invariant restrictions on the superfields play very important and\ndecisive roles. To prove the sanctity of the above nilpotent symmetries, we\ngeneralize our 4D ordinary theory (defined on the 4D flat Minkowskian spacetime\nmanifold) to its counterparts (4,1)-dimensional (anti-)chiral super\nsub-manifolds of the (4,2)-dimensional supermanifold which is parameterized by\nthe superspace coordinates $Z^{M} = (x^{\\mu},\\theta, \\bar{\\theta} ) $ where\n$x^\\mu ( \\mu = 0,1,2,3 )$ are the bosonic coordinates and a pair of\nGrassmannian variables $(\\theta, \\bar{\\theta})$ are fermionic: ($\\theta^{2} =\n\\bar{\\theta^{2}} = 0, \\,\\,\\theta\\,\\bar{\\theta} +\\bar{\\theta}\\,\\theta = 0$) in\nnature. One of the novel observations of our present endeavor is the derivation\nof the Curci-Ferrari (CF) type restrictions from the requirement of the\nsymmetry invariance of the coupled (but equivalent) Lagrangian densities for\nour theory within the framework of ACSA to BRST formalism. We also exploit the\nstandard techniques of ACSA to capture the off-shell nilpotency and absolute\nanticommutativity of the conserved (anti-)BRST as well as the (anti-)co-BRST\ncharges. In a subtle manner, the proof of the absolute anticommutativity of the\nabove conserved charges also implies the existence of the appropriate CF-type\nrestrictions on our theory.",
        "positive": "Infrared enhancement of supersymmetry in four dimensions: We study a recently-found class of RG flows in four dimensions exhibiting\nenhancement of supersymmetry in the infrared, which provides a lagrangian\ndescription of several strongly-coupled N=2 SCFTs. The procedure involves\nstarting from a N=2 SCFT, coupling a chiral multiplet in the adjoint\nrepresentation of the global symmetry to the moment map of the SCFT and turning\non a nilpotent expectation value for this chiral. In this note we show that,\ncombining considerations based on 't Hooft anomaly matching and basic results\nabout the N=2 superconformal algebra, it is possible to understand in detail\nthe mechanism underlying this phenomenon and formulate a simple criterion for\nsupersymmetry enhancement which allows us to bypass the analysis with\na-maximization. As a byproduct, we propose an algorithm to identify a\nlagrangian UV completion of a given N=2 SCFT under an RG flow of this type,\nprovided there is one."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dynamical Symmetry Breaking and Static Limits of Extended\n  Super-Yang-Mills Theories: A non-Seiberg-Wittian Approach: From a supersymmetry covariant source extension of N=2 SYM we study\nnon-trivial thermodynamical limits thereof. Using an argument by one of us\nabout the solution of the strong CP problem and the uniqueness of the QCD\nground state we find that the dependence of the effective potential on the\ndefining field operators is severely restricted. In contrast to the solution by\nSeiberg and Witten an acceptable infrared behavior only exists for broken\nsupersymmetry while the gauge symmetry remains unbroken.",
        "positive": "First Law of p-brane Thermodynamics: We study the physical process version and the equilibrium state version of\nthe first law of thermodynamics for a charged p-brane. the general setting for\nour investigations is (n+p+1)-dimensional Einstein dilaton gravity with (p+2)\nstrength form fields."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the `simple' form of the gravitational action and the\n  self-interacting graviton: The so-called $\\Gamma\\Gamma$-form of the gravitational Lagrangian, long known\nto provide its most compact expression as well as the most efficient generation\nof the graviton vertices, is taken as the starting point for discussing General\nRelativity as a theory of the self-interacting graviton. A straightforward but\ngeneral method of converting to a covariant formulation by the introduction of\na reference metric is given. It is used to recast the Einstein field equation\nas the equation of motion of a spin-2 particle interacting with the canonical\nenergy-momentum tensor symmetrized by the standard Belinfante method applicable\nto any field carrying nonzero spin. This represents the graviton field equation\nin a form complying with the precepts of standard field theory. It is then\nshown how representations based on other, at face value completely unrelated\ndefinitions of energy-momentum (pseudo)tensors are all related by the addition\nof appropriate superpotential terms. Specifically, the superpotentials are\nexplicitly constructed which connect to: i) the common definition consisting\nsimply of the nonlinear part of the Einstein tensor; ii) the Landau-Lifshitz\ndefinition.",
        "positive": "5d and 4d SCFTs: Canonical Singularities, Trinions and S-Dualities: Canonical threefold singularities in M-theory and Type IIB string theory give\nrise to superconformal field theories (SCFTs) in 5d and 4d, respectively. In\nthis paper, we study canonical hypersurface singularities whose resolutions\ncontain residual terminal singularities and/or 3-cycles. We focus on a certain\nclass of `trinion' singularities which exhibit these properties. In Type IIB,\nthey give rise to 4d $\\mathcal{N}=2$ SCFTs that we call $D_p^b(G)$-trinions,\nwhich are marginal gaugings of three SCFTs with $G$ flavor symmetry. In order\nto understand the 5d physics of these trinion singularities in M-theory, we\nreduce these 4d and 5d SCFTs to 3d $\\mathcal{N}=4$ theories, thus determining\nthe electric and magnetic quivers (or, more generally, quiverines). In\nM-theory, residual terminal singularities give rise to free sectors of massless\nhypermultiplets, which often are discretely gauged. These free sectors appear\nas `ugly' components of the magnetic quiver of the 5d SCFT. The 3-cycles in the\ncrepant resolution also give rise to free hypermultiplets, but their physics is\nmore subtle, and their presence renders the magnetic quiver `bad'. We propose a\nway to redeem the badness of these quivers using a class $\\mathcal{S}$\nrealization. We also discover new S-dualities between different\n$D_p^b(G)$-trinions. For instance, a certain $E_8$ gauging of the $E_8$\nMinahan-Nemeschansky theory is S-dual to an $E_8$-shaped Lagrangian quiver\nSCFT."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Open string models with Scherk-Schwarz SUSY breaking: We apply the well-known Scherk-Schwarz supersymmetry breaking mechanism in an\nopen string context. We construct a new Z_3\\times Z_3^\\prime model, containing\nonly D9-branes, and rederive from a more geometric perspective the known\nZ_6^\\prime\\times Z_2^\\prime model, containing D9, D5 and \\bar D 5 branes. We\nshow recent results about the study of quantum instability of these models.",
        "positive": "Instanton Counting and Dielectric Branes: We consider the Hanany-Witten type brane configuration in a background of RR\n4-form field strength and examine the behavior of Euclidean D0-branes\npropagating between two NS5-branes. We evaluate the partition function of the\nD0-branes and show that it coincides with the Nekrasov partition function of\ninstantons for four-dimensional N=2 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory. In this\nanalysis, the Myers effect plays a crucial role. We apply the same method to\nthe brane configuration realizing four-dimensional N=2 theory with\nhypermultiplets in the fundamental representation and reproduce the\ncorresponding Nekrasov partition function."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Calibrated Geometries and Non Perturbative Superpotentials in M-Theory: We consider non perturbative effects in M-theory compactifications on a\nseven-manifold of G_2 holonomy arising from membranes wrapped on supersymmetric\nthree-cycles. When membranes are wrapped on associative submanifolds they\ninduce a superpotential that can be calculated using calibrated geometry. This\nsuperpotential is also derived from compactification on a seven-manifold, to\nfour dimensional Anti-de Sitter spacetime, of eleven dimensional supergravity\nwith non vanishing expectation value of the four-form field strength.",
        "positive": "Even spin $\\mathcal{N}=4$ holography: A two-dimensional Sp($2N$) vector model with small $\\mathcal{N}=4$\nsuperconformal symmetry is formulated, and its chiral algebra is shown to be\ngenerated by superprimary fields of even conformal weight. This vector model is\nthe large level limit of a coset theory with large $\\mathcal{N}=4$, whose\nproposed AdS$_3$ dual is a minimal Vasiliev higher spin theory with gauge\nalgebra generated by fields of even spin. The relation of this vector model to\nthe symmetric product orbifold, dual to tensionless strings in AdS$_3$ $\\times$\nS$^3$ $\\times$ $\\mathbb{T}^4$, is also worked out."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Unconstrained SU(2) Yang-Mills Theory with Topological Term in the\n  Long-Wavelength Approximation: The Hamiltonian reduction of SU(2) Yang-Mills theory for an arbitrary \\theta\nangle to an unconstrained nonlocal theory of a self-interacting positive\ndefinite symmetric 3 \\times 3 matrix field S(x) is performed. It is shown that,\nafter exact projection to a reduced phase space, the density of the Pontryagin\nindex remains a pure divergence, proving the \\theta independence of the\nunconstrained theory obtained. An expansion of the nonlocal kinetic part of the\nHamiltonian in powers of the inverse coupling constant and truncation to lowest\norder, however, lead to violation of the \\theta independence of the theory. In\norder to maintain this property on the level of the local approximate theory, a\nmodified expansion in the inverse coupling constant is suggested, which for a\nvanishing \\theta angle coincides with the original expansion. The corresponding\napproximate Lagrangian up to second order in derivatives is obtained, and the\nexplicit form of the unconstrained analogue of the Chern-Simons current linear\nin derivatives is given. Finally, for the case of degenerate field\nconfigurations S(x) with rank|S| = 1, a nonlinear \\sigma-type model is\nobtained, with the Pontryagin topological term reducing to the Hopf invariant\nof the mapping from the three-sphere S^3 to the unit two-sphere S^2 in the\nWhitehead form.",
        "positive": "$W_\\infty$ Algebra and Geometric Formulation of QCD$_2$: We review the gauge invariant formulation of 2-dim. QCD. We show that the\nnon-linear gauge invariant phase space is the coset $W_\\infty/W_{+\\infty}\\times\nW_{-\\infty}$ ,which is specified by the $N=\\infty$ master-field of this model.\nThe meson fields correspond to the local coordinates of the coset. We comment\non the stringy collective coordinates of the solitons (baryons) in this model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Symmetry Reduction for Diffeomorphism Invariant Theories of\n  Connections: Given a symmetry group acting on a principal fibre bundle, symmetric states\nof the quantum theory of a diffeomorphism invariant theory of connections on\nthis fibre bundle are defined. These symmetric states, equipped with a scalar\nproduct derived from the Ashtekar-Lewandowski measure for loop quantum gravity,\nform a Hilbert space of their own. Restriction to this Hilbert space yields a\nquantum symmetry reduction procedure in the framework of spin network states\nthe structure of which is analyzed in detail. Three illustrating examples are\ndiscussed: Reduction of 3+1 to 2+1 dimensional quantum gravity, spherically\nsymmetric electromagnetism and spherically symmetric gravity.",
        "positive": "Attractor Flows from Defect Lines: Deforming a two dimensional conformal field theory on one side of a trivial\ndefect line gives rise to a defect separating the original theory from its\ndeformation. The Casimir force between these defects and other defect lines or\nboundaries is used to construct flows on bulk moduli spaces of CFTs. It turns\nout, that these flows are constant reparametrizations of gradient flows of the\ng-functions of the chosen defect or boundary condition. The special flows\nassociated to supersymmetric boundary conditions in N=(2,2) superconformal\nfield theories agree with the attractor flows studied in the context of black\nholes in N=2 supergravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On non-stationary Lam\u00e9 equation from WZW model and spin-1/2 XYZ chain: We study the link between WZW model and the spin-1/2 XYZ chain. This is\nachieved by comparing the second-order differential equations from them. In the\nformer case, the equation is the Ward-Takahashi identity satisfied by one-point\ntoric conformal blocks. In the latter case, it arises from Baxter's TQ\nrelation. We find that the dimension of the representation space w.r.t. the\nV-valued primary field in these conformal blocks gets mapped to the total\nnumber of chain sites. By doing so, Stroganov's \"The Importance of being Odd\"\n(cond-mat/0012035) can be consistently understood in terms of WZW model\nlanguage. We first confirm this correspondence by taking a trigonometric limit\nof the XYZ chain. That eigenstates of the resultant two-body Sutherland model\nfrom Baxter's TQ relation can be obtained by deforming toric conformal blocks\nsupports our proposal.",
        "positive": "On the Tree-Level S-Matrix of Yang-Mills Theory: In this note we further investigate the procedure for computing tree-level\namplitudes in Yang-Mills theory from connected instantons in the B-model on\nP^{3|4}, emphasizing that the problem of calculating Feynman diagrams is recast\ninto the problem of finding solutions to a certain set of algebraic equations.\nWe show that the B-model correctly reproduces all 6-particle amplitudes,\nincluding non-MHV amplitudes with three negative and three positive helicity\ngluons. As a further check, we also show that n-particle amplitudes obtained\nfrom the B-model obey a number of properties required of gauge theory, such as\nparity symmetry (which relates an integral over degree d curves to one over\ndegree n-d-2 curves) and the soft and collinear gluon poles."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Unruh radiation produced by a uniformly accelerating charged particle in\n  thermal random motions: In this study, we investigate the signature of the Unruh effect in quantum\nradiation from an accelerated charged particle interacting with vacuum\nfluctuations. Because a charged particle in uniformly accelerated motion\nexhibits thermal random motion around the classical trajectory because of the\nUnruh effect, its quantum radiation might be termed Unruh radiation. We show\nthat the energy flux of the quantum radiation is negative and that its\namplitude is smaller than the classical Larmor radiation by a factor of $a/m$,\nwhere $a$ is the acceleration and $m$ is the mass of the particle. The total\nradiation flux of the classical Larmor radiation and the quantum radiation is\npositive; therefore, the quantum radiation appears to suppress the total\nradiation. Interestingly, the results are consistent with the prediction for\nthe quantum correction to classical Larmor radiation, which were obtained using\na different approach.",
        "positive": "A Grassmannian Etude in NMHV Minors: Arkani-Hamed, Cachazo, Cheung and Kaplan have proposed a Grassmannian\nformulation for the S-matrix of N=4 Yang-Mills as an integral over link\nvariables. In parallel work, the connected prescription for computing tree\namplitudes in Witten's twistor string theory has also been written in terms of\nlink variables. In this paper we extend the six- and seven-point results of\narXiv:0909.0229 and arXiv:0909.0499 by providing a simple analytic proof of the\nequivalence between the two formulas for all tree-level NMHV superamplitudes.\nAlso we note that a simple deformation of the connected prescription integrand\ngives directly the ACCK Grassmannian integrand in the limit when the\ndeformation parameters equal zero."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dark energy from modified gravity with Lagrange multipliers: We study scalar-tensor theory, k-essence and modified gravity with Lagrange\nmultiplier constraint which role is to reduce the number of degrees of freedom.\nDark Energy cosmology of different types ($\\Lambda$CDM, unified inflation with\nDE, smooth non-phantom/phantom transition epoch) is reconstructed in such\nmodels. It is shown that mathematical equivalence between scalar theory and\n$F(R)$ gravity is broken due to presence of constraint. The cosmological\ndynamics of $F(R)$ gravity is modified by the second $F_2(R)$ function dictated\nby the constraint. Dark Energy cosmology is defined by this function while\nstandard $F_1(R)$ function is relevant for local tests (modification of newton\nregime). A general discussion on the role of Lagrange multipliers to make\nhigher-derivative gravity canonical is developed.",
        "positive": "Holographic integration of $T \\bar{T}$ and $J \\bar{T}$ via $O(d,d)$: Prompted by the recent developments in integrable single trace $T \\bar{T}$\nand $J \\bar{T}$ deformations of 2d CFTs, we analyse such deformations in the\ncontext of $AdS_3/CFT_2$ from the dual string worldsheet CFT viewpoint. We\nobserve that the finite form of these deformations can be recast as $O(d,d)$\ntransformations, which are an integrated form of the corresponding Exactly\nMarginal Deformations (EMD) in the worldsheet Wess-Zumino-Witten (WZW) model,\nthereby generalising the Yang-Baxter class that includes TsT. Furthermore, the\nequivalence between $O(d,d)$ transformations and marginal deformations of WZW\nmodels, proposed by Hassan and Sen for Abelian chiral currents, can be extended\nto non-Abelian chiral currents to recover a well-known constraint on EMD in the\nworldsheet CFT. We also argue that such EMD are also solvable from the\nworldsheet theory viewpoint."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Roper resonances and quasi-normal modes of Skyrmions: Radial vibrations of charge one hedgehog Skyrmions in the full Skyrme model\nare analysed. We investigate how the properties of the lowest resonance modes\n(quasi normal modes) - their frequencies and widths - depend on the form of the\npotential (value of the pion mass as well as the addition of further\npotentials) and on the inclusion of the sextic term. Then we consider the\ninverse problem, where certain values for the frequencies and widths are\nimposed, and the field theoretic Skyrme model potential giving rise to them is\nreconstructed. This latter method allows to reproduce the physical Roper\nresonances, as well as further physical properties of nucleons, with high\nprecision.",
        "positive": "Conformal $(p,q)$ supergeometries in two dimensions: We propose a superspace formulation for conformal $(p,q)$ supergravity in two\ndimensions as a gauge theory of the superconformal group $\\mathsf{OSp}_0 (p|2;\n{\\mathbb R} ) \\times \\mathsf{OSp}_0 (q|2; {\\mathbb R} )$ with a flat\nconnection. Upon degauging of certain local symmetries, this conformal\nsuperspace is shown to reduce to a conformally flat $\\mathsf{SO}(p) \\times\n\\mathsf{SO}(q)$ superspace with the following properties: (i) its structure\ngroup is a direct product of the Lorentz group and $\\mathsf{SO}(p) \\times\n\\mathsf{SO}(q)$; and (ii) the residual local scale symmetry is realised by\nsuper-Weyl transformations with an unconstrained real parameter. As an\napplication of the formalism, we describe ${\\cal N}$-extended AdS superspace as\na maximally symmetric supergeometry in the $p=q \\equiv \\cal N$ case. If at\nleast one of the parameters $p$ or $q$ is even, alternative superconformal\ngroups and, thus, conformal superspaces exist. In particular, if $p = 2n$, a\npossible choice of the superconformal group is $\\mathsf{SU}(1,1|n) \\times\n\\mathsf{OSp}_0 (q|2; {\\mathbb R} )$, for $n \\neq 2$, and $\\mathsf{PSU}(1,1|2)\n\\times \\mathsf{OSp}_0 (q|2; {\\mathbb R} )$, when $n=2$. In general, a conformal\nsuperspace formulation is associated with a supergroup $ G = G_L \\times G_R$,\nwhere the simple supergroups $G_L$ and $G_R$ can be any of the extended\nsuperconformal groups, which were classified by G\\\"unaydin, Sierra and\nTownsend. Degauging the corresponding conformal superspace leads to a\nconformally flat $H_L \\times H_R$ superspace, where $H_L $ ($H_R$) is the\n$R$-symmetry subgroup of $G_L$ ($G_R$). Additionally, for the $p,q \\leq 2$\ncases we propose composite primary multiplets which generate the Gauss-Bonnet\ninvariant and supersymmetric extensions of the Fradkin-Tseytlin term."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On a semiclassical formula for non-diagonal matrix elements: Let $H(\\hbar)=-\\hbar^2d^2/dx^2+V(x)$ be a Schr\\\"odinger operator on the real\nline, $W(x)$ be a bounded observable depending only on the coordinate and $k$\nbe a fixed integer. Suppose that an energy level $E$ intersects the potential\n$V(x)$ in exactly two turning points and lies below\n$V_\\infty=\\liminf_{|x|\\to\\infty} V(x)$. We consider the semiclassical limit\n$n\\to\\infty$, $\\hbar=\\hbar_n\\to0$ and $E_n=E$ where $E_n$ is the $n$th\neigen-energy of $H(\\hbar)$. An asymptotic formula for $<{}n|W(x)|n+k>$, the\nnon-diagonal matrix elements of $W(x)$ in the eigenbasis of $H(\\hbar)$, has\nbeen known in the theoretical physics for a long time. Here it is proved in a\nmathematically rigorous manner.",
        "positive": "BPS/CFT correspondence II: Instantons at crossroads, Moduli and\n  Compactness Theorem: Gieseker-Nakajima moduli spaces $M_{k}(n)$ parametrize the charge $k$\nnoncommutative $U(n)$ instantons on ${\\bf R}^{4}$ and framed rank $n$ torsion\nfree sheaves $\\mathcal{E}$ on ${\\bf C\\bf P}^{2}$ with ${\\rm\nch}_{2}({\\mathcal{E}}) = k$. They also serve as local models of the moduli\nspaces of instantons on general four-manifolds. We study the generalization of\ngauge theory in which the four dimensional spacetime is a stratified space $X$\nimmersed into a Calabi-Yau fourfold $Z$. The local model ${\\bf M}_{k}({\\vec\nn})$ of the corresponding instanton moduli space is the moduli space of charge\n$k$ (noncommutative) instantons on origami spacetimes. There, $X$ is modelled\non a union of (up to six) coordinate complex planes ${\\bf C}^{2}$ intersecting\nin $Z$ modelled on ${\\bf C}^{4}$. The instantons are shared by the collection\nof four dimensional gauge theories sewn along two dimensional defect surfaces\nand defect points. We also define several quiver versions ${\\bf M}_{\\bf\nk}^{\\gamma}({\\vec{\\bf n}})$ of ${\\bf M}_{k}({\\vec n})$, motivated by the\nconsiderations of sewn gauge theories on orbifolds ${\\bf C}^{4}/{\\Gamma}$.\n  The geometry of the spaces ${\\bf M}_{\\bf k}^{\\gamma}({\\vec{\\bf n}})$, more\nspecifically the compactness of the set of torus-fixed points, for various\ntori, underlies the non-perturbative Dyson-Schwinger identities recently found\nto be satisfied by the correlation functions of $qq$-characters viewed as local\ngauge invariant operators in the ${\\mathcal{N}}=2$ quiver gauge theories.\n  The cohomological and K-theoretic operations defined using ${\\bf M}_{k}({\\vec\nn})$ and their quiver versions as correspondences provide the geometric\ncounterpart of the $qq$-characters, line and surface defects."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Integrability and duality in two-dimensional QCD: We consider bosonized $QCD_2$, and prove that after rewritting the theory in\nterms of gauge invariant fields, there exists an integrability condition valid\nfor the quantum theory as well. Furthermore, performing a duality type\ntransformation we obtain an appropriate action for the description of the\nstrong coupling limit, which is still integrable. We also prove that the model\ndisplays a complicated set of constraints, restricting the dynamics of part of\nthe theory, but which are necessary to maintain the positive metric Hilbert\nspace.",
        "positive": "Gravity, Horizons and Open EFTs: Wilsonian effective theories exploit hierarchies of scale to simplify the\ndescription of low-energy behaviour and play as central a role for gravity as\nfor the rest of physics. They are useful both when hierarchies of scale are\nexplicit in a gravitating system and more generally for understanding precisely\nwhat controls the size of quantum corrections in gravitational systems. But\neffective descriptions are also relevant for open systems (e.g. fluid mechanics\nas a long-distance description of statistical systems) for which the\n`integrating out' of unobserved low-energy degrees of freedom complicate a\nstraightforward application of Wilsonian methods. Observations performed only\non one side of an apparent horizon provide examples where open system\ndescriptions also arise in gravitational physics. This chapter describes some\nearly adaptations of Open Effective Theories (i.e. techniques for exploiting\nhierarchies of scale in open systems) in gravitational settings. Besides\nallowing the description of new types of phenomena (such as decoherence) these\ntechniques also have an additional benefit: they sometimes can be used to resum\nperturbative expansions at late times and thereby to obtain controlled\npredictions in a regime where perturbative predictions otherwise generically\nfail."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Restricted Quantum Focusing: Quantum Focusing is a powerful conjecture, which plays a key role in the\ncurrent proofs of many well-known quantum gravity theorems, including various\nconsistency conditions, and causality constraints in AdS/CFT. I conjecture a\n(weaker) restricted quantum focusing, which I argue is sufficient to derive all\nknown essential implications of quantum focusing. Subject to a technical\nassumption, I prove this conjecture on brane-world semiclassical gravity\ntheories which are holographically dual to Einstein gravity in a higher\ndimensional anti-de Sitter spacetime.",
        "positive": "Quantum complex sine-Gordon model on a half line: The quantum complex sine-Gordon model on a half line is studied. The quantum\nspectrum of boundary bound states using the the semi-classical method of\nDashen, Hasslacher and Neveu is obtained. The results are compared and found to\nagree with the bootstrap programme. A particle/soliton reflection factor is\nconjectured, which is consistent with unitary, crossing and our semi-classical\nresults."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "AdS_7/CFT_6, Gauss-Bonnet Gravity, and Viscosity Bound: We study the relation between the causality and the positivity of energy\nbounds in Gauss-Bonnet gravity in AdS_7 background and find a precise\nagreement. Requiring the group velocity of metastable states to be bounded by\nthe speed of light places a bound on the value of Gauss-Bonnet coupling. To\nfind the positivity of energy constraints we compute the parameters which\ndetermine the angular distribution of the energy flux in terms of three\nindependent coefficients specifying the three-point function of the\nstress-energy tensor. We then relate the latter to the Weyl anomaly of the\nsix-dimensional CFT and compute the anomaly holographically. The resulting\nupper bound on the Gauss-Bonnet coupling coincides with that from causality and\nresults in a new bound on viscosity/entropy ratio.",
        "positive": "Marginal Deformations and Rotating Horizons: Motivated by the near-horizon geometry of four-dimensional extremal black\nholes, we study a disordered quantum mechanical system invariant under a global\n$SU(2)$ symmetry. As in the Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev model, this system exhibits an\napproximate $SL(2,\\mathbb{R})$ symmetry at low energies, but also allows for a\ncontinuous family of $SU(2)$ breaking marginal deformations. Beyond a certain\ncritical value for the marginal coupling, the model exhibits a quantum phase\ntransition from the gapless phase to a gapped one and we calculate the critical\nexponents of this transition. We also show that charged, rotating extremal\nblack holes exhibit a transition when the angular velocity of the horizon is\ntuned to a certain critical value. Where possible we draw parallels between the\ndisordered quantum mechanics and charged, rotating black holes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Superconformal mechanics in SU(2|1) superspace: Using the worldline SU(2|1) superfield approach, we construct N=4\nsuperconformally invariant actions for the d=1 multiplets (1, 4, 3) and (2, 4,\n2). The SU(2|1) superfield framework automatically implies the trigonometric\nrealization of the superconformal symmetry and the harmonic oscillator term in\nthe corresponding component actions. We deal with the general N=4\nsuperconformal algebra D(2,1;$\\alpha$) and its central-extended $\\alpha$=0 and\n$\\alpha$=-1 psu(1,1|2)$\\oplus$su(2) descendants. We capitalize on the\nobservation that D(2,1;$\\alpha$) at $\\alpha\\neq$0 can be treated as a closure\nof its two su(2|1) subalgebras, one of which defines the superisometry of the\nSU(2|1) superspace, while the other is related to the first one through the\nreflection of $\\mu$, the parameter of contraction to the flat N=4, d=1\nsuperspace. This closure property and its $\\alpha$=0 analog suggest a simple\ncriterion for the SU(2|1) invariant actions to be superconformal: they should\nbe even functions of $\\mu$. We find that the superconformal actions of the\nmultiplet (2, 4, 2) exist only at $\\alpha$=-1, 0 and are reduced to a sum of\nthe free sigma-model type action and the conformal superpotential yielding,\nrespectively, the oscillator potential $\\sim \\mu^2$ and the standard conformal\ninverse-square potential in the bosonic sector. The sigma-model action in this\ncase can be constructed only on account of non-zero central charge in the\nsuperalgebra su(1,1|2).",
        "positive": "Tilt and Tensor-to-Scalar Ratio in Multifield Monodromy Inflation: We study the possible range of the tilt $n_s$ and the tensor-to-scalar ratio\n$r$ in multifield versions of a class of inflationary models from string\ntheory. We show that $r$ is the same between the single field models and\nmultifield models while $n_s$ is bounded above by the results of single field\nmodels. Below its maximum value, $n_s$ depends on the specific distributions of\nparameters in the model. The general trend is that the wider the distributions\nare, the smaller $n_s$ is. We show that $n_s$ does not have a rigorous lower\nbound. It is argued, however, that models predicting arbitrarily small $n_s$\nonly constitute a small portion of the possible ones and for the vast majority\nof models, $n_s$ is bounded below by predictions given by models with uniformly\ndistributed parameters."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Determinism and a supersymmetric classical model of quantum fields: A quantum field theory is described which is a supersymmetric classical\nmodel. -- Supersymmetry generators of the system are used to split its\nLiouville operator into two contributions, with positive and negative spectrum,\nrespectively. The unstable negative part is eliminated by a positivity\nconstraint on physical states, which is invariant under the classical\nHamiltonian flow. In this way, the classical Liouville equation becomes a\nfunctional Schroedinger equation of a genuine quantum field theory. Thus, 't\nHooft's proposal to reconstruct quantum theory as emergent from an underlying\ndeterministic system, is realized here for a field theory. Quantization is\nintimately related to the constraint, which selects the part of Hilbert space\nwhere the Hamilton operator is positive. This is seen as dynamical symmetry\nbreaking in a suitably extended model, depending on a mass scale which\ndiscriminates classical dynamics beneath from emergent quantum mechanical\nbehaviour.",
        "positive": "A Note on the Bach Tensor in AdS/CFT: This paper has been superseded by hep-th/0303164, \"The Dirichlet Obstruction\nin AdS/CFT\""
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Two-Loop Computation in Superstring Theory: In this paper I review some old and new works on the computation of two-loop\n4-particle amplitude in superstring theory. I also present the proof by Iengo,\nshowing the vanishing of the term related to the two-loop correction to the\n$R^4$ term. Finally I will present some recent works on two-loop computation in\nhyperelliptic language following the new gauging fixing method of D'Hoker and\nPhong.",
        "positive": "Gravitational instantons and internal dimensions: We Study instanton solutions in general relativity with a scalar field. The\nmetric ansatz we use is composed of a particular warp product of general\nEinstein metrics, such as those found in a number of cosmological settings,\nincluding string cosmology, supergravity compactifications and general Kaluza\nKlein reductions. Using the Hartle-Hawking prescription the instantons we\nobtain determine whether metrics involving extra compact dimensions of this\ntype are favoured as initial conditions for the universe. Specifically, we find\nthat these product metric instantons, viewed as constrained instantons, do have\na local minima in the action. These minima are then compared with the higher\ndimensional version of the Hawking-Turok instantons, and we argue that the\nlatter always have lower action than those associated with these product\nmetrics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dyonic Black Holes in String Theory: An exact solution of the low-energy string theory representing static,\nspherical symmetric dyonic black hole is found. The solution is labeled by\ntheir mass, electric charge, magnetic charge and asymptotic value of the scalar\ndilaton. Some interesting properties of the dyonic black holes are studied. In\nparticular, the Hawking temperature of dyonic black holes depends on both the\nelectric and magnetic charges, and the extremal ones, which have nonzero\nelectric and magnetic charges, have zero temperature but nonzero entropy. These\nproperties are quite different from those of electrically (or magnetically)\ncharged dilaton black holes found by Gibbons {\\it et al.} and Garfinkle {\\it et\nal.}, but are the same as those of the dyonic black holes found by Gibbons and\nMaeda. After this paper was submitted for publication, D. Wiltshire told us\nthat solutions, eqs.(22)-(28), are related to Gibbons-Maeda dyonic black hole\nsolutions by a coordinate transformation and some parameters reparametization\n\\cite{26}. And, we were also informed that many of our results were previously\nobtained by Kallosh {\\it et al.} \\cite{27}. The dyonic black hole solutions,\neqs.(22)-(28), are also related to those of reference \\cite{27} by another\ncoordinate",
        "positive": "On \"Non-Geometric\" Contribution To The Entropy Of Black Hole Due To\n  Quantum Corrections: The quantum corrections to the entropy of charged black holes are calculated.\nThe Reissner-Nordstrem and dilaton black holes are considered. The appearance\nof logarithmically divergent terms not proportional to the horizon area is\ndemonstrated. It is shown that the complete entropy which is sum of classical\nBekenstein-Hawking entropy and the quantum correction is proportional to the\narea of quantum-corrected horizon."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Nonlinear sigma models with AdS supersymmetry in three dimensions: In three-dimensional anti-de Sitter (AdS) space, there exist several\nrealizations of N-extended supersymmetry, which are traditionally labelled by\ntwo non-negative integers p>=q such that p+q=N. Different choices of p and q,\nwith N fixed, prove to lead to different restrictions on the target space\ngeometry of supersymmetric nonlinear sigma-models. We classify all possible\ntypes of hyperkahler target spaces for the cases N=3 and N=4 by making use of\ntwo different realizations for the most general (p,q) supersymmetric\nsigma-models: (i) off-shell formulations in terms of N=3 and N=4 projective\nsupermultiplets; and (ii) on-shell formulations in terms of covariantly chiral\nscalar superfields in (2,0) AdS superspace. Depending on the type of N=3,4 AdS\nsupersymmetry, nonlinear sigma-models can support one of the following target\nspace geometries: (i) hyperkahler cones; (ii) non-compact hyperkahler manifolds\nwith a U(1) isometry group which acts non-trivially on the two-sphere of\ncomplex structures; (iii) arbitrary hyperkahler manifolds including compact\nones. The option (iii) is realized only in the case of critical (4,0) AdS\nsupersymmetry.\n  As an application of the (4,0) AdS techniques developed, we also construct\nthe most general nonlinear sigma-model in Minkowski space with a non-centrally\nextended N=4 Poincare supersymmetry. Its target space is a hyperkahler cone\n(which is characteristic of N=4 superconformal sigma-models), but the\nsigma-model is massive. The Lagrangian includes a positive potential\nconstructed in terms of the homothetic conformal Killing vector the target\nspace is endowed with. This mechanism of mass generation differs from the\nstandard one which corresponds to a sigma-model with the ordinary N=4 Poincare\nsupersymmetry and which makes use of a tri-holomorphic Killing vector.",
        "positive": "Semi-simple extension of the (super)Poincar\u00e9 algebra: A semi-simple tensor extension of the Poincar\\'e algebra is proposed for the\narbitrary dimensions $D$. A supersymmetric also semi-simple generalization of\nthis extension is constructed in the D=4 dimensions. This paper is dedicated to\nthe memory of Anna Yakovlevna Gelyukh."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Classical de Sitter solutions in three dimensions without tachyons?: We continue the study of compactifications of massive IIA supergravity on G2\norientifolds and demonstrate that breaking supersymmetry with anti-D2 and\nanti-D6 sources leads to 3d theories for which the typical tachyons haunting\nclassical dS solutions can be absent. However for a concrete torus example the\nmeta-stable dS window disappears after a quantization of fluxes and charges. We\ndiscuss the prospects of more general G2 compactifications and argue that they\ncould potentially alleviate the tachyon problem by introducing larger tadpole\nnumbers and warped throats. However, exactly those ingredients then seem to\npush the vacuum towards the brink of perturbative brane-flux decay in the open\nstring sector. This is either a remarkable illustration of the no-dS swampland\nconjecture or such vacua live in very difficult to control regions of parameter\nspace.",
        "positive": "Low energy effective gravitational equations on a Gauss-Bonnet brane: We present effective gravitational equations at low energies in a\n$Z_2$-symmetric braneworld with the Gauss-Bonnet term. Our derivation is based\non the geometrical projection approach, and we solve iteratively the bulk\ngeometry using the gradient expansion scheme. Although the original field\nequations are quite complicated due to the presence of the Gauss-Bonnet term,\nour final result clearly has the form of the Einstein equations plus correction\nterms, which is simple enough to handle. As an application, we consider\nhomogeneous and isotropic cosmology on the brane. We also comment on the\nholographic interpretation of bulk gravity in the Gauss-Bonnet braneworld."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "BPS Equations and the Stress Tensor: We exploit the relationship between the space components of the\nenergy-momentum tensor and the supercurrent to discuss the connection between\nthe BPS equations and the vanishing of the components of the stress tensor in\nvarious supersymmetric theories with solitons.\n  Using the fact that certain combination of supercharges annihilate BPS\nstates, we show that $T_{ij}=0$ for kinks, vortices and dyons, displaying the\nconnection between supersymmetry and non-interacting BPS solitons.",
        "positive": "Complete Wetting of Gluons and Gluinos: Complete wetting is a universal phenomenon associated with interfaces\nseparating coexisting phases. For example, in the pure gluon theory, at $T_c$\nan interface separating two distinct high-temperature deconfined phases splits\ninto two confined-deconfined interfaces with a complete wetting layer of\nconfined phase between them. In supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory, distinct\nconfined phases may coexist with a Coulomb phase at zero temperature. In that\ncase, the Coulomb phase may completely wet a confined-confined interface.\nFinally, at the high-temperature phase transition of gluons and gluinos,\nconfined-confined interfaces are completely wet by the deconfined phase, and\nsimilarly, deconfined-deconfined interfaces are completely wet by the confined\nphase. For these various cases, we determine the interface profiles and the\ncorresponding complete wetting critical exponents. The exponents depend on the\nrange of the interface interactions and agree with those of corresponding\ncondensed matter systems."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Trans-Planckian censorship, inflation and excited initial states for\n  perturbations: The recently proposed trans-Planckian censorship conjecture (TCC) seems to\nrequire that the energy scale of inflation is significantly lower than the\nPlanck scale $(H_\\text{inf}<10^{-20} \\Mpl)$. This, in turn, implies that the\ntensor-to-scalar ratio for inflation is negligibly small, \\textit{independent}\nof assumptions of slow-roll or even of having a single scalar field, thus\nruling out inflation if primordial tensor modes are ever observed. After\ndemonstrating the robustness and generality of these bounds, we show that\nhaving an excited initial state for cosmological perturbations seems to be a\nway out of this problem for models of inflation.",
        "positive": "Knots and entanglement: We extend the entanglement bootstrap approach to (3+1)-dimensions. We study\nknotted excitations of (3+1)-dimensional liquid topological orders and exotic\nfusion processes of loops. As in previous work in (2+1)-dimensions, we define a\nvariety of superselection sectors and fusion spaces from two axioms on the\nground state entanglement entropy. In particular, we identify fusion spaces\nassociated with knots. We generalize the information convex set to a new class\nof regions called immersed regions, promoting various theorems to this new\ncontext. Examples from solvable models are provided; for instance, a concrete\ncalculation of knot multiplicity shows that the knot complement of a trefoil\nknot can store quantum information. We define spiral maps that allow us to\nunderstand consistency relations for torus knots as well as spiral fusions of\nfluxes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A $\u03ba$-Symmetry Calculus for Superparticles: We develop a $\\kappa$-symmetry calculus for the d=2 and d=3, N=2 massive\nsuperparticles, which enables us to construct higher order $\\kappa$-invariant\nactions. The method relies on a reformulation of these models as supersymmetric\nsigma models that are invariant under local worldline superconformal\ntransformations. We show that the $\\kappa$-symmetry is embedded in the\nsuperconformal symmetry so that a calculus for the $\\kappa$-symmetry is\nequivalent to a tensor calculus for the latter. We develop such a calculus\nwithout the introduction of a worldline supergravity multiplet.",
        "positive": "Gaussian distribution of LMOV numbers: Recent advances in knot polynomial calculus allowed us to obtain a huge\nvariety of LMOV integers counting degeneracy of the BPS spectrum of topological\ntheories on the resolved conifold and appearing in the genus expansion of the\nplethystic logarithm of the Ooguri-Vafa partition functions. Already the very\nfirst look at this data reveals that the LMOV numbers are randomly distributed\nin genus (!) and are very well parameterized by just three parameters depending\non the representation, an integer and the knot. We present an accurate\nformulation and evidence in support of this new puzzling observation about the\nold puzzling quantities. It probably implies that the BPS states, counted by\nthe LMOV numbers can actually be composites made from some still more\nelementary objects."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Graviton and Massive Symmetric Rank-Two Tensor in String Theory: Spin-two particles appear in the spectra of both open and closed string\ntheories. We studied a graviton and massive symmetric rank-two tensor in string\ntheory, both of which carry spin two. A graviton is a massless spin-two\nparticle in closed string theory while a symmetric rank-two tensor is a massive\nparticle with spin two in open string theory. Using Polyakov's string path\nintegral formulation of string scattering amplitudes, we calculated cubic\ninteractions of both spin-two particles explicitly, including $\\ap$-corrections\n(string corrections). We observed that the cubic interactions of the massive\nspin-two particle differed from those of the graviton. The massive symmetric\nrank-two tensor in open string theory becomes massless in the high energy limit\nwhere $\\ap \\rightarrow \\infty$ and $\\ap$-correction terms, containing higher\nderivatives, dominate: In this limit the local cubic action of the symmetric\nrank-two tensor of open string theory coincides with that of the graviton in\nclosed string theory.",
        "positive": "Chaotic RG Flow in Tensor Models: We study a bi-antisymmetric tensor quantum field theory with $O(N_1)\\times\nO(N_2)$ symmetry. Working in $4-\\epsilon$ dimensions we calculate the beta\nfunctions up to second order in the coupling constants and analyze in detail\nthe Renormalization Group (RG) flow and its fixed points. We allow $N_1$ and\n$N_2$ to assume general real values and treat them as bifurcation parameters.\nIn studying the behavior of the model in the space of $N_1$ and $N_2$ we find a\npoint where a zero-Hopf bifurcation occurs. In the vicinity of this point, we\nprovide analytical and numerical evidence for the existence of Shilnikov\nhomoclinic orbits, which induce chaotic behavior in the RG flow of the model.\nAs a simple warm-up example for the study of chaotic RG flows, we also review\nthe non-hermitian Ising chain and show how for special complex values of the\ncoupling constant, its RG transformations are chaotic and equivalent to the\nBernoulli map."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Spectrum of Bogomol'nyi Solitons in Gauged Linear Sigma Models: Gauged linear sigma models with C^m-valued scalar fields and gauge group\nU(1)^d, d \\leq m, have soliton solutions of Bogomol'nyi type if a suitably\nchosen potential for the scalar fields is also included in the Lagrangian. Here\nsuch models are studied on (2+1)-dimensional Minkowski space. If the dynamics\nof the gauge fields is governed by a Maxwell term the appropriate potential is\na sum of generalised Higgs potentials known as Fayet-Iliopoulos D-terms. Many\ninteresting topological solitons of Bogomol'nyi type arise in models of this\nkind, including various types of vortices (e.g. Nielsen-Olesen, semilocal and\nsuperconducting vortices) as well as, in certain limits, textures (e.g.\nCP^(m-1) textures and gauged CP^(m-1) textures). This is explained and general\nresults about the spectrum of topological defects both for broken and partially\nbroken gauge symmetry are proven. When the dynamics of the gauge fields is\ngoverned by a Chern-Simons term instead of a Maxwell term a different scalar\npotential is required for the theory to be of Bogomol'nyi type. The general\nform of that potential is given and a particular example is discussed.",
        "positive": "A remark on the gauging of chiral bosons: We study the interacting chiral boson and observe that a naive gauging\nprocedure leaves the covariant chiral constraint incompatible with the field\nequations. Consistency, therefore, rules out most gauging schemes: in a left\nchiral scalar, only the coupling with the left chiral currents leads to\nconsistent results, in discordance with current literature."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Broken spacetime symmetries and elastic variables: We discuss spontaneous breaking of continuum symmetries, whose generators do\nexplicitly depend on the spacetime coordinates. We clarify the relation between\nbroken symmetries and elastic variables at both zero and finite temperatures,\nand/or finite densities, and show the general counting rule that is\nmodel-independently determined by the symmetry breaking pattern. We apply it to\nthree intriguing examples: rotational, conformal, and gauge symmetries.",
        "positive": "Superalgebras from $p$-brane actions: Two superalgebras associated with $p$-branes are the constraint algebra and\nthe Noether charge algebra. Both contain anomalous terms which modify the\nstandard supertranslation algebra. These anomalous terms have a natural\ndescription in terms of double complex cohomology of generalized forms. By\nretaining fermionic charges and allowing for gauge freedom in the double\ncomplex, it is shown that the algebra of conserved charges forms a spectrum\nwith free parameters. The spectrum associated with the Green-Schwarz\nsuperstring is shown to contain and generalize the known superalgebras\nassociated with the superstring."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Logarithmic corrections to the entropy of non-extremal black holes in\n  $\\mathcal{N}=1$ Einstein-Maxwell supergravity: We reviewed the field redefinition approach of Seeley-DeWitt expansion for\nthe determination of Seeley-DeWitt coefficients from arXiv:1505.01156. We apply\nthis approach to compute the first three Seeley-DeWitt coefficients for\n\\say{non-minimal} $\\mathcal{N}=1$ Einstein-Maxwell supergravity in four\ndimensions. Finally, we use the third coefficient for the computation of the\nlogarithmic corrections to the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy of non-extremal black\nholes following arXiv:1205.0971. We determine the logarithmic corrections for\nnon-extremal Kerr-Newman, Kerr, Reissner-Nordstr\\\"{o}m and Schwarzschild black\nholes in \\say{non-minimal} $\\mathcal{N}=1$, $d=4$ Einstein-Maxwell\nsupergravity.",
        "positive": "Perturbations of brane worlds: We consider cosmological models where the universe, governed by Einstein's\nequations, is a piece of a five dimensional double-sided anti-de Sitter\nspacetime (that is, a \"$Z_2$-symmetric bulk\") with matter confined to its four\ndimensional Robertson-Walker boundary or \"brane\". We study the perturbations of\nsuch models. We use conformally minkowskian coordinates to disentangle the\ncontributions of the bulk gravitons and of the motion of the brane. We find the\nrestrictions put on the bulk gravitons when matter on the brane is taken to be\na scalar field and we solve in that case the brane perturbation equations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Transversality in the Coupling of Gravity to Gauge Theories: We consider (effective) Quantum General Relativity coupled to the Standard\nModel and study its transversality. To this end, we provide all propagator and\nthree-valent vertex Feynman rules. Then we examine the longitudinal, identical\nand transversal projection tensors for the de Donder gauge fixing and the\nLorenz gauge fixing. In particular, we recall several identities from Quantum\nYang--Mills theory and introduce their counterparts in (effective) Quantum\nGeneral Relativity: This includes decompositions of the longitudinal projection\ntensors as well as expressions of the corresponding propagators in terms of\ntheir transversal structure, together with longitudinal contraction identities\nfor all three-valent vertex Feynman rules. In addition, we introduce the notion\nof an optimal gauge fixing as the natural choice for a given gauge theory: In\nparticular, we find that this is the de Donder gauge fixing in General\nRelativity and the Lorenz gauge fixing in Yang--Mills theory.",
        "positive": "Cyclic Universes from General Collisionless Braneworld Models: We investigate the full 5D dynamics of general braneworld models. Without\nmaking any further assumptions we show that cyclic behavior can arise naturally\nin a fraction of physically accepted solutions. The model does not require\nbrane collisions, which in the stationary case remain fixed, and cyclicity\ntakes place on the branes. We indicate that the cosmological constants play the\ncentral role for the realization of cyclic solutions and we show that its\nextremely small value on the observable universe makes the period of the cycles\nand the maximum scale factor astronomically large."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Secondary GWs and PBHs in string inflation: formation and detectability: We derive the spectrum and analyse the detectability prospects of secondary\ngravity waves (GWs) associated to primordial black hole (PBH) production in a\nclass of string inflationary models called Fibre Inflation. The inflationary\npotential features a near inflection point that induces a period of ultra\nslow-roll responsible for an enhancement of the scalar perturbations which can\nlead to PBHs with different masses and contributions to dark matter (DM) in\nagreement with current observational bounds, including CMB constraints on the\nscalar spectral index and the tensor-to-scalar ratio. This enhancement of the\ncurvature perturbations sources secondary GWs which can be detected by either\nLISA, ET or BBO, depending on the GW frequency but regardless of the amount of\nPBH DM since secondary GWs remain detectable even if the PBH contribution to DM\nis exponentially suppressed. The possibility to see a secondary GW signal is\ninstead due to the presence of an ultra slow-roll epoch between CMB horizon\nexit and the end of inflation.",
        "positive": "Computing in String Field Theory Using the Moyal Star Product: Using the Moyal star product, we define open bosonic string field theory\ncarefully, with a cutoff, for any number of string oscillators and any\noscillator frequencies. Through detailed computations, such as Neumann\ncoefficients for all string vertices, we show that the Moyal star product is\nall that is needed to give a precise definition of string field theory. The\nformulation of the theory as well as the computation techniques are\nconsiderably simpler in the Moyal formulation. After identifying a monoid\nalgebra as a fundamental mathematical structure in string field theory, we use\nit as a tool to compute with ease the field configurations for wedge, sliver,\nand generalized projectors, as well as all the string interaction vertices for\nperturbative as well as monoid-type nonperturbative states. Finally, in the\ncontext of VSFT we analyze the small fluctuations around any D-brane vacuum. We\nshow quite generally that to obtain nontrivial mass and coupling, as well as a\nclosed strings, there must be an associativity anomaly. We identify the\ndetailed source of the anomaly, but leave its study for future work."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Natural renormalization: A careful analysis of differential renormalization shows that a distinguished\nchoice of renormalization constants allows for a mathematically more\nfundamental interpretation of the scheme. With this set of a priori fixed\nintegration constants differential renormalization is most closely related to\nthe theory of generalized functions. The special properties of this scheme are\nillustrated by application to the toy example of a free massive bosonic theory.\nThen we apply the scheme to the phi^4-theory. The two-point function is\ncalculated up to five loops. The renormalization group is analyzed, the\nbeta-function and the anomalous dimension are calculated up to fourth and fifth\norder, respectively.",
        "positive": "Probable Values of the Cosmological Constant in a Holographic Theory: We point out that for a large class of universes, holography implies that the\nmost probable value of the cosmological constant is zero. In four spacetime\ndimensions, the probability distribution takes the Baum-Hawking form,\n$dP\\sim\\exp(cM_p^2/\\Lambda)d\\Lambda$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Rotating black holes in Randall-Sundrum II braneworlds: We find rotating black hole solutions in the Randall-Sundrum II (RSII) model,\nby numerically solving a three-dimensional PDE problem using pseudospectral\ncollocation methods. We compute the area and equatorial inner-most stable\norbits of these solutions. For large black holes compared with the AdS length\nscale, $\\ell$, the black hole exhibits four-dimensional behaviour, approaching\nthe Kerr metric on the brane, whilst for small black holes, the solution tends\ninstead towards a five-dimensional Myers-Perry black hole with a single\nnon-zero rotation parameter aligned with the brane. This departure from exact\nfour-dimensional gravity may lead to different phenomenological predictions for\nrotating black holes in the RSII model to those in standard four-dimensional\ngeneral relativity. This letter provides a stepping stone for studying such\nmodifications.",
        "positive": "The Concept of Time in 2D Quantum Gravity: We show that the ``time'' t_s defined via spin clusters in the Ising model\ncoupled to 2d gravity leads to a fractal dimension d_h(s) = 6 of space-time at\nthe critical point, as advocated by Ishibashi and Kawai. In the unmagnetized\nphase, however, this definition of Hausdorff dimension breaks down. Numerical\nmeasurements are consistent with these results. The same definition leads to\nd_h(s)=16 at the critical point when applied to flat space. The fractal\ndimension d_h(s) is in disagreement with both analytical prediction and\nnumerical determination of the fractal dimension d_h(g), which is based on the\nuse of the geodesic distance t_g as ``proper time''. There seems to be no\nsimple relation of the kind t_s = t_g^{d_h(g)/d_h(s)}, as expected by\ndimensional reasons."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Strings on the deformed T^{1,1}: giant magnon and single spike solutions: In this paper we find giant magnon and single spike string solutions in a\nsector of the gamma-deformed conifold. We examine the dispersion relations and\nfind a behavior analogous to the undeformed case. The transcendental functional\nrelations between the conserved charges are shifted by certain gamma-dependent\nterm. The latter is proportional to the total momentum and thus qualitatively\ndifferent from known cases.",
        "positive": "Density of States and Tachyons in Open and Closed String Theory: In this note we reexamine the possibility of constructing stable\nnon-supersymmetric theories that exhibit an exponential density of states. For\nweakly coupled closed strings there is a general theorem, according to which\nstable theories with an exponential density of states must exhibit an almost\nexact cancellation of spacetime bosons and fermions (not necessarily level by\nlevel). We extend this result to open strings by showing that if the above\ncancellation between bosons and fermions does not occur, the open strings do\nnot decouple from a closed string tachyon even in the NCOS scaling limit. We\nconclude with a brief comment on the proposed generalization of the AdS/CFT\ncorrespondence to non-supersymmetric theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Aspects of the D=6, (2,0) Tensor Multiplet: Some aspects of the $D=6, (2,0)$ tensor multiplet are discussed. Its\nformulation as an analytic superfield on a suitably defined superspace and its\nsuperconformal properties are reviewed. Powers of the field strength superfield\ndefine a series of superconformal fields which correspond to the KK multiplets\nof D=11 supergravity on an $AdS_7\\xz S^4$ background. Correlation functions of\nthese operators are briefly discussed.",
        "positive": "The complex sine-Gordon model on a half line: In this paper, we examine the complex sine-Gordon model in the presence of a\nboundary, and derive boundary conditions that preserve integrability. We\npresent soliton and breather solutions, investigate the scattering of particles\nand solitons off the boundary and examine the existence of classical solutions\ncorresponding to boundary bound states."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "AdS/CFT prescription for angle-deficit space and winding geodesics: We present the holographic computation of the boundary two-point correlator\nusing the GKPW prescription for a scalar field in the AdS$_3$ space with a\nconical defect. Generally speaking, a conical defect breaks conformal\ninvariance in the dual theory, however we calculate the classical Green\nfunctions for a scalar field in the bulk with conical defect and use them to\ncompute the two-point correlator in the boundary theory. We compare the\nobtained general expression with previous studies based on the geodesic\napproximation. They are in good agreement for short correlators, and main\ndiscrepancy comes in the region of long correlations. Meanwhile, in case of\n$\\mathbb{Z}_r$-orbifold, the GKPW result coincides with the one obtained via\ngeodesic images prescription and with the general result for the boundary\ntheory, which is conformal in this special case.",
        "positive": "Color Confinement in QCD due to Topological Defects: We outline a derivation of area law of the Wilson loop in SU(N) Yang-Mills\ntheory in the maximal Abelian gauge. This is based on a new version of\nnon-Abelian Stokes theorem and the novel reformulation of the Yang-Mills\ntheory. Abelian dominance and monopole dominance of the string tension in SU(N)\nQCD are immediate consequences of this derivation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic probabilities in eternal inflation: In the global description of eternal inflation, probabilities for vacua are\nnotoriously ambiguous. The local point of view is preferred by holography and\nnaturally picks out a simple probability measure. It is insensitive to large\nexpansion factors or lifetimes, and so resolves a recently noted paradox. Any\ncosmological measure must be complemented with the probability for observers to\nemerge in a given vacuum. In lieu of anthropic criteria, I propose to estimate\nthis by the entropy that can be produced in a local patch. This allows for\nprior-free predictions.",
        "positive": "Some Useful Formulas in Nonlinear Sigma Models in (1+2)-Dimensions: We give in this paper some formulas which are useful in the construction of\nnontrivial conserved currents for submodels of CP^1-model or QP^1-model in\n(1+2) dimensions.\n  These are full generalization of our results in the previous paper\n(hep-th/9802105)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Geometries, Non-Geometries, and Fluxes: Using F-theory/heterotic duality, we describe a framework for analyzing\nnon-geometric T2-fibered heterotic compactifications to six- and\nfour-dimensions. Our results suggest that among T2-fibered heterotic string\nvacua, the non-geometric compactifications are just as typical as the geometric\nones. We also construct four-dimensional solutions which have novel type IIB\nand M-theory dual descriptions. These duals are non-geometric with three- and\nfour-form fluxes not of (2,1) or (2,2) Hodge type, respectively, and yet\npreserve at least N=1 supersymmetry.",
        "positive": "Product of Random States and Spatial (Half-)Wormholes: We study how coarse-graining procedure of an underlying UV-complete quantum\ngravity gives rise to a connected geometry. It has been shown, quantum\nentanglement plays a key role in the emergence of such a geometric structure,\nnamely a smooth Einstein-Rosen bridge. In this paper, we explore the\npossibility of the emergence of similar geometric structure from classical\ncorrelation, in the AdS/CFT setup. To this end, we consider a setup where we\nhave two decoupled CFT Hilbert spaces, then choose a random typical state in\none of the Hilbert spaces and the same state in the other. The total state in\nthe fine-grained picture is of course a tensor product state, but averaging\nover the states sharing the same random coefficients creates a geometric\nconnection for simple probes. Then, the apparent spatial wormhole causes a\nfactorization puzzle. We argue that there is a spatial analog of\nhalf-wormholes, which resolves the puzzle in the similar way as the spacetime\nhalf-wormholes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Superscattering Matrix for Two Dimensional Black Holes: A consistent Euclidean semi classical calculation is given for the\nsuperscattering operator $\\$ $ in the RST model for states with a constant flux\nof energy. The $\\$ $ operator is CPT invariant. There is no loss of quantum\ncoherence when the energy flux is less than a critical rate and complete loss\nwhen the energy flux is critical.",
        "positive": "Eikonal Approximation in Celestial CFT: We identify an eikonal regime in celestial CFT$_2$ in which massless 2-2\nscattering is dominated by t-channel exchange. We derive a formula for the\ncelestial amplitude that resums exchanges of arbitrary integer spin to all\norders in the coupling. The resulting eikonal phase takes the same form as in\nflat space with the powers of center-of-mass energy replaced by weight-shifting\noperators on the celestial sphere. We independently compute the celestial\ntwo-point function for a scalar propagating in a shockwave background and show\nthat to leading order in the gravitational coupling and for a suitable choice\nof the source, the result agrees with the prediction from the celestial eikonal\nformula for graviton exchange. We demonstrate that this two-point function can\nbe directly obtained from the corresponding formula in AdS$_4$ in a flat space\nlimit. We finally establish a general relation between scalar celestial\namplitudes in celestial CFT$_{d-1}$ and the flat space limit of scalar\nAdS$_{d+1}$ Witten diagrams."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Singularity, Sasaki-Einstein manifold, Log del Pezzo surface and\n  $\\mathcal{N}=1$ AdS/CFT correspondence: Part I: A five dimensional Sasaki-Einstein (SE) manifold provides a AdS/CFT pair for\nfour dimensional $\\mathcal{N}=1$ SCFT, and those pairs are very useful in\nstudying field theory and AdS/CFT correspondence. The space of known SE\nmanifolds is increased significantly in the last decade, and we initiated the\nstudy of various field theory properties through the geometric property of\nthese new SE manifolds. There is an associated three dimensional log-terminal\nsingularity $X$ for each SE manifold $L_X$, and for quasi-regular case, there\nis an associated two dimensional log Del Pezzo surface $(S,\\Delta)$. The\nalgebraic geometrical methods are quite useful in extracting interesting\nphysical properties from singularity and log Del Pezzo surface. The necessary\nand sufficient condition for the existence of SE metric on $L_X$ is related to\nK stability of $X$. Motivated by dual field theory, we propose a conjecture on\nhow to reduce the check of K stability to possibly finite cases, which\nhopefully would give us a guideline to find a much larger space of SE metrics.",
        "positive": "Explicit Calculation of Multiloop Amplitudes in the Superstring Theory: Multiloop superstring amplitudes are calculated in the explicit form by the\nsolution of Ward identities. A naive generalization of Belavin-Knizhnik theorem\nto the superstring is found to be incorrect since the period matrix turns out\nto be depended on the spinor structure over the terms proportional to odd\nmoduli.\n  These terms appear because fermions mix bosons under the two-dim.\nsupersymmetry transformations. The closed, oriented superstring turns out to be\nfinite, if it possesses the ten-dimensional supersymmetry, as well as the\ntwo-dimentional one.\n  This problem needs a further study."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Integrable Sigma-models and Drinfeld-Sokolov Hierarchies: Local commuting charges in sigma-models with classical Lie groups as target\nmanifolds are shown to be related to the conserved quantities appearing in the\nDrinfeld-Sokolov (generalized mKdV) hierarchies. Conversely, the\nDrinfeld-Sokolov construction can be used to deduce the existence of commuting\ncharges in these and in wider classes of sigma-models, including those whose\ntarget manifolds are exceptional groups or symmetric spaces. This establishes a\ndirect link between commuting quantities in integrable sigma-models and in\naffine Toda field theories.",
        "positive": "Gauged Lifshitz model with Chern-Simons term: We present a gauged Lifshitz Lagrangian including second and forth order\nspatial derivatives of the scalar field and a Chern-Simons term, and study\nnon-trivial solutions of the classical equations of motion. While the\ncoefficient beta of the forth order term should be positive in order to\nguarantee positivity of the energy, the coefficient alpha of the quadratic one\nneed not be. We investigate the parameter domains finding significant\ndifferences in the field behaviors. Apart from the usual vortex field behavior\nof the ordinary relativistic Chern-Simons-Higgs model, we find in certain\nparameter domains oscillatory solutions reminiscent of the modulated phases of\nLifshitz systems."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chiral fermions on 2D curved spacetimes: The theory of free Majorana-Weyl spinors is the prototype of conformal field\ntheory in two dimensions in which the gravitational anomaly and the Weyl\nanomaly obstruct extending the flat spacetime results to curved backgrounds. In\nthis paper, we investigate a quantization scheme in which the short distance\nsingularity in the two-point function of chiral fermions on a two dimensional\ncurved spacetime is given by the Green's function corresponding to the\nclassical field equation. We compute the singular term in the Green's function\nexplicitly and observe that the short distance limit is not well-defined in\ngeneral. We identify constraints on the geometry which are necessary to resolve\nthis problem. On such special backgrounds the theory has locally\n$c=\\frac{1}{2}$ conformal symmetry.",
        "positive": "Deconstruction of the Maldacena-Nunez Compactification: We demonstrate a classical equivalence between the large-N limit of the\nHiggsed N=1* SUSY U(N) Yang-Mills theory and the Maldacena-Nunez twisted\ncompactification of a six dimensional gauge theory on a two-sphere. A direct\ncomparison of the actions and spectra of the two theories reveals them to be\nidentical. We also propose a gauge theory limit which should describe the\ncorresponding spherical compactification of Little String Theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Subdivision Invariant Models in Lattice Gauge Theory: A class of lattice gauge theories is presented which exhibits novel\ntopological properties. The construction is in terms of compact Wilson\nvariables defined on a simplicial complex which models a four dimensional\nmanifold with boundary. The case of Z2 and Z3 gauge groups is considered in\ndetail, and we prove that at certain discrete values of the coupling parameter,\nthe partition function in these models remains invariant under subdivision of\nthe underlying simplicial complex. A variety of extensions is also presented.",
        "positive": "Higgs-like (pseudo)Scalars in AdS$_4$, Marginal and Irrelevant\n  Deformations in CFT_3 and Instantons on S^3: With a 4-form ansatz of 11-dimensional supergravity over non-dynamical AdS$_4\n\\times S^7/Z_k$ background, with the internal space as a $S^1$ Hopf fibration\non CP$^3$, we get a consistent truncation. The (pseudo)scalars, in the\nresulting scalar equations in Euclidean AdS_4 space, may be viewed as arising\nfrom (anti)M-branes wrapping around internal directions in the (Wick-rotated)\nskew-whiffed M2-branes background (as the resulting theory is for\nanti-M2-branes) and so, realizing the modes after swapping the three\nfundamental representations $8_s, 8_c, 8_v$ of SO(8). Taking the backreaction\non the external and internal spaces, we get massless and massive modes,\ncorresponding to exactly marginal and marginally irrelevant deformations on the\nboundary CFT$_3$, and write a closed solution for the bulk equation and compute\nits correction to the background action. Next, considering the Higgs-like\n(breathing) mode $m^2=18$, having all supersymmetries, parity and\nscale-invariance broken, by solving the associated bulk equation with\nmathematical methods, especially the Adomian decomposition method, and\nanalyzing the behavior near the boundary of the solutions, we realize the\nboundary duals in SU(4) x U(1)-singlet sectors of the ABJM model. Then,\nintroducing new dual deformation $\\Delta_+$ = 3, 6 operators made of\nbi-fundamental scalars, fermions and U(1) gauge fields, we obtain\nSO(4)-invariant solutions as small instantons on a three-sphere with radius at\ninfinity, which actually correspond to collapsing bulk bubbles leading to\nbig-crunch singularities."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Yang-Mills vacuum in Coulomb gauge: The Yang-Mills Schr\\\"odinger equation is solved in Coulomb gauge for the\nvacuum by the variational principle using an ansatz for the wave functional,\nwhich is strongly peaked at the Gribov horizon. We find an infrared suppressed\ngluon propagator, an infrared singular ghost propagator and an almost linearly\nrising confinement potential. Using these solutions we calculate the electric\nfield of static color charge distributions relevant for mesons and baryons.",
        "positive": "Even the photon propagator must break de Sitter symmetry: The propagator for the massless vector field in de Sitter space cannot\nmaintain de Sitter invariance in the general covaraint gauge, except in the\nexactly transverse gauge limit. This is due to a previously overlooked\nWard-Takahashi identity that the propagator must satisfy. Here we construct the\npropagator that satisfies all the conditions of a consistently quantized\ntheory. Our solution preserves cosmological symmetries and dilations, but\nbreaks spatial special conformal transformations. The solution amounts to\nadding a homogeneous de Sitter breaking term to previously reported de Sitter\ninvariant solutions of the propagator equation of motion. Even though the\ncorrections we report pertain to the gauge sector of the linear theory, they\nare relevant and have to be accounted for when interactions are included."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Mesoscopic Fluctuations in Stochastic Spacetime: Mesoscopic effects associated with wave propagation in spacetime with metric\nstochasticity are studied. We show that the scalar and spinor waves in a\nstochastic spacetime behave similarly to the electrons in a disordered system.\nViewing this as the quantum transport problem, mesoscopic fluctuations in such\na spacetime are discussed. The conductance and its fluctuations are expressed\nin terms of a nonlinear sigma model in the closed time path formalism. We show\nthat the conductance fluctuations are universal, independent of the volume of\nthe stochastic region and the amount of stochasticity.",
        "positive": "Optimized Fock space in the large N limit of quartic interactions in\n  Matrix Models: We consider the problem of quantization of the bosonic membrane via the large\n$N$ limit of its matrix regularizations $H_N$ in Fock space. We prove that\nthere exists a choice of the Fock space frequency such that $ H_N$ can be\nwritten as a sum of a non-interacting Hamiltonian $H_{0,N}$ and the original\nnormal ordered quartic potential. Using this decomposition we obtain upper and\nlower bounds for the ground state energy in the planar limit, we study a\nperturbative expansion about the spectrum of $H_{0,N}$, and show that the\nspectral gap remains finite at $N=\\infty$ at least up to the second order. We\nalso apply the method to the $U(N)$-invariant anharmonic oscillator, and\ndemonstrate that our bounds agree with the exact result of Brezin et al."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetry of Black Strings in D=5 Gauged Supergravities: Supersymmetry of five dimensional string solutions is examined in the context\nof gauged D=5, N=2 supergravity coupled to abelian vector multiplets. We find\nmagnetic black strings preserving one quarter of supersymmetry and approaching\nthe half-supersymmetric product space AdS_3\\times H^2 near the event horizon.\nThe solutions thus exhibit the phenomenon of supersymmetry enhancement near the\nhorizon, like in the cases of ungauged supergravity theories, where the near\nhorizon limit is fully supersymmetric. Finally, product space compactifications\nare studied in detail, and it is shown that only for negative curvature\n(hyperbolic) internal spaces, some amount of supersymmetry can be preserved.\nAmong other solutions, we find that the extremal rotating BTZ black hole\ntensored by H^2 preserves one quarter of supersymmetry.",
        "positive": "Notes On The S-Matrix Of Bosonic And Topological Non-Critical Strings: We show that the equivalence between the c=1 non-critical bosonic string and\nthe N=2 topologically twisted coset SL(2)/U(1) at level one can be checked very\nnaturally on the level of tree-level scattering amplitudes with the use of the\nStoyanovsky-Ribault-Teschner map, which recasts $H_3^+$ correlation functions\nin terms of Liouville field theory amplitudes. This observation can be applied\nequally well to the topologically twisted SL(2)/U(1) coset at level n>1, which\nhas been argued recently to be equivalent with a c<1 non-critical bosonic\nstring whose matter part is defined by a time-like linear dilaton CFT."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Positivity Bounds for Massive Spin-1 and Spin-2 Fields: We apply the recently developed positivity bounds for particles with spin,\napplied away from the forward limit, to the low energy effective theories of\nmassive spin-1 and spin-2 theories. For spin-1 theories, we consider the\ngeneric Proca EFT which arises at low energies from a heavy Higgs mechanism,\nand the special case of a charged Galileon for which the EFT is reorganized by\nthe Galileon symmetry. For spin-2, we consider generic $\\Lambda_5$ massive\ngravity theories and the special `ghost-free' $\\Lambda_3$ theories. Remarkably\nwe find that at the level of 2-2 scattering, the positivity bounds applied to\n$\\Lambda_5$ massive gravity theories impose the special tunings which generate\nthe $\\Lambda_3$ structure. For $\\Lambda_3$ massive gravity theories, the island\nof positivity derived in the forward limit appears relatively stable against\nfurther bounds.",
        "positive": "New supersymmetric index of heterotic compactifications with torsion: We compute the new supersymmetric index of a large class of N=2 heterotic\ncompactifications with torsion, corresponding to principal two-torus bundles\nover warped K3 surfaces with H-flux. Starting from a UV description as a (0,2)\ngauged linear sigma-model with torsion, we use supersymmetric localization\ntechniques to provide an explicit expression of the index as a sum over the\nJeffrey-Kirwan residues of the one-loop determinant. We finally propose a\ngeometrical formula that gives the new supersymmetric index in terms of bundle\ndata, regardless of any particular choice of underlying two-dimensional theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chaotic Quantization of Classical Gauge Fields: We argue that higher dimensional classical, nonabelian gauge theory may lead\nto a lower dimensional quantum field theory due to its inherent chaotic\ndynamics which acts like stohastic quantization. The dimensional reduction is\nbased upon magnetic screening effects analagous to that in nonabelian plasmas.",
        "positive": "Light-Ray Radon Transform for Abelianin and Nonabelian Connection in 3\n  and 4 Dimensional Space with Minkowsky Metric: We consider a real manifold of dimension 3 or 4 with Minkovsky metric, and\nwith a connection for a trivial GL(n,C) bundle over that manifold. To each\nlight ray on the manifold we assign the data of paralel transport along that\nlight ray. It turns out that these data are not enough to reconstruct the\nconnection, but we can add more data, which depend now not from lines but from\n2-planes, and which in some sence are the data of parallel transport in the\ncomplex light-like directions, then we can reconstruct the connection up to a\ngauge transformation. There are some interesting applications of the\nconstruction: 1) in 4 dimensions, the self-dual Yang Mills equations can be\nwritten as the zero curvature condition for a pair of certain first order\ndifferential operators; one of the operators in the pair is the covariant\nderivative in complex light-like direction we studied. 2) there is a relation\nof this Radon transform with the supersymmetry. 3)using our Radon transform, we\ncan get a measure on the space of 2 dimensional planes in 4 dimensional real\nspace. Any such measure give rise to a Crofton 2-density. The integrals of this\n2-density over surfaces in R^4 give rise to the Lagrangian for maps of real\nsurfaces into R^4, and therefore to some string theory. 4) there are relations\nwith the representation theory. In particular, a closely related transform in 3\ndimensions can be used to get the Plancerel formula for representations of\nSL(2,R)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "N=2 Instanton Effective Action in Omega-background and D3/D(-1)-brane\n  System in R-R Background: We study the relation between the ADHM construction of instantons in the\nOmega-background and the fractional D3/D(-1)-branes at the orbifold singularity\nof C \\times C^2/Z_2 in Ramond-Ramond (R-R) 3-form field strength background. We\ncalculate disk amplitudes of open strings connecting the D3/D(-1)-branes in\ncertain R-R background to obtain the D(-1)-brane effective action deformed by\nthe R-R background. We show that the deformed D(-1)-brane effective action\nagrees with the instanton effective action in the Omega-background.",
        "positive": "The area operator and fixed area states in conformal field theories: The fixed area states are constructed by gravitational path integrals in\nprevious studies.In this paper we show the dual of the fixed area states in\nconformal field theories (CFTs).These CFT states are constructed by using\nspectrum decomposition of reduced density matrix $\\rho_A$ for a subsystem $A$.\nFor 2 dimensional CFTs we directly construct the bulk metric, which is\nconsistent with the expected geometry of the fixed area states. For arbitrary\npure geometric state $|\\psi\\rangle$ in any dimension we also find the\nconsistency by using the gravity dual of R\\'enyi entropy. We also give the\nrelation of parameters for the bulk and boundary state. The pure geometric\nstate $|\\psi\\rangle$ can be expanded as superposition of the fixed area states.\nMotivated by this, we propose an area operator $\\hat A^\\psi$. The fixed area\nstate is the eigenstate of $\\hat A^\\psi$, the associated eigenvalue is related\nto R\\'enyi entropy of subsystem $A$ in this state. The Ryu-Takayanagi formula\ncan be expressed as the expectation value $\\langle \\psi| {\\hat\nA}^\\psi|\\psi\\rangle$ divided by $4G$, where $G$ is the Newton constant. We also\nshow the fluctuation of the area operator in the geometric state $|\\psi\\rangle$\nis suppressed in the semiclassical limit $G\\to0$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chern-Simons Perturbation Theory: We study the perturbation theory for three dimensional Chern--Simons quantum\nfield theory on a general compact three manifold without boundary. We show that\nafter a simple change of variables, the action obtained by BRS gauge fixing in\nthe Lorentz gauge has a superspace formulation. The basic properties of the\npropagator and the Feynman rules are written in a precise manner in the\nlanguage of differential forms. Using the explicit description of the\npropagator singularities, we prove that the theory is finite. Finally the\nanomalous metric dependence of the $2$-loop partition function on the\nRiemannian metric (which was introduced to define the gauge fixing) can be\ncancelled by a local counterterm as in the $1$-loop case. In fact, the\ncounterterm is equal to the Chern--Simons action of the metric connection,\nnormalized precisely as one would expect based on the framing dependence of\nWitten's exact solution.",
        "positive": "The Complex Laguerre Symplectic Ensemble of Non-Hermitian Matrices: We solve the complex extension of the chiral Gaussian Symplectic Ensemble,\ndefined as a Gaussian two-matrix model of chiral non-Hermitian quaternion real\nmatrices. This leads to the appearance of Laguerre polynomials in the complex\nplane and we prove their orthogonality. Alternatively, a complex eigenvalue\nrepresentation of this ensemble is given for general weight functions. All\nk-point correlation functions of complex eigenvalues are given in terms of the\ncorresponding skew orthogonal polynomials in the complex plane for finite-N,\nwhere N is the matrix size or number of eigenvalues, respectively. We also\nallow for an arbitrary number of complex conjugate pairs of characteristic\npolynomials in the weight function, corresponding to massive quark flavours in\napplications to field theory. Explicit expressions are given in the large-N\nlimit at both weak and strong non-Hermiticity for the weight of the Gaussian\ntwo-matrix model. This model can be mapped to the complex Dirac operator\nspectrum with non-vanishing chemical potential. It belongs to the symmetry\nclass of either the adjoint representation or two colours in the fundamental\nrepresentation using staggered lattice fermions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Magnetic Fields and Fractional Statistics in Boundary Conformal Field\n  Theory: We study conformal field theories describing two massless one-dimensional\nfields interacting at a single spatial point. The interactions we include are\nperiodic functions of the bosonized fields separately plus a ``magnetic''\ninteraction that mixes the two fields. Such models arise in open string theory\nand dissipative quantum mechanics and perhaps in edge state tunneling in the\nfractional quantized Hall effect. The partition function for such theories is a\nCoulomb gas with interchange phases arising from the magnetic field. These\n``fractional statistics'' have a profound effect on the phase structure of the\nCoulomb gas. In this paper we present new exact and approximate results for\nthis type of generalized Coulomb gas.",
        "positive": "Maximal transcendental weight contribution of scattering amplitudes: Feynman integrals in quantum field theory evaluate to special functions and\nnumbers that are usefully described by the notion of transcendental weight. In\nthis paper, we propose a way of projecting a given dimensionally-regularised\nFeynman integral, for example contributing to a scattering amplitudes, onto its\nmaximal weight part. The method uses insights into the singularity structure of\nspace-time loop integrands, and is complementary to usual generalised unitarity\napproaches. We describe the method and give a proof-of-principle application to\nthe two-loop scattering amplitudes $gg \\to H$ in the heavy top-quark mass\nlimit, which involves both planar and non-planar Feynman integrals. We also\ncomment on further possible applications and discuss subtleties related to\nevanescent integrand terms."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "ADM reduction of IIB on $H^{p,q}$ and dS braneworld: We propose a new Kaluza-Klein reduction scheme based on ADM decomposition.\nThe scheme has been motivated by AdS/CFT, especially by how the worldvolume\ntheory should appear from the supergravity side. We apply the scheme to IIB\nsupergravity reduced on a 5D hyperboloidal $\\cH^5$ space, and show that an\n(A)dS \"braneworld\" is be realized after further reduction to 4D. We comment on\napplications to cosmology and black hole physics. In particular, the scheme\nshould provide a proper paradigm for black hole physics.",
        "positive": "Twistor and Polytope Interpretations for Subleading Color One-Loop\n  Amplitudes: We use the relation of the one-loop subleading-color amplitudes to the\none-loop $n$-point leading color amplitudes in ${\\cal N}=4$ SYM, to derive a\npolytope interpretation for the former in the $MHV$ case, and a representation\nin momentum twistor space for the general $N^kMHV$ case. These techniques are\nexplored in detail for the 5-point and 6-point amplitudes. We briefly discuss\nthe implications for IR divergences."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gyroscopic Gravitational Memory: We study the motion of a gyroscope located far away from an isolated\ngravitational source in an asymptotically flat spacetime. As seen from a local\nframe tied to distant stars, the gyroscope precesses when gravitational waves\ncross its path, resulting in a net \"orientation memory\" that carries\ninformation on the wave profile. At leading order in the inverse distance to\nthe source, the memory consists of two terms: the first is linear in the metric\nperturbation and coincides with the spin memory effect, while the second is\nquadratic and measures the net helicity of the wave burst. Both are closely\nrelated to symmetries of the gravitational radiative phase space at null\ninfinity: spin memory probes superrotation charges, while helicity is the\ncanonical generator of local electric-magnetic duality on the celestial sphere.",
        "positive": "Holographic charge transport in 2+1 dimensions at finite $N$: We study holographic charge transport in (2+1) dimensions at finite $N$,\nwhose dual gravity background is given by perturbative black hole solution in\nEinstein theory plus cubic terms of Weyl tensor. We consider the higher\nderivative corrections to the standard Maxwell action, given by the interacting\nterms between the Weyl tensor and the field strength. We calculate the DC\nconductivity by using both the membrane paradigm and the Kubo's formula and\nfind precise agreement. We compute the AC conductivity and find an analog of\nthe crossover from `metal' to `bad metal' in the low frequency limit. Moreover,\nthe conductivity becomes a constant in the large frequency limit. We derive two\nuniversal relations for the Green's functions and observe that they are exactly\nthe same as the infinite $N$ counterparts."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Radiation from an oscillating dipole layer facing a conducting plane:\n  resonances and Dynamical Casimir Effect: We study the properties of the classical electromagnetic (EM) radiation\nproduced by two physically different yet closely related systems, which may be\nregarded as classical analogues of the Dynamical Casimir Effect (DCE). They\ncorrespond to two flat, infinite, parallel planes, one of them static and\nimposing perfect conductor boundary conditions, while the other performs a\nrigid oscillatory motion. The systems differ just in the electrical properties\nof the oscillating plane: one of them is just a planar dipole layer\n(representing, for instance, a small-width electret). The other, instead, has a\ndipole layer on the side which faces the static plane, but behaves as a\nconductor on the other side: this can be used as a representation of a\nconductor endowed with patch potentials (on the side which faces the conducting\nplane). We evaluate, in both cases, the dissipative flux of energy between the\nsystem and its environment, showing that, at least for small mechanical\noscillation amplitudes, it can be written in terms of the dipole layer\nautocorrelation function. We show that there are resonances as a function of\nthe frequency of the mechanical oscillation.",
        "positive": "Generalized Uncertainty Principle from the Regularized Self-Energy: We use the Schr\\\"odinger--Newton equation to calculate the regularized\nself-energy of the particle using a regular self-gravitational and\nelectrostatic potential derived in the string T-duality. The particle mass $M$\nis no longer concentrated into a point but it is diluted and described by a\nquantum-corrected smeared energy density resulting in corrections to the energy\nof the particle which is interpreted as a regularized self-energy. We extend\nour results and find corrections to the relativistic particles using the\nKlein-Gordon, Proca, and Dirac equations. An important finding is that we\nextract a form of generalized uncertainty principle (GUP) from the corrected\nenergy. The form of GUP is shown to depend on the nature of particles; namely,\nfor bosons (spin $0$ and spin $1$) we obtain a quadratic form of GUP, while for\nfermions (spin $1/2$) we obtain a linear form of GUP. The correlation we found\nbetween spin and GUP may offer insights into investigating quantum gravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Domain wall seeds in CSO-gauged supergravity: Gravitational domain wall solutions in gauged supergravity are often\nconstructed within truncations that do not include vectors. As a consequence\nthe gauge group is only a global symmetry of this truncation. The consistency\nof the truncation requires the restriction to solutions with vanishing Noether\ncharge under this global symmetry, since otherwise vector fields are sourced.\nWe show that this has interesting consequences for the orbit structure of the\nsolutions under the global symmetries. We investigate this for\n$\\text{CSO}(p,q,r)$-gaugings in various dimensions with scalar fields truncated\nto the $\\text{SL}(n,\\mathbb{R})/\\text{SO}(n)$ subcoset. We prove that the seed\nsolution $-$ which generates all other solutions using only global\ntransformations $-$ has a diagonal coset matrix. This means that there exists a\ntransformation at the boundary of the geometry that diagonalises the coset\nmatrix and that this same transformation also diagonalises the whole flow as a\nconsequence of the vanishing charge.",
        "positive": "A Note on the Cardy-Verlinde Formula: We generalize the results of hep-th/0008140 to the case of the\n(n+1)-dimensional closed FRW universe satisfying a general equation of state of\nthe form p=w\\rho. We find that the entropy of the universe can no longer be\nexpressed in a form similar to the Cardy formula, when w\\neq 1/n. As a result,\nin general the entropy formula does not coincide with the Friedmann equation\nwhen the conjectured bound on the Casimir energy is saturated. Furthermore, the\nconjectured bound on the Casimir energy generally does not lead to the Hubble\nand the Bekenstein entropy bounds."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Boundary bound states in the SUSY sine-Gordon model with Dirichlet\n  boundary conditions: We analyze the ground state structure of the supersymmetric sine-Gordon model\nvia the lattice regularization. The nonlinear integral equations are derived\nfor any values of the boundary parameters by the analytic continuation and\nshowed three different forms depending on the boundary parameters. We discuss\nthe state that each set of the nonlinear integral equations characterizes in\nthe absence of source terms. Four different pictures of the ground state are\nfound by numerically studying the positions of zeros in the auxiliary\nfunctions. We suggest the existence of two classes in the SUSY sine-Gordon\nmodel, which cannot be mixed each other.",
        "positive": "Bolting Multicenter Solutions: We introduce a solvable system of equations that describes non-extremal\nmulticenter solutions to six-dimensional ungauged supergravity coupled to\ntensor multiplets. The system involves a set of functions on a\nthree-dimensional base metric. We obtain a family of non-extremal axisymmetric\nsolutions that generalize the known multicenter extremal solutions, using a\nparticular base metric that introduces a bolt. We analyze the conditions for\nregularity, and in doing so we show that this family does not include solutions\nthat contain an extremal black hole and a smooth bolt. We determine the\nconstraints that are necessary to obtain smooth horizonless solutions involving\na bolt and an arbitrary number of Gibbons-Hawking centers."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A metric of Yukawa potential as an exact solution to the field equations\n  of general relativity: It is shown that, by defining a suitable energy momentum tensor, the field\nequations of general relativity admit a line element of Yukawa potential as an\nexact solution. It is also shown that matter that produces strong force may be\nnegative, in which case there would be no Schwarzschild-like singularity",
        "positive": "Vacuum tunneling in gravity: Topologically non-trivial vacuum structure in gravity models with Cartan\nvariables (vielbein and contortion) is considered. We study the possibility of\nvacuum space-time tunneling in Einstein gravity assuming that the vielbein may\nplay a fundamental role in quantum gravitational phenomena. It has been shown\nthat in the case of RP3 space topology the tunneling between non-trivial\ntopological vacuums can be realized by means of Eguchi-Hanson gravitational\ninstanton. In Riemann-Cartan geometric approach to quantum gravity the vacuum\ntunneling can be provided by means of contortion quantum fluctuations. We\ndefine double self-duality condition for the contortion and give explicit\nself-dual configurations which can contribute to vacuum tunneling amplitude."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On co-dimension 2 defect anomalies in N=4 SYM and (2,0) theory via brane\n  probes in AdS/CFT: We consider a $\\frac{1}{2}$-BPS solution for a D3 brane probe in AdS$_5\n\\times S^5$ that has world-volume geometry of AdS$_3 \\times S^1$. It intersects\nthe boundary over a surface that represents a dimension 2 defect in the\nboundary N=4 SYM theory. The effective action of the probe brane is\nproportional to the logarithmically divergent volume of AdS$_3$ and may thus be\ninterpreted as computing conformal anomaly of the supersymmetric $S^2$ defect.\nThe classical action scales as $N$. We compute the 1-loop correction to it due\nto quantum fluctuations of the D3 brane world-volume fields and compare the\nresult to an earlier suggested expression for the defect anomaly. We also\nperform a similar analysis of a $\\frac{1}{2}$-BPS M5 brane probe solution in\nAdS$_7 \\times S^4$ with the world-volume geometry of AdS$_5 \\times S^1$ that\nrepresents a dimension 4 defect in the boundary (2,0) 6d theory. Here the\nclassical M5 brane action computes the leading order $N^2$ term in $a$-anomaly\nof the supersymmetric $S^4$ defect. We perform a detailed computation of the\n1-loop correction to the M5 brane effective action and thus provide a\nprediction for the subleading constant in the $S^4$ defect $a$-anomaly\ncoefficient.",
        "positive": "T-duality, Non-geometry and Lie Algebroids in Heterotic Double Field\n  Theory: A number of issues in heterotic double field theory are studied. This\nincludes the analysis of the T-dual configurations of a flat constant gauge\nflux background, which turn out to be non-geometric. Performing a field\nredefinition to a non-geometric frame, these T-duals take a very simple form\nreminiscent of the constant Q- and R-flux backgrounds. In addition, it is shown\nhow the analysis of arXiv:1304.2784 generalizes to heterotic generalized\ngeometry. For every field redefinition specified by an O(D,D+n) transformation,\nthe structure of the resulting supergravity action is governed by the\ndifferential geometry of a corresponding Lie algebroid."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Light-Front Quantisation as an Initial-Boundary Value Problem: In the light front quantisation scheme initial conditions are usually\nprovided on a single lightlike hyperplane. This, however, is insufficient to\nyield a unique solution of the field equations. We investigate under which\nadditional conditions the problem of solving the field equations becomes well\nposed. The consequences for quantisation are studied within a Hamiltonian\nformulation by using the method of Faddeev and Jackiw for dealing with\nfirst-order Lagrangians. For the prototype field theory of massive scalar\nfields in 1+1 dimensions, we find that initial conditions for fixed light cone\ntime {\\sl and} boundary conditions in the spatial variable are sufficient to\nyield a consistent commutator algebra. Data on a second lightlike hyperplane\nare not necessary. Hamiltonian and Euler-Lagrange equations of motion become\nequivalent; the description of the dynamics remains canonical and simple. In\nthis way we justify the approach of discretised light cone quantisation.",
        "positive": "Supersymmetric non-Abelian multiwaves in D=3 AdS superspace: We present a covariant, supersymmetric and kappa-symmetric action for\nnon-Abelian multiwave system (nAmW) in D=3 AdS superspace. Its flat superspace\nlimit provides a simplest counterpart of the recently proposed action for 11\ndimensional system of N nearly coincident M-waves (multiple M0-branes), which\nis presently known for the case of flat target superspace only."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Conformal blocks on elliptic curves and the\n  Knizhnik--Zamolodchikov--Bernard equations: We give an explicit description of the vector bundle of WZW conformal blocks\non elliptic curves with marked points as subbundle of a vector bundle of Weyl\ngroup invariant vector valued theta functions on a Cartan subalgebra. We give a\npartly conjectural characterization of this subbundle in terms of certain\nvanishing conditions on affine hyperplanes. In some cases, explicit calculation\nare possible and confirm the conjecture. The Friedan--Shenker flat connection\nis calculated, and it is shown that horizontal sections are solutions of\nBernard's generalization of the Knizhnik--Zamolodchikov equation.",
        "positive": "Unified phantom cosmology: inflation, dark energy and dark matter under\n  the same standard: Phantom cosmology allows to account for dynamics and matter content of the\nuniverse tracing back the evolution to the inflationary epoch, considering the\ntransition to the non-phantom standard cosmology (radiation/matter dominated\neras) and recovering the today observed dark energy epoch. We develop the\nunified phantom cosmology where the same scalar plays the role of early time\n(phantom) inflaton and late-time Dark Energy. The recent transition from\ndecelerating to accelerating phase is described too by the same scalar field.\nThe (dark) matter may be embedded in this scheme, giving the natural solution\nof the coincidence problem. It is explained how the proposed unified phantom\ncosmology can be fitted against the observations which opens the way to define\nall the important parameters of the model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Nilpotence varieties: We consider algebraic varieties canonically associated to any Lie\nsuperalgebra, and study them in detail for super-Poincar\\'e algebras of\nphysical interest. They are the locus of nilpotent elements in (the\nprojectivized parity reversal of) the odd part of the algebra. Most of these\nvarieties have appeared in various guises in previous literature, but we study\nthem systematically here, from a new perspective: as the natural moduli spaces\nparameterizing twists of a super-Poincar\\'e-invariant physical theory. We\nobtain a classification of all possible twists, as well as a systematic\nanalysis of unbroken symmetry in twisted theories. The natural stratification\nof the varieties, the identification of strata with twists, and the action of\nLorentz and $R$-symmetry on the varieties are emphasized. We also include a\nshort and unconventional exposition of the pure-spinor superfield formalism,\nfrom the perspective of twisting, and demonstrate that it can be applied to\nconstruct familiar multiplets in four-dimensional minimally supersymmetric\ntheories; in all dimensions and with any amount of supersymmetry, this\ntechnique produces BRST or BV complexes of supersymmetric theories from the\nKoszul complex of the cone point over the coordinate ring of the nilpotence\nvariety, possibly tensored with a module over that coordinate ring. In\naddition, we remark on a natural emergence of nilpotence varieties in the\nChevalley-Eilenberg cohomology of supertranslations, and give two applications\nrelated to these ideas: a calculation of Chevalley-Eilenberg cohomology for the\nsix-dimensional $\\mathcal{N}=(2,0)$ supertranslation algebra, and a BV complex\nmatching the field content of type IIB supergravity from the coordinate ring of\nthe corresponding nilpotence variety.",
        "positive": "Exact null tachyons from RG flows: We construct exact 2d CFTs, corresponding to closed string tachyon and metric\nprofiles invariant under shifts in a null coordinate, which can be constructed\nfrom any 2d renormalization group flow. These solutions satisfy first order\nequations of motion in the conjugate null coordinate. The direction along which\nthe tachyon varies is identified precisely with the worldsheet scale, and the\ntachyon equations of motion are the RG flow equations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "One-loop string corrections for AdS Kaluza-Klein amplitudes: We discuss the string corrections to one-loop amplitudes in\nAdS$_5\\times$S$^5$, focussing on their expressions in Mellin space. We present\nthe leading $(\\alpha')^3$ corrections to the family of correlators $\\langle\n\\mathcal{O}_2 \\mathcal{O}_2 \\mathcal{O}_p \\mathcal{O}_p \\rangle$ at one loop\nand begin the exploration of the form of correlators with multiple channels.\nFrom these correlators we extract some string corrections to one-loop anomalous\ndimensions of families of operators of low twist.",
        "positive": "An introduction to universality and renormalization group techniques: These lecture notes have been written for a short introductory course on\nuniversality and renormalization group techniques given at the VIII Modave\nSchool in Mathematical Physics by the author, intended for PhD students and\nresearchers new to these topics.\n  First the basic ideas of dynamical systems (fixed points, stability, etc.)\nare recalled, and an example of universality is discussed in this context: this\nis Feigenbaum's universality of the period doubling cascade for iterated maps\non the interval. It is shown how renormalization ideas can be applied to\nexplain universality and compute Feigenbaum's constants.\n  Then, universality is presented in the scenario of quantum field theories,\nand studied by means of functional renormalization group equations, which allow\nfor a close comparison with the case of dynamical systems. In particular,\nWetterich equation for a scalar field is derived and discussed, and then\napplied to the computation of the Wilson-Fisher fixed point and critical\nexponent for the Ising universality class.\n  References to more advanced topics and applications are provided."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Evidence for String Substructure: We argue that the behavior of string theory at high temperature and high\nlongitudinal boosts, combined with the emergence of p-branes as necessary\ningredients in various string dualities, point to a possible reformulation of\nstrings, as well as p-branes, as composites of bits. We review the string-bit\nmodels, and suggest generalizations to incorporate p-branes.",
        "positive": "Three Dimensional Differential Calculus on the Quantum Group SU_q(2) and\n  Minimal Gauge Theory: Three-dimensional bicovariant differential calculus on the quantum group\nSU_q(2) is constructed using the approach based on global covariance under the\naction of the stabilizing subgroup U(1). Explicit representations of possible\nq-deformed Lie algebras are obtained in terms of differential operators. The\nconsistent gauge covariant differential calculus on SU_q(2) is uniquely\ndefined. A non-standard Leibnitz rule is proposed for the exterior\ndifferential. The minimal gauge theory with SU_q(2) quantum group symmetry is\nconsidered."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Extension of the N=2 Virasoro algebra by two primary fields of dimension\n  2 and 3: We explicitly construct the extension of the N=2 super Virasoro algebra by\ntwo super primary fields of dimension two and three with vanishing u(1)-charge.\nUsing a super covariant formalism we obtain two different solutions both\nconsistent for generic values of the central charge c. The first one can be\nidentified with the super W_4-algebra - the symmetry algebra of the CP(3)\nKazama-Suzuki model. With the help of unitarity arguments we predict the\nself-coupling constant of the field of dimension two for all super\nW_n-algebras. The second solution is special in the sense that it does not have\na finite classical limit c->infinity and generic null fields appear. In the\nspirit of recent results in the N=0 case it can be understood as a unifying N=2\nsuper W-algebra for all CP(n) coset models. It does not admit any unitary\nrepresentation.",
        "positive": "Gauss-Bonnet Black Holes in AdS Spaces: We study thermodynamic properties and phase structures of topological black\nholes in Einstein theory with a Gauss-Bonnet term and a negative cosmological\nconstant. The event horizon of these topological black holes can be a\nhypersurface with positive, zero or negative constant curvature. When the\nhorizon is a zero curvature hypersurface, the thermodynamic properties of black\nholes are completely the same as those of black holes without the Gauss-Bonnet\nterm, although the two black hole solutions are quite different. When the\nhorizon is a negative constant curvature hypersurface, the thermodynamic\nproperties of the Gauss-Bonnet black holes are qualitatively similar to those\nof black holes without the Gauss-Bonnet term. When the event horizon is a\nhypersurface with positive constant curvature, we find that the thermodynamic\nproperties and phase structures of black holes drastically depend on the\nspacetime dimension $d$ and the coefficient of the Gauss-Bonnet term: when\n$d\\ge 6$, the properties of black hole are also qualitatively similar to the\ncase without the Gauss-Bonnet term, but when $d=5$, a new phase of locally\nstable small black hole occurs under a critical value of the Gauss-Bonnet\ncoefficient, and beyond the critical value, the black holes are always\nthermodynamically stable. However, the locally stable small black hole is not\nglobally preferred, instead a thermal anti-de Sitter space is globally\npreferred. We find that there is a minimal horizon radius, below which the\nHawking-Page phase transition will not occur since for these black holes the\nthermal anti de Sitter space is always globally preferred."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Moduli Stars: We explore the possibility that (Bose-Einstein) condensation of scalar fields\nfrom string compactifications can lead to long-lived compact objects. Depending\non the type of scalar fields we find different realisations of star-like and\nsolitonic objects. We illustrate in the framework of type~IIB string\ncompactifications that closed string moduli can lead to heavy microscopic stars\nwith masses of order $\\mathcal{V}^\\alpha M_{\\rm Planck}$, $\\alpha=1,3/2,5/3$\nwhere $\\mathcal{V}$ is the volume of the extra dimensions. Macroscopic compact\nobjects from ultra-light string axions are realised with masses of order\n$e^{\\mathcal{V}^{2/3}}M_{\\rm Planck}.$ Q-ball configurations can be obtained\nfrom open string moduli whereas the closed string sector gives rise to a new\nclass of solutions, named PQ-balls, that arise in the two-field axion-modulus\nsystem. The stability, the potential for the formation, and the observability\nof moduli stars through gravitational waves are discussed. In particular we\npoint out that during the early matter phase given by moduli domination,\ndensity perturbations grow by a factor $\\mathcal{V}^{\\beta}$ with $\\beta>2$ and\nnon-linear effects cannot be neglected.",
        "positive": "Non Abelian Toda models and Constrained KP hierarchies: A general construction of affine Non Abelian Toda models in terms of gauged\ntwo loop WZNW model is discussed. Its connection to non relativistic models\ncorresponding to constrained KP hierarchies is established in terms of time\nevolution associated to positive and negative grading of the Lie algebra."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spontaneous Polarization of the $\\Bbb Z _{n}$-Baxter Model: We show that correlation functions of the $\\bz _n $-Baxter model in the\nprincipal regime satisfy a system of difference equations. We obtain the\nspontaneous polarization of the $\\bz _n $-Baxter model as a solution of the\nsimplest difference equation.",
        "positive": "Separability of Dirac equation in higher dimensional Kerr-NUT-de Sitter\n  spacetime: It is shown that the Dirac equations in general higher dimensional\nKerr-NUT-de Sitter spacetimes are separated into ordinary differential\nequations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Mass And Force Relations For Einstein-Maxwell-Dilaton Black Holes: We investigate various properties of extremal dyonic static black holes in\nEinstein-Maxwell-Dilaton theory. Using the fact that the long-range force\nbetween two identical extremal black holes always vanishes, we obtain a simple\nfirst-order ordinary differential equation for the black hole mass in terms of\nits electric and magnetic charges. Although this equation appears not to be\nsolvable explicitly for general values of the strength a of the dilatonic\ncoupling to the Maxwell field, it nevertheless provides a powerful way of\ncharacterising the black hole mass and the scalar charge. We make use of these\nexpressions to derive general results about the long-range force between two\nnon-identical extremal black holes. In particular, we argue that the force is\nrepulsive whenever a>1 and attractive whenever a<1 (it vanishes in the\nintermediate BPS case a=1). The sign of the force is also correlated with the\nsign of the binding energy between extremal black holes, as well as with the\nconvexity or concavity of the surface characterizing the extremal mass as a\nfunction of the charges. Our work is motivated in part by the Repulsive Force\nConjecture and the question of whether long range forces between non-identical\nstates can shed new light on the Swampland.",
        "positive": "Structure of Lorentzian algebras and Conformal Field Theory: The main properties of indefinite Kac-Moody and Borcherds algebras,\nconsidered in a unified way as Lorentzian algebras, are reviewed. The\nconnection with the conformal field theory of the vertex operator construction\nis discussed. By the folding procedure a class of subalgebras is obtained."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Open string instantons and relative stable morphisms: We show how topological open string theory amplitudes can be computed by\nusing relative stable morphisms in the algebraic category. We achieve our goal\nby explicitly working through an example which has been previously considered\nby Ooguri and Vafa from the point of view of physics. By using the method of\nvirtual localization, we successfully reproduce their results for multiple\ncovers of a holomorphic disc, whose boundary lies in a Lagrangian submanifold\nof a Calabi-Yau 3-fold, by Riemann surfaces with arbitrary genera and number of\nboundary components. In particular we show that in the case we consider there\nare no open string instantons with more than one boundary component ending on\nthe Lagrangian submanifold.",
        "positive": "Hot dense magnetized spinor matter in particle and astroparticle\n  physics: the role of boundaries: We study the influence of boundaries on chiral effects in hot dense\nrelativistic spinor matter in a strong magnetic field which is orthogonal to\nthe boundaries. The most general set of boundary conditions ensuring the\nconfinement of matter within the boundaries is employed. We find that the\nchiral magnetic effect disappears, whereas the chiral separation effect stays\non, becoming dependent on temperature and on a choice of boundary conditions.\nAs temperature increases from zero to large values, a stepped-shape behaviour\nof the chiral separation effect as a function of chemical potential is changed\nto a smooth one. A choice of the boundary condition can facilitate either\namplification or diminution of the chiral separation effect; in particular, the\neffect can persist even at zero chemical potential, if temperature is finite.\nThis points at a significant role of boundaries for physical systems with hot\ndense magnetized spinor matter, i.e. compact astrophysical objects (neutron\nstars and magnetars), relativistic heavy-ion collisions, novel materials known\nas the Dirac and Weyl semimetals."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Breaking discrete symmetries in the effective field theory of inflation: We study the phenomenon of discrete symmetry breaking during the inflationary\nepoch, using a model-independent approach based on the effective field theory\nof inflation. We work in a context where both time reparameterization symmetry\nand spatial diffeomorphism invariance can be broken during inflation. We\ndetermine the leading derivative operators in the quadratic action for\nfluctuations that break parity and time-reversal. Within suitable\napproximations, we study their consequences for the dynamics of linearized\nfluctuations. Both in the scalar and tensor sectors, we show that such\noperators can lead to new direction-dependent phases for the modes involved.\nThey do not affect the power spectra, but can have consequences for higher\ncorrelation functions. Moreover, a small quadrupole contribution to the sound\nspeed can be generated.",
        "positive": "Topological Corrections and Conformal Backreaction in the Einstein\n  Gauss-Bonnet/Weyl Theories of Gravity at D=4: We investigate the gravitational backreaction, generated by coupling a\ngeneral conformal sector to external, classical gravity, as described by a\nconformal anomaly effective action. We address the issues raised by the\nregularization of the topological Gauss-Bonnet and Weyl terms in these actions\nand the use of dimensional regularization (DR). We discuss both their local and\nnonlocal expressions, as possible IR and UV descriptions of conformal theories,\nbelow and above the conformal breaking scale. Our discussion overlaps with\nseveral recent studies of dilaton gravities - obtained via a certain singular\nlimit of the Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet (EGB) theory - originally introduced as a\nway to bypass Lovelock's theorem. We show that nonlocal, purely gravitational\nrealizations of such EGB theories, quadratic in the dilaton field, beside their\nlocal quartic forms, are possible by a finite renormalization of the Euler\ndensity. Such nonlocal versions, which are deprived of any scale, can be\nexpanded, at least around flat space, in terms of the combination $R \\Box^{-1}$\ntimes multiple variations of the anomaly functional, as pointed out in recent\nstudies at $d=4$. Similar conclusions can be drawn for the proposed nonlocal\nEGB theory. The expansion emerges from previous investigations of the anomalous\nconformal Ward identities that constrain such theories around the flat\nspacetime limit in momentum space."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dynamical construction of Horava-Lifshitz geometry: We derive the projectable version of Horava - Lifshitz gravity from the\nlocalisation of the Galilean symmetry. Specifically we provide a dynamical\nconstruction of the metric, from first principles, that reproduces the\ntransformations of the physical variables - lapse, shift and spatial component\nof the metric. Also, the measure defining the action is reproduced. The\ngeometrical basis of the Horava-Lifshitz gravity is thereby revealed which also\nelucidates its difference from the Newton-Cartan geometry - the spacetime of\nNewtonian gravity. The connection of Newton's gravity with Horava-Lifshitz\ngravity is elucidated.",
        "positive": "Comment on \"Density perturbations in the ekpyrotic scenario\": In the paper ``Density perturbations in the ekpyrotic scenario'', it is\nargued that the expected spectrum of primordial perturbations should be scale\ninvariant in this scenario. Here we show that, contrary to what is claimed in\nthat paper, the expected spectrum depends on an arbitrary choice of matching\nvariable. As no underlying (microphysical) principle exists at the present time\nthat could lift the arbitrariness, we conclude that the ekpyrotic scenario is\nnot yet a predictive model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Ten-dimensional Effective Action of Strongly Coupled Heterotic\n  String Theory: We derive the ten-dimensional effective action of the strongly coupled\nheterotic string as the low energy limit of M-theory on S^1/Z_2. In contrast to\na conventional dimensional reduction, it is necessary to integrate out\nnontrivial heavy modes which arise from the sources located on the orbifold\nfixed hyperplanes. This procedure, characteristic of theories with dynamical\nboundaries, is illustrated by a simple example. Using this method, we determine\na complete set of R^4, F^2R^2, and F^4 terms and the corresponding Chern-Simons\nand Green-Schwarz terms in ten dimensions. As required by anomaly cancelation\nand supersymmetry, these terms are found to exactly coincide with their weakly\ncoupled one-loop counterparts.",
        "positive": "Quantum BTZ black hole: We study a holographic construction of quantum rotating BTZ black holes that\nincorporates the exact backreaction from strongly coupled quantum conformal\nfields. It is based on an exact four-dimensional solution for a black hole\nlocalized on a brane in AdS$_4$, first discussed some years ago but never fully\ninvestigated in this manner. Besides quantum CFT effects and their\nbackreaction, we also investigate the role of higher-curvature corrections in\nthe effective three-dimensional theory. We obtain the quantum-corrected\ngeometry and the renormalized stress tensor. We show that the quantum black\nhole entropy, which includes the entanglement of the fields outside the\nhorizon, satisfies the first law of thermodynamics exactly, even in the\npresence of backreaction and with higher-curvature corrections, while the\nBekenstein-Hawking-Wald entropy does not. This result, which involves a rather\nnon-trivial bulk calculation, shows the consistency of the holographic\ninterpretation of braneworlds. We compare our renormalized stress tensor to\nresults derived for free conformal fields, and for a previous holographic\nconstruction without backreaction effects, which is shown to be a limit of the\nsolutions in this article."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Is it possible to construct exactly solvable models?: We develop a constructive method to derive exactly solvable quantum\nmechanical models of rational (Calogero) and trigonometric (Sutherland) type.\nThis method starts from a linear algebra problem: finding eigenvectors of\ntriangular finite matrices. These eigenvectors are transcribed into\neigenfunctions of a selfadjoint Schr\\\"odinger operator. We prove the\nfeasibility of our method by constructing a new \"$AG_3$ model\" of trigonometric\ntype (the rational case was known before from Wolfes 1975). Applying a Coxeter\ngroup analysis we prove its equivalence with the $B_3$ model. In order to\nbetter understand features of our construction we exhibit the $F_4$ rational\nmodel with our method.",
        "positive": "Duality Origami: Emergent Ensemble Symmetries in Holography and\n  Swampland: We discuss interrelations between several ideas in quantum gravity. One is\nthe Swampland program, which states that a low-energy effective field theory\nshould satisfy non-trivial constraints to have an ultraviolet (UV) completion\nin quantum gravity. Another is the concept of ensemble averaging in holography,\nwhere a coarse-grained description is obtained by an integral over a moduli\nspace. To examine the relation between the two, we study ensemble averages of\ngeneralized Narain-type theories associated with a general even quadratic form\nand their holographic duals. We establish the emergence of global symmetries\nand discuss their consistency with the Swampland conjecture forbidding exact\nglobal symmetries. Out of all the zero-form symmetries, the quantum symmetries\nin the bulk are truly emergent, while classical symmetries are identified as\nvestiges of T-duality of the Narain-type theories. The latter mechanism can be\nformulated very generally as a ``folding'' of T-duality orbits via the\nSiegel-Weil Theorem. We also discuss the interrelations between the Swampland\ndistance conjecture, on one hand, and ensemble averaging and spectral\ndecompositions, on the other. The spectral decomposition also illustrates how\nensemble averaging sits within the low-energy limit of certain string\ncompactifications. Our analysis suggests fascinating links between the\nSwampland, the Landscape, and ensemble averaging."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The N=4 string is the same as the N=2 string: We redo the quantization of the N=4 string, taking into account the\nreducibility of the constraints. The result is equivalent to the N=2 string,\nwith critical dimension D=4 and signature (++--). The N=4 formulation has\nseveral advantages: the sigma-model field equations are implied classically,\nrather than by quantum/beta-function calculations; self-duality/chirality is\none of the super-Virasoro constraints; SO(2,2) covariance is manifest. This\nreveals that the theory includes fermions, and is apparently spacetime\nsupersymmetric.",
        "positive": "Graded Chern-Simons field theory and graded topological D-branes: We discuss graded D-brane systems of the topological A model on a Calabi-Yau\nthreefold, by means of their string field theory. We give a detailed analysis\nof the extended string field action, showing that it satisfies the classical\nmaster equation, and construct the associated BV system. The analysis is\nentirely general and it applies to any collection of D-branes (of distinct\ngrades) wrapping the same special Lagrangian cycle, being valid in arbitrary\ntopology. Our discussion employs a $\\Z$-graded version of the covariant BV\nformalism, whose formulation involves the concept of {\\em graded\nsupermanifolds}. We discuss this formalism in detail and explain why\n$\\Z$-graded supermanifolds are necessary for a correct geometric understanding\nof BV systems. For the particular case of graded D-brane pairs, we also give a\ndirect construction of the master action, finding complete agreement with the\nabstract formalism. We analyze formation of acyclic composites and show that,\nunder certain topological assumptions,all states resulting from the\ncondensation process of a pair of branes with grades differing by one unit are\nBRST trivial and thus the composite can be viewed as a closed string vacuum. We\nprove that there are {\\em six} types of pairs which must be viewed as generally\ninequivalent. This contradicts the assumption that `brane-antibrane' systems\nexhaust the nontrivial dynamics of topological A-branes with the same geometric\nsupport."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spontaneous symmetry breaking in cosmos: The hybrid symmetron as a dark\n  energy switching device: We consider symmetron model in a generalized background with a hope to make\nit compatible with dark energy. We observe a \"no go\" theorem at least in case\nof a conformal coupling. Being convinced of symmetron incapability to be dark\nenergy, we try to retain its role for spontaneous symmetry breaking and assign\nthe role of dark energy either to standard quintessence or $F(R)$ theory which\nare switched on by symmetron field in the symmetry broken phase. The scenario\nreduces to standard Einstein gravity in the high density region. After the\nphase transition generated by symmetron field, either the $F(R)$ gravity or the\nstandard quintessence are induced in the low density region. we demonstrate\nthat local gravity constraints and other requirements are satisfied although\nthe model could generate the late-time acceleration of Universe.",
        "positive": "Anisotropic plasma at finite $U(1)$ chemical potential: We present a type IIB supergravity solution dual to a spatially anisotropic\n$\\mathcal{N}=4$ super Yang-Mills plasma at finite $U(1)$ chemical potential and\nfinite temperature. The effective five-dimensional gravitational theory is a\nconsistent Einstein-Maxwell-dilaton-Axion truncation of the gauged\nsupergravity. We obtain the solutions both numerically and analytically. We\nstudy the phase structure and thermodynamic instabilities of the solution, and\nfind new instabilities independent of the renormalization scheme."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Comments on the beta-deformed N=4 SYM Theory: Several calculations of 2- and 3-point correlation functions in the deformed\ntheory are presented. The central charge in the Lunin-Maldacena gravity dual is\nshown to be independent of the deformation parameter. Calculations show that 2-\nand 3-point functions of chiral primary operators have no radiative corrections\nto lowest order in the interactions. Correlators of the operator tr(Z_1Z_2),\nwhich has not previously been identified as chiral primary, also have vanishing\nlowest order corrections.",
        "positive": "Duality Cascade and Oblique Phases in Non-Commutative Open String Theory: We investigate the complete phase diagram of the decoupled world-sheet theory\nof (P,Q) strings. These theories include 1+1 dimensional super Yang-Mills\ntheory and non-commutative open string theory. We find that the system exhibits\na rich fractal phase structure, including a cascade of alternating\nsupergravity, gauge theory, and matrix string theory phases. The cascade\nproceeds via a series of SL(2,Z) S-duality transformations, and depends\nsensitively on P and Q. In particular, we find that the system may undergo\nmultiple Hagedorn-type transitions as the temperature is varied."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Feynman's proper time approach to QED: The genesis of Feynman's original approach to QED is reviewed. The main ideas\nof his original presentation at the Pocono Conference are discussed and\ncompared with the ones involved in his action-at-distance formulation of\nclassical electrodynamics. The role of the de Sitter group in Feynman's\nvisualization of space-time processes is pointed out.",
        "positive": "Stability of magnetic condensation and mass generation for confinement\n  in SU(2) Yang-Mills theory: In the framework of the functional renormalization group, we reexamine the\nstability of the Yang-Mills vacuum with a chromomagnetic condensation. We show\nthat the Nielsen-Olesen instability of the Savvidy vacuum with a homogeneous\nchromomagnetic condensation disappears in the $SU(2)$ Yang-Mills theory. As a\nphysical mechanism for maintaining the stability even for the small infrared\ncutoff, we argue that dynamical gluon mass generation occurs due to a\nBRST-invariant vacuum condensate of mass dimension-two, which is related to\ntwo-gluon bound states identified with glueballs. These results support the\ndual superconductor picture for quark confinement."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Local Equilibrium Spin Distribution From Detailed Balance: As the core ingredient for spin polarization, the local equilibrium spin\ndistribution function is derived from the detailed balance principle. The\nkinetic theory for interacting fermionic systems is applied to the\nNambu--Jona-Lasinio model at quark level. Under the semi-classical expansion\nwith respect to $\\hbar$ and non-perturbative expansion with respect to $N_c$,\nthe kinetic equations for the vector and axial-vector distribution functions\nare derived with collision terms. It is found that, for an initially\nunpolarized system, non-zero spin polarization can be generated at the order of\n$\\hbar$ from the coupling between the vector and axial-vector charges. The\nlocal equilibrium spin polarization is derived from the requirement of detailed\nbalance. It arises from the thermal vorticity and is orthogonal to the particle\nmomentum.",
        "positive": "Instability of Near-Extremal Black Holes in N=2, d=4 Supergravity: As a precursor to studying the bound states of multiple non-extremal black\nholes in $\\mathcal{N}=2$, $d=4$ supergravity, we investigate the stability of a\nnear-extremal D0-D4 black hole in the probe limit, when the parameters of the\nblack hole solution lie within a certain regime. We determine whether it is\npossible to form bound states of this \"core\" non-extremal black hole with BPS\nprobe particles, and whether it is possible for the \"core\" black hole to decay\nby the emission of such BPS probes either to a local minimum of the probe\npotential, or spatial infinity. We first carry out a qualitative analysis of\nthe probe potential to determine when quantum tunneling of probes from the\nblack hole is possible. We then find the wavefunction of the scattered probe by\nusing the WKB approximation to solve the Dirac equation in the black hole\nbackground, and use this solution to compute the tunneling amplitude."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The hypermultiplet low-energy effective action, N=2 supersymmetry\n  breaking and confinement: Some exact solutions to the hypermultiplet low-energy effective action in N=2\nsupersymmetric four-dimensional gauge field theories with massive `quark'\nhypermultiplets are discussed. The need for a spontaneous N=2 supersymmetry\nbreaking is emphasized, because of its possible relevance in the search for an\nultimate theoretical solution to the confinement problem.",
        "positive": "Coarse Graining Holographic Black Holes: We expand our recent work on the outer entropy, a holographic coarse-grained\nentropy defined by maximizing the boundary entropy while fixing the classical\nbulk data outside some surface. When the surface is marginally trapped and\nsatisfies certain \"minimar\" conditions, we prove that the outer entropy is\nexactly equal to a quarter the area (while for other classes of surfaces, the\narea gives an upper or lower bound). We explicitly construct the\nentropy-maximizing interior of a minimar surface, and show that it satisfies\nthe appropriate junction conditions. This provides a statistical explanation\nfor the area-increase law for spacelike holographic screens foliated by minimar\nsurfaces. Our construction also provides an interpretation of the area for a\nclass of non-minimal extremal surfaces.\n  On the boundary side, we define an increasing simple entropy by maximizing\nthe entropy subject to a set of \"simple experiments\" performed after some time.\nWe show (to all orders in perturbation theory around equilibrium) that the\nsimple entropy is the boundary dual to our bulk construction."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Observational Consequences of Quantum Cosmology: Our universe is born of a tunnelling from nothing in quantum cosmology.\nNothing here can be interpreted as a state with zero entropy. As a reliable\nmodification of the Hartle-Hawking wave function of the universe, the improved\nHartle-Hawking wave function proposed by Firouzjahi, Sarangi and Tye gives many\ninteresting observational consequences which we explore in this paper. Fruitful\nobservations are obtained for chaotic inflation, including a detectable spatial\ncurvature and a negligible tunnelling probability for eternal chaotic\ninflation. And we find that the tensor-scalar ratio and the spatial curvature\nfor brane inflation type models should be neglected.",
        "positive": "Non-Supersymmetric Attractors in String Theory: We find examples of non-supersymmetric attractors in Type II string theory\ncompactified on a Calabi Yau three-fold. For a non-supersymmetric attractor the\nfixed values to which the moduli are drawn at the horizon must minimise an\neffective potential. For Type IIA at large volume, we consider a configuration\ncarrying D0, D2, D4 and D6 brane charge. When the D6 brane charge is zero, we\nfind for some range of the other charges, that a non-supersymmetric attractor\nsolution exists. When the D6 brane charge is non-zero, we find for some range\nof charges, a supersymmetry breaking extremum of the effective potential.\nCloser examination reveals though that it is not a minimum of the effective\npotential and hence the corresponding black hole solution is not an attractor.\nAway from large volume, we consider the specific case of the quintic in CP^4.\nWorking in the mirror IIB description we find non-supersymmetric attractors\nnear the Gepner point."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The M5-Brane Elliptic Genus: Modularity and BPS States: The modified elliptic genus for an M5-brane wrapped on a four-cycle of a\nCalabi-Yau threefold encodes the degeneracies of an infinite set of BPS states\nin four dimensions. By holomorphy and modular invariance, it can be determined\ncompletely from the knowledge of a finite set of such BPS states. We show the\nfeasibility of such a computation and determine the exact modified elliptic\ngenus for an M5-brane wrapping a hyperplane section of the quintic threefold.",
        "positive": "Quantum Gravity Corrections and Entropy at the Planck time: We investigate the effects of Quantum Gravity on the Planck era of the\nuniverse. In particular, using different versions of the Generalized\nUncertainty Principle and under specific conditions we find that the main\nPlanck quantities such as the Planck time, length, mass and energy become\nlarger by a factor of order 10-10^{4} compared to those quantities which result\nfrom the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle. However, we prove that the\ndimensionless entropy enclosed in the cosmological horizon at the Planck time\nremains unchanged. These results, though preliminary, indicate that we should\nanticipate modifications in the set-up of cosmology since changes in the Planck\nera will be inherited even to the late universe through the framework of\nQuantum Gravity (or Quantum Field Theory) which utilizes the Planck scale as a\nfundamental one. More importantly, these corrections will not affect the\nentropic content of the universe at the Planck time which is a crucial element\nfor one of the basic principles of Quantum Gravity named Holographic Principle."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On deformation theory of quantum vertex algebras: We study an algebraic deformation problem which captures the data of the\ngeneral deformation problem for a quantum vertex algebra. We derive a system of\ncoupled equations which is the counterpart of the Maurer-Cartan equation on the\nusual Hochschild complex of an assocative algebra. We show that this system of\nequations results from an action principle. This might be the starting point\nfor a perturbative treatment of the deformation problem of quantum vertex\nalgebras. Our action generalizes the action of the Kodaira-Spencer theory of\ngravity and might therefore also be of relevance for applications in string\ntheory.",
        "positive": "Dynamics of holographic thermalization: Dynamical evolution of thin shells composed by different kinds of degrees of\nfreedom collapsing within asymptotically AdS spaces is explored with the aim of\ninvestigating models of holographic thermalization of strongly coupled systems.\nFrom the quantum field theory point of view this corresponds to considering\ndifferent thermal quenches. We carry out a general study of the thermalization\ntime scale using different parameters and space-time dimensions, by calculating\nrenormalized space-like geodesic lengths and rectangular minimal area surfaces\nas extended probes of thermalization, which are dual to two-point functions and\nrectangular Wilson loops. Different kinds of degrees of freedom in the shell\nare described by their corresponding equations of state. We consider a scalar\nfield, as well as relativistic matter, a pressureless massive fluid and\nconformal matter, which can be compared with the collapse of an AdS-Vaidya thin\nshell. Remarkably, for conformal matter, the thermalization time scale becomes\nmuch larger than the others. Furthermore, in each case we also investigate\nmodels where the cosmological constants of the inner and outer regions\nseparated by the shell are different. We found that in this case only a scalar\nfield shell collapses, and that the thermalization time scale is also much\nlarger than the AdS-Vaidya case."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Selection Rules for Black-Hole Quantum Transitions: We suggest that quantum transitions of black holes comply with selection\nrules, analogous to those of atomic spectroscopy. In order to identify such\nrules, we apply Bohr's correspondence principle to the quasinormal ringing\nfrequencies of black holes. In this context, classical ringing frequencies with\nan asymptotically vanishing real part \\omega_R correspond to virtual quanta,\nand may thus be interpreted as forbidden quantum transitions. With this\nmotivation, we calculate the quasinormal spectrum of neutrino fields in\nspherically symmetric black-hole spacetimes. It is shown that \\omega_R->0 for\nthese resonances, suggesting that the corresponding fermionic transitions are\nquantum mechanically forbidden.",
        "positive": "Unitarity relation and unitarity bounds for scalars with different sound\n  speeds: Motivated by scalar-tensor gravities, we consider a theory which contains\nmassless scalar fields with different sound speeds. We derive unitarity\nrelations for partial wave amplitudes of $2 \\to 2$ scattering, with explicit\nformulas for contributions of two-particle intermediate states. Making use of\nthese relations, we obtain unitarity bounds both in the most general case and\nin the case considered in literature for unit sound speed. These bounds can be\nused for estimating the strong coupling scale of a pertinent EFT. We illustrate\nour unitarity relations by explicit calculation to the first non-trivial order\nin couplings in a simple model of two scalar fields with different sound\nspeeds."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the R-Matrix Formulation of Deformed Algebras and Generalized\n  Jordan-Wigner Transformations: The deformed algebra $\\cal{A(R)}$, depending upon a Yang-Baxter R- matrix, is\nconsidered. The conditions under which the algebra is associative are discussed\nfor a general number of oscillators. Four types of solutions satisfying these\nconditions are constructed and two of them can be represented by generalized\nJordan-Wigner transformations.Our analysis is in some sense an extension of the\nboson realization of fermions from single-mode to multimode oscillators.",
        "positive": "Dynamical Structure of the Fields in the Light Cone Coordinates: It is well-known that additional constraints emerge in light cone\ncoordinates. We enumerate the number of physical modes in light cone\ncoordinates and compare it with conventional coordinates. We show that the\nnumber of Schrodinger modes is divided by two in light cone coordinates. We\nstudy the effect of this reduction in the number ladder operators acting on\nphysical states of a system. We analyse the scaler, spinor and vector field\ntheories carefully to see the effect of changes in the dynamical structure of\nthese theories from the view point of the reduction of Schrodinger modes in\nlight-cone coordinates."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "An orientifold of adS_5xT^11 with D7-branes, the associated alpha'^2-\n  corrections and their role in the dual N=1 Sp(2N+2M)xSp(2N) gauge theory: We study the N=1 Sp(2N+2M)xSp(2N) gauge theory on a stack of N physical and M\nfractional D3-branes in the background of an orientifolded conifold. The\ngravity dual is a type IIB orientifold of adS_5xT^11 (with certain background\nfluxes turned on) containing an O7-plane and 8 D7-branes. In the conformal case\n(M=0), we argue that the alpha'^2-corrections localized on the 8 D7-branes and\nthe O7-plane should give vanishing contributions to the supergravity equations\nof motion for the bulk fields. In the cascading case (M not equal to 0), we\nargue that the alpha'^2-terms give rise to corrections which in the dual\nSp(2N+2M)xSp(2N) gauge theory can be interpreted as corrections to the\nanomalous dimensions of the matter fields.",
        "positive": "Yang-Mills Fields and Riemannian Geometry: It is possible to define new, gauge invariant variables in the Hilbert space\nof Yang-Mills theories which manifestly implement Gauss' law on physical\nstates. These variables have furthermore a geometrical meaning, and allow one\nto uncover further constraints physical states must satisfy. For gauge group\n$SU(2)$, the underlying geometry is Riemannian and based on the group $GL(3)$.\nThe formalism allows also for the inclusion of static color sources and the\nextension to gauge groups $SU(N>2)$, both of which are discussed here."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Near-BPS baby Skyrmions: We consider the baby-Skyrme model in the regime close to the so-called\nrestricted baby-Skyrme model, which is a BPS model with area-preserving\ndiffeomorphism invariance. The perturbation takes the form of the standard\nkinetic Dirichlet term with a small coefficient $\\epsilon$. Classical solutions\nof this model, to leading order in $\\epsilon$, are called restricted harmonic\nmaps. In the BPS limit ($\\epsilon\\to 0$) of the model with the potential being\nthe standard pion-mass term, the solution with unit topological charge is a\ncompacton. Using analytical and numerical arguments we obtain solutions to the\nproblem for topological sectors greater than one. We develop a perturbative\nscheme in $\\epsilon$ with which we can calculate the corrections to the BPS\nmass. The leading order ($\\mathcal{O}(\\epsilon^1)$) corrections show that the\nbaby Skyrmion with topological charge two is energetically preferred. The\nbinding energy requires us to go to the third order in $\\epsilon$ to capture\nthe relevant terms in perturbation theory, however, the binding energy\ncontributes to the total energy at order $\\epsilon^2$. We find that the baby\nSkyrmions - in the near-BPS regime - are compactons of topological charge two,\nthat touch each other on their periphery at a single point and with\norientations in the attractive channel.",
        "positive": "A Large-$N$ Phase Transition in a Finite Lattice Gauge Theory: We consider gauge theories of non-Abelian $finite$ groups, and discuss the\n1+1 dimensional lattice gauge theory of the permutation group $S_N$ as an\nillustrative example. The partition function at finite $N$ can be written\nexplicitly in a compact form using properties of $S_N$ conjugacy classes. A\nnatural large-$N$ limit exists with a new 't Hooft coupling, $\\lambda=g^2 \\log\nN$. We identify a Gross-Witten-Wadia-like phase transition at infinite $N$, at\n$\\lambda=2$. It is first order. An analogue of the string tension can be\ncomputed from the Wilson loop expectation value, and it jumps from zero to a\nfinite value. We view this as a type of large-$N$ (de-)confinement transition.\nOur holographic motivations for considering such theories are briefly\ndiscussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Two-Loop SL(2) Form Factors and Maximal Transcendentality: Form factors of composite operators in the SL(2) sector of N=4 SYM theory are\nstudied up to two loops via the on-shell unitarity method. The non-compactness\nof this subsector implies the novel feature and technical challenge of an\nunlimited number of loop momenta in the integrand's numerator. At one loop, we\nderive the full minimal form factor to all orders in the dimensional\nregularisation parameter. At two loops, we construct the complete integrand for\ncomposite operators with an arbitrary number of covariant derivatives, and we\nobtain the remainder functions as well as the dilatation operator for composite\noperators with up to three covariant derivatives. The remainder functions\nreveal curious patterns suggesting a hidden maximal uniform transcendentality\nfor the full form factor. Finally, we speculate about an extension of these\npatterns to QCD.",
        "positive": "Quantum state of the black hole interior: If a black hole (BH) is initially in an approximately pure state and it\nevaporates by a unitary process, then the emitted radiation will be in a highly\nquantum state. As the purifier of this radiation, the state of the BH interior\nmust also be in some highly quantum state. So that, within the interior region,\nthe mean-field approximation cannot be valid and the state of the BH cannot be\ndescribed by some semiclassical metric. On this basis, we model the state of\nthe BH interior as a collection of a large number of excitations that are\npacked into closely spaced but single-occupancy energy levels; a sort-of \"Fermi\nsea\" of all light-enough particles. This highly quantum state is surrounded by\na semiclassical region that lies close to the horizon and has a non-vanishing\nenergy density. It is shown that such a state looks like a BH from the outside\nand decays via gravitational pair production in the near-horizon region at a\nrate that agrees with the Hawking rate. We also consider the fate of a\nclassical object that has passed through to the BH interior and show that, once\nit has crossed over the near-horizon threshold, the object meets its demise\nextremely fast. This result cannot be attributed to a \"firewall\", as the trauma\nto the in-falling object only begins after it has passed through the\nnear-horizon region and enters a region where semiclassical spacetime ends but\nthe energy density is still parametrically smaller than Planckian."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Lorentz Invariance, Spin-Charge Separation And SU(2) Yang-Mills\n  Theory: Previously it has been shown that in spin-charge separated SU(2) Yang-Mills\ntheory Lorentz invariance can become broken by a one-cocycle that appears in\nthe Lorentz boosts. Here we study in detail the structure of this one-cocycle.\nIn particular we show that its non-triviality relates to the presence of a\n(Dirac) magnetic monopole bundle. We also explicitely present the finite\nversion of the cocycle.",
        "positive": "Holograms In Our World: In AdS/CFT, the entanglement wedge EW$(B)$ is the portion of the bulk\ngeometry that can be reconstructed from a boundary region $B$; in other words,\nEW$(B)$ is the hologram of $B$. We extend this notion to arbitrary spacetimes.\nGiven any gravitating region $a$, we define a max- and a min-entanglement\nwedge, $e_{\\rm max}(a)$ and $e_{\\rm min}(a)$, such that $e_{\\rm min}(a)\\supset\ne_{\\rm max}(a)\\supset a$.\n  Unlike their analogues in AdS/CFT, these two spacetime regions can differ\nalready at the classical level, when the generalized entropy is approximated by\nthe area. All information outside $a$ in $e_{\\rm max}(a)$ can flow inwards\ntowards $a$, through quantum channels whose capacity is controlled by the areas\nof intermediate homology surfaces. In contrast, all information outside $e_{\\rm\nmin}(a)$ can flow outwards.\n  The generalized entropies of appropriate entanglement wedges obey strong\nsubadditivity, suggesting that they represent the von Neumann entropies of\nordinary quantum systems. The entanglement wedges of suitably independent\nregions satisfy a no-cloning relation. This suggests that it may be possible\nfor an observer in $a$ to summon information from spacelike related points in\n$e_{\\rm max}(a)$, using resources that transcend the semiclassical description\nof $a$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Matrix Models and Black Holes: We show that an integral transform of the fluctuations of the collective\nfield of the $d=1$ matrix model satisfy the same linearized equation as that of\nthe massless \"tachyon\" in the black hole background of the two dimensional\ncritical string. This suggests that the $d=1$ matrix model may provide a\nnon-perturbative description of black holes in two dimensional string theory.",
        "positive": "Mini-BFSS in Silico: We study a mass-deformed $\\mathcal{N}=4$ version of the BFSS matrix model\nwith three matrices and gauge group $SU(2)$. This model has zero Witten index.\nDespite this, we give numerical evidence for the existence of four\nsupersymmetric ground states, two bosonic and two fermionic, in the limit where\nthe mass deformation is tuned to zero."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Tree-level S-matrix of Pohlmeyer reduced form of AdS_5 x S^5 superstring\n  theory: With a motivation to find a 2-d Lorentz-invariant solution of the AdS_5 x S^5\nsuperstring we continue the study of the Pohlmeyer-reduced form of this theory.\nThe reduced theory is constructed from currents of the superstring sigma model\nand is classically equivalent to it. Its action is that of\nG/H=Sp(2,2)xSp(4)/SU(2)^4 gauged WZW model deformed by an integrable potential\nand coupled to fermions. This theory is UV finite and is conjectured to be\nrelated to the superstring theory also at the quantum level. Expanded near the\ntrivial vacuum it has the same elementary excitations (8+8 massive bosonic and\nfermionic 2-d degrees of freedom) as the AdS_5 x S^5 superstring in the\nlight-cone gauge or near plane-wave expansion. In contrast to the superstring\ncase, the interaction terms in the reduced action are manifestly 2-d Lorentz\ninvariant. Since the theory is integrable, its S-matrix should be effectively\ndetermined by the two-particle scattering. Here we explicitly compute the\ntree-level two-particle S-matrix for the elementary excitations of the reduced\ntheory. We find that this S-matrix has the same index structure and group\nfactorization properties as the superstring S-matrix computed in hep-th/0611169\nbut has simpler coefficients, depending only on the difference of two\nrapidities. While the gauge-fixed form of the reduced action has only the\nbosonic SU(2)^4 part of the PSU(2|2) x PSU(2|2) symmetry of the light-cone\nsuperstring spectrum as its manifest symmetry we conjecture that it should also\nhave a hidden fermionic symmetry that effectively interchanges bosons and\nfermions and which should guide us towards understanding the relation between\nthe two S-matrices.",
        "positive": "Spinning Particle as a Non-trivial Rotating Super Black Hole with Broken\n  N=2 Supersymmetry: Non-trivial supergeneralization of the Kerr-Newman solution is considered as\nrepresenting a combined model of the Kerr-Newman spinning particle and\nsuperparticle.\n  We show that the old problem of obtaining non-trivial super black hole\nsolutions can be resolved in supergravity broken by Goldstone fermion.\nNon-linear realization of broken N=2 supersymmetry specific for the Kerr\ngeometry is considered and some examples of the super-Kerr geometries generated\nby Goldstone fermion are analyzed. The resulting geometries acquire torsion,\nRarita-Schwinger field and extra wave contributions to metric and\nelectromagnetic field caused by Grassmann variables.\n  One family of the self-consistent super-Kerr-Newman solutions to broken N=2\nsupergravity is selected, and peculiarities of these solutions are discussed.\nIn particular, the appearance of extra `axial' singular line and traveling\nwaves concentrated near `axial' and ring-like singularities."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Special Relativity with Cosmological Constant: Based on the principle of relativity and the postulate of invariant speed and\nlength, we propose the theory of special relativity with cosmological constant\n${\\cal SR}_{c,R}$ if the invariant length whose square is the inverse of the\none-third cosmological constant of the universe. It is on the Beltrami-de\nSitter spacetime ${\\cal B}_R$ with de Sitter invariance. We define the\nobservables of free particles and generalize famous Einstein's formula. We also\ndefine two kinds of simultaneity. The first is for local experiments and\ninertial motions. The second is for cosmological observations. Thus there is a\nrelation between the relativity principle and the cosmological principle. We\npredict that the 3-d cosmic space is then of positive spatial curvature of\norder cosmological constant. The relation between ${\\cal SR}_{c,R}$ and the\ndoubly special relativity is briefly disucssed.",
        "positive": "From quantum curves to topological string partition functions: This paper describes the reconstruction of the topological string partition\nfunction for certain local Calabi-Yau (CY) manifolds from the quantum curve, an\nordinary differential equation obtained by quantising their defining equations.\nQuantum curves are characterised as solutions to a Riemann-Hilbert problem. The\nisomonodromic tau-functions associated to these Riemann-Hilbert problems admit\na family of natural normalisations labelled by the chambers in the extended\nK\\\"ahler moduli space of the local CY under consideration. The corresponding\nisomonodromic tau-functions admit a series expansion of generalised theta\nseries type from which one can extract the topological string partition\nfunctions for each chamber."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Broken Scale Invariance in the Standard Model: We introduce Weyl's scale invariance as an additional local symmetry in the\nstandard model of electroweak interactions. An inevitable consequence is the\nintroduction of general relativity coupled to scalar fields a la Dirac and an\nadditional vector particle we call the Weylon. We show that once Weyl's scale\ninvariance is broken, the phenomenon (a) generates Newton's gravitational\nconstant G_N and (b) triggers spontaneous symmetry breaking in the normal\nmanner resulting in masses for the conventional fermions and bosons. The scale\nat which Weyl's scale symmetry breaks is of order Planck mass. If right-handed\nneutrinos are also introduced, their absence at present energy scales is\nattributed to their mass which is tied to the scale where scale invariance\nbreaks.",
        "positive": "Quantization of Spinning Particle with Anomalous Magnetic Momentum: A generalization of the pseudoclassical action of a spinning particle in the\npresence of an anomalous magnetic moment is given. The leading considerations,\nto write the action, are gotten from the path integral representation for the\ncausal Green's function of the generalized (by Pauli) Dirac equation for the\nparticle with anomalous magnetic momentum in an external electromagnetic field.\nThe action can be written in reparametrization and supergauge invariant form.\nBoth operator (Dirac) and path-integral (BFV) quantization are discussed. The\nfirst one leads to the Dirac-Pauli equation, whereas the second one gives the\ncorresponding propagator. One of the nontrivial points in this case is that\nboth quantizations schemes demand for consistency to take into account an\noperators ordering problem."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The rigid limit of N=2 supergravity: In this paper we review the rigid limit of N=2 supergravity coupled to vector\nand hypermultiplets. In particular we show how the respective scalar field\nspaces reduce to their global counterparts. In the hypermultiplet sector we\nfocus on the relation between the local and rigid c-map.",
        "positive": "Why is quantum gravity so difficult (compared to QCD)?: Gravity is difficult to quantize. This is a well-known fact but its reason is\ngiven simply by non-renormalizability of the Newton constant and little is\ndiscussed why among many quantum gauge theories, gravity is special. In this\nessay we try to treat the gravity as one of many gauge theories, and discuss\nhow it is special and why it is difficult to quantize."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Unstable Hadrons in Hot Hadron Gas in Laboratory and in the Early\n  Universe: We study kinetic master equations for chemical reactions involving the\nformation and the natural decay of unstable particles in a thermal bath. We\nconsider the decay channel of one into two particles, and the inverse process,\nfusion of two thermal particles into one. We present the master equations the\nevolution of the density of the unstable particles in the early Universe. We\nobtain the thermal invariant reaction rate using as an input the free space\n(vacuum) decay time and show the medium quantum effects on $\\pi+\\pi\n\\leftrightarrow \\rho$ reaction relaxation time. As another laboratory example\nwe describe the $K+K \\leftrightarrow \\phi$ process in thermal hadronic gas in\nheavy-ion collisions. A particularly interesting application of our formalism\nis the $\\pi^{0}\\leftrightarrow \\gamma +\\gamma$ process in the early Universe.\nWe also explore the physics of $\\pi^{\\pm}$ and $\\mu^{\\pm}$ freeze-out in the\nUniverse.",
        "positive": "A classification of near-horizon geometries of extremal vacuum black\n  holes: We consider the near-horizon geometries of extremal, rotating black hole\nsolutions of the vacuum Einstein equations, including a negative cosmological\nconstant, in four and five dimensions. We assume the existence of one\nrotational symmetry in 4d, two commuting rotational symmetries in 5d and in\nboth cases non-toroidal horizon topology. In 4d we determine the most general\nnear-horizon geometry of such a black hole, and prove it is the same as the\nnear-horizon limit of the extremal Kerr-AdS(4) black hole. In 5d, without a\ncosmological constant, we determine all possible near-horizon geometries of\nsuch black holes. We prove that the only possibilities are one family with a\ntopologically S^1 X S^2 horizon and two distinct families with topologically\nS^3 horizons. The S^1 X S^2 family contains the near-horizon limit of the\nboosted extremal Kerr string and the extremal vacuum black ring. The first\ntopologically spherical case is identical to the near-horizon limit of two\ndifferent black hole solutions: the extremal Myers-Perry black hole and the\nslowly rotating extremal Kaluza-Klein (KK) black hole. The second topologically\nspherical case contains the near-horizon limit of the fast rotating extremal KK\nblack hole. Finally, in 5d with a negative cosmological constant, we reduce the\nproblem to solving a sixth-order non-linear ODE of one function. This allows us\nto recover the near-horizon limit of the known, topologically S^3, extremal\nrotating AdS(5) black hole. Further, we construct an approximate solution\ncorresponding to the near-horizon geometry of a small, extremal AdS(5) black\nring."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Cornering the unphysical vertex: In the classical pure spinor worldsheet theory of AdS5xS5 there are some\nvertex operators which do not correspond to any physical excitations. We study\ntheir flat space limit. We find that the BRST operator of the worldsheet theory\nin flat space-time can be nontrivially deformed without deforming the\nworldsheet action. Some of these deformations describe the linear dilaton\nbackground. But the deformation corresponding to the nonphysical vertex differs\nfrom the linear dilaton in not being worldsheet parity even. The nonphysically\ndeformed worldsheet theory has nonzero beta-function at one loop. This means\nthat the classical Type IIB SUGRA backgrounds are not completely characterized\nby requiring the BRST symmetry of the classical worldsheet theory; it is also\nnecessary to require the vanishing of the one-loop beta-function.",
        "positive": "Leading singularities in Baikov representation and Feynman integrals\n  with uniform transcendental weight: We provide a leading singularity analysis protocol in Baikov representation,\nfor the searching of Feynman integrals with uniform transcendental (UT) weight.\nThis approach is powered by the recent developments in rationalizing square\nroots and syzygy computations, and is particularly suitable for finding UT\nintegrals with multiple mass scales. We demonstrate the power of our approach\nby determining the UT basis for a two-loop diagram with three external mass\nscales."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Generalised conservation laws in non-local field theories: We propose a geometrical treatment of symmetries in non-local field theories,\nwhere the non-locality is due to a lack of identification of field arguments in\nthe action. We show that the existence of a symmetry of the action leads to a\ngeneralised conservation law, in which the usual conserved current acquires an\nadditional non-local correction term, obtaining a generalisation of the\nstandard Noether theorem. We illustrate the general formalism by discussing the\nspecific physical example of complex scalar field theory of the type describing\nthe hydrodynamic approximation of Bose-Einstein condensates. We expect our\nanalysis and results to be of particular interest for the group field theory\nformulation of quantum gravity.",
        "positive": "Thermodynamics of Black Holes in Schroedinger Space: A black hole and a black hyperboloid solutions in the space with the\nSchroedinger isometries are presented and their thermodynamics is examined. The\non-shell action is obtained by the difference between the extremal and\nnon-extremal ones with the unusual matching of the boundary metrics. This\nregularization method is first applied to the black brane solution in the space\nof the Schroedinger symmetry and shown to correctly reproduce the known\nthermodynamics. The actions of the black solutions all turn out to be the same\nas the AdS counterparts. The phase diagram of the black hole system is obtained\nin the parameter space of the temperature and chemical potential and the\ndiagram contains the Hawking-Page phase transition and instability lines."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quasiclassical asymptotics of solutions to the KZ equations: The quasiclassical asymptotics of the Knizhnik-Zamolodchikov system is\nstudied. Solutions to this system in this limit are related naturally to Bethe\nvectors in the Gaudin model of spin chains.",
        "positive": "Evolution of cosmological perturbations and the production of\n  non-Gaussianities through a nonsingular bounce: Indications for a no-go\n  theorem in single field matter bounce cosmologies: Assuming that curvature perturbations and gravitational waves originally\narise from vacuum fluctuations in a matter-dominated phase of contraction, we\nstudy the dynamics of the cosmological perturbations evolving through a\nnonsingular bouncing phase described by a generic single scalar field\nLagrangian minimally coupled to Einstein gravity. In order for such a model to\nbe consistent with the current upper limits on the tensor-to-scalar ratio,\nthere must be an enhancement of the curvature fluctuations during the bounce\nphase. We show that, while it remains possible to enlarge the amplitude of\ncurvature perturbations due to the nontrivial background evolution, this growth\nis very limited because of the conservation of curvature perturbations on\nsuper-Hubble scales. We further perform a general analysis of the evolution of\nprimordial non-Gaussianities through the bounce phase. By studying the general\nform of the bispectrum we show that the non-Gaussianity parameter\n$f_{\\mathrm{NL}}$ (which is of order unity before the bounce phase) is enhanced\nduring the bounce phase if the curvature fluctuations grow. Hence, in such\nnonsingular bounce models with matter given by a single scalar field, there\nappears to be a tension between obtaining a small enough tensor-to-scalar ratio\nand not obtaining a value of $f_{\\mathrm{NL}}$ in excess of the current upper\nbounds. This conclusion may be considered as a \"no-go\" theorem that rules out\nany single field matter bounce cosmology starting with vacuum initial\nconditions for the fluctuations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Pure type I supergravity and DE(10): We establish a dynamical equivalence between the bosonic part of pure type I\nsupergravity in D=10 and a D=1 non-linear sigma-model on the Kac-Moody coset\nspace DE(10)/K(DE(10)) if both theories are suitably truncated. To this end we\nmake use of a decomposition of DE(10) under its regular SO(9,9) subgroup. Our\nanalysis also deals partly with the fermionic fields of the supergravity theory\nand we define corresponding representations of the generalized spatial Lorentz\ngroup K(DE(10)).",
        "positive": "N=4 gauged supergravity and a IIB orientifold with fluxes: We analyze the properties of a spontaneously broken D=4, N=4 supergravity\nwithout cosmological constant, obtained by gauging translational isometries of\nits classical scalar manifold. This theory offers a suitable low energy\ndescription of the super-Higgs phases of certain Type-IIB orientifold\ncompactifications with 3-form fluxes turned on. We study its N=3,2,1,0 phases\nand their classical moduli spaces and we show that this theory is an example of\nno-scale extended supergravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Thermal order in large N conformal gauge theories: In this work we explore the possibility of spontaneous breaking of global\nsymmetries at all nonzero temperatures for conformal field theories (CFTs) in\n$D = 4$ space-time dimensions. We show that such a symmetry-breaking indeed\noccurs in certain families of non-supersymmetric large $N$ gauge theories at a\nplanar limit. We also show that this phenomenon is accompanied by the system\nremaining in a persistent Brout-Englert-Higgs (BEH) phase at any temperature.\nThese analyses are motivated by the work done in arXiv:2005.03676 where\nsymmetry-breaking was observed in all thermal states for certain CFTs in\nfractional dimensions.\n  In our case, the theories demonstrating the above features have gauge groups\nwhich are specific products of $SO(N)$ in one family and $SU(N)$ in the other.\nWorking in a perturbative regime at the $N\\rightarrow\\infty$ limit, we show\nthat the beta functions in these theories yield circles of fixed points in the\nspace of couplings. We explicitly check this structure up to two loops and then\npresent a proof of its survival under all loop corrections. We show that under\ncertain conditions, an interval on this circle of fixed points demonstrates\nboth the spontaneous breaking of a global symmetry as well as a persistent BEH\nphase at all nonzero temperatures. The broken global symmetry is $\\mathbb{Z}_2$\nin one family of theories and $U(1)$ in the other. The corresponding order\nparameters are expectation values of the determinants of bifundamental scalar\nfields in these theories. We characterize these symmetries as baryon-like\nsymmetries in the respective models.",
        "positive": "On the kinematics of the last Wigner particle: Wigner's particle classification provides for \"continuous spin\"\nrepresentations of the Poincar\\'e group, corresponding to a class of (as yet\nunobserved) massless particles. Rather than building their induced realizations\nby use of \"Wigner rotations\" in the textbooks' way, here we exhibit a\nscalar-like first-quantized form of those (bosonic) Wigner particles directly,\nby combining wave equations proposed by Wigner long ago with a recent\nprequantized treatment employing Poisson structures."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Parafermionic excitations and critical exponents of random cluster and\n  O(n) models: We introduce the notion of parafermionic fields as the chiral fields which\ndescribe particle excitations in two-dimensional conformal field theory, and\nargue that the parafermionic conformal dimensions can be determined using scale\ninvariant scattering theory. Together with operator product arguments this may\nprovide new information, in particular for non-rational conformal theories. We\nobtain in this way the field theoretical derivation of the critical exponents\nof the random cluster and O(n) models, which in the limit of vanishing central\ncharge yield percolation and self-avoiding walks. A simple derivation of the\nrelation between S-matrix and Lagrangian couplings of sine-Gordon model is also\ngiven.",
        "positive": "Background field method and the cohomology of renormalization: Using the background field method and the Batalin-Vilkovisky formalism, we\nprove a key theorem on the cohomology of perturbatively local functionals of\narbitrary ghost numbers, in renormalizable and nonrenormalizable quantum field\ntheories whose gauge symmetries are general covariance, local Lorentz symmetry,\nnon-Abelian Yang-Mills symmetries and Abelian gauge symmetries. Interpolating\nbetween the background field approach and the usual, nonbackground approach by\nmeans of a canonical transformation, we take advantage of the properties of\nboth approaches and prove that a closed functional is the sum of an exact\nfunctional plus a functional that depends only on the physical fields and\npossibly the ghosts. The assumptions of the theorem are the mathematical\nversions of general properties that characterize the counterterms and the local\ncontributions to the potential anomalies. This makes the outcome a theorem on\nthe cohomology of renormalization, rather than the whole local cohomology. The\nresult supersedes numerous involved arguments that are available in the\nliterature."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-thermal signature of the Unruh effect in field mixing: Mixing transformations for a uniformly accelerated observer (Rindler\nobserver) are analyzed within the quantum field theory framework as a basis for\ninvestigating gravitational effects on flavor oscillations. In particular, the\ncase of two charged boson fields with different masses is discussed. In spite\nof such a minimal setting, the standard Unruh radiation is found to loose its\ncharacteristic thermal interpretation due to the interplay between the\nBogolubov transformation hiding in field mixing and the one arising from the\nRindler spacetime structure. The modified spectrum detected by the Rindler\nobserver is explicitly calculated in the limit of small mass difference.",
        "positive": "UV And IR Effects On Hawking Radiation: We study the time-dependence of Hawking radiation for a black hole in the\nUnruh vacuum, and find that it is not robust against certain UV and IR effects.\nIf there is a UV cutoff at the Planck scale, Hawking radiation is turned off\nafter the scrambling time. In the absence of a UV cutoff, Hawking radiation is\nsensitive to the IR cutoff through a UV/IR connection due to higher-derivative\ninteractions in the effective theory. Furthermore, higher-derivative\ninteractions with the background contribute to a large amplitude of particle\ncreation that changes Hawking radiation. This unexpected large effect is\nrelated to a peculiar feature of the Hawking particle wave packets."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fusion Rings Related to Affine Weyl Groups: The construction of the fusion ring of a quasi-rational CFT based on\n$\\hat{sl}(3)_k$ at generic level $k\\not \\in {\\Bbb Q}$ is reviewed. It is a\ncommutative ring generated by formal characters, elements in the group ring\n${\\Bbb Z}[\\tilde{W}]$ of the extended affine Weyl group $\\tilde{W}$ of\n$\\hat{sl}(3)_k$. Some partial results towards the $\\hat{sl}(4)_k$\ngeneralisation of this character ring are presented.",
        "positive": "Yangian Symmetry in D=4 Superconformal Yang-Mills Theory: We will discuss an integrable structure for weakly coupled superconformal\nYang-Mills theories, describe certain equivalences for the Yangian algebra, and\nfill a technical gap in our previous study of this subject."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Axion-Instanton Weak Gravity Conjecture and Scalar Fields: We study the Weak Gravity Conjecture in the presence of scalar fields. The\nWeak Gravity Conjecture is a consistency condition for a theory of quantum\ngravity asserting that for a U(1) gauge field, there is a particle charged\nunder this field whose mass is bounded by its charge. It was extended to a\nstatement about any canonical pair of (p - 1)-dimensional object and p-form\ncoupling to it, in particular to axion-instanton pairs. The gauge-scalar Weak\nGravity Conjecture is a modification of this bound that includes scalar\ninteractions. We propose a similar extension to cases where scalar fields are\npresent for the axion-instanton Weak Gravity Conjecture and provide evidence\nfrom Type IIA supergravity.",
        "positive": "Revisiting N=4 superconformal blocks: We study four-point correlation functions of four generic half-BPS\nsupermultiplets of N=4 SCFT in four dimensions. We use the two-particle Casimir\nof four-dimensional superconformal algebra to derive superconformal blocks\nwhich contribute to the partial wave expansion of such correlators. The derived\nblocks are defined on analytic superspace and allow us in principle to find any\ncomponent of the four-point correlator. The lowest component of the result\nagrees with the superconformal blocks found by Dolan and Osborn."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Compact Chern-Simons vortices: We introduce and investigate new models of the Chern-Simons type in the\nthree-dimensional spacetime, focusing on the existence of compact vortices. The\nmodels are controlled by potentials driven by a single real parameter that can\nbe used to change the profile of the vortex solutions as they approach their\nboundary values. One of the models unveils an interesting new behavior, the\ntendency to make the vortex compact, as the parameter increases to larger and\nlarger values. We also investigate the behavior of the energy density and\ncalculate the total energy numerically.",
        "positive": "Higher T-duality of super M-branes: We establish a higher generalization of super L-infinity-algebraic T-duality\nof super WZW-terms for super p-branes. In particular, we demonstrate spherical\nT-duality of super M5-branes propagating on exceptional-geometric 11d super\nspacetime."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Vacuum polarization by fermionic fields in higher dimensional cosmic\n  string space-time: In this paper we investigate vacuum polarization effects associated with\ncharged massive quantum fermionic fields in a six-dimensional cosmic string\nspace-times considering the presence of a magnetic flux running along its core.\nWe have shown that for specific values of the parameters which codify the\npresence of the cosmic string, and the fractional part of the ratio of the\nmagnetic flux by the quantum one, a closed expression for the respective Green\nfunction is obtained. Adopting this result, we explicitly calculate the\nrenormalized vacuum expectation value of the energy-momentum tensors,\n$<T^A_B>_{Ren}$, and analyse this result in some limitting cases.",
        "positive": "Tri-linear Couplings in an Heterotic Minimal Supersymmetric Standard\n  Model: We calculate, at the classical level, the superpotential tri-linear couplings\nof the only known globally consistent heterotic minimal supersymmetric Standard\nModel [ hep-th/0512149 ]. This recently constructed model is based on a\ncompactification of the E_8 x E_8 heterotic string theory on a Calabi-Yau\nthreefold with Z_2 fundamental group, coupled with a slope-stable holomorphic\nSU(5) vector bundle. In the observable sector the massless particle content is\nthat of the three-family supersymmetric Standard Model with n=0,1,2 massless\nHiggs pairs, depending on the location in the vector bundle moduli space, and\nno exotic particles. We obtain non-zero Yukawa couplings for the three\nup-sector quarks, and vanishing R-parity violating terms. In particular, the\nproton is stable. Another interesting feature is the existence of tri-linear\ncouplings, on the loci with massless Higgs pairs, generating \\mu-mass\nparameters for the Higgs pairs and neutrino mass terms, with specific vector\nbundle moduli playing the role of right-handed neutrinos."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The double copy: gravity from gluons: Three of the four fundamental forces in nature are described by so-called\ngauge theories, which include the effects of both relativity and quantum\nmechanics. Gravity, on the other hand, is described by General Relativity, and\nthe lack of a well-behaved quantum theory - believed to be relevant at the\ncentre of black holes, and at the Big Bang itself - remains a notorious\nunsolved problem. Recently a new correspondence, the double copy, has been\ndiscovered between scattering amplitudes (quantities related to the probability\nfor particles to interact) in gravity, and their gauge theory counterparts.\nThis has subsequently been extended to other quantities, providing gauge theory\nanalogues of e.g. black holes. We here review current research on the double\ncopy, and describe some possible applications.",
        "positive": "Isolated Skyrmions in the $CP^2$ nonlinear $\u03c3$-model with a\n  Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya type interaction: We study two dimensional soliton solutions in the $CP^2$ nonlinear\n$\\sigma$-model with a Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya type interaction. First, we derive\nsuch a model as a continuous limit of the $SU(3)$ tilted ferromagnetic\nHeisenberg model on a square lattice. Then, introducing an additional potential\nterm to the derived Hamiltonian, we obtain exact soliton solutions for\nparticular sets of parameters of the model. The vacuum of the exact solution\ncan be interpreted as a spin nematic state. For a wider range of coupling\nconstants, we construct numerical solutions, which possess the same type of\nasymptotic decay as the exact analytical solution, both decaying into a spin\nnematic state."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Type IIB supergravity on squashed Sasaki-Einstein manifolds: We provide a consistent N=4 Kaluza-Klein truncation of type IIB supergravity\non general 5-dimensional squashed Sasaki-Einstein manifolds. Our reduction\nansatz keeps all and only the supergravity modes dual to the universal gauge\nsector of the associated conformal theories, via the gauge/gravity\ncorrespondence. The reduced 5-dimensional model displays remarkable features:\nit includes both zero-modes as well as massive iterations of the Kaluza-Klein\noperators on the internal manifold; it contains tensor fields dual to vectors\ncharged under a non-abelian gauge group; it has a scalar potential with a\nnon-supersymmetric AdS vacuum in addition to the supersymmetric one.",
        "positive": "Holographic free energy and thermodynamic geometry: We analytically obtain the free energy and thermodynamic geometry of\nholographic superconductors in $2+1$-dimensions. The gravitational theory in\nthe bulk dual to this $2+1$-dimensional strongly coupled theory lives in the\n$3+1$-dimensions and is that of a charged $AdS$ black hole together with a\nmassive charged scalar field. The matching method is applied to obtain the\nnature of the fields near the horizon using which the holographic free energy\nis computed through the gauge/gravity duality. The critical temperature is\nobtained for a set of values of the matching point of the near horizon and the\nboundary behaviour of the fields. The thermodynamic geometry is then computed\nfrom the free energy of the boundary theory. From the divergence of the\nthermodynamic scalar curvature, the critical temperature is obtained once\nagain. We then compare this result for the critical temperature with that\nobtained from the matching method."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Stability Constraints on Classical de Sitter Vacua: We present further no-go theorems for classical de Sitter vacua in Type II\nstring theory, i.e., de Sitter constructions that do not invoke\nnon-perturbative effects or explicit supersymmetry breaking localized sources.\nBy analyzing the stability of the 4D potential arising from compactification on\nmanfiolds with curvature, fluxes, and orientifold planes, we found that\nadditional ingredients, beyond the minimal ones presented so far, are necessary\nto avoid the presence of unstable modes. We enumerate the minimal setups for\n(meta)stable de Sitter vacua to arise in this context.",
        "positive": "Generic approach to dimensional reduction and selection principle for\n  low-energy limit of M theory: We propose the approach to deriving lower-dimensional limit of modern\nhigh-energy theory which does not make explicit use of the Kaluza-Klein scheme\nand predefined compactification manifolds. The approach is based on the\nselection principle in which a crucial role is played by p-brane solutions and\ntheir preservation, in a certain sense, under dimensional reduction. Then we\nengage a previously developed method of reconstruction of a theory from a given\nsolution which eventually leads to some model acting in the space of field\ncouplings. Thus, our approach focuses on those general features of effective 4D\ntheories which are independent of how the decomposition of spacetime dimensions\ninto ``observable'' and ``unobservable'' ones could be done. As an example, we\nexactly derive the simplified abelian sector of the effective low-energy\nM-theory together with its fundamental 0-brane solution describing the family\nof charged black holes with scalar hair in asymptotically flat, de Sitter or\nanti-de Sitter spacetime."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Adelic Harmonic Oscillator: Using the Weyl quantization we formulate one-dimensional adelic quantum\nmechanics, which unifies and treats ordinary and $p$-adic quantum mechanics on\nan equal footing. As an illustration the corresponding harmonic oscillator is\nconsidered. It is a simple, exact and instructive adelic model. Eigenstates are\nSchwartz-Bruhat functions. The Mellin transform of a simplest vacuum state\nleads to the well known functional relation for the Riemann zeta function. Some\nexpectation values are calculated. The existence of adelic matter at very high\nenergies is suggested.",
        "positive": "$T\\bar{T}$-deformation and Liouville gravity: We consider a gravitational perturbation of the Jackiw-Teitelboim (JT)\ngravity with an arbitrary dilaton potential and study the condition under which\nthe quadratic action can be seen as a $T\\bar{T}$-deformation of the matter\naction. As a special case, the flat-space JT gravity discussed by Dubovsky et\nal[arXiv:1706.06604 ] is included. Another interesting example is a hyperbolic\ndilaton potential. This case is equivalent to a classical Liouville gravity\nwith a negative cosmological constant and then a finite $T\\bar{T}$-deformation\nof the matter action is realized as a gravitational perturbation on AdS$_2$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Deformed Intersecting D6-Brane GUTS and N=1 SUSY: We analyze the construction of non-supersymmetric three generation six-stack\nPati-Salam (PS) $SU(4)_C \\times SU(2)_L \\times SU(2)_R$ GUT classes of models,\nby localizing D6-branes intersecting at angles in four dimensional\norientifolded toroidal compactifications of type IIA. Special role in the\nmodels is played by the presence of extra branes needed to satisfy the RR\ntadpole cancellation conditions. The models contain at low energy {\\em exactly\nthe Standard model} with no extra matter and/or extra gauge group factors. They\nare build such that they represent deformations around the quark and lepton\nbasic intersection number structure. The models possess the same\nphenomenological characteristics of some recently discussed examples (PS-A,\nPS-I; PS-II GUT classes; hep-th/0203187, hep-th/0209202; hep-th/0210004) of\nfour and five stack PS GUTS respectively. Namely, there are no colour triplet\ncouplings to mediate proton decay and proton is stable as baryon number is a\ngauged symmetry.\n  The mass relation $m_e = m_d$ at the GUT scale is recovered. Even though more\ncomplicated, than in lower stack GUTS, the conditions of the non-anomalous\nU(1)'s to survive massless the generalized Green-Schwarz mechanism are solved\nconsistently by the angle conditions coming from the presence of N=1\nsupersymmetric sectors involving the presence of {\\em extra} branes and also\nrequired for the existence of a Majorana mass term for the right handed\nneutrinos.",
        "positive": "Amplitudes for massive vector and scalar bosons in spontaneously-broken\n  gauge theory from the CHY representation: In the formulation of Cachazo, He, and Yuan, tree-level amplitudes for\nmassless particles in gauge theory and gravity can be expressed as rational\nfunctions of the Lorentz invariants $k_a \\cdot k_b$, $\\epsilon_a \\cdot k_b$,\nand $\\epsilon_a \\cdot \\epsilon_b$, valid in any number of spacetime dimensions.\nWe use dimensional reduction of higher-dimensional amplitudes of particles with\ninternal momentum $\\kappa$ to obtain amplitudes for massive particles in lower\ndimensions. In the case of gauge theory, we argue that these massive amplitudes\nbelong to a theory in which the gauge symmetry is spontaneously broken by an\nadjoint Higgs field. Consequently, we show that tree-level $n$-point amplitudes\ncontaining massive vector and scalar bosons in this theory can be obtained by\nsimply replacing $k_a \\cdot k_b$ with $k_a \\cdot k_b - \\kappa_a \\kappa_b $ in\nthe corresponding massless amplitudes, where the masses of the particles are\ngiven by $|\\kappa_a|$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Poincar\u00e9-like extension Mixing Higgs and Gauge Fields in a U(1)\n  symmetric model: We continue the program by investigating symmetric structures underlying\nfeatures of the Standard Model. We then expand the symmetry to encompass\ntranslations before contraction. A field theory model emerges with the goal of\nreplicating a coupling to gravity before contraction. Then we obtain an\nexpanded second-order gravity model after contraction that incorporates the\nabelian internal symmetry.",
        "positive": "Study on Noncommutative Representations of Galilean Generators: The representations of Galilean generators are constructed on a space where\nboth position and momentum coordinates are noncommutating operators. A\ndynamical model invariant under noncommutative phase space transformations is\nconstructed. The Dirac brackets of this model reproduce the original\nnoncommutative algebra. Also, the generators in terms of noncommutative phase\nspace variables are abstracted from this model in a consistent manner. Finally,\nthe role of Jacobi identities is emphasised to produce the noncommuting\nstructure that occurs when an electron is subjected to a constant magnetic\nfield and Berry curvature."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Intersecting branes and Supersymmetry: We consider intersecting M-brane solutions of supergravity in eleven\ndimensions. Supersymmetry turns out to be a powerful tool in obtaining such\nsolutions and their generalizations.",
        "positive": "Stability of QED: It is shown for a class of random, time-independent, square-integrable,\nthree-dimensional magnetic fields that the one-loop effective fermion action of\nfour-dimensional QED increases faster than a quadratic in B in the strong\ncoupling limit. The limit is universal. The result relies on the paramagnetism\nof charged spin - 1/2 fermions and the diamagnetism of charged scalar bosons."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Rational Theories of 2D Gravity from the Two-Matrix Model: The correspondence claimed by M. Douglas, between the multicritical regimes\nof the two-matrix model and 2D gravity coupled to (p,q) rational matter field,\nis worked out explicitly. We found the minimal (p,q) multicritical potentials\nU(X) and V(Y) which are polynomials of degree p and q, correspondingly. The\nloop averages W(X) and \\tilde W(Y) are shown to satisfy the Heisenberg\nrelations {W,X} =1 and {\\tilde W,Y}=1 and essentially coincide with the\ncanonical momenta P and Q. The operators X and Y create the two kinds of\nboundaries in the (p,q) model related by the duality (p,q) - (q,p). Finally, we\npresent a closed expression for the two two-loop correlators and interpret its\nscaling limit.",
        "positive": "C-deformation of Supergravity: A four-dimensional supergravity toy model in an arbitrary self-dual\ngravi-photon background is constructed in Euclidean space, by freezing out the\ngravi-photon field strength in the standard N=(1,1) extended supergravity with\ntwo non-chiral gravitini. Our model has local N=(1/2,0) supersymmetry.\nConsistency of the model requires the background gravi-photon field strength to\nbe equal to the self-dual (bilinear) anti-chiral gravitino condensate."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Radiation reaction reexamined: bound momentum and Schott term: We review and compare two different approaches to radiation reaction in\nclassical electrodynamics of point charges: a local calculation of the\nself-force using the charge equation of motion and a global calculation\nconsisting in integration of the electromagnetic energy-momentum flux through a\nhypersurface encircling the world-line. Both approaches are complementary and,\nbeing combined together, give rise to an identity relating the locally and\nglobally computed forces. From this identity it follows that the Schott terms\nin the Abraham force should arise from the bound field momentum and can not be\nintroduced by hand as an additional term in the mechanical momentum of an\naccelerated charge. This is in perfect agreement with the results of Dirac and\nTeitelboim, but disagrees with the recent calculation of the bound momentum in\nthe retarded coordinates. We perform an independent calculation of the bound\nelectromagnetic momentum and verify explicitly that the Schott term is the\nderivative of the finite part of the bound momentum indeed. The failure to\nobtain the same result using the method of retarded coordinates tentatively\nlies in an inappropriate choice of the integration surface. We also discuss the\ndefinition of the delta-function on the semi-axis involved in the local\ncalculation of the radiation reaction force and demonstrate inconsistency of\none recent proposal.",
        "positive": "Gravitational Cheshire effect: Nonminimally coupled scalar fields may\n  not curve spacetime: It is shown that flat spacetime can be dressed with a real scalar field that\nsatisfies the nonlinear Klein-Gordon equation without curving spacetime.\nSurprisingly, this possibility arises from the nonminimal coupling of the\nscalar field with the curvature, since a footprint of the coupling remains in\nthe energy-momentum tensor even when gravity is switched off.\n  Requiring the existence of solutions with vanishing energy-momentum tensor\nfixes the self-interaction potential as a local function of the scalar field\ndepending on two coupling constants. The solutions describe shock waves and, in\nthe Euclidean continuation, instanton configurations in any dimension. As a\nconsequence of this effect, the tachyonic solutions of the free massive\nKlein-Gordon equation become part of the vacuum."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic Gauge Theory with Maxwell Magnetic Field: We first apply the transformation of mixing azimuthal with wrapped coordinate\nto the 11D M-theory with a stack N M5-branes to find the spacetime of a stack\nof N D4-branes with magnetic field in 10D IIA string theory, after the\nKaluza-Klein reduction. In the near-horizon limit the background becomes the\nMelvin magnetic field deformed $AdS_6 \\times S^4$. Although the solution\nrepresents the D-branes under the Melvin RR one-form we use a simple\nobservation to see that it also describes the solution of D-branes under the\nMaxwell magnetic field. As the magnetic field we consider is the part of the\nbackground itself we have presented an alternative to previous literature,\nbecause our method does not require the assumption of negligible back reaction.\nNext, we use the found solution to investigate the meson property through D4/D8\nsystem (Sakai-Sugimoto model) and compare it with those studied by other\nauthors. Finally, we present a detailed analysis about the Wilson loop therein\nand results show that the external Maxwell magnetic field will enhance the\nquark-antiquark potential.",
        "positive": "Adinkra Isomorphisms and `Seeing' Shapes with Eigenvalues: We create an algorithm to determine whether any two graphical representations\n(adinkras) of equations possessing the property of supersymmetry in one or two\ndimensions are isomorphic in shape. The algorithm is based on the determinant\nof `permutation matrices' that are defined in this work and derivable for any\nadinkra."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Probing Supersymmetric Black Holes with Surface Defects: It has long been conjectured that the large $N$ deconfinement phase\ntransition of $\\mathcal{N}=4$ ${\\rm SU}(N)$ super-Yang-Mills corresponds via\nAdS/CFT to the Hawking-Page transition in which black holes dominate the\nthermal ensemble, and quantitative evidence of this has come through the recent\nmatching of the superconformal index of ${1\\over 16}$-BPS states to the\nsupersymmetric black hole entropy. We introduce the half-BPS Gukov-Witten\nsurface defect as a probe of the superconformal index, which also serves as an\norder parameter for the deconfinement transition. This can be studied directly\nin field theory as a modification of the usual unitary matrix model or in the\ndual description as a D3-brane probe in the background of a (complex)\nsupersymmetric black hole. Using a saddle point approximation, we determine our\ndefect index in the large $N$ limit as a simple function of the chemical\npotentials and show independently that it is reproduced by the renormalized\naction of the brane in the black hole background. Along the way, we also\ncomment on the Cardy limit and the thermodynamics of the D3-brane in the\ngeneralized ensemble. The defect index sharply distinguishes between the\nconfining and the deconfining phases of the gauge theory and thus is a\nsupersymmetric non-perturbative order parameter for these large $N$ phase\ntransitions which deserves further investigation. Finally, our work provides an\nexample where the properties of a black hole coupled to an external system can\nbe analyzed precisely.",
        "positive": "Non-Abelian Chern-Simons Particles and their Quantization: A many--body Schr\\\"odinger equation for non--Abelian Chern--Simons particles\nis obtained from both point--particle and field--theoretic pictures. We present\na particle Lagrangian and a field theoretic Lagrange density, and discuss their\nproperties. Both are quantized by the symplectic method of Hamiltonian\nreduction. An $N$--body Schr\\\"odinger equation for the particles is obtained\nfrom both starting points. It is shown that the resulting interaction between\nparticles can be replaced by non--trivial boundary conditions. Also, the\nequation is compared with the one given in the literature."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Reconstruction of modified gravity with ghost dark energy models: In this work, we reconstruct the $f(R)$ modified gravity for different ghost\nand generalized ghost dark energy models in FRW flat universe, which describe\nthe accelerated expansion of the universe. The equation of state of\nreconstructed $f(R)$ - gravity has been calculated. We show that the\ncorresponding $f(R)$ gravity of ghost dark energy model can behave like phantom\nor quintessence. We also show that the equation of state of reconstructed\n$f(R)$ gravity for generalized ghost model can transit from quintessence regime\nto the phantom regime as indicated by recent observations.",
        "positive": "Berry phase for oscillating neutrinos: We show the presence of a topological (Berry) phase in the time evolution of\na mixed state. For the case of mixed neutrinos, the Berry phase is a function\nof the mixing angle only."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "New N=2 Supersymmetric Membrane Flow In Eleven-Dimensional Supergravity: We construct the 11-dimensional lift of the known N=2 supersymmetric RG flow\nsolution in 4-dimensional N=8 gauged supergravity. The squashed and stretched\n7-dimensional internal metric preserving SU(2) x U(1) x U(1)_R symmetry\ncontains an Einstein-Kahler 2-fold which is a base manifold of 5-dimensional\nSasaki-Einstein Y^{p, q} space found in 2004. The nontrivial r(transverse to\nthe domain wall)-dependence of the AdS_4 supergravity fields makes the\nEinstein-Maxwell equations consistent not only at the critical points but also\nalong the supersymmetric whole RG flow connecting two critical points. With an\nappropriate 3-form gauge field, we find an exact solution to the 11-dimensional\nEinstein-Maxwell equations corresponding to the above lift of the SU(2) x U(1)\nx U(1)_R-invariant RG flow. The particular limits of this solution give rise to\nthe previous solutions with SU(3) x U(1)_R or SU(2) x SU(2) x U(1)_R.",
        "positive": "Cosmological Exact Solutions in Some Modified Gravitational Theories: In a homogenous and isotropic cosmology, we introduce general exact solutions\nfor some modified gravity models. In particular, we introduce exact solutions\nfor power-law $f(R)$ gravity and Brans-Dicke theory in Einstein and Jordan\nconformal frames. In the Brans-Dicke case, the solutions are presented for both\nsingle and double exponential potentials in Einstein frame which correspond to\npower-law potentials in Jordan frame. Our analysis for extracting general exact\nsolutions can also be generalized to those scalar-tensor theories in which the\nscalar field has an exponential coupling to Ricci scalar."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the 6th Mode in Massive Gravity: Generic massive gravity models in the unitary gauge correspond to a\nself-gravitating medium with six degrees of freedom. It is widely believed that\nmassive gravity models with six degrees of freedom have an unavoidable\nghost-like instability; however, the corresponding medium has stable\nphonon-like excitations. The apparent contradiction is solved by the presence\nof a non-vanishing background pressure and energy density of the medium that\nopens up a stability window. The result is confirmed by looking at linear\nstability on an expanding Universe, recovering the flat space stability\nconditions in the small wavelength limit. Moreover, one can show that under\nrather mild conditions, no ghost-like instability is present for any\nwavelength. As a result, exploiting the medium interpretation, a generic\nmassive gravity model with six degrees of freedom is perfectly viable.",
        "positive": "QED with external field: Hamiltonian treatment for anisotropic medium\n  formed by the Lorentz-non-invariant vacuum: Nonlinear electrodynamics, QED included, is considered against the\nLorentz-noninvariant external field background, treated as an anisotropic\nmedium. Hamiltonian formalism is applied to electromagnetic excitations over\nthe background, and entities of electrodynamics of media, such as field\ninductions and intensities, are made sense of in terms of canonical variables.\nBoth conserved and nonconserved generators of space-time translations and\nrotations are defined on the phase space, and their Hamiltonian equations of\nmotion and Dirac bracket relations, different from the Poincar\\'e algebra, are\nestablished. Nonsymmetric, but--in return--gauge-invariant, energy-momentum\ntensor suggests a canonical momentum density other than the Poynting vector. A\nphoton magnetic moment is found to govern the evolution of the photon angular\nmomentum. It is determined by the antisymmetric part of the energy-momentum\ntensor."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Power to Integral Forms: A novel reformulation of D=4, N=1 supergravity action in the language of\nintegral forms is given. We illustrate the construction of the Berezinian in\nthe supergeometric framework, providing a useful dictionary between mathematics\nand physics. We present a unified framework for Berezin-Lebesgue integrals for\nfunctions and for integral forms. As an application, we discuss Volkov-Akulov\ntheory and its coupling to supergravity from this new perspective.",
        "positive": "Membrane Quantum Mechanics: We consider the multiple M2-branes wrapped on a compact Riemann surface and\nstudy the arising quantum mechanics by taking the limit where the size of the\nRiemann surface goes to zero. The IR quantum mechanical models resulting from\nthe BLG-model and the ABJM-model compactified on a torus are N = 16 and N = 12\nsuperconformal gauged quantum mechanics. After integrating out the auxiliary\ngauge fields we find OSp(16|2) and SU(1,1|6) quantum mechanics from the reduced\nsystems. The curved Riemann surface is taken as a holomorphic curve in a\nCalabi-Yau space to preserve supersymmetry and we present a prescription of the\ntopological twisting. We find the N = 8 superconformal gauged quantum mechanics\nthat may describe the motion of two wrapped M2-branes in a K3 surface."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Effective String Theories (EST) of Yang-Mills Flux Tubes: This chapter explains the concept of \\emph{Effective String Theories}(EST),\nand their success in explaining the results that Yang-Mills flux tubes behave,\nto a high degree of accuracy, like Bosonic Strings(BST). It describes EST's of\nL\\\"uscher and Weisz, and their principal conclusions. It then discusses the\nPolchinski-Strominger EST's. which are valid in all dimensions. It then\ndescribes the works by Drummond, and, the author and Peter Matlock, which\nextended the analysis to $R^{-3}$ order and showed, that even at that order the\nspectrum is that of BST. The chapter analyses the issues of string momentum in\nhigher orders. It discusses at length the powerful covariant calculus, to\nsystematically construct EST's to arbitrary orders. The most general actions to\n$R^{-7}$ order are shown to be governed by just two parameters. The works of\nAharony and collaborators on the spectrum of EST's, both in static and\nconformal gauges,to $R^{-5}$ order, and their results that even at that order\nthe ground state energy remains the same as that of BST, but the excited\nspectrum gets corrected for $D\\,>\\,3$, are explained. It discusses the\nsimulation results for excited states. It also discusses the AdS-CFT approaches\nand thickness of flux tubes.Recent works on the path-integral approaches to\nthis issue are also discussed and compared with the other approaches. It\nconcludes with remarks on the significance of the results for QCD.",
        "positive": "String/Gauge Correspondence; View from the High Energy Side: We briefly review the recent progress concerning the application of the\nhidden integrability to the derivation of the stringy/brane picture for the\nhigh energy QCD."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Equivalence between the Lovelock-Cartan action and a constrained gauge\n  theory: We show that the four-dimensional Lovelock-Cartan action can be derived from\na massless gauge theory for the $SO(1,3)$ group with an additional BRST trivial\npart. The model is originally composed by a topological sector and a BRST exact\npiece and has no explicit dependence on the metric, the vierbein or a mass\nparameter. The vierbein is introduced together with a mass parameter through\nsome BRST trivial constraints. The effect of the constraints is to identify the\nvierbein with some of the additional fields, transforming the original action\ninto the Lovelock-Cartan one. In this scenario, the mass parameter is\nidentified with Newton's constant while the gauge field is identified with the\nspin-connection. The symmetries of the model are also explored. Moreover, the\nextension of the model to a quantum version is qualitatively discussed.",
        "positive": "Stochastic Quantization vs. KdV Flows in 2D Quantum Gravity: We consider the stochastic quantization scheme for a non-perturbative\nstabilization of 2D quantum gravity and prove that it does not satisfy the KdV\nflow equations. It therefore differs from a recently suggested matrix model\nwhich allows real solutions to the KdV equations. The behaviour of the Fermi\nenergy, the free energy and macroscopic loops in the stochastic quantization\nscheme are elucidated."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetry then and now: A brief description of some salient aspects of four-dimensional\nsupersymmetry: early history, supermanifolds, the MSSM, cold dark matter, the\ncosmological constant and the string landscape.",
        "positive": "Invariants of 2+1 Quantum Gravity: In [1,2] we established and discussed the algebra of observables for 2+1\ngravity at both the classical and quantum level. Here our treatment broadens\nand extends previous results to any genus $g$ with a systematic discussion of\nthe centre of the algebra. The reduction of the number of independent\nobservables to $6g-6 (g > 1)$ is treated in detail with a precise\nclassification for $g = 1$ and $g = 2$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Conformal Mechanics and the Virasoro Algebra: We demonstrate that any scale-invariant mechanics of one variable exhibits\nnot only 0+1 conformal symmetry, but also the symmetries of a full Virasoro\nalgebra. We discuss the implications for the adS/CFT correspondence.",
        "positive": "Superfield Approach To Nilpotent Symmetries For QED From A Single\n  Restriction: An Alternative To The Horizontality Condition: We derive together the exact local, covariant, continuous and off-shell\nnilpotent Becchi-Rouet-Stora-Tyutin (BRST) and anti-BRST symmetry\ntransformations for the U(1) gauge field (A_\\mu), the (anti-)ghost fields\n((\\bar C)C) and the Dirac fields (\\psi, \\bar\\psi) of the Lagrangian density of\na four (3 + 1)-dimensional QED by exploiting a single restriction on the six\n(4, 2)-dimensional supermanifold. A set of four even spacetime coordinates\nx^\\mu (\\mu = 0, 1, 2, 3) and two odd Grassmannian variables \\theta and\n\\bar\\theta parametrize this six dimensional supermanifold. The new gauge\ninvariant restriction on the above supermanifold owes its origin to the (super)\ncovariant derivatives and their intimate relations with the (super) 2-form\ncurvatures (\\tilde F^{(2)})F^{(2)} constructed with the help of (super) 1-form\ngauge connections (\\tilde A^{(1)})A^{(1)} and (super) exterior derivatives\n(\\tilde d)d. The results obtained separately by exploiting (i) the\nhorizontality condition, and (ii) one of its consistent extensions, are shown\nto be a simple consequence of this new single restriction on the above\nsupermanifold. Thus, our present endeavour provides an alternative to (and, in\nsome sense, generalization of) the horizontality condition of the usual\nsuperfield formalism applied to the derivation of BRST symmetries."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "High energy scattering amplitudes in matrix string theory: High energy fixed angle scattering is studied in matrix string theory. The\nsaddle point world sheet configurations, which give the dominant contributions\nto the string theory amplitude, are taken as classical backgrounds in matrix\nstring theory. A one loop fluctuation analysis about the classical background\nis performed. An exact treatment of the fermionic and bosonic zero modes is\nshown to lead to all of the expected structure of the scattering amplitude. The\nten dimensional Lorentz invariant kinematical structure is obtained from the\nfermion zero modes, and the correct factor of the string coupling constant is\nobtained from the abelian gauge field zero modes. Up to a numerical factor we\nreproduce, from matrix string theory, the high energy limit of the tree level,\nfour graviton scattering amplitude.",
        "positive": "The quantum Neumann model: refined semiclassical results: We extend the semiclassical study of the Neumann model down to the deep\nquantum regime. A detailed study of connection formulae at the turning points\nallows to get good matching with the exact results for the whole range of\nparameters."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "How Low Can Vacuum Energy Go When Your Fields Are Finite-Dimensional?: According to the holographic bound, there is only a finite density of degrees\nof freedom in space when gravity is taken into account. Conventional quantum\nfield theory does not conform to this bound, since in this framework,\ninfinitely many degrees of freedom may be localized to any given region of\nspace. In this paper, we explore the viewpoint that quantum field theory may\nemerge from an underlying theory that is locally finite-dimensional, and we\nconstruct a locally finite-dimensional version of a Klein-Gordon scalar field\nusing generalized Clifford algebras. Demanding that the finite-dimensional\nfield operators obey a suitable version of the canonical commutation relations\nmakes this construction essentially unique. We then find that enforcing local\nfinite dimensionality in a holographically consistent way leads to a huge\nsuppression of the quantum contribution to vacuum energy, to the point that the\ntheoretical prediction becomes plausibly consistent with observations.",
        "positive": "A-twisted heterotic Landau-Ginzburg models: In this paper, we apply the methods developed in recent work for constructing\nA-twisted (2,2) Landau-Ginzburg models to analogous (0,2) models. In\nparticular, we study (0,2) Landau-Ginzburg models on topologically non-trivial\nspaces away from large-radius limits, where one expects to find correlation\nfunction contributions akin to (2,2) curve corrections. Such heterotic theories\nadmit A- and B-model twists, and exhibit a duality that simultaneously\nexchanges the twists and dualizes the gauge bundle. We explore how this duality\noperates in heterotic Landau-Ginzburg models, as well as other properties of\nthese theories, using examples which RG flow to heterotic nonlinear sigma\nmodels as checks on our methods."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exactly solvable charged dilaton gravity theories in two dimensions: We find exactly solvable dilaton gravity theories containing a U(1) gauge\nfield in two dimensional space-time. The classical general solutions for the\ngravity sector (the metric plus the dilaton field) of the theories coupled to a\nmassless complex scalar field are obtained in terms of the stress-energy tensor\nand the U(1) current of the scalar field. We discuss issues that arise when we\nattempt to use these models for the study of the gravitational back-reaction.",
        "positive": "Application of Bootstrap to $\u03b8$-term: Recently, novel numerical computation on quantum mechanics by using a\nbootstrap method was proposed by Han, Hartnoll, and Kruthoff. We consider\nwhether this method works in systems with a $\\theta$-term, where the standard\nMonte-Carlo computation may fail due to the sign problem. As a starting point,\nwe study quantum mechanics of a charged particle on a circle in which a\nconstant gauge potential is a counterpart of a $\\theta$-term. We find that it\nis hard to determine physical quantities as functions of $\\theta$ such as\n$E(\\theta)$, except at $\\theta=0$ and $\\pi$. On the other hand, the\ncorrelations among observables for energy eigenstates are correctly reproduced\nfor any $\\theta$. Our results suggest that the bootstrap method may work not\nperfectly but sufficiently well, even if a $\\theta$-term exists in the system."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Renormalizable Abelian-projected effective gauge theory derived from\n  Quantum Chromodynamics: We show that an effective Abelian gauge theory can be obtained as a\nrenormalizable theory from QCD in the maximal Abelian gauge. The derivation\nimproves in a systematic manner the previous version that was obtained by one\nof the authors and was referred to as the Abelian-projected effective gauge\ntheory. This result supports the view that we can construct an effective\nAbelian gauge theory from QCD without losing characteristic features of the\noriginal non-Abelian gauge theory. In fact, it is shown that the effective\ncoupling constant in the resulting renormalizable theory has a\nrenormalization-scale dependence governed by the $\\beta$-function that is\nexactly the same as that of the original Yang-Mills theory, irrespective of the\nchoice of gauge fixing parameters of the maximal Abelian gauge and the\nparameters used for identifying the dual variables. Moreover, we evaluate the\nanomalous dimensions of the fields and parameters in the resultant theory. By\nchoosing the renormalized parameters appropriately, we can switch the theory\ninto an electric or a magnetic theory.",
        "positive": "Gravitational Waveform: A Tale of Two Formalisms: We revisit the quantum-amplitude-based derivation of the gravitational\nwaveform emitted by the scattering of two spinless massive bodies at the third\norder in Newton's constant, $h \\sim G+G^2+G^3$ (one-loop level), and\ncorrespondingly update its comparison with its classically-derived\nmultipolar-post-Minkowskian counterpart. A spurious-pole-free reorganization of\nthe one-loop five-point amplitude substantially simplifies the post-Newtonian\nexpansion. We find complete agreement between the two results up to the fifth\norder in the small velocity expansion after taking into account three subtle\naspects of the amplitude derivation: (1) in agreement with [arXiv:2312.07452\n[hep-th]], the term quadratic in the amplitude in the observable-based\nformalism [JHEP 02, 137 (2019)] generates a frame rotation by half the\nclassical scattering angle; (2) the dimensional regularization of the infrared\ndivergences of the amplitude introduces an additional $(d-4)/(d-4)$ finite\nterm; and (3) zero-frequency gravitons are found to contribute additional terms\nboth at order $h \\sim G^1$ and at order $h \\sim G^3$ when including\ndisconnected diagrams in the observable-based formalism."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Coordinate-free quantization of first-class constrained systems: The coordinate-free formulation of canonical quantization, achieved by a\nflat-space Brownian motion regularization of phase-space path integrals, is\nextended to a special class of closed first-class constrained systems that is\nbroad enough to include Yang-Mills type theories with an arbitrary compact\ngauge group. Central to this extension are the use of coherent state path\nintegrals and of Lagrange multiplier integrations that engender projection\noperators onto the subspace of gauge invariant states.",
        "positive": "Orientation matters for NIMreps: The problem of finding boundary states in CFT, often rephrased in terms of\n\"NIMreps\" of the fusion algebra, has a natural extension to CFT on\nnon-orientable surfaces. This provides extra information that turns out to be\nquite useful to give the proper interpretation to a NIMrep. We illustrate this\nwith several examples. This includes a rather detailed discussion of the\ninteresting case of the simple current extension of A_2 level 9, which is\nalready known to have a rich structure. This structure can be disentangled\ncompletely using orientation information. In particular we find here and in\nother cases examples of diagonal modular invariants that do not admit a NIMrep,\nsuggesting that there does not exist a corresponding CFT. We obtain the\ncomplete set of NIMreps (plus Moebius and Klein bottle coefficients) for many\nexceptional modular invariants of WZW models, and find an explanation for the\noccurrence of more than one NIMrep in certain cases. We also (re)consider the\nunderlying formalism, emphasizing the distinction between oriented and\nunoriented string annulus amplitudes, and the origin of orientation-dependent\ndegeneracy matrices in the latter."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Killing-Yano tensor and supersymmetry of the self-dual\n  Plebanski-Demianski solution: We explore various aspects of the self-dual Pleba\\'nski-Demia\\'nski family in\nthe Euclidean Einstein-Maxwell-$\\Lambda$ system. The Killing-Yano tensor which\nwas recently found by Yasui and one of the present authors allows us to prove\nthat the self-dual Pleba\\'nski-Demia\\'nski metric can be brought into the\nself-dual Carter metric by an orientation-reversing coordinate transformation.\nWe show that the self-dual Pleba\\'nski-Demia\\'nski solution admits two\nindependent Killing spinors in the framework of $N=2$ minimal gauged\nsupergravity, whereas the non-self-dual solution admits only a single Killing\nspinor. This can be demonstrated by casting the self-dual\nPleba\\'nski-Demia\\'nski metric into two distinct Przanowski-Tod forms. As a\nby-product, a new example of the three-dimensional Einstein-Weyl space is\npresented. We also prove that the self-dual Pleba\\'nski-Demia\\'nski metric\nfalls into two different Calderbank-Pedersen families, which are determined by\na single function subjected to a linear equation on the two dimensional\nhyperbolic space. Furthermore, we consider the hyper-K\\\"ahler case for which\nthe metric falls into the Gibbons-Hawking class. We find that the condition for\nthe nonexistence of Dirac-Misner string enforces the solution with a\nnonvanishing acceleration parameter to the Eguchi-Hanson space.",
        "positive": "Comments on \"On the Origin of Gravity and the Laws of Newton\", by Erik\n  Verlinde: We argue that the relativistic Unruh temperature cannot be associated with\nthe bits on the screen, in the form considered by Verlinde. The acceleration\n$a$ is a scalar quantity (the modulus of the acceleration four vecor) and not a\nvector. When the mass $m$ approaches the holographic screen, viewed as a\nstretched horizon, the shift $\\Delta x$ from Verlinde's Eq. (3.15) becomes\n$c^{2}/a$ and the entropy variation equals $(1/2) k_{B} \\Delta N$, in\naccordance with Gao's calculations. Using the Heisenberg Principle we show that\nthe energy on the causal horizon (viewed as a holographic screen) of an\ninertial observer is proportional to its radius, as for a black hole."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "d=4 Black Hole Attractors in N=2 Supergravity with Fayet-Iliopoulos\n  Terms: We generalize the description of the d=4 Attractor Mechanism based on an\neffective black hole (BH) potential to the presence of a gauging which does not\nmodify the derivatives of the scalars and does not involve hypermultiplets. The\nobtained results do not rely necessarily on supersymmetry, and they can be\nextended to d>4, as well. Thence, we work out the example of the stu model of\nN=2 supergravity in the presence of Fayet-Iliopoulos terms, for the\nsupergravity analogues of the magnetic and D0-D6 BH charge configurations, and\nin three different symplectic frames: the SO(1,1)^{2}, SO(2,2) covariant and\nSO(8)-truncated ones. The attractive nature of the critical points, related to\nthe semi-positive definiteness of the Hessian matrix, is also studied.",
        "positive": "Supertubes connecting D4 branes: We find and explore a class of dyonic instanton solutions which can be\nidentified as the supertubes connecting two D4 branes. They correspond to a\nsingle monopole string and a pair of monopole antimonopole strings from the\nworldvolume view point of D4 branes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "1992 Trieste Lectures on Topological Gauge Theory and Yang-Mills Theory: In these lecture notes we explain a connection between Yang-Mills theory on\narbitrary Riemann surfaces and two types of topological field theory, the so\ncalled $BF$ and cohomological theories. The quantum Yang-Mills theory is solved\nexactly using path integral techniques. Explicit expressions, in terms of group\nrepresentation theory, are obtained for the partition function and various\ncorrelation functions. In a particular limit the Yang-Mills theory devolves to\nthe topological models and the previously determined correlation functions give\ntopological information about the moduli spaces of flat connections. In\nparticular, the partition function yields the volume of the moduli space for\nwhich an explicit expression is derived. These notes are self contained, with a\nbasic introduction to the various ideas underlying the topological field\ntheories. This includes some relatively new work on handling problems that\narise in the presence of reducible connections which in turn forms the bridge\nbetween the various models under consideration. These notes are identical to\nthose made available to participants of the 1992 summer school in Trieste,\nexcept for one or two additions added circa January 1993.",
        "positive": "Superstring Amplitudes, Unitarity, and Hankel Determinants of Multiple\n  Zeta Values: The interplay of unitarity and analyticity has long been known to impose\nstrong constraints on scattering amplitudes in quantum field theory and string\ntheory. This has been highlighted in recent times in a number of papers and\nlecture notes. Here we examine such conditions in the context of superstring\ntree-level scattering amplitudes, leading to positivity constraints on\ndeterminants of Hankel matrices involving polynomials of multiple zeta values.\nThese generalise certain constraints on polynomials of single zeta values in\nthe mathematics literature."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non Self-conjugate Strings, Singular Strings and Rigged Configurations\n  in the Heisenberg Model: We observe a different type of complex solutions in the isotropic spin-1/2\nHeisenberg chain starting from N=12, where the central rapidity of some of the\nodd-length strings becomes complex making not all the strings self-conjugate\nindividually. We show that there are at most (N-2)/2 singular solutions for\nM=4, M=5 down-spins and at most (N^2-6N+8)/8 singular solutions for M=6, M=7\ndown-spins in an even-length chain with N \\geq 2M. Correspondence of the non\nself-conjugate string solutions and the singular string solutions to the rigged\nconfigurations has also been shown.",
        "positive": "Constructible reality condition of pseudo entropy via pseudo-Hermiticity: As a generalization of entanglement entropy, pseudo entropy is not always\nreal. The real-valued pseudo entropy has promising applications in holography\nand quantum phase transition. We apply the notion of pseudo-Hermticity to\nformulate the reality condition of pseudo entropy. We find the general form of\nthe transition matrix for which the eigenvalues of the reduced transition\nmatrix possess real or complex pairs of eigenvalues. Further, we construct a\nclass of transition matrices for which the pseudo (R\\'enyi) entropies are\nnon-negative. Some known examples which give real pseudo entropy in quantum\nfield theories can be explained in our framework. Our results offer a novel\nmethod to generate the transition matrix with real pseudo entropy. Finally, we\nshow the reality condition for pseudo entropy is related to the Tomita-Takesaki\nmodular theory for quantum field theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Integrable properties of sigma-models with non-symmetric target spaces: It is well-known that sigma-models with symmetric target spaces are\nclassically integrable. At the example of the model with target space the flag\nmanifold U(3)/U(1)^3 -- a non-symmetric space -- we show that the introduction\nof torsion allows to cast the equations of motion in the form of a\nzero-curvature condition for a one-parametric family of connections, which can\nbe a sign of integrability of the theory. We also elaborate on geometric\naspects of the proposed model.",
        "positive": "Gapped Fermions in Top-down Holographic Superconductors: We use holography to compute spectral functions of certain fermionic\noperators in three different finite-density, zero-temperature states of ABJM\ntheory with a broken U(1) symmetry. In each of the three states, dual to\npreviously studied domain wall solutions of four-dimensional gauged\nsupergravity, we find that the fermionic operators have gapped spectra. In one\ncase the gap can be traced to the small charge of the fermions, while in the\nother cases it is due to a particular interaction that mixes particles and\nholes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Black Branes as Piezoelectrics: We find a realization of linear electroelasticity theory in gravitational\nphysics by uncovering a new response coefficient of charged black branes,\nexhibiting their piezoelectric behavior. Taking charged dilatonic black strings\nas an example and using the blackfold approach we measure their elastic and\npiezolectric moduli. We also use our results to draw predictions about the\nequilibrium condition of charged dilatonic black rings in dimensions higher\nthan six.",
        "positive": "Non-planar one-loop Parke-Taylor factors in the CHY approach for\n  quadratic propagators: In this work we have studied the Kleiss-Kuijf relations for the recently\nintroduced Parke-Taylor factors at one-loop in the CHY approach, that reproduce\nquadratic Feynman propagators. By doing this, we were able to identify the\nnon-planar one-loop Parke-Taylor factors. In order to check that, in fact,\nthese new factors can describe non-planar amplitudes, we applied them to the\nbi-adjoint $\\Phi^3$ theory. As a byproduct, we found a new type of graphs that\nwe called the non-planar CHY-graphs. These graphs encode all the information\nfor the subleading order at one-loop, and there is not an equivalent of these\nin the Feynman formalism."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Multi-Flux Warped Throats and Cascading Gauge Theories: We describe duality cascades and their infrared behavior for systems of\nD3-branes at singularities given by complex cones over del Pezzo surfaces (and\nrelated examples), in the presence of fractional branes. From the gauge field\ntheory viewpoint, we show that D3-branes probing the infrared theory have a\nquantum deformed moduli space, given by a complex deformation of the initial\ngeometry to a simpler one. This implies that for the dual supergravity\nviewpoint, the gauge theory strong infrared dynamics smoothes out the naked\nsingularities of the recently constructed warped throat solutions with 3-form\nfluxes, describing the cascading RG flow of the gauge theory. This behavior\nthus generalizes the Klebanov-Strassler deformation of the conifold. We\ndescribe several explicit examples, including models with several scales of\nstrong gauge dynamics. In the regime of widely separated scales, the dual\nsupergravity solutions should correspond to throats with several radial regions\nwith different exponential warp factors. These rich throat geometries are\nexpected to have interesting applications in compactification and model\nbuilding. Along our studies, we also construct explicit duality cascades for\ngauge theories with irrational R-charges, obtained from D-branes probing\ncomplex cones over dP1 and dP2.",
        "positive": "On Pure Lattice Chern-Simons Gauge Theories: We revisit the lattice formulation of the Abelian Chern-Simons model defined\non an infinite Euclidean lattice. We point out that any gauge invariant, local\nand parity odd Abelian quadratic form exhibits, in addition to the zero\neigenvalue associated with the gauge invariance and to the physical zero mode\nat p=0 due to traslational invariance, a set of extra zero eigenvalues inside\nthe Brillouin zone. For the Abelian Chern-Simons theory, which is linear in the\nderivative, this proliferation of zero modes is reminiscent of the\nNielsen-Ninomiya no-go theorem for fermions. A gauge invariant, local and\nparity even term such as the Maxwell action leads to the elimination of the\nextra zeros by opening a gap with a mechanism similar to that leading to Wilson\nfermions on the lattice."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Cosmologies inside hyperbolic black holes: Models with closed FRW cosmologies on the worldvolume of a constant-tension\nbrane inside a black hole provide an interesting setup for studying cosmology\nholographically. However, in more than two worldvolume dimensions, there are\nlimitations on such models with flat spatial slices. I show that these\nlimitations can be avoided by considering instead hyperbolic slices. This also\nnaturally makes contact with previous work on Euclidean wormholes.",
        "positive": "On the quantisation of SU(2) magnetic monopole dynamics: We argue that there is no consistent quantisation of the two BPS SU(2)\nmagnetic monopole dynamical system compatible with the correspondence\nprinciple."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spontaneous breaking of the rotational symmetry in dimensionally reduced\n  super Yang-Mills models: We investigate the spontaneous breaking of the SO(D) symmetry in matrix\nmodels, which can be obtained by the zero-volume limit of pure SU(N) super\nYang-Mills theory in D = 6, 10 dimensions. The D = 10 case corresponds to the\nIIB matrix model, which was proposed as a non-perturbative formulation of type\nIIB superstring theory, and the spontaneous breaking corresponds to the\ndynamical compactification of space-time suggested in that model. First we\nstudy the D = 6 case by the Gaussian expansion method, which turns out to yield\nclearer results than the previous results for the D = 10 case for certain\ntechnical reasons. By comparing the free energy of the SO(d) symmetric vacua\nfor d = 2, 3, 4, 5, we conclude that the breaking SO(6) \\to SO(3) actually\noccurs. We find that the extent of space-time in the shrunken directions is\nalmost independent of d. In units of this universal scale, the extended\ndirections seem to have large but still finite extents depending on d. We show\nthat these results for the extent of space-time can be explained quantitatively\nby an argument based on the low-energy effective theory. With these new\ninsights, we reconsider the previous results for the IIB matrix model, and find\nthat they are also consistent with our argument based on the low-energy\neffective theory. Thus we arrive at comprehensive understanding and some\nquantitative predictions concerning the nature of the spontaneous symmetry\nbreaking taking place in these models. The space-time picture that emerges from\nthe IIB matrix model and its implication on possible interpretations of the\nmodel are also discussed.",
        "positive": "Quantum Fusion of Domain Walls with Fluxes: We study how fluxes on the domain wall world volume modify quantum fusion of\ntwo distant parallel domain walls into a composite wall. The elementary wall\nfluxes can be separated into parallel and antiparallel components. The parallel\ncomponent affects neither the binding energy nor the process of quantum merger.\nThe antiparallel fluxes, instead, increase the binding energy and, against\nnaive expectations, suppress quantum fusion. In the small flux limit we\nexplicitly find the bounce solution and the fusion rate as a function of the\nflux. We argue that at large (antiparallel) fluxes there exists a critical\nvalue of the flux (versus the difference in the wall tensions), which switches\noff quantum fusion altogether. This phenomenon of flux-related wall\nstabilization is rather peculiar: it is unrelated to any conserved quantity.\nOur consideration of the flux-related all stabilization is based on\nsubstantiated arguments that fall short of complete proof."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Second-Order Fermions: It has been proposed several times in the past that one can obtain an\nequivalent, but in many aspects simpler description of fermions by first\nreformulating their first-order (Dirac) Lagrangian in terms of two-component\nspinors, and then integrating out the spinors of one chirality ($e.g.$ primed\nor dotted). The resulting new Lagrangian is second-order in derivatives, and\ncontains two-component spinors of only one chirality. The new second-order\nformulation simplifies the fermion Feynman rules of the theory considerably,\n$e.g.$ the propagator becomes a multiple of an identity matrix in the field\nspace. The aim of this thesis is to work out the details of this formulation\nfor theories such as Quantum Electrodynamics, and the Standard Model of\nelementary particles. After having developed the tools necessary to establish\nthe second-order formalism as an equivalent approach to spinor field theories,\nwe proceed with some important consistency checks that the new formulation is\nrequired to pass, namely the presence or absence of anomalies in their\nperturbative and non-perturbative description, and the unitarity of the\nS-Matrix derived from their Lagrangian. Another aspect which is studied is\nunification, where we seek novel gauge-groups that can be used to embed all of\nthe Standard Model content: forces and fermionic representations. Finally, we\nwill explore the possibility to unify gravity and the Standard Model when the\nformer is seen as a diffeomorphism invariant gauge-theory.",
        "positive": "Additional fermionic fields onto parallelizable 7-spheres: The geometric Fierz identities are here employed to generate new emergent\nfermionic fields on the parallelizable (curvatureless, torsionfull) 7-sphere\n($S^7$). Employing recently found new classes of spinor fields on the $S^7$\nspin bundle, new classes of fermionic fields are obtained from their bilinear\ncovariants by a generalized reconstruction theorem, on the parallelizable\n$S^7$. Using a generalized non-associative product on the octonionic bundle on\nthe parallelizable $S^7$, these new classes of algebraic spinor fields, lifted\nonto the parallelizable $S^7$, are shown to correctly transform under the\nMoufang loop generators on $S^7$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "COUPLING CHIRAL BOSONS TO GRAVITY: The chiral boson actions of Floreanini and Jackiw (FJ), and of McClain,Wu and\nYu (MWY) have been recently shown to be different representations of the same\nchiral boson theory. MWY displays manifest covariance and also a (gauge)\nsymmetry that is hidden in the FJ side, which, on the other hand, displays the\nphysical spectrum in a simple manner. We make use of the covariance of the MWY\nrepresentation for the chiral boson to couple it to background gravity showing\nexplicitly the equivalence with the previous results for the FJ representation",
        "positive": "Horizon symmetries and hairy black holes in AdS: We investigate whether supertranslation symmetry may appear in a scenario\nthat involves black holes in AdS space. The framework we consider is massive 3D\ngravity, which admits a rich black hole phase space, including stationary AdS\nblack holes with softly decaying hair. We consider a set of asymptotic\nconditions that permits such decaying near the boundary, and which, in addition\nto the local conformal symmetry, is preserved by an extra local current. The\ncorresponding algebra of diffeomorphisms consists of two copies of Virasoro\nalgebra in semi-direct sum with an infinite-dimensional Abelian ideal. We then\nreorient the analysis to the near horizon region, where infinite-dimensional\nsymmetries also appear. The supertranslation symmetry at the horizon yields an\ninfinite set of non-trivial charges, which we explicitly compute. The zero-mode\nof these charges correctly reproduces the black hole entropy. In contrast to\nEinstein gravity, in the higher-derivative theory subleading terms in the near\nhorizon expansion contribute to the near horizon charges. Such terms happen to\ncapture the higher-curvature corrections to the Bekenstein area law."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Action for Twisted Self-Duality: One may write the Maxwell equations in terms of two gauge potentials, one\nelectric and one magnetic, by demanding that their field strengths should be\ndual to each other. This requirement is the condition of twisted self-duality.\nIt can be extended to p-forms in spacetime of D dimensions, and it survives the\nintroduction of a variety of couplings among forms of different rank, and also\nto spinor and scalar fields, which emerge naturally from supergravity. In this\npaper we provide a systematic derivation of the action principle, whose\nequations of motion are the condition of twisted self-duality. The derivation\nstarts from the standard Maxwell action, extended to include the aforementioned\ncouplings, and proceeds via the Hamiltonian formalism through the resolution of\nGauss' law. In the pure Maxwell case we recover in this way an action that had\nbeen postulated by other authors, through an ansatz based on an action given\nearlier by us for untwisted self-duality. Those authors also extended their\nansatz to include Chern-Simons couplings. In that case, we find a different\nresult. The derivation from the standard extended Maxwell action implies of\ncourse that the theory is Lorentz-invariant and can be locally coupled to\ngravity. Nevertherless we include a direct compact Hamiltonian proof of these\nproperties, which is based on the surface-deformation algebra. The symmetry in\nthe dependence of the action on the electric and magnetic variables is\nmanifest, since they appear as canonical conjugates. Spacetime covariance,\nalthough present, is not manifest.",
        "positive": "An Index for Superconformal Quantum Mechanics: We study quantum mechanical systems with $\\mathfrak{osp}(4^{*}|4)$\nsuperconformal symmetry. We classify unitary lowest-weight representations of\nthis superconformal algebra and define an index which receives contributions\nfrom short and semi-short multiplets only. We consider the example of a quantum\nmechanical $\\sigma$-model with hyper-K\\\"{a}hler target $\\mathcal{M}$ equipped\nwith a triholomorphic homothety. The superconformal index coincides with the\nWitten index of a novel form of supersymmetric quantum mechanics for a particle\nmoving on $\\mathcal{M}$ in a background magnetic field in which an unbroken\n$\\mathfrak{su}(1|2)$ subalgebra of the superconformal algebra is linearly\nrealised as a global symmetry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Anyonic FRT construction: The Faddeev-Reshetikhin-Takhtajan method to construct matrix bialgebras from\nnon-singular solutions of the quantum Yang-Baxter equation is extended to the\nanyonic or $\\Z_n$-graded case. The resulting anyonic quantum matrices are\nbraided groups in which the braiding is given by a phase factor.",
        "positive": "On the Schwinger Model on Riemann Surfaces: In this paper, the massless Schwinger model or two dimensional quantum\nelectrodynamics is exactly solved on a Riemann surface. The partition function\nand the generating functional of the correlation functions involving the\nfermionic currents are explicitly derived using a method of quantization valid\nfor any abelian gauge field theory and explained in the recent references [F.\nFerrari, {\\it Class. Quantum Grav.} {\\bf 10} (1993), 1065], [F. Ferrari, hep-th\n9310024]. In this sense, the Schwinger model is one of the few examples of\ninteracting and nontopological field theories that are possible to quantize on\na Riemann surface. It is also shown here that the Schwinger model is equivalent\nto a nonlocal integrable model which represents a generalization of the\nThirring model. Apart from the possible applications in string theory and\nintegrable models, we hope that this result can be also useful in the study of\nquantum field theories in curved space-times."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holography and Eternal Inflation: We show that eternal inflation is compatible with holography. In particular,\nwe emphasize that if a region is asymptotically de Sitter in the future,\nholographic arguments by themselves place no bound on the number of past\ne-foldings. We also comment briefly on holographic restrictions on the\nproduction of baby universes.",
        "positive": "Inflation in large N limit of supersymmetric gauge theories: Within supersymmetry we provide an example where the inflaton sector is\nderived from a gauge invariant polynomial of SU(N) or SO(N) gauge theory.\nInflation in our model is driven by multi-flat directions, which assist\naccelerated expansion. We show that multi-flat directions can flatten the\nindividual non-renormalizable potentials such that inflation can occur at\nsub-Planckian scales. We calculate the density perturbations and the spectral\nindex, we find that the spectral index is closer to scale invariance for large\nN. In order to realize a successful cosmology we require large N of order,\nN~600."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "String-Like BTZ on Codimension-2 Braneworlds in the Thin Brane Limit: We consider five-dimensional gravity with a Gauss-Bonnet term in the bulk and\nan induced gravity term on a 2-brane of codimension-2. We show that this system\nadmits BTZ black holes on the 2-brane which are extended into the bulk with\nregular horizons.",
        "positive": "The Holographic Geometry of the Renormalization Group and Higher Spin\n  Symmetries: We consider the Wilson-Polchinski exact renormalization group applied to the\ngenerating functional of single-trace operators at a free-fixed point in\n$d=2+1$ dimensions. By exploiting the rich symmetry structure of free field\ntheory, we study the geometric nature of the RG equations and the associated\nWard identities. The geometry, as expected, is holographic, with $AdS$\nspacetime emerging correspondent with RG fixed points. The field theory\nconstruction gives us a particular vector bundle over the $d+1$-dimensional RG\nmapping space, called a jet bundle, whose structure group arises from the\nlinear orthogonal bi-local transformations of the bare fields in the path\nintegral. The sources for quadratic operators constitute a connection on this\nbundle and a section of its endomorphism bundle. Recasting the geometry in\nterms of the corresponding principal bundle, we arrive at a structure\nremarkably similar to the Vasiliev theory, where the horizontal part of the\nconnection on the principal bundle is Vasiliev's higher spin connection, while\nthe vertical part (the Faddeev-Popov ghost) corresponds to the $S$-field. The\nVasiliev equations are then, respectively, the RG equations and the BRST\nequations, with the RG beta functions encoding bulk interactions. Finally, we\nremark that a large class of interacting field theories can be studied through\nintegral transforms of our results, and it is natural to organize this in terms\nof a large $N$ expansion."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Multi-entropy at low Renyi index in 2d CFTs: For a static time slice of AdS$_3$ we describe a particular class of minimal\nsurfaces which form trivalent networks of geodesics. Through geometric\narguments we provide evidence that these surfaces describe a measure of\nmultipartite entanglement. By relating these surfaces to Ryu-Takayanagi\nsurfaces it can be shown that this multipartite contribution is related to the\nangles of intersection of the bulk geodesics.\n  A proposed boundary dual, the multi-entropy, generalizes replica trick\ncalculations involving twist operators by considering monodromies with finite\ngroup symmetry beyond the cyclic group used for the computation of entanglement\nentropy. We make progress by providing explicit calculations of Renyi\nmulti-entropy in two dimensional CFTs and geometric descriptions of the replica\nsurfaces for several cases with low genus.\n  We also explore aspects of the free fermion and free scalar CFTs. For the\nfree fermion CFT we examine subtleties in the definition of the twist operators\nused for the calculation of Renyi multi-entropy. In particular the standard\nbosonization procedure used for the calculation of the usual entanglement\nentropy fails and a different treatment is required.",
        "positive": "Local SU(3) gauge invariance in Weyl 2-spinor language and quark-gluon\n  plasma equations of motion: In a new Weyl 2-spinor approach to Non abelian Gauge Theories, starting with\nthe local U(1) Gauge group of a previous work, we study now the SU(3) case\ncorresponding to quarks (antiquarks) interacting with color fields. The\nprincipal difference with the conventional approach is that particle-field\ninteractions are not described by means of potentials but by the field strength\nmagnitudes. Some analytical expressions showing similarities with\nelectrodynamics are obtained. Classical equations that describe the behavior of\nquarks under gluon fields might be in principle applied to the quark-gluon\nplasma phase existing during the first instants of the Universe."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "ADDENDUM to the papers on the Weinberg Theory: The Weinberg-Tucker-Hammer equations are shown to substitute the common-used\n$j=1$ massless equations. Meantime, the old equations preserve their\nsignificance as a particular case.\n  Possible consequences are discussed.",
        "positive": "New solutions for non-Abelian cosmic strings: We study the properties of classical vortex solutions in a non-Abelian gauge\ntheory. A system of two adjoint Higgs fields breaks the SU(2) gauge symmetry to\n$Z_2$, producing 't Hooft-Polyakov monopoles trapped on cosmic strings, termed\nbeads; there are two charges of monopole and two degenerate string solutions.\nThe strings break an accidental discrete $Z_2$ symmetry of the theory,\nexplaining the degeneracy of the ground state. Further symmetries of the model,\nnot previously appreciated, emerge when the masses of the two adjoint Higgs\nfields are degenerate. The breaking of the enlarged discrete symmetry gives\nrise to additional string solutions and splits the monopoles into four types of\n`semipole': kink solutions that interpolate between the string solutions,\nclassified by a complex gauge invariant magnetic flux and a $Z_4$ charge. At\nspecial values of the Higgs self-couplings, the accidental symmetry broken by\nthe string is continuous, giving rise to supercurrents on the strings. The\nSU(2) theory can be embedded in a wide class of Grand Unified Theories,\nincluding SO(10). We argue that semipoles and supercurrents are generic on GUT\nstrings."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Trisecting non-Lagrangian theories: We propose a way to define and compute invariants of general smooth\n4-manifolds based on topological twists of non-Lagrangian 4d N=2 and N=3\ntheories in which the problem is reduced to a fairly standard computation in\ntopological A-model, albeit with rather unusual targets, such as compact and\nnon-compact Gepner models, asymmetric orbifolds, N=(2,2) linear dilaton\ntheories, \"self-mirror\" geometries, varieties with complex multiplication, etc.",
        "positive": "On Large N Conformal Theories, Field Theories in Anti-De Sitter Space\n  and Singletons: It was proposed by Maldacena that the large $N$ limit of certain conformal\nfield theories can be described in terms of supergravity on anti-De Sitter\nspaces (AdS). Recently, Gubser, Klebanov and Polyakov and Witten have\nconjectured that the generating functional for certain correlation functions in\nconformal field theory is given by the classical supergravity action on AdS. It\nwas shown that the spectra of states of the two theories are matched and the\ntwo-point correlation function was studied. We discuss the interacting case and\ncompare the three- and four-point correlation functions computed from a\nclassical action on AdS with the large N limit of conformal theory. We discuss\nalso the large N limit for the Wilson loop and suggest that singletons which\naccording to Flato and Fronsdal are constituents of composite fields in\nspacetime should obey the quantum Boltzmann statistics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hamilton Formalism in Non-Commutative Geometry: We study the Hamilton formalism for Connes-Lott models, i.e., for Yang-Mills\ntheory in non-commutative geometry. The starting point is an associative\n$*$-algebra $\\cA$ which is of the form $\\cA=C(I,\\cAs)$ where $\\cAs$ is itself a\nassociative $*$-algebra. With an appropriate choice of a k-cycle over $\\cA$ it\nis possible to identify the time-like part of the generalized differential\nalgebra constructed out of $\\cA$. We define the non-commutative analogue of\nintegration on space-like surfaces via the Dixmier trace restricted to the\nrepresentation of the space-like part $\\cAs$ of the algebra. Due to this\nrestriction it possible to define the Lagrange function resp. Hamilton function\nalso for Minkowskian space-time. We identify the phase-space and give a\ndefinition of the Poisson bracket for Yang-Mills theory in non-commutative\ngeometry. This general formalism is applied to a model on a two-point space and\nto a model on Minkowski space-time $\\times$ two-point space.",
        "positive": "Modes of the Sakai-Sugimoto soliton: The instanton in the Sakai-Sugimoto model corresponds to the Skyrmion on the\nholographic boundary - which is asymptotically flat - and is fundamentally\ndifferent from the flat Minkowski space Yang-Mills instanton. We use the\nAtiyah-Patodi-Singer index theorem and a series of transformations to show that\nthere are 6k zeromodes - or moduli - in the limit of infinite 't Hooft coupling\nof the Sakai-Sugimoto model. The implications for the low-energy baryons - the\nSkyrmions - on the holographic boundary, is a scale separation between 2k\n\"heavy\" massive modes and 6k-9 \"light\" massive modes for k>1; the 9 global\ntransformations that correspond to translations, rotations and isorotations\nremain as zeromodes. For k=1 there are 2 \"heavy\" modes and 6 zeromodes due to\ndegeneracy between rotations and isorotations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetric Quantum Mechanics of Magnetic Monopoles: A Case Study: We study, in detail, the supersymmetric quantum mechanics of charge-(1,1)\nmonopoles in N=2 supersymmetric Yang-Mills-Higgs theory with gauge group SU(3)\nspontaneously broken to U(1) x U(1). We use the moduli space approximation of\nthe quantised dynamics, which can be expressed in two equivalent formalisms:\neither one describes quantum states by Dirac spinors on the moduli space, in\nwhich case the Hamiltonian is the square of the Dirac operator, or one works\nwith anti-holomorphic forms on the moduli space, in which case the Hamiltonian\nis the Laplacian acting on forms. We review the derivation of both formalisms,\nexplicitly exhibit their equivalence and derive general expressions for the\nsupercharges as differential operators in both formalisms. We propose a general\nexpression for the total angular momentum operator as a differential operator,\nand check its commutation relations with the supercharges. Using the known\nmetric structure of the moduli space of charge-(1,1) monopoles we show that\nthere are no quantum bound states of such monopoles in the moduli space\napproximation. We exhibit scattering states and compute corresponding\ndifferential cross sections.",
        "positive": "Symmetries in A-Type Little String Theories, Part I: We analyse the symmetries of a class of A-type little string theories that\nare engineered by $N$ parallel M5-branes with M2-branes stretched between them.\nThis paper deals with the so-called reduced free energy, which only receives\ncontributions from the subset of the BPS states that carry the same charges\nunder all the Cartan generators of the underlying gauge algebra. We argue (and\ncheck explicitly in a number of examples) that the former is invariant under\nthe paramodular group $\\Sigma_N\\subset Sp(4,\\mathbb{Q})$, which gets extended\nto a subgroup of $Sp(4,\\mathbb{R})$ in the Nekrasov-Shatashvili-limit. This\nextension agrees with the observation made in arXiv:1706.04425 that these BPS\nstates form a symmetric orbifold CFT. Furthermore, we argue that $\\Sigma_N$\n(along with other symmetries) places strong constraints on the BPS counting\nfunction that governs the intersection between the M5- and M2-branes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A New Handle on de Sitter Compactifications: We construct a large new class of de Sitter (and anti de Sitter) vacua of\ncritical string theory from flux compactifications on products of Riemann\nsurfaces. In the construction, the leading effects stabilizing the moduli are\nperturbative. We show that these effects self-consistently dominate over\nstandard estimates for further $\\alpha^\\prime$ and quantum corrections, via\ntuning available from large flux and brane quantum numbers.",
        "positive": "A Primer for Manifestly Gauge Invariant Computations in SU(N) Yang-Mills: It has recently been determined that, within the framework of the Exact\nRenormalisation Group, continuum computations can be performed to any loop\norder in SU(N) Yang-Mills theory without fixing the gauge or specifying the\ndetails of the regularisation scheme. In this paper, we summarise and refine\nthe powerful diagrammatic techniques which facilitate this procedure and\nillustrate their application in the context of a calculation of the two-loop\nbeta function."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Virial Theorem for Non-relativistic Quantum Fields in D Spatial\n  Dimensions: The virial theorem for non-relativistic complex fields in $D$ spatial\ndimensions and with arbitrary many-body potential is derived, using\npath-integral methods and scaling arguments recently developed to analyze\nquantum anomalies in low-dimensional systems. The potential appearance of a\nJacobian $J$ due to a change of variables in the path-integral expression for\nthe partition function of the system is pointed out, although in order to make\ncontact with the literature most of the analysis deals with the $J=1$ case. The\nvirial theorem is recast into a form that displays the effect of microscopic\nscales on the thermodynamics of the system. From the point of view of this\npaper the case usually considered, $J=1$, is not natural, and the\ngeneralization to the case $J\\neq 1$ is briefly presented.",
        "positive": "4d strings at strong coupling: Weakly coupled regions of 4d EFTs coupled to gravity are particularly\nsuitable to describe the backreaction of BPS fundamental axionic strings,\ndubbed EFT strings, in a local patch of spacetime around their core. We study\nthe extension of these local solutions to global ones, which implies probing\nregions of strong coupling and provides an estimate of the EFT string tension\ntherein. We conjecture that for the EFT string charge generators such a global\nextension is always possible and yields a sub-Planckian tension. We\nsubstantiate this claim by analysing global solutions of 4d strings made up\nfrom NS5-branes wrapping Calabi-Yau threefold divisors in either type IIA or\nheterotic string theory. We argue that in this case the global,\nnon-perturbative data of the backreaction can be simply encoded in terms of a\nGLSM describing the compactification, as we demonstrate in explicit examples."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fermionic Operators from Bosonic Fields in 3+1 Dimensions: We present a construction of fermionic operators in 3+1 dimensions in terms\nof bosonic fields in the framework of $QED_4$. The basic bosonic variables are\nthe electric fields $E_i$ and their conjugate momenta $A_i$. Our construction\ngeneralizes the analogous constuction of fermionic operators in 2+1 dimensions.\nLoosely speaking, a fermionic operator is represented as a product of an\noperator that creates a pointlike charge and an operator that creates an\ninfinitesimal t'Hooft loop of half integer strength. We also show how the axial\n$U(1)$ transformations are realized in this construction.",
        "positive": "R-Charge Chemical Potential in a 2+1 Dimensional System: We study probe D5 branes in D3 brane AdS_5 and AdS_5-Schwarzschild\nbackgrounds as a prototype dual description of strongly coupled 2+1 dimensional\nquasi-particles. We introduce a chemical potential for a weakly gauged U(1)\nsubgroup of the theory's global R-symmetry by spinning the D5 branes. The\nresulting D5 embeddings are complicated by the existence of a region of the\nspace in which the local speed of light falls below the rotation speed. We find\nregular embeddings through this region and show that the system does not\nexhibit the spontaneous symmetry breaking that would be needed for a\nsuperconductor."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Discrete States in Two-Dimensional Quantum Gravity: Minor misprints corrected.",
        "positive": "Higher-twist fermionic operators and DIS structure functions from the\n  AdS/CFT duality: The role of local higher-twist ($\\tau > 3$) spin-1/2 fermionic operators of\nthe strongly coupled ${\\cal {N}}=4$ supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory on the\nsymmetric and antisymmetric deep inelastic scattering (DIS) structure functions\nis investigated. The calculations are carried out in terms of the duality\nbetween ${\\cal {N}}=4$ SYM theory and type IIB supergravity on AdS$_5 \\times\nS^5$. Particularly, we explicitly obtain the structure functions for\nsingle-trace spin-1/2 fermionic operators in the 20$^*$ and 60$^*$ irreducible\nrepresentations of $SU(4)_R$, corresponding to twists 4 and 5, respectively. We\nalso calculate the contributions of other single-trace spin-1/2 fermionic\noperators in the 4, 20 and 60 irreducible representations of $SU(4)_R$. New\nimportant effects are found in comparison with the minimal twist ($\\tau = 3$)\ncase, and they are studied thoroughly."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A simple quantum system that describes a black hole: During the past decades, theorists have been studying quantum mechanical\nsystems that are believed to describe black holes. We review one of the\nsimplest examples. It involves a collection of interacting oscillators and\nMajorana fermions. It is conjectured to describe a black hole in an emergent\nuniverse governed by Einstein equations. Based on previous numerical\ncomputations, we make an estimate of the necessary number of qubits necessary\nto see some black hole features.",
        "positive": "Dual actions for massless, partially-massless and massive gravitons in\n  (A)dS: We provide a unified treatment of electric-magnetic duality, at the action\nlevel and with manifest Lorentz invariance, for massive, massless as well as\npartially-massless gravitons propagating in maximally symmetric spacetimes of\nany dimension n>3. For massive and massless fields, we complete previous\nanalyses that use parent-action techniques by giving dual descriptions that\nenable direct counting of physical degrees of freedom in the flat and massless\nlimit. The same treatment is extended to the partially-massless case, where the\nduality has been previously discussed in covariant form only at the level of\nthe equations of motion. The nature of the dual graviton is therefore clarified\nfor all values of the mass and of the cosmological constant."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Minimum Distances in Non-Trivial String Target Spaces: The idea of minimum distance, familiar from R <-> 1/R duality when the string\ntarget space is a circle, is analyzed for less trivial geometries. The\nparticular geometry studied is that of a blown-up quotient singularity within a\nCalabi-Yau space and mirror symmetry is used to perform the analysis. It is\nfound that zero distances can appear but that in many cases this requires other\ndistances within the same target space to be infinite. In other cases zero\ndistances can occur without compensating infinite distances.",
        "positive": "On renormalizability of the massless Thirring model: We discuss the renormalizability of the massless Thirring model in terms of\nthe causal fermion Green functions and correlation functions of left-right\nfermion densities. We obtain the most general expressions for the causal\ntwo-point Green function and correlation function of left-right fermion\ndensities with dynamical dimensions of fermion fields, parameterised by two\nparameters. The region of variation of these parameters is constrained by the\npositive definiteness of the norms of the wave functions of the states related\nto components of the fermion vector current. We show that the dynamical\ndimensions of fermion fields calculated for causal Green functions and\ncorrelation functions of left-right fermion densities can be made equal. This\nimplies the renormalizability of the massless Thirring model in the sense that\nthe ultra-violet cut-off dependence, appearing in the causal fermion Green\nfunctions and correlation functions of left-right fermion densities, can be\nremoved by renormalization of the wave function of the massless Thirring\nfermion fields only."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Classical BRST charge and observables in reducible gauge theories: We study the construction of the classical Becchi-Rouet-Stora-Tyutin (BRST)\ncharge and observables for arbitrary reducible gauge theory. Using a special\ncoordinate system in the extended phase space, we obtain an explicit expression\nfor the Koszul-Tate differential operator and show that the BRST charge can be\nfound by a simple iterative method. We also give a formula for the classical\nBRST observables.",
        "positive": "Symmetries in Two Dimensional Conformal Field Theories and Related\n  Integrable Models: We present part of our investigations on two dimensional N=1 and N=2\nsuperconformal field theories. As a direct generalization we consider the SU(2)\ncoset models, in particular their renormalization group properties. A search\nand possible implementation of additional symmetries in related integrable\nmodels are also presented."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Making predictions in the multiverse: I describe reasons to think we are living in an eternally inflating\nmultiverse where the observable \"constants\" of nature vary from place to place.\nThe major obstacle to making predictions in this context is that we must\nregulate the infinities of eternal inflation. I review a number of proposed\nregulators, or measures. Recent work has ruled out a number of measures by\nshowing that they conflict with observation, and focused attention on a few\nproposals. Further, several different measures have been shown to be\nequivalent. I describe some of the many nontrivial tests these measures will\nface as we learn more from theory, experiment, and observation.",
        "positive": "M2-branes Theories without 3+1 Dimensional Parents via Un-Higgsing: N=2 quiver Chern-Simons theory has lately attracted attention as the world\nvolume theory of multiple M2 branes on a Calabi-Yau 4-fold. We study the\nconnection between the stringy derivation of M2 brane theories and the forward\nalgorithm which gives the toric Calabi-Yau 4-fold as the moduli space of the\nquiver theory. Then the existence of the 3+1 dimensional parent, which is the\nconsistent 3+1 dimensional superconformal theory with the same quiver diagram,\nis crucial for stringy derivation of M2 brane theories. We also investigate the\nconstruction of M2 brane theories that do not have 3+1 dimensional parents. The\nun-Higgsing procedure plays a key role to construct these M2 brane theories. We\nfind some N=2 quiver Chern-Simons theories which correspond to interesting\nCalabi-Yau singularities."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Consistency of non-minimal renormalisation schemes: Non-minimal renormalisation schemes such as the momentum subtraction scheme\n(MOM) have frequently been used for physical computations. The consistency of\nsuch a scheme relies on the existence of a coupling redefinition linking it to\nMSbar. We discuss the implementation of this procedure in detail for a general\ntheory and show how to construct the relevant redefinition up to three-loop\norder, for the case of a general theory of fermions and scalars in four\ndimensions and a general scalar theory in six dimensions.",
        "positive": "Entanglement entropy for odd spheres: It is shown, non--rigorously, that the effective action on a Z_q factored odd\nspheres (lune) has a vanishing derivative at q=1. This leaves the effective\naction on the ordinary odd d-sphere as (minus) the value of the entanglement\nentropy associated with a (d-2)-sphere. Some numbers are given."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Perturbative Computation of the Gluonic Effective Action via Polyaokov's\n  World-Line Path Integral: The Polyakov world-line path integral describing the propagation of gluon\nfield quanta is constructed by employing the background gauge fixing method and\nis subsequently applied to analytically compute the divergent terms of the one\n(gluonic) loop effective action to fourth order in perturbation theory. The\nmerits of the proposed approach is that, to a given order, it reduces to\nperforming two integrations, one over a set of Grassmann and one over a set of\nFeynman-type parameters through which one manages to accomodate all Feynman\ndiagrams entering the computation at once.",
        "positive": "Large N Spectrum of two Matrices in a Harmonic Potential and BMN\n  energies: The large N spectrum of the quantum mechanical hamiltonian of two hermitean\nmatrices in a harmonic potential is studied in a framework where one of the\nmatrices is treated exactly and the other is treated as a creation operator\nimpurity in the background of the first matrix. For the free case, the complete\nset of invariant eigenstates and corresponding energies are obtained. When\ng_{YM}^2 interactions are added, it is shown that the full string tension\ncorrected spectrum of BMN loops is obtained."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Pseudoclassical Model of Spinning Particle with Anomalous Magnetic\n  Momentum: A generalization of the pseudoclassical action of a spinning particle in the\npresence of an anomalous magnetic momentum is given. The action is written in\nreparametrization and supergauge invariant form. The Dirac quantization, based\non the Hamiltonian analyses of the model, leads to the Dirac-Pauli equation for\na particle with an anomalous magnetic momentum in an external electromagnetic\nfield. Due to the structure of first-class constraints in that case, the Dirac\nquantization demands for consistency to take into account an operators ordering\nproblem.",
        "positive": "3-Schurs from explicit representation of Yangian\n  $Y(\\hat{\\mathfrak{gl}}_1)$. Levels 1-5: We suggest an ansatz for representation of affine Yangian $Y(\\hat{\n\\mathfrak{gl}}_1)$ by differential operators in the triangular set of\ntime-variables ${\\bf P}_{a,i}$ with $1\\leqslant i\\leqslant a$, which saturates\nthe MacMahon formula for the number of $3d$ Young diagrams/plane partitions. In\nthis approach the 3-Schur polynomials are defined as the common eigenfunctions\nof an infinite set of commuting \"cut-and-join\" generators $\\psi_n$ of the\nYangian. We manage to push this tedious program through to the 3-Schur\npolynomials of level 5, and this provides a rather big sample set, which can be\nnow investigated by other methods."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Thermodynamics of AdS Black Holes in Einstein-Scalar Gravity: We study the thermodynamics of $n$-dimensional static asymptotically AdS\nblack holes in Einstein gravity coupled to a scalar field with a potential\nadmitting a stationary point with an AdS vacuum. Such black holes with\nnon-trivial scalar hair can exist provided that the mass-squared of the scalar\nfield is negative, and above the Breitenlohner-Freedman bound. We use the Wald\nprocedure to derive the first law of thermodynamics for these black holes,\nshowing how the scalar hair (or \"charge\") contributes non-trivially in the\nexpression. We show in general that a black hole mass can be deduced by\nisolating an integrable contribution to the (non-integrable) variation of the\nHamiltonian arising in the Wald construction, and that this is consistent with\nthe mass calculated using the renormalised holographic stress tensor and also,\nin those cases where it is defined, with the mass calculated using the\nconformal method of Ashtekar, Magnon and Das. Similar arguments can also be\ngiven for the smooth solitonic solutions in these theories. Neither the black\nhole nor the soliton solutions can be constructed explicitly, and we carry out\na numerical analysis to demonstrate their existence and to provide approximate\nchecks on some of our thermodynamic results.",
        "positive": "Noncommutative Gauge Theory and Gravity in Three Dimensions: The Einstein-Hilbert action in three dimensions and the transformation rules\nfor the dreibein and spin connection can be naturally described in terms of\ngauge theory. In this spirit, we use covariant coordinates in noncommutative\ngauge theory in order to describe 3D gravity in the framework of noncommutative\ngeometry. We consider 3D noncommutative spaces based on SU(2) and SU(1,1), as\nfoliations of fuzzy 2-spheres and fuzzy 2-hyperboloids respectively. Then we\nconstruct a U(2)$\\times$ U(2) and a GL(2,$\\mathbb{C}$) gauge theory on them,\nidentifying the corresponding noncommutative vielbein and spin connection. We\ndetermine the transformations of the fields and an action in terms of a matrix\nmodel and discuss its relation to 3D gravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "New expressions for gravitational scattering amplitudes: New methods are introduced for the description and evaluation of tree-level\ngravitational scattering amplitudes. An N=7 super-symmetric recursion, free\nfrom spurious double poles, gives a more efficient method for evaluating MHV\namplitudes. The recursion is naturally associated with twistor geometry, and\nthereby gives a new interpretation for the amplitudes. The recursion leads to\nnew expressions for the MHV amplitudes for six and seven gravitons, simplifying\ntheir symmetry properties, and suggesting further generalization. The N=7\nrecursion is valid for all tree amplitudes, and we illustrate it with a\nsimplified expression for the six-graviton NMHV amplitude. Further new\nstructure emerges when MHV amplitudes are expressed in terms of momentum\ntwistors.",
        "positive": "Entanglement and Correlations near Extremality: CFTs dual to\n  Reissner-Nordstr\u00f6m AdS${}_5$: We use the AdS/CFT correspondence to study models of entanglement and\ncorrelations between two $d=4$ CFTs in thermofield double states at finite\nchemical potential. Our bulk spacetimes are planar Reissner-Nordstr\\\"om AdS\nblack holes. We compute both thermo-mutual information and the two-point\ncorrelators of large-dimension scalar operators, focussing on the\nsmall-temperature behavior -- an infrared limit with behavior similar to that\nseen at large times. The interesting feature of this model is of course that\nthe entropy density remains finite as $T \\rightarrow 0$ while the bulk geometry\ndevelops an infinite throat. This leads to a logarithmic divergence in the\nscale required for non-zero mutual information between equal-sized strips in\nthe two CFTs, though the mutual information between one entire CFT and a\nfinite-sized strip in the other can remain non-zero even at $T=0$. Furthermore,\ndespite the infinite throat, there can be extremally charged operators for\nwhich the two-point correlations remain finite as $T \\rightarrow 0$. This\nsuggests an interestingly mixed picture in which some aspects of the\nentanglement remain localized on scales set by the chemical potential, while\nothers shift to larger and larger scales. We also comment on implications for\nthe localized-quasiparticle picture of entanglement."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Cosmic evolution from phase transition of 3-dimensional flat space: Flat space cosmology spacetimes are exact time-dependent solutions of\n3-dimensional gravity theories, such as Einstein gravity or topologically\nmassive gravity. We exhibit a novel kind of phase transition between these\ncosmological spacetimes and the Minkowski vacuum. At sufficiently high\ntemperature (rotating) hot flat space tunnels into a universe described by flat\nspace cosmology.",
        "positive": "A Toy Model of the M5-brane: Anomalies of Monopole Strings in Five\n  Dimensions: We study a five-dimensional field theory which contains a monopole (string)\nsolution with chiral fermion zero modes. This monostring solution is a close\nanalog of the fivebrane solution of M-theory. The cancellation of normal bundle\nanomalies parallels that for the M-theory fivebrane, in particular, the\npresence of a Chern-Simons term in the low-energy effective U(1) gauge theory\nplays a central role. We comment on the relationship between the the\nmicroscopic analysis of the world-volume theory and the low-energy analysis and\ndraw some cautionary lessons for M-theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Note on antisymmetric spin-tensors: It was known for a long time that in d = 4 dimensions it is impossible to\nconstruct the Lagrangian for antisymmetric second rank spin-tensor that will be\ninvariant under the gauge transformations with unconstrained spin-vector\nparameter. But recently a paper arXiv:0902.1471 appeared where gauge invariant\nLagrangians for antisymmetric spin-tensors of arbitrary rank n in d > 2n were\nconstructed using powerful BRST approach. To clarify apparent contradiction, in\nthis note we carry a direct independent analysis of the most general first\norder Lagrangian for the massless antisymmetric spin-tensor of second rank. Our\nanalysis shows that gauge invariant Lagrangian does exist but in d > 4\ndimensions only, while in d = 4 this Lagrangian becomes identically zero. As a\nbyproduct, we obtain a very simple and convenient form of this massless\nLagrangian that makes deformation to AdS space and/or massive case a simple\ntask as we explicitly show here. Moreover, this simple form admits natural and\nstraightforward generalization on the case of massive antisymmetric\nspin-tensors of rank n for d > 2n.",
        "positive": "World Volume Action for Fractional Branes: We study the world volume action of fractional Dp-branes of type IIA string\ntheory compactified on the orbifold T^4/Z_2. The geometric relation between\nthese branes and wrapped branes is investigated using conformal techniques. In\nparticular we examine in detail various scattering amplitudes and find that the\nleading low-energy interactions are consistent with the boundary action derived\ngeometrically."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Geometries from Young Diagrams: Type IIB string theory on spacetimes that are asymptotically\nAdS$_5\\times$S$^5$ can be defined using four dimensional ${\\cal N}=4$ super\nYang-Mills theory. Six of the dimensions of the string theory are\nholographically reconstructed in the Yang-Mills theory. In this article we\nstudy how these dimensions and local physics in these dimensions emerge. We\nreorganize the dynamics of the ${1\\over 2}$ BPS sector of the field theory by\nrewriting it in terms of Schur polynomials. The Young diagram labeling of these\npolynomials can be viewed as a book keeping device which summarizes how the\noperator is constructed. We show that aspects of the geometry of the extra\nholographic dimensions are captured very naturally by the Young diagram.\nGravitons which are localized at a specific position in the bulk correspond to\nboxes added at a specific location on the Young diagram.",
        "positive": "A Simple/Short Introduction to Pre-Big-Bang Physics/Cosmology: A simple, non-technical introduction to the pre-big bang scenario is given,\nemphasizing physical motivations, considerations, and consequences over\nformalism."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Large N Strong Coupling Dynamics in Non-Supersymmetric Orbifold Field\n  Theories: We give a recipe relating holomorphic quantities in supersymmetric field\ntheory to their descendants in non-supersymmetric Z_2 orbifold field theories.\nThis recipe, consistent with a recent proposal of Strassler, gives exact\nresults for bifermion condensates, domain wall tensions and gauge coupling\nconstants in the planar limit of the orbifold theories.",
        "positive": "Construction method for the Nicolai map in supersymmetric Yang-Mills\n  theories: Recently, a universal formula for the Nicolai map in terms of a coupling flow\nfunctional differential operator was found. We present the full perturbative\nexpansion of this operator in Yang-Mills theories where supersymmetry is\nrealized off-shell. Given this expansion, we develop a straightforward method\nto compute the explicit Nicolai map to any order in the gauge coupling. Our\nwork extends the previously known construction method from the Landau gauge to\narbitrary gauges and from the gauge hypersurface to the full gauge-field\nconfiguration space. As an example, we present the map in the axial gauge to\nthe second order."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Causality in AdS/CFT and Lovelock theory: We explore the constraints imposed on higher curvature corrections of the\nLovelock type due to causality restrictions in the boundary of asymptotically\nAdS space-time. In the framework of AdS/CFT, this is related to positivity of\nthe energy constraints that arise in conformal collider physics. We present\nexplicit analytic results that fully address these issues for cubic Lovelock\ngravity in arbitrary dimensions and give the formal analytic results that\ncomprehend general Lovelock theory. The computations can be performed in two\nways, both by considering a thermal setup in a black hole background and by\nstudying the scattering of gravitons with a shock wave in AdS. We show that\nboth computations coincide in Lovelock theory. The different helicities, as\nexpected, provide the boundaries defining the region of allowed couplings. We\ngeneralize these results to arbitrary higher dimensions and discuss their\nconsequences on the shear viscosity to energy density ratio of CFT plasmas, the\npossible existence of Boulware-Deser instabilities in Lovelock theory and the\nextent to which the AdS/CFT correspondence might be valid for arbitrary\ndimensions.",
        "positive": "Probing renormalization group flows using entanglement entropy: In this paper we continue the study of renormalized entanglement entropy\nintroduced in [1]. In particular, we investigate its behavior near an IR fixed\npoint using holographic duality. We develop techniques which, for any static\nholographic geometry, enable us to extract the large radius expansion of the\nentanglement entropy for a spherical region. We show that for both a sphere and\na strip, the approach of the renormalized entanglement entropy to the IR fixed\npoint value contains a contribution that depends on the whole RG trajectory.\nSuch a contribution is dominant, when the leading irrelevant operator is\nsufficiently irrelevant. For a spherical region such terms can be anticipated\nfrom a geometric expansion, while for a strip whether these terms have\ngeometric origins remains to be seen."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Maximal depth implies su(3)+su(2)+u(1): Hence it excludes proton decay and supersymmetry. The main predictions of a\ngauge model based on the exceptional simple Lie superalgebra mb(3|8) (a\nlocalized version of su(3)+su(2)+u(1)) are reviewed.",
        "positive": "Vector Fields in Holographic Cosmology: We extend the holographic formulation of the semiclassical no-boundary wave\nfunction (NBWF) to models with Maxwell vector fields. It is shown that the\nfamiliar saddle points of the NBWF have a representation in which a regular,\nEuclidean asymptotic AdS geometry smoothly joins onto a Lorentzian\nasymptotically de Sitter universe through a complex transition region. The tree\nlevel probabilities of Lorentzian histories are fully specified by the action\nof the AdS region of the saddle points. The scalar and vector matter profiles\nin this region are complex from an AdS viewpoint, with universal asymptotic\nphases. The dual description of the semiclassical NBWF thus involves complex\ndeformations of Euclidean CFTs."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Symplectic Gravity Models in Four, Three and Two Dimensions: A class of the $D=4$ gravity models describing a coupled system of $n$\nAbelian vector fields and the symmetric $n \\times n$ matrix generalizations of\nthe dilaton and Kalb-Ramond fields is considered. It is shown that the\nPecci-Quinn axion matrix can be entered and the resulting equations of motion\npossess the $Sp(2n, R)$ symmetry in four dimensions. The stationary case is\nstudied. It is established that the theory allows a $\\sigma$-model\nrepresentation with a target space which is invariant under the $Sp[2(n+1), R]$\ngroup of isometry transformations. The chiral matrix of the coset $Sp[2(n+1),\nR]/U(n+1)$ is constructed. A K\\\"ahler formalism based on the use of the Ernst\n$(n+1) \\times (n+1)$ complex symmetric matrix is developed. The stationary\naxisymmetric case is considered. The Belinsky-Zakharov chiral matrix depending\non the original field variables is obtained. The Kramer-Neugebauer\ntransformation, which algebraically maps the original variables into the target\nspace ones, is presented.",
        "positive": "Stability of Hairy Black Holes in Shift-Symmetric Scalar-Tensor Theories\n  via the Effective Field Theory Approach: Shift-symmetric Horndeski theories admit an interesting class of\nSchwarzschild-de Sitter black hole solutions exhibiting time-dependent scalar\nhair. The properties of these solutions may be studied via a bottom-up\neffective field theory (EFT) based on the background symmetries. This is in\npart possible by making use of a convenient coordinate choice --\nLema\\^itre-type coordinates -- in which the profile of the Horndeski scalar\nfield is linear in the relevant time coordinate. We construct this EFT, and use\nit to understand the stability of hairy black holes in shift-symmetric\nHorndeski theories, providing a set of constraints that the otherwise-free\nfunctions appearing in the Horndeski Lagrangian must satisfy in order to admit\nstable black hole solutions. The EFT is analyzed in the decoupling limit to\nunderstand potential sources of instability. We also perform a complete\nanalysis of the EFT with odd-parity linear perturbations around general\nspherically symmetric space-time."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The correlation of WGC and Hydrodynamics bound with $R^4$ correction in\n  the charged AdS$_{d+2}$ black brane: In this paper, we focus on the possible correlation between conjectures KSS\nbound and weak gravity conjecture (WGC). The hydrodynamic values KSS bound and\nweak gravity conjecture constraint the low-energy effective field theory. These\nconjectures identify UV complete theories. We give four, six and eight order\nderivative corrections to corresponding action and employ the hyperscaling\nviolating charged AdS$_{d+2}$ black brane solution. These corrections lead us\nto find correlation between conjectures KSS bound and weak gravity conjecture.\nWe see that, with increasing perturbation correction, this correlation is more\nlikely to appear. We consider dynamical constant $z=1$, $d=5$ and obtain the\nrange of hyperscaling violation exponent $d+z-2\\leq\\theta\\leq d+z-1$ for the\nabove mentioned black brane. Here, we show that higher derivative corrections\nreduce the ratio of $\\frac{M}{Q}$ to extremal black holes. Likewise, we also\nobtain the universal relaxation bound $\\tau\\geq \\frac{1}{\\pi T}$ and KSS bound\n$\\frac{\\eta}{s}\\geq \\frac{1}{4\\pi}$ for our model. The results indicate that\nthere is a possibility of a relationship between the two conjectures. Our\nstudies also show the consistency of the WGC and the KSS bound conjectures for\nall corrections (except curvature-cubed, $\\beta_2$) in the extremal and\nnear-extremal condition.",
        "positive": "Smoothed Transitions in Higher Spin AdS Gravity: We consider CFTs conjectured to be dual to higher spin theories of gravity in\nAdS_3 and AdS_4. Two dimensional CFTs with W_N symmetry are considered in the\nlambda=0 (k --> infinity) limit, where they are conjectured to be described by\ncontinuous orbifolds. The torus partition function is computed, using\nreasonable assumptions, and equals that of a free field theory. We find no\nphase transition at temperatures of order one; the usual Hawking-Page phase\ntransition is removed by the highly degenerate light states associated with\nconical defect states in the bulk. Three dimensional Chern-Simons-matter CFTs\nwith vector-like matter are considered on T^3, where the dynamics is described\nby an effective theory for the eigenvalues of the holonomies. Likewise, we find\nno evidence for a Hawking-Page phase transition at large level k."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Topological Orders in (4+1)-Dimensions: We investigate the Morita equivalences of (4+1)-dimensional topological\norders. We show that any (4+1)-dimensional super (fermionic) topological order\nadmits a gapped boundary condition -- in other words, all (4+1)-dimensional\nsuper topological orders are Morita trivial. As a result, there are no\ninherently gapless super (3+1)-dimensional theories. On the other hand, we show\nthat there are infinitely many algebraically Morita-inequivalent bosonic\n(4+1)-dimensional topological orders.",
        "positive": "Integrability of the RG flows and the bulk/boundary correspondence: We suggest that RG flows in the N=2 SUSY YM theories are governed by the pair\nof the integrable systems. The main dynamical ingredient amounts from the\ninteraction of the small size instantons with the regulator degrees of freedom.\nThe relation with the bulk/boundary correspondence is discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exact Results and Holography of Wilson Loops in N=2 Superconformal\n  (Quiver) Gauge Theories: Using localization, matrix model and saddle-point techniques, we determine\nexact behavior of circular Wilson loop in N=2 superconformal (quiver) gauge\ntheories. Focusing at planar and large `t Hooft couling limits, we compare its\nasymptotic behavior with well-known exponential growth of Wilson loop in N=4\nsuper Yang-Mills theory. For theory with gauge group SU(N) coupled to 2N\nfundamental hypermultiplets, we find that Wilson loop exhibits non-exponential\ngrowth -- at most, it can grow a power of `t Hooft coupling. For theory with\ngauge group SU(N) x SU(N) and bifundamental hypermultiplets, there are two\nWilson loops associated with two gauge groups. We find Wilson loop in untwisted\nsector grows exponentially large as in N=4 super Yang-Mills theory. We then\nfind Wilson loop in twisted sector exhibits non-analytic behavior with respect\nto difference of two `t Hooft coupling constants. By letting one gauge coupling\nconstant hierarchically larger/smaller than the other, we show that Wilson\nloops in the second type theory interpolate to Wilson loop in the first type\ntheory. We infer implications of these findings from holographic dual\ndescription in terms of minimal surface of dual string worldsheet. We suggest\nintuitive interpretation that in both type theories holographic dual background\nmust involve string scale geometry even at planar and large `t Hooft coupling\nlimit and that new results found in the gauge theory side are attributable to\nworldsheet instantons and infinite resummation therein. Our interpretation also\nindicate that holographic dual of these gauge theories is provided by certain\nnon-critical string theories.",
        "positive": "Some Computations with Seiberg-Witten Invariant Actions: We show, with a 2-dimensional example, that the low energy effective action\nwhich describes the physics of a single D-brane is compatible with T-duality\nwhenever the corresponding U(N) non-abelian action is form-invariant under the\nnon-commutative Seiberg-Witten transformations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exact propagators in harmonic superspace: Within the background field formulation in harmonic superspace for quantum N\n= 2 super Yang-Mills theories, the propagators of the matter, gauge and ghost\nsuperfields possess a complicated dependence on the SU(2) harmonic variables\nvia the background vector multiplet. This dependence is shown to simplify\ndrastically in the case of an on-shell vector multiplet. For a covariantly\nconstant background vector multiplet, we exactly compute all the propagators.\nIn conjunction with the covariant multi-loop scheme developed in\nhep-th/0302205, these results provide an efficient (manifestly N = 2\nsupersymmetric) technical setup for computing multi-loop quantum corrections to\neffective actions in N = 2 supersymmetric gauge theories, including the N = 4\nsuper Yang-Mills theory.",
        "positive": "New Branches of String Compactifications and their F-Theory Duals: We study heterotic $E_8\\times E_8$ models that are dual to compactifications\nof F-theory and type IIA string on certain classes of elliptically fibered\nCalabi-Yau manifolds. Different choices for the specific torus in the fibration\nhave heterotic duals that are most easily understood in terms of $E_8\\times\nE_8$ models with gauge backgrounds of type $H\\times U(1)^{8-d}$, where $H$ is a\nnon-Abelian factor. The case with $d=8$ corresponds to the well known\n$E_8\\times E_8$ compactifications with non-Abelian instanton backgrounds\n$(k_1,k_2)$ whose F-theory duals are built through compactifications on\nfibrations of the torus $\\IP_2^{(1,2,3)}[6]$ over $\\IF_n$. The new cases with\n$d < 8$ correspond to other choices for the elliptic fiber over the same base\nand yield unbroken $U(1)$'s, some of which are anomalous and acquire a mass by\nswallowing zero modes of the antisymmetric $B_{MN}$ field. We also study\ntransitions to models with no tensor multiplets in $D=6$ and find evidence of\n$E_d$ instanton dynamics. We also consider the possibility of conifold\ntransitions among spaces with different realization of the elliptic fiber."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Interplay between Black Holes and Ultralight Dark Matter: Analytic\n  Solutions: Dark matter (DM) can consist of a scalar field so light that DM particles in\nthe galactic halo are best described by classical waves. We investigate how\nthese classical solutions are influenced by the presence of a non-rotating\nsupermassive black hole at the center of the galaxy, using an analytical,\nalbeit approximate, approach.\n  Relying on this analytic control, we examine the consequences of imposing\ncausal boundary conditions at the horizon, which are typically overlooked.\nFirst, we examine the scenario where the backreaction of dark matter can be\nneglected. The scalar field decays like a power law at large distances, thus\nendowing the black hole with \"hair\". We derive solutions for the field profile\nover a wide range of parameters, including cases with rotating dark matter. As\na by-product, we extract the dynamical Love numbers for scalar perturbations.\nNext, we determine the spectrum of bound states and their behaviour.\n  Finally, we incorporate the self-gravity of the scalar field, with a focus on\nthe situation where dark matter forms a soliton (boson star) at the center of\nthe galaxy. We derive an analytical expression for the soliton at every\ndistance from the center. With a solution that remains applicable even at\nhorizon scales, we can reliably compute the accretion rate of the black hole.",
        "positive": "Abelian-Higgs Phase of SU(2) QCD and Glueball Energy: It is shown that SU(2) QCD admits an dual Abelian-Higgs phase, with a Higgs\nvacuum type of type-II superconductor. This is done by using connection\ndecomposition for the gluon field and the random-direction approximation. Using\nbag picture with soft wall, we presented a calculational procedure for glueball\nenergy based on the recent proof for wall-vortices [Nucl. Phys. B 741(2006)1]."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Hamilton-Jacobi analysis for higher order Maxwell-Chern-Simons gauge\n  theory: By using the Hamilton-Jacobi [$HJ$] framework the higher-order\nMaxwell-Chern-Simons theory is analyzed. The complete set of $HJ$ Hamiltonians\nand a generalized $HJ$ differential are reported, from which all symmetries of\nthe theory are identified. In addition, we complete our study by performing the\nhigher order Gitman-Lyakhovich-Tyutin [$GLT$] framework and compare the results\nof both formalisms.",
        "positive": "Burgers Equation vs. Large $N$ Limit in $T\\bar{T}$-deformed $O(N)$\n  Vector Model: We study a $T\\bar{T}$-deformed $O(N)$ vector model, which is classically\nequivalent to the Nambu-Goto action with static gauge. The thermal free energy\ndensity can be computed exactly by using the Burgers equation as a special\nproperty of $T\\bar{T}$-deformation. The resulting expression is valid for an\narbitrary value of $N$. One may consider a large $N$ limit while preserving\nthis expression. We try to derive this result in the field-theoretical approach\ndirectly by employing the large $N$ limit. As a result, the leading\ncontribution coincides with the exact one. That is, the $1/N$ corrections are\ncancelled out through a non-trivial mechanism."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Large Class of New Gravitational and Axionic Backgrounds for\n  Four-Dimensional Superstrings: A large class of new 4-D superstring vacua with non-trivial/singular\ngeometries, spacetime supersymmetry and other background fields (axion,\ndilaton) are found. Killing symmetries are generic and are associated with\nnon-trivial dilaton and antisymmetric tensor fields. Duality symmetries\npreserving N=2 superconformal invariance are employed to generate a large class\nof explicit metrics for non-compact 4-D Calabi-Yau manifolds with Killing\nsymmetries.",
        "positive": "Double Field Theory and Membrane Sigma-Models: We investigate geometric aspects of double field theory (DFT) and its\nformulation as a doubled membrane sigma-model. Starting from the standard\nCourant algebroid over the phase space of an open membrane, we determine a\nsplitting and a projection to a subbundle that sends the Courant algebroid\noperations to the corresponding operations in DFT. This describes precisely how\nthe geometric structure of DFT lies in between two Courant algebroids and is\nreconciled with generalized geometry. We construct the membrane sigma-model\nthat corresponds to DFT, and demonstrate how the standard T-duality orbit of\ngeometric and non-geometric flux backgrounds is captured by its action\nfunctional in a unified way. This also clarifies the appearence of\nnoncommutative and nonassociative deformations of geometry in non-geometric\nclosed string theory. Gauge invariance of the DFT membrane sigma-model is\ncompatible with the flux formulation of DFT and its strong constraint, whose\ngeometric origin is explained. Our approach leads to a new generalization of a\nCourant algebroid, that we call a DFT algebroid and relate to other known\ngeneralizations, such as pre-Courant algebroids and symplectic nearly Lie\n2-algebroids. We also describe the construction of a gauge-invariant doubled\nmembrane sigma-model that does not require imposing the strong constraint."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "One-loop corrections to the D3 brane action: We calculate one-loop corrections to the effective Lagrangian for the D3\nbrane. We perform the gauge-fixing of the kappa-symmetric Born-Infeld D3 brane\naction in the flat background using Killing gauge. The linearized supersymmetry\nof the gauge-fixed action coincides with that of the N=4 Yang-Mills theory. We\nuse the helicity amplitude and unitarity technique to calculate the one-loop\namplitudes at order alpha^4. The counterterms and the finite 1-loop corrections\nare of the form (dF)^4 and their supersymmetric generalization. This is to be\ncontrasted with the Born-Infeld action which contains (F)^4 and other terms\nwhich do not depend on derivatives of the vector field strength.",
        "positive": "Bosonized Formulation of Lattice QCD: Problems in lattice gauge models with fermions are discussed. A new bosonic\nHermitean effective action for lattice QCD with dynamical quarks is presented.\nIn distinction of the previous version, it does not include constraints and is\nbetter suited for Monte-Carlo simulations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spacetime topology from holographic entanglement: An asymptotically AdS geometry connecting two or more boundaries is given by\na entangled state, that can be expanded in the product basis of the Hilbert\nspaces of each CFT living on the boundaries. We derive a prescription to\ncompute this expansion for states describing spacetimes with general spatial\ntopology in arbitrary dimension. To large N, the expansion coincides with the\nSchmidt decomposition and the coefficients are given by $n$-point correlation\nfunctions on a particular Euclidean geometry.\n  We show that this applies to all spacetime that admits a Hartle-Hawking type\nof wave functional, which via a standard hypothesis on the spatial topology,\ncan be (one to one) mapped to CFT states defined on the asymptotic boundary. It\nis also observed that these states are endowed with quantum coherence\nproperties.\n  Applying this as holographic engineering, one can to construct an emergent\nspace geometry with certain predetermined topology by preparing an entangled\nstate of the dual quantum system. As an example, we apply the method to\ncalculate the expansion and characterize a spacetime whose initial spatial\ntopology is a (genus one) handlebody.",
        "positive": "Exact Resurgent Trans-series and Multi-Bion Contributions to All Orders: The full resurgent trans-series is found exactly in near-supersymmetric\n$\\mathbb C P^1$ quantum mechanics. By expanding in powers of the SUSY breaking\ndeformation parameter, we obtain the first and second expansion coefficients of\nthe ground state energy. They are absolutely convergent series of\nnonperturbative exponentials corresponding to multi-bions with perturbation\nseries on those background. We obtain all multi-bion exact solutions for finite\ntime interval in the complexified theory. We sum the classical multi-bion\ncontributions that reproduce the exact result supporting the resurgence to all\norders. This is the first result in the quantum mechanical model where the\nresurgent trans-series structure is verified to all orders in nonperturbative\nmulti-bion contributions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Interpolating gauge fixing for Chern-Simons theory: Chern-Simons theory is analyzed with a gauge-fixing which allows to discuss\nthe Landau gauge and the light-cone gauge at the same time.",
        "positive": "Matter fields with c > 1 coupled to 2d gravity: We solve a class of branched polymer models coupled to spin systems and show\nthat they have no phase transition and are either always magnetized or never\nmagnetized depending on the branching weights. By comparing these results with\nnumerical simulations of two-dimensional quantum gravity coupled to matter\nfields with central charge $c$ we provide evidence that for $c$ sufficiently\nlarge ($c\\geq 12$) these models are effectively described by branched polymers.\nMoreover, the numerical results indicate a remarkable universality in the\ninfluence on the geometry of surfaces due to the interaction with matter. For\nspin systems this influence only depends on the total central charge."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Instanton Bound States in ABJM Theory: The partition function of the ABJM theory receives non-perturbative\ncorrections due to instanton effects. We study these non-perturbative\ncorrections, including bound states of worldsheet instantons and membrane\ninstantons, in the Fermi-gas approach. We require that the total\nnon-perturbative correction should be always finite for arbitrary Chern-Simons\nlevel. This finiteness is realized quite non-trivially because each bound state\ncontribution naively diverges at some levels. The poles of each contribution\nshould be canceled out in total. We use this pole cancellation mechanism to\nfind unknown bound state corrections from known ones. We conjecture a general\nexpression of the bound state contribution. Summing up all the bound state\ncontributions, we find that the effect of bound states is simply incorporated\ninto the worldsheet instanton correction by a redefinition of the chemical\npotential in the Fermi-gas system. Analytic expressions of the 3- and\n4-membrane instanton corrections are also proposed.",
        "positive": "QCD String as an Effective String: There are two cases where QCD string is described by an effective theory of\nlong strings: the static potential and meson scattering amplitudes in the Regge\nregime. I show how the former can be solved in the mean-field approximation,\njustified by the large number of space-time dimensions, and argue that it turns\nout to be exact for the Nambu--Goto string. By adding extrinsic curvature I\ndemonstrate how the tachyonic instability of the ground-state energy can be\ncured by operators less relevant in the infrared."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Information metric, Berry connection and Berezin-Toeplitz quantization\n  for matrix geometry: We consider the information metric and Berry connection in the context of\nnoncommutative matrix geometry. We propose that these objects give a new method\nof characterizing the fuzzy geometry of matrices. We first give formal\ndefinitions of these geometric objects and then explicitly calculate them for\nthe well-known matrix configurations of fuzzy $S^2$ and fuzzy $S^4$. We find\nthat the information metrics are given by the usual round metrics for both\nexamples, while the Berry connections coincide with the configurations of the\nWu-Yang monopole and the Yang monopole for fuzzy $S^2$ and fuzzy $S^4$,\nrespectively. Then, we demonstrate that the matrix configurations of fuzzy\n$S^n$ $(n=2,4)$ can be understood as images of the embedding functions\n$S^n\\rightarrow \\textbf{R}^{n+1}$ under the Berezin-Toeplitz quantization map.\nBased on this result, we also obtain a mapping rule for the Laplacian on fuzzy\n$S^4$.",
        "positive": "The stress energy tensor of neutral blackfold and dual theory: In this paper we consider charged and neutral blackfold and extract the\nBrown-York stress energy tensor. Also, we show that the neutral blackfold\nspacetime is Ricci- flat and the other spacetime is not. This Ricci-flat\ncondition gives us opportunity to calculate the AAdS spacetime. In order to\nhave dual theory one can consider the AAdS in Fefferman- Graham coordinates.\nThis frame gives correct form of stress tensor in the boundary. The\ncorresponding tensor with using this frame will be traceless and conserved.\nSuch stress tensor is same as perfect fluid and it proves the dual renormalized\ntheory exists for the neutral blackfold ."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "$AdS_{5}$ black hole at N=2 supergravity: In this paper, we consider the charged non-extremal black hole at five\ndimensional N = 2 supergravity. We study thermodynamics of AdS_{5} black hole\nwith three equal charges (q_{1} = q_{2} = q_{3} = q). We obtain Schrodinger\nlike equation and discuss the effective potential. Then, we consider the case\nof the perturbed dilaton field background and find presence of odd coefficients\nof the wave function. Also we find that the higher derivative corrections have\nno effect on the first and second even coefficients of the wave function.",
        "positive": "Particle physics models of inflation: Inflation models are compared with observation on the assumption that the\ncurvature perturbation is generated from the vacuum fluctuation of the inflaton\nfield. The focus is on single-field models with canonical kinetic terms,\nclassified as small- medium- and large-field according to the variation of the\ninflaton field while cosmological scales leave the horizon. Small-field models\nare constructed according to the usual paradigm for beyond Standard Model\nphysics"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Functional and Holographic Renormalization Group Methods in\n  Stochastic Theory of Turbulence: A nonlocal quantum-field model is constructed for the system of hydrodynamic\nequations for incompressible viscous fluid (the stochastic Navier--Stokes (NS)\nequation and the continuity equation). This model is studied by the following\ntwo mutually parallel methods: the Wilson--Polchinski functional\nrenormalization group method (FRG), which is based on the exact functional\nequation for the generating functional of amputated connected Green's functions\n(ACGF), and the Heemskerk--Polchinski holographic renormalization group method\n(HRG), which is based on the functional Hamilton--Jacobi (HJ) equation for the\nholographic boundary action. Both functional equations are equivalent to\ninfinite hierarchies of integro-differential equations (coupled in the FRG\ncase) for the corresponding families of Green's functions (GF). The RG-flow\nequations can be derived explicitly for two-particle functions. Because the\nHRG-flow equation is closed (contains only a two-particle GF), the explicit\nanalytic solutions are obtained for the two-particle GF (in terms of the\nmodified Bessel functions $I$ and $K$) in the framework of the minimal\nholographic model and its simple generalization, and these solutions have a\nremarkable property of minimal dependence on the details of the random force\ncorrelator (the function of the energy pumping into the system). The\nrestrictions due to the time-gauged Galilean symmetry present in this theory,\nthe problem of choosing the pumping function, and some generalizations of the\nstandard RG-flow procedures are discussed in detail. Finally, the question of\nwhether the HRG-solutions can be used to solve the FRG-flow equation for the\ntwo-particle GF (in particular, the relationship between the regulators in the\ntwo methods) is studied.",
        "positive": "Compactified extra dimension and entanglement island as clues to quantum\n  gravity: We show that the compactified extra dimension and the emergence of the island\ncan provide clues about quantum gravity because their combination can solve the\ndeepest puzzles of black hole physics. Suppose that the time dimension and the\nextra dimension compactified on a circle are symmetric under \\emph{double Wick\nrotation}, the curvature singularity would be removed due to the end of\nspacetime as a smooth bubble hidden behind the event horizon. The smooth bubble\ngeometries can also be interpreted as microstates leading to the\nBekenstein-Hawking entropy because the smooth bubble geometries live in the\nsame region of mass and charge as the black string. In addition, by applying\nthe quantum extremal surface prescription, we show the emergence of the island\nat late times of the black string evaporation where it is located slightly\noutside the event horizon. Due to the dominant contribution of the island\nconfiguration, the entanglement entropy of the radiation grows no longer\nlinearly in time but it reaches a finite value that is twice the\nBekenstein-Hawking entropy at the leading order. This transition shows the\ninformation preservation during the black string evaporation. Furthermore, we\ncalculate the Page time which determines the moment of the transition between\nthe linearly growing and constant behaviors of the entanglement entropy as well\nas the scrambling time corresponding to the information recovery time of the\nsignal falling into the black string."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The vacuum backreaction on a pair creating source: Solution is presented to the simplest problem about the vacuum backreaction\non a pair creating source. The backreaction effect is nonanalytic in the\ncoupling constant and restores completely the energy conservation law. The\nvacuum changes the kinematics of motion like relativity theory does and imposes\na new upper bound on the velocity of the source.",
        "positive": "Introduction to M(atrix) theory and noncommutative geometry: Noncommutative geometry is based on an idea that an associative algebra can\nbe regarded as \"an algebra of functions on a noncommutative space\". The major\ncontribution to noncommutative geometry was made by A. Connes, who, in\nparticular, analyzed Yang-Mills theories on noncommutative spaces, using\nimportant notions that were introduced in his papers (connection, Chern\ncharacter, etc). It was found recently that Yang-Mills theories on\nnoncommutative spaces appear naturally in string/M-theory; the notions and\nresults of noncommutative geometry were applied very successfully to the\nproblems of physics.\n  In this paper we give a mostly self-contained review of some aspects of\nM(atrix) theory, of Connes' noncommutative geometry and of applications of\nnoncommutative geometry to M(atrix) theory. The topics include introduction to\nBFSS and IKKT matrix models, compactifications on noncommutative tori, a review\nof basic notions of noncommutative geometry with a detailed discussion of\nnoncommutative tori, Morita equivalence and $SO(d,d|{\\mathbb Z})$-duality, an\nelementary discussion of instantons and noncommutative orbifolds. The review is\nprimarily intended for physicists who would like to learn some basic techniques\nof noncommutative geometry and how they can be applied in string theory and to\nmathematicians who would like to learn about some new problems arising in\ntheoretical physics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Four-dimensional Traversable Wormholes and Bouncing Cosmologies in\n  Vacuum: In this letter we point out the existence of solutions to General Relativity\nwith a negative cosmological constant in four dimensions, which contain\nsolitons as well as traversable wormholes. The latter connect two\nasymptotically locally AdS$_{4}$ spacetimes. At every constant value of the\nradial coordinate the spacetime is a spacelike warped AdS$_{3}$. We compute the\ndual energy momentum tensor at each boundary showing that it yields different\nresults. We also show that these vacuum wormholes can have more than one throat\nand that they are indeed traversable by computing the time it takes for a light\nsignal to go from one boundary to the other, as seen by a geodesic observer. We\ngeneralize the wormholes to include rotation and charge. When the cosmological\nconstant is positive we find a cosmology that is everywhere regular, has either\none or two bounces and that for late and early times matches the\nFriedmann-Lema\\^{\\i}tre-Robertson-Walker metric with spherical topology.",
        "positive": "Effect of quantum deformed black hole on BH shadow in two-dimensional\n  Dilaton gravity: In recent years, the study of quantum effects near the event horizon of black\nhole (BH) has attracted extensive attention. It has become one of the important\nmethods to explore BH quantum properties by using the related properties of the\nquantum deformed black hole. In this work, we study the effect of quantum\ndeformed black hole on BH shadow in two-dimensional Dilaton gravity. In this\nmodel, quantum effects are reflected on the quantum correction parameter m. By\ncalculation, we find that: (1) the shape of the shadow boundary of a rotating\nblack hole is determined by the BH spin $a$, the quantum correction parameter\n$m$ and the BH type parameter $n$; (2) when the spin $a=0$, the shape of the BH\nshadow is a perfect circle; when $a\\neq 0$, the shape is distorted; if the\nquantum correction parameter $m=0$, their shapes reduce to the cases of\nSchwarzschild BH and Kerr BH respectively; (3) the degree of distortion of the\nBH shadow is different for various quantum correction parameters $m$; with the\nincrease of the values of $m$, the shadow will become more and more obvious;\n(4) the results of different BH type parameter $n$ differ greatly. Since the\nvalue of $m$ in actual physics should be very small, the current observations\nof EHT cannot distinguish quantum effect from BH shadow, and can only constrain\nthe upper limit of $m$. In future BH shadow measurements, it will be possible\nto distinguish quantum deformed black holes, which will help to better\nunderstand the quantum effects of BHs."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A near-NHEK/CFT correspondence: We consider excitations around the recently introduced near-NHEK metric\ndescribing the near-horizon geometry of the near-extremal four-dimensional Kerr\nblack hole. This geometry has a U(1)_L x U(1)_R isometry group which can be\nenhanced to a pair of commuting Virasoro algebras. We present boundary\nconditions for which the conserved charges of the corresponding asymptotic\nsymmetries are well defined and non-vanishing and find the central charges\nc_L=12J/hbar and c_R=0 where J is the angular momentum of the black hole.\nApplying the Cardy formula reproduces the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy of the\nblack hole. This suggests that the near-extremal Kerr black hole is\nholographically dual to a non-chiral two-dimensional conformal field theory.",
        "positive": "Flux-vacua in Two Dimensional String Theory: We analyze the two dimensional type 0 theory with background RR-fluxes. Both\nthe 0A and the 0B theory have two distinct fluxes $q$ and $\\tilde q$. We study\nthese two theories at finite temperature (compactified on a Euclidean circle of\nradius $R$) as a function of the fluxes, the tachyon condensate $\\mu$ and the\nradius $R$. Surprisingly, the dependence on $q$, $\\tilde q$ and $\\mu$ is rather\nsimple. The partition function is the absolute value square of a holomorphic\nfunction of $y=|q|+|\\tilde q| + i \\sqrt{2\\alpha'} \\mu$ (up to a simple but\ninteresting correction). As expected, the 0A and the 0B answers are related by\nT-duality. Our answers are derived using the exact matrix models description of\nthese systems and are interpreted in the low energy spacetime Lagrangian."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "D-Branes on the Null-Brane: We study D-branes in the null-brane background. Using the covariant formalism\nof the worldsheet theory, we construct the boundary states describing D-branes\non the null-brane. From the cylinder amplitudes, we find that the D-branes with\ncodimension zero or two have time-dependent effective tensions.",
        "positive": "Weighted power counting and Lorentz violating gauge theories. II:\n  Classification: We classify the local, polynomial, unitary gauge theories that violate\nLorentz symmetry explicitly at high energies and are renormalizable by weighted\npower counting. We study the structure of such theories and prove that\nrenormalization does not generate higher time derivatives. We work out the\nconditions to renormalize vertices that are usually non-renormalizable, such as\nthe two scalar-two fermion interactions and the four fermion interactions. A\nnumber of four dimensional examples are presented."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exotic Branes in Exceptional Field Theory: $E_{7(7)}$ and Beyond: In recent years, it has been widely argued that the duality transformations\nof string and M-theory naturally imply the existence of so-called `exotic\nbranes'---low codimension objects with highly non-perturbative tensions,\nscaling as $g_s^{\\alpha}$ for $\\alpha \\leq -3$. We argue that their intimate\nlink with these duality transformations make them an ideal object of study\nusing the general framework of Double Field Theory (DFT) and Exceptional Field\nTheory (EFT)---collectively referred to as ExFT. Parallel to the theme of\ndualities, we also stress that these theories unify known solutions in string-\nand M-theory into a single solution under ExFT. We argue that not only is there\na natural unifying description of the lowest codimension objects, many of these\nexotic states require this formalism as a consistent supergravity description\ndoes not exist.",
        "positive": "Future Foam: We study pocket universes which have zero cosmological constant and\nnon-trivial boundary topology. These arise from bubble collisions in eternal\ninflation. Using a simplified dust model of collisions we find that boundaries\nof any genus can occur. Using a radiation shell model we perform analytic\nstudies in the thin wall limit to show the existence of geometries with a\nsingle toroidal boundary. We give plausibility arguments that higher genus\nboundaries can also occur. In geometries with one boundary of any genus a\ntimelike observer can see the entire boundary. Geometries with multiple\ndisconnected boundaries can also occur. In the spherical case with two\nboundaries the boundaries are separated by a horizon. Our results suggest that\nthe holographic dual description for eternal inflation, proposed by Freivogel,\nSekino, Susskind and Yeh, should include summation over the genus of the base\nspace of the dual conformal field theory. We point out peculiarities of this\ngenus expansion compared to the string perturbation series."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Einstein-Born-Infeld-dilaton black holes in non-asymptotically flat\n  spacetimes: We derive exact magnetically charged, static and spherically symmetric black\nhole solutions of the four-dimensional Einstein-Born-Infeld-dilaton gravity.\nThese solutions are neither asymptotically flat nor (anti)-de Sitter. The\nproperties of the solutions are discussed. It is shown that the black holes are\nstable against linear radial perturbations.",
        "positive": "Reentrant phase transitions of quantum black holes: We show backreaction of quantum fields on black hole geometries can trigger\nnew thermal phase transitions. Specifically, we study the phase behavior of the\nthree-dimensional quantum-corrected static BTZ black hole, an exact solution to\nspecific semi-classical gravitational equations due to quantum conformal\nmatter, discovered through braneworld holography. Focusing on the canonical\nensemble, for large backreaction, we find novel reentrant phase transitions as\nthe temperature monotonically increases, namely, from thermal anti-de Sitter\nspace to the black hole and back to thermal anti-de Sitter. The former phase\ntransition is first-order, a quantum analog of the classical Hawking-Page phase\ntransition, while the latter is zeroth-order and has no classical counterpart."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quintessence from higher curvature supergravity: In this contribution we revisit higher curvature N=1 supergravity and discuss\nthe quintessence phase that can appear due to the $R^4$ terms. In particular we\nfocus on the bosonic supersymmetric completion within the old-minimal and the\nnew-minimal formulations.",
        "positive": "Non-extremal, $\u03b1'$-corrected black holes in 5-dimensional Heterotic\n  Superstring Theory: We compute the first-order $\\alpha'$ corrections of the non-extremal\nStrominger-Vafa black hole and its non-supersymmetric counterparts in the\nframework of the Bergshoeff-de Roo formulation of the heterotic superstring\neffective action. The solution passes several tests: its extremal limit is the\none found in an earlier publication and the effect of a T duality\ntransformation on it is another solution of the same form with T dual charges.\nWe compute the Hawking temperature and Wald entropy showing that they are\nrelated by the first law and Smarr formula. On the other hand, these two\ncontain additional terms in which the dimensionful parameter $\\alpha'$ plays\nthe role of thermodynamical variable."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauge fields and quantum entanglement: The purpose of this letter is to explore the relation between gauge fields,\nwhich are at the base of our understanding of fundamental interactions, and the\nquantum entanglement. To this end, we investigate the case of ${\\rm SU}(2)$\ngauge fields. It is first argued that holonomies of the ${\\rm SU}(2)$ gauge\nfields are naturally associated with maximally entangled two-particle states.\nThen, we provide some evidence that the notion of such gauge fields can be\ndeduced from the transformation properties of maximally entangled two-particle\nstates. This new insight unveils a possible relation between gauge fields and\nspin systems, as well as contributes to understanding of the relation between\ntensor networks (such as MERA) and spin network states considered in loop\nquantum gravity. In consequence, our results turn out to be relevant in the\ncontext of the emerging Entanglement/Gravity duality.",
        "positive": "Gyros as geometry of the standard model: We investigate the (noncommutative) geometry defined by the standard model,\nwhich turns out to be of Kaluza-Klein type. We find that spacetime points are\nreplaced by extended two-dimensional objects which resemble the surface of a\ngyro. Their size is of the order of the inverse top quark mass."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Boundary Stress-Energy Tensor and Newton-Cartan Geometry in Lifshitz\n  Holography: For a specific action supporting z=2 Lifshitz geometries we identify the\nLifshitz UV completion by solving for the most general solution near the\nLifshitz boundary. We identify all the sources as leading components of bulk\nfields which requires a vielbein formalism. This includes two linear\ncombinations of the bulk gauge field and timelike vielbein where one asymptotes\nto the boundary timelike vielbein and the other to the boundary gauge field.\nThe geometry induced from the bulk onto the boundary is a novel extension of\nNewton-Cartan geometry that we call torsional Newton-Cartan (TNC) geometry.\nThere is a constraint on the sources but its pairing with a Ward identity\nallows one to reduce the variation of the on-shell action to unconstrained\nsources. We compute all the vevs along with their Ward identities and derive\nconditions for the boundary theory to admit conserved currents obtained by\ncontracting the boundary stress-energy tensor with a TNC analogue of a\nconformal Killing vector. We also obtain the anisotropic Weyl anomaly that\ntakes the form of a Horava-Lifshitz action defined on a TNC geometry. The\nFefferman-Graham expansion contains a free function that does not appear in the\nvariation of the on-shell action. We show that this is related to an irrelevant\ndeformation that selects between two different UV completions.",
        "positive": "One-loop analysis with nonlocal boundary conditions: In the eighties, Schroder studied a quantum mechanical model where the\nstationary states of Schrodinger's equation obey nonlocal boundary conditions\non a circle in the plane. For such a problem, we perform a detailed one-loop\ncalculation for three choices of the kernel characterizing the nonlocal\nboundary conditions. In such cases, the zeta(0) value is found to coincide with\nthe one resulting from Robin boundary conditions. The detailed technique here\ndeveloped may be useful for studying one-loop properties of quantum field\ntheory and quantum gravity if nonlocal boundary conditions are imposed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-Abelian Aharonov-Bohm Scattering of Spin 1/2 Particles: We study the low energy regime of the scattering of two fermionic particles\ncarrying isospin 1/2 and interacting through a non-Abelian Chern-Simons field.\nWe calculate the one-loop scattering amplitude for both the nonrelativistic and\nalso for the relativistic theory. In the relativistic case we introduce an\nintermediate cutoff, separating the regions with low and high loop momenta\nintegration. In this procedure purely relativistic field theory effects as the\nvacuum polarization and anomalous magnetic moment corrections are automatically\nincorporated.",
        "positive": "Perturbative Construction of Stationary Randall-Sundrum II Black Holes\n  on a 5-Brane: We numerically construct large Randall-Sundrum II brane black holes in 4 and\n5 dimensions from associated AdS/CFT spacetimes. Our solutions are leading\norder perturbations of a representative of the boundary conformal structure of\nthe AdS spacetime sourced by the dual CFT stress tensor. The 4-dimensional\nsolutions are static perturbations of the Euclidean Schwarzschild metric, while\nthe 5-dimensional solutions are perturbations of the Myers-Perry metric with\nequal angular momenta. We compare the former with previous numerical results\nfor Randall-Sundrum bulk black holes and find good agreement down to a horizon\nradius of about rH ~30l. The latter are the first numerical results pertaining\nto rotating Randall-Sundrum black holes. They have the same entropy, but a\nlarger horizon area than Myers-Perry black holes of the same mass and angular\nmomentum."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Massive strings from a haunted field theory: In this work we present the $\\alpha'$-exact background equations of motion of\nthe bosonic chiral string (also known as Hohm-Siegel-Zwiebach model), with the\nspin two ghost fields integrated out. This is the first instance of a\nworldsheet model in which all corrections are fully determined in a generic\ncurved spacetime. As a concrete cross-check, we find complete agreement between\nall three-point and a sample of four-point tree level scattering amplitudes\ncomputed using field theory methods and the chiral string prescription. These\nequations of motion provide a field theoretical shortcut to compute worldsheet\ncorrelators in conventional bosonic strings (with arbitrary number of massless\nand mass level one states), and outline a new perspective on massive resonances\nin string theory.",
        "positive": "Finite Temperature Systems of Brane-Antibrane Pairs and Non-BPS D-branes: We investigate the thermodynamic properties of D-brane-anti-D-brane pairs and\nnon-BPS D-branes on the basis of boundary string field theory. We calculate the\nfinite temperature effective potential of N D-brane-anti-D-brane pairs in a\nnon-compact background and in a toroidal background. In the non-compact\nbackground case, a phase transition occurs slightly below the Hagedorn\ntemperature, and the D9-anti-D9 pairs become stable. Moreover, the total energy\nat the critical temperature is a decreasing function of N as long as the 't\nHooft coupling is very small. This leads to the conclusion that a large number\nN of D9-anti-D9 pairs are created simultaneously near the Hagedorn temperature.\nIn the toroidal background case (M_{1,9-D} * T_{D}), a phase transition occurs\nonly if the Dp-anti-Dp pair is extended in all the non-compact directions, as\nlong as the 't Hooft coupling is very small. The total energy at the critical\ntemperature also decreases as N increases. We also calculate the finite\ntemperature effective potential of non-BPS D-branes, and we obtain similar\nresults. Then, we consider the thermodynamic balance between open strings on\nthese branes and closed strings in the bulk in the ideal gas approximation, and\nconclude that the total energy is dominated by the open strings."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Liouville's Imaginary Shadow: N=1 super Liouville field theory is one of the simplest non-rational\nconformal field theories. It possesses various important extensions and\ninteresting applications, e.g. to the AGT relation with 4D gauge theory or the\nconstruction of the OSP(1|2) WZW model. In both setups, the N=1 Liouville field\nis accompanied by an additional free fermion. Recently, Belavin et al.\nsuggested a bosonization of the product theory in terms of two bosonic\nLiouville fields. While one of these Liouville fields is standard, the second\nturns out to be imaginary (or time-like). We extend the proposal to the R\nsector and perform extensive checks based on detailed comparison of 3-point\nfunctions involving several super-conformal primaries and descendants. On the\nbasis of such strong evidence we sketch a number of interesting potential\napplications of this intriguing bosonization.",
        "positive": "One conjecture and two observations on de Sitter space: We propose that the state represented by the Nariai black hole inside de\nSitter space is the ground state of the de Sitter gravity, while the pure de\nSitter space is the maximal energy state. With this point of view, we\ninvestigate thermodynamics of de Sitter space, we find that if there is a dual\nfield theory, this theory can not be a CFT in a fixed dimension. Near the\nNariai limit, we conjecture that the dual theory is effectively an 1+1 CFT\nliving on the radial segment connecting the cosmic horizon and the black hole\nhorizon. If we go beyond the de Sitter limit, the \"imaginary\" high temperature\nphase can be described by a CFT with one dimension lower than the spacetime\ndimension. Below the de Sitter limit, we are approaching a phase similar to the\nHagedorn phase in 2+1 dimensions, the latter is also a maximal energy phase if\nwe hold the volume fixed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Power corrections to symmetric point vertices in Gribov-Zwanziger theory: The 3-point vertices of QCD are examined at the symmetric subtraction point\nat one loop in the Landau gauge in the presence of the Gribov mass, gamma. They\nare expanded in powers of gamma^2 up to dimension four in order to determine\nthe order of the leading correction. As well as analysing the pure\nGribov-Zwanziger Lagrangian, its extensions to include localizing ghost masses\nare also examined. For comparison a pure gluon mass term is also considered.",
        "positive": "A Minimal Length from the Cutoff Modes in Asymptotically Safe Quantum\n  Gravity: Within asymptotically safe Quantum Einstein Gravity (QEG), the quantum\n4-sphere is discussed as a specific example of a fractal spacetime manifold.\nThe relation between the infrared cutoff built into the effective average\naction and the corresponding coarse graining scale is investigated. Analyzing\nthe properties of the pertinent cutoff modes, the possibility that QEG\ngenerates a minimal length scale dynamically is explored. While there exists no\nminimal proper length, the QEG sphere appears to be \"fuzzy\" in the sense that\nthere is a minimal angular separation below which two points cannot be resolved\nby the cutoff modes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Capped Black Hole in Five Dimensions: We present the first non-BPS exact solution of an asymptotically flat,\nstationary spherical black hole having domain of outer communication with\nnontrivial topology in five-dimensional minimal supergravity. It describes a\ncharged rotating black hole capped by a disc-shaped bubble. The existence of\nthe ``capped black hole'' shows the non-uniqueness of spherical black holes.",
        "positive": "On-shell actions with lightlike boundary data: We argue that finite-region observables in quantum gravity are best\napproached in terms of boundary data on null hypersurfaces. This has\nfar-reaching effects on the basic notions of classical and quantum mechanics,\nsuch as Hamiltonians and canonical conjugates. Such radical properties are not\nunexpected in finite-region quantum gravity. We are thus motivated to\nreformulate field theory in terms of null boundary data. As a starting point,\nwe consider the on-shell action functional for classical field theory in finite\nnull-bounded regions. Closed-form results are obtained for free scalars and for\nMaxwell fields. The action of classical gravity is also discussed, to the\nextent possible without solving the field equations. These action functionals\nexhibit non-locality and, in special cases, a \"holographic\" reduction of the\ndegrees of freedom. Also, they cannot be used to define global charges. Whereas\nfor ordinary field theory these are just artifacts of a restrictive formalism,\nin quantum gravity they are expected to be genuine features. This further\nsupports a connection between quantum gravity and null-boundary observables. In\nour treatment of the GR action, we identify a universal imaginary term that\nreproduces the Bekenstein entropy formula."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "One-loop mass shift formula for kinks and self-dual vortices: A formula is derived that allows us to compute one-loop mass shifts for kinks\nand self-dual Abrikosov-Nielsen-Olesen vortices. The procedure is based in\ncanonical quantization and heat kernel/zeta function regularization methods.",
        "positive": "Evidence of fractal structures in hadrons: This study focuses on the presence of (multi)fractal structures in confined\nhadronic matter through the momentum distributions of mesons produced in\nproton-proton collisions between 23 GeV and 63 GeV. The analysis demonstrates\nthat the $q$-exponential behaviour of the particle momentum distributions is\nconsistent with fractal characteristics, exhibiting fractal structures in\nconfined hadronic matter with features similar to those observed in the\ndeconfined quark-gluon plasma (QGP) regime. Furthermore, the systematic\nanalysis of meson production in hadronic collisions at energies below 1 TeV\nsuggests that specific fractal parameters are universal, independently of\nconfinement or deconfinement, while others may be influenced by the quark\ncontent of the produced meson. These results pave the way for further research\nexploring the implications of fractal structures on various physical\ndistributions and offer insights into the nature of the phase transition\nbetween confined and deconfined regimes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Hall Droplets on Disc and Effective Wess-Zumino-Witten Action\n  for Edge States: We algebraically analysis the quantum Hall effect of a system of particles\nliving on the disc ${\\bf B}^1$ in the presence of an uniform magnetic field\n$B$. For this, we identify the non-compact disc with the coset space\n$SU(1,1)/U(1)$. This allows us to use the geometric quantization in order to\nget the wavefunctions as the Wigner ${\\cal D}$-functions satisfying a suitable\nconstraint. We show that the corresponding Hamiltonian coincides with the Maass\nLaplacian. Restricting to the lowest Landau level, we introduce the\nnoncommutative geometry through the star product. Also we discuss the state\ndensity behavior as well as the excitation potential of the quantum Hall\ndroplet. We show that the edge excitations are described by an effective\nWess-Zumino-Witten action for a strong magnetic field and discuss their nature.\nWe finally show that\n  LLL wavefunctions are intelligent states.",
        "positive": "Consistent, covariant and multiplicative anomalies: It is shown that the multiplicative anomaly in the vector-axial-vector model,\nwhich apparently has nothing to do with the breaking of classical current\nsymmetries, nevertheless is strictly related to the well known consistent and\ncovariant anomalies."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Scalar two-point functions at the late-time boundary of de Sitter: We calculate two-point functions of scalar fields of mass $m$ and their\nconjugate momenta at the late-time boundary of de Sitter with Bunch-Davies\nboundary conditions, in general $d+1$ spacetime dimensions. We perform the\ncalculation using the wavefunction picture and using canonical quantization.\nWith the latter one clearly sees how the late-time field and conjugate momentum\noperators are linear combinations of the normalized late-time operators\n$\\alphaN$ and $\\betaN$ that correspond to unitary irreducible representations\nof the de Sitter group with well-defined inner products. The two-point\nfunctions resulting from these two different methods are equal and we find that\nboth the autocorrelations of $\\alphaN$ and $\\betaN$ and their cross\ncorrelations contribute to the late-time field and conjugate momentum two-point\nfunctions. This happens both for light scalars ($m<\\frac{d}{2}H$),\ncorresponding to complementary series representations, and heavy scalars\n($m>\\frac{d}{2}H$), corresponding to principal series representations of the de\nSitter group, where $H$ is the Hubble scale of de Sitter. In the special case\n$m=0$, only the $\\betaN$ autocorrelation contributes to the conjugate momentum\ntwo-point function in any dimensions and we gather hints that suggest $\\alphaN$\nto correspond to discrete series representations for this case at $d=3$.",
        "positive": "Higher-spin realization of a dS static patch/cut-off CFT correspondence: We derive a holographic relation for the dS static patch with the dual field\ntheory defined on the observer horizon. The starting point is the duality of\nhigher-spin theory on AdS_4 and the O(N) vector model. We build on a similar\nanalytic continuation as used recently to obtain a realization of dS/CFT, and\nadapt it to the static patch. The resulting duality relates higher-spin theory\non the dS_4 static patch to a cut-off CFT on the cylinder RxS^2. The\nconstruction permits a derivation of the finite thermodynamic entropy\nassociated to the horizon of the static patch from the dual field theory. As a\nfurther brick we recover the spectrum of quasinormal frequencies from the\ncorrelation functions of the boundary theory. In the last part we incorporate\nthe dS/dS correspondence as an independent proposal for holography on dS and\nshow that a concrete realization can be obtained by similar reasoning."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Systematics of string loop threshold corrections in orbifold models: String theory one-loop threshold corrections are studied in a background\nfield approach due to Kiritsis and Kounnas which uses space-time curvature as\nan infrared regulator. We review the conformal field theory aspects using the\nsemiwormhole space-time solution. The comparison of string and effective field\ntheories vacuum functionals is made for the low derivative order, as well as\nfor certain higher-derivative, gauge and gravitational interactions. We study\nthe dependence on the infrared cut-off. Numerical applications are considered\nfor a sample of four-dimensional abelian orbifold models. The implications on\nthe perturbative string theory unification are examined. We present numerical\nresults for the gauge interactions coupling constants as well as for the\nquadratic order gravitational ($R^2$) and the quartic order gauge ($F^4$)\ninteractions.",
        "positive": "Deep Inelastic Scattering on an Extremal RN-AdS Black Hole: We consider deep inelastic scattering (DIS) on a large nucleus described as\nan extremal RN-AdS black hole using the holographic principle. Using the\nR-current correlators we determine the structure functions as a function\nBjorken-x, and map it on a finite but large nucleus with fixed atomic number.\nThe R-ratio of the nuclear structure functions exhibit strong shadowing at\nlow-x."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Tackling Feynman integrals with quantum minimization algorithms: One of the most severe bottlenecks to reach high-precision predictions in QFT\nis the calculation of multiloop multileg Feynman integrals. Several new\nstrategies have been proposed in the last years, allowing impressive results\nwith deep implications in particle physics. Still, the efficiency of such\ntechniques starts to drastically decrease when including many loops and legs.\nIn this talk, we explore the implementation of quantum algorithms to optimize\nthe integrands of scattering amplitudes. We rely on the manifestly causal\nloop-tree duality, which translates the loop into phase-space integrals and\navoids the spurious singularities due to non-causal effects. Then, we built a\nHamiltonian codifying causal-compatible contributions and minimize it using a\nVariational Quantum Eigensolver. Our very promising results point towards a\npotential speed-up for achieving a more numerically-stable representation of\nFeynman integrals by using quantum computers.",
        "positive": "Interacting Wess-Zumino-Novikov-Witten Models: We study the system of two WZNW models coupled to each other via the\ncurrent-current interaction. The system is proven to possess the strong/weak\ncoupling duality symmetry. The strong coupling phase of this theory is\ndiscussed in detail. It is shown that in this phase the interacting WZNW models\napproach non-trivial conformal points along the renormalization group flow. The\nrelation between the principal chiral model and interacting WZNW models is\ninvestigated."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Predictive Landscapes and New Physics at a TeV: We propose that the Standard Model is coupled to a sector with an enormous\nlandscape of vacua, where only the dimensionful parameters--the vacuum energy\nand Higgs masses--are finely \"scanned\" from one vacuum to another, while\ndimensionless couplings are effectively fixed. This allows us to preserve\nachievements of the usual unique-vacuum approach in relating dimensionless\ncouplings while also accounting for the success of the anthropic approach to\nthe cosmological constant problem. It can also explain the proximity of the\nweak scale to the geometric mean of the Planck and vacuum energy scales. We\nrealize this idea with field theory landscapes consisting of $N$ fields and\n$2^N$ vacua, where the fractional variation of couplings is smaller than\n$1/\\sqrt{N}$. These lead to a variety of low-energy theories including the\nStandard Model, the MSSM, and Split SUSY. This picture suggests sharp new rules\nfor model-building, providing the first framework in which to simultaneously\naddress the cosmological constant problem together with the big and little\nhierarchy problems. Requiring the existence of atoms can fix ratio of the QCD\nscale to the weak scale, thereby providing a possible solution to the hierarchy\nproblem as well as related puzzles such as the $\\mu$ and doublet-triplet\nsplitting problems. We also present new approaches to the hierarchy problem,\nwhere the fine-tuning of the Higgs mass to exponentially small scales is\nunderstood by even more basic environmental requirements such as vacuum\nstability and the existence of baryons. These theories predict new physics at\nthe TeV scale, including a dark matter candidate. The simplest theory has\nweak-scale \"Higgsinos\" as the only new particles charged under the Standard\nModel, with gauge coupling unification near $10^{14}$ GeV.",
        "positive": "Baxter's Q-operators for supersymmetric spin chains: We develop Yang-Baxter integrability structures connected with the quantum\naffine superalgebra Uq(\\hat sl(2|1)). Baxter's Q-operators are explicitly\nconstructed as supertraces of certain monodromy matrices associated with\n(q-deformed) bosonic and fermionic oscillator algebras. There are six different\nQ-operators in this case, obeying a few fundamental fusion relations, which\nimply all functional relations between various commuting transfer matrices. The\nresults are universal in the sense that they do not depend on the quantum space\nof states and apply both to lattice models and to continuous quantum field\ntheory models as well."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Pistons modeled by potentials: In this article we consider a piston modelled by a potential in the presence\nof extra dimensions. We analyze the functional determinant and the Casimir\neffect for this configuration. In order to compute the determinant and Casimir\nforce we employ the zeta function scheme. Essentially, the computation reduces\nto the analysis of the zeta function associated with a scalar field living on\nan interval $[0,L]$ in a background potential. Although, as a model for a\npiston, it seems reasonable to assume a potential having compact support within\n$[0,L]$, we provide a formalism that can be applied to any sufficiently smooth\npotential.",
        "positive": "Higgs Mechanism and Symmetry Breaking without Redundant Variables: The Higgs mechanism is reconsidered in the canonical Weyl gauge formulation\nof quantized gauge theories, using an approach in which redundant degrees of\nfreedom are eliminated. As a consequence, its symmetry aspects appear in a\ndifferent light. All the established physics consequences of the Higgs\nmechanism are recovered without invoking gauge symmetry breaking. The occurence\nof massless vector bosons in non-abelian Higgs models is interpreted as signal\nof spontaneous breakdown of certain global symmetries. Characteristic\ndifferences between the relevant ``displacement symmetries'' of QED and the\nGeorgi Glashow model are exhibited. Implications for the symmetry aspects of\nthe electroweak sector of the standard model and the interpretation of the\nphysical photon as Goldstone boson are pointed out."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "NJL and QCD from String Theory: We study a configuration of D-branes in string theory that is described at\nlow energies by a four-dimensional field theory with a dynamically broken\nchiral symmetry. In a certain region of the parameter space of the brane\nconfiguration the low-energy theory is a non-local generalization of the\nNambu-Jona-Lasinio (NJL) model. This vector model is exactly solvable at large\nN_c and dynamically breaks chiral symmetry at arbitrarily weak 't Hooft\ncoupling. At strong coupling the dynamics is determined by the low-energy\ntheory on D-branes living in the near-horizon geometry of other branes. In a\ndifferent region of parameter space the brane construction gives rise to large\nN_c QCD. Thus the D-brane system interpolates between NJL and QCD.",
        "positive": "Fermion evaporation of a black hole off a tense brane: Using the WKBJ approximation we obtain numerical plots of the power emission\nspectrum for the evaporation of massless bulk Dirac fermions from six\ndimensional black holes off a tense 3-brane with codimension two. We also\npresent the multiplicity factors for eigenvalues of the deficit four sphere and\nshow that these reduce to the usual case in the tenseless limit."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Generalization of Gravity: I consider theories of gravity built not just from the metric and affine\nconnection, but also other (possibly higher rank) symmetric tensor(s). The\nLagrangian densities are scalars built from them, and the volume forms are\nrelated to Cayley's hyperdeterminants. The resulting diff-invariant actions\ngive rise to geometric theories that go beyond the metric paradigm (even\nmetric-less theories are possible), and contain Einstein gravity as a special\ncase. Examples contain theories with generalizeations of Riemannian geometry.\nThe 0-tensor case is related to dilaton gravity. These theories can give rise\nto new types of spontaneous Lorentz breaking and might be relevant for \"dark\"\nsector cosmology.",
        "positive": "D-particle bound states and the D-instanton measure: A connection is made between the Witten index of relevance to threshold bound\nstates of D-particles in the type IIA superstring theory and the measure that\nenters D-instanton sums for processes dominated by single multiply-charged\nD-instantons in the type IIB theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dual photons and gravitons: We review the status of electric/magnetic duality for free gauge field\ntheories in four space-time dimensions with emphasis on Maxwell theory and\nlinearized Einstein gravity. Using the theory of vector and tensor spherical\nharmonics, we provide explicit construction of dual photons and gravitons by\ndecomposing the fields into axial and polar configurations with opposite parity\nand interchanging the two sectors. When the theories are defined on AdS(4)\nspace-time there are boundary manifestations of the duality, which for the case\nof gravity account for the energy-momentum/Cotton tensor duality (also known as\ndual graviton correspondence). For AdS(4) black-hole backgrounds there is no\ndirect analogue of gravitational duality on the bulk, but there is still a\nboundary duality for quasi-normal modes satisfying a selected set of boundary\nconditions. Possible extensions of this framework and some open questions are\nalso briefly discussed.",
        "positive": "Proof that Casimir force does not originate from vacuum energy: We present a simple general proof that Casimir force cannot originate from\nthe vacuum energy of electromagnetic (EM) field. The full QED Hamiltonian\nconsists of 3 terms: the pure electromagnetic term $H_{\\rm em}$, the pure\nmatter term $H_{\\rm matt}$ and the interaction term $H_{\\rm int}$. The $H_{\\rm\nem}$-term commutes with all matter fields because it does not have any explicit\ndependence on matter fields. As a consequence, $H_{\\rm em}$ cannot generate any\nforces on matter. Since it is precisely this term that generates the vacuum\nenergy of EM field, it follows that the vacuum energy does not generate the\nforces. The misleading statements in the literature that vacuum energy\ngenerates Casimir force can be boiled down to the fact that $H_{\\rm em}$\nattains an implicit dependence on matter fields by the use of the equations of\nmotion and the illegitimate treatment of the implicit dependence as if it was\nexplicit. The true origin of the Casimir force is van der Waals force generated\nby $H_{\\rm int}$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Covariant anomalies and Hawking radiation from charged rotating black\n  strings in anti-de Sitter spacetimes: Motivated by the success of the recently proposed method of anomaly\ncancellation to derive Hawking fluxes from black hole horizons of spacetimes in\nvarious dimensions, we have further extended the covariant anomaly cancellation\nmethod shortly simplified by Banerjee and Kulkarni to explore the Hawking\nradiation of the (3+1)-dimensional charged rotating black strings and their\nhigher dimensional extensions in anti-de Sitter spacetimes, whose horizons are\nnot spherical but can be toroidal, cylindrical or planar, according to their\nglobal identifications. It should be emphasized that our analysis presented\nhere is very general in the sense that the determinant of the reduced\n(1+1)-dimensional effective metric from these black strings need not be equal\nto one $(\\sqrt{-g} \\neq 1)$. Our results indicate that the gauge and energy\nmomentum fluxes needed to cancel the (1+1)-dimensional covariant gauge and\ngravitational anomalies are compatible with the Hawking fluxes. Besides,\nthermodynamics of these black strings are studied in the case of a variable\ncosmological constant.",
        "positive": "M theory, Joyce Orbifolds and Super Yang-Mills: We geometrically engineer d=4 N=1 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theories by\nconsidering M theory on various Joyce orbifolds. We argue that the\nsuperpotential of these models is generated by fractional membrane instantons.\nThe relation of this superpotential to membrane anomalies is also discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Scalar field scattering by a Lifshitz black hole under a non-minimal\n  coupling: We study the behavior of a scalar field under a z = 3 Lifshitz black hole\nbackground, in a way that is non-minimally coupled to the gravitational field.\nA general analytical solution is obtained along with two sets of quasinormal\nmodes associated to different boundary conditions that can be imposed on the\nscalar field, non-minimal coupling parameter appears explicitly on these\nsolutions. Stability of quasinormal modes can be studied and ensured for both\ncases. Also, the reflection and absorption coefficients are calculated, as well\nas the absorption cross section which features an interesting behavior because\nof being attenuated by terms strongly dependant on the non-minimal coupling. By\na suitable change of variables a soliton solution can also be obtained and the\nstability of the quasinormal modes are studied and ensured.",
        "positive": "Does Geometric Coupling Generates Resonances?: Geometrical coupling in a co-dimensional one Randall-Sundrum scenario (RS) is\nused to study resonances of $p-$form fields. The resonances are calculated\nusing the transfer matrix method. The model studied consider the standard RS\nwith delta-like branes, and branes generated by kinks and domain-wall as well.\nThe parameters are changed to control the thickness of the smooth brane. With\nthis a very interesting pattern is found for the resonances. The geometrical\ncoupling does not generate resonances for the reduced $p-$form in all cases\nconsidered."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Massive higher spin fields in curved spacetime and necessity of\n  non-minimal couplings: Free massive higher spin fields in weak background gravitational fields are\ndiscussed. Contrary to the spin one case, higher spin fields should have\nnontrivial non-minimal couplings to the curvature. A precise analysis is given\nfor the spin 2 case, and it is shown that two conditions should be satisfied\namong five non-minimal coupling constants, which we derive both in the\nHamiltonian and Lagrangian formalisms. It is checked that the linearized limit\nof the massive gravity theory indeed has the non-minimal couplings that satisfy\nthe conditions. We also discuss the form of the non-minimal couplings for the\nspin 3 case.",
        "positive": "Quantum Codes, CFTs, and Defects: We give a general construction relating Narain rational conformal field\ntheories (RCFTs) and associated 3d Chern-Simons (CS) theories to quantum\nstabilizer codes. Starting from an abelian CS theory with a fusion group\nconsisting of $n$ even-order factors, we map a boundary RCFT to an $n$-qubit\nquantum code. When the relevant 't Hooft anomalies vanish, we can orbifold our\nRCFTs and describe this gauging at the level of the code. Along the way, we\ngive CFT interpretations of the code subspace and the Hilbert space of qubits\nwhile mapping error operations to CFT defect fields."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Measure in Simplicial Gravity: Functional measures for lattice quantum gravity should agree with their\ncontinuum counterparts in the weak field, low momentum limit. After showing\nthat the standard simplicial measure satisfies the above requirement, we prove\nthat a class of recently proposed non-local measures for lattice gravity do not\nsatisfy such a criterion, already to lowest order in the weak field expansion.\nWe argue therefore that the latter cannot represent acceptable discrete\nfunctional measures for simplicial geometries.",
        "positive": "Worldvolume Superalgebra Of BLG Theory With Nambu-Poisson Structure: Recently it was proposed that the Bagger-Lambert-Gustavsson theory with\nNambu-Poisson structure describes an M5-brane in a three-form flux background.\nIn this paper we investigate the superalgebra associated with this theory. We\nderive the central charges corresponding to M5-brane solitons in 3-form\nbackgrounds. We also show that double dimensional reduction of the superalgebra\ngives rise to the Poisson bracket terms of a non-commutative D4-brane\nsuperalgebra. We provide interpretations of the D4-brane charges in terms of\nspacetime intersections."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spontaneous Breakdown of the Lorentz Invariance: We re-examine three-dimensional gauge theory with a Chern-Simons term in\nwhich the Lorentz invariance is spontaneously broken by dynamical generation of\na magnetic field. A non-vanishing magnetic field leads, through the\nNambu-Goldstone theorem, to the decrease of zero-point energies of photons,\nwhich accounts for a major part of the mechanism. The asymmetric spectral flow\nplays an important role. The instability in pure Chern-Simons theory is also\nnoted.",
        "positive": "Thermodynamic properties of black holes in de Sitter space: We study the thermodynamic properties of Schwarzschild-de Sitter (SdS) black\nhole and Reissner-Nordstr\\\"{o}m-de Sitter (RNdS) black hole in the view of\nglobal and effective thermodynamic quantities. Making use of the effective\nfirst law of thermodynamics, we can derive the effective thermodynamic\nquantities of de Sitter black holes. It is found that these effective\nthermodynamic quantities also satisfy Smarr-like formula. Especially, the\neffective temperatures are nonzero in the Nariai limit, which is consistent\nwith the idea of Bousso and Hawking. By calculating heat capacity and Gibbs\nfree energy, we find SdS black hole is always thermodynamically stable and RNdS\nblack hole may undergoes phase transition at some points."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Mirror dualities with four supercharges: We consider 3d N=2 non-abelian Hanany-Witten brane setups with chiral flavor\nsymmetry. We propose that the associated field theories are quivers with\nimproved bifundamentals, instead of standard bifundamentals. The improved\nbifundamental is a strongly coupled SCFT that carries one more U(1) global\nsymmetry than the standard bifundamental. As a consequence, our proposal\novercomes the long standing challenge of associating to each N=2 brane setup a\ngauge theory with the full rank global symmetry, allowing the study of all the\nusual supersymmetric observables, such as superconformal index, sphere\npartition function, chiral ring and moduli space. The construction passes many\nnon-trivial tests, for instance we algorithmically prove that any two improved\nquivers associated to S-dual brane setups are infrared dual. The 3d N=2 mirror\ndualities can be uplifted to 4d dualities with 4d improved bifundamentals\nconnecting USp(2N) nodes.",
        "positive": "Deformed N=2 theories, generalized recursion relations and S-duality: We study the non-perturbative properties of N=2 super conformal field\ntheories in four dimensions using localization techniques. In particular we\nconsider SU(2) gauge theories, deformed by a generic epsilon-background, with\nfour fundamental flavors or with one adjoint hypermultiplet. In both cases we\nexplicitly compute the first few instanton corrections to the partition\nfunction and the prepotential using Nekrasov's approach. These results allow to\nreconstruct exact expressions involving quasi-modular functions of the bare\ngauge coupling constant and to show that the prepotential terms satisfy a\nmodular anomaly equation that takes the form of a recursion relation with an\nexplicitly epsilon-dependent term. We then investigate the implications of this\nrecursion relation on the modular properties of the effective theory and find\nthat with a suitable redefinition of the prepotential and of the effective\ncoupling it is possible, at least up to the third order in the deformation\nparameters, to cast the S-duality relations in the same form as they appear in\nthe Seiberg-Witten solution of the undeformed theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Review of AdS/CFT Integrability, Chapter IV.4: Integrability in QCD and\n  N<4 SYM: There is a growing amount of evidence that QCD (and four-dimensional gauge\ntheories in general) possess a hidden symmetry which does not exhibit itself as\na symmetry of classical Lagrangians but is only revealed on the quantum level.\nIn this review we consider the scale dependence of local gauge invariant\noperators and high-energy (Regge) behavior of scattering amplitudes to explain\nthat the effective QCD dynamics in both cases is described by completely\nintegrable systems that prove to be related to the celebrated Heisenberg spin\nchain and its generalizations.",
        "positive": "Production of Topological Defects at the End of Inflation: Cosmological inflation and topological defects have been considered for a\nlong time, either in disagreement or in competition. On the one hand an\ninflationary era is required to solve the shortcomings of the hot big bang\nmodel, while on the other hand cosmic strings and string-like objects are\npredicted to be formed in the early universe. Thus, one has to find ways so\nthat both can coexist. I discuss how to reconcile cosmological inflation with\ncosmic strings."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Uplifting Maximal Gauged Supergravities: Which theories have a higher dimensional origin in String/M-theory is a non\ntrivial question and it is still far from being understood in the constrained\nscenario of maximal supergravities. After 35 years of progress in this\ndirection we have found supporting evidence in favor of the idea that every\nelectric maximal supergravity in 4 dimensions can be uplifted to M-theory. We\nwill review the current understanding of this problem with special emphasis in\nthe uplifting of non compact supergravities and their relation with Exceptional\nGeneralised Geometry.",
        "positive": "On Mathieu moonshine and Gromov-Witten invariants: We show that a large number of $CY_3$ manifolds are involved in an intricate\nway in Mathieu moonshine viz. their Gromov--Witten invariants are related to\nthe expansion coefficients of the twined/ twisted--twined elliptic genera of\n$K3$. We use the string duality between CHL orbifolds of heterotic string\ntheory on $K3 \\times T^2$ and type IIA string theory on $CY_3$ manifolds to\nexplicitly show this connection. We then work out two concrete examples where\nwe exactly match the expansion coefficients on both sides of the duality."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "F-brane Dynamics: We generalize the current algebra of constraints of U-duality-covariant\ncritical superstrings to include the generator responsible for the dynamics of\nthe fundamental brane. This allows us to define $\\kappa$ symmetry and to write\na worldvolume action in Hamiltonian form that is manifestly supersymmetric in\nthe target space. The Lagrangian form of this action is generally covariant,\nbut the worldvolume metric has fewer components than expected.",
        "positive": "The Bethe Ansatz for the superconformal index with unequal angular\n  momenta: A few years ago it was shown that the superconformal index of the\n$\\mathcal{N}=4$ supersymmetric $SU(N)$ Yang-Mills theory in the large $N$ limit\nmatches with the entropy of $1/16$-supersymmetric black holes in type IIB\nstring theory on $AdS_5\\times S^5$. In some cases, an even more detailed match\nbetween the two sides is possible. When the two angular momentum chemical\npotentials in the index are equal, the superconformal index can be written as a\ndiscrete sum of Bethe ansatz solutions, and it was shown that specific terms in\nthis sum are in a one-to-one correspondence to stable black hole solutions, and\nthat the matching can be extended to non-perturbative contributions from\nwrapped D3-branes. A Bethe ansatz approach to computing the superconformal\nindex exists also when the ratio of the angular momentum chemical potentials is\nany rational number, but in those cases it involves a sum over a very large\nnumber of terms (growing exponentially with $N$). Benini et al showed that a\nspecific one of these terms matches with the black hole, but the role of the\nother terms is not clear. In this paper we analyze some of the additional\ncontributions to the index in the Bethe ansatz approach, and we find that their\nmatching to the gravity side is much more complicated than in the case of equal\nchemical potentials. In particular, we find some contributions that are larger\nthan the one which was found to match the black holes, so that they must cancel\nwith other large contributions. We give some evidence that cancellations of\nthis type are possible, but we leave a full understanding of how they work to\nthe future."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The deconfinement phase transition in the Hamiltonian approach to\n  Yang--Mills theory in Coulomb gauge: The deconfinement phase transition of SU(2) Yang--Mills theory is\ninvestigated in the Hamiltonian approach in Coulomb gauge assuming a\nquasi-particle picture for the grand canonical gluon ensemble. The thermal\nequilibrium state is found by minimizing the free energy with respect to the\nquasi-gluon energy. Above the deconfinement phase transition the ghost form\nfactor remains infrared divergent but its infrared exponent is approximately\nhalved, while the gluon energy, being infrared divergent in the confined phase,\nbecomes infrared finite in the deconfined phase. For the effective gluon mass\nwe find a critical exponent of 0.37. Using the lattice results for the gluon\npropagator to fix the scale, the deconfinement transition temperature is\nobtained in the range of 275 to 290 MeV.",
        "positive": "Conformal symmetry of superstrings on $AdS_3\\times S^3\\times T^4$ and\n  D1/D5 system: Conformal field theory of the D1/D5 system and superstrings on $AdS_3\\times\nS^3\\times T^4$ is studied with particular attention to the world-sheet fields\ncorresponding to the $T^4$ part. A solution to the spacetime N=4 superconformal\nsymmetry doubling and other problems is proposed. It is argued that the\nrelevant spacetime symmetry should be based on the middle N=4 superconformal\nalgebra. It is discussed as to why this superconformal structure has been\nmissed so far."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the correspondence between gravity fields and CFT operators: It is shown that a nonlinear derivative-dependent transformation of gravity\nfields changes correlation functions in a boundary CFT, and, therefore,\ncorresponds to a change of a basis of operators in the CFT. It is argued that\nonly non-renormalized structures in correlation functions can be changed by\nsuch a field transformation, and that the study of the response of correlation\nfunctions to gravity field transformations allows one to find them. In the case\nof 4-point functions of CPOs in SYM_4 several non-renormalized structures are\nfound, including the extremal and subextremal ones. It is also checked that\nquartic couplings of scalar fields s^I that are dual to extended chiral primary\noperators vanish in the subextremal case, as dictated by the\nnon-renormalization theorem for the subextremal 4-point functions and the\nAdS/CFT correspondence.",
        "positive": "The geometry of RN-AdS fluids: We establish the parameter space geometry of a fluid system characterized by\ntwo constants, whose equation of state mimics that of the RN-AdS black hole. We\ncall this the RN-AdS fluid. We study the scalar curvature on the parameter\nspace of this system, and show its equivalence with the RN-AdS black hole, in\nthe limit of vanishing specific heat at constant volume. Further, an analytical\nconstruction of the Widom line is established. We also numerically study the\nbehavior of geodesics on the parameter space of the fluid, and find a geometric\nscaling relation near its second order critical point."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Casimir Energy of 5D Warped System and Sphere Lattice Regularization: Casimir energy is calculated for the 5D electromagnetism and 5D scalar theory\nin the {\\it warped} geometry. It is compared with the flat\ncase(arXiv:0801.3064). A new regularization, called {\\it sphere lattice\nregularization}, is taken. In the integration over the 5D space, we introduce\ntwo boundary curves (IR-surface and UV-surface) based on the {\\it minimal area\nprinciple}. It is a {\\it direct} realization of the geometrical approach to the\n{\\it renormalization group}. The regularized configuration is {\\it\nclosed-string like}. We do {\\it not} take the KK-expansion approach. Instead,\nthe position/momentum propagator is exploited, combined with the {\\it\nheat-kernel method}. All expressions are closed-form (not KK-expanded form).\nThe {\\it generalized} P/M propagators are introduced. We numerically evaluate\n$\\La$(4D UV-cutoff), $\\om$(5D bulk curvature, warp parameter) and $T$(extra\nspace IR parameter) dependence of the Casimir energy. We present two {\\it new\nideas} in order to define the 5D QFT: 1) the summation (integral) region over\nthe 5D space is {\\it restricted} by two minimal surfaces (IR-surface,\nUV-surface) ; or 2) we introduce a {\\it weight function} and require the\ndominant contribution is given by the {\\it minimal surface}. Based on these, 5D\nCasimir energy is {\\it finitely} obtained after the {\\it proper renormalization\nprocedure.} The {\\it warp parameter} $\\om$ suffers from the {\\it\nrenormalization effect}. We examine the meaning of the weight function and\nreach a {\\it new definition} of the Casimir energy where {\\it the 4D momenta(or\ncoordinates) are quantized} with the extra coordinate as the Euclidean time\n(inverse temperature). We comment on the cosmological constant term and present\nan answer to the problem at the end. Dirac's large number naturally appears.",
        "positive": "Porting of EPICS to Real Time UNIX, and usage ported EPICS for FEL\n  automation: This article describes concepts and mechanisms used in porting of EPICS\n(Experimental Physical and Industrial Control System) codes to platform of\noperating system UNIX. Without destruction of EPICS architecture, new features\nof EPICS provides the support for real time operating system LynxOS/x86 and\nequipment produced by INP (Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics). Application of\nported EPICS reduces the cost of software and hardware is used for automation\nof FEL (Free Electron Laser) complex."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetric vortex defects in two dimensions: We study codimension-two BPS defects in 2d N=(2,2) supersymmetric gauge\ntheories, focusing especially on those characterized by vortex-like\nsingularities in the dynamical or non-dynamical gauge field. We classify\npossible SUSY-preserving boundary conditions on charged matter fields around\nthe vortex defects, and derive a formula for defect correlators on the squashed\nsphere. We also prove an equivalence relation between vortex defects and 0d-2d\ncoupled systems. Our defect correlators are shown to be consistent with the\nmirror symmetry duality between Abelian gauged linear sigma models and\nLandau-Ginzburg models, as well as that between the minimal model and its\norbifold. We also study the vortex defects inserted at conical singularities.",
        "positive": "The Quantum Black Hole Specific Heat is Positive: We suggest in this Letter that the Bekenstein-Hawking black hole entropy\naccounts for the degrees of freedom which are excited at low temperatures only\nand hence it leads to the negative specific heat. Taking into account the\nphysical degrees of freedom which are excited at high temperatures, the\nexistence of which we postulate, we compute the total specific heat of the\nquantum black hole that appears to be positive. This is done in analogy to the\nPlanck's treatment of the black body radiation problem. Other thermodynamic\nfunctions are computed as well. Our results and the success of the\nthermodynamic description of the quantum black hole suggest an underlying\natomic (discrete) structure of gravitation. The basic properties of these\ngravitational atoms are found."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Worldline Superfield Actions for N=2 Superparticles: We propose doubly supersymmetric actions in terms of n=2(D-2) worldline\nsuperfields for N=2 superparticles in D=3,4 and Type IIA D=6 superspaces. These\nactions are obtained by dimensional reduction of superfield actions for N=1\nsuperparticles in D=4,6 and 10, respectively. We show that in all these models\ngeometrodynamical constraints on target superspace coordinates do not put the\ntheory on the mass shell, so the actions constructed consistently describe the\ndynamics of the corresponding N=2 superparticles. We also find that in contrast\nto the IIA D=6 superparticle a chiral IIB D=6 superparticle, which is not\nobtainable by dimensional reduction from N=1, D=10, is described by superfield\nconstraints which produce dynamical equations. This implies that for the IIB\nD=6 superparticle the doubly supersymmetric action does not exist in the\nconventional form.",
        "positive": "Jackson Integral Representations for Solutions to the Quantized\n  Knizhnik-Zamolodchikov Equation: The quantized Knizhnik-Zamolodchikov equations associated with the\ntrigonometric R-matrix or the rational R-matrix of the A-type are considered.\nJackson integral representations for solutions of these equations are\ndescribed. Asymptotic solutions for a holonomic system of difference equations\nare constructed. Relations between the integral representations and the Bethe\nansatz are indicated."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Proving the dimension-shift conjecture: We prove the conjecture made by Bern, Dixon, Dunbar, and Kosower that\ndescribes a simple dimension shifting relationship between the one-loop\nstructure of N = 4 MHV amplitudes and all-plus helicity amplitudes in pure\nYang-Mills theory. The proof captures all orders in dimensional regularisation\nusing unitarity cuts, by combining massive spinor-helicity with Coulomb-branch\nsupersymmetry. The form of these amplitudes can be given in terms of pentagon\nand box integrals using a generalised D-dimensional unitarity technique which\ncaptures the full amplitude to all multiplicities.",
        "positive": "Universality class of alternative phase space and Van der Waals\n  criticality: A new perspective toward thermodynamic phase space of Reisser-Nordstrom (RN)\nblack holes in an anti-de-Sitter (AdS) spaces was recently proposed [Phys.\nLett. B 768 (2017) 235], where the square of the electric charge $(Q^2)$ of\nblack hole was regarded as a thermodynamic variable and the cosmological\nconstant (pressure) as a fixed quantity. In this paper, we address the\nuniversality class and critical properties of any AdS black hole in this\nalternative phase space. We disclose the critical behavior of AdS black hole in\nthe alternative phase space in which a continuous phase transition happens and\nin a very general framework, independent of the spacetime metric. Based on the\nexpansion of the equation of state and Landau thermodynamic potential in the\nneighborhood of a critical point in the alternative phase space, we confirm\nthat the set of values for critical exponents for generic black hole is\nanalogous to the Van der Waals fluid system. Finally, we reveal that the scalar\ncurvature in geometry thermodynamic diverges at the critical point of black\nhole. Our study shows that the approach here is powerful enough to investigate\nthe critical behavior of any black holes and further supports the viability of\nthe alternative viewpoint toward phase space of black holes suggested in [Phys.\nLett. B 768 (2017) 235]."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dynamical Cobordisms in General Relativity and String Theory: We describe a class of time-dependent solutions in string- or M-theory that\nare exact with respect to alpha-prime and curvature corrections and interpolate\nin physical space between regions in which the low energy physics is\nwell-approximated by different string theories and string compactifications.\nThe regions are connected by expanding \"domain walls\" but are not separated by\ncausal horizons, and physical excitations can propagate between them. As\nspecific examples we construct solutions that interpolate between oriented and\nunoriented string theories, and also between type II and heterotic theories.\nOur solutions can be weakly curved and under perturbative control everywhere\nand can asymptote to supersymmetric at late times.",
        "positive": "Point-like topological defects in bilayer quantum Hall systems: Following a suggestion given in Phys. Lett. B 571 (2003) 250, we show how a\nbilayer Quantum Hall system at fillings nu =m/pm+2 can exhibit a point-like\ntopological defect in its edge state structure. Indeed our CFT theory for such\na system, the Twisted Model (TM), gives rise in a natural way to such a feature\nin the twisted sector. Our results are in agreement with recent experimental\nfindings (cond-mat/0503478) which evidence the presence of a topological defect\nin the bilayer system."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Low-energy spectrum of N = 4 super-Yang-Mills on T^3: flat connections,\n  bound states at threshold, and S-duality: We study (3+1)-dimensional N=4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory on a spatial\nthree-torus. The low energy spectrum consists of a number of continua of states\nof arbitrarily low energies. Although the theory has no mass-gap, it appears\nthat the dimensions and discrete abelian magnetic and electric 't Hooft fluxes\nof the continua are computable in a semi-classical approximation. The\nwave-functions of the low-energy states are supported on submanifolds of the\nmoduli space of flat connections, at which various subgroups of the gauge group\nare left unbroken. The field theory degrees of freedom transverse to such a\nsubmanifold are approximated by supersymmetric matrix quantum mechanics with 16\nsupercharges, based on the semi-simple part of this unbroken group. Conjectures\nabout the number of normalizable bound states at threshold in the latter theory\nplay a crucial role in our analysis. In this way, we compute the low-energy\nspectra in the cases where the simply connected cover of the gauge group is\ngiven by SU(n), Spin(2n+1) or Sp(2n). We then show that the constraints of\nS-duality are obeyed for unique values of the number of bound states in the\nmatrix quantum mechanics. In the cases based on Spin(2n+1) and Sp(2n), the\nproof involves surprisingly subtle combinatorial identities, which hint at a\nrich underlying structure.",
        "positive": "Exponentially localized solutions of the Klein-Gordon equation: Exponentially localized solutions of the Klein-Gordon equation for two and\nthree space variables are presented. The solutions depend on four free\nparameters. For some relations between the parameters, the solutions describe\nwave packets filled with oscillations whose amplitudes decrease in the Gaussian\nway with distance from a point running with group velocity along a straight\nline. The solutions are constructed using exact complex solutions of the\neikonal equation and may be regarded as ray solutions with amplitudes involving\none term. It is also shown that the multidimensional nonlinear Klein-Gordon\nequation can be reduced to an ordinary differential equation with respect to\nthe complex eikonal."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Minimal constrained superfields and the Fayet-Iliopoulos model: We show how the necessary constraints to project out all the components of a\nchiral superfield except for some scalar degrees of freedom originate from\nsimple operators in the microscopic theory. This is in particular useful in\nconstructing the simplest models of a goldstone boson/inflaton; or extracting\nthe Standard Model Higgs doublet from a supersymmetric electroweak sector. We\nuse the Fayet-Iliopoulos model as an example of the origin for the\nsupersymmetry breaking. We consider the regime where both gauge symmetry and\nsupersymmetry are spontaneously broken, leaving (in the decoupling limit) the\ngoldstino as the only light mode in this sector. We show in three different\nways, both in components and in superspace language, how the nilpotent\ngoldstino superfield emerges. We then use it to write different effective\noperators and extract some of the consequences for the low energy spectrum.",
        "positive": "Dynkin Diagrams and Integrable Models Based on Lie Superalgebras: An analysis is given of the structure of a general two-dimensional Toda field\ntheory involving bosons and fermions which is defined in terms of a set of\nsimple roots for a Lie superalgebra. It is shown that a simple root system for\na superalgebra has two natural bosonic root systems associated with it which\ncan be found very simply using Dynkin diagrams; the construction is closely\nrelated to the question of how to recover the signs of the entries of a Cartan\nmatrix for a superalgebra from its Dynkin diagram. The significance for Toda\ntheories is that the bosonic root systems correspond to the purely bosonic\nsector of the integrable model, knowledge of which can determine the bosonic\npart of the extended conformal symmetry in the theory, or its classical mass\nspectrum, as appropriate. These results are applied to some special kinds of\nmodels and their implications are investigated for features such as\nsupersymmetry, positive kinetic energy and generalized reality conditions for\nthe Toda fields. As a result, some new families of integrable theories with\npositive kinetic energy are constructed, some containing a mixture of massless\nand massive degrees of freedom, others being purely massive and supersymmetric,\ninvolving a number of coupled sine/sinh-Gordon theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Modular Forms and Three Loop Superstring Amplitudes: We study a proposal of D'Hoker and Phong for the chiral superstring measure\nfor genus three. A minor modification of the constraints they impose on certain\nSiegel modular forms leads to a unique solution. We reduce the problem of\nfinding these modular forms, which depend on an even spin structure, to finding\na modular form of weight 8 on a certain subgroup of the modular group. An\nexplicit formula for this form, as a polynomial in the even theta constants, is\ngiven. We checked that our result is consistent with the vanishing of the\ncosmological constant. We also verified a conjecture of D'Hoker and Phong on\nmodular forms in genus 3 and 4 using results of Igusa.",
        "positive": "Rotating Black Droplet: We construct the gravitational dual, in the Unruh state, of the \"jammed\"\nphase of a CFT at strong coupling and infinite N on a fixed five-dimensional\nrotating Myers-Perry black hole with equal angular momenta. When the angular\nmomenta are all zero, the solution corresponds to the five-dimensional\ngeneralization of the solution first studied by Figueras, Lucietti, and\nWiseman. In the extremal limit, when the angular momenta of the Myers-Perry\nblack hole are maximum, the Unruh, Boulware and Hartle-Hawking states\ndegenerate. We give a detailed analysis of the corresponding holographic stress\nenergy tensor for all values of the angular momenta, finding it to be regular\nat the horizon in all cases. We compare our results with existent literature on\nthermal states of free field theories on black hole backgrounds."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Double Soft Limit of Graviton Amplitude from the Cachazo-He-Yuan\n  Formalism: We present a complete analysis for double soft limit of graviton scattering\namplitude using the formalism proposed by Cachazo, He and Yuan. Our results\nagree with that obtained via BCFW recursion relations in arXiv:1504.05558. In\naddition we find precise relations between degenerate and nondegenerate\nsolutions of scattering equations with local and nonlocal terms in the soft\nfactor.",
        "positive": "Unitary matrix with a Penner-like potential also yields N_f=2: It has been known for some time that a hermitian matrix model with a\nPenner-like potential yields as its large-N free energy the prepotential of N=2\nN_f=2 SU(2) SUSY gauge theory. We give a rigorous proof that a unitary matrix\nmodel with the identical potential also yields the same prepotential, although\nthe parameter identifications are slightly different. This result has been\nanticipated by Itoyama et. al."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "$\u03ba$-deformed complex scalar field: conserved charges, symmetries\n  and their impact on physical observables: In this paper we revisit the model of $\\kappa$-deformed complex scalar field.\nWe find that this model possesses ten conserved Noether charges that form,\nunder commutators, a representation of (undeformed) Poincar\\'e algebra. It\nfollows that the theory is relativistic and does not break Lorentz invariance.\nHowever the spacetime representation of boosts is not standard, and contains a\nnon-local translation, different for positive and negative energy modes. It\nthen follows that although the masses of particles and anti-particles are\nequal, the theory violates CPT symmetry in a subtle way. We explain why the\nJost-Wightman-Greenberg theorem of equivalence of the Poincar\\'e symmetry and\nCPT fails in our case. Finally, we discuss the phenomenological consequences of\nthe theory and its possible observational signatures.",
        "positive": "Spinor Green function in higher-dimensional cosmic string space-time in\n  the presence of magnetic flux: In this paper we investigate the vacuum polarization effects associated with\nquantum fermionic charged fields in a generalized $(d+1)-$dimensional cosmic\nstring space-times considering the presence of a magnetic flux along the\nstring. In order to develop this analysis we calculate a general expression for\nthe respective Green function, valid for several different values of $d$, which\nis expressed in terms of a bispinor associated with the square of the Dirac\noperator. Adopting this result, we explicitly calculate the renormalized vacuum\nexpectation values of the energy-momentum tensors, $<T^A_B>_{Ren.}$, associated\nwith massless fields. Moreover, for specific values of the parameters which\ncodify the cosmic string and the fractional part of the ratio of the magnetic\nflux by the quantum one, we were able to present in closed forms the bispinor\nand the respective Green function for massive fields."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Scalar Casimir effect between Dirichlet spheres or a plate and a sphere: We present a simple formalism for the evaluation of the Casimir energy for\ntwo spheres and a sphere and a plane, in case of a scalar fluctuating field,\nvalid at any separations. We compare the exact results with various\napproximation schemes and establish when such schemes become useful. The\nformalism can be easily extended to any number of spheres and/or planes in\nthree or arbitrary dimensions, with a variety of boundary conditions or\nnon-overlapping potentials/non-ideal reflectors.",
        "positive": "Compactified Twistor Fibration and Topology of Ward Unitons: We use the compactified twistor correspondence for the (2+1)-dimensional\nintegrable chiral model to prove a conjecture of Ward. In particular, we\nconstruct the correspondence space of a compactified twistor fibration and use\nit to prove that the second Chern numbers of the holomorphic vector bundles,\ncorresponding to the uniton solutions of the integrable chiral model, equal the\nthird homotopy classes of the restricted extended solutions of the unitons.\nTherefore we deduce that the total energy of a time-dependent uniton is\nproportional to the second Chern number."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Matter representations from geometry: under the spell of Dynkin: In the traditional Katz-Vafa method, matter representations are determined by\ndecomposing the adjoint representation of a parent simple Lie algebra\n$\\mathfrak{m}$ as the direct sum of irreducible representations of a semisimple\nsubalgebra $\\mathfrak{g}$. The Katz-Vafa method becomes ambiguous as soon as\n$\\mathfrak{m}$ contains several subalgebras isomorphic to $\\mathfrak{g}$ but\ngiving different decompositions of the adjoint representation. We propose a\nselection rule that characterizes the matter representations observed in\ngeneric constructions in F-theory and M-theory: the matter representations in\ngeneric F-theory compactifications correspond to linear equivalence classes of\nsubalgebras $\\mathfrak{g}\\subset \\mathfrak{m}$ with Dynkin index one along each\nsimple components of $\\mathfrak{g}$. This simple yet elegant selection rule\nallows us to apply the Katz-Vafa method to a much large class of models. We\nillustrate on numerous examples how this proposal streamlines the derivation of\nmatter representations in F-theory and resolves previously ambiguous cases.",
        "positive": "More on Homological Supersymmetric Quantum Mechanics: In this work, we first solve complex Morse flow equations for the simplest\ncase of a bosonic harmonic oscillator to discuss localization in the context of\nPicard-Lefschetz theory. We briefly touch on the exact non-BPS solutions of the\nbosonized supersymmetric quantum mechanics on algebraic geometric grounds and\nreport that their complex phases can be accessed through the cohomology of WKB\n1-form of the underlying singular spectral curve subject to necessary\ncohomological corrections for non-zero genus. Motivated by Picard-Lefschetz\ntheory, we write down a general formula for the index of $\\mathcal{N} = 4$\nquantum mechanics with background $R$-symmetry gauge fields. We conjecture that\ncertain symmetries of the refined Witten index and singularities of the moduli\nspace may be used to determine the correct intersection coefficients. A few\nexamples, where this conjecture holds, are shown in both linear and closed\nquivers with rank-one quiver gauge groups. The $R$-anomaly removal along the\n\"Morsified\" relative homology cycles also called \"Lefschetz thimbles\" is shown\nto lead to the appearance of Stokes lines. We show that the Fayet-Iliopoulos\n(FI) parameters appear in the intersection coefficients for the relative\nhomology of the quiver quantum mechanics resulting from dimensional reduction\nof $2d$ $\\mathcal{N}=(2,2)$ gauge theory on a circle and explicitly calculate\nintegrals along the Lefschetz thimbles in $\\mathcal{N}=4$ $\\mathbb{CP}^{k-1}$\nmodel. The Stokes jumping of coefficients and its relation to wall crossing\nphenomena is briefly discussed. We also find that the notion of \"on-the-wall\"\nindex is related to the invariant Lefschetz thimbles under Stokes phenomena. An\nimplication of the Lefschetz thimbles in constructing knots from quiver quantum\nmechanics is indicated."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gravity versus Noncommutative Gauge Theory: A Double Copy Perspective: We discuss how Moyal deformations of gauge theories, which arise naturally\nfrom open string theory, fit into the paradigm of colour-kinematics duality and\nthe double copy of gauge theory to gravity. Along the way we encounter novel\nnoncommutative scalar field theories with rigid colour symmetry that have no\ninteracting commutative counterparts. These scalar theories offer new\nperspectives on old ideas that rank one noncommutative gauge theories are\ngravitational theories. This is rendered explicit in four dimensions where they\nand their double copy images yield deformations of integrable theories\ndescribing the self-dual sectors of Yang-Mills theory and gravity.",
        "positive": "Chiral gauge theory and gravity from unconventional supersymmetry: From a gauge $SU(2,2|2)$ model with broken supersymmetry, we construct an\naction for $SU(2)\\times U(1)$ Yang-Mills theory coupled to gravity and matter.\nThe connection components for AdS boosts and special conformal translations are\nauxiliary fields and their fixing reduces the theory to two distintive sectors:\na vector-like gauge theory with general relativity and a chiral gauge theory\nwhere gravity drops out. We discuss some of the main classical features of the\nmodel such as the predicted tree level gauge couplings, cosmological constant\nvalue, mass-like terms and the Einstein equations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Particle-physics constraints on multifractal spacetimes: We study electroweak interactions in the multiscale theory with\n$q$-derivatives, a framework where spacetime has the typical features of a\nmultifractal. In the simplest case with only one characteristic time, length\nand energy scale $t_*$, $\\ell_*$, and $E_*$, we consider (i) the muon decay\nrate and (ii) the Lamb shift in the hydrogen atom, and constrain the\ncorrections to the ordinary results. We obtain the independent absolute upper\nbounds (i) $t_* < 10^{-13}{\\rm s}$ and (ii) $E_*>35\\,\\text{MeV}$. Under some\nmild theoretical assumptions, the Lamb shift alone yields the even tighter\nranges $t_*<10^{-27}\\,{\\rm s}$, $\\ell_*<10^{-19}\\,{\\rm m}$, and\n$E_*>450\\,\\text{GeV}$. To date, these are the first robust constraints on the\nscales at which the multifractal features of the geometry can become important\nin a physical process.",
        "positive": "'t Hooft-Polyakov monopole of higher generalized angular momenta: We recall the quaternionic fomulation, which can simplify the computation of\nthe linearized Yang-Mills-Higgs equation in the background of a 't\nHooft-Polyakov monopole. We then study the solutions in the cases $j=0$, $j=1$\nand $j\\geq 2$ separately. In particular, we investigate the spectral properties\nof the monopoles. We focus on some of the bound states and show that as the\ngeneralized momentum increases, the $k-$th eigenvalue tends to 1. We show the\nexistence of Feshbach resonance for $\\om <1$ in the coupled system and\ncalculated the partial cross section when $\\om >1$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Electromagnetic instability and Schwinger effect in the\n  Witten-Sakai-Sugimoto model with D0-D4 background: Using the Witten-Sakai-Sugimoto model in the D0-D4 background, we\nholographically compute the vacuum decay rate of the Schwinger effect in this\nmodel. Our calculation contains the influence of the D0-brane density which\ncould be identified as the $\\theta$ angle or chiral potential in QCD. Under the\nstrong electromagnetic fields, the instability appears due to the creation of\nquark-antiquark pairs and the associated decay rate can be obtained by\nevaluating the imaginary part of the effective Euler-Heisenberg action which is\nidentified as the action of the probe brane with a constant electromagnetic\nfield. In the bubble D0-D4 configuration, we find the decay rate decreases when\nthe $\\theta$ angle increases since the vacuum becomes heavier in the present of\nthe glue condensate in this system. And the decay rate matches to the result in\nthe black D0-D4 configuration at zero temperature limit according to our\ncalculations. In this sense, the Hawking-Page transition of this model could be\nconsistently interpreted as the confined/deconfined phase transition.\nAdditionally there is another instability from the D0-brane itself in this\nsystem and we suggest that this instability reflects to the vacuum decay\ntriggered by the $\\theta$ angle as it is known in the $\\theta$-dependent QCD.",
        "positive": "Tropological Sigma Models: With the use of mathematical techniques of tropical geometry, it was shown by\nMikhalkin some twenty years ago that certain Gromov-Witten invariants\nassociated with topological quantum field theories of pseudoholomorphic maps\ncan be computed by going to the tropical limit of the geometries in question.\nHere we examine this phenomenon from the physics perspective of topological\nquantum field theory in the path integral representation, beginning with the\ncase of the topological sigma model before coupling it to topological gravity.\nWe identify the tropicalization of the localization equations, investigate its\ngeometry and symmetries, and study the theory and its observables using the\nstandard cohomological BRST methods. We find that the worldsheet theory\nexhibits a nonrelativistic structure, similar to theories of the Lifshitz type.\nIts path-integral formulation does not require a worldsheet complex structure;\ninstead, it is based on a worldsheet foliation structure."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quasinormal modes of supersymmetric microstate geometries from the D1-D5\n  CFT: We revisit the study of the probe scalar quasinormal modes of a class of\nthree-charge supersymmetric microstate geometries. We compute the real and\nimaginary parts of the quasinormal modes and show that in the parameter range\nwhen the geometries have large AdS region, the spectrum is precisely reproduced\nfrom a D1-D5 orbifold CFT analysis. The spectrum includes the slow decaying\nmodes pointed out by Eperon, Reall, and Santos. We analyse in detail the nature\nof the quasinormal modes by studying the scalar wavefunction. We show that\nthese modes correspond to slow leakage of excitation from AdS throat to\ninfinity.",
        "positive": "Ghost-spin chains, entanglement and $bc$-ghost CFTs: We study 1-dimensional chains of ghost-spins with nearest neighbour\ninteractions amongst them, developing further the study of ghost-spins in\nprevious work, defined as 2-state spin variables with indefinite norm. First we\nstudy finite ghost-spin chains with Ising-like nearest neighbour interactions:\nthis helps organize and clarify the study of entanglement earlier and we\ndevelop this further. Then we study a family of infinite ghost-spin chains with\na different Hamiltonian containing nearest neighbour hopping-type interactions.\nBy defining fermionic ghost-spin variables through a Jordan-Wigner\ntransformation, we argue that these ghost-spin chains lead in the continuum\nlimit to the $bc$-ghost CFTs."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Hagedorn Transition and Collective Dynamics of D0-branes: Banks, Fischler, Klebanov and Susskind have proposed a model for black hole\nthermodynamics based on the principle that the entropy is of order the number\nof particles at the phase transition point in a Boltzmann gas of D0-branes. We\nshow that the deviations from Boltzmann scaling found in $d<6$ noncompact\nspatial dimensions have a simple explanation in the analysis of\nself-gravitating random walks due to Horowitz and Polchinski. In the special\ncase of $d=4$ we find evidence for the onset of a phase transition in the\nBoltzmann gas analogous to the well-known Hagedorn transition in a gas of free\nstrings. Our result relies on an estimate of the asymptotic density of states\nin a dilute gas of D0-branes.",
        "positive": "Page curves for a family of exactly solvable evaporating black holes: We study the entanglement entropy of a one-parameter family of exactly\nsolvable gravities in the 2-dimensional asymptotically-flat space. The islands\nand Page curves of eternal, evaporating and bath-removed black holes are\ninvestigated. The different theories in this parameter class are identified\nthrough field redefinitions which leave the island invariant. The Page\ntransition is found to occur at the first a third of the black hole life time\nin the evaporating case for this family of solutions. In addition, we consider\ngluing the equilibrium black hole and the evaporating one along a null\ntrajectory and study the effect of gluing on the islands and Page curves. In\nthe glued space, the island jumps across two different geometries at a certain\nretarded time. As a result, the Page transition is stretched and split into two\nseparate ones -- the first transition happens when the net entropy generation\nstops and the second one occurs as the early radiation effectively starts to\nbecome purified. Finally, we discuss the issues concerning the inconsistent\nrates of purification and the paradox related to the state of the radiation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Holographic Nature Of Rindler Energy: We show that the dimensionless Rindler energy of a black hole, $E_R$, is\nexactly the surface Hamiltonian obtained from the Einstein--Hilbert action\nevaluated on the horizon. Therefore, $E_R$ is given by a surface integral over\nthe horizon and manifestly holographic. In the context of the AdS/CFT duality,\nRindler energy corresponds, on the boundary, to a dimensionless energy given by\nthe product of the AdS radius and the extensive part of the CFT energy. We find\nthat, beyond General Relativity, $E_R$ is still holographic but not necessarily\ngiven by the surface Hamiltonian of the theory.",
        "positive": "BRST-antifield-treatment of metric-affine gravity: The metric-affine gauge theory of gravity provides a broad framework in which\ngauge theories of gravity can be formulated. In this article we fit\nmetric-affine gravity into the covariant BRST--antifield formalism in order to\nobtain gauge fixed quantum actions. As an example the gauge fixing of a general\ntwo-dimensional model of metric-affine gravity is worked out explicitly. The\nresult is shown to contain the gauge fixed action of the bosonic string in\nconformal gauge as a special case."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Equal charge black holes and seven dimensional gauged supergravity: We present various supergravity black holes of different dimensions with some\nU(1) charges set equal in a simple, common form. Black hole solutions of seven\ndimensional U(1)^2 gauged supergravity with three independent angular momenta\nand two equal U(1) charges are obtained. We investigate the thermodynamics and\nthe BPS limit of this solution, and find that there are rotating supersymmetric\nblack holes without naked closed timelike curves. There are also supersymmetric\ntopological soliton solutions without naked closed timelike curves that have a\nsmooth geometry.",
        "positive": "Sigma Model Corrections to the Confining Background: Sigma model ($\\alpha^{\\prime}$) corrections to the confining string\nbackground are obtained. The main result is that the Poincar\\'e invariant\nansatz is maintained. Physical conditions for the dissapearance of the naked\nsingularity are discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Line Operators in Chern-Simons-Matter Theories and Bosonization in Three\n  Dimensions: We study Chern-Simons theories at large $N$ with either bosonic or fermionic\nmatter in the fundamental representation. The most fundamental operators in\nthese theories are mesonic line operators, the simplest example being Wilson\nlines ending on fundamentals. We classify the conformal line operators along an\narbitrary smooth path as well as the spectrum of conformal dimensions and\ntransverse spins of their boundary operators at finite 't Hooft coupling. These\nline operators are shown to satisfy first-order chiral evolution equations, in\nwhich a smooth variation of the path is given by a factorized product of two\nline operators. We argue that this equation together with the spectrum of\nboundary operators are sufficient to uniquely determine the expectation values\nof these operators. We demonstrate this by bootstrapping the two-point function\nof the displacement operator on a straight line. We show that the line\noperators in the theory of bosons and the theory of fermions satisfy the same\nevolution equation and have the same spectrum of boundary operators.",
        "positive": "Extended MQCD and SUSY/non-SUSY duality: We study the SUSY/non-SUSY duality proposed by Aganagic et al. from Type IIA\nstring and M-theory perspectives. We find that our brane configuration\ngeneralizes the so-called $extended$ Seiberg-Witten theory on the one hand, and\nprovides a way to realize non-SUSY vacua by intersecting NS5-branes on the\nother hand. We also argue how the partial SUSY breaking from $\\Ncal=2$ down to\n$\\Ncal=1$ can be clearly visualized through the brane picture."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauge Supergravities for all Odd Dimensions: Recently proposed supergravity theories in odd dimensions whose fields are\nconnection one-forms for the minimal supersymmetric extensions of anti-de\nSitter gravity are discussed. Two essential ingredients are required for this\nconstruction: (1) The superalgebras, which extend the adS algebra for different\ndimensions, and (2) the lagrangians, which are Chern-Simons $(2n-1)$-forms. The\nfirst item completes the analysis of van Holten and Van Proeyen, which was\nvalid for N=1 only. The second ensures that the actions are invariant by\nconstruction under the gauge supergroup and, in particular, under local\nsupersymmetry. Thus, unlike standard supergravity, the local supersymmetry\nalgebra closes off-shell and without requiring auxiliary fields. \\\\\n  The superalgebras are constructed for all dimensions and they fall into three\nfamilies: $osp(m|N)$ for $D=2,3,4$, mod 8, $osp(N|m)$ for $D=6,7,8$, mod 8, and\n$su(m-2,2|N)$ for D=5 mod 4, with $m=2^{[D/2]}$. The lagrangian is constructed\nfor $D=5, 7$ and 11. In all cases the field content includes the vielbein\n($e_{\\mu}^{a}$), the spin connection ($\\omega_{\\mu}^{ab}$), $N$ gravitini\n($\\psi_{\\mu}^{i}$), and some extra bosonic \"matter\" fields which vary from one\ndimension to another.",
        "positive": "Diagonal $K$-matrices and transfer matrix eigenspectra associated with\n  the $G^{(1)}_2$ $R$-matrix: We find all the diagonal $K$-matrices for the $R$-matrix associated with the\nminimal representation of the exceptional affine algebra $G^{(1)}_2$. The\ncorresponding transfer matrices are diagonalized with a variation of the\nanalytic Bethe ansatz. We find many similarities with the case of the\nIzergin-Korepin $R$-matrix associated with the affine algebra $A^{(2)}_2$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Generalized Measures in Gauge Theory: Let P -> M be a principal G-bundle. Using techniques from the loop\nrepresentation of gauge theory, we construct well-defined substitutes for\n``Lebesgue measure'' on the space A of connections on P and for ``Haar\nmeasure'' on the group Ga of gauge transformations. More precisely, we define\nalgebras of ``cylinder functions'' on the spaces A, Ga, and A/Ga, and define\ngeneralized measures on these spaces as continuous linear functionals on the\ncorresponding algebras. Borrowing some ideas from lattice gauge theory, we\ncharacterize generalized measures on A, Ga, and A/Ga in terms of graphs\nembedded in M. We use this characterization to construct generalized measures\non A and Ga, respectively. The ``uniform'' generalized measure on A is\ninvariant under the group of automorphisms of P. It projects down to the\ngeneralized measure on A/Ga considered by Ashtekar and Lewandowski in the case\nG = SU(n). The ``generalized Haar measure'' on Ga is right- and left-invariant\nas well as Aut(P)-invariant. We show that averaging any generalized measure on\nA against generalized Haar measure gives a gauge-invariant generalized measure\non A.",
        "positive": "Fixing D7 Brane Positions by F-Theory Fluxes: To do realistic model building in type IIB supergravity, it is important to\nunderstand how to fix D7-brane positions by the choice of fluxes. More\ngenerally, F-theory model building requires the understanding of how fluxes\ndetermine the singularity structure (and hence gauge group and matter content)\nof the compactification. We analyse this problem in the simple setting of\nM-theory on K3xK3. Given a certain flux which is consistent with the F-theory\nlimit, we can explicitly derive the positions at which D7 branes or stacks of\nD7 branes are stabilised. The analysis is based on a parameterization of the\nmoduli space of type IIB string theory on T^2/Z_2 (including D7-brane\npositions) in terms of the periods of integral cycles of M-theory on K3. This\nallows us, in particular, to select a specific desired gauge group by the\nchoice of flux numbers."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Examining the weak cosmic censorship conjecture by gedanken experiments\n  for Kerr-Sen black holes: In this paper, we investigate the weak cosmic censorship conjecture for the\nKerr-Sen black holes by considering the new version of the gedanken experiments\nproposed recently by Sorce and Wald. After deriving the first two order\nperturbation inequalities in the low energy limit of heterotic string theory\nbased on the Iyer-Wald formalism and applying it into the Kerr-Sen black hole,\nwe find that the Kerr-Sen black hole can not be overspun or overcharged by the\ncharged matter collision after taking into account the second-order\nperturbation inequality, although they can be destroyed by the scene only\nconsidering the first-order perturbation inequality. Therefore, the weak cosmic\ncensorship conjecture is preserved in the Kerr-Sen black hole at this level.",
        "positive": "Microscopic origin of the entropy of black holes in general relativity: We construct an infinite family of microstates with geometric interiors for\neternal black holes in general relativity with negative cosmological constant\nin any dimension. Wormholes in the Euclidean path integral for gravity cause\nthese states to have small, but non-zero, quantum mechanical overlaps that have\na universal form. The overlaps have a dramatic consequence: the microstates\nspan a Hilbert space of log dimension equal to the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy.\nThe semiclassical microstates we construct contain Einstein-Rosen bridges of\narbitrary size behind their horizons. Our results imply that all these bridges\ncan be interpreted as quantum superpositions of wormholes of size at most\nexponential in the entropy."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dynamics of Gauge Field Inflation: We analyze the existence and stability of dynamical attractor solutions for\ncosmological inflation driven by the coupling between fermions and a gauge\nfield. Assuming a spatially homogeneous and isotropic gauge field and fermion\ncurrent, the interacting fermion equation of motion reduces to that of a free\nfermion up to a phase shift. Consistency of the model is ensured via the\nStuckelberg mechanism. We prove the existence of exactly one stable solution,\nand demonstrate the stability numerically. Inflation arises without fine\ntuning, and does not require postulating any effective potential or\nnon-standard coupling.",
        "positive": "Black hole information and Reeh-Schlieder theorem: The Reeh-Schlieder theorem, with the time-slice axiom of quantum field\ntheory, may be used to recover the information which falls into a black hole.\nAnalyticity of quantum fields in states with finite energy plays the crucial\nrole. In AdS spacetime, our argument based on the Reeh-Schlieder theorem is\nconsistent with the argument that there is no information loss because of the\nAdS/CFT correspondence."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Ruppeiner Geometry of RN Black Holes: Flat or Curved?: In some recent studies \\cite{aman1, aman2, aman3}, Aman {\\it et al.} used the\nRuppeiner scalar as a measure of underlying interactions of\nReissner-Nordstr\\\"{o}m black holes, indicating that it is a non-interacting\nstatistical system for which classical thermodynamics could be used at any\nscale. Here, we show that if we use the complete set of thermodynamic\nvariables, a non-flat state space will be produced. Furthermore, the Ruppeiner\ncurvature diverges at extremal limits, as it would for other types of black\nholes.",
        "positive": "Innocuous Implications of a Minimum Length in Quantum Gravity: A modification to the time-energy uncertainty relation in quantum gravity has\nbeen interpreted as increasing the duration of fluctuations producing virtual\nblack holes with masses greater than the Planck mass. I point out that such\nvirtual black holes have an exponential factor arising from the action such\nthat their contribution to proton decay is suppressed, rather than enhanced,\nrelative to Planck-mass black holes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Loop equations for multi-cut matrix models: The loop equation for the complex one-matrix model with a multi-cut structure\nis derived and solved in the planar limit. An iterative scheme for higher genus\ncontributions to the free energy and the multi-loop correlators is presented\nfor the two-cut model, where explicit results are given up to and including\ngenus two. The double-scaling limit is analyzed and the relation to the one-cut\nsolution of the hermitian and complex one-matrix model is discussed.",
        "positive": "Mapping of relativistic Green's functions under extended point canonical\n  transformations: Given a relativistic two-point Green's function for a spinor system with\nspherical symmetry we show how to obtain another in the same class by extended\npoint canonical transformations (XPCT)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "BCFW construction of the Veneziano Amplitude: In this note we demonstrate how one can compute the Veneziano amplitude for\nbosonic string theory using the BCFW method. We use an educated ansatz for the\ncubic amplitude of two tachyons and an arbitrary level string state.",
        "positive": "A stringy perspective on the quantum integrable model/gauge\n  correspondence: We present a string theory realization for the correspondence between quantum\nintegrable models and supersymmetric gauge theories. The quantization results\nfrom summing the effects of fundamental strings winding around a compact\ndirection. We discuss the examples of the XXZ gauge/Bethe correspondence and\nfive-dimensional \\Omega--deformed SYM on M x S^1."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Stability of flux vacua in the presence of charged black holes: In this letter we consider a charged black hole in a flux compactification of\ntype IIB string theory. Both the black hole and the fluxes will induce\npotentials for the complex structure moduli. We choose the compact dimensions\nto be described locally by a deformed conifold, creating a large hierarchy. We\ndemonstrate that the presence of a black hole typically will not change the\nminimum of the moduli potential in a substantial way. However, we also point\nout a couple of possible loop-holes, which in some cases could lead to\ninteresting physical consequences such as changes in the hierarchy.",
        "positive": "D0-branes in Gepner models and N=2 black holes: In this paper D-brane boundary states constructed in Gepner models are used\nto analyze some aspects of the dynamics of D0-branes in Calabi-Yau\ncompactifications of type II theories to four dimensions. It is shown that the\nboundary states correspond to BPS objects carrying dyonic charges. By analyzing\nthe couplings to closed string fields a correspondence between the D0-branes\nand extremal charged black holes in N=2 supergravity is found."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Casimir effect for pistons with transmittal boundary conditions: This work focuses on the analysis of the Casimir effect for pistons subject\nto transmittal boundary conditions. In particular we consider, as piston\nconfiguration, a direct product manifold of the type $I\\times N$ where $I$ is a\nclosed interval of the real line and $N$ is a smooth compact Riemannian\nmanifold. By utilizing the spectral zeta function regularization technique, we\ncompute the Casimir energy of the system and the Casimir force acting on the\npiston. Explicit results for the force are provided when the manifold $N$ is a\n$d$-dimensional ball.",
        "positive": "On F-term contribution to effective action: We apply equivariant integration technique, developed in the context of\ninstanton counting, to two dimensional N=2 supersymmetric Yang-Mills models.\nTwisted superpotential for U(N) model is computed. Connections to the four\ndimensional case are discussed. Also we make some comments about the eight\ndimensional model which manifests similar features."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Phase and Scaling Properties of Determinants Arising in Topological\n  Field Theories: In topological field theories determinants of maps with negative as well as\npositive eigenvalues arise. We give a generalisation of the zeta-regularisation\ntechnique to derive expressions for the phase and scaling-dependence of these\ndeterminants. For theories on odd-dimensional manifolds a simple formula for\nthe scaling dependence is obtained in terms of the dimensions of certain\ncohomology spaces. This enables a non-perturbative feature of Chern-Simons\ngauge theory to be reproduced by path-integral methods.",
        "positive": "Confinement from gluodynamics in curved space-time: We determine the static potential for a heavy quark-antiquark pair from\ngluodynamics in curved space-time. Our calculation is done within the framework\nof the gauge-invariant, path-dependent, variables formalism. The potential\nenergy is the sum of a Yukawa and a linear potential, leading to the\nconfinement of static charges."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Superstring Perturbation Theory and Ramond-Ramond Backgrounds: We consider perturbative Type II superstring theory in the covariant NSR\nformalism in the presence of NSNS and RR backgrounds. A concrete example that\nwe have in mind is the geometry of D3-branes which in the near-horizon region\nis AdS_5 x S_5, although our methods may be applied to other backgrounds as\nwell. We show how conformal invariance of the string path integral is\nmaintained order by order in the number of holes. This procedure makes uses of\nthe Fischler-Susskind mechanism to build up the background geometry. A simple\nformal expression is given for a \\sigma-model Lagrangian. This suggests a\nperturbative expansion in 1/g^2N and 1/N. As applications, we consider at\nleading order the mixing of RR and NSNS states, and the realization of the\nspacetime supersymmetry algebra.",
        "positive": "Thermal Giant Graviton with Non-commutative Dipole Field: Using the type II near-extremal 3D-branes solution we apply the T-duality and\nsmeared twist to construct the supergravity backgrounds which dual to the 4D\nfinite temperature non-commutative dipole field theories. We first consider the\nzero-temperature system in which, depending on the property of dipole vectors\nit may be N=2, N=1 or N=0 theory. We investigate the rotating D3-brane\nconfigurations moving on the spactimes and show that, for the cases of N=2 and\nN =1 the rotating D3-brane could be blowed up to the stable spherical\nconfiguration which is called as giant graviton and has a less energy than the\npoint-like graviton. The giant graviton configuration is stable only if its\nangular momentum was less than a critical value of $P_c$ which is an increasing\nfunction of the dipole strength. For the case of non-supersymmetric theory,\nhowever, the spherical configuration has a larger energy than the point-like\ngraviton. We also find that the dipole field always render the dual giant\ngraviton to be more stable than the point-like graviton. The relation of dual\ngiant graviton energy with its angular momentum, which in the AdS/CFT\ncorrespondence being the operator anomalous dimension is obtained. We\nfurthermore show that the temperature does not change the property of the giant\ngraviton, while it will render the dual giant graviton to be unstable."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Orthogonal black di-ring solution: We construct a five dimensional exact solution of the orthogonal black\ndi-ring which has two black rings whose $S^1$-rotating planes are orthogonal.\nThis solution has four free parameters which represent radii of and speeds of\n$S^1$-rotation of the black rings. We use the inverse scattering method. This\nmethod needs the seed metric. We also present a systematic method how to\nconstruct a seed metric. Using this method, we can probably construct other\nsolutions having many black rings on the two orthogonal planes with or without\na black hole at the center.",
        "positive": "Left-handed string and CHY amplitude at one loop: We propose a generalized left-handed (chiral) gauge choice for the genus one\nRiemann surface, realized through a singular gauge transformation of worldsheet\ncoordinates. The transformation predominantly affects the logarithmic non-zero\nmodes of the Green's function, leaving non-holomorphic and non-logarithmic\nmodes unchanged. This procedure yields $\\delta$-functions for chiral\ncoordinates and box-diagram-like integrals in terms of modular parameters. The\nresulting $\\delta$-functions formulate one-loop level Scattering Equations that\nsimplify to satisfy the tree-level solutions, constraining the locations of the\nmarked points. Subsequent integrals agree with the field-theoretic box diagram\nfor the four-point amplitude, in accordance with the divergent $\\epsilon$\nexpansions derived from dimensional regularization in the infrared limit. We\nconclude by highlighting potential avenues for future research, including the\nexploration of methodologies that preclude the need for worldsheet coordinates\nreparametrization and their implications for accurately capturing infrared\nbehavior from modular parameter integrals."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "3D van der Waals $\u03c3$-model and its Topological Excitations: It is shown that 3D vector van der Waals (conformal) nonlinear $\\sigma$-model\n(NSM) on a sphere $S^2$ has two types of topological excitations reminiscent\nvortices and instantons of 2D NSM. The first, the hedgehogs, are described by\nhomotopic group $\\pi_2(S^2) = \\mathbb {Z}$ and have the logarithmic energies.\nThey are an analog of 2D vortices. The energy and interaction of these\nexcitations are found. The second, corresponding to 2D instantons, are\ndescribed by hpmotopic group $\\pi_3(S^2) = \\mathbb {Z}$ or the Hopf invariant\n$H \\in \\mathbb {Z}$. A possibility of the topological phase transition in this\nmodel and its applications are briefly discussed.",
        "positive": "Painlev\u00e9 I and exact WKB: Stokes phenomenon for two-parameter\n  transseries: For more than a century, the Painlev\\'e I equation has played an important\nrole in both physics and mathematics. Its two-parameter family of solutions was\nstudied in many different ways, yet still leads to new surprises and\ndiscoveries. Two popular tools in these studies are the theory of isomonodromic\ndeformation that uses the exact WKB method, and the asymptotic description of\ntranscendents in terms of two-parameter transseries. Combining methods from\nboth schools of thought, and following work by Takei and collaborators, we find\ncomplete, two-parameter connection formulae for solutions when they cross\narbitrary Stokes lines in the complex plane. These formulae allow us to study\nStokes phenomenon for the full two-parameter family of transseries solutions.\nIn particular, we recover the exact expressions for the Stokes data that were\nrecently found by Baldino, Schwick, Schiappa and Vega and compare our\nconnection formulae to theirs. We also explain several ambiguities in relating\ntransseries parameter choices to actual Painlev\\'e transcendents, study the\nmonodromy of formal solutions, and provide high-precision numerical tests of\nour results."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Rotating Strings in Six-Dimensional Higher-Derivative Supergravity: We construct the first rotating string solution in 6-dimensional\nEinstein-Gauss-Bonnet supergravity, carrying both electric and magnetic\ncharges. By embedding the known rotating string solution of the 2-derivative\ntheory into 6-dimensional off-shell supergravity, the Killing spinors\nassociated with the underlying supersymmetry can be made off-shell and are\nuniversal to all off-shell supergravity models based on the same field content.\nThe near-horizon geometry is S^3 fibred over the extremal BTZ black hole,\nlocally isomorphic to AdS_3*S^3. We compute the higher-derivative corrections\nto the Brown-Henneaux central charges in a particular R+R^2 model resulting\nfrom K3 compactification of type IIA string theory.",
        "positive": "Kink in dual dilaton-axion theories with potential: The representation in terms of Ernst's complex potential is used to describe\nand analyze dilaton-axion theories with potential. The set of such systems is\ndivided into pairs of dual systems with respect to the inversion of the Ernst\npotential. Using duality, a theory is constructed that is invariant with\nrespect to the nonlinear Ehlers transformation. For this theory, a soliton\nsolution is obtained that is dual to a dilaton kink in a system that is\ninvariant with respect to the axion shift transformation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Absence of Radiation Reaction for an Extended Particle in Classical\n  Electrodynamics: There are known problems with the standard Lorentz-Dirac description of\nradiation reaction in classical electrodynamics. The model of extended in one\ndimension particle is proposed and is shown that for this model there is no\ntotal change in particle momentum due to radiation reaction",
        "positive": "Non-abelian vortices on compact Riemann surfaces: We consider the vortex equations for a U(n) gauge field coupled to a Higgs\nfield with values on the n times n square matrices. It is known that when these\nequations are defined on a compact Riemann surface, their moduli space of\nsolutions is closely related to a moduli space of tau-stable holomorphic\nn-pairs on that surface. Using this fact and a local factorization result for\nthe Higgs matrix, we show that the vortex solutions are entirely characterized\nby (1) the location in the surface of the zeros of the determinant of the Higgs\nmatrix and (2) by the choice of a vortex internal structure at each of these\nzeros. We describe explicitly the vortex internal spaces and show that they are\ncompact and connected spaces."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Self-Completeness in Alternative Theories of Gravity: It has recently been shown via an equivalence of gravitational radius and\nCompton wavelength in four dimensions that the trans-Planckian regime of\ngravity may by semi-classical, and that this point is defined by a minimum\nhorizon radius commensurate with the Planck mass. We extend the formalism to\ngravity in the context of Randall-Sundrum and the generalized uncertainty\nprinciple.",
        "positive": "Soft Algebras for Leaf Amplitudes: Celestial MHV amplitudes are comprised of non-distributional leaf amplitudes\nassociated to an AdS$_3$ leaf of a foliation of flat spacetime. It is shown\nhere that the leaf amplitudes are governed by the same infinite-dimensional\nsoft `$S$-algebra' as their celestial counterparts. Moreover, taking the soft\nlimit of the smooth three-point MHV leaf amplitude yields a nondegenerate\nminus-minus two-point leaf amplitude. The two- and three-point MHV leaf\namplitudes are used to compute the plus-minus-minus leaf operator product\ncoefficients."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Two-Loop Amplitudes of Gluons and Octa-Cuts in N=4 Super Yang-Mills: After reduction techniques, two-loop amplitudes in N=4 super Yang-Mills\ntheory can be written in a basis of integrals containing scalar double-box\nintegrals with rational coefficients, though the complete basis is unknown.\nGenerically, at two loops, the leading singular behavior of a scalar double box\nintegral with seven propagators is captured by a hepta-cut. However, it turns\nout that a certain class of such integrals has an additional propagator-like\nsingularity. One can then formally cut the new propagator to obtain an octa-cut\nwhich localizes the cut integral just as a quadruple cut does at one-loop. This\nimmediately gives the coefficient of the scalar double box integral as a\nproduct of six tree-level amplitudes. We compute, as examples, several\ncoefficients of the five- and six-gluon non-MHV two-loop amplitudes. We also\ndiscuss possible generalizations to higher loops.",
        "positive": "A Four-Reggeon Vertex for ${\\bf Z}_3$ Twisted Fermionic Fields: Using operator sewing techniques we construct the Reggeon vertex involving\nfour external ${\\bf Z}_3$-twisted complex fermionic fields. Generalizing a\nprocedure recently applied to the ordinary Ramond four-vertex, we deduce the\nclosed form of the ${\\bf Z}_3$ vertex by demanding it to reproduce the results\nobtained by sewing."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic flavor on the Higgs branch: In this paper we study the holographic dual, in several spacetime dimensions,\nof the Higgs branch of gauge theories with fundamental matter. These theories\ncontain defects of various codimensionalities, where the matter fields are\nlocated. In the holographic description the matter is added by considering\nflavor brane probes in the supergravity backgrounds generated by color branes,\nwhile the Higgs branch is obtained when the color and flavor branes recombine\nwith each other. We show that, generically, the holographic dual of the Higgs\nphase is realized by means of the addition of extra flux on the flavor branes\nand by choosing their appropriate embedding in the background geometry. This\nsuggests a dielectric interpretation in terms of the color branes, whose vacuum\nsolutions precisely match the F- and D-flatness conditions obtained on the\nfield theory side. We further compute the meson mass spectra in several cases\nand show that when the defect added has codimension greater than zero it\nbecomes continuous and gapless.",
        "positive": "Holomorphic subgraph reduction of higher-point modular graph forms: Modular graph forms are a class of modular covariant functions which appear\nin the genus-one contribution to the low-energy expansion of closed string\nscattering amplitudes. Modular graph forms with holomorphic subgraphs enjoy the\nsimplifying property that they may be reduced to sums of products of modular\ngraph forms of strictly lower loop order. In the particular case of dihedral\nmodular graph forms, a closed form expression for this holomorphic subgraph\nreduction was obtained previously by D'Hoker and Green. In the current work, we\nextend these results to trihedral modular graph forms. Doing so involves the\nidentification of a modular covariant regularization scheme for certain\nconditionally convergent sums over discrete momenta, with some elements of the\nsum being excluded. The appropriate regularization scheme is identified for any\nnumber of exclusions, which in principle allows one to perform holomorphic\nsubgraph reduction of higher-point modular graph forms with arbitrary\nholomorphic subgraphs."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Machine Learning of Calabi-Yau Volumes: We employ machine learning techniques to investigate the volume minimum of\nSasaki-Einstein base manifolds of non-compact toric Calabi-Yau 3-folds. We find\nthat the minimum volume can be approximated via a second order multiple linear\nregression on standard topological quantities obtained from the corresponding\ntoric diagram. The approximation improves further after invoking a\nconvolutional neural network with the full toric diagram of the Calabi-Yau\n3-folds as the input. We are thereby able to circumvent any minimization\nprocedure that was previously necessary and find an explicit mapping between\nthe minimum volume and the topological quantities of the toric diagram. Under\nthe AdS/CFT correspondence, the minimum volumes of Sasaki-Einstein manifolds\ncorrespond to central charges of a class of 4d N=1 superconformal field\ntheories. We therefore find empirical evidence for a function that gives values\nof central charges without the usual extremization procedure.",
        "positive": "Global strings in extra dimensions: a full map of solutions, matter\n  trapping and the hierarchy problem: We consider (d_0+2)-dimensional configurations with global strings in the two\nextra dimensions and a flat metric in d_0 dimensions, endowed with a warp\nfactor e^{2\\gamma} depending on the distance l from the string center. All\npossible regular solutions to the field equations are classified by the\nbehavior of the warp factor and the extra-dimensional circular radius r(l).\nSolutions with r\\to \\infty and r\\to \\const >0 as l\\to \\infty are interpreted in\nterms of thick brane world models. Solutions with r \\to 0 as l \\to l_c > 0,\ni.e., those with a second center, are interpreted as either multi-brane systems\n(which is appropriate for large enough distances l_c between the centers) or as\nKaluza-Klein type configurations with extra dimensions invisible due to their\nsmallness. For the case of the Mexican-hat symmetry breaking potential, we\nbuild a full map of regular solutions on the (\\epsilon,\\Gamma) parameter plane,\nwhere \\epsilon acts as an effective cosmological constant while \\Gamma\ncharacterizes the strength of gravity. The trapping properties of candidate\nbrane worlds for test scalar fields are discussed. Good trapping properties for\nmassive fields are found for models with growing warp factors. Kaluza-Klein\ntype models are shown to possess nontrivial warp factor behaviors, leading to\nmatter particle mass spectra which seem promising from the standpoint of\nhierarchy problems."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Topologican Gauging of N=16 Supergravity in Three-Dimensions: We present a topologically non-trivial generalization of gauged N=16\nsupergravity on the coset E_8 / SO(16) in three-dimensions. This formulation is\nbased on a combination of BF-term and a Chern-Simons term for an SO(16) gauge\nfield A_\\m{}^{I J}. The fact that an additional vector field B_\\m{}^{I J} is\nphysical and propagating with couplings to \\sigma-model fields makes our new\ngauging non-trivial and different from the conventional one. Even though the\nfield strength of the A_\\m{}^{I J}-field vanishes on-shell, the action is\ntopologically non-trivial due to non-vanishing \\pi_3-homotopy. We also present\nan additional modifications by an extra Chern-Simons term. As by-products, we\ngive also an application to N=9 supergravity coupled to a \\sigma-model on the\ncoset F_4 / SO(9), and a new BF-Chern-Simons theory coupled to ^\\forall N\nextended supergravity.",
        "positive": "Towards a Holographic Bose-Hubbard Model: We present a holographic construction of the large-N Bose-Hubbard model. The\nmodel is based on Maxwell fields coupled to charged scalar fields on the AdS2\nhard wall. We realize the lobe-shaped phase structure of the Bose-Hubbard model\nand find that the model admits Mott insulator ground states in the limit of\nlarge Coulomb repulsion. In the Mott insulator phases, the bosons are localized\non each site. At zero hopping we find that the transitions between Mott\ninsulating phases with different fillings correspond to first order\nlevel-crossing phase transitions. At finite hopping we find a holographic phase\ntransition between the Mott phase and a non-homogeneous phase. We then analyze\nthe perturbations of fields around both the Mott insulator phase and\ninhomogeneous phase. We find almost zero modes in the non-homogeneous phase."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hypersymmetry: a Z_3-graded generalization of supersymmetry: We propose a generalization of non-commutative geometry and gauge theories\nbased on ternary Z_3-graded structures. In the new algebraic structures we\ndefine, we leave all products of two entities free, imposing relations on\nternary products only. These relations reflect the action of the Z_3-group,\nwhich may be either trivial, i.e. abc=bca=cab, generalizing the usual\ncommutativity, or non-trivial, i.e. abc=jbca, with j=e^{(2\\pi i)/3}. The usual\nZ_2-graded structures such as Grassmann, Lie and Clifford algebras are\ngeneralized to the Z_3-graded case. Certain suggestions concerning the eventual\nuse of these new structures in physics of elementary particles are exposed.",
        "positive": "Linking number of vortices as baryon number: We show that the topological degree of a Skyrmion field is the same as the\nHopf charge of the field under the Hopf map and thus equals the linking number\nof the preimages of two points on the 2-sphere under the Hopf map. We further\ninterpret two particular points on the 2-sphere as vortex zeros and the linking\nof these zero lines follows from the latter theorem. Finally we conjecture that\nthe topological degree of the Skyrmion can be interpreted as the product of\nwinding numbers of vortices corresponding to the zero lines, summing over\nclusters of vortices."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Presymplectic AKSZ formulation of Einstein gravity: Any local gauge theory can be represented as an AKSZ sigma model (upon\nparameterization if necessary). However, for non-topological models in\ndimension higher than 1 the target space is necessarily infinite-dimensional.\nThe interesting alternative known for some time is to allow for degenerate\npresymplectic structure in the target space. This leads to a very concise\nAKSZ-like representation for frame-like Lagrangians of gauge systems. In this\nwork we concentrate on Einstein gravity and show that not only the Lagrangian\nbut also the full-scale Batalin--Vilkovisky formulation is naturally encoded in\nthe presymplectic AKSZ formulation, giving an elegant supergeometrical\nconstruction of BV for Cartan-Weyl action. The same applies to the main\nstructures of the respective Hamiltonian BFV formulation.",
        "positive": "The role of singletons in $S^7$ compactifications: We derive the isometry irrep content of squashed seven-sphere\ncompactifications of eleven-dimensional supergravity, i.e., the left-squashed\n($LS^7$) with ${\\mathcal N}=1$ and right-squashed ($RS^7$) with ${\\mathcal\nN}=0$ supersymmetry, in a manner completely independent of the round sphere.\nThen we compare this result with the spectrum obtained by Higgsing the round\nsphere spectrum. This way we discover features of the spectra which makes it\npossible to argue that the only way the round spectrum can be related by a\nHiggs mechanism to the one of $LS^7$ is if the singletons are included in the\nround sphere spectrum. For this to work also in the $RS^7$ case it seems that\nthe gravitino of the $LS^7$ spectrum must be replaced by a fermionic singleton\npresent in the $RS^7$ spectrum."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Towards Relativistic Skyrmions: We revisit baryons in the Skyrme model. Starting from static baryons in the\nhelicity eigenstates, we generalize their wavefunctions to the non-static and\nrelativistic regime. A new representation for gamma matrices in the soliton\ncollective space is constructed and the corresponding Dirac equation is\nobtained. As an example, we draw consideration on how to apply this new\nrepresentation on the calculus of vector current vacuum expectation values for\nbaryon states of spin and isospin half and arbitrary momenta and we show how\nelastic form factors can be derived.",
        "positive": "Hadron production in electron-positron annihilation computed from the\n  gauge gravity correspondence: We provide a non-perturbative expression for the hadron production in\nelectron-positron annihilation at zero temperature in a strongly coupled,\nlarge-Nc SU(Nc) field theory with Nf << Nc quark flavors. The resulting\nexpressions are valid to leading order in the electromagnetic coupling constant\nbut non-perturbatively in the SU(Nc) interactions and the mass of the quark. We\nobtain this quantity by computing the imaginary part of the hadronic vacuum\npolarization function Pi_q using holographic techniques, providing an\nalternative to the known method that uses the spectrum of infinitely stable\nmesons determined by the normalizable modes of the appropriated fields in the\nbulk. Our result exhibits a structure of poles localized at specific real\nvalues of q^2, which coincide with the ones found using the normalizable modes,\nand extends it offering the unique analytic continuation of this distribution\nto a function defined for values of q^2 over the complex plane. This analytic\ncontinuation permits to include a finite decay width for the mesons. By\ncomparison with experimental data we find qualitatively good agreement on the\nshape of the first pole, when using the rho meson parameters and choosing a\nproper normalization factor. We then estimate the contribution to the anomalous\nmagnetic moment of the muon finding an agreement within 25%, for this choice of\nparameters."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Entanglement Entropy in Quantum Gravity and the Plateau Problem: In a quantum gravity theory the entropy of entanglement $S$ between the\nfundamental degrees of freedom spatially divided by a surface is discussed. The\nclassical gravity is considered as an emergent phenomenon and arguments are\npresented that: 1) $S$ is a macroscopical quantity which can be determined\nwithout knowing a real microscopical content of the fundamental theory; 2) $S$\nis given by the Bekenstein-Hawking formula in terms of the area of a\nco-dimension 2 hypesurface $\\cal B$; 3) in static space-times $\\cal B$ can be\ndefined as a minimal hypersurface of a least volume separating the system in a\nconstant time slice. It is shown that properties of $S$ are in agreement with\nbasic properties of the von Neumann entropy. Explicit variational formulae for\n$S$ in different physical examples are considered.",
        "positive": "Membranes Wrapped on Holomorphic Curves: We construct supergravity solutions dual to the twisted field theories\narising when M-theory membranes wrap holomorphic curves in Calabi-Yau n-folds.\nThe solutions are constructed in an Abelian truncation of maximal D=4 gauged\nsupergravity and then uplifted to D=11. For four-folds and five-folds we find\nnew smooth AdS/CFT examples and for all cases we analyse the nature of the\nsingularities that arise. Our results provide an interpretation of certain\ncharged topological AdS black holes. We also present the generalised\ncalibration two-forms for the solutions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Super-Higgs in Superspace: We determine the effective gravitational couplings in superspace whose\ncomponents reproduce the supergravity Higgs effect for the constrained\nGoldstino multiplet. It reproduces the known Gravitino sector whilst\nconstraining the off-shell completion. We show that these components arise by\ncomputing the effective action. This may be useful for phenomenological studies\nand model building: We give an example of its application to multiple\nGoldstini.",
        "positive": "Deducing the symmetry of the standard model from the automorphism and\n  structure groups of the exceptional Jordan algebra: We continue the study undertaken in \\cite{DV} of the exceptional Jordan\nalgebra $J = J_3^8$ as (part of) the finite-dimensional quantum algebra in an\nalmost classical space-time approach to particle physics. Along with reviewing\nknown properties of $J$ and of the associated exceptional Lie groups we argue\nthat the symmetry of the model can be deduced from the Borel-de Siebenthal\ntheory of maximal connected subgroups of simple compact Lie groups."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Coming to Terms with Strongly Coupled Strings: The holomorphy of the superpotential along with symmetries gives very strong\nconstraints on any stringy non-perturbative effects. This observation suggests\nan approach to string phenomenology. (Presented at ``Strings 95'', March 1995.",
        "positive": "New five-dimensional Bianchi type magnetically charged hairy topological\n  black hole solutions in string theory: We construct black hole solutions to the leading order of string effective\naction in five dimensions with the source given by dilaton and magnetically\ncharged antisymmetric gauge $B$-field. Presence of the considered $B$-field\nleads to the unusual asymptotic behavior of solutions which are neither\nasymptotically flat nor asymptotically (A)dS. We consider the three-dimensional\nspace part to correspond to the Bianchi classes and so the horizons of these\ntopological black hole solutions are modeled by seven homogeneous Thurston\ngeometries of $E^3$, $S^3$, $H^3$, $H^2 \\times E^1$, $\\widetilde{{SL_2R}}$,\nnilgeometry, and solvegeometry. Calculating the quasi-local mass, temperature,\nentropy, dilaton charge, and magnetic potential, we show that the first law of\nblack hole thermodynamics is satisfied by these quantities and the dilaton hair\nis of the secondary type. Furthermore, for Bianchi type $V$, the $T$-dual black\nhole solution is obtained which carries no charge associated with $B$-field and\npossesses a dilaton hair of secondary kind. Also, the entropy turns to be\ninvariant under the $T$-duality."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Locality, Causality and Noncommutative Geometry: We analyse the causality condition in noncommutative field theory and show\nthat the nonlocality of noncommutative interaction leads to a modification of\nthe light cone to the light wedge. This effect is generic for noncommutative\ngeometry. We also check that the usual form of energy condition is violated and\npropose that a new form is needed in noncommutative spacetime. On reduction\nfrom light cone to light wedge, it looks like the noncommutative dimensions are\neffectively washed out and suggests a reformulation of noncommutative field\ntheory in terms of lower dimensional degree of freedom. This reduction of\ndimensions due to noncommutative geometry could play a key role in explaining\nthe holographic property of quantum gravity.",
        "positive": "High energy scattering and AdS/CFT: In this talk we describe the application of the AdS/CFT correspondence for a\nconfining background to the study of high energy scattering amplitudes in gauge\ntheory. We relate the energy behaviour of scattering amplitudes to properties\nof minimal surfaces of the helicoidal type. We describe the results of\nhep-th/0003059 and hep-th/0010069 for amplitudes with vacuum quantum number\nexchange and, very briefly, hep-th/0110024 on the extension of this formalism\nto Reggeon exchange."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "D-brane Configurations for Domain Walls and Their Webs: Supersymmetric U(Nc) gauge theory with Nf massive hypermultiplets in the\nfundamental representation admits various BPS solitons like domain walls and\ntheir webs. In the first part we show as a review of the previous paper\nhep-th/0412024 that domain walls are realized as kinky fractional D3-branes\ninterpolating between separated D7-branes. In the second part we discuss brane\nconfigurations for domain wall webs. This is a contribution to the conference\nbased on the talk given by MN.",
        "positive": "Kahler Moduli Stabilization and the Propagation of Decidability: Diophantine equations are in general undecidable, yet appear readily in\nstring theory. We demonstrate that numerous classes of Diophantine equations\narising in string theory are decidable and propose that decidability may\npropagate through networks of string vacua due to additional structure in the\ntheory. Diophantine equations arising in index computations relevant for\nD3-instanton corrections to the superpotential exhibit propagation of\ndecidability, with new and existing solutions propagating through networks of\ngeometries related by topological transitions. In the geometries we consider,\nmost divisor classes appear in at least one solution, significantly improving\nprospects for Kahler moduli stabilization across large ensembles of string\ncompactifications."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Detecting Discrete Cheshire Charge: We analyze the charges carried by loops of string in models with non-abelian\nlocal discrete symmetry. The charge on a loop has no localized source, but can\nbe detected by means of the Aharonov--Bohm interaction of the loop with another\nstring. We describe the process of charge detection, and the transfer of charge\nbetween point particles and string loops, in terms of gauge--invariant\ncorrelation functions.",
        "positive": "On the trace anomaly for Weyl fermions: This note is a comment on some recent papers that have raised a controversy\nabout the existence of the odd-parity trace anomaly in a four-dimensional\ntheory of Weyl fermions. Without going into too technical details we explain\nwhy the methods employed in those papers cannot detect it."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Pole-skipping of gravitational waves in the backgrounds of\n  four-dimensional massive black holes: Pole-skipping is a property of gravitational waves dictated by their\nbehaviour at horizons of black holes. It stems from the inability to\nunambiguously impose ingoing boundary conditions at the horizon at an infinite\ndiscrete set of Fourier modes. The phenomenon has been best understood, when\nsuch a description exists, in terms of dual holographic (AdS/CFT) correlation\nfunction that take the value of `$0/0$' at these special points. In this work,\nwe investigate details of pole-skipping purely from the point of view of\nclassical gravity in 4$d$ massive black hole geometries with flat, spherical\nand hyperbolic horizons, and with an arbitrary cosmological constant. We show\nthat pole-skipping points naturally fall into two categories: the algebraically\nspecial points and a set of pole-skipping points that is common to the even and\nodd channels of perturbations. Our analysis utilises and generalises (to\narbitrary maximally symmetric horizon topology and cosmological constant) the\n`integrable' structure of the Darboux transformations, which relate the master\nfield equations that describe the evolution of gravitational perturbations in\nthe two channels. Finally, we provide new insights into a number of special\ncases: spherical black holes, asymptotically Anti-de Sitter black branes and\npole-skipping at the cosmological horizon in de Sitter space.",
        "positive": "The G_Newton --> 0 Limit of Euclidean Quantum Gravity: Using the Ashtekar formulation, it is shown that the G_{Newton} --> 0 limit\nof Euclidean or complexified general relativity is not a free field theory, but\nis a theory that describes a linearized self-dual connection propagating on an\narbitrary anti-self-dual background. This theory is quantized in the loop\nrepresentation and, as in the full theory, an infinite dimnensional space of\nexact solutions to the constraint is found. An inner product is also proposed.\nThe path integral is constructed from the Hamiltonian theory and the measure is\nexplicitly computed nonperturbatively, without relying on a semiclassical\nexpansion. This theory could provide the starting point for a new approach to\nperturbation theory in $G_{Newton}$ that does not rely on a background field\nexpansion and in which full diffeomorphism invariance is satisfied at each\norder."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Branes and Quantized Fields: It is shown that the Dirac-Nambu-Goto brane can be described as a point\nparticle in an infinite dimensional space with a particular metric. This can be\nconsidered as a special case of a general theory in which branes are points in\nthe brane space ${\\cal M}$, whose metric is dynamical, just like in general\nrelativity. Such a brane theory, amongst others, includes the flat brane space,\nwhose metric is the infinite dimensional analog of the Minkowski space metric\n$\\eta_{\\mu \\nu}$. A brane living in the latter space will be called \"flat\nbrane\"; it is like a bunch of non-interacting point particles. Quantization of\nthe latter system leads to a system of non-interacting quantum fields.\nInteractions can be included if we consider a non trivial metric in the space\nof fields. Then the effective classical brane is no longer a flat brane. For a\nparticular choice of the metric in the field space we obtain the\nDirac-Nambu-Goto brane. We also show how a Stueckelberg-like quantum field\narises within the brane space formalism. With the Stueckelberg fields, we avoid\ncertain well-known intricacies, especially those related to the position\noperator that is needed in our construction of effective classical branes from\nthe systems of quantum fields.",
        "positive": "Thick branes in Horndeski gravity: We investigate thick brane solutions in the Horndeski gravity. In this setup,\nwe found analytical solutions, applying the first-order formalism to two scalar\nfields where the first field comes from the non-minimal scalar-tensor coupling\nand the second is due to the matter contribution sector. With these analytical\nsolutions, we evaluate the symmetric thick brane solutions in Horndeski gravity\nwith four-dimensional geometry. In such a setup, we evaluate the gravity\nfluctuations to find ``almost massless modes'', for any values of the Horndeski\nparameters. These modes were used to compute the corrections to the Newtonian\npotential and evaluate the limit four-dimensional gravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Note on Efimov Nonlocal and Nonpolynomial Quantum Scalar Field Theory: In frames of the nonlocal and nonpolynomial quantum theory of the one\ncomponent scalar field in $D$-dimensional spacetime, stated by Gariy\nVladimirovich Efimov, the expansion of the $\\mathcal{S}$-matrix is revisited\nfor different interaction Lagrangians and for some kinds of Gaussian\npropagators modified by different ultraviolet form factors $F$ which depend on\nsome length parameter $l$. The expansion of the $\\mathcal{S}$-matrix is of the\nform of a grand canonical partition function of some $D+N$-dimensional ($N\\geq\n1$) classical gas with interaction. The toy model of the realistic quantum\nfield theory (QFT) is considered where the $\\mathcal{S}$-matrix is calculated\nin closed form. Then, the functional Schwinger-Dyson and Schr\\\"{o}dinger\nequations for the $\\mathcal{S}$-matrix in Efimov representation are derived.\nThese equations play a central role in the present paper. The functional\nSchwinger-Dyson and Schr\\\"{o}dinger equations in Efimov representation do not\ninvolve explicit functional derivatives but involve a shift of the field which\nis the $\\mathcal{S}$-matrix argument. The asymptotic solutions of the\nSchwinger-Dyson equation are obtained in different limits. Also, the solution\nis found in one heuristic case allowing us to study qualitatively the behavior\nof the $\\mathcal{S}$-matrix for an arbitrary finite value of its argument.\nSelf-consistency equations, which arise during the process of derivation, are\nof a great interest. Finally, in the light of the discussion of QFT functional\nequations, ultraviolet form factors and extra dimensions, the connection with\nfunctional (in terms of the Wilson-Polchinski and Wetterich-Morris functional\nequations) and holographic renormalization groups (in terms of the functional\nHamilton-Jacobi equation) is made. In addition the Hamilton-Jacobi equation is\nformulated in an unconventional way.",
        "positive": "Catalysis of Dynamical Symmetry Breaking by a Magnetic Field: A constant magnetic field in 3+1 and 2+1 dimensions is a strong catalyst of\ndynamical chiral symmetry breaking, leading to the generation of a fermion mass\neven at the weakest attractive interaction between fermions. The essence of\nthis effect is the dimensional reduction $D/rightarrow D-2$ in the dynamics of\nfermion pairing in a magnetic field. The effect is illustrated in the\nNambu-Jona-Lasinio model and QED. Possible applications of this effect and its\nextension to inhomogeneous field configurations are discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Plane Gravitational Waves in String Theory: We analyze the coset model $(E_2^c \\ti E_2^c)/E_2^c$ and construct a class of\nexact string vacua which describe plane gravitational waves and their duals,\ngeneralizing the plane wave background found by Nappi and Witten. In\nparticular, the vector gauging describes a two-parameter family of singular\ngeometries with two isometries, which is dual to plane gravitational waves. In\naddition, there is a mixed vector-axial gauging which describes a one-parameter\nfamily of plane waves with five isometries. These two backgrounds are related\nby a duality transformation which generalizes the known axial-vector duality\nfor abelian subgroups.",
        "positive": "Relation between space-time inversion and particle-antiparticle symmetry\n  and the microscopic essence of special relativity: After analyzing the implication of investigations on the C, P and T\ntransformations since 1956, we propose that there is a basic symmetry in\nparticle physics. The combined space-time inversion is equivalent to\nparticle-antiparticle transformation, denoted by ${\\cal PT=C}$. It is shown\nthat the relativistic quantum mechanics and quantum field theory do contain\nthis invariance explicitly or implicitly. In particular, (a) the appearance of\nnegative energy or negative probability density in single particle theory --\ncorresponding to the fact of existence of antiparticle, (b) spin- statistics\nconnection, (c) CPT theorem, (d) the Feynman propagator are linked together via\nthis symmetry. Furthermore, we try to derive the main results of special\nrelativity, especially, (e) the mass-energy relation, (f) the Lorentz\ntransformation by this one ``relativistic'' postulate and some\n``nonrelativistic'' knowledge."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The BMS-like symmetry of extremal horizons: I revisit the calculation of infinite-dimensional symmetries that emerge in\nthe vicinity of isolated horizons. I focus the attention on extremal black\nholes, for which the isometry algebra that preserves a sensible set of\nasymptotic boundary conditions at the horizon strictly includes the BMS\nalgebra. The conserved charges that correspond to this BMS sector, however,\nreduce to those of superrotation, generating only two copies of Witt algebra.\nFor more general horizon isometries, in contrast, the charge algebra does\ninclude both Witt and supertranslations, being similar to BMS but s.str.\ndiffering from it.\n  This work has been prepared for the proceedings of the XXII Simposio Sofichi\n2020, held in Chile in November 2020. The material herein is based on my work\nin collaboration with Laura Donnay, Hernan Gonzalez and Miguel Pino, and it is\nincluded in arXiv:1511.08687 and arXiv:1607.05703.",
        "positive": "A Practical Approach to the Hamilton-Jacobi Formulation of Holographic\n  Renormalization: We revisit the subject of holographic renormalization for asymptotically AdS\nspacetimes. For many applications of holography, one has to handle the\ndivergences associated with the on-shell gravitational action. The brute force\napproach uses the Fefferman-Graham (FG) expansion near the AdS boundary to\nidentify the divergences, but subsequent reversal of the expansion is needed to\nconstruct the infinite counterterms. While in principle straightforward, the\nmethod is cumbersome and application/reversal of FG is formally unsatisfactory.\nVarious authors have proposed an alternative method based on the\nHamilton-Jacobi equation. However, this approach may appear to be abstract,\ndifficult to implement, and in some cases limited in applicability. In this\npaper, we clarify the Hamilton-Jacobi formulation of holographic\nrenormalization and present a simple algorithm for its implementation to\nextract cleanly the infinite counterterms. While the derivation of the method\nrelies on the Hamiltonian formulation of general relativity, the actual\napplication of our algorithm does not. The work applies to any $D$-dimensional\nholographic dual with asymptotic AdS boundary, Euclidean or Lorentzian, and\narbitrary slicing. We illustrate the method in several examples, including the\nFGPW model, a holographic model of 3d ABJM theory, and cases with marginal\nscalars such as a dilaton-axion system."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The emergence of fermions and the E11 content: Claudio's warm and endearing personality adds to our admiration for his\nachievements in physics a sense of friendliness. His constant interest in\nfundamental questions motivated the following presentation of our attempt to\nunderstand the nature of fermions. This problem is an essential element of the\nquantum world and might be related to the quest for quantum gravity. We shall\nreview how space-time fermions can emerge out of bosons in string theory and\nhow this fact affects the extended Kac-Moody approach to the M-theory project.",
        "positive": "A new branch of inflationary speed limits: We present a new mechanism for inflation which exhibits a speed limit on\nscalar motion, generating accelerated expansion even on a steep potential. This\narises from explicitly integrating out the short modes of additional fields\ncoupled to the inflaton $\\phi$ via a dimension six operator, yielding an\nexpression for the effective action which includes a nontrivial (logarithmic)\nfunction of $(\\partial\\phi)^2$. The speed limit appears at the branch cut of\nthis logarithm arising in a large flavor expansion, similarly to the square\nroot branch cut in DBI inflation arising in a large color expansion. Finally,\nwe describe observational constraints on the parameters of this model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Four-Dimensional N=2(4) Superstring Backgrounds and The Real Heavens: We study N=2(4) superstring backgrounds which are four-dimensional\nnon-\\Kahlerian with non-trivial dilaton and torsion fields. In particular we\nconsider the case that the backgrounds possess at least one $U(1)$ isometry and\nare characterized by the continual Toda equation and the Laplace equation. We\nobtain a string background associated with a non-trivial solution of the\ncontinual Toda equation, which is mapped, under the T-duality transformation,\nto the hyper-\\Kahler Taub-NUT instanton background. It is shown that the\nintegrable property of the non-\\Kahlerian spaces have the direct origin in the\nreal heavens: real, self-dual, euclidean, Einstein spaces. The Laplace equation\nand the continual Toda equation imposed on quasi-\\Kahler geometry for\nconsistent string propagation are related to the self-duality conditions of the\nreal heavens with ``translational'' and ``rotational''Killing symmetry\nrespectively.",
        "positive": "Aspects of 5d Seiberg-Witten Theories on $\\mathbb{S}^1$: We study the infrared physics of 5d $\\cal N=1$ Yang-Mills theories\ncompactified on $\\mathbb{S}^1$, with a view toward 4d and 5d limits. Global\nstructures of the simplest Coulombic moduli spaces are outlined, with an\nemphasis on how multiple planar 4d Seiberg-Witten geometries are embedded in\nthe cigar geometry of a single 5d theory on $\\mathbb{S}^1$. The Coulomb phase\nboundaries in the decompactification limit are given particular attention and\nrelated to how the wall-crossings by 5d BPS particles turn off. On the other\nhand, the elliptic genera of magnetic BPS strings do wall-cross and retain the\nmemory of 4d wall-crossings, which we review with the example of dP$_2$ theory.\nAlong the way, we also offer a general field theory proof of the odd shift of\nelectric charge on Sp$(k)_\\pi$ instanton solitons, previously observed via\ngeometric engineering for low-rank supersymmetric theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum corrections for (anti)-evaporating black hole: In this paper we analyse the quantum correction for Schwarzschild black hole\nin the Unruh state in the framework of spherically symmetric gravity (SSG)\nmodel. SSG is a two-dimensional dilaton model which is obtained by spherically\nsymmetric reduction from the four-dimensional theory. We find the one-loop\ngeometry of the (anti)-evaporating black hole and corrections for mass, entropy\nand apparent horizon.",
        "positive": "Instantons in Partially Broken Gauge Groups: We discuss the effects of instantons in partially broken gauge groups on the\nlow-energy effective gauge theory. Such effects arise when some of the\ninstantons of the original gauge group G are no longer contained in (or can not\nbe gauge rotated into) the unbroken group H. In cases of simple G and H, a good\nindicator for the existence of such instantons is the ``index of embedding.''\nHowever, in the general case one has to examine \\pi_3(G/H) to decide whether\nthere are any instantons in the broken part of the gauge group. We give several\nexamples of supersymmetric theories where such instantons exist and leave their\neffects on the low-energy effective theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Smirnov's Integrals and Quantum Knizhnik-Zamolodchikov Equation of Level\n  $0$: We study the quantum Knizhnik-Zamolodchikov equation of level $0$ associated\nwith the spin $1/2$ representation of $U_q \\bigl(\\widehat{\\frak s \\frak l\n_{2}}\\bigr)$. We find an integral formula for solutions in the case of an\narbitrary total spin and $|q|<1$. In the formula, different solutions can be\nobtained by taking different integral kernels with the cycle of integration\nbeing fixed.",
        "positive": "Memory effects from holonomies: We provide a uniform treatment of electromagnetic and gravitational memory\neffects, based on the gravito-electromagnetic formulation of GR and a\ngeneralization of the geodesic deviation equation. This allows us to find novel\nresults: in gauge theory, we derive relativistic corrections to the well-known\nkick memory observable, and a general expression for the displacement memory\nobservable, typically overlooked in the literature. In GR, we find relativistic\ncorrections to displacement and kick memory observables. In both theories, we\nfind novel radial memory effects. Next, we show that electromagnetic and\ngravitational memory observables can be formulated in terms of certain\nholonomies on a holographic screen in asymptotically flat spacetimes. In gauge\ntheory, the displacement and kick memory effects form a Hamiltonian vector\nfield which is canonically generated by a Wilson loop. In the first order\nformulation of GR, we show that the holonomy naturally splits into\ntranslational and Lorentz parts. While the former encodes the leading and\nsubleading displacement and kick memory observables, the latter reproduces the\ngyroscopic memory effect."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Towards a supersymmetric classification of D-brane configurations with\n  odd spin structure: We consider the construction of a general tree level amplitude for the\ninteractions between dynamical D-branes where the configurations have non-zero\nodd spin structure. Using Riemann Theta Identities we map the conditions for\nthe preservation of some supersymmetry to a set of integer matrices satisfying\na simple but non-trivial equation. We also show how the regularization of the\nRR zero modes plays an important role in determining which configurations are\npermitted.",
        "positive": "Accelerating Black Hole Thermodynamics with Boost Time: We derive a thermodynamic first law for the electrically charged C-metric\nwith vanishing cosmological constant. This spacetime describes a pair of\nidentical accelerating black holes each pulled by a cosmic string. Treating the\n\"boost time\" of this spacetime as the canonical time, we find a thermodynamic\nfirst law in which every term has an unambiguous physical meaning. We then show\nhow this first law can be derived using Noetherian methods in the covariant\nphase space formalism. We argue that the area of the acceleration horizon\ncontributes to the entropy and that the appropriate notion of energy of this\nspacetime is a \"boost mass\", which vanishes identically. The recovery of the\nReissner-Nordstrom first law in the limit of small string tension is also\ndemonstrated. Finally, we compute the action of the Euclidean section of the\nC-metric and show it agrees with the thermodynamic grand potential, providing\nan independent confirmation of the validity of our first law. We also briefly\nspeculate on the significance of firewalls in this spacetime."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "N=4 mechanics with diverse (4,4,0) multiplets: explicit examples of HKT,\n  CKT, and OKT geometries: We present simple models of N=4 supersymmetric mechanics with ordinary and\nmirror linear (4,4,0) multiplets that give a transparent description of HKT,\nCKT, and OKT geometries. These models are treated in the N=4 and N=2 superfield\napproaches, as well as in the component approach. Our study makes manifest that\nthe CKT and OKT supersymmetric sigma models are distinguished from the more\nsimple HKT models by the presence of extra holomorphic torsions in the\nsupercharges.",
        "positive": "Quantum field theory based on birefringent modified Maxwell theory: In the current paper the properties of a birefringent Lorentz-violating\nextension of quantum electrodynamics is considered. The theory results from\ncoupling modified Maxwell theory, which is a CPT-even Lorentz-violating\nextension of the photon sector, to a Dirac theory of standard spin-1/2\nparticles. It is then restricted to a special birefringent case with one\nnonzero Lorentz-violating coefficient. The modified dispersion laws of\nelectromagnetic waves are obtained plus their phase and group velocities are\nconsidered. After deriving the photon propagator and the polarization vectors\nfor a special momentum configuration we prove both unitarity at tree-level and\nmicrocausality for the quantum field theory based on this Lorentz-violating\nmodification. These analytical proofs are done for a spatial momentum with two\nvanishing components and the proof of unitarity is supported by numerical\ninvestigations in case all components are nonvanishing. The upshot is that the\ntheory is well-behaved within the framework of our assumptions where there is a\npossible issue for negative Lorentz-violating coefficients. The paper shall\nprovide a basis for the future analysis of alternative birefringent quantum\nfield theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Conformal couplings of Galileons to other degrees of freedom: We discuss a formulation of Galileon actions in terms of matrix determinants\nin four dimensions. This approach allows one to straightforwardly determine\nderivative couplings between Galileons and scalar or vector degrees of freedom\nthat lead to equations of motion with at most two space-time derivatives. We\nuse this method to easily build generalizations of Galileon set-ups preserving\nconformal symmetry, finding explicit examples of couplings between Galileons\nand additional degrees of freedom that preserve the Galileon conformal\ninvariance. We discuss various physical applications of our method and of our\nresults.",
        "positive": "Analytical Study of Mode Coupling in Hybrid Inflation: We provide an analytical study of the coupling of short and long wavelength\nfluctuation modes during the initial phase of reheating in two field models\nlike hybrid inflation. In these models, there is - at linear order in\nperturbation theory - an instability in the entropy modes of cosmological\nperturbations which, if not cut off, could lead to curvature fluctuations which\nexceed the current observational values. Here, we demonstrate that the\nback-reaction of short wavelength fluctuations is too weak to lead to a\ntruncation of the instability for the long wavelength modes on time scales\ncomparable to the typical instability time scale of the long wavelength entropy\nmodes. Hence, unless there are other mechanisms which truncate the instability,\nthen in models such as hybrid inflation the curvature perturbations produced\nduring reheating on scales of current observational interest may be very\nimportant."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The field nature of spin for electromagnetic particle: The field nature of spin in the framework of the field electromagnetic\nparticle concept is considered. A mathematical character of the fine structure\nconstant is discussed. Three topologically different field models for charged\nparticle with spin are investigated in the scope of the linear electrodynamics.\nA using of these field configurations as an initial approximation for an\nappropriate particle solution of nonlinear electrodynamics is discussed.",
        "positive": "Quarter-BPS solutions in three-dimensional N=16 supergravity and the\n  Liouville equation: We show how by assuming at least 8 real timelike supersymmetries in the\nmaximally supersymmetric three-dimensional ungauged supergravity and a further\nsimplifying Ansatz, we are naturally led to a pair of Liouville field\nequations. We also show that there are no solutions that preserve only 6 real\ntimelike supersymmetries. The solution relies on the classification of complex\nspinors of Spin(8) to which the problem quickly reduces."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Multicritical Phase Transitions in Lovelock AdS Black Holes: We demonstrate that black holes in order $N\\ge 4$ Lovelock gravity can\nexhibit multicritical phase behaviour. We show an explicit example of a\nquadruple point in $d=10$ fourth-order Lovelock gravity and a quintuple point\nin $d=14$ sixth-order Lovelock gravity. We also demonstrate that\nmulti-criticality can be realized for uncharged, non-rotating black holes by\nhighlighting a new type of multi-critical point between black holes and thermal\nradiation. We discuss the methodology used and make comparisons to other black\nhole multi-critical points in terms of the Gibbs phase rule.",
        "positive": "A Rule of Thumb Derivation of Born-Infeld Action for D-branes: A rule of thumb derivation of the Dirac-Born-Infeld action for D-branes is\nstudied \\`a la Fradkin and Tseytlin, by simply integrating out of the\nsuperstring coordinates in a narrow strip attached to the D-branes. In case of\nsuperstrings, the coupling of Ramond-Ramond fields as well as the\nDirac-Born-Infeld type coupling of the Neveu Schwarz-Neveu Schwarz fields come\nout in this way."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Noncommutative Gravity in two Dimensions: We deform two-dimensional topological gravity by making use of its gauge\ntheory formulation. The obtained noncommutative gravity model is shown to be\ninvariant under a class of transformations that reduce to standard\ndiffeomorphisms once the noncommutativity parameter is set to zero. Some\nsolutions of the deformed model, like fuzzy AdS_2, are obtained. Furthermore,\nthe transformation properties of the model under the Seiberg-Witten map are\nstudied.",
        "positive": "Most General Spherically Symmetric M2-branes and Type IIB Strings: We obtain the most general spherically symmetric M2-branes and type IIB\nstrings, with \\R^{1,2}\\times SO(8) and \\R^{1,1}\\times SO(8) isometries\nrespectively. We find that there are twelve different classes of M2-branes, and\nwe study their curvature properties. In particular we obtain new smooth\nM2-brane wormholes that connect two asymptotic regions: one is flat and the\nother can be either flat or AdS_4\\times S^7. We find that these wormholes are\ntraversable with certain time-like trajectories. We also obtain the most\ngeneral Ricci-flat solutions in five dimensions with \\R^{1,1}\\times SO(3)\nisometries."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Tensor Perturbations in Quantum Cosmological Backgrounds: In the description of the dynamics of tensor perturbations on a homogeneous\nand isotropic background cosmological model, it is well known that a simple\nHamiltonian can be obtained if one assumes that the background metric satisfies\nEinstein classical field equations. This makes it possible to analyze the\nquantum evolution of the perturbations since their dynamics depends only on\nthis classical background. In this paper, we show that this simple Hamiltonian\ncan also be obtained from the Einstein-Hilbert lagrangian without making use of\nany assumption about the dynamics of the background metric. In particular, it\ncan be used in situations where the background metric is also quantized, hence\nproviding a substantial simplification over the direct approach originally\ndeveloped by Halliwell and Hawking.",
        "positive": "E_{11}, ten forms and supergravity: We extend the previously given non-linear realisation of E_{11} for the\ndecomposition appropriate to IIB supergravity to include the ten forms that\nwere known to be present in the adjoint representation. We find precise\nagreement with the results on ten forms found by closing the IIB supersymmetry\nalgebra."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Can codimension-two branes solve the cosmological constant problem?: It has been suggested that codimension-two braneworlds might naturally\nexplain the vanishing of the 4D effective cosmological constant, due to the\nautomatic relation between the deficit angle and the brane tension. To\ninvestigate whether this cancellation happens dynamically, and within the\ncontext of a realistic cosmology, we study a codimension-two braneworld with\nspherical extra dimensions compactified by magnetic flux. Assuming Einstein\ngravity, we show that when the brane contains matter with an arbitrary equation\nof state, the 4D metric components are not regular at the brane, unless the\nbrane has nonzero thickness. We construct explicit 6D solutions with thick\nbranes, treating the brane matter as a perturbation, and find that the universe\nexpands consistently with standard Friedmann-Robertson-Walker (FRW) cosmology.\nThe relation between the brane tension and the bulk deficit angle becomes\n$\\Delta=2\\pi G_6(\\rho-3 p)$ for a general equation of state. However, this\nrelation does not imply a self-tuning of the effective 4D cosmological constant\nto zero; perturbations of the brane tension in a static solution lead to\ndeSitter or anti-deSitter braneworlds. Our results thus confirm other recent\nwork showing that codimension-two braneworlds in nonsupersymmetric Einstein\ngravity do not lead to a dynamical relaxation of the cosmological constant, but\nthey leave open the possibility that supersymmetric versions can be compatible\nwith self-tuning.",
        "positive": "Catching the phantom: the MSSM on the Z6-orientifold: These lecture notes give a short introduction of the derivation of the\nsupersymmetric standard model on the Z6-orientifold as published in\nhep-th/0404055. Untwisted and twisted cycles are constructed and one specific\nmodel is discussed in more detail."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Proca Q-balls and Q-shells: Non-topological solitons such as Q-balls and Q-shells have been studied for\nscalar fields invariant under global and gauged U(1) symmetries. We generalize\nthis framework to include a Proca mass for the gauge boson, which can arise\neither from spontaneous symmetry breaking or via the St\\\"uckelberg mechanism. A\nheavy (light) gauge boson leads to solitons reminiscent of the global (gauged)\ncase, but for intermediate values these Proca solitons exhibit completely novel\nfeatures such as disconnected regions of viable parameter space and Q-shells\nwith unbounded radius. We provide numerical solutions and excellent analytic\napproximations for both Proca Q-balls and Q-shells. These allow us to not only\ndemonstrate the novel features numerically, but also understand and predict\ntheir origin analytically.",
        "positive": "An Algebraic Approach to Solving Evolution Problems in Some Nonlinear\n  Quantum Models: A new general Lie-algebraic approach is proposed to solving evolution tasks\nin some nonlinear problems of quantum physics with polynomially deformed Lie\nalgebras $su_{pd}(2)$ as their dynamic symmetry algebras.\n  The method makes use of an expansion of the evolution operators by power\nseries in the $su_{pd}(2)$ shift operators and a (recursive) reduction of\nfinding coefficient functions to solving auxiliary exactly solvable $su(2)$\nproblems with quadratic Hamiltonians.\n  PACS numbers: 03.70; 02.20; 42.50"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Representations and characters of the Virasoro algebra and N=1\n  super-Virasoro algebras: We present the list of irreducible (generalized) highest weight modules over\nthe Virasoro algebra and N=1 super-Virasoro algebras obtained as factor-modules\nof (generalized) Verma modules. We present also the character formulae of all\nthese modules and single out the unitary irreducible ones. Most formulas are\nvalid for the three algebras under consideration, the different cases being\ndistinguished by two parameters. This is a slightly extended version of an\nEncyclopedia entry.",
        "positive": "Supersymmetric Oscillator: Novel Symmetries: We discuss various continuous and discrete symmetries of the supersymmetric\nsimple harmonic oscillator (SHO) in one (0 + 1)-dimension of spacetime and show\ntheir relevance in the context of mathematics of differential geometry. We show\nthe existence of a novel set of discrete symmetries in the theory which has,\nhitherto, not been discussed in the literature on theoretical aspects of SHO.\nWe also point out the physical relevance of our present investigation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Massive flows in AdS$_6$/CFT$_5$: We study five-dimensional ${\\cal N}=1$ Superconformal Field Theories of the\nlinear quiver type. These are deformed by a relevant operator, corresponding to\na homogeneous mass term for certain matter fields. The free energy is\ncalculated at arbitrary values of the mass parameter. After a careful\nregularisation procedure, the result can be put in correspondence with a\ncalculation in the supergravity dual background. The F-theorem is verified for\nthese flows, both in field theory and in supergravity. This letter presents\nsome of the results in the companion paper arXiv:2211.13240.",
        "positive": "Fermion Determinant Calculus: The path-integral of the fermionic oscillator with a time-dependent frequency\nis analyzed. We give the exact relation between the boundary condition to\ndefine the domain in which the path-integral is performed and the transition\namplitude that the path-integral calculates. According to this relation, the\namplitude suppressed by a zero mode does not indicate any special dynamics,\nunlike the analogous situation in field theories. It simply says the\npath-integral picks up a combination of the amplitudes that vanishes. The zero\nmode that is often neglected in the reason of not being normalizable is\nnecessary to obtain the correct answer for the propagator and to avoid an\nanomaly on the fermion number. We give a method to obtain the fermionic\ndeterminant by the determinant of a simple (2\\times 2) matrix, which enables us\nto calculate it for a variety of boundary conditions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Inflationary Universe in Higher Derivative Induced Gravity: In an induced-gravity model, the stability condition of an inflationary\nslow-rollover solution is shown to be $\\phi_0\n\\partial_{\\phi_0}V(\\phi_0)=4V(\\phi_0)$. The presence of higher derivative terms\nwill, however, act against the stability of this expanding solution unless\nfurther constraints on the field parameters are imposed. We find that these\nmodels will acquire a non-vanishing cosmological constant at the end of\ninflation. Some models are analyzed for their implication to the early\nuniverse.",
        "positive": "Why Matrix Theory is Hard: Recently Sen and Seiberg gave a prescription for constructing the matrix\ntheory in any superstring background. We use their prescription to test the\nfinite N matrix theory conjecture on an ALE space. Based on our earlier work\nwith Shenker, we find a sharper discrepancy between matrix theory computation\nand supergravity prediction. We discuss subtleties in the light-front\nquantization which may lead to a resolution to the discrepancy."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Inflationary Potentials from the Exact Renormalisation Group: We show that an inflationary slow-roll potential can be derived as an IR\nlimit of the non-perturbative exact renormalisation group equation for a scalar\nfield within the mean-field approximation. The result follows without having to\nspecify a Lagrangian for the UV theory at the Planck scale. We assume that the\ntheory contains a scalar mode with suppressed coupling to other UV fields, and\nthat higher derivative couplings are suppressed. The resulting effective\npotential gives rise to slow-roll inflation, which is fully consistent with the\nrecent observations. As an example of how the proposed renormalisation group\nprocedure works, we perform an explicit calculation in the $\\phi^4$ theory.",
        "positive": "$A_\\infty$-Algebra from Supermanifolds: Inspired by the analogy between different types of differential forms on\nsupermanifolds and string fields in superstring theory, we construct new\nmultilinear non-associative products of forms which yield an\n$A_\\infty$-algebra."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Integrable strings for AdS/CFT: In this PhD thesis we review some aspects of integrable models related to\nstring backgrounds or their deformations. In the first part we develop methods\nto obtain exact results in the AdS3/CFT2 correspondence. We consider the AdS_3\nx S^3 x T^4 background with pure Ramond-Ramond flux and we find the all-loop\nworldsheet S-matrix by exploiting the symmetries of the model in light-cone\ngauge. As we naturally include the massless modes on the worldsheet, we derive\nthe full set of Bethe-Yang equations. In the massive sector we give also a\nspin-chain description and we write down solutions compatible with crossing for\nthe scalar factors which are not constrained by simmetries. In the second part\nof the thesis we consider the so-called \"eta-deformation\" of the superstring on\nAdS_5 x S^5. We first discuss the effects of the deformation at the level of\nthe bosonic sigma-model, and we match the tree-level worldsheet scattering\nprocesses to the expansion of the q-deformed S-matrix. To identify the missing\nRamond-Ramond fields we then compute the action quadratic in fermions, and we\nprovide an alternative derivation by looking at the kappa-symmetry variations.\nThe resulting background fields do not solve the equations of motion of type\nIIB supergravity and we comment on this.",
        "positive": "Lorentzian worldline path integral approach to Schwinger effect: We demonstrate that the positive frequency modes for a complex scalar field\nin a constant electric field (Schwinger modes), in three different gauges, can\nbe represented as exact Lorentzian worldline path integral amplitudes. Although\nthe mathematical forms of the mode functions differ in each gauge, we show that\na simple prescription for Lorentzian worldlines' boundary conditions dispenses\nthe Schwinger modes in all three gauges (that we considered) in a unified\nmanner. Following that, using our formalism, we derive the exact Bogoliubov\ncoefficients and, hence, the particle number, \\textit{without} appealing to the\nwell-known connection formulas for parabolic cylinder functions. This result is\nespecially relevant in view of the fact that in a general electromagnetic field\nconfiguration, one does not have the luxury of closed-form solutions. We argue\nthat the real time worldline path integral approach may be a promising\nalternative in such non-trivial cases. We also demonstrate, using\nPicard-Lefschetz theory, how the so-called worldline instantons emerge\nnaturally from relevant saddle points that are complex."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Unification of Spacetime Symmetries of Massive and Massless Particles: The internal space-time symmetries of relativistic particles are dictated by\nWigner's little groups. The $O(3)$-like little group for a massive particle at\nrest and the $E(2)$-like little group of a massless particle are two different\nmanifestations of the same covariant little group. Likewise, the quark model\nand parton pictures are two different manifestations of the one covariant\nentity.",
        "positive": "The quantum description of BF model in superspace: We consider the BRST symmetric four dimensional BF theory, a topological\ntheory, containing antysymmetric tensor fields in Landau gauge and extend the\nBRST symmetry by introducing a shift symmetry to it. Within this formulation,\nthe antighost fields corresponding to shift symmetry coincide with antifields\nof standard field/antifield formulation. Further, we provide a superspace\ndescription for the BF model possessing extended BRST and extended anti-BRST\ntransformations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The mass of the adjoint pion in N=1 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory: In Monte Carlo simulations of N=1 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory the mass\nof the unphysical adjoint pion, which is easily obtained numerically, is being\nused for the tuning to the limit of vanishing gluino mass. In this article we\nshow how to define the adjoint pion in the framework of partially quenched\nchiral perturbation theory and we derive a relation between its mass and the\nmass of the gluino analogous to the Gell-Mann-Oakes-Renner relation of QCD.",
        "positive": "The equation of state for scalar-tensor gravity: We show that the field equation of Brans-Dicke gravity and scalar-tensor\ngravity can be derived as the equation of state of Rindler spacetime, where the\nlocal thermodynamic equilibrium is maintained. Our derivation implies that the\neffective energy can not feel the heat flow across the Rindler horizon."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Screening length in plasma winds: We study the screening length L_s of a heavy quark-antiquark pair in strongly\ncoupled gauge theory plasmas flowing at velocity v. Using the AdS/CFT\ncorrespondence we investigate, analytically, the screening length in the\nultra-relativistic limit. We develop a procedure that allows us to find the\nscaling exponent for a large class of backgrounds. We find that for conformal\ntheories the screening length is (boosted energy density)^{-1/d}. As examples\nof conformal backgrounds we study R-charged black holes and\nSchwarzschild-anti-deSitter black holes in (d+1)-dimensions. For non-conformal\ntheories, we find that the exponent deviates from -1/d and as examples we study\nthe non-extremal Klebanov-Tseytlin and Dp-brane geometries. We find an\ninteresting relation between the deviation of the scaling exponent from the\nconformal value and the speed of sound.",
        "positive": "The 2nd order renormalization group flow for non-linear sigma models in\n  2 dimensions: We show that for two dimensional manifolds M with negative Euler\ncharacteristic there exists subsets of the space of smooth Riemannian metrics\nwhich are invariant and either parabolic or backwards-parabolic for the 2nd\norder RG flow. We also show that solutions exists globally on these sets.\nFinally, we establish the existence of an eternal solution that has both a UV\nand IR limit, and passes through regions where the flow is parabolic and\nbackwards-parabolic."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Gravitational Corrections to the Entropy of a\n  Reissner-Nordstr\u00f6m Black Hole: Starting from an effective action for quantum gravity, we calculate the\nquantum gravitational corrections to the Wald entropy of a four dimensional\nnon-extremal Reissner-Nordstr\\\"om (RN) black hole in the limit of small\nelectric charge, generalising a previous calculation carried out by Calmet and\nKuipers [1] for a Schwarzschild black hole. We show that, at second order in\nthe Ricci curvature, the RN metric receives quantum corrections which shift the\nclassical position of the event horizon. We apply the Wald entropy formula by\nintegrating over the perimeter of the quantum corrected event horizon. We then\ncompute the quantum gravitational corrections to the temperature and the\npressure of the black hole.",
        "positive": "K-theory and phase transitions at high energies: The duality between $E_8\\times E_8$ heteritic string on manifold $K3\\times\nT^2$ and Type IIA string compactified on a Calabi-Yau manifold induces a\ncorrespondence between vector bundles on $K3\\times T^2$ and Calabi-Yau\nmanifolds. Vector bundles over compact base space $K3\\times T^2$ form the set\nof isomorphism classes, which is a semi-ring under the operation of Whitney sum\nand tensor product. The construction of semi-ring $Vect\\ X$ of isomorphism\nclasses of complex vector bundles over X leads to the ring $KX=K(Vect\\ X)$,\ncalled Grothendieck group. As K3 has no isometries and no non-trivial\none-cycles, so vector bundle winding modes arise from the $T^2$\ncompactification. Since we have focused on supergravity in d=11, there exist\nsolutions in d=10 for which space-time is Minkowski space and extra dimensions\nare $K3\\times T^2$. The complete set of soliton solutions of supergravity\ntheory is characterized by RR charges, identified by K-theory. Toric\npresentation of Calabi-Yau through Batyrev's toric approximation enables us to\nconnect transitions between Calabi-Yau manifolds, classified by enhanced\nsymmetry group, with K-theory classification."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dark energy from bulk matter: We consider the possibility of getting accelerated expansion and w=-1\ncrossing in the context of a braneworld cosmological setup, endowed with a bulk\nenergy-momentum tensor. For a given ansatz of the bulk content, we demonstrate\nthat the bulk pressures dominate the dynamics at late times and can lead to\naccelerated expansion. We also analyze the constraints under which we can get a\nrealistic profile for the effective equation of state and conclude that matter\nin the bulk has the effect of dark energy on the brane. Furthermore, we show\nthat it is possible to simulate the behavior of a Chaplygin gas using\nnon-exotic bulk matter.",
        "positive": "Snowmass White Paper: The Quest to Define QFT: This article provides a review of the literature on rigorous definitions and\nconstructions in Quantum Field Theory, spanning the period of seven decades.\nComparing with the ideas and constructions found in the modern physics\nliterature, we conclude that none of the existing systems of QFT axioms can\ncover all the physical situations. Therefore, it is still an outstanding open\nproblem to formulate a complete definition of QFT. We argue that the question\nis of relevance for both physicists and mathematicians."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "QCD at High Energies and Two-Dimensional Field Theory: Previous studies of high-energy scattering in QCD have shown a remarkable\ncorrespondence with two-dimensional field theory. In this paper we formulate a\nsimple effective model in which this two-dimensional nature of the interactions\nis manifest. Starting from the (3+1)-dimensional Yang-Mills action, we\nimplement the high energy limit $s\\! >\\! > \\! t$ via a scaling argument and we\nderive from this a simplified effective theory. This effective theory is still\n(3+1)-dimensional, but we show that its interactions can to leading order be\nsummarized in terms of a two-dimensional sigma-model defined on the transverse\nplane. Finally, we verify that our formulation is consistent with known\nperturbative results. This is a revised and extended version of hep-th 9302104.\nIn particular, we have added a section that clarifies the connection with\nLipatov's gluon emission vertex.",
        "positive": "Heterotic String Model Building with Monad Bundles and Reinforcement\n  Learning: We use reinforcement learning as a means of constructing string\ncompactifications with prescribed properties. Specifically, we study heterotic\nSO(10) GUT models on Calabi-Yau three-folds with monad bundles, in search of\nphenomenologically promising examples. Due to the vast number of bundles and\nthe sparseness of viable choices, methods based on systematic scanning are not\nsuitable for this class of models. By focusing on two specific manifolds with\nPicard numbers two and three, we show that reinforcement learning can be used\nsuccessfully to explore monad bundles. Training can be accomplished with\nminimal computing resources and leads to highly efficient policy networks. They\nproduce phenomenologically promising states for nearly 100% of episodes and\nwithin a small number of steps. In this way, hundreds of new candidate standard\nmodels are found."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "An Alternative To The Horizontality Condition In Superfield Approach To\n  BRST Symmetries: We provide an alternative to the gauge covariant horizontality condition\nwhich is responsible for the derivation of the nilpotent (anti-)BRST symmetry\ntransformations for the gauge and (anti-)ghost fields of a (3 + 1)-dimensional\n(4D) interacting 1-form non-Abelian gauge theory in the framework of the usual\nsuperfield approach to Becchi-Rouet-Stora-Tyutin (BRST) formalism. The above\ncovariant horizontality condition is replaced by a gauge invariant restriction\non the (4, 2)-dimensional supermanifold, parameterized by a set of four\nspacetime coordinates x^\\mu (\\mu = 0, 1, 2, 3) and a pair of Grassmannian\nvariables \\theta and \\bar\\theta. The latter condition enables us to derive the\nnilpotent (anti-)BRST symmetry transformations for all the fields of an\ninteracting 4D 1-form non-Abelian gauge theory where there is an explicit\ncoupling between the gauge field and the Dirac fields. The key differences and\nstriking similarities between the above two conditions are pointed out clearly.",
        "positive": "Where does curvaton reside? Differences between bulk and brane frames: Some classes of inflationary models naturally introduce two distinct\nmetrics/frames, and their equivalence in terms of observables has often been\nput in question. D-brane inflation proposes candidates for an inflaton embedded\nin the string theory and possesses descriptions on the brane and bulk\nmetrics/frames, which are connected by a conformal/disformal transformation\nthat depends on the inflaton and its derivatives. It has been shown that\ncurvature perturbations generated by the inflaton are identical in both frames,\nmeaning that observables such as the spectrum of cosmic microwave background\n(CMB) anisotropies are independent of whether matter fields---including those\nin the standard model of particle physics---minimally couple to the brane or\nthe bulk metric/frame. This is true despite the fact that the observables are\neventually measured by the matter fields and that the total action including\nthe matter fields is different in the two cases. In contrast, in curvaton\nscenarios, the observables depend on the frame to which the curvaton minimally\ncouples. Among all inflationary scenarios, we focus on two models motivated by\nthe KKLMMT fine-tuning problem: a slow-roll inflation with an inflection-point\npotential and a model of a rapidly rolling inflaton that conformally couples to\ngravity. In the first model, the difference between the frames in which the\ncurvaton resides is encoded in the spectral index of the curvature\nperturbations, depicting the nature of the frame transformation. In the second\nmodel, the curvaton on the brane induces a spectral index significantly\ndifferent from that in the bulk and is even falsified by the observations. This\nwork thus demonstrates that two frames connected by a conformal/disformal\ntransformation lead to different physical observables such as CMB anisotropies\nin curvaton models."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Note on I-brane Near Horizon PP-wave Background: We find out a PP-wave spacetime with constant Neveu-Schwarz (NS) three form\nflux by taking a Penrose limit on the 1+1 dimensional intersection of two\northogonal stacks of fivebranes in type IIB string theory. We further find out\nan intersecting (D1-D5)-brane solution in this background and analyze its\nsupersymmetry properties by solving the dilatino and gravitino variations\nexplicitly.",
        "positive": "Noncommutative Space-time from Quantized Twistors: We consider the relativistic phase space coordinates (x_{\\mu},p_{\\mu}) as\ncomposite, described by functions of the primary pair of twistor coordinates.\nIt appears that if twistor coordinates are canonicaly quantized the composite\nspace-time coordinates are becoming noncommutative. We obtain deformed\nHeisenberg algebra which in order to be closed should be enlarged by the\nPauli-Lubanski four-vector components. We further comment on star-product\nquantization of derived algebraic structures which permit to introduce\nspin-extended deformed Heisenberg algebra."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Thermofield Dynamics and Casimir Effect for Fermions: A generalization of the Bogoliubov transformation is developed to describe a\nspace compactified fermionic field. The method is the fermionic counterpart of\nthe formalism introduced earlier for bosons (J. C. da Silva, A. Matos Neto, F.\nC. Khanna and A. E. Santana, Phys. Rev. A 66 (2002) 052101), and is based on\nthe thermofield dynamics approach. We analyse the energy-momentum tensor for\nthe Casimir effect of a free massless fermion field in a $d$-dimensional box at\nfinite temperature. As a particular case the Casimir energy and pressure for\nthe field confined in a 3-dimensional parallelepiped box are calculated. It is\nfound that the attractive or repulsive nature of the Casimir pressure on\nopposite faces changes depending on the relative magnitude of the edges. We\nalso determine the temperature at which the Casimir pressure in a cubic boc\nchanges sign and estimate its value when the edge of the cybe is of the order\nof confining lengths for baryons.",
        "positive": "Universal Subleading Spectrum of Effective String Theory: We analyse the spectrum of the D-dimensional Poincare invariant effective\nstring model of Polchinski and Strominger. It is shown that the leading terms\nbeyond the Casimir term in the long distance expansion of the spectrum have a\nuniversal character which follows from the constraint of Poincare invariance."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Masses, Sheets and Rigid SCFTs: We study mass deformations of certain three dimensional $\\mathcal{N}=4$\nSuperconformal Field Theories (SCFTs) that have come to be called $T^\\rho[G]$\ntheories. These are associated to tame defects of the six dimensional $(0,2)$\nSCFT $X[\\mathfrak{j}]$ for $\\mathfrak{j}=A,D,E$. We describe these deformations\nusing a refined version of the theory of sheets, a subject of interest in\nGeometric Representation Theory. In mathematical terms, we parameterize local\nmass-like deformations of the tamely ramified Hitchin integrable system and\nidentify the subset of the deformations that do admit an interpretation as a\nmass deformation for the theories under consideration. We point out the\nexistence of non-trivial Rigid SCFTs among these theories. We classify the\nRigid theories within this set of SCFTs and give a description of their Higgs\nand Coulomb branches. We then study the implications for the endpoints of RG\nflows triggered by mass deformations in these 3d $\\mathcal{N}=4$ theories.\nFinally, we discuss connections with the recently proposed idea of Symplectic\nDuality and describe some conjectures about its action.",
        "positive": "Quantum supertwistors: In this paper we give an explicit expression for a star product on the super\nMinkowski space written in the supertwistor formalism. The big cell of the\nsuper Grassmannian Gr(2|0, 4|1) is identified with the chiral, super Minkowki\nspace. The super Grassmannian is an homogeneous space under the action of the\ncomplexification SL(4|1) of SU(2,2|1), the superconformal group in dimension 4,\nsignature (1,3) and supersymmetry N=1. The quantization is done by substituting\nthe groups and homogeneous spaces by their quantum deformed counterparts. The\ncalculations are done in Manin's formalism. When we restrict to the big cell we\ncan compute explicitly an expression for the super star product in the\nMinkowski superspace associated to this deformation and the choice of a certain\nbasis of monomials."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Large N and double scaling limits in two dimensions: Recently, the author has constructed a series of four dimensional\nnon-critical string theories with eight supercharges, dual to theories of light\nelectric and magnetic charges, for which exact formulas for the central charge\nof the space-time supersymmetry algebra as a function of the world-sheet\ncouplings were obtained. The basic idea was to generalize the old matrix model\napproach, replacing the simple matrix integrals by the four dimensional matrix\npath integrals of N=2 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory, and the Kazakov\ncritical points by the Argyres-Douglas critical points. In the present paper,\nwe study qualitatively similar toy path integrals corresponding to the two\ndimensional N=2 supersymmetric non-linear sigma model with target space CP^n\nand twisted mass terms. This theory has some very strong similarities with N=2\nsuper Yang-Mills, including the presence of critical points in the vicinity of\nwhich the large n expansion is IR divergent. The model being exactly solvable\nat large n, we can study non-BPS observables and give full proofs that double\nscaling limits exist and correspond to universal continuum limits. A complete\ncharacterization of the double scaled theories is given. We find evidence for\ndimensional transmutation of the string coupling in some non-critical string\ntheories. We also identify en passant some non-BPS particles that become\nmassless at the singularities in addition to the usual BPS states.",
        "positive": "Logarithmic conformal field theory approach to topologically massive\n  gravity: We study the topologically massive gravity at the chiral point (chiral\ngravity) by using the logarithmic conformal field theory. Two new tensor fields\nof $\\psi^{new}$ and $X$ are introduced for a candidate of propagating physical\nfield at the chiral point. However, we show that ($\\psi^{new},\\psi^L$) form a\ndipole ghost pair of unphysical fields and $X$ is not a primary. This implies\nthat there is no physically propagating degrees of freedom at the chiral point."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the complex structure in the Gupta-Bleuler quantization method: We examine the general conditions for the existence of the complex structure\nintrinsic in the Gupta-Bleuler quantization method for the specific case of\nmixed first and second class fermionic constraints in an arbitrary space-time\ndimension. The cases d=3 and 10 are shown to be of prime importance. The\nexplicit solution for d=10 is presented.",
        "positive": "Born-Infeld Gravity in any Dimension: We develop a Born-Infeld type theory for gravity in any dimension. We show\nthat in four dimensions our formalism allows a self-dual (or anti-self dual)\nBorn-Infeld gravity description. Moreover, we show that such a self-dual action\nis reduced to both the Deser-Gibbons and the Jacobson-Smolin-Samuel action of\nAshtekar formulation. A supersymmetric generalization of our approach is\noutlined."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "de Sitter Swampland Conjecture in String Field Inflation: In this paper, we study a particular type of inflation by using non-local\nFriedman equations that are somehow derived from the zero levels of string\nfield theory and express a tachyonic action. Then, we challenge it by further\nrefining de Sitter (dS) swampland conjecture (FRdSSC) monitoring. Therefore, we\ninvestigate some quantities, such as potential and Hubble parameters. We also\nconsider slow-roll parameters to examine quantities such as the scalar spectrum\nindex and the tensor-to-scalar ratio. Using straightforward calculations, we\ninvestigate this model from the swampland conjecture perspective in terms of\nthe cosmological parameters, i.e., ($n_s$), ($r$), and observable data such as\nPlanck 2018, by constructing some structures such as $(c_1,2-n_s)$ and\n$(c_1,2-r_s)$. Then, we make a new restriction for this conjecture as\n$c_12c_22$ and get a limit for this model in the range $c0.0942$. We find this\ninflationary model is strongly in tension with the dS swampland conjecture\n(dSSC), i.e., $c_1=c_2 \\neq \\mathcal{O}(1)$. So, we shall challenge it with the\nFRdSSC, which has some free parameters, viz., $a,b>0$, $a+b=1$, and $q>2$. By\nsetting these parameters, we examine the compatibility of the mentioned\nconjecture with this inflationary model. Finally, we infer from this string\nfield inflation model that it satisfies the FRdSSC with the constraint of its\nfree parameters $a$, $b$, and $q$.",
        "positive": "Phenomenological characterisation of semi-holographic non-Fermi liquids: We analyse some phenomenological implications of the most general\nsemi-holographic models for non-Fermi liquids that have emerged with inputs\nfrom the holographic correspondence. We find generalizations of Landau-Silin\nequations with few parameters governing thermodynamics, low energy response and\ncollective excitations. We show that even when there is a Fermi surface with\nwell-defined quasi-particle excitations, the collective excitations can behave\nvery differently from Landau's theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Islands with Gravitating Baths: Towards ER = EPR: We study the Page curve and the island rule for black holes evaporating into\ngravitating baths, with an eye towards establishing a connection with the\nER=EPR proposal. We consider several models of two entangled 2d black holes in\nJackiw-Teitelboim (JT) gravity with negative cosmological constant. The first,\n\"doubled PSSY,\" model is one in which the black holes have end-of-the-world\n(ETW) branes with a flavour degree of freedom. We study highly entangled states\nof this flavour degree of freedom and find an entanglement-induced\nHawking-Page-like transition from a geometry with two disconnected black holes\nto one with a pair of black holes connected by a wormhole, thus realising the\nER = EPR proposal. The second model is a dynamical one in which the ETW branes\ndo not have internal degrees of freedom but the JT gravity is coupled to a 2d\nCFT, and we entangle the black holes by coupling the two CFTs at the $AdS$\nboundary and evolving for a long time. We study the entanglement entropy\nbetween the two black holes and find that the story is substantially similar to\nthat with a non-gravitating thermal bath. In the third model, we couple the two\nends of a two-sided eternal black hole and evolve for a long time. Finally, we\ndiscuss the possibility of a Hawking-Page-like transition induced by real-time\nevolution that realises the ER = EPR proposal in this dynamical setting.",
        "positive": "Analytical bound-state solutions of the Klein-Fock-Gordon equation for\n  the sum of Hulth\u00e9n and Yukawa potential within SUSY quantum mechanics: The relativistic wave equations determine the dynamics of quantum fields in\nthe context of quantum field theory. One of the conventional tools for dealing\nwith the relativistic bound-state problem is the Klein-Fock-Gordon equation. In\nthis work, using a developed scheme, we present how to surmount the centrifugal\npart and solve the modified Klein-Fock-Gordon equation for the linear\ncombination of Hulth\\'en and Yukawa potentials. In particular, we show that the\nrelativistic energy eigenvalues and corresponding radial wave functions are\nobtained from supersymmetric quantum mechanics by applying the shape invariance\nconcept. Here, both scalar potential conditions, which are whether equal and\nnon-equal to vector potential, are considered in the calculation. The energy\nlevels and corresponding normalized eigenfunctions are represented as a\nrecursion relation regarding the Jacobi polynomials for arbitrary $l$ states.\nBeyond that, a closed-form of the normalization constant of the wave functions\nis found. Furthermore, we state that the energy eigenvalues are quite sensitive\nwith potential parameters for the quantum states. The non-relativistic and\nrelativistic results obtained within SUSY QM overlap entirely with the results\nobtained by ordinary quantum mechanics, and it displays that the mathematical\nimplementation of SUSY quantum mechanics is quite perfect."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "$S^7$ Current Algebras: We present $S^7$-algebras as generalized Kac-Moody algebras. A number of\nfree-field representations is found. We construct the octonionic projective\nspaces ${\\O}P^N$.",
        "positive": "M-theory description of BPS string in 7-brane background: We discuss the BPS configurations of IIB strings in the 7-brane background\nfrom M-theory viewpoint. We first obtain the hyperkahler geometry background of\nM-theory expected from the 7-brane solutions of the type IIB supergravity. We\nchoose the appropriate complex structures of the background geometries and\nembed a membrane of M-theory holomorphically to obtain a BPS string\nconfiguration. The recently discussed BPS string configurations such as\n3-string junctions and string networks in the flat background are generalized\nto the cases with the 7-brane backgrounds. The property of the BPS string\nconfigurations in the 7-brane backgrounds is in agreement with the previously\nknown results from the IIB string viewpoint."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Strings in Plane Wave Backgrounds Revisited: String theory in an exact plane wave background is explored. A new example of\nsingularity in the sense of string theory for nonsingular spacetime metric is\npresented. The 4-tachyon scattering amplitude is constructed. The spectrum of\nstates found from the poles in the factorization turns out to be equivalent to\nthat of the theory in flat space-time. The massless vertex operator is obtained\nfrom the residue of the first order pole.",
        "positive": "The Background-Field Method and Noninvariant Renormalization: We investigate the consistency of the background-field formalism when\napplying various regularizations and renormalization schemes. By an example of\na two-dimensional $\\sigma$ model it is demonstrated that the background-field\nmethod gives incorrect results when the regularization (and/or renormalization)\nis noninvariant. In particular, it is found that the cut-off regularization and\nthe differential renormalization belong to this class and are incompatible with\nthe background-field method in theories with nonlinear symmetries."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantization of fields based on Generalized Uncertainty Principle: We construct a quantum theory of free scalar field in 1+1 dimensions based on\na `Generalized Uncertainty Principle'. Both canonical and path integral\nformalism are employed. Higher dimensional extension is easily performed in the\npath integral formalism.",
        "positive": "Hyperbolic vortices with large magnetic flux: There has been some recent interest in the study of non-abelian BPS monopoles\nin the limit of large magnetic charge. Most investigations have used a magnetic\nbag approximation, in which spherical symmetry is assumed within an abelian\ndescription. In particular, this approach has been used to suggest the\nexistence of two types of magnetic bag, with differing distributions of the\nzeros of the Higgs field, together with multi-layer structures, containing\nseveral magnetic bags. This paper is concerned with the analogous situation of\nabelian BPS vortices in the hyperbolic plane, in the limit of large magnetic\nflux. This system has the advantage that explicit exact solutions can be\nobtained and compared with a magnetic bag approximation. Exact BPS vortex\nsolutions are presented that are analogous to the two types of magnetic bags\npredicted for BPS monopoles and it is shown that these structures can be\ncombined to produce exact multi-layer solutions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Conformal and Uniformizing Maps in Borel Analysis: Perturbative expansions in physical applications are generically divergent,\nand their physical content can be studied using Borel analysis. Given just a\nfinite number of terms of such an expansion, this input data can be analyzed in\ndifferent ways, leading to vastly different precision for the extrapolation of\nthe expansion parameter away from its original asymptotic regime. Here we\ndescribe how conformal maps and uniformizing maps can be used, in conjunction\nwith Pad'e approximants, to increase the precision of the information that can\nbe extracted from a finite amount of perturbative input data. We also summarize\nresults from the physical interpretation of Pad'e approximations in terms of\nelectrostatic potential theory.",
        "positive": "Cosmic No-hair Conjecture and Inflation with an SU(3) Gauge Field: We study inflationary universes with an SU(3) gauge field coupled to an\ninflaton through a gauge kinetic function. Although the SU(3) gauge field grows\nat the initial stage of inflation due to the interaction with the inflaton,\nnonlinear self-couplings in the kinetic term of the gauge field become\nsignificant and cause nontrivial dynamics after sufficient growth. We\ninvestigate the evolution of the SU(3) gauge field numerically and reveal\nattractor solutions in the Bianchi type I spacetime. In general cases where all\nthe components of the SU(3) gauge field have the same magnitude initially, they\nall tend to decay eventually because of the nonlinear self-couplings.\nTherefore, the cosmic no-hair conjecture generically holds in a mathematical\nsense. Practically, however, the anisotropy can be generated transiently in the\nearly universe, even for an isotropic initial condition. Moreover, we find\nparticular cases for which several components of the SU(3) gauge field survive\nagainst the nonlinear self-couplings. It occurs due to flat directions in the\npotential of a gauge field for Lie groups whose rank is higher than one. Thus,\nan SU(2) gauge field has a specialty among general non-Abelian gauge fields."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Instabilities of D-brane Bound States and Their Related Theories: We investigate the Gregory-Laflamme instability for bound states of branes in\ntype II string theory and in M-theory. We examine systems with two different\nconstituent branes: for instance, D3-F1 or D4-D0. For the cases in which the\nGregory-Laflamme instability can occur, we describe the boundary of\nthermodynamic stability. We also present an argument for the validity of the\nCorrelated Stability Conjecture, generalizing earlier work by Reall. We discuss\nthe implications for OM theory and NCOS theory, finding that in both cases,\nthere exists some critical temperature above which the system becomes unstable\nto clumping of the open strings/membranes.",
        "positive": "The p-bar p --> pi_0 pi_0 Puzzle: According to conventional theory, the annihilation reaction p-bar p --> pi_0\npi_0 cannot occur from a p-bar p atomic S state. However, this reaction occurs\nso readily for antiprotons stopping in liquid hydrogen, that it would require\n30% P-wave annihilations. Experimental results from other capture and p-bar p\nannihilation channels show that the fraction of P-wave annihilations is less\nthan 6% in agreement with theoretical expectations. An experimental test to\ndetermine whether this reaction can occur from an atomic S state is suggested.\nIf indeed this reaction is occurring from an atomic S state, then certain\nneutral vector mesons should exhibit a pi_0 pi_0 decay mode, and this can also\nbe tested experimentally."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Multiparticle Amplitudes in a Scalar EFT: At sufficiently high energies the production of a very large number of\nparticles is kinematically allowed. However, it is well-known that already in\nthe simplest case of a weakly-coupled massive $\\lambda \\varphi^4$ theory,\n$n$-particle amplitudes become non-perturbative in the limit where $n$ scales\nwith energy. In this case, the effective expansion parameter, $\\lambda n$, is\nno longer small and the perturbative approach breaks down. In general, the\nassociated $n$-particle production rates were argued to be described by an\nexponential that, depending on the specifics of the underlying Quantum Field\nTheory model, could be either growing or decaying in the large-$n$ regime. We\ninvestigate such processes in general settings of Effective Field Theory (EFT),\ninvolving arbitrary higher-dimensional operators of $\\varphi$. We perform the\nresummation of all leading loop corrections arising from EFT vertices for\namplitudes at the multiparticle threshold. We find that the net effect of\nhigher-dimensional operators amounts to an exponentially growing factor. We\nshow that if an exponential growth was already generated by the renormalizable\ninteractions, it would then be further enhanced by the EFT contributions. On\nthe other hand, if the multiparticle rates computed in the renormalizable part\nof the theory were suppressed, this suppression would not be lifted in the EFT.",
        "positive": "Winding number versus Chern--Pontryagin charge: In the usual d dimensional SO(d) gauged Higgs models with $d$-component Higgs\nfields, the 'energies' of the topologically stable solitons are bounded from\nbelow by the Chern-Pontryagin charges. A new class of Higgs models is proposed\nhere, whose 'energies' are stabilised instead by the winding number of the\nHiggs field itself, with no reference to the gauge group. Consequently, such\nHiggs models can be gauged by SO(N), with 2 \\le N \\le d."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Topological Recursion in The Ramond Sector: We investigate supereigenvalue models in the Ramond sector and their\nrecursive structure. We prove that the free energy truncates at quadratic order\nin Grassmann coupling constants, and consider super loop equations of the\nmodels with the assumption that the 1/N expansion makes sense. Subject to this\nassumption, we obtain the associated genus-zero algebraic curve with two\nramification points (one regular and the other irregular) and also the\nsupersymmetric partner polynomial equation. Starting with these polynomial\nequations, we present a recursive formalism that computes all the correlation\nfunctions of these models. Somewhat surprisingly, correlation functions\nobtained from the new recursion formalism have no poles at the irregular\nramification point due to a supersymmetric correction -- the new recursion may\nlead us to a further development of supersymmetric generalizations of the\nEynard-Orantin topological recursion.",
        "positive": "From Black Hole to Qubits: Evidence of Fast Scrambling in BMN theory: BMN Matrix theory admits vacua in the shape of large spherical membranes.\nPer- turbing around such vacua, the setup provides for a controlled\ncomputational frame- work for testing information evolution in Matrix black\nholes. The theory realizes excitations in the supergravity multiplet as qubits.\nThese qubits are coupled to matrix degrees of freedom that describe\ndeformations of the spherical shape of the membrane. Arranging the ripples on\nthe membrane into a heat bath, we use the qubit system as a probe and compute\nthe associated Feynman-Vernon density matrix at one loop order. This allows us\nto trace the evolution of entanglement in the system and extract the\ncharacteristic scrambling timescale. We find that our numerical analysis is\nconsistent with this time scaling logarithmically with the entropy of the qubit\nsystem, in tune with suggestions by Sekino and Susskind."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Algebra of diffeomorphism-invariant observables in Jackiw-Teitelboim\n  Gravity: In this paper we use the covariant Peierls bracket to compute the algebra of\na sizable number of diffeomorphism-invariant observables in classical\nJackiw-Teitelboim gravity coupled to fairly arbitrary matter. We then show that\nmany recent results, including the construction of traversable wormholes, the\nexistence of a family of $SL(2,\\mathbb{R})$ algebras acting on the matter\nfields, and the calculation of the scrambling time, can be recast as simple\nconsequences of this algebra. We also use it to clarify the question of when\nthe creation of an excitation deep in the bulk increases or decreases the\nboundary energy, which is of crucial importance for the \"typical state\"\nversions of the firewall paradox. Unlike the \"Schwarzian\" or \"boundary\nparticle\" formalism, our techniques involve no unphysical degrees of freedom\nand naturally generalize to higher dimensions. We do a few higher-dimensional\ncalculations to illustrate this, which indicate that the results we obtain in\nJT gravity are fairly robust.",
        "positive": "Spinning operators and defects in conformal field theory: We study the kinematics of correlation functions of local and extended\noperators in a conformal field theory. We present a new method for constructing\nthe tensor structures associated to primary operators in an arbitrary bosonic\nrepresentation of the Lorentz group. The recipe yields the explicit structures\nin embedding space, and can be applied to any correlator of local operators,\nwith or without a defect. We then focus on the two-point function of traceless\nsymmetric primaries in the presence of a conformal defect, and explain how to\ncompute the conformal blocks. In particular, we illustrate various techniques\nto generate the bulk channel blocks either from a radial expansion or by acting\nwith differential operators on simpler seed blocks. For the defect channel, we\ndetail a method to compute the blocks in closed form, in terms of projectors\ninto mixed symmetry representations of the orthogonal group."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On duality of the noncommutative extension of the Maxwell-Chern-Simons\n  model: We study issues of duality in 3D field theory models over a canonical\nnoncommutative spacetime and obtain the noncommutative extension of the\nSelf-Dual model induced by the Seiberg-Witten map. We apply the dual projection\ntechnique to uncover some properties of the noncommutative Maxwell-Chern-Simons\ntheory up to first-order in the noncommutative parameter. A duality between\nthis theory and a model similar to the ordinary self-dual model is\nestabilished. The correspondence of the basic fields is obtained and the\nequivalence of algebras and equations of motion are directly verified. We also\ncomment on previous results in this subject.",
        "positive": "Low energy dynamics of self-dual A_1 strings: We examine the interrelation between the (2,0) supersymmetric six dimensional\neffective action for the A_1 theory, and the corresponding low-energy theory\nfor the collective coordinates associated to supersymmetric selfdual BPS\nstrings. We argue that this low-energy theory is a two-dimensional N = 4\nsupersymmetric sigma model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "From classical Lagrangians to Hamilton operators in the Standard-Model\n  Extension: In this article we investigate whether a theory based on a classical\nLagrangian for the minimal Standard-Model Extension (SME) can be quantized such\nthat the result is equal to the corresponding low-energy Hamilton operator\nobtained from the field-theory description. This analysis is carried out for\nthe whole collection of minimal Lagrangians found in the literature. The upshot\nis that first quantization can be performed consistently. The unexpected\nobservation is made that at first order in Lorentz violation and at second\norder in the velocity the Lagrangians are related to the Hamilton functions by\na simple transformation. Under mild assumptions, it is shown that this holds\nuniversally. This result is used successfully to obtain classical Lagrangians\nfor two complicated sectors of the minimal SME that have not been considered in\nthe literature so far. Therefore, it will not be an obstacle anymore to derive\nsuch Lagrangians even for involved sets of coefficients - at least to the level\nof approximation stated above.",
        "positive": "A Two-Form Formulation of the Vector-Tensor Multiplet in Central Charge\n  Superspace: A two-form formulation for the N=2 vector-tensor multiplet is constructed\nusing superfield methods in central charge superspace. The N=2 non-Abelian\nstandard supergauge multiplet in central charge superspace is also discussed,\nas is with the associated Chern-Simons form. We give the constraints, solve the\nBianchi identities and present the action for a theory of the vector-tensor\nmultiplet coupled to the non-Abelian supergauge multiplet via the Chern-Simons\nform."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Stepwise Projection: Toward Brane Setups for Generic Orbifold\n  Singularities: The construction of brane setups for the exceptional series E6,E7,E8 of SU(2)\norbifolds remains an ever-haunting conundrum. Motivated by techniques in some\nworks by Muto on non-Abelian SU(3) orbifolds, we here provide an algorithmic\noutlook, a method which we call stepwise projection, that may shed some light\non this puzzle. We exemplify this method, consisting of transformation rules\nfor obtaining complex quivers and brane setups from more elementary ones, to\nthe cases of the D-series and E6 finite subgroups of SU(2). Furthermore, we\ndemonstrate the generality of the stepwise procedure by appealing to Frobenius'\ntheory of Induced Representations. Our algorithm suggests the existence of\ngeneralisations of the orientifold plane in string theory.",
        "positive": "Probing the Holographic Fermi Arc with scalar field: Numerical and\n  analytical study: Fermi arcs are disconnected contour of Fermi surface, which can be observed\nin the pseudo-gap phase of high temperature superconductors. Aiming to\nunderstand this pseudo-gap phenomena, we study a holographic Fermionic system\ncoupled with a massive scalar field in an AdS black hole background. Depending\non the boundary condition on the scalar field mode, we discuss two possible\nscenarios. When the scalar condenses below a critical temperature $T_c$, the\nFermi surface undergoes a transition from normal phase to pseudo-gap phase.\nHence $T_c$ can be the reminiscent of well-known cross over temperature $T^*$\nin cuprate superconductor, below which pseudo-gap appears at constant doping.\nIn the second scenario, the bulk scalar develops a non-normalizable profile at\narbitrary temperature for non-zero source at the boundary. Therefore, we can\ntune the Fermi spectrum by tuning a dual source at the boundary. The dual\nsource for this case can be the reminiscent of hole doping in the real cuprate\nsuperconductor. For both the cases we have studied Fermi spectrum and observed\nanisotropic gap in the spectral function depending on the model parameter and\nstudied the properties of Fermi arcs across different phases."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Operator geometry and algebraic gravity: An algebraic formulation of general relativity is proposed. The formulation\nis applicable to quantum gravity and noncommutative space. To investigate\nquantum gravity we develop the canonical formalism of operator geometry, after\nreconstructing an algebraic canonical formulation on analytical dynamics. The\nremarkable fact is that the constraint equation and evolution equation of the\ngravitational system are algebraically unified. From the discussion of\nregularization we find the quantum correction of the semi-classical gravity is\nsame as that already known in quantum field theory.",
        "positive": "Soliton Solutions in Noncritical String Field Theory?: We look for soliton solutions in $c=0$ noncritical string field theory\nconstructed by the authors and collaborators. It is shown that the string field\naction itself is very complicated in our formalism but it satisfies a very\nsimple equation. We derive an equation which a solution to the equation of\nmotion should satisfy. Using this equation, we conjecture the form of a soliton\nsolution which is responsible for the nonperturbative effects of order\n$e^{-A/\\kappa}$. (Talk given by N.I. at ``Inauguration Conference of APCTP'',\n4-10 June, 1996)"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Integrating Geometry in General 2D Dilaton Gravity with Matter: General 2d dilaton theories, containing spherically symmetric gravity and\nhence the Schwarzschild black hole as a special case, are quantized by an exact\npath integral of their geometric (Cartan-) variables. Matter, represented by\nminimally coupled massless scalar fields is treated in terms of a systematic\nperturbation theory. The crucial prerequisite for our approach is the use of a\ntemporal gauge for the spin connection and for light cone components of the\nzweibeine which amounts to an Eddington Finkelstein gauge for the metric. We\nderive the generating functional in its most general form which allows a\nperturbation theory in the scalar fields. The relation of the zero order\nfunctional to the classical solution is established. As an example we derive\nthe effective (gravitationally) induced 4-vertex for scalar fields.",
        "positive": "Phase transitions in the logarithmic Maxwell O(3)-sigma model: We investigate the presence of topological structures and multiple phase\ntransitions in the O(3)-sigma model with the gauge field governed by Maxwell's\nterm and subject to a so-called Gausson's self-dual potential. To carry out\nthis study, it is numerically shown that this model supports topological\nsolutions in 3-dimensional spacetime. In fact, to obtain the topological\nsolutions, we assume a spherically symmetrical ansatz to find the solutions, as\nwell as some physical behaviors of the vortex, as energy and magnetic field. It\nis presented a planar view of the magnetic field as an interesting\nconfiguration of a ring-like profile. To calculate the differential\nconfigurational complexity (DCC) of structures, the spatial energy density of\nthe vortex is used. In fact, the DCC is important because it provides us with\ninformation about the possible phase transitions associated with the structures\nlocated in the Maxwell-Gausson model in 3D. Finally, we note from the DCC\nprofile an infinite set of kink-like solutions associated with the parameter\nthat controls the vacuum expectation value."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Infrared Behaviour of Landau Gauge Yang-Mills Theory with a\n  Fundamentally Charged Scalar Field: The infrared behaviour of the n-point functions of a Yang-Mills theory with a\ncharged scalar field in the fundamental representation of SU(N) is studied in\nthe formalism of Dyson-Schwinger equations. Assuming a stable skeleton\nexpansion solutions in form of power laws for the Green functions are obtained.\nFor a massless scalar field the uniform limit is sufficient to describe the\ninfrared scaling behaviour of vertices. Not taking into account a possible\nHiggs-phase it turns out that kinematic singularities play an important role\nfor the scaling solutions of massive scalars. On a qualitative level scalar\nYang-Mills theory yields similar scaling solutions as recently obtained for\nQCD.",
        "positive": "Regular Representation of the Quantum Heisenberg Double $U_q(sl(2))$,\n  $Fun_{q}(SL(2))$ ($q$ is a root of unity): Pairing between the universal enveloping algebra $U_q(sl(2))$ and the algebra\nof functions over $SL_q(2)$ is obtained in explicit terms. The regular\nrepresentation of the quantum double is constructed and investigated. The\nstructure of the root subspaces of the Casimir operator is revealed and\ndescribed in terms of $SL_q(2)$ elements."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetric Multiple Basin Attractors: We explain that supersymmetric attractors in general have several critical\npoints due to the algebraic nature of the stabilization equations. We show that\nthe critical values of the cosmological constant of the adS_5 vacua are given\nby the topological (moduli independent) formulae analogous to the entropy of\nthe d=5 supersymmetric black holes. We present conditions under which more than\none critical point is available (for black hole entropy as well as to the\ncosmological constant) so that the system tends to its own locally stable\nattractor point. We have found several families of Z_2-symmetric critical\npoints where the central charge has equal absolute values but opposite signs in\ntwo attractor points. We present examples of interpolating solutions and\ndiscuss their generic features.",
        "positive": "A parafermionic hypergeometric function and supersymmetric 6j-symbols: We study properties of a parafermionic generalization of the hyperbolic\nhypergeometric function appearing as the most important part in the fusion\nmatrix for Liouville field theory and the Racah-Wigner symbols for the Faddeev\nmodular double. We show that this generalized hypergeometric function is a\nlimiting form of the rarefied elliptic hypergeometric function $V^{(r)}$ and\nderive its transformation properties and a mixed difference-recurrence equation\nsatisfied by it. At the intermediate level we describe symmetries of a more\ngeneral rarefied hyperbolic hypergeometric function. An important $r=2$ case\ncorresponds to the supersymmetric hypergeometric function given by the integral\nappearing in the fusion matrix of $N=1$ super Liouville field theory and the\nRacah-Wigner symbols of the quantum algebra ${\\rm U}_q({\\rm osp}(1|2))$. We\nindicate relations to the standard Regge symmetry and prove some previous\nconjectures for the supersymmetric Racah-Wigner symbols by establishing their\ndifferent parametrizations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Low-energy next-to-leading contributions to the effective action in\n  ${\\cal N}=4$ SYM theory: Using formulation of ${\\cal N}=4$ SYM theory in terms of ${\\cal N}=1$\nsuperfields superfields we construct the derivative expansion of the one-loop\n${\\cal N}=4$ SYM effective action in background fields corresponding to\nconstant Abelian strength $F_{mn}$ and constant hypermultiplet. Any term of the\neffective action derivative expansion can be rewritten in terms of ${\\cal N}=2$\nsuperfields. The action is manifestly ${\\cal N}=2$ supersymmetric but on-shell\nhidden ${\\cal N}=2$ supersymmetry is violated. We propose a procedure which\nallows to restore the hidden ${\\cal N}=2$ invariance.",
        "positive": "Anthropic interpretation of quantum theory: The problem of interpreting quantum theory on a large (e.g. cosmological)\nscale has been commonly conceived as a search for objective reality in a\nframework that is fundamentally probabilistic. The Everett programme attempts\nto evade the issue by the reintroduction of determinism at the global level of\na ``state vector of the universe''. The present approach is based on the\nrecognition that, like determinism, objective reality is an unrealistic\nobjective. It is shown how an objective theory of an essentially subjective\nreality can be set up using an appropriately weighted probability measure on\nthe relevant set of Hilbert subspaces. It is suggested that an entropy\nprinciple (superseding the weak anthropic principle) should be used to provide\nthe weighting that is needed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauge Fields Condensation at Finite Temperature: The two-loop effective action for the SU(3) gauge model in a constant\nbackground field ${\\bar A}_0(x,t)=B_0^3T_3+B_0^8T_8$ is recalculated for a\ngauge with an arbitrary $\\xi$-parameter. The gauge-invariant thermodynamical\npotential is found and its extremum points are investigated. Within a two-loop\norder we find that the stable nontrivial vacuum is completely equivalent to the\ntrivial one but when the high order corrections being taken into account the\nindifferent equilibrium seems to be broken. Briefly we also discuss the\ninfrared peculiarities and their status for the gauge models with a nonzero\ncondensate.",
        "positive": "Quantum deformation of the Dirac bracket: The quantum deformation of the Poisson bracket is the Moyal bracket. We\nconstruct quantum deformation of the Dirac bracket for systems which admit\nglobal symplectic basis for constraint functions. Equivalently, it can be\nconsidered as an extension of the Moyal bracket to second-class constraints\nsystems and to gauge-invariant systems which become second class when\ngauge-fixing conditions are imposed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "High Energy Field Theory in Truncated AdS Backgrounds: In this letter we show that, in five-dimensional anti-deSitter space (AdS)\ntruncated by boundary branes, effective field theory techniques are reliable at\nhigh energy (much higher than the scale suggested by the Kaluza-Klein mass\ngap), provided one computes suitable observables. We argue that in the model of\nRandall and Sundrum for generating the weak scale from the AdS warp factor, the\nhigh energy behavior of gauge fields can be calculated in a {\\em cutoff\nindependent manner}, provided one restricts Green's functions to external\npoints on the Planck brane. Using the AdS/CFT correspondence, we calculate the\none-loop correction to the Planck brane gauge propagator due to charged bulk\nfields. These effects give rise to non-universal logarithmic energy dependence\nfor a range of scales above the Kaluza-Klein gap.",
        "positive": "Star Integrals, Convolutions and Simplices: We explore single and multi-loop conformal integrals, such as the ones\nappearing in dual conformal theories in flat space. Using Mellin amplitudes, a\nlarge class of higher loop integrals can be written as simple\nintegro-differential operators on star integrals: one-loop $n$-gon integrals in\n$n$ dimensions. These are known to be given by volumes of hyperbolic simplices.\nWe explicitly compute the five-dimensional pentagon integral in full generality\nusing Schl\\\"afli's formula. Then, as a first step to understanding higher\nloops, we use spline technology to construct explicitly the $6d$ hexagon and\n$8d$ octagon integrals in two-dimensional kinematics. The fully massive hexagon\nand octagon integrals are then related to the double box and triple box\nintegrals respectively. We comment on the classes of functions needed to\nexpress these integrals in general kinematics, involving elliptic functions and\nbeyond."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "SU(5) Monopoles and the Dual Standard Model: We find the spectrum of magnetic monopoles produced in the symmetry breaking\nSU(5) to [SU(3)\\times SU(2)\\times U(1)']/Z_6 by constructing classical bound\nstates of the fundamental monopoles. The spectrum of monopoles is found to\ncorrespond to the spectrum of one family of standard model fermions and hence,\nis a starting point for constructing the dual standard model. At this level,\nhowever, there is an extra monopole state - the ``diquark'' monopole - with no\ncorresponding standard model fermion. If the SU(3) factor now breaks down to\nZ_3, the monopoles with non-trivial SU(3) charge get confined by strings in\nSU(3) singlets. Another outcome of this symmetry breaking is that the diquark\nmonopole becomes unstable (metastable) to fragmentation into fundamental\nmonopoles and the one-one correspondence with the standard model fermions is\nrestored. We discuss the fate of the monopoles if the [SU(2)\\times U(1)']/Z_2\nfactor breaks down to U(1)_Q by a Higgs mechanism as in the electroweak model.\nHere we find that monopoles that are misaligned with the vacuum get connected\nby strings even though the electroweak symmetry breaking does not admit\ntopological strings. We discuss the lowest order quantum corrections to the\nmass spectrum of monopoles.",
        "positive": "Higher-Order Derivative Susy in Quantum Mechanics with Large Energy\n  Shifts: Within the framework of second order derivative (one dimensional) SUSYQM we\ndiscuss particular realizations which incorporate large energy shifts between\nthe lowest states of the spectrum of the superhamiltonian (of Schr\\\"odinger\ntype). The technique used in this construction is based on the \"gluing\"\nprocedure. We study the limit of infinite energy shift for the charges of the\nHigher Derivative SUSY Algebra, and compare the results with those of the\nstandard SUSY Algebra. We conjecture that our results can suggest a\nconstruction of a toy model where large energy splittings between fermionic and\nbosonic partners do not affect the SUSY at low energies."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Generalized Axion Reductions: Recently interest in using generalized reductions to construct massive\nsupergravity theories has been revived in the context of M-theory and\nsuperstring theory. These compactifications produce mass parameters by\nintroducing a linear dependence on internal coordinates in various axionic\nfields. Here we point out that by extending the form of this simple ansatz, it\nis always possible to introduce the various mass parameters simultaneously.\nThis suggests that the various ``distinct'' massive supergravities in the\nliterature should all be a part of a single massive theory.",
        "positive": "Towards traversable wormholes from force-free plasmas: The near-horizon region of magnetically charged black holes can have very\nstrong magnetic fields. A useful low-energy effective theory for fluctuations\nof the fields, coupled to electrically charged particles, is force-free\nelectrodynamics. The low energy collective excitations include a large number\nof Alfven wave modes, which have a massless dispersion relation along the field\nworldlines. We attempt to construct traversable wormhole solutions using the\nnegative Casimir energy of the Alfven wave modes, analogously to the recent\nconstruction using charged massless fermions. The behaviour of massless scalars\nin the near-horizon region implies that the size of the wormholes is strongly\nrestricted and cannot be made large, even though the force free description is\nvalid in a larger regime."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "New conformal-like symmetry of strictly massless fermions in\n  four-dimensional de Sitter space: We present new infinitesimal `conformal-like' symmetries for the field\nequations of strictly massless spin-$s \\geq 3/2$ totally symmetric\ntensor-spinors (i.e. gauge potentials) on 4-dimensional de Sitter spacetime\n($dS_{4}$). The corresponding symmetry transformations are generated by the\nfive conformal Killing vectors of $dS_{4}$, but they are not conventional\nconformal transformations. We show that the algebra generated by the ten de\nSitter (dS) symmetries and the five conformal-like symmetries closes on the\nconformal-like algebra $so(4,2)$ up to gauge transformations of the gauge\npotentials. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the two sets of physical mode\nsolutions, corresponding to the two helicities $\\pm s$ of the strictly massless\ntheories, form a direct sum of Unitary Irreducible Representations (UIRs) of\nthe conformal-like algebra. We also fill a gap in the literature by explaining\nhow these physical modes form a direct sum of Discrete Series UIRs of the dS\nalgebra $so(4,1)$.",
        "positive": "Propagator identities, holographic conformal blocks, and higher-point\n  AdS diagrams: Conformal blocks are the fundamental, theory-independent building blocks in\nany CFT, so it is important to understand their holographic representation in\nthe context of AdS/CFT. We describe how to systematically extract the\nholographic objects which compute higher-point global (scalar) conformal blocks\nin arbitrary spacetime dimensions, extending the result for the four-point\nblock, known in the literature as a geodesic Witten diagram, to five- and\nsix-point blocks. The main new tools which allow us to obtain such\nrepresentations are various higher-point propagator identities, which can be\ninterpreted as generalizations of the well-known flat space star-triangle\nidentity, and which compute integrals over products of three bulk-to-bulk\nand/or bulk-to-boundary propagators in negatively curved spacetime. Using the\nholographic representation of the higher-point conformal blocks and\nhigher-point propagator identities, we develop geodesic diagram techniques to\nobtain the explicit direct-channel conformal block decomposition of a broad\nclass of higher-point AdS diagrams in a scalar effective bulk theory, with\nclosed-form expressions for the decomposition coefficients. These methods\nrequire only certain elementary manipulations and no bulk integration, and\nfurthermore provide quite trivially a simple algebraic origin of the\nlogarithmic singularities of higher-point tree-level AdS diagrams. We also\nprovide a more compact repackaging in terms of the spectral decomposition of\nthe same diagrams, as well as an independent discussion on the closely related\nbut computationally simpler framework over $p$-adics which admits comparable\nstatements for all previously mentioned results."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Conformal Partial Waves: Further Mathematical Results: Further results for conformal partial waves for four point functions for\nconformal primary scalar fields in conformally invariant theories are obtained.\nThey are defined as eigenfunctions of the differential Casimir operators for\nthe conformal group acting on two variable functions subject to appropriate\nboundary conditions. As well as the scale dimension $\\Delta$ and spin $\\ell$\nthe conformal partial waves depend on two parameters $a,b$ related to the\ndimensions of the operators in the four point function. Expressions for the\nMellin transform of conformal partial waves are obtained in terms of\npolynomials of the Mellin transform variables given in terms of finite sums.\nDifferential operators which change $a,b$ by $\\pm 1$, shift the dimension $d$\nby $\\pm 2$ and also change $\\Delta,\\ell$ are found. Previous results for\n$d=2,4,6$ are recovered. The trivial case of $d=1$ and also $d=3$ are also\ndiscussed. For $d=3$ formulae for the conformal partial waves in some\nrestricted cases as a single variable integral representation based on the\nBateman transform are found.",
        "positive": "Creating 3, 4, 6 and 10-dimensional spacetime from W3 symmetry: We describe a model where breaking of W3 symmetry will lead to the emergence\nof time and subsequently of space. Surprisingly the simplest such models which\nlead to higher dimensional spacetimes are based on the four \"magical\" Jordan\nalgebras of 3x3 Hermitian matrices with real, complex, quaternion and octonion\nentries, respectively. The simplest symmetry breaking leads to universes with\nspacetime dimensions 3, 4, 6, and 10."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fiber-base duality from the algebraic perspective: Quiver 5D $\\mathcal{N}=1$ gauge theories describe the low-energy dynamics on\nwebs of $(p,q)$-branes in type IIB string theory. S-duality exchanges NS5 and\nD5 branes, mapping $(p,q)$-branes to branes of charge $(-q,p)$, and, in this\nway, induces several dualities between 5D gauge theories. On the other hand,\nthese theories can also be obtained from the compactification of topological\nstrings on a Calabi-Yau manifold, for which the S-duality is realized as a\nfiber-base duality. Recently, a third point of view has emerged in which 5D\ngauge theories are engineered using algebraic objects from the Ding-Iohara-Miki\n(DIM) algebra. Specifically, the instanton partition function is obtained as\nthe vacuum expectation value of an operator $\\mathcal{T}$ constructed by gluing\nthe algebra's intertwiners (the equivalent of topological vertices) following\nthe rules of the toric diagram/brane web. Intertwiners and\n$\\mathcal{T}$-operators are deeply connected to the co-algebraic structure of\nthe DIM algebra. We show here that S-duality can be realized as the twist of\nthis structure by Miki's automorphism.",
        "positive": "Categories of quantum liquids I: We develop a mathematical theory of separable higher categories based on\nGaiotto and Johnson-Freyd's work on condensation completion. Based on this\ntheory, we prove some fundamental results on $E_m$-multi-fusion higher\ncategories and their higher centers. We also outline a theory of unitary higher\ncategories based on a $*$-version of condensation completion. After these\nmathematical preparations, based on the idea of topological Wick rotation, we\ndevelop a unified mathematical theory of all quantum liquids, which include\ntopological orders, SPT/SET orders, symmetry-breaking orders and CFT-like\ngapless phases. We explain that a quantum liquid consists of two parts, the\ntopological skeleton and the local quantum symmetry, and show that all $n$D\nquantum liquids form a $*$-condensation complete higher category whose\nequivalence type can be computed explicitly from a simple coslice 1-category."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Einstein-Yang-Mills Sphalerons and Level Crossing: The fermion energy spectrum along paths which connect topologically distinct\nvacua in the Einstein-Yang-Mills theory passing through the gravitational\nsphaleron equilibrium solutions is investigated.",
        "positive": "Correspondence between Holographic and Gauss-Bonnet dark energy models: In the present work we investigate the cosmological implications of\nholographic dark energy density in the Gauss-Bonnet framework. By formulating\nindependently the two cosmological scenarios, and by enforcing their\nsimultaneous validity, we show that there is a correspondence between the\nholographic dark energy scenario in flat universe and the phantom dark energy\nmodel in the framework of Gauss-Bonnet theory with a potential. This\ncorrespondence leads consistently to an accelerating universe. However, in\ngeneral one has not full freedom of constructing independently the two\ncosmological scenarios. Specific constraints must be imposed on the coupling\nwith gravity and on the potential."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Existence of Meta-stable Vacua in Klebanov-Strassler: We solve for the complete space of linearized deformations of the\nKlebanov-Strassler background consistent with the symmetries preserved by a\nstack of anti-D3 branes smeared on the $S^3$ of the deformed conifold. We find\nthat the only solution whose UV physics is consistent with that of a\nperturbation produced by anti-D3 branes must have a singularity in the\ninfrared, coming from NS and RR three-form field strengths whose energy density\ndiverges. If this singularity is admissible, our solution describes the\nbackreaction of the anti-D3 branes, and is thus likely to be dual to the\nconjectured metastable vacuum in the Klebanov-Strassler field theory. If this\nsingularity is not admissible, then our analysis strongly suggests that anti-D3\nbranes do not give rise to metastable Klebanov-Strassler vacua, which would\nhave dramatic consequences for some string theory constructions of de Sitter\nspace. Key to this result is a simple, universal form for the force on a probe\nD3-brane in our ansatz.",
        "positive": "Tunnelling phenomenon near an apparent horizon in two-dimensional\n  dilaton gravity: Based on the definition of the apparent horizon in a general two-dimensional\ndilaton gravity theory, we analyze the tunnelling phenomenon of the apparent\nhorizon by using Hamilton-Jacobi method. In this theory the definition of the\nhorizon is very different from those in higher-dimensional gravity theories.\nThe spectrum of the radiation is obtained and the temperature of the radiation\nis read out from this spectrum and it satisfies the usual relationship with the\nsurface gravity. Besides, the calculation with Parikh's null geodesic method\nfor a simple example conforms to our result in general stationary cases."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-local reparametrization action in coupled Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev models: We continue the investigation of coupled Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev(SYK) models\nwithout Schwarzian action dominance. Like the original SYK, at large N and low\nenergies these models have an approximate reparametrization symmetry. However,\nthe dominant action for reparametrizations is non-local due to the presence of\nirrelevant local operator with small conformal dimension. We semi-analytically\nstudy different thermodynamic properties and the 4-point function and\ndemonstrate that they significantly differ from the Schwarzian prediction.\nHowever, the residual entropy and maximal chaos exponent are the same as in\nMajorana SYK. We also discuss chain models and finite N corrections.",
        "positive": "Contractions and deformations of quasi-classical Lie algebras preserving\n  a non-degenerate quadratic Casimir operator: By means of contractions of Lie algebras, we obtain new classes of\nindecomposable quasi-classical Lie algebras that satisfy the Yang-Baxter\nequations in its reformulation in terms of triple products. These algebras are\nshown to arise naturally from non-compact real simple algebras with non-simple\ncomplexification, where we impose that a non-degenerate quadratic Casimir\noperator is preserved by the limiting process. We further consider the converse\nproblem, and obtain sufficient conditions on integrable cocycles of\nquasi-classical Lie algebras in order to preserve non-degenerate quadratic\nCasimir operators by the associated linear deformations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Effect of the deformation operator in the D1D5 CFT: The D1D5 CFT gives a holographic dual description of a near-extremal black\nhole in string theory. The interaction in this theory is given by a marginal\ndeformation operator, which is composed of supercharges acting on a twist\noperator. The twist operator links together different copies of a free CFT. We\nstudy the effect of this deformation operator when it links together CFT copies\nwith winding numbers M and N to produce a copy with winding M+N, populated with\nexcitations of a particular form. We compute the effect of the deformation\noperator in the full supersymmetric theory, firstly on a Ramond-Ramond ground\nstate and secondly on states with an initial bosonic or fermionic excitation.\nOur results generalize recent work which studied only the bosonic sector of the\nCFT. Our findings are a step towards understanding thermalization in the D1D5\nCFT, which is related to black hole formation and evaporation in the bulk.",
        "positive": "Magnetic monopoles vs. Hopf defects in the Laplacian (Abelian) gauge: We investigate the Laplacian Abelian gauge on the sphere S^4 in the\nbackground of a single `t Hooft instanton. To this end we solve the eigenvalue\nproblem of the covariant Laplace operator in the adjoint representation. The\nground state wave function serves as an auxiliary Higgs field. We find that the\nground state is always degenerate and has nodes. Upon diagonalisation, these\nzeros induce toplogical defects in the gauge potentials. The nature of the\ndefects crucially depends on the order of the zeros. For first-order zeros one\nobtains magnetic monopoles. The generic defects, however, arise from zeros of\nsecond order and are pointlike. Their topological invariant is the Hopf index\nS^3 -> S^2. These findings are corroborated by an analysis of the Laplacian\ngauge in the fundamental representation where similar defects occur. Possible\nimplications for the confinement scenario are discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "f(R)-Einstein-Palatini Formalism and smooth branes: In this work, we present the f(R)-Einstein-Palatini formalism in arbitrary\ndimensions and the study of consistency applied to brane models, the so-called\nbraneworld sum rules. We show that it is possible a scenario of thick branes in\nfive dimensions with compact extra dimension in the framework of the\nf(R)-Einstein-Palatini theory by the accomplishment of an assertive criteria.",
        "positive": "Diagnostics of plasma photoemission at strong coupling: We compute the spectrum of photons emitted by the finite-temperature large-N\nSU(N) ${\\cal {N}}=4$ supersymmetric Yang-Mills plasma coupled to\nelectromagnetism, at strong yet finite 't Hooft coupling. We work in the\nholographic dual description, extended by the inclusion of the full set of\n${\\cal{O}}(\\alpha'^3)$ type IIB string theory operators that correct the\nminimal supergravity action. We find that, as the t' Hooft coupling decreases,\nthe peak of the spectrum increases, and the momentum of maximal emission shifts\ntowards the infra-red, as expected from weak-coupling computations. The total\nnumber of emitted photons also increases as the 't Hooft coupling weakens."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Form Factors of the Elementary Field in the Bullough-Dodd Model: We derive the recursive equations for the form factors of the local hermitian\noperators in the Bullough-Dodd model. At the self-dual point of the theory, the\nform factors of the fundamental field of the Bullough-Dodd model are equal to\nthose of the fundamental field of the Sinh-Gordon model at a specific value of\nthe coupling constant.",
        "positive": "Polar decomposition of a Dirac spinor: Local decompositions of a Dirac spinor into `charged' and `real' pieces\npsi(x) = M(x) chi(x) are considered. chi(x) is a Majorana spinor, and M(x) a\nsuitable Dirac-algebra valued field. Specific examples of the decomposition in\n2+1 dimensions are developed, along with kinematical implications, and\nconstraints on the component fields within M(x) sufficient to encompass the\ncorrect degree of freedom count. Overall local reparametrisation and\nelectromagnetic phase invariances are identified, and a dynamical framework of\nnonabelian gauge theories of noncompact groups is proposed. Connections with\nsupersymmetric composite models are noted (including, for 2+1 dimensions,\ninfrared effective theories of spin-charge separation in models of high-Tc\nsuperconductivity)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Ising Correlation Functions with Boundary Magnetic Field: Exact expressions of the boundary state and the form factors of the Ising\nmodel are used to derive differential equations for the one-point functions of\nthe energy and magnetization operators of the model in the presence of a\nboundary magnetic field. We also obtain explicit formulas for the massless\nlimit of the one-point and two-point functions of the energy operator.",
        "positive": "Infrared behavior of graviton-graviton scattering: The quantum effective theory of general relativity, independent of the\neventual full theory at high energy, expresses graviton-graviton scattering at\none loop order O(E^4) with only one parameter, Newton's constant. Dunbar and\nNorridge have calculated the one loop amplitude using string based techniques.\nWe complete the calculation by showing that the 1/(d-4) divergence which\nremains in their result comes from the infrared sector and that the cross\nsection is finite and model independent when the usual bremsstrahlung diagrams\nare included."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Two Splits, Three Ways: Advances in Double Splitting Quenches: In this work we introduce a method for calculating holographic duals of BCFTs\nwith more than two boundaries. We apply it to calculating the dynamics of\nentanglement entropy in a 1+1d CFT that is instantaneously split into multiple\nsegments and calculate the entanglement entropy as a function of time for the\ncase of two splits, showing that our approach reproduces earlier results for\nthe double split case. Our manuscript lays the groundwork for future\ncalculations of the entanglement entropy for more than two splits and systems\nat nonzero temperature.",
        "positive": "Algebra of Observables for Identical Particles in One Dimension: The algebra of observables for identical particles on a line is formulated\nstarting from postulated basic commutation relations. A realization of this\nalgebra in the Calogero model was previously known. New realizations are\npresented here in terms of differentiation operators and in terms of\nSU(N)-invariant observables of the Hermitian matrix models. Some particular\nstructure properties of the algebra are briefly discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The generating function of amplitudes with N twisted and M untwisted\n  states: We show that the generating function of all amplitudes with N twisted and M\nuntwisted states, i.e. the Reggeon vertex for magnetized branes on R^2 can be\ncomputed once the correlator of N non excited twisted states and the\ncorresponding Green function are known and we give an explicit expression as a\nfunctional of the these objects",
        "positive": "Superpotentials, A-infinity Relations and WDVV Equations for Open\n  Topological Strings: We give a systematic derivation of the consistency conditions which constrain\nopen-closed disk amplitudes of topological strings. They include the A-infinity\nrelations (which generalize associativity of the boundary product of\ntopological field theory), as well as certain homotopy versions of\nbulk-boundary crossing symmetry and Cardy constraint. We discuss integrability\nof amplitudes with respect to bulk and boundary deformations, and write down\nthe analogs of WDVV equations for the space-time superpotential. We also study\nthe structure of these equations from a string field theory point of view. As\nan application, we determine the effective superpotential for certain families\nof D-branes in B-twisted topological minimal models, as a function of both\nclosed and open string moduli. This provides an exact description of tachyon\ncondensation in such models, which allows one to determine the truncation of\nthe open string spectrum in a simple manner."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Bogoliubov/de Gennes system, the AKNS hierarchy, and nonlinear\n  quantum mechanical supersymmetry: We show that the Ginzburg-Landau expansion of the grand potential for the\nBogoliubov-de Gennes Hamiltonian is determined by the integrable nonlinear\nequations of the AKNS hierarchy, and that this provides the natural\nmathematical framework for a hidden nonlinear quantum mechanical supersymmetry\nunderlying the dynamics.",
        "positive": "Renormalization Scheme Dependence with Renormalization Group Summation: We consider all radiative corrections to the total electron-positron cross\nsection showing how the renormalization group equation can be used to sum the\nlogarithmic contributions in two ways. First of all, one can sum leading-log\netc. contributions. A second summation shows how all logarithmic corrections\ncan be expressed in terms of log-independent contributions. Next, using\nStevenson's characterization of renormalization scheme, we examine scheme\ndependence when using the second way of summing logarithms. The renormalization\nscheme invariants that arise are then related to those of Stevenson. We\nconsider two choices of renormalization scheme, one resulting in two powers of\na running coupling, the second in an infinite series in the two loop running\nconstant. We then establish how the coupling constant arising in one\nrenormalization scheme can be expressed as a power series of the coupling in\nany other scheme. Next we establish how by using different mass scale at each\norder of perturbation theory, all renormalization scheme dependence can be\nabsorbed into these mass scales when one uses the second way of summing\nlogarithmic corrections. We then employ this approach to renormalization scheme\ndependency to the effective potential in a scalar model, showing the result\nthat it is independent of the background field is scheme independent. The way\nin which the \"principle of minimal sensitivity\" can be applied after summation\nis then discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Constructing Space From Entanglement Entropy: We explicitly reconstruct the metric of a gravity dual to field theories\nusing known entanglement entropies using the Ryu-Takayanagi formula. We use for\nexamples CFT's in $d = 1$, 2 and 3 as well as CFT on a circle of length $L$ and\na thermal CFT at temperature $\\beta^{-1}$. We also give the first several\ncoefficients in the Taylor series of the metric for a general entanglement\nentropy in 1+1 dimensions as well as some examples (Appendix B). The beginnings\nof a dictionary between the dual theories appears naturally and does not need\nto be inserted by hand. For example, the dictionary entries $c=3R/2G_N$ for 1+1\ndimensional CFT and $N^2 = \\pi R^3/2G_N$ for $\\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM in 3+1\ndimensions are forced upon us. After uploading this paper I was made aware of\n(arXiv:1012.1812) which solves the same problem in a similar way.",
        "positive": "'t Hooft surface operators in five dimensions and elliptic Ruijsenaars\n  operators: We introduce codimension three magnetically charged surface operators in\nfive-dimensional (5d) $\\mathcal{N}=1$ supersymmetric gauge on $T^2 \\times\n\\mathbb{R}^3$. We evaluate the vacuum expectation values (vevs) of surface\noperators by supersymmetric localization techniques. Contributions of Monopole\nbubbling effects to the path integral are given by elliptic genera of world\nvolume theories on D-branes. Our result gives an elliptic deformation of the\nSUSY localization formula \\cite{Ito:2011ea} (resp. \\cite{Okuda:2019emk,\nAssel:2019yzd}) of BPS 't Hooft loops (resp. bare monopole operators) in 4d\n$\\mathcal{N}=2$ (resp. 3d $\\mathcal{N}=4$) gauge theories. We define\ndeformation quantizations of vevs of surface operators in terms of the\nWeyl-Wigner transform, where the $\\Omega$-background parameter plays the role\nof the Planck constant. For 5d $\\mathcal{N}=1^*$ gauge theory, we find that the\ndeformation quantization of the surface operators in the anti-symmetric\nrepresentations agrees with the type A elliptic Ruijsenaars operators. The\nmutual commutativity of these difference operators is related to the\ncommutativity of products of 't Hooft surface operators."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Three-Dimensional Solutions of Supersymmetrical Intertwining Relations\n  and Pairs of Isospectral Hamiltonians: The general solution of SUSY intertwining relations for three-dimensional\nSchr\\\"odinger operators is built using the class of second order supercharges\nwith nondegenerate constant metric. This solution includes several models with\narbitrary parameters. We are interested only in quantum systems which are not\namenable to separation of variables, i.e. can not be reduced to lower\ndimensional problems. All constructed Hamiltonians are partially integrable -\neach of them commutes with a symmetry operator of fourth order in momenta. The\nsame models can be considered also for complex values of parameters leading to\na class of non-Hermitian isospectral Hamiltonians.",
        "positive": "Higher-degree Dirac Currents of Twistor and Killing Spinors in\n  Supergravity Theories: We show that higher degree Dirac currents of twistor and Killing spinors\ncorrespond to the hidden symmetries of the background spacetime which are\ngeneralizations of conformal Killing and Killing vector fields respectively.\nThey are the generalizations of 1-form Dirac currents to higher degrees which\nare used in constructing the bosonic supercharges in supergravity theories. In\nthe case of Killing spinors, we find that the equations satisfied by the higher\ndegree Dirac currents are related to Maxwell-like and Duffin-Kemmer-Petiau\nequations. Correspondence between the Dirac currents and harmonic forms for\nparallel and pure spinor cases is determined. We also analyze the supergravity\ntwistor and Killing spinor cases in 10 and 11-dimensional supergravity theories\nand find that although different inner product classes induce different\ninvolutions on spinors, the higher degree Dirac currents still correspond to\nthe hidden symmetries of the spacetime."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A double copy for ${\\cal N}=2$ supergravity: a linearised tale told\n  on-shell: We construct the on-shell double copy for linearised four-dimensional ${\\cal\nN}=2$ supergravity coupled to one vector multiplet with a quadratic\nprepotential. We apply this dictionary to the weak-field approximation of\ndyonic BPS black holes in this theory.",
        "positive": "Baryon as dyonic instanton-II. Baryon mass versus chiral condensate: We discuss the description of baryon as the dyonic instanton in holographic\nQCD. The solution generalizes the Skyrmion taking into account the infinite\ntower of vector and axial mesons as well as the chiral condensate. We construct\nthe solution with unit baryon charge and study the dependence of its mass on\nthe chiral condensate. The elegant explanation of the Ioffe's formula has been\nfound and we speculate on the relation between physical scales of the chiral\nand conformal symmetry breaking."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the stability of open-string orbifold models with broken\n  supersymmetry: We consider an open-string realisation of $\\mathcal{N}=2\\to \\mathcal{N}=0$\nspontaneous breaking of supersymmetry in four-dimensional Minkowski spacetime.\nIt is based on type IIB orientifold theory compactified on $T^2\\times\nT^4/\\mathbb{Z}_2$, with Scherk--Schwarz supersymmetry breaking implemented\nalong $T^2$. We show that in the regions of moduli space where the\nsupersymmetry breaking scale is lower than the other scales, there exist\nconfigurations with minima that have massless Bose-Fermi degeneracy and hence\nvanishing one-loop effective potential, up to exponentially suppressed\ncorrections. These backgrounds describe non-Abelian gauge theories, with all\nopen-string moduli and blowing up modes of $T^4/\\mathbb{Z}_2$ stabilized, while\nall untwisted closed-string moduli remain flat directions. Other backgrounds\nwith strictly positive effective potentials exist, where the only instabilities\narising at one loop are associated with the supersymmetry breaking scale, which\nruns away. All of these backgrounds are consistent non-perturbatively.",
        "positive": "N=4 superconformal mechanics as a Non linear Realization: An action for a superconformal particle is constructed using the non linear\nrealization method for the group PSU(1,1|2), without introducing superfields.\nThe connection between PSU(1,1|2) and black hole physics is discussed. The\nlagrangian contains six arbitrary constants and describes a non-BPS\nsuperconformal particle. The BPS case is obtained if a precise relation between\nthe constants in the lagrangian is verified, which implies that the action\nbecomes kappa-symmetric."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gravity and the stability of the Higgs vacuum: We discuss the effect of gravitational interactions on the lifetime of the\nHiggs vacuum where generic quantum gravity corrections are taken into account.\nWe show how small black holes can act as seeds for vacuum decay, spontaneously\nnucleating a new Higgs phase centered on the black hole with a lifetime\nmeasured in millions of Planck times rather than billions of years. The\nconstraints on parameter space of corrections to the Higgs potential are\noutlined, and implications for collider black holes discussed.",
        "positive": "An Update on Perturbative N=8 Supergravity: According to the recent pure spinor analysis of the UV divergences by\nKarlsson, there are no divergent 1PI structures beyond 6 loops in D=4 N=8\nsupergravity. In combination with the common expectation that the UV\ndivergences do not appear at less than 7 loops, this may imply that the 4-point\namplitude in D=4 N=8 supergravity is all-loop finite. This differs from the\nresult of the previous studies of pure spinors, which suggested that there is a\nUV divergence at 7 loops in D=4. Therefore an independent investigation of the\npure spinor formalism predictions is desirable, as well as continuation of\nexplicit loop computations. In the meantime, we revisit here our earlier\narguments on UV finiteness of N=8 supergravity based on the absence of the\noff-shell light-cone superspace counterterms, as well as on the E_{7(7)}\ncurrent conservation. We believe that both arguments remain valid in view of\nthe developments in this area during the last few years."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Reflected entropy is not a correlation measure: By explicit counterexample, we show that the \"reflected entropy\" defined by\nDutta and Faulkner is not monotonically decreasing under partial trace, and so\nis not a measure of physical correlations. In fact, our counterexamples show\nthat none of the R\\'enyi reflected entropies $S_{R}^{(\\alpha)}$ for $0 < \\alpha\n< 2$ is a correlation measure; the usual reflected entropy is realized as the\n$\\alpha=1$ member of this family. The counterexamples are given by quantum\nstates that correspond to classical probability distributions, so reflected\nentropy fails to measure correlations even at the classical level.",
        "positive": "Quantum Quench and Double Trace Couplings: We consider quantum quench by a time dependent double trace coupling in a\nstrongly coupled large N field theory which has a gravity dual via the AdS/CFT\ncorrespondence. The bulk theory contains a self coupled neutral scalar field\ncoupled to gravity with negative cosmological constant. We study the scalar\ndynamics in the probe approximation in two backgrounds: AdS soliton and AdS\nblack brane. In either case we find that in equilibrium there is a critical\nphase transition at a {\\em negative} value of the double trace coupling\n$\\kappa$ below which the scalar condenses. For a slowly varying homogeneous\ntime dependent coupling crossing the critical point, we show that the dynamics\nin the critical region is dominated by a single mode of the bulk field. This\nmode satisfies a Landau-Ginsburg equation with a time dependent mass, and leads\nto Kibble Zurek type scaling behavior. For the AdS soliton the system is\nnon-dissipative and has $z=1$, while for the black brane one has dissipative\n$z=2$ dynamics. We also discuss the features of a holographic model which would\ndescribe the non-equilibrium dynamics around quantum critical points with\narbitrary dynamical critical exponent $z$ and correlation length exponent\n$\\nu$. These analytical results are supported by direct numerical solutions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Physics of Q-balls: In this thesis we investigate the stationary properties and formation process\nof a class of nontopological solitons, namely Q-balls. We explore both the\nquantum-mechanical and classical stability of Q-balls that appear in\npolynomial, gravity-mediated and gauge-mediated potentials. By presenting our\ndetailed analytic and numerical results, we show that absolutely stable\nnon-thermal Q-balls may exist in any kinds of the above potentials. The latter\ntwo types of potentials are motivated by Affleck-Dine baryogenesis, which is\none of the best candidate theories to solve the present baryon asymmetry. By\nincluding quantum corrections in the scalar potentials, a naturally formed\ncondensate in a post-inflationary era can be classically unstable and fragment\ninto Q-balls that can be long-lived or decay into the usual baryons/leptons as\nwell as the lightest supersymmeric particles. This scenario naturally provides\nthe baryon asymmetry and the similarity of the energy density between baryons\nand dark matter in the Universe. Introducing detailed lattice simulations, we\nargue that the formation, thermalisation and stability of these Q-balls depend\non the properties of models involved with supersymmetry breaking.",
        "positive": "On an alternative quantization of R-NS strings: We investigate an alternative quantization of R-NS string theory. In the\nalternative quantization, we define the distinct vacuum for the left-moving\nmode and the right-moving mode by exchanging the role of creation operators and\nannihilation operators in the left-moving sector. The resulting string theory\nhas only a finite number of propagating degrees of freedom. We show that an\nappropriate choice of the GSO projection makes the theory tachyon free. The\nspectrum coincides with the massless sector of type IIA or type IIB superstring\ntheory without any massive excitations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A String Theory Which Isn't About Strings: Quantization of closed string proceeds with a suitable choice of worldsheet\nvacuum. A priori, the vacuum may be chosen independently for left-moving and\nright-moving sectors. We construct {\\sl ab initio} quantized bosonic string\ntheory with left-right asymmetric worldsheet vacuum and explore its\nconsequences and implications. We critically examine the validity of new vacuum\nand carry out first-quantization using standard operator formalism. Remarkably,\nthe string spectrum consists only of a finite number of degrees of freedom:\nstring gravity (massless spin-two, Kalb-Ramond and dilaton fields) and two\nmassive spin-two Fierz-Pauli fields. The massive spin-two fields have negative\nnorm, opposite mass-squared, and provides a Lee-Wick type extension of string\ngravity. We compute two physical observables: tree-level scattering amplitudes\nand one-loop cosmological constant. Scattering amplitude of four dilatons is\nshown to be a rational function of kinematic invariants, and in $D=26$\nfactorizes into contributions of massless spin-two and a pair of massive\nspin-two fields. The string one loop partition function is shown to perfectly\nagree with one loop Feynman diagram of string gravity and two massive spin-two\nfields. In particular, it does not exhibit modular invariance. We critically\ncompare our construction with recent studies and contrast differences.",
        "positive": "Hamiltonian analysis of nonprojectable Ho\u0159ava-Lifshitz gravity with\n  $U(1)$ symmetry: We study the nature of constraints and count the number of degrees of freedom\nin the nonprojectable version of the $U(1)$ extension of Ho\\v{r}ava-Lifshitz\ngravity, using the standard method of Hamiltonian analysis in the classical\nfield theory. This makes it possible for us to investigate the condition under\nwhich the scalar graviton is absent at a fully nonlinear level. We show that\nthe scalar graviton does not exist at the classical level if and only if two\nspecific coupling constants are exactly zero. The operators corresponding to\nthese two coupling constants are marginal for any values of the dynamical\ncritical exponent of the Lifshitz scaling and thus should be generated by\nquantum corrections even if they are eliminated from the bare action. We thus\nconclude that the theory in general contains the scalar graviton."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "New Aspects of Heterotic--F Theory Duality: In order to understand both up-type and down-type Yukawa couplings, F-theory\nis a better framework than the perturbative Type IIB string theory. The duality\nbetween the Heterotic and F-theory is a powerful tool in gaining more insights\ninto F-theory description of low-energy chiral multiplets. Because chiral\nmultiplets from bundles /\\^2 V and /\\^2 V^x as well as those from a bundle V\nare all involved in Yukawa couplings in Heterotic compactification, we need to\ntranslate descriptions of all those kinds of matter multiplets into F-theory\nlanguage through the duality. We find that chiral matter multiplets in F-theory\nare global holomorphic sections of line bundles on what we call covering matter\ncurves. The covering matter curves are formulated in Heterotic theory in\nassociation with normalization of spectral surface, while they are where\nM2-branes wrapped on a vanishing two-cycle propagate in F-theory. Chirality\nformulae are given purely in terms of (possibly primitive) four-form flux. In\norder to complete the translation, the dictionary of the Heterotic--F theory\nduality has to be refined in some aspects. A precise map of spectral surface\nand complex structure moduli is obtained, and with the map, we find that\ndivisors specifying the line bundles correspond precisely to codimension-3\nsingularities in F-theory.",
        "positive": "Exceptional Seiberg-Witten Geometry with Massive Fundamental Matters: We propose Seiberg-Witten geometry for N=2 gauge theory with gauge group\n$E_6$ with massive $N_f$ fundamental hypermultiplets. The relevant manifold is\ndescribed as a fibration of the ALE space of $E_6$ type. It is observed that\nthe fibering data over the base ${\\bf CP}^1$ has an intricate dependence on\nhypermultiplet bare masses."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Higher derivative extension of the functional renormalization group: We study higher derivative extension of the functional renormalization group\n(FRG). We consider FRG equations for a scalar field that consist of terms with\nhigher functional derivatives of the effective action and arbitrary cutoff\nfunctions. We show that the epsilon expansion around the Wilson-Fisher fixed\npoint is indeed reproduced by the local potential approximation of the FRG\nequations.",
        "positive": "Conformal Dimensions of Two-Derivative BMN Operators: We compute the anomalous dimensions of BMN operators with two covariant\nderivative impurities at the planar level up to first order in the effective\ncoupling lambda'. The result equals those for two scalar impurities as well as\nfor mixed scalar and vector impurities given in the literature. Though the\nresults are the same, the computation is very different from the scalar case.\nThis is basically due to the existence of a non-vanishing overlap between the\nderivative impurity and the ``background'' field Z. We present details of these\ndifferences and their consequences."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Localization of 4d $\\mathcal{N}=1$ theories on $\\mathbb{D}^2\\times\n  \\mathbb{T}^2$: We consider 4d $\\mathcal{N}=1$ gauge theories with R-symmetry on a hemisphere\ntimes a torus. We apply localization techniques to evaluate the exact partition\nfunction through a cohomological reformulation of the supersymmetry\ntransformations. Our results represent the natural elliptic lifts of the lower\ndimensional analogs as well as a field theoretic derivation of the conjectured\n4d holomorphic blocks, from which partition functions of compact spaces with\ndiverse topology can be recovered through gluing. We also analyze the different\nboundary conditions which can naturally be imposed on the chiral multiplets,\nwhich turn out to be either Dirichlet or Robin-like. We show that different\nboundary conditions are related to each other by coupling the bulk to 3d\n$\\mathcal{N}=1$ degrees of freedom on the boundary three-torus, for which we\nderive explicit 1-loop determinants.",
        "positive": "Berry's Phase and Euclidean Path Integral: A method for finding Berry's phase is proposed under the Euclidean path\nintegral formalism. It is characterized by picking up the imaginary part from\nthe resultant exponent. Discussion is made on the generalized harmonic\noscillator which is shown being so universal in a single degree case. The spin\nmodel expressed by creation and annihilation operators is also discussed. A\nsystematic way of expansion in the adiabatic approximation is presented in\nevery example."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Stationarity of Inflation and Predictions of Quantum Cosmology: We describe several different regimes which are possible in inflationary\ncosmology. The simplest one is inflation without self-reproduction of the\nuniverse. In this scenario the universe is not stationary. The second regime,\nwhich exists in a broad class of inflationary models, is eternal inflation with\nthe self-reproduction of inflationary domains. In this regime local properties\nof domains with a given density and given values of fields do not depend on the\ntime when these domains were produced. The probability distribution to find a\ndomain with given properties in a self-reproducing universe may or may not be\nstationary, depending on the choice of an inflationary model. We give examples\nof models where each of these possibilities can be realized, and discuss some\nimplications of our results for quantum cosmology. In particular, we propose a\nnew mechanism which may help solving the cosmological constant problem.",
        "positive": "Triangle UD integrals in the position space: We investigate triangle UD ladder integrals in the position space. The\ninvestigation is necessary to find an all-order in loop solution for an\nauxiliary Lcc correlator in Wess-Zumino-Landau gauge of the maximally\nsupersymmetric Yang-Mills theory and to present correlators of dressed mean\ngluons in terms of it in all loops. We show that triangle UD ladder diagrams in\nthe position space can be expressed in terms of the same UD functions Phi^(L)\nin terms of which they were represented in the momentum space, for an arbitrary\nnumber of rungs."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Properties of solutions of the \"naive\" functional Schroedinger equation\n  for QCD: In this paper we consider the simplest functional Schroedinger equation of a\nquantum field theory (in particular QCD) and study its solutions. We observe\nthat the solutions to this equation must possess a number of properties. Its\nTaylor coefficients are multivalued functions with rational and logarithmic\nbranchings and essential singularities of exponential type. These singularities\noccur along a locus defined by polynomial equations. The conditions we find\ndefine a class of functions that generalizes to multiple dimensions meromorphic\nfunctions with finite Nevanlinna type. We note that in perturbation theory\nthese functions have local asymptotics that is given by multidimensional\nconfluent hypergeometric functions in the sense of Gelfand-Kapranov-Zelevinsky.",
        "positive": "Hidden horizons in non-relativistic AdS/CFT: We study boundary Green's functions for spacetimes with non-relativistic\nscaling symmetry. For this class of backgrounds, scalar modes with large\ntransverse momentum, or equivalently low frequency, have an exponentially\nsuppressed imprint on the boundary. We investigate the effect of these modes on\nholographic two-point functions. We find that the boundary Green's function is\ngenerically insensitive to horizon features on small transverse length scales.\nWe explicitly demonstrate this insensitivity for Lifshitz z=2, and then use the\nWKB approximation to generalize our findings to Lifshitz z>1 and RG flows with\na Lifshitz-like region. We also comment on the analogous situation in\nSchroedinger spacetimes. Finally, we exhibit the analytic properties of the\nGreen's function in these spacetimes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Tachyon Condensation on Separated Brane-Antibrane System: We study the effect of tachyon condensation on a brane antibrane pair in\nsuperstring theory separated in the transverse direction. The static properties\nof the tachyon potential analyzed using level truncated string field theory\nreproduces the desired property that the dependence of the minimum value of the\npotential on the initial distance of separation between the branes decreases as\nwe include higher level terms. The rolling tachyon solution constructed using\nthe conformal field theory methods shows that if the initial separation between\nthe branes is less than a critical distance then the solution is described by\nan exactly marginal deformation of the original conformal field theory where\nthe correlation functions of the deformed theory are determined completely in\nterms of the correlation functions of the undeformed theory without any need to\nregularize the theory. Using this we give an expression for the pressure on the\nbrane-antibrane system as a power series expansion in \\exp(C x^0) for an\nappropriate constant C.",
        "positive": "On covariant phase space methods: It is well known that the Lagrangian and the Hamiltonian formalisms can be\ncombined and lead to \"covariant symplectic\" methods. For that purpose a\n\"pre-symplectic form\" has been constructed from the Lagrangian using the\nso-called Noether form. However, analogously to the standard Noether currents,\nthis symplectic form is only determined up to total divergences which are\nhowever essential ingredients in gauge theories.\n  We propose a new definition of the symplectic form which is covariant and\nfree of ambiguities in a general first order formulation. Indeed, our\nconstruction depends on the equations of motion but not on the Lagrangian. We\nthen define a generalized Hamiltonian which generates the equations of motions\nin a covariant way. Applications to Yang-Mills, general relativity,\nChern-Simons and supergravity theories are given. We also consider nice sets of\npossible boundary conditions that imply the closure and conservation of the\ntotal symplectic form.\n  We finally revisit the construction of conserved charges associated with\ngauge symmetries, from both the \"covariant symplectic\" and the \"covariantized\nRegge-Teitelboim\" points of view. We find that both constructions coincide when\nthe ambiguity in the Noetherian pre-symplectic form is fixed using our new\nprescription. We also present a condition of integrability of the equations\nthat lead to these quantities."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Cascading Multicriticality in Nonrelativistic Spontaneous Symmetry\n  Breaking: Without Lorentz invariance, spontaneous global symmetry breaking can lead to\nmulticritical Nambu-Goldstone modes with a higher-order low-energy dispersion\n$\\omega\\sim k^n$ ($n=2,3,\\ldots$), whose naturalness is protected by polynomial\nshift symmetries. Here we investigate the role of infrared divergences and the\nnonrelativistic generalization of the Coleman-Hohenberg-Mermin-Wagner (CHMW)\ntheorem. We find novel cascading phenomena with large hierarchies between the\nscales at which the value of $n$ changes, leading to an evasion of the \"no-go\"\nconsequences of the relativistic CHMW theorem.",
        "positive": "Classical N=2 W-superalgebras From Superpseudodifferential Operators: We study the supersymmetric Gelfand-Dickey algebras associated with the\nsuperpseudodifferential operators of positive as well as negative leading\norder. We show that, upon the usual constraint, these algebras contain the N=2\nsuper Virasoro algebra as a subalgebra as long as the leading order is odd. The\ndecompositions of the coefficient functions into N=1 primary fields are then\nobtained by covariantizing the superpseudodifferential operators. We discuss\nthe problem of identifying N=2 supermultiplets and work out a couple of\nsupermultiplets by explicit computations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Thoughts on Tachyon Cosmology: After a pedagogical review of elementary cosmology, I go on to discuss some\nobstacles to obtaining inflationary or accelerating universes in M/String\nTheory. In particular, I give an account of an old No-Go Theorem to this\neffect. I then describe some recent ideas about the possible r\\^ole of the\ntachyon in cosmology. I stress that there are many objections to a naive\ninflationary model based on the tachyon, but there remains the possiblity that\nthe tachyon was important in a possible pre-inflationary Open-String Era\npreceding our present Closed String Era.",
        "positive": "Precision Islands in the Ising and $O(N)$ Models: We make precise determinations of the leading scaling dimensions and operator\nproduct expansion (OPE) coefficients in the 3d Ising, $O(2)$, and $O(3)$ models\nfrom the conformal bootstrap with mixed correlators. We improve on previous\nstudies by scanning over possible relative values of the leading OPE\ncoefficients, which incorporates the physical information that there is only a\nsingle operator at a given scaling dimension. The scaling dimensions and OPE\ncoefficients obtained for the 3d Ising model, $(\\Delta_{\\sigma},\n\\Delta_{\\epsilon},\\lambda_{\\sigma\\sigma\\epsilon},\n\\lambda_{\\epsilon\\epsilon\\epsilon}) = (0.5181489(10), 1.412625(10),\n1.0518537(41), 1.532435(19))$, give the most precise determinations of these\nquantities to date."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Negative mode of Schwarzschild black hole from the thermodynamic\n  instability: The thermodynamic instability, for example the negative heat capacity, of a\nblack hole implies the existence of off-shell negative mode(s) (tachyonic\nmode(s)) around the black hole geometry in the Euclidean path integral\nformalism of quantum gravity. We explicitly construct an off-shell negative\nmode inspired from the negative heat capacity in the case of Schwarzschild\nblack hole with/without a cosmological constant. We carefully check the\nboundary conditions, i.e. the regularity at the horizon, the traceless\ncondition, and the normalizability.",
        "positive": "Pseudoclassical mechanics and hidden symmetries of 3d particle models: We discuss hidden symmetries of three-dimensional field configurations\nrevealed at the one-particle level by the use of pseudoclassical particle\nmodels. We argue that at the quantum field theory level, these can be naturally\nexplained in terms of manifest symmetries of the reduced phase space\nHamiltonian of the corresponding field systems."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Entanglement of the $3$-State Potts Model via Form Factor Bootstrap:\n  Total and Symmetry Resolved Entropies: In this paper, we apply the form factor bootstrap approach to branch point\ntwist fields in the $q$-state Potts model for $q\\leq 3$. For $q=3$ this is an\nintegrable interacting quantum field theory with an internal discrete\n$\\mathbb{Z}_3$ symmetry and therefore provides an ideal starting point for the\ninvestigation of the symmetry resolved entanglement entropies. However, more\ngenerally, for $q\\leq 3$ the standard R\\'enyi and entanglement entropies are\nalso accessible through the bootstrap programme. In our work we present form\nfactor solutions both for the standard branch point twist field with $q\\leq 3$\nand for the composite (or symmetry resolved) branch point twist field with\n$q=3$. In both cases, the form factor equations are solved for two particles\nand the solutions are carefully checked via the $\\Delta$-sum rule. Using our\nanalytic predictions, we compute the leading finite-size corrections to the\nentanglement entropy and entanglement equipartition for a single interval in\nthe ground state.",
        "positive": "Standard Model and SU(5) GUT with Local Scale Invariance and the Weylon: Weyl's scale invariance is introduced as an additional local symmetry in the\nstandard model of electroweak interactions. An inevitable consequence is the\nintroduction of general relativity coupled to scalar fields a la Dirac and an\nadditional vector particle we call the Weylon. Once Weyl's scale invariance is\nbroken, the phenomenon (a) generates Newton's gravitational constant G_N and\n(b) triggers the conventional spontaneous symmetry breaking mechanism that\nresults in masses for all the fermions and bosons. The scale at which Weyl's\nscale symmetry breaks is of order Planck mass. If right-handed neutrinos are\nalso introduced, their absence at present energy scales is attributed to their\nmass which is tied to the scale where scale invariance breaks. Some\nimplications of these ideas are noted in grand unification based on the gauge\nsymmetry SU(5)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Evolution method and \"differential hierarchy\" of colored knot\n  polynomials: We consider braids with repeating patterns inside arbitrary knots which\nprovides a multi-parametric family of knots, depending on the \"evolution\"\nparameter, which controls the number of repetitions. The dependence of knot\n(super)polynomials on such evolution parameters is very easy to find. We apply\nthis evolution method to study of the families of knots and links which include\nthe cases with just two parallel and anti-parallel strands in the braid, like\nthe ordinary twist and 2-strand torus knots/links and counter-oriented 2-strand\nlinks. When the answers were available before, they are immediately reproduced,\nand an essentially new example is added of the \"double braid\", which is a\ncombination of parallel and anti-parallel 2-strand braids. This study helps us\nto reveal with the full clarity and partly investigate a mysterious\nhierarchical structure of the colored HOMFLY polynomials, at least, in\n(anti)symmetric representations, which extends the original observation for the\nfigure-eight knot to many (presumably all) knots. We demonstrate that this\nstructure is typically respected by the t-deformation to the superpolynomials.",
        "positive": "On the theory of coherent pair production in crystals in presence of\n  acoustic waves: The influence of hypersonic waves excited in a single crystal is investigated\non the process of electron-positron pair creation by high-energy photons. The\ncoherent part of the corresponding differential cross-section is derived as a\nfunction of the amplitude and wave number of the hypersound. The values of the\nparameters are specified for which the latter affects remarkably on the pair\ncreation cross-section. It is shown that under certain conditions the presence\nof hypersonic waves can result in enhancement of the process cross-section."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Coset Realization of Unifying W-Algebras: We construct several quantum coset W-algebras, e.g. sl(2,R)/U(1) and\nsl(2,R)+sl(2,R) / sl(2,R), and argue that they are finitely nonfreely\ngenerated. Furthermore, we discuss in detail their role as unifying W-algebras\nof Casimir W-algebras. We show that it is possible to give coset realizations\nof various types of unifying W-algebras, e.g. the diagonal cosets based on the\nsymplectic Lie algebras sp(2n) realize the unifying W-algebras which have\npreviously been introduced as `WD_{-n}'. In addition, minimal models of WD_{-n}\nare studied. The coset realizations provide a generalization of\nlevel-rank-duality of dual coset pairs. As further examples of finitely\nnonfreely generated quantum W-algebras we discuss orbifolding of W-algebras\nwhich on the quantum level has different properties than in the classical case.\nWe demonstrate in some examples that the classical limit according to Bowcock\nand Watts of these nonfreely finitely generated quantum W-algebras probably\nyields infinitely nonfreely generated classical W-algebras.",
        "positive": "IIB flux non-commutativity and the global structure of field theories: We discuss the origin of the choice of global structure for six dimensional\n$(2,0)$ theories and their compactifications in terms of their realization from\nIIB string theory on ALE spaces. We find that the ambiguity in the choice of\nglobal structure on the field theory side can be traced back to a subtle effect\nthat needs to be taken into account when specifying boundary conditions at\ninfinity in the IIB orbifold, namely the known non-commutativity of RR fluxes\nin spaces with torsion. As an example, we show how the classification of\n$\\mathcal{N}=4$ theories by Aharony, Seiberg and Tachikawa can be understood in\nterms of choices of boundary conditions for RR fields in IIB. Along the way we\nencounter a formula for the fractional instanton number of $\\mathcal{N}=4$ ADE\ntheories in terms of the torsional linking pairing for rational homology\nspheres. We also consider six-dimensional $(1,0)$ theories, clarifying the\nrules for determining commutators of flux operators for discrete 2-form\nsymmetries. Finally, we analyze the issue of global structure for four\ndimensional theories in the presence of duality defects."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Riemann Tensor of the Ambient Universe, the Dilaton and the Newton's\n  Constant: We investigate a four-dimensional world, embedded into a five-dimensional\nspacetime, and find the five-dimensional Riemann tensor via generalisation of\nthe Gauss (--Codacci) equations. We then derive the generalised equations of\nthe four-dimensional world and also show that the square of the dilaton field\nis equal to the Newton's constant. We find plausable constant and non-constant\nsolutions for the dilaton.",
        "positive": "Colliding branes and big crunches: We examine the global structure of colliding domain walls in AdS spacetime\nand come to the conclusion that singularities forming from such collisions are\nof the big-crunch type rather than that of a black brane."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supergravity Solution for Three-String Junction in M-Theory: Three-String junctions are allowed configurations in II B string theory which\npreserve one-fourth supersymmetry. We obtain the 11-dimensional supergravity\nsolution for curved membranes corresponding to these three-string junctions.",
        "positive": "Inflationary universe from anomaly-free $F(R)$-gravity: By adding a three dimensional manifold to an eleven dimensional manifold in\nsupergravity, we obtain the action of $F(R)$-gravity and find that it is\nanomaly free. We calculate the scale factor of the inflationary universe in\nthis model, and observe that it is related to the slow-roll parameters. The\nscalar-tensor ratio R\\_(scalar-tensor) is in good agreement with experimental\ndata."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Effective World-Sheet Theory for Non-Abelian Semilocal Strings in N = 2\n  Supersymmetric QCD: We consider non-Abelian semilocal strings (vortices, or vortex-strings)\narising in N=2 supersymmetric U(N) gauge theory with Nf=N+\\~N matter\nhypermultiplets in the fundamental representation (quarks), and a\nFayet-Iliopoulos term {\\xi}. We present, for the first time ever, a systematic\nfield-theoretic derivation of the world-sheet theory for such strings,\ndescribing dynamics of both, orientational and size zero modes. Our derivation\nis complete in the limit, ln(L)\\rightarrow \\infty, where L is an infrared (IR)\nregulator in the transverse plane. In this limit the world-sheet theory is\nobtained exactly. It is presented by a so far unknown N=2 two-dimensional sigma\nmodel, to which we refer as the zn model, with or without twisted masses.\nAlternative formulations of the zn model are worked out: conventional and\nextended gauged formulations and a geometric formulation. We compare the exact\nmetric of the zn model with that of the weighted CP(Nf-1) model conjectured by\nHanany and Tong, through D-branes, as the world-sheet theory for the\nnon-Abelian semilocal strings. The Hanany-Tong set-up has no parallel for the\nfield-theoretic IR parameter and metrics of the weighted CP(Nf-1) model and zn\nmodel are different. Still their quasiclassical excitation spectra coincide.",
        "positive": "Linking the Supersymmetric Standard Model to the Cosmological Constant: String theory has no parameter except the string scale $M_S$, so the Planck\nscale $M_\\text{Pl}$, the supersymmetry-breaking scale, the EW scale\n$m_\\text{EW}$ as well as the vacuum energy density (cosmological constant)\n$\\Lambda$ are to be determined dynamically at any local minimum solution in the\nstring theory landscape. Here we consider a model that links the supersymmetric\nelectroweak phenomenology (bottom up) to the string theory motivated flux\ncompactification approach (top down). In this model, supersymmetry is broken by\na combination of the racetrack K\\\"ahler uplift mechanism, which naturally\nallows an exponentially small positive $\\Lambda$ in a local minimum, and the\nanti-D3-brane in the KKLT scenario. In the absence of the Higgs doublets in the\nsupersymmetric standard model, one has either a small $\\Lambda$ or a big enough\nSUSY-breaking scale, but not both. The introduction of the Higgs fields (with\ntheir soft terms) allows a small $\\Lambda$ and a big enough SUSY-breaking scale\nsimultaneously. Since an exponentially small $\\Lambda$ is statistically\npreferred (as the properly normalized probability distribution $P(\\Lambda)$\ndiverges at $\\Lambda=0^{+}$), identifying the observed $\\Lambda_{\\rm obs}$ to\nthe median value $\\Lambda_{50\\%}$ yields $m_{\\rm EW} \\sim 100$ GeV. We also\nfind that the warped anti-D3-brane tension has a SUSY-breaking scale of\n$100m_{\\rm EW}$ in the landscape while the SUSY-breaking scale that directly\ncorrelates with the Higgs fields in the visible sector has a value of $m_{\\rm\nEW}$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Completion of standard-like embeddings: Inequivalent standard-like observable sector embeddings in $Z_3$ orbifolds\nwith two discrete Wilson lines, as determined by Casas, Mondragon and Mu\\~noz,\nare completed by examining all possible ways of embedding the hidden sector.\nThe hidden sector embeddings are relevant to twisted matter in nontrivial\nrepresentations of the Standard Model and to scenarios where supersymmetry\nbreaking is generated in a hidden sector. We find a set of 175 models which\nhave a hidden sector gauge group which is viable for dynamical supersymmetry\nbreaking. Only four different hidden sector gauge groups are possible in these\nmodels.",
        "positive": "Scalar charges and the first law of black hole thermodynamics: We present a variational formulation of Einstein-Maxwell-dilaton theory in\nflat spacetime, when the asymptotic value of the scalar field is not fixed. We\nobtain the boundary terms that make the variational principle well posed and\nthen compute the finite gravitational action and corresponding Brown-York\nstress tensor. We show that the total energy has a new contribution that\ndepends of the asymptotic value of the scalar field and discuss the role of\nscalar charges for the first law of thermodynamics. We also extend our analysis\nto hairy black holes in Anti-de Sitter spacetime and investigate the\nthermodynamics of an exact solution that breaks the conformal symmetry of the\nboundary."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Unimodular Gravity and the lepton anomalous magnetic moment at one-loop: We work out the one-loop contribution to the lepton anomalous magnetic moment\ncoming from Unimodular Gravity. We use Dimensional Regularization and\nDimensional Reduction to carry out the computations. In either case, we find\nthat Unimodular Gravity gives rise to the same one-loop correction as that of\nGeneral Relativity.",
        "positive": "TFT construction of RCFT correlators IV: Structure constants and\n  correlation functions: We compute the fundamental correlation functions in two-dimensional rational\nconformal field theory, from which all other correlators can be obtained by\nsewing: the correlators of three bulk fields on the sphere, one bulk and one\nboundary field on the disk, three boundary fields on the disk, and one bulk\nfield on the cross cap. We also consider conformal defects and calculate the\ncorrelators of three defect fields on the sphere and of one defect field on the\ncross cap.\n  Each of these correlators is presented as the product of a structure constant\nand the appropriate conformal two- or three-point block. The structure\nconstants are expressed as invariants of ribbon graphs in three-manifolds."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "$T\\bar{T}$ Flows and (2,2) Supersymmetry: We construct a solvable deformation of two-dimensional theories with $(2,2)$\nsupersymmetry using an irrelevant operator which is a bilinear in the\nsupercurrents. This supercurrent-squared operator is manifestly supersymmetric,\nand equivalent to $T\\bar{T}$ after using conservation laws. As illustrative\nexamples, we deform theories involving a single $(2,2)$ chiral superfield. We\nshow that the deformed free theory is on-shell equivalent to the $(2,2)$\nNambu-Goto action. At the classical level, models with a superpotential exhibit\nmore surprising behavior: the deformed theory exhibits poles in the physical\npotential which modify the vacuum structure. This suggests that irrelevant\ndeformations of $T\\overline{T}$ type might also affect infrared physics.",
        "positive": "Closed String Tachyons on AdS Orbifolds and Dual Yang-Mills Instantons: We study the condensation of localized closed string tachyons on AdS\norbifolds both from the bulk and boundary theory viewpoints. We first extend\nthe known results for AdS_5/Z_k to AdS_3/Z_k case, and we proposed that the\nAdS_3/Z_k decays into AdS_3/Z_k' with k' < k. From the bulk viewpoint, we\nobtain a time-dependent gravity solution describing the decay of AdS orbifold\nnumerically. From the dual gauge theory viewpoint, we calculated the Casimir\nenergies of gauge theory vacua and it is found that their values are exactly\nthe same as the masses of dual geometries, even though they are in different\nparameter regimes of 't Hooft coupling. We also consider AdS_5 orbifold. The\ndecay of AdS_5/Z_k is dual to the transition between the dual gauge theory\nvacua on R_t x S^3/Z_k, parametrized by different holonomies along the\norbifolded spatial cycle. We constructed the instanton solutions describing the\ntransitions by making use of instanton solutions on R_t x S^2."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Discrete Symmetry and GUT Breaking: We study the supersymmetric GUT models where the supersymmetry and GUT gauge\nsymmetry can be broken by the discrete symmetry. First, with the ansatz that\nthere exist discrete symmetries in the branes' neighborhoods, we discuss the\ngeneral reflection $Z_2$ symmetries and GUT breaking on $M^4\\times M^1$ and\n$M^4\\times M^1\\times M^1$. In those models, the extra dimensions can be large\nand the KK states can be set arbitrarily heavy. Second, considering the extra\nspace manifold is the annulus $A^2$ or disc $D^2$, we can define any $Z_n$\nsymmetry and break any 6-dimensional N=2 supersymmetric SU(M) models down to\nthe 4-dimensional N=1 supersymmetric $SU(3)\\times SU(2)\\times U(1)^{M-4}$\nmodels for the zero modes. In particular, there might exist the interesting\nscenario on $M^4\\times A^2$ where just a few KK states are light, while the\nothers are relatively heavy. Third, we discuss the complete global discrete\nsymmetries on $M^4\\times T^2$ and study the GUT breaking.",
        "positive": "Torsion in quantum field theory through time-loops on Dirac materials: Assuming dislocations could be meaningfully described by torsion, we propose\nhere a scenario based on the role of time in the low-energy regime of\ntwo-dimensional Dirac materials, for which coupling of the fully antisymmetric\ncomponent of the torsion with the emergent spinor is not necessarily zero.\nAppropriate inclusion of time is our proposal to overcome well-known\ngeometrical obstructions to such a program, that stopped further research of\nthis kind. In particular, our approach is based on the realization of an exotic\n$time-loop$, that could be seen as oscillating particle-hole pairs. Although\nthis is a theoretical paper, we moved the first steps toward testing the\nrealization of these scenarios, by envisaging $Gedankenexperiments$ on the\ninterplay between an external electromagnetic field (to excite the pair\nparticle-hole and realize the time-loops), and a suitable distribution of\ndislocations described as torsion (responsible for the measurable holonomy in\nthe time-loop, hence a current). Our general analysis here establishes that we\nneed to move to a nonlinear response regime. We then conclude by pointing to\nrecent results from the interaction laser-graphene that could be used to look\nfor manifestations of the torsion-induced holonomy of the time-loop, e.g., as\nspecific patterns of suppression/generation of higher harmonics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A World without Pythons would be so Simple: We show that bulk operators lying between the outermost extremal surface and\nthe asymptotic boundary admit a simple boundary reconstruction in the classical\nlimit. This is the converse of the Python's lunch conjecture, which proposes\nthat operators with support between the minimal and outermost (quantum)\nextremal surfaces - e.g. the interior Hawking partners - are highly complex.\nOur procedure for reconstructing this \"simple wedge\" is based on the HKLL\nconstruction, but uses causal bulk propagation of perturbed boundary conditions\non Lorentzian timefolds to expand the causal wedge as far as the outermost\nextremal surface. As a corollary, we establish the Simple Entropy proposal for\nthe holographic dual of the area of a marginally trapped surface as well as a\nsimilar holographic dual for the outermost extremal surface. We find that the\nsimple wedge is dual to a particular coarse-grained CFT state, obtained via\naveraging over all possible Python's lunches. An efficient quantum circuit\nconverts this coarse-grained state into a \"simple state\" that is\nindistinguishable in finite time from a state with a local modular Hamiltonian.\nUnder certain circumstances, the simple state modular Hamiltonian generates an\nexactly local flow; we interpret this result as a holographic dual of black\nhole uniqueness.",
        "positive": "Closed Bosonic String Field Theory at Quintic Order II: Marginal\n  Deformations and Effective Potential: We verify that the dilaton together with one exactly marginal field, form a\nmoduli space of marginal deformations of closed bosonic string field theory to\npolynomial order five. We use the results of this successful check in order to\nfind the best functional form of a fit of quintic amplitudes. We then use this\nfit in order to accurately compute the tachyon and dilaton effective potential\nin the limit of infinite level. We observe that to order four, the effective\npotential gives unexpectedly accurate results for the vacuum. We are thus led\nto conjecture that the effective potential, to a given order, is a good\napproximation to the whole potential including all interactions from the\nvertices up to this order from the untruncated string field. We then go on and\ncompute the effective potential to order five. We analyze its vacuum structure\nand find that it has several saddle points, including the Yang-Zwiebach vacuum,\nbut also a local minimum. We discuss the possible physical meanings of these\nvacua."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Constraints on a Massive Double-Copy and Applications to Massive Gravity: We propose and study a BCJ double-copy of massive particles, showing that it\nis equivalent to a KLT formula with a kernel given by the inverse of a matrix\nof massive bi-adjoint scalar amplitudes. For models with a uniform non-zero\nmass spectrum we demonstrate that the resulting double-copy factors on physical\npoles and that up to at least 5-particle scattering, color-kinematics\nsatisfying numerators always exist. For the scattering of 5 or more particles,\nthe procedure generically introduces spurious singularities that must be\ncancelled by imposing additional constraints. When massive particles are\npresent, color-kinematics duality is not enough to guarantee a physical\ndouble-copy. As an example, we apply the formalism to massive Yang-Mills and\nshow that up to 4-particle scattering the double-copy construction generates\nphysical amplitudes of a model of dRGT massive gravity coupled to a dilaton and\na two-form with dilaton parity violating couplings. We show that the spurious\nsingularities in the 5-particle double-copy do not cancel in this example, and\nthe construction fails to generate physically sensible amplitudes. We\nconjecture sufficient constraints on the mass spectrum, which in addition to\nmassive BCJ relations, guarantee the absence of spurious singularities.",
        "positive": "Nonlinear Transport in a Two Dimensional Holographic Superconductor: The problem of nonlinear transport in a two dimensional superconductor with\nan applied oscillating electric field is solved by the holographic method. The\ncomplex conductivity can be computed from the dynamics of the current for both\nnear- and non-equilibrium regimes. The limit of weak electric field corresponds\nto the near equilibrium superconducting regime, where the charge response is\nlinear and the conductivity develops a gap determined by the condensate. A\nlarger electric field drives the system into a superconducting non-equilibrium\nsteady state, where the nonlinear conductivity is quadratic with respect to the\nelectric field. Keeping increasing the amplitude of applied electric field\nresults in a far-from-equilibrium non-superconducting steady state with a\nuniversal linear conductivity of one. In lower temperature regime we also find\nchaotic behavior of superconducting gap, which results in a non-monotonic field\ndependent nonlinear conductivity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Functionals and the Quantum Master Equation: The quantum master equation is usually formulated in terms of functionals of\nthe components of mappings from a space-time manifold M into a\nfinite-dimensional vector space. The master equation is the sum of two terms\none of which is the anti-bracket (odd Poisson bracket) of functionals and the\nother is the Laplacian of a functional. Both of these terms seem to depend on\nthe fact that the mappings on which the functionals act are vector-valued. It\nturns out that neither this Laplacian nor the anti-bracket is well-defined for\nsections of an arbitrary vector bundle. We show that if the functionals are\npermitted to have their values in an appropriate graded tensor algebra whose\nfactors are the dual of the space of smooth functions on M, then both the\nanti-bracket and the Laplace operator can be invariantly defined. Additionally,\none obtains a new anti-bracket for ordinary functionals.",
        "positive": "On the Construction of SL(2,Z) Type IIB 5-Branes: This talk reviews our recent work on the construction of SL(2,Z) multiplets\nof type IIB superfivebranes. We here pay particular attention to the methods\nemployed and some salient features of the solutions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Comments on I1-branes: We explore the supergravity solution of D5-branes intersecting as an\nI1-brane. In a suitable near-horizon limit the geometry is in qualitative\nagreement with that found in the microscopic open-string analysis as well as\nthe NS5-brane analysis of Itzhaki, Kutasov and Seiberg. In particular, the\nISO(1,1) Lorentz symmetry of the intersection domain is enhanced to ISO(1,2).\nThe discussion is generalised to the T-dual configuration of a D4-brane\nintersecting a D6-brane. In this case the ISO(1,1) symmetry is not enhanced.\nThis is true both in the supergravity approximation to the weakly coupled\nstring theory and to the M-theory limit.",
        "positive": "Upper bound on the Abelian gauge coupling from asymptotic safety: We explore the impact of asymptotically safe quantum gravity on the Abelian\ngauge coupling in a model including a charged scalar, confirming indications\nthat asymptotically safe quantum fluctuations of gravity could trigger a\npower-law running towards a free fixed point for the gauge coupling above the\nPlanck scale. Simultaneously, quantum gravity fluctuations balance against\nmatter fluctuations to generate an interacting fixed point, which acts as a\nboundary of the basin of attraction of the free fixed point. This enforces an\nupper bound on the infrared value of the Abelian gauge coupling. In the regime\nof gravity couplings which in our approximation also allows for a prediction of\nthe top quark and Higgs mass close to the experimental value [1], we obtain an\nupper bound approximately 35% above the infrared value of the hypercharge\ncoupling in the Standard Model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Free Boson Realization of $U_q(\\widehat{sl_N})$: We construct a realization of the quantum affine algebra\n$U_q(\\widehat{sl_N})$ of an arbitrary level $k$ in terms of free boson fields.\nIn the $q\\!\\rightarrow\\! 1$ limit this realization becomes the Wakimoto\nrealization of $\\widehat{sl_N}$. The screening currents and the vertex\noperators(primary fields) are also constructed; the former commutes with\n$U_q(\\widehat{sl_N})$ modulo total difference, and the latter creates the\n$U_q(\\widehat{sl_N})$ highest weight state from the vacuum state of the boson\nFock space.",
        "positive": "The Off-Shell Boundary State and Cross-Caps in the Genus Expansion of\n  String Theory: We use the boundary state formalism for the bosonic string to calculate the\nemission amplitude for closed string states from particular D-branes. We show\nthat the amplitudes obtained are exactly the same as those obtained from the\nworld-sheet sigma model calculation, and that the construction enforces the\nrequirement for integrated vertex operators, even in the off-shell case. Using\nthe expressions obtained for the boundary state we propose higher order terms\nin the string loop expansion for the background considered."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the hydrodynamic attractor of Yang-Mills plasma: There is mounting evidence suggesting that relativistic hydrodynamics becomes\nrelevant for the physics of quark-gluon plasma as the result of nonhydrodynamic\nmodes decaying to an attractor apparent even when the system is far from local\nequilibrium. Here we determine this attractor for Bjorken flow in N=4\nsupersymmetric Yang-Mills theory using Borel summation of the gradient\nexpansion of the expectation value of the energy momentum tensor. By comparing\nthe result to numerical simulations of the flow based on the AdS/CFT\ncorrespondence we show that it provides an accurate and unambiguous\napproximation of the hydrodynamic attractor in this system. This development\nhas important implications for the formulation of effective theories of\nhydrodynamics.",
        "positive": "Resurgence, Operator Product Expansion, and Remarks on Renormalons in\n  Supersymmetric Yang-Mills: I discuss similarities and differences between the resurgence program in\nquantum mechanics and the operator product expansion in strongly coupled\nYang-Mills theories. In ${\\mathcal N}=1$ super-Yang-Mills renormalons possess\npeculiar features that make them different from renormalons in QCD. Their\nconventional QCD interpretation does not seem to be applicable in\nsupersymmetric Yang-Mills in a straightforward manner."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Black Holes and D-branes: D-branes have been used to describe many properties of extremal and near\nextremal black holes. These lecture notes provide a short review of these\ndevelopments.",
        "positive": "General self-tuning solutions and no-go theorem: We consider brane world models with one extra dimension. In the bulk there is\nin addition to gravity a three form gauge potential or equivalently a scalar\n(by generalisation of electric magnetic duality). We find classical solutions\nfor which the 4d effective cosmological constant is adjusted by choice of\nintegration constants. No go theorems for such self-tuning mechanism are\ncircumvented by unorthodox Lagrangians for the three form respectively the\nscalar. It is argued that the corresponding effective 4d theory always includes\ntachyonic Kaluza-Klein excitations or ghosts. Known no go theorems are extended\nto a general class of models with unorthodox Lagrangians."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum mechanics on Riemannian Manifold in Schwinger's Quantization\n  Approach I: Schwinger's quantization scheme is extended in order to solve the problem of\nthe formulation of quantum mechanics on a space with a group structure. The\nimportance of Killing vectors in a quantization scheme is showed. Usage of\nthese vectors provides algebraic properties of operators to be consistent with\nthe geometrical structure of a manifold. The procedure of the definition of the\nquantum Lagrangian of a free particle and the norm of velocity (momentum)\noperators is given. These constructions are invariant under a general\ncoordinate transformation. The unified procedure for constructing the quantum\ntheory on a space with a group structure is developed. Using it quantum\nmechanics on a Riemannian manifold with a simply transitive group acting on it\nis investigated.",
        "positive": "Black holes as quantum membranes: path integral approach: We describe the horizon of a quantum black hole in terms of a dynamical\nsurface which defines the boundary of space-time as seen by external static\nobservers, and we define a path integral in the presence of this dynamical\nboundary. Using renormalization group arguments, we find that the dynamics of\nthe horizon is governed by the action of the relativistic bosonic membrane.\n{}From the thermodynamical properties of this bosonic membrane we derive the\nentropy and the temperature of black holes, and we find agreement with the\nstandard results. With this formalism we can also discuss the corrections to\nthe Hawking temperature when the mass $M$ of the black hole approaches the\nPlanck mass $M_{\\rm Pl}$. When $M$ becomes as low as $(10-100) M_{\\rm Pl}$ a\nphase transition takes place and the specific heat of the black hole becomes\npositive."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Matrix model partition function by a single constraint: In the recent study of Virasoro action on characters, we discovered that it\ngets especially simple for peculiar linear combinations of the Virasoro\noperators: particular harmonics of $\\hat w$-operators. In this letter, we\ndemonstrate that even more is true: a {\\it single} $w$-constraint is sufficient\nto uniquely specify the partition functions provided one assumes that it is a\npower series in time-variables. This substitutes the previous specifications in\nterms of {\\it two} requirements: either a string equation imposed on the\nKP/Toda $\\tau$-function or a pair of Virasoro generators. This mysterious {\\it\nsingle}-entry definition holds for a variety of theories, including Hermitian\nand complex matrix models, and also matrix models with external matrix: the\nunitary and cubic Kontsevich models. In these cases, it is equivalent to\nW-representation and is closely related to {\\it super}\\,integrability. However,\na similar single equation that completely determines the partition function\nexists also in the case of the generalized Kontsevich model (GKM) with the\npotential of higher degree, when the constraint algebra is a larger\n$W$-algebra, and neither W-representation nor superintegrability are understood\nwell enough.",
        "positive": "Brane World Dynamics and Conformal Bulk Fields: In the Randall-Sundrum scenario we investigate the dynamics of a spherically\nsymmetric 3-brane world when matter fields are present in the bulk. To analyze\nthe 5-dimensional Einstein equations we employ a global conformal\ntransformation whose factor characterizes the $Z_2$ symmetric warp. We find a\nnew set of exact dynamical collapse solutions which localize gravity in the\nvicinity of the brane for a stress-energy tensor of conformal weight -4 and a\nwarp factor that depends only on the coordinate of the fifth dimension.\nGeometries which describe the dynamics of inhomogeneous dust and generalized\ndark radiation on the brane are shown to belong to this set. The conditions for\nsingular or globally regular behavior and the static marginally bound limits\nare discussed for these examples. Also explicitly demonstrated is complete\nconsistency with the effective point of view of a 4-dimensional observer who is\nconfined to the brane and makes the same assumptions about the bulk degrees of\nfreedom."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Deformation Quantization of Fermi Fields: Deformation quantization for any Grassmann scalar free field is described via\nthe Weyl-Wigner-Moyal formalism. The Stratonovich-Weyl quantizer, the Moyal\n$\\star$-product and the Wigner functional are obtained by extending the\nformalism proposed recently in [35] to the fermionic systems of infinite number\nof degrees of freedom. In particular, this formalism is applied to quantize the\nDirac free field. It is observed that the use of suitable oscillator variables\nfacilitates considerably the procedure. The Stratonovich-Weyl quantizer, the\nMoyal $\\star$-product, the Wigner functional, the normal ordering operator, and\nfinally, the Dirac propagator have been found with the use of these variables.",
        "positive": "The Five-Loop Four-Point Integrand of N=8 Supergravity as a Generalized\n  Double Copy: We use the recently developed generalized double-copy procedure to construct\nan integrand for the five-loop four-point amplitude of N=8 supergravity. This\nconstruction starts from a naive double copy of the previously computed\ncorresponding amplitude of N=4 super-Yang-Mills theory. This is then\nsystematically modified by adding contact terms generated in the context of the\nmethod of maximal unitarity cuts. For the simpler generalized cuts, whose\ncorresponding contact terms tend to be the most complicated, we derive a set of\nformulas relating the contact contributions to the violations of the dual\nJacobi identities in the relevant gauge-theory amplitudes. For more complex\ngeneralized unitarity cuts, which tend to have simpler contact terms associated\nwith them, we use the method of maximal cuts more directly. The five-loop\nfour-point integrand is a crucial ingredient towards future studies of\nultraviolet properties of N=8 supergravity at five loops and beyond. We also\npresent a nontrivial check of the consistency of the integrand, based on modern\napproaches for integrating over the loop momenta in the ultraviolet region."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Chains with $GL_q(2)$ Symmetry: Usually quantum chains with quantum group symmetry are associated with\nrepresentations of quantized universal algebras $U_q(g) $ . Here we propose a\nmethod for constructing quantum chains with $C_q(G)$ global symmetry , where\n$C_q(G)$ is the algebra of functions on the quantum group. In particular we\nwill construct a quantum chain with $GL_q(2)$ symmetry which interpolates\nbetween two classical Ising chains.It is shown that the Hamiltonian of this\nchain satisfies in the generalised braid group algebra.",
        "positive": "Integrable systems and supersymmetric gauge theory: After the work of Seiberg and Witten, it has been seen that the dynamics of\nN=2 Yang-Mills theory is governed by a Riemann surface $\\Sigma$. In particular,\nthe integral of a special differential $\\lambda_{SW}$ over (a subset of) the\nperiods of $\\Sigma$ gives the mass formula for BPS-saturated states. We show\nthat, for each simple group $G$, the Riemann surface is a spectral curve of the\nperiodic Toda lattice for the dual group, $G^\\vee$, whose affine Dynkin diagram\nis the dual of that of $G$. This curve is not unique, rather it depends on the\nchoice of a representation $\\rho$ of $G^\\vee$; however, different choices of\n$\\rho$ lead to equivalent constructions. The Seiberg-Witten differential\n$\\lambda_{SW}$ is naturally expressed in Toda variables, and the N=2 Yang-Mills\npre-potential is the free energy of a topological field theory defined by the\ndata $\\Sigma_{\\gg,\\rho}$ and $\\lambda_{SW}$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Deconfinement phase transition in N=4 super Yang-Mills theory on RxS^3\n  from supersymmetric matrix quantum mechanics: We test the recent claim that supersymmetric matrix quantum mechanics with\nmass deformation preserving maximal supersymmetry can be used to study N=4\nsuper Yang-Mills theory on RxS^3 in the planar limit. When the mass parameter\nis large, we can integrate out all the massive fluctuations around a particular\nclassical solution, which corresponds to RxS^3. The resulting effective theory\nfor the gauge field moduli at finite temperature is studied both analytically\nand numerically, and shown to reproduce the deconfinement phase transition in\nN=4 super Yang-Mills theory on RxS^3 at weak coupling. This transition was\nspeculated to be a continuation of the conjectured phase transition at strong\ncoupling, which corresponds to the Hawking-Page transition based on the\ngauge-gravity duality. By choosing a different classical solution of the same\nmodel, one can also reproduce results for gauge theories on other space-time\nsuch as RxS^3/Z_q and RxS^2. All these theories can be studied at strong\ncoupling by the new simulation method, which was used successfully for\nsupersymmetric matrix quantum mechanics without mass deformation.",
        "positive": "The elliptic quantum algebra $A_{q,p}(\\hat {sl_n})$ and its bosonization\n  at level one: We extend the work of Foda et al and propose an elliptic quantum algebra\n$A_{q,p}(\\hat {sl_n})$. Similar to the case of $A_{q,p}(\\hat {sl_2})$, our\npresentation of the algebra is based on the relation $RLL=LLR^*$, where $R$ and\n$R^*$ are $Z_n$ symmetric R-matrices with the elliptic moduli chosen\ndifferently and a factor is also involved. With the help of the results\nobtained by Asai et al, we realize type I and type II vertex operators in terms\nof bosonic free fields for $Z_n$ symmetric Belavin model. We also give a\nbosonization for the elliptic quantum algebra $A_{q,p}(\\hat {sl_n})$ at level\none."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The theory of superstring with flux on non-Kahler manifolds and the\n  complex Monge-Ampere equation: The purpose of this paper is to solve a problem posed by Strominger in\nconstructing smooth models of superstring theory with flux. These are given by\nnon-Kahler manifolds with torsion.",
        "positive": "Path Integral Junctions: We propose path integral description for quantum mechanical systems on\ncompact graphs consisting of N segments of the same length. Provided the bulk\nHamiltonian is segment-independent, scale-invariant boundary conditions given\nby self-adjoint extension of a Hamiltonian operator turn out to be in\none-to-one correspondence with N \\times N matrix-valued weight factors on the\npath integral side. We show that these weight factors are given by\nN-dimensional unitary representations of the infinite dihedral group."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Wess-Zumino Terms for Relativistic Fluids, Superfluids, Solids, and\n  Supersolids: We use the coset construction of low-energy effective actions to\nsystematically derive Wess-Zumino (WZ) terms for fluid and isotropic solid\nsystems in two, three and four spacetime dimensions. We recover the known WZ\nterm for fluids in two dimensions as well as the very recently found WZ term\nfor fluids in three dimensions. We find two new WZ terms for supersolids that\nhave not previously appeared in the literature. In addition, by relaxing\ncertain assumptions about the symmetry group of fluids we find a number of new\nWZ terms for fluids with and without charge, in all dimensions. We find no WZ\nterms for solids and superfluids.",
        "positive": "Deformed Intersecting D6-Brane GUTS I: By employing D6-branes intersecting at angles in $D = 4$ type IIA strings, we\nconstruct {\\em four stack string GUT models} (PS-I class), that contain at low\nenergy {\\em exactly the three generation Standard model} with no extra matter\nand/or extra gauge group factors. These classes of models are based on the\nPati-Salam (PS) gauge group $SU(4)_C \\times SU(2)_L \\times SU(2)_R$. They\nrepresent deformations around the quark and lepton basic intersection number\nstructure. The models possess the same phenomenological characteristics of some\nrecently discussed examples (PS-A class) of four stack PS GUTS. Namely, there\nare no colour triplet couplings to mediate proton decay and proton is stable as\nbaryon number is a gauged symmetry. Neutrinos get masses of the correct sizes.\nAlso the mass relation\n  $m_e = m_d$ at the GUT scale is recovered.\n  Moreover, we clarify the novel role of {\\em extra} branes, the latter having\nnon-trivial intersection numbers with quarks and leptons and creating scalar\nsinglets, needed for the satisfaction of RR tadpole cancellation conditions.\n  The presence of N=1 supersymmetry in sectors involving the {\\em extra} branes\nis equivalent to the, model dependent, orthogonality conditions of the U(1)'s\nsurviving massless the generalized Green-Schwarz mechanism.\n  The use of\n  {\\em extra} branes creates mass couplings that predict the appearance of\nlight fermion doublets up to the scale of electroweak scale symmetry breaking."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Note on Quantum Periods and a TBA-like System: There is an interesting relation between the quantum periods on a certain\nlimit of local $\\mathbb{P}^1\\times \\mathbb{P}^1$ Calabi-Yau space and a TBA\n(Thermodynamic Bethe Ansatz) system appeared in the studies of ABJM\n(Aharony-Bergman-Jafferis-Maldacena) theory. We propose a one-parameter\ngeneralization of the relation. Furthermore, we derive the differential\noperators for quantum periods and the TBA-like equation in various limits of\nthe generalized relation.",
        "positive": "Notes on nonabelian (0,2) theories and dualities: In this paper we explore basic aspects of nonabelian (0,2) GLSM's in two\ndimensions for unitary gauge groups, an arena that until recently has largely\nbeen unexplored. We begin by discussing general aspects of (0,2) theories,\nincluding checks of dynamical supersymmetry breaking, spectators and weak\ncoupling limits, and also build some toy models of (0,2) theories for bundles\non Grassmannians, which gives us an opportunity to relate physical anomalies\nand trace conditions to mathematical properties. We apply these ideas to study\n(0,2) theories on Pfaffians, applying recent perturbative constructions of\nPfaffians of Jockers et al. We discuss how existing dualities in (2,2)\nnonabelian gauge theories have a simple mathematical understanding, and make\npredictions for additional dualities in (2,2) and (0,2) gauge theories.\nFinally, we outline how duality works in open strings in unitary gauge\ntheories, and also describe why, in general terms, we expect analogous\ndualities in (0,2) theories to be comparatively rare."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fock-space projection operators for semi-inclusive final states: We present explicit expressions for Fock-space projection operators that\ncorrespond to realistic final states in scattering experiments. Our operators\nautomatically sum over unobserved quanta and account for non-emission into\nsub-regions of momentum space.",
        "positive": "Conformal Symmetry in Field Theory and in Quantum Gravity: Conformal symmetry always played an important role in field theory (both\nquantum and classical) and in gravity. We present construction of quantum\nconformal gravity and discuss its features regarding scattering amplitudes and\nquantum effective action. First, the long and complicated story of\nUV-divergences is recalled. With the development of UV-finite higher derivative\n(or non-local) gravitational theory, all problems with infinities and spacetime\nsingularities are solved. Moreover, the non-local quantum conformal theory\nreveals itself to be ghost-free, so the unitarity of the theory is safe. After\nthe construction of UV-finite theory, we focused on making it manifestly\nconformally invariant using the dilaton trick. We also argue that in this class\nof theories conformal anomaly vanishes by fine-tuning the couplings. As\napplications of this theory, the constraints of the conformal symmetry on the\nform of the effective action and on the scattering amplitudes are shown. We\nalso remark about the preservation of the unitarity bound for scattering.\nFinally, the old model of conformal supergravity by Fradkin and Tseytlin is\nbriefly presented."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-Abelian Vortices in N=1* Gauge Theory: We consider the N=1* supersymmetric SU(2) gauge theory and demonstrate that\nthe Z_2 vortices in this theory acquire orientational zero modes, associated\nwith the rotation of magnetic flux inside SU(2) group, and turn into the\nnon-Abelian strings, when the masses of all chiral fields become equal. These\nnon-Abelian strings are not BPS-saturated. We study the effective theory on the\nstring world sheet and show that it is given by two-dimensional\nnon-supersymmetric O(3) sigma model. The confined 't Hooft-Polyakov monopole is\nseen as a junction of the Z_2-string and anti-string, and as a kink in the\neffective world sheet sigma model. We calculate its mass and show that besides\nthe four-dimensional confinement of monopoles, they are also confined in the\ntwo-dimensional theory: the monopoles stick to anti-monopoles to form the\nmeson-like configurations on the strings they are attached to.",
        "positive": "$\\mathcal{G}$-structure symmetries and anomalies in $(1,0)$ non-linear\n  $\u03c3$-models: A new symmetry of $(1,0)$ supersymmetric non-linear $\\sigma$-models in two\ndimensions with Fermi and mass sectors is introduced. It is a generalisation of\nthe so-called special holonomy $W$-symmetry of Howe and Papadopoulos associated\nwith structure group reductions of the target space $\\mathcal{M}$. Our symmetry\nallows in particular non-trivial flux and instanton-like connections on vector\nbundles over $\\mathcal{M}$. We also investigate potential anomalies and show\nthat cohomologically non-trivial terms in the quantum effective action are\ninvariant under a corrected version of our symmetry. Consistency with heterotic\nsupergravity at first order in $\\alpha'$ is manifest and discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "3D gravity, point particles and deformed symmetries: It is well known that gravity in 2+1 dimensions can be recast as Chern-Simons\ntheory, with the gauge group given by the local isometry group, depending on\nthe metric signature and the cosmological constant. Point particles are added\ninto spacetime as (spinning) conical defects. Then, in principle, one may\nintegrate out the gravitational degrees of freedom to obtain the effective\nparticle action; the most interesting consequence is that the momentum space of\na particle turns out to be curved. This is still not completely understood in\nthe case of non-zero cosmological constant.",
        "positive": "CFTs on Non-Critical Braneworlds: We examine the cosmological evolution equations of de Sitter, flat and\nanti-de Sitter braneworlds sandwiched in between two n dimensional\nAdS-Schwarzschild spacetimes. We are careful to use the correct form for the\ninduced Newton's constant on the brane, and show that it would be naive to\nassume the energy of the bulk spacetime is just given by the sum of the black\nhole masses. By carefully calculating the energy of the bulk for large mass we\nshow that the induced geometry of the braneworld is just a radiation dominated\nFRW universe with the radiation coming from a CFT that is dual to the AdS bulk."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic computation of Wilson loops in a background with broken\n  conformal invariance and finite chemical potential: In this paper, we follow a `bottom-up' AdS/QCD approach to holographically\nprobe the dynamics of a moving $q\\bar{q}$ pair inside a strongly coupled plasma\nat the boundary. We consider a deformed AdS-Reissner Nordstr\\\"om metric in the\nbulk in order to introduce nonconformality and finite quark density in the dual\nfield theory. By boosting the gravity solution in a specific direction we\nconsider two extreme cases of orientation, parallel and perpendicular, for the\nWilson loop which in turn fixes the relative position of the $q\\bar{q}$ pair\nwith respect to the direction of boost in the plasma. By utilizing this set-up,\nwe holographically compute the vacuum expectation value of the time-like Wilson\nloop in order to obtain real part of the $q\\bar{q}$ potential and the effects\nof nonconformality (deformation parameter $c$), chemical potential $\\mu$ and\nrapidity $\\beta$ are observed on this potential. We then compute the in-medium\nenergy loss of the moving parton (jet quenching parameter $q_m$) by setting\n$\\beta\\rightarrow\\infty$ which in turn makes the Wilson loop light-like. We\nalso use the jet quenching as an order parameter to probe the strongly-coupled\ndomain of the dual field theory. Finally, we compute the imaginary part of the\n$q\\bar{q}$ potential ($\\mathrm{Im}(V_{q\\bar{q}})$) by considering the thermal\nfluctuation (arbitrary long wavelength) of the string world-sheet. It is\nobserved that for fixed values of the chemical potential and rapidity, increase\nin the nonconformality parameter leads to an increase in the real and imaginary\npotentials as well as the jet quenching parameter.",
        "positive": "D-instanton, threshold corrections, and topological string: In this note, we prove that the one-loop pfaffian of the non-perturbative\nsuperpotential generated by Euclidean D-branes in type II compactifications on\norientifolds of Calabi-Yau threefolds is determined by the moduli integral of\nthe new supersymmetric index defined by Cecotti, Fendley, Intriligator, and\nVafa. As this quantity can be computed via topological string theory,\nChern-Simons theory, matrix models, or by solving the holomorphic anomaly\nequation, this result provides a method to directly compute the one-loop\npfaffian of the non-perturbative superpotential. The relation between the\none-loop pfaffian, threshold corrections to the gauge coupling, and the\none-loop partition function of open topological string theory is discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exact Multi-Instanton Solutions to Selfdual Yang-Mills Equation on\n  Curved Spaces: We find exact multi-instanton solutions to the selfdual Yang-Mills equation\non a large class of curved spaces with $SO(3)$ isometry, generalizing the\nresults previously found on $\\mathbb{R}^4$. The solutions are featured with\nexplicit multi-centered expressions and topological properties. As examples, we\ndemonstrate the approach on several different curved spaces, including the\nEinstein static universe and $\\mathbb{R} \\times$ dS$_3^E$, and show that the\nexact multi-instanton solutions exist on these curved backgrounds.",
        "positive": "(2+1)-Dimensional Yang-Mills Theory and Form Factor Perturbation Theory: We study Yang Mills theory in 2+1 dimensions, as an array of coupled\n(1+1)-dimensional principal chiral sigma models. This can be understood as an\nanisotropic limit where one of the space-time dimensions is discrete and the\nothers are continuous. The $SU(N)\\times SU(N)$ principal chiral sigma model in\n1+1 dimensions is integrable, asymptotically free and has massive excitations.\nNew exact form factors and correlation functions of the sigma model have\nrecently been found by the author and P. Orland. In this paper, we use these\nnew results to calculate physical quantities in (2+1)-dimensional Yang-Mills\ntheory, generalizing previous $SU(2)$ results by Orland, which include the\nstring tensions and the low-lying glueball spectrum. We also present a new\napproach to calculate two-point correlation functions of operators using the\nlight glueball states. The anisotropy of the theory yields different\ncorrelation functions for operators separated in the $x^1$ and\n$x^2$-directions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Orbifold Constructions of K3: A Link between Conformal Field Theory and\n  Geometry: We discuss geometric aspects of orbifold conformal field theories in the\nmoduli space of N=(4,4) superconformal field theories with central charge c=6.\nPart of this note consists of a summary of our earlier results on the location\nof these theories within the moduli space [NW01,Wen] and the action of a\nspecific version of mirror symmetry on them [NW]. We argue that these results\nallow for a direct translation from geometric to conformal field theoretic\ndata. Additionally, this work contains a detailed discussion of an example\nwhich allows the application of various versions of mirror symmetry on K3. We\nshow that all of them agree in that point of the moduli space.",
        "positive": "Holographic Hierarchy in the Gaussian Matrix Model via the Fuzzy Sphere: The Gaussian Hermitian matrix model was recently proposed to have a dual\nstring description with worldsheets mapping to a sphere target space. The\ncorrelators were written as sums over holomorphic (Belyi) maps from worldsheets\nto the two-dimensional sphere, branched over three points. We express the\nmatrix model correlators by using the fuzzy sphere construction of matrix\nalgebras, which can be interpreted as a string field theory description of the\nBelyi strings. This gives the correlators in terms of trivalent ribbon graphs\nthat represent the couplings of irreducible representations of su(2), which can\nbe evaluated in terms of 3j and 6j symbols. The Gaussian model perturbed by a\ncubic potential is then recognised as a generating function for Ponzano-Regge\npartition functions for 3-manifolds having the worldsheet as boundary, and\nequipped with boundary data determined by the ribbon graphs. This can be viewed\nas a holographic extension of the Belyi string worldsheets to membrane\nworldvolumes, forming part of a holographic hierarchy linking, via the large N\nexpansion, the zero-dimensional QFT of the Matrix model to 2D strings and 3D\nmembranes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Mass-Deformed Bagger-Lambert Theory and its BPS Objects: We find a sixteen supersymmetric mass-deformed Bagger-Lambert theory with\n$SO(4)\\times SO(4)$ global R-symmetry. The R-charge plays the `non-central'\nterm in the superalgebra. This theory has one symmetric vacuum and two\nin-equivalent broken sectors of vacua. Each sector of the broken symmetry has\nthe SO(4) geometry. We find the 1/2 BPS domain walls connecting the symmetric\nphase and any broken phase, and 1/4 BPS supertube-like objects, which may\nappear as anyonic q-balls in the symmetric phase or vortices in the broken\nphase. We also discuss mass deformations which reduces the number of\nsupersymmetries.",
        "positive": "Penrose Limit of AdS_4 x V_{5,2} and Operators with Large R Charge: We consider M-theory on AdS_4 x V_{5,2} where V_{5,2}= SO(5)/SO(3) is a\nStiefel manifold. We construct a Penrose limit of AdS_4 x V_{5,2} that provides\nthe pp-wave geometry. There exists a subsector of three dimensional N=2 dual\ngauge theory, by taking both the conformal dimension and R charge large with\nthe finiteness of their difference, which has enhanced N=8 maximal\nsupersymmetry. We identify operators in the N=2 gauge theory with supergravity\nKK excitations in the pp-wave geometry and describe how the gauge theory\noperators made out of chiral field of conformal dimension 1/3 fall into N=8\nsupermultiplets."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Hall Liquid on a Noncommutative Superplane: Supersymmetric quantum Hall liquids are constructed on a noncommutative\nsuperplane.\n  We explore a supersymmetric formalism of the Landau problem. In the lowest\nLandau level, there appear spin-less bosonic states and spin-1/2 down fermionic\nstates, which exhibit a super-chiral property. It is shown the Laughlin\nwavefunction and topological excitations have their superpartners. Similarities\nbetween supersymmetric quantum Hall systems and bilayer quantum Hall systems\nare discussed.",
        "positive": "Brane Configurations and 4D Field Theory Dualities: We study brane configurations which correspond to field theories in four\ndimension with N=2 and N=1 supersymmetry. In particular we discuss brane\nmotions that translate to Seiberg's duality in N=1 models recently studied by\nElitzur, Giveon and Kutasov. We investigate, using the brane picture, the\nmoduli spaces of the dual theories. Deformations of these models like mass\nterms and vacuum expectation values of scalar fields can be identified with\npositions of branes. The map of these deformations between the electric and\ndual magnetic theories is clarified. The models we study reproduce known field\ntheory results and we provide an example of new dual pairs with N=1\nsupersymmetry. Possible relations between brane configurations and\nnon-supersymmetric field theories are discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Superfluous Physics: A superweapon of modern physics superscribes a wide superset of phenomena,\nranging from supernumerary rainbows to superfluidity and even possible\nsupermultiplets.",
        "positive": "Canonical approach to the WZNW model: The chiral Wess-Zumino-Novikov-Witten (WZNW) model provides the simplest\nclass of rational conformal field theories which exhibit a non-abelian\nbraid-group statistics and an associated \"quantum symmetry\". The canonical\nderivation of the Poisson-Lie symmetry of the classical chiral WZNW theory\n(originally studied by Faddeev, Alekseev, Shatashvili and Gawedzki, among\nothers) is reviewed along with subsequent work on a covariant quantization of\nthe theory which displays its quantum group symmetry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Finite size effect from classical strings in $AdS_3 \\times S^3$ with\n  NS-NS flux: We study the finite size effect of rigidly rotating strings and closed folded\nstrings in $AdS_3\\times S^3$ geometry with NS-NS B-field. We calculate the\nclassical exponential corrections to the dispersion relation of infinite size\ngiant magnon and single spike in terms of Lambert $\\mathbf{W}-$function. We\nalso write the analytic expression for the dispersion relation of finite size\nGubser-Klebanov-Polyakov (GKP) string in the form of Lambert\n$\\mathbf{W}-$function.",
        "positive": "Open spin chains for giant gravitons and relativity: We study open spin chains for strings stretched between giant graviton states\nin the N=4 SYM field theory in the collective coordinate approach. We study the\nboundary conditions and the effective Hamiltonian of the corresponding spin\nchain to two loop order.\n  The ground states of the spin chain have energies that match the relativistic\ndispersion relation characteristic of massive W boson particles on the\nworldvolume of the giant graviton configurations, up to second order in the\nlimit where the momentum is much larger than the mass. We find evidence for a\nnon-renormalization theorem for the ground state wave function of this spin\nchain system. We also conjecture a generalization of this result to all loop\norders which makes it compatible with a fully relativistic dispersion relation.\nWe show that the conjecture follows if one assumes that the spin chain admits a\ncentral charge extension that is sourced by the giant gravitons, generalizing\nthe giant magnon dispersion relation for closed string excitations. This\nprovides evidence for ten dimensional local physics mixing AdS directions and\nthe five-sphere emerging from an N=4 SYM computation in the presence of a\nnon-trivial background (made of D-branes) that break the conformal field theory\nof the system."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "D=6 massive spinning particle: The massive spinning particle in six-dimensional Minkowski space is described\nas a mechanical system with the configuration space ${\\ R}% ^{5,1}\\times {\\\nCP}^3$. The action functional of the model is unambigiously determined by the\nrequirement of identical (off-shell) conservation for the phase-space\ncounterparts of three Casimir operators of Poincar\\'e group. The model is shown\nto be exactly solvable. Canonical quantization of the model leads to the\nequations on wave functions which prove to be equivalent to the relativistic\nwave equations for the irreducible $6d$ fields.",
        "positive": "Nonlocal regularisation of noncommutative field theories: We study noncommutative field theories, which are inherently nonlocal, using\na Poincar\\'e-invariant regularisation scheme which yields an effective,\nnonlocal theory for energies below a cut-off scale. After discussing the\ngeneral features and the peculiar advantages of this regularisation scheme for\ntheories defined in noncommutative spaces, we focus our attention onto the\nparticular case when the noncommutativity parameter is inversely proportional\nto the square of the cut-off, via a dimensionless parameter $\\eta$. We work out\nthe perturbative corrections at one-loop order for a scalar theory with quartic\ninteractions, where the signature of noncommutativity appears in\n$\\eta$-dependent terms. The implications of this approach, which avoids the\nproblems related to UV-IR mixing, are discussed from the perspective of the\nWilson renormalisation program. Finally, we remark about the generality of the\nmethod, arguing that it may lead to phenomenologically relevant predictions,\nwhen applied to realistic field theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Fate of Monsters in Anti-de Sitter Spacetime: Black hole entropy remains a deep puzzle: where does such enormous amount of\nentropy come from? Curiously, there exist gravitational configurations that\npossess even larger entropy than a black hole of the same mass, in fact,\narbitrarily high entropy. These are the so-called monsters, which are\nproblematic to the Anti-de Sitter/Conformal Field Theory (AdS/CFT)\ncorrespondence paradigm since there is far insufficient degrees of freedom on\nthe field theory side to account for the enormous entropy of monsters in AdS\nbulk. The physics of the bulk however may be considerably modified at\nsemi-classical level due to the presence of branes. We show that this is\nespecially so since monster spacetimes are unstable due to brane nucleation. As\na consequence, it is not clear what the final fate of monsters is. We argue\nthat in some cases there is no real threat from monsters since although they\nare solutions to Einstein's Field Equations, they are very likely to be\ncompletely unstable when embedded in string theory, and thus probably are not\nsolutions to the full quantum theory of gravity. Our analysis, while suggestive\nand supportive of the claim that such pathological objects are not allowed in\nthe final theory, by itself does not rule out all monsters. We comment on\nvarious kin of monsters such as the bag-of-gold spacetime, and also discuss\nbriefly the implications of our work to some puzzles related to black hole\nentropy.",
        "positive": "Relative scale separation in orbifolds of $S^2$ and $S^5$: In orbifold vacua containing an $S^q/\\Gamma$ factor, we compute the relative\norder of scale separation, $r$, defined as the ratio of the eigenvalue of the\nlowest-lying $\\Gamma$-invariant state of the scalar Laplacian on $S^q$, to the\neigenvalue of the lowest-lying state. For $q=2$ and $\\Gamma$ finite subgroup of\n$SO(3)$, or $q=5$ and $\\Gamma$ finite subgroup of $SU(3)$, the maximal relative\norder of scale separation that can be achieved is $r=21$ or $r=12$,\nrespectively. For smooth $S^5$ orbifolds, the maximal relative scale separation\nis $r=4.2$. Methods from invariant theory are very efficient in constructing\n$\\Gamma$-invariant spherical harmonics, and can be readily generalized to other\norbifolds."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chiral symmetry in $SU(N_c)$ gauge theories at high density: We study $SU(N_c)$ lattice gauge theories with $N_f$ flavors of massless\nstaggered fermions in the presence of quark chemical potential $\\mu$. A recent\nexact result that in the strong coupling limit (vanishing inverse gauge\ncoupling $\\beta$) and for sufficiently large $\\mu$ the theory is in a chiral\nsymmetric phase is here extended into the finite gauge coupling region. A\ncluster expansion combining a fermion spacelike hopping expansion and a strong\ncoupling plaquette expansion is shown to converge for sufficiently large $\\mu$\nand small $\\beta$ at any temperature $T$. All expectations of chirally\nnon-invariant local fermion operators vanish identically, or, equivalently,\ntheir correlations cluster exponentially within the expansion implying absence\nof spontaneous chiral symmetry breaking. The resulting phase at low $T$ may be\ndescribed as a \"quarkyonic\" matter phase. Some implications for the phase\ndiagram of $SU(N_c)$ theories are discussed.",
        "positive": "D-Strings on D-Manifolds: We study the mechanism for appearance of massless solitons in type II string\ncompactifications. We find that by combining $T$-duality with strong/weak\nduality of type IIB in 10 dimensions enhanced gauge symmetries and massless\nsolitonic hypermultiplets encountered in Calabi-Yau compactifications can be\nstudied perturbatively using D-strings (the strong/weak dual to type IIB\nstring) compactified on ``D-manifolds''. In particular the nearly massless\nsolitonic states of the type IIB compactifications correspond to elementary\nstates of D-strings. As examples we consider the D-string description of\nenhanced gauge symmetries for type IIA string compactification on ALE spaces\nwith $A_n$ singularities and type IIB on a class of singular Calabi-Yau\nthreefolds. The class we study includes as a special case the conifold\nsingularity in which case the perturbative spectrum of the D-string includes\nthe expected massless hypermultiplet with degeneracy one."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Monte-Carlo study of the AdS/CFT correspondence: an exploration of\n  quantum gravity effects: In this paper we study the AdS/CFT correspondence for N=4 SYM with gauge\ngroup U(N), compactified on S^3 in four dimensions using Monte-Carlo\ntechniques. The simulation is based on a particular reduction of degrees of\nfreedom to commuting matrices of constant fields, and in particular, we can\nwrite the wave functions of these degrees of freedom exactly. The square of the\nwave function is equivalent to a probability density for a Boltzman gas of\ninteracting particles in six dimensions. From the simulation we can extract the\ndensity particle distribution for each wave function, and this distribution can\nbe interpreted as a special geometric locus in the gravitational dual. Studying\nthe wave functions associated to half-BPS giant gravitons, we are able to show\nthat the matrix model can measure the Planck scale directly. We also show that\nthe output of our simulation seems to match various theoretical expectations in\nthe large N limit and that it captures 1/N effects as statistical fluctuations\nof the Boltzman gas with the expected scaling. Our results suggest that this is\na very promising approach to explore quantum corrections and effects in\ngravitational physics on AdS spaces.",
        "positive": "The LHC String Hunter's Companion (II): Five-Particle Amplitudes and\n  Universal Properties: We extend the study of scattering amplitudes presented in ``The LHC String\nHunter's Companion'' to the case of five-point processes that may reveal the\nsignals of low mass strings at the LHC and are potentially useful for detailed\ninvestigations of fundamental Regge excitations. In particular, we compute the\nfull-fledged string disk amplitudes describing all 2->3 parton scattering\nsubprocesses leading to the production of three hadronic jets. We cast our\nresults in a form suitable for the implementation of stringy partonic cross\nsections in the LHC data analysis. We discuss the universal, model-independent\nfeatures of multi-parton processes and point out the existence of even stronger\nuniversality relating N-gluon amplitudes to the amplitudes involving N-2 gluons\nand one quark-antiquark pair. We construct a particularly simple basis of two\nfunctions describing all universal five-point amplitudes. We also discuss\nmodel-dependent amplitudes involving four fermions and one gauge boson that may\nbe relevant for studying jets associated to Drell-Yan pairs and other processes\ndepending on the spectrum of Kaluza-Klein particles, thus on the geometry of\ncompact dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Super-exceptional geometry: origin of heterotic M-theory and\n  super-exceptional embedding construction of M5: In the quest for the mathematical formulation of M-theory, we consider three\nmajor open problems: a first-principles construction of the single (abelian)\nM5-brane Lagrangian density, the origin of the gauge field in heterotic\nM-theory, and the supersymmetric enhancement of exceptional M-geometry. By\ncombining techniques from homotopy theory and from supergeometry to what we\ncall super-exceptional geometry within super-homotopy theory, we present an\nelegant joint solution to all three problems. This leads to a unified\ndescription of the Nambu-Goto, Perry-Schwarz, and topological Yang-Mills\nLagrangians in the topologically nontrivial setting. After explaining how\ncharge quantization of the C-field in Cohomotopy reveals D'Auria-Fre's \"hidden\nsupergroup\" of 11d supergravity as the super-exceptional target space, in the\nsense of Bandos, for M5-brane sigma-models, we prove, in exceptional\ngeneralization of the doubly-supersymmetric super-embedding formalism, that a\nPerry-Schwarz-type Lagrangian for single (abelian) M5-branes emerges as the\nsuper-exceptional trivialization of the M5-brane cocycle along the\nsuper-exceptional embedding of the \"half\" M5-brane locus, super-exceptionally\ncompactified on the Horava-Witten circle fiber. From inspection of the\nresulting 5d super Yang-Mills Lagrangian we find that the extra fermion field\nappearing in super-exceptional M-geometry, whose physical interpretation had\nremained open, is the M-theoretic avatar of the gaugino field.",
        "positive": "A note on noncommutative scalar multisolitons: We prove that there do not exist multisoliton solutions of noncommutative\nscalar field theory in the Moyal plane which interpolate smoothly between $n$\noverlapping solitons and $n$ solitons with an infinite separation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On-shell constructibility of Born amplitudes in spontaneously broken\n  gauge theories: We perform a comprehensive study of on-shell recursion relations for Born\namplitudes in spontaneously broken gauge theories and identify the minimal\nshifts required to construct amplitudes with a given particle content and spin\nquantum numbers. We show that two-line or three-line shifts are sufficient to\nconstruct all amplitudes with five or more particles, apart from amplitudes\ninvolving longitudinal vector bosons or scalars, which may require at most\nfive-line shifts. As an application, we revisit selection rules for multi-boson\namplitudes using on-shell recursion and little-group transformations.",
        "positive": "Finite Temperature Effects for Massive Fields in D-dimensional\n  Rindler-like Spaces: The first quantum corrections to the free energy for massive fields in\n$D$-dimensional space-times of the form $\\R\\times\\R^+\\times\\M^{N-1}$, where\n$D=N+1$ and $\\M^{N-1}$ is a constant curvature manifold, is investigated by\nmeans of the $\\zeta$-function regularization. It is suggested that the nature\nof the divergences, which are present in the thermodynamical quantities, might\nbe better understood making use of the conformal related optical metric and\nassociated techniques. The general form of the horizon divercences of the free\nenergy is obtained as a function of free energy densities of fields having\nnegative square masses (absence of the gap in the Laplace operator spectrum) on\nultrastatic manifolds with hyperbolic spatial section $H^{N-2n}$ and of the\nSeeley-DeWitt coefficients of the Laplace operator on the manifold $\\M^{N-1}$.\nFurthermore, recurrence relations are found relating higher and lower\ndimensions. The cases of Rindler space, where $\\M^{N-1}=\\R^{N-1}$ and very\nmassive $D$-dimensional black holes, where $\\M^{N-1}=S^{N-1}$ are treated as\nexamples. The renormalization of the internal energy is also discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The non-planar contribution to the four-loop anomalous dimension of\n  twist-2 operators: first moments in N=4 SYM and non-singlet QCD: We present the result of a full direct component calculation for the first\nthree even moments of the non-planar contribution into the four-loop anomalous\ndimension of twist-2 operators in maximally extended N=4 supersymmetric\nYang-Mills theory. Obtained result complete our previous calculations in\narXiv:0902.4646 and gives the usual result for the higher moments on the\ncontrary to degenerate one in the case of Konishi. We have proposed a general\nform of zeta(5) and zeta(3) parts of the full non-planar anomalous dimension of\ntwist-2 operators. As by product, we have obtained the first moment of the\nnon-planar contribution to the non-singlet four-loop anomalous dimension of\nWilson twist-2 operators in QCD.",
        "positive": "Numerical determination of the entanglement entropy for a Maxwell field\n  in the cylinder: We calculate numerically the logarithmic contribution to the entanglement\nentropy of a cylindrical region in three spatial dimensions for a Maxwell\nfield. Our result does not agree with the analytical predictions concerning any\nconformal field theory in four dimensions according to which the coefficient is\nuniversal and proportional to the type c conformal anomaly. In cylindrical\ncoordinates the problem decomposes into one dimensional ones along the radial\ncoordinate for each angular momentum. The entanglement entropy of a Maxwell\nfield is equivalent to the one of two identical decoupled scalars with an extra\nself interaction term."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Analytic Solutions for Tachyon Condensation with General Projectors: The tachyon vacuum solution of Schnabl is based on the wedge states, which\nclose under the star product and interpolate between the identity state and the\nsliver projector. We use reparameterizations to solve the long-standing problem\nof finding an analogous family of states for arbitrary projectors and to\nconstruct analytic solutions based on them. The solutions simplify for special\nprojectors and allow explicit calculations in the level expansion. We test the\nsolutions in detail for a one-parameter family of special projectors that\nincludes the sliver and the butterfly. Reparameterizations further allow a\none-parameter deformation of the solution for a given projector, and in a\ncertain limit the solution takes the form of an operator insertion on the\nprojector. We discuss implications of our work for vacuum string field theory.",
        "positive": "Physical Properties of Four Dimensional Superstring Gravity Black Hole\n  Solutions: We consider the physical properties of four dimensional black hole solutions\nto the effective action describing the low energy dynamics of the gravitational\nsector of heterotic superstring theory. We compare the properties of the\nexternal field strengths in the perturbative solution to the full $O(\\alpha')$\nstring effective action equations, to those of exact solutions in a truncated\naction for charged black holes, and to the Kerr-Newman family of solutions of\nEinstein-Maxwell theory. We contrast the numerical results obtained in these\napproaches, and discuss limitations of the analyses. Finally we discuss how the\nnew features of classical string gravity affect the standard tests of general\nrelativity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Ground Rings and Their Modules in 2D Gravity with $c\\le 1$ Matter: All solvable two-dimensional quantum gravity models have non-trivial BRST\ncohomology with vanishing ghost number. These states form a ring and all the\nother states in the theory fall into modules of this ring. The relations in the\nring and in the modules have a physical interpretation. The existence of these\nrings and modules leads to nontrivial constraints on the correlation functions\nand goes a long way toward solving these theories in the continuum approach.",
        "positive": "Vector boson scattering and boundary conditions in Kaluza-Klein toy\n  model: We study a simple higher-dimensional toy model of electroweak symmetry\nbreaking, in particular a pure gauge 5D theory on flat background with one\nextra finite space dimension. The principle of least action and the requirement\nof gauge independence of scattering amplitudes are used to determine the\npossible choices of boundary conditions. We demonstrate that for any of these\nchoices the scattering amplitudes of vector bosons do not exhibit power-like\ngrowth in the high energy limit. Our analysis is an extension and\ngeneralization of the results obtained previously by other authors."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The geometry of W3 algebra: a twofold way for the rebirth of a symmetry: The purpose of this note is to show that W3 algebras originate from an\nunusual interplay between the breakings of the reparametrization invariance\nunder the diffemorphism action on the cotangent bundle of a Riemann surface. It\nis recalled how a set of smooth changes of local complex coordinates on the\nbase space are collectively related to a background within a symplectic\nframework. The power of the method allows to calculate explicitly some primary\nfields whose OPEs generate the algebra as explicit functions in the\ncoordinates: this is achieved only if well defined conditions are satisfied,\nand new symmetries emerge from the construction. Moreoverer, when primary\nflelds are introduced outside of a coordinate description the W3 symmetry\nbyproducts acquire a good geometrical definition with respect to holomorphic\nchanges of charts.",
        "positive": "Dyon degeneracies from Mathieu moonshine: We construct the Siegel modular forms associated with the theta lift of\ntwisted elliptic genera of $K3$ orbifolded with $g'$ corresponding to the\nconjugacy classes of the Mathieu group $M_{24}$. We complete the construction\nfor all the classes which belong to $M_{23} \\subset M_{24}$ and two other\nclasses outside the subgroup $M_{23}$. For this purpose we provide the explicit\nexpressions for all the twisted elliptic genera in all the sectors of these\nclasses.\n  We show that the Siegel modular forms satisfy the required properties for\nthem to be generating functions of $1/4$ BPS dyons of type II string theories\ncompactified on $K3\\times T^2$ and orbifolded by $g'$ which acts as a\n$\\mathbb{Z}_N$ automorphism on $K3$ together with a $1/N$ shift on a circle of\n$T^2$. In particular the inverse of these Siegel modular forms admit a Fourier\nexpansion with integer coefficients together with the right sign as predicted\nfrom black hole physics. Our analysis completes the construction of the\npartition function for dyons as well as the twisted elliptic genera for all the\n$7$ CHL compactifications."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Multi-band structure of the quantum bound states for a generalized\n  nonlinear Schrodinger model: By using the method of coordinate Bethe ansatz, we study N-body bound states\nof a generalized nonlinear Schrodinger model having two real coupling constants\nc and \\eta. It is found that such bound states exist for all possible values of\nc and within several nonoverlapping ranges (called bands) of \\eta. The ranges\nof \\eta within each band can be determined completely using Farey sequences in\nnumber theory. We observe that N-body bound states appearing within each band\ncan have both positive and negative values of the momentum and binding energy.",
        "positive": "The Swampland: Introduction and Review: The Swampland program aims to distinguish effective theories which can be\ncompleted into quantum gravity in the ultraviolet from those which cannot. This\narticle forms an introduction to the field, assuming only a knowledge of\nquantum field theory and general relativity. It also forms a comprehensive\nreview, covering the range of ideas that are part of the field, from the Weak\nGravity Conjecture, through compactifications of String Theory, to the de\nSitter conjecture."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Modified Cosmic Brane Proposal for Holographic Renyi Entropy: We propose a new formula for computing holographic Renyi entropies in the\npresence of multiple extremal surfaces. Our proposal is based on computing the\nwave function in the basis of fixed-area states and assuming a diagonal\napproximation for the Renyi entropy. For Renyi index $n\\geq1$, our proposal\nagrees with the existing cosmic brane proposal for holographic Renyi entropy.\nFor $n<1$, however, our proposal predicts a new phase with leading order (in\nNewton's constant $G$) corrections to the cosmic brane proposal, even far from\nentanglement phase transitions and when bulk quantum corrections are\nunimportant. Recast in terms of optimization over fixed-area states, the\ndifference between the two proposals can be understood to come from the order\nof optimization: for $n<1$, the cosmic brane proposal is a minimax prescription\nwhereas our proposal is a maximin prescription. We demonstrate the presence of\nsuch leading order corrections using illustrative examples. In particular, our\nproposal reproduces existing results in the literature for the PSSY model and\nhigh-energy eigenstates, providing a universal explanation for previously found\nleading order corrections to the $n<1$ Renyi entropies.",
        "positive": "Topological modes in relativistic hydrodynamics: We show that gapless modes in relativistic hydrodynamics could become\ntopologically nontrivial by weakly breaking the conservation of energy momentum\ntensor in a specific way. This system has topological semimetal-like crossing\nnodes in the spectrum of hydrodynamic modes that require the protection of a\nspecial combination of translational and boost symmetries in two spatial\ndirections. We confirm the nontrivial topology from the existence of an\nundetermined Berry phase. These energy momentum non-conservation terms could\nnaturally be produced by an external gravitational field that comes from a\nreference frame change from the original inertial frame, i.e. by fictitious\nforces in a non-inertial reference frame. This non-inertial frame is the rest\nframe of an accelerating observer moving along a trajectory of a helix. This\nsuggests that topologically trivial modes could become nontrivial by being\nobserved in a special non-inertial reference frame, and this fact could be\nverified in laboratories, in principle. Finally, we propose a holographic\nrealization of this system."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the Statistical Origin of Topological Symmetries: We investigate a quantum system possessing a parasupersymmetry of order 2, an\northosupersymmetry of order $p$, a fractional supersymmetry of order $p+1$, and\ntopological symmetries of type $(1,p)$ and $(1,1,...,1)$. We obtain the\ncorresponding symmetry generators, explore their relationship, and show that\nthey may be expressed in terms of the creation and annihilation operators for\nan ordinary boson and orthofermions of order $p$. We give a realization of\nparafermions of order~2 using orthofermions of arbitrary order $p$, discuss a\n$p=2$ parasupersymmetry between $p=2$ parafermions and parabosons of arbitrary\norder, and show that every orthosupersymmetric system possesses topological\nsymmetries. We also reveal a correspondence between the orthosupersymmetry of\norder $p$ and the fractional supersymmetry of order $p+1$.",
        "positive": "On ADE Quiver Models and F-Theory Compactification: Based on mirror symmetry, we discuss geometric engineering of N=1 ADE quiver\nmodels from F-theory compactifications on elliptic K3 surfaces fibered over\ncertain four-dimensional base spaces. The latter are constructed as\nintersecting 4-cycles according to ADE Dynkin diagrams, thereby mimicking the\nconstruction of Calabi-Yau threefolds used in geometric engineering in type II\nsuperstring theory. Matter is incorporated by considering D7-branes wrapping\nthese 4-cycles. Using a geometric procedure referred to as folding, we discuss\nhow the corresponding physics can be converted into a scenario with D5-branes\nwrapping 2-cycles of ALE spaces."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "M-brane interpolations and (2,0) Renormalization Group flow: We obtain the M5-M2-MW bound state solutions of 11-dimensional supergravity\ncorresponding to the 1/2 supersymmetric vacua of the M5-brane equations with\nconstant background fields. In the `near-horizon' case the solution\ninterpolates between the $adS_7\\times S^4$ Kaluza-Klein vacuum and D=11\nMinkowski spacetime via a Domain Wall spacetime. We discuss implications for\nrenormalization group flow of (2,0) D=6 field theories.",
        "positive": "Finite size effects in classical string solutions of the Schrodinger\n  geometry: We study finite size corrections to the semiclassical string solutions of the\nSchrodinger spacetime. We compute the leading order exponential corrections to\nthe infinite size dispersion relation of the single spin giant magnon and of\nthe single spin single spike solutions. The solutions live in a $S^3$ subspace\nof the five-sphere and extent in the Schrodinger part of the metric. In the\nlimit of zero deformation the finite size dispersion relations flow to the\nundeformed $AdS_5 \\times S^5$ counterparts and in the infinite size limit the\ncorrection term vanishes and the known infinite size dispersion relations are\nobtained."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "QCD with Bosonic Quarks at Nonzero Chemical Potential: We formulate the low energy limit of QCD like partition functions with\nbosonic quarks at nonzero chemical potential. The partition functions are\nevaluated in the parameter domain that is dominated by the zero momentum modes\nof the Goldstone fields. We find that partition functions with bosonic quarks\ndiffer structurally from partition functions with fermionic quarks. Contrary to\nthe theory with one fermionic flavor, where the partition function in this\ndomain does not depend on the chemical potential, a phase transition takes\nplace in the theory with one bosonic flavor when the chemical potential is\nequal to $m_\\pi/2$. For a pair of conjugate bosonic flavors the partition\nfunction shows no phase transition, whereas the fermionic counterpart has a\nphase transition at $\\mu = m_\\pi/2$. The difference between the bosonic\ntheories and the fermionic ones originates from the convergence requirements of\nbosonic integrals resulting in a noncompact Goldstone manifold and a covariant\nderivative with the commutator replaced by an anti-commutator.",
        "positive": "Rotating Spacetimes with Asymptotic Non-Flat Structure and the\n  Gyromagnetic Ratio: In general relativity, the gyromagnetic ratio for all stationary,\naxisymmetric and asymptotically flat Einstein-Maxwell fields is known to be\ng=2. In this paper, we continue our previous works of examination this result\nfor rotating charged spacetimes with asymptotic non-flat structure. We first\nconsider two instructive examples of these spacetimes: The spacetime of a\nKerr-Newman black hole with a straight cosmic string on its axis of symmetry\nand the Kerr-Newman Taub-NUT spacetime. We show that for both spacetimes the\ngyromagnetic ratio g=2 independent of their asymptotic structure. We also\nextend this result to a general class of metrics which admit separation of\nvariables for the Hamilton-Jacobi and wave equations. We proceed with the study\nof the gyromagnetic ratio in higher dimensions by considering the general\nsolution for rotating charged black holes in minimal five-dimensional gauged\nsupergravity. We obtain the analytic expressions for two distinct gyromagnetic\nratios of these black holes that are associated with their two independent\nrotation parameters. These expressions reveal the dependence of the\ngyromagnetic ratio on both the curvature radius of the AdS background and the\nparameters of the black holes: The mass, electric charge and two rotation\nparameters. We explore some special cases of interest and show that when the\ntwo rotation parameters are equal to each other and the rotation occurs at the\nmaximum angular velocity, the gyromagnetic ratio g=4 regardless of the value of\nthe electric charge. This agrees precisely with our earlier result obtained for\ngeneral Kerr-AdS black holes with a test electric charge. We also show that in\nthe BPS limit the gyromagnetic ratio for a supersymmetric black hole with equal\nrotation parameters ranges between 2 and 4."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "LIV Dimensional Regularization and Quantum Gravity effects in the\n  Standard Model: Recently, we have remarked that the main effect of Quantum Gravity(QG) will\nbe to modify the measure of integration of loop integrals in a renormalizable\nQuantum Field Theory. In the Standard Model this approach leads to definite\npredictions, depending on only one arbitrary parameter. In particular, we found\nthat the maximal attainable velocity for particles is not the speed of light,\nbut depends on the specific couplings of the particles within the Standard\nModel. Also birrefringence occurs for charged leptons, but not for gauge\nbosons. Our predictions could be tested in the next generation of neutrino\ndetectors such as NUBE. In this paper, we elaborate more on this proposal. In\nparticular, we extend the dimensional regularization prescription to include\nLorentz invariance violations(LIV) of the measure, preserving gauge invariance.\nThen we comment on the consistency of our proposal.",
        "positive": "Euclidean Path Integral of the Gauge Field -- Holomorphic Representation: Basing on the canonical quantization of a BRS invariant Lagrangian, we\nconstruct holomorphic representation of path integrals for Faddeev-Popov(FP)\nghosts as well as for unphysical degrees of the gauge field from covariant\noperator formalism. A thorough investigation of a simple soluble gauge model\nwith finite degrees will explain the metric structure of the Fock space and\nconstructions of path integrals for quantized gauge fields with FP ghosts. We\ndefine fermionic coherent states even for a Fock space equipped with indefinite\nmetric to obtain path integral representations of a generating functional and\nan effective action. The same technique will also be developed for path\nintegrals of unphysical degrees in the gauge field to find complete\ncorrespondence, that insures cancellation of FP determinant, between FP ghosts\nand unphysical components of the gauge field. As a byproduct, we obtain an\nexplicit form of Kugo-Ojima projection, $P^{(n)}$, to the subspace with\n$n$-unphysical particles in terms of creation and annihilation operators for\nthe abelian gauge theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Vertical D4-D2-D0 bound states on K3 fibrations and modularity: An explicit formula is derived for the generating function of vertical\nD4-D2-D0 bound states on smooth K3 fibered Calabi-Yau threefolds, generalizing\nprevious results of Gholampour and Sheshmani. It is also shown that this\nformula satisfies strong modularity properties, as predicted by string theory.\nThis leads to a new construction of vector valued modular forms which exhibits\nsome of the features of a generalized Hecke transform.",
        "positive": "Deformed integrable $\u03c3$-models, classical $R$-matrices and\n  classical exchange algebra on Drinfel'd doubles: We describe a unifying framework for the systematic construction of\nintegrable deformations of integrable $\\sigma$-models within the Hamiltonian\nformalism. It applies equally to both the `Yang-Baxter' type as well as `gauged\nWZW' type deformations which were considered recently in the literature. As a\nbyproduct, these two families of integrable deformations are shown to be\nPoisson-Lie T-dual of one another."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Lax pairs for deformed Minkowski spacetimes: We proceed to study Yang-Baxter deformations of 4D Minkowski spacetime based\non a conformal embedding. We first revisit a Melvin background and argue a Lax\npair by adopting a simple replacement law invented in 1509.00173. This argument\nenables us to deduce a general expression of Lax pair. Then the anticipated Lax\npair is shown to work for arbitrary classical $r$-matrices with Poinca\\'e\ngenerators. As other examples, we present Lax pairs for pp-wave backgrounds,\nthe Hashimoto-Sethi background, the Spradlin-Takayanagi-Volovich background.",
        "positive": "Linear growth of the entanglement entropy and the Kolmogorov-Sinai rate: The rate of entropy production in a classical dynamical system is\ncharacterized by the Kolmogorov-Sinai entropy rate $h_{\\mathrm{KS}}$ given by\nthe sum of all positive Lyapunov exponents of the system. We prove a quantum\nversion of this result valid for bosonic systems with unstable quadratic\nHamiltonian. The derivation takes into account the case of time-dependent\nHamiltonians with Floquet instabilities. We show that the entanglement entropy\n$S_A$ of a Gaussian state grows linearly for large times in unstable systems,\nwith a rate $\\Lambda_A \\leq h_{KS}$ determined by the Lyapunov exponents and\nthe choice of the subsystem $A$. We apply our results to the analysis of\nentanglement production in unstable quadratic potentials and due to periodic\nquantum quenches in many-body quantum systems. Our results are relevant for\nquantum field theory, for which we present three applications: a scalar field\nin a symmetry-breaking potential, parametric resonance during post-inflationary\nreheating and cosmological perturbations during inflation. Finally, we\nconjecture that the same rate $\\Lambda_A$ appears in the entanglement growth of\nchaotic quantum systems prepared in a semiclassical state."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Phase Transitions in NJL and super-NJL models: An elementary method of determination of the character of the hot phase\ntransition in 4d four-fermion NJL-type models is applied to non-supersymmetric\nand supersymmetric versions of simple NJL model. We find that in the non-susy\ncase the transition is usually of the second order. It is weakly first order\nonly in the region of parameters which correspond to fermion masses comparable\nto the cut-off. In the supersymmetric case both kinds of phase transitions are\npossible. For sufficiently strong coupling and sufficiently large susy-breaking\nscale the transition is always of the first order.",
        "positive": "Ghost inflation and de Sitter entropy: In the setup of ghost condensation model the generalized second law of black\nhole thermodynamics can be respected under a radiatively stable assumption that\ncouplings between the field responsible for ghost condensate and matter fields\nsuch as those in the Standard Model are suppressed by the Planck scale. Since\nnot only black holes but also cosmology are expected to play important roles\ntowards our better understanding of gravity, we consider a cosmological setup\nto test the theory of ghost condensation. In particular we shall show that the\nde Sitter entropy bound proposed by Arkani-Hamed, et.al. is satisfied if ghost\ninflation happened in the early epoch of our universe and if there remains a\ntiny positive cosmological constant in the future infinity. We then propose a\nnotion of cosmological Page time after inflation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Bootstrapping gauge theories: We consider asymptotically free gauge theories with gauge group $SU(N_c)$ and\n$N_f$ quarks with mass $m_q\\ll \\Lambda_{\\text{QCD}}$ that undergo chiral\nsymmetry breaking and confinement. We propose a bootstrap method to compute the\nS-matrix of the pseudo-Goldstone bosons (pions) that dominate the low energy\nphysics. For the important case of $N_c=3$, $N_f=2$, a numerical implementation\nof the method gives the phase shifts of the $S0$, $P1$ and $S2$ waves in good\nagreement with experimental results. The method incorporates gauge theory\ninformation ($N_c$, $N_f$, $m_q$, $\\Lambda_{\\text{QCD}}$) by using the\nform-factor bootstrap recently proposed by Karateev, Kuhn and Penedones\ntogether with a finite energy version of the SVZ sum rules. At low energy we\nimpose constraints from chiral symmetry breaking. The only low energy numerical\ninputs are the pion mass $m_\\pi$ and the quark and gluon condensates.",
        "positive": "The Two-Loop Euler-Heisenberg Lagrangian in Dimensional Renormalization: We clarify a discrepancy between two previous calculations of the two-loop\nQED Euler-Heisenberg Lagrangian, both performed in proper-time regularization,\nby calculating this quantity in dimensional regularization."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Strong Coupling BCS Superconductivity and Holography: We attempt to give a holographic description of the microscopic theory of a\nBCS superconductor. Exploiting the analogy with chiral symmetry breaking in QCD\nwe use the Sakai-Sugimoto model of two D8 branes in a D4 brane background with\nfinite baryon number. In this case there is a new tachyonic instability which\nis plausibly the bulk analog of the Cooper pairing instability. We analyze the\nYang-Mills approximation to the non-Abelian Born-Infeld action. We give some\nexact solutions of the non-linear Yang-Mills equations in flat space and also\ngive a stability analysis, showing that the instability disappears in the\npresence of an electric field. The holograhic picture also suggests a\ndependence of $T_c$ on the number density which is different from the usual\n(weak coupling) BCS. The flat space solutions are then generalized to curved\nspace numerically and also, in an approximate way, analytically. This\nconfiguration should then correspond to the ground state of the boundary\nsuperconducting (superfluid) ground state. We also give some preliminary\nresults on Green functions computations in the Sakai - Sugimoto model without\nany chemical potential",
        "positive": "Spectral representation of the shear viscosity for local scalar QFTs at\n  finite temperature: In local scalar quantum field theories (QFTs) at finite temperature\ncorrelation functions are known to satisfy certain non-perturbative\nconstraints, which for two-point functions in particular implies the existence\nof a generalisation of the standard K\\\"{a}ll\\'{e}n-Lehmann representation. In\nthis work, we use these constraints in order to derive a spectral\nrepresentation for the shear viscosity arising from the thermal asymptotic\nstates, $\\eta_{0}$. As an example, we calculate $\\eta_{0}$ in $\\phi^{4}$\ntheory, establishing its leading behaviour in the small and large coupling\nregimes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Four-dimensional M-theory and supersymmetry breaking: We investigate compactifications of M-theory from $11\\to 5\\to 4$ dimensions\nand discuss geometrical properties of 4-d moduli fields related to the\nstructure of 5-d theory. We study supersymmetry breaking by compactification of\nthe fifth dimension and find that an universal superpotential is generated for\nthe axion-dilaton superfield $S$. The resulting theory has a vacuum with\n$<S>=1$, zero cosmological constant and a gravitino mass depending on the fifth\nradius as $m_{3/2} \\sim R_5^{-2}/M_{Pl}$. We discuss phenomenological aspects\nof this scenario, mainly the string unification and the decompactification\nproblem.",
        "positive": "A new exactly solvable Eckart-type potential: A new exact analytically solvable Eckart-type potential is presented, a\ngeneralisation of the Hulthen potential. The study through Supersymmetric\nQuantum Mechanics is presented together with the hierarchy of Hamiltonians and\nthe shape invariance property."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Convexity and Liberation at Large Spin: We consider several aspects of unitary higher-dimensional conformal field\ntheories (CFTs). We first study massive deformations that trigger a flow to a\ngapped phase. Deep inelastic scattering in the gapped phase leads to a\nconvexity property of dimensions of spinning operators of the original CFT. We\nfurther investigate the dimensions of spinning operators via the crossing\nequations in the light-cone limit. We find that, in a sense, CFTs become free\nat large spin and 1/s is a weak coupling parameter. The spectrum of CFTs enjoys\nadditivity: if two twists tau_1, tau_2 appear in the spectrum, there are\noperators whose twists are arbitrarily close to tau_1+tau_2. We characterize\nhow tau_1+tau_2 is approached at large spin by solving the crossing equations\nanalytically. We find the precise form of the leading correction, including the\nprefactor. We compare with examples where these observables were computed in\nperturbation theory, or via gauge-gravity duality, and find complete agreement.\nThe crossing equations show that certain operators have a convex spectrum in\ntwist space. We also observe a connection between convexity and the ratio of\ndimension to charge. Applications include the 3d Ising model, theories with a\ngravity dual, SCFTs, and patterns of higher spin symmetry breaking.",
        "positive": "Covariantly Quantized Spinning Particle and its Possible Connection to\n  Non-Commutative Space-Time: Covariant quantization of the Nambu-Goto spinning particle in 2+1-dimensions\nis studied. The model is relevant in the context of recent activities in\nnon-commutative space-time. From a technical point of view also covariant\nquantization of the model poses an interesting problem: the set of second class\nconstraints (in the Dirac classification scheme) is {\\it reducible}. The\nreducibility problem is analyzed from two contrasting approaches: (i) the\nauxiliary variable method [bn] and (ii) the projection operator method [blm].\nFinally in the former scheme, a Batalin-Tyutin quantization has been done. This\ninduces a mapping between the non-commutative and the ordinary space-time. BRST\nquantization programme in the latter scheme has also been discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "T-duality and The Gravitational Description Of Gauge Theories: This is a review of some basic features on the relation between supergravity\nand pure gauge theories with special emphasis on the relation between T-duality\nand supersymmetry. Some new results concerning the interplay between T-duality\nand near horizon geometries are presented",
        "positive": "5-brane webs for 5d $\\mathcal{N}=1$ $G_2$ gauge theories: We propose 5-brane webs for 5d $\\mathcal{N}=1$ $G_2$ gauge theories. From a\nHiggsing of the $SO(7)$ gauge theory with a hypermultiplet in the spinor\nrepresentation, we construct two types of 5-brane web configurations for the\npure $G_2$ gauge theory using an O5-plane or an $\\widetilde{\\text{O5}}$-plane.\nAdding flavors to the 5-brane web for the pure $G_2$ gauge theory is also\ndiscussed. Based on the obtained 5-brane webs, we compute the partition\nfunctions for the 5d $G_2$ gauge theories using the recently suggested\ntopological vertex formulation with an O5-plane, and we find agreement with\nknown results."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Split Supersymmetry Breaking from Stuckelberg Mixing of Multiple U(1)'s: We show that multiple Abelian sectors with Stuckelberg mass-mixing simply\nbreak supersymmetry via Fayet-Iliopoulos D-terms and straightforwardly mediate\nit to the other sectors. This mechanism naturally realizes a split\nsupersymmetry spectrum for soft parameters. Scalar squared-masses (holomorphic\nand non-holomorphic) are induced through sizable portals and are not\nsuppressed. Gaugino masses, a-terms and a mu-like term are generated by\nhigher-dimensional operators and are suppressed. The hypercharge is mixed with\nextra U(1)'s, it's D-term in non-vanishing and supersymmetry is broken in the\nvisible sector too. Scalar tachyonic directions are removed by unsuppressed\ninteractions and hypercharge is preserved as supersymmetry is broken. Moreover,\nif a singlet chiral field is charged under additional $U(1)$'s proportional to\nits hypercharge, new interaction terms in the Kahler potential and the\nsuperpotential are added through Stuckelberg compensation. In this case\nsupersymmetry is broken via F-terms or mixed F and D-terms.",
        "positive": "The Hamilton-Jacobi Equation and Holographic Renormalization Group Flows\n  on Sphere: We study the Hamilton-Jacobi formulation of effective mechanical actions\nassociated with holographic renormalization group flows when the field theory\nis put on the sphere and mass terms are turned on. Although the system is\nsupersymmetric and it is described by a superpotential, Hamilton's\ncharacteristic function is not readily given by the superpotential when the\nboundary of AdS is curved. We propose a method to construct the solution as a\nseries expansion in scalar field degrees of freedom. The coefficients are\nfunctions of the warp factor to be determined by a differential equation one\nobtains when the ansatz is substituted into the Hamilton-Jacobi equation. We\nalso show how the solution can be derived from the BPS equations without having\nto solve differential equations. The characteristic function readily provides\ninformation on holographic counterterms which cancel divergences of the\non-shell action near the boundary of AdS."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Local E(11) and the gauging of the trombone symmetry: In any dimension, the positive level generators of the very-extended\nKac-Moody algebra $E_{11}$ with completely antisymmetric spacetime indices are\nassociated to the form fields of the corresponding maximal supergravity. We\nconsider the local $E_{11}$ algebra, that is the algebra obtained enlarging\nthese generators of $E_{11}$ in such a way that the global $E_{11}$ symmetries\nare promoted to gauge symmetries. These are the gauge symmetries of the\ncorresponding massless maximal supergravity. We show the existence of a new\ntype of deformation of the local $E_{11}$ algebra, which corresponds to the\ngauging of the symmetry under rescaling of the fields. In particular, we show\nhow the gauged IIA theory of Howe, Lambert and West is obtained from an\neleven-dimensional group element that only depends on the eleventh coordinate\nvia a linear rescaling. We then show how this results in ten dimensions in a\ndeformed local $E_{11}$ algebra of a new type.",
        "positive": "Multicritical hypercubic models: We study renormalization group multicritical fixed points in the\n$\\epsilon$-expansion of scalar field theories characterized by the symmetry of\nthe (hyper)cubic point group $H_N$. After reviewing the algebra of\n$H_N$-invariant polynomials and arguing that there can be an entire family of\nmulticritical (hyper)cubic solutions with $\\phi^{2n}$ interactions in\n$d=\\frac{2n}{n-1}-\\epsilon$ dimensions, we use the general multicomponent beta\nfunctionals formalism to study the special cases $d = 3-\\epsilon$ and $d\n=\\frac{8}{3}-\\epsilon$, deriving explicitly the beta functions describing the\nflow of three- and four-critical (hyper)cubic models. We perform a study of\ntheir fixed points, critical exponents and quadratic deformations for various\nvalues of $N$, including the limit $N=0$, that was reported in another paper in\nrelation to the randomly diluted single-spin models, and an analysis of the\nlarge $N$ limit, which turns out to be particularly interesting since it\ndepends on the specific multicriticality. We see that, in general, the\ncontinuation in $N$ of the random solutions is different from the continuation\ncoming from large-$N$, and only the latter interpolates with the physically\ninteresting cases of low-$N$ such as $N=3$. Finally, we also include an\nanalysis of a theory with quintic interactions in $d =\\frac{10}{3}-\\epsilon$\nand, for completeness, the NNLO computations in $d=4-\\epsilon$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "U-Folds From Geodesics in Moduli Space: We exploit the presence of moduli fields in the ${\\rm AdS}_3\\times {\nS}^3\\times CY_2$, where $CY_2=T^4$ or $K3$, solution to Type IIB superstring\ntheory, to construct a U-fold solution with geometry ${\\rm AdS}_2\\times\nS^1\\times {\\rm S}^3\\times CY_2$. This is achieved by giving a non-trivial\ndependence of the moduli fields in ${\\rm SO}(4,n)/{\\rm SO}(4)\\times {\\rm\nSO}(n)$ ($n=4$ for $CY_2=T^4$ and $n=20$ for $CY_2=K3$ ), on the coordinate\n$\\eta$ of a compact direction $S^1$ along the boundary of ${\\rm AdS}_3$, so\nthat these scalars, as functions of $\\eta$, describe a geodesic on the\ncorresponding moduli space. The back-reaction of these evolving scalars on\nspacetime amounts to a splitting of ${\\rm AdS}_3$ into ${\\rm AdS}_2\\times S^1$\nwith a non-trivial monodromy along $S^1$ defined by the geodesic. Choosing the\nmonodromy matrix in ${\\rm SO}(4,n;\\,\\mathbb{Z})$, this supergravity solution is\nconjectured to be a consistent superstring background. We generalize this\nconstruction starting from an ungauged theory in $D=2d$, $d$ odd, describing\nscalar fields non-minimally coupled to $(d-1)$-forms and featuring solutions\nwith topology ${\\rm AdS}_d\\times S^d$, and moduli scalar fields. We show, in\nthis general setting, that giving the moduli fields a geodesic dependence on\nthe $\\eta $ coordinate of an $S^1$ at the boundary of ${\\rm AdS}_d$ is\nsufficient to split this space into ${\\rm AdS}_{d-1}\\times S^1$, with a\nmonodromy along $S^1$ defined by the starting and ending points of the\ngeodesic. This mechanism seems to be at work in the known J-fold solutions in\n$D=10$ Type IIB theory and hints towards the existence of similar solutions in\nthe Type IIB theory compactified on $CY_2$. We argue that the holographic dual\ntheory on these backgrounds is a 1+0 CFT on an interface in the 1+1 theory at\nthe boundary of the original ${\\rm AdS}_3$.",
        "positive": "tt* Geometry and Closed String Tachyon Potential: We propose a closed string tachyon action including kinetic and potential\nterms for non-supersymmetric orbifolds. The action is given in terms of\nsolutions to $tt^*$ equations which captures the geometry of vacua of the\ncorresponding N=2 worldsheet theory. In certain cases the solutions are well\nstudied. In case of tachyons of ${\\bf C}/Z_n$, solutions to affine toda\nequations determine the action. We study the particular case of ${\\bf C}/Z_3\\to\n{\\bf C}$ in detail and find that the Tachyon action is determined in terms of a\nsolution to Painleve III equation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Generating higher-derivative couplings in N=2 supergravity: Using a recently developed off-shell formulation for general 4D N=2\nsupergravity-matter systems, we propose a construction to generate higher\nderivative couplings. We address here mainly the interactions of tensor and\nvector multiplets, but the construction is quite general. For a certain\nsubclass of terms, the action is naturally written as an integral over 3/4 of\nthe Grassmann coordinates of superspace.",
        "positive": "Worldline approach to vector and antisymmetric tensor fields: The N=2 spinning particle action describes the propagation of antisymmetric\ntensor fields, including vector fields as a special case. In this paper we\nstudy the path integral quantization on a one-dimensional torus of the N=2\nspinning particle coupled to spacetime gravity. The action has a local N=2\nworldline supersymmetry with a gauged U(1) symmetry that includes a\nChern-Simons coupling. Its quantization on the torus produces the one-loop\neffective action for a single antisymmetric tensor. We use this worldline\nrepresentation to calculate the first few Seeley-DeWitt coefficients for\nantisymmetric tensor fields of arbitrary rank in arbitrary dimensions. As side\nresults we obtain the correct trace anomaly of a spin 1 particle in four\ndimensions as well as exact duality relations between differential form gauge\nfields. This approach yields a drastic simplification over standard heat-kernel\nmethods. It contains on top of the usual proper time a new modular parameter\nimplementing the reduction to a single tensor field. Worldline methods are\ngenerically simpler and more efficient in perturbative computations then\nstandard QFT Feynman rules. This is particularly evident when the coupling to\ngravity is considered."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Subleading corrections to the $S^3$ free energy of necklace quiver\n  theories dual to massive IIA: We investigate the $S^3$ free energy of $\\mathcal N=3$ Chern-Simons-matter\nquiver gauge theories with gauge group $U(N)^r~(r\\geq2)$ where the sum of\nChern-Simons levels does not vanish, beyond the leading order in the large-$N$\nexpansion. We take two different approaches to explore the sub-leading\nstructures of the free energy. First we evaluate the matrix integral for the\npartition function in the 't~Hooft limit using a saddle point approximation.\nSecond we use an ideal Fermi-gas model to compute the same partition function,\nbut in the limit of fixed Chern-Simons levels. The resulting expressions for\nthe free energy $F=-\\log Z$ are consistent with each other at the leading and\nfirst sub-leading order. The Fermi-gas approach also hints at a universal\n$\\frac{1}{6}\\log N$ correction to the free energy. Since the quiver gauge\ntheories we consider are dual to massive Type IIA theory, we expect our results\nto match sub-leading corrections to the holographic dual free energy, which\nhave not yet been fully investigated.",
        "positive": "Where is the large radius limit?: By properly accounting for the invariance of a Calabi-Yau sigma-model under\nshifts of the $B$-field by integral amounts (analagous to the $\\theta$-angle in\nQCD), we show that the moduli spaces of such sigma-models can often be enlarged\nto include ``large radius limit'' points. In the simplest cases, there are\nholomorphic coordinates on the enlarged moduli space which vanish at the limit\npoint, and which appear as multipliers in front of instanton contributions to\nYukawa couplings. (Those instanton contributions are therefore suppressed at\nthe limit point.) In more complicated cases, the instanton contributions are\nstill suppressed but the enlarged space is singular at the limit point. This\nsingularity may have interesting effects on the effective four-dimensional\ntheory, when the Calabi-Yau is used to compactify the heterotic string."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "S-duality and the N=2 Lens Space Index: We discuss some of the analytic properties of lens space indices for 4d N=2\ntheories of class S. The S-duality properties of these theories highly\nconstrain the lens space indices, and imply in particular that they are\nnaturally acted upon by a set of commuting difference operators corresponding\nto surface defects. We explicitly identify the difference operators to be a\nmatrix-valued generalization of the elliptic Ruijsenaars-Schneider model. In a\nspecial limit these difference operators can be expressed naturally in terms of\nCherednik operators appearing in the double affine Hecke algebras, with the\neigenfunctions given by non-symmetric Macdonald polynomials.",
        "positive": "Thermal Lie Superalgebras: We derive a general formulation for thermal Lie superalgebras motivated by\nthermofield dynamics formalism (TFD). Particularly, we construct the thermal\nPoincar\\'e superalgebras. The operators in TFD are defined through the doubling\nof the degrees of freedom of the system and it can be related to Hopf algebras.\nIn this way we explore the notion of quantum group associated with these\nsuperalgebras and we show the non-commutativity in this thermal scenario.\nFurthermore, the thermal M-superalgebra is also derived from TFD prescription."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A covariant variational approach to Yang-Mills Theory: We investigate the low-order Green's functions of SU(N) Yang-Mills theory in\nLandau gauge, using a covariant variational principle based on the effective\naction formalism. Employing an approximation to the Faddeev-Popov determinant\nestablished previously in the Hamiltonian approach in Coulomb gauge leads to a\nclosed set of integral equations for the ghost and gluon propagator. We carry\nout the renormalization and the infrared analysis of this system of equations.\nFinally, we solve the renormalized system numerically and compare with lattice\nresults and other functional approaches.",
        "positive": "Gauged Wess-Zumino terms and Equivariant Cohomology: We summarize some results obtained on the problem of gauging the Wess--Zumino\nterm of a d-dimensional bosonic sigma-model. We show that gauged WZ-like terms\nare in one-to-one correspondence with equivariant cocycles of the target space.\nBy the same token, the obstructions to gauging a WZ term can be understood in\nterms of the equivariant cohomology of the target space and this allows us to\nuse topological tools to derive some a priori vanishing theorems guaranteeing\nthe absence of obstructions for a large class of target spaces and symmetry\ngroups in the physically interesting dimensions d<=4. (This is an expository\nsummary of the results of hep-th/9407149.)"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holomorphic Chern-Simons theory and affine Gaudin models: We relate two formalisms recently proposed for describing classical\nintegrable field theories. The first is based on the action of four-dimensional\nholomorphic Chern-Simons theory introduced and studied by Costello, Witten and\nYamazaki. The second makes use of classical generalised Gaudin models\nassociated with untwisted affine Kac-Moody algebras.",
        "positive": "Non-compact nonlinear sigma models: The target space of a nonlinear sigma model is usually required to be\npositive definite to avoid ghosts. We introduce a unique class of nonlinear\nsigma models where the target space metric has a Lorentzian signature, thus the\nassociated group being non-compact. We show that the would-be ghost associated\nwith the negative direction is fully projected out by 2 second-class\nconstraints, and there exist stable solutions in this class of models. This\nresult also has important implications for Lorentz--invariant massive gravity:\nThere exist stable nontrivial vacua in massive gravity that are free from any\nlinear vDVZ--discontinuity and a $\\Lambda_2$ decoupling limit can be defined on\nthese vacua."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "sl^(2)_{-1/2}: A Case Study: The construction of the non-logarithmic conformal field theory based on\nsl^(2)_{-1/2} is revisited. Without resorting to free-field methods, the\ndetermination of the spectrum and fusion rules is streamlined and the beta\ngamma ghost system is carefully derived as the extended algebra generated by\nthe unique finite-order simple current. A brief discussion of modular\ninvariance is given and the Verlinde formula is explicitly verified.",
        "positive": "On Horizons and Plane Waves: We investigate the possibility of having an event horizon within several\nclasses of metrics that asymptote to the maximally supersymmetric IIB plane\nwave. We show that the presence of a null Killing vector (not necessarily\ncovariantly constant) implies an effective separation of the Einstein equations\ninto a standard and a wave component. This feature may be used to generate new\nsupergravity solutions asymptotic to the maximally supersymmetric IIB plane\nwave, starting from standard seed solutions such as branes or intersecting\nbranes in flat space. We find that in many cases it is possible to preserve the\nextremal horizon of the seed solution. On the other hand, non-extremal\ndeformations of the plane wave solution result in naked singularities. More\ngenerally, we prove a no-go theorem against the existence of horizons for\nbackgrounds with a null Killing vector and which contain at most null matter\nfields. Further attempts at turning on a nonzero Hawking temperature by\nintroducing additional matter have proven unsuccessful. This suggests that one\nmust remove the null Killing vector in order to obtain a horizon. We provide a\nperturbative argument indicating that this is in fact possible."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Vortices of $SO(2)$ gauged Skyrmions in $2+1$ dimensions: Vortices the $SO(2)$ gauged planar Skyrme model, with a) only Maxwell, b)\nonly Chern-Simons, and c) both Maxwell and Chern-Simons dynamics are studied\nsystematically. In cases a) and b), where both models feature a single\nparameter $\\lambda$ (the coupling of the potential term), the dependence of the\nenergy on $\\lambda$ is analysed. It is shown that the plots of the energy $vs.$\n$\\lambda$ feature discontinuities and branches. In case c), the emphasis is on\nthe evolution of the topological charge, taking non-integer values. Throughout,\nthe properties studied are contrasted with those of the corresponding Abelian\nHiggs models.",
        "positive": "Holography in a quantum spacetime: We propose a formulation of the holographic principle, suitable for a\nbackground independent quantum theory of cosmology. It is stated as a\nrelationship between the flow of quantum information and the causal structure\nof a quantum spacetime. Screens are defined as sets of events at which the\nobservables of a holographic cosmological theory may be measured, and such that\ninformation may flow across them in two directions. A discrete background\nindependent holographic theory may be formulated in terms of information\nflowing in a causal network of such screens. Geometry is introduced by defining\nthe area of a screen to be a measure of its capacity as a channel of quantum\ninformation from its null past to its null future. We call this a ``weak'' form\nof the holographic principle, as no use is made of a bulk theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non supersymmetric strong coupling background from the large N quantum\n  mechanics of two matrices coupled via a Yang-Mills interaction: We derive the planar large N non-supersymmetric background of the quantum\nmechanical hamiltonian of two hermitean matrices coupled via a Yang-Mills\ninteraction, in terms of the density of eigenvalues of one of the matrices.\nThis background satisfies an implicit non linear integral equation, with a\nperturbative small coupling expansion and a solvable large coupling solution,\nwhich is obtained. The energy of system and the expectation value of several\ncorrelators are obtained in this strong coupling limit. They are free of\ninfrared divergences.",
        "positive": "The Quantum-Corrected Fermion Mode Function during Inflation: My project computed the one loop fermion self-energy for massless Dirac +\nEinstein in the presence of a locally de Sitter background. I employed\ndimensional regularization and obtain a fully renormalized result by absorbing\nall divergences with Bogliubov, Parasiuk, Hepp and Zimmermann (BPHZ)\ncounterterms. An interesting technical aspect of my computation was the need\nfor a noninvariant counterterm, owing to the breaking of de Sitter invariance\nby our gauge condition. I also solved the effective Dirac equation for massless\nfermions during inflation in the simplest gauge, including all one loop\ncorrections from quantum gravity. At late times the result for a spatial plane\nwave behaves as if the classical solution were subjected to a time-dependent\nfield strength renormalization of Z_2(t) = 1 - 17(4 pi) *G H^2 *ln(a) + O(G^2).\nI showed that this also follows from making the Hartree approximation, although\nthe numerical coefficients differ."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Doubled Hilbert space in double-scaled SYK: We consider matter correlators in the double-scaled SYK (DSSYK) model. It\nturns out that matter correlators have a simple expression in terms of the\ndoubled Hilbert space $\\mathcal{H}\\otimes\\mathcal{H}$, where $\\mathcal{H}$ is\nthe Fock space of $q$-deformed oscillator (also known as the chord Hilbert\nspace). In this formalism, we find that the operator which counts the\nintersection of chords should be conjugated by certain ``entangler'' and\n``disentangler''. We explicitly demonstrate this structure for the two- and\nfour-point functions of matter operators in DSSYK.",
        "positive": "Embedding LFHQCD in Worldsheet String Theory: Light-front holographic quantum chromodynamics (LFHQCD) has been proposed as\nan approximation to QCD which is non-perturbative and at the same time\nanalytically tractable. It can be derived from the holographic light-cone\nHamiltonian and effectively corresponds to a one-dimensional superconformal\nquantum theory. It is proposed in this paper to extend the underlying quantum\ngroup to N = 2 SCFT. This provides an avenue for bottom-up string theory\nmodel-building which is firmly grounded in phenomenology. Moreover, the\npeculiar properties of the model carry over to provide novel solutions to\nstring theory problems, including supersymmetry without predicting\nsuperpartners as well as the breaking of the conformal symmetry and the\nintroduction of a low-energy scale such that the massive Virasoro modes\ncorrespond to hadronic states reminiscent of what was once envisioned in the\nVeneziano model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Self-consistent renormalization as an efficient realization of main\n  ideas of the Bogoliubov-Parasiuk R-operation: By self-consistent renormalization (SCR) it is meant that all formal\nrelations between UV-divergent Feynman amplitudes are automatically retained as\nwell as between their regular values obtained in the framework of the SCR. The\nSCR is efficiently applicable on equal grounds both to renormalizable and\nnonrenormalizable theories. SCR furnishes new means for the constructive\ntreatment of new subjects: i) UV-divergence problems associated with\nsymmetries, Ward identities, and quantum anomalies; ii) new relations between\nfinite bare and finite physical parameters of quantum field theories. The aim\nof this paper is to describe main ideas and properties of the SCR and clearly\nto describe three mutually complementary algorithms of the SCR that are\npresented in the form maximally suited for practical applications.",
        "positive": "Extended Supersymmetries and 2+1 Dimensional Supersymmetric Chern Simons\n  Theories: We study N=2 supersymmetric Chern-Simons Higgs models in $(2+1)$-dimensions.\nAs we will demonstrate, an extended supersymmetric quantum mechanics algebras\nunderlies the fermionic zero modes quantum system and the zero modes\ncorresponding to bosonic fluctuations. These two algebras, in turn, combine to\ngive an N=4 extended 1-dimensional supersymmetric algebra with central charge"
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Special geometry and perturbative analysis of $N=2$ heterotic vacua: The requirement of target-space duality and the use of nonrenormalization\ntheorems lead to strong constraints on the perturbative prepotential that\nencodes the low-energy effective action of $N=2$ heterotic superstring vacua.\nThe analysis is done in the context of special geometry, which governs the\ncouplings of the vector multiplets. The presentation is kept at an introductory\nlevel.",
        "positive": "Localization and the interface between quantum mechanics, quantum field\n  theory and quantum gravity: We show that there are significant conceptual differences between QM and QFT\nwhich make it difficult to view the latter as just a relativistic extension of\nthe principles of QM. At the root of this is a fundamental distinction between\nBorn-localization in QM (which in the relativistic context changes its name to\nNewton-Wigner localization) and modular localization which is the localization\nunderlying QFT, after one liberates it from its standard presentation in terms\nof field coordinates. The first comes with a probability notion and projection\noperators, whereas the latter describes causal propagation in QFT and leads to\nthermal aspects of locally reduced finite energy states. The Born-Newton-Wigner\nlocalization in QFT is only applicable asymptotically and the covariant\ncorrelation between asymptotic in and out localization projectors is the basis\nof the existence of an invariant scattering matrix. Taking these significant\ndifferences serious has not only repercussions for the philosophy of science,\nbut also leads to a new structural properties as a consequence of vacuum\npolarization: the area law for localization entropy near the the causal\nlocalization horizon and a more realistic cutoff independent setting for the\ncosmological vacuum energy density which is compatible with local covariance.\nThe article presents some observations about the interface between QFT in CST\nand QG."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Transplanckian Censorship and the Local Swampland Distance Conjecture: The swampland distance conjecture (SDC) addresses the ability of effective\nfield theory to describe distant points in moduli space. It is natural to ask\nwhether there is a local version of the SDC: is it possible to construct local\nexcitations in an EFT that sample extreme regions of moduli space? In many\ncases such excitations exhibit horizons or instabilities, suggesting that there\nare bounds on the size and structure of field excitations that can be achieved\nin EFT. Static bubbles in ordinary Kaluza-Klein theory provide a simple class\nof examples: the KK radius goes to zero on a smooth surface, locally probing an\ninfinite distance point, and the bubbles are classically unstable against\nradial perturbations. However, it is also possible to stabilize KK bubbles at\nthe classical level by adding flux. We study the impact of imposing the Weak\nGravity Conjecture (WGC) on these solutions, finding that a rapid pair\nproduction instability arises in the presence of charged matter with\n$q/m\\gtrsim 1$. We also analyze 4d electrically charged dilatonic black holes.\nSmall curvature at the horizon imposes a bound $\\log(M_{BH})\\gtrsim\n|\\Delta\\phi|$, independent of the WGC, and the bound can be strengthened if the\nparticle satisfying the WGC is sufficiently light. We conjecture that quantum\ngravity in asymptotically flat space requires a general bound on large\nlocalized moduli space excursions of the form $ |\\Delta\\phi|\\lesssim\n|\\log(R\\Lambda)|$, where $R$ is the size of the minimal region enclosing the\nexcitation and $\\Lambda^{-1}$ is the short-distance cutoff on local EFT. The\nbound is qualitatively saturated by the dilatonic black holes and Kaluza-Klein\nmonopoles.",
        "positive": "D branes in background fluxes and Nielsen-Olesen instabilities: In quantum field theory, charged particles with spin $\\geq 1$ may become\ntachyonic in the present of magnetic fluxes above some critical field,\nsignaling an instability of the vacuum. The phenomenon is generic, in\nparticular, similar instabilities are known to exist in open and closed string\ntheory, where a spinning string state can become tachyonic above a critical\nfield. In compactifications involving RR fluxes $F_{p+2}$, the quantum states\nwhich could become tachyonic by the same Nielsen-Olesen mechanism are Dp\nbranes. By constructing an appropriate background with RR magnetic flux that\ntakes into account back-reaction, we identify the possible tachyonic Dp brane\nstates and compute the formula for the energy spectrum in a sector. More\ngenerally, we argue that in any background RR magnetic flux, there are high\nspin Dp quantum states which become very light at critical fields."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetric Ward Identities and NMHV Amplitudes involving Gluinos: We show how Supersymmetric Ward identities can be used to obtain amplitudes\ninvolving gluinos or adjoint scalars from purely gluonic amplitudes. We obtain\nresults for all one-loop six-point NMHV amplitudes in $\\NeqFour$ Super\nYang-Mills theory which involve two gluinos or two scalar particles. More\ngeneral cases are also discussed.",
        "positive": "Toeplitz Quantization of K\u00e4hler Manifolds and $gl(N)$ $N\\to\\infty$: For general compact K\\\"ahler manifolds it is shown that both Toeplitz\nquantization and geometric quantization lead to a well-defined (by operator\nnorm estimates) classical limit. This generalizes earlier results of the\nauthors and Klimek and Lesniewski obtained for the torus and higher genus\nRiemann surfaces, respectively. We thereby arrive at an approximation of the\nPoisson algebra by a sequence of finite-dimensional matrix algebras $gl(N)$,\n$N\\to\\infty$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Condensates near the Argyres-Douglas point in SU(2) gauge theory with\n  broken N=2 supersymmetry: The behaviour of the chiral condensates in the SU(2) gauge theory with broken\nN=2 supersymmetry is reviewed. The calculation of monopole, dyon, and charge\ncondensates is described. It is shown that the monopole and charge condensates\nvanish at the Argyres-Douglas point where the monopole and charge vacua\ncollide. This phenomenon is interpreted as a deconfinement of electric and\nmagnetic charges at the Argyres-Douglas point.",
        "positive": "Vacua of N=10 three dimensional gauged supergravity: We study scalar potentials and the corresponding vacua of N=10 three\ndimensional gauged supergravity. The theory contains 32 scalar fields\nparametrizing the exceptional coset space $\\frac{E_{6(-14)}}{SO(10)\\times\nU(1)}$. The admissible gauge groups considered in this work involve both\ncompact and non-compact gauge groups which are maximal subgroups of\n$SO(10)\\times U(1)$ and $E_{6(-14)}$, respectively. These gauge groups are\ngiven by $SO(p)\\times SO(10-p)\\times U(1)$ for $p=6,...10$, $SO(5)\\times\nSO(5)$, $SU(4,2)\\times SU(2)$, $G_{2(-14)}\\times SU(2,1)$ and $F_{4(-20)}$. We\nfind many AdS$_3$ critical points with various unbroken gauge symmetries. The\nrelevant background isometries associated to the maximally supersymmetric\ncritical points at which all scalars vanish are also given. These correspond to\nthe superconformal symmetries of the dual conformal field theories in two\ndimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fractional Skyrmion molecules in a $\\mathbb{C}P^{N-1}$ model: We study fractional Skyrmions in a $\\mathbb{C}P^2$ baby Skyrme model with a\ngeneralization of the easy-plane potential. By numerical methods, we find\nstable, metastable, and unstable solutions taking the shapes of molecules.\nVarious solutions possess discrete symmetries, and the origin of those\nsymmetries are traced back to congruencies of the fields in homogeneous\ncoordinates on $\\mathbb{C}P^2$.",
        "positive": "Baryon Mass and Phase Transitions in Large N Gauge Theory: We calculate the baryon mass in N=4 large $N$ gauge theory by means of\nAdS/CFT correspondence and show that it is a truly bound state, at least in\nsome situations. We find that a phase transition occurs at a critical\ntemperature. Furthermore, we find there are bound states of W-bosons in the\nHiggs phase, where the gauge group is broken to SU(N_1)xSU(N_2)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Effective Average Actions and Nonperturbative Evolution Equations: The effective average actions for gauge theories and the associated\nnonperturbative evolution equations which govern their renormalization group\nflow are reviewed and various applications are described. As an example of a\ntopological field theory, Chern-Simons theory is discussed in detail.",
        "positive": "Weyl-Dirac zero-mode for calorons: We give the analytic result for the fermion zero-mode of the SU(2) calorons\nwith non-trivial holonomy. It is shown that the zero-mode is supported on ONLY\nONE of the constituent monopoles. We discuss some of its implications."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spinning Toroidal Brane Cosmology; A Classical and Quantum Survey: We construct a cosmological model based on a free particle model which is\nconstrained on an embedded toroidal brane, with a general rotation around a\nspecific axis in the bulk space. Some related issues such as the rotation axis\nof the brane, the presence of gravitomagnetic background and its relation to\nthe general angular velocity of the brane, and its quantum mechanics and\nrelated issues such as minimal length and minimal momentum of the quantum model\nin the $\\mathbb{T}^3$ brane are studied. Also, some cosmological features such\nas the constraint which is imposed upon the toroidal universe by the isotropy\nand homogeneity conditions, the corresponding Hubble law, and accelerating\nexpansion for the spinning toroidal model without considering a cosmological\nconstant are also studied.",
        "positive": "Closed Superstring Amplitudes, Single-Valued Multiple Zeta Values and\n  Deligne Associator: We revisit the tree-level closed superstring amplitude and identify its\nalpha'-expansion as series with single-valued multiple zeta values as\ncoefficients. The latter represent a subclass of multiple zeta values\noriginating from single-valued multiple polylogarithms at unity. Moreover, the\nalpha'-expansion of the closed superstring amplitude can be cast into the same\nalgebraic form as the open superstring amplitude: the closed superstring\namplitude essentially is the single-valued version of the open superstring\namplitude. This fact points into a deeper connection between gauge and gravity\namplitudes than what is implied by Kawai-Lewellen-Tye relations. Furthermore,\nwe argue, that the Deligne associator carries the relevant information on the\nclosed superstring amplitude. In particular, we give an explicit representation\nof the Deligne associator in terms of Gamma functions modulo squares of\ncommutators of the underlying Lie algebra. This form of the associator can be\ninterpreted as the four-point closed superstring amplitude."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "CFT4 as SO(4,2)-invariant TFT2: We show that correlators of local operators in four dimensional free scalar\nfield theory can be expressed in terms of amplitudes in a two dimensional\ntopological field theory (TFT2). We describe the state space of the TFT2, which\nhas $SO(4,2)$ as a global symmetry, and includes both positive and negative\nenergy representations. Invariant amplitudes in the TFT2 correspond to surfaces\ninterpolating from multiple circles to the vacuum. They are constructed from\nSO(4,2) invariant linear maps from the tensor product of the state spaces to\ncomplex numbers. When appropriate states labeled by 4D-spacetime coordinates\nare inserted at the circles, the TFT2 amplitudes become correlators of the\nfour-dimensional CFT4. The TFT2 structure includes an associative algebra,\nrelated to crossing in the 4D-CFT, with a non-degenerate pairing related to the\nCFT inner product in the CFT4. In the free-field case, the TFT2/CFT4\ncorrespondence can largely be understood as realization of free quantum field\ntheory as a categorified form of classical invariant theory for appropriate\nSO(4,2) representations. We discuss the prospects of going beyond free fields\nin this framework.",
        "positive": "Heterotic String Conformal Field Theory And A-D-E Singularities: We analyze the behavior of the heterotic string near an A-D-E singularity\nwithout small instantons. This problem is governed by a strongly coupled\nworldsheet conformal field theory, which, by a combination of O(alpha')\ncorrections and worldsheet instantons, smooths out the singularities present in\nthe classical geometry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Two Loop Locally Anisotropic Corrections for Nonlinear Sigma Model: The article gives explicit calculation and interpretation of the additional\nlocally anisotropic effects. Double role of the resulted gauge like fields\ndiscussed.",
        "positive": "Manifestly Supersymmetric Effective Lagrangians on BPS Solitons: A systematic method to obtain the effective Lagrangian on the BPS background\nin supersymmetric gauge theories is worked out, taking domain walls and\nvortices as concrete examples. The Lagrangian in terms of the superfields for\nfour preserved SUSY is expanded in powers of the slow-movement parameter\nlambda. The expansion gives the superfield form of the BPS equations at\n{O}(lambda^0), and all the fluctuation fields at {O}(lambda^1). The density of\nthe Kaehler potential for the effective Lagrangian follows as an automatic\nconsequence of the lambda expansion with manifest (four preserved) SUSY."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A comment on discrete Kalb-Ramond field on orientifold and rank\n  reduction: We show that the rank reduction of the gauge group on orientifolds in\npresence of non vanishing discrete Kalb-Ramond field can be explained by the\npresence of an induced field strength in a non trivial bundle on the branes.\nThis field strength is also necessary for the tadpole cancellation and the\nnumber of branes is left unchanged by the presence of the discrete Kalb-Ramond\nbackground.",
        "positive": "Solving 3+1 QCD on the Transverse Lattice Using 1+1 Conformal Field\n  Theory: A new transverse lattice model of $3+1$ Yang-Mills theory is constructed by\nintroducing Wess-Zumino terms into the 2-D unitary non-linear sigma model\naction for link fields on a 2-D lattice. The Wess-Zumino terms permit one to\nsolve the basic non-linear sigma model dynamics of each link, for discrete\nvalues of the bare QCD coupling constant, by applying the representation theory\nof non-Abelian current (Kac-Moody) algebras. This construction eliminates the\nneed to approximate the non-linear sigma model dynamics of each link with a\nlinear sigma model theory, as in previous transverse lattice formulations. The\nnon-perturbative behavior of the non-linear sigma model is preserved by this\nconstruction. While the new model is in principle solvable by a combination of\nconformal field theory, discrete light-cone, and lattice gauge theory\ntechniques, it is more realistically suited for study with a Tamm-Dancoff\ntruncation of excited states. In this context, it may serve as a useful\nframework for the study of non-perturbative phenomena in QCD via analytic\ntechniques."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "N=2 Supergravity Lagrangians with Vector-Tensor Multiplets: We discuss the coupling of vector-tensor multiplets to N=2 supergravity.",
        "positive": "DILATON-DRIVEN INFLATION IN STRING COSMOLOGY: I present an outline for cosmological evolution in the framework of string\ntheory with emphasis on a phase of dilaton-driven kinetic inflation. It is\nshown that a typical background of stochastic gravitational radiation is\ngenerated, with strength that may allow its detection in future gravity wave\nexperiments."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gravity duals of supersymmetric gauge theories on three-manifolds: We study gravity duals to a broad class of N=2 supersymmetric gauge theories\ndefined on a general class of three-manifold geometries. The gravity\nbackgrounds are based on Euclidean self-dual solutions to four-dimensional\ngauged supergravity. As well as constructing new examples, we prove in general\nthat for solutions defined on the four-ball the gravitational free energy\ndepends only on the supersymmetric Killing vector, finding a simple closed\nformula when the solution has U(1) x U(1) symmetry. Our result agrees with the\nlarge N limit of the free energy of the dual gauge theory, computed using\nlocalization. This constitutes an exact check of the gauge/gravity\ncorrespondence for a very broad class of gauge theories with a large N limit,\ndefined on a general class of background three-manifold geometries.",
        "positive": "The Power of Perturbation Theory: We study quantum mechanical systems with a discrete spectrum. We show that\nthe asymptotic series associated to certain paths of steepest-descent\n(Lefschetz thimbles) are Borel resummable to the full result. Using a\ngeometrical approach based on the Picard-Lefschetz theory we characterize the\nconditions under which perturbative expansions lead to exact results. Even when\nsuch conditions are not met, we explain how to define a different perturbative\nexpansion that reproduces the full answer without the need of transseries, i.e.\nnon-perturbative effects, such as real (or complex) instantons. Applications to\nseveral quantum mechanical systems are presented."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Ultraviolet Finiteness of the averaged Hamiltonian on the noncommutative\n  Minkowski space: It is shown that the Hamiltonian approach for a $\\phi^3$-interaction on the\n4-dimensional noncommutative Minkowski space leads to an ultraviolet finite\n$S$-matrix if the noncommutativity is averaged at each vertex.",
        "positive": "Super-Poincare Invariant Superstring Field Theory: Using the topological techniques developed in an earlier paper with Vafa, a\nfield theory action is constructed for any open string with critical N=2\nworldsheet superconformal invariance. Instead of the Chern-Simons-like action\nfound by Witten, this action resembles that of a Wess-Zumino-Witten model. For\nthe N=2 string which describes (2,2) self-dual Yang-Mills, the string field\ngeneralizes the scalar field of Yang.\n  As was shown in recent papers, an N=2 string can also be used to describe the\nGreen-Schwarz superstring in a Calabi-Yau background. In this case, one needs\nthree types of string fields which generalize the real superfield of the\nsuper-Yang-Mills prepotential, and the chiral and anti-chiral superfields of\nthe Calabi-Yau scalar multiplet. The resulting field theory action for the open\nsuperstring in a Calabi-Yau background has the advantages over the standard RNS\naction that it is manifestly SO(3,1) super-Poincar\\'e invariant and does not\nrequire contact terms to remove tree-level divergences."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetric Wilson Loops, Superstring-Like Observables, and the\n  Natural Coupling of Superstrings to Supersymmetric Gauge Theories: We obtain an explicit expression for the supersymmetric Wilson loop in terms\nof chiral superfields and supercurrents in superspace. The result turns out to\nbe different from what one would expect from the simple replacement of Lie\nalgebra valued connection in the exponent with the corresponding super-Lie\nalgebraic one. Genralizing the super particle coupling represented by the\nsupersymmetric Wilson loop, we show that there exists a unique dimensionless\ncoupling of the superstring to abelian supersymmetric gauge theories that\nrespects all the known symmetries. The coupling is expressed in terms of chiral\ncurrents in superspace. The natural superstring coupling gives rise to a new\nobservable that is \"stringy\" in nature and has no analogue in\nnon-supersymmetric gauge theories.",
        "positive": "Branes and Electric-Magnetic Duality in Supersymmetric QCD: We study the Type IIA limit of the M theory fivebrane configuration\ncorresponding to N=1 supersymmetric QCD with massless quarks. We identify the\neffective gauge coupling constant that fits with\nNovikov-Shifman-Veinshtein-Zakharov exact beta function. We find two different\nType IIA limits that correspond to the electric and magnetic descriptions of\nSQCD, as observed in the massive case by Schmaltz and Sundrum. The analysis is\nextended to the case of symplectic and orthogonal gauge groups. In any of the\ncases considered in this paper, the electric and magnetic configurations are\nsmoothly interpolated via $M$ theory. This is in sharp contrast with the\nproposed derivation of N=1 duality within the weakly coupled Type IIA string\ntheory where a singularity is inevitable unless one turns on a parameter that\ntakes the theory away from an interesting point."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "General relativity limit of Horava-Lifshitz gravity with a scalar field\n  in gradient expansion: We present a fully nonlinear study of long wavelength cosmological\nperturbations within the framework of the projectable Horava-Lifshitz gravity,\ncoupled to a single scalar field. Adopting the gradient expansion technique, we\nexplicitly integrate the dynamical equations up to any order of the expansion,\nthen restrict the integration constants by imposing the momentum constraint.\nWhile the gradient expansion relies on the long wavelength approximation,\namplitudes of perturbations do not have to be small. When the $\\lambda\\to 1$\nlimit is taken, the obtained nonlinear solutions exhibit a continuous behavior\nat any order of the gradient expansion, recovering general relativity in the\npresence of a scalar field and the \"dark matter as an integration constant\".\nThis is in sharp contrast to the results in the literature based on the\n\"standard\" (and naive) perturbative approach where in the same limit, the\nperturbative expansion of the action breaks down and the scalar graviton mode\nappears to be strongly coupled. We carry out a detailed analysis on the source\nof these apparent pathologies and determine that they originate from an\nimproper application of the perturbative approximation in the momentum\nconstraint. We also show that there is a new branch of solutions, valid in the\nregime where $|\\lambda-1|$ is smaller than the order of perturbations. In the\nlimit $\\lambda\\to1$, this new branch allows the theory to be continuously\nconnected to general relativity (plus \"dark matter\").",
        "positive": "Partition Sums and Entropy Bounds in Weakly Coupled CFT: We use the partition functions on S^1 x S^n of various conformal field\ntheories in four and six dimensions in the limit of vanishing coupling to study\nthe high temperature thermodynamics. Certain modular properties exhibited by\nthe partition functions help to determine the finite volume corrections, which\nplay a role in the discussion of entropy bounds."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "From Free-Fermionic Constructions to Orbifolds and Back: We systematically develop the explicit map between string vacua constructed\nin the Free Fermionic Formulation and their $\\mathbb{Z}_2^N$ toroidal orbifold\ncounterparts. We illustrate the map in various example classes of models,\nincluding cases relevant for string phenomenology, as well as in theories where\nspace-time supersymmetry is broken by the stringy Scherk-Schwarz mechanism.",
        "positive": "Evolution of scalar field resonances in a braneworld: In this work, we investigate numerical evolution of massive Kaluza-Klein (KK)\nmodes of a scalar field in a thick brane. We derive the Klein-Gordon equation\nin five dimensional spacetime, and obtain the evolution equation and the\nSchr\\\"odinger-like equation. With the resonances of the scalar KK modes as the\ninitial data, the scalar field is evolved with the maximally dissipative\nboundary condition. The results show that there are scalar KK resonant\nparticles with long life on the brane, which indicates that these resonances\nmight be viewed as one of the candidates for dark matter."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Effects of rotation and boundaries on chiral symmetry breaking of\n  relativistic fermions: In order to avoid unphysical causality-violating effects any rigidly rotating\nsystem must be bounded in directions transverse to the axis of rotation. We\ndemonstrate that this requirement implies substantial dependence of properties\nof relativistically rotating system on the boundary conditions. We consider a\nsystem of interacting fermions described by the Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model in a\nspace bounded by cylindrical surface of finite radius. In order to confine the\nfermions inside the cylinder we impose \"chiral\" MIT boundary conditions on its\nsurface. These boundary conditions are parameterized by a continuous chiral\nangle \\Theta. We find that at any value of \\Theta the chiral restoration\ntemperature T_c decreases as a quadratic function of the angular frequency\n\\Omega. However, the position and the slope of the critical curve T_c =\nT_c(\\Omega) in the phase diagram depends noticeably on the value of the chiral\nangle.",
        "positive": "Holographic glueballs from the circle reduction of Romans supergravity: We reconsider a one-parameter class of known solutions of the circle\ncompactification of Romans six-dimensional half-maximal supergravity. The\ngauge-theory duals of these solutions are confining four-dimensional field\ntheories. Their UV completions consist of the compactification on a circle of a\nhigher-dimensional field theory that is flowing between two fixed points in\nfive dimensions. We systematically study the bosonic fluctuations of the\nsupergravity theory, corresponding to the bosonic glueballs of the dual field\ntheory.\n  We perform numerically the calculation of the spectrum of excitations of all\nthe bosonic fields, several of which had been disregarded in earlier work on\nthe subject. We discuss the results as a function of the one parameter\ncharacterising the class of background solutions, hence further extending known\nresults. We show how certain towers of states are independent of the\nbackground, and compare these states to existing lattice literature on\nfour-dimensional Yang-Mills (pure) gauge theories, confirming the existence of\nclose similarities.\n  For the aforementioned analysis, we construct gauge-invariant combinations of\nthe fields appearing in the reduction to five dimensions of the supergravity\ntheory, and hence focus on the 32 physical bosonic degrees of freedom. We show\nexplicitly how to implement gauge-fixing of the supergravity theory. The\nresults of such technical work could be used to analyse the spectra of other\ntheories proposed in the context of top-down holography. For example, it could\nbe applied to holographic realisations of composite-Higgs and light-dilaton\nscenarios."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "SYK Model, Chaos and Conserved Charge: We study the SYK model with complex fermions, in the presence of an\nall-to-all $q$-body interaction, with a non-vanishing chemical potential. We\nfind that, in the large $q$ limit, this model can be solved exactly and the\ncorresponding Lyapunov exponent can be obtained semi-analytically. The\nresulting Lyapunov exponent is a sensitive function of the chemical potential\n$\\mu$. Even when the coupling $J$, which corresponds to the disorder averaged\nvalues of the all to all fermion interaction, is large, values of $\\mu$ which\nare exponentially small compared to $J$ lead to suppression of the Lyapunov\nexponent.",
        "positive": "Effective Dilaton Potential in Linearized Gravity: Considering the linearized gravity with matter fields, the effective\npotential of the ``conformal dilaton'' in the string frame is generated\nsemiclassically by one-loop contribution of heavy matter fields. This in turn\ngenerates a nontrivial potential for the physical dilaton in the Einstein frame\nwith the trace of the graviton in the Einstein frame gauged away. The remaining\nmanifest local spacetime symmetry is only the volume preserving diffeomorphism\nsymmetry. The consistency of this procedure is examined and the possibility of\nspontaneous diffeomorphism symmetry breaking is suggested."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "QCD on a Tree: A model is proposed which can be regarded as a mean field approximation for\npure lattice QCD and chiral field. It always possesses a phase transition\nbetween a strong coupling phase (where it reduces to a one-plaquette integral)\nand a non-trivial weak coupling one. For the U(N) gauge group, it is equivalent\nto some multi-matrix model. This analogy allows for determining possible large\nN critical regimes thus generalizing the Gross-Witten phase transition in the\none-plaquetee model.",
        "positive": "Moduli stabilization with open and closed string fluxes: We study the stabilization of all closed string moduli in the T^6/Z_2\norientifold, using constant internal magnetic fields and 3-form fluxes that\npreserve N=1 supersymmetry in four dimensions. We first analyze the\nstabilization of Kahler class and complex structure moduli by turning on\nmagnetic fluxes on different sets of D9 branes that wrap the internal space\nT^6/Z_2. We present explicit consistent string constructions, satisfying in\nparticular tadpole cancellation, where the radii can take arbitrarily large\nvalues by tuning the winding numbers appropriately. We then show that the\ndilaton-axion modulus can also be fixed by turning on closed string constant\n3-form fluxes, consistently with the supersymmetry preserved by the magnetic\nfields, providing at the same time perturbative values for the string coupling.\nFinally, several models are presented combining open string magnetic fields\nthat fix part of Kahler class and complex structure moduli, with closed string\n3-form fluxes that stabilize the remaining ones together with the dilaton."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetry and Dualities: Duality transformations with respect to rotational isometries relate\nsupersymmetric with non-supersymmetric backgrounds in string theory. We find\nthat non-local world-sheet effects have to be taken into account in order to\nrestore supersymmetry at the string level. The underlying superconformal\nalgebra remains the same, but in this case T-duality relates local with\nnon-local realizations of the algebra in terms of parafermions. This is another\nexample where stringy effects resolve paradoxes of the effective field theory.\n(Contribution to the proceedings of the Trieste conference on S-Duality and\nMirror Symmetry; to appear in Nucl Phys B Proc Suppl)",
        "positive": "O(3) Sigma model with Hopf term on Fuzzy Sphere: We formulate the $O(3) \\s-$ model on fuzzy sphere and construct the Hopf\nterm. We show that the field can be expanded in terms of the ladder operators\nof Holstein-Primakoff realisation of SU(2) algebra and the corresponding basis\nset can be classified into different topological sectors by the magnetic\nquantum numbers. We obtain topological charge $Q$ and show that $-2j\\le Q\n\\le2j$. We also construct BPS solitons. Using the covariantly conserved\ncurrent, we construct the Hopf term and show that its value is $Q^2$ as in the\ncommutative case. We also point out the interesting relation of physical space\nto deformed SU(2) algebra."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Renormalization Group Flows from Holography--Supersymmetry and a\n  c-Theorem: We obtain first order equations that determine a supersymmetric kink solution\nin five-dimensional N=8 gauged supergravity. The kink interpolates between an\nexterior anti-de Sitter region with maximal supersymmetry and an interior\nanti-de Sitter region with one quarter of the maximal supersymmetry. One eighth\nof supersymmetry is preserved by the kink as a whole. We interpret it as\ndescribing the renormalization group flow in N=4 super-Yang-Mills theory broken\nto an N=1 theory by the addition of a mass term for one of the three adjoint\nchiral superfields. A detailed correspondence is obtained between fields of\nbulk supergravity in the interior anti-de Sitter region and composite operators\nof the infrared field theory. We also point out that the truncation used to\nfind the reduced symmetry critical point can be extended to obtain a new N=4\ngauged supergravity theory holographically dual to a sector of N=2 gauge\ntheories based on quiver diagrams.\n  We consider more general kink geometries and construct a c-function that is\npositive and monotonic if a weak energy condition holds in the bulk gravity\ntheory. For even-dimensional boundaries, the c-function coincides with the\ntrace anomaly coefficients of the holographically related field theory in\nlimits where conformal invariance is recovered.",
        "positive": "Massive charged BTZ black holes in asymptotically (a)dS spacetimes: Motivated by recent developments of BTZ black holes and interesting results\nof massive gravity, we investigate massive BTZ black holes in the presence of\nMaxwell and Born-Infeld (BI) electrodynamics. We study geometrical properties\nsuch as type of singularity and asymptotical behavior as well as thermodynamic\nstructure of the solutions through canonical ensemble. We show that despite the\nexistence of massive term, obtained solutions are asymptotically (a)dS and have\na curvature singularity at the origin. Then, we regard varying cosmological\nconstant and examine the Van der Waals like behavior of the solutions in\nextended phase space. In addition, we employ geometrical thermodynamic\napproaches and show that using Weinhold, Ruppeiner and Quevedo metrics leads to\nexistence of ensemble dependency while HPEM metric yields consistent picture.\nFor neutral solutions, it will be shown that generalization to massive gravity\nleads to the presence of non-zero temperature and heat capacity for vanishing\nhorizon radius. Such behavior is not observed for linearly charged solutions\nwhile generalization to nonlinearly one recovers this property."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetry in the AdS/CFT Correspondence: We study how local symmetry transformations of (p, q) anti de Sitter\nsupergravities in three dimensions act on fields on the two-dimensional\nboundary. The boundary transformation laws are shown to be the same as those of\ntwo-dimensional (p, q) conformal supergravities for p, q \\leq 2. Weyl and super\nWeyl transformations are generated from three-dimensional general coordinate\nand super transformations.",
        "positive": "F-theory models with 3 to 8 U(1) factors on K3 surfaces: In this study, we construct four-dimensional F-theory models with 3 to 8 U(1)\nfactors on products of K3 surfaces. We provide explicit Weierstrass equations\nof elliptic K3 surfaces with Mordell-Weil ranks of 3 to 8. We utilize the\nmethod of quadratic base change to glue pairs of rational elliptic surfaces\ntogether to yield the aforementioned types of K3 surfaces. The moduli of\nelliptic K3 surfaces constructed in the study include Kummer surfaces of\nspecific complex structures. We show that the tadpole cancels in F-theory\ncompactifications with flux when these Kummer surfaces are paired with\nappropriately selected attractive K3 surfaces. We determine the matter spectra\non F-theory on the pairs."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Charge Algebra in Al(A)dS$_n$ Spacetimes: The gravitational charge algebra of generic asymptotically locally (A)dS\nspacetimes is derived in $n$ dimensions. The analysis is performed in the\nStarobinsky/Fefferman-Graham gauge, without assuming any further boundary\ncondition than the minimal falloffs for conformal compactification. In\nparticular, the boundary structure is allowed to fluctuate and plays the role\nof source yielding some symplectic flux at the boundary. Using the holographic\nrenormalization procedure, the divergences are removed from the symplectic\nstructure, which leads to finite expressions. The charges associated with\nboundary diffeomorphisms are generically non-vanishing, non-integrable and not\nconserved, while those associated with boundary Weyl rescalings are\nnon-vanishing only in odd dimensions due to the presence of Weyl anomalies in\nthe dual theory. The charge algebra exhibits a field-dependent $2$-cocycle in\nodd dimensions. When the general framework is restricted to three-dimensional\nasymptotically AdS spacetimes with Dirichlet boundary conditions, the\n$2$-cocycle reduces to the Brown-Henneaux central extension. The analysis is\nalso specified to leaky boundary conditions in asymptotically locally (A)dS\nspacetimes that lead to the $\\Lambda$-BMS asymptotic symmetry group. In the\nflat limit, the latter contracts into the BMS group in $n$ dimensions.",
        "positive": "Discrete Gravity: We assume that the points in volumes smaller than an elementary volume (which\nmay have a Planck size) are indistinguishable in any physical experiment. This\nnaturally leads to a picture of a discrete space with a finite number of\ndegrees of freedom per elementary volume. In such discrete spaces, each\nelementary cell is completely characterized by displacement operators\nconnecting a cell to the neighboring cells and by the spin connection. We\ndefine the torsion and curvature of the discrete spaces and show that in the\nlimiting case of vanishing elementary volume the standard results for the\ncontinuous curved differentiable manifolds are completely reproduced."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Canonical structure of Yang-Mills theory: I consider the problem of defining canonical coordinates and momenta in pure\nYang-Mills theory, under the condition that Gauss' law is identically\nsatisifed. This involves among other things particular boundary conditions for\ncertain dependent variables. These boundary conditions are not postulated a\npriori, but arise as consistency conditions related to the equations of motion.\nIt is shown that the theory indeed has a canonical structure, provided one uses\na special gauge condition, which is a natural generalisation to Yang-Mills\ntheory of the Coulomb gauge condition in electrodynamics. The canonical\nvariables and Hamiltonian are explicitly constructed. Quantisation of the\ntheory is briefly discussed.",
        "positive": "Interpolations between Jordanian twists, the Poincar\u00e9-Weyl algebra and\n  dispersion relations: We consider a two parameter family of Drinfeld twists generated from a simple\nJordanian twist further twisted by 1-cochains. Twists from this family\ninterpolate between two simple Jordanian twists. Relations between them are\nconstructed and discussed. It is proved that there exists a one parameter\nfamily of twists identical to a simple Jordanian twist. The twisted coalgebra,\nstar product and coordinate realizations of the $\\kappa$-Minkowski\nnoncommutative space time are presented. Real forms of Jordanian deformations\nare also discussed. The method of similarity transformations is applied to the\nPoincar\\'e-Weyl Hopf algebra and two types of one parameter families of\ndispersion relations are constructed. Mathematically equivalent deformations,\nthat are related to nonlinear changes of symmetry generators and linked with\nsimilarity maps, may lead to differences in the description of physical\nphenomena."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Islands for Reflected Entropy: Recent work has demonstrated the need to include contributions from\nentanglement islands when computing the entanglement entropy in QFT states\ncoupled to regions of semiclassical gravity. We propose a new formula for the\nreflected entropy that includes additional contributions from such islands. We\nderive this formula from the gravitational path integral by finding additional\nsaddles that include generalized replica wormholes. We also demonstrate that\nour covariant formula satisfies all the inequalities required of the reflected\nentropy. We use this formula in various examples that demonstrate its relevance\nin illustrating the structure of multipartite entanglement that are invisible\nto the entropies.",
        "positive": "Scale anomalies in non-relativistic field theories in 2+1 dimensions: {}From the one-loop effective potential for a gas of non-relativistic bosons\nin two spatial dimensions interacting via a delta-function potential at\nzero-temperature and finite chemical potential, the anomaly of the\nenergy-momentum tensor follows directly. It is also similarly derived when the\nbosons have an additional Chern-Simons interaction. In the special case of\nanyons, the scale anomaly vanishes to one-loop order in the effective potential\nand also to second order in the statistical angle."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Multichannel Conformal Blocks for Polygon Wilson Loops: We introduce the notion of Multichannel Conformal Blocks relevant for the\nOperator Product Expansion for Null Polygon Wilson loops with more than six\nedges. As an application of these, we decompose the one loop heptagon Wilson\nloop and predict the value of its two loop OPE discontinuities. At the\nfunctional level, the OPE discontinuities are roughly half of the full result.\nUsing symbols they suffice to predict the full two loop result. We also present\nseveral new predictions for the heptagon result at any loop order.",
        "positive": "BRST cohomology for 2D gravity: The BRST cohomology group in the space of local functionals of the fields for\nthe two-dimensional conformally invariant gravity is calculated. All classical\nlocal actions (ghost number equal to zero) and all candidate anomalies are\ngiven and discussed for our model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Weighted Graph Theory Representation of Quantum Information Inspired by\n  Lie Algebras: Borrowing ideas from the relation between simply laced Lie algebras and\nDynkin diagrams, a weighted graph theory representation of quantum information\nis addressed. In this way, the density matrix of a quantum state can be\ninterpreted as a signless Laplacian matrix of an associated graph. Using\nsimilarities with root systems of simply laced Lie algebras, one-qubit theory\nis analyzed in some details and is found to be linked to a non-oriented\nweighted graph having two vertices. Moreover, this one-qubit theory is\ngeneralized to n-qubits. In this representation, quantum gates correspond to\ngraph weight operations preserving the probability condition. A speculation\nfrom string theory, via D-brane quivers, is also given.",
        "positive": "Magnetic discrete gauge field in the confining vacua and the\n  supersymmetric index: It has recently been argued that the confining vacua of Yang-Mills theory in\nthe far infrared can have topological degrees of freedom given by magnetic\n$\\mathbb{Z}_q$ gauge field, both in the non-supersymmetric case and in the N=1\nsupersymmetric case. In this short note we give another piece of evidence by\ncomputing and matching the supersymmetric index of the pure super Yang-Mills\ntheory both in the ultraviolet and in the infrared."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Global topological k-defects: We consider global topological defects in symmetry breaking models with a\nnon-canonical kinetic term. Apart from a mass parameter entering the potential,\none additional dimensional parameter arises in such models -- a ``kinetic''\nmass. The properties of defects in these models are quite different from\n``standard'' global domain walls, vortices and monopoles, if their kinetic mass\nscale is smaller than their symmetry breaking scale. In particular, depending\non the concrete form of the kinetic term, the typical size of such a defect can\nbe either much larger or much smaller than the size of a standard defect with\nthe same potential term. The characteristic mass of a non-standard defect,\nwhich might have been formed during a phase transition in the early universe,\ndepends on both the temperature of a phase transition and the kinetic mass.",
        "positive": "(2+1)-Gravity Solutions with Spinning Particles: We derive, in 2+1 dimensions, classical solutions for metric and motion of\ntwo or more spinning particles, in the conformal Coulomb gauge introduced\npreviously. The solutions are exact in the $N$-body static case, and are\nperturbative in the particles' velocities in the dynamic two-body case. A\nnatural boundary for the existence of our gauge choice is provided by some\n``CTC horizons'' encircling the particles, within which closed timelike curves\noccur."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Generalization of a result of Matsuo and Cherednik to the\n  Calogero-Sutherland- Moser integrable models with exchange terms: A few years ago, Matsuo and Cherednik proved that from some solutions of the\nKnizhnik-Zamolodchikov (KZ) equations, which first appeared in conformal field\ntheory, one can obtain wave functions for the Calogero integrable system. In\nthe present communication, it is shown that from some solutions of generalized\nKZ equations, one can construct wave functions, characterized by any given\npermutational symmetry, for some Calogero-Sutherland-Moser integrable models\nwith exchange terms. Such models include the spin generalizations of the\noriginal Calogero and Sutherland ones, as well as that with $\\delta$-function\ninteraction.",
        "positive": "Resummation of QED radiative corrections in a strong constant crossed\n  field: By considering radiative corrections of up to 3rd-loop order, Ritus and\nNarozhny conjectured that the proper expansion parameter for QED in a strong\nconstant crossed field is $g=\\alpha\\chi^{2/3}$, where the dynamical quantum\nparameter $\\chi=e\\sqrt{-(Fp)^2}/m^3$ combines the particle momentum $p$ with\nthe external field strength tensor $F$. Here we present and discuss the first\nnon-perturbative result in this context, the resummed bubble-type polarization\ncorrections to the electron self-energy in a constant crossed field. Our\nanalysis confirms the relevance of the scaling parameter $g$ to the enhancement\nof bubble-type radiative corrections. This parameter actually represents the\ncharacteristic value of the ratio of the 1-loop polarization bubble to the\nphoton virtuality. After an all-order resummation we identify and discuss two\ncontributions to the self-energy with different formation regions and\nasymptotic behavior for $g\\gg1$. Whereas the breakdown of perturbation theory\noccurs already for $g\\gtrsim1$, the leading-order result remains dominant until\nthe asymptotic regime $g\\gg 1$ is reached. However, the latter is specific to\nprocesses like elastic scattering or photon emission and does not have to\nremain true for general higher-order QED processes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetric Quantum Mechanics and Path Integrals: Supersymmetry plays a main role in all current thinking about superstring\ntheory. Indeed, many remarkable properties of string theory have been explained\nusing supersymmetry as a tool. In this dissertation, we review the basic\nformulation of supersymmetric quantum mechanics starting with introducing the\nconcepts of supercharges and superalgebra. We show that, if there is a\nsupersymmetric state, it is the zero-energy ground state. If such a state\nexists, the supersymmetry is unbroken otherwise it is broken. So far, there has\nbeen no unbroken supersymmetry observed in nature, and if nature is described\nby supersymmetry, it must be broken. In fact, supersymmetry may be broken\nspontaneously at any order of perturbation theory, or dynamically due to\nnon-perturbative effects. The goal of this dissertation is to study the methods\nof supersymmetry breaking. For this purpose, special attention is given to\ndiscuss the normalization of the ground state of the supersymmetric harmonic\noscillator. Then we explain that perturbation theory gives us incorrect results\nfor both the ground state wave function as well as the energy spectrum and it\nfails to give an explanation to the supersymmetry breaking. Later in the\ndissertation, a review of the uses of instantons in quantum mechanics is given.\nIn particular, instantons are used to compute the tunneling effects within the\npath integral approach to quantum mechanics. As a result, we give evidence that\nthe instantons, which are a non-perturbative effect in quantum mechanics and\ncan not be seen in perturbation theory, leads to calculate the corrections to\nthe ground state energy and provides a possible explanation for the\nsupersymmetry breaking.",
        "positive": "Classical double copy and higher-spin fields: Kerr-Schild double copy is shown to extend naturally to all free symmetric\ngauge fields propagating on $(A)dS$ in any dimension. Similarly to the standard\nlower-spin case, the higher-spin multicopy comes along with the zeroth, single,\nand double copies. The mass-like term of the Fronsdal spin $s$ field equations\nfixed by gauge symmetry and the mass of the zeroth copy both appear to be\nremarkably fine-tuned to fit the multicopy pattern forming a spectrum organized\nby higher-spin symmetry. On the black hole side this curious observation fills\nup the list of miraculous properties of the Kerr solution."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Magnetic and Electric Dipole Constraints on Extra Dimensions and\n  Magnetic Fluxes: The propagation of charged particles and gauge fields in a compact extra\ndimension contributes to $g-2$ of the charged particles. In addition, a\nmagnetic flux threading this extra dimension generates an electric dipole\nmoment for these particles. We present constraints on the compactification size\nand on the possible magnetic flux imposed by the comparison of data and theory\nof the magnetic moment of the muon and from limits on the electric dipole\nmoments of the muon, neutron and electron.",
        "positive": "Gravity is controlled by cosmological constant: We discuss a Randall-Sundrum-type two D-braneworld model in which D-branes\npossess different values of the tensions from those of the charges, and derive\nan effective gravitational equation on the branes. As a consequence, the\nEinstein-Maxwell theory is realized together with the non-zero cosmological\nconstant. Here an interesting point is that the effective gravitational\nconstant is proportional to the cosmological constant. If the distance between\ntwo D-branes is appropriately tuned, the cosmological constant can have a\nconsistent value with the current observations. From this result we see that,\nin our model, the presence of the cosmological constant is naturally explained\nby the presence of the effective gravitational coupling of the Maxwell field on\nthe D-brane."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Weyl-$\\mathrm{Z}_2$ semimetal from holography: We present effective field theories for the weakly coupled\nWeyl-$\\mathrm{Z}_2$ semimetal, as well as the holographic realization for the\nstrongly coupled case. In both cases, the anomalous systems have both the\nchiral anomaly and the $\\mathrm{Z}_2$ anomaly and possess topological quantum\nphase transitions from the Weyl-$\\mathrm{Z}_2$ semimetal phases to partly or\nfully topological trivial phases. We find that the topological phase transition\nis characterized by the anomalous transport parameters, i.e. the anomalous Hall\nconductivity and the $\\mathrm{Z}_2$ anomalous Hall conductivity. These two\nparameters are nonzero at the Weyl-$\\mathrm{Z}_2$ semimetal phase and vanish at\nthe topologically trivial phases. In the holographic case, the different\nbehavior between the two anomalous transport coefficients is discussed. Our\nwork reveals the novel phase structure of strongly interacting\nWeyl-$\\mathrm{Z}_2$ semimetal with two pairs of nodes.",
        "positive": "Dimensionality as a Perturbation Parameter in the Generalized Hydrogen\n  Atom: A recent suggestion has been made that the hydrogen bound state spectrum\nshould not depend on the number of spatial dimensions. It is pointed out here\nthat the uncertainty principle implies that such differences must exist and\nthat a perturbation expansion in the dimensionality parameter yields a precise\nquantitative confirmation of the effect."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "N=4 Supersymmetric Landau Models: We present the first example of super Landau model with both N=4 worldline\nsupersymmetry and non-trivial target space supersymmetry ISU(2|2). The model\nalso reveals a hidden second N=4 supersymmetry which, together with the\nmanifest one, close on a worldline SU(2|2). We start from an off-shell action\nin bi-harmonic N=4, d=1 superspace and come to the component action with four\nbosonic and four fermionic fields. Its bosonic core is the action of\ngeneralized U(1) Landau model on R^4 considered some time ago by Elvang and\nPolchinski. At each Landau level N>0 the wave functions are shown to form\n\"atypical\" (2N + 2N)-dimensional multiplets of the worldline supergroup\nSU(2|2). Some states have negative norms, but this trouble can be evaded by\nredefining the inner product, like in other super Landau models. We promote the\naction to the most general form compatible with off-shell N=4 worldline\nsupersymmetry and find the corresponding background U(1) gauge field to be\ngeneric self-dual on R^4 and the target superspace metric to remain flat.",
        "positive": "The $O(N)$ Model in $4<d<6$: Instantons and Complex CFTs: We revisit the scalar $O(N)$ model in the dimension range $4<d<6$ and study\nthe effects caused by its metastability. As shown in previous work, this model\nformally possesses a fixed point where, perturbatively in the $1/N$ expansion,\nthe operator scaling dimensions are real and above the unitarity bound. Here,\nwe further show that these scaling dimensions do acquire small imaginary parts\ndue to the instanton effects. In $d$ dimensions and for large $N$, we find that\nthey are of order $e^{-N f(d)}$, where, remarkably, the function $f(d)$ equals\nthe sphere free energy of a conformal scalar in $d-2$ dimensions. The\nnon-perturbatively small imaginary parts also appear in other observables, such\nas the sphere free energy and two and three-point function coefficients, and we\npresent some of their calculations. Therefore, at sufficiently large $N$, the\n$O(N)$ models in $4<d<6$ may be thought of as complex CFTs. When $N$ is large\nenough for the imaginary parts to be numerically negligible, the\nfive-dimensional $O(N)$ models may be studied using the techniques of numerical\nbootstrap."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauge/gravity correspondence in accelerating universe: We discuss time-dependent backgrounds of type IIB supergravity realizing\ngravitation duals of gauge theories formulated in de Sitter space-time as a\ntool of embedding de Sitter in a supergravity. We show that only the\ngravitational duals to non-conformal gauge theories are sensitive to a specific\nvalue of a Hubble parameter. We consider two nontrivial solutions of this type:\na gravity dual to six-dimensional (1,1) little string theory, and to a\nfour-dimensional cascading SU(N+M)xSU(N) supersymmetric gauge theory (related\nto fractional D3-branes on a singular conifold according to Klebanov et al), in\naccelerating universe. In both cases we argue that the IR singularity of the\ngeometry is regulated by the expansion of the gauge theory background\nspace-time.",
        "positive": "Magnetic field in holographic superconductor with dark matter sector: Based on the analytical technique the effect of the static magnetic field on\nthe s-wave holographic superconductor with dark matter sector of U(1)-gauge\nfield type coupled to the Maxwell field has been examined. In the probe limit,\nwe obtained the mean value of the condensation operator. The nature of the\ncondensate in an external magnetic field as well as the behaviour of the\ncritical field close to the transition temperature has been revealed. The\nobtained upturn of the critical field curves as a function of temperature, both\nin four and five spacetime dimensions, is a fingerprint of the strong coupling\napproach."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Comment on Duality Transformations and (Discrete) Gauge Symmetries in\n  Four-Dimensional Strings: We discuss the relationship between target space modular invariance and\ndiscrete gauge symmetries in four-dimensional orbifold-like strings. First we\nderive the modular transformation properties of various string vertex operators\nof the massless string fields. Then we find that for supersymmetric\ncompactifications the action of the duality elements, leaving invariant the\nmulticritical points, corresponds to a combination of finite K\\\"ahler and gauge\ntransformations. However, those finite gauge transformations are not elements\nof a remnant discrete gauge symmetry. We suggest that, at least in the case of\nGepner models corresponding to tensor products of identical minimal models, the\nduality element leaving invariant the multicritical point corresponds to the\n${\\bf Z}_{k+2}$ symmetry of any of the minimal $N=2$ models appearing in the\ntensor product.",
        "positive": "Decoherence delays false vacuum decay: We show that gravitational interactions between massless thermal modes and a\nnucleating Coleman-de Luccia bubble may lead to efficient decoherence and\nstrongly suppress metastable vacuum decay for bubbles that are small compared\nto the Hubble radius. The vacuum decay rate including gravity and thermal\nphoton interactions has the exponential scaling $\\Gamma\\sim\\Gamma_{CDL}^{2}$,\nwhere $\\Gamma_{CDL}$ is the Coleman-de Luccia decay rate neglecting photon\ninteractions. For the lowest metastable initial state an efficient quantum Zeno\neffect occurs due to thermal radiation of temperatures as low as the de Sitter\ntemperature. This strong decoherence effect is a consequence of gravitational\ninteractions with light external mode. We argue that efficient decoherence does\nnot occur for the case of Hawking-Moss decay. This observation is consistent\nwith requirements set by Poincare recurrence in de Sitter space."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Multi-fractional instantons in $SU(N)$ Yang-Mills theory on the twisted\n  $\\mathbb T^4$: We construct analytical self-dual Yang-Mills fractional instanton solutions\non a four-torus $\\mathbb{T}^4$ with 't Hooft twisted boundary conditions. These\ninstantons possess topological charge $Q=\\frac{r}{N}$, where $1\\leq r< N$. To\nimplement the twist, we employ $SU(N)$ transition functions that satisfy\nperiodicity conditions up to center elements and are embedded into $SU(k)\\times\nSU(\\ell)\\times U(1)\\subset SU(N)$, where $\\ell+k=N$. The self-duality\nrequirement imposes a condition, $k L_1L_2=r\\ell L_3L_4$, on the lengths of the\nperiods of $\\mathbb{T}^4$ and yields solutions with abelian field strengths.\nHowever, by introducing a detuning parameter $\\Delta\\equiv (r\\ell L_3L_4-k L_1\nL_2)/\\sqrt{L_1 L_2L_3L_4}$, we generate self-dual nonabelian solutions on a\ngeneral $\\mathbb{T}^4$ as an expansion in powers of $\\Delta$. We explore the\nmoduli spaces associated with these solutions and find that they exhibit\nintricate structures. Solutions with topological charges greater than\n$\\frac{1}{N}$ and $k\\neq r $ possess non-compact moduli spaces, along which the\n$O(\\Delta)$ gauge-invariant densities exhibit runaway behavior. On the other\nhand, solutions with $Q=\\frac{r}{N}$ and $k=r$ have compact moduli spaces,\nwhose coordinates correspond to the allowed holonomies in the $SU(r)$ color\nspace. These solutions can be represented as a sum over $r$ lumps centered\naround the $r$ distinct holonomies, thus resembling a liquid of instantons. In\naddition, we show that each lump supports $2$ adjoint fermion zero modes.",
        "positive": "Braneworld Effective Field Theories--Holography, Consistency and\n  Conformal Effects: Braneworld theories are often described as low-energy effective field\ntheories (EFTs) featuring an infinitely thin 3-brane and 4D fields exactly\nlocalized on it. We investigate whether an exactly localized braneworld can\narise as a limit of a theory of 5D fields. Using a holographic formalism we\nargue that such limit does not exist in the presence of gravity, therefore\nimplying a discontinuity in the space of EFTs. We then present specific models\ninvolving exactly localized fields in which inconsistencies appear, which are\nsolved when fields are taken as quasilocalized. Part of our arguments rely on\nconjectures from the \"swampland\" program. Our investigation motivates\nbraneworld EFTs built from 5D fields, i.e. quasilocalized braneworlds.\nObservable effects from quasilocalization are significant for warped\nbraneworlds such as Randall-Sundrum II (RSII), and are reminiscent of a\nconformal hidden sector. Focusing on the gauge-gravity sector we show that\nmanifestations of the quasilocalized warped braneworld include i) an anomalous\nrunning of SM gauge couplings ii) a conformal contribution to SM gauge boson\nscattering induced by 5D gravity. Constraining these effects puts an upper\nbound on the 5D EFT cutoff, implying that the warped braneworld hypothesis\ncould---at least in principle---be tested completely."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Four point function of $\\mathcal{N}=4$ stress-tensor multiplet at strong\n  coupling: In this short note we use the flat space limit and the relation between the\n4-pt correlation function of the bottom and top components of the stress tensor\nmultiplet to constraint its stringy corrections at strong coupling in the\nplanar limit. Then we use this four point function to compute corrections to\nthe anomalous dimension of double trace operators of the Lagrangian density and\nto compute energy-energy correlators at strong coupling.",
        "positive": "From Noncommutative Sphere to Nonrelativistic Spin: Reparametrization invariant dynamics on a sphere, being parameterized by\nangular momentum coordinates, represents an example of noncommutative theory.\nIt can be quantized according to Berezin-Marinov prescription, replacing the\ncoordinates by Pauli matrices. Following the scheme, we present two\nsemiclassical models for description of spin without use of Grassman variables.\nThe first model implies Pauli equation upon the canonical quantization. The\nsecond model produces nonrelativistic limit of the Dirac equation implying\ncorrect value for the electron spin magnetic moment."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Nonlocality, Self-Adjointness and Theta-Vacuum in Quantum Field Theory\n  in Spaces with Nontrivial Topology: We consider an analogue of the Aharonov-Bohm effect in quantum field theory:\nthe fermionic vacuum attains nontrivial quantum numbers in the background of a\nmagnetic vortex even in the case when the spatial region of nonvanishing\nexternal field strength is excluded. The dependence of the vacuum quantum\nnumbers on the value of the vortex flux and the choice of the condition on the\nboundary of the excluded region is determined.",
        "positive": "Generalized non-minimal couplings in Randall-Sundrum scenarios: The Geometrical Localization mechanism in Randall-sundrum (RS) scenarios is\nextended by considering the coupling between a quadratic mass term and\ngeometrical tensors. Since the quadratic term is symmetric, tensors with two\nsymmetric indices have to be taken into account. These are the Ricci and the\nEinstein tensors. For the Ricci tensor it is shown that a localized zero mode\nexists while that is not possible for the Einstein tensor. It is already known\nthat the Ricci scalar generates a localized solution but the metrics do not.\nTherefore, it can be conclude that divergenceless tensors do not localize the\nzero mode of gauge fields. The result is valid for any warp factor recovering\nthe RS metrics at the boundaries, and therefore is valid for RS I and II\nmodels. We also compute resonances for all couplings. These are calculated\nusing the transfer matrix method. The cases studied consider the standard RS\nwith delta-like branes, and branes generated by kinks and domain-wall as well.\nThe parameters are changed to control the thickness of the smooth brane. We\nfind that, for all cases considered, geometrical coupling does not generate\nresonances. This enforces similar results for the coupling with the Ricci\nscalar and points to the existence of some unidentified fundamental structure\nof these couplings."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-Abelian Berry Phase, Instantons and N=(0,4) Supersymmetry: In supersymmetric quantum mechanics, the non-Abelian Berry phase is known to\nobey certain differential equations. Here we study N=(0,4) systems and show\nthat the non-Abelian Berry connection over R^{4n} satisfies a generalization of\nthe self-dual Yang-Mills equations. Upon dimensional reduction, these become\nthe tt* equations. We further study the Berry connection in N=(4,4) theories\nand show that the curvature is covariantly constant.",
        "positive": "Evolving center-vortex loops: We consider coarse-graining applied to nonselfintersecting planar\ncenter-vortex loops as they emerge in the confining phase of an SU(2)\nYang-Mills theory. Well-established properties of planar curve-shrinking\npredict that a suitably defined, geometric effective action exhibits\n(mean-field) critical behavior when the conformal limit of circular points is\nreached. This suggests the existence of an asymptotic mass gap. We demonstrate\nthat the initially sharp mean center-of-mass position in a given ensemble of\ncurves develops a variance under the flow as is the case for a position\neigenstate in free-particle quantum mechanics under unitary time evolution. A\npossible application of these concepts is an approach to high-$T_c$\nsuperconductivity based (a) on the nonlocal nature of the electron (1-fold\nselfintersecting center-vortex loop) and (b) on planar curve-shrinking flow\nrepresenting the decrease in thermal noise in a cooling cuprate."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "2D quantum gravity at three loops: a counterterm investigation: We analyse the divergences of the three-loop partition function at fixed area\nin 2D quantum gravity. Considering the Liouville action in the Kahler\nformalism, we extract the coefficient of the leading divergence in $\\sim\nA\\Lambda^2 (\\ln A\\Lambda^2)^2$. This coefficient is non-vanishing. We discuss\nthe counterterms one can and must add and compute their precise contribution to\nthe partition function. This allows us to conclude that every local and\nnon-local divergence in the partition function can be balanced by local\ncounterterms, with the only exception of the maximally non-local divergence\n$(\\ln A\\Lambda^2)^3$. Yet, this latter is computed and does cancel between the\ndifferent three-loop diagrams. Thus, requiring locality of the counterterms is\nenough to renormalize the partition function. Finally, the structure of the new\ncounterterms strongly suggests that they can be understood as a renormalization\nof the measure action.",
        "positive": "Yang-Mills theory from the worldsheet: We give a new description of classical Yang-Mills theory by coupling a\ntwo-dimensional chiral CFT (which gives the tree-level S-matrix of Yang-Mills\ntheory at genus zero) to a background non-abelian gauge field. The resulting\nmodel is solvable, and when the gravitational degrees of freedom are decoupled\nthe non-linear Yang-Mills equations are imposed as an exact worldsheet anomaly\ncancellation condition. When gravitational modes are reinstated, we find gauge\nanomalies analogous to those appearing in heterotic string theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-Abelian Stokes Theorem for Wilson Loops Associated with General\n  Gauge Groups: A formula constituting the non-Abelian Stokes theorem for general semi-simple\ncompact gauge groups is presented. The formula involves a path integral over a\ngroup space and is applicable to Wilson loop variables irrespective of the\ntopology of loops. Some simple expressions analogous to the 't Hooft tensor of\na magnetic monopole are given for the 2-form of interest. A special property in\nthe case of the fundamental representation of the group SU(N) is pointed out.",
        "positive": "Quasi-Exact Solvability in Local Field Theory. First Steps: The quantum mechanical concept of quasi-exact solvability is based on the\nidea of partial algebraizability of spectral problem. This concept is not\ndirectly extendable to the systems with infinite number of degrees of freedom.\nFor such systems a new concept based on the partial Bethe Ansatz solvability is\nproposed. In present paper we demonstrate the constructivity of this concept\nand formulate a simple method for building quasi-exactly solvable field\ntheoretical models on a one-dimensional lattice. The method automatically leads\nto local models described by hermitian hamiltonians."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Flux Parameter Spaces in Type II Vacua: We study the flux parameter spaces for semi-realistic supersymmetric\nPati-Salam models in the AdS vacua on Type IIA orientifold and realistic\nsupersymmetric Pati-Salam models in the Minkowski vacua on Type IIB\norientifold. Because the fluxes can be very large, we show explicitly that\nthere indeed exists a huge number of semi-realistic Type IIA and realistic Type\nIIB flux models. In the Type IIA flux models, in the very large flux limit, the\ntheory can become weakly coupled and the AdS vacua can approach to the\nMinkowski vacua. In a series of realistic Type IIB flux models, at the string\nscale, the gauge symmetry can be broken down to the Standard Model (SM) gauge\nsymmetry, the gauge coupling unification can be achieved naturally, all the\nextra chiral exotic particles can be decoupled, and the observed SM fermion\nmasses and mixings can be obtained as well. In particular, the real parts of\nthe dilaton, K\\\"ahler moduli, and the unified gauge coupling are independent of\nthe very large fluxes. The very large fluxes only affect the real and/or\nimaginary parts of the complex structure moduli, and/or the imaginary parts of\nthe dilaton and K\\\"ahler moduli. However, these semi-realistic Type IIA and\nrealistic Type IIB flux models can not be populated in the string landscape.",
        "positive": "A Novel Symmetry in Sigma Models: A class of non-linear sigma models possessing a new symmetry is identified.\nThe same symmetry is also present in Chern-Simons theories. This hints at a\npossible topological origin for this class of sigma models. The non-linear\nsigma models obtained by non-Abelian duality are a particular case in this\nclass."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Semiclassical Description of Relativistic Spin without use of Grassmann\n  variables and the Dirac equation: We propose a relativistic particle model without Grassmann variables which,\nbeing canonically quantized, leads to the Dirac equation. Both\n$\\Gamma$\\,-matrices and the relativistic spin tensor are produced through the\ncanonical quantization of the classical variables which parametrize the\nproperly constructed relativistic spin surface. Although there is no mass-shell\nconstraint in our model, our particle's speed cannot exceed the speed of light.\nThe classical dynamics of the model is in correspondence with the dynamics of\nmean values of the corresponding operators in the Dirac theory. In particular,\nthe position variable experiences {\\it Zitterbewegung} in noninteracting\ntheory. The classical equations for the spin tensor are the same as those of\nthe Barut-Zanghi model of a spinning particle.",
        "positive": "The double scaled limit of Super--Symmetric SYK models: We compute the exact density of states and 2-point function of the\n$\\mathcal{N} =2$ super-symmetric SYK model in the large $N$ double-scaled\nlimit, by using combinatorial tools that relate the moments of the distribution\nto sums over oriented chord diagrams. In particular we show how SUSY is\nrealized on the (highly degenerate) Hilbert space of chords. We further\ncalculate analytically the number of ground states of the model in each charge\nsector at finite $N$, and compare it to the results from the double-scaled\nlimit. Our results reduce to the super-Schwarzian action in the low energy\nshort interaction length limit. They imply that the conformal ansatz of the\n2-point function is inconsistent due to the large number of ground states, and\nwe show how to add this contribution. We also discuss the relation of the model\nto $SL_q(2|1)$. For completeness we present an overview of the $\\mathcal{N}=1$\nsuper-symmetric SYK model in the large $N$ double-scaled limit."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fivebrane instantons and higher derivative couplings in type I theory: We express the infinite sum of D-fivebrane instanton corrections to ${\\cal\nR}^2$ couplings in ${\\cal N}=4$ type I string vacua, in terms of an elliptic\nindex counting 1/2-BPS excitations in the effective $Sp(N)$ brane theory. We\ncompute the index explicitly in the infrared, where the effective theory is\nargued to flow to an orbifold CFT. The form of the instanton sum agrees\ncompletely with the predicted formula from a dual one-loop computation in type\nIIA theory on $K3\\times T^2$. The proposed CFT provides a proper description of\nthe whole spectrum of masses, charges and multiplicities for 1/2- and 1/4- BPS\nstates, associated to bound states of D5-branes and KK momenta. These results\nare applied to show how fivebrane instanton sums, entering higher derivative\ncouplings which are sensitive to 1/4-BPS contributions, also match the\nperturbative results in the dual type IIA theory.",
        "positive": "Higher Spin Theories in AdS_3 and a Gravitational Exclusion Principle: We consider theories of three dimensional quantum gravity in Anti-de Sitter\nspace which possess massless higher-spin gauge symmetry. The perturbative\nspectrum of the theory includes higher spin excitations which can be organized\ninto vacuum representations of the W_N algebra; these are higher spin versions\nof the boundary gravitons. We describe a fundamental bound which relates the\nvalue of the cosmological constant to the amount of gauge symmetry present. In\nthe dual CFT language, this is the statement that modular invariance implies\nthat the theory can not be quantized unless the central charge is sufficiently\nlarge, i.e. if c is greater than or equal to N-1. This bound relies on the\nassumption that all of the perturbative excitations exist as full states in the\nquantum theory, and can be circumvented if the theory possesses a linearization\ninstability. The W_N minimal models -- recently conjectured to be dual to\ncertain higher spin AdS theories by Gaberdiel and Gopakumar - provide an\nexample of this phenomenon. This result can be regarded as an example of a\n\"gravitational exclusion principle\" in Anti-de Sitter space, where a\nnon-perturbative quantum gravity mechanism involving black holes places a limit\non the number of light degrees of freedom present."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dual BRST symmetry for QED: We show the existence of a co(dual)-BRST symmetry for the usual BRST\ninvariant Lagrangian density of an Abelian gauge theory in two dimensions of\nspace-time where a U(1) gauge field is coupled to the Noether conserved current\n(constructed by the Dirac fields). Under this new symmetry, it is the\ngauge-fixing term that remains invariant and the symmetry transformations on\nthe Dirac fields are analogous to the chiral transformations. This interacting\ntheory is shown to provide a tractable field theoretical model for the Hodge\ntheory. The Hodge dual operation is shown to correspond to a discrete symmetry\nin the theory and the extended BRST algebra for the generators of the\nunderlying symmetries turns out to be reminiscent of the algebra obeyed by the\nde Rham cohomology operators of differential geometry.",
        "positive": "Modular Invariance, Finiteness, and Misaligned Supersymmetry: New\n  Constraints on the Numbers of Physical String States: We investigate the generic distribution of bosonic and fermionic states at\nall mass levels in non-supersymmetric string theories, and find that a hidden\n``misaligned supersymmetry'' must always appear in the string spectrum. We show\nthat this misaligned supersymmetry is ultimately responsible for the finiteness\nof string amplitudes in the absence of full spacetime supersymmetry, and\ntherefore the existence of misaligned supersymmetry provides a natural\nconstraint on the degree to which spacetime supersymmetry can be broken in\nstring theory without destroying the finiteness of string amplitudes.\nMisaligned supersymmetry also explains how the requirements of modular\ninvariance and absence of physical tachyons generically affect the distribution\nof states throughout the string spectrum, and implicitly furnishes a\ntwo-variable generalization of some well-known results in the theory of modular\nfunctions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Scaling Properties of the Ising Model in a Field: The dilute A_3 model is a solvable IRF (interaction-round-a-face) model with\nthree local states and adjacency conditions encoded by the Dynkin diagram of\nthe Lie algebra A_3. It can be regarded as a solvable version of a critical\nIsing model in a magnetic field. One therefore expects the scaling limit to be\ngoverned by Zamolodchikov's integrable perturbation of the c=1/2 conformal\nfield theory. We perform a detailed numerical investigation of the solutions of\nthe Bethe ansatz equation for the off-critical model. Our results agree\nperfectly with the predicted values for the lowest masses of the stable\nparticles and support the assumptions on the nature of the Bethe ansatz\nsolutions which enter crucially in a recent thermodynamic Bethe ansatz\ncalculation of the factorized scattering matrix.",
        "positive": "Chiral Fermions and the Standard Model from the Matrix Model\n  Compactified on a Torus: It is shown that the IIB matrix model compactified on a six-dimensional torus\nwith a nontrivial topology can provide chiral fermions and matter content close\nto the standard model on our four-dimensional spacetime. In particular,\ngeneration number three is given by the Dirac index on the torus."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "All the supersymmetric solutions of N=1,d=5 ungauged supergravity: We classify the supersymmetric solutions of ungauged N=1 d=5 SUGRA coupled to\nvector multiplets and hypermultiplets. All the solutions can be seen as\ndeformations of solutions with frozen hyperscalars. We show explicitly how the\n5-dimensional Reissner-Nordstrom black hole is deformed when hyperscalars are\nliving on SO(4,1)/SO(4) are turned on, reducing its supersymmetry from 1/2 to\n1/8. We also describe in the timelike and null cases the solutions that have\none extra isometry and can be reduced to N=2,d=4 solutions. Our formulae allows\nthe uplifting of certain N=2,d=4 black holes to N=1,d=5 black holes on KK\nmonopoles or to pp-waves propagating along black strings.",
        "positive": "Self-duality of Born-Infeld action and Dirichlet 3-brane of type IIB\n  superstring theory: D-brane actions depend on a world-volume abelian vector field and are\ndescribed by Born-Infeld-type actions. We consider the vector field duality\ntransformations of these actions. Like the usual 2d scalar duality rotations of\nisometric string coordinates imply target space T-duality, this vector duality\nis intimately connected with SL(2,Z)-symmetry of type IIB superstring theory.\nWe find that in parallel with generalised 4-dimensional Born-Infeld action, the\naction of 3-brane of type IIB theory is SL(2,Z) self-dual. This indicates that\n3-brane should play a special role in type IIB theory and also suggests a\npossibility of its 12-dimensional reformulation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hilbert space of Quantum Field Theory in de Sitter spacetime: We study the decomposition of the Hilbert space of quantum field theory in\n$(d+1)$ dimensional de Sitter spacetime into Unitary Irreducible\nRepresentations (UIRs) of its isometry group \\SO$(1,d+1)$. Firstly, we consider\nmulti-particle states in free theories starting from the tensor product of\nsingle-particle UIRs. Secondly, we study conformal multiplets of a bulk\nConformal Field Theory with symmetry group \\SO$(2,d+1)$. Our main tools are the\nHarish-Chandra characters and the numerical diagonalization of the (truncated)\nquadratic Casimir of \\SO$(1,d+1)$. We introduce a continuous density that\nencodes the spectrum of irreducible representations contained in a reducible\none of $\\SO(1,d+1)$. Our results are complete for $d=1$ and $d=2$. In higher\ndimensions, we rederive and extend several results previously known in the\nliterature. Our work provides the foundation for future nonperturbative\nbootstrap studies of Quantum Field Theory in de Sitter spacetime.",
        "positive": "Implications of Target Space Duality: Based on the assumption that the target space duality ($T\\to 1/T$) is\npreserved even nonperturbatively, the properties of static string vacua are\nstudied. A discussion of the effective four-dimensional supergravity action\nbased on target-space modular symmetry $SL(2,{\\bf Z})$ is presented. The\nnonperturbative superpotential removes the vacuum degeneracy with respect to\nthe compactification modulus ($T$) generically breaks supersymmetry with\nnegative cosmological constant. Charged matter fields get negative $(mass)^2$\nsignalling an additional instability of string vacuum and the blowing up of\norbifold singularities. In addition for a class of modularly invariant\npotentials topologically stable stringy domain walls of nontrivial compaction\nmodulus field configuration are found. They are supersymmetric solutions, thus\nsaturating the Bogomolnyi bound. Their physical implications are discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Ghost story. II. The midpoint ghost vertex: We construct the ghost number 9 three strings vertex for OSFT in the natural\nnormal ordering. We find two versions, one with a ghost insertion at z=i and a\ntwist-conjugate one with insertion at z=-i. For this reason we call them\nmidpoint vertices. We show that the relevant Neumann matrices commute among\nthemselves and with the matrix $G$ representing the operator K1. We analyze the\nspectrum of the latter and find that beside a continuous spectrum there is a\n(so far ignored) discrete one. We are able to write spectral formulas for all\nthe Neumann matrices involved and clarify the important role of the integration\ncontour over the continuous spectrum. We then pass to examine the (ghost) wedge\nstates. We compute the discrete and continuous eigenvalues of the corresponding\nNeumann matrices and show that they satisfy the appropriate recursion\nrelations. Using these results we show that the formulas for our vertices\ncorrectly define the star product in that, starting from the data of two ghost\nnumber 0 wedge states, they allow us to reconstruct a ghost number 3 state\nwhich is the expected wedge state with the ghost insertion at the midpoint,\naccording to the star recursion relation.",
        "positive": "Partial spontaneous breaking of two-dimensional supersymmetry: We construct low-energy Goldstone superfield actions describing various\npatterns of the partial spontaneous breakdown of two-dimensional N=(1,1),\nN=(2,0) and N=(2,2) supersymmetries, with the main focus on the last case.\nThese nonlinear actions admit a representation in the superspace of the\nunbroken supersymmetry as well as in a superspace of the full supersymmetry.\nThe natural setup for implementing the partial breaking in a self-consistent\nway is provided by the appropriate central extensions of D=2 supersymmetries,\nwith the central charges generating shift symmetries on the Goldstone\nsuperfields. The Goldstone superfield actions can be interpreted as manifestly\nworld-sheet supersymmetric actions in the static gauge of some superstrings and\nD1-branes in D=3 and D=4 Minkowski spaces. As an essentially new example, we\nelaborate on the action representing the 1/4 partial breaking pattern N=(2,2)\n-> N=(1,0)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauge hierarchy from a topological viewpoint?: In this work we explore an alternative to the central point of the\nRandall-Sundrum brane world scenario, namely, the particular nonfactorizable\nmetric, in order to solve the hierarchy problem. From a topological viewpoint,\nwe show that the exponential factor, crucial in the Randall-Sundrum model,\nappears in our approach, only due to the brane existence instead of a special\nmetric background. Our results are based in a topological gravity theory via a\nnon-standard interaction between scalar and non-abelian degrees of freedom and\nin calculations about localized modes of matter fields on the brane. We point\nout that we obtain the same results of the Randall-Sundrum model using only one\n3-brane, since a specific choice of a background metric is no longer required.",
        "positive": "Gravitational Couplings on D-brane Revisited: Gravitational couplings in bulk space-time include those terms which are\nfixed by scattering amplitude of strings and ambiguous terms that are coming\nfrom the field redefinitions. These field redefinitions can be fixed in the\nbulk by ghost-free condition. In this paper we have revised the effective\ngravitational couplings on D-branes by including the field redefinitions. We\nfind the gravitational effective action up to $\\alpha'^2$-order."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Central charges of wrapped M5-brane backgrounds: We study the central charges of the supersymmetry algebra of branes in\nbackgrounds corresponding to wrapped M5-branes. In the case of M5-branes\nwrapping a holomorphic 2-cycle in two complex-dimensional space, we find this\nallows for a supersymmetric M5-brane probe which is related to the M2-brane\nprobe which describes the BPS spectra of the corresponding N=2 worldvolume\ngauge theory. For the case of M5-branes wrapping a holomorphic 2-cycle in three\ncomplex-dimensional space, we find that the central charges allow for a\nsupersymmetric M5-brane probe wrapping a Cayley calibrated 4-cycle, which has\nan intersecting BPS domain wall interpretation in the corresponding N=1 MQCD\ngauge theory. The domain wall is constructed explicitly as an M5-brane wrapping\nan associative 3-cycle. The tension is found to be the integral of a\ncalibrating form. These wrapped M5-brane backgrounds provide a clear and\ninteresting geometrical realisation of structure groups of M-theory vacua with\nfluxes.",
        "positive": "Neutrix Calculus and Finite Quantum Field Theory: In general, quantum field theories (QFT) require regularizations and infinite\nrenormalizations due to ultraviolet divergences in their loop calculations.\nFurthermore, perturbation series in theories like QED are not convergent\nseries, but are asymptotic series. We apply neutrix calculus, developed in\nconnection with asymptotic series and divergent integrals, to QFT,obtaining\nfinite renormalizations. While none of the physically measurable results in\nrenormalizable QFT is changed, quantum gravity is rendered more manageable in\nthe neutrix framework."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Representation of a gauge field via intrinsic \"BRST\" operator: We show that there exists a representation of a matrix valued gauge field via\nintrinsic \"BRST\" operator assigned to matrix valued generators of a gauge\nalgebra. In this way, we reproduce the standard formulation of the ordinary\nYang - Mills theory. In the case of a generating quasigroup/groupoid, we give a\nnatural counterpart to the Yang - Mills action. The latter counterpart does\nalso apply as to the most general case of an involution for matrix-valued gauge\ngenerators.",
        "positive": "Fermions Tunneling and Quantum Corrections for Quintessencial\n  Kerr-Newman-AdS Black Hole: This paper is devoted to study charged fermion particles tunneling through\nthe horizon of Kerr-Newman-AdS black hole surrounded by quintessence by using\nHamilton-Jacobi ansatz. In our analysis, we investigate Hawking temperature as\nwell as quantum corrected Hawking temperature on account of generalized\nuncertainty principle. Moreover, we discuss the effects of correction parameter\n$\\beta$ on the corrected Hawking temperature $T_{e-H}$, graphically. We\nconclude that the temperature $T_{e-H}$ vanishes when $\\beta=100$, whereas for\n$\\beta<100$ and $\\beta>100$, the temperature turns out to be positive and\nnegative, respectively. We observe that the graphs of $T_{e-H}$ w.r.t.\nquintessence parameter $\\alpha$ exhibit behavior only for the particular\nranges, i.e., $0<\\alpha<1/6$, charge $0<Q\\leq1$ and rotation parameter\n$0<a\\leq1$. For smaller and larger values of negative $\\Lambda$, as horizon\nincreases, the temperature decreases and increases, respectively."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauge Threshold Corrections for Local String Models: We study gauge threshold corrections for local brane models embedded in a\nlarge compact space. A large bulk volume gives important contributions to the\nKonishi and super-Weyl anomalies and the effective field theory analysis\nimplies the unification scale should be enhanced in a model-independent way\nfrom M_s to R M_s. For local D3/D3 models this result is supported by the\nexplicit string computations. In this case the scale R M_s comes from the\nnecessity of global cancellation of RR tadpoles sourced by the local model. We\nalso study D3/D7 models and discuss discrepancies with the effective field\ntheory analysis. We comment on phenomenological implications for gauge coupling\nunification and for the GUT scale.",
        "positive": "Born-Infeld electrodynamics in very special relativity: In this work we discuss the properties of a modified Born-Infeld\nelectrodynamics in the framework of very special relativity (VSR). This\nproposal allows us to study VSR mass effects in a gauge-invariant context of\nnonlinear electrodynamics. It is analyzed in detail the electrostatic solutions\nfor two different cases, as well as the VSR dispersion relations are found to\nbe of a \\emph{massive} particle with nonlinear modifications. Afterwards, the\nfield energy and static potential are computed, in the latter we find from the\nVSR contribution a novel long-range $1/L^3$ correction to the Coulomb\npotential, in contrast to the $1/L^5$ correction of the usual Born-Infeld\ntheory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Vacuum Structures of Supersymmetric Noncompact Gauge Theory: We consider models with a noncompact symmetry in the framework of\n$\\mathcal{N}=1$ supersymmetry. Contrary to the conventional approach, the\nnoncompact symmetry is realized linearly on all fields without constraints. The\nmodels are constructed using noncanonical K\\\"ahler function and gauge kinetic\nfunction, which is introduced for the local case. It is explained that the\nsymmetry needs to be spontaneously broken for the consistency of a model. We\nstudy the vacuum structures of two models with the noncompact symmetry SU(1,1)\nfor both global and local cases. One of them includes two fundamental\nrepresentations of the group and the other includes one adjoint representation.\nIt is shown that the former is consistent for the global case and the latter is\nconsistent for both the global and local cases.",
        "positive": "N=8 gaugings revisited: an exhaustive classification: In this paper we reconsider, for N=8 supergravity, the problem of gauging the\nmost general electric subgroup.\n  We show that admissible theories are fully characterized by a single\nalgebraic equation to be satisfied by the embedding of the gauge group G within\nthe electric subalgebra SL(8,\\IR) of E_{7(7)}. The complete set of solutions to\nthis equation contains 36 parameters. Modding by the action of SL(8,\\IR)\nconjugations that yield equivalent theories all continuous parameters are\neliminated except for an overall coupling constant and we obtain a discrete set\nof orbits. This set is in one--to--one correspondence with 36 Lie subalgebras\nof SL(8,\\IR), corresponding to all possible real forms of the SO(8) Lie algebra\nplus a set of contractions thereof. By means of our analysis we establish the\ntheorem that the N=8 gaugings constructed by Hull in the middle eighties\nconstitute the exhaustive set of models. As a corollary we show that there\nexists a unique 7--dimensional abelian gauging. The corresponding abelian\nalgebra is not contained in the maximal abelian ideal of the solvable Lie\nalgebra generating the scalar manifold E_{7(7)}/SU(8)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "O(N) Sigma Model as a Three Dimensional Conformal Field Theory: We study a three dimensional conformal field theory in terms of its partition\nfunction on arbitrary curved spaces. The large $N$ limit of the nonlinear sigma\nmodel at the non-trivial fixed point is shown to be an example of a conformal\nfield theory, using zeta--function regularization. We compute the critical\nproperties of this model in various spaces of constant curvature ($R^2 \\times\nS^1$, $S^1\\times S^1 \\times R$, $S^2\\times R$, $H^2\\times R$, $S^1 \\times S^1\n\\times S^1$ and $S^2 \\times S^1$) and we argue that what distinguishes the\ndifferent cases is not the Riemann curvature but the conformal class of the\nmetric. In the case $H^2\\times R$ (constant negative curvature), the $O(N)$\nsymmetry is spontaneously broken at the critical point. In the case $S^2\\times\nR$ (constant positive curvature) we find that the free energy vanishes,\nconsistent with conformal equivalence of this manifold to $R^3$, although the\ncorrelation length is finite. In the zero curvature cases, the correlation\nlength is finite due to finite size effects. These results describe two\ndimensional quantum phase transitions or three dimensional classical ones.",
        "positive": "Regularization of 2d supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory via non\n  commutative geometry: The non commutative geometry is a possible framework to regularize Quantum\nField Theory in a nonperturbative way. This idea is an extension of the lattice\napproximation by non commutativity that allows to preserve symmetries. The\nsupersymmetric version is also studied and more precisely in the case of the\nSchwinger model on supersphere [14]. This paper is a generalization of this\nlatter work to more general gauge groups."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Generalized Gaugino Condensation in Super Yang-Mills Theories: Discrete\n  R-Symmetries and Vacua: One can define generalized models of gaugino condensation as theories which\ndynamically break a discrete R-symmetry, but do not break supersymmetry. We\nconsider general examples consisting of gauge and matter fields, and the\nminimal number of gauge singlet fields to avoid flat directions in the\npotential. We explore which R-symmetries can arise, and their spontaneous\nbreaking. In general, we find that the discrete symmetry is\n$\\mathbb{Z}_{2b_0R}$ and the number of supersymmetric vacua is $b_0$, where\n$b_0$ is the coefficient of the one-loop beta function. Results are presented\nfor various groups, including $SU(N_c), SO(N_c), Sp(2N_c)$, and $G_2$, for\nvarious numbers of flavors, $N_f$, by several methods. This analysis can also\napply to the other exceptional groups, and thus all simple Lie groups. We also\ncomment on model building applications where a discrete R-symmetry, broken by\nthe singlet vevs, can account for $\\mu$-type terms and allow a realistic Higgs\nspectrum naturally.",
        "positive": "Relating chronology protection and unitarity through holography: We give a simple nonsupersymmetric example in which chronology protection\nfollows from unitarity and the AdS/CFT correspondence. We consider a ball of\nhomogeneous, rotating dust in global AdS3 whose backreaction produces a region\nof Goedel space inside the ball. We solve the Israel matching conditions to\nfind the geometry outside of the dust ball and compute its quantum numbers in\nthe dual CFT. When the radius of the dust ball exceeds a certain critical\nvalue, the spacetime will contain closed timelike curves. Our main observation\nis that precisely when this critical radius is exceeded, a unitarity bound in\nthe dual CFT is violated, leading to a holographic argument for chronology\nprotection."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Phase transition and Thermodynamical geometry of\n  Reissner-Nordstr\u00f6m-AdS Black Holes in Extended Phase Space: We study the thermodynamics and thermodynamic geometry of a five-dimensional\nReissner-Nordstr\\\"om-AdS black hole in the extended phase space by treating the\ncosmological constant as being related to the number of colors in the boundary\ngauge theory and its conjugate quantity as the associated chemical potential.\nIt is found that the contribution of the charge of the black hole to the\nchemical potential is always positive and the existence of charge make the\nchemical potential become positive more easily. We calculate the scalar\ncurvatures of the thermodynamical Weinhold metric, Ruppeiner metric and Quevedo\nmetric, respectively, in the fixed $N^2$ case and the fixed $q$ case. It is\nfound that in the fixed $N^2$ case the divergence of the scalar curvature is\nrelated to the divergence of the specific heat with fixed electric potential in\nthe Weinhold metric and Ruppeiner metric, and the divergence of the scalar\ncurvature in the Quevedo metric corresponds to the divergence of the specific\nheat with fixed electric charge density. In the fixed $q$ case, however, the\ndivergence of the scalar curvature is related to the divergence of the specific\nheat with fixed chemical potential in the Weinhold metric and Ruppeiner metric,\nwhile in the Quevedo metric the divergence of the scalar curvature corresponds\nto the divergence of the specific heat with fixed number of colors and the\nvanishing of the specific heat with fixed chemical potential.",
        "positive": "Minkowski$_4$ $\\times$ $S^2$ solutions of IIB supergravity: We classify $\\mathcal N = 2$ Minkowski$_4$ solutions of IIB supergravity with\nan $SU(2)_R$ symmetry geometrically realized by an $S^2$-foliation in the\nremaining six dimensions. For the various cases of the classification, we\nreduce the supersymmetric system of equations to PDEs. These cases often\naccommodate systems of intersecting branes and half-maximally supersymmetric\nAdS$_{5,6,7}$ solutions when they exist. As an example, we analyze the AdS$_6$\ncase in more detail, reducing the supersymmetry equations to a single\ncylindrical Laplace equation. We also recover an already known linear dilaton\nbackground dual to the $(1,1)$ Little String Theory (LST) living on NS5-branes,\nand we find a new Minkowski$_5$ linear dilaton solution from brane\nintersections. Finally, we also discuss some simple Minkowski$_4$ solutions\nbased on compact conformal Calabi-Yau manifolds."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Constructive use of holographic projections: Revisiting the old problem of existence of interacting models of QFT with new\nconceptual ideas and mathematical tools, one arrives at a novel view about the\nnature of QFT. The recent success of algebraic methods in establishing the\nexistence of factorizing models suggests new directions for a more intrinsic\nconstructive approach beyond Lagrangian quantization. Holographic projection as\na simplifying tool for certain aspects of QFT turn out to be an indispensible\npart of these new attempts.",
        "positive": "Comments on Observables for Identity-Based Marginal Solutions in\n  Berkovits' Superstring Field Theory: We construct an analytic solution for tachyon condensation around\nidentity-based marginal solutions in Berkovits' WZW-like open superstring field\ntheory. Using this, which is a kind of wedge-based solution, the gauge\ninvariant overlaps for the identity-based marginal solutions can be calculated\nanalytically. This is a straightforward extension of a method in bosonic string\nfield theory, which has been elaborated by the authors, to superstring. We also\ncomment on a gauge equivalence relation between the tachyon vacuum solution and\nits marginally deformed one. From this viewpoint, we can find the vacuum energy\nof the identity-based marginal solutions to be zero, which agrees with the\nprevious result as a consequence of $\\xi$ zero mode counting."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Anomaly Cancellation and Conformality in Quiver Gauge Theories: Abelian quiver gauge theories provide nonsupersymmetric candidates for the\nconformality approach to physics beyond the standard model. Written as ${\\cal\nN}=0$, $U(N)^n$ gauge theories, however, they have mixed $U(1)_p U(1)_q^2$ and\n$U(1)_p SU(N)_q^2$ triangle anomalies. It is shown how to construct explicitly\na compensatory term $\\Delta{\\cal L}_{comp}$ which restores gauge invariance of\n${\\cal L}_{eff} = {\\cal L} + \\Delta {\\cal L}_{comp}$ under $U(N)^n$. It can\nlead to a negative contribution to the U(1) $\\beta$-function and hence to\none-loop conformality at high energy for all dimensionless couplings.",
        "positive": "Conformal Field Theory and the Exact Solution of the BCS Hamiltonian: We propose a connection between conformal field theory (CFT) and the exact\nsolution and integrability of the reduced BCS model of superconductivity. The\nrelevant CFT is given by the $SU(2)_k$-WZW model in the singular limit when the\nlevel k goes to -2. This theory has to be perturbed by an operator proportional\nto the inverse of the BCS coupling constant. Using the free field realization\nof this perturbed Wess-Zumino-Witten model, we derive the exact Richardson's\nwave function and the integrals of motion of the reduced BCS model in the\nsaddle point approximation. The construction is reminiscent of the CFT approach\nto the Fractional Quantum Hall effect."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Boundary Ground Ring in Minimal String Theory: We obtain relations among boundary states in bosonic minimal open string\ntheory using the boundary ground ring. We also obtain a difference equation\nthat boundary correlators must satisfy.",
        "positive": "D-branes in T-fold conformal field theory: We investigate boundary dynamics of orbifold conformal field theory involving\nT-duality twists. Such models typically appear in contexts of non-geometric\nstring compactifications that are called monodrofolds or T-folds in recent\nliterature. We use the framework of boundary conformal field theory to analyse\nthe models from a microscopic world-sheet perspective. In these backgrounds\nthere are two kinds of D-branes that are analogous to bulk and fractional\nbranes in standard orbifold models. The bulk D-branes in T-folds allow\nintuitive geometrical interpretations and are consistent with the classical\nanalysis based on the doubled torus formalism. The fractional branes, on the\nother hand, are `non-geometric' at any point in the moduli space and their\ngeometric counterparts seem to be missing in the doubled torus analysis. We\ncompute cylinder amplitudes between the bulk and fractional branes, and find\nthat the lightest modes of the open string spectra show intriguing non-linear\ndependence on the moduli (location of the brane or value of the Wilson line),\nsuggesting that the physics of T-folds, when D-branes are involved, could\ndeviate from geometric backgrounds even at low energies. We also extend our\nanalysis to the models with SU(2) WZW fibre at arbitrary levels."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the uniqueness and global dynamics of AdS spacetimes: We study global aspects of complete, non-singular asymptotically locally AdS\nspacetimes solving the vacuum Einstein equations whose conformal infinity is an\narbitrary globally stationary spacetime. It is proved that any such solution\nwhich is asymptotically stationary to the past and future is itself globally\nstationary.\n  This gives certain rigidity or uniqueness results for exact AdS and related\nspacetimes.",
        "positive": "Creation of Kink and Antikink Pairs Forced By Radiation: The interaction between kink and radiation in nonlinear one-dimensional real\nscalar field is investigated. The process of discrete vibrational mode\nexcitation in $\\phi^4$ model is considered. The role of this oscillations in\ncreation of kink and antikink is discussed. Numerical results are presented as\nwell as some attempts of analytical explanations. An intriguing fractal\nstructure in parameter space dividing regions with creation and without is also\npresented."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A gerbe obstruction to quantization of fermions on odd dimensional\n  manifolds with boundary: We consider the canonical quantization of fermions on an odd dimensional\nmanifold with boundary, with respect to a family of elliptic hermitean boundary\nconditions for the Dirac hamiltonian. We show that there is a topological\nobstruction to a smooth quantization as a function of the boundary conditions.\nThe obstruction is given in terms of a gerbe and its Dixmier-Douady class is\nevaluated.",
        "positive": "The role of higher derivative bulk scalar in stabilizing a warped\n  spacetime: The backreaction on the Randall-Sundrum warped spacetime is determined in\npresence of scalar field in the bulk. A general analysis shows that the\nstability of such a model can be achieved only if the scalar field action has\nnon-canonical higher derivative terms. It is further shown that the gauge\nhierarchy problem can be resolved in such a stabilized scenario by appropriate\nchoice of various parameters of the theory. The effective cosmological constant\non the brane is shown to vanish."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On unitary subsectors of polycritical gravities: We study higher-derivative gravity theories in arbitrary space-time dimension\nd with a cosmological constant at their maximally critical points where the\nmasses of all linearized perturbations vanish. These theories have been\nconjectured to be dual to logarithmic conformal field theories in the\n(d-1)-dimensional boundary of an AdS solution. We determine the structure of\nthe linearized perturbations and their boundary fall-off behaviour. The\nlinearized modes exhibit the expected Jordan block structure and their inner\nproducts are shown to be those of a non-unitary theory. We demonstrate the\nexistence of consistent unitary truncations of the polycritical gravity theory\nat the linearized level for odd rank.",
        "positive": "Black hole solutions in the warped DGP braneworld: We study the static, analytical solution of black holes in the warped DGP\nbraneworld scenario. We show that the linearized field equations and matching\nconditions lead to solutions that are not compatible with\nSchwarzschild-(A)dS$_{(4)}$ solutions on the brane. This incompatibility is\nsimilar to vDVZ discontinuity in massive gravity theory. Following the standard\nprocedure to remove this discontinuity, which firstly was proposed by\nVainshtein, we keep some appropriate nonlinear terms in the field equations.\nThis strategy has its origin in the fact that the spatial extrinsic curvature\nof the brane plays a crucial role in the nonlinear nature of the solutions and\nalso in recovering the well-measured predictions of General Relativity (GR) at\nsmall scales. Using this feature, we obtained an interesting black string\nsolution in the bulk when it is compatible with 4D GR solutions on the brane."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Asymptotic Solutions to the Knizhnik-Zamolodchikov Equation and Crystal\n  Base: The Knizhnik-Zamolodchikov equation associated with $s\\ell_2$ is considered.\nThe transition functions between asymptotic solutions to the\nKnizhnik-Zamolodchikov equation are described. A connection between asymptotic\nsolutions and the crystal base in the tensor product of modules over the\nquantum group $U_qs\\ell_2$ is established, in particular, a correspondence\nbetween the Bethe vectors of the Gaudin model of an inhomogenious magnetic\nchain and the $\\Bbb Q-$basis of the crystal base.",
        "positive": "Small parameters in infrared quantum chromodynamics: We study the long-distance properties of quantum chromodynamics in an\nexpansion in powers of the three-gluon, four-gluon, and ghost-gluon couplings,\nbut without expanding in the quark-gluon coupling. This is motivated by two\nobservations. First, the gauge sector is well-described by perturbation theory\nin the context of a phenomenological model with a massive gluon. Second, the\nquark-gluon coupling is significantly larger than those in the gauge sector at\nlarge distances. In order to resum the contributions of the remaining infinite\nset of QED-like diagrams, we further expand the theory in $1/N_c$, where $N_c$\nis the number of colors. At leading order, this double expansion leads to the\nwell-known rainbow approximation for the quark propagator. We take advantage of\nthe systematic expansion to get a renormalization-group improvement of the\nrainbow resummation. A simple numerical solution of the resulting coupled set\nof equations reproduces the phenomenology of the spontaneous chiral symmetry\nbreaking: for sufficiently large quark-gluon coupling constant, the constituent\nquark mass saturates when its valence mass approaches zero. We find very good\nagreement with lattice data for the scalar part of the propagator and explain\nwhy the vectorial part is poorly reproduced."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Structures of General Relativity in Dilaton-Maxwell Electrodynamics: It is shown that electro (magneto) static sector of Maxwell's electrodynamics\ncoupled to the dilaton field in a string theory form possesses the symmetry\ngroup of the stationary General Relativity in vacuum. Performing the Ernst\nformalism, we develope a technique for generation of exact solutions in this\nmodified electrodynamics on the base of the normalized Ehlers symmetry\ntransformation. In the electrostatic case, we construct and study a general\nclass of spherically symmetric solutions that describes a point-like sourse of\nthe Coulomb type. It is shown that this source is characterized by asymptotical\nfreedom of the electrostatic interaction at short distances. Also it is\nestablished that the total electrostatic energy of this source is finite and\ninversely proportional to the dilaton-Maxwell coupling constant.",
        "positive": "The Yang--Mills gauge field theory in the context of a generalized\n  BRST--formalism including translations: We discuss the algebraic renormalization of the Yang--Mills gauge field\ntheory in the presence of translations. Due to the translations the algebra\nbetween Sorella's $\\d$--operator, the exterior derivative and the\nBRST--operator closes. Therefore, we are able to derive an integrated parameter\nformula collecting in an elegant and compact way all nontrivial solutions of\nthe descent equations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The effective theory of fluids at NLO and implications for dark energy: We present the effective theory of fluids at next-to-leading order in\nderivatives, including an operator that has not been considered until now. The\npower-counting scheme and its connection with the propagation of phonon and\nmetric fluctuations are emphasized. In a perturbed FLRW geometry the theory\npresents a set of features that make it very rich for modelling the\nacceleration of the Universe. These include anisotropic stress, a non-adiabatic\nspeed of sound and modifications to the standard equations of vector and tensor\nmodes. These effects are determined by an energy scale which controls the size\nof the high derivative terms and ensures that no instabilities appear.",
        "positive": "Free totally (anti)symmetric massless fermionic fields in d-dimensional\n  anti-de Sitter space: Free massless fermionic fields of arbitrary spins $s>0$ corresponding to\ntotally (anti)symmetric tensor-spinor representations of the $SO(d-1)$ compact\nsubgroup and in $d$-dimensional anti-de Sitter space are investigated. We\npropose the free equations of motion, subsidiary conditions and corresponding\ngauge transformations for such fields. The equations obtained are used to\nderive the lowest energy values for the above-mentioned representations. A new\nrepresentation for equations of motion and gauge transformations in terms of\ngenerators of anti-de Sitter group $SO(d-1,2)$ is found. It is demonstrated\nthat in contrast to the symmetric case the gauge parameter of the antisymmetric\nmassless field is also a massless field."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the saturation of late-time growth of complexity in supersymmetric JT\n  gravity: In this work we use the modified replica trick, proposed in arXiv:2205.01150,\nto compute the late time behaviour of complexity for JT gravity with ${\\cal N}\n= 1$ and ${\\cal N} = 2$ supersymmetries. For the ${\\cal N} = 1$ theory, we\ncompute the late time behaviour of complexity defined by the ``quenched\ngeodesic length\" and obtain the expected saturation of complexity at time $t\n\\sim e^{S_0}$, to a constant value with time-independent variance. For the\n${\\cal N} = 2$ theory, we explicitly compute complexity at the disk level which\nyields the late-time linear growth of complexity. However, we comment on the\nexpectation of the late-time saturation by speculating the trumpet partition\nfunction and the non-perturbative corrections to the spectral correlation,\nrelevant for the late-time behaviour of complexity. Furthermore, we compute the\nmatter correlation functions for both the theories.",
        "positive": "4D Superfield Reduction of 5D Orbifold SUGRA and Heterotic M-theory: We present a detailed study of the reduction to 4D of 5D supergravity\ncompactified on the S^1/Z_2 orbifold. For this purpose we develop and employ a\nrecently proposed N=1 conformal superfield description of the 5D supergravity\ncouplings to abelian vector and hypermultiplets. In particular, we obtain a\nunique relation of the \"radion\" to chiral superfields as in global 5D SUSY and\nwe can embed the universal hypermultiplet into this formalism. In our approach,\nit is transparent how the superconformal structure of the effective 4D actions\nis inherited from the one of the original 5D supergravity. We consider both\nungauged and gauged 5D supergravities. This includes compactifications in\nunwarped geometries, generalizations of the supersymmetric Randall-Sundrum (RS)\nmodel as well as 5D heterotic M-theory. In the unwarped case, after obtaining\nthe effective Kaehler potentials and superpotentials, we demonstrate that the\ntree-level 4D potentials have flat and/or tachyonic directions. One-loop\ncorrections to the Kaehler potential and gaugino condensation are presented as\nsuitable tools for moduli stabilization to be discussed in subsequent work.\nTurning to the RS-like models, we obtain a master formula for the Kaehler\npotential for an arbitrary number of vector and hyper moduli, which we evaluate\nexactly for special cases. Finally, we formulate the superfield description of\n5D heterotic M-theory and obtain its effective 4D description for the universal\n(h^(1,1)=1) case, in the presence of an arbitrary number of bulk 5-branes. We\npresent, as a check of our expressions, time-dependent solutions of 4D\nheterotic M-theory, which uplift to 5D solutions generalizing the ones recently\nfound in hep-th/0502077."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "All consistent interactions for exterior form gauge fields: We give the complete list of all first-order consistent interaction vertices\nfor a set of exterior form gauge fields of form degree >1, described in the\nfree limit by the standard Maxwell-like action. A special attention is paid to\nthe interactions that deform the gauge transformations. These are shown to be\nnecessarily of the Noether form \"conserved antisymmetric tensor\" times \"p-form\npotential\" and exist only in particular spacetime dimensions. Conditions for\nconsistency to all orders in the coupling constant are given. For illustrative\npurposes, the analysis is carried out explicitly for a system of forms with two\ndifferent degrees p and q (1<p<q<n).",
        "positive": "String Theory, Supersymmetry, Unification, and All That: String theory and supersymmetry are theoretical ideas that go beyond the\nstandard model of particle physics and show promise for unifying all forces.\nAfter a brief introduction to supersymmetry, we discuss the prospects for its\nexperimental discovery in the near future. We then show how the magic of\nsupersymmetry allows us to solve certain quantum field theories exactly, thus\nleading to new insights about field theory dynamics related to\nelectric-magnetic duality. The discussion of superstring theory starts with its\nperturbation expansion, which exhibits new features including ``stringy\ngeometry.'' We then turn to more recent non-perturbative developments. Using\nnew dualities, all known superstring theories are unified, and their strong\ncoupling behavior is clarified. A central ingredient is the existence of\nextended objects called branes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Mixmaster chaos in an AdS black hole interior: We derive gravitational backgrounds that are asymptotically Anti-de Sitter,\nhave a regular black hole horizon and which deep in the interior exhibit\nmixmaster chaotic dynamics. The solutions are obtained by coupling gravity with\na negative cosmological constant to three massive vector fields, within an\nansatz that reduces to ordinary differential equations. At late interior times\nthe equations are identical to those analysed in depth by Misner and by\nBelinskii-Khalatnikov-Lifshitz fifty years ago. We review and extend known\nclassical and semiclassical results on the interior chaos, formulated as both a\ndynamical system of `Kasner eras' and as a hyperbolic billiards problem. The\nvolume of the universe collapses doubly-exponentially over each Kasner era. A\nremarkable feature is the emergence of a conserved energy, and hence a\n`time-independent' Hamiltonian, at asymptotically late interior times. A\nquantisation of this Hamiltonian exhibits arithmetic chaos associated with the\nprincipal congruence subgroup $\\Gamma(2)$ of the modular group. We compute a\nlarge number of eigenvalues numerically to obtain the spectral form factor.\nWhile the spectral statistics is anomalous for a chaotic system, the\neigenfunctions themselves display random matrix behaviour.",
        "positive": "The quantum vacuum in electromagnetic fields: From the Heisenberg-Euler\n  effective action to vacuum birefringence: The focus of these lectures is on the quantum vacuum subjected to classical\nelectromagnetic fields. To this end we explicitly derive the renowned\nHeisenberg-Euler effective action in constant electromagnetic fields in a\nrather pedagogical and easy to conceive way. As an application, we use it to\nstudy vacuum birefringence constituting one of the most promising optical\nsignatures of quantum vacuum nonlinearity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Level-Rank Duality in Kazama-Suzuki Models: We give a path-integral proof of level-rank duality in Kazama-Suzuki models\nfor world-sheets of spherical topology.",
        "positive": "2D Ising Field Theory in a Magnetic Field: The Yang-Lee Singularity: We study Ising Field Theory (the scaling limit of Ising model near the Curie\ncritical point) in pure imaginary external magnetic field. We put particular\nemphasis on the detailed structure of the Yang-Lee edge singularity. While the\nleading singular behavior is controlled by the Yang-Lee fixed point ($=$\nminimal CFT ${\\cal M}_{2/5}$), the fine structure of the subleading singular\nterms is determined by the effective action which involves a tower of\nirrelevant operators. We use numerical data obtained through the \"Truncated\nFree Fermion Space Approach\" to estimate the couplings associated with two\nleast irrelevant operators. One is the operator $T{\\bar T}$, and we use the\nuniversal properties of the $T{\\bar T}$ deformation to fix the contributions of\nhigher orders in the corresponding coupling parameter $\\alpha$. Another\nirrelevant operator we deal with is the descendant $L_{-4}{\\bar L}_{-4}\\phi$ of\nthe relevant primary $\\phi$ in ${\\cal M}_{2/5}$. The significance of this\noperator is that it is the lowest dimension operator which breaks integrability\nof the effective theory. We also establish analytic properties of the particle\nmass $M$ ($=$ inverse correlation length) as the function of complex magnetic\nfield."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Maxwell $F^N$ Characteristic Equation Algorithm Applied to Abelian\n  Born-Infeld Action in Dp-branes: An algorithm is devised to generate characteristic identities between Maxwell\nfieldstrength invariants (traced over Lorentz indices and disregarding\nordering) that suffer linear dependence in certain dimensionalities as they\nhave been originally obtained using a Maple routine. These relations between\ninvariants are then applied to simplify the Abelian Born-Infeld (ABI) effective\naction in arbitrary degree of fieldstrength invariants. I have explicitly\ndisplayed the simplified ABI action in 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12 space-time\ndimensions relevant in Dp-branes.",
        "positive": "Unitarization of infinite-range forces: graviton-graviton scattering: A method to unitarize the scattering amplitude produced by infinite-range\nforces is developed and applied to Born terms. In order to apply $S$-matrix\ntechniques, based on unitarity and analyticity, we first derive an $S$-matrix\nfree of infrared divergences. This is achieved by removing a divergent phase\nfactor due to the interactions mediated by the massless particles in the\ncrossed channels, a procedure that is related to previous formalisms to treat\ninfrared divergences. We apply this method in detail by unitarizing the Born\nterms for graviton-graviton scattering in pure gravity and we find a scalar\ngraviton-graviton resonance with vacuum quantum numbers ($J^{PC}=0^{++}$) that\nwe call the \\textit{graviball}. Remarkably, this resonance is located below the\nPlanck mass but deep in the complex $s$-plane (with $s$ the usual Mandelstam\nvariable), so that its effects along the physical real $s$ axis peak for values\nsignificantly lower than this scale. We argue that the position and width of\nthe graviball are reduced when including extra light fields in the theory. This\ncould lead to phenomenological consequences in scenarios of quantum gravity\nwith a large number of such fields or, in general, with a low-energy\nultraviolet completion. We also apply this formalism to two non-relativistic\npotentials with exact known solutions for the scattering amplitudes: Coulomb\nscattering and an energy-dependent potential obtained from the Coulomb one with\na zero at threshold. This latter case shares the same $J=0$ partial-wave\nprojected Born term as the graviton-graviton case, except for a global factor.\nWe find that the relevant resonance structure of these examples is reproduced\nby our methods, which represents a strong indication of their robustness."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Vacuum Fluctuations in a Chromomagnetic-like Background: In this paper we study the effects associated to quantum vacuum fluctuations\nof vectorial perturbations of the Abelian SU(2) Yang-Mills field in a static\nand homogeneous chromomagnetic-like background field, at zero temperature. We\nuse periodic and antiperiodic boundary conditions in order to calculate the\nCasimir energy by means of the frequency sum technique and of the\nregularization method based on zeta functions, analyzing its behavior in the\nweak and strong coupling regimes. We compare the obtained results with the\nsimilar ones found for scalar and spinor fields placed in an ordinary magnetic\nfield background. We show that only in the weak coupling regime the non-trivial\ntopology of the system encoded in the antiperiodic boundary conditions changes\nthe nature of the Casimir force with respect to the periodic ones. Considering\nthe weak coupling scenario, we show that the introduction of a third\npolarization state in the perturbations makes manifest the effects on the\nCasimir energy due to the coupling with the chromomagnetic-like background\nfield, for both the boundary conditions. Finally, in the strong coupling\nregime, in which the quantum vacuum is not stable due to the Nielsen-Olesen\ninstabilities, we evaluate the effects of a compact extra dimension on its\nstabilization.",
        "positive": "Magic Fermions: Carroll and Flat Bands: The Carroll algebra is constructed as the $c\\to0$ limit of the Poincare\nalgebra and is associated to symmetries on generic null surfaces. In this\npaper, we begin investigations of Carrollian fermions or fermions defined on\ngeneric null surfaces. Due to the availability of two different (degenerate)\nmetrics on Carroll spacetimes, there is the possibility of two different\nversions of Carroll Clifford algebras. We consider both possibilities and\nconstruct explicit representations of Carrollian gamma matrices and show how to\nbuild higher spacetime dimensional representations out of lower ones. Actions\nfor Carroll fermions are constructed with these gamma matrices and the\nproperties of these actions are investigated.\n  We show that in condensed matter systems where the dispersion relation\nbecomes trivial i.e. the energy is not dependent on momentum and bands flatten\nout, Carroll symmetry generically appears. We give explicit examples of this\nincluding that of twisted bi-layer graphene, where superconductivity appears at\nso called magic angles and connect this to Carroll fermions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Possible Mechanism for Production of Primordial Black Holes: Primordial Black Hole Remnants(PBHRs) can be considered as a primary source\nof cold dark matter. Hybrid inflation provides a possible framework for\nproduction of primordial black holes(PBHs) and these PBHs evaporate\nsubsequently to produce PBHRs. In this paper we provide another framework for\nproduction of these PBHs. Using signature changing cosmological model and the\ngeneralized uncertainty principle as our primary inputs, first we find a\ngeometric cosmological constant for early stage of universe evolution. This\ngeometric cosmological constant can lead to heavy vacuum density which may be\ninterpreted as a source of PBHs production during the inflationary phase. In\nthe next step, since it is possible in general to have non-vanishing\nenergy-momentum tensor for signature changing hypersurface, this non-vanishing\nenergy-momentum tensor can be considered as a source of PBHs production. These\nPBHs then evaporate via the Hawking process to produce PBHRs. Finally, possible\nobservational schemes for detecting relics of these PBHRs are discussed.",
        "positive": "Wavelet field decomposition and UV `opaqueness': A large body of work over several decades indicates that, in the presence of\ngravitational interactions, there is loss of localization resolution within a\nfundamental ( $\\sim$ Planck) length scale $\\ell$. We develop a general\nformalism based on wavelet decomposition of fields that takes this UV\n`opaqueness' into account in a natural and mathematically well-defined manner.\nThis is done by requiring fields in a local Lagrangian to be expandable in only\nthe scaling parts of a (complete or, in a more general version, partial)\nwavelet Multi-Resolution Analysis. This delocalizes the interactions, now\nmediated through the opaque regions, inside which they are rapidly decaying.\nThe opaque regions themselves are capable of discrete excitations of $\\sim\n1/\\ell$ spacing. The resulting effective Feynman rules, which give UV regulated\nand (perturbatively) unitary physical amplitudes, resemble those of string\nfield theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "AdS Euclidean wormholes: We explore the construction and stability of asymptotically anti-de Sitter\nEuclidean wormholes in a variety of models. In simple ad hoc low-energy models,\nit is not hard to construct two-boundary Euclidean wormholes that dominate over\ndisconnected solutions and which are stable (lacking negative modes) in the\nusual sense of Euclidean quantum gravity. Indeed, the structure of such\nsolutions turns out to strongly resemble that of the Hawking-Page phase\ntransition for AdS-Schwarzschild black holes, in that for boundary sources\nabove some threshold we find both a `large' and a `small' branch of wormhole\nsolutions with the latter being stable and dominating over the disconnected\nsolution for large enough sources. We are also able to construct two-boundary\nEuclidean wormholes in a variety of string compactifications that dominate over\nthe disconnected solutions we find and that are stable with respect to\nfield-theoretic perturbations. However, as in classic examples investigated by\nMaldacena and Maoz, the wormholes in these UV-complete settings always suffer\nfrom brane-nucleation instabilities (even when sources that one might hope\nwould stabilize such instabilities are tuned to large values). This indicates\nthe existence of additional disconnected solutions with lower action. We\ndiscuss the significance of such results for the factorization problem of\nAdS/CFT.",
        "positive": "Spin Impurities, Wilson Lines and Semiclassics: We consider line defects with large quantum numbers in conformal field\ntheories. First, we consider spin impurities, both for a free scalar triplet\nand in the Wilson-Fisher $O(3)$ model. For the free scalar triplet, we find a\nrich phase diagram that includes a perturbative fixed point, a new\nnonperturbative fixed point, and runaway regimes. To obtain these results, we\ndevelop a new semiclassical approach. For the Wilson-Fisher model, we propose\nan alternative description, which becomes weakly coupled in the large spin\nlimit. This allows us to chart the phase diagram and obtain numerous rigorous\npredictions for large spin impurities in $2+1$ dimensional magnets. Finally, we\nalso study $1/2$-BPS Wilson lines in large representations of the gauge group\nin rank-1 $\\mathcal{N}=2$ superconformal field theories. We contrast the\nresults with the qualitative behavior of large spin impurities in magnets."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Asymptotic safety with Majorana fermions and new large N equivalences: Using Majorana fermions and elementary mesons we find new massless quantum\nfield theories with weakly interacting ultraviolet fixed points. We also find\nnew classes of large N equivalences amongst SU, SO and Sp gauge theories with\ndifferent types of matter fields and Yukawa interactions. Results include a\ntriality of asymptotically safe theories and dualities between asymptotically\nfree matter-gauge theories with identical fixed points, phase diagrams, and\nscaling exponents. Implications for conformal field theory and orbifold\nreductions are indicated.",
        "positive": "Vacuum polarization induced by a cylindrical boundary in the cosmic\n  string spacetime: In this paper we investigate the Wightman function, the renormalized vacuum\nexpectation values of the field square, and the energy-momentum tensor for a\nmassive scalar field with general curvature coupling inside and outside of a\ncylindrical shell in the generalized spacetime of straight cosmic string. For\nthe general case of Robin boundary condition, by using the generalized\nAbel-Plana formula, the vacuum expectation values are presented in the form of\nthe sum of boundary-free and boundary-induced parts. The asymptotic behavior of\nthe vacuum expectation values of the field square, energy density and stresses\nare investigated in various limiting cases. The generalization of the results\nto the exterior region is given for a general cylindrically symmetric static\nmodel of the string core with finite support."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "WKB Analysis of PT-Symmetric Sturm-Liouville problems: Most studies of PT-symmetric quantum-mechanical Hamiltonians have considered\nthe Schroedinger eigenvalue problem on an infinite domain. This paper examines\nthe consequences of imposing the boundary conditions on a finite domain. As is\nthe case with regular Hermitian Sturm-Liouville problems, the eigenvalues of\nthe PT-symmetric Sturm-Liouville problem grow like $n^2$ for large $n$.\nHowever, the novelty is that a PT eigenvalue problem on a finite domain\ntypically exhibits a sequence of critical points at which pairs of eigenvalues\ncease to be real and become complex conjugates of one another. For the\npotentials considered here this sequence of critical points is associated with\na turning point on the imaginary axis in the complex plane. WKB analysis is\nused to calculate the asymptotic behaviors of the real eigenvalues and the\nlocations of the critical points. The method turns out to be surprisingly\naccurate even at low energies.",
        "positive": "High energy scattering amplitude in the linearized gravitational theory: The asymptotic behavior of the elastic scattering amplitude by the exchange\nof graviton between two scalar particles at high energies and fixed momentum\ntransfers is reconsidered in the Logunov-Tavkhelidze equation in the linearized\ngravitational theory. The corrections to the eikonal approximation in the\nquasi-potential approach of relative order $1/p$ is developed with the\nprincipal contributions at high energy. The eikonal expression of scattering\namplitude and the formal first correction are derived. The Yukawa potential is\napplied to discuss the results."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dark energy, $\u03b1$-attractors, and large-scale structure surveys: Over the last few years, a large family of cosmological attractor models has\nbeen discovered, which can successfully match the latest inflation-related\nobservational data. Many of these models can also describe a small cosmological\nconstant $\\Lambda$, which provides the most natural description of the present\nstage of the cosmological acceleration. In this paper, we study\n$\\alpha$-attractor models with dynamical dark energy, including the\ncosmological constant $\\Lambda$ as a free parameter. Predominantly, the models\nwith $\\Lambda > 0$ converge to the asymptotic regime with the equation of state\n$w=-1$. However, there are some models with $w\\neq -1$, which are compatible\nwith the current observations. In the simplest models with $\\Lambda = 0$, one\nhas the tensor to scalar ratio $r=\\frac{12\\alpha}{N^2}$ and the asymptotic\nequation of state $w=-1+\\frac{2}{9\\alpha}$ (which in general differs from its\npresent value). For example, in the seven disk M-theory related model with\n$\\alpha = 7/3$ one finds $r \\sim 10^{-2}$ and the asymptotic equation of state\nis $w \\sim -0.9$. Future observations, including large-scale structure surveys\nas well as B-mode detectors will test these, as well as more general models\npresented here. We also discuss gravitational reheating in models of\nquintessential inflation and argue that its investigation may be interesting\nfrom the point of view of inflationary cosmology. Such models require a much\ngreater number of $e$-folds, and therefore predict a spectral index $n_{s}$\nthat can exceed the value in more conventional models by about $0.006$. This\nsuggests a way to distinguish the conventional inflationary models from the\nmodels of quintessential inflation, even if they predict $w = -1$.",
        "positive": "New no-go theorems for cosmic acceleration with extra dimensions: We describe new no-go theorems for producing four-dimensional accelerating\nuniverses from warped dimensional reduction. The new theorems improve upon\nprevious results by including dynamical extra dimensions and by treating\nfour-dimensional universes that are not precisely de Sitter. The theorems show\nthere exists a threshold four-dimensional equation-of-state parameter w below\nwhich the number of e-foldings of expansion is bounded, and give expressions\nfor the maximum number of allowed e-foldings. In the generic case, the bound\nmust be satisfied if the higher-dimensional theory satisfies the strong energy\ncondition. If the compactification manifold M is one-dimensional, or if its\n(intrinsic) Ricci scalar R is identically zero, then the bound must be\nsatisfied if the higher-dimensional theory satisfies the null energy condition."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dilaton Black Holes with Electric Charge: Static spherically symmetric solutions of the Einstein-Maxwell gravity with\nthe dilaton field are described. The solutions correspond to black holes and\nare generalizations of the previously known dilaton black hole solution. In\naddition to mass and electric charge these solutions are labeled by a new\nparameter, the dilaton charge of the black hole. Different effects of the\ndilaton charge on the geometry of space-time of such black holes are studied.\nIt is shown that in most cases the scalar curvature is divergent at the\nhorizons. Another feature of the dilaton black hole is that there is a finite\ninterval of values of electric charge for which no black hole can exist.",
        "positive": "Breaking the sound barrier in AdS/CFT: It has been conjectured that the speed of sound in holographic models with UV\nfixed points has an upper bound set by the value of the quantity in conformal\nfield theory. If true, this would set stringent constraints for the presence of\nstrongly coupled quark matter in the cores of physical neutron stars, as the\nexistence of two-solar-mass stars appears to demand a very stiff Equation of\nState. In this article, we present a family of counterexamples to the speed of\nsound conjecture, consisting of strongly coupled theories at finite density.\nThe theories we consider include ${\\cal N}=4$ super Yang-Mills at finite\nR-charge density and non-zero gaugino masses, while the holographic duals are\nEinstein-Maxwell theories with a minimally coupled scalar in a charged black\nhole geometry. We show that for a small breaking of conformal invariance, the\nspeed of sound approaches the conformal value from above at large chemical\npotentials."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Scaling, self-similar solutions and shock waves for V-shaped field\n  potentials: We investigate a (1+1)-dimensional nonlinear field theoretic model with the\nfield potential $V(\\phi)| = |\\phi|.$ It can be obtained as the universal small\namplitude limit in a class of models with potentials which are symmetrically\nV-shaped at their minima, or as a continuum limit of certain mechanical system\nwith infinite number of degrees of freedom. The model has an interesting\nscaling symmetry of the 'on shell' type. We find self-similar as well as shock\nwave solutions of the field equation in that model.",
        "positive": "The Kerr theorem and multiparticle Kerr-Schild solutions: We discuss and prove an extended version of the Kerr theorem which allows one\nto construct exact solutions of the Einstein-Maxwell field equations from a\nholomorphic generating function $F$ of twistor variables. The exact\nmultiparticle Kerr-Schild solutions are obtained from generating function of\nthe form $F=\\prod_i^k F_i, $ where $F_i$ are partial generating functions for\nthe spinning particles $ i=1...k$. Solutions have an unusual multi-sheeted\nstructure. Twistorial structures of the i-th and j-th particles do not feel\neach other, forming a type of its internal space. Gravitational and\nelectromagnetic interaction of the particles occurs via the light-like singular\ntwistor lines. As a result, each particle turns out to be `dressed' by singular\npp-strings connecting it to other particles. We argue that this solution may\nhave a relation to quantum theory and to quantum gravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Clifford Structures in Noncommutative Geometry and the Extended Scalar\n  Sector: We consider aspects of the noncommutative approach to the standard model\nbased on the spectral action principle. We show that as a consequence of the\nincorporation of the Clifford structures in the formalism, the spectral action\ncontains an extended scalar sector, with respect to the minimal Standard Model.\nThis may have interesting phenomenological consequences. Some of these new\nscalar fields carry both weak isospin and colour indexes. We calculate the new\nterms in spectral action due to the presence of these fields. Our analysis\ndemonstrates that the fermionic doubling in the noncommutative geometry is not\njust a presence of spurious degrees of freedom, but it is an interesting and\npeculiar property of the formalism, which leads to physically valuable\nconclusions. Some of the new fields do not contribute to the physical fermionic\naction, but they appear in the bosonic spectral action. Their contributions to\nthe Dirac operator correspond to couplings with the spurious fermions, which\nare projected out.",
        "positive": "Non-Critical Strings in Robertson-Walker Space Time: I consider a D+1 dimensional nonlinear $\\sigma$ model based on a possible\ninterpretation of the Liouville field as a physical time. The Weyl invariance\nof this theory gives us restrictions for the background fields and the\nparameters of the theory, e.g.\\ for trivial background one obtains the known\nregions for the dimension of the space-time ($\\leq$1 or $\\geq$25). For a\nRobertson-Walker space time a special solution of these equations is discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Summing all the eikonal graphs. II: A physically reasonable model is introduced in order to estimate, in a\nfunctional way, the vast number of distinct graphs which are conventionally\nneglected in eikonal scattering models that lead to total cross sections\nincreasing with energy in the form of the Froissart bound.",
        "positive": "Finite field-dependent BRST symmetry for ABJM theory in ${\\cal N}=1$\n  superspace: In this paper we analyse the ABJM theory in ${\\cal N}=1$ superspace.\n  Firstly we study the linear and non-linear BRST transformations for the ABJM\ntheory. Then we derive the finite field dependent version of these BRST\n(FFBRST) transformations. Further we show that such FFBRST transformations\nrelate the generating functional in linear gauge to the generating functional\nin the non-linear gauge of ABJM theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Generalized Calibrations & the Characterization of M2-Brane Backgrounds: As a step towards the classification of supergravity backgrounds with flux,\nwe study the (back-reacted) geometry created by a BPS M2-brane when it wraps a\ncycle in a Calabi-Yau manifold. If it is to preserve supersymmetry, the\nmembrane background must obey certain conditions. These conditions are\nexpressed as geometrical constraints on differential forms and as such, can be\ninterpreted as calibrations. Knowing the complete set of calibrations is the\nsame as satisfying all conditions needed for supersymmetry preservation. While\na purely geometric background is completely specified through standard\ncalibrations, in order to fully describe a flux background, we must also state\nits generalized calibrations. These can be found by probing the background with\nBPS branes. The logic is simple. Since a BPS probe is guaranteed to be stable,\nwe require that its volume be given by a calibrated form. This applies equally\nto both charged and uncharged probes; the former are stabilized by flux whereas\nthe latter achieve stability by minimizing their volumes. Volume-forms of\ncharged probes correspond to generalized calibrations and those of uncharged\nprobes, to standard calibrations. Previously geometries were probed only by\nuncharged branes. The calibrations that were found had then to be supplemented\nby additional conditions in order to guarantee supersymmetry preservation in\nbackgrounds with flux. Once the scope is broadened to include charged branes,\nthe 'missing conditions' (generalized calibrations) can also be recovered using\nthe probe analysis. We use this method to classify the backgrounds of wrapped\nM2-branes embedded in Calabi-Yau manifolds by specifying their calibrations.",
        "positive": "Quintessential Inflation on the Brane and the Relic Gravity Wave\n  Background: Quintessential inflation describes a scenario in which both inflation and\ndark energy (quintessence) are described by the same scalar field. In\nconventional braneworld models of quintessential inflation gravitational\nparticle production is used to reheat the universe. This reheating mechanism is\nvery inefficient and results in an excessive production of gravity waves which\nviolate nucleosynthesis constraints and invalidate the model. We describe a new\nmethod of realizing quintessential inflation on the brane in which inflation is\nfollowed by `instant preheating' (Felder, Kofman & Linde 1999). The larger\nreheating temperature in this model results in a smaller amplitude of relic\ngravity waves which is consistent with nucleosynthesis bounds. The relic\ngravity wave background has a `blue' spectrum at high frequencies and is a\ngeneric byproduct of successful quintessential inflation on the brane."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Few Projects in String Theory: In these lectures I discuss various unsolved problems of string theory and\ntheir relations to quantum gravity, 3d Ising model, large N QCD, and quantum\ncosmology. No solutions are presented but some new and perhaps useful\napproaches are suggested.",
        "positive": "All Things Retarded: Radiation-Reaction in Worldline Quantum Field\n  Theory: We exhibit an initial-value formulation of the worldline quantum field theory\n(WQFT) approach to the classical two-body problem in general relativity. We\nshow that the Schwinger-Keldysh (in-in) formalism leads to purely retarded\npropagators in the evaluation of observables in the WQFT. Integration\ntechnology for retarded master integrals is introduced at third\npost-Minkowskian (3PM) order. As an application we compute the complete\nradiation-reacted impulse and radiated four momentum for the scattering of two\nnon-spinning neutron stars including tidal effects at 3PM order, as well as the\nleading (2PM) far-field gravitational waveform."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Open Fishchain in N=4 Supersymmetric Yang-Mills Theory: We consider a cusped Wilson line with J insertions of scalar fields in N=4\nSYM and prove that in a certain limit the Feynman graphs are integrable to all\nloop orders. We identify the integrable system as a quantum fishchain with open\nboundary conditions. The existence of the boundary degrees of freedom results\nin the boundary reflection operator acting non-trivially on the physical space.\nWe derive the Baxter equation for Q-functions and provide the quantisation\ncondition for the spectrum. This allows us to find the non-perturbative\nspectrum numerically.",
        "positive": "Axion Electrodynamics and the Casimir Effect: We present a concise review of selected parts of axion electrodynamics and\nits application to Casimir physics. We present the general formalism including\nthe boundary conditions at a dielectric surface, derive the dispersion relation\nin the case where the axion parameter has a constant spatial derivative in the\ndirection normal to the conducting plates, and calculate the Casimir energy for\nthe simple case of scalar electrodynamics using dimensional regularization."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Mach like principle from conserved charges: We study models where the gauge coupling constants, masses and the\ngravitational constant are functions of some conserved charge in the universe,\nand furthermore a cosmological constant that depends on the total charge of the\nuniverse. We first consider the standard Dirac action, but where the mass and\nthe electromagnetic coupling constant are a function of the charge in the\nuniverse and afterwards extend this to curved spacetime and consider gauge\ncoupling constants, the gravitation constant and the mass as a function of the\ncharge of the universe, which represent a sort of Mach principle for all the\nconstants of nature. In the flat space formulation, the formalism is not\nmanifestly Lorentz invariant, however Lorentz invariance can be restored by\nperforming a phase transformation of the Dirac field, while in the curved space\ntime formulation, there is the additional feature that some of the equations of\nmotion break the general coordinate invariance also, but in a way that can be\nunderstood as a coordinate choice only, so the equations are still of the\nGeneral Relativity type, but with a certain natural coordinate choice, where\nthere is no current of the charge. We have generalized what we have done and\nalso constructed a cosmological constant which depends on the total charge of\nthe universe. If we were to use some only approximately conserved charge for\nthese constructions, like say baryon number (in the context of the standard\nmodel), this will lead to corresponding violations of Lorentz symmetry in the\nearly universe for example. The construction of charge dependent contributions\ncan also be motivated from the structure of the \"infra-red counter terms\"\nneeded to cancel infra red divergences for example in three dimensions.",
        "positive": "Differential equations from null vectors of the Ramond algebra: We consider chiral blocks of four Ramond fields of the N=1 super Virasoro\nalgebra where one of the fields is in the (1,2) representation. We show how the\nnull vector in the (1,2) representation determines the chiral blocks as series\nexpansions. We then turn to the Ising model to find an algebraic method to\ndetermine differential equations for the blocks of four spin fields. Extending\nthese ideas to the super Virasoro case, we find a first order differential\nequation for blocks of four Ramond fields. We are able to find exact solutions\nin many cases. We compare our blocks with results known from other methods."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Higher derivative corrections to R-charged AdS_5 black holes and field\n  redefinitions: We consider four-derivative corrections to the bosonic sector of\nfive-dimensional N=2 gauged supergravity. Since this theory includes the N=2\ngraviphoton, we consider both curvature and graviphoton field-strength terms\nthat show up at the four-derivative level. We construct, to linear order, the\nhigher-derivative corrections to the non-rotating R-charged AdS_5 black hole\nand demonstrate how this solution transforms under field redefinitions.",
        "positive": "Entanglement Wedge in Flat Holography and Entanglement Negativity: We establish a construction for the entanglement wedge in asymptotically flat\nbulk geometries for subsystems in dual $(1+1)$-dimensional Galilean conformal\nfield theories in the context of flat space holography. In this connection we\npropose a definition for the bulk entanglement wedge cross section for\nbipartite states of such dual non relativistic conformal field theories.\nUtilizing our construction for the entanglement wedge cross section we compute\nthe entanglement negativity for such bipartite states through the\ngeneralization of an earlier proposal, in the context of the usual $AdS/CFT$\nscenario, to flat space holography. The entanglement negativity obtained from\nour construction exactly reproduces earlier holographic results and match with\nthe corresponding field theory replica technique results in the large central\ncharge limit."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "q-Deformed Conformal Quantum Mechanics: We construct a q-deformed version of the conformal quantum mechanics model of\nde Alfaro, Fubini and Furlan for which the deformation parameter is complex and\nthe unitary time evolution of the system is preserved. We also study\ndifferential calculus on the q-deformed quantum phase space associated with\nsuch system.",
        "positive": "Dynamical Domain Wall and Localization: Based on the previous works (arXiv:1202.5375 and 1402.1346), we investigate\nthe localization of the fields on the dynamical domain wall, where the four\ndimensional FRW universe is realized on the domain wall in the five dimensional\nspace-time. Especially we show that the chiral spinor can localize on the\ndomain wall, which has not been succeeded in the past works as the seminal work\nin arXiv:0810.3746."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantization of the open string on plane-wave limits of dS_n x S^n and\n  non-commutativity outside branes: The open string on the plane-wave limit of $dS_n\\times S^n $ with constant\n  $B_2$ and dilaton background fields is canonically quantized. This entails\nsolving the classical equations of motion for the string, computing the\nsymplectic form, and defining from its inverse the canonical commutation\nrelations. Canonical quantization is proved to be perfectly suited for this\ntask, since the symplectic form is unambiguously defined and non-singular. The\nstring position and the string momentum operators are shown to satisfy\nequal-time canonical commutation relations. Noticeably the string position\noperators define non-commutative spaces for all values of the string\nworld-sheet parameter $\\sig$, thus extending non-commutativity outside the\nbranes on which the string endpoints may be assumed to move. The Minkowski\nspacetime limit is smooth and reproduces the results in the literature, in\nparticular non-commutativity gets confined to the endpoints.",
        "positive": "Aspects of Boundary Conditions for Nonabelian Gauge Theories: The boundary values of the time-component of the gauge potential form\nexternally specifiable data characterizing a gauge theory. We point out some\nconsequences such as reduced symmetries, bulk currents for manifolds with\ndisjoint boundaries and some nuances of how the charge algebra is realized."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Triality Invariance in the N=2 Superstring: We prove the discrete triality invariance of the N=2 NSR superstring moving\nin a D=2+2 target space. We find that triality holds also in the\nSiegel-Berkovits formulation of the selfdual superstring. A supersymmetric\ngeneralization of Cayley's hyperdeterminant, based on a quartic invariant of\nthe SL(2|1)^3 superalgebra, is presented.",
        "positive": "Resurgence, Stokes constants, and arithmetic functions in topological\n  string theory: The quantization of the mirror curve to a toric Calabi-Yau threefold gives\nrise to quantum-mechanical operators, whose fermionic spectral traces produce\nfactorially divergent power series in the Planck constant. These asymptotic\nexpansions can be promoted to resurgent trans-series. They show infinite towers\nof periodic singularities in their Borel plane and infinitely many rational\nStokes constants, which are encoded in generating functions expressed in closed\nform in terms of $q$-series. We provide an exact solution to the resurgent\nstructure of the first fermionic spectral trace of the local $\\mathbb{P}^2$\ngeometry in the semiclassical limit of the spectral theory, corresponding to\nthe strongly-coupled regime of topological string theory on the same background\nin the conjectural TS/ST correspondence. Our approach straightforwardly applies\nto the dual weakly-coupled limit of the topological string. We present and\nprove closed formulae for the Stokes constants as explicit arithmetic functions\nand for the perturbative coefficients as special values of known $L$-functions,\nwhile the duality between the two scaling regimes of strong and weak string\ncoupling constant appears in number-theoretic form. A preliminary numerical\ninvestigation of the local $\\mathbb{F}_0$ geometry unveils a more complicated\nresurgent structure with logarithmic sub-leading asymptotics. Finally, we\nobtain a new analytic prediction on the asymptotic behavior of the fermionic\nspectral traces in an appropriate WKB double-scaling regime, which is captured\nby the refined topological string in the Nekrasov-Shatashvili limit."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "High Energy String Collisions in a Compact Space: When high energy strings scatter at fixed angle, their amplitudes\ncharacteristically fall off exponentially with energy, ${\\cal A} \\sim \\exp(-s\n\\times const.)$. We show that in a compact space this suppression disappears\nfor certain kinematic configurations. Amplitudes are power-law behaved and\ntherefore greatly enhanced. In spacetime this corresponds to fixed-angle\nscattering, with fixed transfer in the compact dimensions. On the worldsheet\nthis process is described by a stationary configuration of effective charges\nand vortices with vanishing total energy. It is worldsheet duality---and not\nspacetime duality---that plays a role.",
        "positive": "Super Yang-Mills, Matrix Models and Geometric Transitions: I explain two applications of the relationship between four dimensional N=1\nsupersymmetric gauge theories, zero dimensional gauged matrix models, and\ngeometric transitions in string theory. The first is related to the spectrum of\nBPS domain walls or BPS branes. It is shown that one can smoothly interpolate\nbetween a D-brane state, whose weak coupling tension scales as Nc or 1/gs, and\na closed string solitonic state, whose weak coupling tension scales as Nc^2 or\n1/gs^2. This is part of a larger theory of N=1 quantum parameter spaces. The\nsecond is a new purely geometric approach to sum exactly over planar diagrams\nin zero dimension. It is an example of open/closed string duality."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quiver Mutations, Seiberg Duality and Machine Learning: We initiate the study of applications of machine learning to Seiberg duality,\nfocusing on the case of quiver gauge theories, a problem also of interest in\nmathematics in the context of cluster algebras. Within the general theme of\nSeiberg duality, we define and explore a variety of interesting questions,\nbroadly divided into the binary determination of whether a pair of theories\npicked from a series of duality classes are dual to each other, as well as the\nmulti-class determination of the duality class to which a given theory belongs.\nWe study how the performance of machine learning depends on several variables,\nincluding number of classes and mutation type (finite or infinite). In\naddition, we evaluate the relative advantages of Naive Bayes classifiers versus\nConvolutional Neural Networks. Finally, we also investigate how the results are\naffected by the inclusion of additional data, such as ranks of gauge/flavor\ngroups and certain variables motivated by the existence of underlying\nDiophantine equations. In all questions considered, high accuracy and\nconfidence can be achieved.",
        "positive": "On the semiclassical treatment of Hawking radiation: In the context of the semiclassical treatment of Hawking radiation we prove\nthe universality of the reduced canonical momentum for the system of a massive\nshell self gravitating in a spherical gravitational field within the Painlev\\'e\nfamily of gauges. We show that one can construct modes which are regular on the\nhorizon both by considering as hamiltonian the exterior boundary term and by\nusing as hamiltonian the interior boundary term. The late time expansion is\ngiven in both approaches and their time Fourier expansion computed to reproduce\nthe self reaction correction to the Hawking spectrum."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Note About Canonical Formalism for Normalized Gravity And Vacuum Energy\n  Sequestering Model: This short note is devoted to the Hamiltonian analysis of the normalized\ngeneral relativity and recently proposed model of vacuum energy sequestering.\nThe common property of these models is the presence of the global variables. We\ndiscuss the meaning of these global variables in the context of the canonical\nformalism and argue that their presence lead to the non-local form of the\nHamiltonian constraint.",
        "positive": "Black holes and information: A new take on an old paradox: Interest in the black hole information paradox has recently been catalyzed by\nthe newer \"firewall\" argument. The crux of the updated argument is that\nprevious solutions which relied on observer complementarity are in violation of\nthe quantum condition of monogamy of entanglement; with the prescribed remedy\nbeing to discard the equivalence principle in favor of an energy barrier (or\nfirewall) at the black hole horizon. Differing points of view have been put\nforward, including the \"ER=EPR\" counterargument and the final-state solution,\nboth of which can be viewed as potential resolutions to the apparent conflict\nbetween quantum monogamy and Einstein equivalence. After reviewing these recent\ndevelopments, this paper argues that the ER=EPR and final-state solutions can\n-- thanks to observer complementarity -- be seen as the same resolution of the\nparadox but from two different perspectives: inside and outside the black hole."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Labeling Schemes for Tetrahedron Equations and Dualities between Them: Zamolodchikov's tetrahedron equations, which were derived by considering the\nscattering of straight strings, can be written in three different labeling\nschemes: one can use as labels the states of the vacua between the strings, the\nstates of the string segments, or the states of the particles at the\nintersections of the strings. We give a detailed derivation of the three\ncorresponding tetrahedron equations and show also how the Frenkel-Moore\nequations fits in as a {\\em nonlocal} string labeling. We discuss then how an\nanalog of the Wu-Kadanoff duality can be defined between each pair of the above\nthree labeling schemes. It turns out that there are two cases, for which one\ncan simultaneously construct a duality between {\\em all} three pairs of\nlabelings.",
        "positive": "$L_\\infty$-algebra of braided electrodynamics: Using the recently developed formalism of braided noncommutative field\ntheory, we construct an explicit example of braided electrodynamics, that is, a\nnoncommutative $U(1)$ gauge theory coupled to a Dirac fermion. We construct the\nbraided $L_\\infty$-algebra of this field theory and apply the formalism to\nobtain the braided equations of motion, action functional and conserved matter\ncurrent. The braided deformation leads to a modification of the charge\nconservation. Finally, the Feynman integral appearing in the one-loop\ncontribution to the vacuum polarization diagram is calculated. There are no\nnon-planar diagrams, but the UV/IR mixing appears nevertheless. We comment on\nthis unexpected result."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Twisted Gauge Theories: Gauge theories on a space-time that is deformed by the Moyal-Weyl product are\nconstructed by twisting the coproduct for gauge transformations. This way a\ndeformed Leibniz rule is obtained, which is used to construct gauge invariant\nquantities. The connection will be enveloping algebra valued in a particular\nrepresentation of the Lie algebra. This gives rise to additional fields, which\ncouple only weakly via the deformation parameter and reduce in the commutative\nlimit to free fields. Consistent field equations that lead to conservation laws\nare derived and some properties of such theories are discussed.",
        "positive": "Landau gauge Jacobian and BRST symmetry: We propose a generalisation of the Faddeev-Popov trick for Yang-Mills fields\nin the Landau gauge. The gauge-fixing is achieved as a genuine change of\nvariables. In particular the Jacobian that appears is the modulus of the\nstandard Faddeev-Popov determinant. We give a path integral representation of\nthis in terms of auxiliary bosonic and Grassman fields extended beyond the\nusual set for standard Landau gauge BRST. The gauge-fixing Lagrangian density\nappearing in this context is local and enjoys a new extended BRST and anti-BRST\nsymmetry though the gauge-fixing Lagrangian density in this case is not BRST\nexact."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Conformal blocks in Virasoro and W theories: duality and the\n  Calogero-Sutherland model: We study the properties of the conformal blocks of the conformal field\ntheories with Virasoro or W-extended symmetry. When the conformal blocks\ncontain only second-order degenerate fields, the conformal blocks obey second\norder differential equations and they can be interpreted as ground-state wave\nfunctions of a trigonometric Calogero-Sutherland Hamiltonian with non-trivial\nbraiding properties. A generalized duality property relates the two types of\nsecond order degenerate fields. By studying this duality we found that the\nexcited states of the Calogero-Sutherland Hamiltonian are characterized by two\npartitions, or in the case of WA_{k-1} theories by k partitions. By extending\nthe conformal field theories under consideration by a u(1) field, we find that\nwe can put in correspondence the states in the Hilbert state of the extended\nCFT with the excited non-polynomial eigenstates of the Calogero-Sutherland\nHamiltonian. When the action of the Calogero-Sutherland integrals of motion is\ntranslated on the Hilbert space, they become identical to the integrals of\nmotion recently discovered by Alba, Fateev, Litvinov and Tarnopolsky in\nLiouville theory in the context of the AGT conjecture. Upon bosonisation, these\nintegrals of motion can be expressed as a sum of two, or in general k, bosonic\nCalogero-Sutherland Hamiltonian coupled by an interaction term with a\ntriangular structure. For special values of the coupling constant, the\nconformal blocks can be expressed in terms of Jack polynomials with pairing\nproperties, and they give electron wave functions for special Fractional\nQuantum Hall states",
        "positive": "Stringy and Membranic Theory of Swimming of Micro-organisms: When the swimming of micro-organisms is viewed from the string and membrane\ntheories coupled to the velocity field of the fluid, a number of interesting\nresults are derived; 1) importance of the area (or volume) preserving algebra,\n2) usefulness of the $N$-point Reggeon (membranic) amplitudes, and of the gas\nto liquid transition in case of the red tide issues, 3) close relation between\nthe red tide issue and the generation of Einstein gravity, and 4) possible\nunderstanding of the three different swimming ways of micro-organisms from the\nsingularity structure of the shape space."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "An Effective Description of the Landscape - II: We continue our analysis of establishing the reliability of \"simple\"\neffective theories where massive fields are \"frozen\" rather than integrated\nout, in a wide class of four dimensional theories with global or local N=1\nsupersymmetry. We extend our previous work by adding gauge fields and O(1)\nYukawa-like terms for the charged fields in the superpotential. For generic\nKaehler potentials, a meaningful freezing is allowed for chiral multiplets\nonly, whereas in general heavy vector fields have to properly be integrated\nout. Heavy chiral fields can be frozen if they approximately sit to\nsupersymmetric solutions along their directions and, in supergravity, if the\nsuperpotential at the minimum is small, so that a mass hierarchy between heavy\nand light fields is ensured. When the above conditions are met, we show that\nthe simple effective theory is generally a reliable truncation of the full one.",
        "positive": "Exact Half-BPS Flux Solutions in M-theory II: Global solutions\n  asymptotic to AdS_7 x S^4: General local half-BPS solutions in M-theory, which have $SO(2,2)\\times\nSO(4)\\times SO(4)$ symmetry and are asymptotic to $AdS_{7}\\times S^{4}$, were\nconstructed in exact form by the authors in [arXiv:0806.0605]. In the present\npaper, suitable regularity conditions are imposed on these local solutions, and\ncorresponding globally well-defined solutions are explicitly constructed. The\nphysical properties of these solutions are analyzed, and interpreted in terms\nof the gravity duals to extended 1+1-dimensional half-BPS defects in the\n6-dimensional CFT with maximal supersymmetry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The signals from the brane-world black Hole: We have studied the wave dynamics and the Hawking radiation for the scalar\nfield as well as the brane-localized gravitational field in the background of\nthe braneworld black hole with tidal charge containing information of the extra\ndimension. Comparing with the four-dimensional black holes, we have observed\nthe signature of the tidal charge which presents the signals of the extra\ndimension both in the wave dynamics and the Hawking radiation.",
        "positive": "Singular Liouville fields and spiky strings in $\\rr^{1,2}$ and\n  $SL(2,\\rr)$: The closed string dynamics in $\\rr^{1,2}$ and $SL(2,\\rr)$ is studied within\nthe scheme of Pohlmeyer reduction. In both spaces two different classes of\nstring surfaces are specified by the structure of the fundamental quadratic\nforms. The first class in $\\rr^{1,2}$ is associated with the standard lightcone\ngauge strings and the second class describes spiky strings and their conformal\ndeformations on the Virasoro coadjoint orbits. These orbits correspond to\nsingular Liouville fields with the monodromy matrixes $\\pm I$. The first class\nin $SL(2,\\rr)$ is parameterized by the Liouville fields with vanishing chiral\nenergy functional. Similarly to $\\rr^{1,2}$, the second class in $SL(2,\\rr)$\ndescribes spiky strings, related to the vacuum configurations of the\n$SL(2,\\rr)/U(1)$ coset model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Subtracted Geometry From Harrison Transformations: We consider the rotating non-extremal black hole of N=2 D=4 STU supergravity\ncarrying three magnetic charges and one electric charge. We show that its\nsubtracted geometry is obtained by applying a specific SO(4,4) Harrison\ntransformation on the black hole. As previously noted, the resulting subtracted\ngeometry is a solution of the N=2 S=T=U supergravity.",
        "positive": "Large-Order Perturbation Theory in Infrared-Unstable Superrenormalizable\n  Field Theories: We study the factorial divergences of Euclidean $\\phi^3_5$, a problem with\nconnections both to high-energy multiparticle scattering in d=4 and to d=3 (or\nhigh-temperature) gauge theory, which like $\\phi^3_5$ is infrared-unstable and\nsuperrenormalizable. At large external momentum p (or small mass M) and large\norder N one might expect perturbative bare skeleton graphs to behave roughly\nlike $N!(ag^2/p)^N$ with a>0, so that no matter how large p is there is an\n$N\\sim g^2/p$ giving rise to strong perturbative amplitudes. The semi-\nclassical Lipatov technique (which works only in the presence of a mass) is\nblind to this momentum dependence, so we proceed by direct summation of bare\nskeleton graphs. We find that the various limits of large N, large p, and small\nM do not commute, and that when $N\\gg p^2/M^2$ there is a Borel singularity\nassociated with $g^2/M$, not $g^2/p$. This is described by the zero-momentum\nLipatov technique, and we find the necessary soliton for $\\phi^3_5$; the\ncorresponding sphaleron-like solution for unbroken Yang-Mills theory has long\nbeen known. We also show that the massless theories have no classical solitons.\nWe discuss non-perturbative effects based partly on known physical arguments\nconcerning the cancellation by solitons of imaginary parts due to the pert-\nurbative Borel singularity, and partly on the dressing of bare skeleton graphs\nby dressed propagators showing non-perturbative mass generation, as happens in\nd=3 gauge theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The boundary supersymmetric sine-Gordon model revisited: We argue that, contrary to previous claims, the supersymmetric sine-Gordon\nmodel with boundary has a two-parameter family of boundary interactions which\npreserves both integrability and supersymmetry. We also propose the\ncorresponding boundary S matrix for the first supermultiplet of breathers.",
        "positive": "Universal black hole stability in four dimensions: We show that four-dimensional black holes become stable below certain mass\nwhen the Einstein-Hilbert action is supplemented with higher-curvature terms.\nWe prove this to be the case for an infinite family of ghost-free theories\ninvolving terms of arbitrarily high order in curvature. The new black holes,\nwhich are non-hairy generalizations of Schwarzschild's solution, present a\nuniversal thermodynamic behavior for general values of the higher-order\ncouplings. In particular, small black holes have infinite lifetimes. When the\nevaporation process makes the semiclassical approximation break down (something\nthat occurs after a time which is usually infinite for all practical purposes),\nthe resulting object retains a huge entropy, in stark contrast with\nSchwarzschild's case."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "General Kaluza-Klein black holes with all six independent charges in\n  five-dimensional minimal supergravity: Using the SL(2,R)-duality in a dimensionally reduced spacetime in (the\nbosonic sector of) five-dimensional minimal supergravity, we construct general\nKaluza-Klein black hole solutions which carry six independent charges, its\nmass, angular momentum along four dimensions, electric and magnetic charges of\nthe Maxwell fields in addition to Kaluza-Klein electric and magnetic monopole\ncharges.",
        "positive": "Gauge Defect Networks in Two-Dimensional CFT: An interpretation of the gauge anomaly of the two-dimensional multi-phase\nsigma model is presented in terms of an obstruction to the existence of a\ntopological defect network implementing a local trivialisation of the gauged\nsigma model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Classification of Solvable Feynman Path Integrals: A systematic classification of Feynman path integrals in quantum mechanics is\npresented and a table of solvable path integrals is given which reflects the\nprogress made during the last ten years or so, including, of course, the main\ncontributions since the invention of the path integral by Feynman in 1942. An\noutline of the general theory is given. Explicit formul\\ae\\ for the so-called\nbasic path integrals are presented on which our general scheme to classify and\ncalculate path integrals in quantum mechanics is based.",
        "positive": "Quantum Gravity in 30 Questions: Quantum gravity is the missing piece in our understanding of the fundamental\ninteractions today. Given recent observational breakthroughs in gravity,\nproviding a quantum theory for what lies beyond general relativity is more\nurgent than ever. However, the complex history of quantum gravity and the\nmultitude of available approaches can make it difficult to get a grasp of the\ntopic and its main challenges and opportunities. We provide a guided tour of\nquantum gravity in the form of 30 questions, aimed at a mixed audience of\nlearners and practitioners. The issues covered range from basic motivational\nand background material to a critical assessment of the status quo and future\nof the subject. The emphasis is on structural issues and our current\nunderstanding of quantum gravity as a quantum field theory of dynamical\ngeometry beyond perturbation theory. We highlight the identification of quantum\nobservables and the development of effective numerical tools as critical to\nfuture progress."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exact spectrum of the XXZ open spin chain from the q-Onsager algebra\n  representation theory: The transfer matrix of the XXZ open spin-1/2 chain with general integrable\nboundary conditions and generic anisotropy parameter (q is not a root of unity\nand |q|=1) is diagonalized using the representation theory of the q-Onsager\nalgebra. Similarly to the Ising and superintegrable chiral Potts models, the\ncomplete spectrum is expressed in terms of the roots of a characteristic\npolynomial of degree d=2^N. The complete family of eigenstates are derived in\nterms of rational functions defined on a discrete support which satisfy a\nsystem of coupled recurrence relations. In the special case of linear relations\nbetween left and right boundary parameters for which Bethe-type solutions are\nknown to exist, our analysis provides an alternative derivation of the results\nby Nepomechie et al. and Cao et al.. In the latter case the complete family of\neigenvalues and eigenstates splits in two sets, each associated with a\ncharacteristic polynomial of degree $d< 2^N$. Numerical checks performed for\nsmall values of $N$ support the analysis.",
        "positive": "(0,2) Elephants: We enumerate massless E6 singlets for (0,2)-compactifications of the\nheterotic string on a Calabi-Yau threefold with the \"standard embedding\" in\nthree distinct ways. In the large radius limit of the threefold, these singlets\ncount deformations of the Calabi-Yau together with its tangent bundle. In the\n\"small-radius\" limit we apply Landau-Ginzburg methods. In the orbifold limit we\nuse a combination of geometry and free field methods. In general these counts\ndiffer. We show how to identify states between these phases and how certain\nstates vanish from the massless spectrum as one deforms the complex structure\nor Kaehler form away from the Gepner point. The appearance of extra singlets\nfor particular values of complex structure is explored in all three pictures,\nand our results suggest that this does not depend on the Kaehler moduli."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Deconstructing (2,0) Proposals: We examine the relationships between three proposals for the six-dimensional\n(2,0) theory: the DLCQ of hep-th/9707079, hep-th/9712117, the deconstruction\nprescription of hep-th/0110146, and the five-dimensional maximally\nsupersymmetric Yang-Mills proposal of 1012.2880, 1012.2882. We show that\nhep-th/0110146 gives a deconstruction of five-dimensional maximally\nsupersymmetric Yang-Mills. The proposal of hep-th/9707079, hep-th/9712117 uses\na subset of the degrees of freedom of five-dimensional Yang-Mills and we show\nthat compactification of it on a circle of finite radius agrees with the DLCQ\narising from the proposal of 1012.2880, 1012.2882 or from the deconstruction\nproposal of hep-th/0110146.",
        "positive": "Loop Equations as a Generalized Virasoro Constraints: The loop equations in the $U(N)$ lattice gauge theory are represented in the\nform of constraints imposed on a generating functional for the Wilson loop\ncorrelators. These constraints form a closed algebra with respect to\ncommutation. This algebra generalizes the Virasoro one, which is known to\nappear in one-matrix models in the same way. The realization of this algebra in\nterms of the infinitesimal changes of generators of the loop space is given.\nThe representations on the tensor fields on the loop space, generalizing the\ninteger spin conformal fields, are constructed. The structure constants of the\nalgebra under consideration being independent of the coupling constants, almost\nall the results are valid in the continuum."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Effective action for higher spin fields on (A)dS backgrounds: We study the one loop effective action for a class of higher spin fields by\nusing a first-quantized description. The latter is obtained by considering\nspinning particles, characterized by an extended local supersymmetry on the\nworldline, that can propagate consistently on conformally flat spaces. The\ngauge fixing procedure for calculating the worldline path integral on a loop is\ndelicate, as the gauge algebra contains nontrivial structure functions.\nRestricting the analysis on (A)dS backgrounds simplifies the gauge fixing\nprocedure, and allows us to produce a useful representation of the one loop\neffective action. In particular, we extract the first few heat kernel\ncoefficients for arbitrary even spacetime dimension D and for spin S identified\nby a curvature tensor with the symmetries of a rectangular Young tableau of D/2\nrows and [S] columns.",
        "positive": "Determinant and Character of W-infinity algebra: We diagonalize the Hilbert space of some subclass of the quasifinite module\nof the \\Winf algebra. States are classified according to their eigenvalues for\ninfinitely many commuting charges and the Young diagrams. The parameter\ndependence of their norms is explicitly derived. The full character formulae of\nthe degenerate representations are given as summation of the bilinear\ncombinations of the Schur polynomials."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Eternal Inflation with alpha'-Corrections: Higher-order alpha'-corrections are a generic feature of type IIB string\ncompactifications. In KKLT-like models of moduli stabilization they provide a\nmechanism of breaking the no-scale structure of the volume modulus. We present\na model of inflation driven by the volume modulus of flux compactifications of\nthe type IIB superstring. Using the effects of gaugino condensation on\nD7-branes and perturbative alpha'-corrections the volume modulus can be\nstabilized in a scalar potential which simultaneously contains saddle points\nproviding slow-roll inflation with about 130 e-foldings. We can accommodate the\n3-year WMAP data with a spectral index of density fluctuations n_s=0.93. Our\nmodel allows for eternal inflation providing the initial conditions of\nslow-roll inflation.",
        "positive": "Rotating strings and energy loss in non-conformal holography: We study the energy lost by an accelerating quark probe in the quark-gluon\nplasma produced in the heavy ion collisions in an approximate setting where the\nacceleration of the probe is due to uniform circular motion. The energy loss\nrate of the rotating probe is calculated at strong coupling in the confining\nSU(N) gauge theory based on N D4 branes on a circle, using the rotating string\nsolutions in the dual gravitational background. The system is known to exhibit\na confinement-deconfinement transition at a finite temperature T_c. We\ninvestigate energy loss both in the low and the high T phases. The high T phase\nis similar to the previously studied case of the conformal plasma, yet we find\nqualitative differences due to non-conformality of the underlying theory. The\nlow T phase, on the other hand exhibits novel interesting behavior: We find a\ndual gravitational mechanism that yields a lower bound on the emitted energy of\nthe rotating quark, proportional to the mass gap in the glueball spectrum. The\nlow T energy loss is argued to be completely due to glueball brehmstrahlung,\nhence the energy loss rate calculated here determines the Lienard potential for\nsyncrotron radiation in this confining gauge theory at strong coupling."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Cosmological Time Crystal: Cyclic Universe with a small $\u039b$ in a\n  toy model approach: A new form Time Crystal has been proposed and some of its consequences have\nbeen studied. The model is a generalization of the Friedmann-Robertson-Walker\n(FRW) cosmology endowed with noncommutative geometry corrections. In the\nmini-superspace approach the scale factor undergoes the time periodic behavior,\nor Sisyphus dynamics, which allows us to interpret this Cosmological Time\nCrystal as a physically motivated toy model to simulate cyclic universe.\nAnalyzing our model purely from Time Crystal perspective reveals many novelties\nsuch as a complex singularity structure (more complicated than the previously\nencountered swallowtail catastrophe) and a richer form of Sisyphus dynamics. In\nthe context of cosmology, the system can serve as a toy model in which, apart\nfrom inducing a form of cyclic universe feature, it is possible to generate an\narbitrarily small positive effective Cosmological Constant. We stress that the\nmodel is purely geometrical without introduction of matter degrees of freedom.",
        "positive": "Scanning of the Supersymmetry Breaking Scale and the Gravitino Mass in\n  Supergravity: We consider the minimal three-form ${\\cal N}=1$ supergravity coupled to\nnilpotent three-form chiral superfields. The supersymmetry breaking is sourced\nby the three-forms of the chiral multiplets, while the value of the gravitino\nmass is controlled by the three-form of the supergravity multiplet. The\nthree-forms can nucleate membranes which scan both the supersymmetry breaking\nscale and the gravitino mass. The peculiar supergravity feature that the\ncosmological constant is the sum of a positive contribution from the\nsupersymmetry breaking scale and a negative contribution from the gravitino\nmass makes the cosmological constant jump. This can lead to a\nphenomenologically allowed small value of the cosmological constant even though\nthe supersymmetry breaking scale and the gravitino mass are dynamically large."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Off-shell (4,4) supersymmetric sigma models with torsion in harmonic\n  superspace: We present a manifestly supersymmetric off-shell formulation of a wide class\nof $(4,4)$ $2D$ sigma models with torsion and both commuting and non-commuting\nleft and right complex structures in the harmonic superspace with a double set\nof $SU(2)$ harmonic variables. The distinguishing features of the relevant\nsuperfield action are: (i) in general nonabelian and nonlinear gauge invariance\nensuring a correct number of physical degrees of freedom; (ii) an infinite\ntower of auxiliary fields. This action is derived from the most general one by\nimposing the integrability condition which follows from the commutativity of\nthe left and right analyticity-preserving harmonic derivatives. For a\nparticular class of such models we explicitly demonstrate the non-commutativity\nof complex structures on the bosonic target.",
        "positive": "Stability of self-accelerating Universe in modified gravity with\n  dynamical torsion: the case of small background torsion: We consider the model of modified gravity with dynamical torsion. This model\nwas found to have promising stability properties about various backgrounds. The\nmodel admits a self-accelerating solution. We have shown previously that if the\nparameters are adjusted in such a way that the torsion is much greater than the\neffective cosmological constant, the self-accelerating solution is unstable:\nthere are exponentially growing modes. Here we study the scalar perturbations\nin the case when the torsion is of the order of the effective cosmological\nconstant. We find that there are no exponential instabilities."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Electromagnetic radiation in even-dimensional spacetimes: The basic concepts and mathematical constructions of the Maxwell--Lorentz\nelectrodynamics in flat spacetime of an arbitrary even dimension $d=2n$ are\nbriefly reviewed. We show that the retarded field strength ${\\cal\nF}^{(2n)}_{\\mu\\nu}$ due to a point charge living in a $2n$-dimensional world\ncan be algebraically expressed in terms of the retarded vector potentials\n${\\cal A}^{(2m)}_{\\mu}$ generated by this charge as if it were accommodated in\n$2m$-dimensional worlds nearby, $2\\le m\\le n+1$. With this finding, the rate of\nradiated energy-momentum of the electromagnetic field takes a compact form.",
        "positive": "Massive Gravity Theories and limits of Ghost-free Bigravity models: We construct a class of theories which extend New Massive Gravity to higher\norders in curvature in any dimension. The lagrangians arise as limits of a new\nclass of bimetric theories of Lovelock gravity, which are unitary theories free\nfrom the Boulware-Deser ghost. These Lovelock bigravity models represent the\nmost general non-chiral ghost-free theories of an interacting massless and\nmassive spin-two field in any dimension. The scaling limit is taken in such a\nway that unitarity is explicitly broken, but the Boulware-Deser ghost remains\nabsent. This automatically implies the existence of a holographic $c$-theorem\nfor these theories. We also show that the Born-Infeld extension of New Massive\nGravity falls into our class of models demonstrating that this theory is also\nfree of the Boulware-Deser ghost. These results extend existing connections\nbetween New Massive Gravity, bigravity theories, Galileon theories and\nholographic $c$-theorems."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Ginsparg-Wilson Relation and Admissibility Condition in Noncommutative\n  Geometry: Ginsparg-Wilson relation and admissibility condition have the key role to\nconstruct lattice chiral gauge theories. They are also useful to define the\nchiral structure in finite noncommutative geometries or matrix models. We\ndiscuss their usefulness briefly.",
        "positive": "Solution of the Three--Anyon Problem: We solve, by separation of variables, the problem of three anyons with a\nharmonic oscillator potential. The anyonic symmetry conditions from cyclic\npermutations are separable in our coordinates. The conditions from two-particle\ntranspositions are not separable, but can be expressed as reflection symmetry\nconditions on the wave function and its normal derivative on the boundary of a\ncircle. Thus the problem becomes one-dimensional. We solve this problem\nnumerically by discretization. $N$-point discretization with very small $N$ is\noften a good first approximation, on the other hand convergence as $N\\to\\infty$\nis sometimes very slow."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On quantum group symmetries of conformal field theories: The appearance of quantum groups in conformal field theories is traced back\nto the Poisson-Lie symmetries of the classical chiral theory. A geometric\nquantization of the classical theory deforms the Poisson-Lie symmetries to the\nquantum group ones. This elucidates the fundamental role of chiral symmetries\nthat quantum groups play in conformal models. As a byproduct, one obtains a\nmore geometric approach to the representation theory of quantum groups.",
        "positive": "Wilsonian renormalisation of CFT correlation functions: Field theory: We examine the precise connection between the exact renormalisation group\nwith local couplings and the renormalisation of correlation functions of\ncomposite operators in scale-invariant theories. A geometric description of\ntheory space allows us to select convenient non-linear parametrisations that\nserve different purposes. First, we identify normal parameters in which the\nrenormalisation group flows take their simplest form; normal correlators are\ndefined by functional differentiation with respect to these parameters. The\nrenormalised correlation functions are given by the continuum limit of\ncorrelators associated to a cutoff-dependent parametrisation, which can be\nrelated to the renormalisation group flows. The necessary linear and non-linear\ncounterterms in any arbitrary parametrisation arise in a natural way from a\nchange of coordinates. We show that, in a class of minimal subtraction schemes,\nthe renormalised correlators are exactly equal to normal correlators evaluated\nat a finite cutoff. To illustrate the formalism and the main results, we\ncompare standard diagrammatic calculations in a scalar free-field theory with\nthe structure of the perturbative solutions to the Polchinski equation close to\nthe Gaussian fixed point."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Noncommutative Sp(2,R) Gauge Theories - A Field Theory Approach to\n  Two-Time Physics: Phase-space and its relativistic extension is a natural space for realizing\nSp(2,R) symmetry through canonical transformations. On a Dx2 dimensional\ncovariant phase-space, we formulate noncommutative field theories, where\nSp(2,R) plays a role as either a global or a gauge symmetry group. In both\ncases these field theories have potential applications, including certain\naspects of string theories, M-theory, as well as quantum field theories. If\ninterpreted as living in lower dimensions, these theories realize Poincare'\nsymmetry linearly in a way consistent with causality and unitarity. In case\nSp(2,R) is a gauge symmetry, we show that the spacetime signature is determined\ndynamically as (D-2,2). The resulting noncommutative Sp(2,R) gauge theory is\nproposed as a field theoretical formulation of two-time physics: classical\nfield dynamics contains all known results of `two-time physics', including the\nreduction of physical spacetime from D to (D-2) dimensions, with the associated\n`holography' and `duality' properties. In particular, we show that the solution\nspace of classical noncommutative field equations put all massless scalar,\ngauge, gravitational, and higher-spin fields in (D-2) dimensions on\nequal-footing, reminiscent of string excitations at zero and infinite tension\nlimits.",
        "positive": "On Theta Dependence of Glueballs from AdS/CFT: We study the theta dependence of the glueball spectrum in a strongly coupled\ncousin of large N gluodynamics defined via the AdS/CFT correspondence. By\nexplicitly diagonalizing the 10d gravity equations in the presence of the RR\n3-form and 1-form fluxes we found a mixing pattern for the lowest-spin lightest\nglueballs. The mixing between the scalar and pseudoscalar states is not\nsuppressed, suggesting that the CP-odd effects persist in the large N theory.\nAs a consequence, the lightest mass eigenstate ceases to be a parity\neigenstate. We found the former as a linear combination of a scalar and\npseudoscalar glueballs. On the other hand, the mass eigenvalues in a theory\nwith and without the theta term remain equal in the large N limit."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-Connected Gauge Groups and the Plethystic Program: We present in the context of supersymmetric gauge theories an extension of\nthe Weyl integration formula, first discovered by Robert Wendt, which applies\nto a class of non-connected Lie groups. This allows to count in a systematic\nway gauge-invariant chiral operators for these non-connected gauge groups.\nApplying this technique to $\\mathrm{O}(n)$, we obtain, via the ADHM\nconstruction, the Hilbert series for certain instanton moduli spaces. We\nvalidate our general method and check our results via a Coulomb branch\ncomputation, using three-dimensional mirror symmetry.",
        "positive": "String creation and cosmology: I argue that string creation may have played a role in reheating the universe\nafter inflation. For strings in four dimensions that arise from branes wrapping\ncycles in the extra dimensions, estimates from effective field theory show that\nthe string tension need only fall a couple of orders of magnitude below the\nPlanck scale in order for string creation to extract a significant fraction of\nthe energy in coherent motion of the inflaton field. I also comment on a\nspecial four-dimensional background which involves only Neveu-Schwarz fields\nand offers the possibility of studying closed string creation on the\nworldsheet."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Momentum spectra of particles produced in a single pulse of an electric\n  field: We study particle creation in a single pulse of an electric field in scalar\nquantum electrodynamics. We first identify parameter regions of the theory\nwhere the dynamical pair creation and Schwinger mechanism respectively dominate\neach other. Then, analytical expressions for the total characteristics of\nparticle creation are determined for the case where the Schwinger mechanism\ndominates. We also compare our results with those produced in a constant\nelectric field with a finite-time interval. These results coincide at a strong\nfield regime, however they differ in general field strength. We identify the\nreason of this difference with a nonperturbative effect of high-frequency\nphotons in external electric fields.",
        "positive": "Propagation of a scalar field with non-minimal coupling in three\n  dimensions: Hawking radiation and Quasinormal modes: In this paper we investigate an exact spectrum of quasi normal modes (QNMs)\nfor perturbations of a scalar field coupled non-minimally with the Einstein\ntensor of an uncharged, non-rotating Banados, Teitelboim, and Zanelli (BTZ)\nblack hole in three-dimensional spacetime. Due to the geometry around the black\nhole, the scalar field encounters an effective potential barrier. We study this\npotential numerically and derive exact numerical results for the greybody\nfactors (GFs) and discuss their profiles in terms of the coupling constant and\nblack hole parameters. We then proceed to derive the Hawking radiation spectrum\nfor BTZ black hole."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Intense radiation from a relativistic electron rotating about a\n  dielectric ball: The radiation from a relativistic electron uniformly rotating along an orbit\nin the equatorial plane of a dielectric ball was calculated taking into account\nthe dielectric losses of energy and dispersion of electromagnetic oscillations\ninside the substance of ball. It was shown that due to the presence of ball the\nradiation from the particle at some harmonics may be several dozens of times\nmore intense than that from the particle rotating in an infinite homogeneous\n(and transparent) dielectric. The generation of such a high power radiation is\npossible only at some particular values of the ratio of ball radius to that of\nelectron orbit and when the Cherenkov condition for the ball material and the\nvelocity of particle \"image\" on the ball surface is met.",
        "positive": "Lorentz Gauge Theory and Spinor Interaction: A gauge theory of the Lorentz group, based on the different behavior of\nspinors and vectors under local transformations, is formulated in a flat\nspace-time and the role of the torsion field within the generalization to\ncurved space-time is briefly discussed. The spinor interaction with the new\ngauge field is then analyzed assuming the time gauge and stationary solutions,\nin the non-relativistic limit, are treated to generalize the Pauli equation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "T-branes, Anomalies and Moduli Spaces in 6D SCFTs: The worldvolume theory of M5-branes on an ADE singularity\n$\\mathbb{R}^5/\\Gamma_G$ can be Higgsed in various ways, corresponding to the\npossible nilpotent orbits of $G$. In the F-theory dual picture, this\ncorresponds to activating T-brane data along two stacks of 7-branes and yields\na tensor branch realization for a large class of 6D SCFTs. In this paper, we\nshow that the moduli spaces and anomalies of these T-brane theories are related\nin a simple, universal way to data of the nilpotent orbits. This often works in\nsurprising ways and gives a nontrivial confirmation of the conjectured\nproperties of T-branes in F-theory. We use this result to formally engineer a\nclass of theories where the IIA picture na\\\"ively breaks down. We also give a\nproof of the $a$-theorem for all RG flows within this class of T-brane\ntheories.",
        "positive": "Exact Microscopic Entropy of Non-Supersymmetric Extremal Black Rings: In this brief note we show that the horizon entropy of the largest known\nclass of non-supersymmetric extremal black rings, with up to six parameters, is\nexactly reproduced for all values of the ring radius using the same conformal\nfield theory of the four-charge four-dimensional black hole. A particularly\nsimple case is a dipole black ring without any conserved charges. The mass gets\nrenormalized, but the first corrections it receives can be easily understood as\nan interaction potential energy. Finally, we stress that even if the entropy is\ncorrectly reproduced, this only implies that one sector of chiral excitations\nhas been identified, but an understanding of excitations in the other sector is\nstill required in order to capture the black ring dynamics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On classical and semiclassical properties of the Liouville theory with\n  defects: The Lagrangian of the Liouville theory with topological defects is analyzed\nin detail and general solution of the corresponding defect equations of motion\nis found. We study the heavy and light semiclassical limits of the defect\ntwo-point function found before via the bootstrap program. We show that the\nheavy asymptotic limit is given by the exponential of the Liouville action with\ndefects, evaluated on the solutions with two singular points. We demonstrate\nthat the light asymptotic limit is given by the finite dimensional path\nintegral over solutions of the defect equations of motion with a vanishing\nenergy-momentum tensor.",
        "positive": "Non-Abelian Duality in the String Effective Action: We study the symmetry of the one-loop effective action of bosonic string\ntheory under non-Abelian T-duality transformations. It is shown that the\noriginal Lagrangian and its dual are proportional. This result implies that the\ncorresponding reduced low energy effective actions are equivalent and leads to\na functional relation between the Weyl anomaly coefficients of the original and\ndual two-dimensional non-linear sigma models. {}Finally, we apply this\nformalism to some simple examples."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "More on Massive 3D Supergravity: Completing earlier work on three dimensional (3D) N=1 supergravity with\ncurvature-squared terms, we construct the general supergravity extension of\ncosmological massive gravity theories. We expand about supersymmetric anti-de\nSitter vacua, finding the conditions for bulk unitarity and the critical points\nin parameter space at which the spectrum changes. We discuss implications for\nthe dual conformal field theory.",
        "positive": "Bulk-boundary thermodynamic equivalence: a topology viewpoint: Setting the cosmological constant to be dynamical, we study the bulk and\nboundary thermodynamics of charged Anti-de Sitter black holes. We develop\nmass/energy formulas in terms of thermodynamic state functions for the extended\nthermodynamics, mixed thermodynamics, and boundary conformal field theory\nthermodynamics. We employ the residue method to study the topological\nproperties of the phase transitions. Our analysis reveals that the bulk and\nboundary thermodynamics are topologically equivalent for both criticalities and\nfirst-order phase transitions in the canonical ensembles, as well as for the\nHawking-Page(-like) phase transitions in the grand canonical ensembles.\nAdditionally, those three kinds of phase transitions are shown to be\ndistinguished by their unique topological charges. Our results exemplify the\ngravity-gauge duality in terms of topology."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Topological twisted sigma model with H-flux revisited: In this paper we revisit the topological twisted sigma model with H-flux. We\nexplicitly expand and then twist the worldsheet Lagrangian for bi-Hermitian\ngeometry. we show that the resulting action consists of a BRST exact term and\npullback terms, which only depend on one of the two generalized complex\nstructures and the B-field. We then discuss the topological feature of the\nmodel.",
        "positive": "Superspin chains and supersymmetric gauge theories: We discuss the possible extensions of Bethe/gauge correspondence to quantum\nintegrable systems based on the super-Lie algebras of A type. Along the way we\npropose the analogues of Nakajima quiver varieties whose cohomology and\nK-theory should carry the representations of the corresponding Yangian and the\nquantum affine algebras, respectively. We end up with comments on the N=4\nplanar super-Yang-Mills theory in four dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Nonlinear Supersymmetry Without the GSO Projection and Unstable D9-Brane: Orientable open string theories containing both bosons and fermions without\nthe GSO projection are expected to have the 10 dimensional N=2(A) space-time\nsupersymmetry in a spontaneously broken phase. We study the low-energy theorem\nfor the nonlinearly realized N=2 supersymmetry using the effective action for\nan unstable D9-brane. It is explicitly confirmed that the 4-fermion open string\namplitudes without the GSO projection obey the low-energy theorem derived from\nthe nonlinear N=2 supersymmetry. An intimate connection between the existence\nof the hidden supersymmetry and the open-open string (s-t) duality is pointed\nout.",
        "positive": "Thermodynamics of Gauss-Bonnet-Dilaton Lifshitz Black Branes: We explore an effective supergravity action in the presence of a massless\ngauge field which contains the Gauss-Bonnet term as well as a dilaton field. We\nconstruct a new class of black brane solutions of this theory with the Lifshitz\nasymptotic by fixing the parameters of the model such that the asymptotic\nLifshitz behavior can be supported. Then we construct the well-defined finite\naction through the use of the counterterm method. We also obtain two\nindependent constants along the radial coordinate by combining the equations of\nmotion. Calculations of these two constants at infinity through the use of the\nlarge-$r$ behavior of the metric functions show that our solution respects the\nno-hair theorem. Furthermore, we combine these two constants in order to get a\nconstant $C$ which is proportional to the energy of the black brane. We\ncalculate this constant at the horizon in terms of the temperature and entropy,\nand at large-$r$ in terms of the geometrical mass. By calculating the value of\nthe energy density through the use of the counterterm method, we obtain the\nrelation between the energy density, the temperature, and the entropy. This\nrelation is the generalization of the well-known Smarr formula for AdS black\nholes. Finally, we study the thermal stability of our black brane solution and\nshow that it is stable under thermal perturbations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Naturalness via scale invariance and non-trivial UV fixed points in a 4d\n  O(N) scalar field model in the large-N limit: We try to use scale-invariance and the 1/N expansion to construct a\nnon-trivial 4d O(N) scalar field model with controlled UV behavior and\nnaturally light scalar excitations. The principle is to fix interactions at\neach order in 1/N by requiring the effective action for arbitrary background\nfields to be scale-invariant. We find a line of non-trivial UV fixed-points in\nthe large-N limit, parameterized by a dimensionless coupling. Nether action nor\nmeasure is scale invariant, but the effective action is. Scale invariance makes\nit natural to set a mass deformation to zero. The model has phases where O(N)\ninvariance is unbroken or spontaneously broken. Masses of the lightest\nexcitations above the unbroken vacuum are found. Slowly varying quantum\nfluctuations are incorporated at order 1/N. We find the 1/N correction to the\npotential, beta function of mass and anomalous dimensions of fields that\npreserve a line of fixed points for constant backgrounds.",
        "positive": "Genuine Dyons in Born-Infeld Electrodynamics: Study of magnetic monopoles in the original version of Born-Infeld (BI)\nelectrodynamics is performed. It then is realized that interesting new physics\nemerge and they include exotic behavior of radial electric monopole field such\nas its regularity as $r\\to 0$ and its changing behavior with the absence or\npresence of the radial magnetic monopole field. This last point has been\ninterpreted as the manifestation of the existence of point-like dyons in\nabelian BI theory. Two pieces of clear evidences in favor of this dyon\ninterpretation are provided. It is also demonstrated that despite these unique\nfeatures having no analogues in standard Maxwell theory, the cherished Dirac\nquantisation condition remains unchanged. Lastly, comments are given concerning\nthat dyons found here in the original version of BI electrodynamics should be\ndistinguished from the ones with the same name or BIons being studied in the\nrecent literature on D-brane physics."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Infinite Symmetry and Interplay Between Integer and Fractional\n  Quantum Hall Effect: It is shown, that a spectrum generating algebras and wave functions for the\nintegral and fractional quantum Hall effect are related by the non-unitary\nsimilarity transformation. This transformation corresponds to the introduction\nof the complex Chern-Simons gauge fields, in terms of which the second\nquantized form of FQHE can be developed",
        "positive": "Boundary renormalisation group flows of unitary superconformal minimal\n  models: In this paper we investigate renormalisation group flows of supersymmetric\nminimal models generated by the boundary perturbing field (\\hat\nG_{-1/2}\\phi_{1,3}). Performing the Truncated Conformal Space Approach analysis\nthe emerging pattern of the flow structure is consistent with the theoretical\nexpectations. According to the results, this pattern can be naturally extended\nto those cases for which the existing predictions are uncertain."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Type II strings are Exceptional: We construct the exceptional sigma model: a two-dimensional sigma model\ncoupled to a supergravity background in a manifestly (formally)\n$E_{D(D)}$-covariant manner. This formulation of the background is provided by\nExceptional Field Theory (EFT), which unites the metric and form fields of\nsupergravity in $E_{D(D)}$ multiplets before compactification. The realisation\nof the local symmetries of EFT on the worldsheet uniquely fixes the\nWeyl-invariant Lagrangian and allows us to relate our action to the usual type\nIIA fundamental string action and a form of the type IIB $(m,n)$ action. This\nuniqueness \"predicts\" the correct form of the couplings to gauge fields in both\nNeveu-Schwarz and Ramond sectors, without invoking supersymmetry.",
        "positive": "A Superspace formulation of Yang-Mills theory on sphere: A superspace approach to the Becchi-Rouet-Stora-Tyutin (BRST) formalism for\nthe Yang-Mills theory on an n-dimensional unit sphere, S_1^{n}, is developed in\na manifestly covariant manner based on the rotational supersymmetry\ncharacterized by the supergroup OSp(n+1|2). This is done by employing an\n(n+2)-dimensional unit supersphere, S_1^{n|2}, parametrized by n commutative\nand 2 anticommutative coordinate variables so that it includes S_1^{n} as a\nsubspace and realizes the OSp(n+1|2) supersymmetry. In this superspace\nformulation, referred to as the supersphere formulation, the so-called\nhorizontality condition is concisely expressed in terms of the rank-3 field\nstrength tensor of a Yang-Mills superfield on S_1^{n|2}. The supersphere\nformulation completely covers the BRST gauge-fixing procedure for the\nYang-Mills theory on S_1^{n} provided by us [R. Banerjee and S. Deguchi, Phys.\nLett. B 632 (2006) 579, arXiv:hep-th/0509161]. Furthermore, this formulation\nadmits the (massive) Curci-Ferrari model defined on S_1^{n}, describing the\ngauge-fixing and mass terms on S_1^{n} together as a mass term on S_1^{n|2}."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Heating up the Baryonic Branch with U-duality: a unified picture of\n  conifold black holes: We study different aspects of a U-duality recently presented by Maldacena and\nMartelli and apply it to non-extremal backgrounds. In particular, starting from\nnew non-extremal wrapped D5 branes we generate new non-extremal generalizations\nof the Baryonic Branch of the Klebanov-Strassler solution. We also elaborate on\ndifferent conceptual aspects of these U-dualities, like its action on (extremal\nand non-extremal) Dp branes, dual models for Yang-Mills-like theories, generic\nasymptotics and decoupling limit of the generated solutions.",
        "positive": "Chiral vortices in relativistic hydrodynamics: Towards modelling the charge asymmetry observed in heavy ion collisions, we\npresent here analytic solutions of relativistic hydrodynamics containing parity\nviolating and anomalous terms at the first order in the hydrodynamic\napproximation. These terms can induce chiral magnetic and chiral vortical\neffect leading to the generation of the charge asymmetry. We also consider\nsphaleron solutions with non trivial winding number to model the phenomenon. We\ncalculate the net chiral charge difference produced in our solutions. We\nanticipate their relevance also in the context of baryogenesis in early\nuniverse, neutron star and some condensed matter situations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Ricci flat Supermanifolds: We study the Ricci flatness condition on generic supermanifolds. It has been\nfound recently that when the fermionic complex dimension of the supermanifold\nis one the vanishing of the super-Ricci curvature implies the bosonic\nsubmanifold has vanishing scalar curvature. We prove that this phenomena is\nonly restricted to fermionic complex dimension one. Further we conjecture that\nfor complex fermionic dimension larger than one the Calabi-Yau theorem holds\nfor supermanifolds.",
        "positive": "On the viability of bigravity cosmology: We revisit the question of viability of bigravity cosmology as a candidate\nfor dark energy. In the context of the low energy limit model, where matter\ncouples to a single metric, we study linear perturbations around homogeneous\nand isotropic backgrounds to derive the Poisson's equation for the Newtonian\npotential. Extending to second order perturbations, we identify the Vainshtein\nradius below which non-linear scalar self interactions conspire to reproduce GR\non local scales. We combine all of these results to determine the parameter\nspace that allows a late time de-Sitter attractor compatible with observations\nand a successful Vainsthein mechanism. We find that the requirement on having a\nsuccessful Vainsthein mechanism is not compatible with the existence of\ncosmological solutions at early times."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dark energy and dark matter from nonlocal ghost-free gravity theory: We suggest a class of generally covariant ghost-free nonlocal gravity models\ngenerating de Sitter or Anti-de Sitter background with an arbitrary value of\nthe effective cosmological constant and featuring a mechanism of dark matter\nsimulation. These models interpolate between the general relativistic phase on\na flat spacetime background and their strongly coupled infrared (Anti)-de\nSitter phase with two propagating massless graviton modes.",
        "positive": "On closed-string twist-field correlators and their open-string\n  descendants: In a recent paper we have proposed the possibility that the lightest massive\nstring states could be identified with open strings living at intersections of\nD-branes forming small angles. In this note, we reconsider the relevant\ntwist-field correlation functions and perform the analysis of the sub-dominant\nphysical poles in the various channels. Our derivation is new in that it is\nbased on the algebraic procedure for the construction of open string models\nstarting from their closed-string `parents' rather than on the stress-tensor\nmethod. We also indicate possible generalizations and diverse applications of\nour approach."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Memoirs of an Early String Theorist: I worked on String Theory over a period of five years during the First String\nEra, the most intellectually satisfying years of my scientific life. One of the\nearly prospectors in the String Theory Mine, I was fortunate enough to\ncontribute to the birth of this subject, which retains after these many years,\nits magical hold on our imaginations and expectations.",
        "positive": "The Spacetime Superalgebras from M-branes in M-brane Backgrounds: We derive the spacetime superalgebras explicitly from ``test'' M-brane\nactions in M-brane backgrounds to the lowest order in $\\theta$ via canonical\nformalism, and discuss various BPS saturated configurations on the basis of\ntheir central charges which depend on the harmonic functions determined by the\nbackgrounds. All the 1/4 supersymmetric intersections of two M-branes obtained\npreviously are deduced from the requirement of the test branes to be so ``gauge\nfixed'' in the brane backgrounds as to preserve 1/4 supersymmetry. Furthermore,\nsome of 1/2-supersymmetric bound states of two M-branes are deduced from the\nbehavior of the harmonic functions in the limits of vanishing distances of the\ntwo branes. The possibilities of some triple intersections preserving 1/4\nsupersymmetry are also discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Ho\u0159ava gravity is asymptotically free (in 2+1 dimensions): We compute the $\\beta$-functions of marginal couplings in projectable\nHo\\v{r}ava gravity in $2+1$ spacetime dimensions. We show that the\nrenormalization group flow has an asymptotically-free fixed point in the\nultraviolet (UV), establishing the theory as a UV-complete model with dynamical\ngravitational degrees of freedom. Therefore, this theory may serve as a\ntoy-model to study fundamental aspects of quantum gravity. Our results\nrepresent a step forward towards understanding the UV properties of realistic\nversions of Ho\\v{r}ava gravity.",
        "positive": "A method for obtaining quantum doubles from the Yang-Baxter R-matrices: We develop the approach of Faddeev, Reshetikhin, Takhtajan [1] and of Majid\n[2] that enables one to associate a quasitriangular Hopf algebra to every\nregular invertible constant solution of the quantum Yang-Baxter equations. We\nshow that such a Hopf algebra is actually a quantum double."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "$\\mathcal{N}=2$ Supersymmetry with Central Charge: A Twofold\n  Implementation: In this work, we analyze an extended $\\mathcal{N}=2$ supersymmetry with\ncentral charge and develop its superspace formulation under two distinct\nviewpoints. Initially, in the context of classical mechanics, we discuss the\nintroduction of deformed supersymmetric derivatives and their consequence on\nthe deformation of one-dimensional non-linear sigma model. After that,\nconsidering a field-theoretical framework, we present an implementation of this\nsuperalgebra in two dimensions, such that one of the coordinates is related to\nthe central charge. As an application, in this two-dimensional scenario, we\nconsider topological (bosonic) configurations of a special self-coupled matter\nmodel and present a non-trivial fermionic solution.",
        "positive": "Entanglement Tsunami in (1+1)-Dimensions: We study the time dependence of the entanglement entropy of disjoint\nintervals following a global quantum quench in (1+1)-dimensional CFTs at\nlarge-$c$ with a sparse spectrum. The result agrees with a holographic\ncalculation but differs from the free field theory answer. In particular, a\nsimple model of free quasiparticle propagation is not adequate for CFTs with a\nholographic dual. We elaborate on the entanglement tsunami proposal of Liu and\nSuh and show how it can be used to reproduce the holographic answer."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fermionic formulas for (1,p) logarithmic model characters in \u03a6_{2,1}\n  quasiparticle realisation: We give expressions for the characters of $(1,p)$ logarithmic conformal field\nmodels in the Gordon-type form. The formulas are obtained in terms of\n``quasiparticles'' that are Virasoro $\\Phi_{2,1}$ primary fields and generalize\nthe symplectic fermions.",
        "positive": "A truly marginal deformation of SL(2,R) in a null direction: We perform a marginal deformation of the SL(2,R) WZW model in a null\ndirection. If we send the deformation parameter to infinity we obtain a linear\ndilaton background plus two free bosons. We show in addition that such a\nbackground can be obtained by a duality transformation of the undeformed WZW\nmodel. In the end we indicate how to generalize the given procedure."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Biorthogonal Polynomials for Potentials of two Variables and External\n  Sources at the Denominator: We construct biorthogonal polynomials for a measure over the complex plane\nwhich consists in the exponential of a potential V(z,z*) and in a set of\nexternal sources at the numerator and at the denominator. We use the pseudonorm\nof these polynomials to calculate the resolvent integral for correlation\nfunctions of traces of powers of complex matrices (under certain conditions).",
        "positive": "Complex geometry of conifolds and 5-brane wrapped on 2-sphere: We investigate solutions of type II supergravity which have the product R^4 x\nM^6 structure with non-compact M^6 factor and which preserve at least four\nsupersymmetries. In particular, we consider various conifolds and the N=1\nsupersymmetric NS5-brane wrapped on 2-sphere solution recently discussed in\nhep-th/0008001. In all of these cases, we explicitly construct the complex\nstructures, and the Kaehler and parallel (3,0) forms of the corresponding M^6.\nIn addition, we verify that the above solutions preserve, respectively, eight\nand four supersymmetries of type II theory. We also demonstrate that the\nordinary and fractional D3-brane solutions on singular, resolved and deformed\nconifolds, and the (S-dual of) NS5-brane wrapped on 2-sphere can be obtained as\nspecial cases from a universal ansatz for the supergravity fields and a single\n1-d action governing their radial evolution. We show that like the 3-branes on\nconifolds, the NS5-brane on 2-sphere background can be found as a solution of\nfirst order system following from a superpotential."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Noncommutative gauge theories and Lorentz symmetry: We explicitly derive, following a Noether-like approach, the criteria for\npreserving Poincare invariance in noncommutative gauge theories. Using these\ncriteria we discuss the various spacetime symmetries in such theories. It is\nshown that, interpreted appropriately, Poincare invariance holds. The analysis\nis performed in both the commutative as well as noncommutative descriptions and\na compatibility between the two is also established.",
        "positive": "Formation of Spherical D2-brane from Multiple D0-branes: We study D-branes in SU(2) WZW model by means of the boundary state\ntechniques. We realize the ``fuzzy sphere'' configuration of multiple D0-branes\nas the boundary state with the insertion of suitable Wilson line. By making use\nof the path-integral representation we show that this boundary state preserves\nthe appropriate boundary conditions and leads to the Cardy state describing a\nspherical D2-brane under the semi-classical approximation. This result directly\nimplies that the spherical D2-brane in SU(2) WZW model can be well described as\nthe bound state of D0-branes.\n  After presenting the supersymmetric extension, we also investigate the BPS\nand the non-BPS configurations of D-branes in the NS5 background. We\ndemonstrate that the non-BPS configurations are actually unstable, since they\nalways possess the open string tachyons. We further notice that the stable BPS\nbound state constructed by the tachyon condensation is naturally interpreted as\nthe brane configuration of fuzzy sphere."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Boundary and Interface CFTs from the Conformal Bootstrap: We explore some consequences of the crossing symmetry for defect conformal\nfield theories, focusing on codimension one defects like flat boundaries or\ninterfaces. We study surface transitions of the 3d Ising and other O(N) models\nthrough numerical solutions to the crossing equations with the method of\ndeterminants. In the extraordinary transition, where the low-lying spectrum of\nthe surface operators is known, we use the bootstrap equations to obtain\ninformation on the bulk spectrum of the theory. In the ordinary transition the\nknowledge of the low-lying bulk spectrum allows to calculate the scale\ndimension of the relevant surface operator, which compares well with known\nresults of two-loop calculations in 3d. Estimates of various OPE coefficients\nare also obtained. We also analyze in 4-epsilon dimensions the renormalization\ngroup interface between the O(N) model and the free theory and check\nnumerically the results in 3d.",
        "positive": "Gauge Theory Wilson Loops and Conformal Toda Field Theory: The partition function of a family of four dimensional N=2 gauge theories has\nbeen recently related to correlation functions of two dimensional conformal\nToda field theories. For SU(2) gauge theories, the associated two dimensional\ntheory is A_1 conformal Toda field theory, i.e. Liouville theory. For this case\nthe relation has been extended showing that the expectation value of gauge\ntheory loop operators can be reproduced in Liouville theory inserting in the\ncorrelators the monodromy of chiral degenerate fields. In this paper we study\nWilson loops in SU(N) gauge theories in the fundamental and anti-fundamental\nrepresentation of the gauge group and show that they are associated to\nmonodromies of a certain chiral degenerate operator of A_{N-1} Toda field\ntheory. The orientation of the curve along which the monodromy is evaluated\nselects between fundamental and anti-fundamental representation. The analysis\nis performed using properties of the monodromy group of the generalized\nhypergeometric equation, the differential equation satisfied by a class of four\npoint functions relevant for our computation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dispersion relations and exact bounds on CFT correlators: We derive new crossing-symmetric dispersion formulae for CFT correlators\nrestricted to the line. The formulae are equivalent to the sum rules implied by\nwhat we call master functionals, which are analytic extremal functionals which\nact on the crossing equation. The dispersion relations provide an equivalent\nformulation of the constraints of the Polyakov bootstrap and hence of crossing\nsymmetry on the line. The built in positivity properties imply simple and exact\nlower and upper bounds on the values of general CFT correlators on the\nEuclidean section, which are saturated by generalized free fields. Besides\nbounds on correlators, we apply this technology to determine new universal\nconstraints on the Regge limit of arbitrary CFTs and obtain very simple and\naccurate representations of the 3d Ising spin correlator.",
        "positive": "Brane Tilings as On-shell Diagrams: A new way of computing scattering amplitudes in a certain very important QFT\n(N=4 SYM) has recently been developed, in which an algebraic structure called\nthe positive Grassmannian plays a very important role. The mathematics of the\npositive Grassmannian involve, among other things, bipartite graphs, which also\nappear in the formulation of a certain class of conformal field theories that\nare currently being generalized into Bipartite Field Theories (BFT). The fact\nthat the same structures appear in two such different realms of physics\nsuggests a deeper connection between the two that is yet to be fully unveiled.\nHere we explore that potential connection by looking at the graphs of a certain\nclass of BFTs, the brane tilings, in terms of the new mathematics developed for\nthe computation of the amplitudes. This way we produce a set of data that will\nhopefully be useful in the development of that connection."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "String MSSM through flipped SU(5) from Z_{12} orbifold: In a $Z_{12-I}$ orbifold compactification through an intermediate flipped\nSU(5), the string MSSM (${\\cal S}$MSSM) spectra (three families, one pair of\nHiggs doublets, and neutral singlets) are obtained with the Yukawa coupling\nstructure. The GUT $\\sin^2\\theta_W^0=\\frac38$, even with exotics in the twisted\nsector, can be run to the observed electroweak scale value by mass parameters\nof vectorlike exotics near the GUT scale. We also obtain R-parity and\ndoublet-triplet splitting.",
        "positive": "Entanglement Conservation, ER=EPR, and a New Classical Area Theorem for\n  Wormholes: We consider the question of entanglement conservation in the context of the\nER=EPR correspondence equating quantum entanglement with wormholes. In quantum\nmechanics, the entanglement between a system and its complement is conserved\nunder unitary operations that act independently on each; ER=EPR suggests that\nan analogous statement should hold for wormholes. We accordingly prove a new\narea theorem in general relativity: for a collection of dynamical wormholes and\nblack holes in a spacetime satisfying the null curvature condition, the maximin\narea for a subset of the horizons (giving the largest area attained by the\nminimal cross section of the multi-wormhole throat separating the subset from\nits complement) is invariant under classical time evolution along the outermost\napparent horizons. The evolution can be completely general, including horizon\nmergers and the addition of classical matter satisfying the null energy\ncondition. This theorem is the gravitational dual of entanglement conservation\nand thus constitutes an explicit characterization of the ER=EPR duality in the\nclassical limit."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Twenty-five years of two-dimensional rational conformal field theory: In this article we try to give a condensed panoramic view of the development\nof two-dimensional rational conformal field theory in the last twenty-five\nyears.",
        "positive": "Quaternionic Root Systems and Subgroups of the $Aut(F_{4})$: Cayley-Dickson doubling procedure is used to construct the root systems of\nsome celebrated Lie algebras in terms of the integer elements of the division\nalgebras of real numbers, complex numbers, quaternions and octonions. Starting\nwith the roots and weights of SU(2) expressed as the real numbers one can\nconstruct the root systems of the Lie algebras of SO(4),SP(2)=\nSO(5),SO(8),SO(9),F_{4} and E_{8} in terms of the discrete elements of the\ndivision algebras. The roots themselves display the group structures besides\nthe octonionic roots of E_{8} which form a closed octonion algebra. The\nautomorphism group Aut(F_{4}) of the Dynkin diagram of F_{4} of order 2304, the\nlargest crystallographic group in 4-dimensional Euclidean space, is realized as\nthe direct product of two binary octahedral group of quaternions preserving the\nquaternionic root system of F_{4}.The Weyl groups of many Lie algebras, such\nas, G_{2},SO(7),SO(8),SO(9),SU(3)XSU(3) and SP(3)X SU(2) have been constructed\nas the subgroups of Aut(F_{4}). We have also classified the other non-parabolic\nsubgroups of Aut(F_{4}) which are not Weyl groups. Two subgroups of orders192\nwith different conjugacy classes occur as maximal subgroups in the finite\nsubgroups of the Lie group $G_{2}$ of orders 12096 and 1344 and proves to be\nuseful in their constructions. The triality of SO(8) manifesting itself as the\ncyclic symmetry of the quaternionic imaginary units e_{1},e_{2},e_{3} is used\nto show that SO(7) and SO(9) can be embedded triply symmetric way in SO(8) and\nF_{4} respectively."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A note on the three dimensional sine--Gordon equation: Using a simple ansatz for the solutions of the three dimensional\ngeneralization of the sine--Gordon and Toda model introduced by Konopelchenko\nand Rogers, a class of solutions is found by elementary methods. It is also\nshown that these equations are not evolution equations in the sense that\nsolution to the initial value problem is not unique.",
        "positive": "Ground State of the Hydrogen Atom via Dirac Equation in a Minimal Length\n  Scenario: In this work we calculate the correction to the ground state energy of the\nhydrogen atom due to contributions arising from the presence of a minimal\nlength. The minimal length scenario is introduced by means of modifying the\nDirac equation through a deformed Heisenberg algebra (kempf algebra). With the\nintroduction of the Coulomb potential in the new Dirac energy operator, we\ncalculate the energy shift of the ground state of the hydrogen atom in first\norder of the parameter related to the minimal length via perturbation theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Consistent truncations with massive modes and holography: We review the basic features of some recently found consistent Kaluza-Klein\ntruncations including massive modes. We emphasize the general ideas underlying\nthe reduction procedure, then we focus on type IIB supergravity on\n5-dimensional manifolds admitting a Sasaki-Einstein structure, which leads to\nhalf-maximal gauged supergravity in five dimensions. Finally, we comment on the\nholographic picture of consistency.",
        "positive": "Integrable Structure of $5d$ $\\mathcal{N}=1$ Supersymmetric Yang-Mills\n  and Melting Crystal: We study loop operators of $5d$ $\\mathcal{N}=1$ SYM in $\\Omega$ background.\nFor the case of U(1) theory, the generating function of correlation functions\nof the loop operators reproduces the partition function of melting crystal\nmodel with external potential. We argue the common integrable structure of $5d$\n$\\mathcal{N}=1$ SYM and melting crystal model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "N=2 Born-Infeld Attractors: We derive new types of $U(1)^n$ Born-Infeld actions based on N=2 special\ngeometry in four dimensions. As in the single vector multiplet (n=1) case, the\nnon--linear actions originate, in a particular limit, from quadratic\nexpressions in the Maxwell fields. The dynamics is encoded in a set of\ncoefficients $d_{ABC}$ related to the third derivative of the holomorphic\nprepotential and in an SU(2) triplet of N=2 Fayet-Iliopoulos charges, which\nmust be suitably chosen to preserve a residual N=1 supersymmetry.",
        "positive": "BRST properties of spin fields: For the closed superstring, spin fields and bi-spinor states are defined\ndirectly in four spacetime dimensions. Explicit operator product expansions are\ngiven, including those for the internal superconformal field theory, which are\nconsistent with locality and BRST invariance for the string vertices. The most\ngeneral BRST picture changing for these fields is computed. A covariant\nnotation for the spin decomposition of these states is developed in which\nnon-vanishing polarizations are selected automatically. The kinematics of the\nthree-gluon dual model amplitude in both the Neveu-Schwarz and Ramond sectors\nin the Lorentz gauges is calculated and contrasted. Modular invariance and\nenhanced gauge symmetry of four-dimensional models incorporating these states\nis described."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Metric-Independent Measures for Supersymmetric Extended Object Theories\n  on Curved Backgrounds: For Green-Schwarz superstring sigma-model on curved backgrounds, we introduce\na non-metric measure $\\Phi \\equiv \\epsilon^{i j} \\epsilon^{I J} (\\partial_i\n\\varphi^I) (\\partial_j \\varphi^J)$ with two scalars $\\varphi^I (I = 1, 2)$ used\nin Two Measure Theory (TMT). As in the flat-background case, the string tension\n$T= (2 \\pi \\alpha ' )^{-1}$ emerges as an integration constant for the\nA_i-field equation. This mechanism is further generalized to supermembrane\ntheory, and to super p-brane theory, both on general curved backgrounds. This\nshows the universal applications of dynamical measure of TMT to general\nsupersymmetric extended objects on general curved backgrounds.",
        "positive": "A Liouville String Approach to Microscopic Time and Cosmology: In the non-critical string framework that we have proposed recently, the time\n$t$ is identified with a dynamical local renormalization group scale, the\nLiouville mode, and behaves as a statistical evolution parameter, flowing\nirreversibly from an infrared fixed point - which we conjecture to be a\ntopological string phase - to an ultraviolet one - which corresponds to a\nstatic critical string vacuum. When applied to a toy two-dimensional model of\nspace-time singularities, this formalism yields an apparent renormalization of\nthe velocity of light, and a $t$-dependent form of the uncertainty relation for\nposition and momentum of a test string. We speculate within this framework on a\nstringy alternative to conventional field-theoretical inflation, and the decay\ntowards zero of the cosmological constant in a maximally-symmetric space."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fermions in AdS and Gross-Neveu BCFT: We study the boundary critical behavior of conformal field theories of\ninteracting fermions in the Gross-Neveu universality class. By a Weyl\ntransformation, the problem can be studied by placing the CFT in an anti de\nSitter space background. After reviewing some aspects of free fermion theories\nin AdS, we use both large $N$ methods and the epsilon expansion near 2 and 4\ndimensions to study the conformal boundary conditions in the Gross-Neveu CFT.\nAt large $N$ and general dimension $d$, we find three distinct boundary\nconformal phases. Near four dimensions, where the CFT is described by the\nWilson-Fisher fixed point of the Gross-Neveu-Yukawa model, two of these phases\ncorrespond respectively to the choice of Neumann or Dirichlet boundary\ncondition on the scalar field, while the third one corresponds to the case\nwhere the bulk scalar field acquires a classical expectation value. One may\nflow between these boundary critical points by suitable relevant boundary\ndeformations. We compute the AdS free energy on each of them, and verify that\nits value is consistent with the boundary version of the F-theorem. We also\ncompute some of the BCFT observables in these theories, including bulk\ntwo-point functions of scalar and fermions, and four-point functions of\nboundary fermions.",
        "positive": "Orbifoldization, covering surfaces and uniformization theory: The connection between the theory of permutation orbifolds, covering surfaces\nand uniformization is investigated, and the higher genus partition functions of\nan arbitrary permutation orbifold are expressed in terms of those of the\noriginal theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exceptional geometry and Borcherds superalgebras: We study generalized diffeomorphisms in exceptional geometry with U-duality\ngroup E_{n(n)} from an algebraic point of view. By extending the Lie algebra\ne_n to an infinite-dimensional Borcherds superalgebra, involving also the\nextension to e_{n+1}, the generalized Lie derivatives can be expressed in a\nsimple way, and the expressions take the same form for any n less than 8. The\nclosure of the transformations then follows from the Jacobi identity and the\ngrading of e_{n+1} with respect to e_n.",
        "positive": "Reconstructing the Universe: We provide detailed evidence for the claim that nonperturbative quantum\ngravity, defined through state sums of causal triangulated geometries,\npossesses a large-scale limit in which the dimension of spacetime is four and\nthe dynamics of the volume of the universe behaves semiclassically. This is a\nfirst step in reconstructing the universe from a dynamical principle at the\nPlanck scale, and at the same time provides a nontrivial consistency check of\nthe method of causal dynamical triangulations. A closer look at the quantum\ngeometry reveals a number of highly nonclassical aspects, including a dynamical\nreduction of spacetime to two dimensions on short scales and a fractal\nstructure of slices of constant time."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Scheme invariants in phi^4 theory in four dimensions: We provide an analysis of the structure of renormalisation scheme invariants\nfor the case of $\\phi^4$ theory, relevant in four dimensions. We give a\ncomplete discussion of the invariants up to four loops and include some partial\nresults at five loops, showing that there are considerably more invariants than\none might naively have expected. We also show that one-vertex reducible\ncontributions may consistently be omitted in a well-defined class of schemes\nwhich of course includes MSbar.",
        "positive": "Colliding Branes in Heterotic M-theory: We study the collision of two flat, parallel end-of-the-world branes in\nheterotic M-theory. By insisting that there is no divergence in the Riemann\ncurvature as the collision approaches, we are able to single out a unique\nsolution possessing the local geometry of (2d compactified Milne)/Z_2 x R_3,\ntimes a finite-volume Calabi-Yau manifold in the vicinity of the collision. At\na finite time before and after the collision, a second type of singularity\nappears momentarily on the negative-tension brane, representing its bouncing\noff a zero of the bulk warp factor. We find this singularity to be remarkably\nmild and easily regularised. The various different cosmological solutions to\nheterotic M-theory previously found by other authors are shown to merely\nrepresent different portions of a unique flat cosmological solution to\nheterotic M-theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-perturbative evolution equations for the tricritical theory: The N component scalar tricritical theory is considered in a non-perturbative\nsetting. We derive non-perturbative beta functions for the relevant couplings\nin $d\\leq 3$. The beta functions are obtained through the use of an exact\nevolution equation for the so called effective average action. In d=3 it is\nestablished the existence of an ultraviolet stable fixed point for N>4. This\nconfirms earlier results obtained using the 1/N expansion where such a fixed\npoint is believed to exist at least for $N\\gtrsim 1000$.",
        "positive": "Higher dimensional higher derivative $\u03c6^4$ theory: We construct several towers of scalar quantum field theories with an $O(N)$\nsymmetry which have higher derivative kinetic terms. The Lagrangians in each\ntower are connected by lying in the same universality class at the\n$d$-dimensional Wilson-Fisher fixed point. Moreover the universal theory is\nstudied using the large $N$ expansion and we determine $d$-dimensional critical\nexponents to $O(1/N^2)$. We show that these new universality classes emerge\nnaturally as solutions to the linear relation of the dimensions of the fields\ndeduced from the underlying force-matter interaction of the universal critical\ntheory. To substantiate the equivalence of the Lagrangians in each tower we\nrenormalize each to several loop orders and show that the renormalization group\nfunctions are consistent with the large $N$ critical exponents. While we focus\non the first two new towers of theories and renormalize the respective\nLagrangians to $16$ and $18$ dimensions there are an infinite number of such\ntowers. We also briefly discuss the conformal windows and the extension of the\nideas to theories with spin-$\\frac{1}{2}$ and spin-$1$ fields as well as the\nidea of lower dimension completeness."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Mechanics on Moduli Spaces: It has been assumed that it is possible to approximate the interactions of\nquantized BPS solitons by quantising a dynamical system induced on a moduli\nspace of soliton parameters. General properties of the reduction of quantum\nsystems by a Born-Oppenheimer approximation are described here and applied to\nsigma models and their moduli spaces in order to learn more about this\napproximation. New terms arise from the reduction proceedure, some of them\ngeometrical and some of them dynamical in nature. The results are generalised\nto supersymmetric sigma models, where most of the extra terms vanish.",
        "positive": "Universal Deformations: QFTs with local topological operators feature unusual sectors called\n\"universes,\" which are separated by infinite-tension domain walls. We show that\nsuch systems have relevant deformations with exactly-calculable effects. These\ndeformations allow one to dial the vacuum energy densities of the universes. We\ndescribe applications of these deformations to confinement in 2d gauge\ntheories, as well as a curious violation of the effective field theory\nnaturalness principle."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic energy loss in non-relativistic backgrounds: In this paper, we study some aspects of energy loss in non-relativistic\ntheories from holography. We analyze the energy lost by a rotating heavy point\nparticle along a circle of radius $l$ with angular velocity $\\omega$ in\ntheories with general dynamical exponent $z$ and hyperscaling violation\nexponent $\\theta$. It is shown that this problem provides a novel perspective\non the energy loss in such theories. A general computation at zero and finite\ntemperature is done and it is shown that how the total energy loss rate depends\nnon-trivially on two characteristic exponents $(z,\\theta)$. We find that at\nzero temperature there is a special radius $l_c$ where the energy loss is\nindependent of different values of $(\\theta,z)$. Also at zero temperature,\nthere is a crossover between a regime in which the energy loss is dominated by\nthe linear drag force and by the radiation because of the acceleration of the\nrotating particle. We find that the energy loss of the particle decreases by\nincreasing $\\theta$ and $z$. We note that, unlike in the zero temperature,\nthere is no special radius $l_c$ at finite temperature case.",
        "positive": "On \"dynamical mass\" generation in Euclidean de Sitter space: We consider the perturbative treatment of the minimally coupled, massless,\nself-interacting scalar field in Euclidean de Sitter space. Generalizing work\nof Rajaraman, we obtain the dynamical mass m^2 \\propto sqrt{lambda} H^2 of the\nscalar for non-vanishing Lagrangian masses and the first perturbative quantum\ncorrection in the massless case. We develop the rules of a systematic\nperturbative expansion, which treats the zero-mode non-perturbatively, and goes\nin powers of sqrt{lambda}. The infrared divergences are self-regulated by the\nzero-mode dynamics. Thus, in Euclidean de Sitter space the interacting,\nmassless scalar field is just as well-defined as the massive field. We then\nshow that the dynamical mass can be recovered from the diagrammatic expansion\nof the self-energy and a consistent solution of the Schwinger-Dyson equation,\nbut requires the summation of a divergent series of loop diagrams of\narbitrarily high order. Finally, we note that the value of the long-wavelength\nmode two-point function in Euclidean de Sitter space agrees at leading order\nwith the stochastic treatment in Lorentzian de Sitter space, in any number of\ndimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum hoop conjecture: Black hole formation by particle collisions: We address the issue of (quantum) black hole formation by particle collision\nin quantum physics. We start by constructing the horizon wave-function for\nquantum mechanical states representing two highly boosted non-interacting\nparticles that collide in flat one-dimensional space. From this wave-function,\nwe then derive a probability that the system becomes a black hole as a function\nof the initial momenta and spatial separation between the particles. This\nprobability allows us to extend the hoop conjecture to quantum mechanics and\nestimate corrections to its classical counterpart.",
        "positive": "Massive T-duality in six dimensions: A massive version of T-duality in six dimensions is given, that maps the K3\ncompactification of Romans' theory onto the K3 compactification of Type IIB\ntheory. This is done by performing a (standard) Kaluza-Klein reduction on\nsix-dimensional massive Type IIA and a Scherk-Schwarz reduction on Type IIB,\nmapping both theories onto the same five-dimensional theory. We also comment\nshortly on the difficulties arising if one intends to construct a massive\ngeneralisation of the six-dimensional string-string duality."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Asymptotic completeness, global existence and the infrared problem for\n  the Maxwell-Dirac equations: In this monograph we prove that the nonlinear Lie algebra representation\ngiven by the manifestly covariant Maxwell-Dirac (M-D) equations is integrable\nto a global nonlinear representation $U$ of the Poincar\\'e group ${\\cal P}_0$\non a differentiable manifold ${\\cal U}_\\infty$ of small initial conditions for\nthe M-D equations. This solves, in particular, the Cauchy problem for the M-D\nequations, namely existence of global solutions for initial data in ${\\cal\nU}_\\infty$ at $t=0$. The existence of modified wave operators $\\Omega_+$ and\n$\\Omega_-$ and asymptotic completeness is proved. The asymptotic\nrepresentations $U^{(\\epsilon)}_g = \\Omega^{-1}_\\epsilon \\circ U_g \\circ\n\\Omega_\\epsilon$, $\\epsilon = \\pm$, $g \\in {\\cal P}_0$, turn out to be\nnonlinear. A cohomological interpretation of the results in the spirit of\nnonlinear representation theory and its connection to the infrared tail of the\nelectron is given.",
        "positive": "A Note on Interactions of (Non-Commutative) Instantons Via AdS/CFT: We consider the interaction between instantons and anti-instantons in\nfour-dimensional N=4 super-Yang-Mills theory at large N and large 't Hooft\ncoupling as described by D-instantons via AdS/CFT duality. We give an estimate\nof the strength of the interaction in various regimes. We discuss also the case\nof Non-Commutative super Yang-Mills theory where the interaction between\ninstantons and anti-instantons can be used as a way to probe the locality\nproperties of the theory in the supergravity picture, without explicit\nreference to the definition of local operators."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Kaluza-Klein Melvin Solution in M-theory: We study some aspects of the Kaluza-Klein Melvin solution in M-theory. The\nassociated magnetic field has a maximal critical value $B=\\pm 1/R$ where $R$ is\nthe radius of the compactification circle. It is argued that the Melvin\nbackground of type IIA with magnetic field $B$ and of type 0A with magnetic\nfield $B'=B-1/R$ are equivalent. Evidence for this conjecture is provided using\na further circle compactification and a `9-11' flip. We show that partition\nfunctions of nine-dimensional type IIA strings and of a $(-1)^F\\sigma_{1/2}$\ntype IIA orbifold both with NS-NS Melvin fluxtubes are related by such shift of\nthe magnetic field. Then the instabilities of both IIA and 0A Melvin solutions\nare analyzed. For each theory there is an instanton associated to the decay of\nspacetime. In the IIA case the decay mode is associated to the nucleation of\n$D6/D\\bar{6}$-brane pairs, while in the 0A case spacetime decays through\nWitten's bubble production.",
        "positive": "Generalizing the $\\mathfrak{bms}_{3}$ and 2D-conformal algebras by\n  expanding the Virasoro algebra: By means of the Lie algebra expansion method, the centrally extended\nconformal algebra in two dimensions and the $\\mathfrak{bms}_{3}$ algebra are\nobtained from the Virasoro algebra. We extend this result to construct new\nfamilies of expanded Virasoro algebras that turn out to be infinite dimensional\nlifts of the so-called $\\mathfrak{B}_{k}$, $\\mathfrak{C}_{k}$ and\n$\\mathfrak{D}_{k}$ algebras recently introduced in the literature in the\ncontext of (super)gravity. We also show how some of these new\ninfinite-dimensional symmetries can be obtained from expanded Ka\\v{c}-Moody\nalgebras using modified Sugawara constructions. Applications in the context of\nthree-dimensional gravity are briefly discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Black Holes and Instabilities of Negative Tension Branes: We consider the collision in 2+1 dimensions of a black hole and a negative\ntension brane on an orbifold. Because there is no gravitational radiation in\n2+1 dimensions, the horizon area shrinks when part of the brane falls through.\nThis provides a potential violation of the generalized second law of\nthermodynamics. However, tracing the details of the dynamical evolution one\nfinds that it does not proceed from equilibrium configuration to equilibrium\nconfiguration. Instead, a catastrophic space-time singularity develops similar\nto the `big crunch' of $\\Omega >1$ FRW space-times. In the context of classical\ngeneral relativity, our result demonstrates a new instability of constructions\nwith negative tension branes.",
        "positive": "The Ground Ring of N=2 Minimal String Theory: We study the $\\NN=2$ string theory or the $\\NN=4$ topological string on the\ndeformed CHS background. That is, we consider the $\\NN=2$ minimal model coupled\nto the $\\NN=2$ Liouville theory. This model describes holographically the\ntopological sector of Little String Theory. We use degenerate vectors of the\nrespective $\\NN=2$ Verma modules to find the set of BRST cohomologies at ghost\nnumber zero--the ground ring, and exhibit its structure. Physical operators at\nghost number one constitute a module of the ground ring, so the latter can be\nused to constrain the S-matrix of the theory. We also comment on the\ninequivalence of BRST cohomologies of the $\\NN=2$ string theory in different\npictures."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Action Functionals for Interacting Brane Systems: We present an action functional and derive equations of motion for a coupled\nsystem of a bosonic Dp--brane and an open string ending on the Dp-brane. With\nthis example we address the key issues of the recently proposed method\n(hep-th/9905144, hep-th/9906041) for the construction of manifestly\nsupersymmetric action functionals for interacting superbrane systems. We\nclarify, in particular, how the arbitrariness in sources localized on the\nintersection is related to the standard description of the flat D-branes as\nrigid planes where the string for endpoints 'live'.",
        "positive": "Partition functions of non-Lagrangian theories from the holomorphic\n  anomaly: The computation of the partition function in certain quantum field theories,\nsuch as those of the Argyres-Douglas or Minahan-Nemeschansky type, is\nproblematic due to the lack of a Lagrangian description. In this paper, we use\nthe holomorphic anomaly equation to derive the gravitational corrections to the\nprepotential of such theories at rank one by deforming them from the conformal\npoint. In the conformal limit, we find a general formula for the partition\nfunction as a sum of hypergeometric functions. We show explicit results for the\nround sphere and the Nekrasov-Shatashvili phases of the $\\Omega$ background.\nThe first case is relevant for the derivation of extremal correlators in flat\nspace, whereas the second one has interesting applications for the study of\nanharmonic oscillators."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Charge and mass effects on the evaporation of higher-dimensional\n  rotating black holes: To study the dynamics of discharge of a brane black hole in TeV gravity\nscenarios, we obtain the approximate electromagnetic field due to the charged\nblack hole, by solving Maxwell's equations perturbatively on the brane. In\naddition, arguments are given for brane metric corrections due to backreaction.\nWe couple brane scalar and brane fermion fields with non-zero mass and charge\nto the background, and study the Hawking radiation process using well known low\nenergy approximations as well as a WKB approximation in the high energy limit.\nWe argue that contrary to common claims, the initial evaporation is not\ndominated by fast Schwinger discharge.",
        "positive": "Universal renormalization procedure for higher curvature gravities in\n  D$\\leq$5: We implement a universal method for renormalizing AdS gravity actions\napplicable to arbitrary higher curvature theories in up to five dimensions. The\nrenormalization procedure considers the extrinsic counterterm for Einstein-AdS\ngravity given by the Kounterterms scheme, but with a theory-dependent coupling\nconstant that is fixed by the requirement of renormalization for the vacuum\nsolution. This method is shown to work for a generic higher curvature gravity\nwith arbitrary couplings except for a zero measure subset, which includes\nwell-known examples where the asymptotic behavior is modified and the AdS vacua\nare degenerate, such as Chern-Simons gravity in 5D, Conformal Gravity in 4D and\nNew Massive Gravity in 3D. In order to show the universality of the scheme, we\nperform a decomposition of the equations of motion into their normal and\ntangential components with respect to the Poincare coordinate and study the\nFefferman-Graham expansion of the metric. We verify the cancellation of\ndivergences of the on-shell action and the well-posedness of the variational\nprinciple."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Monstrous M-theory: In $26+1$ space-time dimensions, we introduce a gravity theory whose massless\nspectrum can be acted upon by the Monster group when reduced to $25+1$\ndimensions. This theory generalizes M-theory in many respects and we name it\nMonstrous M-theory, or M$^{2}$-theory. Upon Kaluza-Klein reduction to $25+1$\ndimensions, the M$^{2}$-theory spectrum irreducibly splits as\n$\\mathbf{1}\\oplus\\mathbf{196,883}$, where $\\mathbf{1}$ is identified with the\ndilaton, and $\\mathbf{196,883}$ is the dimension of the smallest non-trivial\nrepresentation of the Monster. This provides a field theory explanation of the\nlowest instance of the Monstrous Moonshine, and it clarifies the definition of\nthe Monster as the automorphism group of the Griess algebra, by showing that\nsuch an algebra is not merely a sum of unrelated spaces, but descends from\nmassless states for M$^{2}$-theory, which includes Horowitz and Susskind's\nbosonic M-theory as a subsector. Further evidence is provided by the\ndecomposition of the coefficients of the partition function of Witten's\nextremal Monster SCFT in terms of representations of $SO_{24}$, the massless\nlittle group in $25+1$; the purely bosonic nature of the involved\n$SO_{24}$-representations may be traced back to the unique feature of $24$\ndimensions, which allow for a non-trivial generalization of the triality\nholding in $8$ dimensions. Last but not least, a certain subsector of\nM$^{2}$-theory, when coupled to a Rarita-Schwinger massless field in $26+1$,\nexhibits the same number of bosonic and fermionic degrees of freedom; we cannot\nhelp but conjecture the existence of a would-be $\\mathcal{N}=1$ supergravity\ntheory in $26+1$ space-time dimensions.",
        "positive": "Heat kernel approach to relations between covariant and consistent\n  currents in chiral gauge theories: We apply the heat kernel method to relations between covariant and consistent\ncurrents in anomalous chiral gauge theories. Banerjee et al. have shown that\nthe relation between these currents is expressed by a \"functional curl\" of the\ncovariant current. Using the heat kernel method, we evaluate the functional\ncurl explicitly in arbitrary even dimensions. We also apply the heat kernel\nmethod to evaluate Osabe and Suzuki's results of the difference between\ncovariant and consistent currents in two and four dimensions. Applying the\narguments of Banerjee et al. to gravitational anomalies, we investigate the\nrelationship between the covariant and consistent energy-momentum tensors. The\nrelation is found to be expressed by a functional curl of the covariant\nenergy-momentum tensor."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Infrared Behaviour of Softly Broken SQCD and Its Dual: Applying the recently obtained results on the renormalization of soft\nsupersymmetry-breaking parameters, we investigate the infrared behaviour of the\nsoftly broken supersymmetric QCD as well as its dual theory in the conformal\nwindow. Under general assumptions on $\\beta$-functions, it is shown that the\nsoft supersymmetry-breaking parameters asymptotically vanish in the infrared\nlimit so that superconformal symmetry in softly broken supersymmetric QCD and\nin its dual theory revives at the infrared fixed point, provided the soft\nscalar masses satisfy certain renormalization group invariant relations. If\nthese relations are not satisfied, there exist marginal operators in both\ntheories that lead to the breaking of supersymmetry and also colour symmetry.",
        "positive": "Field theory model giving rise to \"quintessential inflation\" without the\n  cosmological constant and other fine tuning problems: A field theory is developed based on the idea that the effective action of\nyet unknown fundamental theory, at energy scale below M_{p} has the form of\nexpansion in two measures: S=\\intd^{4}x[\\Phi L_{1}+\\sqrt{-g}L_{2}] where the\nnew measure \\Phi is defined using the third-rank antisymmetric tensor. In the\nnew variables (Einstein frame) all equations of motion take canonical GR form\nand therefore models are free of the well-known \"defects\" that distinguish the\nBrans-Dicke type theories from GR. All novelty is revealed only in an unusual\nstructure of the effective potential U(\\phi) and interactions which turns over\nintuitive ideas based on our experience in field theory. E.g. the greater\n\\Lambda we admit in L_{2}, the smaller U(\\phi) will be in the Einstein picture.\nField theory models are suggested with explicitly broken global continuos\nsymmetry which in the Einstein frame has the form \\phi\\to\\phi+const. The\nsymmetry restoration occurs as \\phi\\to\\infty. A few models are presented where\nU is produced with the following shape: for \\phi<-M_{p}, U has the form typical\nfor inflation model, e. g. U=\\lambda\\phi^4 with \\lambda\\sim 10^{-14};\nfor\\phi>-M_{p}, U has mainly exponential form U\\sim e^{-a\\phi/M_{p}} with\nvariable a: a=14 for -M_{p}<\\phi<M_{p} that admits nucleosynthesis; a=2 for\n\\phi>M_{p} that implies quintessence era. There is no need in any fine tuning\nto prevent appearance of the CC term or any other terms that could violate\nflatness of U at \\phi\\ggM_{p}. \\lambda\\sim 10^{-14} is obtained without fine\ntuning as well. Quantized matter fields models, including gauge theories with\nSSB can be incorporated without altering mentioned above results. Direct\nfermion-inflaton coupling resembles Wetterich's model but it does not lead to\nany observable effect at present. SSB does not raise any problem with CC."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holography of Little Inflation: For several crucial microseconds of its early history, the Universe consisted\nof a Quark-Gluon Plasma. As it cooled during this era, it traced out a\ntrajectory in the quark matter phase diagram. The form taken by this trajectory\nis not known with certainty, but is of great importance: it determines, for\nexample, whether the cosmic plasma passed through a first-order phase change\nduring the transition to the hadron era, as has recently been suggested by\nadvocates of the \"Little Inflation\" model. Just before this transition, the\nplasma was strongly coupled and therefore can be studied by holographic\ntechniques. We show that holography imposes a strong constraint (taking the\nform of a bound on the baryonic chemical potential relative to the temperature)\non the domain through which the cosmic plasma could pass as it cooled, with\nimportant consequences for Little Inflation. In fact, we find that holography\napplied to Little Inflation implies that the cosmic plasma must have passed\nquite close to the quark matter critical point, and might therefore have been\naffected by the associated fluctuation phenomena.",
        "positive": "Tachyon Condensates and String Theoretic Inflation: Cosmological solutions of the beta function equations for the background\nfields of the closed bosonic string are investigated at the one-loop level.\nFollowing recent work of Kostelecky and Perry, it is assumed that the spatial\nsections of the space-time are conformally flat. Working in the sigma-model\nframe, the non-trivial tachyon potential is utilized to determine solutions\nwith sufficient inflation to solve the smoothness and flatness problems. The\ngraceful exit and density perturbation constraints can also be successfully\nimplemented."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the gravitational energy of the Kaluza Klein monopole: We use local counterterm prescriptions for asymptotically flat space to\ncompute the action and conserved quantities in five-dimensional Kaluza-Klein\ntheories. As an application of these prescriptions we compute the mass of the\nKaluza-Klein magnetic monopole. We find consistent results with previous\napproaches that employ a background subtraction.",
        "positive": "Discrete Gauge Symmetries and the Weak Gravity Conjecture: In theories with discrete Abelian gauge groups, requiring that black holes be\nable to lose their charge as they evaporate leads to an upper bound on the\nproduct of a charged particle's mass and the cutoff scale above which the\neffective description of the theory breaks down. This suggests that a\nnon-trivial version of the Weak Gravity Conjecture (WGC) may also apply to\ngauge symmetries that are discrete, despite there being no associated massless\nfield, therefore pushing the conjecture beyond the slogan that `gravity is the\nweakest force'. Here, we take a step towards making this expectation more\nprecise by studying $\\mathbb{Z}_N$ and $\\mathbb{Z}_2^N$ gauge symmetries\nrealised via theories of spontaneous symmetry breaking. We show that applying\nthe WGC to a dual description of an Abelian Higgs model leads to constraints\nthat allow us to saturate but not violate existing bounds on discrete\nsymmetries based on black hole arguments. In this setting, considering the\neffect of discrete hair on black holes naturally identifies the cutoff of the\neffective theory with the scale of spontaneous symmetry breaking, and provides\na mechanism through which discrete hair can be lost without modifying the\ngravitational sector. We explore the possible implications of these arguments\nfor understanding the smallness of the weak scale compared to $M_{Pl}$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A non-unitary bulk-boundary correspondence: Non-unitary Haagerup RCFTs\n  from S-fold SCFTs: We introduce a novel class of two-dimensional non-unitary rational conformal\nfield theories (RCFTs) whose modular data are identical to the generalized\nHaagerup-Izumi modular data. Via the bulk-boundary correspondence, they are\nrelated to the three-dimensional non-unitary Haagerup topological field\ntheories, recently constructed by a topological twisting of three-dimensional\n${\\cal N}=4$ rank-zero superconformal field theories (SCFTs), called S-fold\nSCFTs. We propose that, up to the overall factors, the half-indices of the\nrank-zero SCFTs give the explicit Nahm representation of four conformal\ncharacters of the RCFTs including the vacuum character. Using the theory of\nBantay-Gannon, we can successfully complete them into the full admissible\nconformal characters of the RCFTs.",
        "positive": "Graded Majorana spinors: In many mathematical and physical contexts spinors are treated as Grassmann\nodd valued fields. We show that it is possible to extend the classification of\nreality conditions on such spinors by a new type of Majorana condition. In\norder to define this graded Majorana condition we make use of\npseudo-conjugation, a rather unfamiliar extension of complex conjugation to\nsupernumbers. Like the symplectic Majorana condition, the graded Majorana\ncondition may be imposed, for example, in spacetimes in which the standard\nMajorana condition is inconsistent. However, in contrast to the symplectic\ncondition, which requires duplicating the number of spinor fields, the graded\ncondition can be imposed on a single Dirac spinor. We illustrate how graded\nMajorana spinors can be applied to supersymmetry by constructing a globally\nsupersymmetric field theory in three-dimensional Euclidean space, an example of\na spacetime where standard Majorana spinors do not exist."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Gross-Neveu-Yukawa Archipelago: We perform a bootstrap analysis of a mixed system of four-point functions of\nbosonic and fermionic operators in parity-preserving 3d CFTs with O(N) global\nsymmetry. Our results provide rigorous bounds on the scaling dimensions of the\nO(N)-symmetric Gross-Neveu-Yukawa (GNY) fixed points, constraining these\ntheories to live in isolated islands in the space of CFT data. We focus on the\ncases N = 1, 2, 4, 8, which have applications to phase transitions in condensed\nmatter systems, and compare our bounds to previous analytical and numerical\nresults.",
        "positive": "The simplest description of charge propagation in a strong background: Exploiting the gauge freedom associated with the Volkov description of a\ncharge propagating in a plane wave background, we identify a new type of gauge\nchoice which significantly simplifies the theory. This allows us to develop a\ncompact description of the propagator for both scalar and fermionic matter, in\na circularly polarised background. It is shown that many of the usually\nobserved structures are gauge artefacts. We then analyse the full ultraviolet\nbehaviour of the one-loop corrections for such charges. This enables us to\nidentify and contrast the different renormalisation prescriptions needed for\nboth types of matter."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Type IIB Orientifolds, F-theory, Type I Strings on Orbifolds and Type I\n  - Heterotic Duality: We consider six and four dimensional ${\\cal N}=1$ supersymmetric orientifolds\nof Type IIB compactified on orbifolds. We give the conditions under which the\nperturbative world-sheet orientifold approach is adequate, and list the four\ndimensional ${\\cal N}=1$ orientifolds (which are rather constrained) that\nsatisfy these conditions. We argue that in most cases orientifolds contain\nnon-perturbative sectors that are missing in the world-sheet approach. These\nnon-perturbative sectors can be thought of as arising from D-branes wrapping\nvarious collapsed 2-cycles in the orbifold. Using these observations, we\nexplain certain ``puzzles'' in the literature on four dimensional orientifolds.\nIn particular, in some four dimensional orientifolds the ``naive'' tadpole\ncancellation conditions have no solution. However, these tadpole cancellation\nconditions are derived using the world-sheet approach which we argue to be\ninadequate in these cases due to appearance of additional non-perturbative\nsectors. The main tools in our analyses are the map between F-theory and\norientifold vacua and Type I-heterotic duality. Utilizing the consistency\nconditions we have found in this paper, we discuss consistent four dimensional\nchiral ${\\cal N}=1$ Type I vacua which are non-perturbative from the heterotic\nviewpoint.",
        "positive": "Wilson's numerical renormalization group and AdS_3 geometry: We discuss the relation between the Wilson's numerical renormalization\ngroup(NRG) for the Kondo impurity problem and a field theory in the background\nAdS_3 space time, where the radial coordinate plays a role of the controlling\nparameter of the effective mass scale. We find that the Wilson NRG can be\ndescribed by the boundary Rindler field and then the cutoff parameter \\lambda\nof the Wilson NRG is related to the AdS radius L through \\lambda = 2k_F/\\omega\nL, where k_F is the effective Fermi wave number. It is also found that the\nRindler space is discretized with the lattice space of a=\\pi/k_F."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Singularity Structure of Scale-Invariant Rank-2 Coulomb Branches: We compute the spectrum of scaling dimensions of Coulomb branch operators in\n4d rank-2 $\\mathcal{N}{=}2$ superconformal field theories. Only a finite\nrational set of scaling dimensions is allowed. It is determined by using\ninformation about the global topology of the locus of metric singularities on\nthe Coulomb branch, the special K\\\"ahler geometry near those singularities, and\nelectric-magnetic duality monodromies along orbits of the $\\rm\\, U(1)_R$\nsymmetry. A set of novel topological and geometric results are developed which\npromise to be useful for the study and classification of Coulomb branch\ngeometries at all ranks.",
        "positive": "Addendum to Computational Complexity and Black Hole Horizons: In this addendum to [arXiv:1402.5674] two points are discussed. In the first\nadditional evidence is provided for a dual connection between the geometric\nlength of an Einstein-Rosen bridge and the computational complexity of the\nquantum state of the dual CFT's. The relation between growth of complexity and\nPage's ``Extreme Cosmic Censorship\" principle is also remarked on.\n  The second point involves a gedanken experiment in which Alice measures a\ncomplete set of commuting observables at her end of an Einstein-Rosen bridge is\ndiscussed. An apparent paradox is resolved by appealing to the properties of\nGHZ tripartite entanglement."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Extending the Geometry of Heterotic Spectral Cover Constructions: In this work we extend the well-known spectral cover construction first\ndeveloped by Friedman, Morgan, and Witten to describe more general vector\nbundles on elliptically fibered Calabi-Yau geometries. In particular, we\nconsider the case in which the Calabi-Yau fibration is not in Weierstrass form,\nbut can rather contain fibral divisors or multiple sections (i.e. a higher rank\nMordell-Weil group). In these cases, general vector bundles defined over such\nCalabi-Yau manifolds cannot be described by ordinary spectral data. To\naccomplish this we employ well established tools from the mathematics\nliterature of Fourier-Mukai functors. We also generalize existing tools for\nexplicitly computing Fourier-Mukai transforms of stable bundles on elliptic\nCalabi-Yau manifolds. As an example of these new tools we produce novel\nexamples of chirality changing small instanton transitions. The goal of this\nwork is to provide a geometric formalism that can substantially increase the\nunderstood regimes of heterotic/F-theory duality.",
        "positive": "Chaotic scattering of highly excited strings: Motivated by the desire to understand chaos in the $S$-matrix of string\ntheory, we study tree level scattering amplitudes involving highly excited\nstrings. While the amplitudes for scattering of light strings have been a\nhallmark of string theory since its early days, scattering of excited strings\nhas been far less studied. Recent results on black hole chaos, combined with\nthe correspondence principle between black holes and strings, suggest that the\namplitudes have a rich structure. We review the procedure by which an excited\nstring is formed by repeatedly scattering photons off of an initial tachyon\n(the DDF formalism). We compute the scattering amplitude of one arbitrary\nexcited string and any number of tachyons in bosonic string theory. At high\nenergies and high mass excited state these amplitudes are determined by a\nsaddle-point in the integration over the positions of the string vertex\noperators on the sphere (or the upper half plane), thus yielding a\ngeneralization of the \"scattering equations\". We find a compact expression for\nthe amplitude of an excited string decaying into two tachyons, and study its\nproperties for a generic excited string. We find the amplitude is highly\nerratic as a function of both the precise excited string state and of the\ntachyon scattering angle relative to its polarization, a sign of chaos."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Effects in Black Holes from the Schwarzschild Black String?: The holographic conjecture for black holes localized on a 3-brane in\nRandall-Sundrum braneworld models RS2 predicts the existence of a classical 5D\ntime dependent solution dual to a 4D evaporating black hole. After briefly\nreviewing recent criticism and presenting some difficulties in the holographic\ninterpretation of the Gregory-Laflamme instability, we simulate some basic\nfeatures of such a solution by studying null geodesics of the Schwarzschild\nblack string, in particular those propagating nontrivially in the bulk, and\nusing holographic arguments.",
        "positive": "Gravitational Couplings of D-branes and O-planes: An explicit calculation is performed to check all the tangent bundle\ngravitational couplings of Dirichlet branes and Orientifold planes by\nscattering $q$ gravitons with a $p+1$ form Ramond-Ramond potential in the\nworld-volume of a $D(p+2q)$-brane. The structure of the D-brane Wess-Zumino\nterm in the world-volume action is confirmed, while a different O-plane\nWess-Zumino action is obtained."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dielectric function of the QCD vacuum: It is shown that the inverse of the ghost form factor in the Hamilton\napproach to Yang-Mills theory in Coulomb gauge can be interpreted as the color\ndielectric function of the QCD vacuum. Furthermore the horizon condition to the\nghost form factor implies that in the infrared the QCD vacuum is a perfect\ncolor diaelectric medium and therefore a dual superconductor. The dielectric\nfunction is explicitly calculated within a previously developed variational\napproach, using a specific ansatz for the vacuum wave functional.",
        "positive": "On Elliptic Algebras and Large-n Supersymmetric Gauge Theories: In this note we further develop the duality between supersymmetric gauge\ntheories in various dimensions and elliptic integrable systems such as\nRuijsenaars-Schneider model and periodic intermediate long wave hydrodynamics.\nThese models arise in instanton counting problems and are described by certain\nelliptic algebras. We discuss the correspondence between the two types of\nmodels by employing the large-n limit of the dual gauge theory. In particular\nwe provide non-Abelian generalization of our previous result on the\nintermediate long wave model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Structure Constants and Integrable Bootstrap in Planar N=4 SYM Theory: We introduce a non-perturbative framework for computing structure constants\nof single-trace operators in the N=4 SYM theory at large N. Our approach\nfeatures new vertices, with hexagonal shape, that can be patched together into\nthree- and possibly higher-point correlators. These newborn hexagons are more\nelementary and easier to deal with than the three-point functions. Moreover,\nthey can be entirely constructed using integrability, by means of a suitable\nbootstrap program. In this letter, we present our main results and conjectures\nfor these vertices, and match their predictions for the three-point functions\nwith both weak and strong coupling data available in the literature.",
        "positive": "Geometric counter-vertex for open string scattering on D-branes: In arXiv:0801.0218 [hep-th] it was conjectured that quantum effects of open\nstrings moving on D-branes generate the D-brane geometry through a\ncounter-vertex operator. The conjecture has been checked at one-loop in\narXiv:0806.3330 [hep-th]. Here we discuss the two-loop extension."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Direct Integration for Mirror Curves of Genus Two and an Almost\n  Meromorphic Siegel Modular Form: This work considers aspects of almost holomorphic and meromorphic Siegel\nmodular forms from the perspective of physics and mathematics. The first part\nis concerned with (refined) topological string theory and the direct\nintegration of the holomorphic anomaly equations. Here, a central object to\ncompute higher genus amplitudes, which serve as the generating functions of\nvarious enumerative invariants, is provided by the so-called propagator. We\nderive a universal expression for the propagator for geometries that have\nmirror curves of genus two which is given by the derivative of the logarithm of\nIgusa's cusp form of weight 10. In addition, we illustrate our findings by\nsolving the refined topological string on the resolutions of the three toric\norbifolds of order three, five and six.\n  In the second part, we give explicit expressions for lowering and raising\noperators on Siegel modular forms, and define almost holomorphic Siegel modular\nforms based on them. Extending the theory of Fourier-Jacobi expansions to\nalmost holomorphic Siegel modular forms and building up on recent work by\nPitale, Saha, and Schmidt, we can show that there is no analogue of the almost\nholomorphic elliptic second Eisenstein series. In the case of genus 2, we\nprovide an almost meromorphic substitute for it. This, in particular, leads us\nto a generalization of Ramanujan's differential equation for the second\nEisenstein series.\n  The two parts are intertwined by the observation that the meromorphic\nanalogue of the almost holomorphic second Eisenstein series coincides with the\nphysical propagator. In addition, the generalized Ramanujan identities match\nprecisely the physical consistency conditions that need to be imposed on the\npropagator.",
        "positive": "G+++ Invariant Formulation of Gravity and M-Theories: Exact Intersecting\n  Brane Solutions: The set of exact solutions of the non-linear realisations of the G+++\nKac-Moody algebras is further analysed. Intersection rules for extremal branes\ntranslate into orthogonality conditions on the positive real roots\ncharacterising each brane. It is proven that all the intersecting extremal\nbrane solutions of the maximally oxidised theories have their algebraic\ncounterparts as exact solutions in the G+++ invariant theories. The proof is\nextended to include the intersecting extremal brane solutions of the exotic\nphases of the maximally oxidised theories."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Order parameter fluctuations in the holographic superconductor: We investigate the effect of order parameter fluctuations in the holographic\nsuperconductor. In particular, using a fully backreacted bulk geometry, the\nintrinsic spectral functions of the order parameter in both the normal and the\nsuperconducting phase are computed. We also present a vector-like large-$N$\nversion of the Ginzburg-Landau model that accurately describes our\nlong-wavelength results in both phases. The large-$N$ limit of the latter model\nexplains why the Higgs mode and the second-sound mode are not present in the\nspectral functions. Our results indicate that the holographic superconductor\ndescribes a relativistic multi-component superfluid in the universal regime of\nthe BEC-BCS crossover.",
        "positive": "Higher-Order Gravitational Couplings and Modular Forms in $N=2,D=4$\n  Heterotic String Compactifications: The restrictions of target--space duality are imposed at the perturbative\nlevel on the holomorphic Wilsonian couplings that encode certain higher-order\ngravitational interactions in $N=2, D=4$ heterotic string compactifications. A\ncrucial role is played by non-holomorphic corrections. The requirement of\nsymplectic covariance and an associated symplectic anomaly equation play an\nimportant role in determining their form. For models which also admit a type-II\ndescription, this equation coincides with the holomorphic anomaly equation for\ntype-II compactifications in the limit that a specific K\\\"ahler-class modulus\ngrows large. We explicitly evaluate some of the higher-order couplings for a\ntoroidal compactification with two moduli $T$ and $U$, and we express them in\nterms of modular forms."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Critical distance and Crofton form in confining geometries: For two symmetric strips with equal and finite size and in the background of\nseveral confining geometries, we numerically calculate the critical distance\nbetween these two mixed systems where the mutual information between them drops\nto zero and show that this quantity could be a useful correlation measure in\nprobing the phase structures of holographic QCD models. The models that we\nconsider here are Sakai-Sugimoto and deformed Sakai-Sugimoto, Klebanov-Tseytlin\nand Maldacena Nunez. For evaluating the structures of these holographic\nsupergravity geometries from the perspective of the bulk reconstruction, we\nalso calculate their Crofton forms and show that there is a universal behavior\nin the confining backgrounds where a \"well functionality\" is present around the\nIR cutoff point, and far from the IR wall the scalar part of the Crofton form\nwould become constant, demonstrating the effects of the wall of the confining\nmodels on the phase structures. This work is the shorter version of our\nprevious work arXiv:2110.12970 with few more results about the connections\nbetween phases.",
        "positive": "Local Fractional Supersymmetry for Alternative Statistics: A group theory justification of one dimensional fractional supersymmetry is\nproposed using an analogue of a coset space, just like the one introduced in\n$1D$ supersymmetry. This theory is then gauged to obtain a local fractional\nsupersymmetry {\\it i.e.} a fractional supergravity which is then quantized {\\it\n\\`a la Dirac} to obtain an equation of motion for a particle which is in a\nrepresentation of the braid group and should describe alternative statistics. A\nformulation invariant under general reparametrization is given, by means of a\ncurved fractional superline."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Euclidean path integral, entanglement entropy, and quantum boundary\n  conditions: To understand the information loss paradox in a consistent way, we provide a\nbrief big picture that describes both outside and inside a black hole. We\nsummary several ideas including the Euclidean path integral, the entanglement\nentropy, and the quantum gravitational treatment for the singularity. This\nintegrated discussion can provide an alternative point of view toward the\nultimate resolution of the information loss paradox.",
        "positive": "Casimir-Polder repulsion near edges: wedge apex and a screen with an\n  aperture: Although repulsive effects have been predicted for quantum vacuum forces\nbetween bodies with nontrivial electromagnetic properties, such as between a\nperfect electric conductor and a perfect magnetic conductor, realistic\nrepulsion seems difficult to achieve. Repulsion is possible if the medium\nbetween the bodies has a permittivity in value intermediate to those of the two\nbodies, but this may not be a useful configuration. Here, inspired by recent\nnumerical work, we initiate analytic calculations of the Casimir-Polder\ninteraction between an atom with anisotropic polarizability and a plate with an\naperture. In particular, for a semi-infinite plate, and, more generally, for a\nwedge, the problem is exactly solvable, and for sufficiently large anisotropy,\nCasimir-Polder repulsion is indeed possible, in agreement with the previous\nnumerical studies. In order to achieve repulsion, what is needed is a\nsufficiently sharp edge (not so very sharp, in fact) so that the directions of\npolarizability of the conductor and the atom are roughly normal to each other.\nThe machinery for carrying out the calculation with a finite aperture is\npresented. As a motivation for the quantum calculation, we carry out the\ncorresponding classical analysis for the force between a dipole and a metallic\nsheet with a circular aperture, when the dipole is on the symmetry axis and\noriented in the same direction."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Massless and Massive Three Dimensional Super Yang-Mills Theory and\n  Mini-Twistor String Theory: We propose various ways of adding mass terms to three-dimensional twistor\nstring theory. We begin with a review of mini-twistor space--the reduction of\nD=4 twistor space to D=3. We adapt the two proposals for twistor string theory,\nWitten's and Berkovits's, to D=3 super Yang-Mills theory. In Berkovits's model,\nwe identify the enhanced R-symmetry. We then construct B-model topological\nstring theories that, we propose, correspond to D=3 Yang-Mills theory with\nmassive spinors and massive and massless scalars in the adjoint representation\nof the gauge group. We also analyze the counterparts of these constructions in\nBerkovits's model. Some of our constructions can be lifted to D=4, where\ninfinitesimal mass terms correspond to VEVs of certain superconformal gravity\nfields.",
        "positive": "Radiation reaction and renormalization in classical electrodynamics of\n  point particle in any dimension: The effective equations of motion for a point charged particle taking account\nof radiation reaction are considered in various space-time dimensions. The\ndivergencies steaming from the pointness of the particle are studied and the\neffective renormalization procedure is proposed encompassing uniformly the\ncases of all even dimensions. It is shown that in any dimension the classical\nelectrodynamics is a renormalizable theory if not multiplicatively beyond d=4.\nFor the cases of three and six dimensions the covariant analogs of the\nLorentz-Dirac equation are explicitly derived."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Coupling Brane Fields to Bulk Supergravity: In this note we present a simple, general prescription for coupling brane\nlocalized fields to bulk supergravity. We illustrate the procedure by\nconsidering 6D N=2 bulk supergravity on a 2D orbifold, with brane fields\nlocalized at the fixed points. The resulting action enjoys the full 6D N=2\nsymmetries in the bulk, and those of 4D N=1 supergravity at the brane\npositions.",
        "positive": "Quintessence and the Swampland: The numerically controlled regime of\n  moduli space: We provide a detailed discussion of the main theoretical and phenomenological\nchallenges of quintessence model building in any numerically controlled regime\nof the moduli space of string theory. We argue that a working quintessence\nmodel requires a leading order non-supersymmetric (near) Minkowski vacuum with\nan axionic flat direction. This axion, when lifted by subdominant\nnon-perturbative effects, could drive hilltop quintessence only for highly\ntuned initial conditions and a very low inflationary scale. Our analysis has\ntwo important implications. Firstly, scenarios which are in agreement with the\nswampland conjectures, such as those that include runaways, or supersymmetric\nAdS and Minkowski vacua, cannot give rise to phenomenologically viable\nquintessence with full computational control. This raises doubts on the\nvalidity of the swampland dS conjecture since it would imply a strong tension\nbetween quantum gravity and observations. Secondly, if data should prefer\ndynamical dark energy, axion models based on alignment mechanisms look more\npromising than highly contrived hilltop scenarios."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Beauty is Attractive: Moduli Trapping at Enhanced Symmetry Points: We study quantum effects on moduli dynamics arising from the production of\nparticles which are light at special points in moduli space. The resulting\nforces trap the moduli at these points, which often exhibit enhanced symmetry.\nModuli trapping occurs in time-dependent quantum field theory, as well as in\nsystems of moving D-branes, where it leads the branes to combine into stacks.\nTrapping also occurs in an expanding universe, though the range over which the\nmoduli can roll is limited by Hubble friction. We observe that a scalar field\ntrapped on a steep potential can induce a stage of acceleration of the\nuniverse, which we call trapped inflation. Moduli trapping ameliorates the\ncosmological moduli problem and may affect vacuum selection. In particular,\nrolling moduli are most powerfully attracted to the points with the largest\nnumber of light particles, which are often the points of greatest symmetry.\nGiven suitable assumptions about the dynamics of the very early universe, this\neffect might help to explain why among the plethora of possible vacuum states\nof string theory, we appear to live in one with a large number of light\nparticles and (spontaneously broken) symmetries. In other words, some of the\nsurprising properties of our world might arise not through pure chance or\nmiraculous cancellations, but through a natural selection mechanism during\ndynamical evolution.",
        "positive": "Incarnations of Instantons: Yang-Mills instantons in a pure Yang-Mills theory in four Euclidean space can\nbe promoted to particle-like topological solitons in d=4+1 dimensional\nspace-time. When coupled to Higgs fields, they transform themselves in the\nHiggs phase into Skyrmions, lumps and sine-Gordon kinks, with trapped inside a\nnon-Abelian domain wall, non-Abelian vortex and monopole string, respectively.\nHere, we point out that a closed monopole string, non-Abelian vortex sheet and\nnon-Abelian domain wall in $S^1$, $S^2$ and $S^3$ shapes, respectively, are all\nYang-Mills instantons if their $S^1$, $S^2$ and $S^3$ moduli, respectively, are\ntwisted along their world-volumes."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-Invertible Symmetries from Holography and Branes: We propose a systematic approach to deriving symmetry generators of Quantum\nField Theories in holography. Central to this are the Gauss law constraints in\nthe Hamiltonian quantization of Symmetry Topological Field Theories (SymTFTs),\nwhich are obtained from supergravity. In turn we realize the symmetry\ngenerators from world-volume theories of D-branes in holography. Our main focus\nis on non-invertible symmetries, which have emerged in the past year as a new\ntype of symmetry in $d\\geq 4$ QFTs. We exemplify our proposal in the\nholographic confinement setup, dual to 4d $\\mathcal{N}=1$ Super-Yang Mills. In\nthe brane-picture, the fusion of non-invertible symmetries naturally arises\nfrom the Myers effect on D-branes. In turn, their action on line defects is\nmodeled by the Hanany-Witten effect.",
        "positive": "Entropy and String Black Hole Correspondence: We make some observations regarding string/black hole correspondence with a\nview to understanding the nature of the quantum degrees of freedom of a black\nhole in string theory. In particular, we compare entropy change in analogous\nstring and black hole processes in order to support the interpretation of the\narea law entropy as arising from stringy constituents."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Tachyon Solution in Cubic Neveu-Schwarz String Field Theory: A class of exact analytic solutions in the modified cubic fermionic string\nfield theory with the GSO(-) sector is presented. This class contains the\nGSO(-) tachyon field and reproduces the correct value for the nonBPS D-brane\ntension.",
        "positive": "Anyonic Bogomol'nyi Solitons in a Gauged O(3) Sigma Model: We introduce the self-dual abelian gauged $O(3)$ sigma models where the\nMaxwell and Chern-Simons terms constitute the kinetic terms for the gauge\nfield. These models have quite rich structures and various limits. Our models\nare found to exhibit both symmetric and broken phases of the gauge group. We\ndiscuss the pure Chern-Simons limit in some detail and study rotationally\nsymmetric solitons."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supercritical N = 2 string theory: The N=2 string is examined in dimensions above the critical dimension (D=4)\nin a linear dilaton background. We demonstrate that string states in this\nbackground propagate in a single physical time dimension, as opposed to two\nsuch dimensions present when the dilaton gradient vanishes in D=4. We also find\nexact solutions describing dynamical dimensional reduction and transitions from\nN=2 string theory to bosonic string theory via closed-string tachyon\ncondensation.",
        "positive": "An introduction to quantum gravity: Quantum gravity was born as that branch of modern theoretical physics that\ntries to unify its guiding principles, i.e., quantum mechanics and general\nrelativity. Nowadays it is providing new insight into the unification of all\nfundamental interactions, while giving rise to new developments in mathematics.\nThe various competing theories, e.g. string theory and loop quantum gravity,\nhave still to be checked against observations. We review the classical and\nquantum foundations necessary to study field-theory approaches to quantum\ngravity, the passage from old to new unification in quantum field theory,\ncanonical quantum gravity, the use of functional integrals, the properties of\ngravitational instantons, the use of spectral zeta-functions in the quantum\ntheory of the universe, Hawking radiation, some theoretical achievements and\nsome key experimental issues."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A supersymmetric model for graphene: In this work, we focus on the fermionic structure of the low-energy\nexcitations of graphene (a monolayer of carbon atoms) to propose a new\nsupersymmetric field-theoretic model for this physical system. In the current\nliterature, other proposals for describing graphene physics have been\ncontemplated at the level of supersymmetric quantum mechanics. Also, by\nobserving the inhomogeneities between neighbor carbon atoms, Jackiw {\\it et\nal.} have set up an interesting chiral Abelian gauge theory. We show in this\npaper that our formulation encompasses models discussed previously as sectors\nof an actually richer (supersymmetric) planar gauge model. Possible\ninterpretations for the fields involved in the present graphene model are\nproposed and the question of supersymmetry breaking is discussed.",
        "positive": "Quantum dilaton supergravity in 2D with non-minimally coupled matter: General N=(1,1) dilaton supergravity in two dimensions allows a background\nindependent exact quantization of the geometric part, if these theories are\nformulated as specific graded Poisson-sigma models. In this work the extension\nof earlier results to models with non-minimally coupled matter is presented. In\nparticular, the modifications of the constraint algebra due to non-minimal\ncouplings are calculated and it is shown that quartic ghost-terms do not arise.\nConsequently the path-integral quantization as known from bosonic theories and\nsupergravity with minimally coupled matter can be taken over."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A perturbative CFT dual for pure NS-NS AdS$_3$ strings: We construct a CFT dual to string theory on AdS$_3$ with pure NS-NS flux. It\nis given by a symmetric orbifold of a linear dilaton theory deformed by a\nmarginal operator from the twist-2 sector. We compute two- and three-point\nfunctions on the CFT side to 4th order in conformal perturbation theory at\nlarge $N$. They agree with the string computation at genus 0, thus providing\nample evidence for a duality. We also show that the full spectra of both short\nand long strings on the CFT and the string side match. The duality should be\nunderstood as perturbative in $N^{-1}$.",
        "positive": "The renormalisation bialgebra and operads: In a recent preprint, Brouder and Schmitt give a careful construction of a\n`renormalisation' Hopf algebra out of an arbitrary bialgebra. In this note, we\npoint out that this is a special case of the construction of the cooperad of a\nbialgebra (Berger-Moerdijk) combined with the construction of a bialgebra from\na cooperad (Frabetti-Van der Laan)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "How tropical are seven- and eight-particle amplitudes?: We study tropical Grassmanians Tr$(k,n)$ in relation to cluster algebras, and\nassess their applicability to $n$-particle amplitudes for $n=7,8$. In\n$\\mathcal{N}=4$ super Yang-Mills theory, we first show that while the totally\npositive part of Tr$(4,7)$ may encompass the iterated discontinuity structure\nof the seven-point Maximally Helicity Violating (MHV) amplitude, it is too\nsmall for the Next-to-MHV helicity configuration. Then, using Tr$(4,8)$ we\npropose a finite set of 356 cluster $\\mathcal{A}$-coordinates expected to\ncontain the rational symbol letters of the eight-particle MHV amplitude, and\ndiscuss how the remaining square-root letters may be obtained from limits of\ninfinite mutation sequences. Finally, we use a triangulation of the totally\npositive part of Tr$(3,8)$ to obtain the associated generalised biadjoint\nscalar amplitude in a form containing a near-minimal amount of spurious poles.",
        "positive": "Mass and Angular momentum of Black Holes in New Massive Gravity: We obtain mass and angular momentum of black holes as conserved charges in\nthree dimensional new massive gravity, after presenting the explicit expression\nfor the potential of the conserved charges. This confirms the expression of\nthose charges obtained in several ways, in particular through AdS/CFT\ncorrespondence, and shows us that the first law of black hole thermodynamics is\nvalid in these black holes. We also comment about conserved charges in new type\nblack holes with the emphasis on the AdS/CFT correspondence as guiding\nprinciple."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Mesons From String Theory: A brief historical synopsis of the connection between gauge theories and\nstring theory is given. Meson configurations known as k-strings are examined\nfrom string theory via the gauge/gravity correspondence. Backgrounds dual to\nk-strings in both 2+1 and 3+1 are discussed. The energy of k-strings to lowest\norder consists of a tension term, proportional to the length, L, of the\nk-string, i.e., the size of the mesons in the configuration. The first quantum\ncorrection is a Coulombic 1/L correction, known as a Luscher term, plus a\nconstant. Acquiring tensions and Luscher terms via the gauge/gravity\ncorrespondence is discussed.",
        "positive": "Renormalization of the Inverse Square Potential: The quantum-mechanical D-dimensional inverse square potential is analyzed\nusing field-theoretic renormalization techniques. A solution is presented for\nboth the bound-state and scattering sectors of the theory using cutoff and\ndimensional regularization. In the renormalized version of the theory, there is\na strong-coupling regime where quantum-mechanical breaking of scale symmetry\ntakes place through dimensional transmutation, with the creation of a single\nbound state and of an energy-dependent s-wave scattering matrix element."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Semiclassical approximation in Batalin-Vilkovisky formalism: The geometry of supermanifolds provided with $Q$-structure (i.e. with odd\nvector field $Q$ satisfying $\\{ Q,Q\\} =0$), $P$-structure (odd symplectic\nstructure ) and $S$-structure (volume element) or with various combinations of\nthese structures is studied. The results are applied to the analysis of\nBatalin-Vilkovisky approach to the quantization of gauge theories. In\nparticular the semiclassical approximation in this approach is expressed in\nterms of Reidemeister torsion.",
        "positive": "Fluxbranes: Moduli Stabilisation and Inflation: Fluxbrane inflation is a stringy version of D-term inflation in which two\nfluxed D7-branes move towards each other until their (relative) gauge flux\nannihilates. Compared to brane-antibrane inflation, the leading-order\ninflationary potential of this scenario is much flatter. In the present paper\nwe first discuss a new explicit moduli stabilisation procedure combining the F-\nand D-term scalar potentials: It is based on fluxed D7-branes in a geometry\nwith three large four-cycles of hierarchically different volumes. Subsequently,\nwe combine this moduli stabilisation with the fluxbrane inflation idea,\ndemonstrating in particular that CMB data (including cosmic string constraints)\ncan be explained within our setup of hierarchical large volume CY\ncompactifications. We also indicate how the eta-problem is expected to\nre-emerge through higher-order corrections and how it might be overcome by\nfurther refinements of our model. Finally, we explain why recently raised\nconcerns about constant FI terms do not affect the consistent, string-derived\nvariant of D-term inflation discussed in this paper."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Monopole, gluino and charge condensates in gauge theories with broken\n  N=2 supersymmetry: We consider chiral condensates in SU(2) gauge theory with broken N=2\nsupersymmetry and one fundamental flavor in the matter sector. Matter and\ngaugino condensates are determined by integrating out the adjoint field. The\nonly nonperturbative input is the Affleck-Dine-Seiberg one-instanton\nsuperpotential. The results are consistent with those obtained by the\n`integrating in' procedure. We then calculate monopole, dyon, and charge\ncondensates using the Seiberg-Witten approach. The key observation is that the\nmonopole and charge condensates vanish at the Argyres-Douglas point where the\nmonopole and charge vacua collide. We interpret this phenomenon as a\ndeconfinement of electric and magnetic charges at the Argyres-Douglas point.",
        "positive": "On external backgrounds and linear potential in three dimensions: For a three-dimensional theory with a coupling $\\phi \\epsilon ^{\\mu \\nu\n\\lambda} v_\\mu F_{\\nu \\lambda}$, where $v_\\mu$ is an external constant\nbackground, we compute the interaction potential within the structure of the\ngauge-invariant but path-dependent variables formalism. While in the case of a\npurely timelike vector the static potential remains Coulombic, in the case of a\npurely spacelike vector the potential energy is the sum of a Bessel and a\nlinear potentials, leading to the confinement of static charges. This result\nmay be considered as another realization of the known Polyakov's result."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "BPS-Saturated Bound States of Tilted P-Branes in Type II String Theory: We found BPS-saturated solutions of M-theory and Type II string theory which\ncorrespond to (non-marginally) bound states of p-branes intersecting at angles\ndifferent from pi/2. These solutions are obtained by starting with a BPS\nmarginally bound (orthogonally) intersecting configurations of two p-branes\n(e.g, two four-branes of Type II string theory), performing a boost\ntransformation at an angle with respect to the world-volume of the\nconfiguration, performing T-duality transformation along the boost-direction,\nS-duality transformation, and T- transformations along the direction\nperpendicular to the boost transformation. The resulting configuration is\nnon-marginally bound BPS-saturated solution whose static metric possesses the\noff-diagonal term which cannot be removed by a coordinate transformation, and\nthus signifies an angle (different from pi/2) between the resulting\nintersecting p-branes. Additional new p-branes are bound to this configuration,\nin order to ensure the stability of such a static, tilted configuration.",
        "positive": "Holographic entanglement entropy and complexity of microstate geometries: We study holographic entanglement entropy and holographic complexity in a\ntwo-charge, $\\frac{1}{4}$-BPS family of solutions of type IIB supergravity,\ncontrolled by one dimensionless parameter. All the geometries in this family\nare asymptotically AdS$_3 \\times \\mathbb{S}^3 \\times \\mathbb{T}^4$ and, varying\nthe parameter that controls them, they interpolates between the global AdS$_3\n\\times \\mathbb{S}^3 \\times \\mathbb{T}^4$ and the massless BTZ$_3 \\times\n\\mathbb{S}^3 \\times \\mathbb{T}^4$ geometry. Due to AdS/CFT duality, these\ngeometries are dual to pure CFT heavy states.\n  We find that there is no emergence of entanglement shadow for all the values\nof the parameter and we discuss the relation with the massless BTZ result,\nunderlying the relevance of the nature of the dual states.\n  We also compute the holographic complexity of formation of these geometries,\nfinding a nice monotonic function that interpolates between the pure AdS$_3$\nresult and the massless BTZ one."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "BPS submodels of the Skyrme model: We show that the standard Skyrme model without pion mass term can be\nexpressed as a sum of two BPS submodels, i.e., of two models whose static field\nequations, independently, can be reduced to first order equations. Further,\nthese first order (BPS) equations have nontrivial solutions, at least locally.\nThese two submodels, however, cannot have common solutions. Our findings also\nshed some light on the rational map approximation. Finally, we consider certain\ngeneralisations of the BPS submodels.",
        "positive": "De-singularizing the extremal GMGHS black hole via higher derivatives\n  corrections: The Gibbons-Maeda-Garfinkle-Horowitz-Strominger (GMGHS) black hole is an\ninfluential solution of the low energy heterotic string theory. As it is well\nknown, it presents a singular extremal limit. We construct a regular extension\nof the GMGHS extremal black hole in a model with $\\mathcal{O}(\\alpha')$\ncorrections in the action, by solving the fully non-linear equations of motion.\nThe de-singularization is supported by the $\\mathcal{O}(\\alpha')$-terms. The\nregularised extremal GMGHS BHs are asymptotically flat, possess a regular\n(non-zero size) horizon of spherical topology, with an $AdS_2\\times S^2$ near\nhorizon geometry, and their entropy is proportional to the electric charge. The\nnear horizon solution is obtained analytically and some illustrative bulk\nsolutions are constructed numerically."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exact solutions, energy and charge of stable Q-balls: In this work we deal with nontopological solutions of the Q-ball type in two\nspacetime dimensions. We study models of current interest, described by a\nHiggs-like and other, similar potentials which unveil the presence of exact\nsolutions. We use the analytic results to investigate how to control the energy\nand charge to make the Q-balls stable.",
        "positive": "Nonlinear electrodynamics in Bianchi spacetimes: We study the effects produced by nonlinear electrodynamics in spacetimes\nconformal to Bianchi metrics. In the presence of Born-Infeld type fields these\nmodels accelerate, expand and isotropize. This effect is compared with the\ncorresponding to a linear electromagnetic field; it turns out that for the same\ngeometry, Maxwell fields does not favour inflation as much as Born-Infeld\nfield. The behavior of the nonlinear radiation is analyzed in terms of the\nequation of state. The energy conditions are analyzed as well, showing that the\nBorn-Infeld field violates the strong energy condition."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The alpha'-Expansion of Calabi-Yau Compactifications: We consider alpha'-corrections to Calabi-Yau compactifications of type II\nstring theory. These were discussed from the string worldsheet approach many\nyears ago in terms of supersymmetric non-linear sigma-models by Nemeschansky\nand Sen as well as Gross and Witten. There it was shown that once\nalpha'-corrections are included, the internal manifold solving the string\nequations of motion is still Calabi-Yau though not Ricci flat. In this brief\nnote we review these results and compare with a space-time effective field\ntheory approach, in which we show that SU(3)-holonomy manifolds become\nSU(3)-structure manifolds once such corrections are included.",
        "positive": "On spectrally flowed local vertex operators in AdS$_3$: We provide a novel local definition for spectrally flowed vertex operators in\nthe SL(2,$\\mathbb{R}$)-WZW model, generalising the proposal of Maldacena and\nOoguri in [arXiv:hep-th/0111180] for the singly-flowed case to all $\\omega >\n1$. This allows us to establish the precise connection between the computation\nof correlators using the so-called spectral flow operator, and the methods\nintroduced recently by Dei and Eberhardt in [arXiv:2105.12130] based on local\nWard identities. We show that the auxiliary variable $y$ used in the latter\npaper arises naturally from a point-splitting procedure in the space-time\ncoordinate. The recursion relations satisfied by spectrally flowed correlators,\nwhich take the form of partial differential equations in $y$-space, then\ncorrespond to null-state conditions for generalised spectral flowed operators.\nWe highlight the role of the SL(2,$\\mathbb{R}$) series identifications in this\ncontext, and prove the validity of the conjecture put forward in\n[arXiv:2105.12130] for $y$-space structure constants of three-point functions\nwith arbitrary spectral flow charges."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Simplifying the Type $A$ Argyres-Douglas Landscape: A well-established organisational principle for Argyres--Douglas-type\n$\\mathcal{N}=2$ superconformal field theories in four dimensions is to\ncharacterise such theories by the data defining a(n irregular) Hitchin system\non $\\mathbb{CP}^1$. The dictionary between Hitchin system data and various\nfeatures of the corresponding SCFT has been studied extensively, but the\noverall structure of the resulting space of SCFTs still appears quite\ncomplicated. In this work, we systematically delineate a variety of\nsimplifications that arise within this class of constructions due to several\nlarge classes of isomorphisms between SCFTs associated with inequivalent\nHitchin system data (and their exactly marginal gaugings). We restrict to the\nmost studied class of theories, namely the type $A$ theories without outer\nautomorphism twists.",
        "positive": "Vacuum instability in slowly varying electric fields: Nonperturbative methods have been well-developed for QED with the so-called\nt-electric potential steps. In this case a calculation technique is based on\nthe existence of specific exact solutions (in and out solutions) of the Dirac\nequation. However, there are only few cases when such solutions are known.\nHere, we demonstrate that for t-electric potential steps slowly varying with\ntime there exist physically reasonable approximations that maintain the\nnonperturbative character of QED calculations even in the absence of the exact\nsolutions. Defining the slowly varying regime in general terms, we can observe\na universal character of vacuum effects caused by a strong electric field. In\nthe present article, we find universal approximate representations for the\ntotal density of created pairs and vacuum mean values of the current density\nand energy-momentum tensor that hold true for arbitrary t-electric potential\nsteps slowly varying with time. These representations do not require knowledge\nof the corresponding solutions of the Dirac equation, they have a form of\nsimple functionals of a given slowly varying electric field. We establish\nrelations of these representations with leading terms of the derivative\nexpansion approximation. These results allow one to formulate some\nsemiclassical approximations that are not restricted by the smallness of\ndifferential mean numbers of created pairs."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Non-Perturbative Formulation of Time-Dependent String Solutions: We formulate here a new world-sheet renormalization-group technique for the\nbosonic string, which is non-perturbative in the Regge slope alpha' and based\non a functional method for controlling the quantum fluctuations, whose\nmagnitudes are scaled by the value of alpha'. Using this technique we exhibit,\nin addition to the well-known linear-dilaton cosmology, a new, non-perturbative\ntime-dependent background solution. Using the reparametrization invariance of\nthe string S-matrix, we demonstrate that this solution is conformally invariant\nto alpha', and we give a heuristic inductive argument that conformal invariance\ncan be maintained to all orders in alpha'. This new time-dependent string\nsolution may be applicable to primordial cosmology or to the exit from\nlinear-dilaton cosmology at large times.",
        "positive": "Gluon-Meson Duality: The QCD-vacuum is characterized by the Higgs phenomenon for colored scalar\nfields. In this dual picture the gluons appear as the octet of vector mesons.\nAlso quarks and baryons are identified. Gluon-meson and quark-baryon duality\ncan account in a simple way for realistic masses of all low-mass hadrons and\nfor their interactions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Planck 2013 and Superconformal Symmetry: We explain why the concept of a spontaneously broken superconformal symmetry\nis useful to describe inflationary models favored by the Planck. Non-minimal\ncoupling of complex scalars to curvature, N(X, X*) R, is compulsory for\nsuperconformal symmetry. Here N is the Kahler potential of the embedding moduli\nspace, including the inflaton and the conformon. It appears that such a\nnon-minimal coupling allows generic chaotic models of inflation to reach an\nagreement with the observable (n_{s},r) values. We describe here the\nsuperconformal versions of the cosmological attractors whose bosonic part was\npresented in lectures of A. Linde in this volume. A distinguishing feature of\nthis class of models is that they tend to lead to very similar predictions\nwhich are not very sensitive with respect to strong modifications of the\ntheory. The (super)conformal symmetry underlying (super)gravity allows a\nuniversal description of a large class of models which agree with observations\nand predict the tensor to scalar ratio 10^{-3} < r < 10^{-1}.",
        "positive": "Extra Dimensions and Fuzzy Branes in String-inspired Nonlocal Field\n  Theory: Particle physics models with extra dimensions of space (EDS's) and branes\nshed new light on electroweak and flavor hierarchies with a rich TeV scale\nphenomenology. This article highlights new model building issues with EDS's and\nbranes, arising in the framework of weakly nonlocal field theories. It is shown\nthat a brane-localized field is still delocalized in the bulk on a small\ndistance from the brane position: fields localized on such distant fuzzy branes\nare thus allowed to interact directly with suppressed couplings. Directions for\nmodel building are also given: (i) with fuzzy branes, a new realization of\nsplit fermions in an EDS is presented, naturally generating flavor hierarchies;\n(ii) with a warped EDS, the usual warp transmutation of a brane-localized mass\nterm is revisited, where it is shown that the nonlocal scale is also redshifted\nand provides a smooth UV cutoff for the Higgs boson mass. This framework is\nexpected to have natural UV completions in string theory, but the possibility\nto embed it in recent UV complete weakly nonlocal quantum field theories is\ncommented."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "General covariant Horava-Lifshitz gravity without projectability\n  condition and its applications to cosmology: We consider an extended theory of Horava-Lifshitz gravity with the detailed\nbalance condition softly breaking, but without the projectability condition.\nWith the former, the number of independent coupling constants is significantly\nreduced. With the latter and by extending the original foliation-preserving\ndiffeomorphism symmetry $ {{Diff}}(M, {\\cal{F}})$ to include a local U(1)\nsymmetry, the spin-0 gravitons are eliminated. Thus, all the problems related\nto them disappear, including the instability, strong coupling, and different\nspeeds in the gravitational sector. When the theory couples to a scalar field,\nwe find that the scalar field is not only stable in both the ultraviolet (UV)\nand infrared (IR), but also free of the strong coupling problem, because of the\npresence of high-order spatial derivative terms of the scalar field.\nFurthermore, applying the theory to cosmology, we find that due to the\nadditional U(1) symmetry, the Friedmann-Robertson-Walker (FRW) universe is\nnecessarily flat. We also investigate the scalar, vector, and tensor\nperturbations of the flat FRW universe, and derive the general linearized field\nequations for each kind of the perturbations.",
        "positive": "Thermal nature of de Sitter spacetime and spontaneous excitation of\n  atoms: We consider, in de Sitter spacetime, both freely falling and static two-level\natoms in interaction with a conformally coupled massless scalar field in the de\nSitter-invariant vacuum, and separately calculate the contributions of vacuum\nfluctuations and radiation reaction to the atom's spontaneous excitation rate.\nWe find that spontaneous excitations occur even for the freely falling atom as\nif there is a thermal bath of radiation at the Gibbons-Hawking temperature and\nwe thus recover, in a different physical context, the results of Gibbons and\nHawking that reveals the thermal nature of de Sitter spacetime. Similarly, for\nthe case of the static atom, our results show that the atom also perceives a\nthermal bath which now arises as a result of the intrinsic thermal nature of de\nSitter spacetime and the Unruh effect associated with the inherent acceleration\nof the atom."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spectrum of a duality-twisted Ising quantum chain: The Ising quantum chain with a peculiar twisted boundary condition is\nconsidered. This boundary condition, first introduced in the framework of the\nspin-1/2 XXZ Heisenberg quantum chain, is related to the duality\ntransformation, which becomes a symmetry of the model at the critical point.\nThus, at the critical point, the Ising quantum chain with the duality-twisted\nboundary is translationally invariant, similar as in the case of the usual\nperiodic or antiperiodic boundary conditions. The complete energy spectrum of\nthe Ising quantum chain is calculated analytically for finite systems, and the\nconformal properties of the scaling limit are investigated. This provides an\nexplicit example of a conformal twisted boundary condition and a corresponding\ngeneralised twisted partition function.",
        "positive": "The coset construction for non-equilibrium systems: We propose a systematic coset construction of non-equilibrium effective field\ntheories (EFTs) governing the long-distance and late-time dynamics of\nrelativistic, finite-temperature condensed matter systems. Our non-equilibrium\ncoset construction makes significant advances beyond more standard coset\nconstructions in that it takes advantage of recently-developed techniques,\nwhich allow the formulation of non-equilibrium effective actions that account\nfor quantum and thermal fluctuations as well as dissipation. Because these\nsystems exist at finite temperature, the EFTs live on the closed-time-path of\nthe Schwinger-Keldysh contour. Since the coset construction and the\nnon-equilibrium effective actions may be unfamiliar to many readers, we include\nbrief introductions to these topics in an effort to make this paper\nself-contained. To demonstrate the legitimacy of this coset construction, we\nsuccessfully reproduce the known EFTs for fluids and superfluids at finite\ntemperature. Then, to demonstrate its utility, we construct novel EFTs for\nsolids, supersolids, and four phases of liquid crystals, all at finite\ntemperature. We thereby combine the non-equilibrium effective action and the\ncoset construction to create a powerful tool that can be used to study\nmany-body systems out of thermal equilibrium."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Complete Black Brane Solutions in D-dimensional Coupled Gravity\n  System: In this paper, we use only the equation of motion for an interacting system\nof gravity, dilaton and antisymmetric tensor to study the black brane\nsolutions. By making use of the property of Schwarzian derivative, we obtain\nthe complete solution of this system of equations. For some special values we\nobtain the well-known BPS brane and black brane solutions.",
        "positive": "Holography Beyond the Penrose Limit: The flat pp-wave background geometry has been realized as a particular\nPenrose limit of AdS_5 x S^5. It describes a string that has been infinitely\nboosted along an equatorial null geodesic in the S^5 subspace. The string\nworldsheet Hamiltonian in this background is free. Finite boosts lead to\ncurvature corrections that induce interacting perturbations of the string\nworldsheet Hamiltonian. We develop a systematic light-cone gauge quantization\nof the interacting worldsheet string theory and use it to obtain the\ninteracting spectrum of the so-called `two-impurity' states of the string. The\nquantization is technically rather intricate and we provide a detailed account\nof the methods we use to extract explicit results. We give a systematic\ntreatment of the fermionic states and are able to show that the spectrum\npossesses the proper extended supermultiplet structure (a non-trivial fact\nsince half the supersymmetry is nonlinearly realized). We test holography by\ncomparing the string energy spectrum with the scaling dimensions of\ncorresponding gauge theory operators. We confirm earlier results that agreement\nobtains in low orders of perturbation theory, but breaks down at third order.\nThe methods presented here can be used to explore these issues in a wider\ncontext than is specifically dealt with in this paper."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the all-order epsilon-expansion of generalized hypergeometric\n  functions with integer values of parameters: We continue our study of the construction of analytical coefficients of the\nepsilon-expansion of hypergeometric functions and their connection with Feynman\ndiagrams. In this paper, we apply the approach of obtaining iteratated\nsolutions to the differential equations associated with hypergeometric\nfunctions to prove the following result (Theorem 1): The epsilon-expansion of a\ngeneralized hypergeometric function with integer values of parameters is\nexpressible in terms of generalized polylogarithms with coefficients that are\nratios of polynomials. The method used in this proof provides an efficient\nalgorithm for calculatiing of the higher-order coefficients of Laurent\nexpansion.",
        "positive": "Non-analyticity in Holographic Complexity near Critical points: The region near a critical point is studied using holographic models of\nsecond-order phase transitions. In a previous paper, we argued that the quantum\ncircuit complexity of the vacuum ($C_0$) is the largest at the critical point.\nWhen deforming away from the critical point by a term $\\int d^d x \\, \\tau \\,\nO_\\Delta$ the complexity $C(\\tau)$ has a piece non-analytic in $\\tau$, namely\n$C_0 -C(\\tau) \\sim |\\tau-\\tau_c|^{\\nu(d-1)} + \\mathrm{analytic} $. Here, as\nusual, $\\nu=\\frac{1}{d-\\Delta}$ and $\\xi$ is the correlation length $\\xi\\sim\n|\\tau-\\tau_c|^{-\\nu}$ and there are possible logarithmic corrections to this\nexpression. That was derived using numerical results for the Bose-Hubbard model\nand general scaling considerations. In this paper, we show that the same is\nvalid in the case of holographic complexity providing evidence that the results\nare universal, and at the same time providing evidence for holographic\ncomputations of complexity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Spontaneous Lorentz and Diffeomorphism Violation, Massive Modes, and\n  Gravity: Theories with spontaneous local Lorentz and diffeomorphism violation contain\nmassless Nambu-Goldstone modes, which arise as field excitations in the minimum\nof the symmetry-breaking potential. If the shape of the potential also allows\nexcitations above the minimum, then an alternative gravitational Higgs\nmechanism can occur in which massive modes involving the metric appear. The\norigin and basic properties of the massive modes are addressed in the general\ncontext involving an arbitrary tensor vacuum value. Special attention is given\nto the case of bumblebee models, which are gravitationally coupled vector\ntheories with spontaneous local Lorentz and diffeomorphism violation. Mode\nexpansions are presented in both local and spacetime frames, revealing the\nNambu-Goldstone and massive modes via decomposition of the metric and bumblebee\nfields, and the associated symmetry properties and gauge fixing are discussed.\nThe class of bumblebee models with kinetic terms of the Maxwell form is used as\na focus for more detailed study. The nature of the associated conservation laws\nand the interpretation as a candidate alternative to Einstein-Maxwell theory\nare investigated. Explicit examples involving smooth and Lagrange-multiplier\npotentials are studied to illustrate features of the massive modes, including\ntheir origin, nature, dispersion laws, and effects on gravitational\ninteractions. In the weak static limit, the massive mode and\nLagrange-multiplier fields are found to modify the Newton and Coulomb\npotentials. The nature and implications of these modifications are examined.",
        "positive": "A Twisted Kink Crystal in the Chiral Gross-Neveu model: We present the detailed properties of a self-consistent crystalline chiral\ncondensate in the massless chiral Gross-Neveu model. We show that a suitable\nansatz for the Gorkov resolvent reduces the functional gap equation, for the\ninhomogeneous condensate, to a nonlinear Schr\\\"odinger equation, which is\nexactly soluble. The general crystalline solution includes as special cases all\npreviously known real and complex condensate solutions to the gap equation.\nFurthermore, the associated Bogoliubov-de Gennes equation is also soluble with\nthis inhomogeneous chiral condensate, and the exact spectral properties are\nderived. We find an all-orders expansion of the Ginzburg-Landau effective\nLagrangian and show how the gap equation is solved order-by-order."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Reply to \"Comment on 'Noncommutative gauge theories and Lorentz\n  symmetry'\": This is a reply to \"Comment on 'Noncommutative gauge theories and Lorentz\nsymmetry,'\" Phys. Rev. D 77 (2008) 048701 by Alfredo Iorio.",
        "positive": "A note on fermions in holographic QCD: We study the fermionic sector of a probe D8-brane in the supergravity\nbackground made of D4-branes compactified on a circle with supersymmetry broken\nexplicitly by the boundary conditions. At low energies the dual field theory is\neffectively four-dimensional and has proved surprisingly successful in\nrecovering qualitative and quantitative properties of QCD. We investigate\nfluctuations of the fermionic fields on the probe D8-brane and interpret these\nas mesinos (fermionic superpartners of mesons). We demonstrate that the masses\nof these modes are comparable to meson masses and show that their interactions\nwith ordinary mesons are not suppressed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Racah coefficients and extended HOMFLY polynomials for all 5-, 6- and\n  7-strand braids: Basing on evaluation of the Racah coefficients for SU_q(3) (which supported\nthe earlier conjecture of their universal form) we derive explicit formulas for\nall the 5-, 6- and 7-strand Wilson averages in the fundamental representation\nof arbitrary SU(N) group (the HOMFLY polynomials). As an application, we list\nthe answers for all 5-strand knots with 9 crossings. In fact, the 7-strand\nformulas are sufficient to reproduce all the HOMFLY polynomials from the\nkatlas.org: they are all described at once by a simple explicit formula with a\nvery transparent structure. Moreover, would the formulas for the relevant\nSU_q(3) Racah coefficients remain true for all other quantum groups, the paper\nprovides a complete description of the fundamental HOMFLY polynomials for all\nbraids with any number of strands.",
        "positive": "Reheating and dangerous relics in pre-big bang string cosmology: We discuss the mechanism of reheating in pre-big bang string cosmology and we\ncalculate the amount of moduli and gravitinos produced gravitationally and in\nscattering processes of the thermal bath. We find that this abundance always\nexceeds the limits imposed by big-bang nucleosynthesis, and significant entropy\nproduction is required. The exact amount of entropy needed depends on the\ndetails of the high curvature phase between the dilaton-driven inflationary era\nand the radiation era. We show that the domination and decay of the zero-mode\nof a modulus field, which could well be the dilaton, or of axions, suffices to\ndilute moduli and gravitinos. In this context, baryogenesis can be accomodated\nin a simple way via the Affleck-Dine mechanism and in some cases the\nAffleck-Dine condensate could provide both the source of entropy and the baryon\nasymmetry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Perturbative and Nonperturbative Studies of CFTs with MN Global Symmetry: Fixed points in three dimensions described by conformal field theories with\n$MN_{m,n}= O(m)^n\\rtimes S_n$ global symmetry have extensive applications in\ncritical phenomena. Associated experimental data for $m=n=2$ suggest the\nexistence of two non-trivial fixed points, while the $\\varepsilon$ expansion\npredicts only one, resulting in a puzzling state of affairs. A recent numerical\nconformal bootstrap study has found two kinks for small values of the\nparameters $m$ and $n$, with critical exponents in good agreement with\nexperimental determinations in the $m=n=2$ case. In this paper we investigate\nthe fate of the corresponding fixed points as we vary the parameters $m$ and\n$n$. We find that one family of kinks approaches a perturbative limit as $m$\nincreases, and using large spin perturbation theory we construct a large $m$\nexpansion that fits well with the numerical data. This new expansion, akin to\nthe large $N$ expansion of critical $O(N)$ models, is compatible with the fixed\npoint found in the $\\varepsilon$ expansion. For the other family of kinks, we\nfind that it persists only for $n=2$, where for large $m$ it approaches a\nnon-perturbative limit with $\\Delta_\\phi\\approx 0.75$. We investigate the\nspectrum in the case $MN_{100,2}$ and find consistency with expectations from\nthe lightcone bootstrap.",
        "positive": "D-instanton probes of N=2 non-conformal geometries: D-instanton calculus has proved to be able to probe the AdS near horizon\ngeometry for $N$ D-branes systems which, when decoupled from gravity, yield\nfour dimensional superconformal gauge theories with various matter content. In\nthis work we extend previous analysis to encompass fractional brane models\nwhich give rise to non conformal N=2 Super Yang-Mills theories. Via D-instanton\ncalculus we study the geometry of such models for finite $N$ and recover the\n$\\beta$ function of the gauge coupling constants which is expected in non\nconformal gauge theories. We also give a topological matrix theory formulation\nfor the D-instanton action of these theories. Finally, we revisit the related\nsystem where the D3-branes wrap a ${\\real}^4/{\\zet}_p$ orbifold singularity and\nthe D(-1) branes are associated to instanton solutions of four-dimensional\ngauge theories in the blown down ALE space."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic MQCD: We study a brane configuration of D4-branes and NS5-branes in weakly coupled\ntype IIA string theory, which describes in a particular limit d=4 N=1 SU(N+p)\nsupersymmetric QCD with 2N flavors and a quartic superpotential. We describe\nthe geometric realization of the supersymmetric vacuum structure of this gauge\ntheory. We focus on the confining vacua of the gauge theory, whose holographic\ndescription is given by the MQCD brane configuration in the near-horizon\ngeometry of N D4-branes. This description, which gives an embedding of MQCD\ninto a field theory decoupled from gravity, is valid for 1 << p << N, in the\nlimit of large five dimensional `t Hooft couplings for the color and flavor\ngroups. We analyze various properties of the theory in this limit, such as the\nspectrum of mesons, the finite temperature behavior, and the quark-anti-quark\npotential. We also discuss the same brane configuration on a circle, where it\ngives a geometric description of the moduli space of the Klebanov-Strassler\ncascading theory, and some non-supersymmetric generalizations.",
        "positive": "Counting Tensor Model Observables and Branched Covers of the 2-Sphere: Lattice gauge theories of permutation groups with a simple topological action\n(henceforth permutation-TFTs) have recently found several applications in the\ncombinatorics of quantum field theories (QFTs). They have been used to solve\ncounting problems of Feynman graphs in QFTs and ribbon graphs of large $N$,\noften revealing inter-relations between different counting problems. In another\nrecent development, tensor theories generalizing matrix theories have been\nactively developed as models of random geometry in three or more dimensions.\nHere, we apply permutation-TFT methods to count gauge invariants for tensor\nmodels (colored as well as non-colored), exhibiting a relationship with\ncounting problems of branched covers of the 2-sphere, where the rank $d$ of the\ntensor gets related to a number of branch points. We give explicit generating\nfunctions for the relevant counting and describe algorithms for the enumeration\nof the invariants. As well as the classic count of Hurwitz equivalence classes\nof branched covers with fixed branch points, collecting these under an\nequivalence of permuting the branch points is relevant to the color-symmetrized\ntensor invariant counting. We also apply the permutation-TFT methods to obtain\nsome formulae for correlators of the tensor model invariants."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Dimensional Reduction, Hard Thermal Loops and the Renormalization Group: We study the realization of dimensional reduction and the validity of the\nhard thermal loop expansion for lambda phi^4 theory at finite temperature,\nusing an environmentally friendly finite-temperature renormalization group with\na fiducial temperature as flow parameter. The one-loop renormalization group\nallows for a consistent description of the system at low and high temperatures,\nand in particular of the phase transition. The main results are that\ndimensional reduction applies, apart from a range of temperatures around the\nphase transition, at high temperatures (compared to the zero temperature mass)\nonly for sufficiently small coupling constants, while the HTL expansion is\nvalid below (and rather far from) the phase transition, and, again, at high\ntemperatures only in the case of sufficiently small coupling constants. We\nemphasize that close to the critical temperature, physics is completely\ndominated by thermal fluctuations that are not resummed in the hard thermal\nloop approach and where universal quantities are independent of the parameters\nof the fundamental four-dimensional theory.",
        "positive": "Magnetic-Dipole Spin Effects in Noncommutative Quantum Mechanics: A general three-dimensional noncommutative quantum mechanical system mixing\nspatial and spin degrees of freedom is proposed. The analogous of the harmonic\noscillator in this description contains a magnetic dipole interaction and the\nground state is explicitly computed and we show that it is infinitely\ndegenerated and implying a spontaneous symmetry breaking. The model can be\nstraightforwardly extended to many particles and the main above properties are\nretained. Possible applications to the Bose-Einstein condensation with\ndipole-dipole interactions are briefly discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Vacuum stress-tensor in SSB theories: The renormalized energy-momentum tensor of vacuum has been deeply explored\nmany years ago. The main result of these studies was that such a tensor should\nsatisfy the conservation laws which reflects the covariance of the theory in\nthe presence of loop corrections. In view of this general result we address two\nimportant questions, namely how to implement the momentum cut-off in a\ncovariant way and whether this general result holds in the theory with\nSpontaneous Symmetry Breaking. In the last case some new interesting details\narise and although the calculations are more involved we show that the final\nresult satisfies the conservation laws.",
        "positive": "Exact Operator Quantization of the Euclidean Black Hole CFT: We present an exact operator quantization of the Euclidean Black Hole CFT\nusing a recently established free field parametrization of the fundamental\nfields of the classical theory [4,5,6,7]. Quantizing the map to free fields, we\nshow that the resulting quantum fields are causal and transform as covariant\nfields w.r.t. the Virasoro algebra. We construct the reflection operator of the\nquantum theory and demonstrate its unitarity. We furthermore discuss the\nW-algebra of the Euclidean Black Hole model. It turns out that unitarity of the\nreflection operator is a simple consequence of the fact that certain\nrepresentations of the W-algebra are unitarily equivalent."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "BPS Correlators for $\\text{AdS}_3/\\text{CFT}_2$: The BPS correlators of the symmetric product orbifold\n$\\text{Sym}_N(\\mathbb{T}^4)$ are reproduced from the dual worldsheet theory\ndescribing strings on $\\text{AdS}_3\\times {\\rm S}^3\\times \\mathbb{T}^4$ with\nminimal ($k=1$) NS-NS flux. More specifically, we show that the worldsheet\nduals of the symmetric orbifold BPS states can be identified with their lift to\nthe covering surface, thereby making the matching of the correlators\nessentially manifest. We also argue that the argument can be generalised to\narbitrary descendants, using suitable DDF operators on the worldsheet.",
        "positive": "A New Class of Ghost and Tachyon Free Metric Affine Gravities: We construct the spin-projection operators for a theory containing a\nsymmetric two-index tensor and a general three-index tensor. We then use them\nto analyse, at linearized level, the most general action for a metric-affine\ntheory of gravity with terms up to second order in curvature, which depends on\n28 parameters. In the metric case we recover known results. In the torsion-free\ncase, we are able to determine the most general six-parameter class of theories\nthat are projective invariant, contain only one massless spin 2 and no spin 3,\nand are free of ghosts and tachyons."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Duality group actions on fermions: In this short paper we look at the action of T-duality and string duality\ngroups on fermions, in maximally-supersymmetric theories and related theories.\nBriefly, we argue that typical duality groups such as SL(2,Z) have sign\nambiguities in their actions on fermions, and propose that pertinent duality\ngroups be extended by Z_2, to groups such as the metaplectic group.\nSpecifically, we look at duality groups arising from mapping class groups of\ntori in M theory compactifications, T-duality, ten-dimensional type IIB\nS-duality, and (briefly) four-dimensional N=4 super Yang-Mills, and in each\ncase, propose that the full duality group is a nontrivial Z_2 extension of the\nduality group acting on bosonic degrees of freedom, to more accurately describe\npossible actions on fermions. We also walk through U-duality groups for\ntoroidal compactifications to nine, eight, and seven dimensions, which enables\nus to perform cross-consistency tests of these proposals.",
        "positive": "Poincar\u00e9 Series, 3d Gravity and Averages of Rational CFT: We investigate the Poincar\\'e approach to computing 3d gravity partition\nfunctions dual to Rational CFT. For a single genus-1 boundary, we show that for\ncertain infinite sets of levels, the SU(2)$_k$ WZW models provide unitary\nexamples for which the Poincare series is a positive linear combination of two\nmodular-invariant partition functions. This supports the interpretation that\nthe bulk gravity theory (a topological Chern-Simons theory in this case) is\ndual to an average of distinct CFT's sharing the same Kac-Moody algebra. We\ncompute the weights of this average for all seed primaries and all relevant\nvalues of k. We then study other WZW models, notably SU($N$)$_1$ and SU(3)$_k$,\nand find that each class presents rather different features. Finally we\nconsider multiple genus-1 boundaries, where we find a class of seed functions\nfor the Poincar\\'e sum that reproduces both disconnected and connected\ncontributions -- the latter corresponding to analogues of 3-manifold\n\"wormholes\" -- such that the expected average is correctly reproduced."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Hawking Radiation in the Dilaton Gravity with a Non-Minimally Coupled\n  Scalar Field: We discuss the two-dimensional dilaton gravity with a scalar field as the\nsource matter where the coupling with the gravity is given, besides the minimal\none, through an external field. This coupling generalizes the conformal anomaly\nin the same way as those found in recent literature, but with a diferent\nmotivation. The modification to the Hawking radiation is calculated explicity\nand shows an additional term that introduces a dependence on the (effective)\nmass of the black-hole.",
        "positive": "Chern-Simons Supersymmetric Branes: In this paper we continue the study of the model proposed in the previous\npaper hep-th/0002077. The model consist of a system of extended objects of\ndiverse dimensionalities, with or without boundaries, with actions of the\nChern-Simons form for a supergroup. We also discuss possible connections with\nSuperstring/M-theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetric Non-abelian DBI Equations from Open Pure Spinor\n  Superstring: The BRST invariance of the open pure spinor superstring is examined in the\npresence of background superfields on a Dp-brane. We note that the background\nsuperfields introduced in this paper depend on boundary fermions. The BRST\ninvariance leads to supersymmetric Dirac-Born-Infeld (DBI) equations for\nbackground superfields depending on boundary fermions as well as boundary\nconditions on spacetime coordinates. After quantizing boundary fermions,\nbackground superfields are promoted to non-abelian ones. As a result, we obtain\nthe supersymmetric non-abelian DBI equations from the supersymmetric DBI\nequations depending on boundary fermions. It is shown that these non-abelian\nDBI equations reduce to the super-Yang-Mills equations in the limit alpha' ->\n0. We also show the nilpotency of the BRST transformation of boundary fermions.",
        "positive": "Noncommutative Harmonic Analysis, Sampling Theory and the Duflo Map in\n  2+1 Quantum Gravity: We show that the $\\star$-product for $U(su_2)$, group Fourier transform and\neffective action arising in [1] in an effective theory for the integer spin\nPonzano-Regge quantum gravity model are compatible with the noncommutative\nbicovariant differential calculus, quantum group Fourier transform and\nnoncommutative scalar field theory previously proposed for 2+1 Euclidean\nquantum gravity using quantum group methods in [2]. The two are related by a\nclassicalisation map which we introduce. We show, however, that noncommutative\nspacetime has a richer structure which already sees the half-integer spin\ninformation. We argue that the anomalous extra `time' dimension seen in the\nnoncommutative geometry should be viewed as the renormalisation group flow\nvisible in the coarse-graining in going from $SU_2$ to $SO_3$. Combining our\nmethods we develop practical tools for noncommutative harmonic analysis for the\nmodel including radial quantum delta-functions and Gaussians, the Duflo map and\nelements of `noncommutative sampling theory'. This allows us to understand the\nbandwidth limitation in 2+1 quantum gravity arising from the bounded $SU_2$\nmomentum and to interpret the Duflo map as noncommutative compression. Our\nmethods also provide a generalised twist operator for the $\\star$-product."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic thermalization in N=4 Super Yang-Mills theory at finite\n  coupling: We investigate the behavior of energy momentum tensor correlators in\nholographic $\\mathcal{N}=4$ super Yang-Mills plasma, taking finite coupling\ncorrections into account. In the thermal limit we determine the flow of\nquasinormal modes as a function of the 't Hooft coupling. Then we use a\nspecific model of holographic thermalization to study the deviation of the\nspectral densities from their thermal limit in an out-of-equilibrium situation.\nThe main focus lies on the thermalization pattern with which the plasma\nconstituents approach their thermal distribution as the coupling constant\ndecreases from the infinite coupling limit. All obtained results point towards\nthe weakening of the usual top-down thermalization pattern.",
        "positive": "Solitons on tori and soliton crystals: Necessary conditions for a soliton on a torus $M=\\R^m/\\Lambda$ to be a\nsoliton crystal, that is, a spatially periodic array of topological solitons in\nstable equilibrium, are derived. The stress tensor of the soliton must be $L^2$\northogonal to $\\ee$, the space of parallel symmetric bilinear forms on $TM$,\nand, further, a certain symmetric bilinear form on $\\ee$, called the hessian,\nmust be positive. It is shown that, for baby Skyrme models, the first condition\nactually implies the second. It is also shown that, for any choice of period\nlattice $\\Lambda$, there is a baby Skyrme model which supports a soliton\ncrystal of periodicity $\\Lambda$. For the three-dimensional Skyrme model, it is\nshown that any soliton solution on a cubic lattice which satisfies a virial\nconstraint and is equivariant with respect to (a subgroup of) the lattice\nsymmetries automatically satisfies both tests. This verifies in particular that\nthe celebrated Skyrme crystal of Castillejo {\\it et al.}, and Kugler and\nShtrikman, passes both tests."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Comments on Chiral p-Forms: Two issues regarding chiral $p$-forms are addressed. First, we investigate\nthe topological conditions on spacetime under which the action for a non-chiral\n$p$-form can be split as the sum of the actions for two chiral $p$-forms, one\nof each chirality. When these conditions are not met, we exhibit explicitly the\nextra topological degrees of freedom and their couplings to the chiral modes.\nSecond, we study the problem of constructing Lorentz-invariant self-couplings\nof a chiral $p$-form in the light of the Dirac-Schwinger condition on the\nenergy-momentum tensor commutation relations. We show how the Perry-Schwarz\ncondition follows from the Dirac-Schwinger criterion and point out that\nconsistency of the gravitational coupling is automatic.",
        "positive": "A Systematic Approach to K\u00e4hler Moduli Stabilisation: Achieving full moduli stabilisation in type IIB string compactifications for\ngeneric Calabi-Yau threefolds with hundreds of K\\\"ahler moduli is notoriously\nhard. This is due not just to the very fast increase of the computational\ncomplexity with the number of moduli, but also to the fact that the scalar\npotential depends in general on the supergravity variables only implicitly. In\nfact, the supergravity chiral coordinates are 4-cycle volume moduli but the\nK\\\"ahler potential is an explicit function of the 2-cycle moduli and inverting\nbetween these two variables is in general impossible. In this paper we propose\na general method to fix all type IIB K\\\"ahler moduli in a systematic way by\nworking directly in terms of 2-cycle moduli: on one side we present a `master\nformula' for the scalar potential which can depend on an arbitrary number of\nK\\\"ahler moduli, while on the other we perform a computer-based search for\ncritical points, introducing a hybrid Genetic/Clustering/Amoeba algorithm and\nother computational techniques. This allows us to reproduce several known\nminima, but also to discover new examples of both KKLT and LVS models, together\nwith novel classes of LVS minima without diagonal del Pezzo divisors and hybrid\nvacua which share some features with KKLT and other with LVS solutions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Stability of AdS in Einstein Gauss Bonnet Gravity: Recently it has been argued that in Einstein gravity Anti-de Sitter spacetime\nis unstable against the formation of black holes for a large class of\narbitrarily small perturbations. We examine the effects of including a\nGauss-Bonnet term. In five dimensions, spherically symmetric\nEinstein-Gauss-Bonnet gravity has two key features: Choptuik scaling exhibits a\nradius gap, and the mass function goes to a finite value as the horizon radius\nvanishes. These suggest that black holes will not form dynamically if the total\nmass/energy content of the spacetime is too small, thereby restoring the\nstability of AdS spacetime in this context. We support this claim with\nnumerical simulations and uncover a rich structure in horizon radii and\nformation times as a function of perturbation amplitude.",
        "positive": "Large Gauge Transformations in Double Field Theory: Finite gauge transformations in double field theory can be defined by the\nexponential of generalized Lie derivatives. We interpret these transformations\nas `generalized coordinate transformations' in the doubled space by proposing\nand testing a formula that writes large transformations in terms of derivatives\nof the coordinate maps. Successive generalized coordinate transformations give\na generalized coordinate transformation that differs from the direct\ncomposition of the original two. Instead, it is constructed using the Courant\nbracket. These transformations form a group when acting on fields but,\nintriguingly, do not associate when acting on coordinates."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Correlators of Hopf Wilson loops in the AdS/CFT correspondence: We study at quantum level correlators of supersymmetric Wilson loops with\ncontours lying on Hopf fibers of $S^3$. In $\\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM theory the\nstrong coupling analysis can be performed using the AdS/CFT correspondence and\na connected classical string surface, linking two different fibers, is\npresented. More precisely, the string solution describes oppositely oriented\nfibers with the same scalar coupling and depends on an angular parameter,\ninterpolating between a non-BPS configuration and a BPS one. The system can be\nthought as an alternative deformation of the ordinary antiparallel lines giving\nthe static quark-antiquark potential, that is indeed correctly reproduced, at\nweak and strong coupling, as the fibers approach one another.",
        "positive": "Classical Black Hole Production In Quantum Particle Collisions: The semiclassical picture of black hole production in trans-Planckian\nelementary particle collisions is reviewed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "MORE ON THE LINEARIZATION OF $W$-ALGEBRAS: We show that a wide class of $W$-(super)algebras, including $W_N^{(N-1)}$,\n$U(N)$-superconformal as well as $W_N$ nonlinear algebras, can be linearized by\nembedding them as subalgebras into some {\\em linear} (super)conformal algebras\nwith finite sets of currents. The general construction is illustrated by the\nexample of $W_4$ algebra.",
        "positive": "Relaxing the Parity Conditions of Asymptotically Flat Gravity: Four-dimensional asymptotically flat spacetimes at spatial infinity are\ndefined from first principles without imposing parity conditions or\nrestrictions on the Weyl tensor. The Einstein-Hilbert action is shown to be a\ncorrect variational principle when it is supplemented by an anomalous\ncounter-term which breaks asymptotic translation, supertranslation and\nlogarithmic translation invariance. Poincar\\'e transformations as well as\nsupertranslations and logarithmic translations are associated with finite and\nconserved charges which represent the asymptotic symmetry group. Lorentz\ncharges as well as logarithmic translations transform anomalously under a\nchange of regulator. Lorentz charges are generally non-linear functionals of\nthe asymptotic fields but reduce to well-known linear expressions when parity\nconditions hold. We also define a covariant phase space of asymptotically flat\nspacetimes with parity conditions but without restrictions on the Weyl tensor.\nIn this phase space, the anomaly plays classically no dynamical role.\nSupertranslations are pure gauge and the asymptotic symmetry group is the\nexpected Poincar\\'e group."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Wronskian Indices and Rational Conformal Field Theories: The classification scheme for rational conformal field theories, given by the\nMathur-Mukhi-Sen (MMS) program, identifies a rational conformal field theory by\ntwo numbers: $(n, l)$. $n$ is the number of characters of the rational\nconformal field theory. The characters form linearly independent solutions to a\nmodular linear differential equation (which is also labelled by $(n, l)$); the\nWronskian index $l$ is a non-negative integer associated to the structure of\nzeroes of the Wronskian.\n  In this paper, we compute the $(n, l)$ values for three classes of well-known\nCFTs viz. the WZW CFTs, the Virasoro minimal models and the $\\mathcal{N} = 1$\nsuper-Virasoro minimal models. For the latter two, we obtain exact formulae for\nthe Wronskian indices. For WZW CFTs, we get exact formulae for small ranks\n(upto 2) and all levels and for all ranks and small levels (upto 2) and for the\nrest we compute using a computer program. We find that any WZW CFT at level 1\nhas a vanishing Wronskian index as does the $\\mathbf{\\hat{A}_1}$ CFT at all\nlevels. We find intriguing coincidences such as: (i) for the same level CFTs\nwith $\\mathbf{\\hat{A}_2}$ and $\\mathbf{\\hat{G}_2}$ have the same $(n,l)$\nvalues, (ii) for the same level CFTs with $\\mathbf{\\hat{B}_r}$ and\n$\\mathbf{\\hat{D}_r}$ have the same $(n,l)$ values for all $r \\geq 5$.\n  Classifying all rational conformal field theories for a given $(n, l)$ is one\nof the aims of the MMS program. We can use our computations to provide partial\nclassifications. For the famous $(2, 0)$ case, our partial classification turns\nout to be the full classification (achieved by MMS three decades ago). For the\n$(3, 0)$ case, our partial classification includes two infinite series of CFTs\nas well as seven ``discrete'' CFTs; except two all others have Kac-Moody\nsymmetry.",
        "positive": "Magnetohydrodynamics in Presence of Electric and Magnetic charges: Starting with the generalized electromagnetic field equations of dyons, we\nhave discussed the theory of magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) of plasma for particles\ncarrying simultaneously the electric and magnetic charges (namely dyons). It is\nshown that the resultant system supports the electromagnetic duality of dyons.\nConsequently the frequency of dyonic plasma has been obtained and it is\nemphasized that there is a different plasma frequency for each species\ndepending on wave number k. For k to be real, only those generalized\nelectromagnetic waves are allowed to pass, for which the usual frequency is\ngreater than the plasma frequency (i.e. \\omega>\\omega_{p}). It is shown that\nthe plasma frequency sets the lower cuts for the frequencies of electromagnetic\nradiation that can pass through a plasma . Accordingly the ohm's law has been\nreestablished to derive the plasma oscillation equation as well as the\nmagetohydrodynamic wave equation and the energy of dyons in unique and\nconsistent manner."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "First Law of Thermodynamics and Friedmann Equations of\n  Friedmann-Robertson-Walker Universe: Applying the first law of thermodynamics to the apparent horizon of a\nFriedmann-Robertson-Walker universe and assuming the geometric entropy given by\na quarter of the apparent horizon area, we derive the Friedmann equations\ndescribing the dynamics of the universe with any spatial curvature. Using\nentropy formulae for the static spherically symmetric black hole horizons in\nGauss-Bonnet gravity and in more general Lovelock gravity, where the entropy is\nnot proportional to the horizon area, we are also able to obtain the Friedmann\nequations in each gravity theory. We also discuss some physical implications of\nour results.",
        "positive": "On small tension p-branes: This paper deals with p-branes with small but non-zero tension. We prove the\nexistence of canonical transformations, within a perturbation theory, that link\nspecific geometries of p-branes to solvable theories, namely string-like and\nparticle-like theories. The specific shapes correspond to stretched\nconfigurations. For configurations linked to string-like theories one will upon\nquantization get a critical dimension of (25+p)."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Geometric cross sections of rotating strings and black holes: We study the production cross section of a highly excited string with fixed\nangular momentum from an ultra-high energy collision of two light strings. We\nfind that the cross section exhibits geometric behavior in a certain region of\nangular-momentum/impact-parameter space. This geometric behavior is common to\nthe differential cross sections of a black hole production with fixed angular\nmomentum and thus we see another correspondence between strings and black\nholes.",
        "positive": "NSR measures on hyperelliptic locus and non-renormalization of\n  1,2,3-point functions: We demonstrate (under a modest assumption) that the sums over spin-structures\nof the simplest combinations of fermionic correlators (Szego kernels) and\nDHP/CDG/Grushevsky NSR measures vanish at least on the hyperelliptic loci in\nthe moduli space of Riemann surfaces -- despite the violation of the theta_e^4\nhypothesis at g>2. This provides an additional important support to validity of\nthese measures and is also a step towards a proof of the non-renormalization\ntheorems in the NSR approach."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Smirnov-type integral formulae for correlation functions of the\n  bulk/boundary XXZ model in the anti-ferromagnetic regime: Presented are the integral solutions to the quantum Knizhnik-Zamolodchikov\nequations for the correlation functions of both the bulk and boundary XXZ\nmodels in the anti-ferromagnetic regime. The difference equations can be\nderived from Smirnov-type master equations for correlation functions on the\nbasis of the CTM bootstrap. Our integral solutions with an appropriate choice\nof the integral kernel reproduce the formulae previously obtained by using the\nbosonization of the vertex operators of the quantum affine algebra $U_q\n(\\hat{\\mathfrak{sl}_2})$.",
        "positive": "Conformal quantum mechanics and Fick-Jacobs equation: It is found a relation between conformal quantum mechanics and Fick-Jacobs\nequation, which describes diffusion in channels. This relation is given between\na family of channels and a family of conformal Hamiltonians. In addition, it is\nshown that a conformal Hamiltonian is associated with two channels with\ndifferent geometry. Furthermore exact solutions for Fick-Jacobs equation are\ngiven for this family of channels."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Nonperturbative Renormalon Structure of Infrared Unstable Theories: The properties of a generalized version of the Borel Transform in infrared\nunstable theories with dynamical mass generation are studied. The\nreconstruction of the nonperturbative structure is unambiguous in this version.\nVarious methods for extracting the singularity structure of the Borel Transform\nfor lattice formulations of such theories are explored, and illustrated\nexplicitly with the O(N) sigma model. The status of the first infrared\nrenormalon in QCD is discussed. The feasibility of a proposed technique for\nanalytically continuing from the left hand Borel plane (where nonperturbative\ninformation is available via simulation of lattice field theory) to the\npositive real axis is examined using the sigma model.",
        "positive": "On Heterotic/Type I Duality in d=8: We discuss heterotic corrections to quartic internal U(1) gauge couplings and\ncheck duality by calculating one-loop open string diagrams and identifying the\nD-instanton sum in the dual type I picture. We also compute SO(8)^4 threshold\ncorrections and finally R^2 corrections in type I theory."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Wald entropy in Kaluza-Klein black holes: We study the thermodynamics of the 4-dimensional electrically charged\nblack-hole solutions of the simplest 5-dimensional Kaluza-Klein theory using\nWald's formalism. We show how the electric work term present in the\n4-dimensional first law of black-hole thermodynamics arises in the purely\ngravitational 5-dimensional framework. In particular, we find an interesting\ngeometric interpretation of the 4-dimensional electrostatic potential similar\nto the angular velocity in rotating black holes. Furthermore, we show how the\nmomentum map equation arises from demanding compatibility between the timelike\nKilling vector of the black-hole solution and the spatial Killing vector of the\n5-dimensional background.",
        "positive": "Modified Spectral Boundary conditions in the Bag Model: We propose a reduced form of Atiah-Patodi-Singer spectral boundary conditions\nfor odd ($d$) dimensional spatial bag evolving in even ($d+1$) dimensional\nspace-time. The modified boundary conditions are manifestly chirally invariant\nand do not depend on time. This allows to apply Hamiltonian approach to\nconfined massless fermions and study chirality effects in spatially closed\nvolume. The modified boundary conditions are equally suitable for chiral\nfermions in Minkowski and Euclidean metric space-times."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "One-Loop Effective Action on the Four-Ball: This paper applies $\\zeta$-function regularization to evaluate the 1-loop\neffective action for scalar field theories and Euclidean Maxwell theory in the\npresence of boundaries. After a comparison of two techniques developed in the\nrecent literature, vacuum Maxwell theory is studied and the contribution of all\nperturbative modes to $\\zeta'(0)$ is derived: transverse, longitudinal and\nnormal modes of the electromagnetic potential, jointly with ghost modes. The\nanalysis is performed on imposing magnetic boundary conditions, when the\nFaddeev-Popov Euclidean action contains the particular gauge-averaging term\nwhich leads to a complete decoupling of all perturbative modes. It is shown\nthat there is no cancellation of the contributions to $\\zeta'(0)$ resulting\nfrom longitudinal, normal and ghost modes.",
        "positive": "D-branes in B Fields: The RR Page charges for the D2-, D4-, D6-brane in B fields are constructed\nexplicitly from the equations of motion and the nonvanishing (modified) Bianchi\nidentities by exploiting their properties --- conserved and localized. It is\nfound that the RR Page charges are independent of the backgound B fields, which\nprovides further evidence that the RR Page charge should be quantized. In our\nconstruction, it is highly nontrivial that the terms like B x B x B, B x B x F,\nB x F x F from different sources are exactly cancelled with each other."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Para-Grassmann Variables and Coherent States: The definitions of para-Grassmann variables and q-oscillator algebras are\nrecalled. Some new properties are given. We then introduce appropriate coherent\nstates as well as their dual states. This allows us to obtain a formula for the\ntrace of a operator expressed as a function of the creation and annihilation\noperators.",
        "positive": "On the crossing relation in the presence of defects: The OPE of local operators in the presence of defect lines is considered both\nin the rational CFT and the $c>25$ Virasoro (Liouville) theory. The duality\ntransformation of the 4-point function with inserted defect operators is\nexplicitly computed. The two channels of the correlator reproduce the\nexpectation values of the Wilson and 't Hooft operators, recently discussed in\nLiouville theory in relation to the AGT conjecture."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Search for a Holographic Dual to AdS(3)xS(3)xS(3)xS(1): The problem of finding a holographic CFT dual to string theory on\nAdS(3)xS(3)xS(3)xS(1) is examined in depth. This background supports a large\nN=4 superconformal symmetry. While in some respects similar to the familiar\nsmall N=4 systems on AdS(3)xS(3)xK3 and AdS(3)xS(3)xT4, there are important\nqualitative differences. Using an analog of the elliptic genus for large N=4\ntheories we rule out all extant proposals -- in their simplest form -- for a\nholographic duality to supergravity at generic values of the background fluxes.\nModifications of these extant proposals and other possible duals are discussed.",
        "positive": "Functional renormalization flow and dynamical chiral symmetry breaking\n  of QCD: The dependence of function renormalization group equation on regulators is\ninvestigated. A parameter is introduced to control the suppression of\nregulators. Functional renormalization group equations will become\nregulator-independent if this newly introduced parameter is sent to infinity in\nthe end of calculation. One-loop renormalization flow equations of QCD are\nderived. The novelty is that both the coupling running equation and the mass\nrunning equation are mass-dependent. Different flow patterns are explored. A\nmechanism for non-occurrence of dynamical chiral symmetry breaking is arrived\nat. The existence of a conformal window is also discussed in the language of\nrenormalization flow."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Black Holes, Shock Waves, and Causality in the AdS/CFT Correspondence: We find the expectation value of the energy-momentum tensor in the CFT\ncorresponding to a moving black hole in AdS. Boosting the black hole to the\nspeed of light, keeping the total energy fixed, yields a gravitational shock\nwave in AdS. The analogous procedure on the field theory side leads to ``light\ncone'' states, i.e., states with energy-momentum tensor localized on the light\ncone. The correspondence between the gravitational shock wave and these light\ncone states provides a useful tool for testing causality. We show, in several\nexamples, how the CFT reproduces the causal relations in AdS.",
        "positive": "Consistency between 11D and U-duality: U duality transformations must act on a basis of states that form complete\nmultiplets of the U group, at any coupling, even though the states may not be\nmass degenerate, as for a broken symmetry. Similarly, if superstring theory is\nrelated to a non-perturbative 11D M-theory, then an 11D supermultiplet\nstructure is expected, even though the multiplet may contain states of\ndifferent masses. We analyse the consistency between these two multiplet\nschemes at the higher excited string levels for various compactifications of\nthe type IIA superstring. While we find complete consistency for a number of\ncompactifications, there remain some unanswered questions in others. The\nrelation to D-branes also needs further clarification."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Erratum: One-loop corrections to the string tension of the vortex in the\n  Abelian Higgs model: We correct two errors in our previous computation of one-loop corrections to\nthe vortex string tension: (i) the contribution of the longitudinal and\ntimelike modes of the gauge fields were forgotten and are included now; (ii) a\ntrivial error in the numerical code has led to considerable errors in the\nsubtracted integrals. We here present the corrected results.",
        "positive": "Remarks on Fundamental String Cosmology: In recent work, it was shown that velocity-dependent forces between moving\nstrings or branes lead to an accelerating expanding universe without assuming\nthe existence of a cosmological constant. Here we show that the repulsive\nvelocity-dependent force arises in more general contexts and can lead to cosmic\nstructure formation."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum Cohomology And All That: We found a quantum cohomology/homology of quantum Hall effect which arises as\nthe invariant property of the Chern-Simons theory of quantum Hall effect and\nshowed that it should be equivalent to the quantum cohomology which arose as\nthe invariant property of topological sigma models. This isomorphism should be\nrelated with an equivalence between the supersymmetric- and quantization\nstructures in two dimensional models and/or with an equivalence between\ntopological sigma models and the Chern-Simons theory by the methode of master\nequation.",
        "positive": "Rigorous constraints on the matrix elements of the energy-momentum\n  tensor: The structure of the matrix elements of the energy-momentum tensor play an\nimportant role in determining the properties of the form factors $A(q^{2})$,\n$B(q^{2})$ and $C(q^{2})$ which appear in the Lorentz covariant decomposition\nof the matrix elements. In this paper we apply a rigorous frame-independent\ndistributional-matching approach to the matrix elements of the Poincar\\'{e}\ngenerators in order to derive constraints on these form factors as $q\n\\rightarrow 0$. In contrast to the literature, we explicitly demonstrate that\nthe vanishing of the anomalous gravitomagnetic moment $B(0)$ and the condition\n$A(0)=1$ are independent of one another, and that these constraints are not\nrelated to the specific properties or conservation of the individual\nPoincar\\'{e} generators themselves, but are in fact a consequence of the\nphysical on-shell requirement of the states in the matrix elements and the\nmanner in which these states transform under Poincar\\'{e} transformations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Solutions in Exceptional Field Theory: Exceptional Field Theory employs an extended spacetime to make supergravity\nfully covariant under the U-duality groups of M-theory. This allows for the\nwave and monopole solutions to be combined into a single solution which obeys a\ntwisted self-duality relation. All fundamental, solitonic and Dirichlet branes\nof ten- and eleven-dimensonal supergravity may be extracted from this single\nsolution in Exceptional Field Theory.",
        "positive": "The interplay between the <A^2> condensate and instantons: Using the Local Composite Operator formalism, we analytically study the\ndimension two gluon condensate in the presence of instantons. We first use the\ndilute gas approximation and partially solve the infrared problem of instanton\nphysics. In order to find quantitative results, however, we turn to an\ninstanton liquid model, where we find a two-component picture of the\ncondensate: one component comes from instantons, a second component is\nnon-perturbatively generated by quantum fluctuations around the instantons."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Flat space holography and complex SYK: We provide the first steps towards a flat space holographic correspondence in\ntwo bulk spacetime dimensions. The gravity side is described by a conformally\ntransformed version of the matterless Callan-Giddings-Harvey-Strominger model.\nThe field theory side follows from the complex Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev model in the\nlimit of large specific heat and vanishing compressibility. We derive the\nboundary action analogous to the Schwarzian as the key link between gravity and\nfield theory sides and show that it coincides with a geometric action\ndiscovered recently by one of us, see 1908.08089.",
        "positive": "On reduced models for superstrings on AdS_n x S^n: We review the Pohlmeyer reduction procedure of the superstring sigma model on\nAdS_n x S^n leading to a gauged WZW model with an integrable potential coupled\nto 2d fermions. In particular, we consider the case of the Green-Schwarz\nsuperstring on AdS_3 x S^3 supported by RR flux. The bosonic part of the\nreduced model is given by the sum of the complex sine-Gordon Lagrangian and its\nsinh-Gordon counterpart. We determine the corresponding fermionic part and\ndiscuss possible existence of hidden 2d supersymmetry in the reduced action. We\nalso elaborate on some general aspects of the Pohlmeyer reduction applied to\nthe AdS_5 x S^5 superstring."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Resurgence of the large-charge expansion: We study the O(2N) model at criticality in three dimensions in the double\nscaling limit of large N and large charge. We show that the large-charge\nexpansion is an asymptotic series, and we use resurgence techniques to study\nthe non-perturbative corrections and to extend the validity of the effective\nfield theory to any value of the charge. We conjecture the general form of the\nnon-perturbative behavior of the conformal dimensions for any value of N and\nfind very good agreement with previous lattice data.",
        "positive": "D-instantons, Strings and M-theory: The R^4 terms in the effective action for M-theory compactified on a\ntwo-torus are motivated by combining one-loop results in type II superstring\ntheories with the Sl(2,Z) duality symmetry. The conjectured expression\nreproduces precisely the tree-level and one-loop R^4 terms in the effective\naction of the type II string theories compactified on a circle, together with\nthe expected infinite sum of instanton corrections. This conjecture implies\nthat the R^4 terms in ten-dimensional string type II theories receive no\nperturbative corrections beyond one loop and there are also no non-perturbative\ncorrections in the ten-dimensional IIA theory. Furthermore, the\neleven-dimensional M-theory limit exists, in which there is an R^4 term that\noriginates entirely from the one-loop contribution in the type IIA theory and\nis related by supersymmetry to the eleven-form C^{(3)}R^4. The generalization\nto compactification on T^3 as well as implications for non-renormalization\ntheorems in D-string and D-particle interactions are briefly discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Phase Transitions for Gauge Theories on Tori from the AdS/CFT\n  Correspondence: The vacuum of a large-N gauge field on a p-torus has a spatial stress tensor\nwith tension along the direction of smallest periodicity and equal pressures\n(but p times smaller in magnitude) along the other directions, assuming an\nAdS/CFT correspondence and a refined form of the Horowitz-Myers positive-energy\nconjecture. For infinite N, the vacuum exhibits a phase transition when the\nlengths of the two shortest periodicities cross. A comparison is made with the\nSurya-Schleich-Witt phase transition at finite temperature. A zero-loop\napproximation is also given for large but finite N.",
        "positive": "Dipole Coupling Effect of Holographic Fermion in the Background of\n  Charged Gauss-Bonnet AdS Black Hole: We investigate the holographic fermions in the charged Gauss-Bonnet $AdS_{d}$\nblack hole background with the dipole coupling between fermion and gauge field\nin the bulk. We show that in addition to the strength of the dipole coupling,\nthe spacetime dimension and the higher curvature correction in the gravity\nbackground also influence the onset of the Fermi gap and the gap distance. We\nfind that the higher curvature effect modifies the fermion spectral density and\ninfluences the value of the Fermi momentum for the appearance of the Fermi\nsurface. There are richer physics in the boundary fermion system due to the\nmodification in the bulk gravity."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Discrete gauge symmetries from (closed string) tachyon condensation: The study of discrete gauge symmetries in field theory and string theory is\noften carried out by embedding them into continuous symmetries. Many symmetries\nhowever do not seem to admit such embedding, for instance discrete isometries\ngiven by large diffeomorphisms in compactifications. We show that in the\ncontext of string theory even those symmetries can be embedded into continuous\nones. This requires extending the system to a supercritical string theory\nconfiguration with extra dimensions, on which the continuous symmetry acts. The\nextra dimensions are subsequently removed by closed string tachyon\ncondensation, which breaks the continuous symmetry but preserves a discrete\nsubgroup. The construction is explicit and the tachyon condensation can even be\nfollowed quantitatively for lightlike tachyon profiles. The embedding of\ndiscrete into continuous symmetries allows a realization of charged topological\ndefects as closed string tachyon solitons, in tantalizing reminiscence of the\nconstruction of D-branes as open tachyon solitons.",
        "positive": "Single-valued multiple zeta values in genus 1 superstring amplitudes: We study the modular graph functions introduced by Green, Russo, Vanhove in\nthe context of type II superstring scattering amplitudes of 4 gravitons on a\ntorus. In particular we describe a method to algorithmically compute the\ncoefficients in their expansion at the cusp in terms of conical sums. We\nperform explicit computations for 3-graviton functions, which naturally suggest\nto conjecture that only single-valued multiple zeta values appear."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "N=1 Gribov superfield extension: We propose a mechanism displaying confinement, as defined by the behavior of\nthe propagators, for 4 dimensional, N = 1 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory in\nsuperfield formalism. In this work we intend to verify the possibility of\nextending the known Gribov problem of quantization of Yang-Mills theories and\nthe implementation of a local action with auxiliary superfields like\nGribov-Zwanziger approach to this problem.",
        "positive": "General Results for Higher Spin Wilson Lines and Entanglement in\n  Vasiliev Theory: We develop tools for the efficient evaluation of Wilson lines in 3D higher\nspin gravity, and use these to compute entanglement entropy in the\nhs$[\\lambda]$ Vasiliev theory that governs the bulk side of the duality\nproposal of Gaberdiel and Gopakumar. Our main technical advance is the\ndetermination of SL(N) Wilson lines for arbitrary $N$, which, in suitable\ncases, enables us to analytically continue to hs$[\\lambda]$ via $N \\rightarrow\n-\\lambda$. We apply this result to compute various quantities of interest,\nincluding entanglement entropy expanded perturbatively in the background higher\nspin charge, chemical potential, and interval size. This includes a computation\nof entanglement entropy in the higher spin black hole of the Vasiliev theory.\nThese results are consistent with conformal field theory calculations. We also\nprovide an alternative derivation of the Wilson line, by showing how it arises\nnaturally from earlier work on scalar correlators in higher spin theory. The\ngeneral picture that emerges is consistent with the statement that the SL(N)\nWilson line computes the semiclassical $W_N$ vacuum block, and our results\nprovide an explicit result for this object."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The a-function for N=2 supersymmetric gauge theories in three dimensions: Recently, the existence of a candidate a-function for renormalisable theories\nin three dimensions was demonstrated for a general theory at leading order and\nfor a scalar-fermion theory at next-to-leading order. Here we extend this work\nby constructing the a-function at next-to-leading order for an N=2\nsupersymmetric Chern-Simons theory. This increase in precision for the\na-function necessitated the evaluation of the underlying renormalization-group\nfunctions at four loops.",
        "positive": "Does SUSY know about the Standard Model?: The BRST cohomology of free chiral SUSY has a wealth of Extraordinary\nInvariants. When one adds a superpotential to the free theory, the extention of\nthe Extraordinary Invariants leads to some constraints on that superpotential.\nA particularly simple solution of those constraints is based on a $3 \\times 3$\nmatrix of nine chiral superfields, and then the superpotential is simply the\ndeterminant of that matrix.\n  It is remarkable that this same theory is also a plausible basic version of\nthe SUSY Standard Model for one Lepton family, and then the nine superfields\nare seen to be a left (Weak) SU(2) Lepton Doublet, Two Higgs Doublets, a Right\nElectron Singlet, a Right Neutrino Singlet and a Higgs singlet. Moreover, the\nalgebra is consistent with the notion that the other two observed Lepton\nfamilies arise from the coupling of the Extraordinary Invariants."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Multi-Instanton Effect in Two Dimensional QCD: We analyze multi-instanton sector in two dimensional U(N) Yang-Mills theory\non a sphere. We obtain a contour intregrals representation of the\nmulti-instanton amplitude and find ``neutral'' configurations of the even\nnumber instantons are dominant in the large N limit. Using this representation,\nwe calculate 1,2,3,4 bodies interactions and the free energies for $N =3,4,5$\nnumerically and find that in fact the multi-instanton interaction effect\nessentially contribute to the large N phase transition discovered by Douglas\nand Kazakov.",
        "positive": "Waves on Noncommutative Spacetimes: Waves on ``commutative'' spacetimes like R^d are elements of the commutative\nalgebra C^0(R^d) of functions on R^d. When C^0(R^d) is deformed to a\nnoncommutative algebra {\\cal A}_\\theta (R^d) with deformation parameter \\theta\n({\\cal A}_0 (R^d) = C^0(R^d)), waves being its elements, are no longer\ncomplex-valued functions on R^d. Rules for their interpretation, such as\nmeasurement of their intensity, and energy, thus need to be stated. We address\nthis task here. We then apply the rules to interference and diffraction for d\n\\leq 4 and with time-space noncommutativity. Novel phenomena are encountered.\nThus when the time of observation T is so brief that T \\leq 2 \\theta w, where w\nis the frequency of incident waves, no interference can be observed. For larger\ntimes, the interference pattern is deformed and depends on \\frac{\\theta w}{T}.\nIt approaches the commutative pattern only when \\frac{\\theta w}{T} goes to 0.\nAs an application, we discuss interference of star light due to cosmic strings."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Baryonic Corrections to Superpotentials from Perturbation Theory: We study the corrections induced by a baryon vertex to the superpotential of\nSQCD with gauge group SU(N) and N quark flavors. We first compute the\ncorrections order by order using a standard field theory technique and derive\nthe corresponding glueball superpotential by \"integrating in\" the glueball\nfield. The structure of the corrections matches with the expectations from the\nrecently introduced perturbative techniques. We then compute the first\nnon-trivial contribution using this new technique and find exact quantitative\nagreement. This involves cancellations between diagrams that go beyond the\nplanar approximation.",
        "positive": "Three-forms and Fayet-Iliopoulos terms in Supergravity: Scanning Planck\n  mass and BPS domain walls: We embed a new three-form vector multiplet in ${\\cal N}=1$ supergravity and\nwe show that it can be used to generate dynamically the Hilbert--Einstein term.\nWe then recast the theory into the standard Freedman model and we argue that a\npure Fayet--Iliopoulos term is in tension with the weak gravity conjecture.\nFinally, we couple the three-form to a super-membrane and study BPS domain\nwalls within matter-coupled supergravity. In these models, the Planck mass\ntakes different values on the domain wall sides."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Superconformal Indices, Sasaki-Einstein Manifolds, and Cyclic Homologies: The superconformal index of the quiver gauge theory dual to type IIB string\ntheory on the product of an arbitrary smooth Sasaki-Einstein manifold with\nfive-dimensional AdS space is calculated both from the gauge theory and gravity\nviewpoints. We find complete agreement. Along the way, we find that the index\non the gravity side can be expressed in terms of the Kohn-Rossi cohomology of\nthe Sasaki-Einstein manifold and that the index of a quiver gauge theory equals\nthe Euler characteristic of the cyclic homology of the Ginzburg dg algebra\nassociated to the quiver.",
        "positive": "$\\overline{\\rm D3}$ and dS: The role of the $\\overline{\\rm D3}$ brane in providing de Sitter vacua with\nspontaneously broken supersymmetry in the KKLT construction is clarified. The\nfirst step in this direction was explained in arXiv:hep-th/0301240,\narXiv:hep-th/0308055: it was shown there that in the GKP background the bosonic\ncontributions to the vacuum energy from the DBI and WZ term cancel for a D3\nbrane, but double for a $\\overline{\\rm D3}$ brane, leading to de Sitter vacua.\nThe next step was taken in arXiv:1411.1121 where the analogous mechanism of the\ndoubling (cancelation) of the $\\overline{\\rm D3}$ (D3) DBI and WZ terms was\ndiscovered in the presence of Volkov-Akulov fermions living on the brane, in a\nflat supergravity background. Here we confirm this mechanism of\ndoubling/cancelation for the $\\overline{\\rm D3}$/D3 brane in the GKP\nsupergravity background preserving $\\mathcal{N}=1$, $d=4$ supersymmetry. We\nfind that imaginary self-dual $G_{(3)}$ flux of type $(2,1)$ nicely removes the\n$SU(3)$ fermion triplet by giving it a large mass, while leaving the\nVolkov-Akulov goldstino, which is the $SU(3)$ singlet, massless. This makes the\nde Sitter landscape in D-brane physics clearly related to de Sitter vacua in\neffective $d=4$ supergravity with a nilpotent multiplet and spontaneously\nbroken supersymmetry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Vibration modes of giant gravitons in the background of dilatonic\n  D-branes: We consider the perturbation of giant gravitons in the background of\ndilatonic D-branes whose geometry is not of a conventional form of ${\\rm AdS}_m\n\\times {\\rm S}^n$. We use the quadratic approximation to the brane action to\ninvestigate their vibrations around the equilibrium configuration. We found the\nnormal modes of small vibrations of giant gravitons and these vibrations are\nturned out to be stable.",
        "positive": "Is scale-invariance in gauge-Yukawa systems compatible with the\n  graviton?: We explore whether perturbative interacting fixed points in matter systems\ncan persist under the impact of quantum gravity. We first focus on semi-simple\ngauge theories and show that the leading order gravity contribution evaluated\nwithin the functional Renormalization Group framework preserves the\nperturbative fixed-point structure in these models discovered in [1]. We\nhighlight that the quantum-gravity contribution alters the scaling dimension of\nthe gauge coupling, such that the system exhibits an effective dimensional\nreduction. We secondly explore the effect of metric fluctuations on\nasymptotically safe gauge-Yukawa systems which feature an asymptotically safe\nfixed point [2]. The same effective dimensional reduction that takes effect in\npure gauge theories also impacts gauge-Yukawa systems. There, it appears to\nlead to a split of the degenerate free fixed point into an interacting infrared\nattractive fixed point and a partially ultraviolet attractive free fixed point.\nThe quantum-gravity induced infrared fixed point moves towards the\nasymptotically safe fixed point of the matter system, and annihilates it at a\ncritical value of the gravity coupling. Even after that fixed-point\nannihilation, graviton effects leave behind new partially interacting fixed\npoints for the matter sector."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Some comments about Schwarzschield black holes in Matrix theory: In the present paper we calculate the statistical partition function for any\nnumber of extended objects in Matrix theory in the one loop approximation. As\nan application, we calculate the statistical properties of K clusters of D0\nbranes and then the statistical properties of K membranes which are wound on a\ntorus.",
        "positive": "D4-branes wrapped on a spindle: We construct supersymmetric AdS$_4\\times\\Sigma$ solutions of $D=6$ gauged\nsupergravity, where $\\Sigma$ is a two-dimensional orbifold known as a spindle.\nThese uplift to solutions of massive type IIA supergravity using a general\nprescription, that we describe. We argue that these solutions correspond to the\nnear-horizon limit of a system of $N_f$ D8-branes, together with $N$ D4-branes\nwrapped on a spindle, embedded as a holomorphic curve inside a Calabi-Yau\nthree-fold. The dual field theories are $d=3$, ${\\cal N }= 2$ SCFTs that arise\nfrom a twisted compactification of the $d=5$, ${\\cal N}=1$ $USp(2N)$ gauge\ntheory. We show that the holographic free energy associated to these solutions\nis reproduced by extremizing an off-shell free energy, that we conjecture to\narise in the large $N$ limit of the localized partition function of the $d=5$\ntheories on $S^3\\times\\Sigma$. We formulate a universal proposal for a class of\noff-shell free energies, whose extremization reproduces all previous results\nfor branes wrapped on spindles, as well as on genus $\\mathrm{g}$ Riemann\nsurfaces $\\Sigma_{\\mathrm{g}}$. We further illustrate this proposal discussing\nD4-branes wrapped on $\\Sigma\\times\\Sigma_{\\mathrm{g}}$, for which we present a\nsupersymmetric AdS$_2\\times\\Sigma\\times\\Sigma_{\\mathrm{g}}$ solution of $D=6$\ngauged supergravity along with the associated entropy function."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "BRST Properties of New Superstring States: Brane-like states are defined by physical vertex operators in NSR superstring\ntheory, existing at nonzero pictures only. These states exist both in open and\nclosed string theories, in the NS and NS-NS sectors respectively. In this paper\nwe present a detailed analysis of their BRST properties, giving a proof that\nthese vertex operators are physical, i.e. BRST invariant and BRST non-trivial.",
        "positive": "Field redefinitions and K\u00e4hler potential in string theory at 1-loop: Field redefinitions at string 1-loop order are often required by\nsupersymmetry, for instance in order to make the K\\\"ahler structure of the\nscalar kinetic terms manifest. We derive the general structure of the field\nredefinitions and the K\\\"ahler potential at string 1-loop order in a certain\nclass of string theory models (4-dimensional toroidal type IIB orientifolds\nwith ${\\cal N}=1$ supersymmetry) and for a certain subsector of fields\n(untwisted K\\\"ahler moduli and the 4-dimensional dilaton). To do so we make use\nof supersymmetry, perturbative axionic shift symmetries and a particular ansatz\nfor the form of the 1-loop corrections to the metric on the moduli space. Our\nresults also show which terms in the low-energy effective action have to be\ncalculated via concrete string amplitudes in order to fix the values of the\ncoefficients (in the field redefinitions and the K\\\"ahler potential) that are\nleft undetermined by our general analysis based on (super)symmetry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The $U$-plane of rank-one 4d $\\mathcal{N}=2$ KK theories: The simplest non-trivial 5d superconformal field theories (SCFT) are the\nfamous rank-one theories with $E_n$ flavour symmetry. We study their $U$-plane,\nwhich is the one-dimensional Coulomb branch of the theory on $\\mathbb{R}^4\n\\times S^1$. The total space of the Seiberg-Witten (SW) geometry -- the $E_n$\nSW curve fibered over the $U$-plane -- is described as a rational elliptic\nsurface with a singular fiber of type $I_{9-n}$ at infinity. A classification\nof all possible Coulomb branch configurations, for the $E_n$ theories and their\n4d descendants, is given by Persson's classification of rational elliptic\nsurfaces. We show that the global form of the flavour symmetry group is encoded\nin the Mordell-Weil group of the SW elliptic fibration. We study in detail many\nspecial points in parameters space, such as points where the flavour symmetry\nenhances, and/or where Argyres-Douglas and Minahan-Nemeschansky theories\nappear. In a number of important instances, including in the massless limit,\nthe $U$-plane is a modular curve, and we use modularity to investigate aspects\nof the low-energy physics, such as the spectrum of light particles at strong\ncoupling and the associated BPS quivers. We also study the gravitational\ncouplings on the $U$-plane, matching the infrared expectation for the couplings\n$A(U)$ and $B(U)$ to the UV computation using the Nekrasov partition function.",
        "positive": "A New Construction of Calabi-Yau Manifolds: Generalized CICYs: We present a generalization of the complete intersection in products of\nprojective space (CICY) construction of Calabi-Yau manifolds. CICY three-folds\nand four-folds have been studied extensively in the physics literature. Their\nutility stems from the fact that they can be simply described in terms of a\n`configuration matrix', a matrix of integers from which many of the details of\nthe geometries can be easily extracted. The generalization we present is to\nallow negative integers in the configuration matrices which were previously\ntaken to have positive semi-definite entries. This broadening of the complete\nintersection construction leads to a larger class of Calabi-Yau manifolds than\nthat considered in previous work, which nevertheless enjoys much of the same\ndegree of calculational control. These new Calabi-Yau manifolds are complete\nintersections in (not necessarily Fano) ambient spaces with an effective\nanticanonical class. We find examples with topology distinct from any that has\nappeared in the literature to date. The new manifolds thus obtained have many\ninteresting features. For example, they can have smaller Hodge numbers than\nordinary CICYs and lead to many examples with elliptic and K3-fibration\nstructures relevant to F-theory and string dualities."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The self-dual Lorentz violating model: quantization, scattering and dual\n  equivalence: In this paper, we analysis the dynamics, at the quantum level, of the\nself-dual field minimally coupled to bosons with Lorentz symmetry breaking. We\nquantize the model by applying the Dirac bracket canonical quantization\nprocedure. In addition, we test the relativistic invariance of the model by\ncomputing the boson-boson elastic scattering amplitude. Therefore, we show that\nthe Lorentz symmetry breaking has been restored at the quantum level. We\nfinalize our analysis by computing the dual equivalence between the self-dual\nmodel with Lorentz symmetry breaking coupled with bosonic matter and the\nMaxwell-Chern-Simons with Lorentz invariance violation coupled with bosonic\nfield.",
        "positive": "Pure Spinor Partition Function Using Pade Approximants: In a recent paper, the partition function (character) of ten-dimensional pure\nspinor worldsheet variables was calculated explicitly up to the fifth\nmass-level. In this letter, we propose a novel application of Pade approximants\nas a tool for computing the character of pure spinors. We get results up to the\ntwelfth mass-level. This work is a first step towards an explicit construction\nof the complete pure spinor partition function."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gravity on codimension 2 brane worlds: We compute the matching conditions for a general thick codimension 2 brane, a\nnecessary previous step towards the investigation of gravitational phenomena in\ncodimension 2 braneworlds. We show that, provided the brane is weakly curved,\nthey are specified by the integral in the extra dimensions of the brane\nenergy-momentum, independently of its detailed internal structure. These\ngeneral matching conditions can then be used as boundary conditions for the\nbulk solution. By evaluating Einstein equations at the brane boundary we are\nable to write an evolution equation for the induced metric on the brane\ndepending only on physical brane parameters and the bulk energy-momentum\ntensor. We particularise to a cosmological metric and show that a realistic\ncosmology can be obtained in the simplest case of having just a non-zero\ncosmological constant in the bulk. We point out several parallelisms between\nthis case and the codimension 1 brane worlds in an AdS space.",
        "positive": "Gravitational Blocks, Spindles and GK Geometry: We derive a gravitational block formula for the supersymmetric action for a\ngeneral class of supersymmetric AdS solutions, described by GK geometry.\nExtremal points of this action describe supersymmetric AdS$_3$ solutions of\ntype IIB supergravity, sourced by D3-branes, and supersymmetric AdS$_2$\nsolutions of $D=11$ supergravity, sourced by M2-branes. In both cases, the\nbranes are also wrapped over a two-dimensional orbifold known as a spindle, or\na two-sphere. We develop various geometric methods for computing the\ngravitational block contributions, allowing us to recover previously known\nresults for various explicit supergravity solutions, and to significantly\ngeneralize these results to other compactifications. For the AdS$_3$ solutions\nwe give a general proof that our off-shell supersymmetric action agrees with an\nappropriate off-shell $c$-function in the dual field theory, establishing a\nvery general exact result in holography. For the AdS$_2$ solutions our\ngravitational block formula allows us to obtain the entropy for supersymmetric,\nmagnetically charged and accelerating black holes in AdS$_4$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Thermodynamics of Higher Spin Black Holes in AdS$_3$: We discuss the thermodynamics of recently constructed three-dimensional\nhigher spin black holes in SL(N,R)\\times SL(N,R) Chern-Simons theory with\ngeneralized asymptotically-anti-de Sitter boundary conditions. From a\nholographic perspective, these bulk theories are dual to two-dimensional CFTs\nwith W_N symmetry algebras, and the black hole solutions are dual to thermal\nstates with higher spin chemical potentials and charges turned on. Because the\nnotion of horizon area is not gauge-invariant in the higher spin theory, the\ntraditional approaches to the computation of black hole entropy must be\nreconsidered. One possibility, explored in the recent literature, involves\ndemanding the existence of a partition function in the CFT, and consistency\nwith the first law of thermodynamics. This approach is not free from\nambiguities, however, and in particular different definitions of energy result\nin different expressions for the entropy. In the present work we show that\nthere are natural definitions of the thermodynamically conjugate variables that\nfollow from careful examination of the variational principle, and moreover\nagree with those obtained via canonical methods. Building on this intuition, we\nderive general expressions for the higher spin black hole entropy and free\nenergy which are written entirely in terms of the Chern-Simons connections, and\nare valid for both static and rotating solutions. We compare our results to\nother proposals in the literature, and provide a new and efficient way to\ndetermine the generalization of the Cardy formula to a situation with higher\nspin charges.",
        "positive": "The Skyrme model and chiral perturbation theory: A lagrangian which describes interactions between a soliton and a background\nfield is derived for sigma models whose target is a symmetric space. The\nbackground field modifies the usual moduli space approximation to soliton\ndynamics in two ways: by introducing a potential energy, and by inducing a\nKaluza-Klein metric on the moduli space. In the particular case of the Skyrme\nmodel, this lagrangian is quantised and shown to agree with the leading\npion-nucleon term in the chiral effective lagrangian, which is widely used in\ntheoretical nuclear physics. Thus chiral perturbation theory could be\nconsidered a low energy limit of the Skyrme model."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Monodromy Matrix in the PP-Wave Limit: We construct the monodromy matrix for a class of gauged WZWN models in the\nplane wave limit and discuss various properties of such systems.",
        "positive": "AdS-phobia, the WGC, the Standard Model and Supersymmetry: It has been recently argued that an embedding of the SM into a consistent\ntheory of quantum gravity may imply important constraints on the mass of the\nlightest neutrino and the cosmological constant $\\Lambda_{4}$. The constraints\ncome from imposing the absence of any non-SUSY AdS stable vacua obtained from\nany consistent compactification of the SM to 3 or 2 dimensions. This condition\ncomes as a corollary of a recent extension of the Weak Gravity Conjecture (WGC)\nby Ooguri and Vafa. In this paper we study $T^2/Z_N$ compactifications of the\nSM to two dimensions in which SM Wilson lines are projected out, leading to a\nconsiderable simplification. We analyze in detail a $T^ 2/Z_4$ compactification\nof the SM in which both complex structure and Wilson line scalars are fixed and\nthe potential is only a function of the area of the torus $a^2$. We find that\nthe SM is not robust against the appearance of AdS vacua in 2D and hence would\nbe by itself inconsistent with quantum gravity. On the contrary, if the SM is\nembedded at some scale $M_{SS}$ into a SUSY version like the MSSM, the AdS\nvacua present in the non-SUSY case disappear or become unstable. This means\nthat WGC arguments favor a SUSY version of the SM, independently of the usual\nhierarchy problem arguments. In a $T^2/Z_4$ compactification in which the\norbifold action is embedded into the $B-L$ symmetry the bounds on neutrino\nmasses and the cosmological constant are recovered. This suggests that the MSSM\nshould be extended with a $U(1)_{B-L}$ gauge group. In other families of vacua\nthe spectrum of SUSY particles is further constrained in order to avoid the\nappearance of new AdS vacua or instabilities. We discuss a possible\nunderstanding of the little hierarchy problem in this context."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Two loop results from the derivative expansion of the blocked action: A derivative expansion of the Wegner-Houghton equation is derived for a\nscalar theory. The corresponding full non-perturbative renormalization group\nequations for the potential and the wave-function renormalization function are\npresented. We also show that the two loop perturbative anomalous dimension for\nthe O(N) theory can be obtained by means of a polynomial truncation in the\nfield dependence in our equations.",
        "positive": "Lorentz-covariant spinor wave packet: We propose a new formulation of manifestly Lorentz-covariant spinor\nwave-packet basis. The conventional definition of the spinor wave packet is\nproblematic in the sense that it suffers from mixing with other wave packets\nunder Lorentz transformations. Our formulation evades this difficulty of\nmixing. This wave packet forms a complete set that can expand a free spinor\nfield in a Lorentz covariant manner. In addition, we present a\nLorentz-invariant expression of zero-point energy."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holography for 2d $\\mathcal{N}=(0,4)$ quantum field theory: We study the correspondence between AdS$_3$ massive IIA supergravity vacua\nand two-dimensional $\\mathcal{N}=(0,4)$ quiver quantum field theories. After\ncategorizing all kinds of gravity solutions, we demystify the ones that seem to\nreflect anomalous gauge theories. In particular, we prove that there are bound\nstates of D-branes on the boundary of the space which provide the dual quiver\ntheory with exactly the correct amount of flavor symmetry in order to cancel\nits gauge anomalies. Then we propose that the structure of the field theory\nshould be complemented with additional bifundamental matter, which we argue may\nonly be $\\mathcal{N}=(4,4)$ hypermultiplets. Finally, we construct a BPS string\nconfiguration and we use the old and new supersymmetric matter to build its\ndual ultraviolet operator. During this holographic synthesis, we uncover some\ninteresting features of the quiver superpotential and associate the proposed\noperator with the same classical mass of its dual BPS string.",
        "positive": "Entanglement of Stationary States in the Presence of Unstable\n  Quasiparticles: The effect of unstable quasiparticles in the out-of-equilibrium dynamics of\ncertain integrable systems has been the subject of several recent studies. In\nthis paper we focus on the stationary value of the entanglement entropy\ndensity, its growth rate, and related functions, after a quantum quench. We\nconsider several quenches, each of which is characterised by a corresponding\nsqueezed coherent state. In the quench action approach, the coherent state\namplitudes $K(\\theta)$ become input data that fully characterise the large-time\nstationary state, thus also the corresponding Yang-Yang entropy. We find that,\nas function of the mass of the unstable particle, the entropy growth rate has a\nglobal minimum signalling the depletion of entropy that accompanies a slowdown\nof stable quasiparticles at the threshold for the formation of an unstable\nexcitation. We also observe a separation of scales governed by the interplay\nbetween the mass of the unstable particle and the quench parameter, separating\na non-interacting regime described by free fermions from an interacting regime\nwhere the unstable particle is present. This separation of scales leads to a\ndouble-plateau structure of many functions, where the relative height of the\nplateaux is related to the ratio of central charges of the UV fixed points\nassociated with the two regimes, in full agreement with conformal field theory\npredictions. The properties of several other functions of the entropy and its\ngrowth rate are also studied in detail, both for fixed quench parameter and\nvarying unstable particle mass and viceversa."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantitative approaches to information recovery from black holes: The evaporation of black holes into apparently thermal radiation poses a\nserious conundrum for theoretical physics: at face value, it appears that in\nthe presence of a black hole quantum evolution is non-unitary and destroys\ninformation. This information loss paradox has its seed in the presence of a\nhorizon causally separating the interior and asymptotic regions in a black hole\nspacetime. A quantitative resolution of the paradox could take several forms:\n(a) a precise argument that the underlying quantum theory is unitary, and that\ninformation loss must be an artifact of approximations in the derivation of\nblack hole evaporation, (b) an explicit construction showing how information\ncan be recovered by the asymptotic observer, (c) a demonstration that the\ncausal disconnection of the black hole interior from infinity is an artifact of\nthe semiclassical approximation. This review summarizes progress on all these\nfronts.",
        "positive": "Universal scheme of minimal reduction of usual and dual N=1,D=10\n  supergravity to the Minkowsky space: The reduction from N=1, D=10 to N=4, D=4 supergravity with the Yang-Mills\nmatter is considered. For this purpose a set of constraints is imposed in order\nto exclude six additional abelian matter multiplets and conserve the\nsupersymmetry. We consider both the cases of usual and dual N=1, D=10\nsupergravity using the superspace approach. Also the effective potential of the\nderiving theory is written."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Confinement effects from massive photons: This paper has been withdrawn by the author due to an error in equations 39\nand 41.",
        "positive": "Anomalies of the Achucarro-Ortiz black hole: Considering anomalies of quantum field in the (1+1)-dimensional\nAchucarro-Ortiz black hole background, the stress tensor near and out of the\nhorizon is calculated, meanwhile, the relationship between anomalies and\nHawking radiation of the black hole is discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Integrability and Conformal Symmetry in Higher Dimensions: A Model with\n  Exact Hopfion Solutions: We use ideas on integrability in higher dimensions to define Lorentz\ninvariant field theories with an infinite number of local conserved currents.\nThe models considered have a two dimensional target space. Requiring the\nexistence of Lagrangean and the stability of static solutions singles out a\nclass of models which have an additional conformal symmetry. That is used to\nexplain the existence of an ansatz leading to solutions with non trivial Hopf\ncharges.",
        "positive": "Anyons as quon particles: The momentum operator representation of nonrelativistic anyons is developed\nin the Chern - Simons formulation of fractional statistics. The connection\nbetween anyons and the q-deformed bosonic algebra is established."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Sine-Gordon quantum field theory on the half-line with quantum boundary\n  degrees of freedom: The sine-Gordon model on the half-line with a dynamical boundary introduced\nby Delius and one of the authors is considered at quantum level. Classical\nboundary conditions associated with classical integrability are shown to be\npreserved at quantum level too. Non-local conserved charges are constructed\nexplicitly in terms of the field and boundary operators. We solve the\nintertwining equation associated with a certain coideal subalgebra of\n$U_q(\\hat{sl_2})$ generated by these non-local charges. The corresponding\nsolution is shown to satisfy quantum boundary Yang-Baxter equations. Up to an\nexact relation between the quantization length of the boundary quantum\nmechanical system and the sine-Gordon coupling constant, we conjecture the\nsoliton/antisoliton reflection matrix and boundstates reflection matrices. The\nstructure of the boundary state is then considered, and shown to be divided in\ntwo sectors. Also, depending on the sine-Gordon coupling constant a finite set\nof boundary bound states are identified. Taking the analytic continuation of\nthe coupling, the corresponding boundary sinh-Gordon model is briefly\ndiscussed. In particular, the particle reflection factor enjoys weak-strong\ncoupling duality.",
        "positive": "The Supercharges of Eleven-dimensional Supergraviton on Gravitational\n  Wave Background: We find the explicit expression of the supercharges of eleven dimensional\nsupergraviton on the background geometry of gravitational waves in\nasymptotically light-like compactified spacetime. We perform the calculations\norder by order in the fermions $\\p$, while retaining all orders in bosonic\ndegrees of freedom, and get the closed form up to $\\p^5$ order. This should\ncorrespond to the supercharge of the effective action of (0+1)-dimensional\nmatrix quantum mechanics for, at least, $v^4$ and $v^6$ order terms and their\nsuperpartners."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Self-adjoint extensions and SUSY breaking in Supersymmetric Quantum\n  Mechanics: We consider the self-adjoint extensions (SAE) of the symmetric supercharges\nand Hamiltonian for a model of SUSY Quantum Mechanics in $\\mathbb{R}^+$ with a\nsingular superpotential. We show that only for two particular SAE, whose\ndomains are scale invariant, the algebra of N=2 SUSY is realized, one with\nmanifest SUSY and the other with spontaneously broken SUSY. Otherwise, only the\nN=1 SUSY algebra is obtained, with spontaneously broken SUSY and non degenerate\nenergy spectrum.",
        "positive": "Retarded Green's Function from Rotating AdS Black Holes: Emergent\n  CFT$_2$ and Viscosity: Using the AdS/CFT correspondence we consider the retarded Green's function in\nthe background of rotating near-extremal AdS$_4$ black holes. Following the\ncanonical AdS/CFT dictionary into the asymptotic boundary we get a CFT$_3$\nresult. We also take a new route and zoom in on the near-horizon region, blow\nup this region and show that it yields a CFT$_2$ result. We argue that the\ndecoupling of the near-horizon region is akin to the decoupling of the\nnear-throat region of a D3-brane, which led to the original formulation of the\nAdS/CFT correspondence, thus implying that the Kerr/CFT correspondence follows\nas a decoupling of the standard AdS/CFT correspondence applied to rotating\nblack holes. As a byproduct, we compute the shear viscosity to entropy density\nratio for the strongly coupled boundary CFT$_3$, and find that it violates the\n$1 / (4 \\pi)$ bound."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Quantum bit threads: We give a bit thread prescription that is equivalent to the quantum extremal\nsurface prescription for holographic entanglement entropy. Our proposal is\ninspired by considerations of bit threads in doubly holographic models, and\nequivalence is established by proving a generalisation of the Riemannian\nmax-flow min-cut theorem. We explore our proposal's properties and discuss ways\nin which islands and spacetime are emergent phenomena from the quantum bit\nthread perspective.",
        "positive": "Notes on Properties of Holographic Matter: Probe branes with finite worldvolume electric flux in the background created\nby a stack of Dp branes describe holographically strongly interacting\nfundamental matter at finite density. We identify two quantities whose leading\nlow temperature behavior is independent of the dimensionality of the probe\nbranes: specific heat and DC conductivity. This behavior can be inferred from\nthe dynamics of the fundamental strings which provide a good description of the\nprobe branes in the regime of low temperatures and finite densities. We also\ncomment on the speed of sound on the branes and the temperature dependence of\nDC conductivity at vanishing charge density."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "BPS Skyrmions as neutron stars: The BPS Skyrme model has been demonstrated already to provide a physically\nintriguing and quantitatively reliable description of nuclear matter. Indeed,\nthe model has both the symmetries and the energy-momentum tensor of a perfect\nfluid, and thus represents a field theoretic realization of the \"liquid\ndroplet\" model of nuclear matter. In addition, the classical soliton solutions\ntogether with some obvious corrections (spin-isospin quantization, Coulomb\nenergy, proton-neutron mass difference) provide an accurate modeling of nuclear\nbinding energies for heavier nuclei. These results lead to the rather natural\nproposal to try to describe also neutron stars by the BPS Skyrme model coupled\nto gravity. We find that the resulting self-gravitating BPS Skyrmions provide\nexcellent results as well as some new perspectives for the description of bulk\nproperties of neutron stars when the parameter values of the model are\nextracted from nuclear physics. Specifically, the maximum possible mass of a\nneutron star before black-hole formation sets in is a few solar masses, the\nprecise value depending on the precise values of the model parameters, and the\nresulting neutron star radius is of the order of 10 km.",
        "positive": "Supersymmetric Gauge Theories and the AdS/CFT Correspondence: In these lecture notes we first assemble the basic ingredients of\nsupersymmetric gauge theories (particularly N=4 super-Yang-Mills theory),\nsupergravity, and superstring theory. Brane solutions are surveyed. The\ngeometry and symmetries of anti-de Sitter space are discussed. The AdS/CFT\ncorrespondence of Maldacena and its application to correlation functions in the\nthe conformal phase of N=4 SYM are explained in considerable detail. A\npedagogical treatment of holographic RG flows is given including a review of\nthe conformal anomaly in four-dimensional quantum field theory and its\ncalculation from five-dimensional gravity. Problem sets and exercises await the\nreader."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Scalar-metric-affine theories: Can we get ghost-free theories from\n  symmetry?: We reveal the existence of a certain hidden symmetry in general ghost-free\nscalar-tensor theories which can only be seen when generalizing the geometry of\nthe spacetime from Riemannian. For this purpose, we study scalar-tensor\ntheories in the metric-affine (Palatini) formalism of gravity, which we call\nscalar-metric-affine theories for short, where the metric and the connection\nare independent. We show that the projective symmetry, a local symmetry under a\nshift of the connection, can provide a ghost-free structure of\nscalar-metric-affine theories. The ghostly sector of the second-order\nderivative of the scalar is absorbed into the projective gauge mode when the\nunitary gauge can be imposed. Incidentally, the connection does not have the\nkinetic term in these theories and then it is just an auxiliary field. We can\nthus (at least in principle) integrate the connection out and obtain a form of\nscalar-tensor theories in the Riemannian geometry. The projective symmetry then\nhides in the ghost-free scalar-tensor theories. As an explicit example, we show\nthe relationship between the quadratic order scalar-metric-affine theory and\nthe quadratic U-degenerate theory. The explicit correspondence between the\nmetric-affine (Palatini) formalism and the metric one could be also useful for\nanalyzing phenomenology such as inflation.",
        "positive": "On Anyonic Propagators: We consider a simple action for a fractional spin particle and a path\nintegral representation for the propagator is obtained in a gauge such that the\nconstraint embodied in the Lagrangian is not an obstacle. We obtain a\npropagator for the particle in a constant electromagnetic field via the path\nintegral representation over velocities, which is characterized by arbitrary\nboundary conditions and the absence of time derivatives following integration\nover bosonic variables."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exact N=2 Landau-Ginzburg Flows: We find exactly solvable N=2-supersymmetric flows whose infrared fixed points\nare the N=2 minimal models. The exact S-matrices and the Casimir energy (a\nc-function) are determined along the entire renormalization group trajectory.\nThe c-function runs from c=3 (asymptotically) in the UV to the N=2 minimal\nmodel values of the central charge in the IR, leading us to interpret these\ntheories as the Landau-Ginzburg models with superpotential $X^{k+2}$.\nConsideration of the elliptic genus gives further support for this\ninterpretation. We also find an integrable model in this hierarchy which has\nspontaneously-broken supersymmetry and superpotential $X$, and a series of\nintegrable models with (0,2) supersymmetry. The flows exhibit interesting\nbehavior in the UV, including a relation to the N=2 super sine-Gordon model. We\nspeculate about the relation between the kinetic term and the cigar\ntarget-space metric.",
        "positive": "Aspetti non perturbativi della Teoria delle Stringhe: Unabridged version of the Thesis presented to the University of L' Aquila, in\npartial fulfillment of the requirements for the ``Laurea'' degree in Physics,\nOctober 1998. Work carried out at the University of L'Aquila and at the\nUniversity of Rome ``Tor Vergata''."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Some Notes Concerning the Dynamics of Noncommutative Lumps Corresponding\n  to Nontrivial Vacua in Noncommutative Yang--Mills Models which are\n  perturbative branches of M(atrix) Theory: We consider a pair of noncommutative lumps in the noncommutative\nYang--Mills/M(atrix) model. In the case when the lumps are separated by a\nfinite distance their ``polarisations'' do not belong to orthogonal subspaces\nof the Hilbert space. In this case the interaction between lumps is nontrivial.\nWe analyse the dynamics arisen due to this interaction in both naive approach\nof rigid lumps and exactly as described by the underlying gauge model. It\nappears that the exact description is given in terms of finite matrix\nmodels/multidimensional mechanics whose dimensionality depends on the initial\nconditions.",
        "positive": "$S$-Duality and $H$-Monopoles: The spectrum of $H$-monopoles of the heterotic string compactified on a six\ntorus and its relationship to the $S$-duality conjecture is briefly reviewed.\nIt is based on work done in collaboration with J. Harvey and is a contribution\nto the proceedings of Strings '95, USC, March 1995."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Low Level Representations for E10 and E11: We work out the decomposition of the indefinite Kac Moody algebras ${E_{10}}$\nand ${E_{11}}$ w.r.t. their respective subalgebras $A_9$ and $A_{10}$ at low\nlevels. Tables of the irreducible representations with their outer\nmultiplicities are presented for ${E_{10}}$ up to level $\\ell = 18$ and for\n${E_{11}}$ up to level $\\ell =10$. On the way we confirm and extend existing\nresults for ${E_{10}}$ root multiplicities, and for the first time compute\nnon-trivial root multiplicities of ${E_{11}}$.",
        "positive": "Quantum probing of null-singularities: We adapt the dual-null foliation to the functional Schr\\\"odinger\nrepresentation of quantum field theory and study the behavior of quantum probes\nin plane-wave space-times near the null-singularity. A comparison between the\nEinstein-Rosen and the Brinkmann patch, where the latter extends beyond the\nfirst, shows a seeming tension that can be resolved by comparing the\nconfiguration spaces. Our analysis concludes that Einstein-Rosen space-times\nsupport exclusively configurations with non-empty gravitational memory that are\nfocussed to a set of measure zero in the focal plane with respect to a\nBrinkmann observer. To conclude, we provide a rough framework to estimate the\nqualitative influence of back-reactions on these results."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Chromo-natural warm inflation: Chromo-natural inflation is a model where non-abelian gauge fields are\nsustained by the coupling of the axion with the gauge field through the\nChern-Simons term. While minimal warm inflation is a model where the axion\nproduces a thermal bath of non-abelian gauge particles through the Chern-Simons\nterm. Since both axion inflation models are based on the same action, a natural\nquestion is if those are compatible or not. We study axion inflation with the\nChern-Simons term and find that chromo-natural inflation can accommodate\nradiation with a temperature much larger than the Hubble parameter during\ninflation, which is a characteristic feature of warm inflation. Thus, we\nconclude that chromo-natural warm inflation exists, which must have\nphenomenologically interesting consequences.",
        "positive": "The effective action of (2+1)-dimensional QED: the effect of finite\n  fermion density: The effective action of (2+1)-dimensional QED with finite fermion density is\ncalculated in a uniform electromagnetic field. It is shown that the integer\nquantum Hall effect and de Haas-van Alphen like phenomena in condensed matter\nphysics are derived directly from the effective action."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Auxiliary Field Formulation of Supersymmetric Nonlinear Sigma Models: Two dimensional N=2 supersymmetric nonlinear sigma models on hermitian\nsymmetric spaces are formulated in terms of the auxiliary superfields. If we\neliminate auxiliary vector and chiral superfields, they give D- and F-term\nconstraints to define the target manifolds. The integration over auxiliary\nvector superfields, which can be performed exactly, is equivalent to the\nelimination of the auxiliary fields by the use of the classical equations of\nmotion.",
        "positive": "Phase transitions of GUP-corrected charged AdS black hole: We study the thermodynamic properties and critical behaviors of the\ntopological charged black hole in AdS space under the consideration of the\ngeneralized uncertainty principle (GUP). It is found that only in the spherical\nhorizon case there are Van der Waals-like first-order phase transitions and\nreentrant phase transitions. From the equation of state we find that the\nGUP-corrected black hole can have one, two and three apparent critical points\nunder different conditions. However, it is verified by the Gibbs free energy\nthat in either case there is at most one physical critical point."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Two-Loop Vacuum Diagrams in Background Field and Heisenberg-Euler\n  Effective Action: We show that in arbitrary even dimension, the two-loop scalar QED\nHeisenberg-Euler effective action can be reduced to simple one-loop quantities,\nusing just algebraic manipulations, when the constant background field\nsatisfies F^2 = -f^2 I, which in four dimensions coincides with the condition\nfor self-duality, or definite helicity. This result relies on new recursion\nrelations between two-loop and one-loop diagrams, with background field\npropagators. It also yields an explicit form of the renormalized two-loop\neffective action in a general constant background field in two dimensions.",
        "positive": "Self-organized criticality in quantum gravity: We study a simple model of spin network evolution motivated by the hypothesis\nthat the emergence of classical space-time from a discrete microscopic dynamics\nmay be a self-organized critical process. Self organized critical systems are\nstatistical systems that naturally evolve without fine tuning to critical\nstates in which correlation functions are scale invariant. We study several\nrules for evolution of frozen spin networks in which the spins labelling the\nedges evolve on a fixed graph. We find evidence for a set of rules which\nbehaves analogously to sand pile models in which a critical state emerges\nwithout fine tuning, in which some correlation functions become scale\ninvariant."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Asymptotic Symmetries in Electrodynamics and Kalb-Ramond Theory: In this thesis, we aim to find the asymptotic symmetries of the Kalb-Ramond\nfield in four dimensions at future null infinity. We start by reviewing the\nasymptotic symmetries of electrodynamics in four-dimensional Minkowski\nspacetime at future null infinity. We continue by investigating the asymptotic\nsymmetries of the Kalb-Ramond field at future null infinity. We motivate the\nfall-off conditions by demanding the finiteness of energy, momentum, angular\nmomentum and charge flux through future null infinity. We expand the gauge\nfields in ``radial\" and Lorenz gauge and compute the generating charges. Using\nthe duality between the Kalb-Ramond theory and the scalar field in two\ndimensions, we again derive the fields' fall-off conditions and compare them to\nthe ones obtained above. Our findings can be summarized as follows: The\ndifferent gauges yield two similar generating charges, however, the charge\nobtained in the ``radial\" gauge vanishes at infinity. This result might\nindicate that the fall-off conditions are too strict in this gauge. We observe\nconsistency in the asymptotic behaviours of Kalb-Ramond and scalar field\ntheories. Even after we expanded both fields asymptotically, the fall-off\nconditions for the Kalb-Ramond field obtained by duality considerations are\ncompatible with those derived from the finiteness conditions above. This might\nalso allow us to address the question asked in \\cite{Campiglia2018} about which\nare the missing asymptotic symmetries generated by the soft charges of scalar\nfields.",
        "positive": "Finite Fermion Density Effects on the Electroweak String: We consider an Electroweak string in the background of a uniform distribution\nof cold fermionic matter. As a consequence of the fermion number\nnon-conservation in the Weinberg-Salam model, the string produces a long-range\nmagnetic field."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "An approach to anomalies in M-theory via KSpin: The M-theory fieldstrength and its dual, given by the integral lift of the\nleft hand side of the equation of motion, both satisfy certain cohomological\nproperties. We study the combined fields and observe that the multiplicative\nstructure on the product of the corresponding degree four and degree eight\ncohomology fits into that given by Spin K-theory. This explains some earlier\nresults and leads naturally to the use of Spin characteristic classes. We\nreinterpret the one-loop term in terms of such classes and we show that it is\nhomotopy invariant. We argue that the various anomalies have natural\ninterpretations within Spin K-theory. In the process, mod 3 reductions play a\nspecial role.",
        "positive": "Complexity measures from geometric actions on Virasoro and Kac-Moody\n  orbits: We further advance the study of the notion of computational complexity for 2d\nCFTs based on a gate set built out of conformal symmetry transformations.\nPreviously, it was shown that by choosing a suitable cost function, the\nresulting complexity functional is equivalent to geometric (group) actions on\ncoadjoint orbits of the Virasoro group, up to a term that originates from the\ncentral extension. We show that this term can be recovered by modifying the\ncost function, making the equivalence exact. Moreover, we generalize our\napproach to Kac-Moody symmetry groups, finding again an exact equivalence\nbetween complexity functionals and geometric actions. We then determine the\noptimal circuits for these complexity measures and calculate the corresponding\ncosts for several examples of optimal transformations. In the Virasoro case, we\nfind that for all choices of reference state except for the vacuum state, the\ncomplexity only measures the cost associated to phase changes, while assigning\nzero cost to the non-phase changing part of the transformation. For Kac-Moody\ngroups in contrast, there do exist non-trivial optimal transformations beyond\nphase changes that contribute to the complexity, yielding a finite gauge\ninvariant result. Furthermore, we also show that the alternative complexity\nproposal of path integral optimization is equivalent to the Virasoro proposal\nstudied here. Finally, we sketch a new proposal for a complexity definition for\nthe Virasoro group that measures the cost associated to non-trivial\ntransformations beyond phase changes. This proposal is based on a cost function\ngiven by a metric on the Lie group of conformal transformations. The\nminimization of the corresponding complexity functional is achieved using the\nEuler-Arnold method yielding the Korteweg-de Vries equation as equation of\nmotion."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A Note on 4D Heterotic String Vacua, FI-terms and the Swampland: We present a conjecture for the massless sector of perturbative 4D $N=1$\nheterotic $(0,2)$ string vacua, including $U(1)^n$ gauge symmetries,one of them\npossibly anomalous (like in standard heterotic compactifications).\nMathematically it states that the positive hull generated by the charges of the\nmassless chiral multiplets spans a sublattice of the full charge lattice. We\nhave tested this conjecture in many heterotic $N=1$ compactifications in 4D.\nOur motivation for this conjecture is that it allows to understand a very old\npuzzle in $(0,2)$ $N=1$ heterotic compactification with an anomalous $U(1)$.\nThe conjecture guarantees that there is always a D-flat direction cancelling\nthe FI-term and restoring $N=1$ SUSY in a nearby vacuum. This is something that\nhas being verified in the past in a large number of cases, but whose origin has\nremained obscure for decades. We argue that the existence of this lattice of\nmassless states guarantees the instability of heterotic non-BPS extremal\nblackholes, as required by Weak Gravity Conjecture arguments. Thus the\npervasive existence of these nearby FI-cancelling vacua would be connected with\nWGC arguments.",
        "positive": "Orbit Averaging Coherent States: Holographic Three-Point Functions of\n  AdS Giant Gravitons: We study correlation functions of two AdS giant gravitons in AdS$_5\\times\nS^5$ and a BPS supergravity mode using holography. In the gauge theory these\nare described by BPS correlators of Schur polynomials of fully-symmetric\nrepresentations and a single trace operator. We find full agreement between the\nsemiclassical gravity and gauge theory computations at large $N$, for both\ndiagonal and off-diagonal structure constants. Our analysis in $\\mathcal{N}=4$\nSYM provides a simpler derivation to the results in the literature, and it can\nbe readily generalized to operators describing bound states of AdS giant\ngravitons as well as bubbling geometries."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "BRST, anti-BRST and gerbes: We discuss BRST and anti--BRST transformations for an Abelian antisymmetric\ngauge field in 4D and find that, in order for them to anticommute, we have to\nimpose a condition on the auxiliary fields. This condition is similar to the\nCurci-Ferrari condition for the 4D non--Abelian 1-form gauge theories and\nrepresents a consistency requirement. We interpret it as a signal that our\nAbelian 2-form gauge field theory is based on gerbes. To support this\ninterpretation we discuss, in particular, the case of the 1-gerbe for our\npresent field theory and write the relevant equations and symmetry\ntransformations for 2-gerbes.",
        "positive": "Gauge/Gravity Duality and the Black Hole Interior: We present a further argument that typical black holes with field theory\nduals have firewalls at the horizon. This argument makes no reference to\nentanglement between the black hole and any distant system, and so is not\nevaded by identifying degrees of freedom inside the black hole with those\noutside. We also address the ER=EPR conjecture of Maldacena and Susskind,\narguing that the correlations in generic highly entangled states cannot be\ngeometrized as a smooth wormhole."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Notes on Scattering Amplitudes as Differential Forms: Inspired by the idea of viewing amplitudes in ${\\cal N}=4$ SYM as\ndifferential forms on momentum twistor space, we introduce differential forms\non the space of spinor variables, which combine helicity amplitudes in any\nfour-dimensional gauge theory as a single object. In this note we focus on such\ndifferential forms in ${\\cal N}=4$ SYM, which can also be thought of as\n\"bosonizing\" superamplitudes in non-chiral superspace. Remarkably all\ntree-level amplitudes in ${\\cal N}=4$ SYM combine to a $d\\log$ form in spinor\nvariables, which is given by pushforward of canonical forms of Grassmannian\ncells, the tree forms can also be obtained using BCFW or inverse-soft\nconstruction, and we present all-multiplicity expression for MHV and NMHV forms\nto illustrate their simplicity. Similarly all-loop planar integrands can be\nnaturally written as $d\\log$ forms in the Grassmannian/on-shell-diagram\npicture, and we expect the same to hold beyond the planar limit. Just as the\nform in momentum twistor space reveals underlying positive geometry of the\namplituhedron, the form in terms of spinor variables strongly suggests an\n\"amplituhedron in momentum space\". We initiate the study of its geometry by\nconnecting it to the moduli space of Witten's twistor-string theory, which\nprovides a pushforward formula for tree forms in ${\\cal N}=4$ SYM.",
        "positive": "Gauged vortices in a background: We discuss the statistical mechanics of a gas of gauged vortices in the\ncanonical formalism. At critical self-coupling, and for low temperatures, it\nhas been argued that the configuration space for vortex dynamics in each\ntopological class of the abelian Higgs model approximately truncates to a\nfinite-dimensional moduli space with a Kaehler structure. For the case where\nthe vortices live on a 2-sphere, we explain how localisation formulas on the\nmoduli spaces can be used to compute explicitly the partition function of the\nvortex gas interacting with a background potential. The coefficients of this\nanalytic function provide geometrical data about the Kaehler structures, the\nsimplest of which being their symplectic volume (computed previously by Manton\nusing an alternative argument). We use the partition function to deduce simple\nresults on the thermodynamics of the vortex system; in particular, the average\nheight on the sphere is computed and provides an interesting effective picture\nof the ground state."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Black Five-Branes and Fluxbranes on Gravitational Instantons: We apply a U-duality based solution-generating technique to construct\nsupergravity solutions which describe nonextremal D5-branes and fluxbranes on\nvarious gravitational instantons. This includes an F7-brane wrapped on a\nsphere, which remains weakly-coupled in the asymptotic region. We construct\nvarious superpositions of nonextremal D5-branes and fluxbranes that have\nangular momentum fixed by the parameters associated with their mass and two\nmagnetic charges.",
        "positive": "Towards the Theory of Non--Abelian Tensor Fields I: We present a triangulation--independent area--ordering prescription which\nnaturally generalizes the well known path ordering one. For such a prescription\nit is natural that the two--form ``connection'' should carry three ``color''\nindices rather than two as it is in the case of the ordinary one--form gauge\nconnection. To define the prescription in question we have to define how to\n{\\it exponentiate} a matrix with three indices. The definition uses the fusion\nrule structure constants."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supersymmetric Yang-Mills Theory in Eleven Dimensions: We present a Lorentz invariant lagrangian formulation for a supersymmetric\nYang-Mills vector multiplet in eleven dimensions (11D). The Lorentz symmetry is\nbroken at the field equation level, and therefore the breaking is spontaneous,\nas in other formulations of supersymmetric theories in 12D or higher\ndimensions. We introduce a space-like unit vector formed by the gradient of a\nscalar field, avoiding the problem of Lorentz non-invariance at the lagrangian\nlevel, which is also an analog of non-commutative geometry with constant field\nstrengths breaking Lorentz covariance. The constancy of the space-like unit\nvector field is implied by the field equation of a multiplier field. The field\nequations for the physical fields are formally the same as those of 10D\nsupersymmetric Yang-Mills multiplet, but now with some constraints on these\nfields for supersymmetric consistency. This formulation also utilizes the\nmultiplier fields accompanied by the bilinear forms of constraints, such that\nthese multiplier fields will not interfere with the physical field equations.\nBased on this component result, we also present a $\\k$-symmetric supermembrane\naction with the supersymmetric Yang-Mills backgrounds.",
        "positive": "Professor Nambu, String Theory and Moonshine Phenomenon: I first recall the last occasion of meeting the late Professor Yoichiro Nambu\nin a hospital in Osaka. I then present a brief introduction to the moonshine\nphenomenon in string theory which is under recent investigations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Momentum space CFT correlators of non-conserved spinning operators: We analyse the 3-point CFT correlators involving non-conserved spinning\noperators in momentum space. We derive a general expression for the conformal\nWard identities defining the 3-point functions involving two generic spin $s$\nnon-conserved operators and a spin 1 conserved current. We give explicit\nexpressions for the 3-point function when the two non-conserved operators have\nspins 1 and 2 and generic conformal dimensions. We also systematically analyse\nthe divergences appearing in these 3-point functions when the conformal\ndimensions of the two non-conserved operators coincide.",
        "positive": "Higher order WKB corrections to black hole entropy in brick wall\n  formalism: We calculate the statistical entropy of a quantum field with an arbitrary\nspin propagating on the spherical symmetric black hole background by using the\nbrick wall formalism at higher orders in the WKB approximation. For general\nspins, we find that the correction to the standard Bekenstein-Hawking entropy\ndepends logarithmically on the area of the horizon. Furthermore, we apply this\nanalysis to the Schwarzschild and Schwarzschild-AdS black holes and discuss our\nresults."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gluon scattering in N=4 super-Yang-Mills theory from weak to strong\n  coupling: I describe some recent developments in the understanding of gluon scattering\namplitudes in N=4 super-Yang-Mills theory in the large-N_c limit. These\namplitudes can be computed to high orders in the weak coupling expansion, and\nalso now at strong coupling using the AdS/CFT correspondence. They hold the\npromise of being solvable to all orders in the gauge coupling, with the help of\ntechniques based on integrability. They are intimately related to expectation\nvalues for polygonal Wilson loops composed of light-like segments.",
        "positive": "On the Operator Product Expansion in Noncommutative Quantum Field Theory: Motivated by the mixing of UV and IR effects, we test the OPE formula in\nnoncommutative field theory. First we look at the renormalization of local\ncomposite operators, identifying some of their characteristic IR/UV\nsingularities. Then we find that the product of two fields in general cannot be\ndescribed by a series expansion of single local operator insertions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On Symmetry Enhancement in the psu(1,1|2) Sector of N=4 SYM: Strong evidence indicates that the spectrum of planar anomalous dimensions of\nN=4 super Yang-Mills theory is given asymptotically by Bethe equations. A\ncurious observation is that the Bethe equations for the psu(1,1|2) subsector\nlead to very large degeneracies of 2^M multiplets, which apparently do not\nfollow from conventional integrable structures. In this article, we explain\nsuch degeneracies by constructing suitable conserved nonlocal generators acting\non the spin chain. We propose that they generate a subalgebra of the loop\nalgebra for the su(2) automorphism of psu(1,1|2). Then the degenerate\nmultiplets of size 2^M transform in irreducible tensor products of M\ntwo-dimensional evaluation representations of the loop algebra.",
        "positive": "Deriving Boundary S Matrices: We show how to derive exact boundary $S$ matrices for integrable quantum\nfield theories in 1+1 dimensions using lattice regularization. We do this\ncalculation explicitly for the sine-Gordon model with fixed boundary conditions\nusing the Bethe ansatz for an XXZ-type spin chain in a boundary magnetic field.\nOur results agree with recent conjectures of Ghoshal and Zamolodchikov, and\nindicate that the only solutions to the Bethe equations which contribute to the\nscaling limit are the standard strings."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Super Period Matrix With Ramond Punctures: We generalize the super period matrix of a super Riemann surface to the case\nthat Ramond punctures are present. For a super Riemann surface of genus g with\n2r Ramond punctures, we define, modulo certain choices that generalize those in\nthe classical theory (and assuming a certain generic condition is satisfied), a\ng|r x g|r period matrix that is symmetric in the Z_2-graded sense. As an\napplication, we analyze the genus 2 vacuum amplitude in string theory\ncompactifications to four dimensions that are supersymmetric at tree level. We\nfind an explanation for a result that has been found in orbifold examples in\nexplicit computations by D'Hoker and Phong: with their integration procedure,\nthe genus 2 vacuum amplitude always vanishes \"pointwise\" after summing over\nspin structures, and hence is given entirely by a boundary contribution.",
        "positive": "Aspects of Electrodynamics Modified by Some Dimension-five Lorentz\n  Violating Interactions: Assuming Lorentz symmetry is broken by some fixed vector background, we study\nthe spinor electrodynamics modified by two dimension-five Lorentz-violating\ninteractions between fermions and photons. The effective polarization and\nmagnetization are identified from the modified Maxwell equations, and the\ntheoretical consequences are investigated. We also compute the corrections to\nthe relativistic energy levels of hydrogen atom induced by these\nLorentz-violating operators in the absence and presence of uniform external\nfields in first-order perturbation theory. We find that the hydrogen spectrum\nis insensitive to the breakdown of Lorentz boost symmetry."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauge Coupling Unification in F-theory GUT Models: We investigate gauge coupling unification for F-theory respectively Type IIB\norientifold constructions of SU(5) GUT theories with gauge symmetry breaking\nvia non-trivial hypercharge flux. This flux has the non-trivial effect that it\nsplits the values of the three MSSM gauge couplings at the string scale, thus\npotentially spoiling the celebrated one-loop gauge coupling unification. It is\nshown how F-theory can evade this problem in a natural way.",
        "positive": "Cosmological Classicalization: Maintaining Unitarity under Relevant\n  Deformations of the Einstein-Hilbert Action: Generic relevant deformations of Einstein's gravity theory contain additional\ndegrees of freedom that have a multi-facetted stabilization dynamics on curved\nspacetimes. We show that these relevant degrees of freedom are self-protected\nagainst unitarity violations by the formation of classical field lumps that\neventually merge to a new background geometry. The transition is heralded by\nthe massive decay of the original vacuum and evolves through a strong coupling\nregime. This process fits in the recently proposed classicalization mechanism\nand extends it further to free field dynamics on curved backgrounds."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Almost certain loss from black holes: critical comments on the black\n  hole final state proposal: In this paper, we critically revisit the Horowitz-Maldacena proposal and its\ngeneralization by Lloyd. In the original proposal, as well as in Lloyd's\ngeneralization, Hawking radiation involves a pair of maximally entangled\nquantum states in which the ingoing partner state and the collapsed matter form\neither a maximally entangled pair or a Schmidt decomposed random state near the\nsingularity. We point out that the unitary matrix introduced in Lloyd's\nfidelity calculation depends on initial matter states; hence, his result on the\nhigh average fidelity may not represent an almost unitary evolution. In\nopposition to Lloyd's conclusion, when we do not include the state-dependent\nunitary matrix for the fidelity computation, we analytically and numerically\nconfirm that information will almost certainly be lost because the fidelity\nwill approach zero as the degrees of freedom increase.",
        "positive": "Systematics of IIB spinorial geometry: We reduce the classification of all supersymmetric backgrounds of IIB\nsupergravity to the evaluation of the Killing spinor equations and their\nintegrability conditions, which contain the field equations, on five types of\nspinors. This extends the work of [hep-th/0503046] to IIB supergravity. We give\nthe expressions of the Killing spinor equations on all five types of spinors.\nIn this way, the Killing spinor equations become a linear system for the\nfluxes, geometry and spacetime derivatives of the functions that determine the\nKilling spinors. This system can be solved to express the fluxes in terms of\nthe geometry and determine the conditions on the geometry of any supersymmetric\nbackground. Similarly, the integrability conditions of the Killing spinor\nequations are turned into a linear system. This can be used to determine the\nfield equations that are implied by the Killing spinor equations for any\nsupersymmetric background. We show that these linear systems simplify for\ngeneric backgrounds with maximal and half-maximal number of $H$-invariant\nKilling spinors, $H\\subset Spin(9,1)$. In the maximal case, the Killing spinor\nequations factorize, whereas in the half-maximal case they do not. As an\nexample, we solve the Killing spinor equations of backgrounds with two\n$SU(4)\\ltimes \\bR^8$-invariant Killing spinors. We also solve the linear\nsystems associated with the integrability conditions of maximally\nsupersymmetric $Spin(7)\\ltimes\\bR^8$- and $SU(4)\\ltimes\\bR^8$-backgrounds and\ndetermine the field equations that are not implied by the Killing spinor\nequations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Holographic cold nuclear matter as dilute instanton gas: We study cold nuclear matter based on the holographic gauge theory, where\nbaryons are introduced as the instantons in the probe D8/D8 branes according to\nthe Sakai-Sugimoto model. Within a dilute gas approximation of instantons, we\nsearch for the stable states via the variational method and fix the instanton\nsize. We find the first order phase transition from the vacuum to the nuclear\nmatter phase as we increase the chemical potential. At the critical chemical\npotential, we could see a jump in the baryon density from zero to a finite\ndefinite value. While the size of the baryon in the nuclear matter is rather\nsmall compared to the nucleus near the transition point, where the charge\ndensity is also small, it increases with the baryon density. Those behaviors\nobtained here are discussed by relating them to the force between baryons.",
        "positive": "Phase fluctuations in low-dimensional Gross-Neveu models: We consider the Gross-Neveu model with a continuous chiral symmetry in two\nand three spacetime dimensions at zero and finite temperature. In order to\nstudy long-range phase coherence, we construct an effective low-energy\nLagrangian for the phase $\\theta$. This effective Lagrangian is used to show\nthat the fermionic two-particle correlation function at finite temperature\ndecays algebraically in 2+1 dimensions and exponentially in 1+1 dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Four-graviton scattering to three loops in ${\\mathcal N}=8$ supergravity: We compute the three-loop scattering amplitude of four gravitons in\n${\\mathcal N}=8$ supergravity. Our results are analytic formulae for a Laurent\nexpansion of the amplitude in the regulator of dimensional regularisation. The\ncoefficients of this series are closed formulae in terms of well-established\nharmonic poly-logarithms. Our results display a remarkable degree of simplicity\nand represent an important stepping stone in the exploration of the structure\nof scattering amplitudes. In particular, we observe that to this loop order the\nfour graviton amplitude is given by uniform weight $2L$ functions, where $L$ is\nthe loop order.",
        "positive": "Lorentz violation and Gravitoelectromagnetism: Casimir effect and\n  Stefan-Boltzmann law at Finite temperature: The standard model and general relativity are local Lorentz invariants.\nHowever it is possible that at Planck scale there may be a breakdown of Lorentz\nsymmetry. Models with Lorentz violation are constructed using Standard Model\nExtension (SME). Here gravitational sector of the SME is considered to analyze\nthe Lorentz violation in Gravitoelectromagnetism (GEM). Using the\nenergy-momentum tensor, the Stefan-Boltzmann law and Casimir effect are\ncalculated at finite temperature to ascertain the level of local Lorentz\nviolation. Thermo Field Dynamics (TFD) formalism is used to introduce\ntemperature effects."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Notes on Feynman Integrals and Renormalization: I review various aspects of Feynman integrals, regularization and\nrenormalization. Following Bloch, I focus on a linear algebraic approach to the\nFeynman rules, and I try to bring together several renormalization methods\nfound in the literature from a unifying point of view, using resolutions of\nsingularities. In the second part of the paper, I briefly sketch the work of\nBelkale, Brosnan resp. Bloch, Esnault and Kreimer on the motivic nature of\nFeynman integrals.",
        "positive": "Combinatorial Solution of the Two-Matrix Model: We write down and solve a closed set of Schwinger-Dyson equations for the\ntwo-matrix model in the large $N$ limit. Our elementary method yields exact\nsolutions for correlation functions involving angular degrees of freedom whose\ncalculation was impossible with previously known techniques. The result\nsustains the hope that more complicated matrix models important for lattice\nstring theory and QCD may also be solvable despite the problem of the angular\nintegrations. As an application of our method we briefly discuss the\ncalculation of wavefunctions with general matter boundary conditions for the\nIsing model coupled to $2D$ quantum gravity. Some novel insights into the\nrelationship between lattice and continuum boundary conditions are obtained."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fractional M2-branes: We consider two generalizations of the N=6 superconformal Chern-Simons-matter\ntheories with gauge group U(N)xU(N). The first generalization is to N=6\nsuperconformal U(M)xU(N) theories, and the second to N=5 superconformal\nO(2M)xUSp(2N) and O(2M+1)xUSp(2N) theories. These theories are conjectured to\ndescribe M2-branes probing C^4/Z_k in the unitary case, and C^4/\\hat{D}_k in\nthe orthogonal/symplectic case, together with a discrete flux, which can be\ninterpreted as |M-N| fractional M2-branes localized at the orbifold\nsingularity. The classical theories with these gauge groups have been\nconstructed before; in this paper we focus on some quantum aspects of these\ntheories, and on a detailed description of their M theory and type IIA string\ntheory duals.",
        "positive": "Stringy $\\mathcal{N}=(2,2)$ holography for AdS${_3}$: We propose a class of ${\\rm AdS}_3/{\\rm CFT}_2$ dualities with\n$\\mathcal{N}=(2,2)$ supersymmetry. These dualities relate string theory on\n${\\rm AdS}_3 \\times ({\\rm S}^3\\times \\mathbb{T}^4)/{\\rm G}$ to marginal\ndeformations of the symmetric product orbifold of $\\mathbb{T}^4/{\\rm G}$, where\n${\\rm G}$ is a dihedral group. We demonstrate that the BPS spectrum calculated\nfrom supergravity and string theory agrees with that of the dual CFT. Moreover,\nthe supergravity elliptic genus is shown to reproduce the CFT answer, thus\nproviding further non-trivial evidence in favour of the proposal."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Fermions, Mass-Gap and Landau Levels: Gauge invariant Hamiltonian for\n  QCD in D=2+1: A gauge-invariant reformulation of QCD in three spacetime dimensions is\npresented within a Hamiltonian formalism, extending previous work to include\nfermion fields in the adjoint and fundamental representations. A priori there\nare several ways to define the gauge-invariant versions of the fermions; a\nconsistent prescription for choosing the fermionic variables is presented. The\nfermionic contribution to the volume element of the gauge orbit space and the\ngluonic mass-gap is computed exactly and this contribution is shown to be\nclosely related to the mechanism for induction of Chern-Simons terms by\nparity-odd fermions. The consistency of the Hamiltonian scheme with known\nresults on index theorems, Landau Levels and renormalization of Chern-Simons\nlevel numbers is shown in detail. We also comment on the fermionic contribution\nto the volume element in relation to issues of confinement and screening.",
        "positive": "Local and global gauge-fixing: Gauge-fixing as a sampling procedure of gauge copies provides a possibility\nto construct well-defined gauges also beyond perturbation theory. The\nimplementation of such sampling strategies in lattice gauge theory is briefly\noutlined, and examples are given for non-perturbative extensions of the Landau\ngauge. An appropriate choice of sampling can also introduce non-trivial global\nsymmetries as a remainder of the gauge symmetry. Some examples for this are\nalso given, highlighting their particular advantages."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Renormalization group flow of coupled tensorial group field theories:\n  Towards the Ising model on random lattices: We introduce a new family of tensorial field theories by coupling different\nfields in a non-trivial way, with a view towards the investigation of the\ncoupling between matter and gravity in the quantum regime. As a first step, we\nconsider the simple case with two tensors of the same rank coupled together,\nwith Dirac like kinetic kernel. We focus especially on rank-$3$ tensors, which\nlead to a power counting just-renormalizable model, and interpret Feynman\ngraphs as Ising configurations on random lattices. We investigate the\nrenormalization group flow for this model, using two different and\ncomplementary tools for approximations, namely, the effective vertex expansion\nmethod and finite-dimensional truncations for the flowing action. Due to the\ncomplicated structure of the resulting flow equations, we divided the work into\ntwo parts. In this first part we only investigate the fundamental aspects on\nthe construction of the model and the different ways to get tractable\nrenormalization group equations, while their numerical analysis will be\naddressed in a companion paper.",
        "positive": "Quantum kink model and SU(2) symmetry: Spin interpretation and\n  T-violation: In this paper we consider the class of exact solutions of the Schrodinger\nequation with the Razavi potential. By means of this we obtain some\nwavefunctions and mass spectra of the relativistic scalar field model with\nspontaneously broken symmetry near the static kink solution. Appearance of the\nbosons, which have two different spins, will be shown in the theory, thereby\nthe additional breaking of discrete symmetry between the quantum mechanical\nkink particles with the opposite spins (i.e. the T-violation) takes place."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Geodesic completeness in a wormhole spacetime with horizons: The geometry of a spacetime containing a wormhole generated by a spherically\nsymmetric electric field is investigated in detail. These solutions arise in\nhigh-energy extensions of General Relativity formulated within the Palatini\napproach and coupled to Maxwell electrodynamics. Even though curvature\ndivergences generically arise at the wormhole throat, we find that these\nspacetimes are geodesically complete. This provides an explicit example where\ncurvature divergences do not imply spacetime singularities.",
        "positive": "Squashing the Boundary of Supersymmetric AdS$_5$ Black Holes: We construct new supersymmetric black holes in five-dimensional supergravity\nwith an arbitrary number of vector multiplets and Fayet-Iliopoulos gauging.\nThese are asymptotically locally AdS$_5$ and the conformal boundary comprises a\nsquashed three-sphere with $\\text{SU}(2)\\times \\text{U}(1)$ symmetry. The\nsolution depends on two parameters, of which one determines the angular\nmomentum and the Page electric charges, while the other controls the squashing\nat the boundary. The latter is arbitrary, however in the flow towards the\nhorizon it is attracted to a value that only depends on the other parameter of\nthe solution. The entropy is reproduced by a simple formula involving the\nangular momentum and the Page charges, rather than the holographic charges.\nChoosing the appropriate five-dimensional framework, the solution can be\nuplifted to type IIB supergravity on $S^5$ and should thus be dual to\n$\\mathcal{N}=4$ super Yang-Mills on a rotating, squashed Einstein universe."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Higher loop renormalization of a supersymmetric field theory: Using Dyson--Schwinger equations within an approach developed by Broadhurst\nand Kreimer and the renormalization group, we show how high loop order of the\nrenormalization group coefficients can be efficiently computed in a\nsupersymmetric model.",
        "positive": "Topological black holes in Einstein-Maxwell and 4D conformal gravities\n  revisited: The thermodynamics of charged topological black holes (TBHs) with different\nhorizon geometries in $d$-dimensional Einstein-Maxwell and 4-dimensional\nconformal gravities is revisited using the restricted phase space formalism.\nThe concept of subsystems for black holes is introduced, which enables a\nprecise description for the thermodynamic behaviors of (non-compact) black\nholes with infinitely large horizon area. The concrete behaviors can be\ndifferent for TBHs in the same underlying theory but with different horizon\ngeometries, or for those with the same horizon geometry but from different\nunderlying theories.\n  In some concrete thermodynamic processes, the non-compact black holes in\n4-dimensional conformal gravity can reach certain state with zero entropy but\nnonvanishing temperature, which is physically unsounded. This suggests a novel\nuse of black hole thermodynamics as a tool for testing the viability of gravity\nmodels or constraining the model parameters or integration constants. The high\nand low temperature limits of the TBHs are also considered, and it is found\nthat, at high temperature, all TBHs behave like low temperature phonon gases,\nwhile at low temperature, all charged as well as neutral hyperbolic TBHs in\nEinstein-Maxwell gravity behave like strongly degenerated electron gases.\nFinally, using the concept of subsystems, some conceptual issues in the\ndescription for thermal fluctuations in black hole systems are clarified, and\nthe relative thermal fluctuations for finite subsystems are also analyzed in\nsome detail."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "External Fields as Intrinsic Geometry: There is an interesting dichotomy between a space-time metric considered as\nexternal field in a flat background and the same considered as an intrinsic\npart of the geometry of space-time. We shall describe and compare two other\nexternal fields which can be absorbed into an appropriate redefinition of the\ngeometry, this time a noncommutative one. We shall also recall some previous\nincidences of the same phenomena involving bosonic field theories. It is known\nthat some such theories on the commutative geometry of space-time can be\nre-expressed as abelian-gauge theory in an appropriate noncommutative geometry.\nThe noncommutative structure can be considered as containing extra modes all of\nwhose dynamics are given by the one abelian action.",
        "positive": "Generalized hidden Kerr/CFT: We construct a family of vector fields that generate local symmetries in the\nsolution space of low frequency massless field perturbations in the general\nKerr geometry. This yields a one-parameter family of SL(2,R)x SL(2,R) algebras.\nWe identify limits in which the SL(2,R)xSL(2,R) algebra contracts to an SL(2,R)\nsymmetry of the Schwarzschild background. We note that for a particular value\nof our new free parameter, the symmetry algebra generates the quasinormal mode\nspectrum of a Kerr black hole in the large damping limit, suggesting a\nconnection between the hidden conformal symmetry and a fundamental CFT\nunderlying the quantum Kerr black hole."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Deflection angle and Shadows by Black Holes in Starobinsky-Bel-Robinson\n  Gravity from M-theory: Motivated by M-theory compactifications, we investigate optical properties of\nblack holes in the Starobinsky-Bel-Robinsion gravity. Precisely, we study the\nshadows and the deflection angle of light rays by non-rotating and rotating\nblack holes in such a novel gravity. We start by discussing the shadows of the\nSchwarzschild-type solutions. As expected, we obtain perfect circular shadows\nwhere the size decreases with a stringy gravity parameter denoted by $\\beta$.\nWe show that this parameter is constrained by the shadow existence. Combining\nthe Newman-Janis algorithm and the Hamilton-Jacobi mechanism, we examine the\nshadow behaviors of the rotating solutions in terms of one-dimensional real\ncurves. Essentially, we find various sizes and shapes depending on the rotating\nparameter and the stringy gravity parameter $a$ and $\\beta$, respectively. To\ninspect the shadow geometric deformations, we investigate the astronomical\nobservables and the energy emission rate. As envisaged, we reveal that $a$ and\n$\\beta$ have an impact on such shadow behaviors. For specific values of $a$, we\nremark that the obtained shadow shapes share certain similarities with the ones\nof the Kerr black holes in plasma backgrounds. Using the Event Horizon\nTelescope observational data, we provide predictions for the stringy gravity\nparameter $\\beta$ which could play a relevant role in M-theory\ncompactifications. We finish this work by a discussion on the behaviors of the\nlight rays near to such four dimensional black holes by computing the\ndeflection angle in terms of a required moduli space.",
        "positive": "Intersecting hypersurfaces in AdS and Lovelock gravity: Colliding and intersecting hypersurfaces filled with matter (membranes) are\nstudied in the Lovelock higher order curvature theory of gravity. Lovelock\nterms couple hypersurfaces of different dimensionalities, extending the range\nof possible intersection configurations. We restrict the study to constant\ncurvature membranes in constant curvature AdS and dS background and consider\ntheir general intersections. This illustrates some key features which make the\ntheory different to the Einstein gravity. Higher co-dimension membranes may lie\nat the intersection of co-dimension 1 hypersurfaces in Lovelock gravity; the\nhypersurfaces are located at the discontinuities of the first derivative of the\nmetric, and they need not carry matter.\n  The example of colliding membranes shows that general solutions can only be\nsupported by (spacelike) matter at the collision surface, thus naturally\nconflicting with the dominant energy condition (DEC). The imposition of the DEC\ngives selection rules on the types of collision allowed.\n  When the hypersurfaces don't carry matter, one gets a soliton-like\nconfiguration. Then, at the intersection one has a co-dimension 2 or higher\nmembrane standing alone in AdS-vacuum spacetime \\emph{without conical\nsingularities.}\n  Another result is that if the number of intersecting hypersurfaces goes to\ninfinity the limiting spacetime is free of curvature singularities if the\nintersection is put at the boundary of each AdS bulk."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Thermal Fluctuations of Induced Fermion Number: We analyze the phemomenon of induced fermion number at finite temperature. At\nfinite temperature, the induced fermion number $<N>$ is a thermal expectation\nvalue, and we compute the finite temperature fluctuations, $(\\Delta\nN)^2=<N^2>-<N>^2$. While the zero temperature induced fermion number is\ntopological and is a sharp observable, the finite temperature induced fermion\nnumber is generically nontopological, and is not a sharp observable. The\nfluctuations are due to the mixing of states inherent in any finite temperature\nexpectation value. We analyze in detail two different cases in 1+1 dimensional\nfield theory: fermions in a kink background, and fermions in a chiral sigma\nmodel background. At zero temperature the induced fermion numbers for these two\ncases are very similar, but at finite temperature they are very different. The\nsigma model case is generic and the induced fermion number is nontopological,\nbut the kink case is special and the fermion number is topological, even at\nfinite temperature. There is a simple physical interpretation of all these\nresults in terms of the spectrum of the fermions in the relevant background,\nand many of the results generalize to higher dimensional models.",
        "positive": "Conformal Invariance of the D-Particle Effective Action: It is shown that the effective theory of D-particles has conformal symmetry\nwith field-dependent parameters. This is a consequence of the supersymmetry.\nThe string coupling constant is not transformed in contrast with the recent\nproposal of generalized conformal symmtery by Jevicki et al. This conformal\nsymmetry can also be generalized to other Dp-brane systems."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Exact amplitudes in four dimensional non-critical string theories: The large Nc expansion of N=2 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory with gauge\ngroup SU(Nc) has recently been shown to break down at singularities on the\nmoduli space. We conjecture that by taking Nc to infinity and approaching the\nsingularities in a correlated way, all the observables of the theory have a\nfinite universal limit yielding amplitudes in string theories dual to field\ntheories describing the light degrees of freedom. We explicitly calculate the\namplitudes corresponding to the Seiberg-Witten period integrals for an A_{n-1}\nseries of multicritical points as well as for other critical points exhibiting\na scaling reminiscent of the c=1 matrix model. Our results extend the matrix\nmodel approach to non-critical strings in less than one dimension to\nnon-critical strings in four dimensions.",
        "positive": "2D holography beyond the Jackiw-Teitelboim model: Having in mind extensions of 2D holography beyond the Jackiw-Teitelboim model\nwe propose holographic counterterms and asymptotic conditions for a family of\nasymptotically AdS$_2$ dilaton gravity models leading to a consistent\nvariational problem and a finite on-shell action. We show the presence of\nasymptotic Virasoro symmetries in all these models. The Schwarzian action\ngenerates (a part) of the equations of motion governing the asymptotic degrees\nof freedom. We also analyse the applicability of various entropy formulae. By a\ndilaton-dependent conformal transformation our results are extended to an even\nlarger class of models having exotic asymptotic behavior. We also analyse\nasymptotic symmetries for some other classes of dilaton gravities without,\nhowever, constructing holographic counterterms."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Constraints on $N_c$ in Extensions of the Standard Model: We consider a class of theories involving an extension of the Standard Model\ngauge group to an {\\it a priori} arbitrary number of colors, $N_c$, and derive\nconstraints on $N_c$. One motivation for this is the string theory landscape.\nFor two natural classes of embeddings of this $N_c$-extended Standard Model in\na supersymmetric grand unified theory, we show that requiring unbroken\nelectromagnetic gauge invariance, asymptotic freedom of color, and three\ngenerations of quarks and leptons forces one to choose $N_c=3$. Similarly, we\nshow that for a theory combining the $N_c$-extended Standard Model with a\none-family SU(2)$_{TC}$ technicolor theory, only the value $N_c=3$ is allowed.",
        "positive": "The non-perturbative structure of the photon and gluon propagators: The non-perturbative structure of the photon and gluon propagators plays an\nimportant role in governing the dynamics of quantum electrodynamics (QED) and\nquantum chromodynamics (QCD) respectively. Although it is often assumed that\nthese interacting field propagators can be decomposed into longitudinal and\ntransverse components, as for the free case, it turns out that in general this\nis not possible. Moreover, the non-abelian gauge symmetry of QCD permits the\nmomentum space gluon propagator to contain additional singular terms involving\nderivatives of $\\delta(p)$, the appearance of which is related to confinement.\nDespite the possibility of the failure of the transverse-longitudinal\ndecomposition for the photon and gluon propagators, and the appearance of\nsingular terms in the gluon propagator, the Slavnov-Taylor identity\nnevertheless remains preserved."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Two-Parameter Brane Sigma-Model: M*, M' solutions and M-theory\n  solutions dependent on exotic coordinates: We investigate two-parameter solutions of sigma-models on two dimensional\nsymmetric spaces contained in E11. Embedding such sigma-model solutions in\nspace-time gives solutions of M* and M'-theory where the metric depends on\ngeneral travelling wave functions, as opposed to harmonic functions typical in\ngeneral relativity, supergravity and M-theory. Weyl reflection allows such\nsolutions to be mapped to M-theory solutions where the wave functions depend\nexplicitly on extra coordinates contained in the fundamental representation of\nE11.",
        "positive": "Entanglement entropy, black holes and holography: We observe that the entanglement entropy resulting from tracing over a\nsubregion of an initially pure state can grow faster than the surface area of\nthe subregion (indeed, proportional to the volume), in contrast to examples\nstudied previously. The pure states with this property have long-range\ncorrelations between interior and exterior modes and are constructed by\npurification of the desired density matrix. We show that imposing a\nno-gravitational collapse condition on the pure state is sufficient to exclude\nfaster than area law entropy scaling. This observation leads to an\ninterpretation of holography as an upper bound on the realizable entropy\n(entanglement or von Neumann) of a region, rather than on the dimension of its\nHilbert space."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Mirror Symmetry and the Moduli Space for Generic Hypersurfaces in Toric\n  Varieties: The moduli dependence of $(2,2)$ superstring compactifications based on\nCalabi--Yau hypersurfaces in weighted projective space has so far only been\ninvestigated for Fermat-type polynomial constraints. These correspond to\nLandau-Ginzburg orbifolds with $c=9$ whose potential is a sum of $A$-type\nsingularities. Here we consider the generalization to arbitrary\nquasi-homogeneous singularities at $c=9$. We use mirror symmetry to derive the\ndependence of the models on the complexified K\\\"ahler moduli and check the\nexpansions of some topological correlation functions against explicit genus\nzero and genus one instanton calculations. As an important application we give\nexamples of how non-algebraic (``twisted'') deformations can be mapped to\nalgebraic ones, hence allowing us to study the full moduli space. We also study\nhow moduli spaces can be nested in each other, thus enabling a (singular)\ntransition from one theory to another. Following the recent work of Greene,\nMorrison and Strominger we show that this corresponds to black hole\ncondensation in type II string theories compactified on Calabi-Yau manifolds.",
        "positive": "Scattering matrix in external field problems: We discuss several aspects of second quantized scattering operators $\\hat S$\nfor fermions in external time dependent fields. We derive our results on a\ngeneral, abstract level having in mind as a main application potentials of the\nYang--Mills type and in various dimensions. We present a new and powerful\nmethod for proving existence of $\\hat S$ which is also applicable to other\nsituations like external gravitational fields. We also give two complementary\nderivations of the change of phase of the scattering matrix under generalized\ngauge transformations which can be used whenever our method of proving\nexistence of $\\hat S$ applies. The first is based on a causality argument i.e.\\\n$\\hat S$ (including phase) is determined from a time evolution, and the second\nexploits the geometry of certain infinite-dimensional group extensions\nassociated with the second quantization of 1-particle operators. As a special\ncase we obtain a Hamiltonian derivation of the the axial Fermion-Yang-Mills\nanomaly and the Schwinger terms related to it via the descent equations, which\nis on the same footing and traces them back to a common root."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Towards $\\ell$-conformal Galilei algebra via contraction of the\n  conformal group: We show that the In\\\"{o}n\\\"{u}-Wigner contraction of $so(\\ell+1,\\ell+d)$ with\nthe integer $\\ell>1$ may lead to algebra which contains a variety of conformal\nextensions of the Galilei algebra as subalgebras. These extensions involve the\n$\\ell$-conformal Galilei algebra in $d$ spatial dimensions as well as\n$l$-conformal Galilei algebras in one spatial dimension with $l=3$, $5$, ...,\n$(2\\ell-1)$.",
        "positive": "Semi-classical string solutions for N=1 SYM: We study semi-classically the dynamics of string solitons in the\nMaldacena-Nunez background, dual in the infra-red to N=1, d=4 SYM. For closed\nstring configurations rotating in the S^2 x R space wrapped by the stack of N\nD-branes we find a behavior that indicates the decoupling of the stringy\nKaluza-Klein modes with sufficiently large SO(3) quantum numbers. We show that\nthe spectrum of a pulsating string configuration in S^2 coincides with that of\na N=2 super Sine-Gordon model. Closed string configurations spinning in the\ntransversal S^3 give a relation of the energy and the conserved angular\nmomentum identical to that obtained for configurations spinning in the S^5 of\nthe AdS_5 x S^5, dual to N =4 SYM. In order to obtain non-trivial relations\nbetween the energy and the spin, we also consider conical-like configurations\nstretching along a radial variable in the unwrapped directions of the system of\nD-branes and simultaneously along the transversal direction. We find that in\nthis precise case, these configurations are unstable --contrary to other\nbackgrounds, where we show that they are stable. We point out that in the\nPoincare-like coordinates used for the Maldacena-Nunez background it seems that\nit is not possible to reproduce the well-known field theory relation between\nthe energy and the angular momentum. We reach a similar conclusion for the\nKlebanov-Strassler background, by showing that the conical-like configurations\nare also unstable."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "The Yangian Deformation of the W-Algebras and and the\n  Calogero-Sutherland model: The Yangian symmetry Y(su($n$)) of the Calogero-Sutherland-Moser spin model\nis reconsidered. The Yangian generators are constructed from two non-commuting\nsu($n$)-loop algebras. The latters generate an infinite dimensional symmetry\nalgebra which is a deformation of the $W_\\infty$-algebra. We show that this\ndeformed $W_\\infty$-algebra contains an infinite number of Yangian subalgebras\nwith different deformation parameters.",
        "positive": "General brane cosmologies and their global spacetime structure: Starting from a completely general standpoint, we find the most general\nbrane-Universe solutions for a three-brane in a five dimensional spacetime. The\nbrane can border regions of spacetime with or without a cosmological constant.\nMaking no assumptions other than the usual cosmological symmetries of the\nmetric, we prove that the equations of motion form an integrable system, and\nfind the exact solution. The cosmology is indeed a boundary of a (class II)\nSchwarzschild-AdS spacetime, or a Minkowski (class I) spacetime. We analyse the\nvarious cosmological trajectories focusing particularly on those bordering\nvacuum spacetimes. We find, not surprisingly, that not all cosmologies are\ncompatible with an asymptotically flat spacetime branch. We comment on the role\nof the radion in this picture."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Supertranslations and Holography near the Horizon of Schwarzschild Black\n  Holes: In this paper we review and discuss several aspects of supertranslations and\ntheir associated algebras at the horizon of a Schwarzschild black hole. We will\ncompare two different approaches on horizon supertranslations, which were\nrecently considered in separate publications. Furthermore we describe a\npossible holographic description of a Schwarzschild black hole in terms of a\nlarge N boundary theory, which accommodates the Goldstone bosons of the horizon\nsupertranslations.",
        "positive": "Breaking away from the near horizon of extreme Kerr: We study gravitational perturbations around the near horizon geometry of the\n(near) extreme Kerr black hole. By considering a consistent truncation for the\nmetric fluctuations, we obtain a solution to the linearized Einstein equations.\nThe dynamics is governed by two master fields which, in the context of the\nnAdS$_2$/nCFT$_1$ correspondence, are both irrelevant operators of conformal\ndimension $\\Delta=2$. These fields control the departure from extremality by\nbreaking the conformal symmetry of the near horizon region. One of the master\nfields is tied to large diffeomorphisms of the near horizon, with its equations\nof motion compatible with a Schwarzian effective action. The other field is\nessential for a consistent description of the geometry away from the horizon."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "A bigraded version of the Weil algebra and of the Weil homomorphism for\n  Donaldson invariants: We describe a bigraded generalization of the Weil algebra, of its basis and\nof the characteristic homomorphism which besides ordinary characteristic\nclasses also maps on Donaldson invariants.",
        "positive": "Noncommutative Gauge Fields on Poisson Manifolds: It is shown by Connes, Douglas and Schwarz that gauge theory on\nnoncommutative torus describes compactifications of M-theory to tori with\nconstant background three-form field. This indicates that noncommutative gauge\ntheories on more general manifolds also can be useful in string theory. We\ndiscuss a framework to noncommutative quantum gauge theory on Poisson manifolds\nby using the deformation quantization. The Kontsevich formula for the star\nproduct was given originally in terms of the perturbation expansion and it\nleads to a non-renormalizable quantum field theory. We discuss the\nnonperturbative path integral formulation of Cattaneo and Felder as a possible\napproach to construction of noncommutative quantum gauge theory on Poisson\nmanifolds. Some other aspects of classical and quantum noncommutative field\ntheory are also discussed."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "On the low energy limit of one loop photon-graviton amplitudes: We present first results of a systematic study of the structure of the low\nenergy limit of the one-loop photon-graviton amplitudes induced by massive\nscalars and spinors. Our main objective is the search of KLT-type relations\nwhere effectively two photons merge into a graviton. We find such a relation at\nthe graviton-photon-photon level. We also derive the diffeomorphism Ward\nidentity for the 1PI one graviton - N photon amplitudes.",
        "positive": "Self-intersecting fuzzy extra dimensions from squashed coadjoint orbits\n  in ${\\cal N}=4$ SYM and matrix models: We find new vacuum solutions of ${\\cal N}=4$ super-Yang-Mills with totally\nanti-symmetric cubic soft SUSY breaking terms, or equivalently solutions of the\nIKKT matrix model of type $\\mathbb{R}^4_\\theta \\times {\\cal K}_N$ with flux\nterms. The solutions can be understood in terms of 4- and 6- dimensional fuzzy\nbranes ${\\cal K}_N$ in extra dimensions, describing self-intersecting\nprojections of compact flag manifolds of $SU(3)$. The 6-dimensional solutions\nprovide a 6-fold covering of the internal space near the origin, while the\n4-dimensional branes have a triple self-intersections spanning all 6 internal\ndirections. The solutions have lower energy than the trivial vacuum, and we\nprove that there are no negative modes. The massless modes are identified\nexplicitly. In particular there are chiral fermionic zero modes, linking the\ncoincident sheets with opposite flux at the origin. They have a $\\mathbb{Z}_3$\nfamily symmetry, originating from the Weyl group rotations."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Comments on supergravity dual of pure N=1 Super Yang Mills theory with\n  unbroken chiral symmetry: Maldacena and Nunez [hep-th/0008001] identified a gravity solution describing\npure N=1 Yang-Mills (YM) in the IR. Their (smooth) supergravity solution\nexhibits confinement and the U(1)_R chiral symmetry breaking of the dual YM\ntheory, while the singular solution corresponds to the gauge theory phase with\nunbroken U(1)_R chiral symmetry. In this paper we discuss supersymmetric type\nIIB compactifications on resolved conifolds with torsion. We rederive singular\nbackground of [hep-th/0008001] directly from the supersymmetry conditions. This\nsolution is the relevant starting point to study non-BPS backgrounds dual to\nthe high temperature phase of pure YM. We construct the simplest black hole\nsolution in this background. We argue that it has a regular Schwarzschild\nhorizon and provides a resolution of the IR singularity of the chirally\nsymmetric extremal solution as suggested in [hep-th/0011146].",
        "positive": "Wilson loops and defect RG flows in ABJM: We continue our study of renormalization group (RG) flows on Wilson loop\ndefects in ABJM theory, which we have initiated in arXiv:2211.16501. We\ngeneralize that analysis by including non-supersymmetric fixed points and RG\ntrajectories. To this end, we first determine the ``ordinary\",\nnon-supersymmetric Wilson loops, which turn out to be two and to include an\nR-symmetry preserving coupling to the scalar fields of the theory, contrary to\ntheir four-dimensional counterpart defined solely in terms of the gauge field\nholonomy. We then deform these operators by turning on bosonic and/or fermionic\ncouplings, which trigger an elaborate, multi-dimensional network of possible RG\ntrajectories connecting a large spectrum of fixed points classified in terms of\nthe amount (possibly zero) of supersymmetry and R-symmetry preserved. The\n$\\beta$-functions are computed to leading order in the ABJM coupling but\nexactly in the deformation parameters, using an auxiliary one-dimensional\ntheory on the defect and a dimensional regularization scheme. A striking result\nis the different behavior of the two ordinary Wilson loops, of which one turns\nout to be a UV unstable point while the other is IR stable. The same is true\nfor the two 1/2 BPS Wilson loops. We interpret our results from a defect CFT\n(dCFT) point of view, computing the anomalous dimensions of the operators\nassociated to the deformations and establishing appropriate g-theorems. In\nparticular, the fermionic unstable fixed point is associated to a dCFT which is\nnot reflection positive."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Unimodular Gauge and ADM Gravity Path Integral: This paper proposes a definition of gravitational observables and of their\npath integral formula within the framework of ADM foliation and the choice of\nunimodular gauge classes. The method enforces a BRST invariant gauge fixing of\nthe lapse and shift fields. It yields the quantum level extension of the known\nclassical property that the conformal classes of internal metrics of constant\nLorentz time leafs define the gravitational physical degrees of freedom.",
        "positive": "Statistical mechanics of gravitons in a box and the black hole entropy: This paper is devoted to the study of the statistical mechanics of trapped\ngravitons obtained by 'trapping' a spherical gravitational wave in a box. As a\nconsequence, a discrete spectrum dependent on the Legendre index $\\ell$ similar\nto the harmonic oscillator one is obtained and a statistical study is\nperformed. The mean energy $<E>$ results as a sum of two discrete Planck\ndistributions with different dependent frequencies. As an important\napplication, we derive the semiclassical Bekenstein-Hawking entropy formula for\na static Schwarzschild black hole by only requiring that the black hole\ninternal energy $U$ is provided by its ADM rest energy, without invoking\nparticular quantum gravity theories. This seriously suggests that the interior\nof a black hole can be composed of trapped gravitons at a thermodynamical\ntemperature proportional by a factor $\\simeq 2$ to the horizon temperature\n$T_h$."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Gauge invariances vis-{\u00e1}-vis Diffeomorphisms in second order metric\n  gravity: A new Hamiltonian approach: A new analysis of the gauge invariances and their unity with diffeomorphism\ninvariances in second order metric gravity is presented which strictly follows\nDirac's constrained Hamiltonian approach.",
        "positive": "Fundamental Strings, Holography, and Nonlinear Superconformal Algebras: We discuss aspects of holography in the AdS_3 \\times S^p near string geometry\nof a collection of straight fundamental heterotic strings. We use anomalies and\nsymmetries to determine general features of the dual CFT. The symmetries\nsuggest the appearance of nonlinear superconformal algebras, and we show how\nthese arise in the framework of holographic renormalization methods. The\nnonlinear algebras imply intricate formulas for the central charge, and we show\nthat in the bulk these correspond to an infinite series of quantum gravity\ncorrections. We also makes some comments on the worldsheet sigma-model for\nstrings on AdS_3\\times S^2, which is the holographic dual geometry of parallel\nheterotic strings in five dimensions."
    },
    {
        "anchor": "Effective Field calculations of the Energy Spectrum of the\n  $\\mathcal{PT}% $-Symmetric ($-x^{4}$) Potential: In this work, we show that the traditional effective field approach can be\napplied to the $\\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric wrong sign ($-x^{4}$) quartic\npotential. The importance of this work lies in the possibility of its extension\nto the more important $\\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric quantum field theory while the\nother approaches which use complex contours are not willing to be applicable.\nWe calculated the effective potential of the massless $-x^{4}$ theory as well\nas the full spectrum of the theory. Although the calculations are carried out\nup to first order in the coupling, the predicted spectrum is very close to the\nexact one taken from other works. The most important result of this work is\nthat the effective potential obtained, which is equivalent to the Gaussian\neffective potential, is bounded from below while the classical potential is\nbounded from above. This explains the stability of the vacuum of the theory.\nThe obtained quasi-particle Hamiltonian is non-Hermitian but\n$\\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric and we showed that the calculation of the metric\noperator can go perturbatively. In fact, the calculation of the metric operator\ncan be done even for higher dimensions (quantum field theory) which, up till\nnow, can not be calculated in the other approaches either perturbatively or in\na closed form due to the possible appearance of field radicals. Moreover, we\nargued that the effective theory is perturbative for the whole range of the\ncoupling constant and the perturbation series is expected to converge rapidly\n(the effective coupling $g_{eff}={1/6}$).",
        "positive": "Cancellation of long-range forces in Einstein-Maxwell-dilaton system: We examine cancellation of long-range forces in Einstein-Maxwell-Dilatonic\nsystem. Several conditions of the equilibrium of two charged masses in general\nrelativity is found by many authors. These conditions are altered by taking\naccount of dilatonic field. Under the new condition, we show cancellation of\n$1/r^2$ potential using Feynman diagrams."
    }
]